Chapter Text
Let it be known, you don’t hate being clean. In fact, you quite like the lack of excessive and unwanted grime or dirt on your skin like any other person on Earth. It’s Lovely. Amazing. Great.
What was not lovely, amazing, or great, was having to be a cat and getting utterly and completely soaked in water while your newly moistened fur weighs you down and falls over your eyes. Horrible. Terrible. Bad.
You could not even begin to describe the dramatics you displayed as Raph had begun to carry you presumably towards a bathroom located in these sewers, somehow. (Sewers that you still aren’t entirely used to at the moment.)
Once more, like many things here, you try not to question it too hard.
That techy, purple turtle of theirs probably found a way to make it happen. Or they used that magic of theirs to magic in a bathroom. Endless possibilities here. Endless possibilities you currently weren’t occupying yourself with, way too busy yowling and attempting to scramble out of Raph’s hold.
No. No way. Nuh uh. If you were going to shower, or bathe, or do anything along those lines, you’d do it on your own terms.
Claws kept sheathed, you pawed at Raph’s snout and wriggled yourself out of his arms and onto his shoulder. A rush of adrenaline ran through you, cat-like reflexes urging you forward as you leapt right off Raph’s shoulder, landing on all fours. A brief spark of excitement ran through you at your newly acquired skills, suddenly finding getting transformed into a cat way more beneficial than it originally seemed.
Maybe it’s not too bad after all. After you get used to the new way of walking… New height… No opposable thumbs… No way to use technology too well…. Among other things….
You dunno. Cat gymnastics is a little bit of a positive. You’ll give the universe points for allowing you that.
Stumbling a little, the snapping turtle’s hands fumbled as they reached back for you, “Woah! Hey, Kitty, wait!” He called, but his reaction time was too slow as you’d already begun to speed off through the sewers to escape your soapy doom. Sorry, Raph, but you have other plans. Other, way more important plans.
Like getting back home.
Right…
You still have no clue how to do that.
Of course, Raph’s plan to take you elsewhere in this strange world could lead you to more hints, more opportunities, and other such things that could turn you human again. Things that could bring you back to that life you had begun to miss.
It’s not like you’d never dreamed of becoming a cat before, no… It’s just…. It’s a change. A big, giant change that shattered your worldview and everything with it.
The existence of dimensions, magic, talking turtles, mutants, strange magic pizza places, animal transformation, teleporting unreal creatures, and actively visible cartoon logic threw your mind for a loop. You could see real live smear frames! Seriously, it’s surreal!
You supposed you didn’t have too much time to linger on it all, too concerned with getting back home, a desperation tugging at your heart. It was discovery after discovery, and you’d had barely any real time to think. It was survival out on the streets, even with April feeding you and Mayhem’s visits- And it was confusion in the sewers, a whole mystical world unraveling before your cat eyes!
Decisions, decisions…. They pulled you every way you could imagine, even while you were rushing through the narrow tunnels of the sewers.
‘Ugh.’ You thought to yourself as you heard Raph begin to follow you, his own steps echoing through the sewers, ‘I definitely don't need a breakdown right now. Or a surprise pondering session…’ Your pawsteps stuttered a bit as you leapt over a small gap in the ground.
This really was a mess, wasn’t it?
Before you could delve deeper into the life you could even lead now, the possibilities of everything yearning to weigh you down, your eyes catch onto spots you could hide in. Crevices, holes, boxes, and other things littered around this place were only some of the many hiding spot candidates. Though, eventually, you stumbled across an arcade in the lair, glowing with screens of blue and purple and faint 8-bit music playing in the distance. It's relatively dark behind the machines, enough crawlspace to not be uncomfortable and enough darkness to hide yourself fully. You bet with your new cat attributes you could fit somewhere even smaller, but you really weren't looking to get yourself stuck trying something like that just yet.
Swerving to the right, you took a dash towards the area, settling behind an arcade machine tucked in a back corner. Pac-Man, you think. Good taste. Classic.
Raph, only a few moments later, made his way into the main spot of the lair, eyes glancing around with worry and slight frustration. A recognizable look crossed the turtle’s face, snout scrunched and brows pinched into something you’re sure someone somewhere would describe as a ‘chasm’.
Lucky you, you hid just in time, and the turtle didn’t see where you went.
“Gooood morning big brother!”
Your ears perked up. Mikey.
You could just barely make out the two from your hiding spot, and you watched as Mikey threw his arms in the air, strolling with a yawn up towards Raph.
“Woah. What’s up? What's with the big frown, man?” The youngest questioned, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of his brother’s worry.
Raph jolted in surprise at Mikey’s sudden appearance, and the usual cartoony-looking sweat drops fell from his forehead as the turtle began contemplating whether or not to answer truthfully, “Well, y’know… It’s, uh… Haha…” Raph trailed off slowly, “Kitty ran off when I was trying to, uh, give them a bath.” Raph finally explained after a few seconds of silence, his hands flapping to shake off his nerves, “And now I can’t find them.”
Mikey’s face dropped, all previous exhaustion leaving the little turtle, “What!?” He sprung to life, “But we just found them! And they’re already gone? That’s not cool, man.” Mikey settled his hands on his hips, “We gotta find them, pronto. Show ‘em our love! What we have to offer! Show the little bundle of fur that we can take care of them!” Before Raph could explain the situation any further, Mikey immediately pumped his fists in determination, “Game plan! We split up and hunt them down!”
And with that began the world's most entertaining start to a hunt for a cat you’ve ever seen. Or at least, all you could see from your hiding spot.
Eventually, Mikey had managed to drag Leo into this mess as well, and the red-eared slider was already ready and pumped for an impromptu scavenger hunt. (Although you overheard him suggesting putting up missing posters. In the sewers… Where only they lived. Right.)
You blinked, watching as Mikey hurried past your hiding spot to let Raph pick up an entire flatscreen tv located in the arcade area, as if you’d be able to even hide under that thing.
It was oddly fascinating to watch them scramble to look for you, and that thought alone made you hesitate in showing yourself, even as you’d began to hurry from hiding spot to hiding spot just to watch the shenanigans unfold. You laughed a little as their methods grew wilder and wilder, and you were tempted just to watch them fumble forever.
But, after a few minutes of searching, Leo had ended up finding you.
On your way out of another hiding spot, snickering from the turtle brother’s antics, Leo had spotted you, and he’d whipped around with a triumphant smile.
“Ha! There you are!” He announced loudly, the weird mystical odachi of his pointed straight at you just to emphasize his dramatics.
Jumping to life, you began to try and run off again, but Leo only smirked, as if he’d expected this, and swung his weapon. A blue portal sparked to life right under you, and you yowled as a weightlessness dragged your body down right through the magical portal.
Leo watched as you disappeared, a hand held out ready to catch you and declare himself the winner for being able to find you, but no portal appeared in front of him.
He paused, waited a little, waved his hand impatiently, and still nothing.
“Hello…? Leo to magic portal? Urgent call coming in?” Leo prompted. Nothing.
Oh.
Shit. Not again.
“Okay. So, don’t get mad.” Leo began as he’d walked up cautiously to his brothers, watching as Raph and Mikey turned around to face him, “I may or may not have accidentally sent Kitty… Somewhere else? Completely out of the lair? And I have no idea where that may be?”
The silence that followed told him everything he needed to know.
Leo slumped over, “...So. Citywide scavenger hunt it is?”