A/N: When I refer to 'minutes' and 'hours', I mean Albian minutes and hours, not ours. Remember, an Albian day, if in real-time, would last quite a bit longer than our days!
Toomin woke with a jolt. A loud banging noise coming from outside had aroused him from his slumber. He wondered what it was, until a sliding noise was heard. The voices of Faycune and another Norn carried through the walls. He realized that the unknown Norn must have been knocking on the door. "I'll never, ever get used to doors," Toomin grumbled to no one in particular. He rolled out of his hammock, landing on the floor with his pods. He looked around for the tomato he had left on the floor the night before, but it was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he spotted his tomato. It was moving, all by itself, toward a small hole in the wall. Toomin shuffled toward the tomato. It gained speed. Just as the tomato was about to disappear inside the hole, Toomin lunged forward and grabbed the tomato. Beneath was a small, purple and yellow bug. Its tiny head turned upward, and with a frightened little squeak, zoomed through the hole in the wall.
"Ants. I've had problems with them lately." a voice said from behind him. Toomin whirled around, startled. He calmed when he saw it was only Faycune.
"Come into the common room. Aguella is in the shower. She seems to be enjoying it, as she has been in there for at least 10 minutes." Faycune said, with a twinkle in his eye. Toomin heard gurgling noises through the green door as he stepped into the main room.
"Who was that? At the door, I mean," Toomin asked.
"It was Machise, a Horse Norn. He's my neighbor, and he seems to think that my clock is a bit…noisy." Faycune gestured toward a rather beautiful clock, which made hardly any noise at all.
"Take a seat," said Faycune, gesturing toward a big, blue, squishy looking chair. Faycune sat down in a comfy looking red chair across from it. He stared at Toomin thoughtfully for a long time before finally saying, "There's an interesting bit of information flying around, Toomin."
"Really? What's that?" Toomin asked interestedly.
"Well, not all of Incubatorium is obsessed with keeping out the Outsiders. Over in the Palm Café area, about an hour before you came, I heard, from a Golden Desert Norn that's a friend of mine, that he saw a strange light in the south. It was almost as if a ship was landing on the surface. When the Golden went to investigate, there was nothing there."
"So?"
"So, there was no ship. Only one species has ever been known to land their people without notifying us, then take off: the Yeerks." As he said 'Yeerk', Faycune grimaced in an unmistakable look of hatred.
"What are Yeerks?" Toomin wondered.
"Yeerks are parasites. In their own form, they are nothing but gray slugs that slosh around in a shallow pool. But, they have a unique ability: they can enter the brains of sentient creatures, and take utter, absolute control over its body. The Yeerks have been doing just that for years: they have taken the Hork-Bajir, the Taxxons, the Sstram, and even a few Leerans. Two years ago, they tried to take us. But, although we may not have spacecraft, we have technology that outstrips theirs on the ground. Unable to move against us on the surface, and unable to get a safe angle from which to annihilate us from orbit, the Yeerks left."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Toomin asked.
"Well, yes and no. The Yeerks may be gone now, but that is no guarantee that they won't be back."
Toomin leaned back into his chair. He stared at a seven-foot tall metal sculpture of some kind. "What is that?" Toomin asked, pointing towards the statue.
"That? It's a metal replica of a Hork-Bajir. It was used for training back when the Yeerks were still at large." Faycune explained.
Toomin looked at the statue again. It was tall, reptile-like, and was covered in blades. He shivered, thinking, 'I definitely would not like to meet one of those.'
Just then, Doffnall opened the green door, and shuffled out. She had a dreamy look on her face, as if she had woken up from a particularly good nap. "Well then, the shower's free now, so why don't you take one, now, Toomin?" Faycune said with a humorous glint in his eye. Toomin got off his chair, and shuffled toward the door. When he was in the room he closed he door. In one corner, there was a small, silver bowl that smelt strongly of ashes. In the opposite corner there was a white stall with a glass door. Toomin went into the stall. A silver spout was on one wall. Tomin saw a green button. Closing the glass door, he pushed it.
It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Water, actual, real water, came pouring out of the spout, and onto him. It flowed down his hot, dirty body and washed the filth out of his feathers. He felt as if he had died and gone to heaven.
* * *
Tomin stepped out of the
green door. He had the same dreamy expression as Doffnall had had.
"All right, Toomin," Faycune said, snapping Toomin out of his trance. "Doffnall and I were thinking that we could visit the Palm Café to grab a bite to eat."
"Sounds good to me," replied Toomin.
"This way, then" Faycune pushed a button near the main door, and walked outside. Doffnall and he followed. Faycune led them further down the dark hallway, until they reached a lift. Music and conversation could be heard through the shaft. They boarded the lift, and Faycune pushed the 'up' button.
When they reached the top, Toomin saw that they were on a wide platform. A small, green machine blared out music, and several tables held groups of eating, chatting, and relaxing Norns. A Norn with golden fur and a scruffy, unkempt mane of brown fur waved to Faycune.
"That would be Gyp. He told me about his sighting." said Faycune. They walked over to the table where Gyp was sitting.
"'Ello, ol' Faycune! I see 'oo brought the two new 'uns, eh?" Gyp boomed loudly.
"Yes, Gyp." Faycune answered. A tall Forest Norn carrying a pad and a pen arrived. "What would you all wish to order, my fellows?" he said in a pompous tone.
"Four tomatoes." Faycune said curtly. The waiter strutted off, while Gyp launched into conversation with Faycune.
"So, these 'r the two that 'r suppos'dly in that ol' proph'cy, eh?" said Gyp.
"Yes. Now Gyp, about that ship you saw…did you see anything else?" Faycune said in a low voice.
"Well, it d'pends on what 'oo mean by anythin' else," Gyp said as lowly as he could with his great booming voice. At that moment, the pompous waiter returned with four tomatoes balanced precariously on a tray. Toomin took his, passing Doffnall's to her, but Faycune and Gyp ignored theirs.
"What do you mean, Gyp?" Faycune asked.
Gyp replied, "Well, ol' me di'nt see anythin', but me friend Tarchas did. Maybe we should go ask 'im."
"Well then, let's go." Faycune said, beckoning to Toomin and Doffnall to come with. They quickly finished their tomatoes, and followed Gyp and Faycune to the lift. Gyp pushed the 'up' button. The lift took them up to the surface. For the first time, Toomin saw the sky. It was night, but the moonlight shone brightly enough for Toomin to see around him. They were in a dry, blank desert. Toomin looked to his right. The land stretched on for about half a mile, then cut off very suddenly. They followed Gyp through the desert. Toomin looked surprised as Doffnall took off.
"Don't look so surprised. You can fly too, you know. Just try!" Doffnall said from above him. Toomin unfolded his wings. He stretched them, then beat them once. He floated up, then back down again. "Yaaah!" Toomin exclaimed in surprise. He tried again, this time, beating his wings in a steady pattern. He lifted off the ground. Using his instinctual knowledge of flight, he soon mastered it. He glided up to Doffnall.
"There, see now, that wasn't that hard, was it?" said Doffnall. Toomin grinned goofily at her. He did a loop-the-loop around her, then zoomed off after Gyp and Faycune. He looked back. Doffnall was close behind him. He lowered his altitude so he was just off the ground, then turned abruptly around. Doffnall collided with him, and they both crashed to the ground in a heap, laughing. Toomin saw Faycune and Gyp down by a dock, so they got up and rushed toward them. Right as they arrived, Gyp was untying a small boat from the end of the dock.
"Tarchas lives on the ol' dock on the oth'r side," Gyp explained.
Faycune got in the boat, unfazed by the water. Toomin and Doffnall reluctantly followed. They still harbored the old instincts that told them not to go near water. Gyp pushed a large button on a post in the middle of the boat, and they swiftly moved out into the ocean.
* * *
A boat trip and an hour later, their boat came to dock on an old dock that led to a steep wall. Part of the wall slid aside, and a green Norn with floppy ears and yellow hair stepped out.
"'Ello, Tarchas!" exclaimed Gyp.
"Hello, Gyp." Tarchas said much more calmly.
Faycune said, "Sorry to bother you, but Gyp said that you saw another ship. Can you describe it to us?"
Tarchas smiled slyly. "Not until I'm acquainted with these two."
Faycune quickly said, "This is Toomin and Doffnall."
"They look like they might be from that old prophecy, don't you think? It could be true, you know; after all, you already have the chosen one, the one in likeness, and the heir. All you need is the beggar."
Toomin wondered who the heir was, until Faycune exclaimed, "This isn't about the prophecy; it's about that sighting! This is very important, Tarchas!"
Tarchas smiled wryly at him. "Well, I didn't really see anything other than a big, black-on-black shadow," he said. "It was a ship, all right; it launched two smaller objects that went racing toward the Dark Ocean. But, before it left, I got a good glimpse of its shape."
"What did it look like?" Faycune pressed.
"Oh, it was an interesting shape, all right. It was shaped like a big, black battle axe."
