Hey, sorry for the long wait. It's been hectic around here. Much thanks to the ever energetic Cougar19. Don't be afraid to pester me to get something done.
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October 31, 1999 7:30 PM
"What am I doing here?" I asked no one in particular. I was at Western High's Halloween Dance. Odd that they would hold a school dance on a school night, but since it is Halloween, it keeps the trouble makers off the street.
However, this dance blows. No costumes. Shitty music. And they're charging way too much for the candy. I mean, isn't the point of Halloween supposed to be free candy?
I was in morph, Terrence Stevens strikes again. We were all there. Jake, Marco, Rachel, Bird, Blue, and Cassie.
Cassie looked hot. Rachel had obviously chosen the wardrobe. Cassie had a very nice dress on. It made me realized that, over the past few months, I had failed to notice that Cassie grew breasts. Very unlike me.
We Three Forest Boys were in our human morphs. The six of us (Marco hadn't arrived yet) were just hanging around. Rachel told us not to draw attention to the fact that Jake and Cassie are "together". Whatever.
"David, Ax, you look good." Cassie commented.
"You too." was all I said.
"Do I make you randy, bay-bee?" Aximili blurted.
"Ok, you need to stop doing that!" I said to my 'brother'. "Why did you let him watch that movie?" I asked Tobias.
"Sorry." Tobias said.
"Ok, David, Ax, are we clear on rules and identities and stuff?" Jake asked, very leader-like.
"Lighten-up Fearless Leader! I am as I always am in this body, Terrence Stevens."
"Ax?"
"I am Philip. Your cousin from way-out of town. I have been to your school once."
"That's your whole weak-ass story? Cousin Phil? Give him a last name." I gripped.
"Fine," Jake said, "He has yours. Philip Stevens. You guys look like brothers anyway."
"Fine." I said. "But I'm the older one."
"Alright, come on. We spend all this time together; we don't need to do it right now." Rachel said, as she less-than-subtly guided the three of us away from Cassie and Jake.
"You know, Rachel. You have about as much tact in love as you do on the battlefield." I said as I turned to Tobias. "Good Luck."
With that Rachel smacked me on my head and tried to take off with Tobias leaving me alone with the Alien.
"Hey, Aximili, you should go with Tobias and Rachel. They can teach how to dance better."
"Ah, human dancing. Wild, bah-bee! Oh, Bee-have!" Aximili shouted as he followed a surprised Rachel and Tobias.
I am pure evil.
I found Marco soon afterward. He was hitting on some chick and she kindly gave him the brush-off.
"Smooth move, Cassanova." I shouted.
"Hey, at least I'm trying." Marco said. "You haven't been with anyone since you-know-who."
"Oh, yeah. Surprising, given all the available women one finds in the forest."
"Davie, I know you go to the mall everyday. Don't tell me there isn't some girl you've been eyeing at the food court."
"You have such stupid, sophomoric fantasies. And don't call me Davie."
"Listen, man. Just try. You're reasonable handsome, . . . in that morph."
"Shut up, Dude. Why are you giving me advice? Unlike you, I have been laid."
"Now who's being sophmoric. And you were laid by a slug."
"Fuck you, man. And I'll have you know I've had a 100% human girl since then. Insanely Hot too."
"What? Who?"
"I don't kiss and tell."
"You just did. Who?"
"You don't know her. She goes to Sandy Hook."
"So you go up to this hot girl, do your thing, and she sleeps with you."
"Exact opposite."
"You are shitting me."
"Oh, I shit you not, my short friend."
"Insanely hot girls do not randomly pick up guys." Marco argued.
A redhead girl, whom I can only describe as being beyond sexy, chose that time to make her presence known.
"Hi." said the redhead.
"Hey." I answered back.
"It's official." Marco said. "God is mocking me."
"I'm Traci Lee." said the redhead.
"The Superslut?" Marco blurted.
Traci glared at Marco. So did I.
"I said that out loud, didn't I?" Marco realized. "I'm gonna go away now."
Marco walked off and Traci looked back at me. "Don't mind him." I said. "He's sexually frustrated."
"A cute, bubbly guy like that?" Traci said. "What's your name?"
"Terrence Stevens." I said. "You can call me Terry."
"I think I like Terrence better." Traci said stroking my head. And I mean the one on my shoulders.
"Whatever gets you off."
"Interesting choice of words, Terrence." Traci said, getting close to me.
"You don't know anyone by the name Scott Taggart, by any chance, do you?"
"Who?"
"Nevermind."
"You know, I haven't seen you around here."
Traci looked at me with warm brown eyes. She had dark red hair which was complimented by her sexy red dress and deep red lips. She also had a nice bust. I tried not to notice that a part of her right areola was showing.
"I don't go to this school. I don't go to any school."
"A dropout?" She said with total disgust. "What made you leave?"
"Well, they did, when I graduated."
"How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen. I graduated two years ago." I lied.
"Yeah, right. How come you're not in college?"
"Fuck that! I'll go next year with everyone else my age."
"So you're a smart one."
"You could say that."
"So, tell me what does a rebellious, young, kid genius do with his time?" Traci said as she turned around and leaned up against me, putting my arms around her.
She was coming on strong. Why is it that every girl I meet either comes on strong or not at all?
I decided to test her. "The usual. Work-out. Go places. Work. Kill a Yeerk."
"What?" She shouted as she turned around fast and looked at me with eyes that were once warm, but now cold with ice. She was one of them. No doubt.
I recovered. "I said I'm a clerk. In a library. Not in a convenience store like in the movie."
"Oh, ok." Traci said, but still not totally trusting me. "Well, tell me does the library have any books on Tantra?" She asked, once again climbing on me.
I had to get rid of her. I was not gonna carry on with a yeerk. So I did something very risky. "Don't waste your time, pool-sister, I'm already a 'friend'. You know, there are less degrading ways of obtaining hosts."
"I'd watch your tongue, soldier." Traci said. "You may think that I'm Treishan One-Zero-One-Two, but right now, Sub-Visser One has this body."
That I didn't expect. "Sub-Visser, I'm sorry. I didn't know. What happened to Treishan?"
"She will be back in this body, when I'm done with it. I wanted to try it out. Humans don't impress me. I much prefer my regular Hork-Bajir body. However, I would not be down playing Treishan's work. She has recruited many stupid males to our ranks, and she will continue to do so. Tell me how many hosts have you obtained, soldier?"
"Not as many Treishan."
"Than hold your tongue." Said the Sub-Visser. "What is your name, Yeerk?"
"Esplin One-Zero-One-Two." I lied. "I am the same number as Treishan."
"How quaint, and you're another of the Visser's pool-brothers." said the Sub-Visser in disgust. She paused to give a flirty wave to another guy. "Carry on, Esplin." She said as she left me.
I walked around a crowd, shuddering to myself for having come too close to a controller. It was then that I bumped into Melissa. She was in a dress. It was less revealing than the one I saw her in yesterday.
It was pretty. She was pretty.
"Hi." I said awkwardly.
"Hi." She said, as awkward.
After a few seconds. "I'm sorry about last night."
"Don't be." she said. "He was an asshole. I don't know what I was doing with him." Melissa wouldn't face me. She was looking down on the floor.
I lifted her chin up gently. "Nonetheless, I'm sorry. I know what it feels like to be alone."
"How do you know?" She asked, suddenly accusing. No, just defensive.
"You live with your parents, but you feel as though they don't love you. They say the words, but there's no feeling. My parents have been the same way. Because of that, save a few happenstance encounters, I have not spoken to my parents in six months."
"You're a runaway?" She asked me.
"Sort of, I guess. I have a home. Just not with my parents."
"Isn't this cozy?"
I turned around and I saw Rachel.
"Da . . . Terry, what are you doing with my friend?"
"Just talking, Rachel. She mentioned you." I said.
Melissa covertly kicked me.
"Yeah, well, your 'roommate' has been hanging around us for the past few minutes thanks to you." Rachel said rather annoyed. "It's been . . . interesting, but I think you need to see him now."
"Send Marco. I'm busy."
"I did, but he can't seem to get him away from the concession table."
"Son of a . . ." I stopped myself and turned to Melissa. "I'll see you later, ok?"
"Ok." Melissa said.
"I think you need to go now." Rachel pressed.
"Don't rush me, mallrat." I said as I made a bee-line to the concession stand.
"More sugarrrrrr and grrrreasssseeee!"
A few kids were gathered around the table watching a boy hunched over and shoveling junk food in his mouth. Another boy was trying to stop him.
"A . . Philip, you shouldn't do that!" Marco said pathetically trying to calm Aximili down.
"Phillie! Brother, what are you doing?" I said, trying to get Aximili's attention.
"Hey Terry!" Marco answered. "Where's Traci?"
"Don't Ask. Philip, what are you doing?"
"I'm eating sugarrr, sal-tah, and grreassssssssssssse!"
"That's wonderful. You should stop now, we don't want to alert Principal Chapman."
That got his attention real quick. Aximili may be like a kid in a candy store in human morph, but he's a soldier at a moment's notice.
He stood up real quick and gave a nauseous groan. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....."
"Phil, you ok?" I asked.
"Too much grease. Greeeeaseeeee!"
"Yes, Grease is the word." I said. No one got the reference. Uncultured swine.
"Oh, Bee-have!" Aximili said in a pseudo-English accent again.
"Stop that!"
We got Aximili cleaned up and joined up with the others. So the seven Animorphs hung around a dance like the rag-tag group of misfits we are.
"Ax-man." Marco said. "Someone is checking you out."
All of us guys (except Jake, the pansy) turned our heads to see a cute red-head and her even cuter blond friend. It was the red-head who had her eye on Blue.
"No way." Tobias said. "She's looking at me." Tobias said, turning to see Rachel's reaction.
But Rachel was obviously a master at the hard-to-get game. "Uh-huh. Maybe after the dance, you could take her back to your tree." she said batting her eyes.
"Hey, the chicks go wild for the feathers, bay-bee!" Tobias said.
"Ah, hell, now you're doing it!" I said.
"Sorry," Tobias laughed. "Ax had Austin Powers on his TV last night."
The red-head and the blonde continued to look at Aximili, but then I realized: The blonde was looking at me.
"Hey Blue! Those girls are totally checking us out." I said.
"Checking us out? What does that mean?"
"It means the girls are warm for your form. It means she wants your body." Marco explained.
"My bodeee?!" Aximili said, alarmed.
"Not like that. Though, it's getting hard to tell these days."
"Buh-dee. B-dee."
"David, I think Brittany, she's the blond, has been eyeing you." Tobias said to my ear. "Make your move, bro."
"Whatever you say, Feathers. Let's go bro, let's make our move."
"Make our move?" He asked while we walked toward Brittany and her redheaded friend, separating from the group.
"Yeah, that means I do all the talking. Don't open your mouth."
We walked up to the girls who pretended to just notice us.
"Hi. I'm Terrence. You can call me Terry. This is my younger brother, Philip." I said.
"I'm Allison." said the Redhead. "This is Brittany."
"Hi." said Brittany.
"Hi." I said.
"Hello!" Blue said rather loudly.
"I haven't seen you around school, where are you boys from?" Allison asked.
"We're from England, bay-bee!" Aximili blurted, imitating Austin Powers again.
I elbowed him. "I told you not to talk." I turned back toward the girls. "My brother is a little silly, but we are actually not from this country. We're from Canada."
"We're Canadese!"
"Oh God."
"Wait a minute!" Brittany chimed in. "You're from Canada. And you are brothers named Terrence and Philip!"
I had not even noticed. "Oh . . .dear . . .God!" I said as I realized.
"Uncle Fu–!" Aximili started to sing, until I clamped his mouth shut.
"What is wrong with your brother?" Allison asked.
"I haven't a clue!"
"She wants my bod-dee! Bod. Dee! Bod. Dee!" Aximili keeped blurting.
"Aximili." I whispered. "What's going on?"
"LOOK!" Aximili shouted. A stalk eye popped out of his head.
"Ohmygod!!!!" Allison shouted in disgust.
"That is sooooo gross!" Brittany said as she and Allison left us.
I shoved Aximili under a table.
"Blue!! What the hell are you doing?"
"I was keeping watch."
"You're losing your morph. Stay in morph!"
"She wants my bod-deeeeeeeeee!"
"Aximili, shut up!"
That may have been a bad choice of words. Ax's mouth started to disappear like that scene in The Matrix, except blue.
"Um, Blue?" I said. "This is the exact opposite of our goal."
Despite my effective help, Aximili continued to demorph just about as fast I do. Something was wrong.
"Great, one more defect to the morphing technology." I grumbled. Whatever was causing Aximili's morph to go crazy was probably something new and different. I suspected it had something to do with his head, he'd been acting weird all night.
Well, weirder than usual. Although, it is Halloween.
Aximili was back in Andalite form and we was starting to freak out from hiding under the table.
"Aximili? We need to morph. Morph spider. I'll carry you."
I don't want to morph a spider. Last time I morphed a spider, Marco bit me. Meanie-head.
"Meanie-head? What is wrong with you? Ok, look, I'll morph become a spider with you, just like Spider-man."
Spider-man?
I demorphed and began to morph wolf spider. Aximili started to morph too. A mixture of compound eyes and simple eyes, blurred the vision around me. I completed my morph and squashed the spider's instincts for food. I suddenly got a feeling of impending doom.
Whoa! Spidey-sense is going crazy. You sense it too, Aximili? I turned around to see Aximili.
Aximili had not morphed a spider. Aximili was something reptilian in nature. Like a lizard except with an arrow-head shape crest on his head and six legs. He was no bigger than a rat, but to me, he was as big as a house.
What the hell?
Spider-man vs. the Lizard! Roar! Aximili shouted with all the restraint of a six-year-old.
Oh God, no.
And with that, Aximili began to chase me, which is as stupid as it sounds.
Why'd I let him read that comic? Why'd I let him read that comic? Marco! Tobias! Cassie! A little help, please!
David? Tobias asked in thought-speech. Since he's in morph, he can use thought-speech. What's going on?
Um, long story short, Aximili's trying to eat me.
What?
He's some alien lizard with a six legs, probably from his home planet. Apparently, it's not only Andalites from that planet that like Terra Firman Cuisine.
I raced up a table leg, but Aximili chased me.
I'll get you, Spider-man!
Aximili, you're extremely confused!
I ran up a table leg, but Aximili followed suit. I couldn't shake him.
I'm on a table! I shouted.
I felt a hand pick me up and carry me.
David, Jake's got Aximili, Tobias told me, but I think this teacher named Mr. Tidwell saw 'the six-legged lizard', and he was standing near Chapman. We're in the bathroom now, crawl in the stall in front of you and demoph. Marco's getting your clothes.
I started to demoph. The first thing I noticed was that my human hearing returned.
"Tobias, I didn't find any clothes under any tables, and I'm now officially the school perv. Thanks." Marco grumbled.
I walked out of the stall as soon as I finished demorphing.
"Did you morph with all your clothes on?" Tobias asked me.
I looked down, dumbly, and noticed that I was still wearing my clothes.
"How'd you do that?" Marco asked.
"Uhhhhhh . . . . ." I said.
"Nevermind." Tobias snapped. "Let's go help Aximili."
I morphed Terry Stevens and left the school to find Jake holding a squirming six-legged lizard.
"Is that . . . ?" Tobias asked.
"Yes." Jake said trying to keep Aximili from crawling down his back. With human eyes, I noticed that Aximili was a blue lizard with silver streaks.
"Where's Cassie and Rachel?" I asked.
"Mr. Tidwell grabbed Cassie to talk to her. Rachel's inside waiting for her."
"So, um, what's with the six-legged lizard?" Marco asked.
"Apparently, this is a Dralei Lizard from the Andalite Home world. One of the animals Ax acquired before he came to Earth." Jake explained. "And since it eats insects on the Andalite home world, it is ideal for catching the Dreaded Spider-man."
"That's pretty funny." Marco said. "He's delirious."
"I wonder what other morphs he has from his home world." I said.
Rachel and Cassie returned from the school. Cassie looked worried. Not a big surprise. Rachel looked pissy. Even less of a surprise.
"Jake, Tidwell's a controller and he knows about us, but Cassie seems to think that's all right."
"He's with the Yeerk Peace Movement."
"Yeah, that's when they say 'please' before they shove their slimy bodies into your ear and taking control of your brain." Marco said sarcastically. "What are you crazy?"
"Could this be the Yeerk Rebellion that Sub-Visser five hundred nine was talking about? She mentioned Aftran." I said, trying to remember her as Sub-Visser five hundred nine and not as Stephanie Gimble, my former beloved.
"We are a generation of men raised by women." Tyler Durdin said. "I'm starting to wonder whether another woman is really the answer."
"Maybe." Cassie said.
"Ewww." Jake said.
"What?"
Jake held up an alien lizard with a foaming mouth. "He threw up on me."
I'm delirious!
We got Aximili home, and Cassie coached him through his demorph.
After living a scene that was like a combination of ER and Star Trek, we established two things:
1) Aximili, our Andalite friend, had what was called Yamphut Syndrome. Caused by what I assume to be a virus, Yamphut syndrome causes his Tria gland to inflame and in time, burst. If his Tria gland bursts, which will happen when his body temperature goes back down to normal (91.3 degrees) all the diseased organisms that have been collecting in that gland will spread to his body and most likely kill him. This is easily prevented by removing the Tria gland which is in his head.
2) Aftran, a Yeerk, and pool sister to two controllers in Peach Haven (one of which being Stephanie) is about to be interrogated by Visser Three. Visser Three's torture will eventually get Aftran to tell him about us. Everything about us. Except any part about me since she never met me, but that won't really matter, because once Visser Three knows about the others, it'll be a chess game to the rest of us. Meaning we had to save a Yeerk from the Yeerk Pool.
Marco left to get Erek, and the rest of were left to tackle our two problems.
"So let me get this straight." I said. "We have to save an Andalite and a Yeerk. Strangeness."
"We need a way into the Yeerk Pool." Rachel said. "They've probably figured out how we got in the last time. We need a new way in if we don't want to get ambushed."
"I've never been to the Yeerk Pool." I said. "I shouldn't ask what it's like, should I?"
"Smart boy." Rachel said.
"Maybe if we went over all we know about the Yeerk Pool's security system." Cassie suggested. "We know there's the Gleet BioFilter and –"
Hunter-killer robots. Tobias added.
"It was never exactly easy, but it's harder now."
"There has to be a way." Rachel said.
"Maybe we can dig our way." I said.
"Tried it." Rachel said.
"Oh yeah, the oatmeal thing."
Here comes Marco and Erek. Tobias announced.
"This is a change." Erek said. "I'm usually the one giving you guys some bad news."
"You want bad news? Ax is no better, and we can't figure out how to get into the Yeerk Pool." Rachel said.
"Do you know anything about Andalite Physiology?" Cassie asked.
"Nothing." Erek said.
"Are any of your people surgeons?"
"The guy who plays my fatehr? He was a doctor back in fifteenth-century France. He knows nothing useful, trust me."
"Erek, does the Yeerk Pool have toilets?"
And from that Erek and Marco continued to hatch a plan to enter the Yeerk Pool through the water system. Tobias chose eel morphs as the form for the job. Gross disgusting sea-worm.
An hour later the six humans (or former humans) were floating around the inside of the California Water Tower.
We would follow Erek's intructions and end up directly into the Yeerk Pool. Appartently, the Yeerk Pool is mostly water.
"I'm gonna end up flushed. There's going to be be flushing involved." Marco grumbled.
"Let's get this over with!" I shouted. "Let's grab the Yeerk and find something that can cure Aximili and get back before he reaches crisis."
We focused on becoming eels. I remember the way my hand went rubbery when I acquired it. I remember the thin body and fish heads. The morph was not very complicated and I finished it without problems.
Movement! Food!
Apparently, movement = food.
Chomp! Ow! Tobias shouted.
Sorry.
Chomp! Ow! David! Cassie yelled.
Sorry.
Chomp! Ow! God Damnit, David! Rachel yelled at me.
Hey, I'm trying.
The six of us, fully eel, swam down thirty feet of pipe before getting sucked up by the current. Navigating the pipes were not easy, especially when Jake forgot the way.
I didn't forget so I led the way into the Yeerk Pool.
Go me.
Ok, this should the Yeerk Pool soon. I said.
Maybe we should stop and ask for directions. Rachel said.
I'm not pulling over, we're not lost.
Ha-ha, pulling over. Jake laughed.
Yes, very funny, Fearless Leader. You know you're supposed to be leading this paaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Whoaaaaaaaaaaa! cried Marco.
Cowabunga! Tobias yelled.
What are you, a Ninja Turtle? I shouted.
It wasn't long until the six of us found ourselves into a body of water filled with other occupants.
Oh my God, we are in the Yeerk Pool. Cassie said.
What do we do Jake? Rachel asked.
Um . . . I don't know. Demorph? Jake said.
Jake, what the hell's wrong with you? I shouted.
He's sick. Cassie said.
Sick? Marco repeated.
Oh no. Tobias said.
Guys. I said. I think I see Aftran. I mean, she looks every other fucking yeerk, but I think I see her.
How can you tell? Marco asked.
This Yeerk's in a cage.
Bingo. Tobias said.
We have to get Jake out of here. He's sick. Cassie said.
If we don't get Aftran out of here, he'll be more than sick; he'll be dead! Marco said.
What about Aximili? I asked.
David. Tobias said very authoratative. Demorph and grab Aftran. Morph into something dangerous with hands if you need to. Cassie, demorph and morph something with hands. Then, grab Jake and Rachel. I'm demorphing too. Marco, stay close to me.
I demorphed and covered my ears. I then morphed to Dayang. They were non-investable and had hands and other appendages. I grabbed Aftran's cage with my tentacles. I popped out of the water with surprising agility, only to be greeted with a punch in the snout from a Hork-Bajir.
My sliding upper body absorbed most of the impact, but I still dropped the cage back into the pool. It was then I realized that Dayangs were not ideal for combat. The Hork Bajir controller had me pinned to the ground, and none of my arms or tentacles were strong enough to pull him off. I looked across the pool and saw a chimpanzee carring two eels and a Hork-Bajir carring one crawl out of the pool. A contingent Hork-Bajir warriors were after them.
Demorphing would have been suicidal, so I did something only stupid in concept.
Trick or Treat! I shouted as I poked out the eyes of the Hork-Bajir with two of my tentacles. Very Three Stooges. I hate Three Stooges.
I pushed the controller into the pool. I demorphed than remorphed into Ursa Wulvef. With Hork-Bajir eyes and ears I took in the hell that was around me. Screaming men, women, and children. Humans and Hork-Bajir. Involuntary slaves. It was horrible. It was hell. It made me seriously sick to my stomach.
I fought the few Hork-Bajir and Taxxon controllers who were foolish enough to get in my way as I ran to join my friends. Several Guards surround the pool itself barring me from making another grab for Aftran.
Tobias! I dropped Aftran into the pool. I can't go back. The guards won't let me.
Fall back! We're reconvening in the bathroom. It's Uni-sex apparently. Tobias said.
I made my way into the bathroom where a Hork-Bajir Tobias was gaurding the door. We then procedded to rip up the urinal dividers and use them to barricade the door. Cassie was herself and she was dropping the eels into the toilet.
"We need to get out of here." Tobias said in Hork-Bajir speech. "Let's all remorph to eels and get out of here. We'll come back for Aftran after Ax reaches crisis. The Visser won't interrogate her for another week."
FIND THEM! said a familiar voice.
"Sounds like he's here now." I said in Hork-Bajir speech.
"Someone has to flush us out." Cassie said.
"I'll do it." I said.
"David, don't be suicidal. If they infest you, we're all screwed anyway." Tobias said.
"I morph at light-speed, Feathers. I'll flush you out and then speed-morph to eel and land in the can before it finishes flushing. I'll be flushed along with you."
Tobias's hork-bajir face pursed with thought. "Ok."
Tobias demorphed just as Cassie finished her morph to Eel. I put her in the toilet.
Be careful David.
Tobias finished his morph to eel as I demorphed. I put him in the toilet and flushed.
"Bon voyage." I said. I began to morph. First were my hands. They became rubbery and fin-like.
But they became human. Rubbery and finlike. Human. Finlike. Human.
The toilet finished flushing. All my friends were gone.
"Uh oh." I said.
Hork-Bajir warriors blasted through the barricade and siezed me they brought me before Visser Three.
Well, looks like I took my break at the right time. Time to witness the capture of the Morph-human. The Freak.
"Look whose's talking, Abomination!" I said.
I quickly found a blade to my throat. I grow tired of your insolence. Humans. Insolent until the end. Well, your kind will learn to hold thier traitorous tongues!
"Humans are masters of manipulation, my liege. Psychological or otherwise." said a familiar voice. "You are allowing yourself to be driven by their subtle machinations."
The figure of Traci Lee came into view.
The Visser removed his blade from my throat. "Trieshan, what are you doing?"
"Not Trieshan, Sub-Visser One."
Sub-Visser? What are you doing in that body? Get back in your Hork-Bajir host at once. You're supposed to be watching my pool and making sure that the bandits don't enter. Which they have!
"My warriors have driven them off and have even captured one. The human. How quaint."
They were gonna infest me! I felt like throwing up.
Wait. I was gonna throw up!
"BLEEEEECH!" I spewed.
All over the Visser.
"Oh God."
Sub-Visser One tried to diffuse the situation. "Visser, they are expecting you back on the Blade Ship. I will take care of the Morph-Human. He'll be one of us by the time you get back to interrogate Aftran. Who knows, it may not even be necessary."
The Visser, whose tail had been twitching to remove my head, walked away. Fine! Give him to Efflit. He is one of my more cruel lieutenants. The Visser said as he walked away.
"Efflit. Bah! I will take this human for myself!" Sub-Visser One said as the Visser walked out of earshot.
"But, Sub-Visser," said one of her Hork-Bajir warriors, "the Visser wants you to return to your Hork-Bajir hosts."
"This host is obviously ill. He needs to be quarantined until he is well before he is infested." said one of her human lackeys.
"May I remind you, Sub-Visser, that you are almost at the end of your feeding cycle."
"It will not take long." said the Sub-Visser One. "I will learn the morph-human's secrets and make him my host. He will be mine."
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You ain't seen nothing yet.
Sick David (physically and otherwise) plus screwed-up morphing plus over-ambitious yeerk equals trouble.