A Million Miles Apart
A/N: I've been to way more funerals the last two years than should be healthy for anyone, and I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing that my loved ones have died. Oh well, at least I have you guys to support me. And I can at least look forward to the fact that I'm graduating in a little more than two months! Then it's time to find a job! Yay...
This chapter also is test to see how good I am at foreshadowing. Hopefully a lot better than I think I am.
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please review, favorite and follow!
Chapter 51, A Plan Taking Form
Zanramon was tapping his fingers against the armrest of his throne and stared down at me, as I knelt down before him. I could feel both his and Mozar's eyes bore into me and tried to tear me apart from the inside. I swallowed and kept my head down so he wouldn't see any weakness. After the kids, Traximus and that rusty bucket of a robot had left the planet, we had of course contacted Mozar and told him what had happened so that they could chase after them before they could get too far. But in the end, we had all been too late to stop them, and Mozar had immediately turned to me and dragged me off to the Prime Leader's chamber.
Zanramon sighed, leaned back in his throne and intertwined his fingers, looking down at me with unreadable eyes. "So, let me get this straight? You saw them with Heart of Darkness, caught up with them, got to their ship and knew they had the fragment inside, and you still let them get away?!" He had started talking very calmly, but the further he got, his voice got louder and more furious and he stood up from his throne and stared down at me. Fire was burning in his eyes and if he wasn't so short and had so little muscle, I would be afraid of him starting to beat me up. But still, he could tell Mozar to do it, so that was still a possibility. I slowly looked up and at my leader.
I bowed my head further and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Prime Leader. We were attacked by the demon, and we didn't see that they were leaving. By the time we got to our ships it was too late. We couldn't possibly-" Zanramon slammed his clenched fist on the throne's armrest, which made me jump and look down again.
"There are no excuses! You have failed your leader and your people and that is unforgivable! You are a disgrace to the entire Triceratons Empire." Mozar looked down at me and fingered on the axe in his hand.
"Shall I end his existence immediately, Prime Leader?" My eyes widened and my stomach clenched with fear. No, he couldn't. Not yet, I didn't want to die, there was still so much I could do to help my people. I growled and clenched my fists. Damn that reptile brat, this was all his fault. And his cockiness and bravado was grating to say the least. You would think that knocking him on his shell and scar him for life would knock him down a perch, but he still managed to survive Zerij and steal the glory from the Triceratons. If he had just been defeated in the execution battles, it would never have come to this!
Wait a minute... I back in that battle, Moriah from D'hoonib had come barging in to get Fugitoid. And if I remember correctly, they were still after that rust bucket. So, chances are that they're still after him and that those kids are going to protect him. Hm, maybe we could take advantage. I got up from the floor and looked up at the Prime Leader.
"Wait, please! Just, just hear me out Prime Leader, please." Zanramon looked down on me with a raised eyebrow and grasping his hands behind his back, then made a gesture at Mozar and he put away the axe. I took a deep breath and gripped my hands. "I know I have messed up, Prime Leader Zanramon. And I am sorry for that. And if you allow me to, I will be more than willing to take the piece back. And I already have a plan in motion, in order to do this." Zanramon looked down on me, then looked to the side, thinking it over. After a while, he sighed and looked down at me again.
"Very well. I will give you one more chance. Bring the fragment to me. But, if you fail, you are finished. Do you understand?" I swallowed and bowed my head slightly.
"Yes, Prime Leader, I understand."
He nodded and gestured at the door. "You are free to go. Now get out of my sight!" I hurried back up on my feet and hurried out of his chambers. Once out of his room, I still hurried down the corridors and didn't stop until I was close to the computer rooms. Once I stopped, I had to take several deep breaths in order to calm my pounding heart.
Alright, I had my chance. Zanramon had given me one more chance to please him; I could not screw this up. But I had no idea where those kids were headed, or what their plan was, so how could I do this? I sighed. It went against all protocols and everything the Triceraton Empire stood for. But desperate times called for desperate measures. I walked up to the computers, made sure no one could see or hear me, before I started to search for the ship.
I stepped out of the shower and started to dry my hair with the closest towel. Well, this mission had been a complete waste of time. Not only had both Starlee and Jhanna refused to come with me and I hadn't even gotten a chance to snag the Fugitoid, but I had also backed out at the very last second when that disgusting reptile was just about to meet his doom, and, even worse, I had actually saved his life.. Why? Why had I done that? He had taken my family from me, he was the one thing Father desired more than anything right now, and he was on the verge of starting a war with the most powerful species in the galaxy. He was the enemy!
I sighed, removing the towel, and started to dress. Why I had saved him, I really didn't know. My father had always taught me that mercy and helping others was a sign of weakness, and I had never had a problem following this doctrine, so why was this weakness suddenly tormenting me? I had been taught to be ruthless and a strong leader, so why hadn't I let that reptilian scum die? I sighed heavily and hung the towel to dry just as someone knocked on the door to my room. I put on the rest of my clothing and went to answer it.
"Didn't I tell you that I wished to be left alone, soldier? You'd better have found something very important." One of my soldiers stood outside and stared at me, a little uncertain and a little scared.
"Uh, miss Moriah, I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I thought you might like to know that we have found their ship. So far we haven't found where they are going, but we have set the course after them- at a safe distance, of course." I nodded and allowed myself to smile ever so slightly.
"Excellent. Would that be all?" The soldier bit his lip and looked down at his boots.
"Well, honestly, the reason I came is that someone has contacted us. And he says he wishes to speak with you." My eyes widened and my stomach clenched. Was it my father? Had he somehow heard of my failure and now wanted to tell me that I wasn't welcome home ever again? He had threatened to banish me if I failed him one more time... No, it couldn't be him. No soldier would ever not refer to him by title. So it had to be someone else. But who?
I pushed the fear aside and left my room, heading for the control center with the soldier falling into step behind me. I stopped in front of the door, taking another deep breath, and then entered. On the largest screen was the last thing I had expected to see: a Triceraton.
"Hello, Princess. It's been a while." I froze in my steps and stared at him for what felt like hours. Then I regained my composure and turned to look over my men.
"Leave us. I wish to speak to this Triceraton alone." No one dared protest and silently left the room. The Triceraton smirked at me as I came closer to the screen.
"Moriah of D'hoonib, it's been eons since I saw last you… that attack in the Tavern back on D'hoonib, right?" I narrowed my eyes, clenched my fists and barely hid my unending loathing.
"Yes, that would be it. The fight that cost me my little sister- and the Fugitoid! Thank you so much for that, reptile." I said the word 'reptile' with as much disdain and disgust as I could muster, yet he didn't even blink. His smirk just widened and he intertwined his fingers, resting his chin on them.
"Now, now, let's not dwell on the past, Princess. We all have to move on at some point, don't we? Besides, we all have our reasons for doing the things we do, don't we? I'm sure you have yours."
I folded my arms over my chest and dug my nails into my arms to keep myself from lashing out at the screen. "What do you want, freak?" Once again he didn't even react, just kept his eyes on me.
"I am Zog from the Triceraton Empire-." I rolled my eyes, rested one hand on my hip and tilted my head to the side.
"Yeah, I don't care."
Zog ignored me, but he did stop himself when I interrupted and glared at me for a small second; then he kept going. "And I am sure you are more than aware of our little feud with your people-" I rolled my eyes again.
"Yes, you come to our planet and tried to kill us, kidnapped my sister and have killed multitudes of our soldiers out of sheer pettiness. You have a great leader, Zog." He stopped himself and glared at me again with more annoyance.
"And I am also well aware that our last attempts at capturing the Fugitoid have been proven failures." I folded my arms over my chest and tossed with my head, making my bangs fly off of my face. By now all pretense was gone, and I abandoned my attempts to speak and act formally.
"Yeah, understatement of the millennia. You captured him and then let my rowdy, unruly sister and her dirty reptile pet escape with him and let all your other prisoners get away as well. And you let them escape with the part to the machinery that is crucial to your plan. Great job there, Zoggie, really great leader you have!" I flashed him a toothy, exaggerated grin and gave a big thumbs up.
Zog growled and slammed his fist on the keyboard, making me jump and my arms drop to my sides. "Alright, listen here, you little brat! I am trying to be diplomatic, and all I ask is for you to hear what I have to say. Are you going to listen, or are you going to act like a petulant child?" He glared down at me with fire burning in his eyes and it looked like he was about to snap at any time now. Not that it mattered, since he was on the other side of a screen, but the expression was still worth noting. It made his face look like a surra fruit that was about to burst.
I took a deep breath, brushing my fingers through my hair. Then I, nodded and gestured at him to keep talking. Zog drew a deep breath and went back to the same calm, collected Triceraton he had been a minute earlier.
"I have a proposition for you. It seems we both have common enemy: that little terrapin freak. And if you agree to help me, I assure you that I will get you exactly what you want." I clenched my jaw to keep it from hitting the floor, took a breath and then did a double take. A Triceraton was not only asking for help from the Federation, but also wanting a compromise that could give us both exactly what we wanted? It was too good to be true, too intelligent a tactic for such a moronic creature, and also, how convenient was it that he contacted me not two hours after my failed attempt to get my sisters and the Fugitoid. I bit down on my lips and took another breath through my nose, closed my eyes for a second and then looked up at him.
"Why would you want to help me? Better yet, why, by the asteroids of Klertzagon, would I help you? You have terrorized my people for decades, killed several good soldiers and are one of the biggest threats to the whole universe! Name one good reason why I should help you." His cocky smirk started to become more and more strained and after a minute of thought, he groaned and looked at me with a serious and, dare I say, desperate expression on his face.
"Alright, look, Prime Leader Zanramon wants to have the Black Hole Generator in his possession so he can have revenge on the Kraang, as you should know. And right now that little reptile freak has the first piece in his dirty paws. He also has your younger sisters and the Fugitoid onboard his ship as well. If you help me with my plan to steal it back and also get revenge on that snotty little brat, I will let you have your pathetic little sisters and that useless robot. What do you say?" I felt myself relax slightly and my shoulders fell a little.
"How do I know that this isn't some kind of trick? How do I know that the second you get what you want you won't just kill me and my sisters on the spot? You can't trust a Triceraton, everyone in the galaxy knows that!" His smirk came back again and he leaned in closer to the screen.
"Well, look at it this way, Princess: what choice do you have? Your soldiers aren't much to rely on, and I assume that you can't rely on Daddy for your help, can you? Without me, you won't stand a chance against Traximus- he makes up a big part of their muscle. And with both Professor Honeycutt and your prissy little sister on their team, you can't outsmart them. You need me for muscle, and I need you to help me with my plan."
"Why?" I rested my hands on my hips and cocked my head to the side. "Why can't you just do this on your own? You have a plan, and men at your disposal, so why do you need me to help you?"
He sneered. "Because Triceratons are not very stealthy, and you are. You will have to put part of the plan into action. And if you do, I will let you have what you want and not even scratch an inch of skin on your precious sisters. Or that robot. What do you say?" I bit my lip. Helping a Triceraton, collaborating with the enemy? It went against everything my father had taught me. If he found out he would never see me as his daughter again. But, perhaps, in times like these, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And I couldn't fail Father one more time. I just couldn't.
I sighed. I had no choice, I had to do it. And the first thing to do was the get rid of any witnesses. I couldn't have anyone around me now, when I was close to committing treason. I leaned forward and pressed on a button and talked into the ship's com-link.
"All Federation soldiers aboard this ship are to return to D'hoonib. You are needed by General Blanque. I will carry on this mission alone." I removed my finger from the button and looked up at Zog again. "Alright, so what's your plan?"
Zog smirked at me, intertwined his fingers again and leaned in closer to the screen. "Alright, listen up."
Well, in many respects this mission had been nothing short of a success. The first Black Hole Generator piece was ours, we had gotten away from all the monsters and the Wendigo that crawled on the planet, and we had managed to get away from the Planet of Death with our lives. Donnie had managed to hold Moriah away from us long enough for all of us to get away with the piece. And both he and I had handled the cave monster better than I would have thought we'd be able to. Traximus carried Jhanna and the piece all the way back to the ship, and Mona Lisa and the Professor had helped her with her concussion, so she was feeling much better now after a few hours of rest. We also had a plan and were on our way to find out where the next piece was. Everything was fine right now. So why did I feel so bad?
Mona had looked over the wounds on my back and drew the conclusion that it was probably best to drip some of her potion on them just to be safe from the dangerous infections. And, considering what planet we had been on and all the monsters that were down there, on top of all the talk of death and pain and suffering, it was hard to blame her. After she had finished, she'd sent me to take a shower, which had left me alone with my thoughts as the Professor looked over Jhanna and Mona looked over Donnie's leg, with Traximus leaving with the piece to the Black Hole Generator to find a good place for it. Now that all the excitement had drained away, I was starting to think back to what had happened back down in the caves on Zerij.
When we had been down in the tunnels, and Jhanna had been her usual annoying, know-it-all older sister self, I had decided I had had enough and told her off. After almost thirteen years of her looking down on me and thinking I was just a stupid, naive kid, it felt really good to finally give her a piece of my mind. And Mona had agreed with me and said I had done great. So why did I feel so bad right now?
I was currently sitting on the stairs that led to the shower room, trying to sort through my thoughts. After Mona had sent me to take a shower, I had taken my spacesuit off so we could fix the scratches later, and my ripped clothing was thrown on the floor in front of me. Right now I was now sitting with just a bathrobe on and my hair down from its usual ponytail. Mona had gone to get lunch with Traximus, Donnie and the Professor had gone to look over the Black Hole Generator and see if there was any more Black Matter inside it, and Jhanna was lying down in her room and had been since she'd been told she needed rest for a few hours, just to be safe. The room was empty, which felt a little off. There was usually somebody in the same room as me, so it felt weird to be alone. And being alone just made my thoughts get louder and louder in my head.
"Okay, you listen up, Jhanna. I don't know what your problem is, and frankly I don't really care. But I decided to come along on this mission because I wanted to make sure the Triceratons stop terrorizing the galaxy and won't blow up our friend's home!"
"This mission is bigger than both of us. Billions of lives are at stake here, and guess what? You don't know as much as you think you do, and you don't know best just because of how you grew up! So I suggest that you zip it, 'cause no one here is interested in listening to your holier-than-thou attitude!"
"I'm saying that I'm not gonna put up with your crud anymore, Jhanna, and no else on our team should be forced to, so why don't you just take your attitude and stuff it!"
I groaned and buried my face in my knees. How was it that it could feel so good to say something and yet I could still feel like a total tool for saying it? That shouldn't be possible, right? I was so deep in my thoughts that my brain didn't acknowledge that the door behind me opened and closed.
"You know it's bad when the endless optimism runs out, eh, Star?" I looked up from my knees and saw Donnie walk up behind me with a cup in his hand and a small smile on his face. He had changed into his usual gear and he still had that metallic amulet tracker-thingy around his neck. I sighed and turned away from him, placing my head in my hands.
Donnie jumped over the railing, winced as he landed on his bad knee, and sat down on the steps beside me, placing the cup on the floor beside him. "So, what's up with you? I thought you'd be a little more excited over our first victory." I glanced over at him and brushed my fingers through my bangs with the one hand and groaned.
"I don't know, Donnie. I really don't know."
Donnie gently nudged my shoulder with his own and sent me a soft smile. "Yeah you do. You know what you're feeling, you just don't know why. Am I right?" I glanced over at Donnie and saw him smile comfortingly at me. I sighed and wrapped my arms around my knees.
"Yeah, I guess." We sat in silence for a few minutes, then he glanced over at me again.
"Mona told me what happened down in the tunnels. Between you and Jhanna, I mean. You know, it was a really cool thing you did down there." I sighed for the millionth time today and rested my forehead on my knees.
"I don't know, Donnie." I looked up at him again and tilted my head slightly to the side. "I mean, I meant every word I said, but I still don't feel good about it."
Donnie raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"
I placed my feet back down on the floor and moved so I could look him in the eyes. "I saw how she looked at me. She looked like I had stabbed her in the back. She looked so hurt." Donnie shrugged sheepishly and rested his elbows on his knees, his expression now one of understanding.
"Yeah, that tends to happen when people get told off. It's usually things they don't want to hear." He chuckled a little. "My brother, Raph- it's almost impossible to give him any criticism; he'll just take it the wrong way and try to beat you up for it. No matter how you say it." I laughed a little and his smile widened a fraction. Then I frowned and bit my lip lightly.
"But I don't want her to be mad at me. I want to on the same level as her, to be her equal. It's all I've ever wanted. But it feels like we're light years away from understanding each other. I don't know what to do." Donnie pressed his lips together and leaned back against the step behind us.
"Yeah, it does seem like you don't really know each other as well as you might think you do. But the way I see it, you two need to work things out or the whole team might be affected by your fighting." I sighed and looked away. I could feel his eyes on me, and in the corner of my eye I saw that he felt bad for me. He then picked up the cup and gently shoved me to gain my attention.
"You know, when I was a kid, whenever I felt sad, my brother would make me some of this. And it usually made me feel a lot better. Here, try some." I looked up at him, then at the cup, smiled gratefully at him and accepted it. The liquid inside was light brown and was still warm, despite it having been placed aside for a few minutes. I brought it up to my lips and sipped on it and was met with a sweet taste and the warmth spread through my whole body. I couldn't help but smile and I immediately started to feel a little better.
"Wow, this is really good! What is it?" Donnie also started to smile when he saw my reaction and wrapped his arms around his knees.
"Hot chocolate. It's a bit of a treat on Earth. And it makes me feel a lot better when I get sad." I smiled at him and drank some more of it.
"It's so good!" He laughed at me and shook his head a little. But I ignored it and kept drinking. It was so good that I almost started to forget about why I had been upset in the first place. But I started to think of it again and looked back at him.
"So, what do you think I should do about Jhanna?" Donnie moved a little closer to me and placed an arm around my shoulders, gently hugging me.
"Well, I can't really tell you what to do, but if it were MY sister, I would try to talk to her and sort things out and try understand her side of the story. You know, to try and solve any problems between us. That's what I would do. I mean, the problems you two have won't go away because you won't talk about them right?" I bit my lip and started to think over what he said.
"You know what? You're right!" I put the cup aside and threw my arms around his neck, throwing him off and almost knocking him to the ground. "Thanks, Donnie!" He chuckled and patted me on the back.
"Anytime, Star." I pulled away and he patted me on the leg before he stood up again. "Well, I'm gonna go and take a shower. You should get dressed. Or at least find some other clothes until we can fix your current ones." I nodded and he started to walk up the steps, then paused, reached down and ruffled my hair as he passed me. I cried out in and tried to be angry but couldn't help but laugh. I heard him chuckle and then he walked into the shower room, the doors shutting behind him.
I smiled to myself and brushed through my hair with my fingers before I looked down at my clothes on the floor. I picked up my t-shirt and the scratches on the back. That could easily be fixed. Mona, along with being good with injuries, was good with the needle, so she could probably fix them. But suddenly my Federation uniform didn't look as nice to wear anymore. After hearing all that the Salamandarians, Jhanna and others had said about the Federation, and after learning that they were bad guys, I didn't want to be a part of the Federation anymore. If it was true what they said, that my father was a murderer, then I did not want to wear his symbol on my clothes. I wanted to help my friend and his planet, and leave behind anything that was associated with killing.
I bit my lip and started thinking. Jhanna and I had dug through every room on this ship and found a whole bunch of clothes for her, since she, on top of her clothes being almost entirely destroyed, wanted nothing to do with the Federation anymore. Not that it mattered, since she always wore her spacesuit over those clothes, but still. So it shouldn't be too big a stretch to assume that some of the clothes on this should might fit me too.
I looked down at the uniform on the floor and nodded, making up my mind. I grabbed the clothes in front of me and ran out of the room. It was time to burn these rags and never look back on the Federation ever again.
I don't know who had owned this ship back on D'hoonib, or before the Federation got its paws on it, but it was loaded with all kinds of stuff. Not to mention that the bedrooms, the showers and everything were very luxurious. It obviously wasn't built for battle, but it still had everything we could possibly need, from weapons to food to clothing. Which really helped in cases like these.
Jhanna hadn't been too picky about her clothes when we looked through these rooms. She had picked out a pair of casual and soft pants, one or two t-shirts and something to sleep in. Which was about all that she would need when onboard here, really. But for me, it was a little hard to find good clothes. Mostly because almost everything was either too big or for guys. But eventually I managed to find a shirt, a pair of pants and some shoes I could use for now, and started to change into them. And it felt good to finally dress in something clean after a week of wearing the same things for days.
"Finally. Now that that's settled, maybe I can go grab something to eat-" I was about to leave when something caught my eye in one of the opened drawers. I kneeled down in front of them again and took a closer look. It looked like something with wheels, so I took them out to get a better look. And saw that they were roller skates that you could strap over your regular shoes.
I felt my smile widen and I looked down at my boots, an idea forming in my head.
After I finished my shower I had gone to get some lunch, where I found Jhanna out of her room. She had taken off her spacesuit and was dressed in more casual clothes, which she didn't wear that often; a pair of loose, black yoga pants and a dark blue tank top. She also had a blanket over her legs. She was sitting on one of the couches in the dining room, sipping on a cup of tea Mona had given her for the pains in her head and seeming to be in deep thought- something else that didn't happen very often. Both Mona and the Professor had commanded her to sit down and take it easy, so I guess that didn't leave her much to do. Jhanna was so athletic and full of energy that she always used to train or at least move around. So to see her sit and take it easy was something very new.
She looked up when she heard me enter the room and waved at me. "Hey, D. What's up?" I shrugged and sat down at the Food Replicator.
"Eh, nothing much." The plug came out and placed itself on my forehead. Seconds later my pizza, small salad and Coke came out of the hatch. I took out Mona's bottle with fire lily potion from my belt and let a drop fall into the glass. I picked the tray up and started to walk over to the couch so I could keep Jhanna company. "I checked the coordinates, and we should reach Ypsagon by- Whoa!" I dodged as something went flying over my head and I had to grab my glass of Coke so it wouldn't fall over. When I looked up again I saw it was Starlee who had jumped over me, and she was moving fast. She was going so fast that she couldn't possibly be running. She looked over her shoulder at me, turned to the left and went by one of the couches and came back to me, stopping three feet away.
I looked up at her and saw she was suddenly about a foot taller and dressed in new clothes. In fact, she looked quite a bit different than she had earlier. She had let her hair down from her usual ponytail and had tied it into two pigtails and wrapped them with with two laces, and had a purple and dark pink hairband to keep her bangs in check. She had replaced her black and brown clothing with a pair of dark purple pants, a tied up purple blouse and a dark magenta t-shirt under it. She looked like a real, little girl which really fit her colorful and optimistic personality a lot better than her old uniform had. She looked more like her own person now. In fact, something about her reminded me of Mikey in one of his more childish moments. Of course, most notable were her purple boots, which she had put some kind of strap-on roller skates on.
She smiled widely at me and her eyes were gleaming with excitement and happiness. "Check it out! I found these when I was looking around for new clothes. Aren't they cool?" I looked at them,, up at her and then got back up on my feet.
"Yeah, they're neat. But next time you might wanna give a bit of a heads up before you jump over someone's head like that." She laughed and shrugged lightly.
"I could, but where's the fun in that?" She skated over to the Food Replicator and plopped down on the seat, watching as the plug came out and placed itself on her forehead. I rolled my eyes with a fond smile and went over the couch and sat down. Jhanna looked over at her sister with half-closed eyes and leaned back.
"Just as long as you don't get anyone killed, Sis." If Starlee heard what Jhanna said, she didn't indicate it, and just grabbed her own lunch and skated over to us. She didn't slow down, just threw herself on the couch while in motion and slid across the couch, lightly slamming into me. She looked up, smiled apologetically and shifted to her left.
"Well, either way these things are awesome! I never wanna take them off!" I chuckled and took a bite out of my pizza.
"Well, as long you don't hurt yourself or someone else, I won't stop you." Her smile widened and she started to eat her own food. She looked over at Jhanna, who was just drinking her tea (while clearly showing that she didn't enjoy it) and put her spoon down.
"Aren't you gonna eat, Jhanna?" Jhanna groaned and put the tea on the floor.
"No. Mona has forbidden me from eating for a few hours, since I had to drink her fire lily potion, and it might cause me to throw up if I eat too early." She groaned again and leaned back against the pillow, placing her arm over her eyes in an overdramatic fashion. "And it's driving me crazy! I'm so hungry." Starlee looked at her sympathetically and I nibbled on a piece of cucumber.
"Did she say how long you had to wait?" Jhanna removed her arm from one eye so she could look at me, then rolled her eyes and placed it back over.
"Yeah, five hours. And it's been almost three. Still two hours to go." I winced sympathetically at her and sipped my coke. Starlee downed some more of her soup and then looked over at my food. She grabbed a piece of pizza from my plate faster than I could quite process it, and I looked down at my plate in surprise and watched her steal my pizza. She looked up and smiled.
"I see you eat this stuff all the time and I wanna know how it tastes." She said simply and took a bite out of it. Her smile immediately widened and she closed her eyes in enjoyment. "Mm, this is great! It seems Earth has great food; everything I've tasted is fantastic!"
She quickly finished the piece and I couldn't help but laugh. "I know, right? This was the first food outside of worms and algae my brothers and I tasted, and we eat it everyday." She grinned at me as she chewed, and had barely swallowed before she started talking again.
"Well, I can understand why. It's so-" Jhanna narrowed her eyes at us and groaned again, louder and even more over-dramatically so she would gain our attention. Starlee looked over at Jhanna and immediately realized her error and slammed her mouth shut. Jhanna glanced over at me again.
"You said something about Ypsagon, Donnie?"
I swallowed the last piece of my pizza and nodded. "Yeah, I checked how long it will take to get to Ypsagon, and we should get there by the end of the week. Seven days at most." Starlee sipped more of her soup and smiled widely at me.
"That's great! Wow, Donnie, you're really getting the hang of this ship's technology quick." I looked away from her and felt my cheeks get a little warmer. I shrugged and smiled awkwardly.
"Well, I've always been good with technology. And I am a quick learner." Jhanna rolled her eyes and sat up straight.
"Yeah, well I just hope that this trip to Ypsagon will be worth it and not just a big waste of time." Starlee looked over at her and put the bowl of soup aside.
"Aw, come on, the Professor says he has a friend who knows where the piece is. As long as he find him, we'll be fine." Jhanna shook her head and brushed her fingers through her bangs.
"No, he said he might know where it is. We don't know for sure that he does." I shrugged and tried to smile.
"Well, hopefully he knows at least something that could be useful. If not, our next step should be to track and follow the Triceratons. They probably know where it is if this Pluto Khan doesn't." Starlee nodded and pulled her feet up on the couch so she sat cross-legged.
"Besides, we'll be visiting a planet that is nothing but nice people, parties and fun. If nothing else, we might just be able to have a little fun in between all this fighting and drama." She smiled and brushed some hair out of her eyes. I nodded and clutched my amulet-tracker that still hung around my neck.
"You're right, Star. We should focus on the positive. And I've got a feeling that this Pluto Khan knows where it is. I just feel it. And besides, if he doesn't know, we can just leave right afterwards. Nothing lost except time." Starlee and Jhanna looked at each other, back at me and nodded. I smiled and leaned back against the couch.
But as I removed my hand from the amulet around my neck, I felt a sort of tingle in my hand and chest, just where it rested around my neck. And for a second, I could swear it started to blink again and I felt a vibration go through my body and my heart started to beat a little faster. But it only lasted for a second and both the feeling and the blinking went away so quickly that I just deduced I had imagined it. Or at least that it wasn't all that important. But in the back of my head, I noticed that my leg suddenly ached less and I tried to rest more weight on it, and it didn't hurt as much as it had seconds ago. I shook my head and chalked it up to me imagining things.
I sighed, leaned back against the couch and sipped on my Coke, trying to think happy and optimistic thoughts. Like Starlee said, we were on our way to a nice, fun party planet where, if nothing else, we could have a little fun in between everything that's happened. And hopefully we would find out where the second piece was hidden, and then be a step closer to find the second piece to saving Earth. And the Professor had contacts that could help us. It was a great plan.
What's the worst thing that could possibly happen?
A/N: Starlee wearing roller skates is canon! Yeah, this is a small nod to the sixth season of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, where she was a reoccurring character. I also tried to create her outfit from that show in a more modern and casual way.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review, favorite and follow! G'night everybody!