Katana: Hello! I felt like torturing Leo again, so I came up with this first chapter of a two or threeshot, not sure which.

Leo: Well, thanks. -_-'

Katana: Sorry Leo, but you know I go wherever the plot bunnies take me.

Leo: Which, lately, have been cells, separation from my brothers, depressing fics, -

Katana: Noted. Don't care. Doing it anyway. Anyway, to the readers, enjoy.

Because of You

If Donnie had to say when exactly it was that Leo started acting odd (well, odder), he probably would have said that Saturday night. No, strike that. He definitely would have said that Saturday night.

It wasn't an exceptionally unordinary night. True, Leo was actually sitting with them in the pit, which was a rare occurrence. But other than that, it was a rather ordinary night. No monsters to fight, no Kraang or Foot plots to foil, no late night training, not even for Leo. Leo was actually sitting with them instead of training in the dojo. Yes, he was silent, curled up on himself on his beanbag, but that wasn't unusual for him, and no one else was talking anyway. The brothers were simply relaxing in the pit, listening to Pandora on Donnie's laptop, letting the night tick by.

All was quiet except for the steady stream of music pounding from Don's speakers. It was peaceful in the Lair, which, come to think of it, was strange. But for all intents and purposes, it was an ordinary night.

Then it happened. The moment Leo started acting odd, and the moment the walls Leo had built so high began to crack.

The song on Pandora had just ended, and the computer began processing. It stopped loading, and a piano melody filled the air, followed by a woman's voice, half-humming some hauntingly sad notes.

"Ugh, no! Skip it, Don!" Raph shouted across the room.

Donnie leaned forward and tried to skip the song, but got less than satisfying results.

"Can't. We're out of skips." Raph and Mikey groaned. Leo just listened.

Then the lyrics started, and the transformation that came over Leo was terrifying.

Donnie didn't notice anything odd at first. But then, as the the song progressed, he heard a funny, rasping sound. Confused, he looked around, searching for the source of that awful noise. Then, he found it. His older brother, Leonardo. To Donnie's immense surprise and shock, Leo had curled up even tighter, hugging his legs, bowing his head. His breath was coming out in quick, forced gasps, and his whole body was trembling. "

Leo?" He asked, concerned. He paused the music. Leo froze, stiff as a board. He sat still for a total of 5 seconds, then looked up, a frightened look in his eyes.

"Yeah?" He whispered.

"Are you okay?" Donnie frowned. Leo's eyes, if possible, grew wider in fear.

"I'm fine." He whispered softly, so softly Donnie just barely heard him. By now, Raph and Mikey had snapped out of their own la-la-lands and were staring at Leo as well.

"You sure, bro?" Mikey asked. "You look . . . Upset."

"It was just . . . " Leo's small voice got even smaller and trailed off.

"Just what?" Raph asked, a forced edge in his voice.

"The song." Leo breathed. "It reminded me."

"Reminded you?" Donnie puzzled. "Reminded you of what?" But Leo simply shook his head, and refused to say another word for the rest of the night.

When Mikey sat down to think, which wasn't very often, because his mind was always racing off down several different paths at once, never truly following one all the way before leaving it or acting on it, Mikey thought that this might be because he might have ADHD, and . . .

Ahem. Point made. Anyway, back to the original topic, when Mikey actually put effort into it and thought about, he thought that there might be something wrong with his big brother Leonardo.

Mikey remembered a time, back when they were really, really, really little, that Leo wasn't so quiet or meek or anti-social. He wasn't super-hyper, like Mikey and Raph had been and, well, still were, but he was fun and giggly and loud and always playing with them. Then one day, when they were still small children, he just . . . stopped. One day, he just stopped talking and when they could get him to speak, it would be in this tiny little whisper. As they grew older, bigger, and taller, Leo seemed to grow smaller. He was silent and seem to carry this burden, one that cloaked him in sadness that radiated from him, and when Mikey looked him in the eyes, Leo looked like he was drowning in something. What that was, Mikey didn't know.

He remembered, when the behavior started, they had tried to figure it out. Where had the happiness in Leo gone? They never found out, and now, they simply took meek little Leo for granted.

Except . . . Except for that one time.

They had all been shocked when Master Splinter had named Leo leader. Leo, that brother that would just stare at you like he could see right through you. Even after he had been named leader, Leo didn't change, and sounded so unsure when telling the others what they were doing, which wasn't often. But one night, they were on patrol, and were ambushed by Kraang. Suddenly, that turtle that was so hesitant when asking anyone to do anything was gone, and in his place was a warrior. The warrior barked orders with confidence and authority, and the brothers listened. There was nothing unsure about the warriors strikes and swings. The warrior knew exactly what to do, and because of the warrior, they all made it out without so much as a scratch. Then, when the dust of battle cleared, the warrior was gone, and the silent turtle was back.

Mikey never truly saw the warrior again; things were quiet on patrol since that night. But, in the dojo, he sometimes caught glimpses of him when Leo did his katas.

When Mikey sat down and thought about it, he knew in his heart that something had happened to Leo. No one goes from perky child to near-mute teen for no reason. Leo's reaction to that song on Pandora was the final straw. Mikey was going to figure out what was wrong with his big brother, no matter how high or thick the walls around him were.

Raph did not understand his only older brother. At all.

First things first, Raph rarely saw the dude. Leo was almost always in the dojo, either with Master Splinter doing who knows what, or by himself practicing katas over and over and over again. When he did see Leo, Leo rarely spoke to him, just looked at him with sorrowful sapphire blue eyes. And when Leo, miracles of miracles, actually spoke to him, it was in a quiet, uncertain whisper that Raph, even with his ninja senses, had to strain to hear.

Leo almost never relaxed, Saturday night being a once in a blue moon event. He almost never spoke, and almost never interacted with them. He was skittish, cautious, and always flinching. He would sit in one spot for hours if let there, and would stare blankly ahead, deep in thought. Only inside the dojo was Leo any different. He was more confident with his movements, and never doubted his instincts. Yet, at the same time, he seemed even more uncomfortable, on edge, almost.

Some people were an open book. Leo was a padlocked diary in a safe in a bank vault in a bank surrounded by 15-foot high walls in the Alps. Hard to see, impossible to read.

That Saturday night, when Raph saw Leo shaking in fear, FEAR, all because of a song on Pandora, it scared Raph. All at once, the peculiarity of Leo's daily behavior hit him. It wasn't normal, being as silent and sad and weary as Leo was. He acted like, like something had happened to him. He acted like he had a huge burden on him, a secret that he couldn't tell no matter what. Something was wrong with Leo. With Raph's big brother. There was something horrible in Leo's book, and it was time Raph broke in and read it.

April O'Neil was not with the turtles that Saturday night, but it just so happened she was thinking about them. One particular turtle more than the rest.

She had only known the turtles for a couple of weeks, and remembered her first good look at them.

Identical men in suits had come for her and her father, and flashes of green and red and blue and purple and orange had come to fight them. Then she was being carried, then flying up, then falling down. Strong, gentle arms had caught her, and the strangest face she had ever seen was smiling down on her. She was ashamed to say she had screamed, and the face screamed back, dropping her and becoming a whole body. The thing held out a hand, but before she could take it, something happened in more flashes, and she was in the back of the kidnappers van with her father.

Then, the thing found her in that cell. The thing from before had ran past the cell, then backtracked and peeked inside.

"We found her!" It said. From the voice, April had guessed it was a he. Then she heard the sound of lasers. Another thing, this one wearing blue, entered her vision.

"Donnie, can you pick the lock?" The blue one asked softly.

"Of course I can." The other one (wearing purple), who she guessed was Donnie, said.

"Then we'll keep them busy. Pick the lock." The blue one said quietly before disappearing. Donnie ducked and began fiddling with a control panel. The rest was history.

Now, April thought of the turtle in blue, Leonardo. He was . . . Strange, even for a teenage mutant ninja turtle. He was the leader, but he was so darn quiet. April doubted he had spoken more than ten words to her. He seemed wary of her, more than the others. He seemed to have a barrier around him, and was determined not to let anyone in. April had been to the Lair only once so far, and Leonardo had been in the dojo the entire time with their "Master Splinter", whom she still had yet to meet.

She was taking psychology this semester, and Leo seemed to be exhibiting some alarming signs. April may have just barely met him, but she sensed there was something going on with Leonardo.

Leo knew. He knew how he acted wasn't normal, not normal at all. He knew it probably wasn't healthy. He knew, and he didn't care. He was this way for a reason, and nothing he or his brothers did or said would change it, so Leo didn't care. Besides, the situation he was in, how he lived? It wasn't normal either.

Leo remembered being different. He remembered a time when he didn't have to report to the dojo every day. He remembered a time when his master's mind was whole and his master cared for him all the time, not just in front of his brothers. He remembered a time when he could laugh, when he could cry in company without being slapped, when he could speak without fear. He remembered, but just barely. It had been a long, long time.

It was a mistake. He shouldn't have reacted that way to the song. His brothers noticed, and were now bound to watch him closely for at least a few weeks, at least. It would get harder to hide it, but he would. He had to. If he didn't take his treatment, if his brothers learned of what he went through every day . . . They might be next, and become just like him.

It was a mistake, but he couldn't help it. The song . . . It just screamed his life, reflected Leo's situation and feelings perfectly. It overwhelmed him, hearing his very soul in a song, and it reminded him of his lessons. It scared him.

He needed to hear it again, though. He needed to hear his life, hear who was to blame. He needed to hear his soul.

So if anyone's interested in me continuing this, leave a review, and I'll continue/finish this when I can.

Have a good weekend,

Katana