Chapter 14

I lifted to my feet, rustled my feathers, and opened my eyes to the sight of a fuzzy red line.

"Vaar drihurr. Grayii breck dunnij vhraar."

"Trook. Vhraar kennip."

They moved behind the red lines, the laser grid that formed a vertical wall before us crossing tightly enough to deny even my relatively small hawk body an exit.

"Inniesfor yurwen vakkap."

In my waking daze, I stumbled in a circle. Around me were the groaning, stirring bodies of my friends, still in battle morph.

There was no way out. We were trapped in a cell.

"Varra! Varra!"

The gruff Kelbrid voice was increasing in volume. I flicked my head and saw that it was staring right back at me through the laser grid, weapon lifted in my direction.

((Guys?)) I said. ((Guys?!))

((Tobias? Is that you?))

((Yeah, Cassie. We're all here. No sudden movements.))

The wolf shakily brought up its head. She sniffed at the air, looked to the laser grid, and then to the others. They were all waking.

((Kelbrids,)) I quietly warned, doing my best not to start an immediate panic. ((At least three. We can't get to them.))

Jake's head rose from the pile, somewhere between Marco and Santorelli. ((Are we all here? Anybody missing?))

((Everybody's here, Jake,)) I explained.

He weakly got to his feet and nearly collapsed straight back down. ((Where's Mendy? Mendy?!))

To my surprise, his voice replied. But worryingly, it came from behind the laser grid. "Prince Jake. I lost contact."

Jake jumped over Marco to meet the laser grid up close. We both spotted the comms device that Menderash spoke through, clutched in the hairy digits of the Kelbrid we had been after.

He didn't smile, didn't grow angry. He was stone-faced, eyes locked firmly on us. Three armed Kelbrids lined up beside him, ready to deal with any rebellion we could put up.

Jake was spiraling, hesitant. His eyes darted between the Kelbrids, back to us, and then to the Kelbrids again. ((Mendy… Don't… Stay where you are. Don't approach. Not yet.))

"Yes, Prince Jake."

The Kelbrid spoke something to us. We had no idea what. He repeated the statement, but when we remained silent, he addressed one of his armed comrades.

((Oh man…)) Marco grunted, having rested his body against the back wall. ((I don't know what the hell he's saying.))

((Nobody does,)) Jake replied. ((Mendy, any ideas?))

"I'm afraid not, Prince Jake."

Cassie added a suggestion. ((Try Mak?))

"Ah. That may work," Menderash considered.

((Do it.))

"What should I say, Prince Jake?"

He took a moment to think. ((Tell him we aren't here to cause them harm.))

Menderash formulated a sentence, which took him all of twenty seconds, and then relayed it through the comms device.

The Kelbrid listened intently, his eyes narrowing. He seemed to understand Menderash's amateur Mak impression to at least some degree.

He replied to Menderash, presumably in Mak.

"I don't think he believes us, Prince Jake," Menderash said gravely.

The Kelbrid began pacing up and down the laser grid, inspecting the bizarre, unnatural zoo we formed, staring each one of us down individually.

"Teghuir hrahyur ecki fhral. Hufrakil!"

"Ah," Menderash uttered.

((What?)) Jake demanded. ((What did he say?!))

"He believes we might be Andalites, Prince Jake."

The Kelbrid grinned for the first time, displaying rows of sharp, white teeth.

((What are the implications?)) Jake inquired warily.

"If he believes that Andalites have crossed the Gratt Border, he could start a war."

((And if we reveal that we're Human?))

Menderash paused. "I don't know that Kelbrids have ever had contact with Humans."

The Kelbrid paced again, holding the comms device in front of him like he was waiting for some kind of concession.

Jake asked, ((Mendy, how long have we been in morph?))

"One hour, thirty-seven minutes."

That added yet enough layer of pressure to Jake's decision-making. He fell silent again, turning away from the laser grid and retreating to the center of the cell.

((Can't see a way out, boss,)) Santorelli helpfully opined.

((What should we do?)) Cassie asked. ((Demorph? You heard Menderash. If he thinks we're Andalites, he could start a war!))

Marco, shaking vigorously, added, ((and if we demorph, they'll wonder what the hell we are. Then they'll p-probably blast us to smithereens.))

Jake noticed Marco's shuddering and his broken, monotonous tone. I sensed it, too. I recalled the last time he had been trapped in a cell.

"Varra!"

((Boss, this guy doesn't look like the patient type.))

Neither option was appealing, and Jake had the cruel headache of deciding what to do. I didn't envy his position. I never did.

We could stay in morph and live out the rest of our lives as battle morphs and, in the process, start a war between the Andalites and the Kelbrids. Or we could demorph and take the risk of revealing ourselves as Humans and either be permanently kept prisoner or destroyed.

Come to think of it; there wasn't much chance of us getting out of this, no matter what we did.

Jake must have thought the same thing and decided on the least damaging option. ((Demorph. We don't want them to believe we're Andalites.))

((You sure, Jake?)) Cassie pushed.

((I'm sure.))

"Prince Jake," Menderash spoke. "I could create a distraction."

((No, Mendy. Don't bring the ship. You'll either kill yourself or us.))

"We'll find a way, Prince Ja-"

The Kelbrid tapped a button on the device, turning off communications. Clearly, he had grown tired of our delaying. "Varra!"

Our contact with the outside world lost, we resigned ourselves to the decision we had made.

((Let's get this over with.))

They began to demorph, their bodies all shrinking, fur disappearing to be replaced by Human skin.

Except for me. I was in my own body, and I suddenly realized the issue I could cause. ((Wait, should I morph Human?))

((Yes,)) Jake instructed. ((Morph Human. We all need to.))

I intended to do just that. But when I started to picture the Human Tobias in my head… I forgot what he looked like.

((Tobias.)) It was Jeanne's voice, and it shocked me out of my concentration.

((What? What is it?))

((Morph Kelbrid.))

I waited for a rebuttal from Jake, but nothing came. She was talking privately.

((Huh?))

((Morph Kelbrid.))

((Why should I…?)) I uttered. I never completed the question.

Something told me that she had an idea. I ran with it.

I pictured the Kelbrid in my head, something strangely more familiar. The changes began, Kelbrid purple and silver fur replacing my feathers, toxic protrusions rushing from my back.

((Wait… What the hell?!)) Marco called.

I said nothing but continued the change, rising gradually from the floor as my body became more Kelbrid than hawk.

((What are you doing?!)) Jake blurted, shock filling his voice.

And then I realized that they weren't even looking at me.

((Jeanne?! How are you…?!))

She was to my right, and I saw the source of confusion when I turned to face her. What I saw was something half-black panther, half-Kelbrid. She continued her morph, saying nothing.