A painful, damaging blow knocked Leonardo back, making him lose his balance and sent him to the floor. He gasped for breath, lungs screaming for air. He grunted as Raphael grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet, throwing him across the dojo. Leonardo stumbled again, but this time kept his balance.

"The Shredder doesn't take breathers," Raphael snarled. "So neither do you."

"I can't breathe," Leonardo gasped.

He cried out as Raphael came at him again. The youngest tried to dodge, but he was still too winded to do anything. Pain shot through his left temple as Raphael's fist connected with his head.

"Fight back!" Raphael yelled.

"Raph, I can't breathe," Leonardo choked.

Raphael stormed over to him and slammed his hands into his brother's chest, sending the weaker of the two to the floor. When Leonardo tried to get up, Raphael put his foot on his brother's chest.

"You can't fight, you die," the red masked turtle said. "There's no room in this clan for weak links. If one brother goes down, we all go down. Understand?"

Leonardo nodded in confirmation. Raphael removed his foot from his brother's chest and stepped away.

"Now, get up and fight," he ordered.

Leonardo got to his feet, looking over to Donatello and Michelangelo when he heard them snicker. When did his life become a living hell? As best he could, Leonardo fought with all of his might. Whenever he was sent to the floor he would get back up and continue fighting. With each blow, he could feel his resolve weakening. Raphael was relentless. He couldn't remember a time when his red masked sibling was this vicious in training.

What kind of poison was Splinter feeding him this time?

It was no secret that Raphael was Splinter's favorite. The eldest was short tempered, rage filled and vengeance fueled. Leonardo suspected that was why Raphael was favored above the others. Splinter himself was ruled by anger and hatred, kept going only by his need to spill Shredder's blood. But, now that he could no longer leave the lair, Splinter lived through Raphael. He had filled his son's mind with so much poison and hate filled words that Leonardo doubted that there was anything of the old Raphael left.

And, then there were Donatello and Michelangelo. Like lost puppies they had followed Raphael down his dark and twisted path of revenge and destruction. Now, their idea of fun was to inflict pain and suffering on others. Leonardo was pretty sure that if Raphael told them to jump off a bridge they would do it. He didn't understand their need for violence, their senseless want for revenge. He just wanted a normal, loving family that didn't try to kill him with brutal, fight to the death training matches.

Leonardo grunted as Raphael delivered a powerful kick to his chest. The blue masked brother collapsed to the floor. Suddenly, Raphael was on top of him, knife to his throat. Everything stood still. He stared up at his brother with wide, terrified eyes. Raphael glared down at him with narrowed, rage filled amber eyes. The brothers stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The only thing Leonardo knew was the blade that was pressed tightly to his throat.

"One reason," Raphael snarled. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't end you right now."

Leonardo tried to think of a reason, but he couldn't. His brain couldn't process the request. With eyes filling with burning tears, Leonardo regretfully shook his head.

"I can't," he whimpered.

Raphael lifted the blade and brought it down. Michelangelo let out a startled squeak. Raphael let go of the blade and got to his feet, heading for the door. Leonardo opened his eyes and turned to his right. The knife stuck out of the matted floor just inches from his face. He let out a strangled gasp as he rolled to the other side, away from the knife.

"You got lucky, Leo," Donatello told him, walking over and helping his brother to his feet. "Raph looked like he was out for blood. And, I don't blame him. You did interrupt his interrogation."

Leonardo looked up at his brother. "We have enough blood on our hands," he said.

"Well, the guy didn't have any info anyway," Donatello stated, heading for the door.

"So, you let him go?" Leonardo asked.

Donatello stopped at the doorway. "In a matter of speaking," he replied. He grinned. "He took a nice long bath in the Hudson."

Leonardo's heart dropped into his stomach as Donatello walked away. So, they killed the guy anyway. Leonardo sank to his knees, body deflating. What happened to his loving, caring brothers? When did they become blood thirsty tyrants? He had a suspicion that they were keeping something from him, but what that something was he couldn't hazard a guess.

Donatello and Michelangelo waited patiently for Raphael to return from Splinter's room. They had a game of rock-paper-scissors. Michelangelo growled every time Donatello beat him.

"You're cheating, Donnie," he accused.

"How can you cheat at rock-paper-scissors?" Donatello asked.

"I don't know, but you're doing it," Michelangelo said.

"Gear up, boys," Raphael said as he came out of Splinter's room.

"Topside time?" Michelangelo asked hopefully.

From his place in the dojo, Leonardo watched as his brothers geared up and headed for the front door. He wished he could go topside, but Splinter had forbade him from leaving the lair. He sighed and walked back into the dojo, pulling out his swords. If he wasn't allowed to go topside, he could at least try to perfect his katas. However, no matter how hard he practiced, Leonardo knew his skills would never sharpen. He just wasn't as strong as the others.

Leonardo paused in his katas and stood in place, head bowed, arms at his sides. He closed his eyes and sighed. Raphael should have ended him. He was a disgrace to the family. What kind of ninja was he that he couldn't even perform a simple split kick? There was a clang as the swords fell to the floor.

It would have been more merciful to put him out of everyone's misery.

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