The Generation
Chapter 2- Cassie
That afternoon, Ax was hanging out at my place while my mom and dad were out trying to capture a Prewalski's Horse that had escaped from the Gardens. I had just finished grooming the mare that my parents had bought for me. It was a palomino of appaloosa stock it was young, and it was all mine, so I was taking good care of her.
Ax had set some kind of sketchbook down on a stack of haybales and hunkered down. He was bent over it with a quill pen and ink bottle. "Hey Ax, whatcha doin?"
//I am working on a scrap book. Marco suggested that I make one, so I am starting with a family tree.// Ax turned it around for me to have a look. He pointed to each entry in turn. //Here's me, and Elfangor, and Tobias.//
"Who's this?" I asked, pointing to an entry framed in cobalt blue.
//That is my older sister, Judin. She was presumed dead in the retreat from the Hork Bajir world.// He told me.
"How horrible!"
Outside I heard Jake and Marco arguing. "Cubs"
"Red sox!"
"Cubs."
"Red sox!"
"Marco, the last time the cubs won the pennant was the year we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let alone the World Series!"
"And the Redsox haven't made it to the Series since they traded away Babe Ruth in 190-something or other! The law of averages says that they're more likely to make it first!"
"Cassie!" The boys converged on me at once. "Who's more likely to make it to the World Series first? The cubs..."
"Or the Redsox!" Marco interrupted.
"Cassie, in cases like this." Rachel came up behind them with Tobias on her shoulder. "It would be better not to answer."
//I think she is right.// Ax answered.
"Um... why are you all here NOW?" I asked.
//Don't you remember?// Tobias asked. //We have a meeting this afternoon! I found something really cool back in the woods, but there was some kind of force field keeping me back from it. I don't think its Yeerks! But its worth checking out!//
I smacked my forehead with my hand. "Sorry, my mom and dad have been busy trying to corner a Prewalski's horse that got into the National Forest for the past week, so I've been running the place. And its been so busy that I barely get any time to myself, let alone the missions!"
"Wow! You've been running the whole place?" Marco whistled appreciatively.
"Yeah, and you know, it still feels like I'm forgetting something." I tried to think, but with Marco and Jake still glaring daggers at each other it was hard to focus.
Then Tobias' head flew up. //I hear somebody.//
"Are you sure there's anybody here Max?" Tyson was saying.
"Yeah, she said she'd be around."
But it was too late to hide Ax.
"aaaaahhhh!" Tyson screamed.
"eeeeeeee!!!" Rei agreed.
"AAAAA!!!" Kai screeched.
"A monster!" Kenny hid behind Tyson
"A bit beast!" Hilary exclaimed.
"AN ALIEN!" Max shrieked, pointing at Ax.
All four of Ax's eyes swiveled around. //Who? Me?//
"Yes, Alien. Ax, I think you'd better get out of here." Rachel moved in front of Ax, nudging him to go.
"Too late now." Jake said darkly.
"Listen, whatever happens, you can't tell anybody you saw us." I said nervously.
"Why not?" Tyson asked skeptically.
They all looked at me. "Why do I have to tell them?" I asked.
"Because you were the one that invited them here on a meeting day!" Marco growled.
I sighed, and started in on a recitation about everything that we knew about yeerks, Elfangor, Ax, and the current status of the group. I did not mention David. I did not want to mention David, I'd much rather forget him.
Kai listened. I have heard that Kai is the kind of person who does not debate a fact that is right in front of his nose. He also does not take everything at face value. Max stared at Ax the whole time, eyes round in awe. Kenny stayed well behind Tyson. Hillary watched with a skeptical expression. Rei's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head.
"No way." Tyson stepped back.
"Way." I told him.
"Give me proof." Hillary said, skeptically. The others ignored her.
"How do you fight them?" Kai asked. Good boy. He'd make a good Animorph that one.
"Okay, exhibit A." I nodded to Rachel.
Rachel closed her eyes. She sprouted dark brown fur. Her nails began to grow. Rachel's nose turned black and cold. Her face lengthened to become a bear snout. Rachel's ears turned round and furry and slipped up the side of her head. Rachel's hair turned brown and shaggy. Then she began to grow, Rachel's muscles doubled and tripled in size and strength.
Dear, mild mannered Rachel had become a grizzly bear. //Like this.// Rachel said smugly. //Their shock troops, hork bajir, cannot fight me in this body one on one and win. Six on one is another story, but one on one they don't stand a chance.//
Hillary's jaw dropped. Scratch one skeptic.
"You said they enslave us." Kenny said guardedly. "How?"
"They're parasites. They crawl into their ear, wrap around their brains, and control them, every damn neuron."
"But they're only looking for bodies right?" Asked Rei. "I mean, they don't kill people right? It can't be that bad."
Marco snarled. "Cassie, Morph yeerk right now. Show him just how bad it is."
Rei recoiled, but I focused on the Yeerk DNA inside of me.
~Tyson~
What the Hell had Rei said to make Marco so angry. I mean, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Why would had Rei made him so upset?
We watched, in a mixture of disgust, horror, fascination, and awe as Cassie transformed into a three inch long slug. It had four flippers and two antennae. This thing was the so called big bad Yeerks? It didn't look so tough!
Marco picked Cassie up and held her out to Rei. "Put her in your ear. Go on. See what its like!"
"Um..." Rei looked over at us.
That made me angry. Rei's pretty mild mannered. He's got the next highest empathy level in the group aside from Max. He also doesn't have very good self-esteem. I leapt forward. "Now wait just a minute! You can't mess with my team!"
"She's not really a yeerk and she won't hurt him." Jake assured me gravely. "But Marco wants to make a point, for a very good reason."
"Do it Rei." Kai emphasized.
"oookay." Rei picked up Cassie tentatively and held her to his ear.
Nothing happened at first, then Rei cried out in pain "Ow my head! Owowowowowww!" He moaned. Rei fell to his knees, sweating, panting and holding his head.
"Yeah, not nice is it?" Marco snarled. Just what had Rei said to make Marco so hostile?
"Dude just what is your PROBLEM??" I demanded.
"My problems are none of your business!" Marco snapped.
//Easy Rei, I'm almost done.// Cassie told him.
Rei stood up. "Hey, that wasn't so bad."
"Wanna bet on that?" Cassie asked through Rei's mouth.
Rei squeeked, clapping a hand over his mouth. "My voice!"
"Yeah dude." Marco rolled my eyes. "Your voice dude! Its like, totally not yours anymore!"
Cassie chuckled through Rei's mouth. "Actually, if I were really a yeerk, none of him would be." For a moment I thought I could see a sort of, shade Cassie hovering behind Rei. He was not speaking like he normally did, that was for sure.
"And if I were really a yeerk, you would never be able to tell the difference, because I'd have access to everything Rei knows. Yeerks are the best actors in the galaxy. And I'd be able to use that knowledge against each of you. If the yeerks were to get one of you, then they could destroy your team from the inside out at any time." Rei/Cassie said calmly. "Do you see how serious that is? Now do you get it? This isn't a game people!"
Cassie let go of Rei, who jumped about a mile. "YOOOOWWWWW!!!!"
"Yeah, 'yow'!" Rachel sighed. "Typical rookie onamodopia or whatever."
As I watched, the disgusting looking slug that was Cassie slipped out of Rei's ear. Rachel caught Cassie and set her down on the hay bales near where the Alien, Ax or whoever, had been reading.
Cassie grew and twisted, and in about thirty seconds there she was, wearing leggings and a skintight halter-top. Cassie pulled her t-shirt and overalls back on. "I'm sure Marco is sorry that he had to be harsh, but he's got reasons for everything he does. Some of us have loved ones who were taken by the yeerks against their will. So we have good reason to get upset."
Rei nodded, scrubbing at his ear and wincing. "Yeah, ow that hurt."
"Are you alright?" Kai asked, putting an arm around Rei's shoulders.
Now that was unusual. Usually Kai wasn't very affectionate. "Is that how you hide him?" Kai asked, nodding towards Ax.
"You catch on quickly." Marco grinned. "Yes, Ax combined our DNA to create a new human morph."
//Its called Frolis Manuver. Usually its only used when morphing sentient species, so that there's no identity confusion. I thought it was necessary when I needed to pass as a human.// Ax's main eyes were focused on the page, but his stalk eyes were casually scanning the room, rather unnerving.
"But if its genetically specific to these andilites of yours then how can you all do it?" Hillary asked, still skeptical. Ah yes, my grandfather once called her 'The last of the true skeptics.'
"Clever girl." Rachel had demorphed while Cassie was morphing yeerk. "Because it's a piece of biotechnology that adds a whole new type of artificial cell, specialized cells necessary for morphing. If you were to run a blood test you'd find them in our bloodstream."
"Must have been painful." Hillary pushed.
"Not especially." Cassie was rummaging through a trunk. "Here it is. I hid it in my horse tack trunk." She held up an innocent looking sky blue cube, about six inches by six inches by six inches. "Simply press your hands against the cube and it will give you the power."
"And you're revealing this to us for a reason right?" Kai asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.
"Right, because now that you've found us, you have a choice to make." Jake explained.
"What kind of a choice." It was extremely chilling the way Kai and Jake locked eyes. Right then and there. He already knew didn't he? Kai tends to know everything. He's creepy. My heart froze.
"You can choose to fight, or to not and risk being infested." Jake said.
Damn, its creepy the way I can read minds.
~notes~
(shiver, shiver) creepy I know. I like Kai all psycho and creepy. Its fun! But I'm not very good at actually writing him that way. If I had to role play a blade breaker on improv. I'd probably be Max or Rei.
V3: (with six horkbajir behind him looking up at Nyassa in the tree) Whoever you are, come down so I can kill you!
Tobias: (swoops in with Raygun in hand) Nyassa! Catch!
(catches it) thanks, what is it?
Tobias: It's a chibitizer. It changes enemy yeerks into insane chibis, then you knock them down like bowling pins.
Yeaaaaayyyy a chibi rei gun.
Random Yusuke: Um. That's Ray gun, Rei gun is what I use.
Oh right. Okay, here goes! (shoots chibi gun at V3 and Hork Bajir Controllers) Wow, I didn't think Horkbajir or andilite bodies could do that!
Chapter 2- Cassie
That afternoon, Ax was hanging out at my place while my mom and dad were out trying to capture a Prewalski's Horse that had escaped from the Gardens. I had just finished grooming the mare that my parents had bought for me. It was a palomino of appaloosa stock it was young, and it was all mine, so I was taking good care of her.
Ax had set some kind of sketchbook down on a stack of haybales and hunkered down. He was bent over it with a quill pen and ink bottle. "Hey Ax, whatcha doin?"
//I am working on a scrap book. Marco suggested that I make one, so I am starting with a family tree.// Ax turned it around for me to have a look. He pointed to each entry in turn. //Here's me, and Elfangor, and Tobias.//
"Who's this?" I asked, pointing to an entry framed in cobalt blue.
//That is my older sister, Judin. She was presumed dead in the retreat from the Hork Bajir world.// He told me.
"How horrible!"
Outside I heard Jake and Marco arguing. "Cubs"
"Red sox!"
"Cubs."
"Red sox!"
"Marco, the last time the cubs won the pennant was the year we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let alone the World Series!"
"And the Redsox haven't made it to the Series since they traded away Babe Ruth in 190-something or other! The law of averages says that they're more likely to make it first!"
"Cassie!" The boys converged on me at once. "Who's more likely to make it to the World Series first? The cubs..."
"Or the Redsox!" Marco interrupted.
"Cassie, in cases like this." Rachel came up behind them with Tobias on her shoulder. "It would be better not to answer."
//I think she is right.// Ax answered.
"Um... why are you all here NOW?" I asked.
//Don't you remember?// Tobias asked. //We have a meeting this afternoon! I found something really cool back in the woods, but there was some kind of force field keeping me back from it. I don't think its Yeerks! But its worth checking out!//
I smacked my forehead with my hand. "Sorry, my mom and dad have been busy trying to corner a Prewalski's horse that got into the National Forest for the past week, so I've been running the place. And its been so busy that I barely get any time to myself, let alone the missions!"
"Wow! You've been running the whole place?" Marco whistled appreciatively.
"Yeah, and you know, it still feels like I'm forgetting something." I tried to think, but with Marco and Jake still glaring daggers at each other it was hard to focus.
Then Tobias' head flew up. //I hear somebody.//
"Are you sure there's anybody here Max?" Tyson was saying.
"Yeah, she said she'd be around."
But it was too late to hide Ax.
"aaaaahhhh!" Tyson screamed.
"eeeeeeee!!!" Rei agreed.
"AAAAA!!!" Kai screeched.
"A monster!" Kenny hid behind Tyson
"A bit beast!" Hilary exclaimed.
"AN ALIEN!" Max shrieked, pointing at Ax.
All four of Ax's eyes swiveled around. //Who? Me?//
"Yes, Alien. Ax, I think you'd better get out of here." Rachel moved in front of Ax, nudging him to go.
"Too late now." Jake said darkly.
"Listen, whatever happens, you can't tell anybody you saw us." I said nervously.
"Why not?" Tyson asked skeptically.
They all looked at me. "Why do I have to tell them?" I asked.
"Because you were the one that invited them here on a meeting day!" Marco growled.
I sighed, and started in on a recitation about everything that we knew about yeerks, Elfangor, Ax, and the current status of the group. I did not mention David. I did not want to mention David, I'd much rather forget him.
Kai listened. I have heard that Kai is the kind of person who does not debate a fact that is right in front of his nose. He also does not take everything at face value. Max stared at Ax the whole time, eyes round in awe. Kenny stayed well behind Tyson. Hillary watched with a skeptical expression. Rei's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head.
"No way." Tyson stepped back.
"Way." I told him.
"Give me proof." Hillary said, skeptically. The others ignored her.
"How do you fight them?" Kai asked. Good boy. He'd make a good Animorph that one.
"Okay, exhibit A." I nodded to Rachel.
Rachel closed her eyes. She sprouted dark brown fur. Her nails began to grow. Rachel's nose turned black and cold. Her face lengthened to become a bear snout. Rachel's ears turned round and furry and slipped up the side of her head. Rachel's hair turned brown and shaggy. Then she began to grow, Rachel's muscles doubled and tripled in size and strength.
Dear, mild mannered Rachel had become a grizzly bear. //Like this.// Rachel said smugly. //Their shock troops, hork bajir, cannot fight me in this body one on one and win. Six on one is another story, but one on one they don't stand a chance.//
Hillary's jaw dropped. Scratch one skeptic.
"You said they enslave us." Kenny said guardedly. "How?"
"They're parasites. They crawl into their ear, wrap around their brains, and control them, every damn neuron."
"But they're only looking for bodies right?" Asked Rei. "I mean, they don't kill people right? It can't be that bad."
Marco snarled. "Cassie, Morph yeerk right now. Show him just how bad it is."
Rei recoiled, but I focused on the Yeerk DNA inside of me.
~Tyson~
What the Hell had Rei said to make Marco so angry. I mean, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Why would had Rei made him so upset?
We watched, in a mixture of disgust, horror, fascination, and awe as Cassie transformed into a three inch long slug. It had four flippers and two antennae. This thing was the so called big bad Yeerks? It didn't look so tough!
Marco picked Cassie up and held her out to Rei. "Put her in your ear. Go on. See what its like!"
"Um..." Rei looked over at us.
That made me angry. Rei's pretty mild mannered. He's got the next highest empathy level in the group aside from Max. He also doesn't have very good self-esteem. I leapt forward. "Now wait just a minute! You can't mess with my team!"
"She's not really a yeerk and she won't hurt him." Jake assured me gravely. "But Marco wants to make a point, for a very good reason."
"Do it Rei." Kai emphasized.
"oookay." Rei picked up Cassie tentatively and held her to his ear.
Nothing happened at first, then Rei cried out in pain "Ow my head! Owowowowowww!" He moaned. Rei fell to his knees, sweating, panting and holding his head.
"Yeah, not nice is it?" Marco snarled. Just what had Rei said to make Marco so hostile?
"Dude just what is your PROBLEM??" I demanded.
"My problems are none of your business!" Marco snapped.
//Easy Rei, I'm almost done.// Cassie told him.
Rei stood up. "Hey, that wasn't so bad."
"Wanna bet on that?" Cassie asked through Rei's mouth.
Rei squeeked, clapping a hand over his mouth. "My voice!"
"Yeah dude." Marco rolled my eyes. "Your voice dude! Its like, totally not yours anymore!"
Cassie chuckled through Rei's mouth. "Actually, if I were really a yeerk, none of him would be." For a moment I thought I could see a sort of, shade Cassie hovering behind Rei. He was not speaking like he normally did, that was for sure.
"And if I were really a yeerk, you would never be able to tell the difference, because I'd have access to everything Rei knows. Yeerks are the best actors in the galaxy. And I'd be able to use that knowledge against each of you. If the yeerks were to get one of you, then they could destroy your team from the inside out at any time." Rei/Cassie said calmly. "Do you see how serious that is? Now do you get it? This isn't a game people!"
Cassie let go of Rei, who jumped about a mile. "YOOOOWWWWW!!!!"
"Yeah, 'yow'!" Rachel sighed. "Typical rookie onamodopia or whatever."
As I watched, the disgusting looking slug that was Cassie slipped out of Rei's ear. Rachel caught Cassie and set her down on the hay bales near where the Alien, Ax or whoever, had been reading.
Cassie grew and twisted, and in about thirty seconds there she was, wearing leggings and a skintight halter-top. Cassie pulled her t-shirt and overalls back on. "I'm sure Marco is sorry that he had to be harsh, but he's got reasons for everything he does. Some of us have loved ones who were taken by the yeerks against their will. So we have good reason to get upset."
Rei nodded, scrubbing at his ear and wincing. "Yeah, ow that hurt."
"Are you alright?" Kai asked, putting an arm around Rei's shoulders.
Now that was unusual. Usually Kai wasn't very affectionate. "Is that how you hide him?" Kai asked, nodding towards Ax.
"You catch on quickly." Marco grinned. "Yes, Ax combined our DNA to create a new human morph."
//Its called Frolis Manuver. Usually its only used when morphing sentient species, so that there's no identity confusion. I thought it was necessary when I needed to pass as a human.// Ax's main eyes were focused on the page, but his stalk eyes were casually scanning the room, rather unnerving.
"But if its genetically specific to these andilites of yours then how can you all do it?" Hillary asked, still skeptical. Ah yes, my grandfather once called her 'The last of the true skeptics.'
"Clever girl." Rachel had demorphed while Cassie was morphing yeerk. "Because it's a piece of biotechnology that adds a whole new type of artificial cell, specialized cells necessary for morphing. If you were to run a blood test you'd find them in our bloodstream."
"Must have been painful." Hillary pushed.
"Not especially." Cassie was rummaging through a trunk. "Here it is. I hid it in my horse tack trunk." She held up an innocent looking sky blue cube, about six inches by six inches by six inches. "Simply press your hands against the cube and it will give you the power."
"And you're revealing this to us for a reason right?" Kai asked, arching a skeptical eyebrow.
"Right, because now that you've found us, you have a choice to make." Jake explained.
"What kind of a choice." It was extremely chilling the way Kai and Jake locked eyes. Right then and there. He already knew didn't he? Kai tends to know everything. He's creepy. My heart froze.
"You can choose to fight, or to not and risk being infested." Jake said.
Damn, its creepy the way I can read minds.
~notes~
(shiver, shiver) creepy I know. I like Kai all psycho and creepy. Its fun! But I'm not very good at actually writing him that way. If I had to role play a blade breaker on improv. I'd probably be Max or Rei.
V3: (with six horkbajir behind him looking up at Nyassa in the tree) Whoever you are, come down so I can kill you!
Tobias: (swoops in with Raygun in hand) Nyassa! Catch!
(catches it) thanks, what is it?
Tobias: It's a chibitizer. It changes enemy yeerks into insane chibis, then you knock them down like bowling pins.
Yeaaaaayyyy a chibi rei gun.
Random Yusuke: Um. That's Ray gun, Rei gun is what I use.
Oh right. Okay, here goes! (shoots chibi gun at V3 and Hork Bajir Controllers) Wow, I didn't think Horkbajir or andilite bodies could do that!