Yay! I finished another. :D I feel so good. So enjoy the next chapter. And review please. : ) And by the way, check out my profile for the list of fics that are coming up next. There's even the summary for the Ninja Treachery sequel if anyone's interested. ^^ Anyway.... read this and have fun.

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Chapter 14

The flashback fades abruptly on Shade. He finds himself back at the turtles home, lying down on some sort of cot. Glancing around the room, it was completely empty. He tries getting up, but is shocked to find he can't. Looking down, he sees he's strapped to the bed. "What the..." He begins to tug and jerk on the restraints, wanting to be free of them. He grits his teeth. So the turtles had finally gotten some sense and tied him down. He growls. It wouldn't help them for long. He groans trying to pull his wrist free, only beginning to rub it raw instead. "Stupid straps!" he growled, tugging harder.

"Leonardo."

Shade stills. His gaze snaps to the room's doorway. To the rat that stands there. He glares at the rat and continues his tugging. The straps had to give sometime. He knew they had to.

The rat comes closer and puts a hand on Shade's forehead. "You must calm down my son."

"I am not your son!" Shade blasts, shaking his head.

Splinter looks hurt and pulls his hand away.

"Someone sounds angry." The red and green turtle comes in followed by the other two.

"Oh, I'm way past angry," Shade snaps.

"Careful Raph," the purple one says. "Don't upset him more."

"I don't think that's a possibility."

"Um dudes, do you think he can pull free of those straps?" Mikey asked. He held a blanket loosely around himself, shivering slightly ever once and a while.

"They should be strong enough," Raph says.

Shade pulls harder. He feels his right wrist slipping out a little and knows it's only a matter of time before he's free. "Let me go!" he screams at them.

"We cannot my son," Splinter says gently. "You will hurt yourself and us."

"You were supposed to be dead," Shade replies lowly.

"Dead?" Mikey asks.

"Yeah dead. Need it any plainer than that?"

"N-no..." Mikey stutters.

"Good."

"Ya didn't want us to survive the poison?" Raph demands, inching closer to Shade's bed.

Shade grins maliciously. "Nope."

Raph growls and lunges forward, only to be held back by Don. "Let me go Donny. Leo is so screwed, he needs a good smack on the head!"

"No Raph. He's just trying to get under your shell."

"Oh he's doing it alright."

"But why?" Mikey asks, staring at what should be his older brother.

Shade stops his struggling against the straps and merely looks at them all with a defiant glare. They were all nuts. It would give him great pleasure to end their lives.

Raph finally stops tugging against Don's hold, settling for only a dark glare. "And while we're on this subject, why didn't ya want us to have the cure to the poison?"

"What cure?" Shade asks coolly.

"That vile in your coat," Raph snaps.

Shade smirks. "That wasn't for you." His smirk widened as Raph tugged slightly against Don's grip. "It was protection for myself. And now that you've survived the poison..." His eyes narrowed even further. "I'll kill you myself."

Raph let out a growl and snorted. "Ya can't even get off that bed."

"Can't I?"

"No."

"We'll see about that," Shade threatens.

"Raph," Don warns as his brother clenches his fists.

"This can't be Leo," Mikey murmured. "Donny, what's wrong with him?"

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Shade argues. "And I am not Leo!"

"Why not?" Splinter asks gently.

Shade opens his mouth for a retort, then shuts it not knowing what to say. He finally just glares at the rat. "I've never heard that name before. So I'm just not. What's it going to take to get that through your thick sculls?!"

The four of them stare at him as if he's lost his mind. The silence thickens until Donny's eyes widen. He steps forward, closer to Shade and stares at him, rubbing his chin.

"What is it Don," Mikey asks timidly.

"What he just said," Don answers softly.

"And that is?" Raph asks not too interested, but his eyes glaring hard at Shade.

Shade glowers at them. What was that blasted purple turtle thinking? He didn't say anything that would require this much thinking. Were they all dumb? He snorts. Yeah. They were.

"He never heard the name Leo before," Don answers.

"He's lyin'," Raph grunts.

"Maybe..." Don stares at Shade a little closer.

Shade wants to bite that look off of Donatello's face. He struggles a little in an attempt to do so, but still can't reach Don. He reluctantly stilled again, drilling them with his dark glare.

"Maybe not..." Don finishes.

"What do you mean my son?" Splinter asks.

"It's just a wild guess, but considering what happened to Leo a year ago... I don't see how it could be anything else."

"What braniack?" Raph demands.

"Amnesia," Don concluded.

"Amnesia?" Mikey echoed. "You sure Donny?"

Don nods.

"But how can that be?" Splinter asks.

"A knock to the head, a really big fall... It makes sense. To get out of that burning building in time, he had to have jumped, possibly hitting his head," Don explains.

"Then how do we bring his memory back?" Mikey asks, staring from Don to Shade and back again. "Hit him over the head?"

"I'll do it," Raph volunteers with a smirk across his face.

"Don't you dare," Shade growls. "And stop talking about me like I'm something to fix. I'm not who you think I am and I never will be." He starts his struggle against the restraints with renewed energy. He has to get free. He can't take it listening to them talk as if he wasn't here. As if he was one of them. He snorts. He will never be like them. He wouldn't let himself. Not now. Not ever.

"Leo calm down!" Don exclaims, quickly by his side.

Shade turned his head away, continuing his struggle. He growls lowly, shutting his eyes as he twists and turns, pulls and tugs. He can't stand it here anymore. He feels hands clamp down on him which flares up his anger even more. He doesn't know what they thought they were going to do to him. He only knew he had to get free, kill them, and get out. He can only make out their voices faintly as he thrashes harder and harder.

"... come on Leo... don't do this..."

"... it's us..."

"... remember us Leo..."

"... my son. It's alright. You must calm yourself..."

Shade shakes his head, tuning the voices out. Calm down? No way. He will not calm down. He will not stop struggling. He will not stop yanking. He will not remember because he already knew who he was. He was a loner. He was a fighter. He was an assassin. And for the time being he worked for the Shredder. And his mission was still one and the same. Help kill the four mutants by any means necessary. And he will not stop until he has accomplished that. He gasps as things suddenly fade around him, his body stilling. Images going mostly dark.

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Raph could not believe this. Amnesia? Leo doesn't get amnesia. It just didn't happen. But as much as he hated to admit it... it did have a ring of truth to it. Why else would Leo not remember them or their father. Or worse yet, call himself Shade, wearing a black trench coat, hat tipped low over his eyes so they only looked like menacing orbs. He inwardly cringed, thinking that he had seen someone like this ten months ago. He absently bit his lip as he held Leo down, trying to keep his brother from hurting himself on the straps as the thought ran through Raph's head. He... he had fought a guy in a trench coat so long ago. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if it was really Leo. The brother that he thought had been dead. But had actually been alive. Possibly right in front of him.

He nearly freaked when he felt Leo go limp underneath his grip. "What's happening Don?"

"Leo..." Mikey whispered.

Don pulled himself off of the now still Leo. "I think he wore himself out..."

"But he's still twitching!" Raph growled.

Don watched Leo, staring as they all stood still next to the cot as Leo twitched.

"I believe he is having a flashback," Splinter said softly.

Every eye turned to him, with the exception of Leo.

"What..." Mikey asked.

"A flashback," Splinter repeated. "He was so intent on freeing himself, he seemed to be shutting us out." He frowned. "I believe our voices got through to him and triggered this flashback."

"Is that a good thing?" Raph asked, arching one eyeridge.

Splinter was quiet for a moment watching Leo twitch. "I believe so."

"Will he remember us afterwards?" Mikey asked.

"Technically speaking... yes," Don said. "That doesn't mean he'll believe it."

Raph growled and paced the length of the lab. He ignored the efforts of his other brothers and father to stop his pacing. He just needed to burn off some nervous energy. And yes he did believe it was nervous energy. He was still shocked to think he might have actually fought his brother all those months ago. He remembered it as if it were yesterday. It wasn't a big deal back then. Ok maybe it was. The black trench coat guy had given him a good fight, pushing him back and almost right in front of a delivery truck speeding down the street.

He was scouting the streets that night, almost completely blinded by pain, rage, and grief. His older brother was gone. Taken from him. Without warning. Without cause. It would never be the same again. And those words. Those harsh, demanding, demeaning, cruel words he had yelled at his brother. Why did he have to say those things? He was so stupid at times. If he hadn't said those things, he'd still have his brother. And it hurt him so much to know he could never change it. He chuckled dryly to himself, knowing he would never tell another soul that thought.

A noise caught his attention. He stopped running and leaned over the side of the rooftop he was on. There was a gang of street punks ganging up on two little kids. The kids looked to be about seven and five. Raph growled. Those punks had no life! He slipped over the edge of the building and used his weight to kick one of the four punks into the wall. The body hit the wall with a sickening thud, making Raph smirk just slightly.

Two of the others turned to him, bringing out pipes. The last inched towards the children, pointing a gun at them and laughing sadistically.

Raph growled again and jumped over the two other punks, split kicking them as he did so and ramming into the guy with the gun. As he wrestled the gun from him, it went off. A shriek filled the air, making Raph's blood run cold. He looked up to see the five year old girl clutching her arm. His vision narrowed as he was about to throw a punch into the shooter's face, but found the gun was in his own hand, the one he had intended to punch the punk's gut with. A kick hit his chest, knocking him into the alley wall along with the little breath that he had. The guy that had originally held the gun was kicked into the other wall. The guy got up and scurried out of the alley.

Raph stood rubbing his head and catching his breath. As he did a guy in a black trench coat came closer to him. He was the one who had kicked the shooter into the wall causing him to flee. He didn't look too friendly, especially with that black fedora tipped so low over his head. He only saw dark eyes under that hat. Raph almost had the thought to flee the scene. Almost. But his pride wouldn't let him. He dropped the gun he found he still held in his hand and stood straight, ripping out his sai.

The trench coat guy narrowed his eyes. "Leave," he growled darkly.

"And leave that girl with you?" Raph demanded. "She's bleeding and needs to be bandaged up."

"I know that. I take care of her. And if you're here to hurt her too," the guy paused. "Then I will not hesitate to kill you."

Raph glared, looked at the girl, then back at the guy. "I don't believe you."

"Which part doesn't not make sense to your thick skulled brain?"

Raph growled, dangerously close to loosing his temper. "She's afraid. I don't believe you'll help her." Not that he liked kids, but he would still help one in need. It was what Leo would do. So it was what he would do.

The figure's gaze hardened. He unsheathed one black sword and leaped at Raph, swinging with a swift strike, hardly giving Raph enough time to dodge it.

Raph tightened his grip on his sai after dodging the sword and raised them to catch the blade's second incoming strike. Their weapons clicked and clanged as they hit, pulled back, and hit again. His eyes narrowed. Raph crouched and swiped his leg around, knocking the trench coat guy off of his feet. Seeing the guy jump right back up, Raph threw a punch from one hand and a kick from left foot. Only the kicked was dodged. But Raph was not expecting what came next. His sai were knocked clean from his hands, tossed behind him and a leg swept out kicking him in his chest. He flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud. Rubbing his chest he looked up and got back to his feet. A horn blared loudly and close. Raph whipped around to find himself outside of the alley and in the path of an oncoming semi truck! He dove back into the alley, landing on his belly, feeling the wind from the truck breeze past him, a little too close for comfort. Getting up again he looking around finding that he was all alone. No trench coat guy. No kids. No nothing. Raph snorted and retrieved his weapons totally ticked off. No one threw him in front of a speeding truck.

As the flashback faded from his mind Raph blinked finding himself standing near Leo's cot, no longer pacing. He sighed inwardly. He never saw that trench coat guy again. Not until Leo had led them to Central Park. And even then it didn't dawn on him that he was the same guy Raph had fought. He continued to watch Leo twitch, wondering when he would come out of it. And hoping that Leo would remember them when he did.