Richard's Animorphs Forum
Animorphs Section => Animorphs Role Playing => Topic started by: Cloudbreaker on February 12, 2010, 03:50:45 AM
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Background
It is six years after the war has ended, and after the Animorphs left Earth in order to attempt to rescue Ax. The dark days of the yeerk invasion are well behind us in most peoples lives and human society has moved onward.
But the yeerks are still here.
They aren't invading, and they aren't here in secret. They aren't even slugs. They were made into nothlits and live among us in their new forms. But not all humans are okay with their former enslavers living amongst them. Some people seek them out, harass them, capture them, sometimes even exterminate them.
In a strange twist of fate, humans no longer need protection from the yeerks. The yeerks need protection from the humans.
Benjamin Bishop, an ex-controller involved in the former Yeerk Peace Movement has decided to do something about it. Like many ex-controllers, Ben had been exposed to the morphing cube while it was in yeerk custody. He decided to gather several people from his old life as a controller that he thought might be interested in helping him. He wanted to form a new group of animorphs to help keep the peace between humans and yeerk nothlits.
Character Application
Name: (the name your character goes by)
Age: (how old your character is. Remember, it is six years after the end of the invasion)
Physical Description: (a physical description of your character. The less pictures, the better. ;) )
Personality Description: (how your character tends to act)
History: (something about their life during and after the invasion)
Current Morphs: (the morphs your character has, if any)
Rules
1. Follow the forum's normal rules.
2. No single sentence "in character" posts. Multiple paragraphs are preferred. Put a little more effort into it. ;)
3. No god modding.
Other Notes
I plan on this thread running for one mission and then decide from there if people would like to keep going.
Characters/Morphs:
1. (Cloudbreaker) Ben Bishop: Hippopotamus, California Condor, Clydesdale Horse
[spoiler]Name: Ben
Age: 23
Physical Description: Ben has a medium build, dark brown ear-length hair and brown eyes. He often wears suit jackets and polished shoes. He has pale skin with a couple freckles on his cheeks. Other than the way he dresses, Ben is fairly average in appearance.
Personality Description: Ben has a determined nature and a strong sense of justice. If someone is in trouble he has a hard time just standing by and doing nothing to help. However, he is not the greatest when it come to thinking up the correct plan of action. For example, instead of telling a lifeguard that someone is drowning, he would jump into the water after someone despite being a poor swimmer.
History: During the invasion Ben and his yeerk, Kopak 452, were very low on the command chain. He was able to stay low on the Vissers' radars and was a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement (YPM). Ben's father was a wealthy CEO of a large store chain, which is why he and his father were infested in the first place. So when Ben's father died at the end of the war, Ben inherited the estate where he now lives.
After finding out that his old friend Kopak 452 had been killed by anti-alien protesters, Ben decided to try and form a group together in order to do something about it.
Current Morphs: While Ben was a controller he acquired a hippopotamus as a battle morph for fighting the animorphs. He was also given a California Condor morph for transportation. That is it. After being freed, Ben did not morph often and so only acquired one other animal during the next six years. He acquired one of his Clydesdale horses out of curiosity.[/spoiler]
2. (Spartan-281) Garrett: Black Panther, Black Mamba, Cooper's Hawk, Human Woman (secretary)
[spoiler]Name: Garrett
Age: 25
Physical Description: Athletic build, 6’ 3”, shoulder length light brown hair, hazel eyes that shine green, tanned skin. He wears casual 90’s skater style clothing. Loose fit, basic, no big designs, mostly black colors. He always wears over-shirts with a tee underneath.
Personality Description: Garrett is a good Samaritan. If anyone is in trouble and he has the ability to help, he will. He’s extremely analytical and likes to plan approaches before acting. Sometimes he analyzes too much and misses opportunities, but when the timing is right, he looks like Batman. His nature also can get him in trouble socially, he calculates what’s said and often will correct others whether or not they ask.
History: During the war, Garrett was a voluntary controller. He had hoped to work with new, exciting, alien tech, but his yeerk ended up as a grunt in the front lines. He kept his mind busy and active by playing mental chess while his yeerk fought. His strategizing saved his and his yeerk more times than he can count. When it was time to doling the morphing ability, Garrett’s yeerk listened to him and chose wisely for any fight. When his yeerk was forced out of his head, Garrett felt sorry for it and helped it escape.
Current Morphs: Garrett obtained the Black Panther for battles, and the Black Mamba snake for any stealth missions necessary. As he was front line infantry, it wasn’t deemed necessary to give him a flying morph. After Garrett helped his yeerk escaped, he needed a flyer, so he came across a Cooper’s Hawk in a make shift vet hospital in someone’s barn.[/spoiler]
3. (Terenia [Teach]) Raya 5-4-8 of the Par Kelupt Pool: None
Marisol Reyes: Canadian Goose, Housefly, Wild Boar, Mountain Lion, Alaskan Malamute
[spoiler](Yeerk)
Name: Raya 5-4-8 of the Par Kelupt Pool
Age: Seven cycles (approx. 25 Earth years)
Physical Description: Your typical little gray parasitic slug.
Personality Description: Raya is a cautious Yeerk. Generally she comes across as shy and wary, and many mistake her for being kind because of this. While she is congenial to those who are pleasant to her, she is also well aware of the fact that in a post-war world kindness could be a death sentence. When push comes to shove, she will do what has to be done. Guilt is a bit of a foreign concept to her.
History: During the height of the Yeerk Empire Raya was a mere underling. As with so many other Yeerks, she had been fed the Empire propaganda since grubhood and believed it without hesitation. Then, after the Empire collapsed, she was forced to adapt to a new world where all the rules she had known were broken. She made a deal with her host, who had initially been involuntary. She agreed to remain a vessel in an attempt to save the Yeerk species from genocide. Together Raya and several other Yeerks stole massive quantities of Kandrona and went underground before nothlitism could be forced on them.
Current Morphs: None
(Human Host)
Name: Marisol Reyes
Age: 20
Physical Description: Marisol is rather short at 5’2” and has a definite Hispanic heritage. Her hair is black, her skin tan and her eyes deep brown. She is relatively thin, but with definite curves.
Personality Description: For the most part, Marisol is a gentle-hearted, kind person. She loves all life, and has a strong moral grounding. She was raised Catholic and her faith guides her decisions, even now in a post-war world. The other side of her, however, is a strong woman who will stand up for her beliefs and will not back down from a fight over them, even if she is wrong. Marisol is extremely stubborn, to a fault, and is not afraid to let people know what she thinks.
History: Marisol was captured when she was only twelve years old. Her older brother, who took care of the family, had become infested through The Sharing and through him she and each of her five siblings had become Controllers. After the war was over, Marisol wanted nothing more than to abandon her Yeerk forever and be free once more, but the threat of genocide to an entire species was too much for her to bear. She decided to allow Raya to remain in her, to give her a chance at preserving the Yeerk race.
Current Morphs: Canadian Goose, Housefly, Wild Boar, Mountain Lion, Alaskan Malamute
[/spoiler]
4. (KitsuneMarie) Ertoran-Sorath-Anduross: Yeerk, human, mosquito
[spoiler]Name:
Andalite: Ertoran-Sorath-Anduross
Human: Tora Anderson
Yeerk: Eriss 247
Age: 4 Andalite years (28 human years)
Physical Description:
Andalite: Ertoran has a petite build with weak arms and hands but considerably stronger legs and tail. Her fur is a dark shade of bluish purple, and all four of her eyes are green.
Human: Ertoran’s human morph, “Tora,” was created through the Frolis Maneuver with the DNA of five human females. As a result, her morph could be considered pretty but not particularly remarkable looking. She is 5’7” and has wavy brown hair down to her shoulder blades, dark eyes, a medium complexion, and an average build.
Personality Description: Ertoran used to be focused and dedicated, but she has undergone something of an identity crisis. Now haunted by regret and guilt, she does not speak often and is generally as secretive about her life as she is suspicious of others. Fortunately, this morose attitude is starting to be broken down by the human sense of humor she is slowly picking up.
History: Eight Earth years ago, Ertoran was selected—along with her classmate Serid—from among the arisths of her age to engage in a secret espionage mission on Earth during the war. Serid was ordered to morph a human and pass as a Controller, while Ertoran was ordered to morph a Yeerk and reside in Serid’s brain. Only these two Andalites and their commanding officer were aware of this distasteful mission.
During the several instances she was present during a battle with the Animorphs, she did her best to cause chaos and assist the “Andalite bandits” indirectly. Since she and Serid were under orders to keep their existence on the planet a secret, however, they avoided all contact with them. Besides, a nagging fear haunted her, despite her best efforts to squash it: that some of her new Yeerk acquaintances (not all of whom, she had reluctantly decided, were not so bad) might be killed. The more time Ertoran spent among Yeerks and in Yeerk morph, the more she sympathized with them.
Serid never suspected his partner's compassion for their enemy until one evening when he was nearing the two-hour morph limit and was forced to demorph in a quiet corner of the Yeerk Pool. He and Ertoran were spotted and captured; the Yeerks ordered Ertoran to evacuate his body so he could be interrogated, and she was put in a personal Pool to await punishment for neglecting to tell anyone she had managed to gain an Andalite host. While Serid’s memories were being analyzed, Ertoran demorphed, morphed into a mosquito, and escaped the Yeerk Pool with the intention of rescuing Serid as soon as possible. She gained a human morph to pass as a Controller, but she never discovered anything about Serid's whereabouts.
When the war ended, Ertoran was plagued by shame for what she had done to Serid and her betrayal of all she had been taught about Yeerks as a child, so she cut off contact with the Andalite home world, passed as a human, and demorphed every two hours to retain her Andalite form. She works as a salesperson at an electronics store—a job she hopes will not attract too much suspicion.
Current Morphs: Yeerk, human, mosquito[/spoiler]
5. (Chad28) Chad: German Shephard, Tabby Cat, and Gorrilla
[spoiler]Name: Chad
Age: 28
Physical Description: 5'9" caucasion male that's a bit skinny and out of shape, but otherwise healthy.
Personality Description: He's kind of opinionated, but is mostly a nice guy. He likes to help people, and dislikes when someone tries to push him or his friends around.
History: He joined the Sharing when he was 19 because the Sharing did community work and he thought that would look good on a job application. He eventually became a full member and involuntary controller. however, the more he found out about the Yeerks the more he realised the typical Yeerk was as much a slave as the Humans. Forced to do whatever their psycho Visser wanted because he controlled the Kandrona. It made him sympathize a bit, though he never became officially voluntary.
After the war his Yeerk willingly became a Human nothlit, and worked to become a contributing member of society. Unfortunately his life was threatened and he's now living with chad in his house for protection. he's afraid to hold a job, or even leave the house much. Most people don't try to trash Chad's house because they know he can morph.
Morphs: German Shephard, Tabby Cat, and Gorrilla.[/spoiler]
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I'm interested in signing up. I have two questions before I issue my character description:
1. Are you looking for all of the characters to be morph-capable off the bat?
2. Can we see Benjamin's full description?
Haha, this sounds a lot like my GESB character's world; she is the postbellum human leader of a movement to protect Yeerk rights. Have you been spying on that RP? ;) Just kidding--actually you should join us there too, if you like fast-paced RPs! And don't worry; I won't use the same character in here.
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I'm interested in signing up. I have two questions before I issue my character description:
1. Are you looking for all of the characters to be morph-capable off the bat?
2. Can we see Benjamin's full description?
Haha, this sounds a lot like my GESB character's world; she is the postbellum human leader of a movement to protect Yeerk rights. Have you been spying on that RP? ;) Just kidding--actually you should join us there too, if you like fast-paced RPs! And don't worry; I won't use the same character in here.
1. Yes, pretty much. While your character doesn't have to be morph-capable to participate, they do have to be morph-capable in order to, well, morph. Ben doesn't have access to a morphing cube. It is sort of assumed that the characters will be ex-controllers that still have the ability to morph, but there may be other possibilities as well (such as an auxiliary animorph who survived the final battle or something).
2. Sure. I'll edit this post shortly and include his full Character Application. Edit: done.
3. The GESB thing is a complete coincidence. :P
Benjamin Bishop
Name: Ben
Age: 23
Physical Description: Ben has a medium build, dark brown ear-length hair and brown eyes. He often wears suit jackets and polished shoes. He has pale skin with a couple freckles on his cheeks. Other than the way he dresses, Ben is fairly average in appearance.
Personality Description: Ben has a determined nature and a strong sense of justice. If someone is in trouble he has a hard time just standing by and doing nothing to help. However, he is not the greatest when it come to thinking up the correct plan of action. For example, instead of telling a lifeguard that someone is drowning, he would jump into the water after someone despite being a poor swimmer.
History: During the invasion Ben and his yeerk, Kopak 452, were very low on the command chain. He was able to stay low on the Vissers' radars and was a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement (YPM). Ben's father was a wealthy CEO of a large store chain, which is why he and his father were infested in the first place. So when Ben's father died at the end of the war, Ben inherited the estate where he now lives.
After finding out that his old friend Kopak 452 had been killed by anti-alien protesters, Ben decided to try and form a group together in order to do something about it.
Current Morphs: While Ben was a controller he acquired a hippopotamus as a battle morph for fighting the animorphs. He was also given a California Condor morph for transportation. That is it. After being freed, Ben did not morph often and so only acquired one other animal during the next six years. He acquired one of his Clydesdale horses out of curiosity.
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I might be interested in joining. Would it be possible to have a character who is a Yeerk (nothlit or otherwise)? Or are you just looking for human characters?
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You could be a yeerk nothlit if you would like. You could maybe be a regular yeerk if you had a really good reason since Visser Three/One is the only non-nothlit yeerk known to be on earth.
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Well, I have a bit of a background idea, but I don't know if it jives with your perception of a post-war world.
I figure since after the war they forced all of the Yeerks to become nothlits, obviously not all of the Yeerks would be in favor of such a thing. First of all, they had no choice, second of all it's basically genocide. I always pictured factions of Yeerks, mostly low-level 'unaccounted for' Yeerks, raiding defunct Yeerk ships and stealing portable Kandrona, then going underground with their hosts in an attempt to keep the species from dying out. They would likely be a mix of former YPM Yeerks and Empire Yeerks who are joined in the common cause of keeping the Yeerk culture and race alive. They would obviously be on the run constantly from the authorities, who would be trying to track them down and force nothlitism or Kandrona starvation on them.
But, of course, if that doesn't fit with your view of this world I can come up with a character more along the lines of yours. :)
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That seems plausible. If you would like to make a character like that, and you think you can pull it off, then I say go for it. 8)
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This looks really cool.
Name: Garrett
Age: 25
Physical Description: Athletic build, 6’ 3”, shoulder length light brown hair, hazel eyes that shine green, tanned skin. He wears casual 90’s skater style clothing. Loose fit, basic, no big designs, mostly black colors. He always wears over-shirts with a tee underneath.
Personality Description: Garrett is a good Samaritan. If anyone is in trouble and he has the ability to help, he will. He’s extremely analytical and likes to plan approaches before acting. Sometimes he analyzes too much and misses opportunities, but when the timing is right, he looks like Batman. His nature also can get him in trouble socially, he calculates what’s said and often will correct others whether or not they ask.
History: During the war, Garrett was a voluntary controller. He had hoped to work with new, exciting, alien tech, but his yeerk ended up as a grunt in the front lines. He kept his mind busy and active by playing mental chess while his yeerk fought. His strategizing saved his and his yeerk more times than he can count. When it was time to doling the morphing ability, Garrett’s yeerk listened to him and chose wisely for any fight. When his yeerk was forced out of his head, Garrett felt sorry for it and helped it escape.
Current Morphs: Garrett obtained the Black Panther for battles, and the Black Mamba snake for any stealth missions necessary. As he was front line infantry, it wasn’t deemed necessary to give him a flying morph. After Garrett helped his yeerk escaped, he needed a flyer, so he came across a Cooper’s Hawk in a make shift vet hospital in someone’s barn. (( ;) ))
((How's this?))
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Looks good. I'll add you to the list!
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((I'm going to Tahoe for the next 5 days. I'll be back LATE Wednesday, possibly early morning Thursday.))
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Writing a character bio. Will post it as soon as I finish. :) Just letting you know I'm still in.
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Awesome! Can't wait to read it. :)
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Okie, here you go. Sorry it took so long, but I had to come up with a background for both the yeerk and the host. :P
(Yeerk)
Name: Raya 5-4-8 of the Par Kelupt Pool
Age: Seven cycles (approx. 25 Earth years)
Physical Description: Your typical little gray parasitic slug.
Personality Description: Raya is a cautious Yeerk. Generally she comes across as shy and wary, and many mistake her for being kind because of this. While she is congenial to those who are pleasant to her, she is also well aware of the fact that in a post-war world kindness could be a death sentence. When push comes to shove, she will do what has to be done. Guilt is a bit of a foreign concept to her.
History: During the height of the Yeerk Empire Raya was a mere underling. As with so many other Yeerks, she had been fed the Empire propaganda since grubhood and believed it without hesitation. Then, after the Empire collapsed, she was forced to adapt to a new world where all the rules she had known were broken. She made a deal with her host, who had initially been involuntary. She agreed to remain a vessel in an attempt to save the Yeerk species from genocide. Together Raya and several other Yeerks stole massive quantities of Kandrona and went underground before nothlitism could be forced on them.
Current Morphs: None
(Human Host)
Name: Marisol Reyes
Age: 20
Physical Description: Marisol is rather short at 5’2” and has a definite Hispanic heritage. Her hair is black, her skin tan and her eyes deep brown. She is relatively thin, but with definite curves.
Personality Description: For the most part, Marisol is a gentle-hearted, kind person. She loves all life, and has a strong moral grounding. She was raised Catholic and her faith guides her decisions, even now in a post-war world. The other side of her, however, is a strong woman who will stand up for her beliefs and will not back down from a fight over them, even if she is wrong. Marisol is extremely stubborn, to a fault, and is not afraid to let people know what she thinks.
History: Marisol was captured when she was only twelve years old. Her older brother, who took care of the family, had become infested through The Sharing and through him she and each of her five siblings had become Controllers. After the war was over, Marisol wanted nothing more than to abandon her Yeerk forever and be free once more, but the threat of genocide to an entire species was too much for her to bear. She decided to allow Raya to remain in her, to give her a chance at preserving the Yeerk race.
Current Morphs: Canadian Goose, Housefly, Wild Boar, Mountain Lion, Alaskan Malamute
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Ok, let me know if the idea of a Yeerk-sympathetic Andalite is too far-fetched, Cloudbreaker; I'm happy to change it.
Name:
Andalite: Ertoran-Sorath-Anduross
Human: Tora Anderson
Yeerk: Eriss 247
Age: 4 Andalite years (28 human years)
Physical Description:
Andalite: Ertoran has a petite build with weak arms and hands but considerably stronger legs and tail. Her fur is a dark shade of bluish purple, and all four of her eyes are green.
Human: Ertoran’s human morph, “Tora,” was created through the Frolis Maneuver with the DNA of five human females. As a result, her morph could be considered pretty but not particularly remarkable looking. She is 5’7” and has wavy brown hair down to her shoulder blades, dark eyes, a medium complexion, and an average build.
Personality Description: Ertoran used to be focused and dedicated, but she has undergone something of an identity crisis. Now haunted by regret and guilt, she does not speak often and is generally as secretive about her life as she is suspicious of others. Fortunately, this morose attitude is starting to be broken down by the human sense of humor she is slowly picking up.
History: Eight Earth years ago, Ertoran was selected—along with her classmate Serid—from among the arisths of her age to engage in a secret espionage mission on Earth during the war. Serid was ordered to morph a human and pass as a Controller, while Ertoran was ordered to morph a Yeerk and reside in Serid’s brain. Only these two Andalites and their commanding officer were aware of this distasteful mission.
During the several instances she was present during a battle with the Animorphs, she did her best to cause chaos and assist the “Andalite bandits” indirectly. Since she and Serid were under orders to keep their existence on the planet a secret, however, they avoided all contact with them. Besides, a nagging fear haunted her, despite her best efforts to squash it: that some of her new Yeerk acquaintances (not all of whom, she had reluctantly decided, were not so bad) might be killed. The more time Ertoran spent among Yeerks and in Yeerk morph, the more she sympathized with them.
Serid never suspected his partner's compassion for their enemy until one evening when he was nearing the two-hour morph limit and was forced to demorph in a quiet corner of the Yeerk Pool. He and Ertoran were spotted and captured; the Yeerks ordered Ertoran to evacuate his body so he could be interrogated, and she was put in a personal Pool to await punishment for neglecting to tell anyone she had managed to gain an Andalite host. While Serid’s memories were being analyzed, Ertoran demorphed, morphed into a mosquito, and escaped the Yeerk Pool with the intention of rescuing Serid as soon as possible. She gained a human morph to pass as a Controller, but she never discovered anything about Serid's whereabouts.
When the war ended, Ertoran was plagued by shame for what she had done to Serid and her betrayal of all she had been taught about Yeerks as a child, so she cut off contact with the Andalite home world, passed as a human, and demorphed every two hours to retain her Andalite form. She works as a salesperson at an electronics store—a job she hopes will not attract too much suspicion.
Current Morphs: Yeerk, human, mosquito
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oh this sounds fun, may I join once I think of a character?
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Sure, Blue the Kid, we got room for one more.
And to KitsuneMarie, accepted, although I wasn't really expecting andalite character. But their background fits well enough, so welcome aboard. And of course a yeerk-sympathetic andalite isn't too far fetched. It was a yeerk-sympathetic andalite who gave yeerks their advanced technology after all (Seerow's Kindness). ;)
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Cloudbreaker, I wasn't really expecting to select an Andalite character either. Honestly what I really wanted was to be a Yeerk nothlit, but I couldn't figure any way less cheesy than the Ellimist to make him/her morph-capable. So this became the alternate solution.
FYI, I'm heading out of town tomorrow morning. I'll have limited internet access while I'm gone, but I'm not sure when I'll be back home. Thanks for your patience.
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I may come along for the ride once I think of a character, if I get accepted. Mainly because several people seem to want to recruit me into Cloudbreaker's evil army. : ) I'll see what I can do. :D
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Sure. I can add an additional character slot if necessary. After all, the original Animorphs had six members so we might as well have that many too, right?
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Oooooh, yayyy! Kelly, you're such an awesome role player! I'm glad you're going to make a character!
This is going to be an awesome group, I can already tell!
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I'll join.
Name: Chad
Age: 28
Physical Description: 5'9" caucasion male that's a bit skinny and out of shape, but otherwise healthy.
Personality Description: He's kind of opinionated, but is mostly a nice guy. He likes to help people, and dislikes when someone tries to push him or his friends around.
History: He joined the Sharing when he was 19 because the Sharing did community work and he thought that would look good on a job application. He eventually became a full member and involuntary controller. however, the more he found out about the Yeerks the more he realised the typical Yeerk was as much a slave as the Humans. Forced to do whatever their psycho Visser wanted because he controlled the Kandrona. It made him sympathize a bit, though he never became officially voluntary.
After the war his Yeerk willingly became a Human nothlit, and worked to become a contributing member of society. Unfortunately his life was threatened and he's now living with chad in his house for protection. he's afraid to hold a job, or even leave the house much. Most people don't try to trash Chad's house because they know he can morph.
Morphs: German Shephard, Tabby Cat, and Gorrilla.
That good enough?
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Everything seems to be in order. Welcome aboard Chad.
I'll wait a little longer to see if either of the other potential applicants get something up, and then we'll start.
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We should probably wait for Parker to get back into town anyway, right? :) We have a little time.
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Snap! I almost forgot about this one. *whew*
I'm glad it didn't blow up while I was gone.
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*looks around* How long do you think we should wait before beginning?
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Both Shenmue and Blue are thinking about joining, so we may have to wait for them.
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(Well, lets get this story started. Feel free to add your own elements to the plot. After all, this is a group effort. ;) )
Benjamin Bishop pretended to search through the rack of DVDs in front of him while casually keeping an eye on the crowd. He was looking for familiar faces that were supposed to meet him here at the electronics store. It was a nice public place where some old acquaintances could "accidentally" run into each other.
Those acquaintances were other morphers that he remembered from back in his controller days. People he figured he could trust.
And he would need to trust them, because what he wanted to ask them was dangerous and could get them in a lot of trouble. Not to mention illegal. A vigilante group of animorphs may have saved the world once, but it was still against the law to make another similar group even if it would do the world some good.
Sill, Ben wanted to try.
Just then, Ben saw a familiar face. After discretely walking closer to the person, he acted surprised and said, "Hey! Imagine meeting you here. What has it been, six years?"
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Garrett was browsing audio/video cables for his new gaming system when some random walked up to him. "Hey! Imagine meeting you here. What has it been, six years?"
Garrett looked around the store to see if he was in his way. There was noone else around him so he replied, "Uh, do I know you from somewhere?"
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Ben furrowed his brow. Ben wasn't sure if he had made a mistake and this wasn't who he thought it was, the guy didn't recognize Ben, or he was just really good at pretending he didn't know Ben.
"It's me, Ben. Benjamin Bishop? Or you would probably remember me as Kopak 452. I could have sworn I met you back during the invasion... Maybe I'm mistaking you for someone else." Ben turned slowly as if to walk away, but was also giving the guy a chance to say something in reply if he felt inclined to do so.
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"Were you on the front lines?" Garrett couldn't place this stranger's name. He thought a little harder, trying to remember some detail that could spark a memory. He looked around making sure no one could hear his next question, "Were you issued any morphs?"
If this person had morphs, he probably knew him for his morph rather than his name. When playing chess, you don't ask the name of the pawn that's moving ahead of you.
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Chad was in the electronics section of the store, checking out some video games, when he noticed Ben. Chad thought his Yeerk used to be Kopak. He purchased the game, and decided to say hi.
"Hey Ben. How's it going? Still hanging in there?" He said. He wasn't sure if Ben was an anti-Yeerk extremist, since it had been years since they last met. He probably knew Chad was protecting his Yeerk. Who didn't?
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Ertoran stood at the end of one of the long rows of DVDs, shuffling the featured items back into alphabetical order. If there was one thing she truly enjoyed about her human morph, it was her strong fingers and hands -- far more useful than her Andalite ones.
A group of men congregating not far away caught her ear, and she silently eavesdropped on their conversation. At the name Kopak 452, however, she froze. She most certainly knew that name; even if she had not remembered Kopak from the Yeerk pool, it was a distinctively Yeerk name. Why would a Yeerk nothlit be throwing out his name like that? she wondered. Did his host allow him to acquire his own DNA? Or is he the host of a Yeerk who has moved on?
Her curiosity getting the better of her, she rounded the corner and, a few DVDs in hand to use as an excuse for being on the aisle in case things turned sour and she needed to leave, walked towards the men. She doubted any of them would recognize her since she had spent most of her time in the Yeerk pool in the acquired human host body of a fellow Andalite, but this particular female morph she was now in had been in the pool before, so it was a small possibility.
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((Awww, boo. I'm having trouble coming up with a character. Well, have fun guys! If I succeed I may post a sheet. Though you'll probably need another thread for that if this becomes popular. : ) ))
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((Gah, sorry for the seven word post, it was early in the morning and I forgot the no one-liner rules. *Edited* ))
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((Cloud, your intro post made it seem as though Ben had called everyone together, and so I'm typing this based off of that assumption. If that's incorrect let me know and I will edit it))
Raya 5-4-8 kept her eyes on the floor as she maneuvered through the crowded mall. She was using her small stature to her advantage, making herself look as invisible as possible. Her clothing added to the mirage; on her head she wore an over-sized beret, pulled down low over her eyes to shield her face. The rest of her clothing was baggy and nondescript, making it difficult for anyone to identify her.
<This is stupid,> Raya commented as she moved her host towards the nearby electronics store.
<No,> her host, Marisol, disagreed, <it represents hope. There are still humans out there who think like me.>
<It could very well be a trap.>
<No one knows that you exist,> Marisol pointed out, <Ben assumed he was calling me, not you. How could someone you have not seen in over half a decade plan a trap like this?>
<With much patience,> Raya says. She was about to point out that Marisol was far too trusting, but the internal conversation had diverted her attention from the outside world. With a cry of alarm, Raya's shoulder clipped the edge of a DVD rack at the entrance to the electronics store, spilling the latest hits across the floor and causing a fair amount of noise.
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At the sound of DVDs clattering to the tile floor, Ertoran froze like--well, like a startled deer. Her hearts--no, heart--was pounding in her chest with residual surprise; she was not used to her human morph, especially when trying to be quiet. She turned around, her wide brown eyes landing on the woman who had caused the mess.
Her first instinct was to lower her face immediately and kneel to pick up the display so that she would not earn the attention of the men who had been speaking. When she felt her boss's eyes on her from across the store, however, she snapped into employee-mode. "Are you alright, miss?" she asked, approaching her. I must not attract suspicion from the humans, she berated herself. Just behave naturally.
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<Dapsen,> Raya hissed silently, dropping to her knees and scrambling to gather up the fallen movies.
"Oh..." Raya looks up at Ertoran at her words, her tanned skin brightening as she blushes furiously, "yes'm, I'm fine. Sorry...just...had a little accidente. I've got it."
She pulls herself to her feet, clutching a variety of DVD's, including the recent BBC documentary Planet Hork-Bajir and begins to shove them back on the rack haphazardly. In her rush her beret falls to the ground, revealing a mass of dark, curly hair.
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Ertoran c.ocked her head slowly at the single word of Spanish, an action she had picked up directing while in human bodies. "No problema," she responded, not even aware she was speaking in the language as well due to the translator chip in her head, and knelt to pick up the soft hat.
Something about this woman seemed extremely familiar to the Andalite. Could it be she was another Yeerk? As Ertoran had spent only a few years in human society masquerading as a human rather than a Yeerk, she had not accumulated enough acquaintances to readily dismiss a nagging feeling of familiarity.
((Cloudbreaker, did Ben call all of our characters here, or is this a coincidence for some of them? Should we assume all our characters know at least Ben, if not each other? If your response drastically changes what I had been thinking, I'll edit my post. Thanks!))
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Name: Sanii
Age: 31
Physical Description: I have blue eyes, a blue blouse and jeans, and blonde hair.
Personality Description: Kind,Gentle,Animal-Loving,Smart,Strong,Fair
History: I am the new animorph
Current Morphs: Hork-Bajir.
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(AndaliteWarrior100, could you please add a little more bulk to your app? To everyone else, I was planning on having Ben invite some of you, and the others met up as a coincidence. But I was going to let each of you decide individually wether or not if you were invited or wether you just happened to be there. Everything posted thus far looks fine. Keep up the good work!)
"I may have used my hippo morph once or twice," Ben replied to Garrett just before someone else interjected. It was Chad! He had made it. Ben smiled and waved to him as he watched Chad approach.
Then Ben heard a clatter and looked in the direction the sound had come from. "Hey look, it's Marisol. Maybe we should see if she needs some help..." Ben started walking towards her even though it looked like an employee was already on the job.
"You okay, Marisol?" Ben asked when he reached the spilled electronics.
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A look of relief intermingled with exasperation comes across Raya's face as Ben approaches.
"I'm fine. Just a little...I'm fine," Raya gives Ben as smooth of a smile as she can, straightening up to her full four feet, eleven inches. Her gaze falls on her beret, still in Ertoran's hands.
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Garrett looks oddly at the acquaintance, searching his memories. His face drastically changes to jovial laughter as he remembers the person's name. Just then another familiar walked up to them. He obviously knew Ben, as he used his name. He was about to inquire this new person's name when another customer apparently named, "Marisol", knocked over a display rack of DVDs.
He follows Ben toward Marisol and listens to their conversation while trying to remember if he's seen these other people.
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Ertoran, still crouched down, blinked at the human male's words. He had called her Marisol, but more importantly, he had said he knew her. She must be a Yeerk nothlit or former Controller, too; no other likely conclusion could be reached.
She straightened beside Raya and offered her the hat. "Dígame si necesita algo*," she said to her and ha turned to walk back to her post by the DVD counter until she got a good look at Ben's face. It was indeed familiar; she had certainly seen him in the Yeerk pool. There was no denying it.
*Tell me if you need anything
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Garrett followed the clerk to the counter she was "manning", "Hey, do you have component cables for the PS3?"
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"Gracias," Raya said, glanced around as she replaced the beret on her head. She was about to say something else to Ben when someone new walked up, someone that she did not recognize. She bit her tongue, looking uneasy. A glance over her shoulder revealed that the worker who had helped her was still in earshot.
"How are you, Ben?" Raya asks, her accented voice low, "it's been awhile."
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Ertoran stopped walking and looked to the man who had spoken to her. "Yes. They're in the gaming area over here," she told him, pointing. "Would you like me to help you find some?" Even though she spoke to him, her eyes continued drifting towards Raya and Ben. It was times like these she wished her human morph had stalk eyes. Truly, humans were a stupidly designed species.
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Garrett could tell she was curious about the group accumulating near the entrance. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Would you mind? I can't find them for the life of me."
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Ertoran tried to prevent a sigh of agitation from escaping from her lips, but to no avail. "Of course, sir," she said, her tone far more polite than she felt, and she led him deeper into the store to walls of video game consoles, games, cables, and controllers. "Are these what you are looking for?" she asked, pointing to several varieties of Play Station cables. She turned her head back to the group before returning her eyes to him.
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Garrett shakes his head, "No, that's the HDMI cord. I need component." He looks up and catches her looking at the group again, "Okay, what's the deal, you got it bad for the spanish chick? What's with the obssession? Who are you? Not even your boss is worried about those guys and you can't look away for ten seconds."
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Ertoran was about to apologize and point out the components to him, until he kept speaking. Immediately, her eyebrows shot down and her hands drew up to her rest on her hips. "It is part of my job to keep an eye on the store. I work in the DVD area, so they are my potential customers. Are they your friends?" she asked, her eyes still narrow.
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"There's a difference between keeping track of potential customers and doing surveillance. You're doing surveillance." Garrett found the component cables buried under the VGA cables and walked over to Ben, "Hey, something's up with that chick, she won't stop staring at you guys. We should move this somewhere else. I gotta buy these, I'll catch up with you."
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Raya peered around Garrett, looking back towards the wall where Ertoran had moved to. The other girl was indeed looking back their way. Now that Raya was not tripping over herself and had a chance to look, she realized that the girl looked somewhat familiar. Frowning slightly, she turned back to Ben.
"I think I know her," she said, "maybe..." she shook her head, unable to recall, and instead turns her attention to Garrett, "do you know Ben too?"
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Garrett looked to the girl, "Yeah, we fought together in the front lines. Look, I just don't think this locale is the greatest spot is all. She's making me edgy."
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"Yeah, an electronics store probably wasn't the best place to meet..." Ben said to no one in particular. "Maybe we should head to the food court?"
Then he too looked at the employee Marisol and Garrett were talking about. "You know, now that you mention it, that person does look familiar. Well, there is one way to find out if we know them or not."
Before thinking his plan through, Ben called out to Ertoran. "Hey, do we know you from somewhere? You look familiar." If this person was a former controller like them, maybe he would invite them to the meeting.
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"Dude, I tried calling her out like that. Didn't go so well." Garrett shook the memory off, "Whatever, I'm gonna buy these finally. Where should I meet you in case the sale takes too long?"
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"Meet us at the food court," Ben replied to Garrett. "We'll probably head over there soon to talk about-" Ben stopped mid sentence and looked at the electronics store employee. "To talk about something."
Ben let out a sigh. He was not very good at this. He almost gave away their secret before they even had a secret to keep. How in the world did the original animorphs do it? How did they live normal lives without revealing their secret?
Ben refocused his thought and waited for the employee's reply to his earlier question.
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Chad was glad to see Ben still friendly and ok. The woman watching them made him nervous. He was always nervous nowadays, but Ben had said earlier that he had something important to talk about. Ghad reached into his pocket to call his roommate, and confirm that he got the right game while he made his way to the foodcourt.
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Ertoran continued watching the group from a distance, but when Ben called out to her, her eyes widened and then abruptly narrowed. Able to feel her boss's gaze on her, she practically stalked towards them. Upon reaching Ben, she murmured, "Please keep your voice down. Yes. Yes, I remember you from the Pool." The edge to her voice made her practically sound like she was growling.
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Ax follows me. I demorph as I run, giving me more speed. He did as well. My tail grew and formed the bony substance at the end. My eyes became human. My grew horse legs, stalks, and fur. I finally took on my form. I stop and turn to dad. <Dad. Turn on the Micro.> I say. He goes in the ship, me behind him. He turns on the Micro and we levitate above the place where we could here. "Kill any Andalites. If you see any." Visser said. He glanced up at the spot were we are. He then walked in to the building. I looked at Ax. <Dad...> I say, concerned. <He eyeballed us...>. <I know.> He says. <I'm going in the building. Block all places he could escape. I am going Tail-To-Tail with Visser Three....> I say. I open the hatch and jump out. The Human guarding the entrance stared at me in horror, frozen. I twitched my tail and pushed past him. The guards all die of my tail. I face Visser. <No escape. Lets go tail to tail. NO Guns.> I say, smashing his gun. He demorphs. I slice at his head, missing him. He slices at mine, missing. He slices again. I pretend to fall to the ground, defeated. He laughs in victory. I jump up and quickly slice at his head. His host dies. I step on the Yeerk, killing it. I return to Dad with a slice in my shoulder. <Visser?> He asks me. <He had a good Nightie-Night from me.> I say. Dad jumps up. <YAY!> He yells. <Now to free the Hork-Bajir. And the Humans> I run to the Yeerk Pool. I dunk all their heads, the Yeerks forced to get in the pool. I morph bat and hang on to a sharp rock above the pool. I morph andalite. A bat with an andalite tail. I stop demorphing and slice the rock. I demorph completly and run clear of the rock. It slices all Yeerks. <Hork-Bajir> I say, glancing at the Hork-Bajir. "Thank you. Hruthin." The Hork-Bajir says. I nod. <Go to your home;be free.> I say. I glance at the humans. <Humans. You now know the Yeerk threat. Do not tell relatives, because they will beleive you are crazy. I am an Andalite. Visser Three is dead. By me.> I say. They nod. <Go home> They flood out of the building. We return to our landing spot, and we fly away. <Daughter> Dad says. <You deserve this> He holds up a box with the special morph in it. I open it and my eyes glow. <A...Leeran?!> I say, in joy. <THANK YOU!> I say. I press my hand against it's slimy back and aquire it.
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Marisol's cheeks flush red again when Ertoran approaches them. Silently, Raya curses her hosts tendency to look embarrassed or terrified - not that there isn't good reason to be the latter.
<So, she is from the Pool,> Raya comments, <I wonder what her role was in the war?>
"What is your name?" Raya asks Ertoran out loud, looking at her uniform for an identification tag of some sort.
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Ertoran's eyes track to Raya, and then she murmured, "I go by Tora, but then I was Eriss 247." She found herself holding her breath for a reaction as, if any of these individuals had been in higher circles, they would know that she was an Andalite who had been masquerading as a Yeerk and who now, shamed and dishonored before her people, masqueraded as a human. That is, assuming Serid had been infested--something she had never truly found out. Ertoran could only hope this name would mean nothing to them so that she did not have to relocate and start her life anew yet again under a different identity. It was coming to the point where she wasn't entirely sure who she was anymore.
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Raya blinked, scrunching her nose up as she tried to put the name and the face together. After a moment she shrugged. As far as she was concerned, this girl was just another human controller, freed from they "tyranny" of her Yeerk master.
"No me acuerdo de ti,*" she said with a shrug. She glances back at Ben, unsure whether or not he intended to continue talking to Tora or wanted them to begin moving to the food court. He was right about one thing - an electronics store was not an ideal place to form a conspiracy. Habitually, she pulled her beret down lower, glaring suspiciously at those around their little group.
*I don't remember you
((btw, my Spanish is far from perfect. If anyone here knows Spanish and sees something wrong, please tell me. I'm trying to improve upon my skills. :) ))
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Garrett made it to the counter and paid for his cable. He saw that the group had not yet left the store. He also noticed that the employee decided to finally divulge her identity. Unfortunately he'd have to ask her himself as he couldn't hear from there.
He walks back to the group and asks her, "So you giving up the spy game?" He extends his hand, "I'm Garrett. Former host of Arrin 2-1-8. You?"
Post Merged: February 24, 2010, 08:56:46 PM
((Uh, Warrior? What was that? Did you read the first page with what our situation was?))
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She heaved something of an exasperated sigh but put on a pleasant enough smile when she responded, "I am Tora, once known as Eriss 247. Your Yeerk's name sounds familiar; perhaps I only met him while we fed." She looked between those who had haphazarly met here. "Any particular reason you all are gathering in an electronics store, or is this a coincidence?" Her tone clearly stated she doubted the possibility.
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Garrett gestured his own side of a handshake even though Tora didn't accept it. "Nope, no recollection of an Eriss. Of course he didn't exactly open his mind to me while he was in my head."
He then responded to her question, "I was just here when Ben found me looking for these cables." He waved the new cables back and forth a couple times. I take it your boss doesn't know you used to be a controller?"
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Ertoran gritted her teeth. "Will you please refrain from talking so loudly?" she murmured. "I am going to ask him for the rest of the day off; I only have thirty minutes left on my shift anyway. Just wait here a moment."
She turned and walked to speak with her supervisor. The conversation was short, although he gesturing to her with obvious irritation. In the end, however, she must have been successful, because she walked back towards them, pulling off her company name tag and stuffing it into her khaki's pocket as she moved.
"If you wish to include me in your conversation, I am happy to accompany you somewhere more private," she said, looking between the four of them.
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Ben didn't remember Tora's name or her yeerk's name, even though it did sound slightly familiar. But then again, he could have been remembering a different Eriss yeerk too. He didn't really think too much into it.
But when Tora asked if she could be included in their conversation, Ben did put some thought into it. He had to. And quickly. Since he was the one who planned this meeting, he figured he should probably be the one to decide if they tell Tora to get lost or come along.
"Sure, you can come with," he finally said. "We're headed for the food court. I'll buy everyone a cinnamon bun." He began heading toward the Cinnabon. Ben figured that if he was going to include Garrett (who Ben didn't plan on including until he ran into him at the store) he might as well include Tora too.
Now instead of convincing two people to become vigilante animorphs, Ben would have to convince four. Tora, Garrett, Chad, and Marisol were about to be asked a question that Ben could not even begin to fathom their answers to. Ultimately, Ben hoped their answers would boil down to a plain old yes.
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Raya followed Ben, keeping her distance from the others. Something about Tora made her nervous, as though something was slightly off about her. The ease with which Garrett expressed his opinions also threw Raya - someone who was so used to keeping secrets.
<I wonder what he wants,> Marisol commented for about the tenth time since they had gotten the phone call.
<Maybe he just wants cinnamon buns,> Raya said with false hope.
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"Cinnaman buns sounds fine." Chad said from the door of the electronics department. "You look like you might have something difficult to say."
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"I will meet you there; I need to get my purse," Ertoran told Chad, who was the closest, and she split off from the group to walk deeper into the store though a door labeled "Employees Only." She placed her hand on the pad just by the door, and the screen just above it read, "Tora Anderson - Clocked Out - 14:02."
Instead of going to the locked cabinet where personal items were kept, she walked into the bathroom and locked the door. It was a tight room for an Andalite--which is exactly what she was becoming--especially since it was shared with the broom closet. Once she regained her true form, she held her tail high to prevent it from hitting the precariously placed cleaning supplies in the corner. She began remorphing immediately; she had no idea how long this conversation would last, but she did not want to risk becoming Tora Anderson forever.
Once human again, Tora flushed the toilet and let the tap run a few moments to allay any suspicions, and then left the tiny room, picked up her purse, and left the store, heading towards the food court to catch up with the others.
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((Cinnabon? Nice, let's see how well Tora keeps her composure around Andalite Kryponite. >:D ))
Garrett follows Ben as he heads off towards the Cinnabon. He hadn't had a Cinnabon in, what seemed like, forever. He noticed Marisol distancing herself from the others, "What are you, allergic?" He laughed the comment off as a joke. He then wandered back closer to the gentleman that had originally noticed Ben. He extended his hand in greeting and said, "Hi, I'm Garrett."
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"Hey. I'm Chad." he said and took Garret's hand. He waited for a reaction after taking his hand away, like he always did. People asked him all the time if he was the Chad that was harboring the Yeerk nothlit, and badgering him with more questions. If people weren't threatening either of them, they were annoying them.
"While we're at the cinnabon, maybe we can watch for Andalite tourists. They go crazy for those things. That and other stuff like chocolate."
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After Chad had introduced himself Garrett laughed, "Ha! 'Chad'. It's 'The Chad'. 'The Chad is great, The Chad is great.' Hahaha, ah, good movie."
After Chad made his remark about Andalites and Cinnabon, Garrett gave a counter-point, "Dude, can you believe them? I haven't been to Cinnabon in so long, you'll probably think I'm an Andalite. Ha-ha." He gives a quick look to Marisol, "Don't worry though, Ben can vouch for me; then in two hours you can vouch for me. Hahaha."
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Ertoran saw the group of four ahead of her and lengthened her strides to bypass shoppers and take a place walking beside them.
Her head lifted at the scent of the food court--and especially cinnamon buns. Despite all her time in human morph and in Yeerk morph controlling a human body, she had never been able to become accustomed to their smell and taste. Her mouth began watering. There is a good reason I avoid the food court all the time, she reminded herself, then sighed. This is going to be impossible.
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Raya did not respond to Garrett's comment about her remaining distant, although she did move closer to the group. As they approached the food court she perked up slightly, picking up the smell of a variety of human establishments.
<Perhaps we can stop off at Dairy Queen on our way out,> Marisol said hopefully, <I could go for a chocolate milkshake.>
<I prefer vanilla,> Raya replied.
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Ben had a smile on his face as they made their way to the food court. He was glad that everyone seemed to get along reasonably well despite having just met.
While he stood in line at the Cinnabon Ben tried to come up with a good way to explain his plan to them, but was having a hard time doing so. After setting down a heaping tray of cinnamon buns down on their table, he decided it would probably be best to get it over with quickly. Like pulling off a bandage.
"I suppose you are all wondering what I wanted to talk to you about." Ben took a bite out of a cinnamon bun as he looked from one face to another. Then, lowering his voice, he continued. "I- I want to start a new group of animorphs. And I would like the four of you to be members."
Ben quickly looked around to see if anyone else had been eavesdropping and made a motion with his hands for the others to keep quiet any reactions they might have. Ben was so nervous at the moment that he was starting to sweat.
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Garrett had taken a seat and started into a bun once Ben let go of the tray. When he let loose his plans, Garrett froze; mouth open and the bun was halfway in his mouth. Garrett took a bite and threw his voice so he wouldn't have to talk with his mouth wide open. "You want to what? Dude, the war is over. What exactly are we supposed to fight?"
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Raya, declining to eat anything, had taken a seat next to Garrett. When Ben revealed his plans she does not react immediately, except to become very, very still as she has a rapid internal conversation.
<He's insane,> Raya hissed.
<Maybe not,> Marisol said, <hear him out.>
<No. Why should I listen to some half-baked former Controller who wants to play hero?>
<It may help your cause,> Marisol said calmly, <it's not as though we are making much progress on our own.>
Raya exhaled, a breath she hardly knew she had been holding, and pushed her beret back so that she could fix Ben with a steady gaze.
"A new group of Animorphs," she repeated, remembering vividly several times when she herself had been in the presence of the 'Andalite bandits', "I'm afraid I have to second Garrett's question. What, exactly, would we be fighting? The war is over. The Yeerks lost, humans won, everybody's happy."
Raya struggled not to sound too bitter at that last sentence. She couldn't afford to reveal who - what - she truly was.
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"That's just it. The yeerks lost. Not everyone is happy." Ben momentarily pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of a good way to explain what he was getting at.
"I assume you have watched the news at least occasionally during the last six years. So surely you have seen reports of ant-yeerk groups. Those people who seek out yeerk nothlits, their supporters, etc. Humans may have been saved from the yeerks, but who is going to save the yeerks from the humans?"
Ben looked over at Chad. "Chad, you are already helping your former yeerk controller, am I right? Sadly, I was unable to help Kopak 452 before one of the ant-yeerk groups got to him. But I want to make it up to Kopak, and the other members of the Yeerk Peace Movement that helped humans in our moment of weakness. It is the least I can do. But I can't do it alone..."
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Garrett continues to eat and talk using his ventriliquism technique, "Well, it's not like the anti-Yeerk groups are out in the streets marching around and storming peoples homes. I mean, it's more like what the KKK was in the 30s. How do you suppose we find these people?"
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Ertoran, who had taken a seat beside Ben, was watching him with interest, although not with quite enough to keep her from enjoying her cinnamon bun to the fullest. After she was done eating, she used her fork to scrape every last drop of sugary icing from the cardboard--which she had learned (the hard way) to never eat--and nibbling it from the plastic. Even after her fork was clean, she kept it in her mouth, her gaze having a hard time avoiding what was left of the others' cinnamon buns.
With quite a bit of difficulty, she forced herself to put down her fork. Speaking softly, she murmured, "I am not sure, but this cause is just. The Yeerks have been forced through a cultural genocide of sorts, and yet the cruelty towards them has not yet ceased."
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At first glance, Tora looked like a whack or a spook. After hearing her actually speak, he realized she wasn't weird, well she was, but she was brilliant. Changing his demeanor completely, he asked with admoration, "You know, no one ever talks like that anymore. It's a shame. Kind of reminds me of my brother. He always talked that way too."
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Raya listened to Ben's explanation in complete astonishment. She let Garrett and Ertoran take over the conversation briefly, as she was unsure how to respond.
<See?> Marisol said smugly, <they want to help you.>
Raya did not respond to her host, she was a bit too shocked, her brain racing with the possibilities. Finally, she took a deep breath and addressed the group in a low whisper.
"You want to help the Yeerks?" she said slowly, "Despite the fact that they spent years trying to enslave and destroy humans? Despite the fact that they would have destroyed Earth itself, if given the chance? Why? Why do you care about what happens to your former captors?"
<That's not the nicest way to accept their offer...> Marisol commented.
<I have to make sure they're serious,> Raya said, <I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. This could be a trap. Maybe they found out about us somehow.>
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Chad was quick to grab a cinnamon bun, as he loved sweets, but stopped when Ben talked about starting a group. He even mentioned Chad helping his Yeerk. After collecting his thoughts, he spoke.
"Look man. The only thing keeping the anti Yeerk KKK wannabes from storming my house and taking Temrash is that they know I can hunt them down andthere's no way they'd know it was me. If I get caught doin something illegal like this, and get locked up, my neighbors will drag him out and kill him. There's a saferoom in the house that he can run to if something happens, but that only helps until I come back from work or whatever."
"I sympathize with the Yeerks who didn't want to conquer the galaxy. The ones who were forced into the war because saying no to their Visser meant Kandrona starvation. But I know if something happens to me, Temrash will die. I'm the only one he can depend on."
(I'm playing Chad out as the Marco of the group.)
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Ertoran blinked at Garrett's words and offered as explanation, "I read frequently."
As Chad spoke, she turned her head to watch him. "Sometimes success requires personal sacrifice. The Animorphs, if we truly are using them as a model, displayed this time and again."
Abruptly, she glanced at Raya. "May I have your cinnamon bun if you are not going to eat it?" She could not resist its overpowering smell any longer.
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Garrett's eyes narrowed as Marisol was talking, "Wait, what do you mean, 'your former captors'? Are... are you still a controller? Wow, you have some stones coming here. Ha-ha."
He then replied to Tora, "Yeah, Jack liked to read a lot too. Never went outside for anything. I always told him there was a whole world out there to experience, but he always replied, 'There's a whole world in here too.' Kid loved to read."
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Ben laughed at Garrett's joke. At least he thought it was a joke. It wasn't as if Marisol actually could still be a controller. They were all made into nothlits!
But Ben had more important things to think about. Like why the two people he figured would be most likely to help him were the two who seemed the most reluctant. Not that he didn't expect that it would take a bit of convincing for them to agree to help.
"Marisol. I want to help the yeerks despite their... negative qualities, because it is the right thing to do and nobody else is doing it. At least not effectively. And not all yeerks were 'bad.' Not all yeerks deserve what has been handed to them. That is why I care."
"And Chad, if Temrash is your only real reason for being reluctant to join, maybe I can help out there. When my father passed away, rest his soul, he left me most of his assets. So we could probably arrange for a bodyguard to be hired or find a secluded retreat for him or something. I'm not sure. But we can work something out."
"So, what do you guys say? Are any of you up for it?" Ben looked from face to face then stretched his hand out so it was resting over the center of the table like he was about to make a pact.
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Raya looked down at her untouched cinnamon bun as though noticing it for the first time. Wordlessly, she pushed it in Ertoran's direction, thinking that eating right now would be a bit like munching on cardboard. She was about to respond to Chad's situation when Garrett spoke, correctly guessing their circumstances. Immediately Raya flushed bright red, realizing her error.
<Smooth,> Marisol said.
"Of course I'm not a Controller," Raya whispered quickly, as soon as Ben finished speaking, "Like Ben said, all the Yeerks are nothlits now. The ones that are left are being hunted down by government agents. If I were a Controller I'd be completely mad to be wandering around in broad daylight like this."
<That's about right,> Marisol quipped.
<Quiet,> Raya said indignantly, <I don't know if I can trust these people. If they find out about us your life is in as much danger as mine.>
Eager to change the topic, Raya pursed her lips, as though carefully considering Ben's offer.
"Alright, I'm in," she said, throwing Marisol's voice to sound as reluctant as possible, "the Yeerks need someone to speak out for them, I guess. This is...a very dangerous undertaking, though."
-
"We would appreciate having someone else around we could trust. We've just been paranoid that we'd pick the wrong person. I guess if you can make easier arrangements, then I'm in. I'm tired of having to worry every day, and I know he is too. Not to mention the other nothlits in his situation."
"But first we have to figure out how to defeat them. They're Humans from tis planet, so it's not like they don't belong here. Plus as far as I know they don't have a main base or organization to attack. They just gather at churches talking about how aliens shouldn't exist because their book doesn't mention it, or meet in private homes."
-
Ertoran slid the cinnamon bun from across the table and immediately dug in, once again, scraping all the icing and glaze from the cardboard container and her plastic fork before she was satisfied. She studied Raya as she ate, attempting to read her human body language, which suggested that she was indeed still a Controller. She was surprised that any Yeerk had managed to survive without Kandrona for so long.
"I, too, will join you, Ben," she said as she licked her lips, not wanting to waste some of the precious sugar on a napkin, even though she knew humans considered her actions rude. "This is a cause I support."
Glancing to Garrett, she gave him a smile for the first time. "It is true: literature is fascinating. So what is your stance in all of this?" she asked, gesturing to those at the table--then licking a finger as the gesture made her notice a dab of icing on it.
-
Chad leaned towards Garret. "You know how I was talking about watching Andalite tourists eat? I think we're close to one or two." he said, and smiled at Ertoran. "Or maybe she's just thorough.
-
Garrett leaned to Chad as well, "Oh, she's definitely an Andalite. I love these buns, but that's obssessive." He speaks up to the group responding to Marisol, "I'm not joking. I know for a fact the Yeerks aren't all nothlits."
After Tora had finished her bun, Garrett had regained his skeptical gaze, "Yeah, I guess it is. Personally, I'd prefer Clancy to Rowling."
He then turned his head straight on to Ben, "If you can spare a protection detail, I'm in too. Arrin's not to comfortable around new people, but once he reads me, he'll play ball."
-
"Of course they aren't all nothlits," Raya said, eyes flashing, "not for a lack of trying, though. It would be damn stupid for a Yeerk to go out in public if they were still hosted. They're being tracked down like animals."
<Careful, Raya,> Marisol advised, <don't get too worked up. They are already suspicious.>
<Right. Sorry...> Raya pulled her beret back down and slouched back in the chair, deciding that it was best to just let it go for now. If she was going to trust these people it would take a little more than one cinnamon bun and a trip to the mall. Until then, she was going to defend her secret.
Post Merged: March 01, 2010, 05:57:07 PM
(*pokes rp*)
-
(Yeah, let's not let this die.)
-
Ertoran watched Garrett as he addressed her, and then she shrugged. "I have read neither author's works. I decided to start at the beginning; I have several centuries of literature to complete before I reach our contemporaries."
She listened to Raya, then looked around the group. "Do any of us have any influence within the government? Attacks on Yeerks should be punishable, but they are largely ignored."
-
((I was waiting for an answer from Cloud. :donno: ))
Garrett looked around raised his hand slightly. "I had to morph a secretary in order to get past security in a goverment building once. That's actually how I escaped, well, we escaped. It was in an FBI building. I almost feel sorry for causing her to lose her job."
-
(Sorry. I've been busy in real life. :-\ And should I add "Secretary" to Garrett's list of morphs?)
"Huh," was all Ben could think of as a reply to Garrett's secretary story. The possibilities that morphing provided amazed him, and disturbed him as well.
"So what do you guys say we meet up at some point in the near future, somewhere more discrete, and come up with a plan. And maybe even get to know each other's 'inner animals' a little better, if you know what I mean. There is a stable at my fathers estate that should be safe from prying eyes. Or we could go somewhere else if anyone has a better idea." Ben gave everyone a questioning look.
-
"I don't have any connections with the government, though I have thought about becomeing a police officer to help Nothlits. You know, do something legal." Chad said, with the last statement directed at Ben. "I'm willing to meet at your dad's place to see where this goes, though."
-
((I figured you just wanted to know our battle morphs.))
Garrett defended, "Hey, you have no idea how helpful it is when authorities are looking for a six foot male and you're walking around as a five foot woman. Though it is awkward shopping for that morph. I have to tell everyone that it's for my girlfriend. Ha-ha."
Garrett then answers his second question, "Yeah, I'll be there. I'll need directions of course."
-
Ertoran, who was unamused by Garrett's shopping escapades, chose to ignore him. Even though she disagreed on many topics with most Andalites, she maintained her race's stubborn refusal to see morphing capability in other races' hands a good thing--much less a joking matter. Yes, but how many times have you morphed a human simply to taste--? a voice welled up inside herself, which she quickly stomped to silence.
Focusing on Ben, she said, "I will also attend this meeting at your stables." Thinking ahead to her work scheduled, she wondered whether or not her involvement in this new cause would force her to relinquish her job.
-
"I'll go," Raya said, giving Garrett a suspicious look. He seemed rather perceptive for a human.
<We will have to be careful of that one,> she commented silently.
<He's just observant,> Marisol responded.
<Too many observant people could mean a death sentence. If the Hunter's find us...> Raya trails off.
<They won't,> Marisol said, <I have faith.>
<You and your faith. It's gotten you so far, hasn't it?> Raya remarked sarcastically.
"I'll go" Raya repeated firmly to the group as a whole. Her suspicious look shifted to Ertoran. There was something about her cadence that seemed...off, and yet at the same time rather familiar. She shrugged it off, storing the information away for future examination.
-
"Alright, it's settled then. We'll meet at my late father's estate in the near future." Ben was glad everyone was at least giving his plan a chance. It was risky, dangerous, and probably stupid to try being an animorph, but Ben had no doubt in his mind that it was the right thing to do.
Well, maybe a tiny bit of doubt.
When their scheduled meeting time rolled around Ben was waiting at in the stables. He had instructed his butler to direct everyone to this building when they arrived, and once everyone was here, Ben told the butler he could take the rest of the day off. It was time to get down to business.
And just to make it seem official, Ben was wearing a skin-tight outfit for morphing. His outfit consisted of a wetsuit (http://www.101-scuba-diving-equipment.com/images/diving_wetsuit.jpg) and some green flip-flop sandals that would be easy to remove. He had taken the liberty of buying a few similar outfits for the others if they didn't bring something for themselves.
-
Chad pulled up to the estate in his truck with Temrash inside. He brought Temrash because Ben said he'd offer protection, but decided not to tell the nothlit about the other bit of discussion. Temrash looked similar to chad, but a bit taller and more muscular. He had mixed Chad's DNA with someone better built to create his new body.
"I don't know about this." Temrash said. "I remember Kopak being a good guy, but this Ben Human isn't Kopak."
"We need to open ourselves up a little if we're going to get assistance. Why don't you go into the house and tell them everything I told you. I'm going around to the stables to go talk to Ben."
"Okay." Temrash said, and went to the front door and knocked. Chad found Ben in the stables in a tight suit.
"Hey Ben. I'm here, and I brought temrash along. He doesn't know about this team you're setting up, but I told him you were offering us assistance. You been swimming?"
-
Forced to have an address by human tax laws, Ertoran had purchased a two-acre parcel of wooded land along a road outside of town. Nothing stood on her property except a mailbox and--unbeknownst to any of her half-mile-away neighbors--her scoop, built far from the road. A rickety blue Ford pickup truck she had purchased with her first paycheck was usually parked not far from the mailbox when she was not at work.
Fortunately for Ertoran, her property was only four miles from Chad's father's estate. The day of the scheduled meeting, she made her way in her natural Andalite form to the edge of his property, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone who might notice her. There, in the cover of the last line of trees and underbrush, she morphed into her human form and covered her skintight morphing with the clothes she had carried in a small bag over her slim blue shoulders. The stables were in sight, so she walked straight to them, pushing open the door to find Chad and Ben inside. "Hello again," she nodded to them.
-
Raya arrived at Ben's estate in a nondescript black Toyota that was several years old. She parked it in such a way that the license plate was hidden from view and spent a moment fixing her black beret and sunglasses before exiting the vehicle. As soon as she was in the open air she made straight for the house that Ben had directed her towards, moving as quickly as she could.
When she reached the house the butler directed her towards the stables and she mumbled a thank you to him. The stables themselves were not far, so she opted to walk alone, turning down the butler's offer to guide her.
"Hello?" she called as she neared the door. Passing over into the shaded stables she removed her sunglasses with one hand, stuffing them into her bag along with her beret. Absently she brushed a hand through her mass of dark curls and waited for an answer.
-
Garrett drove into the driveway of Ben's father's estate. He exited his car and went up to the main entrance. He knocked on the door, and a butler directed him to the stables in the back of the estate. Garrett found the stables and went inside. He found Ben, Chad, and Tora already there.
He nodded his head upwards as a greeting. "What's up?"
-
"Temrash? Okay, cool," Ben said to Chad. "And no, I haven't been swimming. I have this suit on incase we decide to do some morphing. I brought extras if anyone needs one." Ben pointed to an unused horse stall where he stashed the other suits.
He greeted everyone else similarly as they arrived. At least their group was punctual. "What do you say we get right down to business? I suppose it would be a good idea to know what morphs everyone has so that we know what all we have to work with when planning missions. Or at the very least we will know what new morphs we will need to acquire when planning missions. I myself have a hippo morph, a condor morph, and a horse morph. How about you?" he asked the person standing closest to him.
-
"I have a Black Panther and a Black Mamba snake, as you well know. I also have a Cooper's hawk and you recently found out about the Secretary."
Garrett's eyes went dead and his posture changed. His voice lowered an octave and his eyes became challenging.
"I have a dog, German Shepard. I as well have a Cooper's Hawk and I have a Human morph as well."
((Team, meet Arrin. ;D I'll wait for reactions before I have him introduce himself.))
-
"Oh boy." Chad said as he realised Garret was a controller. "I'm not even going to ask why you have a Yeerk in your head, Garret. As for morphs I have a German shephard, a Tabby Cat, and a Gorilla. I actually own the dog I have a morph of, but I left him home for now. The cat was a neighbors, and the Gorilla is for anti Yeerk people who decide they want to push me around because they're bigger then me. That is until I gain a few hundred pounds and push them to the ground with one finger."
-
Ertoran was looking increasingly like a caged bird. As they began speaking about their morphs--and as Garrett revealed the presence of the Yeerk in his head--she knew that it would be impossibly hard to maintain her secret much longer. I do not yet trust these people, she thought, slowly shaking her head. What if one of them belongs to the very cause against which we are supposed to be fighting? It could be any of them. It could be all of them. She surveyed those gathered in the room with mounting suspicion.
When Chad finished speaking, she murmured, "I have no battle-worthy morphs. I will acquire some firepower at my first opportunity, Ben." Turning her head, she indicated she was done talking about this subject.
-
Raya hung back from the group, much like she did while at the mall, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. When the fact that Garrett was a Controller was revealed she took an involuntary step backward, her face blanching.
<Stop it, act normal!> Marisol scolded. Raya quickly gained control over her emotions, putting on a blank face.
<He's....a true Yeerk,> Raya said, <that's impossible. I would know of him if he was not a nothlit.>
<Evidently we missed a few,> Marisol said tersely, <just act normal.>
"Yo tengo dos," Raya said out loud, speaking softly, "at least, two that can be used for battle. Wild boar and mountain lion."
-
Garrett shook his head and put his hand to his temple, "Wow, I haven't done that in a while." He looks at all the shocked faces. "I told you I knew for a fact they all weren't nothlits. That was Arrin. I saved him while they were in the process of making him a nothlit. I snuck in and pumped each guard with venom and we got out of there. He's been living as a my cousin, Kyle, from the East coast ever since."
-
Ben was stunned. He did not think that any actual yeerks existed on earth that weren't nothlits. Other than Visser One/Three of course, but he was locked away tight. So when Ben found out that not only were there still real yeerks out there, but that one was also in their team of animorphs, he didn't know just how he was supposed to react. He barely even took note of other peoples' responses to his morphs question.
"Wha? How?" Ben just hear Garrett explain, but that didn't stop him from asking anyway. He leaned against the wall. "Wow, okay, that was unexpected. Are there any other big secrets that people need to get out in the open? Because I don't know if my body can handle going through something like this twice," he half-joked. As if anyone would be able to match that secret.
-
Garrett looks at Ben, "Sorry man, I couldn't just come out and say it in the middle of the mall. Besides, I'm not usually a controller, but Arrin didn't feel comfortable being out in the open."
-
"Sorry man. I don't have anything that tops that." Chad said with a small laugh. "So how do you plan to start us off, Ben? What are we going to do, exactly?"
-
Raya bit her lip, eyes on the floor. Suddenly she felt an urge to replace her hat and sunglasses, as though that would make her more invisible to the small group. She risked a glance up, eyes darting from one face to the other. Ben had a point...if one of the group had a secret so large, what was to stop the others from hiding similar secrets? Raya had been certain that she was the only true Yeerk in the group, and now this. What were the others hiding?
"I have no secrets," she mumbled, giving Garrett an awkward, almost apologetic look.
<The cat's kind of out of the bag,> Marisol said, <why don't you tell them?>
<Simple,> Raya responded, <if this Arrin fellow truly is a Yeerk - a true Yeerk - then how the others react to him will determine my approach. For all we know these people may decide to attack him later and hold him until Arrin is starved out. We need to ensure that they are trustworthy and their intentions are true before we reveal ourselves.>
Marisol said nothing to that, but Raya could read her emotions perfectly.
<You trust far too easily,> Raya said with a snort.
-
Ertoran looked to Raya as she seemed to make herself smaller. That woman... she thought, frowning at her, I am willing to bet she has as many secrets as I. Following suit, she said nothing with regards to her species or background. I will tell them before a mission, she told herself, looking back to Ben. No until then will it matter. "Nor do I," she chimed in, shaking her head. "Do you have a first mission in mind, Ben? Then I will know what type of morph I should acquire."
-
After Ben's request for other secrets to be revealed, he looked to both Tora and Marisol expectantly. He knew everyone had skeletons in their closet, and hoped that if he revealed his Yeerk still retained its original form, it would inspire them to reveal themselves in turn. Alas, they wouldn't follow suit. Garrett caught Marisol's almost apologetic gaze. His eyes narrowed, though it was not his place to out others' secrets, he felt that if they were to put each others' lives in each others' hands, all cards should be on the table.
He then looks to Tora, who also had a guilty look about her face. When she tried to derail the current topic, Garrett spoke up, "Nuh-uh. You two, spill. If we're to trust each other, if you expect me to put my life in your hands, and the life of Arrin, I expect full disclosure. Tora, we don't care if you're an Andalite; Marisol, what do you have to be scared of? We're here to save the lives and maintain the rights of Yeerks. Do you really think we would fault you for having a Yeerk? I live with a morph-capable Yeerk, Chad lives with a nothlit Yeerk, you don't exactly have too many reasons to stay in the closet."
Garrett's leg begins to twitch and it kicks out in a seemingly random direction, causing Garrett to fall. "Gah! Dammit Arrin." Garrett begins to talking out loud to no one. "... Okay, okay. I'll go." Garrett stands back up and composes himself. "Arrin wants to meet you personally. He finally realizes that hiding in the shadows is no way to instill trust." Garrett half yells to Arrin about his choice to hide in his head. Though he had intended the comment for Arrin, he had hoped the comment had reached Marisol and Tora too.
Garrett moves to one of the empty stables and walks into it, disappearing from view. Moments later, two men exit the stable; one as expected, was Garrett, and one who was slightly shorter than him. He had blonde hair, green kind eyes, and an athletic build, almost gangly, but defined enough to show his has an outward strength. He's wearing a black spandex costume that looks like the black Spider-Man suit. He and Garrett join, or rejoin as in the case of Garrrett, the group's little circle. He gives a curt nod to everyone and says, "Hello, I am Arrin," he takes a deep breath, "Arrin-821. Nice to meet you."
-
"Likewise." Chad said politely. "I don't know if you'd want to stay away from Temrash or not. If he finds out, he'll try to convince you to go nothlit. As for the Andalites, he just never liked them. Probably never will."
-
Ertoran's eyes widened and then she took a step towards Garrett, standing in the most aggressive stance she had ever shown around them. "What on Earth gave you the impression I was an Andalite? And yes, I understand that we must protect each other, but what reason do either of us have to trust you? If you put you and your Yeerk on the line, that is a matter of your own foolishness; it in no way obligates either of us to tell any secrets--secrets that we don't have!"
-
Garrett smiles wide, "You seem awfully mad for just an inaccurate accusation." He tilts his head and gives a mock pouting face, "Did I hit a nerve?" He resumes his grin, "Seriously, you hoovered those cinnabons like you were a diabetic and the buns and frosting were made of insulin. You talk like you learned to speak from an encylcopedia, and how exactly did you get here?"
-
Chad smiled at Garrett. He was quite obvservant, which would be good in a group. Though he was still uncomfortable with doing something illegal, if they were going to do this they needed good skills. They weren't little kids like the Animorphs were, so more should be expected of them.
-
Ertoran's eyes narrowed, but she forced herself to calm down. "If you would stop acting like such an arrogant brat, perhaps we could speak about this rationally," she murmured, releasing her aggressive posture. She gave a long sigh, then murmured, "I have never been able to overcome my affinity for Cinnabon, even though I feel I have assimilated well into human culture in most other ways. As for how I got here, I walked; my scoop is not only a few miles from here." She glanced to Raya to see her reaction to this revelation, frowning a little in apology for telling her own secret. She looked back to the group and said, "My name is Ertoran-Sorath-Anduross, but you may continue calling me Tora, if you please."
-
<An Andalite!> Raya cried silently, a wave of revolt running through her. For a moment her nose wrinkled in distaste, but she quickly smooted it out, keeping her expression blank.
<I told you they could not be trusted,> Raya hissed to Marisol, <an Andalite, fighting for Yeerk freedom? It is absurd!>
<Maybe...>
<No. It is not possible.> Raya realized that her hands had balled into involuntary fists, and she relaxed them, fixing Ertoran with an even gaze.
"And what stake does an Andalite have in Yeerk freedom?" Her voice has an aggressiveness that was not there previously, when she had been trying to hide behind her human skin and clothing.
-
Garrett nodded his head expectedly and dropped his smile as Tora had finally cracked and told them her true name. Arrin, beside him, looked shocked and his eyes narrowed into slits. He still carried the anti-Andalite propaganda in his mind, but remembered what Garrett had taught him during their time together. He made a slight paniced expression as he suddenly realized he had let himself be controlled by the lies instilled in him by the Empire from an early age. He closed his eyes and concentrated on letting go of the anger he knew wasn't his.
Garrett, not taking his eyes away from Ertoran, softened his face to show sincere gratitude. He bowed his head to her and said, "Thank you Ertoran. I'm sorry I was brunt, but I feel secrets now, will only hurt and cause dissension once they are revealed in the future. And believe me, with the intimacy that's involved in working so close together, all secrets will be revealed. I just don't want anyone to feel as though they've been betrayed after putting so much trust in the other.
"I want you to know, as I stated before, I don't care that you're an Andalite. I've always felt that Andalites didn't hate the Yeerks themselves, but the actions taken by them; oppression, destruction, and enslavement. Arrin too has come around to understanding such views." Garrett elbows Arrin in the side prompting him to say something.
Arrin jumps at Garrett's jab and stares wide-eyed at Ertoran. Wordlessly he looks everywhere but at her. He collects himself, looks into her eyes and says, "I want to... thank you, for not lying to us any further. I... look forward to getting to know you better, and hope we can work together... um, well." Arrin spoke nevously and with humility. After he was done, he looked at the ground. He was not used to being amongst others openly as he was now. He had been in hiding for so long, being "himself" was now a new experience.
Garrett patted Arrin on the shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. He was proud of Arrin and how far he had come in the six years of hiding. He knew this would be hard for him; but it would also be good for him to make other friends as himself, rather than as Kyle.
-
Ben had to sit down on a bale of hay. All the information flowing through his brain was threatening to overwhelm him. Garrett had brought a morph-capable yeerk named Arrin, who was now standing right in front of him. And now Tora, who Garrett had predicted was an andalite based solely on her eating habits turned out to actually be an andalite!?
Garrett had also said Marisol was a controller, but to be honest, Ben couldn't see any reason why he would think that. Yes, Marisol looked like she might have been hiding something when Ben asked if anyone else had any secrets, but a controller? Unless there was some clue Ben had missed he was prepared to believe her when she said she was a free human.
Finally, Ben spoke up again. "I feel like such a fool," he commented. Then quickly realized someone might take it the wrong way. "I mean, I don't have anything against andalites or yeerks. Although I am definitely surprised to have found both in my stables today. I feel like a fool because I wanted to start up a group with people I knew next to nothing about, apparently."
He stood up again. "This is just... big. Beyond immediate comprehension. Sorry." He shook his head clear of thoughts then continued. "If this is the way it is going to be, then I guess this is the way it is going to be. Chad, Garrett, Arrin, Tora, Marisol. Unless any of you have any objections, I guess we are the new animorphs in town."
-
Ertoran watched the others' reactions to her revelation in silence. At Ben's final words she shook her head and spoke, the corners of her lips quirking upwards. "I wonder if the Animorphs had as much tension as our band already does."
Turning to look at Garrett, she shook her head. "But you are dead wrong," she said flatly, her smile fading as quickly as it had appeared. "The Andalites do hate the Yeerks, and not just their actions. There is truly unconditional hatred within my race. As you can see, it is not the case for every individual Andalite--but I am hardly normal; my experiences have made my sympathetic to the Yeerk cause. Do not believe that any other Andalites will support us. I am already dishonored and disowned by my people, and my very presence on this planet is one I am trying to hide from them."
-
Raya noticed that Ertoran had not addressed her question and stored that information away for future use. Now that she was aware of an Andalite in their midst she was certainly not going to reveal her identity. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her when Ben regarded her trustingly, but squalled it quickly. The world they lived in had no place for the weak-minded.
"Well, that's cheerful," Raya said in response to Ertoran. She struggled to keep the contempt from her tone, "but shouldn't we be back to the matter at hand? What's our mission? Do we even have a mission?" She looked at Ben expectantly.
-
Garrett felt bad for Ben, having your own ignorance slapped in your face is never fun; even if it wasn't done maliciously. "Well, to be fair, Ben. I was just reminded of your name not too long ago. Six years is a long time for people to change."
In response to Ertoran's question, Garrett thought for a bit before replying, "We'll never know. They rode off into the sunset as far as I heard. Although we do seem to have some hurdles to leap over first. I'll agree with you there."
When Raya was quick to change the subject onto business, Garrett gave her a look to say, What are you trying to keep us from knowing? What could be so damning that would keep you from divulging?
-
Ben nodded in agreement to Garrett's response to what he had said. It was true. Six years was a long time.
"At any rate, as I was just reminded, I guess we really should get back to the matter at hand. With all the excitement, I almost forgot that we gathered here for a reason." Ben took a moment to regather his thoughts before continuing.
"Since we are mostly in this to help the yeerks, I looked online to get some ideas of what we could do. Not a very spectacular way for a secretive group to get information, I know, but I use what works."
"Have guys may have heard of the Freedom festival over in the city of Belmont? It is about a two hour drive from here. The Freedom Festival is a yearly event to celebrate the anniversary of the day the original animorphs defeated the yeerks. Each year they have a parade and this year, for the first time, a yeerk-run float will be allowed in the parade. Apparently a group of yeerks that were happy to see the empire end."
"As you can imagine, a float with yeerk controllers on it will be very controversial at the Freedom Festival. It will probably be at a high risk of being targeted by someone or at the very least, a mob of onlookers. I figured they could use some extra security. What do you guys think? If they do get targeted by some sort of organized group, then we could try and find out more about them too." Ben shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure if the others would feel like his plan was worthwhile or not.
(If anyone has any better ideas then feel free to throw them out there. But remember, we can make boring ideas as interesting as we want. We control how this story plays out. ;) )
-
(sounds good enough for a first mission.)
"Temrash was actually planning to watch the festival on TV. Yeah, I'm well aware of the festival. I'm also already worried what might happen to the float and the nothlits running it. sounds like a fair place to start."
chad was already planning to be there in person, and may have possibly had to do something. This Yeerk float was a good way of showing everyone that even some Yeerks celebrated the end of the Empire. On national television even.
"But this is going to be televised. Also there will be people clicking pictures all over the place. Just keep that in mind."
-
Ertoran nodded in agreement with Chad. "This sounds like a worthwhile mission, but one that will leave us vulnerable to discovery. And if someone sees me demorph... I'd rather that not happen." She looked back to Ben. "Perhaps I could start in a morph that blends in but is also useful for attacking and providing security, if needed?" She sighed. "Now I have shared my secret, I suppose it is appropriate for me to tell you the gamut of my morphs: this human body, a mosquito, and a Yeerk."
-
"A Yeerk?" Raya gave Ertoran an incredulous look, "why on Earth would an Andalite want to morph a Yeerk?" She shook her head incredulously, but quickly returned to the topic on hand.
"I suppose that protecting the nothlits from being harmed is as good a place as any to see how we work together," Raya said, her face growing serious, "but being able to march in a parade is the least of the Yeerk problems."
-
Ertoran ignored Raya's question and nodded. "I agree that this mission will not be particularly effective, although it may still be useful for us as a team. Still," she added thoughtfully. "we might gain some allies." Looking to Garrett and Arrin, she raised an eyebrow. "What do you two think about this mission?"
-
((Sorry for my absence, I've been in an RP funk.))
Garrett was confused as to how a Yeerk float could be possible, instead of staring at the ground thinking it through on his own, he decided it was easier to ask. "Wait, how exactly is a Yeerk-run float supposed to work? If all of the publically accepted Yeerks are nothlits, then who builds and drives the float? Is it just going to be a bunch of animals on a flatbed driven by a monkey? I mean this almost doesn't sound possible."
A public venue such as a parade didn't seem like such a safe place for their first mission. The original Animorphs had never had such public battles so early in their campaign. Garrett asked, "Isn't this mission a little 'public' for our first mission? There are so many angles we don't know if we can cover. I mean we'd have to find the place they make and ready the floats, inspect the floats, and then we'd have to travel with the float to insure no one rushed it. I assume we'd be taking the guise of nothlits ourselves, otherwise we probably wouldn't be allowed on the float. So we’d have to worry about our two-hour limit there. When and if someone ever did attack the float, then we'd have to take them down. Since it's a public arena, the people wouldn't really like it if nothlits suddenly killed a person, assailant or not. So we’d have to contain them, which is going to be rather difficult for animals. I mean, what exactly did you have in mind as to our role in the security for this float? Don’t they already have a security detail? I mean just because they’re nothlits doesn’t mean they’re stupid, they have to know they’ll be a target and should have some sort of defense planned. Shouldn’t we hook up with their security ‘people’ first?”
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((hey guys, sry about the lack of posts. I'm out of state and internet is hard to come buy. Will post soon, promise!))
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"I assume that some of the nothlits will be Human nothlits, and they'll actually operate the float. Ben, have you made any contact with the people who plan to do this?"
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Ben wasn't sure how to respond to everything since he really didn't have a very solid plan in mind. He decided to answer the last question first. "No, Chad, I haven't. And I'm not sure we should." He truly wasn't sure. "I figured we would just be added security for the security already present. Extra. In case we spot something the normal security would miss."
"And I don't think demorphing should be a problem. Except maybe for Tora... We could acquire morphs that are normal to see in a city. Squirrels, pigeons, pets. Then we can demorph in restrooms or the sewers or on top of buildings. Wherever. And we might not all need to be in morph anyway. There will be plenty of humans there so some of us could go in as ourselves."
"The real problem would be if something actually did happen. We can't really plan for something we don't know is going to happen..." Ben wasn't sure what else to say. "Any suggestions?"
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"We could prepare for the obvious things. A gunman somehwere. Some type of bomb possibly planted on the float. Normal security could probably handle a small group of people rushing it."
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Raya leaned back against one of the support beams in the stable. Her eyes flit back and forth, following the conversation. Every once in awhile they fall on Tora/Ertoran, and it is with some difficulty that Raya pulls her gaze away.
<You need to get over it, chica> Marisol commented, <she's an Andalite and she's here to stay.>
Raya ignored her hosts input, not wanting to get into it with her. Instead, she focused on Garrett's concerns, as he seems to have a lot of good points. Ben, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit clueless. Raya sighed inwardly.
<Humans...> she muttered, pushing herself away from the support beam and into the conversation.
"Obviously the majority of nothlit's are in a non-human form," Raya said, "there are a number of Yeerks who were selected to be trapped in human guise, but those Yeerks are unlikely to want to risk losing their sentient bodies. It is likely that there will be a few human nothlit's on board, certainly a driver and some security, but what else I do not know. The Andalites -" she cannot help but curl her lip slightly, -"have worked tirelessly with the humans to ensure that most Yeerks do not become trapped permanently in bodies that are deemed dangerous.
In addition to that," Raya went on, taking a deep breath. This is the most she has talked since meeting up with the small group, "the humans and Andalites that attend the parade will not see this float as an attempt for the Yeerks to show their pride. In fact, it will be viewed as an opportunity to publicly renounce their former tormentors. I think the situation has the potential to be a lot more dangerous than any of us are accounting for. With that in mind, we need a more secure plan than simple surveillance in case like this."
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"Yes, I'd rather not demorph in front of any strangers," Ertoran nodded to Ben, raising an eyebrow. "The Andalites would not allow me to remain on Earth any longer if I was found out."
Looking to Raya, she nodded in slow agreement. "You're right, Marisol. This could become very dangerous." She slowly straightened as well, appearing hesitant. "I... have intelligence of a human organization that actively pulls together more... violent protests against Yeerks on Earth. Perhaps if we could infiltrate, we could learn what--if anything--they are planning to do at the parade and beyond."
((Cloudbreaker, let me know if you don't want things to go in this direction; I'm happy to change my post. Also, is there like a main villain-figure we'll be facing?))
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hey can i join this
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Garrett raises his eyebrows at Ertoran's idea of infiltrating the protester organization. "Yeah, that would work. Learn and prevent the attack before it can even happen, that sounds good."
((You wouldn't have to change your post, he can just shoot down your idea.))
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"It woud be good if we could find out exactly how they're responding to this. What organization is this?" Chad said. "I knew there were groups, but nothing large enough to be called an organization."
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((I just meant that if Cloud didn't want such a group to exist, or for Tora to know about it if it did, I can change what I wrote))
Ertoran looked to Chad as she spoke. "It is a tightly kept secret; the Andalites know little about it. The little I know I picked up from fleet communications accessed via my Z-space transponder. It is assumed that a high-ranking politician is among their members, considering how they have faced no consequences for their suspected activities, including the fire that severely damaged that pub on Fourth Street that was popular with Yeerk nothlits and the bomb that was set off in the printing press that published Marco (LastName)'s memoir--presumably because it took a surprisingly Yeerk-sympathetic tone."
She glanced to Garret with a small smirk. "I did make an exception for that book; it was important to read it, even though I have otherwise only read literature up through the eighteenth century."
Looking back to the group, Ertoran continued. "Their meeting place is not known, but as most of their suspected activity happens is in this area, it can't be far away."
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"I heard about that explosion. you know, you'd think when the most ruthless member of the Animorphs says something good about Yeerks he may be onto something there. Also I am not surprised if some politicians are anti-Yeerk."
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(( *poke* We're not letting this die, are we?))
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((I'm awaiting Cloudbreaker's post before I have Garrett say anything.))
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((Sorry I haven't posted in forever. I've been super busy and, as much as I hate to admit it, this RP is pretty low on my list of priorities. :-\ KitsuneMarie, I have no problems with the organization you introduced. It can even be the main villain-figure you asked about. Or at least where the main villain-figure originates. Also, in case anyone was still wondering, I sent a PM long ago to the person asking if they could join. ;) If I ever take forever to post again, feel free to work around me, or even write me out of the story if you have to. I don't want the story to come to a halt because of me.))
Ben got a feeling that Marisol did not like andalites much but wasn't sure why. He would have to keep an eye on her and make sure her relationship with Tora stayed stable. If they ever got into a life and death situation, the last thing they would need was a fight to break out for one stupid reason or another.
"This human organization you have heard of sounds like it would be a good place to start," Ben finally said to Tora. "I'm sure we could learn something from infiltrating their hideout even if we learn nothing about the parade. I guess our first task will have to be to locate where their hideout is."
Ben wanted to ask about the Z-space transponder too, but figured it would be counter-productive. He had a vague notion of what it was and how it was supposed to work, but had never actually seen one in real life. He was glad they had someone on their team who knew about such things.
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((Yay, Cloud! I'm glad you're around, even if you are super busy!))
Ertoran nodded in agreement with Ben. "I will continue to listen to the transponder for any clues as to their base location." Looking around the room at the group she added, "Is there anyone who would like to volunteer to listen while I am working or sleeping? I don not know your schedules." She gave a small smirk. "If no one is able, I may just quit my job anyway. It is not a particularly enjoyable one to me."
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"I guess we could all take turns in our free time. Also I guess we need to start running around getting morphs. I listen to Marco's interviews on letterman, and he said they usually didn't worry about new morphs until they needed them. I'd like it if we were more proactive. find anything we think might be useful, test them out, and if there's anything we need that we didn't think of previously we can get them then."
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Raya glances at Tora reluctantly before saying flatly, "I have access to a transponder that will allow me to listen in as well. Of course, I would need an Andalite to break the security restrictions. They are beyond my understanding."
((wb Cloud :) ))
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Ertoran turned her attention on Raya and nodded. "I will help you bypass the security system. You will be able to listen to Andalite communications to your heart's content--that is, until the codes change four days from now and I spend about a day hacking back into the system. It happens approximately once every Earth month."
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Name:Alex
Age: 15
Physical Description: Medium build, Deep blue eyes, 5.6
Personality Description: he is slightly shy, has many thoughts going through his head at most times
History: During the invasion he was a controler, afterwards he stumbled upon the morphing cube and broke into the zoo, and got morphs of a wolf and tiger there.
Current Morphs: Wolf and Tiger
He stumbled upon a member of the group in the middle of the night.
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Raya gives Tora a bland smile with little warmth, "thank you, I appreciate that. Perhaps with two ears listening in we can detect more."
<Bull,> Marisol comments, <you just want to spy on the Andalites.>
<Marisol,> Raya says evenly, <what use would that do me? It is not as if there is a Visser or Sub-Visser around that I could ferret away to with such valuable information. The Empire is dead. Although yes, I suppose I am a bit curious as to what the almighty Andalites are up to.>
The false smile does not fade as Raya's gaze shifts from Tora to the other members of the group, "well, let's plan then, shall we?"
((somewhat along with Marie's idea, I had a vague idea about an underground government agency of sorts that was dedicated to hunting down all remaining Yeerks that have not been nothlitized. That would make Raya and Arrin's situation a bit more precarious, but I think it would make sense. The same agency could theoretically be working with the human anti-Yeerk organization Marie mentioned.))
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((Allec, you need permission from Cloudbreaker before you can start RPing. Also, we are inside a stable in the backyard of a mansion, there's no probable way would could just "Stumble" upon any of us. It would behoove you to do a little reading before just interjecting yourself into a story.))
Arrin looked to Ertoran, "What would you do for work then? I might be able to get you a job with m-"
Garrett elbowed Arrin, "Shut up. There's no way I can hire on someone new so quickly. It might scare everyone off. You know how much those drunks hate surprisingly new people. Let alone if she just showed up behind the bar."
Arrin rubbed his upper arm, "Gah, fine, you didn't have to hit me so hard. You know I chose a weak frame to help blend in better."
Garrett rolled his eyes, "Yeah and also made yourself a better target for jerks too. You really should make some changes to your mixture or whatever you call it." He looked to Ertoran and gave a weak smile, “I own a bar that nothlits[/] frequent. No one knows they’re nothlits, and I certainly don’t advertise the fact; but if you want a job, I’m sure I could help you out. It’d be a process though. You’d have to play like a patron first. They don’t really trust new people that well. You understand, they’re especially more mistrusting after that pub was lit up.”
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Ertoran nodded to Raya in agreement to cooperate with her over the transponder, although her stomach gave a little turn. Internalizing her worries, she looked to Arrin and Garrett. "It doesn't sound particularly appealing, but thank you for the suggestion." She sighed. "Besides, I have a feeling that, no matter how well I think I have assimilated among humans, a Yeerk nothlit would find me out with a bit more ease--and would be less willing to cooperate with me than a human."
She looked around the group. "But back to business...?"
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Spartan I already have permission from cloudbreaker and I will change that.
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((Alright, at least put any OOC comments in parentheses so we know it's not part of the story. You may also want to wait for Ben to introduce you or something. If your character randomly walks in, he wouldn't really get a warm reception.
Otherwise, welcome to the RP.))
Arrin, still rubbing his arm, shrugged off her refusal.
Garrett nodded with understanding and said, "I have a small snake morph and a hawk; so I'm good for sneaking in and/or surveillance."
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Im looking to sign up for this but have a few questions.
1) Am i capable of being a yeerk infested Andalite? But like not allow others to know? For example, a yeerk went rogue and turned against hte yeerk empire and manage to infest an Andalite warrior?
2)If not can i use a custom alien as my species of origin and still be morph capable?
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(We already have a Yeerk infested Andalite, and I'm not sure how I feel about another one. You don't have to tell the team you're a controller.)
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((Alright i will take that as being a no to the whole andalite portion, but then can i still be a custom with morph capabilities?))
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(Yeah, just give a good reason why you have morphing powers. Unless anyone else says otherwise.)
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((Chad, I don't know if you were referring to Ertoran, but she's not a Controller. She simply has a Yeerk morph. So the group contains a free and Yeerk-sympathetic Andalite, but not a Yeerk-infested one... unless someone hasn't spilled their secrets yet :P))
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(I must have been confused then. Sorry.)
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(It looks like I will have to officially pull out of this RP. I just don't have enough free time. I should have planned ahead better before starting this up. Sorry. Feel free to blame me for everything if this causes the entire thread to collapse or something. I take full responsibility. (but keep it going if you can!))
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((Aww sad. Well, thanks for letting us know, and good luck with everything, Cloud.
Guys, what do you think? Should we keep going with this roleplay? If so, who should be the new GM?))
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(( I definitely want to continue. I love the concept for this rp, and I think it can go far.))
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((I'm looking for group consensus here, so y'all feel free to disagree with me. But I feel like we should maybe keep species to those present in the Animorphs canon. So far, all characters are either human, Yeerk, or Andalte; I'm not saying I think every character should belong to one of those three species, but I like how all the current characters have immediately recognizable powers, abilities, and appearances. What makes them interesting is how individual they are.
Not trying to be difficult here, just putting out my opinion. Jessi? Chad? Parker? Do y'all have any thoughts?))
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(I suppose if we keep the species canon then people will have to make their characters interesting because of personality and such, instead of because they have unique powers. I was kind of thinking most of us would be Human or possibly Yeerk, giving us good reason to be on Earth.)
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((I agree. Yusuke, since this rp is still getting off the ground it would be easier to establish the basic plot and whatnot if we kept to canon characters.
Which brings up a second issue....who is going to take over the GM position?))
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(Not sure. Depends on who wants to NPC Ben.)
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(well than am i capable of being my earlier choice? The Yeerk infested andalite?)
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((As long as you have a good backstory I don't think that would be a problem, so long as everyone else agrees. :) ))
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(Yeah, go ahead.)
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Name: Silent
Age: N/A (he wont say)
Physical Description: a strong looking andalite with a buff tail
Personality Description: he is full of pride and capable of being absolutely harsh at times. The Yeerk in him, is a rutheless killer whom uses his body to kill when it suits him, or as a way of hiding in the open.
History: His body was aquired during the middle of the invasion however he kept it silent and made himself vanish from Yeerk society till recently. He wishes to keep himself among his enemies as a way to give information to what's left of the empire. He only will allow those around him to know of himself as an andalite, but yeerks to know whom he trully is
Current Morphs: Leopard, Grey Wolf, Peregrine falcon
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((Sorry for my extended absence. I'll get a prpoer post going soon.
I have to disagree with the Andalite-controller idea. Cloud was sketchy enough on having a free Andalite on the team, an Andalite-controller just seems a bit much. I think it would be better just stick to humans and Yeerks from here on out. Otherwise the RP could get out of hand.
Regarding the custom alien, I'm also against. We don't want to turn this into the GESB, and the likelihood that a brand-new alien visiting this planet and finding our little band of refugees is hugely astronomical.))