Chapter Text
The last few times they played Portal Roulette, they’d almost died.
To be fair, the name roulette kinda spelled out it’d be random. But every time they’d come out just missing the gaping mouth of a giant mysterious monster that was probably somewhere in the Hidden City, they got a lecture that lasted, at the very least, ten minutes from Dad.
Nobody blamed him. Things had been crazy recently, and newfound peace didn’t mean it couldn’t be interrupted.
Mikey enjoyed it, though. It was a kind of harmless adrenaline high he felt was lacking ever since they put fighting baddies off limits for a while. Not that they couldn’t handle it, but the Kraang gave them bruises that lasted longer than they were used to. Mikey’s hands still shook sometimes, feeling the remnants of the inter-dimensional portal he tore open to save his brother.
All of them felt the lasting effects. For a while it was like walking on eggshells, nobody really knowing what they could or couldn’t handle. It was a process, regaining the confidence and courage to even get out of bed some days. They were better now. Not the best by any means; they were certainly scarred. But now there was normalcy. Mostly. And they were picking up that courage to go out and be rowdy again- an indulgence Mikey missed more than he realized.
They were having fun again.
CJ enjoyed it too; he fell right into the goofy habits of the family with relative ease, despite everything. Having watched him cry over losing DDR in a competition for the last pizza slice a couple weeks ago, Mikey mused that he was indeed a Hamato through and through, even if he came from a crazy future where everything was upside-down.
Mikey figured that when they first met him, though. But not all of the Hamatos initially met Casey during the invasion. They still had an important someone to introduce him to.
Casey took to him almost immediately, to no-one’s surprise.
She wasn’t entirely motherly, per-se, but nobody really expected her to be, not even CJ. She was more like a goading older sister that prodded him into supporting her anarchy over the lair. Leo hasn’t known a day of peace ever since he recovered from his wounds, since Casey now saw it fit to demand sparring from him anytime she so pleased. The results tended to be extremely one-sided.
Junior found it nice, too- all things he was telling Mikey in an art session (a habit they’d fallen into recently. It was half therapeutic, half simple, good fun).
“But what is she even sparring with him for? I mean, you guys talk about going out and fighting mutants and stuff, but we haven’t done any of that”, CJ said, fully dipping his hand into a bucket of finger paints. “We’ve just been sitting around down here”.
“I’d say it’s just how she is, but I think she’s antsy like the rest of us”, Mikey contemplated. He dipped his hand in, too, putting a red three-fingered print right next to a five-fingered blue one on the wall. “I mean, I like hanging out and having fun as much as the next turtle, but we’re heroes! Going out and fighting evil goons is kinda what we do”.
“Sounds nice”, CJ hummed, accidentally brushing paint on his chin as he scratched it. “Low-stakes combat? It sounds kinda oxymoronic to me, but fun”,
“Wait ‘till we get back out on the streets. You’ll see. It’s way more exciting than just popping up to a rooftop”, Mikey promised with a bright grin. CJ pleasantly returned it.
He stood, backing up to see their product on the wall in his room. The metal surface of the subway car was becoming quite the product of color, various handprints lining the bottom. He smiled at it, placing his hands on his hips, leaving flakes of color wherever his fingers touched. Painting walls and ceilings, just like the real Michelangelo! Art never ceased to amaze.
“Mikey! CJ! Pizza’s finally here”, April sounded, rapping her knuckles on the rim of the entrance to Mikey’s room. “We’re trying to decide which JJ movie to watch. Any votes for the ballot?”
“Too many options!” Mikey huffed dramatically, turning his head back to look at her. He tapped his foot for a moment in contemplation, before giving up on deciding. “Lemme wash my hands and I’ll get back to you?”
“M’kay”, April hummed with a shrug, and swiftly dipped out of view to return to the rest of the family.
Mikey reached down to help CJ off the floor, then proceeded to stretch out, shaking the stiffness out of his limbs. The two were quick to hurry and wash the surplus paint off, and join the rest of the family in the TV room, mats and bean bags set up all around, Splinter’s chair being an occupied centerpiece.
Leo scooched over, making room for CJ on the large yellow bean bag he was just sprawled over, offering a slice as he sat. Mikey skipped over to where Raph was sitting, and he watched as his older brother struggled to save all the cheese that was trying its best to drip onto the floor.
“Portal Roulette later, who’s in?!” Leo announced excitedly, reaching over to hold one of his swords aloft.
“Nooo, I banned that for a month, Blue!” Splinter interjected, shooting a stern glare at him. “When you learn to cut dangerous monsters waiting to eat you or magically impenetrable cave systems out of the list, then I will reconsider”.
“Boo”, Leo groaned, flopping backwards onto his seat. In a subtle tilt of his head, though, Mikey spotted the wink Leo gave CJ, making it clear that Portal Roulette was still happening.
“We could return to the surface”, Casey offered, ripping the crust that remained of her pizza in half. “I’m sure mutant crime has had a spike without us there to manage it and kick it back into the hole it crawled out of”.
“On the contrary, my friend: I have set up surveillance to monitor any would-be Crazy Mutant Wacko activity, and it seems they are content to be just as holed up as we are right now post-alien invasion”, Donnie offered with a raised finger.
Casey glared, her attempts having been sniped.
“We coullld”, Mikey said, swaying a bit in his spot. “I mean, it’s been, like, two months. Besides, it’d be easy with seven of us!”
“I’d be down”, Raph said, now recovered from his bout with the difficult slice. Thus, his mouth was half full with cheese. “Mikey’s right- we’ve been cooped up down here for too long. I say we go topside and find somethin’ better to do! Maybe we can bust some villains! If they’re around, that is”.
“I don’t know…”, Splinter said, looking down. “If you are so sure you could handle it…”.
Leo scoffed, dismissing the sentiment with his hand. “Of course we can; we’re not as fragile as we were months ago. Look at us! We’re fit as a pack of fiddles now!”
“And besides, we gotta go out eventually. Might as well be now!” April threw in enthusiastically.
“Alright, alright”, Splinter conceded, motioning for them to calm down. “I suppose it’d be good for you all to get some fresh air. But text me! Keep me updated!”
“We will, Dad!”, Mikey said, hopping over to give him a grateful (and tight) hug. “We’ll be alright! And if anything goes wrong, I’ve got my mystic hands to bail us out”.
“Michelangelo”, Splinter said, his tone almost immediately dropping. He gently grasped Mikey’s hand. “I want you to be careful with your mystic abilities- it’s unpredictable and-“
“I know”, Mikey said, grateful that the rest of the family were already excitedly filing out of the room, paying no attention to their conversation. “I was…just joking. I promise I’ll be careful”.
“I mean it”, Splinter said, squeezing a bit.
“I do too”, Mikey responded, holding his gaze. “We know better than to get into trouble we can’t handle”.
His dad gave a questioning gaze, raising a disbelieving brow.
“Okay, you’re right”, Mikey huffed. “Maybe sometimes we don’t know better- but we’re more experienced now! I think more than anything we all just wanna have fun outside of the sewers. Something…normal, you know?”
“Yes. I know”, Splinter sighed. “I just worry! But I guess that’s the father in me. I can’t help it. But you can’t help wanting to get out either, so I understand. But seriously. Keep me updated. If I don’t hear from you for even an hour I’ll start calling, got it?”
“Got it”, Mikey said softly, nodding.
“Good”, Splinter playfully affirmed, and released Mikey’s hand, nudging him along.
Mikey turned, running out to join the rest of his family at the lair’s exit, a very small part of his heart tugging him back to join his father, sitting next to him on a safe, small bean bag, where nothing bad could happen and he could watch Jupiter Jim movies until he passed out.
But the urge to do otherwise was overwhelming, and exciting. It had been a struggle for all of them- the debris from the Kraang’s invasion was way more than physical. The past two months had been time to work that out- get to a place where they weren’t crying or freaking out every day.
The first several weeks were rough. Mikey could admit it because it was true; none of them had been prepared for something so sudden and taxing. But with time, they’d slowly gotten better. They were far from perfect, but things started to feel…well, normal again. Although Mikey knew, along with the others, that there was an ingredient missing in that recipe. Something to assure them that things were really getting better.
Like a good old patrol.
Leaping across rooftops again, Mikey had never felt more welcomed by the city. The nighttime offered all the beautiful lights of NYC- and less eyes to see them. The brothers wondered if all the alien paranoia would cast a worse light on them if anyone did happen to see them, so that was one of the many reasons they’d mainly been staying home, underground, where it was safe.
They found small moments to pop up- watching as CJ got acquainted with a world he wasn’t used to. Although, a lot of that was left to April and Casey, who were decidedly not unusual to see by human standards.
But all of them, bounding across the city, with all the freedom they could possibly want, just felt so right.
Mikey yelped as Raph scooped him up, creating as bumpy a ride as he could with a shit-eating grin.
“Nooo! Raph, I’m gonna hurl!” Mikey protested, covering his mouth. Raph inhaled sharply and tossed him off, to which Mikey chortled, and threw back a cheeky smile. He wasn’t going to, but at least now he was ahead in a race Mikey had concocted right that very second.
With an extra burst of speed, Mikey shot ahead, energy and excitement buzzing through him like electricity.
Or- wait- that tingly feeling felt a little too legit. Was he-?
Mikey halted, noticing the orange sparks flying out from his legs and feet. A spike of uncomfortable energy rose and fell in his chest, and he stopped at the edge of a roof, a hand over his plastron as he hunched over. Looking back, he noticed that the rest of them were a decent ways behind him, but doing their best to catch up.
“Oh, man”, Mikey breathed, shaking his head as if he was trying to let the mystic power fall out of him.
“Mikey! What was that?!” Raph called, concern lacing his tone. His older brother finally caught up, kneeling down with a hand on Mikey’s shell. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine”, Mikey said, nodding hurriedly and making a point to stand up, even if his legs had that horrible static-y feeling. “Really, I’m okay. Just got too excited, I guess.”
“Surely there’s a way for you to manage those”, Donnie said, now arriving with the rest of them. “Your powers, I mean. Maybe now that we’re out and…doing doing things again, you could consult Draxum”.
“Gee whiz”, Leo huffed with an eye roll. “Bet Draxum would teach you things like how to throw people off of roofs with your powers”.
“Leo. That was ages ago”, Raph said flatly, punctuated with a stern glare.
“It still happened!” Leo protested, a dramatic lift of his arms. He then crossed them, looking Mikey in the eye. “But seriously, I definitely think there’s a way to manage that so you don’t get all glow-y when you don’t want to”.
“Well, sure”, CJ sounded. “I mean, from what I’ve seen, his powers aren’t all compulsive and spontaneous like that. I guess I just never realized he had to learn that. Or…you’ll have to learn that”.
“I appreciate it, guys, but I’m good, for real!”, Mikey said, desperately trying to quell all the worrying that was piling on top of him. “There’s no rush, right? I’ll talk with Draxum about it later; for now we should just enjoy our night”.
“Mikey’s right, let’s just keep going”, April said, helping Mikey fully get up, wrapping her arm around his. “No point in wasting a perfectly good New York night, right?”
Mikey smiled at her, grateful for the backup. At least someone wasn’t leaping to smother him.
“Agreed”, Casey said as she stepped ahead, cracking her knuckles with a smirk. “I know that criminals are down there…taunting us…waiting for a professional intervention-“
“-One would think criminals don’t want that kind of thing?” Donnie threw in.
“-And there’s our opportunity!” Casey continued, sharply pointing down to the streets below.
Glancing down at where she signaled, Mikey spotted a familiar bug-ish shape, looting around in what appeared to be boxes in the process of being moved inside, the door to the home still open. One of the mutant silverfish pulled out an expensive looking vase and promptly smashed it on the concrete with a trill.
“Those things?!” Mikey exclaimed, expression sinking. “Man, I thought we got rid of all of those! I was thinking we’d find something…more exciting! This is way too easy!”
“Maybe we could round ‘em up? Bring them to Jersey or something- split ‘em up and have more fun that way?” Raph offered softly with an open palm, motioning down to them.
“We could make a game out of it!” April chimed, pumping a fist. “Whoever gets the most silverfish in the goal wins! Losers pay for food the next movie night!”
“I guess that sounds fun”, Mikey said, his spirits starting to lift. He let a smile creep onto his face, spinning the chain as he looked back down at the small grouping of mutants in the alleyway.
He jolted and halted, though, as Raph’s phone started to ring, echoing over their perch. Raph’s eyes widened, and he went to grab it, fumbling for a moment. He blinked at the screen, then swiped, lifting the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Pops- what’s up?”
Mikey wanted to pout. They hadn’t even been out there for half an hour! Let alone an entire hour, like he’d said.
Raph’s expression quickly melted into perplexity, tilting his head as the vague, small sounds of Splinter’s voice continued over the line. “Uhhh…okay, well- I guess we’ll head back, then”, Raph responded, which was met with a chorus of groans from the rest of them.
“Hey”, Raph chastised, lowering the phone as he hung up. “Dad said Draxum stopped by- said he wanted to talk to us?”
“That’s weird”, Leo said, curling his beak. “What could he possibly wanna talk to us about? And on our night out, too!”
“I dunno”, Raph replied with a shrug. “But I guess it’s gotta be important, with him coming all the way to the lair for it”.
“D’you think it’s anything bad?” Mikey said worriedly, pulling his hands towards his chest.
“Naw, I doubt it”, Raph said, quick to comfort. “I mean, he didn’t say anything about Draxum sounding worried. Maybe…he’s got…lunch lady news! Or..uh…something”.
“Good one”, Leo commented dryly, and Raph sharply turned to huff at him.
“Well then let’s go!” April prompted, running back to the other end of the roof. “The sooner we see what Drax wants, the sooner we can be back out here! Who knows- maybe those mutant silverfish will still be around”.
“Ughhhh, I will have to yell at Baron Draxum later about interrupting a groove”, Casey hissed, passing April and leaping back the way they came.
Mikey was quick to follow, anticipation bubbling in his chest. But he elected to take Raph’s words to heart; maybe it wasn’t anything bad. Or maybe it was something kinda bad- like Sloppy Joseph getting loose in the school again! Something they could handle no problem.
As they descended back into the sewers, Mikey really hoped that was what it was.
—
Upon reentering the lair, and the group walking into the TV room, Mikey immediately took note of Draxum’s expression.
The sheep yokai had his hands twined together in a half-poised, half-worried manner, like he was uncertain. His ears were folded back, and his gaze danced around the room. Mikey frowned, not knowing what that meant, and subsequently, he started to worry about it.
“Well?” Splinter prompted, turning a bit in his seat to more directly face Draxum. “What is so important that you pulled them from their night out?”
Draxum gave a small glare, but breezed past it as he cleared his throat. “Well…earlier I was learning that one…human…thing. On the box. The electric box- the-“
“Computer?” Donnie filled.
“Yes, that’s the one. Apparently the school is implementing this…system? For lunch planning? On..uhm. It’s…with the..more of the little boxes and the numbers…”
“Excel?”
“Yes, thank you, Purple One. Anyway, I was trying to figure out THAT accursed contraption when I hear a knock at my door. Usually I assume it’s that pesky landlord, or Carol-“
“My mom?” April said, curling her lip.
“Yes, her. She keeps trying to bring me lasagna. But instead, I am met with a yokai. A messenger of all things! For a second I thought I was going to be arrested, but prepared to plead my rights as I was not in the Hidden City. But as it turns out, that’s not what he wanted at all. Noting…recent events, and my connection with you all…it seems we have been called to be in the presence of the Heads of the Hidden City”.
“Wait- what?” Leo interjected, leaning forwards. “Like- the..leaders?”
“Yes, ancient beings that have governed the Hidden City for centuries. That’s not to say they do a good job, but, eh…”.
“Draxum. What do they want?” Splinter questioned firmly.
“I don’t know! All the messenger said was to be there as soon as we could, so I suppose we…should?”
“Maybe we’ll get an award”, Leo mused, shifting his stance to be a bit lopsided. “I mean, c’mon, we defeated Shredhead and the Krang! Not that it was any fun, but it’d be nice to be recognized for it”.
“Again, I do not know”, Draxum huffed. “I can only hope that this isn’t a trap and I don’t end up in the deepest cell of the Hidden City prison”.
Mikey opened his mouth to comfort Draxum, but was cut off before he started.
“Yeah, we’ll see”, Donnie said dismissively. “But here’s my question: how do they know about us?”
“The Heads have many connections throughout the city- including agents, spies and messengers. All things I was subjugated to in my…previous career. And considering the battle at the Crying Titan was all but subtle, I’m sure they were bound to find out eventually”, Draxum explained, averting his gaze in an almost guilty manner.
“And yet they couldn’t convey to you what they wanted”, Casey mumbled, rolling her eyes.
Mikey furrowed his brow, glancing off in contemplation. He wanted to continue their night like the rest of them- but the leaders of the Hidden City wanted them? Mikey got a bad feeling about it, but he wasn’t about to jump to conclusions. Even if the whole deal did make him…well, the kindest word he could come up with was nervous.
He’d never seen these “Heads of the Hidden City” guys, so Mikey didn’t really know what kind of thing they could want. The lack of an idea was both interesting and daunting, causing Mikey to pull his hands closer to himself.
“In any case, I believe we should get going”, Draxum said, halting Mikey’s thoughts. “The Heads are not exactly patient”.
“Oh, man, how long is this going to take?” April sighed. “I promised my parents I’d be there for family dinner tonight…”
“Renounce your familial dinner ideas. There’s no telling what the Heads need”, Draxum answered, and turned, striding through the room, out of it, and towards the entrance.
The rest of the Hamatos sat there in stunned silence, staring blankly at where he departed.
“…So…I’m guessing no Portal Roulette, then?” Leo asked, looking around the room for a response. When he got none, his shoulders slumped. “Yeah. Figured”.
——
Their trip down to the Hidden City was an awkward one.
Mikey could tell everyone wanted to talk about it, and theorize, but nobody really had any ideas. Especially him. His mind was helpfully blank, and anticipation continued to rise with every step they took. It wasn’t like their “important events” in the past had ever been extremely fun or pleasant, so their anxiety was sparking through the air like static.
Mikey noticed that Leo in particular had a tight expression, his brow pinched in a blatantly nervous line. Mikey understood why, at least: preparing to lead a group through a stressful situation couldn’t be a great feeling.
Luckily, it seemed that Mikey wasn’t the only one who noticed, and he watched as Raph placed his hand firmly on Leo’s shoulder, smiling down at him. Mikey couldn’t see all of Leo’s face as he turned it, but he guessed the raising of his cheeks indicated a smile in return, which eased Mikey’s own nerves, if even just a little.
“So…how scary are these Head Guys?” April asked, leaning forwards to meet Draxum at the front of the group.
“They’re not scary, so much as they are unpredictable and sometimes inconvenient”, Draxum replied with a grimace. “In their defense, they were right about the humans ultimately…not being a threat. But they also refused to do anything about the prophecy foretelling our destruction. As far as I know, anyway; if they had a plan they certainly didn’t share it with me. They like secrets, and they like control even more, except a good portion of the Hidden City is in shambles. They preferred to send an agent to observe me in subtlety rather than do anything publicly. Although, I suppose that little pet of yours was successful in the end. It’s a lot of “buts” it seems with them, I suppose”.
“Wh- Mayhem?!” April exclaimed as Mikey and Leo snorted at “buts”.
“Yes, that creature was sent to keep an eye on and prevent my work. Nothing, explicit, as is frequently the method that they use. I assume it’s a snowballing effect they rely on, but I myself find that it relies too much on luck. Not hands-on at all, which is extremely unreliable”.
“It did bring us together, though!” Mikey chimed, jumping forward to jovially hold Draxum’s hand.
Draxum snorted, but didn’t protest the movement, nor the statement.
“So…how do we approach them?” Splinter questioned. “Is it a…bowing thing or more like a “hey what’s up” kind of thing?”
“Just follow my lead when we get there. No overthinking this”, Draxum responded tightly, uncertainty lacing his tone.
“Hear that, Donnie? No overthinking it”, Leo prodded, and Donnie gave a playful shove in return.
Mikey looked back even further to see the Caseys conversing, hushed, in the back, and he watched as Junior took in more and more of the Hidden City, his eyes scanning every which way in what fortunately seemed like awe and not fear. Casey would bump him with her hip or elbow a few times and point to certain things.
At least they didn’t seem too nervous. Mikey noted this with a smidge of envy.
“We’re getting close”, Draxum said, as the streets of the city started to slope more and more, casually strolling yokai becoming progressively scarce. What seemed to be around were more important or unorthodox-looking yokai, sticking close to the stone walls, sometimes with weapons.
It didn’t take long for the group to be approached by a smaller yokai, something along the lines of a ferret or a stoat, scampering up to them hurriedly.
“You’re finally here!” she breathed, adjusting a strange amulet draped over her neck. “Quickly, now, Hamatos; this way!” Beckoning with her hand, the small yokai waddled off at a brisk pace, leaving the rest of them to attempt to keep up with her.
“I’ve never seen that kind of amulet before”, Draxum observed under his breath, where really only Mikey could hear. “I wonder if it has any enchantments”.
“I don’t think we’re here for that kind of thing”, Mikey whispered back, narrowing his eyes at him.
“Yes, yes, I know. Just curious, is all”.
“Enter Hamatos, enter!” their escort said quickly, motioning to a stone stairway leading up, up to a set of large double doors, which started to open with an ominous groan.
“Oh fun. So we’re about to die”, Donnie said flatly, and Casey slugged him in the arm. She then hurried up, ahead of them.
“No, no, no, no dying!” the stoat chortled, wagging her finger. “Uh. Hopefully”.
“Whuzzat supposed to mean?!” Leo interjected, right before the stoat leapt behind him and started pushing him up the stairs, urging them to hurry.
They complied, and Mikey himself bounded up the path, clearing several steps at a time. He waited, letting the rest catch up before they collectively entered. Taking it all in, Mikey felt a small bit of will to tuck his head into his shell.
More stairs this time, but they seemingly led to nowhere except a platform dangling over a pit, too dark to see down. And on the large walls surrounding the pit, sat three glowing faces, unmoving, but Mikey got the distinct feeling they were waiting for them.
“Oh, I get it”, Leo sounded. “They’re heads”.
“Well?! What are you waiting for? Get up here!” the center Head said, their booming voice reverberating throughout the grand room.
Mikey clenched his jaw, eyes widening as he hurried up the stairs with the rest of them. It wasn’t the most convenient squeeze on the way up; Raph didn’t even make it all the way onto the platform, electing to stand behind them instead. But they all stared expectantly up at the Heads, the energy now verging on fear.
“Nice to see you again, Draxum”, the left Head huffed, drenched with clear sarcasm.
Draxum curled his nose and lowered his chin, almost pouting. He quickly recovered, though, and folded his hands, looking up at the figures on the wall.
“We…apologize for the wait”, he managed to squeeze out, hands clenched together stiffly. “What is it you wanted to see us about?”
“We weren’t exactly expecting so many of you”, the right Head noted. “But, I suppose more of your clan works better, anyway. You have been called for a great purpose”.
Mikey winced. He was kind of hoping that wasn’t the case.
“A threat is coming to the Hidden City”, the center Head announced, and Mikey immediately noticed how they all tensed. “We don’t know when exactly, we only know it’s soon. And, well, with all the things you’ve done recently, we figured why not give you a try?”
“A try?” Raph echoed confusedly. “For what?”
“A ways from here, across the city and over an extensive lake, you will find an island. The home of a tribunal that has been around for centuries, preparing resources and mystical artifacts and records to readily use should this threat ever return. And according to them, it is that time. But they do not quite have the power to combat this darkness. And this is where you come in.
“The tribunal has requested four warriors to train with them; their monastery is on the island, and is ready for their arrival. We believe, with evidence, that these warriors are within your clan”.
Mikey felt the shift of gazes, the rest of the family’s eyes falling on Mikey and his brothers.
Splinter was the first to diverge his eyes back to the Heads. “Uhm. What kind of darkness are we talking about?”
“All things they will explain to you on the island”, the Head answered, and Mikey saw Splinter slouch in irritation. “Once you get there, you will meet the four leaders of the tribunal. Then you will be told everything you need to know”.
Mikey preferred they were told right then, but he figured, as it seemed everyone else did, that those explanations weren't really in the cards for them.
“With all due respect, uh, Great Head..guys?”, Raph started nervously, doing his best to make himself seem smaller than he was. Mikey didn’t really see why that mattered. “We kinda…just finished dealing with something big? And it took a pretty big toll on us. I don’t know if we’re ready to-“
“There is no time for consideration”, the left Head interrupted. “You must go to the island and converse with the tribunal. If you do not do this, the Hidden City could be in grave danger, and then, perhaps your surface world as well”.
Mikey frowned, turning to meet the inward glances of the rest of his family.
None of them wanted to do this, that was pretty clear. There was supposed to be a happy medium with their emergence; nothing too easy, but nothing too hard, either. This…already seemed like a lot. And Mikey could see the hesitation on each of their faces, as clear as day.
He wanted to reach out and prompt them to leave, strict Head guys be damned. But, beneath that flimsy layer of exhaustion, he knew that they couldn’t back away from this. They were heroes. Turning down a call so big would be against their very nature, and a crime against all the yokai in the Hidden City.
Mikey knew this. He knew the rest of the family knew it as well. He could read them like a comic book, and they all were reflections of his own feelings.
Splinter sighed, turning back to face the Heads. “Alright. How do we get to this tribunal?”
“We have prepared a ship for you”, the right Head said. “It will take you across the water and to the island. Stella here is one of the acolytes who reside there. She will take you to the boat, and make sure your trip is safe”.
Mikey glanced down at the stoat yokai, who was looking back up at them with hardly contained excitement.
“Well then…”, Splinter sighed, turning to face his family, “I guess we better head over, then”.
Mikey (reluctantly) agreed. He wanted to go back to the lair and at least finish his most recent project, or give his stuffed animals their goodbye kisses. But it was made clear that there was no time for that when they were ushered down the stairs and out of the large chamber. Mikey glanced back, watching as the glow of the Heads faded before the doors slammed shut before him, pelting him with a gust of wind.
He frowned at where they were. Feeling a touch to his shoulder, Mikey looked up to see Raph gazing down at him, concern etched in his face. As a reassurance, Mikey gave him a small smile, and clambered up onto his shell.
Letting Raph carry him down, Mikey left his gaze on the doors.
——
Walking up to the docks, Mikey took in this new part of the Hidden City. It didn’t look too different from the rest of it- the far walls of the great cavern still had various figures etched into the stone, and the district behind him was fun and colorful, even if it smelled like fish.
The boat itself was sitting in the water right by the sand, a bridge extended downwards to offer them access. The rims of the deck were painted gold, the rest of the wood colored a teal-ish blue. The head of the boat was shaped to resemble something like a dragon. Mikey could at least admit it was pretty.
Stella scampered ahead of them and motioned to the ramp with a grand sweep of her arms. “Come along! The ride to the island hopefully won’t take us too long!”
Mikey kept his eyes pinned on the stoat as he walked by, her beaming smile seeming like…a little much. He shrugged it off, though, and made his way onto the ship, immediately running to the other side to peer over the edge towards the lapping water below.
He listened as the rest of his family filed onboard, their movement announced by the sounds of the wood. Mikey slung his arms on the edge, choosing to take simple pleasure in just watching and not thinking about all of the scary, vague things that the Heads were talking about. Even if he really, really wanted to think about it and maybe worry if he needed to.
As the boat shifted and it started pulling out, Mikey glanced up as Draxum joined him by the edge.
“We were supposed to have a fun day!” Mikey immediately whined, letting his head slump. “So unfair”.
“I’m sorry, Michelangelo”, Draxum sighed. “I wouldn’t have urged us to go if that messenger wasn’t so pesky”.
“I’m glad you did”, Mikey responded truthfully. “I mean, I’m happy to help, it’s just…after everything..y’know?”
“I know. But perhaps this won’t be so bad. Apparently the monastery is filled with mystics and relics. That seems like an entertaining research possibility”.
“Blech”, Mikey huffed. “I’d only want to ask you about my new mystic powers, not some randos”.
“..New mystic powers?” Draxum echoed, and Mikey froze up. Oops. That was not how he wanted to introduce THAT topic…
“Uhm. Yeah..when..uh. During the invasion, I found out I had, like, advanced mystic powers? And I opened a portal, and I’ve also had these little bouts of power after that? Like earlier today when we were rooftop racing and I accidentally made my powers put a lot of energy in my legs? And then I started going really fast? It didn’t last for long but-“
“You’re doing this all accidentally?” Draxum interjected.
“Not the portal, but the rest of it, yeah”.
“Amazing”, Draxum breathed. “Advanced talent for mystic abilities, suppressed for years until you were informed of them. We will have to work on this more! Perhaps we can use the resources of the monastery”.
Mikey lowered his gaze, considering protesting. He knew he needed to work on them- he couldn’t keep having his powers freak out and do who knows what. But he also felt that if he took on any more stress he’d explode and have to go cry to Dad or Raph about it, which was the last thing he wanted to do. There was no point in throwing that onto them, too- especially when Mikey could do something about it.
Looking back at the rest of them, Mikey sighed and then looked back up at Draxum. “Yaaayy..”, he sounded halfheartedly.
Draxum didn’t seem to register the tone, as he simply nodded down at Mikey and strolled off towards the head of the ship. Mikey groaned and leaned most of his torso over the edge, drooping.
A few moments passed before Mikey heard another set of footsteps, and he glanced up to see CJ come up next to him and fold his hands on the edge.
“So…”, CJ started awkwardly, shifting his stance a bit. “This isn’t really how we thought today was gonna go, huh?”
“Nope”, Mikey said. “But such is the life of the Mad Dogs, I guess. Things are thrown at us and we rise to the challenge, or whatever Leo said that one time. I mean, it was inspiring, but I just really wasn’t ready for this. I wanna hope it won’t be so bad?”
CJ winced, tilting his head a bit. “Eh. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s be prepared for the worst”.
“Makes sense”.
“Well, yeah for the apocalypse I guess it does…but it’s a good lesson, I think. And if you guys are prepared, maybe it won’t be so hard. Whatever “it” is”, CJ continued, looking off, over the water.
“Can’t be anything good. “Coming darkness” doesn’t sound good anyway, but I mean…what exactly do these…tribunal people want from us? What are they gonna do with us? And Draxum wants to work with me on my mystic powers right away and…ugh”.
“It’s a lot, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I…don’t know a lot about today’s world. But if there’s one thing that’s consistent, it’s that you guys can do anything if you put your mind to it. It might be a little rocky, but if you keep trying it’s gonna work out. I mean, cheesy, yeah, but it’s true”, CJ said, holding his gaze.
Mikey gave him a grateful smile, bumping CJ’s hip with his own. “Thanks. I needed that”.
CJ’s face crept into a sheepish grin, and he dipped away, going to join Casey as Raph restrained her from trying to climb up the mast. Casey was shouting something about trying to get a better vantage point, and Mikey shook his head in amusement.
He then looked out to the moving waters, trying to let his anxiety wash away with the waves. Taking a deep breath in, and a long breath out, Mikey found contentment in the open air.
Sort of. They were still underground, after all.
But the grandiose ceilings of the cavern were far above them, fading into blues that almost conveyed daytime. And instead of clouds, their “sky” was highlighted with glittering minerals, and jutting out crystals, and large, carved figures, making the Hidden City so distinct from the world above.
Almost an hour passed before they saw any more land.
When they finally did, the shape of it appeared slowly through fog, the rolling clouds close to the water gradually revealing a silhouette. Then it came into view almost mystically, the fog clearing to show an island, the edges of it stretching up, up and up. The rocky walls had a thin path weaving through it, and the island was too large to see around.
The boat creaked as it pulled closer, and Mikey walked up to the head of the ship where everybody else was. He marveled at the island, taking in the height before the ship eventually stopped by a small dock.
His nerves clear in his expression, Mikey looked up to Draxum. Draxum didn’t look back, but instead stared up with the rest of them, his own expression alit with something along the lines of eagerness and awe, heavily mixed with curiosity.
Mikey gulped, pulling his hands towards his chest.
He was mystic too. He could handle this. They’d be fine.
But he figured Portal Roulette wasn’t going to happen any time soon.