The Words That Hurt Me

Forty-Four: How to Have Hope

"Usagi?"

"M-Mikey!" Usagi's crackling voice rang out over the line, followed shortly by cut-up Japanese. "M-Mikey! W-what's going o-on? Why h-haven't I heard from you in th-three weeks!?" 

"Woah! Slow down, Sagi!" Mikey giggled, "We're okay!"

"A-are you!?" He asked, "G-Goody was s-supposed to be back a w-week ago!"

"Yeah, well, the problem with that, um," Mikey stuttered, "We're kinda, in another dimension right now, sooo,"

"YOU'RE WHA-" Usagi cut out, cutting in again rambling in confusion, "A-a-a-another d-dimension? H-how?"

"Well, long story short, Goo got kidnapped by a magic hippo and we followed him through a portal," Mikey said. Usagi didn't say anything for a long while, and for a moment he thought the line cut off.

"...Th-they got m-mutated, d-didn't they?" 

"...Yeah," Mikey breathed, tapping his knees, "About three weeks ago,"

"A-are they o-okay?" 

"Yeah! They're doing a lot better now," Mikey responded cheerily, "It was rough for the first week, but they've started training with this dimension's Splinter. They're almost a pro now!"

They weren't really, but the work they were putting in was certainly paying off. When Mikey first heard that they were going to dedicate most of their free time to training, he was concerned.

"Are you sure?" He had asked, "I don't want you to hurt yourself,"

[I'm sure] They signed, [Sitting in my room doing nothing isn't going to help me. Or you,]

They had embraced him briefly before continuing.

[I need to master this new body. Ninjitsu is about mindfulness and knowing yourself,] They offered him a small smile, [And I really need to learn,] 

Splinter was willing to work with them and ensured they rested and ate. They took to spending long hours in the dojo, working their self until they were exhausted. It was initially concerning until they started waking up with a smile.

Perhaps it was just that great of a distraction, but Goo seemed to revel in their soreness and the skills they were acquiring. They've started to be able to look in mirrors again, sometimes stopping to study their appearance. They began to get curious about their turtle part.

They got spooked by Tello in the lab and discovered how to retract into their shell. They thought it was hilarious and kept doing it for the rest of the day. They discovered that they had a third eyelid and that naps under a lamp are great, that breathing is optional and baths were amazing!

All hell broke loose when they figured out to churr though.

They were simply enjoying a meal after a long day of hard work, almost half asleep when a gentle rumbling began coming from their chest. Mikey immediately knew what it was and froze, glancing at his human friends. They were staring wide-eyed at Goo, who had sat up straighter.

"Glad you like my cooking!" Mike giggled, unfazed by the sound.

"What was that!?" Casey asked.

"Yeah! What was that? And why haven't you guys told me!?" April O'Neal had pointed an accusatory finger at the Other Turtles, who all looked mildly confused.

"It's called 'churring'," Tello answered, "It's a sound that turtles tend to make to express emotions, like, sleep, hunger, pain-"

"Happiness, anger, sadness, surprise, joy," Mike interrupted.