DISCLAIMER: **climbs into a box labeled 'Books to Scholastic Inc.'** Hehe,
I'm gonna mail myself to the office so I can steal the Animorphs! **waits
until finally the box stops moving and I'm dropped somewhere** Cool, I
must be there! **climbs out of box and stares at the entrance sign**
SCHOLASTIC INC., TAIWAN. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Nope, they ain't mine. . .(is there scholastic in Taiwan? Oh well.)
NOTE: Ok, this might seem a little rushed, because I just wanted to get one more chapter out before I went on vacation. I just uploaded Ch.3 yesterday. **sigh** I don't get to write for a whole week. What am I gonna do with all the voices in my head?!
Rachel-
I woke up and immediately wanted to pass out again. I was underwater. We must have been pulled into the Sario Rip; this was the first flashback we had. My arms thrashed until I broke the surface and inhaled sweet, blessed air. Around me the others popped up.
"Crap!" Marco yelled. He slapped at the water.
AHH! Tobias cried. He was a red-tailed hawk stuck in the water. He had already started morphing dolphin, not having many buoyancy issues because apparently hawks float. Then he helped a sputtering Ax out of the water, who was having trouble swimming in his human body.
"What were those things!? The round things with the dracon beam things." Cassie asked. "And were are the controllers?"
Perhaps it is yet another species of alien that is invading your planet. Ax suggested. And I suspect the controllers ended up somewhere nearby. He was almost fully Andalite. It was kind of amusing seeing a blue, four-eyed centaur with a scorpion tail straddle a dolphin.
"Why the hell do aliens always have to come HERE!?" Marco yelled exasperatedly. "I mean, can't they just find some other freaking planet to terrorize!? The yeerks, the Helmacrons, then we got the Mercora underground, the Chee living practically next door. . ."
He rambled on and on about all the species of aliens that were making our lives difficult. Strange how a little less than a year ago I didn't even know aliens existed. Now I knew they definitely existed. They were existing the living daylights out of me.
". . .and finally, that all-powerful pain in the butt ELLIMIST. Seriously, that guy has ISSUES. Someone should go find some big honkin, inter-dimensional, time-traveling, super-galactic baseball bat and whack that stupid, omnipotent, 'non-interfering' a- "
"Marco, are you done?" I ordered more than asked. "Where are we?"
"In the middle of an ocean, about a day in the past or future." Jake said.
I am almost certain it is the past. And I strongly suggest we all morph into a sea creature, as I do not see any land nearby. As said.
"I second that motion. We should go before Jaws decides to pay us a visit and chomp our little heads off." Marco agreed.
"Actually sharks wouldn't necessarily bite at the head first - " Cassie began.
"Right. Whatever, I'm morphing." And he began his transition. His skin was already becoming gray and rubbery. His nose suddenly spurted outward into a dolphin nose. I was going to make a lame Pinocchio joke, but I let it slide. Lame jokes were Marco's job.
"I think I should go bird. To scout for land." I said. Jake nodded. He was also going dolphin. I saw a blowhole open up in the back of his neck.
A feathered pattern appeared on my skin first, then it became 3- dimensional, like the pop-up book my little sister used to have. Then my lips extended and hardened into a beak.
Soon I was a bald eagle. With the help of the others I was able to take to the skies.
Hard to fly. I commented. It was all dead air.
Yeah, there's not a single darn thermal over the ocean. Tobias said. You should have done seagull.
Even with my eagle eyes, which can see a flea twitch from 50 feet away, I didn't see any land. Even with the unusually bright sunlight. I started to worry. I wheeled in a big circle. Jeez, why was it so bright?
See anything? Jake asked.
Wait. I flew further east. Or west. Or whatever direction it was, I'm not an Andalite. There, a small oval on the horizon, was land. From here I couldn't tell if it was an island or mainland, but either would do for now.
Yeah, I got something.
Lead the way.
Follow my silhouette in the water. I said. They probably couldn't see me, but they would be able to see my shadow made by the sun shining in the water.
I pumped my already tiring wings. As we got closer I began to suspect it was an island. I didn't see any people and it seemed to be all beach except for a thick-looking forest of palm trees in the middle. It looked pretty big, and I couldn't see past the forest, but I could extimate that it was about 3 to 4 miles wide. Maybe a teeny bit more. It looked kind of like Gilligan's Island. I mentioned this to the others.
A threee hour cruise, a threee hour cruuuiise. Marco sang.
Shut up. I said, even though I should've known he would do that.
You guys, I think I need to demorph. I'm tired. I said. I was flying lower and slower now, my wings were giving up.
Okay, we'll hold you. Jake said. They formed a circle and I landed on one of them. Then I demorphed and held on Jake's dorsal fin to stay afloat while I gasped for air.
"Ok, I'm ready." I quickly morphed dolphin and we continued our journey. I made sure to keep facing the direction of the island. In a couple more minutes we were there. We had to demorph to human and swim the rest of the way because the water started to become too shallow. Finally we lay on the beach, wishing we had towels.
The sun was really hot against my face. I wasn't soaking for long. I looked around. This place was definitely deserted. Behind us was what looked like a tropical forest. I saw Cassie looking at the trees, probably trying to figure out the species or phylum or something. The sand was almost white. It looked perfect, like those commercials about the Bahamas or something. I half expected some guy in a straw hat and Hawaiin shirt playing those round turtle-shaped xylophones to come dancing over saying "Welcome to Jamaica, mon!"
Then I noticed something in the sand near were I was sitting.
"Hey, you guys. . ." I called. I pointed to some disturbed sand to my left. The others came and took a closer look.
"Your butt print?" Marco observed.
I doubt Rachel's rump would create and imprint of that large a capacity. Ax said.
"Aw thanks, Ax." I said. Ax looked puzzled. I turned to Marco. "No, you idiot, that was there when I got here. There are people on this island. We're in trouble."
"So, Ax could just go human, no big deal." Jake said.
"Look." I pointed at a footprint. A very large, very obvious footprint. I stared at them. How could they not realize it?
"So?" Cassie asked.
"Jeez, come ON people! That's a footprint made by a Timberland Waterproof nubuck PRO 6-inch chukka! Probably in wheat." I yelled, exasperated.
Okay. . . Tobias said.
"And?" Cassie asked.
"Please, don't tell me you don't admire people's shoes as they walk by." I snorted. They all looked at me weird and Cassie grinned. Okay, so they don't look at shoes. They were the weird ones, not me.
"It's what the controllers in the woods were wearing." I sighed.
Silence. The controllers were here. And judging by the long print in the sand next to the footprint, they had their rifles.
"Wonderful. You know, I don't know which is worse, that the controllers are here with their guns or the fact that Rachel could identify the exact brand and style of shoe from a half-swept footprint." Cassie muttered. I winked at her.
"What do we do, great leader!" Marco bowed to Jake.
"Is it safe to say we're on a deserted island?" Jake asked.
I shook my head. "Trapped on a desert island with Marco. My worst nightmare. Shut up." I said before Marco could open his mouth.
Looks deserted to me. But I can't see well into the forest. Tobias reported.
"Then I guess we morph battle morphs so the controllers don't kill us." He said.
We must find a way to go back to our own time before 4:46 PM, which is when the Sario Rip occurred. Ax said. It is now 8:02 AM. He said this with a sort of strain in his voice. He looked disturbed.
"What happens if we don't get back in time?" Cassie asked.
We are currently existing in an unstable state. There are now two of each of us. One here and one at our homes living their lives normally. The universe cannot allow this to happen and will cause both our beings to annihilate each other. Ax said.
"Oh."
The Sario Rip is what is keeping us alive. As soon at it ends at 4:46 we will cease to exist. he added.
"How do we get back?" I asked.
"Well, last time we had a comet hit us." Marco said. "Any chance that could happen again?"
We must recreat the Sario Rip with a force as powerful as the force that brought us here. Ax replied. Or. . .
"Or what?" I asked.
Ax and Jake shared a look. They knew something, and they weren't telling us. Again. That was so getting old.
"Jake. Ax. Talk. Now." Cassie said in her calm-but-getting-mad voice. I raised my eyebrows.
"Watch-out, Cassie's getting mad." I warned.
Jake took the hint and said, "Well the Sario Rip I was in alone. . .I died in it. That's how I came back."
Silence.
So we have to DIE!? Tobias demanded.
I do not know if that would work. I am not positive, it may have worked for Prince Jake because he was the only one there. The fact that all of us are here may change the outcome. Ax said. I apologize, I was not paying attention in class the day this was taught. There was a game of driftball later that day. . .and a female. . .
In addition I would strongly suggest against testing that hypothesis by having us all try to get killed. he added.
"I'm with Ax." Marco said.
"Well, we shouldn't stay out here in plain sight of the controllers." I pointed out. Jake nodded.
"Tobias, stay on the lookout. I think the safest place to be would be in that forest. We'll morph in there."
Suddenly Ax got rigid. He planted his hooves almost equidistant from each other. His eyes swiveled quickly, almost as unnerving as the spinning head in "The Exorcist".
"Ax? Ax, what are you doing? " Jake stared.
"You looking for something?" Marco said, turning his head to view the rest of the beach.
I don't see anything. . Tobias reported.
Ax stopped looking around and faced us. He relaxed his legs.
We are not on Earth.
**sputters** wha. . .WHAT!? What is Ax talking about? Hehe, you'll see next chapter. Big huge GREAT thanks to Philip the Triple Point guy! He reminded me that a Sario Rip is a rip in time AND SPACE. Oh and Jinako- chan, I was considering throwing them into the future, but I just couldn't fit in what I wanted to happen with that plot. Sorry, but you know what. . . **the cobwebs in head are brushed away by an idea light bulb**. . .uh-oh, it's mini-story time! Hehe, review please. Be nice to llamas.
Oh yeah, and to answer Jinako-chan's questions:
Wait and see. Wait and see. Wait and seeeeeee-eeeeee!
Nope, they ain't mine. . .(is there scholastic in Taiwan? Oh well.)
NOTE: Ok, this might seem a little rushed, because I just wanted to get one more chapter out before I went on vacation. I just uploaded Ch.3 yesterday. **sigh** I don't get to write for a whole week. What am I gonna do with all the voices in my head?!
Rachel-
I woke up and immediately wanted to pass out again. I was underwater. We must have been pulled into the Sario Rip; this was the first flashback we had. My arms thrashed until I broke the surface and inhaled sweet, blessed air. Around me the others popped up.
"Crap!" Marco yelled. He slapped at the water.
AHH! Tobias cried. He was a red-tailed hawk stuck in the water. He had already started morphing dolphin, not having many buoyancy issues because apparently hawks float. Then he helped a sputtering Ax out of the water, who was having trouble swimming in his human body.
"What were those things!? The round things with the dracon beam things." Cassie asked. "And were are the controllers?"
Perhaps it is yet another species of alien that is invading your planet. Ax suggested. And I suspect the controllers ended up somewhere nearby. He was almost fully Andalite. It was kind of amusing seeing a blue, four-eyed centaur with a scorpion tail straddle a dolphin.
"Why the hell do aliens always have to come HERE!?" Marco yelled exasperatedly. "I mean, can't they just find some other freaking planet to terrorize!? The yeerks, the Helmacrons, then we got the Mercora underground, the Chee living practically next door. . ."
He rambled on and on about all the species of aliens that were making our lives difficult. Strange how a little less than a year ago I didn't even know aliens existed. Now I knew they definitely existed. They were existing the living daylights out of me.
". . .and finally, that all-powerful pain in the butt ELLIMIST. Seriously, that guy has ISSUES. Someone should go find some big honkin, inter-dimensional, time-traveling, super-galactic baseball bat and whack that stupid, omnipotent, 'non-interfering' a- "
"Marco, are you done?" I ordered more than asked. "Where are we?"
"In the middle of an ocean, about a day in the past or future." Jake said.
I am almost certain it is the past. And I strongly suggest we all morph into a sea creature, as I do not see any land nearby. As said.
"I second that motion. We should go before Jaws decides to pay us a visit and chomp our little heads off." Marco agreed.
"Actually sharks wouldn't necessarily bite at the head first - " Cassie began.
"Right. Whatever, I'm morphing." And he began his transition. His skin was already becoming gray and rubbery. His nose suddenly spurted outward into a dolphin nose. I was going to make a lame Pinocchio joke, but I let it slide. Lame jokes were Marco's job.
"I think I should go bird. To scout for land." I said. Jake nodded. He was also going dolphin. I saw a blowhole open up in the back of his neck.
A feathered pattern appeared on my skin first, then it became 3- dimensional, like the pop-up book my little sister used to have. Then my lips extended and hardened into a beak.
Soon I was a bald eagle. With the help of the others I was able to take to the skies.
Hard to fly. I commented. It was all dead air.
Yeah, there's not a single darn thermal over the ocean. Tobias said. You should have done seagull.
Even with my eagle eyes, which can see a flea twitch from 50 feet away, I didn't see any land. Even with the unusually bright sunlight. I started to worry. I wheeled in a big circle. Jeez, why was it so bright?
See anything? Jake asked.
Wait. I flew further east. Or west. Or whatever direction it was, I'm not an Andalite. There, a small oval on the horizon, was land. From here I couldn't tell if it was an island or mainland, but either would do for now.
Yeah, I got something.
Lead the way.
Follow my silhouette in the water. I said. They probably couldn't see me, but they would be able to see my shadow made by the sun shining in the water.
I pumped my already tiring wings. As we got closer I began to suspect it was an island. I didn't see any people and it seemed to be all beach except for a thick-looking forest of palm trees in the middle. It looked pretty big, and I couldn't see past the forest, but I could extimate that it was about 3 to 4 miles wide. Maybe a teeny bit more. It looked kind of like Gilligan's Island. I mentioned this to the others.
A threee hour cruise, a threee hour cruuuiise. Marco sang.
Shut up. I said, even though I should've known he would do that.
You guys, I think I need to demorph. I'm tired. I said. I was flying lower and slower now, my wings were giving up.
Okay, we'll hold you. Jake said. They formed a circle and I landed on one of them. Then I demorphed and held on Jake's dorsal fin to stay afloat while I gasped for air.
"Ok, I'm ready." I quickly morphed dolphin and we continued our journey. I made sure to keep facing the direction of the island. In a couple more minutes we were there. We had to demorph to human and swim the rest of the way because the water started to become too shallow. Finally we lay on the beach, wishing we had towels.
The sun was really hot against my face. I wasn't soaking for long. I looked around. This place was definitely deserted. Behind us was what looked like a tropical forest. I saw Cassie looking at the trees, probably trying to figure out the species or phylum or something. The sand was almost white. It looked perfect, like those commercials about the Bahamas or something. I half expected some guy in a straw hat and Hawaiin shirt playing those round turtle-shaped xylophones to come dancing over saying "Welcome to Jamaica, mon!"
Then I noticed something in the sand near were I was sitting.
"Hey, you guys. . ." I called. I pointed to some disturbed sand to my left. The others came and took a closer look.
"Your butt print?" Marco observed.
I doubt Rachel's rump would create and imprint of that large a capacity. Ax said.
"Aw thanks, Ax." I said. Ax looked puzzled. I turned to Marco. "No, you idiot, that was there when I got here. There are people on this island. We're in trouble."
"So, Ax could just go human, no big deal." Jake said.
"Look." I pointed at a footprint. A very large, very obvious footprint. I stared at them. How could they not realize it?
"So?" Cassie asked.
"Jeez, come ON people! That's a footprint made by a Timberland Waterproof nubuck PRO 6-inch chukka! Probably in wheat." I yelled, exasperated.
Okay. . . Tobias said.
"And?" Cassie asked.
"Please, don't tell me you don't admire people's shoes as they walk by." I snorted. They all looked at me weird and Cassie grinned. Okay, so they don't look at shoes. They were the weird ones, not me.
"It's what the controllers in the woods were wearing." I sighed.
Silence. The controllers were here. And judging by the long print in the sand next to the footprint, they had their rifles.
"Wonderful. You know, I don't know which is worse, that the controllers are here with their guns or the fact that Rachel could identify the exact brand and style of shoe from a half-swept footprint." Cassie muttered. I winked at her.
"What do we do, great leader!" Marco bowed to Jake.
"Is it safe to say we're on a deserted island?" Jake asked.
I shook my head. "Trapped on a desert island with Marco. My worst nightmare. Shut up." I said before Marco could open his mouth.
Looks deserted to me. But I can't see well into the forest. Tobias reported.
"Then I guess we morph battle morphs so the controllers don't kill us." He said.
We must find a way to go back to our own time before 4:46 PM, which is when the Sario Rip occurred. Ax said. It is now 8:02 AM. He said this with a sort of strain in his voice. He looked disturbed.
"What happens if we don't get back in time?" Cassie asked.
We are currently existing in an unstable state. There are now two of each of us. One here and one at our homes living their lives normally. The universe cannot allow this to happen and will cause both our beings to annihilate each other. Ax said.
"Oh."
The Sario Rip is what is keeping us alive. As soon at it ends at 4:46 we will cease to exist. he added.
"How do we get back?" I asked.
"Well, last time we had a comet hit us." Marco said. "Any chance that could happen again?"
We must recreat the Sario Rip with a force as powerful as the force that brought us here. Ax replied. Or. . .
"Or what?" I asked.
Ax and Jake shared a look. They knew something, and they weren't telling us. Again. That was so getting old.
"Jake. Ax. Talk. Now." Cassie said in her calm-but-getting-mad voice. I raised my eyebrows.
"Watch-out, Cassie's getting mad." I warned.
Jake took the hint and said, "Well the Sario Rip I was in alone. . .I died in it. That's how I came back."
Silence.
So we have to DIE!? Tobias demanded.
I do not know if that would work. I am not positive, it may have worked for Prince Jake because he was the only one there. The fact that all of us are here may change the outcome. Ax said. I apologize, I was not paying attention in class the day this was taught. There was a game of driftball later that day. . .and a female. . .
In addition I would strongly suggest against testing that hypothesis by having us all try to get killed. he added.
"I'm with Ax." Marco said.
"Well, we shouldn't stay out here in plain sight of the controllers." I pointed out. Jake nodded.
"Tobias, stay on the lookout. I think the safest place to be would be in that forest. We'll morph in there."
Suddenly Ax got rigid. He planted his hooves almost equidistant from each other. His eyes swiveled quickly, almost as unnerving as the spinning head in "The Exorcist".
"Ax? Ax, what are you doing? " Jake stared.
"You looking for something?" Marco said, turning his head to view the rest of the beach.
I don't see anything. . Tobias reported.
Ax stopped looking around and faced us. He relaxed his legs.
We are not on Earth.
**sputters** wha. . .WHAT!? What is Ax talking about? Hehe, you'll see next chapter. Big huge GREAT thanks to Philip the Triple Point guy! He reminded me that a Sario Rip is a rip in time AND SPACE. Oh and Jinako- chan, I was considering throwing them into the future, but I just couldn't fit in what I wanted to happen with that plot. Sorry, but you know what. . . **the cobwebs in head are brushed away by an idea light bulb**. . .uh-oh, it's mini-story time! Hehe, review please. Be nice to llamas.
Oh yeah, and to answer Jinako-chan's questions:
Wait and see. Wait and see. Wait and seeeeeee-eeeeee!