A/N: Arg, sorry for the delay in this chapter, it has been a rough week! I've been so busy between work and other things that I have not had any time to work on this at all! I've been trying to read a few good books before summer is out and school starts again and my goal of finishing this seems to be pushed back, since I haven't even looked at any new chapters in a week…sighs Anywho, I just wanted to let you all know that this story is not on the backburner, I still have a couple more chapters to post before I'm caught up to where I am currently at. I was working so diligently I had to take a break from it because the newest chapters weren't coming out right. But hopefully I'll be able to write a few more chapters this weekend, b/c I finally got a few days off work where I can relax and write to this some more! So YAY! All I ask is that you be patient with me a few more days and hopefully you'll see another chapter a lot sooner! I really didn't mean for this to be so long between posts! Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 20
Tobias
((Tobias?)) A voice echoed in my mind.
((Argh.)) I groaned as I resumed consciousness and opened my eyes. All four of them.
((Tobias, you must morph back. You have only approximately two of your minutes left.)) Ax told me, urgently.
I worked through the fog that gathered in my mind and concentrated on the hawk DNA inside of me and felt the changes begin. I was back to my own body moments later.
((How are you feeling Tobias?)) Ax asked me, looking concerned.
I had to pause and think about the question. Honestly? I felt fine. My mind was still muddled from loosing consciousness, but other than that…I felt nothing unusual. I shared this with Ax and he looked slightly relieved.
((Any hopes of getting out of here?)) I asked him. I saw Ax looking back at me, a faint look of concern and regret still there.
((Ax?))
((I am sorry Tobias.))
About…?
((I tried to))
((Ax, there was nothing you could have done. I'm fine. Honestly. Let's figure out a way out of here and we can talk about this later.)) I suggested and I saw Ax give me his strange, yet familiar, Andalite smile. With my hawk hearing, I could pick up the sound of a tiger roaring and dracon beams being fired. Ax and I looked at the door and then back at each other, Ax's smile was more noticeable now.
At the same time we looked away, the door to our 'cell' was pulled off. Literally. I knew it had to be a by-product of the Chee. None of our morphs, not even Rachel's elephant could have pulled that metal door off the hinges like that. Ax ran out of the cell and I concentrated on morphing. There was no way a red-tailed hawk was going to fair well in this place. As I was half completed with my hork bajir morph, a grizzly bear came barreling through the now open doorway.
((Tobias!))
I finished the morph and answered her back with an ((I'm fine Rachel.))
((Are you really?)) She asked me.
((Yes. Now come on, let's go.)) I said and we left and together with the other Animorphs, we fought ourselves out of the building with minimal damage.
Erek projected a hologram around us while we demorphed. Most people would find it odd to see a kid, a hork bajir or 'alien', grizzly bear, gorilla, tiger, and a wolf walking down the street together.
"Are you guys ok?" Jake asked Ax and I. Ax went to his human morph and I stayed as a hawk. I had this funny feeling all the sudden that didn't go away. I wasn't sure what it was, but I just ignored it.
((Yeah.)) I told the others. ((We're fine.)) Ax looked at me but he said nothing. I could see the accusation there. He felt I was lying and keeping things from my 'prince'; but I wasn't lying. Not really, we're fine. Both of us. The others don't need to know I was injected with a 'disease' that didn't even work. But I was grateful for Ax's silence. I didn't want Rachel to worry about me; more than she already does.
The others began to leave and I was about to take off when Rachel stopped me.
"Don't go Tobias." She said. "Walk with me." Her blue eyes were pleading and I knew she was worried about me more than she would tell me. I sighed mentally and morphed to human. After I completed the morph, my head felt slightly woozy and for a moment, I thought I was going to be dizzy but it passed as soon as it came. Rachel kept looking at me, a concerned look present in her eyes.
I gave her a small smile. "Let's go." I said and she took my hand in hers and we walked behind the others in companionable silence.
Thanks to:
GenesisDragon: I hope I cleared things up, but it doesn't seem like I did. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
rockergurl13: You're probably on track if I'm thinking you're thinking what I'm thinking…if that makes any sense, lol!
kole17: I'm glad you stumbled across my story and enjoyed it.
Quillian: As always, it's a pleasure to see you're reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come, I promise.
LucreziaNoin86: I am now on a mission to be able to spell you're A/N without double and triple checking every post by the end of this story. :D I hope you enjoyed and 'we'll see what happens next' shortly. ;D