Disclaimer: I don't own tmnt

This takes place at the beginning of the episode the Ancient One, except Leo is stopped before he can hurt Splinter. The beginning quotes come from that episode. The story's already written and only four chapters, so it shouldn't take long to complete. Here's chapter one.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

"I already told you I'm fine!" Leo replied when Master Splinter asked him the question yet again during their sparring match.

"You are sure?" Splinter asked again.

"Nothing's the matter Sensei. Why do you keep asking me that?!" Leo answered angrily.

"So much anger. The unopened bottle will burst when its internal pressure becomes too much to bear. For months now you have been brooding, surly and stubborn!" Splinter admonished.

"Yeah, right." came a sarcastic remark.

"You have not been yourself!" Splinter replied as he blocked a strike. "You must release what festers within you! Your family will help you Leonardo!" he urged. "It is important that we be open with one another!"

Leo finally disarmed Master Splinter. But the rat's words had no effect on his son's increasingly obvious problems.

"Open? Okay, this katana lesson stinks! I mastered this years ago. Years ago!" he yelled.

His brothers still couldn't believe the tone Leo took now with their Sensei. A few months ago, it would've been unthinkable. It was still unthinkable. They all abandoned their own activities and came closer to watch, just in case things got out of hand—which was looking like a strong possibility at the moment.

Master Splinter only looked disapproving as he retrieved Leo's other blade and assumed a fighting stance yet again. "It is not the student's place to say when a lesson is learned." He said sternly. "The student's place is to listen and learn."

As the brothers watched, Mikey commented. "Something tells me the cork's about to pop on that unopened bottle."

Raph glared. "That hothead. I hate it when Leo reminds me of me."

As the sparring went on, Leo started to lose control. "I've already mastered this lesson! And yesterday's lesson," he continued as he rammed his shoulder into Splinter and followed up with a strike that Splinter was only just able to block. "And the lesson before that!" It was obvious Splinter was weakening but Leo didn't let up. "When are you going to teach me something," he yelled as he disarmed Splinter, "I don't already know!"

Before Leo could strike again and possibly injure Splinter, his brothers stepped up and Raph yelled. "Leo, what the shell is your problem!"

Leo whirled around to face Raph. "Problem? The only problem I have is that I'm not learning anything new! I'm stuck repeating old techniques I mastered when I was five!" With that, he picked up his other sword and started to leave the lair. "I'm going to go practice on my own!"

"Leonardo!" called Splinter in a warning voice. But Leo ignored him and disappeared, heading for the surface.

As soon as Leo left, Master Splinter's angry expression transformed into one of tired sadness.

"You okay, Sensei?" Mikey asked.

"Yes and no, my son. Your brother's behavior worries me more each day. I fear these dark feelings he is carrying will destroy him if we cannot persuade him to be open with us."

"Why the heck won't he talk to us?" asked Raph.

Splinter sighed. "Leonardo has never been one to share feelings or let others know when something is troubling him. He never wished to burden others with his troubles. Yet in this case, I fear for his safety. If he continues, he may be lost to us forever."

"He's obsessed with training, even for him. And he's not eating much, and probably doesn't get more than five hours sleep each night."

"How do you know that, Don?" Raph asked.

"Ever since I noticed how obsessed he was getting, I kind of started checking the security cameras. Just at mealtimes and a few times during the night. He's out till past midnight sometimes and he's always up before the sun rises. When he's at the table…well, you've all seen him."

"How long has this been going on?' asked Raph.

"A couple weeks, I think." Don's eyes widened. "Hey Raph, could you maybe go after Leo?"

"What for?"

"Eventually, these unhealthy habits will catch up with his body. Probably soon. "

"I'm on it." Raph replied as he raced in the direction his wayward older brother had taken.

"Is there anything we can do Sensei?" asked Mikey.

"I do not know my son. We can only hope a solution is found or that Leonardo will realize what he must do, before it is too late."

A few hours later

"Guys, help me out here!" came Raph's voice, sounding like it was coming from the front door.

As Donnie, Mikey, and Master Splinter approached, their hearts clenched. Raph was carrying Leo across his shoulders much like the way he'd carried Mikey when they'd been trapped in the Utrom's virtual history pod.

"Raph, what happened?" asked Donnie as they raced to the infirmary.

"I found him on a rooftop. He looked like he was hurt, but I couldn't see any bruises or cuts or anything." Raph answered as he thought back.

Raph felt really annoyed as he raced through the sewers trying to track Leo. The idiot didn't even take his Shell Cell.

What was going on with him? It seemed like the guy had finally lost it. At first, Raph had kind of liked the fact that Leo was thinking like him. Then it had started to get scary and very annoying. Mikey and Donnie were both nervous around their brother now, which Raph was angry at Leo for.

The way Leo had fought Splinter earlier reminded Raph too much of the sparring match when he'd nearly bashed Mikey's head in with a pipe. That was why he'd stepped up and asked Leo what was going on. None of his brothers should know how it felt to hurt a family member because of losing control. He did; even though he'd never actually seriously hurt Mikey, the memory still haunted him.

Where is he? Raph thought as he reached the surface and found no sign of his brother. A cursory check of nearby alleyways revealed nothing, not even some unfortunate criminal Leo might have happened upon.

Maybe Leo was heading toward Casey's. He'd done it before, Raph remembered. Then he decided that wasn't too likely. Casey had finally caught on to the fact that Leo wasn't himself and tried talking to him about it. Leo wasn't going anywhere near Casey.

As he raced across the rooftops, Raph tried to think of the places Leo might have gone when he caught sight a figure nearby on the top of a nearby skyscraper.

Got 'im, Raph thought as he changed direction. Just as he was preparing to hide so his brother wouldn't see him, Leo's figure collapsed.

"Leo!" Raph yelled as he jumped onto the skyscraper. Reaching his brother, who was lying plastron down, he turned him over and checked him. There were no bruises, no cuts, no nothing. It was hard to tell in this light, but Leo's face looked paler than usual, though his breathing seemed normal.

No matter what Raph did, he couldn't rouse him. Giving up and hoping Donnie knew what to do, he replaced Leo's katana in their sheaths, hefted him onto his shoulders, and took off back to the lair.

"It took me about a half hour to get back here," Raph finished as Don checked Leo vitals and blood in the bed in the infirmary while Mikey and Master Splinter watched. "Will he be okay?"

Don sighed. "Yeah." Turning to Raph, he asked. "Remember why I asked you to keep an eye on him?" Raph nodded. "Well, I was right. All this intense training, with little food and sleep, caused his body to burn out on him. He'll need rest and vitamin supplements to recover from this."

"If we can make him stay," Raph replied sourly.

"No kidding," agreed Mikey.

A couple hours later,

Leo slowly regained consciousness. His head pounded and his body felt like it had gained a few extra pounds, he could hardly lift an arm. Looking around him, he realized he was in the infirmary at home. Had he been injured? He didn't remember getting hurt. The last thing he recalled was running across the rooftops when his body suddenly felt heavy. He remembered Raph's voice, but nothing else.

Don entered the room. "Donnie, what happened?"

The genius turtle started before his eyes flew to Leo. "Oh, you're awake!"

"What happened?"

"What you should know happens when you train too much and eat and sleep too little." Don said, narrowing his eyes. "Your body burned out. You're going to need a few days of bed rest and nutrients to fix this."

"Donnie, I don't need more than a few hours. I'm fine." Leo argued.

"I mean it Leo. I don't want you getting off that bed for at least three days, maybe more."

"Donnie," Leo looked ready to argue

"Leo," Don stared back, preparing himself for an intense battle of wills with his older brother.

Leo stared back, then laid back down. "Fine," he said.

Donnie couldn't believe it. He'd been prepared for a struggle with Leo, but the blue-masked turtle had actually decided to listen to him? Maybe the burnout had made Leo see he needed help, Donnie thought as he rejoined his father and other brothers.

"How is he, Donatello?" asked Master Splinter.

"Awake and resting. You guys won't believe this. I told him he had to take it easy, and he actually didn't argue with me. Much."

"What?" asked Raph, unable to believe his ears.

"Yeah, I know."

"We are talking about Leo here, right?" Mikey asked.

"Surprisingly, yes. Maybe he's finally going to be smart about his health."

His brothers snorted. Donnie couldn't blame them. Even before he got all angry, Leo almost never listened and stayed in the infirmary bed when he was injured, unless Master Splinter outright told him to stay. Hopefully, this time Leo would listen.

"What does he need Donatello?" asked Master Splinter.

"Mainly rest, plenty of water, and enough healthy foods with vitamin supplements. That's the best treatment for him right now. Not much moving around either."

His family nodded. "We will do what we can to help, my son." assured Splinter.

Raph still looked suspicious about something.

Later that night,

"Ahhhh!" A scream echoed through the lair.

Everyone raced to the kitchen to find Mikey hiding behind the table.

"Mikey, calm down. What happened?" asked Don.

As soon as Mikey recognized his family and got his breath back, he started, "Okay, so I woke up and felt really, really thirsty, so I came down here and got a drink of water. As I was heading back, I heard a loud crash."

"Coming from where?"

"Over there," Mikey replied, pointing toward a room with a closed door.

Raph sighed. "Oh boy,"

"What?" Mikey exclaimed indignantly.

"I think I know what happened," said Raph as he walked to the room, opened a door, and flicked the light on.

There lay Leo, sprawled on the floor, plastron down, a katana held in each hand. He might've been in the middle of a kata when he fell. His breathing sounded like it had just evened out.

"You're kidding, right," said Mikey, sounding really ticked off as Raph turned Leo over.

"When Fearless didn't argue with Donnie about staying put earlier, I had a feeling he'd try something like this," replied Raph as he put his arms under Leo's armpits. "Hey Mikey, help me get this idiot back to the infirmary."

Mikey grabbed Leo's legs and the two bore him back to the infirmary where Don was waiting. As the brainy turtle examined Leo's vitals yet again, the entire family watched and planned on discussing this little incident with Leo when he woke up.

At last, Don turned and sighed, holding his hands to his forehead. "Donatello?"

"He's fine, but his body's resting. I don't think he'll wake up till tomorrow morning."

Splinter nodded. "Then we shall discuss this in the morning."

Everyone went back to bed, both relieved and infuriated with the turtle that remained in the infirmary.

Next morning,

Leo woke up, feeling groggy. He remembered sneaking out of the infirmary to practice. He'd intended to show Don that he wasn't so weak that he needed a long recovery time. Besides, he needed to train. Funny thing, he couldn't remember leaving and returning to the infirmary last night.

"Look who woke up," an angry and familiar voice said. As Leo's vision cleared, his eyes fell on his family, all glaring at him.

"Guys, what's going on?" he asked.

Raph stepped closer with his arms folded. In a sarcastic tone, "Hey Leo, you'll never guess who we found passed out on the floor last night."

Leo's eyes widened. Now he remembered. When he tried to practice his katas, his body rebelled. He'd tried to stay up, but he'd lost consciousness before hitting the floor.

Oh great, Leo thought. Now he was in for it.

"What part of 'I don't want you getting off that bed for at least three days, maybe more' did you not understand?" demanded Don as he stepped forward.

Leo didn't say anything. His brothers obviously didn't understand how important it was to train, no matter your condition, because your enemies didn't care if you were sick or not. They struck anyway. Why couldn't they understand that?

Leo's lack of response seemed to anger Don. "I can't believe you Leo. You know training when you're not fit only makes you worse. Your body can't take this pace! You're killing yourself!" He continued in this way for at least ten minutes and stopped to see what Leo had to say for himself.

Leo didn't respond.

That made Raph angry. "Leo, what's gotten in to you?! This is crazy!" When Leo didn't respond, he continued, "You've got a big problem here, bro, and ignoring it won't make it go away. Seriously, why are you doing all this?"

Still nothing.

Mikey gave it a shot. "Come on bro, you know you can tell us what's going on."

"Leonardo?" asked Splinter.

Leo still didn't respond. His brother's lack of seriousness after the last battle with Shredder left Leo convinced that they would never take their training or the danger they could face seriously. If they couldn't take those things seriously, he didn't have to explain himself.

With nothing but silence coming from Leo, his family gave up and retreated to finish their chores and pursue other activities while still thinking of ways to convince their troubled brother to talk to them.

Don stayed behind to keep an eye on Leo. With him there, Leo didn't dare try to escape the bed. When the others weren't around, he'd return to training. If they weren't going to be prepared, then he would be.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Don hardly ever left the lab, and when he did, it was only for a few seconds. It was finally ten at night when Don went to bed, and when he did, he brought a blanket and pillow into the lab and slept there. Leo waited to make sure Don was really asleep before venturing outside the infirmary.

For over an hour, Leo practiced his forms. I told Donnie I was fine, he thought to himself triumphantly. He started increasing his speed and force of his blows. He'd just gotten through a sixth set when he felt the familiar feeling of his body tensing and shutting down. Realizing what was happening, he growled to himself. I'm weak; why can't I do this? was his last thought before blackness took him.

As expected, his family was ticked at him again the next morning. Both Donnie and Raph had yelled at him, but this time he talked back, only saying he was fine and that he wasn't a wimp.

That had actually driven them over the edge, and Mikey seemed perilously close to yelling himself. Splinter didn't yell, but the tone of his voice made it very clear how he felt.

Donnie had been the worst of them. "I swear Leo, if you sneak out and train one more time, I'll strap you to the bed!"

The others left, fuming. Leo didn't enjoy making them angry like this, but if they only understood and trained like he did, this problem wouldn't exist. He might even take it easier with training, if he knew his brothers could defend themselves and he didn't have to worry if he screwed up. They didn't though. So Leo trained. He couldn't let them down again.

In the middle of the afternoon, Raph left to hang out with Casey and Angel. Master Splinter took Mikey on a training session that would last the whole afternoon. Donnie fully intended to stay behind and keep an eye on Leo, but April called him and said there was something wrong with her computer that she couldn't fix, even though she'd been trying for four straight hours.

Donnie sighed. Glancing over at Leo, the leader seeming asleep after getting bored with just lying there, but not able to get up with his brother there, he decided he could leave for a half hour.

Later that evening,

Donnie knew he should've known better. Upon arriving home and finding Leo on the floor unconscious, again, he berated himself for not asking April to bring her computer to him.

The others assured him that it wasn't his fault—that it was Leo's—but it didn't make Don feel any better.

After putting Leo back in the infirmary bed, with Don's assurance that Leo wouldn't wake up till the next morning, the others gathered together. "This. Has Got. To end." said Raph, smacking his fist into his palm.

"I know Raph. Problem is, I don't think it will. Even if we make him stay in the bed until he's recovered, he'll just go right back to training. This whole pattern will just keep repeating." said Don, putting his face in his hands.

The others were quiet, trying to find a way to solve the problem.

Mikey's eyes widened. "Hey Don. Remember this morning when you told Leo that you'd strap him to the bed if he tried that again?"

"Yeah, why?" At Mikey's growing smile, he understood. "You're not saying—"

"Shell, I am. Might be the only way."

"I think Mikey's right," said Raph. "At the others' stares, he continued. "Leo won't stay down and recover; he's already proven that. This's the only way he'll stay."

"No, wait. Better idea," piped up Mikey. His brothers turned to face him again. "We strap Leo to the bed. But we don't let him up at all until he tells us what's been going on with him." His brothers and father stared at him. "What?"

"I do not like this idea, Michelangelo. It seems tantamount to imprisonment. While I approve of using it to make sure Leonardo's body heals, I am loathe to leave him there longer."

"Sensei, it's like Don said. Even if Leo recovers from this, he'll go right back to doing the same things that caused this in the first place."

"Mikey's right," sighed Don. "Treating the effects of Leo's burnout won't work. We need to treat the causes too. You in Raph?" he asked, turning to the turtle in red.

Raph nodded. "I'm in."

All three turned to Master Splinter. The old rat sighed. As much as he disliked the idea, a part of him knew it was the only way visible at this point. He could only hope his sons knew what they were doing.

"Very well, my sons."

So did you like it? This first chapter isn't my favorite part of the story. Hopefully the next part will be better. Please review.