Chibi Rose Angel:cowers down I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY! I JUST HAD TO PUT IN A CLIFFHANGER! please don't kill me...sniffle...i really do appreciate you guys being loyal and faithful readers! thanks for the compliment, i hope i'm doing something right...thank you!

Dory's human replica:haha...no problem, i appreciate you reviewing now :-) don't worry...Leo's not dead...or is he? dun dun dun read on and find out! thanks for the review!

taintedelusions:awww don't cry! what's with the splat? u really think i'm gonna let him off that easily? hehe please don't be depressed...uhhhh...whips out a cookie i'll update i promise i promise! thank you!

Phoenix Red Lion:thank you very much! i'm glad you like it! you're right battle scenes are difficult, i'm just happy that you guys seemd to think it was worthy...sniff sniff i am so HAPPY :-)

KuwabaraMikey17:hehehe, he's not dead...I don't think...hehehe thank you!

Darktiger2:thanks for the support! (and i have noticed that you enjoy cliffies too...ahem) isn't torturing your audience great! lol

BlueRaven:haha, yup you can ask anything...as for your first question, the answer is Leo as for the rest of them, its hard to choose because i don't dislike any of them :-) any other questions? i thank you so much for not hurting me, and you're right i don't have a shell...i don't think...turns around and frowns...nope sigh no shell, hehe. and im very grateful for you not putting me in a hospital bed because then i couldn't update at all! THE HORROR! i'm glad you're nice and ill try to do more lightning updates! thanks for your review!

BubblyShell22:thanks very much! i'm updating as quick as i can :-)

spootycup:lol...THANK YOU! that's a huge compliment! im really glad you guys are liking this. and as for your last request...i'm updating i'm updating breath i'm updating i'm updating!

Katana-Babe:hehe, thank you. i know leo doubting himself is common but i'm glad to hear you think there's something different about this story :-) im also glad to have another HUGE Leo fan out there :-) man...the pressure is on...thanks:-)

Dierde:phew for a minute there i thought you were really gonna hit me with that thing! no ominous looks or attacking me please! im updating i swear! glad you liked it and thanks for the reviews!

Ted:i'm glad it didn't drag in this chapter, but i'm still a little bit nervous about the following chapters shivers glad you like it and thanks!

pacphys:haha...actually, i completely agree with you! mikey and don were a lot closer in the movies and you're absolutely right in my opinion about raph being leo's wingman. hehe donnie! i'll try not to make so many cliffies in any of my other stories...if i decide to write anymore...it all depends on how this one goes. thanks:-)

TenseRebecca: thank you! hopefully the relationship will get better!

YAY LOTS OF REVIEWS! You guys are dang awesome! Thanks to everone who reviewed and sorry if I left anyone out. This one is going to be kind of short and much to my dismay...I think there's only going to be one more chapter after this one. Anyway, hope you guys like this one! hides in her room and waits nervously

Disclaimer: the turtles are not mine because if they were i would be rich and famous and seeing as how I am none of the above...NO I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES!

Breaking Point…

As soon as Leo rolled off the edge he jammed one katana into the side of the building and hung on for dear life. The Elite plummeted to the ground and, like the others, disappeared in a puff of purple smoke before hitting the cold hard ground. Leo just hung there for a minute. "I beat them," he said to himself, "I beat them. Then why am I not satisfied?" He sheathed his other katana and used the one in the side of the building to pull himself back up onto the roof.

The horrified looks on the three brothers faces vanished and were quickly replaced with relief.

"Man bro," Raph began, "you sure know how to scare a turtle."

Leo didn't say a word. He simply bent over the side of the building to retrieve his katana, sheathed it and silently walked past his brothers, eyes on the ground.

The three brothers shared a confused look. Raph scratched the back of his head with his sai, "Was it something I said?"

Leo stopped, back turned to them, "Actions speak louder than words Raphael. The three of you could have been killed tonight, all because you weren't aware of your surroundings."

"Yeah but we're ok bro," assured Mikey, "and you kicked some serious ninja butt! Aren't ya the least bit happy about it?"

Don put his hand on Mikey's shoulder as a signal to let it go. He could tell that there was something seriously bothering their eldest brother and he knew that they were all treading on thin ice.

Raph, of course, was the first to make a remark. "Of course he aint happy Mikey, cause things didn't go his way. I don't get you Leo, we ran all the way out here in the pourin rain to save your shell and you gotta be all short with us! The first thing that comes from your mouth is another lecture on how we rushed into things! It's not a 'gee guys, thanks for the help' or 'man, I really appreciate this', would it kill ya to say a nice word to us once in a while?"

Mikey whispered to Donny, "Raph? Complaining about appreciation and nice words? Dude, am I dreaming?" Donny just shrugged.

"Look," Leo said dryly, "I do appreciate you guys coming out here. Thank you for coming out here to help." With that Leo started to walk away before Raph grabbed his shoulder and swung him around.

"Leo! What is yer problem? Do you have any idea how worried we were about ya? Do you even have the slightest clue as to what it felt like to not know where you were or if you were alright!"

Leo removed Raph's hand and growled, "Don't you dare patronize me Raphael." Before he knew it he was screaming in his brother's face, "You don't even know what it means to worry! You don't know what it's like to worry about your family with every passing second! You don't know what's it's like to know that when anything goes wrong it's your fault! You don't know what's it's like to constantly be a failure to each and everyone around you and you don't know what's it's like to be misunderstood and despised by your own brothers!"

Don and Mikey stood in the background, listening intensely with wide eyes. Raph just stood there, eyes round, dumbstruck by the words that were coming out of his brother's mouth.

Leo continued, "I didn't ask to do this. I didn't ask to be leader. I put it upon myself because I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to any of you guys. I never even hardly played as a kid, if I was playing around it was because I had went with one of you to protect you in case anything happened. You say that I take everything so seriously, that I am always practicing and doing katas. Did it ever occur to you that I do that so I can better myself in order to protect my family! I'll never forget the emptiness I felt, the hate I felt towards myself when anything happened to any of you. When Donny almost drowned, when you got attacked by that giant alligator, when Mikey was attacked by Bishop and almost dissected, when Donny was taken by the Triceretons, when Master Splinter disappeared with the guardians, when Leatherhead accidently hurt Mikey, when you got locked in that van by the humans, when April's store was burned down, you want me to keep going!"

Raph looked up at his brother in concern, "Leo…you remember all of that? Without even thinking twice about it? How can you just rattle off all of that bad stuff that happened?"

Leo sighed, "Because, each and everyone of those instances in one way or another was caused because I messed up; I failed you in some way. I wasn't paying close enough attention or I wasn't in the right place at the right time. I…I just…never mind."

And with that Leo turned and ran off into the dead of night. Lightning cracked in the air as his brothers watched Leo's retreating shell disappear into darkness.

"C'mon guys," cracked Donny, "we should get back to the lair." Everyone nodded and slowly journeyed back to their home.

Leo had positioned himself on a staircase above a man hole and watched, unknown by his brothers, as they went down the man hole. He wanted to make surethey got back home safely. "I can't believe I popped off like that. I'll go back when I know they're all asleep, I can't face them now, not like this." Leo sighed and climbed down into the alleyway. He lowered himself into the sewers but took a different route home, a longer route. He couldn't believe that he had lost his cool like that. Those were feelings that no one was meant to hear. He didn't want his brothers to think that they were a burden. He just wished that they could understand. His thoughts kept running through his mind as he shuffled his feet down the cold sewers. He would have to face them sooner or later.

(TBC)

Gah I know it's short DON'T BEAT ME UP! I was trying to update fast and not leave you guys with another dramatic cliffie...I think I was pushing my limits...hehe. Well...I'm thinking one more chapter after this and then it's all over. If you guys like the way this turns out, I might give writing another story a try. It's up to you guys! the suspense...IT'S KILLING ME!