Hello…. I'm back. Well, sort off. I've been writing a little bit more diligently. But college and three jobs sucks away free time and all life actually. So terribly sorry for the extremely long delay. I also had a horrible writer's block and have recently joined the anime world which is larger than it seems at first. How foolish I was to step into that enormous sea. Anyway, here is chapter 22 and I should be updating the next chapter sooner than a year. But no promises. Thanks for the encouragement and for sticking with me. Now on to the show!
Chapter 22
Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthill worked diligently with his nimble fourteen fingers, fixing a small delicate panel to the broken down spaceship. Anidoria-Isillee-Gahar worked not far away, also putting together parts so they could easily be placed inside the control room or engine.
After the broken ankle pride issue they had set to work using the parts they had to fix the spaceship. If had been moved from the hangar to the meadow clearing per request by Ax so he could stay close to his friends and visit with them while he was there. A movement caught his eye. Swiveling an eyestalk, Ax watched a group of bushes rustle. Deciding it was a wild animal, Ax returned all his focus to his work. Princess Anidoria, do you require refreshment?
Ani raised her head and looked at Ax eagerly. Would this refreshment require the use of a human mouth?
Ax laughed at her eager attitude. I suppose we should considering it does not fulfill nutritional needs and is appealing more for taste. He went into the scoop and opened a chest. Returning with clothes in his arms, Ax threw a pair of pants and a shirt at Ani. She caught them and daintily walked toward the woods.
Wait, Ani. Do not go there. I heard a wild animal there. You can morph in the scoop. I will not look.
Ani looked rebellious for a moment but entered the scoop instead. True to his word, Ax turned his back on the scoop and kept his eyestalks pointed forward. After a few minutes, Ani walked out wearing jean capris and a plain green t-shirt. "You're next, Aximili."
When Aximili had walked past her into the scoop Ani turned her back to it. A loud thudding sounded, accompanied with a rustling in her peripheral vision. She turned her head to get a better view of the rustling brush. "Aximili, about that animal you saw…" She trailed off as the bushes parted to reveal a grotesque creature; part cockroach, part Taxxon, part horse. "Ax, you are needed out here." Ani backed slowly, and as non-threatening as possible away from the edge of the forest. Ax came out of the scoop.
"Princess Ani, did you say something?"
Ani refused to breathe a word, afraid she would enrage the beast. In response to her friend's question she pointed at the monster emerging slowly from the brush. Ax's eyes widened momentarily and then narrowed. "Princess Anidoria, get into the scoop behind me." She shook her head.
"Hiding will do nothing. We must fight this foul creature." She glared at Ax. "We; includes me, Aximili." The monster clicked its mandibles and released a garbled neigh. Ax looked thoughtfully at his best friend.
"I would not dream of forcing you to do something against your will. I would be more afraid of you than this beast if I did. However we are too vulnerable in these forms. Demorph and I will fend it off."
Ani looked immensely concerned, "Are you sure? You are the better warrior and I would not," here she smiled sweetly. "I would not want to injure your pride by saving you."
Ax grimaced, "It is because I am a better warrior that I will hold it off." The creature moved cautiously out of the darkness of the forest, shrinking slightly in the sunlight; it was getting bold enough to attack.
As Ani walked back to the scoop, slowly, Ax seized her arm. "Ani," his voice was hard and soft at the same time. It held Ani like iron even though he kept a steady gaze on the monster, checking for sighn of sudden aggression. "Ani, if anything happens and I cannot hold him off you must run for help.. Go to Cassie's. She or her parents will help you. Don't you dare make a foolish decision and stay or fight this thing by yourself!"
Ani yanked her arm away. "OF COURSE I won't! I am not idiotic! You are not going anywhere anyway! I thought you were dead, so long ago when you went to follow your brother to this little planet to be its last defense. I am NOT losing you now!"
Ax stood dumbfounded as Ani ran into the scoop to demorph. The words from her speech rattled in his numb brain. Slowly a smile spread across his human face. The creature's weird neigh drew Ax's mind back into focus, but the feeling of invincibility Ax felt did not go away even as he prepared to fight with his flimsy human form.
-W.H.A.T.W.—
Sound of fighting, screams, grunts and thuds distracted Anidoria as she tried to dimorph. It seemed like every sound was as loud as a cannon, any sound of pain whether the animal's or Ax's, it did not matter, were distracting. The situation she and Ax were in reminded her of a time when she was in Training Academy…
*I'd like my bag back, Ryoran.* Anidoria firmly told the Andalite student. Ani was one of the few female students minoring in spaceship captainship on top of her scientific medical major. These groundbreaking choices spread through the campus until everyone knew. Some with this knowledge did not appreciate Ani's career endeavors. Which pretty much explained how she got in the unusual circumstances of speaking to Ryoran-Caldor-Pris, or Prissy, the school's prize pupil.
Ryoran's father was a leading member on the Andalite Ruling Council and a Yeerk War veteran since one of his arms had been lasered clean off. Only his influential status within the rest of the citizen's had kept him from being exiled for his deformity.
Ryoran was an excellent student- when he was not showing off to his friends or too distracted to study because of whichever female took his fancy that day. Anidoria had caught his eye before she enrolled in the Training Academy , she turned him down flat of course, explaining that she was not interested in a relationship and whenever she was she would most certainly find a REAL Andalite male to have one with.
Ani considered that refusal now with care, perhaps such a rude rebuttal stung him enough to cause a grudge, or maybe Prissy did not like the idea of a female Prince.
*Really? Who is going to make me do that, Anidoria? Which of your dead parents will you run crying to?*
Ani huffed in her head. A verbal attack pointed at her orphan status did not hurt her anymore. At least, not really.
*I will have you know, Ryoran, that I am not the one who goes crying like an infant to HIS parents. And if you do not release your hold on my school bag I will march you to the University's Prince, maybe this time he will grow a spine and expel you!*
Ryoran looked positively furious, twisting his normally handsome face into a deadly scowl. They head a light laugh behind them.
*I would do what she says, Ryoran*
If it was even possible, the scowl on Ryoran's face grew even darker. *This is none of your concern, Aximili.*
*Not directly and not yet, no. However should you decide to detain Anidoria any longer, you will force me to obtain assistance from other persons in the releasing of her. Certain, professor persons.*
Ryoran threw Ani's bag at her feet and stalked past her to face Aximili. *You should not have involved yourself, Isthil.*
Ax looked calmly into Ryoran's eyes. *I will never stand by the wayside when some over-confident bully is attacking someone they assume is weaker and deserves no respect.*
At being called a bully Ryoran snapped. He whipped his tail-blade at Ax. Ani gasped as Ax's tail-blade snapped up to block the blow. Attacking a fellow Andalite was not only a reason to be expelled but an action requiring exile. Ax shouldn't have gotten involved. Now he would get in trouble as well as Ryoran. In fact Ax would probably be blamed for the fight.
Ani frowned angrily as the two boys moved lithely, battling with their blades, and hissing degrading remarks at each other. Ryoran caught Ax's face with the tip of his blade cutting shallowly. Blood immediately began welling up and Ax clapped a hand to his cheek. While Ax was distracted, Ryoran moved in for a final blow. *Take this, scum!*
A clash occurred, jarring Ryoran and stopping his deathly strike. Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, older brother to Aximili, stood with his own tail-blade protecting his brother. Ryoran let his tail drop, a scared and awed expression evident on his face. *Is there anything else that needs to be done, Ryoran-Caldor-Pris?* Elfangor asked contemptuously. Prissy shook his head, picked up his own book bag and basically ran off to his next class. Ax looked up at his brother with shame and thankfulness, averting his stalk eyes.
*He was harassing Ani, Elfangor.*
Elfangor nodded once tersely. *Come on, little brother. I'll see to your battle wound and we can fill out the report before I teach my next Combat period. You too, Ani. I'll give you an absentee note for whichever class you missed.* Elfangor lead the way and after a few indecisive moments, Ani followed checking her bag to ensure nothing was broken or missing. When she glanced up she saw Ax smiling at her. He looked rather heroic and stupid at the same time with the cut on his cheek. Ani rolled her eye stalks and smiled back…
Ani smiled again a bit at the memory, but soon the smile faded. How long had she been reminiscing while Ax was risking his life once again for hers? Not even stopping to listen for the sounds of fighting to clue her into whether she should run for her life or join the fight.
The sight that met her four eyes was gruesome to say the least. The meadow grass was trampled down in most of the area where the battle had raged. The grass that was not trampled partially concealed the severed Taxxon legs, a human hand and ripped, blood-stained clothing. Ani's eyes skimmed the carnage, focusing in on the finale of the battle.
Ax was defeated, not dead, but soon to be so. The Taxoxn-Roach-Horse was poised with its' mandibles on its horse head to kill. Its' few remaining pincer legs pinned Ax in place. Ax's weapon, a long metal tube, lay just out of the reach of his good hand. The monster reared back his head to finish the job. Ax closed his eyes, awaiting death.
With a mental scream of rage and fear, Anidoria galloped madly at the creature threatening her best friend's life. Swiveling her tail-blade in a well-practiced attack, Ani decapitated the mutant. Breathing heavily, Ani watched the dead animal fall to ground. Its' legs remained pinned through Ax's body. Ani quickly yanked them out with as much strength her Andalite arms possessed ignoring his weak gasps of pain. Kneeling next to him with some difficulty, Ani spoke gently. –Ax, you must return to your Andalite form. You are losing too much blood-
Ax shook his head slowly as if he wanted to clear the death-fog clouding his head, but did not have the strength to properly do it. He had enough struggle to speak softly. "W-who are you?"
Ani growled in frustration. –The person who just saved you from a monster killing you and is now trying to save your life from your own slothfulness!-
"Y-you just sound s-so familiar."
Ani began to get desperate. –If I tell you who I am will you listen to what I tell you to do?-
A slow nod responded.
-I am Anidoria-Isilee-Gahar. Your best friend since our youth. Your fellow leader on the Battle-ship we command. Now, demorph, Aximili!-
Ax got a sloppy smile on his face. "I remember where I recognize you from." He paused taking a shuddering breath. "You are the beautiful female Andalite that distracted me from one of my training classes."
Stunned, Ani simply knelt there; he had never told her he thought she was beautiful. Of course if he died it would not matter anyway. Ani grabed his human face and put as much authority that she could behind her next words. –Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthil! Demorph now!-
His features began changing immediately. His nose flattened and became the slitted nose of the Andalites, his mouth melted into his bluing skin like warm candle wax. His small rounded ears sharpened to points at the tips and grew in size while traveling up the sides of his head. Two stalks grew out of his disappearing hair like large mutated weeds. The eyes that belonged on top of the stalks ballooned out.
Ani looked away when his injured arm grew a new Andalite hand to replace the severed human one. The other hand split two more fingers from the ones present.
The sound of riping cloth reminded Ani that his clothes should have been removed, but a little torn fabric was not worth Ax's life. His transformation complete, Ax's almond-shaped eyes opened and he looked at Ani who was still kneeling beside him holding his face between her hands.
Ax tried moving to a kneeling position but his body refursed to move. Looking around the meadow clearing Ax put the pieces together and became angry at the conclusion his mind gave to explain what he was seeing.
-Ani! I told you not to battle the creature by yourself!-
Ani dropped his head, refusing to care if he hit the hard ground. –Well I am sorry that I did not allow you to die! Oh, yes, that I cruelly refused you of your honorable death in glorious battle! I am also immensely sorry that now you must live on in shame knowing you were saved by a worthless, pushy female!-
Ani stood up angrily and galloped off in the direction of the stream hidden behind the trees.
-:ANIMORPHS:-
Visser One and Reddin482 sat silently while they lost the camera feed as the monster died. Visser One turned a cold, calculating gaze on Reddin482. Hannah shrank back in her own mind, feeling very grateful that she was not in charge at the mment.
"Are these normal results for the tests?"
Reddin482 nodded. "Yes, Visser. Each of the three test subjects, before this one, have produced similar results.
The Visser seemed almost mad with rage. "They were all defeated?! I told you I wanted those filthy human's heads on a platter! I want them dead! Dead! DEAD!" The Visser began stomping around the room screaming 'dead.' Hannah mentally nudged Reddin482. –He's gone insane. How can you serve a crazy leader?-
-Hush-
-Fine, but you should probably give him a slight sedative.-
-Where?-
-Cupboard in the far corner.-
Reddin482 moved stealthily toward the corner, checking every now and then to make sure Visser One did not notice her He had stopped stomping now and was pacing, clutching his head and muttering incoherently.
Reddin482 seized the sedative and a syringe, putting it in the bottle to fill it.
-Not too much- Hannah gently stated, seeing how her own hands shook under the Yeerk's control.
-I know!- Reddin482 snapped – I know what will happen I if overdose him, I have your knowledge too!-
-Okay.-
The Visser did not even notice that Hannah and Reddin were next to him until the needle broke his skin. He whirled in anger only to slump under the effects of the rapid-metabolizing drug.
Reddin managed to catch him, calling to the guards flanked right outside the door. A Hork-Bajir and a muscular human ran in. At their accusatory glances Reddin huffed angrily.
"He went insane as you can see from the state of this office. I have only sedated him so that he will not harm his host. Just take him to his chambers and alert me when he awakes."
Reddin straightened the office as the guards removed Visser One. When they were gone she slumped, exhausted, in a wing-backed chair. Hannah spoke softly to her controller, partially worried and partially afraid of her consequences for speaking. –Was that test supposed to happen that way?-
-Yes, we are testing their strengths against different mutations so as to ascertain how best to defeat them.-
- And the Visser is unaware of this purpose?-
- No, he is aware. It was simply his desire that one or more be killed during the testing stage, and none have.-
-Is that good?-
-A bit. This means he will have the complete set of options for a new host when they are captured.-
-What is wrong with his host now?-
-It is too limited. He would rather acquire another Andalite host with morphing capabilities.-
-But he could keep his current host and just use the-
-Hush! That is plan B! Now leave me alone!-
Hannah retracted, knowing she had pushed Reddin482's good humor far enough for one day.
