Holy Crap He’s a Prince!?!- Welp- he ded now
I was sure I was going to die, right then.
I could see the way the aliens spread out, fanning over. One of the Hork Bajir had landed on the wall, looking around in front of him, thankfully not noticing us.
I protected Harry with my body, using myself as a shield so he couldn’t get up to defend the Andalite. I could see him wanting to move, but at the same time, terrified to do so, and I knew the feeling.
If you’ve never been really afraid, let me tell you- it does things to you. You want to scream, to run, to wet your pants. You want to throw your self down to the ground and cry and beg please, please, please, please don’t kill me!
And if you think you’re brave, well, wait until your cowering a few feet away from a monster who could turn you to coleslaw in about 3 seconds flat.
But then, the Andalite’s voice was in my head again.
“courage, my friends”
And this… warm…this… I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt like it wrapped around my heart, giving it a small, comforting hug. Like when you’re a little kid and you get comforted by your mom and dad after having a nightmare.
I mean, I was still terrified. The hork Bajir was still there, real and deadly, but I could feel the panic coming under control. The strength flowing from the Andalite, knowing he was doomed to die. He was trying to give us some of his courage, despite him being deathly afraid himself.
I looked up when I noticed the Hork Bajir moving away. Something new was coming from the blade ship. Now, every alien was turned toward the ship.
“they are all standing at attention.” I whispered.
“how do you know?” Marco whispered back. “who knows when a jelly-eyed centipede or a walking salad shooter from hell is standing at attention?”
Then, he appeared.
“Visser Three” said the Andalite in that strange, non-speaking way.
Visser three… was an Andalite. Or- at least he was an Andalite controller.
“What the…” Rachel whispered harshly.
“Bloody hell…” whispered harry, clinging to my jacket. I held him tighter to my body, shielding him further.
“Only once has a Yeerk been able to control an Andalite body” said the real Andalite. “there is only one Andalite controller. And he is Visser three.”
Visser Three walked confidently toward the wounded Andalite, seeming so much like him it was hard to tell them apart. They had the same blue skin and slightly blue/tan fur, same pose, hell even same height. The same mouthless face, glowing green eyes and eye stalk-things, and wicked tail. But- somehow, Visser Three FELT different. he held himself more sinisterly, walked with a swagger only supervillains could have-
God, I need to stop watching so much TV.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Prince of the Andalites…” he said, and I jerked when I realized I could HEAR his thoughts. And if Harry’s sudden start beside me said anything, he did too. Rachel, cassie, and marco gasped, while tobias looked in pure shock.
“Can he… can he HEAR us!? Our thoughts?!” Rachel whispered furiously.
“If he can we are so, so dead.” Marco whispered back.
“I don’t even wanna think about it.” Harry whispered. “Bloody hell, this is terrifying!” he whispered.
“He cannot hear your thoughts- not unless you direct them to him.” said the Andalite- the good one, not the Visser. “he is broadcasting for all to hear- this is a victory he wants to boast over.” he said bitterly. I felt the bitter taste of the words on my tongue, and I don’t blame him.
“AH- not just any Meddling Andalite Prince- you’re prince Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamptul, aren’t you? Such a… legend, among your- I mean, OUR people.” Grinned the Andalite-controller wickedly, a non-heard mocking laugh resonating through our skulls. “How many of our fighters have you destroyed, Young Prince? Seven? Maybe eight now? Well- no matter.”
The Andalite prince (Prince?! Seriously!?) didn’t answer, but I had a strong suspicion that it was maybe more than eight.
“The very last andalite in this sector of space. Yess, I watched your dome ship go down In flames, crashing to this pitiful planet.”
“There will be others.”
“AH, but by then it shall be too late, young prince. This world, and everything in it, shall be mine, our greatest conquest, and my greatest gift to the Yeerk empire. Then, I will FINALLY, be Visser One.” Said the Andalite-controller wickedly.
“why?! Why these people?! You have so many, much more powerful allies and slaves! Why them?!” asked the Andalite, on the ground. He was struggling to stand, but at least his burn was healed.
“because, Young Prince, there are so, so MANY of them. And they are so… well, weak. Pitiful, even. So they are easy to mold into slaves. With them, I shall destroy my way through the worlds, and this galaxy, as well as everyone after, will be mine. There are Billions, young Prince, and we’d have to build a thousand more pools just to house a quarter of that number! Face it, Prince, they will be your downfall. You have lost.”
The words were said with a finality, that I had almost believed him upon hearing them. The Visser stepped right up to the Andalite, and stomped on the man’s leg- a sickening crack echoing through the construction site.
The Andalites fear rippled through my being, but despite that, he didn’t cower. He somhow stood up, despite his injury, to look the Andalite-controller in the eyes.
“Prince… Prince Alloran-semitur- corass, I KNOW you are in there. Please- if-if your listening, do not allow this sick being to control you further! To destroy yet another world, after he destroyed the one you worked so hard to help!” said the Andalite. At the plead, the Visser used his- the Andalite- tail, and struck the other across the face, harshly. Despite that, and the loss of an eye stalk, the man stood his ground.
I knew he was going to die. He did too. Despite this, he wanted to die looking his enemy in the face, revealing no fear behind those eyes.
But Visser three wasn’t done taunting him- not yet.
“I promise you one thing, Prince Elfangor.” He whispered, leaning closer. Despite this, he still broadcast his thoughts for everyone.
“when we have this planet, with it’s rich harvest of bodies, we shall move against YOUR planet. I will personally hunt down your family. Your mother… your father… and your PRECIOUS little brother… I will place my most loyal lieutenants in their heads. I hope they resist, so I may hear their minds SCREAM.”
At those words, the Andalite struck! His tail whipped over his head, even faster than that of the Visser, and the Visser was forced to dodge, the tail grazing his head, but struck dead into his shoulder. He screamed as blood- or something like it- spewed from the gash.
“Yes!” I hissed, and I heard my friends softly cheering for him. beside me, still guarded, was Harry, eyes hard and a wicked grin. That grin sent shivers down my spine.
At the same time, a blinding light from the tail of the Andalite ship shot out, forcing Hork-Bajir and Taxxon to scatter.
Even crouched behind the wall, I could feel the blistering heat as the shot hit a Bug Fighter dead on, sizzling it out of existence.
“Fire!” shouted the Visser. “destroy his ship!”
The night exploded in blinding light, red beams lancing from the Blade Ship and remaining Bug Fighter. The Andalite ship glowed, and disintegrated.
In the glow, as it slowly dimmed, I saw sihouettes of… humans. A small group, possibly 4, in the shadows.
“There are people over there.” I whispered to the group.
Marco’s eyes widened. “are they prisoners?” he asked.
Before I could respond, the Visser hissed. “Take the Andalite. Hold him for me.”
Three big Hork Bajir walked up, and pinned the Andalite to the ground. The largest held a blade up to the aliens throat, but he clearly knew better than to kill him. now, that privilege would go to the Visser.
Then, we saw WHY the visser was the only one capable of taking over an Andalite body. For, he began to change.
His Andalite head grew larger and larger, the four horselike legs merging and expanding, becoming 2 legs as big and round as a redwood tree. The delicate Andalite arms sprouted and became tentacles.
“This isn’t real.” Cassie whispered. “this isn’t real.”
The hideous bloated head grew a large, wide mouth, and giant teeth, as long as an arm, appeared. A giant monster had taken the place of what used to be an Andalite.
The beast rawered, a loud and earth-shaking sound. I covered my ears with my hands, and felt harry release my hoodie to cover his own. It rawered once more, and I felt my teeth rattle. I heard someone whimpering.
It was me.
Visser three had become a monster that made Taxxons and Hork-Bajjir look like little kittens In comparison. He reached out with one thick tentacle, and grabbed the Andalite by the neck.
“No, no, no no no no” Cassie muttered. I heard a wretching sound, and realized Harry was behind me, throwing up. I moved a hand to comfort him, but I couldn’t look away.
“Don’t Look.” Me and Rachel whispered at the same time, to different people. Rach put her arm around cassies shoulder, and held her close. Marco took tobias’s hand, and pulled him into a hug, forcing him to look away. I turned and hid my face in Harry’s back, a hand on the back of his head, keeping him from looking.
You never know how much you really know someone until you see them scared. Throwing up, crying, scared to death. Even crying, tears pouring down her face in a way I haven’t seen since we were toddlers, she still, somehow, had strength to spare.
Visser Three lifted the Andalite straight up in the air, and I looked away. I could hear it, see the sihlouetet of it in the lights that flashed over on the wall, as the prince struck again and again with his tail with no avail.
Visser three held the Andalite high in the air…
And he opened his mouth wide.