the airplane

[instar]

Bella, Andi, and Robin all get on the plane. Bella and Robin have toothbrush caps in their pockets containing flies. Nothing in particular happens when they go through security. They fly for an hour, and then Bella, rather than risk crunch time due to turbulence or a line for the bathroom a little later on, gets up to take Trouble into privacy for demorphing and remorphing.

She takes the toothbrush cap out of her pocket and sets it on the tiny little counter, and then flattens herself against a wall to give him room.

Comments

[sundayfish]

After Bella has checked all the curtains and given him the all-clear, Charlie demorphs. He doesn't really have any tight-fitting clothes, but he goes and gets a bathrobe.

[aeskhyne]

Trouble demorphs too. He does not have a bathrobe, but his morphing outfit - a tight T-shirt and bike shorts - is intact.

[palmofyourhand]

Likewise Ethan.

[sundayfish]

"So - thanks," says Charlie awkwardly. "Suppose nobody knows how much food there is in the house and won't miss a few slices of leftover pizza."

[instar]

"I'll go warm some up."

[palmofyourhand]

Ethan sits on the couch and hugs Robin.

[hold_infinity]

Robin thinks this is an excellent plan!

[aeskhyne]

Trouble heads for the couch to join them, and...

...pauses.

"Do you guys hear that?"

[pandion]

"...Wait, you hear something? I kind of - I thought it was my imagination."

[instar]

"I don't hear anything - what is it?"

[aeskhyne]

"Thought-speak," says Trouble. "Really faint. Incredibly faint. I can barely even hear it. If there are words, I'm sure not getting them. Just - feelings, kind of? Like 'help me, help me'. And something else I can't figure out."

[pandion]

"...The ocean?" says Andi vaguely.

[aeskhyne]

"Yeah. I think so, yeah. Like, the bottom of the ocean. All that water." He shivers. "I don't think he likes it down there."

[pandion]

"Yeah, it's not... a happy voice."

[instar]

"...Dad, is this ringing any bells?"

[sundayfish]

"Esclan wasn't important enough to know anything about that kind of thing," says Charlie, shaking his head, "his job was to have a respectable authority figure participating in the Sharing chapter and let Controllers off with warnings if they had to commit crimes going about their business."

[aeskhyne]

"So... mysterious SOS from somewhere under the ocean," says Trouble, "in thought-speak. Who else thinks that Andalite ship might not have been as burnt up as it sounded?"

[instar]

"Do you think you can find the place?"

[aeskhyne]

"Sure, if I could get there," says Trouble. "Morph a whale or something. Dolphin? Do dolphins dive? I don't even know how far down we'd have to go."

[instar]

"Anybody have a way to get ahold of a marine mammal that doesn't involve flying to Seattle? Can fly to Seattle if we have to, it's just a long way. We have a few days before Renée gets up here to console us, we're just lucky she's on the road trip and not answering the home phone."

[hold_infinity]

"Not that I can think of," says Robin. "Are we rescuing the underwater Andalite, then?"

[instar]

"It seems worth doing if we can do it. Any objections?"

[hold_infinity]

"Not from me."

[palmofyourhand]

"I'd love to know what we plan on doing with this underwater Andalite once we rescue them."

[instar]

"Find out what morphs they already have, work out a plan from there to get them a pigeon or crow or something, hide them roughly the way we're already hiding Trouble and Charlie, and pump them for information," Bella says. "We may need some kind of permanent hiding setup. I guess once Charlie is legally dead me and Andi inherit all his stuff - Dad, you cool with donating to the general cause of ridding the Earth of Yeerks?"