Here's the 9th chapter! Finally, right. Anyway, enjoy and review! :)
Chapter 9
The Truth
Icefire awoke to the sound of strangers talking to her friends. She quickly slid down a branch to the second floor of HomeOak, peeking out of the gap in the wall. A group of about five or six adults were standing in the clearing below, confronted by Snowburner, Echo, Azalea, and Nightsky. Two of the adults wore long white coats (one was young and had dark brown hair and the other was older with graying hair), while the rest were dressed in black and carried guns. The men in white coats were speaking to Snowburner, who had apparently established his authority to the strangers.
As Icefire climbed down HomeOak's entrance, she noticed Zanna hiding in the leaves of the lowest branch, watching the scene with fear-filled eyes.
Icefire knew something was up, but decided to wait for an explanation. She leaped onto the grass below, startling everyone and causing the black-armored men to align their guns. Her friends were not at all surprised though, they must have heard or sensed her presence.
"Sheath your weapons!" Nightsky hissed.
She joined the group, standing curiously next to Nightsky, wondering who the strange people were.
"So, who are you, again?" Azalea asked.
"We are from a secret federation that you, as children, are not allowed to know about." The older man in the white coat replied. "My friend and I are scientists and we have been sent to track down an escapee."
The younger man stepped forward. "We believe you are sheltering a fugitive without knowledge of it." He explained.
"An escapeeā¦" Echo breathed, her blind eyes staring at the ground.
Snowburner, who had glanced down at the rather short, thin girl, looked up, almost tall enough to stare the scientists in the eyes.
The blond-haired boy held his head high as he answered the men. "I think you are mistaken, sir. We are hiding no one. And I'll prove it to you." At that, he signaled to Nightsky, who let out a howl.
Instantly answering the blond-haired girl's call, Falcon and Silver leaped out of HomeOak, followed by Pyro, Wolf, Bramble, and Tiger. Icefire noticed Nebelung quietly converse with Zanna, obviously telling her to stay put, before jumping onto the grass and joining her friends. Allowing their half cat friends to join them proved to be a fatal mistake.
The scientists could contain their excitement at the sight of the cat-people. "What a marvelous discovery!" the younger one almost squealed.
"Yes! We must take them back with us!" the other agreed. They signaled to the men with guns, who advanced on Wolf, Tiger, and Bramble.
Icefire, Snowburner, Echo, and Falcon stepped in the way. Icefire stood nearest to the cat-people, ready to defend them with her life.
"Don't make me hurt you." Snowburner warned, closest to the gun-armed men.
The black-suited men just laughed and came closer.
Snowburner slid one of his hands behind his back, setting it aflame.
Azalea noticed this and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Snowburner, don't. It will only cause more trouble than we need."
"If I don't, they'll destroy us." The blond-haired boy growled, hand still on fire.
The elderly scientist chuckled. "Don't worry, children. We won't harm you. The guns are filled with tranquilizer darts and only that." He explained.
Despite his words, Icefire felt fear clutch her stomach as she prepared for battle.
One of the black-clothed men raised his gun in alignment with the side of Snowburner's neck. The blond-haired boy had no time to react as a brightly colored dart dug into his neck, making him clench his teeth. He fell to one knee, clutching his neck. Icefire darted toward him, plucking the dart out of his skin.
"Why'd you do that?" Echo hissed in outrage.
"Don't worry, kid, he'll only be out for a little while." The old scientist recalled. "Now if the rest of you will be so kind as to move out of the way, we won't have to do that again."
"Don't count on it." Azalea growled.
Icefire turned her attention back to Snowburner, who was losing strength quickly.
"Protect Tiger and the other two." He ordered her before turning to Azalea. "You're in charge."
The white-haired girl nodded sharply as her blond-haired leader fell on his back, unconscious. Azalea turned her flashing green eyes toward the man who shot Snowburner, letting out a warning growl.
Nebelung slipped behind Falcon, changed into swirling air, and blew toward the men, transforming in the middle of the group.
"Nebelung, no!" Azalea screeched as the silvery-blue-gray-haired girl sank into the ground and popped up by the awestruck scientists. She changed into fog and covered the entire meadow in a blanket of thick gray mist. Guns fired at random, there were a few pained snarls, and silence. Nebelung transformed into her normal self and Icefire stared in horror at the terrible mistake her friend had made.
Azalea was still standing, but Wolf, Nightsky, Pyro, Bramble, and Falcon had fallen. Tiger, Echo, Silver, Nebelung, and Icefire were the only ones left, along with Azalea. One of the gun-armed men lay on the ground as well, accidently tranquilized by his one of his own. The rest stood stock-still, watching Nebelung with disbelieving eyes.
"Impossible." The young scientist scoffed. "The transforming and changing of molecules has never been done before! Not even by scientists as advanced as us, even less by a mere child as young as you are. It's highly impossible!"
"You still doubt it, even though you have seen it with your own eyes?" Nebelung snorted, but her attitude quickly changed when her eyes met the sight of her unconscious friends. "What have I done?" she breathed.
"Exactly what we wanted you to do." The younger scientist replied, satisfyingly rubbing his hands together. The gun-armed men, who had apparently slipped away unnoticed, returned carrying a large silver cage.
Icefire stood as Azalea and Silver stepped in front of their fallen friends.
"Stay away from them!" Icefire recognized Zanna's voice commanding snarl. She turned to see the rainbow-headed girl leaped out of HomeOak and race toward the group. "I'm the one you came for, not them."
"Ah," the older scientist sighed happily. "Zanna, darling. Come here child. You know, it's kind of lonely back at HQ without your fiery spirit there to liven things up."
"Yes." The younger man agreed lightly, almost drooling. "Quite lonely."
"I'm not going back." Zanna growled.
"We didn't expect you to come without a fight, kid." The elderly man signaled to one of the gun-armed men. "Take her out."
The man raised his gun, but before he could shoot, Zanna sent an arrow flying in his direction. It exploded in a flash a blue light, freezing the man to one spot. In a split second, every armed adult aligned his gun and shot, sending a rainbow of colorful darts her way. The girl could dodge all but one, which hit her on the shoulder. She fell with a thud, instantly out cold.
Icefire gasped and rushed to her side, pulling the blue dart out and dragging her away from the threat.
The old man sighed again, but this time it was a glad sigh. "Pack them up and let's go home."
Icefire tensed as one of the men grabbed her and dragged her into the steel cage. She struggled to get out, but to no avail. With a last resort, she shot streams fire from her palms and whipped it around the prison, but nothing happened. The scientists' excitement only grew as they caught sight of it.
Azalea and Silver were thrown in after her, soon followed by Tiger and Nebelung. The rest of their knocked out friends came next. They were careful to make sure no one was overlapping.
The men lifted the cage and followed the scientists through the forest, dragging their unconscious co-worker behind them. Icefire sat in despair, watching the woods go by, eventually being left behind. A large truck sat parked right at the tree line, the driver impatiently waiting for the return of the scientists.
The men in black loaded the cage into the back of the truck and got in the front of the vehicle, leaving Icefire and her friends in the dark. The truck roared to life and jerked forward, soon traveling bumpily across uneven ground.
Snowburner finally roused, sitting up groggily and holding his head. "Wha-what happened? Where are we?" he asked as Icefire turned to him.
"We were overtaken, put in this cage and then in this truck, but I don't where we're going." Azalea replied sadly. "I'm sorry, I have failed."
"No, it's fine." The blond-haired boy told her firmly. "We'll find a way out of this, somehow."
Snowburner turned to Tiger, who had busied himself to the point of trying to rip the cage bars out of place. Wolf, at his side, woke up, rubbing her arm. Tiger whipped his head around, protectively crouching over her as the truck screeched to a stop.
The back of the truck slid open, and many men unloaded the silver cage, carrying it into a large gray building. Zanna sat up with a moan, eyes widening in fear as she saw the inside of the building. "Oh no!" she breathed. "This is not good."
The men set the cage down inside a large room filled with mechanical devices of all shapes and sizes, beeping sounds rattled through the air and tons of men and women in white coats either hurried around the room with papers and files or sat quietly at a desk, typing.
Icefire glanced around the room in a mixture of wonder and fear, her eyes widening toward every piece machinery. "What is this place?"
Zanna hung her head. "Unfortunately, my home, if you can call it that."
Icefire turned to her. "You live here!" she exclaimed.
"Actually, I am what fuels this entire facility. I am their power source; that is why they were looking for me." The green-eyed girl replied. "And now they have you guys as well."
"Like Snowburner said, we'll find a way out of this." She reassured her newest friend.
"That won't be possible." A new voice spoke. Icefire turned and saw the younger scientist that abducted her and her friends. She growled at him as Snowburner and Azalea scrambled back.
"Oh come now, you don't actually think you can escape, do you?" he asked.
"We will find a way out of here." Snowburner replied determinedly, leaning forward, but staying well away from the bars. Behind him, Tiger hissed as a scientist got too close, Wolf snapping at the man's hand when he tried to touch her tail.
Icefire rested next to Nebelung, who sat quietly against the bars with silent tears rolling down her cheeks, taking no notice of her surroundings. Azalea had told her that the green-eyed girl shut down after traumatic or devastating events occurred.
Icefire silently comforted Nebelung by wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulders. She returned her attention to Snowburner, who was still arguing with the brown-haired scientist, who looked as though he were about to explode under the blond-haired boy's quick wits and sharp retorts. Then it happened, Snowburner had too far- the scientist plunged his hands through the bars, grabbing at the blond boy's neck, which he succeeded in grasping.
Icefire leaped forward, but Snowburner twisted around like an alligator going into a death-roll. The scientist yelped, released his victim, and jumped back, wringing his wrists.
"As I said before." Snowburner hissed, rubbing his neck. "We will find a way out of here."
