TWENTY-SIX: RACHEL
8:07 A.M.
Elle?
She was here? Inside this T'suli place?
Maybe I shouldn't be shocked by that. This was a Yeerk we were dealing with. There's no way that the junk in her backpack helped her get through.
(How is that possible?) Ax exclaimed.
(It's not,) Marco uttered. (We were floundering in the pipes and she somehow got past layers of security? No way.)
(I'm telling you. This Yeerk is bad news,) I said. (She's lying about how she got in.)
Jake was hesitant. Maybe still wrapping around how she got in. C'mon. It wasn't that hard to point the finger at her.
(Wait.) Cassie sniffed, her nose trailing along the cold floor. (There are more scents.)
(Human?)
(No. Definitely not human… It's all over the place. I can't tell what they are.)
(Perhaps, it's our mysterious Andalites,) Ax proposed.
(Whatever they are, they're with Elle. Stay on your guard,) Jake warned.
(This way.) Cassie headed down one hall and we followed.
The more you looked at the surroundings, the more it made some sense. You could kinda tell what was a corridor, a closed door or a vent. There was some order out of the madness around us.
(It's straight ahead.) We stopped at a high platform that led to a large entryway.
(Ok. Where are the stairs?) Marco looked around.
(Whoa!) I jumped back after I felt something push my front paws up. I had only taken a step and suddenly the floor came alive. Platforms rose up to form a convenient staircase for us.
(Well, this is something you don't see every mission.)
(Something about this isn't right,) I said.
(Getting cold feet? That's unlike you, Xena.)
(Did you get another vision?) Jake asked.
(No. But...I dunno.)
If I was human right now, I'd be grimacing just as much as Jake was. Cassie would worry. Marco would shrug it off. And Ax would do his usual Andalite stuff.
It was obvious at this point of a mission: we only had two options. Bail out or go all in. If I know Jake well, he wouldn't want us staying here. He's been on edge ever since we found out there would be a Sario Rip.
But we already knew that choice was gone after we went through the pipes. It was a one-way trip only.
(We can't turn back now,) Jake said. We all agreed as reluctant as he was. (Be ready for anything.)
Slowly, we climbed the stairs. Into the unknown.
It was dim. The hallway didn't even look like it was going to end. I couldn't see how far we had gone or how much more we had to go.
Being a bear, your eyes aren't like a human. Or a wolf. Or a bird. You could see in the dark but it wasn't excellent either. I had to rely on noises.
The thing was, it was quiet. So quiet that it all felt artificial. Unnatural. All you could hear was the soft, low humming from machines far away. Yeerk or human? I don't know.
Finally, we came to a break in the structure. Looked like an entryway that was opened up.
(Someone clearly went through here,) Marco pointed.
(Well duh, Sherlock,) I muttered.
(A datalog.) Ax pointed to what I think was a panel before the opening. (It looks like it has been used recently.)
(By Elle, no doubt.)
(Is that a card?) Jake couldn't point with tiger paws but hanging from the panel was some card with a strap on it. Looked like an ID card.
(A Controller's,) Marco asked.
It did have a photo of a man in a lab coat. Causcian, mid-thirties, brown hair with glasses. A person in a Yeerk place was for sure a Controller.
I took a peek at the panel. Everything on the screen was mambo-jumbo. Unless you were an Andalite or Yeerk, you couldn't understand anything written on the panel.
There was one image being displayed. And it looked familiar.
(Hey. That's a Safeway,) I said.
The image was taken at an angle. It looked like it was taken from a surveillance camera across the street. And captured right on camera was a Bug Fighter crashed into the Safeway.
(You're right,) Cassie said. (Is that a Bug Fighter?)
The scene was so familiar I couldn't put my finger on it.
(This is-) Jake started, immediately recognizing the image. (This is the Safeway behind that motel!)
(Motel?) Marco uttered.
(The experimental Bug Fighter we found. From last year.)
(...Oooh. Wow. That's so long ago.)
(That's the mission you suddenly decided to call off, right?) I asked.
(Yes. Because of that thing.)
(Ok. But what does something from last year have to do with what's happening now?) Marco asked.
Ax glanced closer to the monitor. (This is Yeerk language but I can translate it. It looks like a detailed log of a confiscated item. The others seem to be entries about this Bug Fighter.)
(Entries?) Cassie said.
(Hm. Two of them are kind of...puzzling to me.)
(If it's Yeerk, it ain't good,) Marco said.
(What do they say?) Jake asked.
(The header reads 'S-Tear Spacecraft Program, Test No. 55'.)
(Okaaay. What about it is puzzling?) Marco asked.
(I have never heard the word, 'S-Tear' before.)
(Maybe the Yeerks made it up? Something about crying tears?)
Ax looked mixed about my suggestion.
(And the next part?) Jake pried.
(Test experiment result: flight crew missing. Yeerk and host neurological signals mismatch. Error unknown,) Ax continued. (We propose that further experimentation be halted until we know the whereabouts of the missing flight crew and the Dzual Cell be reviewed about its by-product-)
(Whoa, whoa. Just a summary, Ax.)
(I assume the flight crew on that Bug Fighter turned up missing. The battery was part of the engineering design.)
(Did we hear anything about a missing crew when we were investigating the Bug Fighter?) Marco asked.
(No. Chapman was the one who had the info. But he didn't say anything like that,) Cassie said.
Something about that huge text Ax told us didn't feel right to me. Especially that one part.
Yeerk and host neurological signals mismatch. Error unknown.
Somehow, I felt even colder in this T'suli place.
(Well, we know that this Bug Fighter is somehow connected to this battery. What's this by-product they're talking about?) Marco asked.
Ax's two eyestalks steered towards Jake. (I can gloss over to give you a summary.)
Jake loudly grumbled. (We don't have time to read through everything. Let's hurry.)
I wasn't complaining. The stuff on the monitor looked too much for our brains to understand anyway. We're just human kids. Not scientists.
We continued into the entryway. Even with all this fur and muscle mass, I couldn't help but feel a chill.
When Elle said it was a vault of Yeerk devices, I thought it was one where you turn the big wheel and open it. The place was bigger than an aircraft hanger. I couldn't tell how far the ceiling and the furthest walls were. Rows upon rows of tube-like towers were lined up inside. Each was roughly two storeys high and as wide as a big elevator.
It felt more like a graveyard than a vault.
(Is it just me or did it get cold down here?) Marco asked.
(Containers,) Ax pointed. (I have seen these in class. This must be where the Yeerks are keeping the battery.)
(How are we supposed to know which one has it?) Jake asked.
(That datalog is used for Yeerks to catalog their inventory. If that Controller used it, she must have found the device's location.)
Which meant one of these towers would stay out. We looked for any difference.
One of the towers was dimly lit up from away.
(Over there,) I paced a few steps forward to show the way.
We passed a few towers until I spotted someone standing besides one. I couldn't see their face. They were short. And they wore a hood over them.
No, I've seen that underside of the parka.
(It really is Elle,) I gasped softly.
(Well, she is a Controller,) Marco said quietly.
She was typing away on a dashboard nearby. A low rumbling sound erupted from the tower and plates moved. Elle waited for the curved panels to stop rotating so that the tower formed two doorways front and back.
In the center of that tower was something familiar hovering on a sort of pedestal. Metallic, cylindrical and glowing pale green.
(The battery,) Jake said.
Something about this didn't feel right. The device was right there. Easy for Elle to take it. Easier for us like it was on a silver platter.
I heard a new sound.
Something sharp clicking on the floor.
(Hork-Bajir!) Ax hollered
The towers made it hard to tell what was around the corner. But I caught a glimpse of blades peeking out from within the dimness.
Elle wheeled around. She had some sort of green toy mask covering her face. I think it was from some kid's super squad show.
Didn't matter. I was right that she was bad news!
(You did bring backup!) I yelled angrily.
(Should have locked you up back at the studio,) Marco added.
Elle looked surprised. "What are you talking about-?"
(I'd say we take her down now before she causes more trouble!) I continued.
(Stop!) I heard Cassie shout from faraway.
(What do you mean stop?!)
(I didn't say that!) Cassie was right next to me.
(Everyone, get back!)
That was Jake's order. Are we under attack?
(We're playing on the defense?) Marco asked urgently.
(Wait! That wasn't me!) Jake shouted.
I don't know what was happening. But all of the confusion and chaos was enough for Elle to disappear.
As if that wasn't enough, the whole place turned red. An alarm rang loud. Meaning 'intruder alert'. Before we could react, the panels shifted and shook with life. Rippling around us like an angry wave.
(The way is blocked!) Ax hollered. I watched the entrance behind us close up, almost like there had never been an entrance we went through.
(We're trapped! Again!) Marco yelled.
(Elle must have triggered the alarm,) I hollered.
(Guys, stop! It's not what you think!)
(Tobias?!) I searched for him. How did he get inside? Then I realized another thing. (Where did the Hork-Bajir go?!)
Cassie's ears perked up. (More people are coming! From the entrance.)
(Everyone! Get into position!) Jake ordered.
We readied ourselves as the panels opened back up again. A grand, ominous reveal for the last alien we wanted to see.
(What do we have here?)
A large crowd of human Controllers dashed into the vault like the military, Dracon Beams drawn. Only Visser Three took his sweet time making an entrance.
(Six pests have wandered into a T'suli. How appreciating of you for this gift.)
The strange part was that he wasn't talking to us. He wasn't even looking at us.
Visser Three's eye stalks turned to us. They widened. Then narrowed. (And there are more of you Bandits. And here I thought the Mekorli were talking nonsense.)
(He must be talking about the other Andalites,) Ax pointed.
(Oh. Good. Can they come help us?!) Marco hollered.
(Six. Seven. A whole army. It does not matter,) Visser Three scoffed. (This game of yours will end. Incapacitate them.)
"Wait! The Dzual Cell!" a Controller in white hollered from behind.
TSEEEW! TSEEEW!
(Behind the panels!) Jake ordered. Quickly, we jumped inside the opened tower base. The opened-up panels shielded us from the shots.
(Ok. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place!) Marco hollered.
Hork-Bajir Controllers behind us and we had Visser Three in front of us. We were surrounded.
TSEEEW! TSEEEW!
(Jake, we need a plan!) I shouted. We were just sitting ducks here!
TSEEEW!
"Gah!"
Huh?
I turned around.
That voice was behind us.
TSEEEW!
Crack!
A Dracon Beam hit something. At the corner of my eye, the battery was violently flung off its pedestal and bounced across the floor until it landed behind us. Something broke.
"No!" another Controller hollered.
"It's unstable!" the Controller in white yelled. "RUN!"
Far from the tower, the Yeerks ducked behind any sort of cover they could find. Visser Three's four eyes were at their widest before he turned around and fled.
The cracking grew louder. There was a sound that whirred up in volume. I shouldn't have looked back. But I did.
I didn't see the explosion. Everything was white. Ringing in my ears. My whole body felt hot.
I knew right then and there. We couldn't escape the blast.
The world went dark.
A/N: Hello, all readers. Next chapter is up and finally, this part of the book I've been waiting for. I know up till now it's been a slow burn, then again, with how this plot went through so many revisions, it was bound to happen. But here we are. Let the next part of the journey for the Animorphs commence! :D
Hope you all will like it. It'll be a slow upload for all these 5 chapters together but right after this, I'll upload the next. Can't leave the suspense too long for my readers.
15/11/21 - First upload.