City Slickin'

[dexter]

Ray:It had been a couple days since Matthias had left and it was Melanie and Lukas's turn at patrol for the night. This ment that Ray was free for the night. The first night he had drawn early night, second night late night, and now he was free to pretty much do what he pleased. The sun was about to set on this early summer evening. He was hanging around in the kitchen because there wasn't much to do. "Hey Fin wan to run into town? " he asked. "We could see if we could scrounge up some computer parts. I know they are getting rid of them at the hospital because I saw some guys carrying them out when I was flying around town the other day looking for anything suspicious."

The lodge, as roomy as it was, was getting kind of old and cramped. He flew around a little bit during the daytime to kill time, but really needed a night out and going to obtain computer parts would make for a good reason to go out. Besdies, I might meet up with a nice female pigeon at the One Wall Center...

Fin:Fin had just come into the kitcheny area. He was wearing his latest creation, a paper crown, to signify his temporary faction leadership. The first couple of hours that Matthias had been gone he had given a lot of fake orders for his and the other's amusement but they had quickly grown tired of his antics so he had settled for making these. Yesterday he had worn a badge.

But even he was losing the ability to amuse himself after days of hiding out. There hadn't been much to do around here. He had assigned patrol shifts and alternated them with guard shifts since Mitch had to be watched and that had been about all. Patrol and guard, patrol and guard. The first two nights he had always made sure that two people went out on patrol just to be safe but after having no incidents take place only one person went on patrols so patrolling wasn't even fun anymore.

"Yeah I could definitely do with a night out. Mel is guarding Mitch and Lukas is out on patrol so we're both free." He looked out the window. It was late afternoon. "My bat morph might be a little conspicuous but not too bad."

Melanie:Melanie yawned, feeling a mixture of tiredness,boredom and nervousness. Guard duty wasn't exactly exciting but she knew everyone had to take turns at things. It wasn't easy though to pass the time. She tried now and then to make written small talk with Mitch but her ever-present nervousness around strangers made her a quiet type until she got to know someone well. *I just hope he doesn't get the wrong impression...eh, sooner or later he'll see me start to ramble and know that I'm not *that* wierd* she thought. She'd always been the type to doze off watching TV or sitting for a long time, but that wouldn't be good now so she kept doing her best to stay alert.

*I hope he 's not a yeerk and doesn't try anything...I'm not sure I could morph in time to do anything useful.* she thought. She didn't think he was though; just like most of the others. Apparently yeerks didn't like disabled or handicapped people, they wanted whole fully able bodies.

Ray:"Ah, well it'll be night soon anyway. We should go down by the hospital and see if there are any parts we can take." Ray said before sprouting feathers. "Oh yea, I almost forgot...Open the window before you morph" Ray had caught it before morphing further. After giving this message he continued.

Once he was finished he flew up and perched on a chair. The bird did not like the closed surroundings of the house and desperatly wanted to take to the skys because of the human presence. Good. The bird was wanting out just as bad as he did.

Fin:Fin went over to the window and threw it open. Then he ran to the top of the stairs and yelled down to Mel where they were going and when to expect them back. "If we didn't get back by 1am we are to be assumed dead and or captured and rescue is not to be attempted. Um, but let's hope that doesn't happen. See ya!" he finished brightly.

Then he turned and started to morph. He stopped almost immediately. He had almost forgotten something very important!

He carefully removed his oragami crown and placed it reverently on the kitchen counter. Then he began morphing and two minutes later was in the air outside. <<Do you know where this hospital is? I don't.>>

Ray:<<I'm pretty sure I do.>> Ray replied. <<I get better with this town all the time.>> The summer air was perfect for riding thermals on. He flew the town twice, but figured that he knew where the hospital was well enough because it was on the main drag. <<We won't be able to transport a full computer, so we'll just need parts off it. Luckily the biggest part, the case, has nothing to do with the computer, but shelter. We can make a case out of stuff we have at the lodge. Our biggest problem will be the power source.>>

They were out of the woods by now approaching the city. The streetlights were just now coming on as the sun was still setting. Rush hour had passed and traffic was relatively light. Suddenly he had thought of something. <<Maybe we should scope this hospital out pretty good. They probably use this as a facility to put yeerks in the brains of patients, so that no one leaves without a yeerk. Wouldn't hurt to pick up some decent intel on it and make this a minor recon mission to appease Matthias. While we were out we "found" the computer parts>> If Ray we're human he'd be grinning right now.

Fin:<<Yes we should,>> Fin said excitedly. Finally, a chance to use his spying skills and maybe even his new cat morph. <<You want something scoped out, I'll do the scoping. Just point me at the hospital and I'll scope away. Scope, scope, scope,>> he liked to repeat words three times for emphasis.

<<I don't know if they use this place to recruit controllers though. They have the One Wall Center,>> he had to work hard to say the name without any emotion. <<They just pull people off the street these days, stuff them in cages and stick yeerks in their heads whenever they have some free time.>> He stopped talking. He was starting to get emotional and he didn't like that. He liked treating everything like it was no big deal. He didn't want to remember his time spent in the One Wall Center.

Instead he turned the conversation back to the hospital. <<So we land near the hospital and I go cat to scope out from the ground and you stay pigeon to do the same from the air. How does that sound? And on a side note, I don't think we'll make Matthias happy no matter what we do. I'm pretty sure he forgot how to smile a couple of years ago. But at least he gets to go to New York. I wonder if the girls are better in New York, maybe he'll even bring some home with him. That isn't a slight against Mel, I like Mel, it is just there is only one of her and three plus the new kid of us. I'm not counting Matthias because I'm pretty sure he forgot how to play the game if you know what I mean. Playing the game involves smiling. Are you a playa Ray?>>

Ray:<<Haha, I guess you could say that>> Ray responded thinking back to a couple previous girlfriends he's had. <<Ah! We soared right over it!>> Ray made a sharp turn back around and went down lower finally flaring his wings and landing on the roof of the place. There we're a couple of other pigeons already there so he figured there was no way he'd seem out of place. Fin blended nicely too, as it was getting close to pitch dark.

<<Yeah, go scope. They should have them all loaded into a trailor or dump truck or something. I'm not sure. I'll wing around and pretend to be Starfox while you go do your best Bond impression. Whatever they got it loaded on should be here until morning because aside from the emergency room, this place seems like it gets pretty dead at night....no pun intended.>>

Fin:Fin didn't land on the roof because he didn't want to scare the pigeons away. They would be good cover for Ray. Instead he found a dark niche to land in and scanned the area until he was sure it was ok to demorph. He thought it was but he asked for confirmation from Ray just to be safe.

Then he demorphed and immediately started going cat. He got smaller but it felt like he was getting more concentrated. Like everything needless was being morphed away and what was left was coiled power. He loved the feeling. Maybe he would get a bigger cat morph later.

Gray and white fur traveled all over his body. Unlike with the average housecat, his fur came in rosetta patters that Fin loved. This was one cool cat. <<Thanks for the morph choice Ray, this is amazing.>> His eyes, switched over to those of a cat and suddenly the darkness was no barrier. His ears could move independently and he could hear everything.

Oh yes, this was a great spying morph. Watch out world, Fin was now a cat burglar... literally.

Ray:<< And STAY ON THE DOCK MILO!...His mother said.>> Ray called down quoting Milo and Oatis. He shot his pigeon brethren a look before taking flight to cover for FIn. After circling it once he gave the report: <<All clear. You should be alone for the next five minutes at a minimum. There's only one exit near you and it's the fire exit unless you count the garage type doors and they should be closed for the night. I'd still keep some places in mind incase you need to disappear.>> Ray kept circling and keeping watch.

There was a courtyard just a little ways away from where Fin was he had kept his eye on. There was a freshly landscaped tree that he was just waiting for a worm to come out on. He gave the area one last scan for Fin and dropped down nabbing a big fat worm in his talons. If his wasn't realistic what was? Ray came back looking again for any danger. None present. He flew up to his group of pigeons and dropped it infront of them as they all gave him a quizzical look. <<Bon appetite guys.>> This made them give him even weirder looks.

<<Making any headway down there 007?>>

Fin:Fin was sneaking along. It was really the most amazing feeling. His paws made no noise, none. He completely controlled when and where each foot was placed. Did he want to step on the rock, send it rolling and make noise. No, well then he didn't have to. Humans knew nothing about muscle control. This little cat could control everything.

He even placed his pack paws in the exact same place his front paws had been so he didn't have to worry about them making noise. And the best part was he was doing in naturally, the cat just walked like that, no thought required from Fin.

His ears could rotate his ears independently and locate the source of every little noise. There were some mice over there, a few voles in that area. Cockroaches out on the prowl. If it made a sound he could hear it and if it had a smell he could smell it. He read somewhere once that a cat's sense of smell was 14x stronger than a humans. This was a good and bad thing since hospitals did not have the nicest smells.

He made his way over to industrial sized dumpster. He hoped up onto a ledge in the wall and then over to the rim of the dumpster to take a look in. Each jump three feet! Three feet straight up into the air. It was like jumping two stories straight up.

He looked down into the dumpster. <<Bingo Ray, I think we have found your computer parts. But how are we getting them out of here. They are mixed in with bags of fluids I don't want to know the name of and the garbage truck comes in the morning.

Aida:Aida stumbled along a hidden path, alarms blaring off in the distance. Somehow she had gotten away, escaped. No more pain...I can die in peace, she thought. Sadly...the thought of dying now made her heart swell with happiness. Aida had given up on living, why would anyone want to live where they were trapped in their own bodies?

She got about ten more steps before collapsing in some bushes, her weary body could go no further. Something they gave her earlier was starting to take effect, and she felt her body cringe and squirm under the sudden pain it brought on. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and then there was darkness. She passed out cold. Aida was dying, or was quite possibly dead already, her cancer coupled with the wounds from the experiments had taken a heavy toll.

Anyone flying above would be able to see her mutilated, curled up body resting near some greenery. Her pale skin was covered in so many bruises she looked dark skinned, and her frame was frail, and malnourished. All this was clearly noticeable because she had nothing on. Yeerk didn't give beings they experimented on clothing, that was an unnecessary luxury, a hindrance to their work.

Since she was clearly going to die, she didn't quite care at this point. The fact that she was unconscious helped. Whoever saw her now wouldn't be able to save her. Or would they?

Ray:<<If they're in the dumpster that at least means its non toxic.>> Ray recalled from his experience on the job with disposal of chemicals. <<It shouldn't be bio-hazardous either, unless its in a bag marked "bio-hazard.">> Ray flew down and came to rest on the edge of the dumpster, his talons not finding the best grip, but he still managed to stay put.

His bird eyes scanned the contents of the dumpster noticing immediatly that most of the computer cases wern't in bad condition at all. <<Just open the case up and start pulling parts out.....I see some wire in there we could tie it all off with and make a neck-lace type thing to carry in my talons. Do you think I'll be needed to demorph and help? If not I'll continue to scan the area.>>


Fin:<<I'm not worried about bio-chemicals I'm worried about poop. Those could be poop bags->> Fin was abruptly cut off when he heard sirens and alarms of all sorts. His super cat senses which had been amazing a minute ago were now a burden as the sirens wailed louder than ever. <<Arg!> He jumped off the dumpster and landed on the ground.

He heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming to the loading dock door. And more coming around the building. What the-<<Did we trip an alarm or something. This place is going ballistic. I don't know about you my friend but I'm thinking it's time to get out of here. Maybe we come back another day.>>

He ran towards the bushes so that he could demorph and remorph to bat. He was hoping he wouldn't be spotted along the way on the open area of the parking lot. <<Ray, what do you see up there. Any reason for all this noise?>>


Ray:Ray had hit the skies as soon as the siren's started to wail. He was extremely high up and could see the police moving towards Fin's position very quickly. They had only a few minutes to spare. <<Cop cars. You've got close to four or five minutes until they get here though.>> He circled the place once more looking for more immediate danger and finding none. Movement! He saw some bushes move abruptly. He didn't think too much of it until he saw a human arm laying outside of the bushes. <<Fin, they may not be onto us. There may be other free minds they might be after...>> The police cruisers turning two streets beforehand verified his guess.

Ray gave a final examination to Fin's surroundings. <<You're good to go. Try to find me, I'll be near some vegitation at the southpoint of the hospital's property.>> Ray flew down towards the bushes and into even an even heavier patch of bushes. He hit them hard and felt all of the branches poking him and some even impaling him. He had no time for a soft landing. He dropped to the ground and focused on demorphing. The pain trying to keep him from it, but he was determined. He had been useless long enough. He wanted to aid in the fight any way at all and making sure that this person, whoever it was, was safe, would be a good start.

Aida:Aida was out cold, and probably would be for a while. Her appearance was enough to tell anyone that she needed medical attention ASAP.She had no idea that help was so close, real help that had the potential to cure her forever. If she became an Animorph her cancer would go into remission, she'd be cured. Not to mention all these superficial wounds would be gone, only the metal wounds would remain, the ones that would never leave.

Right now she could be run over by a bull dozer and she wouldn't stir however. Her mind still raced, she was having her memories flash back at her. Life back in England, being diagnosed with a terminal illness, the foreign exchange program to Canada, and then the Yeerk attack. How'd life get so bad so quickly? Then being a controller, and the yeerks realizing how 'defective' her body truly was, and then using her as a test-subject. Aida had been through hell and back, and yet she was still alive.
Fin:
Ah, ok that makes more sense. Fin was actually happier than he had been a second ago. See a second ago he had thought he had tripped an alarm which was a sad way to start out his spying career but now he knew it hadn't been him.

He made it to the bushes and began demorphing. Once he was human he went bat and shot into the air looking for Ray.

He wouldn't have spotted him as a pigeon so he was glad Ray had demorphed. He looked around. Everything was getting bad really fast. The police cars Ray had reported on were pretty much on top of him and there was hospital personnel spreading out over the area as well. Not cool.

<<Ray, we need to bail.>> He dumped air and landed next to him. He had been about to suggest going back to pigeon when he saw why Ray had demorphed. A young woman, looking the much worse for wear, was lying in the bushes, dead or unconscious. <<Damn. Um, ok, ok we need to get out of here and we need to take her with us so, uh, so Ray don't you have a bull moose morph that can carry her?>>

Ray:"Fin, I need you human. You're gonna have to carry her. I'll explain it in a minute once I've morphed, but I need you demophing as I speak." Ray said. Carrying her away as a moose would not only be plainly obvious, they wouldnt get very far. There was no woods around at all and they had probably twenty blocks of city left before they could even hope to be out. Ray concentrated on his moose morph.

After a couple of precious minutes he was fully Moose and backed into the bushes as far as he could. <<Fin, as soon as I come out I need you getting her into that cruiser. It's the only way. I'll B-line it somewhere and morph pigeon. I'll meet you at the Grocery store parking lot over on Market street. We're going GTA style.>> There was now no other way to do this, no going back, and no rhyme or reason to anything at all.

Lukas:Lukas hated patrolling. Sure, it might be alright if something happened, but nothing interesting ever did. It made change from being stuck in the lodge all day, certainly, but it was miserable and lonely. He looked at the sky through his glassy black eyes and wondered whether he should be returning to the lodge soon. He'd demorphed and remorphed quite recently, and as a result he could fly for some time longer. Oh well, probably best to make one last wide sweep of the area and head back home. It seemed they were safe for some time longer.

Lukas flew on. He was nearing the city now, and this would likely be the last time he'd see it this shift. But something was definitely different now. He could hear sirens. An alarm of some kind. Surely it wouldn't be any of his comrades. Fin, Ray and Mel should all have been back at the lodge, along with that new guy Mitch. Maybe an escapee? It wouldn't be the first, though the yeerks would probably handle it. Still, it'd be worth taking a look at the cause of the havoc, if only for the sake of completion in his reconaissance. He angled his wings and flapped hard, heading towards the sirens, eyes peeled. To be uninformed was to ask for trouble. Besides, even if he was picked out from the other birds in the sky, no controller would be able to hit him. Not when he was this high, and this alert.

He hoped.

Fin:Fin was demorphed and really unready. Carry her? Was he joking? Fin wasn't the biggest guy to begin with, how was he gonna carry another human being. "You know when I was talking about picking up chicks earlier this is not what I meant," he complained even as he tried to figure out how he was gonna lift her, but when he knelt down and picked her up he found that she was surprisingly light, too light. "Ray I think she's sick or something, like seriously. She weighs less than a swan, don't ask, and she's thin, really thin."

He lifted the girl and put her on his back, piggy ride style so that he would be ready to run when Ray did something stupid. "You know what you're about to do is insane right? Charging a yeerk infested police cruiser. You're gonna get shot. I'm gonna get shot. She's gonna get shot. How 'bout we just let them have her and maybe we'll get off with a warning, slap on the wrist, we promise never to do it again officer. I'm not being serious, just chattering." After his own time spent in the yeerk's tender care he wouldn't leave anyone else to such a fate.

He looked at the moose. "So, as long as we both understand that this is insane on three?"

Ray:<<Ah, it won't be that bad Fin. I'll get shot a couple of times maybe. Maybe if you act like a hardass good enough they'll think your her pimp and leave her alone haha.>> He waited as the police cruisers pulled up. Ray felt complete adrenaline rushing through him. Fin and the girl were visable. It was crazy. The first one crept up the street at Fin and two officers stepped out. "PUT THE GIRL DOWN! She's in extreme danger! Put her down or we'll have to place you under arrest too!"

The whole time they were speaking they were walking towards the pair with their hands on their guns, but they wern't yet drawn. At the end of the phrase they got extremely close to Ray even though they still didn't notice him. <<Here goes nothing>> he said to Fin in private. <<GTA MOTHER FUCKAS!!>> He lunged out got in a couple good strides that brought his speed and momentum up very high before SLAMING into the first officer at full force and sent him flying. His body smacking abruptly on the sidewalk. The second officer saw this and tried running back to his car but Ray got to him before he could go too far and flung him up into the air. This cop landed hard on the pavement. <<Go! The second one is nearly here!>>

Fin:As soon as Ray had charged Fin had started running for the car. He was surprised how fast he could run with the girl on his back. So all those years of running away from over muscled idiots was finally paying off.

He made it to the cruiser and threw the girl in the back. "Sorry but I'm afraid you're under arrest." He tried to be careful since she looked so hurt but there wasn't much time to be. He did make sure all her limbs were safely in the car before slamming the door and jumping into the front seat.

The car had been left on. Great. He slammed his own door and hit the gas. Too bad he had never really got his driver's liscence. Oh well, at least he was careening in the right direction. He rolled his window down and leaned out as far as he could and grabbed one of Ray's antler's on his way by. "Run with the car! Run with the car!" He screamed as he was almost yanked out through the window. "Demorph, I'll pull you in when you're light enough!"

Aida:Aida was still unconscious as Fin ran with her on his back. If she were awake she'd be mortified at her situation, completely without clothes...on the back of a boy...dressed in very tight fitting attire. Alas, she was still out like a light, and remained so even after he tossed her into the back seat. It was only once he pressed the gas, and the car lurched forward that she stirred a little. Maybe she wasn't out cold after all, though once she witnessed the bull moose running along side the car, and the boy driving it trying to pull it inside...well she just might pass out again.

Loud jarring voices invaded her ears, and one of her eyelids slowly opened. What...what is that screaming.... she turned her head with some difficulty, and then she saw it. A moose, and the boy was trying to pull it in? Aida let out a strangled scream, her voice came out muffled and hoarse. She had no idea who this boy was, a Controller? Why wasn't she dead? Not more experiments! she quickly dragged her ravished body off the back seat, and curled up into a small ball beneath the drivers seat.

Did he hear me scream? Maybe I can still get out.... she panicked, though deep down she knew she could hardly move. How'd I get in here? Oh god and I'm not wearing any clothes.... her mind raced a mile a minute. Aida didn't say another word, just remained crouched there behind his seat.

Ray:Ray ran with the car. Luckily, this morph could do up to around thirty miles per hour. He was keeping up just fine. <<Fin, let me get behind the car and you slow down to a near stop so I can jump in the back!>>. Once again, there was no other way of doing this. So much crazy stuff going on at once that he couldn't comprehend, only react. Right now wasn't the time for reason, it was time to survive.

Ray broke free and started charging after the car. Once Fin had slowed enough he started demorphing as he continued to run, his antlers sucking back into his head. He had one chance to do this right and he better get it right the first time. He JUMPED and went hooves first into the back windshield of the cruiser. Crash! The glass smashing out. He plowed into the back being cut in multiple places and continued demorphing. His hooves touched the floorboard and his body was resting on the back of the car. His back hooves were still dangling above the pavement. <<Gun it!>> he called out. He was only half way in, but it would have to do.

Fin:"Well if you want to do it the hard way. You do realize there is a windshield back there!" He yelled as Ray dropped behind the car and Fin slowed down, but then he heard the crash of glass and Ray was in. Guess they didn't have a windshield anymore. Fin gunned the gas and at the same time he tried to figure out what was going on in the back seat.

He looked into the rearview and got a glimpse of Ray demorphing, ugg, and no girl. He whipped his head around. "Girl Ray, where's the girl?" He ran into a parked car and they came to a sudden halt. Luckily they weren't going that fast or it might have been fatal.

"Ouch, maybe you should drive."

Lukas:Well, I guess laying low at the lodge was a nice plan. Too bad we didn't stick to it.

Lukas watched with concern and, in honesty, some amusement as a rapidly shriveling moose tried to jump into a slightly damaged police car. His vision was good, and following the sirens he'd quickly spotted the strange scene unraveling. He'd swooped down low, hoping to enter an audible range so he could contact Ray- for Ray was the only moose he knew personally- and whomever was driving the vehicle. He assumed it was another animorph, because he doubted very much that a controller would stand for the behaviour unfurling below. He could see another police car trailing this one, but it wouldn't catch them if they sped up- which seemed to happen as Ray managed to cram himself in.

He decided he'd better try and contact them. <<Ray and mystery driver number one, I hope you're having a pleasant drive. You have some squealing controller piggies on your tail, and they don't look like they're rushing to get some more donuts. I don't have a clue what you're doing out here, but you'd better have a plan. You can't drive that thing back to the lodge. If you can here me, guys, someone wave an appendage from the nearest window in a suitably crazy fashion.>>

Aida:Aida was freaking the hell out. It only got worse when a half-moose, half-man came charging through the window. Now she wasn't one for screaming, or making much of any noise, but she HAD to scream when she saw him flying at her. Glass bit at her visible skin, and she buried her head in her curled up knees, trying to protect her face. She remained more or less unscathed, well....she was already beaten to all hell, so let's just say she didn't get any worse physically--mentally she thought she was insane.

The boy's voice, the Controller? He began speaking from the drivers seat, mentioning something about a girl. OH...me! she felt completely defeated, if they were going to experiment some more on her....then who was she to stop them? I'm going to die anyway.... she could feel it, sense it. The tumor in her head was to the largest point possible, the headaches that came along with it were mind blowing, though she became so accustomed to them now that they were just a dull ache. Death was at her door step, so if these boys...or THINGS, whatever they were wanted to kill her, let them. Death was welcomed. Death meant no more pain.

Just as she was about to completely give in, the car came to a skidding halt, and there was a loud crash, which she could only assume came from a car crashing. Aida held her arms tightly around her knees, curling them to her chest. Her eyes were frantic, and full of fear, and she eyed the boy in the back seat wearily. What the hell was going on?

Ray:Ray frantically glanced around for the girl as he continued to demorph. Luckily, his left hoof missed her by inches. Just as he was fully demophed WHAM! A sudden stop sent him into the car as he hit the back of the passenger seat with a thud. "Ow! Yeah, I've got a license haha." Ray sat up and brushed the glass off of him noticing that he had some minor cuts.

He could hear the sounds of the sirens that were coming upon them. "I think the car is in good enough condition it'll still run. I have no idea how far away these guys are so let's be quick about this. The engine is still going and that wasn't that much of an impact. We don't have much time so lets move." Ray said as he began making his way to the front seat.

Fin:Instead of trying to climb around Ray Fin opened the door, hopped out and jumped into the back. Jumping into a pile of broken glass in skin tight clothing was not the smartest thing he ever did. "Ouch! Crap, there's a lot of glass back here Ray." He hoped his brief run was enough to give Lukas a clue to who he was but just in case, and because they could use and eye in the sky, Fin started morphing the cat again.

Once he was morphed he called up to Lukas. <<Hey Lukas! Welcome to the party. We ran into a liiiiitle trouble. Nothing to worry Matthias about.>> He looked down at the girl in front of him, noticing for the first time that she didn't have much on. <<Hi! Please fasten all seatbelts and enjoy the ride. Today's flight shall be taking us OUTA HERE!>>

Aida:Aida finally understood, I must be dead already. A man-moose crashing through a window, a boy in spandex crashing a cop car....it's the only thing that makes sense.... she frowned inwardly. I thought heaven was going to be interesting...but I NEVER expected this.... Just then she was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of the car door opening and then closing again as the boy in spandex jumped right into the seat full of glass. Aida watched him warily, hiding most of her face behind her curled up legs and arms.

I'm dead, was her first thought yet again when the boy began changing....it was....hideous to watch his limbs shrink...what the hell was it...oh...a cat... she realized. A CAT?!? She let out a muffled cry of surprise again, and it dawned on her that there were tears welling in her eyes. What the hell were these people, or rather...things? These weren't Controllers, she never saw Controllers change shapes like this....what the hell did they want with her? Then...there was a voice in her head, it sounded like the boy in spandex....and it was coming from the cat whom was formerly that very same boy.

Her head began to spin again, and she felt the familiar throbbing beneath her cranium, a constant reminder of the tumor that was sapping away at her life. Aida closed her eyes and focused on breathing, taking deep breathes so she wouldn't pass out again. Calm down...calm down...that is not a talking cat....calm down.... It didn't help. "P-please...just kill me," she whispered, burying her face in her arms again. Aida couldn't take anymore torture.

Fin:Fin's cat hears caught the words a human might have missed. Suddenly he was serious, which was odd for him. Whatever had happened to this woman had been worse than what had happened to him at the hands of the yeerks so it must have been pretty bad indeed.

He jumped down to the floor. He didn't really think she could be comforted but that didn't mean he couldn't try. He experimented with purring and once he got that to work he said, <<We're not going to kill you. We'll even try not to hurt you. We're trying to get you out of here, away from the yeerks. We're the good guys, we're the animorphs.>>

On a side note to Ray he said, <<Ray are we good to go yet? I hear cop cars and they are awfully close.>>

Ray:"Lukas is around here too?!" Ray asked in disbelief. What was he doing out here? "Tell Lukas to try and keep up." He jumped into the driver's seat and put on his seatbelt. "Safety first kids, and yes lets kick it Fin." he said with a maniacal grin as he jammed the car into gear and reversed it before doing a 180 that was a little overdone. THUMP! They hit the curb. The car's wheels screeched as he peeled out running the car as fast as it would go. The engined whined a little bit, but ultimately roared as he pushed the speed up. He wasn't an amateur and knew not to treat it like it was the movies by flooring it. He pushed it up to about sixty, as fast as he could get it with still having the ability to maneuver.

The other cop car spun around the corner and now was coming toward them head on. Ray veered to the right missing it completely and rounding the first right handed turn he could get. As he pulled out of the turn he was thinking about the cars mechanics. He had only ever driven an SUV, a Jimmy to be exact. This car was much more flexible on the speeds it could handle going into turns so he was confident he could be a little more daring in it. The radio crackled alive with the report that the car had been stolen.

Aida:Aida was crying silently now, it all hurt...hurt quite a bit. Her head, her body, she just wanted it to stop. Then she heard it...purring? Slowly she lifted her head to look at the cat, or rather...the boy that had somehow turned into a cat. Her brown eyes held an anguished look about them, and her face held an exhausted, sad expression upon it. This cat, it began talking to her again, she heard him in her head. These were all clear signs that she was dead already right? Hearing voices....seeing people change into animals...all omens that the tumor was causing her to see things, or it had already overtaken her. Killed her.

"Animorphs?" she whispered quietly, her brows knitting into a frown. She had heard whisperings of a resistance while she was experimented on. Could this be real? She wasn't dead then? "I'm...I'm going to die anyway," she blurted, and regretted her words instantly. Who was to say that once they found out she was terminally ill that they wouldn't just dump her out of the car? Why rescue a dying girl? Of course Aida didn't know that Animorphs healed during each morph, that if she joined them...she would be normal again. Well...as normal as someone from her position could be.

The car began to jerk around, and she could sense they were going fairly fast. It felt like they hit something....maybe a curb. Aida bit her lip nervously, and buried her face again, trying to keep herself calm. Then her head began spinning again, and she cursed her body, cursed the illness that was ravishing it. "I have cancer, I'm going to die," she add quietly. Her voice sounded resigned, like she had given up to her fate already.

Fin:Dead? Damn. This girl was further gone than he could fix with a little kindness. Which at least took the burden off him to be kind and emotionally and such, which he wasn't good with. <<Sorry about whatever happened to you to make you wish you were dead, but you're not dead, you're alive and we are going to do your best to keep you that way. Don't worry about the cancer thing. We may be the only ones in the world that have a cure.>> Can morphing cure cancer? Hmm, maybe. Maybe he shouldn't have promised that.

He jumped back up onto the seat, cat abilities keeping him upright through of all Ray's twists and turns and he even avoided the glass. He looked out the back window. <<Alright Ray, we got two cruisers on our tail and, um, a helicopter. Dang a helicopter. Who are you?>> This last was directed at the girl.

Aida:Aida was very far gone, farther than either boy could realize, further than SHE realized. A person resigned to death was a dangerous one, at least she could have been had she the ability to lift her arm and swing at someone. As it were, she could hardly lift her head, which was still throbbing from the pressure the tumor created. Fin's efforts were appreciated, though she didn't admit as much. Something he had said caught all her attention, A cure? She had been promised as much all her life, and nothing had worked. Could this...could it finally be real?

She tried hard, tried really hard not to get her hopes up, but it was inevitable. If they can change into animals...maybe...maybe its the truth. "A cure?" she repeated quietly. Aida did her best to keep the hope from her voice, maybe she wasn't so resigned to death after all. It hadn't escaped her notice that he hadn't explained the Animorphs when she questioned the name, but that was okay. A cure. Her mind grasped the concept and held it tightly.

Just as she felt herself drifting back into unconsciousness there was a loud voice in her thoughts again. Aida's head snapped up, and a wince flickered across her face as she faced the consequences of her actions. As soon as she stopped seeing doubles, she focused her eyes on the cat again. "I'm Aida," she replied quietly. "Who are you?"


Fin:He didn't turn his head from the window. He wanted to be able to give Ray updates on what was going on. He did his best to answer though. After a moment he answered, <<Name's Glorfindle Larson. Formerly of New Canaan, CT. Currently of Catastrophe Canada. Ray we got two helicopters now. Maybe they are after us because we're animorphs. Ya think? Oh, um, right animorphs, animal morphers as you saw with the cat moose show we got going on. Ray those guys look awfully close. And we still have to lose them and the car and get back to the Lodge.>>

Fin:"I think now is not the time to play Doogie Howser there Fin. We can play Doogie AFTER and only AFTER we play the Duke boys. Too bad we don't have fiery arrows to go along with a bow. How about a shotgun?" he called back. How in the hell was he supposed to escape from a freaking helicopter?! His mind raced. He knew that she may die soon and that didn't help the situation one bit. Infact, he'd be more than just a little disgruntled at the fact that she died during a suicide mission to save her life. He was just the slightest bit comforted that this was the first strike back against the yeerks that he could manage. This didn't last too long because the cruisers we're creeping up slowly but surely.

Ray had to fight the urge to floor it, knowing full well that an uncontrollable bullet would surely be the death of all three of them. He gave it some gas none the less. He was coming up on a turn which he slowed and pulled at the E-brake whipping it around the turn. He went sideways a little more than he wanted to, but had it under control. "Anyone got any other crazy ideas to match this one? Because I'm thinking we're going to need one to get out of this alive."

Aida:She nodded absently to herself, and began drifting off again with thoughts of being healed, and of the Animorphs. Aida could hardly remember life before cancer....not having to have the constant reminder that she was going to die. Come to think of it...she wasn't sure she knew HOW to live, she had always just been in the moment, waiting for death to come. The idea of having an entire life to live left her confounded. Falling in love, having a family, a successful career...well...if they ever defeated the Yeerks.

If I'm capable of love. She wasn't so sure she was. As it were, she didn't trust the two males saving her life currently, that's how incredibly paranoid she was. The Controllers pretended to be helping too until they jammed a slug into my head...only to call me defective and begin experiments.... she cringed outwardly at the memory. She was soon out of it, passed out again from pain, and various other reasons having to do with her physical well-being. Hopefully the boys hadn't risked their lives to save her, only to have her die on the spot.

Fin:<<Yup, this place got a river? We should drive off a bridge. That's my solution. Then we can swim away. Or um, let's see how to people escape in zombie movies? We could drive into a tunnel. Wait that's how people die in zombie movies. Still it would lose the helicopter. Maybe we could escape into some tunnels or something, like subway tunnels. Does Vancouver even have subways? Or, let's see, we could drive into a building, not hit it, but maybe a place with a big mall or something, at least we could pic her out some clothes there. That's it, I'm outta ideas.>>

Ray:Ray hummed a tune, rolled the window down, rested his arm outside of it, and turned on the radio. "Aw, hey its Cartoon Boyfriend!" Ray announced as the song blasted. He turned it up. "This is my town... " He really was out of it. No ideas, nothing. Why not jack around and die that way rather than die being serious and uptight? After a minute or so of singing and more swerving he got back on topic. "Yeah, I was thinking of offroading it myself" He called back over the music. "If only she could morph....Hey how about hiding her and continuing the chase? All we gotta do is off her somewhere safe under some cover, drive off, get them away from her, morph, and disappear!"

Ray swerved around another corner. He was getting good at this. He started bobbing his head to the music. Blasting upbeat music was a good way to hold down the nerves...He was almost out of town now. The cop cars were getting really close. He checked the glove compartment and sure enough there was a Browning, semi-auto, pistol. He kept one hand on the wheel and grabbed the pistol. He had done a lot of stuff while driving, but firing a PISTOL? He glanced back over at the compartment and found the clip. He drove with his knees for a second as he slapped the clip in. <<Found our bow...>>

Fin:<<Mmm, ok plan forming. Ray, I think you're gonna have to serve as a distraction, you or me but you can drive and I can't. Find the nearest tunnel and go in it so that we lose the helicopters. Aida and I are gonna jump out. With any luck it won't kill her. Then you keep driving and lead them off. I'm gonna try to get her out of here. Lukas! We'll need you're help. I'm not gonna be able to steer around controllers on the street so you are going to have to direct me from the air so that we don't run into trouble. When we get to the edge of the city you go horse and carry her the rest of the way. Damn, I wish we could get her some clothes. She sticks out the way she is now.>>

He looked at Ray. <<Off road it when you can. You can survive the crash through morphing. Get back as soon as you can.>>

Ray:"Fair enough" Ray replied. "It shouldn't kill her because I'll have time enough to stop." Before any of them could ask Ray how this was possible he took the gun in his left hand and fired a warning shot out the window. BAM! He almost dropped the gun out of suprise. "Haha It's been awhile since I fired a gun" he admitted sheepishly. The police cruisers stayed with him and he fired a couple more times. BAM! BAM! This time they backed away because one shot pinged the hood of a cruiser. He had seen enough chases to know that they'd be telling the officers to back off and let him do himself in.

As soon as the police cars started to ease back he hit the accelerator. He whipped it around another corner and sped out of it. "Alright we've got a tunnel coming up. It's going to start here on the next couple of blocks to the right, so we'll have cover for a few seconds. I'd start demorphing now. With any luck maybe some of us will make it"

Aida:She was out cold again, at least until Ray started shooting. This jolted her awake, and with a soft groan she looked around, realizing immediately where she was. Aida's eyes widened in surprise when he fired again, obviously at the police that were apparently chasing them. She couldn't do much to help, and for that she felt bad, but at the same time she was sill scared out of her mind. Guns did not normally ooze happy vibes, they sent death vibes, and that was the last thing she needed on her mind.

The car was flying around corners and she heard the boy driving mention something about a tunnel. Why does that matter? she wondered. Aida had been unconscious during their scheming, so this would all come as a surprise to her when it went down. Well...unless someone warned her at the last minute. Maybe some of us will make it? she swallowed the large lump that formed in her throat at his words.

Fin:Fin started demorphing but he was speaking to Aida as he did. He hoped that the thoughtspeak would get through to her in her condition where a voice might not. <<Listen Aida, we have to lose the police so we are going to get out of the car and Ray is going to lead them away. Can you walk? Can you stand? I'll help you all I can but we're gonna have to move pretty quickly once the car stops. We'll try to get you some clothes once we get out. Don't worry about the nude thing. I'm a gentleman,>> not a complete lie and pretty much true under these circumstances. He wasn't attracted to Aida at the moment. Even he couldn't take advantage of someone who looked so beat up and in need of help. He had some chivalry.

Now fully human he moved over to a door so that he would be ready to throw it open. <<Tell us when Ray.>>

Aida:As Fin explained the plan she found herself even more nervous. She also did her best not to gawk as he demorphed, it was only the third time she had seen this, and it was still freaky for her. His mentioning getting her some clothes put her at a slight ease however, for she was getting more than cold, and she didn't particularly enjoy being so exposed.

"I can try to walk," she replied. In truth she wasn't sure how well that would turn out, let alone running away with him. Aida did her best to forget she was naked, it was making her more reluctant to leave the protection of the car. This was nerve wracking enough, there was no need to add THAT to her list of worries too. Then he readied himself at the door, and she waited quietly, ready to follow their lead, it wasn't like she had another choice. A possible cure, that was the thought keeping her conscious right now, the one keeping her moving.

Fin:Fin pulled off his shirt and handed it to her. It was a skin tight, white t-shirt and it wouldn't cover everything but it was was better than nothing. Besides, he was actually slightly bigger than her, an unusual event, so it would work ok. He himself wasn't too cool with going around without a shirt on, he hadn't been to the gym lately and he was skinny by nature, but he had a feeling she would be a bit more uncomfortable than he would.

Aida:Aida had been waiting to hear the words, 'NOW' or perhaps, 'JUMP' but instead she found a shirt being pushed at her. For a moment she just blinked at Fin, but then a slow, hesitant smile spread across her lips. Aida never smiled, at least not since she found out she was dying. A momentous occasion. Without waiting she tugged the shirt on, and Fin was indeed bigger than her, it covered enough to make her feel much more comfortable.

When she was clothed--at least partially--she turned her gaze back onto Fin. He was a thin boy, but that was all she noticed. "Thank you...Garfindel," she replied quietly. There seemed to be something different about her now, maybe she trusted him a little more. It was a small act, but a kind one. Lately....kindness had not been high on the list of things she had experienced. When you're held and experimented on by Yeerk...well yeah. You get the idea.

Fin:He was suprised to hear his full name. No one ever used it. His birth name was Gary but he had gotten tired of that by age eleven and, after reading Lord of the Rings, he had changed it due to an obsession with elves to Glorfindle. But no one actually called him that since it was normally too much of a mouth full. He smiled when he heard the name. But he best let her off the hook if they were going to be working together, that is if they lived.

"Everyone calls me Fin for short. You can too if you want."

Aida:Aida had used his full name since it was all she really knew, it was how he had introduced himself to her earlier. It had indeed been quite a mouthful, a rather....unique mouthful. Never had she heard the name before, though many had said the same for her own. Her brown eyes noted the smile on his lips, he seemed friendly enough. With a small nod she replied, "Fin, okay." The corners of her own mouth tugged upwards slightly, not exactly a smile, but an attempt at one nonetheless.

Then it came, the order to 'Jump'. Aida tensed up, and looked at Fin nervously, was he going to lead? The car had pulled to a stop, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get out, let alone stand up straight once she did. Suddenly she felt bad for Fin, they were all working so hard to save her, and she was just a useless carcass getting dragged about. Sorry, she thought silently to herself. Without much more hesitation she opened the car door--with a little difficulty--and stepped outside of it, nearly collapsing as she did so. Aida had to grab onto the side of the car to keep herself upright as her knees buckled beneath her.

Fin:Fin jumped out of the car as soon as Ray yelled jump and then ran around to the other side to help Aida. He put her arm around his shoulder to help support her weight. "Alright, time to go before the coppers come in here and see us cleverly escaping. Good luck Ray, bring back some souvenirs," he called brightly to the driver. He was worried about the other animorph but it was better to act like everything was going to be alright.

"So, shall we. I see a nice tunnel over that way that looks like a maintenance shaft that will hide us and maybe lead to the surface."

Aida:Aida hardly noticed Fin until he was beside her, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. She took the help gratefully, though this was the closest she had ever been to a male...well ever. To top that all off, he was topless, and she was...well partially naked, though his t-shirt helped to cover up the important parts. It was an image she wouldn't forget for a very long time, but what was more important was that she was getting help, there was no more experiments, no more Controllers.

Fin's light banter with Ray caught her notice, and she could tell he was putting on a brave face. Whether that was for her benefit, or his own, she wasn't sure. There wasn't much time to linger on this however, because he brought up a good point. The Police. "Okay," she replied, limping with him towards the mentioned tunnel. Just their luck, it DID lead them right to the surface. With some difficulty, they both found their way up there, and Aida craned her neck to glance at him, not sure where they were going now, or what would happen

"Are we waiting for your friend?" she asked, not sure how Ray was getting back. Aida had no idea about Lukas, or anything involving the Animorphs. All she knew was that they could morph, and they might have a cure for her cancer.

Fin:Fin got up to the street and thought it best that they hide until Lukas could direct them. He nodded his head towards an alley and started helping Aida in that direction. At the same time he was scanning the sky for a goose hoping to spot Lukas.

When they got to the alley he helped them both crouch down behind a dumpster. "Aida, I'm going to morph a bit so that I can use thoughtspeak. A teammate of ours is a bird up there and we need his directions. If I'm an animal I can talk to him."

Fin started morphing into the cat again and stopped as soon as he got thoughtspeak. He knew he must look horrible, a half morphed boy, but he had thought speak and that's what mattered. <<Lukas! Are you up there. Can you lead us around the controllers? We can't move fast so we are going to have to move smart.>>

Lukas:Lukas stopped suddenly. The car was still going, along with the controllers pursuing it, but the thoughts he'd intercepted hadn't been from the car. He realised what must have happened in the tunnel. He stopped chasing the car, and with a transmission to Ray of <<Good luck Ray, stay safe man.>>, He changed direction. The helicopters hadn't noticed him, after all, they'd assumed all involved animorphs were in the car, and so a single goose hadn't given them much cause for concern, and thus they ingnored him in lieu of a more prominent target. He wheeled around, unmolested, and flew back towards the tunnel. After a minute he spotted a horribly malformed mess of catboy and a slender girl, apparently wearing Fin's t-shirt.

<<Fin, I hope that's you, otherwise that girl's going to have a horrible death at the hands of a sewer mutant.>> Lukas remarked, always having some snark ready. <<Alright, seriously, the street to your left is clear for about two minutes. A car is coming, quite slowly, and I'd bet my feathery arse that its being driven by yeerks. However, to your right, there's someone coming, and they'll be able to see you very shortly. Cut left, there's another alleyway and its a long one, with a small alcove where you can wait for further instructions. Watch the birdy. Go!>>

With that, Lukas flew ahead, taking the route he'd told Fin of. He only hoped he listened. And that Matthias didn't kill them all when he returned.

Aida:Aida limped along with Fin towards an alley, which wasn't the most attractive or alluring of spots, but she guessed it was for hiding. He kept glancing up at the sky, and she wasn't quite sure why, so she mimicked his actions, glancing upwards. What's up there? she wondered, and then he spoke up. Aida turned her brown eyes on him and then realization dawned on her. Oh. it's another of his teammates... she nodded at Fin.

The smell of the dumpster they were behind was anything but pleasant, but she managed to ignore it due to the fact that Fin had turned into a.....cat-man mess of parts, fur, and hair. It was one of the most grotesque things she had ever laid eyes upon, and that's saying a lot coming from a girl that had spent months in a Yeerk Experimentation lab. Aida did her best not to blatantly stare at the blobby mess Fin had become. It wasn't easy.

She wasn't sure if Fin was hearing anything, because she didn't. The two were probably talking privately, so she remained crouched behind the dumpster, waiting for a signal from Fin. The girl had been clutching at him earlier to stand but now she was at least a foot away, leaning up against the wall for support.He'd have to lead the way.

Ray:Ray had went all out. There was no way out of it. There were helicopters, cruisers, and now even SWAT. He gunned it down the main drag. Surely he was dead. BAM! He had hit a spike strip. shitshitshitshitshit Profanity raced through his mind. He couldn't think to act. Another road block! He swerved it into a residential area as best he could manage on rims. He emptied the clip of the browning at the cruisers and they fell back accordingly. He whipped it around another corner.

Dead end! There was one turn to the left that was left and it was quickly cut off by a SWAT van. He floored it towards the dead end. There was fencing behind the rail. There was open field behind the fencing. His mind raced as he glanced around. There was no way out of this. He focused on the bird, but there were seconds left, not minutes. He looked over to see what he thought was a girl and a cat at the last minute before hitting the side of the guard rail, tearing through the fencing, and rolling the car. Throughout the whole thing he had tried to keep his focus on the morph...As the car rolled, he couldn't concentrate. It went black. He felt grass. Was he outside now? Bird. Bird. The image of the pigeon stayed in his mind...

Fin:Fin demorphed and was about to help Aida up when a car when crashing by. "Guess that's Ray. We gotta go." He helped Aida to her feet. She was fading fast and he was glad they weren't too far from the edge of the city because once they were in the woods they could morph and carry her. At least Ray could if Ray survived.

He followed Lukas' instruction but once they were in a safer, used in a completely relative sense, he morphed to cat and ran to where he had seen the car crash hoping he wouldn't be noticed. He found a pigeon laying the the grass, that luckily was above his cat head, and picked up the bird in his mouth. <<Good thing I know you're Ray or I wouldn't pick you up. My cat brought home a canadian goose it had killed once, sorry Lukas, and then two days later he disappeared and we're pretty sure eating the goose made him sick and he left to die. Animals do that, try to run away when they are about to go. I guess humans do to,>> he said, the cheer dropping out of his voice as he trotted back to Aida. He put the pigeon down. <<Alright Lukas, all ready for your next instructions and I've even got Ray.>>

Lukas:<<Here's the plan...>> Lukas began, before the capacity to speak through thought left him entirely. He'd landed as Fin and Aida had been distracted by Ray's crash, and was surging upwards from goose height to human height swiftly. He eyed his beak impatiently as he waited for the capacity for speech to return. Once his human lips reformed, he continued.

"We run. I'll carry you and the girl," He said, his vocal chords still changing and his voice steadily resuming its deep sound and yorkshire accent, "And you hold on to Ray until he gets his wits together, at which point he can fly upwards and scout out for us. There's another street and a field separating from the woods, and they're not catching up with us once we reach the trees. Its too dense for the cars or copters to get at us, and no human can keep up with me. I'll kneel so you can climb up more easily. Nothing dangerous was in that direction when I looked, but time is short, and that could change. Best be quick."

Without waiting for a reply, Lukas morphed further. His torso thickened, and for a moment a comically broad chest was balancing on Lukas' slim human legs. Then his limbs thickened, becoming like logs protruding from his body. He kept growing, get larger and larger. A long snout burst from his face, and his ears migrated to the top of his head. His hair, already quite long, travelled down his neck from his scalp and formed a mane. His hands and feet hardened and became hooves. Within the space of minutes a Canada goose had landed and mutated into a massive black shire horse.

Lukas enjoyed the confidence of the horse, taking pride from its powerful build, though the flighty, innate fear remained, present but quashed. <<Your noble steed awaits, but requests that you hold on tight, this could get bumpy.>>

[dexter]

Aida:Aida noted the car speed by, and then crash...followed by Fin's words that that had been Ray. She looked worried at this news, glancing over at steaming wreckage with fear. That didn't look good. Then a third creature appeared, and that could only be the boys other companion she had heard reference of. He was morphing fast, and Fin seemed to disappear and reappear with a dazed pigeon in his mouth. Ray? she wondered, glancing down at the motionless bird.

She was so focused on this poor little bird she almost missed Lukas' transformation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught his form changing, and then heard his words. Carry me? and then he began morphing. Then she realized what he had meant, he was becoming a horse...at least from what she could tell. His words made sense, and seemed thought out, for some reason she felt a little safer, perhaps things would be a little less reckless now.

It didn't take long before a full grown horse stood before her, and she glanced over at Fin, not sure how the heck she was going to manage to climb atop him. Aida had a strange feeling that she wouldn't enjoy this ride, not at all. What with the tumor pressing in on her skull, and the bouncing of the horse....she knew she'd probably pass out before they reached their destination.

Fin:Fin demorphed as fast as possible and was a human by the time Lukas was a horse. "Sounds good to me Lukas." He turned to Aida to see that she was still awake which was good. "Come on, I'll help you climb on our buddy Lukas here and then I'll get up behind you. Do you think you can hold onto Ray so that I can hold onto you?" He closed his mouth very quickly so that he wouldn't say something stupid. Even at a time like this the backed up sexual innuendo jokes were getting hard to hold back. But it wasn't the time, he told his subconscious sternly. Maybe if he knew her better and knew that she wouldn't take them seriously, but not today.

When he was sure he wouldn't blurt out anything he continued. "We're gonna get out of here once and for all and lose those yeerks in the woods. And then we'll be safe."

Aida:She took note of the other boys name, Lukas. So now there was Ray, the dazed pigeon, Fin the cat boy, and Lukas the goose/horse boy with an English accent. Of course she took notice of the latter, for Aida too was from England, Manchester to be exact. She hadn't exactly said much however, so her English accent hadn't come out in full. Soon enough it might. Looking up she admired the horse for a moment, and she allowed herself to think for the briefest of moments, that perhaps she might be able to morph too, just maybe. Fin's words about a cure for her cancer had not left her mind.

Then Fin was speaking again, so she turned her attention on him. "Yeah, I can do that," she replied, and with the help of Fin, managed to get atop the horse, with him behind her, and dazed Ray in her hands. "I...I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay awake," she added, her voice slightly worried. Aida didn't want to pass out and fall off the horse, which would bring Ray along with her. This discomfort of the whole situation was rather comical, at least if you weren't the one enduring it.


"Alright." He helped her onto Lukas and then climbed up behind her. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist so that if she passed out, and she looked like she might, she wouldn't fall off. He gave one last look around before saying, "Hi-hoe Silver! Or, the British are coming! The British are coming!" But I guess that doesn't work as well when I'm the only American around, except for maybe Ray.

Lukas:<<The British are leaving, and you with them. Right now.>> Lukas retorted aloud, and, fighting the notion of rearing dramatically for effect, Lukas started moving. He started off by walking, and then trotting, to make sure his riders had a firm grip. He kept this up until they reached the end of the alleyway, at which point Lukas wheeled to the right, weaved between a pair of parked cars, and took off at as full a gallop as he could muster while keeping his passengers reasonably safe from harm.

Lukas thundered down the street, making quite a noie as his toughened hooves, supporting his ample weight, punded the tarmac of the road. The playing field was farther than he thought, and as he charged along he started to hear the sound of sirens coming slowly, but inexorably, closer. He sighed with relief when the flat grass pitch came into to view, and, snorting with exertion, he turned off the street and onto the park, when he spotted a controller, charging towards him. The man was apparently unarmed, but had an angry look on his face, and looked as though he would try to dissuade Lukas from passing. The man was on the other side, and moved to interpose himself between the horse and his objective. Lukas was decidedly unimpressed.

He was however, angry.

<<Yeerk!>> He snarled aloud, venom dripping from his thoughts. At his speed, Lukas would have had difficulty turning. Quickly, realisation hit the controller of how foolish he had been. A small, middle-aged man, for this was who the controller was, had little chance of stopping one ton of angry horse, backed up by the weight of passengers, and the laws of momentum quickly came into force. Lukas barely slowed, but the man got a cheap flight out of it. Into a tree.

The ensuing crack ensured that his hospital bills would be costly, however, though he'd probably survive.

Lukas raced onwards, through the sparse outer trees into the deeper parts of the forest. He slowed as the trees grew thicker, before slowing to a leisurely walk once he was sure the trees had grown thick enough to prevent them being followed by anything they couldn't handle.

<<How are you guys doing?>> He asked, his voice which had previously been so venomous now filled with a healthy dose of concern. He hadn't dropped anyone, he was sure of it. But, he could still hear the sirens, and right now he wanted everyone safe.
He wasn't going back out there in a hurry.

Aida:Aida felt the unfamiliar warmth of hands as they wrapped themselves around her waist. For a moment she was uncomfortable, she was still unused to human contact, let alone contact from a male, but it took only minutes for her to ease up completely. This was for safety, she was a flight hazard. Then he made a comment about the British, which made her smile slightly. "The British are here," she replied quietly, allowing herself to relax against Fin now. She was growing used to the boys presence.

Luckas' response also made her smile slightly, something she was doing more of since she had been around these Animorphs. Somehow though, she still felt like she was in a dream. The craziness of it was insane, and if she wasn't dead yet, this was one hell of a story she could tell her grandchildren one day. If I live that long....if that cure is real... she thought a little darkly. It seemed her subconscious wouldn't let her keep up happy thoughts for too long.

There was one run-in with a controller that ended up with what sounded like broken bones. Aida cringed, for she for a few short weeks had been a Controller, that could have been her. Luckily--or unluckily for her--she had been dubbed 'defective' due to her cancer, and was experimented on instead. Inside she felt a turmoil of emotion stir up, she hated that unconscious Controller, but at the same time she sympathized for the human. Out loud however, she said nothing, and kept her feelings to herself.

Sometime shortly after the attack of the Controller however, she passed out. Her body went limp in Fin's arms, and her head lolled softly against his shoulder. She didn't have much longer, her health was fading far too fast. Maybe it was the sudden excitement, or fates sick way of laughing at her. Safety, and life were so close, dangling out before her. Could she reach them?

Fin:Fin had a hard time staying on Lukas and he hoped that he couldn't feel his mane as well as a human could feel their hair because it might be a little painful with the yanking and death grip Fin had on it.

They ran into a little trouble on the way out of town and the trouble stayed down. That particular controller would not be in the fight for a while.

They made it into the woods safe enough and Fin would have been happy except for the fact he felt Aida pass out. She wasn't doing too well and they had to get her back to the lodge and at least into a decent bed. Then Matthias could give her the morphing power and she could be cured. Well maybe. The probability for contracting cancer was in your genes and hence your DNA but the actual getting of cancer wasn't at least Fin didn't think so. So hopefully morphing would cure her though she would still be at risk for getting cancer later. But then again if she got the morphing power she could always just morph it away. If this worked they had discovered the cure for cancer. Or at least the Andalites had invented it. So he guessed they would be getting the Noble and not him. Oh well.

"So, Ray, Lukas, how 'bout we not tell Matthias about this little day trip?"

Lukas:Lukas was still concerned. Ray had given nothing, which was odd. And their new friend was awfully quiet as well. Fin had made the kind of comment expected of him, and Lukas was silently thankful that he, at least, was alright.

<<I'm all for keeping this between the three, or four, of us for the time being. But we've got bigger issues right now. Fin, is Ray breathing? I can hear the girl's breath, but his lungs are too small, too quiet. I'll take us back to the lodge, you need to try and awaken the other two if at all possible. We'll definitely be in Matthias' bad books if he comes home to find Ray comatose and a girl on the verge of death.>>

Lukas turned his head from looking at Fin to looking straigh ahead, and began walking steadily back to the lodge. He'd patrolled far and wide since joining the Vancouver faction, and this patch had been checked just before Lukas' attention had been directed elsewhere. He knew exactly where he was going, and right now, he would focus on getting there with three living passengers.

Fin:"Don't suppose you have a mirror on you or anything. I could hold it up to his little bird nostril." He reached around Aida, leaning her back against him so that he could see the bird she was holding, and picked up the pigeon that was Ray. He held it up, trying to figure out if it was breathing but he really couldn't tell. "He was alive when I picked him up out of that field. I know because my cat wanted to eat him while his heart was still beating. But I can't tell if he's alive now. We best just get them both home. But if he doesn't wake up soon being comatose won't be his biggest problem. He'll be a nothlit."

Lukas:<<In any case, there's not much we can do right now. I'll get us back to the lodge, and we'll check them there.>> Lukas responded, and then upped his pace, cantering through the thick forest. He only hoped that no hunter robots had been dispatched to follow them. He didn't know how well he could evade them with three riders, two of whom weren't even concious. Best not to think about it, he concluded, and instead just thought about how they'd get out of this mess, and how they'd explain Aida's appearance to Matthias. Lukas wasn't a big fan of lies, but the truth wouldn't be very kind to them, he reckoned.

It seemed his earlier patrols had paid off, as it wasn't too long until they reached their sanctuary. Or maybe Lukas had been too preoccupied to notice the passage of time. It didn't matter too much, although the nothlit clock was ticking down. Time for a game plan. <<Alright Fin, hop off, and try and grab the other two. I'm going to demorph, and then we can take them inside and think of something. Any idea how long we have until Ray gets trapped?>>

Fin:"Maybe an hour." Fin tried to figure out how he could get off of Lukas without dropping Ray and/or letting Aida fall. "Uh, Lukas, I think you are going to have to bend down so that we can get off or I'll end up dropping one of them and I don't think that would be the best way to make friends. Brain damage just isn't a good conversation starter. It can even be a conversation ender if you lose the ability to speak. Speaking of which, Aida here doesn't look very good."

He couldn't actually see her face very well but he could feel her breathing since she was laying against him and it had gotten shallower and shallower all the way here.

Lukas:<<Alright then.>> Lukas replied, and obligingly bent his knees, lowering his torso closer to the ground. He wet as far down as he possibly, could, so much so that he was practically laying on the ground. He turned his head and fixed an eye upon Aida, and had to agree with Fin: she really didn't look too well.

<<This is starting to worry me Fin. We need to get them inside. As soon as humanly possible.>> He told Fin, concern clearly evident in his words. <<And we definitely need Ray awake. It won't do for him to be stuck as a pigeon for the rest of his life. Whatever's wrong with Aida, it can probably wait an hour to be dealt with, as much as I'd rather not admit it.>> He didn't mean to sound cold, but the truth was that Ray was a more pressing issue at the moment. Losing one experienced member of the team would be a larger blow than losing someone new, though both needed to be avoided. <<Should I call to Mel before I demorph? She might be able to give us a hand. I doubt Mitch will be able to escape the chair, unless he goes by the alias Houdini.>>

Melanie:But Melanie was finding out what was going on without them calling to her right about now. She was still inside the lodge, dividing her time between her cat morph, to talk to Mitch better, and her human self. Her ears swiveled, picking up the sound of large hooves outside, though she couldn't hear their thought speak as it wans't public. The cabin walls were adaquate but not soundproof by any means and the cat's ears were sensitive, as anyone who has ever tried sneaking up on a cat will attest. She knew Aida had a deer morph but these were large, they could only be the shire horse. The scent of equine human and pigeon were there too.

Curious, she hopped up to a window to check it out, not rushing outside without scouting things. Observing the small group, she could see that there was trouble of some kind. <<Guys? What's happening?>> she called to them. <<I can see you need help, what do you want me to do? Oh...and do you need me human or morphed?>>

Fin:With Lukas closer to the ground Fin was able to slip off of the horse without dropping either person. When he heard Mel's thought speak he was grateful for the help. "Yeah Mel, can you come take Ray. He's in pigeon morph at the moment. Make sure he gets to his room. We have a new girl with us and she's really out of it so I'm gonna put her in the extra bedroom."

Fin put Ray down carefully on the ground so that Mel could pick him up easily and then he put Aida's arm around his shoulder and started towards the lodge. But he quickly realized that she was complete dead weight and couldn't be carried that way. "Guess I'm gonna go groom on ya." He spoke to her even though she couldn't here him. Then he picked her up as if he was a groom carrying a bride. "Welcome home dear," he said as he crossed the lodge threshold.

Melanie:Mel demorphed so that she had hands and went out to help. It was a bit odd carrying the bird, but she held him gently. "How long has he been morphed? And how do we wake him up?" she asked. It wasn't good to think of anyone becoming a nothlit, especially in a body like that one.

She took Ray into his room and set him down, a little unsure of what to do now. She kept talking to him for one, trying to coax him awake enough to demorph. She briefly wondered if a splash of water in his face might help, or if they had smelling salts anywhere. She also noticed the new girl, another new faction member, as Fin carried her in.

Lukas:"About seventy minutes? Something in that vicinity." Lukas told Mel as his human lips and vocal chords re-established their positions in his form. He watched as Fin and Mel took a passenger each from his back, focussing strenuously on keeping the supporting parts of his anatomy horse-like for as long as necessary. Ultimatel,y he looked almost like a centaur before his body resumed its random shifting, finally returning to normal after a minute or two.

Lukas followed his companions into the house. However, devoid of any burden, and exhausted from his recent charge through the city and forests of Vancouver, he instead assigned himself the post of 'armchair watchman'. As such, he collapsed into the nearby old armchair and yawned. His mind was too alert, too stressed, to allow for any sleep, but he could certainly relax for a few moments. He could check on the others later on.

Melanie:"Not good. Hey, you almost look like those Andalite guys.Well for a minute you did anyway. Not that I ever saw one but that's what I've heard they look like."she told Lukas. She just hoped they hadn't been followed back because the group who'd gone out was tired, and those who were fresh like her didn't have enough fighting morphs to fend off anymore than one or two guys.

She was going back and forth, checking on Ray and seeing what the others were doing. She tried waving some paper in his face to generate air movement, and she tried splashing him with water. "Ray, come on, come back to us, or you'll be stuck in that body." "Can you tell me what happened to him?" she asked Lukas

Lukas:"I didn't quite see." Lukas said, regret evident in his tone. "I can guess pretty comfortably though. He was driving a police car, and he crashed it. Went through the windscreen, started to morph shortly after landing. He was dazed pretty bad, he was unconcious when Fin grabbed him. After that, I morphed horse, and carried everyone else back. Still no idea what they were playing at out there to be completely honest."

He sighed. What had they been playing at? He'd have to ask Fin later, right now there was work to be done. "I'm gonna go back out, morph goose and have a look around. Make sure we weren't followed and such. I'll be back soon enough, tell Fin and keep an eye on Ray for me. Matthias will be pissed enough at us, might as well make sure we haven't caused any more trouble than we already know about."

Lukas rose from his seat , stretched his arms, and started towards the door.