Katana: HEY! Yes, it's been awhile, but guess what?! This chapter is, over 10,000 words long! That's the longest chapter I've ever written for anything! So how about that?

Leo: Not bad.

Katana: Huff. No pleasing you, is there?

Leo: Not with this fic.

Katana: Oh, that reminds me. *leaves, returns wearing Shredders armor*

Leo: What are you wearing?

Katana: Just a little . . . Protection.

Leo: What did you do?

Katana: Um . . . . Read and enjoy!

Because of You

DONNIE

Donnie paced back and forth across the room, careful to tread lightly and not wake his brother. He had tried to sit on the floor (the only things in the room were a bed and nightstand; everything else Donnie owned was in his lab) and read a book he had left on the nightstand, but pent-up energy from dealing with the situation at hand made reading next to impossible. After reading the same page 20 times and not understanding even one word, he had given up. He needed to do something physical, like tinkering with a project, or even training. But his room was too small to train in, and all of his tools and projects were in his lab. So Donnie had settled for pacing.

He had looked at Leo's injuries again. The night before, he had wrapped the largest, deepest cuts in bandages, after treating them with antibiotic cream, hoping to avoid infection. To Donnie's relief, the bandages remained tight and firm. He would reapply the antibiotics, but he didn't want to wake Leo. His big brother was sleeping peacefully, and Donnie didn't have the heart to wake him. He would tend to his brother later, when he woke.

So that just left pacing and thinking. Thinking about the elephant in the room.

Donnie silently sighed. This was a nightmare. Their Leo was being abused, and he, the "resident genius", hadn't noticed and now couldn't figure a way out. The only way to help Leo was to get him far away from Splinter, so they could be free to help him heal. Splinter never left the Lair, and there was no way in shell they could beat him in a fight, so getting Splinter out of the Lair wasn't an option. That left them leaving the Lair. Under further scrutiny, this actually seemed like the better choice anyway. The Lair would always carry bad memories for Leo, no matter how long Splinter was gone, and that would impede recovery from the past. Moving somewhere completely new would be a fresh start, and make it easier for to help Leo come to terms with what had - was - happening.

Finding a new place to live, however, was easier said than done. They needed to find a permanent location that was big enough to accommodate 4 teenage boys and a training area, and far enough removed from the places normal humans went. It also needed to be a place Splinter didn't know about, so a place in the sewers would be a last resort, as it would be too easy for Splinter to find them. That meant a place on the surface, possibly an abandoned warehouse or apartment building.

Donnie frowned. It'd have to be a pretty well removed building. Mikey's screams and yelling alone rivaled the noise of New York City traffic, not to mention the racket he made when Raph started chasing him. Maybe they should invest in a soundproof building, if such a building existed and was abandoned . . .

April said she'd think about it and take a look around. Maybe she'd find something.

"AAAAHHH!" A voice screamed inside the small room. Donnie jumped, startled out of his musings. He turned around, spinning his head quickly, looking for the source.

"AAAAHHH!" The voice yelled again, and Donnie found the source. Leo.

Donnie rushed over to him, cursing mentally. He should have been paying more attention. Leo was extremely pale and sweat was down his face in rivers. His face was twisted in pain and angst, and tears leaked out of the corners of his tightly closed eyes.

"Leo. Leo. Leo. Come on, Leo, wake up. Leo . . . "

LEO

A wooden practice sword was brought down in a mighty swing, whacking Leo's plastron, then his legs, then the back of his knees. He howled in pain, unable to choke it back like usual. A scowl crossed Master's face at the sound as he loomed over Leo.

"What is that, Kame? Are you not strong enough? Does it hurt?"

Leo knew what he should say. He should deny the pain, claim strength, and take his beating like a true shinobi. But instead, repressed words and dangerous thoughts slipped out.

"Yes! Yes, it hurts! Please! Please stop hurting me!" He screeched. Another hard whack to the back of his knees brought him down into a kneeling position.

"'Stop?' 'It hurts?' You think this is true pain, Kame? Bah! This is nothing. Compared to what the Shredder would do if he captured you and your teammates, this is not even an itch! The Shredder will not stop until you are pryed out of your shell and lye dead at his feet!"

A truly psychotic, evil, leering grin appeared on Master's face. "You want to feel true pain, Kame?" The broken was raised high.

"No, please! Don't! PLEASE!" Leo cried, hands clasped tight in a desperate prayer. His prayer went unanswered, and the sword flashed as it turned from wood to steel in its downward arc, and the tip of the blade was driven into the flesh that connected Leo to his plastron.

"AAAAHHH!" Leo screamed in absolute pain. Fire was burning his chest. Lava was flowing between him and his plastron. Chemicals were burning away at his flesh, it hurt so much!

The literal sword that was being thrust into him twisted, and Leo let out another blood-curdling scream as a fresh wave of pain crashed over him, and precious red blood gushed out of him.

A harsh laughter filled his ears as the sword dug deeper and deeper into his chest. Leo could no longer scream, only whimper in pain.

"LEO!" A voice sliced through the laughter. Suddenly, Donnie was standing over him, pushing Master off of him, the sword coming out. The blood continued to flow.

"Leo! Are you okay?! No, of course you're not! Oh, God, how could Splinter do this?! What do I do?!" Donnie fussed over him nervously, starting to wrap Leo in bandages. Behind him, Leo could see Master picking himself off the floor, shifting his grip on the sword. With dread and fear creeping up his spine, Leo realized what was about to happen.

"'O'ie, 'O'ie." He tried to say, trying to warn Donnie.

"It'll - it'll be okay, Leo! I - I'll fix you up!" Donnie said, oblivious to the danger behind him. Master lifted the sword up, the deadly point aimed at the center of Donnie's shell.

"'O'ie!" Leo choked out.

It was too late. Donnie didn't move away from him, and the sword came plunging down with incredible force, puncturing straight through Donnie. Suddenly, Donnie had a bloody sword sticking out of his chest.

Leo. Leo.

It was almost comical, how neatly the sword had gone through him. Donnie looked down at it with an almost confused expression, then looked up and locked eyes with Leo.

Come on Leo, wake up!

Donnie opened his mouth, trying to say something. Instead of words, blood gurgled out, dripping down his chin.

Leo . . .

Donnie's eyes took on a glassy look, and Leo knew. Donnie was dead. Gone.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Leo screamed, eyes flying opening, half sitting up, breathing hard and ragged. He sucked in a deep breath as he noticed he wasn't in the dojo, he was in Donnie's room, on Donnie's bed. Gasping out air, he looked down. No blood pouring out from under his plastron.

"Leo?" A tentative voice asked. Leo looked up with frantic eyes. Donnie. Donnie was standing right beside him, hunched over the bed, concern written all over his face. Leo's eyes darted down to Donnie's chest. It was flawless. No sword jutting out, not a speck of blood.

It was just another nightmare. Just another horrible, terrifying, shell of a nightmare.

"Are you all right, Leo?" Donnie asked softly, slowly, gently, sitting down in the bed by Leo's feet.

Leo opened his mouth, a typical, dismissive response clawing up his throat. I'm fine, Donnie. Yeah, just a dream. Yes, I'm all right. But he couldn't say those worn, tired words. He wasn't fine, not at all. He didn't want to lie about it anymore. Slowly, Leo shut his mouth and shook his head. No.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Donnie gently prodded.

Leo nodded. Yes.

"You want to talk about it?"

Leo hesitated. Honestly? Yes, he did. But he couldn't. He couldn't tell Donnie that he dreamed about Master beating him, trying to deshell him, and killing Donnie. Donnie wasn't stupid; he'd figure out that there was a kernel of truth to this dream. Maybe - maybe he could bluff about it. Leave some parts out.

Leo slowly nodded a little, barely moving his head, but that was all the answer Donnie needed. Slowly, so Leo could see what he was doing, he moved so he was sitting at Leo's side, not so close Leo's personal space would feel invaded, but close enough for his presence to be known. Reflexively, Leo drew his legs in so he was hugging them, instinctively protecting his plastron.

"What happened?" Donnie asked gently, making Leo feel he wasn't necessarily expecting an answer right away. So Leo took his time coming up with a censored version.

"You - you were dead." Leo finally said. "You were killed." He amended. "You were killed while trying to help me, because I was weak."

Donnie digested this. "Why were you weak? Why was I trying to help you?"

Leo shrank back. Too much, too much. Too close.

Donnie noticed and hastened to correct himself. "It's okay. You don't have to give me specifics, if you don't want to.

Leo bit the inside of his cheek, a nervous habit he had picked up. He looked at Donnie hesitantly, and saw nothing but patient encouragement.

"I was hurt." He finally decided on. "I had gotten injured, and because you were trying to help me, you got killed."

"How did I die? I mean, like, how was I killed. Not who killed me."

"Sword. Through your back. You died right on top of me." Leo whispered softly.

"So," Donnie summarized, "I was leaning over you, trying to tend to you, and someone stabbed me in the back and killed me."

Leo nodded.

"Well, um, Leo, I'm not dead." He chuckled nervously. "It didn't happen, and it wasn't your fault in the dream anyway."

"Yes it was." Leo said softly. "If you hadn't stopped to help me, you would have lived."

"What should I have done, left you there?" Donnie joked, then frowned, concerned, as he saw the look on Leo's face. "Leo, I'm not gonna ignore you if you're hurt."

"You should have." Leo persisted. "If you had, you would have lived. I was weak and wasn't worth it." Leo bowed his head, hoping Donnie would see the truth in his words. He was merely a weapon for the family; a sword forged with beatings and harsh treatment to form a deadly blade. He was useful in defending his family, but a weapon was not worth the life of a teammate. If a weapon was weak, it was disposed of. In the dream, he was weak, and should have been left to die.

Donnie had to understand; a weapon was not worth saving at the cost of his own life.

DONNIE

We can't let Leo know we know. His own words were coming back to haunt him. He wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around Leo and tell him how they had vowed to get him out of here. Well, except maybe to pound Splinter into the ground, then down even further. Like, six feet further.

Leo's words and expression had rocked him to the core. I was weak and wasn't worth it. No one should think like that. Everyone had their moments when they simply weren't strong. It didn't mean they weren't worth helping. No one deserved to be ignored when they were injured and in need of help. Especially not his brother.

Splinter's abuse wasn't purely physical, it seemed. It was mental and emotional as well. For Leo to feel so beaten down that he'd think that weakness from injury meant he wasn't worth help . . . Urgh! It made Donnie's vision go red!

He couldn't let Leo believe that, not for even a second longer. Screw what he said earlier! This was more important than a false sense of secrecy for Leo to hide behind.

"Leo, don't believe that for even a nanosecond." Donnie said in the steely, yet non-hostile tone you use when talking to a dog. "There is no way in shell I would ever leave you injured. You are a person, and more importantly, you are my brother. You will always be worth it, no matter what anyone else has told you."

Leo's eyes widened, in shock and fear. "Donnie . . . "

"Leo, I swear, I will always help you, with anything and everything, no matter what." Donnie said, locking eyes with his brother to convey the seriousness, understanding, and heartfelt sincerity of his words.

Leo shrank back, pulling his head down until it was nearly in his shell. "But - but what if - what if it's better for you to - to just turn away?" He said in a muffled, desperate voice.

"Especially then, Leonardo." Leo shuddered, and his head slowly came back out as he continued to shake.

"That's why I'm here, isn't it? To - to - try to -" He stammered.

"Yeah. We're gonna get you outta here, Leo. I promise."

"No!" Leo shouted, looking up, eyes wild. "Don't! He'll just find a new weapon if he loses me. I can take it. You and Mikey and Raph, you - you can't. I've already been shaped into the weapon. No one else needs to go through that to take my place."

Stunned by Leo's words, Donnie instinctively leaned back and swallowed nervously. He had never heard Leo speak that loudly or emotionally. But then he regained his footing and slowly, so Leo could see what he was doing, rested a hand on his shoulder. Leo still flinched, but he didn't shrug the hand off either. He looked at Donnie desperately, hoping his words had gotten through.

"Leonardo, you are not, I repeat, not a weapon. You are not a sword to be twisted and beaten until you are flawless. You are my brother. You're Mikey's and Raph's brother too. You are a living being, and you are allowed to have flaws and moments of weakness. You're a person, and you deserve to be treated like one. You are a person, Leo. Not a weapon."

Leo stared at him with confused, pained eyes as tears started to gather in them. Two slipped out, and the rivers began to flow. Leo squeezed his eyes shut, but tears continued to streak down his face, so he hunched over his body, hugging his legs, and shook as silent sobs racked his body.

Slowly, Donnie adjusted his grip on Leo so he was holding Leo in a one-armed hug. Leo stiffened when he felt the change in position, but then relaxed when he realized nothing about this touch was going to hurt him.

"All four of us are going to get out of this madhouse, Leo. I promise." Donnie whispered. "No turtle left behind. He won't hurt you ever again."

RAPH

Raph stared at April like she had grown an extra head.

"Okay . . . Now what the shell does that mean?!" He barked. Why on earth was she spouting cryptic riddles about something like this? "To grandmother's house we go?" What kind of answer was that? Leo's life was at stake here!

"Exactly what I said." April states. "When I was little, my dad would take me to his mother's, my grandmother's, home in the woods. She passed when I was 11 and left the house to my dad in her will. I haven't been back since, so it'll probably need repairs, but it's pretty big, there's no one around for miles, and it's only an hour away from the city. It's perfect."

"And how do you suppose we get to this perfect place?" Raph asked skeptically. At an hour away from the city, the house was outside their running distance. And it wasn't like they could just hop on a bus.

"I convinced my friend Irma to let me borrow her parents truck. Her parents are away until next week and will never have to know."

"Truck?"

"Well, more like a van. Point is, it'll work."

Raph thought about it. The house sounded good. Secluded, far away from Splinter, and the Shredder and the Kraang as a bonus, and large enough for all of them. It could work. They'd need money and/or supplies to make repairs, but they had some emergency money squirreled away in the dojo that he could liberate before they left, and April they could send to buy things.

"When can we use the van?" Raph finally asked.

"Irma said we could use it whenever we needed to this week." April reported.

"Mikey, do you think you could grab essentials and help Donnie pack his equipment by 10?"

"Of course, bro!"

"April, can you get the van to that alley by the manhole on the corner of Eastman and Laird?"

April nodded, a serious look on her face. "Definitely."

"Then it's settled." Raph said, holding his hand out. Mikey and April placed their hands on top of his. "We go tonight.

Raph proceeded to outline the plan. April would go to Irma's and get the van in place, while Raph and Mikey would pack. Then Raph would stay with Leo while Mikey helped Donnie get prepared and run the bags to the manhole cover, where April would stow the bags in the van.

Raph told Mikey to take only what he absolutely had to have. The van would have to carry all four of them, Donnie's equipment, and luggage, so they couldn't afford to waste space. Mikey nodded and zoomed off to his room, and Raph did the same.

He went to his closest and dug out an old duffel bag. He would try to fit what he wanted to take into that one bag. Knowing Donnie, there would be a lot of useful tools and inventions he'd find necessary to take along, and he'd need a lot of space. Raph understood this, and that he should let Donnie have them. Anything that Donnie took was almost guaranteed to improve their new lives

Okay. Essentials first, then if there was still room, more frivolous things. He dug out an old terrarium, and scooped his pet turtle Spike up from his place on the bed, placing him and some food inside. He tucked the terrarium in the bag, instantly taking up half the space. He threw in his backup sais, polishing cloth and oil, a couple of grindstones, and a few spare uniforms and shuriken. After that, there was a tiny amount of space left, and, after a moment of thought, Raph took down his Green Day poster, rolled it up, and stuffed it in the bag. He zipped it up, leaving a small gap so air could get in for Spike.

Carrying the bag with tenderness, he walked next door to Mikey's room, where the turtle was tearing it apart. A backpack laid on his bed, stuffed with sketchbooks, art supplies, and various comic books. The turtle himself was under his bed, only his legs visible.

"Whoa, Mikey. Didn't think it was possible that your room could get any messier." Raph joked lightly.

"Har-har." Mikey said sarcastically. "I'm trying to find - but I can't - Oh! Found it!" He cheered, popping back out from under his bed, covered in dust and clutching a ratty old teddy bear in his hands.

"You tore your room apart looking for that?" Raph asked, raising a nonexistent eyebrow at the nearly destroyed toy.

"Yeah bro! Don't you remember? When we were, like, 4, I was having nightmares every night, so one night Leo - "

"- gave you that bear." Raph finished. He remembered now. For over two weeks, Mikey had woken up in middle of the night, screaming about humans chasing him. Back then, they all shared a room, so they were all woken up as well. Then, one night, Leo had handed Mikey his teddy bear and told him that the bear would keep him safe.

"Yeah. After that, I never had that nightmare again." Mikey said wistfully, hugging the bear to his chest before tucking it tenderly in his backpack and zipping it up.

"Here, Mikey. Can you run both to the manhole?" Raph gently handed his bag to Mikey, and Mikey slid it over his shoulders to hang like a messenger bag.

"Careful, Spike's in there." Raph cautioned.

"I'll be careful, dude. And totally!" Mikey said, picking up the backpack and put it on, stretching the elongated straps to their limit.

"Good. I'll relieve Donnie." Raph ended the conversation and crossed the hall to Donnie's room. He hesitated, then raised his hand and knock softly. He heard the whisper of a voice, words to indistinct to understand, then the door opened a crack, Donnie defensively peeking out.

"Oh, it's you." Donnie opened the door wider and let Raph in.

Who else would I be? Raph almost said, but he caught himself. He knew exactly who Donnie thought he might be.

Donnie shut the door behind Raph, then moved back to the bed. Leo was awake, Raph saw, and was looking at him with wide, nervous eyes. Before, Raph would have expected that as the norm, but now that he knew where that nervousness stemmed from, it broke his heart that his big brother was living in such fear.

Donnie sat down next to Leo, and Leo wordlessly held out an arm with bandages half hanging off of it. Donnie took it and began unraveling the cloth, sliding it off to reveal a large gash running from Leo's elbow to 3/4's of the way to his wrist. It looked deep. The cut was surrounded by nasty bruises, and smaller cuts that were beginning to heal overlapped them. Donnie gave the limb a once over, then grabbed a small tube of cream off the nightstand and began treating the wounds.

"What do you need, Raph?" Donnie asked without looking up.

"Well, um . . . . " Raph murmured. He wasn't sure how to say it without Leo catching on. If it were up to him, they would have told Leo they knew the minute they decided to leave, but Donnie had said it would be best to act normal until they were basically out the door. The whole thing was highly traumatic and humiliating for Leo. There was no way to predict how Leo would react if he knew they knew, and that could be detrimental to their plans to escape. So for Leo's own good, he had to be left in the dark.

When Raph hesitated, Donnie looked up and noticed him darting glances at Leo. "He knows." Donnie said flatly.

"What?"

"He knows we know, Raph. So spit it out." What happened to we can't let him know we know? But Raph proceeded to "spit it out".

"April came by. She found a place." The effect those words had on Donnie was almost comical. He sat up straight in a flash and leapt off the bed. Surprised by the sudden movement, Leo yanked his arm back to his chest and shrunk back into himself. Donnie didn't noticed as he ran up to Raph.

"Really? Where?"

"Her grandmother's old home in the woods. It's deserted, out in the middle of nowhere. Sounds good. She's borrowing her friends van and she'll us tonight. Go pack, brainiac."

"Pack? But -?" Donnie's eyes flickered over his shoulder to where Leo sat.

"Mikey'll help you. He's already running his bag and mine to the manhole on Eastman and Laird. I'll stay with Leo." At the sound of his name, Leo looked up and locked eyes with Raph. Raph did his best to give a comforting smile, but he doubted it went very well. Leo simply blinked and turned his face away.

"Okay, I guess." Donnie said. He turned and gave a smile and nod to Leo, then left the room.

The room was immediately filled with awkward silence. Raph didn't know what to say. Everything about his relationship with his brother had changed. Now that he knew, his entire view of Leo had changed. Leo wasn't naturally shy and emo; at least, not to this extent. Splinter had literally beaten that into him.

Raph slowly walked across the room and sat down on the bed next to Leo. Leo twitched when he did, but didn't scoot away. Raph mentally cheered. This was good.

Leo didn't say anything. He averted his eyes, staring down at the half-treated wound on his arm, rubbing it and tracing the cut.

"I can finish that, if you want. It's my fault Donnie walked out on you." Raph offered. He reached a tentative hand out towards Leo's arm. Leo pulled back, scooting away.

"I'm fine, Raph." Leo whispered.

"Leo, you have a giant cut on your arm and who knows how many other injuries everywhere else. You are not fine." Raph said firmly.

Leo just looked away and continued to cradle his arm. Raph retracted his hand and sighed. It seemed like Leo was even more nervous and scared now, now that he knew his brothers knew about him. He had never been so terrified at the thought of him being touched by one of them. By some miracle, Donnie had managed to convince Leo to let himself be treated, but now that it was Raph offering, Leo shut down and shied away.

"We're leaving?" Leo's soft voice cut through the silence.

Raph jumped, then settled down. He hadn't expected Leo to speak again. "Yeah. Hopefully tonight."

"And it's April's place?"

"Her grandmother's, yeah. She says it's abandoned, has been for years, and that there's no one around for miles."

Leo peeked up at Raph. "That sounds . . . Nice. Safe."

Raph half-smiled. Making progress. "Yeah, it does. April's borrowing a van from a friend, and Mikey should be loading it with Donnie's techno-dohickys and a couple other things right about now. We'll be outta here by 10."

Leo didn't exactly smile, but his face seemed to become a little more relaxed and less tense, and that alone made Raph smile. Then Raph's eyes traveled down to Leo's arm, which Leo was still tenderly rubbing, and his smile was replaced with a deep frown.

"You sure you don't want me to finish treating that?" Raph asked again.

Leo looked down at his mutilated arm and shook his head.

"No, you don't want me to, or no, you're not sure?" Raph teased gently.

"I'm fine, Raph." Leo sighed resignedly.

"Even if you are, will you let me? If not for yourself, then for Mikey, Donnie, and me? We'd feel better if we knew your wounds were being treated." Blackmail? Maybe. But if it got Leo to let his wounds be treated, then Raph would blackmail 'til the cows came home.

Leo shifted uncomfortably. He rubbed the large cut once more, then hesitantly, jerkily, moved his arm onto Raph's lap. It took him a second to fully commit, but he eventually released the tension in his arm, surrendering it to Raph.

"You'll be careful?" He asked in a soft, tiny voice, with large sapphire eyes.

Raph's heart shattered then and there. "Of course, bro. I'm not gonna hurt you." He assured gently.

"I will never hurt you." Raph muttered with thinly veiled fierce protectiveness, grabbing the cream and bandages and setting to work on Leo's arm.

Leo blinked in surprise at his brother's tone and almost curled back up on himself, away from the energy in his brother's voice, but made himself stay still. Raph wasn't going to hurt him. He was his brother, and he said he wouldn't.

Raph saw all this flash in Leo's eyes, and felt a grim satisfaction. Splinter may have taken away Leo's ability to trust and his spark, but slowly, they were getting some of it back. He hoped.

DONNIE

Packing was probably one of the hardest things Donnie had ever done, decision-making wise. He knew he couldn't go over two bags to be fair to his brothers; but it was just so hard to pick and choose. Whatever he didn't would be gone forever. So needless to say, it was a difficult task.

He started with packing all of his tools into his tool box, then gathered up all of the medical supplies he had and stuffed them into a first aid kit. Both cases went into his old brown duffel bag he used when scavenging parts. Next in went his beloved laptop and modem so he could stay connected to the world. Now what else? What else did he have to have?

He walked to his wall of photos and pulled one down. This one was his favorite. They'd convinced Leo to actually be in it and had crowded around him. Mikey was beaming, waving frantically at the camera. Raph had his typical daredevil smirk on his face and was pointing a sai dead ahead, as if daring someone to come at him. Donnie himself had a sheepish smile, clutching his bottle staff with both hands like a walking stick. Leo was shyly standing in the middle position forced upon him. His head was bowed, but his eyes were gazing up at the camera, and the slimmest hint of a smile was just barely noticeable. This was the only picture Donnie had of Leo, and he treasured it more than anything. He tucked the picture tenderly into his bag. No way was he leaving this behind.

His gaze slipped to an extremely damaged Metalhead. He'd been planning on repairing the little guy, reworking the circuits so a Kraang couldn't take control any, but hadn't gotten around to making any real progress. Maybe he could take some of the important parts and completely rebuild him. A robot could come in handy, considering their luck.

Donnie positioned his hands on either side of Metalhead's head, then twisted. Snap! Wires sparked as the head was forcibly disconnected. Most of the important wires, parts, and chips were located in the head, so that was pretty much all Donnie needed. He tossed it up and down gently, like a football (get the reference, anyone?), then tucked it in his bag.

Full. He sighed. One more bag, and so much to choose from.

He yanked open a desk drawer and pulled out stacks of notes, sorting through them for the most important and stuffing them in a folder, stuffing it into a backpack. He pulled his favorite books off the shelves and situated them in the pack. He folded a couple masks, pads, and belts into an outside pocket. He scanned the room, then in a blur, scooped up the most useful pieces of tech he could find. He had no idea what kind of tech would be needed out in the woods, so he grabbed the stuff that was all-purpose; stuff that he could do almost anything with.

He was just squishing it all into his backpack and (not without difficulty) zipping it shut when Mikey came into his lab.

"Hey D."

"Hey - Mikey." Donnie gasped as he finally zipped the pack shut. "You dropped off the bags?"

"Yep. April pulled up in the van when I got there, and it is sweet! All techy and mysterious."

"That's good, Mike." Donnie grunted, swinging his duffel bag off his lab table. "Ready for another run?"

"Course, Donnie! Then when I get back we can leave?" Mikey asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"As soon as the sun goes down, which is in about 2 hours." Donnie answered.

Mikey grinned, though his usual happy grin now had a grim edge to it. "Radical, bro." He slipped the backpack on his shell and, with difficulty, slung the duffel bag handed to him byDonnie over his shoulders.

"Man, Donnie, what did you put in these? Rocks?" Mikey joked, groaning as he shifted the weight.

"Just tech, tools, and medicine, Mikey. Be careful with it!" Donnie added as he opened the garage door.

"Careful is my middle name, bro."

"More like chaos." Donnie muttered, displays of Mikey's clumsiness all too vivid in his memory.

"Dude, if you're so concerned, why don't you come with me?" Mikey said. "Take some of the load."

"I don't want to leave Leo with only Raph. Two turtles are better than one, after all." Donnie admitted.

Mikey nodded. "I understand. I don't want to leave him alone either." Mikey stared at his feet. "I - I don't understand. Why would Splinter do this?" Mikey cried.

"I don't know, Mike. I really don't know." Donnie said, feeling utterly useless. He was the "genius." He was supposed to know everything, how everything worked, why everything happened. But this was one thing he didn't know, a puzzle he couldn't solve.

A sniffle broke the silence, and Donnie mentally cursed as he say repressed tears begin to form in Mikey's eyes.

"Ah, Mikey. Don't - don't cry." Donnie knelt and awkwardly hugged Mikey, bags, shell, and all. "It'll be okay. We'll get out of here, go to the place in the woods, and never see Splinter again. Then we can help Leo get better."

Mikey's arms wrapped tight around Donnie. "Yeah. But - but it won't be the same. I mean, it'll be so . . . ." Mikey trailed off.

"I know what you mean, Mike. But it has to be done. We have to get out of here, for Leo's sake. We have to stay strong, at least until we're far away from the rat. Can you do that?"

Mikey nodded against Donnie's shoulder and pulled back. "Yeah."

Donnie smiled grimly. "Then run the bags to the van, and tell April we'll be there at 8:10 sharp. Then come straight to my room. Okay?"

"Okay." Mikey smiled determinedly back, then began to run into the tunnels.

Donnie sighed, then, checking that Splinter wasn't out of the dojo, quickly sprinted to his room. He rapped on the door quietly, and tapped his foot nervously as he waited for Raph to open the door.

"Ah, there ya are Don." Raph said as he let him in.

Donnie waited for him to shut the door before speaking. "Mikey's running my bags up. April's already there. We can leave as soon as the sun goes down."

"Why not sooner?" Raph frowned as he sat down beside Leo. All of Leo's bandages had been changed, telling Donnie that Raph had finished the job he had left half finished. Oops. But it was encouraging that Leo had let Raph treat him.

"Two reasons. One, we can't afford to be seen, even if we'll be exposed for only a second. Two, leaving before the sun goes down would make Splinter -" Donnie didn't miss the way Leo flinched "- suspicious, and we can't let him think we're up to something, or he might follow us or try to stop us. So we wait."

"Okay, but how are we going to sneak Leo out?" Raph asked. "Splinter won't let him just waltz out of here when he's supposed to be sick."

"No." Leo whispered. Donnie and Raph turned towards him, surprised. Neither of them had expected Leo to speak.

"No?" Donnie repeated, confused. "No, what?"

"He won't let me go. When he learns I'm not sick, he'll punish me for letting you keep me in bed." Leo whispered, hugging his legs to his body and staring at his knees.

"Like shell he will." Raph snorted. "We won't let that happen, Leo. He won't find out until it's too late."

Leo didn't exactly look reassured.

"What if we send Leo out into the tunnels before we leave, then we make it seem like we're going out on patrol and leaving Leo to rest? Splinter will think that Leo's still in here when he's actually already in the sewers, letting us get a head start and get away." Donnie suggested.

Raph and Leo both stared at the genius, and he shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. "What?!" He finally said.

"That was . . . . Kind of . . . . Quick." Raph voiced what both he and Leo were thinking.

Donnie shrugged. "I've been thinking about it in the corner of my mind ever since you said we were leaving tonight. I thought we'd need a plan."

"That sounds like a good plan, Donnie." Leo whispered.

"I just hope it's good enough." Donnie sighed, leaning up against the wall.

Awkward silence fell over the room.

LEO

Leo was in agony. Not physically, though he didn't feel 100% there, but then, he never did. Splinter made sure of that.

Anyway, he was in agony. Emotional agony.

It was truly hitting him for the first time. They knew. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey, they knew. They knew his shame, his weakness. His walls had been breached, and in the shock, he had let them stay open, and had been perfectly honest in everything he said. They could plainly see the instability, the weakness, the uselessness inside of him.

Leo burned with embarrassment and shame. They weren't supposed to know. Not now, not ever.

He saw how they looked at him, heard how they weighed their words, acting like one wrong movement, one wrong word, and he would shatter like ice. He hated it, how they tiptoed around him. He knew he probably hadn't helped matters, acting like he did, but he was so confused, emotions in such turmoil. He couldn't help but be perfectly honest, letting all those walls down, dropping the effort of keeping them up. He was tired of keeping them up. Any strength he may have had that let him keep the secret was gone.

"Ugh." He moaned, and winced as Raph looked at him, close enough to have heard him. Leo shook his head softly, and Raph frowned, but said nothing.

They knew. They knew how weak he was. They knew he was - he couldn't even bring himself to think the word. He never could. It was a shameful, horrible word. He wanted no connection to it. But he had one anyway.

They knew. And . . . . They were taking him away from here. Donnie said that he would always help him, no matter what, and that Master would never hurt him again. Raph had said that he would never hurt him.

They didn't see him like Master did, now that they knew. They thought he was worth something, and that twisted Leo's heart. He had never thought of himself as worth anything. He was simply a weapon for his brothers to use to defend themselves. But his brothers seemed to believe he was a person, at least, that's what they said. Donnie said that he was a person, and deserved to be treated like one.

On some level, Leo knew what Donnie said was true. It wasn't right for him to be treated this way. But, he had been living like this for so long. Another, more subconscious, more basic level of Leo's mind accepted the way he was treated, and believed everything Master had told him over the years. That part of him made even the thought of opposing him and leaving him quake in his shell. He was just Kame, just a stupid little turtle who was weak and needed to be honed into a warrior; a lifeform that wasn't worth the space he inhabited. Who was he to be betraying Master?

But his brothers didn't see Kame. They saw Leonardo, and they seemed convinced that Leonardo was prepared to defy Master. The problem was, Leo didn't feel like Leonardo. Leo felt like Kame. Leonardo probably could defy Master. But Kame? Kame was too weak, too cowardly. And even if he could leave, Kame would be nothing without Master to continue to train him. Kame belonged in the dojo with Master. Not in Donnie's room planning an escape.

So all in all, Leo was a jumbled mess. On one hand, he was Leonardo, who was planning to escape from Master with his brothers and knew he was doing the right thing in leaving. On the other, he was Kame, who was being pushed into a suicide mission by his teammates and was absolutely terrified and bracing himself for the inevitable failure and punishment.

Leo's frame quivered violently as he envisioned the punishment he was sure to receive for this. It would be a thousand times worse than his last one. Leo wouldn't be surprised if both his legs and both his arms were broken. He'd be locked in his room for months with only a trickle of food and water. Heck, Master may just kill him.

"Leo?" His brother's voice hit him like a slap to the face. He had forgotten about their presence in the room. That was another thing. He had started flinching even harder ever since he learned they knew. It was a subconscious reaction; he couldn't control it. This tiny, tiny little part of him was almost expecting his brothers to start treating him like Master did, and was reacting accordingly.

"Yeah, Raph?"

"You're shivering. Are you cold?"

Leo shook his head. Cold? Leo was far from it. He was warmer than he had been in a long time. His own room was always insanely cold, and Donnie's room was near boiling, perfect for reptiles. To Leo, who had grown up in an icebox, this room was paradise.

"Then why are you shivering? Something wrong?" Raph asked gently.

Yes. Yes there was. Leo was torn in two, torn between Kame and Leonardo. But he couldn't say that. His brothers already knew enough of his shame. They had already seen enough of the inside of the walls. It was time for Leo to build them back up.

Leo shook his head again. Raph frowned, and opened his mouth again, to no doubt press for a real answer, but Leo was saved by a knock on the door. Donnie moved from his spot on the wall and slowly opened the door a tiny crack, then opened it wide. Leo's final little brother, Mikey, slipped in.

"Mission accomplished, bros. April's on standby for us." Mikey reported as Donnie shut the door behind him. Mikey's eyes traveled to Leo and he gave a feeble grin. Leo instinctively tensed and bowed his head away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mikey look heartbroken, and he felt guilty.

"Good. Now we just gotta get outta here. How long til sundown, Donnie?" Raph asked.

"90 minutes. Leo should probably head out in 80." Donnie answered.

"All right."

"What do we do til then?" Mikey asked. It was a valid question. They couldn't all stay in the room for another 90 minutes. Splinter was bound to get suspicious.

"One of us could stay with Leo while the others go watch TV. You know, to project a sense of normal-ness." Donnie suggested.

"Okay, but who stays with Leo?" Mikey asked innocently. They all looked at each other, then to Leo. Leo squirmed under their gazes and burrowed deeper into the mattress. He didn't like being the object of attention. Attention had never been a good thing in his life. If he got attention, it usually meant he was about to be trained or punished. He had learned to fade and hide from searching eyes. It was one of the reasons he was so talented in stealth.

"Let Leo decide. Leo, who do you want to stay with you?" Donnie questioned.

Leo shifted. "I don't care. It doesn't matter."

"Sure? You want to be stuck with Mikey?" Raph teased, smiling to let all parties know he meant nothing by it.

Leo shifted again, his eyes darting everywhere, then slowly whispered, "Raph." He wasn't sure why he chose Raph. Maybe because he was the next oldest. Or maybe because he was already sitting next to him and Leo wouldn't be forced to flinch as one of the others took his place.

Raph nodded. "All right Leo. I'll stay. Donnie, you and Mikey go hang in the pit. Make noise. Do whatever."

"Got it."

"No problemo."

The two younger brothers left the room, then it was just Leo and Raph again, sitting side by side on the bed.

"Want to do something?" Raph asked after a long stretch of silence.

Leo shook his head, and Raph sighed. "Didn't think so." Raph leaned against the wall at the head of Donnie's bed. "But it was worth a shot."

The rest of the hour was spent in silence.

75 minutes later, Donnie poked his head inside. "It's time." He hissed. Raph nodded. Leo just stared as he stood on shaky legs.

Donnie and Raph stuck close as they ushered him through the hall and to the turnstile gate. No sign of Splinter.

"Eastman and Laird." Donnie whispered into Leo's ear. Leo barely had time to nod before he was forced through the turnstiles and was pushed towards the tunnels.

He began to run swiftly and silently, like he had been trained to. His heart began pumping at a furious pace, pounding an angry taboo against his chest. Sweat began pouring from his face in bucket loads. He was doing it. He was daring to run away from Master. He was doing the impossible, the unforgivable. He was leaving.

SPLINTER

"Sensei!" The shout of his eldest son was a welcome sound. The boys had been unusually quiet today. Perhaps because of Kame's sickness. If he had been contaminating his sons . . . .

"Yes, Raphael?" Splinter asked as he swooped out of the dojo and into the main room. His three sons were standing there at attention, armed for battle should it arise.

"We're headed out for patrol. We should be back in a couple of hours. Leo's resting in Donnie's room." Raph said in a monotone voice.

Splinter hid a frown. He would have thought Raphael would have been more excited to be leader on this outing. He often impressed upon his father that he believed that he should be leader; that he do a better job than Kame. Splinter quite agreed with him, but had put Kame in the position for a very good reason. Leaders were often called to play the self-sacrifice card, and Kame would be able to play it without hesitation or much impact on the team. Raphael was a protector. He would not leave anyone behind, not even Kame, worthless as he was to the family. While an admirable trait, in certain situations it could destroy all of them. Kame understood this, and understood what he should do to protect his teammates.

"Be safe, Raphael."

"Hai." Raphael bowed slightly and almost ran out of the room, his brothers right behind him.

Splinter waited patiently for one minute, and when he heard nothing to indicate his sons were going to pop back in, he sweeped determinedly down the hallway towards his middle son's room, where Kame was. Sickness was no excuse to get distracted and become lazy. He had already missed too much training.

Splinter flung open the bedroom door with no warning to Kame. The door hit the wall with a loud bang and rebounded slightly as Splinter marched into the room, heading straight for the lump under the bed covers.

"Get up, Kame." He hissed, throwing the covers back. What he saw made him recoil and growl in anger. Instead of Kame, under the covers lay a pile of pillows shaped like a body. Stupid little Kame was gone.

Splinter's vision clouded with red. How dare he leave without permission? He clearly was not sick at all, and had lied to laze about in bed all day.

Splinter's teeth gritted in a fierce scowl and his clenched fists shook in fury. That little disobedient, ungrateful brat would regret this a thousand times over. And his sons had to have known about Kame's fake illness. He would have punish them as well. It was time they knew Kame's position in this household. He was not to be allowed to slack. He could not be allowed to get away with this.

Splinter marched with furious purpose down the hallway and into the subway tunnel that connected the Lair to the sewers. He took a deep breath and smelled his sons, and, underneath that, slightly fainter, he smelled Kame.

Splinter narrowed his eyes, crouched, and took off down the tunnel on all fours. Kame would live to regret his treachery, and would wish he had not.

LEO

His brothers caught up to him quickly, and soon they were all running. Running away. Running away together. It was an unfathomable concept to Leo. Even as his feet propelled him farther and farther away from the Lair, his brain was unable to wrap itself around the magnitude of what he was doing. He was leaving. Leaving Master. Leaving the Lair, the dojo. His icebox, prison cell of a room. The beatings, the training, the days on end of solitude. He was leaving it all behind. His heart and stomach quivered in a excited, terrified way. This was it. This was the day his life changed. For better or for worse, that remained to be seen.

They were almost there. Leo's heart beat faster and faster as he saw the signs that they were almost at Eastman and Laird. He was so close. So close to the end of this. He could even see the ladder now.

45 yards . . . 30 yards . . . 20 yards . . . 10 yards . . . 5 . . .

Leo reached a hand out for the ladder rungs . . .

"KAME!" A terrible roar echoed through the tunnels, and Leo froze stiff, hand stuck in midair. No. No, no, no. No, he couldn't have actually -

"KAME!" The roar came again, and Leo began to shake violently. It was. It was him. He had found out after all. Of course he had, he was Master. This had been doomed from the start, and he had been foolish enough to start to hope. Now he and his brothers would pay.

His brothers . . .

Leo turned to his three brothers, who were staring in fear down the tunnel. They had never heard such anger in their Sensei's voice.

"Run!" Leo whispered, fear leaking into his voice despite his best efforts to hide it. "You have to run!"

Every one of his brothers glared at him like he was insane.

"We're not leaving you, Leo. Not now, not ever." Raph said firmly, and Donnie and Mikey nodded sternly in agreement.

"You have to! He'll hurt you if he catches you with me like this!"

"He'll hurt you if he gets his claws on you. We won't let that happen." Donnie folded his arms over his chest.

The sound of claws and paws padding against the ground reached Leo's eardrum, and his anxiety skyrocketed. He was getting closer.

"Run while you can! Please! Let me do my job and protect you!" Leo pleaded. That had always been his job; his entire reason for existing. But none of his brothers listened.

"Leo, let us protect you for once." Mikey gazed into Leo's eyes, and it was as if he knew what Leo truly meant by that comment.

"Climb the ladder, bro. We'll be right behind you." Donnie urged.

"No, you guys first."

"You're the priority. You go first." Raph ordered.

The sound of Master's approach grew louder. He was coming. He would be there soon.

Leo looked frantically at each of his brothers faces. They were all dead set in making sure he was the first one to climb up the ladder. They wouldn't make for the surface until he did. So the sooner he went topside, the sooner his brothers did. He turned around and reached out his hand, his fingers wrapping around the cool metal rung. He pulled himself up and swiftly climbed the ladder, pushing the heavy manhole cover aside and hauling himself up and out of the sewers.

True to her word, April was waiting at the surface, leaning against the side of the van. At Leo's appearance, she started to rush over, but Leo furiously shook his head and motioned for her to start the van. April bit her lip and nodded, running to the drivers side door and climbing in.

Leo stuck his head back into the tunnel and, to his relief, saw Mikey climbing the ladder. He gestured hurriedly for Mikey to speed up, and Mikey grew faster in his movements.

The minute Mikey had reached the top, Leo moved aside and let him climb up. Donnie began climbing the ladder. The van's engine roared to a start, then hummed as it idled in the alley, pointed towards the exit to the street.

At the bottom of the ladder, Raph was nervously switching his gaze between the rising Donnie and the entrance to the tunnel he stood in. Master was almost on top of him by the sound of it.

Donnie set his hands on the concrete and hauled himself up to the surface. Mikey had climbed into the back of the van, both of the back doors wide open.

Raph began climbing the ladder. Donnie made his way to the van and hopped in, securing everything inside.

Raph was halfway up the ladder, and Leo was bouncing where he kneeled with nervous tension. Come on, come on . . . . .

"RAPHAEL!" Leo froze and watched Raph do the same. NO!

"Sensei?" Raph's voice was hesitant and meek for the first time in his life.

Master's voice was anything but. "Where. Is. Kame?" His voice was low and dangerous, a voice Leo had heard many times as Kame. It was NEVER good.

"Kame?" Raph said, puzzled, before his voice became heavy with anger as he figured out who Kame was. "His name is Leonardo!" He barked, before throwing down a smoke bomb.

The egg shattered open against the ground, and purple smoke filled the tunnel. For a moment, Raph was hidden from view. Then a large green hand shot out of the purple fog. Leo grabbed it tightly, pulling Raph up the rest of the way. Sapphire orbs meet emerald, and Raph grinned.

A hand shot out of the fog, a pale five-fingered hand, and wrapped itself around Raph's ankle. Raph's eyes widened for a split second before he was pulled back into the tunnel.

"NO!" Leo shouted, tightening his already vice-like grip on Raph's hand. His eyes traveled from Raph's face to Raph's captor, and his body went ridged as he stared at Master's face, marred with a furious scowl.

"There you are, Kame." Master snarled, and Leo drew his head into his shell. "Get down here. Now."

"I - I -" Leo stuttered.

"Don't do it, Leo." Raph gasped as Master tugged hard on his leg. "Get out of here."

"N-no. I - I can't leave you." Leo whimpered.

"Leo - Ah!" Raph grunted as the two forces pulled him harder.

"Let go, Kame." Master hissed.

"Leo -"

Leo shut his eyes tight. Raph may have been the one being pulled between him and Master, but Leo was the one being torn. What should he do?! Keep fighting for Raph, like Leonardo would do? Or come along, submissive like Kame, and hope Master would go easy on his brothers?

"Leo." Raph said again, his voice strained. Leo opened his eyes and saw Splinter had gotten a grip on the side rim of Raph's shell. Raph grew heavier on his arm. Leo couldn't hold on much longer.

"I do not wish to harm my son, Kame, but if you do not let go, I will." Master threatened. Leo's breath caught in his throat, and he felt something stir in his chest. Something that felt like anger, and strength. Something like Leonardo.

"No." He breathed.

"What was that, Kame?" Master snapped.

"No." Leo said louder. "You will not hurt Raphael. My job is to protect my brother's from harm. And that includes you." Leo drew a shuriken from his wrist wraps, and with a flick of his wrist through the star directly at his master's face. With both hands on Raph, Splinter was unable to protect himself from the throwing star that embedded itself in his eye.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Master howled in agony, both hands slipping free of Raph and moving to the piece of metal in his eye. With nothing to hold onto any longer, he fell 5 ft onto the concrete floor of the tunnel.

The weight of Raph suddenly diminished, and Leo pulled him out of the tunnel, Raph's hand scrambling to find something solid to hold onto. Leo placed his other hand around Raph's, and pulled him to the van where Donnie and Mikey had been waiting, frozen in place with shock and horror. Raph leaped into the van first. Leo was right on his heels, and as he jumped in, Mikey and Donnie closed the doors, locking them with a loud thud.

"Drive!" Leo shouted at the top of his lungs, panic filling his voice as his actions began to leak into his brain.

April floored it, and turtles went flying with the sudden acceleration. Then April turned, and they were tossed around again. But they regained their balance as the van's speed becomes steady.

Leo scooted into the corner of the upper-left side of the van. A defense mechanism of his. No one could sneak up on him if his back was to a wall.

He crunches up into a tight ball. Oh God. He just - he just attacked his Master. He was running away from Master. Oh God. What had he done?

He couldn't help it. He began to cry.

It felt like an eternity before an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Through his blurry vision, he saw Raph sitting beside him. Another hand rested on his knee. Donnie. A final hand laid very gently on his forearm. Mikey. He looked up front, and saw April giving concerned glances at his image in her mirror.

He curled up even tighter, trying to disappear into himself, and cried even harder. Leonardo was gone again. He was Leo again. Scared little Leo. And Leo was heading into the unknown. Away from Master, and to . . . What?

Freedom, a voice inside him whispered, before vanishing like mist.

Guess what? I entered a writing contest at my library, and I WON! I'm beyond thrilled!

Okay, you hopefully know what to do. PLEASE review! I'd appreciate it so much!

Have a great day/night!

-Katana/Blue (you can call me either)