"My best friend and my cousin. How sweet."
It was later, in Cassie's barn, and Jake and Cassie were lapping the whole thing up, like I knew they would.
"Sweet? You call this sweet?" Marco cried in mock outrage. This isn't sweet. This is passion. This is intensity. This is-"
"A nightmare." I finished.
Marco didn't miss a beat. "Well, maybe we didn't plan on having children until later, but that's what happens . . ."
"Want to see what happens if I break off your-"
"Oook." Jake interrupted. "Maybe we don't need to hear that."
I know I don't. Tobias said from up in the rafters.
"Don't pay attention, kiddies," Marco said, plopping himself down in my lap. "We all know Rachel wouldn't hurt me."
I shoved Marco off, and he fell and landed on a rake. "Ouch!"
Everyone laughed, except Ax, who looked puzzled.
What is the purpose of these robotic infants? he asked.
"To make us think more about . . .uh . . . doing things that might make us end up with children." Cassie explained.
I see. But isn't reproduction necessary to keep up your population?
"Well, yes. But we shouldn't have kids until we're ready." Cassie was looking a little flustered.
Are your bodies not developed yet?
"No. Most people are by our age."
Then I do not understand.
"That's probably a good thing, Ax-man." Marco said from the bail of hay he was now lounging on. "Humans SHOULD have some secrets, what with all the things Andalites tend to keep hidden."
"Waaahhhhn. Waaahhhhn."
WHAT is THAT? Tobias asked.
"It's crying," Marco looked at the baby carrier. "And it's NOT my turn to take care of it."
I glared at him, but knew he was right. I grabbed the diaper bag and the baby. First I changed its diaper. Naturally, the crying didn't stop. I tried the bottle next. I was careful to line up the metal bits on the bottle with the metal bits in the baby's mouth so it "knew" it was being fed. Finally, the thing stopped crying.
"You know, I think one of my cousins used to have one of those." Cassie said. "Amazing Amy or Amazing Ally, or something like that."
"I bet theirs didn't keep track of neglect time." Marco said.
"And I bet your cousin didn't have to work with Marco."
"Hey, not everyone gets that kind of honor."
"HONOR?"
Just as Marco was explaining to me exactly WHY it was such an honor to be paired with him, it happened.
A loud roaring noise, like . . . well, like a spaceship taking off.
Or landing.
Marco had his hands over his ears. "What is that?" he yelled.
Jake shrugged, and then ran out of the barn. Everyone but Ax followed him. Ax started to morph to human.
A redheaded girl was standing a couple of yards away, her large green eyes opened wide in shock. She had a kitty carrier in one hand, and a neon green shoulder bag draped over her shoulder. Her long hair was blowing every which way.
When I stepped closer to where I thought the sound was coming from, I felt a wave of heat rush at me. Since I couldn't step any closer, I reached out a hand to see if I could feel anything. The skin on my hand turned red and blistered. I yelled and yanked my hand back.
"It's like an invisible spaceship!" Cassie yelled.
"Hologram!"
"Who the hell is that?"
The roar was deafening now. I could see Marco was yelling something, but I couldn't hear a word of it. I felt something warm and wet trickling down my neck. My ears were bleeding. My eardrums must have burst. The pain was incredible, but not my biggest problem. When I morphed, my hand and ears would be back to normal.
I wasn't just hearing the roar now, though. I could feel a giant wind force pushing me back, until finally I was literally blown off my feet. I flew back and into Marco. We were both blown back until he hit the barn wall. I was pinning him against it.
The hologram hiding the ship flickered, then disappeared.
"Holy shit." Marco said. This time I heard him, because, ironically, now I was more or less sitting on his lap.
The space ship was house shaped. It was about the height of a three-story house, but somehow it looked like someone had forgot to put in the second and third floors, so it was basically just a house with a very high roof.
There was a front door to the house. It actually looked like a real front door you might find on a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Except one thing.
It was about ten feet tall.
It was later, in Cassie's barn, and Jake and Cassie were lapping the whole thing up, like I knew they would.
"Sweet? You call this sweet?" Marco cried in mock outrage. This isn't sweet. This is passion. This is intensity. This is-"
"A nightmare." I finished.
Marco didn't miss a beat. "Well, maybe we didn't plan on having children until later, but that's what happens . . ."
"Want to see what happens if I break off your-"
"Oook." Jake interrupted. "Maybe we don't need to hear that."
I know I don't. Tobias said from up in the rafters.
"Don't pay attention, kiddies," Marco said, plopping himself down in my lap. "We all know Rachel wouldn't hurt me."
I shoved Marco off, and he fell and landed on a rake. "Ouch!"
Everyone laughed, except Ax, who looked puzzled.
What is the purpose of these robotic infants? he asked.
"To make us think more about . . .uh . . . doing things that might make us end up with children." Cassie explained.
I see. But isn't reproduction necessary to keep up your population?
"Well, yes. But we shouldn't have kids until we're ready." Cassie was looking a little flustered.
Are your bodies not developed yet?
"No. Most people are by our age."
Then I do not understand.
"That's probably a good thing, Ax-man." Marco said from the bail of hay he was now lounging on. "Humans SHOULD have some secrets, what with all the things Andalites tend to keep hidden."
"Waaahhhhn. Waaahhhhn."
WHAT is THAT? Tobias asked.
"It's crying," Marco looked at the baby carrier. "And it's NOT my turn to take care of it."
I glared at him, but knew he was right. I grabbed the diaper bag and the baby. First I changed its diaper. Naturally, the crying didn't stop. I tried the bottle next. I was careful to line up the metal bits on the bottle with the metal bits in the baby's mouth so it "knew" it was being fed. Finally, the thing stopped crying.
"You know, I think one of my cousins used to have one of those." Cassie said. "Amazing Amy or Amazing Ally, or something like that."
"I bet theirs didn't keep track of neglect time." Marco said.
"And I bet your cousin didn't have to work with Marco."
"Hey, not everyone gets that kind of honor."
"HONOR?"
Just as Marco was explaining to me exactly WHY it was such an honor to be paired with him, it happened.
A loud roaring noise, like . . . well, like a spaceship taking off.
Or landing.
Marco had his hands over his ears. "What is that?" he yelled.
Jake shrugged, and then ran out of the barn. Everyone but Ax followed him. Ax started to morph to human.
A redheaded girl was standing a couple of yards away, her large green eyes opened wide in shock. She had a kitty carrier in one hand, and a neon green shoulder bag draped over her shoulder. Her long hair was blowing every which way.
When I stepped closer to where I thought the sound was coming from, I felt a wave of heat rush at me. Since I couldn't step any closer, I reached out a hand to see if I could feel anything. The skin on my hand turned red and blistered. I yelled and yanked my hand back.
"It's like an invisible spaceship!" Cassie yelled.
"Hologram!"
"Who the hell is that?"
The roar was deafening now. I could see Marco was yelling something, but I couldn't hear a word of it. I felt something warm and wet trickling down my neck. My ears were bleeding. My eardrums must have burst. The pain was incredible, but not my biggest problem. When I morphed, my hand and ears would be back to normal.
I wasn't just hearing the roar now, though. I could feel a giant wind force pushing me back, until finally I was literally blown off my feet. I flew back and into Marco. We were both blown back until he hit the barn wall. I was pinning him against it.
The hologram hiding the ship flickered, then disappeared.
"Holy shit." Marco said. This time I heard him, because, ironically, now I was more or less sitting on his lap.
The space ship was house shaped. It was about the height of a three-story house, but somehow it looked like someone had forgot to put in the second and third floors, so it was basically just a house with a very high roof.
There was a front door to the house. It actually looked like a real front door you might find on a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Except one thing.
It was about ten feet tall.