I was enjoying a very nice evening. I had just finished my nightly rituals, and soon it would be my turn to watch Rachel's bedroom window. Sometimes an Andalite can think best when left in solitude, with a fresh field of tasty grass, and cool night air. For all the incredible tastes that humans have created, there is something about the traditional aspect of eating in Andalite form that is comforting.
Unfortunately, I was interrupted.
‹Ax! Aaaaaaax! Help me! I'm falling!› I heard Rachel yell in thought-speak.
I was immediately on alert. Clearly, plans had changed. However, with thought-speak, unlike vocal communication, it can be very difficult to perceive the location of the speaker. That, combined with the black surroundings of the dense woods, made it difficult to find her.
Although, the screech of a kafit bird ringing in the night is something that every Andalite knows very well. I took off in that direction as fast as my hooves could carry me.
I burst out of some dense brush and surveyed the chaotic scene in front of me.
A bald eagle and a peregrine falcon were badly mangled, lying next to each other on the dirt ground with broken twigs and branches surrounding them. Rachel, apparently, no longer needed to be caught. Hovering above them, and getting closer, was a kafit bird, which I knew to be Zenguh.
‹Yeerk!› I called out, my body and tail stiff with anticipation of a fight.
Zenguh turned to me, his many wings flapping to keep in the air next to the broken tree.
‹Yet another Andalite bandit!› Zenguh sneered. ‹Come to die with your friends? Perhaps you are the 'Ax' that this one was screaming for?›
I said nothing to him, but directed a private message to Prince Jake, the crumpled falcon on the ground.
‹Prince Jake, do not move,› I directed. ‹Your falcon morph is no match for a kafit bird.›
‹Are you telling me what to do, Ax?› Jake asked.
‹Yes.›
There was anger in my voice, but not directed at Prince Jake. This Yeerk, this vile creature that had made a mockery of the Andalite morphing technology, had been on my home planet.
Seeming to sense my thoughts, Zenguh continued talking to me.
‹Admiring my morph choice, Andalite?› Zenguh instigated, looking for a reaction. ‹This was my most recent acquisition, until the shard was stolen from me. How does it feel knowing that I can come and go to your precious home world whenever I choose?›
At this point, Zenguh had completely turned toward me. The only sound in the air was his wings and the echoing calls of insects in the surrounding trees, and he dove toward me.
THWACK!
THWACK! THWACKTHWACKTHWACKTHWACK!
I was striking with my tail as fast as I could to block the onslaught of claw-tipped wings that had suddenly surrounded me. Zenguh bit and tore at me with surprising speed, considering the size of the bird morph he was using. Back home, the kafit is a relatively peaceful bird, not particularly menacing, but with the many minds that Zenguh had, he attacked with a fierceness that seemed out of place with such a body.
THWACK!
‹Ax, we can't move, but we can't demorph,› Prince Jake said. ‹He can't know any more of us are human.›
‹Well, you can't,› Rachel quipped. ‹But I can. He already knows me.›
‹No, Rachel,› Prince Jake demanded. ‹You'll be too vulnerable mid-morph. Let's trust Ax.›
Trust Ax, I thought. I was happy to have earned my place with the Animorphs after so many battles. I hoped I could make my prince proud, now.
‹How'd you know to find us, Jake?› I heard Rachel ask, as I blocked another round of attacks from Zenguh.
‹Tobias showed up just a few minutes after you left your window,› Prince Jake said. ‹I can't believe I let you leave. I should have seen it coming. Sorry I took so long. I saw Marco, and sent him to get Cassie.›
I ducked to avoid a clawed end of one of the kafit's wings, but was not fast enough for the second swipe. I felt a sharp pain on the side of my face.
‹Prince Jake,› I gasped. ‹I do not want to alarm you, but I may have a hard time holding off Zenguh by myself.›
‹Speaking of Tobias, he should be here any moment,› Prince Jake said.
That's when I saw movement fly over my head, and the shape collided with Zenguh's many-winged body.
‹Yeeeeeee-hawwww!› Tobias yelled, as he brought the bird down in a tangle of wings, using his Hork-Bajir morph. ‹The calvary is here!› He had leapt out of a tree, directly onto Zenguh!
‹There we go,› Prince Jake commented.
Tobias took a step back, aimed his elbow blade, and let loose a perfect slice through the air and into one of Zenguh's wings, lopping it off entirely.
Zenguh roared both in thought-speak and out loud, causing the surrounding insects to go silent.
Tobias looked at me and said, ‹Hi, Ax. Need help?›
I was very happy to see my shorm, my best friend.
‹Another one?› Zenguh said, trying to hide the pain in his voice. ‹How many of you Andalite bandits are there? Shut up! Shut up! Just give me my shard back, already!›
He sounded like he wasn't sure which of us to address, and his thought-speak was all over the place. Meanwhile, the combination of blades between Tobias and myself was enough to push Zenguh back, until he finally, angrily, took to the air. The spot where he was missing a wing was spouting green blood, but he had enough other wings to keep flying.
‹Fine,› Zenguh said, suddenly calm. ‹I don't need this. I don't need you. And I don't need the shard! You Andalite Bandits are too much trouble; I have other plans!› With that he turned around and began flapping away, his large wings propelling him quickly toward the night sky.
‹Prince Jake, Rachel, demorph!› I said quickly. ‹He's retreating.›
‹Thanks, Ax, you saved our butts,› Prince Jake answered. ‹We can't lose him again!›
‹And Tobias! Hooray for Tobias!› Tobias added quietly.
‹Marco and Cassie aren't here, yet,› Rachel said. ‹What do we do?›
‹Ax, Tobias, you guys are one morph away from being able to follow Zenguh,› Prince Jake said. ‹You're the fastest option.›
Prince Jake thought a little bit more. It seemed difficult for him to thought-speak through his injuries.
‹On second thought, Tobias, hang back,› Prince Jake added. ‹I like him not knowing that you're still alive. Ax, go! We'll catch up somehow.›
‹Yes, Prince Jake,› I said, already morphing to northern harrier before he spoke. Tobias walked over to Prince Jake and Rachel, protectively, and offered words of encouragement as they demorphed.
‹Go, Ax,› Prince Jake said again.
I flew.
