Chapter 35
Jake
My mind was racing. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Of course there was going to be a trap, why did I think this was a good plan? I cast a quick gaze over the room. Changelings filled every wall in sight, with a few sticking to the ceiling as well. The air was full of more Changelings. The only space seemingly devoid of any was the floor, save for the Visser and Illusion. The Visser herself was eyeing each of us carefully, her mouth curved in a triumphant smile.
“Unless you have other Changeling defectors in your ranks, I’d wager that some of you are the renowned Andalite Bandits from Earth.” Her gaze fell on Twilight. “Andalite Bandits and the Element Bearers of Equestria. This is quite a nice surprise. Why, at this rate I’ll be on the Council of Thirteen in no time.”
“Seems more like yah need a lesson on modesty instead,” Applejack retorted. “Ah think only Rainbow Dash boasts more than you do.”
The Visser narrowed her eyes at Applejack. “I would hold my tongue if I were you, simpleton. Now hush and let the grown-ups talk.” I could just see Applejack gnashing her teeth out of the corner of my eye, but she wisely remained where she was.
“Now then, I suggest you all come quietly,” she said, mainly towards me and Twilight. “I do have a schedule to keep, and this is wasting precious time.” Just then, as she finished, a small buzzing sound filled the room. Looking towards the source I discovered that Visser Seven was buzzing her wings in a rapid and erratic manner. She seemed to notice as well, because she twitched her head in their direction and they stopped as suddenly as they began. I got the sense that something was amiss, yet I couldn’t put a finger on it.
“Ah!” Twilight shrieked. I swiveled my head towards her, but only got a glimpse of purple before a black-and-green blur pounced on my back from behind. The wind was knocked out of me, stealing my breath away and I crumpled to the ground beneath a few Changelings. A sadistic chuckle from Visser Seven caught my attention and I meekly peered up at her.
She nodded at the Changelings on top of us and — for lack of a better word — buzzed at them. I felt a sickening sensation of weightlessness and everything turned a sickly green; it took me a few moments to realize I was suspended in a Changeling’s telekinetic grip.
I raced through my options. I only knew about four spells; five if you counted charging the blimp, but I doubted that was useful at the moment. I tried struggling but only succeeded in making myself nauseous. I was about to yell for someone to do something, anything, out of desperation when Twilight gave an empowered shout.
“No! You’re not taking us anywhere!” she cried. I swiveled my head just in time to see her vanish from the Changeling’s grasp and appear in front of them, giving a very uncharacteristic snarl while her horn blazed with magic. Even at this distance I could still feel the energy oozing from her.
“Wha…? Get her!” Visser Seven shouted, momentarily shocked. The Changelings nearest Twilight leapt at her, buzzing and growling menacingly, but she retaliated by firing beams of magenta magic towards them. Those closest to her were hit dead on and fell like stones, but I noticed Twilight was beginning to slow in her time between shots. This allowed the Changelings in the rear to anticipate and evade the blasts intended for them. However, as they came within striking distance she suddenly veered away from the Changelings, releasing another volley of magic beams. The Changelings that were pinning all of us down then gave brief cries of alarm before being blasted away.
I fell to the ground and immediately scrambled to my hooves, ignoring the flash of pain that shot through my body. “Everyone fall back! Retreat!” I shouted, quickly turning and heading for the tunnel out.
TSEEEW!
I suddenly found myself laying on the ground, my left shoulder burning from the Dracon Beam shot. I raised my head to shout a warning, but my weakened voice was lost in the deafening buzzing that the Changelings were making. I could barely hear the others cry out as they were shot as well, but then their sounds were lost amongst the noise.
I don’t think you could ever understand how much pain you could be in when hit with a Dracon Beam, even on the lowest setting. From what Ax said, they molded their weapons after an Andalite weapon, but the Yeerks intended for theirs to inflict more pain. After all, why ruin a perfectly good host?
“Visser, we have a situation outside.” From the sound of the voice the controller was most likely human. “The auxiliary force of Changelings is nearly depleted.”
“Take the Andalites and ponies to the holding cells, and send a messenger to their comrades,” she replied. “We’ll see if ponies are more lenient than Andalites.” No sooner had she stopped talking then I felt the return of weightlessness and my stomach lurched as another Changeling hoisted me into the air, heading down a tunnel. Two humans followed behind, each of them keeping a hand-held Dracon Beam on me.
The Changeling took me to a lone room, though the small size of the archway leading into it prevented the humans from following us in. The Changeling pressed a hoof against the wall beside it and an aperture made of what looked like giant insect wings formed over the hole, sealing us in.
The cell itself was not very large, maybe big enough for four ponies to sit in comfortably. It was lit by a dim crystal hanging from the ceiling, showing dripping black walls with an almost reptilian appearance. Littering the ground were the torn remains of what I guessed were Changeling wings, judging by their gossamer shine.
The guard unceremoniously dumped me on the ground and stepped back, standing in front of the ‘door’ and glaring at me. “Don’t try anything funny, Andalite filth,” he spat, his horn glowing a dangerous shade of green.
I resigned myself to sitting on the floor and stared back with what I hoped was equal hatred. Several minutes passed unchanged, until I heard the echoes of hooves approaching, and the guard stepped aside. The aperture then opened wide and Visser Seven stepped in alone, a long grey cylinder being held in her magic.
“I do apologize for the wait, Andalite,” she said coolly, “but we weren’t expecting you so early and I had to make a quick trip to the Pool.” She grinned sadistically. “I’m giving a special Yeerk to you. One of my Sub-Vissers.”
Before I could even attempt to move I felt that same lurching feeling as I was, once again, levitated in a green aura. Desperately I tried to struggle free, but the magic grip was too tight. Visser Seven noticed and continued grinning while simultaneously opening the top of the cylinder. Slowly she began moving it towards my head.
“Don’t struggle, Andalite,” she cooed, sounding not unlike a mother calming her child. “Just one moment of discomfort and it’ll all be over.”
A thousand plans ran through my head and were immediately discarded. My eyes darted about the cell for something, anything, but besides the discarded wings and the Changeling guard there was nothing. I felt the cold chill of metal against my ear and my thoughts snapped back to the first time I was infested. The numbness in my ear, the sensation of losing control of your limbs, the alien mind combing through your thoughts and memories. I clenched my eyes shut, blinking away a tear that had formed, and braced myself for the Yeerk.
Only it never came.
As the seconds stretched out I cracked open an eye in confusion. The Visser was still standing beside me, the cylinder just barely noticeable in my peripheral vision. What caught my eye the most was the Visser herself. She was trembling all over, grinding her teeth and flapping her wings erratically.
“N-no...” she managed to croak out. “My body. My Hive...” With a strangled yell the Visser tossed me through the air and I landed next to the guard, who was curiously unconscious. I scrambled to my feet and whirled on the Visser, ready to brace myself, or react, or evade, or anything. But Visser Seven wasn't paying me any more attention; instead she was stumbling around the room, shaking her head and buzzing furiously.
I was about to make a break for the door when she stopped and stared at me, though she still had her teeth gritted together. “Andalite,” she slurred, “help.”
I paused for a moment, realizing that I was speaking to the Changeling Illusion had called Chrysalis. I was awestruck for a few moments; it took incredible willpower to overpower a Yeerk once it was in control of you, and even then the most anyone could do was make a muscle spasm. To regain so much control and speech was intimidating.
But this window of opportunity was closing fast, so I gathered as much magic into my horn as I could muster. Sweat formed on my brow and I felt my knees begin to quiver under the strain. Chrysalis also noticed what I was doing and at first had a look of confusion, but that soon gave way to realization. She didn’t even try to move as I angled my horn at her, releasing the magic in a single, magenta beam. It impacted straight into her chest and she was sent sprawling against the wall, where she gave a feeble twitch before going limp.
I panted for breath, keeping a close eye on her. Her chest rose and fell with her breaths so I knew she still lived. Honestly, I was sorely tempted to demorph and acquire her; who knows when one of these Changelings could be used. But the reminders of both my location and the situations of my friends was enough of a deterrent. Without another moment’s hesitation I ran for the door, intending to slow down and force it open, but my horn sparked to life all on its own and blasted the bizarre door away.
“Wha-?” The guards on the other side of the door barely had time to register I was there before I leapt into the air and twisted sideways, kicking each of them in the head with my front hooves. They dropped without so much as a moan, and I was already racing off down the corridor. I didn’t have to run for long before I came across another door with guards outside it. They noticed me as I ran up and their horns flashed to life, but again my own sparked with energy and two more magenta blasts hit them, sending both guards flying into the wall.
I stopped in confusion for a moment. I hadn’t intended to cast a spell; every other time I needed to I had to concentrate, not unlike when I was focusing on a morph. But these strange blasts of magic were happening almost without my conscious thought.
I was brought back from my thoughts when I heard a muffled cry coming down from the adjacent hallway. Quickly I ran towards it, soon coming across another apatore. Again, without thinking, I fired another blast of magic and the door and it was destroyed like the last one. On the other side I spotted at least a dozen armoured Changelings gathered around several holding cells. They immediately turned to the shattered door just as bits of debris came hurtling forward, burying the three closest to it. I leapt forward while they were still in shock, quickly incapacitating two more guards and sending them sailing into two more their friends who weren’t quick enough to jump aside.
The remaining five hissed at me and struck forwards. I felt a pain in my side and went sprawling across the floor, stopping once I’d found the wall. The Changelings all rushed towards me, but I recovered and hit the one on the far left with my magic. He screeched and tumbled aside, making an opening that I used to maneuver around and deliver two more shots to the right sided Changelings. The last two flew to opposite sides of me, and I could see that at least one was channeling magic. This was confirmed when I lost the use of my hooves and felt the crack of a hoof against my head. Dazed, and with my ears ringing, I tried to force more magic into my horn — only to be met with the worst migraine imaginable.
The Changelings both hissed mockingly and stepped forward, the first one bringing his hoof up for another strike...
...only to be knocked into the wall by a two meter trunk.
<Geez, Jake, a decent fight breaks out and you don't even invite me?> Rachel asked, a mocking hurt tone to her voice.
I felt the magic from the second Changeling leave my legs, causing me to stumble forward. I was able to turn around just in time to see an African elephant plow him straight through the wall. And I mean through. Probably the next one as well. I would have gone after her, but a Changeling flew over my head and slammed into the wall before I could move. Or rather, a Changeling was thrown through the air and into the wall.
<As much fun as magic is, I gotta say, I really missed hands,> Marco said, holding two more Changelings in his gorilla hands before bashing their heads together. From behind him came Ax, who had demorphed to Andalite, as well as Applejack and Illusion.
<Prince Jake, I recommend demorphing before more arrive. The back of this holding cell should accommodate your morphs.>
“Ya’ll are some of the weirdest bunch Ah’ve ever hung out with. And Ah’m including Pinkie Pie,” Applejack commented dryly as I ran past her into the cell.
“Ax, I hope you guys have a plan as to how we’re getting out of here,” I said whilst demorphing.
<Yes, actually. Illusion has finally revealed the structural weakness we were searching for, if not reluctantly,> he replied. <It seems those stone columns we saw in the main chamber are all that is preventing the ceiling from collapsing down. If we were to damage or destroy the more centralized ones, it should collapse the entire structure.>
“Hold on a moment. You ain’t suggestin’ we bring down the ceilin’ while we’re standin’ beneath it, are ya?” Applejack asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
<There should be a large enough time gap between the pillars destruction and the actual collapsing that would allow us to exit the same way we entered,> Ax replied.
“What about other?” Illusion mumbled; thankfully, he couldn’t see me from where he was standing, but I still slunk back into the shadows as best I could. “Changelings still here.”
<If they are intelligent they should vacate the Hive while they have the opportunity,> Ax replied coldly.
By now I was fully human, but I didn’t intend to stay that way. Within moments my skin began to darken and become as thick as armour while I grew larger. My arms and legs thickened into pillars, ending in a foot with three small hooves. Next my head elongated into a rectangular shape, pushing my eyes to the side of my head and forcing my ears to the top. And for the finale, two horns, one larger than the other, erupted from my face. I was now a rhinoceros.
<Anyone have any idea where Twilight is?> I asked, walking out of the cell. Illusion — at least I think it was him — yelped and jumped back as he saw me.
“They took her somewhere else. Ah think it was this way!” Applejack yelled and ran away.
<I shall direct you, Prince Jake. Turn to your right and proceed through the hole that Rachel made.>
I took off at a run with Ax ‘steering’, as the case was. Black blurs flitted past my vision, shrieking either in fear or in surprise, but to my surprise I don’t think I actually hit any of them. Looking ahead, I made an educated guess that Rachel had smashed her way through at least ten more walls.
<Geez, all we need is to get Rachel in that main chamber and let her go crazy, then we can make a break for it,> Marco commented.
<And how do we go about getting her out?> I asked.
<She’ll think of something.>
I was about to retort when Ax cut in.
<Prince Jake, Applejack has entered the room on your left. I believe the door has been kicked away.> I turned towards what I hoped was the door and was about to smash my way in when an orange fuzzball came out, followed by a purple mass of hair.
“Prince Jake, Ah found Twilight!” Applejack said happily.
<Great, everyone’s here,> Marco said. <Now how about we go see how Xena’s doing?>
“We should just follow the trail of destruction, I take it?” Twilight asked dryly as she brushed past me and trotted down the hall.
“Ah thought her name was Rachel...” Applejack mumbled as she followed Twilight.
<It’d take a while to explain.>
We didn’t say anything else after that, and quickened the pace after Rachel’s trail of destruction. Curiously, none of the Changelings seemed to be attacking us, instead opting to fly out of harm’s way. Before I could wonder about this I heard what sounded like a horrible mixture of screeching, trumpeting, and collapsing rocks. I broke into an all-out run and found myself in what I could only guess to be the main chamber, mainly because I couldn’t see the blurs of the tunnel walls anymore.
“Somethin’ ain’t right,” Applejack said. “Why ain’t the Changeling’s attackin’ us?”
<It appears that they are fleeing from something. Presumably Rachel has them worried about their own safety,> Ax reasoned.
Just then I saw a black mass fly by my head and impact with the ground next to me, which was soon followed by a second. Then a large grey shape approached, covered in spots of black.
<Glad you all could make it,> Rachel said and shook her head, dislodging some black spots. <Though, really, these guys aren’t so tough if you’ve got some muscle behind you.> I saw a giant green blur spark and hit Rachel from behind and she gave a loud trumpet as she fell to the ground. I swung my head around, but couldn’t see anything besides grey and brown.
<Rachel, your attackers are massing behind the pillar just to your left,> Ax said calmly. <They appear to be preparing another of their strange bursts of energy.>
<Ow...> Rachel moaned. I snorted in frustration and turned to what I hoped was the right way.
<I’m on it, Ax-man,> I said and took off at a charge.
“Wait! Not safe!” someone — possibly Illusion — yelled, but the rest of what they were saying was lost. I lowered my head, making sure my horns were pointed towards the blurs, and charged forward. I heard screeches of alarm, and flashes of green came sailing by my head. I felt a stinging pain in my left ear, which served only to spur on my charge. The next sound I heard was the gnashing noise of my horn smashing through chitin-like armour, scattering any and all Changelings in my path. The next thing I felt was my face smashing into rock and I stumbled as my own momentum slammed all five thousand pounds of me into the wall I obviously hit head-on.
“Prince Jake!” Applejack cried, running over to me. “Are ya alright?” For some reason I half-expected her to try to pick me up.
TSEEEW!
The rock above me exploded as the poorly-aimed Dracon Beam collided, showering pebbles over Applejack and myself. I swung my head side to side, looking for my attacker before remembering my dismal eyesight.
“Heads up, we got more of those humans with their magic metal sticks comin’ this way!” Applejack yelled, or at least that’s what I thought. Another explosion rocked the chamber, and I felt a burning pain in my left shoulder.
<Prince Jake, I suggest you vacate the area immediately!> Ax yelled, an uncharacteristic edge of fear to his voice.
“No arguments here!” Applejack shouted as she took off running. I kept my eyes on the orange blur ahead of me and ran after her. Behind me I could hear the low rumbling of something, yet the continued Dracon Beam fire dissuaded me from checking.
Ahead, Applejack ducked through a small opening; I plowed forward, making it big enough for myself and joined her on the other side. A moment later there was another crash and Rachel arrived, soon followed by the others. The rumbling grew to a deafening roar and then stopped as soon as it began, the Dracon Beams stopping at nearly the same time. Moments later we were plunged into complete darkness, which soon gave way to an eerie green glow.
<Prince Jake, you are losing blood rapidly,> Ax said suddenly. <We are in a suitable location for you to demorph.>
Not wanting to wait and see if he was right I quickly began to demorph. Luckily the first things to return were my eyes, allowing me to see that we were in a low ceiling tunnel. The walls were covered in some sort of glowing fungus. The light they were giving off was faint, but still enough to allow me to perceive everything. Marco and Rachel were rapidly demorphing as well; I noticed Rachel’s trunk simply was nothing more than a bloody stump moments before it shrank back into her face. Next to me I noticed the end of Applejack’s tail was singed, but aside from that she was unharmed. Looking behind her I noticed nothing but dirt, with the pieces of a broken door jutting out of the wall.
“So, the main chamber collapsed?” I muttered to myself.
“That was too close,” Applejack mumbled. “Ah sure am glad none of us were trapped under there, right Twi?” There was a moment of silence as we all looked around the area, but Twilight didn’t seem to be there. With horror I glanced back at where the main chamber used to be just as Applejack ran over to it and pounded on the dirt. “Twi! No, it can’t be true!”
“What?” Rachel exclaimed. “But she was right next to me the entire time!”
“Relax, guys,” I said, if only to stop Applejack from having a panic attack. “There were plenty of exits to that hall, and Twilight can teleport. I’m sure she got to safety.”
<She is not the only one missing,> Ax said. <It seems we have lost Illusion as well.>
“I not lost. Right here.”
I spun my head around and saw a dimly lit outline in the darker sections of the tunnel. The figure moved forward and split in two, turning out to be two Changelings, one of whom was Illusion. I saw Ax’s eyestalks focus on the second Changeling and his tail quiver.
“No. No danger,” Illusion said. “903 not Yeerk. No want Yeerk. Like me.” He stepped between Ax and his friend, trembling with fear as he gazed at Ax’s tail-blade, but still didn’t move.
“Yo, Jake,” Marco whispered. I craned my neck slightly to look at him and he continued, “Morph something, man. We don’t need anyone seeing us like this.”
“Well, well, well. Isn’t this interesting?”
A voice rang out in the darkness and everyone swung towards it. Slowly a figure limped into the light, easily three times Illusion’s size. It emerged from the shadows, the green light playing over her features.
“Never expected to find a bunch of humans opposing me,” Visser Seven said.