Manimals: Prelude.
He watched as the being known as David fell into incredibly clichéd patterns. A five year old could've broken through.
He wasn't proud of this one. This universe's group of Animorphs was incredibly skilled. And this David had no creativity whatsoever.
Their leader, Brandon, reared up in his huge bear morph. His chosen morph was the largest of them all.
His best friend, Colin, had acquired a lexicon of deadly morphs, but now was in his first battle morph, that of a Siberian tiger.
The resident techie, Ryan, preferred stealth to power. He was currently in the form of a black jaguar.
The only female of the team, Vy, had a tendency to pick more dangerous morphs. She was a Nile crocodile.
David, Brandon said, you've led us around long enough.
Why the hell won't you just die, dammit! Colin yelled.
Fools, David cackled from his lion morph, You think you've won, but as we speak, I've rigged a proton-shift device to-
That piece of crap? Ryan snorted, I disabled it. Didn't you wonder why I wasn't there?
David balked, But, how did you break my codes?
It was your name spelled backwards. Plus you've used that password before.
Well, then, my loyal Andalite bodyguard Spike will finish you!
Colin laughed, I ripped him apart just before we came in here. I love that Sasquatch morph!
I still have my vampire armies! David struggled desperately.
I took them out last week with a few garlands of garlic, the sprinkler system, and a priest, Vy said proudly.
My secret Blade ship?
Blew it up Brandon said
My professional assassin?
Bribed him Vy said
My unthinking clones?
Poison gas Ryan stated
My impenetrable force field?
Brick. Colin said
This just ain't my week. David said just before a small army of animals tore him to shreds.
*************************************************************************************************
The being watching this was six feet tall. Remarkably humanoid. Red skin. Tail. Cloven hooves. Horns coming out of his forehead. He was a traditional looking devil. His original name was Quinz. He once was a Haas, but after being infused with Drac blood, called himself Puck.
He was worried. It was all falling apart. His grand plans to return the power and destroy all universes (with the exception of the one he currently was in) were becoming undone.
None of them did what he expected. From the sheer power of the whole, he thought each shard would be more powerful. All of them failed in their missions. Almost all had died. There was one, just one, who became a turncoat. He became good. A benign Beast was, to him and his masters, infinitely worse than a dead one.
What worried him most was the fact that there were only two left that he had any influence over. He had to make them perfect. There was no way it could fail now.
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He needn't look back. He knew who it was. It was him. His boss.
His Master.
"You are failing, Quinz. You have failed miserably where you promised great success. We are disappointed, Quinz."
He nearly soiled himself. His Master only called him "Quinz" when he was really mad, "My Lord, there is still a chance. There are still some left that can return your power. Only one is necessary to get the Stone moving."
He realized, even without looking, that his Master was smiling. That was bad, his Master never smiled.
"Who are left, Quinz?"
"Taggart and Berenson. Hunting-"
Before he could complete the thought, he heard a low snarl, and his Master spoke in a soft, deadly voice:
"I know about Hunting. Now, tell me about Taggart and Berenson!"
"Taggart will become a nothlit as a rat, very similar to the path originally taken by… I won't finish that. And Berenson…he will die before his eighth year, in a car accident."
There was a long icy pause, before his Master said, "Change it."
"But Master-" the comment was doomed from the start.
"CHANGE IT! I can't afford them to lose. No, let me restate that: You can't afford them to lose. You were on thin ice when you created that thing in the first place. You convinced us that it wasn't a menace, and now look at it. It's been defeated by…that!"
He was referring to the group of Animorphs that just killed their David. Ryan was simultaneously piloting a spacecraft back to Earth and drawing a tyrannosaur with laser beams on its head. Brandon was documenting the adventure, an incredible embellishment laced with lies and obscenities. Colin made a comment about beating David with "the sword of teamwork and the hammer of not bickering," and Vy thwacked him.
"Change it. Fix the rat. Place another in the path of Berenson's car. His older cousin, Jake. Or his twin sister, Rachel…Better yet, both!"
There was another pause, one which lacked venom.
"Berenson's realm…That was Ovilkhan's world, was it not?"
"Yes."
"And so, the Medusa Shield, it is there?"
"Yes," Puck gasped as he realized, "You don't want me to-"
"Yes, Quinz."
Puck was mortified, "But, but Ovilkhan was a High Demon! And the Shield, it…The kid wouldn't have a chance!"
"If I am not mistaken, several of their artifacts were placed in that realm."
Puck reluctantly answered, "Yes."
"Then he will need it. That realm has the potential to create some powerful Animorphs. So do it. And don't make me mad."
Puck stammered, "There's no way he'll survive that Shield!"
"Well, Puck, that is now officially your problem. Happy hunting!"
Puck finally dared to breathe as his Master vanished.
Puck looked at Berenson's realm. His Master was right. The Animorphs of this dimension WERE severely powerful. This David would need to be careful. There was zero room for error. If one wrong move occurred, this David was doomed.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," Puck muttered as he set about his nearly hopeless task.
*************************************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, you want to know what the hell's going on?
Well, you'll have to wait about 18 chapters.
Sorry.
He watched as the being known as David fell into incredibly clichéd patterns. A five year old could've broken through.
He wasn't proud of this one. This universe's group of Animorphs was incredibly skilled. And this David had no creativity whatsoever.
Their leader, Brandon, reared up in his huge bear morph. His chosen morph was the largest of them all.
His best friend, Colin, had acquired a lexicon of deadly morphs, but now was in his first battle morph, that of a Siberian tiger.
The resident techie, Ryan, preferred stealth to power. He was currently in the form of a black jaguar.
The only female of the team, Vy, had a tendency to pick more dangerous morphs. She was a Nile crocodile.
David, Brandon said, you've led us around long enough.
Why the hell won't you just die, dammit! Colin yelled.
Fools, David cackled from his lion morph, You think you've won, but as we speak, I've rigged a proton-shift device to-
That piece of crap? Ryan snorted, I disabled it. Didn't you wonder why I wasn't there?
David balked, But, how did you break my codes?
It was your name spelled backwards. Plus you've used that password before.
Well, then, my loyal Andalite bodyguard Spike will finish you!
Colin laughed, I ripped him apart just before we came in here. I love that Sasquatch morph!
I still have my vampire armies! David struggled desperately.
I took them out last week with a few garlands of garlic, the sprinkler system, and a priest, Vy said proudly.
My secret Blade ship?
Blew it up Brandon said
My professional assassin?
Bribed him Vy said
My unthinking clones?
Poison gas Ryan stated
My impenetrable force field?
Brick. Colin said
This just ain't my week. David said just before a small army of animals tore him to shreds.
*************************************************************************************************
The being watching this was six feet tall. Remarkably humanoid. Red skin. Tail. Cloven hooves. Horns coming out of his forehead. He was a traditional looking devil. His original name was Quinz. He once was a Haas, but after being infused with Drac blood, called himself Puck.
He was worried. It was all falling apart. His grand plans to return the power and destroy all universes (with the exception of the one he currently was in) were becoming undone.
None of them did what he expected. From the sheer power of the whole, he thought each shard would be more powerful. All of them failed in their missions. Almost all had died. There was one, just one, who became a turncoat. He became good. A benign Beast was, to him and his masters, infinitely worse than a dead one.
What worried him most was the fact that there were only two left that he had any influence over. He had to make them perfect. There was no way it could fail now.
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He needn't look back. He knew who it was. It was him. His boss.
His Master.
"You are failing, Quinz. You have failed miserably where you promised great success. We are disappointed, Quinz."
He nearly soiled himself. His Master only called him "Quinz" when he was really mad, "My Lord, there is still a chance. There are still some left that can return your power. Only one is necessary to get the Stone moving."
He realized, even without looking, that his Master was smiling. That was bad, his Master never smiled.
"Who are left, Quinz?"
"Taggart and Berenson. Hunting-"
Before he could complete the thought, he heard a low snarl, and his Master spoke in a soft, deadly voice:
"I know about Hunting. Now, tell me about Taggart and Berenson!"
"Taggart will become a nothlit as a rat, very similar to the path originally taken by… I won't finish that. And Berenson…he will die before his eighth year, in a car accident."
There was a long icy pause, before his Master said, "Change it."
"But Master-" the comment was doomed from the start.
"CHANGE IT! I can't afford them to lose. No, let me restate that: You can't afford them to lose. You were on thin ice when you created that thing in the first place. You convinced us that it wasn't a menace, and now look at it. It's been defeated by…that!"
He was referring to the group of Animorphs that just killed their David. Ryan was simultaneously piloting a spacecraft back to Earth and drawing a tyrannosaur with laser beams on its head. Brandon was documenting the adventure, an incredible embellishment laced with lies and obscenities. Colin made a comment about beating David with "the sword of teamwork and the hammer of not bickering," and Vy thwacked him.
"Change it. Fix the rat. Place another in the path of Berenson's car. His older cousin, Jake. Or his twin sister, Rachel…Better yet, both!"
There was another pause, one which lacked venom.
"Berenson's realm…That was Ovilkhan's world, was it not?"
"Yes."
"And so, the Medusa Shield, it is there?"
"Yes," Puck gasped as he realized, "You don't want me to-"
"Yes, Quinz."
Puck was mortified, "But, but Ovilkhan was a High Demon! And the Shield, it…The kid wouldn't have a chance!"
"If I am not mistaken, several of their artifacts were placed in that realm."
Puck reluctantly answered, "Yes."
"Then he will need it. That realm has the potential to create some powerful Animorphs. So do it. And don't make me mad."
Puck stammered, "There's no way he'll survive that Shield!"
"Well, Puck, that is now officially your problem. Happy hunting!"
Puck finally dared to breathe as his Master vanished.
Puck looked at Berenson's realm. His Master was right. The Animorphs of this dimension WERE severely powerful. This David would need to be careful. There was zero room for error. If one wrong move occurred, this David was doomed.
"I'm getting too old for this shit," Puck muttered as he set about his nearly hopeless task.
*************************************************************************************************
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, you want to know what the hell's going on?
Well, you'll have to wait about 18 chapters.
Sorry.