Before heading to the mall, you have to stop at home. You live a couple blocks away from your school, so you don’t take the bus. About 5 minutes of walking later, you round the corner to your street. You live in a small cul-de-sac, hidden away in the suburban sprawl. You’re a couple houses down when you see it. Your mom’s car is parked in the driveway.

She shouldn’t be here is your first thought. It’s 3:30pm on a Friday. She should be back at her office, or taking meetings, or something. She shouldn’t be at home. Is this a coincidence? Or is she waiting for you? Damnit! You really, really hope this isn’t going to be a surprise talk about your grades. If it is though… maybe you can avoid it? If you go in through the back, you might be able to sneak upstairs without her noticing. Then, you could just sneak out the way you came and tell her later you had something after school.

>Go in through the front door
>Sneak in through the back

>>4617909
Animorphs is too dark and gritty for qst

>>4617914
>Go in through the front door

Don't be a pussy and face your mother.

>>4617915
I know, but I'll make it work

>>4617914
>Sneak in through the back
Being evasive with parents always pays off!

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4617914

>1 be sneeky
>2 face the music

>>4617914
>>Sneak in through the back

>>4617914
Sneak in like Solid Snake.

File: Jen art.png (402 KB, 737x715)

402 KB PNG

It’s not worth seeing your mom. The thought strikes you that you’re just putting things off, but you really don't want to talk to her. You run around back, grab the key from under a rock, and unlock the back door. You don’t see or hear your mom, so you quietly head upstairs to your room.

Once you’re inside, you take a look around. A few posters decorate your walls, and there are a couple pictures on your bedside table.

You’re just here to change clothes, but you take a look at your photos while you’re here.

Front and center is a picture of you and your dad at a swim meet. It hurts to look at, but you still leave it where it is. It’s not as painful as it used to be… but it still hurts. You don’t know if it will ever stop hurting.

Next to it isn’t a photo, but a drawing. A friend made it for you after you had made the local newspaper’s sports section. It had come with some cheesy title, like “Freshman Makes Waves”. You smile looking at it. It has a kind of attitude that you love. Maybe that’s a bit conceited to think, but it’s true. It’s good to be confident. To do what you want to do, and not let anyone stop you.

If someone had to sum you up in one word, they’d probably pick Tenacity. The willingness to commit to a fight, and the refusal to give up. You’re the one who doubles down and goes all in when it’s life or death. At your best, you’re putting everything on the line for the right cause. At your worst, you’re throwing your life away because you never learned how to back down.

The last photo is sitting facedown. That’s another one that hurts to look at, but maybe you should flip it over. It’d be like ripping off a bandaid… or maybe you’d just be dredging up bad memories

>Flip it
>Let it stay

>>4617965
Flip it.

>>4617965
>Let it stay
Whatever it is can wait, day already hasn't been great.

>>4617965
good writing OP (though I wish the MC was a boy instead of a girl but whatever)

>Flip it

>>4617995
hopefully it'll have rotating povs like the books

>>4617965
flip it

>>4617985
>>4617986
>>4617995
>>4617999
>Flip it
Writing

>>4617999
It'll be primarily from Jen's point of view, but there'll be parts from other characters

>>4618012
This is going to be a long update, and I'm still working on it. Going to eat dinner and come back. Hopefully it'll be done in half an hour.

>>4617909
>Animorph Quest
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO-
>FemMc
OOOOooaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH WHYYYYYYY SOO FUCKING CLOSE TO GREATNESS AND YOU BLEW, YOU FUCKING BLEW IT. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG, WHY MUST REALITY ALWAYS BE SO FUCKING CRUEL?

File: bonfire.png (240 KB, 500x375)

240 KB PNG

>>4618012

You decide to flip the photo over.

It’s of you and Nate, sitting by a bonfire. Someone took it last winter, and you’d really liked it at the time. You and Nate had been close, then. You hadn’t put a label on it, but you were really close. Of course, you’d fucked that up.

Putting the photo back on your desk facing up, you decide you’ve spent enough time reminiscing. You change and get ready to head out. Before you head downstairs, you realize you don’t have enough cash. There’s no point in going to the mall if you don’t have anything to spend. You could have asked your mom if you had spoken to her earlier, but now it’d be too awkward to go back down for whatever conversation you missed and to ask her for money. It sucks, but you’ll have to ask Anna for some. She won’t mind… hopefully.

File: anna.png (295 KB, 509x503)

295 KB PNG

>>4618260
After sneaking out the way you came in, you walk over to the mall. It’s a longer walk than getting to school was, and it’s in the opposite direction. You’ll meet Anna there.

You see her hanging around outside, and head over.

“Hey, you ready to go shopping?” you call out to her. Of course, it’s just a joke between the two of you. Anna is always reluctant to buy new clothes, and you’ve always teased her about it.

She looks over at the sound of your voice and smiles. “Hey! Did you walk here? I thought you would’ve gotten a ride from your mom,” she asks you. She must see some expression on your face that answers her question for you, because she frowns and gives you a sympathetic look. “Sorry, shouldn’t have asked. Want to start at the food court?”

“Sure,” you reply, “but I don’t have much money. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but is there anyway I could borrow some? I’ll pay you back and everything, I just, uh--”

“Of course you can, don’t worry about it,” she cuts you off. Anna knows some of what your home life is like, so she must have figured why you didn’t have any cash.

“Alright, thanks, let’s head in,” you say gratefully.

--

If someone had to sum Anna up in one word, they’d probably pick Wits. Cracking jokes, making plans, and picking up new skills. You’re the one who makes everyone laugh, and who always has a trick up your sleeve. At your best, you’re outmaneuvering your opponents at every turn. At your worst, you’re too scared to act because you alone realize just what you’re up against, and what you have to lose.

--

A couple of hours later, you and Anna are sitting at the food court with two bags of new clothing for you, and one for her. Normally, you’d have gotten more, but you didn’t want to impose too much when she’s already paying for you. As you’re finishing up your meal and getting ready to leave, Anna turns to you.

“Hey, can you promise not to get mad?” she asks you.

“Why?” you frown. This isn’t like her.

“Well, it’s a bit late, and I didn’t want to walk home with just us two, so I asked a couple friends to meet up with us,” she says. She has a nervous look on her face, like she’s afraid you’re about to blow up.

“That’s fine, why did you think I’d get mad?” you ask.

“Welllll…” she begins, but then you see what she’s talking about. Coming around the corner and walking towards you are two boys. Nate and Tony to be specific. You haven’t seen either of them in months, and you’re not happy to see them now.

You’re about to turn on Anna and demand an actual explanation, but they’re almost to you. You look back at them.

File: tony.png (305 KB, 510x503)

305 KB PNG

>>4618263

“Hey,” says Tony, also looking a bit uncomfortable. He’s hispanic, and a bit shorter than most guys. He’s always been a bit of a shy person, and you doubt that’s changed since the last time you saw him. He’s big into art, and the portrait of you on your bedside table was actually drawn by him. He likes animals a lot too. It makes sense; after all, his dad is a veterinarian.

If someone had to sum Tony up in one word, they’d probably pick Empathy. Compassion, love for animals, and the drive to do the right thing. You’re the moral compass of the group, and you never forget what you’re fighting for. At your best, you’re selfless and devoted. At your worst, you’re indecisive for fear of making the wrong decision and hurting someone.

>>4618266
However, you’re more focused on the guy next to him. Nate. He hasn’t changed at all since you last saw him. He’s still tall, blonde, and handsome. Oddly enough, he seems just as surprised to see you as you are to see him.

If someone had to sum Nate up in one word, they’d probably pick Leadership. Making friends, speaking well, and leading your team. You’re the one your friends look to when they’re uncertain or afraid. At your best, you’re inspiring others to stand with you. At your worst, you’re callously manipulating your friends to achieve your own goals.

You’re both silent, looking between each other, Anna, and Tony. Somehow, you just know that Anna, or Tony, or maybe both of them set this up. They’re embarrassed now, not willing to look at you or Nate. You have no idea what to say, but thankfully Anna speaks up.

“Hey guys, nice to see you. We should get going though, it’s getting kinda late and I need to go home,” she says. She starts walking towards the exit, but you and Nate don’t move for a second. She looks back and beckons you. You start walking.

This is awkward. Really awkward. You’re walking next to each other, but nobody is saying anything. You didn’t want to start up a conversation, but it doesn’t seem like anyone else. You’re about to make an attempt at making small talk with Anna, when someone interrupts.

“Hey! Nate! How are you?” someone calls from behind you. You look over your shoulder and see a tall boy running after your group. He’s lanky and pale, and seems a bit out of breath from catching up to you. You belatedly recognize him from your English class. You think his name is Fred.

“Hey, I’m good, how about you?” replies Nate. They seem friendly with each other

“I’m fine, just heading home,” Fred replies. “Do you mind if I walk with you guys?”

You all say yes, and he falls in with you. The group is still silent. Fred tries to make some small talk, but nobody has much to say. Tony and Anna seem a little regretful, like this isn’t going how they planned, but neither of them seems willing to speak up.

Your group leaves the mall, and starts on the way home. You all live in the same direction, which is convenient. On your way, you decide you’ll cut through the abandoned construction site. It’s a little creepy, but it’s the shortest way home. Anna seems a little scared when she realizes what direction you’re going, but she still doesn’t speak up.

The sun has gone down, and all of a sudden the site looks a little scarier than it usually does during the day. A crane looms overhead as you walk between piles of steel beams. Maybe you shouldn’t have come this way, but you don’t want to say anything now.

All of a sudden, Fred cries out, “What’s that!?”

File: construction site.jpg (25 KB, 311x475)

25 KB JPG

>>4618267
He’s pointing up, and everyone follows his finger. Something up there is shooting across the sky, glowing a brilliant blue-white. It’s incredibly fast at first, but starts to slow down. You realize with a jolt that it’s coming in your direction, and descending.

“What is that?” Nate asks, sounding amazed.

“A UFO?” Anna suggests. It seems like a joke at first, but as you stare at the light descending towards your group, you feel like it might be more serious than she’d intended.

Your hair starts to rise. As you look around at everyone else, you notice theirs is doing the same. It’s like there’s a gigantic static charge in the air. As you look back at the light, you start to make out some more details. At the front is a bulbous pod, with a narrow shaft extending back from it. Connected to the shaft are two small wings extending out to the sides. From the back of each wing is a glowing tube, emitting the bright blue light you’d first seen. Finally, a tail extends from the end of the shaft. It ends in a wickedly sharp blade above the pod.

“Is… is this real?” asks Tony. He looks as astounded as you feel.

<Do not be afraid.>

Everyone freezes. You look around, but somehow you know that wasn’t a sound. It was a thought, and you think it came from the spaceship.

“Did you guys hear that?” Nate asks. You all nod shakily. This spaceship was incredible at first, but now you’re feeling more and more nervous. He looks at the spaceship and asks “can you hear us? Was that from you?”

<Yes. I am coming out now.>

You’re about to ask what the voice means, but then an arc of light appears on the pod. It expands to the shape of a crescent moon, and then to a full circle. Standing in the middle of the circle is a human. No, now that you look at it more closely, you realize it’s not human at all. It has arms and a head like a person, but its skin is a bright blue color. Below its waist is what looks like the body of a deer, with blue fur. As he steps out of the spaceship, you can make out more details. His face has eyes like a human, but instead of a mouth, he just has three vertical slits. Above his head are two more eyes, mounted on horn-like stalks on top of his head. At the back of his deerlike body is a long tail. Not like a cat or dog’s tail, but more like a scorpion’s tail. It was muscular, and at the end is a wickedly sharp blade.

There’s a moment of silence as everyone stares at him, just as he stares back at you all.

“Hello,” Fred breaks the silence. He has a broad, childlike smile on his face.

<Hello,> replies the alien. Suddenly, he stumbles. As he falls, you see a long, black burn across his side. He’s hurt. Badly hurt.

Tony runs forward to his side, and the rest of you quickly follow. “Nate, give me your shirt, quickly! We have to clean this up and bandage it. Does anyone have any water?” He was nervous before, but he’s in his element now.

>>4618272
<You cannot save me,> the alien interrupts

“But--” Tony begins

<My wounds are too severe. There is nothing you can do. You need to listen to me. There are others coming. Others unlike me. They are here to conquer your world.>

“What?” you ask. “What are you talking about? Other aliens?”

<Yes. They are called the Yeerks.> Somehow, you can feel his hate. Hate, and… shame? Suddenly, you see an image in your mind. A gray and green slug, the size of a rat. <They are parasites. They have the ability to control other species. They attach to their host’s brain, and take complete control. They have come here to take over your species. My people are their greatest enemy. We came here to stop them. We were too late.>

<I cannot explain. I must show you,> the alien says

--

A young aristh stands on the bridge of a Dome ship by the side of his war-prince. The concepts are unfamiliar at first, but then you somehow understand them. The aristh is a young warrior. The word in your language would be cadet. A Dome ship is the greatest ship of the Andalites, and the war-prince is its commander.

--

Andalites? you think.

<My people,> you hear the voice in your head again.

--

Now, the aristh is readying for battle. He’s flying his fighter through space, shooting down the enemy, but it’s not enough. He and his comrades are outnumbered, and his enemies are led by a Blade ship, the personal ship of the enemy general. The aristh knows what he must do. He sets his thrusters to full throttle and aims for the enemy ship.

The vision jumps ahead. The aristh survived, and is now a war-prince. He leads his people in combat throughout the galaxy, fighting the Yeerks wherever they find them. He has left his family at home while he goes to war. The Yeerks are many, but the war-prince has scored many victories against them. Now, he tracks his foe to a lush blue and green planet. Your planet. He fights them through space, but suddenly, rising from the planet’s moon, comes the Blade ship. The same Blade ship he had rammed years ago. The same Blade ship he had fought across the galaxy. The tables turn. The Andalites are defeated. He has failed.

--

The vision ends. You’re staring down at the Andalite again, and he’s looking back at you.

“You… you lost?” asks Nate. He seems like he can’t believe what he just saw, and to be honest, neither can you.

<Yes. Now the enemy is coming. But there is still hope. I can give you something to help you fight back. Please, go into my ship. There will be a small blue box. Bring it back, and I will grant you the power to fight back.>

You look at the rest of the group, and they look back at you. You’re all scared. None of you want to go into that ship, but someone has to.

>>4618275
“I’ll do it,” you stand up. Nate looks like he wants to stop you, but you’re already going. You step through the circle the alien had walked out of just minutes before, and look around.

The inside of the ship is surprisingly bare. There’s just a control panel in the middle with a few buttons on it. You see the cube lying next to it, and take it. On your way out, you spot something. A small three-dimensional picture of four Andalites together. As you look closer, you recognize the Andalite from outside. Standing next to him is another Andalite his size, and two smaller ones. You realize this must be his family. His family that he left back at home while he fought the Yeerks.

You head back out. Everyone is still gathered around the Andalite, but they look up when you come out.

<Quickly,> he says. <My time is short. Place your hands on the cube.>

For some reason, you all obey his command. He does the same, and the cube begins to glow.

<This will grant you the power to transform. To morph into other animals. All you have to do is touch an animal to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to transform into it. You must use it to fight the Yeerks. Do not stay in any morph for more than 2 hours, or you will be permanently trapped in it.>

Suddenly, you feel a shock. A strange tingle, almost pleasurable, runs through your body.

<It is done,> the Andalite says. He looks at the sky, and you follow his gaze. Descending, like his spaceship did, are two bright red lights. <The enemy is coming. You must go now.>

Nobody moves at first, but he urges you again. <Go! You must leave before they arrive. It is your only chance to survive.>

Everyone moves when he says that. Everyone except for Fred, who’s still sitting there staring at the Andalite.

If someone had to sum Fred up in one word, they'd probably choose Wonder. The ability to morph, and your dedication to the cause. You're the master morpher, able to change forms elegantly and instantly. At your best, you're slipping into and mastering the perfect form for every situation. At your worst, you're going too deep in the morph and letting the animal take control, all while drawing closer and closer to the time limit


“Come on!” you call to him. He looks back at you, and back at the Andalite, clearly conflicted. You need him to run, but you don’t want to be here when the Yeerks land either. Should you run over to him, or just go with everyone else?

>Go to him
>Tell him to come one last time, and then run

File: nate and fred.png (472 KB, 1016x505)

472 KB PNG

>>4618267
Forgot this art. Sorry about the absurd update length, it got a bit out of hand

>>4618280
>>Go to him

No Fred left behind!

>>4618280
>>Go to him

>>4618280
>Go to him

Cowardice is a terrible precedent to set so early.

>>4618280
Go to him
Tenacity, yo!

>>4618299
>>4618303
>>4618305
>>4618362
>Go to him
Writing

>>4618280
You can’t just leave him there. You run back to the Andalite and grab Fred.

“Fred, come on, we have to leave now,” you plead.

“I-I can’t,” he says, “I can’t just leave him here.”

You look between him and the Andalite, and then up at the sky. The lights are getting closer and closer. You feel something grab onto your wrist, and look down. It’s the Andalite

<I have one last message,> he says. He takes Fred’s hand as well, and closes his eyes.

Suddenly, another series of visions rushes through your mind. These are more jumbled than the first one. You can’t tell if it’s because the Andalite is rushing, or because he’s dying. A giant gray pool of what looks like molten lead.

<This is a Yeerk pool. They must return to it once every three days to absorb Kandrona rays. It sustains them.>

More images of Yeerks appear in your mind. Yeerks and their hosts. Humans, along with what look like giant yellow centipedes and walking dinosaurs.

<The Yeerk hosts are called controllers.>

More and more images come, each more quickly than the last. Now, they’re moving too quickly for you to process them, and they’re coming with emotion as well. You feel the Andalite’s regret, pain, and hate. Controllers. Yeerk ships. The battles the Andalite has fought. Each is bundled with information, but it comes far too fast to understand.

After the barrage of Yeerk related information ends, the images slow down again. Now, you feel his sorrow. There are images of his comrades in arms. The Andalite homeworld. His family His mate. His children. His parents. His little brother.

<I have given you all I can. The Andalites will return to this planet within two of your years. You only have to survive until then. When my people come, tell them of me. Tell them War Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul died with honor fighting the enemy. Go now!>

You and Fred are still reeling from the barrage of images, but you can hear the urgency in the Andalite’s voice. You jump up, and dash for the rest of the group. Suddenly, a beam of bright red light shines down on the Andalite behind you. As you get to everyone else, you look back and see that the Yeerk ships have gotten closer and are shining a spotlight on the Andalite.

“Come here!” Nate calls, and you look back at him. He’s slipped behind a pyramid of concrete tubing. You, along with everyone else, quickly run over to him.

The two Yeerk ships land on both sides of the Andalite ships. Each is slightly larger than the Andalite ship, and shaped like legless cockroaches. There’s a small set of windows at the front, and on the sides are two long, sharp spears. You recognize them from the vision the Andalite gave you. They’re Bug fighters.

>>4618500
You spot a third ship in the sky. It’s vastly larger than both of the Bug fighters, and shaped like some sort of medieval axe. Just looking at it makes terror well up in you. You’re not sure where it’s coming from, but inside you just know that something wrong is inside that ship. A bulldozer is in the way of where the Blade ship is supposed to land, but with a flash of red light the bulldozer just disappears.

The Blade ship touches down. A door opens, and several of the creatures that you saw in Elfangor’s visions come rushing out. First are two gigantic yellow centipedes with bulbous red eyes. Taxxon Controllers!

Next, several massive creatures walk out. They’re seven feet tall, and covered in blades. Their legs bend backwards as they walk around the crash site and surround Elfangor. As you get a closer look at them, you see blades on their wrists and elbows, on their bent back knees, and attached to their long tails. They have horned heads, and they cry out in some alien language as they look around. You recognize them from your vision as Hork-Bajir Controllers

At last, another Andalite steps out of the Blade ship. This one doesn’t move the way Elfangor moved though. Every step he makes seems to exude arrogance and malice. You recognize him as well from the vision. His name is Visser 3, and he’s the leader of the Yeerks that defeated Elfangor. He is the only Yeerk in the entire galaxy that has ever obtained an Andalite host. Your body seems to rebel against you as you look at him. All you want to do is hide here until the Controllers leave, but your body is shaking. Your instincts scream at you to run, but you can’t. You can’t abandon your friends, and you can’t look away.

Visser 3 walks over to Elfangor. He looks down upon him and speaks.

<Well, what do we have here? A defeated Andalite warrior? Ah, but you’re not any warrior. Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. It is an honor. I watched your fighter in the battle. You tore through our ships. How many did you destroy before the end? Seven? Or Eight?>

Elfangor doesn’t answer

<It doesn’t matter. You were defeated in the end, and your Dome ship destroyed. I watched it burn up as it fell through this world’s atmosphere. Tell me: how does it feel to know you failed? To know that you’re the last of your people in this sector? That all your comrades are dead?>

<There will be others,> Elfangor answers, <and they will destroy you.>

Visser 3 just laughs. He steps closer to his fallen enemy. <They will come, but it will be too late. This world will be mine, and we will crush them as we crushed you. Then, with these humans under our control, we will scour the galaxy of your people. I wish you would live to see it, but unfortunately I can’t prolong this moment.>

File: death of elfangor.jpg (20 KB, 236x333)

20 KB JPG

>>4618505
Suddenly, Visser 3’s body begins to shift. His legs each split into two and begin broadening. His skin ripples and starts changing from blue fur to red scales. You want to look away, but you can’t. He grows larger and larger, and his head begins to bloat and enlarge. He grows a mouth, full of gigantic teeth, and roars. You cover your ears, but it’s still almost deafening. Elfangor strikes with his tail. It’s so fast you almost can’t see it, but it barely even hurts the monster that Visser 3 has become. With a monstrous limb, he reaches down and seizes Elfangor, before lifting him up and dropping him into that horrible mouth.

You look away. Tony is covering his ears, and his eyes are pressed shut. You see Anna is doing the same. Fred is staring at the ground, and Nate is pressed against the pipe as closely as he can, looking away from the monster. Everyone is crying. You realize there are tears running down your face as well.

After a minute, you peer back over the concrete, and see the Elfangor is gone, and Visser 3 has morphed back into his original form. The Hork-Bajir and Taxxons are surrounding him, and now you see humans with them. Suddenly, you hear a squeak from behind you. You look down and see Anna is crying. She sobs again, and you look up. The Controllers heard it too, and they’re looking right at you. Shit!

You’re running before you know it. Your friends are running with you, and right after them are the controllers. You and Nate are fast, but Anna, Fred, and Tony are slower. Too slow, and they’re not running the right way. If they keep going that way, they’re going to end up in a dead end. Should you slow down and help them, or get the Controllers attention to lead them the other way?

>Help the others (Tenacity)
>Lead the Controllers away (Wits)

>>4618508
>Lead the controllers away.

Selflessness is one of the truest virtues of all.

>>4618508
>>Lead the Controllers away (Wits)

>>4618508
>>Lead the Controllers away (Wits)

>>4618508
>Help the others (Tenacity)
We are Tenacity! For better or worse!

>>4618530
This anon is right.

>>4618508
Changing my vote to
>Help the others (Tenacity)

>>4618508
>>Help the others (Tenacity)

>>4618508

Changing to tenacity

>>4618508
>Help the others (Tenacity)

>>4618530
To be fair it's early days, and people do have more than one character trait. While I voted tenacity this time it won't be much of a quest if we just pick the option labeled tenacity every time. Not even sure it's a good idea to label the stat/trait for an option publicly at all desu, especially if write-ins become a thing.

>>4618598
I don't disagree. I just think we should play our strength for now.

Also I am curious what will happen.

>>4618530
>>4618535
>>4618582
>>4618587
>>4618591
>Help the others (Tenacity)
Roll 3d20

>>4618628
Forgot to mention, I'm taking best of 3

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4618628

>>4618631
That's Tenacity, baby

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>4618628

>>4618636

Someone undo my screwup.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>4618631
Yeet
>>4618636
FUCK

Rolled 12, 11, 1 = 24 (3d20)

>>4618628
You know what, fuck it, I've been waiting too long for an Animorph quest to pop up. YOU BETTER BE A GOD TIER QM OR I WILL SHIT MY PANTS AND CRY PLEASE.

>>4618631
>>4618636
>>4618653
Nice. If I can get it out in time, this'll be the last update of the night

>>4618679
You can’t leave them behind. You’re back to them in a flash, grabbing them and pushing them ahead of you.

“This way!” you call out. You’re running as fast as you can, shoving them along. You cut through a half built building, dash under some scaffolding, and in between a maze of concrete barriers. You can hear the Controllers yelling behind you, but it’s getting fainter. Anna, Fred, and Tony are gasping for breath and stumbling, but you just keep pushing them onwards.

Everything becomes a blur. You aren’t focused on anything except making yourself, and the others, run as fast as you possibly can. Before you know it, you’ve left the construction site, and the Controllers, far behind you.

You don’t know how you got home, but somehow you did. You sneak in through the back, just like you did this afternoon, and head upstairs. You didn’t even realize it, but you’re still holding the bags from the mall. You toss them on the ground, lie down in bed, and you’re asleep before you realize it.

--

That’s all for tonight! Thanks for coming. Hopefully I will be able to run tomorrow. If I can, I’ll post in the thread ahead of time to let people know.

Loving this so far QM... even though I've never read animorphs in my life.

>>4618714
Thanks for running, AQM

>>4618719
Absolutely no childhood

so other than the characters is there anything else that's going to be different?

enjoying it so far

>>4618847
Elfangor seems to be dead at least

>>4618719
It's not necessary since this seems to be a standalone.

>>4618847
Well I'd be surprised if we go back in time and slit the throat of an innocent alternate-universe Hitler who is just a lowly driver.
In all seriousness my guess is the broad strokes of how shit works will be the same, but a different group of kids means things will diverge pretty far from how they went in the books.

I have only read a few of the Animorphs books and i was worried when I saw we had a teacher named Fisher. In Dutch Visser means Fisher(man), soooo. I thought it was not so subtly foreshadowing that one of our teachers was the leader of our enemies

Reminder that at some point, that legendary greentext pasta series about a Yeerk taking over the mind of a /co/ user, followed by the /co/ user corrupting the Yeerk into being an anonymous shitposter just like himself, should come up in this quest.

>>4619476
I very much would like to read that

Planning to run again this evening, depending on if my professors try to ratfuck me or not.

>>4618719
Don't worry, I'll try to make sure everything is explained enough for those who haven't read the books. You really should read them though, you can get all the ebooks online

>>4618847
>>4619369
I will probably not be including the really wacky parts of the lore, and the missions will be changed enough to prevent metagaming. I'm not going to reveal all my changes yet though

>>4619629
Can the OG characters be met or have they been cut entirely?

>>4618719
You have no idea. Strap in, because we are about to go for a wild ride.

Can't run consistently tonight, but I have the update ready. Would you guys prefer if I post it and leave the vote up for extra long, or just wait until I have an evening to fully commit to running?

Jen's current stats
Tenacity: 4
Wits: 2
Empathy: 1
Leadership: 3
Wonder: 2

Rolls will be the best of 3d20, with twice the relevant stat added to the roll. DC is hidden. Major decisions can permanently change your stats, and your stat spread will have a narrative effect.

>>4619878
I don't plan on having any of them show up. Maybe they still exist in the AQ world, but they're not relevant to the plot

>>4619940
Post it and leave it up. Maybe Anons in other time zones will vote. Dunno if they have Animorphs outside of the US tho

>>4617965
OP, where did you learn to write? You've got a nice style. Not as laconic and abrupt as mine, but not supermegaprose9000 like Laini Taylor.

>>4618714
You dream that night. The visions Elfangor gave you run through your sleeping mind again and again. Information and images intermixed.

Taxxon Controllers. A species of cannibalistic, always hungry creatures. Longer than a grown human, and as wide around as an oak tree. They have four red eyes like jelly ringing their mouth. They have a dozen appendages like the claws of a lobster on the upper half of their body, and twenty or more legs on their lower half. They voluntarily serve the Yeerks.

Hork-Bajir Controllers. A formerly peaceful species, they were enslaved by the Yeerks. Their bodies are covered in blades. Despite their originally peaceful nature, they are fierce and deadly combatants. They serve as the Yeerks’ frontline troops.

The Yeerk homeworld. Its sun produces the Kandrona rays the Yeerks need to survive. They must take artificial Kandrona sources wherever else they go.

The rest of the images come in a flood. The Andalite homeworld. Their ships. Their weapons and technology. Elfangor’s family. They’re coming too fast again, like a tidal wave of his memories.

You awaken with a start, covered in sweat. You look at your clock. It’s 5AM. You probably should go back to sleep, but you don’t want to have to repeat the visions again.

You check your phone. No new texts. You lie down again and decide to just wait for the sun to come up.

--

At 8AM, a text comes through from Anna.

“Was last night real?”

You almost want to pretend it wasn’t real, but you text back a simple “yes” anyway.

“We need to meet. Come over my house at 12?” she sends back

You agree and put your phone down. You’ll need to head over then, but you have some time to spare. You grab a clean change of clothes and hop in the shower.

--

When you head downstairs, you spot your mom in the kitchen. She sees you as well and you stop.

“Where were you yesterday?” she asks.

“Uhhh… I just went to the mall, and I didn’t see you when I got home,” you awkwardly lie.

She eyes you suspiciously. It’s clear she doesn’t really believe you, but thankfully it seems like she doesn’t care enough to press the issue.

“Okay. Did you go shopping? Where did you get the money?” she questions you.

“Anna loaned me some,” you reply

“Why are you taking money from her? It’s embarrassing for our family that you’d do that. Next time, just ask me for money. I’m not surprised that you don’t care about embarrassing me in public, but you shouldn’t take advantage of your friends,” she lectures you.

Bitch.

You don’t have anything to say to her, so she just sighs and walks away. Your mom is… formidable. She used to be a lot better, strict but caring, but a few months before your dad passed, she started acting like this. It got so bad that your sister moved out and cut all contact. You haven’t heard from her in months now. It sucks.

File: bubbles.png (3.03 MB, 2326x1800)

3.03 MB PNG

>>4620036
You make a bowl of cereal and then head back upstairs. On your way up you run into your cat Bubbles. You think back to what the Andalite said.

This will grant you the power to transform. To morph into other animals. All you have to do is touch an animal to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to transform into it.

You’re not sure that it’ll even work, but you could try morphing to Bubbles now. Your mom is still in the house though, and maybe it would be wiser to wait until you’re with friends before giving this a try

>Try morphing
>Wait until you meet up with Anna

File: mom.png (448 KB, 723x700)

448 KB PNG

>>4620036
Forgot the mom art

Man, mom straight up *sucks*.

>>4620037
>>Wait until you meet up with Anna
Bad idea to get experimental with mom around. We should wait until we have friends who we trust. Touch the cat anyway though.

>>4620037
>>Wait until you meet up with Anna

>>4620037
>Wait until you meet up with Anna
BUT TOUCH THE CAT

>>4620037
>>Wait until you meet up with Anna

Touch cat. Let's hope anna has a dog so we can expand our repertoire.

So we're biracial or something? neat.

>>4620070
I think we're just normal full asian, judging by the pics?

>>4620037
>Wait until you meet up with Anna
pet cat

>>4617914
>Go in through the front door

>>4620037
>Wait until you meet up with Anna

But touch the cat for later

I didn't get very far in animorphs, what animals would even be effective? Not many creatures are all-rounder enough for fighting without hotswap, and it might be tough to source the really poisonous creatures for prepared weapons.

>>4620347
Flies are pretty fucking good for scouting, honestly OP pic shows some pretty good all rounder morphs, It's been a while so my memory is a bit fuzzy who's who but that really isn't important since they aren't relevant. We should definitely experiment with morphing different parts of our body, I forgot the character that could do that but I remember she couldn't keep it for a long time, more of a trick then anything really viable. I think if we work hard enough at it we can go full chimera. Fuck I should re-read the books there's so much I've forgotten.

>>4620037
>Wait until you meet up with Anna

>>4620347
We should definitely stay away from creatures like bees, ants or anything with a social structure like that

I vote jaguar for our battle morph

>>4620491
Did you know crocs can bite through fucking steel? I say crocodile.

>>4620533
crocs aren't as stealthy as jaguars except in the water and. jaguars can get around urban environments

>>4620565
Also as strong as crocs are biting down keeping their jaws shut is easy

https://www.livescience.com/28306-crocodiles.html#:~:text=A%20crocodile%27s%20jaws%20can%20apply,very%20little%20opening%20strength%2C%20though.

>>4620565
A croc could work in a heavy urban area, inside an alleyway. Fuckers run fast, and you won't see them in the low light.

>>4620565
Good point, I really like crocs though, maybe we can use it as secondary when we find ourselves in the water.

>>4620611
Now that I think about it we should start thinking about witch morphs we should acquire for different environments and situations, get as many morphs in our repertoire

>>4620620
We should get a flyer, aquatic morphs for fresh and salt water an amphibian, as many different stealthy morphs as possible, something as close as possible to an allrounder, a power house and something with good defense. And that is just all I can think off.

>>4617915
>Animorphs
>dark and gritty
Kid you wouldn't know dark and gritty even if it was far up your ass

I have a god tier battle morph strategy. Poison Dart frog. We could collect our poisonous secretion the we use to coat a pair of metal swords that we use in the gorilla form. We could collect literal gallons of the most deadly poison on earth for combat purposes. Imagine if we dumped that shit into the pools.

Breaking into the local zoo and/or aquariums is prob a good idea actually. Easy way to stock up on some otherwise hard to find morphs.

>>4620830
A fly or small bird morph would be perfect to get that job done.

Ok forget what I just posted I’m retarded

Yeah, honestly a tiger or bear would work best as a battle morph.

>>4620830
It'll be brought up when I update, but Tony's father has a wildlife clinic at home and works at the local zoo/aquarium (like Cassie in the books)

In regards to the morphing questions, you're limited by what you can get into physical contact with. Local animals will be easy to acquire. Some less common animals you'll be able to get at Tony's place. The more rare animals will require you to somehow get into their exhibit at the zoo, which will come with its own set of problems

>>4620070
Biracial
>>4620748
Confirmed for having not read the books
>>4620826
Afaik they're not poisonous in captivity, it comes from their diet

File: Anna's house.png (672 KB, 1024x481)

672 KB PNG

>>4620037
You decide it isn’t wise to try morphing with your mom home. However, you can still try acquiring Bubbles like the Andalite had said. You place your hand on his side and try your best to focus on somehow acquiring him. His DNA.

Bubbles goes very still and closes his eyes, all while purring quietly. You suddenly feel a tingle running through you. Somehow, you just know you can now change into him whenever you’d like to.

Morph acquired: Cat

With that done, you go back up and check the clock. It’s getting close to 12, you should head over to Anna’s house.

--

Anna lives near you, so within ten minutes you’re knocking on her door. Her mom opens it.

“Jen! It’s so good to see you! It’s been too long. Are you here to see Anna? Come in, come in, Anna’s upstairs, she should be down in a minute. Have you had lunch? Sit down, I’ll put something together,” she says. Anna’s mom is always like this; a force of nature. She’s the nicest woman you know. You think she used to be a doctor like her husband, but taking care of Anna and her siblings must have been a full time job.

“Thanks Mrs. Reyes, but I already ate. Can I go up and see Anna?” you ask.

“Go right ahead sweetheart. Can you tell her I’ll be putting lunch together soon?” she asks.

“Sure,” you reply and head up the stairs. The door to Anna’s room is closed, so you knock.

“Is that you, Jen?” you hear her ask.

“Yeah,” you answer. The door opens.

Anna is sitting on her bed. She looks scared. Withdrawn.

“Are you alright?” you ask.

“Yeah. I’m just… thinking about last night. About the Andalite, and the Yeerks,” she answers.

“His name was Elfangor,” you reply. She gives you a confused look, so you elaborate, “He showed me. When Fred and I were next to him, he gave us… visions. They were full of information about the Yeerks, the Controllers, the Andalites… and his family.”

“Oh,” Anna simply says. She’s silent for a moment, and then says “We should contact everyone else. Get together, figure out what we’re going to do.”

“Okay, but I don’t think we can just use your house. Your mom is nice, but she’d think it was a little weird if we had five people over,” you say. Your house doesn’t work either, Nate has family, and you don’t know about Fred, but Tony might be able to have everyone over. His dad is usually busy at work, and their barn is huge. Plus, you can safely try out morphing there.

You suggest it to Anna, and she agrees to text Tony. Now that you’re thinking about it, you never asked what inviting Nate and Tony was about last night. It doesn’t seem so important now, but you’re still curious. Should you ask her, or just let it be?

>Ask her
>Don't say anything

>>4620881
That's fine, I found an alternative that's even deadlier that can harvest venom even more easily. The Inland Taipan, the most venomous snake on earth. It's venom is both a potent neurotoxin and a hemorrhaging agent. A single drop of the venom is strong enough to kill a human and a single full bite can kill 2 elephants. The average time for death in the case of a human from a single bite is 45 minutes. The venom is considered one of if not the single most powerful neurotoxins know to man, and there is no known antivenom. The harvesting of the venom is incredibly easy since we can morph, bite into a paper cup with plastic wrap on the top, morph back then re-morph to replenish our venom glands. The geography cone snail is a slightly more potent in terms of needing less venom to kill but it's harder to harvest and isn't as effective as a combat form because it produces less of it. Once the venom is produced we could hide water bottles filled with it in small burrows made by some sort of digging form like a mole or a rat. We could probably have an emergency fuck you home depot bucket buried somewhere in case things get really bad. It would probably only take a small cup of the venom to render an entire Yeerk pool unusable since their skin membrane is thin enough to let the venom pass through into the bloodstream and their exposed nervous system. The venom is so stupidly potent that it could probably kill a Yeerk through their connection to their host almost instantly meaning that it could be used to free Hork-Bajir controllers since the host body could probably survive the venom. It would also mean that weaker controllers would be cured only to suffer a quick terrifying death but the ends justify the means.

>>4621027
>Ask her

>>4621027
>>Ask her

>>4620881
Asian and ?

>>4621035
>The Inland Taipan
Assuming we can get our hands on one of them. Just because they exist doesn't mean they'll be in the Anytown, USA animal rehab center.

>>4621027
>>Ask her
I have a sneaking suspicion . . .

>>4621041
Asian and YEERK

>>4621041
Asian and Caucasian

>>4621059
Got a little worried there

>>4621041
Asian and non-Asian

>>4621043
There are 3 locations that house Inland Taipans in the US. The Dallas Zoo, the Kentucky Reptile Zoo and the South Dakota reptile gardens. Conveniently the south Dakota Reptile garden is only 17 miles away from mount Rushnmore, creating the perfect excuse to stop by during a road trip to pick up the most powerful neurotoxin in existence. It also is home to one of the largest crocodiles in the western hemisphere at 16 feet long and weighing in at 1,250 pounds.

Alternatively we could use raw sewage gathered using the opposable hands of the Raccoon form as another method of poising Yeerk pools since they would be incredibly vulnerable to infection due to their small bodies and porous membranes. We could easily invest into Nurglite bio warfare by mixing discarded meat from butcher's shops,medical waste, table scraps and the shit and venom of various animals to create a horrible toxic slurry that would subject any Yeerk exposed to it to a horrible necrosis. Even if we won't have the most potent venom in the world early on, the sheer quantity and variety of poison and venom we could harvest and mix in with the bacterial elements world more than do the trick.

>>4621027
>Don't say anything
It's not like we can't guess, and there are more important things to worry about right now than a friend's misguided attempt to get us back together with an ex.

>>4621088
Fuck it bro, why not all of it? WE ARE THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM

>>4621136
You can't combine animals. That's not how Animorphs works. Switching between animals only takes a few seconds though. One of the ideas I had was using a Common raven form to carry glass containers filled with ichor and dropping them and dropping them long distances into the pool, shattering them before switching into a Dragonfly form to escape. Both of these forms would be easy to get and would allow for multiple rapid "bombing runs" to be made before escaping effortlessly since the dragon fly form is so small and can go 35 miles per hour making it one of the fastest flying animals without taking into account the dives of certain animals. I've also done some thinking about some easy to access plagues for our bio weaponry. First and foremost among these is the Bubonic plague. The black death is still around, but it's contained thanks to pest control and hygiene. However, there have been multiple cases recently due to certain administrative decisions creating rat problems which have resulted in multiple severe cases including a few deaths death. While the plague is rough to deal with thanks to modern medicine if you were infected with it today you are very likely to survive. The thing is the creatures we will be infecting won't be humans, the creatures we will be subjecting to one of the most infamous diseases on planet earth are thin skinned slugs with immune systems unprepared for the ravages of earth's virulous bacterium. We all know what happened to the Native Populations of the Americas when they were exposed to diseases bred in the cramped, filthy cities of Europe All we have to do is find one special rat and we could create a pandemic among the Yeerk as any Yeerk infected would contaminate the pool since thier skin would allow for the cultivated Bacteria to spread in the fluid without fleas. It would take some effort to transfer the disease from flea to a controlled environment where it could be bred in a nutrient soup but it would be well worth it. Another fantastic disease would be Rabies. While Rabies normally can only be transmitted through saliva interacting getting into the bloodstream through bites as previously stated the Yeerk's skin is porous and exposed. All we would have to do is find a rabid animal, copy it's gene data and then spit into a bucket before morphing back. It's one of the easiest diseases to get and there's a low probability we could get both Rabies and the black death with a single rat. Also, by copying a cat we have already acquired a little something special for our concoctions. Toxoplasmosis. This feces transmitted parasite has a strong psychosis effect on rats and other small animals. I have no idea what it will do to a Yeerk but for people with weak immune systems it can cause Headache, Confusion, Poor coordination and Seizures. If it can do that to a human brain with a partially working immune system, imagine what it will do a slimy ball of nervous tissue completely unprepared to face it.

>>4621255
Nah I meant just getting as many animals as possible but I get what you mean

>>4621027
“Hey, about yesterday, what was that all about, with inviting Tony and Nate?” you ask.

Anna looks like a deer in headlights. “Well, I had just been thinking that it’s been a while, and maybe, it might have been a good idea, for us and some of the people from the swim club to get back together some time.”

You don’t know what to say to that, but you try to respond anyway, “Some of the people from the swim club meaning Nate and Tony? Did you set that whole thing up with Tony?”

“Well… yeah. I did.”

“Why?”

“Because I thought it would be a good idea. We haven’t seen them in so long, and I miss when everyone would still hang out together. Don’t you wish things were still like last summer?”

“They’re not. They’re not ever going to be like they were.”

She seems lost for words, “Jen, I don’t understand why you do this. You don’t have to just... push people away.”

“That’s-- that’s not what I’m doing.”

“I think it is.”

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s fine. You know we’re going to be seeing them a lot now anyway?”

“Yeah, I know. I know,” you reply. You’re not looking forward to it, but maybe you can just leave the past in the past.

“I’ll text Nate and Tony,” she offers

You just nod.

File: Tony's Barn.png (509 KB, 800x533)

509 KB PNG

>>4621296
An hour later, you hear back from Tony. He says his dad is at work, so you can come over whenever. You and Anna tell Anna’s mom you’re going over to another friend’s house and head out.

Tony’s barn sits next to the woods. His dad owns some fields near his house, the barn, and a small stretch of the forest. The forest is vast, and covers from where you live all the way to the mountains. If you had to guess, you’d probably say it covers thousands, if not millions of square miles. Your town is situated on the edge of it.

Tony’s dad owns a lot of property, but from what you understand he gets most of the money for it from various grants, and not from his work. The government pays him to help out with things like reintroducing wolves into the woods.

As you walk up to the barn, Tony comes out to meet you. You exchange greetings and head in.

Once you get inside, you take a look around. The barn is packed with cages, all full of animals. On one wall are a dizzying array of birds. Hawks, falcons, eagles, and even some parrots. On the other side are a group of wolves in cages. One is separate from the rest, with a cast around one of its front legs.

“Hey, Nate isn’t here yet and I don’t have Fred’s number. Have you guys tried morphing? It’s incredible,” Tony begins as soon as you get in. The excitement is clear in his eyes.

You and Anna shake your heads.

“Why not? It’s like… it’s weird at first, but once you get into it… oh man. There’s nothing like it. You’re actually a wolf, or a horse, or whatever you want to be. It’s unreal. You have to try it. Have you guys acquired any animals yet, or do you want one from here?”

>Go with the cat
>Acquire something new (write-in)

>>4621298
>Acquire something new (write-in)
Go ahead and get everything we can right now. Then try whatever we feel most comfortable trying first.

>>4621298
>Acquire something new (write-in)
Acquire literally all of them, skipping perfect opportunities is foolish. Test transformation with a falcon (or any bird of prey desu)

>>4621298
>Acquire something new (write-in)
Horses are not just mobile, they have pretty mean a kick so they're not completely out of the question as a battle morph.

>>4621298
>Acquire something new (write-in)
>Acquire everything you can get your hands on Rats, Birds, Dogs, Insects, anything that moves
*Demonic laughter*

>>4621298
>Go with the cat

Start simple, something we can play with any not DIE or kill someone or something.

>>4621313
horses are pretty fragile though

>>4621310
>>4621311
>>4621313
>>4621322
Sorry anons, should have specified that I meant which animal you'd like to try morphing to first.

For the future, when it comes to acquiring morphs, it can be better to get more experienced with one animal. You can, for example, acquire a red-tailed hawk, a peregrine falcon, and a golden eagle, but each bird flies somewhat differently. You'll get better at flying just by practicing, but swapping between similar forms can hinder that. In practice, it'll generally be best to focus on one form of each type, instead of trying to swap between very similar animals. For the example of the birds, I'll try to make the differences between each bird clear before you pick one to focus. Of course, this doesn't mean that flying as a bird a lot will make running as a horse different, because those are completely different skills and morphs.

I'm taking the votes for our first morph as
>>4621311
Bird of prey
>>4621313
Horse
>>4621327
Cat

>>4621342
Ah, yeah.

>>4621343
Oh, then wolf 100%

Cat

be a literal cat-girl

>>4621356
I want to choke you.

>>4621367
save the dirty talk for the DMs

File: tumblr_1e8ea5f1af36bd6730(...).jpg (46 KB, 640x380)

46 KB JPG

>>4621367
>>4621372

>>4621372
We need something that can fight, I don't exactly think a house cat fits the bill.

>>4621389
We'll have plenty of time to pick combat morphs later. This is a test run

>>4621350
seconding

>>4621389
Plus we need a stealth/recon morph. Standard housecat is perfect.

>>4621392
No reason why we can't test run with a wolf.
>>4621398
And I agree, but battle morph should take main priority. Plus wolves are cool.

>>4617909
>texting in the 90's

>>4621752
I mean it did exist and was commercially available at least by 95, but yeah you'd have a hard time pulling off sending messages in class back then, and typing notifications wouldn't be a thing

I suspect the qm is not aiming for historical verisimilitude, since the important thing is the alien invasion and the effort/reward ratio for capturing the 90s perfectly isn't great

>>4621752
>>4621775
break tie pls

>>4621343
Horse

>>4621752
Quest starts in 96, but I'm fudging the timeline a little

>>4621343
Frog

>>4622486
>>4621787
Anon...

I don't think I'll be able update today. If I'm free tomorrow, I'll tally the votes and update then

>>4621343
wolf

Fun fact, the Hippo is one of the world's deadliest animals and is basically a big fuck off tank of muscle with jaws capable of some ridiculous crushing force

They are the #1 killer in the entire continent of Africa

>>4622775
>>4621394
>>4621350
Wolf
>>4621327
>>4621356
Cat
>>4621311
Falcon
>>4621787
Horse
>>4622486
Frog

Looks like wolf wins. This was a pain to tally so please tell me if I made a mistake so I can correct before posting the update. Writing now

File: wolf morph.png (208 KB, 525x350)

208 KB PNG

>>4621298
You decide to morph something other than a cat.

“Is it alright if I try the wolf?” you ask Tony.

“Sure, just give him a treat and then put your hand on him,” Tony replies, handing you a bone. It’s funny, normally he’s the most shy person you know, but he really comes alive when he’s dealing with or talking about animals.

You take the bone and offer it to the wolf with a cast. He stares at you for a second, sniffs your hand, and then takes the bone from you. While your hand is in the cage, you put a hand on his side and concentrate on acquiring him. He lies down and goes still. You feel a tingle run through you, just like earlier.

Morph acquired: Wolf

“Wait!” interrupts Anna, “should we really be doing this? I mean, is this safe? And… if we do this, we’re getting ourselves involved with the Andalites and Yeerks and everything.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask, “We are involved. The Controllers saw us. There’s no way we can avoid being involved. And anyway, the Andalite gave us this responsibility. We have to use this power if we’re going to stop the Yeerks.”

“Stop the Yeerks? How exactly do you plan to do that Jen? Are we going to go to the news and tell them Earth is being invaded by mind controlling space slugs? I bet they’ll believe that! Or maybe we’ll all transform into wolves and go and fight them ourselves. Only problem is that we don’t know anything about them, and if they find out anything about us they’ll destroy us.”

“We’ll find a way. He trusted us. He said that we had to delay the Yeerks, and he gave us the power to do that. They’re here to conquer our world. How can you just say that we shouldn’t do anything?”

“I have a family, Jen. I can’t just put them at risk.”

“Are you saying I don’t?”

Anna looks taken aback, “You-- that-- I’m not saying that. You know I wouldn’t say that. I’m just… I don’t know what to say Jen. I wouldn’t say that.”

You don’t have anything to say either. You know Anna didn’t mean that, but it still feels like shit to hear. Tony looks awkwardly between you and her. He looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what.

“You guys don’t have to argue about this,” he tries anyway, “I think, even if we’re not fighting the Yeerks, we can still morph in secret. Can we just wait for everyone to get here before committing to anything?”

“Okay,” you say, “I’m going to try morphing the wolf now.”

Anna doesn’t say anything.

You stand in the middle of the barn, and start focusing on the wolf. You’re not certain how this is supposed to work, but you just concentrate on somehow becoming the wolf. For a moment nothing happens. Then, it begins.

>>4623939
Your skin starts rippling and shifting to a greyish color. Suddenly, fur starts growing out of it. While you’re focused on that, suddenly you hear a cracking sound. You’re confused for a moment, until you realize it’s coming from you. Your bones are shifting around, changing their shape and positioning. It’s a bit sickening, but surprisingly not painful. Suddenly, with a scraping sound, your legs switch orientation. Your knees now point backwards instead of forwards. You fall to the ground, and catch yourself with your hands. No, now that you look at them they’re not hands anymore. They’re paws. Big paws, and they’re still growing. A tail sprouts from the end of your spine. Finally, you feel your face start to change. It narrows, and your nose starts to protrude forward and elongate into a snout. Your ears shift towards the top of your head, and fangs start replacing your teeth. You have become the wolf.

You breathe in through your nose, and are shocked at how well you can smell. Other animals surround you. Birds you pay no mind to, some prey animals, some of your kin in cages, and some humans. You look over at the source of the human. Two humans are staring at you. They aren’t prey, but they shouldn’t be a threat to you.

“Jen?” the short male asks. You back away a bit. Even if the humans aren’t a threat to you, getting their attention probably isn’t good.

“Jen, are you okay?” the female asks. You really don’t like this, and growl. You don’t want to fight, but you will if they approach.

There’s an opening behind you, and you can smell the forest from it. If you make a break for it, they won’t be able to catch you. Your kin are still here, but you won’t be able to get them out of the cages.

Yes, you decide, I should run. Still, for some reason, you feel like there’s something you’re forgetting. Some reason not to leave.

Roll 3d20+4 (Wonder) to overcome the wolf’s instincts.

Rolled 18 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

Awooo!

Rolled 1, 16, 14 + 4 = 35 (3d20 + 4)

>>4623941

Rolled 5, 14, 18 + 4 = 41 (3d20 + 4)

>>4623941
Awoo.

>>4623953
>>4623955
>>4623966
Oops, meant 3 rolls of 1d20. I'll just take the first roll of each. Best roll is 22, so I'll take that. In the future, all rolls will be 3 rolls of 1d20, adding 2x the relevant stat, with no crit fails or successes, and I'll take the highest roll. Either way, this is a success.

Rolled 19, 13, 13 + 4 = 49 (3d20 + 4)

>>4623941

For a moment, you’re on the edge of bolting, but your human mind manages to win out. You’re back in control.

You look over to Anna and Tony. You recognize them now, and you can see that they look a bit scared. You’re not sure how to communicate while in a morph, but suddenly the information from the vision comes back to you in flash. Whenever you’re morphed, you’ll be able to use thoughtspeak to communicate, just like an Andalite.

<Tony? Anna? Can you guys hear me?> you ask.

“Y-yeah,” Tony replies, “you gave us a bit of a scare there. Was it the wolf instincts?”

<Yeah. I wasn’t ready for that.>

“Sorry,” he apologises, “I should have warned you. I guess having people around made the wolf more nervous.”

<I’m sorry I growled at you guys.>

“No worries.”

Your ears prick up. Someone is coming. You take another breath through your nose, and realize it’s two someones. A pair of teenage boys. The wolf’s sense of smell is almost unreal. You can make out their sweat, their deodorant, what detergent was used on their clothes, that one of them has spent time with a large dog, and so much more.

“Are you sure you’re in control?” Anna asks, “you’re sniffing like crazy.”

<Oh. I’m just getting used to this sense of smell,> you reply. <I think Nate and Fred are here.>

“How do you know that?” Anna begins, before she’s interrupted by the boys knocking on the barn door.

“Hey, anyone home?” Nate calls out.

“Come in!” Tony replies.

Nate and Fred open the barn door and step in.

“Hey guys. Where’s Jen?” Nate asks, before looking between the pile of clothes you left when you morphed and you. “Wait… Jen? Is that you?”

<Hey,> you answer. You feel like laughing at the look of amazement on his face, but you’re not sure how that would work as a wolf.

“No way…” Fred mutters.

A bit later, you’re human again. Thankfully, Tony warns you that you won’t have any clothes before you morph back, and the group turns their backs. After you change, you know it’s time for everyone to have a talk.

“There’s something you guys need to see,” Nate begins. “I saw this in the newspaper today.” He pulls a newspaper clipping out of his pocket and shows everyone

Police Search for Teens with Illegal Fireworks

You don’t get it at first, until you look a little closer. The article is about the construction site you were at last night. The construction site where you met Elfangor, and saw Visser 3 kill him. There’s a quote from the police chief saying that they’re looking for a group of teens who were firing off fireworks. He says that people had called the police station last night to report flying saucers, but it was clearly just a group of teens fooling around.

>>4624318
“What?” asks Tony. “Why would he say that?”

“He’s a controller. He has to be,” Nate answers. “Now, we have to decide what to do. I think we should follow this lead and investigate the police chief, but I’d like to hear what you guys have to say first.”

You look at Anna. She looks back at you, and then sighs.

“I think we shouldn’t get involved,” she says. “They don’t know who we are, or else they’d have caught us by now. If we just stay away from morphing and anything Yeerk related, we’ll be fine. I have a family to worry about, and I really don’t want to endanger them by getting involved. The Yeerks should be the Andalites’ problem, not ours.”

You could interrupt here, or let her and Nate keep going. You want to say your piece, but you’ve always tried to avoid arguing with Anna. Through everything, she’s always had your back and been there without complaint. It doesn’t feel right to try and argue with her to pressure her into agreeing with you.

On the other hand, this is important. Elfangor gave you all this power for a reason. He wanted you to fight the Yeerks, and you’re sure it’s the right thing to do. You might be able to convince her by reiterating that.

You could also tell Anna that her family is in danger from the Yeerks even if she doesn’t use her power. You’re sure that if you’re clear about what will happen to her family if the Yeerks win, you’d be able to convince her. However, can you really just manipulate your friend like that?

It occurs to you as well that Nate can be very convincing when he wants to be. If you let him speak, he’ll probably be able to convince Anna on his own. Still, you’re not entirely sure you want to be back on speaking terms with him, and letting him take the lead in this little group of yours could be a bad precedent to set.

>“Elfangor gave us these powers for a reason. Before he died, he told me and Fred that more of his people are on the way, but that we have to buy time for them to arrive. We have to fight.”
>“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”
>Let Nate convince her
>Write-in

>>4624323
>>Let Nate convince her
I don't want to alienate our best friend. Not now. I think Nate can sway her more gracefully than we can.

>>4624323
“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”

>>4624323
>>Let Nate convince her

>>4624323
>“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”

+ Make sure to mention you and Fred were shown more, things she didn't see. Easier for someone to justify changing their mind when it can be mentally framed as adjusting to new/better information.

>>4624338
>>4624348
Cowards. Assertiveness is the first step in fighting the control of the Yeerk. There is more at stake than feelings.

>>4624356
And we don't NEED Anna to fight with us right this second. She will come around in time if it comes to it. We NEED to have someone who trusts us and someone we trust.

I think forcing her into this is going to bite us in the ass sooner rather than later.

>>4624363
Every choice has it's consequence.

>>4624353
I think it's especially critical that it's us to do this, because it's only us and currently-absent Fred who have all this knowledge. Elfangor showed us his battles, the nature of the Yeerks. The others might think it's unlikely they'll leave our families alone, but only Jen and Fred really know. Nate has better social skills, but he doesn't have any relevant information Anna lacks. We do.

>>4624373
Fred is here, he's just shy

>>4624384
Then it's still critical that Jen speak up. She and Fred have information and experiences beamed into their brains that Nate, Tony, and Anna didn't get. The others might justifiably believe avoiding trouble with the Yeerks could work since all they have is a handful of words from an alien whose name they don't even know, but Fred and Jen know otherwise. Since Fred clearly isn't going to sack up and speak up, that leaves us.

>>4624323
>I think we need to make sure our family doesn't get yeerked. Say what you want about the world, but nothing's stopping them from just going up to our parents and taking control.

>>4624323
>“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”

We'll be the match that lights the torch that lights the fire that will send the Yourks to the ground.

>Animorphs quest
Holy fuck. This is bound to be good. Also Visser Three did nothing wrong

>>4624323
>“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”

>>4624338
>>4624348
>Let Nate convince her
>>4624340
>>4624353
>>4624543
>>4625743
>>4626613
>Appeal to family

>>4626459
>Visser 3 did nothing wrong
He lost. Oh, and there was the whole thing about being an megalomaniacal asshole who murdered his subordinates and tried to conquer the galaxy

>>4624323
You have to convince her, and you know how to do it.

“If we just sit by, the Yeerks will win. They won’t leave any of our families alone. They will take over everyone you know, Anna. Your mom, your dad. Your brother. Your sisters. You.”

She looks aghast. “How can you say that? How do you know the Andalites won’t come back and stop the Yeerks?” she asks.

“I’ve seen it. Before the Andalite died, he gave Fred and I one last message. A collection of… visions, I guess. He showed me what they do, and how they operate. On each world they go to, if they’re not stopped, they will take over everything. I saw it. I saw what they did to the Hork-Bajir. They were peaceful, and just like us, they didn’t know anything about Andalites or Yeerks. The Yeerks didn’t care. Now there aren’t any Hork-Bajir left that aren’t Controllers. That’s what they’ll do to Earth. He showed me worlds the Yeerks have taken over. They destroy everything they don’t need. Forests cut down, oceans polluted, native species exterminated. Everything will be gone, except for their Yeerk pools and the humans they take as hosts. Even if the Andalites come next year, like he said, it will be too late. The Yeerks will be ready. The only way they can be stopped is if we fight them.”

You’re out of breath by the end of your speech, and your voice is a bit shaky. You meant what you said, but you hadn’t meant to get that into it. Everyone is staring at you. Anna looks scared, Tony looks sympathetic, Nate looks surprised, and Fred has an understanding look on his face. It makes sense that Fred gets it; he saw the same things as you. For a moment, there’s silence.

“She’s right. I-I got the visions too,” Fred says. He looks nervous to be speaking in front of everyone, but he gains confidence as he goes on. “I saw the same thing. Elfangor, the Andalite… he gave his life trying to defend our planet. He gave us the power to keep fighting. We have to use it.”

You’re not sure how you expected Anna to react, but she seems uncharacteristically scared. She looks back and forth between you and Fred before finally coming to a decision.

“I guess you guys are right,” she says. “We haven’t got much of a choice. I just… I just didn’t want it to be true. I wanted it to be a bad dream.”

It seems like you convinced Anna, but you’ve never seen her like this before. She’s always seemed to be the kind of person that has a plan for everything. She’s always on top of her family life and school, and she always has the perfect joke or response for any situation. You almost feel bad for pressuring her like this, but it’s necessary. You didn’t have any choice but to make her understand. Even still, you’re barely into the afternoon, and you’ve already gotten into it with her multiple times. You just hope that things between the two of you will be better than this going forward.

>>4626804
“Well, if everyone’s on board, then I think we should start planning on dealing with the police chief. If we can find out more about him, it could lead us to wherever the rest of the Yeerks are,” Nate says. “Any ideas?”

Looking around the barn, a few plans come to mind.

You could morph into a bird like a hawk or a falcon and follow him around that way. Birds have strong visions and can travel anywhere outdoors without anyone suspecting a thing. As an eye in the sky, you’d be able to see everywhere he goes and everyone he meets with. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to hear anything he says or follow him indoors.

Another possibility would be trying to get close to him. If he has any pets, acquiring them would let you check out his house without drawing any suspicion. Even if he doesn’t have any pets, there are plenty of small animals that could sneak into his home. Surely you’d be able to find something Yeerk related that way. The only problem is that you wouldn’t be able to follow him outdoors, and the risk of getting discovered is much higher than with the bird plan.

Alternatively, you could try both. If one person follows him as a bird, and another tries to sneak into his house, you’d be able to cover all your bases. However, instead of having just one person stay out of their house to do this, you’d need at least two. The more people that have to manage the two hour time limit, the harder it will be to stay on top. This also runs the same risks as infiltrating his house.

Maybe another idea is possible, but nothing comes to mind right now.

>Track him as a bird
>Infiltrate his home
>Do both
>Write-in

>>4626806
>Do both

>>4626806
>>Do both
Divide and conquer. Two teams, bird team and infiltration team.

Maybe we can all practice as different animals and see who does best as what.

>>4626806
>Do both
>Suggest that we try our best to get used to the forms we're using beforehand, and try to make something that could remind us about the time limit and goals in case we get sidetracked.
It MIGHT work, I'm not sure since I haven't read the books in ages. Pavlovian conditioning ourselves to associate things, even in animal form, to important concepts...like every time we see a clock, we repeat the words "Time limit 2 hours stuck" in our head. Could try it out both in and out of animal form to really try to cement it. The animal brain will really be our biggest enemy at the start.

>>4626806
>>Infiltrate his home

>>4626806

Do both

>>4626806
>Do both
bird would have been preferable, but there's nothing requiring them to head back to base besides the usual yeerk pool, which takes far too long compared to the 2hour limit.

We do need to research some poison/poop payloads though. A yeerk pool sabotage could be as simple as lobbing a bag of doggie doodoo

>>4626806
>Do both

>>4626806
>>Do both

>>4626820
>>4626828
>>4626939
>>4627047
>>4627097
>>4627400
>>4628281
>Do both
Writing

>>4626806
You decide to do both.

You explain the plan to everyone else and they’re all on board. Even Anna agrees.

First, you’ll all acquire bird morphs. You’ll be able to use them to stake out the police station until you see him leave. After that, you’ll be able to follow him home and investigate his house, as well as anywhere else he goes outside of work. You said you wanted to be the first to follow him in bird morph, and nobody disagreed.

Next, you’ll find out if he has any pets, and then find a way to get them out of the house and acquire them. This will be the hard part of the plan, but you’ll figure out a way to do it when you get there.

With that sorted, everyone practices morphing for a while. You had thought that everyone’s morphing would be as disgusting as yours, but oddly enough Tony and Fred seem to be better at it than everyone else. You, Nate, and Anna have no control over the process, while they seem to be at least somewhat able to control it. Fred even managed to morph just his head into a wolf while leaving the rest of his body human. You also figure out that you can morph tight clothing if you concentrate on it. It’s a little embarrassing to morph back with only underwear on, so you’ll bring a swimsuit next time.

Once you’re in morph, you’re able to control the animal’s instincts more easily than your first time. You get the feeling that your first time in each morph, as well as morphs under pressure, will be harder to control.

While you’re here, you make sure everyone acquires every morph they can. You’ll never know what forms you might need to be able to morph. In addition to the wolves, you acquire several of the birds of prey. The only other animals in the barn right now are an injured squirrel and a sick raccoon. You acquire them as well, just in case.

Morph acquired: Red-tailed hawk
Morph acquired: Peregrine falcon
Morph acquired: Golden eagle
Morph acquired: Macaw
Morph acquired: Squirrel
Morph acquired: Raccoon


After that, everyone exchanges their phone numbers and addresses. You have swim practice, and you’re pretty sure the rest all have other commitments, so you make plans to meet up later tonight for the mission. It seems weird to call your plan a mission, but you guess that’s what it is.

>>4628479
The last thing to decide before you come back in the evening is which bird morph you’ll be using. You practiced a little with each of them, but the way each flies is different enough to throw you off. It’ll be best to pick one of them and focus on improving flying with it, at least for this mission.

The falcon is by far the fastest, but its speed comes from dives. If you need to get in or out of somewhere very quickly, it’s the bird for the job, but it’s not as good as soaring. Its sharp talons let it inflict some serious damage at the bottom of a dive, but outside of that it’s too small to cause serious damage.

The hawk is the best at soaring, and will probably be the best at surveillance from above. However, it can’t dive nearly as fast as the falcon and won’t be able to escape as easily. It’s still better in a fight and more maneuverable outside of dives.

The eagle isn’t as good at soaring as the hawk, or as fast in a dive as the falcon, but it’s bigger and tougher than either of them. Surveillance and getting out of a sticky situation will both be harder, but the eagle can still do them. If you’re going to be fighting Controllers, being able to strike from the sky will be a valuable and important ability. Still, this mission is supposed to just be surveillance

>Peregrine falcon
>Red-tailed hawk
>Golden eagle

>>4628483
>Red-tailed hawk

>>4628483
>Red-tailed hawk

>>4628483
>>Red-tailed hawk
Suits our parameters best

>>4628483

>Red-tailed hawk

>>4628479
Forgot to add horse to the list of morphs obtained

>>4628483
>>Red-tailed hawk

>>4628507
>>4628558
>>4628571
>>4628584
>>4629915
>Red-tailed hawk
Writing

>>4628483
You’ll go with the hawk.

Flying is unbelievable. You can just let the hawk’s mind take over and enjoy it. It’s all about catching thermals, pillars of rising hot air, and riding them up so you can soar. The hawk’s vision is also better than you could have ever imagined. You bet you could read someone’s newspaper from a thousand feet up if you wanted to. The speed is almost unbelievable too. Just cruising like this, you’re probably going around thirty miles per hour, which feels pretty fast when you’re only about two feet tall.

A dive is something else entirely. Tony said that you can reach up to a hundred and twenty miles per hour in the bottom of a dive, and you believe it. When you’re in one, the whole world fades away except for you and the ground below you. For a normal hawk, they’d be aiming at whatever squirrel or mouse they can see, but for you the only goal is speed.

Faster and faster, your whole body vibrating in the wind. As you pick up more speed, the resistance from the air becomes so intense that you can only compare it to being outside during a tornado. Your wings are tucked tightly into your body, feathers twitching to make slight adjustments, as you try to push yourself further. Your speed only increases the closer you get to the ground, the trees looming in your vision, until at the last moment you stretch your wings out and catch the air.

Every muscle in your body strains as you strain to pull up in time. Finally, just a hundred feet above the treeline, your dive levels off and you go shooting towards the horizon.

<WOOOHOOOO!> you yell, unable to stop yourself. There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of pulling out of a dive, even if it makes your wings ache afterwards. You have to flap like crazy to get your height back, until you hit a thermal that sends you shooting back up.

<AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!> screams Fred, as he shoots past you in a blur. You thought you were fast, but you’re nothing compared to the peregrine falcon morph he’s taken. He can’t soar nearly as well as you, but in a dive he’s almost twice as fast. You look down at him as you continue to rise, and note that he pulled out even closer to the treeline. You know that his morph has more control over dives than yours, but you’re still tempted to dive again to try and push yourself further.

<Are you two nearly done yet?> Nate interrupts. You’re not sure if it’s because he wants you to get on with the mission, or if he’s just jealous that his morph can’t dive as well. He picked a golden eagle, and though it’s big and tough, it’s not as maneuverable as your hawk or Fred’s falcon.

<That’s enough for me, but we might have to wait for Fred,> you reply. It’s still a bit awkward having Nate around, but it’s easier when you’re in morph. <How much time do we have left?>

<I think around half an hour. We should demorph and morph back beforehand just to be safe.>

>>4630266
You agree. It’s getting a little late, but the sun is still up. Anna and Tony were busy tonight, so you, Nate, and Fred decided to go without them. The police chief should be getting off work soon, so you call Fred over and start heading towards the police station.

It occurs to you that 3 birds of prey, all of different species, flying together is a bit of an odd occurrence, but you don’t think there are any bird watchers in the middle of town. Besides, you’re too high up for them to make anything out about you.

Once you’re closer to the police station, you start circling above it. Nate and Fred split off to find somewhere to reset the timer on their morphs while you keep an eye out for the chief. The news article included a photo of him, so you have a good idea of what to look out for.

After about fifteen minutes of circling, you’re starting to get concerned about Nate and Fred. They should have been back by now. Then, you see the police chief. He’s heading out of the station and towards a car. He unlocks it and gets in. You’re hoping that he’ll turn around and go back into the station for something he forgot, but no luck. He starts up the car and starts pulling out.

You should follow him. If you don’t go after him now, then you’ll have to come back tomorrow. Every day the Yeerks have without you stopping them is another day to get more hosts and more control. Even if you aren’t able to infiltrate his house on your own, you’ll be able to find his address and check it out tomorrow when he’s not home.

Still, you’d be leaving Nate and Fred behind. They’ll probably be able to find you by riding the thermals high enough and looking for a hawk over town, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to do it quickly enough. They might also be worried if they come back and you’re not where they left you.

He’s pulling out now, and your friends are nowhere in sight. You have to make a choice

>Follow him
>Let him leave

>>4630269
>Follow him

>>4630266

>Follow him

>>4630269
>>Follow him

>>4630269
Follow him

>>4630269
>Follow him

>>4630269
So we have 15 minutes left? That's going to be dicey. Can we memorize the car plate regardless of the vote?

>>4630269
>>Follow him

>>4630852
I second this anon. For what good it does.

>>4630333
>>4630337
>>4630612
>>4630616
>>4630626
>>4630910
>>4630852
>Follow him
Writing. Including the part about his license plate

>>4630269
You’re short on time, but you can’t let him leave. After one last look around for any sign of Nate and Fred, you turn and follow the car.

As you follow, you take note of his license plate as well as the make and model of his car. You’re not sure it’ll come in handy, but it can’t hurt to memorize.

His car is faster than you, but red lights and stop signs let you keep up. He’s driving under the speed limit, which helps.

You’re getting closer and closer to the time limit, but you have to keep going. Just a little longer, and you’ll have his address and be able to morph out. There! He’s slowing down and pulling into a neighborhood. You wheel about to follow him.

He pulls up to a red house and parks his car. He gets out and heads up to the front door, and that’s all you need. You note the street and house number, and then head to the forest at full speed. As nice as flying is, you do not want to get caught in this form permanently.

--

A couple minutes later, you’re back in the forest and morphing out. You made it out safely under the time limit. Now, all you have to do is morph back into a hawk and head over to Tony’s barn. He said that he’d be busy helping his dad all evening at the zoo, so it should be empty.

You finish the morph back into hawk form and start flapping. The hawk has an incredible sense for air temperature to help it catch thermals and you put that to good use. Once you spot one, you soar over and shoot up into the sky. As you’re rising you spot something out of the corner of your eye. A golden eagle!

Most birds-of-prey leave each other alone, but golden eagles are known to attack red-tailed hawks. Without even thinking, you tuck your wings and are almost ready to dive when it occurs to you that this might be Nate. You try to pull out of the dive, but the hawk’s mind is fighting you. You’re struggling to spread your wings while every instinct screams at you to dive at full speed.

I need 3 rolls of 1d20 to overcome your instincts and pull out of the dive

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>4631257

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4631257

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4631257

>>4631324
We master morphers now.

>>4631347
Incel

File: hawk morph.png (2.54 MB, 1920x1280)

2.54 MB PNG

>>4631291
>>4631322
>>4631324
Nice. Writing. Here's an image of a red-tailed hawk I put together but forgot to use earlier

>>4631257
You force yourself to open your wings and soar. Circling back around, you call out to the eagle. <Nate? Is that you?>

<Jen! You need to morph back now!> he calls back.

<I already did. I was heading to Tony’s barn. Where did you guys go?>

<That’s a relief. We tried to find somewhere in town to morph so we wouldn’t be gone for too long, but we couldn’t find anywhere and it ended up taking a while to get to the forest and back. Did you find anything out?>

<I saw him, and I got his address. Are you and Fred down to check it out tonight?>

<I’m not sure. We should head back to talk about it.>

--

You’re back at the barn and demorphing ten minutes later. When you morph back, you’re wearing the swimsuit you brought with you earlier, and Nate is in biking shorts and a tight t-shirt. You both look a bit silly, but thankfully you left a change of clothes for when you got back.

Fred is still out there searching the town for you, but Nate said that they agreed to check back in every half hour and that Fred should be back soon.

Sure enough, you hear a bird land on the side of the barn, and a peregrine falcon pokes its head in through a window.

<Jen? You’re okay? What happened?> he asks.

You quickly explain, and try to make the case that you should go back now so you can start infiltrating his house. Fred seems on board, but Nate is dubious.

“Are you sure we should go back tonight?” he begins, “He’s going to be home, and it’s getting dark out. Our bird morphs can’t see nearly as well at night, and it’ll be tough to find a way to sneak inside when there are people home. Tomorrow’s a Sunday, he’ll probably be out of the house. We can meet up with the others and have someone follow him in bird morph while someone else gets inside his house.”

He has a point, but you still don’t want to let this go. It feels wrong to just go home and let a Controller go when you know you can go out and do something now. It’s unlikely, but he might be meeting with other Controllers or going to the Yeerk pool tonight. You’re not sure that your hawk morph will be able to track him if he is, but it could be worth a try.

>Call it a night, you’ll be back tomorrow
>You’re going back out

>>4631460
>>Call it a night, you’ll be back tomorrow
We pushed our luck once and won. I don't think we should risk it again.

We need an owl morph for these cases.
Let's go back home

>>4631386
You do all these yourself? Is it a filter or by hand?

>>4631460
>Call it a night, you’ll be back tomorrow

>>4631482
It's a couple of filters in paint.net. For the character images, a friend of mine created them with an AI breeder based on some source images I provided and then I ran them through the filters.

>>4631460
>Call it a night, you’ll be back tomorrow
This is why we work in shifts

>>4631347
are you ok dude

>>4631460
>You’re going back out

Fuck. I want to pick the option with balls but it makes much more sense to wait a day, especially at this stage where the Yeerks aren't that aware of us and what we can do. I want a hard commit to tomorrow though, no putting it off further.

>>4631519
I'm exactly with you on that

>>4631519
Wait, I'm a retard. Eyes fucked with me and I read "You're going to back out" rather than "You're going back out"
As the rest of my post makes fairly obvious, I'm voting to call it a night.

>>4631460
>>Call it a night, you’ll be back tomorrow

>>4631472
>>4631488
>>4631517
>>4631519
>>4631978
>Call it a night, you'll be back tomorrow
Locked in. Writing

You agree with Nate. There’s no point going out when the chances of you finding anything are so low. You’ll be back tomorrow anyway.

You’d like to fly home, but there’s no way you’d be able carry your phone and clothes in bird morph, so you’ll have to walk. You say goodbye to Nate and Fred, and head out.

Swim practice starts early tomorrow morning, so you go to bed as soon as you get home.

--

All throughout practice, you can’t stop thinking about the mission today. The police chief’s house seemed innocuous from outside, but you have no idea what you’ll find inside. If you’re being honest, it scares you a bit. You can’t stop thinking about the construction site. Elfangor… and what Visser 3 had done to him.

Last night, you’d had a nightmare. You were inside of the police chief’s house, and had found the location of the Yeerk pool. But before you left, you’d heard that voice. Visser 3’s voice. It was coming from the basement, and getting nearer to you. You’d tried to run, but all the doors were locked. You couldn’t get out, and he was only getting closer and closer. When you turned and looked at him, he was in the same morph he’d killed Elfangor in.

You’d woken up, but every time you went back to sleep the nightmares came back. The location varied, from the police chief’s house, the construction site, and even your own home, but the content was the same. Visser 3, chasing you down, leaving you with no escape.

It’s stupid. You shouldn’t be scared of him. You should be out for revenge. You should be excited, instead of nervous. Still, you can’t shake this feeling that something is going to go wrong.

“Jen!” a yell interrupts you. You stop and look around. It’s coach Connor on the side of the pool. “What are you doing? The set already ended. Go to the back of your lane, you’re not leading if you’re not even paying attention.”

Now that you look, everyone else is on the wall and staring at you. You were the only one still swimming. You call out a quick apology and swim back over. You only think of the embarrassment for a minute before your thoughts go back to the mission.

--

The rest of practice passed in a flash. Before you know it, you’ve gone home, showered, and are heading back out to Tony’s barn. You told your mom you were hanging out with Anna, just to be safe, but she didn’t care. You’re not sure why you even bothered.

Everyone was able to come today. The mood is tense. Apart from yesterday, today is your first real mission. This is it. You’re going into a Controller’s house.

>>4633050
Before you go, you have to sort something out. You already said that you’d be the one to go into his house, but you’ll need someone close to the house and within range of thoughtspeech to help bail you out if you get in trouble. Your first idea was to have the whole group wait outside in bird morph, but Anna pointed out that it would be very suspicious to have four birds flying around directly outside a house. His house isn’t that far from the forest, so you can have one person stay nearby in morph while the rest watch from the woods, ready to morph if the person nearby sends a signal. It will take them a couple minutes to morph and get to you, so hopefully you won’t run into any trouble.

That just leaves the question of who will go to the house with you and wait outside after you get in.

Anna is smart. She’ll probably be able to pick up on anything you miss, but she’s also been reluctant about fighting the Yeerks before. You’re sure that if anything unexpected at all comes up, her first instinct will be to get the two of you out without risking anything. It might be safer, but it could screw up the mission.

Tony is great with animals. If the police chief has any pets, then you’re sure he’ll be able to woo them out so you can acquire them. However, you don’t have as good a read on him, and you’re not sure he’ll be good under pressure. If there’s trouble, he might signal the rest and save you, or he might panic.

Nate is usually focused and dependable. He understands the mission and what you have to do. Normally, you’d say that he’d make the right call in any situation and pick him. You hadn’t spoken to him in months until the construction site, though, and you’re not certain where you stand with him. He’s been acting normal around you, but you’re still reluctant to trust him.

Fred is a wild card. You know the least about him, and you have no idea how he’ll be like out there. He seems as committed as you, but he was acting a little reckless when you were flying yesterday. You don’t know him well enough to say how he’ll react or what he’ll do.

>Anna
>Tony
>Nate
>Fred

>>4633051
>Nate

>>4633051
>Nate

It's going to be tough with our not ex, but I think we should break the ice sooner rather than later. Rip the band aid off and take the right guy for the job.

>>4633051
Nate

>>4633051
>Anna

>>4633051
>>Nate

>>4633051
>Nate

>>4633051
>Anna is smart. She’ll probably be able to pick up on anything you miss, but she’s also been reluctant about fighting the Yeerks before. You’re sure that if anything unexpected at all comes up, her first instinct will be to get the two of you out without risking anything. It might be safer, but it could screw up the mission.

>>4633051
Anna

File: 168588150-1.jpg (4.51 MB, 4780x3071)

4.51 MB JPG

>>4633051
>Fred
Not the smart choice but definitely the fun choice. Sometimes you just gotta say what the fuck, and pick the maverick loose cannon wild card who doesn't play by the rules.

>>4633051
>Nate

Actually fuck it, changing my vote to Fred

>>4634760
excellent reasoning

>>4633066
>>4633077
>>4633521
>>4633628
>>4633944
>>4635136
Nate
>>4633624
>>4634136
Anna
>>4634760
>>4635162 (just in time)
Fred

Calling it for Nate. Writing

>>4633051
You’ll take Nate. It’s not ideal, but he’s the best choice for this.

“Nate, can you keep a lookout while I’m inside?” you ask. He looks surprised that you chose him, but agrees.

You and the rest of the group fly over to the section of the woods nearest to the chief’s house. Everyone demorphs before you begin, to make sure you have as much time in morph as possible if you need it. While you and Nate fly over to the house, the rest will take turns watching in bird morph. A human eye wouldn’t be able to make out anything from this distance, but a hawk can see everything. The rest wish you luck, and then you’re off.

You catch a thermal and begin circling the house from high above, Nate right behind you. The chief’s car isn’t here; he must have left before you arrived. His backyard is fenced in, and you notice a dog running around. It looks like there’s a small door on the house’s back door that he can go in and out of. You land on a windowsill and start peering in through some windows. It doesn’t look like anyone else is home.

As you fly around the side of the house, you note that he left a window slightly open. If you want to, you’re sure that you can morph something small, like a squirrel or raccoon, and slip in that way.

While you’re checking out the windowsill, you hear the dog start barking. It seems like he’s noticed you, but he’s stuck on the other side of the fence. While you’re here, it occurs to you that you could go in through the dog’s door. You don’t think you’d be able to fit into it as a human, but in a smaller morph you’ll definitely be able to squeeze through. However, you don’t think the dog will take kindly to a squirrel or raccoon trying to pass through his yard. You’d have to acquire him and then go through in his morph. He doesn’t look very friendly, but you just need to touch him to acquire him. Dogs and most other animals won’t attack you while you’re morphed into them; after all, you’ll smell exactly like them.

>Head in through the open window in squirrel morph (Wits)
>Try to acquire the dog and get in that way (Empathy)

>>4635206
>>Head in through the open window in squirrel morph (Wits)

>>4635206
>Head in through the open window in squirrel morph (Wits)
Not sure it's a good idea to roll the dice on the dog being agreeable, also hard to safely and stealthily obtain it in the open yard. Also if the chief has a family member in the house, a second identical dog will be pretty noticeable. Even if they aren't a controller, if they tell him there's a chance it'll put him on guard against the right things.

>>4635206
>>Head in through the open window in squirrel morph (Wits)

>>4635206
>Try to acquire the dog and get in that way (Empathy)
the eternal question...
who's a good boy?

>>4635206
>>Head in through the open window in squirrel morph (Wits)

>>4635222
>>4635229
>>4635235
>>4635276
>Squirrel morph
>>4635272
>Deal with the dog

Calling it here for squirrel morph. Can I have 3 rolls of 1d20? Add 4 for your wits.

Rolled 9 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>4635358

Rolled 4 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>4635358

Rolled 20 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

24 get

File: Spoiler Image (1.98 MB, 381x434)

1.98 MB GIF

>>4635427

File: Spoiler Image (892 KB, 396x298)

892 KB GIF

>>4635366
>>4635426
>>4635427
Writing

>>4635206
You’ll slip in through the window. It’s safer than trying to mess with the dog.

<Can you keep an eye out?> you ask Nate, as you land on the ground next to the window. He gives you the all clear, and you start morphing back. It’s as disgusting as always, but you’re starting to get used to it. First, your feathers start to melt and run together, until your skin starts to look like melted wax. Next, you start growing, taller and taller. Your vision gets blurry as your hawk eyes revert into their inferior human counterpart. Your beak shifts into lips, and your wings start to convert back into arms. Your bones grind against each other uncomfortably as they expand and shift into their normal configuration. Now, your skin is back to normal, and you’re almost full height, but your arms look like stubs and your feet are still talons. You feel exposed, sitting here next to the house, so you try to rush through the rest of the morph. Your arms lengthen and grow hands as your feet reform.

Now you have to morph into the squirrel. Morphing repeatedly is extremely tiring, but you’re not staying out in the open any longer than you need to. It’s disorienting to be shrinking back down immediately after growing back to full height from your hawk morph, but you’ll get used to it. You’re almost all the way done morphing, and--

<Jen, run!> Nate yells. You look around, and see the dog racing towards you. Shit! He must have jumped the fence. Before you can process what to do, you’re fully into the morph and the squirrel’s instincts have taken over. You shoot towards the house, and start racing up the side of it. Your paws dig into any little crevice on the side of the wall, and you go flying up and shooting through the window. A few seconds later you hit the dog bang into the side of the house, barking and scratching the wall as he tries to jump up to the window.

You’re out of trouble, and so it's time to focus on more important things. Food. There’s a pantry nearby, and you can smell so much. Cereal, jam, maple syrup… everything you could ever want. It’s getting colder outside, and you need to bulk up for winter.

<Are you okay?> Nate calls from outside.

<Yeah, I’m fine,> you quickly answer, more focused on your upcoming feast.

<Looks like the dog isn’t going away, you’ll have to find another way out. Do you see anything?> Nate asks.

You ignore him. You’re trying to find a way into the pantry. It doesn’t look like you can fit underneath the door, but it is a little ajar. You scurry over to the other end of it and try to push your way through the crack.

<Jen, are you there? Can you hear me?> Nate asks again. This is getting a bit annoying. You have something more important than whatever he wants to focus on. For whatever reason though, you feel like you should listen. Like something is somehow more important than gorging yourself.

I need 3 rolls of 1d20 to overcome the squirrel’s instincts

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>4635477

Rolled 1 (1d20)

poo

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4635477

>>4635480
>>4635483
>>4635513
Noted. I'll update tomorrow because it's a bit late where I am

>>4635477
You snap out of it. You’re here for a mission, not to raid a pantry… no matter how appealing it might seem.

<I’m here,> you respond. You’re not going to tell him about your temporary lapse in control. He doesn’t need to know.

<Good. What do you see?>

You look around the kitchen. It seems fairly normal, but sight isn’t a squirrel’s only useful sense. You take a deep breath in through your nose. It’s incredible; beyond the smells of the pantry, and the trash can, you can make out so much more. Two adults, a man and a woman, and a young boy live here along with the dog you escaped from early. They left some food in the sink, but there’s something different you’re picking up as well. Something strange. A weird, metallic smell.

<Not much,> you answer Nate. <I’m smelling something weird. I’m gonna go check it out.>

<Okay, stay safe,> he replies.

You follow your nose. The smell leads you further into the house, to the top of a set of stairs. It’s coming from the basement.

<It’s coming from the basement. I’m heading downstairs,> you inform Nate, and start going down the stairs. He doesn’t reply. The smell gets stronger and stronger as you go down, until you get to the bottom of the stairs. A TV and some couches are set up here, but everything is covered in dust. Nobody has used these in a long, long time. You follow the scent further and it leads you to a wooden door. You didn’t notice it at first, but there are footprints in the dust leading to and from the door. The smell is stronger here, but it doesn’t look like there’s any way through as a squirrel. You could try morphing human and opening the door, or you could see if there’s any holes in the walls to squeeze through.

<Hey, ----- coming ------- soon ------- Jen,> Nate interrupts. It seems like you can’t hear him as well in the basement. He must be out of range, or something is interfering. You’ll go upstairs to check things out and get back into contact with him. Going up stairs is hard as a squirrel, but you manage to make it about half way before you hear a noise. You freeze, and listen carefully. There it is again. It sounds like someone is opening the front door. Their footsteps grow louder briefly before fading away. They must have gone upstairs. If you strain your ears, you can faintly hear them walking around

You could still go up to contact Nate, but you risk running into whoever just came home. You could still try to get into the room with the strange smell, in either squirrel or human morph, but that risks you getting trapped down here if the person you heard comes back downstairs. You’re not going to leave without finding any information on the Yeerks, and you can’t leave anyway without having someone outside lure the dog out of the way.

>Head upstairs and find out from Nate what’s happening
>Morph human and open the door
>Morph squirrel and try to go through the walls
>Write-in

>>4636566
>>Morph squirrel and try to go through the walls

>>4636566
>>Morph squirrel and try to go through the walls

>>4636566
>>Morph squirrel and try to go through the wall
If we get caught as a human it's over

>>4636566
>Morph squirrel and try to go through the walls