Disclaimer don't own the animorphs, don't even own my own characters...I think we have some ownership issues to work out...
thanks to Kharina for reviewing and for letting me know that I had to change my thoughtspeak from the arrow thingies to ((thoughtspeak)), and for her other help.
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Chapter 2—we're the army
Since I had no social life, I easily lasted three days. I saw two different birds watching me every time I went to school and back.
An osprey and the red-tailed hawk. I tried talking to the hawk, but it wouldn't listen to me.
Anyway, when the others were convinced I was yeerkless, I was invited to Cassie's barn, where I met another friend of theirs.
He was kind of cute…in an almost feminine, yet masculine sort of way…
"I have heard of you. Michelle. Shell. She-ell," he said, seemingly tasting my name on his tongue.
"Ax," Jake said.
"Yes, Prince Jake?"
"Prince?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
"Don't call me prince, Ax," he sighed, then turned to the others, "Well, she's proven that she's not a controller and that she doesn't like Yeerks. Have we agreed to take her into the resistance?"
((Anything like David?)) I heard, but nobody spoke. The words were in my mind.
"Who said that?" I asked, looking around.
"You know she's nothing like David, Tobias. You've been following her," said Cassie, looking upward. I followed her gaze.
There was the red-tailed hawk.
"I knew you could talk! You never answered me when I tried to talk to you," I said.
((You were a potential Yeerk. I am Tobias. I, for one, think she would be an asset. Ax, shall we explain or demonstrate first?))
"Demonstrate what?"
"You know of the Yeerks, and you asked to join the resistance. Am I correct in this?" Jake asked.
I nodded vigorously.
"Okay then. We are the resistance. We call ourselves the Animorphs," he explained, gesturing to the 5 of them and the hawk.
"Just you guys? What can you do?" I asked, "Where's the rest of your army?"
Tobias flew down.
((Ax, it's showtime.))
Before my eyes, I saw the bird and the strange boy change.
First, Tobias shot up to about 7 feet. Ax sprouted two extra eyes on stalks. He grew two extra feet out of his chest and his mouth disappeared. Tobias' feathers disappeared and blades grew from his wing joints and forehead.
After Ax's legs fell to the ground, now looked like a centaur. Until the tail.
Man, I thought I'd never feel true fear after I learned Karate and fight-dancing until I saw that tail. Scorpion-style with a scythed blade that looked sharper than anything I'd ever seen before or since.
In another minute I saw two new beings in front of me.
A blue centaur with a tail scythe and an 8ft tall walking razorblade.
When Cassie and Rachel woke me up, Ax was still the blue centaur, but Tobias was in human form. Dirt-blonde hair, but I could see the hawk-like expression work into one of concern.
"Whoa…sorry, it was all the blades," I said, then looked at the scythe on Ax's tail, "Mainly that one. By the looks of it, it could split atoms."
Ax smiled a weird smile with his main eyes, ((I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, and I am an Andalite,)) he said, in the thought speak that Tobias had used.
"We can all morph into animals. That is our power against the Yeerks," Jake said.
I nodded, then turned to Aximili.
"If your name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, why do they call you Ax? Don't you find it insulting or something?" I asked.
((Few humans can pronounce my name, so they call me what they will. You may call me Ax or Aximili, if you wish,)) he said, smiling his eye-smile.
"What about you?" I asked Tobias, "What are you?"
"It's…complicated. My father was an Andalite in human form. I was born human. Now I am a nothlit, entrapped in the form of a hawk…or I was until I got the power to morph again. You'll have to read our journals from when we started being Animorphs. And write one of your own." He smiled at me.
"I'll be able to change into one of those blade-walkers or something?" I asked.
"Any animal you acquire—any animal you touch and take into yourself. It's great, but there are rules. A 2-hour limit. You overstay the 2-hour limit without demorphing and remorphing, you're stuck," said Jake.
"Like me," said Tobias, "Like any other morph, I have to morph human and morph back to the hawk within two hours."
"Wow…bum deal," I changed the subject, "Did the Yeerks get any of your family?"
Jake, Aximili, Tobias and Marco nodded.
"My brother Tom," Jake said.
"My mom's Visser 1," Marco said.
"Elfangor," Tobias and Aximili said
"Who's Elfangor?" I asked.
((My brother, War Prince Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul,)) Aximili said.
"My father, human name Alan Fangor," Tobias added.
"The one who gave us the power to morph, and the will to fight," Rachel added, "Before Visser 3 murdered him right in front of us."
I looked at her, horror in my eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…I just wanted to…" I stopped, close to tears.
"You just wanted to get to know us better. It's okay, Michelle, Rachel should have said it…easier," Cassie said, comforting me as was her way.
"Rachel, Cassie's right. Why did you just blurt it out like that?" Tobias asked, turning his steely gaze toward her.
She looked a bit taken aback, then got a stubbornness in her, "You should know, Tobias. I'm going home. I've got gymnastics practice to do," she said, becoming a giant eagle as she stood.
Tobias shied away—eagles and hawks didn't get along very well, and Rachel seemed mad.
"I did something wrong, didn't I?" I asked. I always do something to lose friends.
"Rachel's just a bit territorial toward Tobias," Cassie whispered.
I looked at Tobias, who was busy morphing back.
"Oh, they're…girlfriend and boyfriend?" I whispered back.
"It's unofficial, but yeah," she said.
((Cassie, can you get the blue box, please?)) Tobias asked, taking his perch again.
"Okay," she said, leaving.
"What do you want your first morph to be?" asked Jake.
I looked at the cages.
"Am I going for strength or camouflage?" I asked.
He grinned, "I like your way of thinking, but we have no planned mission at the moment. Just pick whatever you want."
I looked around Cassie's barn/vet clinic, saw the deer, the wolves. The small animals in their cages, like rodents and insects. The medium sized animals, skunks, foxes, hawks and owls.
"I think I'll take the vixen over there," I decided.
"Vixen?" asked Marco.
"What type of idiot are you?" I asked, smiling, "A vixen's a girl fox."
"Good choice. I don't think we have a fox morph in our ranks," Cassie said, bringing a blue cube into the barn.
"We'll take you to the Gardens tonight for a few good morphs. Now, hold your hand to the side and concentrate," Jake instructed.
I did as he said, and when we were done, Cassie went and got the vixen from her cage.
"Now, concentrate on her becoming a part of you, then on you becoming her," she said, closing the barn doors.
First came the tail. Sploot—I stopped concentrating and just looked at the tail.
"Keep concentrating," Jake said.
"Just a second…I'm getting used to the idea of me having a tail," I said, then concentrated again.
Falling! No…shrinking. Ears moved, snout appeared, fur sprouted.
In less than a minute, I was crawling out of the shirt, ears pricked.
Humans! I ran into what I think was an unused stall and peered out at the humans warily.
((Michelle, I know the fox's instincts are there, but you have to control them,)) said Tobias.
I stayed put. I knew enough about humans to know I was a hunted species.
"Michelle, we won't hurt you. Just remember that you are human," said Marco.
I pulled through the mind like pulling taffy.
((Wow! Look at me!)) I said, turning around.
"What a fox!" Marco joked.
((Ha. Ha. And again, ha. Do you guys have to deal with him all the time?)) I asked, chuckling in my mind.
"It gets annoying, but he's okay once you get used to him," Jake said.
((Believe it or not, he's smart when he wants to be,)) Tobias added.
"Don't give away my secrets, bird-boy," Marco said, feigning insult.
"Guys, I think it's time you left. I have to teach Michelle how to morph clothing," Cassie said.
"Will you take her to the Gardens tonight?" asked Jake, getting up. Cassie nodded
"Goodbye, Michelle," Marco and Jake said. Morphing birds, they left.
((I shall see you later, Michelle,)) Aximili said.
((I'll see you later, girls,)) Tobias said.
((See you later, Tobias, Aximili. Bye guys,)) I called in thought speak.
Tobias flew out the window and Aximili just galloped away.
"Okay, now you can only morph skintight clothing, like a leotard or swimsuit. Picture you wearing something like that and concentrate.
((Okay,)) I said, picturing each change simultaneously.
I controlled the demorph with what little effort, and ended up in a one piece silver swimsuit.
"Cool…not even Ax can control a demorph. I can, and I guess so can you. It's a natural gene, some dancers do it on the Andalite homeworld," Cassie said.
I acquired a bird, but walked home, with nothing to show for my morphing but a tail-hole in my jeans.
((Michelle, it's Tobias. It's time to go to the Gardens and get a battle morph. Cassie told me I could take you, hope you don't mind.))
I woke up and looked at my clock. Midnight. I was instantly awake.
"Hi, Tobias," I said, opening my window and letting him in.
((Sorry to wake you,)) he said.
"No problem. I don't need much sleep," I said, making sure my parents were asleep.
((What bird do you have?)) he asked.
"A hawk…I don't remember the species name but Cassie said it's cousin to the red-tail," I said.
((Okay, and you've practiced?))
I nodded, concentrating.
First I shrank myself, then lifted my arms out into wings. I held that pose for a half-minute, a miniature harpy.
((Nice control,)) Tobias commented.
Then I let the rest of the morph control itself.
We were off.
((So what do you want for a battle morph?)) he asked.
((My favorite animal in the world—a white Siberian tiger. I have a million pictures of them in my room,)) I said, excited.
((I saw them. Jake has a Siberian tiger morph. Wouldn't hurt to have two big cats on out side. Just remember to get control before your first battle.))
I landed directly in the Siberian tiger exhibit with only my wings left of my bird form.
I walked fearlessly up to the tigers, who looked at me and went back to sleep. I was only a human, nothing to fear.
I debated whether to get a male or female morph. Each had its strengths for battling.
In the end it came down to instincts. A female could distract Jake.
I chose a male.
((Want a powerhouse morph? A water morph?))
"I think I'll get a dolphin morph," I decided, crawling into the pool area.
One of the dolphins swam up to me, and I acquired it.
((Okay, you have a nice variety of morphs, just try to get an insect morph sometime soon,)) Tobias said when we headed back to my place.
((No problem, I have a couple pet bugs and my tarantula I can acquire. The walking sticks even fly,)) I said, flying into my room.
It was around 2am.
((See you tomorrow—can you meet us at the mall? You have to "just meet us" there, but you won't be able to miss us if Ax and I are there."
"Why?" I asked, fully human again.
((Ax…well you'll see tomorrow. Good night, Michelle.)) he said, flying out of the window.
"Goodnight Tobias," I whispered. I closed my window, acquired my pets and went to sleep.