Post by dexter on Sept 28, 2009 22:13:48 GMT -5
Rian:
Rian could hear the other two groups walking away, their footstep echoing down the wet tunnels, their shadows stretched on the walls. He felt like he was in a zombie movie though he hoped not.
He turned to look at Bane, the only member left with him. He sighed. "Looks like it's just you and me. You ready to go fox?"
Bane:
Bane nodded, not caring if Rian could see the gesture or not. "Yeah," He didn't wait for any response from Rian before he began changing. It was beginning to feel more natural to morph, hair changing into fur and covering his body in a thick coat, face shifting to form a muzzle, body shortening and shrinking. Three minutes and a black fox now stood where the teenager once had.
<<So, which direction are we headed?>> He asked curiously, a tad impatient. He wanted to get moving, and he certainly didn't appreciate the smell that was assaulting his sensitive nose. The fox didn't like this confined space. It felt unnatural.
Rian:
When Rian had seen Bane start to morph he had started his own. He ended up beating Bane into morph but only by a little. He wondered if it had something to do with the amount of time he had spent as this particular animal.
<<South. I'm pretty sure Ember and Kat are going North so we go South. We don't actually have to worry about remembering anything right now. This isn't our section to map so we don't really start exploring until we get there. Come on.>>
He set off down the dark tunnels at a trot, not the fastest the fox could do but faster than a human would be able to move down here. The other advantage to being smaller was that they could keep to the ledge that ran beside the river of sewage. He iddly wondered if the yeerk were going to continue to use their sewer system or create a better one with time. Whatever the answer they were certainly using the old system at the moment as his sensitive nose informed him. He had never thought he would miss having duller human senses but he did. He reminded himself to have them demorph every once in a while.
But the foxes eyes were actually much better in the dark and he could see much more than he would have been able to as a human. And his ears were delivering quite a bit of useful information as well. <<Stay alert. I don't think we'll run into any trouble down here, part of the reason we want to use them to get around the city, but then again, we're down here to make sure.>>
Bane:
<<Right.>> Bane said, following after Rian at the same pace. He was glad they didn't have to go in the sewage, the smell was bad enough. It stung through his nose and made the whole experience rather uncomfortable. He could tell the fox didn't like being so close to another fox as well, but it was easy to surpress the territorial instincts.
He obeyed Rian's command to stay alert, though he'd planned on doing so to begin with. His ears stood straight, twitching to the side now and then as he listened for any sign of trouble. He also took to sniffing the air, mostly because the fox mind wanted to, as he couldn't smell much over the sewage.
Rian:
After about half an hour of running in the sewers Rian said, <<Alright, i think we're here. This is where our section starts. We'll work our way back to our starting point and keep careful track of everything as we do.>> He began to demorph. If they ran into trouble he wanted to be able to go wolf as soon as possible.
Once human he pulled out the paper and pencils and squinted at the wall. He marked down the junction number they were at and turned to Bane. "Ok, I'll walk as a human," even as he said it he grimaced as his bare feet touched things he didn't want to think about. "You'll keep watch with the foxes better senses. If you get tired of the smell let me know and we'll switch off. Is that ok with you?"
Bane:
Bane nodded, an odd gesture for a fox. <<I'll be sure to tell you if I hear or smell anything. Though I doubt I'd be able to smell anything if it was shoved in front of my nose.>> He cringed disgust, taking a nice whiff of the rancid air. It dulled he sense of smell, which made the fox even more uncomfortable in this environment. He could easily push that aside, as well as his discomfort, to focus on the mission.
<<I should be fine, if I've survived this long through the smell I think I can hold out, but if you think we should trade off that's fine.>> The truth was he didn't want to demorph and walk around the sewers human, but he wouldn't condemn Rian to it.
Of course..he didn't have to worry about it long. His sensitive ears picked up something moving. Whatever it was it wasn't human, and it wasn't a rat. <<Rian, I think we have company...>> He hoped Rian could handle this...as his morphs weren't much for a fight. He would try if the need arised though. Whatever these things were they sounded nothing like any animal he'd heard of.
Rian:
Rian cursed softly and stuffed the mapping supplies he had just taken out back into he belt. He had to fiddle with it a bit so that everything was as flat and so as close to his body as possible so that it would morph and then he began his morph, but to wolf this time. He was glad he had stayed in his birth body, even if it was uncomfortable.
While he still had mostly human limbs he climbed back onto the ledge and finished the rest of the morph there. Once the wolf's senses kicked in Rian could hear what Bane was hearing from one of the side tunnels they had passed. He debated what to do. If he went down there he might be seen since he was bigger but he didn't want to send Bane into danger. Still, Bane was the best choice. His fox morph was smaller and it was even black and would blend into the shadows.
<<Bane, would you mind taking a look? I'll be right here at the entrance as back up. Just yell and I'll be down there.>> He kept himself from growling, not wanting to give them away but the fur on the back of his neck was raised as his wolf sensed danger.
Bane:
Bane didn't wait enough to give Rian an answer before bounding off. <<Of course.>> He said, already on his way. He had no idea what to expect.
Certainly not what he found. He couldn't find the right words to describe the creatures, his emerald eyes peering at them from a safe enough distance. <<They look...like some kind of freaky mutated centipede or something...>> He said in thoughtspeak, having no idea what the Taxxon were. They kind of freaked him out, as they did the fox. He didn't hesitate to follow it's instincts before they saw him.
Too late. He'd just been about to say that he was coming back when one of the alien creatures turned and caught sight of him.
<<Crap! They saw me!>>
He turned tail and ran, though found himself running faster as the things were fast. <<They're chasing!>>
Rian:
<<On my way!>> Rian recognized the description. Taxxons. He had skewered enough of the things on sharpened spikes back in Chicago. They were easy to puncture and once wounded they ate each other. He was glad it was Taxxons and not something worse. Of course, setting traps for Taxxons and coming back later after they were dead was much different than attacking one. He had no idea how strong the might be or even how many of them they were.
Rian couldn't see the small black shape shooting down the tunnel but he could hear it and the thing that was after it. He leaped over Bane and landed straight on the Taxxon directly behind him. He dug he muzzle into the thing's soft flesh and let his teeth do their work while claws scratched at everything else.
Hot, vile taxxon blood oozed all over his teeth and tongue and he let go in disgust, dropping away. <<Run Bane. They'll stay to eat that one while we get away.>>
Bane:
Bane cringed both physically and mentally from the sound of the wolf's teeth biting into the Taxxon. It was a strange mixture of a squish and crunch, something that just made it sound all the more vile. He didn't pause in his running, following Rian's instructions and knowing the wolf could catch up to his fox easily.
He didn't want to stop. Didn't want to look back and think about that...that thing. He didn't want to think about more of them...eating each other...
If he was human he would have shuddered, or maybe he still would have if he wasn't running. He finally decided to use thought-speak. <<What was that?>>
Rian:
<<Taxxon,>> Rian said darkly catching up with the fox. He had his ears pointed back towards the scene of the attack and he could hear the Taxxon being ripped apart by its friends. Which was good and bad news. Good because they were one Taxxon down, bad because there were more of them. <<Their a breed of controller. Cannibalistic. When I was in Chicago, before I joined the animorphs, I set traps around the city, turning abandoned and crumbling buildings into death traps. It was all I could do at the time. Taxxons were always the easiest to kill because one scratch and the others will try to eat it. I've even seen one try to eat itself. It's gross but apparently they can't help it.>>
They were farther down the tunnel now and safe, for the moment. But they couldn't just run. They were hoping to use these tunnels to get around the city and he couldn't just leave some Taxxon wandering around in them. He mentally berated himself. He should have thought of that. Of course Taxxons would be in the tunnels. <<We have to get rid of them some how but I can't fight them all. I think we need a trap. Do you think you can catch some bait in the form of a rat or a couple. I know it's gross but foxes are good at that sort of thing.>> Even as he said it he started demorphing so that he could become a fox himself. <<We'll try to get them all in one place, somewhere these tunnels must open up a bit. Then I'll wound one and hope it starts a feeding frenzy that kill them all. But we need a way to get them to one spot.>>
Bane:
Taxxon...they definitely weren't anything he'd want to run in here alone traveling through the tunnels...so he saw the need to get rid of them.
<<No problem...I'm sure it won't be bad with the fox's mind.>> He said, beginning to sniff around for the scent he knew his nose would recognize right away. The fox was very familiar with the scent of rodents, given that they made up most of it's diet, and it wasn't hard for him to pinpoint a large brown rat scurrying around nearby.
He crouched down, stalking towards his prey. Letting the instincts take over, he pounced, catching the rat between his teeth. He just barely stopped himself from devouring the small animal and dropped it to the ground. He began his search for the next one.
Rian:
Rian quickly morphed into his own fox and left Bane hunting. He would join him soon but first he had to find a place to set their trap and he was glad that the foxes eyes were as good as a cat's down here.
He soon came upon a junction of many pipes all dumping their waste into this chamber. It smelled horrible and the sounds of waterfalls drowned out everything else, but it was bigger than the tunnels and would work well enough.
He set about hunting his own rats. Soon he had a large pile in the chamber and was completely grossed out. He started walking back towards Bane, hunting as he did so and leaving dead rats along his trail.
<<Ok, I think the chamber is ready. Now we put your pile at the head of the tunnel where the Taxxon are and hope they follow the trail of bread crumbs.>>
Bane:
Bane had caught a decent amount of rats, and was beginning to get repulsed by how good they smelled to the fox's brain despite the horrid stench that assaulted his nostrils. He had gotten sick of it to the point that he had demorphed, which he also figured he should do so he wouldn't reach his limit.
When Rian approached and told him about moving his pile of 'prizes' to the head of the tunnel so the Taxxon would follow the trail and right into the trap. He picked them up in his arms, grimacing as he felt blood and who-knew-what on them, and headed back towards where he'd seen the aliens.
Doing his best to avoid being noticed, which wasn't too hard as the creatures were preoccupied with something...Bane didn't want to know what was going on. He laid down the collection of rats, keeping a few to lead them back to where the trail picked up again, and made his way quickly back to Rian. He morphed back into fox, not wanting to be caught off guard, and waited for Rian to lead the way to where they would ambush the Taxxon.
Rian:
While Bane had gone to move the rats Rian had demorphed. He was pretty sure this was the most disgusting thing he had ever done but it had to be done. He was glad Bane was helping him with it.
When Bane came back Rian went wolf so that he would be prepared to spring the trap. He knew they didn't have much time. He could already here the Taxxon rushing down the tunnel Bane had just left and it would only take them seconds to eat the pile of treats Bane had gathered for them.
<<Come on. We have to get to the end of this tunnel before them and find a place to hide. When enough of them are in the chamber I'm going to cause as much damage as I can, wound as many as I can and then we bail. If, um, you know, if I get really hurt or something you gotta run and try to find one of the other groups.>>
Bane:
Bane scampered after Rian, not at all liking how close the Taxxon were getting. It was disgusting, to say the least, hearing the worm-like creatures devouring the pile of rats and moving on to the trail. The smell they'd been dealing with was nothing compared to that sound.
<<Of course...>> Bane responded to Rian, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. If Rian got hurt, Bane knew he would have to run and find someone else, he just didn't like the thought of what might happen to Rian. He forced his thoughts elsewhere, seeing no point in thinking about that unless the time came. He new what he would have to do, and he would do it.
Once they entered the chamber, Bane's eyes darted around, searching for any ledge of anything that would serve as a hiding spot. He spotted a pipe that wasn't spewing out any of the nasty liquid, his nose curling in disgust. I guess that'd be our best bet...
<<Hey Rian, there's a pipe over that that doesn't have anything come out of it, think that would work for a hiding spot?>>
Rian:
Rian looked around for the pipe Bane was talking about and couldn't see it. These were the times he really missed human body language and the ability to point. <<Yeah, it'll be fine. Lead the way since I can't see it.>> He hoped the pipe would be big enough to hide both of them because the Taxxons were right behind.
He turned his ears back and could here the small fights breaking out over the rats he had left as a trail. Unlike with the pile, there was only one of each along the trail and so little to go around. But the Taxxons could smell the pile in this chamber and some were abandoning the fight in favor of getting to this pile first.
They were moving faster than he had expected. He seriously hoped this plan would work. This was the only time he had been in charge and so responsible for someone else and only now did he get how scary it could be. It was different before. If he wanted to charge in and do something dangerous then he was only risking his own life. But now he was risking Bane's as well. This better work, and not for his sake.
Bane:
Bane pointed his nose in the direction of the pipe. <<Over here.>> He said, before moving forward. The Taxxon were getting closer, how did those things move so fast and eat at the same time? He led Rian to an empty pipe that was just big enough for them both to fit.
<<Looks like we might be a bit cramped...>> Bane said, knowing they had no time now to find a new spot. He waited for Rian to get in before entering the pipe himself. His fox fit a lot more comfortably than Rian's wolf, but both would manage. Not like they would be in there long anyway. He could hear the Taxxon entering the chamber.
Rian:
<<Yuck. This pipe might not have stuff coming out of it now but the bottom is coated in some sort of slimy goo. Remind me to hit myself later for coming up with the grand idea of mapping the tunnels.>> He crouched down so that the darkness would hide him as much as possible and even closed his eyes so that they wouldn't reflect any light and give away their position, relying on his ears to tell him what was going on.
He waited, tense, until he could hear that the chamber was filled up with a lot of Taxxons, hopefully enough to cause trouble. <<I guess it's time.>> He didn't say anything else, just opened his eyes and stood up. He wondered what would be best, trying to sneak into the chamber or just charging, but there was no way his presence wouldn't be noticed and he had to cause as much damage as he could before they caught on.
<<Charge it is.>> He hadn't realized that he'd spoken out loud, or at least projected the thought. He just jumped towards the nearest Taxxon and landed on him. He didn't bite, he would have to eventually but he wanted to avoid that unpleasant experience, he just ripped at the Taxxon's body with the hard nails on his paws, causing the Taxxon's soft skin to rip in nasty cuts. It wouldn't kill it, it would hardly hurt it. But that wasn't his purpose. It would bleed and that was a death sentence anyway.
But that was the only freebe he would get. The others saw him now and they lunged in his direction, coming for him and the wounded Taxxon alike.
Rian jumped out of the way of the first one as it brought its mouth down on the first and they began to fight. He dodged past the pair and jumped at the next, this time sinking his teeth into its middle. It's blood flowed over his muzzle and down his throat and he almost choked. He let go and ran away from its counter attack.
He went after another one but wasn't so lucky this time. He missed his attack as the Taxxon pulled away from his lunging teeth. He landed where the Taxxon had been a second before and would be again as it brought its bulk down to slam into him. He tried to dodge out of the way but didn't completely make it. His back half got slammed into the bottom of the sewer and he yelped in pain as he felt something crack. But it was something small, that or he just wasn't feeling the injury.
He turned as the Taxxon lifted off him to bring it's mouth down and bit into its tail. He got up and ran away as another Taxxon latched onto the wound he had made. But he was limping. He didn't know if he had wounded enough of them but he wouldn't survive another fight. He raced back to the tunnel where Bane was hiding.
<<I think it's time to go.>>
Bane:
Bane had watched the little fight, a mixture of curiousity and fear keeping his eyes locked on the battle. He was both repulsed and fascinated by the Taxxon and how they reacted to Rian's attacks, though that was more of the repulsing side. Rian was doing good too...until he missed one of them.
Bane recoiled, flinching visably, as Rian hit the ground. The yelp didn't help. He wanted to ask Rian if he was okay, but he knew he couldn't distract him. He was also preparing himself to take off as fast as he could if Rian didn't get up soon.
Thankfully, Rian got back up, and Bane was ready to go before Rian even reached the sewage tube. Now he could ask his question as they ran, noticing Rian's limp.
<<You alright?>> He couldn't imagine what the pain must have felt like, but he was sure it was incredibly unpleasent.
Rian:
<<Yeah I'll be ok. Thanks for asking. I don't know if wolves sprain ankles but that's what it feels like. Running on it is not fun but I'd rather run than stay back there.>> The Taxxons had fallen on the injured ones and tried to eat them. But in their haste more had been injured. From the sound of it things were getting more and more vicious in the chamber behind them and Rian didn't want to be anywhere near.
<<You know what really sucks. After we get far enough away we're not going to be able to just go home. We still have to map these stupid tunnels. Maybe we should have started with the subways. But maybe it is better to get the worst out of the way first.>> Rian slowed down a bit. He wanted to heal the ankle and the Taxxons wouldn't be coming after them any time soon.
He demorphed and then went fox again. <<At least we have a story to tell when we get back. Hopefully we've had the most excitement today and no one else ran into any problems. I think Matt will be ok but, between you and me, I'm a little worried about Ember and Kat killing each other. What do you think about that whole situation? You and Kat seem sorta close.>>
Bane:
<<Well I'd think that anything with an ankle could sprain it...>> Bane replied, focusing on the conversation to keep his mind off of tha Taxxon behind them. Bane slowed as Rian did, watching him demorph and then morph to his fox. Two red foxes were now moving side by side, what an odd sight that would be.
<<Yeah..well hopefully there won't be many Taxxons left...and from the sounds of it I don't think there will be. >> Bane considered Rian's question about Kat and Ember. <<Well I know from talking to Kat that she does want to patch things up with Ember...so I doubt she would openly start a fight...and I haven't talked to Ember all that much, so I don't know what she would do.>> He really hoped things were working out alright for them. Kat was probably his closest friend in the group, and he didn't have any problems with Ember. She seemed like a nice person once you got past the hostilities.
Rian:
<<I'm afraid I don't share a similar confidence when it comes to Ember. She's just the type to start a fight.>> If he had been human he might have smiled. <<And, for some reason, what happened the day Kat showed up affected her more than it affected me. Or, to be more specific, I haven't actually let it in. But I just got shot and was pretty much out of it until I woke up all healed. She was the one who had to catch me, who had to see me with a hole in my stomach so maybe she has a right to be more upset than I am. I'm not overestimating my importance or anything, I think it would be a bad experience to see that happen to anyone and it just happened to be me.>>
He wasn't really sure. If Bane was close to Kat then he didn't want to confide how much he still felt odd around her. He knew intellectually that it had been a mistake, a mistake a lot of people could have made, and a part of him had even gotten over it and moved on. But there was something inside him that wouldn't let it go. Every time Kat was around Rian found himself a lot more tense than he should be.
<<I don't know. I guess there is nothing we can do about it if anything does happen. We won't even know about it till later so I guess we should just get back to our jobs and get out of here as soon as possible. Once we have this section mapped we can get out of here and get home.>> Home, odd, he hadn't thought of a place as home in a long time.
Bane:
<<Well...hopefully whatever happens, they work it out in the end. It wouldn't be good to have enemies within the faction...>> Bane said. He hoped Ember would forgive Kat. He hadn't been there when it had happened and wasn't really clear on the details, but it had been a mistake. However, Rian was right, they wouldn't know what was happening with them until later. It was something Kat and Ember had to work out themselves anyway.
<<Home...that sounds good...>> Bane chuckled slightly. <<The sooner we're away from this stench the better. I think it might end up stuck in my nose.>>
Rian:
<<Yeah. Hopefully we will get out of here soo->> he cut himself off as his ears picked up something ahead of them. <<Do you here that? That, scrabbling. It, I think it's another Taxxon only one though. We can take one, come on.>> He surged forward and started following the Taxxon ahead of them but he soon realized that the Taxxon was following something too.
He looked up ahead and saw a bright beam of light from an open manhole cover and someone who looked suspiciously like Ember climbing up it. <<What the-?>>
<<Rian?.....Anyone?>>
He turned and looked around, letting the Taxxon that hadn't spotted them yet go. <<Matt? Is that you?>>
Rian could hear the other two groups walking away, their footstep echoing down the wet tunnels, their shadows stretched on the walls. He felt like he was in a zombie movie though he hoped not.
He turned to look at Bane, the only member left with him. He sighed. "Looks like it's just you and me. You ready to go fox?"
Bane:
Bane nodded, not caring if Rian could see the gesture or not. "Yeah," He didn't wait for any response from Rian before he began changing. It was beginning to feel more natural to morph, hair changing into fur and covering his body in a thick coat, face shifting to form a muzzle, body shortening and shrinking. Three minutes and a black fox now stood where the teenager once had.
<<So, which direction are we headed?>> He asked curiously, a tad impatient. He wanted to get moving, and he certainly didn't appreciate the smell that was assaulting his sensitive nose. The fox didn't like this confined space. It felt unnatural.
Rian:
When Rian had seen Bane start to morph he had started his own. He ended up beating Bane into morph but only by a little. He wondered if it had something to do with the amount of time he had spent as this particular animal.
<<South. I'm pretty sure Ember and Kat are going North so we go South. We don't actually have to worry about remembering anything right now. This isn't our section to map so we don't really start exploring until we get there. Come on.>>
He set off down the dark tunnels at a trot, not the fastest the fox could do but faster than a human would be able to move down here. The other advantage to being smaller was that they could keep to the ledge that ran beside the river of sewage. He iddly wondered if the yeerk were going to continue to use their sewer system or create a better one with time. Whatever the answer they were certainly using the old system at the moment as his sensitive nose informed him. He had never thought he would miss having duller human senses but he did. He reminded himself to have them demorph every once in a while.
But the foxes eyes were actually much better in the dark and he could see much more than he would have been able to as a human. And his ears were delivering quite a bit of useful information as well. <<Stay alert. I don't think we'll run into any trouble down here, part of the reason we want to use them to get around the city, but then again, we're down here to make sure.>>
Bane:
<<Right.>> Bane said, following after Rian at the same pace. He was glad they didn't have to go in the sewage, the smell was bad enough. It stung through his nose and made the whole experience rather uncomfortable. He could tell the fox didn't like being so close to another fox as well, but it was easy to surpress the territorial instincts.
He obeyed Rian's command to stay alert, though he'd planned on doing so to begin with. His ears stood straight, twitching to the side now and then as he listened for any sign of trouble. He also took to sniffing the air, mostly because the fox mind wanted to, as he couldn't smell much over the sewage.
Rian:
After about half an hour of running in the sewers Rian said, <<Alright, i think we're here. This is where our section starts. We'll work our way back to our starting point and keep careful track of everything as we do.>> He began to demorph. If they ran into trouble he wanted to be able to go wolf as soon as possible.
Once human he pulled out the paper and pencils and squinted at the wall. He marked down the junction number they were at and turned to Bane. "Ok, I'll walk as a human," even as he said it he grimaced as his bare feet touched things he didn't want to think about. "You'll keep watch with the foxes better senses. If you get tired of the smell let me know and we'll switch off. Is that ok with you?"
Bane:
Bane nodded, an odd gesture for a fox. <<I'll be sure to tell you if I hear or smell anything. Though I doubt I'd be able to smell anything if it was shoved in front of my nose.>> He cringed disgust, taking a nice whiff of the rancid air. It dulled he sense of smell, which made the fox even more uncomfortable in this environment. He could easily push that aside, as well as his discomfort, to focus on the mission.
<<I should be fine, if I've survived this long through the smell I think I can hold out, but if you think we should trade off that's fine.>> The truth was he didn't want to demorph and walk around the sewers human, but he wouldn't condemn Rian to it.
Of course..he didn't have to worry about it long. His sensitive ears picked up something moving. Whatever it was it wasn't human, and it wasn't a rat. <<Rian, I think we have company...>> He hoped Rian could handle this...as his morphs weren't much for a fight. He would try if the need arised though. Whatever these things were they sounded nothing like any animal he'd heard of.
Rian:
Rian cursed softly and stuffed the mapping supplies he had just taken out back into he belt. He had to fiddle with it a bit so that everything was as flat and so as close to his body as possible so that it would morph and then he began his morph, but to wolf this time. He was glad he had stayed in his birth body, even if it was uncomfortable.
While he still had mostly human limbs he climbed back onto the ledge and finished the rest of the morph there. Once the wolf's senses kicked in Rian could hear what Bane was hearing from one of the side tunnels they had passed. He debated what to do. If he went down there he might be seen since he was bigger but he didn't want to send Bane into danger. Still, Bane was the best choice. His fox morph was smaller and it was even black and would blend into the shadows.
<<Bane, would you mind taking a look? I'll be right here at the entrance as back up. Just yell and I'll be down there.>> He kept himself from growling, not wanting to give them away but the fur on the back of his neck was raised as his wolf sensed danger.
Bane:
Bane didn't wait enough to give Rian an answer before bounding off. <<Of course.>> He said, already on his way. He had no idea what to expect.
Certainly not what he found. He couldn't find the right words to describe the creatures, his emerald eyes peering at them from a safe enough distance. <<They look...like some kind of freaky mutated centipede or something...>> He said in thoughtspeak, having no idea what the Taxxon were. They kind of freaked him out, as they did the fox. He didn't hesitate to follow it's instincts before they saw him.
Too late. He'd just been about to say that he was coming back when one of the alien creatures turned and caught sight of him.
<<Crap! They saw me!>>
He turned tail and ran, though found himself running faster as the things were fast. <<They're chasing!>>
Rian:
<<On my way!>> Rian recognized the description. Taxxons. He had skewered enough of the things on sharpened spikes back in Chicago. They were easy to puncture and once wounded they ate each other. He was glad it was Taxxons and not something worse. Of course, setting traps for Taxxons and coming back later after they were dead was much different than attacking one. He had no idea how strong the might be or even how many of them they were.
Rian couldn't see the small black shape shooting down the tunnel but he could hear it and the thing that was after it. He leaped over Bane and landed straight on the Taxxon directly behind him. He dug he muzzle into the thing's soft flesh and let his teeth do their work while claws scratched at everything else.
Hot, vile taxxon blood oozed all over his teeth and tongue and he let go in disgust, dropping away. <<Run Bane. They'll stay to eat that one while we get away.>>
Bane:
Bane cringed both physically and mentally from the sound of the wolf's teeth biting into the Taxxon. It was a strange mixture of a squish and crunch, something that just made it sound all the more vile. He didn't pause in his running, following Rian's instructions and knowing the wolf could catch up to his fox easily.
He didn't want to stop. Didn't want to look back and think about that...that thing. He didn't want to think about more of them...eating each other...
If he was human he would have shuddered, or maybe he still would have if he wasn't running. He finally decided to use thought-speak. <<What was that?>>
Rian:
<<Taxxon,>> Rian said darkly catching up with the fox. He had his ears pointed back towards the scene of the attack and he could hear the Taxxon being ripped apart by its friends. Which was good and bad news. Good because they were one Taxxon down, bad because there were more of them. <<Their a breed of controller. Cannibalistic. When I was in Chicago, before I joined the animorphs, I set traps around the city, turning abandoned and crumbling buildings into death traps. It was all I could do at the time. Taxxons were always the easiest to kill because one scratch and the others will try to eat it. I've even seen one try to eat itself. It's gross but apparently they can't help it.>>
They were farther down the tunnel now and safe, for the moment. But they couldn't just run. They were hoping to use these tunnels to get around the city and he couldn't just leave some Taxxon wandering around in them. He mentally berated himself. He should have thought of that. Of course Taxxons would be in the tunnels. <<We have to get rid of them some how but I can't fight them all. I think we need a trap. Do you think you can catch some bait in the form of a rat or a couple. I know it's gross but foxes are good at that sort of thing.>> Even as he said it he started demorphing so that he could become a fox himself. <<We'll try to get them all in one place, somewhere these tunnels must open up a bit. Then I'll wound one and hope it starts a feeding frenzy that kill them all. But we need a way to get them to one spot.>>
Bane:
Taxxon...they definitely weren't anything he'd want to run in here alone traveling through the tunnels...so he saw the need to get rid of them.
<<No problem...I'm sure it won't be bad with the fox's mind.>> He said, beginning to sniff around for the scent he knew his nose would recognize right away. The fox was very familiar with the scent of rodents, given that they made up most of it's diet, and it wasn't hard for him to pinpoint a large brown rat scurrying around nearby.
He crouched down, stalking towards his prey. Letting the instincts take over, he pounced, catching the rat between his teeth. He just barely stopped himself from devouring the small animal and dropped it to the ground. He began his search for the next one.
Rian:
Rian quickly morphed into his own fox and left Bane hunting. He would join him soon but first he had to find a place to set their trap and he was glad that the foxes eyes were as good as a cat's down here.
He soon came upon a junction of many pipes all dumping their waste into this chamber. It smelled horrible and the sounds of waterfalls drowned out everything else, but it was bigger than the tunnels and would work well enough.
He set about hunting his own rats. Soon he had a large pile in the chamber and was completely grossed out. He started walking back towards Bane, hunting as he did so and leaving dead rats along his trail.
<<Ok, I think the chamber is ready. Now we put your pile at the head of the tunnel where the Taxxon are and hope they follow the trail of bread crumbs.>>
Bane:
Bane had caught a decent amount of rats, and was beginning to get repulsed by how good they smelled to the fox's brain despite the horrid stench that assaulted his nostrils. He had gotten sick of it to the point that he had demorphed, which he also figured he should do so he wouldn't reach his limit.
When Rian approached and told him about moving his pile of 'prizes' to the head of the tunnel so the Taxxon would follow the trail and right into the trap. He picked them up in his arms, grimacing as he felt blood and who-knew-what on them, and headed back towards where he'd seen the aliens.
Doing his best to avoid being noticed, which wasn't too hard as the creatures were preoccupied with something...Bane didn't want to know what was going on. He laid down the collection of rats, keeping a few to lead them back to where the trail picked up again, and made his way quickly back to Rian. He morphed back into fox, not wanting to be caught off guard, and waited for Rian to lead the way to where they would ambush the Taxxon.
Rian:
While Bane had gone to move the rats Rian had demorphed. He was pretty sure this was the most disgusting thing he had ever done but it had to be done. He was glad Bane was helping him with it.
When Bane came back Rian went wolf so that he would be prepared to spring the trap. He knew they didn't have much time. He could already here the Taxxon rushing down the tunnel Bane had just left and it would only take them seconds to eat the pile of treats Bane had gathered for them.
<<Come on. We have to get to the end of this tunnel before them and find a place to hide. When enough of them are in the chamber I'm going to cause as much damage as I can, wound as many as I can and then we bail. If, um, you know, if I get really hurt or something you gotta run and try to find one of the other groups.>>
Bane:
Bane scampered after Rian, not at all liking how close the Taxxon were getting. It was disgusting, to say the least, hearing the worm-like creatures devouring the pile of rats and moving on to the trail. The smell they'd been dealing with was nothing compared to that sound.
<<Of course...>> Bane responded to Rian, hoping that it wouldn't come to that. If Rian got hurt, Bane knew he would have to run and find someone else, he just didn't like the thought of what might happen to Rian. He forced his thoughts elsewhere, seeing no point in thinking about that unless the time came. He new what he would have to do, and he would do it.
Once they entered the chamber, Bane's eyes darted around, searching for any ledge of anything that would serve as a hiding spot. He spotted a pipe that wasn't spewing out any of the nasty liquid, his nose curling in disgust. I guess that'd be our best bet...
<<Hey Rian, there's a pipe over that that doesn't have anything come out of it, think that would work for a hiding spot?>>
Rian:
Rian looked around for the pipe Bane was talking about and couldn't see it. These were the times he really missed human body language and the ability to point. <<Yeah, it'll be fine. Lead the way since I can't see it.>> He hoped the pipe would be big enough to hide both of them because the Taxxons were right behind.
He turned his ears back and could here the small fights breaking out over the rats he had left as a trail. Unlike with the pile, there was only one of each along the trail and so little to go around. But the Taxxons could smell the pile in this chamber and some were abandoning the fight in favor of getting to this pile first.
They were moving faster than he had expected. He seriously hoped this plan would work. This was the only time he had been in charge and so responsible for someone else and only now did he get how scary it could be. It was different before. If he wanted to charge in and do something dangerous then he was only risking his own life. But now he was risking Bane's as well. This better work, and not for his sake.
Bane:
Bane pointed his nose in the direction of the pipe. <<Over here.>> He said, before moving forward. The Taxxon were getting closer, how did those things move so fast and eat at the same time? He led Rian to an empty pipe that was just big enough for them both to fit.
<<Looks like we might be a bit cramped...>> Bane said, knowing they had no time now to find a new spot. He waited for Rian to get in before entering the pipe himself. His fox fit a lot more comfortably than Rian's wolf, but both would manage. Not like they would be in there long anyway. He could hear the Taxxon entering the chamber.
Rian:
<<Yuck. This pipe might not have stuff coming out of it now but the bottom is coated in some sort of slimy goo. Remind me to hit myself later for coming up with the grand idea of mapping the tunnels.>> He crouched down so that the darkness would hide him as much as possible and even closed his eyes so that they wouldn't reflect any light and give away their position, relying on his ears to tell him what was going on.
He waited, tense, until he could hear that the chamber was filled up with a lot of Taxxons, hopefully enough to cause trouble. <<I guess it's time.>> He didn't say anything else, just opened his eyes and stood up. He wondered what would be best, trying to sneak into the chamber or just charging, but there was no way his presence wouldn't be noticed and he had to cause as much damage as he could before they caught on.
<<Charge it is.>> He hadn't realized that he'd spoken out loud, or at least projected the thought. He just jumped towards the nearest Taxxon and landed on him. He didn't bite, he would have to eventually but he wanted to avoid that unpleasant experience, he just ripped at the Taxxon's body with the hard nails on his paws, causing the Taxxon's soft skin to rip in nasty cuts. It wouldn't kill it, it would hardly hurt it. But that wasn't his purpose. It would bleed and that was a death sentence anyway.
But that was the only freebe he would get. The others saw him now and they lunged in his direction, coming for him and the wounded Taxxon alike.
Rian jumped out of the way of the first one as it brought its mouth down on the first and they began to fight. He dodged past the pair and jumped at the next, this time sinking his teeth into its middle. It's blood flowed over his muzzle and down his throat and he almost choked. He let go and ran away from its counter attack.
He went after another one but wasn't so lucky this time. He missed his attack as the Taxxon pulled away from his lunging teeth. He landed where the Taxxon had been a second before and would be again as it brought its bulk down to slam into him. He tried to dodge out of the way but didn't completely make it. His back half got slammed into the bottom of the sewer and he yelped in pain as he felt something crack. But it was something small, that or he just wasn't feeling the injury.
He turned as the Taxxon lifted off him to bring it's mouth down and bit into its tail. He got up and ran away as another Taxxon latched onto the wound he had made. But he was limping. He didn't know if he had wounded enough of them but he wouldn't survive another fight. He raced back to the tunnel where Bane was hiding.
<<I think it's time to go.>>
Bane:
Bane had watched the little fight, a mixture of curiousity and fear keeping his eyes locked on the battle. He was both repulsed and fascinated by the Taxxon and how they reacted to Rian's attacks, though that was more of the repulsing side. Rian was doing good too...until he missed one of them.
Bane recoiled, flinching visably, as Rian hit the ground. The yelp didn't help. He wanted to ask Rian if he was okay, but he knew he couldn't distract him. He was also preparing himself to take off as fast as he could if Rian didn't get up soon.
Thankfully, Rian got back up, and Bane was ready to go before Rian even reached the sewage tube. Now he could ask his question as they ran, noticing Rian's limp.
<<You alright?>> He couldn't imagine what the pain must have felt like, but he was sure it was incredibly unpleasent.
Rian:
<<Yeah I'll be ok. Thanks for asking. I don't know if wolves sprain ankles but that's what it feels like. Running on it is not fun but I'd rather run than stay back there.>> The Taxxons had fallen on the injured ones and tried to eat them. But in their haste more had been injured. From the sound of it things were getting more and more vicious in the chamber behind them and Rian didn't want to be anywhere near.
<<You know what really sucks. After we get far enough away we're not going to be able to just go home. We still have to map these stupid tunnels. Maybe we should have started with the subways. But maybe it is better to get the worst out of the way first.>> Rian slowed down a bit. He wanted to heal the ankle and the Taxxons wouldn't be coming after them any time soon.
He demorphed and then went fox again. <<At least we have a story to tell when we get back. Hopefully we've had the most excitement today and no one else ran into any problems. I think Matt will be ok but, between you and me, I'm a little worried about Ember and Kat killing each other. What do you think about that whole situation? You and Kat seem sorta close.>>
Bane:
<<Well I'd think that anything with an ankle could sprain it...>> Bane replied, focusing on the conversation to keep his mind off of tha Taxxon behind them. Bane slowed as Rian did, watching him demorph and then morph to his fox. Two red foxes were now moving side by side, what an odd sight that would be.
<<Yeah..well hopefully there won't be many Taxxons left...and from the sounds of it I don't think there will be. >> Bane considered Rian's question about Kat and Ember. <<Well I know from talking to Kat that she does want to patch things up with Ember...so I doubt she would openly start a fight...and I haven't talked to Ember all that much, so I don't know what she would do.>> He really hoped things were working out alright for them. Kat was probably his closest friend in the group, and he didn't have any problems with Ember. She seemed like a nice person once you got past the hostilities.
Rian:
<<I'm afraid I don't share a similar confidence when it comes to Ember. She's just the type to start a fight.>> If he had been human he might have smiled. <<And, for some reason, what happened the day Kat showed up affected her more than it affected me. Or, to be more specific, I haven't actually let it in. But I just got shot and was pretty much out of it until I woke up all healed. She was the one who had to catch me, who had to see me with a hole in my stomach so maybe she has a right to be more upset than I am. I'm not overestimating my importance or anything, I think it would be a bad experience to see that happen to anyone and it just happened to be me.>>
He wasn't really sure. If Bane was close to Kat then he didn't want to confide how much he still felt odd around her. He knew intellectually that it had been a mistake, a mistake a lot of people could have made, and a part of him had even gotten over it and moved on. But there was something inside him that wouldn't let it go. Every time Kat was around Rian found himself a lot more tense than he should be.
<<I don't know. I guess there is nothing we can do about it if anything does happen. We won't even know about it till later so I guess we should just get back to our jobs and get out of here as soon as possible. Once we have this section mapped we can get out of here and get home.>> Home, odd, he hadn't thought of a place as home in a long time.
Bane:
<<Well...hopefully whatever happens, they work it out in the end. It wouldn't be good to have enemies within the faction...>> Bane said. He hoped Ember would forgive Kat. He hadn't been there when it had happened and wasn't really clear on the details, but it had been a mistake. However, Rian was right, they wouldn't know what was happening with them until later. It was something Kat and Ember had to work out themselves anyway.
<<Home...that sounds good...>> Bane chuckled slightly. <<The sooner we're away from this stench the better. I think it might end up stuck in my nose.>>
Rian:
<<Yeah. Hopefully we will get out of here soo->> he cut himself off as his ears picked up something ahead of them. <<Do you here that? That, scrabbling. It, I think it's another Taxxon only one though. We can take one, come on.>> He surged forward and started following the Taxxon ahead of them but he soon realized that the Taxxon was following something too.
He looked up ahead and saw a bright beam of light from an open manhole cover and someone who looked suspiciously like Ember climbing up it. <<What the-?>>
<<Rian?.....Anyone?>>
He turned and looked around, letting the Taxxon that hadn't spotted them yet go. <<Matt? Is that you?>>