I know that I said I would post this Thursday at the latest, but I just couldn't help myself, so here it is :)

Michelangelo gasped as the cold metal pierced his body. The sound that came when Leonardo pulled the blade out was horrible, a long, scraping kind of noise , like two pieces of metal getting scraped together.

He tried to make some kind of noise, any noise, to convince himself that he would be okay, but no sound came from his lips as he fell toward the floor.

Leo pulled the sword out of Mikey, then lifted his head back and let out a laugh, but it wasn't one of those comical mwah-hah-hah laughs. This one was almost his regular one, but instead of being reassuring, it sent a chill through everyone. He then turned to look at his other three family members, grinning crazily with a mad glint in his eye.

He held that stance for roughly two seconds before doubling over, coughing and hacking. When he lifted his head, his swords were back to normal, as were his hands and feet. It was then that all three rushed forward.

Leo felt dazed for a few moments, then his eyes began to focus. Donnie was murmuring "It's okay, it's only in the shoulder. You're gonna be okay, Mikey." Raph was trying to help him up, and Master Splinter just stood in the back, with a strange expression on his face. Was that guilt? Why? Whatever I did, it's my fault, isn't it? Besides, it can't be that-

He went brain-dead when he placed his eyes on Mikey, moaning and slipping slowly into unconsciousness. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…" he muttered, stumbling back a few feet. Mikey had been stabbed! But what had happened? Who had done… wait. He knew exactly who had done it. Leo's answer was confirmed by the other members of his family, who were backing away from him, slowly. Raphael was even stepping in front of Michelangelo, guarding him. "Get away from him."

Those words shattered any bit of doubt Leonardo had left. He was becoming insane. He had slowly suspected it for the past few days, but this completely proved it. His brothers and sensei were right to be afraid. He could lunge at them, hurt them at any moment, possibly even…

He knew what he had to do. Leonardo turned around and started running, as fast as he could, away from his family.

He had just made it halfway out of the sewers when he heard Splinter, calling for him to stop. Hesitating, Leo slowed down, then resumed his pace, but even faster than before. However, he didn't make it far until his hand was grasped by his father.

"Leonardo," Hamato Yoshi said, "come back, we need you. Your brothers need you. How are they going to survive without a leader?"

"They have a better chance of surviving if they have no leader instead of a crazy one."

"No! You are NOT insane. It was because of the strings! Remember how I told you about them a few months ago, during a lesson? Leonardo, your strings have snapped. All of them. I knew but I didn't tell you, fearing that you would panic. This is all my fault. Come back home with me!"

Leo staggered back, like he had taken a blow. He knew, under all the pressure he was constantly under, that a few of them had definitely snapped. All of theirs did. But a person had hundreds, thousands of threads. He didn't expect to lose them all! But if anything, this just made the situation worse.

"Father, didn't you tell me that if all the strings have snapped and the person is insane, that their madness just get stronger and stronger, until it consumes the person?" he asked.

Splinter seemed to hesitate to answer this question. Finally, he replied, choosing his words carefully, "Yes. However, this does not mean that you cannot overcome that. You have a strong mind, Leonardo. Maybe…" He stopped. They both knew the truth.

"Sensei, you know that no one has ever been able to overcome it. Neither can I. Let go of my hand. I'm doing this for our family."

"No, Leonardo. You can stay with us. We just have to be careful." "Sensei, LET GO." "No."

Leo was started to feel annoyed, and just a little bit angry. "I said, LET GO." "Leonardo, we can help you."

The eldest was about to reason with his father, when he started feeling the familiar cold, frosty feeling down his spine. "Father! It's happening again, I'm going crazy. You have to let go, you're agitating me and it's causing me to react. YOU HAVE TO LET GO!"

"Leonardo, I-" "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO FUCKING LET GO!"

Splinter gasped as his son turned to him, bristling. Before he could react, Leo kicked him in the head, then used to momentum to rip free of his grip. He crashed into a sewer pipe and landed awkwardly, hearing a sharp snap from his ankle. Wincing, he looked up, to see his son staring, with absolute horror in his eyes. "See, that's exactly why I have to go." And with that, he began turning around and sprinting away.

"No…Leonardo…" The last image Splinter saw before blacking out was his eldest son, running away from his family.

Once outside, Leo took a few deep breaths. What he did was for the best. He had already stabbed Mikey in the shoulder, broke Sensei's ankle. It was best to stay away from the rest of them.

He was running from rooftop to rooftop, trying to clear his head, when he had a relapse. But why? It wasn't as if he had been annoyed or angry. Why would he turn insane? It was then that it hit him. The insanity was getting stronger. He would just automatically switch from now on, angry or not. Closing his eyes, he tried to think. Developing at this rate, he would only have about one more chance to be good after this… After that, he would be utterly evil, forever, with no more turning back.

When he opened his eyes, they were gleaming viciously. "Time to get into some real action," he grinned. "And I've got a place in mind."

In the Foot Clan lair, the Shredder was on his throne. "So you are telling me that you haven't been able to track down the Turtles for an entire week?!" he asked Tigerclaw with a disgusted tone in his voice. "No, Master Shredder, but we will keep searching-"

He was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Thump-thump-thump. Tigerclaw looked at Shredder, who shook his head no. "I don't know who this is, and I won't take any chances."

The knock came again, louder this time. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. Again nobody answered. Finally, It began knocking a third time, but this one didn't stop. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. Finally, after fifteen blows, there was a sudden silence. Everyone tensed up, but nothing and no one came through the door. After around twenty seconds everyone started relaxing.

"Probably some child's idea of a joke," Tigerclaw growled. "Hmph. I suppose so." Shredder agreed. "Anyhow, Tigerclaw, continue with your report-"

He was interrupted when the doors flied open.

Quickly everyone drew their weapons, Fishface pulled out his knifes, Rahzar sharpened his claws, Tigerclaw reached for his guns, Karai grasped her tanto, and Shredder slid out his gauntlet blades. If they were expecting an army, they were sorely mistaken.

The doorway revealed a single figure, in the shadows. "Come out and face me! Let us fight this out!" Shredder yelled.

The figure stepped into the light. Leonardo was grinning maliciously, with a wicked glint in his eye.