Author's Note: Here we go, the end. I won't lie, I was kind of putting off this chapter because I didn't want to end this fic, but it's kind of out of my hands, if that makes any sense. This is the end. I hope you guys like the ending and no worries -- I'll still be writing M/A like the slavish fangirl I am. It's sort of like a nervous tic. =P
I fixed the weird little stars in the last chapter and replaced them with proper thoughtspeak, too, just so you know.
This is really one HUGE chapter, but because the amazing length and all, I felt it'd be better to split it in two. The second part should be done tomorrow, God willing.
Last notes here...um, there's crying ahead. Call it OOC if you will, but I couldn't stand to write the characters swallowing all of their tears down. No worries, though, it isn't a sobfest. Just some tearage. Woohoo. Parts of this chapter are just recaps of the last chapter. Sorry. Oh, and my urge to write Jeanne/Santorelli has evolved to a Jeanne/Santorelli/Menderash triangle. Someone shoot me before I write it. Please.
Oh yeah. Danger, Will Robinson! Corniness ahead!
Be Stupid Chapter Fourteen: When Things Change
Part One
Marco - Memories
----------------
He was starting to wonder why he'd ever agreed to this whole mess. For a second time, on top of that.
The first time he'd signed up on a suicidal save-the-world quest, it wasn't like he had much of a choice.
Sure, he had complained like a newborn baby the whole time but it was either chose to save the world or not.
It was a simple choice, but Marco couldn't believe that he was being dragged into another mission.
True, it was more of a Save-Ax mission than a Save-the-World mission, but Marco still complained about it.
It kept him from thinking about the fact that he didn't object to a Save-Ax mission half as much as a Save-the-World mission. That little factoid bothered the short man, but it wasn't like he'd ever talk about that.
"I mean no disrespect, but if you're going to volunteer to commandeer the ship, would you pay attention?"
Marco looked up in surprise at Menderash. The Human Nothlit was looking at him in an expression of just-contained exasperation. Marco almost winced under Menderash's glare. It wasn't any fun having an Andalite mad at him.
It was strange, Marco reflected, how Menderash reminded him of Ax. Of course that made sense, he thought. Duh, they were both Andalites, after all. It was natural that in some way that Menderash reminded him of Ax.
That had to be it. The two of them, Marco thought, weren't that alike in personality, typical Andalite arrogance notwithstanding. Marco frowned as he mulled it over in his head. He'd been thinking a lot about Ax.
And, Marco to admit, he didn't like the way his mind kept slipping to friend from beyond.
"Would you please pay attention to the ship?" Menderash screamed.
Before any blood could be shed Marco wrenched his mind away from his musings and focused only on the Rachel. He could wonder about the similarities between Ax and Menderash later, there was a ship to fly.
Come to think of it, though, Marco had come upon another difference between them.
Ax would have given him three seconds to live, not just one.
----------------
"I hear you almost got your head chopped off this morning." Jake said. Marco shrugged, plopping down next to his best friend as he stared at the mix of dried fruit ahead of him. It'd been ages ago that the crew of The Rachel had eaten all of their fresh foods. Marco glanced around him. Menderash and Tobias were eating together, Tobias attempting to befriend the lone alien in their midst. Tobias was perched near him and Marco guessed they had to be talking. To the other side of the ships' dining quarters were Santorelli and Jeanne.
Marco blinked in surprise at his own feelings. He felt jealous. Swallowing down the surge of the green-eyed monster, the height challenged ex-Animorph looked at Jake. "So, what you been up to?" He asked.
"You mean since the last three hours we saw each other?" Jake asked. Marco nodded. "Yup."
Jake frowned as he tried to think. "Discussed navigation with Menderash, phoned Cassie, did nothing."
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Phoned Cassie?"
If he hadn't known him so well, Marco wouldn't have picked up on Jake's defensive body language. "Yeah."
"Well now, why'd you do that?" Marco asked, planning on interrogating his best friend for all he was worth.
Jake crossed his arms. "It's not like what you're thinking." He said. "I wanted to wish her Congrats."
"Why?" Marco asked, then he stuffed his mouth with bits of dry fruit. Jake sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
"She and Ronnie are getting married next week, you know." Jake said with an obvious amount of wistfulness.
Marco swallowed his fruit and looked long and hard at Jake. "No, I didn't know." He said.
In a blink of an eye, the sad look in Jake's face was erased with a wide smile. "Well, they are." He said.
And are you okay with that? Marco wanted to ask but the words wouldn't slip off his tongue.
"Good for Cassie. I hope they're happy." Marco said, lending his friend a weak smile of understanding.
Jake didn't seem to notice. "They will be." He said with a faraway look in his eyes. "What about you?"
"Jake, I'm not a marrying man." Marco said, his face saying without a doubt Jake Berenson was an idiot.
"Yeah, I guessed." Jake said. "I meant, how's your day been?"
"Oh! It's been fine." Marco shrugged. "Aside from near-decapitation, nothing much happened."
Well, that, and the fact that I kept thinking about Ax every five minutes. Marco added to himself.
Yes, it was bothering him. If he was in a relationship with him or something like that, it'd make sense. It wasn't normal the way he'd kept thinking about him. They were friends, sure. Heck, you could have said they were buddies.
The two of them had never been close, though. Not close enough to warrant the amount of time Marco had spent thinking about his alien bud, anyway. That amount of time was more like the amount spent on more productive things.
Like girls. Marco looked over and saw Jeanne and Santorelli still having a vivid little talk.
He wasn't sure if he was jealous because Jeanne wasn't eating with him, or because it made him feel alone.
Tilopid's words from before the night he'd been dragged onto the Rachel still hung with the short man.
He hated to admit it, but the lesbian reporter was right. He was afraid of being in a deep relationship. Facts be told, Marco had no idea how close the bond between the French woman and the older man was, but it was much closer than any romantic bonds he had as of late. The funny thing was that Marco had thought it'd be best to stop the mass dating for a while, but now he felt more alone than he liked to think about.
Having a relationship could have distracted him from that, not to mention his near-obsession with Ax.
"There I go again." Marco muttered to himself. Now that he thought about it, dunking his head in his bowl of fruit was sounding like a good idea. Maybe that could stop the weird turn his brain had kept taking again and again.
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, looking confused. Marco laughed and shook his head.
"It's nothing." The charismatic man said. "I just need more sleep or a lot of coffee." He half-lied to Jake.
Marco noticed the doubt in Jake's eyes, but his Fearless Leader did nothing. "Go to the Expresso Machine."
"Best idea I've heard all day!" Marco exclaimed as he patted Jake on the back and went in search of hot java.
After a few failed attempts, Marco did manage to find the coffee machine. He drowned his doubts in coffee.
With each short gulp, he blocked out his loneliness. He blocked out the questions, the worries.
He drank away the feeling that there was something important he wasn't, or couldn't, tell himself yet.
You're kidding me. Everyone in the ship turned to look at the red-tailed hawk glaring at the Nothlit.
"He's kidding you how?" Jake asked.
Menderash here says we'll be hitting Kelbrid space in about two days. In two days, we'll free Ax. Tobias said.
Marco somehow kept his hold on his empty Dixie cup. "You're serious?" He asked.
"Yes." Menderash said, addressing both Marco and the crew at the same time. "I checked this morning."
"Wow." Marco whispered, though just he and Jake heard this. Then he broke out into a smile.
"So you're saying our mission is almost complete, Andalite?" Santorelli asked Menderash. The Nothlit nodded.
"Of course that's what it means." Jeanne commented. "Freeing this Aximili was our mission from day one."
"Yes, it was." Menderash said, his voice quiet. Marco blinked, surprised by his reaction. To be honest, he'd never given a second's thought to how Menderash must have felt about the mission. Ax had been his prince.
And if past experience had taught Marco anything, it was that the loss of one's prince was a big deal to most Andalites. It was not something they could just shrug away. In particular, if there was any way it could be stopped.
"And we'll complete that mission in two days." Jake said, his voice full of chipper cheer. "Right, Menderash?"
"Yes, Prince Jake." Menderash said. That time Marco did drop his Dixie Cup. All three ex-Animorphs stared.
"Menderash," Jake said in a gentle tone. "Don't call me Prince."
"Yes, Jake." Menderash said.
Marco was glad Jake had been the one to say something. He hadn't trusted himself to not hurt Menderash.
He hadn't trusted himself because those three words had brought up feelings that, if he were to be honest, Marco would admit he didn't dare give a second thought to. Those emotions scared him from somewhere deep inside.
If it weren't for that fear, that might have been the moment Marco might have admitted there could be something more to his now constant thoughts about Ax, something more than the fact that he was going to rescue an old friend.
But he didn't admit that.
----------------
The atmosphere of the Rachel was full of tension during the next two days. Tension brought on by stress, guilt, and various other factors. Marco could see that Jake was tense about the upcoming days. It had been two years since he'd gone into battle, after all. Tobias's tension was related to something quite different. Until he'd received the news that Ax was the prisoner of The One, he'd been a recluse. Tobias had hidden and kept himself far from the ones who knew about his pain over Rachel, stayed away from those that could help him heal. The bird couldn't be looking forward to the reunion ahead. Menderash always seemed a little tense to Marco but now his stress was amplified tenfold due to what Marco suspected was Menderash's own guilt over the whole situation.
Jeanne and Santorelli were the most relaxed of the crew, though there was no doubt they were nervous about their first battle. Not to mention that the tension of the rest of the crew was starting to irritate them as well.
As for himself? Marco had to admit that, yes, he was nervous. Nervous about fighting again, nervous about the rookies going into fight, and in his own way he was nervous about meeting Ax again. He hadn't heard from the Andalite since he'd been placed in charge of Intrepid and that was well over a year ago.
It wasn't a big deal, though. He and Ax were never very close to each other and Marco assumed that the Andalite must have had his own reasons for the lack of contact they'd shared as of late. Besides, Marco thought to himself, he had been busy with Candice and getting over Candice. It was for the best Ax had stayed out of touch, in particular now that Marco had developed what he called an annoying habit of thinking about the Andalite.
He watched as Jake paced around the room and Tobias preened his feathers for the fiftieth time. Menderash was bent over the ship's controls, oblivious to the outside world. Jeanne was morphing and demorphing into various animals, attempting to gain good control of her morphs for the coming days. Santorelli had a book in his head but Marco could tell by the movements of his eyes that the older man wasn't reading a word of it.
"Big day tomorrow, huh?" Jake asked. Marco looked up in surprise and his best friend. "Huh?" He asked.
"Tommorow. Saving Ax, remember?" Jake asked. He looked a bit annoyed with Marco.
"Oh, right." Marco said with a shake of his head. "Sorry, big guy, my mind hasn't been here."
Jake shrugged. "Neither has mine." He admitted. The two friends laughed in nervous companionship.
"What's been bugging you?" Marco asked after a moment. Jake shifted away from his friend, but still answered.
"All of this." He said. "I'm worried about," Jake shut his eyes. "I'm worried about screwing up again." He whispered.
Screwing up. He meant Rachel's death, Marco knew. "I told you I won't let you kill me, or any of us." Marco told him.
"I know." Jake sighed. "I trust you won't, but I can't help it." Then Jake turned his face away from his best friend.
"I'm also worried about Cassie." The ex-leader of the Animorphs said, his voice wavering with emotion.
Marco wasn't that surprised. He knew Jake pretty damn well and he had his suspicions that Jake wasn't all fine and dandy with Cassie and Ronnie's engagement, though he'd never shown any objection to it.
"Jake." Marco started, but his friend finished before he got a word in.
"I'm still in love with her." Jake whispered, his voice unable to manage one note higher without a sob.
Marco was at a loss because he had no idea what to do or say. He avoided being touchy-feely any time he could, but Marco knew that Jake needed some sort of comfort now. Uncertain, Marco placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. It was enough. Jake took a deep sigh and put a hand to his face to wipe away some of the tears that had started flowing. All in all, it was a quiet event. No one else on the ship even noticed absorbed in their own things as they were. By the time Marco had retrieved a box of Kleenex, Jake had stopped.
Taking a sheet from the box, Jake started talking again. "So, what's been bugging you?" He asked.
Marco blinked. "Didn't I just ask you that a minute ago?" Jake nodded. "So? What's with you?"
Marco shrugged. "Nothing much. Just worried about the mission, that's all." Jake gave him a Look.
Marco scowled at his best friend. "Okay, okay." He exhaled a sharp breath.
"What would you call it if you can't stop thinking about someone you have no reason to think about?" Marco asked.
"Your subtle way of telling me you have a new girlfriend?" Jake asked. Marco shook his head.
"No," He said. "I'm giving up the girl-a-week thing for a while." He explained to a surprised Jake.
Jake then frowned. "You sure?" He asked. "I mean, what you're describing sounds like a crush to me."
Marco felt his jaw go slack as he sat gaping at Jake. A crush? He thought. No goddamn way.
"Trust me, it's not a crush or anything like that." Marco said, his voice full of steel. The sad thing was he wasn't sure whom he was trying to convince, Jake or himself. The bemused look on Jake's face wasn't helping, either.
"Then I guess you won't mind telling me who this person you don't have a crush on is." Jake said.
Marco had to fight an urge, despite the years friendship between them, to strangle Jake until he was blue.
"I have a sudden desire for something horrible to happen to you." Marco hissed. Jake smirked at him in reply.
"Unidentified ship approaching!" Menderash yelled. Both ex-Animorphs and the rest of the crew, excepting Tobias of course, jumped. They all raced to the ship controls to see what Menderash was yelling about.
"It's coming in at an unnatural speed." Menderash said, his voice tight. Then he jerked back in surprise.
"What is it?" Jake asked, concerned about his pilot. Menderash had grown pale. "Part of this ship is..." He said.
Menderash faced the rest of the crew with a grave face. "Part of this ship is Intrepid." He said.
That's Ax-man's ship. Tobias said, stating the obvious but not caring about it. We found him.
"No." Marco said, surprised at the anger in his own voice. "We found The One. Ax is just inside of it."
Both Tobias and Jake looked at him, Jake's eyes reflecting a glint of worry and Tobias glaring his usual glare.
"He is right." Jeanne said, backing up Marco. "You must not confuse the enemy with your friend."
Jake nodded in silent agreement. "Okay." He said. "Menderash, Santorelli, and Jeanne, I want you up front when we make contact. Next to Marco, Santorelli's got the best bullshit detector of anyone here, and we can't risk that they might recognize the rest of us and attack before we're ready." Jake told the crew.
So Menderash continued his course to the ship, with Jeanne and Santorelli alongside him ready to fight.
Jake, Tobias, and Marco stayed behind. They were able to see what was going on but were out of sight.
It seemed like a lifetime had gone by until the moment Menderash had opened up communication lines and for the first time, The Rachel received contact from The One. The One first took up the shape of a Human-Controller.
This was the form in which The One had introduced itself to its enemies. Then the fun began.
The One transformed itself, showing a beautiful elvin visage. That illusion, however, faded away to be replaced by one much more frightening. The crew of The Rachel watched, stunned, as The One faced them anew.
The One was grinning at them, full of malice, with the face of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil.
It was not the face they knew.
Plastered onto Ax's face as if a kid had gotten careless with a glue stick, was a horrid, sickening red mouth.
Marco felt his knees threaten to unbuckle, but by some miracle he stayed upright. In his shock, Marco was amazed he had even heard Jake's words at all. The rest of the world, save the sick version of Ax he was now seeing, seemed to have disappeared off somewhere. Thank the Powers That Be he'd heard Jake's command.
"Ram the Blade Ship."
----------------
Marco had enough sense to grab a hold onto one of the sidebars lining the ship. The next second was the impact.
The ex-Animal Morpher gripped the bar, just to keep from falling, so tight his fingers almost dug into the metal.
He wrenched his head up to see what happened. What lay before him was a total shock wrapped in surprise.
Somehow, the two ships had merged. There was no logical pattern involved but the ships were bound together in a mismatched array of sharp jagged cuts and metal melted during the collision of the two ships.
Jake and Tobias let loose their grips on a side bar not unlike the one Marco had been holding onto. Jeanne looked up from the floor, uninjured. Menderash climbed out of the wreckage that was once the ship's control center, Santorelli pulled himself off the podium that was in the center of the ship to help the Nothlit to his feet.
Marco saw inside the Blade Ship. He saw The One, a strange mix of Andalite and some other red creature, heading towards The Rachel, a half-insane panicked look in its eyes. He began to morph.
Gorilla. A morph with which Marco was so familiar it was almost frightening. It was with this morph that he'd face The One. It was this form he chose, this raw power. It was enough to quell his fear at what he'd seen of his friend, the power was enough to distract him from the doubts growing about his own affections. Yes, he would fight like this.
With what remained of his eyesight Marco saw the others morphing. Beautiful Jeanne, becoming a fierce lioness. Santorelli changing into a black bear. Tobias, staying a hawk. Jake, becoming an all-too-familiar tiger, and Menderash, unable to morph but ready to die in his human body if need be.
With a pang of sorrow Marco once again remembered his Andalite friend now a prisoner of the being moving its slow way inside of The Rachel. Marco felt a boiling anger rise up inside of him, a rise of intense burning rage.
The rage was brought on by the injustice of the whole situation. Ax had done nothing to deserve his capture, and the rest of them had done nothing to deserve being pulled away from their last shots at a normal life.
It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! Marco stared ahead at the disgusting mix known as The One, prepared to make it pay for what it had caused even if he died trying. But the gorilla could not hide Marco from everything, least of all himself. What was it that angered him -- the injustice of The One's actions, or that he once again had been placed to save the world whatever the cost to himself might be? Marco tried not to mull on it.
The One stepped forward, but with an extraordinary force was pulled back. NO! I will not allow you to take them!
Marco looked up in complete shock. He knew that voice! It was Ax's voice! What in the world was going on?
The Rachel's crew watched, through their myriad of eyes, as The One attempted to move forward but was stopped from what had to be within.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? STOP! The One roared.
Marco watched in shock as each step The One took was taken back, each move it made retracted.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? The One asked. HOW?
Once again, Marco heard Ax's voice, this time talking to The One. They won't permit you to move another inch.
YOU DID ALL THIS. The One accused, it's voice blaring with anger.
No. Ax replied, his voice full of inappropriate calm. I just rallied the forces.
The One then flew to accusations. The One's screams of anger echoed through the ships. OUT OF THEM ALL, YOU HAD THE MOST AT STAKE. YOU DID DO ALL OF THIS! The One screamed at Ax, his temper like a hot burning flame.
I WON'T LET YOU! The One raged. I HAVE THE POWER! YOU ARE ALL MINE! YOU CANNOT DO THIS, I HAVE POWER OVER ALL OF YOU!
Marco heard it then, a beautiful mix of voices, and one of which he knew, speaking to their captor.
You have no power over us.
The ex-Animorph watched as The One's eyes, still a mix of Andalite and whatever-the-hell that red creature was, widened and then began to fight to stay open. Marco knew, as he watched, that those eyes were fighting death.
And those eyes lost.
Marco groaned and grabbed his head as he saw, out of the corners of his eyes, The One disintegrating.
It was nothing, though, compared to the overflow of memories returning to him. One of them was a memory he'd almost recalled when a stalker-chick, Sarah Jameson, had kissed him. It was a memory of another kiss, but he couldn't recall whose lips it had been. Now he knew. Now he remembered theme parks, hospitals, and the sharp sting of society's contempt. Marco remembered doubts and fears about himself and what he was getting into. Worries about the one he was getting involved with. A memory, clear as day, of knocking Ax to the ground in an attempt to save. A memory of The One and The Ellimist. Memories all forgotten but now known again.
Marco saw the beings inside of The One returning to normal. He saw Ax. The man he loved.
This time his knees did give way as hit the ground, unconscious, unable to take it all in.
----------------
Where am I?
That was Marco's first thought as he looked around him. The place was unfamiliar, nothing like anything he'd ever seen. Stars shining against a clear blue sky surrounded him. It was beyond insane.
YOU'RE NOT ANYWHERE, TO TELL THE TRUTH. Marco turned in the direction of the voice.
"Oh." He said, not without an obscene amount of sarcasm. "It's you."
DID YOU EXPECT ANYONE ELSE? The Ellimist asked, without a doubt amused.
"I shouldn't have." Marco snorted, rolling his eyes at the old man, or what looked like an old man, in front of him.
AH, AGAIN WITH THE SARCASM. VERY WITTY OF YOU. The Ellimist said. Marco glared.
I MEANT IT AS A COMPLIMENT. YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, SHOULD KNOW THE VALUE OF A SENSE OF HUMOR. The Ellimist said in a parental voice. It disturbed Marco to no end.
YOU MUST BE WONDERING WHAT I'M HERE FOR. The Ellimist said, looking at the short man.
"That'd be nice to know." Marco said. The Ellmist chuckled in response. FIRST, TO APOLOGIZE.
IT WAS IN THE RULES OF THE GAME. The Ellimist said. I COULDN'T HAVE YOU REMEMBERING.
"Why not?" Marco asked. "What harm would it do for me to have my memories?"
YOU'RE BETTER OFF NOT KNOWING. The Ellimist answered. Marco blinked. That was enough info.
NEVERTHELESS, I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD REMEMBER. The Ellimist told the young man.
Marco frowned, now quite confused. "Despite the whatever I don't want to know it might've caused?"
YES. THIS UNION YOU HAVE, SO TO SPEAK, WITH THE ANDALITE MAY INDEED PROVE TO INFLUENCE THE TIMELINE OF MANY. I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO RESTORE IT. The Ellimist said.
"So you're like some intergalactic Cupid?" Marco asked, not that certain what the Ellimist meant.
BY NO MEANS. The Ellimist said. I DON'T INTERFERE WITH THE LIVES OF OTHER SPECIES. HOWEVER, I DID MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN ORDER TO RESTART WHAT HAD BEEN LOST.
Before Marco got a chance to ask anything, the Ellimist continued. I DID NOT EXPECT YOU TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING. The Ellimist told Marco. IT SEEMS I CAN'T ERASE IT ALL.
"Um, what are you talking about?" Marco asked, now more than a bit confused. The Ellimist laughed.
LOVE, OF COURSE. IT'S NOT THE EASIET THING TO GET RID OF. Marco shuddered at this.
"Don't use the 'L' word." He pleaded. "It scares me." The Ellimist's amusement seemed to increase.
I APOLOGIZE, THEN. BUT THAT DOES REMIND ME OF THE SECOND THING I CAME HERE FOR.
"Oh, joy and rapture." Marco muttered, now more than afraid of what the Ellimist had planned.
YOU REALIZE I CANNOT MAKE THINGS AS THEY WERE. The Ellimist said. Marco looked at him.
IF YOU WISH TO REMAKE THAT BOND YOU ONCE HAD, THAT WILL BE UP TO YOU. said Ellimist.
Marco swallowed down the lump in his throat. "So you're saying it's up to me?" He asked the Ellimist.
YES. AS IT WAS BEFORE, YOU BOTH MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO START OVER AGAIN. IF YOU BELIEVE IT'S WORTH IT, OF COURSE. The Ellimist told Marco.
"But I," Marco bit his lip as he tried to think of the words to say. "I don't know what to do."
DID YOU KNOW BEFORE? The Ellimist asked. I'D SAY RUNNING AWAY WOULD PROVE THAT.
Marco groaned. "Am I ever going to get a break for that? It was enough having Cassie lecture me!"
The Ellimist laughed. WE CAN'T ALWAYS SEE OUR OWN MISTAKES. AXIMILI HAD TO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF SENSE SLAPPED INTO HIM AS WELL, IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN.
"Great. He's not perfect either." Marco said, glancing at the Ellimist. "I knew that."
IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE DIFFICULT, I WON'T STOP YOU. The Ellimist said. Marco rolled his eyes.
I JUST LEAVE YOU WITH ONE QUESTION. DO YOU LOVE HIM?
Marco gripped the bedsheets as he awoke with a hard jerk. He blinked a few times to see his surroundings.
He was in his sleeping quarters on The Rachel. There were some clothes on his dresser, with a note attached.
Hope you wake up soon, Jake
"Thanks big guy." Marco said to himself as he grabbed the clothes and got dressed. As put on his shoes, the former Animorph mused over what the Ellimist had told him. If he wanted to be with Ax again, it would be up to the two of them to make that happen. Simple enough, it's not like we haven't done this before. Marco thought.
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Marco was surprised to notice it'd grown out a little.
Well, that would be the first thing to do when he got home back on Earth -- get a haircut. Or maybe let Jeanne give him one, he'd heard she was good with a pair of scissors. The thought of a non-liscened hairstylist touching his hair petrified Marco too much to give that idea much considering. The short man took a deep breath.
Those were all great, wonderful plans but he had something a bit more pressing to do.
When he opened the door, Marco was face-to-face with Jake. Both men jumped back.
"Sorry," Jake said. "I didn't know you were awake."
"That's okay, I didn't know you were here." Marco said. Jake shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"You've been out since last night, by the way." The tree-like brunette added. Marco blinked. "That long?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah." He said. Then an uncomfortable silence set between the two of them.
"Jake, I think I need to tell you," Marco was cut off by his big best friend. Jake shook his head. "I remember."
Then the One once known as Fearless Leader broke into a smile. "I didn't mind then and I don't now."
Marco inhaled a deep breath. "That's a relief." He said. Then he looked at Jake. "Do you know where Ax is?"
The Giant Man's brows knitted as he thought the question over. "Yeah, I think he's with Menderash."
Seeing the somewhat murderous look on Marco's face, he added. "They're trying to connect the ship's systems."
"Good." Said Marco, his voice quite clipped. Before he left, he bowed to Jake. "I shall be returning soon, my good sir."
Jake shoved him out the door.
----------------
Now it was panic time. Jake had said nothing about where Ax and Menderash were!
Trying to keep his cool, Marco decided that staking out The Rachel's now not-so-stable communications system would be a good start. He walked through the halls of the spaceship, surprised to see a large number of aliens hanging around in the hallways. Most of them turned to look at Marco, who felt an urge to run.
Many of them started whispering in various tongues that he couldn't understand, or using private thoughtspeak.
Marco rushed out of the hallway, certain he didn't want to know what the conversation was about.
He reached the main control room, where the amount of sentient life was a little less dense.
Sure enough, he saw Menderash working on a computer like a squirrel worked on a nut, and above him was Ax.
At the same moment, Marco's heart both flew and sank. It was wonderful to see Ax again, but god, he hadn't even taken a moment to consider how the hell he might be feeling about the two of them getting together again.
Too late now. Menderash had by some miracle looked up from his computer and seen Marco standing there.
Marco watched, his stomach twisting in nervousness, as the Nothlit tapped his Prince, who Marco noticed had gone into human morph again. Well, that had to be a good sign, didn't it?
Time seemed to slow down as Ax turned around, and Marco almost had to catch his breath as they looked each other in the eyes. Then with all the courage he could muster, Marco managed a small smile.
The word fell from his lips like a drop of water.
"Hey."
Wow! People still read this? (Reviewer Response)
Avada Kedavra - Yes! Go look up more M/A! Corrupt yourself! **coughs** 'Course, it's not like I'm paid to say that. **not-so-discreetly takes a mysterious hundered dollar bill** Argh, I agree with you about the lack of Animorphs fic. It's sad. Even more so because that means even less Anislash. **sighs** As for Ax doing obscene things to Marco...yeah, it's likely, though I dunno if I'll be writing about it in this fic. (**wink**)
Lauren - You know, you're right. The last chapter was kinda sad, I think. I wanted to show how desperate and all Ax was, but I don't know if anybody caught that. Oh well. I'm glad you like Aliens vs. The One, too! I'm gonna miss this story, too. **sniff** I dun wanna finish it...and I'm not killing anybody except The One! Yep, I'm happy about my kittens too. =)
Doctor Strangelove - I'm glad you liked the chapter, I guess it wasn't the stinkbomb I thought it was. And you know how it goes, now that I've written more, you'd better cough up soon. =P Oooh, more fic? Yay! I'm sort of scared for Jake now, but I'd love to see that fic. As for Ax/Oz...I think I should deny whatever part I had in the creation of that before you write it. (I just pictured Ax obbsessing over Oz while he watches Buffy, by the way. Throw THAT in Adventures in Clubbing and I'd be your loyal slave...moreso.) And I will write more, the second part to this chap is coming up!
