Author's Note! Ok, so here's chapter two! Don't worry if there situation doesn't make sense now, it will make sense in the future. 

Disclaimer Notice! I disclaim the franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they belong to its respective owner. What I do own on the other hand, was the story twist I made. That's all.

BLAMES, TEARS, AND REGRETS

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction

Chapter Two

The Encounter with the Dead

"Dude, we aren't dead right?"

"Guys, I don't really believe in ghosts. So Mikey, I still firmly believe that this is just a misunderstanding...perhaps we are inside some kind of dome"

"Dome? Donnie why would we be inside a dome?"

"I don't know Mikey"

"But Donnie, you're the genius! Shouldn't you-"

"I am a genius, yes I'm very flattered by your choice of words, mike but that doesn't mean that I knew everything!"

"I miss Leo..."

"We all do mike..."

"Ye' better shut your mouth, cause if Leo ain't here, then I'm in charge"

'I must have been dreaming...' Leo's voice cut of the heating argument between the three turtles. They stole each other a glance before focusing their gazes on one resting turtle on the couch.

Mikey was the first to react as he immediately went to his eldest brother's side and leaned his head on the couch's head, a few inches away from his brother's body. "Dude...did you heard us?" He asked with his oh-so-innocent voice that could even match up that of a barely five years old child.

'I've hearing....voices?' Leo's voice echoed around the room. "Oh right! We're Jedi! We could read his thoughts!" Mikey pointed exclaimed while pointing excitedly at the mouth of their eldest brother. After hearing his brothers voice, he had observed very closely the mouth of his brother. And he had proven himself yet again of a marvelous discovery, as he had found his mouth unmoving even after his second speech.

"That was one hell of a technique we got...eh, eh?" Mikey said poking Raph's shoulders. "Shut up mike. Bet ya' didn't realize what it proves us eh?" Raph smirked as he stared at the confused stare of their little brother. "As expected, you're as air headed as always..." Ralph smirk grew wider.

"Ralph, please stop..." Donnie pleaded as he crunched his growing headache. "It won't make a difference if you two fight again..." He said, voice so soft it could be mistaken for a whisper. "Look who sounded like Leo" Ralph commented back. Donnie, being as the third most patient member of their clan, the first being their master and the second was of course Leo, simply shrugged the comment off. 'It won't heal this throbbing headache anyway...' He whispered to himself.

"What's that bro? Scared?" Ralph couldn't help but to snicker back. Darn! Why did they had to be a ghost? Now, he couldn't argue with his older brother. Speaking of their older brother...he had been lying there for a while now.

After the incident back in the dojo, Leo had ran off to the kitchen, probably to soaked his face to wash of the fatigue, then laid down on the couch. They were all too shocked at that time, their feet seemed to have collided with the floor they couldn't find the force to move. They didn't got the chance to follow their eldest on his quest to the kitchen.

Only when they had finally calm down and Mikey's conclusion sank in, had they gotten the resolution to leave the dojo and look for their brother.

It had not been so long when they found him, considering that he was simply resting at the couch. After that...

"I still can't believe were ghost.." Mikey loudly proclaimed as he sat down on the floor. "Me too. I mean, if were really dead, why stay here?" Donnie agreed. He was not a believer of supernatural things, but when science can't explain things, people need something firm to believe in.

"Maybe...we're here to haunt Leo or something..." Mikey said as he makes gesture of ghosts. Donnie sighed, perhaps it was them having each other that prevented them from breaking.

"Yeah...mike" Donnie flashed his brother one last smile before closing his eyes and attempting to sleep.

All of a sudden, they heard a deep growl echoing through the silence of the lair. Donnie and Mikey's eyes flashed to their older brother Raphael thinking that it was one of his famous beast-like growling he emitted whenever he felt disturb or he angry. Like a beast warning others to stay out of the hell before he lashes to them merciless for disobeying his heed.

But they were surprised to see him, eyes widened, and shock as well. His mouth was slightly agape as his eyes darted from Michaelangelo and Donatello - his two younger brothers.

The growl grew louder as they saw their eldest shifting his position, trying to find the most comfortable position in the small cushion. Mikey chuckled.

"If he's so uncomfortable in sleeping in there, why don't he just sleep in his bed?" He voiced out his thoughts, loud enough for the others to hear. Raph snickered. "I don't know. Leo's always the weird one, remember?" He joked. Donnie opened his eyes to steal a peek at his two laughing brothers. 'Oh, Leo I wished you could see this ..' Donnie thought.

As if hearing his words, Leo's eyes snapped open. He growled as he forced himself to sit despite the throbbing pain in his head and numbness he felt in his body.

He shook his head as if trying to dug deep whatever is bothering him. Donnie don't know why, but Mikey's eyes suddenly sparked brightly. He only does that when he found out something very clever.

"Dudes! Did you just heard us?!" Mikey's voice was frantic. He desperately seeks for an answer and at the same time he's afraid of finding it out. His brother's knew him as the optimistic one. Though, in every good side, their's an evil counterpart. He's the most happy-go-lucky person (turtle) you'll ever met, but at the same time, he had this darker side. If faced with a trouble, he always fears for the worst.

Leo shook his head, confirming Donnie's thoughts. Leo still couldn't see nor hear them. Why did they have to be invisible?

"Hey! Fearless!" Seeing Mikey's down mood, Raph tried to get Leo's attention too. It really pains him to see Mikey that way.

But instead of improving his mood, he only made it worst. Leo clenched his head and stood up. He unconsciously passed through Raph. Raph's eyes widened in shock as he saw his brother passed through him. Mikey's face turned into a scowl as he watched what had transpired. Donnie's mood turned sour. He really didn't want another reason to justify Mikey's claim that they had turned ghosts.

He was currently imagining scenarios that ranges from being captured and brought to their enemy's base, strapped to a table with weird wires connected to their heads making them dream things like this to being wrapped through some dimension that contains characters that looked and act like them. But what he has yet realize, that reality was a mixture of the two.

"Leo! Leo I'm talking to you!!!" Raph's voice could be heard even from a distance. He was following Leo to the kitchen. Donnie and Mikey sworn they could see steams radiating from him.

"Don't you think this was an awfully familiar scene?" Mikey joked, trying to lift up the mood. Donnie smiled at him and decided to play along. "Yeah. But, their roles were now reversed..." Both of them chuckled.

Since they turned teens, this kind of scenario was a daily occurrence at their lair. But instead of Raph fuming and following Leo, it was Leo who was following Raph, lecturing him along the way.

"Leo! Hey! What the shell Leo! I know you can f*cking hear me!!"

"Oh no, Raph was getting more frustrated he's using cursed words!" Mikey said, with fake panic. Donnie shook his head and sighed. Now that he noticed it, he had been sighing most of the time!

Leo stopped in his track. Raph snickered as he noticed Leo halted. 'Finally...' He thought as he stared smugly at him.

Leo turned to him, his eyes closed. 'I...sensed something..' They heard his voice loud and clear, echoing through the silence of the lair.

Mikey's eyes brightened as he rushed to Raph's side all the while calling Leo's name. "Leo! Leo! Were here!" He yelled frantically.

But, the hope Raph built immediately vanished as Leo shook his head and turned back to the kitchen counter. He started watching the dishes.

Raph and Mikey stood there in shock. Their hopes crush down like a shattered glass. Donnie shook his head, stood up, and walked towards his two brothers. "Come on..." He encouraged them and practically dragged them. He then noticed Mikey loosed on his grip.

He turned around and saw his younger brother peeing through an opened door. "Du-dudes!" Fear was evident on his voice. Donnie and Raph to his side and started peeping to in the gap in the door.

They saw flashes of green.

Money gulped, different dark thoughts started rooming at his head. 'Oh darn head, why do you have to be darn creative?' Mikey knew how that his brother was a very bad influence. Shell! He was actually cursing through his thoughts. If Leo could hear his thoughts, he's pretty sure he'll have to suffer an hour of endless lecturing plus Master Splinter's mad training reserved for those who disobey. His brother, Raphael, was a regular at that so he now finds it a child's thing.

Back to the current situation...

"I couldn't see!" Raph screamed as he fought his way to the front. The three brothers shuffled to get all of them to have a fair share of view. "Wait! Why couldn't we just open the door?" Probably tired of fighting his way to the front, Mikey suggested something nice. Raph and Don stared at him like he had grown a second head. "Mike! I can't believe it! You're a genius!" Don yelled, he sounded really surprised.

Mikey was confuse if he should feel flattered or not, not with his brothers shocked expressions. "Hey...I have my moments..." Mikey replied shyly.

"Let's get this over with" Raph said as he exercise his knuckles. Both of his younger brother nodded, earning him two more agreements.

Raph nodded before turning his full attention at the knob. He felt a little tingly feeling at the pit of his stomach. He decides to shrug it off thinking that it was nothing. He grabbed the knob and twisted it. Well, the better word should be...attempted.

He can grip the handle but he didn't have the strength to twist it. Lack of strength, or rather lack of capability to do so.

Donnie stared at his brother in shock. He just discover something greater from it. While Raph and Mikey kept going on with the knob, his mind kept on formulating plans and explanations based on the observed date he just gathered.

"Wait..." His words halted the two. "Did you guys just saw what happened?" Donnie asked, his tone rising with each passing words. His was like that when he desperately needs someone to talk smart with. Too bad, Leo ain't with them.

"Raph! You didn't pass through the door! You basically can handle the knob!" Donnie said, his tone didn't change one bit. He pointed at Raph, encouraging him to say something. "Ah...yeah that's a given..." Raph could only mutter back. Anger lingered within him as he stared at his brother. He hated him when he talked science, he's not like him, he can't understand anything but English.

"Guys! Have you already forgotten what happened with Leo?!" His tone sounded a little bit higher. Why can't his brother get the memo? Just how slow are them? He desperately wish for his leader now. Somehow, when he's in this state, only the leader could practically caught up with him.

"Okay. I'll narrow it down for you two" Donnie said with an exasperated sigh. "When he tried to touch Leo, we passed through him and he passed through us just the same. But look what he happening to us now? We can't passed through the doors, we didn't sink from the floor and we basically can sat on the chair! Raph! You could even grip the handle! Can't you see what I'm saying?!" Donnie asked, his grin growing wider. Mikey assumed that it was a good discovery considering how wide Donnie's smirk had grown. "So...in other words..." Mikey said, grinning widely too.

"We aren't ghosts! We didn't die!" Upon hearing the words didn't and die, Mikey couldn't handle it anymore and threw himself on Donnie. They both landed in the ground with a thud. Raph stared at them, his eyes wide, as his mind started to process whatever ideas Donnie had said.

After their fall, laughter soon followed. Mikey hugged his brother tighter. "Oh! Don! I'm so glad you're so smart!" Mikey said, his heart full of new found hope. Donnie laughed then pointed at the ground. "Did you feel it too? Mikey! Gravity still applies for us! That means we don't have any soul-like ability found in ghosts!" Donnie added as he smirked. Mikey nodded too as he helped his brother stand up.

"Sorry to ruin your hope. But that doesn't change the fact that Leo still can't see nor hear us..." Raph said, explaining their problem in the first place.

Don heaves a heavy sighed. "I knew...I still couldn't figure out that part" he said. Raph heard the almost depressing and regretful tone in his voice. He gritted his teeth. "Way to ruin the moment, Raph" he thought to himself.

Luckily, they still had their little brother who seemed to have a talent on lightening up any dark moods. "Well, it still a good thing to know we ain't dead yet" he was grinning from ear to ear.

All of a sudden, he saw his big brother emerged from within him, or more like walked passed through him - like a ghost. Mikey shook his head. 'No we aren't dead yet...' He tried to repeat to himself over and over again just to push whatever dark thoughts that kept on building inside his imaginative head.

"Focus on the present.." Leo taught him that part. He remembered one time when he was so lost in his thoughts that he began to fail the training their master was giving on them. He was bothered by a past mistake on that time, still stuck in the past. His brothers tried to cheer him up, but only Leo's words get pass through him.

"Don't let yourself linger in the past. Stay focus and live the present..."

So, Leo...why can't you remember your own words?

Leo stood there, in front of the three turtles, gaze focus on the small gap between the door and the wall. His three brothers prayed for him to open it but seeing the hurtful look on their eldest brother made them think otherwise. Somehow, a part of them kept on insisting that its better of it they don't know the truth. Maybe by then, they don't have to worry about other things.

Leo shook his head, his body tensed as he slowly gripped the knob. 'I...need to see them. Come on Leo! You could do this' Leo's word rang through their ears.

'We still got to figure out how he does that...' Donnie made himself a mental note.

Leo's knuckles cracked as his grip tightened. His body slightly shaking as multiple emotions sweeps inside him. Instinct probably got the best on him as Raph went to his brother's side placing his hand above his brothers as if showing his support. A small but genuine smile made its way on Raph's lips. "It's okay if you don't want to...we will...understand" his words were spoke with a soft voice it was almost a whisper. Mike and Don looked at him in awe. This was sure a rare moment. Or more like "Kodak moment" as Mikey liked to describe.

'No. I need to do this...' Leo's thoughts shook the three turtles. It was as if he heard what Raph had said! It felt like Ralph's words reached him!

Had it really?

Leo took small steps as he opened the door of Donatello's laboratory. Unbeknownst to him, three turtles were following him from behind. Eyes wide in horror as they tried to engulf the scenery they saw before their eyes. On word rang through their heads. One word. They thought of only one word.

"Shell...."

Author's Note!

If you like my work, do consider buying me a coffee! <3 Coffee keeps me awake 0_0 and I might write more ;)

https://ko-fi.com/naxxerie

Author's Note! If you guys didn't know, the word 'shell' was the turtles' version of cursed words like shit or f*ck. But I guess that fact was unnecessary, isn't it?