Chapter 21
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My chest kept tightening, the closer I got to the turtles location. Even with Ithiell guiding me, and assurances from the turtles that they were holding on for the time being, I still felt like... well like something was really wrong. Like... like we were missing something terribly important.
(Whoa!) I skidded to a stop, seeing three human controllers dart around a corner, all of them copying my action, windmilling their arms as they did so.
I growled, going to coil my legs under me, but one of the male controllers stepped forward, waving his hands around madly to try and stop me.
"W-w-w-w-wait! We're with Visser Three!"
I growled (And why should I believe you)
Another pointed, and soon I was face to face with the Visser himself, all four of his eyes focused on me.
(Andalite) He boomed, and I shook my head.
(Changeling, and what the heck are you doing here? I thought... you were at the other end of this ship) I saved myself, almost admitting to him that Ithiell had tried to lock him in the pool room.
(I have retaken the Kandrona) He boasted (But your foolish leader locked me in there when he did a lock down of this ship)
He eyed me warily, and if I was human I knew I would have been blushing.
(Well... looks like you escaped. Care to help take down some other Yeerks?)
I knew it was stupid, but it was the only way to know if he was still on... well, still working with us for the time being.
(For the moment, yet I have other needs to address afterwards)
(Such aaas...) I trailed off, seeing his main eyes narrow.
(Oh... nevermind, we gotta go!) I dove around them, picking up my pace and half hearing the clomping of his feet as he followed me.
(Guys, I foun-)
(Oh shit! Oh shit oh shit!) Came Amanda's panicked voice, and then some kind of gutteral scream from Robert.
(What's going on?! Do you need help?) I heard Ithiell ask, hoping he wasn't far from me now.
(She...she got away!)
(What... how?!) Rachel cried.
(We got attacked by a small group of Yeerks, and um... well...)
(Why didn't you use the device?!)
(Well... we thought you wanted to try and get more information out of her... so we uh...)
(Dammit! Ax, are you able to get up to the bridge? Are you finished down there?)
(I will not be finished for ten of your human minutes)
"For the last time Ax-man, they're everyones minutes!" Marco grumbled, although the anger was gone from his voice.
I skidded around a corner, seeing the four of them following me out of the corner of my eye, looking ahead of me and finally hearing the sounds of a fight going on. Cries...screams... grunts from the turtles...
(The second you do, I need you up there! We need to keep control of the bridge at any cost!)
(AAAAAH!) I yelled madly, finally seeing the turtles and Splinter all fighting desperately, picking up my face and diving into the frey.
I slammed my whole weight into a Hork-Bajir, digging my claws in and bringing him down roughly, before jumping off and hitting a Taxxon, then onto the next opponent.
"Oomph!" I saw Mikey was knocked down, and I went to move over to him, finding Leo was there, slicing and dicing anyone who came near his younger brother, then trying to pull him up as he knocked a Hork-Bajir away with a swift kick.
"Come on!"
"I'm good bro... I'm good!" He flipped away, almost body slamming a human controller, knocking another over in the process.
Donnie's Bo was a blur as he swung it left and right, desperately trying to fend off any attackers, noticing he and Raph had Splinter part way between them, keeping our Sensei safe.
I half slammed into a Hork-Bajir that was heading for Splinter slashing another Taxxon apart and almost slipping on the goo that spilled out.
I ducked when shots were being fired, turning around and surprised to see Visser Three and his followers were actually joining in the fight, helping us against the other Yeerks.
I saw Visser Three's tail flick, cutting a human controllers head off, then slicing the arm off of a Hork-Bajir before moving on to cut his head off as well.
A roar from beside me, and suddenly Ithiell was there, all of us together finally turning the tide against this group.
(Ithiell!)
(Let's make this quick! I need eyes on the bridge, and I can't-ah!) He howled a little as a Hork-Bajir stabbed him in the back, his legs collapsing under him.
(No!) I jumped over, slamming all four paws into the Hork-Bajir, knocking him over and landing on top of him. Soon, he was no more.
"Ithiell, you okay?" Donnie cried, hearing the crack of his Bo as it hit another opponent.
(Yeah, just... hang on) I saw him start to shift back, suddenly hearing his tail whip out, snapping across the side of a Taxxon, then took off from behind me.
Raph stabbed the last Hork-Bajir, then kicked it hard in the gut and watched as it collapsed to the floor, looking around at the rest of us. We were all panting heavily.
"Thanks for the help" Leo directed the gratitude to all of us.
"No prob" Ithiell looked around, then up at Visser Three.
(Your appreciation is noted) Visser Three boomed once again, looking around at the bodies around us.
(Ithiell, I have completed my mission. Would you like just myself to-)
"Yes Ax, just you, and double time it" Ithiell's eyes met Visser Three's, who was now looking at the earpiece he had. The air in the hallway suddenly got tense, and I could tell not even Leo wanted to be around the two right now.
"I'll... go finish what I was doing" Donnie said, moving to head back into the room, the brothers and Splinter following.
(Hmm, interesting)
"I'll say..." He suddenly moved forward to stand in front of Visser Three, and I noticed his followers were now eyeing me.
(Don't even think about it. You saw what I can do to Hork-Bajir... take a guess what I could do to the three of you)
They seemed to take my threat seriously, holstering their weapons and now half standing behind their Visser.
"I locked this whole ship down... how the heck did you get out?"
Visser Three laughed boldly (Oh foolish changeling! I know the Pool Ship inside and out! And did you not wonder how I escaped Visser One and Two's hold in the first place?)
"Well... thanks for the heads up" Ithiell smiled grimly at him "Did you find what you were looking for?"
There was an unsteady silence, and at that point I decided to shift back, looking from one to the other.
(No) He finally said, flicking his tail a little, and I saw Ithiell copied his action (I was surprised to find... someone... had poisoned the entire pool)
"What?! Did I hear right? I mean... poisoned how?" Marco sounded just as shocked as I think the rest of us were.
"What the hell would possess someone to poison it? And... with what?" I finally asked, seeing his stalk eyes turn to me. His features were grim.
(I do not know. And... I do not care to discuss it with you puny human!)
"We're going to die if we don't get to a Kandrona soon" Came the female controllers voice, and I looked at her, finally noticing how pale she looked.
"Wait... what happened to those personal Kandronas?" I saw Leo come out into the hallway now, and the Visser now turned to him, almost glaring it seemed.
(Because of you... fools... the prototypes, as well as all our research was destroyed when you destroyed the building and then my Blade ship!)
"Whoa whoa, sorry for askin dude" Mikey was now there, holding his hands up defensively. I could see Raph was watching the commotion from beside Donnie.
(Foolish creatures! I don't-)
"You are the foolish one Visser Three! Or should I say... former Visser Three!" Came the voice from down the hall, and we all turned to see Visser Two there, pointing at the blue alien, a crazy grin on her face. April's face...
"April... dudette" Mikey went to go to her, but Leo stopped him. In seconds, the other brothers and Splinter were all out in the hallway.
(Who are you calling foolish you miserable wench!) Visser Three roared, turning on her, and instantly all of us were alert. This was going to turn very bad, very fast!
"You are!" She laughed madly, holding her stomach a little and grinning like she'd just completely lost the plot.
"What... the..." I muttered, still trying to find it hard to put the face of April with the personality of Visser Two.
"You horrible little Visser you are! Your plans were destroyed over and over by these... freaks... and now, you're standing there, talking to them like you're best friends!" She laughed again, and Visser Threes eyes turned wild.
(You... you'll pay for that!)
None of us realised what was happening until it was too late. Visser Three turned, running full tilt at April's still giggling form, making all of us cry out. Visser Two seemed to notice what was happening, crying out and turning to run.
"After them!" Ithiell yelled, but my feet were already moving, skidding around a corner and seeing the back end of Visser Three as he darted around another corner.
"No! No!"
"Visser Three, stop!" Ithiell yelled at him, but he wasn't listening.
"If he-"
I dove around another corner, almost loosing my footing and seeing Visser Three was quickly closing the distance on April.
"Don't even!" I yelled, watching as she rounded another corner, the Visser following. I had to shift! I had to find a way to get to her before-
Another corner, and I slammed into the wall, almost falling over, but finding Leo half caught me, the two of us fighting to close any kind of distance between us and them.
To our surprise, April seemed to run into a dead end, trying to get into one of the doors at the end of the hallway, turning as Visser Three caught up to her.
No... no... no...
He stood there, even as we tore off towards him, looking almost calm.
(Who's the fool now)
So close...
FWAAPP!
Visser Three's tail snapped forward, and we could all only watch in horror as April's head hit the floor in front of us.
"NO! APRIL!" I cried, skidding to a stop as it rolled towards me, fighting every instinct in me not to just scream blue murder. I felt Leo blow past me, and I looked up with unbelieving eyes to see the glint of his katanas as he pulled them out and returned the favour to Visser Three.
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Nothing felt real, or right.
Sure, Visser Three was gone, but so was April. Her head... her head...
I fought a wave of nausea as I sat in the engine room with the boys, looking up to see they were all upset in their own ways.
Leo was stock still, and Mikey was trying to console him, although there were tears in his eyes as he tried to reach his oldest brother. Donnie was tapping away furiously, almost angrily, and I could see the tear stains on his cheeks. I wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but something held me back. I didn't realise how much April had actually meant to him... and I think he just needed some time... I knew, he'd come to me when he was ready.
Besides, Ithiell was beside him, talking in hurried tones with Ax over his earpiece, and I think the distraction seemed to help him a little.
Raph... Raph had punched a few walls, screaming angrily before walking off, throwing his earpiece on the ground and smashing it. Rachel had heard the commotion, and offered to go after him. I knew... even with her, he would be fairly inconsolable. April meant the world to him...
Splinter seemed to be faring the worst of all of them. He was sitting on a chair, his head down and his eyes closed. His face was forlorn, almost regretful that we didn't get there in time.
We were so close...
She couldn't be dead, could she?
April...
My mind went to the day on the rooftop with Rachel. Her sweet smile, her caring voice...
Then there was the time she got me up and moving after I'd fallen out of the third story window. She was determined to take care of me, and keep me out of the fight...
Our talks... her laughter... her...
"Okay, that's done" Donnie finally said, making me turn to look up at him. He was rubbing his eyes, and I wasn't sure if he was tired or...
"Finally, we've got complete control of this ship" Ithiell sounded relieved, but similar to Donnie. Things still didn't seem real...
"We need to go find Raph" Leo seemed to have snapped out of his stupor, looking down at his youngest brother, who was hanging onto his arm like a little kid.
Leo gave him a look, and he slowly let go, nodding in agreement.
"All right then... Ax?"
(Yes?)
"Can you find where Raph and Rachel are?"
(... yes, I have them)
"All right, relay the co-ordinates to the turtles so they can-"
He stopped when Splinter rose from the chair, pressing two of his fingers to his own earpiece and looking at us wearily.
"Please, tell me where my son is. I must speak to him"
"But... Sensei..." Mikey stopped when Splinter gave him a look, and he looked back at Leo.
"Hai Sensei" Leo bowed at Splinter, and in turn he bowed back. Ithiell also nodded his head respectfully at him, touching his own earpiece.
"Give the co-ordinates to Splinter and the turtles, and don't let either of them out of your sight. And... warn them about anyone nearby"
(This can be done) Was Ax's response, and the two brothers and Splinter headed for the door, all of them turning to look at Donnie, who I now realised was still standing at the console. He looked almost torn.
"Donnie, you coming?" Leo asked, and I could see he was judging Donnie's body language.
Donnie looked at his brother, tears suddenly forming in his eyes, his lower lip trembling slightly. The look on his face knocked me out of my own stupor, going and slipping an arm through his, making him look down at me.
"I think... I'll stay here for now. I don't know if I can... Raph..." He leaned on the console, and I put an arm around the back of his shell, pulling him as close to me as I could and rubbing his shoulder with my other hand.
"All right, you stay here and help Ithiell, we'll go get Raph"
"Stay safe brother" Donnie muttered, but Leo and the others were already gone.
"I'll see if we can work out how many Yeerks are left in this place, and if there's possibly-" Ithiell was saying, his hands working away next to us, but my whole attention was now on Donnie.
"Hey" I gently grabbed his head in my hands, turning him to look at me and stroking his cheek gently with my thumb. He looked like a complete mess.
"I'm here, okay?" I moved his goggles just enough so I could rest my forehead against his, feeling him react to the comfort.
His arms slowly went around me, pulling me close and letting out a strange sob, which hurt my heart. Seeing him this way...
"She's... she's really gone Jade. I don't... I don't know what to..." He nuzzled his head as far as he could into my neck, and I could feel tears wet my shoulder.
I hushed him as best as possible, not knowing what else to do.
(Raph wanted me to pass on a message to you) A voice in my head made me jerk a little, but I knew who that voice belonged to.
(Take care of him, please)
All I could do was hum, pulling Donnie closer to me. He was hurting...and it was now my job to take care of him.
Eventually, he pulled back, looking at me with sad eyes, attempting to smile a little, giving me a small kiss.
"Come on my love... let's finish this... whaddya say?"
He nodded, kissing me more passionately this time, hugging me as tight as he dared before pulling away to look down at the console.
"You okay big guy?" Ithiell asked, taking a moment to look up at him. I leaned up to dry the last of his tears away, feeling him take my wrists gently as he looked over at Ithiell, nodding.
"Yeah, I'll be okay. Let's do this"
(I heard that!) Rachel said again, and I half wondered what she was doing with Raph in morph, but I turned my attention back to Donnie. I saw a genuine smile on his face again, and he half moved me to his side, one arm around me while the other tapped away at the console.
"All right, I've worked out we-"
"Hey! Hey! Anyone hear me!" A new voice crackled in my ear, and it took me a moment to realise it was Serah.
"Hey...what? What's wrong? Are you girls okay?" Ithiell touched his earpiece, the other flying across the controls.
I shared a look with Donnie, who looked just as confused as I did.
"Yeah, we're good, but uh... Rtaia says there's a ship heading towards... shes not... sure..." Serah's voice started to fade in and out, and I looked at Ithiell, who was now worried.
"What kind of ship is it?" He asked, but we all now got horrible static, and I had to take the earpiece out of my ear, seeing Donnie and Ithiell do the same.
"That can't be good" Donnie muttered, suddenly hearing Ax yelling something, going to put the earpiece back in my ear-
KA-BOOOOMM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Explosions suddenly rocked the ship throwing us all into the console, almost being tossed over if it wasn't for Donnie's hold on me.
"What the hell was that?!" I yelped, moving back and watching as the guys now both worked at the consoles.
"I don't... Rtaia! Are you there?"
All he got was static.
"Ax! Can you hear me!"
(Yes! There's an unidentified cruise ship attacking us! It is not Andalite or Yeerk!)
"Dammit! Can you hail them?!"
(Negative, Sequae must still be-)
"Dammit! I can't access the systems from here... gotta try and-"
"And don't you regret taking the weapons down now" I muttered, leaning over both of them, trying to work out what they were up to.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another explosion rocked the ship, and I tripped over my own feet, falling backwards and landing square on my butt, groaning.
"Are you okay Jade?" Donnie was there, helping me up and holding me close as another explosion went through the ship, almost knocking us both down.
"Shit! Their last attack took out the power to stabilizers!" Ithiell snapped, and instantly Donnie was back at his side, making sure I held onto his shell before he let me go, working away.
"Diverting power... it's not enough! We need to divert more-"
"Donnie, can you keep diverting power for me? I need to get to the bridge to see if I can find a way to contact that ship" Ithiell and Donnie shared a look, and they nodded.
"I'll try and keep us stable for as long as I can"
"Good, cause if we loose this ship, we loose the battle"
He nodded, working as hard as he could, before Ithiell turned to me.
"Jade, you're with me, I need you to try and contact Sequae again"
"Right" I went to run after Ithiell, stopping and giving Donnie a quick hug, before taking off out the door after him.
"Can you try and-"
KA-BOOOOOOOOOM!
An explosion behind us knocked us both down and I felt the wind leave my lungs, pain wracking my body as I fought to get up.
Panic set in as Ithiell fought to pull me up, both of us turning to look back at where the explosion had come from. But I already knew, and my heart sank, tears springing to my eyes in disbelief.
No... please... not him...
It was the exact same room that we had both just run out of.
The room where Donnie had been in.
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Constructive Criticism appreciated!