The Others

[Horsefan1023 (Seal)]

OK.  Here is a new FanFiction idea I had.  It's about this new project the Yeerks have.  I know the first chapter is short and doesn't reveal much, but here it is.  The Others.  Read and enjoy!

The Others
By Horsefan1023


Chapter One, Beth’s Point of View

   Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

   Just keep doing that, Beth. I encouraged myself. Keep doing that and you’ll get through this.  You’ll see.
   But what if you don’t?  A nasty voice at the back of my head sneered. 
   But I will.   I argued back.
   
   I stared up at the sky.  It seemed much closer now.  Or was that just me?  Maybe it was closer.  Maybe the sky was falling.
   I must be delirious. I thought.  But the thought went right out.  It made no sense.

   Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

   That was the only thing that made sense.  Yes. 
   I tried to move my formerly fully human body.  But it wouldn’t move.  It gave the smallest of twitches, but that was it.  Stupid body.
   But the sky, yes, the sky, that was one thing I was certain of.  It was there.  It was a comfort.  Because I was certain of it.  It didn’t escape my delirious thoughts.
   And the woods I was in.  That was another thing I was certain of.  The small creatures that with my enhanced senses I could hear, smell, see.  The scent of wildflowers.  They didn’t go unchecked either.

   Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

   Why was I in these woods again?  Oh yeah, the project.  The Others project.  Hah.  Stupid project.  It wasn’t even a project, but a torture device.  No, a plan.  Yes, I was a tool in a plan. 
   The plan was to catch the…Andalite bandits, wasn’t it?  Yes.  That was it.  The Andalite bandits.  They opposed the empire.  Our empire.
   But it wasn’t my empire anymore.  I was opposing said empire.   Wasn’t I?  Yes.  I certainly was opposing that empire. 

   What empire?

   Oh yeah.  The Yeerk Empire.
   I was opposing the Yeerk Empire.

   Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

   That was one thing that was for sure, yes.  Inhale and exhale.  Inhale and exhale.  There were two other certain things too.  Yes, ground and sky.
   
   Ground and sky.  Was that a choice?  I was never presented with that choice before, was I?  No, I certainly wasn’t.  But now it was.

   Dwell in ground?  Dwell in sky?  Ground?  Sky?

   Which was it?  Ground or sky?

[Horsefan1023 (Seal)]

Chapter Two, Beth's Point of View

   As I lay in the forest pondering my choice of ground or sky, my mind went back to today’s events, which had given me the choice, and left me here, raving and delirious.  The scenes sprang unbidden, even though I tried to push them down.  They wouldn’t go away.  Stupid images.  But they were presented in the form of like, a movie.  Yes.  A movie that I was in.  It was like being an actress watching her own film.

The girl kneels on the pier over the pool.  Two Hork-Bajir stand on either side of her, steadying her.  She lowers her head to the sludge and muck in the pool.  Something slides out and plops in, joining the other Yeerks to feed and bathe in Kandrona Rays.  The girl instantly starts to scream, but the Hork-Bajir grab her and haul her to a table standing by pool, with strange instruments standing around it. The Hork-Bajir strap her down, so she is on her stomach with her back up and her palms flat on the board, the backs of them up.
Visser Three picks his way delicately around the instruments to stand beside the Hork-Bajir, gazing down at the girl.  She continues to struggle and scream.  “Let me go!  I don’t want to be this Other thing!  Let me get up and fight, you cowards!” She screams, but Visser Three only laughs softly in his head, broadcasting his thoughts so all can hear
<I’m so sorry, Lisun.  But now, I suppose Lisun 3465 of the Sluup Niar pool is not in your head right now, is he?> Questions the Visser silkily <Anyway, what is your name, fool?>
“My name is Beth,” the girl spits back.
Visser Three laughs again. <Wonderful.  I’m sorry, Beth, but this must be done.  Proceed.> Adds Visser Three to the workmen.  One takes a syringe and injects it into the girl.  She stops struggling and goes limp.  The men crowd around her and begin to work.

Some hours later, the Visser trots readily back into the room.  <Is she ready, workmen?> He demands.  One nods and says, “She is frail and will need rest, but she is ready.  The Others program is well under way.”
<Remind me again of the new features that this girl has.> Visser Three says as he thoughtfully paces around the table where the modified girl lays.
“Implanted wings and hollowed out bones for sky surveillance for the Andalite Bandits.  Claws coming from between her knuckles for battle.  Enhanced sight, hearing, and smell.  We will give her a newly designed miniature cloaking device for turning invisible when flying, but it doesn’t last very long.  We are trying to design a better one, but on short notice, this is the best we’ve got sir.” Says the man, glancing back at Beth, still out cold on the table.
“Oh, Visser,” cries a Human-Controller from nearby.  “How did you come up with this glorious idea?”
The Visser smirks and looks thoroughly pleased.  <I got the idea from some silly human movie the voluntary Controllers were watching.  X-men or something like that.  There was this man, Wolverine or whatever who had the claws.  Another one had wings.  I thought, why not combine the two and add some more?  Funny.  A human movie helps bring about the downfall of humans!> The Visser laughs heartily and naturally everyone laughs with him.  He abruptly stops laughing and turns back to the head workman.  <Wake her up, and get Lisun back in her head.  I want her to be either Other One, or Lisun 3465 of the Sluup Niar pool, either one she prefers, but I certainly don’t want her to be a modified human.>  Visser Three leaves.  The workmen inject another syringe into the girl.  She wakes up.
“Uhhh…whaaa…hah?  What the…NO!” Beth screams.  “What did you do to me?  What did you do to my body?!  What the heck did you do to me?!?!  Huh?  My…my senses…they’re…oh no, you modified them too!”
Beth tries to wrench herself out of the Hork-Bajir’s grasp, as they have unstrapped her and pulled her unceremoniously off the table.  She screams and fights, but they drag her to the pool.  The Hork-Bajir dunks her head into the sludge, but Beth still fights. 
Beth waits for Lisun to slither back in and laugh at her, but it never comes.  She feels Lisun trying to get into her brain again, but for some reason, the Yeerk couldn’t.  Beth realizes that the people working on her must have done something when they modified her hearing so Lisun couldn’t get back in.  Beth stops struggling and gets up calmly, pretending to have the Yeerk back in her head.  She flexes her claws, sliding them in and out of her knuckles.
“What a wonderful host body.  Amazing!  Thank you so much Visser Three, sir!” Beth exclaims.  She then walks quickly towards the exit to the pool, knowing Lisun will warn the other Yeerks. 
“Huh?  Lisun, where are you going?  You need rest!” Cries the head workman. Beth picks up the pace, and begins to run towards the exit, then leaps up and flies.  Sure enough, Lisun takes the advantage and enters the next host body, then uses that body to warn everybody.
“Visser Three!  It’s me, Lisun 3465 of the Sluup Niar pool!  The body intended for me does not let me in!  I cannot get in!  Other One has no Yeerk!”
Beth pumps her wings faster, shooting towards the exit, then breaking free into the sunlight.  She activates her cloaking device, and flies towards a forest.  She collapses in there, the flight killing her, literally, as she didn’t have the rest the workman said she needed...The movie finished.  Being a normal girl seemed so far away, even with Lisun in my head.  It seemed like I had been modified my whole life.  Why me?  Why did Lisun have to be so enthusiastic about serving the Yeerks?  But being normal was even more far away.  Not being a Controller was so far away.  How long had Lisun 3465 of the Sluup Nair pool been pulling the strings of my body, being me, and fooling everybody?  Too long, that was for sure.  My freedom had been gone for years, and now I had found it again.  But was I really free?  Was I trapped in a box of choices, pounding to get out?

I stared up at the setting sun.  It was free, shining in the sky.  Always shining.  Always floating.  Ever free.  Suddenly, something blotted out the shining light.  A bird!  That was free too!  The red tail feathers gleamed in the light as it plunged down again and found some poor mouse for dinner.  A hawk eat mouse world out there.  Oh, to be a haw-wait.  The hawk was thought speaking!  Talking! 
<What the heck?  Is that a girl with wings down there?>
“Please…help…me…dy…ing…won’t…live…long…” I somehow managed to rasp out of my dying body.
<Ok.  This isn’t something you see everyday.  A dying girl with wings.  But then again, I’ve sorta stepped out of the things you see everyday when I met Elfangor.>
“El…Fan…Gor…They…know…him…killed…him…sent…me…Others…project…”
<Who is they?  Wait…’they killed him?’ Are you a Controller?  What is the Others Project, or whatever?  Answer me, Yeerk!>
“No…not…Controller…used…to…be…’scaped…modified…Andalite Bandits…Visser…Three…no…can’t…see…cant…see!”  Everything was going black.  The last thing I remembered was the end of our conversation, and the promise I thought he would never fulfill. .  <Ok, I’m off, I’m getting everyone else.>

“No…don’t…go…help…me…gotta…tell…you…about…Other…Project…no…no…help…me…no…don’t…go…”
<I’ve gotta go, I’m getting help.  I’ll be back, Controller or person or whatever you are.  I will be back.>
“But…what…if…die?”
<You won’t die.  I’ll be back with help before you die.>
“You…will?”
<Yes.  I will be back.  I promise.>
“Promise?”
<Yes.  I do.  I promise.>