Chapter 30
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I sat myself down, crossing my legs and leaning back against a tree, watching as the other girls all moved to the quiet river beside us, kneeling down and taking a drink.
Another day had passed, and there was no sign of Ithiell or the others. I was starting to wonder if maybe I'd been wrong, considering...
We'd been able to get a few hours rest, before continuing on into the mountains, but we were all still exhausted, and starting to feel hungry and dehydrated as well. There was only so much further I knew we could go under these conditions.
Thankfully, we'd found this river, and all of us were taking a moment to rest and drink. I saw Mihra and Splinter sit next to one another, both looking absolutely exhausted. Raph wasn't far from them, looking a little worried about his Sensei.
"I thought you said you knew where he was?" Marco sounded annoyed as he stood above me, folding his arms. My eyes met his, and I couldn't help but sigh.
"I thought I did. The way this is going..." I looked out onto the still waters, being caught by how beautiful it actually was out here. The setting sun was just hitting the water at the right angle, turning it almost pink. For a moment, I almost forgot the situation we were in...
"Well, that kind of thinking really hasn't done us any good"
"Thanks Marco, real helpful" I stood up, facing him "You telling me that has really-"
"Dude and dudette, don't fight" Mikey was suddenly there, an arm around each of our shoulders "Think of it this way"
We both looked oddly at his smiling face.
"We're away from those Yeerk dudes, and they don't know where we are"
Surprisingly, he had a point.
"Yeah, well... still" Marco moved away, and we both watched as he went to the river to get a drink himself.
"Marco, I know. I didn't plan on this" I finally said to him, looking up at Mikey and removing his arm from my shoulder, patting it a little as I moved away, and sat back down on the ground.
"He has not responded to our calls" Mihra rubbed her eyes, her ears folded slightly back.
"You know, there is more than one mountain range-"
"I know" I stopped Kristiana "But this is the one he told me about. He said he was going to start coming out here once he had the equipment he needed, and-"
"Are you sure he wasn't lying to you?" Rachel spoke up, now seeing her laying on the ground, her arms out to her sides and her knees slightly up.
"I don't think Ithiell would lie about something like that" I decided to lay down too, looking at the light streaking across the sky. I wondered how they were...and where they were...
"Perhaps we should get across this river, then settle in for the night" Mihra suggested.
"Why not just here?" Serah asked.
"If they end up coming after us, we at least have a large body of water between us and them" She explained, and we couldn't help but agree. Plus, I knew if they came after us, we'd be able to at least use some of the trees on that side as cover...
The Animorphs flew over, and Mihra and I became male Chanaibens, taking the girls over, then managing to get Splinter between us, dropping him safely and gently on the other side. Thankfully, the boys didn't need any help, swimming over without any problems.
We shifted back, all of us now looking more exhausted than before. I felt really bad for Splinter and the girls, they seemed to be dealing with it the worst... the looks on their faces...
"We should start-" Suddenly something on my hip buzzed madly, and I jumped, seeing everyone turn to look at me.
"What was that?" Rachel asked, and I jumped again, feeling whatever it was buzz again.
"You got me" I reached in my pocket, grabbing the now occasionally buzzing object, pulling it out to find it was the broken communicator... or what we guessed was broken... that was now going crazy. It was flashing green, buzzing a little, before stopping.
"But... it did not work!" Mihra looked shocked, and I shrugged.
"And now somehow it is?" I wondered, kind of hoping it wasn't something the Yeerks could now track us with.
(May I see?) Ax came up to me, and I went to give it to him, the device suddenly going silent.
"What did you do?!" Rachel snapped, coming up to us and yanking it away from Ax. She went to do something to it, but I grabbed it off her, the device suddenly lighting up again.
"The hell?" I muttered, looking down at it.
"Odd... please, hand it to me" Mihra was there, and I went to hand it to her, finding everyone was now in a circle around us. As soon as the device touched her hands, it fell silent again.
(It seems to only activate when Jade has it) Ax and I shared a look.
"And how does that help us?" Raph folded his arms, not looking happy at all. I couldn't blame him.
"Give it back to her, mom" Serah almost snatched it off her mother, handing it right back to me. Once again, it came to life.
"It is somehow keyed to your DNA" Mihra seemed almost shocked.
"So... only I can activate it?" I asked stupidly, going to tap the screen of the thing, finding it stopped vibrating, and was now only flashing up the top.
"But... it didn't do a thing up until now... why?" Rachel folded her arms, almost imitating Raph.
We all stood there, thinking about it, before I think realization hit about half of us.
"Oh my god..."
"Could it..."
"It's the only-"
I started to move, turning my body a little, seeing the little light now pointing to the left of me, and I almost jumped happily, giggling a little.
"Oh my gosh! Ithiell you jerk!"
"What? What's going on?!" Mikey looked confused. In fact, so was Raph, Rachel, Kristiana and Serah. The looks on their faces all mirrored one another.
"Ithiell... he made this so it would activate..." I shared a look with Ax and then Mihra, who both grinned.
"Activate what?"
"So it would activate when we were close"
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Thoughts of camping for the night were soon forgotten, opting for a short rest, before we started to follow the little light now on the watch. I think all of us were on edge, as well as excited as well as probably now just running on pure adrenaline.
We started trekking up another small mountain path, seeing Splinter start to have a little trouble, before Raph picked him up and was now almost piggybacking him. Splinter himself didn't seem to mind, looking almost relieved as he held onto his sons shell.
"How much further?" Rachel asked, and I could see the exertion on her face, taking a deep breath myself. The path was now getting almost dangerous the further we went up.
"I... don't know. This thing didn't really come with instructions" I looked up, then down at the little tracker, which was starting to flash a little faster now, but I still had no idea how far up we had to go, or if this was even the right mountain we were heading up.
"Can't be too far" Marco said from beside me.
"I hope not" Serah gasped, and I saw her bend over, hands on her knees.
(If you prefer, I can carry you) Ax offered, sidling up beside her.
She went to shake her head, but then Rachel gave her a nudge "Come on, it wont affect him at all, and you need a rest"
"All right" Serah threw a leg over Ax's back as he bent down a little, standing properly when she was on and continuing to move, the rest of us half following. I noticed that Kristiana was still doing all right, although I knew she wouldn't last too long either. I guessed when she couldn't keep going, that Mikey would help her out.
We all continued our slow climb, noticing even Rachel and Marco seemed to be having trouble. They had both morphed into wolves, just in case we ran into any trouble, but even their paws seemed to be slipping a little.
After about half an hour more, we all needed to rest, sitting down for a few minutes and catching our breath.
"Does it ever end?" Kristiana gasped, looking up. I straightened my legs out in front of me, feeling my feet start to really ache.
(At the top?) Marco offered, trying to make a joke but he sounded more tired than anything. I didn't blame him.
"Ha ha, very funny" Kristiana responded dryly.
We all fell silent, before I decided to get up and move towards a small boulder near us, wondering if I could see how far up we were from there, grabbing onto the trunk of a tree to pull myself up. I looked down, seeing a sharp drop below me, and what looked a small ledge overlooking that sharp drop, not far below the boulder I was on.
"We're a fair way up" Holding onto the tree, I started to lean back a little, looking up towards the top, trying to gauge how far up it went.
"I cant see the top, but from what I can tell, we're over half way. Could be wrong though" I shrugged, looking at the others and feeling my heart drop a little. They all looked exhausted, pushed far beyond their limits. I could tell even Ax was weary.
"How about I fly up and-" I didn't get to finish, because at that moment I felt my foot start to slip, something crumbling under me, and I tipped backwards, hearing my friends screaming as I fell.
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I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke there was a horrible pain on the back of my head. I groaned, grabbing my head and looking up to my friends, seeing Raph had climbed down and was sitting beside me.
"She's awake at least" Raph said, a hand on my back now, and I turned to look around, finding I had landed on the ledge I'd seen earlier. I was surprised Raph had gotten down here. Unfortunately, the ledge itself was only small, which was probably why no one else had risked coming down.
"Jade! Are you okay?" Serah sounded panicked as I looked up at her. I mentally checked myself, moving my arms and legs and finding I was only sore from where I had guessed I had tumbled, and the back of my head. The rest of me seemed all right.
"Yeah, I'm good" I let Raph help me to my feet.
"You scared the bejibbers out of us" Kristiana said, and I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I can't help it. Natural klutz"
"Heh, you can say that again" Raph patted my back a little, and I looked back at him, sticking my tongue out a little.
"Don't forget the tracker" Came Mihra's voice, and I looked up to see her pointing beside us.
"Oh, shit" I picked it up, turning it over to check if it had been broken in the fall.
Thankfully it didn't look-
"Scanning... scan complete" An automated voice suddenly exploded out of it, and a small light blinding me. I looked up at Raph, his confusion probably mirroring mine, before the ledge under us shuddered violently. The others started to scream from above us.
"Raph!" I instinctively grabbed onto him, feeling his arms go around me and knowing I had to-
To both our shock, instead of it falling like we were expecting, it separated a little from the cliff face, starting to slide down, what seemed like two building lengths, suddenly seeing the ledge looked more like an elevator. I could see the thin tracks built into the rock.
"What the hell?" I held onto Raph just in case, until we both jolted to a stop, almost falling over.
"You guys okay!" I heard Rachel now call from above, and we separated, looking up at our friends, who were now further way.
"Yep, just peachy!" I muttered, looking around us and not seeing any reason for us to suddenly be further down. In front of us, solid rock, behind and beside us... impending death or perhaps just serious injury.
"Do you see anything down there?" Mihra now called, looking down. I shook my head.
"Like what?" I pointed in front of us "It's a solid wall of r-" At that moment I saw something, moving myself a little closer and squinting. It was a small round hole, cut into the face of the rock.
"Weird" Raph muttered, and I hummed in agreement. I relayed what we were seeing up to the others.
"Push it!" Suddenly Mikey was behind the girls, and I heard them cry out in annoyance.
"Mikey!" Kristiana pushed him back a little.
"Well, wouldn't hurt" Raph muttered, moving to push it.
Nothing happened.
"Doesn't feel like a button or anything" Raph grunted, sounding a little annoyed. I didn't blame him.
"Let me" I pressed my own smaller finger into the circular hole, feeling like it really was just a big circular indent in the rock face.
"Goddamn it!" I punched the rock face, instantly regretting it when my hand began to throb. I shook my hand, looking up at Raph, who looked about as pissed off as I felt. Why have this elevator... thing... whatever you wanted to call it... and then have no other way in!
Or even... up or down from this bloody rock face!
"Does the tracker fit in there" Marco, of all people, shouted from above, and instantly I felt like an idiot.
"Thanks Marco" I muttered, bringing up the small watch, moving and going to place it against the little indentation.
To my surprise, it was drawn to the little hole, almost by a little magnetic pull, and I heard the click as it finally fit in. Then, it started to turn, one way then then next, and I could hear something like clicking after each turn.
"Holy-" I jumped back a little, careful not to fall of the edge, Raph backing up with me as suddenly the whole rock face shook violently.
I saw a blue sliver of light, which slowly got bigger as I realised part of the mountainside itself was starting to separate, almost like massive doors, in front of this small elevator ledge thing Raph and I were on.
Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and we both looked into the now cavern ahead of us, small blue lights on the walls illuminating it almost like a hallway, which curved off to the left.
"Uh, guys!" I called up, hoping they were okay "I think we found it!"
"No shit" Came Rachel's response.
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We managed to get everyone down and into the now tunnel, all of us heading forward cautiously. Inside, I was starting to wonder if they were here... if they were okay... or if...
As soon as we were all in however, the two halves of the rock face behind us started to close, and I saw Mihra half step towards it, seeming to decide against it when they closed behind us completely.
"Well, only one way to go now" Rachel started to move forward, then Marco, and we all followed them, seeing Raph go and take up the front, his Sais at the ready.
I felt someone bump into me, almost knocking me over and then grabbing me before I could fall, looking over at a now sheepish Mikey, rolling my eyes at him a little. He was staying close to anyone he could, and I think even he was a little worried.
We all crept along, all of us keeping close to one another, just in case Ithiell had hidden any booby traps or anything, and I was amazed at how big this place was. How in the world could he have built this place alone? Unless maybe Donnie, or Rtaia helped him...
Possibly both. Wouldn't surprise me, could possibly be why they were always arguing...
Suddenly the small tunnel opened up into a huge cavern, and what we saw I think shocked all of us.
"Dude" Mikey gaped, seeing it was set out very similarly to the turtles lair. Only... there was alot more electrical equipment around, and countless tunnels leading to who knows where.
(This is astounding!) Even Ax couldn't keep the admiration from his voice.
"I was wondering when you'd all get here" Came a voice, and we all jumped about a mile in the air, turning to see Ithiell walking into the room, cleaning his claws on what looked like a dirty cloth.
I felt tears spring to my eyes as I ran towards him, seeing him drop the cloth and open his arms for me to run into.
"You're okay! Oh my gosh" I hugged him as hard as I could, feeling him return the pressure. I couldn't stop the flow of tears, relieved he was all right.
"I'm so glad you're okay" Was his answer, hearing a slight tremor in his voice, but knowing he was keeping it under control for me.
I pulled away from him, going and slapping him a little hard on his chest, hearing him yelp a little. I was suddenly stuck between upset and angry.
"You jerk!" I saw him look blankly at me "That clue was a pain in the ass to work out!"
"I'm with her" Rachel muttered from the group. Ithiell smiled a little sheepishly.
"Sorry, we didn't have alot of time after we crashed"
"You're still an idiot" I muttered, giving him one last small hug before Mihra was there, looking genuinely upset. They hugged, and I heard them talking in Chanaiben a little, going over to the others. Serah soon went to join Ithiell and her mother.
"Sensei? Dad!" I suddenly heard, seeing Leo emerge from one of the tunnels, going over to hug Splinter, then take him over to a couch to sit down. He looked beat. Kristiana, Marco, Rachel and Ax all went to sit down as well, Ax sitting beside the other couch.
"LEO!" Suddenly Mikey was almost latched onto his brother, who laughed and hugged him back. Raph went over to Splinter first, then over to his brothers. I turned back to Ithiell.
"Where's Rtaia and Donnie?"
"Oh, they're here" He looked straight into my eyes, adding "And don't worry, they're both fine"
I felt relief go through me, letting myself just sit down where I was, taking in my surroundings and my friends. How he had done this in just a year and a bit, was beyond me.
Where we safe? Were we finally-
"Oh, Jade, are you unwell?" I came a voice from behind me somewhere, and I felt a grin spread across my face, getting up and turning to see Rtaia there, her head cocked to the side a little.
"Oh you wonderful girl you" I managed to get out, going over and wrapping my arms around her shoulders in a hug. She seemed confused, but I didn't care. It was great to see her again, and all right.
"Do you need medical assistance?" She continued to ask, and I just laughed.
"No Rtaia, I'm happy" I pulled away from her, leaving my hands on her shoulders and just looking at her. She tipped her head to the side again, looking like her usual confused self when I did things like this.
"Raph! Mikey! SENSEI!" Came the all too familiar voice, and tears sprung to my eyes as I turned to see Donnie there, hugging each of his brothers, then greeting his master. There was so much joy and happiness on his face from seeing them.
"It is good to see you well, my sons" Splinter finally said, smiling slowly. Before I knew it, Rtaia was over by him, checking him over.
At that point, I wasn't sure what to do. I watched as the turtles talked, my friends sat down and muttered about how nice it was to finally rest and feel safe, and Ithiell and Mihra were talking half in Chanaiben, and half in English when Serah broke in to ask what they were saying.
My eyes once again landed on Donnie, seeing him there... I wasn't sure whether to cry or be happy. Just seeing him okay was probably the best thing I could ask for. I wondered for a moment if he even realised I was here...
Then, as if on cue, he looked up, right at me, and time just seemed to stand still. I saw relief flood his face, and he practically jumped over the lounge to get to me, standing in front of me like he wanted to take me in his arms, but not sure how I'd feel.
"Donnie" Was all I could get out, tears sliding down my cheeks and giving into the urge to grab his face in my hands, pulling him down towards me and kissing him. He seemed a little shocked at first, but then his arms went securely around me, picking me up and holding me as close as he possibly could.
Finally, he pulled away a little, and I looked at him, confused. It was then I saw the tears in his eyes.
"Jade, I'm so sorry" He kissed me again, and I managed to put my arms around his shoulders, not sure if we could even get any closer at this point.
"Donnie" I managed to get out, and he pulled away again.
"Stop doubting us, okay?"
The only response I got from him was a nod, and I pulled him towards me again in another kiss, not caring what the others thought.
I had my Donnie back, and I wasn't going to let him go again.
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Ithiell had almost literally thought of everything. This "emergency base" was equipped for turtles, humans, and aliens alike. It even had grass for Ax to munch on. Why or how he thought of that, I'd never know.
I also found he'd stashed clothes and what not away, which was a relief for Rachel and Marco, as they were still hanging around in their morphing outfits.
We took time to recover, and Rtaia checked us all over, making sure my head injury wasn't too severe, before we settled ourselves in this new "base". Ithiell assured us that the Yeerks would never find this place, as the mountain ranges themselves acted as kind of "deflectors" for outside technology. He said more about it, but it was too techy for me to fully understand, but from what I could gather, Ithiell had found a way to make technology suited for this kind of environment.
Plus... who would ever think that a base would be hidden inside a mountain? I sure hadn't!
I'd also found Donnie did have a hand in making this place, although he more or less helped make the equipment to go in it, and Ithiell installed it.
Speaking of Donnie, we had barely been out of one anothers sight since the moment we saw each other. Which I guess was understandable, considering how we'd left it before. I just hoped he didn't have any other little demons in that head of his that he hadn't told me.
I actually had to slap his hands away as I got dressed, stepping out of the bathroom the next afternoon, trying to dry my hair with a towel as he followed me. He was still partially wet, but it didn't seem to bother him as he put his bandanna back on, then his glasses.
As I stepped out, all I heard was "Is it done yet?"
"Not yet Mikey, give me a little more time"I heard Ithiell grunt, turning to see Mikey almost sulking, and Ithiell sitting behind what looked like a television, working on it.
"But I wanna-"
"Mikey, come on, give Ithiell a break" Leo's hand was on Mikey's shoulder then, and Mikey slumped back on the couch, looking deflated.
Leo and I still hadn't properly talked about... the incident... but I guessed not talking about it right now would just be easier. We needed to work out our next moves, and get in contact with the other Animorphs somehow.
"Where's Kristiana?" I asked, feeling Donnie follow me as I sat on the couch beside Mikey, Donnie settling on the arm next to me.
From what I could tell, it seemed Donnie and Leo had worked everything out while I wasn't around, as they now seemed more relaxed with one another.
"Sleeping... again" Mikey pouted, and I couldn't help but put my arms around him and cuddling him a little.
"Aww, can you blame her? We just trekked for who knows how many days... I almost want to steal her idea" I added, pulling away from him and letting out another yawn. Thanks to Donnie, I didn't have as much sleep as I'd hoped either... my playful turtle constantly thinking of things to do or talk about while we lay next to each other...
"I know... I just... I'm boooored" Mikey kicked his legs a little, and Leo laughed.
"Enjoy it while it lasts, little brother"
"Agreed" I yawned again, moving to lean my head a little on Donnie's lap, feeling him stroke my wet hair a little, hearing him hum.
"Almost got it" Ithiell said, and suddenly static appeared on the screen.
We waited in silence as the static slowly turned into a clear picture of what looked like a cartoon, and Mikey giggled a little.
"Okay, now to check we have more channels" I heard him say, moving around and grabbing what looked like a remote from the top of the small television, starting to flick channels.
I must have dozed off a little, cause I felt my whole body jerk awake when the volume of the television was turned up, and I heard "-for breaking news"
I managed to move my head up off Donnie's lap, looking to see what looked like a news presenter, back straight and looking very afraid.
"Large UFO's have been spotted above cities and towns all over the world. A state of emergency has been declared-"
"What in the world is going on?" I muttered, unable to stop myself. Ithiell sent me a look, and I instantly shut up.
"We have footage coming in from all over-"
I watched in horror as the screen shifted to what looked like massive ships, floating above the sky, starting to come downwards. I could hear people in the videos all talking in different languages, one even from my country feeling a small prick of fear as I thought I recognized a building that those people were shooting from.
No, it couldn't be, could it?
"What are they?"Leo wondered, and I heard Ithiell hum a little.
"Ax?" He called, and suddenly our blue alien was beside us, stopping dead in his tracks as he saw what was on the TV.
(Those are... Yeerk Pool ships)
I think all of us stopped dead then, and I grabbed onto Donnie's arm, making him look down at me a little.
"So...this means..." The control dropped from his hand, and I went and grabbed it turning up the volume more and seeing them go back to the news reporter, who was saying something about not knowing if this was an invasion, or if they were friendly...
"They don't know what they're talking about" Rachel snapped, kneeling in front of us, and I soon realised everyone else was there, all of us huddled around this little TV. Donnie pulled me back down, then put his arm around my shoulders.
"Ax, do you know what they're doing? I thought this was meant to be a silent invasion"
The images suddenly changed to what looked like a news helicopter, hovering near the massive ship, the reporter going on about how large it was, and how the military was called into action...
(I... I do not know. It seems they have changed their tactics)
"But... why?"
(I... I do not know)
"Ithiell" I made him look at me, catching my worried look.
"Jade, what-"
"One of those massive... things... is above my home town... where..."
Suddenly his face went pale, and his eyes widened as we both turned back to the screen.
"Now, we don't know what the president has to-"
A massive explosion suddenly lit up the screen, and the camera went to static.
The news crew brought the feed back into the newsroom, where the poor reporter was left speechless. After a few tense moments, he was finally able to say something, touching his earpiece a little.
"We...we have reports that..."
But he didn't need to say it. I just knew.
The Yeerks had just blown up cities and towns all over the world.
Including my home town. Including...
Including Amanda and Robert.
TO BE CONTINUED...