Dedicated to my good friend Meeko, who knows how to make a character suffer.
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Misery

By: AniBlaire

Prologue

    He was shoved into the cell roughly, his face hitting the ground in a rush of dirt and blood.  The large creature that threw him in laughed and shut the heavy metal door behind him.  He felt around the pitch-black cell, looking for something to keep him warm, though he doubted he would find one.  The floor seemed to absorb the heat from his body, causing him to become cold and as uncomfortable as possible before he would get hypothermia.  He brushed against a warm form, and she yelped startled, having not realized his entrance.
    "Tobias?" She asked, hopefully, like she did every time there was a  new entry.  He responded "Yes, It is me."  Then collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

Part One

    When he awoke, Rachel hugged him firmly, "Tobias!  My love!  I can't believe I can actually see you again!" She said excited.  She had been seperated from her lover for a long time, since she was captured, years ago, at least.  She had always hoped that she would meet her love again, but she had hoped, at that time, that she would be free.
    "Love," he said with a look of desperate hope in his eyes, "How can this be?  You died!  Visser Three told us, two years ago!  When we faced him he told us of how he tortured you to death, how you spent your last moments pledging your allegiance to the Yeerk Empire!  This is impossible!" He said unbelieving, but wanting so much to believe.
    "No, I did not die," She said not amused at the Visser's toying with her mate, and then put in ashamed, "Though I was tortured, horribly, and by the end, I would have said anything the visser wanted me to," Trying to block the memory again, she shook her head, "But I haven't had daily torture sessions for months, possibly a year.
    Tobias grabbed her gently, "I'm so sorry my love!  I didn't mean to give up on you!  If I had known..." He said, and suddenly began trembling, he rolled over and Rachel was able to see his back.
    "Oh God no!  They can't be doing this to you to!  Wasn't my pain enough for him!" She cried, and as if on signal, a Hork-Bajir walked into the cell, stunned Rachel with a Dracon beam, easier to keep her quiet that way, the yeerk in charge told it, and dragged Tobias out of the cell onto a repulsor stretcher.
 *                *                *
    Tobias could barely think clearly while he was being strapped into the machine that would torture him for the next three hours.  His pain input levels were to high, he had to use all his strength to keep all of his muscles from spasming.  Only, the machine and the Visser hadn't done anything yet, where was the pain coming from?
    As if reading his mind, Visser Two came out of the dark in his battle scarred andalite body, < I see you are now enjoying the experience of our implantation > He said holding up a small black box, < I can trigger any amount of pain just from this!  And you, Andalite/Human bastard, cannot stop me! >
    The only words Tobias could mutter, in the amount of shockwaves of pain he was getting was, "My parents were married," and then he fell into a short unconciousness.
*                *                *
    Rachel heard the screams coming from her lover clearly, they were using the interrogation room accross from her cell again, probably in part to make her suffer without any pain.
    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She heard again, the screams were getting louder, and she covered her ears.
 *                *                *
    Tobias was in and out of conciousness, hoping to awaken and see Rachel's beautiful face, but always awoke to the Visser's evil laughs.
    < So, little human, you are a strong one > he said mockingly, < Your little lover could not last this long, even with her spirit.  She would be well into shock by now, but you, you keep coming back for more! >  He broke into a wicked laugh again and it made me grimace.
    So far I had been experiencing pain mostly from the implant he had put in my lower back.  But now, he was testing the machine against my nervous system.  Now, I saw him reach for a new setting, I didn't know what it did, but I knew that I would not like it.
    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I heard myself scream as a searing pain tore into my stomache.  It felt as if someone was using seering hot plyers to rip away at my intestines,  I saw a long needle extend from the arm of the machine, and I immediately knew that the experience ahead was going to be not only painful, but full of gore as well.
    The needle pierced my knee, making my entire body spasm as mild acid was injected in a very small amount into the muscle of my leg.  I saw the flesh being eaten away by the acid.  Then I knew exactly what kind it was.  The yeerks had been using it the last couple years, filling bullets with the sollution, so when someone was shot, the shell would burst inside of them and eat them from in their own bodies.  The amount injected wasn't enough to do much but cause extreme pain.  I felt my muscle tear apart as the ligiments were severed, and I screamed again, and when I thought the pain would kill me, I went into shock.
    < Tell me when it hurts > I heard the visser say as I blacked out.
*                *                *
    Rachel looked down upon her unconcious lover.  How could they do this to him!  She could see where the acid had been injected and then speed healed, just enough so he wouldn't bleed to death, but It would hurt him constantly.  She could see the electrical burns on his skin, where the interagator machine had attached its diodes to do their work.
    She stroked his hair and wished this was all just a bad dream.  She shouldn't be here.  The war shouldn't have been lost, she shouldn't have been captured.  And Tobias, Tobias should not be in so much pain.  He looked peaceful in sleep, in a way.  But he was wracked with spasms, and she could tell the yeerk brain "enhancer" was at work.  At the moment, He was probably having horrifying dreams, Rachel remembered hers with a shudder, and wished she hadn't.
*                *                *
    The blood!  The blood was everywhere!  Tobias could not escape the blood!  He was running, being shot at by controllers, and dying.  Dead human carcasses lay around in heeps, the horror of it was too hard to face, he just closed his eyes, and kept running.  He had to morph back to bird, then back to human and run again.  A controller hit him twelve times in the back, and he struggled to where he could see a open manhole, and dropped down in, where the Hork-Bajir could not fit.
    He hit the sludge of the sewer, the smell overpowering, filling his mouth when he tried to gasp for breath.  He had to morph back to bird, now!  With heavy concentration, concentration he almost couldn't muster, and began to shrink.  He had morphed back to bird, flapped around and got out of the human bi-product.  He had to remorph into human, or he would be to easy to identify, but he would almost be as easily identified when the controllers saw one of the most famous faces on the planet, the son of the beast known as Elfangor.  When he climbed out of the sewers, he was seen almost imediately by two human-controllers, only they had Dracon beams pointed, not chemical guns.  He ran like hell to get out of their guns' range, and nearly made it to a animorphs base where their was Dracon shielding, but he didn't make it, he was hit in the stomache with the beam set on nearly maximum power, it blew a hole the size of a basketball in his stomache and back.  He fell down to the ground dead.
   "TOBIAS!  WAKE UP!" He heard and was painfully brought out of the state of hyper REM. Rachel, with her beautiful face hardened by years of torture and malnutrition stared down at him, her hands shaking his shoulders to wake him.
    "NO!  NO!  I NEARLY MADE IT... I nearly made it..." he said and looked at her with a look of pure pain.
    "It was just a dream, the yeerks enhance your REM to make it much more real, don't worry lover," She soothed, knowing how tramatic the first experience with the enhancer was.
    He calmed down, a bit, "That did happen, I was running from Sub-Visser Twenty-Seven, I jumped down an sewer, but when I tried to get to one of our hidded bases I was seen by two controllers, I made it though!  They didn't kill me!" He said, surprised that he was still alive, "And I know, now, why I lived, because I have to get us out of here!" He said with a conviction Rachel wished she still knew.  The fantasy of ripping Visser Two's stock eyes used to be in her mind nearly constantly, but now, now she could barely remember what freedom was like.
    "Yes, Tobias, I know you will," she said, and their meals were brought in, consisting of bread, water, and a piece of jerky, that Tobias suggested we not eat.  He said cows these days were injected with chemicals that would kill you, in many doses, if the yeerks didn't do it first.
    "Tobias," I said after we had eaten, and were lying on a soft pile of dirt they had stirred up to use as a pillow.  the ground was only heat absorbing for about an inch, then the dirt underneath was slightly better.
    "Yes?" He replied.
    "Did you... I mean, after I was captured, did you, I mean, did you meet anyone?" She asked afraid of the answer, a lot could happen in two and a half years.
    "No," he said solemnly, "Not that there were many free women to chose from.  No, I didn't meet anyone after you, I have always loved you too much, love," He said snuggling up to her, hugging her, at least, he thought, I am with you, rachel, my love, but he said, "Why do you ask?"
    She looked uncomfortable for a moment, "Tobias, it's been a long time, a very long time, do you think...."
    Tobias looked at her, thinking of how long it had been since he was last with a women, so in reply, he kissed her passionately.

Part Two

    The visser was called away on a mission of great importance, so he was not there to play with his two little captives.  For two months, the two got to know eachother again, spending twenty-four hours a day with each  other, they became intimate often,  but both knew that it would end when he returned.  Rachel told him the stories of her torture, and what would happen to him, and it was not happy.
    When Visser One arrived, he could not wait to play with the two, ever since he had taken control of the Imperial fleet, he had had no chance to relax, they would offer the perfect oppertunity, and he would make them watch eachothers torture this time, it would be the best torture he had seen since he had captured several new training animorphs and made them watch for thirty-six hours until one by one, all five had died, that was five years before and he needed something in that respect.
*                *                *
    Tobias was contemplating his life, like he usually did in his spair time, when the door opened, and the Visser entered with two Hork Bajir on his tail.  < Take them, now, stun them if you must, but don't injure them, I want them to be ready for their pain > And then he laughed a cruel laugh that cowered the strongest creature.
    "No!" Tobias yelled, when the big Hork Bajir grabbed ahold of Rachel, He jumped towards the alien and his fists pummeled it, causing no damage.  The Hork Bajir knocked him away, and the other grabbed him, "No!" He yelled again, and then he was shot.
*                *                *
    While strapped to a chair Rachel stared at her still unconcious lover, he had been so stupid, he should not have resisted, regardless of what they were doing to her, not attacking a huge male Hork Bajir.  The visser ordered his attendant to give Tobias a large stimulant, and he was awake in a moment, struggling at his bonds.
    "Let her go!  You had your fun with her!  Don't do this!" He yelled, making the visser laugh.
    < No, I don't think so, you little human bastard, I haven't had as much fun as I'm going to have. > Then he started pushing buttons.
    "AHH!" Rachel screamed, feeling a sharp pain in my back.  Like a sledgehammer slamming into her spinal column.
    Then Tobias screamed and tried to clutch his stomache, and I didn't want to know what he felt,  because I knew what I was feeling was bad enough.
    The pain was excrutiating, and rising, Rachel screamed out even louder, and then was followed by Tobias.  The screams racked the halls of the prison facility, making even the controllers cringe.  And it would not stop for hours to come.
*                *                *
    Rachel and Tobias were thrown into the cell on top of eachother, and Visser One smiled.  "Visser!  I have something to report!" A Human-Controller said handing the visser a data pad.
    < I don't have time to read this > He said throwing the pad on the ground, < What does it say? >
    "The prisoners, sir, they having been mating, the female is pregnant, sir!" He said, fearful of the Visser's wrath.
    But the Visser was not angry, he smiled with his eyes and laughed loudly.
*                *                *
    Tobias dreamt terrible dreams, along with his lover beside him.  But the dreams were interupted when the heavy doors slid aside, and Visser One with his two Hork-Bajir leautenants.  Tobias and Rachel both snapped from their dream like a rubber band being released.  < Take her > the Visser said, pointing to Rachel cruelly.
    "No!  You can't!  I won't let you!" Tobias said, but instead of attacking the Hork-Bajir grabbing Rachel, he jumped toward Visser One.  The Andalite was too quick though, and sliced Tobias' stomache, spilling several vital organs, and Tobias dropped.
    "NO!" Rachel yelled, in tears.  "NO NO NO!"
    Visser One laughed cruelly.  < Goodbye, Tobias, son of beast Elfangor.  Say goodbye to the mother of your child > he laughed again, and the shocked look on Rachel's face amused him, and he continued, < Die Tobias, die > And he was dead.
    "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled, kicking and screaming, but the Hork-Bajir held her.
    She was crying, and dying inside, when the explosion hit the building, sending stone everywhere. Rachel was standing by the door, being led out by the huge Hork-Bajir.  The explosion caught her in the stomache, sending her flying accross the room to smash against the wall, killing her immediately.  The Visser was cut in half by a flying piece of his torture machine.  Ironic, isn't it?

Epilogue

    As it turns out, the Animorphs, Alpah Team, consisting of Jake, Marco, Cassie, Phillup, and Lexus destroyed the interogation facility, knowing what it was, but not who was in it.  They had no idea they were killing two of the oldest members of the team, well, it would have been two, if the first wasn't already dead. The yeerks would later kill the alpha team, along with Beta Delta and Gamma.  There was only two animorphs left, but they were eventually killed in a base raid.
 

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