Leonardo's leaf-green finger has the string of the teabag intertwined around it as he slowly steeps it into the steaming ceramic cup. He can feel the heat seeping into his palms, and he goes stock still, trying to listen to the frantic whispering going on in the dojo. After finding the blue cladded turtle out cold outside of his room, his purple cladded brother had tried to force him into a medical examination, which he had politely declined. Well, maybe not politely, now that he was looking back at it. A shameful blush crept up his cheeks as he recalls the none too gentle way he'd verbally declined his concerned brother in a way that would have put his hot-headed brother to shame. He frowns as a not so quiet yell, no doubt from the red cladded turtle in question, makes him jolt and nearly spill his tea over himself.

Needless to say, his brothers were none too pleased and had been arguing amongst each other on just what to do about it. Leonardo squints his eyes, his blush slowly fading from view and takes a noisy sip from his tea. The mutant turtle didn't know of any orthodox way to approach his unique situation. If unique could even begin to explain it that is. The blue cladded turtle would like to think that he has a grip on himself, that he's not going off the deep end, but the rapidly growing pile of evidence says quite the opposite. The turtle, in blunt and straight to the point honesty, was likely a raving lunatic because, despite the great assortment of oddities that he and his family had encountered on their adventures, there was so far only one thing had remained constant and that was the looming threat of death. No skilled ninja, mutant or otherwise, could conquer that.

Leonardo was fully enveloped by the dark body of water filling the entire space of the sinking space ship. The incredible pressure compressed his chest, forcing his lungs to burn as if on fire. His heart began hammering, increasing in intensity and speed, like a bird trapped in a cage. The blue cladded turtle's throat seared in agony with the rising pressure of trapped air and his head began pounding with panic, threatening to explode any second. Giving in to that basic need for oxygen, he gave in to the pressure and took a breath of air, only to engulf a gush of salty water. He tasted the filthy ocean, foul and polluted, before opening his mouth again, this time to scream, he lets out a string of bubbles.

"Raph, Mikey, Don! Help, " Leonardo screamed unintelligibly through the roaring torrents of water that tossed him back and forth in the depths like a ragdoll. Blood continued to pulsate from his gaping wound in his shoulder, spreading red over his vision as he continues screaming, "Help! Help...!"

Leonardo hadn't even realized how unnaturally still he'd gone in those few seconds as he that brief flash of his memories attacked him. The turtle closes his eyes, taking in a brief shaky exhale, before taking another sip from his tea, but he had to suppress a groan when he hears multiple approaching footsteps and hurried whispering. His face scrunched up and wordlessly he sets down his cup of tea on the counter, and in true ninja, fashion made a miraculous escape. The blue cladded turtle quietly hopped up onto the counter and flipped up towards one of the many ceiling beams that extended across the lair, catching it with his hands and hoisting himself up without so much as a grunt of exertion. He shimmied his way across the beam until he reached the railway station that served as both an exit and an entrance into the lair, before dropping down on all fours and silently creeping down the dark tunnel.

"C'mon, Don," Raphael urges shoving forward Donatello, a smirk playing across his lips," You're the one so determined that he be examined."

Donatello gulps nervously, hugging his medical bag close to his chest as he asks," You guys have my back, right? I'm not going into his alone," He shakes his head, wagging a finger, "I am not qualified to handle expertly-trained ninja patients."

"News flash - You're an expertly trained ninja, too," The red cladded turtle whisper-yells, facepalming.

The purple cladded turtle flushed as he quietly shrieks," Look me in the eye and tell me that I could take him in a fight if he was blind-folded and hog-tied!"

The orange cladded turtle snorts in amusement, before he hisses, "Uh, guys -"

"Geez, Don. What'd he say to you," Raphael inquires, trying poorly to dial down his own evident amusement.

"Things that wouldn't go uncensored on cable television, that's what. Not only that, but he grabbed me by the mask," Donatello exclaims, annoyed," By the mask!"

Michelangelo frantically exclaims, "Guys! Look!"

The red cladded turtle's eyes flash over to the kitchen and an irritated growl escapes from his lips, "Great! That's just great. He's already ninja-ed his way out of here," His eyes snap over to the youngest turtle of the three and he glares," You couldn't stop runnin' your loud mouth, could you?"

The orange cladded turtle sputters," For once I was being the quiet one!"

Huffing, before letting out a quiet sigh of relief, the purple cladded turtle states firmly, "Very well. He's just making this more difficult for himself - You know I'm used to this sort of behavior from you two, but from Leo," He runs his hand over his face, going on, "Whatever, we'll wait for him to come back. He can't sneak around forever."

"Nose goes on who has to pin him down, " The orange cladded turtle yells abruptly, quickly bringing a finger to the edge of his nose. The purple cladded turtle follows suit with a loud squeak.

The red cladded turtle, cracking his knuckles as a sneer appears on his lips. "Whatever, " He says, undeterred," Like kickin' his shell is anythin' new to me, guys. It'll be a piece of cake."

Donatello meekly utters, pointing a finger upwards to make a point, "You seem to be forgetting he's usually reigning himself in when he fights against us under Sensei's orders, " He shakes his head, "But with the way, he's been acting lately... Just please, please, for the sake of all our shells, don't provoke him, Raph."

———

Leonardo sits on the edge of the roof both of his katanas laid out across his lap, a rag in hand as he shines them out of boredom rather than necessity. He holds one up in his line of sight, only a few inches away from his face as he peers at his reflection. In a brief flash, he sees his blue hues gazed over with a grey membrane, dead and lifeless in their sockets, and he flinches, nearly dropping the sword onto the concrete beneath his feet. He frantically rubs the rag over the blade, intentionally averting his eyes away from the reflective metal. Abruptly startling him, his t-phone vibrates angrily for what must be the fourth time in the past five minutes and as he did the other three times he immediately shuts it off.

"What a great example you're setting, Leo," Leonardo mutters to himself, sheathing his swords with synchronized swipes," Real great."

"Oh, yeah," A voice utters from behind, oozing with sarcasm," Really great."

The blue cladded turtle frowns, not even bothering turning around as he sighs aloud," Ah, another day, another murder attempt, huh, Karai?"

The kunoichi smirks crouching down beside the turtle, snagging his chin in between two fingers as she purrs," You know, you wouldn't have so many attempts on your life...if you would simply drop the hero facade and join me. I could even forgive your little back-stabbing act you pulled a few weeks back," She runs her hand up the side of his face, resting it on his cheek," I have no doubt that you're up here complaining about your brothers as usual. "

"For once, no," Leonardo informs her as a matter-of-factly.

"Right," Karai scoffs, abruptly taking a slumped seat beside the turtle on the rooftop," So what are you doing?"

Irritated, the blue cladded turtle lowly inquires of the latter," What are you doing? Don't act like you're interested in anything other than seeing my insides rather than my outsides."

"Can't we just take a couple of minutes to just sit and talk before we go back to trying to murder one another," The kunoichi asks in turn.

"No," Leonardo states bluntly," That's kind of the whole reason we're in this mess - Everything we talk about leads back to the fact that we're anything but bosom buddies, and we shouldn't act like it because we're eventually going to end up having to draw our swords on one another, so cut the crap."

Karai let's out a breathy spurt of laughter, before cutting it off abruptly as she states, "I'm not here to fight, " She cranes her neck towards the other rooftop adjacent to where they sit, where a small group of ninjas clad in traditional Foot Clan garb is standing at the ready," But they are. Father wants me to help improve their skills with the katana blade and I couldn't think of any better way than to pit them against the best swordsman I know."

Growling more in annoyance than anger, Leonardo spits out," I'll take that as a compliment," Then he reaches behind him, unsheathing one katana," I'm guessing you're going to be on your way now?"

Karai winks and expertly flips to the other rooftop, shouting over her shoulder," Until next time!"

The blue cladded turtle rolls his eyes, turning his attention to the dozen or so ninja gathered on the rooftop across from him. "You're here for a lesson," He says with venom in his tone," Unfortunately, you caught your teacher at a really, really bad time, kids."

Each side stood tense, waiting for the first move. One ninja towards the front pulled out his own katana with a metallic hiss, presenting an open challenge as he offers one hand forward beckoning him. Leonardo quickly swipes a smoke bomb from his belt, throwing it into their midst, sending thick smoke over the rooftop and up around them. Most of them coughed loudly and stumbled back blindly, while a few of them drew their weapons. Instead of waiting for the smoke to recede to start his onslaught, the blue cladded turtle silently moved through it and back into the shadows, letting them slash madly at the swirling shapes with cries varying from panic and falsely assumed victory.

The smoke was eventually cleared entirely by the wind, but there was no obvious sign of the mutant turtle. Only half a dozen of the ninjas were left standing as the smoked cleared revealing the rest of their comrades out cold on the ground that might as well have cartoon canaries fluttering around their heads. One of the few standing ninjas makes his way across the rooftop, katana drawn at his side with his breath held as he waited in anticipation. Placing one foot on the edge of the roof as he lifts his blade high above his head, he peers at the ground below, eyes scanning the area around. A three-fingered hand shot up from the underside of the roof and with a startled cry the ninja is thrown off the edge and lands with a resounding thud on the fire escape several feet below.

Leonardo pounces upward with his twin blades pointed downward as he soars through the air, landing in a crouched position in the middle of the swarming ninjas. With a katana on either side of himself, he meets two clashing blades, gritting his teeth as they both push forward before he sends the ninjas on either side of him stumbling back. Then he lunges into the air again, snapping his legs apart into a split kick in midair, simultaneously knocking them out cold and sending them flailing onto their backs. Three choose that moment to gang up on him and while two seize his arms and wrench them apart, the third ravels his gloved hands around the turtle's throat forcing him backward.

Leonardo slams his head forward, cracking it against the human skull and ignoring the throbbing pain, he thrashes out his arms and swipes madly with both his katana. The two ninjas back up, sloppily evading the in uncalculated swipes with the blades meant only to drive them back. It was in that moment he drove his balled fist forward slamming it into the ninja on his right stomach, before balling his free hand into the sleek black cloth of his uniform and throwing him like a sack of potatoes at the ninja on his left. The two topple like bowling pins, leaving only one ninja standing several feet away with a katana and tanto blade drawn in an open challenge.

The blue classes turtle rolls his shoulder blades in their sockets, and with barely a scoff he drives forward and meets the charging final ninja with ease. He brought one katana blade up, easily defecting the opposing blade. He pushed the sword away but the user was already bringing his arm back, slicing towards the turtle's unguarded face. Their blades interlock in a resounding clash of metal on metal, before the mutant turtle, twists both of his blades simultaneously and forces the latter's blade upwards, before relinquishing it from his hands as it clatter across the rooftop.

Growling in frustration, the lone ninja charged with his tanto blade. As fast as he dodged, Leonardo didn't even feel the wind from the blade pass over his ducking neck. He slides to his knees, before quickly turning around again and went to all fours as he used his arms to brace himself as he mule-kicked the ninja. Sheathing one sword, the blue cladded turtle spins the blade in his grip before pointing the tip towards the latter's chest, silently requesting a surrender. The ninja's hands go up, but the grip on his tanto blade doesn't loosen in the slightest. And in a predictable move, he sloppily lunges forward a slashes the blade rapidly in the general direction of the ninja turtle's throat.

Everything at that point seems to slow down, going in tune with Leonardo's heartbeat as his eyes slowly widen. He could easily lift his own drawn sword, send the tanto blade flying from the latter's grip. If the blade was too close to forcing his own blade forward, then he could simply perform a snap kick and send the assailant flying back from him. In those precious moments, he could have done any number of things to evade the slicing blade, but he didn't because a sick, morbid curiosity overtook him. All he can think of in those agonizingly slow heartbeats was floating alone in the swirling torrents of dark, salty water, and the gargantuan alien's departing screams as his heart stuttered to an abrupt halt.

"Kraang knows this...you, turtle will never earn the sweet release of death. No, you'll never...ever..."

Leonardo closes his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering as a an agonizing pain like a thousand red-hot nails tear into his throat, ripping it open as blood arced into the air, a red ribbon in the pale moonlight. The cry that emitted from him was barely more than a wheeze as both of his hands claw at his mangled throat, trying futility to slow the blood that flowed like a lazy river. But, oh, there was so much blood - dark crimson, with a discreet, metallic scent. It cascaded across the turtle's paling skin, right through his fingertips. A bitter cold gnawed its way into his insides like a hungry rat making its way into his bones as he began to slouch over onto his side. His surroundings blurred into a new sick reality only the broken could see as darkness pushed its way into his vision.

———

The silver moon was high in the sky giving off the only light, apart from the lampposts whose rays died inches from the dirty tungsten bulbs. On the rooftop, a mutant turtle lay in a breathless sleep with his eyes fixed and vacant, a trail of dried blood dribbling over his lips and down his face. And though no wound is seen underneath, the once spreading red stain on his throat had become stiff and hard against his skin. His heart is as still as the stone beneath his platted chest and his lungs are long bereft of air, his skin cold and pale. Then like lightning striking, his heart gives a single solitary beat, then another, then another until there's a long, steady rhythm going. Then his chest lifts upwards and intakes a breathe like it was made into an art form, his chest rising and falling with the sedative qualities of a lullaby.

Leonardo could feel his heartbeat, every single pound in his chest. Not through his ears, but that pounding, that great pressure, he felt from within. He slowly sits up, his head hanging low as he fingers twitch across his skin, trailing up the dried layers of blood clinging stubbornly to his skin. His free hand abruptly goes to his mouth, cupping it as a cry escapes his trembling lips. Every part of him wants to scream himself hoarse, to cry until his tears run dry, but he instead finds himself numb with this startling realization. With all the steadiness of a toddler taking its first steps towards their parents' waiting arms, he stands and takes one step forward. Every second that passes from that moment to the next is a blur, for he blinks and he's no longer on the rooftop, standing in a pool of his own blood, but standing at the entrance of the lair.

Raphael is stomping towards him, growling in agitation,"- now would you stop acting like a child and just let Don look you over -"

Michelangelo is quipping," Yeah, dude, you've got to lose the attitude. The last thing we need is another Raph," He smiles as he puffs up, pointing to himself," Now another me on the other hand -"

"As you can see there's clearing no getting out of this one, so you might as well just suck on your thumb and follow me to my lab," Donatello states firmly when his face suddenly closes up and he shoves a hand in between his other two bickering siblings," Guys, stop! Quit it, now! Leo? Leonardo...?"

Leonardo lifts his head at the sound of his name, revealing the dried blood coating his throat that splashed down to his upper chest with a few stray flecks covering his entire form. "Don..." The blue cladded turtle whispers hoarsely, stumbling forward as the latter quickly moves to catch him," I...sorry..."

"Get Sensei! Get him, now," The purple cladded turtle screams, hands going over the evident source of the blood, only to frown when he can't find a wound," Leo - Leo! I need you to tell me where you were hit! Leo? Raph, help me!"

"What do I do," The red cladded turtle inquires his voice thick, going to his knees beside his two brothers," Donnie?"

The purple cladded turtle snaps," I'm thinking! I can't find any wound, but this much blood...whoever did this...they're dead, Raph."

"So it's not Leo's," Raphael breathes in relief, eyes softening.

"It can't be," Donatello confirms propping Leonardo's limp head in his lap," All I can think is that he had a less than friendly encounter topside and now he's in some form of shock."

"Leo? Hey, c'mon, Fearless," The red cladded turtle hisses, gently patting his hand on the side of the limp turtle's face, but he gets no response,"...Leo?"

Master Splinter is suddenly bounding into the room, a fretful Michelangelo hot on his heels and both skid to a halt beside the three turtles on the floor. The mutant rat gently pushes aside the purple cladded turtle, pulling the blue cladded turtle close to him as he closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. The red and purple cladded turtle stay on their knees beside him, watching with enraptured fascination as he lowly chants a mantra beneath his breath. A light glow comes to the mutant rat's hands and stretches them out, settling them over the blue cladded turtle's chest and making his entire eerily still form glow brightly.

Master Splinter orders Donatello," Bring me hot water and a cloth," When the turtle obeys and runs off to retire the items, he turns to his other sons," Help me get him to his room."

"Sensei," Raphael grits out," What's wrong with him?"

"I cannot say for sure, for I do not know what he saw," Master Splinter admits, eyes closing briefly," But his mind is under great duress. I...I do not know if I have the ability to help him."

Raphael stares at his older brother, takes in his hitching breathes and his wide, glassy eyes. The red cladded turtle utters lowly," Leo..."