Chapter 13
As soon as I hit the water, I immediately began the morph. Everyone was midway through morph. This would be interesting. I concentrated as hard as I could and began the morph. Slowly, I caught up to everyone else and beat all but Cassie to complete it. Actually, Marco was done too, but he was done before he got in. I know it wasn't a race, but it was still fun to compete. Competition brings out the best in you, as long as it is a friendly competition.
Anyways, Cassie and Marco had to catch up to me, because the boat was moving the entire time and they got off far before me.
{Alright, let's put your whale knowledge to test, Cassie.}I said jokingly.
{Okay, from what I got, it is in a rather deep hole, beside some coral reefs.} she said.
{I guess it would be good if we got a head start and started looking.} Marco suggested, {That way, we could always have someone looking for it, even with someone at the surface, breathing.} he had a point.
{Alright, if anyone sees something for sure, call to the nearest person. Chances are that we will be too far apart to hear anyone else, so at least stay within range of the closest person.} I said as I dove down even deeper.
I swam right down to the bottom, which wasn't as deep as I figured it would be. There was nothing but sand and fishes down there. And it was flat. Actually, the sand seemed to ripple. I don't see how this thing was in a hole. There were no holes in sight. {Guys, there are no holes, how can we find anything in a hole if there are no holes?}
{I am sure of it, just keep looking.} Cassie answered.
{We're coming.} Whitney said. {Found anything yet?}
{Nope, not yet.} I heard Marco say. Which was odd, he should have been far out of reach, maybe he just was not far enough away yet. {Spread out, but keep close to the nearest person.}
So we did just that, circling around along the bottom back and forth, looking for any hint of a deep hole or the beginnings of a coral reef.
Constantly going back up for air and occasionally, we were getting tired. It was almost an hour before we found any hint of anything.
Actually, I was in the middle of complaining when I thought I found something. {Come on, guys, maybe we were wrong.} I said, {Maybe the whale was thinking of something else, or maybe they already....} I stopped mid- sentence.
{What?} Cassie asked.
But I was confused. In front of me was a very deep underwater valley. The sides were covered in coral and in the middle was a big, clear dome. It was like a giant marble was thrown in between two tropical mountains. Except the trees were coral. And, of course, lot's of fishes. It was almost like an underwater oasis, compared to the barren wavy endless plain of sand that surrounded it.
{Um, guys, I think I found something.} I said to Cassie.
{What's it look like?} Cassie asked. {Maybe it's nothing.}
{Just tell the others I am pretty sure it is what we are looking for.} I confirmed. {It is a valley with a giant park in a bubble.} because that was exactly what it was. Held in the bubble was a park that seemed to sit evenly with the sand around it.
Cassie called everyone over, which took about another ten minutes. When everyone was right on the edge of the valley, Cassie had to say, {Wow, isn't it beautiful?} you know Cassie.
{Yes, it is, but we have a job to do.} Jake said.
Which led us to swim to the bottom, where the dome was. When we got close, I could see, for the very first time, the andalite, running along the bluish grass. I actually was washed over with happiness and hope for the first time in weeks. Maybe this was a huge turnaround in our luck.
{Do you see that?} I said. {That is an andalite.} I almost said it with pride. I was in awe, though.
{Why yes, it is an andalite, now lets get down there and see if he will let us in.} Marco said. I am hesitant to say that maybe he even sounded happy. If you could say 'sounded'. So we all swam to the dome.
When we all got there, we could not see a way in. None whatsoever. {We could just ask her.} Rachel said. {We are here to help him.}
{No, he may take us as hostile.... and what makes you think it is a girl?} Jake said.
{Well, it does seem a little smaller and more feminine than Elfangor.} she said.
{Let's just see if we can find a way in.} Marco suggested.
{No, he would take us as hostile if we try and force our way in too.} I said. {But what is wrong with just asking him? I mean, as long as we have different voices, he will not think we are yeerks, only one yeerk can speak in thought speak, so he will probably recognize us as andalites at his rescue.}
{No, because what if he asks for identification? What would we do then? What if it is a trap?} Jake asked.
{I don't know. How could it be a trap?}
{Could be Visser three in morph, who's to say the andalite he has can't morph other andalites?} Jake theorized. He could have been right.
{But wait, what if that is true, then he see's we are human, it's all over.} we all fell quiet. This was getting heavier than we had originally anticipated.
{Well, we are just going to have to take a chance.} Jake said.
We all swam to the surface together, because we were all about out of breath. Dolphins can hold their breath longer than we could, but not forever.
When we all surfaced, I was surprised to see that there were no ships in sight. Maybe they hadn't found anything yet. Or maybe it was a trap and that was what they wanted us to think. I kept my mouth shut. That was half of the fun, the anticipation. I didn't want to say anything or they might have changed their minds. I wanted to take a chance.
Anyway, we all swam back down and searched the dome all around until we found something worth pushing, touching, or opening. I went around it like three times and still found nothing. It was Whitney who actually made the discovery.
{I think I found something useful.} She said. We all went over to see her almost laying on the sand at the bottom of the ocean. She was pointed at the side of the ship with her nose. She wasn't moving, just pointing at the ship with her nose. {Look, it looks like a hatch and a panel or something. I think we will have to dig.} she said. It was like only a foot, but that is a lot when the sea current was moving you around and resettling the sand. The door was like ten feet tall and five feet wide.
{I think you are right.} Marco said. {So get digging.}
We all took turns digging with our noses and surfacing to breathe. We even had to demorph once before we actually uncovered much.
By the time we actually got it completely uncovered, we were almost too tired to try and get in. So we all surfaced and came to a halt when we finally decided to go in. How were we to open the hatch?
{Just nudge it with your nose.} Cassie suggested. So we did. And the door opened. Lots of water poured in and sucked us in. Apparently, it was filled with air. The chamber that it opened to was huge, with blue skies and clouds painted all over it and dead grass on the bottom. I had no idea why.
Our huge dolphin bodies fit quite easily, and the door shut behind us. The chamber started filling up with air again, and I began to demorph. Something didn't feel right.
{What are you doing?} Jake asked.
But before I had time to answer, the other door opened, spilling water into the grass area.
FLASH! I saw someone flinch and stop moving. One after another, they were stunned by a flashing weapon. What I would have thought was a yeerk dracon beam, only it was green rather than red.
I jumped out to see that the andalite was shooting it.
{A human.} it said. I guess I stunned it, because he stopped shooting long enough for me to make a hasty retreat.
I jumped out of the chamber and dashed away, weaving to try and screw up it's aim. He steadied his gun and fired at me. He only hit my arm. Which was good. I could tell he was only trying to stun us, because my arm went numb, it didn't vaporize.
I held up my other arm and stopped. I wasn't getting anywhere with only one arm. "Okay, I surrender!" I shouted. He aimed at me again. I fell to my knees and said again, "I surrender, jackass. I obviously can't hurt you, so why don't we talk instead."
He kept his aim ready, {Trying to stall me, are you?} he accused.
"No, we are here to try to rescue you." I managed to get out.
As soon as I hit the water, I immediately began the morph. Everyone was midway through morph. This would be interesting. I concentrated as hard as I could and began the morph. Slowly, I caught up to everyone else and beat all but Cassie to complete it. Actually, Marco was done too, but he was done before he got in. I know it wasn't a race, but it was still fun to compete. Competition brings out the best in you, as long as it is a friendly competition.
Anyways, Cassie and Marco had to catch up to me, because the boat was moving the entire time and they got off far before me.
{Alright, let's put your whale knowledge to test, Cassie.}I said jokingly.
{Okay, from what I got, it is in a rather deep hole, beside some coral reefs.} she said.
{I guess it would be good if we got a head start and started looking.} Marco suggested, {That way, we could always have someone looking for it, even with someone at the surface, breathing.} he had a point.
{Alright, if anyone sees something for sure, call to the nearest person. Chances are that we will be too far apart to hear anyone else, so at least stay within range of the closest person.} I said as I dove down even deeper.
I swam right down to the bottom, which wasn't as deep as I figured it would be. There was nothing but sand and fishes down there. And it was flat. Actually, the sand seemed to ripple. I don't see how this thing was in a hole. There were no holes in sight. {Guys, there are no holes, how can we find anything in a hole if there are no holes?}
{I am sure of it, just keep looking.} Cassie answered.
{We're coming.} Whitney said. {Found anything yet?}
{Nope, not yet.} I heard Marco say. Which was odd, he should have been far out of reach, maybe he just was not far enough away yet. {Spread out, but keep close to the nearest person.}
So we did just that, circling around along the bottom back and forth, looking for any hint of a deep hole or the beginnings of a coral reef.
Constantly going back up for air and occasionally, we were getting tired. It was almost an hour before we found any hint of anything.
Actually, I was in the middle of complaining when I thought I found something. {Come on, guys, maybe we were wrong.} I said, {Maybe the whale was thinking of something else, or maybe they already....} I stopped mid- sentence.
{What?} Cassie asked.
But I was confused. In front of me was a very deep underwater valley. The sides were covered in coral and in the middle was a big, clear dome. It was like a giant marble was thrown in between two tropical mountains. Except the trees were coral. And, of course, lot's of fishes. It was almost like an underwater oasis, compared to the barren wavy endless plain of sand that surrounded it.
{Um, guys, I think I found something.} I said to Cassie.
{What's it look like?} Cassie asked. {Maybe it's nothing.}
{Just tell the others I am pretty sure it is what we are looking for.} I confirmed. {It is a valley with a giant park in a bubble.} because that was exactly what it was. Held in the bubble was a park that seemed to sit evenly with the sand around it.
Cassie called everyone over, which took about another ten minutes. When everyone was right on the edge of the valley, Cassie had to say, {Wow, isn't it beautiful?} you know Cassie.
{Yes, it is, but we have a job to do.} Jake said.
Which led us to swim to the bottom, where the dome was. When we got close, I could see, for the very first time, the andalite, running along the bluish grass. I actually was washed over with happiness and hope for the first time in weeks. Maybe this was a huge turnaround in our luck.
{Do you see that?} I said. {That is an andalite.} I almost said it with pride. I was in awe, though.
{Why yes, it is an andalite, now lets get down there and see if he will let us in.} Marco said. I am hesitant to say that maybe he even sounded happy. If you could say 'sounded'. So we all swam to the dome.
When we all got there, we could not see a way in. None whatsoever. {We could just ask her.} Rachel said. {We are here to help him.}
{No, he may take us as hostile.... and what makes you think it is a girl?} Jake said.
{Well, it does seem a little smaller and more feminine than Elfangor.} she said.
{Let's just see if we can find a way in.} Marco suggested.
{No, he would take us as hostile if we try and force our way in too.} I said. {But what is wrong with just asking him? I mean, as long as we have different voices, he will not think we are yeerks, only one yeerk can speak in thought speak, so he will probably recognize us as andalites at his rescue.}
{No, because what if he asks for identification? What would we do then? What if it is a trap?} Jake asked.
{I don't know. How could it be a trap?}
{Could be Visser three in morph, who's to say the andalite he has can't morph other andalites?} Jake theorized. He could have been right.
{But wait, what if that is true, then he see's we are human, it's all over.} we all fell quiet. This was getting heavier than we had originally anticipated.
{Well, we are just going to have to take a chance.} Jake said.
We all swam to the surface together, because we were all about out of breath. Dolphins can hold their breath longer than we could, but not forever.
When we all surfaced, I was surprised to see that there were no ships in sight. Maybe they hadn't found anything yet. Or maybe it was a trap and that was what they wanted us to think. I kept my mouth shut. That was half of the fun, the anticipation. I didn't want to say anything or they might have changed their minds. I wanted to take a chance.
Anyway, we all swam back down and searched the dome all around until we found something worth pushing, touching, or opening. I went around it like three times and still found nothing. It was Whitney who actually made the discovery.
{I think I found something useful.} She said. We all went over to see her almost laying on the sand at the bottom of the ocean. She was pointed at the side of the ship with her nose. She wasn't moving, just pointing at the ship with her nose. {Look, it looks like a hatch and a panel or something. I think we will have to dig.} she said. It was like only a foot, but that is a lot when the sea current was moving you around and resettling the sand. The door was like ten feet tall and five feet wide.
{I think you are right.} Marco said. {So get digging.}
We all took turns digging with our noses and surfacing to breathe. We even had to demorph once before we actually uncovered much.
By the time we actually got it completely uncovered, we were almost too tired to try and get in. So we all surfaced and came to a halt when we finally decided to go in. How were we to open the hatch?
{Just nudge it with your nose.} Cassie suggested. So we did. And the door opened. Lots of water poured in and sucked us in. Apparently, it was filled with air. The chamber that it opened to was huge, with blue skies and clouds painted all over it and dead grass on the bottom. I had no idea why.
Our huge dolphin bodies fit quite easily, and the door shut behind us. The chamber started filling up with air again, and I began to demorph. Something didn't feel right.
{What are you doing?} Jake asked.
But before I had time to answer, the other door opened, spilling water into the grass area.
FLASH! I saw someone flinch and stop moving. One after another, they were stunned by a flashing weapon. What I would have thought was a yeerk dracon beam, only it was green rather than red.
I jumped out to see that the andalite was shooting it.
{A human.} it said. I guess I stunned it, because he stopped shooting long enough for me to make a hasty retreat.
I jumped out of the chamber and dashed away, weaving to try and screw up it's aim. He steadied his gun and fired at me. He only hit my arm. Which was good. I could tell he was only trying to stun us, because my arm went numb, it didn't vaporize.
I held up my other arm and stopped. I wasn't getting anywhere with only one arm. "Okay, I surrender!" I shouted. He aimed at me again. I fell to my knees and said again, "I surrender, jackass. I obviously can't hurt you, so why don't we talk instead."
He kept his aim ready, {Trying to stall me, are you?} he accused.
"No, we are here to try to rescue you." I managed to get out.