Chapter 17

After another day of monitoring Don's condition, Cerval agreed to allow Erkon to bring Don back to the prison. He told the commander that Don needed to stay in a recuperation cell for the next few days before he could return to work. He also gave the commander specific instructions about the medication Don was still taking for his lungs.

Erkon complied with the doctor's orders, but began announcing that Don was available for sale to a few 'friends'.

Of course, Jax and Mikey had not yet been informed by this information. They were a bit concerned when they arrived at the hospital.

"Yes, Erkon came and picked him up first things this morning," Dr. Cerval explained to them. "But I gave him specific instructions to keep an eye on Donatello. He should be in a recuperation cell now."

Mikey was a little relieved hearing this.

"We'll go see him while we check up on our other patients," Jax assured him. Mikey nodded in acceptance with this arrangement.

Don was uneasy seeing commander Erkon again. It didn't give him any comfort knowing that this Triceraton was keeping him under his watch until further notice.

"Doc says you're recovering from your little accident," he smirked evily at the Turtle. "That's good news. Can't say you'll be so lucky if such an accident were to happen again."

Don tensed. Did Erkon expect something else to happen to Don? As if lung damage wasn't enough!

Erkon brought in a trey of prison food and set it by Don. He had the Turtle cuffed with an arms length chain welded into the wall.

"Enjoy your meal."

Then he left, leaving Don alone in the cell. Don hesitated and kept an eye on the door as if he worried that Erkon would come back. He pulled the trey of food closer to him with his foot. Bread and water from the looks of it. Not really a harty meal, but Don was hungry and decided it was best not to complain. All food was precious here, no sense in wasting it, no matter what it was.

He grabbed the bread and began to eat. The bread tasted a bit moldy and was a little hard to bite into, much to Don's disappointment. The water was cold at least and it soothed his dry throat.

He wondered what was going to happen to him now. He knew that his next 'owner' was probably going to be like Jeck,or maybe someone similar. He couldn't imagine where he'll be sent to work next, he only knew that it couldn't be good.

"I wonder how Algae is doing?" he mumbled quietly to himself. He didn't know why he started thinking about his chameleon friend. "I hope he's still alive."

He remembered the dimension Alage told him about; the Turtle Nublea. Could such a place really exist? A dimension ruled by reptiles, the Turtle Nublea was several galaxies away from the Solar System. It amazed Don that the Triceratons had reached that far. But could it be such a surprise? The Triceratons were a warrior-like race who's main focus was conquering other worlds. At least, as long as Don and his brothers had known them.

"I wonder if the Triceratons have always been like this? Back at the games, Treximus had mentioned they've only been on a dominating rage since their leader Zanromon came into power," Don told himself.

"But that can't be right. I haven't heard anything about Zanromon since we've come back and I've heard some guards mention before back in the core that Zanromon was no longer in power. If that's the case, then who is ruling them now? Are they following Zanromon's orders because his laws have been the most recent, or is their new ruler still being debated?"

All these questions made Don's head hurt. He held his head and growled.

"I hate it when I don't have all the answers. This would be so much easier if I understood the Triceratons more. As much as it is hard for me to admit, Mikey did seem comfortable with that Triceraton counselor. Treximus seemed okay too. Maybe not all Triceratons are cruel, but I still don't know. I wish I could study their language better, but it's difficult and I know so little."

He stood up and looked out between the prison bars. There were some guards, but that wasn't much of a surprise. The cell bars didn't look very sturdy.

Don tried pulling the bars lose. A guard noticed and strode over with a chuckle.

"Don't waste your strength. Those bars are stronger than any steel you'll find on your pathetic earth. They've got an interesting trick, too."

As if on cue, the bars gave Don a shock and he quickly stepped away. Electric bars, he should have expected as much. The Triceraton chuckled again before going back to his patrol.

Don rubbed his sore hands. Okay, so breaking out by force wasn't going to work. He searched the cell for any windows or lose walls, but it was all in vain. The only way out had to be through those cell bars.

Don lied down on the cot and turned to the side facing the wall so the guards would think he was sleeping and not trying to plan an escape.

"Okay, Don, think," he thought to himself. "If these bars are electric controlled and stronger than any steel, then you'll have to come up with a way to outsmart the system. But even if I manage to get out of this cell, I have no idea where I am located in the prison right now."

He glared at the wall as he thought this. "But that Triceraton said the bars were stronger than any type of steel I'M used to. That means there is a way I can bust out, but I would have to experiment with different materials on this planet. I don't have time for that, but it may be my only option. I'll have to keep my senses sharp and maybe I can figure out where I am, then I can plan for a way out off this planet."

His thoughts were interrupted by a violent knock on the cell bars. It startled Don and he covered his ears as the sound echoed. It was Erkon.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he chuckled sarcastically. "Did I wake you?"

Don glared at him, but he didn't answer. Erkon continued, ignoring Don's look.

"I've brought a friend who's interested in buying you."

Don noticed the alien creature standing next to Erkon. He was a purple-skinned alien with an eye-patch and yellow teeth. He looked like a slug of some sort.

The two entered the cell and the slug creature held Don's chin with his slimy hand as he looked the Turtle over. The smell of this creature made Don feel nauseous.

"He's a little thinner than you described, Erkon. But I could fatten him up," the creature chuckled.

"You think so?" Don inquired a bit nervously. "It's not easy for me to gain weight."

The creature, known as Florp, continued his examination of Don without answering whatever questions the Turtle had.

"I don't know, Erkon," Florp said with a shake of his head. "The price you want for him is a bit steep."

"He did escape the Games, Florp," Erkon told him. "And he's a smart one. He's from Earth too, not the Turtle Nublea dimension."

"I suppose that is true," Florp said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "It's unusual to find turtles of his size from earth. He's the only one of his kind?"

"Well, he does have a few brothers, but we haven't found other turtles like them on earth so far."

"I suppose I could take him for 300 credits."

"No," Erkon shook his head with a frown. "The price is set at 500, nothing more."

"350!" Florp insisted.

"500!" Erkon demanded. Don had an idea and decided to speak up.

"Um...excuse me?" Don asked, causing the two to glance at him. "Are credits like money? If it's a price you're trying to discuss, don't you think you both might want to reconsider my value?"

"What do you mean?" Erkon frowned.

"Well...," Don said, hiding his smile. Looks like his charade might work after all. Maybe he could sneak away if he could outsmart them. "If I wanted to sell a prisoner, I would consider their skills, strength, and health."

He turned to florp next "How do you know 300 credits is a reasonable price for me? Sure, I'm an unusual creature, but anyone can claim that their prisoner is smart. You don't even know what I could do for you."

"Hey," florp frowned, realizing what Don was telling him. "That's right! How do I know you're what I want?"

"I could be sick too, or maybe contaminated with some kind of disease," Don told him. "If you want a rare creature like me, I would have someone examine me to make sure I'm healthy."

"But Doctor Cerval said you were in fine health other than your accident from earlier!"

"Maybe, but did you tell this good sir that I'm still recovering from...the pepperoni disease?!"

"Pepperoni disease?" Florp asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"You mean you never heard of the pepperoni disease?" he began coughing to keep up the charade. "Very contagious! Multicolored spots all over the body!" he shivered at the thought. "Things fall off too!"

Florp screamed and jumped into Erkon's arms. "Stop it! Don't come anywhere near me!"

"The pepperoni disease!" Don emphasized as he stepped closer to them look a zombie. Florp let out another scream and ran away, leaving Erkon alone.

Erkon frowned, clearly not convinced with Don's charade. He grabbed Don by the throat and slammed him into the wall. The rush surprised Don and he began rubbing his chest again from his lungs stinging from the impact.

"If you try something like that again, I'll kill you!" he threatened. He let Don drop to the floor and left the cell. Don began coughing for real this time and his lungs felt the familiar burning pain again. So much for trying to outsmart Erkon.