"Whoa…"

The brothers could only nod at Mikey's soft exclamation. Whoa, indeed. A cavernous chamber lay before them, stalagmites and stalactites hanging from the ceiling and connecting to the floor, as if the chamber were melting in varying drizzles. An open floor sat in the middle, a shallow pool with green water settled in a perfect circle in the middle. The room itself was lit from a shaft of light piercing through the high ceiling, brightening the center of the chamber, but leaving the corners bathed in darkness. Leading down to the chamber, a long stone stair lay at their feet, each step cracked with age.

Silently, the quadruplets descended, each keeping an eye out around them. Their muscles were tense, weapons were drawn, and features serious. "I don't see any enemies," Raphael murmured, twirling his sai.

"Keep your eyes open," Leo instructed, and even though his shoulders were trembling, the leader was doing a valiant job of staying calm. Perusing the cavern, Leo was happy to see an exit on the other side of the chamber, "there's another door, we can get out that way."

Stepping off the last stair, Donny pondered their surroundings while leaning on his Bo staff, "I don't understand, isn't this supposed to be a test? Where's the test?"

"Do we really need a test?" Mikey queried with a shaky grin, "Can't we just go out through the other door?"

Leonardo held his blades in front, eyes shooting from corner to corner, paranoia shooting off him in waves. "We can't relax," he hissed, stepping off the stairway and turning so to look in every direction "we don't know what might come out of the shadows."

Raphael's shoulders drooped. For a moment, he was able to almost believe that Leo wasn't falling to pieces because of a ghost thing. However, judging by the freaked out look on his leader's face, he was still struggling with whatever the spirit did to him. "Look, bro, I don't see anyone here. Maybe it's a fluke, or somethin'?"

"Or maybe something needs to trigger the test to start?" Donny mused.

"Like what?"

The brainiac shrugged at Mikey's question, "No idea, but maybe it involves Raph?"

"Me? Why me?" The hothead demanded, hovering on the steps, thumbs hooked into his belt.

"The riddle mentions you," Donny elaborated, spreading his hands apart in a helpless gesture "but that's all I got. I have no idea what to expect here, guys."

"Yeah, maybe," Raphael shrugged, finally making his way to the final step "but I'm gonna be ticked off if that spirit messed with Leo for no reason-!"

As soon as red ninja stepped off the stairs, he disappeared in a flash of green light, only to reappear in a corner of the cavern. Raphael blinked, shaking his head free of stars, temporarily blinded by the mode of transportation; only to give an unhappy snarl at his new predicament. "What the shell?!"

Leonardo felt panic clawing at the back of his throat, the taste of copper staining his craw. Raphael was ensconced in a cage made of stone. He couldn't reach his brother, and Raph was incapable of escape. A stalagmite branched out around the angry turtle, and no matter how the terrapin punched or kicked, it wouldn't break. "Raph!" Leo screamed, reaching out with one hand.

Jade green fires suddenly burst to life, lighting ancient torches lined along every wall, and all too soon the cavern was alive with the sickening color and ominous shapes were moving beneath the waters of the pool. The red turtle stilled, wide eyes peering into depths of the green pool. The shapes became figures, skittering to the edge and puddling out. Forms crawled out of the water, reconstituting into what looked like foot soldiers, complete with weapons.

So, Raphael mused, this is what the riddle meant. They would have to fight the entire group of enemies, all to save him.

Wave after wave of soldiers pulled themselves out of the pool, their black masks and dead eyes trained on their forces. The last to appear was a large group of elite foot soldiers, hats dripping with water, weapons glistening in the flickering torchlight. Leonardo stumbled back, flashbacks from a stormy night when he fought for his life replaying before his eyes. This was the same foot soldiers he fought then. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. No doubt the spirit saw the memory from her brief foray into his innermost thoughts.

"Oh man, we have to fight all these guys?" Mikey moaned, both hands resting dramatically on his head "And without Raph? It's bad enough when we're all together!"

"Get me outta here!" Raphael bellowed, his own face strained with worry on how his brothers would fare with him stuck in a cage.

"We can do it," Leo stated, shaking hands shifting to better grip his katana "I've fought these numbers on my own, so we can do it."

"You fought them? When?" Donny pried but he never got an answer, because the army of specters attacked.

Soon the room was a whirl of activity. Mikey fending off a group of foot ninja, Don defeating several and Leo handling the elite. Raph watched it all with wide eyes, breathing a prayer of gratitude that Leonardo's fighting abilities didn't seem to be incapacitated. True, his swings were sloppier than usual, his martial arts less graceful, but he lost none of his deadly edge. If anything, the leader fought like a mutant possessed. Blood lust thrumming in his veins and painting his vision red. Raph was usually caught up in his own battles, he never really had the opportunity to just watch his brother work. Now that he was held captive, he had nothing but time to appreciate just how adept Leo was with his twin katana.

Leo was a killing machine, hardwired from childhood to deal out death to any threatening his family. And today, with his inability to control himself, he now fought with no reservations. He held nothing back, and gave his worst. Their enemy fell before his blades as the leader spun, unable to stem the oncoming storm that was Leonardo Hamato.

It kind of scared Raphael to watch it, honestly, especially since he was so used to seeing his brother hold back when in battle. Killing wasn't unfamiliar to the team, they've had to take out enemies before in the fight to survive, but Leonardo was compassionate. He hated unnecessary killing, abhorred it even. He would hold back and render his foes unconscious if he could help it, a way of showing mercy to his opponents. Even if they didn't deserve it. Leonardo had no mercy today, though. To see him slicing his way through hordes of foot, while simultaneously fending off the elite, the red ninja couldn't help but gape in awe.

All too soon the battle ended, and the three turtles stood heaving for air. Mikey lifted an exhausted fist, "Yeah!" He cheered.

"We did it!" Donny grinned.

Leo wasn't convinced, all of his intuition was screaming at the pool in the middle, watching the ripples grow. "It's not over," he growled.

All eyes turned to the pool and this time, four figures stepped out, the green water shifting and writhing as it solidified. The faces that looked out from the specters were familiar, but they weren't enemies, at least, they were never meant to be. Leo gaped at the newest adversaries. Perfect clones of his father and brothers were staring him down, their faces riddled with anger and disgust. The specters approached the dumbstruck blue ninja, but unlike their previous foes, these could speak.

"Pathetic," the clone of their father spat, "how can I trust you to protect your brothers when you cannot even care for yourself? You are supposed to be a leader, now act like one, not the mewling coward you are!"

"No way," It was his worst nightmare come to life. While he hated the nightmares where his family died around him; the ones that truly hurt, that haunted him, were the ones where his family rejected him. "This isn't happening,"

"Always so weak," fake Splinter sighed in contempt "no matter how many times I have to repeat myself, you never learn. In your duties as leader, you do not have the luxury for failure. Yet, somehow, you continue to do so. Why must you always disappoint me?"

Twin katana clanged to the floor, and feet stumbled back as Leo shook his head, "You're not my father, this isn't real,"

The clone snarled, "I should never have given you leadership over your brothers. How many of your messes have I had to clean up? You're not even capable of maintaining control over your own mind, you're worthless, a disgrace to this family!"

"Shut up, shutupshutupshutup," the blue ninja muttered, clamping his hands over his ears and backing further away, prompting the specters to continue their march towards him "you're not real!" He screamed.

"We don't have to be real," specter Raph sneered, "we're just sayin' what you know is the truth. Yer useless, ya can't even lead us right. And now look at ya, shakin' in yer boots like a scared little kid. What's wrong 'Fearless', scared to hear the facts?"

Leo shook his head, horror filling his eyes and dripping down his cheeks in salty steaks "No, no, this isn't real," he moaned, "you're fake."

"Do you know how tedious it is to take orders from someone as dumb as you, Leo?" Don's clone sighed, his face apathetic and bored "Or how I constantly have to bail us out, because you're too stupid to lead? I don't even want to be leader, but I'm certain I would do a much better job."

"Go away, please, please go away,"

"Dude, even I could do a better job," the Mikey fake threw in, Michelangelo's voice mocking and dripping in bitter sarcasm, "you're so uptight Leo, you don't even know how to have fun. In fact, you're so boring, that I bet that if you disappeared, no one would even notice you were gone."

Leo tripped over his feet, crashing to the floor. He couldn't take it anymore. Before with the foot soldiers, he could lose himself in battle, he could defeat them. Here though, he couldn't even raise his swords to his family's clones. He couldn't understand it. He'd been locked in a nightmare before, even had to kill the dream version of his master before. But back then he had the ability to control his shock at having to attack his father. Now, he didn't have that, he was overwhelmed by the vicious attacks of monsters wearing the faces of his family.

The blue ninja scrabbled backwards, until his back hit the stalagmite holding his brother captive. With nowhere left to run, Leo fearfully looked up to find himself surrounded by the ghosts, "Leave me alone!" He gasped through a whispered sob.

"Ha! Mikey's right, at least we contribute something to the team," the Donatello clone cackled, "all you ever do is train. You're useless, worthless, and you know it!"

"I can't believe I ever followed ya, you don't deserve to be my leader,"

"You don't even deserve to be in this family, you are no son of mine."

"Too bad, dude, looks like you've been voted out,"

"STOP IT!" A Bo staff flew from the right knocking the Donatello clone across the room, only to be replaced by the real purple ninja, "Just stop it!"

Nunchucks whistled through the air, smashing the Michelangelo clone into the floor, and Mikey gave an uncharacteristic snarl. "That's sick," he snapped, "I would never say those things! Much less to my brother!"

The Raphael clone gave a dark chuckle, twirling his sai, "We all know it's the truth, look at him, he can't even deny it. He knows we're right, don't ya Leo?"

The blue turtle flinched, refusing to meet the eyes of his accusers, much less the gaze of his own siblings. Hunching his shoulders, Leonardo wished for all he was worth that he could just disappear. Today was supposed to be a fun excursion with his brothers, how did it end up going so wrong? He didn't want to be here. He didn't want them listening to all the demons in his head say out loud what he often said silently to himself. He didn't want his darkest fears to be confirmed, not in front of his little brothers, not here.

High above, blood flew as Raphael threw himself at the stalactites. He punched, kicked and charged the stone. He was rewarded with only the smallest crack, but that made the hothead give a feral grin. He was going to escape, and God help that ghost thing for using his face to say such hateful things to his brother. Below him, Raphael could see his brothers surrounding the specter version of himself. He silently hoped they'd leave something for him to tear apart, because he couldn't take much more of their false accusations to Leo.

Don and Mikey jumped at the phantom Raphael, their weapons leading the charge. The fake merely grinned, using the stolen skills to grab Donny's bo and slam his knee into the purple turtle's midsection. While Donatello was seeing stars, the fake grabbed the staff and swung it around like a baseball bat, to crack it across the back of Mikey's head. Both were done for the count. Raphael bellowed up in his cage, watching the fake approach his big brother.

"Look at the big baby," the fake red ninja mockingly cooed, "gonna cry? That's all yer good for, anyways. Things get too hard, ya don't go to yer brothers, ya sit in yer room all alone and cry, because ya know ya can't lead. Yer just a worthless loser."

The leader scrabbled for his swords; watching the specter draw closer, knowing he'd have to attack, but feeling too overwhelmed to even formulate a plan "This isn't real, this isn't real," he repeated in a mantra, closing his eyes and praying it would all go away. "You aren't real."

"LEO!" Raphael screamed in his cage, each words accompanied by the frantic punches to stone, "Don't listen! We don't think any of that! I know I give ya a hard time, and I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't realize how much pain ya felt, and it's probably my fault, but you can't listen ta them! Please, bro! It's not real, none of it!"

"What do you know?" fake Mikey sneered, picking himself off the floor "You give him the hardest time out of everyone, and it's not like he's fighting back. He knows we're right."

"Leo, you have to fight back!" Don begged, using his staff to pin his clone to the floor, "Please! You know we'd never think any of these things about you!"

"Donny's right, bro!" Michelangelo confirmed, flipping over and wrapping his nunchaku around his own evil clone, forcing its arms to its sides, "This is just the ghost chick messing with your head again, it's all lies!"

"Say it as much as ya want," fake Raphael bellowed with a deranged grin, "you can't make him believe it, not when he says it all ta himself every freakin' day!"

"Leo, don't listen!"

"No, lame-o-nardo! Ya should listen, listen to how much of a failure ya are!"

"Leo!"

"LEO!"

"EVERYONE JUST, SHUT UP!" Leo finally screamed, head clutched in his hands and eyes clenched tight, "My head is loud enough without everyone making it worse!"

It was in that sudden moment of stillness that a crack split the air, following by a crumbling crash. Raphael fell from his cage, landing on top of his clone and the fake of their father, his sai stabbing through them with vicious efficiency. "You will NOT use our faces for this," he spat furiously "ya hear me, ya ghost freak?! No one is allowed to mess with my family, NO ONE!"

Turning to his brother, Raph felt his heart twist painfully at the sight of the indomitable leader he'd come to respect cowed in a corner, shaking with barely restrained emotion, "Leo," he said, voice hoarse from screaming, "only you can stop this. I believe in ya, bro. We all do, yer our leader and I'll follow you anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, there's no one else for the job."

"Raphie's right, Leo," Don urged "you can stop this, you just have to fight back."

"We believe in you, bro," Mikey called, straining to keep his clone under wraps, "so please, just try to believe in yourself a little!"

Gathering his strength, the blue ninja finally allowed himself to meet the gaze of his siblings. Taking in the horror they shared, grieving over the pain that shimmered in their eyes over the actions and words of their clones. It hurt so much, that his greatest fears and secrets were laid bare in front of his team. They didn't deserve this, they shouldn't have to bear this burden. It needed to end. Raising his head to his accusers, Leo rasped, "Its all lies," he stated firmly, "my family doesn't believe that. I'm the only one who does, but they would never say those things. They aren't my enemy, I am. The real person held hostage in this test wasn't Raphael, it was me, and I'm not going to be held hostage anymore."

With a hiss the torches extinguished, and the sneering clones gushed out onto the floor, reduced back to water. The three brothers collapsed on the floor, all breathing hard from exertion. Raph didn't allow himself the time to recover, especially since he didn't even get to fight. He scrambled over to his eldest brother, fury overtaking his senses. He couldn't explain why he was angry, he was happy that Leo had come to his senses enough to bring the test to an end. However, he was upset that he'd ever believe they thought that about him.

As he drew closer to the blue turtle though, Raphael's temper petered out. Leaving him with only one thing he could say to his leader, "Why?"

Leo flinched, ducking his head away from the fury he felt he deserved, "I'm sorry," he choked out.

"I don't want an apology!" Raphael growled, punching the floor with bloody knuckles "I want to know why you think that about us, about yourself? Why?!"

"It doesn't matter," the leader shook his head, trying in vain to escape, knowing he should stay but not wanting more confrontation with his siblings.

"No, you can't say that," Donny had made his way to sit next to his eldest brother, chocolate brown eyes heavy with grief, "you can't say that it doesn't matter, because that sounds a little too much like you're saying you don't matter."

Leo shook his head more, his breath coming in hitched gasps, "Because I don't," he breathed. "I don't matter."

"See, that's where I disagree," Raphael snarled, heart sinking at the way his brother once again flinched at his tone; but he continued on, determined to make his point, "because I still haven't gotten an answer on who told ya that yer not allowed to be scared? And now yer sayin' ya don't matter? Who's fillin' yer head with this garbage?"

The leader gasped a reply, but it was so soft, none heard. Raphael growled, leaning closer, "What ya say, I couldn't hear ya!"

"I said I don't know!" Leo finally snapped, his head shooting up to look Raphael in the eye, even as strong arms wrapped around himself defensively.

"Then where did it start?" Raphael bellowed, grief dripping from each growl "Was it my fault? Did I make you start thinking like this?!"

Leonardo clamped his hands over his mouth, he didn't want any more secrets revealed. He didn't want to burden his brothers with the darkness that stretched in the back of his mind. He felt like poison enough as it was. Raphael wouldn't take no for an answer, though. The red clad turtle dove forward, and grabbed Leo's wrists, forcing the hands away from his face, "Answer me, for shell's sake?!"

"I don't know where it started!" Leonardo finally screamed. Pressure from his brother's prying finally breached the dam holding back years of hurt, and the leader was now drowning in the wave pouring from his mouth, "Maybe it was when I had to start taking responsibility for everything that happened after father made me leader. Maybe it was when I realized I would never be good enough for anyone! That no matter how hard I try, or fight, or train, I'm always going to be a colossal disappointment! To father, to you guys, to myself! I'm not good enough!"

"Is that why you train so much?" Mikey asked, voice small amongst all the yelling. "To prove youre good enough?"

"I-I don't know!" Leo choked back a sob, gritting his teeth even as the tsunami of emotion continued, "I try so hard to keep up with all of you, but I just can't catch up! Raph is so strong, and Donny is a genius, and father always says that you has the most untapped raw talent out of all of us….I just felt like I didn't bring anything special to the team."

"Nothing special?" Donatello repeated, face aghast "You're the best out of all of us!"

"Only because I haven't had a day off in years," the blue ninja hiccuped, hands falling helplessly to his sides when Raphael dropped them, features wreathed in shock "but without all the training, what am I? I don't have any special gifts like you do. I'm not an artist like Mikey, and I can't build things like you can. Even Raph has a hobby since Casey got him into hockey. But all I can do is train, I don't even know what skills I have beyond that. I'm nothing but a weapon, a tarnished sword!"

"That's not true!" Mikey spluttered, grabbing Leo's hands only to see them snatched away.

"Isn't it?!" Leonardo spat, as he scrambled away. The leader was as shocked as his brothers at his reactions, and yet he couldn't hold back the words he'd longed to say for years. "do you know what my favorite thing to do outside of ninjutsu is? Do you know what I love and wish I could do more, if I only had the time? I wish you did, because I sure as shell don't! But I'm not allowed to know anyways, because I have to go sit through leadership lessons with father and hear how I'm doing everything wrong. Do you know how much it hurts to look in the mirror and realize I have no hobbies or interests, that I lost my childhood to preserve yours? But I'm not allowed to complain or mourn that loss, because that's not what a leader does!?

"Every day I have to battle between what I want and what father expects." Leo continued, the raging torrent of hurt and anger spilling from his mouth, and the blue ninja had no idea how to turn the valve off, "I have to stay in control every minute of the day, and never tell anyone how I truly feel, I can't even tell father because I know I'll get a lecture about how I'm letting my emotions effect my leadership. I can't remember the last time I got to sleep in or allow myself to waste time with hobbies outside of training!

"I wish I could play video games with you, I wish I could try new things and be allowed to make mistakes!" Leonardo felt like a madman, the words wouldn't stop, he was dizzy with the exhilaration of spilling his most precious secrets, the fears he's held closest to his heart, but he also felt sick. His stomach churned with nausea as he let out his bitterness, as if he were squeezing poison from a festering wound, "I wish I could have a day off and not have to be a leader but just be a teenager, but I don't want that because I don't know what I'd be without leadership! I wish I wasn't constantly terrified of getting you all killed, and I wish I could be the leader you deserve, but I can't! And now it's all ruined because after we get out of here, I know none of you will look at me the same, and I'm terrified of that too! I just don't know anything right now, ok?!"

The three brothers sat in shock at the outburst, unable to process the depth of their leader's pain. Leo panted, shoulders heaving and his eyes wide with horror at what he'd just done. In a panic, the blue turtle jumped to his feet and ran. Too much had been revealed, too much said, and he couldn't face them. Not now, not like this.

Leo bolted to the exit door, leaving his brothers behind, even though the leader in him snarled at his cowardly behavior. He knew he shouldn't run off alone, shouldn't leave them behind, but he needed to be alone. Stumbling through the stone door, the blue ninja hit the floor. Hiding his face between his knees, the leader finally released the sobs he had held captive since the spirit first subjected him to her scathing touch.

It was overwhelming, he just knew they hated him now, and who wouldn't? Loneliness gnawed at him, but Leo wouldn't give himself the comfort of his brothers. He didn't deserve it. At this point, he didn't believe he deserved anything. He was humiliated, but worst of all, he despised himself for losing his temper on his brothers. They hadn't said those things, they gave him the strength to fight back, but he yelled at them as if they were to blame. He was a horrible brother.

The creak of the stone door alerted him to his siblings arrival into the corridor, but Leo couldn't stop his tears. Clenching his lips shut just make him choke, gasping for air in gulping sobs. Calloused hands gripped his shell, shoulders, one cradled his head, and that only made the frazzled terrapin cry harder. His chest burned with the force of sobs ripping up his throat. In fact, Leo couldn't remember the last time he broke down like this. He's not sure he ever had. That thought provoked a whole now wave of tears, the leader despising himself all the more at the scene he was making. Self loathing scorched the back of his throat, harsh coughs breaking through his weeping.

"Come on, bro, you need to breathe," Donatello's voice was a soothing neutral, and his strong hands massaged the part where shell met shoulder, easing the tension out of strained muscles, "you can do it, deep breaths."

"Something tells me we're going to be doing a lot of cuddling down here," Mikey chuckled weakly, squeezing in next to his brother. "Just listen to Doctor Donny, Leo, we got you."

Leonardo shook his head, bewildered at the gentle treatment, angry that he needed it, relieved that they weren't rejecting him. "I'm sorry," he finally choked out, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you guys. I hate this, I hate not being able to stop myself from saying stuff that hurts you. I'm sorry I'm acting so pathetic."

"I'm not gonna lie, seeing you like this is freaking me out," Mikey rested his forehead against his brother's shoulder, "but you don't need to apologize, dude."

"Yes I do," Leo groaned "you didn't ask for this, you shouldn't have to deal with my messed up head."

"You didn't ask for this either," Don muttered, scooting over so Raph could situate himself behind their leader, "the spirit didn't give you much choice. It was either this, or she killed us on sight."

"But still, it's so dumb," Leo whispered, head sinking further between his knees, sniffling miserably as his tears finally started to slow. "I'm so dumb."

"Alright, that's it," Raphael grunted, pulling Leonardo back against his plastron in a gentle headlock, "I'm settin' some ground rules for this 'adventure'. The first bein', no more saying negative stuff about yerself anymore, got it? And I mean it! I get that yer stressed and you can't control what ya say, but ya can't keep feedin' yer brain with all this negativity and expect ta feel good later. It don't work that way! Take it from a turtle who knows!"

Leonardo opened his mouth to disagree, but Raphael gave his head a warning squeeze, "Don't even think about it, Leo," he growled, "the fact of the matter is, if you tell yerself yer a loser, then whether ya wanna be or not, you'll be a loser. But yer not a loser, not ta me, or father, or our brothers. And yer not worthless either! Ya gotta stop tellin' yerself that stuff, or the battle in yer head is already lost. Ya never quit before, so why ya quittin' now? Fight, Leo, fight not just for us, but fight for yerself."

"Wow," Mikey blinked after a couple moments of silence, a grin breaking out on his face, "who'd expect Raphie to be so deep when it comes to feelings?"

Raphael rolled his eyes, "I can do feelings, lame brain, I just don't like to."

A snort exploded from Leo's lips, surprising himself when he realized he could laugh despite just finishing a massive crying jag, "I guess you're a turtle of many talents." He joked, a weak attempt at levity.

Raph smirked, shoving his brother into more of a hug than a headlock, "Ya better believe it"

The anxiety finally began to recede, and for the first time since the whole thing began, safe in the embrace of his siblings Leo felt at peace "And what's the second ground rule?" He asked.

"Ya talk to us," Raphael asserted, tone unyielding as the stone surrounding them, "ya got too much on yer mind bro, and if you would just let us support ya, it wouldn't get so bad. So, if you are feelin' angry, or upset, or you just need to vent, talk to us. I may not always understand ya, but I'll listen, and I promise to do better by ya, deal?"

Leonardo nodded, a lump in his throat stealing his voice for a moment. Swallowing back the relief and gratitude that he felt for his siblings, Leo asked softly, "Any other demands?"

Raphael made a show of considering the question, causing his brothers to laugh, until he grinned, "Not at the moment, but I reserve the right to create new ones as we go."

The blue turtle chuckled, enjoying the giddy feeling of being allowed to lean on his brothers instead of suffering alone, "I think I can agree to that."

"Good, because we're going to hold you to it," Mikey stated, poking Leo in the head.

A few moments passed, the quiet of the cave enveloping them in a cocoon of peace. Leo leaned into his brothers, enjoying the feeling of not having to be the strong, responsible one for once. However, they all knew they needed to get back on the trail and finish the tests. Heaving a sigh, Leo groaned, "We need to get moving, guys,"

Unhappy grunts answered his statement, but eventually all shifted until four turtles were standing on their feet. Looking down the corridor, Leo grimaced; not wanting to see what the cave held next, but knowing they had no choice but to go forward. Thankfully, he was starting to realize that he wasn't going through the tests alone. That he had his brothers backing him up, and they were the driving force keeping him sane. In fact, the blue ninja mused, startled at the revelation, he had been going at these trials all wrong since the beginning.

The leader gaped at his own arrogance, his mind clearing to reveal that even from the first step, he acted like he was the only one being tested. He had automatically assumed that he was all alone, despite him stating at the beginning they were a team. Leo pondered this, confused as to how he had unconsciously taken full responsibility for the success of the mission, and realized another startling fact. This wasn't the first time he'd done this.

Every mission they've ever done, he went in like a one man army, determined to finish it himself. It wasn't that he couldn't operate with his team, but maybe, at a subconscious level he didn't trust anyone else to do the job. Leo's heart twisted at the uncomfortable thought. He didn't like thinking he didn't trust his brothers, but at the same time, the blue turtle had gone through so much hurt that he had to heal from alone; maybe that was his way of coping?

The leader shook his head, he couldn't get lost in his thoughts, at least not yet. He would consider that revelation later, for now they had a cave to finish. Holding his head high, Leonardo led his brothers to the next gate. Yet another stone edifice, elaborately carved, and more eery glowing writing springing to life on the front. The turtles clustered together, eyebrow ridges furrowed as Donny read.

A second challenge with a puzzling key

Donatello now must be freed

Consider carefully the path you choose

Or two lives you may just lose

"Well, Don," Raphael smirked, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, "looks like it's yer turn."

"Oh, joy," the brainiac sighed.

"At least it doesn't sound like we have to fight," Mikey grumbled, "I don't want to see anymore clones, even of my pretty face."

Eyes were rolled, and Leo chuckled, "Come on, guys, let's get this party started."

Thank you for reading my work, I plan on having the next chapter up sometime next week!

For now, please REVIEW!