Chapter 14
Rachel
"I don't believe this! Let down again! Here they are, not Andalites, but KIDS! Plain, HUMAN kids, just like us! When will it end?!"
I was not a happy camper.
There we were, floating in nothingness, when the Ellimist breaks the news that the 'resistance' that we were hoping to find was a let down, like many times before. They 'new Andalite Bandits' were just like the old. A group of KIDS!
"Hey, we're not exactly happy with this either!" The badly dressed chick with the blue hair defended. "We were hoping you were Andalites!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Everybody chill for a second." The brown-haired guy said calmly. "We're not all kids."
"What do you mean?" Cassie asked softly, confused.
"She's an Andalite." He said, jerking his thumb at the really oddly dressed girl behind him.
Ax's face kinda lit up there for a second. Be he regained his composure. Then he spoke up. "I…I am also an Andalite."
There was a pause.
"How cool!!" The girl with glasses cried.
I snapped my fingers in her face. "Hey, hey, hey. Yeah, it's cool. But we need to focus here!" I turned to the Ellimist. "So? What now? It was so nice of you to bring us together here for this happy meeting, but you've got to have a reason for it. So, spill!"
He nodded grimly. So, he did have something to hide.
"I knew it," Marco groaned. "Why is it then whenever he gets involved we always end up running and screaming for our lives?"
Glasses girl giggled.
"It's true, there is a reason why I've arranged for you to meet here. There will be a battle, a very important, very large battle. It will mean deciding the fate of a species, and possibly, two species."
"And?" Cassie asked quietly.
"Six is not enough. There is power in unity. I will need to ask all twelve of you, to save this race. To fight their war."
We let that sink in for a second there.
"I would like to tell you more…but I have limited time. I fear I must let you discover all that you can about the impending battle on your own. But you must decide, quickly." He actually seemed to fidget. The Ellimist! FIDGETING! "All I can say is this will be unlike anything you have ever done before…the fate of an entire race hangs in the balance. Will you help them?"
There was only a moments silence.
"Will you help them?" He repeated.
The glasses girl walked over and tugged on blue hair's sleeve. "Amara-san…how can we say no?"
The 'Battle Senshi' all looked at each other. Then, blue hair nodded slowly and turned to the Ellimist. "We're in."
"That's it? That's all the consent you guys need? Just a glance and you're ready to risk you're lives? Whew." Marco marveled, a bit sarcastically.
"Well, I have to agree with…" Cassie looked at glasses girl.
She smiled. "Kai."
"I have to agree with Kai here, Jake." She and Jake looked at each other.
"Dude! Aren't we rushing this a bit? I mean, what does any of this have to do with us, anyway?" Marco demanding. "We're gonna go off, and risk our butts for some far off species that we have no ties with? Come on!"
His eyes darted from side to side, nervously. But he knew he was defeated.
The girl with glasses looked at him in disgust. Well, at least what looked like mild disgust. She didn't really look like a person who was easily disgusted.
"How can you say that?" Cassie asked him quietly. "We're talking about a race…an entire race. And we have the power to save them. How can you even ask it, Marco?"
He hung his head and shrugged his shoulders.
We all looked at each other. Yup, that's my cue!
"Let's do it!"
And that was Marco's cue. "Uh-oh. We're doomed."
Jake put out his hand for blue hair to shake. "I'm Jake."
She took it and grinned. "Amara." Then she pointed each of her friends out. "Kai, Shinji, Nichirasu, Lani, and Fi."
"I'm Rachel." I broke in.
"Xena: Warrior Princess." Said you know who.
"Cassie-"
"Our resident tree hugger. And I'm Marco, the funny, cute, loveable one."
I saw Lani roll her eyes exaggeratedly.
Marco proceeded to finish the introductions. "This is Tobias, Rachel's bird-friend, and everybody's favorite Alien, Ax."
The Battle Senshi bowed in unison. "Nice to meet you."
Suddenly Lani became animated. "Okay, okay! Now that we're all friends, you better give us at least a day to get ready for this little gig you got planned here-a girl's gotta pack! Tie up some loose ends and-"
"I gotta feed my gold fish!" Kai cried.
I would've laughed, I could get to like this Lani girl. She sounded just like me. But I could already feel time shifting.
"Oh, no." The one called Nichirasu said darkly.
"Amen, brother." Marco added.
The Ellimist had disappeared, and the ground on which we stood was warping. His voice was faint as he said, "You will fight for the Megami race. Your enemies: Yeerks. Good, luck, friends. You will need it."
"Ellimist, I swear- one day I'm gonna-"
Time shifted and I found myself high up in a tree.
Chapter 15
Kai
I wouldn't really consider myself a graceful person. I'm more of a… spazzmonkey. Yeah, that's it. Now, when I find myself balancing on a tree branch 300 feet up from where any normal person should be, I feel slightly…uncomfortable.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" I screamed. I teetered back and forth for a waaay too long moment, wind milling my arms trying to keep my balance. Then I fell.
Luckily, I fell back against Marco.
"Nah…" I said hesitantly, looking at him.
"It's alright. You can't help it. All women find me irresistible."
I might have elbowed him in the stomach, but instead I just stuck out my tongue at him and found my center of balance.
"Yeah, Marco. And what species do these Marco-worshipping women come from again?" Rachel asked, from a few branches up.
"Okay, new question. WHY ARE WE UP IN THESE TREES??!" Lani yelled.
"Prince Jake, I feel that my clumsy human legs are about to be the death of me." Ax said nervously. He was hanging practically upside down on a branch of the tree next to mine.
Amara was sitting calmly on a nice big branch about five feet below me. "Is everybody okay?" She called up.
"All accounted for, sergeant." Nichirasu replied. "Now what?"
Cassie was hanging on Jake, to keep from falling. She looked like she was about to pass out. Poor girl. I used to be afraid of heights. But I'm over that now. Heh.
Jake glanced down at Amara. "I think morphing would be the obvious thing to do here."
"Or, demorphing, dude." Tobias pointed out. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. What was that supposed to mean?
"Well," Shinji interjected from a ways upward. "That would work for most of us. But guys, hello? Fi and Ax?"
Jake looked from Ax to Fi, unsure of who to address. "How do Andalites fare in trees?"
It was Fi who spoke up. "Not as good as we'd like to. Too-uh."
"But you do alright?" Amara inquired. "We won't have to scrape Andalite guts from the ground down there?"
Fi grinned. "No, Amara-san."
So, Fi and Ax demorphed first, and we all helped them stay balanced. Then Ax morphed falcon, and Fi morphed parrot. They perched on a branch even with Jake.
Jake raised an eyebrow. "Parrot? Isn't that a little obvious?"
"We're on a distant planet, here. What's not obvious?" Cassie pointed out.
Jake nodded, accepting the idea. "Tobias, demorph. You're time's almost up."
"Demorph?" Lani asked, confused. "Wha?"
The Animorphs team seemed to hesitate. Then, Tobias demorphed. To my surprise, he took the form of the bird. He fluttered over and landed on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel's eyes avoided contact with Lani.
Ax sensed the reluctance to explain from his friends and jumped in. Allow me to explain. Tobias has been trapped in morph.
A nothlit… Fi breathed.
But his morphing powers have been restored by the Ellimist. He can morph, and can return to his human form for two hours at a time.
We looked on Tobias with pity. A felt really bad for the guy, but also a new sense of respect. I don't know if I could live my life as a bird.
After we all became various feathered friends, we took off, to explore our new surroundings.
Little did we know what terror awaited us.
Or what I would discover…about myself.
Rachel
"I don't believe this! Let down again! Here they are, not Andalites, but KIDS! Plain, HUMAN kids, just like us! When will it end?!"
I was not a happy camper.
There we were, floating in nothingness, when the Ellimist breaks the news that the 'resistance' that we were hoping to find was a let down, like many times before. They 'new Andalite Bandits' were just like the old. A group of KIDS!
"Hey, we're not exactly happy with this either!" The badly dressed chick with the blue hair defended. "We were hoping you were Andalites!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Everybody chill for a second." The brown-haired guy said calmly. "We're not all kids."
"What do you mean?" Cassie asked softly, confused.
"She's an Andalite." He said, jerking his thumb at the really oddly dressed girl behind him.
Ax's face kinda lit up there for a second. Be he regained his composure. Then he spoke up. "I…I am also an Andalite."
There was a pause.
"How cool!!" The girl with glasses cried.
I snapped my fingers in her face. "Hey, hey, hey. Yeah, it's cool. But we need to focus here!" I turned to the Ellimist. "So? What now? It was so nice of you to bring us together here for this happy meeting, but you've got to have a reason for it. So, spill!"
He nodded grimly. So, he did have something to hide.
"I knew it," Marco groaned. "Why is it then whenever he gets involved we always end up running and screaming for our lives?"
Glasses girl giggled.
"It's true, there is a reason why I've arranged for you to meet here. There will be a battle, a very important, very large battle. It will mean deciding the fate of a species, and possibly, two species."
"And?" Cassie asked quietly.
"Six is not enough. There is power in unity. I will need to ask all twelve of you, to save this race. To fight their war."
We let that sink in for a second there.
"I would like to tell you more…but I have limited time. I fear I must let you discover all that you can about the impending battle on your own. But you must decide, quickly." He actually seemed to fidget. The Ellimist! FIDGETING! "All I can say is this will be unlike anything you have ever done before…the fate of an entire race hangs in the balance. Will you help them?"
There was only a moments silence.
"Will you help them?" He repeated.
The glasses girl walked over and tugged on blue hair's sleeve. "Amara-san…how can we say no?"
The 'Battle Senshi' all looked at each other. Then, blue hair nodded slowly and turned to the Ellimist. "We're in."
"That's it? That's all the consent you guys need? Just a glance and you're ready to risk you're lives? Whew." Marco marveled, a bit sarcastically.
"Well, I have to agree with…" Cassie looked at glasses girl.
She smiled. "Kai."
"I have to agree with Kai here, Jake." She and Jake looked at each other.
"Dude! Aren't we rushing this a bit? I mean, what does any of this have to do with us, anyway?" Marco demanding. "We're gonna go off, and risk our butts for some far off species that we have no ties with? Come on!"
His eyes darted from side to side, nervously. But he knew he was defeated.
The girl with glasses looked at him in disgust. Well, at least what looked like mild disgust. She didn't really look like a person who was easily disgusted.
"How can you say that?" Cassie asked him quietly. "We're talking about a race…an entire race. And we have the power to save them. How can you even ask it, Marco?"
He hung his head and shrugged his shoulders.
We all looked at each other. Yup, that's my cue!
"Let's do it!"
And that was Marco's cue. "Uh-oh. We're doomed."
Jake put out his hand for blue hair to shake. "I'm Jake."
She took it and grinned. "Amara." Then she pointed each of her friends out. "Kai, Shinji, Nichirasu, Lani, and Fi."
"I'm Rachel." I broke in.
"Xena: Warrior Princess." Said you know who.
"Cassie-"
"Our resident tree hugger. And I'm Marco, the funny, cute, loveable one."
I saw Lani roll her eyes exaggeratedly.
Marco proceeded to finish the introductions. "This is Tobias, Rachel's bird-friend, and everybody's favorite Alien, Ax."
The Battle Senshi bowed in unison. "Nice to meet you."
Suddenly Lani became animated. "Okay, okay! Now that we're all friends, you better give us at least a day to get ready for this little gig you got planned here-a girl's gotta pack! Tie up some loose ends and-"
"I gotta feed my gold fish!" Kai cried.
I would've laughed, I could get to like this Lani girl. She sounded just like me. But I could already feel time shifting.
"Oh, no." The one called Nichirasu said darkly.
"Amen, brother." Marco added.
The Ellimist had disappeared, and the ground on which we stood was warping. His voice was faint as he said, "You will fight for the Megami race. Your enemies: Yeerks. Good, luck, friends. You will need it."
"Ellimist, I swear- one day I'm gonna-"
Time shifted and I found myself high up in a tree.
Chapter 15
Kai
I wouldn't really consider myself a graceful person. I'm more of a… spazzmonkey. Yeah, that's it. Now, when I find myself balancing on a tree branch 300 feet up from where any normal person should be, I feel slightly…uncomfortable.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!" I screamed. I teetered back and forth for a waaay too long moment, wind milling my arms trying to keep my balance. Then I fell.
Luckily, I fell back against Marco.
"Nah…" I said hesitantly, looking at him.
"It's alright. You can't help it. All women find me irresistible."
I might have elbowed him in the stomach, but instead I just stuck out my tongue at him and found my center of balance.
"Yeah, Marco. And what species do these Marco-worshipping women come from again?" Rachel asked, from a few branches up.
"Okay, new question. WHY ARE WE UP IN THESE TREES??!" Lani yelled.
"Prince Jake, I feel that my clumsy human legs are about to be the death of me." Ax said nervously. He was hanging practically upside down on a branch of the tree next to mine.
Amara was sitting calmly on a nice big branch about five feet below me. "Is everybody okay?" She called up.
"All accounted for, sergeant." Nichirasu replied. "Now what?"
Cassie was hanging on Jake, to keep from falling. She looked like she was about to pass out. Poor girl. I used to be afraid of heights. But I'm over that now. Heh.
Jake glanced down at Amara. "I think morphing would be the obvious thing to do here."
"Or, demorphing, dude." Tobias pointed out. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. What was that supposed to mean?
"Well," Shinji interjected from a ways upward. "That would work for most of us. But guys, hello? Fi and Ax?"
Jake looked from Ax to Fi, unsure of who to address. "How do Andalites fare in trees?"
It was Fi who spoke up. "Not as good as we'd like to. Too-uh."
"But you do alright?" Amara inquired. "We won't have to scrape Andalite guts from the ground down there?"
Fi grinned. "No, Amara-san."
So, Fi and Ax demorphed first, and we all helped them stay balanced. Then Ax morphed falcon, and Fi morphed parrot. They perched on a branch even with Jake.
Jake raised an eyebrow. "Parrot? Isn't that a little obvious?"
"We're on a distant planet, here. What's not obvious?" Cassie pointed out.
Jake nodded, accepting the idea. "Tobias, demorph. You're time's almost up."
"Demorph?" Lani asked, confused. "Wha?"
The Animorphs team seemed to hesitate. Then, Tobias demorphed. To my surprise, he took the form of the bird. He fluttered over and landed on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel's eyes avoided contact with Lani.
Ax sensed the reluctance to explain from his friends and jumped in. Allow me to explain. Tobias has been trapped in morph.
A nothlit… Fi breathed.
But his morphing powers have been restored by the Ellimist. He can morph, and can return to his human form for two hours at a time.
We looked on Tobias with pity. A felt really bad for the guy, but also a new sense of respect. I don't know if I could live my life as a bird.
After we all became various feathered friends, we took off, to explore our new surroundings.
Little did we know what terror awaited us.
Or what I would discover…about myself.
