Jake and Tom tumbled down the basement stairs, every wooden step accented with a sharp jab of pain. Finally, they crashed onto the dirt floor with one last thump.
"Midget." Tom snarled.
"Yeerk." Jake snapped with equal hatred, leaping to his feet.
Tom dragged himself to his feet, and Jake grabbed a que stick off of a dusty pool table. Not his weapon of choice, but it would do.
"Just you try." Tom said.
He jumped forward, attempting to bring his que stick crashing down onto Tom's head. Tom raised one of his braced arms effortlessly to deflect it.
"I thought you were hurt." Jake sneered.
"Like 'em, Midget?" Tom said. "Yeerk Meditronic braces. They're fixing this pitiful host body, and enhancing my strength at the same time. Very expensive. Only for the really important yeerks. Want a demonstration?"
He grabbed Jake by his arms, and spun him across the room. Jake slammed into the wall, and staggered, his vision blurry.
Tom strode casually for the white door across the room. Jake knew from Rachel's descriptions what was behind that door, and ran towards Tom. Using the que stick like a battering ram, Jake jabbed Tom hard in the back, and Tom stumbled. Jake grabbed his shoulders roughly and slammed him onto the ground.
"Human filth!" Tom yelled.
There was aloud thumping noise, and both of them were momentarily distracted by the sight of Ax leaping down the whole flight of stairs and crash landing at the bottom, barely avoiding a bright red dracon beam.
(Filthy yeerk!) He screamed in defiance, leaping to his three good legs. He immediately had to use them to dodge a second dracon beam.
Tom abandoned Jake and ran for the white door. He slammed his shoulder against it, but it didn't budge. "Chapman! Where's the key?"
Mr. Chapman raced down the stairs with a speed that was in outright contradiction to his age. Ax stormed up the stairs angrily, swinging his tail to make sure there was no mistaking his intent.
Mr. Chapman sent the key flying into the air, then performed another youthful stunt and launched himself over the railing.
Tom snatched the key out of mid-air and jabbed it into the lock.
"No!" Jake yelled, and began pelting the back of Tom's head with pool balls. Tom whirled around and raced at Jake.
Jake dropped over the edge of the pool table, and Tom landed on top of it.
TSEEW! TSEEW!
Ax not so gracefully dodged the dracon beams by falling down the stairs.
Mr. Chapman raced across the room and turned the key in the lock. He grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and threw open the door.
"Tom!" He yelled, racing through. Tom ran after him.
"Ax, let's go!" Jake said, staggering after them. Ax limped after him.
Mr. Chapman was waving his hand desperately in front of a glowing white panel. Then he wiped it on his shirt and tried again.
"Hurry!" Tom yelled.
"Stop him!" Jake yelled.
(Gladly.) Ax said. He stepped forward, pushing past Tom like he didn't exist.
Unable to get his tail blade into a better position in the cramped space, he brought the flat of his tail blade down on Mr. Chapman's wrist.
CRACK!
"AUGH!" He screamed, and grabbed his dangling wrist. Tom grabbed his other hand and slammed it against the panel. With a hiss, a metal door in the wall opened, and Tom dashed through, leaving Mr. Chapman sobbing on the floor.
(I did not realize my tail blade would have that effect.) Ax said, sounding interested.
"GET! TOM!" Jake yelled.
They raced into Chapman's office, where Tom was typing furiously on a keypad. Jake raced in and hit Tom in the stomach.
"Filthy human!" Tom screamed. It seemed to be the only words he could yell at him.
TSEEW!
Ax, who was about to introduce Tom to his tail blade, collapsed on the ground with smoke rising from him. One of his arms was gone. Mr. Chapman stood in the doorway, white-faced from pain. He aimed at Jake, his vision red around the edges. Jake and Tom, in a split-second truce, stopped fighting long enough to roll to the side.
TSEEW!
The computer behind them sizzled and began smoking. Tom looked enraged. "You idiot!"
Tom threw Jake to the side and ran over to the computer. Mr. Chapman looked horrified.
"The holographic connector is damaged!" Tom screamed.
"I have another- in the closet-" Mr. Chapman stammered. Tom ran over to the closet and started yanking things out.
Jake lunged forward and grabbed Mr. Chapman's injured wrist. He gasped in pain, and he dropped the Dracon beam on the floor.
Mr. Chapman once again fell whimpering to the floor. There was a clicking noise behind Jake, and he spun around.
Tom emerged from the closet with a dracon beam, twisting the dial to the highest setting.
"NO!" Jake yelled.
TSEEW!
Mr. Chapman disintegrated, and Jake felt heat sear up his side from the flashback. To Jake's horror, he saw that Mr. Chapman's hand had come off in his own.
Jake blinked at him, amazed.
"What, thought you were getting shot?" Tom laughed, and pulled out a charred piece of metal from the back of the computer. He replaced it with a different one, and trained the dracon beam on Jake. "That Chapman fool isn't getting my promotion. And you're too valuable to shoot. But still, move one inch and I shoot."
Tom flicked a switch, and the air in front of them started shimmering. It was the same hologram emitter as the last time they had been down here. Jake could guess who he would see on the other side.
It all happened in an instant. Jake dove behind Mr. Chapman's desk, just as the hologram of Visser 3 appeared.
(What is it that you want?) Visser 3 demanded.
"It's the Andalite Bandits!" Tom blurted. "They-"
A black-and-white missile streaked into the room, and homed in on keyboard, performing a wild tap dance until he strayed over a blue panel. Visser 3 flickered, and disappeared.
Tom looked stunned.
(And he saves the day again!) Marco cheered. (The crowd goes wild! I have insanely perfect timing.)
Jake double-checked to make sure Mr. Chapman's dracon beam was set at stun, and shot Tom in the back. He fell forward, still wondering where his moment of glory had disappeared to.
Jake shuddered, realizing how close they had come to disaster. One word, one syllable more and the Animorphs would have been done for.
He drew in a shaky breath. "Okay. Let's get out of here. Visser 3 is sure to send somebody to check why he was cut off."
(Um, Jake, there's still-)
"Fluffer?" Melissa Chapman trudged through the door, utterly miserable and drenched head to toe in blood.