A/N: I HAVE 109 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL OF MY WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, EXTREMELY GRAD REVIEWERS! I love you all! (Although I don't think that my friends do… I was in our favorite teacher's classroom with a bunch of my friends after school when I found out. I ran around screaming that I had over one hundred reviews and hugging them all until they held me down and taped my mouth shut. I was very excited.) Anyway, thank you soooooooooooo much, this chapter is dedicated to you. Also, all of you guys need to thank my good friend phennphenn for making me write this, in a way. She really could not care less if I post chapters on it or not, but I am on my way home from school right now, and I thought that I would play Zoo Tycoon (Awesome game) instead of work on this chapter, and I tried to open the file, but it turns out that she stole my CD, so I can't play! Instead, I'm writing, just for you guys. Don't you feel special?
Chapter 11
After we approached the Kandrona Particle Emitter, it was a simple enough matter for me and Yahal to start it up again. After all, it was the Andalites who gave the Yeerks the original Kandrona emitters. None of what the Yeerks had was actually theirs, they stole it all from us.
It only took a few minutes, and thankfully, Indi knew about a nearby stream. He and Cassie went to go fetch some water, and brought along a bowl-shaped piece of wreckage from the building to hold the water in. When they returned, we placed it near the Kandrona, allowing it to soak up the rays.
Toby picked up Guide once again, and put him down next to the water.
Guide, come out of your host, Prince Jake said tersely. Guide, you need to come out of your host!
At first, nothing happened. We all watched tensely, hoping that he would come out and save himself.
Nothing happened.
Nothing happened.
Finally, Cassie said, Is that something coming out of his ear?
I trained my eyes on his ear, and saw that there was definitely something coming out. Slowly, Guide's host body went still. The slug that was Guide drained into the water, and there was a small splash. I could see it moving around, slowly at first, but then picking up speed as it gained nutrients from the water.
He should be okay, in a few moments, a voice said. My first thought was that it was Guide, but no, that could not be, because Yeerks, and therefore most likely Yoort, could not communicate in thought-speak.
I swung my stalk eyes around, searching for the source of the voice. They finally rested on Guide's host body, the Isk, who was in the process of standing up.
It was sickening, for me as an Andalite, to see the Isk move itself so that it could more easily see its Yoort counterpart squelch through the sludge. The Isk waited hopefully for Guide to finish feeding and come back to his head, looking exactly like one of the disgusting voluntary Yeerk hosts.
Was that you? Marco asked, staring stupidly.
No, of course not, Rachel replied sarcastically. I am getting very good at identifying human humor. It was some other Isk that sounds exactly like Guide, she continued.
What's your name? Cassie asked, obviously interested in knowing what the host felt like, being trapped inside its own body.
I am Guide, it answered.
Wait, Rachel said, but that–" she pointed at the slug that was Guide "–is Guide.
He is Guide, I am Guide, the Isk responded. We are one and the same. Two bodies, but one person. We have told you before that we are a truly symbiotic species, and cannot live without each other. When an Isk and a Yoort are born, they are immediately assigned to one of the other species, and they stay with that other for the rest of their lives. We end up staying together so long that we begin to think like each other, begin to act like each other. It becomes so that there is more than just a physical need for us to be together, so that we do not die. It becomes so that we are each other. Two parts, one whole.
I nodded, a very human gesture I picked up during my time on Earth. Marco, however, had told me that it looked strange because I kept my stalk eyes still. Yes, that makes sense. But how can you stand having him in control?
He is my best friend, a part of myself, Guide the Isk replied.
He sounds like Mr. Tidwell talking about Illim, but much more, Cassie commented.
Yeah, kind of, said Rachel.
Although I knew that Guide the Isk and Guide the Yoort needed each other, I still had to turn my stalk eyes to the back and turn my head when Guide the Isk finally bend back down and accepted the worn into his head again.
He stood up once more, Guide the Yoort in control and finally staying still, now that he was not starving.
I should be able to sell that memory for very much money, once I return home, Guide said, looking at us. I do not think that anybody has ever experienced near-starvation before. His diaphragm wheezed rhythmically. And you all must still pay me your own memories! I may be able to buy myself another corner by the time this is over.
You are okay now, though? You can travel with us? Jake asked. I think that it would be best if we were to bring you back to camp. You can wait there with Sandra, General Doubleday, Menderash, and most of the Murkra.
Yes, the sooner, the better! I cannot wait to get back to the Iskoort home world.
We should go then, Rachel said. Because the sooner we can kick butt on this One guy, the better!
Whatever you say, Xena, Marco replied. It was the normal talk that always took place before a mission.
Indi, Tom, and Jeanne immediately jumped onto the nearest tree, and started moving up.
Jake, Cassie called, we may be here for a while. And after that there's the trip home. More than three days. We may want to bring the Kandrona with us.
I looked at the Kandrona. It was about the size of a human car.
Jake nodded. Rachel? Marco? Can you get that?
Rachel grinned with her Hork-Bajir face, and started to demorph. Marco was not far behind her.
In fact, Jake said, we should all demorph. No sense in having to do it up in the trees. He started his own demorph, and his dark green flesh became a pale pink.
I watched as Tom and Jeanne jumped off of the tree and began demorphing as well. Red tail feathers sprouted out of Tobias' tail as he became a red tailed hawk once more. Cassie's blades sucked into her body, and curly black hair sprouted from her head. The four blades on my tail melted into one large one as I started becoming Andalite again. On Yahal, the first thing to change was his mouth, which simply sealed itself shut. Blue fur soon covered it.
Because we don't have a time limit now, we might as well bring the Murkra again, Jake said as he continued the morphing process. He stopped for a moment as his mouth reshaped into that of a human, and his fangs shrunk in size. He finally continued, now speaking with mouth-sounds. "Their claws may be useful in battle."
Rachel grinned brightly, but the effect was lost when her nose grew long and two teeth sprouted out and speared upwards. She was morphing elephant, her strongest morph. Marco's face was turning black and rubbery as he began his gorilla morph. I did not know how they expected to carry it, but they were both very strong animals and I was sure that they could manage.
Marco walked in front of the cylinder that was the Kandrona and started pulling. He could not get it to move. However, then Rachel stood behind it and started pushing. Slowly, it started rolling in the direction they wanted it. It picked up a bit of speed, but the process was still very slow and time consuming. The rest of us, except for Toby and Indi who jumped through the trees above us, and Tobias who flew through the air, walked alongside it.
"So, Guide, the Iskoort have no memory of being brought to the Iskoort home world first by the Murkra and then the Garatron?" Cassie prodded.
No, nothing, he answered. Because of this, I could sell this information and become very rich!
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh, brother."
I was confused. From what a could tell, Yahal was similarly so because he voiced my thoughts. Rachel, he said, I did not think that you had a brother.
Marco laughed. "Yahal, it's an expression! She doesn't really have a brother. She was just saying that."
Ah, Yahal answered. But if she doesn't why does she say she does?
"Nevermind," Marco said, laughing. "Just forget it."
With one final confused look at me, Yahal stopped talking about that. We continued in silence, a strange group of aliens traveling together, a large machine that used to feed evil rolling in front of us.