Chapter 2: Tick-tock
Max POV
I had just been given my mission. I finally knew what the crazy scientists meant when they said I was to save the world. What did I do? I'll give you a few hints. I did not have a witty retort. I did not nod stoically. Are you stumped? Well if you guessed that I stood there, gaping like a fish, for the next thirty seconds then ding ding ding, we have a winner! Finally, realization sunk into my head. I had two weeks to save humanity. [Do not worry, Maximum. You do not need to save all of humanity, most people will die. You only need to save the bits of humanity that are already prepared to live through the apocalypse.] "Great." I muttered. "Nearly everyone is going to die, and with the survivors I need to build an entire civilization. Piece of cake. Isn't there anything I can to do save the people already alive?" [No. Unfortunately, the contagion is already out of hand. I'm sorry, but there is no way that all of humanity can be spared, although, if it is any consolation, none of your friends in Astaria or Sailand will die, as their +anima genes will prevent that, although it will activate the dormant +anima genes of the rest of the people in the two countries.] I sighed. At least there was some good news. "But wait, what do you mean their 'dormant +anima genes will activate?'" [From what we have already sensed, all the people in Sailand and Astaria have dormant +anima genes, most likely from a previous retrovirus. Each and every person on the island has the potential to become a +anima by absorbing animal DNA around them. We also have reason to believe that the +anima retrovirus can infect other people, so people in the rest of the world will also have the capability to become +anima, which will lower the number of total deaths.] I sighed, relieved. I couldn't save everyone, but I would be able to save at least quite a few people. "Thank you for the forewarning," I told the Krelp. It nodded, before jetting away.I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, before realizing that it was only one of the sailors, a timid mouse +anima named Gero. "Ummm. Excuse me, miss, but are those things common around here, have you seen any before." I chuckled, before responding. "I have seen those before, but you don't need to be afraid. They are not at all common and they tend to stay away from humans."
By now we had reached the port. Instead of the peaceful landing we had envisioned we were surrounded by military vehicles, TV vans, and lots and lots of reporters. I was below deck, watching through a porthole, as was the rest of the flock, because we did not want to be recognized by the media; we had had much more than our share of being celebrities and we were tired of it. Outside, the +anima who had been piloting the ship, one of Crystala's generals named Zan, was being interviewed by a mass of curious reporters.
One of the reporters shoved the microphone even closer to Zan's face. "So what where these '+anima' you mentioned earlier? Is there anyone on the ship with a +anima?" The reporter shouted at Zan. "+anima, are, ummm… People… with the power to change part of their bodies into animals?" Zan replied, unsure of himself. The reporter nodded slightly, before asking, "but what about having +anima on-board?" Zan stood for a little bit, searching for an answer, before saying "we do have some +anima on board, but one of the people on board told me that there were people who would want to experiment on them, so I won't tell you which ones are +anima." A hush fell over the crowd. Finally a brave reporter broke the silence. "So… one of the people on board came from here? What was their name?" Zan scratched his head before saying "actually, eight people from 'here' are on board, their names are…"
I pulled back from the window. If we didn't leave soon, things would get hairy. "C'mon guys, up and at them!" I yelled to my flock, plus Ari, who were already ready. I felt a tug at my sleeve. I turned around, seeing Cooro. "Ummm… Can we come with you?" he asked, indicating himself, Nana, Husky, Senri and Rose. "We want to see what this place is like, and you guys seem like the only ones who know what's going on." I opened my mouth to tell him no, before reconsidering. Technically, he and his friends were mutants, and they weren't bad fighters either, plus, at the very least, they would be faster than Ratchet. "Sure." He smiled. "Great!" I nodded. "You guys should sneak off the ship. Meet us over there," I pointed at a small cove, surrounded by trees, about two miles from here, "in twenty minutes." He nodded.
(Line break)
Cooro POV
We had snuck off the ship twenty minutes ago, and had arrived at the beach right on time
. Just as we stepped onto the sand, a girl appeared out of nowhere. "Who are you, and why are you on our beach?" she asked in a cold tone. Senri growled at her, causing her to step back about three steps. I threw my hands up. "Wait! Are you Star?" I asked. "Yes..." she replied, wary. I smiled enthusiastically, hoping to set her at ease. "Max told us we'd find you here." "Max? You're lying! She disappeared two months ago, along with the rest of the flock!" "Oh really?" Fang whispered in her ear causing her to jump back right into Senri. I chuckled. I had seen him sneaking up on her the entire time we were talking, and I was wondering if she would notice. Fang looked around, giving one of his half smiles. "Maya, you can come out, we know you're there." He yelled towards the tree line. I heard a chuckle come from the forest. A girl stepped out. She was tall, she had blond hair… I did a double take. She looked exactly like Max! If it weren't for the pink streak in her hair, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart! I tuned to Fang. "You didn't tell us that Max had a twin!" He shrugged in reply. "Who are they?" the girl asked, indicating us. "Friends," Replied Fang. Pleased at his response, I asked "who are you?" "Maya. She replied to me. She directed her next comment to Fang. "Who are they, mutants?" confused, I asked "What are mutants?" She looked at me strangely. "How can you not know what mutants are? Are you from another dimension or something!" "Yep!" I replied cheerfully. She smacked her palm against her forehead, muttering "so that's what Max meant." Max stepped out of the trees behind her, startling Maya. "And that's why you don't doubt me," said Max smugly. Maya gave Max an exasperated half smile. "You have a lot to explain, Mac. You better come with me; you won't find our hideout unless we show it to you. C'mon." Maya indicated towards a point outside of our view.
(Line break)
Maya's "hideout" was actually more of a fortress. Apparently, they had come here three months earlier, because the other members of her "gang" kept complaining that they only staid in cold places. They had liked Hawaii, and had decided to stay here after they had found this cave. Apparently only because they thought it would be easily defensible, but I doubted that was their true reason. Max had explained the situation to Maya, and they had agreed to help, although it meant leaving their base, but everyone agreed, saving civilization was worth it.
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Nothing much happening in this chapter, just kind of a transition chapter. I would like to announce that I have decided to shorten this story to only two parts. I will have a definite end, but I don't want to do the third part, which would be a sort of "epilogue story" because I have gotten little attention to this story, as well as because I just had a genius idea for an Inheritance cycle/+anima crossover, and I only want to do one story at a time, so I can fulfill my pledge to update weekly. Don't take this the wrong way though, I am thankful for the people who consistently read this story (looks at NicoXChiku says Cata. Thanks profusely.) But two people aren't much, I will finish this story, and I won't skimp on detail or rush it, but I want to move to the next story as soon as possible.
p.s. Update=early!
Now for the logo: └│┘ ○┌ Ⱡ∂₪≡┌g≡
Bye bye!
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