Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2009 2:16:56 GMT -5
What I would do to save him
David:
Three days had passed since David and Suji had planned on saving Karl. Now, they had another window of opportunity. David, naturally, was more than ready to go. For the past three nights he'd been saying excuses for not going to the yeerk pool in front of a mirror. Everyone else in the faction probably thought he was pretty weird, but he wasn't about to let something like that mar his enthusiasm.
Now that the day had finally arrived, though, he was a little nervous. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, and Suji had managed to think of most or all of them. But thinking about that stuff was good. It would keep him from acting as he had last time.
Suji:
Suji flew up to David's window, using her tiny owl's beak to peck lightly at the glass. <<All aboard the Suji express,>> she thoughtspoke to him. Soon enough he'd be clinging to her in his roach morph, and they'd be on their way. She'd gone over the plan with him extensively over the past few days, in secret.
She'd almost been surprised that he hadn't snapped at her, told her that he knew it by heart by know (which she was sure he did). But David had always listened eagerly, as if hearing it afresh each time. He was dedicated to saving his brother, and Suji was glad to see that he was doing his best to memorize and think over the plan. It made her feel slightly less antsy about trusting him in a tough situation.
The air was cool and the sun would set by the time they flew into the city. She'd given them enough time to get their comfortably, because she didn't want a rush. They were on a strict timetable (get to Karl's apartment, where he'd open the window once he started cooking, and two or so hours after that his buddy would show up to go to the pool), and if Karl's Yeerk (and his friend, and mostly the entire race) wasn't such a creature of habit, Suji would be even more worried. Once they got into the apartment it would be the point of no return. Until then, there was always time to bail, though she didn't think David would do that for anything in the world.
David:
David opened up his window and climbed up on the sill. Then he began to concentrate. The first change was that he started shrinking. If just a few seconds, he was a cockroach-sized human. He scampered onto Suji's back. Next were his antennae. They sprouted between his eyebrows, and began waving madly. He felt his bones disappear, and suddenly, he couldn't see. Then he felt his lungs disappear and he couldn't breathe. He could also feel, and he was thankful that he couldn't see them, mandibles. Suddenly, he felt air rush in through airholes in his sides. And his sight returned, compound.
<<Well, that was fun,>> he said. <<No sight, no air. And mandibles. This is off to a good start.>>
Suji:
Unfortunately, Suji's binocular-like eyes had caught every disgusting detail. <<Ah, the wonders of alien super-technology,>> she replied. His tiny legs tickled her feathers, but added negligible weight, and soon she was rising into the early-evening sky. She rehearsed the plan more one last time on the way there.
<<We watch from the small alcove across the street, where some of the bricks have fallen out of the building. It should already be dark by the time Karl gets home. He'll start cooking like he does every night, and he'll open the window to let out the smoke and not set off the alarm. If anything is different in his schedule, we bail, because it could put it us off target. Better to have the chance three days from now than to blow everything.>>
And Suji was glad David would be a cockroach clinging to her when that decision had to be made. She still didn't trust him completely not to try to solo-save his brother if he could get to him.
David:
David wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. Even the slightest change could throw off the plan, and things wouldn't be any better for Karl if they tried despite this. But... they were so close. Three days could seem awfully long when it wanted to.
<<I understand,>> he said. <<Can you see him yet?>> She'll probably say so when she sees him, idiot.
Karl:
Karl's legs marched his body towards the building he lived in. His fingers pushed the security code and his other hand swiped his card through the reader. The yeerk in his head was doing this, of course. He wasn't in control. But he could be. For short amounts of time, he could make his yeerk's life miserable.
Should he do it now? Put a tiny flaw in the yeerk's otherwise perfect schedule? No, not now. Some other time.
Suji:
<<Not yet,>> Suji replied. She wanted to keep David as up-to-date as possible. Hopefully that would keep him from doing anything rash, and she'd bear the burden of insanity that would rise up if he started asking her endless streams of questions. She resolved herself not to snap at him. They were both doing the best they could with what they had, and the security of the mission depended on complete teamwork.
<<The light in his apartment just came on, but he hasn't opened the window yet. It shouldn't be long though. I can see his figure moving around inside, it's outlined behind the curtains.>> And sure enough, there was Karl, as she'd seen him several times before--going about his after-work routine of putting his coat away, setting up the kitchen, even turning on the TV. The cascade of lights behind the curtain was dim but visible.
The minutes stretched long, but she knew they were probably twice as long for David. He couldn't see, was trapped as a bug on her back. And Suji doubted he had the stores of patience that she did. But it was for his brother, and Suji thought that if nothing else, that thought would last him through.
David:
Come on, Karl's yeerk! Open the friggin window! <<Do you know how we are for time? It would throw a serious wrench in the plan if either of us got stuck.>> And I need to lose this exoskeleton.
He was completely blind. Sure, he had other senses now that he was a roach, but having been born a human, he needed to be able to see. And a pair of waving antennae just didn't do it for him.
Karl:
Other people complained at the yeerk pool about how their yeerks would taunt them ceaselessly in their heads (well, that wasn't all they didn't like). But Karl had never had that problem. Ardiv hadn't said a word to him since Karl had let David get away.
Ardiv, as always, set things out to start cooking, then went over to the window and opened it. Karl debated making him splash hot oil on himself, but decided not to. After all, it was his body that he'd be damaging. Ardiv turned Karl's back to the window.
Suji:
<<We're good on time.>> Less than an hour had passed; Suji had trained herself to be accurate with time after hearing about the two-hour limit. Those had been mighty boring hours spent in NYC, but they'd be useful too. Time probably was passing half as quickly for David, though. He was the one who had to wait in bug morph, and it was his brother they were saving.
Then, the window opened. If Suji focused, she could hear the sound of the TV faintly coming from that apartment. The light breeze rustled through the curtains, though barely more than a touch. Suji waited for the outlined figure to retreat back, further into the apartment, to the sectioned off kitchen. <<All right. It's go time. Hold on.>> She didn't bother to ask if David was ready: he'd been ready to swoop in and save his brother for some time now.
Silently Suji flew over to the window sill, and landed. Unfortunately, maybe because it was a little chillier today than the past very days, the window wasn't opened wide enough for her bird's body to squeeze in. <<David, the window isn't open wide enough for me to get in. And I can't risk ramming it without being too loud. I need... you need to crawl off my back, go inside, demorph, and open it more. You have to be quick though, and you can't, you can not race in there and try to grab him without backup. Okay?>>
David:
<<Got it. You'll need to guide me to somewhere where I can demorph without him noticing.>> He scuttled forward and off Suji's back, falling to the floor. He landed on his side and rolled onto his feet.
If he'd had what you could call a heart at the time, it would be pounding. The plan to save Karl was in motion. All his waiting was about to pay off.
Suji:
<<I can't see into the room very much,>> Suji said, hopping a little on the ledge until her body was pressed next to the wall. When the breeze blew a little stronger she could see a bit further in, but still not much. At least the outline of Karl's body was nowhere to be seen. He'd be in the kitchen. Hopefully cooking something messy and complicated. Suji heard a few pots banging, and willed that to be a good sign.
<<He's in the kitchen still. Just make sure you're on the floor when you start. I won't be able to guide you too much, but... once you start, do not stop. Morph as quickly as possible.>> If Karl caught David mid-morph it would be better to be on the way to becoming a human, rather than a bug, at least for David's temporary safety.
David:
<<OK, here I go.>> He willed himself to be human, and prayed it wouldn't be as disgusting as last time. Though, if it was, maybe it would catch Karl's yeerk off guard if he saw David. The changes started in his legs this time, as they became soft and wobbly, losing their exoskeleton before the rest of him. Then his vision blanked out and he was mercifully spared watching the rest of the process. When he could see again, he was human.
He slowly rose from his kneeling position, flung the window open, in case the squeaked. The windows were silent, and he silently thanked anyone who was listening. "All clear," he whispered.
Karl:
Karl's hands froze in the motion of cutting onions. Karl was wondering too. Had he heard something in the next room? His roommate wasn't due to be back for another hour, and the yeerks were nothing if not on time. Literally. Like they were dead if they weren't right on time; Karl had seen it.
Ardiv went back to cutting, but his suspicion was coating Karl's mind like syrup. His ears were wide open. And if he heard something else in the next room, well, he was holding a knife and he wasn't afraid to use it. Ardiv, that is.
Suji:
Suji didn't hear any loud crashes and took that as a good sign. She couldn't see much, but eventually David's form became visible. Anxiously she expected to see another dark form join his, for some kind of scuffle to ensue... But none thankfully came. Not yet at least.
Suji backed away from the window, hovering nearby so that it wouldn't hit her. She was instantly glad that she did--David shoved it open so had that the unexpected rush of air nearly knocked her from the sky. At least the owl's wings beat silently par evolutionary pattern. <<Hey!>> She said to him in surprize. But she quickly flew in and found a spot to demorph behind a coatrack. It was only partial cover with one coat on it, but it was better than nothing.
<<Try to find a spot to hide for now, shouldn't take too long. Demorphed from this thing a million times.>> As fast as she could, she began to regain her human shape.
David:
David crept to the door and knelt down, waiting for Suji to demorph. He could hear Karl chopping something in the kitchen. Peeking around the door frame, he could see Karl's back. He's holding a knife... That could be a problem. Well, if David got stabbed, he could morph and heal. Hopefully before Karl's roommate showed up.
He saw Karl pause in his chopping. David froze, holding his breath until Karl started again. If Karl heard them and came into the room, they would be in trouble. A great deal of the plan depended on the element of surprise.
Suji:
Morphing made noise, but usually not too loudly... unless you were morphing a long tail. Suji thought about her monkey morph always made that terrible slooping-popping noise when it shot out or got sucked back into her body. At least feathers didn't have any of that, though the sound of her break restructuring into a jaw felt like it sent a crunching, grinding sound all the way into her back of her skull.
All in all, it hadn't taken her very long to demorph. She probably wasn't the fastest morpher around, but she certainly wasn't the slowest. Once she was human, Suji felt an unease wash over her. Private communication would be limited to gestures and lipreading at this point. Stepping carefully from her space between the wall and the coatrack, Suji looked around, getting a sense for where things were. She'd seen in from outside, but being in the actual room felt smaller and bigger at once.
Suji pawed (as quietly as possible,) through Karl's coat. No dracon gun. She knew he carried one--or at least had one in here--he had to. The Yeerks that she'd ever interacted with at least owned a dracon gun, though maybe they didn't all keep it on them. Suji looked up at David. "IF - HE - COMES," she said, mouthing to him and walking her fingers to emulate Karl. "HIT - HIM." She turned to point at the back of her neck, and then mimed a blow: fingers laced together, a big powerful downward arc. It should at least be enough to stun a teenager David's size...
"I - HAVE - TO - FIND - SOMETHING," she mouthed, and turned back towards the room. God, hopefully it was in here. Otherwise this was going to get really messy. Or at least it was going to be a show of brute power. Suji started to--as quietly as possible--open the little compartment in the coffeetable. Not in there. She looked around. Then, at last, she spotted it: a dracon gun, placed neatly into a small, cubby-like shelf on the wall. It was even mounted on a stand. The stun setting would be perfect.
Unfortunately, during Suji's frisking of the coat, it most of become unbalanced. The coat slid on one of the hooks, and the rack toppled over: it didn't fall straight down to the ground. Instead it hit the windowsill first, then the coffeetable. No way the TV would cover that noise.
Karl:
Well, that was a dead giveaway. About to be emphasis on dead. Ardiv grabbed the knife tightly and started walking toward the door to the next room. Karl quickly considered trying to take over, but decided that that might get him killed, and that he wasn't ready to die yet. As bad as things were.
Karl's empty hand turned the knob slowly and flung the door open. It took seconds for his eyes to adjust, and then he saw the fallen coat. Standing near it was an Asian girl. And standing near the door was-
No. It couldn't be...
David:
David saw Karl freeze with a strange mix of horror and delight on his face. David seized the chance and leaped on Karl, tackling him to the ground. He grabbed Karl's wrist and beat his hand against the ground until the knife clattered away. Then his other hand went over Karl's mouth.
"Suji? Little help?" Not that he needed it. Karl was not Hiilani. Even so, once bitten, twice wary. And David was pretty wary.
Suji:
Suji didn't wait for Karl to get into the room, didn't even wait for the coatrack to completely finish it's fall to the floor. She leaped, up and over the coffeetable, and took a few strides towards the dracon gun. Karl had come into the room, and thankfully David's presence had had the desired effect--a moment of shocked pause. That was good.
As David tackled Karl, Suji picked up the dracon gun. She immediately set it to its lowest setting, the stun setting, and moved around the struggling form of the two twins. It was like a terrible movie where you couldn't tell who was the good one and who was the bad one... or at least it could have been, if David wasn't wearing a morphing outfit, and Karl regular clothes. "David," Suji said calmly, though urgently. "I've set this dracon gun to its lowest setting. Enough to stun a person, but it doesn't cause any... any lasting harm. It's probably the best way-" Karl continued to struggle against David, and Suji tensed. She did not want Karl to get the chance to scream. "-it's probably the safest way to knock him out for now."
Suji didn't want to just shoot David's brother. That would be a betrayal of trust, and they needed to get through this together.
Karl:
David tackled Karl and Karl didn't even pause to consider. He fought to keep his mouth shut, he fought to let go of the knife, and he started winning. Ardiv just couldn't deal with both him and David. Karl's body spasmed, as the two fighting minds tried to move it in their separate ways.
Finally, Karl got his body to move, giving the girl a clear shot. "Shoot-me!" he blabbed, through a mouth that fought his commands. "Now!"
Suji:
Suji didn't wait for David. It was obvious that the host was fighting back, that Karl was giving them an opportunity that was too good not to take. Rechecking the intensity scale on the gun once more, Suji fired. The low-intensity laser hit Karl in his solar plexus, which had been exposed as both twins fought the Yeerk in Karl's head.
Suji saw Karl's body immediately slacken, winded. She wasn't positive if he was knocked completely unconscious, but she didn't wait to see. David had been doing well before even with a fully conscious Karl, so she had no doubt he'd take the time to get the upper hand. She dashed into the kitchen. Once inside she turned off the stovetop (just to be safe), and then started pull out drawers. Most were filled with dishrags, utensils, even some tupperware...
Until she found the junk drawer, which at least had a roll of ducktape. The stuff worked better than rope, was plentiful and easy to use. She loved it. Darting back to where David and Karl were, she held up the tape. "Here, we can bind him with this, put some over his mouth too. You uh... you might want to change into the clothes he's wearing first though." Suji looked a little awkward. "Just in case someone stops by that saw him today."
David:
David didn't even have a chance to cry out when he saw what Suji was holding. Karl went limp. David immediately felt for a heartbeat, his own heart racing. There. Karl was still alive. As usual, Suji had known what she was doing.
"Yeah," David said. "I should probably, uh, change." There was no time to be embarrassed. He pulled Karl's shirt over his head and yanked on Karl's pants and shoes. Finally, he jammed Karl's hat on his head.
Suji:
Suji saw David checking Karl's pulse, and felt more than a little guilty. She'd had the idea in her mind all along, but she hadn't wanted to tell David about it because 1) she didn't want their plan to hinge on technology they might not have at hand when the time came, and 2) she didn't think David would got for firing a dracon beam at his brother. Karl might have preferred it (and known from his time as a host that it was doable without being vaporized) but still, he was David's brother, and Suji knew that most people wouldn't feel okay with someone shooting their sibling with alien technology... stun-setting or not.
David quickly began undressing Karl and pulling on his clothes, and Suji turned away awkwardly. There wasn't really anything else she could pretend to be focusing on, so it was obvious that she was trying to give him some privacy. Which was in itself maybe comical because it was so odd. After all, David was putting on more clothes than he was wearing at the moment. Still, the act of dressing seemed private in itself. That, and it was leaving Karl in socks and boxers, and mostly-exposed Karl was kind of like seeing mostly-exposed David in a way. But then again even worse because Suji didn't even know Karl. Either way, awkward city.
"We can um, tie him up in his bedroom. Might also be some spare, uh, clothes in there for him." She didn't think it was all too practical to waste time dressing Karl, but at the same time, that all had to do with how comfortable David felt with the whole situation.
David:
David barely heard Suji. All he heard was the door front door opening. "Hide!" he hissed, and he walked out of the room back into the kitchen, and started cutting up onions.
Immediately, his eyes began to tear up. He'd always hated cutting onions, not just because of the eyes, but because of how the smell clung to his fingers. He could feel the eyes of Karl's roommate on him, but he said nothing, and tried not to hold his breath.
Act normal. You're supposed to be here.
Suji:
Suji hid in the space between the bed and the wall, dragging Karl's still limp body with her. She had the dracon gun trained on him, still holding the roll of duck tape in her other hand. In an ideal situation, she'd be in morph right now, and would be able to thoughtspeak to David with how to handle this. But things were moving faster than she'd planned on, and now she'd have to wait to help him, if she even got the chance.
David had left the door of the bedroom open in his rush to get back to the kitchen, which made Suji groan inwardly. At least this bedroom was towards the back, and Suji doubted he shared it with anyone (there was only one bed). Besides, Yeerks didn't exactly have boyfriends and girlfriends, right? Or at least it wasn't supposed to be allowed by their government.
Suji picked at one side of the ducktape with her teeth (she had to keep one hand on the gun, aiming at Karl if he looked like he was coming around). As quietly as possible (which also meant very, very slowly) she began to a strip off. If she did it too fast it would have that distinct ripping sound... which wasn't too loud in itself, but she couldn't take any chances.
Controller (Janet):
Aros 543 opened the door to his and Ardiv's apartment. He had just come back from the John Hancock Building. What an exhausting day. Sub-Visser 30 could be such a scary person to work under, but somehow he managed.
He came into the room and immediately noticed the smell of onions. "Ugh...." he said as he realized the stench. "I don't know how you can stand cutting those things, Ardiv," he called out to him. He then looked over ot him. He seemed different somehow.
He seemed....tenser, maybe? "You alright there? You seem a bit shook up or something," He then thought of it. "Ah ha! Onion smell is finally getting to you huh? Man, I never thought I'd see the day."
David:
If I were Karl... But I'm not trying to be Karl! I'm trying to be Ardiv, and I don't know a thing about him. SUJI! HELP! Suddenly, all his practicing in front of the mirror seemed... pointless. His mind raced. "Uh-huh, sure," David said, trying to sound emotionless. Now was the tricky part. He didn't know the other yeerk's name, so he had to try to avoid names.
"Listen, I was starting to feel odd earlier today, so I went to the pool. So, just for tonight, I don't think I'll go, but maybe next time." Now, the moment of truth.
Suji:
Suji could hear voices in the other room, and she could could make out the conversation. Nothing terrible yet, at least. Nothing David shouldn't be able to handle. She had to hope. After all, he was Karl's twin, wearing Karl's clothes, in Karl's apartment. She'd freed up a decent amount of the duct tape to cover Karl's mouth from ear.
She needed to morph so she could thoughtspeak to David. She also needed hands to hold the dracon gun in case Karl woke up. Suji began to morph her capuchin, trying as hard as she could to finish the hands first--just so they wouldn't be changing on her later--she turned into the monkey. In the end she was left as a capuchin, and needed both hands to hold up the weapon, but at least she was still holding it and could fire.
<<If he asks what's wrong, tell him you think you have some kind of ear ache. That your host got them a lot when he was younger, so that's what you figure the pain is. That you're going to a physician to try to get antibiotics tonight.>> It would be plausible; ear aches were something that didn't affect how one spoke (like strep-throat might), and could get very ugly without proper treatment. They also weren't too uncommon.
David:
David resisted the urge to breath a sigh of relief. At least he had Suji giving him advice now. That made him feel much safer. Besides, worst case scenario, she could burst into the room with the dracon beam.
Hopefully not though. The point was not to attract attention. That way, the yeerks wouldn't know Karl was gone until it was too late.
Controller:
"Aw, you serious?" Aros 543 asked Ardiv. "I don't blame you personally. That Sub-Visser 30 is scary." He shuddered when thinking of her. "Man, if I could get away, I would. Unfortunately I can't,"
He took a seat in a nerby chair. "I thought you would go for sure too. They're testing the pills today. And you said your host had been acting up a bit lately right? I thought you'd be exstatic." he told him. He sighed. "Then again, it'll probably be another failed test. And heads will probably roll. Literally. I mentioned that that woman is scary right?"
He went up and patted Ardiv's back. "Maybe its best, till we actually start getting them to work. Don't need to lose more hosts to the failed effects of the pills,"
David:
Pills? What does that have to do with Karl acting up? "Well, yeah, I wasn't exactly, uh, counting on the pills working. And I'm definitely staying as far away from, uh, Sub-Visser, er, the Sub-Visser until they work." Wow. That was about as genuine as a cat barking. What was happening? Even after all that practice, his mind was just blanking from fear.
And was this controller going to eat before going or just go to the pool? What had Ardiv been planning on making? He needed to cook something, even just to look like he was cooking something, like Karl would be doing now, but he didn't know how to cook! He wanted to smack his head. But that would have been a dead giveaway.
Suji:
David was waffling. Maybe not hugely--certainly not enough to cover for the fact that he was the spitting image of Karl, Suji hoped--but it did increase her anxiety level. As someone who was good with this type of thing (good with lying, a part of her hissed), maybe Suji was just more sensitive to the mistakes.
Pills though... pills that helped with unruly hosts? That didn't bode well at all. <<Ask him if he knows what they did differently with the pills this time. Why they think they're going to work, if they haven't in the past.>> Normally Suji would have just been grateful too have David make it through with as least interaction as possible. But now this could be important, and she needed to know. <<And quit it with the 'uhs',>> she added, though she figured it would be like instructing a wall to stand a couple inches back from its current spot. <<Plan out what you're going to say before you start talking. The half second of preparation will made it much more fluid.>>
David:
David tried not to grit his teeth. "Say, do you know what they've done differently this time?" Aren't I supposed to be in on this? I can't do this! He was proud of himself, none of his fear showed on his face. Body language might have given something away, but his face was straight. Casual.
He spotted tomatos and spagetti set on the counter. Well, now he at least knew what Ardiv had been planning to make. Not that it helped. The last time David had tried to boil water for pasta, the oil he'd put in to keep the pasta from sticking had caught on fire. He still wasn't sure how that had happened.
Controller:
Aros 543 shook his head. "Ah you know, some random chemical solution they've cooked up," he answered. "I'm not sure, I just help put them together remember?" He looked over at what Ardiv was making. "Aw, spaghetti again? I'm getting sick of the stuff....."
He went back to sit down. "I sure hope it goes better then the last test." he told him. "I mean, last time they suppressed the host too much if you know what I'm saying." Boy was the Sub-Visser unhappy when that test happened. "All I'm asking for is one successful test you know? Then the SUb-Visser can get off our cases....."
David:
David nodded, trying not to think about what might have happened to Karl if they had postponed this mission. So far, the yeerk seemed to be buying the story. David just wished he would leave. He was certain the yeerk could hear his heart pounding from across the room.
But curiosity was nagging his mind. What could this pill project be about? Supressing hosts that were unruly was obviously what the pills did, but... Then again, it made sense that if Karl could take control for short amounts of time, others could too. And that was a problem for the yeerks. Well, not really a problem. More of an annoyance.
Suji:
With a certain dawning horror Suji realized that maybe Karl's yeerk and this yeerk spent so much time together because they were roommates, not just buddy-buddy. Which at least meant that this room would still be safe... supposing that they didn't sleep in the same bed together, and there was another bedroom. Suji decided not to share that thought with David. He probably had enough on his mind, and she didn't want to add anything like the idea that that Controller out there and his brother (or his brother's alien slug, for that matter) were having some kind of illicit relationship.
When it looked like Karl's eyelids had begun to flutter, Suji didn't give him a chance to come all the way to. She pressed the end of the gun straight to his chest, and fired again. That kept the shot almost silent; the lower intensity blasts didn't make as much noise to begin with (not the howling shriek that the killing ones did, at least) and the barrel being pressed against a target muffled it even moreso.
David's question came out clear, no ums, and the Controller didn't seemed to be thrown off at all. Suji allowed herself to feel a moment of pride and relief. <<You're doing good, David. Don't worry, if everything's on schedule, this guy should be leaving for the pool soon. Just keep it up.>> She was glad to be able to compliment David on this; as long as he kept control of the situation, they'd have this in the bag.
<<Say, 'Yeah, Sub-Vissers can be a nightmare.'>> Suji wanted to know more about the pills, but if this Controller didn't know that much about them, he at least seemed to know about this Sub-Visser he kept mentioning that was in charge of them. <<Say, 'I don't think the Sub-Visser will ever give up on the project, even if it's a total failure.' Then ask him what he thinks, something like, 'Do you think it is? The project? The way my host has been acting I hope not, but how long have they been working on it now?'>> Suji tried to affect what she thought David sounded like, her mental-voice dropping a little lower and a little more plaintive for the question parts. <<You can edit as you see fit,>> she added. <<Just a place to start.>>
David:
Slow down, Suji! he thought. "Yeah, Sub-Vissers suck. I don't think the Sub-Visser will ever give up on this, even if it's a complete failure." He hoped he was saying that right. He took a breath. "Do you think it is? The project? You know, a failure? I hope it isn't, what with my host but I can't help but think... I mean, we've been at this for how long now?"
I just want this guy to leave, and here I am stalling him! I really hope Suji doesn't have any more questions. He picked up a tomato and started cutting it.
Controller:
Aros 543 nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's not gonna give up on that project, till we get something," he said sighing. He then heard Ardiv's question and thought about it. "At the moment it is. We could probably take our time and put it to something guareenteed to work, but keeping this pill thing going also brings up morale ya know? So, I don't think it'll go away."
He sighed again. "But man oh man it feels like we've been working on it forever." he told him. He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe Sub-Visser 30's stubbornness will pay off and we'll get somewhere." He then happened to look at the clock. "Oh, looks like I'm starting to run late. You said you already headed to the pool right? Well, I need to get going then," he started to head out for the door. "I'll see ya later," he told him and exited, shutting the apartment door.
Suji:
Suji listened carefully, and then heard the apartment door shut. While she hadn't exactly gotten enough information to be satisfied (not that that was likely to ever happen), she did breathe a sigh of relief now that he was gone. <<Go ahead and lock the door after him, David, and let's get Karl tied to something stable. I got his mouth covered, but I didn't want to try to bind him when that other guy might be able to hear.>>
Why they weren't exactly out of the woods, they were at least going to have the next few hours uninterrupted, if everything went according to the plan. Suji didn't think it was going to be easy though. Even if they kept Karl subdued and bound for most of the time, she'd heard all the horror stories about Kandrona starvation. This wasn't going to be pretty, but at least it shouldn't take forever either. Not if he'd been planning on going to the pool with that other Controller, at least.
Suji began to demorph. She wanted to be able to explain to David what was going to happen without using thoughtspeech. She wasn't sure how much he knew about the process, but watching his brother go through it was likely going to be stressful for him.
David:
David flew to the door and locked it. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now they were in the clear. All that was left was to wait for Karl's yeerk to die.
Almost whistling, he strode back into the room in time to see Suji finish demorphing. "What stable thing can we tie him to? And how long do you think this will take?"
Suji:
Suji looked down at Karl, and rubbed her cheek in thought. "Can't say. Pretty sure he's on his third day though, so shouldn't be too long. Let's duck tape him to his desk chair." She gestured with a nod towards the computer desk on the other side of the bedroom. She bent down to help David drag/lift Karl, and when they got him propped into the chair, she went back for the ducktape. Pulling out one strip, she circled the roll of tape around him a few times, the way a child might erroneously tape together a hasty Christmas present.
When that was done she stood back, and then looked at David. "You did really good out there." She smiled, but after a moment the smile faded. "But I have to warn you, this isn't going to be pretty. We're about to... about to watch a sentient creature, parasite or not, starve to death." Her eyes were locked on his, trying to express how serious the situation might get. "The yeerk in Karl's head will say anything to survive--might try beg, or threaten, pretend he's already dead and Karl is free... a lot of ugly stuff could come up."
Suji looked back down at Karl's still-limp form, taped to the chair and with duct tape over his mouth. Hopefully that would make this easier, not having to listen to him. She had never stopped to think about if she was ready to witness this... but it was David's brother, and she was 'leading' this mission, so it would fall on her to be the one in control, and that reassured her. It meant, if nothing else, she could set aside her own feelings with the excuse of holding herself together for Karl and David's sakes.
"Just before they die, all yeerks have a last survival instinct that drives them to leave their hosts. So until we see Karl's yeerk climbing out, we can't let him go." She looked back up at David. "Kay?"
David:
David swallowed and nodded. "Maybe I should wait in the other room," he whispered. "Just in case... you know..." He hadn't thought about how the yeerks were sentient. Since they looked like slugs, he'd just always thought of them as being slugs; brainless, slow-moving, and just happened to be able to take over people.
But Suji was right. And if the yeerk managed to convince David to let Karl go... It was better not to take the risk.
Suji:
Suji nodded. She couldn't force David into this, and maybe it would be better if he waited outside. At the same time... at the same time, she wasn't sure she wanted to be in a room alone, watching something die a slow and painful death all by herself. Death was one thing, but starvation... that was considered one of the worst ways to go, even by human standards. Not that she'd feel bad for the slug, it was the enemy, but... being alone through it...
She could do it. She could suck it up. Besides, it was for David and his brother's sake.
"If you think you should, that's fine. Someone should stay in here to watch him though. I don't think he's getting out of that, but... just in case." Suji smirked at David. "You could try watching TV. Don't know how many channels are good in the post-apocalypse, but maybe there's some sort of yeerk broadcast. Or just endless reruns of Friends, as par normal."
David:
David smiled a little. "Who said yeerks don't have a sense of humor?" Yeah, maybe they were just listening to the humor of David Gurt.
Did she seem a little uncomfortable? It hit him that Karl not being her brother didn't mean she was immune to the pain of watching a being die of starvation. "We could watch in shifts, if you'd like." Oh yeah, great idea, David. Leave you alone in a room with a yeerk who can pretend to be your brother.
Karl:
Karl's eyes slid slowly open. He was duct taped to a chair, with a strip of tape over his mouth. <<Oh no,>> Ardiv whispered in his mind. <<They can't be...>> He started to thrash madly, trying to get out.
Karl was excited. If this worked, he would be free! Free to move his own body unhindered for the first time in several years now. <<Well, Ardiv,>> he said smugly. <<It looks like time's up.>> Ardiv screamed in their head. Karl's mouth tried to scream with him, but the tape muffled it.
Suji:
David offered to watch in shifts, and suddenly Suji realized that she must have let on that she wasn't uneasy about it. Instantly she pulled her mask back up, the poker-face as David had called it. She shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it. I mean you're welcome to come in and watch with me, but I'm sure Rachel and Chandler and whoever they are will keep better company." Her smile, though entirely false, looked genuine enough--she was good at that much at least. And she looked away, just in case her eyes would betray her.
"I'll call you if there are any problems. Maybe you can raid Karl's fridge and see if yeerks at least have a decent taste in food." She smirked at him--though she didn't really feel like eating, she might change her mind if he had anything appetizing. After all, it wasn't often that they got food that didn't come from a can.
Then Karl came to, thrashing wildly. The chair was pretty heavy so he didn't move much, and the tape held him secure and kept him mostly silent. Suji's fist with the dracon gun tightened, though she had resolved not to stun him with it again unless she had to--she didn't think a handful of stun would cause any lasting damage (and if Karl would become an Animorph he could likely heal it away later anyway) but better to be on the safe side.
"You... should go," she said quietly to David.
David:
David was about to reply when he heard Karl's muffled scream. The chair rocked and bumped as Karl's body fought its bonds. David knew the real Karl preferred the bonds, for the time being. Once the yeerk was gone, that was a different matter.
He swallowed. The yeerk knew what they planned. That was clear. David felt sick, suddenly, knowing that he was going to stand by and watch as a sentient being starved to death. He attacked Karl. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't be doing this. It's his fault. He still felt sick. He felt dizzy and started to sway. He vaguely heard Suji tell him to go, but he couldn't really comprehend what she was saying.
Suji:
Suji watched David closely--and from the glazed over look in his eyes, and how his knees had locked (the cause of the slight swaying, which happened right before people tended to pass out), she knew what could come next. She didn't want to have to deal with Karl's yeerk and a feinting David too.
"Hey," Suji said, firmly grabbing both of David's wrists and turning him slightly towards her, trying to break his eye contact with Karl's struggling form. She gave him a slight reassuring squeezing, dodging her head back and forth to catch his eyes. "It'll be over soon enough. We're doing the right thing, and Karl knows it. That yeerk is the enemy, and the fact that he's going to try to use Karl's body as he's dying is just reinforcing that."
Keeping hold of one of David's wrists, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and began to lead him out of the bedroom. "Go sit down, make yourself eat something bread-y. It'll be over before you know it."
Good little Suji. Being the strong one. It was a hissing, self-loathing voice in her head, but she ignored it.
Karl:
Karl saw David's face turn white and he started to sway. I guess you're new to this, Dave, he thought. Meanwhile, Ardiv thrashed so horribly that the chair fell over. Karl's head cracked against the floor. <<Nice one, Ardiv,>> Karl said. Ardiv snarled back, not really saying anything, too panicked and hungry to say anything coherent.
The girl, Suji, looked emotionless. Karl wasn't fooled though, he knew a facade when he saw one. What was she feeling? Was she like David, green and about to faint, or was she hardened and strong? Of course, he couldn't say that David wasn't strong. He could guess what had happened. David probably had to deal with Aros, since there had to be a reason Ardiv wasn't going to the pool. Karl was impressed. The David he remembered had been something of a scaredy cat. That he had pulled off something like this...
David:
David felt Suji grab his wrists. "I'm fine," he mumbled. "I'll... I'll go." He took one uneasy step, then another. He still felt like he was about to puke.
Eat something? Not while he felt like this, he wasn't eating anything. He'd go over to the couch... yeah... that sounded....
David's knees gave out. "I'm fine," he said again. He started crawling.
Karl:
<<Your brother doesn't look too good,>> Ardiv sneered. <<Yeah, well, unlike you, he has a conscience,>> Karl replied without missing a breath. David was fine. Karl knew him, and he knew he'd had worse tumbles. Psychologically, maybe he wasn't so hot. But that was war.
Meanwhile, he could feel Ardiv's hunger. It was starting to really sting. And it could only get worse.
Suji:
Suji winced when David stumbled, though she didn't spare much time looking down at Karl when he knocked over his chair. She might let him lay there for a while--if she righted it he'd probably just knock it back to the ground. She didn't rush to help David up--she didn't want to seem like she was trying to mother him, and at this point, maybe he just wanted to be alone.
But then he started crawling towards the door, and Suji couldn't stop herself. She leaned down and put an arm around him, the way a soldier might support another with a damaged leg. "C'mon," she said gently, and tried to push herself to a standing position, though there was no way she could lift David if David didn't work with her. And if David couldn't stand, they were going to be a sad sight indeed, but she cared very little about how this appeared to some yeerk.
David:
David managed to rise to his feet with Suji's help. "Sorry," he mumbled. He managed to stumble to the couch, where he collapsed. He cradled his head in his hands and slowly started to feel better.
Well, this is a great first hard mission. You couldn't halfway through it without fainting. I wonder what Karl thinks of you now.
Karl:
Suddenly, pain stabbed through Karl's head. He knew that Ardiv was close to death, mostly because he was in control, more or less. "Yeerk's almost dead," he managed to say. "It shouldn't be too much longer."
<<Hey, Ardiv, curl up and die already,>> he said in his head. <<This hurts.>> Ardiv didn't, or couldn't, reply. He merely screamed in agony.
Suji:
Once David was settled, Suji came back to the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway a moment to look back at him, lying on the couch. At least that gave her a reason not to melt down herself. Not that Suji was the melt-down type, for better or worse. Sighing, she turned back to walk into the bedroom, and closed the door behind her.
Karl was still lying there, half-naked and ducktaped to a chair. Suji leaned down and set him back upright with a little effort. When Karl spoke, Suji regarded him skeptically. "Right. No offense if you really are Karl talking, but you'll forgive me when I say I'll believe it when I see it." She went back to the bed, where the dracon gun was lying, and sat down.
Tried not to think about what how Karl's body might be contorted in the yeerk's final moments. It would be better in the end.
Karl:
"I didn't expect you to, just stun us so I don't have to feel- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It felt like his head was splitting open. Ardiv rolled his head around in would-be impossible ways, and suddenly, Karl felt something clogging his ear. "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" He shook his head madly, trying to swing Ardiv out of his ear.
PLOP. The pain stopped, and he saw the yeerk hit the floor. It started to crawl away. "Oh no you don't!" He struggled with the chair, which hopped forward until his foot came down on Ardiv.
David:
David heard Karl's scream and lurched off the couch. He stumbled to his feet and made his way back to the room just in time to see Karl's foot come down on the yeerk. Then Karl just stood there, panting.
It was over. Karl was free. David turned and vomited into a nearby trashcan. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Suji:
Suji had already raised the dracon gun again, and if it wasn't for her habit of double-checking the setting (one that she had made sure had become second-nature when dealing with anyone she didn't plan on shooting to kill), she would have had him stunned before Ardiv started his way out. Once that process started she was transfixed, morbidly, by the sight. It was loud, but at least it was brief, and the Karl stomped on the yeerk's helpless form.
Suji was still in a state of minor shock with David came in, and then vomited. She tried to speak but her mouth was dry. Had they done it? The smear of yeerk on the floor said they had. "I... I'm going to find a pair of scissors to cut him free. You two... you two should have a moment together, I guess." She quickly stood and left the room.
David:
David nodded his thanks to Suji. He started taking the duct tape off Karl's arms and legs. Almost makes me wish we hadn't bound him so tight, he thought. This is tough work.
"How do you feel?" he asked. Oh yes, David, there's any doubt that he feels less than amazing. Just freed, remember?
Karl:
Karl shook his head. "Grateful, I guess. Amazing, happy, anything that means 'good.'" He rubbed his arms, revelling in the fact that he had complete, unhindered control over his body. "How did you end up with the Animorphs?" he asked.
David seemed more sure of himself. Well, that wasn't hard, but even so, Karl was impressed. The old David could never have pulled a stunt like this.
"Actually, save the story for later, we need to go. The whole building probably heard Ardiv's scream. We can talk when we get to your HQ, ok?"
David:
David nodded. "Ok, let's go." He walked into the kitchen. "Suji? We're going."
He walked back to the window and threw it open. "Suji and I are going to fly back. All you need to do is walk out, act natural, and follow our thought speak directions."
Karl:
Karl smiled. "I like it. Nice and simple." He headed to the door and left, locking it behind him. He strode down the stairs and out the door.
Then he stood outside, waiting for instructions. He glanced around, hoping that his roommate wouldn't be back yet. Then he'd have to step fancy to get away.
David:
Three days had passed since David and Suji had planned on saving Karl. Now, they had another window of opportunity. David, naturally, was more than ready to go. For the past three nights he'd been saying excuses for not going to the yeerk pool in front of a mirror. Everyone else in the faction probably thought he was pretty weird, but he wasn't about to let something like that mar his enthusiasm.
Now that the day had finally arrived, though, he was a little nervous. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, and Suji had managed to think of most or all of them. But thinking about that stuff was good. It would keep him from acting as he had last time.
Suji:
Suji flew up to David's window, using her tiny owl's beak to peck lightly at the glass. <<All aboard the Suji express,>> she thoughtspoke to him. Soon enough he'd be clinging to her in his roach morph, and they'd be on their way. She'd gone over the plan with him extensively over the past few days, in secret.
She'd almost been surprised that he hadn't snapped at her, told her that he knew it by heart by know (which she was sure he did). But David had always listened eagerly, as if hearing it afresh each time. He was dedicated to saving his brother, and Suji was glad to see that he was doing his best to memorize and think over the plan. It made her feel slightly less antsy about trusting him in a tough situation.
The air was cool and the sun would set by the time they flew into the city. She'd given them enough time to get their comfortably, because she didn't want a rush. They were on a strict timetable (get to Karl's apartment, where he'd open the window once he started cooking, and two or so hours after that his buddy would show up to go to the pool), and if Karl's Yeerk (and his friend, and mostly the entire race) wasn't such a creature of habit, Suji would be even more worried. Once they got into the apartment it would be the point of no return. Until then, there was always time to bail, though she didn't think David would do that for anything in the world.
David:
David opened up his window and climbed up on the sill. Then he began to concentrate. The first change was that he started shrinking. If just a few seconds, he was a cockroach-sized human. He scampered onto Suji's back. Next were his antennae. They sprouted between his eyebrows, and began waving madly. He felt his bones disappear, and suddenly, he couldn't see. Then he felt his lungs disappear and he couldn't breathe. He could also feel, and he was thankful that he couldn't see them, mandibles. Suddenly, he felt air rush in through airholes in his sides. And his sight returned, compound.
<<Well, that was fun,>> he said. <<No sight, no air. And mandibles. This is off to a good start.>>
Suji:
Unfortunately, Suji's binocular-like eyes had caught every disgusting detail. <<Ah, the wonders of alien super-technology,>> she replied. His tiny legs tickled her feathers, but added negligible weight, and soon she was rising into the early-evening sky. She rehearsed the plan more one last time on the way there.
<<We watch from the small alcove across the street, where some of the bricks have fallen out of the building. It should already be dark by the time Karl gets home. He'll start cooking like he does every night, and he'll open the window to let out the smoke and not set off the alarm. If anything is different in his schedule, we bail, because it could put it us off target. Better to have the chance three days from now than to blow everything.>>
And Suji was glad David would be a cockroach clinging to her when that decision had to be made. She still didn't trust him completely not to try to solo-save his brother if he could get to him.
David:
David wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. Even the slightest change could throw off the plan, and things wouldn't be any better for Karl if they tried despite this. But... they were so close. Three days could seem awfully long when it wanted to.
<<I understand,>> he said. <<Can you see him yet?>> She'll probably say so when she sees him, idiot.
Karl:
Karl's legs marched his body towards the building he lived in. His fingers pushed the security code and his other hand swiped his card through the reader. The yeerk in his head was doing this, of course. He wasn't in control. But he could be. For short amounts of time, he could make his yeerk's life miserable.
Should he do it now? Put a tiny flaw in the yeerk's otherwise perfect schedule? No, not now. Some other time.
Suji:
<<Not yet,>> Suji replied. She wanted to keep David as up-to-date as possible. Hopefully that would keep him from doing anything rash, and she'd bear the burden of insanity that would rise up if he started asking her endless streams of questions. She resolved herself not to snap at him. They were both doing the best they could with what they had, and the security of the mission depended on complete teamwork.
<<The light in his apartment just came on, but he hasn't opened the window yet. It shouldn't be long though. I can see his figure moving around inside, it's outlined behind the curtains.>> And sure enough, there was Karl, as she'd seen him several times before--going about his after-work routine of putting his coat away, setting up the kitchen, even turning on the TV. The cascade of lights behind the curtain was dim but visible.
The minutes stretched long, but she knew they were probably twice as long for David. He couldn't see, was trapped as a bug on her back. And Suji doubted he had the stores of patience that she did. But it was for his brother, and Suji thought that if nothing else, that thought would last him through.
David:
Come on, Karl's yeerk! Open the friggin window! <<Do you know how we are for time? It would throw a serious wrench in the plan if either of us got stuck.>> And I need to lose this exoskeleton.
He was completely blind. Sure, he had other senses now that he was a roach, but having been born a human, he needed to be able to see. And a pair of waving antennae just didn't do it for him.
Karl:
Other people complained at the yeerk pool about how their yeerks would taunt them ceaselessly in their heads (well, that wasn't all they didn't like). But Karl had never had that problem. Ardiv hadn't said a word to him since Karl had let David get away.
Ardiv, as always, set things out to start cooking, then went over to the window and opened it. Karl debated making him splash hot oil on himself, but decided not to. After all, it was his body that he'd be damaging. Ardiv turned Karl's back to the window.
Suji:
<<We're good on time.>> Less than an hour had passed; Suji had trained herself to be accurate with time after hearing about the two-hour limit. Those had been mighty boring hours spent in NYC, but they'd be useful too. Time probably was passing half as quickly for David, though. He was the one who had to wait in bug morph, and it was his brother they were saving.
Then, the window opened. If Suji focused, she could hear the sound of the TV faintly coming from that apartment. The light breeze rustled through the curtains, though barely more than a touch. Suji waited for the outlined figure to retreat back, further into the apartment, to the sectioned off kitchen. <<All right. It's go time. Hold on.>> She didn't bother to ask if David was ready: he'd been ready to swoop in and save his brother for some time now.
Silently Suji flew over to the window sill, and landed. Unfortunately, maybe because it was a little chillier today than the past very days, the window wasn't opened wide enough for her bird's body to squeeze in. <<David, the window isn't open wide enough for me to get in. And I can't risk ramming it without being too loud. I need... you need to crawl off my back, go inside, demorph, and open it more. You have to be quick though, and you can't, you can not race in there and try to grab him without backup. Okay?>>
David:
<<Got it. You'll need to guide me to somewhere where I can demorph without him noticing.>> He scuttled forward and off Suji's back, falling to the floor. He landed on his side and rolled onto his feet.
If he'd had what you could call a heart at the time, it would be pounding. The plan to save Karl was in motion. All his waiting was about to pay off.
Suji:
<<I can't see into the room very much,>> Suji said, hopping a little on the ledge until her body was pressed next to the wall. When the breeze blew a little stronger she could see a bit further in, but still not much. At least the outline of Karl's body was nowhere to be seen. He'd be in the kitchen. Hopefully cooking something messy and complicated. Suji heard a few pots banging, and willed that to be a good sign.
<<He's in the kitchen still. Just make sure you're on the floor when you start. I won't be able to guide you too much, but... once you start, do not stop. Morph as quickly as possible.>> If Karl caught David mid-morph it would be better to be on the way to becoming a human, rather than a bug, at least for David's temporary safety.
David:
<<OK, here I go.>> He willed himself to be human, and prayed it wouldn't be as disgusting as last time. Though, if it was, maybe it would catch Karl's yeerk off guard if he saw David. The changes started in his legs this time, as they became soft and wobbly, losing their exoskeleton before the rest of him. Then his vision blanked out and he was mercifully spared watching the rest of the process. When he could see again, he was human.
He slowly rose from his kneeling position, flung the window open, in case the squeaked. The windows were silent, and he silently thanked anyone who was listening. "All clear," he whispered.
Karl:
Karl's hands froze in the motion of cutting onions. Karl was wondering too. Had he heard something in the next room? His roommate wasn't due to be back for another hour, and the yeerks were nothing if not on time. Literally. Like they were dead if they weren't right on time; Karl had seen it.
Ardiv went back to cutting, but his suspicion was coating Karl's mind like syrup. His ears were wide open. And if he heard something else in the next room, well, he was holding a knife and he wasn't afraid to use it. Ardiv, that is.
Suji:
Suji didn't hear any loud crashes and took that as a good sign. She couldn't see much, but eventually David's form became visible. Anxiously she expected to see another dark form join his, for some kind of scuffle to ensue... But none thankfully came. Not yet at least.
Suji backed away from the window, hovering nearby so that it wouldn't hit her. She was instantly glad that she did--David shoved it open so had that the unexpected rush of air nearly knocked her from the sky. At least the owl's wings beat silently par evolutionary pattern. <<Hey!>> She said to him in surprize. But she quickly flew in and found a spot to demorph behind a coatrack. It was only partial cover with one coat on it, but it was better than nothing.
<<Try to find a spot to hide for now, shouldn't take too long. Demorphed from this thing a million times.>> As fast as she could, she began to regain her human shape.
David:
David crept to the door and knelt down, waiting for Suji to demorph. He could hear Karl chopping something in the kitchen. Peeking around the door frame, he could see Karl's back. He's holding a knife... That could be a problem. Well, if David got stabbed, he could morph and heal. Hopefully before Karl's roommate showed up.
He saw Karl pause in his chopping. David froze, holding his breath until Karl started again. If Karl heard them and came into the room, they would be in trouble. A great deal of the plan depended on the element of surprise.
Suji:
Morphing made noise, but usually not too loudly... unless you were morphing a long tail. Suji thought about her monkey morph always made that terrible slooping-popping noise when it shot out or got sucked back into her body. At least feathers didn't have any of that, though the sound of her break restructuring into a jaw felt like it sent a crunching, grinding sound all the way into her back of her skull.
All in all, it hadn't taken her very long to demorph. She probably wasn't the fastest morpher around, but she certainly wasn't the slowest. Once she was human, Suji felt an unease wash over her. Private communication would be limited to gestures and lipreading at this point. Stepping carefully from her space between the wall and the coatrack, Suji looked around, getting a sense for where things were. She'd seen in from outside, but being in the actual room felt smaller and bigger at once.
Suji pawed (as quietly as possible,) through Karl's coat. No dracon gun. She knew he carried one--or at least had one in here--he had to. The Yeerks that she'd ever interacted with at least owned a dracon gun, though maybe they didn't all keep it on them. Suji looked up at David. "IF - HE - COMES," she said, mouthing to him and walking her fingers to emulate Karl. "HIT - HIM." She turned to point at the back of her neck, and then mimed a blow: fingers laced together, a big powerful downward arc. It should at least be enough to stun a teenager David's size...
"I - HAVE - TO - FIND - SOMETHING," she mouthed, and turned back towards the room. God, hopefully it was in here. Otherwise this was going to get really messy. Or at least it was going to be a show of brute power. Suji started to--as quietly as possible--open the little compartment in the coffeetable. Not in there. She looked around. Then, at last, she spotted it: a dracon gun, placed neatly into a small, cubby-like shelf on the wall. It was even mounted on a stand. The stun setting would be perfect.
Unfortunately, during Suji's frisking of the coat, it most of become unbalanced. The coat slid on one of the hooks, and the rack toppled over: it didn't fall straight down to the ground. Instead it hit the windowsill first, then the coffeetable. No way the TV would cover that noise.
Karl:
Well, that was a dead giveaway. About to be emphasis on dead. Ardiv grabbed the knife tightly and started walking toward the door to the next room. Karl quickly considered trying to take over, but decided that that might get him killed, and that he wasn't ready to die yet. As bad as things were.
Karl's empty hand turned the knob slowly and flung the door open. It took seconds for his eyes to adjust, and then he saw the fallen coat. Standing near it was an Asian girl. And standing near the door was-
No. It couldn't be...
David:
David saw Karl freeze with a strange mix of horror and delight on his face. David seized the chance and leaped on Karl, tackling him to the ground. He grabbed Karl's wrist and beat his hand against the ground until the knife clattered away. Then his other hand went over Karl's mouth.
"Suji? Little help?" Not that he needed it. Karl was not Hiilani. Even so, once bitten, twice wary. And David was pretty wary.
Suji:
Suji didn't wait for Karl to get into the room, didn't even wait for the coatrack to completely finish it's fall to the floor. She leaped, up and over the coffeetable, and took a few strides towards the dracon gun. Karl had come into the room, and thankfully David's presence had had the desired effect--a moment of shocked pause. That was good.
As David tackled Karl, Suji picked up the dracon gun. She immediately set it to its lowest setting, the stun setting, and moved around the struggling form of the two twins. It was like a terrible movie where you couldn't tell who was the good one and who was the bad one... or at least it could have been, if David wasn't wearing a morphing outfit, and Karl regular clothes. "David," Suji said calmly, though urgently. "I've set this dracon gun to its lowest setting. Enough to stun a person, but it doesn't cause any... any lasting harm. It's probably the best way-" Karl continued to struggle against David, and Suji tensed. She did not want Karl to get the chance to scream. "-it's probably the safest way to knock him out for now."
Suji didn't want to just shoot David's brother. That would be a betrayal of trust, and they needed to get through this together.
Karl:
David tackled Karl and Karl didn't even pause to consider. He fought to keep his mouth shut, he fought to let go of the knife, and he started winning. Ardiv just couldn't deal with both him and David. Karl's body spasmed, as the two fighting minds tried to move it in their separate ways.
Finally, Karl got his body to move, giving the girl a clear shot. "Shoot-me!" he blabbed, through a mouth that fought his commands. "Now!"
Suji:
Suji didn't wait for David. It was obvious that the host was fighting back, that Karl was giving them an opportunity that was too good not to take. Rechecking the intensity scale on the gun once more, Suji fired. The low-intensity laser hit Karl in his solar plexus, which had been exposed as both twins fought the Yeerk in Karl's head.
Suji saw Karl's body immediately slacken, winded. She wasn't positive if he was knocked completely unconscious, but she didn't wait to see. David had been doing well before even with a fully conscious Karl, so she had no doubt he'd take the time to get the upper hand. She dashed into the kitchen. Once inside she turned off the stovetop (just to be safe), and then started pull out drawers. Most were filled with dishrags, utensils, even some tupperware...
Until she found the junk drawer, which at least had a roll of ducktape. The stuff worked better than rope, was plentiful and easy to use. She loved it. Darting back to where David and Karl were, she held up the tape. "Here, we can bind him with this, put some over his mouth too. You uh... you might want to change into the clothes he's wearing first though." Suji looked a little awkward. "Just in case someone stops by that saw him today."
David:
David didn't even have a chance to cry out when he saw what Suji was holding. Karl went limp. David immediately felt for a heartbeat, his own heart racing. There. Karl was still alive. As usual, Suji had known what she was doing.
"Yeah," David said. "I should probably, uh, change." There was no time to be embarrassed. He pulled Karl's shirt over his head and yanked on Karl's pants and shoes. Finally, he jammed Karl's hat on his head.
Suji:
Suji saw David checking Karl's pulse, and felt more than a little guilty. She'd had the idea in her mind all along, but she hadn't wanted to tell David about it because 1) she didn't want their plan to hinge on technology they might not have at hand when the time came, and 2) she didn't think David would got for firing a dracon beam at his brother. Karl might have preferred it (and known from his time as a host that it was doable without being vaporized) but still, he was David's brother, and Suji knew that most people wouldn't feel okay with someone shooting their sibling with alien technology... stun-setting or not.
David quickly began undressing Karl and pulling on his clothes, and Suji turned away awkwardly. There wasn't really anything else she could pretend to be focusing on, so it was obvious that she was trying to give him some privacy. Which was in itself maybe comical because it was so odd. After all, David was putting on more clothes than he was wearing at the moment. Still, the act of dressing seemed private in itself. That, and it was leaving Karl in socks and boxers, and mostly-exposed Karl was kind of like seeing mostly-exposed David in a way. But then again even worse because Suji didn't even know Karl. Either way, awkward city.
"We can um, tie him up in his bedroom. Might also be some spare, uh, clothes in there for him." She didn't think it was all too practical to waste time dressing Karl, but at the same time, that all had to do with how comfortable David felt with the whole situation.
David:
David barely heard Suji. All he heard was the door front door opening. "Hide!" he hissed, and he walked out of the room back into the kitchen, and started cutting up onions.
Immediately, his eyes began to tear up. He'd always hated cutting onions, not just because of the eyes, but because of how the smell clung to his fingers. He could feel the eyes of Karl's roommate on him, but he said nothing, and tried not to hold his breath.
Act normal. You're supposed to be here.
Suji:
Suji hid in the space between the bed and the wall, dragging Karl's still limp body with her. She had the dracon gun trained on him, still holding the roll of duck tape in her other hand. In an ideal situation, she'd be in morph right now, and would be able to thoughtspeak to David with how to handle this. But things were moving faster than she'd planned on, and now she'd have to wait to help him, if she even got the chance.
David had left the door of the bedroom open in his rush to get back to the kitchen, which made Suji groan inwardly. At least this bedroom was towards the back, and Suji doubted he shared it with anyone (there was only one bed). Besides, Yeerks didn't exactly have boyfriends and girlfriends, right? Or at least it wasn't supposed to be allowed by their government.
Suji picked at one side of the ducktape with her teeth (she had to keep one hand on the gun, aiming at Karl if he looked like he was coming around). As quietly as possible (which also meant very, very slowly) she began to a strip off. If she did it too fast it would have that distinct ripping sound... which wasn't too loud in itself, but she couldn't take any chances.
Controller (Janet):
Aros 543 opened the door to his and Ardiv's apartment. He had just come back from the John Hancock Building. What an exhausting day. Sub-Visser 30 could be such a scary person to work under, but somehow he managed.
He came into the room and immediately noticed the smell of onions. "Ugh...." he said as he realized the stench. "I don't know how you can stand cutting those things, Ardiv," he called out to him. He then looked over ot him. He seemed different somehow.
He seemed....tenser, maybe? "You alright there? You seem a bit shook up or something," He then thought of it. "Ah ha! Onion smell is finally getting to you huh? Man, I never thought I'd see the day."
David:
If I were Karl... But I'm not trying to be Karl! I'm trying to be Ardiv, and I don't know a thing about him. SUJI! HELP! Suddenly, all his practicing in front of the mirror seemed... pointless. His mind raced. "Uh-huh, sure," David said, trying to sound emotionless. Now was the tricky part. He didn't know the other yeerk's name, so he had to try to avoid names.
"Listen, I was starting to feel odd earlier today, so I went to the pool. So, just for tonight, I don't think I'll go, but maybe next time." Now, the moment of truth.
Suji:
Suji could hear voices in the other room, and she could could make out the conversation. Nothing terrible yet, at least. Nothing David shouldn't be able to handle. She had to hope. After all, he was Karl's twin, wearing Karl's clothes, in Karl's apartment. She'd freed up a decent amount of the duct tape to cover Karl's mouth from ear.
She needed to morph so she could thoughtspeak to David. She also needed hands to hold the dracon gun in case Karl woke up. Suji began to morph her capuchin, trying as hard as she could to finish the hands first--just so they wouldn't be changing on her later--she turned into the monkey. In the end she was left as a capuchin, and needed both hands to hold up the weapon, but at least she was still holding it and could fire.
<<If he asks what's wrong, tell him you think you have some kind of ear ache. That your host got them a lot when he was younger, so that's what you figure the pain is. That you're going to a physician to try to get antibiotics tonight.>> It would be plausible; ear aches were something that didn't affect how one spoke (like strep-throat might), and could get very ugly without proper treatment. They also weren't too uncommon.
David:
David resisted the urge to breath a sigh of relief. At least he had Suji giving him advice now. That made him feel much safer. Besides, worst case scenario, she could burst into the room with the dracon beam.
Hopefully not though. The point was not to attract attention. That way, the yeerks wouldn't know Karl was gone until it was too late.
Controller:
"Aw, you serious?" Aros 543 asked Ardiv. "I don't blame you personally. That Sub-Visser 30 is scary." He shuddered when thinking of her. "Man, if I could get away, I would. Unfortunately I can't,"
He took a seat in a nerby chair. "I thought you would go for sure too. They're testing the pills today. And you said your host had been acting up a bit lately right? I thought you'd be exstatic." he told him. He sighed. "Then again, it'll probably be another failed test. And heads will probably roll. Literally. I mentioned that that woman is scary right?"
He went up and patted Ardiv's back. "Maybe its best, till we actually start getting them to work. Don't need to lose more hosts to the failed effects of the pills,"
David:
Pills? What does that have to do with Karl acting up? "Well, yeah, I wasn't exactly, uh, counting on the pills working. And I'm definitely staying as far away from, uh, Sub-Visser, er, the Sub-Visser until they work." Wow. That was about as genuine as a cat barking. What was happening? Even after all that practice, his mind was just blanking from fear.
And was this controller going to eat before going or just go to the pool? What had Ardiv been planning on making? He needed to cook something, even just to look like he was cooking something, like Karl would be doing now, but he didn't know how to cook! He wanted to smack his head. But that would have been a dead giveaway.
Suji:
David was waffling. Maybe not hugely--certainly not enough to cover for the fact that he was the spitting image of Karl, Suji hoped--but it did increase her anxiety level. As someone who was good with this type of thing (good with lying, a part of her hissed), maybe Suji was just more sensitive to the mistakes.
Pills though... pills that helped with unruly hosts? That didn't bode well at all. <<Ask him if he knows what they did differently with the pills this time. Why they think they're going to work, if they haven't in the past.>> Normally Suji would have just been grateful too have David make it through with as least interaction as possible. But now this could be important, and she needed to know. <<And quit it with the 'uhs',>> she added, though she figured it would be like instructing a wall to stand a couple inches back from its current spot. <<Plan out what you're going to say before you start talking. The half second of preparation will made it much more fluid.>>
David:
David tried not to grit his teeth. "Say, do you know what they've done differently this time?" Aren't I supposed to be in on this? I can't do this! He was proud of himself, none of his fear showed on his face. Body language might have given something away, but his face was straight. Casual.
He spotted tomatos and spagetti set on the counter. Well, now he at least knew what Ardiv had been planning to make. Not that it helped. The last time David had tried to boil water for pasta, the oil he'd put in to keep the pasta from sticking had caught on fire. He still wasn't sure how that had happened.
Controller:
Aros 543 shook his head. "Ah you know, some random chemical solution they've cooked up," he answered. "I'm not sure, I just help put them together remember?" He looked over at what Ardiv was making. "Aw, spaghetti again? I'm getting sick of the stuff....."
He went back to sit down. "I sure hope it goes better then the last test." he told him. "I mean, last time they suppressed the host too much if you know what I'm saying." Boy was the Sub-Visser unhappy when that test happened. "All I'm asking for is one successful test you know? Then the SUb-Visser can get off our cases....."
David:
David nodded, trying not to think about what might have happened to Karl if they had postponed this mission. So far, the yeerk seemed to be buying the story. David just wished he would leave. He was certain the yeerk could hear his heart pounding from across the room.
But curiosity was nagging his mind. What could this pill project be about? Supressing hosts that were unruly was obviously what the pills did, but... Then again, it made sense that if Karl could take control for short amounts of time, others could too. And that was a problem for the yeerks. Well, not really a problem. More of an annoyance.
Suji:
With a certain dawning horror Suji realized that maybe Karl's yeerk and this yeerk spent so much time together because they were roommates, not just buddy-buddy. Which at least meant that this room would still be safe... supposing that they didn't sleep in the same bed together, and there was another bedroom. Suji decided not to share that thought with David. He probably had enough on his mind, and she didn't want to add anything like the idea that that Controller out there and his brother (or his brother's alien slug, for that matter) were having some kind of illicit relationship.
When it looked like Karl's eyelids had begun to flutter, Suji didn't give him a chance to come all the way to. She pressed the end of the gun straight to his chest, and fired again. That kept the shot almost silent; the lower intensity blasts didn't make as much noise to begin with (not the howling shriek that the killing ones did, at least) and the barrel being pressed against a target muffled it even moreso.
David's question came out clear, no ums, and the Controller didn't seemed to be thrown off at all. Suji allowed herself to feel a moment of pride and relief. <<You're doing good, David. Don't worry, if everything's on schedule, this guy should be leaving for the pool soon. Just keep it up.>> She was glad to be able to compliment David on this; as long as he kept control of the situation, they'd have this in the bag.
<<Say, 'Yeah, Sub-Vissers can be a nightmare.'>> Suji wanted to know more about the pills, but if this Controller didn't know that much about them, he at least seemed to know about this Sub-Visser he kept mentioning that was in charge of them. <<Say, 'I don't think the Sub-Visser will ever give up on the project, even if it's a total failure.' Then ask him what he thinks, something like, 'Do you think it is? The project? The way my host has been acting I hope not, but how long have they been working on it now?'>> Suji tried to affect what she thought David sounded like, her mental-voice dropping a little lower and a little more plaintive for the question parts. <<You can edit as you see fit,>> she added. <<Just a place to start.>>
David:
Slow down, Suji! he thought. "Yeah, Sub-Vissers suck. I don't think the Sub-Visser will ever give up on this, even if it's a complete failure." He hoped he was saying that right. He took a breath. "Do you think it is? The project? You know, a failure? I hope it isn't, what with my host but I can't help but think... I mean, we've been at this for how long now?"
I just want this guy to leave, and here I am stalling him! I really hope Suji doesn't have any more questions. He picked up a tomato and started cutting it.
Controller:
Aros 543 nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's not gonna give up on that project, till we get something," he said sighing. He then heard Ardiv's question and thought about it. "At the moment it is. We could probably take our time and put it to something guareenteed to work, but keeping this pill thing going also brings up morale ya know? So, I don't think it'll go away."
He sighed again. "But man oh man it feels like we've been working on it forever." he told him. He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe Sub-Visser 30's stubbornness will pay off and we'll get somewhere." He then happened to look at the clock. "Oh, looks like I'm starting to run late. You said you already headed to the pool right? Well, I need to get going then," he started to head out for the door. "I'll see ya later," he told him and exited, shutting the apartment door.
Suji:
Suji listened carefully, and then heard the apartment door shut. While she hadn't exactly gotten enough information to be satisfied (not that that was likely to ever happen), she did breathe a sigh of relief now that he was gone. <<Go ahead and lock the door after him, David, and let's get Karl tied to something stable. I got his mouth covered, but I didn't want to try to bind him when that other guy might be able to hear.>>
Why they weren't exactly out of the woods, they were at least going to have the next few hours uninterrupted, if everything went according to the plan. Suji didn't think it was going to be easy though. Even if they kept Karl subdued and bound for most of the time, she'd heard all the horror stories about Kandrona starvation. This wasn't going to be pretty, but at least it shouldn't take forever either. Not if he'd been planning on going to the pool with that other Controller, at least.
Suji began to demorph. She wanted to be able to explain to David what was going to happen without using thoughtspeech. She wasn't sure how much he knew about the process, but watching his brother go through it was likely going to be stressful for him.
David:
David flew to the door and locked it. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now they were in the clear. All that was left was to wait for Karl's yeerk to die.
Almost whistling, he strode back into the room in time to see Suji finish demorphing. "What stable thing can we tie him to? And how long do you think this will take?"
Suji:
Suji looked down at Karl, and rubbed her cheek in thought. "Can't say. Pretty sure he's on his third day though, so shouldn't be too long. Let's duck tape him to his desk chair." She gestured with a nod towards the computer desk on the other side of the bedroom. She bent down to help David drag/lift Karl, and when they got him propped into the chair, she went back for the ducktape. Pulling out one strip, she circled the roll of tape around him a few times, the way a child might erroneously tape together a hasty Christmas present.
When that was done she stood back, and then looked at David. "You did really good out there." She smiled, but after a moment the smile faded. "But I have to warn you, this isn't going to be pretty. We're about to... about to watch a sentient creature, parasite or not, starve to death." Her eyes were locked on his, trying to express how serious the situation might get. "The yeerk in Karl's head will say anything to survive--might try beg, or threaten, pretend he's already dead and Karl is free... a lot of ugly stuff could come up."
Suji looked back down at Karl's still-limp form, taped to the chair and with duct tape over his mouth. Hopefully that would make this easier, not having to listen to him. She had never stopped to think about if she was ready to witness this... but it was David's brother, and she was 'leading' this mission, so it would fall on her to be the one in control, and that reassured her. It meant, if nothing else, she could set aside her own feelings with the excuse of holding herself together for Karl and David's sakes.
"Just before they die, all yeerks have a last survival instinct that drives them to leave their hosts. So until we see Karl's yeerk climbing out, we can't let him go." She looked back up at David. "Kay?"
David:
David swallowed and nodded. "Maybe I should wait in the other room," he whispered. "Just in case... you know..." He hadn't thought about how the yeerks were sentient. Since they looked like slugs, he'd just always thought of them as being slugs; brainless, slow-moving, and just happened to be able to take over people.
But Suji was right. And if the yeerk managed to convince David to let Karl go... It was better not to take the risk.
Suji:
Suji nodded. She couldn't force David into this, and maybe it would be better if he waited outside. At the same time... at the same time, she wasn't sure she wanted to be in a room alone, watching something die a slow and painful death all by herself. Death was one thing, but starvation... that was considered one of the worst ways to go, even by human standards. Not that she'd feel bad for the slug, it was the enemy, but... being alone through it...
She could do it. She could suck it up. Besides, it was for David and his brother's sake.
"If you think you should, that's fine. Someone should stay in here to watch him though. I don't think he's getting out of that, but... just in case." Suji smirked at David. "You could try watching TV. Don't know how many channels are good in the post-apocalypse, but maybe there's some sort of yeerk broadcast. Or just endless reruns of Friends, as par normal."
David:
David smiled a little. "Who said yeerks don't have a sense of humor?" Yeah, maybe they were just listening to the humor of David Gurt.
Did she seem a little uncomfortable? It hit him that Karl not being her brother didn't mean she was immune to the pain of watching a being die of starvation. "We could watch in shifts, if you'd like." Oh yeah, great idea, David. Leave you alone in a room with a yeerk who can pretend to be your brother.
Karl:
Karl's eyes slid slowly open. He was duct taped to a chair, with a strip of tape over his mouth. <<Oh no,>> Ardiv whispered in his mind. <<They can't be...>> He started to thrash madly, trying to get out.
Karl was excited. If this worked, he would be free! Free to move his own body unhindered for the first time in several years now. <<Well, Ardiv,>> he said smugly. <<It looks like time's up.>> Ardiv screamed in their head. Karl's mouth tried to scream with him, but the tape muffled it.
Suji:
David offered to watch in shifts, and suddenly Suji realized that she must have let on that she wasn't uneasy about it. Instantly she pulled her mask back up, the poker-face as David had called it. She shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it. I mean you're welcome to come in and watch with me, but I'm sure Rachel and Chandler and whoever they are will keep better company." Her smile, though entirely false, looked genuine enough--she was good at that much at least. And she looked away, just in case her eyes would betray her.
"I'll call you if there are any problems. Maybe you can raid Karl's fridge and see if yeerks at least have a decent taste in food." She smirked at him--though she didn't really feel like eating, she might change her mind if he had anything appetizing. After all, it wasn't often that they got food that didn't come from a can.
Then Karl came to, thrashing wildly. The chair was pretty heavy so he didn't move much, and the tape held him secure and kept him mostly silent. Suji's fist with the dracon gun tightened, though she had resolved not to stun him with it again unless she had to--she didn't think a handful of stun would cause any lasting damage (and if Karl would become an Animorph he could likely heal it away later anyway) but better to be on the safe side.
"You... should go," she said quietly to David.
David:
David was about to reply when he heard Karl's muffled scream. The chair rocked and bumped as Karl's body fought its bonds. David knew the real Karl preferred the bonds, for the time being. Once the yeerk was gone, that was a different matter.
He swallowed. The yeerk knew what they planned. That was clear. David felt sick, suddenly, knowing that he was going to stand by and watch as a sentient being starved to death. He attacked Karl. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't be doing this. It's his fault. He still felt sick. He felt dizzy and started to sway. He vaguely heard Suji tell him to go, but he couldn't really comprehend what she was saying.
Suji:
Suji watched David closely--and from the glazed over look in his eyes, and how his knees had locked (the cause of the slight swaying, which happened right before people tended to pass out), she knew what could come next. She didn't want to have to deal with Karl's yeerk and a feinting David too.
"Hey," Suji said, firmly grabbing both of David's wrists and turning him slightly towards her, trying to break his eye contact with Karl's struggling form. She gave him a slight reassuring squeezing, dodging her head back and forth to catch his eyes. "It'll be over soon enough. We're doing the right thing, and Karl knows it. That yeerk is the enemy, and the fact that he's going to try to use Karl's body as he's dying is just reinforcing that."
Keeping hold of one of David's wrists, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and began to lead him out of the bedroom. "Go sit down, make yourself eat something bread-y. It'll be over before you know it."
Good little Suji. Being the strong one. It was a hissing, self-loathing voice in her head, but she ignored it.
Karl:
Karl saw David's face turn white and he started to sway. I guess you're new to this, Dave, he thought. Meanwhile, Ardiv thrashed so horribly that the chair fell over. Karl's head cracked against the floor. <<Nice one, Ardiv,>> Karl said. Ardiv snarled back, not really saying anything, too panicked and hungry to say anything coherent.
The girl, Suji, looked emotionless. Karl wasn't fooled though, he knew a facade when he saw one. What was she feeling? Was she like David, green and about to faint, or was she hardened and strong? Of course, he couldn't say that David wasn't strong. He could guess what had happened. David probably had to deal with Aros, since there had to be a reason Ardiv wasn't going to the pool. Karl was impressed. The David he remembered had been something of a scaredy cat. That he had pulled off something like this...
David:
David felt Suji grab his wrists. "I'm fine," he mumbled. "I'll... I'll go." He took one uneasy step, then another. He still felt like he was about to puke.
Eat something? Not while he felt like this, he wasn't eating anything. He'd go over to the couch... yeah... that sounded....
David's knees gave out. "I'm fine," he said again. He started crawling.
Karl:
<<Your brother doesn't look too good,>> Ardiv sneered. <<Yeah, well, unlike you, he has a conscience,>> Karl replied without missing a breath. David was fine. Karl knew him, and he knew he'd had worse tumbles. Psychologically, maybe he wasn't so hot. But that was war.
Meanwhile, he could feel Ardiv's hunger. It was starting to really sting. And it could only get worse.
Suji:
Suji winced when David stumbled, though she didn't spare much time looking down at Karl when he knocked over his chair. She might let him lay there for a while--if she righted it he'd probably just knock it back to the ground. She didn't rush to help David up--she didn't want to seem like she was trying to mother him, and at this point, maybe he just wanted to be alone.
But then he started crawling towards the door, and Suji couldn't stop herself. She leaned down and put an arm around him, the way a soldier might support another with a damaged leg. "C'mon," she said gently, and tried to push herself to a standing position, though there was no way she could lift David if David didn't work with her. And if David couldn't stand, they were going to be a sad sight indeed, but she cared very little about how this appeared to some yeerk.
David:
David managed to rise to his feet with Suji's help. "Sorry," he mumbled. He managed to stumble to the couch, where he collapsed. He cradled his head in his hands and slowly started to feel better.
Well, this is a great first hard mission. You couldn't halfway through it without fainting. I wonder what Karl thinks of you now.
Karl:
Suddenly, pain stabbed through Karl's head. He knew that Ardiv was close to death, mostly because he was in control, more or less. "Yeerk's almost dead," he managed to say. "It shouldn't be too much longer."
<<Hey, Ardiv, curl up and die already,>> he said in his head. <<This hurts.>> Ardiv didn't, or couldn't, reply. He merely screamed in agony.
Suji:
Once David was settled, Suji came back to the bedroom. She stopped in the doorway a moment to look back at him, lying on the couch. At least that gave her a reason not to melt down herself. Not that Suji was the melt-down type, for better or worse. Sighing, she turned back to walk into the bedroom, and closed the door behind her.
Karl was still lying there, half-naked and ducktaped to a chair. Suji leaned down and set him back upright with a little effort. When Karl spoke, Suji regarded him skeptically. "Right. No offense if you really are Karl talking, but you'll forgive me when I say I'll believe it when I see it." She went back to the bed, where the dracon gun was lying, and sat down.
Tried not to think about what how Karl's body might be contorted in the yeerk's final moments. It would be better in the end.
Karl:
"I didn't expect you to, just stun us so I don't have to feel- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It felt like his head was splitting open. Ardiv rolled his head around in would-be impossible ways, and suddenly, Karl felt something clogging his ear. "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" He shook his head madly, trying to swing Ardiv out of his ear.
PLOP. The pain stopped, and he saw the yeerk hit the floor. It started to crawl away. "Oh no you don't!" He struggled with the chair, which hopped forward until his foot came down on Ardiv.
David:
David heard Karl's scream and lurched off the couch. He stumbled to his feet and made his way back to the room just in time to see Karl's foot come down on the yeerk. Then Karl just stood there, panting.
It was over. Karl was free. David turned and vomited into a nearby trashcan. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Suji:
Suji had already raised the dracon gun again, and if it wasn't for her habit of double-checking the setting (one that she had made sure had become second-nature when dealing with anyone she didn't plan on shooting to kill), she would have had him stunned before Ardiv started his way out. Once that process started she was transfixed, morbidly, by the sight. It was loud, but at least it was brief, and the Karl stomped on the yeerk's helpless form.
Suji was still in a state of minor shock with David came in, and then vomited. She tried to speak but her mouth was dry. Had they done it? The smear of yeerk on the floor said they had. "I... I'm going to find a pair of scissors to cut him free. You two... you two should have a moment together, I guess." She quickly stood and left the room.
David:
David nodded his thanks to Suji. He started taking the duct tape off Karl's arms and legs. Almost makes me wish we hadn't bound him so tight, he thought. This is tough work.
"How do you feel?" he asked. Oh yes, David, there's any doubt that he feels less than amazing. Just freed, remember?
Karl:
Karl shook his head. "Grateful, I guess. Amazing, happy, anything that means 'good.'" He rubbed his arms, revelling in the fact that he had complete, unhindered control over his body. "How did you end up with the Animorphs?" he asked.
David seemed more sure of himself. Well, that wasn't hard, but even so, Karl was impressed. The old David could never have pulled a stunt like this.
"Actually, save the story for later, we need to go. The whole building probably heard Ardiv's scream. We can talk when we get to your HQ, ok?"
David:
David nodded. "Ok, let's go." He walked into the kitchen. "Suji? We're going."
He walked back to the window and threw it open. "Suji and I are going to fly back. All you need to do is walk out, act natural, and follow our thought speak directions."
Karl:
Karl smiled. "I like it. Nice and simple." He headed to the door and left, locking it behind him. He strode down the stairs and out the door.
Then he stood outside, waiting for instructions. He glanced around, hoping that his roommate wouldn't be back yet. Then he'd have to step fancy to get away.