trans_9 | Closed to Animorphs and Guards.

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Closed to Animorphs and Guards.

His hands itched. So did the backs of his ankles. And his head hurt.

It was rather annoying to not be able to scratch the itch. The headache was more troubling. It was going to get worse, but for the moment it was just an ache behind his eyes, aggravating more for the reminder than the actual physical pain.

He was helpless.

He let his head lull forward, resting his chin on his chest and testing the bindings on his hands. They were solid, and it didn't give in the least. They didn't even have the decency to scratch the damned itch.

He was hungry, and that would get worse as well. He had a feeling the current small portions of food would continue until he starved. He would get the added pleasure of his host's hunger making his own worse.

< They're going to kill you. > Tom's voice was soft, invasive, and annoying.

< That should make you happy. You're getting everything you wanted, aren't you Tommy-boy? >

The host was silent, considering.

Iniss kept his head down, soon, perhaps, one of his jailers would decide to lecture him, and who knew what might happen then?

If he pretended to be asleep, maybe they would just leave him alone.

((Occ: Give me what day you're on when you tag in, and we'll just do it sorta day by day? I guess? Maybe? Suggestions?)

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"You assume that stands true for all of the people you've killed, Marco. I know my host still wants to live. How many of the hosts that you've killed have had a similar wish? Humans, Hork-Bajir, Taxxons..."

He tipped his head to the side. "I'll concede the point about the Vissers, though. They're idiots. But as a whole we have remarkably fewer wars than you humans, though I do like studying about your wars. It's really quite fascinating how much information has been retained, with so many different viewpoints."

He shook his head. "What a comfort, I think he almost believes you. He's worried you'll destroy it all in a fit of rage at me. Quite efficient, this method you have of terrifying him.

He jumped a little at the sudden voice, scowling at Marco as though he was to blame for it. "Who said that? And obviously they are, as he's here and you're here, and you're both committed to this course of action, and how exactly are you using thought speak?"

< No, they're not. > She replied to Tom, still using private thought speak, with maybe just a bit more passion. < That's like saying all yeerks are like Visser Three. > She left it at that. He would know soon enough who she was.

She glanced over the bag and noticed something Marco may have missed. It was slightly bulgy, but easy to look over. < There's something on the left side of the bag, it looks like a pocket of some sort. > She spoke to Marco. She had a feeling she knew what was in there, but also knew he wouldn't hurt Tom's body.

Marco narrowed his eyes, but resisted the urge to look up. What the hell are you doing, Cassie?!

When this shift was over, he was not going to be happy with her.

"You think I wanted to kill them? Believe me, I'd have preferred not to. But it was war. No matter what I or anyone else did, people would die. The only question is who, and how many. Sorry, but you didn't give us the luxury of thinking about things like right and wrong when you invaded. You started this war. You don't get to act high and mighty because you don't like the consequences. You Yeerks have done nothing but make war. The Andalites, the Hork-Bajir, the Leerans, us...and you haven't even had space flight for that long. That's a lot of enemies in such a short time, isn't it? And for every one of them, you attacked first."

He turned his head a little, listening to Cassie. He picked up the bag, paying close attention to the area Cassie had mentioned...aha! Now this was interesting...Marco opened the secret pocket and pulled out the Dracon beam. "Yeah, you guys are so peaceful, aren't you? Didn't you guys alter Andalite shredders to be more painful in order to make these? Really, I'm amazed by your altruism. Seriously. Oh, and I'll let Tom tell me what he thinks when you're dead, thanks."

"Who else is here?" The words were growled, arms tense in the bindings. He could hear it, a female, just out of sight, talking in his head. "Where are you?"

He snorted. "Oh, of course. Your logic makes perfect sense, Marco. Excuse me while I stop being a member of my species and turn over a new leaf."

He shook his head. "I'm not a science type, I was just issued one as part of my mission for self defense. I never said we were peaceful, I just said we were better than you humans."

< Just don't let them get destroyed, Marco. >

Iniss rolled his eyes faintly, reacting to the hosts worry over the photographs. Really. They were just little bits of paper, he didn't understand the attachment to it. It wasn't like the people in them could say anything, or even knew he was looking at them.

Marco was still annoyed at the fact that Cassie was talking to Iniss and not him - if Iniss realised that Cassie was talking to just him, he'd definitely think he could exploit that - but he had to try and play along. "You didn't think that we'd only have one person guarding you, did you?"

Settling down the Dracon beam, Marco reached into the bag to find one more interesting item - a Yeerk computer. He narrowed his eyes at Iniss. "Some of you did. But you're not one of those Yeerks who want to live peacefully, are you? That's not enough for you. You want power." He fiddled idly with the computer - he didn't understand the language, but Marco knew how computers operated. He'd make sure Jake got all of Tom's stuff, but he'd give this to Ax - he'd be able to tell if there was any information on there they could use.

"Where are they?" He glared at the gloating human, eyes narrowed and tone sharp. He didn't like knowing there was an enemy somewhere he couldn't see them.

"You don't know anything about me. And even if you do, not nearly enough to make that sort of judgment." He relaxed his shoulders, leaning into the wall behind him, and watching Marco fiddle with the computer. He wasn't even sure if the human knew what he was doing.

With his luck he'd somehow manage to decode the thing and make it into a bomb. "I'm not a member of the peace movement, no. I'm also not a host breaker. I'm something of a happy medium between the two extremes, a position most of us occupy. We take the hosts we're given and do our best to keep our heads down and do our jobs and hope someone doesn't decide to take our heads off." He smiled faintly. "Your...average Joe Yeerk, as it were."

"You don't need to know," Marco said, before putting the computer next to the Dracon beam. He took out the last object in the bag - a flashlight - and leaned back. "Of course. You just want to be a good little soldier and do what the big bag Vissers say? Please. You're not fooling anyone."

Marco narrowed his eyes. "I've seen what you do in your future. I know enough." And thanks to Iniss, Rachel was dead and Jake had to live with the guilt of her and Tom's deaths. For that, Iniss would get no mercy from Marco.

Iniss growled faintly, glaring at the human. "Where are you?"

He continued to glare at Marco. "You're quite judgmental. What did I do, kill your puppy? Because I'm fairly certain I haven't done anything yet that would inspire that level of hatred."

Or maybe something had happened with the boy's mother...should he bring that up? That could be the reason behind it.

Cassie had been listening to the exchanges, deciding to speak up again as if to let him know that she was still there. This time she did include Marco because she was sure he wouldn't have approved of what she spoke of earlier. This would be fine however. < Not yet. Either way, we know more about you than you think. >

Marco rolled his eyes. "Oh, like invading Earth isn't enough? Clearly I have no reason at all to be judgemental. After all, you only attacked my home and tried to make all of us into slaves. And made my best friend's brother a prisoner inside his own head. I must be so irrational for wanting to fight back, right?"

"You, whoever you are, you think you know about me. And I accept that you might know something I don't. But that doesn't stop you from locking me in a box and murdering me because it's easier. I was working on a solution. A solution that your rash actions will not allow to come to fruition." He nodded faintly, then narrowed his eyes at Marco.

"You're judging me for the actions of an entire species. Should I judge you then, on your brother and sister humans actions during the Holocaust? Should I judge you on the dropping of bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing countless innocents because it would be easier?! Or perhaps I should judge you on the millions of slaves that were taken from their homes and killed to form the foundation of your great and free nation? Shall I judge you on the countless other atrocities your species of war mongering murderers have committed then? I hold your friend's brother, and for that you can find me personally accountable." He kept his voice level through the entire speech, eyes not moving from the human. "I was given your friend's brother as a host, and I took him and kept him. For that I am personally accountable. None of the rest. You are killing me, not for the crimes my race has committed, but because you see me as committing some crime against you personally. Not because of your high and mighty morality, but because of a personal reason. You stand as an entirely biased judge, jury, and executioner. Easy, isn't, Marco? Killing. I can still count the people I've killed on one hand."

The unspoken can you? hung in the air between them, and Iniss settled back, closing his eyes.

"No. I judge you on you, Yeerk. There were Yeerks who choose to free their hosts, but you didn't. When you had the option, you didn't take it. So don't tell me you have a solution. You don't want one - you just want whatever benefits the most, and screw whatever happens to everyone else. All you're doing right now is tossing whatever argument you can think of in the hope that I'll come around to your side of thinking and let you go. Sorry, it's not happening. The fact is all the moral arguments mean nothing. We could argue about right and wrong all day, but in the end it comes down to you or Tom, Yeerk. You and your victim. Unless you feel like crawling out of there, the only way to save him is for you to die. So you die."

"There were, and they choose to be helpless, and that's very noble of them. I'm sure they feel comfortable with their choice. But like you, I'm selfish. I want to see, and hear, and taste. I want to read and absorb the world around me. It's easy to judge. But this is my option, either I'm blind and helpless at at your non existent mercy, or I wait and starve slowly. What would you choose?"

But he keep his eyes closed, tucking his head back against his chest. "You'll get what you want. In three days I'll be dead. I'm sure the thought gives you pleasure."

Cassie about stopped when she heard he was thinking of a solution. But then giving the yeerks the power to morph had also been a solution and not all of them took it. Even Iniss down there didn't take that option. He had the ability to morph, but he didn't leave Tom. Marco's words of 'unless you feel like crawling out of there' echoed in her head. So they were giving him another choice. One of the only choices they had to separate him from Tom. Even with this solution that is being worked on, this yeerk probably still wouldn't leave Tom. No, even though he just wants to get out right now, he's still not going to leave Tom. He'd still choose death over his true self with people that tied him up and obviously hate him. Die seeing, instead of die blind.

That's really what this was. He thought he would die either way. Also... he didn't know about the yeerks with morphing abilities... he must have been taken from a time before all that. She understood what it was like to be a yeerk, but she couldn't say that. She'd have to talk to him on her turn on watch. Human watch that is.

"Who says helplessness was the other option?" Marco said casually. But then his eyes narrowed. "But for the record? No. I'll choose blindness and helplessness over making someone else a slave any day." He was completely serious about that too - with his Mom, and Tom, and that time when Jake was a Controller...Marco knew all too well about how awful that was, even if he hadn't experienced it himself. Marco was the guy who could disregard morality to get from point A to B...but that was one line that even he could never cross.

"Tom'll be free. So yeah. I'll be happy."

"Oh yes, I'm suposed to trust you. Because you have my best interests in mind." He shrugged. "Perhaps you're a noble murderer, then. Because I want to have that." He kept his eyes closed and his head down.

"You're a rather young to be so cynical and cold."

< War does that. > Tom's voice was soft, depressed almost.

< I'd think you'd be happy. >

< I still remember him as the cheerful kid who got into trouble with Jake. > There was regret there, heavy in the tone. Tom didn't want Marco to kill for him.

Marco grinned - though it wasn't in a particularly nice way. "Course I don't have yours in mind. But, the group decided to give you a chance. So you get one. If you crawled out right now, I wouldn't kill you." Ironically enough, Marco did actually mean that. Oh, he'd definitely want to kill the Yeerk. He'd want to very much indeed. But he knew when he was outvoted. (Not to mention Cassie would never let him hear the end of it...)

He folded his hands behind his head. "But you won't believe that, so it's a moot point anyway. And war is never noble, Yeerk. Maybe you managed to avoid any fighting while you sat safe and cozy in Tom's life, but it's not the 'glory' they tell you it is. War is ugly, Yeerk. It's just death and blood and pain, and if you're lucky at the end of it you might come out alive. Maybe you Yeerks should have thought about that before you decided to start one."

"So kind of you all. I almost believe you sincerity. A friend to all living things, so long as they fit within your moral profile, aren't you? I wonder..."

He rolled his eyes. "I was a spy, in a human body. They have Hork Bajir for combat. I've always been a spy, an information gatherer, even before I got to Earth. I didn't start any war."

Marco snorted. "Don't make me laugh, Yeerk. I'm no friend of yours. I just refuse to go down to your level."

"So you gather the information for those who do the killing, you swagger about in your stolen body, you plot to climb the ranks so you can be the one calling the shots...but it's not your fault, because hey, clearly the only ones at fault are the ones who spill blood directly, right? As long as someone else is doing your dirty work, you can wipe your hands clean. Oh wait, you can't - they're not your hands. My bad."

"And what's my level, Marco? I was fairly certain tying someone up and starving them to death was a fairly low level. I believe it is also a war crime, as per the Geneva Conventions." He had little interest in human arts or entertainment, but their history...ah. It was intensely interesting. And as as information gatherer...well, the history of a species, what they thought important to remember, and what they would rather forget, told you a great deal about the core values of a people.

"Killing humans is counter productive. At the current pace of the invasion, it's actually frowned upon. As per Visser 1's methods, we are to stay at a slow paced invasion and keep our heads down. A sudden influx of bodies makes you humans nervous. They might start looking, and while they might not find us, they might still stir up things we don't want them to. Or, perhaps it would have, if the world hadn't been destroyed." His hands twitched in the bonds, eyes narrowing. "I believe we had this conversation about ownership already."

"You know, it's actually amazingly simple, Yeerk. Typing people up and starving people to death is wrong, sure. But keeping someone a prisoner inside their own head and a slave who can't even control their own body is worse. You can get much lower than what you do, Yeerk. Now, I could blather on about what's "right" and "moral", and hope that some nice and easy option would fall from the sky, but you're a smart guy, Yeerk. You and I both know that'll never happen. Either you starve, or Tom stays a prisoner. So you starve."

At the mention of Visser One, Marco's eyes narrowed, just a little. "You'd be less like scum if you came in and just killed everyone," he said coldly. "And the only reason you don't do that is because then you wouldn't have your slaves."

Iniss laughed softly, head bowed in thought. "He's not being hurt. In fact he's just as actively participating in this conversation as you and I are, and our friend, wherever she is. He doesn't want you to kill for him, did you know that, Marco? Tom's a bit less jaded than you are, he still remembers you as a little kid. Ironic, isn't it? That he would rather you spare me than end up with more blood on your hands."

< Stop it. >

< No. >

"I wonder what your mother would think, Marco? Of how cold her little boy has grown? So easily you accept the blood on your hands, so cruel and casual. What does it matter, you stand to lose nothing. What innocence you once possessed has been dismissed. Pity, mercy, compassion...You'd make a fine yeerk, being able to see the world in black and white like that."

< Stop it, leave her out of this. Stop it! >

He shrugged his shoulders, casual, ignoring his host. "You're right, of course. An open invasion would result in many deaths, countless. We're technologically superior to you in every way. But death is useless to everyone involved. Free or dead? Poll your populace. They're sheep, a bleating herd of innocents waiting for the next powerful personality to direct them. Mobs of thoughtless creatures already, all we're doing is giving them what they want. It's so hard to CHOOSE, isn't it Marco?"

"Uh-huh. And I'm meant to just believe you? Please."

All you could see was a hardening of his eyes, but inside Marco seethed. How dare he? How dare that Yeerk even presume to know what his mother would think?! He was a slug. "You don't know a thing about what my mother would think," he hissed, struggling to keep in control. He was a slug, what the hell would he know about what people want when all he cares about is grabbing as much power as he can? "And guess what, Yeerk? Choosing's not hard at all. I can kill you and free Tom, or leave you alive and give Tom control of his body...hey, guess what? I choose for you to die. So suck it up, Yeerk. How about you make a choice, huh? You talk so much about how people would rather be alive, but I don't see you climbing out of there to save your slimy butt."

"Why would I lie to you? It's pointless. I gain nothing. You'll kill me regardless. But there's nothing I can do to prove it."

"Oh, I was only talking about humans. I know I'm dying here, Marco. That was accepted the moment I woke in restraints. Do I want to die? No. But either I inconvenience you for three days and leave a bad taste in the mouths of your kinder hearted colleagues, or I can leave my host and die quickly. I'd rather cause you as much annoyance as possible, personally."

Gotcha. He chalked a silent point on the invisible scoreboard. The boy was still winning.

But every time he got to him... Iniss smiled. "So you do wonder then, what mother would think of you? What is it you human's do, pray to your dead kin for advice and protection? Does that mean she's watching you?"

< You're being cruel. Stop it. >

< I never claimed to be kind. Hush. >

Tom squirmed, briefly, remembering Christmas and Jake and Marco, and Eva laughing, and remembering the woman as he'd seen her last, face cold and hard and empty of warmth and humor and love. < Stop it. >

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Closed to Animorphs and Guards.

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Blue, Angel, Backhand me. Completly missed the notif for this one.

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