A Million Miles Apart

A/N: Hi! Back with a new chapter! And I can say that things are finally, finally looking better for me. I have gotten a part-time job at a second hand store that I've had to fight and argue for, for like three or four months. And the people seem really great there and it feels really good to finally have something to do with my time. Thank you God for finally giving me a shot at something good!

Anyway, as with the writing, I have decided that I will try to aim for one chapter every month, just so I won't pressure myself but still try to get some writing done. Hopefully some of you are still out there reading this story.

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

Chapter 68, Asking For Trouble

The air in the room was beyond tense and I felt like an animal caught in a trap; a feeling that I was very familiar with, but had hoped I wouldn't have to feel again after we had escaped the Triceraton prison. I was sitting on the stairs to the dining room and had lifted my tail into my lap and kept wringing it, looking anywhere but at Traximus or the Professor. Jhanna was sitting behind me to my right, arms folded over her chest and one leg crossed over the other. Starlee was sitting on the same step as me, her knee bouncing up and down and her fingers twitching in her lap. She was clearly as nervous as me and Jhanna, but also kept shifting and stretching her muscles, probably sore from her training with Donnie.

Traximus stood one foot away from us and his big stature and the serious 'no funny business' look in his eyes made me wanna run and hide somewhere if only to make him stop looking at me like that. But his gaze also froze me to my seat and I couldn't move even if I wanted to. My thoughts went to Donnie and I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to be here at all. I would give anything to switch places with him in a heartbeat if he really wanted to hear what Traximus wanted us to say. Still, the- very small- brave part of me told me to stop acting like a child and face what I needed to do.

Though it would help if Traximus would let up on the serious, dangerous aura for a moment and be a little gentle with us.

He stared down at us, arms folded over his chest, and looked me straight in the eyes. The rational part of me said that it was probably because I was the oldest one of us- what with me being seventeen, an entire year older than Jhanna- but once again, that scared part of me couldn't help but ask 'Why me?!'

"Well, will you all tell us what we asked? Or do I need to pry it out of you?"

Jhanna, clearly a braver woman than me, glared up at him and seemed to have gotten her ability to stand up to authority back. She sat with her back straight and mouth pursed.

"What is this, an interrogation? Could you stop acting like we've committed murder and back up a little?"

Traximus immediately looked at her and I felt myself relax a little since his attention was now elsewhere, thanking Jhanna mentally while exhaling in relief.

"You may not understand how important this is, Jhanna, but it is very important that you-" Jhanna growled and stood up, fists clenched and her face pinched with anger. Given how she sat on the step above us, it made her seem bigger and taller, despite normally only being a few inches taller than me. It felt so stupid, but I couldn't help but admire her for her courage; she said and did the things that I wanted to, but lacked the spine to actually do or say. Even Starlee looked at her sister in awe.

"You think I don't understand? Uh, remind me, which of us were actually there to see the place fall apart and people die left and right before it all seemed to go up in flames. Was it you or me? Oh, right, it was me! So don't come here and tell me how I don't understand, you weren't even there!"

Traximus' eyes narrowed and he leaned in closer to Jhanna- my guess was to try and unnerve her and make her sit down again- but she just kept firm eye contact and jutted her chin out at him, pure defiance and rebellion pouring out of every pore.

Her actions seemed to inspire Starlee to speak up and she glared up at Traximus, and while she didn't stand up- whether it was due to lack of nerve or soreness was unclear- she did jut her chin out and tried to look defiant as her sister.

"Yeah, there's no need to act like a jerk!"

He blinked and stared at Starlee, seemingly shocked to hear her speak to him like that, but when his eyes narrowed at her she shrunk back a little. "Do not take that tone of voice with me, kid-"

Jhanna's anger flared up and I could hear she was straining herself so she wouldn't yell.

"Hey, don't talk to my sister like that! Who do you think you are?"

Traximus' took a step closer, snorting loudly from his nostrils. "Jhanna, you need to stop with this attitude of yours. It's really not helping anyone at this point."

And suddenly I felt I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. I gathered up the little courage I had and looked up, trembling like a child.

"Oh yeah, because she's the one with the bad attitude here." Almost immediately I regretted the words as Traximus' eyes zeroed in on me and I felt my blood freeze in my veins. He had stern and angry eyes, his face cold but also angry and he opened his mouth, probably to reprimand me too.

But before he could-

"That is enough!" Everyone turned to look behind Traximus at The Professor, who was looking very stressed, fed up with the squabbling. But his eyes were trained on Traximus, not us. "Traximus, you are scaring the girls. We are not going to get them to open up and tell us what we need to know if you make them feel cornered."

Jhanna scoffed softly and rolled her eyes, and I could hear her mutter, "I wasn't scared," under her breath, but she didn't say anything out loud. But Traximus, thankfully, seemed to realize what he had been saying and doing and took a step back, which made all of us relax and breathe a sigh of relief as he backed off. He seemed to notice that too and lowered his head in slight shame.

I swallowed thickly, took a deep breath and opened my mouth again to more calmly explain my feelings. "We understand that you want to know what happened last night, and that everything that you did see might have made you uneasy or tense, but there is no need to take it out on us."

Jhanna sat down again, right behind me, and I felt her hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly in support. It was a rare act of silent solidarity from her and it felt really good that we were for once not butting heads. Plus her support really felt good, like she could see how unnerved and scared I was and wanted me to feel better. I covered her hand with mine and she squeezed it again before slowly letting go.

Traximus looked down at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists, mulling over our words before sighing and looking up again, his face less harsh and very repentant. "You are right. I'm sorry, girls, I must have been more affected by this than I realized. I am so sorry if I scared you."

We nodded and The Professor walked forward, stopping a few feet away from us and asking gently, "Now, let's try this again, shall we? Why don't you tell us what happened after you entered the party?"

And so we did. We each took turns, telling the story and giving details the others might have missed or forgotten to tell, and eventually Jhanna told us about how she had seen Moriah run away from the bar and had run after her, knocked her out and dragged her back here.

Traximus rubbed his chin, humming in thought and looking very concerned. "Hm, this is most curious. And disconcerting. How could the bar have spontaneously started to fall apart and then have caught fire seemingly on its own? And after what happened to Donatello, it couldn't all have been a coincidence."

I nodded, hands in my lap. "That's what I said! But I still don't see how it could have happened. I mean, I know there are lots of different aliens out there with special powers and abilities, but Donnie has never shown any signs of having any."

Traximus shrugged. "Perhaps he is unaware of them? It isn't unusual for special abilities to be discovered or manifest later in life, especially after being put through a rather tough life. Maybe he lost control and accidentally tore everything apart?"

Jhanna jerked up and glared accusingly at him. "Whoa, whoa, hold on! Are you seriously telling me that Donnie, what, lost all rational thought and control of himself and actually, literally killed over a hundred people and burned down a building? I mean, come on, it's Donnie! Donnie! The guy might be a fighter and trained to be a warrior but he's not a killer! You of all people should remember that, Traximus!"

Traximus raised his hands calmingly at her and his face remained still and reassuring. "I never said he did. I am simply saying that IF - please note the IF- he has powers and didn't know about it, they might have taken over him and he might have done everything without realizing it." Jhanna pressed her lips together, closed her eyes and took a breath before talking again.

"But Donnie doesn't have powers! And even if he did, I just don't see him being able to do anything this horrible to anyone, no matter what they do or how far he's been pushed. He's just too nice for that."

I turned to look at Jhanna over my shoulder. I leaned in close so only she could hear and whispered to her, "Remember what we talked about." Then I leaned back and spoke louder, so everyone could hear. "Donnie has been put through the wringer for the last few months and we don't know how his life looked on Earth, or his relationship to his family and friends. Maybe at the point in the bar, with everyone there laughing at him and jeering and pushing him around till he hit the floor, maybe that was the point where he snapped. I mean, no matter how strong or nice or wholesome a person is, you can only push someone so far before they finally break and lash out. Maybe that's what happened last night?"

Jhanna bit her lip and looked away and I thought we were done with that, when Starlee suddenly asked, "What did you talk about?" I froze and looked at her. I had forgotten how close Starlee was sitting to me and that she might hear what I whispered. I had heard their specific breed of humanoid had very good eyes and ears.

She tilted her head and looked suspiciously at us, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line. "You told her to remember what you talked about, Mona. Well, what did you talk about?" I felt my blood go cold and glanced nervously at Jhanna, who had gone very pale.

Traximus and The Professor looked at us with a new interest and I felt myself getting a bit anxious under all this attention. Either Jhanna noticed this and was trying to help or she was just trying to get them to forget about it when she said, "It doesn't really have anything to do with this, it was just-"

The Professor looked at her as reassuringly as he could with his robotic face. "If it helps us understand what Donatello is thinking and feeling at the moment and might help us understand what he is going through, we need to know. If nothing else, we need to help him if he needs it."

I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around my knees. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and it made my skin crawl. I loathed being the center of attention, especially when it was about things like this. But I also realized that none of them would let it go until Jhanna or I told them what they wanted to hear, so I took a deep breath to brace myself, but kept my eyes firmly locked on the floor.

"It was just… something Donnie said yesterday on Ypsagon. He started to tell us about his family. And how they would have reacted if they knew what he was doing right now, and how it was kinda his fault that his planet is in danger." I swallowed and took another shakier breath before I pressed on. "I just… I mean, I don't know for sure yet, it's still just a theory. But given how he talks about them sometimes, and sometimes seems to be afraid of them or resent them, I think that… maybe," I swallowed again, the lump that formed in my throat making my voice almost give out so I had clear it. "… I think his family might have been abusing him."

Traximus flinched violently and took a step back while The Professor gasped and froze completely. Starlee didn't seem to process it at first. She narrowed her eyes, confused, and I could practically see her brilliant mind trying to piece together what I was saying and what it implied. Then, suddenly, it seemed like it clicked for her and she drew back from me.

"… What? What are you- no! No, they can't be, are you insane? Donnie said they were great! He's said so much good about them!"

I smiled sadly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, and he's also said a lot of bad things; things that really concern me. Good family members shouldn't make you so scared that you'd rather go into war alone rather than call them in for help. Or cause you to have nervous breakdowns or make you feel scared or cornered or anything like that. I know I have no proof, but I feel there's more going on here than Donnie's telling us."

Traximus hummed, worried, before taking a breath and reining it in. "This is a very alarming theory, Mona Lisa. But it is as you said; we have no proof that any of this is true. I have not seen any bruises or wounds on his person that haven't been given by the Triceratons or other creatures that we have fought on this journey."

Jhanna rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her clenched fist. "Yeah, obviously not. He's not seen them or heard a word from them for months now. How would they have hit him or abused him in any physical way?" Starlee winced and shoved her sister lightly, muttering 'don't say things like that, Jhanna,' before wrapping her arms around herself.

I took a breath and opened my mouth when I suddenly caught the Professor looking very worried, but also pondering. And there was a hint of something else there, but you were able to see so much emotion in his robot face and eyes. It looked… concerned and but also absentminded. Like his mind was somewhere else, something also very concerning, but I couldn't really guess what. Except maybe the lost fragment of the Black Hole Generator, but that didn't seem right. There was something else.

"What's on your mind, Professor?"

He jumped and looked at me like a child caught breaking the rules. The others looked at him too; he suddenly looked like he was sweating nervously (except, you know, he couldn't sweat) and his eyes flickered a little from one of us to another before he settled on me.

"Oh, well, I was just pondering on how all of this might affect the mission. If Donatello, as you suggest, does have issues that might cause anxiety attacks or mental breakdowns, then that needs to be dealt with. The Black Hole Generator needs to be destroyed; that is the only thing that matters. Well, that and saving the Earth. And we can't do that if our leader and Captain might break down in the middle of a battle."

Jhanna immediately flew to her feet; fists clenched tightly and just barely holding back her anger. "Hey, that's not fair! Donnie has been handling himself fine up 'til this point! You can't hold one measly little breakdown against him when he's been doing great all this time!"

Starlee nodded and stood beside Jhanna- wincing in discomfort at the movement- not quite as angry as her sister, but very much determined to stand up for our friend. "Yeah, he's been awesome as a leader. He's gone toe to toe with Triceratons without batting an eye, he took on that monster down in those caves with a bad leg and killed it and saved our lives doing so!"

I set my jaw and stood at Jhanna's other side, but remained calm and only spoke with a bit more force than usual. "Yeah, he's been doing pretty damn great considering the circumstances. And considering everything he's been through up until now, he's not been too shabby. It's seems really unfair to judge him for what happened last night, like any of it was his fault."

The Professor raised his hands defensively and took a step back, shaking his head frantically. "Whoa, whoa, calm down my friends. I never said anything about Donatello not being a good leader. He is and has been doing far better than I expected from him considering his age and experience. But I am also saying that if he has some emotional baggage that might weigh him down, we will need to help him deal with it all. Especially after last night, he will need all the support he can get."

Jhanna, Starlee and I looked at each other. While I felt inclined to remind everyone that Donnie did, in fact, not remember anything from last night aside from the blood being dropped on his head and all the taunts and horrible treatments from the other patrons, I decided against it. Even if he didn't remember the fire and how people died in that pub or how many of them died, it still didn't change the fact that such an experience alone could really screw up a person. I certainly didn't think I could handle having a bucket of blood dumped on my head and having hundreds of other people laughing and taunting- and that's overlooking everything else that he had gone through before and after he ended up on D'hoonib that day.

So yeah, support and help him deal with this? I could totally do that.

Jhanna and Starlee seemed to think so too and we all nodded at each other, but Starlee looked up at Traximus and The Professor, her arms folded over her chest and a concerned frown on her face. "We'll have to tell him something. After what you said, Traximus, I think he feels like we think he's weak or can't handle the information. He might feel a bit left out."

Traximus looked away for a minute, but he had the decency to look ashamed of his behavior, and sighed heavily. "Yes, you are right, Starlee, I took it too far. I was only trying to protect him, but I didn't consider…" I placed my hand on his arm, his plated skin feeling rough and hard under my fingers.

"You might have had good intentions, and I give you credit for wanting to spare his pain, but you still hurt him. You should really talk to him when we're done here. He'll need to understand that you don't think he's weak." Traximus sighed again but nodded, placing a huge hand over mine. And it was really a testament to how much I had come to trust him and see him as a friend that I didn't flinch or feel any sense of danger from a Triceraton grabbing me, even if it was a light touch.

"Yes. And I will do that, just as soon as we're done here." I smiled at him and pulled back.

Jhanna stood with her hands on her hips and a slightly tilted head.

"So… what are we gonna do about Donnie's 'powers'? I mean, if this happens again, should he know about them? What should we tell him about what happened last night?"

Traximus nodded and hummed thoughtfully for a minute. Then he sighed and looked back at us.

"Well, it's quite clear that we have no real idea of what actually happened last night. It could have been an accident with the wiring or perhaps structure of the building was unstable, or it could have been Donatello using some power that has been locked away inside him for a long time. We don't know, and until we have more proof of the latter, we can't know for sure. So I say we tell him that was an accident and that people did die, but make it clear that it WAS an accident, that you were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, and nothing else. There's no need to make him feel like he was responsible for any of it when he already has enough to juggle as it is, right?"

We all nodded and with that, we decided that we had nothing else to talk about, so we all stepped out of the control room and into the dining room, just in time to see Donnie come in through another door.

He looked a bit surprised when he saw us and stiffened a little, his expression dropping subtly. "Hey guys. How'd your debriefing go?" He sounded pleasant enough but there was an underlying coldness in his voice that really made it clear that he was still a bit angry about earlier.

Traximus winced when he heard it, but either Donnie didn't see it or he chose to ignore it, because he kept his eyes locked on the rest of us. The Professor cleared his throat and placed his fingertips against each other awkwardly.

"Oh it, uh, it went well. We believe to have found the reason as to why the bar suddenly started to fall apart before it caught flames last night." Donnie's expression didn't change at all, except for one eyebrow rising, only slightly curious.

"Oh? And what's your conclusion, Prof?"

The Professor blinked at the nickname- and I did too, it was a new one- but cleared his throat again and lowered his hands, probably an attempt to look less awkward.

"Well, Traximus and I first believed that Moriah must have set it all up. That she was trying to trap you inside and kill you that way. But after listening to what happened in very close detail and going over what we could find, we have deduced that it must have been a very unfortunate accident."

Donnie raised his brow even higher and narrowed his eyes at him. "Isn't that pretty much what we thought happened? You literally had to have a meeting about this and couldn't have deduced that from what we all told you from last night? And what do you mean, freak accident? Buildings don't just fall apart on a whim like that. There had to have been a reason for it."

The Professor seemed momentarily stunned. He had probably thought Donnie would accept that answer easily enough, but if there was one thing I knew about Donnie, it was clear that he was no fool. But The Professor still tried to sell the lie and smiled weakly.

"Well, the building was very old, Donatello. It could have very easily just have gotten too old to hold up the structure anymore and just fell apart." He folded his arms over his chest, looking impossibly guilty for someone with very limited facial expressions. "Stranger things have happened."

Donnie did not look like he was buying it, not for a second. He folded his arms over his chest, eyebrow still raised, and looked The Professor dead in the eye. "So, let me get this straight: you had a meeting that you actively excluded me from because you didn't think I could handle it because of gruesome information or whatever- that I for the record have memories of- and in the end all you have to say is that it was just a freak accident and you found nothing new at all?"

Jhanna and I looked at each other. I hadn't really believed Donnie was going to buy this explanation, especially not after having made such a big fuss about it earlier. But if he kept asking more questions, I wasn't sure if The Professor could keep it a secret or say anything that wouldn't make Donnie more suspicious.

Someone dragging The Professor off or interrupting him wouldn't work. Letting The Professor keep talking like this wouldn't work. We would need to distract him somehow. Maybe a change in subject would make him forget about it long enough to accept the answer later when he remembered it again. Maybe.

Thankfully, Starlee had a very quick mind.

"What were you doing at the cells, Donnie?" Donnie's gaze snapped to her, momentarily lost and looking like he had forgotten about the rest of us. Starlee kept talking. "That door only leads to the cells, and we only have Moriah in one of those cells. What were you doing with her?"

Now it was Jhanna's turn to look suspicious and for Donnie to look a little unsure. But he seemingly got himself together very quickly and assumed a very strong and immovable stance. Like he was bracing himself for something.

"I've talked to Moriah. I've tried to get some information out of her." Traximus and the Professor perked up, immediately very interested in this conversation, and Starlee also looked a little curious, if a little apprehensive.

Jhanna however only scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah? And how did that work out for you? How many times did she yell at you, or call you a freak? I bet it was more than any actual useful information for us. She's impossible to talk to. All she ever does is yell or throw insults, talks all over you or she doesn't take you seriously."

Donnie rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. "Pot meet kettle." Then he looked back at Jhanna. "She said, for better or worse, all she's ever been doing is to protect you and Starlee. She claims to love you and wants to make sure you don't get hurt."

Jhanna scoffed again, louder this time, and turned away from him, folding her arms over her chest. "Yeah, right! And hasn't she been doing a bang-up job at that?" Donnie rolled his eyes again and shook his head, a little frustrated.

"Are you going to let me finish or do you plan on talking over me all the time?" Jhanna hmph'ed at him and rolled her eyes so vigorously that she moved her head in a circular movement as well, but she didn't say anything else.

I looked back at Donnie and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What else is there?" Donnie straightened his back a little and lifted his chin, almost defiantly.

"I told her that I'm giving her a choice. Let us hand her over to the proper authorities, or stay here as our prisoner."

Jhanna's head snapped up so fast I almost thought she snapped her own neck in doing so, turned around so quickly her hair practically slapped her in the face, and stomped up into Donnie's face so her nose was almost touching his.

"What?! Are you out of your damn mind, Donnie?! We can't keep her here; she's the enemy! She deserves nothing more than to rot in a dirty cell like she left us to do in that Triceraton Prison! She's a monster, why would you want her to stay here with us?!" Traximus had to grab her by the shoulders and lift her away from Donnie, who still hadn't changed his expression much, even as Jhanna yelled in his face.

Traximus set her down a few feet away from him, but kept a hand on her shoulders so she wouldn't do anything stupid, then looked at Donnie, curious yet cautious. "Explain your thoughts, Donatello. Why have you given her this choice?"

Donnie took a breath and finally his expression became less guarded and defiant and turned into something softer. More Donnie-like, somehow.

"Back on Zerij, when the Wendigo literally had me at his feet, Moriah turned around to save me. She'd been going on for so long about how she wanted me dead, yet when she had the chance to get me out of the picture, she saved me. And then the next time we see her she dumps a bucket of blood on my head. She goes on about doing right by the Federation and your-" He stopped himself and looked over at Starlee and Jhanna. "I mean, the General, yet she seems to care more about you than The Professor. She keeps confusing me, but if I'm being honest here, I don't think she's as bad as she's trying to be."

Starlee looked like she was considering this, but still pretty doubtful, while Jhanna just rolled her eyes and scoffed again. "Oh, come on Donnie, don't tell me you think she's good! She's not- she's as far from good as you can possibly get!"

I looked over at her with narrowed eyes and my eyebrows drawn together. "Oh, so she's worse than Zanramon? Or the Kraang? As far as bad guys go, I don't think she's the absolute worst the galaxy has to offer."

She hissed at me and turned her nose up, clearly not wanting to listen.

I turned back to Donnie. "Donnie, while it may be plausible that maybe she has a little good inside of her- or a lot, maybe- but what are you going to do with that? Like, what exactly do you want to do with her if she does choose to stay here?"

Donnie looked me dead in the eye. "To keep an eye on her, of course. If there's one thing I've learned about Moriah, it's that she's relentless. She's not going to stop just because we lock her up in another prison. She'll just escape and keep going after us. At least this way we can keep an eye on her and make sure she won't trouble us anymore."

Traximus rubbed his chin and hummed. "That does sound like a very good idea, Donatello." Then he turned to him with narrowed eyes. "But I would like it if you don't create plans or do things without consulting with the rest of us."

Donnie narrowed his eyes, leaning on one leg and resting a hand on his hip. "Why? Is it only alright when you do it?"

I winced and took a small step back, biting my lip to keep myself from gasping. Starlee's hand flew to her mouth; a soft 'oooh' leaving her lips as her eyes darted to Traximus. Jhanna's face scrunched up in a mix between impressed and an 'ouch' face. "Ooh-ho-ho-ho, Trax! You want some fire lily potion for that burn?"

Traximus didn't say anything, but his face was pinched and he looked away, somewhat ashamed, and finally let go of Jhanna. She massaged and rolled her shoulders a little before turning back to Donnie, calmer now but still very unhappy about the situation.

"But Donnie, you cannot seriously say that you expect us to start trusting her. She's the enemy! You don't know the half of all the things that she's done to us and other innocent people! She can't be trusted!"

Donnie raised his hands, both defensively and calmingly, looking Jhanna straight in the eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a little there, Jhanna. I never said that we were gonna trust her, far from it; we should keep her on a tight leash. And what better way to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else or keep hunting us than to keep her in our own prison cell?"

Jhanna looked him straight into his eyes, her face incredibly annoyed and frustrated, but also defeated. Knowing her I bet that she could see the logic but refused to back down. She let out a huff of air through her nose before she finally backed down.

"Sometimes I really don't like you." That was all she said before she stomped away towards the training room, most likely to try and let go of some of the anger that was still building up in her. Donnie smirked and had his arms folded over his chest.

"You don't mean that." He said it without even looking at her before turning to Starlee and me. "She doesn't mean that." Then he blinked, like he did sometimes when got an idea, and turned to her before she walked through the door.

"Tell you what, Jhanna?" She turned to look at him; her face contorted with held back anger and frustration. "You probably know Moriah better than any of us, so why don't you take the responsibility of making sure she doesn't get up to anything?"

We all stared at him like he suddenly had lost his mind. And I wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't. Leaving Jhanna in charge of handling her 'monster' of a sister was only asking for trouble. If we were unlucky she just might end up killing her.

Jhanna stared at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She had to blink a few times before she finally regained her ability to speak and closed her mouth. "You serious?"

Donnie nodded with a soft smile. "Sure. You know her in ways we don't, likely her moves and how she thinks and acts. So it only makes sense to let you deal with her, make sure she gets a meal every once in a while but also make sure she stays in line. What do you say?"

Looking at Jhanna's face, you'd think he had just granted her biggest dream. She smiled widely, if a little wickedly.

"Oh, don't you worry, Donnie. I'll take care of everything concerning her." Then she turned around and went into the training room. I immediately hurried up to Donnie and grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.

"Donnie, are you crazy? Leaving Jhanna in charge of Moriah is like asking Zanramon to be in charge of diplomacy! It's just asking for trouble!"

He looked at me, placing his hand on my shoulder and gently pushing me back. "Don't worry, Mona, it'll be fine. Moriah will be in a cell at all times and I won't allow Jhanna to go inside or let her out just to beat her up. Her job is just to make sure she doesn't misbehave or create any trouble for us. That's it. It'll be fine."

I didn't exactly feel reassured or calmer, but before I could say anything I saw Starlee step up to Donnie, looking up at him with concern. "Donnie… are you sure keeping Moriah here is a good idea? I'm not so sure about it." His face softened and he placed an arm around her, pulling her close to his side.

"I'm sorry, Starlee. I should have talked to you about this before I told her. I didn't consider how you or Jhanna would feel about this, but good or bad I still feel better knowing Moriah is close by where we can keep an eye on her so she can't distract us anymore. This way we can focus more on getting the fragments of the Black Hole Generator instead of worrying about whether she's gonna pop up somewhere and halt our progress. Her little stunt yesterday aided in us losing the first fragment, so we clearly need to keep an eye on her."

Starlee nodded slowly, but still looked very concerned and unhappy. She gently pulled away from Donnie's hold on her before skating over at the doors. "I'm going to take a shower." She didn't wait for a response and headed out, the doors softly sliding shut behind her.

Donnie looked very unsure and sad, like he suddenly wasn't sure that he had done the right thing, then sighed and walked away. "I'll be in my room."

Then he was gone before Traximus even had the chance to stop him and tell him he was sorry.

A/N: Done! I hope you like this chapter, because honestly it was kinda hard to write for some reason. I don't know, I just thought it was kinda boring, probably since I've written a lot of really juicy stuff in the last few chapters and now I have to wait a few chapters before it gets really juicy again. Still, I hope you'll like it and keep reading this story.

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