|Reviewer's Area|
Lauren: *laughs* I don't want to fail, either... Failing Gr. 8 would seriously suck, considering all my friends would go to high school without me. T_T But my teacher told me that I''m her top Gr. 8 student in *all* areas! Woo! (except gym ^^;)
Jinako-chan: *giggles* Huggies! ....Erm, anyways... Yep, they kissed! Not much in this chapter when it comes to romance, but I had to add this part or nothing would have made sense later on. ^^;
Daniel D. Wardorf: Erm... go read Fire Tears's review for my opinion on *your* review.
Fire Tears: My opinion exactly! You know me so well, girl. It's nice to have a fellow friend wen it comes to fanfiction. Even if you don't write Animorphs fiction. ^^
Forlay: You're right! It does mean 'my love'. And... YESYOUCANARCHIVEMYFICTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUANDDIDIMENTIONTHATI'VEBEENTOYOU RSITEANDILOVEIT? X_x What I said, in my amazed-induced (did that make *any* sense?) high is: Yes you can archive my fic. Thank you thank you thank you! And did I mention that I've been to your site and I love it? Haaaaaa. Insanity rules!
Alisha: Yep, I like it too. Both the name and the plot twist! BTW (I *hate* using short forms, but I need to shudder. *shudders* There.), you're welcome!
Lady Atheilen: You're right, too! It's okay. I, of all people, understand business. ^^; Thanks for liking my quote!
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO FORLAY AND LADY ATHEILEN FOR FIGURING OUT WHAT EREK SAID!!!
Chapter Eight
"...You..."
I freeze. I just freeze. Impossible! There's no way... it has to be Marco just joking again... He wouldn't... He *couldn't*... I'm a robot, just a machine, and he can't love a machine...
"Marco... you... I..." I say dumbly.
"Erek!" I turn slowly. John runs toward me. "We've fixed Andrea. She wishes to talk with you."
"But..."
"She refuses to say anything to us other than that she wants to speak to only you. Only you." He emphasises the 'only you'.
"Now?" I ask, looking at Marco. He's retreated again, allowing the medicine-induced self to take over.
"Yes."
"All ri - what?!" Everything is frozen around me. No one and nothing moves. Dogs are frozen, leanping in midair. Chee are stuck in one position. Marco is leaning against the tree, away from me. John has his mouth open, in reply. Only I am moving.
"Ellimist." I say finally. "What is it you want?"
A light chuckle fills the air around me. All around me.
NOTHING. IT IS WHAT YOU WANT THAT I AM CONCERNING MYSELF WITH.
"I want nothing."
UNTRUE. YOU DO, INDEED, SEEK SOMETHING. SOMETHING I CAN GIVE.
"From what I've seen, and from what the Animorphs have told me about you, you don't simply give away favours." I say suspiciously.
NO. BUT I DO GIVE THINGS IF THEY HELP MY PURPOSE.
"What is your purpose?"
YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, CHEE-KORO. YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND.
"Call me Erek."
AS YOU WISH, EREK.
Suddenly, I'm floating in a blank, white nothingness. Z-space.
I HAVE AN OFFER.
"What offer? What is your purpose?"
Another deep, booming laugh. YOU ARE NOT TO BE DISTRACTED, I SEE.
"What is your purpose?"
YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK OF IT ONCE I TELL YOU, CHEE-KORO. EVEN IF YOU UNDERSTAND.
"Erek. Not Chee-Koro. Erek."
Another laugh.
"Your purpose?"
MY PURPOSE, EREK KING OF THE CHEE, IS TO WIN THE GAME.
"Game?"
THE GAME THAT CRAYAK AND I PLAY. THE MIXED GAME OF SADISM ON HIS SIDE, AND ALTRUISM ON MINE.
HE DESTROYS PLANETS AND LIFE WHEREVER HE GOES. TO PUT IT IN SIMPLISTIC TERMS, HE IS A PLAGUE. A PLAGUE OF DEATH. I, TOO, AM A PLAGUE. BUT I AM A PLAGUE OF LIFE. WE CANNOT CO-EXIST FOR THESE REASONS. BUT, FOR OUR OWN RULES AND REASONS THAT YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, WE CANNOT FIGHT AN ALL-OUT BATTLE THROUGH SPACE AND TIME.
SO WE ALLOW OTHER SPECIES TO. CRAYAK AND I PLAY MANY DIFFERENT... MINI- GAMES, SO TO SPEAK. GAMES WITHIN OUR GAME. CRAYAK HOLDS THE GAME PIECES OF THE YEERKS. I HOLD THE GAMES PIECES OF THE ANIMORPHS. THE ANIMORPHS AND YOU, EREK.
"Why me?"
BECAUSE ALL SANE CREATURES NEED SOME TYPE OF LOVE TO SURVIVE. JAKE AND CASSIE, FOR INSTANCE. THEY SUPPLY EACH OTHER. RACHEL AND TOBIAS ALSO SUPPLY EACH OTHER. AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL WAS TEMPORARILY SUPPLIED BY ESTRID-CORILL-DARRATH. MARCO HAS NO ONE. HE NEVER HAS. HE, IF NOT SUPPLIED BY SOMEONE, WILL SLIP INTO INSANITY. HE HAS SOMEONE IN MIND.
"Me."
YES.
I hesitate. "What... what is your offer?"
YOU ARE VERY MUCH LIKE A HUMAN, EREK.
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. I already understood.
MARCO KNOWS THAT HOWEVER ACCEPTING THE OTHERS ARE, MOST OF THEIR SMALL FORCE WILL NOT ACCEPT... THIS. SO I NEEDED TO DO THIS. SO HUMANS WOULD WIN. SO CRAYAK WOULD LOSE.
"You know I love him."
YES.
"You want to make me human. Is that it?"
YES.
"What's that catch?"
Another chuckle.
THERE ARE TWO... CATCHES, AS YOU SAID.
"And they would be...?"
FIRST: YOU WILL ONLY HAVE A HUMAN BODY. THAT IS THE ONLY HUMAN THING YOU WILL POSESS. YOUR PROGRAMMING, STRANGTH, MEMORY, LIFESPAN... IT WILL ALL BE INTACT. YOU WILL BE, SIMPLISTICALLY, A CHEE. BUT WITH THE BODY OF A HUMAN. YOU WILL EVEN STILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE HOLOGRAMS AND FORCE FIELDS.
THE SECOND CATCH IS THAT YOU WILL DIE THE SECOND MARCO DOES. THE VERY SECOND.
"What does Crayak think of this?"
A self-satisfied chuckle. HE BELIEVED THAT YOU WOULD REFUSE. THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO REMAIN A CHEE, AND THAT YOU WOULD WISH TO LIVE FOREVER. IF THERE IS ONE THING THAT CRAYAK DOES NOT UNDERSTAND, IT IS LOVE.
"Very cliche."
BUT TRUE.
"And I did not say I would accept."
NO. AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO. THE CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE.
The decision was... a no-brainer, as humans might say. I would still be a Chee, and a human at the same time! The best of both worlds. Another human saying.
And dying when Marco does... I wouldn't be able to live without him anyway.
"You know my answer, Ellimist."
WHAT IS IT? I NEED TO HEAR YOU SPEAK IT.
"Yes."
---------------------------
Short chapter. Very short. But I didn't want to extend it to much, it would have lost the, er... drama.
Yeah, drama. You heard that right.
If Erek seems a bit emotionless in this chapter, well, he's in shock. If you were a machine and a joker just suddenly told you he loved you, wouldn't you be a bit surprised?
Oh yes. I made up Erek's real name. I figured I'd have to somewhere along the line, but I wanted to hold off doing it until I had to. So, his name isn't really Chee-Koro, but I'm pretending it is. So there. Ha.
And I wonder what Marco will think of this 'new' Erek?
Hmmmmmm...
P.S. The Ellimist RULES! (I can't help it. I love the guy!)
Lauren: *laughs* I don't want to fail, either... Failing Gr. 8 would seriously suck, considering all my friends would go to high school without me. T_T But my teacher told me that I''m her top Gr. 8 student in *all* areas! Woo! (except gym ^^;)
Jinako-chan: *giggles* Huggies! ....Erm, anyways... Yep, they kissed! Not much in this chapter when it comes to romance, but I had to add this part or nothing would have made sense later on. ^^;
Daniel D. Wardorf: Erm... go read Fire Tears's review for my opinion on *your* review.
Fire Tears: My opinion exactly! You know me so well, girl. It's nice to have a fellow friend wen it comes to fanfiction. Even if you don't write Animorphs fiction. ^^
Forlay: You're right! It does mean 'my love'. And... YESYOUCANARCHIVEMYFICTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUANDDIDIMENTIONTHATI'VEBEENTOYOU RSITEANDILOVEIT? X_x What I said, in my amazed-induced (did that make *any* sense?) high is: Yes you can archive my fic. Thank you thank you thank you! And did I mention that I've been to your site and I love it? Haaaaaa. Insanity rules!
Alisha: Yep, I like it too. Both the name and the plot twist! BTW (I *hate* using short forms, but I need to shudder. *shudders* There.), you're welcome!
Lady Atheilen: You're right, too! It's okay. I, of all people, understand business. ^^; Thanks for liking my quote!
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO FORLAY AND LADY ATHEILEN FOR FIGURING OUT WHAT EREK SAID!!!
Chapter Eight
"...You..."
I freeze. I just freeze. Impossible! There's no way... it has to be Marco just joking again... He wouldn't... He *couldn't*... I'm a robot, just a machine, and he can't love a machine...
"Marco... you... I..." I say dumbly.
"Erek!" I turn slowly. John runs toward me. "We've fixed Andrea. She wishes to talk with you."
"But..."
"She refuses to say anything to us other than that she wants to speak to only you. Only you." He emphasises the 'only you'.
"Now?" I ask, looking at Marco. He's retreated again, allowing the medicine-induced self to take over.
"Yes."
"All ri - what?!" Everything is frozen around me. No one and nothing moves. Dogs are frozen, leanping in midair. Chee are stuck in one position. Marco is leaning against the tree, away from me. John has his mouth open, in reply. Only I am moving.
"Ellimist." I say finally. "What is it you want?"
A light chuckle fills the air around me. All around me.
NOTHING. IT IS WHAT YOU WANT THAT I AM CONCERNING MYSELF WITH.
"I want nothing."
UNTRUE. YOU DO, INDEED, SEEK SOMETHING. SOMETHING I CAN GIVE.
"From what I've seen, and from what the Animorphs have told me about you, you don't simply give away favours." I say suspiciously.
NO. BUT I DO GIVE THINGS IF THEY HELP MY PURPOSE.
"What is your purpose?"
YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, CHEE-KORO. YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND.
"Call me Erek."
AS YOU WISH, EREK.
Suddenly, I'm floating in a blank, white nothingness. Z-space.
I HAVE AN OFFER.
"What offer? What is your purpose?"
Another deep, booming laugh. YOU ARE NOT TO BE DISTRACTED, I SEE.
"What is your purpose?"
YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK OF IT ONCE I TELL YOU, CHEE-KORO. EVEN IF YOU UNDERSTAND.
"Erek. Not Chee-Koro. Erek."
Another laugh.
"Your purpose?"
MY PURPOSE, EREK KING OF THE CHEE, IS TO WIN THE GAME.
"Game?"
THE GAME THAT CRAYAK AND I PLAY. THE MIXED GAME OF SADISM ON HIS SIDE, AND ALTRUISM ON MINE.
HE DESTROYS PLANETS AND LIFE WHEREVER HE GOES. TO PUT IT IN SIMPLISTIC TERMS, HE IS A PLAGUE. A PLAGUE OF DEATH. I, TOO, AM A PLAGUE. BUT I AM A PLAGUE OF LIFE. WE CANNOT CO-EXIST FOR THESE REASONS. BUT, FOR OUR OWN RULES AND REASONS THAT YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, WE CANNOT FIGHT AN ALL-OUT BATTLE THROUGH SPACE AND TIME.
SO WE ALLOW OTHER SPECIES TO. CRAYAK AND I PLAY MANY DIFFERENT... MINI- GAMES, SO TO SPEAK. GAMES WITHIN OUR GAME. CRAYAK HOLDS THE GAME PIECES OF THE YEERKS. I HOLD THE GAMES PIECES OF THE ANIMORPHS. THE ANIMORPHS AND YOU, EREK.
"Why me?"
BECAUSE ALL SANE CREATURES NEED SOME TYPE OF LOVE TO SURVIVE. JAKE AND CASSIE, FOR INSTANCE. THEY SUPPLY EACH OTHER. RACHEL AND TOBIAS ALSO SUPPLY EACH OTHER. AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL WAS TEMPORARILY SUPPLIED BY ESTRID-CORILL-DARRATH. MARCO HAS NO ONE. HE NEVER HAS. HE, IF NOT SUPPLIED BY SOMEONE, WILL SLIP INTO INSANITY. HE HAS SOMEONE IN MIND.
"Me."
YES.
I hesitate. "What... what is your offer?"
YOU ARE VERY MUCH LIKE A HUMAN, EREK.
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. I already understood.
MARCO KNOWS THAT HOWEVER ACCEPTING THE OTHERS ARE, MOST OF THEIR SMALL FORCE WILL NOT ACCEPT... THIS. SO I NEEDED TO DO THIS. SO HUMANS WOULD WIN. SO CRAYAK WOULD LOSE.
"You know I love him."
YES.
"You want to make me human. Is that it?"
YES.
"What's that catch?"
Another chuckle.
THERE ARE TWO... CATCHES, AS YOU SAID.
"And they would be...?"
FIRST: YOU WILL ONLY HAVE A HUMAN BODY. THAT IS THE ONLY HUMAN THING YOU WILL POSESS. YOUR PROGRAMMING, STRANGTH, MEMORY, LIFESPAN... IT WILL ALL BE INTACT. YOU WILL BE, SIMPLISTICALLY, A CHEE. BUT WITH THE BODY OF A HUMAN. YOU WILL EVEN STILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE HOLOGRAMS AND FORCE FIELDS.
THE SECOND CATCH IS THAT YOU WILL DIE THE SECOND MARCO DOES. THE VERY SECOND.
"What does Crayak think of this?"
A self-satisfied chuckle. HE BELIEVED THAT YOU WOULD REFUSE. THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO REMAIN A CHEE, AND THAT YOU WOULD WISH TO LIVE FOREVER. IF THERE IS ONE THING THAT CRAYAK DOES NOT UNDERSTAND, IT IS LOVE.
"Very cliche."
BUT TRUE.
"And I did not say I would accept."
NO. AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO. THE CHOICE IS YOURS TO MAKE.
The decision was... a no-brainer, as humans might say. I would still be a Chee, and a human at the same time! The best of both worlds. Another human saying.
And dying when Marco does... I wouldn't be able to live without him anyway.
"You know my answer, Ellimist."
WHAT IS IT? I NEED TO HEAR YOU SPEAK IT.
"Yes."
---------------------------
Short chapter. Very short. But I didn't want to extend it to much, it would have lost the, er... drama.
Yeah, drama. You heard that right.
If Erek seems a bit emotionless in this chapter, well, he's in shock. If you were a machine and a joker just suddenly told you he loved you, wouldn't you be a bit surprised?
Oh yes. I made up Erek's real name. I figured I'd have to somewhere along the line, but I wanted to hold off doing it until I had to. So, his name isn't really Chee-Koro, but I'm pretending it is. So there. Ha.
And I wonder what Marco will think of this 'new' Erek?
Hmmmmmm...
P.S. The Ellimist RULES! (I can't help it. I love the guy!)