By The Steel Angel
Authors Notes - The inspiration for this fic is
of unknown origin. Call it a dream, maybe. Let me know if it
works out!
"I still don't see what this
accomplishes." The Ellimist said, looking down at the tiny speck of blue,
suspended in the blackness of outer space. Earth, of course.
He was in his old man guise, floating non chalantly amongst the stars.
The other being laughed. He appeared as a middle aged man with dark
black hair, eyes, and a business suit that was blacker than the backdrop
of space. Crayak.
"Tell me, Ellimist.
What is the purpose of the games that humans play?" He asked. Of
course, neither the Ellimist or Crayak were actually there. They
were lightyears apart, and only together now because of a strange simulation
of both of themselves.
"They play games for fun,
Crayak. You know this." The Ellimist said. He'd never say it,
but he was becoming intrigued by Crayak's strange proposition. Crayak
laughed.
"Of course I do. But
we also play a game. A game that cannot be fathomed by the minds
of lesser beings, but a game none the less. What is the point of
playing a game if no satisfaction comes out of it?" Crayak demanded.
The Ellimist looked over at him, but he didn't see the man appearing before
him. Yes, he saw the man physically, but he only saw Crayak as Crayak
truly was. A planet sized beast with no morals or compassion.
"What satisfaction could
possibly be gained? This experiment will neither hurt nor help them."
The Ellimist said.
"I beg to differ, Ellimist."
Crayak said, and put his hands behind his back. He paced back and
forth as he explained. "With their leadership in the hands of a female,
they're doomed to fail, no matter what the circumstances." Crayak said
simply, and looked back at the Ellimist.
"So that's what this is
about. Just another plan to try and wipe them out." The Ellimist
said.
"What else? Why else
do we play this game of ours?" Crayak said. "So do we have a deal?"
"Under one condition.
I want to keep the memories of the leader intact. Unaffected by the
change." The Ellimist said. Crayak's eyes went wide.
The fire was there. The Ellimist had caught the one flaw in his plan.
He curled his humanoid lips into a smile.
"It shall be done.
And we shall see who is right, Ellimist." Crayak said. The Ellimist
nodded, and dissapeared. Crayak dissapeared also, and translated
back into his real, physical self. His blood red eye pulsed.
"We'll see, if Jake can survive this one."
***
"Honey! Time to get
up!" A voice called. My mother, of course. I opened one
eye, and looked down at my watch. Six thirty in the morning.
I groaned, and covered myself totally with the blankets on my bed.
Approximately three minutes later, the blankets were ripped away from me.
"Get up, Jade. You're going to be late for school." My mom
said. I groaned again.
"No..." I said, then
jumped about five feet up in the air. What was wrong with my voice?!
"Jade, what is the matter
with you?" My mom asked. Did she say Jade? Why'd she say Jade?
I don't ever remember my mother pronouncing K's like D's... I ran over
to my bathroom, and slammed the door, locking it. I stared into the
mirror.
Long brown hair.
Thin, hairless arms
Painted fingernails.
BREASTS?!?!?!?!
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I screamed.
"Jade? Jade?
Are you okay, sweetheart?" My mom called from my room. I calmed down
instantly. Okay, this HAD to be a dream. I walked out of my
bathroom with a dazed look on my face. "Jade, what happened?" Mom
asked me.
"I uh... um... saw a roach."
I lied. Mom smiled, and hugged me. I hugged back, still seriously
freaked.
"Well, go get dressed, and
come downstairs for breakfast." Mom said, and walked out of my room,
shutting the door behind her.
Dressed?
I walked over to my closet,
and pulled the sliding door open. Dresses, dresses, dresses!
I shut the door, and walked over to my dresser. First drawer is supposed
to be my shorts. I pull the drawer... Skirts! Second drawer!
Bra's! Third drawer! Panties! How the hell was I supposed
to get dressed?! "Wait... girls are SUPPOSED to wear this junk.
I'd look like a freak if I showed up at school wearing a t-shirt and baggy
shorts. I grabbed the first things I saw, and walked back into the
bathroom. I pulled off the nightgown I was wearing, to reveal a black
leotard.
Morphing suit.
I quickly took off the leotard.
Mistake number one of the day. A female body with a male mind does
not mix well.
"W...wow..." I said, gulped,
and quickly put on the pair of panties that I had grabbed. Then I
stared down at the article of clothing that has eluded man since its creation.
The bra. I held it up, looking at all the straps and hooks, and other
straps that I had no idea what their purpose was. "Jesus christ..."
I muttered, and tried my best to put it on.
About twenty minutes of
using both mirrors in my bathroom to see my back, and manuvering the hooks
into place, I finally had the damn thing on. I put on the lowcut
black spaghetti strap top, and the neon pink miniskirt, and walked back
into my room. I put on my socks and shoes, and made my way downstairs.
I grabbed my school folder, which, even as a girl, I seemed to leave on
the living room table, and walked into the kitchen.
"Well, you blew breakfast.
If you don't hurry up, you'll be late." Mom said. I hugged her.
"See you later. Bye
dad." I said, and walked toward the door.
"No kiss for me?" Dad asked.
I cringed, and cursed myself. I didn't want to seem out of place,
so I walked over, and gave my dad a kiss on the cheek. He kissed
me back on the cheek.
"See you tonight, honey."
He said. I smiled cutely, and nearly ran out of the house.
"Honey? Blech!"
I yelled. This was too weird. I was still hoping to wake up,
when I was joined by another girl on the street.
"Hey Jade, what's your problem?
Stop walking so fast!" She yelled. I turned around. She was
shorter than me, and looked spanish. She hand long black hair, and
dark eyes, and....
"Marco?! You too?!"
I gasped.
"Marco? Are you feeling
okay? It's me, Marcy." She said. It was Marco... he and I always
walked to school together. I was seriously starting to get freaked.
What if everyone I knew had swapped genders? There was no logical
explination for this. Unless....
"Visser Three..." I growled.
"Shh!" Marcy hissed, and
slapped my arm, then looked at a few other kids walking down the street.
"Shut up, you idiot! Why not just announce to the world that we're
Animorphs?" She said. Okay, I don't know whether that was good or
bad. I felt the sting of her slap, which means I wasn't dreaming.
But it did mean, that I really WAS a girl.
"Marco, what's happened
to us?" I asked, as I stopped walking. Marcy turned to look
at me, and cocked her head to the side, giving me a confused look.
"Nothing is happening to
us... you're just acting weird." She said, and continued walking.
I ran to catch up. If Marco and I had flipped genders.... then what
about the rest of us? I shivered at the thought. "What's the
matter with you, anyway?" Marcy asked as we neared the school.
"Hm? Oh... just a
weird dream, I guess." I said.
"What about?" Marcy asked.
"I dreamed that I was a
boy." I said. Marcy burst out laughing. But it made me think...
what if my entire life HAD just been a dream? What if I really WAS
a girl? No, that was impossible.
"You have a twisted sense
of humor. And your subconscious is even funnier." Marcy said, and
walked into the school. Immediately, I realized that I recognized
no one. Of course, I thought. They've all switched genders
too. I walked to my locker. It seemed a bit higher up than
it usually was, or maybe it was because I was shorter. I opened my
locker, and put my books inside.
"Meeting later today." A
deep voice said.
"Huh?" I looked to my right.
A boy was leaning against the locker directly to the right of mine.
He had short blond hair, and piercing blue eyes. He was tall, and
looked very heavily muscled.
"I said meeting, Jade.
Tanya's got something she wants to tell us." He said.
"Ugh, I hate getting news
from the bird-girl." Marcy said. She looked over at the boy.
"When did you find this out, Hercules?" She asked. That immediately
erased any doubt as to who it was standing next to me. Rachel's male
form. And Tanya had to be Tobias.
"This morning. We
went for an early morning fly." He said.
"Geez, Ruocco. How
close are you gonna get to her?" Marcy asked. Ruocco?
"None of your business,
small fry." Ruocco said, and walked away. I slammed by locker shut,
then banged my head on it.
"It's finally happened.
I lost it. I've gone insane. I'm not at school, I'm in some
nut house with a straight-jacket on, and surrounded by padded walls.
Dripping IV's in the corner, and a big indian guy for a roommate..." I
said, banging my head again.
"You had better not lose
it. Something tells me that something big is coming up, and we need
you most of all. We can't have our leader freaking out like some
normal girl who's just seen a roach." Marcy said. So, I was still
the leader. This was all too much to bear.
"Hey sweetheart."
Another male voice said. Marcy winked, and looked at me.
"I'll leave you two alone."
She said, winked again, and left. What was she doing? I turned
around, to find myself face to face with a boy a few inches taller than
me. Dark skin, short dark hair, dark eyes.... Cassie?
"You didn't call last night."
He said, and put his hands on my waist, looking into my eyes lovingly.
"C...Cassie?!" I blurted.
He looked at me strangely.
"Casey." He said, and kissed
me on the lips softly. I stared at him for a few seconds, then passed
out.
***
"By making sure that the
leader's memories stay intact, you've already assured their defeat.
He will become so confused at this new reality, that he will not be able
to lead effectively." Crayak said. The Ellimist just folded his hands
together, and opened his eyes, staring straight into Crayak's.
"An hour into it, and already
you've deduced that Jake will falter? How naive of you. I thought
you knew Jake better than that. He will soon cope with this new reality,
and find a way to surpass the odds." He said.
"Then let us continue, and
see which one of us is right." Crayak said.
"I would like nothing better,
Crayak."
End Chapter One