Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Arzaac posted:

Jesus how insufferable can this dude get

Does he really believe he's gonna take over the world with rats? Somehow he's actually going to make a working military of a billion rats? While an active invasion is happening, no less?

Ah, but can Yeerks infest rats, though? Didn't think so!

# ? Sep 15, 2022 16:51

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# ? May 24, 2024 06:50

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

Hey, it worked* for the Arn

*It didn't work

# ? Sep 15, 2022 17:58

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Arzaac posted:

Jesus how insufferable can this dude get

Does he really believe he's gonna take over the world with rats? Somehow he's actually going to make a working military of a billion rats? While an active invasion is happening, no less?

This is also roughly around the time that Applegate and Grant were writing a sub plot in the Everworld books about a group of teenage Illinois Nazis trying to invade the fantasy/dream realm at the heart of the series. They're also painted as being similar insufferable and rear end-brained as David and his accumulated goons.

It's a recurring trend throughout their works of thinking incredibly poorly about the types of people who willingly ally with or help other people with fascist intentions.

# ? Sep 15, 2022 18:35

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

TheGreatEvilKing posted:

I remembered David coming back.

I did not remember RAT LEGION.

Ok, this book REALLY has to bomb in the second half to not at least be "Pretty Good."

# ? Sep 15, 2022 21:55

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

TheGreatEvilKing posted:

I remembered David coming back.

I did not remember RAT LEGION.

I'm not sure I knew he came back. I probably saw hints of it browsing the wiki or something. This book was really dropping hints about it though.

# ? Sep 16, 2022 01:35

Vandar: Sep 14, 2007; Isn't That Right, Chairman?

Fuschia tude posted:

I'm not sure I knew he came back. I probably saw hints of it browsing the wiki or something. This book was really dropping hints about it though.

Big spoilers for this book:

It's dropping really blatant hints about something else too and I'm surprised that no one seems to have picked up on it yet.

# ? Sep 16, 2022 02:02

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 11

quote:

�That�s not justice,� I snapped. �That�s revenge.�

David sighed.

<That�s what all criminals say when justice finally catches up with them.>

�I�m not a criminal.�

I am not some kind of nut.

<Jake said there were rules, Rachel. Rules about using the morphing technology for good instead of evil. Rules about what you could do to people and what you couldn�t. how come he wasn�t worrying about the rules when he told you to do this to me?>

�Jake didn�t tell me to do it,� I argued.

David looked surprised. Well, as surprised as a rat can look, I guess.

<He didn�t? You mean, you just decided to trap me all on your own without orders from Jake?> His voice was condescending. <Wow. I�m surprised at you, Rachel. I thought the Animorphs were supposed to be so disciplined.>

I didn�t know what to say. What I wanted him to know. The plan had been Cassie�s. But we�d all agreed to it. Each one of us. And each one of us had had a part in it.

Was I any more guilty because I�d done the physical dirty work?

I�d had no choice! I was the logical one for Jake to send along with David. David hated me most. He wanted to humiliate me. And I�d allowed him to, for our own ends.

There�s something pretty dark down inside you, Rachel.

�I did what I had to do,� I said, trying to hide my distress beneath a tone of conviction. �When you were threatening us. When we thought you�d killed Tobias. Jake sent me after you because he knew I would do what was necessary.�

You, Rachel, you love it. It�s what makes you so brave. It�s what makes you so dangerous. I don�t know what will happen to you if it all ends someday.

Jake.

Neither one of us had exactly distinguished ourselves over the David episode. Not me. Not Jake.

<You think you�re a soldier?> David demanded. Some kind of noble warrior? If you�re a real warrior, then these guys are caped crusaders.>

David laughed. Turned to his two creepy henchmen.

<Let me tell you guys what the mighty Rachel here did to me. Put yourselves in my shoes. I�m a kid, okay? Then aliens steal my parents and, bam, my whole world is destroyed. I can never go home. Never see my parents again.>

That wasn�t my fault! I cried silently. We were only trying to help you!

<Before I can even process what�s happened, I get press-ganged into this group of kids. They lean all over me. They push me around. And when I try to stand up for myself, Rachel here holds a fork to my ear and threatens me. Later, she promised to kill me.>

I felt myself flush with embarrassment.

Tattoo looked at me, cocked an eyebrow, almost imperceptibly lifted a thumb. As if to say, �All right!� He approved of what I�d done. He was ready to bond with me.

This did not make me feel any better.

David rolled onto his back. Waved his paws in the air. Whipped his naked pink tail back and forth.

<You crack me up, Rachel. You really do. You want credit for being some dedicated war hero when all you are is just another punk.>

Abruptly, David flipped over onto his feet.

<You�re all hypocrites. All of you Animorphs. From Jake, the sanctimonious killer, to you, the psycho. But I don�t care about Jake and the others. It was you, Rachel. You were the bad guy. And you�re going to pay big time. I�m going to make you.>

�You can�t,� I said simply.

<Sure I can. Morph. Now.>

I shook my head.

<Morph to rat,> David repeated. <It�s the only morph that�ll do. No grizzly. No elephant. And if you try to morph to insect, you�ll die. Of course, maybe you�d prefer to die than exist like I have. Rooting through garbage. An unwitting pariah.>

David signaled his thugs. They each drew a gun.

David placed his paws against the wall of the cube and leaned in toward me. His nose quivered faster and his voice was gentle now.

Mockingly gentle and falsely comforting. <Look at it this way, Rachel. Living the rest of your life as a rat isn�t the worst fate imaginable for you. You�ll still be able to fight. Rats are always fighting. Predators, enemies, other rats. It doesn�t matter. As long as there�s blood. That should be some consolation.>

I am not some kind of nut!

David�s gentle tone turned nasty. <If you can�t be a human bully, you can at least be a rat bully.>

�I�m not a bully.�

I am not some kind of nut. I know what I�m doing.

<Sure you are. You loved poking that fork against my head and threatening my family. You got off on terrorizing a poor kid who�d basically lost his whole life. If you weren�t a bully, you�d have beenashamed of yourself.>

I had been ashamed of myself.

But �

I still know where the line is. And I won�t cross it. But I never would have tried to kill David if it hadn�t been for Jake.

You worry about me? What do you think you�re going to do, Jake?

Jake had sent me to �take care� of David.

Everyone draws their own line.

He hadn�t told me what, exactly, to do.

But he hadn�t told me what, exactly, not to do, either.

So that was the same as giving me permission to do whatever it took to get the job done.

Wasn�t it?

The thing is, David's not wrong in what he's saying, but Rachel isn't wrong either. But all this is also feeding into Rachel's doubts about herself and how she's been acting, and also how the group sees her. Is she just the hatchetwoman? Is that how they see her? And I think Rachel is scared of herself here, because she's always seen herself as a good person affected by circumstances. But she's not sure if that's true anymore, I don't think.

Chapter 12

quote:

<Oh! So it�s Jake�s fault after all?>

I jerked so hard I knocked my head on the ceiling of the cube.

David was reading my mind. Had he really developed some kind of supernatural intelligence, as he claimed?

Anthropomorphism.

That�s when you slap human feelings, motives, behaviors on nonhuman animals. Or on trees or heavy machinery or anything at all not human. It�s sentimental. It�s Nick Jr. I don�t like to indulge in anthropomorphism.

But human-David was so present in rat-David, I swear I saw actual human expressions flicker across the tiny rodent face.

Rat-David was smirking. Like he�d scored.

Rat-David was messing with my head.

Sinking the needle where he knew I was most vulnerable.

The only way to fight back now was to not react.

Not respond.

Not let him know how close to the mark he was.

�You can�t out psyche me,� I blustered. �You can�t out think me. You�re trying to tear me down. But it won�t work.�

<We�ll see how much ego you have left when you�re in permanent rat morph,> David snarled. <Morph to rat.>

�Or else, what?� I snapped. �Or else you�ll kill me? I�d rather be dead than spend the rest of my life as a rat. I�d rather be dead than be a garbage-eating, money-pilfering, sewer-dwelling, rabies carrying rodent.�

I spit the words at him.

David jerked his head, as if he had been slapped. All his bravado seemed to evaporate. His whiskers drooped. His tiny shoulders sagged. He lifted one delicate paw to his face, as if to hide a tear.

A strangely human and humanizing gesture.

David was crying.

Suddenly, he didn�t look like an archcriminal. Some freaky Rat Man from a Saturday morning cartoon. Now he was Stuart Little. Just a harmless little rat with pink skin showing prettily beneath his white fur.

A helpless little creature that somehow had managed to survive on his own against all odds.
Not just survive, but prevail.

In a strange, twisted way, a valiant little creature.

Every sob was like a punch to my stomach. I felt awful. I felt cruel.

What was I doing?

Why was I trying to make him ashamed of something he couldn�t help?

Why was I trying to make him ashamed of being something I had made him?

�David �� I began, trying to make my voice gentle.

Maybe there was some way to work this out. Some way to bring David back from the other side. Some way to give him a fresh start.

But he cut me off.

<You are already a nothlit,> he said quietly.

�What?�

<You stopped being human long ago, Rachel. No human could have done what you did to me. I wasn�t evil, Rachel. Just - troubled. Now, it�s my turn. I said you�d pay. And today�s the day.>

From some unseen source, a red light began to glow, illuminating the other side of the room. Revealing, out of nowhere, like a magic trick, a second cube on another platform.

There was someone inside the cube. Cassie!

The cube was small, like mine. Padlocked. Only there were no airholes. And it was soundproof. Cassie�s mouth was moving. But I couldn�t hear her, not really. Just faint, muffled cries.

David�s thugs chuckled and pointed.

<It�s not morph to rat or you die,> David said. <That choice would be too easy. No, Rachel, the choice is this: Morph to rat or Cassie dies. Of suffocation.>

Shrill laughter assaulted my ears.

I burned with fury.

Had I really felt sorry for this piece of crap?

David was right. We should never have stranded him on the island. We should have killed him when we had the chance. I�d known what he was. Way more than just a troubled kid.

But killing David had seemed over the top. Barbaric.

The reality was that I�d been afraid. Afraid to kill.

We all had.

I saw now that I, at least, had just been weak.

My hands clenched and unclenched. If I got even half the chance again, I wouldn�t hesitate. There would be no more fear. No more weakness. No more moral wavering. No more uncertain compromises.

I would kill.

David�s laughter. The thugs� stupid chuckling.

And then there was another voice.

A weird giggle.

Where was it coming from?

Now the giggle became a cry. Now a phrase. Repeated over and over.

Cassie, pounding on the inside of her cube. Her mouth forming the words: �Don�t morph! Don�t morph!�

Begging me not to sacrifice my life for hers.

�Cassie, stop shouting!� I yelled, willing her to hear. �You�ll use up all the air. Stop!�

But she didn�t.

Grease walked over to Cassie�s cube. Pressed his hideous face against the front wall and made a series of grotesque expressions.
Mocked her!

<Morph, Rachel,> David repeated. <Your best friend is quickly using up all the available air in that cube. I�d say she has about another two minutes before unconsciousness sets in. As soon as you morph, I�ll open an airhole for her.�

I knew David.

He�d let Cassie die if I didn�t morph.

But if I did morph - would he really allow her to live?

I had to take that chance.

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. But it was hard.

So many competing emotions!

Pity. Guilt. Fear. Rage.

I am not some kind of nut!

Impossible to focus!

<Hurry up, Rachel.> David�s voice. <These punks want to see somebody die. They like watching people suffer.>

Not just rage.

Pure unadulterated hate.

It coursed through my body like jet fuel.

I would morph to rat. I would pretend to cooperate.

And when I got the chance, I would kill David. I would kill him and his punks.

SCHWOOP!

My arms retracted. My legs shrank. I was a big, unbalanced lump on the floor of the cube. I looked down at my feet. They were shrinking, shrinking. Now popping out of my massive sneakers. Now sprouting tiny claws where there had been fleshy toes.

Now the rest of me shrank. Fast. My skin grew loose and pink, then rapidly sprouted white hairs. My nose - still human. But not for long. It disappeared. Was replaced by a button or nub of flesh, which then narrowed into the rat�s snout.

My eyes - still human, still huge in the rat�s human skull. Impossible! Suddenly, the sockets began to shrink. Faster than the eyeballs! Squeezing the eyeballs until I thought they were going to pop.

Finally, my eyeballs began to shrink. A perspective change. My tunnel of vision seriously narrowed. And I was looking at the world from about three inches off the floor.

The morph was complete. I was a rat.

No!

Grease set a digital clock right in front of me, just outside the cube wall. David stood on his back legs and rested his front paws on the clock.

<Two hours, Rachel. That�s all it takes. Just two hours of hell and then, it�s you and me. Rats together. Forever.>

I mean, she is sacrificing herself to save Cassie here.

# ? Sep 16, 2022 02:26

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

I like the whole having to justify your worst actions theme. :shrug:

It's a quirky book but honestly I like it.

# ? Sep 16, 2022 03:10

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

I mean, I'm liking it so far, and after I started this book I went ahead and read the entire book, and in general, I liked it. I am curious as to what people think once we're done, but I'm not understanding the level of criticism some people have.

# ? Sep 16, 2022 03:30

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapters tomorrow, ok?

# ? Sep 17, 2022 03:32

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

David is 100% doing the Calm Hitler technique.

# ? Sep 17, 2022 10:19

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

If you can get past the ludicrousness of Rat Legion - and honestly we've accepted worse - it's better than I recall. (Also the thumb is on the scale with a bunch of rats and teenage thugs somehow managing to render both of them unconscious and get them into those boxes, but whatever, that's pedantic.)

I think going back to the well with David, something that was such a highlight of the series the first time, is a risky idea and a symptom of "maybe this series needs to start wrapping up," but we'll see how they land it. I honestly don't remember much of the rest of the book.

I also wonder if, thematically, it would have been a better fit if it was Jake's life on the line rather than Cassie's.

Vandar posted:

Big spoilers for this book:

It's dropping really blatant hints about something else too and I'm surprised that no one seems to have picked up on it yet.

This aspect I like a lot more than I remember the first time around, particularly coming fresh on the heels of the Ellimist Chronicles. Crayak has tried and failed to break Jake, so especially at this stage of the war it makes sense that he turns his machinations to another member of the group.

# ? Sep 18, 2022 00:59

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 13

quote:

Two hours. I had two hours.

And then my life might as well be over.

The rat�s natural curiosity kicked in. I didn�t try to stop it.

Maybe the rat�s instincts for escape would pick up something I had missed.

Nose quivering, whiskers twitching, I ran along the four walls of the cube. Stopped to sniff at each corner. Stood up and pressed my front paws against each wall.

<There�s no way out, Rachel. Do you think I would go to all this trouble and then build a prison you could get out of?>

I scurried back to where David stood, looking in. We were nose to nose. Eye to eye.

<Hungry, Rachel? Don�t bother to answer. I know you are. Rats are always hungry.>

Tattoo came over to the cube. In his hand he held a plastic baggie. It was filled with rotted food.

Methodically he began to poke pieces of moldy carrots and green meat through the airholes. Stinking, rotting garbage crawling with maggots.

<Stop!> I shouted.

<Just try it,> David coaxed. <Mold is not too bad once you get used to it. And the sooner you get used to eating garbage, the happier you�ll be. It�s what rats do. Unless, of course, you�re me.>

Grease placed a chunk of fresh French bread next to David. A bunch of grapes.

<Luckily, I�m a genius,> David went on, casually poking at the bread with his twitching nose. <I�ve managed to rise above my station in life. Sure, I�m a rat. But I�m also the big cheese.> David looked at me and giggled. <Get it?>

Yeah, I thought. Pure genius. But I said nothing.

David didn�t seem to mind my silence.

<Other rats have to forage for themselves. Not me. I have others do my dirty work. I don�t like going into places where I know I�m hated. Do you?>

 I answered swiftly.

Why had I spoken?

Given David more to use against me.

<Oh, I think you do, Rachel. I mean, come on. You know the others hate you. You know they�ll be relieved you�re gone. That you�re not their problem anymore. That they don�t have to worry about what wacko Rachel is going to do next.>

I think there�s something pretty dark down inside you, Rachel.

<You don�t know what you�re talking about.>

I worry about you, Rachel. I don�t know what will happen to you if it all ends someday. <Oh yes I do, Rachel. You�re a problem. The Animorphs can�t control you. But they can�t kill you, either. So my brilliant plan is the perfect solution.>

I looked over at Cassie. She was crouched, silent. David had kept his word. He�d instructed Tattoo to open an airhole. Cassie could breathe. Was she breathing more easily because I was out of the way?

Was David right? Would Jake and Marco, Ax, even Tobias, be relieved?

Maybe they would. Maybe they wouldn�t admit it to one another. But secretly, deep down, maybe they�d be relieved.

Whew. Rachel�s gone. At least that�s over!

I am not some kind of nut!

No! It was unfair! Unfair. Unfair. Unfair.

Since the beginning I�d only done what had to be done. What nobody else had wanted to do. And was anybody grateful? Grateful for all the sacrifices I�d made?

No.

<You see, Rachel, the problem with the Animorphs is that they don�t appreciate you. And they don�t appreciate you because they�ve never figured out who they are. Never really defined their goals. You can�t achieve goals if you don�t know what they are. Me? I know what my goals are.>

I tried to ignore him. I paced, sniffed, circled.

But there was no escape.

Not from the cube.

Not from his voice.

<I�m going to beat them all, Rachel. The Animorphs. Now, you�re probably thinking that�s crazy. How can I, a lowly rodent, defeat an experienced guerilla force with alien technology on its side? But let�s put this in perspective. If a lowly slug can lead an intergalactic invasion, then surely a pair of rats - one of them a genius - could at least carve out a little kingdom for themselves.>

In spite of myself, I was curious.

<How?>

<If you wipe out the hosts, you can wipe out the Yeerks. Or at least scare them off the planet.>

<What are you talking about?>

<I�m talking about plague, Rachel. Bubonic plague. Black death. Rats carry plague. And rats can get in and out of a biological weapons lab with no problem. Labs where there are vials and vials of plague virus.>

<You�d wipe out the whole human race!>

<Not all of it. But a large percentage. Maybe half. And what�s left, we could control by threatening more plague. Just think! I, David, a rat, would be the most powerful creature in the world. Armed with one tiny bacterium of bubonic plague, and an army of rats, I could be deadlier than a nuclear arsenal.>

All of a sudden, I realized that David wasn�t crazy.

Well, maybe he was crazy, but his plan wasn�t.

So that's David's plan....biological warfare. David apparently doesn't know that bubonic plague is fairly easily treatable with antibiotics nowadays, but, you know, he's a rat. not a doctor.

Chapter 14

[

quote:

The voice.

<We could win, Rachel. Rats could rule the world.>

I was smarter than any of you.

<Sure, we�d still be rats. I mean, we wouldn�t be able to drive a Ferrari or eat at Le Cirque. But all humans would have to bow down and grovel to us. The human race would be at our disposal! Our beck and call!>

Le Cirque? I thought inanely. Ignoring the full import of David�s message. Human-David had been more of a Wendy�s kind of guy.

<The key to winning is no mercy, Rachel.>

David�s voice was - grand. Somehow compelling.

Like he was one of those inspirational speakers big corporations hire. The ones who come in and pump up a flagging sales department into a slogan-induced frenzy of sell-sell-sell energy. Still, what he was saying did make some sense. Hadn�t I always been the one to preach �show no mercy�?

<We can�t go soft, Rachel. We can�t give in to emotional attachments. Or to morality. A leader leads because he or she is a law unto themselves. A leader really believes that law will be accepted without question by those whose destiny it is to follow.>

Yes, yes. A leader has to be totally focused, totally without mercy, totally sure of her decisions� .

<And if you were to destroy Jake, well, then, the other Animorphs would follow you without question. Right?>

The voice. It was hypnotic.

It made sense.

It was seductive.

It was reasonable.

It spoke to me.

<Right, Rachel?> he pressed gently.

Jake doesn�t even know how to use his power.

<Right,> I heard myself agree.

Then a crazy laugh, high and wild, broke the spell.

And I realized it wasn�t David�s voice I�d been hearing.

Not David�s voice that had manipulated me. That had cast its magic over me.

It was another voice entirely.

I shot a look at the clock.

What!

I panicked.

What happened?

Where had the time gone?

What had David done to me!

And then there was a low humming sound. Very faint, but audible.

And again, the dark, cavernous space was lit with an eerie red glow. Only now, the light source was visible.

The light source was a large red eye.

It hovered over the room from just under the vaulted ceiling. Peered down like a gigantic red spotlight.

Cassie. Pounding on the wall of her cube. Shouting. I couldn�t hear her but I knew what she was saying.

�Demorph, Rachel. Demorph! Don�t get trapped. Don�t let them do this to you!�

I stared at David.

His nose and whiskers quivered.

He didn�t look like a world ruler.

He didn�t look like any kind of leader at all.

He looked like a scared little rat.

Some kid�s science-class pet.

An exterminator�s dream.

My brain kicked into overdrive.

<Wait!>

David cringed.

<No,> he protested softly.

I stood up on my hind legs.

<Reality check.>

<Everything I told you is true,> David said quickly. 

<Rats are not sentient creatures,> I interrupted. <They don�t take orders. They don�t organize. They can�t be rallied like troops. And they don�t attack people on command.>

David chittered and lay on his belly.

<You might be a rat with human intelligence but that doesn�t make you Dr. Dolittle. You can talk to me and you can talk to your punks. But you can�t �talk� to other rats.>

<You don�t know what you�re saying! You don�t know anything!> David cried. <Shut up! Shut up!>

<Which means that what happened outside the barn couldn�t have happened,> I went on, my brain whirring. <And what you said happened on the island - your building a loyal following - couldn�t have happened. Which means that this, right now, can�t be happening, either!>

I looked over at Cassie.

She was smiling. And then Cassie wasn�t Cassie. She became a creature we had encountered before.

The Drode!

An intergalactic trickster.

Two legs. Body held forward and balanced by a stubby tail. Like a bird or a small dinosaur. Its hands were flimsy. Weak. Its head was vaguely human in shape. The eyes in that head, wideset. Intelligent. Laughing. Cruel.

The Drode.

The creature who�d once offered me a deal. Who�d called me �Rachel of the dark heart.�

The Drode.

Sidekick to the most powerful and malevolent force in the universe.

A force that had vowed revenge when Jake doomed its childlike killers, the Howlers. A force that could be balanced only by the Ellimist. A being whose powers were equally comprehensive. Whose motives were seemingly good.

But this was not the Ellimist. This was the force that had haunted Jake�s dreams. And now, I realized, mine, too.

<Crayak!>

So now we know who's really behind this....Crayak and his servant the Drode (which is why in all the visions and dreams Rachel had, she saw a red light that she was attracted to....that's Crayak's symbol.. And, Freebooter, that's why the Rat Legion is so ludicrous....like Rachel realized, it's a lie of David's. Rats can't be talked to, or given orders, or made to attack on command.

Also, for those who don't know, Le Cirque is a (now closed) famous French restaurant in New York City.

# ? Sep 18, 2022 02:24

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Oh, yeah, this might be why I didn't like it. Either stick to your guns with Rat Legion under Psychopath King David, or don't do it in the first place. Definitely don't give us some kind of psychological dream/magic world which removes actual stakes. (This might also be why I don't remember it beyond vague vibes.)

# ? Sep 18, 2022 12:53

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

freebooter posted:

Oh, yeah, this might be why I didn't like it. Either stick to your guns with Rat Legion under Psychopath King David, or don't do it in the first place. Definitely don't give us some kind of psychological dream/magic world which removes actual stakes. (This might also be why I don't remember it beyond vague vibes.)

I mean, I guess I'd say the stakes aren't King David's Rat Legion. It's more Rachel's soul. The book is, and has been so far, about Rachel coming to terms with what the war is doing to her and her fear that she's been corrupted by it and is no longer a good or decent person. Part of the reason that David is there is because she was the one who actually carried out the David thing and stayed to watch him to make sure he stayed in morph until he was a nothlit, and that's the action she did during the war that she feels most guilty about.

# ? Sep 18, 2022 16:07

Zonko_T.M.: Jul 1, 2007; I'm not here to fuck spiders!

I'm a fan of the idea of Crayak trying to seduce Rachel to his side, but I think something a little more plausible or... thematically consistent? Would be better. Like maybe Crayak creates a dream scenario where David is restored his morphing power, mirroring Tobias, and has formed a not-rat-based organization, and Rachel figures it out because of less glaring holes in the story than "I can control rats".

# ? Sep 18, 2022 19:14

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Zonko_T.M. posted:

I'm a fan of the idea of Crayak trying to seduce Rachel to his side, but I think something a little more plausible or... thematically consistent? Would be better. Like maybe Crayak creates a dream scenario where David is restored his morphing power, mirroring Tobias, and has formed a not-rat-based organization, and Rachel figures it out because of less glaring holes in the story than "I can control rats".

Oh, Crayak has not yet begun to seduce.

# ? Sep 18, 2022 19:25

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Maybe stakes wasn't the right word, I meant more... consequences. To quote Roger Ebert:

quote:

I have a problem with almost all nightmare movies: They aren't as suspenseful as they should be because they don't have to follow any logic. Anything can happen, nothing needs to happen, nothing is as it seems and the rules keep changing.

# ? Sep 18, 2022 21:26

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

freebooter posted:

Maybe stakes wasn't the right word, I meant more... consequences. To quote Roger Ebert:

What review was that?

# ? Sep 18, 2022 21:34

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 15

quote:

The Drode laughed harder. Then �

WHOOOMPPH!

Came popping up out of the cube like a Jack-in-the-box.

�You called my master�s name. Can it be that you need some help, Rachel? Rachel of the dark heart. Rachel the soon-to-be nothlit. Rachel the rat.�

<What are you doing?> I demanded. <What�s this all about?>

<It�s about payback,> David sniveled.

I laughed.

<You�re telling me that the all-powerful Crayak is working for a rat?>

The Drode giggled.

<Rachel, Rachel. Who knew you had a sense of humor? No, Rachel. The rat works for Crayak. Whatever puny scores the rat has to settle are of no interest to us. No, we seek your help in a larger payback. We once told you we had hopes for you, Rachel. Do you remember? We still do.>

<What do you want?>

The red eye that was Crayak pulsed and seemed to grow some sort of extension from below. A body of sorts? Or a machine? A little of both or neither. Then Crayak spoke.

�I want to help you realize your full potential, Rachel. We have watched you. With interest and with growing admiration. Why are you content to follow when clearly you should lead?�

<So this is about Jake? I remember now. You told him he�d suffer for what he did to the Howlers.>

�No. This is about you, Rachel. You could be so much more than you are.� It sighed. �What a waste it would be to see you finish out your days as a rat.�

<I�m not worried,> I lied.

�We know you are brave.� Crayak�s tone was condescending. �But do no disappoint us by being a fool. Unless you want to become a nothlit, you need my help.�

 I countered. <Because it�s pretty clear that none of this is really happening. Do you think I�m an idiot?>

Crayak, the conglomerate of life and technology, chuckled. �What do you mean?�

<I mean this whole thing is an illusion. David�s story. Rats can�t be led like an army. They can�t form alliances, and they can�t decide to stow away on boats. Which means that David cannot be here. He is an illusion. And I seriously doubt that I�m a rat. Look, you�re all just a nightmare. A seriously foul dream.>

�Excellent, Rachel. You are a skeptic. A good quality in a strategist. And a leader. David? You�ve had your fun but Rachel got the best of you. I told you that if she guessed there was more here than what meets the eye, you had to tell her the truth. Tell her.>

 David admitted grudgingly. <But everything was Crayak�s doing. I don�t� have a rat army. Rats don�t understand much of anything. You can�t talk to rats.>

David�s rodent body fairly emanated rising panic. Hysteria. So did his voice.

<Do you have any idea just how bad it was for me on that rock, Rachel? Not another sentient creature. And having to defend myself from the others? From other rats? From birds of prey? From the rain and the cold and ->

�I didn�t tell you to whine!� Crayak thundered angrily.

<Okay! Okay!> David turned to me. <Crayak got me off the island.>

<In exchange for what?> I asked.

<In exchange for a companion. I would have chosen Cassie. She was nice to me when no one else was. But that�s why I couldn�t choose her after all. I wouldn�t condemn her to this living hell.>

The thing that was Crayak bulged and shrank. Was it breathing? Did it need to breathe?

�You see, Rachel,� it said, �this isn�t a nightmare. Or a bad dream. The reality is, Rachel, that you are, indeed, in rat morph. In a matter of minutes you will be trapped forever in the morph. You will live out your life as a rat with only this weak and sniveling would-be traitor as your companion.�

In spite of myself I began to shake. The human and rat-me.

Crayak went on, it�s voice low and powerful, like the rumble of thunder.

�I can free you, Rachel. I can free you from the cube. I can free you from David. I can free you from the morph. But first, you must free yourself from yourself.�

I looked at the clock.

Twenty-two minutes!

<Stop talking in riddles!> I shouted. 

The thing that called itself Crayak laughed. My heart thudded with the reverberations.

�It is time you found out.�

There was no sound. But it felt like there should have been a sound. A WHOOSH! or a SCHLOOOOP!

Because in an instant everything was altered.

The cube was gone and I was human again. I stood in the center of the cavernous chamber. David�s punks were trapped inside Cassie�s cube. Cassie? I hadn�t seen her since the Drode appeared.

Crayak had moved, somehow, to the far side of the room. Suddenly, from its bulk a muscled armlike thing extended.

�Come with me, Rachel.�

I don�t know why. But I reached out. And the distance between us magically shrank.

I looked up. And in an instant, the distance between me and the thirty-foot roof disappeared. I looked down and saw a white speck scurrying into the corner for safety. David.

�What is this?� I demanded. �I�m a giant now?�

�Only if you need to be,� Crayak replied. �You are as strong as you need to be. As big as you need to be. As ruthless as you need to be. You�re not Rachel anymore. You�re Super-Rachel. Can�t you feel it? The raw power?�

I could feel it. I could feel a strange and magnificent energy coursing up and down my arms and legs, like electrical currents.

The energy was potent. Intoxicating. Familiar.

I�d experienced it before.

The energy was hate. Hate now enhanced with outrageous power. And the moral certainty that I was right. That everything I thought and everything I did was right right right! I felt like a god. There was nothing I couldn�t do. No one I couldn�t destroy.

I stared at my hands. They weren�t just hands. Not just pink flesh and coursing blood and pulsing muscle. They were powerful machines, reinforced with gears and pulleys and wheels. I flexed my fingers. Steel claws extended from beneath my fingers. I flexed again and they retracted, disappearing into the flesh of my fingertips.

�Yes, Rachel,� Crayak said. �There when you need it. Gone when you don�t.�

I looked down. The floor was the usual distance away. I was normal-sized again.

I heard the Drode giggle.

�Think fast, Rachel.�

From the other side of the room, the Drode heaved what looked like a massive iron cube in my direction. It was big enough to flatten me like a bug.

Reflexively, I reached out my arms.

Every bizarre morphing sensation I had ever experienced was suddenly telescoped into a nanosecond.

Every cell burst, shifted, flowed, exploded with energy! My body adapted to meet the needs of the moment.

I was twenty feet tall with the strength of thirty Hork-Bajir. My hands were massive steel claws. I caught the cube easily. My �fingers� closed neatly around it as if it were a softball.

Even the Drode looked slightly amazed.

I dropped the cube with a thud and lifted my lip in a snarl. I felt my teeth click together. Upper and lower rows had become iron fangs that sparked as they gnashed against each other.

�You!�

The Drode turned to run.

So, yea, like we were saying. The whole rat army thing is a lie. This was all set up by Crayak. Remember the rules of the game. Neither the Elimist or Crayak can interfere directly. They have to work through agents who are loyal to them out of their own free will, and Crayak wants Rachel.

Chapter 16

quote:

But it was too late.

I leaped, my long, strong legs propelling me across the huge room in one fluid motion.

I was on it in a heartbeat.

One hand closed over the Drode�s body. The other over its head.

With the effort it would have taken a ten-year-old to peel a banana, I tore its head from its body. A flood of euphoria and adrenaline surged through me.

No one could stop me!

Nothing could resist me!

No army could defeat me!

I was a superpredator. A superhero.

I was free of any human weakness.

Free of any fear.

This is what Crayak had meant about freeing myself!

Now I understood!

�I am free!� I shouted gleefully. �I am free!�

My voice was a monstrous roar echoing through the dungeon-like sewer.

Crayak laughed.

�Not so fast, Rachel. You are not free. Because you still believe this to be a fantasy, don�t you? A silly simulation that gives you the illusion of deadly power. Like one of those video games you humans enjoy so much. A virtual-reality experience.�

Something in my palm vibrated like a pager.

It was the Drode�s head. Laughing.

The Drode was still alive.

Grinning up at me with its green-rimmed smile.

Rachel, do you feel the adrenaline rush of murderous desire? Do you feel the urge to reach out and destroy me?

�There are many masters of illusion in the universe, Rachel. Many manipulators of perception. But only I am a master of reality. A manipulator of the concrete. Well, then, perhaps this is a fantasy, after all. Your fantasy. But I can make it real at any time. For example, perhaps you would like to rip the Drode apart for real?�

�Hey!� the Drode protested. �Now, let�s not get carried away.�

You know, Crayak could use you, Rachel. If you ever find yourself desperate, Rachel. At an end. In need �

Suddenly, I was furious.

�the adrenaline rush of murderous desire �

I was tired of being toyed with.

Was this a fantasy or wasn�t it?

A nightmare, a dream, a hallucination?

Crayak was deliberately confusing me!

I wasn�t free of anything. Of Crayak, of my guilt, of David, of my fears, of anything!

I was still a prisoner!

Two hours of horror � reach out and destroy �

I took dead aim at the glowing red eye.

Hurled the Drode�s head at it!

But the eye simply disappeared.

The Drode reassembled in midair and landed on its feet. Sighed and stretched its arms and legs to their full extent.

Crayak reappeared on the other side of the room.

�Rachel!� it chided. �That was a waste of time. A waste of energy. A waste of power. You cannot harm me. You know this. Why make yourself appear foolish to your inferiors?�

It gestured toward David, cowering in the corner.

David squeaked. <Who are you calling inferior! No way am I inferior to Rachel. She�s the same as me. Except she�s been luckier.>

�Perhaps you are right,� Crayak mused. �Perhaps I am the one wasting my time and energy.�

This time, there was a sound effect. Or I imagined there was.

WHOOSH!

I was a rat again.

NOOOOO!

I was inside the cube.

Rotted food strewn at my feet.

And David was with me.

I looked at the counter.

No.

Who could save me? Who could I ask to save me?

Not Jake, not the other Animorphs. Not the Ellimist. There was nobody I could turn to.

Nobody.

If you ever find yourself desperate, Rachel �

I kind of like the idea that Crayak mocks the idea of video games here, because the Elimist is a gamer. (of course, so is Crayak, in a different sense) And for the record, Rachel is obviously better than David. It is interesting that Crayak is willing to sacrifice the Drode for Rachel, if need be.

# ? Sep 19, 2022 02:28

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Willing to sacrifice Drode, too.

Well, at least pretend he is.

# ? Sep 19, 2022 03:14

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

True,

# ? Sep 19, 2022 03:15

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

quote:

<Do you have any idea just how bad it was for me on that rock, Rachel... >

“I didn’t tell you to whine!” Crayak thundered angrily.

lmao team Crayak reporting in

# ? Sep 19, 2022 08:37

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

What review was that?

Labyrinth

Epicurius posted:

And for the record, Rachel is obviously better than David.

I think probably she is, though it's interesting to think how things might have played out if David had been part of the group initially and Rachel had been the new kid whose family got infested and was thrown into it after her life was destroyed.

# ? Sep 19, 2022 10:47

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 17

quote:

I scratched at the walls.

It was horrible!

More horrible than before.

To be so small and so weak after experiencing so much strength and power.

Unbearable!

I was ready to do anything - anything! - to get it back. To get back the power. The invincibility!

A voice. In my head. The Drode.

Something it�d said to me a long time ago. When we�d first encountered it.

Remember this: Your cousin�s life is your passport to salvation in the arms of Crayak.

No �

I pushed away the memory.

David laughed.

<I�ve been waiting a long time for this.>

<Shut up.>

 David gloated. 

<Shut. Up.>

<Make me,> he taunted. <Let�s see how tough you really are when you don�t have your buddies or your grizzly morph to back you up.>

I turned and jumped him. Dug with my claws. Bit with my teeth.

But David was bigger and more experienced with the morph.

His back claws ripped at my belly. His teeth, needle sharp from months in the wild, sliced my face.

I was losing. Losing the fight.

Losing to David!

<NOOOOOO!>

Uncontrollable rage! Unbelievable hatred!

I was overwhelmed with adrenaline.

David had me!

I was pinned, couldn�t move!

The counter turned over again.

<NOOOO!>

I thrashed with all four legs. Futilely, my tail whipped back and forth, back and forth.

<NO! NO! NO!>

The sound �

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, I was myself again. Human-Rachel.

Outside the cube and crumpled on the floor. Flailing around like a two-year-old having a tantrum.

�Tsk, tsk.� Crayak. �Is this how a leader should behave?�

I jumped to my feet.

SPROOING!

Steel coils in my knees and ankles. Once again, I was Super-Rachel! And the hatred I had felt toward David, the killing rage, was still pumping through my body. Throbbing through my brain My eagle eye caught the two punks.

Somehow they�d escaped the cube. Were climbing the iron staircase welded to the stone wall. Headed for the manhole cover in the ceiling.

Apparently, things had turned just a little too weird for them. Certainly Crayak hadn�t taken pity and let them escape their prison.

Or had it?

Didn�t matter.

I reached up and my arm ratcheted twenty feet.

Curled my fingers around a piece of the iron staircase and pulled.

The staircase came away from the stone wall as if it had been made of balsa wood.

KKKERRAAK!!!

Tattoo and Grease fell screaming through the air.

Crayak gestured gracefully.

From nowhere, a net spread about fifteen feet off the floor.

THUMP! THUMP!

And broke the punks� fall. For a moment the net swayed gently. Then it flipped and dumped the two punks out onto the floor.

They lay there at my massive feet, stunned. Stared up at me with terrified eyes.

�Imagine what you could do for the good of Earth with such powers,� Crayak said.

The thought was enticing.

�Puny bullets would have no effect on you. Yeerk Dracon beams would only warm your flesh. You could destroy anyone, anything, that you chose.�
I tried to make my expression neutral. Indifferent. But every nerve ending in my body was vibrating with ambition.

�You would let me stop the Yeerks?�

Crayak waved a dismissive hand.

�I would create you, Rachel, and you would do as you please.�

WHOOSH!

I was back in the cube.

A rat.

With David�s teeth in my neck.

And the counter in front of my eyes.

We struggled! Tails, teeth, and claws.

The contrast was unbearable.

From absolute dominion to absolute submission.

Unthinkable! Unendurable!

I managed to pull my neck from David�s grip. Felt the skin on the back of my neck tear.

David chased me.

If Crayak were going to create a supercreature, why had it chosen me and not Jake? I couldn�t take this anymore! Salvation in the arms of Crayak �

<Don�t worry,> David called from behind me. <Life as a rat won�t be so bad. You won�t have any strength. You won�t have any power. And you definitely won�t have any friends. But you will have me.>

And the Drode laughed hysterically.

That's the choice, right?

Chapter 18

quote:

WHOOSH!

I was Super-Rachel.

Outside the cube.

Stumbling to my feet.

�Quit the yo-yo effect. I get it!� I screamed at Crayak. �I can be a rat. Or I can be a god. But only if I do what you want.�

�What makes you think you know what I want?� Crayak asked. �How dare you presume to understand? Understand only this, Rachel. You and you alone decide what you will do. And you and you alone accept the consequences.�

I took a deep breath and forced myself to sound calm. In control.

�But you do want something. Don�t you?�

Crayak chuckled.

�That�s better, Rachel. Be cold. Do not let your emotions sway you. Yes. If I create you, if I make you the most powerful force on Earth, I will ask for something in return. Is that unfair?�

�It depends on what you want.�

�I want justice,� it said reasonably. �Jake destroyed my Howlers. Now I want you to destroy Jake.��

Never,� I said, drawing in my breath.

�Rachel. Think! I�m offering you a chance to destroy the Yeerks once and for all. To save the life of every human on the planet. Are you willing to sacrifice billions of lives to save just one?�

The needs of the many versus the needs of one.

�You can�t make me murder Jake.�

�I can�t make you do anything,� Crayak reminded me. �You have free will. What you do with it is up to you. You can use it for good. Or you can use it for evil. Now, listen. Be sure you understand. I�m offering you a chance to save the world,� Crayak said. �I�m offering you the chance to be a force for good - or for evil. What is it going to be?�

I closed my eyes, confused now.

Kill Jake and save the human race from being conquered by the Yeerks.

Make Jake a sacrifice. His death - the death of one human kid - would bring freedom to millions. Billions.

And I �

It was a deal with a devil.

And its name was Crayak.

�I�m one of the good guys,� I said.

Then I tried to figure out exactly what it was that made me a good guy.

I had no answer.

Maybe I�d never had one.

Crayak chuckled again.

�Good guys. Bad guys. It seems so simple, and yet it is anything but.�

I heard a sound. A cry for help!

Cassie!

Trapped again in the other cube and pounding on the front wall. Calling out to me. Begging me to do something.

What?

What was she begging me to do?

�Good and bad are so simple for Cassie,� Crayak said.

Yes. Yes. Cassie always knew right from wrong.

�So what is she telling you to do?� it asked.

I didn�t know.

Would Cassie sacrifice herself to save the entire planet?

Yes. Without a second thought.

Would she sacrifice Jake?

I didn�t know.

Would she sacrifice me to nothlit status to save Jake?

I didn�t know that, either.

�What is Cassie telling you to do?� Crayak pressed.

�I don�t know!� I cried. �I don�t know. I�m confused.�

�But good and bad are so simple,� Crayak teased.

�Only for the simple-minded,� the Drode mocked. Hopped up and down. Began to sing in a childish voice, �I�m one of the good guys. I�m one of the good guys. I�m one of the good guys!�

�The good against the bad,� Crayak murmured. �The age-old battle. Let�s settle it once and for all.�

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, the dungeon-like sewer expanded to the size of a football field. Bleachers lined three of the walls.

High up in the stands, I saw the pulsing red mass. Beside it, the Drode. Crayak nodded, and the Drode threw something out onto the field.

It was a ball.

The ball hit the ground, bounced slightly, and rolled toward my feet. I bent to pick it up � And reared back when the ball exploded into matter.

I found myself eye-to-eye with Visser One�s Andalite stalk eyes.

He let out a bellow of rage and surprise. Careened backward.

I did the same.

Tried to get over the shock of being suddenly face-to-face, one-on-one, with my most hated enemy. Who was now galloping toward me. His lethal tail blade whisked the air, prepared to strike.

I kept my eye on the tail and ducked.

I was unprepared for the speed and velocity with which my body responded.

I shot across the floor on my stomach at an easy twenty-five miles an hour!

I hit the wall headfirst. Didn�t feel a thing. The wall crumbled, buried me under a pile of rubble.

I could hear Visser One shouting at Crayak.

<Where am I? Who are you! And why have you brought me here?>

 Crayak replied calmly.

Visser One laughed. No mistaking, ever, that demonic sound.

<Well then. It would appear I have already won.>

Beneath the pile of bricks and stone, I smiled.

Looks are deceiving.

I get the feeling that this is just Rachel being put into scenarios, but I don't think that's all there is to it. This is a real situation, as wonderous as it may seem. Rachel is in real danger here.

# ? Sep 20, 2022 02:50

liquidypoo: Aug 23, 2006; Chew on that... you overgrown son of a bitch.

I spent the past month binging the hell out of this thread and loving every minute. A lot of the stuff I remembered was near the beginning of the series, so reading a majority of the back half of this was mostly "holy poo poo this feels new to me" with some "wait I remember this," sprinkled in occasionally.

Out of all the horrible things happening in this instant, I'm wondering if Esplin having seen Rachel's face is the worst part. Also, uh, did Drode use a friggin' pokeball to summon Esplin onto the field?

# ? Sep 21, 2022 02:03

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 19

quote:

I stood.

Rocks, stones, and debris fell away like dust. I might as well have been covered with packing peanuts.

Visser One�s main eyes narrowed. He looked up � up � up.

I couldn�t even begin to guess how large I was.

But for the first time since this whole infuriating war began, Visser One looked like a very minor threat. The visser studied me with his four eyes. But it was clear - he didn�t suspect that I was one of the Andalite bandits that had been plaguing his efforts to take over the earth.

The visser wasn�t afraid to tell everyone within ten miles what he was thinking. If he thought I was an Andalite in some bizarre morph, he�d be shouting words like �scum� and �fool.�

But he was silent. It was also clear that he didn�t even recognize me as human.

How could he? I was a massively distorted version of myself.
Then he laughed. A practiced, evil laugh.

<This is a trick. A hologram. Who is playing games with me? Do you know who I am?>

�Who are you calling a hologram?� I sneered. I reached forward, put my massive, machine-like hand on his chest, and shoved.

<ARGGHGHHHH!>

Visser One went flying. Tail flailing, legs kicking. He bounced off the wall on the far side of the room. Crumpled to the floor, delicate Andalite arms crushed beneath his chest.

He lay still for a full minute. Then slowly he struggled to right himself.

A red spotlight illuminated the floor of the arena. Crayak, hovering above us. Part biology, part technology. All destructive.

�I am Crayak,� it said to Visser One. �I think you know of me.�

Visser One choked out his answer. <Yes. I have heard of you. But I did not really believe you existed.>

�I exist,� Crayak said simply. �And I have a little job for you, Yeerk.�

Visser One puffed out his chest. The effort seemed to cost him. His Andalite body was that of a seasoned warrior, but no warrior on this planet or any other could come up against me.

<A little job!> he spat. <Are you aware that I lead the Yeerk invasion on Earth? That I stand on the brink of dominating this planet?>

Crayak�s red eye gleamed dangerously. �I am aware of everything. I am aware that in an instant I could vaporize you and this insignificant rock called Earth that you have fought so hard to conquer.�

Visser One is no fool. At least, when it comes to saving his own precious hide. He bowed his head slightly.

<Of course, Crayak. I apologize for my arrogance.>

�Better,� Crayak boomed. �Now � let�s get down to business. Visser One, I desire to test the strength of my new creation. You will fight. To the death. If you win, Visser, Earth belongs to you. If my creature wins, you and your band of slugs will leave this planet. Immediately.�

I grinned. Metal teeth flashed. A fight to the death!

Yes!

Again, Visser One bowed his head.

<With all due respect, Crayak, I �>

�You have no choice,� Crayak interrupted. �So you might as well agree.�

Suddenly, Crayak was in the balcony again with the Drode at its side, looking down at the arena.

�Let the games begin!� the Drode declared.

Visser One stared up at me with all four eyes.

Me, this brutal giant of an opponent.

As if hoping I might have something to say. Some explanation that would make what was happening in this dank, underground arena seem less insane. Less bizarre.

My only response was to smile at him. Give him a look at the rows of shark-like metal teeth in my mouth.

�There,� Crayak said to me. �At last you have it your way. Fight your own fight. It�s all up to you, finally. No one can tell you to retreat or to surrender. There are no rules except your own.�

No rules except my own!

I felt the blood rush through my powerful limbs.

�the adrenaline rush of murderous desire �

Felt my head expand. Imagined neurons firing.

Heard the thunderous beating of my own brave heart

� reach out and destroy �

No rules except my own.

That at least answers the question about if there's a risk that Visser One will recognize Rachel. He is...appropriately, more freaked out than anything.

Chapter 20

quote:

Visser One began to circle. His wicked tail curled over his back, the blade ready to strike. I was focused. Careful not to be sloppy, underestimate the enemy.

But I was also elated.

If I won - and there was a very, very good chance I would - Crayak would force the Yeerks out of planet Earth.

The war would be over.

No more weird alien attacks.

No more unexplained disappearances.

And everyone would know who had been responsible.

Me. Rachel.

I wouldn�t overhear anymore �Rachel the Wacko� remarks.

I wouldn�t have to endure any more of Jake�s patronizing lectures about the need for restraint.

About the dark part of me that frightened everybody so badly.

No one could write me off as just another punk bully with a taste for violence.

Finally, people would see that all I�d ever wanted to do was save the planet.

To do this thing right and get it over with.

FWAP!

Visser One�s tail caught me in the knees and knocked me to the ground!

Idiot! I�d been so busy dreaming about my big victory, I�d zoned out.

His tail! Coming toward my throat, preparing to slash.

I rolled out of the way.

Amazing. I disappeared in a blur!

Visser One�s stalk eyes swiveled, desperately trying to locate me.

I rolled around him, a tumbling blur. Then came to a dead halt.

Jumped to my feet. Reached toward him, inhuman claws extended.

He dove out of the way! Immediately started to morph.

I lurched forward and gathered his lump of a body in my massive arms. Prepared to hurl him into the back of the bleachers!

�AAAAAAHHHHH!�

I dropped the lump! My arms and chest burned as if they had been slathered with acid.

Because, in fact, they had been slathered with acid.

Visser One completed his morph. It wasn�t one I recognized, but it was monstrous.

He was fifteen, twenty feet tall. Almost as tall as me!

His arms and hands dragged the ground like a gorilla�s.

His skin looked reptilian, weeping and seeping some kind of acid poison.

My jaw racheted open and the sound that came out was so loud it shook the walls.

The pain was unreal. Acid penetrating, eating my flesh!

But by the time the scream was over, the pain had already gone.

My skin had morphed to meet the immediate need!

I was covered with thick, scaly plates like an alligator.

Alligator!

The moment the image flashed into my mind, I felt my snout stretch out, out, out.

A split second later I fell forward to the ground. Landed on short, sturdy alligator legs. Instantaneous morph! In less than a second.

This was unbelievable!

I shot forward and closed my alligator jaws around the visser�s leg.

CRUNCH!

I felt bones snap. The acid from his skin washed down my throat, but it barely tickled. A little hot sauce on a big, fat french fry. That was it. Just a little pleasant flavoring.

Then � no!

Suddenly my teeth lost their grip!

Visser One was morphing again. This time, to something gelatinous. His melting, liquidating body seeped out of my mouth. Whatever he had become pooled on the floor in a mass of red, quivering goo.
I
morphed to Super-Rachel. Stared down at the goo.

Now what?

How do you fight to the death with a puddle?

Tentatively, I stepped forward and touched it with my toe. The red goo sprang to life, like some kind of hyper-speed sludge.

My scream reverberated through the dungeon.

Then I gagged. Because the red goo was streaming into my mouth, my ears, my nose!

I raked at my face! Tore globs of goo away from my cheeks. Flung it from my fingers.

But it was no use.

It kept coming. Pouring up my body, reverse gravity, then sliding back down, then pouring back up. A vicious cycle!

I was in the grip of a gelatinous goo monster. Some hideous living sludge determined to drown me.
It didn�t matter how tall I became or how fierce.

I couldn�t fight this!

It covered me!

I was going to lose.

It was unbelievable.

I was going to lose to killer Jell-O.

I don't think I ever mentioned this before, but Visser One is very well travelled when it comes to alien monsters.

# ? Sep 21, 2022 02:34

Remalle: Feb 12, 2020

Did V1 just go directly between morphs?

# ? Sep 21, 2022 03:30

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Remalle posted:

Did V1 just go directly between morphs?

Looks like it, although I'm more likely to chalk this up to an error than it being intentional.

# ? Sep 21, 2022 04:10

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Epicurius posted:

Looks like it, although I'm more likely to chalk this up to an error than it being intentional.

Or, Crayak might have hypersped up his morphing, just like Rachel's.

# ? Sep 21, 2022 04:28

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Sadly, no chapters tonight.

# ? Sep 22, 2022 02:15

SonicRulez: Aug 6, 2013; GOTTA GO FIST

I think I liked book 19 with Cassie and Aftran the Yeerk. I like Cassie as a character. Fleshing out the Yeerk empire and adding more shades of gray to their existence is a noble idea. But I have a hard time with a narrative where the character makes every possible wrong choice and is proved correct over time because of multiple implausible things happening in sequence. The time travel to the dino age was easier for me.

# ? Sep 23, 2022 00:31

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 21

quote:

I could hear them laughing.

The Drode.

Crayak.

And David.

It was intolerable.

I had to morph. But what? What?

What had no mouth? No nose? No ears?

What could defend itself from this endless stream of runny, deadly mess?

What morphs did I have?

Birds. Fish. Mammals.

Nothing that would do me any good!

I needed to be a plant. No orifices. Something huge and hungry and dangerous.

Suddenly, I felt myself melting. Like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Or maybe - withering. Like a tree starved for water.

Was I dying? Was this what death felt like?

My fingers lost their sensation. Human sensory ability - just gone.

Instead, they grew rubbery and ultraflexible. Not numb but - impervious to pain, to pleasure.

My lungs ceased to burn for air.

My legs! They were fusing. Braiding together at the hip. Where my feet had been, stretching out

like tentacles!

Or like vines or branches �

Suddenly, I realized what was happening.

I wasn�t dying.

I was being born.

I was becoming a living being that didn�t even exist on this planet!

That I�d only imagined!

That I�d conjured into being with the force of my will!

I was morphing into something my DNA bank had absolutely nothing to do with. A killer, carnivorous plantlike thing of my very own creation. The red goo was no threat now. It couldn�t choke or strangle me. I felt no need for air.

But I did feel hunger. And the goo looked delicious.

I bent my head, now a huge, green, veiny pod. It opened up like a flower unfolding, and a long proboscis shot out. Like the sucking organ of a giant butterfly.

I dipped it into the goo and began to drink.

The goo pulled away, startled and frightened. Began to slide across the room.

I chased it! Determined to eat it.

I approached on my magically gliding, trunk-like stem.

Thrust forward my pod-like head.

Close! Almost!

And then the goo began to morph. And in what seemed like only seconds, I found myself facing Visser One�s stolen Andalite form again.

Too late to pull back!

He arched his tail. Swung his tail blade toward my vein-ribbed vegetable neck.

WHAP!

I felt my head snap off and fall to the floor.

Visser One began to laugh. And then abruptly stopped.

A tingling in my neck!

And within seconds, a second pod-like head appeared! The visser roared angrily. No words, just a bellow of rage.

I pictured myself as Super-Rachel.

Twenty feet tall. Arms like cranes. Teeth like bear traps. Immediately, I was as I had imagined myself.

Visser One galloped to the other side of the arena, out of my immediate reach.

I couldn�t help but throw back my head. Couldn�t help but laugh. Then I began to walk toward the visser. Each step a boom of thunder. The crash of a collapsing building. The smash of colliding cars.

This time, the visser didn�t even try to morph. He knew it was useless. Knew the battle was over.

<This is not a fair competition!> he shouted up to Crayak. <This creature cannot be defeated.>

I flexed my hands. Saw the Drode nod and smile. I extended my cruel, steel claws. And prepared to put an end to one of the most wicked villains on this or any other planet.

<Crayak! Surely you see that this is unjust.>

I felt good to hear Visser One beg. To see him cringe.

Crayak�s red eye glowed more brightly. Approvingly.

<You can�t mean for me to die like this!> the visser cried.

I reached down and put my hand - it took only one - around the visser�s Andalite neck.

�Finish it,� Crayak said quietly.

It was unbelievable.

After all this time, I finally had him. Totally at my mercy.

With a simple squeeze I could put an end to Visser One, to the Yeerks, to this whole sorry episode of Earth�s history.

All I had to do was execute him.

I�d never known true euphoria until now. What couldn�t I do? There was no species in any universe that could defeat me.

I was indestructible!

I would exterminate the Yeerks. I would bring universal peace to the planet. And then � and then �

<Spare me!> the visser pleaded.

I opened my hand. Then closed it again around his neck. Toyed with him.

<Spare me, Crayak! I will carry out your orders. Give me the powers you have given this creature and I will do your bidding, whatever it is.>

He would, too. Visser One would do anything to be endowed with the power I had now.

He would kill. He would destroy.

He would obey.

I began to squeeze. The visser�s eyes - all four of them - began to bulge.

�Finish it.� Crayak. �Hurry.�

<Mercy,> Visser One pleaded, gasping for breath. His hooves skittered on the floor. His tail twitched helplessly. <Please!>

Visser One would obey. Just like David. Just like David�s punks. The red eye shone angrily.

�Finish it!� Crayak thundered. �What are you waiting for? Finish it or I will change you to a rat again and you will lose everything! Do you hear me? Everything!�

I tightened my grip around Visser One�s neck.

Crayak could use you, Rachel.

And I was prepared to do what Crayak asked.

Well, I guess that's the series....Visser One is dead, the Yeerks defeated. Oh, there are still more chapters...

Chapter 22

quote:

�Yes,� Crayak said. �Execute him. Free the earth from tyranny. And then ��

And then �what?

Sit around and watch TV?

An epiphany. A revelation. The lightbulb switching on in my head.

Face it, Rachel. The power is like a drug. And you are like an addict.

Would I ever get enough? How long before I turned into a morally decrepit monster like Visser One?

And making a deal with Crayak would only accelerate the journey to that inevitable end.

Suddenly, I had a vision of myself as I would really appear to the world. To my family. Friends.

To the other Animorphs. To the Chee. The free Hork-Bajir.

To every decent person on this planet.

Super-Rachel was not beautiful and kind and benevolent.

She would not be honored and respected.

She was hideous and violent and brutal.

She would be feared by everyone.

Despised and hated.

A tyrant to be plotted against, just like Visser One.

Rachel of the darkness down deep inside.

�No.�

I released my grasp on Visser One�s neck. Fell back, horrified at what I was about to do.

The visser dropped to the ground. Gulped air. Too stunned and frightened to move. He lay on the damp floor, his eyes following my every breath.

�What are you doing?!� Crayak thundered.

�I�m one of the good guys,� I said, panting.

To my own ears, my voice sounded like a booming, grating echo. It was the voice of a doomsday machine.

�You are a fool!� Crayak shouted. �You are a coward. You are weak, sentimental, childish. Worst of all, you have wasted my time. I have tried to help you free yourself from useless human emotions, but you choose captivity instead.�

WHOOSH!

Instantly, reality was altered.

Visser One was gone.

The arena or stadium was gone.

And once again, I was one of two rats in a cube.

David laughed.

�I knew it. I knew it! This is beautiful�

Crayak�s big red eye glared at me from the other side of the clear wall.

�I offered you everything because you had the potential to win. To lead. To rule.�

�That�s a lie,� I argued. �You just wanted to use me to kill Jake.�

�Do you think the Ellimist would allow that?� Crayak hissed. �Don�t you see? We are trying to bring this occupation to an end. And only a strong leader can do that.�

<You could give Jake the power to end the war. If you wanted to. But you don�t, because Jake really is a strong leader, and you know it. You know you can�t make him follow your rules. You know you can�t control him. Well, here�s some news, Crayak. You can�t control me, either.>

�You�ll go mad,� Crayak threatened. �You�ll live out your life as a rat, and you�ll go mad.�

I am not some kind of nut!

Who was I kidding?

The rat panicked. I panicked. Began, uncontrollably, to run around the walls of the cube. Around and around. The rat couldn�t stop. I couldn�t stop!

I worry about you, Rachel.

I backed off. Slipped away, deep down under the rat brain. Let it rule. Because I didn�t trust my own brain.

I was afraid that I was already crazy.

Was this real?

Was it a dream?

Was it manipulated reality?

�I am real. David is real. You are real,� Crayak�s voice intoned.

<Stop reading my mind!>

�Time is real,� it droned on. �And Cassie is real. And David and his pathetic punks are real.�

<Stop! Stop!>

�And this trap is real. And you really are going to be a rat. For real. And forever.�

I stopped, bumped into a corner. Collapsed onto my belly.

The light from Crayak�s massive red eye again illuminated the whole ghastly scene.

Cassie in her cube, trapped, slumped over. Looking across at me in despair.

The two punks, cowering in a corner of the dungeon. Definitely freaked out beyond description. Trying, futilely, to hide from the searching red glow. David. In a furry, red-tinged lump not two feet from me.

Slowly, the red light began to fade.

Going.

Going.

Until it was gone altogether.

Suddenly, I was cold. It was a shock. Like the temperature had plunged from ninety to thirty degrees in a matter of seconds.

Whatever energy Crayak�s presence had created had disappeared along with it. Once again, the dungeon was sunk into a dark, damp gloom.
Crayak and the Drode were gone. They had disappeared back into the vastness of the universe. Maybe forever. And I was on my own. With only minutes until I was trapped in rat morph. Definitely forever.

So really, a lot to talk about in the chapter, with Rachel realizing the truth about herself and what she'd become if she took Crayak's offer, but also, man, I feel sorry for David's goons. They can deal with a talking rat, and then this happens.

# ? Sep 23, 2022 03:13

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 22

So really, a lot to talk about in the chapter, with Rachel realizing the truth about herself and what she'd become if she took Crayak's offer, but also, man, I feel sorry for David's goons. They can deal with a talking rat, and then this happens.

On the other hand, a magic rat tells you to kidnap some teenagers, and he'll give you some more money that he stole with his rat powers. They don't have any room to complain about the nonsense they're involved in now.

# ? Sep 23, 2022 03:25

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Capfalcon posted:

On the other hand, a magic rat tells you to kidnap some teenagers, and he'll give you some more money that he stole with his rat powers. They don't have any room to complain about the nonsense they're involved in now.

You have a point. Once you agree to work for the magic rat, it's time to just strap in and enjoy the ride.. You may not have gone into this expecting to meet 20 foot tall Lady Wolverine, shapeshifting deer centaur, dinosaur man and cyborg Sauron, but, you know, it happens.

# ? Sep 23, 2022 03:35

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Sorry about last night. I have a cold, and fell asleep around 8, and didn't wake up until around 8.

# ? Sep 24, 2022 14:42

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 23

quote:

No help was coming. That much I knew. Nobody knew where I had gone. Not my family. Not Jake and the others. How could they?

If anybody was going to save me and save Cassie, it was going to have to be me.

Not Super-Rachel. Not enhanced Rachel. Not even human-Rachel.

The only Rachel around was rat-Rachel.

I had no power. No weapons. No room to morph anything of significance.

Nothing!

David was loving my defeat. Gloating.

<You blew it! You had your chance and you blew it big time. Crayak�s through with you. You failed. You bored it. Now it�s out of here. Gone!>

I worry about you, Rachel.

<Now it�s just us, Rachel. Just you and me. Rachel and David. But don�t worry. We�ll be just fine. I�ll show you how to get by. I�ve still got a couple of henchmen. Right now they�re pee-in-their-pants scared, but they�ll do for the moment. In fact, Rachel, if we play our cards right and work real hard, we should be able to put together a big enough payroll to hire more muscle. A few guys less wimpy than those two pathetic losers in the corner.>

I am not some kind of nut.

And right then, a light went on in my little rat brain. Another revelation, epiphany, realization.

Like David said, Tattoo and Grease were still crouched in the corner. No doubt trying to figure out if it was safe to step out of the shadows.

<Hey! You with the tattoo.>

He turned, startled.

<Yeah, you. How much is he paying you?> I asked.

<Don�t answer that,> David ordered.

Tattoo and Grease looked nervously at each other.

�Let�s get out of here,� Grease whispered. Loudly.

Tattoo nodded.

<How much did he say he had stashed away?> I said. Loudly. <Two hundred and twelve thousand dollars? That�s a hundred and six thousand dollars for each of you.>

Bingo. I had their attention now.

First Tattoo then Grease got to his feet. Came over to the cube, slowly. Looked down at me with interest.

<Nice try, Rachel,> David sneered. <There�s only one problem. The money is where no one but I can find it! I�ve got you, Rachel. I�ve got you. One minute to go and you�re my rat queen!>

That was so not going to happen.

<You guys like working down here in the sewer?> I asked Grease. My tone demanding, strong. <You like taking orders from a talking rat? Wouldn�t you rather have the money? All the money? Now, instead of later? Imagine what you could do with a hundred and six thousand dollars each.>

<Shut up!> David cried. <Shut up. They�re not very smart. You�ll just confuse them. And when they get confused they get meaner and stupider than they already are!>

Grease took a gun from inside his jacket and banged the barrel against the glass.

�You shut up,� he said to David. Then to me, �He�s right. We don�t know where the money is, and we can�t find it.�

Elation! It was more satisfying than any power high. I was on my way out of this trap. And, funny. I hadn�t had to use force, or terror, or pain.

Just my brains.

<You�re right,> I told them.

I glanced at the clock.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty-nine seconds.

<No human would be able to find David�s stash. But another rat? Another rat could find it easy. Like me. I could follow his scent. I could track back where he�s been.>

�What do you want?� Grease demanded.

Not so dumb after all.



Eighteen seconds.

Seventeen seconds.

�How do we know you�ll come back?� Tattoo asked.

It was all I could do not to scream. I forced myself to stay calm. To speak slowly. To sound sincere.

<You�ll still have Cassie as a hostage.>

<It�s a trap,> David squeaked. <A trap, you idiots! Don�t fall for it.>

Tattoo and Grease eyed David with contempt.

Sometimes it pays to have a dark heart. It helps you to understand other dark hearts.

I knew exactly what the two punks were thinking. They wanted the money because, to them, money was power. It was freedom from having to take orders from David, someone they disliked and feared.

Tattoo and Grease wanted to be in charge.

Didn�t we all?

Five seconds.

Four seconds.

<You�ve got one second or the deal�s off the table,> I said.

Tattoo pointed his gun at the lock on the box and fired.

BANG!

Two seconds.

I leaped! There were no steel coils in my joints, but the rat�s legs were powerful enough. I was demorphing before my nose even touched the lid of the box.

Boing!

The lid sprang open. I heard David squeak in protest as some part of my partly formed human body - probably a foot - crowded him into a corner.
My legs stretched out. Little claws expanded, extended into toes.

Suddenly - I couldn�t breathe! The elongated rat snout retracted into my skull and filled my sinus cavity.

Swoosh!

Yes. Human nose!

A tickling pain at the base of my spine. Then - Pop!

The rat tail reconfigured itself into a human spinal column.

My eyes were changing, vision shifting madly. But I kept a passing image of the clock.

Click!

No!

The counter turned to zero.

I was in midmorph.

Was I going to make it all the way out?

My arms were tiny. Not yet grown. Where fingers should be, there were still little fur-covered paws.

I looked down. My thighs, still curved into huge haunches.

I was a rat girl.

Trapped in midmorph!

I heard David laugh.

<Oh, my God! You�re hideous. This is even better than I�d hoped!>

I closed my eyes. I would not let this happen. I refused to let it happen!

I summoned every ounce of morphing energy. Every ounce of mental energy. Every ounce of concentration.

I blotted out every random thought. Tried desperately to dampen every wild emotion.

But there was something in the way. Something stubborn and intractable that would not be ignored.

It was the hate. The anger.

I tried! I tried to push it away!

But the truth was I didn�t want it to go away. I wanted my anger. I wanted my hate. It was the source of my strength.

And then � miraculously � I stood and spread my arms wide.

I was Rachel.

I was back.

And for the moment, I really was free.

Leadership lesson, btw. If you treat your subordinates the way David treats his, especially if they're only in it for the money, don't expect loyalty.

Chapter 24

quote:

I opened my eyes.

Tattoo and Grease were staring at me, mouths open.

It was hard to believe that anything could really surprise them at this point.

Not after Crayak. The Drode. Magically appearing aliens with blue fur and four eyes.

Grease recovered first. He lifted his gun and pointed it at me.

�Okay, kid. It�s back to rat now. Time to show us the money.�

I nodded.

�Sure. But if it�s okay with you, I�m going to morph something with an even better sense of smell. I�ll be able to find the money faster.�
I started to morph before they could give permission or ask questions.

I felt the old familiar snap, crackle, and pop as my face ripped open. Muzzle extended.

Shoulders bulked.

�Hey!� I heard one punk cry. Tattoo. �What�s she doing?�

�Probably something big and scary so she can hold up a bank,� Grease said solemnly.

Yeah. Right. In his imbecilic dreams.

Within seconds, the morph was complete.

I stood up on my hind legs and started toward them.

�What�s she doing?� Grease yelled, backing up, shakily pointing his gun at me.

<She�s getting ready to eat you for lunch, you stupid idiot!> David screamed. He jumped out of the cube. Scampered down the leg of the table. And he ran.

My weak grizzly eyes saw him disappear into the shadows.

�Hey! Where are you going?� Grease yelled after him.

I lunged with all the speed and bulk of the grizzly.

Man! I love that morph.

Tattoo and Grease fought me. They slapped and kicked. Like swatting mosquitoes. Total piece of cake. So easy, it wasn�t even fun.

Yeah, they fired their guns. But the shots went way wide.

Panic will screw up your aim every time.

I rolled over them. Literally. Threw myself at them and rolled.

Somersaulted.

Knocked the guns out of their hands.

Then I let them get to their feet. Which by this point wasn�t very easy for them to do.

When they were up I roared. That was all it took.

Tattoo and Grease ran, squealing like stuck pigs. Scrambled up the side of the far wall. Used broken stones and bricks as handholds and toeholds.

They were headed for the manhole cover. Through which they would escape into the world above. Where they would talk. Incoherently, in a bar somewhere, maybe on a street corner. Most people wouldn�t believe a word of the punks� story.

But eventually, a Controller would hear and believe.

And the Yeerks would know that somewhere was a rat who knew all about the Animorphs.

Something would have to be done.

There was no sound effect. No WHOOSH! But I felt all the optimism and elation rush out of the atmosphere. Felt my stomach plummet.

Something would have to be done. And I would have to do it.

Wasn�t this how the whole thing had started?

I ran over to the cube in which Cassie was held prisoner. Dug my claws into the lock. It popped easily, and I opened the top.

Cassie climbed out, her face damp with perspiration.

�Rachel! Morph and let�s get out of here,� she said quickly. �As soon as those two start talking, somebody will be down here to investigate. We need to be far away.�

I nodded. 

Cassie put her hand on my massive arm. �What are you going to do?�

I looked into Cassie�s eyes. Did she want to know? Did she really want to know?

No. she didn�t.

What�s why I�d been so angry. Not just at Jake. At all of them.

Because they had kept their hands clean. They had pretended they didn�t know I�d done something extreme like threaten to kill David. And his parents.

And when David had confronted them with the truth, they�d made their disapproval known.

Separated themselves from me. Made it clear I was deranged and out of control and so, so unlike them.

And then, Cassie had come up with the plan to trap David in morph. But only I�d had the nerve to endure the two gut-wrenching hours of David�s misery.
Why hadn�t I fought back? Defended myself against accusations, insinuations of craziness?

Okay, I�d confronted Jake. But had anything really changed between us since then?

Did he generally approve of my actions? No. only of their results. He needed my results.

So why had I been carrying around all that guilt, all by myself? Why had I been shouldering so much of the pain?

I looked at Cassie�s face. It was a sweet face. It was wise, too. But still � I don�t know � oddly innocent somehow.

I�d been protecting her. Them.

Jake. Cassie. Tobias. Even Marco and Ax. Helping to protect their innocence. Letting them see themselves as the good guys.

It was a symbiotic relationship. Or co-dependent, whatever.

They needed me to be the bad guy.

And I needed them to be the good guys.

See, if they were good guys, and I was on their team, then that automatically made me a good guy, too. Even if I was different.

At least that�s what I�d been telling myself.

Of course, it wasn�t quite that simple.

�Rachel! What are you going to do?� Cassie pressed.

<I�m going after David.>

She shook her head. �Don�t. Let him go.�

�He�ll go to the Yeerks,� I said. �Or the Yeerks will come to him. Either way, he�ll tell them everything. He�ll betray us, hoping to make a deal. It won�t work. The Yeerks will kill him. Then they�ll find us. So I�m going to find David, first. And I�m going to take him back to the island.
�I don�t think you can do it a second time,� Cassie said quietly.

I felt all the old anger bubbling up. Why was she arguing? She knew what had to be done. Why was she pretending not to understand what had to be done?

So she could sleep at night? So she could say �I tried to stop her, so it�s not my fault?� so she could say �I didn�t know.�

I looked her in the eye.

<I�m not sure I can, either. So will you do it?>

Cassie�s face creased. Her mouth opened and closed. Her eyes flickered.

�I don�t know,� she whispered finally.

That's the thing. The other Animorphs really don't treat Rachel well. I mean, they think they do, but really they use her to do all the things they don't want to do so they can feel "pure".....and then when she does them, they use that as proof that she's gotten out of control.

# ? Sep 25, 2022 03:10

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Contrasting Rachel and David like that really puts things into perspective on how the rest of the kids really set David up to fail by using his moral shortcomings as a heat shield for their own, a process which they repeat with Rachel in ways vast and minute diffused across the whole series. Again, it's good that we're officially past the point of no return for the series where things have hard continuity consequences at last. It'll be fascinating seeing people come back to these chapters after the end of the series and seeing how they reflect on Rachel's completed character arc.

# ? Sep 25, 2022 07:32

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Honestly? This book has been really good. Way better than I was hoping. Super-Rachel is a silly name, but that's really my only complaint.

nine-gear crow posted:

Contrasting Rachel and David like that really puts things into perspective on how the rest of the kids really set David up to fail by using his moral shortcomings as a heat shield for their own, a process which they repeat with Rachel in ways vast and minute diffused across the whole series.

I don't really remember them using his shortcomings in the way they use Rachel's, outside of when they need to take him down. But that's not helping the group; it's ending a threat. He's mostly a hassel that they have to grin and bear, not an asset of questionable morality.

# ? Sep 25, 2022 14:54

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# ? May 24, 2024 06:50

TCE: Feb 26, 2016

Capfalcon posted:

Honestly? This book has been really good. Way better than I was hoping. Super-Rachel is a silly name, but that's really my only complaint.

Yeah I remembered this having a bad reputation but I liked it a lot this time around. I think Rachel is my favourite character, which I'm sure helps, but I think it stood strong independent of that.

# ? Sep 26, 2022 03:25

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

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