Post by dexter on Sept 30, 2009 22:52:25 GMT -5
Dean:
So, uh, this pretty much sucks, Thought Dean as he stood in a ruined alley way a couple blocks from Sunset Blvd, three Human-Controllers leveling Dracon beams at him.
"I'll ask you one more time", spat one of the more stocky Controllers, "how did you get out of your holding cell? All Yeerkless Humans are supposed to be detained before infestation."
Dean stood there, stupidly holding his hands up, trying to think his way out of his predicament. Ok,ok, calm down Archer. You've been in situations just as bad as this before. Remember those Hork- Bajir who tried to turn you into deli meat? You got away from them, didn't you?
Yes, Argued Dean, But I KNEW that those Blue Bands were coming. I was able to set up a trap which consisted of them getting all blowed up.A stray thought went through Dean's head pertaining to the health of arguing with yourself, but payed it no mind. The alien slugs with the intimidating flashlights had the majority of his attention.
Dean cleared hid throat and chose his next words carefully.
" My name is Dean Archer. Im a 20 year old Virgo who has a taste for detecting. So much in fact, that I found out about you things before the invasion" Dean left out the part that it was the day before the invasion." For the past three years I've been searching the planet for a way to kill all your people and end this war. My home was Tanic,Texas-or more commonly known as ground zero to you slugs" Dean said with a flat look to the controllers.
The Controllers for their part were a little dumbstruck at the bold Human in front of them. Struck enough that they let him continue. "And now you have been outsmarted by a lowly human. Because while you've been listening to me ramble, I rolled that underneath you." Said the detective with a smile and a point.
The Controllers looked down in time to see a Flashbang Gernade go off under their matching slacks.
Dean had just started to bolt away when he saw a horde of Taxxons coming his way. He shifted his weight and ran in the other direction.
...At least he tried to. It seemed that the Controllers had Freinds. Twenty or thirty freinds.
"Oh Shit".
Matt:
Fortunately for Archer at this time, someone had his back. Temporarily back in town before the faction leader meeting, Matthew had come into town to contact Tess about settling Martha into Union. He wanted to make sure that plan was at least underway when he left for New York. Meredith and the rest of the faction could complete the transfer, but he figured making sure it was ready would keep his mind off other things.
Matt had just popped up, running out of sewer tunnel that would take him to the mansion the L.A. faction called home. He just hadn't expect to run into this. This Dean Archer guy was really in a pickle, though nothing a little Animorph muscle couldn't solve. That statement was especially true when the muscle in question was a Siberian tiger morph. The changes were already underway as soon as the grenade went off and another few minutes saw Matthew transformed from the young, human male to the large feline form.
He roared, a sound that would probably frighten all in the alley including Archer, but fortunately Archer could be scared and not have to worry long. The controller wouldn't be so lucky as the mass of black and orange fur came barreling out of it's hiding place. A few taxxons and humans that stood in his way weren't very lucky. Matthew didn't enjoy killing, but when it came to his life or theirs he hoped that sin would be forgiven.
He paused, pacing as the controllers were now distracted with the larger threat Matt posed. <<Dean Archer, if that's really your name>> he sent to the human. <<If you mean what you say about finding a way to fight them, then you might be interested in what I have to offer. I just need you to trust me, that I'll explain all of this once we're not in a fight. Can you do that?>>
Dean:
Yeah sure,thought Dean,like I have any other choice
Dean rested his hands on the holsters concealed underneath his coat. "Whatever you say Tigger."
The tiger kept pacing, but sent << Can you fight?>>
An old smirk cracked Dean's face. "Always."
With that the tiger became an orange and black blur, streaking over to the remaining Taxxons. Dean rolled behind a dilapidated VW bus, drawing his modified 9mm. Glocks, and took aim.
"I've got two clips left!" Shouted Dean, "Assuming I hit almost every time I fire, I can take half of the Controllers!"He ducked his head down just as a beam from one of the Controllers Whizzed past his ear with a loud TSSSEWW.
Tigger replied by tearing one of the Taxxons apart. The rest of the brood took to cleaning up the mess. The jungle cat then bounded to the back of the squad of Controllers, ripping and slashing to the sounds of Dracon beams.
Dean worked in a steady, familiar rhythm: aim, shoot, exhale, aim shoot and exhale. With one Pistol in each hand, one under his right eye and the other outstretched, he gunned down five Controllers in the time it took Tony the Tiger to make his way through the back.
Show-off,thought Dean wit a smirk.
"Ok Tony, We need to vamoose, pronto. Got any ideas?"
Once again, without any words, the Tiger vaulted down into a nearby sewer and out of sight. Dean followed, not to picky about the escape route, no matter how much it was going to reek.
Matt:
Matt chuckled at being called Tigger, a mental laugh that was maybe a little cockier than Matt really felt right now. The tiger always gave Matt a sense of power and calm, like he could do anything. It was very heady and he tried to be careful using the form.
<<Can you fight?>> He sent to Archer. With the number of controllers there were, Matt wasn't going to handle them all himself. Besides, he couldn't fight and count on Dean to stay on his back. Even if he'd been in his horse morph which was a little better suited for passengers he be likely to lose Dean and that could have deadly results.
Dean responded with a positive and Matt charged the controllers. He needed to get the taxxons, from the sound of it Dean had a weapon of some sort, but he'd only get a few of the controllers. Still, he'd do better with those than the large alien's and Matt's conscience didn't bother him as much with the death of the alien. Ignorance of what the species was really like made him a little less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt... sadly.
After taking out one taxxon he left the rest to clean up the mess, the single attack causing a feeding frenzy that reminded Matt of his first experience with the aliens. Back then I didn't know anything at all. Look at me now. So different from the person Lex and Raven rescued and yet still the same boy. But it was best not to focus on the past now.
The fight continued, Matt clawing and biting at controllers while there were gunshots and dracon blasts around him. When Matt made his way to the end of the alley he looked back at Dean as if to ask if he was coming. The other male's response was to point out that they needed to leave. Smart kid. Looks like I'll have to take a slightly long way back to the mansion to keep him safe.We could use him.
Matt turned and launched himself down the nearby sewer entry. He hadn't left this one open, it was just some of them no longer had covers. They were the less safe entrances since the Animorphs lost the element of surprise, but right now beggars couldn't be choosers. <<Come on Dean. Once we're down here we'll be safe and I can explain things.>> Then as an afterthought he added, <<By the way, my name is Matthew.>>
Dean:
Of course the tiger has a name, thought an adrenaline pumped Dean as he labored down the ladder into the old man-hole. It makes sense.....Well, just as much sence as everything else these days. Dean looked down at Tigg- *ahem* Matthew, who was already down at the bottom waiting. Dean gave the Tiger a flat look and decided just to jump down. He landed on his feet, but into a pile of... well lets just say "muck". With a disgruntled squish Dean's behind met the disturbingly soft concrete of the sewer.
"Should've seen that one coming." Grumbled Dean with a sigh. He hauled himself up off the cultures of gunk on the ground and onto his now soggy Converse.
Dean looked over at Matthew. "Not a word", said Dean, pointing at the feline.
Dean readjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder, " So...Uh...Thanks and all but...Who are you exactly?
Matt:
Matthew watched Archer land on his butt after jumping off the ladder. If a tiger could wear an amused grin, he would have. As it was, he decided to be nice and not say anything like Dean asked. Now came the interesting part, explaining the Animorphs to him. He already seemed to know everything about the yeerks from that little speech in the alley, which was probably good since it meant a little less work for Matt. Explaining the yeerks was always the hardest part.
Standing in the dim light from the opening Matt simply said, <<Watch.>> He focused on his human self. The tiger began to dwindle in size. Large paws became the hands and feet of an eighteen year old male. The tail shrank into his spine as his ears shifted back where they belong. Orange, black, and white fur receded and vanished. It was replaced by light-brown hair, lightly-tanned skin, and a black skin tight morphing suit. In the course of two or three minutes the tiger had turned into a human boy.
"As I said before," Matt said standing up, "my name is Matthew. I'm the leader of a group called the Animorphs. One of many leaders actually. There are factions of us in major cities all across the country fight the yeerks the same way I just did, by turning into animals. Morphing allows us many advantages over the yeerks. We can spy as bugs, fight as larger animals, change into other people to hide our true identity, and even heal damage done to our body because morphing only replicates that which is in our DNA."
This speech was different from what he'd given other people, but with Dean there was no explaining the yeerks so he jumped straight to the chase of explaining the Animorphs and trying to recruit Dean to the cause. "We are the largest threat standing between the yeerks and taking over the world." It wasn't to say humans without morphing power didn't stand in the way, but the yeerks viewed the Animorphs as the largest threat.
"Of course there are rules to morphing. We can't stay in a form aside from our normal one longer than two hours, and in order to change from one animal to another we need to return to our human form first. Still, what I offer is simple. You can become one of us, part of our team, and with that you get this power and you get to fight back against the yeerks." There was more though, and Matt knew the price all to well. He didn't know how close to home this next information would hit Dean.
"There is a price, as with everything. In this war it's kill or be killed, something I myself hate seeing as the controllers are merely humans controlled by yeerks. Trapped in their heads and fully aware of what is happening to them. To kill the yeerk, we kill the innocent person as well. But Animorphs have also died for the fight. Many I have known personally, as well as an entire faction almost annihilated in Dallas, Texas due to the yeerk-made virus released there." He glanced down for a moment, not wanting to show Dean that there was pain in losing that fight and losing the friends Matt had in this war. "This is a war, and just like ever other war we risk our very lives fighting it and some have payed that ultimate price. You can join us, but if not I know of somewhere safe you can go. I can take you either way from here. Which will it be?"
Dean:
Dean stood there quietly as the Tiger slowly became a boy, not much younger than himself. He kept all expression from his face when Matt explained the Animorphs and the war they fought. One not so different from the one he had been trying to fight for three years. He couldn't help himself when he talked about Dallas though. He looked away when Matt did, regret aching at his insides. When the proposition came up to join them, Dean let silence reign for a moment.
"Before I make my decision", Dean began,"I need you to understand something." He paused to gather his words.
"Back before the invasion, I lived in Texas- not far away from Dallas actually- In a small town called Tanic ,as you probably heard up top. It was a good place to grow up in. Clean streets, low crime rate, good schools, an all around American town."
" But, as always in such places, shit happened. When it did, I always seemed to be somewhere in the middle trying to sort it out. Most of the time I did, but not without some collateral damage of course", Dean said with a weak smirk."But then things changed. People changed, and things just started to feel....off . So i started digging. What I found was The Sharing, and the Yeerks. That happened the day before the invasion. Not enough time to do anything but figure out that they were coming to kill me. I escaped, but not without sacrificing my freedom." Dean's hand absently moved to his collarbone, where one of the many scars the Hork-Bajir left him with lay. " I could never go back to the only place i knew as home until i found a way to beat them. So i left- no I ran. I ran all over the world searching. Africa. Monks in the Himalayas. Nothing for three years. When I finally came back, I found what you now know as Texas. Desolate. Ruined. Dead."
"I promised myself and all of those people who died-or worse- because of my mistake that I would make Them pay for what they had done." Dean looked up at Matthew, his face a mixture of guilt and pain, "No matter what it took."
They sat there in the dank, mildew-filled tunnel, the silence stretching on between them. Dean unclenched his now sweaty hands. He didn't even realize he had moved.
Finally Dean spoke. "What I need you to understand Matthew is that I will join you, I'll finally fight in this war, but when the time comes, I'm going to avenge Texas."
Matt:
Matt considered Dean's words as he spoke, waiting until the other finished what he was saying to determine how to react. Dean wanted revenge, but didn't everyone? The yeerks had changed everyone's life and they just wanted to get that life back. If that was impossible then it meant getting revenge for what they could never get back. It was human nature.
"I can deal with that," Matt said after thinking for a moment. "But I want you to understand that when the time comes, getting that revenge won't be easy. Any of the yeerks responsible for this died in Dallas and the Animorphs didn't set lose the virus that did this. The members from Dallas who did survive are as much victims as you are." Matt didn't want to say what would happen if Dean disregarded that statement and killed a Dallas Animorph. It potentially meant meeting the same fate the controllers Matt had just fought had met.
"Getting revenge, I'll leave that to you. For now, follow me. We need to cover a little ground before we come up and head to the L.A. faction hideout. Can't be found too close to the scene of the fight by the yeerks. Not now that they have a giant lazer hovering over our heads." With that he turned and headed into the darkness of the tunnel. It was up to Dean whether he followed or didn't.
Dean:
Dean stood there for a heartbeat while Matt walked away. He thought about all that he had been taught on his travels.How to fight-and more improtantly- why, and the controll and will to live with yourself after the fact. He thought about all the good people that had helped him find his way back to where he needed to be.
It was right here.
Dean took a step forward, and every step after that was a bit easyer.
He followed Matthew for a time, ambient noises and clatters drifting listlessly overhead- echoing through the long swers. Then Dean stoped. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper.
"It's not about revenge...." Archer trailed off, trying to find the right words. " Its.........Ive seen what happend to the world when the Invasion began. There was no warning. No plan. They attacked us for no reason. They started this war because they thought that they could win- that they could take this world without a fight..... If nothing else, im going to make them regret taking so much away from us............. Count me in Matt-were do i sign?
Matt:
Matt smiled as he heard the words from Dean. It couldn't be seen in the darkness, but it was there all the same. He had known Dean had started to follow him, and had just wondered if the whole trip would be in silence or if someone would break it. Matt had almost been ready to when Dean had spoken, and now he had a reason to speak.
"You basically have signed. There's a brief initiation of sorts, and then you're in. What I mean by initiation is we have to watch you for three days to make sure you're not a controller. I trust you and I'm fairly certain you're free, but we can't be too careful with the morphing power. The yeerks would kill to get their hands on it." And unfortunately, when Matt said they'd kill to get it he meant literally. The only thing stopping the yeerks was the fact that the Animorphs had kept their location a secret as of yet.
"After the three days you get the morphing power and your first morphs. During the three days you'll probably get plenty of chances to meet the rest of the team. I'll remind Mitch to be in morph if he's watching you, though he tends to go around morphed a lot anyways. He's deaf so he can only hear you if he's in morph or if you're in morph speaking thought-speech. That's how I was talking to you when I was morphed tiger."
He stopped finally next to a ladder. "We go up here. It should be far enough away from the scene of the fight." He started up, turning back to add, "By the way, have you ever ridden a horse? If so I can get us back to the hideout a lot quicker."
Dean:
Dean withheld a smart ass remark about being from Texas. He instead just smiled and said, " Yeah, I think I can figure out where to put my hands."
He followed Matt up the stairs and out of the dank blackness of the sewer. Dean was not going to be to fond of being held captive for three days, but then again, it wasn't the first time it had happened. His now Friends and comrades in Africa had not only imprisoned him, but beat, interrogated, and nearly starved Dean before their leader, Darell Solomon, had come back.
Dean had laughed at them the whole while.
The pair came out to an avenue by the old tar pits, the broken remains of Capitol Records in the background.
"So, where to now?"
Matt:
Matt surfaced into the city and glanced around. They had certainly gone far enough. Now he just had to get his bearings to get them back to the mansion. He'd kept referring to it as a hideout, so who knows what Dean would expect. Probably not what he'd find when he and Matt finally arrived at the L.A. Faction's home base.
Dean surfaced next to him and asked where they went now. "Our base is in the remnants of Beverly Hills. We used to live further out of town, but the faction size got to big for the cabin we had. That and that hideout was almost compromised so we decided it was time to move." Matt was kind of stalling until he found where he was headed. Finally he got it figured out in his head. Technically he'd only been in this city a year, so you couldn't expect instant navigation.
"We go this way," he said, but he didn't point. He remained facing the direction they needed to travel as he began to morph again. Dean had seen him change back from tiger in the dim sewer. Now he was getting the full effect of the palomino morph in bright daylight. Matt's hair always seemed to grow out into the mane first, then he bulked to a few times his human size. His face stretched, a tail sprouted, and hands and feet hardened into hooves. After three minutes he was in the form that was getting to be oddly familiar after a year of using it.
<<Hop on,>> Matt said as he turned his horse head to glance back at Dean. <<This will get us back there a little faster than anything I could use to lead you there.>>
Dean:
Dean stared with a hand on his chin, not saying a thing as the resistance leader began to change once again. It wasn't particularly graceful, and the noises where gruesome, but Archer couldn't help but be fascinated. This time, Matt became a horse- mane and all.
<<Hop on>>, not-spoke the horse.
Dean scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "This is gonna take some getting used to." He walked up to Matt's flank, throwing a leg over one side, straddling his back.
He regretted it immediately.
Dean groaned painfully, resisting the urge to grasp what had been hurt. If for nothing else, to check to see that they were still there. "If my life were a movie, I would be speaking falsetto right now", he gasped. A bubble popped for the tar pit.
Dean sighed, "The movie of my life must be really low budget. But I digress, HIGH HO SILVER AWAY!!"
Matt:
Matt would have smiled at Dean's comment about morphing taking some getting used to. Seemed like that was the common thought with everyone, and it was only odder when you were the one changing rather than watching someone else change. However, two things stopped the reaction. Number one was the horse wasn't capable of that expression. Number two would be the groan when Dean landed on Matt's back.
<<You okay?>> Matt asked, but the response came before he'd even finished the question. Obviously the new recruit was in pain, and Matt was rather sympathetic. <<Sadly I don't think riding me back is going to help that much.>>
"The movie of my life must be really low budget. But I digress, HIGH HO SILVER AWAY!!" And with that Matt took off toward the mansion that housed the L.A. faction.
They reached it far quicker than they would have on foot. Matt wished he could see Dean's face and gauge his reaction as he turned up the drive that lead to the mansion. <<I don't think you expected a four floor mansion to be where we hide out, but as long as the yeerks keep thinking it's rundown and abandoned no one is going to know we're here.>>
Dean:
"Holy Shit."
Dean's eyebrows hit his hair as Matt rounded the curb to the driveway. He was expecting a dilapidated building, something inconspicuous. You know, low key.
Yeah, not so much.
He listened to Matt talk, not really paying any attention. This will be a nice change,thought Archer. From sleeping in a different place every night to the African refugee bunker, to the maze of caves in the Himalayas to this. Not too shabby.
All Dean said out loud was a neutral, unconcerned "Nice."
Matt:
<<Yeah, it is nice. Personally I sometimes miss our old hideout, but that was getting to be a bit small with the size factions were getting.>> Plus they'd thought it had been compromised as a safe place, but in the end the mansion had things that the Haunt didn't. It had more space. It had more than one bathroom. There were just some things about having a large faction that were much easier to deal with here than back in the Haunt.
Matt made his way up to the front porch of the mansion, stopping as he did. <<Well, this is it. Inside should be everyone aside from that one of the members is in morph patrolling somewhere. Not sure if I remember who, but people are good about taking their shift so I don't usually have to worry.>> Meaningless small talk if nothing else as he waited for Dean to climb off so he could demorph. As much as Matt liked being in morph, it was always nice to be human again.
Dean:
Dean launched himself off the back of his new employer, landing in a crouch. He was glad that at least this time he didn't slip and fall on his ass. "Shiny", said Dean,as he stood up, "I'm gonna go find something to try and get whatever I fell in back in the sewer off. It's really starting to stink." He dusted himself off, being cvarefull to stay away from any wet spots. He didn't even want to think about all the things that were on the coat right now.
And with thoughts of his new life in the Animorph Resistance and the fights that laid ahead, Dean Archer took his first step into his new home.
So, uh, this pretty much sucks, Thought Dean as he stood in a ruined alley way a couple blocks from Sunset Blvd, three Human-Controllers leveling Dracon beams at him.
"I'll ask you one more time", spat one of the more stocky Controllers, "how did you get out of your holding cell? All Yeerkless Humans are supposed to be detained before infestation."
Dean stood there, stupidly holding his hands up, trying to think his way out of his predicament. Ok,ok, calm down Archer. You've been in situations just as bad as this before. Remember those Hork- Bajir who tried to turn you into deli meat? You got away from them, didn't you?
Yes, Argued Dean, But I KNEW that those Blue Bands were coming. I was able to set up a trap which consisted of them getting all blowed up.A stray thought went through Dean's head pertaining to the health of arguing with yourself, but payed it no mind. The alien slugs with the intimidating flashlights had the majority of his attention.
Dean cleared hid throat and chose his next words carefully.
" My name is Dean Archer. Im a 20 year old Virgo who has a taste for detecting. So much in fact, that I found out about you things before the invasion" Dean left out the part that it was the day before the invasion." For the past three years I've been searching the planet for a way to kill all your people and end this war. My home was Tanic,Texas-or more commonly known as ground zero to you slugs" Dean said with a flat look to the controllers.
The Controllers for their part were a little dumbstruck at the bold Human in front of them. Struck enough that they let him continue. "And now you have been outsmarted by a lowly human. Because while you've been listening to me ramble, I rolled that underneath you." Said the detective with a smile and a point.
The Controllers looked down in time to see a Flashbang Gernade go off under their matching slacks.
Dean had just started to bolt away when he saw a horde of Taxxons coming his way. He shifted his weight and ran in the other direction.
...At least he tried to. It seemed that the Controllers had Freinds. Twenty or thirty freinds.
"Oh Shit".
Matt:
Fortunately for Archer at this time, someone had his back. Temporarily back in town before the faction leader meeting, Matthew had come into town to contact Tess about settling Martha into Union. He wanted to make sure that plan was at least underway when he left for New York. Meredith and the rest of the faction could complete the transfer, but he figured making sure it was ready would keep his mind off other things.
Matt had just popped up, running out of sewer tunnel that would take him to the mansion the L.A. faction called home. He just hadn't expect to run into this. This Dean Archer guy was really in a pickle, though nothing a little Animorph muscle couldn't solve. That statement was especially true when the muscle in question was a Siberian tiger morph. The changes were already underway as soon as the grenade went off and another few minutes saw Matthew transformed from the young, human male to the large feline form.
He roared, a sound that would probably frighten all in the alley including Archer, but fortunately Archer could be scared and not have to worry long. The controller wouldn't be so lucky as the mass of black and orange fur came barreling out of it's hiding place. A few taxxons and humans that stood in his way weren't very lucky. Matthew didn't enjoy killing, but when it came to his life or theirs he hoped that sin would be forgiven.
He paused, pacing as the controllers were now distracted with the larger threat Matt posed. <<Dean Archer, if that's really your name>> he sent to the human. <<If you mean what you say about finding a way to fight them, then you might be interested in what I have to offer. I just need you to trust me, that I'll explain all of this once we're not in a fight. Can you do that?>>
Dean:
Yeah sure,thought Dean,like I have any other choice
Dean rested his hands on the holsters concealed underneath his coat. "Whatever you say Tigger."
The tiger kept pacing, but sent << Can you fight?>>
An old smirk cracked Dean's face. "Always."
With that the tiger became an orange and black blur, streaking over to the remaining Taxxons. Dean rolled behind a dilapidated VW bus, drawing his modified 9mm. Glocks, and took aim.
"I've got two clips left!" Shouted Dean, "Assuming I hit almost every time I fire, I can take half of the Controllers!"He ducked his head down just as a beam from one of the Controllers Whizzed past his ear with a loud TSSSEWW.
Tigger replied by tearing one of the Taxxons apart. The rest of the brood took to cleaning up the mess. The jungle cat then bounded to the back of the squad of Controllers, ripping and slashing to the sounds of Dracon beams.
Dean worked in a steady, familiar rhythm: aim, shoot, exhale, aim shoot and exhale. With one Pistol in each hand, one under his right eye and the other outstretched, he gunned down five Controllers in the time it took Tony the Tiger to make his way through the back.
Show-off,thought Dean wit a smirk.
"Ok Tony, We need to vamoose, pronto. Got any ideas?"
Once again, without any words, the Tiger vaulted down into a nearby sewer and out of sight. Dean followed, not to picky about the escape route, no matter how much it was going to reek.
Matt:
Matt chuckled at being called Tigger, a mental laugh that was maybe a little cockier than Matt really felt right now. The tiger always gave Matt a sense of power and calm, like he could do anything. It was very heady and he tried to be careful using the form.
<<Can you fight?>> He sent to Archer. With the number of controllers there were, Matt wasn't going to handle them all himself. Besides, he couldn't fight and count on Dean to stay on his back. Even if he'd been in his horse morph which was a little better suited for passengers he be likely to lose Dean and that could have deadly results.
Dean responded with a positive and Matt charged the controllers. He needed to get the taxxons, from the sound of it Dean had a weapon of some sort, but he'd only get a few of the controllers. Still, he'd do better with those than the large alien's and Matt's conscience didn't bother him as much with the death of the alien. Ignorance of what the species was really like made him a little less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt... sadly.
After taking out one taxxon he left the rest to clean up the mess, the single attack causing a feeding frenzy that reminded Matt of his first experience with the aliens. Back then I didn't know anything at all. Look at me now. So different from the person Lex and Raven rescued and yet still the same boy. But it was best not to focus on the past now.
The fight continued, Matt clawing and biting at controllers while there were gunshots and dracon blasts around him. When Matt made his way to the end of the alley he looked back at Dean as if to ask if he was coming. The other male's response was to point out that they needed to leave. Smart kid. Looks like I'll have to take a slightly long way back to the mansion to keep him safe.We could use him.
Matt turned and launched himself down the nearby sewer entry. He hadn't left this one open, it was just some of them no longer had covers. They were the less safe entrances since the Animorphs lost the element of surprise, but right now beggars couldn't be choosers. <<Come on Dean. Once we're down here we'll be safe and I can explain things.>> Then as an afterthought he added, <<By the way, my name is Matthew.>>
Dean:
Of course the tiger has a name, thought an adrenaline pumped Dean as he labored down the ladder into the old man-hole. It makes sense.....Well, just as much sence as everything else these days. Dean looked down at Tigg- *ahem* Matthew, who was already down at the bottom waiting. Dean gave the Tiger a flat look and decided just to jump down. He landed on his feet, but into a pile of... well lets just say "muck". With a disgruntled squish Dean's behind met the disturbingly soft concrete of the sewer.
"Should've seen that one coming." Grumbled Dean with a sigh. He hauled himself up off the cultures of gunk on the ground and onto his now soggy Converse.
Dean looked over at Matthew. "Not a word", said Dean, pointing at the feline.
Dean readjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder, " So...Uh...Thanks and all but...Who are you exactly?
Matt:
Matthew watched Archer land on his butt after jumping off the ladder. If a tiger could wear an amused grin, he would have. As it was, he decided to be nice and not say anything like Dean asked. Now came the interesting part, explaining the Animorphs to him. He already seemed to know everything about the yeerks from that little speech in the alley, which was probably good since it meant a little less work for Matt. Explaining the yeerks was always the hardest part.
Standing in the dim light from the opening Matt simply said, <<Watch.>> He focused on his human self. The tiger began to dwindle in size. Large paws became the hands and feet of an eighteen year old male. The tail shrank into his spine as his ears shifted back where they belong. Orange, black, and white fur receded and vanished. It was replaced by light-brown hair, lightly-tanned skin, and a black skin tight morphing suit. In the course of two or three minutes the tiger had turned into a human boy.
"As I said before," Matt said standing up, "my name is Matthew. I'm the leader of a group called the Animorphs. One of many leaders actually. There are factions of us in major cities all across the country fight the yeerks the same way I just did, by turning into animals. Morphing allows us many advantages over the yeerks. We can spy as bugs, fight as larger animals, change into other people to hide our true identity, and even heal damage done to our body because morphing only replicates that which is in our DNA."
This speech was different from what he'd given other people, but with Dean there was no explaining the yeerks so he jumped straight to the chase of explaining the Animorphs and trying to recruit Dean to the cause. "We are the largest threat standing between the yeerks and taking over the world." It wasn't to say humans without morphing power didn't stand in the way, but the yeerks viewed the Animorphs as the largest threat.
"Of course there are rules to morphing. We can't stay in a form aside from our normal one longer than two hours, and in order to change from one animal to another we need to return to our human form first. Still, what I offer is simple. You can become one of us, part of our team, and with that you get this power and you get to fight back against the yeerks." There was more though, and Matt knew the price all to well. He didn't know how close to home this next information would hit Dean.
"There is a price, as with everything. In this war it's kill or be killed, something I myself hate seeing as the controllers are merely humans controlled by yeerks. Trapped in their heads and fully aware of what is happening to them. To kill the yeerk, we kill the innocent person as well. But Animorphs have also died for the fight. Many I have known personally, as well as an entire faction almost annihilated in Dallas, Texas due to the yeerk-made virus released there." He glanced down for a moment, not wanting to show Dean that there was pain in losing that fight and losing the friends Matt had in this war. "This is a war, and just like ever other war we risk our very lives fighting it and some have payed that ultimate price. You can join us, but if not I know of somewhere safe you can go. I can take you either way from here. Which will it be?"
Dean:
Dean stood there quietly as the Tiger slowly became a boy, not much younger than himself. He kept all expression from his face when Matt explained the Animorphs and the war they fought. One not so different from the one he had been trying to fight for three years. He couldn't help himself when he talked about Dallas though. He looked away when Matt did, regret aching at his insides. When the proposition came up to join them, Dean let silence reign for a moment.
"Before I make my decision", Dean began,"I need you to understand something." He paused to gather his words.
"Back before the invasion, I lived in Texas- not far away from Dallas actually- In a small town called Tanic ,as you probably heard up top. It was a good place to grow up in. Clean streets, low crime rate, good schools, an all around American town."
" But, as always in such places, shit happened. When it did, I always seemed to be somewhere in the middle trying to sort it out. Most of the time I did, but not without some collateral damage of course", Dean said with a weak smirk."But then things changed. People changed, and things just started to feel....off . So i started digging. What I found was The Sharing, and the Yeerks. That happened the day before the invasion. Not enough time to do anything but figure out that they were coming to kill me. I escaped, but not without sacrificing my freedom." Dean's hand absently moved to his collarbone, where one of the many scars the Hork-Bajir left him with lay. " I could never go back to the only place i knew as home until i found a way to beat them. So i left- no I ran. I ran all over the world searching. Africa. Monks in the Himalayas. Nothing for three years. When I finally came back, I found what you now know as Texas. Desolate. Ruined. Dead."
"I promised myself and all of those people who died-or worse- because of my mistake that I would make Them pay for what they had done." Dean looked up at Matthew, his face a mixture of guilt and pain, "No matter what it took."
They sat there in the dank, mildew-filled tunnel, the silence stretching on between them. Dean unclenched his now sweaty hands. He didn't even realize he had moved.
Finally Dean spoke. "What I need you to understand Matthew is that I will join you, I'll finally fight in this war, but when the time comes, I'm going to avenge Texas."
Matt:
Matt considered Dean's words as he spoke, waiting until the other finished what he was saying to determine how to react. Dean wanted revenge, but didn't everyone? The yeerks had changed everyone's life and they just wanted to get that life back. If that was impossible then it meant getting revenge for what they could never get back. It was human nature.
"I can deal with that," Matt said after thinking for a moment. "But I want you to understand that when the time comes, getting that revenge won't be easy. Any of the yeerks responsible for this died in Dallas and the Animorphs didn't set lose the virus that did this. The members from Dallas who did survive are as much victims as you are." Matt didn't want to say what would happen if Dean disregarded that statement and killed a Dallas Animorph. It potentially meant meeting the same fate the controllers Matt had just fought had met.
"Getting revenge, I'll leave that to you. For now, follow me. We need to cover a little ground before we come up and head to the L.A. faction hideout. Can't be found too close to the scene of the fight by the yeerks. Not now that they have a giant lazer hovering over our heads." With that he turned and headed into the darkness of the tunnel. It was up to Dean whether he followed or didn't.
Dean:
Dean stood there for a heartbeat while Matt walked away. He thought about all that he had been taught on his travels.How to fight-and more improtantly- why, and the controll and will to live with yourself after the fact. He thought about all the good people that had helped him find his way back to where he needed to be.
It was right here.
Dean took a step forward, and every step after that was a bit easyer.
He followed Matthew for a time, ambient noises and clatters drifting listlessly overhead- echoing through the long swers. Then Dean stoped. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper.
"It's not about revenge...." Archer trailed off, trying to find the right words. " Its.........Ive seen what happend to the world when the Invasion began. There was no warning. No plan. They attacked us for no reason. They started this war because they thought that they could win- that they could take this world without a fight..... If nothing else, im going to make them regret taking so much away from us............. Count me in Matt-were do i sign?
Matt:
Matt smiled as he heard the words from Dean. It couldn't be seen in the darkness, but it was there all the same. He had known Dean had started to follow him, and had just wondered if the whole trip would be in silence or if someone would break it. Matt had almost been ready to when Dean had spoken, and now he had a reason to speak.
"You basically have signed. There's a brief initiation of sorts, and then you're in. What I mean by initiation is we have to watch you for three days to make sure you're not a controller. I trust you and I'm fairly certain you're free, but we can't be too careful with the morphing power. The yeerks would kill to get their hands on it." And unfortunately, when Matt said they'd kill to get it he meant literally. The only thing stopping the yeerks was the fact that the Animorphs had kept their location a secret as of yet.
"After the three days you get the morphing power and your first morphs. During the three days you'll probably get plenty of chances to meet the rest of the team. I'll remind Mitch to be in morph if he's watching you, though he tends to go around morphed a lot anyways. He's deaf so he can only hear you if he's in morph or if you're in morph speaking thought-speech. That's how I was talking to you when I was morphed tiger."
He stopped finally next to a ladder. "We go up here. It should be far enough away from the scene of the fight." He started up, turning back to add, "By the way, have you ever ridden a horse? If so I can get us back to the hideout a lot quicker."
Dean:
Dean withheld a smart ass remark about being from Texas. He instead just smiled and said, " Yeah, I think I can figure out where to put my hands."
He followed Matt up the stairs and out of the dank blackness of the sewer. Dean was not going to be to fond of being held captive for three days, but then again, it wasn't the first time it had happened. His now Friends and comrades in Africa had not only imprisoned him, but beat, interrogated, and nearly starved Dean before their leader, Darell Solomon, had come back.
Dean had laughed at them the whole while.
The pair came out to an avenue by the old tar pits, the broken remains of Capitol Records in the background.
"So, where to now?"
Matt:
Matt surfaced into the city and glanced around. They had certainly gone far enough. Now he just had to get his bearings to get them back to the mansion. He'd kept referring to it as a hideout, so who knows what Dean would expect. Probably not what he'd find when he and Matt finally arrived at the L.A. Faction's home base.
Dean surfaced next to him and asked where they went now. "Our base is in the remnants of Beverly Hills. We used to live further out of town, but the faction size got to big for the cabin we had. That and that hideout was almost compromised so we decided it was time to move." Matt was kind of stalling until he found where he was headed. Finally he got it figured out in his head. Technically he'd only been in this city a year, so you couldn't expect instant navigation.
"We go this way," he said, but he didn't point. He remained facing the direction they needed to travel as he began to morph again. Dean had seen him change back from tiger in the dim sewer. Now he was getting the full effect of the palomino morph in bright daylight. Matt's hair always seemed to grow out into the mane first, then he bulked to a few times his human size. His face stretched, a tail sprouted, and hands and feet hardened into hooves. After three minutes he was in the form that was getting to be oddly familiar after a year of using it.
<<Hop on,>> Matt said as he turned his horse head to glance back at Dean. <<This will get us back there a little faster than anything I could use to lead you there.>>
Dean:
Dean stared with a hand on his chin, not saying a thing as the resistance leader began to change once again. It wasn't particularly graceful, and the noises where gruesome, but Archer couldn't help but be fascinated. This time, Matt became a horse- mane and all.
<<Hop on>>, not-spoke the horse.
Dean scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "This is gonna take some getting used to." He walked up to Matt's flank, throwing a leg over one side, straddling his back.
He regretted it immediately.
Dean groaned painfully, resisting the urge to grasp what had been hurt. If for nothing else, to check to see that they were still there. "If my life were a movie, I would be speaking falsetto right now", he gasped. A bubble popped for the tar pit.
Dean sighed, "The movie of my life must be really low budget. But I digress, HIGH HO SILVER AWAY!!"
Matt:
Matt would have smiled at Dean's comment about morphing taking some getting used to. Seemed like that was the common thought with everyone, and it was only odder when you were the one changing rather than watching someone else change. However, two things stopped the reaction. Number one was the horse wasn't capable of that expression. Number two would be the groan when Dean landed on Matt's back.
<<You okay?>> Matt asked, but the response came before he'd even finished the question. Obviously the new recruit was in pain, and Matt was rather sympathetic. <<Sadly I don't think riding me back is going to help that much.>>
"The movie of my life must be really low budget. But I digress, HIGH HO SILVER AWAY!!" And with that Matt took off toward the mansion that housed the L.A. faction.
They reached it far quicker than they would have on foot. Matt wished he could see Dean's face and gauge his reaction as he turned up the drive that lead to the mansion. <<I don't think you expected a four floor mansion to be where we hide out, but as long as the yeerks keep thinking it's rundown and abandoned no one is going to know we're here.>>
Dean:
"Holy Shit."
Dean's eyebrows hit his hair as Matt rounded the curb to the driveway. He was expecting a dilapidated building, something inconspicuous. You know, low key.
Yeah, not so much.
He listened to Matt talk, not really paying any attention. This will be a nice change,thought Archer. From sleeping in a different place every night to the African refugee bunker, to the maze of caves in the Himalayas to this. Not too shabby.
All Dean said out loud was a neutral, unconcerned "Nice."
Matt:
<<Yeah, it is nice. Personally I sometimes miss our old hideout, but that was getting to be a bit small with the size factions were getting.>> Plus they'd thought it had been compromised as a safe place, but in the end the mansion had things that the Haunt didn't. It had more space. It had more than one bathroom. There were just some things about having a large faction that were much easier to deal with here than back in the Haunt.
Matt made his way up to the front porch of the mansion, stopping as he did. <<Well, this is it. Inside should be everyone aside from that one of the members is in morph patrolling somewhere. Not sure if I remember who, but people are good about taking their shift so I don't usually have to worry.>> Meaningless small talk if nothing else as he waited for Dean to climb off so he could demorph. As much as Matt liked being in morph, it was always nice to be human again.
Dean:
Dean launched himself off the back of his new employer, landing in a crouch. He was glad that at least this time he didn't slip and fall on his ass. "Shiny", said Dean,as he stood up, "I'm gonna go find something to try and get whatever I fell in back in the sewer off. It's really starting to stink." He dusted himself off, being cvarefull to stay away from any wet spots. He didn't even want to think about all the things that were on the coat right now.
And with thoughts of his new life in the Animorph Resistance and the fights that laid ahead, Dean Archer took his first step into his new home.