Disclaimer:
I don't own Animorphs, KAA and/or Scholastic do. However, I own this story,
and am not making money for it.
A/n: Plot design and chapters 1-2 copyright
of jekkal@juno.com. The rest copyright of MegCA86.
AniLites #1: The Joining
By: Meg
Chapter 1
My name is Aximili.
That's all you'll get
out of my name. No second name, no last name, no scoop number, no quadrant,
nothing that could give the Yeerks any help.
Yeerk. that's a word
you need to remember. For it spells doom to all species, all races, all
worlds.
But back to the subject.
My friends and I won't tell you a thing that could help the Yeerks. Because
we're trying to survive. At least until the Humans come. If they come.
It started back at
the mall, where me and my best friend Alloran were playing Tail Fighter
in the Arcade. I have a gaming system at home, so I'm pretty good, but
Alloran has this unique knack to find the little secrets in games, so he
beats me sometimes.
< Brip Brip Brip!
> the machine said. PLAYER 2 WINS showed up on the screen.
< HAH! Got you again!
>
< Hah yourself.
That was our last quarter. > I said, turning my pants pockets inside out
to show I was clean.
< Fine. We need
to get back before moonset or our parents'll ground us. > We turned back
to get home when we ran into Jekkal and Melis.
Melis is one of those
people who could go through a mudslide, walk through a hurricane, and step
in and out of an erupting volcano clean, with every hair in place. But
don't let the look fool you. She acts like a War-princess. She's quite
beautiful, although since I'm her cousin, I don't notice it as much.
One look at Jekkal
next to Melis will make you wonder why these two are even friends. She
works at her dad's office, which is really an extra scoop filled with all
sorts of animals. She doesn't give a flip about
fashion. Which I like. But there's also
another thing I like. As in like like.
< Want us to walk
you home? > I said. That was the wrong thing to say. If anything, you don't
want to even imply to Melis that she's weak.
< You think you're
so cool, you big strong ANNNDALITEEE? > Melis taunted. < You think just
because- >
< You might want
to go by yourself, > Jekkal said, < But I don't. > That's Jekkal for
you. Always knows what to say to stop an argument.
As we were leaving
the mall we ran into Tashe. Sort of a dweeby kid. I had just saved him
from having his head showed in a toilet. I guess he considered me his friend
since he didn't have anyone else. < Hey, Tashe. >
< Hey guys. Mind
if I head back to the scoops with you? >
< Sure. > I said.
Not like that was a problem.
So there we were. Five
mall rats, heading home on a Friday night. I almost try to remember that
last moment we were still just a bunch of Andalite teens, with teen problems.
The scariest thing I worried about was telling my brother, Elfangor, that
I didn't make the driftball team.
Five minutes later,
things got a lot scarier.
Chapter 2
We had reached the intersection
where the construction site was. There was supposed to be a modern school,
one with two levels, built there, but it was just left there in mid-project
for dead. We occasionally went
there in the day to find old remounts
of fires or drug needles. There was even an old crane there that I climbed
once while Alloran stayed on the ground and told me I was insane.
Now, there were two
ways to get home. One was to stay along the streets, which was the long
and safe way. Or go through the site. My parents swore to ground me until
I'm thirty if they ever knew I went through there. But
it was only a few minutes until moonset,
and I needed to take the chance or I'd be in big trouble anyway.
We pranced through
the area, keeping an eye out for murderers or scoopless people as we walked
through. But they weren't to be the problem.
Tashe saw it first.
That just seemed to be the way he is, off in his own world, keeping his
stalk eyes to the sky instead of the ground where he needed them. <
Guys. Stop. >
< What? > I asked.
< Look up. > he
said. We turned all eyes up to stare at the blue-white dot, scooting
across the sky between the stars, moving in every which way you could think
of. It began to grow in size.
Melis said, full
of awe.
I had a closer look
of the ship as it landed. About the size of a scoop, it was white, ball-shaped,
with two wings on either side. A smaller fin grew from the top, like a
webbed hand. The front had a rounded cone
nose, the back with small clusters of
engines. Almost harmless, until you saw the legs it stood on. Two in front,
two in back, the front having three fingers ending in wicked claws along
with a similar thumb, the back
being superhot oval sheets that burned
an eerie red. It stood there.
< Uhhh... do we
run? > I asked.
Alloran said.
Like he knew what these creatures were. Right.
A line of light opened,
growing wider until it was a huge oblong square. A shape appeared in the
light.
A strange creature,
having only two legs and no tail, he wore a black jumpsuit with a wide
silver hip line and a
lightning bolt crossing from his right
shoulder to the left of the line. His shoes were also black, but unlike
ours, covered the bottom of the hoof. His face had a nose that jutted out
like the ships, with two large openings at the bottom. There was a huge
gash in his face, lined with white hard objects holding back a red, semi-soft
object. He was pinkish-tan where the jumpsuit or shoes did not cover him,
with light brown fur coming down from the top of his head to his curved
ears. He only had main eyes.
< Come out. We won't hurt
you. >
"I know."
< What was that?!
I heard it! > Jekkal screamed, eyes wide with fear.
"Do not be afraid,
Andalites." It said again. He stepped out of his ship, staggered, and fell.
I ran to his side.
When I looked, he had a bad burn across his side down to his right leg.
He groaned in pain.
< Aximili, give
me your shirt. Maybe I can make some bandages out of it. > Jekkal said.
She knew a lot about medical stuff, but it looked like it's going to take
more than a shirt to heal this one up.
"Don't bother. The
wound is fatal. I will die here," he said, almost emotionless for a minute,
then groaned again in pain. He twisted his face back again, like he wasn't
going to let the burn stop him. "Go into my ship! There is a small tan
sphere. Very plain. Bring it to me!"
I leapt into the ship.
It was mostly covered in sharp edges, with a white and black design. Very
rigid. Which is probably why I found the sphere so fast. I grabbed and
began to head out.
As I was about to leave,
something caught my eye. A hologram, with two of the strange creatures.
The second one was slightly darker and wore a similar, yet fairly different
outfit. I jumped back out of the ship.
I handed the sphere
to the alien.
"Yes. But that's not
the point." He moaned again. "Listen. There are others coming."
< Others? Like you?
> Tashe said.
"No, not like me. Different."
< How so? > I asked.
And his words burned into me.
"They have come to
destroy you."
Chapter 3
No one said < Yeah,
right > or < You're lying >. Somehow, we all knew he was telling
the truth.
< How do we know
that's the truth? I think someone would have mentioned it at school > Alloran
said reasonably.
"You do not understand.
The Yeerks are-"
I guess he couldn't
explain it, because he reached into a pocket of his jumpsuit. He withdrew
a picture. It looked like a gray slug, about the size of a newborn
calf's hoof.
"The Yeerks are parasites.
In their natural form, they are harmless. However, the Yeerks evolved to
enslave peoples' minds. They control all your thoughts. Persons on this
state are known as Controllers.
"We humans fight the
Yeerks wherever they spread across the galaxy. The Yeerks are now
targeting your homeworld. We tried to stop them. A fleet. We fought, but....we
lost. They had a hidden mothership in one of your moons. I am the only
human to survive the battle."
Then, a huge spasm
ripped through the human. He had a sad look on his face-he knew his time
was almost up.
< So, what good
will this knowledge do us? >
"There is a.......power
I can give you. It is the power to morph. To change your shape. I probably
should not. But, I have no choice. First, though, do you wish to receive
this power?"
< When you say change
our shape, do you mean we can change into animals? > Jekkal questioned
the human.
"Yes. You have only
to touch an animal, to acquire it's DNA pattern, and you can change into
it. There are dangers, limitations, other things you must be aware of.
There is not enough time to explain all of it. But, just
remember this-never stay in a morph for
more than 2 of your Andalite hours, or you will be trapped, unable to demorph."
< You're joking,
right? Yeerks and the power to change into animals and aliens? This is
INSANE!! > Alloran said.
Suddenly, Melis was
looking at me like I should decide whether or not we should all accept
the power.
< Melis, I don't
know > I said despairingly. < We should decide as a group, though. >
< I'm in > Melis
said.
< Me, too > Jekkal
said.
Then, I looked at Tashe.
A shiver ran up my spine. < We have to, > Tashe said.
I nodded. < We have
no choice. >
Alloran frowned, but
said nothing.
"All right. Now, everyone,
touch a part of your body to this sphere."
I put a hand on. So
did Melis. Jekkal did as well.
< This is insane!
> Alloran said. But he did it too.
Then there was only
Tashe left. He looked at the ground, looked up, and looked at the
ground again. His face was a study of sadness and....an emotion I
could only guess as unworthiness.
"This gift is for you,
too........Tashe."
Tashe looked freaked
out. < How do you know my name? > he demanded of..... the human.
"Hurry!" the human
said again.
Since Tashe was at
the back of the group, he arched his tail over our heads, and touched the
very tip of the blade to the sphere.
Suddenly, a shock ran
through me. You know how it is, when you're little, when you have
a bad dream, you feel better when your mom or dad helps you stand up, and
get some water and grass? That was like this. A tingle, pleasurable.
Suddenly, the human
looked up. Red lights were swarming across the sky.
"The Yeerks are searching
for me. They will be here in a few minutes. Run!"
I jerked from the tone
of command in his voice. < He's right! Go! >
We hauled some serious
hoof. All but Tashe, who knelt by the human. The human said something to
Tashe. Tashe seemed to reply. The human pushed something into Tashe's hands.
Tashe stuffed it into a pocket of his jumpsuit. Then he ran towards us.
Then, the Yeerks landed.
Chapter 4
First to come out were
these huge aliens.Maybe seven feet tall, they had elbow and wrist blades.
Blades jutted out from their turned-back knees. Blades also were at their
faces. But, some had two face-blades and some had three.
Hmmmm. I wonder if
that's some sort of culturally thing, maybe two different tribes? I thought
to myself. Even in the midst of terror, I still remembered my Unknown Alien
Cultures training.
Tashe took out the
packet the human had given him. Luckily, it was written in Galard.
< They're Hork-Bajir
> he read out loud. < Peaceful, until the Yeerks enslaved them. >
< Peaceful? Yeah,
right. They look like walking knives! > Alloran commented.
Tashe continued. <
Their night-vision is very dim, day vision is OK. Their hearing is excellent,
which means we should be very quiet, > he warned.
Then, our attention
was drawn to what slithered out of the ship next.
< Whoa! Huge centipedes!
> Jekkal said.
I had to agree. <
Taxxons > Tashe read. < They chose to serve the Yeerks-as voluntary
Controllers. They are cannibalistic. >
Then, he appeared.
< Look, it's another one! Another human! > Melis said.
< No. This one's
different > Jekkal countered.
"Ahh, Commander Tom
from the USA." it sneered.
"Visser Three!" the
human-Commander Tom-said.
< Visser Three-the
only Yeerk ever to infest a human. The human is known only as Tobias. The
only Yeerk to-no way! > Tashe cried.
< To WHAT?!?! >
Alloran demanded, impatient. His tail was twitching.
< "Since Visser
Three has a human body, he has the morphing power" > Tashe quoted.
He looked up. < He will be our most dangerous enemy. >
I nodded in agreement.
"Why the Andalites?
Why THIS world?" Commander Tom questioned.
Visser Three laughed.
"Because there are so many. They don't know what's going on. They have
natural defenses-their tailblades. Take your pick!
"But, not now. Now,
I kill you. But first-Commander Tom, when they Yeerks have finished the
conquest of your world, I will personally hunt down your family. I will
oversee their infestation at the hands of my trusted
lieutenants."
The Visser started
morphing. "I hope-" < they will resist > he said, arrogance masking
every word. < So I can hear their minds scream! >
Even in the middle
of terror, I wondered how Visser Three could use thought-speech. It must
be the morph, I thought.
"NO!" Commander Tom
hadn't been doing anything. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist. A small, holdout
blaster appeared and he shot at Visser Three's morph. At the same time,
a beam of light shot out from Commander Tom's ship. It hit one fighter
and exploded.
< The fighter that
exploded was a Bug Fighter. The other one is a Blade Ship > Tashe said,
still reading.
All at once, the other
Bug Fighter shot it's lasers at Commander Tom's ship. Visser Three had
finished morphing, and one of his huge hands came down and swept Commander
Tom up. He fired at Visser Three time and time again, but it was just pinpricks
against that huge monster.
Visser Three hung Commander
Tom over his mouth.
Then, Visser Three
dropped him.
Chapter 5
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Commander Tom cried out.
At the very end, he howled in pain and terror.
< You filthy piece
of- > I started. I grabbed a piece of gansteel, intent on avenging Commander
Tom.
I guess I went insane
or something, because there was no way, I, armed with a pipe and my tailblade,
was going to do much against Visser Three's huge morph and about 50 Hork-Bajir
and Taxxons.
< Are you insane?
> Alloran demanded. He and Tashe held my tailblade and my back down, mostly
by sitting on me. Jekkal put her hand on my face.
I was stunned. This
was an Andalite kiss. < Don't you see? He doesn't want us dying for
him. He's dying for us! >
I shoved Alloran and
Tashe away angrily, but I had retained my common sense.
Alloran turned away,
shannling. Shannling is the Andalite version of, well, barfing, as a human
youth put it. A
greenish-red liquid came out of Alloran's
hooves. It is painful and is moderately loud.
An understandable thing
to do, really. Especially considering what we'd just seen.
But, all the same,
it attracted the attention of the nearest Hork-Bajir guard. He swiveled
his head towards us.
We were perfectly still.
He took one, two, three
steps towards us. And we broke and ran.
Chapter 6
I don't know who ran first.
Maybe it was me. Maybe it was Alloran, or Tashe, or Melis, or Jekkal. Maybe
we all just felt a huge jolt of electricity all at once, and ran all at
once.
Anyway, we split up,
going in three different directions.
Me and Melis took off
one way. Jekkal and Alloran took off in another, and Tashe split up all
by himself.
Tashe is really out
of shape, and Alloran and Jekkal were both too small to be really fast.
So I figured it was up to me and Melis to make a distraction.
I guess she figured
that out to, because she slowed down, waved her arms, and yelled < Come
one, come on, you- >
Then she said some
words I didn't realize Melis even knew.
We turned and hauled
some tail.
Suddenly, I tripped.
I glanced down. I had forgotten to trim my hooves lately, and I had tripped
over a rock.
I glanced down, and
decided I couldn't run in this condition. So, I did a rough trimming job.
I guess Melis realized
I wasn't beside her, because she turned and looked at me.
< Melis! Go! Don't
wait for me! > I yelled to her.
I could read horror
written all over her face, but she nodded bravely and turned.
I finished trimming
my hooves, but by this time the Hork-Bajir was right on me. As in right!
On! ME!
Chapter 7
I jumped into one of the
buildings. I found my way around the corridors, and out, but not before
I almost ran into a Controller.
< No, no need to
take prisoners. Whoever you find, just kill and bring the head to me >
an Andalite voice broadcasted arrogantly somewhere near me.
I knew I had heard
that voice before. Where?
Chapter 8
When I got home, I called
around to the others. They were all shaken.
I went to sleep, hoping
it was all a dream. In my heart of hearts, I knew it wasn't.
I woke up the next
morning when my mother, Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen, woke me up.
<Aximili! Your friend
Tashe-____-____ is here to see you!> she called.
I lifted myself off
the ground, stretching. What is Tashe doing here? I wondered.
< Where is he? >
I asked my mother.
< He's in that patch
of grass near the river. The one that you can't see from the normal scoop.
> she answered.
< Thanks, Mom, >
I said. I gave her a small kiss.
I trotted out to where
Tashe was waiting, grabbing a quick breakfast as I went.
< Hey, Tashe > I
called as I trotted towards the field.
He turned to face me.
His eyes were shining, and he looked so happy.
< Aximili! I did
it! I morphed! > he yelled.
I stopped dead in my
tracks, then walked to the river. I drank some water.
< So, it wasn't
a dream > I muttered to myself.
< What? > Tashe
queried me. He shook me out of my dark thoughts.
< Nothing. > I said.
< So, you said you morphed? What?>
He smiled.
< How did you fly
if one of it's wings was broken? > I wondered, more to myself than to Tashe.
He rolled his eyes.
< Ummm, Aximili? Do you pay attention in biology class? DNA is the basic
structure, the
"blueprint" of an animal. The DNA
wasn't broken, just a wing was. >
< Oh, well, OK >
I said, feeling a bit uncertain.
Tashe's expression
closed. < You don't believe me. Fine. I'll prove it to you. >
With that, he started
to change.....
Chapter 9
His legs slid up either
flank. His arms slid downwards. Three sets of wing popped from him.
Suddenly, he shot downwards.
His tail blade was sucked up into his tail,
which promptly split into a kafit's tail.
His fur turned into feathers. I could hear bones crunching inside of him.
It was disgusting!
Finally, he was totally
kafit. < Aximili? > he asked.
< Tashe! > I said.
< Aximili. Why don't
you try? > he asked me.
< Well, OK, umm....
> I trailed off. Then, I spotted the perfect morph in a tree nearby.
< How about this?
> I asked cockily.
< A djabala? > asked
Tashe.
< Yes, it shouldn't
be too hot to handle. >
With that, I started
to change......
Chapter 10
Suddenly, I was shrinking
and shrinking.
I heard the thought-speech
equivalent of laughter. I realized it was Tashe. < What is SOOOO funny?!
> I demanded of him.
He kept laughing. <
Just a miniature Aximili. >
I realized, belatedly,
that while I had shrunk to djabala-size proportions, nothing else had changed.
So, I was,
in essence, a miniature Aximili.
Suddenly, my fur turned
greenish-brown. My stalk eyes retracted into my head. My tail blade became
soft and squishy, and retracted into my tail. my tail became longer and
thinner, less bulky. My hooves softened into a
puttylike goo, and reformed as 4 little
tiny toes. My arms just retracted into my torso. My rear legs slid back,
and my front legs slid frontwards.
My ears rounded out,
became a little more sensitive. My eyes whirled, becoming an amber color.
My eyesight was worse. Then, finally, a mouth formed.
The morph was complete.
I was a djabala.
Chapter 11
The djabala mind decided
to kick in just then.
It turned this was
and that. It noticed Tashe, but dismissed him as any threat. Andalites
are, after all, grazing
animals.
The djabala wanted
a tree. It ran up to the closest one and jumped up to a low branch. It
grabbed a leaf off of the tree and started to eat.
Oh, the taste! The
flavor! It would be impossible to describe the heavenly feeling that was
coursing through me right then, to an Andalite who could not morph.
More, more, more! I
wanted more. I grabbed as many leaves as I could and stuffed them into
my mouth.
Just then, I became
aware of a niggling voice in my mind. < Aximili! Aximili! Are you OK
in there? >
Confused! The djabala
mind left me hanging from a branch by it's tail, while-
Wait. It's? Mine?
< Aximili! It's
me, Tashe! Reassert your individual consciousness! >
< WHAT?!?! >
Suddenly, I knew who
I was again.
< Aximili, I don't
like this. Demorph now! > Tashe said urgently.
I demorphed. I grew.
My fur turned back to it's normal blue color. My arms slid back down, to
become legs. Two arms sprouted from my torso. My hooves formed.
Finally, my tail thickened
and my blade shot out.
< Sorry, Tashe.
I guess-I guess the morph took control of me for a second. > I said shakily.
I hadn't recovered yet, I guess.
< That's OK, Aximili.
That happened to me, too, when I morphed the kafit. Luckily, my mom was
still asleep. >
Tashe has the weirdest
family I know of. His parents got separated when he was young, so his dad
lives halfway across the planet. He lives with his mom, here.
< Well, Tashe, I
guess we should call the others. >
< OK. When do you
want to meet? >
< Why are you asking
me? > I questioned him, still a little out of it from the morph.
< Well, you're the
leader. > Tashe sounded confused. Like I should know that.
THAT got my attention.
< Wait, since when am I the leader? > I demanded, stopping dead in my
tracks.
< You just are.
> Tashe said, almost mystically.
< OK, well then,
I guess we meet in Jekkal's barn in one hour, all right? > I said in a
challenging tone.
< All right. > Tashe
said.
I sighed. < I'll
tell Alloran and Melis; you get Jekkal? > I asked.
< Sure, no problem.
> With that, he morphed to kafit to fly back to his scoop.
A beak extended from
just under his nose. He shrunk. Within a short time, he was up and flying
free, in the air.
Right then, I had a
bad feeling. Watching him like that. A feeling, that's all.
< Remember, Tashe,
no more than two hours, right? > I asked.
< Right, Aximili.
Right. >
And he wheeled away
to go back to his scoop.
The End
A preview of #2: The Battle
I morphed to kafit
bird. It's the only morph I had.
I saw Aximili morphing
his flaar; Melis, her hoober; Jekkal, her talsoan; and Alloran, his jerkandal.
Suddenly, a Hork-Bajir
turned, going for Alloran, who was helpless in mid-morph.
I gained some air,
and shot down at more than 150 human miles per hour, heading for the Hork-Bajir
who had targeted Alloran.
I hit his eyes, a rocket.
I was past him, and wheeling to come around.
He bellowed. Jekkal
roared. And the nightmare went on........
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