The Words That Hurt Me

Forty-Five: Have Fun!

Everyone was gathered in the living room, Splinter sitting on his recliner as elegantly as he could. He gestured for everyone to sit in front of him.

"You may be wondering why I've gathered you," He started, trying to sound somewhat serious, "It's because I have an important gift to give," 

He pointed to Goo

"We can't have a turtle without a mask now, can we?" 

With that, he pulled out a rainbow cloth and offered it to Goo. Everyone gathered around as Goo accepted the mask.

"Rainbow? Isn't that a bit on the nose?" Tello asked, only to be shoved out of the way by Leon.

"You had rainbow material this whole time!?" Leon asked, "I could've been rainbow!?"

Splinter smacked him with his tail, helping Goo tie the mask around their head. They hardly wore jackets anymore, donning the same ninja gear as the rest of the group. It felt like a completion as if they were finally a part of whatever everyone else had.

"And for the rest of you," Splinter continued, "Barry and I planned a trip to the Mystic City for everyone,"

"Everyone? Like us too?" Mikey asked.

"Did I stutter? Yes, everyone," 

"Oh but-" Donny nervously tapped his fingers together- "What about the retro-mutagen?"

"Worry not, my dear counterpart!" Tello boomed, "We will simply use my portable chemistry lab! And, we need some things from the mystic city anyhow,"

"Woah! An entire chemistry set- with a Bunsen burner too!!??" Donny drooled over Tello's versatile battle shell once again, undoubtedly planning his own version to make once things returned to normal. 

Normal. Hmm.

"What's even there to do?" Raph asked.

"Dude! Sooooo much!" Leon said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, "Food! Thrills! Fights! And pizza!"

"Pizza is food, Nardo," Tello sighed, "Anyway, let's go! I gotta get me hands on some magic rocks!"

And on that enthusiastic note, they headed off.

.

The Mystic City really was just a reflection of the overwhelming excitement of New York, the main difference being a lack of humans. Obviously, this made it much more inviting to explore, reminding Mikey of the alien cities they had the chance to see in space. 

And it was quite alien too. The people, the buildings, the food, and most of all, the magic. The bizarre happenings on the streets were just normal happenings for the people there, the weird foods were just normal street foods, and evidence of magic was dotted all over the place, like splatters of paint on a brick wall. 

There were so many distracting things to look at and touch, that Mikey wasn't sure where to start! Almost immediately upon getting to Mystic City, the group splintered off in different directions, the Raphs, April, Leo, and Casey Jr. went to check out the nexus (and get a sense of Big Mama's business), and the Donny's with Mike and Casey went to sneak around Witch Town. Barry and Splinter, after quickly losing control of all their kids, just settled down to drink some tea at a small shop.

That left Mikey with Goo, Cassy, and Leon, who took the chance to grab his boyfriend while they were in town. They were prowling the markets, checking out all the interesting knick-knacks that the stall owners likely overpriced. 

"Mikey! Check this out!" Goo waved him over. They showed him a small pendant that an elderly Yokai was kindly selling. They stuck it to his plastron and immediately the magic within activated and covered him. He glanced at a nearby mirror, surprised to find a human looking back at him.