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Dust and small rocks kicked at his visor as he sped through the dry lands. The loud thrum of his motor cycle growled as he took a sharp turn to avoid a huge boulder. Sand clouded his vision but he still rode on. He knew this path well enough by now. Soon, there would be another boulder to his left,-
Turn
-A low rock formation he would duck under,-
Skiirrttt
-and finally, a nature-formed ramp that would give him just enough speed to cross The Valley. Even with the sand billowing around him, he could feel the motorcycle start to ascend the ramp. The stony road beneath him went higher, and higher, and higher-
Until suddenly, he was weightless.
The sand was suddenly gone, revealing the layers of rock that made up The Valley below. The wind whipped playfully around him, trying to slow him down to his death as it has tried many times before. Yet, as always, he soared over the valley and landed safely on the other side. His motorcycle bounced slightly as it made contact with the ground. The bounce hardly bothered him as he rode closer to his first stop.
The ground slowly changed from solid rock to loose gravel as he neared Todd's diner. He slowed down as he turned into the gas port at the diner. He parked his motor cycle and stood from his seat. Routine made it easy for him to fill the tank.
Turn off ignition
Unlock tank
Fill tank
It was a monotonous task that almost made him miss the ringing of his phone. Unfortunately, almost wasn't enough to spare him from his brother.
"What do you want." Donnie growled.
He is not in the mood to converse with Leonardo.
"Whoa, calm down hermano," Leo replied, sounding smug. "We're just calling to check in with you."
"We?"
Donnie hoped that was a slip of tongue, he does not have the patience to deal with his other brothers.
"Hi, Donnie," Mikey chirped.
He didn't hear anything from his older brother. Raph is usually at the cadet campus's gym around this time but he tends to stay near one of his brothers. Donnie checked if the fuel reached the filler neck. He probably had a minute left until it was full.
"You have exactly one minute to talk."
"Wow, a minute? I guess you're feeling generous today, Don."
A loud smack followed Leo's mocking comment. Leo whined in the background. Mikey quickly took over the call.
"Thanks Donnie, we all appreciate you agreeing to talk."
Unhappy grumbling came from his phone.
"Anyways, dearest Donatello, my favorite brother, we were wondering if you'd come to family dinner-"
Donatello hung up.
The remaining time before he could leave ticked down. He closed and locked the tank then quickly jetted from the diner. He was starting to get tired and he hasn't even gotten to his destination yet.
A few hours of speeding along the dusty road later, the silhouette of The Junkyard appeared. The entry of the junkyard quickly came into view. Donnie rode straight towards the entrance then suddenly veered to the right. He had to use…less than legal methods to get inside. Richie Mantis used to allow Donnie free access to his junkyard due to his father's lineage, but that quickly changed when Donnie cut ties with his father.
Unluckily for Richie, Donnie had prepared for that possibility the moment his father had started putting all his time into his brothers.
He quickly turned the corner of the wooden fence and parked. The secret entrance Donnie had made was camouflaged, hidden from the world thanks to the small projector he'd built. He jogged to the back of the junkyard and stopped at the furthest corner. Donnie confidently took a step into the fence and passed through, unharmed. The hologram look exactly like the wood fence, making it near impossible for anyone other than Donnie to find.
The small clearing he stepped into was surrounded by huge piles of scrap metal. Broken cars and old appliances were stacked in the entrance, deemed more important by Richie. But these pieces of scrap were key to Donnie's self-sufficiency.
Donnie had about an hour before Richie got back from wherever he goes after 8 pm. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his compact headphones, and excitedly dove into his task.
However, before he even touch a pile of scrap, Donnie paused. Something didn't feel right. It felt like the air was buzzing in anticipation of something. Donnie stood from the pile of scrap he was crouched next to and looked around. The Junkyard was still void of life besides Donnie so it couldn't be anything here. Maybe it was just nerves or leftover anxiety from the call with his brothers.
But the hairs on his neck buzzed in warning. The sudden change in the air had Donnie anxious to leave. He quickly jogged back through the hologram and started his motorcycle. He was about to speed away when he saw it. A twinkling light shooting across the sky. Could it be-?
Donnie looked away, squashing the hope immediately. It was probably just a shooting star, there hasn't been a new Mech in years.
But what if it was?
Donnie couldn't just ignore this, even if it was unlikely that it really was a Mech. It might be his only chance to achieve his dreams.
Donnie whipped his motorcycle around and started to track the far-away light. The light shot across the sky at a breakneck speed, threatening to leave Donnie behind. Donnie was already going at top-speed, how could he keep up? He tried to push his engine further somehow but he couldn't without risking the failure of the engine.
The light suddenly started to dip dangerously close to the ground. At the rate it's going, Donnie won't need to keep up for much longer. Donnie slowed down slightly, observing how fast the light dipped down. The air around the light started to appear in short bursts with sharp clicks accompanying each burst. The light started burning brighter and with it, the bursts got bigger and louder until—
CLICK CLICK BOOM!
The dark sky suddenly lit up, blinding Donnie. Donnie tried to shield his eyes from the blinding light but it stayed even behind his eyes. A sharp ringing noise followed, leaving him blinded and his hearing deafened. Both sensations lasted for a few seconds before they abruptly disappeared as if never there in the first place. The only evidence of what happened being the new crater in the ground. Donnie stared in shock at the far-off crater.
At this point, there's no denying that this is a Mech. Anything else would have burned in the shield surrounding the Earth.
Donnie head was blank, slowly processing what this meant.
After all these years, all the hurt and pain he endured, it was finally his time. His turn to become a Mech Pilot.
He jumped, shaking away his shock as he let out an excited squeal.
"Yes, Yes! Finally, I'm going to be a Pilot!" Donnie cheered.
He wasted no time in returning to his previous speed and quickly sped towards the crater.
Twenty minutes later, Donnie was peering over the edge of the crater. It had to be more than 2000 meters in circumference and more than 10 feet deep. But Donnie was paying that no attention as he stared at the Mech. He can't believe it. He was actually staring at a Mech.
Though, something about the Mech was… Weird. The grey and featureless body of the Mech was slumped in the center of the crater. The colour and features of the Mech were pretty standard and nothing immediately stood out. But something buzzed in the back of his mind, warning him. Donnie brushed it off as nerves because this is the moment he'd been waiting for his entire life!
He carefully lowered himself into the crater and tried to half-walk-half-slide closer to the Mech. However, while he focusing on keeping his balance, he failed to notice a rock jutting from the ground and tripped.
Donnie's face slammed into the dry ground and he slid the rest of the way down. Donnie groaned as he slowly sat up. His face was rubbed raw and he might be bleeding. He spent a good minute trying to rub the dust from his eyes. When he finally felt everything was gone he look up only to be right next to the Mech.
Donnie didn't realize how big the Mech was until he stared up at its massive frame. He was only as big as one of its fingers. Donnie stood from where he had fallen, brushing off dirt as he hobbled closer to its head. Its mechanical eyes were closed which either meant it was in rest mode— or it hadn't survived the fall.
Donnie hoped it was the former.
The only way to check was to reset the Mech from the cock-pit. Which was on it chest. Which was about four meters above him. Donnie wasn't going to let this stop him though. He's done worse than climb four meters while injured.
Twenty minutes later, Donnie was sitting on the mech, out of breath and sore in his arms and legs. But he was atop the Mech. Somehow being on the Mech didn't help with the feeling of smallness. If anything, it only amplified the feeling. Donnie didn't trust his legs so he carefully slid over to the hatch. Nothing on the hatch showed any sign of there being an entrance, but Donnie was an expert when it comes to Mechs.
He scooted to the middle of the hatch and laid on his stomach. He reached towards the top of hatch and felt around. He soon found several grooves in the metal and pulled. That might not have been the best decision as he fell into the cock-pit.
The hatch quickly slid into the frame, leaving Donnie on the inside of the Mech. Donnie muttered as he pulled himself into a sit, wincing as his whole body ached. The hatch slid back into place almost as quickly as it slid out, leaving him in darkness. He felt around in the darkness, looking for some indicator of where he was in the mech. He used the wall as a crutch as he stood slowly. As he walked he felt the walk for the panel that connects the pilot to the mech.
After what felt like an hour, Donnie finally gripped the panel. Months of training guided his fingers to the reset panel. He was so close to finally getting own mech and following the path meant for him! He excitedly reached into the panel, allowing the gel-like substance to close over his hand. He gagged at the texture but pushed past it. This was his one chance, he couldn't waste it.
His hand touched the bottom of the panel and he grabbed the handle. Donnie pulled the handle up and waited.
Minutes passed and nothing happened.
Donnie tugged at the handle harder, beginning to use both hands to pull. His arms ached at the strain but he didn't care. Finally, after using his sore legs to push against the panel, the handle finally started to move. Donnie's excitement came back tenfold. He pushed through the pain and pulled with renewed energy. The handle moved up slowly, then faster the more he pulled. Donnie felt the Mech slowly powering up as the handle came up. Donnie stared in awe as the Mech pulsed with a dull purple light. This was it, he was about to bond with the mech. But something
went wrong.
donnie felt like he's being torn apart and put back together and torn apart again and again- glued together then brutally ripped apart over and over and over and over. His brain empty like he's being scooped out and something is pushing in and he thinks he died because why is he so cold but then he's so full bursting at the seams full of something else that isn't him filling him with warmth and light and fire-
Then it went dark.
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Bonding Successful