"Ya think we have everything?" Raph asked carrying a bag full of food.

"Sure… I only hope Master Splinter is not home yet. That would ruin the surprise" Don said.

Both turtles had left the lair for some extra supplies. With Splinter coming after two weeks, they wanted to give him a little welcome party. They left early in the morning and asked Leo to go with them but the blue masked turtle stayed do he could talk to the youngest.

"What about Mikey?" Raph asked again.

"I'm sure Leo has talked to him already. And you know how good he's with words" Don said sounding positive.

"True, but still… I don't think a simple talk will fix things" Raph added.

"I know. But at least it's a start" Don commented opening the lair's entry.

"Guys! We're home!" Nobody answered Donatello's call.

"Leo? Mikey?" Don insisted. Meanwhile, Raph was making his way to the kitchen when something caught his attention in the living room.

"Hey… what's this thing?" Raph said picking up the brown notebook.

"Looks like that journal Mikey got from April" Don said recognizing the notebook. Raph placed the bags on the couch and opened Mikey's journal.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Don asked almost in an angry tone.

"Reading, duh!" Raph said.

"It's not correct, Raph" Don replied.

"So what! Da numbskull isn't here anyways. Hehe… check this… da first entry is about that stupid prank" Raph said reading the first lines.

"Raph, stop it! These are Mikey's inner thoughts. It's not correct we're reading this" Don said taking away the journal from Raph.

"Aww! C'mon! I'm sure there has to be sumthin' on that thing 'bout Mikey's behavior!" Raph said. He was right, Don hated to admit it but he was.

"You know… you're right! *sigh*… I think I lost my head but… go ahead" Don sighed heavily and gave the journal back to his red masked brother.

"Operation: Triple Pink? Heh! What a lame name" Raph chuckled as he read the entry. As they continued reading, they realized how bad Mikey felt after the triple lecture-torture his brothers gave him.

"Woow, he did feel bad that day" Don said feeling guilty.

"Ya know… come to think of it… I guess I was kinda hard on da lil twerp that day" Raph said.

"Just a little?" Don raised an eyebrow accusingly.

"What! If I remember well, Fearless and you also treated him like dirt" Raph replied.

"I know and I'm not proud of it. Let's keep reading" Don said. Before they could continue, a familiar voice filled the lair.

"My sons, I'm home" Splinter said entering into the lair.

"Master Splinter!" both turtles exclaimed.

"Aw shell! The surprise is ruined now" Don said sadly.

"It does not matter, Donatello. I am glad to be here and see you are alright. Where are Leonardo and Michelangelo?" Splinter asked.

"Er… we really don't know. We went out with April for some things. We asked Leo to come but he stayed because he had to talk to Mikey" Raph explained.

"Is something wrong with Michelangelo?" Splinter asked worried.

"Let just say Mikey hasn't been acting normal lately and Leo stayed here to talk to him" Don answered.

"But when we arrived, they weren't here… and we found Mikey's journal" Raph continued.

"I better call Leo. If they're outside, which I doubt, he sure will come as soon as possible" Don said dialing his brother's number. Leo's phone started to ring but its sound was inexplicable near.

"Hmm… weird. The sound is coming from… the dojo?" Don said confused.

The lair was supposed to be clear when Raph and Don arrived and Leo never forgot his shell-cell at home. Don followed Leo's phone sound to the dojo. When the genius turtle opened the door, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"LEO!" Don exclaimed and ran beside his wounded brother.

"LEONARDO!" Splinter rushed beside his son.

"Is he…" Raph asked as he saw Don checking Leo's vital signals.

"No, he's still breathing. Quick, help me to carry him to the lab"


Don and Raph lifted carefully Leo's body to the lab. Don started to bandage Leo's stomach; luckily, the blue masked ninja hadn't lost too much blood so a transfusion wouldn't be necessary now.

"Who could have done this?" Splinter asked a little angry.

"I guess I know who was… but…" Don said sighing sadly. Of course he knew who was but the genius couldn't believe it was him who had hurt Leo in such a terrible way.

"Donatello?" Splinter insisted. Meanwhile, Raph kept reading the entries. There was so much pain on each one of them; finally, he read the last one.

"Er… sensei… ya better read this" Raph said. Before the old rat could even touch the journal, Leo started to move and blink his eyes slowly.

"M-master S-plinter?" Leo mumbled recognizing his sensei's silhouette.

"My son, who did this to you?" Splinter asked.

"M… Mikey" Leo managed to say feeling a pang of sadness and guilt.

"Why Michelangelo would do something like this?" Splinter exclaimed surprised and shocked.

"Guys, listen to this: I didn't want to hurt my family. I don't hate you, guys. Don't try to find me, I'm already gone… for good" Raph read the last lines.

"We… gotta stop him. I know he's… he's gonna do something really bad" Leo say trying to sit up. Splinter stopped him.

"Stay here, Leonardo. You can not move for now. Raphael, Donatello and I will find your brother" the old rat said.

"I have his shell-cell signal. He's moving… and fast" Don said looking at the tracking device.

"Let's move, then" Raph said rushing to the door.

"Don't worry, Leo. We'll find him. You just stay here and don't try to get up" Don said following his father and brother.

"Good luck, guys" Leo said hoping they find Mikey on time before something bad could happen to him.


Meanwhile, the orange masked turtle found himself sat in a dark tunnel and seeing the sewer water barely touching his feet. Though his eyes were aflamed for all his tears, he was still crying softly, regretting his mistake, thinking how he could pay the damage he caused to his family. He never meant to kill Leo, as he though he did; his sensei was coming home and he would found the lifeless body of the leader of the team lying in the floor. He would ask who did it… and then they would discover the journal with Mikey's confession. Mikey stopped crying and sighed heavily as he looked at his hands; there was some of Leo's blood on them, his brother's blood; after looking at them for one last time, the orange masked ninja pulled out one of his kunais. He finally knew how he was going to pay for his family's suffering; he will put an end to his nightmare, to his guilt, to his suffering, to his pain.

To his life.

Mikey made some last cuts on his wrists, deep cuts. He was already weak for the blood lost from the cuts he bandaged that morning, this new deep cuts just made his condition worse; he couldn't see clearly now, dizziness was taking him but he couldn't lose that battle, he still needed to make one last move. Mikey placed the tip of the kunai on his chest but his hands were shaking a little. The young ninja never thought his life was going to end like that and the idea of committing suicide hadn't come to his mind before. But there was no turning back now, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry guys, father… Leo… love you all. Forgive me" Mikey muttered letting a tear roll down his cheek.

One fast move… the weapon went deep inside him. His breath was laborated and slow; the pain was unbearable but Mikey was bleeding fast, his energy decreasing, making him forget about the pain. A couple of tears escaped from Mikey's eyes before closing them. His debt was paid… at last.