A/N: So last chapter, I only got one review, which made me very nervous. I hope that doesn't mean that there was something you didn't like about the story. If there is, please let me know.

Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 7:

"And then, he just ran off," Raph finished his tale to his family, who all looked concerned and alarmed. "I tried going after him, but he was already gone."

When Raph made it back to the Lair, he hurriedly went straight to his brothers and Sensei (who were all gathered in the kitchen) and immediately told them what he had witness and the terrible truth of what Leo planned to do.

"Leo wants to kill the Shredder?" Donnie said, unable to believe it. "Is he serious? That's a death wish!"

"Oh, he's serious all right," Raph told him, his fists clenching. "That Shredder dummy head was nicely cut right through."

"But Leo would never do that," Mikey said, having finished feeding Ice Cream Kitty before petting him and closing the freezer behind him. "There could be other reasons to why Leo is practicing on a Shredder dummy."

"And those reasons are . . ." Donnie questioned Mikey, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, maybe Leo ran out of regular dummies, and the only one left was a Shredder dummy. Or maybe Leo was just venting his anger on his enemies. Or maybe that's not really Leo . . . It's a clone of Leo, trying to throw us off. The clone must have kidnapped Leo and are using him for their evil experiments! We gotta go save Leo!" Mikey shouted. He began running out the kitchen, only for Raph to take hold of his shell, pulling him back. The force caused Mikey to fall flat on his shell.

"It was him, numbskull," Raph scowled at Mikey, slightly annoyed of his little brother. "You guys just weren't there. You didn't see the way he was fighting, you didn't see the way he butchered that dummy . . . You didn't see his eyes the way I did. He had a clear purpose. He means to kill Shredder."

Splinter, who had been silent for most of the conversation, suddenly sighed heavily, grabbing the attention of the turtles. "It's just as I have feared. I had hoped . . ."

"Master Splinter," Raph moved to his Sensei's side. "Enough is enough. We have to talk to Leo, whether he likes it or not."

Splinter looked into Raph's emerald eyes that burned with love for his brother's wellbeing and strong determination to help him. Splinter nodded. "Yes. You have my permission."

Raph nodded to Splinter, then marched out of the kitchen and straight for Leo's door. Donnie and Mikey exchanged looks before following Raph.

Raph banged on Leo's door. "Leo, times up!" He shouted. "You've had your chance! We're coming in!" He stepped back and gave a powerful bump at the door, breaking it down.

Raph entered Leo's dark bedroom, but something wasn't right. The room was empty.

"Leo!" Raph shouted, his eyes scanning the room. No sign of his brother. Donnie and Mikey came in and stopped, discovering the room's emptiness too.

"He's not here," Donnie observed, scanning the room. "He must not have returned."

"Maybe he went to get a snack in New York," Mikey said, trying to remain positive. "That's it! He went to get pizza cause he's hungry!"

But Donnie and Raph both ignored Mikey's words. Raph released a growl, throwing a chair at the wall. The loud crash from the chair's impact did not ease Raph's anxiety.

"We gotta go find him!" Raph said frantically. "He must be on his way to the Shredder's!"

"Or he could still be in the sewers!" Donnie suggested.

"Go." The turtles stopped and turned to face a very troubled Splinter outside the room. "Find your brother. And hurry."

All three turtles nodded. "Call us in case he comes back," Donnie ordered Splinter as the three brothers rush out of Leo's bedroom.

With great urgency, the three turtles ran across the Lair, hopped over the turnstiles, and disappeared into the sewer tunnels.

A distressed father watched them go. "Good luck, my sons," he whispered.


The first place Raph, Donnie, and Mikey went to look was at the Shredder's hideout, just to see if Leo was already there to carry out his revenge. But when they got there, they found something else outside of the hideout.

"Woah, hey," Mikey exclaimed when the three of them halted on a rooftop across from the Shredder's hideout. "Who are those freaky dudes?"

Standing guard all around the abandoned church like security guards were . . . Well, they looked like Chrome Dome, only with masa straw hats, glaring white eyes, more sharp armor, and an steel jaw. In other words, they looked meaner and scarier.

"Never seen those guys before," Donnie said, studying the new Foot Bots with fascination. "They must be new."

"Who cares?" Raph exclaimed impatiently. "Leo could already be in there! We gotta go in!"

Raph prepared to jump off the rooftop until Donnie grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "Raph, the place is covered with those new Foot Bots. It might be difficult for us to sneak in."

"How bout only one sneaking in?" Raph challenged Donnie. Mikey made an unnecessary "Ooooooooooooo!"

Donnie glared at Raph and Raph glared right back.

"All right, new plan," Donnie at last announced, facing Raph and Mikey. "Raph, you can go search Shredder's Hideout, but be careful. Call us when you get into trouble." Donnie narrowed his reddish-brown eyes on Raph. "Call. Us. When there's trouble. Got it?"

Raph hesitated, preferring to deal with any problem alone. But Donnie refused to look away and his stare was getting annoying. So Raph finally said, "Fine. I'll call. I promise!" He added when Donnie only narrowed his eyes more.

"Dude, your stare is super scary," Mikey commented to Donnie. "You could scare squirrels away with that stare!"

"Thanks?" Donnie said to Mikey with crossed eyebrows. He then faced the team. "I'll continue searching the sewers, maybe add some security cameras to watch out for Leo and those creeps planting crystal bombs. Mikey, you search the city. I'll call April and Casey and get them to join you."

Mikey happily saluted. "You got it, D!"

"Call if you find Leo!" Donnie finished. He jumped off the rooftop and sneaked back into the sewers.

"Good luck, Raph!" Mikey warmly said.

Raph smiled at him. "You too, little brother.

Mikey ran off and hopped over another rooftop, leaving Raph alone.

Raph returned his eyes to Shredder's hideout, frowning. He sincerely hoped Leo wasn't there yet.

But then, where could he be?


Deep in the depths of the sewers, where there was nothing but darkness and the sounds of the waters streaming out into the ocean, Leonardo was buried against a corner, his arms wrapped around himself in deep despair.

That wasn't supposed to happen. Raph wasn't supposed to see him, let alone discover what he was planning to do. Leo knew he wouldn't understand. Out of all the turtles, Raph should have understood him the most.

The second Leo saw Raph, his mind flashed back to the roof, where he slaughtered his brothers mercilessly. It was like being in a nightmare again, only he was wide awake. Leo couldn't see Raph without thinking of what Leo had done to him and what he almost did to him.

Leo had tried to run away, but Raph stopped him, refusing to let him go. Leo wanted to be alone, but Raph just couldn't see that. Anger grew inside of him, tempting him to shout at Raph to go away.

And then, Raph touched his shoulder, and Leo acted without thinking. He hit his brother. He hit him again. What's worse, Leo had hurt him. Again.

No matter what Leo did, he was a monster that kept hurting his brothers.

Raph must have told his family by now. They must be very disappointed in him. Well, either way, Leo could never go back to his family again. Especially after . . .

Leo realized the date. Tonight. It will happen tonight. Fury pumped him up at the vision of the Shredder. He will face Leo. If not, Leo will hunt him down. And once the battle commence, Leo will have to promise himself to disappear from New York in the aftermath. Whether he will make it out of the battle alive or . . . Leo closed his eyes.

Or not.


Several hours later, no one found Leo.

Raph snuck into Shredder's Hideout, but barely escaped from the army of new Foot Bots. However, from what little Raph could find out, Leo wasn't there.

Mikey, April, and Casey couldn't find Leo anywhere in the city, and Donnie did not pick up any signs of Leo in the sewers (or any signs of crystal bombs yet).

By the time the sun was setting, the turtles were dead tired. They wanted to keep searching, but April, Casey, even Splinter ordered them to return to the Lair and rest. The turtles strongly opposed, but it was only after April and Casey promised to keep looking for Leo that the turtles had no choice but to return home.

When they arrived, the turtles headed straight for their bedrooms and collapsed on their beds, falling fast asleep. Splinter remained in the Dojo room, meditating. The Lair was empty and silent.

Then, a figure sneaked into the Lair. It was Leo, who took the time to gaze over his home one last time, taking note of every detail of the place that held such great memories. There was the TV. The arcade games. The dummy. The smell. The . . . well, everything else.

Leo's eyes glistened. He was going to miss this place so much. This was where he grew up. This was his home for a long, long time. He didn't want to leave this place, but alas, he must.

He turned and went inside his bedroom first, then later came out with his body covered with every weapon he could carry (shurikens, daggers, swords, etc.). Leo faced his brothers' doors. He took a deep breath and quietly went into Raph's room first.

The room was dark, saved for a few glow-in-the-dark spray paint on the wall and a glowing Jack O' Lantern. Raph lay dead asleep on his messy bed, snoring. Leo's eyes spotted an open box sitting under Raph's bed, but half of the box was visible to see. Leo took a look inside the box.

There, covering the bottom of the box, were pictures. They were of Spike, April, Casey, Splinter, and all the turtles. All of them smiling happily and innocently at Leo.

Leo couldn't help but smile a little at the pictures, the ache returning to his heart. He looked up at Raph and stared at him for a long time, memorizing his hot-headed brother and remembering all the best times they've had together. Sure they fought most of the time, but they were still best friends. Leo wanted so much to talk to Raph like they used to. He wanted to apologize to Raph for ever hurting him and that Leo didn't deserve to be Raph's leader and brother. But this was for the best.

Silently, Leo pulled out a written note from his belt and placed it on the small table next to Raph's bed. After taking one last, long look at Raph, Leo forced himself to turn away and leave the room, ignoring the ache that had grown tenfold. His next stop was Donnie's bedroom.

Donnie's room was a messier, nerdy room than the others. There was a bookcase against one wall, filled with hundreds of books. There was a desk that sat up against another wall across from the bed. It was littered with papers of notes, drawings, blueprints, and researches. There were more papers pinned up on the wall above the desk and they were of blueprints for inventions and drawings of monsters they had previously faced (though most of the papers were analytical studies of Kraang and the Foot). There was another table, but a smaller one, near the center of the room and it held small gizmos, possibly the ones Donnie would tinker with whenever he got bored or woke up with a nightmare. Tinkering always calmed Donnie down.

Donnie was also fast asleep on his bed, snoring much softer than Raph's. Leo smiled sadly at Donnie. Out of all his brothers, Leo had spent less time with Donnie and he wished that he had spent more with Donnie. He regretted taking advantage of Donnie just because he was the genius of the group (as well as hurting him). Leo was always proud of Donnie's accomplishments and how they had helped the team. Donnie had saved their shells numerous times, and Leo was forever grateful for that. It was only fair that Donnie would be the one to help take care of their family.

Leo pulled out and placed another note on the bed beside Donnie, freezing when Donnie suddenly stopped snoring. But Donnie shifted his body to the side facing Leo, still asleep. Sighing in relief, Leo took one last look at Donnie and quietly left the room.

Two down. Mikey was next.

Mikey's room was still the same and smelled the same. The room was even messier than Donnie's, and even dirtier and smellier. There were leftover pizza boxes and food everywhere, yet the brothers had no trouble hanging out in Mikey's room. If you have lived in the sewers your whole life, you would be use to the smell as well.

Mikey was snoring loudly from his bed, his body lazily over the covers and clutching his teddy bear. Leo couldn't help but smile. His little brother looked so adorable sleeping like that. He will miss him and his crazy optimism so much. Mikey was always there to cheer him up, no matter how annoying he often got. Mikey was so special to the family and to the team in every way. Leo just hoped Mikey would stay optimistic after the aftermath of his battle with the Shredder. Whatever aftermath it will be.

After a long look at Mikey, Leo placed another note on top Mikey's rising chest. And, with a heavy heart, Leo left the room.

Now, there's only one thing left to do, and Leo will be gone from the Lair forever.

He walked to the Dojo and slid the door open, only to see Master Splinter looking up from his meditation under the tree. Shocked, Leo slammed the door shut, his heart beating fast. Sensei had seen him! He had seen him!

Leo made a run for it. He had to get away before all his family wake up and try to stop him. He had to leave, now!

"Leonardo, wait!"

Leo froze suddenly. His body could not refuse his father's call. But he kept his shell to him, unable to see his Sensei. He felt Master Splinter approaching him, halting right behind him. Leo tried to steady his shaking body and his rapid heartbeat.

He didn't hear anything from Master Splinter for a long moment; Leo wondered what Splinter was thinking. None of them spoke. None of them moved. A tensed chill flowed between the two.

At last, Spinter spoke with warmth and misery in his voice. "I was there when Oroku Saki discovered himself to be of the Foot Clan. He was devastated with the news and angry that my father had lied to him all those years. I wanted to comfort him, talk to him, but he only sought solitude. And so, because I loved him like a brother, I gave him solitude.

"I did not see him for weeks. When he returned, I noticed that something about him was different. He seemed colder. I had tried to return us to the time when we were brothers. But even then, deep down, I knew that I had lost my brother forever.

"Some days, I often wonder what would have happened if I had hunted down Saki and gotten him to talk to me. Would I have made things better or worse? Not speaking to him earlier was one of the many regrets I still suffer today.

"And now . . . I see that I have made the same mistake as I have done so many years ago. I have not tried harder to reach out to you."

Leo shut his eyes, desiring to tell his Sensei that it wasn't his fault. It was Leo's own.

A gasp suddenly escaped Leo's mouth when Splinter's hand lay softly on his shoulder. "Leonardo. The path you plan to take will bring harm to you, perhaps even death. And, if you do manage to survive, you will carry that terrible scar for the rest of your life, corrupting you to your very soul. You will not only harm yourself, but your family as well. We still need you, Leonardo. We do not blame you. And you shouldn't blame yourself, either."

Leo kept silent, his head lowered solemnly.

Splinter's hand tightened on Leo's shoulder. "I failed to save my brother. But I will not fail to save my son. I forbid you to leave."

No one moved. No sound was heard. Nothing . . . for a long, long moment.

"I'm sorry," Leo finally said. Before Splinter could respond, Leo whirled around and threw a handful of dust at Splinter's face, blinding his eyes. Coughing, Splinter fell to his knees, rubbing his burning eyes. He felt water spilling down his cheeks.

Once the burning lessened a little, Splinter immediately looked up to see Leo gone. In his place was a note for Master Splinter.


"It is time," Shredder announced to his army. Razhar, Fishface, and all the Foot Bots cheered. Karai, standing far from the group, kept her face blank.

"Karai," Shredder turned to her. "Take them to the sewers and begin your work. Contact me when you have all completed your mission."

"Master," Fishface spoke up. "Perhaps it would be wise if I and a few of these Elite Foot Ninjas accompany you to your duel with the turtle-"

"No," Shredder instantly said. "I will handle this on my own. Is that clear?" Fishface quickly nodded. "Good. Now, move out. And remember, this mission has to work, or else all that we have done will be for nothing."

The two mutants and the robots bowed to Shredder and began heading out. Karai followed them, until Shredder called out, "Wait Karai." She turned to see Shredder walking up to her. "You've been silent all day. Is there something on your mind?"

Karai shook her head. "No, Master Shredder."

"Are you sure?" His eyes narrowed at her.

"Yes. It's just . . . Will you be the one to kill Hamato Yoshi?"

"Of course."

"And will you also be the one to kill the turtles? Especially Leonardo?"

"This turtle believes he has what it takes to defeat me. I will show him how wrong he is and bring him to a slow and painful death. But, if you wish, you may have my permission to kill the other turtles." Shredder began walking toward the door.

"Where's the honor in killing?" Karai mumbled to herself. But Shredder had heard her and turned to look at her.

"There is no honor in war, Karai. There is only revenge."

A/N:

Now things are getting real! Leo has gone to face Shredder alone! Will he survive? Wil his family save him? And is Karai planning on anything?

Tune in for the next chapter on Friday 23. Also, the next chapters will contain a butt load of drama, angst, and action. Be prepared!

As always, thanks for reading! Please follow, favorite, and/or review! And be sure to watch the new episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sunday on Nickelodeon.