Chapter 1
My name is Jake. Usually, I'm a responsible person. I try my hand at saving the world at least once a week from the Yeerks, and it was spring break. A well deserved break from everything, I had thought. A week to kick back and relax and not worry.
Boy was I wrong.
Our first problem came from a little Ellimist girl, which promptly magnified after two of her Ellimist buddies were sent to us as well. If that wasn't enough, we found out Crayak has a half-Ellimist daughter, Aryn. Shortly thereafter, we sent all three Ellimist kids to the Chee, and I thought we were done.
Wrong again.
The Ellimist children are no longer Ellimist children. They've entered their "second phase" as they call it, which basically just means that they are just like us. Yep, you guessed it.
Moody.
Hormonal.
Teenagers.
It was Friday, the last real day of spring break. I *thought* maybe I might have the chance to enjoy it. Well, to be more specific, I thought I might have the chance to enjoy it with Cassie. So I scrounged up what little nerve I had, left a note for my mom, and went over to ask Cassie if she wanted to do something. Or something.
But before I left my house, I decided maybe I should call her first.
"Hi. Is Cassie there?"
"Jake, is that you?"
"Uh, yeah. Hey, listen, do you want to-"
-BEEP-
"What?"
"Ughhh, call waiting. Hold on."
I clicked over. "Hello?"
"Jake?"
"Yeah..."
"It's Erek," the voice said urgently.
"What is it?"
"Mette has been kidnapped by Aryn."
"...We'll be right by."
"Thanks."
I clicked back to Cass. "Well, gather up Tobias and Ax, and call Rachel and Marco. I meet you at Erek's house."
"Trouble?"
"Lots."
Chapter 2
"Good, you're here," a female Chee who I recognized as Jenny said abruptly.
"Where's Erek?"
"Out for a second. Here, come in," Jenny motioned.
Another Chee, Maria, stood in the hallway outside a door. "Rhi," she called. "Come out."
Racking sobs was the only reply.
I looked into the living room, and Ajay sat on the couch, his expression stony. "Ajay," Mr. King coaxed, "how about we watch the game?"
Ajay did not even respond. Instead, he continued to stare off into space.
"As you can see," Jenny told me seriously, "Mette's absence has severely affected them both. Rhi has refused to move from that room since she heard the news, and Ajay has blanked out entirely."
"How did it happen?" I asked.
Jenny spread her arms helplessly. "Erek, Rhi, Mette, and Ajay were all at a midnight showing of Star Wars- apparently they couldn't sleep- and Mette had to go to the bathroom. After about fifteen minutes, Rhi left the theater to see why Mette hadn't come back. Aryn had Mette bound and gagged, and then they vanished."
"Vanished? Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"Hey, hey, hey, Super Marco has arrived," Marco proclaimed boldy as he burst through the door. "What's going on with my favorite Ellimist kids?"
"Now's not the time, Marco," I said quietly.
^We're not kids anymore,^ Ajay spoke suddenly. He stood up, towering above Marco menacingly.
"Wow, hi Ajay," Marco said uneasily. "My, you've gotten big."
Ajay ignored that. ^Where are the others?^
"Right here," Rachel answered, with Cassie, Ax, and Tobias trailing behind her.
"Erek should be back shortly,^ he informed us. ^I sent him to the Sharing to see if any word on Mette could be found.^
"Can't you just find her with that psychic stuff?" Rachel asked.
^Normally, yes,^ he said, ^but Aryn has put up a scattering spell, and my locating skills aren't so swell.^
"How are Rhi's?" questioned Cassie.
^Fairly excellent,^ he admitted, ^but she can't concentrate enough to use them.^
"Then we must help her concentrate," Ax said seriously. "Trait. Cen-trate."
Tobias took Maria's place in the hallway. "Rhi," he said carefully, "we need your help."
^I'm not six years old anymore,^ she said sullenly. ^You needn't talk to me as if I was.^
"Will you come out?"
^I'm coming,^ she said softly.
Hesitantly she exited the room.
Marco whistled. "Definitely not 6 anymore."
"Marco," someone growled, warning.
"Erek!" Rhi cried out, dashing across the room and burying her face in his chest. She then proceeded to weep uncontrollably.
"This is really not fair," Marco complained. "Even a Chee can snag a girlfriend before me."
"Hmm, wonder why?" Rachel said smugly.
^Can we please stay on topic?^ Ajay demanded exasperatedly.
"Yeah, we are a little off," I acknowledged, and then promptly steered us back to the topic as close as I could. "So, Erek, what did you learn?"
"They don't have her yet," he said gloomily, "but they're expecting Aryn to turn her over in two days."
"So we have to find her before then," Cassie surmised.
"Right," I agreed.
"Not to be cruel or anything," Marco commented, "but they can't kill her, can they?"
^No,^ Ajay said coldly, ^but they can infest her.^
^Would you like an infested Ellimist on the side of the Yeerks?^ Rhi asked pointedly.
No one wanted to answer that question.
Chapter 3
By noon, it was not looking good.
^Rhi,^ Ajay said impatiently, ^anything yet?^
^No. I would tell you if there was something, Ajay, and stop breaking my concentration.^
"We need a backup plan," I said quietly, "in case we can't find her."
"That's probably a good idea," Cassie conceded.
"We could bust the Yeerk Pool," Rachel suggested.
"Only as a last resort," I told her sharply. "The last thing we need is another disaster there."
"Maybe instead of seeking Mette, we could seek Aryn," Ax mentioned.
"Would that be any easier?" I asked Ajay.
^Probably. Even I could do that.^
^Given a lot of time,^ Rhi snapped. ^Which we don't have.^
^Do you have a better suggestion?^
"We better find out a little more about Aryn," Cassie said cautiously, trying to break up the animosity between the two, "such as her powers, origins and compositions."
^I already know what Aryn is,^ Rhi said darkly. ^She's a b-^
^Rhi!^ Ajay exclaimed, doubling over with laughter.
^Well, she is,^ Rhi said defensively, flashing a quirky grin.
In that moment, all hostility between those two vanished.
"Regardless," I coughed, "we need to make a better plan."
"Right!" Rachel enthused.
"Ax and Tobias, I'd like you to scoop out the town to find any traces of Aryn or Mette."
"Gotcha," Tobias replied, beginning to morph back to his hawk body.
"Yes, Prince Jake," Ax said, nodding.
"Ax, don't call me 'Prince,'" I sighed.
"What are the rest of us going to do?" Cassie asked.
"Just wait," I said tiredly. "We can't do much else."
Chapter 4
"Batman," Marco said calmly, whipping the tennis ball at my head.
"Superman," I disagreed, catching the tennis ball and flinging it back.
"Batman doesn't have to find a telephone booth to change," Marco argued, seizing the yellow blur and hurling it back.
"Batman can't even fly," I snorted.
"Can so!"
"Gliding," I said hotly, "is NOT flying."
I snatched the ball and chucked it at him.
^Found her,^ Rhi exulted.
^Mette?^ Ajay asked eagerly.
She shook her head. ^Aryn.^
His face fell. ^Oh.^
"It's a start," Cassie said hopefully.
"Where is she?" Tobias asked. He and Ax had long since given up their patrol and morphed to human.
^The Holiday Inn,^ she replied.
"The Holiday Inn?" Rachel repeated in disbelief.
"It's a hotel," Marco supplied.
"Thank you, Marco," Rachel said acidly, intercepting the tennis ball and bonking him on the head with it.
"What's she doing there?" Cassie pondered.
"Well," Marco said thoughtfully, "she could be eating a continental breakfast, enjoying a dip in the indoor pool, or possibly relaxing and watching one of 62 marvelous cable channels on a 50 inch t.v."
"Doesn't matter why she's there," I interrupted, "the point is that she is."
"How are we going to get up to Aryn's room without being noticed?" Tobias queried.
"We could morph yogurt and Erek can pretend he's a room service guy," Marco quipped.
"Marco," Rachel said irritably, "how are we supposed to morph YOGURT?"
"No, dude! I'm serious! There are live cultrues in yogurt."
I gave him a look.
"I like yogurt," Ax commented.
"Uh-huh," I said noncommitally. "Cass, any ideas?"
"Roaches or flies," she offered.
"Yogurt," Marco insisted.
"Roaches," I decided.
"Let's do it!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Somehow," Erek complained, "I have a sinking feeling about this."
Chapter 5
{Mette's in there,} Tobias reported.
^Cage or forcefield?^ Rhi asked quietly.
{I only see a cage,} he replied.
Ajay grunted. ^Chances are that Aryn's got a forcefield running too.^
"We need a plan," Cassie whispered to me.
"I can't shut down the forcefield," Erek said dubiously, "but I could probably bust the cage open."
^I can disarm the forcefield,^ Ajay said confidently.
"Question is, how are we going to get up there?" Cassie pressed.
{Erek, you could project a hologram to hide us, couldn't you?} Tobias surmised. {That way we wouldn't have to worry about Aryn recognizing us at first, and we could buy you some time.}
"Good idea," I approved.
"We better get going," Cassie said worriedly.
"Definitely!" Marco yelled.
"What's gotten into you?" I said suspiciously.
"Just a little team spirt," he said defensively.
"Well, let's go," I said with resignation.
***
"Room service."
^I didn't order anything,^ Aryn said crossly.
"I have an order right here ma'am. Your name is Aryn, isn't it?"
^Yes.^
"Well, it was ordered in your name. Nothing I can do about it."
Angrilly, Aryn grabbed the delivery. ^What is it?^
"Yogurt."
^Does it cost me?^
"Definitely!" Marco said cheerfully.
I grinned inwardly. Might as well let Marco have a little fun wile we save the world. He did make a pretty good room service guy, although I'm not certain what has brought on this sudden yogurt fetish.
^Come in, I'll see if I can scrounge up the money.^
As we walked into the room, Rachel exited the hologram as a roach and headed towards the bathroom.
{The cage is in the closet,} Tobias directed from outside.
"We're getting there," Erek muttered, extending the hologram to the length of the closet. The two crept to the cage, and Ajay began to nimbly disable the invisible blockage.
Aryn's head drew up sharply. ^Do you smell something?^ she demanded to Marco.
His brow furrowed. "Yogurt?"
^Another Ellimist,^ she mumbled.
{She suspects,} Cassie noted.
{Rhi, maybe you should-} I left it hanging.
^Understood.^
Without warning, she stepped outside the safety of the hologram.
^Rhi!^ Aryn said, shocked.
^Well, hello, Dolly,^ Rhi said mildly. ^And may I be the first to say your second phase is rather repellent.^
^It is not!^ Aryn raged.
"There is help, ma'am," Marco said in mock earnest. "I know of several good acne treatments, and I'm good friends with the surgeon who worked on Britney Spe-"
^Andalite!^ Aryn spat.
On cue, an old friend of ours came out of the bathroom. Fluffers McKitty. Otherwise known as Rachel in morph. Also known as a cat that then and there bit Aryn on the butt.
Aryn howled in pain.
In an effort to tick Aryn off, Rhi opened the window as a gateway for a hurtling Tobias. You got to admit, seeing a red-tailed hawk ravage someone's hair is pretty hilarious.
^I need a little more time,^ Ajay signaled.
^Gotcha,^ Rhi nodded.
The blue aura around Rhi reappeared and intensified, sending out a beam of azure light directly towards Aryn. It didn't do much damage, but it did provide a distraction.
^Finished!^ Ajay triumphed.
Ajay slid into plain very and fired his own energy beam at Aryn. It was a darker, brighter, and much more powerful beam.
"That," Marco said in awe, "is one snot-lickin' attack."
A sudden *CHUNK* signified that Mette was now free, and she joined her Ellimist buds in the fight. Aryn tried in vain to project her own attack, but her measly red glimmer was almost immediately swallowed by the blinding, pure light of the Ellimists.
Aryn whimped as Ax backed her up to the wall with his tail blade. ^You'll pay for this,^ she said weakly. Within an instant, she had vanished.
Chapter 6
As Ajay and Mette shared a beautiful kiss in celebration of her liberty, a little speck of light floated down from the heavens and materialized into another little girl. ~say your goodbyes,~ the Ellimist child said in an official manner. ~you are needed at home.~
Ajay, Mette, and Rhi gave Tobias and Rachel an all- encompassing bear hug.
^Never give up,^ Ajay said seriously.
^But control yourself,^ Rhi advised.
^Your future holds great things,^ Mette said warmly.
The three turned to Cassie. ^You do a great service to humanity,^ Mette continued.
^Don't doubt your morals,^ Ajay added.
Rhi remarked thoughtfully, ^Your sense of right and wrong is the greatest compass.^
^And you!^ Rhi exclaimed to Ax. ^Wake up and smell the roses!^
^Have a little fun,^ Mette encourgaed.
^Earth has so much to offer,^ Ajay supported.
I was next. ^Don't worry,^ Mette said comfortingly.
^We guarantee your brother will be free,^ said Rhi.
^Better work on those computer skills,^ Rhi said slyly to Marco.
^Who knows?^ Ajay grinned. ^Maybe next time we'll have a rematch.^
^And Marco,^ Mette said disdainfully, ^Superman is way better.^
Finally, they reached Erek.
Ajay said simply, ^Thank you. Your help is appreciated in ways uncountable.^
^We couldn't have done it without you,^ Mette thanked.
Erek took two slow steps towards Rhi and lightly kissed her. "I'll miss you," he said somberly.
^Erek, we are both nearly eternal. Trust me; we will meet again,^ she assured.
Fondly, Mette grasped Ajay's hand and together they walked by their young guide into the sunset. Hesitantly breaking away from Erek, Rhi followed.
On and on they walked, until we could no longer see them. Somehow, though, I could have sworn I thought I saw them waving back at us.
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