Lewis was angry. Actually, to call him him angry was a pathetic understatement, at least as far as Leonardo was concerned. The blue-banded turtle was heaving to try and catch his breath, as the man finally took a breather himself, glaring at Leonardo silently. There had been none of the usual taunting this time, or even the precursor of warming up. The man had simply appeared a few minutes prior with two men at his side (in addition to an energy rifle if he required it), and started in on the turtle without so much as a word.

Something had clearly set the man off, and Leonardo happened to be the chosen object of his venting. Lewis' expression changed after a few seconds of staring the turtle down, and he shook his head in frustration.

"You're not a bad stand-in Leonardo - but it's still not enough." The man fumed, uttering his very first words since entering the cell. "Over the last year, I've watched everything that I could count on be stripped away, and today just tops it off. But then, it did start with you, didn't it?"

There was renewed explosive power behind the man's fist, as he drove it into the turtle's jaw. The room flickered as if it were going to leave his view entirely, but a sharp slap chained him to reality.

"I'm not finished with you, but I do think Lilah's right." The man admitted, more to himself than anyone else. "The best satisfaction will only come from watching you suffer, all of you. I'd like to tell you about her plans, but I don't actually know myself. I know what I'd like to do with one of your brothers, but Lilah's already claimed him as her own property. Donatello sure has a way of ticking people off. If she hadn't stopped me, he'd already be dead as I speak."

"You're playing the part of the brainless thug now?" Katherine called from across the room, purposefully attempting to divert the man off of the blue-banded turtle. "Aren't you afraid of stepping on Williams' toes?'

He cast an infuriated scowl in Katherine's direction. "You're just lucky Lilah's savin' you for later." He informed her, and then smiled. "She doesn't want Luke to miss a single thing that concerns you. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to all of you."

The man was tired of holding back. With another haughty smile in Kat's direction, Lewis then turned back around the struck Leonardo with all of the force that he could muster. As the turtle sagged in his captor's arms, Lewis motioned for them to release him.

Leonardo collapsed forward on his plastron, unable to prevent his own forehead from hitting cement. Something about the motion was faintly reminiscent, and stayed with the turtle as consciousness slipped away from him.

****

(Several Years Ago)

Carried. He had the vague recollection of someone lifting him, but his legs were still partially dragging across the pavement. It had faded to black after that, at least for awhile. The next time he'd been aware of anything was when someone actually put him down for an instant, then tried to shift his weight carefully to find a better way to carry the blue-banded turtle the remaining distance.

A flash of concerned amber eyes burned into him, as the semi-conscious turtle wondered what could have his younger brother looking that anxious.

"Stay awake Leo! No, c'mon, you have to stay awake!"

Leonardo heard the words as if they were alighting on the wind from miles away. He tried to vocalize something in return, but didn't possess the energy at that moment to form intelligent speech. Heedless of his brother's desperate plea, dark eyes closed again, and the tunnel faded into nothingness.

The next sensation to trip his senses was an extremely familiar scent. It had the effect of partially dulling some of the throbbing pain wracking his skull, but it did no favors for the muddied thoughts that were still struggling to surface.

"Leonardo. My son?"

The blue-banded turtle didn't open his eyes, but he was at least aware enough now to recognize that he was hurt. He was hurt, and his Sensei was calling him.

"Master..." He groaned softly, and then as they had called him when they were small children, "Chi Chi..."

Splinter gripped the young turtle's hand stronger, and nodded at Donatello, who was hovering close by. "Go my son, and finish the sterilizing of what we need. I will stay with him." He told the purple-banded turtle, and turned back to his oldest.

The rat bit his lip in consternation as he drew the turtle's hand to his own chest. When their training had first began, and then again after the first night that his two oldest had been engaged with someone on the surface, Splinter had realized that the probability of injury existed. This wasn't the first time that one of them had come home bearing war wounds from their activity on the streets, but it was the worst injury he'd yet to have encountered with them thus far.

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't realize that Leonardo had opened dark eyes, and was now staring up at him.

"Sensei?" The turtle stated weakly. "Are you mad?"

Splinter released a trembling sigh. "No my son, I am not angry with you. But do not try to move yet Leonardo." He admonished, as the turtle made a serious attempt to sit up.

"I'm sorry Master. It was an accident, I--"

"Shh, hush Leonardo. I don't need an explanation right now. I want you to rest, not to even try thinking about anything."

The rat's fingers gently brushed Leonardo's eye-lids, as if to lull him back to sleep. The young turtle's chest shuddered for a moment before he released a deeper breath, relaxing at ease under his Master's touch.

"Don't leave me Chi Chi." He murmured.

Splinter shook his head firmly, even though he knew Leonardo wouldn't see it now. "Never my son, I'll be waiting right here for you. Don't be afraid to rest. Let go, and when you wake up, you'll feel better than you do right now."

He didn't so much as remove his hand from the turtle's head, until Leonardo's breathing was deep and even, and the lines of pain had slightly retreated from the young one's face.

Michelangelo was sitting propped up against the back of the house, a bundle of dark material drawn up around his shoulders against the cooler night air. Despite the fact that some of his friends were only a stone's throw away inside of the house, with the rest merely being back at their camp-site, the turtle had never felt more alone than that very moment.

It was hard to even feel like himself without his brothers there. The thought of being forced to live without them wasn't something he really wanted to entertain yet, so he found himself sitting in silence instead, trying to still the voice in his head. Karina found him like that about an hour later, staring off numbly into space.

"Mikey? It's cold out here." She pointed out. "You should get up. Do you wanna come with me back to the fire?"

He met her light green eyes, but didn't budge so much as an inch. "We've always been a team. Always." The orange-banded turtle said out loud. "I think I truly believed that if we ever went down, it would be all together. I'm not sure any of us could bear it otherwise. I know I can't."

Karina went to her knees beside the turtle, loosely circling both arms around his shoulders. She couldn't think of any appropriate words in that instant, so she didn't bother speaking. His blue eyes fastened on her, realizing in that moment that the woman was trying to stifle her own fear, just to comfort him.

He dropped his head and started to pull away from her, but the woman's hand pursued him.

"Karina, you don't have to pretend to be okay." He told her. "Not just 'cause of me."

She shook her head at him. "I'm not pretending anything Mike. My heart feels like it's being ripped out of my chest. That doesn't mean I don't care about what you're going through. Do you wanna talk?"

"You don't want to hear what's going through my head." The turtle told her.

She positioned her own back against the brick, as if to indicate that she wasn't going anywhere. "You don't have to do this by yourself."

He closed his eyes against hot tears. "I'd rather die along with them, than try to live without them."

Karina was silent for a few seconds. "Would you want them to feel the same way?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No. But I'm not as strong as they are, and nobody needs me like..." Michelangelo didn't finish the statement, as he turned his gaze elsewhere.

"Nobody needs you?" Karina repeated questioningly.

"Yeah, you know what I mean. The guys can't be replaced, they're all sort of set apart, in their own strengths and duties. I was always the one who couldn't get along without them, not the other way around."

"Mike, that's just not true." The woman insisted. "You're a part of the entire back-bone of the family. You might not see how much they need you or rely on you, but I sure do. Donnie once told me that you were the only thing that got him through the worst teenage years. You're not aware of the impact you've made, just with your spirit. Why do you think everybody hates it so much when you get upset or down about something? You have a profound impact on the entire mood of that Den, a power that's so much more important than you realize.

No one's always strong on their own Mikey. And your brothers aren't the same without you, anymore than you are without them."