Hey everyone. :) Here is the next installment.

Do I really have to do a disclaimer again? …Fine. The characters Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Splinter all do not belong to me. They belong to people who have a lot more money than I do.

-x-

-Flashback: Splinter-

"ENOUGH!"

Splinter had been deep in meditation until Leonardo's loud yell brought him back. A frown formed on his face as he let himself ponder the meaning of the outburst. 'I knew this would happen. That's why I warned him-'. The sliding door interrupted his thought process as he looked up into the face of his eldest son.

"Sensei? I think I need your advice."

Splinter regarded his son, observing the emotional maelstrom that burned through his eyes, and nodded, "Yes. I think so too."

Leonardo approached the center of the dojo and knelt down, staring at the ground before him. He opened his mouth as if to speak, however no words came.

"What is it you would like to ask me, my son?" Splinter inquired, trying to help Leonardo regain the power of speech.

Leonardo began to tremble as he finally spoke, "Sensei...that thing you warned me about when we were walking back home...I think it's...happened."

Splinter took a moment to think back on the conversation they had begun after a few minutes of tense silence had fallen over them on their way home like an oppressive cloud. "I see..." He stated after a few seconds passed between them. "If I remember correctly, you were quite certain that this type of thing would not occur, right Leonardo?"

Leonardo flinched, squirming a bit as the accusation weighed him down. "Yes, Sensei. I was. But now I know you were right." He turned a desperate gaze on his sensei, pleading with his eyes as he began to beg in that flat tone, "Please help me, Father. The pain. I can't take it."

Splinter drew in a deep breath, trying to calm his aching heart that desired nothing more than to take his son far away from the internal agony he was sure Leonardo was enduring. "Very well then. I will walk you through the steps to help ease the pain. However, your actions have long term consequences, and as such you may never manage to fully repair your Spirit and Mind."

Leonardo nodded solemnly. "Hai, Sensei."

"First, you must enter the meditative state. I will meet you there where I will show you the next step."

"Hai, Sensei."

Splinter watched Leonardo get himself into the best position for improving the flow of his chakras that would make meditation much easier. He waited until he was certain that Leonardo was in too deep before he called out, "Michelangelo. Why are you and Donatello here instead of keeping an eye on Raphael?" He turned an accusing glare in the direction of the door as his two youngest entered the dojo sheepishly.

Michelangelo exchanged a look with Donatello, both of them equally unwilling to answer Splinter's question. After a few moments, Splinter prodded, "Michelangelo?"

"We were worried about Leo, Sensei. He isn't acting right. Even Raph could tell something was weird." Michelangelo reluctantly confessed.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Sensei?" Donatello asked. "Leo said he was in pain. Does he need medicine? Or bandages? I can get them from the living room."

Splinter regarded his sons, feeling a sense of pride at how they all cared for each other. "You aren't afraid of what he could possibly do to you? Of what he did to Raphael?" He asked, playing the Devil's Advocate in order to test them.

Both Donatello and Michelangelo shook their heads emphatically. Donatello even went so far as to declare, "Leo is our brother. No matter what happens, we will always believe in him."

"Exactly! And although Raph would never admit it, he does too." Michelangelo added enthusiastically.

Splinter smiled, "I'm glad you both feel that way." His gaze moved back to Leonardo who was meditating in front of him. Wearing a serious expression on his face, he continued, "Leonardo has taken very drastic measures to prevent an incident similar to what happened this afternoon and is now paying the consequences. His emotions have been sealed away and now his Mind and Spirit are unbalanced. My sons, you can not help him with this. I have a possible solution in mind, but it is possible that he will never fully recover. Especially if he experiences such extreme emotions like joy, anger, anguish or grief again for that may result in his Mind and Spirit shattering completely. And if that happens, the brother you know would cease to exist."

"Do you think Leo will?" Donatello hesitantly inquired, as if he had already thought of the worst case scenario should Leonardo's inner world collapse.

Taking in a deep breath, Splinter muttered, "A long time ago, an old friend of mine did this same thing. He had been jealous of me, but still wished to maintain our good friendship. So he sealed his emotions away, and it seemed to work for a few days. But eventually his jealousy morphed into hatred, and his inner world collapsed. When he confronted me, I realized that the friend I once knew was gone. He sought revenge, and left me to die." He turned a gaze over to his sons as he continued, "It is because of this that I began to think of ways to prevent a collapse in case I ever came upon something similar. My sons, I will do everything I can to stabilize Leonardo's inner world, but I do not know if he will ever be the same. We will just have to believe in his willpower."

Michelangelo and Donatello exchanged worried glances with each other. Sensing their unease, Splinter ordered, "Now go back to Raphael. I will take care of Leonardo." They hesitated for a brief moment, but eventually obeyed the order.

Splinter took in a deep breath as he easily went into the meditative state. It didn't take him long to reach the same level where Leonardo was. However, when he arrived, Splinter found Leonardo in the fetal position, covering his head with his hands as if he were suffering a severe migraine. Concerned, Splinter immediately ran over to his son and asked, "Leonardo, are you alright?" Over time he would find that to be a bad question, but at the moment it was the only thing to ask.

Leonardo shook his head as he whimpered, "No. Not really. It feels like hundreds of hot needles are being driven into my head. How do I make it stop?"

Splinter glanced around the room, searching desperately for the object that had sealed Leonardo's emotions. "Leonardo, what did you say you had sealed them in again?"

"A black box wrapped in chains." Leonardo managed to force out. "Is it important?"

"Yes" was Splinter's reply as he spotted a black box a few feet away from where they sat. He walked over to where the chained container lay and took in its condition. With a disgruntled sigh, he ordered "Leonardo. Come here. You need to see this and understand what I am about to tell you."

Splinter heard his student hiss in pain as Leonardo shakily made his way over to where he stood. When he heard Leonardo's surprised, "What is that?" Splinter knelt down beside the box, gesturing for his son to follow. Leonardo, true to form, obeyed.

"That, my son, is the result of you sealing your emotions away before settling them. It does not matter who was the target of those feelings, all that matters is that the pressure they have been under since you sealed them is about to result in you losing yourself to them when the box finally breaks open."

Leonardo's gaze shifted downward in shame as he whispered, "I didn't mean for this to happen. I wanted to lock them away so that I could gain control over them without hurting anyone. But now…" Leonardo seemed to regard the box that had begun to bulge to nearly twice its original size. The box's changing shape was not the only alarming detail. The increase of internal pressure had also resulted in the production of heat. Leonardo chuckled in an unamused fashion "Heh, it's like a space heater."

Splinter regarded his son wordlessly. 'Well, at least his will hasn't broken yet.' Resting his hand on his foolishly courageous student he asked, "Are you ready for the next step?"

"Hai, Sensei."

"Then open the box."

-x-

I know I know. Another cliffhanger. I'm sorry. But you have to admit, cliffhangers make for great chapter endings. ;) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this even though it was a bit shorter than chapter 9. So I will give imaginary cookies to people who can guess just who Splinter was talking about earlier. :) And make sure to let me know what thoughts you have!

-Ariane

P.S. I know that I have been uploading a chapter a day so far, but there will probably be a slight delay between this and chapter 11 (which I have started on). I have an Organic Chemistry midterm on March 7 that I will be studying for. I'll be writing for small periods of time between bouts of studying to avoid a brain implosion, but just know that this story is far too important to me to leave hanging. So it'll be updated as soon as I possibly can. I promise :)