Animorphs Travels #1: The Invasion

[Phoenix004]

Feel free to celebrate the return on my Animorphs fic from RAF Classic (assuming any of you remember it!) I started it along time ago but kept going off it and back on it. Now it's back, hopefully to stay! I'm determined to finish part 1, and if you guys like it I may continue it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

ALL FEEDBACK FOR THIS STORY IS TO BE POSTED IN THE FANFICTION FEEDBACK THREAD OR SENT TO ME THROUGH PM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!! ANY COMMENTS POSTED HERE I WILL HAVE TO DELETE SORRY!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my new improvements. Here's the first chapter!

ANIMORPHS TRAVELS

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANIMORPHS!
Nor do I own any characters (human or alien) associated with this story, with the exception of Mike (and maybe a few other characters later) who is based on me (except that he's 6 years younger than me) so I will I ask you to please not steal him! Thanks! I hope you like the story!

Part One: The Invasion


CHAPTER 1: Animorph's Wish


(MIKE’S POV)

“Ram the Bladeship.”

That was the last sentence of the longest (and probably best) book series I had ever read. And as I closed the final book of the series, I couldn’t help but feel extremely disappointed.

Hi, I’m Michael by the way, but you can call me Mike. I’m thirteen years old and quite tall for my age, but I’m not really fat or thin. My hair is short and my hair and eye colours are both dark brown.

Most importantly, I am a 100% devoted Animorphs fan! For five years now I have been loyal to the book series that has inspired me like no book series ever has. Five years have I followed Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias, and Ax (Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthil) by reading about their exciting and unpredictable adventures. I have read through the good times and the bad times, only to be left with K.A. Applegate finally ending the series with the worst possible finale. The dreaded ‘Cliff-hanger’. Okay, so maybe that’s not entirely true, the ending was well written and suspenseful all the way through and was certainly fun to read. However, I couldn’t help thinking that the way the book had ended wasn’t quite right. The Yeerks may have been defeated, but the Animorphs somehow became victims as well.

Feeling a bit depressed, I put the book at the end of my book shelf (reserved for Animorphs books of course) and went to find my brother, Stephen (I just call him Ste), to tell him what happened at the end of the series.

My brother is two and a half years older than me and (although he rarely reads the books himself) insists that I tell him what happens in the Animorphs books. I found Stephen in his room playing on his latest game for our Wii console.

“Hey Ste, you want to hear about the last Animorphs book or not?” I asked.

“Sure Mike,” he said turning the game off. And so for the next half an hour, I told him what happened.

After hearing several groans from my brother, I decided to go online for a while. After checking on some sites and posting on a few forums, I checked what homework I had to finish over the weekend. I almost cried when I saw how many maths question I had to finish.

Screw that. I thought. No way am I doing maths on a Friday night. I briefly considered calling my best friend Dan and inviting him over, until I remembered he was away at his cousin’s house for the weekend. Dan isn’t a huge Animorphs fan like I am, but he has read some of the books.

In a valiant attempt to avoid starting my maths homework, I decided to write more notes for a story I’d started working on a few months ago. It’s a series about a radiation leak at a military base, which infects half the Earth’s population with the DNA of animals, allowing the people infect to turn into six different animals. As you can guess, my inspiration for this story came from reading the Animorphs series.

Thinking about the end of the series made me feel a little sad, so I thought some extra sleep would make me feel better. Besides, I was becoming sleepy very rapidly and by the time my head hit the pillow I was asleep (this has never, ever happened to me before in my entire life).

I remember my last thoughts before I entered Dreamland were: I wish I could have been there with the Animorphs; I could have made a difference.

I was going to regret making that wish. I was to regret it very, very much.

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 2: Ellimist and the Rules of Engagement

(MIKE’S POV)

I awoke to the unusual sound of birds singing outside my window, and I decided to get up and get my Maths homework over with.

I rolled over and stared, half asleep, at the ceiling about ten feet above me. And I was awake instantly. My bed is like a bunk bed minus the bottom bunk, so the ceiling should only be three feet above me.

I pinched my arm, hard. It hurt, so I had to be awake, so what was going on? Where was I?

“Where are you? This is your new home Mike. For the moment at least,” a voice from across the room answered.

I leaped out of bed (I had slept in my clothes), got into a defensive stance (I have a first Dan Black belt in Karate), and prepared to face the stranger. But it wasn’t a stranger, at least not entirely. I recognized the creature standing in front of me almost instantly. I had seen it on the cover of Ellimist Chronicles a dozen times. It was a Ketran. But since the Ketran are extinct (not to mention fictional), it could only mean one thing. The creature standing before me was none other than the meddler of the galaxy, Crayak’s arch nemesis, the Ellimist himself.

I didn’t know what to say to him. Fortunately, he seemed to know what was going on. But then again, he was the Ellimist.

“I believe you know who I am,” he said, reading my mind.

“Ellimist?” I asked trembling.

“Yes Mike, I summoned you here because the Animorphs need you,” he told me.

“What do they need me for?” I asked. “They defeated the Yeerks, became allies of the Andalites, and then went and got themselves a nice little grave in the vacuum of deep space, everyone’s happy.” I pointed out sarcastically.

The Ellimist was not amused. He shook his head. “No Mike, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Think of all the people in the series who died in vain, deaths that could have been prevented. Rachel, Tom, the Auxiliary Animorphs, and not forgetting seventeen thousand, three hundred and seventy-two defenseless Yeerks, who died when the main pool was flushed. And others too, you could save them all Mike. Or will you leave them to die when they could live?” he asked.

I sighed. The Ellimist was right of course. How could I live with myself knowing that I had abandoned thousands of people to their deaths? Besides, wasn’t this what I had been wishing for the night before? I sighed again.

“What can I do to help Ellimist?” I asked.

“Simple Mike. Today happens to be the day the Animorphs meet Elfangor and receive the morphing power. But this time round, you’re going to be their too Mike. You’re going to become an Animorph! Isn’t this what you always wanted Mike? To be an Animorph?” He asked me.

“Yes Ellimist, I always dreamed of becoming an Animorph. Not that I ever expected my wish to come true, but I’ll do it anyway. I can’t let all those people die.” I told him. “By the way Ellimist, where am I exactly?” I asked while looking around the unknown room. “And what’s with the lack of decoration?” The room was almost empty aside from a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a picture of a tiger on the right side wall.

“As I said before Mike, this is your new home.” He answered. “You will live in this house in Tobias’ meadow until the end of the series. This house is hidden in the same way as the Hork-Bajir valley, so you won’t get any unexpected guests. As for the absence of décor, I presumed you would prefer to decorate your home by yourself. I have left you with funds in a secure bank account with which you can purchase food or anything else you may need.”

“You created a house in the middle of the woods just for me?” I asked. I was surprised at his concern. “What happens after I leave? You putting this up on the market?” I laughed. 

“When the series ends, you will be automatically transported back to your own universe at the point at which you left. It will be like you never left at all; your family will never know you were gone.” He explained.

“What about…” I gulped. “What happens if I die here? Will I go back? Or will I…” I stopped. Somehow I already knew the answer. I didn’t feel much like laughing anymore either.

“I’m sorry Mike,” he said solemnly. He raised his hand, and a piece of paper appeared out of thin air. He handed it to me saying, “Here is a list of rules that Crayak and I have agreed on, so read them carefully. If you break a rule, all your time here will be erased. You have to be at the Mall at seven pm tonight to meet the others. Farewell for now Mike, I wish you the best of luck.” There was a blinding flash of light. The Ellimist was gone.

I sat down heavily on the bed, trying to absorb the shock of what had just happened. We do not interfere with the affairs of other species. That was what the Ellimist used to say in the books. So much for that theory, I thought to myself.

I took several deep breaths to try and calm myself down and looked at the paper that the Ellimist had given me.

Rules for Mike the Animorph:

1) You can’t give away any direct information about the future to your fellow Animorphs.

2) If you ever return to your own universe, you can’t tell anyone about your time in this universe.

3) If you ever return to your own universe, you can’t take anyone back with you.

4) If you ever return to your own universe, you can’t take the morphing cube back with you.

5) You can’t reveal the location of the Time Matrix to anyone.

6) At a random point in the series, Crayak will send someone from another universe. You must kill this ‘off-worlder’.

7) You can look through any of your Animorphs books at any time you wish, but your fellow Animorphs are forbidden to do so.

8) If you die in this universe, you will also cease to exist in your own universe.

P.S. You can morph extinct creatures.


The final rule had the most impact on me. Would my family ever discover what had happened to me? Would the Ellimist even let me say goodbye to them? Don’t think about it Mike, I told myself. I had to concentrate if I wanted to get out of this alive.

I folded the paper in half and shoved it in my pocket. I then glanced at my watch which said it was two pm. That meant I had another five hours until I had to be at the Mall. So I decided to have a look round my new home.

My house had ten rooms: My bedroom, six guest bedrooms (one of which had been converted to Andalite specifications), a kitchen, a dining room, and a bathroom. Most of the rooms were as empty as mine, but still contained the essentials such as beds, fridges, chairs, an oven and other things which would be hard to have delivered to the middle of the woods.

My room could have belonged to any kid. Other than the fact that there was a bank account book which contained ten thousand dollars lying on my desk (AWESOME!) and the fact that the room was incredibly empty, it seemed pretty ordinary. But I found a post-it-note stuck to a framed picture of a Tiger, which told a different story. The note said:

To Mike,
Take out the piece of paper I gave you and look on the other side. Follow the instructions carefully.

Ellimist.

Puzzled, I took the paper out of my pocket, unfolded it, and turned it over. I was shocked to see more writing appearing on it.

There is a hidden safe concealed behind the Tiger picture, follow these instructions to open it:

1) Take the picture off the wall.

2) Press both of your hands against the wall and say ‘Animorph’ (the sensors inside the safe will only respond to your hand prints and voice).

3) A large camera lens will emerge from the wall; look through it with both eyes for a few seconds until the thought speech speaker tells you that the retinal scan is complete.

4) A number pad should now appear. Type in an eight-digit code to use for future access and don’t forget it!

5) A mini-plasma screen should now appear. Press your right index finger against it until the thought speech speaker tells you that the DNA scan is complete.

6) If the safe’s sensors are satisfied, the wall will open up to reveal a large hollowed out section of the wall. Inside you should find your entire collection of Animorphs books. You can also use it to hide other important objects should you feel the need to do so...

I got the feeling that he was trying to tell me something, but I shrugged it off and followed the Ellimist’s instructions and got Animorphs #1 The Invasion out of the safe. Then I began to read it very slowly; I didn’t want to miss a single detail.

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 3: Six Normal Mall Rats

(MIKE’S POV)

It was five minutes until seven pm, and I was at the Mall on an unusual mission. I had to find Tobias.

I had planned it out carefully several hours earlier, and it was only now that I spotted a crucial flaw in my 'master plan’. I didn’t know exactly what Tobias looked like. So I began to think of ways I would recognise him. But the only thing distinctive about his appearance was his untidy dirty blonde hair. Instead I thought of the kinds of things he was interested in, and I remembered that he liked reading. I headed towards the Bookshop.

Fortunately for me, there were only five other people in the store. Other than the shop assistant at the till, there was an old man looking at some classic novels, a young couple in the reference section, and a boy about my age (thirteen years old) looking at the sci-fi books.

He was about average height; he had brown eyes, dirty blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, and a dreamy expression on his face. I was almost positive it was Tobias; but ‘almost positive’ wasn’t good enough, I had to be sure. After all, the fate of the planet was depending on me to get this right.

I took a deep breath, casually walked up to him, and said, “So, you like science fiction books?” He suddenly snapped out of his daydream and looked at me suspiciously for a few seconds, and then he smiled.

“Yeah I love Star Trek and Star Wars and things like that with aliens in. It’s so cool! What did you say your name was?” he asked.

“My name’s Michael,” I said. “But I’d prefer Mike.”

“Nice to meet you Mike, I’m Tobias,” he replied.

My heart leaped! Yes! I had done it! I had found Tobias! But I still had a job to do. I had to stay with him until we ran into Jake and Marco; then the real game would begin.


(JAKE’S POV)

“Okay Jake, you’ve just crossed the Nether Fjord, so watch out for the Sleaze…! No!” Marco screamed in despair as I was eaten by the Sleaze Troll for the third time.

My name is Jake. My friend Marco and I had just run out of quarters for playing arcade games, so we decided to head home. We were just heading for the exit, when two guys came walking towards us.

I recognised the guy with the dirty blonde hair to be Tobias; he was new at school and had instantly become some kind of a bully magnet.

I actually met Tobias in the boy’s bathroom at school. Two guys were shoving his head down a toilet and laughing while they flushed.

I didn’t recognise the other guy, but I guessed he was Tobias’ friend. He was about as tall as I am and of medium build. He had short dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing black Adidas pants and a navy blue T-shirt with a picture of a dolphin on it.

“Hi Tobias, who’s your friend?” I asked. The boy stepped forward.

“I’m Mike,” he answered.

“Cool. I’m Jake, and this is Marco. So, you guys want to walk home with us?” I asked them. “We’re going through the construction site.” For a split second after I said those words, I swear I saw a weird grin appear on Mike’s face; but it quickly disappeared, replaced with a more casual smile. Probably wondering how long he would be grounded for if he was caught.

“Sure,” Mike said. So we carried on walking towards the door, when I spotted Rachel and Cassie coming out of a clothes store.

Rachel is kind of pretty I guess. Actually she’s gorgeous, looks just like a supermodel, but I don’t really think of her that way since she’s my cousin. She looks like she just walked off the cover of one of those fashion magazines that girls idolise. Rachel has long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She always looks very clean; as if she could walk through a mud slide, a sandstorm, and a tornado, and still come out perfect. She’s also very fashionable, and always knows what to wear in any situation.

Cassie however, seems like the opposite. For one thing, she usually wears a plain shirt and jeans, or something else completely casual. I’ve never seen her in a dress, I’m not even sure if she owns any (not that I care). She’s dark skinned and wears her hair short most of the time. She had it longer for a while, but then she went back to having it short, which I like. Cassie is a quieter person than Rachel, more peaceful, like she always understands everything on some different, more mystical level.

I guess you could say I kind of like[/i] Cassie. Sometimes we sit together on the bus, even though I never know what to say to her.

“You guys going home?” I asked Rachel. “You shouldn’t go through the construction site by yourselves. I mean, being girls and all.”

That was a mistake. I should never have suggested to Rachel that she’s weak or helpless. Rachel may look like Little Miss Teen Model or whatever, but she thinks she’s Storm from the X-Men.

“Are you going to come and protect us, you big, strong m-a-a-a-n?” she said. “You think we’re helpless just because…”

“I’d appreciate it if they did walk with us,” Cassie interrupted. “I know you’re not afraid of anything, Rachel, but I guess I am.”

Rachel couldn’t say much about that. That’s the way Cassie is – she always has the right words to stop any argument without making anyone feel bad.

So there we were. The six of us – Marco, Tobias, Mike, Rachel, Cassie and I. Six normal Mall rats heading home.

To get home from the Mall we could either go the long way round, which is the safe way, or we could cut through the abandoned construction site and hope there weren’t any axe murderers hanging around there. My mum and dad have sworn to ground me until I’m twenty if they ever find out I’ve cut through the construction site.

That’s if they ever find out, I thought with a smile.

So anyway, we crossed the road and headed into the abandoned construction site. It was a big area, surrounded on two sides by trees, with the highway separating it from the Mall area. There’s a broad, open field between the construction site and the nearest houses. It’s a very isolated place.

Originally it was supposed to be this new shopping centre. Now it was just all these half-finished buildings looking like a ghost town. There were huge piles of rusted steel beams; pyramids of giant concrete pipes; little mountains of dirt; deep pits that had filled up with muddy water; and a creaking, rusted construction crane that I had climbed once while Marco stayed below and told me I was being an idiot.

It was a totally deserted place, full of shadows and sounds that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. When Marco and I went there during the day, we always found all these beer cans and liquor bottles. Sometimes we found the ashes of little campfires back in the hidden nooks and crannies of the buildings. So we knew that people came there at night. All that was on my mind as we crept through the site.

Suddenly, Mike and Tobias stopped. Tobias pointed at the sky, almost straight up. “Look,” he said.

“What?” I didn’t want to be distracted because I was pretty sure I’d heard the sound of a chain-saw killer creeping up behind us.

“Just look,” Tobias said. His voice was strange. Amazed-sounding, but serious at the same time.

So I looked up. And there it was. A brilliant, blue-white light that scooted across the sky, going fast at first, too fast for it to be an aeroplane, then slower and slower.

“What is it?” I asked.

Tobias shook his head. “I don’t know.”

I looked at Tobias and he looked back at me. We both knew what we thought it was, but want to say it. Marco and Rachel would have laughed, we figured.

I glanced at the others to see who else had spotted it. Mike and Cassie had seen it, Marco and Rachel hadn’t.

“He’s here,” Mike whispered. He was staring at the sky and grinning.

I glared at him. “What are you talking abou…”

“It’s a flying saucer!” Cassie yelled.

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 4: A Cursed Gift

(MIKE’S POV)

“A flying saucer?” Marco said. He did laugh. That is, until he looked up.

I wasn’t paying much attention to him though. I was so excited! I couldn’t stop grinning! I was going to be an Animorph!

“It’s coming this way,” Rachel said, interrupting my thoughts.

“It’s hard to be sure.” Jake’s voice was barley a whisper.

“No, it’s coming this way,” Rachel said. She seemed to have a very definite way of talking; as if she was sure of everything she said. But I didn’t have to be told, I already knew.

As predicted, the ship was slowing down, like a plane arriving at an airport, about to land. We could now see the ship quite clearly.

“It’s not exactly a flying saucer,” Jake pointed out.

He was right of course; it looked just like it did on the cover of Andalite Chronicles.

It was about the size of a school bus, and the front end was like an oval shaped pod. Extending out of the back of the pod was a long narrow shaft. There were two crooked, stubby wing-like things, and on the end of each wing was a long tube that glowed bright blue on the back end.

The ship looked harmless, maybe even cute. Until you saw the tail. It was a mean looking tail that curved up and forward, ending in a needle-like point.

“That tail must be some kind of weapon,” Jake said.

“Definitely,” Marco agreed.

The ship was still losing speed, and still flying closer to us.

“It’s stopping,” Rachel said. Her voice was starting to sound a bit weird, like she couldn’t believe it was real. I could hardly believe it myself.

“I think it sees us,” Marco said. “Should we run? Maybe we should run home and get a camera. Do you know how much money we could get for a video of a real UFO?”

“If we run, they might… I don’t know, zap us with Phasers on full power,” Jake made a lame attempt at a joke.

“Phasers are only on Star Trek,” Marco said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But that tail isn’t there for decoration.”

The ship stopped and hovered almost directly over our heads, maybe thirty metres in the air. I glanced at the others and nearly laughed when I looked at Rachel. Her long blonde hair was sticking out in every direction. Only Cassie looked normal.

“What do you think it is?” Marco asked. His voice was shaking slightly. He didn’t seem so ****y with an alien space craft over his head. I was getting a little nervous myself, but not scared. I was too excited to be scared.

“I think it’s going to land,” Tobias said. I looked at him and saw that I wasn’t the only one smiling. His eyes were glowing with excitement.

As the ship came in for a landing between the piles of junk, I noticed the top of the pod section had been badly burnt; some of it had started to melt. The ship touched down and the blue lights instantly went out. Rachel’s hair fell back down on to her neck.

“It isn’t very big is it?” Rachel whispered.

“It’s about… about three or four times the size of our minivan,” Jake said.

“We should tell someone,” Marco said. “I mean, this is kind of major, you know? Spaceships don’t just land in the construction site every day. We should call the cops or the army or the president or something. We’d be totally famous. We’d get to be on TV for sure.”

“Yeah, you’re right” Jake agreed. “We should call someone.” But I knew that none of them would leave. They weren’t going to just walk away from a spaceship.

“I wonder if we should talk to it,” Rachel suggested. She was standing there with her hands on her hips looking at the spaceship like it was a puzzle she had to figure out. “I mean, we should communicate. If that’s even possible.”

Tobias nodded, stepped forward, and held out his empty hands to show that he wasn’t carrying a weapon. In a loud, clear voice, he said, “It’s safe we won’t hurt you.”

“Do you think they speak English?” Jake wondered aloud.

“Well, everyone speaks English on Star Trek,” Cassie said with a nervous laugh.

“Please come out,” Tobias pleaded. “We won’t hurt you.”

<I know.>

It was strange hearing thought speak for the first time. I mean, I heard it alright; just not through my ears. I heard it inside my own head, almost as if they were my own thoughts, except that it wasn’t me thinking them.

“Did you guys…?” Jake started.

“Yep,” I replied.

“Can you come out?” Tobias asked in his loud talking-to-aliens-voice.

<Yes. Do not be frightened.>

“We won’t be frightened,” Tobias said.

“Speak for yourself,” Jake muttered. Marco, Cassie, and Rachel giggled nervously.

A thin arc of light appeared, a doorway, opening slowly in the smooth side of the pod part of the ship. I stood there, gazing towards the ship, and grinning like an idiot. Waiting.

The opening grew, like a crescent moon at first, then a full, bright circle.

And then he appeared. For a moment he stood tall and proud, like the great warrior he was. He was just as I had imagined him.

My first glimpse reminded me of a Centaur from Greek Mythology. Half-human. Half-horse.

Actually that’s not entirely accurate. The horse section seemed okay (except for the blue fur and all), but the more-or-less human part was slightly different. For one thing he didn’t have a mouth. This is because Andalite’s absorb nutrients from the grass as they run through it; and they communicate telepathically through thought speech. His nose seemed to have three vertical slits as nostrils (God knows why) and he also had a pair of stalk eyes on the top of his head, which he could turn 360 degrees so that he could see in every direction.

The eyes were slightly disturbing, but you could get used to them after awhile. The same thing cannot be guaranteed when you look at the tail. It was like a scorpion’s tail, thick and powerful-looking. On the end was a wickedly curved, very sharp-looking horn or stinger. An Andalite tail blade. You could easily tell by looking that it could cause some serious damage.

“Hello,” said Tobias. His voice was gentle, like he was talking to a baby. The more he grinned, the stranger he looked, but I couldn’t blame him; I probably looked a lot weirder. All this tension and excitement was killing me.

Seeing Elfangor was a strange experience; a bit like déjà vu because I had pictured this scene in my head so many times. He felt like a forgotten friend that I hadn’t seen since childhood.

<Hello,> Elfangor greeted us kindly.

“Hi,” we all said back.

Then, as predicted, he stumbled and fell to the ground, giving us a clear view of a large burn which ran down his right side.

“Look! He’s hurt!” Cassie yelled. Pointing at his burn.

<Yes,> he replied. <I am dying.>

“Can we help you? We can call an ambulance or something,” Marco said.

“We can bandage that wound,” Cassie said. “Jake, give me your shirt. We can tear it up and make bandages.” Cassie helps her dad look after sick and injured animals, so it was only natural for her to want to help. But you know what the sad thing was? I knew there was nothing anyone could do.

I could still hear Elfangor’s saddened thought speak “voice” as he started to explain to the others about the Yeerk threat, but I wasn’t really listening. Could I actually allow this alien to die? Could I do anything to save him?

I decided that I had to at least try to do something to save him. After all, wasn’t that the reason why I had been sent here in the first place? To save lives?

I was still trying to formulate a plan when I saw Yeerk ships in the distance and noticed that the others were staring at me, waiting to see if I thought we should accept the morphing power.

For the next three years these people were going to be my team mates, my only friends in a world of anger and hatred. I stared at each one of them, one by one. Jake, Cassie, Marco, Tobias, and finally Rachel. When my eyes reached Rachel I smiled.

“Let’s do it!” I yelled enthusiastically.

Elfangor smiled at me with his eyes and told us to put a hand on the square. My hand touched Elfangor’s and I smiled at him as a plan began to form in my head. I felt a tingling shock go up my hand, like a small electric shock except that it didn’t hurt.

<Go now,> Elfangor said. <Only remember this – never remain in animal form for more than two of your Earth hours. Never! That is the greatest danger of morphing! If you stay longer than two hours you will be trapped, unable to return to human form.>

“Two hours,” I repeated. Looking at Tobias thoughtfully.

I waited until Tobias and the others had gone, and then knelt down next to Elfangor.

“We will avenge your honourable death my Andalite friend,” I said. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Do I have permission to acquire your DNA pattern?” I asked.

He nodded.

<You seem very wise for such a young human, > he said.

I smiled.

“Never judge a book by its cover Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul,” I told him.

He started at me; puzzled. Then he smiled with his eyes the way Andalites do.

<Ellimist,> he said. It wasn’t a question.

“I was sent by the Ellimist, yes,” I said.

<I knew there was something about you, > Elfangor said.

“Prince Elfangor,” I said. “I am familiar with the morphing technology. Can’t you just morph to recover your injuries?”

<There is no time, and besides,> he said. <My time has come.>

I nodded, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to convince him in time. I started to leave, but he called me back.

<Wait!> he yelled. <When the time is right; tell Tobias who his father is. And tell him I am sorry for not being there for him when he needed me.>

“I will guard your son, and your brother, with my life.” I promised.

<Go quickly child!> he yelled. <Visser Three is here!>

“Goodbye Prince Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul,” I said.

I ran to join the others behind a crumbled wall. Then, I watched the horror unfold.

I watched as the Blade ship came in for a landing.

I watched as the bladed Hork-Bajir and the nightmarish Taxxon surrounded Elfangor.

I watched as Visser Three, the Abomination, the first and only ever Andalite-Controller, morphed into a huge, hideous beast, and devoured the defenceless Andalite. After that I decided that I couldn’t take anymore.

I ran away. I could hear the others close behind me, but I didn’t look back. I just carried on running until I reached my new home in the forest. I went inside. And I cried.

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 5: Mike’s First Morph

(MIKE’S POV)

I thought my sleep that first night after receiving the morphing power would be full of terrifying nightmares. It turns out that I didn’t have any at all, but I guess that’s because the reality was now even scarier than any nightmare could ever be.

I also thought I’d end up sleeping in late (as I usually do given the choice); but that turned out not to be true either. I guess even my subconscious mind was eager to try out my newly acquired powers. I woke up at around seven and was just considering going back to sleep, when I noticed a medium-sized bird of prey on my window sill with a note attached to its leg. I recognized it to be a Harris hawk; I had seen it in a book I’d read about birds of prey.

The Harris Hawk is a fairly large bird with brown, black, and white feathers. It also happens to be my favourite bird of prey. The main reason for that is that I once saw a TV documentary about them and they are apparently one of the only raptors in the world that hunt in groups, like a Wolf pack or Lion pride. Harris Hawks are also commonly used by falconers and bird trainers to put on public displays.

I walked up to the magnificent bird and it stuck out its leg for me to take the note. Confused by the bird’s behaviour, I took the note and read:

To Mike,

I thought you might appreciate a bird of prey morph. I certainly hope so as Crayak says I am pushing my luck with this one. He’s going to want something big in return for me setting you up in this universe, so I’m afraid this is the last time I can assist you. See you in book seven!

Ellimist.

I smiled for a moment, and then placed my hand on the hawk. As I acquired its DNA pattern, I noticed the hawk close its eyes for a few seconds. Then it opened its eyes and flew out of the window and into the orange glow of the rising sun.

I looked at my watch (it read 7:02). Then I looked back at the silhouette of the magnificent hawk. I smiled again and closed my eyes. Then I felt the changes begin.

The transformation began with an itching sensation. I opened my eyes to find a feathered pattern being sketched into my skin. It almost looked like a very realistic tattoo, until the pattern began to rise out of the surface of my skin to form real feathers! It came as quite a shock, even though I had been expecting it, but I managed to keep my concentration on the other changes that had started happening all over the rest of my body.

My entire body was shrinking, making it almost feel like I was falling from a great height. As my body drastically reduced in mass, my clothes fell to the floor. My feet hardened into sharp talons, while my lips became stiff, forming a curved beak.

It had taken over 3 minutes, but the change was complete. I was a Harris Hawk.

I was shocked by how good the hawk’s sight and hearing were. I mean, I had been expecting it, but it still came to me as a huge shock. I could even see a flea that was sitting on a tree thirty metres from my window! Not only that, I could also hear a mouse creeping through the undergrowth about twenty metres away, and I had to fight the hawk’s instincts to swoop down and catch it in my talons.

To prevent myself from making that mouse my lunch, I tried to concentrate on what I knew about the Harris hawk. As I mentioned previously, it is one of the very few types of birds of prey that hunts in groups, usually in groups of five or six, and is quite a successful hunter. I also dimly recalled that they’re sometimes found somewhere in Texas, which could be a slight problem if I wanted to remain inconspicuous. I decided however, that the Yeerks would not have infested many bird-watchers, as they don’t tend to be highly ranked in society.

However, that was the least of my problems at the moment, because unfortunately, I had forgotten about the clothing problem. Fortunately I had morphed something smaller than myself, so my clothes weren’t tattered rags, but I had been planning on going to see the other Animorphs. I had no wish to demorph in front of them and end up naked.

I sighed (in my head of course, since hawks aren’t physically capable of sighing). The wings would just have to wait a few minutes. I demorphed and searched my cupboard for something I could use as a morphing suit (Ellimist had provided me with the clothes from my universe). After I had found (and put on) a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, I remorphed the Harris hawk.

The hawk’s senses were just as amazing as before (the mouse had learnt its lesson; it seemed to have run off). But now I decided that it was time to have some fun. It was time to fly.

I jumped up onto the window sill, opened my wings, and leaped into the air, flapping my wings and struggling to find a thermal on the early morning breeze. I flapped until I reached the tops of the trees, my bird belly almost touching some of the taller ones.

All I can say is that if anybody ever asked me to describe flying in one word, that word would be “Awesome!” It really is the most incredible feeling! Roller coasters have got nothing on this ride! If you’ve ever been on a plane and felt a bit like you were floating as the plane leaves the ground, multiply that feeling by a billion and you might be able to imagine how I felt in my first moment of self-propelled flight. I flapped my wings harder to gain lift, fighting against a force I could never fight as a human; gravity. However, in my hawk body gravity wasn’t a law anymore, it was an easily ignored street sign.

I was then surprised to find my body suddenly lifted up by a warm current of air. I stopped flapping and spread my wings to ride the thermal, and I floated upwards and stopped about a kilometre above ground level. I floated there for a moment, almost hovering, then I let the hawk’s instincts adjust my tail feathers slightly. I aimed my beak at the ground, powered my bird body forward and then folded my wings.

I must have been going at least eighty kilometres per hour before I flared my wings and pulled out of the dive, my belly about a metre from the nearest tree.

<THIS IS SO COOL!> I yelled. A saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, and discovered that I had probably just given a deer a heart attack.

<Sorry!> I called after it as it tore off into the forest.

*

I swooped lower and somehow managed to land with relative ease (I was starting to get used to flying now) on the branch of a tree near Cassie’s house.

I hadn’t originally intended to come to see Cassie first; but after roughly an hour of flying, I somehow found myself within visual range of the farm and thought why not?

I flew low over the house, and spotted Cassie making her way towards the barn. I followed her and decided that now was the time to make my entrance.

*
 
(CASSIE’S POV)

It wasn’t that I minded checking on the animals for my dad, I love animals. In fact, I trust animals more than I trust some people. The only problem was that I couldn’t stop thinking about that poor Andalite. The way Visser Three just mutated himself into that hideous creature. The way he lowered him into those jaws of death and began to… I don’t like to think about it, but I can’t help myself.

I had just finished feeding the Red-tailed Hawk we have (he broke a wing when he was mobbed by some crows), when I noticed a large bird perched on top of the hayloft.

It was a Harris hawk. It was covered in brown, black, and white feathers. I frowned. I didn’t know much about this particular raptor, but I could have sworn that it lived in Texas.   

“Aren’t you a friendly bird?” I cooed softly.

<Perhaps; but my brother and sister may disagree with you on that one.>

The bird was talking in my head! Just like the Andalite had! Could it be possible that he had somehow escaped?

No, I thought miserably. You saw him die with your own eyes Cassie, he couldn’t have escaped. But if that were true, how could this bird be talking to me? I had to be asleep.

“I’m still asleep,” I spoke out loud. “It must be another nightmare.”

The hawk fluttered down to land on a nearby hay bale, it glared at me with its intense predator’s eyes.

<It’s not a nightmare Cassie and you’re not sleeping; pinch your arm if you don’t believe me. It’s me Mike, I was with you at the construction site last night, remember? The Andalite gave us the ability to change into animals. And I’ve used it.> the bird told me.

The bird that claimed to be some guy I’d met last night. Yeah. Right. Who on Earth would believe a story like that with absolutely no proof at all? Well not me! That’s for sure.

“Oh come on Mike, if that’s who you really are. Do you actually expect anyone to believe something like that without proof?” I asked.

The hawk seemed to consider me for a moment before it nodded (and believe me, a hawk nodding at you is strangely disturbing).

<You're right Cassie,> he said. <I’ll give you the proof you need, as long as you promise not to throw up.>

The hawk closed its eyes. Two minutes later, the hawk had melted away to reveal the boy known as Mike who I had met the night before.

He smiled at the look of pure shock that I knew was showing on my face; he had a nice smile.

“Okayyyyyy,” I said. I took a deep breath, before adding: “Explain.”

His grin grew bigger for a moment before disappearing, as he explained what had happened.

*

“I can’t believe that this is happening,” I said. “I really can’t.”

“What’s wrong Cassie?” Mike asked me.

I looked Mike in the eye and smiled.

“In case you didn’t notice Mike, I’m petting a horse in preparation for me to turn into it. And no offence Mike, but I’m doing this on the word of a guy who I don’t even know. At this time yesterday Mike; I didn’t even know you existed!” I pointed out to him.

I heard Mike mutter something under his breath, but it was too quiet for me to hear.

“What is it Mike?” I asked.

“Nothing important Cassie; and no offense taken by the way. Just trust me Cassie, it’ll work.” He told me.

I finished ‘acquiring the DNA’ as Mike called it, stood in the centre of the barn, and prepared to ‘morph.’

I concentrated on the horse, focused on the horse. I pictured the horse in my mind. I wanted to be the horse. And I felt the changes begin.

For the record Mike was whispering: “That’s because I didn’t exist in this universe this time yesterday!"

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 6: The First Meeting

(MIKE’S POV)

I silently watched as Cassie melted away, and a horse emerged. In the books, it quite often said that Cassie was the best morpher in the group; sometimes even making the morph look elegant and beautiful. There was nothing beautiful about this morph, but since this was her first morph (and it just so happened to be a horse morph) I supposed that I could make this time an exception. Even so, I could already see her potential for being the best morpher, just by how much smoother the transition was. I doubted it was intentional, but the changes seemed less random than when I had morphed.

Cassie’s hair darkened in colour slightly before shooting out, growing at an alarming rate. Her face started to stretch out as her eyes moved further apart and her mouth began to expand. Fur burst out from beneath her skin, while her legs lengthened until she lost her balance and dropped down onto all fours. Her toes sort of melted together into hooves and I could hear the bones in her legs growing and changing. It was a good thing I’d managed to convince her to change into a skin-tight leotard before she started the morph, as she would have ruined the boots she was wearing when the hooves appeared. I know that some guys my age might have ‘forgotten’ to tell her about the clothing problem, but I like to think I have a strong sense of decency and honour. Besides, Jake would’ve killed me.

Cassie’s morph time was also a little faster than mine (another morphing trait that she was well known for), and in just under 3 minutes, Cassie had four legs, long fur, hooves and a mane.

“Cassie, are you okay?” I asked her after several seconds of silence.

<Yeah I’m fine Mike,> she answered. <Am I really a horse?>

“Yes, it’s real Cassie,” I told her softly.

<What happens now?> she asked. She finally seemed to accept the fact that she had turned into an actual horse.

I smiled. Then I walked over to the door and pushed it open.

“Now we have some fun!”

*

<YEEEEEH! HAAAAA!> Cassie cried.

<WAHOO!> I yelled.

Cassie and I had spent the last ten minutes out in the fields having fun with our newly acquired morphs. Cassie had been sprinting at top speed across the field, while I had flown overhead, diving down and pulling up at the last second. I really couldn’t believe how quickly I was learning the complex manoeuvres involved in flying.

<I’d like to stay longer Mike, I really would,> Cassie said. <But my parents are going to start wondering where I am soon. After all, I only came out to check on the animals.>

<It’s okay Cassie, I should probably get going too,> I said.

<Let’s head for the barn,> Cassie suggested. <I can demorph in there.>

We headed for the barn. I flew in through the hayloft, and Cassie ran through the door before skidding to a halt next to a pile of hay.

<Alright Cassie. Demorphing is just like morphing. Just concentrate on your human body to turn back. It’s easy.> I reassured her.

<That sounds simple enough; I just have to concentrate on becoming me right? Nothing to it?> she said.

<That’s right,> I told her. <But when you do try to picture yourself wearing the leotard.>

I watched from the rafters as she demorphed to Human (admittedly she had improved slightly). She was now standing in a black leotard and looking rather pleased with herself. Understandable as it’s not everyday you turn into a horse. She tilted her head to look at me.

“Thanks for showing me how to do that Mike,” she said. “I would never have figured that out on my own.” I had to struggle not to laugh as when she said that!

<Something tells me that you’d have worked it out eventually,> I told her truthfully. <You are really smart after all.>

She blushed at the comment, and then waved as I took to the skies.
   

*

(MIKE’S POV)

It was about midday and I was once again on my way to Cassie’s house to meet with the other Animorphs. Tobias had called me an hour earlier to tell me about the meeting (I had given him my phone number last night at the Mall). It was kind of unnecessary since I already knew, but it was nice of him just the same.

I flew on until I caught sight of Cassie’s barn, and spotted the other Animorphs. Jake, Marco, Tobias, and Rachel, were all standing outside the barn. Cassie was some distance away in horse morph, galloping through the fields at top speed. I carried on flying until I’d reached the others, before landing in front of them while Jake was reading the newspaper.

Rachel looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Weird bird,” she muttered.

<Do you have a problem with my bird morph Rachel?> I asked her with mock anger.

Rachel froze.

“What the–” she started.

“Glad you could make it Mike,” Tobias said. “What kind of bird are you?”

<It’s a Harris hawk.> I answered.

“You better demorph Mike. Remember what the Andalite said, two hours and you’re trapped.” Jake reminded me.

<Don’t worry about me Jake,> I said. <I’ve only been in morph for about fifteen minutes. Besides, I can keep watch on you guys from the sky; we don’t want to be overheard.>

Jake nodded and I took to the skies. Of course, I could still understand every word of what they were saying. Hawk hearing is as could as its sight.

“Look, why do we have to deal with this?” Marco asked. “I say we just forget it. We never talk about it. We never morph. We just deal with our own lives.”

If anyone else had said those words, I would have argued with them. I made an exception in Marco’s case; I knew he had his reasons. So when Tobias gave Marco a side-ways glance I spoke to Tobias privately.

<Marco isn’t a coward,> I told him. <He has his reasons.>

Tobias looked up at the sky at me with a puzzled expression on his face; then he shrugged.

I kind of tuned out after that until Cassie showed up. I wanted to see how much better she’d got at morphing. I watched as she started to demorph.

Cassie had definitely been practicing her morphing skills. I was very impressed at how fast she was improving.

Suddenly I heard a loud siren in the distance, and cursed myself for not remembering about the police officer.

<There’s a cop car heading our way! Stand in front of Cassie while she demorphs!> I yelled. The others all rushed to conceal Cassie from the approaching cop, the one I knew had a Yeerk in his brain.

“Morning,” he said. “You kids, uh… hiding something?” The Policeman-Controller asked my fellow Animorphs.

“Hiding something?” Jake asked innocently.

“Step aside, all of you,” he ordered.

They did, revealing Cassie. Fully human, as I’d known she would be.

The policeman looked confused, even disappointed, as if he had been expecting something different. Then he shrugged it off.

Even though I was a hundred metres above them, I could still see the wave of relief wash over them. It’s amazing what you can notice with those hawk eyes. Tobias would make one hell of a detective.

Well too bad, I told myself. I’m not going to let Tobias get trapped in morph, not if I can help it.

“Can we help you, officer?” Rachel asked the Policeman in her best ‘responsible’ voice.

“We’re making some inquiries,” he said, still looking at Cassie as if he expected her to change into some kind of mutant space monster. “We’re looking for some kids who were shooting off fireworks in the construction site across from the mall last night.”

Suddenly Marco started coughing for ‘some reason.’

“Something the matter with him?” the Policeman questioned.

“Nope,” Jake told him. “Nothing wrong with him.”

“We want these kids,” the policeman said. “We want them real bad. See, it was dangerous what they did. Could have been someone hurt. So we want to find the kids.”

Yeah, so you can force one of your filthy brothers into our heads you Daspen filth! I thought maliciously. (Author’s note: “Daspen” is a Yeerk swear word from book 9, for those of you who don’t remember.)

As the police Controller went on to talk about the Sharing, it occurred to me that he was probably one of the guys at the construction site last night, laughing as Elfangor was murdered in cold blood. I was momentarily tempted to swoop down and give the guy a spare eye socket.

The time for revenge will come, I told myself. But not today…

“Well,” the policeman said. “You call me if you hear anything about those kids in the construction site. I should warn you – they may come up with some wild story to conceal their guilt. But you’re too smart to believe a bunch of crazy lies, aren’t you?”

“He’s a regular genius,” Marco said, indicating Jake.

The policeman got back into his police cruiser, and took off...

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 7: Flying Free

(MIKE’S POV)

“So which one are you going to morph?” Cassie asked Tobias.

Tobias was gazing at two injured birds of prey. An Osprey with a broken beak, and a Red-tailed hawk with a broken wing.

“I think I’ll choose…The Red-tail!” Tobias decided.   

It was starting to get kind of freaky, knowing everything that was about to happen. It was cool, yes, but really weird at the same time.
   
Tobias walked up to the hawk’s cage, stuck his hand inside, and stroked the injured bird’s healthy wing. The hawk glared at him furiously (although it was kind of hard to tell with raptors) and started to flare up, but it suddenly became passive as Tobias started to acquire its DNA.

“The same thing happened with Dude,” Tobias said once he had finished acquiring the hawk’s DNA. Dude is Tobias’ cat. “I think that all animals are put into some kind of trance while they’re being acquired.”

I nodded thoughtfully.   

“Yeah I guess that would make sense,” I said. “I mean, how else would these Andalites be able to morph really dangerous animals like…” I stopped in mid-sentence. I’d been about to say ‘like that beast Visser Three morphed last night’ but it really hurt to mention what had happened.

Cassie broke the awkward silence.

“So…are you morphing or what?” she asked Tobias. Tobias nodded, and began to morph.

I always used to think that the Animorphs were exaggerating when they said that they would never in a million years get used to the morphing process. This was only the second time I had actually seen someone morphing, so you wouldn’t think that I’d have had time to form an opinion on that particular topic. But as I watched Tobias’ body begin to melt and reform, I made up my mind. I would never, ever get used to watching something like that; trust me on this one.

“Aren’t you morphing too Mike?” Cassie stared at me curiously, as if I were a puzzle she was trying to figure out.

I didn’t want to increase her suspicions, so I started to morph back to Harris hawk. Although the way Cassie had looked at me reminded me of the fact that I was going to have to tell the other Animorphs my little secret eventually.

Eventually yes, I told myself as I finished the morph. But not today. I stretched out my raptor’s wings, flapping them hard until I found a small updraft, and then floated off towards the afternoon sun with my brand new Red-tailed friend by my side.

         *

(TOBIAS’ POV)

<YEEEEEHAAAA!!!> I yelled out loud at the exhilaration and joy of flying. It was wonderful. We had been flying over the city for over half an hour, searching for the Yeerk Pool the Andalite had told me about, but I was still ecstatic! It all felt so open, peaceful, and free. It was almost as if I had spent twenty years in prison and then been released into the world. Freedom. Absolute, total freedom! If there was one moment of my life I would never forget, it would be the first time I morphed a bird, flying free through the blue afternoon sky.

<WAAAHOOO!!!> My new friend Mike went shooting past less than five metres to my right. He seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as I was. But then again; how could you not enjoy flying?

<This is incredible Mike,> I told him. <The eyes, the ears, the wings…Everything!>

<I know! It’s so amazing!> Mike replied. <We are nearly half a kilometre up, but I can still see all the people down there so clearly it’s like we’re right next to them. I can even hear the cars!>

<It’s like a dream come true,> I said. There was silence for a while before Mike started talking again.

<By the way Tobias, what made you choose the Red-tail instead of the Osprey?>

It was a perfectly reasonable question, but it took me by surprise.

<I don’t know really,> I admitted. <The Red-tail looked cooler I guess.> It was only then that I realised something that should have been quite obvious. <Where did you get your Harris hawk from Mike?> I asked casually.

<Oh, err…I found it in the woods!> Mike replied.

<How did you get near it?> I was slightly suspicious now. I’m no animal expert like Cassie, but I do know that you can’t get anywhere near most forest dwelling animals, particularly birds.

<I found it on the ground when I was walking through the woods, maybe it was injured or something.> Mike said.

<Injured? Shouldn’t you have taken it to Cassie’s barn?> Mike didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would leave a hurt animal lying helpless on the ground.

<Well…It didn’t seem too serious, and it flew off afterwards so it must have been okay.>

I thought of questioning him further; Mike’s explanation sounded strange and unlikely.

Reality check Tobias, if you think that was strange compared to what happened last night then there must be something seriously wrong with you. I told myself.

I shrugged it off and stared down at the patchwork quilt of suburban buildings below and spotted one I recognised. We had finally arrived at Jake’s house. However, as Mike and I began to descend to land next to Jake’s window, I heard a bunch of loud noises coming from inside. It sounded like somebody having a fight. What was going on? Fortunately my incredible hawk ears could hear what was being said now that we were close enough, even with the window closed.

“Jake, quit acting like a stupid jerk!”

“Take that back!”

“Not likely, you think it’s just a coincidence he’s suddenly all interested in what happened at the construction site?”

<What the hell is going on in there?> I asked Mike.

<Not a clue,> Mike replied. <I can’t see into the room very well from this angle.>

<Me neither,> I said. <But from what I can hear it sounds like Jake and Marco are having an argument.>

<Yeah and I don’t think it’s about pizza topings.> Mike agreed.

<Think we should go check it out? We should probably tell Jake about everything Elfangor told us last night.>

<Definitely. Red-tails first.> Mike said with a laugh.

<With pleasure, let me show you how it’s done.> I called back before heading right into a dive towards Jake’s bedroom window. I folded back my wings in the bird of prey equivalent of a free fall and let gravity bring me in for a landing. I opened my wings wide again as I got close to slow my descent, then started flapping against the window with my left wing to try and get their attention. Mike appeared next to and did the same.

<Let us in, alright? We can’t hover here forever!> I insisted.

<Yeah what do you think we are, Geese?> Mike added.

Thankfully Jake walked over to the window and opened it up as wide as it would go to let us in. I landed on Jake’s dresser and Mike fluttered over to the bed.

<What on Earth are you two fighting about?> I demanded. <Oh, and what do you think of my new Red-tailed hawk morph?>

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 8: Yeerk Pools and Inspirational Speeches

(MIKE’S POV)

“Is that you Tobias?” Marco demanded. “I thought we weren’t going to do anymore of this morphing.”

<I never agreed to that.> Tobias pointed out.

<Neither did I.> I confirmed.

“Well, better morph back you guys,” Jake warned. “You know what the Andalite said – never stay in any form for more than two hours.”

I started to morph back, but I saw Tobias hesitate. Maybe it was because he hadn’t figured out how to morph clothing yet; but it was most likely because he really enjoyed being a hawk. It was times like this that I suspected Tobias was planning to become a Nothlit all along. He didn’t have any parents, and his aunt and uncle didn’t really care about him. As a human, he didn’t have much going for him. Maybe there was someway I could change all that.

Even so, after a few moments he hopped onto Jake’s bed and he also began to change, just as I was starting to feel the effects of my own disturbing transformation. 

I could feel my own bones crunching, twisting, growing, and rearranging themselves inside me. I looked down at my arms just as my feathers were sucked back into my body. I felt my beak softening, and my tongue growing between my half grown teeth.

About halfway through my demorph, I looked over at Tobias and saw similar changes happening to him.

Tobias’ feathers merged together and turned pink, almost like they had been turned into melted wax. His beak became a set of lips, and his talons split into five and became toes. Then two tiny, shrivelled arms protruded from the front of his chest with fingers like a newborn baby. All in all, it was a pretty disgusting sight. And what made it worse was the knowledge that similar bizarre changes were happening to me.

Two minutes later, I finished demorphing. Tobias was less experienced so it took him a minute longer. After we had finished there was a moments silence before Tobias spoke.

“I haven’t figured out how to morph clothes yet, like Mike and Cassie,” he admitted sheepishly. “Can I borrow some of yours Jake?”

Jake loaned him a pair of trousers and a shirt, but just like in the book, his shoes were all the wrong size.

“It doesn’t really matter about the shoes; we can fly out of here anyway.” I pointed out.

“Tobias, how exactly did you get that hawk morph?” Jake demanded.

“There’s an injured hawk in Cassie’s barn,” Tobias told him. “There was this cool Osprey too, but I picked the hawk.”

The three of them then got into a conversation about DNA not being affected by injuries, and how cool being a bird is. Eventually we ended up on the subject of Yeerk pools.

“Mike and I were searching the town to see if we could spot a Yeerk pool.” Tobias said.

I had discussed the Yeerk pool thing with Tobias earlier. I lied and told him Elfangor had given me an ‘information burst’ too so that’s how I knew about them. Fortunately, he believed me. For a while I was afraid he was going to suspect me of being a Controller.

“I think I remember that Visser Three guy mentioning them last night,” Jake recalled. “What is a Yeerk pool?”

“It’s where Yeerks live in their natural state,” I jumped in before Tobias could start. “Every three days they leave the host body to feed by soaking up Kandrona rays.”

Jake and Marco both shared a suspicious look, which was to be expected since they obviously had no idea what I was talking about or how I had obtained the information. Thankfully, Tobias stepped into to clarify what I had told them.

“At the end,” he explained. “When the Andalite told us to run for it, we stayed behind for a few seconds. I guess we didn’t want to leave him like that.”

I froze.

That wasn’t what he said in the book! I thought, concerned. Is my presence in this universe already starting to alter certain events?

Tobias continued his explanation, interrupting my confused, panicked, thoughts.

“Anyway, he gave us… visions, I guess you’d call them. Pictures and information. A lot of it all at once. All jumbled. We haven’t even started to sort it all out yet. But we do know about the Yeerk pools and the Kandrona.”

Marco held up his hand, silencing Tobias.

“Let me check the door,” he said.

He went over to the door and peeked out into the hallway.

“All clear,” Marco announced.

Tobias gave Marco a questioning look.

“Tom,” Marco told him. “He’s one of them. That’s what Jake and I were arguing about when you guys dropped by.”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” Jake warned him angrily, looking him in the eye. “Tom is not a Controller.”

“Either way we should be careful,” said Tobias. He lowered his voice slightly. “The Kandrona is a device which produces Kandrona particles. You see, it’s like a portable version of the Yeerk’s home sun. The Yeerks need Kandrona particles to live, just like humans need vitamins or whatever. The Kandrona particles are beamed from wherever the Kandrona is and concentrated in the Yeerk pool. Once every three days, all Yeerks must leave their hosts to swim in the Yeerk pool. They then soak up these particles and then re-enter the host body.”

“What does this have to do with you flying around playing Superman?” asked Jake.

Tobias and I exchanged a slightly embarrassed look.

“Well, it seems kind of dumb now, but we were thinking maybe we could spot a Yeerk pool.” He made a rueful smile. “We saw plenty of swimming pools and a couple of ponds; you get up there and you realise there are ponds, lakes, and streams everywhere. But we didn’t see anything unusual.”

“And if you did find one of these ‘Yeerk pools?’” Marco demanded. “Then what would you do?”

“We’d blow it up,” Tobias said confidently.

“Wrong,” said Marco. “I thought that we had already decided not to get into this.”

“No, actually we decided not to decide yet,” Jake pointed out.

“Well, I’ve decided,” Tobias announced.

“Suddenly the wimp is a hero,” Marco sneered.

“Maybe I just found something worth fighting for Marco,” Tobias replied.

“And he won’t be alone,” I said standing up. “I’m not going to let Earth go down without a fight!”

Marco turned to look me in the eyes.

“Maybe you don’t know this guy too well Mike,” he said, pointing at Tobias. “But he won’t even fight to defend himself, let alone this planet!”

“That was before,” Tobias told him softly. “Before the Andalite. Before he died trying to save us. I don’t know about you Marco, but I can’t let that go; I don’t want his sacrifice to be for nothing. So whatever the rest of you guys decide, I’m going to fight.”

[Phoenix004]

Almost no editing to do here that I could actually be bothered doing, so I though I'd post the next chapter. I kinda want to get on with the story, since I'm planning on adding a brand new chapter that wasn't in the original version (just as soon as I figure out what to write!)

I'd also like to take this chance to remind everyone to post any comments about my fic in the feedback thread at the top of the Fanfiction section (or you can PM me or talk on MSN if you want). Sorry to be annoying about it, but my first thread got blocked up with too many comments and conversations. I will be deleting your posts shortly, but feel free to continue this discussion elsewhere.

Since you guys took the trouble to post though, I'll add a response. I'm pretty sure that you didn't need a whole hand to touch the blue box, just a finger will do. What difference would it make anyway?


CHAPTER 9: Girl Trouble

(MIKE’S POV)

After Tobias’ inspirational speech, it wasn’t too long before Marco pointed out that both Tom and the Cop had invited us to the Sharing. As we suspected (and I knew) them both to be Controllers, we decided to go along to the meeting that night down at the beach to see if the Sharing really was just one big happy family. We got in touch with Rachel and Cassie who also agreed to come along.

Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and I walked there, but Tobias flew most of the way. I almost wish I’d been up there with him; flying is just so incredibly cool! I used to think it hard to believe that Tobias would purposely trap himself as a hawk, but after experiencing it for myself; I found it hard to argue with considering Tobias’ human life.

After spending over an hour at the meeting, I started thinking that if I didn’t know it was run by brain-stealing slugs, I’d probably be having a really fun time. I talked with some of the newer members, played volleyball with Jake and Tom, and ate some delicious barbeque chicken.

No wonder the Sharing is so popular, I thought worriedly. I looked around at all the people hanging out on the beach. There must have been at three or four dozen people, and over half of them must have been Controllers. The worst part was that I knew that this was only a tiny fraction of the Yeerk forces on this planet. Even this early in the series, there were already hundreds of human Controllers.

After a while I kind of wandered off a bit from everyone else and just stared out across the ocean, the cool sea breeze wafting the scent of burned wood along the shore. Watching the gentle waves wash up the beach made me think of Ax. I wondered how he was doing right now. He must have been really lonely. Trapped beneath the surface of an alien ocean with nothing but the sharks for company? It must be horrible for him.

Hang in there Ax, I thought. We’ll be coming for you soon…

“You’re new here right?” the voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to see who was talking and found myself face to face with a tall girl who looked to be about my age, maybe a year older. She had long blonde hair and emerald green eyes. I have to admit she was very pretty, and she had a figure that most guys my age would kill for. Under normal circumstances I would be thrilled to have a girl with those looks talking to me;  but I had quickly learned that in a world inhabited by Controllers, you can never judge people by face value.

“Yeah this is my first meeting,” I replied with a forced smile. Was she actually interested in me? Or was she just simply another tool for the Yeerks trying to entice teenage boys into joining the Sharing?

“Good for you…”

“Mike,” I replied casually. “And you are?”

“I’m Erika,” the girl told me as she reached out her hand towards me. I shook it. “I’ve been coming to the Sharing for quite a while now; some of my friends recommended it. How about you?”

“A friend of mine invited me, his brother, Tom, is a full member here,” I informed her calmly, looking for some kind of reaction which would prove she was a free girl. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to spot a controller that way.

“Oh, so you know Tom as well!” she cried delightedly.

My blood turned cold; if she knew Tom then that increased the chance that she was a Yeerk after all.

“You know him?” I asked, faking 'mild' interest. I hoped she didn’t notice my panic.

“Sure! He followed me and my friends to a meeting last month. To tell you the truth,” she said, lowering her voice. “I think he has a crush on me!”

Okay, so she didn’t really sound like a controller. As I looked at her dazzling smile and mysterious emerald eyes, I couldn’t help but pray that she was just a normal human.

“So you like him?” I questioned. My heart skipped a beat as she flashed me a mischievous grin.

“No way! He’s not my type, I prefer to date people my own age.” She looked me in the eye and raised an eyebrow suggestively. My heart then skipped about a dozen beats!

“Same here,” I finally managed to speak after about half a minute of trying to get my lungs to start working again. Maybe she wasn’t a Yeerk after all. I mean, what kind of controller would waste time flirting with another human?

My thoughts were interrupted again, this time by a meaningful glance from Jake. He and the others were standing over by a quiet corner of the beach waiting for me to join the conversation.

“Anyway, it was great to meet you Erika! Maybe I’ll see you at the next meeting?” I suggested.

Erika smiled again, turning my legs to jelly. “Sure!” she agreed happily. She went off to join some friends on the other side of the beach. Shockingly, I found myself hoping she was going to talk to them about me. I walked over to the others. They seemed to have overheard some of my conversation with Erika, as they each had an amused expression on their face.

“Maybe I was wrong about the Sharing after all,” Marco conceded. “No way can a girl that hot be an alien!” He obviously meant Erika. “Although if she isn’t being brainwashed by an alien slug, how come she’s turning her charm on you Mike?” I knew he was just teasing me, but his comment did sting a little. Fortunately, I am not easily offended.

“Give it up Marco, you’re just jealous that you could never get a girl like that,” Rachel told him. “Most girls actually like guys who use there brains for things other than making up bad jokes.” 

“Yeah well luckily for me, you aren’t like most girls Rachel.” Marco replied grinning.

“Be quiet you two, I think it’s sweet,” Cassie said, playing the peacemaker. “She seemed to really like you Mike.” A comment like that from Cassie was usually a good sign, as she was supposed to be the master at reading people.

“Thanks Cassie,” I replied gratefully.

“Moving on,” said Jake. He was trying to sound serious, but I could see the amused grin on his face when he looked at me. Was it really that obvious that I liked her? It must be if even Jake could tell. “I don’t think all of these people are here for a friendly get together. Something’s definitely wrong about this place, and I need to find out what that is.”

“And how do you propose we do that? Walk up and ask them if they’re part of an alien conspiracy?” Marco asked sarcastically, although he was sure to keep his voice down.

“Do you really think they’re going to notice a stray dog wandering along the beach?” Jake replied.

“A stray dog? Oh.” Marco realised what he was getting at.

“Good thinking,” Cassie agreed. “I’d go too, but they would definitely suspect a horse.” As she said that, I remembered that she was going to try going after Jake anyway, but would be stopped and marked for infestation by the cop. That was something I would have to intervene in; it would solve a few problems later on.

I waited while Jake morphed Homer and Tobias demorphed back to human. I could almost see the sense of loss as Tobias became human again. It made me wonder if I should try to prevent him becoming trapped as a hawk later on. After all, he seemed much happier as a hawk, and his bird eyes and wings were vital at several points in the series. But he wouldn’t have Rachel… I thought. And Rachel is what, or who he wants. I can’t take that from him, not for anything. With that decided, I turned my thoughts towards Erika.

Was she a controller? Or was she genuinely interested in me? Considering my previous track record with the opposite sex, the latter didn’t seem likely. Then again, this isn’t exactly the same universe I had grown up in; maybe girl-issues were a lighter matter here. Yeah, like that was believable. 

Time to review the facts, I thought to myself. First of all, she wasn’t exactly positive towards Tom. If she were a Yeerk, she’d have a high opinion of him wouldn’t she? Especially considering his rank. I almost sighed with relief. So maybe she isn’t a controller after all- I froze in mid-thought. With a growing sense of dread, I suddenly recalled a particular part of my conversation with Erika…

“Sure! He followed me and my friends to a meeting last month. To tell you the truth,” she said, lowering her voice. “I think he has a crush on me!”

That simple statement set alarm bells ringing in my head. A distant memory from when I had read book six. Of course! Why didn’t I realise it sooner? I could have yelled with frustration. Tom had joined the Sharing after discovering a girl he had a crush on was a member there! Erika was that girl; there was no doubt in my mind about that. She was a controller…

I sat down hard on the soft sand, gazing out across the sea which started about five metres ahead of me. I was devastated. I couldn’t believe that the first girl to truly acknowledge me since I had arrived here was infested with a brain-stealing slug. I smiled weakly at the thought. It’s not exactly the kind of thing most teenagers have to worry about.

“What are you thinking about?” A girl’s voice once again interrupted my thoughts. I turned to face whoever it was to tell them to get lost; I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

I turned around but the words got caught in my throat. It was Erika.

“You as a matter of fact,” I told her calmly, trying to conceal my surprise. What was she doing here? If she was a controller she would be in the meeting with the other full members. Or had the meeting ended already? How long had I been sitting here? “What are you doing here anyway?” I asked, hoping I sounded casual and not like I was trying to pry. “I thought you went off to see your friends.”

“Oh right, that,” she blushed, her face turning a bright crimson colour. “I wanted to give you my number before I left if that’s okay?”

That really hit me off guard. What was I supposed to say?

“Um… sure! I’d love to have your number!” Controller or not, I was actually hoping that all the other guys on the beach had heard me.

“Great!” she replied cheerfully, handing me a small square of paper with a six digit number on it. Then she walked off, leaving me even more confused than I had been before she returned.

I sighed deeply, shoved the paper in my right pocket, and went to re-join my fellow Animorphs.

Is it just me, or are girls way too complicated?

[Phoenix004]

Finally got the new chapter finished! This is a never before seen chapter that wasn't in the original version. Not a lot happens in it, I just wanted to give Mike a break before the real action comes along! Hope you guys like it! Feel free to post comments in the feedback thread! 

CHAPTER 10: Weekend Break

(MIKE’S POV)

It was Sunday morning. I had a day to kill until Jake brought us all together to tell us about the Yeerk Pool entrance at their school. So that left me with one whole day to do as I pleased, in a world where the Animorphs are real and I had the power to morph any animal I touched…

So I decided to go shopping. I know what you’re thinking, but believe me I when I say that I had to go shopping. The Ellimist had done great setting me up with a house, furniture, and other things that would be too big for me to carry back to my place in the woods (somehow I doubted they would deliver there). However, anything else I might need for my new place I would have to buy myself. What I didn’t get was the strange rules the Ellimist played by. He gave me a fridge, so why wasn’t it stocked with food? There was a TV, DVD player and Wii console, but no DVDs or games. He’s a strange guy the Ellimist, but since he also gave me my own bank account book with contained ten thousand dollars in it, I wasn’t going to complain! True the money would have to last me for as long as I was staying here, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t live a little.

I picked up some food and drink for my fridge and then headed over to the mall to check out some of the more interesting stores. I admit I went a bit crazy in the DVD section, and I bought a few CDs and games too. Let’s just say it took a while to carry them all back to my house in the middle of the woods.

After dropping off my shopping at home, I headed back into town. If I was going to be living here, I figured I should start to learn my way around the place. True I could have done that from the air in my hawk morph, but the bird’s eye view wouldn’t help much for when I had to walk around the city as a human. I was a slightly tempted to go looking for Erika, maybe even track her movements for a few days to see if she was a Controller, but the sane part of me realised that sounded way too much like stalking. My suspicions of her being a Controller weren’t an excuse to spy on a possibly innocent girl. Even so, I would have liked to see her again. Maybe if I spent more time with her I might be able to work out if she was a Controller or not.

Suddenly realising that I was hungry and that it was around lunch time, I headed over to the McDonalds across the street. I figured it was probably safe to eat there as long as I didn’t order a Happy Meal.

“Mike! What a surprise!”

To my amazement, it was Erika calling out to me. She looked like she’d just sat down to eat, and had obviously seen me come in.

There is a God, I thought. And he has a sense of humour…

“Hey Erika, nice seeing you again.” I replied with a smile. Controller or not, she was very cute and I don’t talk to cute girls everyday.

“You want to sit with me? I’m here alone so there’s a spare seat.”

“Sure, just let me get some lunch.”

Okay, so at least she doesn’t have a Happy Meal, that’s good. Of course, maybe they haven’t added a Pool entrance here yet. Besides, even Controllers need to eat, so I’m no closer to knowing anything really. I sighed to myself as I waited in line for my food. You think first dates are scary? Try dating a girl who might have an alien slug in her head!

Wait a second, did I just call this a date?

“Welcome to McDonalds can I take your ord-”

“Not the Happy Meal!” I blurted out without thinking.

“Okayyyy. What do you want then?” The confused guy at the till asked me.

I gave him my order and prayed to God that he wasn’t a Controller. Since the guy didn’t look at me suspiciously or invite me to get a slug shoved down my ear, I assumed that he wasn’t, so I took my food over to Erika’s table.

Luckily I managed to keep the conversation about her for a while, as there wasn’t much I could really tell her about my life here. I didn’t go to school and I lived in the woods. Those are two things that don’t go down well on most first dates. So instead I asked her about her school, her hobbies, etc. Sadly none of it help me find out if she was a Controller or not, and I didn’t think it was wise to ask her if she was a full member of The Sharing. To be honest, I was a little afraid of what the answer might be.

“So anyway, I’ve not seen you around school or anything before Mike. Did you just move here or something?”

Oh yeah, I moved from a place really far away!

“Um, yeah I’ve only been in town a few days.” I said. “My parents haven’t signed me up for school yet.”

“I knew you weren’t from around here. What state are you from?” She asked.

“Oh I’m not from the States.” I replied. “I’m English.”

“Really? That’s cool. I should’ve guessed from your accent.”

“What accent?” I’d never thought I had an accent before. “Do I sound British now guvnor?” I said in an exaggerated British voice.

Erika laughed. She had a nice laugh.

“Well you don’t sound like the British stereotype, but you definitely don’t sound American.” She pointed out.

“Well you don’t sound like the American stereotype.”

“That’s because I’m not from Texas.”

“And I’m not from London!” I winked.

She laughed again, but then her mobile phone started to ring and she answered it.

“Hi Vicky! I’m out with a friend. Sure I’ll be there Monday night. See ya then!”

“Something happening on Monday?” I asked as she finished the call.

“Just getting together with some friends. Girl’s night out. Anyway, I better get going before my mum starts thinking I’ve been kidnapped or something. You know what parents are like.” She rolled her eyes.

“That’s okay, we have parents like that in England too.” I said with a smile.

“You still have my number right?” I nodded. “Good, call me sometime!” And with that she walked out, leaving me feeling on top of the world. All thoughts of Yeerk Pools and Controllers were temporarily washed away.

It’s a beautiful day, a cute girl likes me and unlike the rest of the kids in this town, I don’t have to worry about school tomorrow! I thought happily. I think I’ll go for another fly round the forest…

[Phoenix004]

I'm slightly impressed with this one. It's about 600 words longer than the original chapter, as I've done some editing to make it a bit longer. Anyway, enjoy!


CHAPTER 11: In the Jungle…

(MIKE’S POV)

One day later…

“Screams, human screams.” Jake was telling us about what he had discovered during the morning he spent as a lizard. “They were far off, but that’s what they were.”

“You were a lizard at the time,” Marco pointed out. “Who knows what you heard?”

“I know.” Jake confirmed.

I was already starting to get tired of pretending to be surprised all the time. It was only a matter of time before the others started getting suspicious, and the last thing I needed was for them not to trust me. I had originally planned on telling them when they first met the Ellimist in book seven, but I now realised that they were bound to start questions long before then. It’s not like I can go several months without telling them where I live and which school I go to. Besides, if I kept my secret from them for that long they would never trust me again.

I’m going to have to tell them soon, I thought.

“I suppose it makes sense really if you think about it.” I eventually found myself joining the conversation.

“What do you mean by that?” Cassie asked.

“I mean about the location of the pool.” I explained. “Three main reasons: first of all it would have to be underground to hide something that size, and secondly a school entrance is ideal for Chapman, Tom, and any other pupils or staff who might be controllers. They can go to school regularly without arousing suspicion.”

“You said three reasons? I only counted two.” Marco said.

“So you do sometimes stay awake in math class.” Rachel joked.

“I’m getting to the third reason,” I told them with a grin. “It’s a school. Where else would you look for a source of pure evil?”

That gave everyone a laugh, and I’m sure I heard Marco mutter ‘I’m starting to like this guy’ under his breath. I even felt like I was starting to fit in, be one of the team.

“Anyway, jokes aside, I agree with what Rachel said on Saturday-”

“That the hot blonde chick with the green eyes likes Mike?” asked Marco.

“-that we need more firepower. We should head over to The Gardens to acquire some tough morphs.” Jake turned to Cassie. “Can you get us in?”

“I have a pass so I can get in for free. The rest of you will have to pay, but I can use my mum’s employee discount so it’ll be cheaper.” Cassie told him.

“I’m sure we could convince them to let us in for free,” Marco informed them confidently. “Just tell them we’re Animorphs.”

“We’re what?” Rachel demanded.

“Animorphs,” I said with a smile. “I like it…”

         *

It took about half an hour to reach the main gate of The Gardens. I was almost shivering with excitement as we entered the amusement/wildlife park.

So this is the famous Gardens, I thought as I looked around. We quickly passed through the amusement park half of The Gardens (which was kind of a shame because some of those rides looked really cool!) and found ourselves lost in an artificial jungle of strange plants and cheap plastic. Cassie then took us through an unmarked door and into a damp hallway. It was almost like being transported from a forest into a school corridor.

We all followed Cassie where, after a little gentle persuasion, Marco acquired his traditional gorilla morph. As we started off towards some of the larger habitats, we were spotted by an old balding security guard in a plain brown uniform.

“Hey! Hey you! What are you kids doing back here?”

“Oh man, oh man!” Cassie darted off down a hallway leading off to one of the main building exhibits, with Rachel and Tobias close behind. Jake and Marco started running in the direction of the other main building. Jake was yelling at me to follow, but I had my own game plan. You see, the way I figured was that I knew they could make it out safely without my help, and if I did intervene, Marco and Jake could be caught, or Jake could even miss out on acquiring his tiger morph.

Besides, I thought as I headed down the corridor to my right, I’ve always liked Jaguars.

Several years back, I even received full marks for a school project about Jaguars. (Author’s note: That’s a true story). I’d planned it out that very morning to get myself a Jaguar morph because I love all the members of the cat family and decided that a Jaguar would make a great battle morph. And thanks to Cassie (and Animorphs #1) I knew that the Jaguar Jungle habitats were somewhere along this passageway.

I spotted a map of the building on the wall and stopped to examine it. Seems that the guard had gone for Jake and Marco after all, I briefly wondered how they were faring with the tigers as I made a left at the next turn. I found myself facing down two doors: P-195, which (according to the map) led to the Jaguar habitat, and P-197, which contained the Leopards.

I opened the door marked P-195 and walked inside. Travelling from the grey gloomy hallway back into an imitation of a tropical jungle. I was surrounded by trees, bushes, and grass. Sunlight filtered down through the trees. Just ahead of me, the bushes opened up to a small grassy clearing. Inside this clearing were two men wearing white lab coats. The man nearest to me was carrying a long rifle, most likely loaded with tranquillisers.

Just as I was running for the shelter of a clump of trees, the man raised the gun to shoulder height, took careful aim, and fired.

PHIT! The tranquilliser dart struck a direct hit to the leg.

The leg of a very large Jaguar that is. The big cat snarled and roared in outrage at the two vets and dived behind a tree, but its head and tail were still easily visible.

I crouched low behind my tree as the two men turned towards the door; they hadn’t spotted me. I sighed with relief and started listening to what they were saying as they walked past.

“…a few minutes. The male always takes a little longer than the female.” Said Vet Number One.

“Yeah, Stalker’s always been more active than Sheila.” Vet Number Two added. Then they left through the same door I used to get in.

I stood up and looked around, making a mental note of the door on the other side of the room. I glanced towards the tree where Stalker had taken refuge, but he was gone.

I have a really bad feeling about this, I thought nervously. That’s when I heard it.

GRRR! An angry, terrifying growl cried out from behind me.

Despite the fact that everyone single one of my body’s instincts was telling me to run away screaming, I turned to face the huge cat and looked it straight in the eye with a defiant glare. This experience reminded me of two things which would have been plainly obvious to me under normal circumstances: First of all, that Jaguars can’t really be intimidated; and second, my vague memory of a clip from the Discovery Channel which had said that male members of the cat family sometimes get a little mad when you make direct eye contact with them.

Stalker was staring at me in the same way that a starving man looks at a banquet, so I decided at that point that I should probably start acquiring him before he decided to sever my neck arteries and paint the tree with my blood. 

Wondering how often these animals were fed, I slowly reached out my right arm, gently placed my hand on his head, and began to concentrate on this invincible feline. Stalker immediately shut his eyes. The tranquilliser must have kicked in faster because of the acquiring process.

Thank God for tranquillisers, I thought gratefully as Stalker lay down peacefully in the grass while I finished acquiring him. I could almost feel a surge of power as his DNA pattern became a part of me. All that speed, strength, and confidence of the big cat were now hidden inside of me and flowing through my bloodstream. I made a silent promise to myself to find a way of proving I was worthy of borrowing the DNA of such a noble creature.

“In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the Jaguar sleeps tonight…” I sang quietly as I finished acquiring the beautiful feline. I began to sneak away from Stalker towards the exit when two surprising things happened at once.

I was halfway to the rear exit when the two vets suddenly reappeared from a side entrance. They spotted me instantly and one starting yelling at me while the other was talking into a hand-held radio communicator.

Just as I had realised this and had started to speed up a little, I saw that the female cat, Sheila, had also found me and was in hot pursuit. It was then that I started to speed up a lot. Probably due to my dangerously high adrenaline levels brought on by sheer terror.

I’d read in a book once that certain animals (even ones that are far faster than humans) can be beaten by a person in a short sprint, as many animals take time to reach their maximum speed. Sadly for me, big cats are not one of those animals. Cheetahs in particular are famous for reaching their top speed within seconds, even if only for a short time.

Luckily I had a good head start on the Jaguar and there were two other people in the room to distract it. That bought me valuable seconds until Sheila the Jaguar decided that I was the closer target. I glanced round quickly and spotted the female Jaguar stare at me for a moment before she started racing towards me. I couldn’t remember how long it took for a Jaguar to reach its top speed, and I had no intention of finding out the hard way. I started running like a, well, like a hungry Jaguar was chasing me!

Maybe I had a bigger head start than I thought, or maybe the vets tranquilised her. All I know is that I was out of that room and running for the Dolphin tanks before the graceful beast could reach me. Once I found the tanks, it became much easier to hide by blending in with the crowd, and I finally managed to slow my pounding heart.

Well, I thought as I searched for the others. At least I’ll soon be getting used to deadly situations.

[Phoenix004]

No you aren't seeing things, I really am posting again!  Feel free to PM/E-mail me your comments, or just post in the feedback thread. Thanks!

CHAPTER 12: Down into the Dark

(MIKE’S POV)

As I waited for the others to arrive, I spent a while gazing at the family of Dolphins swimming happily in the water. I couldn’t wait to try out that morph, but I would have to wait until book 4 for that.

Suddenly, I spotted Rachel, Cassie and Tobias making their way towards me, but there was no sign of Jake or Marco yet. Still having fun in the Tiger enclosure I assumed.

“Hey guys, check out these Dolphins.” He called out to them.

“They’re really something aren’t they?” Cassie agreed.

“We don’t exactly need to morph them though,” Tobias pointed out. “We can only use them in water after all. Besides, I’m happy with my Hawk morph!”

“I guess that means you didn’t acquire anything new then? How about you two?” I asked the girls.

“I got an Elephant morph.” Rachel grinned. “But then Cassie insisted we come find you guys in case you’d been caught by security. Have you seen Jake and Marco?”

I shook my head.

“I haven’t seen them since we split up when that old guard spotted us, but I’m pretty sure they got away.” I told them. “Let’s head over to the front gate, they’ll probably meet us there.”

“So did you get a new morph Mike?” Tobias asked me as we started walking back to the entrance.

“Jaguar.” I answered. “It was a damn close call though. I knocked it out with the acquiring trance, but then the second one started chasing me! I barely made it!”

“Yeah right,” Rachel replied sceptically. “As if you could outrun a Jaguar!”

“Hey I can run pretty fast when something is trying to kill me!” I insisted.

“There they are!” Cassie interrupted us before we could continue arguing.

Marco and Jake were a short distance away, crouching low as they made their way to the front gate. Obviously they had only recently escaped from the Tiger enclosure and were worried about the guards spotting them again.

“What did you do, morph into a midget?” Rachel asked, looking slightly amused as Jake and Marco looked up at us.

“The guards were after us.” Jake said. He still looked a little shaken up.

“Oh, quit playing around Jake,” Said Rachel. “Let’s get out of here. I have to be home for dinner.”

Marco started telling the others all about their near-death experience with the Tigers, but Rachel didn’t seem to believe him.

“You guys are all alike. Mike was just telling us how a Jaguar nearly ate him too.” Rachel rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious, we could have been killed!” Marco pouted. “It was down to a few centimetres.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Rachel said. “Don’t obsess over it. After all, we still have tonight to deal with. Whatever danger you think you had today, it will probably be nothing next to what’s going to happen tonight.”

“And I haven’t even thought about studying for that test tomorrow.” Cassie said.

Rachel laughed.

“We may not have to worry about tomorrow.” She pointed out.

“Thank you Little Miss Cheerful.” Marco muttered under his breath.

         *

I was back in my Harris Hawk morph once again, flying above the forest back to my new home. I’d just finished talking to the others about our plan of action for later that night, and then I decided to head home and kill some time until the big battle coming up that night.

I won’t deny that I was feeling nervous about that night. Terrified actually, but excited at the same time. I was trying not to think about it all too much, but I couldn’t help it. I had so many choices and potential outcomes flowing through my head that I really didn’t know what to think. Can I let Tobias get trapped in morph? Could I save Tom from being re-infested? Should I call Erika? Is she really a controller? Does she actually like me? Can I save her if she is infested? Does it really matter what I do?

It was the last thought which worried me the most. Did anything I did matter? Would any of it make a difference in the long term? After all, that was why I was sent here, to change things for the better. Am I supposed to know if my actions were going to have good outcomes? What if I just made things worse? How was I supposed to know what would happen?

“It doesn’t matter what the outcome is, as long as you follow your heart…”

I had no idea where that thought had come from, but with it came a strong sense of déjà vu. I suddenly felt certain that I’d said or at least heard those words before, but I didn’t have a clue where or when…

I shrugged it off, but wherever that thought had come from, it was good advice. I was in this universe to save lives after all.

I landed on a tree opposite my house, and used my incredible Hawk eyes to glance at the digital clock in my room. I still had at least an hour and a half left in morph so I decided to fly around for a while. Flying is one hobby that never gets old! I was no aerial acrobat, but I was definitely getting more used to flying. Again, I was tempted to believe that Tobias getting trapped as a Hawk wasn’t completely accidental, but I was damned if I was going to just let him be trapped. As cool as flying is, being trapped in any morph would be a nightmare come true.

After flying around for a while, I realised I was near Cassie’s barn.

Oh s**t! I thought. I forgot to stop Cassie following Jake to that full members meeting! She’s going to be kidnapped by that cop! I started flapping frantically; speeding towards Cassie’s as fast as I could. If I stopped the cop grabbing Cassie, then the others wouldn’t be waiting around for her at the school, Tobias wouldn’t morph the Hawk too early and maybe I could save him!

I arrived at the barn but Cassie wasn’t there.

Okay, don’t panic. I told myself. She’s probably up at the house with her parents.

I flew over to the house and looked through each of the windows, searching desperately for Cassie. Trying to land as gently as I could, I dived down and landed outside the living room window. A man I assumed to be Cassie’s dad was sitting down watching TV, but her mum was on the phone in the hallway. She looked worried about something, so I used my sharp hawk ears to listen through the glass.

“… home for dinner. She went out to feed some of the animals and didn’t come back.”

Damn it! I cursed. I’m too late! That must be Jake on the phone trying to find her for the big fight. I better get over there.

It was only then that I realised: I had no idea where the school was.

This whole saving the world thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I sighed inwardly and took off into the sky once again. I really should have asked somebody where the school was…

         *

“What do you mean she isn’t here?” I demanded, trying to act surprised at the news of Cassie’s absence. Acting angry was easy enough though; I was still pretty mad at myself for making such a stupid mistake.

I had just arrived at the school after flying as fast as I could from Cassie’s house. Annoyingly, I had gotten lost several times before I found the school. Luckily I managed to get there while Tobias was still human, which surprised me as I was sure that Tobias had already been a hawk by the time Jake arrived and Jake was already here. Maybe it was just another small thing that had been affected by my presence in this world? I wouldn’t have been worried about that, except for the fact that small things had a habit of becoming bigger somewhere down the line. I would have to be very careful during my time here to make sure I didn’t screw anything up… Like getting Cassie grabbed by a cop Controller. Sometimes I really hate irony.

“What we mean is that Jake called Cassie before he left and she wasn’t at home,” Marco informed me. “Her mum says she went out to feed some animals and didn’t come back; and when we got here she wasn’t here either.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right. I looked at the others, but I only saw Jake, Marco, Rachel and Tobias. Cassie had obviously been taken down to the Yeerk Pool already by that cop Controller. And it was all my fault. My fault because I’d been so absorbed in my own thoughts that I’d forgotten to protect Cassie from that creep.

“Tobias can you morph hawk and have a quick look around for her?” Jake asked.

“No problem Jake.” He replied.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea Jake?” I jumped in quickly before Tobias started morphing, trying not to show my anxiety. “I mean maybe Cassie’s already inside? And either way we need to hurry if we want to save Tom.”

“Sorry Mike,” Jake answered. “But I know Cassie wouldn’t go down there without us, and Tom can’t have been down there very long. There’s nothing wrong with having a quick search.”

I would have argued more, but it seemed obvious that I couldn’t make them listen without blowing my cover. So I let Tobias morph, and he flew up high until he was barely visible to my human eyes. The others kept straining their necks looking at the sky for any signs of good news, but I didn’t bother. I knew that this search was futile, Tobias wouldn’t find anything.

I cursed silently when Tobias returned, a whole fifteen minutes later with no sign of Cassie. Why did he have to take so long? I just prayed that we could escape from the pool before his time ran out.

We sneaked into the school through a broken science room window and, after some debate, agreed to act like controllers and enter the pool.

When the secret entrance opened behind the janitor’s closet and I took my first step through, I knew I had entered a hell which mankind had never seen. Down into the dark, step by step into the most evil place on Earth.

Host bodies, humans and Hork-Bajir alike, were locked away in cages. They were temporarily free of their Yeerk captors, but were unable to use this brief period of freedom. They were helpless. Nothing to do except wait to be plunged back into the pool and have their lives taken away again.

Some of them, the few who still had hope, still cried out for help or roared angry threats at the Hork-Bajir guards. Most of them however, the many who had given up all hope of escape, merely sat in silence without plead or protest. I could almost see them drowning in the deep depths of their own despair. They knew that no pleas or threats would get them anywhere.

Even the smell of the place made me think of morgues, graveyards, and Nazi death camps. As if the air itself was contaminated, and killed off the hope of all who breathed it in.

The sights, the sounds, the smells, they all spoke of death, darkness, decay, and despair. This was the Yeerk Pool alright, no doubt about it…

[Phoenix004]

CHAPTER 13: Hell hath no fury like a Yeerk Pool

(MIKE’S POV)

“Okay, listen up guys,” Jake whispered. “We need to find a secluded to place to morph. Until then, just try not to attract any unwanted attention from-”

“Hey! What are you kids doing over there?”

I almost rolled my eyes as we turned to face the anonymous controller. Even without reading the books, I could’ve seen that one coming. The controller seemed really suspicious of us for some reason; I could tell we would have been in serious trouble if it weren’t for the large African Elephant emerging behind him. An angry African Elephant. I almost pitied the guy as a long grey trunk hurled him several metres into a very solid wall.

I didn’t recall that being in the book.

That’s when all hell broke loose in the underground city. Rampaging elephants tend to have that kind of effect on people.

As I crouched down low, hidden in the shadows, I wondered if enraged Elephant attack was the only method of attracting attention down in this underground labyrinth city. The thought made me smile for the first time since I entered this living hell.

I noticed Marco growing fur and Jake growing a tail and decided that I should morph already. After all, I thought darkly. Thanks to my mistakes, we don’t have any time to waste.

I thought back to that moment of terror when I had reached out to touch the Jaguar; remembering his eyes, whiskers and fur, but also his strength, confidence, and courage. Back then, he had become part of me. Now he was going to become me. I closed my eyes and concentrated, imagining what it would be like to be the Jaguar, just like the days not so long ago when I had only imagined being an Animorph.

The Animorphs always claimed that morphing never occurs in the same order, but even the Andalites never explained why. I guess even the ‘Almighty Andalites’ don’t know everything about morphing. Either way, I knew it was true after morphing the Harris Hawk several times. Sometimes my feathers grew in first, other times they were the last thing to change. One thing was for sure, I knew that becoming a Jaguar would be quite different.

I was right.

My head was the first part to start changing, but there no fur at first. The first sign of change was a strange itching sensation I felt, which turned out to be my- or at least the Jaguar's- whiskers growing in. My eyes suddenly grew sharper, as the Jaguar's night vision was far superior to my own. My ears became pointed, and began to slide up to on top of my head. My hearing also improved, allowing me to hear my canines extending and my own skeleton rearranging itself.

I was forced down onto all-fours and my spine continued to stretch outward, eventually growing an unmarked tail. It was only then that the familiar pattern of the Jaguar's fur began to spread, as if somebody was drawing pieces of artwork on me which somehow became three-dimensional.

I now had fur, teeth, paws, and the supreme confidence of a super predator. I had become one of nature's most beautiful, yet deadly, creatures. I was fearless, intelligent, and powerful. I didn't just look like the Jaguar, I was the Jaguar.

But you're also Human, I reminded myself. And Humans have intelligence and free-will, which makes me stronger than any other Jaguar.

With my new heightened senses, I observed our battle field. Rachel and Jake were beating back groups of Hork-Bajir and Taxxon, whilst Marco was ripping open cages. Tobias had already swooped down and given Cassie the opportunity to escape. And I knew that Visser Three would be turning up any second to crash the party and turn the tide of this battle.

Okay my Jaguar friend, I thought as I leaped in to strike a huge Hork-Bajir warrior who had targeted Jake. Let's go kick some ass!

One of the strangest things I have ever experienced is the feeling I get when my mind co-exists with the animal's mind. Our instincts work together to achieve my desired goal. It's almost like playing a computer game in that sense. My mind decides what I want to do and presses the buttons on the control pad to make it happen, but it's still a computer generated character which performs the actions I could never do alone.

However, there was one main difference. This was no game, it was very real. It was me who was leaping at a six-foot tall bladed alien with my teeth plunging into the neck of the enemy and severing the arteries in its neck. It was me who could smell the blood of a creature not meant for this planet, and it was certainly me who felt the pain as the doomed warrior struck a final blow to my shoulder with his dying breath. In reality, this was nothing like a computer game.

After that Hork-Bajir fell, I turned to face a group of Taxxons who were blocking Marco's path to the cages. Taxxons, although easy to kill, are very deadly in large numbers. Marco was in trouble unless he got help soon.

I unleashed a deafening roar and swiped at the leg of a male human Controller, who hit his head on the cavern wall and fell into unconsciousness (I could still hear his breathing). I then dived at the wall of Taxxons and struck at their vulnerable balloon-like bodies. As Taxxons burst open around me other Taxxons arrived to take their place, but they were distracted by their hunger and began to feast on their fallen comrades. Some of the exploding Taxxon guts landed on me (gross!) but if any other Taxxons saw me as an easy meal, they would soon regret it as I continued to slash open more of the Taxxon Controllers.

<Forget these worms Marco, head for the cages! I'll hold them off.> I told him. <Taxxons are cannibals, so if any get in your way, just pop one and the others will ignore you.>

<How the hell do you know that Mike?> Marco demanded as he continued to swing his fists at the Taxxon blockade. <You write a report on alien worms in Biology? I must have missed that class!>

<It doesn't matter how I know; you just have to trust me on this one. Please just go free Tom and the others!> I begged.

I'm not sure if he truly believed me or not, but he ran towards the cages nonetheless. He began tearing the locks off the cages with his giant Gorilla fists and releasing the captive hosts while I dealt with the remaining Taxxons. It's very difficult to feel pity for giant cannibalistic worms who willingly became slaves to a race of evil parasites. Of course killing them was hardly necessary, I just sliced open a few of them and their hungry friends finished them off. I guess it's hard finding a loyal friend when you're a Taxxon.

After disabling the Taxxons, I headed back over to the main battle area to help the others defend against the remaining Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. I spotted a Horse in amongst the crowd and knew that Cassie had escaped the clutches of the cop Controller. That was a relief at least, as I would never have forgiven myself if my intervention (or lack thereof) had caused Cassie to end up dead, or worse.

We seemed to be doing pretty well for the moment, but I knew it would be short lived. It was only a matter of time before Visser Three showed up and the chaos really started. Before that happened, I intended to do as much damage and save as many people as possible.

I leapt at another Hork-Bajir warrior and sunk my teeth into his neck, it was not something I enjoyed but it was perfectly natural to the Jaguar part of me. The Jaguar's predator mind set knew that the neck was always the best target for a quick kill. However, I was still pretty new to this morph and my blow wasn't as deadly as it could have been; the guy wasn't going anywhere for awhile but there was a good chance that he'd live. At least he might have, if he hadn't suddenly found himself with a smouldering stump where his arm had been. Hork-Bajir are tough, but very few species can live through losing a major limb after having their throat ripped apart. The Hork-Bajir Controller dropped like a ton of bricks, giving me a clear view of the person who had fired the Dracon Beam. I instantly learned that the Hork-Bajir might not have been the intended target.

The shot had been fired from one of the Yeerk Pool lounges, a more relaxed area than the rest of the place where only voluntary hosts were permitted while their Yeerks fed in the Pool. Some smart Controller had come up with the idea of using the sofas to barricade the doorway while firing wildly at anything which looked like a threat. Most of them weren't having much luck as they clearly had very little experience with the particle weapons. However, the girl who had shot down the Hork-Bajir was obviously better trained, as she had come within a metre of hitting me. She had a cold, ruthless expression on her face and when I saw her eyes I could tell she had shot down the Hork-Bajir intentionally to get a clear shot at me. If Jaguars could show emotions, I knew that the shock and anger would be displaying on my furry face. The girl was barely older than me, with long blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

It was Erika, a voluntary Controller of the Yeerk Empire…

It was the Jaguar's instincts which saved me by forcing my body to dive behind a section of the cavern wall as Erika took another shot at me, which I barely avoided.

How could I have been so stupid?! I thought angrily.

I had suspected from the start that she was a Controller, especially after finding out that Tom had followed her to a Sharing meeting. I had even heard her talking to one of her friends saying that she had plans for tonight, the very same night that many full members of the Sharing would be coming down into the Yeerk Pool to feed. Yet I had still held onto the hope that she was just a normal girl. And for what reason? Because she was pretty? Because she had pretended to like me? I couldn’t believe that she had fooled me so easily, but I wouldn’t let her do it to anyone else. This would end tonight.

I dived around the corner and raced towards the lounge where Erika and the other voluntary Controllers had taken up firing positions.

TSSEWW! TSSEWW!

Erika fired two more shots at me with her Dracon Beam, but I was moving as swiftly and erratically as I possibly could to avoid being hit. The first shot hit the wall behind me and the second shot hit one of the escaped hosts who had been running for the stairs. It shocked me to see no reaction from Erika as she shot a fellow human being. How could any teenage girl (one who didn’t even have a Yeerk in her head at the moment) be so cold and indifferent to the suffering of others?

I let loose a deafening roar as I approached the lounge, and was pleased to see fear in Erika’s eyes. Unfortunately, fear didn’t seem to have affected her aim much and I was a lot closer to her now.

TSSEWW!

A hit! The Dracon blast burned a nasty hole in my shoulder, causing intense agony as it scorched away skin and fur. The Jaguar part of me felt the pain just as much as the human part of me, but unlike the human, the Jaguar was more enraged by the attack than it was scared. I snarled with fury and swiped with one of my powerful paws, sending Erika’s hand-held weapon flying into the Pool. I admit a wave of smug satisfaction flowed through me as I saw the look of shock, terror and rage on her face.

“Curse you Andalite scum!” She screamed at me. She might have tried to yell something else if I hadn’t knocked her to the floor with my paw.

As I stared at the poor excuse for a human being lying at my feet, time seemed to stand still for a few seconds. Up until that point, it was the longest moment of my life. This girl had thrown her life away, voluntarily giving her mind, body and soul to a brain stealing slug. She had casually betrayed her entire race, her whole planet, to a race of evil parasites. She had even killed without remorse right in front of my eyes. In that moment, I decided that if anybody in the universe deserved to die, it was her…

… But I sure didn’t have it in me to become her executioner.

<Consider yourself lucky Yeerk.> I told her before knocking her senseless. I doubted she’d be unconscious for very long, but I figured it would be enough time for me to escape. <And I am so not calling you back by the way.>

Feeling a lot more relieved now that Erika had been taken care of, I turned my attention back to the war zone in the main area. The freed humans were screaming and running, the Controllers were doing everything they could to restore order, but weren’t having much luck thanks to the small zoo wreaking havoc everywhere.

And then he appeared…

[Arty]

Awesome! I love the idea! =D Can't wait for more ^_^

[Phoenix004]

Thanks, but in future please PM me or post in the feedback thread if you want to comment.

I'm doing pretty well on my next post, should be up sometime this week.