May 12, 2000 ????
So here I was on the carrier ship Mega's Voi'ejar, heading toward the Nala Makkorla. All former Andalite relics, they now belong to the Korla. Actually, the Mak and Korla. Two different species.
Kentandros, the Mak'ra-dich of Mak'ra Mega, was explaining all of this to me.
"*There are Mak and there are Korla.*" Kentandros started. We were on our way to the Nala Makkorla, a former Andalite Dome Ship that was been adjusted to serve the Korla and Mak. "*We have lived together in one society for centuries. But thirty years ago, the Yeerks came. While we Korla were unfit for infestation,*"
"*No ear canals.*" Shalcam clarified.
"*Our Mak, on the other hand, could be infested. Their brute strength made them ideal for non-combat detail work. So the Yeerks began their seizure campaign. First, Nahara Controllers would dig into our nests. Then, the Hork-Bajir controllers came and annihilated us. The Korla-Mak symbiosis existed before either species achieved sentience. We, instinctively threw ourselves in the way of the Hork-Bajir to protect our Mak. Many were killed.
"*While there were more than a million Korla, there were only about 300,000 Mak. The Andalites came to help, but when a second Yeerk Seizure Campaign started on a planet called Pentasera, The Andalite forces became thin-spread. Worse, the Yeerks began importing some of their new S-s-s-stram Controllers from Pentasera to Makkorla. These S-s-s-stram controllers were deadly to us. They soon became the bane of our existence. So, Mak'ra Go, Mak'ra Jakque, and Mak'ra Jay lead a mass exodus of our people, taking some old Andalite Ships, including a Dome Ship. Nala Makkorla was founded. We now work to restore our way of life.*"
"*It's becoming easier. The Yeerks cannot breed the Mak properly, so they are having difficulty keeping their numbers up, but now that they have Taxxon, S-s-s-stram, and now Homo Sapien Controllers, Mak-controllers are become obsolete.*" Shalcam said.
"*Many are being used by Yeerks who have been condemned to slavery. They are used as servants or attendants for the Council of Thirteen or for friends of the Empire that they are trying to sway.*" Tedg'valtine added.
"*As Mak are found, new Mak'ras can be formed.*" Kentandros said.
"Ok, explain, Mak'ras, Mak'ra-diches, and all that jazz."
"*Every Mak is bonded to a group of five, six, or seven Korla. The Korla are Mak'gers to this Mak. Together they are a Mak'ra. One Korla serves as head of the Mak'ra. This is called the Mak'ra-dich.*"
"What's a Mak Rey?"
"*A Mak Rey is a special Mak. Almost a Trantate Mak. Mak are usually very slow, like Hork-Bajir, sometimes there is a Mak who is smarter. Almost as smart as a Korla.*"
"Like a Hork-Bajir Seer?"
"*Sort of. They are called Mak Reys. Well, technically, only males are called Mak Reys. Females would be Mak Regines."
"*Makkorla's history is filled with many Mak Reys over the years. The last Mak Regine to have existed lived 3000 years ago.*" Sarlocboard said. "*If she ever existed at all.*"
"*She existed!*" Shalcam insisted.
Mikoja amended to this by pulling her antennae down so that they were both flat against the sides of her face. My translator implant read this as a rude gesture.
Argenzane made a rapid clicking noise at this. Laughing.
"It seems to me that this symbiosis you speak of is in actuality a form of slavery. Yet you act as if the Mak are the center of your world."
"*The Mak are the center of our world. It is not slavery.*" Kentandros said hotly. "*Mak submits to Korla. Korla cannot live without Mak. It is the Mak who has all the power.*"
"Power? They just do everything you say. It is the Korla who have all the freedom. All the power."
"*Korla can do nothing but give commands. Korla is not free. Mak are free to obey commands or ignore. Mak have all the power. Mak have all the control.*"
I didn't understand it then, but I did not press the issue. Kentandros seemed satisfied with my withdrawal. He probably has had to explain the same thing to the other aliens. This dominant-submissive thing I just don't understand.
We arrived at the dome ship. After a series of corridors we arrived at the bridge.
Utter chaos.
As soon as we came onto the bridge, a Mak jumped in front of us and roared angrily.
"*Stand down, Ginga.*" Mega insisted.
"*No! I am male. I will not submit to female Mak!*" Ginga shouted.
"*Stand down Ginga!*" said a blue Korla. His name was apparently, Pyrin. The Mak'ra-dich of Mak'ra Ginga. Ginga did as he was told.
"*Now apologize*" said a red Korla. Other Mak'ger for Mak'ra Ginga.
"*I do not mean what I say, Mak Regine. But I am angry. My cub was stolen!*" Ginga said sincerely.
"*What?!*" Kentandros and Mega said in unison.
"*Oh gave birth already to your son?*" Mikoja blurted.
"*It's true*" said another blue Korla.
"*Who?*" Mega asked. "*Who stole your cub?*"
"*Buraidra*" Ginga answered.
"*Summon Mak'ra GoGoVy and Mak'ra Zyu*" Kentandros commanded of Mega. "*Have them meet me in the conference room*"
"What's happening?" I asked.
"*I must question Mak'ra GoGoVy about the usual and why a newborn cub was stolen while they were supposed to be caring for those type of things on this ship.*"
"And Mak'ra Zyu?"
"*Buraidra is still technically a Mak'ger of Mak'ra Zyu. He is also Rannos's nest-brother.*"
"Rannos is the Mak'ra-dich."
"*Yes. Zyu must answer for the actions of his Mak'ger.*"
"What about his other Mak'gers?"
"*They will be punished too.*"
A Mak'ra led by a green Korla arrived in what Mikoja told me was the Conference room. It was big, but plain. It didn't look like the kind of room an Andalite would build, but who knows?
The Mak bowed and the Korla followed suit. "*Good Day, Mak Regine. Good Day, Mak'ra Mega.*" Zyu recited ceremoniously.
"*Good Day.*" the Mak'gers added.
"*Ask him what happened with Buraidra.*" Kentandros commanded Mega.
Mega asked her question. Rannos provided an answer that Zyu repeated. "*Buraidra entered the ship saying he wanted to reconcile, but instead he gave my Mak'gers a thrashing and commanded me to stand down.*"
"*You did nothing?*" Mega asked, prompted by Kentandros.
"*He is still my Mak'ger. I must obey.*" Zyu answered, prompted by Rannos.
"*Ask him why he thinks his Mak'ger took Ginga's and Oh's cub.*" Kentandros commanded.
"*Why do you . . .*" Mega started
"*Cut the formality crap, Kentandros!*" Rannos shouted hotly. "*I don't know why Buraidra stole the cub, but I can get him back. Let me get my nest-brother back!*"
"*Rannos! You will step down!*" Kentandros commanded. "*Remember your place.*"
"*Remember your place, Mak'ra Zyu.*" Mega said, seemingly prompted by Kentandros' command.
Rannos ignored them. "*He's possessed. There's something wrong with my brother.*"
"*How so?*" Kentandros asked, seemingly throwing form to the wind.
"*He transformed the same way Jeek did, but Buraidra turned into a Hork-Bajir.*"
"Who's Jeek?" I asked Mikoja.
"*An Andalite Warrior. His full name was Jeekolarous-Lilan-Tecktor. Mak'ra GoGoVy found him. Saved a grub named Kyotancy. She should be hatching out of her cocoon any day now.*"
"*Where is Mak'ra GoGoVy?*" Kentandros asked and Mega repeated.
"*They said something about a Code Orange.*" a different Mak'ger prompted Zyu to say.
As if on cue, a klaxxon sounded and an announcement followed. Intruder! Intruder! Yeerk Forces in Cruiser Bay 01!
"*Damnit! Not again!*" Kentandros cursed. "*Get on the horn, Mega. You know what to do.*"
All Combat Mak'ra report to Cruiser Bay 01 immediately! All Combat Mak'ra report to Cruiser Bay 01 immediately! Code Vaa. Code Vaa.
"*You fight too, Mak'ra Zyu*" Mega commanded.
"*Let's go!*" Kentandros commanded.
"What's a Code Vaa?" I asked.
"*Vaa is a letter in our language. Vaa for Vigosei. It means battle.*"
"That's just great." I said sarcastically.
Within minutes, eight or nine Mak'ra assembled in a line. All the Mak, Korla, and various aliens (except me) were either outfitted with or brandish metal objects. The purpose of which I didn't understand at the time.
I stood behind Mak'ra Mega. To my right, behind Mak'ra Car stood what appeared to be an android. I had no idea what its purpose was. To the android's right, behind Mak'ra Oh was an alien I've never seen before. The creature initially reminded me of Reptile from the Mortal Kombat Movie, but much bigger and much, much more muscular. At about six feet tall, he was hunched over in anticipation of the attack. Standing, he was closer to eight feet tall. His skin was green but ripples of silver color swept over him. His skin could change color. (Again like Reptile). His head resembled a Velociraptor but horns where his ears should be and tusks coming from his mouth. His back had numerous short spikes as well as a narrow webbed crest, like a fin, going down his spine to the base of his very long tail. This must have been Ricmajin, the Gervasid Adolescent. I have a vague memory of what a gervasid looks like from Calvca's memories. To Ricmajin's right, behind Mak'ra Kaku was another alien I've never seen. This alien resembled a Klingon but was much shorter and spindlier. His skin was a strange mix of blue and brown with a red and yellow head. This alien had a tail, but it didn't seem to do anything. This alien also had a fixed grin on his face, but I had a feeling this was just a personal trait of his. This was Ninnpu, the Ongachic. A large, white bird (large meaning his body was the size of a tiger and his wingspan could be measured in yards.) chicken-walked behind Ninnpu. Other than his size, the large bird did not have any interesting characteristics.
All the Mak were blue of varying shades and some with green shades and tints. The Korla varied among sizes, shapes, and colors. Among the red, blue, and green korla, there also were orange korla.
The Cruiser Bay was a vast hanger for the fighter ships the Korla used. Hork-Bajir in black uniforms piled in and stood in formation without attacking. That's when I saw a large six foot tall human swagger between the formation.
"Talk about your Darth Vader complex." I muttered.
"Well, if it isn't the pathetic Korla aggressors." said the human.
"*The new Visser Ninety-eight.*" Kentandros presumed.
"*Has no one told you? We go through a lot of bottom-of-the-rock-pit vissers, like you." boasted the Mak'ra-dich for Mak'ra Car, another red Korla.
"*We must protect the ship.*" said the Mak'ra-dich for Mak'ra GoGoVy, an orange Korla. (Actually, all the Korla in Mak'ra GoGoVy were orange. I found out later that they were all nest-siblings.)
"Hork-Bajir. Get ready." prompted Visser Ninety-eight.
"*Let's do this!*" said the Mak'ra-dich for Mak'ra Oh.
"Zes Mur'fin gine!" shouted Kentandros, which means "Onto Victory!" in English.
Prompted by Kentandros, Mega roared. The other Mak roared with her. Prompted by the Mak's roars, the Mak'gers assembled in their Mak'ras, what can only be described as 'victory formations' like the one I was a part of in the space battle with the Blade Ship. The Korla with their Mak formed strange formations with their bodies. They were like warrior cheerleaders, with Korla pyramids of death. I morphed into Ursa Wulvef, and I hoped I wouldn't get in the way. Then they sounded off.
"Mak'ra Zyu!"
"Mak'ra Dai!"
"Mak'ra Kaku!"
"Mak'ra Oh!"
"Mak'ra Car!"
"Mak'ra Mega!"
"Mak'ra Ginga!"
"Mak'ra GoGoVy!"
"Mak'ra Time!"
"*MAKKORLA FOREVER!*" said the entire battalion in unison. They were exactly like warrior cheerleaders. Although it's hard to argue with the results.
The Visser had graciously waited for the Mak'ras to finish their routine before commanding the Hork-Bajir to attack. The Hork-Bajir immediately began firing their Dracon Beams. I ducked instinctively.
It seems that the Visser's move was foolish. Each Mak'ra had somehow emitted an energy shield that deflected all the beams. The ricocheted energy beams effectively killed the Yeerks' front line. Ah, the metal suits. Each Mak was emitting some kind of energy shield, or force field. I assumed it was like the force fields I encountered in the Marriott banquet room on first mission.
What happened next was a blur. The Visser sent his Hork-Bajir to fight hand to hand. The Mak'ras started to get into their warrior-cheerleader formations. Korla imitated arms, legs, sometimes wings. Their formations would look like monstrous humanoids, serpents, insects, pyramids, or even vehicles. I couldn't get a good look at most of the formations. I got a glance at others. Mak'ra Zyu's formation had Zyu atop three Mak'gers while the other two were swung about by Zyu's long arms. Zyu's short arms were holding aloft two massive Shredder cannons. Mak'ra Kaku's formation looked like a slender humanoid with wings. (The Ongachic's giant bird.) Mak'ra Oh's formation looked incredibly dangerous. A pyramid design firing off any and every weapon in the known universe. If a Hork-Bajir did happen to get close to it, faster than it could blink it was killed by Oh's mighty jaw, the claws of the Mak'gers, or the many natural weapons of the gervasid, the most frightening of which is the tail that seems to grow at will Mak'ra Car's formation actually looked like a car, racing around on wheels.
The only Mak'ra formation I saw up close was Mak'ra Mega's. Argenzane attached himself to Mega's back. He spread his oversized wings and began to lift her up. Sarlocboard carried what looked like two rockets and bent his legs in a very strange way and grabbed on to Mega's tail. Kentandros carried what looked like a giant blade and attached himself with his feet to the right side of Mega's belly. Tedg'valtine, carrying what looked like a rocket launcher, attached himself to Mega's left side. The girls did the same, Shalcam under the Mak'ra-dich and Mikoja under Tedg'valtine, carrying small shredders. Mega held in her arms yet another giant Shredder cannon. Mak'ra Mega then began to fly around, blasting and slashing at Hork-Bajir very swiftly. I flash-morphed into a lion, not risking getting indiscriminately blown-up as a Hork-Bajir or getting recognized as Visser Three, I killed as many Hork-Bajir as I could, but I was a cherry bomb compared to the swift destruction of the Mak'ras.
The end result was that Visser Ninety-eight and his battalion were decimated, swiftly and promptly. I was flabbergasted. With the Visser dead, the Blade ship retreated. The Mak and the Korla all retreated to their quarters to rest. Another Mak'ra came into the bay to clean up the mess. I was standing there, demorphed, slack-jawed at the carnage.
"*Nothing is impossible to the Makkorla.*" Kentandros said to me, shaking me out of my funk.
"That had to be the most effective fighting I have ever seen in my life." I said.
"*Effective? Yes. Perfect? No. We have lost many Korla in the past. None today, but many in the past.*"
"What about Mak?"
"*Thank the Universe we have lost no Mak. The death of Korla is sad, but the death of a Mak would be a real tragedy. Without Mak, there can be no Korla.*"
"Then why do you treat them like slaves?"
"*They are not slaves, David. We Korla love and respect our Mak. We are quite aware we are parasites, but our love for our Mak has made a spiritual symbiosis. Our job as Mak'gers is to protect our Mak and our fellow Korla. The Mak return our love for them by submiting to us.*"
"And if a Mak does not submit?"
"*A Mak's non-submission is the result of the Mak'gers failure to love their Mak. We have seen this many times.*"
"But surely there have been Mak who have refused to submit." I speculated.
"*Yes, David. You are correct. No matter how much the Korla can love the Mak, there are Mak who will not submit.*"
"What do you do with them?"
"*Nothing.*" Kentandros said. "*There is nothing we can do. As I have said before. Korla are not free. Korla can do nothing but love and give commands. Mak can choose to submit or ignore. Mak have all the freedom. Mak have all the power.*"
"Wow." was all I said.
"Kentandros!" said a red Korla named Pentarg, the Mak'ra-dich for Mak'ra Oh. "*Mak'ra Hurric has spotted Buraidra.*"
At a communications console, the Mak'gers of Mak'ra Kaku relay what they heard from a planet-bound Mak'ra.
"*My brother and his Mak'gers are sure.*" Kaku said, being prompted by a blue female Korla named Koli, his Mak'ra-dich. "*The renegade is in the Northern Hemisphere of the colony candidate. He his headed for the large island that our cousin Gao and his Mak'gers are located.*"
"*He is avoiding my brother Abra.*" said Zyu, prompted by Rannos.
"*He should be avoiding all Mak'ra. Something isn't right.*" Kentandros muttered to himself.
"*Let us retrieve our Mak'ger, Mak'ra Mega.*" Zyu plead, again prompted by his Mak'ra-dich.
"*Please, let me get my Nest-brother!*" Rannos pleaded, speaking for myself, this time.
"*Know your place, Korla.*" Kentandros scolded.
At Kentandros' prompt, "*Why should I let you try?*" Mega asked. "*It is far too risky and, I believe, very stupid to allow you to encounter Buraidra.*"
Zyu's other Mak'gers, two blue males, one orange female, and one red female, placed a claw tenderly on Zyu's hide.
Zyu took a breath and said. "*Mak'ra Zyu demands Wyrdvigon*". Wyrdvigon, roughly translated, means "Quest of Final Judgement." How odd that it sounds a lot like the Dayang word "Wyrphat'd".
This declaration seemed to shock the Mak and Korla in the Communication deck.
"*Rannos, are you sure?*" Mikoja blurted.
"*You know what happened to Mak'ra Neji.*" Kentandros said.
"*Mak'ra Zyu has spoken.*" Zyu said at Rannos prompt, ironically following protocol as Mak'ra Mega breaks it.
At Kentandros' prompt, "*It is so. You will retrieve the cub of Ginga and Oh. Taking all necessary measures against your fellow Mak'ger. If Buraidra's madness can be cured, than do so. If not, than he must be executed.*"Mega decreed.
"*I will save my Nest-brother, Kentandros.*"
I started to feel strange then. I felt light headed. I saw my body flicker, as if I were a ghost or something, but as quickly as it started up it stopped. No Mak or Korla saw what happened.
"Let me go with them, Kentandros."
"*Why?*" Shalcam asked me.
"*Yes!*" said one of the blue males in Mak'ra Zyu. Ceron, I later learned. "He transforms like Jeek did and Buraidra does now.*"
"*Very well*" said Kentandros.
Hours later, I was in Mak'ra Zyu's carrier ship, Zyu-Juu. I learned the names of Zyu's Mak'gers. Wollin and Ceron were the blue males. Sabden't was the orange female, and Talia was the red female. Rannos, a green male, was the Mak'ra-dich.
We were headed toward a planet that the Makkorla were considering colonizing. The only problem with it so far is that it is overrun with wild animals and no sentient life. Mak'ra Gao and Mak'ra Abra have been attempting to tame the planet's wildlife. The other Mak'ra there, Mak'ra Hurric was studying it's weather patterns. We landed on a large island about the size of Japan. We were a hundred miles away from Mak'ra Gao's base, but transmissions from both Mak'ra Gao and Mak'ra Hurric pointed us in the right direction.
One Mak, one human, and five Korla walked along the hills and valleys of a strange planet.
"*Do you smell the cub yet, Zyu?*" Sabden't asked.
"*Yes, but it's faint. This way.*" he answered.
"*Andalite morphs. Human morphs.*" Ceron said, thinking out loud. "*Both can do so and keep their wits about them.*"
"*Yet when Korla does it, Korla goes mad.*" Rannos spat bitterly.
"I'm not sure it's the morphing power that's driving your brother mad." I said. "Does he every say anything in his crazy rages?"
"*He likes to say, 'To the destruction of Makkorla! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!'*" Talia dramatized a bit over-dramatically.
"*He also keeps repeating 'My head. My head.' as if he is in pain.*" Rannos revealed.
"That sounds like Yeerk infestation." I said.
"*Inconceivable.*" Ceron concluded. "*Korla is a Class One species.*"
"*The Cub!*" Zyu shouted.
"*Where?*" Wollin asked.
"*Is Buraidra with him?*" Rannos asked.
"*There!*" Sabden't said pointing to a little blue spot running in the valley below us. "*It's alone.*"
"*Meh. That was easy.*" Wollin said flippantly.
"It's running from something." I said.
"*From what?*" Zyu blurted. "*Nothing appears to be chasing him.*" Zyu and his Mak'gers all looked into the valley below. I was the only one who looked to the sky. Above a swarm of flying, cat-sized insects, I saw it. A red pterodactyl looking thing with a bifurcated tail and four talons.
"What the hell is that?"
"*A Metracroyle!*" Ceron shouted.
"*'Metracroyle'?*" Wollin asked, sneering at the apparent ridiculousness of the name.
"*Mak'ra Abra named it. I kind of like it.*" Ceron babbled.
"*It's after the cub!*" Sabden't said worriedly.
"*No, Mak'ra Abra reported that it only eats trees.*"
That's when we saw the metracroyle snap its beak at one of the insects, swallowing it.
Four korla and one human gave Ceron the stink-eye.
"You were saying?" I said sarcastically.
"*Let's get the cub!*" Rannos commanded. "*Mak'ra Zyu: Mission Time!*"
"Mak'ra Zyu!" shouted the Mak'gers. Zyu roared.
"I'll distract the bird." I said, as I jumped over the edge of the valley and speed-morphed into a Golden eagle. I nearly tore my wings off in the process, so I won't be doing that again. Meanwhile, Zyu somersaulted down the valley wall as the Mak'gers fluttered down with their wings.
I rose up and slashed the Metracroyle's eye. Ha! Take that!
It shrieked and tried to scissor me with its beak. Ha Ha! I taunted. Missed me. The Metaracroyle opened its beak and shot a stream of green liquid. It hit my wing which instantly dissolved. AAAAAAAH! Acid spit! That sucks!
As I saw the ground rise toward me, I remembered something Aximili once told me. Once, he jumped out of the Blade Ship in atmosphere in morph, he demorphed and remorphed to harrier before he hit the ground. Surely if he could do it, so could I.
I demorphed to human with about twenty yards to go before impact. I flash-morphed to dragonfly and avoided impact all together. I sped toward the Metracroyle, which was low to the ground, about to pounce on the poor Mak cub. I flew above it and flash-morphed back to human. As I was changing my body faster than Joan Rivers, Mak'ra Zyu got the brilliant idea to form a Korla-whip. The Korla held other, end-to-end, and Zyu swung this Korla-chain around in an Indiana Jones impression. Talia was at the tail end so she went flying. Just as the Metracroyle was about to snare the poor cub in its talons, Talia flew past, tackling the cub and getting out of harm's way. At the same time I landed on a flailing Metracroyle. Three flash-morphs in a row and I was damn tired and damn light-head.
"Oh that's the last time I do that!"
The other four Mak'gers tackled the Metracroyle to the ground.
"*Zyu, bit its neck!*" Rannos commanded.
"Wait!" I said. I placed my hands on the Metracroyle's wing, being pinned down by Wollin. I acquired the creature's DNA. Wings shot out of my back, and then I started flickering again.
"*Are you flickering?*" Ceron asked, sounding both like scientist and an idiot at the same time.
"I don't know why."
Since it appeared I was down with the beast, Zyu and Rannos but it out of its misery.
"*We got the Cub!*" Talia said clutching him and handing him to Zyu.
"*We should go!*" Wollin said, sounding exhausted.
"*But we didn't find Buraidra!*" Rannos said.
As if beckoned, a green Korla staggered into view. It clutched its head like a crazy person.
"Buraidra!" Rannos shouted.
"Randon!" Buraidra pleaded. 'Randon' means 'brother' in the Makkorla language. Buraidra started to change. He grew bigger and bigger. His insect-like form was replaced with reptilian skin. Horns replaced antennae. He was morphing.
"*Buraidra . . . . is a . . . .Hork-Bajir!*" Talia blurted.
Not just any Hork-Bajir. The morph had two horns. Female. But she was big. Bigger than Jara Hamee. Bigger even than Ursa Wulvef.
"That is one Ultra-bitch." I said, starting to morph into Ursa.
"*That's my Brother!*" Rannos said, near hysterical.
I'll take care of him. You get the cub back to your Carrier ship.
"*Mak'ra Zyu!*" commanded Wollin, seemingly taking control now that Rannos' objectivity has gone out the window. "*We go!*"
Zyu, holding the cub, grabbed his temporarily displaced Mak'ra-dich and ran with his Mak'gers.
Meanwhile, I stared down the Hork-Bajir version of Chyna. Hork-Bajir usually stand at seven feet tall. I was eight and a half. Buraidra was ten. He (or she, depending on your point of view) charged at me with his giant blades. I blocked, and the two of us continued to clash blades.
Buraidra! Get a hold of yourself!
Buraidra is gone, Morph-human. You're speaking to Helfreid six-one-six of the Sulp Niaar pool.
A Yeerk! But how . . . You can't infest a Korla! The Hork-Bajir! You infested his Hork-Bajir morph!
Dapsen! You are quick! Helfreid said mockingly I never expected to tangle with the infamous David Hunting, the Morph-Human. Seerow's Abomination. Ha Ha Ha. (I suspect he was making a play on words in Galard. The words for kindness and abomination are similar.)
You're in a precarious position, Helfreid. What happens when Buraidra demorphs?
My yeerk body is preserved in Z-space. I do not use up Kandrona there. I could theoretically stay in Z-space indefinitely. Unfortunately, my control over Buraidra . . . weakens. Buraidra's mental state was already not on the strong side when I first infested him.
David! Rannos said using the ship's thought-speech communicator. We're coming to get you.
Many yeerks are vain. I need to keep him talking.
How can he morph?
The andalite warrior Jeekolarous-Lilan-Tecktor left an Escafil Device with the Korla, but never told them what it was. "Jeek" gave the morphing power to a grub named Kyotancy. Buraidra saw this and after Jeek died, used the cube on himself. After a run-in with Councilor Four and his Blue Band Elites, Buraidra acquired this magnificent form. I was a S-s-s-stram-controller until a few weeks ago. I attacked a temporary base being used by the Makkorla. Buraidra and the rest of Mak'ra Zyu attacked. Buraidra used this morph against me. He fatally stabbed me just as I knocked him unconscious. I left my dying S-s-s-stram body and infested this one. He believes he failed his Mak'ra. Worse, he failed his brother. This, too easily, drove him mad.
Why'd you take the cub?
I was going to ditch this psychopath, and invest the Cub. Mak'ra Gao would have found me eventually. I then would get a hold of the Escafil device and use it both on my new host and my true body. I could then return to the Yeerk Empire as mighty conqueror! And then that bitch Bandora Five-seven-two will have to submit to me.
That's not what true submission means, Helfreid. Too bad we spoiled your plan. Looks like you're stuck with the psychopath.
Not necessarily. Why be a morphing Mak, when I can be a Morphing-human?
He struck too fast for me to see. Luckily this Hork-Bajir has Karate training. I flipped backwards and gave a side kick. That did a big load of nothing. Helfreid grabbed my leg and threw me into the Valley wall. He then made a giant seat-belt style slash across my chest.
"AAAAAAAAAh!" I shouted in my Hork-Bajir voice.
Once I slit your throat, you'll be forced to demorph and then you'll be mine.
I'd rather die.
Well, either way . . . Helfreid said as he lifted up his blade.
Skewwwww!
A shredder blast hit Helfreid and sent him staggering back. Mak'ra Zyu came to my side.
Rannos, we have to drive the yeerk out of the Hork-Bajir body. Only then can we reason with Buraidra.
"*A yeerk tormenting my already tormented brother.*" Rannos sighed sadly.
Zyu roared ferociously and charged Helfreid. Helfreid had difficulty attacking a creature half his height, especially while feeling the effects of a stun level shredder. Unfortunately Zyu could do little more than grab his wrists and prevent himself from getting slashed.
"*You can do it, Zyu!*" Wollin cheered.
"*Oh no! More Metracroyles!*" Talia shouted.
A flock of five or six descended on us. Wollin and Ceron grabbed me and pulled me out of harm's way.
"*Mak'gers! Evade!*" Rannos commanded.
A Metracroyle attempted to snap at us when Zyu stopped fighting Buraidra/Helfreid and defended us. He grabbed the Metracroyle's four talons with his two strong arms and swung him into the Valley wall. Helfreid dealt with the swarming Metracroyles by decapitating them. The four or five metracroyles left began to emit some kind of gas from underneath their wing flaps. The gas was brown and didn't smell very nice, at least to Hork-Bajir sensibilities. Helfreid seemed to like the gas even less as he kept gasping for air and clutching his head. Zyu and the Korla seemed unaffected.
"*What the crap is this mist?!*" Wollin shouted.
"*I have no idea, but I'm not bothered by it." Talia said.
"*Buraidra's in pain. It must hurt Hork-Bajir.*" Ceron theorized.
I'm a Hork-Bajir for the moment. I feel fine.
"*Maybe it hurts yeerks.*" Rannos said.
"Baka!" Sabden't shouted. "Baka" means "Genius!" or "Brilliant!" in the Makkorla language. Ironically, the same word means the exact opposite in Japanese.
Unfortunately for us, through his fit, Helfreid had managed to kill all of the Metracroyles. I'll get you!!!!!!
He's going to demorph! If he demorphs, the gas won't hurt the yeerk. He needs to concentrate to demorph. I warned.
"Zyu!" Rannos beckoned. "*Hit him in the head!*"
Amazingly, Zyu's long, strong arms could rise above his own head high enough to hit Helfreid on his. Zyu began to punch mercilessly.
"*What good will this do? The Metracroyles are all dead.*" Sabden't said.
I demorphed. "Not all of them." I morphed into the Metracroyle. My face elongated. My arms became wings. My legs doubled and became the four talons. I grew a tail. I was the Metracroyle. Its instincts were much like the eagle or merlin, so I gained control easily. I flapped my huge wings and flew above Zyu and Helfreid. And as Marco would say if he were here, 'Time to pass gas!'
With the gas further weakening Helfreid, Zyu overtook him easily, and he fell to the floor, half-conscious.
"*Let's finish him off. Victory Formation!*" Rannos commanded.
In a formation identical to the one I saw on the ship (minus the two large shredder cannon) Mak'ra Zyu approached Helfreid. Using Sabden't and Talia as exaggerated arms, Helfreid was picked up, spun around and thrown into the Valley wall. I landed next to him.
You win. Hunting. a dead yeerk crawls out of a Hork-Bajir ear. Helfreid was dead. Now there was only Buraidra. It started to rain.
"*Great. We'll have fun time fluttering out of here.*" Wollin said sarcastically.
Buraidra began to demorph from Hork-Bajir. He was now a plain green Korla.
"Randon?" Rannos said, warily.
"Rannos . . . . randon beej. . . ." Buraidra muttered. "*Brother hate Buraidra!*"
Buraidra stood up and shrieked like a crazy person. He then started to attack Rannos. Zyu roared in protest.
"No! This is between me and my brother!" Rannos insisted.
Rannos and Buraidra fought, korla claw to korla claw.
What's going on? I asked, baffled.
"*Buraidra was always a little paranoid, and he suffers from a form of depression.*" Sabden't explained.
"*The yeerk may have drove him mad.*" Ceron added.
Going through the Fugue in fast-forward probably didn't fucking help either! I commented.
"Buraidra beej." Talia lamented. "Beej" means "My". Draw your own conclusions.
Rannos defended himself while trying to talk some sense into his brother. Rannos finally lost control and swiped him in the face. Buraidra was knocked to the ground but was about to get back up when Zyu, having enough of watching his own Mak'gers fight each other stepped between them and started to snarl at Buraidra.
"*Zyu hates Buraidra.*" Buraidra babbled. "*Buraidra hated by his own Mak'ra!"
"*Zyu, stand down!*" Rannos commanded.
"*Belay that order, Zyu!*" Wollin piped in.
"*Wollin, what are you doing?!*" Talia chirped hysterically.
"Wollin?!" Rannos said, incredulous.
"*Trust our Mak, my Mak'ra-dich.*" Wollin said.
I understood what Wollin and Zyu were doing. I flew up above Buraidra and I spoke to him. You are a Mak'ger of Mak'ra Zyu. The Mak must obey you!
"*Yes. Talking flapper has a point!*" Buraidra said. "*Zyu! Stand down!*"
Zyu ceased snarling and bowed his head.
"*Zyu! What are you doing?*" Rannos shouted.
"*Mak submits to Korla.*" Zyu recites.
"*Yes.*" Buraidra hisses.
"*Because Zyu loves his Mak'ger.*" Zyu said, unprompted. "*Zyu loves Buraidra.*"
"*No . . .NO!*" Buraidra babbles. "*Zyu fight Buraidra. Zyu hates his Mak'ger!*"
"*I protect my Mak'gers because I love them. I fought you to protect you. Protect you from the yeerk. Protect you from yourself.*"
"*We demanded a Wyrdvigon to get you back.*" Wollin said.
"*We need you, Buraidra. Your brother needs you. And I need you.*" Talia said.
Buraidra's four legs gave out and he leaned precariously on his thorax, overwhelmed. "*No . . No*"
"*Mak'ra Zyu loves his Mak'ger.*" Zyu says, tenderly putting his hand on Buraidra's shoulder. "*Does Buraidra love his Mak'ra? Does he love me?*"
"*Do you love me, your nest-brother?*" Rannos continued. "*Do you love your fellow Mak'gers, Wollin, Ceron, and Sabden't? Do you love Talia? You once told me you would make her your mate. She would submit to you in sacred union. Don't you have love for her that is worth her submission?*"
"*I deserve no love. Such great power of morphing, and I still failed. I failed my brother, my bride, my Mak'ra!*" Buraidra lamented, no longer referring to himself in third person. That had to be a good sign.
"*You are a Mak'ger of Mak'ra Zyu. We shall always love you, Buraidra.*" Zyu said.
"Ne-mon, randon." Rannos said. "*Come home.*"
Buraidra emitted a low vibrating sound, which my translator interpreted as a sorrowful cry. His cries roared against quiet thunder and the din of the raindrops in the valley.
"*One Power of Many.*" Talia recited.
"*Many Powers of One.*" Wollin, Ceron, and Sabden't recited in unison.
"*One is Many.*" Rannos said offering his claw to his "randon".
"*All is One.*" Buraidra recited, taking his brother's claw. "Di Makkorla"
"*Mak'ra Zyu, United Once More!!*" Rannos shouted triumphantly!
"Mak'ra Zyu!" Buraidra shouted, taking a battle pose.
"Mak'ra Zyu!" All the Mak'gers said in unison.
Zyu roared in happiness.
I demorphed. "I don't think I'll ever understand you wierdos." And then I started flickering again.
"*Hey, there's that flickering again.*" Ceron said.
"*Why are you doing that?*" Wollin asked.
"*Are you about pop out like you popped into Z-space?*"
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"*Kentandros told me.*"
"*You wouldn't happened to be the displaced matter of a low-mass morph by any chance, are you?*" Ceron asked suddenly. Five Korla and One Mak stare at Ceron once more. "*What? Somebody has to keep abreast of Andalite science.*"
"*And by 'keep abreast' you mean 'steal'!*" Wollin accused.
"What's happening to me?"
"*You're being pulled back into your low-mass morph.*" Ceron explained. I was going home.
"*I guess this is goodbye.*" Talia said.
"*Thank you for your help*" Rannos said. "*I'll give your regards to Kentandros.*"
"*I want to know what the yeerk wanted with Ginga and Oh's cub.*" Wollin said, changing the subject quite rapidly.
"*He wanted to infest him and then use Jeek's Blue Cube on himself like I did.*" Buraidra explained.
"*Is that all?!!!! We should have let him try.*"
"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.
"*Kentandros destroyed that thing weeks ago.*"
"What???????"
POP
My hands were purple and I had four legs. Oh yeah, Helmacron.
I demorphed and remorphed into rat. In retrospect, this morph should have brought back all those horrible memories of another time-line, but I was still weirded out by experience with the Mak and Korla. I made my way into a room with many Hork-Bajir. I craned my neck And I saw another liquid metal ball like the one used to crush me in Helmacron morph. This ball would contain the other Animorphs. But how do I get them out? Hork-Bajir blades can't crack it. Wait . . . .
I finished my new morph and prepared myself to burst into the room. I had to be quick or I'd be blasted by Dracon Beams. I backed up and I flew through the wall.
The doors erupted into the room where Visser Three and Sub-Visser Forty-nine were attempting to crush my friends in a Romonite Compactor Ball. I had a double dose of surprise on my side. One, I'm sure the Visser and Sub-visser thought I was dead, so they certainly wouldn't expect me to barge into the room like I did. Two, I doubt they would expect what kind of animal I was.
I was the Metracroyle.
I flew up above the shocked Yeerks, next to the Romonite Compactor Ball suspended from the ceiling. I leaned my head back and spat acid. The ball dissolved like sand in surf. Three wolves, two snakes, and a hawk fell.
Jara! Now!
Within minutes, Jara's rebels burst in and began attacking. I evened things up a bit by using the Metracroyle's special mist.
Dude, David's passing gas! Marco said.
Visser Three escaped, but I personally dragged the Sub-visser out myself. He was well into the fugue by the time I dragged him out. I flew him into the forest half-way back to the colony. By the time Jara and the other Animorphs found me, the Sub-Visser was almost dead.
"Here he is, Jara. Sub-Visser Forty-nine. Why is he so important to you?"
"Have his own head yet?" Jara asked.
"No, in a few minutes."
Soon, a dead yeerk slid out of the Hork-Bajir's ear. The newly-freed Hork-Bajir blinked his eyes. "Jara!"
"Toma!!"
The two Hork-Bajir touched horns and hugged.
"Jara, who is this?" Cassie asked
"This Toma Hamee. Jara Brother."
I had to chuckle. "He's your brother."
Jake smiled kind of far-off. "I'm glad you got your brother back, Jara."
"I'm afraid to ask, but . . David, what the fuck was that thing???" Marco asked.
"Don't worry about it." I said as I morphed to Horned Owl.
"David, where are you going?" Cassie asked.
"One Power of Many. Many Powers of One." Does this apply to us?
"What? David, it's way to late at night for philosophy." Rachel whined.
David, that sounds like . . .Aximili started.
Yes. It applies. We are one unit, David. Tobias insisted.
Are we? You see, I see the six of you and you guys are One. You guys are Mak'ra. Mak'ra Animorph.
"What the hell are you babbling about now?" Marco asked, frustrated.
"David, what are you saying?"
I'm saying I will never be your enemy. But I will never be your Mak'ger. I said as I took off.
"David?" Cassie pleaded worryingly.
I am no longer an Animorph.
Ne-mon, randon.
Come home.