Author's Note: If anyone wants the 3v1l l33t shirt, you can find it at www.thinkgeek.com
I got one for my birthday. =) Also, sorry the updating took a while. I had to re-register at school (Nooo! The horror! Hey, wait, this year I don't have to take semester tests! Woohoo!)
And just so you all know, I wuv cliffhangers. =P
Chronicle One
"Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes." - David Bowie, Changes
-Chapter Fourteen-
Tobias
I was an idiot.
Dude was yowling in the cat carrier now as I swung him around with every step I took.
It couldn't be helped. It if it weren't for Dude, I would've been running. Running to where, I didn't know, but I would've been off like a cheetah. Faster than when I ran from those aliens.
Not to mention the blue box had added to the weight I was slugging around.
Even now I'm not all that sure why I didn't just throw it away. That was the smart thing to do.
But I kept it with me, even though I shouldn't have. Even though all sense told me to run.
I was panicking but I guess that's obvious.
Who could blame me? I was stupid. Moronic! I'd just forced myself out onto the streets.
And even I knew that, no matter if you lived in Jersey or Smalltown Us of A, the streets were no place for anybody and without a doubt no place for a kid.
At first I was almost, well, glad that I'd run off. But now the fear was starting to settle in.
It was night, which was part of it. I've never been comfortable at night, it makes me nervous.
Super-alert. Almost like a predator chasing his prey. Or worse, a predator turned into prey.
I stumbled my way along the sidewalk, ducking and dodging every now and then to avoid getting hit in the face by a tree branch or worse. I tried to stay out of the light as much as I could.
The last thing I needed was to come across some paranoid freak with a gun.
I almost considered going back. My legs were aching, my arms were aching, everything was aching.
I wish Dude wasn't so heavy. I griped to myself.
Then I shook my head. Standing here doing nothing wasn't going to help.
Besides, if I stayed here, my uncle just had a better chance of finding me. Even if that required him getting off his drunken ass first, it wasn't a chance I was thrilled to take.
Not that sneaking around the neighborhood was much better.
But at least my face wasn't getting ripped apart by a belt right about now.
I didn't have anywhere to go. I had no family in this town. I did have friends, sort of.
Except I had no clue where any of them lived.
Except Rachel.
I didn't want her to see me like this. I mean, I was pathetic. Kicked, beaten and bruised.
But I've gotten very good at swallowing my pride.
So I kept going forward down the gravel; keeping my eyes focused as I searched for oncoming cars.
It wasn't until I reached the very edge of the pavement that I saw it.
A white car heading for me.
I was about to follow my natural instinct and run, but the car had slowed to a stop in front me before I had the chance to flee like a criminal sprinting from the cops.
The window rolled down. Inside was a twenty-something, though maybe a little older, woman.
She was wearing long silken black slacks and a vest that underneath hid a blue cotton shirt.
Her mid-length blonde hair was tied back in a sleek and efficient ponytail.
But it was her eyes that made me stare. They were a grayish-blue mix.
I know it sounds crazy but I could've sworn her eyes were mine.
"What happen--" She said as her eyes grazed me over. Then they flickered in a grim determination.
The next moment the door of the white car flew open and hit the curb. The woman didn't care.
"Get in." She commanded.
I got in. I was afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't.
"How bad are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?" The woman asked me.
I stared at her for a moment, then I looked down at my blood-stained shirt. "No." I said.
"You're sure?" I nodded. "Okay. Put your cat and your bag in the backseat."
I did as she told me, shoving aside a duffel bag and a basketball.
I guess her kids must've liked sports. Or maybe she worked out a lot.
I didn't know what to say to her. So I said what I figured was polite.
"Thank you," I mumbled. "Thank you, Miss..."
Then the woman turned and smiled at me.
"Miss Smith. Loren Smith."
It was just a few moments later that I found myself sprawled out on the couch in Miss Smith's living room. She'd charged into another room, off to get, well, I didn't know what.
I could hear her talking with someone from behind the door.
"You're home early." A male voice, muffled due to the door, said. Her husband or son, maybe?
"There's a kid out in the den. Take this and check on him. I'm going to make a call."
"Okay. Ay. Miss Smith, what's going on?" The male asked. Not a relation, I guess. I mean, how many men would address their wives as "Miss", anyway? Or sons to their moms, for that matter?
"For the last time, don't call me Miss Smith. And I'm not sure what's going on. Just go!"
"I..."
"Go."
The next second the door in front of me had been opened. I tried to lift up my head to see who the mysterious male was, but my position on the couch made that kind of difficult.
It didn't take me long to figure out who Mr. Mysterio was, anyway.
Something hit the carpet with a hard thud. "Tobias?" Asked Male-in-Miss-Smith's-House.
For a second I didn't believe it. But I knew that voice. There was no doubt who it was.
Ax Isthil. Our very own traitor. He hadn't meant to give us away, but he had just the same.
Which didn't make the situation any less deadlier, that's for certain.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"What happened to you?" He asked me.
"You first." I said.
Ax didn't answer for a second. I heard him picking up, I guess, whatever he'd dropped before.
The next second I felt something beyond freezing touch my cheek where my Uncle's belt had ripped it open in just a few well-placed strikes. I felt the stinging go down a bit.
It took me a second to realize Ax was holding an ice pack to my face.
"Miss Smith, I mean Loren, is my foster mother." Ax explained.
Then Loren Smith walked into the room, much to my relief. I didn't want to explain all this.
She looked at Ax and me and I saw a small smile cross her lips. "I've called a doctor." She said.
My eyes flickered to stare at her grey irises. It almost seemed like they were challenging me to say something, to tell her she didn't have to do what she did or something like that.
I lost my nerve. "Thank you." I said.
"No problem." Miss Smith said with a smile. Then her eyes turned serious as she took me in.
As she saw the way my shirt had turned from white to looking like I'd spilled red wine over it.
Of course, Miss Smith knew that wasn't wine on my shirt. Any idiot knew that.
"Ax, you don't mind if he borrows one of your shirts, do you?" Miss Smith asked my tall friend.
Ax shook his head. "I'll go get one." He added and then retreated out of the room.
That left me alone with Miss Smith.
Yay.
She cast a glance at the door to, I guess, to check that Ax was out of hearing range.
"If you don't want to tell me what happened, I'll understand." Miss Smith said.
I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it. "But I've seen this before, kid."
"Tobias." I said. "My name is Tobias."
Miss Smith smiled at me. "No last name?" She asked. I shook my head. "No last name."
"All right, Tobias. But, look, you have every right to keep whatever happened to yourself. I'm not gonna deny you that. But I have no idea how you're going to explain that," She pointed at my cheek, "To the doctor. So I suggest you tell me what happened." Loren Smith said.
I was so tired. So tired of all of it. Of the flashbacks, of the fear, of my uncle.
I guess that's why I told her.
"My, my uncle did this." I said, lifting the ice pack off my cheek. "With a belt."
I could swear that I saw tears in Miss Smith's eyes. But she said nothing.
"I, um, I live with him. Or I did. I ran away." I explained.
Miss Smith nodded. "I understand, Tobias." Then she shut her eyes and shook her head.
"I came from a family like that. My dad never hit any of us kids, but the shouting matches were bad enough, you know? I stayed up all night listening to them scream. Ro and Mich, too."
"Your brothers?" I asked. Miss Smith laughed. "Oh, no. Mich is a girl."
"Oh." I laughed a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I just thought, you know..."
"Don't be." Miss Smith told me. "Michelle hates being called that." She said with a smile.
The door opened again and Ax walked back in carrying a lump of clothes.
For a split second, his face was angry. Almost like the day Marco and I cornered him.
But then it disappeared the moment he saw Miss Smith and I.
Miss Smith eyed the lump of cloth with confusion. "I just asked you to get a shirt." She said.
"I thought Tobias might need more clothes than that." Ax muttered.
Loren looked at me and then back to Ax. She rubbed her temple. "You might be right." She said.
"I'm going to go put these in the washer." Miss Smith said, taking the clothes from Ax.
"Doctor Glory should be here in a few minutes." She added before leaving the room.
I turned my head away from Ax. All of the sudden I felt guilty for not telling him.
Not like, as Miss Smith had said, I had to. After all, Ax and I weren't what you'd call "best buds". We were acquaintances at best. But then again, I was the one bleeding on his couch.
Ax had taken over ice-pack duty for me, so once again he was holding it to my stinging face.
"Was this what caused your abrupt sign-off?" Ax asked me.
I tried to grin but that hurt my face. "So to speak."
Ax didn't have anything to say to that. He just held kept on holding the ice-pack, which was starting to turn the whole left side of my face numb. But compared to the pain I'd experienced earlier, a little numbness was a piece of cake.
The doctor, some college guy named Ben, looked me over. He said aside from the abrasions on my face I was in perfect health. I don't remember what Loren told him but I don't think she mentioned that my uncle was the one who'd cut up my face. I was grateful for that.
I (and Dude, who was brought in while the doctor looked me over) were invited to spend the night. I was forced to wear a blue sweater of Ax's, which turned out to be a lot better than the humongus "3v1l l33t" t-shirt I had to borrow for sleeping in.
At some point Loren set up a sleeping bag for me in Ax's room. I found Dude, out of his cat carrier and licking up as much water from the saucer as possible, in the corner.
Dude wouldn't let me touch him. I guess he was pissed about being thrown in the carrier.
If it were me, I would've been pissed, too.
We arrived at the barn at 11:59 A.M., to be precise.
At least that's what Ax told me the time was. He has this ability to always know the time.
It's kind of freaky, but very useful, as I (and all of us) would soon find out.
You might be wondering how Ax and I ended up at Cassie's barn. Well, here's a condensed version.
Loren woke both of us up by having her too-large-to-be-safe Golden Retriever leap on us.
Thanks to Ax's shouts and screams I found out the dog's name was Champ.
Then Loren treated us boys to breakfast. For the record, it was the first time I ever saw someone eat six pieces of French Toast without stopping for even a sip of water.
After that, I was going to call Rachel and see if she'd been able to contact Cassie or Jake.
Turns out Cassie called instead. She wanted to talk to Ax.
Then followed a long, drawn-out begging period that resulted in Miss Smith agreeing to drive us.
That was how we ended up at Cassie's barn.
I took the blue box with me, tucked deep into the recesses of my backpack.
I didn't tell Ax about it. I was going to wait and tell everyone what I'd found.
"Hey, guys." Cassie said as we walked up to the door. "The others should be coming soon."
Then she opened up the door and Ax and I followed her inside.
The moment I stepped in, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I knew this place.
I'd seen it before. I'd been in it before.
My eyes swept the rafters of the barn. I knew them, almost intimately.
I knew this barn like it was almost a home away from home. I felt Cassie's hand on my shoulder.
"Tobias, are you okay?" She whispered. I nodded. I was beyond freaked out but I was okay.
I turned to look at Cassie and Ax. They were both looking at me with deep concern.
Maybe a bit more concern in Ax's case, considering everything that happened last night.
Nonetheless I saw Cassie pursing her lips as she looked at my face. "Tobias, what...?"
Her question was stopped by the sound of a car parking outside. Cassie, Ax and I ran out.
For a second I thought that it was Jake at the steering wheel of the old, once white, car.
"That's Tom's car." Ax said, almost more to himself than aloud.
"Tom? Isn't that Jake's brother?" Cassie asked. Ax nodded. "So I guess Jake's here." I said.
I was wrong.
It wasn't just Jake. Rachel and Marco also piled out of the car with him.
Tom followed.
I can't quite explain it but something about him creeped me out. Don't get me wrong, Tom was a nice guy. Maybe too nice. Like the "best" friend who wants you to become their alibi.
He sauntered up to Cassie and shook her hand. "So, you're Jake's girlfriend, right?" He asked.
Both Cassie and Jake turned bright red, while I saw Rachel and Marco snigger.
I felt jealous watching the two of them. And I didn't know if Rachel noticed the way Marco kept leaning towards her every five seconds. I noticed, though. It made me burn inside.
"I'm not Jake's girlfriend." Cassie said. "I'm just a friend. And you're his brother, right?"
"Well, to be honest with you, I'm Jake's evil twin." Tom said. Jake elbowed him in the ribs.
Tom coughed and grabbed his side while he shot a glare at Jake. "I'm his brother." Tom said.
Then Tom's eyes widened in surprise. "Ax! What're you doing here?" He asked.
"Um, visiting Cassie. Sie." Ax mumbled. "And who are you?" Tom asked me.
"I'm," I started to say, but Rachel jumped right into the middle of my sentence. "Tony!"
Then she walked up very close me. Held my hand. "Tony, um, Phillips. My boyfriend." Rachel said.
Then I heard Rachel whisper, her voice to level only I could hear, "Just play along."
I didn't mention to Rachel that I was all too happy to play along, of course.
Though I had no idea why Rachel was putting up this charade.
Tom raised an eyebrow. "Rachel, I thought your mom said you couldn't date 'til college."
"Oh, well, Mom was joking." Rachel said, leaning just a bit on my shoulder.
Tom shrugged. I guess he bought it. "Well, congrats to you and Tony." He said.
"Jake! Don't forget, three o'clock!" Tom shouted. "I won't!" Jake shouted back.
Then Tom left and we all went inside the barn. Cassie closed the door behind us.
Rachel was still holding my hand.
Marco's eyes darted from me to Ax and back again.
"What's he," Marco said, jerking a thumb at Ax, "Doing here, Mystery Man?"
I let go of Rachel's hand. But to my surprise, it was she who jumped on Marco. So to speak.
"Oh, forget him for a second!" Rachel snapped. Marco glared at Rachel but let it go.
Then Rachel turned to me. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Tobias." She said.
I could see Jake nodding in agreement with Rachel. "The cops came by my house." He said.
"Looking for you." Jake added. "They said you ran away from home, Tobias."
Looks of shock passed over Cassie and Marco's faces. But, to my surprise, not Ax's.
"And look, maybe I'm paranoid, but I think those cops might be in league with them." Said Jake.
That explains why Rachel grabbed my hand. I thought. "I didn't know." I whispered.
I stared at the ground as my friends stared at me. "But I think I know why." I said.
I tossed my backpack off of my shoulders. It hit the ground with a loud thump.
I knelt down and unzipped my backpack, my hands searching for that blue box.
I explained it to my friends as I tugged the box out. "I found this last night."
Then I held up the blue box for all five of them to see.
FLASH!
I know that you are young. I know that you have no power with which to resist the Controllers. But I may be able to give you some small powers that may help. He said.
I never took my eyes off of him, though I can't explain why.
If you wish, I can give you powers that no human being has ever had. He added.
"Powers?" Jake asked.
It is a piece of Andalite technology that the Yeerks do not have.* The Andalite explained.
A technology that allows us to pass unnoticed in many parts of the universe -- the power to morph. We have never shared this power. But your need is great.
"Morph? Morph how?" Rachel asked, her voice fierce.
To change your bodies. To become any other species. Any animal. The Andalite said.
I grabbed my head and turned it upward to look at my friends. "Did any of you?" I asked.
Cassie nodded. "I remembered." She whispered. Rachel nodded, and so did Marco and Jake.
"Guess that explains the whole I-am-King-Kong thing." Marco joked. We laughed a little.
Except for Ax. He just kept his eyes on the blue box, saying nothing.
"So this is how we turned into animals." Rachel whispered, looking at the blue box.
"I think we're supposed to use it to fight them." Jake said. "But I don't know how."
"I don't think we can." I said. "When I picked it up, I had a flashback."
"The Andalite was the one that made this thing work." I explained.
"Oh, great." Marco snorted. "Any of you guys see an Andalite around?" He asked.
That was when my eyes turned to Ax. When all our eyes turned to Ax.
It wasn't something we could help.
Because, you see, Ax had started screaming his head off and in a few seconds, I saw why.
His whole body was melting.
I love surprises. (Reader Response)
Neri - Glad you like my writing. =) And, well, now Ax is next.
And I'm pretty sure Officer Terrance isn't related to the Weasleys. He's a normal joe-schmoe.
Or he was, he's probably a Yeerk by now. According to webster.com "constrast" means...a person or thing that exhibits differences when compared with another! Yay, new word of the day. =)
I might add in Luna but not for a while, and it's probably best I don't add to the turmoil-to-be that is Marco's love life. The reason I don't change the description for each new chapter is because, as I found out with other series, when I did that only the people who've been keeping up-to-date with my fic knew what I was talking about in the summary. I want people to always know what the series is about. Actually, I like picking on Marco. Tobias is just the first one to get angstified (I made up a word) in this fic. The others have it comin' to 'em, Rachel and Ax in particular. I don't think the review-popup thingies changed on my computer but maybe I haven't been paying attention.
And I don't think Cassie SHOULD have to kiss Jake when he has throw-up mouth.
Right now this is a one-sided Rachel/Marco fic. Then it'll turn into a Marco/someone-else fic.
And I updated, um, soonish...for me...
DawnOfEast - I was going to have Tobi go to Rachel's, but I think him running into Loren worked out a lot smoother. Plus now there's a cute hand-holding scene.
Rinkuman - Oooh, a cookie? We ran out of cookies at my house. =( Maybe that's why it took me so long to update. And I'm glad you liked Jake Da Leader and the "Let's Do It!"
Loony Lovegood - No fainting! Then you won't be able to update your fics!
Yay, David AU! I really like David stories now...**grumbles** I knew I shouldn't have read One Least Likely, but I guess it's too late now. As for canon pairings, I'm not super-huge on J/C but they're okay. I really, really love R/T, though. They're my second-fave couple.
Ax/Estrid does zip for me, though. But friendship ficcie for them would be cool.
And about the two points you brought up -- in my head, Marco is bisexual. Attracted to both men and women. Hence the skirt-chasing and, IMHO, the overcompensating with the skirt chasing.
And Ax, he is still racist/sexist somewhat, but nowhere near to the degree he was at the end of the series. And it's my personal opinion that he's really become more at home on Earth than amongst the Andalites. Think about it, he's like Tobias minus the actual nothlitness.
I could discuss these things more in depth but I won't right now cause I'm tired.
Jake books are good. Though I find Ax books are constient faves. (Then Marco and Rachel books.)
I believe the grammar error you caught needs to be fixed. =P And there's more nightmares to come. There'll be an entire chapter about it in Chron. 2. (Damn Buffy giving me ideas...)
Well, now Ax is up next. =) And, well, Tobi will get his wings but I'm not going the nothlit route, I confess. Besides, Ax isn't getting his tail back in a regular way.
And I like AI! It's geeky and cute! =P It could even stand for Andalite Intellegence, mm-hmm. I like it lots.
freak show - I have to ask -- are your nerves speeding again? And writer's block SUCKS.
I agree with you, too, that what happened with Tobi had to happen sooner or later. Sad but true.
Oooh, and do re-read the fic! I like it when people do that.
DH - I'm glad someone out there liked the Jake/Tom part, and I did mean for it to be sad.
And isn't Marco such a little annoying man? You're right, it is good to have Rachel shut him up.
I was gonna have Cassie clear Ax's name and all, but that didn't pan out. She still gets to be cool as far as Ax is concerned, though. You'll see. No, Tobi won't get caught.
And, whoa, my stories are your faves? Um...um...I'm shocked...thanks!
43ll3, Qu33n of 1ns4n!ty - `/00r name is very l33t. Sorry FFN deleted your smart review, it's done that to me a whole bunch of times. Or my computer freezes up, which is equally sucky.
Glad you liked the canon pairings, though I warn you this will eventually teeter into not-so-canon territory, but that's not till parts 2 and 3. And I'm sure there's another fangirl for Marco somewhere -- dun worry, Harry needs the comfort...and that sounds a lot more perverted than it did in my head. And while I actually (gasp!) like Avril, sk8tr boi isn't all that cute.
Whee! Sims! I like the Sims. I'm making some Animorphs sims, actually. But they probably won't be finished 'til, like, next year. And "Shake Ya Tail-Feathers"...oh god, bad R/T images! Eeek!
Nice quote, by the way.
Freak Apple - Y'know what I just noticed? First, I have Tobias take Dude in my fic, then all of the sudden he shows up two of my fave fics. (One Least Likely and THE ISLAND! Whee!)
I smell me's a conspiracy, I do. Oh, and Yeerks are friggin' scary if you know nothing about them. By the way, I wouldn't recommend jumping on my bed. One of my friends bent the frame and so now it might collaspe under you at any moment. And that would hurt a lot. And possibly cause you ANOTHER trip to THE HOSPITAL! (Which you need to update!)
Patrick Blah - Okay, two fics...updated within days of each other...you like slash fics?
Oh wait, I'm thinking of different fics. =P But, lemme guess, you like One Least Likely, too?
**frowns** 'Cept I don't think that was within in two days...gah, I feel stupid now.
Glad you like Jake and Tom, and creepy dreams.