Hey everyone. So I guess I got distracted with other things like summer school, so now that it's finished, I promise I WILL be updating more often.
Also, in my last chapter, a lot of my punctuation marks got randomly cut out, so if that happens again, just ignore it.
Okay, continuing from the last chapter...
Surprisingly, the alien institute left us alone for the next few days. Maybe because we stuck their tracking chip in a skytrain, hopefully leading them on a wild goose chase. I would have loved it if things stayed that way, but knowing them, the alien instituters were probably still out there, scheming in the shadows.
~…~…~…~…~…~
"Why is everyone staring at us?" Whispered Abeke.
All six of us were walking on the street, and I seriously did not like the number of heads turned our way.
"What do you think?" I hissed back. "You guys are dressed like , well, book characters. So if you don't want people staring at you, maybe you should-"
Meilin cut me off.
"In case you were gonna suggest this, no we are NOT gonna wear stupid-ugly-horrible-super-out-of-date earth clothes, even if it's for a disguise!"
Alicio sighed loudly.
"Remember we went over this last time? On earth, your clothes are out of date."
"Nonsense! I don't know what you're talking about." Replied Meilin stubbornly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're impossible?" Asked Alicio.
"Has anyone ever told you that I'm about to punch you in the face?" Warned Meilin.
Alicio sighed extra audibly and stepped out of her place in the row we were walking in, and moved to the side farthest from Meilin.
We walked in silence for a while until Conor yelled "Hey!"
We all turned around,and saw that Conor had stopped and was staring up at a tree. Oh no, he wasn't gonna ask what a tree was, was he? I was one hundred percent sure that trees existed on Erdas.
I was about to tell Conor to stop staring at the tree like an idiot, but then Rollan narrowed his eyes, clearly seeing something the rest of us didn't. He ran over to the tree and started staring at it too. Knowing something was definitely up, we all went over and took a look at the tree.
Sure enough, there was a very suspicious red sphere on one of the higher branches. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place my mind on it.
"That's the talking apple that was in the park." Said Rollan, still eyeing the apple suspiciously.
"How do you know it's the same one?" Questioned Meilin. "I mean, apples are everywhere."
"Yes, but this one is always on the wrong kind of tree," pointed out Rollan. "See? This tree isn't an apple tree."
Abeke bit her lip. "Do you think this apple could be related to the alien institute?"
No one answered, but that was probably because we were all thinking the same thing and fearing the answer. But we couldn't jump to conclusions, at least not yet,when we still knew so little.
Suddenly, without the slightest warning, the apple floated off the tree. I swiped at it, but missed, and the apple streaked away over our heads.
All six of us looked at each other for a second.
Then, reluctantly, we bolted down the street after the apple, turning an insane number of heads in our direction.
~…~…~…~…~
After a good five minutes of full out running, I felt like I was ready to die of exhaustion. I had a million cramps all over me, and every single muscle in my body was sore.
I skidded around a sharp corner and slammed right into something that was at the same time hard and soft.
"Owww,Scarlet," complained Abeke, getting up and brushing herself off.
"Sor-ry" I muttered. "It wasn't my fault you decided to stop in the middle of the road."
"I had to stop!" Abeke protested. "We're at a dead end!"
I looked ahead. Sure enough, on two sides of us, rose two buildings, and a third blocked one end of the narrow alley we were standing in. They were too tall for the apple to fly over.
"Ha! You're trapped!" Rollan smirked triumphantly. He released Essix, who flew up and blocked the airspace, preventing the apple from escaping over our heads.
But strangely, the apple made no attempt to escape. It was almost as if it were waiting for something...
"Are you sure about that? I think you're trapped." I whipped around to see who had spoken, and to my horror, I saw the alien institute leader, looking as imposing as ever, even in his wheelchair.
"How dare you stalk us with your drones?" Shouted Alicio.
"Well,well. Look who figured it out. Straight 'A' student, huh?" The alien institute leader smiled evilly, and he raised a hand. From behind us, the apple flew over and landed smack center in the alien institute leader's palm. He curled his hand around it. "These smartly programmed drones make good spies, don't you think? And since you brought this up, let me take the opportunity to show you the rest of my drones!"
He pressed a button on a cuff on his wrist, and fruits began streaming out from behind him. I recognized them. They were the same fruits that had been talking and fighting each other in the store we went to a few days ago. Now that the pieces fit together, this all made sense.
At first, all the fruit drones that appeared were small fruits, like berries. But as the fruits steadily became bigger, I started to worry. There were at least fifty of them, and by the time the stream stopped, there were fruits as big as watermelons and honeydews. The last fruit to appear was a king durian. It looked like a wrecking ball, complete with the spikes and all. I gulped.
"Let's play a game," languished the alien institute leader. If you can defeat all of my drones, then I'll leave you alone. For now. If you get hit or splattered by one of the fruits, you're out."
Without waiting for a response, the fruits started flying at us.
I immediately got hit, and so did Alicio. Rollan and Conor weren't that far behind. My heart sank. The only one left on the battlefield was Meilin. But as I watched, she cut through the fruits with ease, spinning and whirling in a fury of blades. Meilin was single-handedly taking down the entire fruit army! Wait...but where was Abeke? Nevermind that. She was probably out too.
"GO MEILIN!" I screamed.
It was only a matter of minutes before the entire fruit army was demolished. Meilin was just sliding her sword back into its sheath when a round black ball blurred through the air, straight at her. With lightning fast reflexes, Meilin pulled out her sword and sliced the sphere in half. What happened next shocked me.
The ball exploded, sending Meilin flying across the alley. She slammed into a wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"MEILIN!" Yelled Rollan, running towards her. Me, Alicio and Conor followed.
"Okay," Said Alicio. "You hold her legs and I'll take her arms, and we can carry her over to— Nevermind." She stopped when she saw that Rollan was already carrying Meilin towards a huge green metal garbage bin. Behind it, she would be safe from more attacks.
I would've made some kind of Reilin fangirl comment if not for the gravity of the situation. Instead, I turned to the alien institute leader.
"YOU NEVER SAID THERE WOULD BE A BOMB AT THE END!" I screamed. "That's not fair!"
The alien institute leader frowned disdainfully.
"Don't you guys ever play Fruit Ninja? There's always bombs in there, just be glad I only threw one." With that,he turned and with one push of a button on his wrist cuff, all the fruit drones reanimated themselves. "The more important thing is, you lost. So now it's time to come with me, kids."
"Not so fast!" Abeke stepped out from behind the garbage bin, tapping at something on her iPad. "It's my turn."
"No second chances." Said the alien institute leader tartly.
"Well I didn't even have a chance yet."
"Really? Hiding just so you could be wiped out in the second round?"
"You won't win this time."
"You sound so sure of yourself." The alien institute leader's gaze shifted and came to rest on the iPad she was holding. "Oh, And That's my special iPad you have there. Give it back now, I only gave it to you because of the tracking chip, and you fools took it out."
So that was why Abeke's iPad had so many weird, impossible apps. If the alien institute could make drones disguised as fruits and design tracking chips that fit into iPads, a bit of clever programming could maybe, possibly make those weird apps too.
"If you win, I'll give it to you." Responded Abeke calmly. "But for now, I'll need it." Then she tapped on the screen a few more times, and set the device on the ground. To everyone's surprise, she made a chopping motion through the air, and a streak of light appeared right where her hand had sliced the air, fading after a few seconds. "The Fruit Ninja simulation app." Said Abeke proudly. "Let's go. I'm ready."
Fruits started flying towards her. When the first fruits were two meters away, Abeke sliced the air in front of them, and the fruits fell to the ground in pieces. I wondered how such technology was even possible. But again, characters jumping out of a book weren't that possible either. With the advantage of distance, Abeke got rid of most of the fruits before they came anywhere near her. In even less time than Meilin had taken, the fruits were all defeated.
But Abeke remained alert. Sure enough, a bomb flew out of the air a few seconds later. Abeke leaped out of the way, and the bomb hit the ground harmlessly.
I cheered.
Abeke bounced over to where her iPad was still on the ground, and picked it up, smiling when she saw the screen.
"High score!" She announced triumphantly.
The alien institute leader huffed angrily,clearly not pleased at being beaten.
"YES ABEKE!" Everyone was so excited that nobody noticed when the alien institute leader pulled out a gun and aimed it at us. A boom was the only indication we had before a bullet was flying through the air, straight at Rollan.
Before Rollan could react, a flash of brown and white streaked in front of him, taking the hit.
"Essix!" Gasped Rollan as the falcon tumbled to the ground in a flurry of feathers. He kneeled on the ground beside her, unsure what to do.
From somewhere down the alley, thought I heard the alien instituter leader mutter 'Rats, wrong gun.'
What was that supposed to mean? Had he meant to shoot Rollan with a different gun? And what would the other gun have done differently than—
My thoughts were cut off by a flash of movement behind the green dumpster. Meilin burst out, scooped up a broken coconut shell on the ground, and chucked it at the alien institute leader just as he pressed a button on his cuff to create a swirling blue vortex behind him. THe last thing we heard was a crack and a splat before he disappeared in a flash of light.
"Dammit" Muttered Meilin.
I personally hoped that the coconut shell had it him before he'd teleported out of there.
"What happened while I was unconscious?" Demanded Meilin. Then her gaze flicked over to where Essix was still in a pile of feathers on the ground, and she gasped, summoning Jhi. The panda ambled over to Essix.
Honestly, I didn't know if I should feel relieved that Meilin was okay, or worried that Essix was not. If anything, Rollan looked even more torn between those two than I felt.
My anxiety calmed down a bit when Jhi pulled the bullet out of Essix's wing with her teeth. Rollan took it from her, frowning when he looked at it closer.
"What's 'Humanizing serum' supposed to mean?" He asked, sounding confused. But before anyone could answer, a blinding flash of light engulfed Essix's still form, and when it cleared, the falcon was no longer there.
In her place, stood a girl with brown hair that turned silver at the ends and piercing amber eyes, wearing a dress made entirely of falcon feathers.
"Finally," she said "I get to say what's on my mind."
So I took a long time on this chapter because it's almost twice as long as my other chapters. Like always, I'll try to get the next chapter out fast, but knowing me, that's not likely going to happen anytime soon. I can't apologize enough to you guys. Anyways, plz review and all that stuff I say every time.
~Scarlet