A Million Miles Apart

A/N: Hi, I'm back! And big news: I've moved! Yeah, my family and I have moved away from our home in the countryside and into Stockholm- so we've had a fun month ahead of us. Well, not even month; just a few weeks. And we also- pretty much right after we got comfortable in the new apartment- went away on a vacation to Mallorca to get some R&R. So again, it's been a busy couple of months.

So this chapter may be a bit sloppy, and I apologize for that.

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

Chapter 64, Fire, Fear and Destruction

After the initial shock had settled, and I had seen Donnie covered in blood, the anger immediately began to rise in my chest. This had come out of nowhere and we hadn't been doing anything to attract any attention to ourselves, so the fact that something like this did happen, something so terrible and disgusting and wrong, was more than enough to make my blood boil. I had to hold myself back immensely so I wouldn't attack anyone or start ranting and raving like a madwoman. Donnie had shown not to like it when I got angry and started to scream, and I got the feeling that he really wouldn't appreciate it if I did now.

Some of the blood had splashed onto my arms, clothes, and face, with Mona and Starlee also spattered in it, but that was inconsequential in comparison to the thorough soaking Donnie had received. His whole body was covered in it and it kept dripping down to the floor like he had just stepped out of the shower.

The thick, metallic scent was pungent enough to make me gag as it invaded my senses, but I fought the impulse and tried to focus on my friend, who needed me. He was frozen, every muscle taut and on full display, for several seconds after it happened. Eventually, though, he dazedly lifted his hands to his face, wiping away what he could until he was able to open his eyes- even then, his eyelids kept fluttering to dispel any blood trying to drip back in.

It was visibly obvious the moment his brain finally computed what had happened- his breaths shuttered and picked up a notch, sounding ragged and desperate, his eyes widened, locking on his blood-covered arms and torso, and even though I couldn't see his complexion I was certain he'd gone a very pale shade of green. I half-expected him to faint from the sheer shock of it, but he just continued to stare at himself, much as I found myself unable to stop doing, with his eyes glued to his arms, pupils wide and body beginning to shake. I couldn't get a clear read on his emotions just from his face, as it was frozen in a mixture of horror and something else. Judging by his body language, though, he was terrified and stunned and overwhelmed. That big computer-brain of his was overloading and shorting out.

His breathing got even quicker and more frantic and when he eventually found his voice, he let out a loud, high-pitched shriek that was so unlike Donnie that I jumped and took a step back. Sure, he'd had had his moments where he was close to snapping, when the stress and pressure got the better of him, but I had gotten used to seeing Donnie as the calm and cool one on the team. Not to say he was exactly the coolest under pressure or anything, but I had never seen him look so utterly unraveled before. Even when he'd found out that the Triceratons wanted to destroy his whole planet, his immediate reaction had been to fight back and leap into action. To see him like this, was… well, honestly it was kinda disturbing and made my heart ache. It became harder to resist the urge to fight or scream at someone.

Wait, why should I? What about this situation called for me to keep quiet? My friend had just been horribly abused and he didn't need me to sit on the sidelines and say nothing!

"What the HELL?!" My outcry made Starlee and Mona look at me in surprise- they had also been too stunned to act, apparently. I didn't pay them too much attention, since it was Donnie I was concerned for. His giant eyes scanned the room, darting from face to face as if silently asking who could have done something like this.

It certainly didn't help matters when suddenly, out of the freaking blue, a shocked, disturbed laugh was heard across the room. I whipped my head in that direction, eyes narrowed, pressing my lips together so I wouldn't lose what little control I had of myself- I had to speak up for Donnie, but I couldn't lose myself in my anger or I'd make things worse.

My efforts were in vain, though, because that first laugh was quickly joined by dozens more. I grit my teeth and clenched my fists so tightly that my nails cut into my palms, drawing blood. How dare they? How dare they?

Before I could come to his defense, though, Donnie caught my attention again as he brought his clenched fists to the sides of his head and let out a scream that was so broken and full of pain that my temper nearly turned to tears. How could they? And just like that the anger on behalf of my friend was doubled, fed by the sadness like it was a raging fire, consuming everything it could to become stronger.

Suddenly, I was harshly pushed aside as several creatures came up to us. Donnie was pushed back and forth from person to person till he hit the floor, the laughter growing louder and louder.

I violently made my way to Mona and Starlee, but we had to keep pushing back at the people around us so we wouldn't get forced further away from Donnie. Not like we were that close to him anymore, though.

"This is horrible! Cowards! H-how can they be so- so cruel? To someone wh-who's already down?" Starlee was blinking rapidly, trying and failing to fight back tears. Whereas I was seriously considering whipping out my guns and murdering all of these lunatics, my sister was driven to tears- but they weren't tears of sadness or pity; they were tears of anger. She was pretty even-tempered compared to me, but not even the kindest and gentlest souls can stay true to themselves in the face of something so abhorrent and senseless. Starlee had been pretty sheltered growing up, and while she'd definitely witnessed some truly cruel things on our journey, I'd never seen her reach the level of rage she was now at- fists clenched tighter than mine, even, face flushed, jaw clenched and teeth bared, eyes teary but absolutely ablaze.

Mona looked equally horrified, but seemed to have better control of her emotions, since her face gave much less away. Instead she took charge of the situation and came up to me.

"Jhanna, go get Donnie out of there," she ordered, voice straining to be heard over the jeers and Donnie's screams, but steady and commanding all the same. "Starlee and I will clear a path out of here. We have to get back to the ship!" I nodded and started to shove my way towards Donnie, not at all sorry for hurting anyone who stood in my way. Donnie had managed to get to his knees, his fists still clenched and tears flowing down his cheeks, making an interesting pattern in the stains the blood left behind. I shoved the last laughing person out of my way and reached for Donatello.

"Donnie, come on-"

I never got grab him and get him out of this nightmare, though, because Donnie suddenly reached out his hand, palm facing me, and there was a loud, metallic groan overhead. Before I even got the chance to look up and see what it was, one of the beams over us broke free and swung in an arc and- before I could dodge- hit me straight in the chest, sending me flying. I crashed into a table, upturning glasses and bottles, drinks showering over me.

It was all so unexpected and happened so quickly that at first I didn't even feel the pain. I heard the laughter stop and gasps and screams of shock and fear. I felt Starlee and Mona's hands on my arms. Coughing, I let them pull me to my feet. Immediately Starlee ran her hands down my sides, checking for breaks.

"Jhanna, are you okay?"

That's when the pain finally caught up with me- a deep, stinging ache throughout my ribcage, likely signifying a few broken ribs- but I didn't even acknowledge it past the automatic reactionary wince. I could only look straight ahead without even sparing them a glance- I couldn't look away from Donnie.

He got to his feet and stared over the sea of people around him; his body was as taut as a bowstring, fists clenched at his sides, shaking with the force, and his eyes were burning with a murderous rage I had never seen before, especially not in Donnie. But the thing that really caught my attention was the blinking from the amulet around his neck, which somehow was completely clean of blood. It blinked and beeped frantically- almost like it had when we used it to track down the first piece of the Black Hole Generator, only much more frantic, louder and faster. That alone was unsettling, especially considering it was filled with a dangerous substance that had defiled an entire planet.

Mona leaned in close to us and whispered, "Are you seeing this, too?" I nodded mutely and Starlee breathed a quiet 'yeah'. My heart told me to go and try to calm him down, get him out of here and try to make him feel better, but my instincts told me that it would only result in further injury.

My instincts turned out to be correct: two security guards stormed their way up to him and reached out hands to cautiously escort Donnie outside, and he just reached out his hand again. More metallic creaking was heard and several more beams fell from the ceiling, crushing the guards- and several other patrons and employees- beneath them. Gasps turned into horrified screams and Mona and Starlee- who still had their hands on my arms- took a step back and dragged me back with them.

There was something in Donnie's eyes that was especially unsettling. It wasn't just anger, or grief, or pain. There was something darker- something inherently evil that looked so out of place in his brown eyes. It almost looked like he was… thrilled… thrilled by the death and destruction.

He took a deep breath through his nose, as if savoring the scent of the fresh blood, and then glared up at the speakers on the walls. The music stopped short with a screech, and Starlee jerked my arm.

"Jhanna, we need to get out of here," she said, jittery and petrified and urgent. I looked down to see the fear in her big eyes. I looked over at Mona, who nodded and gestured with her head towards the exit. But then, suddenly, the doors slammed shut with a loud BANG and locked themselves. Now the screams got louder, more desperate, and most of the crowd fled to the doors, flinging themselves at them in the hopes of knocking them loose. Electrical wires were yanked loose from the ceiling, seemingly on their own, and hung down while sparks flew from the ends, making them dance around like demented, angry snakes. Two of them were dangerously close to us, so I pushed Starlee and Mona out of the way before they could hit us. Too slow, too slow, too slow! Starlee shrieked as a few sparks landed on her thigh, and a wire connected with Mona's tail long enough for her to let out a scream of pain, muscles convulsing all over her body before I yanked it away from her. My ribs screamed in protest as I jumped out of the way of another wire, but otherwise I was okay.

The fire alarm started going off as the sparks landed on the carpet and tablecloths and other flammable items- which quickly caught. The flames started to rise from the floor, growing exponentially with each passing moment. Smoke filled the room and Starlee yelled at us to stay low to the ground. Clever on her part, but not very helpful, since inhaling the smoke was unavoidable at this point. But still, A for effort.

The sprinkler system activated itself and water came pouring down on the flames that had now started to rise around us. People were screaming in terror and pleading for help from others- more than half of them must've bitten it, because several bodies were scattered across the floor just in my limited field of view.

Donnie, however, was still standing in the same position, still with that sickishly happy look in his eyes as he watched the terrified people desperately trying to survive. Mona got to her feet, stumbled over to him, grabbed his shoulder and shook it. She was coughing and trying to avoid breathing in more smoke, but still managed to be heard over the cacophony around her.

"Donnie, come on, we have to get out of here!" If Donnie heard her, he showed no signs of it. He just shoved her away, without even looking at her, before he slowly started to walk towards the exit, as if there was no chaos surrounding him on all sides. Everyone jumped out of his way as he passed them, shaking in fear and trying to not cross him further. When he got close to the doors, they unlocked themselves and flung open as he walked out into the cool evening, with all the surviving patrons throwing themselves through after him.

"Come on, let's go!" Mona grabbed onto me and Starlee and we ran out of the building with the others, slipping on the wet floor and trying to avoid stepping on dead bodies, fallen beams and the rapidly rising flames around us.

When we got out, we kept running down the street to avoid the curious onlookers and ducked into an alley a few blocks down the road so we could recover. I took several deep breaths, still coughing. My arms and legs were littered with small cuts and my hair had turned black with soot. Mona and Starlee didn't look much better; Starlee had a few burns on her legs, some cuts and a possible sprained ankle from to slipping on the wet floor when she had jumped out of the path of a wire- rollerskates weren't exactly ideal in those conditions. Mona had a angry red burn on her tail and a few smaller burns all over her body, and her muscles still spasmed randomly. Both were covered in soot.

Mona panted and patted Starlee on the back, helping her take deep breaths and clear her lungs. She looked up at me, pushing her brown bangs out of her eyes. "Are you guys okay?"

I nodded and cleared my throat to try to make my voice as steady as I could, though it was still raspy and hoarse after inhaling so much smoke. "Yeah, we're good." And now, after the adrenaline had started to fade, I was beginning to feel the immense pain of my ribs and cradled my chest protectively with one arm.

Starlee brushed her disheveled hair out of her eyes,revealing even more of the bloodied, soot-covered mess that was her face. "What happened?" Her voice was hoarse too, and she immediately started coughing after speaking, doubling over, resting her hands on her knees. I patted her on the back to comfort her and looked to Mona.

"Some freak accident with the construction or something?"

Mona stared at me, expression probably the closest I had ever seen her get to 'are you kidding me right now?'.

"Do you really believe that, Jhanna? You saw what happened back there. Beams falling from the ceiling, wires being yanked down, people dying left and right! There is no way all of that was an accident." She raised a brow and her face was so skeptical that I almost felt stupid for saying what I had said.

I bit my lip in deep thought before I turned to look back at the bar… not a very pleasant view anymore. The whole building was now burning wildly, huge orange and red flames licking the outside, the roof and the second floor crumbling down. Big muscular creatures in uniforms were running in and out of the door, carrying dozens of civilians to safety- although most of them were already dead by now.

There was a sudden, loud explosion, and then there was nothing left of the building but a pile of ashes and burning rubble. I watched in morbid fascination as the flames spread to neighboring buildings and the evacuation process started anew with each of them.

Coming back to myself, I shuddered, goosebumps covering my bare arms and legs. I considered myself hardened and immovable, but this was more than I could take.

Mona was right; whatever had happened after Donnie got ambushed with that blood could not have been an accident. But... what had happened?

Starlee sighed and rubbed her hands over her arms, though it was clear on her face and in her eyes it wasn't just because of the cold. "But if it wasn't an accident, what was it?"

Mona shook her head and placed a hand on Starlee's shoulder, looking between the two of us affirmingly. "We'll figure it out back on the ship. Right now we need to find Donnie and get out of here."

I opened my mouth to respond when I saw a flash of bright red in the corner of my eye. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw a figure with long scarlet hair and blue skin slip into an alley not too far away. I would recognize that hair anywhere.

I immediately was able to connect the dots, and I now knew with sickening certainty how this had all come to pass. I gritted my teeth, digging my fingernails into my palms, and turned back to Mona.

"You two go find Donnie and get him to the ship. I'll be right behind you- there's just something I have to do first." They didn't look too thrilled by the idea, and Mona eyed my ribcage worriedly, but eventually she nodded decisively and started off down the street, taking my confused sister with her. Tracking Donnie wouldn't be too hard for them, since he'd left a trail of bloody footprints that seemed to lead back to the ship.

I didn't waste another second; I sprinted in the other direction to find the culprit of this nasty trick. And I had a real good idea of who it was.

I had been frozen in that spot on the beam after the blood had been spilled and didn't- couldn't- move for several minutes. I did eventually peek over the edge to see how things had turned out and I will admit that when the shock had subsided, I couldn't help but laugh at him along with everyone else. It was hard not to: he looked pretty funny, with his shocked face and a thick coating of red all over his freakish body. It was also greatly satisfying to see this little freak- who had been a lovely little pebble in my boot for so long- so terrified and shaking and screaming and crying like a lost child, and I had to bite my lip and pinch my sides so I wouldn't give away my position.

However, in the back of my head, weak and small, a voice told me that something was wrong. Something in the kid's eyes made my blood crawl ever so slightly. But it wasn't strong enough for me to really pay attention to it, so I just kept snickering under my breath, unable to look away.

But when suddenly- seemingly out of the blue- one of the beams next to me had fallen down and sent Jhanna flying across the room when she had tried to approach him, the laughter stuck in my throat- I choked- and I couldn't move. I vaguely registered that everyone else was also gasping and shrieking in horror, but I didn't care in the slightest about them. And when several more started to fall around me, I had started to move away from the scene and towards the closest window where I could climb out and watch from behind the safety of the glass.

Once outside I turned to look back through the window so I could see what else was happening in there. Several people had hit the ground, either injured or dead, and the beams had left gaping cracks and holes in the wooden floor. Electrical wires had been dislodged and were sparking, blinding, hot sparks that flew left and right, making the floor, walls, furniture and even people catch fire. The flames grew quickly and spread like a disease within seconds; then the sprinkler system went off and the alarms were going off, although it was nearly drowned out by all the screams and cries and wails.

But my eyes were glued to the reptile. His eyes were wide open, pupils the size of pinheads and they were cold and wild, like that of a animal that had just broken out of its cage. His body was frozen in a stiff, unnaturally still position and if it wasn't for his heavy breathing, the steady rise and fall of his chest, he would have looked like a statue. But something in his stance and his wide, wild eyes made my skin freeze and stomach drop...

Because there was something in his gaze. Something gleeful and morbid and evil. He seemed to enjoy what was going on around him. He didn't smile, his facial expression was completely neutral and showed no sign of emotion, but the corners of his mouth were minutely quirked and there was a weak spark of enjoyment in his eyes. I shuddered and had to take several deep breaths to keep myself from throwing up.

And as I saw the chaos unfold and aliens dropping dead to the floor, I felt a new kind of terror fill my whole body, making me unable to move. I had killed people before; it had been a part of my training to become the next general after my father. I had never had a problem with it, nor had I felt bad about it because I knew it was part of my job and duty to my planet.

But seeing so many people die, so many and all at once, it made my stomach churn and I couldn't look away. The tightness in my gut made me feel sick in a way that I hadn't in years. And while it was a rather foreign feeling to me, I recognized it but couldn't name it- it was the same feeling I'd had when I was forced to leave Jhanna alone on the floor after father had slashed her with my own sword. I had wanted nothing more than to hold her, comfort her, do something to help her. But Father had told me not to let my feelings and conscience make me soft, so I had left her there on the cold floor and followed my father out like an obedient dog.

This whole ordeal made that feeling come back with a vengeance and it was like a kick to the stomach. The horror eventually became too much to bear, so I turned tail and ran away. My breathing was labored and there were tears burning in my eyes. I frantically tried to blink them away and kept running, the green wig that I had been wearing all day falling off. When I had to stop and breathe, I ducked into an alleyway and leaned back against the wall, trying to collect myself. 'You're a SOLDIER, damn it! Get ahold of yourself!'

I groaned and hit myself lightly against the forehead, closing my eyes. "Come on, Moriah, get a grip. You have to go and get your sisters and the Fugitoid before they leave the planet."

"I've got a better idea." I looked up, surprised, to find Jhanna in front me, angry and covered in blood and soot. "How 'bout you come back to the ship with me?"

And the last thing I saw was her fist sailing toward my face.

I had been watching the ship for about two hours before things finally started to get going. Though I wasn't sure it had been that Federation girl that was entirely responsible for it. I couldn't see all that was happening, but thick clouds of smoke were rising towards the sky and a few glimpses of fire could be seen from the docking stations. And screaming, so much screaming in the town square.

The Fugitoid and that traitor Traximus came running out along with the workers that had been helping them with the ship all day, looking on with worry. The Fugitoid turned to Traximus, as worried as his robot body could look. "What is going on?"

Traximus took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. When he opened them again and met the machine's eyes, he also looked quite concerned.

"Fire. Lots of it. In the town square." He headed down the ramp with the robot behind him. "Come on, we have to find the kids!" They started to run down the street, and the workers ran back to their own ship to call for firefighters. So I seized the moment.

I ran to the ship while also trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible, staying out of sight and sticking to the shadows before I snuck aboard and started to look for the piece of the Black Hole Generator.

I must have had the Aeons on my side, because I found it after looking in only two rooms. It was resting on the floor, as far into the weapons chamber as it could get, and where the lights were out and it was harder to see. But Triceratons had very good night vision, so I spotted it easily.

"Bingo," I muttered with satisfaction, picked up the piece and heaved it over my shoulder. But just as I was about to leave, I heard footsteps coming into the ship. I cursed under my breath and threw myself into a shadow by the door and listened. I couldn't look out of the door, couldn't risk getting spotted. But I heard light footsteps walking across the floor and the swoosh of a door opening itself and then closing seconds later. I let out the breath I only just now realized I had been holding and adjusted the fragment over my shoulder.

'That was a close one.'

The control room was empty. Good. With that, I hurried to get back out of the ship, just barely noticing the bloody footprints on the pure white floor. I had to hurry before someone spotted me.

Just as I had made my way out of the ship, I heard voices coming back, and one of them was Traximus'. So I sprinted the rest of the way back to my own ship, threw the piece to the floor and jumped behind the controls before anyone could stop me.

And as I turned on the ship's cloaking and flew away from Ypsagon, I let myself breathe and look over my shoulder at the piece on the floor. I had succeeded. Prime Leader Zanramon would be so pleased with me.

A/N: Okay, finally done. I am seriously bad at updating these days. No matter how hard I try to sit down and write, I just can't seem to do it. I blame my newfound apathetic attitude. I will have to work on it. Though I am very close to finishing the last chapter, so hopefully it will be out soon. Hopefully I can keep it up for a while longer after it's published.

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