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Um. I won't talk forever, since I just saw ya'll like, a few days ago.
But here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed and all that awesome stuff. You guys are the greatest! :)
Happy reading! :D
"Well, this sucks," I grumbled as we all watched Sue gloat through her megaphone about how awesome she was, and how she had finally captured one of the Rogue Andalites that had been eluding them for so long.
And on. And on.
"It's a Situation," Brittany agreed, still in bro-character.
I gave her a look. "Britt, we're done with disguises, honey."
"We are?" She snatched the backwards hat off her head. "Finally! This hat is giving me a headache."
"Let's focus here," Sam said somberly. "Our original plan is not going to save Puck, since he's already captured."
"We still have to transform, though," Mercedes said. "We're gonna have to try and free him."
"Yeah," Kurt said, nodding firmly. "If they keep him, they're going to infest him, and that cannot happen!"
"Agreed," Sam said with a nod. "So we transform… and then what?"
"The oatmeal," I said suddenly.
"What?" Kurt asked.
"We stick with the plan. We hit the oatmeal, and we offer a trade-"
[It won't work,] Brittany said sadly, already back to her normal Andalite body. I guess she had changed while we were talking. [Visser Seven will not trade a morph-capable host, even a non-Andalite, for the lives of those Yeerks in the pool. And at this moment, he believes that Puck is an Andalite, so he will not trade his body- for anything.]
My face fell.
"It's the best we have, though," Sam pointed out. "We have to at least try."
"And what happens when Visser Seven refuses, like Brittany said?" Mercedes asked.
"Plan B," I said with a shrug. "We fight our way over there as best we can. We can't let Puck become infested."
"Okay, then, let's go avatars," Sam said. He closed his eyes and began the change to gorilla. Coarse, dark hair sprouted down his arms, and the skin on his face began to change into a black, rubbery mask. Mercedes was bulking up into the shaggy form of a bear, and Kurt was sprouting feathers- which was a good idea- we needed some air coverage in a situation like this.
[Santana,] Brittany reminded softly.
Oh, yeah.
I focused on the bull DNA inside me, and felt my body shifting and changing. It didn't hurt- it never did- but I could hear the sounds of my organs rearranging themselves, and my bones crunching and grinding into new positions, so it always felt like it should hurt. It was a weird experience. My spine elongated into a tail, which I flicked nervously as I shifted onto all fours, my fingers curling into themselves and my hands hardening into hooves. My face bulged outward, my nostrils flared, my teeth moved in my mouth. My hair sucked up into my head so that I was bald for a second, and then dark brown fur spread across my entire body. My ears migrated up the side of my head, stretching slightly into the thin, long ears of the bull. Horns erupted from my forehead, stretching out and out and tapering into sharp points.
I snorted and tossed my head.
I was ready to kick some ass.
It was utter pandemonium when we came barging out of that cafeteria. The door blew off its hinges and the Yeerks were definitely not prepared for a bull, a gorilla, a bear, and an Andalite to come exploding out.
Sue was screaming orders into her megaphone, but we had a head start, and not a single human-Controller could stand in the way of any of us. We would just roll over them, and they knew that. So they mostly moved out of our way as we charged towards the contraband locker.
"STOP THEM!" Sue screamed into the megaphone.
[Guys, Hork-Bajir on your tails,] Kurt informed us from above. He was mostly shielded from view by the darkness at the top of the cavern, but he could see everything going on below.
When we reached the shed and took out the two surprised Hork-Bajir that were standing guard in front of it. Sam punched one in the face and Mercedes knocked one out with a great swipe of her bear paw to the side of his head, sending him flying several feet.
Sam ripped the huge metal lock off the doors and then popped them open, revealing its contents. Inside were several open barrels of oatmeal, just chilling.
[Okay, how're we gonna do this?] I asked as I eyed the barrels. There were at least five of them, and several smaller plastic containers as well.
Sam reached for a barrel and picked it up. He lifted it easily, mindful not to spill the contents. [I guess I'm just going to throw it. Carefully.]
Mercedes roared as several Hork-Bajir reached us. She engaged them, slashing wildly with her paws and rearing up on her hind legs to maul them. Brittany whipped her tail, slicing into them. But the two of them managed to hold the Hork-Bajir off while Sam and I deliberated how to get the oatmeal to the water.
[Should we try and tell the Visser our plan?] I asked.
Sam hefted the barrel into a more comfortable position, then shrugged. [I think this will get his attention.] He took a deep breath, and then roared loudly in his gorilla voice, lifting the barrel high above his head, ready to heave it into the Pool. I rolled my eyes- he had obviously been watching too many King Kong movies.
"STOP!" Visser Seven commanded suddenly into the megaphone.
Everyone froze. We waited patiently for long, tense moments.
[Your move, Visser,] I said finally in my best "arrogant Andalite" voice.
Visser Seven paused. It was dead silent, except for the heavy breathing of Sam, who was still holding the barrel over his head, and Mercedes, who had just been in the fight of her life up until about ten seconds ago. Brittany stood on her dainty hooves, looking no worse than if she had just modeled for a feature in Vogue about Andalites.
"I suppose you hope to trade your friend," Sue gestured to Puck beside her, who was still being restrained by two Hork-Bajir, "for the lives of my fellow helpless Yeerks in the Pool." Sue paused again. "There's perhaps fifteen hundred Yeerks in there. We'd lose perhaps five or six hundred to the oatmeal madness before we could get it contained and cleaned up."
Sue's eyes narrowed coldly. "Your fellow Andalite for the lives of six hundred Yeerks."
I felt a chill run up my spine, and I knew Brittany was right. I knew it. But Sue continued, laughing ruthlessly. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't trade all of them, every last one, for a captured Andalite host body? You must be the ones on oatmeal!"
My stomach dropped. [Sam,] I said quickly as Sue opened her mouth to continue.
With an unexpected heave, Sam threw the barrel of oatmeal into the Pool. It landed with a loud splash in the center of the water, and the contents began to dissolve into the water. Sam turned and reached for another barrel while the Yeerks scrambled.
Sue laughed, unfazed, as Sam threw the second barrel. "GET THEM!" She waved her arm wildly, and Dracon beams began firing in our direction.
Sam turned and the third barrel of oatmeal exploded in his hands, spraying sizzling pieces of oatmeal over our little group. My thick skin protected me, but shit was getting out of control fast.
[We've gotta get the rest of the oatmeal in the water!] Sam cried, reaching for the fourth barrel.
[No, we have to save Puck!] Mercedes argued, tackling another Hork-Bajir down. Brittany snapped her tail and a severed arm flew past me.
[All right, this isn't happening fast enough,] I growled as Sam finally grabbed the fourth barrel. I planted my hooves and charged into the shed, then tossed my head and kicked my back legs, sending the remaining containers and barrels rolling and flying towards the water in a blur of plastic. One of the barrels smashed on the dock, spilling oatmeal along the edges. The remaining barrel rolled farther out. The swirl of the water spread the contents quickly, and I was satisfied. [That should keep them busy for a minute. And now, Puck. Let's go!]
I charged towards the stage, but there was what seemed like an endless amount of Hork-Bajir closing in, and it was impossible to get closer. I butted them with my horns, reared up and kicked them down and stomped them, but it was no use. We soon found ourselves overwhelmingly outnumbered and overpowered, but no way was I giving in. Dracon beams fired in our direction and I felt searing pain in my shoulder as one found its mark. The smell of my own skin and fur burning made my stomach roll, but I pressed onward. It wasn't until I took two more hits to my ribs and my hindquarters that I began to stagger back, bleeding and burnt. It was painful and my rear leg was beginning to go numb. But Puck-
[Guys, you've gotta get out of here!] Puck said, despairingly. [They'll kill or infest all of you, and then we're all fucked.]
[Puck, no, we can't-] Mercedes pleaded desperately. I wanted to argue, too. There was no way we could just leave him. But deep down, there was a small part of me that realized he was right. My mind was beginning to go hazy. My bull body was beginning to go into shock. We were all getting run down, and if we didn't make a hasty escape soon, we would surely get slaughtered. But we couldn't leave him-
[Listen to me,] Puck said, his voice growing increasingly angrier. [You guys are outnumbered. If you get caught, then there's no one to stop the Yeerks.]
[But-] Mercedes choked. I knew she knew Puck was right. But she didn't want to accept it. None of us did.
[You can't save me,] Puck said gently, almost as if he'd just realized it himself.
[He's right, Wheezy,] I snapped. I hated myself for it, but I had to try and follow Puck's advice to at least escape. [We've gotta bail. If we don't get the fuck out of here, we might as well kiss everything good-bye!]
[We might as well do that, anyways,] Kurt cried bitterly. [If they keep Puck, we're done.]
[We're definitely done if we're all dead,] Sam chimed in, disgustedly.
[Exactly,] Puck said, defeated. [Maybe, someday, you can- you can get me-] He trailed off. None of us had anything to say in response. Maybe, someday, what? We'd rescue Puck? Meaning we had to leave him now to this fate? I grew angry. Why'd he have to go and get himself caught?
[Let's make a hasty retreat,] Brittany said, her voice small and sad. Then, she added mournfully, [Good-bye, Puck.]
[Santana?] Puck asked quietly, privately, as we turned to fight our way out of the mass of Hork-Bajir, making our way back to the Macy's staircase.
[Yeah?] I asked tensely.
[Take care- take care of my family. Please? And don't tell them what happened. I want them to remember me as I was.]
[I will,] I promised, feeling the sorrow and rage rising in me. I tapped into the store of anger in my bull instincts, and let myself go, gouging and impaling my way to the stairs with a new purpose.
[I can't believe this,] Mercedes said, openly sobbing, though her bear wasn't visibly showing it as we finally managed to open a path to the staircase. She smacked a Hork-Bajir back with a mighty blow and rolled right over him.
[Stay strong,] Sam said gently as he smashed the face of a Hork-Bajir down into the hard, packed dirt floor of the cavern.
Kurt swooped down, perching high up on the staircase, still shrouded in shadows. [They're pursuing us,] he said, his tone unrecognizable. We finally reached the base of the staircase and hid in the darkness, catching our breath and recuperating before we made the charge up the stairs. My back legs were buckling so badly, I was surprised I was still standing.
A long, loud howl echoed across the cavern and sent a chill up my spine. Even as a bull.
[I've gotta change,] I gasped. I began the transformation back to human. Brittany stood over me protectively, one stalk eye watching my change, the other constantly scanning our surroundings. Now that Puck was in custody, there was no reason to hide the fact that we were humans. The Yeerks would find out soon enough. As soon as I was myself, I ignored the exhaustion creeping into my limbs and began the change to cheetah.
"Let them go!" Sue commanded into her megaphone, just as the pursuing Hork-Bajir came close enough for me to make out their distinct forms from the surrounding darkness. "I'll discover their whereabouts soon enough, now that I have him." She gestured to Puck, who was still struggling under his captors. "Besides, I want them to see this!" She crowed. The approaching Hork-Bajir turned away from us, and the human-Controllers who were gathered in various clusters around the Pool warily focused their attention to the stage, where Sue was standing tall, triumphant, even.
We waited, gathered wearily at the base of the stairs, huddled in shadows and watching in horror as Sue's expression twisted into seething anger at the sight of Puck struggling under the hold of the two Hork-Bajir, who seemed afraid to cause him any direct harm.
"Incompetent morons! I'll show you how to deal with Andalite scum!" Sue yelled angrily. She nodded sharply to one of the Hork-Bajir, who moved with immediate urgency. A sickening snap resounded, echoing in the cavern, and Puck howled loudly in pain. His back leg was twisted at an unnatural angle.
[Oh, God,] Mercedes wailed. [They broke his leg!] She lowered her bear head, shaking it back and forth, as if trying to force the thoughts and the images away. [Oh, God, oh, God, no.]
[Noah!] I cried out, concerned.
[Fucking get out of here,] Puck growled, struggling to control the underlying pain laced in his voice.
SNAP!
The wolf howled out again, the pain clear in its resounding vocals. Sue had snapped his front leg this time, leaving him collapsed and wriggling weakly on the ground. But still, he struggled.
[Noah, stop!] Mercedes cried tearfully. I turned away. It was painful to watch. [They'll stop hurting you if you-]
[And just let them take me?] Puck demanded in agony. [I'm not going down without a fight!]
"Lift him up," Sue said coldly, still in that damned megaphone. I had a sudden fantasy of beating her to death with it. She was grinning cruelly, and I glared at her from across the cavern, hate burning in my gaze.
The Hork-Bajir grabbed Puck harshly by the scruff of his neck and lifted him to Sue's level. Puck kicked feebly in the air with the two legs that still worked. He howled again, snapping his jaws in Sue's direction, attempting to bite her. I knew that it would inevitably cause him more pain, but my heart beat proudly for him at his stupid bravery. Until it broke at the Hork-Bajir's response.
There was a loud thump as they sliced him across the muzzle, and he howled louder, thrashing wildly until the Hork-Bajir wrapped his clawed hand around his snout, effectively restraining his mouth and stilling his head.
And then, with the biggest, sickest triumphant smile, Sue lowered her own head to Puck's, laying her ear against Puck's pointed wolf one.
Nothing had ever sent chills up my spine the way hearing Puck's screams suddenly go silent did.
[AAAAAAAGGHHH-]
And that's when we knew it was all over.
[We can't do anything for him now!] Sam cried. He knew what it felt like. I shuddered at the thought.
While Visser Seven made the transfer from Sue's body to Puck's, we got to our feet and scrambled around to the front of the stairs that led to Macy's.
We darted up them, panicked. I turned back briefly and caught a glimpse of Puck's wolf transforming to his own human body, Sue's human body crumpled at his feet with the two Hork-Bajir towering over her, and knew we had just run out of time.
Our secret was out.
The cavern had erupted into cheers. People were screaming wildly, applauding. I guess to the Yeerks, this was a huge moment. The first Controller with the ability to transform- technology usually only belonging to Andalites. This put them on semi-equal grounds, and was the last piece of technology they hadn't been able to obtain, at least, according to Brittany. But now they had it. They had acquired a body with the transforming power, even if it wasn't Andalite.
The sound of the crowd jeering and congratulating the fact that my friend Puck had just had his free will taken away from him made me sick, haunted me as I climbed the steps. It was a terrifying sound, because it also signified that we were no longer safe.
Our secret was out.
We ran, the fear driving us onward. We made it up those stairs in record time. You know how you can walk into a scary situation, and be perfectly fine, initially- but the second you turn to run, the second you acknowledge that fear, it consumes you, until you're fleeing in mindless terror? That's what running up those steps felt like.
Our greatest fear had just come true. We were done for.
Our secret was out.
[Shit, they know everything! EVERYTHING!] Kurt wailed as we reached the top of the stairs.
None of us were safe.
We didn't bother de-transforming when we reached the door. We didn't have time, didn't care. We burst through that Macy's door and tore through the store- a collection of circus freaks. We knocked aside clothing racks, toppled over displays of purses. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered now but getting out. We had to get our families out.
Most of the people in the mall screamed and moved out of the way. Several of them glared coldly at us- Controllers. Some people just stood, so surprised they couldn't even move. It's not every day you see a cheetah, a gorilla, a bear, a bird and an alien deer running through the mall.
We made it out to the parking lot and to Kurt's SUV. It was dark outside, so we lost the crowd of people that had attempted to follow us from the mall.
[Okay, what's the plan?] I snapped, panting.
[I'm going to get my father,] Kurt said coldly, ruffling his feathers. He began to transform. He was running out of time in his bird form. [No way am I letting him fall to the Yeerks. And with Finn already a Controller, he'll go straight home and-]
[We have to decide as a group,] Sam said firmly. [We can't just run off and-]
"FUCK THIS GROUP!" Kurt screamed, now fully human. His hands were balled into fists and he had tears in his eyes. "I've only ever been a part of it to keep my father safe- and now-" he began to sob.
[I'm not saying we abandon your father, Kurt,] Sam told him genuinely, his tone firm. [But we have to have a plan. We can't just charge in there and snatch him up.]
Brittany placed a comforting hand on Kurt's shoulder but he swatted it off. "Don't," he said angrily. He took a deep breath to compose himself. "I'm going. You all do what you want." He began the transformation to hawk, and within minutes he was tearing away through the sky.
It was silent for a moment as we acknowledged Kurt's departure. It stung a little- a lot. We were falling apart; but we had more pressing matters. We had to keep it together as best we could.
[Okay, we're running out of time,] I said, stating the obvious. [What are we doing?]
[Obviously we all want to get our own families out,] Mercedes hinted quietly, sounding on edge.
I shrugged my cheetah shoulders. [My parents probably aren't even home,] I said nonchalantly.
[That is correct,] Brittany agreed with a nod. [They are in Sweden.]
[What? How do you know that?]
[They left a note for you on the counter. I saw it this morning when I went to answer the door for Rory.]
[What the fuck are they doing in Sweden?]
[They mentioned that your father had a medical convention to attend?]
[Well, that's nice,] I muttered. [They didn't even invite me-]
[So that's one less thing to worry about,] Sam cut in quickly.
Oh. Right.
[Right,] I said. [We can worry about them later. For now, we have to get the rest of our families out.]
[So where to?] Mercedes asked nervously. I had to admire her- of course she wanted to fly straight to her own house, like Kurt had, but she was sticking with the group. We were all in this together. But Puck- my heart ached.
[Puck's house,] I said instantly.
[The Yeerks will probably go there first,] Sam agreed. [And since Puck's been taken, they don't have anyone to save them.] I smiled internally at Sam's heroic thought process. He was always looking out for people. It made me proud of him, just a little.
[Then, we hit Mercedes' house,] he continued, looking at Mercedes. [Kurt lives near you so we'll stop by his house to see if he needs help before we head out to my house, which will probably be the Yeerks' last stop since I live so far out of town.]
[Okay, so-] I looked at the SUV. [Are we flying, or..?]
[No, we're gonna need transportation for our families. We'll take the SUV. Kurt left the keys in the magnetic box under the door.]
[I've gotta change to fit, anyways,] Mercedes said regretfully. [So I'll just go ahead and fly to Puck's house, scope out the place. The Yeerks might already be there, and if so, we don't want to walk into an ambush.]
[Good idea.] Sam nodded and Mercedes began the change. [And Brittany-]
"I'll drive."
We all paused and looked at her incredulously. I hadn't even realized she had changed. She was being really sneaky about that lately. I smiled at her and nodded slightly, but then Sam opened his mouth.
[Uh, no, Brittany- that's okay,] he said. [I'll take the wheel.]
Brittany's face fell slightly, but she chivalrously opened the passenger door and I hopped up gracefully into the seat. She reached across me for the seatbelt, and even though I protested, she insisted on buckling me in. Even though I was a cheetah.
"Safety first," she whispered before she pressed a delicate kiss to my cat nose. I wrinkled it slightly at her.
And now I was a cheetah wearing a seatbelt.
Brittany climbed into the backseat, and Sam squeezed into the driver's seat. Even with the seat all the way back, he still managed to break the arm rests and push the chair off the floor tracks it was hooked to.
[Oops,] he said guiltily at the sound of metal snapping. I rolled my feline eyes at him.
He cranked the SUV to life, and we were off.
[Do you even know how to drive?] I exclaimed as Sam swerved on the residential back road we were flying down, narrowly avoiding a parked car and instead plowing into a trash can, which went flying off the front bumper. He cranked the wheel and swayed back into the middle of the street, straddling the center line. But at least he wasn't on the sidewalk this time.
[Look, it's hard to drive in this bulky body-]
[Well then maybe we should've let Britt drive, she can't possibly be worse!] I retorted.
From the backseat, Brittany beamed. I caught her shining eyes in the rearview mirror.
Sam made another quick turn and his large elbow smashed into the buttons on the center console. Music came blaring out of the speaker at an ear-splitting volume.
"MM-bop! Ba duba dop, ba du dop!"
[WHAT THE FUCK, IS THAT HANSON?!] I snarled, pawing at the radio. [How is this song on the radio, even?! Why is Kurt listening to such a gay station?!]
"I believe it is a compact disc," Brittany offered helpfully, talking loudly over the music.
[Like that makes it any less gay!]
She leaned forward to press the button and this time the radio came on, which wasn't exactly what I had in mind-
"Iiiii can't seeeee meeeee lov-ing no-boooody but youuuu, for all my liiiiiife!"
The SUV lurched to the right, throwing me against the glass. Not for the first time, I was thankful I was wearing a seatbelt.
[Britt!] I growled.
Her finger jammed another button and the radio changed again, and Sam swerved left, throwing me tight against the seatbelt.
"Just like a refund I make her bring dat ass back, and she bring dat ass back, because I like dat! Shawty wanna thuuuug, bottles in the cluuuub-"
[Oh my God, Britt, just turn it off!]
She smashed the power button and it was blessedly silent- except for the squealing tires of Sam taking turns at outrageous speeds.
My nails were hooked into the upholstery of the seat beneath me and the fur along my back was on edge as the SUV swerved down the road, finally screeching to a halt outside of Puck's house.
As soon as the SUV stopped, Mercedes, as herself, came charging out the front door, with Puck's mom and younger sister in tow. Both of Puck's family members looked like they'd just met the Antichrist and Brittany opened the door to the back seat to let them inside while Mercedes began the change back to owl to make the journey two streets over to her own house.
"Hello, Missus Puck, it's quite wonderful to meet you!" Brittany said cheerfully, her face all smiles as she ushered them in. Puck's mother gave her a horrified look and began chanting something like a prayer in another language, her eyes closed and her face solemn. Puck's little sister just looked at Brittany and blinked in wonder.
The SUV lurched suddenly and I whipped my head to look at Sam.
[Sorry,] he said sheepishly, shifting the SUV into "drive"; then we were tearing down the street in the direction of Mercedes' house.
A truck approached us, its headlights blinding, and instead of slowing down or stopping, which might have been the safe thing to do, naturally Sam swerved to the curb, barely avoiding the mailboxes, and instead, slamming through a line of trash cans. They went flying, trash bags spilling out onto the street- one of them we ended up crushing under the front left wheel. My cheetah brain, which was already panicking from the journey, was making me hiss out in terror.
[Do you hate trash cans?] I demanded. [Is that it?! Do you just HATE TRASH CANS?!]
[Aaaahhh!] Sam cried as one hit and bounced off the front bumper and then crashed into the windshield before going over top of us. When we finally reached Mercedes house, Sam got out of the SUV and quickly loped, on his knuckles, into the house to help Mercedes with her parents.
[Britt, move to the driver's seat,] I said, my feline heart still pounding and my senses still on edge. [I'm not dealing with any more trash cans.]
She didn't bother to hide her grin as she carefully moved and slid into the driver's seat, pausing to buckle her seatbelt. I huffed, and she leaned over and scratched behind my ear, calming me. "Safety first," she murmured again, and I gave her a literal catty grin, my heart racing for a different reason. Even running for my life she managed to make me swoon. What even?
Moments later, Mercedes and Sam came rushing outside, this time with her parents behind her, looking shocked and worried. They had a small suitcase and Mercedes opened the back door to let them climb into the SUV beside Puck's mom and sister.
I was shocked. So far this was going pretty smoothly. Maybe Mercedes had a natural talent for talking to people that we hadn't realized or utilized. I didn't have time to ask her what her explanation tactic was, though, because Sam was already talking to me.
[Santana, Kurt's house is right down the street. Remember, they have a Controller in the house, so the Yeerks might already be there. Let's head over there like this,] he gestured to his gorilla form. [Mercedes, fly cover, okay?]
Mercedes nodded, already beginning the transformation to owl again. Her parents watched her with wide, stunned eyes. I couldn't believe she still had energy to transform, with all the rapid changes she'd done. It made my head spin as Brittany leaned over to unbuckle my seatbelt and I jumped down to the ground gracefully.
[Brittany- uh. Try not to hit anything,] Sam said awkwardly.
[Says the trashcan serial killer,] I muttered. [Follow us, but stay a safe distance, okay, Britt?]
I caught her blue eyes, holding her gaze for a second. We exchanged a quick, worried look:
Be careful.
Then I was following Sam down the street, easily overtaking him with my superior speed and beating him to the house.
We reached the lawn just as three black Hummers did. And it didn't take a detective to figure out who those Hummers belonged to.
[Kurt!] Sam called worriedly. [The Yeerks are here!]
[Shit! We are about to have a fight on this lawn!] I growled, bracing myself as the Hummers came to a screeching halt across the street.
[KURT!] Sam roared again. [Get out, NOW!]
The front door opened quickly, and Burt, crying and angry, rushed out, with an equally angry Kurt following just as the doors to the Hummers opened and out stepped several male human-Controllers, dressed in sharp suits.
[What the hell is this, the Men in Black?!] I cried as they unholstered their weapons.
[Watch out! They've got Dracon beams, too!] Mercedes called from up above.
[Shit!] I yelled again as I leaped behind a car in the driveway of the house next door, chunks of dirt and grass blowing from a hole in the ground right where I had just been standing.
[Get him to the SUV!] Sam ordered, and Kurt, crouching behind vehicles and various landscaping, escorted Burt quickly to where Brittany had the SUV waiting a few houses down the street. Mercedes swooped down and raked one of the Controllers with her talons, gouging deep lines into his face. He dropped his Dracon beam to clutch at it.
[I've got this bloody mess where my face used to be,] I sang to myself as I slinked to the edge of the car I was hiding behind to try and see how many guys there actually were. The Yeerks were distracted with shooting at Mercedes for a moment, giving Kurt enough time to reach the SUV.
I heard the door slamming, indicating that Burt was safely in the SUV, and decided we didn't need to hesitate any longer.
[Britt, go!] I yelled. To Sam I said, [We've gotta bail! Now! We're sitting ducks out here!] On that note, the car I was behind began to sizzle, disintegrating. I could feel the heat pouring off of it in waves, and it sent an uneasy feeling through my cheetah body. The cheetah was scared- it didn't like what that heat meant.
[Agreed!] Sam said tersely. He was hunkered down next to one of the Hummers. He had knocked out one guy, and laid the one Mercedes had injured out onto the pavement, unconscious. The third occupant of that Hummer had moved behind one of the other vehicles, and they were all attempting to get into a tactical position to locate Sam in their sights.
The sound of screaming tires made me look towards the SUV. Brittany had thrown the vehicle in reverse, floored it, and then, with skills I hadn't known she'd possessed, she'd whipped the car around, at full speed, and shot forward down the street. It was some Mission: Impossible shit.
[Holy fuck,] I gaped.
[Where'd she learn to drive like that?] Sam demanded as he ran to my position and then followed me as I high-tailed it around the corner of the house, towards the backyard- avoiding getting hit, but barely. Dracon fire erupted the ground all around us, and sprays of hot dirt hit my side as I made it out of sight.
[Um. Wikipedia?] I offered. Kurt had a huge, wooden privacy fence, but one punch from Sam and the gate popped open.
I heard the doors of the Hummers slamming closed and at least one vehicle taking off in pursuit of Brittany.
[Mercedes, stay with them!] Sam ordered.
[On it!]
[Kurt!] Sam called.
Kurt didn't answer as we tore through his backyard as fast as possible. We needed distance to re-transform, because we were never going to lose them as a cheetah and a gorilla and still make it to Sam's house in a timely manner. I leaped and clawed up the backside of the wooden fence, hauling myself over and into the yard behind it. Sam just charged through it. It wouldn't have held his weight anyways, if he'd tried to climb it.
We continued to tear through people's backyards in a blur, busting through fences and zigzagging around lawn furniture and over Power Wheels. I ran up a slide and leapt from it over another fence that Sam smashed a gorilla-sized hole in. All the while I was painfully aware of the sounds of the footsteps of the pursuing Yeerks as they pounded after us.
TSEEEWWW!
A Dracon beam narrowly missed us, instead hitting the pool in the backyard we were running through. The water sizzled as it evaporated into steam, and we banked a hard left, crossing over into another adjoining backyard.
"AAAGHH!" The closest Controller cried suddenly. We looked just in time to see Kurt flapping hard to gain altitude after spending quality time acquainting his talons with that man's eyeballs.
[I'm here, guys!] he said, sounding stressed. [But you need to get airborne or we are not going to make it out of here alive, we've got more Controllers closing in on us!]
[Right,] I nodded, looking wildly around for somewhere we could change. Where? Where?
[I hate to do it,] Sam started ashamedly, and I followed his gaze to the back door of the house connected to the yard we were currently standing in. My stomach froze and I swallowed. If there were people home, they were about to be victims of the Yeerks. It wasn't a very good decision, but we needed a distraction. And there was always the off chance that they were already Controllers-
[No choice,] I said ruefully, and followed him as he punched the back door open.
We charged inside. No time to think about what we were doing. No time to think about the poor people who were about to get the surprise of their life. No time to think about the violation of someone else's home-
The house was dark and my eyes adjusted after a moment, but not much. It was silent. It was too much to hope no one was home, although it wasn't that late, and it was Saturday night. It wasn't impossible. We turned down a dark hallway, knocking over a small table and hearing a lamp crash to the floor, and stormed up the stairs and into an equally dark bedroom.
Sam slammed the door and we began our transformations- but not before he broke a window in the bedroom for us to make our escape. I felt sorry for when these people came home and discovered the mess we'd made of their house, and the bigger mess the Yeerks were about to make following us.
No time to think about that.
I changed as fast as I could, the adrenaline in my veins spurring me on. My heart was racing, even as it grew to my normal human heart and then shrank to flutter at the quicker pace of a bird's.
[Guys, shit's about to get real,] Kurt said grimly from outside.
[What do you mean?] I demanded, hoping my voice didn't sound as shaky as I thought. We were in the middle of a nightmare and I was still hoping I was going to wake up from it. I was almost completely bird, but I was dead if the Yeerks found us. Sam was just starting his transformation to pigeon.
[The owners of the house just pulled in the driveway.]
My stomach dropped further. We had just sentenced these people to a life of enslavement.
[Fuck.]
I braced myself, heard the front door open, heard the silence as the owners processed the strangers in their house, processed the wreckage of their furniture.
"Ahhh!" a woman shrieked.
"What's going on here?" a man asked.
"Get them!" a male voice- one of the Controllers- yelled.
There was more screaming, a struggle, and I watched Sam as he finished his transformation. His eyes looked anguished. He had to choose between saving these people, who were unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time, and saving his own family. But it was no choice. Maybe it was selfish, but our families were the reasons we were even fighting. As shitty as it was, we had pretty much chosen those poor people downstairs for this fate, in a way. Their distraction provided our chance for escape.
But it still sucked.
[No choice,] he repeated, his tone painful. [We're out of time.]
I nodded my bird head and we flew out into the night.
[I'm sorry,] I whispered to the people as we left their house in the distance. The sound of their screaming followed me for miles.
"Dad, Mom! Get Stevie and Stacy! We've gotta go NOW," Sam yelled as we burst into the house. We had, thankfully, made it to Sam's house before the Yeerks, and even before Brittany and the SUV. Mercedes was perched on the apex of the roof, looking like a white, feathered omen, keeping watch.
"What?" Sam's mother asked, coming slowly down the stairs. "We are all getting ready for bed, now, Sam-"
"Mom, please!" Sam pleaded.
"Your mom's right, Sam," his father said, stepping into the room from the den. He looked tired and angry, like he'd just been woken up from an awesome nap. He rubbed his temples, his jaw tensed. Seeing him reminded me of how drained I was becoming. But I still had adrenaline pumping through me, still had stuff to accomplish; I didn't have time to be tired.
"But if we don't go NOW-" Sam started to protest.
"That's enough," his father snapped firmly. "Now, we've been very concerned about you these past few weeks. You just haven't been yourself lately, and-"
[Hummer moving in!] Mercedes called from outside, her voice tense, strained.
"Dad, can we please talk about this later?" Sam begged, his voice growing firmer. "We need to-"
"We most certainly will not-" Sam's father started, but I got tired of this circular argument. I stepped forward, my stance solid.
"Listen, folks," I snapped. I pointed out the front door. "There's a fuckload of alien body snatchers seconds away from snatching your bodies unless you come with us. NOW. Also, Sam and I can turn into animals."
They looked at me like I was crazy.
And maybe I was. I felt like it for a split second, hearing myself. I half wondered if I was still in a nightmare. I had a feeling of déjà vu, like the whole situation was surreal. But I knew I'd never been in that situation before. I shook myself out of it and snapped into action.
"Sam: show them!" I said, looking at him.
Sam began the transformation to gorilla, both to show his parents and to prepare for the inevitable confrontation with the Yeerks we were about to have, because we were not wrapping this up quickly enough. Sam's parents just weren't getting it- how had Mercedes convinced her family? And Puck's? I wish I'd had her skills.
"Sam?! Oh my god, are you all right?" his mom asked, concerned, as Sam began to change. I almost slapped my forehead at her blonde-ness. Now I know where Sam got his dumbness sometimes. Sam's father stood, stunned, his face expressionless as he watched.
"YAY! Sam's an X-MAN!" Sam's younger brother, Stevie, cheered. He danced around in a gleeful circle, clapping. Stacy just looked baffled.
[Guys, they're on us,] Mercedes said tersely. [It's now or never!]
[Please, we have to go now!] Sam pleaded once he'd completed the transformation.
"Sam? Was that you?" His mom asked, looking around.
Seriously?
I cursed as I heard the squealing tires signaling that the Yeerks were about to arrive. Nothing I had in my avatar collection was going to stop a Hummer, but I wasn't going to do any damage to it at all as a cheetah. I had to go bull again. I focused and began to bulk up immediately.
"Woah! Santana's an X-Man, too!" Stevie screamed with wonder, whooping ecstatically. It made me smile a little on the inside. His enthusiasm reminded me of how cool it actually was to be able to change, and my own excitement over the power, initially. It felt like so long ago. I got lost in my thoughts as Sam began to give his family urgent directions.
[-to the garage. Mercedes will give you instructions on where to go to avoid pursuit-]
"Mercedes is part of this, too?!" Sam's mom asked, appalled. She looked surprised, like she expected me to be part of something outrageous like this, but not good, wholesome Mercedes. It kind of peeved me off as I finished my transformation to bull. Not that I minded- anger was a helpful tool.
[Yes, now please, you need to go,] Sam said anxiously. [It's about to get very ugly.]
"Let's go, Mary," Sam's father said, strangely calm as he held the door leading out to the garage open for his family. Stevie and Stacy immediately ran into the garage, Stevie still babbling with kid excitement about Sam and I being X-Men.
[Mercedes, guide my parents and Brittany. Somewhere safe,] Sam said miserably as he watched them leave the house.
[Where?] she asked.
[I don't know!] he barked, suddenly frustrated. It surprised me. [Just- somewhere.]
[Okay,] she said in a small voice. I heard the car starting in the garage and then roll out onto the main street.
[Kurt? Where are you?] Sam called.
[I'm up high,] he responded sounding far away.
[Okay, stay there, we need surveillance.]
[Got it. Your family's driving away- one of the Hummers is pursuing them.]
[Mercedes will take care of that,] Sam said desperately, almost as if he was trying to convince himself, too. [What's going on outside?]
[There's one Hummer already outside, waiting. Two more coming down the street.]
I took a deep breath and turned towards the door, taking a moment to prepare myself. I pawed the carpet for a moment to pump myself up. My sharp hoof sliced it and I felt guilty for half a second before the sad realization that Sam's family wouldn't be returning to this house anytime soon settled in and I refocused my thoughts on what could possibly be waiting for us outside. We had no idea what we were charging into, but we had no choice. We had to delay those Hummers, or we were never going to get our families out safely, for good.
[Ready?] Sam asked me gently.
I caught his dark eyes and nodded my bull head. I snorted. And then, abruptly, we both barreled out the front door. I didn't fit, obviously, so part of the frame crumbled as my bulky shoulder smashed into it. I felt guilty again but remembered much more quickly about our situation.
We reached the driveway just in time to witness eight male Controllers exiting two of the Hummers quickly, as if they'd rehearsed it. They probably had. I briefly thought about how silly that was for a moment, before I chided myself for losing focus. Again. All of the Controllers were leveling Dracon beams at us. I lowered my head, ready to charge, when something stopped me.
The door to the last Hummer opened dramatically, and out stepped the last person I expected to confront on the battlefield, though it should've been obvious that we would meet, eventually.
Out stepped Finn.
[Oh, fuck. Shit just got complicated.]
Okay,first of all, I apologize for leaving you on a cliffhanger AGAIN. The next part is lengthy, and happens quickly, and I really didn't want to leave you on a cliffhanger with that scene instead. So this was a nicer cliff than that one. That one would've had jagged rocks and stuff at the bottom. So. ._.
I also promise to only leave you with one more "sudden person" cliffhanger in the future, I know that gets old fast, lol. Thanks for bearing with me!
Also, for all my Animorphs peeps out there, I hope you can appreciate the "trash cans" joke from the original series. It was always a dear one to the fandom. Also Hanson, Lil' Wayne and The Turtles do not belong to me. I just threw their songs in there for fun. :)
Sorry not a lot of Brittana this chapter, but they will have a lot of interaction in the coming ones, including the moment when we finally get the big reveal on Brittany's mission- so stay tuned!
As always, questions or comments or reviews are always welcome- if you feel like it. :)
See you next Monday!