Chapter 8

I've been more animals than I can count. I've flown with the wings of a peregrine falcon, a seagull, a cockatoo. I've swum with the flippers of a dolphin and a killer whale and with the fins of a trout and a shark. I've seen through the amazing, yet weird, eyes of a fly, cockroach, ant and mosquito. I've been so many earth animals...I've even been a few creatures that don't belong on earth, such as the Hork-Bajir, the Howler, the Leeran. I've felt the mind of prey, and I've felt the mind of a predator, such as the polar bear, the shark, even the Tyrannosaurus Rex. But none were as amazing as the tigers.
Under the canopy, I concentrated on the image of a tiger, pacing through the jungle, and instantly felt the morph beginning. I felt weak muscles rippling under skin that rapidly changed from pink to deep orange, mixed with black stripes and a hint of white. I saw this strange fur cascading down my body, down my legs, up my arms, down my torso. It reached every nook and cranny of my body.
I felt my knee bones reverse suddenly and I found myself on all fours. My face bulged out and sprouted whiskers. I felt my ears travelling up the side of my head and becoming pointed. My eyes began to change from round, weak human eyes into slanted, powerful tiger eyes that could penetrate darkness as if it were daylight. I could feel incredibly powerful tiger teeth replacing pathetic human teeth inside my mouth. Claws that could disembowel an ox exploded from hands that were rapidly transforming into paws.
With muscles still bulging, I felt myself expanding, growing larger, and larger. A tail shot out of my rear end.
I was a huge, three hundred kilogram Siberian tiger with teeth as big as fingers and paws as big as frying pans. No one could challenge me and survive. I would make sure of that. See, the tiger had power no human could ever dream of having. A tiger was made out of liquid steel. It slunk around like it owned the place, which in fact, it did. In my tiger morph, I had no fears. I had no enemies. I felt only cautious, not nervous. Never nervous. What did the tiger have to be nervous about? Man? Pah, the tiger could end any man's life with a single swipe of its paw. Man had to use guns to kill me.
Looking over I saw Marco's gorilla morph ripping out of his frame. I saw the course black hair sprouting all over his body. I saw Tobias, screeching and circling in the sky above us. I saw Menderash, unable to morph, looking on in jealousy as Marco and I completed our morph. Santorelli and Jeanne looked awed.
I sniffed the air with my nose and instantly a flood of smells came rushing back. I could smell two humans, I was sure of that. Two were scared and shaking, the other almost fearless. I could smell a gorilla, flexing its huge muscles. But I could also smell ten other creatures. They all smelled the same so they obviously belonged to the same species, but I couldn't, for the life of me, work out what they were. It was not a smell either the tiger or human parts of me recognised.
'Ok, let's go and see if these aliens are friendly or not,' I said.
Usually, I might feel slightly sick. We were heading into possible battle and I had just given those fateful words that dragged my friends in with me. Usually, the pressure would have weighed down like a slab of cement on my shoulders and dragged me down, but the tiger's shoulders were so much more powerful than mine. I could carry the weight. The tiger knew nothing of my human moralities and couldn't care less about them. It wanted to hunt, and as long as I stayed hidden behind the tiger, that was perfectly fine with me.
I sneaked out of the forest, moving like the graceful cat I was, silent and liquid-like. Behind me was the slightly more conspicuous and slightly more cumbersome and lumbering gorilla. Behind Marco was Menderash.
The nearest creature spotted us almost instantly and pointed a weapon at us.
They looked a bit like birds. They stood on two, scaly and clawed legs that resembled ostrich legs. You know, those thick, yellow legs that thinned down to two monstrous claws that could rip you apart if it kicked at you. Each claw was the size of my hand. Their large torsos seemed to be covered in sharp, odd grey feathers that stuck out here and there, unlike Tobias' neat feathers. They had four arms, One set was human like, but seemed weaker and only had three fingers of each bony hand. The other set, the lower set, resembled lobster claws and were at least twice the size of the weaker, upper human hands. Occasionally, these claws would snap, and when they did, the entire creature seemed to whirr like a machine for a few seconds.
The neck also resembled an ostrich's one. It snaked upwards and ended in a strange, totally un-bird-like head for such a bird-like body. Instead, the head was made up of a strange, elongated snout which ended in some sort of tube, obviously a mouth of some sort. I could see the inside of the tube was ringed with unnatural, misshapen, needle-like teeth and at least two, snake-like tongues that flickered in and out of the mouth every few seconds. It had no visible nose, but four eyes. Two eyes were twice the size of human eyes, seemed triangular in shape and had multiple pupils. The other two eyes, each the size of buttons on a TV remote, were situated just below the main eyes, and didn't seem to blink or move much. The ears were concealed by feather that continued up the neck, but stopped just before the head began. Instead of being covered in grey feather, the face was covered in fine vibrantly red fur.
It was so strange it seemed like someone had stuck the head of a completely different species onto the body of an ostrich and added a few extra arms here and there. A long, yet thick tail, scaly and toughened, extended back from the body and ended in some sort of thickened club-shaped bone that seemed to be some sort of weapon.
'Frud fuiny!' I heard one of the creatures exclaim in a high-pitched voice.
Instantly, the rest of the creatures seemed to swarm towards us like ducks or geese do when they find out you have bread for them. They all stared at the three of us with strange, slightly-glowing eyes. The 'main' eyes seemed perfectly normal, but the smaller, 'lesser' eyes seemed to have a slightly turquoise tinge to them.
Menderash approached them and placed his hands up, a gesture that he had no weapons. Actually, he had stuffed his down the back of his trousers in case of emergencies. Marco still had his grasped firmly in his powerful gorilla hands. I had lost mine when I had morphed. Being unable to carry Dracon beams with my paws, I had simply dropped it. I didn't need it anyway. My claws and teeth were all that I needed.
'Do you speak English?' Menderash asked slowly, as if he were talking to a toddler who couldn't quite grasp hard words yet.
There was a slight pause, then...
We can speak the same language as you, yes, the closest one replied.
Menderash looked confused. 'Can you speak normally and use thought speak?' he asked.
We use normal speech when communicating with other members of our species, the creature replied in a completely monotone voice, but we use thought speak when talking to other species.
'I see. What is your species called?'
We have no name for ourselves, but other species call us the Kelbrid.
I jerked. Even in my tiger body, I jerked. Menderash had told us very briefly about the Kelbrid before we set off on the mission. They inhabited an area of the galaxy called Kelbrid space, where no Andalites were allowed to venture, due to some strange law. If Andalites entered Kelbrid space, an intergalactic war could ensure. Which was why Menderash had permanantly morphed into a human, since our mission to locate the Blade ship would lead us into unknown Kelbrid territory.
As I suspected, Menderash said in private thought speak. This was why I was so reluctant to land here.
'We are humans,' Menderash said, pointing to himself, then to Marco, then me. 'I am a human. These are humans, but they are in morph...'
Fool! the Kelbrid said loudly. I can see the two animals are humans in morph. Just as easily as I can see you are an Andalite.
Menderash faked a laugh. 'Andalite? No, you have got it wrong, my friend,' he lied. 'No, I am a human. Look.'
You are an Andalite in human morph, the Kelbrid replied calmly. I can see that. No need to try and deceive us. What is an Andalite doing in Kelbrid space. There is laws against that, if I remember. No Andalites are allowed to trespass into Kelbrid space.
Menderash seemed to have lost control now. 'Well...I...can assure you...I...didn't mean to...' he stammered.
I looked towards the Kelbrid. And do you know what the punishment is for entering Kelbrid space? he asked quietly, almost a whisper.
Menderash shook his head.
Not only death—for you, the Kelbrid replied, but also an intergalactic war between us and Andalites.
Ok, things weren't going too well. I didn't know what powers the Kelbrid possessed, but they had obviously seen right through Menderash's morph. And that couldn't result in anything good. Obviously, Marco had been thinking the same thing.
We've stepped in a big pile of horse crap now, he said. This isn't good.
The Kelbrid moved closer jerkily on its bird feet.
Tobias? Can you hear all this? I asked.
Oh, yeah definitely, he replied, although his 'voice' was a lot more fainter. Doesn't look good for old Menderash, does it?
Tobias, I think a fight's gonna start, I explained. Land and morph into something dangerous in case the Kelbrid attack.
Will do, Jake.
The general inside me was rising up again. If a battle raged, I would, and easily could, command my troops even while I was attacked the enemy myself. I hadn't done it in a while, but it was still there, buried beneath the grief, and now, with the threat of imminent battle, it was burrowing its way up to the surface.
The Kelbrid came extremely close to Menderash and stuck its ugly, tubular face into Menderash's. I raised my paw, ready to swing the Kelbrid aside if things turned nasty. I saw Marco clenching his fist. Up in the sky, Tobias had disappeared. He was following my orders and morphing into something more dangerous.
Not so tough in a human body, are we? the Kelbrid sneered. He raised all four of his arms, and used them to push against Menderash's chest. He tripped over backwards, and fell awkwardly on the needle grass.
But then the Kelbrid's head was suddenly grabbed by the great hairy arms of a gorilla and placed into a headlock.
I don't think so, mate, Marco growled, as Menderash picked himself up.
Neither do I. Mate. the Kelbrid said. It swung its clubbed tail around. It connected with Marco's chest and sent him flying backwards. I was stunned. No one tosses a gorilla and I mean no one. Ok, time to fight.
The tiger inside me wanted to leap, so I did. I leaped through the air. The Kelbrid, celebrating his triumph over Marco, didn't see me coming. I landed on his back and dug my claws in, hoping to drag the thing to the ground.
'Ketyhg!' the Kelbrid cried in pain.
I hoped to drag him downwards...but failed. The strong bird legs kept the Kelbrid up, even with the extra three hundred kilograms that had just been deposited on its back. Still... I was caused the creature to run around wildly like some small dinosaur that had just been freaked out. I sank my fangs into the Kelbrid's neck, and instantly felt the movement beginning to slow. The Kelbrid visibly sagged. Its legs gave way as some strange silver blood pumped out of the wounds in its neck.
'Hrkjuy fgrt!' the Kelbrid shouted. 'Hrkjuy fgrt!'
Instantly, the other Kelbrids, which had remained statue-still while all this had been going on, swarmed forward in a single flurry of feathers. I leaped off the dead Kelbrid just as the first wave arrived.
TSEEEEEEW! TSEEEEEEW!
Beyond my range of vision, from the tree line, I saw Dracon beams. So. Santorelli and Jeanne were following my orders, at least. Their aim was slightly off, but that didn't matter. They'd get used to it. A couple of Kelbrid dropped, burning holes in their chests.
I sprang into the air, connected with a Kelbrid, and went down with him, a small army rushing after us as we rolled. But Marco, who was down, but nowhere near dead, had been forgotten. I saw his brutish arm reach up and grabbed some of their chicken legs as they bobbed past, swinging them to the floor. There, they stayed.
Rolling with the Kelbrid, I dug deep claws into my enemy's chest, but instantly felt severe pain in my leg. Looking down, I realised the Kelbrid had managed to grab my leg with its claw and was now tightening its grip. I grabbed its face in my mouth and shook violently until the body went limp. The vice-grip slackened and I dodged nimbly away as another Kelbrid aimed to jump on me.
Menderash was up with his Dracon beam, frying any Kelbrid that strayed too close to his frail human body. From the trees, Santorelli and Jeanne helped with the fighting. It seemed like we were gaining the upperhand, but then an entire new swarm emerged from the big, lego-block building.
Marco scrambled to his feet, still firmly grasping the Dracon beam and began firing away at the new wave of Kelbrid. Menderash joined him. The air was scorching within seconds. I saw Kelbrid after Kelbrid simply fall over as Dracon beams sizzled holes through them. A few simply looked horrified and disintegrated. But still, a few got past the beams and threw themselves at us. Three Kelbrid lunged at me, four leaped at Marco, and another two began chasing Menderash down.
I felt a lobster-like claw grabbing onto my leg, a tail repeatedly bashing me in the side and needle sharp teeth digging into my tail. I could feel my own tiger blood coursing through my veins. I could feel his power ebbing slowly away. But the one thing the tiger had lost none of: courage. I leaped again, dragging a Kelbrid with me. I landed squarely on the back of another Kelbrid and finally, its legs gave way. It might be able to carry the weight of a tiger, and another Kelbrid, but not both at the same time. Its legs buckled, and snapped. Again, I leaped away, only to land on the back of another one.
TSEEEEEEW!
The air was filled with Dracon beams. I saw Marco rolling away from a horde of incoming Kelbrid, and firing at their legs. I saw Menderash, face grim, blasting away at any Kelbrid he saw. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Santorelli and Jeanne, crouching down in the bushes, but aiding us as they fired over and over again.
We were winning. We had to be. The Kelbrid were fleeing. Most were running back towards the bizarre settlement. The few who remained behind we either sizzled by Dracon beam, punched into oblivion by Marco or clawed to death by my tiger morph. Panting, I stared around at the scene of destruction. At least two dozen Kelbrid bodies lay unconscious, or worse, on the ground.
Swooooooooooosh!
Jake... Marco murmured.
That sounded like a ship, I told myself. It sounded like a ship's engines firing up. But I couldn't see a ship anywhere near here...
That's when the 'lego' building decided to reveal its hidden door. The door simply swung open and out of the opening shot a black, garage-sized ship. Not much bigger than a Bug Fighter and certainly smaller than The Rachel but still, with weapons on either side and an engine that could probably take the ship thousands of miles per hour, it was more than we could handle.
The ship, almost oval in shape with two cylindrical engines at the back, hovered for a few seconds as the pilot inside gained control of the ship, then focused on us, two pitiful earth animals, and three cowering humans. We couldn't fight this. Marco fired, but the beams were mere pinpricks to the ship.
Run! I ordered.
No one argued. Exhausted, bloodied and drained, we bolted for the trees.