Just something I overlooked in the last chapter. When she goes tumbling back, for the first time, she's actually upside down, with her legs arching over her head. Anyway, here's the next chappie! Enjoy!
"Jade!" Ithiell screamed beside Jake. At the same moment the door shut itself, and he pounded the thing with his fists.
"Open it!" Jake cried, pushing the button he had seen Jade push. No response.
"Automatic locking system. It's a safely precaution pre-set into all ships of this size. It needs a password to override it, and I don't have the DAMN THING!!" His last words turned into a scream, and he beat the door with both fists. Then Jake saw his expression change.
"To the bridge"
"But..."
"JUST DO IT!" He roared, shoving Jake forward. Jake was a big guy for his age, but Ithiell was bigger and stronger. And he was driven by fear.
Together, they ran as fast as they could towards the bridge.
"Sir!" Ithiell panted, doubling over when they'd burst through the sliding door.
"What is it!" he yelled back. Another console had blown, and he himself had been forced to take over.
"Permission to take the fighter!"
"Why?!"
"Because Jade's dead if we don't!"
"What happened to her?!" Amanda screamed, but he and Ithiell were already running the other way, without a response, and Marco followed them.
"What happened?!"
"Jade fell out a hatch door!" Jake yelled, knowing this was exactly what the Crayak had wanted all along. He wanted her life, now it seemed he was about to get it...
---------------------------------------------Break---------------------------------------------------
I fell, tumbling down through the air, fighting back the urge to start screaming in absolute terror. I had to think... had to... I could barely breath from the wind current as I sped up, towards what I saw was a whole continent. I was seeing America. It would have been a beautiful sight, if I hadn't been falling towards it...
Crayak.
He did this! That's why I was tumbling down, about to meet my death.
He won't get you! Just think!
Then it hit me. I could shape-shift!
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!
Another explosion, from up above me! I did my best to look up, catching glimpses of the two ships, and my terrified mind thought of them as pure good and pure evil. Black and white... funny...
Can't breathe! Need air...
Focus Jade! You need wings...
But I'm too high... not even a bird could survive this...
Not a bird... think...
As I began to pick up speed, I had an image stuck in my head. It was of about five months ago, maybe a little more. It was when we had all 'met up' in the woods, and Ithiell was looking for something... I can't remember what it was... but he had asked us to help him look. He had opened his leathery wings... which we didn't even know he had... and flew up, looking left, then right. He looked like a miniature dragon, and I remember Amanda and I had just stared. Robert had gone home, as usual, saying something really...
Jade, that's it! Crayak won't win that easily...
If he wanted my life, I was going to make him kill me himself, and from the snippets of conversation I had heard earlier between Ax and Robert, neither him or the Ellimist could interfere to that extent.
The ground seemed to be getting closer, and I felt like I was starting to burn as I sped faster down to the blue and green planet I called my home.
Focus Jade! Feel the changes... I closed my eyes, ignoring the terror that I felt, focusing on that image, seeing it as clearly as I could ever hope to see it. I changed my head first, then slowly, the rest of me, finishing the change off with the big leathery wings, that were carefully hidden under flaps of skin on his back.
Finally, I was Ithiell, and I opened my eyes to see the world the way he did.
It's now or never Jade...carefully, I opened my wings, spreading them wide. Almost immediately, the wind ripped at them, tearing them to shreds and making me cry out in agony. But I managed to slow myself down, quite a lot.
Then I began to fall again.
Keep your focus! Reform the wings!
No! It'll happen again!
Just do it!! Do it or you'll die!!!
I focused on the image of his wings. Almost immediately I felt them reform, and it almost felt like they were healing themselves. When I knew they were complete, I tried again.
FWWUMPFF!! I was spinning out of control again! But wait! I still had my wings!
It was just the snapback! Open them again!
I opened my wings, carefully again, and felt them strain as they caught the air, lifting me up a little, like a parachute.
Immediately I stopped falling, and looked up to see the two ships again. So far away...
TSSSSEWWWW!!
A red beam of light shot past me, barely missing me.
I looked up to see... a fighter? But... no, it wasn't one of ours.
It must be from the Blade ship! Be careful Jade...
I flapped my wings, gaining altitude, realising this was the perfect type of body for this altitude. Any altitude really...
TSSSSEEEWWW!! Another shot was fired, and I dodged it, continuing to fly up towards something that looked like a gigantic bug. Above it, I continued to see the Blade ship and the Aerionna attacking one another, and from what I could see, the Aerionna wasn't doing too well. Then... no, it couldn't be!
But... it was! Our fighter had been launched, and came down towards both me and the Blade ship's fighter. I saw it take aim at the ship, and... fired!
The Blade fighters ship was hit! Its back engines seemed to have suffered most of the damage, and something exploded, before... it came hurtling down at me!
Dive! I turned around, folding my wings back, and aiming for the planet, with the fighter falling down at me at an insane rate. Too close to turn!! Gogogogogogogogo!!
I sped down, knowing I needed to flare at just the right moment, and watching America come up to meet me.
Now! I flared, gliding out of the path of the doomed fighter. It raced passed me, and I caught the wind from it as I stopped to look, flapping my wings to keep me in the same place. I watched as it hurtled down, finding a way to pull up slightly, but the momentum landed them in the ocean.
(Jade, can you hear me? It's Jake. Are you alright?) Came the voice, and I looked up at the fighter, nodding.
(I'm fine. You nearly got me with that fighter, but other than that I'm sill alive) I said, then added (No one is going to try and take my life without a fight. Not the Yeerks, and not Crayak)
(Glad to know) he said to me as the fighter sidled up alongside me, opening the hatch for me to fly in. I did, and the moment it shut, I became myself again, kneeling on the cold metal floor and shuddering.
When I was myself again, I felt arms around me, and I looked up to see Marco, smiling down at me.
"I told you, you can't back out of our date, not even if you throw yourself out a ship hatch" he said softly, his arms securely around me, and I put my arms around him, shaking like a leaf, but managing to laugh a little at his lame joke.
"It wasn't planned" I said softly. A few seconds later I heard someone clearing their throat, and I looked up to see Jake and Ithiell smiling down at us like it was the funniest thing in the world.
We sprung apart, both of us red-faced, with me suddenly wishing he was still holding me...
"Uh, it's good to know you're ok" Ithiell said a little awkwardly, coming and helping me off the ground, then putting a hand on my shoulder. I smiled, nodding.
"I'm ok, but what about... what about the Aerionna? The last time I saw, she wasn't faring too well against that Blade ship" I said, a new fear sinking in. The fear that my friends would...
"That's what I've been thinking about. I mean, we have this fighter, so why not use it" Ithiell said, smiling and moving back to the controls, with me following him. He pulled up the view of the Aerionna and the Blade ship, and neither looked like it was doing too well, but if I knew Lowri, he wouldn't give up so easily. I guessed neither would Visser Three.
"We're gonna fight dirty, aren't we?" I smiled, knowing this could work in our favour. Too bad Ithiell was always about a hundred steps ahead of me.
"Yep. And you're gonna fire the weapons"
"Why me? Why not one of the boys? Whoever fired the last one got a pretty good shot in and..."
"No Jade, you. I've seen how you attack, and we're gonna need that fighting spirit, as you call it, to really give them hell" he said, as we ascended towards the Blade ship.
"Just think of what you're fighting for" Jake said, patting my shoulder softly for just a split second.
"For Amanda" Ithiell said, as the Blade ship grew huge again.
"No, for my family. For you guys, and for this planet" I said, taking over the weapons station. I knew how to fire and what to do. I'd been shown how to fire before. I just... didn't know how to fly it.
As I watched, Ithiell moved to the back of the Blade ship, which was still firing relentlessly on the Aerionna. The Aerionna fired back with equal force.
"Guess that means they got their weapons back online" I muttered to myself, and beside me I saw Ithiell nod. Then he pressed a panel at the side of him, and kept it there.
"Ithiell to the Aerionna. We've come to be your backup" Ithiell announced to them. A speaker! Of course!
"It's about time Ithiell. We're getting our butts whipped!" Came Lowri's agitated voice, and I couldn't help but laugh. He'd gotten that from Robert!
"How are the others?"
"Fine, but not for long if you keep yapping and don't do something!"
"On it sir" he announced, then turned to me.
"Fire at the back engines. That should cripple them enough" I nodded, turning to work at the controls, only being a little slower than I used to be, making sure I aimed my shot right, and fired.
BAAAMMMM!! An explosion that nearly ripped off half the back end of the ship!
The shock wave got us, but we managed to absorb most of it. As I watched, I saw the tail end of the ship explode in a blaze of fire.
"Nice shot" Marco commented, sounding surprised.
I turned to the two boys, smiling proudly.
"What? You didn't think boys were the only ones who played arcade games, did you?"
"It's not over yet Jade" Ithiell said turning my attention back to the screen, where the Aerionna fired off another round, and the Blade ship finally started to fall down towards the earth, and I noticed it was doing the same thing as the fighter, trying to land itself in the ocean I supposed.
"Yess! We did it!" I cried, turning around and hugging both the boys, one a little longer than the other. Then I turned and hugged Ithiell, laughing happily.
He laughed too, and I could tell he was happy as well. We let go, turning to the view screen as an image of Lowri's discouraged face suddenly came into view.
"Come on Ithiell, we're going to need your help over here. We'll land, and you follow us" Came Lowri's strained voice. I knew that voice. It meant... that they'd lost a lot of their crew.
"Don't worry Lowri, we'll honour their deaths. I promise you" I said looking at him, smiling sadly, sealing my promise. He knew that too.
"I know you will. But this war isn't over yet Jade. You know that, right?"
I nodded "I know"
"But at least we know we're not alone anymore" Jake sighed, looking weary. I guess he too was utterly exhausted. It had been a long day, for all of us, and I found out one piece of toast doesn't go so far when you're fighting alien slugs.
Hmm. I needed food.
----Authors note----
This chapter was inspired by a song called 'Sandstorm' by someone called Darude. It's a fast pumping dance theme with no words, and it was perfect for this chapter. I just wanted to add my thanks to this totally cool song.
One more chappie to go. It's a bit... how do you say it? Fluffy?