~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 1~*~

 

Disclaimer: I am not KAA, and I do not own the Animorphs or any related names. ;)

 

A/N: This is my first fanfic posted on FFN, so please read and review. If I get enough reviews, I’ll post my other fanfics and more chapters of this one. Thanks, Alara-Sirinial-Amalon

 

 

 

                “Number Four-Six-Three!” the voice called over the speaker. “What do you think you are doing?”

                I looked down at the small book that I had been writing in. “I am completing my journal entry for the day, sir.”

                The speaker crackled. “Very good. Carry on.”

                “Another day of my life, gone,” I muttered as I wrote. “I live out my life in this bland room, never seeing the light of day. I have never seen another being in my entire life. What do I even look like? I cannot see my own reflection. They make sure of that. I could be blue with green hair, for all I know. I speak to these scientists by way of a communication device. Why must they study me? I feel that I am no different from any other being on this planet. But then again, I don’t know anything about them, except from what I read. I write this every day, hoping that I may convince the scientists to let me out. But my hopes are fading as I near my seventeenth birthday. If they don’t let me out to experience the world by then, then they never would.”

                I put my pen down on the bed and laid the journal by the small opening at the bottom of the door. A hand reached in and grabbed it.

                They let me see a hand. They must be getting careless.

                A sheet of paper slipped through the opening.

                                Four-Six-Three,

                                Your whining will not convince us to let you out.

                                                                --Jake

                Why couldn’t I have a normal name like that? Why am I just a number?

                “Four-Six-Three,” the speaker began, “please report to the testing room.”

                That startled me. “I am to leave this room, sir?”

                “You were given orders. You must follow them.”

                Two people dressed in black from head to toe escorted me to the testing room.

                I was locked in another room, this time with a computer screen. It was an LCD screen, so I couldn’t see my own reflection.

                I sat down in the chair and waited for my orders. At the table in front of me were various objects that I recognized from pictures: a baseball, a paperclip, a penny, and a dollar bill.

                “Four-Six-Three?” a voice asked from behind me.

                I turned to find another black-clothed person.

                “Yes?”

                “You are to complete this task which you have been training for your entire life. This is to prove if you will be right for a much larger task that we have in store for you. Today, we will find out if your creation was a mistake.”

                “Creation?”

                “Genetics. You know all about that, I assume, considering the amount of reading material you consume. You are a ‘super human’, created in a laboratory.”

                “So I’m human?”

                The figure nodded. “Mostly, but by far stronger than any real human.”

                I sighed. I knew it was true. Deep down, I’d always known it. “What’s my task?”

                “I want you to change into your other form. Rip the baseball open with your claws. Then I want you to take the paperclip and levitate it with your mind. You can do that, I am told. After that, I want you to take the penny, hold it in your fist, and melt it. As for the dollar bill…I will explain that to you when you complete your task.”

                “Other form?”

                “You know what I am talking about.”

                I nodded. I understood. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar sensation as layers of muscle were added to my body. I felt my retractable claws form and my teeth become sharp. My vision and hearing became more acute. My sense of smell was far powerful than any human’s.

                The black figure pressed itself against the wall. Obviously, it was scared of me.

                It was a nice feeling.

                I turned to the task at hand. Rip up that pathetic baseball? No problem. I was well equipped for doing things like that. Levitating the paper clip? I had been doing things like that since I was four. As for the penny, I handed the hot lump of copper to the black figure as I returned to my normal body.

                I stared at the person as I stuck my hand out behind me. The dollar bill automatically landed in it, as things always did.

                “Who are you” I asked him.

                He pulled of the mask, and I finally saw what a human looked like. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was very professional looking, I suppose. I wouldn’t know.

                “So this is a human?” I said, circling him. “Not very interesting.”

                The door opened, and more black figures stepped in. One by one, they removed their masks.

                I circled them, which seemed to make them nervous. One woman was writing something. I took it from her, and read it aloud:

                “ ‘The young girl circles us as if she was a predator, stalking her prey’. Is that what you think I am? Some kind of animal?”

                She cleared her throat. “Actually, you are our planet’s only chance for survival. You are to form a group of six, including yourself. You and your group will fight our enemy. Right now, you are to read all of the information we have on this enemy.”

                “What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked, holing up the dollar.

                The scientists looked at each other, excited.

                “Four-Six-Three, you are about to try your first human soda,” one of them said.

                I was nervous as they handed me a cold bottle of brown carbonated liquid and took my dollar.

                “She just made her first purchase,” one said proudly.

                I drank the soda quickly. I closed the bottle and handed it to the nearest person.

                They looked at me expectantly.

                “It was okay,” I said. “Actually, it was a lot better than anything I’ve ever consumed in my life.”

                “Um, Jake?” one woman said to the man who had watched me complete my task. “I think you need to work with her on vocabulary. She sounds like an alien.”

                He motioned for me to follow him out of the room. We stepped in a smaller room with a table and two chairs. I sat in one and he closed the door.

                “Jake?” I asked. “I have a question for you.”

                He smiled. “Anything.”

                “What do I look like?”

                He laughed.

                “No, this isn’t funny. I know what you look like, I know what the other people looked like, but I have never seen my own face.”

                He realized that I was serious. He pulled a small communication device from his clothing and called for something called a “mirror”.

                “What is a mirror?”

                “It’s a device to see one’s reflection.”

                An older man entered the room and handed Jake a mirror, which he then handed to me.

                I looked at it and saw a young female with light brown hair and green eyes. She was pretty.

                “Is that me?”

                Jake nodded. “Now why don’t you take a look at your other form.”

                I changed and looked into the mirror. I saw the same female, but slightly altered. Her eyes were darker and the pupils were similar to those of a cat. I opened my mouth and revealed two rows of sharp teeth. I moved the mirror away from my body and saw the muscles up and down my body.

                “This is amazing,” I said.

                He smiled and took the mirror from me. “You are amazing.”

                “I’m a walking killing machine.”

                “You are a wonderful new species.”

                I glared at him and he jumped back, his chair scraping the floor.

                “You’re scared of me.”

                “Yes I am.”

                “What have I ever done to you?”

                “Nothing.”

                “Then why do you back away?”

                “We know nothing about you. You are unknown territory.”

                I laughed. It was a harsh, guttural sound. “And you people trust me to save your planet?”

                “It’s your planet too.”

                “No. I do not have a planet. If I had a planet, I would be living in it, participating in it. Not stuck here in his place. If it was my planet, I would go to a normal school, have a normal name. I wouldn’t be a number in the world. I would be identified my a combination of letters that formed an identification tag.”

                “I’m sorry.”

                I was on a roll. “No. Don’t apologize. I understand that I was created by scientists in a lab. I understand that I was created for one purpose only and that as soon as I complete my task, I will be eliminated. But I am a person. A living, breathing person. I don’t care what you think, but you took almost seventeen years of life away from me.”

                “I understand, but—”

                “No. If you were in my shoes, would you be content to just serve your purpose and then die?”

                He shook his head. “No I wouldn’t.”

 

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 2~*~

 

                “Yeerks,” I read aloud. “Parasites. They take over people’s bodies by entering through the ear and controlling the brain. Slug-like in appearance. They invaded Earth over two decades ago, only to be stopped by the Animorphs, led by Jake Berenson…”

                I turned and looked at Jake. “You?”

                He nodded. “Eighteen years ago, the Yeerks returned. We weren’t ready, and we didn’t want to deal with another war that fast. We can’t fight as well as we used to. I mean, everything’s different now. Rachel’s gone, Cassie’s with Ronnie and their family, Marco has his own family, Tobias is trapped as a human. Ax is some big hotshot on his planet after he was saved from The One. I used to be a teacher, but now I’m working here.”

                “Why didn’t you just gather another group of kids and make them Animorphs.”

                He shook his head. “No. The Yeerks were smarter this time. More aggressive.” He laughed. “It turns out that we’re the best species around for infestation. By now, well over one-quarter of Earth’s population are Controllers. I knew that no normal human could take on the job of beating the Yeerks. Not the way they are now.”

                “So you created me. That’s what I’m for.”

                “Yes. We knew we needed somebody who could handle this war. You are physically unable to be infested by a Yeerk. I don’t know how, and neither to the scientists. It was a side effect. Your DNA is a combination of the living Animorphs.”

                “I’m supposed to be you and your friends?”

                “So far, you have inherited the traits that we wanted you to get. Or so the other scientists say. Supposedly, you have my leadership skills, Cassie’s morality, Marco’s sense of humor, Tobias’s seriousness, and Ax’s brain. Actually, it looks like you have his eyes as well.”

                “You must have high expectations for me,” I said. “You took all of the Animorphs’ best qualities and tried to make a person. It looks like you’ve succeeded.”

                He looked at me strangely, like I reminded him of someone.

                I knew who it was.

                “I remind you of Rachel.”

                “That can’t be possible. You don’t have any of her DNA.”

                “The two of you must have been more alike than you thought.”

                He thought about that for a moment, and, slowly, a smile spread across his face. “Maybe you’re right.”

                He got up from his chair and opened a cabinet. Inside of it was a harmless-looking blue box.

                “Four-Six-Three, welcome to the Animorphs.”        

                I started to reach out to touch the cube, but pulled my hand away. “Not until I have a name. No more ‘Four-Six-Three’. I don’t care what you call me…actually I do care.”

                “Serenity.”

                “That’s ironic.”

                “I know. That’s my point.”

                “Fine. Have it your way. My name is Serenity. I was born in a test tube March 3, 2015. I am a freak. And insane.”

                He laughed. “Yeah, that about wraps it up. So, Fou—I mean Serenity, are you going to touch this or not? It’s heavier than it looks.”

                “I get to risk my butt every day until the Yeerks are gone…sounds like fun.”

                I reached out and held my hand over the cube, not touching it yet.

                “Well?” Jake asked.

                “Why do I need this? I can already change.”

                “Another side effect. You need to be able to morph.”

                I shrugged and placed my hand on the box. It tingled.

                He pulled the communication device from his pocket again.

                “Hey guys,” he said to it, “meet the newest Animorph.”

                The door opened and two men, one woman, and one Andalite walked in.

                “Congratulations,” the African-American girl said to me. I recognized her from the pictures. Her name was Cassie.:

                “Yeah, congratulations,” Marco said, patting me on the shoulder. “And good luck; you’re going to need it.”

                “Why? Will I have to see you every day?”

                He held his hand to his chest. “Ah, she got me.” He fell to the floor.

                Jake laughed. “I haven’t heard anything like that since…”

                “Since Rachel,” Tobias finished.

                Everybody became silent.

                “Okay,” I began, “so I get to play ‘round-up gang’ and find some more people?”

 

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 3~*~

 

                Jake and the other Animorphs led me out of the building. I shielded my eyes as I walked through the door. The sun was bright.

                “How can you people see anything?” I asked. “It hurts my eyes.”

                “Just wait a few minutes,” Cassie’s voice said. “Your eyes will adjust to it soon.:

                Slowly, my eyes began to get used to the light. I looked up and saw a blue sky with white fluffy clouds. I saw three birds fly overhead.

                “Where are we?” I asked. “This looks like a desert or something.”

                The Animorphs looked at each other, smiling.

                “Actually, it is a desert. But it doesn’t matter where we are now, since you aren’t returning here,” Jake said. “You are going to be a normal teenager who lives in a house and goes to school.”

                “I have to go to school every day?”

                Marco laughed. “The girl hasn’t even been to school yet and she already hates it.”

                “I didn’t mean that, Marco,” I said, glaring at him. “Going to school should be fun.”

                “Good,” Jake said. “Because you start tomorrow. Everything’s ready for you at home.”

                I thought about that. “Wait a minute…I’m living with you?”

                He shrugged. “Why not? I live alone, and it’s a pretty big house for just one person. After we stop by and get you in some normal-looking clothes, we can go to The Gardens and get you some morphs.”

                I followed them around the back of the building and saw an SUV. I sat in the front passenger’s seat with Jake next to me as the driver. I waited for him to start the car, but he turned to me instead.

                “How about a driving lesson? Most kids your age drive.:

                “Me?” I squeaked. I recovered quickly. “Sure.”

                He and I switched places and I started the car.

                Marco groaned from the back seat. “Please don’t let her drive like me. Please. If she does, we’re all going to die. My daughter drives like me, and now I know how you guys felt whenever I was behind the wheel.”

                Ax, in human morph, looked at him strangely. “Why does this bother you? Oooo.”

                I’d read enough about driving that I knew what to do, so I put the car in drive and pushed the gas pedal.

                Everybody fell back into his or her seats. It scared me, so I slammed on the brake, and everybody went forward.

                “So far, so good,” Marco said nervously. “She hasn’t hit anything yet.”

                “There’s nothing to hit, Marco,” Tobias replied sensibly.

                Marco looked out the window. “Oh.”

                I calmed myself down and tried again, this time going a little slower.

                “See, that’s good. You’re getting the hang of it,” Jake said. “Just drive straight until you see the road. Then we’ll switch.”

                When we reached the road, I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d only had two close encounters with cacti, and probably scratched the vehicle a lot, but we were okay.

                As Jake drove down the road, I turned around to talk to the others.

                “Are you sick?” I asked Ax, who was looking green.

                He nodded.

                “Oh, gross,” Marco said, who was next to him. “Jake, man, if he blows, your new car won’t be so ‘new-car scented’. It will be ‘puke-city scented’. Maybe he should demorph or something.”

                Jake pulled over and Ax got out quickly. I watched as his skin turned blue and began to sprout fur. I saw two extra legs sprout as well as a tail. Within a few seconds, he was fully Andalite.

                <I feel much better now,> he said in our heads.

                “It’s thought-speech,” Jake informed me. “We can use it while in morph.”

                “Good, now let’s get goi—” Marco began but was cut off when come kind of laser sliced the ground.

                “Animorphs!” a human cried. “I knew you were alive somewhere. Visser One will be pleased when I bring you in. He misses you.”

                “Tobias, Serenity, I want you to run,” Jake said.

                But I had a different idea. I began to change.

                Tobias grabbed my arm and pulled me away. “What are you doing? Look, there’s half a dozen Hork-Bajir over there! Let the others handle this.”

                Cassie began to morph to wolf, Jake to tiger, and Marco to gorilla.

                I freed myself from Tobias’s grasp and ran at the nearest Hork-Bajir.

                <What do you think you’re doing?> Marco cried, trying to pull me off the beast. I looked at him and he let go. <Jake, she’s going to rip that thing to pieces! Look at her! She has her claws dug into its arms!>

                I clamped my jaws around the Hork-Bajir’s neck and he fell to the ground. Next to me, Ax’s tail blade was flying, hitting a larger one. I tackled it from behind and clawed it up, which was what Jake was doing to another one.

                Once all the Hork-Bajir were down, the human wasn’t so cocky. He kept looking at me, then back to the others. I growled, and he ran away, screaming for his life.

                “That was exciting,” I said. “Let’s do that again!”

 

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 4~*~

 

A/N: Silver Eyed, you’re right about what you said. They are cousins, but throughout the series, I noticed some similarities between the two characters’ personalities. In #54, the characters notice those similarities because Rachel is gone. In this, over two decades have passed, and the other characters are seeing similarities because Serenity is acting just a tiny bit like Rachel (the combination of DNA may have caused a tiny bit of it—that may be in a future chapter, I don’t know yet)—And about the name, I just was think in g of a name that would contrast completely with her personality, and I figured that she was definitely not ‘serene’ (calm, tranquil, pacific, peaceful—none of those would make a good name), so that’s why I chose ‘Serenity’. Thank you for your comments and reviews. I really appreciate them. I’m open to suggestions about the plot or anything. Just e-mail or IM them to me (see my bio). I’ll keep posting more chapters as soon as I write them!

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                Everybody stared at me in silence.

                Then they walked back to the car.

                “What? What did I do?” I cried, following them. “Did I say something wrong?”

                I jumped in the car and we took off down the road.

                “No, you didn’t say something wrong,” Jake said, staring straight ahead.

                “Then what’s the problem?” I asked as we got onto the freeway.

                Marco had the answer. “You’re too Rachel-ish. It’s scary, because you actually love what you’re doing. You just jumped on the back of a fully-grown male Hork-Bajir that could have sliced you into millions of tiny pieces! You’re insane! Crazy. Nuts. Wacko.”

                I was a little angry, and when I’m angry, I lash out at people. “So lock me up. It won’t be any different from how my life has been so far.”

                “Marco,” Tobias began, “Serenity is our only chance of beating those Yeerks once and for all. You’ve said it before: you’re too old to fight. I guess you’re right, if you consider forty to be old. But you can fight if you have to. I’m stuck here, in this morph, a nothlit again, because my hawk body got too old. So I think you need to lay off.”

                “Jake,” Marco whined like a two-year old, “Tobias is being mean to me.”

                “Marco,” Jake warned, looking at him in the rearview mirror. Marco slumped down in his seat.

                “Prince Jake, are you going to tell Serenity why she is to reside at your house?” Ax asked, changing the subject.

                “Don’t call me Prince,” Jake responded automatically.

                I looked at Ax, and he grinned. Marco was stifling a laugh.

                “Yes, Prince Jake.”

                Maybe Andalites do have a sense of humor.

                Jake sighed. “It never ends, does it? Well…okay, I’ll tell you. Serenity, you are going to live at my house not because I live alone, but because, as of last month, I am your legal guardian.”

                “But it’s only for one year right?” I asked him. “I mean, most children move out when they’re eighteen.”

                “When you’re eighteen, you may do whatever you want. Leave, stay, whatever. Move to the other end of the world if you want to. I just offered you a place to stay. I will provide food, clothing, shelter, whatever. You name it, you’ve got it,” Jake said.

                “So if I wanted a…a…Ferrari…yeah, that’s it. If I wanted one of those, would I get it?”

                Jake laughed, and I thought for sure that he would say yes.

                “Absolutely not.”

                Marco cracked up in the back seat.

                Jake looked at me, then back to the road. “Not unless I get one first.”

                Tobias, Jake, and I all started to laugh.

                Ax was confused. “I do not understand. What is a Ferrari? Arrreee. Eee.”

                Tobias calmed down. “I’ll explain it when we get home, Ax-man.”

                We turned into a large neighborhood with very large houses. Jake pulled into the driveway of the largest one.

                I got out of my seat, and took my first look at my new home.

                “Well? What are you waiting for?” Marco said from the front door. “Come on in.”

                I walked through the door and stepped into a different world. His house was magnificent. He didn’t decorate anything, I noticed. In each room was some basic furniture. Maybe a picture here and there. That was it.”

                Until we got to my room.

                It was well furnished, and the walls were sky blue, which was my favorite color. Along one wall were thousands of books. In one corner was a laptop computer, printer, everything. Inside the closet were at least a hundred outfits, maybe more.

                “I think I got the sizes right,” Jake said. “I hope. I don’t want to have to take all those back. It was hard getting them here in the first place.”

                I looked at one of the shirts. It was cute.

                “They’re perfect, Jake. This entire house is absolutely perfect. I’ll be delighted to live with you,” I said, hugging him.

                He looked down at me and said, “I’ll be delighted to have you live with me too.”

 

 

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 5~*~

 

A/N: Hey guys! Wow. I haven’t updated in a while, have I? Well, this chapter isn’t very eventful. I decided I needed a transitional chapter to introduce a new character and one of our old favorites. I needed a way to connect my idea for chapter four and a new idea for six, so chapter five was created as that connection. Chapter six will be done soon and uploaded as soon as I finish it. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions for where this fic should go, e-mail me at: earthsonlyhope2004@yahoo.com. All reviews are appreciated. I hope you all like this chapter, though it is a little boring.

 

 

 “Jake,” I began as we entered his house, “what did that Controller mean when he said that Visser One missed you? I don’t get it.”

                He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. It’s not exactly a good time.”

                “Look, I’m sorry about the tiger. It’s just…he looked at me, I looked at him, he came running, I changed, we fought, and nobody won. I acquired him and left.”

                “He needed stitches.”

                “I needed them too. Did you see the way he tore my arm off?”

                He walked to the kitchen and pulled a soda from the refrigerator. “Yes. I believe that I was the one who had to pull the two of you apart.”

                “Sorry.”

                He laughed and handed me a soda. “It’s okay. Do you want me to order a pizza or something?”

                “Sure…what’s a pizza?”

                “Just trust me. You’ll like it.”

                He ordered the pizza and the doorbell rang.

                Jake went to get it. “I invited someone over to meet you.”

                He opened the door and let the man inside. He looked a lot like Jake, except a little shorter.

                But something about him was different. I could feel it. Automatically, my body changed.

                Jake saw me. “Hold on Serenity. Erek’s a friend. An ally, so to speak.”

                “Jake,” Erek began, “let me talk to her.” He walked up to me and looked me in the eyes. “Do I look like I’m going to hurt you?”

                There was a certain odor to him. Almost…metallic, it seemed.

                I shook my head as I changed back. “No you don’t.”

                Jake steered me to a couch and I sat down. He and Erek sat across from me.

                “Serenity, this is Erek. He’s a Chee.”

                “A what?”

                “Serenity, I’m an android. A Chee,” Erek said and told me the story of the Pemalites.

                I had tears running down my face when he finished. “I’m so sorry.”

                He held up his hand. “I don’t believe that’s why I’m here. I believe that I am supposed to get to know you.”

                “My name’s Serenity. Yours is Erek.”

                “Serenity,” Jake warned, “don’t be sarcastic.”

                “Yes, Prince Jake,” I joked.

                “Prince Jake my—” Jake began, but Erek clamped a hand over his mouth.

                The doorbell rang. I jumped up, ready to fight.

                “Whoa, calm down girl,” Erek said and went to get the door.

                I turned to Jake. “Why aren’t you answering it?”

                “There are Controllers who would love to turn me in to their Visser. Whoever that is at the moment. I have to keep a low profile. I answer the door in morph most of the time. Same thing with the phone. Voices are recognizable.”

                “Are you Jake?” I heard the voice ask Erek.

                “You still use your name?” I asked Jake.

                He laughed and turned the television on. “You don’t know how many Jake Berensons there are on this planet. My name was so famous that children were named after me. Adults changed their names. It was kind of flattering, actually.”

                Erek returned with the pizza. The aroma met my nose, and…I don’t know. I can’t describe it.

                He sat down next to Jake and me. Jake got up and put on a movie. Animorph.

                “A movie about the Animorphs?” I asked. “That sounds very informational.”

                “Aww, Jake, it’s an old movie,” Erek whined through a mouthful of pizza.

                I noticed a figure looking through the window. Their eyes widened and they disappeared from sight.

                I ignored it and went back to my pizza, which was great. The movie wasn’t half bad either. All I had to worry about was my first day at school.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

                “Now remember, you’re Serenity Berenson,” Jake said as I got out of his car in front of the school. All around me, teenagers were talking to each other, or walking into the building, or just looking tired.

                “Yes Jake, you’ve only said that forty million times on the way over here.”

                “I’m just making sure you know. Do you have all of your things?”

                I sighed. “Yes, Jake. All I need to do is go to the office and pick up my schedule and locker assignment.”

                “Then you have to find your first class.”

                “I have a mouth. I’ll ask.”

                “Fine. Just go.”

                I closed the door and he drove off.

                Ten minutes later, I found my locker. A blonde girl was opening the one next to mine.

                “Hi. Are you new? I haven’t seen you around before,” she said, putting a large book in her locker.

                I nodded and opened my locker. “I’m Serenity Berenson.”

                “Any relation to Jake Berenson, the Animorph?”

                “In a way.”

                She giggled. “That’s good. Because I am totally in love with him!”

                “He’s in his forties. You’re almost thirty years younger than he is.”

                She shrugged. “And your point is?”

                “How do you know about the Animorphs?” I asked skeptically.

                She took my schedule from my hand and looked at it. “You’re in my class. Good. We can talk all the way there. Oh, and by the way, I’m Emily.” She led me up the stairs. “How do I know about the Animorphs? Doesn’t everybody?”

                “I learned about them yesterday.”

                She put her hand on my shoulder and steered me into a classroom. “You poor thing. Where have you been living all your life? In a cave?”

                “Something like that.”

                She sat down in her seat and I walked up to the teacher. “Hi. I’m Serenity Berenson. I’m new here.”

                “Any relation to Jake Berenson, the Animorph?”

                I rubbed my forehead. It was going to be a long day.

 

 

A/N: Well, it was a little boring. And short. Sorry about that. I just needed to introduce a couple people into the story. Chapter six should be a lot better. We meet Marco’s daughter, who is, shall we say, very different from Marco. I won’t say any more. ¡Hasta luego!

 

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 6~*~

 

A/N: I know, chapter 5 was a little boring. This one is too. It’s just…uneventful. Yeah, that’s the word I’m looking for. I think I need sugar. Yeah, lots of it. That’ll get my brain moving…I think.

 

 

 

The final bell of the day rang. I was relieved.

                A guy bumped into me as I was walking and knocked my books to the floor.

                “Hey, watch where you’re going!” I yelled.

                “Marco is picking you up from school today. Jake wanted me to let you know.”

                I stared at him. “Who are you?”

                “It’s me. Erek. You know, from last night?”

                I raised an eyebrow. “Did Jake send you to spy on me? If he did, I’ll—”

                “No. Not at all,” he interrupted. “He just wanted me to tell you. He flew by while I was in math, saying that he wasn’t able to find your class.”

                “Flew? Oh. Never mind. Why Marco? Why not Ax, or Tobias, or Cassie? Why him?”

                He shrugged and handed me my books. “I have no idea. Just look for the guy with the sunglasses in a red convertible.” He disappeared into the crowd.

                I found Marco waiting for me in the parking lot. In a red convertible, just as Erek had told me.

                He removed his sunglasses. “What’s up?”

                I looked up.

                “No, I mean ‘how are you’…Never mind. You’re just like Ax,” he said with a smirk. “Hop in. We just need to wait for my wonderfully talkative and late daughter.”

                A girl walked up and got into the passenger’s seat. I recognized her from math class. Her name was Amy. “Hi Dad. Hey Serenity.”

                “You’re Marco’s daughter?”

                She nodded. “Yeah.”

                “But you’re so…so serious.”

                “That’s what I’ve always said,” Marco informed me, pulling out into the street. “She’s like her mother. But her little brother? Now that kid has a sense of humor.”

                Amy turned to me and rolled her eyes. “He’s annoying. All he does is tell jokes.”

                “Who? Marco or your brother?”

                “I see you ended up with a little of his humor as well,” she said. Then she must have seen the surprised look on my face. “Yes. I know all about you. Genetically created, locked up all your life. Was it horrible?”

                “I didn’t know what humans looked like until yesterday. They gave me internet access, but removed all the pictures of humans. I had pictures of anything else. So my life was very boring. I communicated through a speaker system. Food was shoved through a hole in the bottom of the door. Yeah, it was terrible.”

                She smacked her dad’s shoulder as he pulled up in front of their house. “Dad, why did you people torture her like that?”

                “It wasn’t me, it was all Jake’s idea. His project,” Marco defended. “Ask him about it later. Amy, Jake wants me to hang out with Serenity today. Maybe make her act more like a normal human.”

                She shook her head and walked into her house.

                I crawled into the front seat. “Mind if I sit here?”

                He shook his head and drove us to an empty parking lot.

                “Uh, what are we doing here?” I asked.

                A feather pattern began to appear on his skin. “Just concentrate on becoming the hawk. Let the changes happen.”

                I had acquired a red-tailed hawk the night before. I formed a picture of it in my mind and felt a sort of falling sensation as I started shrinking.

                <It’s okay, Serenity,> Marco said. <You’ll get used to it.>

                My bones became lighter and my mouth stretched out and hardened to form a beak. The feather pattern on my skin became three-dimensional. My vision and hearing became more acute.

                I was a hawk.

                I opened my wings and took off out of Marco’s car. Suddenly, I was being lifted higher and higher!

                <Aaaaahhhhhhhh!> I screamed. <It’s a tractor beam! Marco, save yourself!>

                He laughed and circled above me. <It’s called a thermal, Serenity. Not a tractor beam. It’s a rising pillar of warm air that you can use to climb higher without flapping so much.>

                I felt embarrassed. <Oh. Why are we doing this anyway? I thought you were to make me a normal human.>

                <I will later. Let’s go find Tobias and Ax. Follow me.> He banked left and I followed suit.

                <Where are they?> I asked, looking down at the ground.

                <See the smoke? That’s a barbecue. And see the man with the ‘kiss the cook’ apron and chef’s hat? That would be Ax.>

                I swooped down and landed on the ground next to Ax. <Hi.>

                Marco landed next to me. <Hey Ax.>

                “How are you on this fine afternoon?” Ax asked. “You are Marco, I presume, and not Cassie. And your companion must be Serenity. Tee. Ee.”

                I demorphed. So did Marco.

                Tobias came out the back door with a plate of corn. “I see we have guests. Then I will just bring some more food out for everybody.”

                I gave Marco a look.

                “Hey, it’s free food. It means I don’t have to pay for it,” he said, going inside the house.

                I sidled up next to Ax. “So, what are you cooking?”

                “I am cooking ground and processed cattle adorned with various flavorings. Humans call them hamburgers. But I am going to add cheese to mine, thus making it a cheeseburger. Then I will—”

                “Okay, Ax. I get it,” I interrupted. “We’re having hamburgers. And judging from what Tobias had in his hand, we’re having corn.”

                “And French fries. And for dessert, we’re having cinnamon buns.”

                “Cool.”

               

               

               

               

               

               

A/N: See? It was uneventful. Just as I had said. And it seems short. But this was the best chapter six out of all the ones I wrote, so this is the one I typed. Oh well. Chapter seven should DEFINITELY be better.

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 7~*~

 

A/N: What’s up? I haven’t updated in a while. I wrote this chapter during Pre-Calculus, which is actually the best class to write in (in my opinion). Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them all. Enjoy chapter seven!

 

                Marco and I morphed and set off to get his car. Then he took me home, where a very impatient Jake was waiting in the doorway.

                “Where were you?” he asked, not letting me in.

                “Um…”

                “Do you know what time it is?”

                I could answer that one. “No. I don’t have a watch.”

                A hint of a smile. “So? Where were you?”

                “Well, Marco and I morphed, flew to Tobias’s house, and found them making dinner.”

                “Them?”

                “Yes. Ax was barbecuing. We joined them for dinner. Then we sat around and talked for a while.”

                “What did you talk about?”

                “Tobias talked about life as a hawk, Ax rambled about something we didn’t understand, and Marco was just being himself.”

                A definite smile this time. “That’s good. Come inside; I don’t want to heat the neighborhood.”

                I went inside and flopped on a couch.

                “How was school?” he asked from the kitchen.

                “Decent.”

                He came in and sat down next to me. “That good, huh?”

                “You signed me up for choir,” I informed him.

                “Yes I did. Did you like it?”

                “I can’t seem to be able to sing.”

                “You’ll get better. Just give it a chance. It’s only your first day. Do you have any homework to do? Anything I can help with?”

                “Did it.”

                He raised an eyebrow. “All of it?”

                “In class,” I said and turned the TV on. “Anything good on tonight?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

                A girl bumped into me on the way to math class. “I’m so sorry,” she said, staring somewhere behind me.

                “It’s okay. Are you looking for something?”

                “What? Oh. No. I’m just trying to bet back to class.”

                “Are you new too?” I asked, hoping she’d say yes.

                “No. I just don’t come out of class much.” Her gaze was still fixated on a spot behind me, which was odd.

                “Well, my name’s Serenity. Serenity Berenson. Don’t ask about Jake. I’m related to him.”

                “Kym Thompson.”

                “Would you like me to help you find your class?” I offered.

                She smiled and grabbed my arm. “Thanks.”             

                Then it hit me. Maybe this girl couldn’t find her class because she couldn’t see her class.

                “Not to be rude or anything, but are you…”

                “Blind? Yeah.”

                Sympathy washed over me.

                “Don’t pity me,” she said, almost as if she’d read my mind. “Everybody does. Stop here. This may be my class. I didn’t walk far.”

                I did as I was told and saw about ten handicapped children. One was blind, like Kym. Three were talking to each other with their hands. Sign language. The others were in wheelchairs and had varying degrees of disability.

                Another thought entered my mind as I watched them. These were the type of people the Yeerks wouldn’t touch. Why would handicapped people be of use to them?

                “Well? Is it my class or not?” Kym asked impatiently. “Don’t just gape at them.”
                The warning bell rang, signaling that I had two minutes left to get to class.

                “This is it,” I said to her.

                She let go of my arm and reached for the door handle. “Thank you Serenity. I appreciate your help. Maybe we can talk again sometime.”

                “Sure,” I said, leaving for class. But suddenly, I didn’t want to go to math. I’d found an ally. But was it right to use a person just because they’re disabled? Just because the enemy wouldn’t want them?

                I walked out the door. I needed to talk to somebody. Somebody who’d understand. Not Jake. Not Marco. Ax and Tobias didn’t seem right either.

                I heard Jake’s voice in my head. So far, you have inherited the traits that we wanted you to get…my leadership skills, Cassie’s morality…

I needed Cassie. She’d have the answer I wanted.

                I threw my stuff in a bush and morphed to hawk. I took off and circled a few times. Where would she be? I checked her house. Yes. She was there. I saw her through the upstairs window, rocking a small baby. Judging by the pink clothes, it was a girl.

                She looked surprised as I tapped on the window.

                “Who might you be? A red-tail. Not Tobias,” she muttered as she came to the window with the baby. “Not Jake. Not Marco. Not Ax. You must be Serenity.”

                <Hey, Cassie. And who’s this bundle of joy?>

                “Oh. This is Danielle. She’s ten months old. Looks just like her father,” she said. “But that’s not why you came here, is it?” She glanced at the clock. “You should be in school. What’s wrong?”

                I demorphed. “I met this girl today. Kym. She’s blind. All I could think was that she’d make a great ally since the Yeerks wouldn’t touch her. But somehow it didn’t feel right. I needed to talk to someone, so I came here.”

                She sighed and put Danielle in her crib. “Come downstairs with me. We’ll talk over coffee. Do you like coffee?”

                I shrugged. “I’ll try anything once.”

                I followed her downstairs and we sat down at a small table in the kitchen.

                “You’re considering using handicapped people as allies?” she asked.

                “Well…probably just this one girl. One part of me felt it wasn’t right. But another part of me was all for it. I’m confused.”

                “We did something similar to that before. We needed more troops, so we recruited disabled kids from a local rehab center…I’ll just say that it didn’t have a happy ending. They were our diversion. Our diversion was wiped out by the Visser.”

                “So you’re saying it’s a bad idea.”

                “I was against it. It felt morally wrong. But they fought well. In your case, I believe that you should go with what you feel is right. I think you should give her a chance to prove herself to you. She’s probably tougher than you think.”

                I got up from the table. “Thanks for your time.”

                “It was no problem. Come back anytime.”

                I opened the door. “If you ever need a babysitter, you know who to call. Maybe you and Ronnie can have an evening to yourselves.”

                “That would be nice. I’ll think about it. Tell Jake I said hi.”

                I morphed and flew back to school. The bell would ring in a few minutes. Maybe. I didn’t know. I didn’t have a watch. But sure enough, the bell rang a few minutes later. I spotted Kym heading toward a bus.

                “Kym!” I called and she stopped.

                “Serenity? I thought I’d never hear from you again. What do you want?”

                “I need to talk to you about something important.”

                “Well, I need to catch this bus.”

                “Okay…where do you live?”

                “I live in a group home for handicapped orphans. I don’t know where it is.”

                “I’ll find it.”

                “What’s so important that you can’t tell me right now?”

                “Just trust me. I can’t tell you now. People may hear things that cannot be heard. They may be the enemy.”

                “Okay. I don’t know why I’m trusting you, but I am. I really need to catch this bus. I will see you later then.”

                She walked, cane in hand, to the bus and got on. That had to be a hard life.

                With my help, it was about to get worse.

 

A/N: Finally, Kym’s in the picture. In chapter 8, a very unlikable character returns. No, not Esplin 9466. Not yet. That chapter should be up VERY soon.

 

~*~THE CREATED: CHAPTER 8~*~

 

A/N: Wow. I finally connected “The Created” and “The Sight”. It took a little reworking, but I did it. I just left out a lot of unimportant stuff. I was actually going to devote an entire chapter to Serenity and Marco’s dinner with Ax and Tobias, but it got a little weird. I’ll just say one word: cinnamon buns. Oh. That’s two words. Well, I hope you all enjoy chapter eight. It should be better than some of the previous ones. I’m bringing back one of our favorite *gags* characters. Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them.     ~Alara-Sirinial-Amalon

 

                Jake drove me to the group home where Kym lived. It wasn’t a nice place. The grass was overgrown, the shutters were almost falling off, and there were one…no, two holes in the roof covered with plastic.

                “Are you sure about this?” he asked, looking nervous. “I mean, you can’t change your mind once she’s been told. Not really.”

                “I’m sure. As long as we can get this box to Kym, we’re okay.” I looked at the small, heavy box in my hands. It looked so harmless. But it was a curse. Or a gift, depending on how you looked at it.

                He pulled into the small parking lot. “You want me to come with you?”

                I shook my head and put the morphing cube in the seat. “I’ll be okay. Just wait for me here.”

                I knocked on the door of the building and a short, partially bald man in a checked shirt and plaid pants answered. “Yes?”

                “I’m here to see Kym Thompson about a school assignment. I’m in her class.” It was a lie, but he bought it. He led me to a very small room. In it was a bookcase with books, and one bed.

                Kym was on the bed facing the wall. I knocked on the open door.

                “Who is it?” she asked, turning around.

                “It’s me. Serenity.”

                A smile. “I really didn’t believe you’d come.”

                “I keep my promises.”

                “Come in. And close the door. I don’t want anybody to hear whatever it is you want to tell me.”

                I closed the door and sat next to her on the bed.

                “So, what did you want to tell me?” she asked.

                “Do you know what the Yeerks are?”

                “They’re mentioned in most of the books that I have. I don’t know much about them, except that they control people. And that they were defeated by a group of teenagers called the Animorphs. I know quite a bit about the Animorphs.”

                “What if I said that the Yeerks came back?”

                “I’d say that you were crazy.”

                “They’re back.”

                “You are crazy.”

                “Come with me. I want you to meet someone.” I got up and opened the door. She followed me to the parking lot.

                Jake extended his hand. “Hi. I’m Jake Berenson.”

                Kym gasped. “You’re Jake Berenson, the Animorph? Wow. It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve read a lot about you and your friends.”

                He laughed and put his hand down. “I’m sure you have.”

                “What’s this all about?” she asked.

                “Kym, what would you say if I offered you the chance to fight the Yeerks?” I asked her. “Become an Animorph?”

                “I’d say sure. The Yeerks need to understand that Earth will never be theirs. It’s ours.”

                Jake handed me the blue box. “Kym, I hope you’re sure about this. It’s a big responsibility. It’s not a game.”

                “If I can survive the world as a blind person, I think I can do almost anything.”

                I took her hand and placed it on the box.

                “It tingles,” she said.

                “Kym, welcome to the Animorphs,” Jake and I said in unison.

                “And, for your first morph…” I began, and then put her hand on my shoulder. “Just concentrate.”

                I felt sleepy as she acquired me.

                “Serenity, before she morphs, we should get in a better place. We’re out in the open,” Jake said, looking around.

                “We can go behind the building,” Kym said. “It’s usually very quiet there, so it’s probably empty.”

                She was right. It was a small yard, with a few chairs and a table. Trees and ivy surrounded the chain link fence.

                “Kym, I want you to concentrate on becoming me,” I said. “It’ll be weird at first, but you’ll get used to it.”

                A slight change. Her blond hair was getting longer and darker. Her blue eyes turned green.

                “I can see,” she said in disbelief. “This is amazing. I—I don’t know how to explain it. The world looks different from how I imagined it. Wow. This truly is amazing.”

                I felt very happy for her. But I didn’t understand how she could see.

                “Jake, how can she see? She was blind.”

                “Morphing uses DNA. Your DNA can see. If Kym was born blind, then when she demorphs, she will be blind again.”

                “So the only way I’ll be able to see is while I’m in morph? Then I’ll just be in morph all the time.”

                Jake shook his head. “You can’t do that. Two hours. That’s the limit. Go past that, and stay in morph forever. A nothlit.”

                A tree next to the fence shook suddenly and a person fell to the ground.

                “What in the world…” I began, pacing around her. She was unconscious. She looked like she’d once been a very beautiful person. Blonde hair, blue eyes. But part of her face was a massive scar, partially faded with time. Her right arm looked like it was made of melted plastic. A prosthetic leg.

                I turned to look for Jake and found him pressed against the side of the building, looking like he’d just seen a ghost. He was pale and shaking violently, muttering the same phrase over and over: “It can’t be. It can’t be. It can’t be.”

                Kym was looking at him in confusion. “I don’t understand this emotion.”

                “It’s called fear, Kym.” I glanced back at the figure on the ground. She wasn’t very old, maybe Jake’s age.

                She stirred and Jake jumped.

                I knelt down next to her. “Are you okay? That was a pretty bad fall.”

                She sat up and examined her fresh wounds. “I’ll be fine. Just get away from me, human.”

                Human? Why would someone address another person that way? Unless…

                “Yeerk,” Jake growled, regaining some of his confidence. “Taylor.”

                A smirk spread across her face as she got up off the ground. “The one and only. So, everything that has been said for the past few decades is true. We were actually defeated by human children.”

                “How in the world did you survive?” he asked, orange fur slowly spreading over his body. Kym saw this and her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. “It’s been a long time.”

                “Portable kandronas, cannibalism. But I don’t have to do that anymore. Now that we have an up-and-running pool, I don’t have to almost starve all the time.”

                Jake completed the morph. <Serenity, morph something dangerous,> he said privately to me. Then, back to Taylor: <What do you want, Yeerk?>

                “Well, as you may have heard, Esplin 9466—Visser One—has been rescued by some of his followers. Yeerks who still believe that he will lead us to glory.”

                <What does this have to do with us?> I asked, completing the morph to bear.

                She glared at me. “I’m next in line to be Visser One. Help me, and I’ll help you.”

                <How will you help us?> Jake asked, slowly closing in on her.

                “Help me, and we’ll leave.”

                There was something missing. Yeerks wouldn’t just leave.

                <You’ll leave,> Jake repeated. <What’s the catch?>

                “Make me morph capable. After that, I kill Visser One, take his place, gather up my people and their hosts and we leave.”

                <Never.>

                “I didn’t want to have to resort to this, humans.” She pulled a Dracon beam from her pocket and aimed it at Kym. “You first.”

                I didn’t wait for an order. I just charged at her, slamming into her good leg and knocking her to the ground. She fired, and it grazed my side. I roared in pain and rolled right over her. She screamed something, and Hork-Bajir started dropping from the top of the building.

                Kym screamed behind me and began to demorph. I had an idea. I charged at the nearest Hork-Bajir and sent him flying toward the wall. He hit with a dull thump and slid to the ground.

                <Kym, acquire it!> I cried. <Acquire it and morph, now!>

                She took off running, still demorphing. I knew the exact moment her sight disappeared because she stopped, reaching out for the Hork-Bajir. Her arm met one of its blades and she screamed, blood running down her elbow.

                <Kym, acquire it now! The morphing will heal it! Do. It. Now!> I charged toward Taylor, who was running. Jake was ripping the throat out of a particularly large one. His side was cut open, revealing various organs.

                Three left. One for each of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw blades appear on Kym’s body.

                I growled and knocked Taylor to the ground again. She yelped as I pressed a large paw down on her back.

                Kym joined the fight and…well, I’ll spare the gory details. I’ll just say that she took down the three Hork-Bajir on her own.

                <Die, Yeerk,> I said coldly, slowly pressing harder on Taylor’s spine.

                She turned her head to see me. “Remember, I won’t be the one who will die. It’ll be the human. I’m just the Yeerk inside. Unless you can break through heat-proof, blast-proof polymer plates, you can’t kill me. Do you want to have a human death on your hands?”

                What am I doing? I can’t kill a person.

                I raised my paw off her back and she got up, still smirking. “Remember, I know what you look like, human. I know what all of you look like. You can’t go anywhere. Within a few hours, all Yeerks on Earth will know what you look like. Watch out, humans.”

                She left and Jake demorphed. He glared at me. “What in the world were you doing? You let her go! You could have killed her! Maybe I was wrong to trust you with this responsibility. Maybe I was wrong to start Project Four-Six-Three. Maybe it was a waste of my money and my time.”

                His words cut me deep. I demorphed and tears threatened to spill over. Instead of saying something back, I began to morph to hawk. He suddenly realized what he’d said and cursed at himself.

                “Serenity, I’m sorry,” he said, walking towards me. I completed the morph and stood there, glaring at him.

                <Maybe you’re right,> I said.

                “Don’t do this. I didn’t mean what I said. It’s just…I was angry…She…I didn’t mean any of it.”

                Part of me wanted to believe him. Part of me wanted to demorph and go home.

                <Jake, Kym can’t go back to school. Not really. The Yeerks will be after her. You’ll need to figure out how to fix that problem. Good luck.> I spread my wings and took off, ignoring Jake’s cries for me to come back.

                Where would I go? Certainly not home. Jake would be there. I perched in a tree and watched Kym demorph. Jake ran to the car and pulled a shirt and a pair of shorts from the trunk. Her clothes had been shredded when she morphed. He handed them to her and she got dressed.

                When he turned my way, I saw tears in his eyes. He knew he’d hurt me.

                I took off and decided to let him think about what he’d said to me. I’d come back later. I had better things to do.

                I was going to kill Taylor.

               

 

 

A/N: Nothing like a little conflict to stir things up. Why does Jake have to be mean? I’m writing this and I don’t even know! Oh well. Maybe I never will. Please review! I really enjoying opening up MS Outlook and seeing “[Fanfiction.net] Review alert!” in my inbox. They make me feel all warm and cozy inside…maybe I should just get off the laptop now. Later!

 

~*~PREVIEW OF THE CREATED: CHAPTER 9~*~ (all text in blue HAS NOT been posted on Fanfiction.Net yet, so enjoy being the first to see this!)

 

A/N: Well, here’s chapter 9. Hope you enjoy it. After the last chapter, it should be a little nicer. I’d wanted some conflict between Serenity and Jake, but couldn’t figure out how to do it. Then, as I wrote chapter 8, all the pieces fell into place. I had a reason to make them be against each other. But another idea has come from that chapter, and I started a new fic about Taylor, called “The Enemy”. It’s sort of what happened to her after #43 when she was blown down the tunnel by the gas. Actually, I continue exactly from that point.

 

                Taylor was tearing apart the only family that I had. She deserved to die. Not the host, but the Yeerk. But if that wasn’t possible, then the host would die as well. It sounded harsh in my mind, but it was the only plan I could think of.

                It wasn’t much of a plan. I didn’t even know where the Yeerk pool was.

                Come to think of it, I didn’t even know what it was.

                I circled until the two-hour limit, and then demorphed on the roof of a building near a park. A few kids stopped playing and pointed at me.

                I changed into my other form, and jumped off the roof. It was a ten story jump.

                I landed gracefully on my feet then changed back. A little girl, around five or so, crossed the street and came up to me.

                “Are you an Animorph?” she asked incredulously.

                I smiled. “Yeah, I am.”

                The little girl’s mother was panicking because she couldn’t find her daughter.

                “Samantha! Where are you? Samantha!”

                “Can you change into something for me?” Samantha asked.

                “Like what?”

                She thought for a moment. “A monkey. Like the man named Marco. He’s funny. My mommy thinks he’s cute.”

                I laughed silently. “Sure, Samantha.”

                I morphed and she squealed with delight. “That’s neat! I wish I could do that.”

                I demorphed and took her hand. “Maybe when you’re older. Now let’s go back to your mommy. I think she misses you.”

                “Okay.”

                I led Samantha back to her mother.

                “Oh, thank you,” she said and watched her daughter run off to play with the other kids again. I saw her talking rapidly and pointing at me.

                “It was no problem. You have a very nice daughter.”

                Samantha ran up and tugged on her mother’s shirt. “Mommy, mommy, mommy! See this girl in front of you? She can turn into a monkey like Marco!”

                Her mother smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Is this true?”

                I shuffled my feet, not sure what to say. “Yeah, I guess.”

                “Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Jordan. Jake’s cousin,” she said.

                “I’m Serenity. Jake’s sort of…daughter or something, in a way. I didn’t know he had any cousins besides Rachel.”

                She laughed. “Neither do the history books. I’m Rachel’s younger sister.”

                Samantha tugged again on her mother’s shirt. “Mommy? Can we do something else? I’m bored.”

                Jordan scooped Samantha up in her arms. “It was nice meeting you, Serenity.”

                I waved and watched her and Samantha get into their car and drive away.

                I wondered if Jake was reacting to my disappearance the way Jordan had reacted to Samantha’s. He didn’t deserve my doing that to him. I morphed to hawk, much to the amazement of the people around, and headed home.

 

~*~ THE SIGHT: CHAPTER 1~*~

 

Disclaimer: I am not KAA, and I do not own the Animorphs or any related names. I wish I did (don’t we all), but I don’t. Oh well. But I do own Serenity, Kym, and Emily (from chapter 5 of The Created, which should be posted this week, along with this chapter).

 

A/N: Well, this is chapter one of my new fic, which should be a little more exciting than “The Created”. Actually, I’m semi-hyper, which is weird. Normally, I’m hyper until I go to bed. Maybe it’s the lack of sugar. I should do this more often, since about six fanfic ideas have popped into my head. Also, I’m not on pain medication anymore. Maybe that’s it. I’m just rambling on, so I’ll get to the notes about this fic. I haven’t even added this character (Kym) to “The Created” yet, but I have that covered. I think she’ll enter around chapter seven or eight. Maybe nine or ten. It depends on what I want to add to that fic. If you haven’t read “The Created” yet, I truly suggest reading that before starting this one, or you probably won’t know who the characters are. Enjoy chapter one! ~*~Alara-Sirinial-Amalon~*~

 

                My name is Kym.

                And I was lost.

I couldn’t find my classroom. There were lockers all around, but they all seemed to be identical.

Oh well. I’d find it sooner or later. That’s the way my life is.

That’s the way it used to be. Not anymore.

My life’s a little different now.

I can’t tell you my last name or where I live. It’s too dangerous. I have enemies. Terrible enemies. Enemies that crawl through your ear and completely take over your body. You have no control whatsoever. It’s a fate worse than death.

                They’re called Yeerks.

                My friend Serenity and I fight them. We haven’t done much to hurt them, but we will. Someday we’ll win. Just as the original Animorphs did.

                I hope.

                “Hey Kym,” a voice said. They placed their hand on my shoulder. I recognized the voice. It was Serenity.

                “Hi Serenity. By any chance, can you make sure I get back to my classroom? I’m really not supposed to leave it. What with…you know.”

                Did I forget to mention that I’m blind? Yes. Blind since birth. I had never seen anything until I morphed into Serenity. We’d hoped that somehow, the morphing would restore my sight. It didn’t. It only repairs DNA; it doesn’t fix it.

                Now I bet you’re thinking: Morph? This girl belongs in a mental institution.

                Yes, morph. How else is a blind girl supposed to fight an alien race? Hit them with my cane?

                “Sure. You’ve wandered a long way, you know,” she said, steering me toward a classroom. My classroom.

                “Hi Serenity,” the teacher greeted her.

                “Hello, Mr. Shelton.”

                “I see you found Kym, who’s been wandering off an awful lot lately.”

                I picked up a book, felt my way to my seat, sat down, and placed my finger on the first page. I like to read.

                “How do you understand those? My finger can’t tell the difference between all those little dots,” Serenity said.

                “Here,” I said. “Give me your hand.” She placed her hand in mine and I put it on the page in front of me. “Look. This is a fairy tale. I’ve read it before. This first line says ‘once upon a time…’. Each group of dots represents different letters.”

                “But they all feel the same.”

                “Don’t your letters all look the same?”

                “No. They’re all different. That’s what makes it so easy to understand.”

                A bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

                “You’re late, Serenity. Don’t you have some important class to rush off to?”

                “Not anymore. I dropped choir. I have no idea why Jake put me in it in the first place. I can’t sing. So I scheduled myself as an aide for your class. I hope that’s okay with you.”

                I raised my hand. “Mr. Shelton, may Serenity escort me to the restroom?”

                “Sure.”

                “What the—” Serenity began, but I cut her off.

                “Just take me. Ask questions later.”

                As soon as we were in the restroom, I morphed into Serenity.

                “You know, it’s very disturbing to see myself in front of me,” she said. “So, what’s this all about?”

                “I wanted to talk.”

                “We could have done that in class.”

                “I wanted to see your facial expressions. I don’t understand them, but I wanted to see them.”

                She raised an eyebrow.

                “I don’t know what that expression means. You’re not in pain, so that can’t be it. You’re skeptical. But that doesn’t matter. I want to talk.”

                “About what?”

                “You know what.”

                “We can’t talk about them here. They’re everywhere. You being…the way you are right now is bad enough.”

                I leaned against the wall next to one of the sinks. “You try being blind all your life. Then see if you don’t take the chance to see when it’s given to you.”

                “I don’t know what it’s like not to be able to see anything.”

                I grabbed her hand, demorphed, and placed it on my shoulder. “Just concentrate. Demorph and remorph at the end of lunch, and you’re good for the rest of the school day. Then demorph after school. It’s that easy.”

                “You want me to morph you?”

                “Why not? Let’s see how long you last.”

                She sighed and I felt drowsy as she acquired me.

                I morphed again and watched her morph into me. Actually, it was a disgusting sight.

                Sight. That’s one of the words I thought I’d never use my entire life. It was overwhelming at first. All the colors, shapes…they were amazing. I had never realized what I’d been missing all my life.

                Now I know.

                “It’s like somebody turned off the lights and there’s no light switch,” she said. “I know you’re in front of me. I hope. I believe we need to get back to class. Your teacher is probably worried about us.”

                We switched clothes and I led her back to my classroom. How did I know it was my classroom? I saw one other blind student reading a book. I knew him. His name was Matt.

                He’s not a bad looking guy, I thought to myself. Then I looked at Serenity. Actually, I’m not that bad looking either.

                I had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. At least, I think that color is called blue.

                I led Serenity over to the table that we’d left. “Hey, Serenity,” I whispered, “what color are my eyes?”

                “You mean your eyes, or my eyes?”

                “Your morph’s eyes. My eyes.”

                “Oh. They’re blue,” she confirmed. Then she sighed heavily. “I’m never going to be able to survive until the end of the day.”

                “Don’t be such a pessimist. All you have to do is sit in this room until lunch. Lunch is delivered to this room, so you don’t have to go anywhere. Then you stay here some more until the end of the day. Just sit here, and leave only when you have to. But I’ll be needing your schedule so I can finish up your day.”

                “It should be in my backpack, which is…” she began, fumbling around under the table. “Um, Kym? Can you find it for me?”

                I looked under the table and found her backpack. “Okay, now where is it?”

                “It’s in my binder, which is in the big pocket. My locker number and combination is scribbled on the back.”

                I found the binder, and the schedule. “What do these lines mean? They form different shapes.”

                She thought for a moment. “Oh. Those are letters. And numbers.”

                “Seeing is going to be hard, isn’t it? Okay. Teach me how to read and write. And—” I looked at the clock to see how much time was left in the class. Then I realized that I had no idea what time the clock was displaying. “And teach me how to tell time. You have around half an hour, I think. Something around that.”

                She sighed. “And I thought not seeing was going to be hard. You’re the one who’s going to be in for a rough day.”

               

 

A/N: So, how was it? Any good? If I get reviews, that’ll give me the incentive to type the next chapters. If I don’t, I’ll start typing something else. Either way, I’ll still be posting something. Please review, I like all comments (yes, even flames are okay).

 

~*~PREVIEW OF THE SIGHT: CHAPTER 2~*~

 

A/N: Hey guys! So how do you like this fic so far? If you haven’t read “The Created” lately, I posted chapters five and six. I will be continuing that fic along with this one.

 

                <Oh Serenity,> a voice said in my head. Thought-speech. <How’s math class? That was never one of my favorites.>

                It was one of the Animorphs. Marco.

                I looked out the window and saw some kind of ugly bird sitting in a tree.

                <Yeah, it’s me. So, how’s math?>

                I pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled “Serenity’s in my class. I’m in hers. We switched.” Then I held the paper so he could read it.

                <Your name’s Kym, right? Serenity told me about you. Are you really blind?>

                I nodded just enough so that he would notice, but nobody else would.

                He shifted on his branch. <So what’s it like? I mean, if it doesn’t offend you or anything.>

                I turned the paper over and wrote “I’ll tell you later. Meet me at the group home. After school would be best.”

                He nodded, which seemed strange, coming from a bird. <Okay. No problem. I’ll find it. I’ll see you then.> He spread his wings and took off.

 

~*~PREVIEW OF THE ENEMY: CHAPTER 1~*~

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Animorphs (I wish I did—wouldn’t that be nice?), but I DO own Serenity, Kym, and Emily (from The Created and The Sight) and all other characters that aren’t in the books.

 

A/N: Just moments ago, I asked myself a question: What happened to Taylor after the gas blew her away in #43? Surely, she didn’t die. This fic takes place from #43 to chapter 8 of my other fic, called “The Created”, so I’m not expecting it to be horribly long. But then again, when you consider that this fic is to span about 32 years, it may end up being longer. Oh well. Please R/R! Any suggestions for plot or anything for any of my fics, e-mail me at: RHSHoRnFREEK@attbi.com or earthsonlyhope2004@yahoo.com       Thanks! ~Alara-Sirinial-Amalon

 

 

                I flew away, thrown by the gas. All the time, I was laughing at the pure insanity of it. My host would surely die. I would be rescued and freed by my fellow Yeerks, then congratulated by Visser Three for eliminating the Andalite bandits.

                My host believed that she’d die. <At least I’ll be free from you,> she told me as we rolled through the tunnel carved by two of the Andalites.

                We stopped suddenly, and something pinned my right leg. I couldn’t see anything. My face was burning with pain.

                “Hello?” I called. “Can anybody hear me?”

                <Three days, isn’t it?> my host gloated. <Or is it less than that, considering you haven’t been to the pool lately?>

                <You’re getting cocky now that you’re sure you’re not dead.> I knew she was right. I’d been to the pool the night before, which left me two days. Two days to find a way out.

                <Two days? I think I can live with that. Then you’ll be gone forever!> The girl was unstable. By herself, she’d never be considered a normal human. She’d be considered a “nutcase” instead.

                But then again, so would I. That’s why my host and I work so well together. We’re crazy.

                <I am not crazy,> the human said. <You made me crazy. It’s all your fault.>

                I ignored her. “Can anybody hear me? I’m stuck.”

                Stupid Andalites with their stupid tunnel. Why’d they have to go and dig it anyway?

                <You told them to, remember?> my host reminded me. <This was all part of your plan to kill them and the so-called traitors.>

                <Shut up, human.>

                I turned to the task at hand. I pulled on my leg, hoping I could free it. I gave it a hard tug, and whatever was pinning it came down harder. I heard a sickening crunch and felt a terrible wave of pain. Tears welled up, and I tried to fight them.

                <What in the world did you do that for?>

                <Shut up. I’m trying to get us out of here.>

                <Why, so you can tell the Visser you failed? I’m sure he’ll be pleased.>

                <How do you know I failed? The Andalites aren’t here, making sure I’m dead.>

                <A gut feeling.> She thought of something, then tried to hide it from me. It was our way out.

                <Don’t do it,> she pleaded, realizing what I was about to do.

                I rummaged in my pockets, searching for the one thing that would set us free.

                I flipped it open, held my breath, and proceeded to amputate my own leg. I picked a spot two inches or so below the knee, where the bone was broken the most.

                The pain was unbearable! I howled like an animal, but still I continued. When the last piece of skin parted under the pocketknife, I pulled myself onto my stomach to face the tunnel’s opening. I crawled slowly through the tunnel, slipping on the Taxxon goo. When I reached the sewer chamber, I breathed a long sigh of relief.

                “Can anybody hear me? I’m hurt.”

                Faintly, I heard a man’s voice say, “Did somebody hear that? Sounded like a little girl.”

                <Little girl? I’ll show him—> my host began, but I shut her up.

                “Help me, I’m hurt.”

                “It’s coming from over there,” the man said. “Maybe she’s in here. Hey Frank, help me get this manhole cover off.”

                “Can you hear me?”

                “We’re coming, little girl.” A man slowly descended the ladder. “Hey Frank, get the flashlight from the truck.”

                Moments later, a light turned on and moved around, searching for me.

                The light landed on me and he gasped. “Hey Frank, call an ambulance. This girl’s hurt badly.” He knelt beside me. “What happened to you?”

                I was getting dizzy from loss of blood. “They…I…plan failed…I had to…cut…leg off…was trapped…”

                He stroked my hair. “It’ll be okay. Just try to stay awake.”

                Awake? That was impossible. Slowly, everything went black.

 

A/N: So she’s lost her leg. Kind of sad, when you consider all that the human Taylor went through just to be beautiful before. Now she’s back to how she was after the fire, except that she’s still a Controller. * rubs hands together evilly * I think I’m gonna like this fic. Please R/R! I’ll continue if I get enough reviews!

 

~*~PREVIEW OF THE ENEMY: CHAPTER 2~*~

 

A/N: Well, here’s chapter 2. I started writing this chapter when the idea hit me during lunch at school today, and it kind of snowballed from there. Poor Taylor. It kind of makes you feel almost…sorry for her. I mean, her leg’s gone. Well, it was her fault for being there in the first place. Oh well. Hope you all enjoy chapter 2!

 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

                Will someone shut that thing up? Stupid human machines, with their stupid beeping.

                Beep. Beep. Beep.

                Where am I?

                Beep. Beep. Beep.

                I opened my eyes and quickly shut them from the bright light.

                “Hey look, she’s waking up,” somebody said.

                I tried to open my eyes again. This time, I was able to keep them open.

                “Well good morning,” the voice said. I turned my head to see a young man in a lab coat. “How are you feeling? The man that brought you in said…” he checked his clipboard, “…that you cut off your own leg? Why would you do something like that?”

                “Stuck in a crack. Leg crushed. Had to get out. Shut up. Go away.”

                “Why didn’t you just call for help?”

                Realizing that he wouldn’t go away without an answer, I said, “I did. Nobody came.”

                <You were impatient. Somebody would have heard you, had you shouted loud enough.>

                “Shut up, human,” I said.

                The doctor looked up. “What?”

                Did I say that out loud?

                <Your cover’s slipping, Yeerk.>

                “What happened to my leg? What did you do for it?”

                He flipped a few pages. I saw the date. I had less than two days to get to the pool. “Basically, we just cleaned it up and sealed the end off. You did a very good job cutting it. Not that you should have.”

                I pulled my arms out from under the covers. My arm looked like a lump of melted plastic.

                The doctor noticed the look of horror upon my face. “Yeah, I don’t know much about that. I don’t recognize the material that it’s made of.”

                <What are you going to tell him now?>

                “This was from a previous reconstructive surgery,” I said.

                He accepted that and left the room.

                “Stay here,” a curt voice said outside my doorway. I knew that voice, and it terrified me.

                It was the voice of Visser Three.

                “So, you’re still alive.”

                <Not for long,> my host gloated.

                “Yes, Visser.”

                “Do you know who lives because of you? The Andalites. They’re not dead, as we’d planned. You’ve accomplished nothing. Had you accomplished something, I would have had some of our doctors fix your host body. But you shall suffer for your stupidity.”

                “But Visser…”

                “Silence! When you can prove yourself to me, I may reconsider. For now, until you can return to the pool on your own, I have provided portable kandronas for you. When you leave, they will be brought to your residence.”

                “Why would you do that for me? I don’t feel that I deserve it.”

                “I still have hopes for you. You’d make a great Visser. You have high ambitions, similar to my own.”

                He turned sharply and walked out the door, leaving me alone.

                Well, almost alone.

                <He has hopes for you? You’d make a great Visser? That’s sickening. Does he really think you can eliminate those Andalites? Ha. They’ll eliminate you first.>

                I buzzed the nurse and she appeared at the doorway.

                “Hi. When can I leave? I have a few…things that I need to do within the next…thirty-six hours.”

                She called the doctor and he stood by my bed, evaluating my injuries. “We need to keep an eye on this for a few more hours and make sure you can make it on your own. Then I will call over for a prosthetic leg, and you’ll have to be fitted for one. Your friend who just left said that he’d pay for it. As for your arm and face…we can’t deal with the arm because we don’t recognize the material. We can’t deal with your face mostly because I’m not a plastic surgeon. I mean, I can recommend you to one, but…”

                I waved him off. That didn’t matter at the moment. I would die within two days. “Will I be leaving today?”

                “Later tonight, if not sooner. Would you like me to call your parents or relatives?”

                “I live nearby.” It was a lie.

                “Well, in that case, I can let you go within the next couple of hours. I’ll just have the nurse bring a wheelchair so you can try it out.”

                “I don’t want a wheelchair.”

                <No, you wouldn’t want to ruin our image. People look down on people in wheelchairs.>

                “Okay, then we’ll work with crutches…Nurse? Can you bring a pair of crutches for…” he turned back to me. “I’m sorry, I never got your name. The man who brought you in didn’t know it either.”

                “It’s Taylor.”

                He scribbled that on his clipboard. “Any last name?”

                “None that I’ll tell you.”

                “Have it your way. I’ll find out somehow.”

                I shrugged and the nurse returned with the crutches and my clothes. She unhooked me from a couple machines and helped me off the bed onto my remaining foot. I looked down and the reality of what had happened hit me.

                Hatred welled up inside of me. I don’t quite know if it was my own or my host’s, but it was hatred all the same. I wanted to kill the Andalites. Never mind taking them as hosts. They didn’t deserve that.

                They deserved to die.

 

 

A/N: Do they all really deserve to die, Taylor? It’s your fault for being there in the first place; don’t blame them. Please R/R! I may not update until after 4/5, since I will be studying for the SAT I. Actually, I may just type during school. Yeah, that’ll work. I’m going to take an hour and reread #33 and #43 just to make sure I’ve got my facts straight. Bye for now! * attempts to skip away, but realizes she can’t * Ow. Stupid doctor with his stupid surgery. Now I can’t skip away! Oh well, I’ll just limp merrily! Later!

 

~*~PREVIEW OF THE ENEMY: CHAPTER 3~*~

 

A/N: Here’s chapter 3. Hope y’all think it’s good. Y’all. That’s a funny word. Maybe I won’t use it anymore. Yeah. Okay. On with the story!

 

 

                I made my way back to the lonely shack I’d been staying in. I turned on the light and saw the cage. I’d had one of the Andalites in it just days before. He was weak. I thought I’d break him, make him tell his secrets.

                <You didn’t break him. He was stronger than you’ll ever be.>

                “Shut up,” I muttered. “I’m stronger than you are.”

                <You’re a lunatic.>

                “As are you.”

                I sat down at the table and shoved the cage away. I would kill the Andalites someday, just not now. I laid my head on my arms and went to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

                Quite a few years later…(A/N: Around, oh, say…2014 or so—1 year before Serenity’s “creation”.)

 

                BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!

                I rolled over and slammed my hand on the alarm clock.

                “Another boring day,” I muttered to myself.

                My host stayed silent, which wasn’t surprising. She’d been silent for a long time. Well, almost silent.

                I reached down to the floor and grabbed my prosthetic leg. I strapped it on and got dressed. In something nice, for a change.

                I don’t know. I just felt like this day was special for some reason.

                I headed into the main room of the shack and flipped the TV on. The human president was on, saying something which probably didn’t apply to me, so I ignored it and put two Pop-Tarts in the toaster.

                As they were heating, I caught a few words of what the human was saying.

                “The former Yeerk leader, who has been imprisoned for these many years, has escaped, with help from some of his fellow Yeerks. I advise you to stay away from any potential human Controllers. I assure you that this threat will be stopped as soon as possible.”

                A smirk spread across my scarred face. We were going to take over this planet!

                <No you’re not. Not once those Animorphs get to you.>

                It turns out that we’d been defeated by a group of humans, not Andalites. Well, one of them was an Andalite, and one was a bird, very similar to the “Andalite” that I’d tortured so many years ago.

                “Pitiful human. Don’t you see that we’re going to end up winning?”

                <The Animorphs will get you.>

                I laughed. “They’re as old as I am. And what do you think about the bird? He’s probably dead by now. Pity. I wanted the pleasure of doing that.”

                I grabbed my jacket and headed for the place that the pool used to be. To my surprise, a new one was in its place.

                <You weren’t surprised. You came here for a reason.>

                “So, you’re not dead after all,” a voice said from behind me. I spun around. Standing there was a man.

                I raised an eyebrow on the unscarred side of my face.

                “Why did you not come to help me escape? Are you not loyal to your people anymore?”

                I realized who it was. “Yes, Visser. I am loyal to my people. But I’d assumed that you’d died or been killed or something.”

                “You assumed wrong, Visser Four.”

                “Visser Four?”

                He put his arm around my shoulder, which was very uncharacteristic, and led me to the pool. “Yes. Visser Four. A nice promotion, if I do say so myself.”

                “You kept a promise.” The mere thought made me laugh. It made my host sick.

                Over the past years, my host and I had become…friends, in a way. She still told me that we’d lose to the humans, but it was more of a joke now. She’d proven herself to me the first time I’d left her body unassisted. Instead of killing me or leaving, she stayed until I was done feeding, then helped me back into her body.

                <That’s not friendship, Yeerk. You’re the only thing keeping me sane.>

                The visser and I descended into the pool complex. It was nicer than before, and much larger.

                “How did you survive for so long? Those portable kandronas should have only lasted a few years,” the visser said, surveying the happenings around the pool.

                I shrugged. “I have my ways.”