Day 8 – Dusk

I was sitting in another alien vehicle. It was some cross between an army personnel truck and a limo. It hovered and had windows that were tinted on the outside to keep others from looking in and seeing the weird alien creatures.

I looked out the window and up at the sky. The red sun of Gianna Draquen was setting, turning the sky a strange yellow-green color. The canopy of animals flying a thousand feet up did not dissipate. I had no idea if the same animals were flying above or if this was the night shift. I suddenly felt like I wish I had more time to visit. To explore this planet. But then what would be the point? It isn't home. My departure isn't indeterminate. It's not exactly essential to my mission.

Oddly enough, being here on Gianna Draquen, being saturated by her strangeness, reminded me of the many times I was forced to reset my bearings whenever my father moved us to a new place. I never admitted it to myself, but the one thing I did enjoy about the constant moving was the chance to explore new scenery. Often though, I'd be disappointed by what I'd find. Seattle, Washington wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be. San Francisco stopped looking cool after the earthquake killed my dog. And don't even get me started on Crystal Clear Waters, North Dakota.

I lived in a small city in Utah once that was all right. Peach Haven was nice too, but Peach Haven was special. I saw more of Peach Haven than I did of most of the other cities I lived in put together, but that mostly because of Stephanie. She took me to a lot of cool places in Georgia which in retrospect weren't really that amazing. I guess it just seemed cooler because I had someone to share it with.

I looked out the window of the vehicle into Gianna Draquen's sky over Cindre cityscape. Who would I share this with?

Not that I lack for company here. My new crewmembers, Bone and Babylon, were here with me in this large vehicle. Also here was an andalite spy named Hanerr, who I've temporarily trapped in djabala morph. And about six dayang officers, including Captain Hollin, the charming Chydla, and the not-so-charming Sumdac.

We were on our way to a 'Beast-House' which I guess is like a zoo. We were meeting Farser, a xenobiologist who was going to help Bone and I pick new morphs.

On the way, Hollin showed us pictures of the animals seen in the Terrormorphs attacks and who they knew or believed to be the one morphing the creature. Bone, Babylon, and I familiarized ourselves with these morphs, so we could identify them. I supposed Hanerr was too, but like a spy, he was being covert about it.

We arrived in front of the Beast-House where Farser was waiting for us. Instead of us all piling out, Farser climbed in. He looked at myself and Babylon in our own bodies and at Hanerr and Bone in their djabala and mini-buffa-titan morphs, respectively and muttered, "$How beastly the Kabbanodg!$"

Long story short, that dayang expression means 'They're creatures from another land!'.

"$The Beast-House is still open to the public,$" Farser explained, "$at this hour, and due to the domestic climate being what it is . . . we'll, um, need Sir David and the other aliens to be less . . . . . foreign-looking.$" Farser babbled.

((Huh?)) Bone asked.

Farser collected his tongue better. "$My professional credentials will garner us access to the concealed locations where you'll be able to acquire the animals of your choosing, but to do that, we'll have to walk amongst the general population. You'll need to appear as Dayangs. Or a crawbull or a chimtal, and on and on. This Beast-House allows pets.$"

"$I have a Dayang morph$" I said in Galard.

((I don't.)) Bone said.

"And I cannot morph." Babylon said in English. "Looks like I'll be waiting in the car."

((What about me?)) Hanerr asked.

I didn't want to leave him here with just Babylon and the dayangs. "I'm going to keep my eyes on you personally, Hanerr," I said in English, "but you can't go as you are." I motioned for Babylon to give me the Palm Proteus and he did. I showed Farser the extrapolated renderings of Hanerr's morphs and asked him if any of them were from this planet.

"$This small, rotund thing with the wings,$" Farser said pointing to the furry creature with the many bat-wings with his upper left tentacle, "$is a goomla from Ondar. The others are all Andalite Home World animals. Nothing from Gianna Draquen.$"

"Then I guess it's dayang time for you too, Hanerr." I said. I whispered something to Bone and he repeated in private thought-speech to everyone in the car except Hanerr.

"I'm going to force a demorph. You will then acquire the necessary genetic material you need to complete your frolis composite from one of the dayangs officers here. I will then trap you in that morph." I said to Hanerr as several of the Dayang officers leveled weapons at him. "If you do anything else, you'll be blasted into Andalite goo."

((Spare me your human theatrics, Hunting. I understand that you're in control.)) Hanerr muttered with annoyance in his thought-speech.

"Good." I said as I activated his demorph.

Hanerr awkwardly shifted from djabala to Andalite. As soon as Hanerr was fully demorphed, Sciv, who was behind him, grabbed his tail with his main arms directly below the blade. "$You'll acquire me, 'Badontrigerga'.$"

The word for spy in Draque is badontri and the word for alien is trigerga, so I guess Sciv was being clever.

Hanerr didn't twitch, but gave him a look with both his stalk eyes. Hanerr acquired Sciv and I watched on the Palm Proteus as an incomplete DNA sequence became a graphic rendering. It was kinda cool, but I had too much work to do to focus on that. I activated Hanerr's new Dayang morph and he awkwardly morphed it for the first time.

His morph was a male with green hair like mine and, in the close quarters of the vehicle, I couldn't tell much else about it.

((My turn!)) Bone said as he began to demorph to his own body. As he did, his musky, buffalo odor dominated the relatively small area of the vehicle we were in. Babylon and I were used to it, but the dayangs weren't. Most of the dayangs covered their muzzles from the smell, but Farser, Sumdac, and Chydla didn't seem to mind. Either way, Bone's own form took up most of the space in the cabin of the vehicle.

"Who are you going to morph, Bone?" I asked.

((Actually, I figured I'd try one of those frolis things.)) Bone replied.

"Ok, but remember, Dayangs are sentient . . ." I started.

((I know. I know.)) Bone quickly said like a child. He moved as much as he could in the small area so that he was now facing Farser. ((Farser, may I have some of your DNA?)) Bone asked in a tone of voice like he was asking a parent if his friend could come out and play.

"$I-I-I suppose so.$" Farser stammered. "$Do I touch you?$"

((Or I can headbutt you. Your choice.))

Farser opted against the headbutting and tentatively placed his main left hand on Bone's forehead. His tentacles went slightly limp as he went into the acquisition trance. Farser snapped out and let go of Bone. Bone than scootted over so that he was facing Chydla.

((Chydla, may have some of your DNA?))

"$Um, you may, Sir Bonehead.$" She said as she placed two hands on either side of Bone's head.

As soon as Bone was done acquiring part of Chydla's DNA, he began to morph immediately. His morph was male with brown hair.

Not wanting to feel left out, I began my morph to Dayang as I gave Babylon the Palm Proteus. As soon as I was done. Farser opened the door of the vehicle and all of us except Babylon and Rengaw, a Dayang officer, exited. We were all Dayangs, either morphed or naturally.

Outside the vehicle, I could see that Hanerr's morph was taller than mine, but not as broad. Neither of us were taller or broader than Hollin.

Bone's morph was my height and despite having acquired from a wimpy-looking male and femine-looking female, he also was quite broad. He had Chydla's brown hair, but his facial features were nearly identical to Farser.

Bone checked out his reflection in the surface of the vehicle. With his dayang mouth, he spoke in English, "Wow. Farser and Chydla together make a good-looking guy."

Chydla tried to remain stone-faced (or stiff-tentacled as a Dayang may say) at this comment, but her compound eye gave away that she felt like hiding in the nearest hole in the ground.

"Terg . . . chulamog . . zo-bo" Farser said, which my translator failed to translate meaning it probably meant nothing. Farser then began to emit a laughing sound that my implant interpreted as either fake or nervous. "$How quaint.$" he finally spat out.

Egdew began to sing a song I learned later was a folksong about traveling musicians who helped strangers fall in love. Sciv started to emit a sound like puppy barking, real laughter, I realized. The two of them were rewarded for their cleverness by a look from Chydla (a look not unlike the ones Rachel used to give me when I picked on her.)

Sumdac went to the front of vehicle to say something to the drivers as Hollin commanded Chydla, Egdew, and Sciv to wait in the vehicle, watch Babylon, and to listen for any news on Gwarver.

While I still hadn't learned to trust Babylon completely, especially given his mysterious need for some brown liquid, I sort of disliked the fact that Hollin thought he should be watched. I let it go.

Farser led Hollin, Sumdac, Bone, Hanerr, and myself into the Beast-House and we made our way to what looked like an aquarium. Strange alien creatures swam around inside green water as we passed their tanks. We entered another aquarium room, this one with such low-lighting it was almost pitch black. The tank windows had large flat monitors afixed to them that showed the creatures swimming around, but everything was tinted red. It was as if we were looking through the eyes of the Terminator.

"$Some of the animals of the lower depths are very sensative to light,$" Farser explained, "$so we keep them in the near complete darkness that they're used to with pressure modulators to simulate the water pressure of the depths. We see them through the special infared wave-locating lenses. Any of these animals can go down to the same depths as a tablina-class mukommer and about half of them are native to the nearby Wongchu Bay and the N'obu Ocean beyond it, where I'm told you think Gwarver may be hiding.$"

"$Anything here travel in groups?$" I asked.

"$Most of the marine life at that depth are solitary or in mating pairs. The only groups are mothers with hatchlings, and we have none of those.$" Farser informed. "$If I may be so bold, Sir David, may I suggest the Artirys.$"

Farser directed me to a window that was two tanks away from where I was. Through the red-tinted window I saw a strange creature. It had a familiar-looking fish head with a compound eye in the forehead. I think I could see sharp teeth in its mouth. It had two spindly arms with giant sycthe like blades on either side of its body, and instead of a fish tail, it had six octopus-like tentacles.

"$Now watch this.$" Farser said as he went over to some console on the wall. He spoke into it like an intercom. "$Okay, Dreen, drop them.$"

Two long and fat tube-like creatures swam down in front of the artirys. In a very quick motion, the artirys opened its mouth and its two largest fangs flew out of its mouth on tethers, each one hitting one of the tube creatures. The creatures writhed.

"What's going on?" Bone asked in English with a dayang mouth.

"$The artirys is draining the dulgas of electrolytes. Very painful.$" Farser explained again. "$I very much doubt any of Gwarver's crew has a morph like this. It'll be very useful in a fight against . . . I understand that the Terrormorphs are using teema xegapmar morphs.$" 'Teema' translates to 'aquatic'.

"$Yes and a sea xegapmar cannot defeat an artirys.$" Hollin commented.

"I wanna morph that!" Bone said.

I looked at Bone. He was getting used to his new dayang morph, but he was having a bit too much fun sliding his top half along his bottom half. He looked like a child.

The idea of sending Bone into battle still made me nervous.

((Not this time, Bone.)) I said in thought-speech, hoping to keep the conversation just between me and him.

"Why not?" Bone asked aloud, sliding his upper body all the way back.

I didn't answer him and instead turned to Farser. "$Do you have any creatures native to . . . wherever we're going that has like armor or some other defense?$"

((Armor? Defense?)) Bone repeated. "Why can't I morph the electro-sucker?"

"Bone," I said in English, trying to make my Dayang voice sound authoritative, "I am the Boss. You'll do as I say."

"Does the Animorph Boss always pick what morphs everyone does, or can I pick my own?"

Great. Bone was repeating with me another argument I had with Jake. Considering what a self-righteous dick I was being at that time, I decided not to give into Bone. Still, compromise . . . .

"One day, when you've shown me you're ready, I'll let you pick your morphs. Till then, you'll do as I sa--, ask." I commanded. "And stop calling us Animorphs. We're separate from them."

((Ah, hyena turds!)) Bone said in a resigning tone.

"$Sir David, naturally armored sea creatures can't live in the dark depths. The water pressure would cause their exoskeletons to collapse in on them.$" Farser said softly, as if he thought I would get angry at him. Then, Farser's two upper tentacles touched the brow above his compound eye, a gesture of sudden insight. "$But maybe an artificially armored sea creature.$"

"$Are you talking about an ikdi sermolspra?$" Hollin asked.

The best translation my implant supplied for 'sermolspra' was 'squatting' in the sense that homeless people living in an abandoned building are squatters.

"$Ikdis aren't found in the dark depths. They live closer to the coast.$" Sumdac said.

"$Seven and a half months out of the year, that's true, but the other two and half months, they're in hibernation.$" Farser said. "$They crawl into a seashell, they hibernate, and they emerge and swim with the shell. With ocean currents and other factors, a seashell can move a lot in two and a half months. It is not totally uncommon for ikdi sermolspras to emerge from hibernation in the dark depths, and they're fine.$"

Farser began to lead us out of the dark aquarium room.

Hanerr, who was unsettlingly quiet, finally spoke. "$Do I get to pick a morph?$" He asked in Galard.

((No.)) I answered him curtly. I then turned to Farser and spoke in Galard. "$If this ikdicer or whatever doesn't live in the depths, then won't Gwarver and his crew figure out that it's Bone in morph?$"

"I'm morphing the ikdi thing?" Bone asked indignantly.

"$It's called an ikdi,$" Farser corrected me, "$and the species group of ikdis aren't exactly standard curriculum in final stage basic education, especially those going into the merchant-military. Most likely, they'll just assume that they're like the larger species of ikdis that live in the dark depths.$"

"$I knew they didn't live in the depths.$" Sumdac brought up.

"$That's probably because you went to Surf Point Camp when you were younger.$"

"$WHO TOLD YOU THAT?$" Sumdac asked very loudly in surprised tone.

"$Uh . . . um . . . my aunt. She talks. A lot.$" Farser stammered.

That's when I realized. "$Sumdac . . . you and Klika . . . . used to . . .?$" I asked trying as many Dayang euphemistic gestures as I knew (which weren't a whole lot).

Sumdac's expression went from a surprise panic to a cold calm. "$I couldn't even begin to explain such things to an alien.$" Sumdac said very calmly.

Hollin sidled up next to me and whispered in my ear, "$I never understood it either.$"

Farser reached a tank window. "$Here are the ikdi sermolspras.$"

Inside the tank were about eight or nine creatures that could fit in the palm of my human hand (which is actually smaller than my current dayang hand). The creatures were mostly inside shells that looked very similar to one another. Most of them were orange with green spots. One or two had red shells, and I saw one with a yellow shell with a giant green blotch on it. The shells had two openings, one small opening for the ikdi's head and neck, and a larger opening for its lower body to billow out.

I say billow, because that's what it's like. Four relatively large manta-ray-ish fins of red-orange flesh stretch from the bottom opening of the shell along with a pointy tail, also very manta-ray-ish. At the top opening, out came little bulbous red-orange heads on slender little necks. The heads seemed to smile as few ikdis swam up to the glass and looked at us with two iris-ed eyes and one completely black iris-less eye. The heads also had two little bumps at the top. They were cute creatures, but I wasn't sure how safe Bone would be as one of them.

"$What's this one ikdi off by itself?$" Sumdac asked about an ikdi with a white shell that was in its own tank.

"$Oh! Of course!$" Farser said. "Bu-Nanners!"

'Bu-nanners' translates as 'snowflake'.

((Huh?)) I asked.

"$Bu-Nanners is an ikdi sermolspra goonma.$" Farser said. "$She's on loan from a Beast-House on the other end.$"

'Goonma' translates to 'polar'.

"$These ikdis have a special defense. They can make the water around them colder.$" Farser continued. "$That's enough to scare away the sensitive creatures of the dark depths, but I don't know how effective it will be against morphers. The ikdi goonma is still the better choice.$"

"$It's exotic. Exotic is bad for camouflage.$" I pointed out.

"$Without the shell, no one can tell the difference between a common ikdi sermolspra and a polar one (besides me, but I know what to look for). Polars are mostly found in white shells or white shells with black swirls, the kind you find up there amongst the ice. If Sir Bonehead were to morph the polar and use a local shell, the terrormorphs could never tell the difference.$"

"$We'll need a shell then.$" I said.

"$They sell them at the gift shop.$" Sumdac said as he made his way there.

"$So, the artirys and the ikdi sermolspra goonma. We can now go to the back for you to acquire them.$" Farser said.

"$Wait. We need flying creatures.$" I said.

"$Oh, well, follow me.$" Farser said.

He led us to some kind of collection of large cages. Sumdac rejoined us with a shell for Bone's future morph, a common orange one with green spots.

"$Nothing exotic. Fast would be nice. If it can fight, that's good too. Nothing too big, nothing larger than half a dayang.$" I gave as specifications. "$If it can be helped, something that flies both at night and during the day.$"

Farser did a few strange thinking gestures as I listed my wants when suddenly he stopped and did his sudden insight gesture again. "$There's always the trontannas.$"

"$Don't they sleep at night?$" Hollin asked.

"$Not if they're hungry. And the only ones that go hungry are the green, aggressive ones. The aggressive ones that can fight, also per Sir David's request. They're long, but not big. They're pretty ubiquitous, especially in the cities. They may seem out of place over the water though.$" Farser explained. "$They feed on fruit, nuts, and seeds, but they also prey on chiptdul bugs.$"

"$That's great.$" I said insincerely. "$Where are they?$"

"$They're right here.$" Hanerr said standing in front of one of the cages, pointing to a sign on the cage. ((Can't read Draque?))

((No. What of it?)) I said as I walked toward him, pushing him lightly in the process.

I looked into the trontannas cage and saw what looked like small diplodocuses with dragonfly wings on their backs. They were about the size of hawks, but with their long necks and long tails, they were about six feet end-to-end. The skin of the "green" trontannas was mostly yellow-green and frog-like. Its four legs were shaped more like a lizard or gecko's legs that ended in four-toed feet, with each toe possessing a suction cup-like thing at the end. It did have some green parts. Its back was covered in dark green plates, like armor (in the middle of which were where the wings were connected), its tail had a dark green blunt tip, and its head had a dark green hood-shaped horn of some kind, like a sharp bonnet. Its four large gossamer wings, each about three and a half feet long, were a bright, brilliant green.

((That looks cool!)) Bone commented. ((I guess it would be too much to hope that that's for me to morph.))

The trontannas did look cool and like it could put up a fight, but I was worried that in a battle, the Terrormorphs would immediately go for the wings. I could handle that, but Bone . . . .

I looked around the cages and noticed a creature that seemed to be just hatching out of an egg. The egg was the size of a football, grey, and looked a lot like a rock, and the creature inside was off-white. The head of the creature emerged from the egg with a piece of eggshell stuck on top of its head. It had two simple eyes and one compound eye, like most of Gianna Draquen's fauna. Its nose was large and bulbous, similar to that of the ikdi.

Four spider-like legs popped out of the bottom of the egg, the front two in a bowlegged fashion and the back two going straight back. The shins of each leg had a piece of the eggshell stuck to it. The back of the egg opened up like cupboard doors and six gossamer wings unfolded. The creature flew into the air, still mostly inside the egg with no bits of eggshell coming loose from the hatching creature. It hovered a bit and then landed on its four legs. Two arms came out of the egg that ended in what looked like raccoon paws. Again, the eggshell stuck to the forearms. The creature then toppled over and walked on its forepaws and bowlegs, leaving its back legs dangling like tails.

The creature then retracted back into the egg with every eggshell piece fitting perfectly to look like the egg had yet to hatch.

That's when I realized that the egg wasn't an egg. It was a shell!

"$What's this?$" I asked, pointing to egg creature with one of my tentacles.

"Nanda Dub" replied Farser, which means 'fake egg.' "$The Nanda Dub is a very common creature, but very timid. Often hiding as rocks on the ground or posing as eggs in birds' nests.$"

"$How hard is that shell?$"

"$Like a rock.$"

((Let me guess. That one's mine.)) Bone replied unenthusiastically. ((Shells. Rocks. I'm starting to see a motif here.))

((Walk before you gallop, Bonehead. And did you just say 'motif'? Where are you learning this stuff?)) I replied. "$That'll be all, Farser. The ikdi and the nanda dub for Bone. The trontannas and the artirys for me.$"

Farser escorted us into an examining room used by the veterinarians (I assumed) where the Beast-house personnel brought in the animals we requested. Once they left and we were alone, Bone and I demorphed. We acquired our respective animals, Bone giving me one more complaint about having to acquire defensive creatures.

I had Bone morph the ikdi right away so he could crawl into the shell that Sumdac procured for him. I hoped the shell would act like skin-tight clothing and he could morph with it.

As Farser coached Bone through his shell fitting, Chydla rushed in with news.

"$A Belga fly covered in lirachurns has just been spotted heading toward the warehouse district of Engineers' Cliffs.$" Chydla reported.

"$Any idea what he's going for?$" Hollin asked.

"$In that district, and if our theory that he's adapting a mukommer for space-travel is correct, we think he's going to steal the Lothgar Denj-converter developed by Tershol Enterprises.$"

"$Makes sense. Lebla used to work for them.$" Sumdac commented.

"$Which means they'll be headed for the Premium Row.$"

"$It'll take eternity plus six for us to get there.$" Hollin grumbled.

"I can fly there." I said.

"$You don't know where it is.$" Hollin stated pointing out the obvious.

"$Isn't Premium Row where the ambassador's collection is?$" Hanerr asked.

"Collection?" I asked.

"$She's something of an art enthusiast. She has paintings and sculptures from across the Galactic Arm. She brings them everywhere she goes.$" Hanerr explained. "$I thought the name Engineers' Cliffs sounded familiar. That's where you put her art collection. We went there again to add that painting she bought by Mystreesok Poindtez-419. That really strange one with the female Dayang walking through fire and not getting burned.$"

"$It's supposed to be a metaphor.$" Chydla interjected. She then seemed embarrassed by her outburst.

But Hanerr kept the task on mind, "$Premium Row Warehouse number 23. I know where they are.$" Hanerr turned his Dayang body to me and put his two lower tentacles on each of my shoulders, something Dayangs do when they're trying to be serious and sincere. (It's also something I've seen Italians do, but with hands of course.) "$I could lead you there. If I could fly.$"

"That goomla thing?"

"$Goomlas hover. They don't really fly.$" Hanerr said as he stretched a tentacle toward the trontannas's cage.

I grabbed that tentacle with my human hand and pointed it at the nanda dub's cage instead.

"$You're being difficult.$" Hanerr grumbled as I pushed the nanda dub cage toward him.

Four large, bright green gossamer wings sprouted from my back along with the long tail of the trontannas. The blunted end of the tail hit the floor with a thud. "Cry me a river," I said just before my head and neck stretched into the long neck and head of the trontannas.

As I shrank and the rest of my body became the trontannas, I felt the instincts bubble up in me. It was strange. The trontannas's instincts were similar to the instincts of the three snakes I had morphed into: rattlesnake, black mamba, and the boa constrictor.

The only difference was that the trontannas wasn't as quick to fight as the snakes. I wanted to sniff the air. I wanted to find a tree or a garbage pit, something that would have the delicious fruits and nuts that I loved so much. I can just chill out and relax if I eat some fruit or nuts or seeds.

But if I smelled a chiptdul bug. It was so on.

Wait. I'm not after chiptdul bugs. I'm after Terrormorphs.

((Bone! You done with your shell fitting yet?)) I thought-yelled toward the water tank on the other side of the room.

((Fits like a glove, Boss.)) Bone replied, still in the morph of the ikdi sermolspra.

((Demorph and morph to the nanda dub.))

((Time to fly? Coolness.))

I then called out to Babylon who was still in Hollin's large vehicle somewhere outside the Beast-house. ((Babylon, I know you can't answer me, but I want you to turn on the Palm Proteus.)) I commanded, then waited a bit. ((Ayla, thought-speech mode.))

((David? What can I do you for?)) Ayla's computerized thought-speech voice was weak from distance.

((Demorph Hanerr. He's going to acquire a new form. When he's done, trap him in it.))

A few minutes later, a trontannas and two nanda dubs flew out of the back hallways of the Beast-House and into the sky.

((Into the canopy. We'll be harder to see that way.)) I commanded.

We flew into the canopy of intersecting swarms of birds, bugs, and other stuff I couldn't classify right away. It was as if I had stepped directly into New York City traffic, except three-dimensional. It was wild. I was amazed that none of the creatures were running into each other. The trontannas and the nanda dub both had instincts that kept that from happening.

It was the kind of flying experience that would scare the bejeebus out of Tobias.

What made it worse was that I couldn't see all that great due to the setting sun. Night was falling, and the trontannas is mostly a day animal.

Apparently the nanda dub has better night vision because after a few minutes of flying, after Hanerr announced that we had reached the Premium Row, it was Bone who spotted them.

((Look down there! Two big birds.)) Bone announced.

The 'big birds' in question were not in the air, but perched on the ground by one of the warehouses. I recognized the creatures immediately.

((The eotto'ot and the latemsnart lazunbi. Lebla and Frozeon.)) I clarified. ((Those are the morphs they used when we arrived on this planet.))

((Hmmph! Lebla.)) Hanerr sneered. He must have been holding a grudge against the dayang that tricked him.

((There are other creatures with them.)) Bone noticed. ((A sabrayog. A zeronex tor. And a drego blacle snake.))

((Which means, if our intel is correct, those are respectively, Gwarver, Krull, and Picum.)) I recalled.

We had learned about these animals on the way over to the Beast-house.

A Sabrayog is to a dayang as a gorilla is to a human. A sabrayog is a muscular, hairy version of a dayang with small thorns at the end of each tree-branch-thick tentacle. This copper-colored creature was Gwarver's morph.

Zeronexes are a whole group of dangerous predatory animals on Gianna Draquen. They are dayang-shaped (upper body that slides along a lower body) with legs and ground arms that end in claws. The upper body was devoid of tentacles and its arms were only spikes that waved about, so it was basically a torso and a head. The head had powerful jaws used to kill and eat prey. The tor (which means 'fast' in Draque) zeronex is black with yellow highlights, and this sleek version of the apex predator is regarded as the fastest land animal on this planet.

The drego (which means 'giant' in Draque) blacle snake is just a snake with two tentacles coming out of its back. The creature was black with a pattern of yellow and green stripes that I couldn't really see from my high altitude in the low light of Gianna Draquen's sunset. I also couldn't judge its length very well, but from the description, it was probably a lot longer than Hellboy. I know it was bigger.

We hovered over the Terrormorphs within the canopy. Numerous creatures whizzed by us as we watched our enemies and I tried to come up with a plan.

((One appears to be missing. The one named Erko.)) Hanerr reminded us.

((Erko uses that torgabal morph mostly,)) Bone remembered, ((but I don't see any.))

((He's also been known to use a rithinstufft morph.)) I said.

((Look at the roofs! There are rithinstuffts everywhere!)) Hanerr observed, frustrated.

Rithinstuffts were dayang-shaped creatures covered in pink fur that were about the size of a German Shepherd, except lower to the ground. Their lower bodies resembled that of a mole, complete with ground arms designed for digging. Their main arms on the upper body were shaped like that of a rat or raccoon. Their four tentacles were thick and ended in little tiny clawed-fingers that worked like clasps. Their satellite dish ears were more oval shaped and the antenna part of the ears is shorter. Their muzzles were longer than dayang muzzles, also not unlike a rat.

You'd think that a pink creature would stand out, but the roofs of the warehouses on premium row were all a pale pink color. And true to Hanerr's observation, most of the roofs had between two to six rithinstuffts scurrying around.

((Wait! See how the rithinstuffts are all fighting with each other?)) Bone pointed out. ((The dead-eaters back home do the same thing. They always have scratch marks or chunks of hair missing. These rithinstuffts are the same way. Except for that one on the warehouse in the row facing the cliff. He doesn't have as scratch on him and all his fur is cleaner than a calf's butt.))

((I don't see it.)) I said.

((There's four rithinstuffts. Two are fighting, one is watching, and one has its tentacles all up on some kind of door on the floor.)) Bone explained as my weak night vision spotted the roof he was talking about.

((The roof exit. That one must be Erko. I'm going in!)) Hanerr announced as he dove out of the canopy

((Hey! You work with us now, Hanerr.)) Bone chided as he caught up to Hanerr and headbutted his shell-covered head into Hanerr's body. ((Wait for the boss.))

((Yes, of course. Silly me.)) Hanerr grumbled.

((You got a plan, Boss?)) Bone asked me.

I hovered down next to the two nanda dub morphs. ((I think . . . I do.))

Picum

My name is Picum Passay-370. Actually, now that I'm legally my uncle's heir, my surname is Passay-040. Quite a step up on the social hill. My best friend in the whole galactic arm (and everything beyond) is Erko Zeair-576. He's been my best friend since pretty much all my life. He's very serious, not fun like me. We both used to be worker-privates on the star-trader Rogin Gavic. Erko said the duties were boring, but I always thought it was like having adventures. We saw a lot of interesting aliens and planets.

Well, now, even though we're on our own boring home planet, we were undeniably on the greatest adventure ever. My uncle Gwarver (who used to be the captain of the Rogin Gavic before he went undercover) has enlisted me and Erko on a top secret mission! The Andalites are trying to take over our planet, but they're doing it sneaky-like. The government is acting like it supports the Andalites, but really, Uncle Gwarver has been assigned to help take them down!

Since the Andalites are being sneaky, we have to be sneaky. We have to escape the planet and get help. We were going to retrieve some spaceship parts and turn one of our new mukommers into a spaceship. This way we could go into space, and save Gianna Draquen, and achieve our own wryphat'd, and have adventures just like The Tales of the Super-Powered Adolescents of Gianna Draquen. That was mine and Erko's favorite media serial when we were youths.

And the absolute, super-greatest part was . . . we had Andalite morphing power!

Of course, Erko has been acting like a total grump since we got our special assignment, like he still believes that story that Uncle Gwarver is some kind of traitor-fracture. I mean, DERRRR, it's a cover story because this is top secret. Uncle Gwarver explained the whole thing when we were recruited in the forest after a fishing trip, but Erko's still acting like my uncle is the bad guy. My uncle? A bad guy? Yeah right! Like Captain Hollin is really trying to stop us, not just putting on a show for the Andalites like Uncle Gwarver said.

Erko's really smart and stuff, but sometimes he can be a real nulnimt.

Still, Erko was smart enough to figure out how to pick locks in rithinstufft morph, so he was sneaking into a warehouse that held the next spaceship part we needed. Something called an oscillating tanab. He was gonna disable the alarms so we could get it and take it.

Two other members of our team were Lt. Frozeon Andsomgi-471, a mean officer who was also on Rogin Gavic, and Lebla Synda-300, a mechanical engineer. Lebla is really smart and really pretty, you know, for her age. They were in morphs of two large flying animals so they could carry the big spaceship part away. The other guy in our team was Kartar Legles-283, but everyone called him Krull. I wasn't sure why.

Krull and I were in battle morphs, just in case the andalites were going make our government fight us again. Krull used a Fast Zeronex morph to fight. I used a morph of a giant Blacle snake. Being a blacle snake is weird, because I don't have any arms and legs, and only the two tentacles, but I can move really fast and crush things. Even big things like hovercrafts.

Our leader, Uncle (Captain) Gwarver was a sabrayog. His big, hairy sabrayog tentacles slapped the ground around him. He does this if he's getting impatient. Erko was taking a really long time to disable the alarms.

Once the alarms were disabled, the old security guard will come out and investigate the perimeter. The guard was an elderly point wearing the typical guard uniform: sash for the upper body and the double pouches off the lower body that held his weapons and keys and stuff. His name was Willacrom Jordax-409, but my uncle referred to him as Old Willi. I think they used to work together.

Finally, after a really, (really, really,) long time, Old Willi came out of the warehouse. For an old point, Willi moved very spryly.

"Where are you?" Willi said in Galard, pointing his light-caster as if it was a gun. "Where are you, you stupid Jabos?"

((Why's he speaking in Galard?)) Lebla asked.

(('Jabos'?)) Frozeon repeated. ((Does he mean hawajabra?))

((He still thinks he's fighting the war.)) Uncle Gwarver said sadly. ((I knew he was getting thin and dull in the three ends, but I didn't think he was this far gone.))

((Maybe we should focus on the mission, Captain.)) Frozeon suggested rudely. Sometimes he can be a real jerk.

I guess Uncle Gwarver thought so too, since he grabbed Frozeon's lazunbi snout with a tentacle and pulled Frozeon toward him. Uncle Gwarver than wrapped a giant sabrayog main hand around Frozeon's throat, choking him a little bit.

Uncle Gwarver does this a lot. Never to me, though.

((I served under Lieutenant Willacrom in the Rekklabb Estate War. He was a fine soldier and a hero, and he deserves our respect. Remember that, lieutenant!)) Uncle Gwarver scolded and then let go of Frozeon's neck.

((Yes, I'll remember.)) Frozeon muttered.

((Picum, advance on my signal.)) Uncle Gwarver commanded. ((Remember, squeeze him so that he falls asleep. Don't let him see you.))

Uncle Gwarver signaled and I slithered ahead, when I got close enough behind him, he turned around suddenly (again, very quick for an old point) and looked at me.

I fought against the blacle's instincts to just bite and swallow him whole, and I stared down the old point, not knowing what to do.

((What are you waiting for? Kill him!)) Frozeon yelled. I didn't want to kill this old man. Uncle Gwarver liked him, I guessed.

"Greetings, little nipper." Old Willi said to me, again in Galard. "Ready to move your legs and find some jabos?"

((Legs?)) I repeated confused. ((What legs?))

((Great Gianna, he thinks Picum is a Rekklabb Blood Tracker)) Uncle Gwarver figured out.

((How do you confuse a snake the size of a tree to a centipede the size of a crawbull?)) Lebla wondered.

((He is really far gone.)) Uncle Gwarver said again, sadly, but then his voice got tough. ((We might as well take advantage of this.))

As Old Willi petted my head and pointed my snake-face to the ground (to sniff for 'Jabos' I guess), Uncle Gwarver and the others in full animal morphs walked toward us.

((Lieutenant Willacrom? Corporal Cindreon Bassill-884, here on special assignment, Sir!)) Uncle Gwarver said in thought-speech as he did a military salute in his sabrayog morph. He looked really silly. ((I've brought two . . . uh . . . . messenger birds. Two more messenger birds, and a . . . uh . . . crawbull.))

((He's never going to believe I'm a crawbull!)) Krull complained. ((Not even I'm that crazy.))

"Why aren't you a big officer?" Old Willi said to Uncle Gwarver. "What's with the critters? This is a war-zone, not a beast-house. You brought a crawbull here? This isn't time for getting cuddly with your pets, nubile!"

((Oh, these animals are specially trained. I'm here on special assignment from Base-001 to guard our new war-tech. Specifically the oscillating tanab. So, if you could escort us to the war-tech we'll begin our post,)) Uncle Gwarver said sneakily.

"Well, all right, but keep all these critters close to you. I don't want to have to chase them down, and take this nipping blood tracker with you. Something about him tangles my detergent . . . I mean, tentacles," Old Willi said as he led the way into Warehouse 23.

I tried not to laugh at the mistake Old Willi did. In Galard, the words for detergent and tentacles rhyme, so he just got confused. He's really old.

((This is going better than we could have dreamed.)) Lebla observed. ((Your senile former commanding officer is leading us straight to the component and no one knows we're even here.))

((Clamp your muzzle, Lebla.)) Uncle Gwarver snapped. ((Erko hasn't checked in.))

((He probably just forgot again.)) I covered.

((No excuse. I'm going to have to have a talk with Young Erko about procedure.))

Oh no. Uncle's talks usually involved some sort of physical pain. I don't know why he thinks he has to do that, and I don't know why Erko just doesn't follow procedure. It's like he doesn't even want to be on this mission. But who wouldn't want to save the world?

Old Willi came to a large steel door and opened it. It led to a large room with another large steel door to the outside. The only thing in the room was something large covered in a sheet.

"That device is in here," said Old Willi. "You get all your critters in there and watch it real good, ok?"

Normally, I or Krull would stand by our exits and keep guard, but I guess we had nothing to fear from Old Willi. The five of us gathered around the sheet.

((We will, Sir!)) Uncle Gwarver said to Old Willi. Then, privately to us, ((This is it! The oscillating tanab.))

Uncle Gwarver pulled back to sheet to reveal . . . an unconscious rithinstufft?

((Erko!)) I realized.

((What's going on?)) Frozeon said as he turned around to face Old Willi.

Old Willi smiled a devilish smile and pulled a small device out of his pouch with a tentacle and put it in his main hand. He pressed a button and WHAM! A cage came down on us.

((We've been tricked!)) Lebla said.

Old Willi laughed as he took off his uniform. Then, he began to change. He was morphing. Soon, he resembled the horned creature that fought beside David Hunting.

((It's that giant, smelly pet of David's.)) Frozeon recognized.

((I have a name, losers!)) Said the giant, smelly pet. ((It is Bonehead von Buffalo. The Mighty Warrior. The Superb Singer. The Sexy Beast.))

Bonehead began to morph again, this time to an animal that looked a lot like his real form, except it stood on two legs and had two arms.

"And you guys," Bonehead said, speaking a strange language that was probably native to his home planet, "are dead meat!"

((Well, I'm impressed.)) Uncle Gwarver said in that slick tone he uses when he wants to fool the bad guys. ((We kill your master, and here you are avenging him. So why don't you finish us off? Be a real warrior and kill us. Remove the cage.))

I guess Bonehead didn't want be a real warrior because he started singing and dancing.

"'Baby, make your move/ Step across the line/ Touch me one more time/ Come on, dare me!'"

At least I think it was singing and dancing.

"'I wanna take you on/ I know I can't lose/ And I'll be killing you/ If you just dare me.'"

((He's stalling.)) Frozeon said.

((Why?)) I asked.

"'Bad Boys! Bad Boys!/ Watcha gonna do?/ Whatcha gonna do/ When we come for you?'"

((The police are coming!)) Krull thought-yelled, as he started to go a little frantic. This is normal behavior for him.

((What?)) Uncle Gwarver asked, confused.

((The police are always coming to get me.))

((If he called anyone, it would have been Hollin.)) Frozeon figured.

((Either way, we're humped,)) Uncle Gwarver realized. ((Listen to me, Bonehead. The Andalite ambassadors are alive and I'll give them to you if you let us go.))

Why would Uncle Gwarver do that? They were the bad guys.

"No way, José." Bonehead answered.

That's when Hollin and five other Dayang officers entered the room. With them was the weird, purple Hork-Bajir that was also with David Hunting. They surrounded the cage and pointed weapons at us.

"Gwarver, Frozeon, Lebla, Erko, Picum, and Kartar," an older officer listed us, "you are hereby bound by law to demorph and stand down."

"Once again, in the name of Queen Dolaguel Rikrath-008, the Great Corporate Board of Legislature, and the Exalted Court of Understandings, Captain Gwarver and all complying Terrormorphs are under arrest." Hollin himself charged.

It always surprises me how far Hollin will go to assure the Andalites that they aren't on our side.

I wasn't going to demorph unless my uncle told me to. Lebla and Frozeon, however, began to demorph.

((You would betray me, Frozeon?)) Uncle Gwarver demanded.

"By damnation, no," whispered Frozeon as he made the transition to fully dayang, "but I certainly couldn't make a run for it in those stupid lazunbi legs."

((How about it?)) Uncle Gwarver asked. ((Shall we run for it?))

Krull had gone into complete hysterics and began spinning and hopping in place in one direction while his upper body spun the other way. He was also thought-screaming ((They'll never take me alive! They'll never take me alive! I'm not sorry for killing any one of them!!!))

Krull's kind of crazy.

((What about Erko?)) I asked.

((Damnation! Try to wake him up!)) Uncle Gwarver commanded.

Using one of my tentacles, I tried to open one of Erko's simple eyes to see if it'll respond to the light and wake him up. That's when I saw it.

I grabbed the rithinstufft by the tail with one of my tentacles and threw it against the side of the cage.

"Picum, what are you doing?" Lebla asked, fully demorphed.

((That rithinstufft has yellow eyes. Erko's morph's eyes are purple.)) I said.

The rithinstufft opened its eyes as its lower body stood. Then it began to change. It was another morpher! This one was demorphing into . . .

((David Hunting!)) Uncle Gwarver thought-yelled.

Sure enough, a not-dead David Hunting was looking at us with a shifty expression on his human face. Part of me was glad he survived. Then a part of me was afraid he'd beat us up.

Lebla began to morph again as Uncle Gwarver motioned for Frozeon and Krull to attack David. Krull was still spinning hysterically, so only Frozeon, in his own body, moved to attack David.

Big mistake. David morphs super-fast. So when Frozeon made a motion to grab him with his main arms, David had turned into a snake. It only had the two simple eyes, so it wasn't a Gianna Draquen snake, and it was kind of small compared to me, but it was probably dangerous in another way.

David the snake slithered underneath Frozeon's lower body and stuck Frozeon's underbelly. I wondered if David understood how vulgar and gross that is.

As David slithered away, Frozeon made more grabs for him with his tentacles, but he was moving slower than he usually did.

"I'll get you, you disgusting alien!"

Lebla was finishing her morph to the common xegapmar when Uncle Gwarver started shouting, ((What's wrong with you? Grab him!))

"I don't know what--- I feel---" Frozeon began to say as he looked strangely at his hand. That's when Frozeon toppled over, unconscious.

((Frozeon!)) Uncle Gwarver thought-yelled.

((This animal is called the Black Mamba on my planet,)) explained David, ((where it has the deadliest venom of any snake. Now, the effect in humans is that they start to feel a tingling sensation in the arms and such, sweating, lack of muscle control, nausea, shortness of breath, confusion, paralysis, maybe a coma, and then death. It's nasty stuff. Seems to me you dayangs are gonna feel something similar. Now, I don't have any antivenom unfortunately, but my good Hork-Bajir servent has these wonderful shots that'll trap him in a harmless morph, which should undo the venom's effects. And it can be yours if you just surrender.))

"You heard him, Gwarver. Your freedom for the life of your loyal soldier." Hollin reiterated. Frozeon moaned in pain.

((I'll never surrender!))

David's snake morph hissed as it reared up again. ((This will not end well for you.)) David said.

((My morph is venomous too, Human.)) Lebla taunted.

((You think that'll save you, Dayang?)) David said as he turned toward her.

Lebla fired her venom shooters and hit David in his tail, but not before David clamped his jaws on Lebla's upper body. David released Lebla and seemed to slither toward the cage bars. He slithered slowly through the bars holding the part where Lebla shot him off the ground.

((Ow, Ow, OW!)) David complained as he left the cage and began to demorph.

Lebla was not doing so well. All of her parts retracted into the shell of the xegapmar. However, as soon as she did, she began to demorph. Frozeon showed no signs of morphing and started to convulse.

((Things are looking bad, Uncle Gwarver. They're really trying to kill us!)) I said.

((Shut up!)) Uncle Gwarver snapped.

((Why are they trying to kill us? This isn't a show. This is like the real thing.))

"Surrender, Picum. We can save your teammates." One of the officers said.

I looked at Frozeon convulsing from the alien poison and at Lebla, slowly demorphing. Krull was still spinning in hysterics. Erko was missing, and there stood my uncle not surrendering.

((I . . . will not . . . . SURRENDER!!!!)) Uncle Gwarver shouted through the bars as his sabrayog morph roared.

"We have no choice." Hollin said. "Prepare for Executionary Measures."

"What?" David asked.

"What?" Bonehead asked.

((What?)) I repeated.

"On my mark," Hollin said solemnly.

PSSSST! The automatic fire-extinguishing sprayers turned on, but there was no fire. As the dayangs shouted in confusion, the room filled up with lots of gas that nobody could see through. That's when the cage lifted up.

((We're free!)) I thought-shouted, probably too inclusively.

((I'm opening the door to the outside,)) said a thought-speech voice. It was Erko! ((Run for it!))

((Picum, grab Lebla.)) Uncle Gwarver shouted as he picked up Frozeon. ((Krull, you worthless hunk of flesh, let's move!!!))

We made our way out of the smokey warehouse. I was carrying a rapidly changing Lebla while Uncle Gwarver carried a dying Frozeon with Krull running beside us. We were quickly joined by a rithinstufft with purple eyes (I checked) that was carrying something in one of his tentacles.

We escaped into the woods, at which point Lebla demanded that I put her slow-self down. We ran until we reached a cliff.

((What are we doing here, uncle?)) I asked.

((Making sure.)) He answered as he grabbed Erko by the neck and held him over the cliff. ((This had better be the real you, Erko, or you'd be better off falling to your death compared to what I'll do to you.))

((Hey, it's really me!)) Erko thought-yelled. ((Please, sir, you have to believe me.))

((Give me one shred of proof, it's you.)) Uncle Gwarver insisted.

((I don't know what you mean. Please, stop this. Put me down, you fucking fracture!)) Erko thought-yelled in exasperation.

I was very worried, that Uncle Gwarver was gonna drop him anyway for calling him a fracture. Thankfully, Uncle Gwarver just grumbled in annoyance and put Erko down on solid ground. Actually, it was more of a throw.

((That wasn't good proof, but it was proof.))

"What's that in your tentacle?" Lebla asked. "An electric tentacle tension reliever? You want to de-stress, now?"

((You're an engineer, Lebla. Use your brain. I wired it to a computer power cell.))

"To do what? Electrocute yourself?"

((Uh-huh. When I broke into the warehouse's roof hatch, I was followed by a trontannas. It was David in morph. He demorphed and remorphed into some snake with poison fangs. He bit me and the venom nearly killed me.)) Erko explained. ((I was near death when I bit down on some electric wires. The shock adrenelized me enough to keep me conscious through the demorph. I nearly fried myself in the process, though))

((Why'd you build this?)) Uncle Gwarver wondered.

((I heard your thought-speech cries about poison and David boasting about his alien morph. I figured some of you were also poisoned. So I made this, morphed and made my way to you.)) Erko said with some pride in his voice. ((Now, let's save Frozeon. Stick a tentacle into the tension reliever.))

Lebla followed Erko's instructions and Frozeon started twitching from the electricity.

"Uhhhh? Ow." came a questioning tone from Frozeon. He was awake. Sort of.

"Frozeon! You're poisoned. Morph! Morph!" Lebla shouted.

((Hush! You'll give away our position.)) Uncle Gwarver muttered.

"Too late for that," said a voice. All of the sudden, a bright light flooded the small clearing on the cliff that we were standing around.

We looked up toward the light and saw a purple hork-bajir.

"Did you really think you could outrun a Hork-Bajir among trees?"

((Dibulob shit!)) Uncle Gwarver yelled. ((Tree dwellers or no, Hork-Bajir can't see a damn thing in the dark. Someone helped him.))

((The third morpher.)) Erko said. ((This Hork-Bajir came with Hollin's task force after we were captured. He doesn't morph.))

The Purple Hork-Bajir was still talking. "You destroyed my medicine, Gwarver. I need my medicine. I can't get any more medicine until you are taken care of."

((But there were three morphers that followed me into the warehouse,)) Erko continued. ((David, Bonehead, and some other one. Someone who was already here.))

((Hanerr.)) Lebla said.

((Who's that?)) I asked as I felt my body temperture drop slightly. This happens to the snakes on our planet right before there's a buloss, a short windstorm.

((The andalite I stole the blue box from.)) Lebla answered my question. ((He must bethe third morpher.))

((When the trontannas attacked me, I remember seeing two nanda dubs.)) Erko said.

((He's up in the sky.)) Uncle Gwarver figured out.

((Then he's in trouble, because there's a buloss starting.)) I said.

As the wind started to pick up, the purple Hork-Bajir landed on the ground near us. He looked all kinds of scary underneath the military searchlight staked in the tree. I heard the sound of something heavy sliding down the cliff.

The large horned beast named Bonehead von Buffalo ran to stand next to the purple Hork-Bajir.

((This weird windy thing is keeping the dayangs from coming near this cliff, Babylon)) he said to the purple Hork-Bajir. ((It's just the three of us against all of them.))

A regular colored, but super-muscular Hork-Bajir landed from the trees between Bonehead and the purple Hork-Bajir named Babylon.

((Three of us is all we need)) said David.

((Erko! Lebla!)) Uncle Gwarver barked. ((Make sure Frozeon remorphs and also you two morph something useful. Picum! Krull! These aliens are breakfast soup.))

Uncle Gwarver, Krull, and I ranked up and stared down the three aliens. I didn't understand it. David Hunting and his two friends were going to fight us. Maybe even kill us.

((They will not take us!)) Uncle Gwarver shouted.

((Let's show these traitorous assholes how we do things Terra Firma-style)). David taunted.

The buloss picked up and started to whip around violently. The Horned Beast and two Hork-Bajir charged at us. And as we charged back, one thought entered my head.

This isn't fun anymore.