Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs, but I do own the gang, the cop, and anyone else not from the series.
(1) Fuzz=cops
CHAPTER SIX- Jared Jordan Fuentes- that Friday night
"Go, go, GO!" Dead-Lee was yelling at us.
"The Fuzz(1) will be hear soon, go!" Icy stated.
"No, we're a gang, we stand together!" Spikes shouted back.
"If you guys are staying, then I am too!" I replied.
"Spikes!" Dead-Lee snapped. "The last thing you'd want is to be paired up in a cell with yo pop!" He turned to me. "And hell, boy, you have a family that cares about you!"
"I can always kick you in the face with my boot, Hellboy. Now you and Spikes get out of here, we can take care of the Fuzz!" Icy ordered.
Spikes frowned but then turned in the opposite direction, away from the place that the Fuzz would be rushing to. He paused when he noticed I wasn't following, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him.
When we were in a nearby alley, I pulled my wrist from Spikes' grasps.
"Are you crazy Spikes?" I told him. "What if Icy and Dead-Lee needs our help? We gotta go back!"
The Asian shook his head. "No, we can't." I thought I saw a tear form in his eye. I forgot that he and Dead-Lee were close, even before the gang. "I know that in the last week you got close to them, but they know what they're doing. We can't disobey them. They care for us- why else do you think they told us to run?" When I didn't answer, he continued. "Icy and Dead-Lee will be OK. They know what they're doing. After all," He gave me a faint smile. "Dead-Lee was on the track and wrestling team and Icy beat him and me."
But I beat her, I added mentally. But I didn't dare say it out loud. From all I've known of Spikes, he wasn't the one to cry, even when his dad started abusing him. He was like Johnny from The Outsiders- and ironically, had the same first name and basically same story. Spikes was the one I knew wouldn't give in. I'd never thought I'd see him start to break.
"Come on kid." Spikes said, starting the long walk back home. "Let's get you home."
-the next day-
I couldn't believe it when I saw the news the next morning. I dashed out the house and over to our alley- the Scarlet Dragons' Alley.
Icy and Dead-Lee HAD to be there. They'd laugh when they saw me panting and wide-eyed, and shake their heads and tell me I should have trusted them when I told them what I saw on the news. Spikes would wake up from his spot and ask me where the fire was. I'd smile and sit on the ground next to him and say that it was nothing but a false alarm. He'd laugh and mess up my hair, which wasn't that neat anyway, then say that I needed to cool down. Dead-Lee would say that no jail could keep him imprisoned. Then Icy would slap him on the back of his head. He would rub his head and add, if I didn't have Icy, of course, then when Icy wasn't looking shake his head no. But Icy would still find out, and probably give him the boot to the face. Spikes and I would probably start laughing our butts off, until Icy would threaten to give us the boot too. Then we'd go on our run in the shadows, scaring people into giving us some of their money, but never hurting them. We'd go back to our Alley to split up the money between the three of them, and then it would be Icy's turn to fight me, Dead-Lee and Spikes practicing on their own as well. And when we'd finished, I'd go home and tell Dad that I went out to eat and was at Silver's. Then all of my fears would be gone, and I'd be the carefree teenager I was before Mom died.
I wished.
Spikes was awake when I got there, on top of the dumpster, arms on his knees, staring at the wall opposite of him. His eyes was cold and almost lifeless, like Icy's were most of the time. It scared me- Spikes was more of the laugh about life and dying person, nearly never serious.
This experience was changing all of us, in ways that I didn't want us to, but couldn't prevent.
"Spikes?" I called softly, running a hand on the wall, fearing that if I didn't I'd end up passing out and telling myself that it was all a dream.
His eyes glanced my way and he threw an used cigarette on the ground. "Jare," He whispered, his tone emotionless.
I paused, not sure what to say. It never came to me that Spikes even knew my real name. I figured that after he dropped out several years ago, and even before that, he never even knew me, and if he did, that he'd forgotten. "Is it..." I cleared my throat, trying to keep calm and not breakdown. "Is it true?"
Spikes lit another cigarette. "Heck boy, of course it's true." He said before he put it in his mouth. He blew a ring of smoke before continuing. "We ain't gonna see 'em again for several years after what we've done."
What Spikes meant was after we stabbed that officer. He was going to pull a burner, as the others called, aka a gun, on Icy, so Dead-Lee pulled out his blade and stabbed him. It was self defense, but since Spikes and I were the only witnesses, and we didn't really want to be turned in ourselves, no one would know.
Something insane but needed to be done if I wanted to get them out entered my head.
"I got an idea."
-later at the jail-
"This is nuts, Hellboy!" Spikes said for at least the thousandth time since I told him my idea.
I rolled my eyes. "Well, Spikes, ya want to see D-L and Icy or not?"
"I..."
"Exactly." I replied, getting ready to leave so I could get inside the jail, before Spikes grabbed my arm. I turned to face him.
"I still don't think it's right to let a skinny little kid like you go into that hell-hole alone." Spikes told me.
"Spikes, you're only a few months older than me," I stated. "And besides, if that's Hell, then I'll fit in perfectly- I'm Hellboy, remember?"
Spikes shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "I'd change your name to Nutso if you get out alive." It looked like Spikes wanted to stall some more, but he let go of me.
((You better know what you're doing Jar-head.)) I heard Kala say.
((Kala?)) I wondered. ((When did you-?))
((Been in here since this morning while you were still asleep. Don't know how I got from the closet to your head,)) Kala answered. ((Jared, a gang? Boy, you need to let me in your head more often! Why in the world would you join a gang?!))
((If you're not going to help, then shut up!)) I snapped.
Kala sighed. ((Do you have an adult morph that looks like Craig and Darla?))
((And Spikes. Kris Browns-Lee. Male, twenty-nine, around six feet tall, mixed African American and white, black hair, green eyes, blah, blah, blah. Why?))
((Knock out the head officer or something so I can enter him or her and control him or her. Morph into Kris, and I'll tell the officers guarding Craig and Darla that you're their distant uncle and that an anonymous tip from a witness that Craig attacked the officer in self defense and that the officer was going to shoot at Icy for no reason other than looking like she was going to cause trouble. Then I'll unlock them, you tell them to wait for them outside if other officers are looking, if no one is, tell them to go back to the Alley, and include the secret password if you have one. I'll leave the head officer then you grab me and meet them outside or at the Alley.))
I shrugged mentally as I hid in the bushes by the jail. ((Better than my plan,)) I removed the jacket, revealing my black shirt that I used for morphing, but kept the pants. They were just normal black ones anyway. I focused on the morph I called Kris, and heard my bones grinding as I grew taller, and my skin change color. I guessed when I was done, since it is hard to tell when you're done morphing if you're morphing the same species. My black shirt was tight against my muscles that I had as Kris. And knowing we didn't really have a secret password, or at least, none that I knew of, I tied the jacket around my waist. Dead-Lee and Icy knew that it was the only article of clothing that I wore constantly since the time I joined the gang, so it would be the best thing to use for them to know it was me without scaring them with the thoughtspeak and having to explain to them who I was once they found out that I could talk in morph.
I looked in the window that was by the door. There was a tall Filipino man that looked a lot like-
((That's Lyz's foster brother!)) Kala exclaimed when he saw him.
((The head officer?)) I asked, to be sure.
((Yes- look, on the tag it says his name! Jerome Beltran, Jr.)) Kala stated.
((Does he know?)) I wondered.
Kala ended up making me do a slight nod. ((He found out once the war ended. Lyz told him and his parents herself when she got the chance.)) If he had a face, he would have opened them wide when he realized what I was thinking. ((If you tell him who you really are, he'll be able to help us get them out!))
Hopefully, I thought as I entered the jail.
Jerome lifted his head and looked at me in confusion. "How can I help you, sir?"
"Jerome Beltran?" Kala had me ask.
The man nodded ever so slightly. "Yes, that's me."
"I'm here to talk to two of your cell mates." Kala stated.
He nodded again. "Who?"
"Craig and Darla- the two who call themselves Dead-Lee and Icy. They supposedly attacked an officer?"
"Uh-huh." Jerome said as he wrote that down in the visitor log. "May I ask who you are?"
"Kris Browns-Lee, aka, Kala." Kala replied.
The man gave a slight chuckle. "That's odd, my foster sister's Yeerk had that name, Kala."
"Yes, Lyz was a crazy one. Talked to birds as if they talked back. Then it all turned out that the animals she was talking to were Animorphs and that she was helping them save the world." Kala said, using a slightly subtle approach to let him know that he was Kala. "The Yeerk's number wouldn't happen to be 115? And she wouldn't have happened to have been the only original one to be able to morph without a time limit?"
The man's eyes lit up in confusion. "How do you know that? That information has never been exposed to the public!"
Kala smirked and offered him a hand to shake. "Kala 115, at your service!"
"Kala!" Jerome repeated. "How's Lyz? I haven't heard from her in a while! Is that her in morph that you're in?"
I blocked out all of the thoughts of Mom that was coming in. I didn't want to break down here.
Kala shook my head sadly. "Lyz died almost a year ago, Jerome. Cancer."
The smile on Jerome's face disappeared. "I see. So who is this host that you're in?"
"Marco's splitting image- Jared, Lyz's son." Kala stated, bringing back down the hand. "He's in morph right now, we weren't expecting you to be the head officer. Craig and Darla are his friends, and he and another friend John know that the dead officer was about to shoot Darla for no reason, hence why Craig stabbed the officer. He and John would have gone to say that they were doing it in self defense if they knew they wouldn't have been accused of being accomplices."
Jerome nodded. "Self defense, correct?" Kala/I nodded. "I could help you get them out. Jared have a morph that can see in the dark and lead them out of here?"
Kala smirked. "I can make one up." I had no idea what he meant by that. "You can erase the footage on the cameras, right?"
The cop nodded. "I'll be right back and put the film on loop so it'll seem like they were there the entire time and we were talking, only for the three of you to disappear during the blackout."
Blackout?
The man returned after a while, holding a ring of keys. He signaled for Kala to start morphing as he began to unlock Dead-Lee's and Icy's cell. They weren't paying attention, their backs to Jerome as he unlocked the major part that separated them from the rest of the world. Before he turned the final turn for the lock, he put up three fingers. Three minutes.
When Kala started having me morph, it seemed like I was morphing an Andalite. But then instead of the normal almond shaped eyes, two large circular ones appeared. Kala covered my eyes with blue feathered hands. The light was intense!
I'm pretty sure that I heard my bones go hollow and felt a beak form on my face, but I was probably just hearing things. Then again, you can never tell what happens when you're morphing- especially when you're not the one controlling it.
The lights went out then Kala uncovered my eyes. Jerome was getting in the posistion to make it look like he was attacked when they escaped. He put up two fingers again to say that we had two minutes to get out of here.
Kala opened the door and grabbed the wrists of Dead-Lee and Icy. They tried to escape, considering that it must be weird for a non-human hand to grab them in the dark, but the morph was stronger. Kala dragged them towards the door, trying to get them to see that we were trying to free understood- a miracle!- and followed us out of the jail just a moment before the lights went back on.
I took control again and pulled us all into the bushes, getting a good look at myself in the window.
I was basically an Andalite- but with owl features scattered all over. Owl eyes, blue feathers, a beak, possibly hollow bones, and claws instead of hooves for the back two legs.
"W..." Icy gasped. "Are you an Andalite?"
"A weird lookin' one if I've ever seen one!" Dead-Lee stated, looking at me.
((And you're a weird looking human if I ever saw one!)) I countered, crossing my feathered arms over my chest.
"Jare?" Icy wondered, standing up.
Dead-Lee looked between Icy and me. "Hell, boy, how'd you do that?"
((Guess you're the only one who doesn't remember who and what I am.)) I stated, beginning to demorph.
He gave a questioning look to Icy, who sighed in return. "He's Jared Fuentes, Dead."
"Ya 'em Animorphs' kid?" Dead-Lee responded, surprise in his voice.
((Ye-)) "-ah." I said, my thoughtspeak becoming normal words as I became more human than whatever I was. The last of the feathers melted back into my skin and I replaced my jacket on.
Icy looked at me. She seemed... shorter.
"What's wit' the dye and contacts, kid?" Dead-Lee looked like he was the same height as me, though I was pretty sure he was taller...
"What?" I asked. My voice didn't exactly sound like my own. It sounded more bitter and harsher. I looked at my reflection in the window. White hair that grew long in a tie at the back- sort of like Lei Wulong from Tekken- and cold, lifeless red eyes met me, on a face that looked forever scarred and molded in an expression of pure hatred. Then the reflection smirked and waved as it turned around and faded back into my real reflection- that of a teen, son of two Animorphs, Jared Fuentes.
"I think we smoked to much this time, Dead." Icy stated as she blinked. "We're seeing things."
Dead nodded. "Come on, kid, let's get Spikes then bring you home."
That was my first encounter with the demon lurking inside of me.