We never really knew how it started. Everything had seemed to be going so well; the Shredder was dead, Karai was leaving us alone, there was little Foot activity, and the Purple Dragons were laying low for a while. We should have listened to Leo. He told us it was too quiet, but we refused to believe anything was going to happen. Only Master Splinter seemed to know what Leo was getting at, but we wouldn't even listen to our sensei. When I think about it, it kind of makes sense: Raph was free to kick bad guy butt vigilante style, Mikey was enjoying the free time to play video games and stuff his face, and I was finally catching up on some of the unfinished projects I had littering my lab. We didn't want to listen. We didn't want Leo to be right.

But, of course, he was. It's a little irritating how few mistakes he makes. I mean, I guess it's good he doesn't mess up because with Raph, Mikey, and me we've pretty much got that covered. But still, everyone likes to see their big brother screw up, right? Anyway, Leo was right and something was about to happen. Something that was going to make us fight hard to survive.

Leo woke up with a nagging feeling that all his fears were going to be realized that day. He rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep clouding his senses. He heard Don snoring softly above him, but silence filled the rest of the house.

Good, he thought. I can get in some training before everyone else is up. He pushed himself out of bed, careful not to creak too loudly, and quickly put on his pads, belt, and swords. He always slept in his mask; all of the turtles did. They really didn't know why, but it was a habit they had all adopted. He crept out of his room and down the stairs, heading for the dojo.

Leo paused just inside the door. What's this strange feeling? Leo put his hand on his head as he became dizzy and broke out in a cold sweat. Why was he so nervous? The feeling passed quickly, and Leo dismissed it as a lack of proper sleep. After all, that dream had been plaguing his every sleeping moment for over a week now. He took a deep breath, held it for a second, and then let it out. He shook his head to clear the dream from his mind and began training.

Donny was vaguely aware of Leo leaving the room, but stayed in bed for another hour. He finally swung his legs over the side of his bunk and slid to the floor. He donned his equipment and headed downstairs for breakfast. He saw Leo training in the dojo and Mikey watching his Saturday morning cartoons. Raph was making a lot of noise in the kitchen making himself breakfast. Don grabbed his favorite cereal and plopped down at the table where the milk was already set out. He began to eat, mumbling a muffled "morning" to Raphael. Raph merely nodded in response, obviously worn out from a little late night justice enforcing with Casey.

A crash was heard coming from the dojo followed by a muffled grunt. Donny turned quickly to see Leo sitting, leaning against an overturned rack of practice weapons.

"Leo!" Mikey was in the dojo ahead of Don and Raph, helping the dazed-looking Leonardo to his feet.

"What happened, Bro? You just like, fell over," Mikey was asking.

"I- I don't know. It was like… I don't know." Leo looked confused, but Don could tell he was holding something back, like he had an idea of what was going on and didn't want to tell them. Oh well, that's Leo for you. Don would get the truth out of him later. For now he had to see if Leo was physically okay.

Raph sat next to Mikey on the couch waiting for Don to come out of the lab. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the sofa impatiently, staring at the TV without actually watching it. What the shell was taking so long?

Raph practically leaped to his feet as the door to Donny's lab slid open. Leo was walking out with him. Don stopped and spoke softly to Leo, who looked ready to argue; one look at Don's stern face and Leo meekly obeyed, heading upstairs to his room. Raph waited impatiently for the door to close before asking gruffly, "Well, what's wrong with 'im?"

Don sighed and sat down on the couch. Leo had obviously been giving him trouble based on the weary slump of Donny's shoulders. "Physically, nothing. Mentally…"

"So the Fearless Leader's finally lost it. I was wondering how long until the pressure got to 'im," Mikey said loudly, tapping his forehead. Raph snarled at him but Donny only sighed.

"Unfortunately, Mikey's not too far from the truth…"

"What? Leo's crazy?" Raph interrupted.

Don held up a hand and continued where he left off. "…About the pressure. Leo's not insane, but I think he needs a little break. He's been under a lot of stress with the Shredder and everything, and now that that threat's gone, he doesn't know how to handle it." Don let out another sigh. "He said he keeps getting the feeling that something bad's gonna happen. He said he gets really nervous and dizzy and starts sweating… And then there are the dreams."

When Don didn't continue Raph prompted him. "Dreams? What dreams?"

"He said he's flying through the air, after an explosion, and when he lands he's all alone. He tries to find us, but there's so much debris that he can't. He says it's dark and he can't see anyone, so he starts to call for us. He starts panicking and gets dizzy… And then he wakes up. He's been having the dream for a week now, and today he saw it in a vision, while he was practicing. And at the part where he normally wakes up he fell over." Donny paused here for a moment, thinking. "I told him to go get some rest. I…" Donny sighed yet again. "I don't think… I think he should take a break from leading us for a while." Raph gasped. Asking Leo to stop leading was like asking Mikey to think. It just didn't happen. Don must have noticed the shocked look on Raphael's face, because he quickly added, "Not permanently. Just while there's not much going on. He needs to relax."

Raph snorted, knowing this wouldn't turn out well. "Good luck gettin' 'im to agree to that. Just make sure I'm not there when ya tell Leo."

Mikey listened to the shouts coming from Leo's room. He had known Leo wouldn't take Don's suggestion well, but he hadn't expected him to be so mad. He crept closer to the door, trying to hear what was being said.

"Leo, you need the rest. The pressure's too much…"

"You want me to stop leading when you all need me the most? The dreams, Donny. What about the dreams?"

"That's exactly why you need to take a break. The dreams are merely your body telling you you're under way too much stress. It's a natural warning sign. If you keep doing this to yourself your health is going to deteriorate." Don sounded exasperated and exhausted at the same time.

"That's just it, Don. I don't believe that. It's not just any dream, it's-- It's like a vision. A message. Like someone or something is trying to warn me. I can't just 'take a break' and leave you guys unprotected."

"Leo—"

"Look, Donny, I appreciate the concern but I'm not going to stop leading and I'm not going to stop protecting you. So stop asking."

"Leo…" Donny grunted in frustration. "You know what, fine! Suit yourself. But when you crack you can't say I didn't warn you." As footsteps approached the door Mikey pretended to be just leaving his room. Don walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He looked at Mikey, who must have looked guilty because Don said, "You heard that?"

"I think we all did," Raph called from downstairs.

Mikey put his hand on the tired-looking turtle's shoulder. "You couldn't really have expecting anything else, bro. I mean Leo and leading are like peanut butter and jelly. You can't have one without the other."

Donny sighed, "I know, I just hoped he would use a little common sense for once and at least try to understand that he's only hurting himself by not resting. But I guess guys like Leo never change." Don was interrupted by his shell cell ringing. It was April. "Hey, April. What's up?"

"Donny, you and the guys have to get out here as soon as possible. The Purple Dragons, they're up to something again. Casey's here but we can't hold them off much longer."

"Where, April?"

"At the lab. They want something we have."

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can!" Don hung up the phone and put it back in his belt. "Raph, Leo, come on!"