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Auf Leben und Tod / A matter of life and death
Later we met Rachel and Cassie again. Rachel had stroked an elephant. We agreed to meet at 9 in the evening at the schoolyard. Everyone arrived in time, except for Tobias and Cassie. Rachel: "There you are finally, Jake. We have been waiting.“ Jake: "Hi Rachel. Where are Cassie and Tobias?“ Rachel: "I don't know where Cassie is. When I called her, her mother told me, she had gone outside to feed a few animals and had not yet returned.“ Marco: "Yes, and Tobias is flying above us as a hawk.“ Jake: "Already? He has to change back after at most two hours, and we don't know how long this will take.“ Tobias: <Will we do it, or not?> Jake: "We can't wait for Cassie forever. Something probably came up, so she can't come. OK, we start this mission without her, Tobias.“ Marco: "The school door is locked, of course. But a window in the laboratory doesn't shut right. We go in there.“ Jake: "Shhh. I'll look to see if the coast is clear in the hallway. There are three persons. They are entering the broom closet.“ Rachel: "Controllers. Guess, it's meal time for the Yeerks.“ Marco: "How do we get in there, Jake?“ Rachel: "Do you think the Controllers know each other by sight? Maybe we are Controllers to them, too.“ Marco: "We are supposed to just walk in there, as if we belonged? I've got an better idea. We kill ourselves now, then we are over with it.“ Jake: "Maybe Rachel is right, Marco.“ Marco: "A very big, huge Maybe. And what about Tom? He would recognize us immediately.“ Jake: "Maybe Tom's already down there. Wait, someone's coming!“ Cassie: "No! Let go of me, you ruffian! You are hurting me!“ Policeman: "Be quiet! You'll come with me now! Go! Move! Come on now!“ Rachel: "That's the Controller policeman. He's dragging Cassie along with him.“ Jake: "The policeman was at the Sharing meeting. He saw Cassie sneaking up to the reunion at the beach.“ Rachel: "Oh sh--" Jake: "OK, we do as Rachel suggested. Let's hope, that there are so many Controllers down there that they don't know each other. Tobias, you stay on my shoulder and stay quiet.“ Through the secret door in the broom closet we went down to the cave. Deeper and deeper the stairs went, as if they were never to end. We reached a huge cavern, in which the aliens had built a huge city underground. It was crawling with humans, Taxxons, Hork-Bajir and other aliens. Inconspicious, we walked to a about 30 meters wide pool in the cave's center. Marco: "That's gigantic! The cave isn't only under the school, they tunneled half the town!“ Jake: "Yes, Marco. We don't have a little bunch if alien villains here. To build this underground city, they must have had unimaginable powers.“ Marco: "What's that strange lake? The water looks like molten lead.“ Jake: "That has to be the Yeerk pool.“ Marco: "What are these small creatures which flit around in the pool?“ Rachel: "Probably the Yeerks in their natural slug form. They'll probably reinfest the humans and Hork-Bajir who are locked up in the cages back there later.“ Jake: "Attention! Ahead is the Controller with Cassie.“ Tobias: <Cassie isn't hurt, only scared. But they are going to make her a Controller soon. They're dragging her to the base where a Yeerk is put in her.> Marco: "Over there Tom is locked up in a cage. And is insulting a Hork-Bajir guard.“ Policeman: "Alarm! Intruders! Catch these kids!“ Jake: "Darn! The policeman recognized us!“ Rachel: "We are trapped!“ “ Jake: "Come on, guys! Morph!“ Marco: "Yes!“ Rachel: "Good idea, Jake!“ Rachel: <I did it! I turned into a four meters high and four tons big elephant!> Jake: "Go, Marco! Morph the gorilla!“ Marco: "Yes and you the tiger!“ Rachel: <Hurry, there are more and more Hork-Bajirs coming!> Jake: <Ha! I'm not afraid of anything anymore! I'm a tiger!> Marco: <And I'm a gorilla! Man, I'm so strong, I could burst!> Jake: <Go! Let's chase the aliens back to where they came from! Look, Marco! Rachel is plowing through the buildings like Godzilla heading for Tokyo!> Marco: <I'm ripping the cage doors open and freeing the prisoners!> Rachel: <Tom's free, Jake. We have to help Cassie. Two Hork-Bajirs want to throw her in the Yeerkpool!> Jake: <No!> Tobias: <Don't worry, Jake. I'll take care of it. Let's look if the Hork-Bajir want to hold Cassie more than they want to protect their faces from my talons.> Jake: <Good job, Tobias! Cassie broke free! She's hiding behind a ledge. She's morphing!> Cassie: <Yeah! Now I'm as fast as the wind! Eat it!> Marco: <Gradually it's getting too dangerous for me, Jake. They're shooting at us with their ray guns!> Jake: <I have Tom! Run to the stairs! Oh no! Look who's waiting for us ahead!> Rachel: <Visser Three. He's the only one of our enemies who can morph, too!> Marco: <Who knows what monsters he met during his journeys through the universe in which he turn now!> Visser 3: <You Andalites landed with your Prince on earth and were able to hide from me? My respect for getting this far. But it won't help you at all. Because now, my brave andalite warriors, it's time. Time to die. This form I acquired on the fourth moon of the second planet of a dying sun. Do you like it?> Rachel: <ahh!> Jake: <Out! Over! We don't stand a chance against this tree high monster with its eight heads.> Rachel: <The monster also has eight powerful legs and eight spindly arms which end in three-fingered claws!> Jake: <Run up the stairs!> Marco: <Take cover! Visser Three is spitting fireballs out of seven of his eight heads!> Jake: <Ouch! My shoulder was seared!> Rachel: <I chased away the Taxxons and Hork-Bajirs. The way to the stairs is free for you.> Jake: <Demorph, Rachel!> Rachel: "Alright! Come up the stairs!“ Jake: <Run, Rachel! We are right behind you!> Rachel: "Visser Three as well! His fireballs make the stairs ahead of us impassable!“ Marco: <We are trapped!> Tom: "No! You won't win this time, Visser Three!“ Jake: <Tom! Don't! Don't attack him on your own!> Rachel: "Too late! Visser Three beats Tom, so he drops down the stairs!: Jake: <Tom!> Tobias: <Insanity! Jake attacks Visser Three. He digs his tiger teeth into his neck and doesn't let go anymore!>. Visser 3: <Let go, you Andalite!> Marco: <Be careful, Jake! The other heads are spitting fireballs at you!> Jake: <Ahhh! My side burns! I can't hang on anymore!> Tobias: <Jake? Are you injured?> Jake: <I have been better.> Marco: <Tom and you distracted Visser Three long enough, Jake. The fire on the stairs went out. Our way outside is clear. Come on, let's demorph.> Jake: <OK.> Marco: <Go!> Jake: <I'm coming!> Rachel: "We'll make it! Visser Three can't follow you in his morph, he's far too big for the stairs!“ |
A big credit and thanks to Eva Uihlein for providing all the translations! |