A/N: Hey all, sorry for the long delay. The plot in this one began to get too confusing as I tried to continue so I let it sit. Problem is, I let it sit too long and confused myself to where the story was heading. Good news is I think I've cracked the plot issue and have made headway. This next chapter isn't quite long, but I hope it makes up for the long wait and I'll hopefully have another update a whole lot sooner than this one took. Enjoy reading! :)

Chapter 14 - Holding On

Dani's small form slumped against him, her last breath caressing Leo's cheek as she crumpled to the floor in front of him, her head in his lap. "I'm sorry little one," he repeated barely above a whisper, his head hanging low.

"Such a pity to waste a life so young." Footsteps clanked through the silent room, stopping before him. The Shredder crouched to his level, hand slowly gripping his chin lightly and lifting it until Leo was forced to meet his eyes. "Remember, the blame rests upon you and you alone."

Leo barely contained the forced shudder. It was his fault. If only he had spoken sooner, this precious little girl would not be dead in his lap. A wave of Shredder's hand and two ninja slipped forward to grab Dani from his grasp. Leo jerked his chin from his enemy's hands, a growl directed at the ninja advancing towards him in an effort to protect the little body. "Don't touch her," he growled, eyes narrowing upon the encroaching ninja. Dani didn't deserve to have her little body disgraced at the Foot's hands.

"Oh come now Leonardo. We have to clean up our little mess."

Leo's eyes narrowed further on the Shredder once more as he struggled in his bonds, helpless as the ninjas succeeded in taking away the body. "Dani is not a mess. She is just an innocent life in the path of your twisted games."

The Shredder stood, arms crossed in front of him as he glared down upon the blue banded turtle. "This is not a game Leonardo, only if you choose it to be. Now, speak your answer."

"Never," Leo spat, glaring up at the Shredder. "I will not join you and I will not become him. Shade stays in the past where he belongs."

"Very well." Another wave of the hand sent ninja scrambling forward, a hoard of fifteen descending upon the turtle. "Your next session begins."

Leo pulled and twisted as he was dragged to his feet once more and shoved to the room's door. They walked down the brightly lit hallways, the florescent lights shining down upon them. Twists and turns became a blur as they walked. He lost count after twelve hallways and dozens of doors. Finally stopping at one, a ninja swiped a key card, the red light flashed green, allowing the door to open. Eyes narrowing, Leo braced himself against their grip. He could see the chains in the room attached to the gleaming silver table. He jerked to the left, feeling their grip on him loosen. Wasting no time, he rammed his shoulder into the ninjas on the right, two of them going down only to be replaced by three more, hands gripping his shoulders in a death grip as he was shoved forward through the doorway, his feet stumbling beneath him. They forced him to the table, lifted him up in an attempt to force him down onto the table. His legs swung freely, his right foot smacking into the face of a ninja while his left foot did the same. The two ninja fell back, the rest of them throwing the blue banded turtle onto the table with a smack, the straps quickly fastened across his ankles, wrists, and chest. With him secured, the ninja fell back like a retreating wave.

The door swung open again, the Shredder entering. "So much fight in you. We shall see how long it lasts." He motioned for a ninja to step forward, the chosen ninja brandishing a needle.

Leo narrowed his eyes on the ninja, pulling against the straps, testing their strength. They didn't budge even as he tried to pull away from the needle aimed for his arm. The cold metal sank into his skin, releasing its contents. The task done, the ninja capped the needle and slipped back into the sea of ninja. Leonardo blinked, feeling nothing change. His vision remained true, no pain radiated from his arm. He frowned in confusion. "What was that?" he demanded.

"A muscle relaxant," the Shredder supplied. "It should be kicking in at any moment, slowly taking over your ability to move of your own will."

Leo's eyes widened slightly before narrowing, waiting for the big catch. A relaxant was no torture. He experimentally tugged at the straps once more, finding his left arm where needle had entered was unmovable. His left leg was numb even as he felt the numbness slowly starting to spread throughout his body. Quelling down his panic, he tried to force his left arm to move once more with no success. Both legs were now frozen, even his right arm just barely twitched. He forced out a calming breath as he could no longer wiggle beneath the straps.

The Shredder ran a hand down Leo's arm, clenching his fist as he allowed the blades of his gauntlet to graze the green skin all the way down to the turtle's foot. Not even a muscle twitched from the cut, the smallest of winces crossing Leo's face for a moment. "Perfect," the Shredder all but purred. He motioned for another few ninja to step forward. The straps were quickly undone from the turtle's limbs.

With himself free, Leo tried to move, get off the table even if it was to only roll off and land in a crouch. His limbs would not obey his commands, he could not move even though there was nothing holding him down. His gaze swiveled back to his enemy for a moment before the door opened once more. The ninja within the room parted, two Foot tech ninja entered, carrying a large python into the room, laying the giant snake upon Leo's plastron before backing up quickly out of the snake's range.

"You should be fine if you don't move, not that you can anyway," the Shredder spoke up confidentially. "Though the relaxant should wear off in an hour and you will be in for a little trouble." He waved his ninja out of the room, following behind them. "Good luck Leonardo," he sneered. "We will be back in two hours."

The door slammed shut, catching the snake's attention for the moment before turning its gaze back to Leo. His heart hammered in his chest, watching the large snake that lay across his plastron, feeling the scaly body move and writher closer to his head. The tail of the snake wrapped itself around his left foot and leg, the snake's tongue coming out with a hiss to taste the air, the tip of it brushing across Leo's face. His eyes slammed shut in an attempt to block out the sight of the python, the feel of it slowly moving on top of him. Swallowing hard, he willed his heart to calm, to show no fear in front of the snake. Opening his eyes to glare at it, he watched it's movements as it slithered upward, wrapping around his neck, slipping underneath and coming back up to lay across his plastron once more. Seeming content, the snake lay still, squeezing the turtle every so often as time slipped by. Leo forced himself to relax, to focus on his breathing instead of the animal that held him in its grasp.

Time moved slowly, his left foot twitching finally. The twitch caught the attention of the snake. Leo willed himself to keep very still. With the relaxant wearing off, he didn't want any twitching limbs to convince the snake to make him into its meal. The numbness slowly wore off, full movement being restored to his being. The snake squeezed tighter, the tip of the tail lazily swinging back and forth off the table. Again the snake seemed content. Leo shut his eyes, blocked out the snake, its weight on him, the feeling of being squeezed to death. He let his mind wander, taking in his options even as he kept himself still to avoid being bitten or squeezed any tighter. It was getting more difficult to breathe as it was. Licking dry lips, he continued to plan and think. There was no way he could jump quickly out of the snake's hold with the grip it had on him. Any flurry of movement would provoke an attack.

Time continued to drag across the room, each idea of escape discarded one after another as each one would end in disaster. So deep in thought, he nearly jumped as the door slammed open with a thud, the snake's gaze snapping up to the intruders, its body squeezing tighter around its prey.

Leo gasped for breath as the Shredder and his ninja walked into the room, his vision blackening for just a moment.

"Comfortable?" the Shredder asked.

He narrowed his gaze at his enemy, not even having the breath to answer even if he wanted to.

"No? Well we can easily fix that, a simple yes to my request will do."

Leo shook his head just barely, "No…" he breathed out. He would not be used in the Shredder's army.

The Shredder growled, slamming his fist down on the table the turtle and snake lay on, the snake quickly squeezing tighter in response. "You will agree," he growled.

Leonardo gasped for breath, air fully cut off from his lungs, the grip of the snake squeezing deathly tight and still squeezing tighter.

The Shredder motioned a ninja forward, who produced a needle, infusing the snake with its contents. Within seconds the snake's hold relaxed slightly. The effect was slow, not fast enough to take the darkness from his vision as air slowly trickled back into his aching lungs. As the snake fully lost muscle control, air rushing into freely into his airways, he lost the fight with consciousness.