Disclaimer: Animorphs belongs to K.A. Applegate and Scholastic. I don't know who came up with Highlander, but it wasn't me. Gargoyles belong to Buena Vista. I am also throwing on some of the Wheel of Time, which belongs to Robert Jordan. I'm not making any money. I don't want any stinking money. Emrys, Kwannon, and any other original chacarcters belong to me. If you use them ask first, or you will know fear, pain, then you will die.
Eternally Yours
My name is Emrys. I think that is my name, at least. As for a last name, I've never had one. I was married once. Then I had a last name, but my beloved mate died, in the most useless of accidents. So I took to wandering. I have been living in these woods, in this state park, for over a year now. I live off the land, as I once did for a very, very long time. I began to notice something strange, in these past few months. I will watch. I will wait. Maybe somehow, I can lend my assistance.
Cassie
History is pure torture. It is inhumane. I would rather be fighting Visser 3 than listen to our new history teacher drone on and on about the Greeks.
Well, almost.
Most of you who are reading this most likely know about the Animorphs, and the Yeerks. I won't bore you with the details. I was getting enough in that class to keep me for the rest of my life.
Our teacher was going on and on and on like the energizer bunny about how great the Greek Theatre was. Beside me, Erek the Chee rolled his eyes.
"He wouldn't be rambling like this if had seen these plays for himself when they were first written. I can't believe how many of these myths have been mistaken or are just plain wrong."
"Really?" I reply. "I was under the impression that they were all wrong.'
"No," said Erek. "Actually, there are a lot that are based on fact. The details just keep getting messed up."
"Well, what about the ones that had to do with magic and Hercules and whatever? Those pretty much have to be made up."
"Funny that you should mention that-"
Just then, our teacher noticed us. We barely got out with a warning.
Later that day, I was riding home form school when I saw something strange. It was Visser 3 in human morph. He was handing someone something. I couldn't see what it was. I caught a glimpse of the person whom he was handing the something to. It was a beautiful human woman. She was one of those types that make you feel even more awkward and ugly. And she saw me looking. I don't know how. I mean, her back was to me. There was no way that she could have known I was looking at her, but she turned around and gave me the coldest glare I have ever seen. Then she smiled.
I shivered.
Rachel
Cassie called a meeting in her barn. That pretty much surprised all of us. Cassie doesn't do that. We all sat there, waiting for Marco to arrive. He is usually late.
Cassie stood up. "I'm sure you all are wondering why I called this meeting. Well, I saw something weird today."
"Weird? Other than some sort of new dish they are serving, I couldn't tell," said Marco.
"Shut up, Marco," I snapped. That boy really gets on my nerves.
"This was Visser 3. I saw him in his human morph. He was giving something to this human. For once, it wasn't Visser 3 that scared me. It was the human lady who was with him. But that was even weirder, because she could have been an ordinary controller."
"Hmmm," said Jake. "Maybe we should see if Erek knows anything about this. I'll go call him later and see what he can find out for us. Later, we'll call another meeting to talk about what we found out. Now, I gotta get home to do some homework. Later."
We all broke up. Ax and Tobias went back to the woods, Jake and Marco walked home discussing Spider-Man. I was spending the night at Cassie's. I went inside and said to her," What's the big deal, Cass? You saw Visser 3 doing some business. He probably does stuff like that all the time."
"No. That doesn't make any sense. If he was doing that, why would he do it in the open? He could have done business anywhere, in his Andalite body, a lot more easily. Plus, he wasn't treating that woman the way he treats ordinary controllers. He almost seemed....nervous. Like he was not sure how she was going to react if he said something wrong. Almost afraid."
"Rrriiight. Cassie, you're my best friend and all, but how could you figure this all out in just a few second. You in a moving bus, for goodness sake!" I said sarcastically.
Cassie looked at me. She still looked troubled.
"Rachel, I hope you're right."
Aximilli
After Prince Jake ended the meeting, I and my shorm Tobias headed back to my scoop. We were going to watch the Avengers, a human movie on one of the human's greatest inventions: the TV
Do you think Erek will have any information
on the Visser? thought spoke Tobias.I think so. Erek has given us extremely good information in the past. I believe he will continue to do so. I said back.
It was just before sunset. The sun was filtering through the trees at an angle that made it almost blinding. I had to squint my main eyes to keep from burning their retinas. That, I assume, is why I did not see the human.
She was sitting in a tree, looking at us. Her expression was not one of fear, but of amusement, as I judge human faces. I whirled around to run. I could not let humans see me. They might be controllers. Or they could become controllers.
No choice now. If she had run, screaming "monster" I would have believed that she was a normal human, but she just sat there. I ran over to the woman's perch, and said, Yeerk! . I put my tail-bade to her throat. Oddly enough, she still did not lose her look of calm amusement.
"I do not know 'yeerk'. If you would not mind removing you formidable blade, I would like to speak to you." She spoke differently than the humans that I knew. There was also something else. A great sadness.
Speak to me? Since when do you slugs talk? You only kill.
"Lad, I do not know your kind, but if I had wished you dead-" Without warning, her hand moved faster then any human's should have been able to, grabbing my tail-blade and pressing it to my own throat,"-you would be."
Obviously, I thought, she doesn't know how strong an Andalite's tail is. I tried to jerk my tail free of her grip, but I couldn't. I couldn't!
"I have been watching you and your friends, and am curious as to what is causing such goings on. I do not want to fight. Just to talk. I like to use my voice on occasion, which I haven't, of late." She let go of my tail.
I rubbed my tail. She had held it with crushing force.
Tobias said, Whoa. Did I just see what I thought I saw? I don't think she's a Yeerk. I just wish I knew what she is at all.
Ah, I began, Ah, I really don't know what to say... It is not my place to say. My leader, we would, we would have to ask our leader.
"That's fine, lad. I don't mind waitin'. I have a lotta practice at it. By the way, I'm human. Last time I checked. Now, dae ye mind giving an old lady a hand down? I was takin' a nap when ye came a-crashin' through."
I was confused. Old? Other than her hair being white, which a part of human aging, she looked to be no older than any of the actors I see on the Young and the Restless.
I offered her my hand, which she took. I expected her grip to be as bruising as the first time, but now her hand was as gentle as a mother's was. Odd. She reminds me of a mother. Not that I have met many human mothers.
She gave a grunt, and landed on the ground. Saying," Thank ye, lad," she disappeared into the trees.
Tobias
Now that was weird. I said.
Very weird, my friend. She didn't seem to mean us any harm, but if there is any chance that she could be a controller...
I know. We need to talk to the others.
We met again in Cassie's barn. Erek the Chee was there, hopefully to shed some light on the subject. First, though, Ax and I wanted to get our story out. Last night we met a very weird lady. She claimed to have been watching us a long time. She came out of nowhere and just started talking to us. If she'd been a regular human, she would have ran, but if she'd been a controller, she would have tried to run or fight, not talk. She said she was curious about what we were doing, and wanted to meet you, Jake
"Did she ask for me specifically?" said Jake while Marco said, "This has got to be a trap."
No, Prince Jake, she didn't ask for you specifically, but I told her that we would need to speak to our leader first. The frightening part of this was that she was able to catch hold of my tail blade and keep hold of it. No human should have been that fast or that strong. answered Ax.
We don't know if is a trap. We could meet with her and see what happens. I said doubtfully.
"We'll worry about that later. Erek has some majorly freaky news. Erek?" said Jake, uneasily.
"Yeah, the person that Cassie saw the other night came out of no where. A few weeks ago, this lady named Selene walked into the Yeerk pool. We have no idea how she got there. She went over to Visser 3 and asked him what he wanted. Visser 3 was outraged that she could get in without being killed immediately. But what happened later is what gave everyone the heebie-jeebies. Visser 3 kinda went into a trance. He told her that he wanted the Andalite bandits and to become Visser 1. She told him she would give him those things if he would get her a special book. Visser 3 said he would, just give him what he wanted. Then, and no one knows how she did it, but she disappeared. Poof. Vanished, and Visser 3 started acting like himself again. I saw all of it, and if I had skin, I'd have goose bumps," Eric finished.
Have they met since then? I demanded.
"Yeah, a couple of times. Each time, Visser 3 acts like he isn't all there. After he does what she wants, he goes back to normal. He remembers it, but he can't seem to think of it as weird."
"What is this special book that Visser 3 wants?" asked Cassie. "I saw him give to the Selene lady a package. Was that it?"
"No. The book he is trying to get is an old spell book, I think," replied Eric.
"Then why should we worry?" said Marco. "Let her have it, for all the good it will do her. There's no such thing as magic."
"If this book were no big deal, then why would she be trying so hard to get it? And what if she could back up her claim of giving the Visser what he wants?"
We all shivered at that thought.
Cassie
The next week went by quietly, but we all felt the tension. We snapped at each other, Jake and I argued, and Marco forgot to make bad jokes. We were all waiting for the hammer to drop.
I got home that Friday, and was surprised to find Erek there. In his hands was a plain, well worn book. I had a gut feeling about what he was going to tell me. He opened his mouth to talk, and-
"That's it, isn't it? The book that Selene was wanting," I interrupted.
He nodded. He flipped the book open to a particular page. I scanned it. The book was in a language that I couldn't read.
"What is it?" I whispered.
"The whole book is written in Sanskrit. The book itself is about the summoning and controlling of demons. One in particular, named the Old One, or Ancient. Supposedly, you can use this book to bring him to wherever you are, and make him do what you want," said Erek.
"So Selene believes in demons, can control Visser 3, and, then what? Do we have any idea what it is that she wants?" I groaned and buried my head in my hands. "Why us? As if aliens aren't enough, now we have to deal with crazy humans who believe in hocus-pocus!"
"I don't think she's crazy, but she definitely thinks that she can summon this thing, so I was wondering… Could we do this ourselves? Summon the Old One? Maybe we could make him into an ally or-"
"Erek, as Marco would say, are you insane? Summon a demon?"
"It's a suggestion," he muttered.
Marco
We all gathered at the barn again. Erek made his crazy suggestion. We all chorused, "Are you INSANE?" Then we all took a moment to think about it.
"Do you think it could work?" I asked Erek.
"I don't know. I have seen some pretty inexplicable things in my time, but never demon summoning. I doubt it will work."
"Then why did you bring it up?" retorted Rachel.
Erek shrugged. "I was curious."
I am curious as well, said Ax. I would like to see if such a thing could occur.
"Oh, great," I mumble. "The blue alien wants to risk our souls because he is curious. Didn't you ever hear about what that did to the cat?"
What cat?
"Do you really think that it won't work?" Jake asked Erek.
"I am certain that it probably won't," replied Erek.
"Probably?" Jake sighed. "Let's put it to a vote."
We voted. Rachel, Ax, Erek, Cassie, and Tobias voted for. Me and Jake, the smart ones, voted against.
We were going to do it.
WE ARE INSANE.
Rachel
Erek looked through the old book, and told us what to get. I was told to get some salt, Marco was to get some virgin beeswax candles in black and red, and Jake some incense. We decided to go out to the old rock quarry, and perform the spell there. This was getting to be really weird.
Once we had assembled all the necessary stuff, we went to the quarry, and Erek started making a diagram with the salt, and lit the incense. He then put the candles at the points of the diagram, and lit them. We all stood there and waited, as he began muttering in a dead language. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and braided itself as I listened.
(Author's note: I have no idea about any demon summoning rituals. I'm making this up.)
Erek finished whatever it was that he was chanting, and we collectively held our breaths.
Nothing happened.
"Well," said Marco. "That was a waste of time." He snorted derisively. "Jake, want to go play Doom?"
Then a steady whining got my attention, and it wasn't Marco. I glanced up, and choked.
"Heads up, guys! Battle morphs! Now!" I shouted.
It was Visser 3's Blade ship.
We all ran for cover.
The Blade ship landed, and the door irised open. Hork-Bajir Controllers exited followed by scores of Taxxons. A group of creatures that I had never seen before, seemingly a collection of human and Earth animal, bearing swords, marched out. Then came Visser 3.
I shuddered. Even with my brave Xena face on, he could still scare me.
After Visser 3, a startlingly beautiful human woman emerged. She was dressed in a summer pants suit, and a short sports blazer, completely in white. Her raven black hair was held back by a silver clip, her eyes were as black as her hair, and cruel as any Visser's could be. It had to be Selene.
Lady, I don't know why you had us come here, Stated Visser 3.
"I sensed the calling spell being cast," she said, her voice melodious.
I just finished my morph to bear, when I heard the Visser say, Even if the book has been found, I still want you to come through with your end of the bargain.
She smiled slightly. "Of course. The Andalite bandits are right over…" She lazily pointed to our hiding place," there."
If I had been human at that point, I would have screamed. Hork-Bajir and Taxxons rushed at us, more than could take alone. To make things worse, they were followed by the human-animal things, with their black swords raised.
We burst out of hiding, hoping to make some sort of advantage of surprise. Big mistake. We surrounded and cut off from each other in no time. There was no way out.
I ripped into a Taxxon, and flung it at a Hork-Bajir. Those what's-its came at my back, and I was slashed on my back. I whirled, enraged, and bit it. Another mistake. Its blood burned my mouth. I was cut again, and again, even as I took them down. Finally, they piled on top of me, then blackness.
Tobias
I watched Rachel go down, and screamed as I tried to fly to her. No good. I was hemmed in at all sides.
THUMP!
I was knocked out of the air, and hit the ground, my wing broken.
I wouldn't have seen it if I had still been in the air, but the pentagram that Erek had drawn was beginning to glow.
Marco
We fought on hopelessly; we knew we couldn't last much longer. I looked over just in time to see a figure shoot up from the dirt inside the diagram. The figure looked around, then let out a roar that shook the earth.
Everything stopped.
I got a good look at the person in the pentagram. It was dressed entirely in black, with a cowled robe. A black tunic came to its knees, and black pants tucked into shiny black leather boots completed the ensemble. It looked up. Its eyes were as golden as a cat's. A black staff was in its hands, and it absorbed the light, giving nothing back.
"Hello, Selene," it whispered in a dry, rasping voice. "Long time, no see."
Selene smiled harshly," I see that you are still alive, you old witch. Pity, I would have hoped that someone would have taken your head by now."
"You know what they say about wishful thinking. Why are you involving these mortals? To do so violates all the rules that have ever existed. This is our fight, not theirs, and you are coercing the blue one-" she pointed at Visser 3, then pointed at us, " and involving children."
"Stop whining you old fraud. They have all come into this willingly. No rules have been broken. I simply want them dead. "
The Old One snarled, and brought its staff into a ready position. "Talk, or fight."
Selene sneered. "Why should I get my hands dirty? Controllers, Trollocs, bring me the head of the Ancient." She clapped her hands. "Now!"
All the creatures that had been battling the Animorphs turned to the entity in black. They advanced quickly, and engaged.
The Ancient whirled the staff in its hands, and swung behind, catching a Trolloc blade, twisted, and landed an impossibly fast snap kick on the chest of a Hork-Bajir. They began to surround the Old One, but it performed a perfect skipping side kick, and slashed with its staff. The staff cut the attackers apart easily, meeting no resistance. It then did a complicated kick combination, again struck with the staff, and left a trail of alien and almost human entrails and blood behind it.
Selene gestured, and several warriors came after us. They charged, and we scattered before them. We couldn't hold out against this.
The Ancient gestured, and rocks and dust flew up to blind the Controllers and Trollocs. Then an invisible wave smashed them to the ground.
All the creatures fighting the Old One were down. It turned to Selene. It growled, "Enough practice with the b team. You're up, varsity."
Selene scowled, and a pulled sword from her coat.
Jake
The sword that that lady was holding was ugly, and had a wavy, snaky design to it. She shrugged off her coat, and gave a mocking salute.
The Ancient also shed its robe, and I got a shock. It was a she, with blue, furry skin and green hair that was tightly braided. She returned the salute, and they got down to business.
I thought the match in the Phantom Menace was good. Boy, was I wrong.
We all watched, mesmerized at the sheer ferocity of this fight. Jumping kicks, punches, amazing swordsmanship and more went on in that battle.
It ended with Selene making a small mistake. She over parried a blow, and the Old One caught her on the backsweep, knocking her feet out from under her, and thrusting her staff under chin, preparing to crush her throat.
"LEAVE NOW. This is not our last battle, and you know it. Don't try to tempt fate again. I won't be so generous then."
She backed up, with her staff still leveled at Selene's throat.
Selene bared her teeth, showing a set of fangs. She hissed, "Next time, you'll lose." She said something, and everything, including the Blade ship, disappeared.
The Old One truly did look old at that moment. She leaned on her staff, with her face looking haggard. She turned to us, and then locked eyes with me. I felt as if she was looking into my soul, searching, but not judging.
She gave me a rueful smile. "Greetings, chosen of the Ellimist. I'm sorry you youngsters had to get involved in this." She turned, and gave a concerned look to Rachel.
"Your friend is badly hurt."
Tobias gave a soft moan and started to morph. When he was fully human, he walked over to Rachel, who was unconscious.
The rest of us staggered over.
Tobias sat down beside her, and tried to wake her up. She wouldn't budge. Her cuts were bleeding sluggishly, and they smelled like rot.
I demorphed, and my injuries went away. I got on my knees beside Tobias, and started shaking her. No luck.
"She's been poisoned," came a voice from behind me. I jumped, and saw the Ancient leaning over Rachel.
"If she has the same abilities and you do, I can make her become human again."
Cassie, who was on Rachel's other side, whispered, "Please."
She nodded, and touched the grizzly's coarse brown fur. Her face tightened.
"Change."
Slowly, Rachel demorphed, but her injuries stayed.
"Her cuts were supposed to heal!" exclaimed Tobias. He glared. "What did you do to her?!"
"Nothing, I only changed her back to her true self." She examined Rachel. "Some of her hurts did go away, but the ones left by the Trolloc blades remained." She grimaced. "Trolloc blades are poison by their very forging. Technology can't heal the wounds they cause. If they aren't treated, they will fester even worse, and she will die."
"All right, old know-it-all, what do we do now?" sniped Marco.
She didn't answer, but pulled out a small dagger. She then nicked her wrist, and pulled out a piece of cloth. She started cleaning the cuts with her own blood.
"Eew, gross," I muttered.
"Maybe so, maybe no. My blood is anti-venom for Trolloc poisoning. At least she won't have to drink any," she replied, with humor coloring her voice. "She's out of the woods now, but I can't be sure. I'm gifted, to be sure, but I can't heal."
"Now what?"
"I leave."
"Don't!" pleaded Cassie. "Rachel's not well yet!"
"Not my choice, kiddo. I have interfered too much already. Selene may break the rules at a whim, but I can't."
She got up, pulled her robe back on, and started to leave. She strolled away, then turned, and looked again into my eyes.
"Don't reject aid unasked for. You may need it."
She disappeared.
Rachel started to wake up.
Cassie
The next week Rachel spent in bed. While she denied it, those cuts hurt a lot. We had taken her back to the barn, and I had sewn her up. Thankfully, she was too groggy to notice. She developed a fever, and her mom made her stay inside, on the couch.
None of us knew what to do. Her condition just kept getting worse. We needed help, and we needed it bad.
I went out into the forest for a walk, at my wit's end. I rambled around for a while, and finally yelled, "Old One! She's still hurt! Help! Please!"
"What are ya yellin' about?" came an accented voice form behind me.
"Yahh!" I yelped, and spun around.
Behind me was the lady that met the description of the one that Tobias and Ax had told us about. She was tall, over six feet easily, and wearing a hobo's collection of ragged old clothing. Over all was a battered old trench coat, and a fedora hat.
"I, um, was feeling frustrated, and felt like yelling," I said lamely.
She shrugged. "Ye sounded a bit more than frustrated. Someone you care about is sick? Is there anyway that I can help?'
I couldn't help but notice the conflicting accents that warred in her voice. I was so busy paying attention to them that I didn't notice the question at first.
"Ah, yes, um, she is, and nothing seems to help. She got hurt, and got an infection from it."
"May I see her? I have a talent with folk remedies, and might be able to do something for her."
"No, thank you. I don't think there is anything that you could-"
Then I remembered the advice that the Ancient gave Jake. Don't reject aid unasked for. What the heck, what have we got to loose?
"Wait. You might be able to help. Come with me, and I'll take you to her house. What's your name, by the way?"
"Call me Emrys."
It can, and does, get weirder. I get good feedback, and I'll finish it, and even if I don't, I'll still finish it. I have had this story in my head for a long time.