-----My name is Darlin-Semitur-Corrass.
-----I am an Andalite, the only one of my kind on Earth. I was
marooned here after a fatal attack on my Dome Ship, the TailBlade.
As far as I know, I am the only survivor of that small battle with
the Yeerks.
-----The Yeerks are a parasitic species. They crawl into your
brain and tie into your thoughts. They make you a complete and
total slave. You want to move your feet, but you can't. You want
to scream, but you can't. And the whole time the Yeerk is laughing
at you as it digs into your brain, doing what you do, saying what
you would say, deceiving your loved ones. When this happens, you
are called a Controller.
-----The Yeerks have enslaved the Hork-Bajir, a race that looks
deadly but is really quite peaceful. They have enslaved the vile
Taxxons, the clumsy Gedds, and are enslaving more and more humans
with each passing day. And they have enslaved only one Andalite.
-----I have often been told that I look like that Andalite,
Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. That is because he is my twin brother. We
were separated at birth, so he doesn't know I exist. I wouldn't
have known that he existed either, except my parents told me about
him.
-----One day I was running through the woods, having my
breakfast, when I saw a familiar outline against a tree. I ducked
behind a tall bush and peeked out with my stalk eyes. What I saw
stunned me.
-----It was another Andalite.
-----Was it true? Had other Andalites survived the TailBlade
crash? I stepped partway out of the bush to get a better look.
-----Sure enough, it was an Andalite. But as I continued
staring at him, one of his stalk eyes turned towards me. In a
flash all four eyes were on me, and he was charging towards me.
-----I broke into a run, going as fast as I could. I jumped
over fallen logs and dodged bushes in an attempt to get away from
my pursuer. But he was slowly gaining on me.
-----Finally I darted behind a tree and collapsed against it.
My hearts were pounding, and I put a hand on my chest to try and
slow them down. I listened intently to try and hear the other
Andalite. Nothing. I breathed a sigh of relief.
-----Suddenly a tail blade was pressed against my throat. The
other Andalite had quietly sneaked up on me. With a twitch of his
tail he could decapitate me. I yelped in fear.
-----<Well, well, Visser,> the Andalite said. <We meet again.
And this time you won't get away. I'll avenge my brother's death
at last.>
-----<I'm not Visser Three!> I yelled. <I'm his twin brother,
Darlin-Semitur-Corrass.>
-----<Sure you are,> said the Andalite as he dug his tail blade
into my neck and forced me into the open. He said it with a human
quality called "sarcasm." <And I'm Prince Seerow back from the
dead.>
-----<Please believe me,> I said. <I'm not a Controller. And
could you ease off your tail blade a bit? My neck is really
starting to hurt.>
-----A tense minute passed. Finally the Andalite withdrew his
tail. I sighed and rubbed my neck.
-----<Thanks,> I said.
-----<I am Aristh Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill,> the Andalite
said. <And before you ask, yes, I'm Elfangor's little brother.> He
studied me. <Are you really the Abomination's twin?>
-----<Yes.>
-----<You two look exactly alike. Only you don't have that
'evil' feeling. I apologize about trying to kill you. It's just
that, well….> He made a point of aiming all four of his eyes at
the ground. <He killed Elfangor, and I have to avenge his death.>
-----<I understand,> I replied.
-----<How long have you been here?> Aximili asked.
-----<About two years. I am the only survivor of the TailBlade
crash. I thought I was the only Andalite here.>
-----<As did I. I am also the only survivor of a Dome Ship
crash. While I have been here, I have managed to keep fighting the
Yeerks.> He said <yeerks> with the same combination of disgust and
hatred we all feel when mentioning them.
-----<But how?> I inquired skeptically. <You are only one
Andalite.>
-----<There are others,> was his answer. <Five morph-capable
humans fight with me.>
-----The news went through me like an electric shock. Had he
actually broken the law of Seerow's Kindness, our biggest and most
sacred law, by giving the humans morphing technology? I couldn't
believe it.
-----<Humans? You gave the humans morphing technology? You
broke the law of Seerow's Kindness?> I said in amazement.
-----Aximili's eyes had a flicker of fear in them. I could
understand why. If any Andalite was caught breaking the law of
Seerow's Kindness, they were punished severely, and sometimes even
put to death. But luckily, Aximili, being only an aristh, would be
forgiven.
-----<Yes,> he said.
-----Something about the way he said that made me think he was
lying. He was covering something up. But I didn't bother to
question him. What use would I have for the answers he gave me,
anyway?
-----I saw a bird of prey called a red-tailed hawk swoop down
from above us. It landed in a tree and glared angrily at us. Then
it spoke.
-----<Ax, who is this?> he demanded. I realized it was one of
the morph-capable humans. His eyes widened. <Oh, no. Is it Visser
Three?>
-----<No,> Aximili said. <This is Darlin-Semitur-Corass, Visser
Three's twin brother.>
-----I raised one of my hands and waved it in a human gesture
of friendliness. <Hi,> I said.
-----The hawk looked at me a little strangely because I had
acted human. <My name is Tobias,> he said finally. <Pleased to
meet you.>
-----A low hum overhead made us all glance upward. Out of thin
air, a ship appeared. It was shaped like a battle-axe from human
medieval times. I gasped. I knew what that ship was. And I knew
its owner's name.
-----<The Blade Ship,> Tobias said.
-----<The Blade Ship,> I echoed. <My brother's ship.>
-----<It appears to be landing in that clearing over there.>
Aximili pointed to a clearing several miles away.
-----<Let's go, then,> I said as I broke into a run with
Aximili right behind me and Tobias overhead.
-----It took exactly twelve minutes to reach the clearing. We
were all worn out by the time we hid behind a low-lying bush. As I
watched, Aximili began to morph an Earth creature called a
rattlesnake. I hesitated, then decided to morph an animal called a
raccoon. It wasn't deadly, but would be inconspicuous to the
Yeerks.
-----My tail shrank, lost its blade, and became furry and
ringed. At the same time, my stalk eyes disappeared and black fur
crawled across my main eyes. My silvery-blue fur turned brown and
became longer as my legs shrank down to mere stubs and my arms
disappeared completely. My hooves changed to feet and tiny hands.
My face bulged out and split in half to form a mouth. Finally the
morph ended with sharp teeth filling my mouth.
-----I had morphed a raccoon before, so I was prepared for the
hunger and fear signals the raccoon brain sent to me. I lumbered
out into the clearing, sniffing at several things and trying to
play the part of a normal raccoon.
-----Suddenly I felt it. It was like a shadow over your soul.
Like a cloud had just come and hid the sun from view. It was
terrifying. Because I knew what that feeling meant.
-----Visser Three was not far away.
-----<Spread out,> he ordered in unguarded thought speak. <If
you find an animal, bring it to me. I will see if it can be
infested.>
-----Uh-oh. So that's what his plan was. He was looking for new
species to infest.
-----<No. Too small,> he said as a Hork-Bajir brought him a
mouse. <Still too small,> he said again as a songbird was brought
to him. When a third Controller brought him a duck, he raked his
tail forward.
-----<IDIOTS!!> he hollered. He was absolutely livid. <We are
looking for animals with brains about the size of a Gedd brain!
Not these things!> He gestured toward the duck angrily. <It
doesn't even have a visible ear canal!>
-----Quite suddenly I was lifted into the air. Raccoon instinct
took over, and I squealed and whipped my head around to try and
bite the hand of the human-controller that seized me. I managed to
sink a few teeth into his hand, but he kept a firm grip on me. And
then I was looking right into Visser Three's eyes.
-----I swear my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Then
it started up again, jerky and irregular. I was more terrified
than I had ever been in my life.
-----<Yes,> he said. <This will do nicely. Good work, Otec
two-seven-eight.>
-----"Would you like me to find more raccoons, sir?" he asked,
making mouth sounds.
-----<No. Carry it into the ship.> The Controller followed his
orders. I felt the combined vibrations of Otec two-seven-eight
leaving and Visser Three entering go through the cold metal
beneath me. The visser looked at me.
-----<Andalite!> he commanded. <Come out of that form, and
maybe I'll consider letting you live.>
-----He knew! How could he have known? I searched my mind
frantically for an answer.
-----<Do it,> he whispered menacingly. <I can wait as long as
you. And sooner or later you'll have to demorph.>
-----What choice did I have? I began to return to my Andalite
form, deliberately drawing it out to avoid my fate. Soon I was
face-to-face with my twin.
-----In a microsecond, for the second time that day, I felt the
edge of a tail blade bite into my neck. He didn't seem too
surprised that I looked exactly like him. Then he quickly withdrew
his tail and stared at me in amazement. I realized that he had
been so preoccupied with trying to kill me that he hadn't even
noticed that I looked like him.
-----<Hello, Alloran,>I said, using his real name.
-----<Who are you? How do you know my host's name? And why do
you look like me? If this is some Andalite trick.> He let the
threat hang in the air.
-----<My name is Darlin-Semitur-Corrass. You may notice that my
name is very similar to yours. That is because we are twins.>
-----Visser Three continued to gape at me. Out of one of my
stalk eyes I saw a snake sneak into the ship. Aximili.
-----Unfortunately, Visser Three noticed too. He instantly
turned towards Aximili and narrowed his eyes.
-----<Do you Andalites ever think of new attacks?> he said with
a menacing laugh. He calmly waked towards Aximili until he was
almost standing right on top of him. Aximili shook his tail to
emit a rattling, hissing sound. And then Visser Three struck.
-----He whipped his tail forward and in one movement impaled
Aximili in the center of his body. I didn't even see him strike.
All I saw was the gaping wound that seemed to appear out of
nowhere.
-----<AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!> he cried in pain.
-----<Aximili!> I yelled. I ran towards him and scooped up his
damaged body. <Demorph! NOW!>
-----At first, nothing happened, and I feared he was dead. Then
I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw tiny legs and arms appear. I
set him down, shielding him from any more blows my brother might
deliver. In a few earth minutes he was fully Andalite.
-----<Are you OK?> I asked in concern.
-----<Yes, I'm fine,> he said in a shaky voice.
-----<Just take it easy. It'll be - > I broke off as I saw
Visser Three stretch his tail to deliver another blow. I jumped up
and turned to face him.
-----<My host is very surprised to learn that he has a twin,>
the Yeerk slug said smoothly. <Even though he does not know you,
he feels a sense of friendship towards you. And he has been trying
to rebel a lot lately. I'm sure nothing would cause him more
anguish than to see his twin brother die.>
-----I muttered an obscene human word to myself and began to
back away, motioning for Aximili to leave. I was scared. No, I was
terrified.
-----Visser Three's tail twitched, and I jumped to the side in
nervousness. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then he
spoke.
-----<Darlin!> he cried. <I've managed to get control. Run!
RUN! Before Visser Three makes me kill you!> He was frantic.
-----<But - > I protested.
-----<Please, Darlin. Do as I say. RUN!> Alloran screamed
again.
-----So I ran.
********
-----I only saw Alloran a few times after that. And then, only
from a distance. He was not free. And sometimes I think he will
never be free again.
-----I sometimes talk to Aximili at night. It feels good to
talk to another Andalite. We sometimes run through his feeding
grounds together. Every now and then he brings me news that he and
his humans have struck another blow against the invasion.
-----As I say the nightly ritual and turn my stalk eyes towards
the sky, I add my own prayer to it. That someday my brother will
be free again. And deep in my hearts, I know he will. Someday...
