Chapter Four; Three's a crowd
I mean, I've done some dumb things for guys in the past. Really, I have. But never, never to such an extent as I did that night.
Since I had no freakin' idea when Marco and Rachel were gonna do this 'check-out-Gafinilan-before-all-hell-breaks-loose' thing, or even how they were gonna do it, I had to be on guard at Gafinilan's house as soon as I could. And if that meant spending part of the night there, well…
I told my brother and sister the same thing as the night before (knowing there is no way in hell they wanted mum and dad to know they'd broken a vase our great aunt brought us all the way from France) and took off as soon as it was safe. I opened my window, then hid in the shadows of my room for a full five minutes, before taking out into the night air as a common pigeon, hoping against hope no-one was watching. I was so not going to try that jumping out the window thing again. Way too risky.
So I flew out to the house, shifting to owl when I was high enough in the air not to be spotted by anyone. I thought it was a pretty neat trick for me. Too bad that was the only good thing about that night.
I landed in a tree, ruffling my feathers against the cold night air, looking around with owl eyes. I spotted Gafinilan in the greenhouse. He looked a little dazed, before he returned to normal and flicked off the lights.
I spent most of the night in that tree, drifting off once or twice. The next time I almost fell asleep, I was attacked by an angry little bird. I scared it off, knowing I'd have to keep my guard up from then on. I drifted a bit again, was attacked by some kind of small rat or something, and managed to give it a nasty little bite on the tail. I almost got it too. Let's just say it was lucky I didn't actually eat it by then.
At about three or so, I realised I wasn't acting much like an owl (to anyone who might be looking at me) and dive-bombed shadows and stuff in the backyard for a little while. When the sun started to rise, I went back to sit in the tree again, preening my feathers in the early morning. It was then that I got the break I was waiting for. It was a good thing too; I really didn't like being out of my own body for so long. Was this how Tobias felt? Or was it, like, the other way around for him?
I watched as first an eagle, then an osprey, landed in the tree next to me. I made a show of ruffling my feathers and defending my 'tree'. I was getting good at it too.
(Uh… think that's…)
(Marco? It's an owl. Just a plain old owl. Look how its acting!)
(Uh… yeah) Then I guess they went back to the point. After I made my point. They sat there, looking for… something. I didn't know what it was. Until I saw it myself. A bee? They were looking for a bee? Uh-oh. It hit me then.
(What is it doing?) Rachel asked.
(I don't know. Just pay attention) he replied curtly. I watched too, suddenly feeling very, very dizzy. I could barely keep up with the damn thing!
Finally, it made its way into the greenhouse, and I had to resist the urge to actually say uh-oh so they'd hear it.
(Okay Marco. There's your way in)
(Cripes. I'll never make it through that nuclear obstacle course without getting fried)
(Not unless you follow another bee) Rachel pointed out (I mean, really tailgate. Which means we need the hive)
Can you say 'oh crap?'
I watched them, trying not to look like a suspicious owl, as they landed near the hive. I made a little show of preening my feathers every now and then, watching as Marco demorphed at the foot of Rachel's tree. He crouched, then began to morph… a bee. Urgh! It was disgusting! I looked away, turning my attention back to the house, knowing if they weren't careful Gafinilan might be able to see them. Then I heard…
(Marco! Get a grip!) I turned back, watching as a bee spiralled up from the ground, then went into the hive. Marco? I wasn't sure. I cursed myself for looking away. Thankfully, I heard him come back to himself a few seconds later, and then Marco the bee went after two other bees. At least, I hoped it was Marco. One zipped off somewhere, and the other two headed off to the greenhouse. Yep, one of them definitely had to be Marco. Most likely the one inches behind the other. Then, things turned bad.
A robber fly, I'd learnt from school, was heading straight for the bees, but before I could even offer a warning it wrapped itself around the first one, and as I watched in horror, it sucked it dry. By then though, I was in the air. I flew higher and higher, knowing Rachel was more interested in watching Marco. I shifted just enough, then I rocketed back down, searching for the fly…
(He's about a foot behind you, maybe six inches up. I'll try to get him but…) Rachel's warning came too late. It had him!
(No) I whispered, getting just enough altitude, then diving like a stuntwoman, then raking my talons forward at just the right moment…
WHAM!! Got him!
(Marco!) I saw Rachel coming at me as I grabbed the robber fly carefully in my beak, ripping it away from Marco.
(Cool it Rach! It's me!)
(Whoa- Jade?!)
(What the… what are you doing here?!) Marco cried, sounding near hysterical. And there was no reason why he shouldn't be. He'd nearly been sucked dry like that other poor bee!
(Save you now. Explain later) I said as I flew with him and what was left of the robber fly, with Rachel following me into some dense trees at the back of the hive. Marco and Rachel took that time to demorph. I played lookout. When he was human, he leaned on a tree and looked up at me, raising his eyebrows.
"Okay. Now explain"
Rachel was right beside him. She didn't look any happier. Couldn't blame them, really…
(I… I overheard you guys yesterday at the mall. You said about checking out Gafinilan before Jake went in, so I decided to be… well… your backup. I knew you'd probably need more than two people, and… well…)
"Did you tell Jake"
(No! I mean, c'mon, how dumb do you think I am?)
"Very" Marco said. That stung, so I looked away from him, back to the house.
(I'm not as hopeless as you are Marco. You know what I mean too) I said privately to him, and I saw him tense up. Well, I guess he wasn't as cocky as I originally thought.
"Whatever. Let's just get this done, please? Before my mom comes and wakes me up to baby-sit, and discovers I'm not there" Rachel said exasperatedly. I agreed with her, and soon she was a bald eagle, sitting in the tree across and just below me. Marco was the bee again, and went into the greenhouse, then into the actual house.
(Gee, I bet this looks a little weird. An eagle and a falcon, shooting the breeze) Rachel muttered. I laughed a little.
(We're far enough apart not to look obvious)
We fell back into silence again, until Rachel got fed up with the silence and the waiting.
(What's in there?) She asked Marco.
(I'll tell you what's not in here) he said (And what hasn't been here for a long time. Mertil)
--------------------------------------------x--------------------------
"I don't get it. Where's Mertil?" Jake asked. After he finished yelling at all three of us (yes, me too; turns out I'm more of a part of the team than I thought) and told us he was getting really ticked at this Gafinilan thing. And admitted that the info was important. I knew later he'd want to 'talk' to me about it. The new guy (or girl) always gets it the worst.
Cassie's barn again. The smells were the usual, and got me off wondering what the heck was going on as I sat in the loft again. Was the Terinan war this complicated? No. Were the Chanaibens this hard to figure out? Don't think so.
Ax confirmed that the Mertil guy existed as I sort of zoned out for a while. I heard Marco getting a little snippety at him for disliking crippled people. Or Andalites. I wasn't far behind him on that one. Tobias started to say something, but then Ax broke in. That's when I tuned back into the convo.
(Yes Tobias, he does) he said exitedly (Illsipar root. Why didn't I see it before!)
"See what?" Marco asked. To tell you the truth, I was still a little sore at him for the remark he made to me. But I sat up anyway, then made my way down to the ground as Ax said (Gafinilan offered me illsipar root. It is a mild intoxicant, taken in a manner somewhat like humans take tea or coffee each morning)
"Looked more like a drug" I muttered as I went to stand beside Ax in the small disjointed circle.
"Okay, but…"
(Illsipar root has a medicinal use, as well. In great quantities, it eases the pain of Soola's Disease. This is a genetically programmed disease. It causes increasing pain in the joints as well as the muscle, extreme at the end. In some, it causes progressive blindness. It strikes in the prime of life and is always fatal)
"Okay" Jake said "I still don't understand what this disease has to do with us"
"And I don't understand" Rachel began "why, if Gafinilan has this disease, he can't cure himself by morphing. Oh. Wait. Yes I do. His own DNA still has the disease. It's like he's trapped"
(Exactly. The only cure is to acquire, then morph another Andalite. One without a defective gene that predisposes towards the disease. In other words, the victim of Soola's disease must abandon his imperfect body. He must become a nothlit)
"My god Ax. And I thought listening to Ithiell explain things was bad" I muttered from beside him. He cocked his head sideways, as if not knowing what to say to that.
Tobias looked at Ax (Well, it sounds reasonable)
(No, in Andalite society, choosing to become a nothlit in such a situation or for such a purpose is considered as cowardice. Morally wrong. Despicable)
Cassie asked about us not having seen any signs. Ax, of course, had an answer to that as well. He didn't seem happy about suggesting this Gafinilan acquiring him. Or Visser Three…
"No. I'm pretty sure he wants me" Jake said suddenly, and when he did a little light flicked on in my head.
"At least… who he thinks you are. A healthy adult Andalite" I said, and he nodded at me.
"But Ax said to become a nothlit is an act of cowardice" Cassie pointed out "You think Gafinilan is a coward? I don't. Not the way he disregards Andalite custom to care for Mertil"
"I agree with Cassie. This guy is no coward. Not from what I've seen anyway"
"Nice girls" Marco snapped "At the very least the guy's a liar. And he's big on keeping secrets. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Which is about a tenth of an inch. Maybe"
In spite of myself, I laughed at him "Marco, throwing requires lifting. You couldn't even budge him let alone throw him"
Amazingly, that got a soft laugh from a couple of them, and Marco blushing a little and a slight death stare. Or, at least, I thought it was a death stare. I couldn't be sure.
'I have to agree with Marco" Rachel put us back on track "Gafinilan is in a bad place. If he's after an Andalite body, who knows what he'll do when- if- he finds out Jake is human"
"Same thing he did to Mertil" Marco muttered "I'm thinking it's not Mertil's happiness he's after. I'm thinking he probably made that tape of his buddy himself. Put it out there to lure any other Andalites who might just be hanging around planet earth. Then when Mertil did his part, Gafinilan put him out of his misery. The incredible disappearing Andalite"
"Pretty harsh Marco" Cassie said. I was about to agree with her, but then I thought about it, and weighed the differences. I realised I didn't know anything about Andalites. Chanaibens I knew I could trust, since I'd been around with them for years. Andalites? What did I know? That they acted arrogant and superior to humans, and…
"Ax?" Cassie said suddenly "What about the morphing cube? The Escafil Device? Could we use that on Mertil? Give him the power to morph?"
"What difference would that make if he's already dead?" Rachel said darkly. Harsh, but it might be true.
Ax hesitated (It is likely that Mertil is allergic to, or has some disease or disorder which makes his body reject the morphing technology. In which case, what good is our forcing is upon him?)
Jake stood up, and I jumped a little "Look, we're not getting any closer to the truth by sitting around and speculating. Is Mertil dead or alive? Is Gafinilan a bad guy or isn't he? Only way to know is to get to him. And hope we're the first ones there"
So, Jake told us when we'd meet up again, and I knew I had to make up an excuse to get out of babysitting again. I walked back out with Ax, wanting to talk to him.
"Uh, hey, Ax?"
(Yes Jade?)
"I was wondering… um…" How could I ask him why he had a grudge against nothilts? After all, his shorm Tobias, was one, and he didn't have any trouble…
"Exactly how powerful is that isspar root anyway?"
(Illsipar root) Ax corrected (Why?)
"Just wondering. I'd like to get to know you better"
(The law of…)
"Yeah, yeah, you told me about that. Sorry for asking" I muttered. Ax stopped suddenly, looking over my head.
"What? Is there… are we being… do we fi…" I hesitated when he reached out a many fingered hand to my hair. There was a slight tug, then his arm pulled back and I realised what he had found. A piece of hay.
(You had this in your hair) he gave it to me (Is it a type of decoration in young females? Because neither Cassie or Rachel informed me…)
I laughed a little "It's not Ax. Thanks for that. I would have had that in my hair all day if you hadn't seen it. Then I'd have been in trouble from my mum. Probably have this crazy idea I was making out with boys all day in the hay"
Ax looked puzzled, and I just laughed a little more at him, then patted his arm in reassurance.
"It's all right Ax. That was just a bit of Jade humour. Don't worry, you don't have to understand it"
He just looked more puzzled, then shook his head and we started to move forward again.
(You humans are still very hard to understand)
"And so are you Andalites"
A/N; Okay, I know that was a bit mainstream, and a lot like the book, but I promise I'll try to do better next time. Really. Christmas kinda gets family orientated for me. Busy, busy, busy! So…
Next time, ok?