Legolas>
I watched as Stacey entered the gateway back to her world. I was so overcome with emotion that I was running after her before I knew it.
"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted.
There was a blinding flash and then I saw Stacey with a gathering of people. I saw a blur of blue and felt a blade pressed to my throat. I realized then that the creature I saw earlier was holding the blade to my throat.
"Ketara stand down!" Stacey shouted.
Who are you?> the creature asked me.
"I am Legolas, prince of Mirkwood. What manner of monster are you?" I demanded.
I am War-Princess Ketara-Falan-Shayden of the Andalite homeworld.>
"Ketara! Stand down now! That is an order!"
The creature withdrew the blade which I then noticed was part of it's tail. Stacey looked at disapprovingly.
"What exactly do you think you're doing here?"
I lowered my head. "I couldn't bear being without you."
She shook her head. "You have to go back. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. If you stay you could be killed or worse." She turned to the horselike creature. "Get that portal going. He's going back now."
I cannot activate the portal. The main circuit board is fried.>
"Can you get another?"
Not without going to the Yeerk pool again.>
She threw her hands up. "Well, I guess you're stuck here until we can get the necessary parts."
"Who is this Stacey?" a girl with golden brown hair asked.
"Oh. Legolas, this is my sister Nicole and my brother Jason," she pointed to the girl with golden brown hair and a boy with brown hair.
"You hold a remarkable resemblance to Stacey," I said to Jason.
"She's my twin sister," he said.
They introduced me to the rest of the group: their cousin Michael, Stacey's friend Cheyenne, Jason's friends Travis and David. The creature known as Ketara was Stacey's cousin through Michael's father, who was the brother to Ketara's father. The only one left was a tall green creature with blades covering majority of it's body.
"Who and what is that?" I asked.
"That's Darrax. He's my... he's a Hork-Bajir," Stacey said.
I had the feeling she was hiding something about him. But what I was uncertain of. This group of children and creatures called themselves Animorphs, the only ones protecting their world from being entirely enslaved by an unseen force. They came to an agreement as to where I would stay until the gateway was repaired. Stacey spoke with her friends as we walked through the forest.
"How did you guys find me anyway?"
"Ketara built an inter-dimensional scanner to track your genetic signature," Nicole said.
"So, did you have fun?" Jason asked smiling.
"Well, if call battling trolls and Orcs fun, then yeah I did."
"You must not forget the battle we just won at Helm's Deep," I said.
"That too."
We came to a clearing in the trees and found myself staring in awe at the place before me. Strange huts were lined up next to each other, most had small lakes while others didn't. My train of thought was broken when several giant roaring creatures passed by at amazing speed. They looked like carts without horses. They seemed be confined to a narrow stone path.
"What are these things?"
"Automobiles," Cheyenne said. "We use them to cover great distances in a small amount of time."
We crossed the stone path and approached one of the strange huts which they called houses. I was led inside and introduced to Stacey's aunt Rachel and uncle Tobias. Rachel looked at me skeptically.
"Are you sure he's not a Yeerk?"
"How can he be, he's an elf."
She seemed comfortable with that answer. I could tell by looking at her eyes that she was a great warrior like Stacey. I found out later that she was a former Animorph along with Tobias. Travis' mother and Cheyenne's father were also Animorphs. I was shown my chamber and given clothes to wear (which were hideous looking). I was told it was necessary to look like everyone else so not to draw attention to myself. I changed and went downstairs where they were serving a meal. It smelled delicious and tasted just as good. Stacey seemed to enjoy it the most.
"God Rachel," she said between bites, "you have no idea how much I've missed your cooking."
She laughed. "I don't even want to know what you ate there."
After our meal was finished everyone washed up and prepared for bed. I looked at some images hanging on the wall. Some were of Rachel and Tobias with Michael. The rest were of Stacey and her family.
"That's my mom and dad before I was enslaved," Stacey said. "So much has changed."
"I know you will be successful, I have seen the determination in your eyes during battle."
She smiled. "I hope so. Get some sleep, I'll show you around tomorrow."
I bowed my head and went up to my room, which was shared with her brother and David. The bed was rather cozy and I had no problem sleeping. The next morning Stacey took me for a ride in an automoile. I didn't like the idea of being confined to such a small space, but travel was indeed faster than going on foot. I was taken to a place called a mall where people in her world buy necessary items. I enjoyed our time together, it gave me a chance to learn more about Stacey and her world. There were so many things here, most of which I did not understand, but she explained them to me as simply as she could. We sat in the food court having lunch, I asked thousands of questions, all of which she answered.
"What happened between you and Darrax?"
"He was the one I was in love with. I know it might not seem possible with all those blades, but he has a human morph he uses when we're together." She glanced over my shoulder at something. "We gotta go. Now."
"What is it?"
She stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Controllers."
I followed her out the door and to the forest. She stopped to catch her breath. I remembered her telling me about Controllers, that they were unwilling slaves to the creatures known as Yeerks. We walked hand-in-hand, listening to the soft breeze blow through the trees. I admired the many animals there, most resembled the animals back in Middle-Earth and some were completely different.
"So what do you think so far? About my world?"
"It is beautiful," I said. "But not as beautiful as you." I turned her towards me and pressed my lips to hers. "Still thinking about Darrax?"
"Who?"
I suddenly got a bad feeling. Like someone or something was watching us. The bushes around us rustled and creatures similar to Darrax and the form Stacey used for battle surrounded us. They snarled and held their blades at the ready.
"Legolas, run. Get out of here now," Stacey told me.
"I will not leave you!"
"You have to warn the others! Now go!" She looked at me, and with the voice of a leader said: "Si bado, no círar!"
As I ran I heard one of the Controllers shout to the ones who had started to chase me. "Let him go, we have the girl."
I climbed a nearby tree so I could see what was happening. Two of the creatures seized Stacey and held their blades to her throat. A man stepped into view, I recognized him from the pictures in Stacey's home. It was her father. He approached her and smiled cruely.
"Well, I see you finally made it back," he said. "And from what I hear you've brought a friend with you."
"Leave him alone you spineless freak!"
He laughed. "So you have feelings for him? That makes what I'm gonna do even more fun."
She raised one leg and kicked him in the jaw. He stumbled back, but
once he regained his composure he lunged forward and struck her down, kicking
her in the stomach. I wanted so much to help her, but she said I should
warn her friends. Her father clasped something around her neck and her
hands were bound behind her back. The creatures dragged her away. I hurried
as fast as I could to inform her friends. I only hoped nothing terrible
happened to her.
"Si bado, no círar!" ("Go now, before it's too late!")