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Marco attacked the PlayStation.

Attacking was a good word for it, too. He certainly looked more like he was trying to smash everything in the game into oblivion rather than play it. He certainly didn't look like a guy who was just relaxing and having fun.

The fact is, Marco had not been a happy-go-lucky guy lately. Nothing out of the ordinary - just more snappy. A little angrier. Harsher.

Ever since that Yeerk's arrival, he'd been spending his time carefully avoiding contact with Ax and Tobias, keeping tabs on Tom, and generally making sure that he did nothing that could get back to Tom and make him think that Marco wasn't really a Controller like he'd claimed.

But, Marco could deal with that. He and the other Animorphs had spent three years having to keep everyone from finding out about them during the war. And he knew that Ax and Tobias had nearly finished their preparations, so they'd be dealing with Tom soon enough. No, that's wasn't the problem. The problem was what Tom's arrival meant. Because Tom didn't just arrive - the Yeerk had come with him. The same with Karen, and Aftran. And if they could wake up with Yeerks, other Controllers could too. And he knew people could be brought from any time, so it wouldn't even matter if they'd been freed in the end.

Marco knew his mom would be in the pods - but now she could still be a Controller as well. And Marco wouldn't know.

He wouldn't talk to anything about this, of course. Not even Ax and Tobias (though, he wouldn't be surprised if they figured it out). Instead, he'd just take out all his anger and hate on whatever video game he could find.

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Sokka paused for a moment, watching the other young man brutally smash at the buttons on the controller-thingy, obviously engaged in making the stuff on the screen move. He hadn't really experienced video games yet, but he'd heard about them. He took a step forward and hunkered down near Marco, continuing to watch in silence for a moment. He'd be here to pick up another book on sword technique, but now that he had it, like many other young people through out the ages, he was distracted by the light and sound show of the video game. He glanced between the screen and the controller again.

"So. What'd the control-thingy do to make you angry? Make fun of your mom?"

See this? This is Marco giving you a death glare. (That comment about Marco's mom certainly did not help.) Normally he'd just make a casual joke back, but today he was pissed off.

"You shouldn't get too close then. Maybe it'll make fun of you for being you." Marco turned back to the game, and annihilated a few more monsters.

Sokka was taken aback. He hadn't thought he'd said anything too serious! He raised his hands in a placating manner.

"Whoa, calm down. Just a joke...sorry if it was too close to home or something."

"Do I look like I want to talk to you?" Marco said, scowling. No way was he going to admit that the joke had actually hit too close to home. "I'm busy. Go annoy someone else."

"I'm just trying to be friendly. Sorry." Sokka sighed, rubbing at the back of his head awkwardly for a moment. He waited a moment, considering things before he sat down near Marco, watching the screen.

"...So what's the point of this game thing? I've never seen something like this before."

It's a shame Sokka didn't ask that on a better day - normally, Marco would be happy to initiate someone into the world of video games. He'd also be happy to crush Sokka into oblivion at said video games.

Today though, he just gave Sokka a look that clearly indicated that Marco didn't want him to be there, turned back to the screen, and said: "The point is to beat it."

Marco tapped away at the controller then, clearly ignoring Sokka.

"I take it you've had a bad day?" Selene asked, looking over Marco's shoulder. "You look more interested in destroying the controller than your opponent."

"I'll play however I want," Marco snapped.

Selene quirked at an eyebrow at that. "...uh huh," she said and sat down beside him. "Well, at least I hope you're not gonna say 'I'm fine.' Or anything like that when I ask what's wrong."

Marco narrowed his eyes. "Who said you get to ask anything? I'm busy. Go somewhere and play with your hair or something."

Selene may be nice, and cute - but actually telling her anything that was going on? Like hell that was gonna happen.

"Play....with my hair?" Selene asked, looking bemused. "Are you always so chauvinistic when you're mad?"

Marco rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can go and beat up people instead. I don't care."

"....you know, maybe that's a good idea," Selene said. "You ever sparred as a human?"

"You can spar with someone else," Marco said, glaring at Selene and completely not answering to question.

Though really, the answer isn't just that that Marco's never sparred as a human - he's never sparred. Period. All of the Animorphs fighting experience was learned on a battlefield.

"Are you feeling even a little bit better since you started playing, Marco?" Selene asked, not looking the least bit put off.

At that, Marco stopped to glare at Selene. "Look. I don't know where you got this idea into your head, but you don't get to know anything about 'my feelings' or whatever crap you want to go on about, alright? I didn't ask for your opinion, and I sure as hell don't want it. You aren't some special snowflake who gets to psychoanalyse everyone and make the world into daisies and rainbows, so piss off."

"Marco, there is something so obviously wrong, even E would pick up on it. And E thinks hot dogs are more important than telling us where the world destroying device is," Selene said flatly. "I'm not asking to 'psychoanalyse' you. I'm asking because you're my friend and if this isn't helping, then I want to find a way that can help as I am worried. Straight forward enough for you."

"It's none of your business," Marco said coldly. "And if you're really my 'friend', you should know when to back off."

Selene sighed, resting her elbow on her knee, her chin on her hand as she looked at him with a flat look. "That old argument? 'If you're my friend, you'll back off!' There are times that does apply, but I don't think this is one of those times. 'Leave alone' is usually better for when people are sad and just need time to think. When people are mad, it's better they have a chance to vent. So, tell me, are the games helping you vent or not?"

"Where the hell do you get off thinking you know the answer to anything? I don't need to answer anything because hey, guess what? It's none of your business. And I sure as hell don't want to talk to you."

"And if you act that hostile, I can't leave you in good conscience because I don't want to hear you got a Violation just because I let your anger get me mad and leave. I don't need the details of why you're upset, but you need some way to really calm down."

Marco gave Selene a cool look. If anything, the think making Marco angry right now was her. Before he'd just been anxious like hell about his mother. Now, he was also pissed off at Selene for the way she kept trying to play counselor.

That was the sort of thing Cassie used to do. But at least Cassie knew when to let him be - and didn't go around making stupid assumptions like thinking he would go off an get a violation just because he was stressed.

"Fine then," he said, his voice cold. "If you won't shut up, I'll go. Next time don't bother. Because you definitely aren't any help."

And with that Marco tossed away the controller and left, not even bothering to shut down the game.

Selene didn't move, staring at where Marco had been sitting.

"...not a help..." Selene murmured and looked down.

It was a problem Selene was starting to recognize in herself. When she couldn't deal with her own emotions, she tried to help others with theirs. Unfortunately, she also became a bit too detached from her own and missed things she shouldn't.

But Marco managed to bring up those emotions with those few words. After all, this time she was trying not to feel what it was like to watch her world go down around her. Saved the day, only to have it to end.

She really wasn't a help? "...maybe it's true..."

So she didn't go after him.

One side effect of floating everywhere is that you don't leave footsteps. It makes it easy to sneak up on people, intentionally or otherwise. In this case, it was a bit of both.

Satori caught a glimpse of Marco's heart as she passed, recognizing the same turmoil she had felt in the mess hall. She paused, doing a quick surface read to try and figure out just what that had been about. After all, nobody had ever accused Satori of not snooping.

Unfortunately, the surface only produced more questions. More and more unfamiliarities, all networking together with deeper, even more unfamiliar things. Sorting through it all would take a lot of time and effort. So, she took the less tactful but more direct approach, leaning against one side of the doorway into the room Marco was using.

"What's a Yeerk?"

"Get out of my HEAD!" Marco hissed, jumping up. In his surprise at Satori's sudden appearance, he wasn't able to stop the flash of thoughts that came up at the word "Yeerk" - images of a pool filled with slug like creatures, people sobbing as the slugs slid into their ears, the intense hate Marco had for them...

...but Marco quickly clamped down on those thoughts, choosing to attempt to try and cover up anything Satori might try to read by mentally shouting at her. And he'd spent enough time using thought-speak to know how to mentally shout at people as well.

GET OUT, F*@# YOU I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF MY HEAD, GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT...

"No," Satori replied simply, her expression unusually cold. "If this was simply a personal matter, I would likely allow you your privacy, but the more I hear, the more I suspect that this is something that could endanger the entire ship. Why are you keeping it to yourself?"

"It's being dealt with," Marco said coolly. "But the ship thinks the Yeerk is crew. And if the Yeerk hears even the slightest hint that we are onto him, he'll never let himself go anywhere that we can touch him again. Are you so naive that you think that the entire ship could be trusted to not blow this? That's my best friend's brother that Yeerk's got trapped inside his own head, and there is no way am I letting you or anyone else screw this up, you got that?!"

Now GET OUT.

"A difficult conundrum, certainly." Satori refused to be intimidated or provoked by Marco's anger. "Why not explain the situation to the ship itself? She seems to be the understanding type."

"She's already protected the Yeerk once," Marco said coldly. "And if you think you can trust the ship, you're more naive than I thought. Or are you so used to going inside people's heads that you think you can take everything at face value?"

"If you ask me," Satori returned evenly, "If I assumed that what you believe is the one simple truth, that would be taking things at face value."

"I didn't ask you to believe me," Marco hissed. "I asked you to stay out of my head. Or is no one ever allowed to be alone in their own head because you have to forever check everyone just in case they're thinking things that you don't like?"

In his mind, Marco's still keeping up the mental white noise - except in his nager he slips, just a little bit, bringing up an image of the fate of Controllers - of Tom, and his mother, and the fact that they are doomed to never be alone in their own heads. Marco knows that Satori's not the same as a Yeerk - but he can't help but be disgusted at the association.

Following the sound of digital carnage, Cassie had intended to ask whoever was playing if she could join. However, seeing Marco's current state she realized that probably wasn't the best move.

"You sure you don't want a punching bag?"

"Sure, I'd love a punching bag. Maybe I could throw it at your head," Marco said sarcastically.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "No good deed goes unpunished. Remind me not to show you any new games again. But if you want to beat the crap out of something there's the sensorium or the training rooms. You're ruining the video game controller and I doubt Stacy has many of them." Sure, she could have been friendly about it but not if he was going to be a smart ass.

Marco rolled his eyes, and held up the controller. "I'm not ruining it." Sure, maybe it had a few scratches, but the controller was still intact and in working order. Marco might be stressed, but he wasn't Rachel. He had enough control to not destroy it while pummeling the enemy.

"Wear and tear. And anyway if you want blood and gore and proper virtual carnage the Xbox games are usually better for that."

Marco shrugged, and kept playing the game. "Whatever." In a way, it didn't really matter what the game was. He just needed something to try and get his mind off everything.

The blood and gore was a bonus, though.

After a bit of time to himself, Kang decided to try and calm himself down with a walk. What he really wanted to do was beat the shit out of something, but at the same time, he knew that it would accomplish nothing except temporarily make him feel better. If Fonrar was there, he could vent properly, but unfortunately, that was part of the problem; she wasn't, and he had no idea if she or the hatchlings were alive.

Tail lashing behind him, he entered the media libary, and spotted Marco immediately. The boy looked about as pissed as he felt, and after a moment of watching him nearly destroy the controller in his hands, the bozak spoke up, "You got your memories back as well?"

Marco glanced up, glaring at Kang. He hadn't gotten his memories back, but no way was he going to say what was actually wrong either. So Marco just let Kang think whatever and ignored him, turning back to the game.

Hey, you just got snubbed Kang.

If Marco really thought Kang was going to be snubbed so easily, he had a lot to learn. Quirking an eyebrow ridge, he leaned a shoulder on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, "If that is the case, you're not the only one that's pissed as all hell."

He didn't expect the boy to talk about it, and he didn't feel like sharing his frustration either, so he settled with another topic of discussion.

"What game is this?"

Marco just shot Kang another annoyed look - did he say anything that suggested he thought he was the only person not in a good mood right now - though he did at least answer Kang's question. "God of War."

Hey, it's not like Kang's pressing for personal information here. Marco's business was his own, as long as he wasn't endangering anyone else on the ship. He stayed silent for a moment, watching the pixelated carnage. "What's the goal of the game? Kill as many of those creatures as you can?"

Rhiow wasn't sure where she was going or which way she was wandering. The memories that had come from Stacy got under her skin and prickled her hackles in a way that nothing else had - but still, she was glad she had them. The Whisperer, too, had been disturbed, and had withdrawn from the corners of her mind. Rhiow knew that seeing a world - a universe - wiped out, was almost too much for even a Power. Her own grief was powerful; Hrauf's must be even worse.

Her ears pricked forward at the familiar tinny sounds coming from an ehhif television, something Rhiow had never quite seen the appeal for, and she stuck her head into the doorway, spotting a boy who looked familiar - that's right, he had been the one to play the funny prank on his hawk friend with the scratching post. Now, though, Rhiow could smell the complicated tangle of emotions that poured off him in waves.

One of the reasons Rhiow had always supported the symbiosis between their species was the level of comfort they could give one another. So she padded quietly up to Marco's side and curled up with her back pressing against his leg, laying her head down on her paws and watching the screen with him. She didn't speak - she didn't need to. There was nothing to be said.

Marco narrowed his eyes at Rhiow. He hadn't forgotten the talking cat - and when you could turn into an array of creatures yourself, you knew better than to just dismiss animals, especially ones that displayed unusual behaviour like Rhiow. And Marco, being Marco, was suspicious of everything - including a talking cat.

He didn't know what intentions the Rhiow had - but at least she wasn't trying to get him to talk about his feelings or some other crap like everyone else had. So, he just turned back to the game and apparently ignored her, all the while surreptitiously keeping an eye on Rhiow in case she did anything unexpected.

Unless Marco thought that twitching her ears every now and again as she watched his character jump around the TV screen and slaughter things messily - did this have anything to do with how willing ehhif were to accept violence as the normal course of things, she wondered - he wouldn't have any cause for suspicion.

Rhiow didn't even bother to look up. She just let herself relax, a warm presence against his leg. If he chose to pet her, she would stay still for that too. Of course she wouldn't pry; the People were private creatures. She would no more ask him to discuss his feelings than one of his male high school peers.

No way was Marco petting the cat. Especially since right now he was more in the mood for destroying pixel characters. It was a good thing she wasn't going to pry, though - because no way was Marco going to actually talk.

So instead, he just apparently ignored her.

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