Richard's Animorphs Forum
Animorphs Section => Animorphs Fan Fiction & Art => Topic started by: TobiasMasonPark on February 22, 2011, 09:09:54 PM
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This was inspired partially by the "What if?" thread on RAF.
What if David had gotten out of the sewer first?
DAVID
The name is David.
The Animorphs thought they could get the best of me. They thought they could trick me. But they didn’t expect me to wise up to their little plan. I’m a smart guy, you see. I will admit that it was a clever plan. I mean, it took me a while, but I managed to catch on. But it was clever, nonetheless. I have to give those guys credit; they could be downright cruel when they wanted to be.
You see, I’m what they call the newest Animorph.
Who are the Animorphs?
Well, I’ll tell you exactly who they are; names and all. The Animorphs are six teenagers living in a no name town in California. They’re led by a complete stiff named Jake Berenson. But you can tell that his cousin Rachel is the one who gets her hands dirty. Then there’s Jake’s stooge, Marco. In fact, it’s all Marco’s fault that I’m in this mess anyways. The day I met Marco is the day I went from being David the new kid, to David the Animorph. I guess, given the fact that I was the one who found the blue box at the Construction Site in the first place, that I was to blame for my predicament. Well, you can just shove off, because I don’t care about what you think.
There are three other Animorphs. We have Jake’s resident love interest and group hypocrite, Cassie. Then there’s Ax, the Andalite whose technology gave me the same powers as the other Animorphs. And, finally, there’s Tobias; the bird who used to be a boy—apparently the result of overstaying the two hour morphing limit.
That was the gist of their plan, you see; trapping me in morph. Like I said, it was pretty clever of them. Sure, they could have killed me, but that would have conflicted with their morals. Besides, the only one of them that would be willing to do the deed would be Rachel. I couldn’t see Big Jake or Cassie stooping to Rachel’s level. Marco or the Andalite might have had the stuff to kill someone, if it needed to be done. But Rachel was the only person in the group who could do so without thinking.
Instead of trying to kill David, they devised a rouse. They told me that they hid pieces of the blue box—the Andalite device—around the city. One of those pieces was placed at the abandoned Construction Site where I had found it a few days before. Rachel and I were supposed to morph into rats and get the piece and move on to the next location. By the end of the night, I would have the box in my possession. The next day, I would be living out my life as Saddler; a cousin to Rachel and Jake.
But, of course, the Animorphs didn’t intend on letting me have the box. They had attached a cage to the mouth of the sewer pipe, with the hopes of trapping me inside. I had heard something that tipped me off. It was the sound of metal touching metal; like hitting a pipe against the base of a sewer drain. Like I said, I’m a smart enough guy. I pieced together what they were doing pretty quickly.
I made a mad dash towards the source of the noise. I scrapped my little rat paws against the dirty sewer floor, chasing after Rachel. I couldn’t let her get out of the pipe first. I had to beat her to the entrance.
I bit down on something long, thin and pink—a rat’s tail.
Rachel let out a squeak of anguish. I had stopped her, for now. But she was putting up a fight; thrashing about and waving her fists around. Finally, she turned around and started to gnaw on her own tail! She was going to bite it off!
So, I let go.
It definitely caught her off guard. It’s pretty simple really. I was pulling her back, applying a certain amount of force. Once I noticed she was going to chew her way out, I let go; thus, Rachel fell on her little rat butt. That was my chance to strike. I just climbed over the white obstacle in my way and made a mad dash towards the mouth of the pipe.
I was a white blur, jumping out of the pipe.
I landed on the trash covered ground of the Construction Site, tasting the fresh air. But there wasn’t much time to enjoy it. I had to get out of sight fast; before the Animorphs noticed that I had escaped. Rachel would warn the others that I had gotten the better of her—through use of thought speech, of course. And I didn’t want a tiger or a wolf chasing after me. So, I just ran out into the night.
I already had a plan forming in my little rat head.
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I like the idea so far. You've painted David as pretty unstable and desperate. It's a good question and I can't wait to see how you follow through with it.
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TOBIAS
Rachel should have got out of the pipe first. That was the plan. But she didn’t…The white mass of fur that we saw leaping out of the pipeline was not Rachel. It was the real rat, David. If Rachel had warned me earlier, I might have been able to catch him. Maybe I could have had myself a nice mid-night snack. But David got away, like the rat he was.
((Jake! Tobias! Somebody! David’s getting away! Close the cage! CLOSE THE CAGE!))
((Jake!)) I shouted.
“I know, I heard!” Jake snapped.
I watched Jake from the sky. I was about fifty feet up, keeping a lookout, as usual. But he might as well have been right in front of me. With my eyes, I could see anything from Jake, to the Pepsi bottle lying by feet, to the white rat that jumped out of the pipeline and onto the ground. Jake wasn’t fast enough. He slammed the door of the cage about a second too late.
((Tobias, Prince Jake told me to tell you--))
((I’m already on it, Ax-man.)) I said, quickly. ((I saw him run away from the construction site…I think I lost him.))
I was circling around in the air keeping an eye out for a white rat. That, of course, was a lot easier said than done. See, during the day, I could see practically anything with a pulse moving down below. I was a red-tailed hawk; a predator by nature. Birds of prey are the very thing that strikes terror into the hearts of a creature like David…Or, at least, the creature David was using as a morph…
((Prince Jake is showing signs of anger.)) Ax said. He was the only one who could use thought speech at the moment, so I couldn’t speak to Jake directly.
((Jake, I’m trying here.)) I said. ((It’s too dark. I can try, but the chances of finding a rat in the middle of the night--))
((Prince Jake wishes for me to tell you to keep an eye out.)) Ax interrupted. ((He has asked the rest of us to morph owls, to scope out David.))
((Jake, knowing David, he probably went back to your place.)) Cassie said. She must have finished the morph. That didn’t surprise me. Of all of us, Cassie was the most adept at morphing.
((I can’t believe I lost him.)) Rachel shouted. ((He knew I would try to bite off my tail. I didn’t expect him to let go.))
Five Great Horned owls joined me in the night sky. We couldn’t worry about raising suspicion now, not with David on the loose. Besides, I doubt very much that someone would notice a hawk flying with five owls in the middle of the night. I’m sure there were better things for them to do at this hour. Unless, of course, they were Controllers; then we’d have something to worry about.
((We can all beat ourselves up about this later.)) Jake muttered. ((We need to worry about David now. Cassie has a point: David probably went back to my house. I want Rachel to come back with me, since my parents won’t think anything of it. I want Ax to wait outside my place, in case we get there before David does. The rest of you guys keep a look out. David can’t have gotten very far.))
Jake, Rachel and Ax broke away from the group, leaving me with Cassie and Marco.
((We should spread out.)) I instructed. ((David’s in rat morph. Rats are pretty quick, but they can’t out run a bird or owl. We should be able to find him before he gets to Jake’s.))
((Unless he demorphed once he was out of sight.)) Marco mumbled.
That was true. We wasted time morphing and getting our thoughts together. David had maybe ten minutes on us; time he could have spent demorphing and remorphing something much larger than a rat, like a golden eagle, or a lion…The possibilities were endless with David. In which case, we all had to be very, very careful.
((Everyone keep an eye out for a golden eagle.)) I said, nervously. ((It’s the middle of the night, but those things are insane no matter what time of the day it is.))
((Sounds like David to me.)) Marco said. ((Look, guys, we screwed up. David got away. He knows we’re on to him now. Do you know what’s going to now? He’s going to go to Visser Three!))
((We don’t know that.)) Cassie said.
((What do you think he’s going to do, Cassie?)) Marco snorted. ((You think he’s going to walk up to Jake’s front door with a freaking bouquet? You think he’s going to say, “Hey, guy. Sorry I tried to kill you all the other day. Let’s just pretend nothing happened?”))
((He may just leave.)) Cassie reasoned. ((Like you said, he knows we’re on to him. He saw how far we were willing to go to get rid of him; to stop him from getting the box. He might just decide to leave with Saddler’s family tonight.))
((In which case, he keeps his powers and mooches off a family whose real son is probably cut up into a billion pieces by now--))
((Marco!)) Cassie cried in disgust.
((What do you think he did with Saddler, Cassie?))
((I try not to think about it.)) She answered. ((I really don’t want to know what David was thinking at the time.))
((Maybe we should just focus on looking for David.)) I said. ((We’re wasting time.))
((Tobias is right.)) Cassie said. ((We look for David. Then…))
((Then we kill him.))
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Love it! Hope David dies this time
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You realize that my favourite character in the series is David, right? :P
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Oh....
*prepares self for an ending in David's favor :P*
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I'll try to be unbiased when it comes to my love for David :P
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lol do w/e you want. I'll probably like it either way
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JAKE
My name is Jake.
We’ve been fighting this war for a little over a year now. I’ve seen a lot in my time as the leader of the Animorphs. I’ve seen people decapitated by Visser Three himself. I’ve seen the life slip out of the eyes of a Hork-Bajir. I’ve watched Taxxons burst at the slightest scrape of my claws. I’ve seen people in cages down in the Yeerk Pool—hell, being down in the Yeerk Pool is traumatizing as any of the stuff I just mentioned. The point is that I’ve seen a lot of stuff over this past year. Until recently, I thought I had seen it all. Then I met a kid named David, and I saw just how horrifying things could get.
The Animorphs started off with the five of us; five scared kids who just happened to walk through an abandoned construction site. Those five kids—myself, my best friend Marco, my cousin Rachel, Cassie and a kid named Tobias—met an alien named Elfangor. We were given a powerful gift. It was a gift that a lot of people would give their right hands to possess. We were given the power to morph—to become any animal that we touched. I’ve morphed into plenty of animals—a tiger, a falcon, a ****roach…At first it was jarring. Eventually it became a part of my daily routine.
It was just the group of us for the longest time. Within a few months we met Elfangor’s younger brother: an Andalite we call Ax. So it was just the six of us against thousands—probably hundreds of thousands—of Yeerks. The Yeerks are the enemy, by the way. They’re parasites, capable of infesting and enslaving the minds of any living creature in the universe. They’re led by Visser Three on Earth, but have bases and pools set up on all sorts of planets. They have only one weakness that we can use against them. They have to feed on Kandrona rays every three days. I was a Controller once. Just a few months after this all started I was infested by the Yeerk who had been controlling my older brother Tom.
That’s the worst thing about this invasion: nobody even knows what’s going on until it’s too late. By the time you discover the existence of the Yeerks, you probably already have one in your head; controlling your thoughts and movements. Your family won’t know what’s going on either, because the Yeerk have access to your memories. Who knows, your entire family could be Controllers and you wouldn’t even know.
Things changed just a few days ago. Someone found out about the Yeerks, and the Animorphs, and the existence of aliens. A kid named David found the device Elfangor used to give us the morphing power. We couldn’t let him keep the box; it was far too dangerous. But we didn’t get to David in time. He tried to sell the box on the internet. By the time we got to David’s house most of the walls were torn down. Visser Three had arrived; morphed as some sort of…thing. We managed to get David out safe, but we hadn’t a clue as to what we’d do with him.
See, we basically had two options. In the first place, we had to stop some of the most powerful men in the world from getting infested, so our judgement was somewhat rushed. We could either leave David to the Yeerks; thus suffering the same fate as his parents. Or, we could give him the morphing power and make him one of us: an Animorph.
We chose the second option.
We made a huge mistake.
“They’ve been down there far too long.” Marco said, pacing around the abandoned construction site where this whole mess began.
“If anyone can do this it’s Rachel.” I said, calmly. I was playing the leader part, so I had to say things like that. Really, I wasn’t calm. The plan could easily fail. David could get away. And then we’d be in the same mess. We’d still be stuck with the biggest mistake made in this entire war.
Basically, Rachel couldn’t fail.
“How long is this going to take?” Marco said. “I’m not going to miss another episode of Buffy tonight. You know, I’m completely lost now? I have no idea what’s going on.”
Marco was joking around. He really did know how important this mission was. Marco’s the type of person who needs to crack a lot of jokes to get through an uncomfortable situation. You get used to it. But tonight was just not the night for jokes. We were going to do something really big tonight. We were going to trap David in morph.
There’s one thing you need to know about the morphing technology. You can never stay in one morph for more than two hours at a time. Otherwise, you’ll become a nothlit—a person trapped in morph. Tobias got off easy; he was trapped as a hawk. David wouldn’t be trapped as a predator. That’s why he and Rachel had to morph rats.
((So…has anyone thought about what’s going to happen after we get this done?)) Tobias asked.
“Yes we do.” Marco answered. “We’ll have one less pain in our ass.”
((That’s not what I meant and you know it.)) Tobias said.
I knew what he meant.
“We can’t just let David get away with everything he’s done.” I sighed.
((It would be kinder to kill him.))
This last part was private. See, there are two types of thought speech: private and public. Private thought speech is when you direct your thoughts to certain people. Tobias was speaking with me privately. He wasn’t on board with the whole plan. He knew that we had to get rid of David—that much was certain. But Tobias knows better than anyone what it’s like to live in a body that wasn’t his own. Trapping David may have been the worst thing we could have done.
But David wasn’t a Hork-Bajir or a Taxxon or even a Controller. He was a free person. And there’s something about killing another human being in cold blood that sticks with you. You know that you’ve done something really terrible. And it’s not like we could kid ourselves into thinking that it was just another part of the war. It’s not like when we were faced with a battle, and we’d have to kill someone. It would have been pre-meditated murder.
I know deep down that Tobias was right. I think we all did. We just wanted to make ourselves feel better. If David died, that would have been nature taking its course. So, we put it up to a vote.
I had to be the leader.
I gave Tobias a slight nod; just to let him know that I had heard him. But he knew it wasn’t up for debate. It was too late to turn back.
((It’s ironic.)) Ax said.
“What’s ironic?” Cassie asked.
((The animal we’ve chosen to trap David in morph.)) Ax said. ((I have read that such creatures are often associated with negative connotations…Most notably traitors.))
“It’s not ironic, Ax-man.” Marco said, harshly. “Irony isn’t intentional. Irony is supposed to be funny; something you see and think, ‘Aw man, isn’t that a kick in this ass?’ There’s a reason that we chose the rat.”
((I understand, Marco.)) Ax said, solemnly. ((But there are many creatures on your planet associated with the connation of traitor.))
We all sat in an uncomfortable silence.
“Tobias…you’d better get in the air…We can’t risk tipping David off.”
The red-tailed hawk that was Tobias flew into the night sky. It was a sight I never really got tired of seeing.
I turned back to the sewer pipe. We had attached a makeshift cage to the mouth of the pipe. When Rachel got out, we would close the cage on David. And we would watch him for two hours…
Two terrible hours…
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Neat. This story is cool. Update soon! But did it go back in time or something?
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The story was going to me narrated solely by David. But I decided to turn it into a megamorphs book. I skipped Rachel's narration for the time being for two reasons: 1) I returned book 22 to the library, and 2) you already hear from Rachel's POV in the latter book. I decided to continue with Jake's POV after I had written and posted Tobias'. So it's not time travel. More like a TMPSU
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TMPSU?
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TMPSU?
Tobias Mason Park Screws Up.
Kinda like a KASU.
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CASSIE
((Then we kill him.)) That was Marco, of course.
We had a long and hard debate over what to do with David. We knew that there was only one thing to do and that was to get rid of him…for good. The real question was how we would go about getting rid of David.
((It’s simple,)) Rachel said. ((We kill him. In and out. Battle morphs. Sure a lion can take on a tiger. But what about a Grizzly? Or a Gorilla? Or a wolf?))
At the time, we were all in morph. We’d normally hold our meetings at my parent’s barn, but we knew that David would be watching us. Since he could morph like the rest of us, he could become something small; something that a person wouldn’t notice hanging around a farm. So, we all agreed to meet in the park. We would all morph a different animal; something that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
((Yea, because a bunch of wild animals attacking each other in the middle of the street is something that happens every day.)) Marco said, taking on the appearance of an Irish setter. ((We have to think about this, Xena. We need something subtle. Something a guy like David wouldn’t expect us to do.))
((I don’t see you coming up with anything.)) Rachel fumed. Rachel had morphed into a rat for our little get together.
((That’s because I’m shooting down all the asinine ideas, like a full attack on a freaking lion.))
((Seems to me like a battle’s the only way to go.)) Rachel mumbled. ((David would want a battle anyway. We all win.))
((Has anyone thought about who’s going to do the deed?)) Tobias asked.
Tobias was in the sky, flying in his own body.
((I assumed Xena would do it.)) Marco replied.
((We’ve never had to kill another human being before.)) Tobias said. ((Do you think one of us would be able to kill David if we had a chance.))
((Yes.)) Marco and Rachel, of course.
((There has to be another way.)) I insisted. ((Jake, there must be something else that can be done.))
Jake was morphed as his dog, Homer. He was pretending to bark at a squirrel in a tree.
((Obviously there are other things we could do…)) Jake said. ((But killing him seems to be the only option that keeps David out of our hair.))
((There is one option…)) I said, slowly.
((Well…go on.)) Marco.
((It’s like Tobias said. How many of us would be willing to kill David in cold blood? I certainly wouldn’t. Tobias wouldn’t. Ax would just do whatever Jake asked of him. And even if Rachel or Marco agreed to do it, would they be able to carry out the deed?))
((If he was morphed, sure.)) Rachel grumbled.
((But even if he was morphed as a lion or an eagle or a rat, it would still be David. He would still be a thinking human being. He would still be some scared kid who just wants to go home.))
((Scared my ass!)) Marco snorted. ((He tries to off Jake and Tobias and I’m supposed to believe that he’s just scared?))
((We haven’t exactly made this transition easier on him.)) I pressed on.
((Oh, sorry.)) Marco scoffed. ((I thought we were supposed to be saving a few powerful people from the Yeerks. But, now that you mention it, maybe we should have listened to the whiny kid in the background. Maybe we should have had him over for dinner. Maybe we should have invited him over to Jake’s place to play volleyball with Tom and Visser Three.))
((Alright Marco, that’s enough.)) Jake said.
((Scared…You know who must have been really scared? Saddler. And who knows what the hell happened to that kid? I bet you he’s rotting away in some dumpster or--))
((I said knock it off, Marco.)) Jake shouted.
For the longest time, all you could hear was the sound of barking dogs and the squeaking of chipmunks.
((Jake…sorry man.))
((Cassie…What did you have in mind?))
I attempted to take a breath. But you can’t exactly sigh when you’re in the body of a squirrel.
((We’ve been going on and on about killing David. Now we’re considering the fact that most of us might not be up to killing another person. But we haven’t thought about the one other thing that we could do to stop David…Something we’re already familiar with…A weapon that doesn’t need to be seen to be threatening.))
((Alright…and that weapon would be?))
((We trap him.)) I said, finally. ((We could trap him in morph.))
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The fact that you're randomly changing the order of the story is slightly confusing, but other than that it's pretty good so far. I'm not a big fan of "what if?" stories involving David because they tend to be badly done. Hopefully this will be the exception.
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Yea, sorry about that. When I started writing, i only had a vague idea of how it was going to be narrated.
Post Merged: February 27, 2011, 09:45:19 PM
MARCO
I was starting to get a little ticked off.
It was the middle of the night. It was cold—even for an owl. The fact that we were roused by anything that moved was irritating enough. We couldn’t even be sure that David was even a rat anymore. Chances are he demorphed the second we lost sight of him. That wouldn’t be a problem if we knew what he morphed next. David was different. He didn’t follow our rules. He was all for morphing big jungle cats to rob jewellery stores. A guy like him wouldn’t be beneath morphing other people. He stole the life of a kid named Saddler—Jake and Rachel’s severely injured cousin.
That’s the guy we brought into our little group. We expected David to help us save the whole world.
And I’ll admit, I was pretty scared of this guy, too. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting this kid again. He saw through our plan—somehow—and chances were he was ticked off. Now, what do you think an angry kid with the ability to change into any animal is going to do to the people who tried to trap him forever in the body of a rat?
I’ll tell you what he’ll do—he’s going to want revenge. And if he was all for killing us without cause, he would definitely do the same without the slightest hint of hesitation. The only thing stopping him from slaughtering us at any moment is the fact that he isn’t willing to kill humans. But if we were in morph…
Flying is usually an amazing experience. I mean, you’re up in the air—hundreds of feet above the heads of the losers who can’t grow wings whenever they feel like it—and you can see practically everything! And there’s nothing better than catching a really nice thermal on a hot, sunny day. I can totally understand why Tobias enjoys the life of a hawk—it sure had some benefits; especially if you’re the biggest, meanest turkey in the air.
Tonight wasn’t one of those times.
((I say we quit while we’re behind.)) I told Cassie and Tobias. ((We’re getting nowhere up here. Let’s just head over to Jake’s place. At least we could keep an eye out for them if David does anything crazy.))
((Jake gave us orders to scope out the area.)) Tobias said, needlessly.
((Oh, so you’re Ax now?)) I replied. ((It’s not like we’d be disobeying orders. Jake told us to look for David. Well, we’ve been looking and, guess what—no David!))
((Marco has a point.)) Cassie agreed. ((David would have gone back to Jake’s house.))
So we flew to Jake’s house.
And I was not surprised by what I had seen.
For starters, there was a Great Horned owl perched on a tree near Jake’s place. That wouldn’t have been strange if this particular owl hadn’t been staring into the house for the last few minutes.
((Hey there Ax-man. Is there anything good on the tube?))
((The tube?))
((The TV. I’m hoping Jake’s parents have the station switched to Buffy. I am not going to miss another episode.))
((What Marco’s really asking is if you’ve seen David.)) Tobias.
((Cassie was correct in her assumption of David’s whereabouts.)) Ax said. (( Prince Jake and Rachel found David waiting for them inside. He was morphed as a relative of Prince Jake’s.))
((Saddler.))
((I have been watching Jake’s relatives for approximately thirty of your minutes. Saddler’s family is ecstatic over their son’s return.))
((Yea, looks like it.)) I agreed. ((Wanna go ruin it for them?))
((Has David done anything since you got here?)) Tobias asked.
((Nothing that would arouse suspicion.)) Ax answered. ((But Rachel has made many jabbing motions towards David with her eating utensil.))
((Sounds like Xena.))
((So what do we do now?)) Cassie asked.
((Well, I know Rachel would have us storm in there, fully morphed.)) I said, thoughtfully. ((But something tells me that Jake’s parents would be a little upset about having wild animals messing up their carpet.))
((They’re heading this way.)) Tobias said, suddenly. ((David’s with Jake and Rachel. Looks like they’re coming out.))
((Tobias—get out of sight!)) I said, quickly. ((Maybe David doesn’t know you’re still alive.))
((Good thinking.)) He agreed.
And they came out the second Tobias flew into the night sky. Jake, Rachel and the rat pretending to be Saddler walked out of Jake’s house. It looked almost innocent: three cousins just enjoying a laugh on an ordinary night. But it was far from ordinary. Two of those kids were capable of morphing. The other should have been dead.
When they were close enough to hear, David spoke.
“Tell your friends to demorph.”
“You first.” Rachel snapped.
“Fine.” David grinned.
Within three minutes, David was back in his own skin.
“Now it’s your turn.” He said, nodding up at us.
“Stay in morph.” Rachel ordered.
“They don’t take orders from you, Rachel.” Jake said. “Guys, everyone demorph.”
((Jake…are you seriously going to give into this creep?)) I asked.
“Just do it, Marco.”
Jake was angry. I could understand why. He would only give a direct order if he was ticked off. So I demorphed.
“Is everyone here and accounted for?” David asked Jake.
“Everyone except—“
Jake stopped suddenly.
“Everyone except?” David repeated.
“I was going to say everyone except Tobias…but you already know what happened to him, don’t you?”
Nice save Jake, I thought to myself. He almost slipped up. Ax must have told him that we’ve decided to keep up the pretence that Tobias was dead.
“Well, why don’t we just get down to business then?” David said. “I have to admit, that little plan of yours was pretty clever. I wonder who came up with it.”
David was looking right at Rachel.
“Ha! You’re wrong there, pal.” Rachel snorted.
“It doesn’t matter who came up with the plan.” Jake said. “The plan failed. We screwed up.”
“And screw up you did.” David laughed. “But I know wit when I see it. Whoever came up with that plan really had something.”
“We’re glad you appreciate our hard work.” Rachel said, sarcastically. “Now tell us what you want.”
“I want the box.” David said simply. “I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that you didn’t break the box apart. I found it. I want it. You give me the box and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“You can’t have the box.” Jake said. “You may have found it, but the box is a piece of Andalite technology. If anyone should be claiming ownership over it, it’s Ax.”
David wasn’t grinning anymore. His lips curled into a tight little frown.
“Listen. If I don’t get the blue box within three days, then I’ll have to do something drastic.”
“Ooo.” Rachel said, laughing. “We’re so scared. What are you going to do?”
“You see those people in there?” David said, tilting his head to Jake’s house. “They may all be dead within three days.”
Rachel lunged at David. Nobody stopped her.
“Jake, stop her.” Cassie said, rushing to Jake’s side. “She might hurt herself.”
“Or maybe I’ll just go straight to Visser Three.” David shouted, as Rachel began to throttle him. “Or, even better, Tom.”
“Rachel, stop.” Jake ordered.
Rachel was still strangling David.
“I said stop it!”
Rachel wasn’t listening. David’s face was starting to turn blue. All our problems could be over in just a few minutes, if Rachel would just hold on…
“Dammit, Rachel! If someone steps out that door—“
Rachel swore, loudly as she let go of David’s neck. She walked over to the tree we had all perched on as owls and slammed her fist into the bark. David got to his feet and started rubbing his neck. He was laughing…
“Three days, Jake.” David said. “Three days to give me the box. I promise I’ll be out of your hair afterwards. But you’re all stuck with me until I get what I want.”
The front door to Jake’s house opened. Tom was shouting at Jake and Rachel and Saddler; telling them to come in for dinner. It was dark, and we weren’t exactly close in proximity to the house. Tom could mistake David for Saddler. But David was already morphing.
“Coming, Tom.” Jake shouted, as a now morphed David walked towards the house.
((Three days, kiddies.)) Was the last thing he said to us.
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I think I have a idea of what they're really planning.
David goes to tell Visser Three. However, Jake, Marco and Ax (Marco being the one to see this solution, as the straight-line, Point-A-to-Point-Z person he is) are on to this and force V3 to kill David.
End of problem.
-
Don't think so.
-
Don't think so.
I know you probably won't go there, but that is exactly what Marco would do... and something Rachel would approve of in this desperate situation: Bait Visser Three into taking David out so his blood isn't on the hands of the Animorphs, and the Saddler issue is resolved at the same time if Saddler's parents are made Controllers.
-
Rachel lunged at David. Nobody stopped her.
This alone, made the chapter EPIC. I loved Rachel throughout this whole 3 book arc and this is exactly why!
-
DAVID
So, I gave the great Animorphs and ultimatum.
Three days to give me the blue box, or I ruin their lives. That could mean going to Visser Three and exposing them as humans with morphing powers, or going after their families one by one. And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure of which road to take, really. I mean, I’m not beneath either option. The way I see it, the Animorphs push, I push back. They tried to tell me what to do. They tried to control my actions, to make my decisions for me. They push, I push back. They push back harder…well; you know what I’d do.
But I couldn’t get ****y. Not yet, at least. It’s not like I could claim any sort of real victory. Yea, I managed to escape a pretty horrible fate—being trapped as a rodent for the rest of my life. That alone was enough to be happy about. I don’t even want to think about a reality where their stupid little plan succeeds. But that wouldn’t hurt the Animorphs. It would definitely affect their morale. But it didn’t mean a lot. They were still alive; all save for Tobias. I could claim victory there. But what difference did one person or bird make? There were still five of them. Five enemies, if you don’t count Visser Three. I had to watch my back, especially when I would be spending the night at the Berenson house. That Rachel was one crazy ****. I should definitely expect her crawling into my room one night, armed with a fork, or a knife, or whatever utensil she could find lying around her kitchen. Nothing was beneath Rachel.
So, after Marco and Cassie and the Andalite hit the road, I walked into the Berenson house with my cousins. I was already morphed Saddler. It wasn’t difficult, really. Usually morphing takes a few minutes. I guess it’s different when you’re morphing someone of the same species, because the progression from David to Saddler was almost instantaneous. But, then again, we do look something alike.
We were all seated around the kitchen table. My aunt Jean made a special meal. After all, it was a special occasion, wasn’t it? The miraculous recovery of their nephew? And Saddler’s parents were just all over me. My mother kept telling me that she would never let me leave the house ever again; not without a helmet, and a plastic bubble. Saddler’s siblings were just annoying though. I mean, their brother was on the verge of death, and they were still acting like pests. Some respect they had.
“Can I just say something,” Jake’s father said, rising to his feet and holding a glass. “We’ve all had a really terrible few days, haven’t we? Well, that goes without saying. I’m not really great at making toasts…My wife’s the writer…Anyways, I just wanted to say that I’m just grateful to be eating dinner with you all tonight. I realized what family really means after this past week. It’s a really special thing. Lord knows where I’d be without Jean, or Tom and Jake. I’m just extremely thankful, to be so blessed. And, Saddler, I wish you good health. Lord knows, you deserve it.”
Well…I wasn’t expecting that…
Everyone was patting me on the back, and talking to me in really soft, loving tones. Saddler’s mother was crying. And the meal was really nice, too. Jake’s mom prepared steaks with potatoes and a salad. And they had all sorts of deserts, too. It got to the point where all the laughing, and crying and eating were just too much to handle. Suddenly, it was getting really hard to breath.
“Hey, son,” Saddler’s father said. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the bathroom.” I said, feigning a smile.
“Well, hurry back. Don’t try to disappear on us twice, Mr.” Jake’s dad joked.
And, just as I left the room, I thought I heard Rachel say something along the lines of, “That would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?”
-
oh lord....is the little creep gonna turn good at the end of this...? wait...don't tell me!
-
JAKE
David just got up and left the dinner table.
I knew what Rachel would do. She would ask to be excused and follow David to the bathroom—if he even went to the bathroom—and she’d do something drastic. And I had about two seconds to think over whether or not I should tell her not to. David had crossed the line with his recent decision to take over Saddler’s life. We needed to do something, and fast. Only, we couldn’t just attack David. The kid was too smart, and he was expecting us now. And we couldn’t exactly take him out at any given moment. Saddler’s parents would want to go home soon. And we still had the Yeerks to consider. One enemy was enough; two…well, that’s just a whole other war, isn’t it?
Rachel was about to get up.
“No…don’t. Just…don’t.” I whispered to her. “Not now.”
Rachel made a nice save by pretending to reach for a second helping of potatoes. The parents were laughing and making small talk. Saddler’s siblings were pinching and snapping at each other. It was aggravating. I had a major headache by this point and an unsettling feeling in my stomach. The headache started after David jumped out of that sewer pipe back at the construction site. That queasy feeling I got in the pit of my stomach that was from watching Saddler’s parents hugging and kissing their son. It made me sick. It made me want to just scream out “he’s a fraud! Your real son is dead!” But you can’t do that; not when you’re the leader. And not when the parents of the dead kid were so happy that they had their son back. And why should anyone take that away from them?
Still…I couldn’t help but think about what David did to Saddler’s body. Did he chuck it down the elevator shaft, after knocking out those doctors? Or what if he disposed of Saddler another way…I’ve heard some scary stuff about people getting dismembered; their remains hidden for years and years before anyone discovered them. For all we know, the war could end twenty years from now, and Saddler’s parents will hear that their real son died a long time ago.
I was starting to think that he chose the noble route and skipped town. Maybe he was starting to feel guilty about what he was doing to Saddler’s family. I thought that, maybe, just maybe, David would regain a shred of humanity.
But David came back ten minutes later. He took his seat in between his mother and Tom. He looked shaky. He didn’t have that ****y smile on his face anymore. And he was picking at his food like a three year old. It looked almost human of him. And it was nice to think that David might actually feel remorse.
Then Rachel ruined it.
“So Saddler, do you remember anything from before you came to?”
David was visibly thrown. “Not really. It was all a blur.”
“Well, I’ve heard a lot about people in comas.” She said. “Sometimes they remember things they shouldn’t; conversations that other people had while the person was comatose.”
David gave Rachel a long, hard stare. The guilt I thought I saw in him was gone. He was looking at Rachel as if to say, “You want to fight? Fine, let’s fight. It’s go time.”
“Actually, there was something.” David said, quietly. “It was sometime before the doctors were rushing to emergency. I saw someone…They were distorted. I couldn’t make out the features of their face. All I could see was that the person had blonde hair. It might have been an angel… They were walking alongside me, telling me that it would be alright. They said I might be different after I woke up, but I’d be alright. They said…your family loves you. And…And they told me something weird…”
“What did they say, honey?” Saddler’s mother asked mouth agape.
“Jake and Rachel.” David answered. “He said Jake and Rachel…That’s it. All they told me was Jake and Rachel.”
Everyone turned to face us, like we had an answer.
-
....that little bastard....Lol I'm so into this story! It seems like a real ani book
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RACHEL
“Well…that is interesting.” Jake said.
“Sounds kind of dull, if you ask me.” I mumbled.
“Rachel.” My mother snapped.
“Hey, the kid had a near-death experience. I just thought he’d have a much more interesting vision.” I said, twisting my fork in my mashed potatoes. “Say, Saddler, did you see God?”
“Shut up, Rachel.” Jake mumbled. He was pretending to take a drink from his cup to hide the fact that he was talking.
“And I was just blown away by how quickly you recovered.” I continued. “I mean, the doctors said you were pretty much done; a goner, really. And you’re right here with us, eating dinner. Weird.”
“I got lucky.” David said, tightly. “Someone must be watching out for me.”
I laughed. “But it’s like eerie, how fast you recovered. I mean, everybody was saying how bad you looked. You don’t have a scratch on you!”
“That is weird…” Tom said. “What did you say he looked like, dad?”
“I think you said he looked like a piece of hamburger meat.” I answered. “Right, Uncle Steve?”
“Well…what I meant was…”
“Shut up, Rachel.” Jake warned me.
“Look, Rachel,” David sighed. “I don’t have the answers you want. I can’t explain how I got better so quickly. I know…I know that right now, in any other scenario, I should be…well, you know. But I’m not. I don’t know how or why, but I was given a second chance. Someone or something is watching out for me, and I’m grateful to that person. I mean, I was in real bad shape. You seem sceptical, that’s fine—that’s your belief. But this whole experience has made me see everything in a whole other light. I mean, I’m sitting here with my parents, my siblings, and my cousins. What more could a guy want?”
“Here, here.” Jake’s father said. “I should have had this kid write my speech.”
And everyone was laughing and talking and eating like everything was fine and dandy. Everyone was treating David like some amazing hero. All eyes were on the kid who looked like Saddler. And that was exactly what David wanted.
“You miserable little—“
Jake jabbed me in the ribs with his fork.
“What was that, Rachel?” my mother asked.
“I said…”
Jake jabbed me a second time; harder.
“It’s getting pretty late.” My mother said, suddenly. “The girls have school in the morning.”
And my mother went on about how great it was to see Saddler’s family again, and how she was glad to see that Saddler was well. Meanwhile, as everyone was standing around the door, putting on their shoes and coats and likeminded apparel, Jake pulled me into the next hallway.
“Have you lost your mind?” He asked in a hushed whisper. “Did you hear how suspicious Tom sounded after you started freaking out at Saddler?”
“He’s not Saddler.” I said flatly.
“No, he’s not.” Jake agreed, angrily. “Not to me and you. But to your mother, and my parents and Tom, especially, he is and has always been Saddler. We have to make sure that Tom keeps thinking that way, Rachel.”
“If you expect me to just sit at a stupid dinner table and pretend that David is Saddler, then you’re out of your mind. We tried Cassie’s way. It didn’t work. Now, I’m trying things my way.”
“You’re not going to do a single thing.” Jake said. “Not unless you run it by the group first.”
“I thought we already talked about this, cousin.” I said, waspishly. “You don’t give me orders.”
And I followed my mother and sisters out the door.
-
...I love you Rachel...I will fight Tobias for you!
Fun Fact: I actually thought she was making Tom suspicious on purpose...but if Saddler(David) was found out then that would smell trouble for the Anis as well
-
AX
It was rather uncomfortable, standing there in my human morph with Marco, Cassie and Tobias, keeping to his post on a high branch on a tree across from Jake's house. Marco, of course, made many attempts at humour, but his jokes were beyond my understanding. I don't believe either Cassie or Tobias found his jokes funny either. So, we all stood in what I would describe as an uncomfortable silence.
"So...what are the odds that Davey boy just went and ate everyone in Jake's family?" Marco said, suddenly.
"That's not a funny thing to say, Marco." Cassie told him.
"I wasn't trying to be funny, actually." Marco mumbled.
<David wouldn't blow his cover.> Tobias said. <He's got us where he wants us. And, besides, he has no reason to just come out and attack anyone. He's got us running scared.>
"Then again, David's insane." Marco reminded him.
<And then there's that...> Tobias.
And, once more, we were waiting in silence. Waiting for Prince Jake and Rachel to give us the "all clear", as Marco put it. Waiting for the moment we would all have to meet again and discuss the David issue. Waiting around to discuss whether or not we would give David the Escafil Device or not. Though, I did not expect Prince Jake to give up the box; not to David, not to Visser Three. Jake was our leader. Despite David's threats towards most of the Animorph's families, Jake would not hand over the Escafil Device. He, of all people, knew the consequences of doing such a thing. We were in a war, and war was not easy. One must make decisions that decide the fates of many people. Sometimes, despite his morals, a soldier must kill; be it one man, or many men, or an entire planet. The one thing that counts in war is victory. The only problem is that both sides wish to be victorious over the other.
Thankfully, Marco was the one to bring up the question.
"Alright, if we're just going to stand here twiddling our thumbs, we should at least do something productive."
<Do you want us to just storm the place?> Tobias asked.
"You know what I mean. We have to talk about the Ultimatum David gave us. You heard him, he's serious about this. He's going to go after our families."
<Jake already told him that he wasn't going to fork over the box.> Tobias said.
"That was before. I bet Jake's going to say different when David hands his parents over to Visser Three." Marco reminded him. "Listen, this might not mean much to you, or even Ax, but it does to me. And it does to Jake, and Rachel and Cassie. You see, we have people to go home to. We can't risk having them handed to the Yeerks. I already lost my mother, and that was before I could do anything about it. I'm not just going to let them take my dad."
"We could just give him the box." Cassie said, thoughtfully.
"Excuse me?" Marco said, exasperated. "Have you gone crazy?"
"David made it clear that he only wants the box. He's clearly not interested in the war, or the Yeerks. Obviously, he's forgotten about his parents. If we give him the box, he might just leave with Saddler's family and we won't have to deal with him."
"Sure, that sounds great." Marco said, sarcastically. "We had a psycho the box. That way, he finds other pyschos and gives them the morphing ability. I can totally understand why you would want to give him the box. No, really. It makes perfect sense. But have you considered the teeny weeny fact that David might just hand the box over to Visser Three in exchange for his parents?"
"If he did, I wouldn't blame him." Cassie said. "He didn't ask to get involved in any of this."
"Newsflash, Cassie: none of us did." Marco snapped. "But we didn't go crazy like David."
Once again, we stood in silence. I decided that it was time for me to speak. And, since Jake was temporarily absent, I did not feel the need to seek permission to do so.
<It is quite the dilemma.> I sighed. <Prince Jake could decide to keep the box, and risk exposure to the Yeerks, or the possible harm to his family, and the families of Rachel, Cassie and Marco. However,> I continued. <We could give the box to David, without knowing what he intends to do with it.>
<So what do you think we should do?> Tobias asked.
<It is not my decision to make. I will do whatever Prince Jake commands.> I answered.
"Well, pretend you didn't have to answer to Jake." Marco snapped. "Express your opinion."
I hesitated before answering, knowing it would upset my friends.
<I wouldn't give the box to David.> I said, finally. <Despite the risk it poses to all your families, I feel that giving the Escafil Device to David could only result in trouble.>
"And what if all of this was happening on your planet, Ax-man?" Marco asked. "What if we were the ones saying 'Screw it,' when it meant that your parents were in jeopardy?"
<I would not give over the box.> I said.
Marco gave me a look that said he didn't believe me. In fact, I wasn't sure I believed what I had said.
"Right. Well, in that case, I'm out." Marco said.
<Sorry?> Tobias asked.
"Obviously, we've all made our decision. Mine's to get my dad somewhere safe. Whatever happens to the planet..." he shrugged, "Let's just hope your people get here quick, Ax-man."
"You can't be serious, Marco." Cassie said. "You don't mean it."
"Hark, do I hear the cry of the hypocrite?" Marco said, cupping his ear. "Am I mistaken, or did you not leave the group a few weeks ago over your little morals?"
To which Cassie had nothing to say.
"That's what I thought." Marco said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading home. We wait until Jake calls for us to get together. Until then...well, I can't say it's been fun."
And Marco stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants and walked down the street; away from Jake's home.
<I'd better tell Jake.> Tobias said. <He's not going to like this.>
-
*shivers with excitement over the next chapter*
-
Glad to hear that you liked it.
I wasn't sure--and still don't think-- if Marco would react this way. I mean, yea, he would be concerned for his dad, but would he just leave like he did? I don't think so. And I'm not sure if I wrote Cassie like K.A.A would. I don't know.
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I actually think you got Cassie down perfectly
-
CASSIE:
That night I had an awful dream...
Scratch that, a nightmare.
It started off innocently enough: I was sitting in my desk in English class, looking out the window and watching the clouds in the sky. The floor wasn't the floor at all, but grass; knee high blades of grass. There were trees in the classroom, too. Massive trees; like the ones found in Tobias' meadow. And it was bizarre, because the desks were still there! But, where there should have been other students sitting at their desks, there were wild animals. Four wild Animals, actually, and an Andalite. It seemed like everyone of the Animorphs had attended my English class that day.
And that wasn't the weird part, either. The really, really strange part was Chapman, our vice-principal, walking in with a briefcase; apparently nonchalant about a bunch of animals sitting in his classroom.
"Alright, children," he said, smiling and opening his briefcase. "Open your books to chapter twenty. It is here we shall learn about a famous traitor to the United States of America...Does anyone know who this person was?"
Rachel, who had managed to maintain outstanding grades in addition to saving the world--unlike the rest of us--raised a meaty bear-claw in the air and said, <Benedict Arnold?>
Chapman smiled. "No, Rachel, I'm afraid you're wrong."
Suddenly, Chapman was holding a dracon beam in his hands! It was pointed directly at a red-tailed hawk, perched on the desk beside Rachel.
TSEEEEEEEW!
Tobias dissapeared.
In the place where he had been perched was a roast turkey.
Suddenly, Chapman wasn't Chapman, but David. Beside David was an eight foot tall birdcage. In the cage were Chapman, Tom and Visser Three.
Suddenly, the wild animals were all armed with dracon beams. But, instead of a Tiger, Bear, Gorilla and an Andalite, there were lions! And they held the dracon beams in their massive jaws!
And everyone kept asking me questions. They said I would get thrown into the Yeerk Pool if I got them wrong!
Suddenly, I was a trapeeze artist, walking on a thin line of rope hundreds of feet above the Yeerk Pool.
"Who led the French at Trafalgar?"
"What's the square root of nine thousand, four hundred and sixty-six?"
"What would the time be at thirteen hundred hours?"
"Do mice eat cheese?"
Hundreds of questions that I had no answers to, ringing in my head. I was losing my balance. I fell from the rope!
<Cassie, need a lift?> Tobias asked.
I was falling...but I was no closer to the ground than I had been a minute ago. It was like a cartoon! Like, when Bugs Bunny is falling with Yosimite Sam, holding a carrot in his hand and saying, "Eeeeeeeeh, What's up doc?"
"You're dead!" I shouted. "David turned you into a turkey."
<You can't keep a good bird down, Cassie.> he laughed.
He raked his talons...He was a golden eagle now.
All the while I was falling towards the pool.
I woke up. I figureD that the sensation of falling did the trick. But that didn't make much of a difference. It didn't mean that I was really, really awake, did it? I mean, ever since I got involved in the invasion, I've been having ridiculous dreams within more ridiculous dreams. After a year of that, you start to wonder what is real and what is not.
There wouldn't be a point in going to bed. Not yet. Not after a dream that involved David.
I sat up straight in my bed and removed the sheets. I put on a pair of boots by my bed and grabbed the denim jacket hanging from the bed post. I then walked, carefully down the steps of the stairs leading to the main floor. I was pretty much an expert at sneaking out by now, but I didn't want to run the risk of waking my parents.
I would go to the barn. Spending time with some of the injured animals helped get my mind off things. It was my escape. Just like how Marco used Jokes, and Rachel shopped, and Tobias...turned himself into a bird. A nice break from murder, lying, deception, infestation, Yeerk Pools, dreams, traitors...
I grabbed a flash light from one of the cabinet drawers.
The barn was dark. It was pretty early in the day. The sun hadn't risen yet, and a thick blanket of darkness hung over my sleepy town. I clicked on the flash light and walked towards the big red doors. I undid the lock and pushed the heavy door open. A thin beam of white light peeped into the dark, musty barn, and a dozen pairs of eyes stared out into the night.
It was comforting, seeing all those little peepers. I never got creeped out or nervous around animals; even the slightly unattractive ones. While Rachel spent her time at the mall, I was elbow deep in mud, looking at worms and beetles.
I turned on the lights in the barn.
A lot of the animals were nocturnal. Some were pacing in their cages, if they could; others squaked, chirped, moaned or scratched themeselves. In most cases, all the animals could do was squeak, chirp, moan and scratch themselves. We take care of a lot of sick and injured animals that we find in town. We have a lot of big birds, like Owls and eagles, and hawks. We also have some small, forest animals, like raccoons and skunks; even larger forest dwellers, like deer. Once, we had a mountain lion.
I was looking inside the cage of one of the small raccoons. It wasn't mature, yet; still a kid, like me. "Poor little guy," I said. "You don't want to be here, do you? No, you want to be with your mother."
Scratch, scratch, scratch, tiny claws moving quickly across the barn floor. Had one of our patients escaped?
I listened closely, for a clue that would hint at the animal's hiding place.
Nothing...No pitter patter of animal paws touching wood. No noise from the rafters.
Just a strange crackling sound, like popcorn in a microwave.
Or burning wood from a campfire...
Suddenly, the barn was alive with flame!