Chapter 12

The surveillance screens looked at him from three different angles, but there was no mistaking what they told. There he was, cocooned in one of those awful orange tubes that were far too small for any respectable alien. He stood tall and motionless, his front legs squeezed up against his torso. His stalk eyes drooped limply over the cables that stuck to the sides of his head.

It was him. That was clear.

Oh, what a fool I had been. What a contemptuous, blithering fool! I had half a mind to throw myself from the ship and leave, to hope that everybody would simply forget my pitiful existence.

((I think we have our answer,)) Tobias said, distracting me from my temporary self-loathing. ((It's him. The One has been playing us. Tried to bait the Andalites and got us instead.))

"Yes…" I uttered.

((And that message you just played,)) Tobias huffed. ((That seals it. Now, how do we get him out of there?))

The other Animorphs seemed to be pondering the same question. They paced around Aximili's container for a while, exploring it from different angles. There appeared to be a seal holding the tube shut, and there were no other controls anywhere near it.

"It must be controlled from a centralized system," I speculated.

((That's not the big problem,)) Tobias replied. ((How do we get him out of there? He can't morph if he's unconscious. They can't drag him out.)) Then Tobias gave me a sideways glance. ((And we don't know which drugs to tamper with to wake him up.))

I felt a stab of guilt, but I couldn't hold onto that. There were more important matters at hand. "What do we do with… the other one?"

((Who? The clone?)) He thought, gazing down at his clawed toes. Then, he swiveled in his chair. ((Groof, this clone… What would Enrich do with it?))

Groof jerked as if being involved in any conversation came as some great surprise and an equally great delight. "Clones. Hmm. Well, we're all clones, really, aren't we?!"

((Excuse me?))

"Yes! Semi-clones. Part mother, part father, and part second-father! We're all just a mixing of DNA. The only difference with a clone is that the DNA is only taken from one individual, rather than from multiple!"

((But this isn't just an ordinary clone, surely,)) Tobias argued. ((If The One is using this clone as bait to gather information, then it's probably programmed to act a certain way.))

"That would imply no free will, of course!" Groof chuckled. "That's a little different."

"Unless the clone was brainwashed into doing such things," I added.

Groof said, "I wish I could tell you more, but not even Burr-Ammit knows the technology of The One."

((I think this is a problem we can solve later,)) Tobias suggested. ((Clone-Ax is drugged up for another few hours. Let's just hope Jake and the others can pull out a miracle here.))

Despite Tobias' hope, the others were getting nowhere. They hung around Ax's pod for a while to no avail. Eventually, they moved on, passing by numerous other pods, each with its own frozen alien, few of which I recognized. They were heading for the center of the room, where the large, black pillar lay. It seemed like an obvious choice, but the chances they would figure it out, especially in their current morph, were slim.

But they tried, regardless. They hurried up, down, and around the concave object, passing by buttons and switches and dials. A couple of Kelbrids passed them by, thankfully giving them little notice, but they could only be lucky for so long.

They seemed to formulate a plan. Two of the Animorphs went away from the central computer, back to the area around Aximili's pod, while the third stayed back. Then, they remained static for a good few minutes, waiting for something to happen. Tobias and I exchanged vague possibilities, but we were not in a position to do anything about it. All we could do was watch.

"They've passed two hours in morph," I said as the minutes ticked by. My words did nothing to hurry things along, and it felt like an age before the next action commenced.

Three Kelbrids simultaneously came into view, each bearing the green scarves of the scientists. They spoke to each other - though we could not hear what they were saying - and then separated. One of them went over to the central computer, and whoever it was that hid there followed him closely. Through the one screen, we saw the Kelbrid casually fiddle with various controls before shouting something back to the other two.

They were heading through the maze of orange tubes, followed from a distance by the curious Animorphs. The Kelbrids called back to their peer as they walked and came to a stop beside a single orange tube. The chattering continued amongst themselves as two of our cameras spied on them diligently.

Tobias and I had the perfect view. We could see the tube, and we could also see the single Kelbrid scientist playing with the controls. A gloved, purple claw pressed firmly on a switch, and on the other screens, we saw the orange tube open before his fellows. Now we knew that the pods were all controlled from that central pillar.

But before we could raise our hopes, it all came apart. The Kelbrid at the central computer wandered away from his position, past the Animorph clinging to the computer's side. He noticed the bug, and at first, seemed to shrug it off.

Then, before he could take another step away, he looked again. It was a long, deliberate stare. He squinted, his head approaching to gain a better view.

He was observing the tiny camera that was attached to the Animorph's leg. Before he could take action, the insect bolted upwards, and the world became a horrible, shaking ride as the legs motored. It became impossible to tell where he was going. The other two simultaneously rocketed to the nearest wall, eager to remain unseen.

((We need to be ready to move out,)) Tobias said with unbelievable calmness. ((They'll find somewhere safer to send us the signal. As soon as that happens, I'm gone. Mendy, can I trust you to move the ship to the southern entrance?))

Suddenly, he trusted me? Even to a small degree?

Of course. He saw the realization on my face. He knew that I'd come to the same conclusion that they'd all come to many days ago. What reason would I have now to abandon them?

"Yes, you can," I replied.

((Okay. Now we just wait for the signal.))

The screens showed nothing but nightmarish shaking as the three insects powered away from the open areas. One-by-one, they slowed to a stop in places less exposed by lighting. We could see very little now.

Perhaps they had climbed back into the ventilation systems, or maybe drainage. Either way, they were closed in and alone. It wasn't long before two of the insects turned towards each other, giving us a clear view as one of them started to demorph. They demorphed enough to make it obvious and then reversed back to full insect — the signal.

And without hesitation, Tobias began to make his change. His green skin turned a deep shade of blue, spreading from his head down to his toes. His body began to widen, growing squat. His beak softened, turning into the ratty little nose of the kelbird.

I took my place in front of the ship's controls. It was not something I'd had much time to familiarize myself with. However, I knew how to activate the engines and wasted no time in getting the ship ready to move. I waited for Tobias to depart before moving.

When he finished, he bobbed along the floor and waited for me to open the hatch. He dropped from the ship, and through the ship's visor, I saw him fly directly for the base. He would pick up the three insects and bring them back. My job was to reduce the distance he had to travel.

My eyes found the surveillance screens again. The three insects had met up and headed in an unknown direction. It would not be long for them to find a way outside to meet Tobias, but that was not the central issue. If the Kelbrids were alerted to insects carrying cameras, they could not afford to be spotted. No doubt, the Kelbrid soldiers would be surrounding the building in search of any of the bizarre insects.

Now to get the ship moving. It dawned on me that maybe Jake had made a mistake in letting me drive the vessel when I had no experience manning the cockpit. Unless…

"The thrusters need to be adjusted for takeoff," Groof spoke up from behind me. "Dial C. Turn it to ninety."

I did that, and there was a slight buzz around the ship.

He continued. "Now the acceleration lever. Pull it down to half."

When I followed his instructions, I saw the Kelbrid landscape slowly start to fall away from us. Within seconds, we were clear of the abandoned construction site.

But I didn't have time to learn the workings of the ship. I had a choice to make. I looked to Groof, who met my gaze. "You are more suited to this role than I am," I said.

"Correct!" he stated. "Humans only have two hands, of course, and your feet are practically useless for operating the gyroscope!"

I considered the options and swiftly concluded that he, like me, had very little to gain by running. I jumped behind his table, and one-by-one released the restraints. He flumped to the floor and cheered for his freedom.

"Oh, I'm so stiff!" he laughed, chattering his lobster-like claws. "Isn't it wonderful to have functioning limbs, unlike the Yurrect?"

"We don't have time for your inane quips," I urged. "We need to get to the southern entrance and-"

"My nothlit friend, I know that plan! I paid full attention. Let's go!"

He took control of the cockpit, allowing me to attend to the surveillance screens once more. We turned and headed for our planned destination while the Animorphs continued winding their way through the dark tunnel of the laboratory ventilation.

((Tobias, can you hear me?)) I called privately.

There came no answer. He must have flown deep into the base already.

We arrived at the southern entrance of the base, flying a good thirty meters up. Below, the Kelbrid guards appeared to be rapidly ramping up security. They stopped people from entering or leaving and were doing security checks for anybody in the vicinity.

"What are the chances of us being found in this position?" I asked Groof warily.

"Approximately one-in-five," he replied. "The cloak is effective, but there is a small chance that the Kelbrid radars will pick up some slight distortion, since we're so close."

"And what are the chances of us being found if we hovered closer to the laboratory?"

"Hmm… about one-in-three. We'll be closer still to the base radars."

How easily would the Kelbrids see Tobias lifting away three guilty insects? Would he even get close enough to the building without being shot down by jumpy soldiers? We could see the Kelbrids organizing to counter the infiltration through the cockpit visor, but would they suspect an otherwise inconspicuous native bird?

There were other birds around. Were they being shot down? Were the Kelbrids that panicked?

No. Nobody was shooting the other birds down. I thanked the stars that Kelbrids were still not used to the idea that the morphing power could be used against them so close to home. I couldn't imagine that that would be the case for too long, especially after today.

The brightness of the surveillance screens changed drastically. They emerged from whatever tunnel they'd entered into, and all I could see for a moment was the Kelbrid sky. Then, they leveled out, and I saw the roof of the laboratory from one corner. They'd made the right decision to exit that way.

Between them, a bird fluttered down. Tobias. The insects scurried over and clambered onto the bird's stumpy legs.

"Kelbrid scouting ships deployed in the area!" Groof announced. "They're closing in on the lab. Four of them."

Tobias flapped his one wing and gained some altitude, but as soon as he had done so, the smoothened visage of a Kelbrid ship came into view. It was egg-shaped and gleaming, which was the standard for their designs.

Perhaps Tobias sensed that they'd picked him up because instead of going directly for our position, he swooped downwards abruptly. We saw the many heads of Kelbrid soldiers, some of whom looked up and noticed the suspicious bird. They couldn't react quickly enough, and Tobias flew out of their reach and down a narrow series of alleyways, heading southwest of the lab. He turned a few corners until he reached one of the nooks that Jake had planned as an emergency hiding spot. It was behind a garbage disposal facility, and for the moment, they were blocked from sight by a clutter of disposal units. Almost immediately, the Animorphs began to change, and the early signs pointed to them going Kelbird, like Tobias.

But by the time they could take flight once again, the Kelbrids would have figured to take down any bird sighted.

The scouting ships were spreading across the base. Though they were some way from us, we could see that they were taking down any bird that emerged. Lighting-like charges zapped at any creature taking flight. Whether the blow was fatal or just stunned the birds, we couldn't tell. Neither case was desirable.

"We need to go in," I determined. "If they fly, they'll be brought back down. Are you able to take the ship to their position?"

"That's hardly even a challenge!" Groof retorted.

We rose away from the southern entrance and crossed the boundary into the base. It made me nervous, recalling Groof's odds on us getting caught, but it was a risk I felt it necessary to take.

"Hideout 1," I said. "Just southwest of the labs, four-hundred-and-fifty meters."

"I can bring the ship just above the waste disposal facility," Groof replied. "It will be straight up for them."

"How long for us to escape atmosphere from that position?"

"Three minutes if we rush."

I nodded. "As soon as they're back on board, take us out of the atmosphere. Once outside, take us far from Kyritlyp. We can't be here any longer than we need to."

"Ay ay, Human nothlit!"

Our cloak seemed to keep us well-hidden as we crept our way over the base, carefully maintaining a substantive distance from the tops of the various buildings. I started to call out to the others, hoping soon to get in range to instruct them.

((Jake! Tobias! This is Menderash. Do not move from your position! We're coming!))

"Approaching the waste disposal facility!" Groof announced.

((Jake! Tobias!))

A reply came. ((Mendy! Is that you?!))

((Yes, Jake,)) I called. ((The Kelbrids are taking down any wildlife they see. We're coming in to collect you. Don't move from your current position!))

((We're at Hideout 1,)) Jake informed. ((Hanging out behind a dumpster.))

((That happens more often than I would like,)) Marco added. ((Garbage boy… That would be my superhero name.))

We arrived above the hideout, still cloaked. Groof was very aware of one of the scout ships gradually approaching. It wouldn't be long before it collided with us, assuming it didn't manage to sense our invisible ship beforehand.

"Open the hatch," I told Groof, and he did so.

((Jake! We are above you, and we've opened the hatch. If you fly directly upwards, you should enter the ship. There is a Kelbrid scouter approaching, so you must be quick.))

((We can't see anything!)) he responded.

Groof clarified, "While we are cloaked, the hatch is also invisible."

"Is there no way to guide them in?"

"Throw something out!" Groof suggested.

Throw something out… I looked around the compartment, searching for anything that I could dispose of without regret. ((Jake, I will drop something out of the hatch!))

((Gotcha. Tell us when.))

There were few loose items around that seemed disposable. In the end, I took one of the restraints that had previously held Groof to his table. It was a circular, adjustable strap, large enough to be seen easily. I held it over the hatch. ((I'll drop out a black strap!))

((Okay, Mendy! On the count of three, we'll fly up, and you drop the strap. 3… 2… 1… Go!))

I dropped the strap, and it disappeared into the white glow of the hatch.

((There it is! Saw it!))

I stepped back, just as the four birds shot into the ship. They swerved just before colliding with the hard ceiling.

"They're in, Groof!" I shouted to the cockpit. "Take us out of the atmosphere!"

"Out of the atmosphere!" he repeated, and in no time, we were watching the base descending as we rose into the clouds.