A Million Miles Apart

A/N: New chapter and this time it's a change of pace. Action and fight scenes, which I am horrible at writing! Yay... Ugh, why do I do this to myself? Uh, anyway, I really wanted to write this 'cause this and next chapter (possibly the one after that too) will really drive home the doubt and self-confidence issues Donnie's had for some time. So that'll be fun to write too.

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

Chapter 40, Nothing More Than A Terrapin Freak

"AAAH!"

Loud screams and explosions woke me up with a jerk. I sat up straight in my bed, looking around in shock, and tried to find the source, thinking it was either Starlee or Jhanna who had screamed. But when I saw that everyone else in the small room looked just as dazed and confused as me, I dismissed the idea. Jhanna had grabbed the sword in her belt, looking around the room, her entire body tense, ready to fight, as though she had been through things like this before.

"What was that? What's happening?" While Starlee looked out the window by her bed and tried to locate some clue as to what was going on, I grabbed my staff that was leaning against the wall close to my bed and ran out of the house. When I looked down at the ground, my face paled and my eyes widened. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

On the ground, about two dozen Salamandarians (and those were only the ones I could see) were running frantically with weapons in their hands or running to safety with the children. And stomping through the small village were about five Triceratons with enormous guns in their hands, shooting at everything they could see; houses, tents, fireplaces and at the Salamandarians themselves. I gasped in terror and turned to the others, who had started to gear up and grab their weapons.

"Guys, we're under attack! It's the Tricerato- AH!" I barely managed to finish the sentence before I dodged before a laser bullet that ended up hitting the fence, causing a minor explosion and sending wooden splinters all over the place. I landed on the porch with a thud, a small burn on my arm- the bullet from the Triceraton gun had set some wooden splinters on fire when it hit the fence, and one of them had hit my forearm, leaving a small red mark. I breathed heavily through my clenched teeth in pain and clutched at my arm for a few seconds before I climbed back on my feet, forcing myself to forget the minor injury- Raph would scoff at me if he saw me freaking out over such a small wound- just in time for Jhanna and the Professor to come running out.

"Where? Where are the Triceratons?" The Professor looked from side to side, and just then another laser bullet came soaring in our direction and hit a branch just over our heads, then came crashing down at us. Jhanna shoved the Professor and jumped out of the way, and I leaped in the other direction as the branch hit the porch with a loud crash. Starlee came running out with Traximus, who had his axe at the ready. Jhanna stood up from where she and the Professor had landed and hurried to her sister's side.

"I'll take a wild guess and say they're down on the ground." She said dryly and handed her small laser gun to Starlee. "Here, in case you get attacked. Let's go!" She took up her sword, holding it deftly so the wicked blade glinted hungrily in the first rays of morning sunlight, and headed towards the ladder. But I didn't have the patience to take that ladder again, so I flew past Jhanna, jumped down onto the ladder that was glued to the tree and started to climb down, taking two steps at a time.

I barely hit the ground before I was hit over the head with the insane cacophony coming from all around me. Everyone was screaming in terror, women with children in their arms ran, trying to find shelter, and both older and younger Salamandarians were trying to hold back the Triceratons, but most of them just got smacked aside without much effort from the enemy. I saw Chief Patowan running around- as much as his older body could run- and calling for Mona Lisa with fear and worry on his face before Samu came running up him and practically had to drag him to safety. Still, it didn't stop him from fighting back and calling out for his granddaughter. One of the Triceratons, one I recognized from my time in prison as Zog, yelled out orders, a huge axe in his hand.

"Find those brats! Order from Prime Leader Zanramon! Find the escaped prisoners and take them back to the ship!" I bit my lip. So that was why they were here - to find us. I gripped the staff tighter in my hands. Well, I wasn't going back to that prison, and I wasn't going to let these freaks terrorize these innocent lizards for no good reason. Jhanna jumped down from the ladder at my side and the others were right behind her. Starlee stayed behind Traximus, but gripped the gun in her hand tightly, if not a little awkwardly. Jhanna pushed the Professor behind her and held her sword at the ready, and Traximus stood ready with his axe. Why didn't they go? We were under attack- why didn't somebody say anything? Why didn't anyone give orders?!

"We have to get rid of these guys before they wreck the whole forest! What do we do, Donnie?" Then it clicked. They were all waiting for orders. From me. I gulped. Yikes. Orders, from me? No, no, I can't! Please, anybody but me, I'm not-

I mentally smacked myself across the face and shook my head to snap out of it. Stop, stop right there, Donnie! You can do this. You have to. These guys need us and we have to do something to help after all they did for us. Well, mostly the Chief, but still. You have to at least try. I took a deep breath, looked out over the fight around us and then looked back at the others.

"We have to distract them- it's us they're after. Traximus, you, Jhanna and I will try to fight off as many of these guys as we can, while the Professor and Starlee get the non-fighters someplace safe." They all nodded, and I leaned in closer to the Professor so only he could hear me. "Oh, and keep an eye on Starlee. She's not exactly a well-trained fighter, you know." He nodded with a big robot smile and gave me thumbs up.

"Right-o, Donatello." And so with that we all ran off in different directions. Jhanna, Traximus and I dove straight into the fight in the middle of the village, while Starlee and the Professor ran up to the panicking Salamandarians and tried to lead them away from the village. I heard Starlee yell at them to follow her and the Professor, but that was all I could focus on as far as they were concerned.

"Let's go! This way, hurry!" Mew led the Salamandarians deeper into the woods, while the Professor and I covered their backs and looked out for Triceratons that could try and attack them. I fingered the gun in my hand. It felt so weird; I had never held a weapon in my life, let alone used one, and now I was expected to fire it at Triceratons like it was nothing. I gulped and looked out over the glen as more Salamandarians came running towards us, trying to escape. The Professor had turned his hands into guns and looked from side to side, ready to shoot should he have to. For the happy-go-lucky peacekeeper he usually was, the Professor could be surprisingly yet awesomely tough when times called for it.

"Professor, how do you think the others are doing?" He looked at me and smiled reassuringly.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry, Starlee. Your sister, Traximus and Donatello have already proven themselves to be good warriors. They can handle themselves, don't you worry." I bit the inside of my cheek and looked away. I knew he had confidence in the others, but I still couldn't help but feel he was just saying that to calm me so I wouldn't worry. And I couldn't help but have the strangest feeling that something really bad was going to happen.

Something big caught my eye and I turned to the left. Just behind the Professor came a Triceraton with a raised gun in his hand, ready to shoot. The Professor didn't seem to notice, as he just kept helping the passing mothers and their children. I remembered the gun in my hand, and suddenly, as if I already knew how to do it, I placed my finger on the trigger, aimed and fired in less than a second. It all happened so fast, I barely had time to think about what had just happened. The Triceraton was hit in the eye and fell to the ground, howling in pain.

The Professor looked up from the Salamandarians he was helping, at the Triceraton down on the ground, and then at me, smiling and giving me thumbs up. "Thank you, Starlee. Most excellent aim!" I smiled at him and waved slightly.

"No problem." I looked down at the gun in my hand and, against all I should be feeling right now and every rational thought in my head, I started smiling. This started to feel more and more exciting than scary. It was new and crazy, and gave me a sick thrill. I raised the gun again, ready to fire at any threat I could see coming towards us. I guess you could say it was just the adrenaline, but still, I felt more alive in this fight than I had for all my years in the computer room on D'hoonib.

Samu came running next with the Chief's arm in a tight grip- the Chief seemed to be struggling to get back to the village. "I think those are the last civilians! Now go, I have to go and help the others fight! Hurry!" He was about to turn around and run back to the fight when Chief Patowan grabbed his arm again.

"Please, I have to go back! Mona Lisa is still there! I have to protect her!" Samu looked down at the Chief, seemingly torn about what to say next. I placed my hand on his shoulder and tried to smile my usual smile.

"Don't worry, Chief. I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's already here with the rest of the others? Besides, she's been around Triceratons for years in that prison. I'm sure she knows how to handle them should she have to." Chief didn't look entirely convinced and looked back at the village. The Professor grabbed his arm and gently started to lead him further down the path after the others.

"Don't worry, Chief Patowan. Jhanna and Donatello are both excellent fighters and Traximus is a Triceraton. There is absolutely nothing to worry about; they've got everything under control."

Had I known how this battle was gonna end, I might have gone in with a better plan. Maybe I would have used my brain more and actually come up with a good strategy to avoid a worst-case scenario. But sadly, I do not have eyes that can see the future. And because I didn't have that much before rushing in -yeah imagine that, me not thinking before doing- I'll have to suffer the consequences for it.

The leader Triceraton- Zog- had just grabbed a young Salamandarian girl by the arm, ready to throw her into a tree, so I jumped up on his shoulders and smacked him across the back of the head. It clearly didn't hurt him- I don't even think he flinched or jumped in surprise- but he obviously felt it and knew I was there and his focus turned to me. But he didn't seem to care much about the hit; he just shrugged me off, making me fall to the ground. He dropped the girl to the ground and she scurried away on her knees before climbing back to her feet, running towards the others that fled the village.

Zog smirked down at me, playfully weighing his axe in his hand. "So, this is the little brat that helped the Prime Leader? Heh, I suppose my people owe you some gratitude, kid. Without you, we might not have found where the Kraang were hiding for at least another thousand nextons." I gritted my teeth and my fists clenched at the grass under me.

'Yes, I am well aware that I screwed up earlier at the prison. Thank you so much for reminding me, Zog, I don't need to hear it one more time.' I thought while biting my tongue to keep myself from saying anything stupid. I had been in space and onboard the ship long enough to learn that a nexton was a term for measuring long periods of time, like a month or a year. And I certainly wouldn't have minded if it had taken them another thousand nextons to find the Kraang. I glared up at Zog, but he just laughed and leaned his weight on his axe, which he had placed on the ground.

"You know, you shouldn't fight us. You know a lot about what the Kraang have been doing to your world and where they hide. Why don't you just give up and ally yourself with us? You can have revenge, too, against the Kraang for trying to take your planet like they took ours." He obviously tried to sound tempting, but I could hear the bitterness in his voice when got to the part about how the Kraang took their planet. I got up on my feet again and raised my staff, ready to fight.

"I would never help you try to destroy my home. And I will never let you get away with it. So help me, if it's the last thing I do, I will make sure that you never get to Earth or the Black Hole Generator." I had really hoped that my words would leave some kind of impact on him. Like, make him realize that I was serious and wasn't playing games. But Zog just snorted and grabbed his axe again.

"Well, then, let's settle this, shall we?" I gripped my staff even tighter and braced myself for a fight. But I barely had time to swing my staff before he grabbed it with ridiculous speed, snatched it out of my hands and threw it aside. And while I was distracted by that, he swung his fist at me and hit me in the chest.

"GAH!" I was sent flying several feet over the ground and then smashed straight into a tree and hit the ground. For the first few seconds I just sat there and tried to grasp what had just happened when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at Jhanna's concerned face as she looked me over.

"Are you okay, Don?" I nodded and climbed up on my feet, taking deep breaths and nursing my chest from the hit.

"Y-yeah, yeah I'm okay." She handed me my staff, rather forcefully, and gestured to the fight with her head.

"Great! Now, get your head in the game, man! We're losing!" She didn't give me any chance to respond and just ran off again, swinging her sword at one of the other Triceratons like it was nothing. She knew how to handle these guys in a fight, was light on her feet and almost looked like she was dancing around the Triceraton as she dodged his attack, and still managed to get in a few good hits that actually seemed to affect him. I rubbed my chest and groaned in slight pain. That was more than you could say about me.

"No! Leave me alone!" I was jerked out of my thoughts and looked over to the left. Mona Lisa stood with her back against a tree, cowering in terror, her hands raised as if she wanted to both fight back and protect her face. Zog stood in front of her with a raised fist and a big, sadistic grin on his face.

"So, here she is. The one that got away. I have admit, I had expected you to break down and die quite early like the other Salamandarian brats. Oh well, that's not important. You're coming with us!" I gasped and ran towards them, my staff raised and my eyes set on the two. Zog threw his fist down, ready to knock Mona to the ground, just in time for me to get between them and block her with my body, raising my staff defend us both. Mona had her eyes shut tightly and shielded her face with her arms.

A loud snap was heard as my wooden staff broke due to the Triceraton's strength, and the force from the blow managed to knock me down, leaving a few minor cracks in my plastron. Mona shrieked in fear and kneeled down beside me, looking over my injuries quickly. Then she looked up at Zog again. He glared down at me.

"Cursed little brat! Can't you learn to take a hint?" I glared back at him, but placed my hand on Mona's arm.

"Mona, get out of here. Save yourself, find your grandfather and get to safety. Now!" She looked like she wanted to protest, but one look at my face and she could see I was dead serious, so she got up on her feet and ran. But not away from the fight. In the corner of my eye I saw that she hid herself behind a thick tree, deeper into the woods. She looked at us from her hiding spot, keeping an eye on the fight and what was going on.

Zog drew his axe and tested to edge on his thumb. "You know, I have to give you some credit; you are much braver than you look. Or maybe it's just simple foolishness." I glowered at him, but I had a feeling I didn't look as cocky as I tried to be.

"Leave these people alone, they've done you nothing! It's us you want, don't drag them into this!" Zog just laughed at me, and I lowered my hands, still holding the remaining pieces of my staff. That wasn't the reaction I had expected.

"You really think you're worth the trouble of capturing and be set behind bars? No, the Prime Leader has more important things to worry about than some troublemaking teenager. He simply wanted us to have a little fun with you, before we claim the first piece of the Heart of Darkness."

I threw the pieces of my staff aside and clenched my fists, ready to fight back. "You'll have to go through me first!" He just looked amused, raised his axe and swung at me. I barely had time to jump out of the way before the axe was lodged deeply into the tree trunk. I crouched down on the ground about two feet away from the tree and took a second to silently thank Leo for all those extra painful hours of reflex training he had put us through the last few months on Earth. Finally it seemed like it hadn't been a waste of good time.

However, Zog didn't slow down. He raised his axe again and swung at my head, once again giving me very little time to dodge. I leaned backwards as the swing came, feeling the sharp edge and the wind getting cut by it just inches above my nose. I flipped backwards as yet another swing came and tried to think up a good tactic. This guy was more massive and much stronger than any foe I had met yet, so this wasn't gonna be easy. And somehow I doubted that this guy had a sprained knee or any other weak spot at the moment that I could use to my advantage. And I couldn't keep dodging forever; I had to try to hit and not just dance around him like a ballerina.

He swung his fist this time and hit me right in the face, knocking me to the ground. I heard Jhanna call out my name but she sounded like she was too far away to help me at the moment and I could only guess she had her own problems right now. I felt blood in my mouth and a bruise forming on my jaw. I looked up at him and spat out some of the blood, trying my best to look defiant, despite the fact that I started to realize more and more that I was in way over my head. He smirked down at me.

"Just tell me when you've had enough, kid." I rubbed my jaw and unsteadily got back up on my feet. I clenched my hands and tried to put on a cocky smirk myself.

"I can do this all day." He raised an eyebrow at me and ran forward, ready to attack again. I braced myself, ready to defend myself.

I dodged another punch and tried to deliver a punch to Zog's eye, but he easily smacked me aside like a fly, making me go sprawling in the grass. I got up again and tried to fake him out this time; I acted like I was about to punch him and when he was about to deflect it, I kicked my leg up, trying to kick him in the chin. However, despite that he had almost fallen for the trick, he still managed to catch my bluff and grabbed my leg before it hit him. My eyes widened and I realized that whatever was gonna happen next was gonna hurt. He lifted me up by the leg and swung me up before he threw me back down into the ground. My world went black for a second, and then it started to spin around. He walked up to me and chuckled as I lay there, trying to collect myself.

"Nice try." I groaned and pushed myself up on my feet again and clenched my fists. And, for the first time since the fight started, Zog's look of amusement and enjoyment faded away. The smirk that had been almost glued to his face the whole time was now a small grimace of annoyance and frustration. He growled and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Why are you still standing?!" He face-palmed and massaged the space between his eyes. "Ugh, you're a persistent little bugger, I'll give you that. But that won't save you." I wiped some blood off my chin and glared up at him.

"You don't scare me-!" He growled and roughly shoved me to the ground. My head hit a small rock and I felt my brain spin around in my head for a second. Zog walked up and placed himself over me, looking down with his smirk back on his face.

"Are you scared now?" I looked up at him and whatever cockiness or bravado I had left was drained away from me. He saw that I was scared now and his smirk grew wider. He leaned down closer to my face and taunted me. "Cry for me, terrapin. Cry, cr-" I narrowed my eyes at him, gathered my legs in under him and kicked him in the chest, making him stumble and take a few steps back. He rubbed his hand over the spot where I had kicked him and glared down at me again.

"Ugh, you just don't know when to give up, do you?" He raised his hand and showed off his sharp claws. I couldn't stop the gasp of fear that slipped out and I shrunk back against the ground. Zog growled, leaned down and-

Pain exploded in my face and I yelled in pain as he struck. The pain did fade after a few seconds, but it still hurt and I could feel something wet trail down my face. I opened my eyes and reached up to touch my face. When I looked at my hand I could see the blood trail down my fingers too. I realized what he had done and I felt myself shudder and I was on verge of hyperventilating. But before that could happen, Zog grabbed me by the strap across my chest, lifted me up and slammed me against the trunk of a tree. I grunted in pain, then yelped in fear as he slammed his other hand inches away from my head and leaned his face dangerously close to me.

"I hope you remember this moment the next time you think you'll ever be anything more than weak, pathetic little terrapin freak!" At this point my eyes were as big as dinner plates and I felt my breathing get quicker and quicker. There was no denying it now- I was terrified. I didn't even try to disguise the fact that I was shuddering and whimpering, or that I was feeling like a small baby bunny in this moment. He then yanked me away from the tree and slammed me down into the ground, picked up his axe and- No, no he couldn't! He wouldn't do that, would he?

"No... No, please, don't." I wanted to scream but I couldn't raise my voice- I was too weakened. He lowered at the axe with a yell and for a second I thought he was really gonna cut my leg off, but I instead felt something hard and solid hit my knee, and something crack in the bone; I realized that wasn't the case and that he had hit my kneecap with the handle of the axe and thanked my lucky stars for that. But, that said, it was still agonizing. I did the only thing I could to preserve just a scrap of my dignity at that point, and I kept the scream of pain lodged firmly in my throat, forcing it down until it dissipated into gasps and ragged breathing. I heard him walk away and call on his troop to head back to the ship. I tried to breathe normally but I found it getting harder and harder to do that.

I heard someone else approach me, someone smaller, and kneel beside me. At first I thought it was Starlee or Jhanna, but when I felt the four-fingered hands I knew it was Mona Lisa. She gently lay me down on my back instead of on my side and started to look me over. My sight had started to blur and I was exhausted.

"This looks really bad..." I heard her mumble to herself, then she turned to yell over her shoulder. "Help! I need help! Donnie's injured, someone get help!" Then she turned back to me and placed her hand on the side of my face.

"Donnie? Donnie! Can you hear me?" I tried to answer, but I felt myself slipping further and further into a comforting darkness and all I wanted to do was sleep and never wake up. I saw something blue and orange looking down on me. Mikey… Leo? I thought rather deliriously. Someone tried to say something to me, but I was gone long before I could begin to process it.

A/N: Wow, that's intense. Seriously, I've been looking forward to writing this for a while, but it's been really hard to get it right and I suck at writing fight scenes. So, yeah, I don't know how this will look to you. But I've wanted to write this for quite some time, and now it's done! Yay! And yes some inspiration came from Zootopia again, bite me. I don't care, I loved the idea.

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