Chapter 28

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As I landed on the figure, I used all the strength I had to thrust the dagger down towards them. The figure grabbed my wrist, grunting and stopping the dagger from coming down, pushing me back. Soon it was a struggle, with me pushing the dagger down, and them pushing the dagger upwards, their hands clamped securely around my wrists.

I heard a growl behind me, and then a shout, something thumping onto the metal.

Suddenly I was on my back, the dagger yanked off me.

"No!" I cried instinctively, hearing the figure above me make a surprised sound.

"Stop!" Came another voice not far off, then the sky above us lit up, illuminating everything inside the fighter.

And in that instant... I saw the face of the person above me.

"Marco?" My jaw dropped a little, feeling him more than seeing him jump off me, then offered me his free hand to take. When I was up, he handed me back the dagger, and I slipped it back into its sheath.

(What the hell?!) Rachel was suddenly there, along with another figure I couldn't quite see.

"Jade? Rachel?" Marco looked from me to her in the darkness, and another flash of light above us let me see the other figure now standing beside us.

"Ax? What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I fumbled around for one of the torches, finally finding it and clicking it on, giving us at least some light.

(And as a human) Rachel added, although I could see she was now starting to shift back.

"Thought it might seem less threatening, considering this is Ithiell's fighter and all... and we know how much butt he can kick" Marco smirked a little in the near darkness.

"True that" I muttered "Still doesn't explain why you're here"

I noticed Ax was starting to demorph as well, keeping his tail out of the way as it started to form, his stalk eyes now looking at a human Rachel, while his main eyes were on me.

"Jake sent us here to warn you guys. Something big is happening, and we've evacuated our families up to the valley" Marco turned to Rachel "Yes, even yours"

Surprisingly, Rachel smiled "Thanks Marco. Knew I could count on you"

"So... what's going on?" I turned to him and Ax, another flash of lightning going on above us, the thunder coming not long after and making me cringe a little.

(Erik overhead that all of our identities have been discovered. How, we do not know) Ax looked worried (Not even my-)

"And when we say all, we mean all. The Animorphs, your team... even the turtles. All out there" Marco seemed to check them off on his fingers as he said them.

"Waaait... what?"

"But... how? Was it a someone, or did we make a mistake somewhere and a security camera was left on somewhere? Just...how?" Rachel turned to him, crossing her arms.

(He does not know)

"How could they know about even the location of the turtles lair?" I wondered, looking at Rachel. I noticed her shiver a little then, bringing me back to the reality that we were all standing in a crashed ship in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Maybe we should get airborne, and talk that way" Marco seemed to have noticed the same thing, and we all headed outside the ship, with me grabbing and taking the torches and the broken communicator with me.

The rain itself was coming down heavier, and we started to change into owls, knowing it would be harder to get back to the others now, taking flight anyway.

Another flash of lightning made me cringe, the sound of thunder almost shaking the ground we were all standing on.

Slowly, we all took to the sky, fighting the heavy rain and wind that had moved in while we were in the fighter.

(Jake and the others are all up at the valley. Jake... well, Jake sent me and Ax to...)

(To what?) Rachel sounded a little snappy.

(To read us to see if they could pick up any signs of us being Yeerked) I told her, knowing Jake had chosen well. Marco was good at reading people, and Ax had the most experience out of all of us with the Yeerks.

(Well you shouldn't have come. I can safely tell you none of us are Yeerked) Rachel grumbled a little, probably still slightly annoyed at Jake.

(We barely escaped an attack. Ithiells...) I stopped then, my mind going back to Ithiell and the others. Wondering where they were, and what the heck that message meant... he wasn't very clear...

(How did you know Ithiell's fighter was there?) Rachel had seen what I'd missed. Good old Rachel!

(We were flying towards the lair when we found it... we thought we'd check inside, just in case...) Marco trailed off, knowing we knew the rest.

(The lair was destroyed) I said flatly (Donnie and I were ambushed and almost killed, and Ithiell's ship was shot down)

(So... where are the others)

(Well... we lost Ithiell, Rtaia and two of the brothers. Everyone else is back at a makeshift camp) Rachel explained, sounding a little less annoyed. Around us, the storm seemed to be picking up speed, thunder and lightning coming faster and louder now. I couldn't help but cringe, wondering if the others had found some shelter from this storm...

(So how did you end up... back here?)

(Well...) I sighed (I thought Ithiell might have left us a clue to where they might have gone)

(And did you find one?) Ax asked.

(Not one that made a lick of sense) I grunted a little, still trying to flap my wings for all they were worth. This was going to take some time, to both get back to the others, as well as to work out what in the world Ithiell meant.

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Finally, we managed to find our way back to the makeshift campsite with Ax and Marco in tow, finding it was now deserted, the fire out as the storm thundered around us.

(Where are they?) Marco wondered as we all searched around as much as we possibly could in the rain.

Finally I landed in front of the remnants of the fire, looking around and finding that the dirt was now mud, so even any footprints we might have been able to follow would be washed away.

(We can't even sniff them out) Rachel landed beside me, and soon we were all on the ground. I bet it must have looked like some kind of horrible ritual... four owls standing around a snuffed out campfire in the middle of a storm...

(Is there anywhere they could go?)

I shook my head (Marco, we're in the middle of no where, in a thunderstorm. I doubt even Splinter knows anywhere to-)

(Well, we could always call out to them) Rachel perked up, stretching her wings out a little.

(The only one who would be able to respond would be Mihra, and we don't even know how far they got)

(Probably not too far in this rain. How long do you think you were gone for?) Marco looked at me, tilting his head a little.

(Uh... I'm not sure) I turned back to Rachel, who seemed to attempt a kind of owl version of a shrug.

(More than an hour. Less than two?)

(So, two earth hours-)

(They're everyone's hours Ax) Marco groaned.

(Two... hours... to move from this spot. And I am guessing they would not have moved immediately)

(So... in other words... they couldn't have gotten too far) If I could, I would have rolled my eyes at Ax.

(Well, the trees seem to get denser in that direction) Marco lifted a wing (So I'm going to bet they went that way)

(I do not believe that is-)

(No, Marco could be right. More trees, more cover) I opened my wings, flapping in that direction. I knew the others would follow me, starting to dodge and dive through the trees, keeping my eyes open for any sign of the others.

(We're going to fly above the treeline) I heard Rachel say from somewhere behind me.

(Suit yourself) I said a little giddily, finding some kind of adrenaline rush from trying to avoid the trees, which were actually getting thicker the more I flew.

We all started to call out, hoping that we were going in the right direction, and that Mihra could hear us and respond.

(Jade, I think-) But I didn't hear the rest, my left wing smashing hard into a tree I hadn't been able to avoid quickly enough, feeling the bones snap and going for a tumble into the mud.

(Ow) I muttered, hearing the others call to me, suddenly finding the rain above me seemed to stop temporarily.

I managed to turn my head to look up, seeing a large dark figure above me, trying to flap my wings helplessly as I was suddenly swept up.

(AAAI!) I yelped, now finding I was being held, and against a chest, which was massive.

(Jade!) Rachel called, then I heard a deep throaty sound from whatever had me.

"Jade?" Came the voice, and whatever it was looked down at me then.

It took me a moment to put my panicked thoughts in order, recognizing the voice finally.

(Mikey?)

"Oh dudette, you're okay!" He put me down, kneeling down in front of me as the others landed beside me.

(What...) I managed to shift back, knowing the others were demorphing and looking around.

"Where are the others?" I finally asked with my human mouth, looking around in the pouring rain.

"Oh, over here" He took my hand, leading me and the others over to what looked like a small cave, where I saw the others huddled up as much as possible.

"You guys okay?" I asked as we all squeezed in, finally somewhat out of the rain. Rachel went and sat on Raphael's lap, and Kristiana moved to get onto Mikey's lap to make room.

I brushed the matted hair from my forehead back, looking around at our drenched and cold group, knowing we wouldn't last long out here. We needed to find some proper shelter, and soon.

"So, you have brought others with you" Mihra eyed Ax, who was half hanging out of the small cave, his tail on the ground.

(Another Changeling?) Ax muttered, almost to himself, looking around. Marco was next to me, shivering a little.

"Yes, Serah's mother" I explained, looking over at Serah, who was next to her mother and a very tired looking Splinter.

"Morph and get your butt in here yeah? Don't want you catching a cold or anything" I saw Ax looking very uncomfortable, probably from the cold.

He nodded, morphing into a cat of all things, going to sit beside Marco. I think he appreciated the small bit of warmth.

"So... did you find anything?" Kristiana asked, now looking snug against Mikey's chest. I had to admit I did feel a little jealous, now shivering like Marco was.

"Well..." I looked at Rachel, then at Marco.

"We need to talk" Rachel said.

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Safe to say, everyone was just as confused as I had been, seeing that message. Mihra was quickly explained to Ax and Marco, as well as the recent events, to bring them up to speed with why Kristiana and Serah were with us. We also half explained Ax and Marco, knowing she would probably still remember most of what Rachel had told her about the Animorphs. Not much more needed to be said.

Now, Mihra was delicately handling the device I'd found, looking it over carefully as the rest of us tried to work out the riddle.

Or... as everyone else threw thoughts at me.

"Could they have gone to the valley?" Marco asked, now no longer shivering. The rain had subsided, and I saw the sky outside starting to lighten. I think it helped there were so many bodies in this tiny cave, warming it a little. Ax was now human, half sitting out of the cave and keeping watch. His idea, you can be sure.

"That's what I thought, but I don't think so" I rubbed my face with my hands, feeling exhaustion start to creep in.

"So, if its not the valley, then could it be- could he have gone back to Australia?" Serah offered, and I shook my head.

"Without the fighter, there is no way for them to get back there"

"Could it be the old lair?" Splinter spoke up, and again I shook my head.

"Too dangerous. And if the Yeerks now know about all of us, I can safely say that would probably be one of the first places they'd check"

"Okay, so where?"

"I...I don't know" I muttered, my mind trying to go through any conversation I'd had with Ithiell over the last few years, trying to remember what was said but finding I could only remember bits and pieces. Nothing really stood out...

"I do not understand why this device will not function" I heard Mihra finally say "But I cannot access it and find out more, as I do not have any equipment with me"

"Great" Rachel muttered, and Mihra handed the little watch thing back to me.

"Perhaps I can help?" Ax offered, and I handed it to him, watching as he looked it over, much like Mihra had.

"Okay, let's go back to the clue" Marco leaned forward, linking his fingers together and resting his chin on his hands.

"Search high, search low, where we go, only you know" I recited, looking at him and watching as his eyes narrowed.

"What the hell does it mean?" Raph grunted, shifting his weight a little. It must have been so uncomfortable for him and Mikey.

"From the way it is worded, it seems like this clue was meant for Jade" Splinter again, and I saw Kristiana nod a little.

"I really don't know what he's talking about. If only I know..."

We all fell silent again, me putting my head in my hands and curling myself up as tight as possible. I closed my eyes, feeling like I was falling asleep a little, finally just letting myself. Behind my eyelids, were flashes of Ithiell and some of our talks. Him under the fighter, working on it. Him standing there scolding me for something. Him and I sitting on a rooftop, looking out as the sun dipped behind the buildings...

"Jade, I have a confession to make" I heard him say, and I turned to look at him.

"What? Can't handle Robert anymore" I let out a small snort, instantly regretting it when I saw how serious his face was.

"No, I... well, as you know I have a lot of time on my hands, so I decided-"

My head shot up, now wide awake.

"Jade?" Serah sounded worried, and I shushed her, trying to work out if what I had just seen had been a dream, or... a memory...

My brain was trying to piece it together, the events that may have lead up to the time on the roof.

Then it all hit me. It had been about a year or so ago, not long after I'd moved here. Him and Donnie had been arguing about something techy, so I'd decided to leave them to it, and watch the sun go down. Ithiell had obviously seen me leave, and followed me to the roof. He'd apologized...then we'd talked about random things, before he got that serious look...

"Jade, are you-?"

"No, shh!" I managed to say, pressing my hands on the sides of my head, trying hard to remember what he'd said.

He had alot of time on his hands, so he decided to...

"Oh my god guys" I looked up at each and every one of them, feeling hope flood through me. It was no wonder why he'd left me that message. I was the only one who knew about his big secret...

"Jade, what is it?" Rachel asked, and my eyes locked onto hers, unable to keep a smile from my face.

"I know where they are"

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I know, this chapter wasn't the best. But trust me, you guys will looove what I'm about to do :)

Please review!

And as always, Constructive Criticism appreciated :D