Chapter 5

((Are you sure you've got control?)) Rachel asked after a while.

((I'm sure,)) I said.

((Good, because you just wasted ten of our minutes. Let's go.)) She fluttered out the door and took to the sky. I followed as well as I could. It was getting dark out, so my superhuman vision wasn't all that helpful.

Aside from that, flying was amazing. It was like the best amusement park ride ever. The bird's mind didn't see what the big deal was, but I was in awe. Trees that usually towered over my head were far below. Airplanes were absolutely no comparison. Sure, in a plane you were flying, but you weren't flying. In an airplane, you don't feel the wind beneath your wings. You don't see everything below you. When you really fly, you have to hold yourself up. The feeling was exhilarating.

It took me a few minutes to realize that we were moving away from the lights of the city. That was expected, of course. ((So I guess we're going to the battlefield.))

((They've been gone a long time,)) Rachel answered. She was right. That had to mean there was a serious problem. Besides, it was stupid to think that Rachel would just miss out on the action. She was, after all, the Rachel I had known since I was four, even though she didn't know me.

It wasn't long before we could see and hear the fight. Barely specks in the distance, Animorph and hork-bajir clashed against each other.

Rachel dove. I followed, feeling like I was on a roller coaster without the constant tapping of the metal or the seat underneath me. I yelled with joy.

((Shut up!)) Rachel yelled. We opened up and landed in the woods half a mile from the fight. ((Demorph,)) she said. I demorphed, however awkwardly. The only clothes I had on were my bra and underwear. It was very embarrassing, but Rachel didn't seem to notice. When I was finished, Rachel was already half grizzly. ((Now remorph and get in the air. Stay out of dracon beam range and help us if we need it.))

I nodded.

((And if this takes a long time, I want you to land at a safe distance and demorph. If you disappear, I'll come after you. Got it?))

I nodded again.

((Good.)) The grizzly turned away and ran into the bushes.

As she ran away I realized that I had just stood in front of a live grizzly with confidence. A real, live bear had stood in front of me and I hadn't cowered or even been afraid at all. See? I was brave. I morphed again, keeping my eyes closed so I didn't have to watch. Then I flew back into the sky. It was hard, and I had to flap a lot to get to a good altitude, but I got there eventually. My wings were sore from the effort. I glided in circles, watching the battle continue in the dark.

Rachel

I ran into battle, tackling a hork-bajir with a band around its shoulder. After ripping its throat out, I rushed to the aid of Jake, who was being overcome by four hork-bajir.

((Rachel!)) Jake called in surprise as I took down the first controller. ((What are you doing here?))

((Saving your butt,)) I responded.

((Where's Alex?)) he asked.

((Flying,)) I told him as I took down another hork-bajir.

((Rachel!)) Jake exclaimed.

((Let's talk later,)) I said, not all that excited to explain myself in the middle of a battle. I rushed after my own group of controllers, ripping at everything I could find and being ripped at. I had one gash on me for about every two controllers I took down. It was a pretty good deal.

((Guys! I'm down!)) Tobias yelled. I turned to find him on the ground, being attacked as he tried to get back in the air. It was no use, his wing was bent strangely out of shape and he was bleeding all over. He must have been hit on one of his dives.

((I'm coming!)) I called. I tackled the hork-bajir controller and dug my claws into his chest; then turned to Tobias.

((I can't fly!)) he yelped as he tried feebly. Another hork-bajir advanced on him. I snatched him up in my jaws and carried him away. The hork-bajir followed me as I ran until I was at a safe distance from the rest of the fight. Then I dropped Tobias.

((Morph,)) I growled, and turned on the single hork-bajir controller. It was then that he realized that following me alone had not been his most brilliant idea. He backed up slowly.

"Please," he begged. I didn't give him the chance to say more.

I turned back to Tobias. He had morphed Ax and was slowly changing back. ((Rachel, what are you doing here?)) he asked.

((Helping you,)) I said. ((You guys were gone a long time. What's the deal?))

((The free hork-bajir is safe. Toby and her people joined us just a minute ago and managed to take him back. Now our job is to hold these guys off as long as we can so they don't have to worry about being followed. Where's Alex?))

I sighed. He always got right to the point.

((Rachel, Tobias,)) Alex said in a breathy thought-speak voice, ((someone's coming on Rachel's left!))

Tobias and I turned to face the oncoming threat. ((Why is she in morph?)) Tobias growled in thought-speak, not daring to tear his eyes from the supposed enemy's direction.

I didn't answer. I could hear the crashing of bushes faintly, and I pretended to be concentrating too hard to pay attention. After a few seconds, Tobias flapped into the sky, probably trying to get a better angle. I waited as the noise got louder. A tall, husky figure appeared. Hork-bajir, I thought. I waited until it got close enough, then I ran at it.

It wasn't until after I had knocked the hork-bajir controller to the ground and was ready to rip into him when I realized that it wasn't a hork-bajir at all. ((Rachel! Get off me!))

It was Marco.

I stepped off clumsily. ((Well don't sneak up on me then.))

((Let's go. It's a retreat. The controllers are going back down the entrance, but I don't want to be caught back here if they come back with Visser Three.))

((Good idea,)) I said, beginning to demorph. I may be reckless, but I don't want to go one on one with Visser Three. At least I have that much sense.

We morphed into birds and joined the others in the sky.

((Rachel,)) Jake said privately, ((I want to talk to you now.))

I groaned inwardly. ((Yeah?))

((Rachel, I trusted you to watch Alex and keep her safe. You did exactly the opposite.))

I had never heard Jake take such a tone before. It wasn't like him to rag on us for disobeying his orders. Mind you, most of the time we followed them.

((You guys were taking a long time,)) I said. Jake obviously didn't buy it. ((She was driving me up the wall, what else was I supposed to do?))

((What is so horrible about Alex that you couldn't watch her for any more than an hour and a half?)) Jake asked.

I tried to come up with something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on the thing that bothered me about her, aside from the fact that she was a possible threat.

((Rachel, she's not going to bite,)) Jake said. ((You can deal with her.))

He was wrong. I didn't want to spend any time with Alex. She just made me uncomfortable. There was something about her. Maybe it was her voice, the way it was always bouncy and confident, or maybe it was because she was always restless. Whatever it was, it made my personal space bubble grow to enormous proportions when I was around her. She wasn't someone I wanted to be near. ((Jake, I don't know what it is, but I just want to stay away from her.))

((That's too bad Rachel,)) he said. ((She's one of us now, so you're going to have to deal with it.))

Neither of us spoke to each other for the rest of the night. Cassie offered Alex a place at her barn, and Alex happily accepted. I went home, fully ready to sleep.

When I got home and got into bed it was eleven o'clock. Not my latest night, but it was enough to make me tired. I hadn't even closed my eyes when my mother came in.

"There you are, Rachel. I didn't hear you coming in." The tone in her voice hinted of the upcoming disaster.

"I came in a while ago," I lied.

"Really? Because I've been checking your room regularly. The house been locked for two hours."

"Jordan opened the door for me," I lied again.

"No she didn't," she insisted. "Jordan and Sarah went to bed early. Tell me, how did you get all the way up to your window to come in?"

My room was on the second floor. Busted.

"A ladder?" I said lamely.

My mom laughed. "I'm a lawyer," she said, "I can see right through bullshit." I was surprised, my mom rarely swore. "I don't even want to know. You're past your curfew. You're grounded. End of story." She shut the door.

I sighed. Just another perk of being an Animorph.

Some good questions have been asked, so I think I'll answer them here so everyone can get the answers all together :P

McCoy's-Trial-And-Error: It's interesting and something I can see a majority of us wishing would happen too.
However, there are a few things I'd like to ask:
Why did Ax accuse her of being a Yeerk right off? She made no mention of it.
Why didn't Ax steer clear of her? Did he see her suddenly appear on the beach, or anyone else for that matter, and decide to check it out, thinking maybe the Yeerks were testing out some new matter-transport device? And if so, when he saw her heading that way, why didn't he dodge out of the way or something?
Why are all the Animorphs in wolf morph, excluding Tobias and Ax?
Why are the Animorphs even in the forest or on the beach or wherever?
Why is Ax even on the beach in the first place? Or did she follow the path from the ocean into the forest near the river that flows into the ocean?
These are just a few things I noticed. Update soon. I am enjoying this, despite the fact that the review is littered with questions.

This was a review for the first chapter and a good one. I went back and changed it a little since, so it must make a little more sense, but here's the jist of it: The animorphs have just come off of a mission that involved a little running around and being stealthy. Ax assumed that she was a yeerk because he thinks she followed them from the battle. They kind of stumble upon each other while leaving the site of the mission. He didn't see her, because she was hidden by the rocks and bushes. I hope the rest of the questions are clearer now by reading the first chapter. They kind of meet where the beach area merges with the forest, so there are lots of bushes but still plenty of sand.

oOKayleeOo: hey, just letting you know that this is a really good fanfic. but i'm curious who's Mary Sue?

A good question. I think all the fanfiction veterans here know already and could probably explain it better than I could, but the idea is that it's a character with no flaws that gets along with all the other charachers. What I really want to say here is WHY I used this title. Alex is sort of in a position where she expects to come in and be a Mary Sue. She thinks that things will go just perfectly for her and she'll be accepted as a friend and comrade. As you can see, that's not the case. That's why Becoming Mary Sue seemed to fit better. Mary Sue-ism is her goal, and she's going to use any means possible to make it happen.

5h4n3p41n: Great story, just one thing. When Cassie infests Alex, wouldnt she see how th story ends?

Actually, that topic is coming up in the next chapter. Cassie didn't look into all the memories and only did a quick scan. So she missed most of the story. Five or ten minutes wasn't quite enough for her to dig all the way in, and since Alex wasn't thinking about it at the time, she didn't think to look that far. At least, not right then.

Squito: Although, you might to watch your animal depictions. Goshawks have red eyes, not orange, and most birds of prey--besides vultures and other carrior birds--have poor senses of smell. Everything else was done extremely well.

I think that male and female eye colors are different. I just have an animal encyclopedia with little short descriptions of the animals and that's the color it showed there, so I didn't think to look it up anywhere else. I didn't know about the smell thing though, I'll keep that in mind in the future. Thanks :D