Chapter six

Natasha Romanov

Zurich, Switzerland

0814 Hours Local

I hate Mondays. Always have, and always will. But this particular Monday was made even worse that Boris ad been called out from leave almost a full week ahead of time to go in and fight again. On my way from school, I walked completely alone. There where still things I needed to do in school, so I couldn't just disappear for a few days.

Alexis tried to insist that I take a few days off, but I didn't listen. She eventually gave up, and left ahead of me. I kept watching the news reports until I had to leave, thinking I was going to see my brother killed, but it never happened. In fact, they never showed him, or if they did, they all looked the same in uniform.

Once I left, I walked towards the school. I was passing the alleyway between tow building when somebody grabbed me, and hauled me in. I tired to scream, but another hand covered my mouth. I tried to fight, but the three guys where just too strong for me to fight.

I didn't manage to see their faces, but I heard them laughing. What were they going to do with me? One of them grabbed my head and rammed against a wall. After that, I blacked out.

I came too in a very dark room, with a very big headache. I rose slowly to my feet, but because it was so dark, I couldn't see anything. There was nothing, not even the glow from the other side of the door… wherever it was. I could guess that I was underground or at least inside one of the two buildings that those three guys had ambushed me in.

I took hesitant steps forwards, hands reaching out in front of me, so I could feel along the wall when I found it. When I did, I followed it, making a slow circuit around the room. It was all metal, and there was no sign of a door that I could detect.

I kept following the wall until kicked something, hard. I yelped in surprise and pain, and went down. I tried feeling around, seeing if I had injured it, but my foot felt no different. I reached forward, groping in the dark to see what I had slammed my foot against, and my left hand slipped and sank into something warm, and liquid.

Yelping again, I pulled my arm back, and I felt several slimy somethings advancing up my arm. I quickly flung them off, and I heard them land with a 'splat!' somewhere to the left of me.

After what seemed like hours sitting next to the tank of… whatever it was, the door opened, and I was blinded as the light was switched on. When I could see again, I saw something that looked partly like a blue horse.

It had the lower body of a horse, and the upper body of a human, almost like a centaur. Its face didn't have a mouth, and it looked completely flat. The nose was only two horizontal slits. Above it's head, there where two… well, I guess the closest thing I had ever seen to them would be the eye stalks on a slug. On the end of its fairly long tail, it had a sharp blade on the end of it.

Without uttering a single word, it wiped its tail through the air so fast, my eyes couldn't track it; and within microseconds, it was on my neck. I tried not to breath, fearing that if I did, the blade would sever my jugular vain.

It started to speak into my mind in almost the same way as Leang did when she was testing out the morphing ability, but this 'voice' chilled me right down to the very core of my being.

So, I've finally captured one of the Andalite Bandits. I could swear I saw a smile on its face. Tell me where the others are, and I MAY let you live.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" I managed to stammer.

You're lying. No matter, really. One way or another, I WILL find the rest of you. Tell me now, or I will have to get… CREATIVE."

I couldn't talk. I moved my mouth, but no sound came out. Eventually, the thing just finished off by 'saying' Process her.

Two more people walked into the room, they grabbed me and I tried to fight back, but again, they where simple too strong. They grabbed my arms, and put them into some harness-like thing near the edge of the liquid vat, now looking like liquid metal. I tried to kick out, to scream, to plead with them to let me go, but they were having none of it. One of the guys grabbed my head, and thrust it down into the pool.

Oh God! I thought, panic flooding my brain. They're going to drown me! I can't fight them! No! NO!!

Then, something touched my right ear. I started thrashing, trying to get it off, but it squirmed in, and I felt my ear go numb. I could still feel it there, but this was impossible! Nothing from Earth could do that! It continued to push it's way through, and I felt parts of my body go numb. First, my legs stopped kicking, then, my arms stopped trying to break the restraints, then, my chest relaxed.

I screamed as loud as I could, until seconds later, I lost control of my head to.

I tried to fight for control over my body again, but I felt nothing. No matter what I tried, I was… well; I didn't know what I was. Trapped, I guess. Eventually, my head was lifted out of the liquid and my voice said: "Would you let me up, please? This is rather uncomfortable."

IMPOSSIBLE!! I thought madly. I didn't say that! What the HELL is going on!?

The two people unstrapped me, and I tried to hit one of them in the face, or crotch, or ANYTHING, but I couldn't do anything! I felt my memories being accessed, one by one. I tried to seal off my mind, but I couldn't do that either!

Once whatever this thing was, was finished, my voice said: "Azalel 263445 of the Gault Pool reporting for duty, Visser."

WHAT!?! I roared in my head. THAT'S NOT MY NAME!

SHUT UP, HUMAN! A voice snapped. You are my host now. There's nothing you can do.

Report, the Visser, whatever that was, said coolly.

"I have accessed this creature's memories, and it appears that this one is human. In fact, this human is native to this universe, and to this time period."

Go on,

"It seems that this human found the morphing cube and activated it. So far, she only has one morph: a Siberian Husky dog. Two of her other friends also have the morphing power, but neither of them has anything that would be what the Andalite Bandits. However…" She (for some reason, I could tell it was a she) accessed the memories of my brother again. "This human had a brother in the Soviet Union Military as well as a father who is a General. Perhaps they could become useful to use in the future."

Excellent, very well, my orders: go to wherever your host usually is at this time, and wait for further instruction. There are a few other Controllers around this pathetic city, and I will inform each and every one of them about your new host.

"Yes Visser, I understand. It seems at this time, my host is usually in school. May I have a ride to there?"

Certainly, now go. I'll call on you when I need you.

before I, er… WE left anywhere, she took a few seconds to dry what was once my hair from all the sludge in that pool, and clean herself off before getting into a car and having a driver take her to school. From anyone's perspective, it would look like nothing had happened. I also knew what that blue deer/horse thing was. He was Visser Three, the only Yeerk to ever inhabit an Andalite body. He was this Yeerk's Commanding Officer.

She took my body to the school, and all the way there, I fought, trying to do something, ANYTHING, but it was useless. When I/we got to school, it was about 11:30 AM. Almost time for lunch, but that would mean I'd see Alexis and Leang. I didn't want to spy on my friends, but there was nothing I could do!

Before my math class was over, I fought as hard as I possibly could, but all I succeeded in doing was getting the Yeerk to say: "Excuse me sir, but may I go to the bathroom?"

The teacher nodded, gave her the hall pass and went into the bathroom. She spoke out loud for my benefit.

"Look, human, let me just say this as clearly as I can: you CANNOT beat me. I have taken over your body. Do you understand? It's pointless to fight me, you cannot win. and just in case you're wondering, I can act exactly like you, so no one will notice the difference. Do you hear me human? You've lost, accept your defeat and stop bothering me!"

after that, she/we left the bathroom and went for lunch. she got what was, only a few seconds ago, my lunch, and went to join Alexis and Leang. When she caught up with them, she said: "I'm sorry I'm late. There was a car accident of some kind, and I was at the police station giving my take on what happened."

Alexis stopped eating her apple, and said: "you're still all right though? I mean, if you're feeling bad about that on top of your brother going off again, I'll cover for you."

"No, no there's no need for—"

"Okay, okay, I'm just saying is all."

Damn, this slug was REALLY effective at getting my friends to believe that everything was normal. I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight, I wanted my control back, but deep down, I knew that it was impossible.

I went into a corner of my mind and started to cry. It was over for me. There was no way I could fight, or do anything. Then a chilling thought hit me: the morphing Cube! Where was it? I heard Azalel laughing.

Don't worry, human. She said. I'll find it eventually. Just you watch.