Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I wish I did, but I don't. ^-^ Anyways
this story and any characters that are made up are mine and Cassie's. So
don't use them without asking.
Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!! ^_^
This is for Oedipal Kat I've never ridden a horse and I don't think my friend has either that's why it's so wrong. So I'll tell her what you said and we'll change it. This is for Dark Ice Dragon I don't think that Andalites have golden tail blades I think they're silver or gray. *sigh* Yet another thing that needs to be changed. Now for hybridphoenix my friend came up with that title. To tell you the truth I'm not sure where it came from myself. And for Crono101 who said there was nothing original in this chapter I put up the next chapter for your viewing enjoyment. I now the last one was kind of boring but this one should have a lot more to it. And last but not least Stargirl-rebels and ss4rycol thanks for the good reviews. Wow that was a lot of writing. Oh and by the way if anyone wants chapters posted faster then leave more reviews. ^_^ I like reviews.
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Kitty's POV
The blade was at my throat, and I was paralyzed with fear. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say to a strange blue-green creature. His tail tip quivered at my throat, and I assumed that it wanted me to put down the blue box. I couldn't very well bend over with a razor- sharp blade at my throat, and I just held out my hands.
Its eyes widened a bit, and it's small upper arms grasped at the box desperately. On an instinct, I pulled the box away quickly, and dodged the sweep of the tail. I wasn't quick enough, however; it grazed my shoulder, and I felt a slight feeling of pain.
a voice gasped. Where was it coming from? It was inside my head! I panicked.
"What are you?" I screamed again as the tail blade came whooshing over my head.
the voice was now more substantial, and it sounded angry. I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It repeated its request. I didn't want to give up the box for some reason. I felt as if it was right for me to have it.
"Not until you tell me who or what you are," I said more bravely than I felt. I grasped the cold blue box closer to my body, and backed away slowly. We had circled each other so that the creature was backing into the wall instead of me. I thought about running, but I knew that this thing was faster than I was, and there was no way I could run on legs vulcanized with fear.
Then I noticed the tree standing next to me. It had a low branch hanging a little out of arm's reach. All of a sudden, I jumped and grabbed the trunk of the tree with one hand, and shimmied up far enough so that I was standing on the branch, and the creature couldn't get me. Its stalks swiveled upward towards me, and I could see the eyes on the end of them. They were not a pretty sight. Then the whole head looked up to me, and I could see its almond eyes widen a bit in what I took to be surprise.
the voice said almost desperately.
"What's it to you?" I asked sarcastically. Then it clicked; the creature was talking inside my head! It was some sort of telepath. That figured, seeing as it didn't have a mouth.
It looked at me, and its slits flared and closed, flared and closed. We stayed that way, just looking at each other for a few moments. Then I heard some shouting from outside the little chamber. The creature looked almost scared, like a horse ready to bolt.
"Kitty? Kitty, where are you?" It was Marco! What was he doing here?
"I'm over here," I shouted back. The creature looked at me with a loathing so strong I could feel it. The creature ran behind a large tree and waited, tail blade poised above its head, ready to strike.
the thing sneered in my head.
"Whatever," I muttered under my breath. Just then, Marco, Loren, and another creature barged into the cavern. I heard myself shriek as the two things started fighting each other. Marco held his arms up to me, and I jumped down to him. I hit the ground as he caught me around the waist. I looked up at him with gratitude, and he smiled at me.
"Now, let's get out of here," he whispered in my ear. I nodded vigorously, and we ran for the entrance, which was still in the pitch black.
Marco shone a light in front of us, and suddenly we could see. I then noticed that he had been carrying a small flashlight with him. The facts didn't sink in much then. I was too terrified, and my adrenaline was running too high to think logically.
As we were running, I could hear the clashing of what sounded like metal. Then there was an utter stillness, and we stopped running. The silence was so real it could be felt. It was inside our heads as well. It was the sort of silence that weighs heavily upon you when you're talking to someone and they want you to make a life-or-death decision right away. It was the stillness right before the hurricane hits. Then everything was right again, and we resumed running.
There were hoof beats behind us. We were being pursued. Marco grabbed my hand, and jerked me along faster. Finally, we broke out into the open woods. It was a lot darker than it had been when I had gone in, and I could smell the impending storm forming.
"Come on, let's get out of here," I heard Marco say. I didn't respond. I wanted to know what was going on! Who, or what, were those creatures? Why were they fighting, and why were they even here? I wanted answers!
"What's going on?" I asked to Marco, and then Loren drew a sharp breath, so that we turned our eyes to her. She was staring at the entrance to the cave. She screamed and started to run blindly. I never saw what was there, but I followed her. I could hear Marco crashing behind us.
"The horses, Loren! The horses! Where are they?" I shouted after her. She shook her head and kept running. I wanted to yell at her or something, but I was out of breath, and I had to focus on running.
"Kitty, Loren," Marco's strangled cry came from behind. I slowed a little, and Loren turned around. Her face was white as a ghost. "Wait, there's nothing to run from," he said as he finally caught up to me. Loren was moving slowly back to us, her legs quivering.
"What are those things?" I finally managed to say.
"Can I explain later?" He didn't wait for a response. "Good, now, let's find Ax."
"Who's Ax?" What was going on? This was so strange!
"He's a friend," Marco managed as he took off in the opposite direction. He was heading to the cave again! I looked at Loren, and she shrugged. We didn't have much choice but to follow him back. I could hear Loren quietly whimpering beside me. This time, however, she kept close to me. Almost too close for my liking, but I knew how scared she was.
"Come on, Loren, it'll be all right now," I whispered quietly in her ear. She gave me a look that was something like what-do-you-take-me-for. I shrugged, and kept trotting after Marco. He stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into him. Loren did. She poked at me angrily for running her into Marco. "Sorry," I whispered.
Marco never even noticed. He was staring intently ahead. His black hair hung limply down to his shoulders. He was standing perfectly still, almost as if he were poised for a kill. We were utterly silent as he stood there waiting, watching. I had no idea what he was seeing; I couldn't see around him, because we were enclosed in some underbrush now. He slowly turned to us, and smiled.
"It's all right now, girls. Come look." We looked at him in amazement. What did he mean? Neither one of us had ever heard him use that tone before. There was a certain look in his brown eyes that I had never seen on anyone. It perplexed me.
"What do you mean?" I asked him. He waved me silent, and pointed to the mouth of the cave. What we saw there was not what we had expected.
I suppose that I had expected to find one or the other of the creatures dead on the ground in a pool of blood. Or maybe they were still fighting. But what I saw was the two creatures, one smaller than the other, staring at each other, and occasionally lifting a cloven hoof for emphasis.
"What are they doing?" Loren whispered in my ear. I shrugged, and was about to ask Marco when the two beings turned to us, and spoke.
I couldn't tell which one of them had spoken. The larger one stepped forward, and looked straight into my eyes. His eyes were brown, with depths so deep that you could get lost in them. His small forearms were weak in build, but his supple body made up for that. His eyes, though, held all the answers to all the mysteries that I had ever thought of. There was something strange happening. I could see things that I had never seen before, almost like a memory. Then, I could hear things that I never wanted to hear again; screams of people tortured without relief, those dying on a war field, on a planet that never existed in my world before. I could see Elfangor, his brother, waiting for something upon a hilltop. I suddenly knew who this creature was, and why he was here.
"What just happened?" I asked him quietly.
I gestured to my head, and he stood there dumbly.
another voice chimed in. What they said next was in an undertone so low that I couldn't hear it.
"Kitty, what is it?" Loren's voice pushed through the mist between where I was and the real world. I shook my head and looked at her.
"What?"
"I said, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing's wrong. Absolutely nothing." She frowned at me. "Really. Nothing's wrong."
"I don't believe you. You zoned out for a good five minutes," she said hotly.
"Don't get so worked up about it, Loren. It's not a big deal." She mumbled something incoherently that I didn't hear, and probably didn't want to.
the larger one said, but his tone was different. It was like he had suddenly turned into a prince. But, I obeyed anyway, and Loren grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?" she whispered heatedly.
"I'm going to him. He asked me to," I said somewhat dazedly.
"Whatever." She followed me, though, and we went to where the larger creature was waiting for us. He was a little to the right of the cave, and as we followed, he backed into the cave, and I followed him, with Loren clinging blindly to my free arm.
I found that it wasn't as dark in the cave as it had been before. I didn't know how that was possible, but I was somewhat dazed, and I just let my feet take me where the creature was going. The walls gave off a white luminescence, and the floor seemed to sparkle under my feet. I had lost track of the creature by now, but I could hear his constant presence in my head, as strange as that may sound. I followed the sound his hoofs made upon the ground, and I went toward the growing presence.
All of a sudden, I was enveloped in a bright white light. I couldn't see anything, but I knew where I was. I knew that there were trees all around me in a circle, and that the ceiling to this place was higher than I ever could reach without flying. My eyes stayed closed as I walked toward the creature.
was what he said to me once. I lost all track of time in that bright place; I could feel his presence calling me.
I had read books that talked about telepaths, and what they could do; they could read thoughts, feel one another's presence, and sometimes even move things with their minds. I didn't know then what I was getting into, or I would have backed down.
But right then I was too into the euphoria of that place to care. I shook Loren off of my arm, and went forward. The creature had stopped; I could feel it. I stopped about ten paces away from him, and dropped to my knees. I could hear a strange birdcall in the cavern. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see it, a strange-looking thing, pink and green, flitting from tree to tree. Then the creature's presence called my attention again.
His hand reached down to my blonde hair, which was then in a fairly long ponytail. As soon as his hand made contact, I was plunged into another place; I could see things, and hear things that I never experienced before. I knelt there, mesmerized, with his hand upon my head.
First, the creature's face appeared in my head.
He then gasped for air, and the connection between us was broken. He collapsed onto his forelegs, and grasped my shoulders with his hands, now somewhat weaker. I am going to die, human. Perhaps not now, but soon. I will tell you all I know about the Yeerks. Humans helped us once, but Andalite control doesn't trust them anymore. I know you merit my trust, human. Will you help us? With that, I was plunged into myriad visions and sounds.
First, it was like I was swimming in white mist. Then it cleared, and I was on board some type of ship. Andalites were everywhere, running around on the ship, clamoring in their silent language. I sensed a great urgency. Then all of a sudden, I could hear their conversations.
I couldn't pinpoint the voice, but I saw one of the Andalites, whom I assumed to be the warrior, scrambling to the control panel. He was halfway there when the whole ship shook. Andalites were sprawled all over the bridge, and just managing to get their hooves under them when it happened again. I could hear anguished cries, but they were distant, as if they were far away. One of the Andalites got up quicker than the rest, and bellowed for order.
I assumed that he was the captain. The one whom I had identified as the warrior got up shakily and went to the control panel.
the captain shouted.
the cadet said meekly.
Falan's voice was the absolute calm of someone who has been in the military service for a long time, and has seen many battles.
was all the captain said. Then he turned away from his two underlings to face the open space. I followed his gaze, and saw three small ships circling around a black space in the stars.
came Falan's alarmed voice.
he said solemnly. The captain didn't have time to respond before the big blank space before them turned into matter. It was the biggest thing that I had ever seen. All of a sudden, a blast of red light shot from it as I was propelled away. I saw the ship with a broken dome explode into a million pieces.
For a moment, I was back in the cave, staring in astonishment at the Andalite standing in front of me. He nodded slightly at me, and I knew then that what I had seen was true. I wanted to cry. Then, white mist enveloped me again.
I was floating above a big body of water. I recognized it as the beach near where I lived. Except, it was clean, and the water was blue. I saw a pod of dolphins swimming in the water. They acted for the most part like normal dolphins, but I got the feeling that they weren't. I didn't know what they could be, but I knew that it wasn't quite right.
They jumped and frolicked in the clear blue water, like dolphins should. Then I saw a boat, with a red-tailed hawk flying above it. Then I heard it.
it repeated over and over again, each time getting weaker and weaker. The dolphins were headed right toward it. Then the host of dolphins dove beneath the surface and didn't come up for a long time.
How long I was actually there, I don't know, but where I was, about ten minutes later, people from another ship dove into the water with scuba gear on. They went the direction that the pod of dolphins had. All of a sudden, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what was wrong, only that something had gone wrong. About half an hour later, the pod of dolphins surfaced, but there was another sea creature with them. It was sleeker and lighter in color than the dolphins. There was a shark with them!
I was back in the cave. I hadn't fully comprehended what I had seen. The Andalite in front of me gasped for air, and its legs folded under it. I reached out to try to help it.
he gasped desperately. I still have more to show you, child.
Then I was back. The group was on the beach. I came closer, still floating in the air. The hawk landed on a low tree branch, and the dolphins and the shark beached themselves. Then they began to change.
One of the dolphins was changing more rapidly than the others. A sleek, black body was emerging from it. This one wasn't nearly grotesque as the others. This girl turned human with fins, stood up, and became human. The one to her right, a blonde-haired boy, was still laying on the ground, sloshing around, his face human with a bulge here and there. Next to him, there was a black-haired boy, almost done with his changes. He still had the tail, but was otherwise human. All told, there were four humans, and an Andalite. Then the Andalite spoke.
I couldn't hear what he had said before, or what he said after. Then, he touched each of the four humans, some of which I thought I recognized, and he began to change. Then I was somewhere else.
This time, there was no transition period. I was in an old, abandoned construction site. This time, I was walking. A small ship landed, and a ramp came down. The same set of four kids was there, but there was another one with them, smaller and sandy-haired. They ran, and hid near to where I was. From where we were, I could study them, and see what was going on.
I realized, as I stared at them, who they were. One of the girls was blonde, tall, and wearing clothes that looked like they came straight from Paris. I didn't know her, but the other one was dark-skinned and short, wearing dirty old jeans. Her name was Cassie. She was my mother! The guys next to them I didn't recognize as quickly. One of them had a shock of black hair, and stood hunched over a little, whispering to the taller blond guy. All of a sudden, they ran out to the ship, where a wounded Andalite was coming down the ramp. I watched that scene for a good five minutes, and then the boy with the blond hair went up the ramp and reappear with a blue cube. Just like the blue cube I had found. The Andalite took the small blue cube from the boy, and then he and the humans put their hands on it, and a faint light pulsed from within it.
Then the earth shook. Another ship had landed near to where they were. At a word from the injured Andalite, Cassie, Marco, and the others ran back to where they had hid before. Another Andalite emerged from the new ship, and changed into a huge, grotesque monster.
The creature reared up to its full height of about 40 feet, and the injured Andalite looked up at it without fear. The monster dwarfed the small, blue- green Andalite. And even as the ugly red and brown creature engulfed the little Andalite within its jaws, he showed no fear.
The construction site went dark again. It was a deathly quiet as the enormity of what had just happened hit the five humans. The creature began to change back into an Andalite, boarded his ship, and the ship took off. The small, sandy-haired boy cried unheedingly, while the blond guy and Marco tried very hard not to. Cassie clung to the taller blonde guy, while the taller girl stood apart from the, fists clenched at her sides.
I found myself slowly flowing away from the abandoned construction site, melting back into the dimly lit cave. I couldn't stand any longer, and my knees folded under me, and my rump hit the dirt floor.
That brought me fully back to reality. The Andalite kneeling in front of me sagged forward. I reached my hands out to support him.
he commanded quietly. He needed to recover, and there was nothing I could do for him. I was kind of worried about myself as well; I was very tired.
I did as he asked. I had a little trouble walking, but the cave walls gave me support. I finally made it out into the little clearing in front of the cave, where Loren, Marco, and the other Andalite were waiting. I staggered out into the clearing, and leaned against a tree. I closed my eyes, and tried not to cry. What I had seen would be with me the rest of my life, I knew. But it was also important. I had seen more death that day than I had in my whole life, and I knew I would see more.
"Kitty? What happened in there?" Loren asked, coming over to me. I shook my head. "You were in there an awfully long time, you know," Loren said. Marco looked a little concerned, and then the Andalite bounded off.
"Ax!" Marco called after him. All of a sudden, Loren went crashing after Ax.
"Okay, what's going on?" Marco asked accusingly. I shrugged and shook my head. His presence reminded me of what I had seen at the construction site. A tear rolled down my cheek.
"If I knew, I'd tell you," I said, trying not to sound as upset as I was. He sighed.
"What happened in there, then?" he asked. I looked at him, and saw him standing inside of an unfinished building that was just cement walls, watching an Andalite eat one of its own kind. "Can you tell me?" he asked softly. I nodded.
"I saw things," I whispered.
"What kind of things," he asked, like a father would ask a child who's just had a bad dream. I told him. I told about the dolphins, and about the construction site. Not about the Andalite ship. For some reason, I didn't want to tell him about that one.
"That's not possible," he said to himself. Just then, Ax. Loren, and my mom came crashing into the small clearing.
"All right, what's going on?" my mom growled.
"Umm, Cassie, she knows," Marco said. She stared at Marco for long moments. Then she stomped her foot on the ground.
"That's not possible," she said flatly.
I stood there staring at both Marco and my mom. I then had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was in way over my head. The scenes that I had seen kept going through my head. I wondered what all this meant.
"Kitty? Are you all right?" Loren asked me.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I answered slowly.
"Sure you are," she said sarcastically. She shook her head and turned back to Marco and my mom.
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Please review the story. And don't be afraid to point out any mistakes.
Just so people now this isn't just my story. My friend Cassie and I came up with this together. We're co-authors. I come up the ideas and she types them up. And the chapters will switch between Kitty's POV and Loren's POV. Enjoy!! ^_^
This is for Oedipal Kat I've never ridden a horse and I don't think my friend has either that's why it's so wrong. So I'll tell her what you said and we'll change it. This is for Dark Ice Dragon I don't think that Andalites have golden tail blades I think they're silver or gray. *sigh* Yet another thing that needs to be changed. Now for hybridphoenix my friend came up with that title. To tell you the truth I'm not sure where it came from myself. And for Crono101 who said there was nothing original in this chapter I put up the next chapter for your viewing enjoyment. I now the last one was kind of boring but this one should have a lot more to it. And last but not least Stargirl-rebels and ss4rycol thanks for the good reviews. Wow that was a lot of writing. Oh and by the way if anyone wants chapters posted faster then leave more reviews. ^_^ I like reviews.
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Kitty's POV
The blade was at my throat, and I was paralyzed with fear. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say to a strange blue-green creature. His tail tip quivered at my throat, and I assumed that it wanted me to put down the blue box. I couldn't very well bend over with a razor- sharp blade at my throat, and I just held out my hands.
Its eyes widened a bit, and it's small upper arms grasped at the box desperately. On an instinct, I pulled the box away quickly, and dodged the sweep of the tail. I wasn't quick enough, however; it grazed my shoulder, and I felt a slight feeling of pain.
a voice gasped. Where was it coming from? It was inside my head! I panicked.
"What are you?" I screamed again as the tail blade came whooshing over my head.
the voice was now more substantial, and it sounded angry. I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It repeated its request. I didn't want to give up the box for some reason. I felt as if it was right for me to have it.
"Not until you tell me who or what you are," I said more bravely than I felt. I grasped the cold blue box closer to my body, and backed away slowly. We had circled each other so that the creature was backing into the wall instead of me. I thought about running, but I knew that this thing was faster than I was, and there was no way I could run on legs vulcanized with fear.
Then I noticed the tree standing next to me. It had a low branch hanging a little out of arm's reach. All of a sudden, I jumped and grabbed the trunk of the tree with one hand, and shimmied up far enough so that I was standing on the branch, and the creature couldn't get me. Its stalks swiveled upward towards me, and I could see the eyes on the end of them. They were not a pretty sight. Then the whole head looked up to me, and I could see its almond eyes widen a bit in what I took to be surprise.
the voice said almost desperately.
"What's it to you?" I asked sarcastically. Then it clicked; the creature was talking inside my head! It was some sort of telepath. That figured, seeing as it didn't have a mouth.
It looked at me, and its slits flared and closed, flared and closed. We stayed that way, just looking at each other for a few moments. Then I heard some shouting from outside the little chamber. The creature looked almost scared, like a horse ready to bolt.
"Kitty? Kitty, where are you?" It was Marco! What was he doing here?
"I'm over here," I shouted back. The creature looked at me with a loathing so strong I could feel it. The creature ran behind a large tree and waited, tail blade poised above its head, ready to strike.
the thing sneered in my head.
"Whatever," I muttered under my breath. Just then, Marco, Loren, and another creature barged into the cavern. I heard myself shriek as the two things started fighting each other. Marco held his arms up to me, and I jumped down to him. I hit the ground as he caught me around the waist. I looked up at him with gratitude, and he smiled at me.
"Now, let's get out of here," he whispered in my ear. I nodded vigorously, and we ran for the entrance, which was still in the pitch black.
Marco shone a light in front of us, and suddenly we could see. I then noticed that he had been carrying a small flashlight with him. The facts didn't sink in much then. I was too terrified, and my adrenaline was running too high to think logically.
As we were running, I could hear the clashing of what sounded like metal. Then there was an utter stillness, and we stopped running. The silence was so real it could be felt. It was inside our heads as well. It was the sort of silence that weighs heavily upon you when you're talking to someone and they want you to make a life-or-death decision right away. It was the stillness right before the hurricane hits. Then everything was right again, and we resumed running.
There were hoof beats behind us. We were being pursued. Marco grabbed my hand, and jerked me along faster. Finally, we broke out into the open woods. It was a lot darker than it had been when I had gone in, and I could smell the impending storm forming.
"Come on, let's get out of here," I heard Marco say. I didn't respond. I wanted to know what was going on! Who, or what, were those creatures? Why were they fighting, and why were they even here? I wanted answers!
"What's going on?" I asked to Marco, and then Loren drew a sharp breath, so that we turned our eyes to her. She was staring at the entrance to the cave. She screamed and started to run blindly. I never saw what was there, but I followed her. I could hear Marco crashing behind us.
"The horses, Loren! The horses! Where are they?" I shouted after her. She shook her head and kept running. I wanted to yell at her or something, but I was out of breath, and I had to focus on running.
"Kitty, Loren," Marco's strangled cry came from behind. I slowed a little, and Loren turned around. Her face was white as a ghost. "Wait, there's nothing to run from," he said as he finally caught up to me. Loren was moving slowly back to us, her legs quivering.
"What are those things?" I finally managed to say.
"Can I explain later?" He didn't wait for a response. "Good, now, let's find Ax."
"Who's Ax?" What was going on? This was so strange!
"He's a friend," Marco managed as he took off in the opposite direction. He was heading to the cave again! I looked at Loren, and she shrugged. We didn't have much choice but to follow him back. I could hear Loren quietly whimpering beside me. This time, however, she kept close to me. Almost too close for my liking, but I knew how scared she was.
"Come on, Loren, it'll be all right now," I whispered quietly in her ear. She gave me a look that was something like what-do-you-take-me-for. I shrugged, and kept trotting after Marco. He stopped abruptly, and I almost ran into him. Loren did. She poked at me angrily for running her into Marco. "Sorry," I whispered.
Marco never even noticed. He was staring intently ahead. His black hair hung limply down to his shoulders. He was standing perfectly still, almost as if he were poised for a kill. We were utterly silent as he stood there waiting, watching. I had no idea what he was seeing; I couldn't see around him, because we were enclosed in some underbrush now. He slowly turned to us, and smiled.
"It's all right now, girls. Come look." We looked at him in amazement. What did he mean? Neither one of us had ever heard him use that tone before. There was a certain look in his brown eyes that I had never seen on anyone. It perplexed me.
"What do you mean?" I asked him. He waved me silent, and pointed to the mouth of the cave. What we saw there was not what we had expected.
I suppose that I had expected to find one or the other of the creatures dead on the ground in a pool of blood. Or maybe they were still fighting. But what I saw was the two creatures, one smaller than the other, staring at each other, and occasionally lifting a cloven hoof for emphasis.
"What are they doing?" Loren whispered in my ear. I shrugged, and was about to ask Marco when the two beings turned to us, and spoke.
I couldn't tell which one of them had spoken. The larger one stepped forward, and looked straight into my eyes. His eyes were brown, with depths so deep that you could get lost in them. His small forearms were weak in build, but his supple body made up for that. His eyes, though, held all the answers to all the mysteries that I had ever thought of. There was something strange happening. I could see things that I had never seen before, almost like a memory. Then, I could hear things that I never wanted to hear again; screams of people tortured without relief, those dying on a war field, on a planet that never existed in my world before. I could see Elfangor, his brother, waiting for something upon a hilltop. I suddenly knew who this creature was, and why he was here.
"What just happened?" I asked him quietly.
I gestured to my head, and he stood there dumbly.
another voice chimed in. What they said next was in an undertone so low that I couldn't hear it.
"Kitty, what is it?" Loren's voice pushed through the mist between where I was and the real world. I shook my head and looked at her.
"What?"
"I said, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing's wrong. Absolutely nothing." She frowned at me. "Really. Nothing's wrong."
"I don't believe you. You zoned out for a good five minutes," she said hotly.
"Don't get so worked up about it, Loren. It's not a big deal." She mumbled something incoherently that I didn't hear, and probably didn't want to.
the larger one said, but his tone was different. It was like he had suddenly turned into a prince. But, I obeyed anyway, and Loren grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?" she whispered heatedly.
"I'm going to him. He asked me to," I said somewhat dazedly.
"Whatever." She followed me, though, and we went to where the larger creature was waiting for us. He was a little to the right of the cave, and as we followed, he backed into the cave, and I followed him, with Loren clinging blindly to my free arm.
I found that it wasn't as dark in the cave as it had been before. I didn't know how that was possible, but I was somewhat dazed, and I just let my feet take me where the creature was going. The walls gave off a white luminescence, and the floor seemed to sparkle under my feet. I had lost track of the creature by now, but I could hear his constant presence in my head, as strange as that may sound. I followed the sound his hoofs made upon the ground, and I went toward the growing presence.
All of a sudden, I was enveloped in a bright white light. I couldn't see anything, but I knew where I was. I knew that there were trees all around me in a circle, and that the ceiling to this place was higher than I ever could reach without flying. My eyes stayed closed as I walked toward the creature.
was what he said to me once. I lost all track of time in that bright place; I could feel his presence calling me.
I had read books that talked about telepaths, and what they could do; they could read thoughts, feel one another's presence, and sometimes even move things with their minds. I didn't know then what I was getting into, or I would have backed down.
But right then I was too into the euphoria of that place to care. I shook Loren off of my arm, and went forward. The creature had stopped; I could feel it. I stopped about ten paces away from him, and dropped to my knees. I could hear a strange birdcall in the cavern. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see it, a strange-looking thing, pink and green, flitting from tree to tree. Then the creature's presence called my attention again.
His hand reached down to my blonde hair, which was then in a fairly long ponytail. As soon as his hand made contact, I was plunged into another place; I could see things, and hear things that I never experienced before. I knelt there, mesmerized, with his hand upon my head.
First, the creature's face appeared in my head.
He then gasped for air, and the connection between us was broken. He collapsed onto his forelegs, and grasped my shoulders with his hands, now somewhat weaker. I am going to die, human. Perhaps not now, but soon. I will tell you all I know about the Yeerks. Humans helped us once, but Andalite control doesn't trust them anymore. I know you merit my trust, human. Will you help us? With that, I was plunged into myriad visions and sounds.
First, it was like I was swimming in white mist. Then it cleared, and I was on board some type of ship. Andalites were everywhere, running around on the ship, clamoring in their silent language. I sensed a great urgency. Then all of a sudden, I could hear their conversations.
I couldn't pinpoint the voice, but I saw one of the Andalites, whom I assumed to be the warrior, scrambling to the control panel. He was halfway there when the whole ship shook. Andalites were sprawled all over the bridge, and just managing to get their hooves under them when it happened again. I could hear anguished cries, but they were distant, as if they were far away. One of the Andalites got up quicker than the rest, and bellowed for order.
I assumed that he was the captain. The one whom I had identified as the warrior got up shakily and went to the control panel.
the captain shouted.
the cadet said meekly.
Falan's voice was the absolute calm of someone who has been in the military service for a long time, and has seen many battles.
was all the captain said. Then he turned away from his two underlings to face the open space. I followed his gaze, and saw three small ships circling around a black space in the stars.
came Falan's alarmed voice.
he said solemnly. The captain didn't have time to respond before the big blank space before them turned into matter. It was the biggest thing that I had ever seen. All of a sudden, a blast of red light shot from it as I was propelled away. I saw the ship with a broken dome explode into a million pieces.
For a moment, I was back in the cave, staring in astonishment at the Andalite standing in front of me. He nodded slightly at me, and I knew then that what I had seen was true. I wanted to cry. Then, white mist enveloped me again.
I was floating above a big body of water. I recognized it as the beach near where I lived. Except, it was clean, and the water was blue. I saw a pod of dolphins swimming in the water. They acted for the most part like normal dolphins, but I got the feeling that they weren't. I didn't know what they could be, but I knew that it wasn't quite right.
They jumped and frolicked in the clear blue water, like dolphins should. Then I saw a boat, with a red-tailed hawk flying above it. Then I heard it.
it repeated over and over again, each time getting weaker and weaker. The dolphins were headed right toward it. Then the host of dolphins dove beneath the surface and didn't come up for a long time.
How long I was actually there, I don't know, but where I was, about ten minutes later, people from another ship dove into the water with scuba gear on. They went the direction that the pod of dolphins had. All of a sudden, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. I didn't know what was wrong, only that something had gone wrong. About half an hour later, the pod of dolphins surfaced, but there was another sea creature with them. It was sleeker and lighter in color than the dolphins. There was a shark with them!
I was back in the cave. I hadn't fully comprehended what I had seen. The Andalite in front of me gasped for air, and its legs folded under it. I reached out to try to help it.
he gasped desperately. I still have more to show you, child.
Then I was back. The group was on the beach. I came closer, still floating in the air. The hawk landed on a low tree branch, and the dolphins and the shark beached themselves. Then they began to change.
One of the dolphins was changing more rapidly than the others. A sleek, black body was emerging from it. This one wasn't nearly grotesque as the others. This girl turned human with fins, stood up, and became human. The one to her right, a blonde-haired boy, was still laying on the ground, sloshing around, his face human with a bulge here and there. Next to him, there was a black-haired boy, almost done with his changes. He still had the tail, but was otherwise human. All told, there were four humans, and an Andalite. Then the Andalite spoke.
I couldn't hear what he had said before, or what he said after. Then, he touched each of the four humans, some of which I thought I recognized, and he began to change. Then I was somewhere else.
This time, there was no transition period. I was in an old, abandoned construction site. This time, I was walking. A small ship landed, and a ramp came down. The same set of four kids was there, but there was another one with them, smaller and sandy-haired. They ran, and hid near to where I was. From where we were, I could study them, and see what was going on.
I realized, as I stared at them, who they were. One of the girls was blonde, tall, and wearing clothes that looked like they came straight from Paris. I didn't know her, but the other one was dark-skinned and short, wearing dirty old jeans. Her name was Cassie. She was my mother! The guys next to them I didn't recognize as quickly. One of them had a shock of black hair, and stood hunched over a little, whispering to the taller blond guy. All of a sudden, they ran out to the ship, where a wounded Andalite was coming down the ramp. I watched that scene for a good five minutes, and then the boy with the blond hair went up the ramp and reappear with a blue cube. Just like the blue cube I had found. The Andalite took the small blue cube from the boy, and then he and the humans put their hands on it, and a faint light pulsed from within it.
Then the earth shook. Another ship had landed near to where they were. At a word from the injured Andalite, Cassie, Marco, and the others ran back to where they had hid before. Another Andalite emerged from the new ship, and changed into a huge, grotesque monster.
The creature reared up to its full height of about 40 feet, and the injured Andalite looked up at it without fear. The monster dwarfed the small, blue- green Andalite. And even as the ugly red and brown creature engulfed the little Andalite within its jaws, he showed no fear.
The construction site went dark again. It was a deathly quiet as the enormity of what had just happened hit the five humans. The creature began to change back into an Andalite, boarded his ship, and the ship took off. The small, sandy-haired boy cried unheedingly, while the blond guy and Marco tried very hard not to. Cassie clung to the taller blonde guy, while the taller girl stood apart from the, fists clenched at her sides.
I found myself slowly flowing away from the abandoned construction site, melting back into the dimly lit cave. I couldn't stand any longer, and my knees folded under me, and my rump hit the dirt floor.
That brought me fully back to reality. The Andalite kneeling in front of me sagged forward. I reached my hands out to support him.
he commanded quietly. He needed to recover, and there was nothing I could do for him. I was kind of worried about myself as well; I was very tired.
I did as he asked. I had a little trouble walking, but the cave walls gave me support. I finally made it out into the little clearing in front of the cave, where Loren, Marco, and the other Andalite were waiting. I staggered out into the clearing, and leaned against a tree. I closed my eyes, and tried not to cry. What I had seen would be with me the rest of my life, I knew. But it was also important. I had seen more death that day than I had in my whole life, and I knew I would see more.
"Kitty? What happened in there?" Loren asked, coming over to me. I shook my head. "You were in there an awfully long time, you know," Loren said. Marco looked a little concerned, and then the Andalite bounded off.
"Ax!" Marco called after him. All of a sudden, Loren went crashing after Ax.
"Okay, what's going on?" Marco asked accusingly. I shrugged and shook my head. His presence reminded me of what I had seen at the construction site. A tear rolled down my cheek.
"If I knew, I'd tell you," I said, trying not to sound as upset as I was. He sighed.
"What happened in there, then?" he asked. I looked at him, and saw him standing inside of an unfinished building that was just cement walls, watching an Andalite eat one of its own kind. "Can you tell me?" he asked softly. I nodded.
"I saw things," I whispered.
"What kind of things," he asked, like a father would ask a child who's just had a bad dream. I told him. I told about the dolphins, and about the construction site. Not about the Andalite ship. For some reason, I didn't want to tell him about that one.
"That's not possible," he said to himself. Just then, Ax. Loren, and my mom came crashing into the small clearing.
"All right, what's going on?" my mom growled.
"Umm, Cassie, she knows," Marco said. She stared at Marco for long moments. Then she stomped her foot on the ground.
"That's not possible," she said flatly.
I stood there staring at both Marco and my mom. I then had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I was in way over my head. The scenes that I had seen kept going through my head. I wondered what all this meant.
"Kitty? Are you all right?" Loren asked me.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I answered slowly.
"Sure you are," she said sarcastically. She shook her head and turned back to Marco and my mom.
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