Again, I thank you all for the many reviews - it simply wouldn't be the same without you guys. I don't have the time to write a special thanks and a note to each of you, though I'm sure I'll find a way to make it up to you at one point… Again thanks… Other than that, I apologize for not writing for a long time. Work is slowly beating me down - but I'm back.

Enjoy.

Leo rested his head in his arms, sitting on the cold floor. Tears slowly ran down his face, though getting fewer in numbers. There weren't any tears left. He looked up, a distant gaze hitting the walls before him, as he pressed his knees closer to his plastron. He couldn't believe it - Raph was really gone, there simply was no other option. What a leader… He had dedicated his training and his entire life to protect the ones he cared for. And he had failed.

"Raph…" he sighed, slamming the back of his head against the wall, trying to fight off the headache tormenting him. It helped for a small time, but came back again, increased. A thought suddenly hit him - if Raphael had been shot, had he suffered? Apparently not. If he had, wouldn't he have heard a scream or something telling him, that his brother hadn't died instantly? It somehow calmed the turtle down to think, that Raph hadn't been lying in pain, that Hun had finished him off fast. But it also made him sick to think of it. Leo slowly pushed himself up from the floor, when a pain shot through his side, making him stop dead in his tracks. With a hiss, he looked down at his left side. Memories started overwhelming him, looking down at the large scar running from his side and continue up the shell - but something wasn't right. He gently let a finger strike the mark, feeling something under the small bloodstains. It had been stitched.

'Why would Shredder stitch me, if he planned to kill one of us?' the turtle asked himself in his mind. It didn't make sense - unless Shredder had had it all planned from the start… Leo pushed himself up again, grimacing at the pain. Finally standing up straight, he eyed the door with a growl. It couldn't be a coincident, it simply couldn't. And if their nemesis had planned this so fully detailed, he could lurk his brothers into a trap like this -

"Shit," Leo suddenly cursed. It was a perfect plan. Of coarse, Don and Mikey would be out looking for them, maybe Master Splinter and April too. The Foot only had to wait for them to fall in the net, and all hope would be out. He clenched his fists. Raph was gone, but he wasn't going to let Shredder touch the rest of his family.

'I swear,' he told himself, 'I will get out of here and get revenge…'

The door suddenly swung open, a pair of ninjas starring at the turtle and finally walked in. Leo's eyes turned to slits. Maybe this was his chance. When the two ninjas came to take him away, he followed without a struggle, nor a word.

He was led down the hallway to the same room as before, and he was ready to face both the Shredder and Hun inside - but they weren't there. A little surprised by the fact, Leo stopped, but was abruptly pushed forward by one of the Foot.

"Move it," the ninja grumbled, giving the turtle another push. Leo frowned. Of all things in the world, he mostly wanted to turn around and hit the human behind him, send him to the floor with a single punch - but he couldn't. The time wasn't right for his move yet. He started walking again, slowly realizing where they were going. Gunshots rang through his head, as he eyed the door they were reaching a little too quickly for his mind to adjust to. With a sickening feeling growing for every step he took towards the door, he was about to colapse as the door was opened - and the stench of old blood hit him like a brick in the face.

"I welcome you back, Leonardo," the dark voice echoed through the room. As the turtle looked up, his eyes came into contact with Shredder's. Hun was standing right beside him.

"You have the witness before you," the metal figure said in a very neutral tone, gesturing towards a puddle of dried blood, "And you still refuse to join my group of ninjas?"

"This can't be, what it's all about, Shredder," Leo hissed. There had to be more to it. There had to be a better reason for the massacre. Shredder grinned, approaching the turtle slowly.

"Oh, but it is. And I want to know the position of the other turtles." The smile on Shredder's face never vanished, not even when the human was so close to Leo, that he could reach out and touch him. Leo grimaced, letting a finger go over the stitches in the side.

"You have noticed, that I have taken care of your bruises," Shredder continued firmly, "Would one have done that, if it was not for a reason?" Leo blinked. That was true - and he had been wondering, why he had been stitched.

"I - still don't understand…" Leo muttered in a low voice. He was confused, and seeing the blood lie before him didn't exactly make things better.

"But you will… I will give you the night to think about my offer," Shredder replied, turning around. He placed his gaze on three ninjas.

"Take him back."

And they did, the turtle still not struggling. As Leo was thrown back into the dark cell, the leader thought of a way to escape - and warn his brothers about what was happening. Even though he knew he had to move fast, he couldn't push himself to try and run. He was in a trance, red puddles forming before his eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. He had lost Raph, now how would he manage to save his two other brothers? He felt like a failure - scared and tired, he sat down on the cold floor, staring at the wall before him. For minutes, for hours…