Disclaimer: see first or second chapter.
Hey! I'm back with chapter three! I figured I needed to give our favorite alien-butt-kicking teens some screen time, so I came up with this little filler chapter. It literally fills in the major plot hole that I've discovered. All of the Animorphs are high school juniors, so they can drive. BTW, I'm biased toward Ohio, so Ohio (namely Columbus) is where Brenda, Hector, and Crandall live.
Thought-speak
Brenda's Betrayal Chapter three: Discovery"So, what's this meeting about?" Marco asked Jake as he slumped against a stack of hay bales. Cassie did the same, though she remained silent.
Jake replied, "I'll tell you when the others get here."
Suddenly, Rachel appeared in her brand new red Jeep. She parked next to Jake's blue Audi TT and hopped out, along with Erek. The two entered the barn and took seats.
"So, Jake, what's up?" Rachel asked.
Before Jake could answer, a high-pitched, inhuman shriek could be heard. The five in the barn looked up to see a red-tailed hawk and an osprey fly through the opening near the roof. The hawk came to rest on a rafter, while the osprey came to the floor, quickly demorphing into the young Andalite cadet named Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, better known as Ax.
Hey, guys. Sorry we're late, Tobias said apologetically. Ax got caught up in his soap operas again.
"Better late than never," Jake said. "Now, the reason why I've called you all here is because I've been having strange dreams again. You all remember when the Ellimist sent us to the Iskoort home world?" Everyone nodded. "Well, in my dream, the Drode appears to me, telling me that Crayak's got a new plan. He keeps talking about some girl named Brenda, and this thing called Teamo Supremo. He tells me to go to Ohio. Then I wake up."
"Okay," Marco says, drawing it out. "I officially think that you've gone off the deep end, buddy. No offense."
Before Jake could respond, a familiar-looking old man appeared.
"Hello, Animorphs and Erek. It has been quite some time."
"Hello, Ellimist," Erek replied.
"Jake, I have been deliberating with Crayak for quite some time. I have allowed him to make the Yeerks begin a branch of The Sharing in Columbus, Ohio. However, there is one condition."
"What's that?" Rachel said dryly. "That we get to go and try to stop it?"
Suddenly, the old man was gone. The Animorphs and Erek were all staring at something that couldn't possibly be human. It was a jumble of biological, mechanical, and chemical components that somehow seemed to work together as one.
THIS IS JUST A SMALL PART OF MY BODY/SHIP, the Ellimist said, his voice huge. THIS PART OF ME HELPED TO CREATE THE PEMALITES.
"Why are you showing us this?" Jake asked.
THIS IS A LESSON TO YOU. IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT THE MISSION TO DESTROY THE YEERK MOVEMENT IN OHIO.
"What do you mean?" Marco added.
THERE ARE FORMS OF EVIL ON YOUR PLANET OTHER THAN THE YEERKS. OHIO WAS A CENTER FOR VILLAINS OF MANY TYPES AT ONE TIME. THERE WERE THREE CHILDREN THAT USED REVOLUTIONARY NEW WEAPONS TO COMBAT THESE VILLAINS. THESE CHILDREN CALLED THEMSELVES "TEAMO SUPREMO." THOUGH THE CHILDREN HAVE NOW GROWN, THE VILLAINS ARE STILL THIRSTY FOR REVENGE. ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF TEAMO SUPREMO HAS ALREADY BEEN INFESTED BY THE YEERKS. IF THE YEERKS GAIN CONTROL OF THE GOVERNOR OR THE CHIEF OF POLICE, THE VILLAINS MAY BE RELEASED TO WREAK HAVOC ON THE STATE, AND PERHAPS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. IF THESE VILLAINS BECOME INFESTED, THE TROUBLE WILL SPREAD WORLDWIDE.
"Okay, so you've given us reasons to go. But what will come out of it?" Cassie queried.
THAT, I CANNOT SAY. JUST KNOW THAT YOUR FIGHT WITH THE YEERKS WILL HAVE A MUCH BETTER OUTCOME.
"So, if we decide to go along with this, how will we go about it?" Erek wondered aloud.
YOU MUST WORK WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF TEAMO SUPREMO. GIVEN THE RIGHT ABILITIES, THEY WILL BE USEFUL ALLIES. I WILL LEAVE YOU NOW. WHEN YOU HAVE REACHED A DECISION, I WILL RETURN.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded everyone. By the time their vision returned, they were back in the barn.
"Well, that was freaky," Rachel said.
"Okay, you heard the Ellimist. We need to make a decision," Jake told everyone. "Let's take a vote."
Rachel and, to the surprise of everyone, Cassie immediately replied, "Go."
Jake, Erek, and Ax gave the same answer.
Tobias said, I go if everyone else goes.
"Now, wait a minute," Marco spoke. "What did the Ellimist mean by 'the right abilities'? Was he talking about giving them the power to morph?"
"Honestly, I think he was," Jake answered. "I mean, if these kids are trying to save their friend, I don't think that they're going to turn on us."
"Well, this is with extreme protest, but.I vote 'go', too. Just for the sake of kicking Yeerk butt."
"All right, then. It's settled. When do we leave?" Jake asked the shadowy old man who had just reappeared in the barn.
NOW.
*Katie Mae comes out of her nuclear fallout shelter, looks around nervously for anyone throwing rotten fruits*
Wow. I actually wrote a good cliffhanger! At least, I think it's good.
Anyway, I know that the characters in this chapter were really OOC, but since they've never been in this type of situation before, I think it'll be okay. I tried to get Rachel to be very Xena-like with wanting to leave, and Marco to be kind of sarcastic, as well as not really wanting to go. Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm going to make this be about one year after Animorphs #26, The Attack.
And now, I shall leave you with my own version of an old Chinese proverb:
"If you read a story, you make yourself happy for a day. If you review a story, you make the author happy for a lifetime (or, at the least, two days)."
Toodles!
