Year of the Nothlit
by Sera
Author's Note:
This is the sequel to my first Animorphs fic, Can't Turn Back. (Although it's not so much about the Animorphs as about Ax, who is by far my favourite character. If you don't like him, then this story is not for you.) The background story is the same up until book 45. This story starts where the original left off, with Ax trapped in human morph and living with Erek the Chee. I recommend you read "Can't Turn Back" first, as things will make more sense that way. If not, hey, *shrugs* have it your way. Onwards!
Chapter One ~ Beginnings Of A New Life
The alarm clock rang shrilly at precisely eight o' clock. It was a Tuesday morning. The sun was shining, illuminating and warming the manicured lawns of this typical suburban district. The birds congregated on the telephone cables chirruped cheerfully. However, inside one particular house (which happens to be one of the focal points for this story) all was not tranquil.
In the bed, a teenaged boy turned over and buried his face in the pillow. His black hair was tousled untidily around his head, and his long legs curled up as he pulled the blankets tighter around him. On the floor beside the nighttable, another boy pulled himself into a sitting position. The boy in the bed raised his head enough to growl at his companion before flopping back down onto the mattress.
"Erek, turn the damn thing off."
The boy called Erek snorted condescendingly. "Ax, if you're going to live here, you've got to do things yourself. I'm not going to wait on you hand and foot."
Ax turned over and propped himself onto an elbow, slightly more awake now. "Yeah? Like you haven't done that sort of thing before. I recall you telling me that you were one of Cleopatra's personal slaves!"
Erek smiled. "That was only for a short time. I displeased her, so she had me consigned to building the pyramids. So, are you turning it off?"
Throughout their dialogue, the clock had been insistently drilling its monotonous tone into their heads. Ax reached out and lifted it off the table. He pressed a button on the back. The ringing grew louder. Ax pressed it again, only to be rewarded by the whine becoming ear-splitting. Frustrated, he hurled the object across the room. It struck the door and rebounded, its back cover flipping open and a couple of springs falling out. The shrieking alarm died abruptly.
"Thank you." muttered Erek, shaking his head. "But couldn't you have found a gentler way of doing that? My dad will go ballistic if it's broken. That must be the fourth one I've had."
Ax swung his legs over the edge of the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'll fix it later, promise."
As he got dressed, he pondered his new form. How long had it been? He'd been trapped at 3.30 the previous day. Less than 17 hours. (Is that right? I'm the person who once told my maths teacher that 2 plus 2 equaled 2. ;] --Sera) Already he was forgetting what it was to be Andalite. He'd broken the fascination with mouth-sounds since the intensive training in preparation for the day at school. The food addiction was harder, but he was resigned to the fact that if he was going to be eating human food for the rest of his life (what with the war against the Yeerks, his chances of reaching twenty looked bleak) he'd probably get used to taste pretty quickly.
When he returned to the bedroom, Erek was making his bed. Without looking up or pausing in the methodical folding and tucking, he warned, "First day only. Besides, we're late. This afternoon we're going shopping for some of your stuff, okay?" Ax nodded. Erek continued, "You know the way to your school, right? You get back before me, so I'll give you a key, you can let yourself in, and… what's this?"
"Huh?"
Erek offered it to him. It seemed he'd found it when moving the pillows. It was, without a doubt, the necklace from the dream. The tooth had mercifully stopped glowing, but Ax still looked at the milky surface and suppressed a shudder.
"That's mine," he said. Erek looked confused. "Can I have it back?"
Erek seemed reluctant to let it go, but handed it to Ax. "Are you going to wear it?"
Ax hadn't thought of that. It gave him the creeps, somehow, and his instinct had been to bury it at the bottom of a drawer. But it was from the Ellimist… so it couldn't be evil. Could it?
"Well, why not?" he said out loud. Slipped it over his head and tucked the pendant under his shirt, out of sight. He was wearing one of Erek's shirts with jeans and the khaki jacket which he was becoming rather attached to, and his hair was gelled into spikes again. He wondered if he was going to have to wear his hair in spikes for the rest of his life (again, not that that was likely to be a very long time) and was surprised to discover that he didn't care one way or the other.
Emerging from the chamber and walking into the kitchen, Ax and Erek were greeted by Mr. King. "Good morning Erek, Darren."
"Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Mr. King."
The android 'father' regarded Ax and Erek with serious brown eyes. "You know the plan, right? School as normal. The story is that Darren is staying with us, his father is a friend of mine. Got it?"
They nodded mutely. After breakfast, the three of them left the house. Mr King got into his car, reversed out and was gone in a cloud of exhaust. Erek regarded Ax. "See you later, man."
"Bye."
They walked in step to the end of the driveway, where Erek turned left and Ax turned right. Ax put his hands in his pockets, realising that he had a whole twenty nine minutes until school started (strangely enough, he had retained all his time keeping skills and previous knowledge) and knowing that, just because he was a nothlit, didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself.
by Sera
Author's Note:
This is the sequel to my first Animorphs fic, Can't Turn Back. (Although it's not so much about the Animorphs as about Ax, who is by far my favourite character. If you don't like him, then this story is not for you.) The background story is the same up until book 45. This story starts where the original left off, with Ax trapped in human morph and living with Erek the Chee. I recommend you read "Can't Turn Back" first, as things will make more sense that way. If not, hey, *shrugs* have it your way. Onwards!
Chapter One ~ Beginnings Of A New Life
The alarm clock rang shrilly at precisely eight o' clock. It was a Tuesday morning. The sun was shining, illuminating and warming the manicured lawns of this typical suburban district. The birds congregated on the telephone cables chirruped cheerfully. However, inside one particular house (which happens to be one of the focal points for this story) all was not tranquil.
In the bed, a teenaged boy turned over and buried his face in the pillow. His black hair was tousled untidily around his head, and his long legs curled up as he pulled the blankets tighter around him. On the floor beside the nighttable, another boy pulled himself into a sitting position. The boy in the bed raised his head enough to growl at his companion before flopping back down onto the mattress.
"Erek, turn the damn thing off."
The boy called Erek snorted condescendingly. "Ax, if you're going to live here, you've got to do things yourself. I'm not going to wait on you hand and foot."
Ax turned over and propped himself onto an elbow, slightly more awake now. "Yeah? Like you haven't done that sort of thing before. I recall you telling me that you were one of Cleopatra's personal slaves!"
Erek smiled. "That was only for a short time. I displeased her, so she had me consigned to building the pyramids. So, are you turning it off?"
Throughout their dialogue, the clock had been insistently drilling its monotonous tone into their heads. Ax reached out and lifted it off the table. He pressed a button on the back. The ringing grew louder. Ax pressed it again, only to be rewarded by the whine becoming ear-splitting. Frustrated, he hurled the object across the room. It struck the door and rebounded, its back cover flipping open and a couple of springs falling out. The shrieking alarm died abruptly.
"Thank you." muttered Erek, shaking his head. "But couldn't you have found a gentler way of doing that? My dad will go ballistic if it's broken. That must be the fourth one I've had."
Ax swung his legs over the edge of the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'll fix it later, promise."
As he got dressed, he pondered his new form. How long had it been? He'd been trapped at 3.30 the previous day. Less than 17 hours. (Is that right? I'm the person who once told my maths teacher that 2 plus 2 equaled 2. ;] --Sera) Already he was forgetting what it was to be Andalite. He'd broken the fascination with mouth-sounds since the intensive training in preparation for the day at school. The food addiction was harder, but he was resigned to the fact that if he was going to be eating human food for the rest of his life (what with the war against the Yeerks, his chances of reaching twenty looked bleak) he'd probably get used to taste pretty quickly.
When he returned to the bedroom, Erek was making his bed. Without looking up or pausing in the methodical folding and tucking, he warned, "First day only. Besides, we're late. This afternoon we're going shopping for some of your stuff, okay?" Ax nodded. Erek continued, "You know the way to your school, right? You get back before me, so I'll give you a key, you can let yourself in, and… what's this?"
"Huh?"
Erek offered it to him. It seemed he'd found it when moving the pillows. It was, without a doubt, the necklace from the dream. The tooth had mercifully stopped glowing, but Ax still looked at the milky surface and suppressed a shudder.
"That's mine," he said. Erek looked confused. "Can I have it back?"
Erek seemed reluctant to let it go, but handed it to Ax. "Are you going to wear it?"
Ax hadn't thought of that. It gave him the creeps, somehow, and his instinct had been to bury it at the bottom of a drawer. But it was from the Ellimist… so it couldn't be evil. Could it?
"Well, why not?" he said out loud. Slipped it over his head and tucked the pendant under his shirt, out of sight. He was wearing one of Erek's shirts with jeans and the khaki jacket which he was becoming rather attached to, and his hair was gelled into spikes again. He wondered if he was going to have to wear his hair in spikes for the rest of his life (again, not that that was likely to be a very long time) and was surprised to discover that he didn't care one way or the other.
Emerging from the chamber and walking into the kitchen, Ax and Erek were greeted by Mr. King. "Good morning Erek, Darren."
"Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Mr. King."
The android 'father' regarded Ax and Erek with serious brown eyes. "You know the plan, right? School as normal. The story is that Darren is staying with us, his father is a friend of mine. Got it?"
They nodded mutely. After breakfast, the three of them left the house. Mr King got into his car, reversed out and was gone in a cloud of exhaust. Erek regarded Ax. "See you later, man."
"Bye."
They walked in step to the end of the driveway, where Erek turned left and Ax turned right. Ax put his hands in his pockets, realising that he had a whole twenty nine minutes until school started (strangely enough, he had retained all his time keeping skills and previous knowledge) and knowing that, just because he was a nothlit, didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself.