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David (Animorphs)
Encyclopedia
David is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs
, written by K. A. Applegate
. His last name is never mentioned. David was introduced in the "David Trilogy", which included the regular-series books #20 The Discovery
, #21 The Threat
, and #22 The Solution
. He appears twice more in the series, in book #48, The Return
, and as a hallucination of Jake's
in book #41, The Familiar
. David never narrates an Animorphs book, in whole or in part.
The Animorphs first encountered David when Marco
met him at their school, carrying the morphing cube
. Revealing himself to be a new student, he explained to Marco that he had stumbled upon the cube—which had apparently survived the destruction of Prince Elfangor's fighter at the construction site—and thought he could sell it for some quick cash on the internet. The Animorphs attempted to retrieve the device from David's home, sneaking in as birds of prey, but failed; the next day, David was contacted by a potential buyer, who turned out to be Visser Three
himself. David made the mistake of e-mailing the Visser his home address, so that they could meet to complete the sale; this led to an enormous battle which erupted inside David's home, as the Animorphs fought to keep the morphing cube out of Visser Three's hands, while protecting David and his father from the Visser's cache of Hork-Bajir
warriors. The Animorphs managed to escape from the destroyed house with David, dooming his father and mother to their fates as Controllers. David could never go home or be seen anywhere else; he had the entire Yeerk army looking for him and the Escafil device.
After much debate, not knowing what would become of David, the Animorphs decided to make him the new seventh Animorph. Their leader, Jake
, couldn't see himself abandoning David to certain infestation; Cassie
was excited at the idea of expanding their forces; Tobias
sympathized with David's lack of anybody to turn to, having been in a similar situation himself; and Rachel
simply went along with the decision without much consideration. Marco
and Ax
however, both believed the plan to be a bad idea; Marco did not like or trust David, while Ax did not agree that the benefits outweighed the risks: they did not know David, and were at the time attempting to foil a Yeerk
plot to enslave several major world leaders at a local peace summit.
David was drawn to Cassie's trusting nature, as she showed caring and understanding towards him, but disrespected the unwritten authority that Jake had over the Animorphs. He formed a grudge against Marco and Rachel, feeling that they treated him as the 'new kid', always looking down at him and believing themselves superior. This created tension among the Animorphs and towards David in the middle of one of their most crucial missions.
Unable to handle the loss of his family, and the grave nature of his situation, David revealed a sociopathic side, almost betraying the Animorphs at first, finally descending into systematic murder of each of them. Attempting to pick them off one-by-one, he first escaped from the home Cassie had made for him in her barn in his golden eagle
morph, and killed a red-tailed hawk
he believed to be Tobias
, who had been sent by Jake to follow David when they had discovered him missing. Jake and Ax followed him to his destroyed house, where they were attacked by a squad of Hork-Bajir, and narrowly managed to escape. Jake followed David to the local mall, where he challenged Jake as a lion, wondering whether it could beat Jake's tiger. After a short brawl on the roof, they plummeted through a glass skylight down onto the mall floor, but not before David gravely injured Jake with a bite to the neck. Ax, having been sent by Jake to find Rachel, arrived with her to find Jake bleeding to death on the floor, while David taunted Rachel, explaining his reasoning that his actions did not constitute murder, as he had only killed animals, and not humans (see speciesism
), filling her with rage towards Tobias' killer. David, and Rachel and the other Animorphs did not yet know that Tobias was in fact not dead, but still looking for David in the night, unaware of the events that were taking place.
Rachel and David developed a personal vendetta against each other, with Rachel swearing that she would kill him and his family if he exposed the identity of the Animorphs, an action which had a profound effect on Rachel, who found herself wondering if she herself had developed the same mentality as David in the year since they had been given the morphing power. At several points throughout the trilogy, the realization of the magnitude of her changes drove her to tears and emotion, something unlike her.
Rachel's threat towards David arose from his belief that he could offer either the Animorphs or the morphing cube to Visser Three in exchange for his parents' return, and the promise of the safety of their family, despite the Animorphs' assertion that the Visser would never lose out in a bargain, and would not honor any deal made. At the core, it is possible that David simply wanted to return to the normal life he had been so abruptly torn from, going so far as to assume the life of Jake and Rachel's cousin Saddler, fatally wounded when a car hit his bicycle, and with only days to live.
Despite momentarily considering letting David live out Saddler's life in another city, where he could cause no trouble, the Animorphs realized that David could not be trusted. With the information he possessed, he could easily ruin any chances of human victory against the Yeerks in the name of his own personal self-gain, as he wished to form a gang of morph-capable thieves in the hopes of becoming rich, a tendency he displayed from the moment he began to morph. The Animorphs could not bring themselves to kill him in cold blood, instead deciding that he would live the rest of his life trapped in a White rat morph, a nothlit
like Tobias. Unlike Tobias though, there would be no positive sides to his condition. David was tricked by the Animorphs, believing that they were taking him to the place they had hidden the pieces of the Escafil device, at the abandoned construction site. Despite his numerous precautions to make sure he could not be fooled, Tobias' true fate, unknown to him, was what doomed him—the sixth, apparently dead Animorph arrived after David had trapped the other four in cockroach morph inside a Pepsi
bottle, and had followed Rachel into an old sewage network where the morphing cube's pieces were allegedly hidden. Tobias released the other Animorphs, allowing them to execute their plan, trapping David within a metal cage they had constructed, which Rachel led him into. They held him for two hours, trapping him in morph, and then carried him to a forsaken, barren island just off the coast, leaving him where he could cause no one any trouble. Surprisingly, the person who devised the plan was the only Animorph he had trusted—Cassie.
David reappeared in The Return
, with the help of Crayak
, a being who, like the Ellimist
, had the power to alter space and time, giving David an opportunity at revenge against Rachel. Failing to accomplish this, his fate fell once more into Rachel's hands. She could either take him back to the small island, or kill him, as he pleaded her to do. Rachel's decision, and David's ultimate fate, were never revealed in the series.
because it was the largest and most powerful bird that Cassie had available at the clinic, despite the other Animorphs advising him that a smaller bird would be more agile and useful in flight. His main battle morph was a lion
, which surpassed Jake's tiger
in terms of combat ability and had the additional advantage that the lion's mane protected him from attempts to attack his vulnerable neck.
When David turned against the Animorphs, his morphs came in handy. David first killed a red-tailed hawk
(mistaking it for Tobias, when it was really an innocent red-tail) while in golden eagle morph. His lion morph gave him an advantage against Jake's tiger when they battled in the mall. David also morphed an orca
to battle the Animorphs; the Animorphs morphed into dolphins to both invade and retreat, and the orca gave David a massive advantage, although Cassie was able to use her old humpback whale
morph to drive him off. A rattlesnake
gave him the perfect morph to not only spy on the Animorphs, but threaten them while they were in smaller, more vulnerable morphs.
David also morphed other people without their permission, in violation of the Animorphs code of conduct, to ask for permission first. He acquired and morphed Marco
and stunned Ax with a baseball bat (while Ax was in harrier morph). He later assumed the identity of Saddler, Jake
and Rachel
's cousin, and the Animorphs believed that he morphed Saddler because he no longer had a family.
In addition to all of the above morphs, David had the usual transportation and infiltration morphs that the other Animorphs had, such as a cockroach
, a seagull, and a flea
. He also acquired a random male Human-Controller
for one infiltration mission. David was eventually trapped as a rat
nothlit
.
and a mother. His father rejects the alarm company's men coming to his house when its alarm is set off (by Marco), opting to handle it himself with his gun. His job position later allows the Yeerks to easily trace a call made by David (with Marco watching) at a 7-Eleven
pay phone
. This near confrontation is what convinces David that his parents have been made into Controllers. His parents are not named, and it is never revealed what happens to them after the series, or whether they try to find out what happened to David.
Animorphs
Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...
, written by K. A. Applegate
K. A. Applegate
Katherine Alice Applegate is an American author, best-known as the author of the Animorphs, Remnants, Everworld and other book series, although some of the books in these series are ghostwritten by other authors. Applegate's most popular books are science fiction, fantasy, and adventure novels...
. His last name is never mentioned. David was introduced in the "David Trilogy", which included the regular-series books #20 The Discovery
The Discovery (Animorphs)
The Discovery is the twentieth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco. It is the first book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:...
, #21 The Threat
The Threat (Animorphs)
The Threat is the twenty-first book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Jake. It is the second book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:...
, and #22 The Solution
The Solution (Animorphs)
The Solution is the twenty-second book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel. It is the last book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:...
. He appears twice more in the series, in book #48, The Return
The Return (Animorphs)
The Return is the forty-eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Kimberly Morris. Due to an editorial oversight, Lisa Harkrader was mistakenly credited with writing the book. It is narrated by Rachel...
, and as a hallucination of Jake's
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
in book #41, The Familiar
The Familiar (Animorphs)
The Familiar is the forty-first book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux. It is narrated by Jake.The cover quote is "They're out of sight...
. David never narrates an Animorphs book, in whole or in part.
Biography
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
met him at their school, carrying the morphing cube
Escafil device
The Escafil device is a fictional technological apparatus from K.A. Applegate's popular children's book series Animorphs. It is the proper name for the "Andalite morphing cube", a device that when operated gives the user the ability to 'acquire' a copy of DNA patterns from any animal that physical...
. Revealing himself to be a new student, he explained to Marco that he had stumbled upon the cube—which had apparently survived the destruction of Prince Elfangor's fighter at the construction site—and thought he could sell it for some quick cash on the internet. The Animorphs attempted to retrieve the device from David's home, sneaking in as birds of prey, but failed; the next day, David was contacted by a potential buyer, who turned out to be Visser Three
Visser Three
Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...
himself. David made the mistake of e-mailing the Visser his home address, so that they could meet to complete the sale; this led to an enormous battle which erupted inside David's home, as the Animorphs fought to keep the morphing cube out of Visser Three's hands, while protecting David and his father from the Visser's cache of Hork-Bajir
Hork-Bajir
The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
warriors. The Animorphs managed to escape from the destroyed house with David, dooming his father and mother to their fates as Controllers. David could never go home or be seen anywhere else; he had the entire Yeerk army looking for him and the Escafil device.
After much debate, not knowing what would become of David, the Animorphs decided to make him the new seventh Animorph. Their leader, Jake
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
, couldn't see himself abandoning David to certain infestation; Cassie
Cassie (Animorphs)
Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...
was excited at the idea of expanding their forces; Tobias
Tobias (Animorphs)
Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...
sympathized with David's lack of anybody to turn to, having been in a similar situation himself; and Rachel
Rachel (Animorphs)
Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...
simply went along with the decision without much consideration. Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
and Ax
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...
however, both believed the plan to be a bad idea; Marco did not like or trust David, while Ax did not agree that the benefits outweighed the risks: they did not know David, and were at the time attempting to foil a Yeerk
Yeerk
Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...
plot to enslave several major world leaders at a local peace summit.
David was drawn to Cassie's trusting nature, as she showed caring and understanding towards him, but disrespected the unwritten authority that Jake had over the Animorphs. He formed a grudge against Marco and Rachel, feeling that they treated him as the 'new kid', always looking down at him and believing themselves superior. This created tension among the Animorphs and towards David in the middle of one of their most crucial missions.
Unable to handle the loss of his family, and the grave nature of his situation, David revealed a sociopathic side, almost betraying the Animorphs at first, finally descending into systematic murder of each of them. Attempting to pick them off one-by-one, he first escaped from the home Cassie had made for him in her barn in his golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
morph, and killed a red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
he believed to be Tobias
Tobias (Animorphs)
Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...
, who had been sent by Jake to follow David when they had discovered him missing. Jake and Ax followed him to his destroyed house, where they were attacked by a squad of Hork-Bajir, and narrowly managed to escape. Jake followed David to the local mall, where he challenged Jake as a lion, wondering whether it could beat Jake's tiger. After a short brawl on the roof, they plummeted through a glass skylight down onto the mall floor, but not before David gravely injured Jake with a bite to the neck. Ax, having been sent by Jake to find Rachel, arrived with her to find Jake bleeding to death on the floor, while David taunted Rachel, explaining his reasoning that his actions did not constitute murder, as he had only killed animals, and not humans (see speciesism
Speciesism
Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. The term was created by British psychologist Richard D...
), filling her with rage towards Tobias' killer. David, and Rachel and the other Animorphs did not yet know that Tobias was in fact not dead, but still looking for David in the night, unaware of the events that were taking place.
Rachel and David developed a personal vendetta against each other, with Rachel swearing that she would kill him and his family if he exposed the identity of the Animorphs, an action which had a profound effect on Rachel, who found herself wondering if she herself had developed the same mentality as David in the year since they had been given the morphing power. At several points throughout the trilogy, the realization of the magnitude of her changes drove her to tears and emotion, something unlike her.
Rachel's threat towards David arose from his belief that he could offer either the Animorphs or the morphing cube to Visser Three in exchange for his parents' return, and the promise of the safety of their family, despite the Animorphs' assertion that the Visser would never lose out in a bargain, and would not honor any deal made. At the core, it is possible that David simply wanted to return to the normal life he had been so abruptly torn from, going so far as to assume the life of Jake and Rachel's cousin Saddler, fatally wounded when a car hit his bicycle, and with only days to live.
Despite momentarily considering letting David live out Saddler's life in another city, where he could cause no trouble, the Animorphs realized that David could not be trusted. With the information he possessed, he could easily ruin any chances of human victory against the Yeerks in the name of his own personal self-gain, as he wished to form a gang of morph-capable thieves in the hopes of becoming rich, a tendency he displayed from the moment he began to morph. The Animorphs could not bring themselves to kill him in cold blood, instead deciding that he would live the rest of his life trapped in a White rat morph, a nothlit
Nothlit
In the fictional Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate, a nothlit is a being trapped in a morph. If one stays in a morph for over two Earth hours, that form becomes permanent. They are unable to use the Escafil device to regain their morphing power...
like Tobias. Unlike Tobias though, there would be no positive sides to his condition. David was tricked by the Animorphs, believing that they were taking him to the place they had hidden the pieces of the Escafil device, at the abandoned construction site. Despite his numerous precautions to make sure he could not be fooled, Tobias' true fate, unknown to him, was what doomed him—the sixth, apparently dead Animorph arrived after David had trapped the other four in cockroach morph inside a Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
bottle, and had followed Rachel into an old sewage network where the morphing cube's pieces were allegedly hidden. Tobias released the other Animorphs, allowing them to execute their plan, trapping David within a metal cage they had constructed, which Rachel led him into. They held him for two hours, trapping him in morph, and then carried him to a forsaken, barren island just off the coast, leaving him where he could cause no one any trouble. Surprisingly, the person who devised the plan was the only Animorph he had trusted—Cassie.
David reappeared in The Return
The Return (Animorphs)
The Return is the forty-eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Kimberly Morris. Due to an editorial oversight, Lisa Harkrader was mistakenly credited with writing the book. It is narrated by Rachel...
, with the help of Crayak
Crayak
Crayak is a fictional character and villain from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate.-Description:Crayak is a nearly omnipotent entity appearing in the form of an armless cyborg with massive limbs and nothing but what would resemble as a blood-red eye for a head...
, a being who, like the Ellimist
Ellimist
The Ellimist is a fictional character from the science fiction novel series Animorphs.The Ellimist is an almost god-like being, displaying many reality warping powers, though it is stated several times that while he appears to be, he is not omnipotent. By standard values, the Ellimist is a force of...
, had the power to alter space and time, giving David an opportunity at revenge against Rachel. Failing to accomplish this, his fate fell once more into Rachel's hands. She could either take him back to the small island, or kill him, as he pleaded her to do. Rachel's decision, and David's ultimate fate, were never revealed in the series.
David's morphs
| Morph Acquired | Book |
|---|---|
| Golden Eagle Golden Eagle The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas... |
The Discovery The Discovery (Animorphs) The Discovery is the twentieth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco. It is the first book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:... |
| Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... |
|
| Lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger... |
|
| Seagull | The Threat The Threat (Animorphs) The Threat is the twenty-first book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Jake. It is the second book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:... |
| Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood... |
|
| Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... (Random Human-Controller) |
|
| Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... (Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:... ) |
The Solution The Solution (Animorphs) The Solution is the twenty-second book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel. It is the last book in the David trilogy.-Plot summary:... |
| Orca Orca The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas... |
|
| Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... (Saddler) |
|
| Rattlesnake Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central... |
|
| White Rat Rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus... |
Style
David tended to favor a more aggressive style of fighting. For example, when he was choosing a bird morph, he chose a golden eagleGolden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
because it was the largest and most powerful bird that Cassie had available at the clinic, despite the other Animorphs advising him that a smaller bird would be more agile and useful in flight. His main battle morph was a lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, which surpassed Jake's tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
in terms of combat ability and had the additional advantage that the lion's mane protected him from attempts to attack his vulnerable neck.
When David turned against the Animorphs, his morphs came in handy. David first killed a red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
(mistaking it for Tobias, when it was really an innocent red-tail) while in golden eagle morph. His lion morph gave him an advantage against Jake's tiger when they battled in the mall. David also morphed an orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
to battle the Animorphs; the Animorphs morphed into dolphins to both invade and retreat, and the orca gave David a massive advantage, although Cassie was able to use her old humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
morph to drive him off. A rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
gave him the perfect morph to not only spy on the Animorphs, but threaten them while they were in smaller, more vulnerable morphs.
David also morphed other people without their permission, in violation of the Animorphs code of conduct, to ask for permission first. He acquired and morphed Marco
Marco (Animorphs)
Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...
and stunned Ax with a baseball bat (while Ax was in harrier morph). He later assumed the identity of Saddler, Jake
Jake Berenson
Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...
and Rachel
Rachel (Animorphs)
Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...
's cousin, and the Animorphs believed that he morphed Saddler because he no longer had a family.
In addition to all of the above morphs, David had the usual transportation and infiltration morphs that the other Animorphs had, such as a cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
, a seagull, and a flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
. He also acquired a random male Human-Controller
Human Controller
In the Animorphs series of children's books, a human controller is a human who has a Yeerk residing in their brain and controlling them...
for one infiltration mission. David was eventually trapped as a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
nothlit
Nothlit
In the fictional Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate, a nothlit is a being trapped in a morph. If one stays in a morph for over two Earth hours, that form becomes permanent. They are unable to use the Escafil device to regain their morphing power...
.
Family
David's only known family is a father who works for the National Security AgencyNational Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
and a mother. His father rejects the alarm company's men coming to his house when its alarm is set off (by Marco), opting to handle it himself with his gun. His job position later allows the Yeerks to easily trace a call made by David (with Marco watching) at a 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
pay phone
Payphone
A payphone or pay phone is a public telephone, often located in a phone booth or a privacy hood, with pre-payment by inserting money , a credit or debit card, or a telephone card....
. This near confrontation is what convinces David that his parents have been made into Controllers. His parents are not named, and it is never revealed what happens to them after the series, or whether they try to find out what happened to David.