If you wish to picture the multiverse as it should be
pictured, then you must think of a river. A large river with streams
and creeks and brooks running off of it. With infinite possibilities,
some realities are similar to others, departed at a single crux point.
Of course, no one excepting those at the level of Advanced God actually understands this whole multiverse nonsense, and they'd rather make a good show of sending down prophets and destroying cities and whatnot, so they're really no help.
We know of one dimension, known as Animorphs.
In a similar dimension, named for its turning point, the One Least Likely, a single event changed the life of one, and thus changed the lives of many.
In another, that same life chose to end the lives of others, and start a team that its reality is named for, Antiverse.
Now, we turn to a new reality.
The crux point began long ago, when a neutrino hit a seemingly random planet. This was not unusual, neutrinos are infinitesimally small, and it would be an odd millisecond where any given planet was not struck by several trillion passing neutrinos. But, matter being mostly space between atoms the chances of a neutrino actually hitting something would be like dropping a ball bearing from a 747 and hitting, say, an egg sandwich.
So this atom struck, causing a rather odd chain of events, such as the fact that actor Phil Hartman was not killed, a harsh and tedious inter-solar system battle known as the Pointless War took place some 25 million years ago, the planet Leera was destroyed by a meteorite in the human year 1945, The Andalite known as Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill was never born, sales of Cherry Garcia ice cream were unusually low…
…And when the Andalite prince Elfangor crash-landed on Earth, his ship was pointed less than one degree to the north.
Now, what with physics and trajectory being what they are, this caused a somewhat serious change in his flight pattern. This meant that his original plan of locating the Time Matrix had failed, and the Animorphs as we know them were not created. Instead, the morphing power was given to six other, very different human youths.
So sit back, and enjoy the tale of the Manimals.
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Chapter 1 –
His name was James Hartman
He was an average, everyday kid before one night of his life changed everything.
Well…perhaps he wasn't your regular, run-of-the-mill kid off the street. He had zero knowledge of who his parents were. He was currently living in a foster home, with two parents who were incredibly loving and caring. He liked his life, he supposed, but something about his parents leaving him bugged him.
At the time, he was hanging around the mall. It was pretty far off from where he lived, but he was just there to hang out, kill time, check out stuff he would never buy, read novels in the bookstore for free, grab some food if he got hungry, pretty much what anyone would do at the mall.
Well, look who's here, James thought as a familiar face left the Electronics Boutique ranting about some Playstation game. His name was Eric, although he preferred to be called by his last name, Wu. He was a short, scrawny Chinese kid. If James had to name someone to be his best friend, he would pick Wu. He was an interesting guy. Pretty much the only person he knew that he could call a nerd. He was an oddball, very into technology and animals, but he was amazingly smart. He was their class valedictorian, had a near photographic memory, and could solve complex math formulas in his head.
Wu was unpopular because he was smart, physically weak, and generally weird. James was incredibly antisocial. So, the two were placed on the lowest rung of the high school social ladder, which would equate below Untouchable in the Hindu caste system. There was certain camaraderie in being the two lowest men on the totem pole, so the two generally hung out.
"Hey, man, what's up?" James asked.
"Not much, but Blazing Mane didn't even get into the top ten on the Gamer's list," Wu said.
"Well, it gets the award for, 'Best Game Wu Will Not Shut Up About,'" James joked.
"Yeah, so says the man who needed me to walk him through the Leopard stage," Wu countered, "You heading home?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna cut across the forest"
There were exactly two ways to get to the suburb James and Wu lived in. You could either follow the highway, or cut across some undeveloped area neighborhood children were warned never to enter by their parents. The former took about two hours, the latter fifteen minutes.
"I hear you. You need a traveling companion?"
"Might as well. Strength in numbers, and I can tell you're mortified at the concept."
"Guilty as charged."
The pair set out, and it wasn't long before they ran into a girl named Kay Lopez. She'd barely been in town a week. Circumstances were probably going to lead her into James and Wu's caste in the school system. She had big eyes and red hair and stared at people in a way that would unsettle anyone. She also had a way of finishing other people's sentences and predicting their behavior that was downright frightening.
"You two are going home?" Kay asked, but in a tone that suggested she already knew the answer.
"Yes," James answered.
"I'm going with you. I live in the same district as you, and I am unfamiliar as to how to get back home."
They let her stay; there was no room for argument.
In a few minutes from there, they ran into a guy named Dan Fleishman. Dan was a friendly enough guy. He tended to get on the good side of James and Wu, and now Kay. He was always cheerful, but something really bugged James about Dan.
"Hey, guys, are you gonna cut through the woods? I mean, it's late, we gotta get home, we should go together, you know?"
And just like that, Dan joined their little band. That was Dan for you; he talked a mile a minute. By the time he was done with his side of the story, you had no way to argue with him.
James had no objections. He'd go home, watch some TV, and maybe check the online missing person's service he joined to see if there was any response. He was happy. Until five seconds later.
"Well, look who it is."
Marisa DiCicco. The bane of his existence.
On the first day of seventh grade, Marisa gave James and a few of his friends a tour of their high school (Marisa was in ninth grade at the time). Marisa unknowingly made a comment about James's parents, which James took such an offense to that he shunned Marisa completely. Marisa, being a social creature, took offense to James's standoffishness, and single-handedly orchestrated his fall down the social ladder. Marisa was incredibly self-absorbed in general.
Along with Marisa was her best friend, Rhea Levin. Rhea was three years younger than Marisa, one year younger than James, two years younger than Wu, and the same age as Dan and Kay. She was very nice, very sweet. James could practically feel his teeth rotting in his mouth as he saw her.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Rhea asked, in a perfectly sweet, popular-without-trying way, which would make the group of mostly misfits cringe.
Marisa decided to answer for them, "Oh, they're probably just going off to play Dungeons and Dragons or some other nerdy shit," she turned to Kay and grinned in her face, pointing to James and Wu, "Hope you like what you see, cause that's all you'll ever get here."
Wu mouthed the word, "bitch" to James, who nodded.
Rhea pouted, "Stop being mean."
Marisa turned away haughtily, "Come on, let's go home."
Rhea looked at her funny and said, "But, the way home's that way, your parents won't let you drive after you dented your BMW."
Marisa sagged imperceptibly, and Wu and James exchanged a knowing glare.
Rhea smiled, and said, "Come on, there's strength in numbers, and it's dark and scary out there."
Marisa turned around in a supermodel fashion, muttering incoherently.
Rhea smiled, "Don't worry. Besides," she giggled, "James and Wu are kind of cute."
James heard the comment, but didn't acknowledge it. Wu, however, faintly blushed.
Marisa let out a laugh, "Oh, does our little Rhea have yellow fever?"
Rhea blushed madly. Wu, however, immediately changed his blush to a scowl, clenching his fist.
They were silent, however, as they left the mall. Human instinct decided to rear its ugly head as they passed through the woods between the mall and the 'burbs. They traipsed through the forest like one giant heavy animal, open to whatever predators were out there. In fact, James didn't notice it when it happened. He was too busy trying to listen for possible murderers.
Wu, however, did notice. And he alerted James.
He gestured upwards. A blue light, steadily growing larger, was in the night sky.
James gulped. One by one their companions looked up in suit. No one said anything. What could be said?
James finally spoke, "Am I hallucinating, or is that a UFO?"
Dan said, "You're not hallucinating."
James noted that Dan was a lot calmer than he should've been when saying that.
Wu looked at its flight pattern, "It's heading for the clearing."
"Then we should be heading away from the clearing," Dan said.
"What are you, nuts?" Wu said, incredulously, "That's an alien spacecraft! I'm not going to pass this opportunity up."
James nodded, "I'm with him, let's get there."
Marisa opened her mouth to speak, but soon noticed that Dan was the only one standing there. The rest were running to the clearing. Marisa let out an injured squawk at the fact that she was left behind, and then ran for it. Dan muttered something unintelligible and most likely obscene, and then followed them.
By the time they reached the clearing, the craft had landed. It was about as long as a school bus, but not as long, and a good portion of it were two cylindrical engines that emitted a blue glow. The front portion was ovoid, and two small, rather inelegant wings sprouted from the sides. Raised out the back was a tail, a curved tail that ended in a pint.
The tail was obviously a weapon.
Wu stepped out of the underbrush. Whether he was the bravest or the most willing to see an alien life form, they would never know.
He held out his hands in a gesture of peace and said, in a slow voice, "My name is Eric Wu, a human. Can you hear me?"
Yes. came a voice from within the craft. Only the word voice wasn't the best way to describe it. More like telepathy. The voice was only heard in their head.
"My friends and I mean you no harm."
Neither do I. James noticed that Dan was muttering something, but currently, he wasn't paying attention. The alien's voice was conveying more than just words. Emotions. James could actually feel the alien's emotions emanating from the voice. They were peaceful.
The alien was telling the truth.
James stepped forward as well, "My name is James Hartman. Can you come out?"
Rather than a reply, the alien instead opened a hole in his ship, and stepped out. Kay, Rhea, and Marisa timidly stepped out.
Dan, not so timidly.
The alien slowly stepped out. That's when James noticed the burn marks on the ship, and that the alien itself was injured.
The alien had been in a fight.
It was a lot like a mythical centaur. He (he was sure of the gender from the voice) was covered in blue fur, with streaks of tan, on the bottom half of his body. It resembled the body of a deer, with four hoofed legs. From where the head would be, there was instead an upper body, blue skinned, that resembled a human's. The arms were short and weak, with seven fingers per hand. The head was bizarre. Three slits for a nose, with no mouth. Pointed elf-like ears. There were two stationary eyes, almond shaped and a glittering green color, but two of the eyes were mounted of stalks, that swiveled so the alien could see in many directions at once. The alien's tail reminded James of the ship. The tail had to be at least ten feet in length. At the end of the tail was a long, curved blade, like a scythe. It was a deadly weapon.
The alien seemed to smile, an odd act involving the main eyes, but the gesture was unmistakable. The alien was friendly. It gave off nothing but expressions of peace.
Except that Dan wasn't affected.
Within seconds, Dan pounced forward and held a black pistol at the alien's head. In milliseconds, the alien brought the blade of his tail to Dan's neck. For five seconds and an eternity, nothing happened.
"I'll kill you, Andalite, and give the rest of your body to Visser Three. He hates you so much, I'll be promoted no matter what happens."
Yeerk! the alien said with a hatred that coursed through its entire being.
Dan was sweating bullets, he was tightening the trigger…
James grabbed Dan's neck and dropped down, dragged the taller boy with him. A red beam shot from the gun and a nearby tree disintegrated. Wu ran up and wrestled the gun from Dan's hands. He handed it to the alien.
Thank you Eric Wu, the alien said, This is why I'm here. This creature is a victim of forces that we are trying to stop.
James realized that Dan had stopped struggling. He simply lay on him. He saw a greenish gray blob expel itself from Dan's ear.
He pushed Dan off and looked at the blob. It resembled a slug, with four finlike appendages and two antennae like appendages. It was a disgusting creature.
"What is that?!" Marisa asked, horrified.
That is a Yeerk. It…urgh. the alien dropped down, Wu held his upper body up, a struggle, but he did it. Kay and Rhea helped him lay the Andalite on the ground.
"What?" Wu asked the Andalite, whose breathing became ragged, "Please, you've come a long way and are in a lot of pain, but please, tell us, what are those things and why are they here?"
James felt the sag in his heart when the alien answered.
They are here to destroy you.
For a bit no one said anything.
The Dan got up, "He's gone! Thank you all so much, he's finally gone!"
"The Yeerk? Dan, what happened?" Kay asked, worried.
"He…" he looked like he was struggling with the use of his mouth, "He took over my mind. Controlled who I was, what I was. He controlled my body, my voice, he tortured me. He made me kill people. It was awful," Dan was crying. Hard. Whatever this Yeerk did to him was awful.
You are very lucky to have escaped…
"Dan. Dan Fleishman."
I am thankful that I have, in some way, repelled the plague that is here. I am from a race called Andalites. My name is Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. My race fights the Yeerks. They have begun a rather aggressive invasion on your planet. A silent invasion, but nonetheless aggressive. They have no bodies and so live by stealing the bodies of others. They have conquered other races, and now have arrived here, on this planet.
Elfangor showed intense grief. Grief that he couldn't stop the invasion that threatened them.
"How many are there?" Wu asked.
I am not sure. Hundreds, thousands. Maybe more.
Dan shook his head, "At least half a million. Not many of them have hosts, though."
Elfangor's main eyes widened slightly in surprise, Then the situation is worse than I thought. Your people are oblivious to this threat. You must warn them. You must try and protect your people.
Kay immediately shook her head, "We can't. Humans won't believe us. No one is open to the idea of a silent alien invasion, and if they aren't open to an idea, they won't acknowledge it. Besides, we're children. Humans don't think the opinion of a child is worth anything."
Elfangor showed recognition by blinking all his eyes at once, Then I have no choice. You humans, the six of you, must fight the Yeerks.
Dan practically cowered in fear, "You can't, I can't. They'll take me back. It was horrible. I never want another Yeerk in my head again!"
I am sorry, but there is no choice. I know you are young, only children. But I know that children can sometimes accomplish wonderful things, He smiled, the strange eye expression, I have no choice, I am sorry.
Wu asked, "How? How can we possibly fight them?"
He looked up, There is only one way. There is a small blue box in my ship, very plain. Please, bring it here.
James and Wu looked at each other, then both went into the ship.
The box wasn't hard to find. It was a small blue cube, about the size of a human hand on each side. There were some undecipherable symbols on the cube. James picked it up. Wu was looking around.
"Not many controls. Guess the ship works by telepathy."
"Yeah. Let's get out of here."
As they were about to leave, Wu stopped short. James stopped as well. It was a holographic image.
It was a group of Andalites. Four adults. Three children.
Wu unconsciously took the photo. They went back.
James handed the box to the Andalite. Wu took out the holo.
"Is this your family?" he asked.
Elfangor nodded, Yes. You may keep it. To prove to my family that you did indeed see me, if you should meet them.
Wu put the holo in his pocket.
Elfangor held out the box, This is the crown jewel of Andalite science. A technology the Yeerks could never hope to emulate. This Escafil Device grants any being the power to morph.
"Morph?" James asked, "What do you mean by that?"
If you touch an animal, you will have the ability to become that animal. You will have acquired its DNA pattern, and allow yourself to change your forms.
Five members of the group remained silent. One chose to voice her opinion.
"How dare you? How dare you thrust us into the middle of some intergalactic war? You're giving us this power so that you can feel better. How many Andalite forces are up there? Why can't you handle this yourselves?"
Elfangor sounded sorrowful, rather than exasperated, I am sorry for what I am doing. Believe me, I am breaking all the rules and customs of Andalite culture by giving you this gift. If I were to live, I would be disgraced. I would not do this unless there was no other choice. But I am dying. And even if I were not, I could not live knowing I left your world defenseless. Our forces battled in near Earth orbit, concealed from your human technology. But we were unprepared. We were to destroy their Pool ship, their mother ship, but they hid a very powerful war vessel called a Blade ship on your moon. They decimated us. I believe I am the last Andalite alive. Help will arrive, but our planet is far from yours. It may take a year or two before the fleet arrives. And if there is no defense, then your planet will have already been taken by then.
Marisa still looked peeved, but Rhea silenced her by saying, "I will fight. I won't let these Yeerks take my planet."
She placed a hand on the box.
Wu nodded, and placed his hand on a different square.
And so did Kay.
James followed suit.
Dan looked scared, but he gulped and said, "The Yeerks practically took my life away. You saved me. I'll pay them back for what they did to me, and you for what you did for me."
He placed a hand of the square.
Marisa let out an exasperated sigh, and she too placed a hand on the box.
The Andalite closed his eyes. The group experienced a tingling sensation.
Take the box. Increase your numbers, find others to help you. You must fight the Yeerks, they will -
He looked up with his stalk eyes. Two glowing lights, and a shadow were descending rapidly.
They will be here! Run, hide! But watch, please. See who your enemies are. The knowledge will make you stronger.
They ran. Wu stayed to collect the box, and the Andalite pressed his hand to his forehead. Wu staggered back, then ran with the others.
They tumbled into the underbrush. They hid in a pit. Soon after that, the chasing ships landed. Two resembled cockroaches holding spears. Another was a black as night battle-ax.
When Elfangor called these ships Bug Fighters and the Blade Ship, James wasn't surprised.
From the ships bounded out giant reptilians with giant blades and worms the size of concrete pipes. The Andalite's silent voice called these Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. James curled up into a ball, praying the beasts would not come near him.
The reptiles and worms spread out, but by some miracle, they failed to spot the six teens.
One last creature left the ship.
An Andalite.
But it was completely different from Elfangor. He had some aura around him that conveyed nothing but the purest evil. It was as though the creature's hatred and malice was present in a way beyond that of sight, as though his evil tainted your very mind.
Dan cowered, but said nothing. He alone knew of this creature, and both he and the alien spoke his name at the same time:
"Visser Three."
Upon hearing that name, James felt that he was looking at his own personal enemy.
Ah, War Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. You've led us a merry chase, but finally, I emerge victorious!
Elfangor said nothing.
What, nothing to say? What is that human expression? …'Dog got your tongue?'
It's cat, you alien slimeball, James thought.
I've won, you know. I want you to understand that. I've WON! Our little war has ended. And I shall make my victory complete. To simply destroy you wouldn't be nearly enough, for I shall erase the memory of you. It will be as if Beast Elfangor, the legend among Andalites, had never existed!
Don't yell victory before the race is over. I care not about myself. But these people, these peaceful people, leave them be.
Don't kid yourself, fool. I know your ties to this planet. That little human girl? Loren? Be assured that I will place my most faithful lieutenant inside her head…after I've properly tortured her, of course. And I will command her to oversee the conquest of your world, using your entire family as the first hosts.
The Andalite had gone through a slow boil and, despite his wounds, stood up and slashed the Visser with his tail. The Andalite-Controller let out a pained scream.
You'll pay for that! With that, Visser Three began to morph.
It was a cross between a giant crocodile and a squid. The body was reptilian. It was larger than any land animal on Earth. Giant rows of teeth, more taloned feet than one could easily count. A myriad of tendrils ending in lobster claws sprung from the back. Glowing purple eyes shone brightly in the darkness, and the creature's humongous mouth let loose a bone chilling growl.
The thousands of tendrils grabbed Elfangor, rendering him completely motionless. The Andalite Prince came face to maw with Visser Three's terrifying morph.
The creature seemed to smile, You're dead.
The Andalite stared back, Not as dead as you think.
There was a flick of the wrist, followed by a sickening crunch, and he was dead. The Visser let out a satisfied belch, and coughed up what looked like the Andalite's tail blade. It lay on the ground, an omen of death.
At that point, the six humans decided that sticking around wasn't the best idea. They managed to sneak reasonably quietly through the underbrush. As soon as they managed to get a fair distance way from the field, they split up, each going a separate way, Wu carrying the Andalite's morphing cube.
James ran through the woods, when suddenly he heard a sound behind him, he ran faster, the sound grew stronger. James ran, until he spotted something that made him stop.
A tree, a large oak, had been misplaced, turned over on its side. Under its apparent base was a hole. And out of that hole came a group of humans, and, interspersed, a Hork-Bajir.
James considered running, until he heard the rustling again. The Controllers, which was obviously what they were, heard it too, and sent a Hork-Bajir to investigate.
Please don't let it be one of my friends, James prayed feverishly.
His prayers were answered, for they returned with what looked like a delirious heroin addict. Obviously, this was what had been chasing James, not Yeerks. James almost laughed at the irony that what he once found dangerous now seemed like no threat whatsoever.
Almost.
James threw a rock in the opposite direction and bolted back to civilization.
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James got home uneventfully. His parents were out for the day, so he called the rest of the crew. All had gotten home safely. He collapsed on his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
He woke up with a black cat staring at his face.
"YAAAAAAH!" He screamed, and jumped away. James had no pets, and was therefore more than a little shocked at finding a cat in his face.
Relax, man. Stress kills, you know.
He stopped as soon as he realized he recognized the voice.
"Wu?"
Yup. Picked up my first morph. Sweet, huh?
James began stuttering, "…The…others…?" was the only legible thing he said.
The cat shook his head, which disturbed James in a way, No idea. I came here first. Your parents aren't home.
He looked at his clock. 10:00 AM. His parents were at work. He stared back at the cat.
"This is nuts," He said, "Aliens, talking cats, what's next? Demons and angels? Cyborgs? Mystical weapons passed down from ancient mythology? Why not complete the genre?!"
Christ, man, chill!
"Easy for you to say! You're a friggin' cat!"
Would you prefer I demorph?
Before James could answer, he saw the cat shift and grow.
The black hair receded except for the top of his head. The eyes changed from green-gold to black. He slowly stood on two legs, but ungainly as his legs weren't designed to hold the entire body. The tail was sucked into the spine like a piece of spaghetti. The front paws changed to hands. Finally, his legs became completely human. Eric Wu stood before him, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a pair of boxers, both of which were way too tight.
"Sorry. This was the best I could find. Anything baggy doesn't morph with you."
"Damn. I was hoping it was all just a dream."
"Ditto that. I kept waking up in the middle of the night, so I decided to try the morphing thing out."
"You morphed a cat."
"Two cats, actually. I tried combining my two cats into one morph. One's a tortoiseshell, the other's black. Went pure black. I think it has to do with recessive genes or something."
"Right," James said, not really listening.
"It's great. You should try morphing a cat. They're more agile than you'd ever believe. And, man, you feel like king of the world when you're a cat!"
"You know how a cat feels?"
"Yeah. I mean, when you morph, your brain morphs too. I mean, your physical brain. And some parts of that animal brain must stay with you. So, I could feel the cat's brain alongside my own."
"Wu, you sound completely nuts."
"I am completely nuts. This is just a physical extension of it. You've got to try it."
"I can't believe this."
"What's not to believe? It happened, deal with it."
"But I mean, that whole alien invasion thing? How could I possibly deal with that?"
"Talk to Dan."
"All right, I'll just call up Dan and say, 'Yoo hoo, Dan? Think you can clarify the whole alien invasion thing?'"
"You don't have to call him up. He's right outside."
"Where?"
At that precise moment, a squirrel jumped through his window and began thought speaking at a hyped up rate.
Sorry, Wu! Just jumping around! Man, this morph rocks! Nervous little thing, but MAN can they jump!
Wu looked a little smug, "Guess the squirrel morph makes him a bit hyper."
Dan quickly demorphed, just as Wu did, and, like Wu, he was wearing clothing that was a pretty tight fit.
"Perhaps you should tell him, man. And me, too. I only got the abridged version of your time as a controller."
Dan seemed to shudder, "I don't know. I really don't want to think about it. It was horrible enough as it was."
James immediately shed all his disbelief. Wu seemed like he could shrug off an alien invasion, but Dan seemed like a stable guy, ground into reality, and the Dan he knew wasn't like this. The Dan he knew was happy and joking, not this scared person he saw in front of him.
"Let's hear it."
Dan sighed, and began to tell his tale.
"I joined the Sharing because, well, never mind why. I thought it was a good, fun organization, where I could hang out and meet people. Thing is, the club's a front for the Yeerks, recruiting Controllers. When I was inducted as a full member, I didn't want to become a Controller, but they took me anyway. They put that thing in my head. That was about a week ago.
"Guys, that week was pure hell. The Yeerk controlled everything about me. I couldn't even control which direction I focused my eyes. And the Yeerk just laughed at me, humiliated me. He could see into every single memory I had, every dream, every fantasy. He would torture me for hours, replaying all my bad memories, resurfacing stuff hidden in my subconscious, humiliating me by playing my fantasies. That creature tried to make me suffer every minute it was in my brain.
"And worst of all wasn't what it did to me, it was what it did with me. I dunked sobbing, struggling people into pools so that Yeerks could infest them. Old women, children, pregnant mothers…I infested a five year old, do you know how that feels?! And the very worst thing, when one of the people managed to escape…I killed him.
"The Yeerk just picked up a Dracon beam and shot him. He disintegrated on the spot, slowly, screaming in pain. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I felt so weak, so horrible. It shook me. If Elfangor hadn't freed me from the Yeerk…I don't know what would've happened to me."
James and Wu were silent, until James finally said, "OK, I'm going next door. I'll try a dog morph out."
Craig Ripps was James's next-door neighbor, a good friend of his. Craig loved dogs, he absolutely loved them, and his parents loved dogs just as much, and they let Craig take home as many stray dogs from the pound as he wanted. James's parents once asked James if he wanted a dog, and James replied that there was no need with Craig's menagerie of canines right next door.
Under the pretense that Wu and Dan were looking for a possible pet, Craig let them search through his vast number of pooches. In truth, James was searching for a potential morph. He found one, a beautiful golden retriever named Misty.
After a little bit of conversation, in which Wu made the extreme faux pas of saying he was more of a cat person, they left and James began to try out his new morph.
James's first morphing was possibly the weirdest he'd ever experience, if only for its novelty. He sort of expected the fur to appear first, but what happened was that his spine suddenly rearranged to support a quadruped rather than a biped, even though his arms and legs were still human, the result being that he fell over onto his hands, even though they weren't paws yet. He heard sloshing throughout his torso as he internal organs were being rearranged.
Slowly, his skeleton was being rearranged. Shoulder blades, arms, legs, tail, all grew from within, even though his skin was still that of his human form. It was only when he was fully a dog internally that the animal's skin and fur began to appear, the same golden color as his hair.
Finally, the dog's brain surfaced. Happy-go-lucky, goofy, the dog knew what it wanted, and it wanted to have fun! There were two humans right there who could play with him! He barked, lowered his front body in a mock bow, and wagged his tail vigorously.
Wu looked at him strangely, "Uh, James, you there? Talk to me buddy."
Dan said, "The dog's brain must have taken over."
James looked at them strangely. They didn't want to play?
Suddenly, there was a noise. Three little birds! He could play with them! They were right outside. He walked up to the glass window and barked loudly.
Jeez, James, you're going to wake the neighbors!
The thought speak voice was like a dash of cold water on his face. He began to rein in the dog instincts somewhat.
Marisa, is that you? Are the others with you?
Yeah. Get Dan and Wu to let us in, Kay said, And close the blinds. You're lucky a neighbor wasn't watching.
James might have mentally cursed himself, but the dog's brain beside his wouldn't allow it.
He started to demorph, this time out of plain sight, while the three birds hopped in and became his three female friends. The first thing he realized was that each of them acquired a different bird. Kay was a blue jay, Marisa a robin, Rhea a sparrow.
The second thing he noticed was that Rhea and Marisa were naked.
He turned away. Dan did too. Wu gave a leering gesture, which earned him a smack on the face. He quickly turned around. James, not peeking despite the incredible temptation, got some leotards from his mother's gym bag, which he then gave the girls.
"No fair, how come the guys get to morph clothes while we're naked?" Marisa pouted.
"Well, we just acquired birds from my bird feeder, morphed, and flew over here. So I guess that they took more time to get familiar with their morphs, so they realized what clothes they could morph," Rhea responded, in an innocently honest way.
Kay bowed her head slightly, "I'm sorry for what happened before."
Rhea beamed, "It's no problem."
Wu looked confused, "What?"
Kay responded, "The blue jay is fiercely territorial. I attacked Rhea and Marisa while they were flying here."
There was a long silence.
"This is just weird," Marisa finally said.
"I mean, I can't believe we're doing this," Rhea agreed.
Dan suddenly looked worried, "James, are your parents going to be home soon?"
He checked the time, 11:00 AM, "Not for a while. They're usually at work all day Saturday."
"And Wu, where did you put the box?"
"Gotcha covered. It's hidden beneath the floorboards under my bed. I plan on putting it in my shed."
Dan looked worried, "Your shed?"
"Don't worry, my dad never goes there. He's got another one. I got to fiddle around with the old one. I even built an alarm system for it, and I've got a safe inside. It'll be safe."
Dan sighed, "Good. I don't know if any of your family members are Controllers, but that doesn't mean that they aren't."
"Are yours?"
"My mom's free. Thank God."
Marisa finally butted in, "Could you guys back up and explain this?"
Dan launched back into the tale of his past week. By the end, everyone was silent.
Then, Rhea's piped up, "So, what should we do."
Wu volunteered an answer, "I think we should fight."
Dan bugged out, "Are you fucking crazy! That'd be suicide! You saw what he did to the Andalite, what are we going to do against the Yeerks?! They've got seven-foot tall rototillers and cannibalistic worms the size of sewer pipes! They've got interstellar travel and laser beams that cause exceedingly painful death! Standing up to them wouldn't be a fight, it would be a slaughter."
Wu thought for a bit, "Perhaps the box. We could make more people like us."
Kay responded, "Who? Who could we trust with our secret? Who could we trust not to be a Controller?"
They were silent for a bit, when James finally spoke up.
"We can do it. But we can't go in a fair fight. We have to be sneaky about this. We need to know our enemy. We need to spy on them. We…we could use our animal morphs! We could turn into inconspicuous animals and listen in on Yeerk affairs!"
Dan still looked a bit frightened, "But what if we needed to fight?"
"Then we'd use our animal morphs then, too! Big ones, dangerous ones! We could turn into powerful animals and fight our way!"
There was a pause, when Wu said, "What should we do then, O Fearless Leader?"
James responded, "We go to the zoo, first. We find animal morphs that can be used as weapons, and morphs that can be used as spies. Then, we begin infiltrating the Yeerk organization."
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To outward appearances, it would look like a group of six teenagers decided to go on a trip to the zoo. Not incredibly odd, it was just a few kids milling around looking at the animals and discussing them. No one would suspect that they were looking for biological weapons.
"Cats seem good in any case. They're strong, they have their claws and fangs, they're agile, and they've got a strong bite. They're the perfect mammalian killing machines. I personally want to go with a jaguar morph," Wu said, "They're small and compact, but they're the strongest cat for their size. They can take down a horse at their size. It's a good choice."
James nodded, "I'm going to go with a lion morph. Male lion. That's one of the biggest cats here."
Marisa looked smug, "I'm going to use the Siberian tiger, that's even bigger."
"Wait," Rhea said, "Not all of us should be cats, because they'd be too similar. We should use a few different types of animals."
Wu nodded, "Actually, I think we should get more than one per each of us. I think Komodo dragon would be a good choice for my secondary morph."
"A bear would be nice. That Kodiak would be a good choice," James said.
"I'll go with a bear morph too. Polar bear," Marisa countered.
Wu thought for a second, "That could work, provided that you didn't use your bear or cat morphs at the same time."
Dan interjected, "I'd use a rhino and an elephant. They're huge and strong. I could use the elephant for more open fighting, and the rhino for closed in spaces."
"The rhino's still really big. We could get you a strong smaller morph. An ocelot would work. Actually, we might all do well with an ocelot as a backup. They'd work in more public settings."
Rhea put in her two cents, "I actually think a kangaroo would be cool!"
Everyone looked at her funnily.
Wu rubbed his chin, "That could work. They're got good endurance, they're quick, and agile. They're strong, they could really do some damage with their punches and kicks. And a full grown male kangaroo would be almost as tall as…as one of them."
He didn't say "Hork-Bajir," as any Controller overhearing would immediately recognize the word. Dan was seriously wary of the Yeerks, so he had some good, if paranoid, ideas. Of course, paranoia meant survival in this case.
"A wolverine would make a really good backup," Wu said, "It would really round out the team."
James nodded, then gestured to Kay, "What about you?"
Kay looked thoughtful, "A hyena and wolf would work well. And it would round out the team from your morphs."
"Good thinking. Zoo's closing."
In most cases, that would mean they should leave. In this case, it meant they should hide until after most of the employees left. Now, the security guards would notice six teenagers, but a cat, squirrel, blue jay, robin, sparrow, and golden retriever were less conspicuous. Well, the retriever was more conspicuous, but James could use the incredibly sensitive nose to evade the guards. After a few hours and a remorph to keep from getting trapped, they demorphed and went to go acquire some morphs.
It was a long process, since none of the animals were too happy to be visited. But, thankfully, it went off relatively smoothly, thanks mostly to the fact that the acquiring process made the animals go into a calm state.
In addition to their chosen battle morphs, they each acquired a Canadian goose, a great horned owl, an ocelot, a type of poisonous snake, and a type of hawk.
James opted for a rattlesnake and a peregrine falcon. Wu chose a cobra and a golden eagle. Kay opted for an osprey and a South American fer-de-lance. Rhea chose a tiger snake and a red-tailed hawk. Dan took a goshawk and a black mamba. Marisa chose a gyrfalcon and a coral snake, the latter of which actually bit her. A quick morph fixed the problem.
The last morph they all acquired was one that would be crucial to their next mission, that of a bat.
Dan described the prime place to begin spying on the invasion; the Yeerk Pool. In the vast caverns, the bat would be a perfectly inconspicuous morph.
The sextet tried out their owl morphs and left for home. The next day, they would go to the entrance in the forest that James had discovered the previous night.
They were worried.
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James and his family ate in relative silence, as usual. James was silently going over everything in his head. He and his friends would go over to Wu's house, which was on the outskirts of town, and morph to bat. They would go to the pool entrance, wait for someone to enter, then fly in with them. They would stay in there for about an hour, see what they could find, and see what the Yeerks were doing. There was only so much that Dan knew, and he wasn't particularly fond of disclosing it.
He finished his dinner, and his parents were about to leave for work, when James spoke up.
"Mom, Dad? Could you wait a second?"
His mom turned around, "Sure, son."
"What's up?" his father added.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you guys I love you before you left."
His mom broke into a big smile, "Oh, we love you too," and she pulled him and his dad into a big hug. They parted and his parents left James in the house.
James was thankful that, if he didn't come back home, that that would be the last thing he ever said to his parents. He could live, or die for that matter, with that.
After he was sure his parents were gone, he opened his window, and, checking the daylight, morphed to falcon. It was a weird feeling, because unlike the dog, which was at least a mammal and slightly familiar, a lot of aspects of the bird form were quite different. His bones hollowing, his feet becoming scaly, clawed talons, a beak growing from his face, his head reshaping from mostly brains to mostly eyes, the feathers sprouting from his skin…it was all incredibly unnerving.
Finally, he was the falcon, and hopped from his floor to the shelf and flew out, heading towards Wu's house.
He landed by an old wooden shed that had apparently been rebuilt at a recent point. He didn't think Wu was that into carpentry, then realized he probably just wanted his own private space. He noted the complex lock system and the alarms with delight, considering that it would be the new home of the morphing cube.
The door was open. James demorphed. Kay was the only one missing. Wu had obviously spent a great deal of time fixing the shed up, it looked brand new, with wooden finish, a few sofas, an armchair, a TV and a computer that were both larger and more advanced than he'd imagined.
"Wu, where on Earth did you get the money for this?"
Wu shrugged, "I built it. Dad gave me his ramshackle shed and said if I wanted I could use it. So I lent out some carpentry books from the library, rebuilt practically the whole thing, rewired it, reupholstered a few chairs and couches I found on the street, and had a new place to hang out."
"What about the TV and computer?"
"Built 'em."
"You built a big screen TV?" Marisa snorted incredulously.
"I wanted it, so I bought the parts and built it. I saved a few thousand bucks from buying a 70-inch TV. Hell, I don't think they even make 70-inch TVs."
James was shocked, but he knew Wu was right. Wu was the kind of guy who could become immersed in a project and lose himself, and if he wanted something, he got it.
Marisa snorted, obviously not believing it.
The discussion ended as Kay arrived. They commenced morphing to bat.
In a few seconds, six bats were flying willy-nilly through the woods attempting to find the entrance to the Yeerk Pool.
James, do you know where this place is? Marisa asked.
I have an idea. I was running for my life at the time, but I think…there, I found it, there's a guy getting in. Let's go!
The six bats fluttered down into the hole under the "tree," and managed to get in just before the tree slid completely over the hole.
Made it! Now, we just have to… James trailed off as they flew into the open cavern.
It was gigantic. This could've housed the Olympics. Both winter and summer games. And there would've been enough room left over to house a few Malls of America.
In the center of the cavern was a shallow pond, looking like molten lead. The bat's echolocation could show a few large sluglike creatures. Yeerks, in their natural state.
The old expression is that bats are blind. Well, bats actually have very good eyesight, a fact that James did not relish. He saw two piers. One held people calmly entering the pool and depositing Yeerks in it, then being forced away by gruff looking Hork-Bajir. The other held people being dragged into the pool, screaming as they were dunked into the pool, and came out calm, Controllers once more.
The worst was that the bat's hearing was very good, so he could make out those screams very well.
And worse then that was, as he looked down at the two piers, he saw people he knew. Kids from school, teachers, that guy who fixed his roof. The neighborhood priest. The weatherman from the local news station. It was incredibly depressing.
There were cages along the pool, where freed hosts moaned, screamed, cried, or just looked, hopeless, as those around them ignored their cries. Even Hork-Bajir, temporarily freed, cried and groaned and slashed at the bars of their much stronger cages.
Then, he saw a little cabana, where a group of humans were watching a TV, eating snacks, laughing, having a good time. James thought for a split second that these were Controllers, until one person calmly left the cabana and stood on line at the infestation pier.
These people were voluntary Controllers. The very thought made him sick.
So, what do we do? Rhea asked, obviously disturbed.
James felt like stammering, but didn't, Perch on the roof, see what we can see. We'll check out who's who, and see if the Yeerks reveal anything. These ears are excellent. We'll be able to hear a conversation.
They waited for a while, until James saw something he wished he didn't.
He looked on the "out" pier, where Controllers let their Yeerks back into the pool. He saw two very familiar faces.
His parents.
He reeled back, as best as a bat can reel. This time, he did stammer.
James, what is it? Wu asked.
My parents! They're on the pier! They're Controllers! James cried.
My God. Dan said, I'm sorry, man.
James didn't answer, he simply stared at the two people, waiting, hoping to God they weren't voluntary. He got his wish; his mother began crying and his father struggled against the grip of his Hork-Bajir "escort."
It was then that James decided to play his hand and attack.
Let's go! He yelled, flapping his bat wings like a madman.
Are you crazy? Wu yelled.
You'll get us all killed! Marisa shrieked.
They're my parents; I've got to save them! What would you do? James replied.
There was a pause, then, So much for stealth, and with that Wu took off, the other four bats followed suit. They landed behind a shed and began to demorph.
Almost immediately, James focused on the lion. It was large, it was powerful. He remembered the fear he felt when he acquired the magnificent beast, how much awe he felt at its sheer power. Now, as he changed into it, he could feel the power surge through him, as the shaggy mane burst on his neck, he felt the immense strength that coursed through its muscles. All his fear was gone.
He leapt forward, hoping to save his parents. He ran straight into the crowd. Hork-Bajir came, he swatted them down. And he noticed his friends.
Dan, in his massive elephant morph, stampeded through the horde, knocking people back with his convertible-sized head, and ramming down steel sheds as though they were made of straw.
Wu, in his Komodo dragon morph, would turn and slash at wayward Taxxons, then leaving the cannibalistic worms as they devoured each other, a technique he developed from observing them as a bat.
Rhea bounded forth in her kangaroo morph, narrowly dodging Dracon beams. Hork-Bajir came upon her en masse, and she would punch and kick them with surprising strength.
Kay used a more direct approach with her hyena morph. She'd simply run towards the Hork-Bajir and, with jaws that could crack bones, crunch its throat.
And Marisa, in her massive polar bear morph, would swat down Hork-Bajir in a dance that looked like a crack-induced game of "King of the Hill."
Back in James's mind, he knew they were losing, he knew that the Hork-Bajir were too numerous, that the lasers were becoming deadly close, that failure was imminent. But the glaring forefront of his brain thought, "Get my parents back."
But the thought that he was losing soon took the forefront when a certain creature stepped out. An Andalite that was no true Andalite.
Ah, so not all of the Andalites were destroyed when the Dome ship was incinerated. Well, I must correct this rather egregious little oversight.
James barely registered that the creature thought they were Andalites as he saw him morph into a powerful creature, one that made the lion look like a terrier in comparison. It was a giant lizard like creature, covered in porcupine spikes, that walked on two legs and had a mouth filled with misshapen teeth.
Retreat! James yelled, as his lion morph bounded with superhuman sped away from the Visser. Here, he faced no competition; the Yeerks wished to avoid their leader as much as James and his people did.
Dan cleared a path in his remarkably fast elephant morph, with Rhea bounding right beside him. Marisa lumbered off with Kay right in front of her. James realized there was a missing party member; Wu.
His lizard legs were fine for quick strikes, but in a flat out chase the weird dinosaur from hell beat him by a long shot.
James knew what he had to do; he leapt in front of Wu, and roared at the Visser in a way that would have frightened grown men. The Visser stumbled.
The Visser shot back a less threatening roar, but his body was threatening enough. James played a bit of footsy with the giant lizard, hoping to God that Wu would make it out in time.
The Visser circled him, So, brave Andalite, I have you in my clutches. It's a pity that I don't have your comrades. Oh well, I will once you've revealed their location to me.
With that, Wu made it safely up the stairwell, and James made a break for it.
Don't yell victory until the race is over, James said, mimicking Elfangor as best as he could, and darted for the stairs. The Visser, while faster than Wu, could not hope to beat James.
Nooooooooooooo! The Visser roared as James slashed through a token Hork-Bajir guard and sprinted to safety.
The door slid back to reveal the forest entryway. James didn't demorph.
I didn't save them. I have all this power and I didn't save them. James didn't dwell on the fact that he couldn't possibly save them, or that he was face to face against a three story high porcupineasaurus. What mattered were his parents.
Sure, he may have wanted to find his biological parents, but that was for closure, he wanted to know who they were, why they left him. His real parents were the ones who took him in when he could've sworn on his life that no one wanted him.
He had a family. He had neighbors, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, like that goofy uncle who starred on Saturday Night Live. And he had his parents to thank for it. And now they were stolen from him. And he couldn't reclaim them.
It was a while before they found him. He was still in lion morph, he wanted the lion's strength and lack of fear to help him. The four of them, as owls, came to him. He barely registered them as more than scents as they demorphed.
"James, where were you?" Dan yelled.
"We were worried sick!" Rhea said.
"James, you saved my life, man," Wu said, "I don't know how I can thank you!"
"What do you think you're doing? You could be trapped! Don't you remember the Andalite's warning?" Marisa berated.
That got his attention. He began to concentrate on his human self. He began to panic as the changes didn't come.
Only Kay, who had been silent up to this point, came forward, and took James's big lion head in her hands, stared into his golden eyes and said, "Concentrate."
Without taking his eyes off of her, James began to demorph. The mane receded, the paws became feet and hands, his face shrunk, until he was James once again. He nodded at Kay, who nodded back.
Dan shook his head, "James, I'm sorry about your parents."
James waved his hand, "Not your fault. I'll get them back, someday, and the Yeerks will pay for what they've done."
Wu put his hand on his shoulder, "Man, you won't get them back, we'll get them back."
James turned around, to see everyone staring back at him, with concern and determination in their eyes.
"Thank you, I couldn't ask you for anything more," James said.
Marisa made a snorting noise, "Well, maybe next time you won't get us almost killed," but the words lacked their usual venom.
Rhea rolled her eyes, and Dan said, "Well, you got us all out. No man was left behind."
James nodded, "But it'll be a long road ahead. You heard what Elfangor said, it'll be years before we get any help."
Wu smiled, "Don't worry man, we've got your back. One for all, and all for one, right?"
"Right."
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, it's been a long time coming, but now the first ever chapter of Manimals is out.
Required reading for this fic: Augustine Quill's One Least Likely and Elcolo9's Antimorphs. If it weren't for Brandon's inspiration and Colin's imagination, this would never be. And even if they weren't necessary to understand much of the later chapters, those fics are just plain fun on a bun.
And, I don't know if this was made completely clear, but James the Manimal is James the leader of the Auxiliary Animorphs. Same guy, two different dimensions. And, to boot, the other five Manimals are also Auxiliary Animorphs. Try to guess who's who.
Well, peace out, and stay tuned for Chapter 2!
Of course, no one excepting those at the level of Advanced God actually understands this whole multiverse nonsense, and they'd rather make a good show of sending down prophets and destroying cities and whatnot, so they're really no help.
We know of one dimension, known as Animorphs.
In a similar dimension, named for its turning point, the One Least Likely, a single event changed the life of one, and thus changed the lives of many.
In another, that same life chose to end the lives of others, and start a team that its reality is named for, Antiverse.
Now, we turn to a new reality.
The crux point began long ago, when a neutrino hit a seemingly random planet. This was not unusual, neutrinos are infinitesimally small, and it would be an odd millisecond where any given planet was not struck by several trillion passing neutrinos. But, matter being mostly space between atoms the chances of a neutrino actually hitting something would be like dropping a ball bearing from a 747 and hitting, say, an egg sandwich.
So this atom struck, causing a rather odd chain of events, such as the fact that actor Phil Hartman was not killed, a harsh and tedious inter-solar system battle known as the Pointless War took place some 25 million years ago, the planet Leera was destroyed by a meteorite in the human year 1945, The Andalite known as Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill was never born, sales of Cherry Garcia ice cream were unusually low…
…And when the Andalite prince Elfangor crash-landed on Earth, his ship was pointed less than one degree to the north.
Now, what with physics and trajectory being what they are, this caused a somewhat serious change in his flight pattern. This meant that his original plan of locating the Time Matrix had failed, and the Animorphs as we know them were not created. Instead, the morphing power was given to six other, very different human youths.
So sit back, and enjoy the tale of the Manimals.
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Chapter 1 –
His name was James Hartman
He was an average, everyday kid before one night of his life changed everything.
Well…perhaps he wasn't your regular, run-of-the-mill kid off the street. He had zero knowledge of who his parents were. He was currently living in a foster home, with two parents who were incredibly loving and caring. He liked his life, he supposed, but something about his parents leaving him bugged him.
At the time, he was hanging around the mall. It was pretty far off from where he lived, but he was just there to hang out, kill time, check out stuff he would never buy, read novels in the bookstore for free, grab some food if he got hungry, pretty much what anyone would do at the mall.
Well, look who's here, James thought as a familiar face left the Electronics Boutique ranting about some Playstation game. His name was Eric, although he preferred to be called by his last name, Wu. He was a short, scrawny Chinese kid. If James had to name someone to be his best friend, he would pick Wu. He was an interesting guy. Pretty much the only person he knew that he could call a nerd. He was an oddball, very into technology and animals, but he was amazingly smart. He was their class valedictorian, had a near photographic memory, and could solve complex math formulas in his head.
Wu was unpopular because he was smart, physically weak, and generally weird. James was incredibly antisocial. So, the two were placed on the lowest rung of the high school social ladder, which would equate below Untouchable in the Hindu caste system. There was certain camaraderie in being the two lowest men on the totem pole, so the two generally hung out.
"Hey, man, what's up?" James asked.
"Not much, but Blazing Mane didn't even get into the top ten on the Gamer's list," Wu said.
"Well, it gets the award for, 'Best Game Wu Will Not Shut Up About,'" James joked.
"Yeah, so says the man who needed me to walk him through the Leopard stage," Wu countered, "You heading home?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna cut across the forest"
There were exactly two ways to get to the suburb James and Wu lived in. You could either follow the highway, or cut across some undeveloped area neighborhood children were warned never to enter by their parents. The former took about two hours, the latter fifteen minutes.
"I hear you. You need a traveling companion?"
"Might as well. Strength in numbers, and I can tell you're mortified at the concept."
"Guilty as charged."
The pair set out, and it wasn't long before they ran into a girl named Kay Lopez. She'd barely been in town a week. Circumstances were probably going to lead her into James and Wu's caste in the school system. She had big eyes and red hair and stared at people in a way that would unsettle anyone. She also had a way of finishing other people's sentences and predicting their behavior that was downright frightening.
"You two are going home?" Kay asked, but in a tone that suggested she already knew the answer.
"Yes," James answered.
"I'm going with you. I live in the same district as you, and I am unfamiliar as to how to get back home."
They let her stay; there was no room for argument.
In a few minutes from there, they ran into a guy named Dan Fleishman. Dan was a friendly enough guy. He tended to get on the good side of James and Wu, and now Kay. He was always cheerful, but something really bugged James about Dan.
"Hey, guys, are you gonna cut through the woods? I mean, it's late, we gotta get home, we should go together, you know?"
And just like that, Dan joined their little band. That was Dan for you; he talked a mile a minute. By the time he was done with his side of the story, you had no way to argue with him.
James had no objections. He'd go home, watch some TV, and maybe check the online missing person's service he joined to see if there was any response. He was happy. Until five seconds later.
"Well, look who it is."
Marisa DiCicco. The bane of his existence.
On the first day of seventh grade, Marisa gave James and a few of his friends a tour of their high school (Marisa was in ninth grade at the time). Marisa unknowingly made a comment about James's parents, which James took such an offense to that he shunned Marisa completely. Marisa, being a social creature, took offense to James's standoffishness, and single-handedly orchestrated his fall down the social ladder. Marisa was incredibly self-absorbed in general.
Along with Marisa was her best friend, Rhea Levin. Rhea was three years younger than Marisa, one year younger than James, two years younger than Wu, and the same age as Dan and Kay. She was very nice, very sweet. James could practically feel his teeth rotting in his mouth as he saw her.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Rhea asked, in a perfectly sweet, popular-without-trying way, which would make the group of mostly misfits cringe.
Marisa decided to answer for them, "Oh, they're probably just going off to play Dungeons and Dragons or some other nerdy shit," she turned to Kay and grinned in her face, pointing to James and Wu, "Hope you like what you see, cause that's all you'll ever get here."
Wu mouthed the word, "bitch" to James, who nodded.
Rhea pouted, "Stop being mean."
Marisa turned away haughtily, "Come on, let's go home."
Rhea looked at her funny and said, "But, the way home's that way, your parents won't let you drive after you dented your BMW."
Marisa sagged imperceptibly, and Wu and James exchanged a knowing glare.
Rhea smiled, and said, "Come on, there's strength in numbers, and it's dark and scary out there."
Marisa turned around in a supermodel fashion, muttering incoherently.
Rhea smiled, "Don't worry. Besides," she giggled, "James and Wu are kind of cute."
James heard the comment, but didn't acknowledge it. Wu, however, faintly blushed.
Marisa let out a laugh, "Oh, does our little Rhea have yellow fever?"
Rhea blushed madly. Wu, however, immediately changed his blush to a scowl, clenching his fist.
They were silent, however, as they left the mall. Human instinct decided to rear its ugly head as they passed through the woods between the mall and the 'burbs. They traipsed through the forest like one giant heavy animal, open to whatever predators were out there. In fact, James didn't notice it when it happened. He was too busy trying to listen for possible murderers.
Wu, however, did notice. And he alerted James.
He gestured upwards. A blue light, steadily growing larger, was in the night sky.
James gulped. One by one their companions looked up in suit. No one said anything. What could be said?
James finally spoke, "Am I hallucinating, or is that a UFO?"
Dan said, "You're not hallucinating."
James noted that Dan was a lot calmer than he should've been when saying that.
Wu looked at its flight pattern, "It's heading for the clearing."
"Then we should be heading away from the clearing," Dan said.
"What are you, nuts?" Wu said, incredulously, "That's an alien spacecraft! I'm not going to pass this opportunity up."
James nodded, "I'm with him, let's get there."
Marisa opened her mouth to speak, but soon noticed that Dan was the only one standing there. The rest were running to the clearing. Marisa let out an injured squawk at the fact that she was left behind, and then ran for it. Dan muttered something unintelligible and most likely obscene, and then followed them.
By the time they reached the clearing, the craft had landed. It was about as long as a school bus, but not as long, and a good portion of it were two cylindrical engines that emitted a blue glow. The front portion was ovoid, and two small, rather inelegant wings sprouted from the sides. Raised out the back was a tail, a curved tail that ended in a pint.
The tail was obviously a weapon.
Wu stepped out of the underbrush. Whether he was the bravest or the most willing to see an alien life form, they would never know.
He held out his hands in a gesture of peace and said, in a slow voice, "My name is Eric Wu, a human. Can you hear me?"
Yes. came a voice from within the craft. Only the word voice wasn't the best way to describe it. More like telepathy. The voice was only heard in their head.
"My friends and I mean you no harm."
Neither do I. James noticed that Dan was muttering something, but currently, he wasn't paying attention. The alien's voice was conveying more than just words. Emotions. James could actually feel the alien's emotions emanating from the voice. They were peaceful.
The alien was telling the truth.
James stepped forward as well, "My name is James Hartman. Can you come out?"
Rather than a reply, the alien instead opened a hole in his ship, and stepped out. Kay, Rhea, and Marisa timidly stepped out.
Dan, not so timidly.
The alien slowly stepped out. That's when James noticed the burn marks on the ship, and that the alien itself was injured.
The alien had been in a fight.
It was a lot like a mythical centaur. He (he was sure of the gender from the voice) was covered in blue fur, with streaks of tan, on the bottom half of his body. It resembled the body of a deer, with four hoofed legs. From where the head would be, there was instead an upper body, blue skinned, that resembled a human's. The arms were short and weak, with seven fingers per hand. The head was bizarre. Three slits for a nose, with no mouth. Pointed elf-like ears. There were two stationary eyes, almond shaped and a glittering green color, but two of the eyes were mounted of stalks, that swiveled so the alien could see in many directions at once. The alien's tail reminded James of the ship. The tail had to be at least ten feet in length. At the end of the tail was a long, curved blade, like a scythe. It was a deadly weapon.
The alien seemed to smile, an odd act involving the main eyes, but the gesture was unmistakable. The alien was friendly. It gave off nothing but expressions of peace.
Except that Dan wasn't affected.
Within seconds, Dan pounced forward and held a black pistol at the alien's head. In milliseconds, the alien brought the blade of his tail to Dan's neck. For five seconds and an eternity, nothing happened.
"I'll kill you, Andalite, and give the rest of your body to Visser Three. He hates you so much, I'll be promoted no matter what happens."
Yeerk! the alien said with a hatred that coursed through its entire being.
Dan was sweating bullets, he was tightening the trigger…
James grabbed Dan's neck and dropped down, dragged the taller boy with him. A red beam shot from the gun and a nearby tree disintegrated. Wu ran up and wrestled the gun from Dan's hands. He handed it to the alien.
Thank you Eric Wu, the alien said, This is why I'm here. This creature is a victim of forces that we are trying to stop.
James realized that Dan had stopped struggling. He simply lay on him. He saw a greenish gray blob expel itself from Dan's ear.
He pushed Dan off and looked at the blob. It resembled a slug, with four finlike appendages and two antennae like appendages. It was a disgusting creature.
"What is that?!" Marisa asked, horrified.
That is a Yeerk. It…urgh. the alien dropped down, Wu held his upper body up, a struggle, but he did it. Kay and Rhea helped him lay the Andalite on the ground.
"What?" Wu asked the Andalite, whose breathing became ragged, "Please, you've come a long way and are in a lot of pain, but please, tell us, what are those things and why are they here?"
James felt the sag in his heart when the alien answered.
They are here to destroy you.
For a bit no one said anything.
The Dan got up, "He's gone! Thank you all so much, he's finally gone!"
"The Yeerk? Dan, what happened?" Kay asked, worried.
"He…" he looked like he was struggling with the use of his mouth, "He took over my mind. Controlled who I was, what I was. He controlled my body, my voice, he tortured me. He made me kill people. It was awful," Dan was crying. Hard. Whatever this Yeerk did to him was awful.
You are very lucky to have escaped…
"Dan. Dan Fleishman."
I am thankful that I have, in some way, repelled the plague that is here. I am from a race called Andalites. My name is Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. My race fights the Yeerks. They have begun a rather aggressive invasion on your planet. A silent invasion, but nonetheless aggressive. They have no bodies and so live by stealing the bodies of others. They have conquered other races, and now have arrived here, on this planet.
Elfangor showed intense grief. Grief that he couldn't stop the invasion that threatened them.
"How many are there?" Wu asked.
I am not sure. Hundreds, thousands. Maybe more.
Dan shook his head, "At least half a million. Not many of them have hosts, though."
Elfangor's main eyes widened slightly in surprise, Then the situation is worse than I thought. Your people are oblivious to this threat. You must warn them. You must try and protect your people.
Kay immediately shook her head, "We can't. Humans won't believe us. No one is open to the idea of a silent alien invasion, and if they aren't open to an idea, they won't acknowledge it. Besides, we're children. Humans don't think the opinion of a child is worth anything."
Elfangor showed recognition by blinking all his eyes at once, Then I have no choice. You humans, the six of you, must fight the Yeerks.
Dan practically cowered in fear, "You can't, I can't. They'll take me back. It was horrible. I never want another Yeerk in my head again!"
I am sorry, but there is no choice. I know you are young, only children. But I know that children can sometimes accomplish wonderful things, He smiled, the strange eye expression, I have no choice, I am sorry.
Wu asked, "How? How can we possibly fight them?"
He looked up, There is only one way. There is a small blue box in my ship, very plain. Please, bring it here.
James and Wu looked at each other, then both went into the ship.
The box wasn't hard to find. It was a small blue cube, about the size of a human hand on each side. There were some undecipherable symbols on the cube. James picked it up. Wu was looking around.
"Not many controls. Guess the ship works by telepathy."
"Yeah. Let's get out of here."
As they were about to leave, Wu stopped short. James stopped as well. It was a holographic image.
It was a group of Andalites. Four adults. Three children.
Wu unconsciously took the photo. They went back.
James handed the box to the Andalite. Wu took out the holo.
"Is this your family?" he asked.
Elfangor nodded, Yes. You may keep it. To prove to my family that you did indeed see me, if you should meet them.
Wu put the holo in his pocket.
Elfangor held out the box, This is the crown jewel of Andalite science. A technology the Yeerks could never hope to emulate. This Escafil Device grants any being the power to morph.
"Morph?" James asked, "What do you mean by that?"
If you touch an animal, you will have the ability to become that animal. You will have acquired its DNA pattern, and allow yourself to change your forms.
Five members of the group remained silent. One chose to voice her opinion.
"How dare you? How dare you thrust us into the middle of some intergalactic war? You're giving us this power so that you can feel better. How many Andalite forces are up there? Why can't you handle this yourselves?"
Elfangor sounded sorrowful, rather than exasperated, I am sorry for what I am doing. Believe me, I am breaking all the rules and customs of Andalite culture by giving you this gift. If I were to live, I would be disgraced. I would not do this unless there was no other choice. But I am dying. And even if I were not, I could not live knowing I left your world defenseless. Our forces battled in near Earth orbit, concealed from your human technology. But we were unprepared. We were to destroy their Pool ship, their mother ship, but they hid a very powerful war vessel called a Blade ship on your moon. They decimated us. I believe I am the last Andalite alive. Help will arrive, but our planet is far from yours. It may take a year or two before the fleet arrives. And if there is no defense, then your planet will have already been taken by then.
Marisa still looked peeved, but Rhea silenced her by saying, "I will fight. I won't let these Yeerks take my planet."
She placed a hand on the box.
Wu nodded, and placed his hand on a different square.
And so did Kay.
James followed suit.
Dan looked scared, but he gulped and said, "The Yeerks practically took my life away. You saved me. I'll pay them back for what they did to me, and you for what you did for me."
He placed a hand of the square.
Marisa let out an exasperated sigh, and she too placed a hand on the box.
The Andalite closed his eyes. The group experienced a tingling sensation.
Take the box. Increase your numbers, find others to help you. You must fight the Yeerks, they will -
He looked up with his stalk eyes. Two glowing lights, and a shadow were descending rapidly.
They will be here! Run, hide! But watch, please. See who your enemies are. The knowledge will make you stronger.
They ran. Wu stayed to collect the box, and the Andalite pressed his hand to his forehead. Wu staggered back, then ran with the others.
They tumbled into the underbrush. They hid in a pit. Soon after that, the chasing ships landed. Two resembled cockroaches holding spears. Another was a black as night battle-ax.
When Elfangor called these ships Bug Fighters and the Blade Ship, James wasn't surprised.
From the ships bounded out giant reptilians with giant blades and worms the size of concrete pipes. The Andalite's silent voice called these Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. James curled up into a ball, praying the beasts would not come near him.
The reptiles and worms spread out, but by some miracle, they failed to spot the six teens.
One last creature left the ship.
An Andalite.
But it was completely different from Elfangor. He had some aura around him that conveyed nothing but the purest evil. It was as though the creature's hatred and malice was present in a way beyond that of sight, as though his evil tainted your very mind.
Dan cowered, but said nothing. He alone knew of this creature, and both he and the alien spoke his name at the same time:
"Visser Three."
Upon hearing that name, James felt that he was looking at his own personal enemy.
Ah, War Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. You've led us a merry chase, but finally, I emerge victorious!
Elfangor said nothing.
What, nothing to say? What is that human expression? …'Dog got your tongue?'
It's cat, you alien slimeball, James thought.
I've won, you know. I want you to understand that. I've WON! Our little war has ended. And I shall make my victory complete. To simply destroy you wouldn't be nearly enough, for I shall erase the memory of you. It will be as if Beast Elfangor, the legend among Andalites, had never existed!
Don't yell victory before the race is over. I care not about myself. But these people, these peaceful people, leave them be.
Don't kid yourself, fool. I know your ties to this planet. That little human girl? Loren? Be assured that I will place my most faithful lieutenant inside her head…after I've properly tortured her, of course. And I will command her to oversee the conquest of your world, using your entire family as the first hosts.
The Andalite had gone through a slow boil and, despite his wounds, stood up and slashed the Visser with his tail. The Andalite-Controller let out a pained scream.
You'll pay for that! With that, Visser Three began to morph.
It was a cross between a giant crocodile and a squid. The body was reptilian. It was larger than any land animal on Earth. Giant rows of teeth, more taloned feet than one could easily count. A myriad of tendrils ending in lobster claws sprung from the back. Glowing purple eyes shone brightly in the darkness, and the creature's humongous mouth let loose a bone chilling growl.
The thousands of tendrils grabbed Elfangor, rendering him completely motionless. The Andalite Prince came face to maw with Visser Three's terrifying morph.
The creature seemed to smile, You're dead.
The Andalite stared back, Not as dead as you think.
There was a flick of the wrist, followed by a sickening crunch, and he was dead. The Visser let out a satisfied belch, and coughed up what looked like the Andalite's tail blade. It lay on the ground, an omen of death.
At that point, the six humans decided that sticking around wasn't the best idea. They managed to sneak reasonably quietly through the underbrush. As soon as they managed to get a fair distance way from the field, they split up, each going a separate way, Wu carrying the Andalite's morphing cube.
James ran through the woods, when suddenly he heard a sound behind him, he ran faster, the sound grew stronger. James ran, until he spotted something that made him stop.
A tree, a large oak, had been misplaced, turned over on its side. Under its apparent base was a hole. And out of that hole came a group of humans, and, interspersed, a Hork-Bajir.
James considered running, until he heard the rustling again. The Controllers, which was obviously what they were, heard it too, and sent a Hork-Bajir to investigate.
Please don't let it be one of my friends, James prayed feverishly.
His prayers were answered, for they returned with what looked like a delirious heroin addict. Obviously, this was what had been chasing James, not Yeerks. James almost laughed at the irony that what he once found dangerous now seemed like no threat whatsoever.
Almost.
James threw a rock in the opposite direction and bolted back to civilization.
*************************************************************************************************
James got home uneventfully. His parents were out for the day, so he called the rest of the crew. All had gotten home safely. He collapsed on his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
He woke up with a black cat staring at his face.
"YAAAAAAH!" He screamed, and jumped away. James had no pets, and was therefore more than a little shocked at finding a cat in his face.
Relax, man. Stress kills, you know.
He stopped as soon as he realized he recognized the voice.
"Wu?"
Yup. Picked up my first morph. Sweet, huh?
James began stuttering, "…The…others…?" was the only legible thing he said.
The cat shook his head, which disturbed James in a way, No idea. I came here first. Your parents aren't home.
He looked at his clock. 10:00 AM. His parents were at work. He stared back at the cat.
"This is nuts," He said, "Aliens, talking cats, what's next? Demons and angels? Cyborgs? Mystical weapons passed down from ancient mythology? Why not complete the genre?!"
Christ, man, chill!
"Easy for you to say! You're a friggin' cat!"
Would you prefer I demorph?
Before James could answer, he saw the cat shift and grow.
The black hair receded except for the top of his head. The eyes changed from green-gold to black. He slowly stood on two legs, but ungainly as his legs weren't designed to hold the entire body. The tail was sucked into the spine like a piece of spaghetti. The front paws changed to hands. Finally, his legs became completely human. Eric Wu stood before him, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a pair of boxers, both of which were way too tight.
"Sorry. This was the best I could find. Anything baggy doesn't morph with you."
"Damn. I was hoping it was all just a dream."
"Ditto that. I kept waking up in the middle of the night, so I decided to try the morphing thing out."
"You morphed a cat."
"Two cats, actually. I tried combining my two cats into one morph. One's a tortoiseshell, the other's black. Went pure black. I think it has to do with recessive genes or something."
"Right," James said, not really listening.
"It's great. You should try morphing a cat. They're more agile than you'd ever believe. And, man, you feel like king of the world when you're a cat!"
"You know how a cat feels?"
"Yeah. I mean, when you morph, your brain morphs too. I mean, your physical brain. And some parts of that animal brain must stay with you. So, I could feel the cat's brain alongside my own."
"Wu, you sound completely nuts."
"I am completely nuts. This is just a physical extension of it. You've got to try it."
"I can't believe this."
"What's not to believe? It happened, deal with it."
"But I mean, that whole alien invasion thing? How could I possibly deal with that?"
"Talk to Dan."
"All right, I'll just call up Dan and say, 'Yoo hoo, Dan? Think you can clarify the whole alien invasion thing?'"
"You don't have to call him up. He's right outside."
"Where?"
At that precise moment, a squirrel jumped through his window and began thought speaking at a hyped up rate.
Sorry, Wu! Just jumping around! Man, this morph rocks! Nervous little thing, but MAN can they jump!
Wu looked a little smug, "Guess the squirrel morph makes him a bit hyper."
Dan quickly demorphed, just as Wu did, and, like Wu, he was wearing clothing that was a pretty tight fit.
"Perhaps you should tell him, man. And me, too. I only got the abridged version of your time as a controller."
Dan seemed to shudder, "I don't know. I really don't want to think about it. It was horrible enough as it was."
James immediately shed all his disbelief. Wu seemed like he could shrug off an alien invasion, but Dan seemed like a stable guy, ground into reality, and the Dan he knew wasn't like this. The Dan he knew was happy and joking, not this scared person he saw in front of him.
"Let's hear it."
Dan sighed, and began to tell his tale.
"I joined the Sharing because, well, never mind why. I thought it was a good, fun organization, where I could hang out and meet people. Thing is, the club's a front for the Yeerks, recruiting Controllers. When I was inducted as a full member, I didn't want to become a Controller, but they took me anyway. They put that thing in my head. That was about a week ago.
"Guys, that week was pure hell. The Yeerk controlled everything about me. I couldn't even control which direction I focused my eyes. And the Yeerk just laughed at me, humiliated me. He could see into every single memory I had, every dream, every fantasy. He would torture me for hours, replaying all my bad memories, resurfacing stuff hidden in my subconscious, humiliating me by playing my fantasies. That creature tried to make me suffer every minute it was in my brain.
"And worst of all wasn't what it did to me, it was what it did with me. I dunked sobbing, struggling people into pools so that Yeerks could infest them. Old women, children, pregnant mothers…I infested a five year old, do you know how that feels?! And the very worst thing, when one of the people managed to escape…I killed him.
"The Yeerk just picked up a Dracon beam and shot him. He disintegrated on the spot, slowly, screaming in pain. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I felt so weak, so horrible. It shook me. If Elfangor hadn't freed me from the Yeerk…I don't know what would've happened to me."
James and Wu were silent, until James finally said, "OK, I'm going next door. I'll try a dog morph out."
Craig Ripps was James's next-door neighbor, a good friend of his. Craig loved dogs, he absolutely loved them, and his parents loved dogs just as much, and they let Craig take home as many stray dogs from the pound as he wanted. James's parents once asked James if he wanted a dog, and James replied that there was no need with Craig's menagerie of canines right next door.
Under the pretense that Wu and Dan were looking for a possible pet, Craig let them search through his vast number of pooches. In truth, James was searching for a potential morph. He found one, a beautiful golden retriever named Misty.
After a little bit of conversation, in which Wu made the extreme faux pas of saying he was more of a cat person, they left and James began to try out his new morph.
James's first morphing was possibly the weirdest he'd ever experience, if only for its novelty. He sort of expected the fur to appear first, but what happened was that his spine suddenly rearranged to support a quadruped rather than a biped, even though his arms and legs were still human, the result being that he fell over onto his hands, even though they weren't paws yet. He heard sloshing throughout his torso as he internal organs were being rearranged.
Slowly, his skeleton was being rearranged. Shoulder blades, arms, legs, tail, all grew from within, even though his skin was still that of his human form. It was only when he was fully a dog internally that the animal's skin and fur began to appear, the same golden color as his hair.
Finally, the dog's brain surfaced. Happy-go-lucky, goofy, the dog knew what it wanted, and it wanted to have fun! There were two humans right there who could play with him! He barked, lowered his front body in a mock bow, and wagged his tail vigorously.
Wu looked at him strangely, "Uh, James, you there? Talk to me buddy."
Dan said, "The dog's brain must have taken over."
James looked at them strangely. They didn't want to play?
Suddenly, there was a noise. Three little birds! He could play with them! They were right outside. He walked up to the glass window and barked loudly.
Jeez, James, you're going to wake the neighbors!
The thought speak voice was like a dash of cold water on his face. He began to rein in the dog instincts somewhat.
Marisa, is that you? Are the others with you?
Yeah. Get Dan and Wu to let us in, Kay said, And close the blinds. You're lucky a neighbor wasn't watching.
James might have mentally cursed himself, but the dog's brain beside his wouldn't allow it.
He started to demorph, this time out of plain sight, while the three birds hopped in and became his three female friends. The first thing he realized was that each of them acquired a different bird. Kay was a blue jay, Marisa a robin, Rhea a sparrow.
The second thing he noticed was that Rhea and Marisa were naked.
He turned away. Dan did too. Wu gave a leering gesture, which earned him a smack on the face. He quickly turned around. James, not peeking despite the incredible temptation, got some leotards from his mother's gym bag, which he then gave the girls.
"No fair, how come the guys get to morph clothes while we're naked?" Marisa pouted.
"Well, we just acquired birds from my bird feeder, morphed, and flew over here. So I guess that they took more time to get familiar with their morphs, so they realized what clothes they could morph," Rhea responded, in an innocently honest way.
Kay bowed her head slightly, "I'm sorry for what happened before."
Rhea beamed, "It's no problem."
Wu looked confused, "What?"
Kay responded, "The blue jay is fiercely territorial. I attacked Rhea and Marisa while they were flying here."
There was a long silence.
"This is just weird," Marisa finally said.
"I mean, I can't believe we're doing this," Rhea agreed.
Dan suddenly looked worried, "James, are your parents going to be home soon?"
He checked the time, 11:00 AM, "Not for a while. They're usually at work all day Saturday."
"And Wu, where did you put the box?"
"Gotcha covered. It's hidden beneath the floorboards under my bed. I plan on putting it in my shed."
Dan looked worried, "Your shed?"
"Don't worry, my dad never goes there. He's got another one. I got to fiddle around with the old one. I even built an alarm system for it, and I've got a safe inside. It'll be safe."
Dan sighed, "Good. I don't know if any of your family members are Controllers, but that doesn't mean that they aren't."
"Are yours?"
"My mom's free. Thank God."
Marisa finally butted in, "Could you guys back up and explain this?"
Dan launched back into the tale of his past week. By the end, everyone was silent.
Then, Rhea's piped up, "So, what should we do."
Wu volunteered an answer, "I think we should fight."
Dan bugged out, "Are you fucking crazy! That'd be suicide! You saw what he did to the Andalite, what are we going to do against the Yeerks?! They've got seven-foot tall rototillers and cannibalistic worms the size of sewer pipes! They've got interstellar travel and laser beams that cause exceedingly painful death! Standing up to them wouldn't be a fight, it would be a slaughter."
Wu thought for a bit, "Perhaps the box. We could make more people like us."
Kay responded, "Who? Who could we trust with our secret? Who could we trust not to be a Controller?"
They were silent for a bit, when James finally spoke up.
"We can do it. But we can't go in a fair fight. We have to be sneaky about this. We need to know our enemy. We need to spy on them. We…we could use our animal morphs! We could turn into inconspicuous animals and listen in on Yeerk affairs!"
Dan still looked a bit frightened, "But what if we needed to fight?"
"Then we'd use our animal morphs then, too! Big ones, dangerous ones! We could turn into powerful animals and fight our way!"
There was a pause, when Wu said, "What should we do then, O Fearless Leader?"
James responded, "We go to the zoo, first. We find animal morphs that can be used as weapons, and morphs that can be used as spies. Then, we begin infiltrating the Yeerk organization."
*************************************************************************************************
To outward appearances, it would look like a group of six teenagers decided to go on a trip to the zoo. Not incredibly odd, it was just a few kids milling around looking at the animals and discussing them. No one would suspect that they were looking for biological weapons.
"Cats seem good in any case. They're strong, they have their claws and fangs, they're agile, and they've got a strong bite. They're the perfect mammalian killing machines. I personally want to go with a jaguar morph," Wu said, "They're small and compact, but they're the strongest cat for their size. They can take down a horse at their size. It's a good choice."
James nodded, "I'm going to go with a lion morph. Male lion. That's one of the biggest cats here."
Marisa looked smug, "I'm going to use the Siberian tiger, that's even bigger."
"Wait," Rhea said, "Not all of us should be cats, because they'd be too similar. We should use a few different types of animals."
Wu nodded, "Actually, I think we should get more than one per each of us. I think Komodo dragon would be a good choice for my secondary morph."
"A bear would be nice. That Kodiak would be a good choice," James said.
"I'll go with a bear morph too. Polar bear," Marisa countered.
Wu thought for a second, "That could work, provided that you didn't use your bear or cat morphs at the same time."
Dan interjected, "I'd use a rhino and an elephant. They're huge and strong. I could use the elephant for more open fighting, and the rhino for closed in spaces."
"The rhino's still really big. We could get you a strong smaller morph. An ocelot would work. Actually, we might all do well with an ocelot as a backup. They'd work in more public settings."
Rhea put in her two cents, "I actually think a kangaroo would be cool!"
Everyone looked at her funnily.
Wu rubbed his chin, "That could work. They're got good endurance, they're quick, and agile. They're strong, they could really do some damage with their punches and kicks. And a full grown male kangaroo would be almost as tall as…as one of them."
He didn't say "Hork-Bajir," as any Controller overhearing would immediately recognize the word. Dan was seriously wary of the Yeerks, so he had some good, if paranoid, ideas. Of course, paranoia meant survival in this case.
"A wolverine would make a really good backup," Wu said, "It would really round out the team."
James nodded, then gestured to Kay, "What about you?"
Kay looked thoughtful, "A hyena and wolf would work well. And it would round out the team from your morphs."
"Good thinking. Zoo's closing."
In most cases, that would mean they should leave. In this case, it meant they should hide until after most of the employees left. Now, the security guards would notice six teenagers, but a cat, squirrel, blue jay, robin, sparrow, and golden retriever were less conspicuous. Well, the retriever was more conspicuous, but James could use the incredibly sensitive nose to evade the guards. After a few hours and a remorph to keep from getting trapped, they demorphed and went to go acquire some morphs.
It was a long process, since none of the animals were too happy to be visited. But, thankfully, it went off relatively smoothly, thanks mostly to the fact that the acquiring process made the animals go into a calm state.
In addition to their chosen battle morphs, they each acquired a Canadian goose, a great horned owl, an ocelot, a type of poisonous snake, and a type of hawk.
James opted for a rattlesnake and a peregrine falcon. Wu chose a cobra and a golden eagle. Kay opted for an osprey and a South American fer-de-lance. Rhea chose a tiger snake and a red-tailed hawk. Dan took a goshawk and a black mamba. Marisa chose a gyrfalcon and a coral snake, the latter of which actually bit her. A quick morph fixed the problem.
The last morph they all acquired was one that would be crucial to their next mission, that of a bat.
Dan described the prime place to begin spying on the invasion; the Yeerk Pool. In the vast caverns, the bat would be a perfectly inconspicuous morph.
The sextet tried out their owl morphs and left for home. The next day, they would go to the entrance in the forest that James had discovered the previous night.
They were worried.
*************************************************************************************************
James and his family ate in relative silence, as usual. James was silently going over everything in his head. He and his friends would go over to Wu's house, which was on the outskirts of town, and morph to bat. They would go to the pool entrance, wait for someone to enter, then fly in with them. They would stay in there for about an hour, see what they could find, and see what the Yeerks were doing. There was only so much that Dan knew, and he wasn't particularly fond of disclosing it.
He finished his dinner, and his parents were about to leave for work, when James spoke up.
"Mom, Dad? Could you wait a second?"
His mom turned around, "Sure, son."
"What's up?" his father added.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you guys I love you before you left."
His mom broke into a big smile, "Oh, we love you too," and she pulled him and his dad into a big hug. They parted and his parents left James in the house.
James was thankful that, if he didn't come back home, that that would be the last thing he ever said to his parents. He could live, or die for that matter, with that.
After he was sure his parents were gone, he opened his window, and, checking the daylight, morphed to falcon. It was a weird feeling, because unlike the dog, which was at least a mammal and slightly familiar, a lot of aspects of the bird form were quite different. His bones hollowing, his feet becoming scaly, clawed talons, a beak growing from his face, his head reshaping from mostly brains to mostly eyes, the feathers sprouting from his skin…it was all incredibly unnerving.
Finally, he was the falcon, and hopped from his floor to the shelf and flew out, heading towards Wu's house.
He landed by an old wooden shed that had apparently been rebuilt at a recent point. He didn't think Wu was that into carpentry, then realized he probably just wanted his own private space. He noted the complex lock system and the alarms with delight, considering that it would be the new home of the morphing cube.
The door was open. James demorphed. Kay was the only one missing. Wu had obviously spent a great deal of time fixing the shed up, it looked brand new, with wooden finish, a few sofas, an armchair, a TV and a computer that were both larger and more advanced than he'd imagined.
"Wu, where on Earth did you get the money for this?"
Wu shrugged, "I built it. Dad gave me his ramshackle shed and said if I wanted I could use it. So I lent out some carpentry books from the library, rebuilt practically the whole thing, rewired it, reupholstered a few chairs and couches I found on the street, and had a new place to hang out."
"What about the TV and computer?"
"Built 'em."
"You built a big screen TV?" Marisa snorted incredulously.
"I wanted it, so I bought the parts and built it. I saved a few thousand bucks from buying a 70-inch TV. Hell, I don't think they even make 70-inch TVs."
James was shocked, but he knew Wu was right. Wu was the kind of guy who could become immersed in a project and lose himself, and if he wanted something, he got it.
Marisa snorted, obviously not believing it.
The discussion ended as Kay arrived. They commenced morphing to bat.
In a few seconds, six bats were flying willy-nilly through the woods attempting to find the entrance to the Yeerk Pool.
James, do you know where this place is? Marisa asked.
I have an idea. I was running for my life at the time, but I think…there, I found it, there's a guy getting in. Let's go!
The six bats fluttered down into the hole under the "tree," and managed to get in just before the tree slid completely over the hole.
Made it! Now, we just have to… James trailed off as they flew into the open cavern.
It was gigantic. This could've housed the Olympics. Both winter and summer games. And there would've been enough room left over to house a few Malls of America.
In the center of the cavern was a shallow pond, looking like molten lead. The bat's echolocation could show a few large sluglike creatures. Yeerks, in their natural state.
The old expression is that bats are blind. Well, bats actually have very good eyesight, a fact that James did not relish. He saw two piers. One held people calmly entering the pool and depositing Yeerks in it, then being forced away by gruff looking Hork-Bajir. The other held people being dragged into the pool, screaming as they were dunked into the pool, and came out calm, Controllers once more.
The worst was that the bat's hearing was very good, so he could make out those screams very well.
And worse then that was, as he looked down at the two piers, he saw people he knew. Kids from school, teachers, that guy who fixed his roof. The neighborhood priest. The weatherman from the local news station. It was incredibly depressing.
There were cages along the pool, where freed hosts moaned, screamed, cried, or just looked, hopeless, as those around them ignored their cries. Even Hork-Bajir, temporarily freed, cried and groaned and slashed at the bars of their much stronger cages.
Then, he saw a little cabana, where a group of humans were watching a TV, eating snacks, laughing, having a good time. James thought for a split second that these were Controllers, until one person calmly left the cabana and stood on line at the infestation pier.
These people were voluntary Controllers. The very thought made him sick.
So, what do we do? Rhea asked, obviously disturbed.
James felt like stammering, but didn't, Perch on the roof, see what we can see. We'll check out who's who, and see if the Yeerks reveal anything. These ears are excellent. We'll be able to hear a conversation.
They waited for a while, until James saw something he wished he didn't.
He looked on the "out" pier, where Controllers let their Yeerks back into the pool. He saw two very familiar faces.
His parents.
He reeled back, as best as a bat can reel. This time, he did stammer.
James, what is it? Wu asked.
My parents! They're on the pier! They're Controllers! James cried.
My God. Dan said, I'm sorry, man.
James didn't answer, he simply stared at the two people, waiting, hoping to God they weren't voluntary. He got his wish; his mother began crying and his father struggled against the grip of his Hork-Bajir "escort."
It was then that James decided to play his hand and attack.
Let's go! He yelled, flapping his bat wings like a madman.
Are you crazy? Wu yelled.
You'll get us all killed! Marisa shrieked.
They're my parents; I've got to save them! What would you do? James replied.
There was a pause, then, So much for stealth, and with that Wu took off, the other four bats followed suit. They landed behind a shed and began to demorph.
Almost immediately, James focused on the lion. It was large, it was powerful. He remembered the fear he felt when he acquired the magnificent beast, how much awe he felt at its sheer power. Now, as he changed into it, he could feel the power surge through him, as the shaggy mane burst on his neck, he felt the immense strength that coursed through its muscles. All his fear was gone.
He leapt forward, hoping to save his parents. He ran straight into the crowd. Hork-Bajir came, he swatted them down. And he noticed his friends.
Dan, in his massive elephant morph, stampeded through the horde, knocking people back with his convertible-sized head, and ramming down steel sheds as though they were made of straw.
Wu, in his Komodo dragon morph, would turn and slash at wayward Taxxons, then leaving the cannibalistic worms as they devoured each other, a technique he developed from observing them as a bat.
Rhea bounded forth in her kangaroo morph, narrowly dodging Dracon beams. Hork-Bajir came upon her en masse, and she would punch and kick them with surprising strength.
Kay used a more direct approach with her hyena morph. She'd simply run towards the Hork-Bajir and, with jaws that could crack bones, crunch its throat.
And Marisa, in her massive polar bear morph, would swat down Hork-Bajir in a dance that looked like a crack-induced game of "King of the Hill."
Back in James's mind, he knew they were losing, he knew that the Hork-Bajir were too numerous, that the lasers were becoming deadly close, that failure was imminent. But the glaring forefront of his brain thought, "Get my parents back."
But the thought that he was losing soon took the forefront when a certain creature stepped out. An Andalite that was no true Andalite.
Ah, so not all of the Andalites were destroyed when the Dome ship was incinerated. Well, I must correct this rather egregious little oversight.
James barely registered that the creature thought they were Andalites as he saw him morph into a powerful creature, one that made the lion look like a terrier in comparison. It was a giant lizard like creature, covered in porcupine spikes, that walked on two legs and had a mouth filled with misshapen teeth.
Retreat! James yelled, as his lion morph bounded with superhuman sped away from the Visser. Here, he faced no competition; the Yeerks wished to avoid their leader as much as James and his people did.
Dan cleared a path in his remarkably fast elephant morph, with Rhea bounding right beside him. Marisa lumbered off with Kay right in front of her. James realized there was a missing party member; Wu.
His lizard legs were fine for quick strikes, but in a flat out chase the weird dinosaur from hell beat him by a long shot.
James knew what he had to do; he leapt in front of Wu, and roared at the Visser in a way that would have frightened grown men. The Visser stumbled.
The Visser shot back a less threatening roar, but his body was threatening enough. James played a bit of footsy with the giant lizard, hoping to God that Wu would make it out in time.
The Visser circled him, So, brave Andalite, I have you in my clutches. It's a pity that I don't have your comrades. Oh well, I will once you've revealed their location to me.
With that, Wu made it safely up the stairwell, and James made a break for it.
Don't yell victory until the race is over, James said, mimicking Elfangor as best as he could, and darted for the stairs. The Visser, while faster than Wu, could not hope to beat James.
Nooooooooooooo! The Visser roared as James slashed through a token Hork-Bajir guard and sprinted to safety.
The door slid back to reveal the forest entryway. James didn't demorph.
I didn't save them. I have all this power and I didn't save them. James didn't dwell on the fact that he couldn't possibly save them, or that he was face to face against a three story high porcupineasaurus. What mattered were his parents.
Sure, he may have wanted to find his biological parents, but that was for closure, he wanted to know who they were, why they left him. His real parents were the ones who took him in when he could've sworn on his life that no one wanted him.
He had a family. He had neighbors, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, like that goofy uncle who starred on Saturday Night Live. And he had his parents to thank for it. And now they were stolen from him. And he couldn't reclaim them.
It was a while before they found him. He was still in lion morph, he wanted the lion's strength and lack of fear to help him. The four of them, as owls, came to him. He barely registered them as more than scents as they demorphed.
"James, where were you?" Dan yelled.
"We were worried sick!" Rhea said.
"James, you saved my life, man," Wu said, "I don't know how I can thank you!"
"What do you think you're doing? You could be trapped! Don't you remember the Andalite's warning?" Marisa berated.
That got his attention. He began to concentrate on his human self. He began to panic as the changes didn't come.
Only Kay, who had been silent up to this point, came forward, and took James's big lion head in her hands, stared into his golden eyes and said, "Concentrate."
Without taking his eyes off of her, James began to demorph. The mane receded, the paws became feet and hands, his face shrunk, until he was James once again. He nodded at Kay, who nodded back.
Dan shook his head, "James, I'm sorry about your parents."
James waved his hand, "Not your fault. I'll get them back, someday, and the Yeerks will pay for what they've done."
Wu put his hand on his shoulder, "Man, you won't get them back, we'll get them back."
James turned around, to see everyone staring back at him, with concern and determination in their eyes.
"Thank you, I couldn't ask you for anything more," James said.
Marisa made a snorting noise, "Well, maybe next time you won't get us almost killed," but the words lacked their usual venom.
Rhea rolled her eyes, and Dan said, "Well, you got us all out. No man was left behind."
James nodded, "But it'll be a long road ahead. You heard what Elfangor said, it'll be years before we get any help."
Wu smiled, "Don't worry man, we've got your back. One for all, and all for one, right?"
"Right."
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, it's been a long time coming, but now the first ever chapter of Manimals is out.
Required reading for this fic: Augustine Quill's One Least Likely and Elcolo9's Antimorphs. If it weren't for Brandon's inspiration and Colin's imagination, this would never be. And even if they weren't necessary to understand much of the later chapters, those fics are just plain fun on a bun.
And, I don't know if this was made completely clear, but James the Manimal is James the leader of the Auxiliary Animorphs. Same guy, two different dimensions. And, to boot, the other five Manimals are also Auxiliary Animorphs. Try to guess who's who.
Well, peace out, and stay tuned for Chapter 2!