Hey-lo!:D This is my first posted Animorph story, so don't mind it. I know I asked my friend to post it before, in case you caught it, but this is a new version! Enjoy! (Thought-speech will be in italic)
ANIMORPHS: The Movie
My name is Tobias. I'm a bird. I'm also a boy. Are you confused?
When you first see me, you'll think I'm just a normal red-tailed hawk. Well, looks can be deceiving. I'm really a boy, trapped in the body of a hawk. If you are reading this, I'm pretty sure you know about the Yeerks already. If not, you should take a look at other Animorph books. I'm just going to cut to the chase.
Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco, Ax and I were getting ready for a mission. Erek had informed us that there was going to be an extra special meeting of The Sharing at a certain Cafe. It was only for the 'most important' members, or, in other words, most of the Controllers.
"Okay, we have half an hour to prepare. Let's go over the plan again," said Jake, as we sat down in the food court. "First we get in, listen in, and-"
"-try not to get killed," Marco interrupted. "Yeah, we know. That's what we do every time."
Rachel gave him the look that usually shut him up.
"Prince Jake, I would like to remind you that there are two guards with concealed weapons guarding the door through which we must enter," reminded Ax. "And there is no doubt that there are Gleet BioFilters at the entrance as well. Feel-terz. Terz."
"We noticed a flat crack at the bottom of the glass beside the door. It most probably isn't covered by the Filters," Cassie explained. "The problem is, it's directly behind a guard's foot. We can't go in fly morph. The crack is too flat. And the cockroach morph might be spotted by the guard."
You see, this time we were aiming for a non-violent method of doing our mission.
"Okay, I've got an idea," I said, squinting a bit. I really wasn't used to the limited sight of my human morph. "It's pretty simple, but it's my best idea. I need someone to come with me in cockroach morph. Then the others…"
I explained my plan to all of them. Marco said it was 'simple, yet effective.' Rachel got all excited and insisted that she be the one to accompany me. Cassie and Jake both seemed a little worried. Ax was impressed and calm. Then we put my plan into action.
Barely 15 minutes later, Rachel and I were hugging the wall, zooming across the floor in roach morph. We stopped a few inches from the doorway of the Cafe.
With my weak roach eyes I peered up at the humans passing by, ignoring the instincts of the roach brain to run. Cassie and Marco came strolling by. They stopped abruptly in front of the Café and looked up. They began to whisper to each other, their eyes still fixed on the ceiling. Ax and Jake walked past us and stopped. They glanced at Cassie and Marco and followed their gaze.
The four of them were parked in front of the concealed door with their eyes glued to the ceiling, occasionally muttering something to the one next to them. Innocent passersby stopped and looked up, puzzled, at this particular spot on the ceiling. They were falling for it!
I noticed Ax watching the guards out of the corner of his eye. Finally, the guard looked up.
NOW! urged Ax in thought-speak. Rachel and I powered our little roach legs and raced through the crack. As soon as I entered the crack, I felt my legs motoring across…NOTHING! I plummeted, Rachel right behind me.
AAAAAAHHHHHH! we screamed. I couldn't see or smell anything. Just then I detected a nauseating smell through my antennae.
Bug Poison! yelled Rachel. We have to get out of here!
What do we do? What do we do? What do we DO?! The question played over and over again in my mind. Then the answer hit me. Wings!
Rachel! I choked. Rachel! Roaches have wings! I was slowing. My roach senses were fogging up.
Through my clouded vision I spotted a roach speeding upwards. I tried to open up the coverings of my wings. Then, to my horror, I realized I couldn't open them! The poison was so thick that it had collected on my back!
I struggled frantically as I plummeted. The smell of poison was getting stronger… I… couldn't think…
Quick! Grab him! Tobias! Tobias!!!
I got him!
NO! You got me!
Oh, sorry.
I've got a roach here!
Voices in my head… What could that mean? I suddenly felt little scrabbling feet closing in around me.
As we (my rescuer and I) rose up higher, my mind started to clear a little. I knew who I was. Where I was. Then the feet around me loosened and dropped me onto the ground. I was lying on a smooth surface. But the poison… It was still coating me. Smothering me…
Tobias! Wake! Up! Rachel's voice cried urgently. DEMORPH! Tobias! Demorph right now!
Demorph? What? Too tired, weary…
Come on Tobias! Stay with us! Demorph! Demorph to HAWK! Hawk? Oh sure okay, why not? I slowly started to turn back to my hawk self.
I started to grow. The three legs on each side of my body melded together and thickened into a pair of talons. A feather pattern raced across my exoskeleton and became 3D. My mouthparts melted together and pushed out into my hooked beak. My antennae folded across my back and disappeared into my skin. Soon, my morph was complete. I rose wearily up onto my talons.
Ax and Cassie kept the guards busy so Marco and I could get in, explained Jake.
Um, I'm going to fly cover, I stammered, a bit shaken up. I was about to spread my wings when I noticed the blankness all around. I couldn't see my friends even with my sharp hawk eyes. But I was on something. Guys? Where are you exactly?
We're in roach morph, too, explained Marco. You know, life is like a radio. It's like someone turned the 'Saneness' switch off or something. Plus, someone is turning the 'Insaneness' dial up everyday. And…
Just shut up Marco! snapped Rachel.
So let me get this straight. We are stuck here and no one knows where the exit is? I asked, staring around.
Or the entrance, for that matter, added Jake.
Oh, that really helps.
Um, guys? a new thought-speak voice filled our heads. My head snapped around instinctively. Then I remembered that I couldn't see anything. Guys, it's us.
Cassie? Ax? asked Rachel.
Yeah, answered Cassie.
Come to join our game of Blind Man's Buff? asked Marco from somewhere around me. It's special. Every player gets to be the Blind Man.
Prince Jake? Is it just this morph's poor eyesight or is it completely free of light in this room? asked Ax.
This room is definitely completely free of light. It is so free of light, that it's free of sanity, too. Marco, of course.
Jake? Rachel? Where are you guys? asked Cassie. What form are you in?
We're in roach morph and Tobias is himself, replied Rachel.
I peered through the darkness, trying to catch the faint outline of a door. But I didn't see anything. Then, I caught the quick flicker of a tiny green light…
AAAAAAAGGGHH!
What's going on?! I asked, panicking. Who was that? What happened? There was no answer.
Cassie? Rachel? Marco? Where is everybody?
I couldn't hear anything. I felt very alone. I flapped and rose up into the air. Then I felt it. Suction. It was getting stronger. I flapped wildly, straining to pull away. I couldn't see what was causing the suction.
I could sense that I was being pulled closer, and closer… then suddenly I was tumbling! Tumbling through the middle of a wide pipe, wings flailing, feathers sticking out in every direction. When the suction diminished completely, I slammed into the bottom of the shaft.
As I slid along I suddenly heard voices. Some whispering human voices, some Hork-Bajir muttering in their own tongue and one very loud, very evil, very familiar sounding thought-speak.
The pipe ended and dumped me onto a rough dirty red carpet. I looked up and found myself underneath one of the seats of some sort of theatre. Up on the stage was the Andalite Controller that had murdered my father, Elfangor. My father. An andalite. Yes, I know, confusing but it's kind of hard to explain. Though I had been with him (my father) for a short time, we had formed a special bond.
In front of me was a pair of human legs in jeans and sneakers. And on either side of me were 5 roaches. My friends.
Good afternoon, said Marco, in a 'ticket vender' tone. The show for today in Wacko theater is called 'Angry Andalite Yells Angry Yells and attempts to Kill Animorphs.' Please enter through the vacuum cleaner to your right.
Everyone, shush, whispered Jake. Listen carefully to what Visser Three's saying.
I turned my head forward and looked up at the Visser.
Phase one has been completed. After a few months my bungling scientists have finally completed the tape, the Visser said in open thought-speak. And I hope all you scientists out there have learned your lesson from poor Gadra Five-Nine-Eight.
A shudder rippled through the crowd.
The tape, as you all know, is a hypnotic clip of none other than myself. It will convince all those watching it to join the Sharing. That will give us more humans to infest. We will play it at the end of one of the latest 'movies', A primitive 2D film that humans enjoy viewing, he continued. All controllers in charge of Post 24 will attach the tape to the movie that will show at this building's theatre.
Well, at least we knew where it was. Maybe it would help somehow.
Okay boys and girls, said Jake. We've heard enough. Let's go.
The 6 of us fluttered up the pipe, out of sight from the Controllers.
So let me get this straight, said Rachel, flapping her roach wings up and down, Visser Three is going to hypnotize a theater full of people and get them to join the Sharing?
Yeah. That's the basic plan, from what we heard.
Wait a second, I said suddenly. They all turned to me.
How are we supposed to get out?
Jake stopped.
Oh, we forgot about that little detail, huh? he asked sheepishly. Well, okay, here's the plan. All of us except for Ax and Tobias will demorph in here. Ax, you and Tobias morph into fly right here and we'll carry you as we slide down. We'll hide at the back of the audience. Hopefully everyone will be staring at Visser Three and not behind their chairs.
Then we all morph to flies and get onto a Controller. We hitchhike on them until it gets noisy again. That would mean we're back in the mall. Then everyone get off and fly to the nearest bathroom. All of us go human and meet at the food court. Got it?
Yes we did, oh fearless leader, said Marco in amocking tone. But didn't you leave out the part when we run for our lives, screaming ourselves hoarse?
Why do you always have to think negatively? asked Cassie.
Prince Jake, we have 10 of your minutes remaining in this morph, reminded Ax.
Ax, I said exasperatedly, They're everyone's minutes.
Don't call me Prince, said Jake at the same time.
Wow! exclaimed Marco. Ax said one sentence and was corrected twice!
Big deal, said Rachel. Can we get going now? I have homework to do.
As I began my morph to fly, the others demorphed. As soon as Ax was himself, he began to slip, his weak hands unable to grapple the smooth metal. The others anchored themselves by pairs, each pushing against a wall with their feet and their backs against each other.
Cassie, who was fully human, made a grab for Ax and held on, but she and Jake, who was leaning against her, were being pulled forward with him. The Animorphs who were mostly human grabbed Ax as best as they could to keep him from sliding into view of the Controllers below us.
Ax quickly began to go fly and his weight lessened. When Ax had finished his morph, we landed on Cassie. I felt the air currents as she slowly crept down the pipe. The other 3 steadily inched their way down behind her.
They crouched behind the back seats, Visser Three's voice reverberating in our heads. As soon as we were all flies we buzzed over a few heads and landed. I carefully squirmed underneath the collar of a polo shirt.
Now I must return to the Blade Ship. No screw-ups this time, said Visser Three threateningly.
"Yes Visser," replied dozens of Controller voices. "We will do it right this time, Visser Three."
Good. Now go.
What a bunch of robots, muttered Marco.
Clothes rustled as the human-Controllers got to their feet. Safely nestled under the fold of the collar, I heard my ride mutter. "No screw-ups, he says, well, we'll see about that when the Court of Thirteen promote me."
I took a quick peek out from under the collar. My compound eyes spotted a fly perched, half hidden on the nut-brown hair of a young man.
Hey, this is a nice place to relax, said the fly, most probably Marco. But it smells like this guy uses a cheap conditioner.
I would have smiled if I had a mouth.
Hey everybody. It's Jake. Is everyone okay? said a new voice in my head. After all of us answered yes, there was sudden silence all around us.
Uh, did everyone remember to speak privately? I asked, dreading the answer.
Oops.
THE ANDALITE BANDITS! the Visser yelled. No one move. They are among us!
I think we have a problem, said Cassie worriedly.
What do we do? I asked.
Battle morphs, what else? Full firepower! said Rachel confidently.
Wait! Don't do it! snapped Jake. We'll have to go into our normal forms first. If they see that we're humans we're dead.
The Visser was shouting out orders. Bring the Gleet BioFilters and spread them out! Put them on 'Paralyzing Setting' to all who are not Yeerk, Andalite, human or Hork-Bajir! I want this done in 5 minutes!
Strict boss, isn't he? said Marco darkly.
Come on, we have to get out! said Cassie.
May I must suggest that we move towards the exit? Quickly? Ax piped up. We buzzed as quickly as we could towards the tunnel.
"Look!" cried a controller pointing wildly. "Flies!"
Don't kill them, capture them! screamed the Visser.
HAUL BUTT! called Jake. We sped as fast as our fly wings could take us. A huge flesh colored wall flew towards me.
AAAAHHHH!
The wall, a human hand, closed in around me. No! I had to get out! A sliver of light shone on me. A gap in the man's fingers! It was a thin gap but just enough. I wiggled out and headed for what I hoped was the vent. I felt the space around me close in slightly. I was in the passage.
I rocketed through. Then I slammed into something my size.
Ow! Who was that?!
Rachel?
Who else? she asked. I nearly got caught. So let's hurry up.
You and me both, I said gloomily. We zoomed out. It was almost painfully quiet.
The void, we said in unison. It was still extremely dark. The fly eyes didn't look compound anymore. Maybe because every picture was black, black, black…
Okay, okay, I said, gathering my thoughts. Follow the tiniest bit of sound. The smell of food. Flies are good at that.
Half an hour later, we were out and safe. I demorphed to hawk and morphed into my human form in the bathroom.
We soon were back in the food court. Cassie had gone off to buy food. The rest of us were shaking.
"Okay. Let's not do that again anytime soon," said Marco.
"Come on you guys. It wasn't that bad!" said Rachel. "We've been through worse."
"The worst is still to come. We need to get that tape!" said Jake. "Remember what happened when we last put our guard down."
"When will Cassie return with the pizza?" asked Ax. "Peet-zuh."
"Any minute now," I answered, spotting Cassie over the heads of the crowd. She had a red tray loaded with 6 slices of pizza and 6 cups of Coke. She handed Jake and Marco slices of pepperoni, gave Rachel a Hawaiian, an Extreme Every Topping slice for Ax, a beef slice for me and a Veggie for herself. Then she gave us our drinks.
I took a bite of pizza and looked around. Then I choked.
"What is it?" asked Rachel, coming over and whacking me on the back.
"N-no, it was nothing," I said. I stared down at my pizza. Had I seen what I thought I saw? But, it couldn't be… it just couldn't have been my dad. I could have sworn I saw him by a pillar on the edge of the food court, smiling the special Andalite eye smile.
"Anyway, our mission went pretty well for once," said Jake, lowering his voice. "We know that Visser Three is going to get the tape that's gonna be shown at the end of some movie."
"But the question is, which movie?" said Marco, picking a slice of pepperoni off his pizza and popping it into his mouth.
"We need to work fast," continued Jake. "We don't know how soon the movie will show."
"We know where it'll be though," pointed out Rachel.
"Ax, don't eat all of it at once," sighed Cassie. I looked over at Ax and laughed. His face was smeared with tomato sauce and mushrooms. I handed him some napkins.
"I have an idea," I said at last. "Remember the what the Visser said?"
The others nodded.
"He said that the Yeerks at Post 24 would install the tape."
"Of course!" exclaimed Jake. "We ask the Chee to look up where Post 24 is, then we go in and-"
"-raid the place! It's perfect!" said Rachel, going hyper. "Let's do it!"
I was up in the air, riding a thermal. Just as I decided to drop by my field to grab a quick snack, I saw an osprey heading for me.
Is that you Cassie? I asked, circling.
Yeah, c'mon! The Chee have information for us!
Cassie and I headed for her barn. When we got there, Erek and the others were waiting.
I landed on my usual place in the rafters.
"Okay, you're all here?" he asked, as Cassie demorphed. He dropped his hologram.
"Erek? What are you doing?" asked Marco.
"I need to show you something."
Suddenly a mini hologram of the city appeared in front of us.
"We're not exactly sure where Post 24 is, but we know where Post 23 and 25 are."
Erek pointed out 2 red dots. Both of them were on the same side of the same block. The particular side had 4 buildings, all different heights, all in a row. The first building had 7 stories, the next two had 4 and the last had 8. The first red dot was on the 3rd floor of the first building. The other was on the 5th floor of the last.
It is obvious where Post 24 is, noted Ax. The highest floor of one of the middle buildings.
"Erek," asked Jake, turning to the Chee. "How are we supposed to figure out which building is Post 24?"
"That, I don't know," admitted Erek. He put his teenage self-hologram back up. "Good luck, Animorphs." And with that he left.
So, what's the plan, Big Jake? I asked.
"Alright," he said. "We do this tonight. We don't know how much time we have. We'll split into two groups. Group A and Group B."
"Why don't we give each group a catchy name?" asked Marco. "We should be Team Captured and Team Killed."
Jake raised his eyebrows at him. "Anyway, as I was saying, Team A will take the building close to Post 23. Team B will take the other. I'll be the leader of Team A. Tobias, you're the leader for Team B. Rachel and Marco, you two go with Tobias. Ax and Cassie, you're with me. The goal is to find the tape and get out. The plan is: We'll morph owls, fly in through the top window, find the top controller and persuade him to hand over the tape."
I took a look at the setting sun, fluttered onto the ground and joined the others who were going into owl morph.
A couple of minutes later, 6 owls flew out of the barn and headed for what we thought would be Post 24. As we neared the 4 buildings, we split up into our appropriate groups.
Do you know that song 'bout the YMCA? asked Marco as he, Rachel and I headed for the building. You know, it goes 'YMCA, it's fun to stay at the YMCA.' For us, YMCA stands for Yeerk Movement to Capture Animorphs. And yes, it's fun to stay there. It's fun to be the Yeerk, but being the Animorph bites.
Just shut up Marco.
Who says?
I do.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
Guys, just shut it, please, I sighed. We have to concentrate.
They glared at each other one last time and focused on the window. It was an office window, so it couldn't exactly open. Inside were three desks. Sitting at them were normal looking humans. At least, I would have claimed they were normal if I didn't see the Dracon Beams that lay on their desks.
Who's up for crashing through this window? I asked. We turned away, flew a few feet, turned back and charged.
YAH-HAAAAH! cried Rachel.
We smashed through the window, talons first. It was the thin flimsy kind anyway.
"AAAHH! What's going on?!" screamed a bald guy.
"Andalites!" bellowed his redheaded partner. He scrambled for the alarm.
"TSEEER!" I screeched. I raked my talons forward and scratched bloody lines across the top of the guy's head. He howled.
Marco was flying around, knocking lamps and papers off the desks. Another controller wearing a plaid tie threw a mug at me. Rachel flew over and grabbed it out of the air by the handle. She dropped it onto the hand of the redhead controller who was aiming for Marco with his Dracon Beam.
TSEEW! TSEEW! TSEEW!
The bald guy fired wildly. I dodged the thin beams. Then, with the skill of a raptor, Marco swooped in and snatched the weapon out of the guy's hand.
Okay, Yeerk, where's the tape? I asked, trying to sound likethe Andalite warrior they thought I was.
Bald guy smiled evilly. "So, you've found out about our little heist, eh? Well, you're too late. We've already installed it and the movie will be playing tonight."
Think he's bluffing? asked Marco privately from atop the back of a chair.
Of course he is! said Rachel. He's a Yeerk, isn't he?
"FIRE!" cried Plaid tie guy. We'd forgotten about him.
Red beams laced through the air.
AAAAGH! screamed Marco. I saw something fall away from him to the ground. His wing was sliced right off!
Marco! Demorph! I yelled, throwing myself behind the metal desk. I flew up again and saw the battalion of about a dozen Hork-Bajir charge into the room.
No time! cried Rachel. Tobias! Grab him and take him out!
I flew for the little crumpled ball of feathers that was Marco. I latched my talons onto Marco's remaining wing and his back.
OW! Hey, watch it!
Some people just don't know when you're trying to save their life. I flapped frantically against the dead air in the office, heading for the night sky, dodging Dracon beams blasts as I went.
Rachel! Come on! We're out of here!
Rachel, stubborn as she always was, refused.
NO! I'm okay! I'll search the office for the tape!
Rachel! Get out! NOW!
It must have been the point that I rarely shout, because Rachel finally followed. Then we headed for Cassie's barn.
"So they already installed it?" asked Jake thoughtfully.
It was half an hour later. The others had a run-in with some Taxxons. Apparently the 4th floor of the other building was the unofficial Post 24-and-a-half. The Taxxon Hangout.
"How are we supposed to find out which movie we're supposed to go to?!" asked Rachel, frustrated.
Guys, I interrupted. I… I need to stretch my wings for a minute. I'll be right back.
Jake nodded and I headed out.
Why did I feel so restless all of a sudden?
The night air was cool. It would have been refreshing if I weren't flying. I finally landed in tree somewhere in the forest by the barn. Then I heard the rustling. Like someone was coming out of the bushes. I stood still, clutching the branch, staring out into the darkness.
Greetings, Tobias.
I nearly fell off my perch.
D-Dad? I whispered.
It was Elfangor, standing tall and proud in the dense bushes below me.
B-but, how…?
Tobias, said Elfangor, soothingly. I have come to give you a message.
What is it? I asked shakily. I couldn't believe I was talking to my dad. MY DAD. My dad who had been killed by Visser Three…
I am not allowed to give it to you directly. I can only give you this. 'Visser Three is at the end of the rainbow.'
What? I asked, confused. What does a rainbow have to do with Visser Three?
Elfangor seemed to be fading.
Remember. Visser Three is at the end of the rainbow…
Wait! Don't go! I don't understand!
You will.
With that, he was gone. I sat on the branch, staring at the spot where my dad had disappeared.
Then it came to me. Visser Three. The rainbow.
That's it! I cried to no one in particular. I struggled to gain altitude and went tearing back to Cassie's barn.
We were all at the movie theatre, sneaking into the control room of the movie…
The Rainbow.
I had told the other Animorphs everything. I had remembered that Visser Three said he'd play the tape of himself at the END of a movie. The movie 'The Rainbow.'
Okay, move out! ordered Jake. In roach morph, we all squeezed under the door of the control room.
Okay. Ax?
Ax began to demorph silently. The controller manning the controls managed to scream "ANDA-!" before Ax knocked him out. The rest of us demorphed. The movie was almost over. Ax's multiple fingers began running over the buttons.
Prince Jake, I will be able to expel the tape in approximately 5 of your minutes.
Ax, they're everyone's minutes.
"Don't call me Prince."
"They did it again!" said Marco happily.
"Shut up," said Rachel, but she couldn't help smiling.
Cassie giggled. Soon all of us, except Ax (who was looking confused) we're giggling like crazy.
"Everyone, shush," said Jake, still smiling.
Was that necessary? asked Ax.
"No not really," said Marco. "But it feels good to still be able to laugh. It reminds us that we're still alive and well."
Soon, the hypnotism tape popped out of the VCR. Jake pulled it out and nodded at Rachel.
"Ooh, this going to be fun!" she whispered giddily. She quickly morphed to Grizzly bear and Jake handed her the tape. She began to contentedly chew it. To me she looked like a dog gnawing on a bone, except that this dog was much bigger. As a full-grown Grizzly bear destroyed the little black recording tape, it sparked a few times.
After we had decided the tape was completely wrecked, we all flew home.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue and there was not a cloud in sight. The thermals were wonderful. To add to the joy of this day, Rachel had come flying with me.
Hey, Tobias? asked Rachel. A bald eagle. A born fighter. My girlfriend.
Yeah? I asked contentedly as the wind ruffled my feathers.
How do you feel these days?
Well, fighting Yeerks is kind of fun (Rachel laughed) but it's real nice to just go flying like this.
Yeah, she agreed.
And I agree with Marco, I said. It just feels great to be alive!
The End