Let's review the bidding, shall we?
My kid sister had been dragged underground, down to the Yeerk pool, where, as far as I knew, she was already infested. We had called a renegade Helmacron ship for help. They showed up, and we all got seriously small. And now we were surrounded by Helmacrons who seemed dead set on killing Jake so that he could be a better leader.
But, like Cassie said, focus on one task at a time.
Like, the task of seriously kicking Helmacron booty. And I was so ticked, I didn't even need a morph to do it.
The thing about the Helmacron rapiers is, they're only pointy on the end. You can grab them on the sides just fine. So I did.
{Ah! What are you doing, idiot human!?}
I was superstrong. That comes with the territory of being tiny. The Helmacron who asked that particular question was in midair while she asked it. I seriously needed to vent some steam, and the Helmacrons were kindly helping me out.
{Aiieeee!! She is beserk!}
I grabbed the second Helmacron by all four legs, and swung her around a few times.
"RACHEL!" Jake was yelling. "Put her down!"
{Actually . . . }
I obeyed Jake, and put the Helmacron down. Well, more like threw her down. I wasn't very gentle. I was getting warmed up to go for the third one when a few more of the crew showed up. That was when I first noticed that the Helmacrons had actually shrunk us so we were a good deal smaller than they were. Like, we were flyers on the dance team, and they were the football players. I had lost the element of surprise, and I didn't have much else going for me than sheer frustration. But I still had plenty of that.
"Let me go, you big jerk!" I yelled. "Ow, my arm! Aaaarrrrrrggghhh!!"
"Good diplomacy, Rachel," Marco said. "Really great."
I looked at the others. They were surrounded, held on all sides by large, dangerous looking Helmacrons. Jake shook his head slowly at me.
'WHAT?' I mouthed sharply.
The lead Helmacron was just standing there, her big eyes fixed on me. {Mary Sue the Heretic,} she said slowly.
{Yes?}
{You have villainously lied to us.}
{No! I swear on the six knees of Vlagbeet! We do indeed require your assistance to vanquish the despicable Yeerks!}
{Not about that. You said, and I must now presume this to have been an ill-favored jest, that this male was your captain. But it is evident that this strong female is in fact the boldest and most worthy of your entire crew.}
My head snapped up. "What?" I asked.
{We saw through your deception immediately, of course. It is evident that you, female of the pale follicles, are the captain of this group, and none other.}
"No way," I said. "I'm -- "
"Way too modest!" Marco said, stepping forward. "They figured it out, Captain Rachel. We'd better just admit it. Right, fellow crewmember Jake?" he asked pointedly.
Jake stared for a second. Then, it clicked for him about the same time it did for me. If the Helmacrons were accepting any of us as a legitimate captain, that was a step in the right direction. "Um . . . right!" he affirmed. "Yeah. She's the captain."
{And you're not allowed to kill her, either,} Tobias said.
The lead Helmacron looked disappointed, but soothed. {We will kill her if she is in danger of making any mistakes. But not before that. We had to kill the other because he was male, which was a mistake from the outset.} She blinked pleasantly at me. {Know, Captain of the Pathetic-But-Ironically-Allied-With-The-Almighty-Helmacrons-Human-Crew, that should it appear that you are about to make an erroneous decision, your death will be swift, yet surprisingly painful.}
"Great." I looked at Jake. He nodded very slightly. Gave me permission to be captain.
Which, I guess, meant that he was also giving me permission to die if I made a bad call.
Gee, thanks, cousin.
The Helmacrons released me. "Okay," I said. "Let's get this party started."
Lifting my chin as befit the captain of the human crew, I led the other Animorphs onto the ship. The door hissed shut behind us. The lights took a few seconds to come on.
"Next stop," Marco said, while we were still in the dark, "total insanity. All aboard."
My kid sister had been dragged underground, down to the Yeerk pool, where, as far as I knew, she was already infested. We had called a renegade Helmacron ship for help. They showed up, and we all got seriously small. And now we were surrounded by Helmacrons who seemed dead set on killing Jake so that he could be a better leader.
But, like Cassie said, focus on one task at a time.
Like, the task of seriously kicking Helmacron booty. And I was so ticked, I didn't even need a morph to do it.
The thing about the Helmacron rapiers is, they're only pointy on the end. You can grab them on the sides just fine. So I did.
{Ah! What are you doing, idiot human!?}
I was superstrong. That comes with the territory of being tiny. The Helmacron who asked that particular question was in midair while she asked it. I seriously needed to vent some steam, and the Helmacrons were kindly helping me out.
{Aiieeee!! She is beserk!}
I grabbed the second Helmacron by all four legs, and swung her around a few times.
"RACHEL!" Jake was yelling. "Put her down!"
{Actually . . . }
I obeyed Jake, and put the Helmacron down. Well, more like threw her down. I wasn't very gentle. I was getting warmed up to go for the third one when a few more of the crew showed up. That was when I first noticed that the Helmacrons had actually shrunk us so we were a good deal smaller than they were. Like, we were flyers on the dance team, and they were the football players. I had lost the element of surprise, and I didn't have much else going for me than sheer frustration. But I still had plenty of that.
"Let me go, you big jerk!" I yelled. "Ow, my arm! Aaaarrrrrrggghhh!!"
"Good diplomacy, Rachel," Marco said. "Really great."
I looked at the others. They were surrounded, held on all sides by large, dangerous looking Helmacrons. Jake shook his head slowly at me.
'WHAT?' I mouthed sharply.
The lead Helmacron was just standing there, her big eyes fixed on me. {Mary Sue the Heretic,} she said slowly.
{Yes?}
{You have villainously lied to us.}
{No! I swear on the six knees of Vlagbeet! We do indeed require your assistance to vanquish the despicable Yeerks!}
{Not about that. You said, and I must now presume this to have been an ill-favored jest, that this male was your captain. But it is evident that this strong female is in fact the boldest and most worthy of your entire crew.}
My head snapped up. "What?" I asked.
{We saw through your deception immediately, of course. It is evident that you, female of the pale follicles, are the captain of this group, and none other.}
"No way," I said. "I'm -- "
"Way too modest!" Marco said, stepping forward. "They figured it out, Captain Rachel. We'd better just admit it. Right, fellow crewmember Jake?" he asked pointedly.
Jake stared for a second. Then, it clicked for him about the same time it did for me. If the Helmacrons were accepting any of us as a legitimate captain, that was a step in the right direction. "Um . . . right!" he affirmed. "Yeah. She's the captain."
{And you're not allowed to kill her, either,} Tobias said.
The lead Helmacron looked disappointed, but soothed. {We will kill her if she is in danger of making any mistakes. But not before that. We had to kill the other because he was male, which was a mistake from the outset.} She blinked pleasantly at me. {Know, Captain of the Pathetic-But-Ironically-Allied-With-The-Almighty-Helmacrons-Human-Crew, that should it appear that you are about to make an erroneous decision, your death will be swift, yet surprisingly painful.}
"Great." I looked at Jake. He nodded very slightly. Gave me permission to be captain.
Which, I guess, meant that he was also giving me permission to die if I made a bad call.
Gee, thanks, cousin.
The Helmacrons released me. "Okay," I said. "Let's get this party started."
Lifting my chin as befit the captain of the human crew, I led the other Animorphs onto the ship. The door hissed shut behind us. The lights took a few seconds to come on.
"Next stop," Marco said, while we were still in the dark, "total insanity. All aboard."