Mew: The last chapter of Controller! Yay! Now I have at least one completed chapter story!
Draiku: This is so cheating. Cheater.
Mew: -sticks tongue out at Draiku-
Draiku: Idiot…!
Controller
Chapter 5
Marik clutched Malik's hand tightly as they walked back to Malik's home.
"So we'll never mention Yeerks or anything again?" Malik said. Marik nodded.
"Yeah. I just want to forget about that life," he murmured. Malik smiled at him.
"You have to admit, though, that it was kinda exciting," he said. Marik chuckled.
"For you, maybe, but for me it was just daily crap," he said. "You know, threatening to burn a gorilla with a Dracon beam, slithering into the ear cannel of some teenager and controlling him like a puppet, then falling in love with him, same old, same old." Malik laughed and pulled himself closer to Marik, wrapping one arm around his torso. Marik smiled and put his arm around Malik's shoulders lovingly.
"I guess so," Malik murmured. He looked at a clock on a bank. "Just thirty minutes left until two hours and one minute pass."
"Good," Marik said, looking at the clock himself and smiling. "Thirty minutes until I'm entirely free."
"What do you mean?" Malik asked.
"I'm not totally free until I can't ever become a Yeerk again. Just a while ago the Yeerks created something called a 'demorphing' ray. If they hit me with it, I'll become a Yeerk again. They might take me to the Yeerk pool and interrogate me, and then starve me to death."
"Then we'll hurry home. I'm guessing that the Yeerks never attack in public unless they absolutely must," Malik said. Marik nodded.
"That's true. And even though they know that you were a host, they wouldn't care if I never turned up again. I'm not as important as Visser Three. And they'll suspect that, even if you tell someone, they'll think you're insane and not believe you, unless someone you would tell is controlled by a Yeerk. Then you'd be killed, so we can't tell anyone, not a soul, of the Yeerks. Anyone could be one."
"I see." They walked together for a little while in silence. "Then…what's your name going to be?" Malik asked.
"What do you mean?" Marik replied.
"Well, you want to live as an earthling, right? So you'll need a first, middle, and last name. Or at least a first and a last."
"I see. Well, from what I've learned, middle names never sound like the person and they're pretty much pointless. So I'll just have a first and a last. Marik can be my first name, and my last name…heh, how about Ishtal?" he said, grinning at Malik, who shook his head and smiled.
"You're insane. But it does sound nice," he said, smiling at Marik. "Oh, and you'll come to school with me."
"I have to go to school?" Marik whined. Malik nodded.
"Or you'll be arrested for playing hooky."
"Damn. Well, that's alright," Marik said. They arrived at Malik's home and smiled at each other, drawn into each other's eyes. Malik closed his eyes gently and they pulled into a gentle kiss. They hugged each other tightly.
"Welcome home, Marik," Malik said, just as the final minute passed. Marik was now human. "We'll have to tell mom, of course."
"I'm still scared of her." Malik chuckled.
"Don't worry. If she hated you, she would have killed you on the day I told her of you, or at least she would have tried to," he said. "And I would have stopped her, of course."
"Alright," Marik said, though still unsure.
"Oh, and I'm sorry for telling you to rot in Hell and such a few days ago, and saying that you're stupid, since you're not. You'll ace Science class, but I'm guaranteeing that History will screw you, since it screws me, and most of the facts you got from me were most likely useless or false," Malik added.
"Oh, that helps. The history thing, I mean," Marik said. Malik laughed and rang the doorbell. It was answered by his mom.
"Malik, you're back!" she said happily. "Who's this?" She looked to Marik.
"Mom, this is Marik. He used to be the Yeerk controlling me," Malik said with a grin. His mother stared at him with wide eyes.
"How did…how did he…" she stammered.
"Don't repeat anything we tell you, or you'll probably be interrogated by the Yeerks. Anyway, from our friends. They let Marik use the morphing technology, and he morphed a human. It's been two hours now, so he's one permanently. Is it alright if he stays with us?" Malik asked.
"I…I see. If it were anyone else telling me this, I wouldn't believe them, but since you're telling me this is must be true," she murmured.
"So can he stay?" Malik asked. She nodded.
"Of course he can. Come in, both of you," she said, smiling.
"Thank you, ma'am," Marik said, bowing slightly.
"Now come in. It's late," she said. They walked inside, Malik giving Marik the "I told you so" look. Marik just chuckled and shrugged.
"Where are Isis and Rishid?" Malik asked.
"They're both asleep. You two should get to bed…wait, where's Marik going to sleep…" she thought about it.
"We can bunk together," Malik said.
"Are you sure that's alright?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said with a smile. She nodded.
"Well, then good night, you two," she said.
"Good night, mom," Malik said.
"Thanks again for letting me stay," Marik said. They went upstairs and into Malik's room. Malik and Marik stripped themselves of their clothing, except for their boxers, and climbed into bed. Marik saw the scars on Malik's back and his eyes glazed over. He reached out with a hand to touch them. Malik blinked and looked over his shoulder at him.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently. Marik nodded.
"Yes, but…I'm sorry for making fun of your memory of your father. I can't believe I did that," he murmured.
"Don't worry about it," Malik said, turning around on the bed. "It's not a big deal."
"To me it is," Marik said, averting Malik's gaze. Malik took his hand tightly, holding it.
"Sorry for punching you that day," he said.
"I deserved it."
"No, you did not. Marik, please, don't feel bad. You have your own body now, please be happy. I am," Malik said, smiling.
"I am happy that I have my own body, but I'm never going to forgive myself for doing that."
"Marik, I forgave you a long time ago. Don't worry about it," Malik repeated. Marik said nothing. "Let's just go to bed, alright? You look exhausted." Marik nodded and they lied down, pulling the blankets over their bodies.
-
It was Isis's turn to wake Malik up the next morning. Yes, they took turns waking Malik since he was such a deep sleeper, and he was usually very crabby if awoken.
She walked inside and flicked on the light. Then she gasped. She hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen where she saw her mother and brother eating breakfast.
"Who's that guy Malik was sleeping with!" she asked.
"That was Marik," Rishid answered. "You remember the Yeerk in Malik's head? He became a human."
"Seriously! Oh, gods, he's…beautiful, and he's exactly like the frog prince! A total hunk!" she breathed, blushing.
"…and he's taken," Malik said, appearing at the doorway. Marik was behind him, blushing, since he had woken up with Malik's arm wrapped tightly around his torso.
"What? You're awake?" she stuttered.
"Your shrill shriek of excitement woke both of us up," Malik said.
"Oh. Sorry. And what do you mean, he's taken?" she asked.
"What do you think? Marik and I are together," Malik said.
"You're kidding," Isis said. "That is so not fair."
"Malik! Your mom…" Marik said, a bit worriedly. Malik's mom chuckled.
"I already knew, actually," she said. "The moment Malik suggested that you share a bed I knew that something was going on between you two."
"See, Marik? I told you," Malik said with a grin. Rishid snorted with laughter.
"This is almost exactly like Beauty and the Beast," he said.
"Oh? How so?" Malik asked. Rishid grinned at him.
"You're Beauty, and Marik's the Beast. At first, they dislike each other because the Beast is forcing Beauty to stay at the castle, then they become friends after a while, and after that they fall in love. When they fall in love, the Beast becomes a handsome prince and they live happily ever after," he said. Marik tried to hide his own laughter with coughs.
"I'm not a girl!" Malik whined.
"Well, maybe so, but technically you are," Isis said. Rishid spat out the milk he was drinking into his bowl of cereal.
"Isis!" her mom scolded, blushing.
"…I still don't get it," Malik said dully. Marik, however, did get it, and he had a nosebleed.
"Gods, you're naïve," Rishid said, staring at Malik in disbelief.
"Okay, I do get it, but honestly, does one talk about their…you know…at the table?" Malik said.
"'Scuse me," Marik said, hurrying to the bathroom when he felt his nose bleeding. After a while, he returned and sat at the table to eat. Malik, Isis, Rishid, and their mom were speaking, but Marik was mostly silent.
"Why're you so quiet?" Rishid asked after a while of talking. Marik looked up.
"Hn?" he replied.
"You used to talk a lot, so why aren't you speaking as much?" Malik asked. Marik shrugged.
"I guess that it's because I've never really had my own voice before," he replied. "I've had the voice of a Gedd, a Hork-Bajir, and Malik, but never my own. I guess that it's just strange for me, since it's so deep, considering my age."
"How old are you, anyway?" Rishid asked.
"Thirty-nine Yeerk years, 17 earth years," Malik said.
"Seriously!" Isis exclaimed. "But you seem like an adult!"
"I know, which is why it's weird," Marik said.
They chatted a bit longer, until finally it was time for them to go.
"Well, Rishid and I have to go to work, while you two and Isis need to go to school," Mrs. Ishtar said.
"I don't have any supplies, though," Marik said, confused.
"Mom and I woke up early," Rishid said with a grin. "She signed you up for school while I bought all of the supplies you'll need." Marik pouted slightly.
"No fair," he said.
"It's illegal for you to stay at home when you should be in school," Isis pointed out with a grin. "So you'd have to go even if you didn't have any supplies. You'd probably just share with Malik, since apparently you two have the exact same schedule."
"Wow! Really?" Malik said. "That's good!"
"I agree," Marik said.
"Well, you three hurry to school, it's almost seven thirty," Rishid said.
"Fine, let's go, guys," Isis said. They left, Isis driving her car while Marik and Malik walked.
"Why don't we get a car? Or could she at least drop us?" Marik asked.
"Isis has to get to college on time so her grades stay up. Our school and hers are on separate sides of the town, so she'd be late if she dropped us. And we can't afford a car, dad didn't leave us very much when mom divorced him. He's also in jail for domestic abuse, DUI, and animal abuse, so he can't send us money. Of course he'd never even consider that," Malik said with a scowl.
"Animal abuse? What'd he do?" Marik asked, widening his eyes.
"We used to have a pet bird, and it sang a lot. He got annoyed one night so he shook the cage it was in, then he took it out and killed it. I kinda miss that bird, but we only had him for a few days before dad killed him," Malik said. "But shouldn't you have known that?" he added. "You saw all of my memories."
"I only saw a few. Yeerks can't access all the memories a person has at one time, it would be too much for us to handle. And we only use a person's memory if we need to, or if we want to anger them and break their spirit." He added the last part quietly, as if ashamed of his previous race.
"I see," Malik murmured. "You know," he added, "at first I thought that all Yeerks were exactly the same, cold, soulless creatures who only want to dominate. But I guess that Yeerks are just like human beings, we all want to have some power to show our significance, and we're all different. I learned that after I got to know you."
"But Yeerks enslave people into doing what they want," Marik said.
"Which is exactly what the white people did to the black people a long time ago, in America. They enslaved them," Malik said. "Of course, some white people freed their slaves. And they were rewarded with the happiness of letting a person do as they wish. You were rewarded by becoming human."
"And if I hadn't freed you…then I'd still be a Yeerk," Marik said, realizing what Malik was saying. "I wouldn't have been able to go to the Animorphs, since they would have attacked me and maybe kept me prisoner until I died. And I wouldn't have even considered becoming human. But…I still don't understand what you're saying."
"What I'm saying is, that there are good humans and bad humans, like there are good Yeerks and bad Yeerks. I'm sure that there are a lot of good Yeerks out there, but they haven't decided on the right path to take. Sooner or later they might become good, or they might make a bad decision and become bad. Did you know any good Yeerks?" Marik nodded.
"Aftran. She started a group that only infested humans or other creatures with their permission. A few Yeerks joined them, and refused to control a human unless they had their permission," he said.
"See what I mean?" Malik said with a grin. Marik nodded, smiling.
"I guess so. The Animorphs apparently let Aftran use the morphing technology, too, so she'd be safe. Last night I asked Cassie what she had become, and Cassie said that she was a dolphin," he said. "A free spirit. She was rewarded with her own freedom, like I was, just for being kind. She's happy in the ocean, I'm happy as a human, while the other Yeerks are slaves to the Kandrona rays." Malik chuckled.
"That's one way you could put it," he said with a smile.
"Well, think about it. Every three days I had to return or I'd die of starvation, which is probably one of the most horrible deaths imaginable. For Yeerks, of course. But as a human, I can do whatever I want without having to even worry about dying. That's true freedom, Malik."
"And we humans take our freedom for granted until a Yeerk comes along. That is, if the Yeerk is a bad one. You let me have my freedom back when I was with my family, no other Yeerk would. You even stopped telling them of the Sharing. I thank you for that, Marik," Malik said, looking to Marik, who smiled back.
"They're your family, Malik. I guess that, as I grew to like you, I grew to like them, and I didn't want to let them become controllers," he said softly. Malik smiled and clasped his hand with Marik's.
"They're your family now, too, Marik," Malik said softly, giving Marik's hand an affectionate squeeze.
"Thanks, Malik," Marik replied, squeezing him back.
They walked to the school in silence, waited for the bell to ring, and went inside together.
After Marik was given a locker, he was introduced to the class.
"Class, this is Marik Ishtal. He's new here, so please be nice to him," the teacher said. Marik bowed.
"I hope that we can all become good friends," he said to the class, not knowing what else to say.
He took his seat next to Malik and smiled, ready to start his new life as a human being.
End
Mew: Wheeeee! It's over! Bwahaha! Now, obey us and…
Mew and Yoko and Draiku: Please R&R!
Draiku: -grumbles- I can't believe you made me do that… -sulks-