Ch 7 The Demon Inside.

With a loud yell, Mikey brought his nun-chucks up and held the chain against the katana as it was brought down upon him. "Leo!" He cried out as Leo's strength forced the young turtle to his knees. "Please stop bro." Mikey's muscles were shaking as he tried to keep the blade from coming down on his head. "I was just kidding!"

Splinter, Raph and Donnie stopped what they were doing at Mike's yell. They rushed over and Raph and Donnie quickly grabbed Leo's arms and tried to push him off their baby brother. But for some unknown reason, Leo was almost impossible to move.

"What the hell Leo?" Raph yelled out grasping Leo's arms and attempted to pull him away.

"Leo, stop!" Donnie pleaded from the other side of Leo. "You don't want to do this!"

"My arms!" Mikey gasped pushing against Leo's katana as it threatened to slice through him. "I can't keep this up...much longer." Mikey gasped, he felt as though he were trying to prevent a hundred pound weight from crashing on his head.

"Sensei?" Raph asked, his voice straining as he tried to pull Leo off Mikey. "What's going on with him?"

Splinter stood in front of Leo as best he could without getting in the way of causing Mikey to lose his balance. He looked at his oldest son and saw his muscles were rippling as he held the sword down on Mike's chain, But his face took on a look of confusion as he struggled to push the katana down. And his eyes, Splinter noted, his eyes that were normally blue were now dark and seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"Leonardo?" Splinter placed his hands on Leo's face. "My son, do you hear me?" He asked.

Leo's eyes darted around looking every where but at the same time he seemed to be unaware of what was going on.

"Leonardo." Splinter spoke sternly to his son. "Where are you?"

"A village." He whispered, his voice low and shaking. "It's on fire."

"Leonardo." Splinter tried to get Leo to look at him but his eyes continued to watch something play out in front of him. "Come back to me." He begged. "Turn away from what you are seeing."

But Leo could not turn away. Leo's eyes were out of focus and before them was no longer the dojo but a different scene altogether. He once again found himself watching the frightening scene of people running and screaming while the village was being burned down around them. Men on horseback with long swords chased after them, killing them as they attempted to escape.

"Leonardo." He could hear his Sensei's voice but did not see him. He did not feel his arms strain as they tried to slice through Mikey's head, nor did he feel his brothers on either side of him, grabbing at his arms as they tried to pull him away from the youngest turtle.

Leo watched in horror as the horsemen killed one person after another, he saw people, both young and old running away while others ran toward them, trying to defend themselves and save what was left of the village. He saw the woman from his dream with the small child and the infant in her arms run wildly away from the horseman whose sword was up and ready to strike, the children and woman screaming as she attempted to escape him. He looked down at his own hands, not seeing his katana but a different sword, one that was familiar yet strangely different.

A sword with energy that flowed through it. Powerful energy that seemed to feed his senses, fill his every pore and give him a power that he both feared and yet longed for. Behind him, he could see a pair of cold glowing red eyes. The voice he had heard so many times before came back to him and urged him to jump into the fray and fight alongside the horsemen, demanding he strike the villagers down, one by one.

But he couldn't do it. It was wrong, everything about this was all wrong. He wasn't that kind of a person, he couldn't kill innocent people. As he watched, fighting the urge to jump in and take part in the massacre, the disembodied voice continued to encourage him, to demand he take up the sword and strike them down. He was torn as he watched the bloody scene play out before him.

"Do it Satsugai-sha." The voice encouraged. "Take up your sword and strike them down."

Leo shook his head. "I can't." He whispered.

"You can." The voice told him. "Take my strength, my spirit, my energy and with your sword, strike down our enemy."

"No, they are innocent people." Leo told it.

"Then watch them die!" Leo's eyes widen in fear as the woman with the two children was suddenly surrounded. He watched in horror as the she covered her kids with her body as the swords of several horsemen started to come down on her. "NO!" He screamed as he stepped forward in an attempt to try and stop the onslaught.

Suddenly, Leo fell forward, landing face down on the floor of the dojo. He looked up and stared into the wide eyes of Splinter who was kneeling in front of him. He looked about widely as the dojo and his family replaced the horrific death scene. He tried to calm his breathing as he saw his family, staring at him with looks of confusion, fear and disbelief.

In front of him, sat Mikey, his face covered with tears, his arms still shaking from the force of trying to keep Leo's katana from slicing him through. He had managed to roll away safely when Leo began to move forward. Behind Leo, his other brothers on their shells staring at him, angry and yet fearful, their faces demanding an explanation. And his father, concern and worry filled his tired face.

"Mikey?" Leo whispered, he looked at his baby brother with horror as he realized what had just happened. "I'm s..s..sorry." He stammered. "I'm so sorry!" He cried as he jumped to his feet and backed away from his family in both shame and fear.

"Fearless?" Raph looked up as he watched his older brother slowly back away from them. "What the hell just happened here." He demanded.

"Talk to us Leo." Donnie implored. "Tell us what's going on?"

Leo shook his head, panting hard and tears streaming down his face. "I don't know." He said as he slowly backed away from them, fear creeping into him at the sudden want to take up his sword and start slicing through them. "Mikey?" He looked at Mikey, concern in his eyes.

"Leo." Mikey attempted to speak to him in a soothing voice, but his voice shook to much. "I'm okay bro." He stood and tried to reach a hand out to him. "Just talk to us Leo, please."

Leo continued to back away from his brothers, the voice still echoing inside his head, demanding he kill them, all of them. The scene still playing out in his mind's eye shook him to his very core. He shook his head harder as if trying to rid himself of the frightening images and feelings. "I'm sorry." He told them, gripping his katana hard in his hand, wanting to slice into them as they began to approach him. "I...I can't." Leo cried out, his was breathing hard and fighting the urge to run and slaughter them. "I just can't!" suddenly he turned from his family and ran out the dojo and into the sewers.