I sat there, listening to the plan being formed.
This was going to "Shake em' up" as Marco put it.
We were planning to attack the
pool. (Again) We had decided to go on the offensive, catch them off guard.
Marco had a plan, but so did Ax. They were arguing over whether we should go in
and just crash it ourselves, or give the free Hork-Bajir something to do.
Surprisingly, Marco wanted to
attack by ourselves. Ax figured that was too dangerous, and we should leave it,
or tell the Hork-Bajir about it. We decided to vote. Rachel voted Marco's plan
(Obviously), as did Jake. Tobias didn't want to kill any free Hork-Bajir. Jake
didn't want to be responsible for them, and order them killed. I couldn't
decide. I didn't want to kill, but it would kill the free Hork-Bajir if we sent
them. I chose Marcos.
"I can't believe you! Of all
people, you butt out?!" Marco demanded.
I think your plan is good,
Marco, but we can't just charge in. Ax.
"Sure we can!" Rachel and Marco
said in unison.
Yeah, but what morphs do we
have that are powerful?
"Polar bear?" inquired Jake.
The Visser may morph a… hot
creature.
We all laughed a little at this,
while Ax looked confused.
"That's true. But that is our
most powerful, next to Elephant and Rhino." I said.
"We could try the Elephant and
Rhino. But they can't see very well."
Jakes right, and our battle
morphs won't work either.
YOU ARE CORRECT. NONE OF YOUR
MORPHS ARE CAPABLE OF CAUSING ENOUGH DAMAGE.
"Oh joy, the Ellimist. And he
isn't really helping, we already knew that."
MARCO, I BELIEVE THERE IS A WAY I
CAN HELP. I MAY BE ABLE TO… GIVE YOU
EACH A POWERFUL MORPH.
Woah. That would defiantly
help. Tobias said.
I BELIEVE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH
THEM. THE RULES OF USING THEM ARE THE SAME AS USUAL, BUT YOU CANNOT HAVE THE
SAME ONES. I SHOULD ALSO ADD, YOU WOULD HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE MORPHS IN THE
NORMAL FASHION.
"What are the choices?" I asked.
THE MORPHS ARE: DRAGON, GRIFFIN,
SERPENT, CENTAUR, PHOENIX AND PEGASUS. ALL ARE VERY POWERFUL MORPHS, WITH THEIR
OWN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND THOSE ON YOUR OWN. EACH ONE
HAS QUALITIES THAT THEY SHARE WITH YOU. OBVIOUS ONES, SUCH AS TOBIAS AND
PHOENIX, AND AX AND CENTAUR. AND MORE SUBTLE ONES. YOU MUST FIND YOUR
LIKENESSES BY YOURSELVES. THEY ALSO COINCIDE WITH YOUR GENDER. I WILL THEN SEND
YOU TO A WORLD WHERE THESE CREATURES EXIST.
I WILL RETURN WHEN YOU HAVE
CHOSEN.
"Ok. That was unexpected. Well, let's choose." Marco said.
Jake
I pick the phoenix.
Tobias said.
The centaur. Ax.
Pegasus. Cassie.
Griffon. Rachel.
Marco and I looked at each other.
Who was most like the serpent? Me? Marco looked thoughtful.
"The Dragon is big, like Marco's
ego." Rachel teased.
"The Serpent" I said.
"Dragon." Marco said slowly.
A colorless light enveloped us,
and the world disappeared.
Marco
I was blinded for a moment, until
the light faded away, to reveal a forest. I was in a small clearing. I heard a
soft rustling behind me, and I turned to see a large head emerge from the
bushes. It saw me and took off, soaring into the sky.
Well, there's your dragon for
you, that will be $2.94 please.
It was enormous; its wings
extended must have been as long or even longer than those of a 747! Jeez, that
thing was big! As I squinted to see it clearer, I realized that is was changing
from green, to blue, to red, to white, than black. It then went through gold and silver, and chose gold.
I started to morph. (I hate
reading all those BORING descriptions of morphing, so I won't write them until
a good morph shows up) I shrank until I was fully osprey, and flapped my way up
until I could glide on the thermals. The thermals were great! I could soar all
day! I mentally slapped myself, get with it, go get the dragon.
I speeded up until I was close to
the dragon. It didn't notice me. I landed on it's back and began to demorph.
The instant my hands appeared, I held on with all my strength. I began to
acquire him, and the dragon DNA flowed into me. It was exilherating. I was
riding a dragon! And I was going to morph it! It was way beyond Anne McAffrey!
I jumped off the dragon and morphed on my way down, screaming all the way.
Rachel
I looked around the area, and
tried to shield my eyes from the glaring sun. I turned around full circle, and
found myself gazing off the side of a narrow cliff-side. A sharp screech echoed
around me, and I focused my sight on a small dot, coming closer and closer. I
gasped, it was the Griffon!
Well, that was easy, I thought
smugly.
But it wasn't going to be that
easy. The Griffon flared her wings when she saw me. No! She was going to knock
me off the cliff! Grateful for my gymnastics training, I ducked and grabbed at
her leg and held on, using my weight to hold her down. The acquiring trance
kept her down, and I felt her DNA mingle with mine, leaving me breathless. She
took that chance to take off, and I let go, getting ready to morph.
The feathers grew out from my
neck to form a feathered mane, and continued on to my lower back. The curved
talons extended from my front legs, and my back legs grew shorter claws. A
lion's tail sprouted from my rear, and my front began to look very much like my
eagle morph. I was done; I soared into the wind, catching thermals and gliding.
Ax
I discovered that centaurs are
very much like Andilites in many ways. They were fast, faster than I. I crashed
through the brush, slicing branches as I went. Unlike us, they are VERY shy,
and run often.
Suddenly, the centaur stopped,
and I nearly charged past him, into what I realized was a large lake. This was
why he stopped. Or rather, he stopped because of what was in the lake. Teeth
snapped the air and the water churned, as gigantic eels tried to reach prey. I
looked back at the centaur, whom had stayed. I said slowly, Please, just
let me speak with you.
He looked startled, and looked
about to bolt, until I put my hand on his arm and acquired him. The trance made
him pause, but after, he ran as fast as possible into the forest. I didn't
follow, my work was done.
Tobias
The light faded, and I stared
into the sky, looking for my new morph. Then Viola! He was there, soaring past
me. I dived after him, and grabbed his tail, acquiring as quickly as I could
and I began the morph. My feathers changed into a deeper red, with gold
intermingling. I grew larger, and my tail feathers longer. I was morphing in
midair! The gold wings stretched to support my added weight, and I rode the
thermals to… well, anywhere. (Ya, Tobias's was short, I just don't like him or
writing him. Sorry Tobias fans.)
Cassie
The light was gone as fast as it
had arrived. I looked around, trying to orient myself. Like that was going to
happen. A whinny and a snort sounded in the distance. It got closer and closer
until I could see them skimming the ground. Pegasus!
I quickly morphed horse and
followed, neighing to get their attention. The mare looked down and snorted,
than folded her wings and landed. I approached slowly, non-threateningly. I
leaned against her, and de-morphed, acquiring her just as she fluttered her
wings. The trance made her stay, and I let her go when I was done. I began the
morph. It was much like the horse, except the large, white wings. I leaped off
the ground and skimmed.
Jake
I learned I was on a small
island, more like a pile of rocks, and peered though the mist and across the
lake. Jaws erupted from the water, and a huge body of sinew and muscle squirmed
onto shore and approached me. I had one chance. I leaped on the serpents back
and began to acquire him, shoving away at the last second. I morphed, into what
was a huge snake (I hate Jake even more. Once again, sorry Jake fans.) and slid
into the water.
Marco
"Woah.
That was… INSANE!!!"
I thoroughly agree. Ax.
"Yep, the dork is right for
once." Rachel of course.
"It was kinda fun." Cassie
"Well, let's plan." Jake.
"Ok dad!" Rachel and me said
together.
We planned. And planned. And
planned. And we planned. God, I hate planning now. I wanted to just attack NOW!
It was 11:00pm when we stopped planning. I mean really, why bother? We usually
just blow it anyways.
I got home and tried to sleep.
But I couldn't. I kept going over the damn plan again and again. I would go in
as a controller with Cassie in my head as yeerk, and the others would be fleas
in my ear. We would morph in the bathrooms, and trash the place, then free the
prisoners. There was one problem. What would we do with the prisoners? I finally fell asleep trying to think of a
way. I dreamed.
Marco! Jake! Look out behind
you!
Jake fell to the floor in two
pieces.
Cassie's Pegasus screamed as a
dracon beam sliced off her wing.
Rachel got blasted in the head. I
don't know what happened, she was suddenly on the floor, a hole blown in her
skull. I went crazy then, killing and killing, leaving no controller alive that
I could see. I couldn't stop. Tobias was taken and Ax killed on site. I was the
last one alive. I had killed everyone. My dumb ass plan had gotten everyone
killed except the one person who deserved it. Me.
I dived towards the ground,
roaring in morph and crying and screaming in thought-speech.
"Die! I hate you! Get out of my
life!" I struggled and landed in a heap on my bedroom floor. I was trembling,
and I was a mess when I looked in the mirror. Today we would battle.
Rachel
I morphed eagle and rode the
thermals to Cassie's barn. I wanted to try the Griffon morph now, feel the
power and strength of the giant wings. I also wanted to see everyone else's
morphs.
I landed and de-morphed, yelling
to Cassie that I was here. Tobias, Ax, and Cassie were already there. Jake came
in looking tired, and Marco followed. Jake's face was serious and old. Marco's
was dark. He was thinking of the plan. So was everyone else. Cassie was feeding
a fox some dead rabbit, and Ax was in human morph.
"Ok guys, we know what to do. We
are going to have to try the morphs. Can all of yours fit? I nodded. Cassie
said, "I can use the horse stall."
Jake, "Mine would be a tight
squeeze, so the woods would work."
Tobias said his fit. Ax too. We
all looked at Marco. He shook his head. "No way could I fit in morph. Woods for
me."
Cassie
I watched as Rachel morphed. The
talons were long and dug into the dirt. The wings were about 8' long each, the
wingspan about 16'. The wings were a
mottled white, and were much like the eagles, but in much larger proportions.
The back of her was exactly that of the lion, but also larger.
What do you think?
Marco laughed, "Well I think the
sleeves are a little wide, and turtlenecks just don't…"
"I think it's great!"
"Off the subject guys, will it do
damage?"
It seems sufficient to
destroy a yeerk pool.
Sufficient?! Is that all?
This can kick yeerk butt!
"It may also confuse the yeerks.
They won't know what we are. And when some one tells them, they will wonder how
we got the morphs." Marco said seriously.
"Good point. They may pause."
"I'll go now." I said.
Jake
Cassie decided not to do it in
the stall because the wings wouldn't fit.
"Ready?"
"Yeah. Look out for the wings."
The first thing that happened was
that she morphed a horse. A large white horse. Then the wings appeared, pushing
out from her withers and spreading to hover in the air. She was about as large
as Rachel's Griffon. We all stared as she fluttered and landed. She was not
dainty. She was large and powerful. But she was also graceful and beautiful.
This was a good morph.
Well? Will it work?
I think it will do very well
in our mission. Said Ax, our unofficial judge.
Ax
Tobias, I believe you should
try next.
Sure Ax-man.
Tobias fluttered down from his
perch and landed on a hay bale.
His red russet feathers
brightened and gold streaks ran down his back. His talons turned gold and his
eyes red. He grew and grew until he was the size of the Griffon and Pegasus. He
looked around, his sharp eyes seeing everything.
Woah! I can see way better
then even the fox! Jake! I can see a dust mite on you! I gotta look out the
window!
He fluttered into the rafters and
gazed out.
Jeez, I can see someone in a
house about 5 miles away!
"Wow, that's so cool!" The humans
all said in unison.
Amazing. I added.
"Ax, your turn."
I wasted no time; my legs grew
thicker and stronger, as did my arms. Some of my fingers melted away, leaving
the strong hands of a human. I became larger, and my tail shrunk away and
became a horses' tail. (Bad grammar, I know.)
My stalk eyes disappeared and I
was done, much the same as I had been.
I wanted to test my strength. I
reared and kicked at a hay bale.
"Ahhh! Look out!"
The hay bale went flying across
the barn. This morph is powerful and I believe it will work. I said.
That wasn't even my most forceful kick. Sorry about the hay.
"Ok. Let's go outside."
Marco
We watched as Jake morphed. His
legs melted together and formed one long tail. The tail stretched, and
stretched. His arms clung to his sides and he grew larger and thicker, his head
narrowing and his teeth sharpening. He was a dark green, blue streaks extending
from his jaw and trailing to the end of his tail. Yellow patches created a
graceful effect, and the feathery mane grew from his back.
Done. What do you think?
"Looks cool, ought to cause some
damage." I said.
It was my time to morph now, and
I was definitely ready to go. I couldn't wait anymore. I began the morph.
Tobias
Marco's skin turned silver, as
large, leathery wings grew and extended from his back. He grew bigger, and
talons unsheathed from his giant hands. A long, whip like tail sprouted and
lengthened until it ended in a sharp barb. His head became massive with shining
eyes. His eyes were all the colors I had ever seen, shifting and reflecting in
the light. I couldn't believe his size! He was huge! He lifted off, creating a
whirlwind of dust and pine needles.
"Marco! Come back! We can't let someone see you!" Jake yelled.
Oh. Right. Ok. Marco
answered, somewhat disconnected sounding.
Earth to Marco! Wake up!
I shouted.
Look, I can change colors!
Marco added.
His skin slowly turned green,
than blue, red, black, white, purple, yellow, gold, and finally, silver.
Damn! I wish I could do that!
I said. He landed, shaking the ground for a few meters out, and nearly
knocking me out of my tree. "Hey! Watch the wings!" Cassie shouted. Sorry,
this is so fun though!
He landed and closed his
membranous wings, and began to demorph.
Rachel
Are we going soon? I
asked. I knew it sounded impatient, and they probably thought I wanted to
battle. But I was impatient. And I did want to battle. I don't mind the fact
that my friends think I'm reckless, I don't even mind it when Marco jokes about
it. I just don't won't to be labeled "reckless and insane", the insane part
being an ad-lib from Marco.
Ok Marco, move out. Jake
commanded.
Cassie
I stood and tried to make Marco
move, and not having any success what so ever.
Cassie,
is there a problem? Could you scratch my ear, someone just moved. Marco asked
impatiently.
Jake, hold on a second, I
haven't got him to move quite yet. As I took over more of Marco's mind, I
saw an image of his mother, and his father. I could see his whole family, and
his grandmother especially interested me. She looked a lot like Marco, with the
same look in her eyes. But there was something else to her. I saw the nightmare he had had of his
mother. I read him, like a book, scanning the pages.
Um, Cassie… Marco
hesitated. Oh, sorry. The yeerk instinct is
to explore its host before it moves anywhere. To get oriented and I guess to
cow the host with the fact that it can read everything you know and hear your
thoughts. I
answered.
Come on, let's do it!
Rachel shouted. Marco sighed in my head, er, his head where I was. Or was it…
never mind.
Marco
Well.
This is creepy. There is a yeerk in my head. But it isn't a real yeerk; it's
Cassie. This may become confusing. I muttered.
We are moving out.
Cassie announced.
Finally. Rachel
muttered.
We walked to Cassie's dad's new
car, and got in.
Um. Guys? Cassie said.
What? Jake asked.
I can't drive very well.
Cassie answered.
Try
letting me drive. I at least can start the car. And however bad I am, none of
you are better. I told Cassie.
Ok. To the others,
Marco's going to take over to drive. Cassie declared.
Great. Rachel said.
Tell
Rachel I can squish her with my pinky and that I will if she doesn't shut up.
Rachel, Marco tells you to
shut up or he will squish you. Cassie muttered.
Squish this! Rachel said
and I felt a sudden itch in my ear.
"Rachel! I was just kidding!" I
shouted.
Move out Marco. Jake
said.
I put the key in the ignition and
turned it. The engine hummed and I pulled out of the driveway, knocking a stack
of old cages over.
Marco!
Be careful! Cassie yelled.
"Well what was it doing there in
the first place anyways?" I mumbled.
I got to the dirt road and turned
towards the suburbs. The new car handled smoothly. I hoped that what happened
to his other one wouldn't happen to this one. The other incident I was just slightly involved. Meaning I crashed it.
Oh well!
We got to the highway and I
headed to the local Mcdonalds. An entrance to the yeerk pool. I passed a cop
car and checked my speed, 64 mph. I slowed a little, the last thing I needed
was to be pulled over. Correction, the last thing I needed was going in the
first place!
I parked. Parralel parked mined
you. I would be taking driving lessons soon anyways, so why not get practice?
If I live to take them, came a small insight from myself. Shut up, I told
myself.
Cassie,
tell them we're there. Also, you can take control now.
We're here Jake. I am taking
control now. Cassie informed the group.
I felt myself lose all control on
my body as Cassie took over.
Cassie
I put the keys I my… er… Marco's
pocket and walked inside. "What would you like sir?" Sir? I thought. Oh, right. I was a sir. "A happy meal please. With
extra happy." Woah. That was weird. I was speaking, but it was Marco's voice.
This would take some getting used to. "On your way then." She motioned for me
to pass the gate and then let her attention slide back to the other costumers.
I/Marco shivered as I went into the walk-in fridge.
I opened the door in the back and
stood as the scanning and ray flashed. "For eye safety, please close your eyes.
I did and waited. "You may leave." The computerized voice said. I walked out of
the scanners and walked to the bathrooms.
Ok guys, we're in. I'm
heading to the bathrooms.
I was about to enter the bathroom
when suddenly I stopped. Marco had taken control.
What? I asked
irratated. Cassie, look at the sign… Marco sighed.
I did. It
said "FEMALE" in various languages. Yeah.
So?
Who's
body are you in? He continued. Yours.
Oh. Right. Oops.
I walked to the "MALE" bathroom
and entered, trying not to look towards the urinals. Ewww. I did NOT want to be
here. I went in a stall and told Marco to put his hand to his ear. Wait, tell the others to come out.
We are in the men's room.
Come out, but don't demorph. I demorphed the yeerk and stood on the toilet
seat, waiting.
Right, Marco, morph the
dragon. Jake said.
Marco
I felt the changes begin. Soon, I
was almost done. But oddly, I hadn't started to grow yet, so I was a
mini-dragon. I realized this could work in my favor. I stopped the morph right
there, and hovered.
What are you doing? Jake hissed.
I didn't answer, I dove beneath
the door and flew out the door after flaming it to a charred hole. Before
anyone could start shooting, I finished the morph directly above the pool.
Controllers ran in panic, while some tried to shoot. Ignoring the little
prickles of heat, I changed to bright red and breathed a long stream of fire
engulfing them in flames. Changing to green, I set to work on the bars of the
cages, spitting acid and melting the bars. This was way too easy.
I looked to my left and saw a
monsturous serpent slide into the pool and start chewing some slugs. Cassie
kicked the walls and cement and dirt buried hork-bajir. She then dove and
attacked the struggling people with Rachel, who screamed in rage. Tobias
wheeled above, and from his wings fell embers, burning those below. Ax raced
through the crowd and bucked, kicking and swinging a club. Every few seconds,
Jake would rear out off the pool to snatch and bite, taking off heads and
limbs. This was FUN!!! I now know what the yeerks feel, battling us. It felt so
cool not being in a desperate fight with all the odds stacked against us.
Hey Rachel, this is FUN! We
so need to use these morphs more often! I yelled. I know! It is SO
much better than fighting for our lives! I can't believe Visser 3 isn't here
yet. Rachel agreed. He's probably too scared. I laughed.
Then, as if on cue, What is
this?! What is going on? Visser 3. I could see him beginning to morph, a
huge bird, not the kafit, bigger. He was about as big as me. No way! Ax,
what the hell is that? Jake
asked. I believe he is morphing a Takkasom bird. It is a very powerful bird
and it can shoot spear-like quills. Hasn't he morphed a spear-shooting
animal before? Cassie asked. Yeah, he has! I wonder if it's from the
same planet? Tobias added.
I suddenly lost site of him.
Huh? Where'd he go?? I asked, nervously hovering. Tobias, Marco,
look out! I dove just in time to dodge a quill, another one tore through
my wing, leaving a small, yet painful hole. I roared and breathed a stream of
fire, acid, and mist at the Visser's head. He dropped, so that my attack hit
the wall and a small part of the pool collapsed. Woah. Powerful. I
noted. Too bad it didn't blow off his head instead. Rachel
muttered.
Jake
Um, guys? Where is he? I
can't tell from dow- Look out!!! Rachel was hit by a long quill, tearing
off a talon, yet leaving her relatively uninjured. She screeched and took off
after him, followed by Cassie. Tobias lifted his head and followed the Visser
with his eyes, not letting a single detail escape him.
Jake! Behind you! Ax's back hoofs slammed into the Hork-bajirs
back, snapping the blades into pieces. Uh, thanks Ax. I waited for Ax
to move out of the way before I lunged to pull another controller into the
roiling waves of the pool.
He's moving to fast! Cassie yelled. Hold on, I almost got
him. There. By the end of the old cafeteria! Tobias shouted.
Cassie
I trailed cautiously behind Rachel, watching for an attack. This wasn't going to work. He was too fast
and to armored to be attacked. We were stuck on the defensive. An idea dawned
on me. I couldn't do it, but Marco could with his wings.
Marco, I want you grab him and bring him down! I ordered,
feeling awkward. If this didn't work, he could be killed.
Marco
I skimmed closer to the giant feathered pincushion, trying to blend in
by turning black. He still didn't notice. Jeez, Visser 3 must be really
unobservant, because a 70yard long dragon was only a few meters away. A wisp of
smoke escaped my jaws, which the Visser caught in his periphial vision. He
launched skyward, raining quills on my head. Lowering my third eye-lid, I
persued and latched onto his stomach. Before he could react, I folded my wings
over him, pinning his wings against him.
We were falling, the whole time he was shredding my wings with countless
quills. We hit dirt, and there was too much pain for me to keep a hold, so I
sprawled on the ground, my wings and tail spread.
No. This couldn't happen. I slowly turned my head, looking directly to
my right, where the Visser was demorphing. Damn! He can't live! He can't! I
tried to stand, heaving myself onto four legs, half lying on my stomach.
Rachel
Marco! Demorph! Jake was yelling at the large beast struggling
to stand before us. Marco looked around the pool, dazed.
But I did demorph. He slurred while his body wavered uncertainly.
His wings were torn, long strips of membrane hanging from the bone, looking
like a nightmare from hell. Marco, hork-bajir! Behind you! Shaking
himself alert, Marco swung his whip like tail, sweeping the hork-bajir from the
ground and crushing them beneath it. Did... did.. I get them? He
asked, his voice weakening.
Demorph NOW! I shouted, screeching with each syllable. The dragon
suddenly faltered, and fell back to the rubble, shutting it's eyes. No. That
dragon was nearly immortal. No, not immortal. He was dying in front of us, and
there was nothing we could do. He stilled, and was silent.
Wait! He's moving! Tobias exclaimed. I hoped against hope his
incredible vision told true. As I circled above, I saw him slowly beginning to
shrink. Yes! He was demorphing! He was almost human, his battered wings still
splayed around him. Claws remained on the end of his fingers, and a barbed tail
was limp beside him. He opened his eyes, which were still glowing crimson.
Woah! Marco, you look like a demon or something! Tobias laughed.
Suddenly I remembered. Where was the Visser?
