Disclaimer I do not own Animorphs or Ben 10
Chapter 22: Ambushed
Ben's POV
Oh man, just my luck.
It started to rain, lightly at first, then it started to pour down on me. I covered my head with my jacket and ran to the closest shelter I could find. Luckily there was a Mcdonalds nearby. It was pleasantly cool and the smell of fried chicken and french fries permeated the air. I took off my jacket and shook off as much water from it as I could. Small flecks splattered on my face, then I shook my head like a dog, drying my hair.
I hung my jacket over my shoulder and walked up to the counter. At first I thought about just getting some fries or something to give me an excuse to stay here while it rained.
"Welcome to Mcdonalds, may I take your order?" Said the girl standing at the cash register. She was a bit taller than me, with a heart shaped face, curly brown hair tied into a ponytail, and bright hazel eyes.
She was the only one at the counter at the time. I looked up at the menu board behind her and scanned for what I wanted. I just needed an excuse to stay in here and wait until the rain let up.
"Just a large fries and a Coke." I said, grabbing my wallet from a pocket.
"Will that be all?" She asked, as she punched my order in the register.
I was about to answer, but then my stomach gave a loud growl. God, this is so embarrassing. I looked down, avoiding eye contact, feeling my cheeks warm up. The girl at the counter giggled.
"You sure that'll be all?" She asked, chuckling a bit. I looked up back at her and she had a small grin on her face. Now I felt even more embarrassed.
"I guess not." I said, trying to shake off my embarrassment, I rubbed the back of my head and gave a small smile as I started to calm down a bit.
"You're pretty cute." Pausing for a moment, then said."So what'll it be?" She raised up an eyebrow questioningly.
"I guess I'll have a Big-mac."
"Alrighty then." She said, adding it to my order.
I gave her the money and she went off to get my order. I leaned over the counter, resting on my elbows while I watched her move around, then looked out the window and saw that the rain was getting harder.
Then I heard the girl ask me something.
"What?" I responded, not catching the question.
"I asked, are you new around here?"
"Yeah, just moved here about a month or two ago. Why'd you ask?"
"We get a quite a few regulars here, and I've seen you pass by a few times the past few weeks. So how do you find it here?"
"It's alright."
"Yeah, it's pretty quiet here. Not too much going on, but it's nice." She looked into the bin where they kept the fries. "Oh damn it."
"Hm?"
"We're out of fries." She answered. "Do you mind waiting a bit while I fry up some?"
"Go ahead." I said. I looked around the counters and looked over to the kitchen, not seeing anyone, it was weird. "Are you the only one here?" I asked her.
"No, but I'm the only one on the job right now, while the Other Guys" She raised her voice towards the back of the place. "Are lazing around in the back." She dumped the fries into the fryer.
"Aren't they gonna get into trouble?"
"Well our manager called in sick, and they know that today is a slow day, and it has been. We drew straws on who'll stay on duty and I ended up drawing the short straw, and here I am." She moved away from the fries and went to the soda fountain. "But it isn't too bad, while they're sitting back there on boxes, I get to have an interesting conversation with a cute kid."
The fryer buzzed and she rushed to it, lifting the fries out. "I'm Interesting?" I asked her, chuckling a bit.
"Yeah, I mean I'm not sure exactly, but I can definitely feel that there's just something about you." I gave her a puzzled look, then she shrugged. "I dunno, just a feeling." She has no idea about how right she is.
There was a flash of light and thunder growled right after it. "Man that storm's getting bad." I commented.
The girl looked out the window and nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna be hell to get home in this weather." Then she looked over at me. "By the way, it's a school night, doesn't a kid like you have a curfew?"
"I do, but my parents don't mind too much, and by the looks of this storm it's not like I've got much of a choice, even if I wanted to get home."
She smiled. "Lucky you." She grabbed my food from the various places she had left them on her side and put them on a tray. "Oh yeah, I didn't get your name."
"My name's Ben." I saw her name tag and it read, "Hi My Name is, Allison."
She noticed that I had looked at her name tag and she pointed at it. "It says Allison, but you can call me Allie."
"Alright, thanks Allie."
"Anytime." She said, smiling.
I brought my tray over to a booth by the window. I settled down and watched the rain pour down outside. Flashes and bolts of lightning moved their way across the sky, almost looking like they shattered the sky itself. I doubt that this is gonna stop anytime soon.
I sighed and grabbed a french fry from my tray.
X
I lifted my head up from my folded arms. I looked outside and saw that it was still raining heavily. I sat up, stretching my arms out and yawned widely. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with my knuckles and looked around the Mcdonalds. Most of the people that were there when I arrived had left. I leaned over to get a look at the counter and Allie was gone, instead a guy was standing at her register. Hm, I guess she got to take a break.
I turned back to the table at the booth I sat in. The empty box of my Big-mac, a couple of fries were still left in the box, I swirled my cup and there was still a bit of soda in it left. Absentmindedly I looked at my watch and saw the time. My eyes widened, what the hell! It was already nine in the evening. Oh man, had I slept for that long? I needed to get home right now. But how? The rain hasn't gone down yet, and I am pretty far away from the house. It would take me a while, and by the time I'd get there I'd be completely soaked, not to mention that it was freezing out there. Ugh, come on Ben, think! After several minutes of thinking, I got an idea. I could just transform into one of my aliens and head home. I could us XLR8 to do it, but wait, ugh never mind, I'd still get soaked and someone would probably spot me, Runok did tell me that in this universe aliens aren't that normal around here. So I kept thinking on who I was gonna use, then it hit me, I could use Bigchill, yeah he could work. It's really dark out and if anyone spots me they'd just think they've seen a ghost.
But there was just one tiny problem. Where could I transform? Well, to my surprise my body gave me the answer to that. I had just realized that I really needed to piss. The pressure that I felt in my bladder was astounding, and I had to go right away. I slid off the seat and went to the bathroom.
It was clean as far as public restrooms go, and not really large, with about four stalls and a couple of urinals. After relieving myself at one of the urinals, I peeked down under the gap of the stalls, looking for pairs of legs to see if anyone was inside. Luckily there was no one in any of them. I turned the deadbolt lock and it gave a soft click.
Alright, time to transform.
I had to transform instantly right now, no time for the slow stuff, someone could walk in at any moment. Then I concentrated on the image of Bigchill, the blue skin, the wings that when folded look like a robe, his freezing breath, all the while willing the transformation to be instantaneous. A sudden flash of green light blinded me and in the mirror, instead of Ben Tennyson was Bigchill, an alien. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, yep this was gonna work. If I had to walk, so long as I kept my wings folded no one would even realize what I was. I concentrated my ability to be intangible, then my reflection became strangely hazy and my body became mostly transparent. I wasn't completely invisible, but it would do. I flared open my wings and floated up out of the bathroom. Once I reached the roof, it was a simple matter of flying the rest of the way home. The strong wind wasn't too much of a problem, but the rain made it kinda difficult to see. I'm so lucky that the Omnitrix doesn't time out anymore, and if it did, this would be a bad time for it to do.
X
I made it back after a while landing on the sidewalk in front of the house, making sure that I wasn't under any of the street lamps. The rain poured down on me hard once I became tangible again and my wings folded back. The house, for the most part, was dark. I transformed back as quickly as possible without emitting any light while walking towards the house. I was fully Ben by the time I reached the front door, a bit wet from the rain, but at least I wasn't soaked to the skin. I fished inside my pocket for my keys and entered the house.
Inside it was pretty dark. I placed my hand on the wall and felt my way, looking for the light switch. After walking a few steps, my foot caught on something and I tripped, crashing to the floor, making a loud thump. This is just not my day. I heard several footsteps rush down the stairs, then light filled the hallway. I looked up to see Monica and Bruce, both were standing on the staircase and Bruce was holding what looked like a cane. They both relaxed when they saw me, and Bruce lowered the cane and they both came down. Monica helped me up and looked me over.
"Ben! What happened to you? Where have you been?" Monica asked. "I was getting worried with the storm and all."
"I was walking around when the rain started." I said. "I was able to find somewhere to stay while it rained. When I realized that the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon, I got back as quickly as I could."
She clicked her tongue while she listened to me, then proceeded to take off my jacket. "You're all wet, go get changed and I'll make some hot chocolate." I nodded, allowing her to take my jacket.
I went up the stairs then Bruce stopped me midway by putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him, he had a small smile on his face and he looked away from me and towards the kitchen where Monica was.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered. He gave a small smile and nodded once, then moving aside so I could go upstairs and change.
Maaaan, that feels good. I took a deep breath of the fresh air in the forest and relaxed. This was way better than any stroll in the city.
I was at the field in the middle of the forest to play around with my Aliens. It was an old habit of mine, I started doing it a little after the summer when I discovered the Omnitrix. I learned a few things about some of my aliens, discovering abilities that would have been useful in earlier battles, or just getting better at them. But now it's just a habit of what I was and where I came from. What I really loved were the times that Gwen helped me out with some of my practice sessions. We both needed to work on our skills, my aliens and her magic. At first, like back when we were both 10, we were very competitive, trying to outdo each other in one thing or another. I remember one time we were trying to see who hit the most targets in a minute. I was using Heatblast at the time and I remember tripping into a pile of dry leaves and the entire thing burst into a pretty big fireball. Gwen was laughing the whole time.
I smiled at the memories, then something happened. I felt as if someone had suddenly dropped a heavy weight in my chest. My thoughts became fuzzy and incoherent as the happy memories were fading only to be replaced by something dark and overwhelming. My vision blurred and my surroundings became a sudden swirl of color and I felt dizzy. I felt sick, like my body wanted to get rid of something and didn't know how to do it. The weight on my chest got heavier and heavier, I couldn't catch my breath and I was struggling to breath. Tears began to well up in my eyes, my knees started to give way, my pulse pounded in my ears.
Then as sudden as it came it was gone.
For a moment, I didn't feel anything except a lightheadedness and a floating sensation. My breath slowed and I relaxed. I couldn't remember exactly what had happened at the time, but it was a blissful feeling and I forgot about what had just occurred. I wiped my face, wondering why there were tears in my eyes.
Suddenly, I heard a snarl and turned to see a wolf sprinting towards me. "What the?!" I yelled in surprise. I tried to run, but the wolf jumped into the air and crashed into my chest, knocking me to the ground.
I slid back a couple feet, then the wolf looked at me right in the eye for a second before jumping off me. What the hell is going on? I started to crawl backwards, then I heard several snarls and growls behind me. There was more of them? I stopped trying to move when I heard the other wolves behind me. But then I heard something that wasn't a wolf.
(Hurry up, Ax!)
I whipped my head around, trying to find the direction it came from, I heard in the distance the sound of galloping hooves getting closer and closer, then I saw something large and blue right on top of me me. I heard a whoosh, then felt a sharp pain on the back of my head, there was blackness.
X
I slowly opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't at the field anymore. Next was that I both my hands and feet were tied, I wasn't gagged. I started to struggle against my bindings. "What the hell?" I muttered, then at the corner of my eye I saw a hoofed leg. I suddenly remembered hearing the sound of hooves just before I blacked out
I looked up towards it and saw one of the weirdest things ever. It looked like a blue centaur, but with a deer-like body. The human-like upper torso looked well set, with thin arms. It had a almost angular face, with large almond shaped eyes, with another pair on top of its head on flexible antennae, it had a flat slit for a nose, but it didn't have a mouth where it should've had one. Wherever I was it was pretty dim, with the light of a single kerosine lamp for illumination. Its fur looked almost purple in the orange glow of the lamp, then I recalled the blur of blue just before I was knocked out. It was probably this thing that did it. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's an alien
"You! Who are you?"I demanded. "Where am I? What happened to the wolves?" I asked. But he just looked at me, with all four of those eyes, I wasn't sure in which pair to look at, the ones on his head or the ones on the stalks. So I said. "I'm asking you again, who are you?"
Then it finally answered. (I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, and I know that your name is Benjamin Tennyson or at least it's the name you gave to the humans to call you by.) I didn't hear him with my ears, it was like he was talking directly into my head. Telepathy, I've experienced it before, but it was a long time ago, and I knew how to recognize it. Aximili's voice definitely sounded masculine, but you can never be sure with telepathy as who is doing the talking and who was just keeping guard.
"Are you the one that's talking in my head?"
(Yes.)
"So what are you supposed to be?" I asked, my voice becoming confident as my thoughts raced like they used to. "A kind of blue centaur with four eyes, without a mouth?" I said, trying to make a annoying joke at him. Then I saw Aximili move slightly and a long, powerful looking tail with a kind of scythe at the end of it came into the lamplight. "Cool tail." I commented. My heart started to race as the adrenaline went through my body. I had to think of a way to get out of here, but before that I needed to figure out why he kidnapped me in the first place.
(I am an Andalite.) He said. So he's an Andalite? I've never heard of them before, Grandpa Max never mentioned any Andalites.
"So what do you want with me?" I asked. "Are you looking for the omni-" Then I stopped myself just before I said Omnitrix. Remember Ben, this is a different universe. He probably doesn't even know what the Omnitrix is. So I asked again. "What do you want with me Aximili?"
(I want to know what your species is, what planet you come from, how you came to Earth and why, you are not human even though you pose as one.) Said Aximili. What the hell was he talking about? Does he think that I'm an alien?
"What are you talking about? Look at me, I'm totally human." I said, trying to gesture at myself, but the ropes wouldn't let me.
(So I suppose all humans on earth posses an advanced form of the morphing technology, but they don't. So tell me the truth, where do you come from and what is your species?)
Morphing technology? Was he talking about something like the Omnitrix? Was there something like it in this universe?
"I told you already, I. Am. A. Human. Being."
(I highly doubt that. But if you truly are what you say you are then tell me, how is it that you are able to morph?) He keeps talking about this morphing thing. I gotta find out why. Also, I had to figure a way out, so I stalled for some time.
"Morph? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked.
(We have observed you at the field. You posses the morphing ability, the ability that allows you to become any animal.) He was watching me? I never even noticed anything remotely like him, you'd probably think a blue alien would be easy to spot in a green forest. Then I quickly glanced around at my surroundings. Okay, I was in a cave no doubt about that, there was a tunnel probably leading to the outside and was fairly low, but how did he get in here? Never mind about that, if I could jump past him and make it into the tunnel and crawl far enough I could transform into one of my Aliens and get out of here, it'd be impossible to fight in such a cramped environment and that tail was something that I needed to watch out for. But once I reached the outside then I'd be able to get away or even fight on more even terms. I just needed to get him distracted for a bit.
"You were watching me at the field? You saw me transform?" I asked, bringing my knees close to my chest and planting my feet, getting ready to jump for it.
(That's what you call it?) He started. (A poor choice of words for the ability. So tell me-) Then I saw my chance and I lunged up and forward to his right. I landed awkwardly, but still kept my balance. I was ready to go for another hop, but before I knew it, his tail was at my throat, the blade pressed at my neck. I could feel how sharp it was against my flesh, but I didn't feel it cut into it. I looked over at Aximili and glared at him, and he glared back at me. (That was a foolish decision, I could kill you before you even can even reach the tunnel, so I would suggest that you won't do again) He said, then ordered. (Now, sit back down.) At that moment he didn't give me any other choice. Either I keep trying to escape and he would kill me right then and there or I back down and make up a better escape plan. We both knew what choice I would make; I could see it in his green eyes. He lifted the blade from my neck just far enough so that I could shuffle back, the blade not far from my exposed throat, and once I felt the cave wall on my back and sat back down, he withdrew his tail then he said. (I ask again, tell me where did you get your morphing abilities? There is no other race, apart from the Andalites, that have developed the morphing technology. How is it that you are able to go from one morph to another as well as go over the time limit?)
What's he talking about time limits and morphing from one to another? I don't understand what he's trying to get out of me. He doesn't know about the Omnitrix and that he thinks it's something else, plus I don't think he can read my mind otherwise he would've gotten his answers. I had to make up something, and quick.
"What are you talking about? I've always been able to do it." I said, surprised by the confidence in my voice.
(So you were able to do it ever since you were born?) He asked. I could tell that he sounded skeptical.
"Yeah." I answered, hoping that he would buy it.
He looked at me for a moment, then said. (I don't believe you. Now tell me the truth, where did you get the ability, and where is the technology responsible for it?)
"I already told you, there's no technology."
Aximili didn't say anything after that, but he just looked at me as if trying to find out what I was thinking, the tension in the air became thicker as we stared each other down. Then he said. (If you do not wish to tell the truth, then you will remain here until you do.)
"Ha! You can't keep me in here."
Aximili's second pair of eyes narrowed. (We'll see about that.)
A moment later I heard the clicking of claws echoing from the tunnel, then a wolf came into the cave. But it wasn't the same as the one that tackled me to the ground.
Then at the corner of my eye I saw Aximili starting to transform. It was a very disconcerting thing to watch, more so in the flickering light of the lamp. The first thing I noticed to change was his face, his large eyes became slightly smaller and his nose started to protrude outwards, then forming like plastic or clay, into the shape of a human nose. The eyes on the stalks on top of his head were sucked in, like one of those movies of plants growing, only in reverse. His head started to form a definite jawline, then a small slit that widened then moulded into lips. That's when I noticed that other parts of his body were changing as well. His front legs started to thicken, and the joints moved along the length, his hooves grew out and forwards, slowly defining into black feet. His upper body and arms started to become thicker and so did his hands and fingers, it was only at that moment that I noticed, he had more fingers than the average human. But I couldn't count how many there were as they also started to change and some melded together with the other fingers, becoming thicker. Aximili placed a hand to the cave wall for balance, because the rest of his body was being sucked up into the front portion. It was like one of those slinky dog toys, when you stretch them out and it comes back together. Once his hind legs reached the forelegs, like his fingers, they moulded together. Now his body started to change color, it went going from the light blue to a kind of light brown as the fur shrank into his body. Brown hair began to grow on top of his head. Once Aximili's tail had completely disappeared and his transformation was complete.
He, I guess, morphed human. It was so weird, because he looked familiar, I'm pretty I've seen him somewhere before and at the same time I knew that I've never seen him before, because I'm pretty sure I'd remember someone who looked like him. To put it bluntly, he looked girly, if it weren't for his hair and his definitely masculine build I would've sworn that I could have mistaken him for a girl. He wasn't entirely naked, but he wore a tight tank-top and bike shorts and was barefoot. He smirked at me then, a bit unsteadily at first, went out of the cave.
X
This is nuts. An Alien that can transform into people? Was this some kind of invasion?
I looked over to the wolf that was keeping guard over me after Aximili had left. It had sat down near the tunnel entrance, pretty much blocking the way out. It watched me with those clear yellow eyes, and in them I saw a kind of curiosity in them, like I was somehow different from anything on this earth and it was wondering why.
Then a thought popped into my head. Didn't Aximili say something about able to transform into any animal? Human beings were animals, what if. . .
"So are you one of those Andalites too?" I asked the wolf. At any other time I would've felt really stupid trying to talk to a wolf, but I had a hunch that it was also an Andalite.
(Yes, I am.) It said or should I say she said, because this one sounded feminine, and again I had the strangest feeling like there was something familiar about it, but I still couldn't figure it out.
So I sat there against the cave wall, not saying anything after my first question. The look in her eyes made me feel that she might be able to tell me more about this morphing technology Aximili kept asking about, and about the Andalites. She didn't seem to be as serious or cold as Aximili was.
After several minutes of utter silence, her curiosity got the better of her. (Where are you from?) She asked.
"What?"
(I mean, it's obvious that you're not from this planet, with your ability and all that.)
"I already told your leader Aximili, I'm from Earth." She didn't respond to that, so I said. "What about you, Where are you from?"
(Like I said, I'm an Andalite.)
"So you're from the Andalite home world?" Grandpa Max always told me that if I met an alien, I would simply call their homeward by what they call themselves. He said that some preferred to keep their world's name a secret.
(Yes.)
"Can you tell me about it?"
She looked away from me, then said. (I'm not supposed to talk about it to outsiders.)
"Oh." I said. "Then can you tell me why you're here on Earth?" She probably won't tell me their plans, but she might just tell me their purpose for coming to Earth.
(We are not trying to invade it, if that's what you're thinking.)
My eyebrows shot up, when she said that. "What do you mean, you're not trying to invade Earth?"
(Exactly that.) She said. (We're not here to invade this planet.)
"So why are you here then?" I asked. "Is there something on Earth that you're looking for?"
She shook her head, ears flopping slightly, which was funny seeing a large feral looking animal do that. (I can't tell you.)
"So what can you tell me?" She didn't respond to my question, so I decided to ask something else. "So what's you name? You never told me."
She looked away, and for a moment I thought that she wasn't gonna answer me, but then said. (My name is Estreen.)
"Estreen." I repeated. "It's a pretty name."
(Thank you.)
"So why are you a wolf?" I asked Estreen.
(Why am I a wolf?) She repeated.
"Yeah, why aren't you in your normal body?"
(I like this morph. Its powerful jaws, great sense of smell, and fast legs makes it a great battle morph.) I nodded along with her words. Then she asked me. (So what does it feel like?)
"What does what feel like?"
(When we watched you morph at the field there was alien that was on fire. What does it feel like?)
"I've never really noticed what it felt like, to be honest. The fire doesn't hurt or anything like that. I can't really feel any heat at all, actually it feels kinda cool."
(Cool as in amazing or cool as in cold?)
"Yeah, for something on fire it feels cold. But like I said, I never really notice."
We didn't speak much after that. I couldn't think of ways to try and pry the information out of her. It's like she could tell what I was trying to do, maybe she could sense my emotions? As far as I know, they couldn't read minds, but that doesn't take away the possibility. I have to try and ask someone else when they change guards. Also when Aximili mentioned a time limit, that got me thinking. What if they couldn't stay in morph for more than a certain amount of time? Like the way the Omnitrix timed out on me when I was 10. If so, then how long do they have? If I could figure it out, it might give me a window of escape.
X
It's been several hours now, and I've been trying to talk with some of the other Andalites that kept watch over me. They, like Estreen clammed up whenever I tried to ask for some important piece of information. There were a few things that didn't seem to add up at first, so far Aximili was the only one that was in his own body, while the rest were wolves like Estreen. It was only when one of them explained that they preferred other morphs, but the tunnel was too small to use them. Another thing that kept nagging at me was that almost all of them had somehow familiar voices and I couldn't for the life of me begin to guess who they sounded like.
I had to find out what was happening, as well as why the Andalites were here and their ulterior motives as to why they kidnapped me. I also needed to make some kind of plan to escape the cave. Obviously, I couldn't transform into Fourarms and wreck my way out. I have to be smart about this. I think Upgrade is the best choice here, with him I can snake my way out of the cave and outside. They had to be camped right outside the mouth of the tunnel, because I could faintly smell the scent of a camp fire. Once I get out it would be easy enough to get away. But first I needed them to let their guard down, since whenever they change guards the next one in line comes in before the previous one leaves. So I went for one of the oldest escape tricks in the book, sleeping.
This plan has a lot of holes I admit, but in case it doesn't work, I am prepared to just instantly transform and just get the hell out of here.
So I shifted my position at the cave wall and laid down. The cave floor was kinda uneven, which made pretending to sleep a bit more difficult than I expected. But I managed to get into a comfortable enough position, closed my eyes and waited.
I didn't expect it to work as quickly as it did, but I think it had something to do with me actually falling asleep. I couldn't guess as to how much time had passed, since I couldn't look at my watch. But once they changed guards in the way I hoped, I started counting in my head as to how long it takes for them to leave and come back. Once the next Andalite came in, I had counted a full thirty seconds. So that's my window. I would prefer a bit more time, but it had to do. I might be able to pull off a fairly quick transformation without the usual bright flash of green light. All that's left is the next change of guard.
The next two hours were slightly uncomfortable, not just because of the uneven and hard cave floor, but it's the way I felt the stare of the Andalite. It was a fairly unnerving feeling, but I have to make them think I'm asleep if I wanna get out of here.
Once the wolf left the cave, I counted to three and started to concentrate on Upgrade. I could feel the familiar kind of itchiness all over my body and watched as my arms and legs begin to change color. Then I started to grow and the ropes binding me became tighter and tighter, then the sensation lessened as I became more and more like Upgrade. I couldn't feel any of my normal organs, I stopped needing to breath and my pulse went away. I sat up when I was fully Upgrade and slipped out of the ropes that tied me.
I stood up straight in the cave and flattened myself to the cave wall, slithering to the small corner where the stalagmites and stalactites were and hid behind them. Making sure that I kept as much out of the lamplight as possible. Once there I waited for the next Andalite to come in. Once he comes in I will jump him and knock him out. I saw him at the tunnel opening, but he stopped when he saw the ropes and he turned and ran out.
(Guys!) I heard him yell in my head.
Crap, I slid out from my hiding spot and shot through the tunnel. There was a ninety degree turn just ahead, and when I turned, I could see the outside. But I also saw something else.
I jumped out of the tunnel just behind the wolf, and saw Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco, and Aximili. They were all standing around a campfire, their eyes fixed on me. What are they doing here? Is this some kind of sick joke? No wonder all their voices sounded familiar.
"Tobias, behind you!" Jake yelled.
The wolf turned its head and saw me, it then distanced itself from me and turned around growling, teeth bared.
"Jake?" I said, then. "This is crazy." Because it was. Your closest friends that you made after, after. . . After what again? I don't know what I'm supposed to remember.
They all stood still, waiting for me to make a move, Aximili had his tail raised and ready to strike. I didn't want to fight them here, I needed to get away. If I want answers I'll get them on my own terms.
So I ran, away from their camp and into the trees. I have to get far away enough so that I could have time to transform, by now it was getting dark and instantly transforming would be just like yelling where I am at the top of my lungs.
I heard the faint sound of running behind me, oh man they're chasing me already. I tried to ignore the sound of several paws behind me and concentrated on running through the trees. Suddenly something large and feathery swooped down, scratching me with its talons.
"Whoa!" I yelled, and in the corner of my eye I saw something large and orange coming towards me. It lunged and grabbed me with its large claws, knocking me off my feet. It was a freaking tiger! I tried pushing the thing off, but it kept a firm hold on me, its claws digging into my body.
(Guys, I got him!) It was Jake.
I pointed my face towards his chest and shot out a weak energy blast at him. He was knocked away and crashed into a tree. I scrambled to my feet and went for the biggest and closest tree, then I started to climb. I could transform in the treetops and escape as Stinkfly.
As I climbed the tree something swooped at my head, when I looked it was some kind of Owl could've been the same one from before, and probably one of them. I looked down and saw that Jake was at the base of the tree and was trying to claw his way up. I climbed faster, until I got to a good height. I looked down again and saw that Jake was with a bear, Aximili, and two wolves. The bear was starting to climb up the tree. Oh shit.
I started to transform as quickly as I could. I couldn't really feel much of the transformation, but what happened was that the first thing to happen was that extra legs grew out of my body. At the same time my vision split into four as my eyes changed. I got smaller and my body reshaped itself more and more into Stinkfly. My skin hardened and my joints got stiffer. I could barely feel my wings pop out of my back and become larger and stronger. I looked down again and saw that the bear was getting closer. I had to hurry this up.
(Wait, Ben!) It was Rachel. (Just stop and listen to us!) I won't listen, not now anyway. I was done transforming and I took off into the air. (No!) She yelled.
I could see the city and headed in its direction. I had to get farther away from them, Stinkfly is good for situations like this, but I couldn't get home like this. I have to turn into XLR8, get back home, and figure out what's going on.
X
I laid in my bed, thinking over what had just happened today. I was able to make it back to my house as XLR8, making sure that none of them had followed me.
I was kidnapped by a group of aliens that are able to transform into animals, they also happen to be the friends that I have made since I started living here.
"Ben! Are you sure you're not hungry?!" Called Monica from downstairs.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" I called back.
Ugh, I should've noticed something! Something they said or something that they do. I thought back to every moment I spent with them, trying to remember something, anything that I should've seen. But there was nothing wrong with them. None of them had any weird habits or anything. They were all so normal, nothing was out of the ordinary.
I have to confront them. I need to know what's happening and why they kidnapped me.
We were all seated at one of the tables at the mall's food court, there was a lot of people around, a kind of safety net. They wouldn't transform in the middle of a public space, unless they'd want to blow their cover.
I was seated at the head of the table, while Aximili, in his human form, and the others sat on either side of the table. Jake was the only one who sat on the other end of the table, directly facing me.
They were all silent while I glared at all of them. You can't blame me, these past few months of normal life and then they suddenly throw me back into the world of aliens. I trusted them, they were my friends. The girls avoided eye contact while Jake, Marco, and Aximili all looked at me, but only Jake looked me directly in the eye.
"So." I started. . .
Author's Notes: Hi guys! Sorry for taking so long to update! I got really distracted, and my fingers refused to type anything for two weeks straight! I know I said I'll be trying to upload more often, but I really can't help it, if I can't write, I can't write. I hope you all enjoyed this exciting chapter. Ben finally confronts them! We finally find out what's gonna happen to the Animorphs. I am really excited to write the next part in this, because it's a turning point in the story. We finally get to see more progression in the plot! Anyway, guys motivate me! Reviews are really what drive fanfics, so remember
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