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

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effervescible: Jun 29, 2012; i will eat your soul

Absolutely giraffe.

# ? Apr 29, 2023 18:09

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# ? May 12, 2024 12:57

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

giraffe

# ? Apr 29, 2023 18:57

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

someone awful. posted:

wait so You wasn't included on important stuff like the ant mission, but marco entrusted the thing about his mom's being visser one to You? what is this book

Giraffe is the stupidest option so it's more than likely the correct one

You was Marco's friend pre-books and had gone over to his house before Eva disappeared. I think its more 'like Jake, You also recognized Eva when you ran into her in book 5 and are keeping it quiet'.

# ? Apr 29, 2023 20:39

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Giraffe wins! Let�s end this farce.

The First Journey � Chapter 25

quote:

You leap behind a tree and accomplish your giraffe morph. Your legs grow so rapidly that you crack your head on a branch. Your neck stretches. Your skin is patterned with tan and brown.

With a clatter of hooves, you take off toward Marco�s mother. You are there in three powerful strides.

Giraffes are peaceful creatures. Patrolman Teeter is stunned to see one appear, but he doesn�t go for his gun. He would never shoot a giraffe.

You turn your back to the dog to give yourself greater kicking power. He launches himself at you, but he can only reach your leg. You shake him off, you pull back your leg, and -

WHAM! You knock Visser Three into next week.

FLASH!

�- onions on it, too?� Mom asks you. She is stirring a pot of tomato sauce at the kitchen stove.

She turns when you don�t answer. �Sweetie? Do you want onions on the pizza?�

�Sure,� you say. �Everything. But I have to go to Jake�s for a minute. I forgot my � homework.�

�It�s Saturday.�

So yeah, that�s the resolution to the final conflict of Alternamorphs #1 The First Journey. You kick a dog.

Granted, that dog is Visser Three and you kick him hard enough that it absolutely humiliatingly demolishes him�as is befitting a typical Visser Three Defeat scenario�but still...

One of the all time great Animorphs climaxes this ain�t.

Seriously, how loving sad would it be for all of Esplin�s years and decades of plotting against Edriss of every meticulous move and counter move in his chess game to orchestrate her demise and his ascension if he just decides, �gently caress it, I�m gonna maul her to death with a dog morph?�

I think whoever ghostwrote this book just couldn�t think of a proper way to end it so they threw narrative sand in the reader�s face and jumped out the window.

quote:

�Yeah,� you say, and run out.

�Ask him over for dinner!� your mom yells as you hop on your bike. You ride like the wind. You find Jake and Ax in the bedroom. Ax is only halfway through his licorice whip. You spill out your story.

�We were all there?� Jake asks. �And I knew4 I was in a second Sario Rip?�

You nod. �And when we went back in time, Marco and I both knew we were in the wrong time. Marco knew his mother was dead. Gone. Whatever.�

Jake looks at Ax. �Does any of this make sense to you?�

Ax chews on the licorice and swallows. �No.

Should have ended the book right there. Full stop.

quote:

Except for the motive of Visser Three. He manipulated the Sario Rip to go back farther in time.�

�He knew it would happen?� Jake asks.

�He was trying to kill his enemy�s host before it became the host,� Ax explains. �You see, some hosts are better than others. Obviously, Visser One has found a host that has extraordinary abilities. I also guess that Visser Three might have known you were aboard in some kind of morphs. That was a trap. Since he thinks you are Andalites, perhaps he thought he could send you back. That way, he would be prepared that first night when my brother, Elfangor, landed. He would make sure to kill you. Or else you would not be there at all. Alter the past, alter the future. He was willing to take the risk.�

Jake groans. �So I fell into another trap in the Amazon? Swell! I can�t even be smart in someone else�s Sario Rip!�

�But it turned out well, Prince Jake,� Ax points out. �Visser Three was stopped by the giraffe morph. That is why the whole thing never happened. He returned to the original time of the rip so that he wouldn�t be stopped. The good news is that Marco�s mother was not killed. So Visser One is still Visser Three�s enemy. Which is good for us. To have them fighting for power distracts Visser Three.�

�But I don�t get it,� you say. �If I was in Visser Three�s rip, why do I remember it? And why did you and Jake remember some of it back in the Amazon?�

Ax thoughtfully braids a licorice ribbon, then bites off a piece. �Muffmsx.�

�Is that Andalite language?� Jake asks.

�No, it is a mouthful of licorice,� Ax responds. �The answer is, I do not know. My guess is that there can be breaks in the rip. Like this.�

He holds up a braid of licorice. Light shines through the holes. �I was not paying attention the -�

�- day Sario Rips were taught,� you finish. �We know!�

Ax shrugs. �Someday we might figure it out. But you are alive. You saved Marco�s mother. That is the important thing. We have lived to fight another day.�

�Ax is right,� Jake tells you. �You have to take what you can get, these days. Worry about the things you can do something about. You�re alive, and so are we.�

You know he�s right. You have to take the moment. You�re safe. You may not have killed Visser Three, but you�re back in your own time. Alive.

Jake puts his hand on your shoulder. �Don�t worry. There will still be more battles to fight.�

You grin. �But first,� you say, �there�s pizza.�

So that�s you�re thesis statement for the book �None of this matters, so don�t worry about it.� You will NOT be there to fight more battles because this is the only time this incarnation of You appears in the series. Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage will see us embody an all new You with an all new backstory and narrative to explore.

Thus ends our first Animorphs COYA adventure, only one more book to go and we�ll have wrapped up the series completely front-to-back. I�ll be posting all the unseen death chapters tomorrow before we move on to The Next Passage on Monday.

Thank you to everyone who read along and participated in the voting, you�re all the best, and if you haven�t already, be sure to hop on over to the other thread and catch Epicurius�s Let�s Read of Everworld by Kathrine Applegate and Michael Grant, which is currently in the early chapters of Book 1: The Search for Senna.

# ? Apr 30, 2023 05:16

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

I can't believe giraffe was useful.

# ? Apr 30, 2023 14:39

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

he would never shoot a giraffe

# ? Apr 30, 2023 15:08

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Okay, so before we move on, let�s get the unseen death chapters out of the way for the sake of completion.

The First Journey � Chapter 4 (Decision Point #1, Fly)

quote:

It�s not that easy to catch a fly. You open the window of your bedroom and wait by the sill. After about twenty-five minutes of trying to snatch one out of midair and coming up empty, you get smart. You put out a bowl of sugar water and wait. As soon as a fly lands, you snag him.

In your cupped hands, the fly buzzes furiously, but you concentrate. The fly settles into your palm. When you�re done acquiring the morph, you let it go.

Marco didn�t say anything about the morph being scary. But it is.

Suddenly, the ground rushes up at you. You�re shrinking right out of your clothes. At the same time, your bones begin to make this funny crunching noise. It sounds like you�re jumping on Styrofoam.

A leg grows out of your stomach! Then another leg! You fall facefirst on the carpet. You try to break your fall with your arms, but they are already turning transparent and papery. You hear an odd humming noise, and you realize that it�s your wings, beating.

You can�t see. Or rather, you can, but you see fractured images. You sense something gray and plump and interesting nearby. Thanks to the sticky pads on your feet, you walk right up a wall toward it.

Spider! You want it. You want to eat it. Chomp down on that plump, juicy body, and -

No! your mind screams. Focus. The spider probably has a web. And you don�t want to get caught. You have a mission.

Your wings beat furiously, as if you aren�t even directing them. Zoom - you�re out the window, buzzing in a blur of green and blue. You head back toward the yard, where your sister�s party is in full swing.

You land on a picnic table. The kids around you are a blur of colors. You pick up Mom�s voice. She�s talking to her best friend, Emily.

�Lexie wanted a store-bought ice-cream cake this year,� she is saying. �I�m trying not to feel hurt. I guess she�s growing up.�

Emily laughs. �Kids. Mine would take a box of macaroni and cheese mix over my pasta any day.�

Good news! Mom wasn�t being weird. She was just doing what Lexie asked for. Maybe she�s not a Controller!

Suddenly, a gust of wind sends your wings quivering. What -

Crash! A fly swatter misses you by inches! Mom is trying to swat you! You buzz up angrily, and she swats the air.

�Darn flies!� she says.

Cake! The sugary smell overwhelms you, and you can�t resist. You just want to land for a moment, taste a bit �

But Mom swats at you again, and the gust throws you off balance. One wing dips into the frosting. You flutter it furiously, trying to get the goop off. It�s making you slow and heavy, and Mom is coming with the fly swatter!

You zoom upward to escape the swatter. You buzz over the heads of the children, toward the cool shade of the tree, and -

Zap! You hit a bug zapper. You�re fried!

Cause of death: Stupidity.

The First Journey � Chapter 6 (Decision Point #1, Hamster)

quote:

Your hamster heart beats furiously. You�re scared. You�re scared of everything. Everything is bigger. Everything wants to eat you. You hide behind what, as a human, you�d consider a large hedge. But it�s only a leaf of a geranium.

Morphing Hamlet, Lexie�s hamster, was a weird experience. It was like being put through a meat grinder, minus the pain. Not that you�ve ever been put through a meat grinder. But try hearing your bones crunch. It�s not the most pleasant experience.

But you do like the fur. You groom yourself, liking the glossy feel. But you have work to do. You creep closer to hear what Mom is saying to her friend Emily.

�I guess I should take a slice of cake to my neighbor,� Mom says with a sigh. �If I don�t, she�ll come over and complain about the noise.�

Just then, you smell danger. Your heart beats even faster, and you burrow into the dirt to hide. The ground shakes.

�Excuse me! This noise! Very loud!� your neighbor, Ms. Humphries, calls. A ferret is draped over her neck. The neighborhood kids call her the Ferret Lady.

Actually, you like ferrets. But as a hamster, you�re terrified.

�Let me get you a piece of cake, Alice,� your mom says. �It�s Lexie�s birthday.�

�I can see that,� Ms. Humphries sniffs. But she stays for the cake. �Hmmm. Store bought.�

�Lexie wanted ice-cream cake,� Mom says.

�Well, it looks delicious,� Ms. Humphries says, suddenly sounding nice. �Quite a treat. Speaking of treats, perhaps you and your friend would like to come to a meeting tonight. Just neighbors and friends. Good food. Lots of fun.�

A meeting! Could it be The Sharing? You take a few cautious steps out from your burrow.

�It sounds lovely,� Mom says, surprised. The Ferret Lady has never issued an invitation before. All she does is complain about noise. �But we�re going to a book group tonight.�

�My meeting sounds much more fun,� Ms. Humphries says. You creep forward another few inches, straining to hear. You should have picked an animal with better hearing!

�It�s called -� Ms. Humphries begins.But before she can finish, dirt flies and a paw suddenly swipes out. How could you have forgotten that when you see Ms. Humphries, her cat Gingerbread is never far behind?

Swipe, claw, chomp! You�re dessert.

Cause of death: Cat.

The First Journey � Chapter 9 (Decision Point #2, Hyena)

quote:

The hyena morph roars to life - a creature bound by one instinct: To kill.

The K-9 dogs take off. They are just a streak of fur. You watch them, considering the chase. But you smell better prey.

�What the -� The policeman turns, sees you, and leaps into the van. Locks the door and reaches for a gun.

You note this, but you don�t care. It just doesn�t interest you. You lope away, down the path toward the snack bar. People scatter, small prey that you consider. But you smell something better.

The primitive urge to have meat is so strong that you can�t fight it. You forget your name and who you are. You pick up the pace as the scent of prey grows stronger.

Stop! Your mind screams the word. You�re human! You don�t kill!

But the hyena is ruthless and fearless, and doesn�t stop.

You hear a loud noise. A siren. People are screaming. Workers are rushing toward you, then stopping. One of them has a net.

You hunker down. You�re cornered now. You�ll have to go for the closest prey.

Small prey. Light hair grows out of the head. One of the species�s young. She wanders away from her mother. Good.

It�s a child! It�s a little girl! No!

You can�t fight it! You feel the hyena�s killing instinct, and you struggle. The workers are closing in with the net. One of them carries a tranquilizer gun. He is trying to get clear to aim.

The prey toddles toward you. The mother screams. You feel the short hind legs of the hyena contract. The muscles tense. The powerful jaw opens and you let out that inhuman cry. ERRRR-UP!

It silences everyone. They all fear you. You own this place. This prey is yours.

No!

With a last, desperate struggle, you take over the hyena instinct. You turn toward the worker with the gun.

You feel the burning sensation, and immediately, your legs feel heavy. Slowly, you slump to the ground.

Sting! You�re knocked out. When you awake, you will have to deal with the horror of being permanently stuck in hyena morph, a creature without mercy, a killing machine.

No death this time, actually the ONLY time in the book that a bad choice doesn�t end in a death, but getting Nothlit�d as a hyena whose instincts can�t be controlled is a pretty lovely fate for You.

The First Journey � Chapter 15 (Decision Point #3, K-9 German shepherd)

quote:

Your ears grow straight up. Fur sprouts on your face and hands. You fall onto all fours. Suddenly, you smell everything. Oil. Car exhaust. Human smells. Mice. And over in the corner, a paper bag with a peanut butter sandwich.

You trot over to the group waiting for the elevator. You stay behind them. When the elevator comes, you leap on just as the doors close.

You make it down in the elevator without anyone really caring. The elevator hits the sublevel, but a Controller pushes a series of buttons and it keeps going down. When it stops, everyone files out. The last Controller pushes you back into the elevator.

�Beat it, bub,� he says.

The doors close, but you leap up against the panel and hit the STOP button with your paw. You wait. After a few minutes, you butt the DOOR OPEN button with your head.

The doors open onto a small room. You see the last Controller just disappearing through the hidden door. You bound over and stick your body half-in to keep it open, then slip inside.

But the Controller sees you.

�Hey!� He looks at you, suspicious now. You take a step backward. You bare your teeth and try a growl. He drops back, but another Controller steps up the stairs.

It�s Finley, the policeman!

�Grab him!� he cries.

The other Controller reaches for your collar, and you sink your teeth into his hand. With a howl, he steps back. But Finley springs forward and grabs your collar. He half drags you down the steps.

You see a huge cavern patrolled by Taxxons and Hork-Bajir. There are humans in cages. The screams seem more terrible to your sensitive ears.

Finley hands you over to the Hork-Bajir. �Keep it. Something�s weird about this dog.�

The Hork-Bajir fastens a leash from a chain. He attaches it to a piece of heavy machinery. Then he holds one of his blades to your throat. The message is clear. Move, and you die.

You decide to sit still. All you can do is watch.

Watch as Jake, Rachel, and Marco morph into fierce animals. Watch as they attack. Watch as the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons fight them. Watch as Visser Three morphs into a horrible creature with eight heads, tall as a two-story building.

You want to cheer when the others get away, running up the staircase. You want to cry when you see Jake�s brother Tom tossed back into the cage.

Then one of Visser Three�s eight heads swivels. His eyes fix on you.

<What have we here?> His voice is like the sludge in the Yeerk pool. Thick and evil.

You put your head into your paws, like a dog might. Your tail is stiff and straight.

<Welcome, Andalite,> Visser Three says. <Your friends didn�t want to stay for dinner. How kind of you to remain.>

He laughs, and you see his teeth glinting. They are sharp and pointed like daggers. He raises one of his many hands, and a fireball zooms past you.

<Time to get roasted,> Visser Three says. His hand lifts again, and he sends another fireball your way. This one hits its mark.

SIZZLE! You�re dead.

Cause of death: Visser Three.

The First Journey � Chapter 18 (Decision Point #4, Monkey)

quote:

You�d felt out of place in the rain forest. First of all, the bugs alone are enough to send you screaming toward the horizon. If there�d been a horizon.

But once you morph a monkey, you discover that the vines you thought of as choking off air and light are � well, like monkey bars.

Which gives you a chance to use what must be the coolest tail in the universe.

<Cooler than mine?> Ax asks.

<Sorry, Ax-man,> Marco tells him. <Way cooler.>

You all scamper up trees, grab vines, and swing. You reach the high branches and just let yourself go, out into space, and you catch a branch with your tail.

KIKKKI CHACCHACH KI KI KI!

You swing past Rachel, grab a branch with your hand, hang in midair a minute, launch yourself toward a vine. You bare your teeth at her.

KIKI CHEE CHEE!

 Rachel calls. She grabs the same vine, swings over, and lands on your branch. She bares her teeth at you, too.

<Uh, guys? Can you stop playing for a minute?> Tobias sits on a branch near you. He sounds almost sulky. <Shouldn�t we be following through on our plan?>

Marco swings back and forth on a vine. <Who needs a plan? Forget Visser Three. This is like being a six-year-old forever, only with no school.>

<That is kidding, correct?> Ax asks.

<It�s kidding,> Jake tells him.

<That�s what you think,> Marco says.

<Shhh,> Cassie says. 

Then you hear it, too. Some creatures are crashing through the underbrush.

 Jake says.

<There�s a human-Controller leading them,> Tobias says from his high branch. <I�ll get closer.> With a flap of wings, Tobias takes off.

<A human can tell them what creatures don�t belong here,> Jake says. <Tobias, stay out of sight!>

 Tobias shouts. 

<Tobias?> Rachel says frantically. You all exchange worried glances. You take off, grabbing vines and branches and swinging through the trees. Before, it was a game. Now, it is life or death.

You see Tobias ahead. He has been caught in a net. He�s been hit by a Dracon beam.

<Tobias!> Rachel cries.

<I�m singed, but okay,> he answers. 

Rachel goes into action. She launches herself out into midair and grabs a vine. She swings over and lands on Tobias�s branch. Using her sharp teeth, she begins to shred the net while she pulls it apart with her hands.

�That�s no monkey!� the human-Controller shouts.

A Dracon beam explodes near Rachel. You need to cover her. You swing over and begin to chatter, trying to draw the Hork-Bajir�s fire. You grab a vine and swing right by a Hork-Bajir. He slashes in the air after you, but you�re gone.

�That one. The little one. Get him!�

A Dracon beam explodes near you, felling a tree in half. Before you can scamper up the next tree or grab a vine, another one explodes. This one gets you, and you fall.

Straight onto the lethal blade of a Hork-Bajir.

Cause of death: Hork-Bajir controller.

The First Journey � Chapter 23 (Decision Point #6, Hyena)

quote:

It�s the fastest you�ve ever morphed. Maybe panic helps you. Your powerful hind legs develop first. Then, you face flattens, your teeth grow. You feel the power in your muscles. You feel the urge to make your kill.

The dog is on Marco�s mother. It tears at the arm she flings up to protect her throat.

A pit bull is no match for you, a killing machine. You leap forward with the high-pitched, almost-human cry of the animal.

ERRRR-UP! EURRR-UP! RRR-UP!

Your teeth find the pit bull�s leg. You chomp down and hit bone. Snarling, the pit bull turns. That exposes its neck, and you pounce. You have Visser Three in your jaws. You savor the moment.

What you didn�t count on was Patrolman Teeter.

He has been on the school beat for ten years. He loves the kids. He protects them from bullies, stray dogs, and fast cars.

He certainly isn�t going to let a hyena endanger them.

He runs up behind you and pulls his gun.

Bang! You�re dead.

Cause of death: The Police.

Bonus kill: Visser Three also dies in the crossfire.

The First Journey � Chapter 24 (Decision Point #6, K-9 German shepherd)

quote:

A K-9 dog is highly trained for tracking. It is also trained in defense. It is a match for a pit bull.

But is it a match for a pit bull controlled by Visser Three?

The evil force of Visser Three joins with the powerful jaws and killing instinct of the pit bull.

The combined force turns the animal into a creature three times as deadly.

You leap on the dog�s back. You are bigger, and you use your bulk to force the dog down. You sink your teeth into the fur around his neck and pull him off Marco�s mother.

The two of you roll backward. Patrolman Teeter runs forward. But he won�t draw his gun, not on two dogs.

All you hear are the snarls of your adversary. You smell blood and terror. The terror is yours. You realize that you are outmatched.

The pit bull�s teeth rip into your throat. You can�t bark. You can�t speak. You try to morph back, but your life force is ebbing.

Cause of death: Visser Three� again.

That�s it. That�s all the possible chapters from Alternamorphs #1 The First Journey.

The correct morph choice path to make it through the �plot� of the book, such as it is, unscathed is: Ferret > German shepherd > Ferret again > Hyena > Parrot > Chameleon > Giraffe.

In terms of morphs acquired by You in the �canon� timeline we have:

Ferret
Giraffe
Hyena (battle morph)
K-9 German shepherd
Parrot (Sario rip morph, unuseable)
Chameleon (Sario rip morph, unuseable)

Acquiring the Fly, Hamster, Parasol ant, Monkey, Jaguar, and Poison arrow frog all lead immediately to deaths, so those ones don�t count, unfortunately.

In all, this book is one of the shortest, if not THE shortest books in the series with the PDF version clocking in at a mere 48 pages, with a solid third of its chapters being one or two-page dead ends to pad things out. Most of the actual books ran the gamut from 60 to 70 pages, with the Megamorphs books usually clocking in at just under 100.

Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage is also similarly short, but it�s structure is a little more complex than The First Journey�s at the very least. But we�ll touch on that tomorrow.

For now though, farewell You Version 1, you killed Visser Three twice but had to commit quantum suicide in order to see it done, but that�s still more than the canon crew of jokers ever managed to pull off. We salute you as this timeline collapses and you are erased from existence in favor of You Version 2, aka �David, but not evil�?�

nine-gear crow fucked around with this message at 03:51 on May 1, 2023

# ? May 1, 2023 03:44

Soonmot: Dec 19, 2002; Entrapta fucking loves robots; Grimey Drawer

I hate this because of pit bull defamation that was all the rage at this time

# ? May 1, 2023 12:51

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

New month, new book, same bullshit.

Welcome to our final outing for this Let�s Read thread: Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage.

This second COYA book covers the plots of Book #20 The Discovery, Megamorphs #2, and Book #26 The Attack, and focuses on a reader character that is functionally David, but now his/their fate is in your hands as a reader to decide. While The First Journey focused exclusively on �pick your favorite animal� morph choices, The Next Passage�s decision points are going to be slightly more esoteric and plot-focused. There�s also actually a branching plot path system to the book that DOESN�T immediately end in either instant death or Nothlitism.

Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage is credited to K.A. Applegate (aka Kathrine Applegate and Michael Grant) on the cover and was ghostwritten by Emily Costello, who wrote Book #42 The Journey, AKA the �Helmacrons are back, let�s do a Fantastic Voyage pastiche inside Marco�s body� book.

In terms of publication timeline, Alternamorphs #2 falls between Animorphs #40 The Other and Megamorphs #4 Back To Before.

We don�t need to rehash the rules, but in case anyone is stumbling in here brand new, basically we�re going to go through the book until we reach a decision point, at which point the thread will vote on which option to embark upon and simple majority wins. If we reach a dead end, we�ll go back to last decision point and try again until we find a route that makes it to the end of the book.

The Next Passage � Introduction

quote:

My name is Rachel.

Who am I?

Just a kid. A kid with divorced parents and two little sisters. I go to school, do my homework, hang out with my friends. If you saw me I bet you wouldn�t look twice. Just another suburban mall rat.

Nothing special.

Funny how that sounds like an insult.

I bet you hate being ordinary. I bet you long for something to make you feel different and special. You�re probably just waiting for something exciting to happen to you.

Be careful what you wish for.

One night something exciting did happen to me. I was given a weapon. A wonderful and awful weapon. The ability to morph, to change from an average kid into an animal. Into a bird or insect.

Only five human beings possess this weapon. Me; Cassie, my best friend; Jake, my cousin and our leader; Marco, our own personal clown; and Tobias, our lost soul. Five humans unique in all the universe. Guess that makes us pretty special.

But along with the power to morph came a mission: Save the world. I�m not kidding. This is no joke.

See, Earth is being invaded by the Yeerks, aliens with weak, repulsive bodies. Slugs. Parasites.

The Yeerks want our human bodies. Our strong legs and hands. Our sensitive ears, mouths, and eyes. They are taking over human hosts, entering their brains, controlling them, rendering them utterly helpless.

So we fight. The five of us humans and Ax, an alien kid. An Andalite. The Andalites battle the Yeerks throughout the galaxy. A war on too many fronts. One day the Andalites may send reinforcements to Earth. Until then, we fight alone.

Each battle changes us. Transforms us on the inside as much as on the outside.

War is not a video game. In a real war, you make desperate decisions and deal with desperate consequences. You spill blood and your blood gets spilled. You brush up against death. You change.

You�re warped until ever being average and ordinary again is an impossible dream.

What would you do if you were given the chance to be different, unique, extraordinary? If someone offered you the ability to morph, would you take it? And if you did take it, how long do you think you would survive?

This is your chance to find out.

But I�m warning you. Think about it first. Think deeply. Ask yourself: Can you handle it?

Wow, who would think the first major decision point is do we even want to bother reading this one?

nine-gear crow fucked around with this message at 01:27 on May 4, 2023

# ? May 4, 2023 01:06

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

i'm a completionist, even for things that suck :colbert:

so yes

# ? May 4, 2023 01:21

Remalle: Feb 12, 2020

I have no memory of this place, so sure, I'm actually looking forward to this.

# ? May 4, 2023 01:37

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

nine-gear crow posted:

New month, new book, same bullshit.

Welcome to our final outing for this Let�s Read thread: Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage.

This second COYA book covers the plots of Book #20 The Discovery, Megamorphs #2, and Book #26 The Attack, and focuses on a reader character that is functionally David, but now his/their fate is in your hands as a reader to decide. While The First Journey focused exclusively on �pick your favorite animal� morph choices, The Next Passage�s decision points are going to be slightly more esoteric and plot-focused. There�s also actually a branching plot path system to the book that DOESN�T immediately end in either instant death or Nothlitism.

Alternamorphs #2 The Next Passage is credited to K.A. Applegate (aka Kathrine Applegate and Michael Grant) on the cover and was ghostwritten by Emily Costello, who wrote Book #42 The Journey, AKA the �Helmacrons are back, let�s do a Fantastic Voyage pastiche inside Marco�s body� book.

In terms of publication timeline, Alternamorphs #2 falls between Animorphs #40 The Other and Megamorphs #4 Back To Before.

We don�t need to rehash the rules, but in case anyone is stumbling in here brand new, basically we�re going to go through the book until we reach a decision point, at which point the thread will vote on which option to embark upon and simple majority wins. If we reach a dead end, we�ll go back to last decision point and try again until we find a route that makes it to the end of the book.

The Next Passage � Introduction

Wow, who would think the first major decision point is do we even want to bother reading this one?

# ? May 4, 2023 04:16

Malpais Legate: Oct 1, 2014

Mama didn't raise no bitch, we gonna read it.

# ? May 4, 2023 04:23

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

We're too far in, no turning back now.

# ? May 4, 2023 06:18

cptn_dr: Sep 7, 2011; Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies

I vote ~~yeen~~ to continue

# ? May 4, 2023 07:23

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

read the book

# ? May 4, 2023 14:48

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

The Next Passage � Chapter 1

quote:

The new kid.

You know the part.

Played it half a dozen times.

Your first day at a new school, the kids give you curious glances. A few say hi. Most don�t. A concerned teacher assigns some suck-up to show you around. Help you find the cafeteria and the bathrooms.

The only kids paying attention to you are the ones you wish would leave you alone. Losers. Too friendly types. The normal ones are too busy with their lives to worry about some new kid.

Lunch. You eat it alone at the corner of some cafeteria table.

You can�t wait to get out of there. To get off somewhere by yourself and blow off some steam. The final bell is salvation. You head out on foot, exploring your new town.

Not so different from the last one. Dunkin� Donuts. Burger King. Wal-Mart. Home Depot. A mall with the usual stuff inside: Mrs. Fields, The Gap, Express.

You don�t want to go in there. Don�t want to face another crowd of strange faces. Instead you dodge traffic and head into an abandoned construction site. On one end, a highway. Bands of trees on either side. On the far end, a broad field. A deserted place. A ghost town. A great place to be alone.

You kick around for ten minutes. Exploring. Checking out the big piles of rusted steel beams. Pyramids of concrete pipes. Deep pits filled with black, muddy water. A pile of gravel. Rocks the size of a Reese�s cup.

You pick one up and let fly.

THWONK!

The rock hits the concrete block with a satisfying noise. After a couple dozen throws your aim even starts to improve.

THWONK!

THWONK!

THWONK!

You land three rocks in a row right on the same spot in the concrete. When the third hits, the concrete crumbles. Weird. That stuff is usually pretty strong.

Whatever. Time to head home. Dinner with Mom and Dad. Homework. Then the same grind tomorrow.

Maybe tomorrow someone will talk to you.

You�re heading out of the lot when you see it. A small box nestled down inside the concrete block that fell apart. Sky-blue. Very plain. Small. Maybe five inches to each side.

Something about it draws you closer.

You glance over your shoulder before you yank it out of the block. The box feels heavy for its size. You feel something when you pick it up. Something like an electric charge. Only it�s not painful.

You hold the thing up to the fading light. There�s writing on it. Not English or any language you recognize. Maybe it�s Greek or Egyptian.

You slip the box into your book bag. The thing looks valuable. You wonder how much you can get for it on the internet. As soon as you get home, before dinner even, you post a few messages.

The blue box is available to the highest bidder.

Meet You Two. You Two is a typical teenage shithead. Like I said, think David, but their capacity for evil is maybe in our hands instead of whim of fate and circumstance. You Two doesn�t think highly of other kids their age, from the sound of it and would rather just be left the hell alone.

I think it�s going to be real lovely [indefinite amount of time] for You Two going forward. Especially since they just found the Morphing Cube in the wreckage of the construction site from the start of The Invasion.

The Next Passage � Chapter 2

quote:

Day Two at the new school.

Some guy named Marco insists on eating lunch with you. Not much better than eating alone.

You can�t wait to get home. That morning, there was already an answer to the �for sale� notices you posted on the Internet. A guy says he wants to see the box. Says he�ll pay good money.

You wrote him an E-mail. Set the timer on the computer so that he�d get your address right before you got home.

Last period. You rush out of the building. Get home early and do your business.

One problem: You�re in the door about two seconds when you know something is wrong. Your dad is home early. You can hear him talking to someone upstairs. And it doesn�t sound good.

You take the stairs two at a time. Bound into your room. Your dad is standing feet wide, pointing his service revolver at -

Something.

Something about the size of a retriever with eight stumpy legs, blue-and-tan fur, a scorpion tail, and two arms. The thing is alive. Growing and changing right before your eyes.

�Whoa!� you say.

�Some kind of alien,� your father explains.

�An alien, no way!�

<Yes, way!>

You freeze, amazed. The voice is coming from inside your head! What�s even weirder: It sounds vaguely familiar.

<Listen to me,> the voice continues. <Things are about to get really ugly around here. The two of you need to hide.>

�Hide? Why do we have to hide?!� you demand.

<Because the alternative is to be dead.>

Dingdong!

The doorbell is ringing.

Your father doesn�t flinch. He�s military trained. He still has the gun on the - the thing. It has stopped growing and changing. Now it resembles a blue-and-tan deer with a wicked scorpion tail. That tail is definitely a weapon.

Idiotically, you�re wondering if the door is for you. Could be the buyer for the blue box. Then -

BLAM! BLAM!

Your father is shooting! At what?

Fwapp!

The alien swings his tail! The gun goes flying. So does one of your father�s fingers.

�Hey!� you cry.

�Ahhh!� your father yells.

CRRRRUNCH!

Downstairs the door explodes in splinters. There is a severe, house-shaking pounding as many large feet run up the stairs.

Your knees are rubber. Your bowels jelly.

You and your father stare as two creatures leap into the room.

They have feet like a T-rex. Necks like snakes. Large birdlike beaks. Three daggerlike horns protruding out of their foreheads. Bent-back legs and very long arms. A curved horn blade on each wrist and elbow. More blades poking out of knees and off the ends of tails. They remind you of the monsters form Where the Wild Things Are.

�Uh. Wh-what are they?�

 says the voice in your head.

The Wild Things are joined by another blue-deer alien. Something about him sends a chill up your spine. Somehow you know he is dangerous.

�Get out of here!� you yell.

<Get out of here?> the blue-deer alien says. <Why, you�ve hurt my feelings. I just received your primitive transmission and I rushed right over.>

�Y-y-you want to b-b-buy the blue box?� you stammer.

<Oh, yes, definitely,> the alien says. He whips his tail and presses the blade against your father�s throat. <I�ll pay you your father�s life.>

I just love the fact that Visser Three rang the doorbell of You Two�s house, waited like 30 seconds and when no one answered, just ordered an entire commando team of Hork-Bajir to go in hot and tear the place up. For a guy with no sense of humor, the Visser remains a master of comedic timing.

The Next Passage � Chapter 3

quote:

<You are not getting the blue box,> says the other blue-deer alien.

You�re confused. You just assumed all of the blue-deer aliens were working together.

<Then this human will be separated from his head. I understand that�s usually fatal in humans.>

Sudden movement!

Your father jerks his head back, away from the alien�s tail blade.

You run straight at the alien yelling, �Let him go!�

FWAPP!

FWAPP!

The two deer-aliens are fighting with their tails. The Wild Things move forward. Blades flash.

Your posters fly, your curtains tear, your books scatter.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Your father is in the corner, firing his gun with his left hand. He usually can�t even hold a fork in that hand. But three circles appear in a Wild Thing�s chest. Down he goes.

Then -

�Hhhhrrroooarrrhh!� A throaty roar.

You turn to look.

An enormous grizzly bear is coming through your bedroom door! And behind the bear is a huge orange-and-black tiger.

You�re crying and laughing all at once. This is insane! You wonder if you�re going nuts.

Suddenly you gag. Heave. You�re going to be sick. Maybe it�s fear. But you�re definitely freaking out. You turn your back on the wild, insane violence and run for the toilet.

You�re just kneeling down on the tile when -

CRASH!

One of the Wild Things comes through the wall like a load of bricks. He leaps up, shakes himself off, and hops through the wall to rejoin the fight.

Forget throwing up. Time to listen to the voice in your head and hide. You climb into the bathtub and cower. The wall between the bathroom and bedroom is reduced to smashed two-by-fours and torn Sheetrock. You can see glimpses of the battle raging in your bedroom.

Your father crawls in. he wedges himself between the tub and the toilet. He follows the action in the next room, wildly pointing his gun here, there.

One of the deer-aliens begin to change. His skin and fur turn purple. His shoulders bulk out.

Two legs shrivel and disappear. The others grow bigger and stronger. Four arms sprout, two from each shoulder. The arms are wrinkly down in the place where the hands should be. And instead of hands there are bony red points.

FwooooooOOOMPH!

The wrinkled skin at the bottom of the arm zooms right out like a rocket! The cone hits the remaining deer-alien and knocks him to his knees. Instantly, the cone hand retracts and wrinkles up, ready to fire again.

<Now, let�s make this simple,> comes a commanding voice in your head. 

You scramble to your feet. The box is in your backpack. �Fine!� you shout. �I�ll give you the box. Just leave us alone!�

<No!> Another voice in your head. You have no idea where the voice is coming from, but you know this message is meant for you.

<Listen to me,> the new voice says urgently. <I�m on your side! We can get you out of here alive. But whatever you do, don�t give up that box.>

What do you do?

We�ve got two choices ahead of us:

Turn over the box.
Refuse.

# ? May 4, 2023 21:13

McTimmy: Feb 29, 2008

Turn over the box.

It worked for Cassie!

# ? May 5, 2023 03:03

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

quote:

<Then this human will be separated from his head. I understand that�s usually fatal in humans.>

As if Visser Three isn't the world's leading expert in what parts of a human you can chop off without killing them.

McTimmy posted:

Turn over the box.

It worked for Cassie!

Agreeing with the author insert is never wrong.

# ? May 5, 2023 04:00

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

whoof, i forgot this was literally a copy-paste of the david book intro.

may as well give up the box

# ? May 5, 2023 04:08

kiminewt: Feb 1, 2022

I don't remember David's dad being there in his book.

Give up the box. Best to do what the violent person says and not trust voices in your head.

# ? May 5, 2023 07:08

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

kiminewt posted:

I don't remember David's dad being there in his book.

Give up the box. Best to do what the violent person says and not trust voices in your head.

He was. Exact same injury, too. This literally is a note-for-note rehash of the #20 intro.

# ? May 5, 2023 07:43

kiminewt: Feb 1, 2022

I guess it's time for my second reread of this thread!

# ? May 5, 2023 07:55

gourdcaptain: Nov 16, 2012

Turn over the box. What's the worst that can happen, it's some kind of paperweight?

# ? May 5, 2023 12:15

OctaviusBeaver: Apr 30, 2009; Say what now?

I kind of like this one so far, probably because it's a copy paste of a book that's actually good.

That deer dude seems like a nice guy, I think you should turn over the box.

# ? May 5, 2023 17:24

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

The Next Passage � Chapter 4

quote:

You ignore the pleading voice in your head. You whip the blue box out of your backpack.

�Here!� you say, trying to be brave. �Take it.�

<Get it!> the commanding voice booms.

One of the Wild Things yanks the box out of your hand.

�Now leave!� you shout.

<Ha! Ha! Ha! These humans are such charming fools. Bring them as well!>

Another Wild Thing grabs you, practically yanking your arm out of the socket. Roughly pulls you toward the door. You make yourself heavy, try to resist. But the Wild Thing just picks you up like a sack of flour. It�s like trying to fight with a polar bear.

�No! Let me go or I�ll kill you!� It�s your father. He�s being dragged down the stairs behind you.

A Wild Thing on each side, picking him up under the arms.

Through the living room and out into the kitchen. Out the back door and straight into the back of a
moving van.

The Wild Things toss you down in the back of the van. Your father lands next to you.

Then -

Screaming outside. Your mother! When did she get home? She�s crying and begging to be set free. A Wild Thing drags her inside, tosses her down next to your father.

She looks wild, terrified. �What�s happening?!�

�We�ve all lost our minds,� your father answers.

�What happened to your hand?� Your mother starts to wrap your father�s wound with a piece of cloth she ripped from the bottom of her blouse.

You feel the van�s motor roar to life. You�re moving!

�Where are you taking us?� you demand.

The Wild Things don�t respond.

You twist around. A human is driving the van! You can see him through a small glass partition.

You bang on the glass. �Help us! Help us!�

The driver doesn�t turn around, but you can hear him laughing.

Minutes later, you stop at a warehouse.

The Wild Things roughly drag you inside. You struggle, but you can�t break free. Your mother and father are right behind you. Coming quietly now.

The warehouse is empty except for a few old cars. In the center of the concrete floor is a circular metal staircase, leading down.

You hear noises. A deep sloshing, swooshing sound. Screams, terrified cries, shouts.

The Wild Things drag you down and down until you must be ten stories underground. A strange smell tickles your nose. It�s almost like � dust or lightning.

You emerge in an immense cavern. In the very center is a pool, like a small lake. The water inside moves like mercury. The surface of the liquid ripples and splashes. Something is under the water!

�Barracudas,� your father says.

You laugh. �What is this? A movie set?�

Your guard stops at the end of a low steel pier stretched out over the water. Your parents� guards head off to the right. Your mother is sobbing. Your father is struggling and cursing.

�Don�t worry!� your mother shouts.

�We�re going to get out of this!� your father shouts.

�Hey - where are you taking them?� you holler. �Stop! You can�t do that!�

You�re crying, too. Now you notice the cages lining the edge of the pool. The cages are full of people! Men and women and children. They seem hopeless, beaten down. Most of them are just staring off into space.

One of the guards opens a door and roughly shoves your parents in with the others.

�Mom! Dad!� you holler.

Now the guard is dragging you down the pier. You kick and scream. You have no idea what�s going to happen but you know it�s probably not good.

At the end of the pier, the Wild Thing pushes you down. It twists your head. Forces your ear under the molten liquid.

Then you feel it.

Something tickling your ear. Something pushing and probing into your ear canal.

�NOOOOO!� you yell.

Out of the corner of your eye, you can see it. Something gray and slimy. Like the world�s biggest slug. And it�s crawling out of the sludge and into your ear!

The pain is incredible.

Worse than anything you�ve ever imagined.

The Wild Things haul you to your feet and let go. You want to run. To flee. To help your parents. But you can�t move your legs. Can�t control your eyes.

What is happening? You wonder.

To your surprise, someone answers. <You are my host now.>

Suddenly, without wanting to, you are walking calmly down the pier. You want to see what�s happening to your parents, but your eyes won�t move in the direction of the cages.

<Forget them,> says the voice in your head.

<No! Never!> you yell. Then - <Who are you?>

<Don�t you know? I�m the Yeerk in your head. I�ve settled down into the crevices of your brain. I control your body now.>

<H- How?> you demand.

The voice in your head laughs. <You tried to bargain with Visser Three! What a fool! You�re a slave now. A slave forever. And your parents will share the same fate. Hahaha! Hahahahaha!>

Now, you see here kids, this is what happens when you acquiesce to fascists. You get brainwormed and become a fascist tool yourself.

So congrats, You Two is now another proud and loyal footsoldier of the mighty Yeerk Empire. They will probably meet their end at the hand of the Animorphs, or just typical Yeerk infighting or stupidity in due time.

# ? May 6, 2023 01:23

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; Ultra Carp

Well, that was a short book! :v:

# ? May 11, 2023 01:25

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Well, that was a short book!

lol I wish. Sorry, I've been neglecting my posting duties because unlike Epi, I'm not suffering from any kind of debilitating ailment, I'm just a lazy shithead and I hate using my brain. I'll have another set of chapters up later tonight.

# ? May 11, 2023 01:32

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

nine-gear crow posted:

I'm just a lazy shithead and I hate using my brain.

? you're not supposed to morph other humans. Stop copying my dna.

# ? May 11, 2023 01:37

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Also I feel mildly guilty keeping this thread running for two whole extraneous books like a zombie thread while Epicurius is plugging away at Everworld in the other thread and not getting any real reader engagement with it, or at least not as much as this thread has had so far.

# ? May 11, 2023 01:38

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Ah! I thought everworld was going to get tacked on to this thread. I ca'nt raed apparently!

# ? May 11, 2023 01:39

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

nine-gear crow posted:

Also I feel mildly guilty keeping this thread running for two whole extraneous books like a zombie thread while Epicurius is plugging away at Everworld in the other thread and not getting any real reader engagement with it, or at least not as much as this thread has had so far.

i wouldn't feel guilty about posting Alternamorths. it seems popular...people like it.

For those who missed the link to Everworld and want to catch up, it's

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4030277

# ? May 11, 2023 03:06

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Epicurius posted:

i wouldn't feel guilty about posting Alternamorths. it seems popular...people like it.

For those who missed the link to Everworld and want to catch up, it's

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4030277

Well on that note then!

So the thing about every choice in the book being a binary between only two options is that we, sadly, only get one shot to gently caress up and then we immediately know the right answer unlike the first book where we at least had three choices to experiment with.

So let�s get back at it and NOT turn over the morphing cube to Visser Three like a moron this time:

The Next Passage � Chapter 5

quote:

�No!� you say defiantly. �The box is mine.�

<Attack!> says an awful commanding voice in your head.

�No, wait!� you say.

But it�s too late. The terrible purple nightmare monster, the Wild Things, the deer-alien, the bear, the tiger are all focusing on you.

You back against the tile wall, getting as far away from them as possible.

The grizzly moves first. It bellows, lowers its head, lands on all fours, and runs straight at you. Like a runaway train. Behind the grizzly, like heat-seeking missiles, come two massive cone hands. They�re heading straight for you.

You close your eyes.

But you can�t close your ears.

WHUM-WHUMPH! WHAM! CRUNCH!

You open your eyes. The cone hands missed. Yes!

Then -

WHOMP!

A mountain of bear sweeps you up and shoves you through the shattered plaster and glass. For one stunned second you are flying. You can see the evening sky. A tree branch. You windmill your arms. Then -

WHAM!

The air explodes from your lungs as you hit the ground. Your spine crunches. Teeth slam together. You fall backward and your head hits the ground.

WUMP!

Blackness.

You wake up amidst the smells of hay, medicine, and animal poop. You�re surrounded. Five kids standing around you in a circle. Solemn, tired-looking kids. One of them looks familiar.

�You�re Marco,� you say with a little laugh. �We had lunch together today.�

Marco nods and gives you a little wave. The others introduce themselves. Jake. Cassie. Rachel. Ax.

They explain about the Yeerks, about the invasion. You learn some vocabulary. The Wild Things are called Hork-Bajir. The deer-aliens are Andalites.

�What about my mom and dad?� you ask.

Marco walks over and stands right in front of you. �Your parents have been taken to a secret underground facility called a Yeerk pool. Picture a sludgy, cesspool of a pond the color of molten lead. Hork-Bajir warriors will drag your parents out to the end of a pier. They will -�

�Marco!� Cassie says angrily.

�They will drag them out to the end of that pier and they will kick their legs out from under them and force their heads down into the sludge ��

You stare as Marco drones on. His words stab you in the gut. You don�t absorb it all. But you understand your parents are slaves. Slaves of the saddest sort.

An intense anger hits you. A desire to strike back, to send these Yeerks back to wherever they came from. You want to save your parents. You have to.

�It�s too late to help your parents,� Jake says quietly. �And as of now, you have no home and you can�t go back to school. You do, and they Yeerks will find you. And it�ll be you taking that long walk down the steel pier.�

Your mind can�t grasp it. You try to argue, to convince yourself it�s just a trick. But they prove it to you. Ax, a disturbingly pretty boy, turns into an even more disturbing-looking alien. What you now know is an Andalite.

�There is one nice thing about all this,� Cassie says. �There is a compensation for all the danger and all the fear. Any animal you can touch, you can become. A dolphin, a skunk, a wolf.�

�An elephant or a grizzly bear,� Rachel says.

�A gorilla. A shark,� Marco says.

�A tiger, a fly, a cockroach,� Jake says. �Any animal. Any size. But only for two hours at a time. You can never stay in morph for more than two hours.�

�Why?� you wonder.

And then you meet Tobias. He was trapped in his red-tailed hawk morph. Now, he lives his life as a bird of prey.

They give you a few hours to think about it. You take a walk in the woods behind Cassie�s farm. You try to think, but your mind refuses to track. Your jaw hurts, your back aches. You keep thinking about your parents. unreal. Your whole world shattered, ruined. You feel hopeless as you head back to the barn.

The others are waiting for you.

�I�m ready,� you say.

Someone produces the box. Your box. The box that destroyed your life. They toss it to the alien.

<Press your hand on the square nearest to you,> he tells you.

You step forward and press your hand down on the cube.

�It tingles,� you say.

<You may remove your hand now,> the alien says.

You do, thinking that the experiment has failed. You don�t feel any different. The others are guarded, but they smile and shake your hand.

�I want to try it,� you say.

Cassie leads you into a horse stall. �Put your hand on his neck,� she tells you.

The horse turns and gives you a surprised look. Then he ignores you, going back to eating his hay. His fur feels rough and warm.

�Focus your mind,� Cassie says. �See the horse in your imagination. Think about him, what he is, what he represents.�

You close your eyes, concentrate.

�Now take your hand away,� Cassie says softly. �You have the horse inside you. His DNA is in your blood. You can become him. Try it.�

This is ridiculous, you think.

But you have to be sure. You close your eyes. Imagine the horse.

Nothing happens. All you feel is a little itching, a distant sensation in your legs.

�HrrrEEE-hee-hee-hee!�

Your eyes jolt open. The horse is panicking. Rearing up, nickering just a foot away.

When you look down, you understand why.

Your chest, your hands are covered with sleek brown fur. You can see your hair flowing around your waist, but it doesn�t look like your hair. It looks like a horse�s mane.

�Agggghhhh!� you scream.

�HrrrEEE-hee-hee-hee Hrrr-EEEEE-heee-heee-he!�

�Watch out!� Rachel says. She pulls you out of the stall, away from the panicked horse.

You stumble back blindly, mesmerized by the sight of your feet exploding out of your shoes.
Growing, rounding, turning into hooves.

Your body is getting longer, heavier.

WHUMP! You fall forward onto all fours.

The horse�s mind creeps in. It�s nervous, frightened. But not as frightened as your own true mind. Cassie leads you out into the pasture. It�s gray, raining. But the fresh air quiets the horse�s mind. Without thinking you begin to run.

Amazing! You feel strength flowing through your legs, your back. More power than you have ever known! You run until your coat is sleek with sweat and rain. Until your slender legs tremble with exhaustion.

Your anger over your parents gives you an intense adrenaline rush.

�That�s enough!� Cassie yells. �Don�t let the morph control you. You can�t forget your two hour limit.� Suddenly you have a new fear. How will you ever undo these changes? Will you ever be human again? You walk back into the barn and focus on your own body. You almost cry with relief when the changes begin.

The others are waiting, watching you curiously.

�How was it?� Rachel asks.

�Fun,� you admit.

Cassie smiles at you.

�Morphing isn�t a game,� Jake says darkly.

�No,� you agree. �It�s a weapon. And I�m ready to fight the Yeerks.�

This book is at the very least a little better at describing the morphing process and embodying an animal than the previous one, I will give it that.

Also our first hints of �David� starting to peak through the tabula rasa of You Two with their assertion that the morphing power is just flat out a weapon, and they want to use it to get revenge on the Yeerk with it for what Visser Three just did to their parents.

The Next Passage � Chapter 6

quote:

The pleasure fades out of Cassie�s face. �A weapon. Yeah, I guess that�s what morphing is or us.�

�A weapon we can share now that we have the blue box,� Jake points out.

You feel their attention slip, shift, and lock on this new topic. They debate using the blue box to make an army of Animorphs. You try to follow. But it�s like when your parents talk politics or discuss the stock market. You don�t really know enough to have an opinion and nobody asks what you think.

Jake, Rachel, Marco, and Cassie do most of the talking. Ax offers an occasional opinion. Tobias is mostly silent. He�s in his red-tailed hawk form, up in the rafters. Even though he doesn�t say much, you somehow never forget he�s there.

You feel left out. The six of them - they�re obviously a tight group. You suddenly hope the others use the blue box again and again. Then you won�t be the only outsider.

The rain is plinking on the barn roof and the animals are rattling in their cages and Tobias is preening and Rachel�s voice is rising as she argues a point and Marco is rolling his eyes at her when -

It all stops. All of it.

Every sound. Silence. The rain. Silence.

The Animorphs in their debating poses. Frozen. The barn full of animals. Stopped dead.

Frozen. Still. Motionless. Everything and everyone.

Except for you.

You look up at Tobias. He has one talon off the rafter, wings half-open for stability. Frozen in an
impossible pose.

Slowly, cautiously, you move to the door. Raindrops hover in the air.

You�re frightened, amazed. It�s as if the whole world were a video and someone hit the �pause�
button.

You feel small and powerless and terribly alone. Somehow � forgotten. Yo have an overwhelming desire to stand still, to blend in with the frozen world.

A raccoon stands up on its hind legs. You jump about two feet. Especially when the raccoon walks through its wire cage. Simply passes through the bars like they�re air.

The raccoon lumbers to you, and puts one black-and-white paw on your knee. He looks into your eyes and says 

�Are - are you an alien?� you ask.

<In a manner of speaking.>

�Did you stop � everything?� you ask.

<Yes.>

�How?� you ask.

<From your perspective, I am an all-powerful being. Human perspective however, is extremely
limited.>

�You stopped the rain?�

<Yes.>

You relax a hair. Almost. This, this Ellimist - whatever it is - doesn�t seem to mean you any harm.

�Why?� you ask.

BECAUSE YOU�VE ANGERED ME!

You feel a chill crawl through your body as the sunlight blinks out. You are in total darkness.Floating in a featureless void. No up. No down. And the Ellimist�s voice comes from everywhere at once. And from nowhere.

�I - I�m sorry,� you stutter. �Wh-what did I do?�

YOU HAVE ALTERED THE STRANDS OF SPACE-TIME.

�But I don�t even know what space-time is,� you protest. Then -

You see it. It blinks on like a ride in a carnival.

Threads. Hundreds, thousands of them in all the brilliant colors of the spectrum. Running in every direction around you. Threads streaking off into the distance, curling back inside themselves, disappearing, reappearing, twisting, raveling, and braiding. A chaos of complication. And they are changing all of the time. Moving. Growing brighter or dimmer.

You can�t make sense of it.

No matter. It is beautiful.
�Is something bad going to happen because of me?� you ask.

THAT DEPENDS.

�Depends? Depends on what?�

YOUR WORTH. YOU WILL TAKE A TEST TO MEASURE YOUR WORTH.

�What kind of test?� you ask, trying to sound strong.

DO WELL AND I WILL SAVE YOUR FAMILY FROM THE YEERKS. DO POORLY AND YOU WILL DIE.

�What kind of test?� you ask again.

The threads disappear. The darkness disappears. Now you are floating in a plain white void.

CHOOSE.

You look down. In your hand is a remote control with two round buttons. One is marked A. the other is marked B.

Why am I thinking this seems more like a Crayak situation than an Ellimist one, given how things suddenly got incredibly all caps screamy and confrontational. Seems a little out of character for our favorite dipshit altruist god gamer, doesn�t it?

Oh well, when God shows up and tells you to pick a button, you loving pick a button, so what will it be, folks?

# ? May 11, 2023 03:28

Roadie: Jun 30, 2013

The real question is, when is someone going to post a read-through of Vegemorphs?

# ? May 11, 2023 03:32

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Roadie posted:

The real question is, when is someone going to post a read-through of Vegemorphs?

All power to whoever that dumb bastard might be, but in the words of the G-Man, "this is where I get off".

# ? May 11, 2023 03:34

gourdcaptain: Nov 16, 2012

B?

I don't know why Everworld never hooked me, but if Epicurial does Remnants, I'll be there. I remember Remnants being a _weird_ mess.

# ? May 11, 2023 03:35

Malpais Legate: Oct 1, 2014

It doesn't help that this is requires reader input, whereas I'm content to silently read Everworld. I suppose I should be more vocal about my opinions from chapter to chapter!

Anyway this is a dumb choice with no context and I hate it. B.

# ? May 11, 2023 17:31

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

Yeah, kind of weird to give a choice with zero context. Not a fan of shouty Ellimist. Let's press B!

# ? May 11, 2023 18:27

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

uhh B i guess? I don't really blame Ellimist for not liking You Two, if we're supposed to be some alternate timeline version of david, but the shouting is weird

# ? May 11, 2023 21:13

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# ? May 12, 2024 12:57

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Its not every book that has god specifically come down and yell at you, the reader. Weird rear end choice.

Pick B

# ? May 11, 2023 21:22

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

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