Something I forgot to mention: The Visser Two that appears in the last chapter, this chapter, and the next few following chapters, is not the same Visser Two who appears in book #46.
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July 10, 2000 8:08 PM
Cassie
I was in Yeerk morph. Outside of a host body, I felt weak and powerless. I couldn't even demorph, David had found a way to control that. I had a new sympathy for our enemy. As David carried me away I thought back on how we ended up here.
We let ourselves be David's pawns. What choice did we have; he controlled our morphing. We were all sucked into his plan, his dangerous plan for revenge. It was rather ingenious actually.
David had gathered the eleven of us on the bridge. Six hork-bajir, five animorphs. We were once again trapped in the robotic tendrils, but this time, David had demorphed us into our own bodies. He gave each us animorphs another injection, which led us to believe that the biomechanical parasites that he called Protimus-Bots had a short lifespan. He called his control device, the Protimus-Bot Controller, or PBC. The PBC laid on a table with two bandoliers and two Dracon Beam weapons.
David said two hork-bajir were going to be infested with Animorphs in yeerk morphs. I knew that he meant me and himself since we were the only ones with yeerk morphs. Naturally, being David, he asked for volunteers. Nobody volunteered. Then when he motioned toward Toby, all five of the others volunteered.
David chose Biran and Yenke Kelk, two brothers. I said I refused to help, but David forcibly turned me into a yeerk.
>You asshole!> Rachel yelled.
>Let us go!> Marco added.
I couldn't fight my instincts as David put me up close to Yenke's ear. As I took control of Yenke's brain, I felt a wave of revulsion and sadness within me.
>Why am I doing this?> I wondered.
>It's okay.> Yenke told me. He kind of startled me, actually. >David not bad. Right?>
I didn't know how to answer him.
With Hork-Bajir eyes I watched David morph into a yeerk. One of his droids lifted him up to Biran's ear, and he entered. Biran noticeable grimaced, but did not resist.
"David, stop this! My people are not your pawns!" Toby protested.
Biran's head moved around as if he had just been punched and saw stars. He opened his eyes. David opened Biran's eyes.
"I have the highest respect for Biran." David said in Biran's voice. "He has more faith in me than my fellow humans. He truly believes that whatever it is I'm doing it will be for the good of the Hork-Bajir and for the universe, as much as he understands the concept."
"That's because, that is what I and my father always told him. What we told all of them. Don't make liars out of us, David!" Toby pleaded.
>He's the liar, the power-mad freak!> Rachel accused.
Biran's face contorted with confusion. As if David didn't understand what he was doing until that very moment.
>Ayla!> David commanded in his own thought-speech. >Release the four of us.>
Only I and David were released, though I guess he included Biran and Yenke in his number.
>Good. As long as he continues to think of you and your brother as people than I don't have to worry so much.> I said.
>Toby says 'Worrying is like trying to strip bark by looking at it.'> Yenke comments. Hork-Bajir say the darndest things. I could see from his memories that Toby did in fact say that, but it's not like I'm trying to read his memories.
David told me to put on the bandolier. He gave me a Dracon Beam. I considered using it, but decided against it. The entire ship was David's ally, possessed with some entity that David called 'Ayla'.
>Release Bird and Blue> David commanded. Tobias and Ax, each in their own forms, were dropped by the tendrils. David pressed something on the PBC and Tobias turned into a leopard while Ax turned into a cheetah. Tobias had a small issue with controlling the leopard instincts, but being a predator himself, he got control of his first time morph. Something David forgot to plan for. The four (or six) of us made our way into the Bug Fighter bay.
>Exactly what's going on, David?> Tobias asked.
"We're going to capture some controllers. Visser Three and a Councilor." David replied.
>From the Council of Thirteen?> Ax asked incredulously. >David, such a target is as you humans say 'too hot'. You can't do this.>
"Perhaps. It's a good thing I'm keeping good friends close to me." David replied.
Is that why he chose me, Tobias and Ax? And left Rachel and Marco behind?
We got into one of David's Bug Fighters. Instead of David piloting it, the Bug Fighter flew on its own. Was 'Ayla' flying it?
There was a 'holo' in the Bug Fighter. David picked it up.
>Before we start,> David said in his own thought-speech, >I just want to say, to everyone,> he added looking at me, (No, at Yenke) >I'm sorry for all this.>
>It's not too late to stop this.> I said.
But Tobias took a different route. >If you needed help, you should have asked. Some of us would have helped gladly.>
>Not in my way.> David replied.
>Sometimes working together as a group means compromise.> Tobias said.
>I'm not good at compromise.>
>70 percent of 'compromise' is 'promise'> Tobias said. >You've always kept your promises to us. Rachel and Jake may not agree, but I feel you've always kept your promise never to do anything that would hurt us. It would be a damn shame for you to break it now.>
David said nothing for a while. "This is the plan." He finally said with Biran's voice, activating a holo of Visser Three's Blade Ship. "I, Cassie, and the Kelk Bros. will infiltrate Visser Three's Blade Ship when it arrives above the Georgia coast in about ten mintues."
>Did he say my name? Should I be paying attention?> Yenke asked me. That caused me to smile inside.
The holo changed to a picture of a southern style house. "The Bug fighter will then land behind the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Gimble. Bird and Blue? That's your stop. You will place yourselves here and here." David said pointing to two windows.
"Cassie and I will masquerade ourselves as part of the Councilor's bodyguard." David continued. "We'll be wearing blue armbands. When I give you the command, you'll attack the Councilor. My intel says that Councilor Eight is in attendance. He's a Hork-Bajir controller. He'll be the one that Cassie and I will be guarding. When you attack, Cassie and I will shoot you with these modified Dracon Beams."
David drew his Dracon Beam and fired a shot, hitting Tobias.
>Aah!> Tobias yelped in reflex.
"See? It doesn't hurt."
>It itches.> Tobias commented, scratching himself where the beam hit him. >A lot.>
"Really?" David asked, surprised. David continued. "When we take you two in, we'll be able to continue from there. Any questions?"
"Is all this necessary?" I asked. "What is it you're going to do?"
David didn't answer me. He snapped his fingers. "Let's go!"
The Bug Fighter opened its hatch and I was instantly hit with air rushing into the Fighter. We must have been a thousand feet up. We were next to the Blade Ship!
>Ayla!> David commanded. >Ring the doorbell for us!>
A hatch on the Blade Ship opened up. David grabbed another small device from a box and he and I entered the Blade Ship. The door closed behind us.
>Will Tobias and Ax be all right?> I asked in private thought-speech to be safe.
>They'll be fine. Now, we're looking for a ship about three times as big as an Andalite Fighter.>
David forgot that I've only seen about two Andalite fighters in my lifetime. Still I guess we were looking for a ship almost the size of a house.
>Is this it?> I ask, pointing to a ship fitting that description.
>Good work.> He said. We walked to the hatch and entered this new ship.
>This is the Carrier ship of Councilor Eight.> David explained. >We're gonna make our way to the Blue Bands' rec room and give them a little surprise.> He said alluding to the small round device in his hand. I noticed he still had the PBC on his bandolier.
>What is it?> I asked.
>Shredder Pulse Wave> He said, as if I would know what that is.
He found the door he was looking for, opened it up, tossed the device in, and closed the door again. I saw light flashes from the cracks of the door. David opened the door back up and entered.
"It's safe." He said as he beckoned me to enter.
Inside I saw five unconscious Hork-Bajir. Two of them were large and massive. The other three were much more average. They each had blue bands on their right arms. David took two of the bands off. He put on one and gave the other to me.
I put it on without him telling me to.
>There's supposed to six.> David muttered.
>So we're disguising ourselves as Blue Bands, just to get close to the Councilor?> I asked. I don't know why. I felt heartbroken. Heartbroken that David would do something like this to me and the others. Isn't that strange?>Why not just acquire and morph one of them?>
>No, Visser Three installed a new filter on his ship. He'll know if someone isn't a controller. That's we infested Biran and Yenke.>
>Why not just infest one of these?>
>We can't do that without killing the original yeerk. This way no one dies.>
I was not surprised by that answer, but that in of itself surprised me. >What difference does it make if you're just gonna kill them later?>
>Only if they don't do things my way.>
>Your way or death?> I started. >Do you know what that sounds like?>
David looked fiercely at me. >Cassie, for there to be peace in the universe there cannot be a race of sentient parasites. There just can't! You know this!>
>Yes, but . . .> I pleaded, >what other choice do they have?>
>Plenty. And it'll be those choices I give them. I cannot force them to change, but I must at least give them the choice. I owe them that. For what I'm going to do to them, I owe them that. The change is coming, and I know it will work. If the yeerks wish to fight it, well then death is the only humane thing to give.>
'Humane?'
>What sort of change?> I asked as a light came on in the room we were in.
>Let's go. The Councilor is calling us.> He said. >Lock the door behind you, we don't want some Gedd-controller walking in on them.>
That's when our plan hit a few snags.
One, Councilor Eight was actually Council Four, a S-s-stram-controller. Luckily, David was able to tell Tobias and Ax in time.
Two, I nearly blew it by speaking English. David coached me on some Galard, and I was able to skim by. He also suggested I talk from now on using broken English and Hork-Bajir. I only remembered one word in Hork-Bajir, their word for 'outsider': Hruthin, but I used it.
Three, after David released Biran, demorphed, knocked the Councilor unconscious, acquired, and morphed the S-s-stram, Visser Three saw through his disguise, but plan B worked like a charm, even though poor Biran had to improvise being "an Andalite". He did a pretty good job.
David also gave Tobias, Ax, and Biran the unfortunate duty of disabling the real Hork-Bajir Blue Bands. Thankfully only a few had regained consciousness and the three of them were able to fully disable the elite, but groggy Hork-Bajir warriors. After all, Biran probably believed that these Hork-Bajir would soon be free and join the colony.
Knowing David, Biran was probably right.
But after Tobias objected to David killing Visser Three, he had us tied up again. I was more worried about what he was going to do to Stephanie, his ex-girlfriend, the girl that started this whole craziness, but that looked like a moot point as David now had two top ranking vissers and a councilor in his grasp.
I felt myself being placed on the ground. I then felt the familiar feeling of growing. I was demorphing. When I was fully human, the robotic tendrils grabbed me as well. I looked around. Toby and all of her people were around, also constrained. Tobias was still in leopard morph. Ax was still in the morph he called a djabala. Rachel, Marco, and myself were ourselves.
"Everybody," David announced theatrically, "we're expecting some distinguished visitors."
"Who?" Toby asked.
"Vissers Two and Three"
"You captured them?" Rachel wondered aloud.
"Rachel? Is that genuine appreciation and awe in your voice? I'm touched."
"It'll pass." Rachel sneered.
"Well, we'll also be joined by Councilor Four," David started. He turned to face the main view screen on the bridge. "Not Councilor Eight!"
"Huh." Said the computerized, feminine voice. David hadn't formally introduced us, but we all assumed this was the mysterious Ayla. "That'll teach you to believe everything you electronically eavesdrop."
"You're the one who—OH, NEVERMIND!" said David in frustration. It was weird; it was like watching David deal with a disobedient child he didn't know how to handle. "It's time for everyone to get into their Sunday best."
David pressed something on this PBC and Marco started shifting into a gorilla. Then I started morphing into a wolf. Finally, Rachel started morphing into a grizzly bear. The tendrils that held us shifted to our changing forms.
>Why are we in our battle morphs?> Marco asked.
"This is how they know you." David explained.
>Why am in the form of the djabala?> Aximili asked.
"Point of reference." Was all David said.
>And me? A Leopard?> Tobias asked.
"Ah! That is the Main Event!"
>What 'main event'?> Rachel asked.
"Before the main event, I think I'll deal with the lowly Gedd-Controllers. I'll be back, and then the fun begins!"
David left the bridge and left us to ourselves, hanging from robotic tendrils.
"Biran, Yenke," Toby called, "are you all right?"
"Yenke fine. Cassie sad." Yenke replied.
"Biran fine, too." Biran replied.
"Looks like you've seen battle." Said Enga Tala, the only female besides Toby amongst the Hork-Bajir warriors.
"Animorphs and Biran fight Yeerks together! Six Hork-Bajir-yeerks. Big and strong like Garik and Ursa. David promised when he had my head that when they have their own heads, I take to colony. New friends for us, Toby and Jara!" Biran said excitedly. I was right; David did promise the Blue Bands to Biran, and by extension, Toby. If Biran had any problem with David controlling him, he didn't show it.
>What was it like having David in your head, Biran?> I asked, tentatively.
"Kept saying 'sorry'. Very sad. I told him 'You're a mean guy, but at least I fight yeerks. Fighting yeerks is fighting yeerks.' Then he told me 'thank you'." Biran repeated; this speech and last speech seemed to wear him out.
I know from experience, having been both the Controller and the controlled, that while the yeerks can hide their own thoughts from their hosts, it was impossible to hide their feelings. When Aftran controlled my body, I felt her sadness and despair as if it were my own. If Biran thought that David felt sad, it was because David was sad.
But the real question was: Why?
Biran echoed my thoughts. "David is strange. Why he feel sad?"
"Sometimes good people do evil things and they don't know why." Toby explained. She never ceases to amaze me with her insight.
"Makes no sense." Toby's uncle Toma said. "Yeerk in my head was bad. Did bad things because he liked being bad. If good person likes doing good, why do bad?"
Toma had hit upon a very important question. A question that has plagued mankind, and perhaps other-kind, for millennia.
>That, my Hork-Bajir friend, is the quintessential question of the history of all sentient races.> Ax said. >What makes a good person do bad things?>
>Pain.> Tobias answered eerily. >And fear.>
David walked into the bridge. "My ears are burning. Were you talkin' 'bout me?"
>You wish.> Marco quipped.
"It's almost time for our guests to arrive. Ayla, patch into the Yeerk-net."
>The Yeerk-net?> Ax asked. >Are going to broadcast this?>
"That's right. Every Yeerk head-honcho is going to have a front row center seat for the humiliation and execution of Visser Three."
>You're really going to do it.> Rachel said. >You're really gonna kill Visser Three.>
"No, Rachel, I'm not." David said. "Tobias is."
>What?> Ax asked.
"I thought about letting you do the honors, Aximili, but then I figured, who better to kill Elfangor's killer but his only son."
>Not like this David. Not like this.> Tobias said.
"Why the fuck not?" David said strongly. "Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six Prime was hurt so many. Killed so many. Ruined so many lives. Mine, yours, EVERYONE'S! Millions have wept while he struts around in his stolen andalite form like he's the biggest shit in the galaxy."
>That's what this is all about?> Rachel asked. >Him?>
>No. It's about her.> Tobias said.
David looked solemnly at Tobias.
>I know how she makes you feel, David.> Tobias started. >Vulnerable. Weak. Powerless.>
They were talking about Stephanie.
>Shut Up!> David yelled in thought-speech. He could use thought speech cause his head had mostly turned lion. David shook his head and it returned to human.
David is a master morpher, better even than me, but he loses control of his abilities. When he loses control of his emotions.
When he loses control of himself.
"This is about making a statement." David said. "We may look like a weak and unsteady race. Yeerks think we're cows; the Andalites think we're rats, but we are humans. We fight each other. We fight ourselves. We withstand tornados, earthquakes, blizzards, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis. We burn the forests, boil the seas, and make the mountains bow. We slay lions and tigers. We harpoon whales. We fish for sharks. We imprison elephants. We slay dragons and tilt at giants.
"'Can you draw out a Leviathan with a hook or press down its tongue with a cord? Canst thou put a hook into his nose? Or bore his jaw through with a bridle ring?' WE CAN!
"We are Humans. Do not fuck with us."
I finally recognized how David was acting out. It's the way he acted out when he first joined us. Out of fear.
I was able to keep him with us by convincing him I was friend. I found out later that what I did only worked because he fell in love with me that night. Now he couldn't be stopped because a stronger love had brought him to the fear again.
To the fear and the pain.
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I promise: there will be action in the next chapter.
Oh, and if you think David is disturbing now . . . . . .
Lenalye, he will be knocked down a peg; don't worry!