Part Seven: Demon Seed
DAVID
~ I killed you! Your dead! You cant be alive!~
Ripper jumped to his feet, clutching his chest: the wound was healed.
LaRouche jumped up, fully healed.
"You cant kill me," I began, not sure of the strange feelings that had come over me, "I've been rejected by death."
Holy living fuck… Aleks stuttered, morphing back to human to heal his wounds.
"It's a miracle!" Sara shouted, fully human again.
~So, Beast. It is down to you, and it is down to me.~
"I know what you are, and I have some vague idea of what I am. You cant scare me, Shrike."
~Wrong. I CAN scare you. I have brought doom to EMPIRES. The mightiest kings and lords prayed to ME to bring DOOM to their enemies. I have slain a hundred Maiar with these hands. If I am defeated, I shall drag you to Hell with me.~
"Let's get it on."
I was ready to fight. So was the Shrike. Something had come over me, I felt bigger, stronger than I had ever before. I felt powerful. I felt awesome.
"Oh no…no way, you fuckin' gringo's. No way are you gringo's gonna fuck with Rico-fuckin-Muerte. No way in Hell!"
Rico Muerte stood bloody and bruised in the corner, holdin two dracon pistols at us.
"This was NOT part of the deal, Puck! Don't do this to me, don't do this, don't do this, please! Shit shit shit shit shit…"
"I've never seen him like this. Its like he's having a breakdown," said Aleks.
~You cannot harm me, mortal. I am the devourer of worlds, the eater of civilizations, and you are next!~ the Shrike said, looking at Rico.
Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head.
You can make it do what you want it to do. You're the boss, kid.
Whistler or Puck? It was hard to tell.
"Uh…" I said, unsure, "Kill Rico!"
~I shall not take orders from the one I was sent to kill!~
OK, bad idea. My bad.
"Nuts to this." I jumped at the Shrike, my hands out.
I made contact.
IT BURNED! The blackness was hot as a fire and twice as painful. Within a moment, it dawned on me that this was not a cloud of darkness, but a thick, black ooze.
"Shit!" I cried, "What are you, the T-1000?"
"Gut 'em, boss!" Ripper chanted.
I pulled apart the ooze, I saw a bright red glow within.
~GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!~ came the Shrikes reply.
It stood and flung me back, and into the still unconscious Skorre.
The Shrike stood up, the black ooze dropping off of it, exposing its true form.
A red, humanoid skeleton stood before us. If it weren't or the single cycloptic eye or the lack of a nose and mouth, it would have been almost human.
Almost.
"That's what it do to it…" LaRouche muttered, "The Machine took the mortality…the skin, the body, and gave the skeleton a new body. That oozey shit…"
~So…much…more!~ The Shrike roared, ~I am tied into the very fabric of TIME! The very essence of the Machine flows through me. I can sense that you have my stone, Beast. GIVE IT TO ME!~
"Your Stone?" I'm pretty sure your boss wants it more than you."
I looked down at the ground, "Hey Mephisto, wherever you are, did you hear that? Got another Crayak on your hands, here!"
Out of time and space, came a single command: "KILL THEM, TYRAK! KILL THEM!"
I walked up to the Shrike, just a big animated red skeleton standing in a pile of black mud, seemingly attempting to crawl back up Its feet.
"Your not much, now are you, Shrike."
~My Lord! I…cannot…the Beast…my power has left me!~
"Wow. Looks like you cant do much without your 'big evil super funky electric-kool-aid Satan groove', now can you?"
~The …Machine…disagrees, my Master, please, please don't destroy me! The Machine does this!~ The Shrike, Tyrak, so mighty and boisterous a moment ago, was now pleading with Its master for Its life.
TSEEEW!
Rico had shot off a Dracon beam! The beam hit with the Shrike, a massive hole appearing in its head.
A black light, pure darkness, beamed from the hole.
The Darkness lingered in the air for a moment, then, disappeared with a puff of red smoke.
The Shrikes skeleton fell to the ground, into the pool of black. The ooze began to dissolve the skeleton.
"Smells like sulfur," noted Aleks, standing at my side.
"Someone check on Skorre. Make sure he's alright," I said absently looking at the remains. The black ooze was eating through the deck like the Bug's blood.
"Damn," I muttered, in astonishment.
"Is it dead?" Sara asked.
"I doubt it."
I was jerked back to life by the sound of Rico Muerte running for the doors. He was trying to escape.
"He's making a break for it! Get his ass!" Aleks yelled.
Ripper wasted no time. He and LaRouche jumped up and tackled the grown man to the ground.
"Ha ha!" Aleks laughed, "We bagged us a Yeerk Lord!"
"You little shit, Blades…" Rico said, "Eusshe bailed out a damn long time ago. I saw him get squashed by a dead Hork-Bajir early on. Now let me the fuck go! I'm on your side, dammit!"
What a looser. "Conspiracy with the Yeerks? Collaboration? I think not, little man. You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do."
"Hey," Sara piped up, from beside Skorre, who was just waking up, "How are we going to get out of here?"
"Shit, she's right," Ripper grumbled, "They'll kill us as soon as we leave this damned room."
"Damn," I said, "Could Rico lead us out?"
"Not a chance, Taggart, I don't know Eusshes security clearance."
"Hey! Something's alive over here!"
Where am I? What the gharlom happened?
"Holy, it's that Andalite-Controller from earlier!" Said Ripper.
Skorre was just getting up, "The one that lead us in here!"
By Gaffens Blade! You freed me!
"I don't buy it, Yeerk," I said, "You cant fool us."
I am freed!
"No, he's telling the truth! Look," Sara said.
Not a foot away from the Andalite was a small grey slug. A Yeerk. Crushed.
I am Spikarezellius-Quillica-Istopholes, son of Mestisicus-Quillica-Jellirian, Prince of the Andalite Federation, known to my comrades as Spike, and by Andalite custom, I swear fealty to you, David Taggart.
LaROUCHE
"You WHAT?" David spat, confused.
If by my life or death I can defend you, I shall. You have freed me. My life for you!
"Look, I don't have time for this. We're trapped in here. We need to get back to our ship, the Anubis. If you cannot help us, stay out of our bloody way."
"I've got an idea," I said, slowly, "Spike could lead us to the ship, like he lead us out, and Rico could pretend to still be infested!"
I do not know the way, said Spike, standing shakily upon his hooves.
"It wouldn't matter. The tunnel is straight from one end to the other. I could handle any problems we might run into," Rico said.
We all looked at David.
He shrugged, "We don't have any better options. Morph Hork-Bajir."
We morphed, and in about three minutes, there were six hulking, yet tired looking Hork-Bajir standing with a tailless Andalite and a tough looking Hispanic human.
Lead the way, Spike, David said.
Spike walked up to the massive blast doors, pressed a button, and the door opened.
Quick! Skorre said, Grab some guns so that it looks like we're soldiers!
We quickly obliged and grabbed various Dracon weapons, just as the black doors pulled back to reveal twenty Hork-Bajir and ten humans, all holding guns at us.
"Let us through! We have soldiers here who require medical attention!" Rico said, sureness in his voice.
"I have orders from Visser 10 saying that you all have to be checked out, we cant let those Antimorphs out of here, Sir," Said a twenty-something looking human.
"How DARE you defy an order from me!"Muerte bellowed, playing his part, " How DARE you follow the orders of Nodnarb 395 over mine! Corporal, execute this insolent fool!"
Aleks raised his Dracon beam, and let loose a shot. He struck the Controller dead.
The body dumped to the ground.
"Now, let us pass!"
"Sir, where are the Antimorphs?"
"Dead. Their carcass's are within."
We must hurry, when they do not see your morphs, they will be after us! Said Spike in private thought speeche.
For the cold-blooded murderer that his Yeerk had made him out to be, he sure seemed pretty damn nice.
Our group began walking at a quickened pace.
"Hey! Their aren't ant Aorkian bodies in here! Get them!"
"SHIT!" Rico yelled.
Run for it! David commanded.
I wasn't one to argue.
We ran, Dracon beams flying behind us.
"Don't shoot them, you idiots! Visser 11 wants them alive!"
"Visser 10 wants them dead! Fire! Fire! Fire!"
"There it is!" Said Skorre.
We were just a few meters from the doors to the landing platform, where our Bug Fighter awaited.
Ripper and Sara were the first ones onto the pad. Then David. Then me.
In a flash, Ripper was inside the Bug-Fighter, starting it up.
Demorph! We wont have enough room!
The eight of us smooshed within the tiny fighter wasn't comfortable. We all began to demorph to human.
Ripper had us up.
"Cloak us!" David said.
Ripper pressed some buttons, and the Bug Fighter disappeared from the radar and views of the Yeerks.
As we flew into space, we were home free.
For now.
CITY OF LUD CONTROL BUILDING, ONE DAY LATER…
Efflit 1318 was in big trouble, and he knew it.
He stood facing a very irate Yeerk Emperor via holograph.
"Eusshe is dead," The Emperor said, " Many of my best soldiers…are dead. My new superweapon's integrity has been compromised. Visser 17 and Sub-Visser thrity-nine…are DEAD!"
"My Visser… the situation was out of my control…"
"Don't lie to me, Efflit, I gave you the Demonoids and now, two of them are dead! Slip's testimony to your incompetence is damning! Roach and Coil are dead! I gave you every chance in the world to do a simple task, and you FAILED."
"There was something else, a black humanoid creature."
The Emperor paused, "No doubt one of the Antimorphs."
He continued, "Efflit, this is your last call. If you fail me with the Eye, then I shall…end you. Is this clear?"
"Perfectly clear, my Emperor."
Without another word, Sauron 001 disengaged the holograph, leaving Efflit alone.
"Well," Efflit muttered, "Time to pull the big guns."
Efflit walked to the wall and sent an order to his blade ship through the communicator.
"Bring me the parents of David Taggart."
END OF EPISODE FIVE
WOW! Five down, two to go! This will be complete before Christmas, so expect a lot of updates, often!
If you have any comments, or just want to chat, add me to your MSN at elcolo9@hotmail.com. Feel free to email me, as well.
-Elcolo9