Morph

**Sylverdawn, do you want Shade to die or are we going to totally rescue him? And there was an idea that Heather and the evil Andrew could be cousins and they don't know it. Just thoughts. Please answer on the DT**

**I'm pretty sure it'll be a rescue. I think the scientists would prefer Shade alive, since he's a natural born shifter. And TN, I think we all agreed she could talk to animals.**

Peter and Liz

It was almost pathetic, seeing the otter girl virtually in tears at Shade parting them. Liz shook her head, hadn't the girl been looking at that boy Jason that same way so recently? The possibility that maybe she didn't have a proper understanding of other people's emotions never occured to her, such things never did.

"Alright, enough sappy goodbyes." She said, interupting what they were saying to each other, "Alright, girl. You can take the bird boy and go, we won't follow you."

Peter shot her a look, as if to say, You don't really mean that, do you? She nodded in reply. She did mean just that, they had neither the numbers nor the time to go after a couple of minor rogues. A bird and an otter, or one of the best Pride Sentinels, the son of the Leo himself, and someone who'd given them a great deal of grief in the past. Needless to say, Shade was far more valuable to them.

For the meantime, though, he was just standing there, seemingly committed to his fate, understanding that if he tried to run now, they'd probably kill Carmen and Ballow. He was watching the two of them, their small sillhouettes standing far from them already, retreating into the distance. Liz looked at Peter for a moment.

He nodded, picking up a stick and stepping up behind Shade, who started to turn at the sound of Peter's approach. The branch swung, catching the Sentinel in the side of the head and knocking him unconscious.

Liz watched the prone body for a moment, ready to shift, then raised her eyes to the figures of Carmen and Ballow. They'd paused. She lifted a hand in a mocking salute, then turned from the clearing, starting back towards where they'd parked their truck. Peter lifted Shade's body onto his shoulder and followed her.

*A rescue, definetly a rescue, I just thought a whole sneaking into enemy territory might be fun. Just so you guys know, while I expect a rescue, Shade does not.*

*Is Ballow unconcious? I'm assuming he is.*

Carmen-

When we were out of sight, I propped Ballow up against a tree. What should I do?!

Should I try to find the others? Should I follow Shade and see where he's going? What should I do with Ballow either way? I can't carry him that far.

"Ugh!" I shouted out loud.

And then I remembered the phone in my pocket. It was heavy with importance.

Press one on speed dial. It'll contact my dad.

His dad... How soon would he get here? Should I call him now? Would I get in trouble if I did? How far away is Shade already? Where is everyone else? Will they kill Shade?

My hands shook as I hit the speed dial for 1. It rang and rang.

I considered hanging up. I felt like this might be a mistake, but I didn't really have a choice.

Finally, I heard a deep, rough voice.

"Why are you calling me, Son?"

"Uh, hi. Sorry, this is, um, Carmen. Um, I'm here with Ballow and he's hurt, and unconcious, and Shade was just taken away by the hyena people 'cause he offered himself up for some first aid 'cause Ballow was gonna die, and I didn't know what to do, and he gave me this number-"

"Calm down," the voice, I'm assuming Leo, interrupted.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Do you know who exactly took Shade away?"

"They're brother and sister. I don't know their names."

"I'll send someone to get you."

No one was there anymore, but I whispered, "Thanks," anyway.

I felt hopeless. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground, crying, seeing th epicture of Shade unconcious on the ground.

Could I have helped him?

Pride Haven-

Leo set the phone down with trembling fingers. Sighing, he stood up and strode across the office room, and opened the door with a bang. The shout that echoed down the halls was much closer to a roar then he had intended. "Ian! Jackson! Get in here!" Snarling he slammed the door again and began pacing in frustration.

Five minutes later Ian and Jackson dashed into the office. The Leo's seconds were blonde, green eyed twins. Ian with the form of a black timber wolf, and Jackson the form of a bengal tiger. Panting, Ian closed the door, as Jackson gave the Leo a sarcastic salute. "You bellowed, Oh Great Alpha?"

Snarling, Leo reached out and grabbed a thick wooden rod from his desk. He held it in his hands, working his claws over the much scarred wood. "I don't need any of your sarcasm right now Jackson. I just got a call from one of those shifters my son was with. Apparently, Shade has gone and let the order catch him, so he could protect some other shifters."

Both twins went white, identical expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces. "We'll get him out, we have to." Ian spoke confidently, but his voice shook slightly.

"We have to do it fast." Jackson continued where his brother left off. "It won't take the scientists long to realise Shade has the scent of a future Alpha. He's the only Alpha, other then you Leo, that we've found in the past, what thirty, forty, years. The scientists only ever succeeded in making one. Every other Alpha broke down and died."

Sighing heavily Leo slumped back into his chair. "Alpha's are even stronger and faster then normal shifters, they have a draw about them that keeps other shifters loyal. An alpha would be able to keep all the shifters they have, and any new ones they bring in loyal. If they find out my son is an Alpha, they'll guard him like Fort Knox. Motion detectors, hidden cameras, laser grids, the whole nine yards."

He grabbed his cell phone and tossed it to Jackson. "Use that to track down where his new friends are. Afterwards, figure out which lab they're heading for. And get him out." Leo's voice lowered steadily in pitch until it was the guttural voice of a lion on two legs. "I don't care how you do it. Missile launchers, infiltration, whatever it takes, just get Shade out."

"Understood." The pair turned and headed out the door. They were barely six feet down the hall before they started shouting for the other sentinals.

Pippa:

Pippa frowned as she looked at the others, something was wrong. "Can someone explain this to me?" She demanded. "I've never seen shifters, I mean I can talk to animals, but I'm not sure about this whole shifting, where did they go, who is that after you?"

"Now isn't hte time for questions, we need to catch up with them as soon as possible." The big guy said.



**SOrry it's short, I'm still trying to figure it all otu**

Heather-

We all shifted and began running, Pippa rode on Trent since she wouldn't be able to keep up. Luckily she was light and we weren't running too fast to lose Trent. Pippa shouted over the paw beats and wing beats that the hospital wasn't too far, fifteen minutes by car, a half hour to an hour on foot.

I flew in between Trent and Jason, both having a certain worried air about them. Jason must've been worried for Carmen since they were friends before we all met, but I didn't know what worried Trent. Was it the new girl?

As I thought this, a twange of jealously rose up inside. Now is not the time to think about that junk. Ballow is still in trouble.

We kept running, but slowed down becausae of Trent. It was understandable since he was a bear and not designed for running long distances. I looked ahead and saw to shapes near a tree. One was very small and the other looked human. Carmen! Ballow! Why aren't they at the hospital? Where's Shade?

I flew ahead and shifted in front of Carmen.

"You're okay! Where's Shade? Why aren't you all at the hospital?"

"Something came up and Shade's in trouble." Carmen looked close to tears and there was evidence that she was crying before.

"What happened?"

"I-"

"Carmen?" Jason asked after he shifted. The others came up and surrounded Carmen and Ballow. "Carmen, what's wrong?"

"Shade's gone. The hyena people took him."

Carmen-

I began to cry again, with everyone looking at me, sondering what happened. I should have done something. He's long gone by now.

Jason hugged me tight, and let me cry on his shirt. Although I wished I could stay there, I lifted my head up again to tell everyone what happened.

"So the Leo is coming?" Trent asked.

"He said he was going to send someone."

"Are you the shifters that were with Shade?" someone asked, walking towards us. There were two of them; they looked like twins. I hadn't heard their approach, but I was so thankful they'd gotten here.

The one who spoke saw Ballow on the ground, and no one needed to answer his questinon. He hurried over to him. I hoped it wasn't too late.

Pippa-

Pippa felt like sinking into the ground. She had no clue what was going on, or what was really going on. She was used to feeling different and like an outcast, but not knowing what was going on.


Trent-

"What do we do now?" Trent asked rolling his shoulders, he itched to be back in bear form, but needed to talk with the others.



**Sorry it's short, I dont' feel all that great**

*I need Billy to post so I know where Shade is.*

**Sorry, I was going to post yesterday, but I was busier than I expected to be.**

Peter and Liz

They'd had trouble making sure everything worked out, the remaining hyenas had wanted to eat Andrew and Shade rather than let them sit in the back of the truck with them. In the end, Liz had had some very stern words with the dogs. The siblings had left a very nervous Andrew sitting in the back with an unconscious jaguar who hated him, and a small pack of hyenas who would rather eat him than look at him.

"What're we going to do with Shade now?" Peter asked his sister.

She considered her response for a while, keeping her eyes on the road as she steered the truck. She used her peripherals to keep an eye on the road on either side of them. Trees flashed past as they drove towards one of Harper's private airstrips, but thankfully only that. No Pride shifters yet.

"Well," she finally said, "We're going to have to fly him to Lab Twenty-Four for testing and everything. Much as I'd hate to give away that location to some Pride bird flying after us, it's the safest place."

Peter agreed - it certainly was. As safehouses went, Harper Veterinary Technologies, also known as 'The Order' knew the location of every Pride hiding spot, and vice versa. The only exceptions to this were the main location of the Pride, their so-called Haven, and Lab Twenty-Four, Harper's newest project.

Lab Twenty-Four was a fortress, with multiple reinforced walls and electrified fences. It was patrolled by hundreds of Harper's elite guards, including many shifters. Hyenas like Liz and Peter, bred for their savagery. Eagles and falcons as sentries, rhinos on the gates, and a myriad of other combat animals keeping their fellows in.

The project there was a substitute to the apparent lack of Alphas in the former ones. There had been a few, the Leo, for one, but for the great part, those few that had emerged hadn't reacted well to Harper's mind control serums. Lab Twenty-Four was remedying that, and the new generation of shifters were going to include three Alphas totally loyal to Harper. They were still children, but were already effectively brainwashed into serving the Order, and, once they reached maturity, would become Harper's greatest weapon in eliminating the Pride.

Jason

He hugged Carmen, keeping her close to him while watching the newcomers with some suspicion. After all, what if they were just people sent by the scientists to replace the hyenas? They looked like they were helping Ballow, but that didn't mean much at all. After all, Carmen had seen the hyenas giving him field aid or something.

But Jason supposed they didn't have much choice but to trust these two. They were, as far as he knew, their only chance of getting Shade back. And he seemed to be the only one with any idea of what was happening to them.

He looked at the girl who could talk to them - Pippa, she'd said her name was, "You wanted to know about shifters, right?"

She nodded, and Jason continued, "We know about as much as you do about this whole thing. We don't know how or why they made us, or how many more there are. All we know is that the scientists that made us are trying to get us back so they can do more tests or something." He looked across at the people he assumed were Pride shifters, "Do you two know anything more than that?"

*I'll have Shade wake up after they get on the plane. Plus the bad guys should notice he's an alpha because they have a special scent.*

Ian + Jackson-

Jackson glanced at Ian, as he finished treating the wounded bird, the crow, Ballow, sighed in his sleep and slipped fully into human form. "I can't tell you much. A lot of the stuff is classified. Why they made us is still a mystery. But they were unhappy with the first. We were just supposed to be weapons, tools. Dumb animals, incapable of thinking for themselves."

"The Leo was both their greatest sucess. And greatest failure." Ian picked up where his brother left off. "As for why want you back, from what we know you guys were part of an experiment. They gave you your abilities, and then put you in the foster system. To see how a shifter would function growing up in normal society. As you may have noticed, most of you ended up on the streets, at least, those that didn't find their way to the Pride.

Jackson stretched and stalked out to the road, the others following, there was a large black SUV parked on the side road. "They want you back because they see you as their property. They don't see shifters as humans. That, and they want to control all of us. It's either capture or terminate, depending on how much you're worth."

They laid Ballow in the back, the kids glanced each other before climbing in. "You're not gonna leave Shade to them are you?" The question came from Jason, the kid smelled like a cat.

Jackson started the car while Ian turned around and gave Jason a cold look, his eyes like ships of green ice. "We are Sentinals. We are Loyalty and Honour Bound. No Fallen Comrade will be left Behind."

"What's that supposed to be?" Pippa asked.

Smiling faintly Ian turned back around. "It's part of the Sentinal Creed. A Sentinal lives by the Creed. Now, we can drop you kids off at the airfield and give you tickets to where ever you want ago."

As Jackson peeled onto the road again, Trent spoke up. "No way. We aren't leaving Shade behind."

Jackson grinned as he gunned the engine. "Then let's get to work."

*I can change this last part if anyone wants.*

~Damien~

I flew quietly back to where I'd last seen the other shifters. I'd been somewhat forgotten, though the electrical thingy was still around me. It was getting hard to fly with it, as I'd been flying for some time. I started a shallow dive when I saw the car, and through the windows, the other shifters.

They forgot about my flight...I knew where the bad guys were. If they would only trust me enough to listen to me...and if I could mangae to get the words out of my mouth.

**Wow**

Heather-

I was nervous around these two. They seemed well enough, but having other shifters around besides our group was... awkward. Thoughts of the scientists and Peter and Liz flashed through my mind.

They see us as property. I guess that would discomfort anybody. But why do they want Shade so much? Is he because he's part of the Pride? And that squirrel with the gun, he seemed awfully familiar. When we rescue Shade, does it mean we'll be part of the Pride? Ugh! I just wish none of this ever happened.

The longing for Tennessee and its peace hit me like a tidal wave. But then a want to help Shade came even greater. Shade was our friend and we weren't just going to leave him behind.

**Total drama drabble and I apologize. I just didn't have much to post.**

Jason

Once they'd driven Ballow to a Pride doctor, Jackson and Ian stood facing the whole group, their SUV behind them. "How many of you really want to help us find Shade? Because we can't take anyone who doesn't truly want to help."

Jason shot a look at Carmen. He wanted to help Shade, after all the other boy had done for them, but he wasn't going to go if she wouldn't. But most of the group seemed unwilling to back down.

"Well," Trent said, "Where is he? I think we all want to go."

Ian looked somewhat embarrassed, "Well, that's the thing...we're not sure exactly where he is. That's our next task - finding out."

A shadow passed briefly over Jason's face, and he looked up. The dark shape of a bird between him and the sun made him frown. That's...

"Damien." Someone growled beside him, "They must have sent him to spy on us."

Peter and Liz

Their jet was a comfortable one. At least, it was for Peter, Liz and Andrew - who looked decidedly more relaxed than he had been in the back of the truck. The hyenas were locked in the hold of the plane, and Shade was cuffed and chained in a seat towards the back of the plane. Like Damien's collar, Shade's bindings were designed with shifters of his strength in mind.

Peter kept on looking over at him, and Liz rolled her eyes, "Would you cut that out, little brother? He's not going anywhere."

When he looked back, she saw that his eyes were not fearful, but intense and savage, "Not worried about that. I'm just getting hungry."

She reached across and cuffed him across the head, "He's an Alpha. That's what Harper wants at the moment. He probably doesn't need a fourth for keeps, but he'll want to study Shade anyway."

Peter sat back, sulking. Andrew cleared his throat - nervously. "Um, what about Damien?"

Liz sniffed, "What about him? We don't need him at the moment, and he's still got the collar. When we do need him, we'll zap him. If we don't need him at all any more, we'll zap him a little harder."

Peter grinned, "Can I have him after that, when it does happen?" Liz nodded, and Peter's grin went even wider.