Sorry it took me so long to update but I've had to write a Shakespearean story for english class and I've been drawing more and I just discovered a new book series I really like so I've been kind of busy. Anyway, here is the next chapter.
Tobias
It wasn't a big ship. Smaller than a bug fighter. Not as daunting as the Visser's Blade Ship. But maybe that's because it was crashing. A high metallic screech rang through the air, almost as if it were alive.
Then it was in the ground, ripping up the soil and grass as it came to a skidding halt.
I realized that I was still half-morphed to fly. A hideous-looking creature. I still had my russet tail feathers and my sharp eyes, but my beak was an ugly proboscis. My wings were hard and shriveled. I continued to watch.
Apparently the Visser had not been expecting this.
((You fools!)) he bellowed. ((What is that?))
Nope, not happy at all.
Then a part of the ship, a blue and white dome on the hull, just raised itself out of a little opening and landed on the ground as if it had a mind of its own. It beeped. A light blinked. I figured this must be some type of android.
But it looked nothing like the androids I knew of. They were called the Chee and appeared like two-legged, ivory and chrome dogs. Our friend, Erek, is one of them.
Then I noticed movement from inside the small ship. It opened and I stared. There was a human in there.
Fortunately, I still had my raptor eyes and I saw something else on the other side of the field. Something I wouldn't be able to detect with human eyes. Least of all, fly eyes.
Rachel was growing. Gradually. Brown fur sprouted from her face and spread down her back, completely covering her.
((Rachel!)) I called.
She flicked one newly formed, rounded ear in response but didn't stop. She couldn't see me with weak human eyes. I turned my attention back to the clearing.
Clearly the Hork-bajir were confused at the sudden appearance of a stranger crashing right in front of them. They began firing.
I expected to see the man from the ship burned to a crisp. But that's not what happened.
With lightning speed, a flame ignited. No, not a flame. It was long and glowed blue. It hummed as it whizzed through the air.
It was some type of sword, though it looked like a giant glow stick. It moved impossibly fast and deflected the Hork-bajir's shots. The dracon fire hurtled back at them and they had to move quickly to get out of the way. One of them wasn't fast enough.
Through the trees, Rachel's morph was nearly complete. She was a grizzly bear.
Well, so much for the mission. I began to reverse the morph. My wings filled out again, my beak formed. No trace of the fly was left. Now I was fully a red-tailed hawk.
I flapped my wings and managed to lift off the ground. The warm air caught me and I swept up over the trees. I wondered what Jake thought. He was kind of like our leader. Did he want us to fight this one?
There's an old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The man down there sure didn't seem to be on the Visser's good side. If he had one. So I was taking a chance.
I swerved sharply until I faced the clearing, now that I had gained some altitude. I angled my wings and shot straight down, raking my talons forward, aiming for the nearest Hork-bajir.
TSEER! I screeched and hit him hard, sailing passed and over the field. He howled in pain, clutching at the bloody mess that had once been his eyes.
Then Rachel came bursting through the trees on four big bear paws. She bellowed with rage.
((Andalites!)) the Visser cried.
I flew back into the air, ready to come down again. This time one of the guards had the sense to look up. He aimed his dracon beam. Straight at me.
TSEWW! TSEWW!
Red bolts fizzled in the air. I banked a hard right. The shots missed me by less than an inch. I could feel the heat as they passed.
Then, RRrrOoaRRrr! The terrifying sound came from the tree line as a tiger leaped into view. I felt relieved knowing Jake had decided to fight.
Or maybe he had just come because of me and Rachel.
At any rate, we had to fight. From the trees came a gorilla, a wolf, and an Andalite. They joined in the battle, teeth and claws, and a scorpion tail blade.
FWAP!
Man, that tail was useful.
I heard a flurry of beeps, frantic-sounding. It took me a second to realize they came from the little blue android. Then I saw that it was rocking back and forth, it's red circular light blinking in the direction I should have been looking.
A Hork-bajir stood there, dracon beam raised. I veered to the side but the shot burned some of the feathers on my right wing. I could smell smoke. And then I was plummeting to the ground.
In desperation, I tried to lift up and only did so with difficulty. I could still fly. But my wing was weak. I wasn't flying steady.
((Tobias!)) Rachel. She'd seen me lose control.
((I'm okay,)) I reassured her as I circled once more, looking for a target.
ZZZzzhhhmmmmmMMM
ZZzzzzppp
The glowing, blue sword was still humming through the air. Only this time it wasn't deflecting dracon blasts.
It was slicing through Hork-bajir.
Just slicing through them like warm butter. They must have tried a group attack, thrusting at him with their razor blades. It didn't work.
And as I struggled to stay in the air, I had to give the guy credit. He was fast. Way fast. As if he anticipated each move before it was made.
The Hork-bajir were trying a different strategy now. They came at him from all sides. How could he ward them all off?
I swooped down again, careful to stay out of range of that blue sword. I dropped onto one of the Hork-bajir. He tried to slash at me with his wrist blades. He missed.
I didn't.
Then I was back in the air again. From here, I could see my friends. Marco had just slugged one of the guards in the face, sending him sprawling. Jake was biting into a Hork-bajir arm until he dropped his weapon. Cassie's gray fur was matted with blood. A large gash opened on her side.
I saw a pair of Hork-bajir rushing up behind her as she fought with a third. I prepared to help.
FWAP! FWAP!
They both crumpled to the ground.
Ax was trotting past them to help Cassie, his tail raised.
The fighting looked awful.
((Everyone bail!)) Jake yelled, barely avoiding a Hork-bajir blade. ((There are too many of them. Get out of here!))
Then he sailed over a fallen guard.
Marco hit the nearest alien on the head, knocking him unconscious, before turning toward the trees.
The man with the glowing blue sword hadn't heard the call. I flew overhead. ((Hey, you!)) I said in thought-speak.
He raised his head skyward. I was a little unnerved that he had known where the voice came from. He looked straight at me.
((We gotta get out of here. Follow me.)) Then I turned and headed for the trees. Behind me, the man hesitated a moment before deciding to come along.
((Get them!)) I heard Visser Three yell from the clearing. ((And the Yeerk who fails me I'll feed to the Taxxons!))
I could hear the Hork-bajir barreling through the trees. I caught a glimpse of dark fur below. Then I lost track of my friends completely. I hoped they were ahead of me.
I sensed that I was faster than the Hork-bajir. The guy below me wasn't as fast, but he was agile and still managed to stay ahead of them. Eventually we outran them.
There was a spot of orange below the trees. Jake. And Marco was with him. And Ax.
((Tobias!)) Jake called. Worry edged his voice. ((Where are Rachel and Cassie?))
I felt my blood run cold. Where were they? I didn't know. Were they okay? I didn't know.
At that moment, a grizzly bear emerged from the forest. Rachel's fur was matted with blood and a whole patch of fur on her shoulder was missing.
((Jake!)) Rachel cried. ((They've got her! They've got Cassie!))
Oh, no! What will they do next? Leave a review and I'll update so we can all find out!
