[Animorphs: The Modern Reboot]
[The Invasion]
My name is Jake.
I can't tell you my last name, or where I live, or even where I go to school. It's too risky. Because if they know who I really am… Well, let's just say I won't let them find me.
I wish I could go back to when things were simpler. Back when all I had to deal with was school, getting on the basketball team, and just hanging out with my best friend. Back to when I didn't have the world's fate on my shoulders.
I should probably start in the beginning.
It all happened one night. I was at the mall with my best friend, hanging out in the local Dave & Buster's playing arcade games. Yeah, you'd think most kids wouldn't hang out at the mall anymore. But, I got roped in with my brother during his mall trips, so I eventually got my friends along with me.
Me and Marco were at one of the cabinets, playing a two-player, first-person shooter. It was a Terminator game that was made to coincide with a movie release back ten years ago. But, hey, it was still fun.
I guess I should describe myself. I'm sort of tall for my age. I have brown hair that curls a bit. I wouldn't say I'm ripped, but I've got defined muscle from all my years of playing basketball. I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes with a long sleeved tee-shirt under a denim jacket.
Marco was shorter than me. He was always small, even after his growth spurt. He relied on that to keep that "cute" image girls always had with him. He had a tan skin and black hair that was cut short. When we were younger, Marco had shoulder-length hair. That was before his stylist gave him a shorter cut that made him more "handsome" than "cute". Even after puberty, Marco's trying to transition to some rugged man of mystery. Or, at least, that's what he's telling me.
Marco's always been a joker, usually with some sarcastic or witty quip after almost everything. It gets on my nerves sometimes, but hey, I've been friends with Marco since forever. You learn to deal with it.
Marco's pretty smart as well. He's always figuring out little codes or patterns in everything. That's how he keeps beating me at Super Smash Bros. despite the fact I own the game and he doesn't.
So, there we are. I had just lost all my lives and Marco was trying to solo the boss when I looked to the left and saw Tobias. He was several spaces over to the left, playing a different game cabinet. I couldn't see the screen very well, but I could tell he was doing pretty good. What, with the small crowd of people behind him.
Tobias is a weird guy. If you see him at a distance, you'd think he would be some kind of loner rebel straight out of the '90's. With his dark brown hair, tall stature, and face that looked like it was always set to "brood", Tobias would've been some teen heartthrob that every girl at my school would have fallen for.
If you'd actually talked to him, you realized that Tobias is not like that at all. He's really some dorky, quiet kid who stares off in space a lot. That's gotten him bullied a lot in my school. I first met him in the school restroom, about to get his head swirled by two bullies. Yeah, by bully stereotypes straight from '80's movies.
I was sort of glancing between him and Marco when I saw Tobias finish his game and leave. As he was about to exist the arcade, he bumped into two people. My cousin Rachel, and her friend Cassie.
Rachel's blond, tall, and carries herself like a warrior. People call her beautiful, but I'm her cousin, so I don't see it. Rachel does gymnastics a lot and is even captain of the team. She's also super into fashion. She'll be wearing the most fashionable trend and make it look good. That's another thing people say about her; she always looks good. I've hear people say Rachel can get in a football game and come out of it looking perfect.
Don't let all that think Rachel's some air-head mall rat. She will kick your ass if you piss her off. Rachel may look like a teen model, but she thinks she's Wonder Woman.
Cassie, on the other hand, is different. She's short, dark-skin, and wore her hair short. While Rachel wore whatever trended, Cassie would wear flannel shirts and overalls. Cassie is super into animals, which makes sense when both of her parents are veterinarians. She's always kind and know what to say to defuse an argument.
Also, I like Cassie. You know, as in like.
Rachel and Cassie both walked closer to us.
"Hey," said Rachel
"Sup," responded Marco, whose eyes were stilled glued to the screen.
"Hey," I said, "what are you two doing here?"
"One word," Marco said, "sale."
"Wrong, so wrong," Rachel said, "I was helping Cassie get some new clothes."
Cassie just grinned sheepishly. Despite all their differences, Rachel and Cassie were still the best of friends.
"Hey," Rachel spoke, "you guys know that guy we bumped into?"
"Oh," I responded, "yeah, that's Tobias. Don't know him really well."
Rachel just nodded and smirked.
"It was nice to see you," Cassie spoke up, "But, me and Rachel have get home. I've got to help my dad with this raccoon we just got." Cassie's dad ran this Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. It's mainly just a place where Cassie's family take in injured wild animals and heal them.
"Alright, we should." Rachel said, turning to the exist. "See you later, Jake. You too, Marco."
"Hey," I started talking, without really thinking it. "Would you mind if me and Marco come with."
Marco turned towards me with a look of annoyance and surprise on his face. "Seriously? Dude, we've still got tokens to spend."
Rachel turned and snorted. "What, you think we need some big, strong meennn to help us?" Cassie cover her hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle.
"No," I quickly responded. "Just thought you two would want the company."
Cassie spoke up, "Rachel, it's fine. I don't mind."
Rachel shrugged and walked to the exist. Marco incredulously looked back at me, then the game, and then back at me. I just noticed that Marco beat the boss.
I started walking back to the exist. I saw Marco roll his eyes and got up to follow us.
We all walked out the mall that night. None of us had cars that night, and nobody really wanted to pay for an Uber. So, we just walked till we got to a crosswalk. It split into two paths. One way would take longer to get to our houses, but would be safer. The other was taking a shortcut through the abandoned construction site.
I heard the city was going to build a new shopping mall or something. But halfway through construction, they just stopped and left it to rot. Now, it was mainly known for its ghost stories and homeless people who camp there for the night.
All of us knew that we shouldn't go through the construction site. I knew that if my parents found out I went there; they would ground me till I'm 20. And yet, we all walked through it.
It was the last normal thing we'd ever do.
The construction site was desolate. Steel beam were welded to construct half-finished buildings. Concrete pipes laid out in pyramids. Mounds of dirt and gravel cast haunting shadows around us.
We walked until I noticed a lone figure standing out in the darkness. At first, I thought it was some crazed killer or a homeless man until I could more definitely see it as Tobias. He just staring at something in the sky.
Rachel approached him first. "Hey, it's Tobias, right?"
"Yeah," was his only response. He didn't take his off whatever he was looking at.
"Well, we're all going home," said Rachel. "If you'd want, you could join us."
Before me or Marco could object, Tobias pointed up and said, "Look."
We all looked to where he was pointing. It was light in the sky. Too close to be a star. Though there was something off about it.
"Maybe it's an airplane." Cassie suggested.
"Yeah, I'd agree," Marco replied, "but I don't think any plane lights are blue."
He was right. The light did look more blueish than a normal plane's light. That's when I noticed the light was getting closer and closer. It culminated in the light almost blinding us and going over our heads.
The light dimmed down as the object was descending in front of us. I felt funny, so I ran my hand around my hair. It was sticking up in all directions. Everyone's hair was spiking out, except Cassie's, whose was too short for it. Rachel's long blond mane looked like a wild mop of blond hair. I would've find it funny, except this was way too weird to react.
We could clearly see the object. It was oval shaped, almost like an egg, with two stubs at the side which were probably wings. At the rear, a stinger-like protrusion was resting over the craft. I think that was some sort of weapons system. The object was a little bigger than a school bus and had a milky white coating on it.
I think we all knew what it was, but it was Tobias who said it out loud.
"It's a spaceship."
We just stood in fear and awe. It was a spaceship. A real-life spaceship! Nothing like in games, or movies, or T.V.
"Yo," Marco spoke up, "someone take out their phone. We have to record this."
And yet, no one did. We were all too frozen in fear and awe to do anything but stare.
It was Tobias who broke the silence. "Please, come out. We won't hurt you."
"Yeah, great idea," Marco spat, "you think an alien speaks English? What do you think this is? District 9, Arrival, Guardians of the Galaxy?"
"Maybe it's like Star Wars where they all know English.", Cassie remarked.
Marco was about to retort when we all first heard it.
[I know.]
We all looked around in surprise. It was a voice, except you didn't hear it. Not out loud.
"You guys heard that?", I spoke up.
"Yeah," Rachel said, "Except I heard it in my head."
[Do not be afraid, ]the "voice" said, [I am coming out.]
The ship died down or powered off or whatever. The effect of making our hair stand up also died down as well. A hatch opened up in the middle of the spaceship, and out stepped the alien.
My first thought when I saw him was 'centaur'. And to be fair, you would too if you saw him. He had the same body shape as one, though the bottom half looked more like a deer than a horse. Its fur was blue and tan with it covering every part of its body. He had skinny arms that ended in hands with seven fingers.
The two weirdest parts were the head and tail. The head looked human, with weird elf ears. The thing had no mouth, only three slits near where its nose should be. Its eyes were a bright green that looked bigger than any human eye. It also had horns, except they weren't still. They were moving around, looking this way and that. That helped by the fact that eyes were attached to the ends of these horns.
The tail was freaky. It was long and curved, like a scorpion. But, instead of a stinger, there was a scythe-like growth coming out of the end. I was drawn to it. It defiantly looked like a weapon.
The alien slowly walked down the ramp, hooves clopping on the steel structure. We could hear it breathing heavily, as if every step took effort. Our fears came true when the alien got to the bottom of the ramp, wobbled, and fell over on its side.
Tobias and Cassie were the first to react. "It's hurt!", Cassie said, "Jake, quick, give me your jacket."
Tobias had gotten close to the alien. Cassie gotten close to the wound with Rachel catching up. As I was taking my jacket off, I saw the alien's wound. There were several slashes on its side. It oozed a dark blue substance, which I can only guess is its blood.
"It'll be okay," Rachel said to the alien, "Cassie's pretty good with animals, so she might help you."
Cassie gave Rachel a look that said, "Really? Calling the alien an animal?" as she used my jacket to try and clot the wound.
[It does not matter,] the alien said, [The wounds are fatal. I will not survive.]
"You can't!" Tobias cried out, "You're the first alien to come to Earth. You have to survive!"
Around that time Marco came closer too. He might have said something about how insane this was, but I didn't hear it. I was too focused on the weirdness that happening right in front of me.
[No, I am not the first,] the alien said. [However, others will come.]
"Others?" Tobias asked, "Like you?"
[No,] the alien replied, [Nothing like you or I. I am an Andalite. My people and I have come to protect your world from an invasion.]
"An alien invasion?" Marco questioned, "If that's true, we would have known about it by now."
[No. There would be no way you would have detected your invaders].
The alien lifted up his hand. In our minds, we saw a slug. Except, not really. It had fins and antennae, and was gray and green in color.
[This is a Yeerk,] the alien explained. [In their natural bodies, they are slugs. However, they have developed the ability to crawl through a species' ear. They flatten and contort themselves through the ear canal until it reaches the skull. Then, they use naturally secreting mucus to dissolve the bone long enough for them to enter and control the brain. The host is still conscious as the Yeerk controls their body. The Yeerk is able to impersonate them completely thanks to the memories of the host. We have dubbed them Controllers. They are parasites. And they have conquered several worlds already, with yours as their latest target.]
The vision ended and we were back to staring at the alien. Marco was the first to speak up.
"So, what you're saying is that Earth is being invaded by slugs that control you by crawling in your brain? Well, that's just great except one thing; what do you think we can do about it? We're kids! No one's going to believe us."
[You are correct,] the alien confirmed. [The Yeerks would have taken over most of the authority figures of your world. You cannot fight them as you are.]
"So, what do we do?" Rachel said.
The alien looked conflicted, as if what he was about to do was something drastic. He finally looked up at us.
[I have two gifts for you in my ship. I need one of you to go get them]
Almost immediately, everyone turned and looked at me.
"What?" I said, "why me?"
"Because you have to," Tobias replied, eyes almost begging me to just go.
I sighed, "Alright, I'll do it. What do I have to look for?"
[One is a blue box that is four of your inches wide and four of your inches tall,] the alien explained. [The other is a device that contains a small sliver disc. Please, retrieve them as quickly as possible.]
I stood up, knees sore from squatting around the alien. I started up the ramp and walked inside the ship.
The interior of the ship was a creamy white in color. I found what looked like controls with no chair near it. I guess Andalites don't need chairs when they got a horse for legs. Over to my right was a desk of some sort. There was both the blue box and the sliver disc container.
As I got closer to grab them, I noticed a hologram next to them. It showed the Andalite alongside a taller blue one with darker fur, one with purple fur, and a smaller one that looked similar to the Andalite. I think this was his family.
I got both of the items and got out of the ship. I gave both the box and the disc to the alien.
"Here you go," I said.
[Thank you,] the Andalite responded.
"I saw a hologram. Inside your ship. Was that your family?"
[Yes,] was my only answer.
"I'm…I'm sorry." That was all I could say.
The Andalite shifted, wincing because of the pain, just to hold the blue box in one hand.
[On your own, you cannot hope to defeat the Yeerks. However, with this, you may have enough power to fight back.]
"What? What is it?" Rachel demanded.
[It is the ability to acquire the DNA of any living creature. And to morph your body into it.]
"You're saying…we can turn into animals?" Cassie questioned
[Yes,] the Andalite responded, [if you so choose. There are rules to morphing. You must first physically touch a creature and then concentrate in both acquiring and morphing into it. You cannot acquire the DNA of a plant or a deceased organism. And you must return to your natural forms in order to change from one animal to another.]
"I'll do it." Tobias said. He said it so forcefully, it made me jump a little.
"You know what he's saying, right?" Marco interjected. "He wants us to fight off aliens as animals. This is insane. Insane!"
"I think we should vote on this," Cassie said.
"Yeah," I said, "Yeah, we should."
Now everyone was looking at me again. They were excepting me to make the decision for them.
I agree with Marco; this was way too crazy to make sense. How are five kids supposed to take down an alien invasion, even with superpowers? But, I look into Tobias's eyes and see that determination, that will to fight even if the fight is hopeless.
I closed my eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and looked straight at the Andalite.
"We'll do it."
Tobias smiled at me. Cassie nodded her head in understanding.
Rachel perked up, "Personally, I wish we had more time to vote. But, yeah, let's do this."
Marco rolled his eyes exasperated, "This is crazy. I hope you know all that."
The Andalite spoke up, [Good. Now, I want each of you to place a hand on a side of the cube.]
All five of us put our hand on a side of the box. I felt a tingling sensation, warm but noticeable. We stayed like this until the Andalite pulled the box away from us.
[There. You all have the power to morph. The power to fight.]
He looked up in surprise. We did too. Red lights were coming down from the sky, waving wildly across the construction site.
[Yeerks,] the Andalite said the word with such hate and fear it shocked me. [They're here. Quickly! Run and hide!]
"No!" I said, surprising myself. "We can't leave you!"
[I am already doomed. It is more important that you five survive and live. Go, hide!]
We all started to back away as the Yeerk's lights shone down.
[Remember this!] the Andalite spoke. [The greatest danger to morphing is the time limit. You cannot stay in a morph for over two of your Earth hours. Otherwise, you will be trapped forever in morph.]
Most of us were already near a waist-high concrete wall when the Andalite gave out his warning. Two-hour time limit, got it.
Tobias was the last one to stay near the Andalite before Rachel grabbed him and started to drag him away towards us.
[Tobias,] The Andalite cried out, [Take this! Guard it with your heart and soul!]
The Andalite then threw the disc container near Tobias. Unfortunately, Tobias missed it. The disc landing somewhere in the dirt and gravel. Tobias would have ran back to get it if not for Rachel pulling him away from an incoming spotlight and back to us.
So, there we were. Five kids who had just gotten superpowers from an alien, about to meet our invaders. All of us were scared. I didn't try to show it, but the others knew just how afraid I was. I wanted to run, to scream, to just go home and wake up tomorrow thinking this was just a dream. But I couldn't. I stayed there in fear of what was coming.
The next alien ship landed gracefully. It looked like a giant battle axe, with the front side being the handle and the back, the blade. It was midnight black, almost impossible to see in the night sky without the red searchlights beaming down.
[That is the Blade Ship,] the Andalite said. I guess Andalite telepathy or whatever could be far reaching.
As the Blade Ship landed, its hatch opened up. The first group to come out was humans. Actual humans. Though, they are most definitely Controllers. They carried around flashlights. Though, by the way they were waving them around, more like firearms than a flashlight, I could say that those were definitely guns.
[Dracon weapons,] the Andailte explained. ]Those are designed to disintegrate a target molecule by molecule and make it as painful as possible.]
Great, laser beams that are designed to be painful.
"What the hell is that?!", Marco hissed while pointing to the next group coming out.
This was our second alien encounter today. They were seven-foot tall reptiles of some sort. Green scales with T-Rex like feet and a long tail to balance them. They had arms with four-fingered hands and a snake-like neck. Their heads had beady red eyes and green beaks as well. The most notable things about them were the blades. There were blades everywhere. On their head, their legs, their knees, on their tails, and on the arms from the elbow to the wrist.
Overall, they looked like mean, green, killing machines I wanted to be nowhere near.
[Hork-Bajir,] the Andailte explained. [They were a kind and peaceful race. Until the Yeerks invaded and conquered them completely. Now, they are little more than shock troops for the Yeerk Empire. They are to be pitied.]
Both the Human and Hork-Bajir Controllers surrounded the Andalite and the spacecraft, forming a perimeter around both. One Hork-Bajir got close, almost ten feet in front of us.
[Be quiet!] The Andalite commanded. [Hork-Bajir do not see well in the dark, but they have excellent hearing.]
All of us huddled a little closer together, trying desperately to stay quiet from the danger before us. One last figure descended down the Blade Ship.
It was another Andalite.
"You guys see him?" I whispered as quietly as I could while still trying to be audible.
"Yeah," Cassie answered quietly too, "But, there's something wrong about him."
Then again, with him coming out from the Blade Ship, we should have known this Andalite wasn't going to be a virtuous as our Andalite.
[Visser Three,] the Andalite said with utmost contempt. [The only Andalite-Controller in existence. The only Yeerk with the power to morph.]
That's when it hit me. This guy is the leader. This Visser Three is the one at the top and there is a reason why. He was not to be trifled with.
[Ah!] Visser Three exclaimed. [Here is our downed Andalite Warrior. And not just any Warrior, but Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul! It is an honor.]
We all panic under Visser Three's booming "voice". Could he know we were here, hiding? Could he read our minds?
[Do not worry,] Elfangor said. [Though-speak can directed at an individual or to a group of people. Visser Three likes to thought-speak to anyone in range. He likes the theatrics.]
Good news, we now know Elfangor's name and that Visser Three can't read our minds. Bad new, we're still surrounded by murderous aliens.
[How many of our Bug Fighters did you shot down in orbit?] Visser Three questioned rhetorically. [Seven or eight of our best. Very skilled.]
[Save the formalities, Visser,] Elfangor said. [We both know they're fake.]
[Fine. With the destruction of your precious Dome Ship, you are the last Andalite in this sector. Which means there will be no resistance on this planet as we take it over piece by piece.]
[Why?] Elfangor questioned, stalling for time. [Why this planet? Why these people?]
[Because there are so many! 7 billion hosts, all ripe for the taking. We would have to build a hundred thousand new Yeerk Pools to infest half of the planet's population.]
[There will be others,] Elfangor said. [Others will come to stop your invasion.]
Visser Three laughed. It was a deep and hallowing laugh that made me want to shut my eyes and wished everything would go away.
[Your people's forces are spread too thin throughout the galaxy. And, by the time they do come to this rock, it would be too late. We would have the manpower enough to conquer your home world and win this war!]
[And,] Visser Three leaned in close to Elfangor, [I will personally oversee the infestation of each and every one of your family.]
In the blink of an eye, Elfangor's tail slashed at Visser Three's shoulder, drawing blood. That tail-blade is definitely something to not mess with.
[Fine,] Visser Three spat, holding his injured shoulder. [If that's how you want to go down, I'll gladly give it to you.]
That's when Visser Three morphed. He started to grow, while his front legs shrived and disappeared into his body. This other two legs bulged and thicken into the size of redwood trees. His arms expanded, gaining more muscle mass while losing fingers into three claws. His tail lost its blade and became long enough to touch the ground. His head lurched forward as jaws of gaping teeth formed from his head. His stalk eyes rapidly shrank until the disappeared into the monstrous head.
The newly morphed Visser Three moved one of his gigantic arms down and picked up Elfangor like he was nothing than an action figure.
We all knew what was coming next. Rachel wanted to go and help, but me and Marco had to pull her back in order to not be seen. She stayed when she saw Cassie crying and offered Cassie to bury her head in Rachel's shoulder. The rest of us stared at the scene.
I wanted to run away. I wanted to cry, sob, beg. Do anything to get out of there. But, I stayed.
I saw Visser Three lift Elfangor higher and higher near his head. I saw Elfangor strike at Visser Three repeatedly with his tail-blade, to no avail. I saw Visser Three closer and closer to his mouth, opened his jaws, and then-
I looked away. I didn't want to see what happened next.
Just because I didn't see Elfangor die, doesn't mean I didn't hear him.
His dying screams rattled my very core. I still have nightmare about it to this very day.
I looked back at the murder. Visser Three was still in morph, with Elfangor still in his hands. Well, half of Elfangor. As Visser Three chewed, bits and pieces of Andailte flesh hit the ground with a soft thud.
[Ah…,] Visser Three said, [Nothing like a good Antarean Bogg morph to take a…bite out of your enemies.]
The rest of the Controllers laughed. Human laughes mixed in with Hork-Bajir grunts, or what they constituted as laughs.
That was broken when Marco threw up. I would've too, if I wasn't in shock.
[Intruders!] Visser Three yelled, quickly demorphing. [Get them!]
That's when we all sprang up and ran as fast as we could away from the construction site. I heard an explosion a ways away, but I didn't look back.
I heard a repeating thumping behind me. I looked back and saw Hork-Bajir alongside human Controllers chasing after us.
"Split up!", I yelled. "They can't follow all of us!"
It was a dumb plan and I know. But, me and Rachel split off from the rest of the group as the Controllers gained on us.
Then I spilt from Rachel and duck in some abandoned pipes to wait it out. I was still on adrenaline and couldn't really calm down and think how stupid of a plan this was.
I heard footsteps coming closer and then stopping.
"I don't see anything!", a human voice said.
"Well, stop standing around and find them!" a familiar voice said. "Visser Three will have our heads if we don't find out who saw us."
"Yes, sir!" A group of voice responded. More footsteps passed by my pipe. One pair of legs stopped right in front of the hole.
"Idiots." The voice said. I could swear, I heard that tone and voice somewhere before.
The legs left and I counted to ten to make sure they were far enough away. After that, I crawled out of the pipe and ran as fast I as I could home.
It was around 9 when I came home. I didn't shower or change into PJs or anything. I just laid on my bed and went to sleep.
I woke up later. The sky was still dark outside. I fumbled around for my phone and pulled it out. The harshly bright screen said that it was 5 in the morning. And that I still had school in two hours.
There are no small mercies in life.
I groggily sat up in my bed and recollected my thoughts. Was last night a dream? If so, then it was one of the worst nightmares I had. If it wasn't…well, I didn't want to accept the facts then.
I looked over and saw my dog, Homer, sleeping at the corner of my bed. Homer was a golden retriever we got a long time ago. My dad named him Homer because he was a big fan of The Simpsons growing up. We just went along with it.
I thought about last night. Did I really have the power to change into animals? That my friends and I were now caught up in some secret war?
There was only one way to test it out. I reached down and petted Homer on his head. Elfangor said I had to concentrate on acquiring morphs. So I imagined all the things Homer would do: chase after balls, eat table scraps, bark at dogs not even remotely close to our yard. After a while, I let go of Homer's head. That's when he woke up and started to wag his tail like nothing was wrong.
I knew that after Homer woke up this early, he wanted breakfast. And I didn't want to wake my parents, or my older brother, Tom. So, I took him downstairs, filled up his bowl, and took him outside to eat and do other dog things. After that, I went back in my room.
It was a good idea to bring Homer outside. He would've freaked out if he saw me turn into him. I needed to do like Elfangor said, concentrate on being Homer.
So, I closed my eyes and thought of being Homer. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes. I didn't feel any different. I thought it was just some crack dream until I looked at my arms.
They were covered in golden fur. Not completely, but the areas where human hair would be was replaced by shaggy dog fur. I looked in the mirror. My ears had become dog ears! Like, literal dog ears, without the fur. It creepy to look at.
I almost screamed until I remembered the rest of my family was still asleep. I thought about going back to human, but if I was going to do this, I had to do it all the way.
I concentrated back on being Homer. Instantly, the changes began. Golden fur sported everywhere on my body. My fingers shrank and retracted into my hands until they were just nails. My nose grew longer and longer into a snout before the rest of my mouth could catch up. My vision became less colorful; my hearing became sharper. I fell forward as my legs twisted to become dog legs.
All to the sounds of my bones being broken and organs being shifted around. It didn't hurt or anything, but man, did it sound like it did.
The change was complete and I shimmed my way out of my clothes. I guess morphing doesn't account for clothing.
What hit me most was the smells. Everything in my room had a scent. From my closet, to my computer, to my trash can. I could smell something that was two days old and it would still feel fresh.
I had this wondrous, giddy sense of joy. I was happy about everything. I wanted to explore my room. I wanted to see where certain smells came from. I wanted to jump on my bed and roll around on it.
I was so happy being a dog, that by the time I check my clock again, an hour had passed. 6 was when my mom came into my room and made sure I was awake.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I couldn't demorph now! Not in front of my family.
The door opened, and my mom stepped in.
"Jake! Jake, are you up?", she said looking around my room.
She looked down at me, "Homer, have you seen Jake?"
I just lolled my tongue and wagged my tail. The perfect doggie disguise.
"Probably in the bathroom…." Mom said, closing the door behind her.
That was too close. I demorphed and quickly put on a new set of clothes.
I had breakfast, got to school, suffered the periods before lunch. I wish I could ignore what happened last night, but I know now that it was real. Earth is under attack. And me and my friends are the only ones who can stop it.
Lunch rolled around, and after I got the meal of the day, I tried to find Marco to sit down and talk. I found him, alongside Rachel, Cassie, and Tobias.
"Hey, Jake!" Rachel called out. I went by and sat down next to Marco.
"Hey." I responded. Everyone else responded kindly.
"Now that everyone has gathered," Marco said, "am I the only one who remembers having a weird fever dream involving all five of us, alien invasions, and turning into animals?"
"It wasn't a dream," Tobias said, "It was real."
"Yes," I responded. "It was. Because…" I leaned in closer so fewer people could hear us, "I morphed Homer."
Everyone stared wide-eyed at me.
"No way…" Rachel said.
"You did it?" Cassie asked, "You really turned into your dog?"
"Yeah," I said, a little prideful of my decisions, "I did."
"I'll be the first to point out how dangerous that was," Marco said. "What if you got caught?"
"I almost did," I confessed. "My mom walked in on me as Homer. Fortunately, Homer was outside, and she just thought I was him."
"You know what this means, right?" Tobias said. "That everything last night was real. That Elfangor really did…"
He let the words hang in the air. The realization hit us all at once. Earth is under attack. By slugs that can act like everyone else. And us five are the only defense left.
"We can't trust anyone." I said. "Not people in power…"
"Not friends…" Rachel interjected bitterly.
"Not family…" Marco finished.
"No one besides us five can be trusted." I stated. Everyone had a grim expression on their face. This was real. And we can't change that.
A crash happened behind us. We looked over and saw two jocks with spilled trays next to a very disappointed Mr. Chapman. Mr. Chapman was the Vice-Principal of the school and was the disciplinarian for it as well. So, a lot of kids both hated and feared him alike. Just like any Vice-Principal.
"Watch where you two are going next time." Mr. Chapman said in a loud voice. The two jocks mumbled apologies.
"And clean up this mess while you're at it!" Both jocks mumbled responses.
I was about to turn away, when I heard Chapman say under his breath...
"Idiots."
My thoughts went back to last night. The Controller who ordered the others to find us while I was hiding. He had the same tone, the same voice. I couldn't call it a case closed, but there was still proof.
"Guys!", I hissed and motion everyone to come closer.
"I think Vice-Principle Chapman is a Controller." I said. "I'm pretty sure I hear him last night ordering the other Controllers around."
"Aw man," Marco whined, "and I thought he couldn't be any more evil."
"We still don't know for sure he's a Controller," Cassie spoke up.
"I know," I responded, "but we have to take caution anyway. There's no telling who is and who isn't a Controller."
We all leaned back and acted like normal. Not like kids with terrible secrets. Not kids who are paranoid of everyone in their school. We all left later and continued school
There we are. Five kids tasked with stopping an alien invasion. Aliens who crawl inside your head and take control. Five kids with the power to turn into animals.
And there is no one we can trust.
Hello, and thank you for finishing this story. I made this along time ago, back in like 2019, I think? Anyway, I got fascinated with the Animorphs TV show that was on Nick in the late 90's. Maybe I'm a sucker for shows that ended earlier than they should have. Maybe I wanted to see how the show could handled the storylines. Or maybe I just like trash TV. If you want to see it, all the episodes should be on Youtube. I'll tell ya now, they're not as good as the books, but fun in a cheesy, low-budget 90's way.
So, yeah, this is my take on the show. In modern day and borrows more elements from the books. You can tell by certain character designs, such as Tobias, and items, such as Elfangor's disk. Also, current pop culture references. Since the original show had a two-parter, I planned one as well. However, I got writer's block on the second episode and never finished it. If this gets enough positive attention, then I might look into it. Although I have multiple other stories going on as well, so don't expect frequent updates. Let me know if you want more of this.
Anyway, that's all I got. See ya next time!