Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2009 2:01:50 GMT -5
Jals/Aidan:
Jals scratched his thin beard and looked out on the still mostly desolate looking patch of ground that had been dubbed Ground Zero, not once but twice. As one of the few leveled parts of Manhatten the yeerks had landed their ships here when deploying ground troops to take over the city, not caring about the spiritual wound they were ripping open by doing so for the New Yorkers.
The area was being rebuilt now, monuments going up to commemorate the yeerk victory and Jals was watching the construction from a new set of condominiums on the edge of the area. The apartments weren't even furnished yet but he had already decided that this would be a good place to start the next phase of his life with Sedra. Yes, the apartments had a good feel and so did this day.
Aidan, his host, surveyed the room through eyes that he couldn't control, and didn't offer an opinion. He had been a controller from the early days, before the invasion had been declared, and he had long ago lost hope of being free, settling for making Jals' stay in his body as uncomfortable as he could with his constant little annoyances.
It sometimes seemed like he knew every episode of Star Trek by heart, not to mention most of Shakespeare and a lot of Plato. He would recite passages or lines for hours at a time, driving Jals to distraction. It was one of the many reasons that Jals had decided to get rid of him as a host.
He looked over at the young woman he had chained to the u-bend of the sink. He figured as long as he was going to make a change it might as well be a drastic one, try something new. He wondered how being a she would be different. These human bodies had such interesting little nooks and crannies. He utterly enjoyed exploring them all.
And he had already tried this new host out for a couple of hours. Very interesting background. Unlike most of her people she was trained in some combat. Some of them were antiquated combat forms like sword work, but she had cross trained with some chemical explosive weapons as well.
All in all the training gave her body a...fluid feel that Jals liked. In general the female form was lighter, freer, than the one he was currently in. One day he would write a book about human hosts. Future yeerks who were looking to infest one would read his notes first. No one had done more extensive research on what these bodies were capable of and he relished the thought of all there was to explore still.
And he had hardly scratched the surface of human experience and history. He didn't mind so much when Aidan quoted Plato though he found Socrates to be quite annoying and Aristotle was down right verbose.
But he had time to understand it all. And he wouldn't quit until he had felt everything it was capable to feel. He smiled at the thought and turned back to look at Sedra standing in the room.
He walked up behind where she was standing at the window. "What do you think?" he asked, a cocky smile on his face. "Nice no?"
Sedra:
Sedra stood by the window, one finger absently curling around a strand of dark hair, blue eyes staring out into the construction work. Sedra hadn't spent much time away from Vegas until now, and New York was a welcome break from the constant heat of the place. She found it intriguing here. The city seemed to hold some meaning for the humans. That made it all the better that the Empire was demolishing what little traces of humanity was left.
<<You could let him go, or something. Please. Or, leave him out somewhere, in a desert or something. Nobody will find him. Please-->>
Sedra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to will away Catherine's chatter in the back of her mind. It was getting hard to concentrate tonight, as her host had been railing non-stop since she had figured out what was going to happen. None of the usual threats seemed to quiet her down, so Sedra was attempting to just tune it out.
The room had grown quiet for awhile, broken by the sound of Jals' voice. She felt him move up behind her. It was strange--alien, almost--but she always enjoyed his closeness. It was something she had felt ever since this whole affair had begun, some strange spark that never been around with Sefren324, Catherine's husband's Yeerk. Sedra knew her host found Jals' host attractive, and she understood that part of her reaction to Jals was Catherine's reaction to Aidan. But part of it had to be her and, as she hoped, Jals.
Smoothly, she turned from the window, looking up at Jals and taking in his host's face. It would probably be the last night she would see this face. She reached up, soft fingertips grazing along the side of his unshaven cheek and a warm smile curling on her lips. She supported Jals' change of hosts--it was no surprise when he did things like this--but she knew she would miss the sight of Eva's father.
"What do I think about what? The female?" She asked, her dark gaze shifting to the female human chained to the sink. She hadn't paid much attention to the new host yet, but part of Jals' enthusiasm had already caught onto her. He had been speaking about it earlier, when he had infested the female. Talked about how different it was and how he liked it.
With her eyebrows lifted she brushed past Jals, a sly smirk on her lips. Once the young woman had been brought to the apartment, Sedra had immediately gagged her just in case she decided to scream or talk. At the moment she wasn't trying to say anything. By this point it was useless to struggle, her infestation was inevitable. Sedra approached her with quiet interest, eyes like a predator on its prey, inspecting.
Luce:
Luce crouched against the kitchen sink. She was angry, but more than that she was scared. The two standing over her were talking about her, she wasn't stupid, but they sounded like they were talking about chattel.
Which means they didn't care about her at all. She'd be damned if she let that bastard see her cry, the one who had taken her, but it was a near thing. What had she gotten herself into?
She thought of her mother. She knew that her mother wouldn't have started to worry until many hours after Luce had disappeared. Luce made a habit of going off alone all the time and even though her mom was always nagging her to check in, use the cell phone that had cost them so much, Luce rarely did.
So Sam wouldn't have started to wonder where her daughter was until maybe yesterday. But by now she'd be out her mind. And the worst part about all this was that Luce would never get to let her know what had happened.
Maybe the worst part should have been that she was about to be a slave in the most complete way. The yeerk had already taken her and Luce had gotten a glimpse of what her future would be.
But no, the worst part for Luce was that she would disappear without her family ever knowing. She hadn't been the best daughter. And now she'd never get the chance.
Jals/Aiden:
"Well sure, though actually I was thinking more about the apartment," he said as Sedra slipped past him with a smile that he had come to lo-well like a lot. Ok, maybe lo-...lo-, he gave up the attempt. He would get there or he wouldn't. She didn't seem to want him to feel that way so he was in no rush.
"They are going to be putting the new plaza down there and there is even talk of installing a mini yeerk pool. But only the high class controllers will have access to it. They're putting in private, sound proof booths around the sides so that the hosts won't ruin the atmosphere with all that crying and complaining they do."
He followed her over to stand above the new host. "Good thing you just got a promotion. And with me working for Kas 690 I'll be able to get access into it as well. In fact that's how I got this apartment. Maybe you should move to New York?" It was an old conversation. He was always asking her to move to New York and she wanted him to move to Vegas.
The nature of his work made it so that he was traveling a lot so he ended up in Vegas a lot anyway but he was in New York more and it would have been nice to get home from one of the little errands Kas sent him on and have Sedra here.
Sedra:
"Ahh. Well she seems like a good choice." She turned her gaze from the woman, letting her eyes travel around the bare apartment. The place had that 'new house' smell that humans always seemed to like, a mixture of paint and general newness. The walls had been freshly painted since its construction, and the rooms felt cold and empty. The only thing it needed now was furniture and the like, which would be easy enough to get.
"I like it, it's very nice. Roomy," She said. They had explored the apartment a little bit once they had arrived, testing out the new things like the sink and the stove. This particular part of the condominiums had been built for human hosts, and so had all the usual human amenities.
"Mmm," She said, smoothing her hands down her jeans and listening to Jals. No matter how nice the place could be, the sound of humans whining and moaning would get annoying if they didn't put in the sound proof booths. It was hard enough having one in your head, constantly critiquing, constantly crying.
She laughed a little, "Good, they're thinking ahead. I hope they do it, it would make it much easier to live here." Then he dropped it again, asking her to move to New York. As a Gedd and Hork-Bajir, she had spent a lot of time traveling in space and around the country, fighting and killing. But since infesting Catherine, she now felt so far away from Las Vegas and the desert. Since the invasion had ended, she had always had her eye on Area 51. The scientist in her craved to work there. Sedra's host wanted to be back in Vegas because that was where her old family was, where Mark was, and her old life. During the nights, Catherine had dreams about breaking free and rescuing the rest of her family. Even after four or so years, her host still clung to the ridiculous hope of escape.
Sedra wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she wanted to stick around Jals, if he would let her. This whole thing was forbidden, the way they were with each other. It was part of what made this so dangerous if it was found out. Even more so now that she had allowed Eva to live. Having the child had been reckless, especially since she had been living with Sefren324 when it had happened. But she still felt confused. Could Yeerks really feel this way? Or was it some kind of illusion their hosts had tricked them with? Sedra refused to believe she'd been caught up in something so human. She was a Yeerk.
She didn't want to feel this way, but she missed the human infant. Her small fingers, trusting eyes. She was so young, so vulnerable--And she had been taken. The thought still made Sedra angry. Perhaps one day, when she had risen enough in the ranks, she would go and kill Sefren324 and his host. He had been the cause of Eva being sent to the Kid Farms, along with Catherine's son. Since he had found about Sedra's daughter, he seemed to think he held some superiority over her. She would teach him otherwise.
She didn't respond to Jals' question right away, letting her eyes rest on the frightened human. She was young, compared with the hosts the two of them had now. Different. Sedra's expression was hidden as she spoke, "Maybe I can pull some strings with my new rank, get them to transfer Eva here. Somehow." It wasn't exactly possible, as Sedra didn't have enough rank to do it without being suspicious. Human children were only good for their possibility of being future hosts. Most Yeerks wanted to get their old host's children out of the way as soon as possible, as the children were only burdens.
"It is nice here, in New York. And the apartment is good, you picked it well." It was a vague answer, and not quite a confirmation of whether she would or not. She wanted to be around Jals, but she wouldn't outright say it. She was still thinking she could maybe talk him into moving to Las Vegas with her, even though Kas would have him working in New York more. And, he had already gotten this apartment. It would be easy enough to transfer here if Sedra chose to, although it would mean Catherine would start fussing about it.
Thinking, she glanced at a bottle of wine on a nearby counter. It was something she had taken earlier in the day, when they had been walking around New York, enjoying the place. A furtive smile crept onto her face, "Do you want to celebrate before or after you take the female?"
Jals/Aidan:
Jals smiled. On Aidan's face the smile was playful. "Choices choices," he said looking at Sedra and then back at the young woman who would be his host from now on.
He ignored her almost answer about moving. He didn't want to push her on it and to be honest he wasn't even sure why he was doing it at all. He knew it was dangerous. Relationships were more than discouraged in the Empire, they were practically forbidden. Certainly no yeerk of worth participated in one and those found to have...'transgressed' this unspoken rule never advanced very far.
The vissers and sub-vissers would find some reason to demote them, punish them, even kill them.
And with the discovery of Eva by Sedra's nosy, interfering partner, this was all the more dangerous. And even though Sefren would not admit it, Jals knew that his actions had been out of jealousy, a fact he both cherished and hated.
But Sefren would have his day. And until then Jals and Sedra would watch Eva from afar. Jals had access to her and he was sometimes able to bring Sedra in for "experimental" purposes. But their daughter remained under lock and key and neither of them had the rank, nor ever would, to free her. There was no level, even the council of thirteen, where such a child was acceptable.
But Jals had always broken the rules and asked questions later.
"Do I get to say both?"
Sedra:
A small, fleeting smile came to her lips at his playfulness, and she followed his gaze to Luce. He seemed intent on drawing this whole process out, but Sedra was not one to complain about it. It was always fun watching humans squirm and agonize.
However, ever since he had suggested this host change, there had been a small seed of fear in Sedra. Once he took the female as a host, would he lose interest in the relationship? It was already hard enough to maintain, as their schedules became busier and further apart. As well as the fact that almost every moment could be dangerous, if found out. But the female host had no ties to Eva, and thus no ties to Sedra.
Catherine must have picked up some of what Sedra was thinking, as she interrupted Sedra's thoughts quietly, <<He's going to leave you once he infests that girl. You'll be all alone, pathetic, with some kid that could get you killed.>> Even though Sedra could tell it was another desperate attempt for sparing Aidan's life--she could see what Catherine was thinking--it was still unsettling. Besides that, Sedra knew that Catherine didn't know what she was talking about. So she did her best to ignore the comment.
It wasn't often that Sedra allowed herself to relax around others besides than Jals, as the struggle for a higher rank made most relationships among Yeerks cutthroat. Any sort of weakness was exploited. As for Sedra's host, she knew that even though Catherine felt uneasy about this whole relationship they had--seeing as how her host still felt she had ownership of her body, for some absurd reason--Catherine seemed to encourage it. Her reasoning was strange, as she thought it would somehow make Sedra treat her different. It was something, perhaps the only thing besides Eva, of course, that would cause both human and Yeerk to act less hostile towards each other. If only for a few moments.
Sedra looked up at his comment, her blue eyes rest on Jals. "Both? A little greedy, huh?" By this time Sedra had figured out human humor, and it was obvious by the tone of her voice and the smirk on her lips. Slowly, surely, she moved closer to Jals, and--if he didn't move away--slid her arms around his neck to draw him close. "But I'm sure it could be arranged." She leaned forward to place a warm kiss on his lips.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals kissed Sedra. It was always nice to hold her and he didn't think he would ever get tired of her touch. It was one of the things that most attracted him to her. Jals was constantly hopping from one amusement to another, nothing really holding his attention, except Sedra. For some reason he never grew bored around her. He didn't know why, but he valued the quality.
When the kiss ended Jals said, slightly out of breath, said, "You know I don't have a bed yet but I have a bedroom."
Sedra:
As he returned the kiss, her worries slipped away. She slid her hand up to the back of his head, soft fingers curling through his dark hair. She felt peaceful in this moment, content. Maybe even happy. She had him here, now, and it felt good. And she knew, even if it was hard to admit to herself, she had strong feelings for Jals. Enough so that she would risk this dangerous relationship to be with him.
The kiss ended and she tilted her head back, eyes resting on his. His eyes were one of her favorite features of Jals' host, along with his smile. She moved her body closer to his, enjoying his warm touch as her fingers ran through his hair. As he spoke, a sly smile curled on her lips and her expression turned playful. "Do you? Would you like to show me, then?"
Jals/Aidan:
"Right this way then."
Luce:
Good, they were gone. Luce spit out the hairpin she'd had in her mouth and got her fingers around it. She had no idea what she was doing but she'd seen this in the a movie once and she was just hoping against hope that it would work. She knew that this was her last chance to get free.
But as she tried to find some sort of hole to stick the pin in, some lock to pic, something, she began to despair. She couldn't let this happen. This wouldn't happen right? I mean-
As she struggled with the pin it dropped out of reach and Luce badly bruised her wrists lunging after it and coming up short. As she looked at her last hope for freedom sitting on the bathroom floor, two inches too far, the reality of what was about to happen to her began to settle in.
She yanked her hands down sharply, bruising her wrists more against the constraints. "No." She said fiercely, quietly. "No, no, no." Each denial of the future was accompanied by a painful straining against the bonds that held her. The pain was easier to feel than the fear.
But even she couldn't hurt herself forever. She leaned back against the wall of the bathroom. "No, please no." Her voice held the tears her eyes refused to cry.
Sedra:
It was time.
Sedra walked back towards the kitchen, where her dracon beam was resting on a counter. Catherine was pleading again, a lost voice somewhere in the back of Sedra's mind, ignored. Running her fingers over the dracon beam, she picked it up and headed to where they had handcuffed the new host. The young woman was still there, as she had expected, leaning against the wall. A small smile perked on Sedra's lips.
Slowly, in view of Luce, she placed the dracon beam on a counter. It wasn't intended for Luce, but she enjoyed seeing the human frightened. Then, Sedra noticed something small on the ground, near the new host. Some kind of pin or something. Smoothly, she bent down to pick it up. She straightened, rolling the pin between her fingers in amusement.
"What's this?" She murmured. It hadn't been there before, and it wasn't Sedra's. Maybe it had just dropped out of the female's hair or something. She placed it on the counter to throw away later, then let her eyes rest on Luce. She wasn't doing some of the usual loud wailing and begging that most humans liked to do in this sort of situation. At least, not yet. Good. Eventually that kind of stuff got really annoying.
Sedra leaned against the wall opposite of Luce, folding her arms and waiting. She wanted to get this over with, but as long as Jals wasn't here she'd have to wait. He would be in soon enough, so she had made sure everything was ready for the transfer.
Luce:
Luce watched the controller woman dispassionately, or at least feigning dispassion. The look on her face was stony and her eyes hard refusing to give them anything, a taste of the woman she would one day become.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals was looking in the mirror, savoring his last few moments as Aidan. Aidan was also looking in the mirror savoring that these were his last few moments of slavery.
Do you believe you will go to some after life human? Jals asked mockingly.
You know I don't, Aidan answered tiredly. Jals had asked him over and over again how he felt about his impeding death. He enjoyed confounding the yeerk with his acceptance of it. He knew that Jals would know the feeling one day.
You think I'll die? Jals asked, watching the direction of his thoughts.
I know you'll die yeerk. Everyone dies. He paused, and with you I think it will be especially gruesome. You make too many bets Jals, you'll lose some one day. That little affair you got out there, you think they won't find out about her Jals? I only hope you have to watch her die before you go.
Jals anger flared at his host's words. How dare he-how dare he assume so much. He, Jals' judge! The idea was laughable. And about Sedra-
You're going down eventually yeerk, so's she. Better get used to the idea.
Shut up human. You know nothing about her. He was actually letting this human get him angry. That was the worst part.
Aidan watched Jals thoughts. He almost felt sorry for the yeerk. You think you are the only person in the world to discover love? Even forbidden love? Read Romeo and Juliet sometime after you kill me. And do you think you are the only one to think it made you invincible, his voice would have been soft if it had been audible, that is part of its charm Jals, part of its power.
Jals was getting really tired of being lectured on human emotions by his host, especially because he didn't feel them. You think I fall prey to your weaknesses?
Yes. The one word was thought with such calm, sad certainty that Jals had no response. But he didn't need one.
You might want to say your goodbye's Aidan. Jals walked out of the bathroom in jeans but barefoot and bare chested. It felt right for some reason. Maybe he was being influenced by Aidan, who himself had seen one too many movies. The hero always walked into the dueling circle with bare feet and no shirt to fight the monster, or just the opponent. Who knew what it was they faced but they faced it with clear eyes and confidence.
Jals turned those eyes on Sedra. He was surprised to find how long they lingered. Aidan's words had reached him and he found himself wondering just how deep his feelings went, the feelings he hadn't thought himself capable of. But before she could notice his stare he quickly changed his expression to one more suitable, more business like. "Are you ready?"
Sedra:
Finally, Catherine had grown quiet. She had begun to realize that her pleading was getting nowhere. It was a relief for Sedra, because she didn't like having put up with it. But Sedra was hiding her own uneasiness from Catherine. Her host's previous words were still on her mind, but she didn't want Catherine picking up on it. She wouldn't hear the end of it.
As they waited, Sedra silently watched Luce with a calm interest. There was still no reaction from her, which intrigued Sedra. Even when seeing the dracon beam, the female didn't seem scared. Well, soon enough it wouldn't matter.
After a few moments, Jals finally strolled in. Sedra turned her attention away from the new host, giving Jals a quiet smile as he spoke. "I'm ready when you are," She said, pulling herself away from the wall. She headed over towards Luce, stopping beside the woman. They would be taking precautions to make sure that Aidan would not escape after wards, so there was an extra set of handcuffs nearby, waiting to be used. Ready, Sedra looked to Jals.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals nodded once, slight afraid now. If there was anyone he could trust with helping him with this unauthorized transfer it was Sedra. And once it was done Kas would cover Jals on the official side. Jals would make the case that the female was better trained for the work that Kas often assigned and that would be that.
But, after being in a host, it was scary to go back to the yeerk form where Jals could easily be crushed without ever seeing it coming. But that wouldn't happen.
He went over to the female and squatted down in front of her, balancing easily on the balls of his feet, and looked into her eyes. He saw defiance there, but it was childish, and behind it he could see the fear, the uncertainty.
Aidan spoke up, for once his tone wasn't the calm one he had used to mock Jals for the past few days. There was a shrill quality as he pleaded, not for his own life, but for her's. Please, she is young, don't do this to her. Take me ok, you can have me, I'll shut up, no more poetry, no more philosophy, no more Star Trek.
Jals took careful note of the pleading. "An interesting species this one. He is pleading for me to keep him as a host, spare her. Hork-Bajir never do that. They just fight and fight as if they are too dumb to know the meaning of the word surrender. And maybe they are. Maybe it was a blessing, and maybe intelligence is a curse. Has it not cursed the yeerks? If we had never wanted to see the stars none of this would ever have happened." Jals had taken to such thoughts. He wasn't sure if it was in his own nature to wonder so or if Aidan had affected him, but in the end it didn't matter, the result is the same.
Ignoring Aidan's pleas he went and sat down in the chair that he would be handcuffed to for the transfer. Ideally they would have had a portable pool here but since it was an unauthorized transfer he had not taken the risk of taking one out.
Sedra:
Sedra watched Jals approach the new host, her expression showing a hint of amusement. Sedra had her own experiences with Hork-Bajir before and she didn't like them as hosts. Her last host had been a Hork-Bajir male, with no real family. Or intelligence. He was good at killing and he was good at being intimidating. During the time she had infested him, he had been useful. But listening to his constant, stupid babbling was not something Sedra would like to live with. No. Catherine's body was much more fun.
"Really," Sedra said and a smirk twitched on her face. "Humans are insane, I'm not surprised." She didn't mention that Catherine had spent the last few hours pleading for Aidan's life, even knowing it was a futile cause. She paused, considering Jals' words. "I don't feel it's been a curse. If we had never dreamed of seeing the stars, we would still be stuck back on our home planet. Swimming around in sludge, bugs for the arrogant Andalites to squish under their hooves."
For a moment, she let her gaze slip around the empty apartment, to the bare walls and unused appliances. To Luce. Then dark blue eyes shifted back to Jals, and her voice grew quieter. "This planet is worth the struggle. These bodies. I'd rather be cursed and fighting than live deaf and blind for my whole life."
<<But that's all you ever will be, Sedra. Some blind slimy, disgusting slug on the ground. You're not human. You never will be.>> The anger was still present behind Catherine's words, but Sedra had expected it. Even so, her jaw clenched. It was the only outward sign that she had been bothered by her host's words.
Ignoring the jab, she watched Jals settle into the chair, then moved to to pick up the extra set of handcuffs nearby. The metal felt cold in her hand as she locked one cuff to Jals' wrist and then other to the chair. She looked into his eyes for one last time, her lips curling into a warm smile. She knew he might be nervous, and she brushed her fingertips across his cheek briefly. "Alright, let's do this."
Jals/Aidan:
Jals leaned into the touch and closed his eyes briefly but then gave a nod at her words. He closed his eyes again, Aidan's eyes, and began disconnecting from Aidan's mind. As he let go of each part of the body it went limp. Aidan hadn't used his body in so long that he no longer knew how. Added to that he knew what awaited him and didn't seem that interested in regaining control.
There was even a risky moment when Jals released his lungs that Aidan didn't breath, but the body took over that semi-involuntary function and began to breath on its own. The last thing Jals let go of was the part of the brain that controlled hearing. Most yeerks had fallen in love with sight, but it was sound and touch that fascinated Jals the most.
Finally he made his way out of Aidan's ear and had a slight sensation of falling. It wasn't really that much of a sensation since Jals was now sensory deprived, but he knew enough to know that Jals was out and in the air.
The yeerk waited for Sedra to carry it to the new host and its new life.
Sedra:
Sedra waited patiently for Jals to disengage, her hand held--palm facing up--near his ear. After a few moments she could see him emerging, and moved closer to make sure she would catch him. Once Jals was fully out, Sedra spared a glance up at Aidan. The human didn't seem to be reacting at all to his short-lived freedom. In fact, he seemed fine to just sit there and do nothing. That would make this easier.
Delicately, she held Jals in the palm of her hand. It was a sad reminder of how weak and vulnerable they were in their natural state. So small and easy to crush. As she thought this, she could feel Catherine's own thoughts underneath her own. They were filled with images of crushing Jals in their hand. As quickly as she could, Sedra pushed her host's thoughts away. It made her sick.
Knowing how unpleasant it was to be out in the cold air, Sedra quickly moved away from Aidan's chair and towards Luce. Cupping her fingers protectively around him, she knelt next to the woman. She made eye contact with Luce, her eyes hard. "Make this easier on yourself. Don't move."
Sedra's body was visibly tense, ready for Luce to try something. Luce hadn't moved or struggled through all this so far, but that didn't mean Sedra wanted surprises. From Catherine, either. The last thing she wanted to happen would be to lose control and have Catherine squeeze Jals to death. ((I hope this isn't a mod e.e)) She reached forward to try and grip Luce's hair so she could twist her head sideways, exposing her ear. She placed her other hand, still holding Jals, next to her ear so that Jals could get to safety, and to his new host.
Luce:
Luce ripped her head away from the woman's grasp. She knew what the end would be but she wasn't about to just let it happen. She had waited until Sedra was close, she would have one chance, and she took it.
As soon as her head was free she turned it back quickly and hit the woman's hand with her jaw, knocking the slug out of it. As it fell to the ground Luce tried to crush it, her knee coming down hard. But she missed it and before she could get a second chance the woman had snatched it away.
Luce screamed in frustration and no little despair. And as the controller grabbed her head again turned it, more forcefully this time, Luce fought, trying to turn her head or pull it away. Already bruised wrists were hurt for the second time that night as she pulled against the handcuffs. And they hadn't secured her feet but the controller was too close to be able to use her legs effectively.
She felt the slug touch her ear and she stopped fighting, physically at least, it was too late for that. She focused her mind, preparing to fight a battle she already knew she'd lose.
Aidan:
Aidan slowly came back to himself and opened his own eyes for the first time in years. They had tears in them.
He couldn't control much of the rest of his body yet but that was ok, he wouldn't need to. All he would need was his voice. When the time came, all he would need would be his voice.
He looked up and saw two women across from him. One was Sedra, the other was Luce. He knew the girl's name frim Jals' brief infestation of her. I'm sorry, he thought at her as she went still.
Jals/Luce:
Jals slowly opened her eyes and looked at Sedra who was still right in front of her. A familiar smile spread across her features. "Hello beautiful." The new voice was soft, but just as playful.
Sedra:
"Shit," Sedra cursed loudly. She had been ready for something like this, but it still managed to surprise her. No, no. Jals had been thrown from her hands, and immediately Sedra's heart was pounding wildly in her chest and adrenaline was pumping through her veins. Luce's attempt at crushing Jals missed, and before she could try again Sedra sprang forward to pluck Jals from the ground.
After she had gotten Jals in, she sat back from the both of them and took a deep breath, looking ruffled. It had been her luck that Catherine hadn't seized control, though Sedra knew the thought had been there. However, she was furious that Luce had even tried, and for a moment she had felt like striking the woman. But there was no need to be angry anymore, as Luce was Jals now. When Jals looked up, Sedra's anger melted away and her lips curved into a smile. "Hello."
She pulled herself up off the ground, holding up one finger. "Hold on." Moving to one of the counters, she grabbed one set of keys for the handcuffs. As she neared Aidan, she shot him a look that said you're next, before kneeling down beside Jals. Her voice was soft, "I'm sorry about that." She didn't even want to think about what would happen if Jals had been killed. Pulling Jals' wrist forward, she reached over and unlocked the handcuffs, removing them.
"There." She stood up again, handcuffs hanging from her fingers. "Would you like to do it?" As she said this, she was looking over at Aidan.
Jals/Luce:
Jals stood up rubbing her wrists. Her wrists. Jals laughed at the difference. She stretched a bit, testing everything out. It felt just as limber as she remembered. She wiped her hands on the jeans her new host had been wearing when she got captured and looked over at Sedra. Now that the transfer was successfully completed Jals was in high spirits.
Jals walked over and trailed Luce's fingers over the counter and picking up the dracon beam left there. Her fingers explored the weapon. It may be alien but the fingers still recognized a trigger when it felt one.
Which reminded Jals of the host who was oddly quiet. But Jals knew that this one could be dangerous and had no plans on giving up so easily. So why the silence?
Jals searched Luce's mind and found Luce waiting, stalking Jals, just waiting for Jals to slip, forget something and then Luce would make sure that Jals never saw the light of another day even if that meant she didn't either. The depth of patient hatred momentarily frightened the yeerk.
Jals had felt hated before by the host but Luce didn't just hate the yeerk, she was determined to wait as long as it took to see Jals dead. She hadn't even tried to fight Jals take over after the first few moments, knowing a losing battle when she saw one. She had retreated, saved her strength, and now she waited, mental eyes locked on the presence in her mind unwavering.
Do you think you will catch me unawares human?
Silence.
Jals was used to Aidan's bantering, his way of fighting back. But Luce's silence was unnerving.
No host has ever won against a yeerk.
Silence.
Jals turned its attention back to the world with annoyance and a touch of fear. The good mood of moments before was broken, a troubled look now on Luce's face.
"I," Jals looked down at the dracon beam and remembered how natural having a weapon in hand had felt. From her mind Jals felt one brief flash of joy as Luce perceived the yeerk's fear but even that was gone so quickly it was as if it had never been. Jals felt like it was in a very small cage with a tiger and the tiger was hungry. She had no fear that the host could be broken eventually. But maybe now was not the best time to be handling fire arms.
"You can if you'd like," Jals said holding the weapon out to Sedra.
Sedra:
With a quiet smile on her face Sedra watched Jals stand up, enjoying her new body. It cheered Sedra to know Jals was happy with the change of hosts. She placed the handcuffs and key back on the counter, then glanced over as Jals grabbed the dracon beam. Deep down, she could feel Catherine's agitation. This was the moment her host had been dreading the whole night, the moment she had been fighting against. And still, her host would not give up.
<<He's Eva's father, Sedra. Please.>>
Sedra's eyes settled on Aidan. He was sitting there, doing nothing. She wondered if the handcuffs had even been necessary, if he would have even tried to run. If he even could at this point. He hadn't struggled or spoken at all since being free. It was pathetic.
Jals' voice--now sounding like Luce's--caught Sedra's attention. She noticed the strange look, and glanced down at the dracon beam. "You are sure?" She had expected Jals to want to do the honors. But she was fine doing it herself.
Sedra reached her hand forward to grab the dracon beam. Then she froze, muscles tense. Catherine was fighting her, trying to pull their hand away from the dracon beam in a sad attempt to stop her. Sedra's lip twitched in irritation. After a few moments, she clamped control down on Catherine and her hand closed around the dracon beam.
"Alright." Her expression--brief annoyance--was gone, replaced by a smirk. Slowly, she made her way to Aidan's chair, playing with the dracon beam in her hands and watching him. When she was close enough, she paused. Then she leaned forward, pushing the dracon beam against his heart, finger on the trigger. "You ready to die, human?"
Aidan:
Aidan tried to sit up in the chair he was handcuffed to but it was so hard to use the body that had not really been his own in so long. Still, after a bit of struggle he managed it and sat up and looked Sedra and Jals in the eye.
He had planned on making a speech, one final speech to end his life. MacBeth had come to mind.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
This would be his last hour upon the stage and as far as Aidan could see it had all meant nothing. But call it sentimental, wistful, desultory, or naive (he felt at the end of his life he was allowed such things), Aidan didn't want to die in such hopelessness. He wanted there to be some spark, some hope that made it all mean something.
"Love Aidan, always end with love, the audience loves love,' a teacher of his had once told him. But what was there to love here, who? The girl who would suffer his fate and more? The woman who already was? Or the two yeerks, their jailers, their slave masters? He couldn't bring himself to love Jals and Sedra, even at the end, he couldn't love them and he couldn't forgive.
But he could hope. Hope that someday, something would change them, maybe something already was for wasn't he here?
He laughed, the sound harsh in his throat, containing so much pain, hopelessness and despair that it shouldn't even be called a laugh at all. "You love each other." He pronounced each word clearly as he had been taught and each one fell into the silence of the room, gaining power instead of losing it as it echoed off the blank walls. "And may it damn you."
Sedra:
To her surprise, Aidan began to move in his seat. With her finger still resting on the trigger, she adjusted to his movements. He seemed like he was going to talk, and she was feeling curious now. As he locked his eyes with her, she met his gaze full on, a touch of amusement present. The dracon beam was still pushed harshly against his chest.
"You love each other. And may it damn you."
For a moment Sedra didn't know how to react. She hadn't expected that, or even wanted to hear it. Not from him. The word 'love' had never been spoken between the two Yeerks. Sedra was frightened of the word, frightened of its implications. It was absurd. A Yeerk, loving someone? It was a purely human emotion. It was dangerous. But she was trapped in it, and she knew it.
Suddenly, the air in the room felt like it was heavy, enveloping, silence ringing in her ears. Her expression had turned quiet and she broke her gaze from his, looking to Jals. No longer Aidan's face, but Luce's.
Then, slowly, her thoughts crowded back, and she felt anger bubbling up. How dare he? She turned to look Aidan full in the face, dark blue eyes intense. Without another word, she pulled the trigger.
Jals scratched his thin beard and looked out on the still mostly desolate looking patch of ground that had been dubbed Ground Zero, not once but twice. As one of the few leveled parts of Manhatten the yeerks had landed their ships here when deploying ground troops to take over the city, not caring about the spiritual wound they were ripping open by doing so for the New Yorkers.
The area was being rebuilt now, monuments going up to commemorate the yeerk victory and Jals was watching the construction from a new set of condominiums on the edge of the area. The apartments weren't even furnished yet but he had already decided that this would be a good place to start the next phase of his life with Sedra. Yes, the apartments had a good feel and so did this day.
Aidan, his host, surveyed the room through eyes that he couldn't control, and didn't offer an opinion. He had been a controller from the early days, before the invasion had been declared, and he had long ago lost hope of being free, settling for making Jals' stay in his body as uncomfortable as he could with his constant little annoyances.
It sometimes seemed like he knew every episode of Star Trek by heart, not to mention most of Shakespeare and a lot of Plato. He would recite passages or lines for hours at a time, driving Jals to distraction. It was one of the many reasons that Jals had decided to get rid of him as a host.
He looked over at the young woman he had chained to the u-bend of the sink. He figured as long as he was going to make a change it might as well be a drastic one, try something new. He wondered how being a she would be different. These human bodies had such interesting little nooks and crannies. He utterly enjoyed exploring them all.
And he had already tried this new host out for a couple of hours. Very interesting background. Unlike most of her people she was trained in some combat. Some of them were antiquated combat forms like sword work, but she had cross trained with some chemical explosive weapons as well.
All in all the training gave her body a...fluid feel that Jals liked. In general the female form was lighter, freer, than the one he was currently in. One day he would write a book about human hosts. Future yeerks who were looking to infest one would read his notes first. No one had done more extensive research on what these bodies were capable of and he relished the thought of all there was to explore still.
And he had hardly scratched the surface of human experience and history. He didn't mind so much when Aidan quoted Plato though he found Socrates to be quite annoying and Aristotle was down right verbose.
But he had time to understand it all. And he wouldn't quit until he had felt everything it was capable to feel. He smiled at the thought and turned back to look at Sedra standing in the room.
He walked up behind where she was standing at the window. "What do you think?" he asked, a cocky smile on his face. "Nice no?"
Sedra:
Sedra stood by the window, one finger absently curling around a strand of dark hair, blue eyes staring out into the construction work. Sedra hadn't spent much time away from Vegas until now, and New York was a welcome break from the constant heat of the place. She found it intriguing here. The city seemed to hold some meaning for the humans. That made it all the better that the Empire was demolishing what little traces of humanity was left.
<<You could let him go, or something. Please. Or, leave him out somewhere, in a desert or something. Nobody will find him. Please-->>
Sedra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to will away Catherine's chatter in the back of her mind. It was getting hard to concentrate tonight, as her host had been railing non-stop since she had figured out what was going to happen. None of the usual threats seemed to quiet her down, so Sedra was attempting to just tune it out.
The room had grown quiet for awhile, broken by the sound of Jals' voice. She felt him move up behind her. It was strange--alien, almost--but she always enjoyed his closeness. It was something she had felt ever since this whole affair had begun, some strange spark that never been around with Sefren324, Catherine's husband's Yeerk. Sedra knew her host found Jals' host attractive, and she understood that part of her reaction to Jals was Catherine's reaction to Aidan. But part of it had to be her and, as she hoped, Jals.
Smoothly, she turned from the window, looking up at Jals and taking in his host's face. It would probably be the last night she would see this face. She reached up, soft fingertips grazing along the side of his unshaven cheek and a warm smile curling on her lips. She supported Jals' change of hosts--it was no surprise when he did things like this--but she knew she would miss the sight of Eva's father.
"What do I think about what? The female?" She asked, her dark gaze shifting to the female human chained to the sink. She hadn't paid much attention to the new host yet, but part of Jals' enthusiasm had already caught onto her. He had been speaking about it earlier, when he had infested the female. Talked about how different it was and how he liked it.
With her eyebrows lifted she brushed past Jals, a sly smirk on her lips. Once the young woman had been brought to the apartment, Sedra had immediately gagged her just in case she decided to scream or talk. At the moment she wasn't trying to say anything. By this point it was useless to struggle, her infestation was inevitable. Sedra approached her with quiet interest, eyes like a predator on its prey, inspecting.
Luce:
Luce crouched against the kitchen sink. She was angry, but more than that she was scared. The two standing over her were talking about her, she wasn't stupid, but they sounded like they were talking about chattel.
Which means they didn't care about her at all. She'd be damned if she let that bastard see her cry, the one who had taken her, but it was a near thing. What had she gotten herself into?
She thought of her mother. She knew that her mother wouldn't have started to worry until many hours after Luce had disappeared. Luce made a habit of going off alone all the time and even though her mom was always nagging her to check in, use the cell phone that had cost them so much, Luce rarely did.
So Sam wouldn't have started to wonder where her daughter was until maybe yesterday. But by now she'd be out her mind. And the worst part about all this was that Luce would never get to let her know what had happened.
Maybe the worst part should have been that she was about to be a slave in the most complete way. The yeerk had already taken her and Luce had gotten a glimpse of what her future would be.
But no, the worst part for Luce was that she would disappear without her family ever knowing. She hadn't been the best daughter. And now she'd never get the chance.
Jals/Aiden:
"Well sure, though actually I was thinking more about the apartment," he said as Sedra slipped past him with a smile that he had come to lo-well like a lot. Ok, maybe lo-...lo-, he gave up the attempt. He would get there or he wouldn't. She didn't seem to want him to feel that way so he was in no rush.
"They are going to be putting the new plaza down there and there is even talk of installing a mini yeerk pool. But only the high class controllers will have access to it. They're putting in private, sound proof booths around the sides so that the hosts won't ruin the atmosphere with all that crying and complaining they do."
He followed her over to stand above the new host. "Good thing you just got a promotion. And with me working for Kas 690 I'll be able to get access into it as well. In fact that's how I got this apartment. Maybe you should move to New York?" It was an old conversation. He was always asking her to move to New York and she wanted him to move to Vegas.
The nature of his work made it so that he was traveling a lot so he ended up in Vegas a lot anyway but he was in New York more and it would have been nice to get home from one of the little errands Kas sent him on and have Sedra here.
Sedra:
"Ahh. Well she seems like a good choice." She turned her gaze from the woman, letting her eyes travel around the bare apartment. The place had that 'new house' smell that humans always seemed to like, a mixture of paint and general newness. The walls had been freshly painted since its construction, and the rooms felt cold and empty. The only thing it needed now was furniture and the like, which would be easy enough to get.
"I like it, it's very nice. Roomy," She said. They had explored the apartment a little bit once they had arrived, testing out the new things like the sink and the stove. This particular part of the condominiums had been built for human hosts, and so had all the usual human amenities.
"Mmm," She said, smoothing her hands down her jeans and listening to Jals. No matter how nice the place could be, the sound of humans whining and moaning would get annoying if they didn't put in the sound proof booths. It was hard enough having one in your head, constantly critiquing, constantly crying.
She laughed a little, "Good, they're thinking ahead. I hope they do it, it would make it much easier to live here." Then he dropped it again, asking her to move to New York. As a Gedd and Hork-Bajir, she had spent a lot of time traveling in space and around the country, fighting and killing. But since infesting Catherine, she now felt so far away from Las Vegas and the desert. Since the invasion had ended, she had always had her eye on Area 51. The scientist in her craved to work there. Sedra's host wanted to be back in Vegas because that was where her old family was, where Mark was, and her old life. During the nights, Catherine had dreams about breaking free and rescuing the rest of her family. Even after four or so years, her host still clung to the ridiculous hope of escape.
Sedra wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she wanted to stick around Jals, if he would let her. This whole thing was forbidden, the way they were with each other. It was part of what made this so dangerous if it was found out. Even more so now that she had allowed Eva to live. Having the child had been reckless, especially since she had been living with Sefren324 when it had happened. But she still felt confused. Could Yeerks really feel this way? Or was it some kind of illusion their hosts had tricked them with? Sedra refused to believe she'd been caught up in something so human. She was a Yeerk.
She didn't want to feel this way, but she missed the human infant. Her small fingers, trusting eyes. She was so young, so vulnerable--And she had been taken. The thought still made Sedra angry. Perhaps one day, when she had risen enough in the ranks, she would go and kill Sefren324 and his host. He had been the cause of Eva being sent to the Kid Farms, along with Catherine's son. Since he had found about Sedra's daughter, he seemed to think he held some superiority over her. She would teach him otherwise.
She didn't respond to Jals' question right away, letting her eyes rest on the frightened human. She was young, compared with the hosts the two of them had now. Different. Sedra's expression was hidden as she spoke, "Maybe I can pull some strings with my new rank, get them to transfer Eva here. Somehow." It wasn't exactly possible, as Sedra didn't have enough rank to do it without being suspicious. Human children were only good for their possibility of being future hosts. Most Yeerks wanted to get their old host's children out of the way as soon as possible, as the children were only burdens.
"It is nice here, in New York. And the apartment is good, you picked it well." It was a vague answer, and not quite a confirmation of whether she would or not. She wanted to be around Jals, but she wouldn't outright say it. She was still thinking she could maybe talk him into moving to Las Vegas with her, even though Kas would have him working in New York more. And, he had already gotten this apartment. It would be easy enough to transfer here if Sedra chose to, although it would mean Catherine would start fussing about it.
Thinking, she glanced at a bottle of wine on a nearby counter. It was something she had taken earlier in the day, when they had been walking around New York, enjoying the place. A furtive smile crept onto her face, "Do you want to celebrate before or after you take the female?"
Jals/Aidan:
Jals smiled. On Aidan's face the smile was playful. "Choices choices," he said looking at Sedra and then back at the young woman who would be his host from now on.
He ignored her almost answer about moving. He didn't want to push her on it and to be honest he wasn't even sure why he was doing it at all. He knew it was dangerous. Relationships were more than discouraged in the Empire, they were practically forbidden. Certainly no yeerk of worth participated in one and those found to have...'transgressed' this unspoken rule never advanced very far.
The vissers and sub-vissers would find some reason to demote them, punish them, even kill them.
And with the discovery of Eva by Sedra's nosy, interfering partner, this was all the more dangerous. And even though Sefren would not admit it, Jals knew that his actions had been out of jealousy, a fact he both cherished and hated.
But Sefren would have his day. And until then Jals and Sedra would watch Eva from afar. Jals had access to her and he was sometimes able to bring Sedra in for "experimental" purposes. But their daughter remained under lock and key and neither of them had the rank, nor ever would, to free her. There was no level, even the council of thirteen, where such a child was acceptable.
But Jals had always broken the rules and asked questions later.
"Do I get to say both?"
Sedra:
A small, fleeting smile came to her lips at his playfulness, and she followed his gaze to Luce. He seemed intent on drawing this whole process out, but Sedra was not one to complain about it. It was always fun watching humans squirm and agonize.
However, ever since he had suggested this host change, there had been a small seed of fear in Sedra. Once he took the female as a host, would he lose interest in the relationship? It was already hard enough to maintain, as their schedules became busier and further apart. As well as the fact that almost every moment could be dangerous, if found out. But the female host had no ties to Eva, and thus no ties to Sedra.
Catherine must have picked up some of what Sedra was thinking, as she interrupted Sedra's thoughts quietly, <<He's going to leave you once he infests that girl. You'll be all alone, pathetic, with some kid that could get you killed.>> Even though Sedra could tell it was another desperate attempt for sparing Aidan's life--she could see what Catherine was thinking--it was still unsettling. Besides that, Sedra knew that Catherine didn't know what she was talking about. So she did her best to ignore the comment.
It wasn't often that Sedra allowed herself to relax around others besides than Jals, as the struggle for a higher rank made most relationships among Yeerks cutthroat. Any sort of weakness was exploited. As for Sedra's host, she knew that even though Catherine felt uneasy about this whole relationship they had--seeing as how her host still felt she had ownership of her body, for some absurd reason--Catherine seemed to encourage it. Her reasoning was strange, as she thought it would somehow make Sedra treat her different. It was something, perhaps the only thing besides Eva, of course, that would cause both human and Yeerk to act less hostile towards each other. If only for a few moments.
Sedra looked up at his comment, her blue eyes rest on Jals. "Both? A little greedy, huh?" By this time Sedra had figured out human humor, and it was obvious by the tone of her voice and the smirk on her lips. Slowly, surely, she moved closer to Jals, and--if he didn't move away--slid her arms around his neck to draw him close. "But I'm sure it could be arranged." She leaned forward to place a warm kiss on his lips.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals kissed Sedra. It was always nice to hold her and he didn't think he would ever get tired of her touch. It was one of the things that most attracted him to her. Jals was constantly hopping from one amusement to another, nothing really holding his attention, except Sedra. For some reason he never grew bored around her. He didn't know why, but he valued the quality.
When the kiss ended Jals said, slightly out of breath, said, "You know I don't have a bed yet but I have a bedroom."
Sedra:
As he returned the kiss, her worries slipped away. She slid her hand up to the back of his head, soft fingers curling through his dark hair. She felt peaceful in this moment, content. Maybe even happy. She had him here, now, and it felt good. And she knew, even if it was hard to admit to herself, she had strong feelings for Jals. Enough so that she would risk this dangerous relationship to be with him.
The kiss ended and she tilted her head back, eyes resting on his. His eyes were one of her favorite features of Jals' host, along with his smile. She moved her body closer to his, enjoying his warm touch as her fingers ran through his hair. As he spoke, a sly smile curled on her lips and her expression turned playful. "Do you? Would you like to show me, then?"
Jals/Aidan:
"Right this way then."
Luce:
Good, they were gone. Luce spit out the hairpin she'd had in her mouth and got her fingers around it. She had no idea what she was doing but she'd seen this in the a movie once and she was just hoping against hope that it would work. She knew that this was her last chance to get free.
But as she tried to find some sort of hole to stick the pin in, some lock to pic, something, she began to despair. She couldn't let this happen. This wouldn't happen right? I mean-
As she struggled with the pin it dropped out of reach and Luce badly bruised her wrists lunging after it and coming up short. As she looked at her last hope for freedom sitting on the bathroom floor, two inches too far, the reality of what was about to happen to her began to settle in.
She yanked her hands down sharply, bruising her wrists more against the constraints. "No." She said fiercely, quietly. "No, no, no." Each denial of the future was accompanied by a painful straining against the bonds that held her. The pain was easier to feel than the fear.
But even she couldn't hurt herself forever. She leaned back against the wall of the bathroom. "No, please no." Her voice held the tears her eyes refused to cry.
Sedra:
It was time.
Sedra walked back towards the kitchen, where her dracon beam was resting on a counter. Catherine was pleading again, a lost voice somewhere in the back of Sedra's mind, ignored. Running her fingers over the dracon beam, she picked it up and headed to where they had handcuffed the new host. The young woman was still there, as she had expected, leaning against the wall. A small smile perked on Sedra's lips.
Slowly, in view of Luce, she placed the dracon beam on a counter. It wasn't intended for Luce, but she enjoyed seeing the human frightened. Then, Sedra noticed something small on the ground, near the new host. Some kind of pin or something. Smoothly, she bent down to pick it up. She straightened, rolling the pin between her fingers in amusement.
"What's this?" She murmured. It hadn't been there before, and it wasn't Sedra's. Maybe it had just dropped out of the female's hair or something. She placed it on the counter to throw away later, then let her eyes rest on Luce. She wasn't doing some of the usual loud wailing and begging that most humans liked to do in this sort of situation. At least, not yet. Good. Eventually that kind of stuff got really annoying.
Sedra leaned against the wall opposite of Luce, folding her arms and waiting. She wanted to get this over with, but as long as Jals wasn't here she'd have to wait. He would be in soon enough, so she had made sure everything was ready for the transfer.
Luce:
Luce watched the controller woman dispassionately, or at least feigning dispassion. The look on her face was stony and her eyes hard refusing to give them anything, a taste of the woman she would one day become.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals was looking in the mirror, savoring his last few moments as Aidan. Aidan was also looking in the mirror savoring that these were his last few moments of slavery.
Do you believe you will go to some after life human? Jals asked mockingly.
You know I don't, Aidan answered tiredly. Jals had asked him over and over again how he felt about his impeding death. He enjoyed confounding the yeerk with his acceptance of it. He knew that Jals would know the feeling one day.
You think I'll die? Jals asked, watching the direction of his thoughts.
I know you'll die yeerk. Everyone dies. He paused, and with you I think it will be especially gruesome. You make too many bets Jals, you'll lose some one day. That little affair you got out there, you think they won't find out about her Jals? I only hope you have to watch her die before you go.
Jals anger flared at his host's words. How dare he-how dare he assume so much. He, Jals' judge! The idea was laughable. And about Sedra-
You're going down eventually yeerk, so's she. Better get used to the idea.
Shut up human. You know nothing about her. He was actually letting this human get him angry. That was the worst part.
Aidan watched Jals thoughts. He almost felt sorry for the yeerk. You think you are the only person in the world to discover love? Even forbidden love? Read Romeo and Juliet sometime after you kill me. And do you think you are the only one to think it made you invincible, his voice would have been soft if it had been audible, that is part of its charm Jals, part of its power.
Jals was getting really tired of being lectured on human emotions by his host, especially because he didn't feel them. You think I fall prey to your weaknesses?
Yes. The one word was thought with such calm, sad certainty that Jals had no response. But he didn't need one.
You might want to say your goodbye's Aidan. Jals walked out of the bathroom in jeans but barefoot and bare chested. It felt right for some reason. Maybe he was being influenced by Aidan, who himself had seen one too many movies. The hero always walked into the dueling circle with bare feet and no shirt to fight the monster, or just the opponent. Who knew what it was they faced but they faced it with clear eyes and confidence.
Jals turned those eyes on Sedra. He was surprised to find how long they lingered. Aidan's words had reached him and he found himself wondering just how deep his feelings went, the feelings he hadn't thought himself capable of. But before she could notice his stare he quickly changed his expression to one more suitable, more business like. "Are you ready?"
Sedra:
Finally, Catherine had grown quiet. She had begun to realize that her pleading was getting nowhere. It was a relief for Sedra, because she didn't like having put up with it. But Sedra was hiding her own uneasiness from Catherine. Her host's previous words were still on her mind, but she didn't want Catherine picking up on it. She wouldn't hear the end of it.
As they waited, Sedra silently watched Luce with a calm interest. There was still no reaction from her, which intrigued Sedra. Even when seeing the dracon beam, the female didn't seem scared. Well, soon enough it wouldn't matter.
After a few moments, Jals finally strolled in. Sedra turned her attention away from the new host, giving Jals a quiet smile as he spoke. "I'm ready when you are," She said, pulling herself away from the wall. She headed over towards Luce, stopping beside the woman. They would be taking precautions to make sure that Aidan would not escape after wards, so there was an extra set of handcuffs nearby, waiting to be used. Ready, Sedra looked to Jals.
Jals/Aidan:
Jals nodded once, slight afraid now. If there was anyone he could trust with helping him with this unauthorized transfer it was Sedra. And once it was done Kas would cover Jals on the official side. Jals would make the case that the female was better trained for the work that Kas often assigned and that would be that.
But, after being in a host, it was scary to go back to the yeerk form where Jals could easily be crushed without ever seeing it coming. But that wouldn't happen.
He went over to the female and squatted down in front of her, balancing easily on the balls of his feet, and looked into her eyes. He saw defiance there, but it was childish, and behind it he could see the fear, the uncertainty.
Aidan spoke up, for once his tone wasn't the calm one he had used to mock Jals for the past few days. There was a shrill quality as he pleaded, not for his own life, but for her's. Please, she is young, don't do this to her. Take me ok, you can have me, I'll shut up, no more poetry, no more philosophy, no more Star Trek.
Jals took careful note of the pleading. "An interesting species this one. He is pleading for me to keep him as a host, spare her. Hork-Bajir never do that. They just fight and fight as if they are too dumb to know the meaning of the word surrender. And maybe they are. Maybe it was a blessing, and maybe intelligence is a curse. Has it not cursed the yeerks? If we had never wanted to see the stars none of this would ever have happened." Jals had taken to such thoughts. He wasn't sure if it was in his own nature to wonder so or if Aidan had affected him, but in the end it didn't matter, the result is the same.
Ignoring Aidan's pleas he went and sat down in the chair that he would be handcuffed to for the transfer. Ideally they would have had a portable pool here but since it was an unauthorized transfer he had not taken the risk of taking one out.
Sedra:
Sedra watched Jals approach the new host, her expression showing a hint of amusement. Sedra had her own experiences with Hork-Bajir before and she didn't like them as hosts. Her last host had been a Hork-Bajir male, with no real family. Or intelligence. He was good at killing and he was good at being intimidating. During the time she had infested him, he had been useful. But listening to his constant, stupid babbling was not something Sedra would like to live with. No. Catherine's body was much more fun.
"Really," Sedra said and a smirk twitched on her face. "Humans are insane, I'm not surprised." She didn't mention that Catherine had spent the last few hours pleading for Aidan's life, even knowing it was a futile cause. She paused, considering Jals' words. "I don't feel it's been a curse. If we had never dreamed of seeing the stars, we would still be stuck back on our home planet. Swimming around in sludge, bugs for the arrogant Andalites to squish under their hooves."
For a moment, she let her gaze slip around the empty apartment, to the bare walls and unused appliances. To Luce. Then dark blue eyes shifted back to Jals, and her voice grew quieter. "This planet is worth the struggle. These bodies. I'd rather be cursed and fighting than live deaf and blind for my whole life."
<<But that's all you ever will be, Sedra. Some blind slimy, disgusting slug on the ground. You're not human. You never will be.>> The anger was still present behind Catherine's words, but Sedra had expected it. Even so, her jaw clenched. It was the only outward sign that she had been bothered by her host's words.
Ignoring the jab, she watched Jals settle into the chair, then moved to to pick up the extra set of handcuffs nearby. The metal felt cold in her hand as she locked one cuff to Jals' wrist and then other to the chair. She looked into his eyes for one last time, her lips curling into a warm smile. She knew he might be nervous, and she brushed her fingertips across his cheek briefly. "Alright, let's do this."
Jals/Aidan:
Jals leaned into the touch and closed his eyes briefly but then gave a nod at her words. He closed his eyes again, Aidan's eyes, and began disconnecting from Aidan's mind. As he let go of each part of the body it went limp. Aidan hadn't used his body in so long that he no longer knew how. Added to that he knew what awaited him and didn't seem that interested in regaining control.
There was even a risky moment when Jals released his lungs that Aidan didn't breath, but the body took over that semi-involuntary function and began to breath on its own. The last thing Jals let go of was the part of the brain that controlled hearing. Most yeerks had fallen in love with sight, but it was sound and touch that fascinated Jals the most.
Finally he made his way out of Aidan's ear and had a slight sensation of falling. It wasn't really that much of a sensation since Jals was now sensory deprived, but he knew enough to know that Jals was out and in the air.
The yeerk waited for Sedra to carry it to the new host and its new life.
Sedra:
Sedra waited patiently for Jals to disengage, her hand held--palm facing up--near his ear. After a few moments she could see him emerging, and moved closer to make sure she would catch him. Once Jals was fully out, Sedra spared a glance up at Aidan. The human didn't seem to be reacting at all to his short-lived freedom. In fact, he seemed fine to just sit there and do nothing. That would make this easier.
Delicately, she held Jals in the palm of her hand. It was a sad reminder of how weak and vulnerable they were in their natural state. So small and easy to crush. As she thought this, she could feel Catherine's own thoughts underneath her own. They were filled with images of crushing Jals in their hand. As quickly as she could, Sedra pushed her host's thoughts away. It made her sick.
Knowing how unpleasant it was to be out in the cold air, Sedra quickly moved away from Aidan's chair and towards Luce. Cupping her fingers protectively around him, she knelt next to the woman. She made eye contact with Luce, her eyes hard. "Make this easier on yourself. Don't move."
Sedra's body was visibly tense, ready for Luce to try something. Luce hadn't moved or struggled through all this so far, but that didn't mean Sedra wanted surprises. From Catherine, either. The last thing she wanted to happen would be to lose control and have Catherine squeeze Jals to death. ((I hope this isn't a mod e.e)) She reached forward to try and grip Luce's hair so she could twist her head sideways, exposing her ear. She placed her other hand, still holding Jals, next to her ear so that Jals could get to safety, and to his new host.
Luce:
Luce ripped her head away from the woman's grasp. She knew what the end would be but she wasn't about to just let it happen. She had waited until Sedra was close, she would have one chance, and she took it.
As soon as her head was free she turned it back quickly and hit the woman's hand with her jaw, knocking the slug out of it. As it fell to the ground Luce tried to crush it, her knee coming down hard. But she missed it and before she could get a second chance the woman had snatched it away.
Luce screamed in frustration and no little despair. And as the controller grabbed her head again turned it, more forcefully this time, Luce fought, trying to turn her head or pull it away. Already bruised wrists were hurt for the second time that night as she pulled against the handcuffs. And they hadn't secured her feet but the controller was too close to be able to use her legs effectively.
She felt the slug touch her ear and she stopped fighting, physically at least, it was too late for that. She focused her mind, preparing to fight a battle she already knew she'd lose.
Aidan:
Aidan slowly came back to himself and opened his own eyes for the first time in years. They had tears in them.
He couldn't control much of the rest of his body yet but that was ok, he wouldn't need to. All he would need was his voice. When the time came, all he would need would be his voice.
He looked up and saw two women across from him. One was Sedra, the other was Luce. He knew the girl's name frim Jals' brief infestation of her. I'm sorry, he thought at her as she went still.
Jals/Luce:
Jals slowly opened her eyes and looked at Sedra who was still right in front of her. A familiar smile spread across her features. "Hello beautiful." The new voice was soft, but just as playful.
Sedra:
"Shit," Sedra cursed loudly. She had been ready for something like this, but it still managed to surprise her. No, no. Jals had been thrown from her hands, and immediately Sedra's heart was pounding wildly in her chest and adrenaline was pumping through her veins. Luce's attempt at crushing Jals missed, and before she could try again Sedra sprang forward to pluck Jals from the ground.
After she had gotten Jals in, she sat back from the both of them and took a deep breath, looking ruffled. It had been her luck that Catherine hadn't seized control, though Sedra knew the thought had been there. However, she was furious that Luce had even tried, and for a moment she had felt like striking the woman. But there was no need to be angry anymore, as Luce was Jals now. When Jals looked up, Sedra's anger melted away and her lips curved into a smile. "Hello."
She pulled herself up off the ground, holding up one finger. "Hold on." Moving to one of the counters, she grabbed one set of keys for the handcuffs. As she neared Aidan, she shot him a look that said you're next, before kneeling down beside Jals. Her voice was soft, "I'm sorry about that." She didn't even want to think about what would happen if Jals had been killed. Pulling Jals' wrist forward, she reached over and unlocked the handcuffs, removing them.
"There." She stood up again, handcuffs hanging from her fingers. "Would you like to do it?" As she said this, she was looking over at Aidan.
Jals/Luce:
Jals stood up rubbing her wrists. Her wrists. Jals laughed at the difference. She stretched a bit, testing everything out. It felt just as limber as she remembered. She wiped her hands on the jeans her new host had been wearing when she got captured and looked over at Sedra. Now that the transfer was successfully completed Jals was in high spirits.
Jals walked over and trailed Luce's fingers over the counter and picking up the dracon beam left there. Her fingers explored the weapon. It may be alien but the fingers still recognized a trigger when it felt one.
Which reminded Jals of the host who was oddly quiet. But Jals knew that this one could be dangerous and had no plans on giving up so easily. So why the silence?
Jals searched Luce's mind and found Luce waiting, stalking Jals, just waiting for Jals to slip, forget something and then Luce would make sure that Jals never saw the light of another day even if that meant she didn't either. The depth of patient hatred momentarily frightened the yeerk.
Jals had felt hated before by the host but Luce didn't just hate the yeerk, she was determined to wait as long as it took to see Jals dead. She hadn't even tried to fight Jals take over after the first few moments, knowing a losing battle when she saw one. She had retreated, saved her strength, and now she waited, mental eyes locked on the presence in her mind unwavering.
Do you think you will catch me unawares human?
Silence.
Jals was used to Aidan's bantering, his way of fighting back. But Luce's silence was unnerving.
No host has ever won against a yeerk.
Silence.
Jals turned its attention back to the world with annoyance and a touch of fear. The good mood of moments before was broken, a troubled look now on Luce's face.
"I," Jals looked down at the dracon beam and remembered how natural having a weapon in hand had felt. From her mind Jals felt one brief flash of joy as Luce perceived the yeerk's fear but even that was gone so quickly it was as if it had never been. Jals felt like it was in a very small cage with a tiger and the tiger was hungry. She had no fear that the host could be broken eventually. But maybe now was not the best time to be handling fire arms.
"You can if you'd like," Jals said holding the weapon out to Sedra.
Sedra:
With a quiet smile on her face Sedra watched Jals stand up, enjoying her new body. It cheered Sedra to know Jals was happy with the change of hosts. She placed the handcuffs and key back on the counter, then glanced over as Jals grabbed the dracon beam. Deep down, she could feel Catherine's agitation. This was the moment her host had been dreading the whole night, the moment she had been fighting against. And still, her host would not give up.
<<He's Eva's father, Sedra. Please.>>
Sedra's eyes settled on Aidan. He was sitting there, doing nothing. She wondered if the handcuffs had even been necessary, if he would have even tried to run. If he even could at this point. He hadn't struggled or spoken at all since being free. It was pathetic.
Jals' voice--now sounding like Luce's--caught Sedra's attention. She noticed the strange look, and glanced down at the dracon beam. "You are sure?" She had expected Jals to want to do the honors. But she was fine doing it herself.
Sedra reached her hand forward to grab the dracon beam. Then she froze, muscles tense. Catherine was fighting her, trying to pull their hand away from the dracon beam in a sad attempt to stop her. Sedra's lip twitched in irritation. After a few moments, she clamped control down on Catherine and her hand closed around the dracon beam.
"Alright." Her expression--brief annoyance--was gone, replaced by a smirk. Slowly, she made her way to Aidan's chair, playing with the dracon beam in her hands and watching him. When she was close enough, she paused. Then she leaned forward, pushing the dracon beam against his heart, finger on the trigger. "You ready to die, human?"
Aidan:
Aidan tried to sit up in the chair he was handcuffed to but it was so hard to use the body that had not really been his own in so long. Still, after a bit of struggle he managed it and sat up and looked Sedra and Jals in the eye.
He had planned on making a speech, one final speech to end his life. MacBeth had come to mind.
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
This would be his last hour upon the stage and as far as Aidan could see it had all meant nothing. But call it sentimental, wistful, desultory, or naive (he felt at the end of his life he was allowed such things), Aidan didn't want to die in such hopelessness. He wanted there to be some spark, some hope that made it all mean something.
"Love Aidan, always end with love, the audience loves love,' a teacher of his had once told him. But what was there to love here, who? The girl who would suffer his fate and more? The woman who already was? Or the two yeerks, their jailers, their slave masters? He couldn't bring himself to love Jals and Sedra, even at the end, he couldn't love them and he couldn't forgive.
But he could hope. Hope that someday, something would change them, maybe something already was for wasn't he here?
He laughed, the sound harsh in his throat, containing so much pain, hopelessness and despair that it shouldn't even be called a laugh at all. "You love each other." He pronounced each word clearly as he had been taught and each one fell into the silence of the room, gaining power instead of losing it as it echoed off the blank walls. "And may it damn you."
Sedra:
To her surprise, Aidan began to move in his seat. With her finger still resting on the trigger, she adjusted to his movements. He seemed like he was going to talk, and she was feeling curious now. As he locked his eyes with her, she met his gaze full on, a touch of amusement present. The dracon beam was still pushed harshly against his chest.
"You love each other. And may it damn you."
For a moment Sedra didn't know how to react. She hadn't expected that, or even wanted to hear it. Not from him. The word 'love' had never been spoken between the two Yeerks. Sedra was frightened of the word, frightened of its implications. It was absurd. A Yeerk, loving someone? It was a purely human emotion. It was dangerous. But she was trapped in it, and she knew it.
Suddenly, the air in the room felt like it was heavy, enveloping, silence ringing in her ears. Her expression had turned quiet and she broke her gaze from his, looking to Jals. No longer Aidan's face, but Luce's.
Then, slowly, her thoughts crowded back, and she felt anger bubbling up. How dare he? She turned to look Aidan full in the face, dark blue eyes intense. Without another word, she pulled the trigger.