DISCLAIMER: It's starting to suck, saying I own nothing at the beginning of
every single chapter. It's making me depressed. **cries**. I WANT TO OWN
SOMETHING! ANYTHING!! PLEAAAASE? Oh yeah, I now have 6 pennies and a
NICKEL! I wonder if that's enough to buy the Animorphs?
NOTE: It's rainin me-en. Allelujah it's rainin men! Woooo, gotta stay away from them Pixie Stix. I wish I was a can-opener like Toby (Kitchenmorphs Saga).
Jake-
BRREEEEET! BREEEEET! BREEEEEEET!
The alarm was deafening. Hork-Bajir were flooding into the room, all armed with Dracon beams, aimed point blank at me an my friends. The alarm continued to pierce my eardrums.
BREEEEEET! BREEEEEET! BREEEEEET!
Suddenly, my Dad's face filled my view.
"Jake? Jake? Your alarm is pissing off the neighborhood and I have no bloody clue how to shut it off!" he said.
I jolted straight up. In my room with my dad. No Hork-Bajir. All a dream.
"Jake!" he said, waving his hand in my face. "Hellooo? Your alarm is starting to wake the dead. Shut it off!"
"Sorry, dad." I mumbled. I slammed my hand on the large, obvious button on my alarm clock.
"Oh. That's how." My dad said sheepishly.
"Yeah."
"Why did you set it to go off at 5:30 in the morning?" he asked.
"Oh, um, I have to go to Cassie's before school. I think I left something at her house." I lied.
"Ohh, I see." He winked at me. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, sport."
"Noo, it's not like that!" I stammered.
"If you say so, sport." He laughed and went back to his room.
"Jeez." I groaned. I swung my legs off my bed and heaved myself up. I took a quick shower, threw on the first clothes my fingers touched in the closet, and stumbled down the stairs. It was still a little dark. My kitchen was quiet. I glanced at the clock. It was 6 AM. Way early.
"I hate my life." I said to myself. My dog Homer lumbered in, his tail wagging like a windshield wiper. I filled his bowl with food and he gobbled it hungrily.
"What I wouldn't give to be you right now..." I said jealously.
I threw together a salami and peanut butter sandwich (Note: hehe. Yum!) and sat down at the table. I wondered if I did my homework the night before. Then I wondered who was going to win the football game I would be watching that night with my father and controller brother. Soon I could avoid it no longer. I had to think about what to do with the tunnel under the Comedy Club. I had two lives to take care of. This was insane! I had to worry about making my parents happy, going to college, AND the fate of the entire planet including 7 billion humans and countless species of animals that the yeerks would exterminate. I stared at the brightening sky. What? How did it get so light out? I looked at the kitchen clock. Seven AM.
"Jeez, it's been an hour?" I had no idea I was thinking that long. I left half my sandwich on the table (Homer hopped up and grabbed it. He went out to the backyard, most likely to bury it or something). I grabbed my jacket and my books and left my house.. By the time I arrived at Cassie's barn it was 7:20. The others were already there, all looking sleepy-eyed and ticked off.
"Jake. Did Gregor Mendel work with bacteria or genetics?" he asked. He was trying to scribble his homework. I realized I didn't do mine.
"Shut up Marco. Let's get this over with." Rachel said snappily. She was sitting on a bale of hay leaning on the wall. She was rubbing her eyes constantly. Obviously the others had had as sleepless a night as I did.
"Okay, whatever we do I have to be home by 7. There's no way I could weasel out of spending time with my dad this time." I said.
"We could do it without you, maybe." Rachel suggested.
"Do what? In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a plan yet." Marco pointed out. Rachel glared.
We can't go back to the club. Tobias said. They'll be waiting for us to come back. They know we know about the tunnel.
We don't have to enter the tunnel through the club entrance. Ax said. We looked at him.
"What?" I asked.
I saw the tunnel continue eastward from the club. At least 150 yards. Perhaps we can dig into the tunnel far from the entrance. I believe I can pinpoint were to dig.
"Wait. Wasn't the entire tunnel lined with concrete? How do we dig through concrete?" Rachel asked.
"No the roof was dirt." Cassie said.
"Well what about the Gleet BioFilters? Who's to say they didn't install the thing in the tunnel and we could all get paralyzed as soon as we dig in."
Ax looked at Rachel strangely. It would be highly unlikely the yeerks could afford such an energy expenditure to cover the entire length of the tunnel.
"Oh."
I looked at my cousin. This was definetly not like her. She seemed way to reluctant to go on a mission. Marco sensed it too.
"Xena? Am I sensing some fear in your aura?" Marco squawked in a Miss Cleo fake-psychic voice.
"Shut up, dorkle." Rachel warned through gritted teeth.
"Rachel are you okay?" I asked. I looked at Cassie and Tobias. They were closest to her. Tobias was glaring fiercely at Rachel. I think he was speaking privately to her. Rachel looked indignant Suddenly FWAAPP!
Yeerk! Ax glared at Rachel's head. He had his tailblade at Rachel's throat.
"WHAT? NO!" she yelled. She fell off the bale of hay.
"No Ax, she's not a controller. She has a different problem!" Cassie said.
Yeah relax, Ax. She's not a controller. Tobias assured him.
Then why is she acting strangely? Ax demanded.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too." I said.
"Xena has a weakness? Whoa." Marco grinned.
Cassie gasped. "Oh my god, we're gonna be late for school!" She was right. I sighed. We had accomplished nothing.
"Okay we cut last period and meet at Tobias's meadow." I said. "We really need to address this."
They filed one by one out of the barn. I stopped Rachel. I wanted to ask her something in private.
"So. What's up?" I asked casually. She had on her classic "Rachel" look. Glaring daggers at me.
"If you MUST know, I'm not into digging as a mole." Rachel muttered, avoiding my eyes. I thought back to the whole oatmeal fiasco. We had planned to dig straight through the ground into the yeerk pool. It was a claustrophobe's idea of hell, with no air and dirt pressing up on all sides. Of all of us, she seemed most bothered by it. Extra mean to Marco and especially ticked off. I was angry at myself. How could I not have seen that? Leaders are supposed to know about their soldiers.
"Oh. Well, you don't have to. It wasn't that deep anyway. Any of us could go mole and do it." I said.
"Fine. But tell Marco and I'll have to kill you." A nervous, unRachel-like grin appeared on her face and she hurried to catch up to Cassie. Then she turned around
"Um thanks." She said slowly.
"For what?"
"Um, I don't know. Never mind. Remember, keep your mouth shut to Marco."
I spent a little more than 5 nerve wracking hours at school. Occasionally I bumped into one of the others. We still try not to look like a group too much, so I usually just gave a smile and nod. Except for Marco, who everyone knew was my best friend.
"Dude, what's Rachel's weakness!" Marco asked. He was practically bubbling with excitement.
"I'm sworn to secrecy." I said, with a grin. I liked how I was torturing him.
"Come ON! Please?" he begged.
"Maybe when your older."
In my math class I heard some kids talking about the Comedy Club. On the news eye witnesses reported a small collection of circus animals causing chaos at the club and destroying it. No one was hurt except a large man who had to get a few stitches above his eye. Efforts to rebuild it were underway, and no one was allowed to come within 20 feet of the site. No circus was reported to have been anywhere in the vicinity of the city since last summer. So far it was a mystery to everyone.
At the second-to the last bell, I left the school. I headed to the meadow. The others turned up a couple minutes after.
Hey Jake. I did an aerial sweep of the Greenway area. They got construction workers there, all with Dracon beams hidden in their tool belts. Tobias reported.
"Yeah. No going to the club. We're going to have to dig into that tunnel." I said. "Ax you can find out where right?"
I have already done so Prince Jake. But I am not sure as to the depth we must dig. It may have gotten lower from the club entrance.
"Let's do it." Rachel said.
"Jeez, can you just stop saying that?" Marco asked.
"No, weenie boy." Rachel grinned and slapped his back playfully.
"Owwww! Jake! That hurt!" he whined. I rolled my eyes.
"Marco, she's a girl quit whining." Then I realized the fatal mistake I made. Rachel got up.
"You want some of this?" she dared, pointing at herself.
Excuse me, is it not frowned upon for those of the same blood line to court each other romantically? Ax asked. We fell silent for a couple seconds.
"WHAT!?" Rachel and I yelled. The others held their sides and laughed.
Where you not -
Ax-man, she wasn't asking if he wanted her BODY. She was asking if he wanted to FIGHT. Tobias said, ending with a bark of laughter.
Ah. I misunderstood. he said sheepishly.
"Ok, I'm taking Ax's TV." Marco said.
"Back to business." I said.
"Well, we don't have to do this today. Chris Rock is not coming to town. I just checked a website." Cassie said, still giggling from Ax's comment. "He decided he'd rather go to New York.."
"But we don't know how long it's gonna take to dig to the tunnel." Marco pointed out. It could take as long as the yeerk pool did."
"Yeah. We start today. Ax, the spot you found, is it secluded?" I asked.
Yes it is several feet into the forest. Although we should have a look- out just in case. he said.
That would be me. Tobias fluffed his feathers.
"Okay, we all go, but only two of us at a time morph mole. Marco and Cassie could go first." I ordered. It was Andalite nature to be claustrophobic. I would try to shelter Ax from this as well as Rachel.
We tried to go to the spot unnoticed. Tobias, Ax, Marco, and Cassie flew. I didn't want to risk Ax's human morph being seen. And if someone did see us, I wanted them to see me and Rachel only, since both of us would remain human the entire time.
Marco and Cassie morphed the moles, which was entertaining because Marco's butt morphed first and he ended up rocking on his mole-rump. Rachel pointed this out loudly.
Then they dug. Tobias kept up some idle chit-chat as we waited. Not much to do but wait. After 30 minutes, two moles peeked out of the hole they made.
Time? Marco asked tiredly.
"30 minutes. " Rachel said, glancing at her watch.
Did it feel a lot longer to you? Marco asked Cassie.
Yep. Cassie said.
"Did you hit it?" I asked.
Yeah. I tried to look around, but you know. Mole eyes. Anyway, I saw an earthworm fall into the tunnel. Nothing happened. No one was there. Cassie informed us.
No guards? Ax asked.
None came. Marco said.
"They must all be at the club entrance then." I said. "That's good. Hopefully we'll be unharrassed while exploring there. Tomorrow." I said.
"So, what, do we leave this hole here?" Rachel pointed.
"Umm. Ax, how do you keep your scoop from being uncovered?" I asked.
I will handle it Prince Jake. he assured me.
"Ok people rest up. Big day tomorrow."
Yeah yeah I know this chapter sucked. Sorry, this was kinda rushed. Action next chapter, I promise! **crosses heart and hope to die** It sure seems like they spend a lot of time talking, doesn't it? Jeez, **talks to herself** what is WRONG with you?!?! I WANT SOME ACTION DAMMIT!!!
NOTE: It's rainin me-en. Allelujah it's rainin men! Woooo, gotta stay away from them Pixie Stix. I wish I was a can-opener like Toby (Kitchenmorphs Saga).
Jake-
BRREEEEET! BREEEEET! BREEEEEEET!
The alarm was deafening. Hork-Bajir were flooding into the room, all armed with Dracon beams, aimed point blank at me an my friends. The alarm continued to pierce my eardrums.
BREEEEEET! BREEEEEET! BREEEEEET!
Suddenly, my Dad's face filled my view.
"Jake? Jake? Your alarm is pissing off the neighborhood and I have no bloody clue how to shut it off!" he said.
I jolted straight up. In my room with my dad. No Hork-Bajir. All a dream.
"Jake!" he said, waving his hand in my face. "Hellooo? Your alarm is starting to wake the dead. Shut it off!"
"Sorry, dad." I mumbled. I slammed my hand on the large, obvious button on my alarm clock.
"Oh. That's how." My dad said sheepishly.
"Yeah."
"Why did you set it to go off at 5:30 in the morning?" he asked.
"Oh, um, I have to go to Cassie's before school. I think I left something at her house." I lied.
"Ohh, I see." He winked at me. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, sport."
"Noo, it's not like that!" I stammered.
"If you say so, sport." He laughed and went back to his room.
"Jeez." I groaned. I swung my legs off my bed and heaved myself up. I took a quick shower, threw on the first clothes my fingers touched in the closet, and stumbled down the stairs. It was still a little dark. My kitchen was quiet. I glanced at the clock. It was 6 AM. Way early.
"I hate my life." I said to myself. My dog Homer lumbered in, his tail wagging like a windshield wiper. I filled his bowl with food and he gobbled it hungrily.
"What I wouldn't give to be you right now..." I said jealously.
I threw together a salami and peanut butter sandwich (Note: hehe. Yum!) and sat down at the table. I wondered if I did my homework the night before. Then I wondered who was going to win the football game I would be watching that night with my father and controller brother. Soon I could avoid it no longer. I had to think about what to do with the tunnel under the Comedy Club. I had two lives to take care of. This was insane! I had to worry about making my parents happy, going to college, AND the fate of the entire planet including 7 billion humans and countless species of animals that the yeerks would exterminate. I stared at the brightening sky. What? How did it get so light out? I looked at the kitchen clock. Seven AM.
"Jeez, it's been an hour?" I had no idea I was thinking that long. I left half my sandwich on the table (Homer hopped up and grabbed it. He went out to the backyard, most likely to bury it or something). I grabbed my jacket and my books and left my house.. By the time I arrived at Cassie's barn it was 7:20. The others were already there, all looking sleepy-eyed and ticked off.
"Jake. Did Gregor Mendel work with bacteria or genetics?" he asked. He was trying to scribble his homework. I realized I didn't do mine.
"Shut up Marco. Let's get this over with." Rachel said snappily. She was sitting on a bale of hay leaning on the wall. She was rubbing her eyes constantly. Obviously the others had had as sleepless a night as I did.
"Okay, whatever we do I have to be home by 7. There's no way I could weasel out of spending time with my dad this time." I said.
"We could do it without you, maybe." Rachel suggested.
"Do what? In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a plan yet." Marco pointed out. Rachel glared.
We can't go back to the club. Tobias said. They'll be waiting for us to come back. They know we know about the tunnel.
We don't have to enter the tunnel through the club entrance. Ax said. We looked at him.
"What?" I asked.
I saw the tunnel continue eastward from the club. At least 150 yards. Perhaps we can dig into the tunnel far from the entrance. I believe I can pinpoint were to dig.
"Wait. Wasn't the entire tunnel lined with concrete? How do we dig through concrete?" Rachel asked.
"No the roof was dirt." Cassie said.
"Well what about the Gleet BioFilters? Who's to say they didn't install the thing in the tunnel and we could all get paralyzed as soon as we dig in."
Ax looked at Rachel strangely. It would be highly unlikely the yeerks could afford such an energy expenditure to cover the entire length of the tunnel.
"Oh."
I looked at my cousin. This was definetly not like her. She seemed way to reluctant to go on a mission. Marco sensed it too.
"Xena? Am I sensing some fear in your aura?" Marco squawked in a Miss Cleo fake-psychic voice.
"Shut up, dorkle." Rachel warned through gritted teeth.
"Rachel are you okay?" I asked. I looked at Cassie and Tobias. They were closest to her. Tobias was glaring fiercely at Rachel. I think he was speaking privately to her. Rachel looked indignant Suddenly FWAAPP!
Yeerk! Ax glared at Rachel's head. He had his tailblade at Rachel's throat.
"WHAT? NO!" she yelled. She fell off the bale of hay.
"No Ax, she's not a controller. She has a different problem!" Cassie said.
Yeah relax, Ax. She's not a controller. Tobias assured him.
Then why is she acting strangely? Ax demanded.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too." I said.
"Xena has a weakness? Whoa." Marco grinned.
Cassie gasped. "Oh my god, we're gonna be late for school!" She was right. I sighed. We had accomplished nothing.
"Okay we cut last period and meet at Tobias's meadow." I said. "We really need to address this."
They filed one by one out of the barn. I stopped Rachel. I wanted to ask her something in private.
"So. What's up?" I asked casually. She had on her classic "Rachel" look. Glaring daggers at me.
"If you MUST know, I'm not into digging as a mole." Rachel muttered, avoiding my eyes. I thought back to the whole oatmeal fiasco. We had planned to dig straight through the ground into the yeerk pool. It was a claustrophobe's idea of hell, with no air and dirt pressing up on all sides. Of all of us, she seemed most bothered by it. Extra mean to Marco and especially ticked off. I was angry at myself. How could I not have seen that? Leaders are supposed to know about their soldiers.
"Oh. Well, you don't have to. It wasn't that deep anyway. Any of us could go mole and do it." I said.
"Fine. But tell Marco and I'll have to kill you." A nervous, unRachel-like grin appeared on her face and she hurried to catch up to Cassie. Then she turned around
"Um thanks." She said slowly.
"For what?"
"Um, I don't know. Never mind. Remember, keep your mouth shut to Marco."
I spent a little more than 5 nerve wracking hours at school. Occasionally I bumped into one of the others. We still try not to look like a group too much, so I usually just gave a smile and nod. Except for Marco, who everyone knew was my best friend.
"Dude, what's Rachel's weakness!" Marco asked. He was practically bubbling with excitement.
"I'm sworn to secrecy." I said, with a grin. I liked how I was torturing him.
"Come ON! Please?" he begged.
"Maybe when your older."
In my math class I heard some kids talking about the Comedy Club. On the news eye witnesses reported a small collection of circus animals causing chaos at the club and destroying it. No one was hurt except a large man who had to get a few stitches above his eye. Efforts to rebuild it were underway, and no one was allowed to come within 20 feet of the site. No circus was reported to have been anywhere in the vicinity of the city since last summer. So far it was a mystery to everyone.
At the second-to the last bell, I left the school. I headed to the meadow. The others turned up a couple minutes after.
Hey Jake. I did an aerial sweep of the Greenway area. They got construction workers there, all with Dracon beams hidden in their tool belts. Tobias reported.
"Yeah. No going to the club. We're going to have to dig into that tunnel." I said. "Ax you can find out where right?"
I have already done so Prince Jake. But I am not sure as to the depth we must dig. It may have gotten lower from the club entrance.
"Let's do it." Rachel said.
"Jeez, can you just stop saying that?" Marco asked.
"No, weenie boy." Rachel grinned and slapped his back playfully.
"Owwww! Jake! That hurt!" he whined. I rolled my eyes.
"Marco, she's a girl quit whining." Then I realized the fatal mistake I made. Rachel got up.
"You want some of this?" she dared, pointing at herself.
Excuse me, is it not frowned upon for those of the same blood line to court each other romantically? Ax asked. We fell silent for a couple seconds.
"WHAT!?" Rachel and I yelled. The others held their sides and laughed.
Where you not -
Ax-man, she wasn't asking if he wanted her BODY. She was asking if he wanted to FIGHT. Tobias said, ending with a bark of laughter.
Ah. I misunderstood. he said sheepishly.
"Ok, I'm taking Ax's TV." Marco said.
"Back to business." I said.
"Well, we don't have to do this today. Chris Rock is not coming to town. I just checked a website." Cassie said, still giggling from Ax's comment. "He decided he'd rather go to New York.."
"But we don't know how long it's gonna take to dig to the tunnel." Marco pointed out. It could take as long as the yeerk pool did."
"Yeah. We start today. Ax, the spot you found, is it secluded?" I asked.
Yes it is several feet into the forest. Although we should have a look- out just in case. he said.
That would be me. Tobias fluffed his feathers.
"Okay, we all go, but only two of us at a time morph mole. Marco and Cassie could go first." I ordered. It was Andalite nature to be claustrophobic. I would try to shelter Ax from this as well as Rachel.
We tried to go to the spot unnoticed. Tobias, Ax, Marco, and Cassie flew. I didn't want to risk Ax's human morph being seen. And if someone did see us, I wanted them to see me and Rachel only, since both of us would remain human the entire time.
Marco and Cassie morphed the moles, which was entertaining because Marco's butt morphed first and he ended up rocking on his mole-rump. Rachel pointed this out loudly.
Then they dug. Tobias kept up some idle chit-chat as we waited. Not much to do but wait. After 30 minutes, two moles peeked out of the hole they made.
Time? Marco asked tiredly.
"30 minutes. " Rachel said, glancing at her watch.
Did it feel a lot longer to you? Marco asked Cassie.
Yep. Cassie said.
"Did you hit it?" I asked.
Yeah. I tried to look around, but you know. Mole eyes. Anyway, I saw an earthworm fall into the tunnel. Nothing happened. No one was there. Cassie informed us.
No guards? Ax asked.
None came. Marco said.
"They must all be at the club entrance then." I said. "That's good. Hopefully we'll be unharrassed while exploring there. Tomorrow." I said.
"So, what, do we leave this hole here?" Rachel pointed.
"Umm. Ax, how do you keep your scoop from being uncovered?" I asked.
I will handle it Prince Jake. he assured me.
"Ok people rest up. Big day tomorrow."
Yeah yeah I know this chapter sucked. Sorry, this was kinda rushed. Action next chapter, I promise! **crosses heart and hope to die** It sure seems like they spend a lot of time talking, doesn't it? Jeez, **talks to herself** what is WRONG with you?!?! I WANT SOME ACTION DAMMIT!!!