July 10, 2000 11:13 PM

Rachel

Stupid David. Why'd he have to do that?

He captured us. Trapped us in morph. Left us bound, with our feet dangling. Used us as pawns in his sick little game show. Nearly drowned us. And trapped us in a position to die.

Not to mention having a relationship with my friend Melissa behind my back!

I was perfectly happy with hating him forever.

But then he just had to nearly die saving my life. Stupid David.

Toby had saved us as well. Her and Choey Najil, the old Hork-Bajir who was Visser Two's host. David freed him, and one of his first acts of freedom was remembering how to work the weapons systems of a Bug Fighter. I guess after being a host for so long, even a Hork-Bajir will learn things. Choey fired on the Carrier Ship and sent it fleeing like a coward. The Carrier Ship that held Councilor Four, Visser Three, and a Hork-Bajir-Controller named Nodnarb.

We flew home in modified Bug Fighters David called Sea Bugs. We would be landing at the Hork-Bajir valley back home soon. Then to who knows what. We'd have to find out what has happened during the day we were gone. Did our parents look for us? Did the Chee take our places?

But most of all, we wanted to avoid telling Jake anything. Not telling Jake what happened would be a great end to a crappy weekend.

We landed in the valley, waking up most of the Hork-Bajir.

Jara Hamee came running to us.

"One Sea Bug go. Two come back. Not right." Jara commented. "Toby! You've been gone a long time! Ket and I worry sick!"

"I'm sorry, Father, but we have some good news. We have liberated eight new Hork-Bajir."

"Eight? Big number. Good news, yes!" Jara said. Then he noticed the four Gedds. "You brought back Gedds."

"Yes, I hope it is all right, father."

"They have their own heads?" Jara asked.

Toby laughed. "Yes, of course."

"Then it is all right!" Jara said way too happily for someone who just woke up. Then again, with Toby gone for twenty-four hours, he might not have slept. "Gedds kinda stupid though."

That made me laugh. I looked around and I noticed a large log next to a pile of dirt that had begun to grow grass. I walked over to the log and saw that there were carvings in it. English writing.

"Here lies John Thomas Rochelli. December 20, 1970 to April 15, 2000. Loved Science and Freedom. Gave his life to the former for the later." read the carvings.

"Toby, what is this?" I asked.

"A human grave." She said. "During our raid to save the genetically mutated Hork-Bajir, this human died protecting us."

"Ok, everyone clear on their story?" Marco asked.

"Yes, Rachel and I went hiking in the woods and got lost. Again." Cassie said grumpily.

"Yes, and I having just fought with my dad and stepmom, tried to hitchhike to New York City."

"And what we're telling Jake is?" Cassie asked.

"That we were helping Toby with a raid in Maryland, and we didn't want to disturb him cause he was going to be at his grandmother's all morning." I recited.

>We could just tell Prince Jake the truth.> Ax said.

"What did we agree on?" I asked angrily. "We agreed that no matter what happened, we would never, ever, ever, tell Jake."

>NEVER EVER TELL JAKE WHAT?>

Fuck.

July 10, 2000 11:13 PM

David

I landed in the open hatch of the Sea Bug Bay. I demorphed from my Metracroyle morph and walked to the bridge.

Cassie slapped me. Slapped some sense into me, I guess.

I arrived at the bridge and looked around. Draconed pieces of my capture droids were strewn about. The globes I used on Visser Three. The five posts were all smashed into the floor, as was the brick. My weapons rack was busted. All my auto-shredders were destroyed, and my ship had holes in it.

Proteus had Pemalite self-repairing technology, but that was going to take time. I'd have to stay in the air while Ayla fully repaired the holes in the hull. We could still fly, and I asked Ayla to fly back to California, New Jersey.

There was a lot of mending to do, and I don't just mean Proteus.

I looked at my third of a tattoo. 'VI'. It was appropriately one-third of my Beast Mark.

If Tobias was right, then if I had succeeded in killing Visser Three, the Empire would have sent someone else to finish the job, and now that they know that I am extremely dangerous, they would have sent someone to finish the job quickly. Open War. Total destruction.

"I nearly did it, Ayla." I finally said. "I nearly set in motion a chain of events that would have destroyed my home planet. Just as Puck said I would."

"But . . . . . . . you didn't!" Ayla supplied. That wasn't a very comforting.

I looked around my ship. I looked down at the floor. Despite the gallons upon gallons of abrasive sea water that was flowing through here, there was still the blue stain of Andalite blood.

I boasted of my ship's great power. And I greatly misused it.

What was I thinking? I was the one fated to destroy the universe. What was I thinking giving myself this mighty starship? That's like hiring a pedophile as an elementary school principal.

"And now our host, he's just a small town boy, born in South Detroit, the one, the only: Daaaaaaavid Hunting!"

The One. The Only. The Beast. Visser Three called me that. According to Aximili, it is a penultimate insult, only to be given to creatures who cause great trouble for the yeerks.

They gave it to Elfangor. Now they gave it to me.

I built myself up, like a great and powerful titan. I certainly don't feel great and powerful now.

"Go visit your girlfriend." Ayla suggested. "She always makes you feel better. Unless you act like an ass."

July 11, 2000 12:10 AM

Melissa

It was after midnight. I couldn't sleep. Last night, after we finished watching The Matrix, David told me he was about to do something 'big'. Something really big that could change the universe. So naturally I was scared peeless for him.

He mentioned he might be gone for a few days. That scared me even more. I begged him not to go. He said he had to. He said "Thanks to the Animorphs, it is going to start earlier than expected."

So Sunday pretty much sucked ass. I spent all day in a daze worrying about my stupid boyfriend. Stupid David.

Stupid me. Stupid me for getting worked up over a boy. Stupid me for not telling him how I really felt.

Especially since he might die.

No! Don't think like that! I tell myself, but I can't help it.

I think . . . I think I lo—

TAP! TAP! >Melissa?>

I hopped out of bed and ran to my window. I opened it up and a small robin flew into my room and turned into my boyfriend.

As soon as I saw him I practically tackled him, I needed to hug him so badly. I held him very tight and he held me. I waited for him to make a silly joke about not being able to breathe. When he didn't I knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Uh . . . lots." He said, removing his trench coat and taking off his sneakers. Good, that means he wants to stay for a while.

"Did someone die?"

"Just some yeerks. Nothing big." He said. He almost sounded relived.

Then he did something I didn't expect. He started crying.

So I held him. I held him until he didn't cry anymore. When he stopped crying, I still held him. We talked. I made him laugh. David laughing is better than David crying, but I'll take him anyway I can get him.

We held each other. I didn't want to let go. So I kissed him and I led him to my bed and we held each other through the night.

Ok, I just want to clarify: we did NOT have sex. No sex. None! Ok, there may have been some "touching". On both sides. Of us. But no sex! Hymen still totally intact here!

Um, anyways, I woke up the next morning to my dad knocking on my door.

"Melissa? Honey?" my father said.

I woke up, then freaked, because I realized David was still asleep next to me. My doorknob began to turn.

"Don't open the door, Dad! I'm naked!" I say quickly.

I wasn't naked, but I certainly can't have my father walking in and seeing my boyfriend asleep in my bed. Plus, my dad's kind of a yeerk. And my boyfriend kind of . . . . fights them.

"Well get . . .not naked." My father sputtered. "There's someone here to see you."

"Who?"

"Jake. From school."

Oh crap.

I woke David up. He made a loud noise as he awoke and I told him to shush. "David," I whispered, "Jake's here."

"Wha?" He said, coming to full awakeness.

"I have to get dressed. Put your shoes and coat on and morph something small." I said as I picked out a cute outfit. I was about to take my nightgown off, when I felt David's eyes on me. I looked at him and he was grinning sheepishly.

And then I took my nightgown off.

July 11, 2000 12:33 PM

Jake

I was waiting for maybe ten minutes before Melissa came to the door. I knew it was a huge security risk, but it was small potatoes compared to the shit David pulled.

The David Hunting Show. I couldn't fucking believe him.

I couldn't believe my fellow Animorphs either. One, for going on this crazy outing. Two, for trying to lie to me about it. Like I wouldn't hear about it if Rachel, Cassie, and Marco were all missing in the morning. Like Jara wouldn't tell me that Toby and five other Hork-Bajir left with them. Like the Chee wouldn't show me David's pirate signal.

Melissa showed up at the door, wearing a nice blue shirt with a big pink heart on it and short green skirt.

"Um . . . Jake . . . Rachel's cousin, right? What's up?" She said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably.

"Yeah, uh, I was just in the neighborhood. Sorry to wake you so early in the afternoon," I said sarcastically. She looked inside her house suddenly with a confused and unbelieving look on her face, I guess to check the time, "but I need to speak with your boyfriend."

"My . . . um . . . my boyfriend?" Melissa asked very nervously. "I . . . uh . . . I don't have a boyfriend."

"You, ah, don't see that Terry guy anymore?" I asked.

"No. That whole relationship kinda went down. I mean, totally down." She said as she made down motions with her hands. "I mean I thought he was serious, but he was just pulling my leg."

Down. Leg.

I looked down at her leg and a brown recluse spider crawled down her leg from underneath her skirt.

I didn't even want to think about what that implied.

The spider crawled off of Melissa's leg and crawled onto mine. I was wearing jeans, so I didn't have to feel David's creepy legs all over me.

"Yeah, so, I'm sorry to bug you, and maybe I'll see you sometime at Rachel's house."

"Yeah. Totally." She said. She began to close the front door of her house when she mouthed the words "Don't hurt him" before shutting it.

I began to walk to the bus stop bench.

Don't hurt him. Like anything could hurt the great David Hunting. I thought bitterly and sarcastically.

>So, um, should you start or should I?>

I ignored him. I got to the bench and David had crawled all the way above my knee. I sat down and picked David up and put him between me and the old woman also sitting on the bench.

The air shimmered as the android Chee extended its hologram to encompass me and the wayward former Animorph.

"It's safe now." I said.

>Is it?> David cryptically asked as he demorphed. When he was fully demorphed he was standing on top of the bench. David jumped down and sat down next to me.

"How many times are we going to be having this conversation?"

"Which conversation is that?"

I punched the area of bench between us. I was in no mood for his bullshit.

"I'll just take a stab in the dark then." David said. "Let's see, could it be the one where you say 'If you use your powers for personal use with questionable motives, you're danger to us and you're against what we stand for.' That one?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I don't know, but I'm really hoping this could be the last time."

"So do I, David. Yet every time we do this, you go and do something worse than before."

"I said I was sorry."

"I know. Cassie believes you. And you must know that even you can't fool Cassie."

"You know she slapped me."

I chuckled. I did know that. Still makes me laugh.

"I know you're sorry, David, but I can't help but feel that some time down the road you're going to be apologizing for something else. Something worse."

"I'm not your enemy."

"That's another thing I'd like to believe, and yet, I just have this bad feeling like I'm going to have to go to war against you."

"Then why don't we skip the war and go straight to the treaty."

"A treaty? You mean, if I do something, you'll do something."

"No. I will do something and you will do something. No ifs. If one of us feels the other is not fulfilling the terms, then we'll revisit the terms."

"What are the terms?"

"The terms? I will not use Proteus or any of her resources in an offensive manner except in cases of galactic security."

"Give me a 'for instance'."

"Like say, some one finds the Time Matrix and takes it off world."

"Ok. That's acceptable. What do I do?"

"You, the other Animorphs, and any of your allies except me, will leave Melissa Chapman alone. You will not attempt to recruit her. You will not talk to her about me or anything yeerk-war-related. You will not ask her about me or anything yeerk-war-related, and you will certainly never go to her house, looking for me ever again."

And there it was. One possibly huge security risk stood between me and peace with David.

"What happens if they try to take her?" I ask.

"I pity anyone who goes after the important people in my life, looking for trouble, but for what reason if I'm not around, you should probably do what you have to do."

I had the distinct feeling that 'important people' included us. David always said he was an ally to us, but that always sounded like empty words to me. Nearly giving his life for Rachel's was definitely an action that spoke louder. "Ok." I said.

"Do we shake on it?"

"Sure" I said as I shook his hand. "Fair warning though, if you break her heart, Rachel will kill you."

July 11, 2000 1:08 PM

David

I had promised never to use Proteus offensively except in cases of absolute necessity. And Jake promised to leave Melissa alone. I had told Tobias that I wasn't good with compromise, but I figured the best way to learn how was with promises. Seventy percent of compromise is promise, and I was nothing if not a man of my word.

In robin morph, I flew away from our peace conference feeling better about things. I never told them, but I always did depend on the Animorphs as a check against me and my ambitions. Cassie, Aximili, and Tobias mostly, but even Jake, Rachel, and Marco had at some point or another kept me from doing things I would have regretted.

As I flew closer to Melissa's house, I noticed Mr. and Mrs. Chapman getting into their car and leaving Melissa alone.

I flew to Melissa's window sill, and tapped on the window. She saw me and let me in.

"My parents are gone."

>I know, I saw them leave.> I said as I demorphed.

"What did Jake want?"

"To talk to me about things. He wasn't happy about what I did."

I could tell Melissa didn't like that I was being vague, but she let it go. "He knows about me."

"Yes, but I took care of that. They won't try to recruit you."

Melissa stood in front of the window and the sunlight shone in her pale blond hair. She was beautiful. Beautiful in a different way than Stephanie.

She noticed me starring at her. "What? Am I naked again?" She asked, teasing me.

"No, I just . . . . . I'm so lucky to have you in my life right now. Especially last night."

She smiled at me and came over to hug me. "Glad to have helped."

"You don't think I'm a total loser now?" I asked.

"What? Just because you cried in front of me?" Melissa asked. Then in joking tone, "You men always have to be so macho all the time."

Naturally, the only intelligent and logical response to that was to tickle her.

For someone so tiny, she's freakishly strong. Not as strong as I was, but still. She pushed me as she laughed involuntarily. I reeled back and sat down on that thing at the foot of her bed she called a 'hope chest', pulling Melissa down with me. She landed on my lap, so she sat on my right leg, draping her legs over my left leg. I caressed her cheek as she put her arms around me. We kissed each other deeply. We stopped for air and she looked into my eyes.

"I love you." She said.

Totally wasn't expecting that. I think I sat there like a deer in headlights. I wasn't sure if I should say anything, least of all 'I love you, too.'

I wasn't sure that I loved her, which probably meant I didn't. I mean, it wasn't the same way I felt for Stephanie.

Hmmmm.

I lifted Melissa off me and she stood up. I stood up and looked out the window.

"David?" Melissa called.

"I want to tell you something." I finally said, turning to look at her.

She looked down at the ground. "Don't say if you don't mean it."

"Not that." I said as I walked to her bed and sat down. This was going to take a while.

Melissa sat down on the bed with me, facing me. I fidgeted, not quite knowing where to start. Melissa grabbed my hand and held it, and I found my strength again.

"When I lived in Georgia, I had a girlfriend. Her name was Stephanie."

July 11, 2000 1:24 PM

Tobias

I was harried. The human in me wanted to sleep, but the hawk in me wouldn't allow that while the sun was up, and since it's mid-July, the sun won't set for another eight hours. So I decided to keep my strength up with lunch.

A chipmunk had ventured away from its home. He wasn't even aware of me until I screamed my red-tail screamed. I snatched him up with my talons and ate him.

When I returned to my tree, I saw a falcon shifting into a human.

Jake was here.

I landed next to him and began my morph to human. When Jake finished his demorph, I was still morphing and he politely waited for me.

When I was fully human, he looked at me for awhile and chuckled.

"You know, I have hard time thinking of you as that boy I met with his head in the toilet." Jake finally said.

I laughed at the memory that seemed several lifetimes ago.

"So how'd it go?" I ask.

"Uh, good. Better than I expected actually. He seems really ashamed at what he did."

"Well, Cassie did slap him."

Jake laughed. "That part never gets old. He agreed not use his ship offensively unless, there's some sort of direct interplanetary threat to us."

"You trust his judgment on what constitutes a 'direct interplanetary threat'?"

"I do." Jake replied, sounding surprised at his own answer. "I think you are right, Tobias. David wouldn't do anything to hurt us. Intentionally."

"He'll keep his promise." I reassured him.

"I know he will. I promised not to do anything about Melissa."

"How do you feel about that?"

"A little worried, actually." He admitted. "His exact terms were that we couldn't recruit her, talk or ask her about him or the yeerk war, or look for him at her house."

He didn't have to say anything else. He wanted me to periodically check to make sure Chapman didn't take her.

Jake looked like he wanted to say something else, "If I'm not available to lead for whatever reason, Tobias, I want you to lead the team."

>What!> I sputtered. I was so surprised by what Jake said that I forgot how to speak and used thought-speech instead. I finally remembered how to use my clumsy mouth. "Me? Uh . . . I'm honored, but I don't think I'm qualified."

"You understand leadership. After all, you said from day one that I had to be the leader." Jake reminded me. It was weird; David said the same thing to me once. "You got the great leader heritage, and you did pretty good in there, and don't tell her I said this, but better than Rachel did."

"But I got everyone captured." I said.

"You got everyone detained by one of our allies. And even if David was our enemy, he doesn't like to kill except in certain circumstances, so getting captured by him is a great deal safer than the yeerks."

"I was a total failure."

"No, the mission was a total failure, and let's just review some of our first missions in my command: One, we go into the Yeerk pool, you get trapped in morph, and we nearly get killed by Visser Three. Two, we spy on Chapman, Rachel gets captured, and we nearly get killed by Visser Three. Three, we get trapped in a Yeerk truck ship, and we nearly get killed by Visser Three."

"All right, I see your point."

"I'll tell the others when we next meet, assuming you accept the position." Jake said presenting his hand to me.

I sighed. My head said that I couldn't do it. But my heart . . . . .

I shook Jake's hand. "I accept."

July 11, 2000 3:21 PM

David

It took a long time, but I explained everything to her. About Stephanie and Sub-Visser five-hundred-nine. The night I lost my virginity. The messages she would send me. And finally, my temporary resolution. She was a little worried. She didn't like the idea that I had my ex-girlfriend in my ship. I told her there's nothing to worry about.

I realized I hadn't checked on the Cold Pods to make sure everything was all right. When I returned to Proteus I asked Ayla about the conditions of the Cold Pods.

"100 percent success. The new tenants have been perfectly preserved in the Cold Pods."

"I want to see for myself." I said as I made my way to the lower deck to where the Cold Pod Room was.

I never explained to the Animorphs what the Cold Pods were. The Cold Pods were modified technology from the Andalites and the Pemalites.

Cryogenic freezing technology.

I had 144 pods. The first one held Hildy Gervais who I captured two days ago in front of the Animorphs. The second one was the temporary home of the leopard I had stolen from a zoo in London. I didn't like the idea of keeping him in there, so I resolved to figure out an alternative. I already had a few ideas involving Pemalite technology.

The other ten pods being used held three Gedds and seven more humans.

"Which one has Stephanie?" I ask Ayla.

"Pod 6." She responded.

I placed my hand on the blue cover of the pod. Cryogenically frozen, the yeerks wouldn't use up Kandrona, so they'll still be alive when I unfreeze them.

If I ever do.

I rubbed my hand on Stephanie's pod. "How collectable."

Councilor Four

The Empire's tendencies to cycle Blue Band Hork-Bajir had finally worked against me. I'm bad with names and faces, and for a yeerk, both of which have a tendency to change. I barely learned the names of the Hork-Bajir working for me before they were either killed or reassigned. So when the Morph-Human and another Andalite impersonated themselves as my Hork-Bajir Blue Bands, I did not even realize it until it was too late.

Luckily, at my instance, one Hork-Bajir has always stood by side. Nodnarb three-nine-five.

He rescued me and helped me rescue Esplin nine-four-double-six. Or Visser Three now.

Esplin. I never liked him. It annoyed me that he couldn't take care of the five or six andalite bandits that plague him. And even though I was present when David sabotaged the androids Esplin bought from the Dayangs, I wasn't convinced of his claim that this morph-capable human youth was the most dangerous of them all.

I know now that I was wrong. I was famous for my methods of torture, and what David did to Esplin is no worse than what I did to various S-s-stram, Andalites, or even Gervasids.

However, the purpose of my torture was to get information. I tortured for a strategic purpose. David tortured Esplin for humiliation and for the sake of cruelty, which increased the heinousness of the act hundredfold.

Using the underground network, we returned to the New England Yeerk Pool. I sent a brief message to the other councilors telling them I wanted to wait to give my report until I was in more secure location.

Wild varnex couldn't keep me on this rock.

Before I left, I asked to see the Visser in private. He met me on the bridge of my Carrier ship, away from the eyes of his subordinates.

Nodnarb was there as well, preparing for the flight. David had taken my seven Gedd-controller servants and my five other Hork-Bajir Blue Bands, leaving only myself and Nodnarb to fly the ship.

>Yes, Councilor? You wished to speak to me?> Esplin started.

"Yes, Visser, I just wanted to say that you did good withstanding the torture. A lesser yeerk would have cracked and surrendered."

Esplin's andalite tail noticeably twitched. It's what happens when Andalites are struggling to contain a sudden burst of emotion. And neither Esplin nor his host Alloran the Butcher where known for controlling their tempers.

"I'm going to recommend the Council of Thirteen to extend the suspension of your death sentence by a least another year."

>Thank you.> Esplin said. >And what of my plan? Can I now begin the destruction of Terra Firma's cities? You know how dangerous humans can be. You promised the Morph-human you would do that.>

"You know that was a bluff, Esplin. It was my vain attempt to get him to stop hurting you." I explained. "Open War on Terra Firma is out of the question. We cannot afford to pull resources from the Garatron and Anati Seizure Campaigns.

"Our forces are starting to be spread thin: there are rebellions starting everywhere! More human-controllers are overpowering their yeerk captors, and this is spreading hope across our empire like a disease. And the recent travesty committed against you can only prove the dangers of giving humans access to advanced technology. Open war will only increase the chance of that happening."

Esplin seemed to accept my response.

"I am giving you new orders though. When you encounter the Andalite bandits you will still attempt to capture and infest them, but if you come across the morph-human . . . ."

>Yes?> the Visser asked anxiously. >What?>

"I need the full Council's approval for this, but until then I'm invoking emergency powers to issue this command: If you encounter David Hunting, do not attempt to capture him."

>What shall I do instead?> the Visser asked, already wishing for and anticipating the answer I was going to give him.

"Terminate. With extreme prejudice."

>It will be done.> Esplin said with satisfied zeal in his thought-speech.

"You are dismissed, Visser Three."

The Visser left my ship and I left Terra Firma, hoping never to return again.

As we translated into Z-space, Nodnarb finally spoke.

"What was it you didn't tell him?" Nodnarb asked.

He knows me too well. "David Hunting had technology on that ship I had never seen before. The depths of human cunning and cruelty is something we're only now beginning to understand. Their physical frailty contrasts greatly with their resilience and seemingly boundless spirit. With everything at David Hunting's disposal he may be to strong for any Yeerk to defeat."

"Is there no one who can defeat David Hunting?"

"There may be someone. A bounty hunter. My host has memories of his cruelty and it seems to be a match for Hunting's. Plus, even without my host's memories, his reputation is quite infamous."

"Councilor, you can't possible mean—" Nodnarb protested, but I cut him off.

"Get me Tak Sistranus!"