Disclaimer I do not own Animorphs or Ben 10
Chapter 20: Plan in Action
Rachel's POV
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, along with a familiar voice behind me. "Hey, Rachel." I jumped at the contact.
It was Ben.
Yeah, yeah I know what you're all thinking. Brave Rachel jumping like a scared rabbit when some guy, who she can in fact beat into a pulp, just put his hand on her shoulder. But it's different right now. I don't know why but with all the shit that I had to deal with the past few weeks it made things a lot more different. I guess you could say that I was pretty stressed out.
"Whoa, why're you so jumpy?" He asked me, as I turned around to face him.
I gave a small smile, my cheeks warming slightly. "No, you just surprised me, that's all. I was just thinking about something, it's nothing."
He flashed a bright smile at me. Gosh, it was such a nice smile. "Anyway, if you see Lilly or James tell them that I can't make it to the convention this weekend."
"Oh, sure." I said my smile growing slightly. "Anything else?" I asked.
"Nah, that's pretty much it." Then he said. "Hey, thanks." Putting his hand on my arm, before turning to leave.
I walked down the hall for a bit, turning around to see if he was gone, then I went inside an empty classroom and I started to beat myself up. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I hissed. "What the hell is wrong with me? He is a morphing alien who is on the Yeerk's side!" The skin of my arm where he touched still tingled slightly, I rubbed the feeling away as best as I could. I was angry at myself. "Fuck!" I slammed my fist onto the teacher's desk.
X
I sat at the dining table, absentmindedly playing with my food. Supermarket roast chicken and instant mashed potatoes with veggies. Jordan and Sarah both downing their food like there was no tomorrow, well they avoided the vegetables anyway. Mom ate at a snail's pace while looking over some documents on the table. When the two little girls were through they abandoned their plates and rushed to the living room. I heard the click then hum of the TV turning on followed the music of a cartoon show played, floating into the dining room.
I sighed and picked up their plates and brought them to the sink. Washing the dishes, not paying much attention to the task at hand.
Inside my room, I was alone with my thoughts. Torn between wanting to go through with our plan to deal with Ben like any other enemy or to try and stop the others. I don't understand why I was thinking like this.
You have to understand, I've known the guy for several weeks now and he's fun to be with. He jokes around a lot like Marco, but without the annoying bit. He's really nice and there is just something about him that makes my spine tingle, like someone was sending a current of electricity through it, but I'm still not sure if it's in a good way or in a a bad way.
I'm just not sure anymore. I like him, but do I really like him in That way? Even though that now we're sure that he is on the Yeerk's side, I just can't help but think about him as a normal guy and besides if he was with the Yeerks, shouldn't his ability to morph make him a pretty high ranked Yeerk? So why doesn't he go and attend the Sharing meetings? And how did Tobias even know that Ben did use the tunnels of the Yeerk pool to get back home? None of it seemed to add up.
I rolled onto my side and stared out the window, my thoughts still running through my head. I heard the hoot of an owl echoing through the night.
X
All six of us were again at Cassie's barn, today was the day were going to plan on how we were gonna deal with Ben.
"We need a way to keep him from morphing." Said Jake.
"But how are we gonna do that?" Asked Marco. "It's not like we got a indestructible jail cell that we can keep him in for three days." I had the sudden urge to slap him on the back of the head, but he was sitting on the other end of the barn.
"Marco's right." Said Cassie. "If we can't find a way to keep him contained, he's probably just morph and escape wherever we put him."
"Yeah, he could probably just morph into that walking fireball and walk out of there, if he doesn't turn us into roasted marshmallows first." Said Marco.
"I know where we can bring him." Said Cassie unexpectedly. "There's a cave in the forest that we could use, and Ax could keep guard over him." She said looking at me.
"Maybe a tail-blade next to his throat would do the trick." Said Marco, miming Ax's tail-blade to his own throat. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I was pretty sure he wasn't.
(That could be an option.) Answered Ax.
Goddamn it Ax just what kind of answer is that? "But is that really the only way?" I asked them.
"We need to question him." Answered Jake. "How is he able to morph? Where did he get his ability? Are there any more Yeerks who have the same kind of host? We can't interrogate him without something to keep him in our possession."
"I guess you're right." I straightened up on my seat, brushing some hair away from my face. "So, before we even think about what to do with him afterwards. How in hell are we gonna capture him in the first place?" A deep part of me secretly hoped that they'd have trouble thinking of a plan and at least delay it for a while.
(I say we'd better hit him hard and fast and knock him out while he's in his human morph.) Said Tobias, lifting his head up from under his wing.
"Good idea Tobias." It was Marco. "We should do it after he's done doing." He waved his hand inarticulately. "Whatever he's doing at that field." Then he looked over towards Cassie and asked. "Do you think our wolf morphs are enough?"
"Probably, we could distract him long enough for Ax to knock him out with his tail."
"I was thinking more of going gorilla and giving him a good bonk on the noggin." Said Marco grinning.
"You'd be too slow." I said, then added. "Not like you are already." Marco was about to say something back at me when Jake said.
"Good, now we have a game plan, so our only problem now is finding out when he is going back to the field or if he's ever gonna go back at all."
"Wait a minute, aren't we forgetting one thing, oh great leader?" Said Marco, and everyone looked over at him. "What are we gonna do about his parents and not to mention the Yeerks, they are gonna freak if they find out he's missing."
The rest of us were quiet for a moment, going over with what Marco had mentioned, until Cassie said. "I don't think we have to worry much about that." Everyone gave her a questioning look, then she explained. "He's new in town, so they don't have too many people to ask about his whereabouts. He can probably disappear for three days and we won't be singled out if anyone asks any questions."
She made sense, it wasn't like the time Jake was infested. This time was riskier, unlike the time with Jake, this time they know that Ben is one of them and from our guesses they were definitely gonna spend a lot of effort trying to find him. But with Jake, everyone knows that we're friends and we were gonna be getting the brunt of the questions, so we really had to get Ax to impersonate him for the three days. But with Ben, sure they were gonna ask us questions, but we wouldn't be the main target. The more I thought about it the more it evened out.
"But what if they send people to search the forest?" I asked.
Cassie gave a small shrug. "They can't search the entire forest in three days, they've already tried, and probably by the time they stumble on the cave we'll probably be finished by then."
"It could work." Said Jake, looking down at the floor. "But we'd better be ready to answer any questions in case we're asked, alright?" We all nodded. "Now we just need to know when to ambush him."
(It seems that we have no choice, but to wait and hope that he will be back at the field on the same day we are waiting for him.) Said Ax.
We were back at the field. Everything was ready, a few days earlier we checked out the cave the Cassie talked about and made all the necessary preparations for when we caught him. Jake made us go though the plan several times making sure that we knew what to do, because if we didn't manage to get him on the first strike we really might not make it out of there alive. But that was what I lived for whenever we went out on missions, the rush and the thrill of the fight, one small mistake and someone could die, but not now, this time I was unsure whether or not I wanted to go though with it.
On that day, none of us had very high hopes that he was gonna be there, but a sinking feeling in my stomach made me think otherwise.
We got there in the late morning, because before heading out we checked our preparations making sure everything was ready, ugh I hate waking up early on saturdays. All of us were spread out around the field in our bird morphs, we were gonna morph to wolf when Ben arrives and wait to attack then. Though all of us thought that were were gonna be waiting for a few hours with the notion that he might not come at all, my gut feeling turned out to be right.
Ben came within sight from between the trees, but this time he wasn't in morph, but he had brought a bike with him. Okay, now for an alien with the ability to morph into any creature or one with access to space travel, that was pretty bizarre.
(Alright, everyone get into your positions.) Said Jake.
I gazed at Ben for a moment longer. He still wore his usual outfit, white jacket, black shirt and jeans. Normally it would seem weird that he wore the same thing everyday, creepy even, but it looked good on him.
Flying off my perch, I flew far enough to keep out of sight then I demorphed and began morphing wolf.
There in the forest, barefoot wearing nothing but a leotard, I concentrated on the wolf DNA that coursed through my bloodstream, picturing a wolf in my head. The changes were gradual, but immediate. The first thing to change were my limbs, they thinned down and my bones elongated, while my muscles stretched. I stood upright for a moment before losing my balance and fell forwards. I felt the creaking of bones and tendons shifting, along with the feel of organs moving around in my torso. I looked down and watched as my nails grew and curved into claws. My hands began changing as well, my fingers became thicker and shorter, and at that moment they looked like pale hairless paws. I felt a popping sensation behind me as my tail grew out of my body. Then I just noticed that my vision started to change, it was like the way a TV would start to freak out and change from color to monotone. I also felt my hair shrink back into my skull and run up my shoulders. My mouth and face also started to change, stretching and reforming, then like an explosion, my brain was on sensory overload I could smell everything from the grass, the trees and nearby animals. At this point I was mostly wolf, and my fur was the last thing to appear along with me shrinking down to size. Then finally the only consistent thing with morphing is when the Animal's mind and instincts kick in when I finish morphing. Quickly taking a hold of myself, I made my way silently through the forest, half following the direction I came from and half following my nose to the field.
When the field came into sight between the trees, my walk became a slow, and if it were even possible, even more silent slink.
(Is everyone here?) It was Marco this time.
(Yeah, we're ready.) Said Cassie. Even though we couldn't see each other we could still communicate through thought speech.
This was our plan, once he was back in his human form, whomever was closest would tackle and distract him for just long enough for Ax, or if one of us was lucky enough to do it, to knock him out.
Unfortunately by the time he finished messing around, I was the one who was going to tackle him.
(Lucky you Rachel, seems like you'll be the one to get in the first hit.) Said Marco.
(Shut it, midget. I'm concentrating) I retorted, forcing some glee into my words to make it seem like I wanted it to happen. Crap, I was really hoping that this wouldn't happen. I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts, while the wolf mind was calm and clear. It or should I say I could smell Ben's scent in the breeze, the wolf mind just thought of him as some kind of danger or likely prey, and me? I wasn't thinking at all, I was just taking deep breaths of it, my mind went almost completely blank. I probably would have just stood there is it weren't for Cassie.
(Rachel! What's wrong? He's right in front of you!)
(Huh? What?) I sputtered.
(Hello? Earth to Rachel, get him while his back is turned!) Yelled Marco.
(Oh, right.) I jumped out of the bushes, snarling at Ben.
"What the?!" He yelled as he turned around to the sound of my snarl. In the corner of my eye I could see others jumping out of their hiding spots and sprinting towards Ben. The wolf mind became more confident when it saw others of its kind racing towards Ben, now to the wolf this was just another hunt.
He stumbled backwards and I leapt into the air, teeth bared. I flew literally thirteen feet, then my large paws slammed onto his chest and he fell back on the ground. I stared into his eyes for a short moment before quickly jumping off, his eyes were wide at what was happening to him and he started to scramble backwards. I kept playing the part and let out a low growl. The rest of us had him surrounded, not giving any quarter to get back up and run, growling and snarling to tell him that there was more of us.
(Hurry up Ax!) Yelled Jake.
Ben looked around at us, probably looking for the source of Jake's thought speech. For a moment I thought I saw him get a glance at Ax before he was knocked out by a swift strike to the back of the head with Ax's tail blade. Ben's body slumped to the ground like a rag doll.
(Good job everyone.) Said Jake. When we were all through demorphing, he continued. "Now we got to tie him up get him to the cave before he wakes up." Then he asked. "Could someone get the rope?"
"Well that was easier than I thought. I actually can't believe it was that easy, can you guys believe how easy that was?" It was Marco.
(No worry bro, I already got it.) Said Tobias, dropping down the rope on top of Ben's unconscious form. (Man that thing's heavy.)
"Come on let's get this over with." Said Marco, turning Ben so that he was face up on the ground. I kneeled down and helped tie him up, trying to be gentle. Once the ropes were securely tied, Ax walked over and used his tail to lift Ben with the help of Marco and lay him on his back like a sack of potatoes.
"You sure you're alright with this Ax?" Asked Jake.
(It is no trouble, Prince Jake. It's the quickest way that we'll be able to bring him to the cave.)
"If you say so, Ax."
Ax walked off, then his walk became a trot, then a canter. Ben bounced and shook at the bumpy ride on Ax's back. Even though it wasn't a full on gallop that had to be uncomfortable, I remember from the time that Cassie tried teaching how to ride on horseback, even a slow trot was really bumpy and then it was even worse when. . . Well let's just say it was really uncomfortable and that you'll probably never find me riding a horse ever again.
The rest of us watched Ax disappear into the forest for a moment, before relaxing for a bit. Jake took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
"Well, that went better than I thought." He said before sitting on the ground. "I really thought that he was gonna put up more of a fight."
"Yeah, I'm surprised that he actually didn't morph and just kill us." Said Marco, giving a hollow laugh.
"I'm just glad that we didn't have to really hurt him." Said Cassie, as usual the pacifist of our little group, but I guess she's what kept us from doing certain things that we were gonna regret.
"Yeah, well come on. Let's go and meet up with Ax at the cave." Said Jake, extending his hand out to Marco who pulled him up to his feet.
We all morphed back into our bird morphs and left the field. We were all quiet on the trip back, but it wasn't because of what we just did, but what we were gonna do for the next couple of days. We really thought that he was a great guy, but now it's come to this. He might be new around town and we've only known him for two or three months, but then we became friends, this was gonna be hard.
We made it to the cave before Ax, which wasn't surprising since it was at least fifteen miles away from the field and a couple more away from the town. We had made a small camp near the entrance, we brought some supplies; food, water, and some clothes to change into. It wasn't much, but it's not like all of us were going to be staying there for three days.
We all demorphed and did whatever we were supposed to so. Cassie started to prepare a fire, she was the most outdoorsy of us, so she was perfect for the job. I saw Jake go inside the cave that Cassie had shown us, the entrance was small and we had to crouch down a bit to get in, and the cave itself was almost twenty feet in through a tunnel. It wasn't huge, but the inside was high enough that even Ax could stand up straight in it. It was around fifteen feet from wall to wall, had a couple tiny stalagmites and stalactites in one corner and was thankfully dry. Like she said, it was perfect. Marco was rummaging through the food we brought, he found a chocolate bar and devoured it, downing a can of Coca-Cola along with it. I went and put on some warmer clothes, before sitting down on the ground and watched Cassie make the fire. The twigs and dried leaves smoked and smoldered, until Cassie coaxed it into life. She then started to add more twigs then pieces of wood to the small fire.
Ax arrived with Ben almost two hours later. Most of us had some proper clothes on by now with our morphing suits just under them. When I got a better look at Ben on Ax's back, hIs jacket was draped over covering his head, a few leaves and twigs caught in it, and his arms dangled, swaying back and forth from the bumpy ride.
We helped Ax get Ben off his back, checking the ropes on his arms and legs, and then Jake and Marco carried him into the cave. Marco held a camping kerosine lamp by the handle in the crook of his elbow, while Jake held a small flashlight. When they both came back out, Jake asked Ax.
"Did he wake up on the way back?"
(No, Prince Jake. He remained unconscious throughout the entire journey.)
"That's good. Now we just need to wait for him to wake up then we can start asking questions." Then he asked. "Are you ready Ax?"
(I am, Prince Jake. But I think I should rest and graze for a little while, before I enter the cave.)
"Alright, but you should be in there when he wakes up, so he won't try to escape."
(Yes, Prince Jake.) then Ax trotted off, presumably to find some grass.
I separated myself from the others and went inside the cave. The tunnel to get inside it wasn't very tall, but it was wide enough so that is was easy to go through. The inside of the tunnel was pretty dim and there was a sharp turn just before you entered the cave. When I got in and straightened, it was fairly lit up, Jake or Marco had lit the lamp and hung on one of the stalagmites. I saw Ben propped up to a sitting position with his back against the cave wall, his head resting on his shoulder. The orange glow of the lamp made his sleeping face look so peaceful. I knelt down next to him to get a closer look at his features in the lamplight, careful not to block the orange glow, my stomach fluttered inside of me with excitement. Then without realizing it, I slowly, tentatively reached out to cup his cheek. My heart began to race inside my chest, the sound pounding in my ears. My head went completely blank, my eyes never leaving his face, the soft glow of the lamp flickered, it was almost hypnotic. I felt my fingertips touch his face and it was almost like electricity running up my arm and going through my entire body, and I froze in place. What in the world am I doing? This is wrong, I shouldn't be doing this. Why am I acting this way? He's with the Yeerks! Oh god, what if the other's saw me like this? What would they say? Are they gonna trust me with guarding him after this?
I quickly pulled my arm back and slowly backed away from him. letting go of the breath that I didn't realize I was holding. I backed out of the cave and quickly turned and left. I wasn't sure before, and now, I was even less sure about this. When I got out I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight and waited for them to adjust. Afterwards I joined the other Animorphs and grabbed a drink from the stuff that we brought. Trying to act normal around the rest.
A couple of hours passed as we waited for Ben to wake up. Ax was already inside the cave and keeping watch, while the rest of us talked about normal stuff to pass the time. At that time we talked about what movies that were coming out and which one we wanted to see. Until we heard Ax's thought speech.
(Prince Jake, he's waking up.)
Author's Notes: Hey guys! Sorry for not getting a chapter out in over a month. How do you think about this chapter? I have been reading a few romancy/fluffy fics for the past few weeks, so I got inspired. Tell me how I did!
Also since over here it is now summer (Whoo hoo!) and I have loads of free time, I hoped to get back to uploading chapters more often. This right here is the pace that I originally wanted the story to progress (Albeit a bit faster than what I would've liked, but if it continued at the same pace as before this story is gonna end up being as long as the Harry Potter series!), but I got lazy then the plot movement slowly slid to a glaciers pace. But not anymore! I will move it faster now and this story will get the treatment it deserves!
To those who are trying to tell me to write this in less POVs I say I will still use everyone's POV, BUT there will be less repetitions. It's because there are some things that I rather have in the others POV than just Ben's, since this is not really centered around him. Also, I started this story that way and I will end it that way! So hope all of you are excited for my new motivation for this story and hope to see you all soon in the next chapter! Again I'm sorry for the super slow update as well as slow plot development, And Remember!
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