A/N: My sincerest apologies for the huge delay in updating. RL, as usual, and the later chapters of this fic presented some problems as well. I cannot assure you of how timely my updates will be, but I will assure you that I will complete it. Thank you to those who are still sticking by reading this! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

CHAPTER TWELVE

::Ax::

All the shouts and screams ceased.

‹Oh God,› whispered Rachel. ‹Please tell me whoever it was, you're alive.›

‹It's not–› Marco began.

‹YAH-HAH! Now was THAT an adrenaline rush!›

‹Cassie? I wondered. ‹What were you doing?›

‹Taking a good look at that packet. I–›

‹What were you thinking?› Rachel exploded. ‹You could have been swatted!›

‹There's a reason why I suggested we go flies, Rachel, said Cassie, her voice strangely void of emotion. ‹We can go airborne and we've got the best reflexes.›

‹We?› Marco echoed. ‹I'm not really sure I'm with the fly on this one. Cassie, that was crazy. But apart from that, what exactly did you see?›

‹Drugs,› said Cassie, simply. ‹It's an anaesthetic we give to our animals at the Clinic to make them sleep.›

‹Three guesses what they're using it for,› said Rachel.

I wanted to say something, but at that moment, the yellow-haired boy spoke. "I think it's time we got back to the club. Dave and I have got a waterbomb game planned out for the younger kids. Say what, Jake and Toby, care to join us?"

‹A waterbomb?› What were they thinking?

‹Relax, Ax, it only bursts your ego, not your organs,› said Rachel.

It still puzzles me why humans often give various objects name that are not characteristic of the object.

"I'm not sure–" Prince Jake hesitated, but then Tobias cut in. "Actually I was looking for something to do to occupy my time. I don't mind."

"I thought you found them strange," said Prince Jake, staring at Tobias.

Tobias shrugged his shoulders. "I like kids."

‹Really?› Rachel sounded amused.

‹Hur hur.›

‹Oh my God, Tobias, you can thoughtspeak?›

‹Eh? You hear me? Wow, I didn't realise I could. That's a plus. Out of what has been fairly miserable so far...› He softened into a mutter.

"I thought I might wait for Marco and Cassie to be free..." Jake began.

"Naw, come on, midget, it'll be fun. When was the last time you ever did charity work?" Tom grinned.

Prince Jake still hesitated, but then Tobias said, "Okay", and the other boys began to move on. It seemed like Prince Jake was unwilling to be left out as he followed them.

‹Rachel?› It was Marco. ‹Now.›

‹Umm. Sheesh. Okay. Wow, Jake really smells good to the fly. That's absolutely gross.›

‹Keep hovering, Rachel.›

‹No kissing his head.›

‹Shit, Tobias, stop stealing my lines.›

‹Marco, you weren't even going to say them. Stop stealing mine.›

‹So what's up for the rest of us?› Cassie asked.

‹Remorph to birds. We're gonna do aerial surveillance,› said Marco. ‹But I'm gonna bank away and spy somewhere else. You and Ax-man can keep an eye on these fellas.›

‹Marco, you should have informed us about how elaborate your plan was going to be,› I said. ‹I do not even know what Tobias is doing.›

‹He knows,› said Marco, flatly.

With that, he banked hard to the right and disappeared behind the shadows of bushes. Cassie and I followed suit. Moments later, three birds-of-prey rose out above the canopy of trees and houses, flying apart to avoid suspicion.

‹Tobias,› I said, in private thought-speak. ‹Do you know what you are doing?›

‹Yep, Ax-man, I know.›

‹You do not know if Visser Three has information that you are Elfangor's son. You may end up being the number one target, not Prince Jake.›

‹Gee, I think I knew that.› His tone seemed to be of sarcasm, something the real Marco was very fond of.

‹Does Marco have a plan?›

Tobias' eyes gave nothing away as he walked. ‹Kinda. But it's a pretty risky one. In fact, it's everything to do with the fact that Visser Three might know me.›

‹Rachel doesn't know.›

‹Nope, and don't you dare tell her.›

‹No,› I agreed. That wouldn't be wise. ‹But have you met your mother?›

Tobias was silent for a while. Then he nodded his head slightly.

‹And did you–›

‹Ax, I don't want to talk about it for now.›

That caught me by surprise. Unknown to many, except Rachel perhaps, Tobias had expressed some desire to get to know his mother better. I expected him to be happy at the thought of being reunited with a mother who remembered him. Yet, his response...

It was not very appropriate for me to do this, because Tobias is my shorm and he trusts me. But I value his safety more than his trust.

‹Rachel?›

‹Yeah, Ax?›

‹Did you ask Tobias about his mother?›

‹Yeah, but he says let's focus on this first. Why?›

‹I am not very sure that things are alright.› Even after I had thought it dangerous to tell Rachel.

There was a pause. ‹Ax, I know you want to know more about Loren because what has happened to her in this reality may mean a different fate for your brother. But this isn't the time. I mean...›

Rachel may be the most aggressive and impulsive of our group, but sometimes, her perceptiveness amazes me.

‹Please,› I interrupted her, ‹think of an excuse for me.›

‹You want to shadow her?›

‹Yes.› I flapped my wings harder, for the thermals were dying off once we drifted over the roads. The headquarters of The Sharing was immediately visible after a bend. ‹For Tobias, if not for me. I feel that he is hiding something.›

‹Umm...› Rachel sounded a little flustered. ‹Gee, I don't know, you'll have to fake something. After all, everything in this reality's warped. That's the only way to escape Marco's suspicion.›

‹Fake something?›

‹Well...›

I wasn't able to think of a better solution than what Rachel had suggested, so I decided to risk it. Rachel told me where Tobias lived, and it was fairly near where my residence was. Slowly, I put the plan into action. Part of my wing melded away into a human arm, and I could immediately feel the gravitational force of Earth pulling me down.

‹AAAHHHHH!›

‹AX!› yelled Cassie. She was swooping towards me as I spiralled downwards. I had spied a few bushes below that were far from human groups, and would better cushion my landing, so I tried to flap towards it. Marco was yelling too, and Tobias was frightened. Rachel was yelling as well, but she couldn't do much considering she had to follow Prince Jake.

‹Ax, hang on!›

I hit the bushes before Cassie could reach me. But I had tried to make it as soft a landing as possible, and I was quickly morphing into human. Or demorphing, but I do not really like that idea.

‹Ax, are you alright?› Marco demanded.

‹Ax-man?› Tobias wondered.

‹I'm fine,› I said, rolling off the bush. My arms and legs stung a bit, because the twigs had scratched me, but it was easy to heal by remorphing later. ‹This is distressing. I do not know what happened.›

‹Are you suffering from some morph problem?› asked Cassie.

‹Ax, you can't do this mission if you're going to morph into human randomly before one hour's even up!› Marco was getting agitated.

‹I don't feel well,› I said, putting a hand to my head. ‹My head hurts.›

‹Marco, we've both had similar out-of-control morph experiences before. It's dangerous. Ax, you should go back.› Rachel was playing along. I was already thankful that she hadn't insisted on coming along; now I was really grateful.

‹Do you want me to accompany you?› No matter how different Cassie seemed, she was still very concerned for the people around her.

‹It's okay, Cassie, I can manage. Everyone needs you.›

‹We've entered the building,› announced Rachel. ‹Marco, what next?›

‹People have got to stop smiling so widely here,› said Tobias, edgily.

‹Cassie, we've got to go. Ax-man, I'm sorry, you've got to sit this one out. There's no way I'm letting a William Roger Tennant incident happen again.›

‹You actually remember that guy's name?› Rachel asked incredulously.

‹You just made me recall you were once a cockatoo who crapped when he lost control, Marco,› Tobias added snidely.

‹Shut. Up.›

‹I will go back to my residence and think about the possibilities as to what is wrong with me. I will not interfere with the mission.›

‹Thanks, Ax. Come on, Cassie.›

I watched as one osprey rose from the bushes to join the other in the sky. Once they were out of sight, I headed back to where my residence was. But I didn't reach it. Halfway through, I hid behind what is known as a Dumpster in an alley, and morphed into northern harrier once again.

Then I headed for Tobias' home.