A Million Miles Apart
A/N: Hi! The next chapter is done and I have the next chapter where I promised more character development. Again, I have been waiting for writing this chapter for so long, and I have been thinking long and hard about what to put in here. Finally I've been able to give some more depth to these new characters and show them from more than one side. Oh, I've tried to do that before too, but her I'm dedicating a full chapter to character development. No enemies, no threat and no conflict, just people talking to each other. That's always nice, right? Well... okay there is something in here, but...
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please review, favorite and follow!
Chapter 56, Conversations in the Night
It had been a little tricky to find food that we could eat and then make our way to the woods, but when we had gotten there, we managed to have a stroke of luck. We found a small cave, just big enough to fit us all and then some, which would protect us from the suns and the heat- although, by the time we had found that cave, the suns were already more than half-set and had almost disappeared under the horizon.
Traximus had started a small fire outside of the cave, Mona had procured some water for us to drink and I had gathered up some more firewood in case we might need it. Right now we were sitting around said fire, each with our own cup of water and our own food rations. Mona had found some kind of vegetarian sandwich at one merchant's stall, so I had just gotten the same thing as her so I wouldn't complicate things for us- I didn't want to slow us just because I was picky with food. Traximus had found a big chunk of nearly-raw meat, but he had the decency to sit a distance away from Mona so she wouldn't be disturbed by his food. She had shown a few signs of getting sick by just seeing meat, so whenever any one one of us were eating meat, we chose to sit further from her so she wouldn't throw up or faint.
I nibbled on my sandwich and it wasn't so bad- quite tasty, really. But my mind was still on all the bigots we had run into earlier. One of the reasons I hadn't wanted to slow us down was also because a lot of the people who owned stores had refused us service, so eventually we just had to go with whatever we could scrounge up so we could just get out of there with some sanity intact.
I was used to having people scream in fear at the sight of me- I am a mutant turtle from New York City, after all. But this was all on a different level than those people from Earth- this was way more hate than just fear or panic. The most the humans would do was run away in terror- not attack us or show hatred. Sure, it had happened from time to time, like with some of Shredder's lackeys or with that jerk that turned into Spider Bytez last year. But most regular people didn't show that much hatred, and even if they did, it was understandable. Humans hadn't really grasped the idea of other beings on the same level as them yet, so to them mutants got the same reaction as aliens most likely would. We were too strange for them to understand that we could be like them in many ways.
But the people on this planet could all travel from planet to planet- there were all kinds of strange creatures running around even here! They had very little excuse to hate on all reptiles. It was pretty much on the same level of humans hating other humans just because of the color of their skin, their religion or ethnicity.
I sighed and put down the sandwich, peering at my friends. "Why do they hate us?" My voice broke the comfortable, if not a bit solemn, silence between us.
Mona looked up from her meal for a second, then shrugged and stared into the fire. "We're reptiles," she said curtly, taking another bite of her sandwich.
I shrugged slightly, put my sandwich down in the soft grass and looked over at her. "So? That's not a valid enough excuse to so completely loathe someone." I attracted Mona's eyes again, one brow raised and her mouth practically a straight line.
"Do people ever have a good enough excuse to hate?" She took a bite of her food and a sip of water, clearly ready to drop the subject.
Traximus sighed and lowered his meat into his lap, his eyes tired and his expression weary. "Hm, yes. It is sad to see how fear and hatred have become so dominant in the galaxy... And I can only imagine how much of that The Triceraton Empire is responsible for; how much Zanramon is responsible for." He sighed again, much sadder this time, and took a sip of water. I nodded and added a few more sticks to the fire.
"Yeah, it's almost like back on Earth. Back there, humans hate on other humans solely for the color of their skin, their beliefs or their ethnicity… Heh, at least here the people hate on another species and not their own. I guess that's a bit… better... Only they're a lot less ashamed of it and just trumpet out their hate for everyone to see and hear without caring in the slightest." This caught both Traximus and Mona's attention and they stared at me.
"What? Humanoids on your planet hate their own species?" Mona put her sandwich aside, now a lot more invested in the subject. Traximus put his chunk of meat aside entirely- ugh, putting it on the ground like that couldn't be sanitary… but I wasn't going to say anything- and looked over at me. I nodded and shrugged, looking down at the ground.
"Well, yeah. My father always told me and my brothers that humans are afraid of what they don't understand and if we showed ourselves to them, they would most likely fear and despise us. I mean, if something as insignificant as a physical feature or thought process is enough for them to get up in arms…" I trailed off, though they could probably complete the sentence on their own. "But I still don't understand how humans can hate each other like that." Mona smiled coyly with a raised eyebrow and rested her hands in her lap.
"Ah, so they're one of those species." I blinked and looked up at her quizzically.
"What do you mean, 'those species'?" I couldn't help but feel that if April and Casey were here, they'd be very offended at the way she'd phrased that.
She shrugged and smiled apologetically. "Well, I don't want to say they're all like that, since your dad was a human and he raised you, so in a way you're living proof that not all humans are like that. And I'm sure your friends are great, since they're humans and they like you! ...But there are species out there who are rather… eh, how shall I put this? Hmm… superficial. To them, appearances mean everything." Instinctively I wanted to object, but then I remembered all the humans my brothers and I had accidentally run into over the past year, and I had to admit, it did sound very close to how those humans had reacted and what they had said about us. So I shrugged and bit the inside of my lip.
"Okay, fair enough. But not all humans are like that- there are good ones out there." I felt the need to at least reaffirm that much.
Mona raised her hands defensively, but her calm expression stayed on her face, her gestures saying 'Calm down and let me speak'. "I didn't say that. But most of them, if not all of them, seem to have their own strange obsession with appearance. You mean to tell me they're not the same species that judge people by the color of their skin, like you said they do?" I bit my lip and looked away. Yeah, that was true- I did say that. And it did seem most humans had some form of focus on appearances and how things or people should look. Even April, who cared very little about how she looked, could stay in the bathroom for ages to brush her hair and put on the little makeup she used during school or when she went outside. We had all learned that one the hard way when she had stayed with us in the Lair after her fight with Karai. Raph and Mikey had accidentally walked in on her when she had just gotten out of the shower and was shaving her legs. Boy, was she mad at them for that. (And geez, poor Mikey was traumatized by the whole experience for days.)
Humans did have a strange fixation with appearances, even if it seemed harmless and some were more affected than others. My brothers and I had seen lots of commercials and ads for clothes, makeup and other beauty-related products ever since we were kids and Splinter showed us Times Square through the sewer grates, and from the TV. And when we were allowed to go up to the surface it became even more apparent. It was as if humans had to be reminded about the ideals of beauty everyday so they would know what counted as 'real'. There were times like that that I admired April for not caving in to those ridiculous ideals. She was who she was, and that was fine with her.
And of course there was the hostility. I had seen a few instances of police brutality, or how some people would shame women because they were wearing a hijab. It was scary how people would act towards others just because they were different. Yeah, it doesn't seem as bad when it's just a few people on the street doing it, but when you remember things like World War 2 and all those Jews that were killed, or how people could get killed in some countries because they were homosexual... I sighed and rested my chin on my hand.
"Yeah, it's a screwed up world we live in." I was mostly saying it to myself, but Mona must've heard it anyway, because she sighed too and looked over at me with sympathetic and wise eyes.
"Yeah, well, every world is screwed up." I looked up at her, my eyebrow raised and my hand removed from my chin.
"Everyone? Every single one of them? That seems unlikely."
She shrugged and her lips were pressed together for a second before she started talking again. "There's no such thing as a perfect world, Donnie- you as a scientist should know that. Every world has problems- bad leaders or a screwed up view of the rest of their world or the galaxy." She paused for minute, took a shaky breath, looked up at me and suddenly she seemed a bit more vulnerable. "My… my people are afraid of evolving."
I looked up in surprise and tilted my head. Sure, the Salamandarians had seemed very cautious and on their guard most of the time we had been there, but that seemed a bit much. "Really?" Mona bit her lower lip and shrugged awkwardly.
"Well, maybe not evolving, but they're afraid of change or taking chances. My grandfather, as well as every chief that came before him, has forbidden technology on our planet and uses the story of the Wendigo as a means to scare everyone away from using it and to make them believe that technology is evil- because that's what they believe. They just want us to stay in our bubble and pretend nothing is wrong with our way of living and that we don't need to adapt. Expect for now, with the Triceratons at their throats and all that." Her voice got weaker and weaker as she kept talking, 'til it eventually cracked and she stopped herself- from the look on her face it was so she wouldn't start crying.
I stared at her and realized that, suddenly, I understood her a lot more. Mona Lisa had always been cautious and careful with everything she said and did, and now hearing how her whole planet thought and did everything almost the same way, it was more than likely they who had given her that mindset. Not that it was a wrong mindset- it was good to look out for danger and not rush blindly into things or do things without thinking. But Mona almost never seemed to take any chances at all. Back at the prison, she had been more than happy to stay there for the rest of her life because she didn't want to die and was too afraid to try and take her own freedom. And given how the Triceratons had treated her in that prison, that mindset seemed to grow stronger and she most likely did everything they told her just so she could stay alive. That was no way to live for anyone- too afraid to try anything new, constantly being told that change is bad.
She sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I've seen people die all my life, and more often than not it's been people close to me. I saw my parents die right before my eyes, I saw the few friends I had at the prison die, and I saw innocent people die for no good reason. And eventually I was left alone inside those cold walls, waiting for the day I would meet my own demise." She looked from the fire up at the darkening sky and the few twinkling stars that started to show.
I moved closer to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Mona. I had no idea." She blinked at me in surprise and we locked eyes for minute or so. Then she turned back to the fire and shrugged lightly.
"How could you have known? I never told anyone about my planet's fear, or how prison life treated me." I shrugged and tried to smile awkwardly, despite how our conversation was nothing to smile at.
"Yeah, but I guess I judged you too quickly back at the prison and right after we had escaped. I never considered what your life might have been like behind bars."
Mona glanced up at me, her sad frown turning into an annoyed and tired stare. "Yeah, I noticed." She shrugged my arm off her shoulders but she did throw me a small smile before she shifted away from me a bit. I sighed and leaned myself back, resting my weight on my hands.
"Yeah, I guess I was being a bit of an idiot. But I suppose there are idiots on every planet. I mean, look at Zanramon and his people." Traximus, who had been quiet for a while now, looked up from his food and looked at me with narrowed eyes and a stern face.
"Do not speak of what you don't understand, Donatello. " I looked up at him and was surprised to see Traximus against me. He of all people should know how tyrannical the Triceraton Empire was. I sat up straight again and stared at him disbelievingly.
"But Traximus, those Triceratons are evil, and Zanramon is tyrant who cares nothing for the people he kills or scares as long he gets what he wants- you said it yourself! I mean, he's currently out there trying to finish a war his ancestors started years ago and he has absolutely nothing to gain from destroying Earth except watching the Kraang die! It won't bring back their planet, it won't bring back the lives lost in that war, it won't bring back anything that they've lost. Zanramon is nothing but a resentful, egotistical jerk- what else is there to understand?" Traximus narrowed his eyes at me and moved closer to the fire.
"So you are saying that all Triceratons are evil? That they are all the same and all want destruction for everything in their way? And that all of them are like Zanramon?" I realized what I'd said and nervously bit my lip. Way to go, Donnie, you've just offended one of your friends by doing the same thing all the aliens back in the city had done. Way to go, dude. Foot - mouth.
"I- I mean, not that you're like them! You're different! You want to fight for the right reasons-" Traximus interrupted me and rested his chin in his hand with a slightly amused smile on his face- a very, VERY small smile.
"And you think no other Triceratons do too?"
I felt myself starting to sweat and my eyes flickered from side to side. This was not going the way I had hoped the discussion would go. "Um… no? I- I mean, yes! I- I mean… I dunno?" I shrugged and tried to smile, but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace. Traximus lost his smile and sighed heavily.
"Donatello, this may be hard for you to fully understand, but just because the Triceratons' leader is a tyrant, that doesn't make the whole Triceraton race evil. I had several friends who shared my beliefs back when I was in the Army, but they were too scared of the possible punishments they would receive if they tried to fight back. And I now realize that it was foolish of me to try and do just that all alone. But my point is: a leader can lead people, but he can't decide what they believe or what they think of him."
I looked down at the ground, ashamed of myself. He was right; it would be stupid to believe whole a race of people was exactly like their leader. I sighed and looked up at Traximus, and tried my best to look truly remorseful. "I'm sorry, Traximus. You're right- that was disrespectful of me."
He gave me a dry smile and took a sip of his water. "Though I can understand why you choose to see the Triceratons that way... they have not exactly been treating you and your friends well... But you must understand that leaders, as well as people, usually have motivation and that the world is not as black and white as people would like to believe. Even Zanramon is deeper than you might believe." Mona looked at him with a raised brow, her lips forming a straight line.
"Hang on, don't come saying that we should feel sorry for that guy. He may have reasons for his actions that might be understandable, but don't expect us to be sympathetic."
Traximus looked over at her with sympathetic yet stern eyes. "I did not say you should, but you should understand that he has reasons for doing what he's doing." That was all he said and he turned back to his food. But both Mona and I could see that he had a story he wanted to tell us and was just waiting for us to take the bait- apparently no race was above using the 'stubborn old storyteller' move. He even looked up at us a few times, as if he could read our thoughts or see what we were thinking. I rolled my eyes, sat up tailor style and rested my chin in my hands.
"Okay, Traximus, I'll bite: what are his reasons for obsessing over this thousand-year-old vendetta?" I'm sure I sounded annoyed and bored, but I didn't care. If Traximus had something to get off his chest, then he should just say it, even if it wasn't something I was eager to hear. Mona rolled her eyes with a quiet groan, but turned her attention towards Traximus too, making it clear she was listening.
Traximus smirked coyly at us, put aside his meat again and cleared his throat. "As you both know, we lost our planet to the Kraang a long, long time ago. The story of how it happened has been passed down through generations so that it would never be forgotten and we would all see the evil of the Kraang and what they had done to us. But that's not too important right now.
"Zanramon was a very different Triceraton from the moment he hatched- in fact, some say even the egg he broke out of looked very strange. As a hatchling, he looked nothing at all like how a 'real' Triceraton should look. He was small, fat, and showed no capability as a fighter or a warrior as he got older. Even his intelligence was a shortcoming on many different stances, making many believe he had been born… well, wrong.
"Everyone knew who Zanramon was and everyone treated him with resentment, mocking disdain, or plain cruelty. Even his own parents did not want anything to do with him and quite literally tossed him into the garbage chute as a very young child. He was saved by a merciful stranger who raised him as his own son, but his mind had already been poisoned by the scorn and hatred that followed him everywhere he went. His father tried his best to be there for him, but it was not enough. He looked like a monster, so they treated him like a monster. And that's what he eventually became."
During this whole story both Mona and I had been quiet as mice and listened attentively to every single word Traximus said. And, as much as I hated to admit it, I started to feel a little sorry for Zanramon. To be brought up in a world where everyone seemed to despise him- even his own parents? Not at all weird that one person showing him kindness wasn't enough. Mona, who had every reason not to feel sorry for him, looked at Traximus with her mouth hanging open and her eyes the size of dinner plates. Traximus looked really torn up while telling us this story, suddenly not seeming as eager to continue on with it as before. But maybe this was something he needed to get off his chest rather than a good story that he wanted to share with us.
"Zanramon let all the cruelties and hatred break him. He became twisted and started to crave ways to prove them all wrong and make them sorry for how they had treated him his whole life, make them treat him with the respect and adoration he felt he deserved. And one day, he figured out how. You see, Triceratons choose their leaders based on a list of tests that would determine who would best qualify. And somehow, Zanramon used his intelligence to win the tests. In the end, he won mostly by default, but he had managed to find ways to trick or manipulate the other candidates into losing, for they had all made the critical mistake that no warrior can afford to make: they underestimated their opponent. Zanramon was no fool- in fact it turned out he was quite intelligent; he only learned slower and in different ways from the average Triceraton. And he's also got quite the silver tongue and has a knack for manipulation. He figured out his opponents' weaknesses and singled them out in ways that, in the end, made him Prime Leader of the Triceraton Empire, to everyone's horror and disgust. But even with most powerful role in the Triceraton Empire, it wasn't enough for him. He wanted more.
"He promised his subjects he would bring honor back to the Triceraton Empire by finding the Kraang and destroying them with the Heart of Darkness, thus finally accomplishing what no other Prime Leader had ever done at that point. That gave him all the respect and adoration he ever could have asked for. But ask any Triceraton and he will tell you that that respect and adoration is shallow and every single Triceraton despises having to take orders from him. ...Zanramon knows this, but he acts like he doesn't. So I can only assume that he's more than desperate to find the pieces of the Black Hole Generator and destroy the Kraang, if only to earn his subjects' true respect."
For the longest time I had no idea what to say. I licked my lips and wracked my brain, trying to think of something, anything, to say, but I couldn't think of anything that sounded good. Mona looked somewhere between shocked and distraught, but it did not at all look like she felt sorry for the guy.
"His own parents threw him away? They left a small child to fend for himself and didn't think twice? That's horrible!" Traximus sighed and nodded sadly.
"Yes, it is not a happy story, and I suppose if there's anything I want you to understand and learn from this story, it is that everyone- even the most despicable and horrible people you can imagine- has a story to tell. And the more we try to understand everyone, especially those despicable people, the more we can understand why they do things they do." Mona sneered at him and her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"That may be, Traximus, but that doesn't excuse any of the horrible things he's done! Who cares if he has a tragic backstory? He is responsible for thousands of deaths and for making the Triceratons a feared and loathed race." Traximus nodded and smiled wryly at her.
"No, that is true. No backstory justifies terrible deeds, actions or decisions. But we still have no right to judge others if we don't have all the facts. And if you don't know the full story, your enemy may very well use that against you. Never forget that, Mona Lisa." He looked over at me. "That includes you too, Donatello." I felt a little unnerved by the look in his eyes, but still looked straight into his eyes as I nodded at him and tried to act like it hadn't bothered me.
"Okay, I hear you, Trax. But are you sure you're okay? You seem a little out of sorts." Traximus looked away for a second, and it looked like he was trying to bury old memories. But then he took a deep breath and looked back at us.
"I… I am just upset at how someone could treat a child so cruelly, that's all. And I'm scared to see how others' nastiness can turn someone into a monster. The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls, because they are part of us. And no matter how hard you try, you can never really get rid of the monsters inside you… You can never really kill a monster." What? You can never really kill a monster... what was that supposed to mean? Humans had killed plenty of monsters and I can only assume other alien species had done the same, so how come Traximus said it was impossible? I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes at him.
"What do you mean? How can you not kill a monster?" Traximus looked at me sadly and sighed again.
"A true monster never truly dies. His spirit and evil lives on through others, just as the most wonderful and loving people live in us. If you kill a monster in cold blood, he doesn't really die. He becomes part of you, and you become a monster yourself, and he so he lives on through you. And this world really doesn't need any more monsters." He suddenly looked me straight in the eyes, almost staring me down, and his eyes were both frantic and dead serious.
"You must never forget that, Donatello. I know you wish to become a strong warrior and great leader, but never lose sight of who you are while doing that. You can work as hard as you have to and do what you have to do in order to succeed with your goals, but never, ever, lose sight of who you really are. Always keep your morals and ethics in your mind and your loved ones in your heart, and remember where you have your roots. That's what's really important, and you must never forget that. Promise me that, Donatello." I was really taken aback by Traximus' sudden shift in attitude and how serious he suddenly sounded and for a while I just stared at him. I slowly started to nod and tried to smile even though it felt wrong at the moment.
"Okay, Traximus, I promise you." He nodded, seemingly satisfied, and turned back to his food. The silence that followed was nothing short of awkward and no one seemed able to think of anything good to say. The sky got darker and darker and the stars started to show up in the night sky. Though the moon was nowhere to be found, so it only lit up a little of our little camp. Especially as the fire started to shrink a little as the flames started to die. Mona got to her feet, said she was gonna go and find more firewood, and didn't wait for any response before she walked into the forest. Traximus picked up his meat and started to eat again and looked into the fire. I considered the sandwich I still had to eat, but suddenly it didn't seem as appetizing anymore. I sighed and stood up and walked away into the woods as well.
"I'll be right back," I muttered to Traximus and I heard him call "Don't walk too far away from the fire!" after me. I nodded absentmindedly and kept walking.
After a while I came out of the forest and to a big, flat cliff that hung out over the ground, and from the edge you could see a beautiful view of the forest, with green woods, rivers, and in the distance, an ocean. I sat down on the cliff, wrapped my arms around one of my legs and let the other dangle over the edge, rested my chin on my knee and let out a heavy sigh. I looked up at the sky. The stars were out, but I still didn't see any signs of any moon. Maybe this planet didn't have one. But the stars were kind of a comforting sight right now. They seemed to look down on me and smile reassuringly at me, saying that everything was going to be fine.
Still, as comforting as that was, I didn't feel so reassured or comforted. So much had happened, and while I'd like to think I was a bit more at home on the ship and with my friends, I still felt completely out of place here, in this part of the galaxy. I knew it was true, what Traximus had said: that there were so many shades of grey in between everything and everyone who were involved in this mess. This wasn't a math equation that always stayed the same, where there were rules you learned to follow in order to understand it all. This was closer to when I had to figure out how Kraang tech worked, or when I had to create the retromutagen. I had to break the rules of everything I had learned in order to understand what I was dealing with, and see things in a completely different way. And for the first time in my life, I didn't know the answer to every question that came my way. I didn't know best this time, and that was kinda unsettling. I was used to knowing everything, or at least having the means to find out the answers.
I sighed again and looked down at the ground. It was a long way down, probably twenty feet or so, and just below me there were flowers growing in the moss and the grass. I reached down and picked one of them and looked over it carefully. It had light pinkish-purplish petals, a thin, frail stem and the scent was sweet and somewhat intoxicating. It almost made me a little dizzy when I smelled it, so I pulled it away from my nose before I could faint. I gently pulled at the petals, absentmindedly pulling them off and letting them fall to the ground beside me in a small pink-purple heap. But I didn't pay much attention to that right now.
"How am I gonna finish this mission? I know we have the first piece of the Black Hole Generator, but there're still so many questions, so many unknown variables that we haven't even considered yet. And Zanramon is obviously no idiot, so he'll make it really hard for us." I groaned and threw the now naked stem away, resting my head in my hands. The stars' twinkling made me look up again and one especially bright star caught my attention. I don't exactly know why I stared up at it, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. It seemed slightly bigger than the other stars around it. Maybe it was a planet that only looked like a star from here? Then I saw it wasn't a star, but a ship that was flying across the sky before disappearing over the forest. I sighed again and found myself alone with my thoughts once more- this time finding myself going back to the Aeons.
Mona had once said something about how the Aeons were watching over me and hadn't given up on me, despite everything I had been put through up to this point, and if anything, things looked much brighter now than they had back on Filione. But I was still worried about how things would go. My hand found its way back up to my amulet and clutched it as tightly as possible. I didn't quite understand why it felt so comforting, but once I gripped the metallic tracking device, I had a hard time letting go.
My thoughts were filled with thoughts and questions about the Aeons. Were they real? And if they were, were they watching over my friends and I? Were they on our side?
I bit my lip, looked over my shoulder and then back up at the star. I took a deep breath and with great effort managed to tear my grip off the amulet, clasping my hands.
"Great Aeons, please hear my prayer. I'm still not sure if you exist, or if you're on our side in this mess, but if you are, I can only ask for you to help and guide me through it all. Out of all my friends, I know the least about what we're dealing with and I have no idea how to lead my friends through this because of it. And I know that there are so many questions that I still don't have the answers for. But if I leave all my questions and worries, too, will you give me the answers when I need them? If I put my faith and trust in you, will you be there for me when I need you?"
The silence that followed was no surprise, since I hadn't expected a spirit to actually answer me, but it still felt like they were waiting for me to say something special. I sighed again and licked my lips.
"I realize now that there are things I don't know in this world, and that I'm the underdog right now. But maybe that's part of why I'm here- to understand that not knowing is a part of life. And that it's okay to not always know every answer to every question. I've tried to do the right thing up until now, and maybe the right thing to do now is to believe in you. I've heard you protect life, so if you can possibly help me save everyone on my planet, I will be forever in your debt."
Another thought that had plagued me resurfaced then, and with an unsteady and quiet voice I continued, "And I know… I know I should have died in that portal. I know I shouldn't be alive right now. But I am, and I'm trying to do what's right- is this the purpose I'm supposed to fulfill? Is there a reason for you sparing my life? Because if there is… could you please tell me? I want to save my planet, my people, but… is that my only purpose now? Am I even supposed to be going down this path? I'm so… conflicted. ...Please, if you are really there and hear my prayer, then please give me a sign."
I waited a couple of minutes to see if they would answer me, but nothing came. I sighed dejectedly and was about to stand up and go back to the camp, but just as I got to my feet, the sky suddenly lit up. I jumped in surprise and watched as the huge bright moon appeared from behind some clouds. This planet's moon was, like, ten times bigger than the one back on Earth, and it shone almost as brightly as the two suns had earlier. And as I stared up at the moon, a breeze suddenly blew through the forest and seemed to circle around me, worming around me like a snake. As it did, the petals from the flowers, that were still lying on the ground beside me, started spiraling around me from my feet all the way up to my head before floating away over the cliff and up into the sky until they were out of sight.
I stared out into the distance after the flower petals, and then up to the big moon that was bathing the whole forest in silver and smiling down at me. My thoughts were running around like crazy in my head and I tried to find a good explanation for what had just happened. It couldn't have been a coincidence that those exact things had just happened, but had it been the sign I had been asking for? It had to be... but what if it wasn't? Would I be considered crazy if I believed in them after something like this had happened?
I shrugged and smiled. Maybe it was crazy, but I still took it as a sign. I smiled widely up at the moon and bowed my head slightly.
"Thank you." That was all I could think of saying before I turned around and started to run back to the camp. Now with the moon out, it was a lot brighter in the forest and I could find my way a lot easier.
It was already dark by the time I landed on Ypsagon, although the massive moon was out by now, so it wasn't completely dark outside. But I still felt a bit unprotected right now, out in the open and with no men behind me. They had all gone back to D'hoonib, though very reluctantly, with the belief that it had been my father's orders. It was probably a very stupid idea, but it would have been even worse if they had seen or heard me make plans with a Triceraton of all beings.
So here I was, outside my ship, waiting for Zog to show up, all alone. He had told me to wait here so he could finish the first part of his plan. And I saw his ship a small distance away, so I knew he was nearby. I sighed and pulled my thin jacket tighter around me. Considering how hot it was here during the day, it was a bit surprising how cold this area could get during the night. Though I had lit a small fire, covered by both ships so we wouldn't get any unwanted attention, and it did help a little. But I had been waiting for almost an hour now, and the stupid lizard was taking way too long in my opinion. In this time I could just have looked through the woods and found them all by now.
"This had better be worth it," I muttered to myself and looked out over the woods to spot the Triceraton. Eventually, he came out of the forest with something big and lumpy thrown over his shoulder, something that was squirming and squealing crazily, trying to get away from the Triceraton's hold on it. Zog didn't seem to notice, though- he just smirked at me and came up to the fire.
"Well, well, well! Look at that. She actually showed up!" I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms over my chest.
"I hope you have a good plan, Zog. You have no idea what kind of risk I'm taking here, making plans with the likes of you." He lost his smirk and narrowed his own eyes at me. He stopped a few feet in front of the fire and dropped the poor animal he had over his shoulders in front of his feet, placing one foot on it so it couldn't flee from him.
"And you think I don't? You do know I am risking death by doing this, right?" I rolled my eyes and took a few steps closer to the fire, trying not to look at the poor beast on the ground.
"Just get on with it- what's your big plan, anyway?" He smirked again and pointed to his ship.
"Grab the bucket over by my ship and I'll show you." I glared up at him but ran over to his ship and grabbed the big tin bucket right outside the ship. I placed it by his feet and he pulled a knife from his belt. He picked up the animal by its neck- and it was still squealing in pure terror and kicking its legs to try and get away- and kneeled down beside it. In the light of the fire I looked over the animal and noted it was an Ugg, a male by the look of its size and the horns on top of its snout. It was also incredibly fat and seemed to weigh a ton, but it wasn't much of surprise that Zog had managed to carry it. Its eyes were wide with terror and its squealing made something turn inside me- I almost wanted to rip him out of Zog's grip and save him, but held myself back and pressed my lips together so I wouldn't say anything stupid.
Zog pressed the Ugg's head to the ground with one hand and put the other one across his body to try and keep him still. He looked up at me with a sick gleam in his eyes. "Grab my axe; kill him." My eyes widened, I took a step back and I suddenly felt incredibly nauseous. I couldn't make myself move, but eventually I got my tongue to cooperate and licked my lips.
"W-what…?"
He rolled his eyes and groaned. "Look, I have to keep the beast still, and we can't use it if it's still alive!" I glared at him and clenched my fists.
"Well, then why didn't you just kill him before you brought him here?!" He grinned a sick grin and pushed it harder against the ground.
"Where's the fun in that?" I looked at him and for a second I could see that he had an incredibly sick mind, even for a Triceraton. I took a deep and shaky breath, grabbed the axe he had placed on the ground, and raised it over my head. The poor Ugg saw the axe and started thrashing around even more, squealing higher and louder. I gritted my teeth, gripped the axe harder, closed my eyes and swung it as hard as I could. I heard a squeal of agony and fear before it went silent. I slowly opened my eyes and looked down. The Ugg had a jagged, bloody wound on its head and was now completely still. I dropped the now bloody axe and took a few steps back, feeling sick to my stomach. But Zog just smirked, grabbed the animal by the head and placed it close to the bucket, picking up the knife he had dropped on the ground.
"Good job, Princess. And now, to get the good stuff." He placed the edge of the sword against the Ugg's neck and sliced a deep cut across the throat. A fountain of dark red blood started to pour out of the wound and the bucket was quickly filled. I felt bile rise in the back of my throat, so I turned away from the scene and covered my mouth, trying to take deep breaths so I wouldn't lose my dinner.
'Seriously, what's wrong with you, Moriah? You've killed people before- what makes you so sick over this?' I straightened out my back again, trying to breathe before I turned back to Zog, who had just thrown the body of the Ugg aside and picked up the full, heavy bucket.
"Now, here's the plan. You're going to stalk the group tomorrow, find out where they are and then contact me about their position. When we have them trapped in a good spot, you will take this," he lifted the bucket a little, "and pour it over that reptilian brat. And then, while he is distracted, you attack and kill him! Then, you are free to grab your sisters and that robot and leave the planet, if you wish. While they are distracted, I will go onboard the ship and take the piece of the Heart of Darkness back. Both of us will win and we can leave the planet, never once telling anyone about how we worked together." I stared at the bucket, then up at him.
"Why do I have to be the one to find him and pour blood all over him?! And why does it have to be blood, anyway? Why not anything else?" He walked up to me, placed the bucket by my feet and leaned down to my level, staring me in the eyes.
"Because, one, out of the two of us, you are the one who will look the least conspicuous. No one will suspect a young woman walking around as being a murderous assassin. And two, because it's much more effective if it's blood. If it were just ice-cold water or punch, it would just be shocking and disgusting and not shocking, disgusting and terrifying. Also, blood is thick and will make it harder to get out of his eyes in time. Plus, you can't deny that he deserves this for all the trouble he's caused us. He needs to be knocked down a few pegs, remember what kind of scum he is before he dies. Now, I have to leave." He threw me something black and small before he turned to his ship. "Contact me when you've found them. Then I'll know to stay close to their ship." He walked up the ramp to his ship and was about to close the doors, when he seemed to remember something and turned back to me.
"Oh, and I would keep the bucket cold if I were you. It will start to smell if it doesn't. Good luck, Princess." That was all he said before he turned around again, the doors closing behind him, and he flew away.
I was left on the ground with a bucket full of blood, an Ugg carcass close by and a dying fire in front of me. Was I really ready to do this? Yeah, that reptilian freak had been huge thorn in my side for a long time now, but this seemed a bit extreme, even for me. I had been trained to kill others, but this seemed a bit overboard. But I needed to bring my sisters and the Fugitoid home to D'hoonib, or I would be banished forever.
I sighed heavily and hung my head. I had no choice. I had to do it.
I looked down at the blood, took a shaky breath, took the bucket and walked back inside my ship. I needed to find a good place to park it before midnight.
A/N: Okay, so I didn't manage to fit as much character development in this chapter as I had hoped, but there's still something happening here. And we finally catch up on Moriah and Zog and see what they're up to. I actually started the scene with the Ugg already dead, but changed it to make it more ominous and disturbing. And I am strongly against animal cruelty, so I hope you're happy with it.
Anyway, we get some forshadowing of what's to come in the future, and what will happen to Donnie and Co. And if anyone of you have seen or read Carrie, well, it's not gonna be pretty… Hopefully you don't, so it will be a bit more of a surprise.
Side note, The Ugg is inspired by the Babirusa, in case somebody is interested or gives a damn. And yes, the Babirusa is a real animal, not a fantasy creature. With a very, very strange name...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review, favorite and follow!