DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.

A/N: Here, I set the stage for future stories, showing the old villain in a new form – so to speak…

Also, I have The Transformers: The Movie on DVD, and this was kind of inspired by that scene where Megatron and Unicron first meet. In fact, I guess this chapter can be considered a sort of tribute to that scene. (Imagines The One with a voice like Orson Welles.) Hmmm… :-)

This chapter is dedicated to Sinister Shadow, for being such a loyal and enthusiastic reviewer!
CHAPTER 10

Esplin 9466

My name is Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six.

I am a Yeerk, and for the majority of my career, I was Visser Three. Before the Yeerk Empire's humiliating defeat at that planet called Earth, I had even ascended to the rank of Visser One.

And then I ended up in a maximum security prison facility, built just for me by Earth's numerous inhabits.

Humans…

Damn them. Damn the Animorphs, damn Elfangor, damn Aximili, damn Alloran too… damn just about everyone the Yeerk Empire has ever fought with, come to think of it.

I've been fighting and slaughtering those hypocritical, arrogant Andalites for years and years, only to get bedeviled in the end by some young Gedd look-alikes? How ultimately humiliating. Filthy, crazy humans. Good as hosts, sure, but probably not to be best left on their own.

And now, someone – or maybe even something – had broken me out of my own private prison.

Hm, so maybe someone in the galaxy still does like me after all. Rather surprising, I must admit, since I was not exactly known for being a popular Yeerk warlord. Better to be feared than loved, after all.

Here I was, swimming in a small tank under a portable Kandrona, and all of a sudden, a neural probe jabbed me, and I was connected to something larger…

(ESPLIN 9466?)

The awesome thought-speak voice seemed to resonate among every atom, every molecule of my being.

(Yes?)

(WELCOME, ESPLIN.)

(Who… who is that?)

(I AM WHAT MY FOLLOWERS CALL "THE ONE"… BUT, FOR NOW, YOU MAY CALL ME SETHEON.)

("The One")? I repeated with what I hoped sounded like innocent curiosity.

An image filled my head: I could "see" a private sanctum of steel and other precious metals, at the center of which was a floating column of what looked like liquid light, and in its presence was me, in the tank.

(I AM A BEING WITH MORE POWER THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE, ESPLIN,) The One – sorry, Setheon – said as the image faded.(YOU ARE A YEERK TO BE FEARED, WITH MUCH POTENTIAL… PERHAPS MUCH MORE THAN YOU EVEN REALIZE. I HAVE MY REASONS FOR SENDING MY AGENTS TO BREAK YOU OUT OF THAT PRISON FACILITY ON EARTH.)

(Well then, state your business,) I said, doing my best not to appear as a coward.

(MY COMMAND IS FOR YOU TO SUBJUGATE EARTH, AND LEAVE IT RIPE FOR THE TAKING. SURELY YOU HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE FROM WHEN YOU WERE A VISSER FOR THE LATE YEERK EMPIRE?)

(Of course I do,) I replied evenly.

(TELL ME, ESPLIN – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ANIMORPHS AND THEIR ANDALITE ALLIES?)

Hatred surged through me. (Damn them all, those dirty morping dapsen!)

(JUST AS I HAD HOPED,) Setheon said with a trace of amusement in his voice. (KNOWING YOU WOULD NOT REFUSE THE CHANCE FOR REVENGE, I PURPOSELY SELECTED YOU FOR THIS TASK. REVENGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IS SUCH A GOOD MOTIVATOR AFTER ALL.)

(I am honored,) I said, "kissing up" to him, as humans would say. But then a thought occurred to me. (However… there is one small problem… I no longer have that Andalite as a host, and thus, no morphing power.)

(VERY OBSERVANT, ESPLIN. TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT I AM NO FOOL. I HAVE FOUND A WAY AROUND THAT LITTLE PROBLEM.)

(I am listening,) I replied, with full, undivided attention.

(FOR ALL THOSE YEARS YOU HAD THAT ANDALITE ALLORAN AS A HOST, WHENEVER YOU MADE HIM MORPH, YOUR YEERK BODY MORPHED ALONG WITH HIS ANDALITE BODY. OVER TIME, YOU BEGAN TO ABSORB ALL THE STRANDS OF DNA FROM DIFFERENT MORPHS INTO YOUR OWN YEERK BODY. YOU MUST REALIZE, ESPLIN, THAT THIS A VERY UNIQUE CASE.)

(Interesting, Setheon, but I still cannot morph in my own Yeerk body.)

(TRUE, ESPLIN, BUT ALLOW ME TO FINISH. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A BEING TO HAVE THE POWER TO MORPH, YET NOT HAVE ANY FOREIGN DNA AND THUS NO MORPHS. YOU ARE THE CONVERSE OF THAT, ESPLIN: ALL THE DIFFERENT MORPHS, BUT NOT THE POWER TO UTILIZE THEM.)

(Intriguing,) I said with complete honesty.

(IF YOU PLEDGE YOUR LOYALTY TO ME, ESPLIN, I WILL RESTORE YOUR POWER TO MORPH, AND EVEN GIVE YOU A, SHALL WE SAY, SPECIAL KIND OF ANDALITE MORPH. YOU WILL HAVE THE POWER, THE TROOPS AND THE RESOURCES TO WAGE SUFFICIENT WAR ON EARTH, AND THAT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. THERE ARE PLENTY OF RACES IN THE GALAXY THAT HATE YOU ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, ESPLIN – HUMANS, ANDALITES, HORK-BAJIR, TAXXONS, LEERANS, ONGACHICS, HAWJABRANS, ARN, ANATI, KELBRID, AND EVEN SOME OF YOUR OWN FELLOW YEERKS. I AM OFFERING YOU THE CHANCE TO CONQUER THEM ALL.)

Oh, I liked the sound of that. Unfortunately, I nearly blew it all by shooting my palps off.

("Pledge my loyalty to you"?) I repeated incredulously. (Listen, I do not know that which you have promised to the followers of this little cult you have started, but I am not one of them!)

Me and my big palps...

From Setheon, I could feel a small wave of… disappointment? (THEN PERHAPS I HAVE MISJUDGED YOU, ESPLIN 9466.)I felt a small tremor underneath the tank which I was situated in, and then Setheon added, (IF THAT IS HOW YOU FEEL, THEN YOU MAY DEPART FROM THIS UNIVERSE AND ENTER OBLIVION.)

The water I was in started getting hotter and hotter – I was being boiled alive!

(Argh No! Wait, wait! I accept your offer! I accept it! Ergh…!)

I felt the boiling cease and the water being cooled back down, and a wave of relief seemed to wash over me. My pleading for mercy had worked after all.

(THAT'S BETTER,) said Setheon with a hint of smug satisfaction.

The probe retracted from my head and a robotic claw not-so-gently lifted me from the small tank. It moved me through the air onto what felt like a metal plate, with a think layer of water upon it.

(MY AGENTS HAVE MANAGED TO RETRIEVE THE KELBRID DEVICE WHICH HAS THE PURPOSE OF RESTORING NOTHLITS TO THEIR PROPER FORM, UNDOING THE PERMANENT CONDITION AS THOUGH IT NEVER HAPPENED. FOR THE TIME DURING WHICH WE STILL HAD IT, WE ALSO OBSERVED AND EXPERIMENTED WITH THE ESCAFIL DEVICE WHICH WAS LOST WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BLADE SHIP. THE KELBRID DEVICE HAS BEEN REVERSE ENGINEERED, AND IT SHOULD NOW BE ABLE TO GRANT YOU THE POWER TO MORPH. YOUR TRUE YEERK FORM SHOULD BE YOUR BASE FORM. SINCE THAT ANDALITE WAS YOUR HOST FOR ALL THOSE YEARS, YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO MORPH HIM AS WELL, WHICH JUST MAY HAVE ITS ADVANTAGES.)

Setheon had barely finished his thought-speech when I felt a ray hit me. I trembled and shuddered for a moment or so when I felt it stop.

(IT IS DONE.)

Instinctively, I tried morphing Alloran.

I will not go through describing the entire process, so I will explain it quite simply as this: Main eyes developed from my palps, stalk eyes grew from my head, my flukes grew into arms and legs, and my tail grew long and developed that wicked scythe.

When I was done, I looked to where Setheon had situated himself between power nodes on the ceiling and floor, and just somehow knew that he was focusing on me, even though I could see any sort of eyes or other optical devices.

(It works.) Deciding to opt for the better part of valor, I bowed and added, (Thank you, Master Setheon.)

("MASTER SETHEON," HMM? I RATHER LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT, ACTUALLY,) Setheon said with a chuckle, and here I could see his liquid-like form reverberate from his speaking. (NOW, ESPLIN, DEMORPH AND I SHALL GRANT YOU THE "SPECIAL" MORPH.)

I did as I was told, careful to make sure that I landed back in the wet plate. I felt some soft yet solid object gently touch my palps, and catching on, I focused and acquired it. A moment later, I morphed into this "special" morph which I had been promised.

At first, I thought it was yet another Andalite morph, but then I looked in a reflective surface which had been set up for me… oh, I certainly liked the differences. I thought that Alloran's strong and sturdy Andalite body was the best I could get, but this was so much better…

Then, subconsciously, without even thinking about it, I went straight from the "special" morph to my normal Andalite morph.

It was only a moment later when I realized what I had done.

Even the great Setheon himself was at a loss for words, or so it seemed. Experimenting further, I morphed human – straight from that other morph.

(WELL,) Setheon said, finding his voice at last, (IT SEEMS THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AN UNEXPECTED BENEFIT FROM ALL THIS TAMPERING. YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT FROM ONE MORPH TO ANOTHER NOW, INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH YOUR BASE MORPH FIRST. HOWEVER, I WOULD NOT KNOW ABOUT WHICH FORM TO ACQUIRE IN. AND AS FOR THE CRITICAL TWO-HOUR TIME LIMIT… WELL, I WOULDN'T RISK THAT, EITHER. IF THE TIME LIMIT IS STILL IN PLACE AND YOU WERE TO ACCIDENTALLY GO OVER IT, I WOULD BE ABLE TO UNDO THAT, BUT STILL, I WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE YOU COMING BACK HERE TO HAVE IT UNDONE EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED.)

(It is marvelous indeed,) I said in my cold, chilling new thought-speech voice after I returned to my new "special" morph. Bowing once again, I declared, (I am deeply grateful and thankful to you, Master Setheon.)

(INDEED, LORD ESPLIN.) Here, I nearly nicked myself with my wicked new tail blade at my new title. (YOU SHALL LEAD MY FORCES IN THE FUTURE, JUST AS YOU WERE A VISSER TO THE LATE YEERK EMPIRE. BUT, FOR NOW, I HAVE ONE SMALL TASK FOR YOU TO START WITH.)

(Whatever you wish, Master Setheon.)

(GO TO EARTH. ATTACK THE UNITED FORCES OF HUMANS, ANDALITES AND KELBRID AT THEIR UPCOMING SUMMIT, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY DISRUPTED WHEN I HAD YOU BROKEN OUT. CAUSE SOME CHAOS, RAISE HELL, GIVE THEM TROUBLE. PERHAPS TAKE OUT THEIR CHAMPIONS, TOO, IF YOU CAN.)

(Yes, my Master.)

A portal opened between two arches of this room, this inner sanctum for The One. (YOUR SHIP AWAITS YOU, LORD ESPLIN. NOW GO… AND MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE DEALING WITH!)

(Yes, I will,Master Setheon.)

Here, I must comment on how I was tired repeating this over and over again, as though I was but an Earth dog performing some fancy tricks for its human master. Actually, I felt more like that human science fiction character – what was his name? – oh yes, Darth Vader. What a terrible thought that was.

As I strode boldly down that shining metal hallway, I could feel my old power returning. I, the last Yeerk to hold the rank of Visser One in the name of the Yeerk Empire, was now Lord Esplin, servant of Setheon, The One Who Is All. It was almost as though it was written in the galaxy's stars for all sentient people to see:

I was back.

TBC…

A/N: Personally, I liked this chapter, what with all the evil stuff going on.

Also, there is one thing which I think I should explain right now. "The Progression" has two purposes: To show what has been happening since the end of the canon series for some characters not mentioned in the final book, and to set the stage for the sequels after this one.

Note about Esplin's "special" new morph: You'll find out about it next chapter, wink wink!

Note about the Darth Vader comment: Anyone else reminded of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? o.O

Next chapter is where big bad Esplin shows up and Earth and shows off his brand-new "special" morph, while some explanations are in order as to Tobias' new Andalite morph and other things… –Quillian