A Million Miles Apart

A/N: Hey guys... So, I said in my last chapter that I thought my cat was dead. Well, a few days ago he disappeared, my mom said he could barely walk and he was clearly suffered. Now, he still hasn't come home, and I'm really sure he's dead. So, I was really tempted to not write anything, but I did anyway. Aren't I nice? Well, honestly I got a nice dose of inspiration earlier this week, which resulted in this chapter! I hope you'll like it!

So, last chapter we got to see some of Traximus. Or, well, my version of him anyway, and I hope you liked him, cause you'll be seeing (or reading) a lot more of him in the future. (Or not. :-P)

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please review, favorite and follow!

Chapter 17, An Accidental Slip Of The Tongue

I had to admit, I was impressed… And I consider myself a rather tough girl to impress. Donnie hadn't really come across as a tough fighter to me. Sure, he could defend himself, but it seemed like he mostly used his skills to defend others and not always himself- unless he had to, of course. But today, when he went up against Traximus, he had blown my mind with skills I couldn't have imagined him having. He was quick on his feet, resourceful, and tougher than he looked. Even Gruel and Traximus himself seemed pretty impressed with his skills, although Gruel seemed to be more on the irritated end of the spectrum, furious over the fact that Donnie hadn't been slain.

However, just because he was tough inside the ring didn't necessarily mean he was just as tough outside the ring.

"Ow! Ow! Careful, it hurts!" I rolled my eyes and gripped his arm a little tighter. I was currently on my knees and trying to clean the long gash on Donnie's arm- easier said than done. Donnie, who was sitting on a bench, was constantly squirming and attempting to pull his arm away from me, which made the job a lot harder than it had to be. I guess it's true, what they said about even the toughest guys needing to cry over some things. I tightened my grip on his arm and pressed the wet cloth against the wound.

"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt so much! Now stop squirming! Seriously, you're acting like a baby." Donnie glared at me, then hissed in pain as I dabbed the cloth over his wound. I winced in sympathy and carefully tried wipe the cloth along the length of his arm, which was covered in red-brown, partially dried blood. I looked up at him and his face was scrunched up in pain that I suppose he was trying to suppress. Didn't exactly work that well, though. I blew some of my hair out of my face and started to wipe away the rest of the blood.

"That was really good. You know, what you did in the ring, before." He looked down at me in surprise, then shrugged and tried to look humble, but I could see by the smirk on his face that he was proud of himself. Humph, typical, isn't it? Though, to be fair, I guess anyone would be proud of themselves after managing to take down a Triceraton. I know I would. So after thinking it over, I suppose I can't really blame him.

"Thanks. I mean, I know I've been training for most of my life, but I never thought that I could take an opponent that big… all alone… on the first attempt." I shook my head and wet the cloth again in the bucket of water that had been brought in earlier. The water was murky with crimson blood and other disgusting things. I seriously hoped he wouldn't get an infection from the water coming into contact with his torn arm.

"That's not exactly what I meant. I mean, don't get me wrong, that was really impressive, too. I've not seen that many aliens that have managed to take a Triceraton down. But I mean with how you showed Traximus mercy before, even though he told you that it was within your right to kill him. You stood for what you believed in, even though you knew Gruel didn't approve. And that's really strong, not to mention brave." Donnie looked down at me as if I had just grown a second head. And in a way, I could understand that. I was a lot of things: strong, tough, and a well-trained fighter, if I do say so myself. But I wasn't very compassionate or very good at understanding people's emotions. For me, the smart choice was often to think of myself before anyone else, and so for Donnie to hear me say that it was brave to spare someone else when he most likely thought I wouldn't have, well, it was really strange. He looked away and bit his lower lip as a small blush covered his cheeks.

"Oh, that... Well, I-I couldn't just kill him. I could never stoop so low as to become a murderer. That's just cowardly, and it goes against everything that my father's taught me. I don't know… it felt as though, if I did actually kill him, I would let my father down and dishonor him and his lessons." He looked down at me, straight in the eyes. "Don't you think it's horrible to kill?"

He looked at me with a kind of innocence and naiveté that I hadn't seen in him before. He almost looked like a child, with those big eyes that clearly hadn't seen the things that I had seen and accepted as more or less the norm. It really reminded me that he couldn't be much older than me, barely more than a young boy, and that he was not a scarred and experienced warrior. He was a talented fighter, sure, but his demeanor was that of a healer, a creator, a thinker- not a warrior. He had never even been off of his own planet before now. All of this was new to him and he took it all in the same way that a child would take in any new surroundings: with difficulty, but also with a determination to prove themselves as adaptable and strong. And as much as I could respect his kind nature and selfless heart, I also knew that it wouldn't help him all the way if he was going to be in space for a longer time.

I shrugged. I had never really thought about whether or not it was wrong to kill. I just thought of whether or not it was beneficial to me. But, now that he mentioned it, it made me think. Would I kill somebody if he or she begged me to? Probably if I had to, but still...

I had fought that guy with claws and teeth before and had beaten the living daylights out of him. But after he was out cold and couldn't fight back anymore, suddenly something stopped me from finishing the job. I was about chop his head off, but something told me not to. That has never happened before. When Gruel had demanded to know why I wasn't finishing him, I had gone with the excuse that I thought it was more cruel to let him live and let him suffer, which seemed to make him back off. I had always gone all the way through and done what I had to do to stay alive, but now I wasn't so sure if I could do the things I used to do so easily.

Maybe Donnie's affected me more than I thought.

"Yeah... I guess it is." Donnie nodded slowly and I rubbed away the last of the blood on his arm, cleaned the gash one last time and dumped the rotten cloth in the similarly filthy bucket, starting to look over the wound. It was really deep and probably needed stitching, but we didn't have the supplies for that so I would have to settle with bandaging it. But I wasn't sure of what I should bandage it with. I didn't have any bandages and the strange wrappings Donnie had on his feet, wrists and hands were too dirty and could increase his already high chances of getting an infection. If he got sick now, of all times, of all the places, he would definitely be in a whole new world of trouble. That is, if the sickness didn't kill him right off the bat.

Shaking my head to clear the worried thoughts from my mind, I focused all of my energy on properly assessing possible bandages.

"Do you need any help?" Donnie and I looked up and there was Traximus, a small smile on his face and a roll of bandages in his hand. I nodded and moved away from Donnie, allowing Traximus to sit down beside him and start to wrap the clean bandages around his arm. "I swiped this from Gruel's supply closet. I would've gotten a needle and some thread, but I couldn't find any. I just hope this'll be enough." Donnie looked down at his arm as the big alien wrapped it up nice and tightly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Thank you." He said genuinely with a kind smile on his face. Traximus looked up from his work and smiled right back, a new life in his once-dead-looking eyes. I looked at Traximus curiously. Donnie seemed to have reached him somehow with his talk of honor and fighting for the right reasons. He seemed nicer and a lot happier.

"It's the least I can do for you. Especially since I gave you that wound. And you did spare my life before." Donnie smiled a bit wider as Traximus finished wrapping. Donnie flexed his arm a little and smiled at it. I could see he was holding back a grimace of pain, but not as desperately as earlier, meaning the pain levels had decreased.

"Uh, I don't mean to be disrespectful, Traximus, but what is a Triceraton like you doing here with the rest of us criminals, rebels and other scum? I mean, I haven't seen any other Triceratons in here, so..." Traximus looked down at me as though he had just noticed my presence, then sat down on the bench as well and gestured for me to do the same. Once I had taken my seat beside him, Traximus started to talk.

"Because I believe in the Triceraton ways. The true Triceraton ways. You see, long ago- centuries ago, in fact- the Triceraton Republic was different. We fought to defend our people, plus countless others who needed our aid. We were an honorable race; we fought for justice and valued honor and truth above all things. But that all changed when a strange alien race from a different dimension attacked us. After a long-fought battle, they destroyed our planet with their technology. Since then our leader has been determined to find those aliens and destroy them. At any cost. Many planets and their inhabitants have suffered because of this." Traximus sighed heavily.

"I complained about this too often and too loudly and even attempted to overthrow our Prime Leader, but failed miserably and got thrown in here- partly because I was a thorn in their side, partly for the sake of making an example of my treason. I've been locked up in here for almost twenty years now." He looked away from us, down at the ground, and rubbed a hand over his face. Donnie placed his hand on his arm and looked up at the Triceraton sympathetically.

"Oh, that must've been horrible! I mean, to have your planet ripped away from you like that, leaving you all without a home! And then being thrown in jail by your own people? I'm so sorry." Traximus looked down at him and for a moment he looked surprised- almost as if he hadn't expected Donnie to care about him or his tribulations. Then he smiled lightly and placed his hand on Donnie's shoulder, his giant appendage dwarfing the turtle's in comparison.

"Hmm… you have a big heart for one so young, child. That is admirable for somebody your age. Thank you for your sympathy." Donnie smiled widely and placed his hand over Traximus'. I hummed in thought. Something didn't make sense to me, and I had to ask Traximus about it.

"But here's something I don't understand. If the Triceratons have a vendetta against this other alien race, then why have they started such a big war against my people? I mean, the Federation and the Triceratons have fought against each other for quite some time, but if they have their eyes set on other, bigger things, why bother fighting against the Federation?" Traximus looked over at me, shrugged and rested his elbows on his knees.

"I'm not sure. I think it's because the Triceratons have dominated the galaxy for the last hundred years, and now the Federation wants to be even more powerful than my people. But Prime Leader Zanramon don't care much for the Federation- he only has his eyes set on finding those other aliens' hiding place, since they've been hard to find. The Federation's only a pebble in his boot, a small trifle that holds him back from achieving his goal. His only purpose in life is to get revenge for what they did long ago, and nothing else." Donnie seemed to think of something, then sniggered a little and tried to smother it with his good hand. He kept his injured arm protectively pressed against his abdomen, I noticed absently. Both Traximus and I looked at him with questioning eyes, and I couldn't help but feel that he was acting pretty disrespectfully.

"What, if I may ask, is so funny? I don't see anything funny with this story!" Donnie took a deep, slightly shaky breath to stop himself from laughing, and then turned back to us.

"I-I'm sorry. I-it's just, well, I reckon how the Triceratons see the Federation is similar to how a threat back on my planet sees me and my family: a bit of a nuisance but nothing big enough to keep them from completing their goal. I guess I just couldn't help but react somehow." His smile slowly faded away and he looked up with a more sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry if I came across as disrespectful. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I just couldn't stop myself."

Traximus nodded and didn't seem too upset about anything, so I decided I could overlook it as well. Traximus looked back at Donnie and looked ready to speak, but before he could say anything, Gruel walked into the room angrily.

"Alright, listen up, you morons! It's dinnertime! Get a move on or you'll be sleeping without any food tonight- and you don't want that, because until you're one of the survivors of the games tomorrow, not one of you gets any food the entire day! Now, let's move!" We all started to migrate towards the dining room again. In the corner of my eye, I saw that Mona Lisa was staring at us, and the way she eyed Donnie said that she admired him, and yet, at the same time, was quite scared of him. I rolled my eyes. How could this girl be scared of Donnie? Especially after he had saved her from those other aliens! I guess she was being careful with new people, maybe even just people in general. If I were in her place, I guess I wouldn't trust anybody just because he saved me, either.

I walked up to Donnie's side and leaned in close to his ear.

"So, what's your idea? How do you plan on getting us out of here?" Donnie smirked and leaned towards me, meeting halfway. His eyes were sparkling with eagerness and he looked unbelievably happy.

"Okay, so you know how he said that the Prime Leader will watch us fight tomorrow? Well, I was thinking that if we could somehow get up to where he is, we could attack him instead and force him to show us where the Professor is. And from there we can find a ship on our own and escape!" I could practically hear the record scratch in the background as all of my excitement was drained in less than a second. I just looked him in the eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious? That's probably the most farfetched plan I've ever heard, not to mention being WAY too risky! I mean, the Prime Leader probably has a TON of bodyguards and other Triceratons that protect him! That's NEVER going to work!" Donnie shook his head at me and smiled with a raised finger.

"Not if we get every alien in this part of the prison to do it. I mean, think about it: these aliens must've been here for quite some time, and they must want to get out of here by now. I'm sure that with the right words, we can escape without any problems at all!" I rolled my eyes at his, quite frankly, childish optimism and folded my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, right. You said that about Mona Lisa, too, and you know perfectly well how that particular incident turned out." Donnie folded his one good arm over his chest and pulled an exaggerated grumpy face in a juvenile imitation of me.

"Oh, come on! That was one girl! Stop being a Pessimistic Penny! I'm sure we could get the other aliens in on this- it'll be too big for us to do on our own and you know it!" He returned to his casual stance as we continued. "Let's just try and get them to do this, and then we'll go from there." I sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"Oh, alright! But still I don't think it's going to work!" Donnie glared at me and raised an eyebrow. Quite impressive, really, considering he actually didn't have eyebrows.

"Well, if all of my ideas are so bad, I'd like to see you come up with something better." I rolled my eyes and looked away. I knew he was right. I hadn't exactly come up with any ideas myself, but, in my defense, I wasn't good at coming up with plans. I usually acted without thinking much, relying more on instinct than on strategy. Starlee and Moriah were much more gifted in battle strategy than me, so they usually came up with the plans while I acted on them.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Donnie." I muttered darkly. "I really do."

We all sat down at a table, Jhanna and I sitting beside each other and Traximus on my other side, all of the aliens from The Arena sharing the long table with us. I guess us Arena prisoners stuck together to some extreme. Mona Lisa looked up at me and smiled lightly.

"Uh, impressive work in the ring before. I mean, I knew you were a good fighter, but that was really impressive. I've never seen anyone take Traximus down." That monksquatch from earlier looked up and smirked slightly.

"Yeah, he's been here the longest and has never been defeated. You've got some impressive skills, kid." I couldn't help but blush and feel good about myself. Oh, what I wouldn't have given to have my family see that! However, I knew that I hadn't taken him down thanks to my skills alone.

"Thank you, but I really don't..." Traximus smacked my shell lightly and smiled.

"Yes, I have to admit that you caught me off guard. You've got talent." I shook my head and tried to eat some of that goop, which I think everyone by now knew I could barely eat without having to try and suppress the urge to puke, and looked down at the table.

"The only reason I could beat you was because you were injured. I found a weak spot and used it to my advantage. That's it. I'm not that great a fighter, never have been." Traximus smacked me on the shell again, and I almost choked on the goop that I had decided to swallow at the just the wrong moment, causing me to start coughing.

"True. Very true. But you should not sell yourself short. You were still strong, fast, and skilled enough to stay alive, even without a weapon. That is impressive. Especially seeing how you are so young. I guess there's hope for the young generation out there." I couldn't respond, just tried to cough up the 'food' that was stuck in my throat. When I finally stopped coughing, I looked up at Traximus again.

"U-uh, thank you. I guess." I looked down at the table and debated whether or not I should ask them if they would want to stand up against the Prime Leader and try to escape. After a few minutes, I gathered my courage and met Trax's gaze.

"So... Um, what's the plan here? I mean, how do you plan on getting out of this hellhole?" Jhanna turned abruptly and elbowed me in the side. I glared at her for a second and then turned back to Traximus, but he just looked as if I had asked him if he had ever considered cutting his own tongue off just for laughs. He shook his head and ate some more of his own food.

"Listen, Donatello. You seem like a smart kid, and I really understand that you want to get out of this place- all of us do. But it's simply not possible. No one has ever escaped, and no one is capable of escaping, either. The best thing you can do is lie low or hope for a quick death." Another alien, a big ape-like creature with four arms and brash fur, frowned at us.

"Yeah, this place is impossible to escape. Some have tried, but no one has ever succeeded. Besides, what could we possibly do to escape? The Triceratons are superior to us in every way, we don't have weapons, and we are hopelessly outnumbered." He sighed and rested his head in his hand. "It's hopeless." I frowned. So, we were playing that way, huh? Fine, but I'm not gonna give up so easily.

"Not if we fight together! If we work together and come up with a good plan, I just know that we can get out of here! Besides, I saw you all fight in the ring, and you're all great fighters! So, why do you think that you can't fight back?" Mona Lisa looked up from her plate with tired eyes and a skeptical countenance.

"Donnie, just give it up. I understand that you want to break out, but it's just impossible. No one here is willing to risk their lives to try and end this nightmare, so stop trying." I scowled at her. I could understand that these aliens had lost their hope and drive to actually live and get out of this place, but this was, in a way, pretty cowardly. I couldn't stop myself. I stood up from my seat and slammed my hands onto the table as hard as I could.

"So you would rather stay behind these cold, lifeless walls for the rest of your lives than to actually try to get out of here?! How is this living, in any way?! I don't know about all of you, but I would rather die than to stay here and be bossed around by stupid dinosaurs who clearly think too highly of themselves and thrive off of nothing more than simple bullying!" Everybody in the room looked over at our table, but I paid them no mind- I was focused on these guys. Jhanna placed her hand on my arm and tried to make me sit down again.

"Donnie, you have to realize that these guys have been here longer than us. They may be too scared to try. Considering that everyone who's tried has been killed, I wouldn't be too surprised if they were." I turned to her and I knew my eyes were practically on fire; so was the blood in my veins.

"Scared?! Scared of what? That Gruel guy? Are you kidding me? He's nothing but a walking lump of fat with a loud voice and a whip in his hand! Some of the guys here have much more muscle than him and are much more skilled in fighting than him, so what's there to be scared of?! He's nothing; he's a loser and a loudmouth! There are things on my planet that are way scarier than him! Heck, I've faced humans scarier than him! I mean, for the love of God!, I've faced Kraang-monsters scarier than him!"

Everyone in the room gasped loudly and some aliens slapped their hands over their mouths in fear, stupefaction and anticipation. But for a few moments, I didn't notice it. I just panted heavily and tried to collect myself. But once I had and I noticed how everyone was looking at me, I turned back to Jhanna to find that she was staring at me with her jaw hitting the floor and her eyes almost popping out of her skull.

"What? What is everybody staring at me for?" Jhanna blinked once, then stood up and pointed at me with a shaky finger.

"You've... You've fought the Kraang?" She asked with slight hesitation in her voice, like she wasn't sure if she had heard right. I looked to the right, then to the left. Down at the floor. Then back at Jhanna.

"Uh...Yeah, what about it? I mean, how do you know about-?" Traximus jumped up from his seat, grabbed my shoulder in a tight grip and spun me around so he could face me. I couldn't help but jump at the sudden movement. He then leaned in closer, only inches away from my face.

"You have actually been up against the Kraang? You have fought those stinking slimy creatures on your own planet?" Something in his voice made me shudder and I tried to pull away from his grip, to no avail. I nodded slowly and leaned my face as far away from his as my neck would allow. Mona Lisa gasped softly, standing up from her seat and placing her hand over her mouth in awe.

"How... How did you survive them? I mean, the Kraang are heartless, heedless monsters! They destroy everything in their path!" I chuckled softly and finally managed to pry Traximus' hand away from my shoulder.

"Well, I can't really argue with you on that one. I mean-" I blinked for second. 'How did you survive them?' What was that supposed to mean? I looked back at Mona Lisa and took a step forward with a confused expression. "What do you mean, 'how did you survive them?' And how do you know of the Kraang-" I froze. Wait a second. An alien race from another dimension had destroyed the Triceratons' planet centuries ago... Ugh, how could I have been so stupid? Of course it had to be them. I turned back to Traximus and looked him in the eyes.

"The Kraang destroyed your planet, didn't they?" He nodded slowly, but his face showed no sadness for the loss of his planet, but rather a slightly more protective spark. He quickly placed his hand over my mouth and shushed me loudly. He looked around to see if Gruel was in the room and then turned back to me again and removed his hand.

"Yes. If you want Gruel to stay off of your shell, then I'd suggest you keep quiet about the Kraang around here. It's true, the Kraang are the aliens that destroyed our planet a long time ago, but they are not to be spoken of in this place. I had hoped you didn't know about them, but you clearly do, so, for your own good, keep that to yourself, okay?" I nodded, opened my mouth to respond, but before I could...

"He doesn't have to. I have heard quite enough." Everybody in the room turned to the doors and saw Gruel standing there with the same twisted smirk on his face that he always had when he was in control. Or at least, when he thought he was in control. I tried to run away from him, but another Triceraton walked up behind me and grabbed me by the shell, lifting me off of the floor and high enough so that I was at Gruel's eye level.

"So... You know of the Kraang, huh? Do ya, kid?" I sneered at him. I may have accidentally revealed to him that I had faced the Kraang, but I hadn't said that they were crawling over my planet like bugs. I had to choose my words carefully.

"What's it to you, Garbage Breath?" Gruel smirked at me, grabbing my jaw and forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Hmm, you're cocky. I have to admit; your guts and your attitude impress me. Most aliens would have let their spirit break by now, but you seem to have decided to stay strong. That's impressive for someone so young and so small." His smirk widened a little. "Too bad it's all in vain." Jhanna ran forward to help, but was grabbed by another alien, who held her back- as best as he could, anyway.

"Leave him alone!" She tried squirm away from the creature's hands, but he was clearly too strong for her. Gruel looked up at the Triceraton who held me by the shell and smirked wickedly.

"Take him to the Prime Leader. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear all about what this little boy has to say about the Kraang." He nodded and started drag me away. I tried to fight back. I kicked, screamed, yelled and punched, trying my best to get away, but his hands were like a vice. It was impossible to escape.

"Let me go! You can't do this! Hey, get your stinking paws off of me this instant!" He just rolled his eyes, chuckled, and dragged me through the door, not even flinching as they closed with a heavy SLAM. And I knew I was in trouble. Boy, was I in trouble.

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Oh boy, somebody's in trouble! Okay, I was planning on writing this longer but I decided it was better to leave off on a cliffhanger. Wasn't it? I really hope you'll like this chapter, cause I could really use some nice words right now. On a slightly lighter note, this is the longest chapter I've written in a while, so yay for me.

I hope you liked this chapter and please review, favorite and follow! G'night everybody!