Song: Thank You - Simple Plan

I remove my sais from their sheathes and extend them in front of me. I narrow my eyes and give the beavers a hard stare. My three brothers, Elizabetta, and April stand behind me, ready to fight for their lives. Lucy is the only one who retreats to the middle of us, Lilac standing protectively in front of her.

"You led them here?!" Donatello asks in a panic-stricken voice. "Nice going, Raph!"

I grit my teeth at my annoying brother. "They already knew about this place, idiot!" I shoot back.

"They didn't know we were staying here!" Donatello argues. He has definitely recovered from the Foot attack, because he is full of more logic than usual.

Dire starts laughing. The high-pitched sound sends a chill up my spine and I fix my gaze on him again.

"Beavers, exterminate these rodents!" The purple beaver orders his evil companions.

The beavers don't attack us with their own teeth and claws, however. They start shooting multicolored lasers out of their paws.

"Uh, dudes?" Michelangelo gasps as he dodges a blue laser. "I'm pretty sure beavers shouldn't have superpowers!"

I am 'lucky' enough to get shot at by Dark. His red beam turns to fire that ignites the floor. I manage to jump out of the way just in time, but the house isn't as fortunate. The wooden floor burst into flames instantly.

Just then, a blue laser is shot at me. I flip over it and it changes to water. It pours over the fire, leaving a huge burn mark in the wood.

Confused, I look over at Donatello for an explanation. But he returns the look, just as lost as I am.

Well, that's new.

None of us can even touch the beavers. By the time we dodge a laser, another one takes its place in half a second. We are all stuck in a never-ending loop of flips. Except Lucy, who is shielded from the chaos by the rest of us.

"Fiesty little fellows, aren't you?" I growl as I land on my feet. "I'll fix that."

When a red laser flies at me, I reflect it with my sai. It misses my target, however, and hits a curtain instead. The cloth catches on fire and quickly begins to spread throughout the room. I cringe as the whole wall goes up in flames in a matter of seconds.

Seeing the fire brings bile up my throat. I recall the pain of my last encounter with flames. I was barely able to walk for a while, and I still have the scar from the incident. I do not want to repeat that.

Fear gripping my stomach, I back away from the curtain. In the process, I accidentally run into Donatello. It causes a domino reaction, sending every last one of us to the ground.

Well, all of us except Leonardo. He doesn't seem phased by the beavers' arrival. In fact, he hasn't even drawn his katanas. He's just standing. He might as well be waving a white flag in surrender.

The beavers jump on all of us at once, pinning us down. For such tiny structures, they are awfully strong. I groan in anger as my cheek is forced to the floorboards. The smell of smoke lingers at my nose, reminding me that the house will be a pile of ashes soon.

"Leo!" Michelangelo whimpers as Dread curls his paws around the turtle's neck. "Help!"

"Please!" Elizabetta begs the blue-clad turtle as well.

"Leo..." Donatello chokes around the pressure on his throat.

I glare up at our once-reliable leader. His eyes are pits of cold darkness. The storm raging in his gaze has nothing to do with the enemies we face; he is dwelling on his thoughts again, completely oblivious to our agony.

"Leonardo!" I spit at him to get his attention. Beaver teeth are painfully scraping the back of my neck. I'm not sure how much longer I can last. "Help us!"

"Why?" Leonardo mumbles finally, snapping out of his daydream. "You'll be with Master Splinter. You'll be safer there than with me. I obviously can't protect you."

So, he is blaming himself for Master Splinter's death. And he doesn't trust himself enough to protect the rest of us. The puzzle pieces are finally falling into place.

"That's why you're acting like this?!" I groan in annoyance. "Leo, you shell-brain. That wasn't your fault. You did all you could! You can't blame yourself for that."

I wince as the beaver teeth finds a hold on my throat. I am going to be supper in a matter of seconds.

"But I do blame myself," Leonardo whispers. "Because it was my fault."

"Bro, no... it wasn't..." Michelangelo insists. His voice is weak and his eyes are half-closed. He can't breathe.

"Master Splinter... would understand," Donatello agrees hoarsely. He isn't much better off than Michelangelo.

"You did... your best," Elizabetta pants as well.

I bit my lip as Leonardo looks straight into my eyes. I can see all of his thoughts swimming around in his ocean-blue eyes.

I inhale as much as I can around the chokehold on my throat so I can speak. "Leo, Master Splinter died for us." Every word hurts, physically and mentally. "Don't let that have been a waste." I sound pitiful. My eyes are closing and my heart rate is slowing down. I am going to die.

Leonardo doesn't move. I can see an inner war going on inside his head, but it doesn't matter which side wins. It's too late: we're all goners.

I grab Leonardo's ankle as I mutter the last words I can manage: "We love you, Leo."

A heavy blackness falls over me, and it's over.

~*~

I feel something applying rhythmic pressure to my plastron. Air fills my lungs and relieves the strain on them. Life slowly returns to my weakened body until I can muster the strength to open my eyes.

The first thing I saw is Elizabetta leaned over the top of me. Our gazes connect and her eyes fill with joy.

"You're alive!" She breathes a sigh of relief. "'Bout time you came around."

I slowly pull myself to a sitting position and glance around. Donatello are already up and trying to get Michelangelo to come back to reality. April is beside him, obviously in the same state I am: lost and exhausted.

I blink away the blurriness in my vision and turn my attention back to Elizabetta. "What worked?" I mumble as I stretch out my stiff limbs.

Elizabetta shrugs and stands beside Leonardo. She looks much better, though she's obviously still drowsy from the attack. "No big deal. Don't worry about it," she says, which makes me suspicious.

"What did you do?" I demand more sharply.

Leonardo immediately launches into an explanation. "I saved Donnie from the Dream Beavers and he told me to give all of you CPR. So, that's what we did," he says.

I glance at Elizabetta. I don't want to know why Leonardo let her give me CPR. Then again, it could have been from someone much worse- so I'm not complaining.

My eye catches Lucy, who is sitting in the corner with her arms around Lilac. She looks scared for her life, with her pale face and dilated pupils. She doesn't look like she was harmed, but she looks more terrified than any of us put together.

"What's wrong with her?" I ask softly so she won't overhear.

Leonardo shrugs. "She wasn't hurt like the rest of you. She hid behind the sofa until the beavers fled. She's just a little startled is all," he explains. "She's alright, though. I already made sure of that."

Suddenly, I can't dodge a feeling of happiness. He just proved that he will still do anything to save us. Leonardo is back to his usual, leader-like and protective self.

I give him a quick bro hug and pat his shell. "It's good to have you back, Leo," I say, allowing my emotions show through my voice; something I rarely ever do.

Leonardo returns the hug. When he releases me, a tiny grin is glowing on his face.

The smell of smoke reaches my nose. Looking around, I realize nearly half the farmhouse is on fire. I was so caught up in everything else that I didn't even notice.

"We have to get out of here!" I glance at Michelangelo, whom has finally opened his eyes. I instinctively scoop him up and sling him over my shoulder. I run towards the front door with Donatello and April following without question. Elizabetta and Lilac are guiding Lucy to the exit as fast as they can. Leonardo heads after us a bit more slowly, a slightly sad look in his eyes.

Casey and Charlotte are both sitting on the floor with their hands on their own temples. Seeing their similar facial features and structures reminds me that they're twins. Their eyes are the same shade of a deep brown. Even the surprised looks they give us as we rush by are identical.

"Hey! Wait up, guys!" Casey calls after us as we scramble out the door.

I can't leave my best friend behind, even if he has been a pain lately. Plus, Michelangelo seem recovered enough to carry on by himself. I set my youngest brother down and race back inside the burning building.

Casey and his sister struggle to get to their feet. They're both dazed and wobbly. I vaguely wonder what the Dream Beavers had done to them, but there isn't time to daydream.

"Idiot. I thought you were going to leave us behind," Charlotte grumbles as she leans heavily on my shoulder.

Her words irk me, but not as much as they used to. I am becoming numb to her constant bad attitude. Besides, starting an argument inside a nearly-collapsed building isn't the smartest thing to do.

As I help the two siblings outside, I see that Michelangelo has tears in his eyes. Leonardo and Donatello are holding him back as he fights to head back inside.

I leave Casey and Charlotte in April's care and make my way over to my brothers. "What's wrong?" I ask the orange-clad turtle.

A tear rolls down the turtle's face. "Ice Cream Kitty is in there!" he chokes out as he keeps fighting Leonardo and Donatello's hold on him.

"She's gone," Donatello says. He's trying his best to be sympathetic, but he has never been good at such a thing.

"We can't go back in there," Leonardo adds. "I'm sorry, Mikey."

Michelangelo turns on Leonardo with fire blazing in his eyes. "You don't care!" he sounds vicious. "You were going to watch us die! You're... You're the worst brother ever!" he spits.

None of us have ever seen Michelangelo snap. The anger flaring in his eyes is strange, and the frown on his lips is unnatural. The sight scares me more than any single cockroach can.

Leonardo seems shocked as well. With a hurt look in his eyes, he lets go of Michelangelo and side-steps away.

Michelangelo continues to stare at the blue-clad turtle with a furious look in his sky-blue eyes. If the daggers in his glare could murder, Leonardo would be dead right here and now.

I stare at the burning building. The kitchen seems to be safe. If I can get in there and out within ten seconds, I could save Ice Cream Kitty...

Ignoring the memories of what happened last time I was trapped in a fire, I quickly make my decision.

"Stay here," I tell the others. "I'll be back."

As I dart over to kitchen window, I hear Donatello's protests following me. But I don't acknowledge them; no one else is going to die if I can help it. And after all Ice Cream Kitty has done for me, saving her life is the least I can do.

I bust the window with the butt of my sais, dodging the shattered glass. I climb inside and squint my eyes against the thick smoke, shielding my nose. I immediately spot the refrigerator and fight my way over to it.

As I open the freezer, Ice Cream Kitty meows in panic. She tries to shrink back into a corner, but I snag her before she gets the chance. I shove her into her carrier, coughing from the ashes in my lungs.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see flames licking the entrance to the kitchen. I flee from them and leap out the window without a second thought. Protecting Ice Cream Kitty's carrier from the impact, I land on my back and the wind is knocked out of me. I lay there, precious air filling my lungs and replacing the smoky mess inside of them.

My three brothers are beside me in an instant. Michelangelo steals Ice Cream Kitty from me, his eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you!" he gasps in relief, before running back over to the others.

My remaining brothers help me to my feet. They half-carry, half-drag me away from the farmhouse. Just in time, too, because the building is now completely engulfed in the fire.

I stand beside my team as we all gaze at the farmhouse. We watch sadly as our home fades into nothing but ashes. Our shelter, food, and memories; completely gone.

I bow my head in grief. I can't even begin to describe the pain lingering in my heart.

All of this happened because of the Shredder. Even when he isn't around, he still manages to ruin our lives. Still, I refuse to give up. I won't let that tin-can rule our lives.

That is the only thought that keeps me going.