Post by Admin on Aug 9, 2009 18:03:43 GMT -5
Drake:
Drake was in the sanctuary portion of The Temple. He was testing out a super ball that he had 'borrowed' from Fin's room. He almost got it to bounce off the floor and hit the ceiling a couple times, but not quite. This time he was sure he would get it.
The ball bounced into the air and... hit the ceiling! But it landed up in the balcony. As Drake made his way up the stairway to retrieve it, he had a revelation. Balcony + super ball = super bounce.
As soon as he found the little elastic ball, Drake went over to the edge of the balcony and slammed it down as hard as he could. He probably should have aimed a bit better because he hit one of the benches and the ball ricocheted on a path straight across the room and went through a small hole that just happened to be in a vent covering. What were the odds? Balcony + super ball = bad luck.
The whole trip down the balcony steps and across the sanctuary Drake was remarking to himself about how he must be cursed or something, because something like that could not happen to him again in a million years if he tried. When he finally got to the vent opening, he saw that he could barely get two of his fingers through the small opening, and the ball had apparently bounced around the corner.
He was about to give the ball up for lost when he remembered something. He was an animorph. There was nowhere he could not go if he really wanted to. He looked at the vent a second time, this time planing his strategy. His lizard morph was a bit too big, but his moth morph would definitely be able to fit. However, he doubted it would be strong enough to retrieve the ball.
He would need help. Drake got up off his knees and went to the main hall to see if there was anyone here willing to do a bit of vent crawling with him.
Aida:
Aida was in the kitchen, she had been out the day before and happened upon an old gas station, one that looked like it hadn't been used in years. After exploring the inside of it she'd discovered a few plastic-covered treats that were still more than edible. Twinkies never went bad, right? Her arms full of them, she began tossing them up into an empty cupboard, quite proud of her small find.
As she was putting the various cup-cakes and twinkies away however, something crawled across her hand, something very alive and she couldn't help but let out a soft cry of surprise. Aida stumbled backwards and fell onto her bum, quickly discovering a small silverfish still scuttling across her hand. Her nose curled up in distaste, but she found herself inadvertently acquiring it before shaking it off her hand. The bug retreated to a dark corner, and she got to her feet, staring at it until it was no longer visible.
Suji:
The familiar 'tsseeeeerww!' sound of the dracon gun went off as it disintegrated the last of the big piles of random crap that had been in Aubrey's room. Aubrey was now Suji's neighbor, and she'd spent the last few hours helping Aubrey with clearing out the lot of unwanted stuff that had similarly plagued Suji's room. Suji turned the intensity setting on the gun back to its lowest setting, as was custom, and lowered her arm.
"I think that's the last of the big stuff, right?" She turned to the blonde girl, and smiled. "Doubt these things were designed for this reason, but hey, I'm not above using alien technology to get boring chores done faster."
Aubrey:
"Those things are loud!" Aubrey ended up yelling this after the dracon beam had gone off, hands clamped over her ears. "Whoops, sorry." She lowered her hands, glancing to Suji beside her. "Yep, looks like it. We're done." The two of them had spent some time sorting items around the room into various piles--the 'vaporize' pile and the 'save' pile. The save pile was smaller, consisting of random elementary school things like crayons or coloring papers. She would dig into the pile later.
Aubrey grinned at Suji, laughing a little. "Me neither. Thanks for helping. Would have been a majorly boring job otherwise." The room looked better now, less cluttered and dusty. Looking content with the job they had done, Aubrey nodded. Then she felt a slight pang in her stomach. "Hey, I'm hungry. Do you think there's some food around?"
Drake:
Drake started checking rooms as he went down the hallway. He was just glancing through the doors with windows, or the doors that were open. He spotted Aida in the kitchen. He peeked his head in and said, "Hey Aida, want to do some vent crawling?" then he continued down the hallway without waiting for an answer.
He saw another open door so he made a beeline for it, skipping all the rest. He saw Suji and Aubrey inside. "Hey guys, want to do some vent crawling?"
Suji:
Suji scratched her head when Aubrey mentioned food. "I'm sure there's something, but probably nothing all that tasty. Don't think we've stocked up on anything good yet." Before she could move from her spot though, Drake was standing in the doorway, inviting them to... vent crawling?
"Like... crawling around in the vents?" Durr. Good one Suji. "I mean, why?" She looked from Drake to Aubrey--she didn't have a problem with the idea, and nothing really better to do at the moment, but what interesting about the vents?
Aida;
Aida was still staring at the empty spot on the floor where the sliverfish had once scuttled. Her hand absently rubbed the spot on her body that the bug had touched, she had never been exceptionally fond of insects, except honey bees and butterflies. When Drake suddenly spoke her name her head jerked up, and not only her head, but her eyebrows also rose up in confusion at his odd request. Vent crawling?
No time to respond, and she found herself following after him without another word. When he abruptly stopped she nearly ran into him, and took a step back and peered inside. Suji and Aubrey were there, though she wasn't sure what they'd been up to before Drake's appearance. Again, he asked the same question, vent crawling. Well I have that silverfish now.... she thought absently, but the idea of morphing it did not bode too well with her stomach.
Suji's question fit the one she had been about to ask herself, so she glanced at Drake, waiting for some type of explanation.
Drake:
Now that Drake actually had to explain his request, he felt a little embarrassed. But he figured he had already rounded them up, so he might as well go through with it. "Well... there is this vent in the sanctuary... Here, I will show you." He started leading them towards the vent, explaining as he went.
"I found this cool super ball, and it somehow got into a tiny little hole in the vent. I was going to go after it in my moth morph, but I figured it probably would not be strong enough. So I decided to ask you guys for help. If you do not have bug morphs, I am sure we could find something around here." He hoped that these were not the stereotypical girls who were afraid of creepy crawlies of any sort.
Aubrey:
"Shoot." She knew there hadn't been much before, but maybe somebody had gone out and gotten some good food. It seemed not. But either way, food was food. Aubrey turned towards her doorway--about to go find food--and was surprised to see Drake standing in it. She hadn't heard anybody approach. She grinned at him in greeting, "Ahh--hey Drake--"
"Hey guys, want to do some vent crawling?"
Aubrey blinked. "Eh? Some what?" Aubrey noticed somebody else was outside the door as well. She leaned to the side slightly, spotting Aida standing near Drake. She gave the girl a smile and wave. "Um. Vent crawling. Uh, sure. I guess." He left the doorway, and Aubrey glanced over at Suji, then to Aida. She followed Drake out and towards the vent, listening to his explanation.
"I've got a moth morph too, if that'll help."
Aida:
Aida gave Aubrey a small, meek smile as well as a wave. Then she found herself following behind Drake, listening as he described his predicament. Bouncy ball? That sounded like something Fin would have, and the sudden reference of his name made her smile inwardly. She shook off this train of thought however, and found herself staring at a vent now, the very same vent that should have a bouncy ball somewhere on the other end.
"Uh..I just acquired a silverfish morph, kind of not on purpose...but I guess that was dumb luck," she added in after Aubrey. Aida was that typical girl, the kind that disliked bugs, they'd always freaked her out, but she wouldn't have a breakdown over it, no she could suck it up and deal. Outwardly the soft, timid girl was actually quite strong, more than she gave herself credit for.
So Drake and Aubrey have moths, thats not so bad....I wonder what Suji has... her warm brown eyes roamed each face until they found Suji's.
Suji:
Suji listened to them all. It was good that they all had small morphs, though she didn't know how good the moths were for retrieving anything, as Drake had noted. But for serious situations, bug morphs could be extremely useful, so that much at least was good. She arched an eyebrow at the bouncy ball comment, and felt the corner of her mouth turn up in a smile. Ah, the freedom fighters of the human race. The proud, the few, the chasers of bouncy balls.
But she had nothing against whatever things people did in their downtime, as long as they didn't endanger anyone. Playing with a ball sounded harmless enough, if a little silly. Of course their time could be better spent (Suji remembered the grueling hours in New York, where she'd forced herself to practice morphing, practice timing herself, and reading how-to books non-stop, even though no one asked her to), but the faction was still getting on their feet, and relaxation time was a critical factor in having well-rested soldiers.
"I have a roach morph," Suji offered, smiling a little at Aida when the girl looked at her. "A roach and a silverfish would probably be able to get it, if it isn't stuck back there or anything, you think?"
Drake:
Well Drake was glad that they did not have to spend time looking for critters. Then he turned to answer Suji's question. "I have no idea if it is stuck. It bounced around the corner somewhere."
He thought for a second, then continued. "Maybe you and Aida can push, and me and Aubrey can act as guard rails. I can not imagine that bugs are very good at rolling balls in straight lines. Except maybe dung beetles."
"Either way, it can not hurt for us all to go check it out." With that, Drake began to morph into a moth. The first change was the extra pair of legs. They came bursting out of his chest like some sort of freaky alien arms. Next were the antennas, which sprouted from his forehead ant started moving about automatically.
Then his waist pinched together as he began to shrink. The floor rushed up at him and just when he thought he would hit it, his eyes became compounded. His teeth melted away as his mouth became more moth-like, and his skin became an ordinary shade of grey. There was a sickening squelch as his bones and organs dissolved almost completely away. Lastly, Two wings sprouted from where his shoulder blades once were, making him a complete moth.
Aida:
Aida returned Suji's smile, despite the knowledge that her morph was a roach. Cockroaches gave her the willies, but if she was also the size of a small insect it probably wouldn't be as bad...right? Thats what she told herself as she listened to Drake explain the game plan. When he began morphing she followed suit, not wanting to watch the other transformations--which were bound to be rather disgusting.
Focusing on the silverfish, suddenly she began shrinking, and she felt her skin hardening, as it turned a dark silverish color. Next were the antenna, as well as the legs that sprouted from her sides. Before long she had completed the morph, and it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Her eyesight was barely even that, picking up on only the vaguest of shapes, but she could feel every vibration in the room, and that made up for it.
Aida scuttled over to the vent, crawling her way inside and waiting near the entrance for the others. <<This is...interesting.>>
Suji:
Suji made a face at watching Drake morph, and then Aida. It wasn't overly disgusted, but it was slightly pinched, the way someone might observe particularly ripe roadkill. She knew she wasn't going to be any prettier, and with a sigh she started morphing her cockroach.
Plating that looked like burnt plastic began shielding her like armor, and the ground rushed up to meet her as she shrank. There were distinct popping! noises for each set of extra limbs that sprouted out of her ribcage and chest. Her face deformed until it looked like a horror movie, though at least she wasn't full-sized when it began to happen. Her organs dissolved into bug juice.
Her senses went mad, and Suji immediately scrambled towards the wall, and had to calm herself. It wasn't a morph she used often (she hadn't practiced much since NYC, really), but she brought it around under control quickly. <<Well, I guess once Aubrey joins us in A Bug's Life, we'll head on the adventure.>> Suji's antennae waved crazily.
Aubrey:
"Heh, guard rails. This should be fun." Aubrey wasn't the type of girl to be squeamish about bugs or gross things, but the sight of all three of them morphing into bugs wasn't anywhere near pleasant. Aubrey closed her eyes, concentrating on her moth morph.
The first thing to happen was the coloring--a furry, sort of downy white began to roll across her skin, occasionally broken by furry, black circles. Then she began shrinking, wings twisting and squirming out from her shoulders. Her body squeezed into the moth's sections, then there was a loud sickening sound as an extra two limbs sprouted from her sides, colored with black and white bands. Her eyes bulged, then shattered into the moth's fragmented vision. Two threadlike antennae shot out of her face, and immediately began waving around in the air. After a few minutes she was fully moth.
<<Ahh, ahh.>> She suddenly felt exposed, everywhere was light and space. Aubrey had only used this morph once before, and even then she hadn't had control of her own body when it was morphed. After a few seconds of scampering around, Aubrey regained control. She paused, trying to make sense of her sight.
<<Ha ha, okay. Let's go, guys.>> The vent, the vent. Where's the vent. She crawled along, heading to where she hoped the others were.
Drake:
<<So we are all bugs now, right? I can hardly see anything, so this will be... a unique experience.>> Drake had used this morph quite a bit when he had first started out as an animorph, so he was pretty familiar with its senses by now. Even so, he had some difficulty locating the entrance to the vent.
When he did find the hole and crawled through into the darkness, something felt off almost immediately. Where he expected the ground to be hard and metallic feeling, it was light and powdery. <<Someone should really dust in here.>>
Drake decided to fly down the vent to see if he could spot the ball. It seemed unlikely with how dark it was, and with his vision, but he might as well try. He did not get more than a foot before he met resistance. He got tangled up in what he feared was a spider web.
<<Ahh! Help!>> Drake saw flashes of tarantulas and black widows crawling through his mind. As he flapped his wings frantically, trying to escape, he realized that he had broken his bonds and was now on the floor of the vent, flailing wildly. <<Never mind,>> he said sheepishly, << I thought I was in a spider web, but it must have just been a cobweb. But I think I will try to stick to the ground from now on.>>
Aida:
Aida sat only centimeters from the vents grate, and waited for the others to enter. <<I think so>> she replied to Drake, scuttling a bit forward. She laughed quietly at his comment about dust, she had noticed that too, though at the time she didn't put two and two together, it being dust made more sense than her original thought.
She began moving about hesitantly, still growing used to the lack of sight on her morph, she could not see anything in the dark vent. As she was quickly discovering her antennae served as a pair of eyes, a nose, and even ears. It was an odd feeling to get used to but she was slowly but surely using bits of the insect mind to help her find her way around. As she scuttled by she bumped into something large, something that smelled distinctly like edible material, but her human brain quickly realized it was another dead insect. She began backing up in disgust when Drake screamed.
For a moment her mind panicked, but his 'never mind' calmed her mind almost immediately, at least until she realized there were several other dead insect bodies nearby. <<Drake....I think there is a spiderweb nearby.....I just ran into a dead something.....and...theres another carcass not too far away...>> she sounded worried now. Was one bouncy ball worth getting eaten by a spider? Maybe it was dead....
Aubrey:
<<Hah, yep.>> Aubrey shuffled up to where the vent was, hopefully. She wasn't used to this compound vision, to seeing everything broken up into a billion different sections. All her other morphs were a lot simpler to deal with, they were bigger with better vision and senses. Admittedly, she didn't quite like this morph. She felt helpless.
Aubrey crawled into the dark hole after the others. <<Ack, I can't see much.>> She moved further along, antennae waving in the dark air. <<We're looking for a big ball, right. Should be easy.>> As she said this, Drake's frantic thought-speak filled her head. <<Drake??>> She started moving forward, then realized she couldn't see where he had gone. A few seconds later he spoke again, and Aubrey relaxed. <<Okay, okay. We should be careful.>>
Yikes, a spider-web? Usually the thought wasn't a big deal to her, she wasn't normally afraid of spiders. But now she was a bug, in a dark, small vent. With apparently--as Aida pointed out--dead carcasses lying around. Aubrey's antennae touched briefly on the hollow inside of an insect corpse, and she froze. <<Yuck.>> Okay, now it was getting a tiny bit creepy.
Aubrey moved around the thing, then ended up running into a second corpse. This one was a little fresher, and Aubrey mentally gagged. She needed to get away from this area. <<Egh. So, does anybody know which way we're going?>> She said this as she began backing up, trying to find a different route.
She did a small jump-hop over something, expecting to land. Instead, her side caught on something. She was floating. Okay... She tried walking, her legs moving back and forth in the air. Why couldn't she feel the ground underneath her feet anymore? It felt like one of her wings was glued to her side. Trying not to panic, she started to wiggle. <<Uh guys. I think I might be stuck.>>
Drake:
Drake was scooting around the bottom of the vent and noticed the bug carcasses too. He was about to comment on how he did not doubt that there were actual spider webs in here when Aubrey said she was stuck. That was not a good sign.
<<Are you sure you are stuck-stuck, and not just tangled-stuck like I was?>> Drake asked nervously. <<Where are you? Maybe the rest of us can pull you down.>> Drake hoped this was nothing serious. If anything happened to them, it would be his fault.
Suji:
It was a little like a horror movie. Only not they hadn't got to the climax yet--so far it was only the little jolts and shocks that got the audience on edge. Suji hated the analogy, if only because it meant that something very bad was likely to happen, but still... couldn't deny it.
Suji brushed up towards Aubrey, trying to analyze all the data the bug brain was sending to her. <<I think I should be big enough to help get her down, especially with Aida's help. You might want to stand back though Drake, moth wings are more fragile.>> Carefully avoiding the portion of the web that Aubrey had run into, Suji tried to grasp her moth's both with tiny feet. It was not easy.
Then was a distant, skittering rumble that echoed down the tunnel. It sounded far away, but it didn't sound mechanical. It also made her roach brain want to run and hide.
Aida:
It sounded like Aubrey was just as disgusted as she was by the dead carcasses, and what normal person wouldn't be? Aida scuttled around them, still trying to call her human mind, as well as the frantic insects. Aubrey's cry that she was stuck made her stomach drop, and she instantly turned around, carefully scuttling back towards where she'd last sensed her. One of her antenna bumping into something hollow and she instantly recoiled, ignoring her bugs mind. No not food!
<<I'm coming>> she replied to both Suji and Aubrey. After several more carcass-run-ins she found them, her antenna examining where her assistance would be best suited. <<Try and grasp my...tail-like...thing....>> the proper term evaded her. The silverfish was fairly flexible, and she bent herself up, waiting to feel her grasp it before begging to tug away.
The vibrations were felt by Aida too, <<Was that.....>> she didn't even voice her question. Maybe it was the ball rolling? she though her bug mind wanted to go and hide, what it was best at.
Drake:
<<It's probably just wind in the vents or something,>> Drake said, although there was definite uneasiness in his voice. Drake was beginning to get even more nervous. <<But lets try to get her off of there as soon as possible.>>
Drake shuffled over to the gathering of insects. They were certainly an odd assortment, but he did not let that bother him. He stayed back like Suji suggested, but he could not help but feel like he should be doing something. And those vibrations did not feel very reassuring.
Aubrey:
<<Yeah. Uh, let me see.>> Her wiggling had gotten one of her antennas stuck and a couple legs, so she decided to stop moving. She was feeling a little panicked now. Her thoughts were on only one thing: Spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web.
<<Well, I'm definitely stuck-stuck. And-->> She didn't want to think it, or say it. But she knew it. <<I think I'm in an actual...spider...web.>>
Aubrey felt Suji's feet pull at her body, but the web was holding her tight. <<Alright.>> With her free legs, Aubrey searched through the air until she found Aida's tail-thing. She quickly latched on, pulling in the same direction as Suji. It seemed to be working for a moment--she could feel her body leaning forward, away from the web. A dull ache traveled up along her legs and wing, but she ignored it. They were making some progress.
Then, her concentration slipped for just a second. Her grip loosened on Aida, and suddenly her body bounced backwards into the web. It embraced her immediately, wrapping sticky strands around her body. She couldn't move most of her body now, and one eye was squished into the web.
<<Shit, everything's stuck! Ack!! Not cool, not cool.>> The moth's instincts told her to run, and running meant struggling, which meant Aubrey was trying to wiggle free again. She had one leg free, and it was waving wildly in the air. <<Aiee, I'm really really stuck.>>
The vibrations from far off were traveling down along the vent, pulsing through the strands of web that were snared around Aubrey's body. <<Wind? That's wind?>> As she said this, the sound was getting closer. And closer. And closer.
Suji:
Suji almost cursed when Aubrey snapped back--the only thing that stopped her was Aubrey's frantic voice in her head. They could not start panicking. Suji would not let herself add to that confusion. They had to get out of here--her roach-mind was peeing its metaphorical pants with that noise, which was definitely not wind.
<<Here, the roach is pretty strong. I'm going to try to start chewing through the places where the web is connected to the wall. If we can't get you free, we can probably drag you out web and all.>> Suji did not mention that the web was probably well secured--it might take a few moments to get it done, and that damned noise was getting worse and worse. <<Drake, Aida, can you help? I'm not sure what your mandibles are like, and be careful not to get stuck yourselves. Stay on the outer edges.>>
Suji could make out more than just a thrumming echo now. Now she heard many, many individual sounds--tiny tapping that all bled together into a distant roar that was making the cockroach hard to control. Taking a deep mental breath, she started to get to work. <<Don't move too much Aubrey, someone might get accidentally stuck.>>
Privately, she spoke to Aubrey. <<It's okay,>> she said, as soothingly as possible, munching through the webs at the fastest speed she could. <<We'll get you out, and when you demorph, it'll just be that gross cobweb feel.>> Suji's voice was self-assured--Aubrey hadn't completely lost it yet, but it was hard to tell how close she was. But she'd done well the night they'd seen that Controller get shot. Suji had to hope that would hold true.
Drake:
Drake did not think he could do much as a moth. His tiny jaws were not made for biting through anything, much less a spider web. Wait. Did he even have jaws? Either way, he had to at least try something.
He fount the base of one of the web's strands. And almost got his antenna stuck to it. Direct contact would not work in this bug body. Then he got an idea.
Drake scooted over to the nearest bug carcass that was laying in the vent and pushed it towards the web. Maybe he could use the dried out husk as some sort of crude chisel or oven mitt against the spider web. It was worth a try. He pushed the dead exoskeleton against the web with all of his might, and eventually, the single strand gave out under the pressure.
However, all of that had taken a lot of time. Hopefully the other two were having better luck, because that strange sound was getting closer. <<Hurry, hurry, hurry,>> Drake mumbled to no one in particular. His nervousness was threatening to impair his already limited coordination.
Aida:
Aida had been tugging, pulling against the ground and the sudden release by Aubrey sent her silverfish morph crashing into a dead carcass. Unfortunately she found herself stuck half-way through the hollowed out thing, and she immediately recoiled inwardly. <<Oh my god I'm INSIDE a dead bug!>> she thrashed madly, her legs squirming uselessly. She was panicking, the sound off in the distance was not getting and softer.
Suji was already helping Aubrey, and Drake probably wouldn't be able to help her so she continued squirming, getting enough footing to crash the carcass into the side the vent. It probably looked rather comical, but the bugs outer skin was no longer very tough and it broke more easily than she expected. Once free the headed back towards Aubrey and Suji, <<Sorry>> she mumbled in thoughtspeak.
<<If it helps...I'm pretty sure this thing can molt right out of its skin, so I can crawl in behind the web and push>> Her instinct had been to molt when stuck in the bug carcass, and so she figured it would help here as well. As Suji gnawed at the webbing Aida maneuvered herself partially behind Aubrey, feeling part of her leg get caught in the webbing before she began pushing again.
Aubrey:
That didn't sound like wind. It definitely didn't sound like wind. The moth mind was frantic now, it wanted to escape from the web, escape from the noise that was getting closer. Webs meant spiders, which meant sticky, have-your-insides-melted-then-sucked-out death. Aubrey--along with the moth--didn't want to die. Especially not here, in a stupid vent, trying to retrieve a super ball.
<<Okay. Okay. I'll hold still.>> She didn't sound calm, and as she said it she was still struggling. She couldn't help it. The vibrations were getting louder and closer--Aubrey could feel it reverberating throughout her body and through the web. Need to keep still. C'mon. Every part of her told her to move, but she froze. She didn't want to get anybody else stuck along with her.
She listened to Suji, gaining a small bit of comfort from her words. <<You're right. You're right.>> Her voice grew quiet. <<Please hurry.>> She was centering on that little hope that maybe that noise had something to do with the vent, and not with the web she was trapped on. Aubrey let her free leg hang. She really really had the urge to try and wiggle free. That was the only thing that the moth could think of as a solution. But Aubrey knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. The others were doing their best to help, and all Aubrey could do was sit here and listen to that thing or whatever it was get closer.
Suji:
<<We will, promise,>> Suji responded to Aubrey. It was interesting--maybe even heartening, if the situation wasn't so dire and that damned noise wasn't getting louder--to see them all working together. Drake and Aida had good imaginations, and were using their morphs to their advantage, even when it involved a bit of creativity. Suji's imagination wasn't non-existent, but she tended to go to the most practical route possible.
Aida was pushing (hopefully she could molt) and Drake was trying his best to combat the web with a dead-bug gauntlet and Aubrey was doing her best to keep the panic under control and Suji was munching. At least she was, until that growing sound suddenly stopped. It gave way to something lighter, scratching almost on the metal... Suji waved her antennae. There was something else in this section of the vent now.
And it was... searching?
<<Aida, push towards me,>> Suji said, her voice almost a whisper, though there was no way whatever was down the tunnel would hear her. <<I've made a goop rip on this side... Guys, we need to um, leave. Now.>>
Aida:
It was scary to feel herself stuck in the web, but at the same time she knew she could molt at will, it seemed silverfish did that a lot. Part of her bug brain wanted to do it now and leave Aubrey, but the more human part refused this option and kept pushing. She was slowly getting more wiggle room, so that had to mean Aubrey was moving...right? Aida held onto that small hope as the sound got louder, and closer. Oh god...
<<Okay>> she replied quickly, pushing harder now. Push push push push.... suddenly she went sprawling forward, as something in the webbing gave way, before being tugged back by her leg that was still stuck. Aida instantly began pushing out of her own skin, and never had she felt more disgusted by herself. The feeling of wriggling out of the outer shell was one she'd unfortunately have forever.
Aubrey:
She was getting free! Aubrey could feel it. The web was bouncing and twitching with all the effort, but she could feel parts of her body being loosened. One leg here, one wing there. There was still strands of web sticking to those parts, but at least they were free. <<I think it's working.>> It sounded like it was just in time, too, as the noise had stopped somewhere close by. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Aubrey didn't want to find out what it was.
For some reason, the web shuddered above her. It felt like something had dropped into it. Was there another bug around? Aubrey wasn't paying enough attention to really care for the moment. If some other bug had gotten caught too, tough luck. C'mon, c'mon. She wasn't totally free yet, but she could reach out and touch the ground now. All she could think about was being free from the web. Yes!
Then, she felt something poke her side. It was probably one of the others, so she didn't take note of it at first. The foot tapped her a couple times--like it was making sure of something--then rolled her up a small bit. Her wing got reattached to the web. <<Hey, who's foot is that? Stop pulling, you're going the wrong way.>>
Suddenly, she was jerked up. The front part of her body--legs and all--stuck into the web, and she felt something large move next to her. The one foot was joined by several other legs, grasping her small body. Before she realized what was happening, the legs were spinning her in the web. Her whole body was being wrapped up tightly in layers of spider silk.
<<Shit! Shit! SPIDER! SPIDER!!!>> Her thought-speak had turned into a scream. <<FUCK!>> She couldn't see, she couldn't move, she couldn't escape. It felt like her whole body had been squished into a duct-tape cocoon.
Drake:
Yes! She is free! Drake thought as he sensed Aubrey's massive moth form escape from the web. It was still dark so he could not really make anything out. Still, Drake could not really celebrate after hearing Suji's eerie message.
Just as he was about to head back towards the exit and leave the super ball behind, he heard Aubrey's screams about a spider. A spider! Not good, not good, not good. Was that what they heard in the vent, or had it been in the web the whole time. A shiver went up Drake's spine (metaphorically speaking) as he realized the spider could have grabbed any one of them.
<<Aubrey! Get get away from it! Do not let it eat you!>> Drake knew his words were no help, but they came out automatically. He had no idea what you were supposed to do when you got attacked by a spider. Think Drake, think.
Suji:
<<Aubrey!>> Fuck, Suji thought, not unlike her trapped faction mate. Fuck! They needed quick thinking. Suji's antennae waved madly, pulling in all the information she could. Had the spider been there the whole time? Or had all the struggling in the web called it? Could a cockroach take a spider, if the cockroach had a human mind behind it? <<Aubrey, listen to me very carefully->>
But the tapping of many needle-feet started again, rushing to a roar. There was the sound of what seemed like armor brushing against the vent wall, as a long creature rushed forward. It's body (the roach brain was convinced that it went on forever, from the noise of its legs) must have brushed the lodged ball, because a smooth, rolling sound started up behind it. Suji didn't like the sound of either... but the ball could only squash the softer of them. Whatever was coming for them now, in all it's thousand-legged hunger, was surely going to eat them alive.
Suji had been prepared to try to talk Aubrey into a slow, careful demorph--only enough so that the spider would back off. It would have taken a lot of skill, and a lot of support: a calm mind when you were being trapped by a spider wouldn't have been an easy feat. Now, though, it was going to be impossible.
But what other choice did they have? <<Aida, Drake, try to use the dead bodies as shields! There is something long coming down that tunnel, and I don't know what it--a centipede! I think it's a centipede, and a big one!>> It was the only thing she could think of. Part of her had already accessed the situation: Drake could probably make it out, and Aida too if the molting process didn't slow her down too much. Suji might have been fine as well... Aubrey was wholly fucked. But it was too soon. Too soon to make that judgment.
And there's no way we're going to let someone die in our own fucking vent!
The spider had stopped wrapping Aubrey momentarily--it noticed the centipede coming as well, and seemed unsure of whether to continue enveloping its meal, or to leave before it could become lunch itself. Suji moved forward the slightest bit--against all of the cockroaches better instincts--and began to chew through the cacoon itself, or at least the parts she could reach without getting stuck. Aida had ripped away most of the web (if she hadn't, the situation would have been utterly hopeless, rather than just hopeless), but the spider had moved fast in binding the leopard moth.
Aida:
Aida's brain freaked out when it realized there was a centipede coming, those were one of the insects few predators around a home, and it almost took off running on spot. It took all the control she had to stay put, twitching slightly as she reigned in the morph. The panicked mindset of the bug coupled with realizing Aubrey was close to being eaten almost made her turn tail and run again. No no no! Calm down! she forced herself to count, 1, 2, 3, yes right in the middle of this mess, but when she got to 3 she had her focus back.
Suji was helping Aubrey, they had to focus on the centipede, maybe they could corral it back? What happened to the ball...maybe they could....<<Drake try to corral the spider towards the centipede, use the bug carcasses like Suji said...>> she replied, <<I have a plan that goes against all my better judgment, but if we're getting out of here together....>> She dove head first into one of the carcasses, which once again began making her skin squirm. Aida wanted to scream but she continued pushing, right past the spider, heading right towards the centipede.
<<Our only hope is the ball, what else is big enough to scare a centipede off towards a spider...if those two are busy with each other then we might have time get out>> she sent to everyone. It wasn't her favorite plan but they didn't have time to sit down and debate one, they needed action, and since their undeclared leader was trying to save Aubrey she took the second-in-command, a part she hated to play. Lives are stake, who cares what you want... she grew quiet at her inner voice.
Soon she could hear it, the centipede, Suji had been right, and Aida wanted to run again. GO! she forced her bug to scamper forward launching the carcass at it as best she could before scuttling at full speed past it. It seemed the bug was busied with the dead body for a moment before it realized lunch went the other way, and it began to follow. Aida was fast though, or rather the silverfish, she was whizzing by until she ran right into something soft and rubbery. <<Omph>>
The bug was dazed, but since there was a big-baddy right behind her she found herself scrambling behind the ball, trying to dislodge it. Nothing was working, and the centipede was getting closer. Oh for heavens sake! COME ON! she backed up a good distance and went charging at it, feeling a soft crack in her exterior as she crashed into the ball, but there was movement there was...oh hell it was rolling and she was attached to it.
Aida clung on, ready to endure several squishes, trying to puff herself out but she didn't have the hardest exterior. The centipede saw the ball and began scuttling back towards the spider, the ball was quite bigger than it. <<Drake...theres a giant ball headed your way, is Aubrey out yet, if shes not theres gonna be a big ball stuck in a web soon...>> Omph, omph each roll she felt a bit more like a pancake. The silverfish was a resilient little thing though.
Soon she was no longer moving, and the ball was stuck, but she could see the spider and the centipede pushed on top of each other. Where was Suji....Drake and Aubrey?
Drake:
Drake had never felt so confused in his life. Aubrey was trapped in a web, being wound up by a spider. Suji was trying to free Aubrey as a gigantic centipede was barreling towards her. Drake himself was cowering behind a bug carcass, preparing to corral a spider that was in its own web. Aida was trying to chase the centipede towards the spider using the ball that had brought them into this place of impending doom in the first place. And Drake tried to make sense of all of this as it was happening while using a moth's senses and context clues, while in a dark vent, fearing for his life. Confusion was inevitable.
Drake just had to focus on the task he had been given. Corral the spider. He tried to grab the bug carcass that he was hiding behind and carry it into the air, but it was too heavy for his tiny moth wings. He would have to do this with his bare hands, so to speak.
By now, Drake had a pretty good idea of where exactly the web was, so he flew upwards on the side that the spider was on. He flew above it and tried to scare it towards the ground by beating his wings in its face. It was working for a while, and it moved downward, but t eventually got fed up with him and lunged forward.
Drake was caught in its forelegs and fangs. He was unable to escape and would soon be injected with enough spider venom to liquify his insides. However, just as the spider bit in, something hit the web, and Drake was dropped from the force of the hit. It was the super ball!
Not only that, but it seemed the centipede was behind it, stuck to the web as well. The centipede was so big that he doubted the web would hold it, but it would definitely slow it down, as well as give the spider something else to worry about. <<If you are going to escape, now would be the time!>>
Aubrey:
There was way too much happening, Aubrey was overwhelmed. She couldn't move, she was trapped, the sound was getting closer and louder, everything was happening all at once. She was dizzy from the spider spinning her and sick from all the stress and fear gnarled in her gut. She hadn't even noticed that the spider had stopped wrapping her and was onto bigger things--namely the big centipede bearing down on them all.
All Aubrey could think to do was scream. She felt like she was suffocating, and she was beginning to get that freaky-panicky feeling you got when you were trapped somewhere and couldn't leave. On top of that, she was convinced she was about to be eaten. Where am I? Where am I? What's happening? She could hear the distant echo of thought-speak; Something about listening to somebody, then later on, a centipede.
<<Help me. Help me.>> Aubrey's screaming had turned into a low wailing. Her thoughts were stumbling over each other, a bunch of unanswered questions floating around. Was she being eaten? When could you tell that your insides were melting? It should hurt, right? Or had the spider abandoned her? She wasn't being wrapped anymore, she wasn't spinning like before. She had no clue what was happening. All she could tell was that something was munching at the silk cocoon.
After a few moments, she could feel one of her legs free. Then.. two! She was being helped! Both legs waved around in the air crazily. <<Yes! Help! Help!>> The cocoon was being torn apart by the chewing, enough so that some of her legs were being freed very slowly.
Then the vent--no, the whole world--felt like it was shaking. Or maybe it was the web, Aubrey couldn't tell. But she felt something rumbling, and could hear the scratch of feet against the vent. In fact, it wasn't just feet, it was many feet. It sounded like a herd of insects were making their way down the vent. But of course, that didn't make sense. Insects didn't travel in herds. Then the word from before suddenly made sense. Centipede. Oh. Oh. OH! There was a centipede too?! How much worse could this get?
Suddenly, something large hit the web. She felt the great wall of stickiness shudder above her. The ball's impact jarred loose the cocoon, and her half-wrapped form hit something hard and flat. The floor. She wasn't exactly free from the cocoon--Suji's chewing had torn away part of it, and her exit from the web had torn out the side of cocoon--but she had enough legs out to start crawling. One wing was even free. She was dazed, lost, but her legs were on the floor. So she started blindly moving forward in an effort to escape.
<<What's happening? Where am I??>> She had no clue that above her head, the centipede and spider were stuck together. The web might not hold the centipede, but the two bugs were now locked into combat with each other in a mess of legs and fangs.
Suji:
<<Out! OUT OUT OUT!>> Suji ordered in thoughtspeech, feeling the ball roll past her. Or rather over her. It might have squashed her a bit, if it weren't for the fact that cockroaches were the tanks of the bug world. The bug morph just shook off the blow, much more concerned with the imminent fight between a centipede and spider. She wanted to be caught between neither. <<I have Aubrey, just get out!>>
The ball had rolled over her and was now rolling down the rest of the vent. <<And watch out for that ball!>> She added, realizing with a bit of surprise how much damage it could possibly do to a less durable morph. An image of a smear of moth made her shudder inwardly, and she grabbed onto Aubrey. <<I've got you,>> she said, <<Hold on to me if you can!>> With that she began to drag Aubrey out of the vent, not waiting to try to free her from more of the cacoon.
Drake:
Drake did not have to be told twice. Before you could say, "centipede and spider battle to the death," he was scuttling along as fast as possible towards the pinpoint of light that marked the exit. He did not even give a second thought to trying to get the super ball out too. That thing must have been cursed or something.
The moment he got out of the vent, Drake began demorphing. More because of an irrational fear that the spider or centipede would come out and pull him back in, rather than an actual need to demorph. Hopefully the others were right behind him. He shuffled his growing body to the side so that he would not accidentally squish his teammates as he regained his human form.
Drake:
She was slightly dazed atop the rubber ball, great view of the spider-centipede war, but her bug morph was definitely injured. One or two rolls might have been fine but she endured at least five or six, and then suddenly the ball was rolling again, Aida clung on for dear life as it rolled right out of the vent. It was a long ball between vent and ball though, and she realized landing on the wrong side of that one would definitely mean death so she--despite fear--let go, feeling her tiny bug morph free falling till it crash into the ground.
The silverfish looked like it was half-pancake, and it was twitching, Aida quickly focused her mind, demorph demorph, and it was not long before she sat hugging her knees to her chest as a human. Two things crossed through her mind, where were Aubrey and Suji--she saw Drake demorphing--and that she would never morph a silverfish again.
Aubrey:
<<Out! OUT OUT OUT!>>
Suji's thought-speak cut through Aubrey's momentary disorientation, and she felt herself being dragged along. <<Okay, okay.>> With one of her free legs she felt around for Suji, grabbing onto the hard shell of her cockroach morph. Aubrey's other free legs were tapping hard against the vent's floor to push her along. She wanted to get far away--and fast--from the web and the two insect predators nearby. She didn't even want to think about the big super ball that could squish them.
Stumbling, she felt cold air brush across her free wing. Even though the cocoon was wrapped around her face, she could sense a change in the lighting through the veil of spider silk. We're out. We must be out. Fear was driving her, and as soon as the suspicion that they were out came to her, she began concentrating on her natural form.
Immediately, she felt her legs being sucked back into her body. The spider silk wrapped around her still had a good hold on at least a couple of them, and as they pulled back into her body she felt a sharp, painful tearing sensation. She let out a small cry in thought-speak. A couple of her moth feet were stuck in the sticky cocoon.
Then, to her relief, she began to grow. At first her body grew, pushing painfully against the tightly-wound cocoon. The web didn't want to give up its hold. Then the cocoon began tearing further along the places where Suji had chewed, and suddenly Aubrey was free. She fell sideways, her skin shifting from black and white spots into a soft pink. Her wings shriveled away as she grew, eyes shrinking and melting until she could only see one version of everything. After a few more moments she was fully human, shivering on the ground.
"Strewth!" Her immediate reaction was to scramble away from the vent on all fours, almost tripping over her own feet and hands. The centipede and spider couldn't do anything to her now, but she didn't want to be anywhere near the vent. Out of breath and full of adrenaline, Aubrey leaned her back against a wall opposite of the vent, breathing hard. She hadn't noticed that there were still little pieces of spider silk sticking to her suit.
Suji:
Suji scuttled backwards, much like throwing a car into reverse and pressing the gas pedal to the floor. She ran over a few dead bugs (neither is Aida or Drake, neither is Aida or Drake, neither is Aida or Drake) but held tight to Aubrey's wrapped form. The vent was so filled with vibrations--the scuffle between the centipede and the spider, with the ball rolling around to boot--that it was hard to tell up from down.
All she could do was keep pulling away from the noise, and eventually they were free of the vent. Aubrey immediately began to demorph, and Suji hurried away from her growing body. At first it seemed like she was in pain, and Suji almost wanted to try to help... but there was no way she was getting too close to a frantically demorphing teenager who had almost just been eaten by two predators, in the dark enclosure of the vent. The cockroach might be tough, but flailing, half-formed limbs were not anything she wanted to contend with.
Besides, Suji had an extreme desire to be human once more. To be... if not the 'top' any more, then still close to it on the food chain. She began demorphing, and she was the last one to be human again. Quickly she spun around, eyes flicking back and forth as she counted heads.
All accounted for.
The burden in her limbs, the sinking stone in her gut, all disappeared at once, giving way to a fizz y lightness. The lighting seemed too bright, and she could feel her hands shaking. Focusing her mind inward, she put all her efforts towards regaining control. Mostly it was a mental process of sweeping dirt under the rug--getting all the clutter of emotional exhaustion and relief and terror out of the way, even if it wasn't really gone. The nauseated, tingling feeling retreated, and she felt her hands steady. When she opened her eyes again, she was back under control.
There was a plopping noise, and then a bouncing, as the ball rolled out of the vent. She stared at it, and then her eyes flicked over to Drake.
Drake:
Drake, now fully human, watched the others as they finished demorphing as well. It was not pretty, but he would not be satisfied that everyone was alright until they were fully human too. He shivered as thoughts of the past few minutes raced through his mind. They had only been in there for probably ten minutes at most, but it felt like it had been a lifetime.
Then Drake heard something rolling and saw Suji look at the floor, then at him. He followed where her line of sight had been and saw the ball, then he looked back at her again. "You keep it. I am going to go look for a can of Raid." With that, Drake turned and headed towards the sanctuary doors, eager to put as much distance between him and the vent as possible.
Suji:
Drake told her to keep the bouncy ball and then quickly exited. Suji was left more than a little dumbfounded--to her surprise, she actually did bend over and pluck up the ball. She had no pockets to put it in, but she felt the weight of it, the rubbery texture, both familiar and now with a whole new meaning. Holding it tightly, she could feel the give of it; her fingernails bit into the cushy exterior.
She turned to Aida and Aubrey. "Um, do you guys want to stay and watch Drake pump raid into the vent? Will that, uh, help? Or should we just clear out?" Suji, personally, was the kind of person who would very much like the idea of watching the poisoning the creatures that had just tried to eat them. Maybe it would help return to them a bit of a feeling of power after a traumatic experience. Or maybe they'd just want to get the hell out of the room.
Aubrey:
Aubrey had her back pressed against the wall, eyes wide. The look on her face was dazed, distant. The only thing that seemed to snap her out of the stupor was Suji's question. She blinked once, then moved her head to look at her. "Oh, we have Raid?" Her gaze fell back onto the vent, where they had all just barely made it out. With her back still pressed against the wall, she slid up to a standing position. "Yeah, I think I want to."
Aubrey noticed the ball in Suji's hand and let out a small, short laugh. The action caused all the tenseness and tightness in her body to dissipate. They were safe, they were out, and they were all OK. They had the damn ball. More importantly, Aubrey's insides hadn't been liquefied and sucked out by the spider. Just the thought of that sent a shiver crawling up her spine. That would be a terrible--not to mention embarrassing--way to die. Aliens are invading the world, and the almighty Animorph Aubrey dies as a moth, in a spider web.
Noticing some of the spider silk was still on her, she began plucking it from her suit. "Yuck. Ugh. I can't believe that just friggan' happened."
Drake was in the sanctuary portion of The Temple. He was testing out a super ball that he had 'borrowed' from Fin's room. He almost got it to bounce off the floor and hit the ceiling a couple times, but not quite. This time he was sure he would get it.
The ball bounced into the air and... hit the ceiling! But it landed up in the balcony. As Drake made his way up the stairway to retrieve it, he had a revelation. Balcony + super ball = super bounce.
As soon as he found the little elastic ball, Drake went over to the edge of the balcony and slammed it down as hard as he could. He probably should have aimed a bit better because he hit one of the benches and the ball ricocheted on a path straight across the room and went through a small hole that just happened to be in a vent covering. What were the odds? Balcony + super ball = bad luck.
The whole trip down the balcony steps and across the sanctuary Drake was remarking to himself about how he must be cursed or something, because something like that could not happen to him again in a million years if he tried. When he finally got to the vent opening, he saw that he could barely get two of his fingers through the small opening, and the ball had apparently bounced around the corner.
He was about to give the ball up for lost when he remembered something. He was an animorph. There was nowhere he could not go if he really wanted to. He looked at the vent a second time, this time planing his strategy. His lizard morph was a bit too big, but his moth morph would definitely be able to fit. However, he doubted it would be strong enough to retrieve the ball.
He would need help. Drake got up off his knees and went to the main hall to see if there was anyone here willing to do a bit of vent crawling with him.
Aida:
Aida was in the kitchen, she had been out the day before and happened upon an old gas station, one that looked like it hadn't been used in years. After exploring the inside of it she'd discovered a few plastic-covered treats that were still more than edible. Twinkies never went bad, right? Her arms full of them, she began tossing them up into an empty cupboard, quite proud of her small find.
As she was putting the various cup-cakes and twinkies away however, something crawled across her hand, something very alive and she couldn't help but let out a soft cry of surprise. Aida stumbled backwards and fell onto her bum, quickly discovering a small silverfish still scuttling across her hand. Her nose curled up in distaste, but she found herself inadvertently acquiring it before shaking it off her hand. The bug retreated to a dark corner, and she got to her feet, staring at it until it was no longer visible.
Suji:
The familiar 'tsseeeeerww!' sound of the dracon gun went off as it disintegrated the last of the big piles of random crap that had been in Aubrey's room. Aubrey was now Suji's neighbor, and she'd spent the last few hours helping Aubrey with clearing out the lot of unwanted stuff that had similarly plagued Suji's room. Suji turned the intensity setting on the gun back to its lowest setting, as was custom, and lowered her arm.
"I think that's the last of the big stuff, right?" She turned to the blonde girl, and smiled. "Doubt these things were designed for this reason, but hey, I'm not above using alien technology to get boring chores done faster."
Aubrey:
"Those things are loud!" Aubrey ended up yelling this after the dracon beam had gone off, hands clamped over her ears. "Whoops, sorry." She lowered her hands, glancing to Suji beside her. "Yep, looks like it. We're done." The two of them had spent some time sorting items around the room into various piles--the 'vaporize' pile and the 'save' pile. The save pile was smaller, consisting of random elementary school things like crayons or coloring papers. She would dig into the pile later.
Aubrey grinned at Suji, laughing a little. "Me neither. Thanks for helping. Would have been a majorly boring job otherwise." The room looked better now, less cluttered and dusty. Looking content with the job they had done, Aubrey nodded. Then she felt a slight pang in her stomach. "Hey, I'm hungry. Do you think there's some food around?"
Drake:
Drake started checking rooms as he went down the hallway. He was just glancing through the doors with windows, or the doors that were open. He spotted Aida in the kitchen. He peeked his head in and said, "Hey Aida, want to do some vent crawling?" then he continued down the hallway without waiting for an answer.
He saw another open door so he made a beeline for it, skipping all the rest. He saw Suji and Aubrey inside. "Hey guys, want to do some vent crawling?"
Suji:
Suji scratched her head when Aubrey mentioned food. "I'm sure there's something, but probably nothing all that tasty. Don't think we've stocked up on anything good yet." Before she could move from her spot though, Drake was standing in the doorway, inviting them to... vent crawling?
"Like... crawling around in the vents?" Durr. Good one Suji. "I mean, why?" She looked from Drake to Aubrey--she didn't have a problem with the idea, and nothing really better to do at the moment, but what interesting about the vents?
Aida;
Aida was still staring at the empty spot on the floor where the sliverfish had once scuttled. Her hand absently rubbed the spot on her body that the bug had touched, she had never been exceptionally fond of insects, except honey bees and butterflies. When Drake suddenly spoke her name her head jerked up, and not only her head, but her eyebrows also rose up in confusion at his odd request. Vent crawling?
No time to respond, and she found herself following after him without another word. When he abruptly stopped she nearly ran into him, and took a step back and peered inside. Suji and Aubrey were there, though she wasn't sure what they'd been up to before Drake's appearance. Again, he asked the same question, vent crawling. Well I have that silverfish now.... she thought absently, but the idea of morphing it did not bode too well with her stomach.
Suji's question fit the one she had been about to ask herself, so she glanced at Drake, waiting for some type of explanation.
Drake:
Now that Drake actually had to explain his request, he felt a little embarrassed. But he figured he had already rounded them up, so he might as well go through with it. "Well... there is this vent in the sanctuary... Here, I will show you." He started leading them towards the vent, explaining as he went.
"I found this cool super ball, and it somehow got into a tiny little hole in the vent. I was going to go after it in my moth morph, but I figured it probably would not be strong enough. So I decided to ask you guys for help. If you do not have bug morphs, I am sure we could find something around here." He hoped that these were not the stereotypical girls who were afraid of creepy crawlies of any sort.
Aubrey:
"Shoot." She knew there hadn't been much before, but maybe somebody had gone out and gotten some good food. It seemed not. But either way, food was food. Aubrey turned towards her doorway--about to go find food--and was surprised to see Drake standing in it. She hadn't heard anybody approach. She grinned at him in greeting, "Ahh--hey Drake--"
"Hey guys, want to do some vent crawling?"
Aubrey blinked. "Eh? Some what?" Aubrey noticed somebody else was outside the door as well. She leaned to the side slightly, spotting Aida standing near Drake. She gave the girl a smile and wave. "Um. Vent crawling. Uh, sure. I guess." He left the doorway, and Aubrey glanced over at Suji, then to Aida. She followed Drake out and towards the vent, listening to his explanation.
"I've got a moth morph too, if that'll help."
Aida:
Aida gave Aubrey a small, meek smile as well as a wave. Then she found herself following behind Drake, listening as he described his predicament. Bouncy ball? That sounded like something Fin would have, and the sudden reference of his name made her smile inwardly. She shook off this train of thought however, and found herself staring at a vent now, the very same vent that should have a bouncy ball somewhere on the other end.
"Uh..I just acquired a silverfish morph, kind of not on purpose...but I guess that was dumb luck," she added in after Aubrey. Aida was that typical girl, the kind that disliked bugs, they'd always freaked her out, but she wouldn't have a breakdown over it, no she could suck it up and deal. Outwardly the soft, timid girl was actually quite strong, more than she gave herself credit for.
So Drake and Aubrey have moths, thats not so bad....I wonder what Suji has... her warm brown eyes roamed each face until they found Suji's.
Suji:
Suji listened to them all. It was good that they all had small morphs, though she didn't know how good the moths were for retrieving anything, as Drake had noted. But for serious situations, bug morphs could be extremely useful, so that much at least was good. She arched an eyebrow at the bouncy ball comment, and felt the corner of her mouth turn up in a smile. Ah, the freedom fighters of the human race. The proud, the few, the chasers of bouncy balls.
But she had nothing against whatever things people did in their downtime, as long as they didn't endanger anyone. Playing with a ball sounded harmless enough, if a little silly. Of course their time could be better spent (Suji remembered the grueling hours in New York, where she'd forced herself to practice morphing, practice timing herself, and reading how-to books non-stop, even though no one asked her to), but the faction was still getting on their feet, and relaxation time was a critical factor in having well-rested soldiers.
"I have a roach morph," Suji offered, smiling a little at Aida when the girl looked at her. "A roach and a silverfish would probably be able to get it, if it isn't stuck back there or anything, you think?"
Drake:
Well Drake was glad that they did not have to spend time looking for critters. Then he turned to answer Suji's question. "I have no idea if it is stuck. It bounced around the corner somewhere."
He thought for a second, then continued. "Maybe you and Aida can push, and me and Aubrey can act as guard rails. I can not imagine that bugs are very good at rolling balls in straight lines. Except maybe dung beetles."
"Either way, it can not hurt for us all to go check it out." With that, Drake began to morph into a moth. The first change was the extra pair of legs. They came bursting out of his chest like some sort of freaky alien arms. Next were the antennas, which sprouted from his forehead ant started moving about automatically.
Then his waist pinched together as he began to shrink. The floor rushed up at him and just when he thought he would hit it, his eyes became compounded. His teeth melted away as his mouth became more moth-like, and his skin became an ordinary shade of grey. There was a sickening squelch as his bones and organs dissolved almost completely away. Lastly, Two wings sprouted from where his shoulder blades once were, making him a complete moth.
Aida:
Aida returned Suji's smile, despite the knowledge that her morph was a roach. Cockroaches gave her the willies, but if she was also the size of a small insect it probably wouldn't be as bad...right? Thats what she told herself as she listened to Drake explain the game plan. When he began morphing she followed suit, not wanting to watch the other transformations--which were bound to be rather disgusting.
Focusing on the silverfish, suddenly she began shrinking, and she felt her skin hardening, as it turned a dark silverish color. Next were the antenna, as well as the legs that sprouted from her sides. Before long she had completed the morph, and it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Her eyesight was barely even that, picking up on only the vaguest of shapes, but she could feel every vibration in the room, and that made up for it.
Aida scuttled over to the vent, crawling her way inside and waiting near the entrance for the others. <<This is...interesting.>>
Suji:
Suji made a face at watching Drake morph, and then Aida. It wasn't overly disgusted, but it was slightly pinched, the way someone might observe particularly ripe roadkill. She knew she wasn't going to be any prettier, and with a sigh she started morphing her cockroach.
Plating that looked like burnt plastic began shielding her like armor, and the ground rushed up to meet her as she shrank. There were distinct popping! noises for each set of extra limbs that sprouted out of her ribcage and chest. Her face deformed until it looked like a horror movie, though at least she wasn't full-sized when it began to happen. Her organs dissolved into bug juice.
Her senses went mad, and Suji immediately scrambled towards the wall, and had to calm herself. It wasn't a morph she used often (she hadn't practiced much since NYC, really), but she brought it around under control quickly. <<Well, I guess once Aubrey joins us in A Bug's Life, we'll head on the adventure.>> Suji's antennae waved crazily.
Aubrey:
"Heh, guard rails. This should be fun." Aubrey wasn't the type of girl to be squeamish about bugs or gross things, but the sight of all three of them morphing into bugs wasn't anywhere near pleasant. Aubrey closed her eyes, concentrating on her moth morph.
The first thing to happen was the coloring--a furry, sort of downy white began to roll across her skin, occasionally broken by furry, black circles. Then she began shrinking, wings twisting and squirming out from her shoulders. Her body squeezed into the moth's sections, then there was a loud sickening sound as an extra two limbs sprouted from her sides, colored with black and white bands. Her eyes bulged, then shattered into the moth's fragmented vision. Two threadlike antennae shot out of her face, and immediately began waving around in the air. After a few minutes she was fully moth.
<<Ahh, ahh.>> She suddenly felt exposed, everywhere was light and space. Aubrey had only used this morph once before, and even then she hadn't had control of her own body when it was morphed. After a few seconds of scampering around, Aubrey regained control. She paused, trying to make sense of her sight.
<<Ha ha, okay. Let's go, guys.>> The vent, the vent. Where's the vent. She crawled along, heading to where she hoped the others were.
Drake:
<<So we are all bugs now, right? I can hardly see anything, so this will be... a unique experience.>> Drake had used this morph quite a bit when he had first started out as an animorph, so he was pretty familiar with its senses by now. Even so, he had some difficulty locating the entrance to the vent.
When he did find the hole and crawled through into the darkness, something felt off almost immediately. Where he expected the ground to be hard and metallic feeling, it was light and powdery. <<Someone should really dust in here.>>
Drake decided to fly down the vent to see if he could spot the ball. It seemed unlikely with how dark it was, and with his vision, but he might as well try. He did not get more than a foot before he met resistance. He got tangled up in what he feared was a spider web.
<<Ahh! Help!>> Drake saw flashes of tarantulas and black widows crawling through his mind. As he flapped his wings frantically, trying to escape, he realized that he had broken his bonds and was now on the floor of the vent, flailing wildly. <<Never mind,>> he said sheepishly, << I thought I was in a spider web, but it must have just been a cobweb. But I think I will try to stick to the ground from now on.>>
Aida:
Aida sat only centimeters from the vents grate, and waited for the others to enter. <<I think so>> she replied to Drake, scuttling a bit forward. She laughed quietly at his comment about dust, she had noticed that too, though at the time she didn't put two and two together, it being dust made more sense than her original thought.
She began moving about hesitantly, still growing used to the lack of sight on her morph, she could not see anything in the dark vent. As she was quickly discovering her antennae served as a pair of eyes, a nose, and even ears. It was an odd feeling to get used to but she was slowly but surely using bits of the insect mind to help her find her way around. As she scuttled by she bumped into something large, something that smelled distinctly like edible material, but her human brain quickly realized it was another dead insect. She began backing up in disgust when Drake screamed.
For a moment her mind panicked, but his 'never mind' calmed her mind almost immediately, at least until she realized there were several other dead insect bodies nearby. <<Drake....I think there is a spiderweb nearby.....I just ran into a dead something.....and...theres another carcass not too far away...>> she sounded worried now. Was one bouncy ball worth getting eaten by a spider? Maybe it was dead....
Aubrey:
<<Hah, yep.>> Aubrey shuffled up to where the vent was, hopefully. She wasn't used to this compound vision, to seeing everything broken up into a billion different sections. All her other morphs were a lot simpler to deal with, they were bigger with better vision and senses. Admittedly, she didn't quite like this morph. She felt helpless.
Aubrey crawled into the dark hole after the others. <<Ack, I can't see much.>> She moved further along, antennae waving in the dark air. <<We're looking for a big ball, right. Should be easy.>> As she said this, Drake's frantic thought-speak filled her head. <<Drake??>> She started moving forward, then realized she couldn't see where he had gone. A few seconds later he spoke again, and Aubrey relaxed. <<Okay, okay. We should be careful.>>
Yikes, a spider-web? Usually the thought wasn't a big deal to her, she wasn't normally afraid of spiders. But now she was a bug, in a dark, small vent. With apparently--as Aida pointed out--dead carcasses lying around. Aubrey's antennae touched briefly on the hollow inside of an insect corpse, and she froze. <<Yuck.>> Okay, now it was getting a tiny bit creepy.
Aubrey moved around the thing, then ended up running into a second corpse. This one was a little fresher, and Aubrey mentally gagged. She needed to get away from this area. <<Egh. So, does anybody know which way we're going?>> She said this as she began backing up, trying to find a different route.
She did a small jump-hop over something, expecting to land. Instead, her side caught on something. She was floating. Okay... She tried walking, her legs moving back and forth in the air. Why couldn't she feel the ground underneath her feet anymore? It felt like one of her wings was glued to her side. Trying not to panic, she started to wiggle. <<Uh guys. I think I might be stuck.>>
Drake:
Drake was scooting around the bottom of the vent and noticed the bug carcasses too. He was about to comment on how he did not doubt that there were actual spider webs in here when Aubrey said she was stuck. That was not a good sign.
<<Are you sure you are stuck-stuck, and not just tangled-stuck like I was?>> Drake asked nervously. <<Where are you? Maybe the rest of us can pull you down.>> Drake hoped this was nothing serious. If anything happened to them, it would be his fault.
Suji:
It was a little like a horror movie. Only not they hadn't got to the climax yet--so far it was only the little jolts and shocks that got the audience on edge. Suji hated the analogy, if only because it meant that something very bad was likely to happen, but still... couldn't deny it.
Suji brushed up towards Aubrey, trying to analyze all the data the bug brain was sending to her. <<I think I should be big enough to help get her down, especially with Aida's help. You might want to stand back though Drake, moth wings are more fragile.>> Carefully avoiding the portion of the web that Aubrey had run into, Suji tried to grasp her moth's both with tiny feet. It was not easy.
Then was a distant, skittering rumble that echoed down the tunnel. It sounded far away, but it didn't sound mechanical. It also made her roach brain want to run and hide.
Aida:
It sounded like Aubrey was just as disgusted as she was by the dead carcasses, and what normal person wouldn't be? Aida scuttled around them, still trying to call her human mind, as well as the frantic insects. Aubrey's cry that she was stuck made her stomach drop, and she instantly turned around, carefully scuttling back towards where she'd last sensed her. One of her antenna bumping into something hollow and she instantly recoiled, ignoring her bugs mind. No not food!
<<I'm coming>> she replied to both Suji and Aubrey. After several more carcass-run-ins she found them, her antenna examining where her assistance would be best suited. <<Try and grasp my...tail-like...thing....>> the proper term evaded her. The silverfish was fairly flexible, and she bent herself up, waiting to feel her grasp it before begging to tug away.
The vibrations were felt by Aida too, <<Was that.....>> she didn't even voice her question. Maybe it was the ball rolling? she though her bug mind wanted to go and hide, what it was best at.
Drake:
<<It's probably just wind in the vents or something,>> Drake said, although there was definite uneasiness in his voice. Drake was beginning to get even more nervous. <<But lets try to get her off of there as soon as possible.>>
Drake shuffled over to the gathering of insects. They were certainly an odd assortment, but he did not let that bother him. He stayed back like Suji suggested, but he could not help but feel like he should be doing something. And those vibrations did not feel very reassuring.
Aubrey:
<<Yeah. Uh, let me see.>> Her wiggling had gotten one of her antennas stuck and a couple legs, so she decided to stop moving. She was feeling a little panicked now. Her thoughts were on only one thing: Spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web spider-web.
<<Well, I'm definitely stuck-stuck. And-->> She didn't want to think it, or say it. But she knew it. <<I think I'm in an actual...spider...web.>>
Aubrey felt Suji's feet pull at her body, but the web was holding her tight. <<Alright.>> With her free legs, Aubrey searched through the air until she found Aida's tail-thing. She quickly latched on, pulling in the same direction as Suji. It seemed to be working for a moment--she could feel her body leaning forward, away from the web. A dull ache traveled up along her legs and wing, but she ignored it. They were making some progress.
Then, her concentration slipped for just a second. Her grip loosened on Aida, and suddenly her body bounced backwards into the web. It embraced her immediately, wrapping sticky strands around her body. She couldn't move most of her body now, and one eye was squished into the web.
<<Shit, everything's stuck! Ack!! Not cool, not cool.>> The moth's instincts told her to run, and running meant struggling, which meant Aubrey was trying to wiggle free again. She had one leg free, and it was waving wildly in the air. <<Aiee, I'm really really stuck.>>
The vibrations from far off were traveling down along the vent, pulsing through the strands of web that were snared around Aubrey's body. <<Wind? That's wind?>> As she said this, the sound was getting closer. And closer. And closer.
Suji:
Suji almost cursed when Aubrey snapped back--the only thing that stopped her was Aubrey's frantic voice in her head. They could not start panicking. Suji would not let herself add to that confusion. They had to get out of here--her roach-mind was peeing its metaphorical pants with that noise, which was definitely not wind.
<<Here, the roach is pretty strong. I'm going to try to start chewing through the places where the web is connected to the wall. If we can't get you free, we can probably drag you out web and all.>> Suji did not mention that the web was probably well secured--it might take a few moments to get it done, and that damned noise was getting worse and worse. <<Drake, Aida, can you help? I'm not sure what your mandibles are like, and be careful not to get stuck yourselves. Stay on the outer edges.>>
Suji could make out more than just a thrumming echo now. Now she heard many, many individual sounds--tiny tapping that all bled together into a distant roar that was making the cockroach hard to control. Taking a deep mental breath, she started to get to work. <<Don't move too much Aubrey, someone might get accidentally stuck.>>
Privately, she spoke to Aubrey. <<It's okay,>> she said, as soothingly as possible, munching through the webs at the fastest speed she could. <<We'll get you out, and when you demorph, it'll just be that gross cobweb feel.>> Suji's voice was self-assured--Aubrey hadn't completely lost it yet, but it was hard to tell how close she was. But she'd done well the night they'd seen that Controller get shot. Suji had to hope that would hold true.
Drake:
Drake did not think he could do much as a moth. His tiny jaws were not made for biting through anything, much less a spider web. Wait. Did he even have jaws? Either way, he had to at least try something.
He fount the base of one of the web's strands. And almost got his antenna stuck to it. Direct contact would not work in this bug body. Then he got an idea.
Drake scooted over to the nearest bug carcass that was laying in the vent and pushed it towards the web. Maybe he could use the dried out husk as some sort of crude chisel or oven mitt against the spider web. It was worth a try. He pushed the dead exoskeleton against the web with all of his might, and eventually, the single strand gave out under the pressure.
However, all of that had taken a lot of time. Hopefully the other two were having better luck, because that strange sound was getting closer. <<Hurry, hurry, hurry,>> Drake mumbled to no one in particular. His nervousness was threatening to impair his already limited coordination.
Aida:
Aida had been tugging, pulling against the ground and the sudden release by Aubrey sent her silverfish morph crashing into a dead carcass. Unfortunately she found herself stuck half-way through the hollowed out thing, and she immediately recoiled inwardly. <<Oh my god I'm INSIDE a dead bug!>> she thrashed madly, her legs squirming uselessly. She was panicking, the sound off in the distance was not getting and softer.
Suji was already helping Aubrey, and Drake probably wouldn't be able to help her so she continued squirming, getting enough footing to crash the carcass into the side the vent. It probably looked rather comical, but the bugs outer skin was no longer very tough and it broke more easily than she expected. Once free the headed back towards Aubrey and Suji, <<Sorry>> she mumbled in thoughtspeak.
<<If it helps...I'm pretty sure this thing can molt right out of its skin, so I can crawl in behind the web and push>> Her instinct had been to molt when stuck in the bug carcass, and so she figured it would help here as well. As Suji gnawed at the webbing Aida maneuvered herself partially behind Aubrey, feeling part of her leg get caught in the webbing before she began pushing again.
Aubrey:
That didn't sound like wind. It definitely didn't sound like wind. The moth mind was frantic now, it wanted to escape from the web, escape from the noise that was getting closer. Webs meant spiders, which meant sticky, have-your-insides-melted-then-sucked-out death. Aubrey--along with the moth--didn't want to die. Especially not here, in a stupid vent, trying to retrieve a super ball.
<<Okay. Okay. I'll hold still.>> She didn't sound calm, and as she said it she was still struggling. She couldn't help it. The vibrations were getting louder and closer--Aubrey could feel it reverberating throughout her body and through the web. Need to keep still. C'mon. Every part of her told her to move, but she froze. She didn't want to get anybody else stuck along with her.
She listened to Suji, gaining a small bit of comfort from her words. <<You're right. You're right.>> Her voice grew quiet. <<Please hurry.>> She was centering on that little hope that maybe that noise had something to do with the vent, and not with the web she was trapped on. Aubrey let her free leg hang. She really really had the urge to try and wiggle free. That was the only thing that the moth could think of as a solution. But Aubrey knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. The others were doing their best to help, and all Aubrey could do was sit here and listen to that thing or whatever it was get closer.
Suji:
<<We will, promise,>> Suji responded to Aubrey. It was interesting--maybe even heartening, if the situation wasn't so dire and that damned noise wasn't getting louder--to see them all working together. Drake and Aida had good imaginations, and were using their morphs to their advantage, even when it involved a bit of creativity. Suji's imagination wasn't non-existent, but she tended to go to the most practical route possible.
Aida was pushing (hopefully she could molt) and Drake was trying his best to combat the web with a dead-bug gauntlet and Aubrey was doing her best to keep the panic under control and Suji was munching. At least she was, until that growing sound suddenly stopped. It gave way to something lighter, scratching almost on the metal... Suji waved her antennae. There was something else in this section of the vent now.
And it was... searching?
<<Aida, push towards me,>> Suji said, her voice almost a whisper, though there was no way whatever was down the tunnel would hear her. <<I've made a goop rip on this side... Guys, we need to um, leave. Now.>>
Aida:
It was scary to feel herself stuck in the web, but at the same time she knew she could molt at will, it seemed silverfish did that a lot. Part of her bug brain wanted to do it now and leave Aubrey, but the more human part refused this option and kept pushing. She was slowly getting more wiggle room, so that had to mean Aubrey was moving...right? Aida held onto that small hope as the sound got louder, and closer. Oh god...
<<Okay>> she replied quickly, pushing harder now. Push push push push.... suddenly she went sprawling forward, as something in the webbing gave way, before being tugged back by her leg that was still stuck. Aida instantly began pushing out of her own skin, and never had she felt more disgusted by herself. The feeling of wriggling out of the outer shell was one she'd unfortunately have forever.
Aubrey:
She was getting free! Aubrey could feel it. The web was bouncing and twitching with all the effort, but she could feel parts of her body being loosened. One leg here, one wing there. There was still strands of web sticking to those parts, but at least they were free. <<I think it's working.>> It sounded like it was just in time, too, as the noise had stopped somewhere close by. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Aubrey didn't want to find out what it was.
For some reason, the web shuddered above her. It felt like something had dropped into it. Was there another bug around? Aubrey wasn't paying enough attention to really care for the moment. If some other bug had gotten caught too, tough luck. C'mon, c'mon. She wasn't totally free yet, but she could reach out and touch the ground now. All she could think about was being free from the web. Yes!
Then, she felt something poke her side. It was probably one of the others, so she didn't take note of it at first. The foot tapped her a couple times--like it was making sure of something--then rolled her up a small bit. Her wing got reattached to the web. <<Hey, who's foot is that? Stop pulling, you're going the wrong way.>>
Suddenly, she was jerked up. The front part of her body--legs and all--stuck into the web, and she felt something large move next to her. The one foot was joined by several other legs, grasping her small body. Before she realized what was happening, the legs were spinning her in the web. Her whole body was being wrapped up tightly in layers of spider silk.
<<Shit! Shit! SPIDER! SPIDER!!!>> Her thought-speak had turned into a scream. <<FUCK!>> She couldn't see, she couldn't move, she couldn't escape. It felt like her whole body had been squished into a duct-tape cocoon.
Drake:
Yes! She is free! Drake thought as he sensed Aubrey's massive moth form escape from the web. It was still dark so he could not really make anything out. Still, Drake could not really celebrate after hearing Suji's eerie message.
Just as he was about to head back towards the exit and leave the super ball behind, he heard Aubrey's screams about a spider. A spider! Not good, not good, not good. Was that what they heard in the vent, or had it been in the web the whole time. A shiver went up Drake's spine (metaphorically speaking) as he realized the spider could have grabbed any one of them.
<<Aubrey! Get get away from it! Do not let it eat you!>> Drake knew his words were no help, but they came out automatically. He had no idea what you were supposed to do when you got attacked by a spider. Think Drake, think.
Suji:
<<Aubrey!>> Fuck, Suji thought, not unlike her trapped faction mate. Fuck! They needed quick thinking. Suji's antennae waved madly, pulling in all the information she could. Had the spider been there the whole time? Or had all the struggling in the web called it? Could a cockroach take a spider, if the cockroach had a human mind behind it? <<Aubrey, listen to me very carefully->>
But the tapping of many needle-feet started again, rushing to a roar. There was the sound of what seemed like armor brushing against the vent wall, as a long creature rushed forward. It's body (the roach brain was convinced that it went on forever, from the noise of its legs) must have brushed the lodged ball, because a smooth, rolling sound started up behind it. Suji didn't like the sound of either... but the ball could only squash the softer of them. Whatever was coming for them now, in all it's thousand-legged hunger, was surely going to eat them alive.
Suji had been prepared to try to talk Aubrey into a slow, careful demorph--only enough so that the spider would back off. It would have taken a lot of skill, and a lot of support: a calm mind when you were being trapped by a spider wouldn't have been an easy feat. Now, though, it was going to be impossible.
But what other choice did they have? <<Aida, Drake, try to use the dead bodies as shields! There is something long coming down that tunnel, and I don't know what it--a centipede! I think it's a centipede, and a big one!>> It was the only thing she could think of. Part of her had already accessed the situation: Drake could probably make it out, and Aida too if the molting process didn't slow her down too much. Suji might have been fine as well... Aubrey was wholly fucked. But it was too soon. Too soon to make that judgment.
And there's no way we're going to let someone die in our own fucking vent!
The spider had stopped wrapping Aubrey momentarily--it noticed the centipede coming as well, and seemed unsure of whether to continue enveloping its meal, or to leave before it could become lunch itself. Suji moved forward the slightest bit--against all of the cockroaches better instincts--and began to chew through the cacoon itself, or at least the parts she could reach without getting stuck. Aida had ripped away most of the web (if she hadn't, the situation would have been utterly hopeless, rather than just hopeless), but the spider had moved fast in binding the leopard moth.
Aida:
Aida's brain freaked out when it realized there was a centipede coming, those were one of the insects few predators around a home, and it almost took off running on spot. It took all the control she had to stay put, twitching slightly as she reigned in the morph. The panicked mindset of the bug coupled with realizing Aubrey was close to being eaten almost made her turn tail and run again. No no no! Calm down! she forced herself to count, 1, 2, 3, yes right in the middle of this mess, but when she got to 3 she had her focus back.
Suji was helping Aubrey, they had to focus on the centipede, maybe they could corral it back? What happened to the ball...maybe they could....<<Drake try to corral the spider towards the centipede, use the bug carcasses like Suji said...>> she replied, <<I have a plan that goes against all my better judgment, but if we're getting out of here together....>> She dove head first into one of the carcasses, which once again began making her skin squirm. Aida wanted to scream but she continued pushing, right past the spider, heading right towards the centipede.
<<Our only hope is the ball, what else is big enough to scare a centipede off towards a spider...if those two are busy with each other then we might have time get out>> she sent to everyone. It wasn't her favorite plan but they didn't have time to sit down and debate one, they needed action, and since their undeclared leader was trying to save Aubrey she took the second-in-command, a part she hated to play. Lives are stake, who cares what you want... she grew quiet at her inner voice.
Soon she could hear it, the centipede, Suji had been right, and Aida wanted to run again. GO! she forced her bug to scamper forward launching the carcass at it as best she could before scuttling at full speed past it. It seemed the bug was busied with the dead body for a moment before it realized lunch went the other way, and it began to follow. Aida was fast though, or rather the silverfish, she was whizzing by until she ran right into something soft and rubbery. <<Omph>>
The bug was dazed, but since there was a big-baddy right behind her she found herself scrambling behind the ball, trying to dislodge it. Nothing was working, and the centipede was getting closer. Oh for heavens sake! COME ON! she backed up a good distance and went charging at it, feeling a soft crack in her exterior as she crashed into the ball, but there was movement there was...oh hell it was rolling and she was attached to it.
Aida clung on, ready to endure several squishes, trying to puff herself out but she didn't have the hardest exterior. The centipede saw the ball and began scuttling back towards the spider, the ball was quite bigger than it. <<Drake...theres a giant ball headed your way, is Aubrey out yet, if shes not theres gonna be a big ball stuck in a web soon...>> Omph, omph each roll she felt a bit more like a pancake. The silverfish was a resilient little thing though.
Soon she was no longer moving, and the ball was stuck, but she could see the spider and the centipede pushed on top of each other. Where was Suji....Drake and Aubrey?
Drake:
Drake had never felt so confused in his life. Aubrey was trapped in a web, being wound up by a spider. Suji was trying to free Aubrey as a gigantic centipede was barreling towards her. Drake himself was cowering behind a bug carcass, preparing to corral a spider that was in its own web. Aida was trying to chase the centipede towards the spider using the ball that had brought them into this place of impending doom in the first place. And Drake tried to make sense of all of this as it was happening while using a moth's senses and context clues, while in a dark vent, fearing for his life. Confusion was inevitable.
Drake just had to focus on the task he had been given. Corral the spider. He tried to grab the bug carcass that he was hiding behind and carry it into the air, but it was too heavy for his tiny moth wings. He would have to do this with his bare hands, so to speak.
By now, Drake had a pretty good idea of where exactly the web was, so he flew upwards on the side that the spider was on. He flew above it and tried to scare it towards the ground by beating his wings in its face. It was working for a while, and it moved downward, but t eventually got fed up with him and lunged forward.
Drake was caught in its forelegs and fangs. He was unable to escape and would soon be injected with enough spider venom to liquify his insides. However, just as the spider bit in, something hit the web, and Drake was dropped from the force of the hit. It was the super ball!
Not only that, but it seemed the centipede was behind it, stuck to the web as well. The centipede was so big that he doubted the web would hold it, but it would definitely slow it down, as well as give the spider something else to worry about. <<If you are going to escape, now would be the time!>>
Aubrey:
There was way too much happening, Aubrey was overwhelmed. She couldn't move, she was trapped, the sound was getting closer and louder, everything was happening all at once. She was dizzy from the spider spinning her and sick from all the stress and fear gnarled in her gut. She hadn't even noticed that the spider had stopped wrapping her and was onto bigger things--namely the big centipede bearing down on them all.
All Aubrey could think to do was scream. She felt like she was suffocating, and she was beginning to get that freaky-panicky feeling you got when you were trapped somewhere and couldn't leave. On top of that, she was convinced she was about to be eaten. Where am I? Where am I? What's happening? She could hear the distant echo of thought-speak; Something about listening to somebody, then later on, a centipede.
<<Help me. Help me.>> Aubrey's screaming had turned into a low wailing. Her thoughts were stumbling over each other, a bunch of unanswered questions floating around. Was she being eaten? When could you tell that your insides were melting? It should hurt, right? Or had the spider abandoned her? She wasn't being wrapped anymore, she wasn't spinning like before. She had no clue what was happening. All she could tell was that something was munching at the silk cocoon.
After a few moments, she could feel one of her legs free. Then.. two! She was being helped! Both legs waved around in the air crazily. <<Yes! Help! Help!>> The cocoon was being torn apart by the chewing, enough so that some of her legs were being freed very slowly.
Then the vent--no, the whole world--felt like it was shaking. Or maybe it was the web, Aubrey couldn't tell. But she felt something rumbling, and could hear the scratch of feet against the vent. In fact, it wasn't just feet, it was many feet. It sounded like a herd of insects were making their way down the vent. But of course, that didn't make sense. Insects didn't travel in herds. Then the word from before suddenly made sense. Centipede. Oh. Oh. OH! There was a centipede too?! How much worse could this get?
Suddenly, something large hit the web. She felt the great wall of stickiness shudder above her. The ball's impact jarred loose the cocoon, and her half-wrapped form hit something hard and flat. The floor. She wasn't exactly free from the cocoon--Suji's chewing had torn away part of it, and her exit from the web had torn out the side of cocoon--but she had enough legs out to start crawling. One wing was even free. She was dazed, lost, but her legs were on the floor. So she started blindly moving forward in an effort to escape.
<<What's happening? Where am I??>> She had no clue that above her head, the centipede and spider were stuck together. The web might not hold the centipede, but the two bugs were now locked into combat with each other in a mess of legs and fangs.
Suji:
<<Out! OUT OUT OUT!>> Suji ordered in thoughtspeech, feeling the ball roll past her. Or rather over her. It might have squashed her a bit, if it weren't for the fact that cockroaches were the tanks of the bug world. The bug morph just shook off the blow, much more concerned with the imminent fight between a centipede and spider. She wanted to be caught between neither. <<I have Aubrey, just get out!>>
The ball had rolled over her and was now rolling down the rest of the vent. <<And watch out for that ball!>> She added, realizing with a bit of surprise how much damage it could possibly do to a less durable morph. An image of a smear of moth made her shudder inwardly, and she grabbed onto Aubrey. <<I've got you,>> she said, <<Hold on to me if you can!>> With that she began to drag Aubrey out of the vent, not waiting to try to free her from more of the cacoon.
Drake:
Drake did not have to be told twice. Before you could say, "centipede and spider battle to the death," he was scuttling along as fast as possible towards the pinpoint of light that marked the exit. He did not even give a second thought to trying to get the super ball out too. That thing must have been cursed or something.
The moment he got out of the vent, Drake began demorphing. More because of an irrational fear that the spider or centipede would come out and pull him back in, rather than an actual need to demorph. Hopefully the others were right behind him. He shuffled his growing body to the side so that he would not accidentally squish his teammates as he regained his human form.
Drake:
She was slightly dazed atop the rubber ball, great view of the spider-centipede war, but her bug morph was definitely injured. One or two rolls might have been fine but she endured at least five or six, and then suddenly the ball was rolling again, Aida clung on for dear life as it rolled right out of the vent. It was a long ball between vent and ball though, and she realized landing on the wrong side of that one would definitely mean death so she--despite fear--let go, feeling her tiny bug morph free falling till it crash into the ground.
The silverfish looked like it was half-pancake, and it was twitching, Aida quickly focused her mind, demorph demorph, and it was not long before she sat hugging her knees to her chest as a human. Two things crossed through her mind, where were Aubrey and Suji--she saw Drake demorphing--and that she would never morph a silverfish again.
Aubrey:
<<Out! OUT OUT OUT!>>
Suji's thought-speak cut through Aubrey's momentary disorientation, and she felt herself being dragged along. <<Okay, okay.>> With one of her free legs she felt around for Suji, grabbing onto the hard shell of her cockroach morph. Aubrey's other free legs were tapping hard against the vent's floor to push her along. She wanted to get far away--and fast--from the web and the two insect predators nearby. She didn't even want to think about the big super ball that could squish them.
Stumbling, she felt cold air brush across her free wing. Even though the cocoon was wrapped around her face, she could sense a change in the lighting through the veil of spider silk. We're out. We must be out. Fear was driving her, and as soon as the suspicion that they were out came to her, she began concentrating on her natural form.
Immediately, she felt her legs being sucked back into her body. The spider silk wrapped around her still had a good hold on at least a couple of them, and as they pulled back into her body she felt a sharp, painful tearing sensation. She let out a small cry in thought-speak. A couple of her moth feet were stuck in the sticky cocoon.
Then, to her relief, she began to grow. At first her body grew, pushing painfully against the tightly-wound cocoon. The web didn't want to give up its hold. Then the cocoon began tearing further along the places where Suji had chewed, and suddenly Aubrey was free. She fell sideways, her skin shifting from black and white spots into a soft pink. Her wings shriveled away as she grew, eyes shrinking and melting until she could only see one version of everything. After a few more moments she was fully human, shivering on the ground.
"Strewth!" Her immediate reaction was to scramble away from the vent on all fours, almost tripping over her own feet and hands. The centipede and spider couldn't do anything to her now, but she didn't want to be anywhere near the vent. Out of breath and full of adrenaline, Aubrey leaned her back against a wall opposite of the vent, breathing hard. She hadn't noticed that there were still little pieces of spider silk sticking to her suit.
Suji:
Suji scuttled backwards, much like throwing a car into reverse and pressing the gas pedal to the floor. She ran over a few dead bugs (neither is Aida or Drake, neither is Aida or Drake, neither is Aida or Drake) but held tight to Aubrey's wrapped form. The vent was so filled with vibrations--the scuffle between the centipede and the spider, with the ball rolling around to boot--that it was hard to tell up from down.
All she could do was keep pulling away from the noise, and eventually they were free of the vent. Aubrey immediately began to demorph, and Suji hurried away from her growing body. At first it seemed like she was in pain, and Suji almost wanted to try to help... but there was no way she was getting too close to a frantically demorphing teenager who had almost just been eaten by two predators, in the dark enclosure of the vent. The cockroach might be tough, but flailing, half-formed limbs were not anything she wanted to contend with.
Besides, Suji had an extreme desire to be human once more. To be... if not the 'top' any more, then still close to it on the food chain. She began demorphing, and she was the last one to be human again. Quickly she spun around, eyes flicking back and forth as she counted heads.
All accounted for.
The burden in her limbs, the sinking stone in her gut, all disappeared at once, giving way to a fizz y lightness. The lighting seemed too bright, and she could feel her hands shaking. Focusing her mind inward, she put all her efforts towards regaining control. Mostly it was a mental process of sweeping dirt under the rug--getting all the clutter of emotional exhaustion and relief and terror out of the way, even if it wasn't really gone. The nauseated, tingling feeling retreated, and she felt her hands steady. When she opened her eyes again, she was back under control.
There was a plopping noise, and then a bouncing, as the ball rolled out of the vent. She stared at it, and then her eyes flicked over to Drake.
Drake:
Drake, now fully human, watched the others as they finished demorphing as well. It was not pretty, but he would not be satisfied that everyone was alright until they were fully human too. He shivered as thoughts of the past few minutes raced through his mind. They had only been in there for probably ten minutes at most, but it felt like it had been a lifetime.
Then Drake heard something rolling and saw Suji look at the floor, then at him. He followed where her line of sight had been and saw the ball, then he looked back at her again. "You keep it. I am going to go look for a can of Raid." With that, Drake turned and headed towards the sanctuary doors, eager to put as much distance between him and the vent as possible.
Suji:
Drake told her to keep the bouncy ball and then quickly exited. Suji was left more than a little dumbfounded--to her surprise, she actually did bend over and pluck up the ball. She had no pockets to put it in, but she felt the weight of it, the rubbery texture, both familiar and now with a whole new meaning. Holding it tightly, she could feel the give of it; her fingernails bit into the cushy exterior.
She turned to Aida and Aubrey. "Um, do you guys want to stay and watch Drake pump raid into the vent? Will that, uh, help? Or should we just clear out?" Suji, personally, was the kind of person who would very much like the idea of watching the poisoning the creatures that had just tried to eat them. Maybe it would help return to them a bit of a feeling of power after a traumatic experience. Or maybe they'd just want to get the hell out of the room.
Aubrey:
Aubrey had her back pressed against the wall, eyes wide. The look on her face was dazed, distant. The only thing that seemed to snap her out of the stupor was Suji's question. She blinked once, then moved her head to look at her. "Oh, we have Raid?" Her gaze fell back onto the vent, where they had all just barely made it out. With her back still pressed against the wall, she slid up to a standing position. "Yeah, I think I want to."
Aubrey noticed the ball in Suji's hand and let out a small, short laugh. The action caused all the tenseness and tightness in her body to dissipate. They were safe, they were out, and they were all OK. They had the damn ball. More importantly, Aubrey's insides hadn't been liquefied and sucked out by the spider. Just the thought of that sent a shiver crawling up her spine. That would be a terrible--not to mention embarrassing--way to die. Aliens are invading the world, and the almighty Animorph Aubrey dies as a moth, in a spider web.
Noticing some of the spider silk was still on her, she began plucking it from her suit. "Yuck. Ugh. I can't believe that just friggan' happened."