CHAPTER 4: Fun and Games
(MIKE'S POV)
The next
day was Friday, but the others had the day off school so that the
teachers could have a conference (whatever the hell that means). This
meant that we had a three day weekend ahead to save Ax from the
bottom of the ocean. We had already planned to meet down at the
beach, but I knew that I'd soon be getting a message saying that we
were heading over to the river instead due to it being way too
crowded down at the beach for us to morph without being see.
I had some time to kill, so I was catching up on some Halo 3 time. Back home I was only a casual gamer, but with all the extra free time I'd been spending more time than usual playing on various consoles. I'd only played Halo 3 a few times before being brought to this universe so I figured I could use the practice. If, when I got home, my older brother was going to be in for a nasty surprise…
--Playing Halo 3 again? You really need a new hobby.--
I jumped as I realised that Tobias had arrived. Somebody in game took advantage of my distraction and shot me in the head.
"I hope you're proud of your sneaking up on me skills, because you just got me killed." I sighed. "Sorry, I wouldn't even be playing if I'd known you were coming." I tried not to play computer games around Tobias, as it's just another thing he can't do in his Hawk body. I really wanted to tell him that in a few months he'd be able to morph Human again, but I knew I wasn't allowed.
--It's okay, I was never much of a gamer anyway.-- He replied. --Anyway, the others are waiting for you down–--
"At the river, I know."
--I thought you weren't allowed to reveal anything about the future?-- Tobias asked as I started to morph Harris Hawk.
"I'm not 'revealing' anything, I'm just turrrr–" My mouth started to become a beak so I waited a few moments for my thought speech to kick in. --I'm just telling you something you already know.--
--That's still bending the rules though right?--
--Oh believe me, the guy who brought me here is the master of rule bending.-- I told him, completing the morph and spreading my wings wide. --Now which way to the river?--
--It's almost reassuring to hear that there are things even you don't know!-- Tobias laughed.
We took to the skies and I tried to keep my distance from Tobias while still staying in sight of him, which wasn't that hard considering how powerful my Hawk eyes were. I could be half a kilometre away and still keep track of him easily, without risking any birdwatchers wondering why two different birds of prey were hanging out together.
--You know the old saying about how ignorance is bliss?-- I said.
--Yeah.--
--It's not entirely true. I know a lot about what's going to happen, but I don't know everything and it's the things I don't know that really scare me. I can prepare for the things I do know about, but how can I prepare for something I don't know is going to happen?--
--You can't,-- Tobias said simply. --Now you know how the rest of us feel most of the time.--
After another few minutes of flying and random small talk, we arrived at the point of the rover where the others were impatiently waiting for us. I briefly noted the fact that Cassie was already here despite the fact that in the book Tobias was already waiting for her, but that was nothing to worry about since Tobias had been sent to get me.
--Hi guys,-- Tobias called out as he landed gracefully in the treetops. I landed not-so-gracefully on the ground below and started to demorph.
"Hey Tobias, how's things?" Cassie asked.
--The same old thing, you know how it is–--
"It's a hawk-eat-mouse world out there!" I finished the sentence for him as I completed my demorph, earning me a variety of amused and confused looks from my fellow Animorphs. "Sorry, couldn't resist."
"I've got something for you Tobias," Rachel announced after she'd finished glaring at me. She held out a digital watch and Tobias dropped down to a lower branch so that Rachel could attach it to his talon.
"Okay Tobias, you're our timekeeper and our eyes in the air while we're in morph," Jake told him. Jake might not enjoy being the leader, but he's very good at it. "Cassie, will you go first?"
"Actually I was hoping I could go first if it's okay with you guys," I said. "I've kinda been looking forward to this one."
"Cassie?" Jake asked.
"That's probably a good idea," Cassie nodded. "After all, Mike knows exactly what to expect from the Dolphin's mind." I could almost hear a sigh of relief in her voice as she said it. Cassie was uncomfortable with the idea of morphing such an intelligent creature, so she most likely welcomed the chance to let somebody else go first for a change.
"Thanks Cassie," I replied gratefully before stepping into the river. It was cold, but not as bad as I had been expecting. Of course, I was used to the freezing river back home, but the weather was warmer here. Strange how even stepping into a river could make me feel homesick.
I waded further into the water until I was waist deep, then I closed my eyes for a few seconds to help me focus and I concentrated on the image of the Dolphin whose DNA now flowed through my veins.
As I pictured the image of the Dolphin in my mind, I suddenly felt my entire face turn rubbery and protrude outwards, almost like when I grew my Wolf snout only worse. My face was bulging out so much that I could actually see the bottlenose shape emerge in front of my eyes.
"Wow, you're going to need a lot more than your British charm to get girls when you've got a face like that!" Marco smirked. It's probably just as well that I didn't have any vocal chords at that point, otherwise I might have said some very inappropriate words in response.
"You're one to talk Marco," Rachel said mockingly.
As the transformation continued, I looked down at my hands in time to see my fingers start to melt together to form fins, while the colour of my skin turned grey and shiny. Just as my arms had finished changing, my legs also started to shrivel before merging together into a long, elegant Dolphin tail. My eyes widened in panic at the sudden realisation that I no longer had any legs to support my body, before I plunged face first into the water. Thankfully, I felt a blow hole form on my back a second later and I was able to breathe again. A few moments after that and the change was complete. I was a Dolphin.
I must have read the fourth Animorphs book half a dozen times in preparation for this mission, but it just goes to show that no amount of reading can prepare you for the real thing. Becoming a fish had been incredibly strange, but this was something different entirely. It may have lived in the water and had fins like a fish, but the Dolphin body didn't have gills, it still needed Oxygen from the open air to breathe. Sucking in air through a hole in my back was certainly going to take some getting used to.
The most amazing part, however, was the Dolphin's mind and instincts. At that point, it was by far the closest I had come to experiencing an almost human mind. I didn't encounter a self-aware mind, morphing doesn't work that way, but I could tell that the Dolphin mind was intelligent. Unlike the other animals I had morphed, the Dolphin in me wasn't motivated solely by desperate fear or intense hunger. It didn't have the instant fight or flight response reaction of a fish or the predatory hunting urges of the Wolf or Jaguar. Just like in the books, the Dolphin's mind was like that of a young child's: it just wanted to play.
Remember how it felt to be four years old? All you wanted to do was play all day long without a care in the world, running around everywhere just for the sheer joy of it. Kids run around everywhere because it's fun, and Dolphins play for the same reason. It was then that I realised why people like Dolphins so much. Seeing a Dolphin is like watching a child play, it reminds you of when you were a kid and the only thing you had to worry about was which toy to play with. Having that fun-loving nature inside my head was very therapeutic.
--Hey Mike, you in there?-- Tobias interrupted my thoughts.
--Yeah I'm here,-- I replied.
--You okay?-- Tobias asked with concern in his voice. I must have zoned out for a minute after I'd finished my morph.
--I'm fine, great actually,-- I told him truthfully. --Although I really want to play a game…--
--A game?-- Tobias sounded confused. --We don't really have time for games right now Mike, we've got a mission to complete.--
--There's always time for games!-- I yelled enthusiastically. I powered upwards with my strong tail and burst out of the water and out into the open air, sailing up for a moment before plunging back down into the river with a giant splash. --Come on you guys! I want to play in the ocean!--
The others probably thought I sounded crazy at first, but the Dolphin part of me didn't care. And once they had all morphed as well, I doubt they cared much either. All that mattered was having fun!
--YEEEH HAAAAH!--
--WAHOOO!--
Cries of giddy excitement filled my head as my Dolphin friends and I reached the wide open ocean. That's when the game really started to get fun, diving down to the bottom of the sea bed and then coming rushing back up and launching ourselves out of the water at what felt like a million miles an hour.
--There is no way this could be more AWESOME!-- I shouted out.
--This is beyond awesome,-- Rachel replied. That was probably the first time she'd ever agreed with me on anything.
--Let's all dive down at the same time!-- Jake laughed.
In a move that would have been the envy of every synchronised swimmer on the planet, the five of us swam down until we could practically touch the ocean floor and then shot back up towards the shining surface of the water above us and fired out into the sky. After defying gravity briefly, we all crashed back into the water and laughed like a bunch of toddlers having a party.
--Um, maybe you guys should try to focus more a second here? You've wasted forty five minutes already.-- Tobias pointed out.
A part of me knew I should be worried about that fact, but I was too caught up in the sheer joy of being a Dolphin for anything to really bother me at that point. Time might fly when you're enjoying yourself, but the Dolphin mind wasn't concerned about time. Time wasn't a problem as long as there was an ocean to swim in, games to play and fish to chase. For a Dolphin, life is like one big party.
--I know you guys think the Dolphin mind hasn't affected you, but trust me it has. You guys need to get a grip and remember why we're here. We need to find the Andalite's space ship.-- Tobias reminded us.
--I bet I can find it first!-- Marco cheered.
--No I will!-- Cassie insisted.
--It's like trying to talk sense into a group of three year olds…-- Tobias muttered.
--Race you!-- Rachel laughed as we all sped off into the distance, just five Dolphins and a Hawk looking for a crashed space ship before a group of evil slugs found it first…
Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say.
--Hey, can you guys do this?-- Cassie fired off a round of echo-locating clicks, which bounced off something solid in the distance and echoed back to give her a picture of the surrounding area.
--That sounds like fun!-- I used my own echo-location and heard the others firing off clicks of their own. We all got a strange image back, something that was big and definitely alive.
--What is that?-- Marco asked quizzically.
--A fish? Another Dolphin?-- Jake suggested.
--Doesn't look like a Dolphin to me,-- Rachel added nervously.
--Oh, I know!-- Cassie exclaimed, sounding like an over eager student who knew the answer to a question in class. --It's a Shark!--
That shut us all up pretty fast, because if there's one thing in the world that Dolphins don't think us funny, it's Sharks. This wasn't a game anymore, this was deadly serious…
