Disclaimer: I still don't own the TMNT. I never have. I've never claimed to, even. Fantasized, yes. Claimed, no. I just write stories about them because it's fun and it gives me something to do. :D Now that that's over…

I'm so sorry! I can't believe it's been four weeks since I last updated! It's just seemed like one thing after another with this chapter, though. First I got a bad case of writer's block, and then when that left, I couldn't figure out what to do with this chapter; I think I've seriously changed what's going to happen in it at LEAST four times. And then when I FINALLY figured it out, my computer decided to be stupid and refuse to load any web pages, so I couldn't get on So I then had to stalk the library computers for a few days, trying to get enough time to get this chapter written. Then there was MORE story writing trouble because this chapter just didn't want to work for me. Hopefully, though, it has turned out to your liking, dear readers. :I

And a truckload of thanks to my awesome reviewers: Aurora Musis Amica, Swallowraven, Pi90katana, WarrinPeace, BubblyShell22, and Sewer Slider. You guys are amazing, and thank you for the great reviews!

Now, to the story! Through many trials and tribulations, I bring you: Chapter 3! Please love it. :D

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Raph stomped up the stairs to Leo's room, muttering to himself. "Frickin' stupid…can't get an answer outta anyone in this place…" He was deeply annoyed by the time he reached Leo's door, and only knocked once sharply before pushing the door open.

The first thing he saw was Leo sitting on his bed, supporting his head with his fists. He spoke before Raph could.

"I appreciate you coming up here, Don, but you don't have to stay. I can fix my hands by myself."

Raph narrowed his eyes slightly, concerned about his brother despite himself; the red-banded turtle had rarely heard his brother sound that troubled. But he tried to set that aside and gather his attitude again; though he would never admit it, Raph knew he was a lot like his brother, and he knew Leo wouldn't want any pity or coddling in a situation like this. "Damn, people thinkin' I'm Don twice in one day," Raph drawled. "I must be losin' my touch."

Leo's head shot up, and Raph was taken aback by the turmoil on his brother's face. The emotions were only visible for a second, though, because Leo's expression quickly slid back into its normal, controlled state. "What do you want, Raph?" Leo asked.

The hothead scowled at the tone in his brother's voice. "Geez, don't sound so happy ta see me, bro, ya might sprain somethin'." He hefted the supplies he was carrying, raising them enough for Leo to see them. "Our resident genius is gettin' in touch with his angry side, so I'm here ta fix yer stupid hands."

"That's not necessary," Leo objected. "I can take care of it by myself."

"Yeah?" Raph stalked over to his brother and threw the medical supplies on his bed, then grabbed one of Leo's wrists and forced the hand open. He winced at the sight of the torn palms, but covered it up with another scowl and pointed at the bloody flesh. "'Scuse me fer sayin' it, Fearless, but this don't look like anythin' ya can take care of on yer own. An' since Don's pissed an' ya kicked Mikey out, I'm the only one here ta clean ya up, so shut up an' get yer butt over to tha bathroom."

Leo hissed at Raph's rough grip and jerked his hand back. "Raph, I said I can—"

"Stuff it, Leo. I got no problem smackin' ya around to get ya to listen, screwed up hands or not."

The blue-banded turtle sighed, sick of all the fuss everyone was making, but he recognized the look in Raph's eyes: the one that said the hothead was determined to get his way. Leo didn't feel like dragging this out any longer. Besides, he thought to himself, the sooner I say yes, the sooner this is over with and he'll back off. A tired smile tugged at his mouth. Hopefully.

"What're you grinnin' at?" Raph asked.

"Nothing. Let's just get this taken care of." He stood and walked resignedly into the bathroom.

Raph came after him, once again carrying the medical supplies, and now bearing a smug, satisfied smirk as well. "Good, yer finally showin' some sense. Here." He fumbled through his armload, then offered Leo a bar of soap. "This is summa that disinfectant crap Don likes; don't worry, it don't sting as bad as the regular stuff," he added.

Leo winced at the thought of getting soap of any kind in the cuts on his hands, but accepted the soap anyway. "Thanks." It took several washings and more than a few swear words before he was finished. He then dried his hands carefully and waved them back and forth, trying to ease the stinging in the cuts. "Now what?"

"Now ya keep yer pants on while I get these bandages ready," Raph replied, his tone occupied as he concentrated on juggling everything he was still holding. He gave up on keeping everything and hanged Leo a small tube. "In the meantime, try an' get some of this stuff on; it's kinda like a pain reliever, numbs the cuts a bit."

"How do you know so much about this?" Leo asked curiously as he took the proffered tube. Raph had been unusually comfortable and knowledgeable throughout this whole process.

Raph snorted, shooting a grin at his older brother. "If I got experience in anythin', it's fights. So Don decided one day that if I was gonna keep gettin' into 'em, I was gonna clean myself up after 'em, too; at least the small ones. So he showed me how ta use most of this stuff."

Leo raised an eye ridge. "He just "decided one day"?" he asked, his tone skeptical.

The red-banded turtle tried to suppress a grin. "Yep."

"And you, of course, being the willing, avid learner that you are, immediately agreed." The disbelief was all but dripping off of Leo's words.

Raph couldn't help himself any longer and burst out laughing. "Alright, alright, ya got me there. It wasn't really like he gave me any choice in the matter. I'd ended up comin' back from a fight one night, an' I'd gotten caught by surprise when I was doin' my good deed fer the day." He saw the reproving glare his brother shot at him, but ignored it. "Anyways, I'd gotten kinda banged up, an' jus' walked right inta Don's lab, without knockin', ta see if he could fix me up."

"You did what?" Leo shook his head in disbelief. "Bad choice, Raph."

"Yer tellin' me. I ended up comin' about this close—" Raph held his fingers about an inch apart, "—ta gettin' one of Don's new shuriken in the middle of my face."

Leo looked pale. "The new ones? You mean the ones he came up with last month, the poisoned ones?"

"Yep," Raph nodded. "I'd caught 'im right in the middle of practicin' his aim." He shook his head and laughed. "Damn, I got a nice breeze from that sucker."

"What happened?"

The red-banded turtle smirked. "Well, I'd scared the crap outta him by doin' that, and seriously pissed him off when I told him why I'd come in."

Leo winced. "Never a good idea."

"You better believe it ain't. He lectured me about that for a solid ten minutes, and then gave me an intro to first aid. Told me that the next time I interrupted 'im like that, I better be missin' a limb."

Raph and Leo both laughed, enjoying the rare moment of closeness. It was unusual for them to be in the same room for long periods of time without fighting, so when they actually managed it, it was worth appreciating.

Leo's laughter died first, leaving an odd, quiet look on his face. He glanced at Raph, and a sad smile tugged at his mouth. "Hey, Raph?"

Raph's chuckling had trailed off by now as well, his attention focused as he finished wrapping Leo's hands. "Yeah?" He put the supplies away and turned, his brow furrowing slightly at the look on Leo's face. "What's up, bro?"

"…We don't do this much, do we?"

"Do what?"

"This." Leo gestured at the two of them. "Talk, laugh together…just be brothers without fighting or competing or trying to rip each other's heads off." The smile slowly fell off his face. "We really ought to do this more often…we don't know when we won't have to chance to anymore."

Raph frowned, sitting down beside his brother. "Leo, yer kinda freakin' me out here. What's wrong?"

"What's right?" Leo responded, staring at his hands. "We got out and save people, risk our lives, fight against the Foot, save entire planets from annihilation…and in return, what do we get? We face losing each other every single day. What's right about that?"

"Leo, we ain't facin' losin' anyone," Raph protested, worried about his brother's attitude. His frown deepened as he stared at Leo. He's actin' way too weird…

"Not right now," Leo murmured. "Not yet, at least…"

Raph sat up straighter and gripped his brother's shoulders tightly. "Leo, what's goin' on? This is about yer dream, innit?"

Leo averted his gaze and carefully shoved Raph's hands away. "I never said that."

"Yer all but screamin' it, bro. You ain't normally like this, an' yer little "episode" is the only thing that's happened recently ta scramble yer brains." He crossed his arms and leveled a glare at his brother. "What was the dream about?"

Leo's body visibly tensed, his hands curling into fists. "Just drop it, Raph; it's not a big deal."

"Watch yer hands," Raph said mildly, a taunting smile on his face.

"Knock it off, Raphael," Leo growled, his voice low and angry.

"Knock what off?" Raph asked, trying to make his tone as innocent as he could. "Showin' some concern about one'a my bros?"

Leo laughed derisively. "You? Concerned about me?" More mocking laughter followed. "Be serious, Raph."

Now it was Raph's turn to get angry. "Don't try an' pull that shit, Leo. I may not show it a lot, but I care about ya," he said gruffly, then smirked at his brother. "Even when yer actin' mental."

"I already said to drop it. It's none of your business."

"Guess again, Leo-nardo," Raph drawled. "It became my business when ya woke up tryin' ta kill me."

Leo paled, his face tight with anger and guilt. "I didn't try to kill you!" he denied shakily. "I just—"

"Woke up throwin' a sword at my skull," the red-banded turtle interrupted. "An' that was when ya were wakin' up from—what was it again? Oh yeah, the dream that "doesn't matter" 'cuz "it ain't a big deal". Damn, I'd hate to see what'd happen if ya ever—"

"Shut up!" Before Raph could react, Leo struck out from the shoulder, slamming his brother to the floor.

Raph landed hard, his eyes wide as he stared at his brother.

"Just shut up!!" Leo yelled again, his voice angry and desperate. "This isn't your problem—I won't let it be your problem! This dream is mine to deal with, and I'll handle it by myself. So just back off and leave me alone!" He whirled around and fired a punch at the bathroom door. "Just leave me alone!!"

But suddenly, the door was missing, though Leo's arm fist kept going. A calm, furry paw quickly gripped his wrist, using his momentum to pull him through the door of the bathroom. The grip then shifted slightly, swinging Leo 180 degrees before a quick tug jerked him to a stop. It took several moments for his head to stop spinning, but when Leo finally looked at who had a hold of his arm, he paled rapidly. "M-master Splinter!"

"I must confess, my son, this is not the welcome that I was expecting." Splinter's eyes held a trace of mirth, though concern shone clearly in their depths. "Is something wrong, my son?"

Raph could see Leo floundering, and suddenly jumped in to save him as he heaved himself off of the bathroom floor. "Nah, it's nothin', Master Splinter; he just didn't sleep too well. How was yer stay at Ape's?"

Splinter turned and looked surprised at Raph's save, but didn't come close to the shock on Leo's face. The older turtle's mouth continued hanging open as Splinter focused his attention on Raph instead. "It was quite enjoyable, Raphael; I must admit, the…break was greatly appreciated. And before you ask, yes, the warmer climate was a welcome change."

"Glad ta hear it," Raph said easily. He stood, storing the remaining supplies and headed out of the bathroom, grabbing his brother's arm as he left. "Leo an' I are just gonna get some stuff taken care of before dinner. 's good ta see ya back, Sensei."

Raph quickly dragged Leo out of the bathroom and a safe distance down the hall before releasing him. He scowled at his older brother, crossing his arms firmly over his plastron. "Yer welcome."

Leo frowned at his brother, still slightly shaken with his sensei's sudden return. "For what?"

"Whadda ya mean, for what? For savin' you from embarassin' yerself in front'a Master Splinter, that's what!" Raph threw up his hands and paced away before coming back. His hands fisted tightly, but suddenly relaxed as he sighed. He stood in front of Leo again, but wouldn't meet his eyes. "Alright, look, ya don't have to tell me what happened if ya don't want to; shell knows we've never done th'whole "talkin' about it'll make ya feel better" thing for much'a anythin', let alone nightmares."

A protest quickly rose from Leo. "I—"

"Can it, I ain't done yet," Raph snapped, finally locking gazes with Leo. "I won't push anymore, alright? You obviously ain't in the sharin' mood, an' that's fine. But whatever this stupid thing was, get over it; I'm th'only one here who's allowed bein' an ass."

Leo grinned slightly, unable to help it. "Don't like the competition?"

Raph grinned back, allowing the tension to dissipate a bit. "Damn straight. We've already seen what it's like when you try ta act like me; an' bro, ya don't have the charm to pull it off," he said smugly. "So whatever it was about that dream that got yer bandana in a knot, get over it; it's just a dream. An' then get yer shell downstairs an' apologize ta Don an' Mikey; they're takin' this too seriously, an' I like electricity an' runnin' water too much to want Donnie ta stay pissed."

Another laugh came from Leo before his expression sobered. "Yeah, you're right…I just…"

"Just what?" Raph's brows lowered in concern. "It was just a dream, right?"

Leo hesitated, then nodded his head firmly. "Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right. I'm taking this too seriously as well; I'm probably just worrying too much about it."

"Don't'cha always?" Raph joked.

"No, I don't worry too much," Leo retorted. "You just don't worry enough."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get over this, alright? Go…I dunno, meditate a while, if ya think it'll help."

"Nah," Leo said, shaking his head again. "I've been thinking about this too much, making it a bigger deal than it is. I think I need dinner more than I need extra thinking time."

Raph grinned, glad that things were fixed. "Good. Then let's go get Mikey to whip somethin' up. Your sulkin' has totally thrown off the eating schedule, and I'm starvin'."

Leo rolled his eyes and followed his brother down the stairs. "Oh, I'm so sorry to have disrupted your delicate routine, Raph." He shot a quick swat to the back of Raph's head and ducked a return punch, running past him down the stairs. "Last one there has dish duty!"

"Get back here, ya cheater! What the hell happened to yer morals 'bout fairness an' all that crap?!"

"As the great sage once said, 'fairness comes second to the dread of dish-pan hands'."

"Like hell! You just made that up!"

Leo shot a grin back to his brother as he flipped down to the main level of the Lair. "What's your point, prune-fingers?"

Raph smirked back at his brother. "My point is gonna be a fist in yer face!" he retorted. The red-banded turtle flipped right after his brother, landing beside him running. The brothers swiped at each other as they ran for the kitchen, and Raph felt a large weight lifted from his chest. If Leo's actually willin' ta have some fun fer once, he musta just needed the reality check, he reasoned to himself easily.

I mean, if it really was somethin' big, Leo definitely wouldn't've ditched it.

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As soon as the two turtles had left the stairs, a third form stepped out of the nearby shadows. Splinter frowned after his sons, concerned with what he had heard. Part of his conscience gave a twinge for having eavesdropped on the conversation, but the turmoil he'd sensed from Leonardo had convinced him that he needed to know what was going on. The conversation hadn't been as enlightening as he'd hoped, though; all he'd managed to gather was that Leonardo had had a nightmare.

And while that in itself is unusual, it is hardly cause for alarm, Splinter chided himself. Or a cause to invade their privacy.

Another part of him, however, continued to fixate on the emotions coming off of his oldest son; next to Donatello, Leonardo was the calmest of his brothers, yet Splinter had easily sensed a great deal of confusion and fear from his eldest. But at Raphael's words, he had shoved those emotions away. And that proved to be the greatest concern for Splinter.

Leonardo has always faced his problems head-on; so what could he have seen that was bad enough for him to want to bury it?

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Leo sighed as he unbuckled his sword strap, setting it and his sheathes in their normal position. He rolled his shoulders to relieve some of the tension in his muscles, flopping down on his bed. Dinner had gone a lot better than he expected; Don and Mikey had been nearly as ready to let the situation go as Leo was. The only strange part was Master Splinter; several times during the meal Leo had sensed his sensei staring at him closely, though he didn't know why. Oddly enough, he'd gotten the impression that Splinter was upset with him over something, but when he'd asked, the old rat had waved his question aside.

Another sigh breezed out as Leo slowly relaxed. Whatever it is, it'll have to wait. It's way too late to deal with this tonight…Mikey had suggested a late-night movie, and Leo hadn't had the heart to refuse after the day's events. As a result, it was now nearly one in the morning. He closed his eyes, falling into the familiar breathing pattern that always helped him fall asleep. A small part of him was slightly nervous about going back to sleep, especially considering how it had ended last time. But once again, he thrust those thoughts aside. It was just a dream; I've had bad nightmares like that before. I just kept thinking about it too much, made it seem like it was worse than it really was. Leo could feel himself slipping into sleep when a sudden force seized his mind. He recognized the tugging sensation, and began thrashing against it mentally.

No!!!! No, I'm not going through this again! It's just a dream!!

—it was late at night, with a cool breeze flinging Leo's bandana tails around his face, the material striking his cheeks—

NO!!!! Leo was screaming, his mind trapped again in what he could no longer pass off as a dream. He could actually feel the breeze this time, could feel the sensation of the bandana material whipping against his skin. This isn't real! It's not! He pulled in as much strength as he could, fighting against the vision with the force of his will, but another fragment attached itself, building the nightmare chain even stronger.

—the full moon cast mingled bars of light and shadow on the rooftops, momentarily revealing him and his brothers to any sharp eyes—

Strength was quickly deserting him, sapped away by his fear, as well as the suffocating potency of his premonition. No!! Please—let this just go away…

—despite the pleasant evening, worry and concern were pumping through his veins, moving him faster as his senses prickled with urgency—

Leo could feel sweat beading on his forehead, but quickly lost the sensation as the vision dragged at his mind, submersing him. No…not real…it's just…just a…

—he kept running, his mind full of the knowledge of the grim purpose of their midnight run; Karai had sent them a threat, and they had to get to April's, he had to—

…dream…

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Leo shot straight up in bed, his heart going seventy miles an hour. His eyes darted around the room as he tried to reassure himself he was home, and he was fine.

Fine…Leo thought mockingly, burying his face in his hands. Yeah, right.

His whole body shook with tension and suppressed emotions as he tried to recover. The vision had returned again, but longer this time; it felt like it was a picture, and more was being painted each time he went through it. He squeezed his eyes shut, recalling what had happened. Everything had been more detailed this time, except for the end…just like the last time, it had flown by so fast, leaving him grasping after half-seen moments and reeling from the force of phantom emotions he couldn't even begin to describe. One thing had changed at the end, though; two crystal clear images were there that hadn't been there before. First, there was a strange man in front of him bearing a sword, a man he had never seen before, while the Foot Elite were surrounding him. Leo also had his swords drawn, but they were covered with blood…as was he. Then next thing he had seen was the Shredder's skyscraper vanishing from the New York skyline, all the forces of the Foot ranged across its height.

Leo sighed, glancing down at his hands. So much for being a dream. No dream happens three times…and not like that…A quick look at the clock showed that it was only 3:30 in the morning. He stood and walked to the mirror, trying to see if the vision had left any mark on him. His skin was slightly pale, and dark circles looked like they were trying to gain a footing under his tired eyes. Leo glanced back at his bed, but quickly turned away. No matter how tired he was, the thought of sleeping was decidedly unappealing now. Grabbing his pads and sword equipment, he dressed and quietly made his way downstairs.

He exercised for almost two hours before he felt more like himself. Halfway through his third round of katas, Leo began to feel himself relax, the painful amount of tension in his muscles diminishing. He slowly began to fall into the half-aware state of meditation he entered when he practiced these moves, ones he knew so well they were automatic. His mind once again drifted to the issue of his vision.

Yeah, vision, not dream. A quiet voice spoke from the back of his conscience, the annoying one that he hated having to listen to. You can't deny that it's real anymore; you'd only be lying to yourself.

Leo's jaw tightened, but he kept his movements flowing through the pattern of the kata. This voice always seemed to point out what he often wanted to ignore. I know that.

So you admit it's real?

I…His teeth ground together painfully, but he knew he couldn't ignore this problem any longer. Yes. It's real. Are you happy now?

Thrilled.

Leo really hated it when even his inner voice started sounding like Raph. Great. So will you leave now?

No.

Why not?

You still have to deal with this, Leonardo. It's not going to go away just because you don't like it. You're actually getting some warning about the next disaster in your life; why not use it?

What was supposed to be a simple block turned into a jerky chop as Leo's anger flared. I can't use it because I don't understand it.

Master Splinter used his premonition, and you ended up saving the Utroms.

That's different, Leo snarled. He struggled to calm down, feeling slightly odd arguing with a voice in his head. Master Splinter actually had a real premonition; it showed him things and he was able to interpret them. He had a picture to go by; all I've got is a defective puzzle with half the pieces missing.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Why not at least use what you know so far?

Leo slowed to a halt, the thought pricking at his interest. What do you mean?

What information do you have from the dream?

His eyes narrowed in thought as he tried to pick through the random images. I know…that it's going to happen at night. It's also going to be a little cool…

What else?

There will be a full moon. He knelt into seiza on the tatami mats, his mind fully occupied now. And…April…

What about her?

Leo paused, hesitant to say the words, as though it would make them even truer. She'll be in trouble.

The voice persisted. What will happen next?

I don't know…we…we'll be attacked, but…the rest is just a blur. He had no intact memories of the dream's finale, other than the chilling awareness of death. How does this help me?

Well, what phase is the moon in right now?

It's a three-quarters crescent, Leo responded promptly. So what?

So, now you have a date. Find out when the moon waxes.

How will that help? A full moon lasts a couple days.

The voice sighed and sounded exasperated. You just have to be difficult about this, don't you? Yes, it lasts a couple days, but how is that a problem? You can pinpoint those days, which narrows your window of when this will occur considerably. You've been on guard for long periods of time before; I doubt you'll have trouble doing so again for the few days a full moon lasts.

Fine. Thanks for your help, Leo thought curtly, intent on finding a calendar so he could start preparing. I can take care of it from here.

Another sigh. Aren't you forgetting something? Or to be specific, three green somethings?

If you mean Raph, Don and Mikey, then yes. And it's going to stay that way, Leo retorted. You saw what happened. At least, I think you did—whatever. My brothers…they end up hurt, possibly dead; therefore, they're not coming.

All trace of humor was gone in an instant, the tone sternly serious. You can't exclude them, Leonardo.

Watch me.

The voice laughed at him, sounding again annoyingly like Raph. Do you honestly think you could stop them even if you tried? You—we—have lived with them for seventeen, almost eighteen years. They already know you're acting oddly, so they're going to be watching you to make sure you're okay. And even if you somehow manage to convince Don and Mikey to stay behind—which, might I add, is doubtful—we both know your chances of getting Raph to listen to you are zilch.

I'll figure something out.

Oh sure. I can just hear it now: "I'll see you later, guys; I'm just going out for an innocent late-night run after I've been acting weird for the past few days. Don't stay up too late, and I'll be back later!" That'll go over like a ton of lead bricks.

Will you shut up already? Leo fumed. I said I'll take care of it.

Another sigh, this one decidedly more annoyed. You just aren't getting this, are you? This is a premonition, a warning of what is to come. This vision was sent to you so that you could prepare yourself for it. You got it so that you will know what's coming, and what you need to do. That's what happened with Master Splinter's vision. It's a matter of duty; you know that April's going to be in trouble, and you owe it to her to protect her. Besides, there's a chance you'll get rid of the Foot.

Oh right; one spastic little glimpse at the very end of a messed-up dream is really something to go on.

Shell, you're thick! Look, the whole Foot army, along with a giant skyscraper all disappear. Things don't get any clearer than that!

That's not—Leo palmed his face in frustration. Why am I arguing with myself?!

Because half of your self is stupid! The voice snapped. And it's not me!!

Oh, shut up.

Look, you're actually getting some warning for once, so use it! Tell your brothers about this; it involves them, and they deserve to know.

But—

You always work best as a team, right? You know April's going to be involved, and you can't face the number of Foot that you saw, not by yourself.

I know that…

Then do what you know you need to do. Trust your family.

Leo's eyes narrowed. I do trust them!

Not as much as you should. You need to trust them with their own lives. Trust them to make their own decisions. You can't protect them from everything; they're going to do what they want. Trust them to stand by your side; they always have, and you know…

That I wouldn't want it any other way, Leo finished. He sighed, ruefully agreeing. "Alright," he whispered out loud, both to himself and his inner voice. "I'll tell them."

"Tell who what?" A gruff voice inquired mildly.

Leo's head shot up to see his brothers standing in the doorway of the dojo. His brow furrowed slightly. "What the shell are you guys doing up so early?"

"Early?" Don looked slightly amused. "Leo, it's nearly 7; it's almost time for practice."

"It's seven already?" Leo frowned and quickly tried to stand. Unfortunately, his legs, now thoroughly numb after being knelt on for so long, decided instead to buckle and dump him on his shell. The fatigue that he had ignored for the past few hours was rapidly creeping up on him, compounding with the lack of sleep from the previous day as well. He sighed and lay there, spread-eagled on the mats of the dojo. Oh yeah, it's going to be a really good day…

A green face suddenly appeared above his own. Don's expression was full of concern. "Leo, how long have you been in here?"

Leo sighed again. "Since about 3:30."

"Why the hell did you get up that early?!" Raph demanded.

"Language, Raphael."

"It's English, Leonardo," his brother shot back.

Don laid a restraining hand on Raph's plastron, and turned back to Leo. "Any particular reason for getting up after only two and a half hours of sleep?"

"Didn't want to sleep, couldn't sleep, take your pick," Leo said, staring at the ceiling.

"Leo, you look awful."

"Thanks, Don; it's nice to know I can always count on your diplomacy."

"Be serious, bro; how do you feel?"

"Honestly? Like shell. I feel as bad as I apparently look, and to top it all off, I've got a headache so bad it's got its own zip code."

Mikey's head popped into Leo's field of vision, a grin on his face. "All five digits?"

Leo grinned back tiredly. "All five digits and the four other random numbers you stick on the end."

The orange-banded turtle whistled. "Dang. Want some breakfast? And maybe half a bottle of Advil?"

"Throw in a bottle of sleeping pills too and you've got a deal."

Mikey grinned. "You got it, bro."

"Absolutely not," Don interjected, hauling Leo to his feet with Raph's help. "I refuse to start my day by watching you OD on pills, Leo. You get coffee, two Advil, and a nap later if you need it, but that's it. No sleeping pills."

"Spoilsport."

"You'll get over it."

The four of them filed into the kitchen, and Leo immediately plopped down into a chair, dropping his face on the table with a groan.

Mikey glanced at his brother as he made coffee and rummaged through the cupboards for some pancake mix. "Hey Leo, what were you doing in there so early anyways?"

"Hmm? Oh." Leo sighed, his voice muffled by the wood of the table. "I—I need to tell you guys something," he said softly, his voice serious.

His brothers stared at him, wondering at the sudden change in attitude. "What? What's wrong?" Make asked.

Don placed a careful hand on his brother's arm. "Leo, what are you talking about?"

Leo stuck a hand out in Mikey's general direction. "Coffee. Please." When a full cup was placed in his hand, he quickly drank half of it in one shot. Setting the mug down on the table, Leo shuddered as the caffeine hit his system, then met his brothers' troubled gazes. "These past couple of nights, I've been having…premonitions."

"WHAT?!" Three voices exploded at the same time.

"Yeah," Leo said, nodding guiltily.

"Then, yesterday…?" Don trailed off.

"Yes, that's what happened yesterday morning; it wasn't a nightmare you guys woke me up from, it was…that. It happened again this morning, which is partly why I was in the dojo for hours this early."

Don looked flabbergasted, but somehow managed to find his voice. "Only partly why you were in there?"

"Yeah," Leo said quietly, nodding. "The other part was trying to figure out if I should tell you guys or not."

"What? Why the shell wouldn't you tell us?" Raph demanded.

The blue-banded turtle dropped his gaze. "Because what I've seen—it's not something we should want to get into."

"What happens?" Mikey asked carefully, his expression troubled.

Leo winced, running a hand over his face before looking up again. "I—no. We—" He sighed. "Get Master Splinter; he'll need to hear this too."

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"…and then the end of the dream is just a blur," Leo said quietly. "It's kind of like the rest of the dream, a series of scenes, but they move so fast that I can't really remember anything concrete. All I can remember is…fighting Karai, and a lot of…blood, and then I—I think someone dies," he finished in a tired whisper.

Don, Raph, Mikey and Master Splinter all stared at Leo as he finished his tale. It took a while for anyone to find their voices, and it was Master Splinter who spoke first.

"And is that the end of your vision, Leonardo?"

Leo shook his head. "No, Sensei. After that, it's—the vision gets weird. Well, weirder, at least. Everything's black for a while, and then there are two more split-second images. First I saw this man, and I somehow know that he's connected to the Foot, but he's a complete stranger. He's armed with a sword, and I've got my swords out too. And I just got this flash of emotion that there's a very important reason why I need to beat him, but I don't know what."

"And the last image?"

"The last image…" Leo sighed, fatigue showing more clearly than ever on his face. "The last image is even weirder. I saw Foot headquarters, Saki's skyscraper, and the Foot are all over it, standing on every open space on the outside. And then suddenly the whole building disappears, along with all of the Foot, and the skyline sort of adjusts itself, like the building was never there."

"And that's it; after that, I woke up."

Splinter's brows lowered in concern. "This is most troubling. I have not sensed anything regarding the actions of the Foot, but with your vision…" He sighed and looked around the table, meeting all four of the turtles' gazes. "An end to this struggle between our clans has been coming for many years, my sons. We cannot escape Fate; no one can. All we can do now is be thankful for the warning we have received and try to prepare for this battle in the time we are given."

The four turtles nodded, their expressions both resolved and troubled.

Splinter stood, making his way to his room. "I must meditate upon this. Leonardo, I wish you to let me know if anything else comes to you."

Leo nodded. "Hai, Sensei."

The kitchen was silent after the rat's departure, the revelation of Leo's dream sitting heavily on the turtles' minds.

"I'm sorry."

Don, Raph and Mikey looked up when Leo spoke, slightly surprised to hear him talking again. He didn't meet their gazes, but kept his tired eyes on the table. "I know I should have told you guys sooner instead of keeping this from you," he said softly.

"Yeah, you should have," Don agreed bluntly, traces of his hurt showing in his expression. "We're brothers, Leo; it shouldn't take a vision of death for you to actually talk to us."

Leo cringed slightly and buried his face in his hands. "I know. I know, Don; and I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay, Leo," Mikey said, trying to smooth things over. "You were freaked out, and your dream doesn't really sound like a fun one to share."

"Thanks, Mikey."

Silence fell over the kitchen again before Raph finally spoke. "So what're we s'posed to do now?"

Don stood suddenly and made his way out of the kitchen, returning shortly after with his laptop. Setting it down, he reclaimed his seat and opened several windows. Looking at his brothers, he spoke matter-of-factly. "What we're going to do is take care of this logically."

"Um, Donnie?" Mikey piped up. "We're dealing with a vision of creepy ninjas and destruction; I don't think science is gonna help with that too much."

"I never said science, Mikey, I said logic," Don retorted. "Okay. Leo, give me all the details you can about your dream."

Leo narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. "Uhm, right. Okay, well, it's…it's gonna be a full moon. And it'll be pretty cool that night too."

"Okay…" Don said distractedly, typing furiously at the keyboard. "Harvest moon? And can you give me an estimate for a temperature?"

"No, it's not a harvest moon, just a regular full moon. And for temperature?" Leo's gaze drifted to the side, his eyes hazy and unfocused as he tried to pull up the memories of his vision. "Probably about…60s, low 60s, I think. And there's a bit of a breeze too."

"Alright." Grabbing the mouse, Don clicked several times and pulled up a new window. "Now. Where are you?"

"Rooftops…heading to April's…" Leo mumbled, his voice quiet.

"No, where are you when you stop? Where are you when we get surrounded?"

"Rooftop…there's…there's a bunch of chimneys on the…the eastern side of the roof…"

"Good. What landmarks can you see? Are you near any billboards?"

"I can see the old movie theatre…and the…that new insurance billboard is two buildings over."

"That's great, Leo. Anything else?"

"The chimneys…there's Foot ninja by them…" Leo's voice slowly became strained, his breathing coming faster. "They're everywhere—"

Don looked at his brother, frowning. "That's good enough, Leo. Snap out of it."

"There's too many, I can't—"

"Raph," Don snapped, firing a glance at the red-banded turtle. "Wake him up."

"Oh, right, 'cuz that worked so well last time," Raph grumbled. He carefully approached Leo from the side, and grabbed the blue-banded turtle's shoulder firmly. "Leo, snap out of it, yer at home at the—"

In the split second right after Raph's hand made contact, Leo latched onto Raph's wrist and with a quick turn and a tug, flipped him towards the table. Mikey yelped and dove out of the way while Don quickly saved his laptop. Seconds later, Raph landed right where the computer had rested, crashing onto his shell.

"—kitchen table," Raph finished, groaning. He jerked his wrist free from Leo's grip as the older turtle slowly came back to his senses. "I'm gettin' really frickin' sick of this," the hothead snapped, rubbing his shell as he stalked away towards the dojo.

"Shell…" Leo breathed shakily, closing his eyes as he tried to calm himself. "I hate this so much." Glancing up, he looked around the table. His eyes narrowed. "Wait, where's Raph?"

Mikey grinned weakly. "Um, you kinda threw him into the table, so he's…venting a bit in the dojo."

Leo groaned. "Not again…" He heaved himself to his feet, turning to Don before leaving. "Did you get enough information, Don?"

"Yeah, this'll help. Mikey and I can plot out a possible area so we know a little better what to expect. Go talk to Raph."

"Talk. Right." Leo sighed, exhaustion written in his posture as he made his way to the dojo. He could hear Mikey and Don talking quietly behind him as he left, comparing thoughts on where Leo's dream had taken place.

Leo approached the dojo and peered inside carefully. Raph was in his usual spot, going after the punching bag like it was worst enemy. Or me, Leo thought bleakly. Taking a deep breath, he quietly entered the room, closing the door behind him. He approached Raph from the side, not getting very near to him, but close enough that he knew his brother was aware of his presence. When the red-banded turtle said nothing but continued assaulting the punching bag, Leo sighed and spoke up carefully.

"Raph, are you okay? Look, I'm really sorry about throwing you, I—"

"Ya didn't mean to do it, I know. I'm fine," Raph muttered, sending a serious of vicious phoenix punches at the canvas surface in front of him.

"Are you sure? Raph, the whole thing with the Foot and Karai…I know it doesn't sound too good, but—"

Raph delivered one final kick to the punching bag before whirling to face his brother. "No, it ain't the Foot, shell-fer-brains. We can handle whatever they throw at us; always have, always will. And it ain't Karai either, 'cause that bitch deserves whatever's comin' to her; and if that's my sai or your sword in her gut, then good. I don't run from anyone; I ain't that worried about the fight."

"Then what is it?" Leo asked.

"It's you!" Raph shouted angrily, stabbing his finger at Leo.

"Me?" Leo's expression was confused and hurt. "What did I do?"

Raph's hands tightened into fists, then suddenly loosened as he seemed to deflate. "You lied ta me, bro," he said, a slightly wounded tone in his voice. "I asked you straight to yer face if this was more than a dream, an' you lied to me. I know we ain't that close, but still, ya just—ah, forget it, never mind." He shook his head and moved to walk past his brother.

Leo's hand shot out and grabbed Raph's arm. "No, I didn't. Raph, listen, please," Leo pleaded, trying to get his brother to stop. "I didn't mean to lie to you it's just—I…I was scared."

The quiet admission stopped Raph in his tracks. He turned and looked incredulously at his brother. "Say what?"

Leo nodded slightly, avoiding Raph's eyes. "I was scared. The things I saw…you guys lying on the roof…it terrified me. And I felt someone die, someone close to me, and I don't know who; I don't even know who to try and protect. When you asked me if it was just a dream, I wasn't trying to lie to you. I said it was because I was trying to convince myself that it was."

"You what? Why?"

"Why?" Leo's look was as incredulous as his brother's. "How can you ask that? After what I'd seen, why wouldn't I want to believe it was just a dream?"

"But just ignorin' it?" Raph's brows lowered slightly. "I'd think you of all people would know that that ain't the way ta go about things, bro."

"I know…I know it isn't, it's just—" Leo gave a weak laugh. "I guess I was hoping that if I ignored it hard enough and long enough, it would just…go away."

Raph grinned and relented, putting his arm around Leo's shoulders and guiding him out of the dojo. "Nice try, bro. But I've been tryin' the same thing with yer lectures and Mikey for years, and no dice. There's no way it'd be fair for that ta work for you in just a coupla days."

"For years?" Leo asked, laughing. "Geez, Raph, I thought you were supposed to be trying to make me feel better, not worse."

"Not my job, bro; you got Don and Master Splinter fer ego-boosts. I'm here ta keep ya humble."

Leo snorted and shoved Raph's arm away. "Right. And you do a fine job of it, trust me."

Raph grinned and waved as he headed towards his room. "I aim ta please."

The blue-banded turtle shook his head as Raph walked away. I'll never understand him. For that matter, I'll never understand us; why does it always take a near-disaster for us to actually talk to each other? Thinking back on their times in the bathroom and now the dojo, and then on the portents of his vision, Leo smiled sadly.

Well, I suppose it's better late than never…

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A/N: And then there were three. Three chapters, that is. I'm really sorry again about the crazy delay, but at least this is nice and long, right? Hella angsty, though. As you can tell, this dream is very powerful to Leo, and also very hard for him to deal with; and on another note, no, he's not crazy. I know you all know how you argue with yourself, and that's what Leo's doing here. Get it? Got it? Good. :D

This is actually the second submission of this chapter. Thanks to the good advice of Aurora Musis Amica, I changed part of it. For those of you who've already read it, you'll see it's not a really big change. For those who haven't, you've got no clue what I'm talking about, but just trust me that it's a change for the better. I originally had Leo revealing his dream by accident, but Aurora pointed out that that doesn't really do justice to the drama I've been building up throughout this chapter. Plus, it takes Leo a long time to come to the decision of telling his brothers, and I want people to be proud of him for being honest, rather than only telling the guys because it slipped out. (The first edition really was a little trite, but I'd been working on this for ages, and I was having trouble deciding where to go.) So there we go, and a big thank you to Aurora for her advice.

I feel really bad about the crappy lack of updating, but at least this is finally up. And from this point on, unless I get another bad case of writer's block, updates should hopefully come a little faster; from now on I know what I want to happen, except for a couple parts, so there won't be many delays because I don't know how to have the story flow. Also, some parts of the story from here on are already written. So hopefully that will allow me to speed up the updates, 'cause four weeks is ridiculous.

And now on to some detail stuff. This is set after Leo got all un-emo-fied, just so everyone knows. I'm pretty sure I already established that, but I wanted to make sure that was understood. It's basically kind of after "The Prodigal Son", but before "Ninja Tribunal". It's just sort of floating around in that timeline. :D I really don't know where this chapter came from; I know where the story is going there, but I'm still iffy on what's going to fill the gaps. But this chapter kinda took me by surprise too. Even though I try to do the straight writing, where I write each chapter at one sitting, I still can't quite do it anymore. I'm still writing the chapters by starting with the main events that occur, and then I just kind of fill in the connections in the story. It normally works, but as we can see with the dreadful delay of this chapter, it also has its flaws.

I'm hoping that everyone likes this chapter; I know that not too much happened, but again, I need a couple chapters to set the scene before everything starts going nuts. And it will, believe me; this will be a busy story. So for those of you who are bored (I'm hoping no one is, but it happens), fear not, things should start picking up soon. :D I know Leo was all over the place, but I'm hoping you guys will understand why; despite his healing, what happened in "Exodus" really messed him up, and he's afraid to let anything like that happen again.

And now I have a big favor to ask of you guys; I need some information. I've got another story idea that's bugging me, but I need some background stuff before I can write it. And I'm hoping that just getting these questions answered will make the plot bunnies of the story leave me alone so I don't have any other distractions when it comes to writing and posting this story. So if any of you know the answers to these questions, please let me know. Here goes: When all the guys got split up by Ultimate Draco, and Leo went to Usagi's world (I think the episode was called "The Real World"), what was it like? Also, was it established that there was a time difference between his world and Earth? Or was the time difference thing between Earth and the Battle Nexus? Any other information anyone has pertaining to Usagi and his world would be very much appreciated.

And I think that's it! These author notes have been running on for ages, so I'm heading out. Thanks so much for reading, and please review! Thanks!