Part One:

-----------

Settling back on the cold, hard floor, I sighed.

So much for entertainment; having the electricity all busted out, and no comics to read, what a bummer.

I sighed again and pushed my tail off the cold, hard floor, and decided to settle on the comfy couch instead. Seeing since I have nothing worthwhile to do, I might as well just lay back and catch a snooze, some shut eye might be for the best. Settling down, I snuggled into the puny seat and closed my eyes, sinking deeper and deeper into boredom, not really sleepy, or even tired.

'Okay, so maybe it wasn't a good idea to have all that sugar, during breakfast.' I thought to myself, I was feeling too hyper and energized to sleep, yet the infesting boredom wasn't making it any easier. 'Guess the nap is out of the question, huh.' I sighed heavily, closing my eyes a bit tighter, trying to remain motionless, I need something to keep my mind busy, yet not require any physical labor, I'm too lazy to do any work, I don't feel like moving or doing anything, yet I'm bored and I want to do something. How troublesome.

"Hey, Mike, have you seen m- oh?" I heard Raph's voice, it sounded annoyed, but then stammered, but I did my best to remain motionless, faking sleep, "Ah, never mind," he breathed out softly, a hint of a smile to his voice, "I guess it's been a long day for you, huh?" He then whispered, there was a pause and I dare not move. Soon, I felt his hand reach down, gently cupping my cheek, and his thumb tenderly brushing the skin, "Pleasant dreams, bro." he said with a smile, slowly sliding his hand away, and then I heard him, his soft footsteps, as he walked away from the couch.

'Yes, the Mike-master still has it!' I smothered a pleased grin, it was threatening to split my face in half. Suppressing a loud chuckle that was building up tightly in my chest, making me tremble, if only a little, I dare opened my eyes a slit, not daring to move. 'Love you too, bro! You big ol' softie.' I wanted to hoot out loud, but didn't want to risk a pummeling.

"Raph?" I heard Donny ask, concern clear in his voice, "What is it?"

I bit my lip, realizing Raph was still within the area.

"Nothing," Raph replied, and I can imagine him waving a casual hand at Donny, "I wanted to ask him if he knew where Leo took my rollerblades, but Mike's napping right now." He replied, sounding shushed and casual.

"Oh, okay, for a minute there I thought something was wrong." Don said with a hint of a smile to his voice.

"Well, if anyone should worry it should be me, Mike's been pretty down since we moved here." He grunted.

"Yeah, and I thought I had it bad." Donny sighed, "Wish there was something we could do. With no games to play, no comics to read, and the entertainment center down, I'll need a trip to the junkyard to get a new fuse, but even that might take a while."

"Ah, but this is Mike, right? I'm sure he'll bounce back soon, don't worry." I heard something metallic rattle, "Heh, and when he does, you'd wish he was still brooding, a safe distance away from you." Raph chuckled, and I didn't know if I should be offended, but that didn't stop me from pouting in my hiding spot, "Besides, he'll be fine, he always recovers."

"I guess, but I sure hope you're right Raph, I don't like a brooding Mikey, it just doesn't sound right." Don murmured.

"Yeah, a brooding Mike is just as wrong as an angry Leo." He muttered, "Or a calm Raphael?"

"Oh that would be the day!" Don laughed, his mood easing a bit, "So anyway, you ready?"

"Yeah, I guess." I heard their feet shuffle away, the rattling returned, it sounded like Don's tool box, "I just wish those bozos didn't have to trash the battle shell so bad," he muttered, annoyed, "how long would it take to fix?"

"Depends, really." Don replied dejectedly, "A week, maybe a month, if we find the required parts and enough time." Don replied.

"Great, at least it'll be something to keep me positively busy." Raph halfheartedly chuckled.

After a moment, there was silence again, and I let out a small breath. I Guess there is really nothing to do right now, seeing both Don and Raph are obviously busy, and from what I can gather, the battle shell is going to need a shell lot of repairs after the missile it took. Raph was pretty much fuming like a volcano, when he and Casey managed to haul it back from the junkyard it was dragged to; he was glad the police never laid eyes on it yet, seeing it was stuck in the middle of the road for a while, after he and Leo got home.

Talking about Leo, I haven't seen him all day.

Sometimes, I wonder if he's really back.

I mean, when he first returned, it was like- as if he never left, as if he never changed, he was back to his nice, kind and loving self, but last night, when he and Raph had that little fit, that dark, angry hiss was quite clear in his voice, it even startled Raph to an extent, and Raph knew better than to challenge Leo when he's like that, and he should have backed off, but instead he stood his ground, much to Leo's annoyance; just so he wont hurt Raph, Leo stepped back and left the lair, I've not seen him all day.

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about the events of the past week.

I furrowed a bit, I was worried about Leo.

When we were little, Leo had always been the perfect big brother, looking out for us, protecting us. He was something like a guide, or a lighthouse in the ocean of darkness, you know? I very highly admired him, he was my brother, my leader, my idle right next to Sensei, and in a way, he was something like my very own super hero, but in a toned down, less glorified version, something I treasured very deeply.

But ever since he cracked his shell, when he started with the hissy fits, bumping heads with Raph, growling and disrespecting Sensei, a part of his character was stained, and I just can't look at him the same way as before anymore. He and Raph just started getting on each others nerves, more often than not; to a point that deeply frightens me!

Sometimes, during the night, while Leo is away, I'd even have that darn, dark dream again, and I wake up screaming, shivering like a leaf, and end up spending the night with either Raph or Don.

Don doesn't ask, he just scoots aside and lets me settle in next to him, exchanging little words and some comforting, before we drift into sleep, like when we were very little, while Raph exclaimed how annoyed he is, how I'm acting like such a baby, but give him a little pleading and he's all softened up; heck, sometimes he's even hug me, makes me feel a shell lot better by morning, as long as I promise not to tell anyone.

God, I love blackmailing him, he's so much fun to tease! Hehe…

What dream am I talking about? Well yeah, sure I've got a list of recurring dreams, from horror movie monsters, to Triseratons, to our super hero turtles counterparts with destroying an evil master Splinter, but the dream I'm talking about, is the worst dream I've hard in so long. It's the dream with Leo and those icky red tentacles sticking out of his side. Those long and sleek tentacles, wiggling around like an octopus, sprouting out from where his arm should be, when he was possessed with that monster thing, it irks me to no end, and I hate it.

I hate it, to see my brother like that, not being himself, it's not right!

I stared into the dim blackness behind my eyelids, listening to the soft humming of the machines Donny had installed for us, and dozing quietly on the couch, my arm folded under my head for more comfort. Ever since the short circuit last night, killing the entertainment system, we've been pretty much telling stories to pass the night away, but eventually, we ran out of things to say.

Mostly Leo and Sensei told the stories, Donny, Raph and I just listened, seeing that we had pretty much lived most of them, so Sensei was just filling Leo in to the events of what he missed, much to Raph's dismay.

There were a few things he really didn't want Sensei to mention, like how Raph went out thug bashing and came home with a concussion, or how Donny overworked himself and stayed awake for three whole days, or how I kept making a mess and the like, but seeing Raph was the second in command, it seemed to only make him look bad.

During last night, I really felt sorry for Raph, he really weren't in his best moods, the look in his eyes practically begged Sensei to drop the topic, and Sensei knew it, but Sensei kept retelling the tales, and it bothered me somehow.

I mean, we did pretty much the same things we did while Leo was still around, so why was Sensei pointing out these things to Raph, while he was second in command? I mean, well- I really cant blame Raph for the lack of order, because Raph had pretty much not been home most of the time, anyway! He spent most of his time out, with April and Casey for reasons unknown, while Leo was away.

I don't know why, but he barely stayed home for more than an hour or so, he only arrives for practice sessions, usually he'd skip meal times, other than that, he's out of the lair, somewhere. At some point, I wondered if he were hiding a secret, but felt that he was either hiding it too well, or I was reading his body language wrong, or maybe I was being too much a snoop, I dunno.

Then again, I remember he came home late once, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say there was- slobber and what felt like baby powder on the tip of his bandanna, and no matter how curious I was, I knew better than to ask or tease Raph about it, seeing he was in a very pissed and foul mood at the time. He was very upset, or more like sad than angry, I don't know why, I never dare ask.

"Psst!" someone whispered into my ear, startling me.

With a snort and a sleepy, droopy head, startled from my light slumber; I fluttered my eyes and stared, what I saw was a bigass grin, but what confused me, the mask wasn't red, it was blue! "Leo? What- ?" I rubbed my eyes, weary and my heart racing from the jump start.

He chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't man to startle you." he told, and then placed a hand on my shoulder.

I yelped a bit, his hand was freezing! "Geez, Leo! Give a guy a heart-attack why don't you?" I rubbed where his hand touched my skin, "You're hands are freezing!" I bit back a growl.

He smothered a grin, "Sorry, I was- busy." He settled on his knees, kneeling on the floor.

I arched a brow ridge at him, and I couldn't help but note he was still grinning, "What's so funny?"

His grin widened, "I'm bored, and figured you'd like to play a game with me."

I stared, wide eyed and puzzled.

Okay, I must be dreaming. Leo? Leo is bored? He, the great leader, wants to play something with me? The goofball? The troublemaker? Why? Was he planning world domination, or was this just a dream? A really weird dream?

Leo rolled his eyes, "What? Even I get bored you know, and I don't really feel like practicing or meditating right now." His smile softened a bit, looking more natural on his face. "So, you in or not?" he grinned again.

I licked my lips, and deep down inside I knew I was asking for trouble, but that didn't stop the grin from spreading on my face, "What are we bargaining about here? Is it fun?" I dare ask, it just sounded too good to pass up.

His grin turned a bit sinister and evil, in a good-Leo kind of way, but before I could say anything else, he pushed himself up to his feet and gripped my hands, pulling me off the couch, "Oh, it's fun, trust me! It'll be a blast!" he chuckled, dragging me away.

I grinned inwardly, there was just something about the mischievous, un-Leo-ish grin that excited me.

I knew we're probably asking for trouble, but if it's Leo's idea, then I wont get in trouble for it, right?

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: this story will probably be a two or three parts, I've finished most of part two, so I might end it there, it'll probably be just two chapters long, so don't get your hopes up. I need a break from LOSS and WwS so bare with me.