A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while... sorry!
You might want to reread some of the older chapters to refresh your mind.
Also, this chapter is really important to the story, so don't skip anything!
It was a mistake.
Leo hadn't meant to say that.
But they were his brothers. They had a right to know what was happening.
He tried to say more, but no sound came out of his mouth, thanks to Dark Leo. Before he knew it, his legs moved and forced him to sprint out of the lair like they had a mind of their own.
His legs brought him out of the sewer and up to the surface, making him leap over buildings until he reached one.
Leo recognized the building. It was the Foot Headquarters.
Suddenly, a figure materialized next to him. It was a turtle, a black turtle, with red, glowing eyes.
Dark Leo.
"Nice to see you again," he greeted.
Leo scowled and looked away.
"You're wondering why I'm here, aren't you?"
Leo refused to say anything.
"Well, I'm here to tell you why."
Leo looked up and glared at his dark side. "Then tell me why."
"Well, back in Japan, when you were a normal, not mutated, baby turtle, the Shredder bought you and kept you like a pet. He brought you everywhere, and you liked it. You enjoyed his company," Dark Leo said.
Leo said nothing.
Dark Leo continued. "He used to give you orders and you would listen. One day, after killed Tang Shen and almost got rid of Hamato Yoshi, he decided to go to New York City. He lost you there. Some people found you and brought you to a pet store. Hamato Yoshi bought you along with three more turtles, and you know the rest."
"...So how does that make me have a dark side?" Leo asked.
"Because you have a connection with the Shredder, making you have a dark side, which is me. He gives me orders through meditation," Dark Leo said.
"The Shredder meditates?"
"Yeah."
Leo thought about this for a while. "But how does that explain how I heard him telling me he wants revenge?"
"Oh, that's because he sometimes controls you, too," Dark Leo said.
"What?!"
"Sometimes he goes into the deepest state of meditation and controls you," Dark Leo said. He sounded like it was unimportant.
"...No," Leo said. If the Shredder controlled him, he would definitely harm his brothers. He would make Leo kill them.
And the fear that was worse than failure to Leo would to be the cause of his brother's deaths.
No. No.
Dark Leo suddenly disappeared. Confused, Leo turned around.
"Hey, bro," Mikey greeted from behind him.
"Mikey, how long were you here?" Leo asked.
"I just got here," Mikey said. "Donnie stayed home to patch up Raph and I went looking for you."
Leo struggled to remember what had happened. "Patch up Raph?"
"Uh, yeah. When you kicked him, you opened his stitches, and he started bleeding..." Mikey trailed off.
Leo was silent for a few moments, but then he said, "Come on, let's go."
"Guys, it's time for dinner! We're having pizza!" Mikey called from the kitchen.
"We're coming," Donnie said from his lab.
Sure enough, Donnie, Raph, and Leo went into the kitchen and took their places. Mikey gobbled up his pizza and reached for another slice, then another. Then he noticed that the others had barely eaten; the only turtles who had even bothered to touch their pizza were Raph and Donnie. Leo was just staring at his pizza slice.
"I think I'll go to bed now," Mikey said, forcing a yawn.
Donnie pushed his plate away. "I'm not hungry. I'm going to bed, too." He got up and went to his room, leaving his unfinished food on the table.
"Leo, what was that about your dark side?" Raph asked, daring Leo to dodge the question.
Leo tried to answer, but nothing came out.
"They're real, aren't they? Never thought they were, but it would explain what's happening to you."
Still nothing came out.
"You can tell me. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yeah..." Leo finally said.
"Then why don't you tell me?"
Leo couldn't answer that. His mouth wouldn't work.
Raph sighed. "Don't you remember the times when we were little and we used to tell each other everything?"
Leo nodded. He remembered those times clearly when he and Raph were best friends, maybe even more than that. They used to tell each other everything they knew, secret or not. But then, when Leo became the leader, everything changed. They got into fights more often and changed from best friends to enemies. Of course, they were still friends, but they didn't do the same things they used to do anymore.
"Well, then, tell me! You need to tell someone! You need help!"
"...It's much too complicated, Raphael."
Leo inwardly gasped. He hadn't meant to say that. And it had come out sharp and cold.
It was the doing of Dark Leo.
Raph, not knowing that Leo's dark side made him say that, shot back. "Everything is complicated, Leonardo."
Leo stared at Raph. No one other than Master Splinter called him by his full name.
Leo got up. "I'm going to bed. 'Night."
"'Night," Raph said gruffly, watching his older brother go to his room.
None of them noticed Mikey scurrying up to his own room. He had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.
Leo slipped into his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was tired, but he had a feeling something was going to happen.
Suddenly, Dark Leo appeared right next to him. "Hello."
Leo glared and turned away.
"I'm getting stronger. I can control your actions and what you say or don't say now."
When Leo didn't say anything, Dark Leo continued. "Soon, you'll be entirely evil. You only have about forty percent of your good side left in you, you know."
"...No," Leo finally said.
"I'll hurt your brothers. Oh wait no, I'll make you hurt your brothers!"
"No!"
"Well, I won't on one condition."
"What?"
"If you promise not to say anything about me to anyone, I won't do that."
Leo knew that making promises to an enemy was never a good choice. But he had no choice.
"...I promise."
"You have to promise you won't tell anyone about this promise, either."
"...I promise."
"Good. Now you must keep your promises, or your brothers will get hurt," Dark Leo said. Then he disappeared.
Leo, exhausted from the day's events, immediately fell into a dreamless sleep, unaware of Raph standing on the other side of the door to his room.
A/N: Well, I hope this chapter was good enough for you. Oh, and I promise it won't take fifteen days for the next update!
Please review, follow, and favorite. ;)
