I don't know what I was expecting- but it wasn't this. He was like some hideous Frankenstein experiment gone wrong. He was a mixture of all kinds of creatures- of human, Andalite, Hork-Bajir, and others I didn't know. There was something eerily familiar about him- or it- though, something that I couldn't put my finger on until he smiled at me. I recognized that smile, and my heart missed a beat in alarm. But… how?
It was Jake's smile.
I saw pieces of the others, here and there- like some hideous Picasso. And it became more hideous to me as I realized the horrific truth. He had sucked the goodness out of my friends. It was on his face like a trophy- he had sucked the love out of my friends. Jake was right- he killed love. These people I was fighting- my friends… they were my friends, after all, but just my friends without any goodness in them, without any love.
I would kill him.
An incredible rage welled up inside me then, and it was like nothing I had ever felt before. I would kill this creature, who dared to wear the face of the ones I loved. I would rip him to shreds with my own teeth.
I snarled, a low, guttural sound deep within my wolf throat. I had made the noise many times before, but this was the first time the wolf's mind and mine were almost one and the same. This was our enemy- we kill our enemies. The feeling was so intense it was frightening. I had never felt anything like this before.
Was this what Rachel had once felt, rushing into battle? The adrenaline rushing through her veins, the enemy in sight? Whatever it was it scared me. This was not me.
But I would not- could not- let this creature steal the love from my friends and get away with it.
"My god," Toby whispered, as she too realized what exactly she was facing.
Erek clicked a second later.
"Is this the best my enemies can do?" the creature drawled in a distinctly human- and yet inhuman- voice. "You three? You know what I am- I can see it in your eyes. Surely you realize there is no way to beat me?" His beautiful green Andalite eyes glistened with malice. "I know everything about you. I know about the android who will live forever and never be happy; I know about the Hork-Bajir that will never feel like one of her own people; and I know of the human who lives on as the last survivor of a groups of warriors. The three of you don't belong anywhere in the real universe- it seems fitting that you'd meet your end here- in a place that should not exist."
(I'm not the last,) I said, feeling a shiver of fear run down my spine at his words. (And we won't be meeting our end- not here, not now.)
He laughed, and I swore I heard Marco's voice there. "I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm the one who is going to meet my end today?"
(Perhaps,) I growled. I glanced at my Jake, Marco, Tobias and Ax. They were still in their battle morphs, but they were no longer concerned with Erek, Toby and me. They were gathered around the One, staring up at him with some sort of deep desire. Did they long for to be whole again, or were they just happy to see their master once again? There was no way to tell.
"Do we have some kind of plan?" Erek said, his voice hollow. I risked a glance at him. His hologram was gone, but I could tell he was sad. Was the One right- would Erek never be happy?
"He is probably right- there is no way to beat him," Toby said a matter-of-factly. "But I am still willing to try."
If I had been human, I would have smiled. (So am I.) I crouched down low for the attack. Rachel, give me strength. (Let's do it.)
It was Jake's smile.
I saw pieces of the others, here and there- like some hideous Picasso. And it became more hideous to me as I realized the horrific truth. He had sucked the goodness out of my friends. It was on his face like a trophy- he had sucked the love out of my friends. Jake was right- he killed love. These people I was fighting- my friends… they were my friends, after all, but just my friends without any goodness in them, without any love.
I would kill him.
An incredible rage welled up inside me then, and it was like nothing I had ever felt before. I would kill this creature, who dared to wear the face of the ones I loved. I would rip him to shreds with my own teeth.
I snarled, a low, guttural sound deep within my wolf throat. I had made the noise many times before, but this was the first time the wolf's mind and mine were almost one and the same. This was our enemy- we kill our enemies. The feeling was so intense it was frightening. I had never felt anything like this before.
Was this what Rachel had once felt, rushing into battle? The adrenaline rushing through her veins, the enemy in sight? Whatever it was it scared me. This was not me.
But I would not- could not- let this creature steal the love from my friends and get away with it.
"My god," Toby whispered, as she too realized what exactly she was facing.
Erek clicked a second later.
"Is this the best my enemies can do?" the creature drawled in a distinctly human- and yet inhuman- voice. "You three? You know what I am- I can see it in your eyes. Surely you realize there is no way to beat me?" His beautiful green Andalite eyes glistened with malice. "I know everything about you. I know about the android who will live forever and never be happy; I know about the Hork-Bajir that will never feel like one of her own people; and I know of the human who lives on as the last survivor of a groups of warriors. The three of you don't belong anywhere in the real universe- it seems fitting that you'd meet your end here- in a place that should not exist."
(I'm not the last,) I said, feeling a shiver of fear run down my spine at his words. (And we won't be meeting our end- not here, not now.)
He laughed, and I swore I heard Marco's voice there. "I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm the one who is going to meet my end today?"
(Perhaps,) I growled. I glanced at my Jake, Marco, Tobias and Ax. They were still in their battle morphs, but they were no longer concerned with Erek, Toby and me. They were gathered around the One, staring up at him with some sort of deep desire. Did they long for to be whole again, or were they just happy to see their master once again? There was no way to tell.
"Do we have some kind of plan?" Erek said, his voice hollow. I risked a glance at him. His hologram was gone, but I could tell he was sad. Was the One right- would Erek never be happy?
"He is probably right- there is no way to beat him," Toby said a matter-of-factly. "But I am still willing to try."
If I had been human, I would have smiled. (So am I.) I crouched down low for the attack. Rachel, give me strength. (Let's do it.)