Animorphs 2.0

Marco

Marco

I came because Tobias was my friend. Jake was going too, cause of Rachel, so I tagged along to keep an eye on him. I also was curious to see what was going down there. It had a "secret club meeting" vibe. I was excited to see what it was, but when I heard that Tobias' father was an alien, the first thing I did was ask to see his green antenna. Rachel elbowed me for that. I found it funny. Then he'd surprised me and said they were actually blue and he'd lost them when he became human. I instantly liked this guy. I wanted to talk to him personally though. See what he really was about. When I walked in and sat down, however, he began the conversation.

"I know you don't want to be here, Marco."

For once, I had no witty retort. "What makes you say that?"

"The look on your face when I described our predicament. Sure, you were excited about the alien part, but carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders is not your desire is it?"

I shrugged. "Can't say that it is; there are some really fat people on this planet. My science teacher alone-."

"Yet, you would be a great help to us."

I knew not to make any more jokes. This guy would take no crap. However, my feelings hadn't changed and I gave a little more than a shrug this time. "Look, I get how the whole world is at stake here and stuff, but look, we're just five kids. What the hell are we gonna do against an army we can't see? Sure, the Earth is where I live and I'd like it to stay free, but I won't die fighting in a rebellion destined to fail. This isn't Return of the Jedi. We don't have some magic back-up plan to destroy all the bad guys at once. It just won't work. And I don't see the point in dying over that. And I really hate m science teacher."

Elfangor simply smiled. "That's what I like about you Marco. The way you see things. So clearly, no distractions. It's part of the reason why I want you to help."

"And the other part?"

"I think you'll have a pretty compelling reason to join this fight after I show you something."

"This better not be some dumb mind control ring."

Elfangor almost chuckled. "I wish, Marco. I wish."

He took out a small screen from his pocket and showed it to me. On it was a picture of a woman. A woman I knew. Memories of warm hugs and a carefree laugh filled my head. I turned away, unable to look at it anymore.

"That's a picture of my mom. Why do you have that? She's...she's dead."

"No, Marco. I'm sorry, but she's not." Elfangor said, gently.

I faced him with fury on my face. "You're sorry she's not!?"

"Marco—

I stood up, fuming. "How dare you? I'm leaving right now if you think you can—

"Marco, she's not dead because she's infested." I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned slowly to face this alien standing before me.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone." he said.

"You said she's infested. You mean she's..."

"There's a Yeerk in her head, Marco."

"But, she...died." My voice was barely a whisper."

Elfangor came close and put a hand on my shoulder. "Did they find a body?"

"No, but..."

"The Yeerk in her head decided it was time for her to move on. I'm sorry, Marco. Your mother is not only a Controller – what we call those with Yeerks in their heads – she is Visser One. The highest ranking Yeerk in their military." I had to take a step back. "I wish this wasn't true. I wish you had no reason to join this war and you could, like you want, leave her without having to see me again. But I thought you might want to know."

"How did you know?" I asked him. "How did you know about my mother?"

"I did a background check on each of you before you came here." Fair enough. I thought. "I found information on your mother that matched up with Yeerk intel I've been gathering. I managed to penetrate enough to confirm what I thought."

"Clever."

"Thank you." Elfangor smiled, wryly. "I can count on you then?"

Reluctantly, I nodded. I would do all it took to free my mother. I will see her smile again.