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[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

Do you want your Yeerk back?

(Sorry, I can't help but laugh at that question. )

I didn't need to wash, I just wanted to sleep. I grabbed the bedroll beside me, rolled it out, and lay down inside of it. In just one minute, I found myself drifing back and forth between full consciousness and sleep. It was rather nice, getting a chance to close my eyes and just relax.

A feather began to tickle my arm. "Silly feather," I mumbled with a soft giggle, turning over onto my side. But the feather continued to tickle at my skin. Irritated, I opened my eyes and glanced down at my arm to find a small insect crawling up and down my left arm.

I took the insect in my hand with the intention of releasing it, but for some reason, decided not to. As quietly as possible, I rolled onto my other side and glanced at Ais, who seemed to be asleep. Then, I did just as she instructed. I imagined it becoming a part of me. It stopped squirming in my hand for a few seconds. When it began to move again, I released it, not quite sure why I had aquired the strange little insect.

Little did I know that I would need it the next morning... (Leo, I think this is the part where you show up.)

[Leonardodavinci]

I walk into the cave, sniffing around for any remnants of anything. I smell two humans, and nearly trip over one lying at the entrance. <****! Who lies in the middle of a natural door!?> I complained, not realizing that my thought-speech was made public. I move around even more, mucking up my paws with ash.

I look around, see the two people in the cave, and I break out into a smile (in dog form) <Hey guys, whats going on??? Weird place to hang out...> My thought dies out as I realize that they may be Yeerks as well... the guy in the hospital seemed to be a bit pissed off... <Er.... so what's up?>

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

A voice in my mind startled me back to consciousness. At first, I thought it was Ais. Then I looked up to see a small dog.

"Ah!" I cried. I jerked upright and pulled my sleeping bag off, then stood and nearly backed into Ais. "It's you," I hissed. "Yeerk."

[Leonardodavinci]

I stopped for a second, then broke out into another doggy grin. <Not Anymore!> I said with an exhuberant attitude. <So, what have you been up to?> I asked, as I walked around Leah. By now, my paws were a complete mess, so I morphed back into my regular form.

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

He was lying, of course. He had to be. That was just what a Yeerkw ould say. Then again, I barely knew anything about them.

"You stay away from me. You aren't taking me back! Never!"

I watched the morphing in horror, disgusted by the shifting bones and skin, the way the fur simply sucked back into his skin, and then, the way his long face flattened out and began to look more human.

The moment Edward was human again, I lunged at him.

[Leonardodavinci]

"What the -" I sidestep Leah, and attempt to grab her by the scruff of her collar to hold her down. "Hey, what do you mean, take you back... Wait a minute... Thats who you are!" I stop trying to grab Leah. "You're that girl.. the one who was locked up as a study... You escaped, didn't you? When I was controlled, I tried to stop you... How are you doing?" I let out a small chuckle. "Obviously you're still healthy... that was a pretty quick lunge..."

[Estelore]

I'm in the cavern. The Big One, as I think of it. There is a gaping hole in the ceiling of the cavern, and sunlight is pouring in, cold and distant.
<I'm dreaming, aren't I?>
IF YOU WISH TO THINK OF IT THAT WAY, THEN YES, YOU ARE DREAMING.
<What I mean is, is this real?>
WHAT IS REAL? REALITY IS A MATTER OF INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE.
<Okay, fine. You wanna' be cryptic, I can do cryptic. Why are we here?>
THAT ISN'T CRYPTIC. IT'S EXISTENTIALIST.
<No, I mean, why are we inside The Big One? And who are you?>
WHO I AM DOES NOT MATTER RIGHT NOW.
<Like Hell, it doesn't. Please, give me some answers that I can use.>
HAHAHAA!
The voice's laughter filled my mind as though it were inside my head, and the cave echoed with the sound, as though it were inside the walls.
HAHA! YOU WERE ALWAYS THE MOST STRAIGHT-FORWARD ONE.
<Well, are you going to answer me, or not? 'Cause I could be enjoying a nice, pleasant dream of Edinburgh, if I wasn't in this cave with...whoever you are.> I realised that I had been using thought-speak, but I wasn't in cat-morph. Scratch that. I WAS a cat, just not a house-cat. A lioness, maybe? Something tawny and large-ish. I could smell several other animals nearby, but for some reason, I couldn't turn my head to look for them.
HAHA! AISLI, YOU ARE NOT HERE YET, BUT YOU WILL BE. REMEMBER. WE WILL MEET HERE AGAIN, AFTER. IF YOU LIVE, WE WILL MEET HERE AGAIN. REMEMBER.
<What? What do you mean, if I live? Remember what?>
REMEMBER.
Then, something struck the back of my head, and everything went black.

I woke up, and everything was still black. And cold.
Don't panic, lass. There's a perfectly logical explanation for your inability to see anything. You're still in the Main Cave. It just isn't daylight yet, and the fire has gone out.

I repeated the thought over and over in my head, feeling for the zippo. Hah! Right where I left it, under the corner of the bedroll.
I flicked it open and struck a light, holding the lighter high over my head to illuminate the largest possible area. Leah appeared to be asleep, still.

I had an idea, and I didn't like it. Still, it was an idea, which was more than I had five minutes ago. I crawled silently out of the sleeping bag and folded it over some rocks, positioned to look like a sleeping human. Not quite pillows, but close enough.

I took a charred branch from the remains of our fire. Some black residue lingered on the end. Charcoal. Perfect.
I carefully stepped over Leah's inert body and headed for the middle of the three tunnels. On the wall above the hole, I drew an arrow, pointing down to indicate 'this tunnel'. On the inside of the tunnel's mouth, I scrawled the word 'exit'. The thick, black lines were impossible to miss.

I closed the zippo to save the fuel, and I followed the path in utter darkness, dragging my toes along the ground and my fingertips along the walls, feeling for the landmarks that I'd used so many times before. I felt a crack in the wall, and followed it with my fingertips, down to the floor. A ball of yarn was pressed into the base of the crack, where it was widest. I knew that the yellow wool would be clearly visible in the beam of a mag-lite.
Blindly, I knotted a wide loop of the yarn around a pillar, one of the places where a stalagtite and a stalagmite had merged over time. Once I was sure of the knot, I continued forward into the dark, unwinding the yarn from the ball as I went.

I counted the tunnels that I passed, remembering the route by rote and by touch. Once, twice...five times I passed a current of dry air, some of the tunnels that led to the surface. Twice on the left, I passed currents of cold, humid air, from tunnels that went deeper belowground.
On the third deep tunnel, this time on the right, the air stream intensified. I turned into that opening and stepped inside, unwinding more yarn as I went.

Two curves, a sharp turn, and a fork in the tunnel take the one on the left, three steps forward, then hang a sharp right. I remembered the last bit just in time to avoid walking face-first into a wall.
I stepped out into a vast open space.
The Big One, from my dream.
I pulled out the zippo and clicked it on. The wide circle of light didn't even come close to reaching the far wall, dropping off somewhere in the middle of the room.
"Okay, whoever you are, I'm here." I whispered.
Nothing stirred.
"Well? What are you waiting for? I remembered my dream, like you said. I'm here. What do you want from me?"
A cold chill crept up my spine, like I was being watched.
Superstitious Scottish fool! It's just the cave making you cold.And there is NOBODY HERE.
Still, no matter what I told myself, I felt as though I wanted to get out of here. Now.
At the same time, something was calling me fiercely to venture deeper into the cavern.

I started to turn back, when a scratching, rock-shifting sound forced me to look back into The Big One. It was coming from above, somewhere in the middle. I walked out towards the source of the sound, even though my instincts were screaming that this might be a cave-in. I reached the middle of the room and looked down, where a tiny white dot was just starting to expand on the floor. I leaned over and reached toward the dot, thinking to pick it up.


Then, something struck the back of my head, and everything went black.

As my consciousness vanished, I felt the vague and annoying sensation that something SHOULD have occurred to me....





"Hey, are you okay?" A voice, vague and distant.


"...fell on her..." More familiar this time...unpleasant sensation...my head? What?

"Light. Idiot, it was LIGHT." I thought to myself.

"Hey, did she say something?"

"The white circle was light from above." Funny, I didn't think that I'd said that aloud...?

"Okay, she's definitely lost it. Come on, Ais, let's get you to the hospital."

"Alistair? S'that you?"

"I'm here, sis. Man, this is twice in two days! That's some rotten luck you've got, oh-sister-of-mine. I think you might need stitches."

"Neh. I can morph. How'd you find me here? What are you doing in The Big One?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I fell in?"

"Maybe."

"Would it be more believable if I said that YOU broke my fall?"

"Yes. It wouldn't be the first time. Uuhhhnnn. Ouch. Okay. Morphing, now."

I became the cat, and the back of my skull re-knit itself.

<So, where is Leah? I could swear that I heard her voice, awhile ago. Is she here?>

I looked around the room, and I could see at least one other person, in the light pouring in through the hole above us.


(I've not been specific about who is here, except me and my 'brother', so I've not God-modded anyone. If you're in the cave, be in the cave, okay?  The other person could be ANYONE. Maybe Leah rushed toward the noise, saw the signs, and found us, or maybe she, saw Edward and ran, or maybe she's still asleep. Who knows? I LOVE THIS GAME!!! SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!!!

Oh, yeah. For future reference, the cave entrance was in the FOREST, not a FIELD, and it was VERY WELL HIDDEN. Maybe you found an alternate entrance, but Ais isn't nearly that careless, leaving an obviously visible hole in the ground. I'll let you get away with it this time, but please pay attention to details, later. Thanks. )

[Leonardodavinci]

(*claps for your long post* Gee... I actually have no idea where to go from here... there's so much possibility... that its hard... I'll wait for Charlie )

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

I ignored the man's question and manuevered behind him, then to his side. "Liar!" I screamed. I threw my arm out and managed to catch Edward just below the rib cage.

"Ais, come on!" I screamed. It was then that I realized I was talking to an empty sleeping back. "Ais...?"

I made a run for the nearest tunnel. On the wall, the word "exit" was clearly written. Whatever that meant. I didn't care. I had to get away from Edward. The Yeerks wouldn't take me again. Not this time.

I continued to run, stumbling and tripping over rocks. My legs and arms were scraped and bleeding by now, but I didn't care. The only audible sound was of my loud, gasping breaths, and my own feet kicking and banging against rocks. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Over the pounding of my heart, I caught the sound of someone running behind me--Edward.

No time for breathing. Keep going, I mentally urged myself. My hand brushed against something soft, like string. I could still hear the sound of running feet behind me. Faster, faster, faster...

I reached a fork, turned left... I felt a sudden explosion of pain in my face. I had run straight into a wall. "Oh, ow!" I shouted, rubbing my sore, scraped face. I felt warm liquid begin to drip from my nose.

No time for pain...

Despite the voice in my mind screaming, "Head back! Head back! It's not safe!" I kept running. I refused to give up. Just then, I emerged into a large, almost empty cavern. Light spilled in through a hold over my head. I noticed a boy and a cat standing not too far ahead of me.

"Ais? Ais!" I shouted, recognizing the cat immediately. "We have to go, Edward is coming!"

[Leonardodavinci]

Completely winded by Leah's attack, I morphed subconciously (is that the right word?), my mind picking wolf immediately, as I felt safest in that form. I padded behind Leah, speaking to her, albeit with difficulty, due to her punch, and I tried to get her to understand. <Leah, you know the guy who froze the bullets at the hospital? He appeared at the Yeerk Pool, handed me the keys to the cage I was in, and left immediately. I realize this is most likely impossible for you to understand, but I swear that this is the truth.>

I continued. <I realize that you probably hate me right now for what they did to you, but  I swear that I am free. I'd gladly wait 3 days, if thats what it will take.... and I'd morph if I were you, to fix your nose.> I commented, smelling the blood easily.

[Estelore]

(Well, there are a lot of things you could do. First, to clear up the locational inaccuracies, we'll say that you came in one of the five nearest alternate entrances [clearly visible, in a field], which took you down the center tunnel [in what appeared to be a short, straight line], which led you to where we were sleeping, and since I'm nearest the FAR exit, it was Leah that you tripped on. Oh. Charlie has already posted. Okay, then.)

<Edward?! We need to get out of here! Follow me!>
"Edward?! What is HE doing here? I thought I told him to stay away from the caves!"

My twin and I said, simultaneously. I froze and looked up at my brother.
<How do you know Edward?>

"I could ask you the same thing."

<Auugh. We do NOT have time for this! Come on, you two! Ali, you can answer my questions later. My zippo is there on the floor, by your foot, Ali.>

He reached over and picked it up, flicking it on to give us more light.

<Leah, there are several more mag-lites in these caves, precautions, of course. Follow, guys!>

I jogged to the doorway of The Big One, tracing my way out.

<Watch your faces, there's a wall here. In the corner is my second mag-lite, Leah. There, on the floor.>

"Sheesh, Ais, where do you GET all these things?" Alistair mumbled.

<I keep my eyes open.>

I heard the flashlight click on, casting a clear, bright beam. Once I knew that they could see me, I picked up the pace.

<Left. Left. Hard right here. DUCK!>

"Ow." Alistair.

<Sorry. I forgot how tall you were getting, Ali.>

"Sure. Let's just get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps."

<Anyway, DUCK, please. Thanks. Now, step over THAT, and one more left. Good. Keep going straight, you should see sunlight soon.>

We stepped out into the sunlight, blinking at the brightness. For some reason, I thought I smelled a dog...or something like a dog....

Something grabbed me from behind. Someone was choking me!?

<Lemme' go! Can't...breathe....>

I writhed and slashed at the strong hands wrapped around my neck, slicing wildly with my claws.

<Ali? Lemme' go, Ali!!>

"I'm sorry, Ais. I just can't let you live, now that you can find your way into the Pool Complex."

<Wha...?>

The light was fading....

(I hope that you all realise what a WONDERFUL weapon a mag-lite is. Or a wolf, of course. Just don't kill him, yet. )

[Venom]

(oh man, now i want to rejoin this.... *sigh* too bad im leaving)

[Estelore]

(You can rejoin after you return. There is no reason we can't have another character, at the going rate. Your profile is still here, and, as you well know, I'm VERY good at providing openings for additions to the game.   Okay, whoever rescues me: things are about to get very...interesting. For it to work, the guy strangling the cat HAS to LIVE, okey? Thanks.)

[Leonardodavinci]

It all clicked. I remember seeing Alistair at the Yeerk Pool a couple of times. <****..> I thought to myself as I morphed back. "Alistair!" I called out. "Why would you want to KILL her? You KNOW she has the morphing power, and she knows how to get to the others. Don't kill her, or the Visser will have your head on a plate for snack."

I came out of the cave, smiling. "Just set her down, knock her out, and grab her. I'll grab the other one, and we'll have two new hosts tonight."

Nervously, I silently prayed that any one of them were smart enough to realize what was really going on, but seeing as how they believed I was a host myself... I doubted it.

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

"No!" I screamed. I KNEW Edward was lying. I knew it. He had led us both into a trap. This was exactly what I had been trying to prevent.

"Let go of her!" I lunged for the new man at full speed, praying I could knock him down in a single blow, give Ais a chance to escape.

He easily managed to step out of my way. I could see on his face an expression of amusement. He was enjoying this. I slammed my fist into his gut, but it was too late for Ais. She was unconscious.

This couldn't be happening. Just when I thought things were okay again. I could feel myself shaking with weakness and fear as I tried to kick the man's knee. He quickly grabbed hold of my leg, and before I knew what was happening, I was lying in a twisted mess of arms and legs on the ground.

I tried to stand, but my ankle gave out underneath me, and I fell, crying out in pain. I looked up to see the man staring down at me--smiling triumphantly.