Story [Animorphs] Morphers - AU

If this isn't allowed PM me and I will take this down ASAP. I did look on what wasn't allowed and didn't see this on the list.

This is my first attempt to write in the Animorphs Verse so be thoughtful because once upon a time it was your first time as well.

This is going to be massively AU. One of the differences is that there isn't a limit to how long you can be in morph, but at the two hour mark you start feeling the urge to demorph and the longer you stay in morph after two hours the stronger the urge becomes. However, now and then there is a person that doesn't feel the urge to demorph.

Another difference is that Mr. Ellimist didn't take Elfangor back to his people. So Tobias is raised by both of his parents.

By now you all must be like who's going to give the Animorphs the ability to morph? My answer: wait and see.

Oh and another thing: I no longer have access to most of the Animorph Series. So most of this is going to be from memory and from what I have read in fan fics.

I am NOT going to do most of books, only the ones I either feel like doing or what not.

And I'm wasting your time with this talk.

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Hey, my name is Jake. I can't tell you my last name or else they will find us.

Who will find us you ask; well it will be easier for me to tell you how it all began.

It was a normal Friday evening at the mall. My best friends Marco and Tobias were playing in an arcade; Tobias was kicking our butts when he yelped and clutched his head.

Marco and I glanced at Tobias with some concern. Tobias wasn't exactly normal and by that I mean that sometimes he gets claustrophobic in either crowds or tight spaces and sometimes I swear that I hear him say things when he couldn't have.

?Are you alright?? I finally asked him. ?I thought I heard screams.? Tobias whispered. Marco and I looked at each other. This was the first time that we had seen this happen to Tobias and I was wondering if we should take him home just in case something was wrong with him.

Tobias had passed out once at a party my Mom had thrown for Tom, my older brother, and I. A lot of our friends had been invited along with their parents when Tobias started looking around, as if he sensed something wrong and then he passed out.

It took awhile for him to come around but his mother took him home once he could walk.

?Maybe we should go home.? I said, not wanting to face his mother's wrath if something was wrong.

Tobias looked as if he was going to protest but he nodded and we left the arcade.

We were nearly to one of exits when I saw one of my cousins, Rachel, and her friend Cassie. Tobias must have seen them too because he walked over to them.

I nearly froze. I like Cassie but I never know what to say around her. I know for a fact that Tobias likes Rachel: he has gotten caught passing notes to her in class on more than one occasion.

Finally Rachel and Cassie walked over.

?Want to walk part of the way home with us?? I blurted out.

Cassie smiled shyly while Rachel rolled her eyes. ?Sure we are defenseless girls so we need big strong men to protect us.? She said sarcastically.

Marco laughed and Tobias shook his head.

?Yes, we'll walk part of the way with you.? Cassie said.

We left the mall and walked across the street. We walked a short distance before we reached a crossroads of a type. You see we could either continue along the road or we could take a short cut through an abandoned construction site. It could be dangerous but youth has a way of not thinking about how dangerous something is only how exciting it would be.

Without really thinking we stepped into the construction site and started through it.

I found myself remembering the time that Marco, Tobias and I climbed a crane, daring each other to climb higher.

I'm not sure how deep we were into the site but suddenly Tobias gasped. We turned to look at him only to find his gaze fixed on the sky on an object that was getting closer.

We stopped walking and watched as it came closer and closer. A strange sensation filled me and my head felt weird. I turned and looked at everyone else

 

There's also an Animorphs Wiki. (Yes... I'm being a pain on purpose.)

And I'm wasting your time with this talk.

Nah... love author's notes. (Interesting alteration to the morph clock...)

Another difference is that Mr. Ellimist didn't take Elfangor back to his people. So Tobias is raised by both of his parents.

Really? I'm not sure I've ever seen an Ani-Fic from quite that angle before... Bring it on!!!!

The opening, with Tobias getting an empathic headache... love it. And the detail about him passing out in a crowd that possibly had controllers in it... eep.

/My name is Arbron-Bantec-Deromar. I am a war prince among my people./

Arbron!!!!!!


Can I have update PMs? Want to see where you take us.

 

There are a couple of fics on fanfiction.net about Elfangor and Loren raising Tobias.

Tobias and all of his siblings have some Andalite traits. They will come out later when I tell one from Tobias's point of view.


Thanks to some gentle prodding I have gotten this chapter ready. It did help that I was bribed with a chocolate chip muffin, my favorite.

The Animorphs will not be taking a trip to the Yeerk Pool any time soon since Arbron is going to say that it's too dangerous and what not.

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I woke up the next morning wondering if last night was all a dream.

I could hear the phone ringing but I really didn't care.

?Jake?? My Mom's voice called from downstairs. ?What?? I called back. ?Phone,? she responded.

Curious as to who was calling so early on a Saturday I made my way downstairs and into the living room.

I took the phone from my Mom and sat down on the couch. ?Hello?? I asked slowly, I was still a little sleepy.

?Is that you Jake?? Tobias's voice asked. ?Who else would it be?? I asked, blinking sleep out of my eyes.

?I don't know, perhaps Data?? he answered.

?What do you want?? I asked. ?I miss placed some of my math homework. Could you come over and bring yours so that I can get it done so my parents don't blow a gasket?? Tobias said.

I nearly frowned, Tobias never miss places anything unless it's on purpose.

?I'll be over in a few minutes.? I said.

I quickly ate breakfast, dressed in clean clothes, grabbed my math homework and hurried for my bike.

I could have walked to Tobias's house but if it was something important then it was best to hurry.

Once I arrived I parked my bike on the front lawn since I had no idea what schedule his dad was working and I didn't want my bike to get run over.

I pressed the doorbell and Tobias's mom answered a few moments later. She looked tired but then who wouldn't be tired with a child a few years younger than me who can have meltdowns if supper isn't ready around a certain time or if something else happens that is beyond normal control.

Or it could be that one of Tobias's younger siblings was sick or something. He has one or two more than Rachel and she has two younger siblings. It really boggles my mind that there are people that have that many kids. But then as my Dad says as long as they can afford to take care of them and are than that's good enough for him.

?Hi Jake,? Tobias's mom says pleasantly. ?If you're looking for Tobias he's in his room.?

I thanked her and headed for the stairs.

I paused as I passed by Tobias's father's study. He was at his computer wearing headphones and a look of horror on his face.

?Is there something wrong?? I asked. He jumped so high that you would have thought I had yelled into his ear while he was sleeping.

His head jerked in my direction and he seemed to very relieved. ?Just some random chatter.? He answered, his voice shook a bit.

?Sorry that I bothered you.? I said and continued on to Tobias's Room.

Tobias was sitting on his bed, nearly bouncing on it with excitement. ?Close the door.' He whispered.

I closed the door.

I had never seen someone so excited about the prospect of doing homework. Unless last night hadn't been a dream.

?I can change into Captain Picard!? He nearly whispered. At first I was confused until I remember

 

...did you mean to use the quote function like that?

?I miss placed some of my math homework. Could you come over and bring yours so that I can get it done so my parents don't blow a gasket??

Beta: miss place/miss places/miss placed is really misplaced/misplaces/misplace: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/misplace

And no, you're not going too fast.

I paused as I passed by Tobias's father's study. He was at his computer wearing headphones and a look of horror on his face.

?Is there something wrong?? I asked. He jumped so high that you would have thought I had yelled into his ear while he was sleeping.

His head jerked in my direction and he seemed to very relieved. ?Just some random chatter.? He answered, his voice shook a bit.

Loved this detail... and what is Tobias going to say when he finds out his Dad has an intergalatic frequency reciever? Hee! (And, also... poor, poor Elfangor! )

/I will teach you all that you need to know so that we can fight the Yeerks effectively./

Teacher! They have teacher! Yay!!!!!!! (Actually, more than one, but they don't know that yet...)

/He's also the one who sold you all to the Yeerks./ Arbron informed us with disgust.

Marco snorted. ?Should have known that he was evil.?

Not evil, necessarily... just incredibly misguided. And, also...

After a few moments both Marco and Tobias looked at me. I didn't like the look they were giving me.

?Jake, he's one of them.? Marco finally said.

*pauses...* Okay... Oh no he didn't!!!!! Not Tom! No! (And... okay. Better now that I've gotten that out of my system...)


Chocolate?

 

Thanks for the eye candy, it looks delicious!

Here we go! Jake's reaction to the news.

For those of you that have reviewed you get virtual cookies. Since I don't know your favorite m=let me know so that I can send you a picture of them.

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I swung my fist at Marco, but I was so upset that I missed.

?No he's not!? I snapped.

?He wouldn't have brought up the construction site if he wasn't on a fishing expedition.? Tobias told me.

?Besides he goes to The Sharing which is the same place that Mr. Chapman goes to. And Arbron said that Chapman was the one who told the Yeerks about us.? Marco said. ?It stands to reason that he's one of them if not a high ranking one.?

I just sat there. I couldn't believe that good time loving Tom was one of the enemy. Not one of the enemy, I corrected myself: Innocent until proven guilty.

xxxxxxx

Supper was an interesting affair. I tried not to think about the possibility that Tom was one of the enemy but it kept coming back. What would I do if Marco and Tobias were right?

?Midget,? Tom suddenly said. ?I looked up from my plate. ?The Sharing is having a meeting tomorrow night and I wanted to know if you want to go.? Tom said. ?Sure, I'll go.? I said, this would be a great opportunity to prove Marco and Tobias wrong.

Tom smiled, but there was something wrong with it.

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The next day I went to Cassie's house with Marco and Tobias. Marco wouldn't shut up about how he had completely kicked our butts yesterday in video games.

Finally we reached Cassie's place and entered the barn. Rachel, Cassie and Arbron were already waiting for us.

Rachel was admiring a bald eagle in one of the cages, Cassie was cleaning a cage and a young man that I guessed was Arbron was in a human morph that appeared to be about our age.

The young man turned as we came in and smiled.

?Hi,? he said pleasantly.

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For the next two hours we learned how to fly. It was lots of fun and we all had some good laughs.

/We need to rest for awhile./ Arbron announced. We landed and morphed back into ourselves.

/Now, we need to learn where the Controllers meet./ Arbron said. ?I think that we should check out The Sharing.' Marco said. ?Mr. Chapman is part of it and if it is a Yeerk front then we will learn who's a Yeerk. And if it isn't then we know to look elsewher

 

I was waiting for someone else to review, but since no one has, I'll jump right in...

I said, this would be a great opportunity to prove Marco and Tobias wrong.

If they'd been wrong, yes... it would have been.

Arbron got a human morph... likey!!!!

?My parents might have decided to do something as a family and if I don't come then Leilani might have one of her meltdowns.?

This one confused me.

?Couldn't we raid the Yeerk Pool??

I have a better answer than Arbron's: Sure, but every time they go, it borders on disaster.

In the end I acquired a Siberian Tiger, Rachel acquired a Grizzly Bear and an African Elephant, Marco acquired a Gorilla, Tobias acquired an Mountain Lion and Cassie said that she had acquired a wolf that was at the WHC.

Hmmm... I see what you did there...


Good update.

 

DaenaBenjen42 I will update this very soon. I just need to check some things and make sure that this is were it should before posting angain because i could swear that I had more here than there is.

 

Leilani has an autism sectrom disorder and when things are done on a timetable then it throws them off when it's changed.

They are the only hope for the Human Race so of course Arbron isn't going to let them run off to the Yeerk Pool.


I can’t believe that I didn’t move this to my new computer!!! And so I had to get this off of my account on ff.net.

I decided to skip the second and third books since with the change in events they wouldn't have happened or happened differently.

So this is book four: The Message: told from Cassie's point of view. The first snippet is told from Ax's point of view.

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Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

We have been down here for many days. Our Dome Ship was destroyed by the Yeerks. We saw the Blade Ship of a Visser fire on it.

I was horrified and I could tell that Anjinnl-Kardon-Liuary was just as afraid as I was although she tries not to show it.

I try to be brave for the female Computer Technician but it was getting harder. The longer that we were under the ocean the harder it gets on us.

I remember wondering why we were taking her with us to Earth. War Prince Arbron-Bantec-Deromar, a family friend, told me that she was highly gifted with computers and that since odds were that some of us would be staying behind on Earth she would be a great asset.

I did feel bad for her. No other female companions and the older officers would whisper about her when she was around. It seemed that I wasn't allowed in on the secret. If there was one.

/Aximili, what if we are the only survivors?/ Anjinnl asked, she sounded worried. /I will send out a call for help and see what happens./ I told her. She seemed uneasy. /Only fellow Andalites will hear it./ I assured her.

/Well, why don't you start then./ She said. /After all you don't need the permission of a lowly female like me./ She commented.

Once again I felt bad for her. Back on the homeworld she was treated poorly for some reason. Her brother was a scientist since he wasn't allowed in the Military for some reason. Her mother was a virtual outcast and my parents talked privately about her and told me that she had enough problems so they better not catch me making her life hard.

I didn't know about her father since no one was willing to talk about him. Well that was a lie since I did ask once and was told that he was gone and not to bring it up again.

I guess that he must have been killed by the Yeerks and he died disgracefully.

Well I did as I was told and never asked again.
/If we are the only survivors we will need swimming morphs to get away./ Anjinnl commented. I bobbed my eyestalks in agreement. /Try and capture some of the bigger ones that isn't prey./ I told her.

Soon I was ready to begin calling for help.

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Cassie

I woke from a dream, confused. I had dreamed of the ocean and someone calling for help. He was saying something about they did not have a lot of time.

A headed downstairs and stared outside at our fields.

It was fairly early in the morning, the sun hadn't even started to rise. I turned the dream over and over in my head; trying to make sense of it. It was either a weird dream or someone was calling for help.
I wasn't sure which one I liked better.

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We were all at Rachel's house the next day. Jake had called and said that he had found an interesting thing on the news.

Arbron was in human morph and wearing a thoughtful expression.

"So Jake what did you find on the news?" Marco asked. "This," Jake said and pushed a videocassette into the VHS player.

A quick clip played. It showed a guy holding something metal in his hands. It wasn't very big but big enough to be part of something bigger. The camera zoomed in on some writing on the piece of metal. Then the camera showed a female anchor and then the clip ended.

"It's part of the Galaxy Tree," Arbron breathed, "a part of the Dome to be more precise. I have been receiving calls for help from someone, but I thought that it might be a trap. But if Aximili followed my orders he would have been in the Dome with Anjinnl."

We turned to look at him.

"Who are Aximili and Anjinnl?" Tobias asked slowly, careful to pronounce the names that Arbron had said.

"Aximili is an aristh and Anjinnl is a computer technician. They were both sent to the Dome just before we exited Zero Space." Arbron said simply. "I said that I wanted both of them because I knew Aximili's brother and Anjinnl is talented with computers so I knew that she would be useful if some of us stayed on Earth."

Arbron stood and stared out the window. He was staring out of it when he stumbled and then I blacked out.

/We're here! We don't have much time!/ A voice cried in my head. Once again I was underwater and going deeper.

/Hurry!/ The voice said urgently.

I opened my eyes and saw Jake kneeling over me. "She's awake." He told someone out of my range of sight. "So is Arbron." Marco reported. "Tobias is coming around too." Rachel called out as well.

"What happened?" Jake asked urgently. "I was in the ocean and a voice was calling for help. They don't have a lot of time." I told them.

Arbron nodded. "It might still be a trap. But we can't ignore the possibility that it might not be." He commented.

"So what do we do?" Marco asked. "We find out as much as we can about this and make sure that it isn't a trap." Arbron commented.

We looked at each other guiltily. If we hadn't spied on Chapman twice we might have been able to spy on him again to see if this was the real deal. Arbron had been doing something else for those few days and had only ordered us not to go looking for the Yeerk Pool. We had decided to spy on Chapman and see if we could gather information and make Arbron proud.

Let's just say that it nearly backfired on us in the worst possible way: Rachel was caught and nearly handed over to the Yeerks before we rescued her. Arbron chew us out when he returned. We had tipped our hand to the Yeerks by alerting them that there were morph capable fighters on Earth. The only thing that was working in our favor was that the Yeerks believed that we were Andalites.

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That night we wandered the beach in different morphs. Jake and Rachel were dogs, Arbron was a human while Tobias, Marco and I were in the air as owls.

We were searching to see if we could find any other pieces of the Dome Ship. It was Marco's idea, if it wasn't a trick then the Yeerks would be out here looking as well.
Then I saw them: flashlights. Flying closer I saw a group of humans that all looked familiar. /Controllers./ I warned everyone else.

I couldn't quite make out what they were saying but they were saying something about Visser Three experiencing something and that there was an Andalite somewhere under the ocean, possibly more.
Excited I reported to the others what I was hearing. I saw Arbron nod his head and stare out at the ocean for a short time before walking towards land.

It was a good thing to since the Controllers saw the footprints of Arbron's human morph along with Rachel's dog morph paw prints. One of the Controllers broke away and followed them.
/Hey guys, don't demorph or anything. There's a Controller following you./ I told Rachel and Arbron.

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"We need a swimming morph that will be able to survive a long journey to the Dome." Arbron said as we met in my barn the next day. "We could use dolphins." I suggested slowly. "They are good swimmers and The Gardens has some. We could go at night and acquire them." I stated.

I had reservations about morphing into dolphins seeing that they are very intelligent but I didn't want to voice it out loud and get laughed at.

Arbron nodded his head slowly. "It is a good suggestion." He commented. "I just hope that we can find them before the Yeerks do."

xxxxxxx

That night we all flew to The Gardens. We landed near the dolphin tank and demorphed. It didn't take us long to acquire them.

I felt a little better after I asked the one that I acquired for permission.

Once we were done we quickly morphed into owls again and flew back to our homes.

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The next post will be up after a certain point.

 

Autism? That didn't even cross my mind... and go! Play with the timeline! That's what makes fic fun!!!

"We need a swimming morph that will be able to survive a long journey to the Dome."

Cue my second favorite morph... the fave is totally the Seagulls. Hee.

 

DaenaBenjen42 it is so good to see your review!

Lucky you the seagull morph is in this chapter!

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It took a few days to get started because of school and many of us didn't want to answer any awkward questions like why weren't we in school and everything.

Lucky for us there was a Teacher Workshop Day or something like that so we got Friday off. We all headed to the beach as inconspicuously as possible. Instead of meeting on the actual beach we met in the woods about a mile from the ocean next to a river.

We quickly stripped to our morphing outfits and hid our clothes in the bushes before walking into the river to morph; I fell into the water face first during the process.

Once we were all in morph we headed for the ocean. It wasn't hard to find out which way was to the ocean seeing that I could tell where the water was saltier.

I noticed that the dolphin was a fun loving and always wanted to play almost the second we got out into open water. I started a game of tag which we all joined in; it lasted some time before Tobias asked which direction we needed to head in.

I felt guilty for using up so much time in such a manner but Arbron said that it wasn't a big deal; everyone had fun every so often in morph and lost track of the time.

We swam for about twenty minutes before we could tell that there was trouble nearby. Curious we headed for it.

I got an image from my echolocation: a whale and sharks.

Before I could think the situation through I torpedoed towards the nearest shark. I quickly realized my mistake afterword. I was now separated from my friends and surrounded by sharks.

Lucky for me my friends joined in as well. I could hear my friends whooping and screaming as we took on the sharks.

Finally the sharks fled. /That will teach you to not only pick on other animals but to fight with us!/ Rachel yelled after them.

/Where's Marco?/ Jake suddenly asked. I quickly looked around and discovered that Marco was indeed missing. Then I sent out some clicks and got back an image that froze my guts: Marco was seriously hurt.
We quickly swam over and after some gentle coaxing he demorphed and with the help of Jake and Tobias as humans he floated on his back

It was then that I got the impression from the whale that it-no- he had seen something stranger a few days ago; something that didn't belong on the ocean floor and flashes of blue and purple, racing across and around the thing on the ocean floor.

/Where?/ I asked, curious. Then somehow I knew how to get there and how far away it was. I felt part of me sink inside. It was pretty far. The round trip would take more than a day. And there was no way that all of us could do that without making someone or more suspicious.
I talked to everyone else and we all decided that we needed to go home and think of a better plan since there was no way that Arbron should go alone to get these two young Andalites alone.
What if the Yeerks found him and killed him?

I relayed the information back to the others and Jake morphed back into a dolphin. Marco hesitated before morphing but he wasn't any worse for wear and then Tobias morphed back.

With that we swam back to the river where we had left our clothes and demorphed and Arbron morphed into a human.

With that we swam for the river, demorphed and headed home.

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We all knew that Marco was shaken. His mother had died a few years back, a boating accident, and they had never found the body. Marco's dad went off the deep end; he quit his job at some company or other and sits around most days and drinks.

Even though I haven't lost anyone I can still imagine how it must feel too loose a loved one. That is why I decided to go and speak to him.

Marco answered the door and slipped out without opening the door much.

I listened to him express concern about his dad if he was to disappear. "You don't have to come this time." I told him.

"I would feel bad." He said after a few moments of silence. He then stared at an empty, leaf filled pool below several floors down. "Besides I feel almost as if we owe it to these two. I mean they could help us so much if we can rescue them and then no one else would have to lose a loved one."

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The next day we met in the woods behind my house. I had several cages with seagulls in them. Seagulls would draw less attention than our birds of prey morph; for some reason Tobias thought that birds of prey were funny.

We acquired the seagulls and then I released them.

"The plan is to find a ship, a tanker hopefully or a non-passenger ship as the least to take as close as possible to the Dome." Jake said. "That way we can demorph and rest a bit before we have to remorph."
Arbron nodded. /We will need time to rest between morphs so that we don't get worn out. Anjinnl doesn't have a lot of experience morphing so she will need to rest in between morphing./

With that we morphed into seagulls.

As we flew to the beach everyone commented on food that was in dumpsters and that random people were holding. /A stuffed crust pizza!/ Tobias cried excitedly. /Doritos./ Marco said reverently. /Thai food!/ Rachel commented, sounding a little excited. /French Fries!/ Jake piped in. /A sandwich!/ I nearly shrieked.

Arbron just laughed at our excitement until he saw a Red Lobster with seafood in the dumpster.
We flew over the beach and continued to fly until not only we reached the shipping channel until we saw a tanker, thank God, going in the general direction of the Dome.

We landed and demorphed.

We waited for hours.

Tobias started telling stories about one of his sisters, Leilani, to help pass the time. His first story was how she had learned how to change the settings on the family computer and learned how to work it better than maybe their father. The second one was about how she had tried to yank their younger sister, Hoshi, out of a baby/toddler swing.

"She was shrieking and what not. Leilani grabbed Hoshi by her feet and tried to pull her out of the swing. Hoshi just smiled and when Leilani let go of her feet Hoshi knocked her over by putting her feet on Leilani's shoulders and pushing off. Leilani fell onto the floor in tears."

Tobias finally had to stop telling stories when it was his turn to go check how far we were to our destination.

/We mind as well get off./ He sent us. /The ship is altering course and this is as close as we are going to get./

Tobias flew back and demorphed.

Marco was the first to morph since he didn't know how to swim. When he got to a certain point we pushed him off.

Rachel carefully balanced herself on the railing before doing a perfect swan dive. "Show off!" I yelled after her.

Tobias was next; he did the Vulcan hand thing at us and then took a running leap. We watched as he fell towards the water.

Arbron sighed, he was nervous, before doing what Tobias had done: a running jump.

It was just me and Jake now. We shared a look. "We can jump together." He suggested. I nodded , we climbed onto the railing and then both of us stepped into thin air.

I couldn't stop the scream that came from my throat as I fell. I quickly switched gears and pictured the dolphin in my mind.

When I hit the water I sank under the surface. I could feel the ship moving not too far away. I could dimly see the others around me morphing. Only Marco was fully dolphin.

After we were all in morph we swam in the direction of the Dome.

/I recognize the seascape./ I reported. /We are really close./ /That is good./ Arbron said as we swam.
/We're going to want to get air and breathe deeply before diving./ I told everyone.

We surfaced and paused for a few seconds. In the distance was a helicopter flying low to the ground and a line of some type was dragging from it. /They're searching for the Dome./ Jake commented.

We dove and headed more or less straight down.

We swam for several minutes without seeing anything of interest. /How much – oh!/ Rachel's voice suddenly said.

The rest of us caught up with her, curious to know what she saw. When I saw it too I mentally gasped. It was shaped like a plate with a more or less clear dome over it.

We followed Arbron to a hatch and he pressed a button with his beak.

/I have already told them that I am here with friends./ Arbron reported. /We must hurry. I need air./
We swam into the airlock and once Arbron pressed the other button the outer door closed and the water began to drain out.

Once the water was low enough we began to demorph. By the time the water was finished draining we were all in our original forms.

We all watched as Arbron then pressed another button and the door into the Dome opened. I saw beautiful blueish grass and strange trees.

Then I saw them. They were standing a short distance away and watching us closely. They were both smaller than Arbron. They were different then each other; the slightly smaller one's fur had purple mixed in with the blue and the blade at the end of the tail was shaped like a scalpel instead of a scythe.
I wondered if the smaller one was Anjinnl seeing that there were several differences between this one and Arbron and the other one.

Arbron must have been speaking privately with them and vice versa because there were visible reactions from all of them.

Finally Arbron turned to us. /Everyone, these are Aximili and Anjinnl. Aximili, Anjinnl these are Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco and Tobias./ He said in introduction.

Marco did the Vulcan hand thing. "Hi, welcome to Earth." He said brightly. Tobias stuck out his hand and slowly the smaller one reached out and they shook hands.

/We shouldn't stay long./ Arbron said after a few minutes of silence. /The Yeerks are searching for the Dome at this moment./ Aximili and Anjinnl did something unusual with their eyestalks.

/Do you have morphs that can swim?/ Arbron asked. /We captured a rather large swimming animal a few days ago when it swam near the Dome. We caught it and acquired it/ A feminine voice reported. /That is good./ Arbron said.

/We will stop the Yeerks from laying this planet to waste./ Arbron said. I felt uneasy. Arbron had told us the fate of planets that Yeerks had invaded but hearing it again was unsettling.

/We won't all fit in the airlock so we will have to morph in groups./ Arbron said after a moment of silence.

Arbron sent us humans into the airlock to morph. It didn't talk long for us to morph. We swam out and waited for a bit before Arbron and two sharks swam out.
The dolphin brain nearly flipped out.

Then something happened that shook me out of my fear: the water seemed to explode.

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The story about the toddler swing is a true story. The swing was 'mine' and my little brother was in it. I screamed and tried to pull him out by the feet only to be knocked over like Leilani.

The next chapter will be up once i see that there is a review.

 

I waited to review for one specific reason: because I know it's not just us two who are ani-fans here. Also... happy to oblige.

Arbron just laughed at our excitement until he saw a Red Lobster with seafood in the dumpster.



Tobias was next; he did the Vulcan hand thing at us and then took a running leap.

Added bonus to NOT going to the Yeerk Pool right off: Tobias get's to have Trekkie moments with his hands and prove he has a sense of humor not related to bird jokes left and right.

/We captured a rather large swimming animal a few days ago when it swam near the Dome. We caught it and acquired it/ A feminine voice reported. /That is good./ Arbron said.

In this case... actually, it was. Shark morphs! Shark morphs!!!! (You know... aside from the part where sharks and dolphins are mortal enemies...)

 

DaenaBenjen42 I thought that the Vulcan Salute would be in character for Tobias since he had a Star Trek calendar in his bedroom before he became trapped.

Ah if you are the only reviewer here than I will count myself lucky to have you.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

/Depth Charge./ Tobias said. /They've found us./

/Swim for land!/ Arbron yelled. We complied.

We had been heading for land for a few moments when something appeared overhead. A Blade Ship.

A few minutes later there were splashes. /Uh guys, we've got company./ Marco said. He sounded fairly
worried.

/What is it?/ Arbron asked. /I think we've got Taxxons behind us./ Marco reported. /Those worms can swim!/ Rachel demanded.

/Yes, they can swim. We may have to kill them./ Arbron informed us.

/Can these morphs fight?/ Aximili asked. /Yes, your morphs are usually seen as cold blooded killers./ Jake replied.

/In a few minutes we will turn around and fight them./ Arbron told us. /Yes, my Prince./ Anjinnl said.
We swam a little further before stopping and turning around.

Since the dolphin isn't naturally violent I tried to see the Taxxons as sharks. It sort of worked.
/Charge!/ Arbron ordered.

/This is for Sparta!/ Marco yelled.

/Sparta?/ Anjinnl asked. /Tell you later./ Tobias said.

With that we sped at the Taxxons and plowed into them. The one I hit exploded like a watermelon that had been thrown onto the floor; I would have thrown up if I was human.

In a few minutes the remaining Taxxons were feasting on their injured and dead fellows.

We quickly took off again before they could remember that they were supposed to kill us.

We had only been swimming again for a few minutes when something big hit the water.

A strange noise that didn't sound like anything I have heard before and the dolphin brain didn't seem to know it either.

/A mardrut,/ Arbron said after a few moments. /How in the universe did he acquire one?/ /I can't imagine that he could have come anywhere in the entire system without someone knowing./ Anjinnl said. /Between the patrols and other things it would make it impossible to land. His face is well known./ /Do you even know what he looks like?/ Aximili nearly demanded. /No,/ Anjinnl replied, /after all I am just a lowly computer technician./

/Is that snark?/ Marco asked, curiosity and amusement thick in his thought speech.
/Just swim!/ Arbron ordered.

I'm not sure how long we had been swimming when he spoke. /I'm coming for you my Andalite friends./ He said.

Both sharks seemed to waver, as if something was bothering them. /We faced him once without Arbron and we survived./ I told Aximili and Anjinnl.

/You've faced him and lived?/ Aximili asked. /I honor you./ /Thanks,/ Marco said. /But I'd trade that honor for a boat with a motor just so we could get away!/ He nearly yelled.

Meanwhile Visser Three just kept gaining on us and we were beginning to tire.

/Should I capture you and have you infested or should I just eat you? I'll decide your fate soon./ The Visser said.

It was then that something occurred to me: a whale was singing nearby and the song sounded familiar. Maybe, just maybe this was the whale that we had helped a few days ago.

/Help us!/ I cried out to the whale. /There is something chasing us that would see the oceans and land lay to waste. We are the only ones that stand between him and the planet./

Part of me knew that it was hopeless but I had to try to get help for us.

/We won't make it to safety before tiring./ Arbron said softly. /I will stay and fight him while the rest of you get away./ /But Prince Arbron, you are the highest ranking member of our military here./ Aximili protested. /Then you know why I must do this./ Arbron said.

With that Arbron stopped and turned around. The rest of us made the same decision at the same time. We stopped and turned around.

Good-bye, Mom and Dad. I thought. Good-bye grandma and grandpa. Good-bye to all of my family there are too many of you to say good-bye too one at a time. Good-bye Midnight and Brownie, I should have given you a better name but I was only six.

/I've decided what to do with you my Andalite friends. After such a long chse I am hungry./
We charged and he charged.

Then something moved beneath us. All of us stopped and watched as the shadowy things came up higher and higher.

/It's whales!/ I cried.

/Whales?/ Aximili asked. /Whales are mammals that live in the Oceans of the Earth. They are the largest mammals on the planet./ Anjinnl sounding smug.

/Enough!/ Arbron told them, annoyed.

We watched in some amusement as Visser Three hurried away from us and the whales. Finally Marco and Rachel started laughing. /Whales are mostly harmless idiot!/ Marco jeered to us

The whales came back and I felt some satisfaction from them and that they wanted us to protect the Earth.

They allowed us to demorph on them to rest before remorphing.

We swam up the same river that we had used last time and demorphed. We waded to shore and opened the back packs that we had left there the night before with extra clothes for Aximili and Anjinnl.
Once on shore Rachel started to sort through the clothes until she had two piles of clothes for our new allies.

Anjinnl was the first to start morphing into a human. When she was finished a girl that looked Asian stood there wearing a leotard that was tighter then Rachel's and mine.

"It was the only one that remotely fit me that was taken from the Skrit Na and given to my group" Anjinnl explained.

Rachel handed her the pile of clothes that was for her. "Do you need any help?" she asked Anjinnl. "I might, we were taught how to dress properly by humans that have been captured and placed in zoos but they might have taught us wrong for amusement." Anjinnl said.

Rachel and I took her a short ways away after telling the boys to assist Aximili in getting dressed.
I was impressed with Anjinnl as she dressed. She either knew where the clothes went or was able to make a good guess as to where this or that article of clothing went. Rachel and I only had to correct a few times and that was because she didn't understand exactly how to put it on, like socks.

I helped her tie the sneakers that we had brought, they were close enough to the size of her morph's feet so that her feet wouldn't get pinched or be sliding around in them.
After we finished we returned to see how Aximili, Arbron and the boys were doing. Jake and Tobias were shaking their heads and Marco looked like he wanted to start laughing. Arbron on the other hand looked worn and vaguely amused.
Aximili had put his clothes on in the right places but incorrectly. He had put his socks on his hands and put both the pants and shirt on backwards and the socks weren't on correctly either.

Anjinnl smiled.

"I've seen worse." She pronounced after a few seconds.

Arbron gestured to Aximili and Anjinnl. "I'll take you to our temporary Scoop." He told them. They nodded and followed him out of the wooded area.

We watched them leave before dressing ourselves and hurrying back to our homes.

xxxxxxxx

That night I flew to the Gardens and slipped into the dolphin tank at first all I did was play with them as a human before I morphed into a dolphin and swam with them.

I hadn't felt more at peace since before we took the shortcut into the abandoned construction site.
xxxxxxx

This is the end of this book. The next part will be the fifth book.

I decided that the time line will be flexible so they make references to movies that weren't out during the publication of the books. Some of it is that I don't quite remember the movies that came out during that time frame. The rest of it is for some amusement value. I mean don't tell me that none of you got a kick out of Marco yelling 'This is for Sparta!'

And I'm not sure if a depth charge would have been realistic but it seemed to fit.

Oh and if anyone can tell me why Anjinnl's father isn't talked about I will update ASAP!

 

I was going to wait until tomorrow to do this review, but I'm here now, so I'm doing it from the sock. Hi.


I thought that the Vulcan Salute would be in character for Tobias since he had a Star Trek calendar in his bedroom before he became trapped.

That is exactly what I was talking about.

/Depth Charge./ Tobias said. /They've found us./

...and right about here is where I'm gonna miss Marco's knowledge of old but awesome movies. (Let's not tell my father that I wanted to watch The Hunt for Red October because K.A. Applegate is an awesome, awesome writer...)

/This is for Sparta!/ Marco yelled.

Hee. Marco saw Spartacus?

/A mardrut,/ Arbron said after a few moments. /How in the universe did he acquire one?/

I have this theory that Alloran liked to be really, really prepared for anything. That, or there's intrigue going on with the Andalite homeworld. Hmmmm...

Good-bye, Mom and Dad. I thought. Good-bye grandma and grandpa. Good-bye to all of my family there are too many of you to say good-bye too one at a time. Good-bye Midnight and Brownie, I should have given you a better name but I was only six.

I kept a straight face until that last one...

Oh and if anyone can tell me why Anjinnl's father isn't talked about I will update ASAP!

Perhaps because he's the Abomination? (That was a guess.)

The next part will be the fifth book.

The fifth book...

And I'm not sure if a depth charge would have been realistic but it seemed to fit.

...if they're trying to take out something underwater, and don't have any other options, sure. They're use a depth charge. Or something very much like it.


-DaenaBenjen42

 

LandingGirl05 I forgot somewhat the comments that were made and I figured that it's AU anyway so some things are going to be different.

Well here's the next post and just so you know everyone on ff.net was slow on the uptake. If you know what I mean.''

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi, my name is Marco. If you want a last name then don't hold your breath because you won't be getting it any time soon.

I guess I'll tell you just a little bit about myself. Well my Mom died a few years back. She went out in our boat and there was a storm. The boat was found not only with the safety line frayed but the bottom nearly ripped off.

My Dad took Mom's death really hard. He quit his job as a software designer for some company that I can't remember the name of at the moment, and even then I might not tell you so you can't track me. Now he works as a janitor for some company and drinks when he's not working.

I've thought about leaving the Animorphs for some time but for now I don't know how to tell them that I want out.

I'm a thoughtful person. Last night I saved an older man from muggers by morphing into a gorilla and chasing the guys off.

At the moment I'm in school in a boring History listening to something about the Salem Witch Trials. Or at least that's what I think the teacher's talking about.

Finally the bell rang and I nearly raced out of the classroom.

It took me only a few minutes reach the lunch room.

I sat down at the same table as Jake and Tobias. “Max feels like he needs to go home.” Jake said as he ate his macaroni and cheese. “How about Anji?” I asked. “She wants to stay and finish high school here.” Tobias answered.

“How does Bromly feel?” I asked. “He isn't sure.” Jake said.

I nodded.

So, Ax wanted to go home. I couldn't say that I was surprised. Someone needed to tell the Andalites what had happened. Arbron didn't feel that he should abandon us and Anjinnl was better with computers then both Aximili and and Arbron.

At that moment Cassie and Rachel walked by our table. “Tobias, I was wondering since you're great at math if you could help me with my math homework?” Rachel asked. Tobias nodded and Rachel smiled. “Thank you,” she said and then walked away with Cassie.

I turned in time to see Tobias bit into his hamburger that was saturated in A1 Sauce.

“There are two things that I don't get about you Tobias.” I said. “Oh, and what are they?” he asked. “Number one: your method of flirting. Aren't you supposed to flirt with the girl by asking her if she needs help with her homework?” Tobias shrugged. “How am I supposed to know if she needs help with homework unless she asks me?” he asks.

“Fair enough,” I concurred.

“And number two?” Tobias prompted me gently. “How can you stand to have that much A1 Sauce on your hamburger?” I asked.

Tobias stared at me for a few minutes before smiling. “I like the taste.” He answered. “Besides my Dad thinks that Dr. Pepper tastes similar to muddy water.”

Both Jake and I laughed at the thought of anyone making muddy water into soda.

xxxxxx

The next day we met in the woods were Arbron, Anjinnl and Aximili were living. Aximili was saying something about watching TV would help them learn more about humans. And Anjinnl was saying something to him along the lines that they could learn more about humans by going to school then watching Soap Operas.

“Aximili wishes to return to our home world and let our superiors know what happened.” Arbron told us. “It is a logical choice seeing that you need an experienced leader and Anjinnl is a gifted computer technician we will need her here to help monitor Yeerk Transmissions and any suspicious activity among your people.”

Anjinnl smiled a bit. The little I knew about the Andalite people females were not considered warriors and should stay at home or far away from a battle field. So this must be a boost for her confidence to know that she was considered valuable here.

“Aximili and Anjinnl are going to build a distress beacon to get a Bug Fighter to land. Once it lands we will destroy those on board and then Aximili will take it back to friendly space and give the report.

“Seeing that I don't trust Aximili not to blow our cover in some way I need someone to take Anjinnl to somewhere that sells electronic devices so that we can begin.” Arbron told us.

“I can take her to the Mall.” Tobias said. “There's a Radio Shack there that will have all sorts of stuff that might be needed.” “And Rachel and I can go with them.” I said quickly. “It would be less suspicions for a girl to not have another girl with her.” I quickly said.

Rachel stared at me but Tobias bobbed his head in agreement.

Arbron smiled. “Then it's agreed then. The four of you will go and get the compatible equipment; as soon as possible.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later we walked into the Mall and headed for Radio Shack. Rachel and Anji were talking about which boy actors that they thought were cute and which style of clothes would suit Anji the best.

We reached Radio Shack in no time and entered.

Anji took what felt like hours reading the electronics components before selecting a few here and there.

I distracted myself by looking at the remote control cars and similar things.

Finally Rachel came over and said that it was time to hit the food court.

We sat down at a table with some food: nachos, cinnamon buns and some fries. Anji took a bite out of a cinnamon bun and started gagging

“It's a sugar rush.” Tobias said. “Leilani gets them when Mom tries to limit her intake of sweet stuff.

We finished our food without further incident and at Rachel's insistence we hit a few clothing stores. Needless to say Rachel left with several articles of new clothes and Anji left with nearly an entire wardrobe.

We returned to the Scoop in the woods and Ax smiled at the sight of the stuff from Radio Shack. “This should suffice to make what we need to make a transmitter. All we need now is a subspace transmitter.” He said happily

“Well I doubt that we can find one at Radio Shack.” I said sarcastically.

“Well,” Arbron began, “you told me that Chapman contacts Visser Three so he would need one in order to do that.

“However, we can't do it the same way that you spied on Chapman. We would need to be able to get in unseen and get out the same way since the subspace transmitter is about the size of the vegetable that you call a 'pea'.”

Cassie suddenly smiled.

“Ants are small and they can carry heavy things so we could get in and out unseen.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

I forgot somewhat the comments that were made and I figured that it's AU anyway so some things are going to be different.

Realize that, and because I did realize it, I didn't hand you a list of movies which came out during the in-universe timeline of the books. (But this doesn't mean I can not mention that they did happen. And don't mind me... I recently re-read the books in order to do a diary, so it's fresh in my mind.)

Well here's the next post and just so you know everyone on ff.net was slow on the uptake.

Huh? *goes and looks at reviews...* Um... no. I'm not sure I know what you mean by that...

“How can you stand to have that much A1 Sauce on your hamburger?” I asked.

Tobias stared at me for a few minutes before smiling. “I like the taste.” He answered. “Besides my Dad thinks that Dr. Pepper tastes similar to muddy water.”

...and won't it be hilarious when they find out why...

“Ants are small and they can carry heavy things so we could get in and out unseen.”

Dumb idea. Dumb, dumb idea. (But they didn't know that yet. List of "Things We'll Never, Ever Morph Again" is about to begin. Ack.)

 

DaenaBenjen42 No you're not slow on the uptake. I'm talking about those on Fanfiction.net It took them to the end of either this chapter or the next to figure it out. You figured it out rather quickly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Late a few nights later when we knew that the Chapmans weren't home we met in the back yard of the empty house that was next to the Chapmans'.

Everyone was worried about the mission but this was important on different degrees. If we could get our hands on the transmitter then we could not only send Ax home but tick off Chapman.

We walked as close as we dared to the side of the house where Chapman's secret room was. I took a few deep breaths before concentrating on the ant. I could feel my body changing, shrinking.

Soon I was an ant.

/Is everyone ready?/ Arbron asked. Everyone answered that they were and off we went.

I was feeling pretty optimistic until ants started attack us. Somehow we escaped them and found an empty space that wasn't the outside.

One by one we demorphed just to be on the safe side.

Once we were done Anji and Ax went over to the desk with Arbron and started to search the desk. Out of boredom Tobias and I joined them.

Tobias and I found what seemed to be a bunch of computer flies and started to scroll through them. It was quite fun to select files in the air and move them around.

/Please go back to that last file./ Arbron said gently. I went back and Arbron, Ax and Anji leaned forward a bit. /So, Visser One is coming to Earth./ Arbron mused.

/Prince Arbron?/ Anji asked softly. /Does it say why she's coming?/ /I believe it has something to do with us./ Arbron answered.

Anji nodded and then retrieved something from one of the drawers. /I found it./ She said solemnly

I really wasn't looking forward to morphing back into an ant but that was the best way to get out without causing too much trouble.

Let's just say that the moment that we reentered the tunnels we were attacked. We barely got out fo there alive and that's only because we started to demorph after a certain point.

Cassie and Jake were a tangle of limbs and the rest of us weren't that much better off.

After we retrieved the transmitter Rachel did her best to stomp the ground flat that we disturbed with our sooner than expected return to our true forms.

We quickly returned home seeing that no doubt soon our parents were going to start missing us.

Once I got home I got into the shower and to my disgust found parts of several ants stuck to my body.

After I got out I went to my room and picked up the book I had gotten out of a library about ants. I learned why the ants had attacked us, we weren't part of their colony, and that in the author's opinion that ants could lay waste to the planet if they had nuclear weapons in a matter of weeks. I serious doubted that; it would take them a week at the most.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day was Anji's first day of school on Earth. Somehow she had managed to get her classes arranged in such a way that she was in the same classroom as at least one of us.

We all silently agreed to slowly drift over to the table that she was sitting at so that it wouldn't look too suspicious.

“Tomorrow it will be ready.” She said about half way through lunch. We all knew what she was talking about. “That's good that you're going to be done your report.” Cassie said in case someone was listening.

And the day after that was the second anniversary of my Mother's death. Any joy I had been feeling fled.

I loved my Mom and I know that she loved me. Why did she have to go sailing when a storm was coming?

“Did I say something?” Anji asked softly. “No,” I nearly whispered, “it's just the day after tomorrow is the second anniversary of my Mom's death. She drowned during a storm at sea.”

I closed my eyes and lowered my head so that no one could see my tears. After a few moments I felt a hand on one of mine.

I looked up to see Anji looking at me with sympathetic eyes. “My Father disappeared while on a mission with two cadets. They were supposed to just return a pair of abducted teenagers back to their home when they discovered that the enemy might have a dangerous weapon in their hands so they diverted and headed there instead.”

“With two teenagers?” Cassie asked, worry was thick in her voice. “They had orders to never leave the transport. Besides, they didn't think they had time to drop them off before chasing after the weapon.” Anji explained.

“All I know is that once they arrived my Father and the cadets got separated. That was the last time that one of the cadets was seen, never to be seen ever again. My Father . . . .” She trailed off, obviously upset. “Vanished as well, no one knows what happened to the two teenagers that I know of.” At that point tears began to run down her face.

“What was he like?” I asked. Pain filled her eyes. “He disappeared before I was born and my brother barely remembers him except that at times he was distant but that he would play with him.” She said softly.

Cassie slid close to her and hugged her which Anji returned.

“If it will help you feel better we can show you the Gardens later.” Cassie told her. “Do you have black panthers?” Anji asked. “We have one.” Cassie answered brightly

It wasn't until we left for our other classes that it occurred to me that Arbron had told us about his friend that had disappeared with two human teenagers. I wondered as I sat down in my seat if there was a connection but I quickly shook my head. If Arbron had been one of the cadets wouldn't he know what happened to Anji's Father, or at least have an idea?

xxxxxxx

The next day we met in an abandoned rock quarry far from everything. Anji said that she would stay up on the top to make sure that no stupid teenagers came by.

Ax set up the transmitter and everyone expect Ax morphed and slid into the shadows.

After a few minutes later a Bug Fighter flew overhead and slowly landed in the quarry. A moment later the hatch opened and a Hork-Bajir stepped out; we charged.

/Ahhh!/ Anji suddenly screamed. We nearly froze at hearing her scream.

Then Dracon Beams were fired on us above. /Hork-Bajir on the top!/ Ax called. We were surrounded with no way to escape. In a nutshell we were trapped.

Then he appeared. He had what passed as a smug expression on his face.

/Foolish Andalites, do you really think that we don't change our codes every so often?/ Visser Three asked with hints of curiosity, smugness and derision.

Arbron seemed to tense and the Visser noticed whatever Arbron was doing. /Do you really think that you can get away with attacking me? You would either be fried by Dracon Beams or die by my hand./ The Vissor said as he flicked his Tail Blade.

Arbron shifted slightly, as if he was unsure what to do. At that moment two Hork-Bajir appeared dragging Anji as a black panther to our little gathering.

They threw Anji at the Visser's feet and he seemed to smile.

His Tail Blade moved.

/No!/ Arbron cried out.

The Tail Blade stopped at her throat. /Try anything and this one dies./ He said coldly. Arbron backed down.

At that moment the Blade Ship appeared and landed. A hatched opened and Arbron lead us inside. Two Hork-Bajir picked Anji up and threw her inside. With that the hatch closed.

We felt the Blade Ship lift off.

There was silence until Anji regained conscience. /I was stunned my Prince./ Anji said softly, shame was evident in her tone.

/I don't blame you./ he said gently.

Suddenly a portal opened, showing us the Earth. If I had been human I would have cried. It was so beautiful.

/He's trying to break us./ Arbron said gently. /He wants us to feel despair that we have failed to protect it./

Then the view changed to a ship. /A Pool Ship./ Anji whispered in fear. After that the portal disappeared.

The Blade Ship docked but the hatch didn't open.

We waited for several minutes before it opened and we slowly exited. On both sides of the hangar were humans, Hork-Bajir, some Taxxons and some other species that I didn't recognize. On one side the uniforms were gold and on the other the uniforms were red.

They then stood at attention and then Visser Three appeared with a human woman near the end of the back on the hangar.

/As you can see Visser One, the Andalites have been caught and now it will be much more easy to take over the human race./ He announced to all.

As the two Vissers came closer I noticed Anji stiffen, then laid down and bury her head under her paws. I was curious for only a few moments why she was reacting this before I recognized Visser One. It was a face that I knew all too well: my Mother's face.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Ah. I was guessing.

Tobias and I found what seemed to be a bunch of computer flies and started to scroll through them. It was quite fun to select files in the air and move them around.

Wonder how Chapman is going to explain his desktop not looking the same as when he last used it...

/Prince Arbron?/ Anji asked softly. /Does it say why she's coming?/ /I believe it has something to do with us./ Arbron answered.

That's part of it, yes...

Why did she have to go sailing when a storm was coming?

Better question: why did the Council of Thirteen order her to go somewhere else when the silent invasion thing was working?

“All I know is that once they arrived my Father and the cadets got separated. That was the last time that one of the cadets was seen, never to be seen ever again. My Father . . . .” She trailed off, obviously upset. “Vanished as well, no one knows what happened to the two teenagers that I know of.”

So this is just a guess: here, the Ellimist didn't pull an intervention and wisk Elfangor home? Interesting...

If Arbron had been one of the cadets wouldn't he know what happened to Anji's Father, or at least have an idea?

Yep.

There was silence until Anji regained conscience.

Beta: consciousness.

/As you can see Visser One, the Andalites have been caught and now it will be much more easy to take over the human race./

Him don't know her very well.

 

DaenaBenjen42 I am quite sure that Chapman is going to be wondering why someone messed with his perfect score on Spider Solitaire on the highest difficulty (that happened to a friend of mine. Play one game so he could say that he had a perfect score and someone ruined it by losing a game.

You be right about the Ellimist not intervening in Elfangor's life. Arbron sort of took that place.

Arbron is more or less under orders not to say that he was on the mission where Alloran was taken simply to avoid him being blamed for things that he had no control of.

I am pretty sure that my old word document writer hated me. It wouldn't tell me anything except that words were misspelled. Microsoft Word is much nicer to me and it tells me when I have improper grammar.

Either way here's the next chapter!

xxxxxxxxxxxx

I wanted to demorph and go to her but it was as if I was glued to deck. Finally I was able to do something. I sat down.

/Marco, don't do anything stupid./ Jake whispered to me. /Stand up if you can. We can't allow them to figure out the truth./ /Marco,/ Tobias whispered. /That isn't your Mother in a sense. She's one of them./

It was all a lie. I realized: the frayed safety line, the fact that there was no body. There was never a body to find.

/Why Visser One,/ Visser Three nearly sneered. /You seem to be afraid of the humanoid one./ “It's called a gorilla.” My Mother's voice said coldly devoid of the warmth that I heard so often in it.

“If you're going to be in charge of the invasion you should learn about the creatures that live on it.” She informed Visser Three coldly.

/And take a human host as you did?/ Visser Three asked with a laugh. /I think not. Humans have no natural weapons and are rather slow when it comes to moving./ He paused for a moment before continuing. /I would think that you would rather have a Hork-Bajir host again/

She then said something too softly for me to hear and Visser Three's tail twitched in a manner that I didn't like.

The group wearing gold hands moved for their weapons and the reds did as well; giving each other death glares the entire time.

/They don't like each other./ Cassie observed.

/Of course not,/ Tobias said. /The red either means that they're not going to survive the episode or that they're in command. If the latter is the case then the golds are still bitter that they no longer are in charge of the ships and they'll probably die in the line of duty./

/Actually each color denotes which Visser that they serve./ Arbron said.

The next thing I knew Visser One was snapping her fingers and walking away with a group of gold troops.

We all watched her go.

We turned our attention back to Visser Three. He seemed unsure a few moments before turning back to us. /Eight Andalites, should I have you tortured, or should I simply have you infested?/ He asked almost maliciously.

/And have more abominations like you Yeerk Filth?!/ Ax demanded. /I would rather die by my own Tail Blade then die by your hand./ Anji whispered with bravo I knew she didn't feel.

The Visser cocked his head to one side. /A female Aristh? Last I knew your kind weren't welcomed in the Andalite Military./ He said with derision.

/You've been out of the loop too long./ Arbron said calmly. /Prince Arbron-Bantec-Deroma,/ Visser Three said with interest. /Are you looking for your missing friend? Elfangor is never coming back./ He sneered.

If I hadn't known better I would have thought that the Visser butchered someone's name.

The Visser than turned to his troopers. /Escort them to a holding cell. They can't stay in morph forever. In less than two hours they will begin to feel the urge to demorph and that will only get stronger as more time passes until their bodies force them to demorph. I want them guarded at all times so that they don't escape./ With that that he turned and walked away.

A large group of Hork-Bajir Controllers came forward and waved their Dracon Beams at us until we started moving. Anji seemed just as lost for words as we were; but somehow I knew that it wasn't from fear.

We were led down the corridors of the Pool Ship until we reached an area that seemed devoid of people. A door opened and the Hork-Bajir pointed their Dracon Beams at us and said something that I guessed meant get in.

We entered and the door closed behind us.

/You met Visser Three?/ Jake asked Arbron after a few moments. Arbron nodded his leopard head. /We went on a mission together before he was taken./

Anji was as silent as a rock.

Silence fell a few moments later and at least I thought about how we were either a) going to get out of this or b) what was going to happen if we couldn't. If I never came home then my Dad would really go off the deep end.

/There has to be a way out of here!/ Anji said, breaking the silence first. /We might be able to morph into ants, find a crack and get out./ Cassie suggested. /We could just attack them when they open the door./ Rachel commented. /And charge them./ Arbron said thoughtfully. /Yes, it would be better to go down fighting then be infested./

Suddenly the door opened and there stood a few Hork-Bajir dressed in gold uniforms; at their feet there were our guards on the deck.

The leader of the little band turned to us. “You must go down this corridor that way.” He said and pointed to his left, our right. “Once you reach the end go right and then continue until you reach a security station. You are to go left then take the drop shaft to deck 23. There will be an escape pod waiting for you there; it will be the only one that is open. It will take you back to where you were captured. Some of you might need to demorph.” He finished

it was then that I realized that not only was he speaking perfect English, like he'd gone to Harvard or Yale or one of those schools, but that he seemed to be helping us.

/Internal Politics./ Arbron said softly to us. /If we escape it makes Visser Three look bad./ Then he turned to the Hork-Bajir and nodded. The Gold Hork-Bajir turned and left.

After they had been left Arbron led us down the corridor. We met some Controllers on the way but we quickly got rid of most of them.

The drop shaft was an interesting experience, it was just a shaft in a wall that dropped. The worst part was that were was no floor. If I had been human I would have thrown up.

Once we got in the escape pod we automatically ejected it.

We all demorphed since it was a tight fit. Once the escape pod landed we quickly morphed into birds and flew away and it self-destructed a few minutes later.

We flew to the Scoop and landed. Anji morphed almost immediately into a human after she demorphed and went in the Scoop; a few moments later we heard sobs. Cassie tried to follow her only for Arbron to stop her. /Let her be./ He told her.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day I went to the cemetery that had my Mom's memorial in it with my Dad. It was a nice place with flowers, well cut grass and a few trees.

We stood in front of the marker for several moments; just remembering. My Dad broke the silence first. “Two years,” he whispered. “Yeah,” I whispered. Two years of living a type of lie.

There was some more silence which I was fine with.

“Marco, I have been thinking.” My Dad began. “Your mother wouldn't be happy that we weren't going on with our lives.” I just nodded. “I spoke to Alan yesterday and he helped me get in touch with Jerry.” He continued.

This time I looked up. Alan was a former co-worker; Tobias's Father and Jerry was his boss back when he worked for that company.

“I spoke to Jerry about getting my job back there; he said he would love to have me back. And Alan has volunteered to help me get familiar with the system.” He told me. “

I felt a wide smile come to my face. Our lives would soon be normal again.

“I just hope that you haven't forgotten how to play Doom.” I told him playfully. He smiled. “Let's see what I know before we go over to Alan's for supper.” He told me, a smile on his face. “I have been waiting to see if Tobias has been improving on his game play of Super Mario World.” I said.

As we left I promised myself that one day I would free my Mother and then we would truly be a happy family.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

I am pretty sure that my old word document writer hated me. It wouldn't tell me anything except that words were misspelled. Microsoft Word is much nicer to me and it tells me when I have improper grammar.

Ah. "To be conscious of your conscience, one first has to have consciousness." (And that one's easy to miss. Really.) And we all make the grammar, spelling, missing word errors.

I wanted to demorph and go to her but it was as if I was glued to deck.

You're missing a word here. The, right after 'to'.

/Why Visser One,/ Visser Three nearly sneered. /You seem to be afraid of the humanoid one./

Now why would Visser One be afraid of a Gorilla that sat down for no apparrent reason? (I couldn't resist. Edit.)

/And take a human host as you did?/ Visser Three asked with a laugh. /I think not. Humans have no natural weapons and are rather slow when it comes to moving./ He paused for a moment before continuing. /I would think that you would rather have a Hork-Bajir host again/

Considering what happened to that host... is he asking her to shoot him? And, also... that supposition there is why Visser Three is a moron: because he assumes nothing can be learned by taking a human host.

/The red either means that they're not going to survive the episode or that they're in command. If the latter is the case then the golds are still bitter that they no longer are in charge of the ships and they'll probably die in the line of duty./

/Actually each color denotes which Visser that they serve./ Arbron said.

Hee.

/Are you looking for your missing friend? Elfangor is never coming back./

Low blow, and how certain of that is he?

Suddenly the door opened and there stood a few Hork-Bajir dressed in gold uniforms; at their feet there were our guards on the deck.

Hello to the cavalry, even if technically they're the enemy...

As we left I promised myself that one day I would free my Mother and then we would truly be a happy family.

Um-hmm... "Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight" (Marco, Fortune Cookiee Wisdom)

 

DaenaBenjen42 It's too easy to make grammar mistakes in English.

She knows just how strong they are and she has no idea what the "Andalite" is planning.

Visser Three isn't exactly known for his intelligence at time.

I thought that the Star Trek reference would be amusing and from Tobias since he's a fan of science fiction.

He probably thinks that if Elfangor was alive that he would have shown his face by now. If not a blow to Arbron's hopes that Elfangor is alive.

Gotta love internal politics.

Blast! Forgot about the fortune cookie!

Either way here's the next part! Book Eight

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill I am an Andalite Aristh. I'd tell you a little bit more about me but most of it you would already know. And I understand that some humans find things that they already know getting repeated boring.

To make a long story short I came to Earth in a Dome Ship with a little over a hundred Andalite Warriors. We had come to confirm a Yeerk presence on the planet and were attacked. As far as we know Prince Arbron-Bantec-Deroma, myself and a female computer technician Anjinnl-Kardon-Liuary are the only ones that survived.

As of now I am sitting in a human classroom listening to the teacher teach the young humans incorrect mathematics. I don't understand how Anjinnl can just sit there and not correct the teacher on anything.

The school bell rings telling the whole room that school is over for the day. It's about time is all I can think as I leave the room with Anjinnl not too far behind.

As we walk outside I see Jake with the others talking about how this cool new Star Trek movie was in the theater.

I wondered right there how one could have a trek among the stars.

Before I knew it Anjinnl had grabbed me by the arm and led me over to the group. The next thing I knew we were headed for the theater and Anjinnl was threatening to duct tape my arms to the arm rests and then tape my mouth shut so that I couldn't draw attention to us by saying stupid things.

I find passing as a human the hardest since I never received the training that Prince Arbron and Anjinnl received. They were supposed to be staying on Earth and I am not sure if I would have been staying or not.

After a few short movie clips the movie began. It was interesting but not really seeing that half the stuff in it couldn't happen or not the way they were talking about.

I opened my mouth to say this but Anjinnl glared at me and held up a roll of duct tape. This is a little unusual for her but she has changed since we were captured and taken to the Pool Ship some time ago. She is still herself in some ways but different in others. The old Anjinnl wouldn't have threatened me with a human adhesive.

So I stayed quiet and watched the whole thing, deciding that my comments could wait until after the movie since I really didn't want something sticky on my face.

After a time I found myself wishing that I had asked Prince Arbron if I could join him in his fact finding mission. That way I wouldn't have to worry about duct tape.

Finally the movie was over and the lights came back on. We headed for the exits. Marco and Tobias were talking about how cool this and that was. I learned that Tobias and Marco had already seen it with their families and that it was just as cool as the first time.

Once we were no longer completely crowded by humans leaving the theater I got ready to complain about the movie again when Anjinnl once again held up the roll of duct tape.

Suddenly an older human male approached us and grabbed Jake. “They're here!” he cried out. “They're taking over the planet.”

I knew what this meant. The Yeerk in this man was dying for whatever reason, most likely because we had destroyed the Kandrona not too long ago. Andalites had seen it before when we had destroyed them. Yeerks that couldn't get to a Yeerk Pool that could have access to one died.

I knew that the human Animorphs didn't know that Hosts that had their Yeerk die met with death. That's how it was on many worlds where the invasion was silent like this one.

I looked at Anjinnl and saw that she looked hopeful. Of course seeing that she was a lowly computer technician she wouldn't know.

As an ambulance and police arrived I found myself wishing that Prince Arbron was here. He had thought about telling the others what we had done by destroying the Kandrona; but didn't want them to regret destroying it when it was saving lives.

The man was pulled into the ambulance and I saw a police officer press something inconspicuously to the man's neck and the man went limp.

Suddenly I didn't feel like telling everyone just how inaccurate the movie was. I didn't know why but my human stomach was churning in an unpleasant manner.

Finally the ambulance left and we went silently on our way.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day I went to Tobias's place with Marco. They were talking about who would beat who at some childish game. Andalite children didn't play silly games like I had seen Jake, Tobias and Marco play. A boy running around a world to save his world and a princess from an evil force is just one example but for some reason they love it.

Tobias's mother was in the kitchen cooking or something and his many siblings were fighting over which movie to watch; something about Bambi, Cinderella, Star Wars and the Muppet Movie.

“How can the stars fight each other?” I asked Tobias softly. “It means that the whole galaxy is at war if you will.” He replied.

Tobias then led us into a room that had a look of an office and smiling he showed us several computers. “Be careful with them and don't get into something that isn't a game. My Dad as well as Marco's Dad will kill us all if we mess with their work.” He told me.

“Play on mine Max,” Marco said. “It has cooler games than any Tobias has.”

I sat down and after a bit I found myself bored with the game and decided to find a more amusing one to play.

It didn't take me long and I was done. I saved it and closed out of the game. I win! I thought, thoroughly pleased with myself.

“Tobias, Marco, who is this?” a male voice asked. I turned to see a man that could only be Tobias's father standing in the doorway. “Relax Al, he's Marco's friend.” A man that I knew to be Marco's father said as he came in the room.

Tobias's father came over muttering to himself. “I hope that none of you messed with our work.” He said as he checked on the computer Tobias was at. “Don't worry Dad I know that you would feed us to something if we did.” Tobias commented playfully.

We left the office and headed for the kitchen where Tobias opened the cooling unit that humans use to keep their food cold and got some drinks that I knew were called sodas before he grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard.

I found myself wishing that Prince Arbron was here instead of tracking the movement of Yeerks. I always felt a little safer when he was around.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just so you know I'm going to be doing the thirteenth book after book eight. Unless you feel VERY strongly about one of the books in between.

 

Blast! Forgot about the fortune cookie!

Here ya go, then. For those who wandered in here and have no idea what we're talking about, Fortune Cookie Awesomeness: [I have a saying for you. I got it from a fortune cookie. "Fall down seven times, get up eight." Do you know what that means? It means that you don't ever just lay there. That you always come back for more. Maybe you die, but you never surrender.] -said by the kid whose mother taught him the meaning of New Hampshire liscense plates before she got kidnapped by an alien slug. That slogan? "Live Free Or Die"

Visser Three isn't exactly known for his intelligence at time.

No. No he isn't... plus, he's got a superiority complex going on.

As of now I am sitting in a human classroom listening to the teacher teach the young humans incorrect mathematics. I don't understand how Anjinnl can just sit there and not correct the teacher on anything.

She knows when to say nothing, because if she were to say something, she'd be in the wrong, not the teacher.

As we walk outside I see Jake with the others talking about how this cool new Star Trek movie was in the theater.

Ah. So they actually told him it was Star Trek! (Not that Ax would have known what Trek was to begin with, but still...)

I knew that the human Animorphs didn't know that Hosts that had their Yeerk die met with death. That's how it was on many worlds where the invasion was silent like this one.

Ever get the feeling that Ax should have spilled all the facts, like this one, BEFORE it actually ended up bitting them in the butt? *wince*

“Be careful with them and don't get into something that isn't a game. My Dad as well as Marco's Dad will kill us all if we mess with their work.”

Hmmm... now that's interesting. What kind of computer program could Alan be working on with Marco's dad? For that matter, if those two are working together, does that mean that they already figured out the z-space window? Oh my...

I found myself wishing that Prince Arbron was here instead of tracking the movement of Yeerks. I always felt a little safer when he was around.

Having hearty chuckle because the thought of Arbron at this gathering is utterly amusing... hee.

And... lessee... baby skunks, yeerk logging company, Rachel's morph allergy, rainforest time loop, The Chee... I love all those things, but if you wanna skip to thirteen, go for it.

 

DaenaBenjen42 No they haven't figured out the z-space window. Elfangor wouldn't go that far if you will.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was back in the human school with Cassie the next day and thoroughly bored. It wasn't until I heard a commotion that the students in the room I was in left for the hall.

I joined them out of curiosity and it would keep me out of the classroom for some time. I had no desire to have to listen to biology that was either incorrect or primitive.

I saw one of the Yeerk leaders, Chapman, shooing students out of a classroom. I saw Jake standing there; I saw his eyes widen and I saw him flee.

I raced after him along with Cassie. I knew that he had witnessed Chapman kill a Controller. He wants so much for his brother to be freed from the Yeerks. More now than ever since he was accidentally infested a few weeks back.

Prince Arbron had taken Jake's place while we waited for the Yeerk to die. We all took turns guarding Jake until it happened.

I had a feeling that I was going to hear from him how upset he was about what he had witnessed. I found myself wishing that Arbron was there to tell Jake that it was the Yeerks that were killing those Controllers; not him.

xxxxxxx

A few days later I was with Anjinnl working on human homework when the others showed up in their birds of prey morphs.

/Ax,/ Marco started. /What did you do the other day to my Dad's work files?!/ He demanded.

“I just played the games that were on it.” I answered simply. “There was one that was correct the mistakes so I did.” I informed them.

/Ax that was a computer program for a radio telescope. / Tobias said simply. /Not a game./

/Both my Dad and Tobias's are blown away by it./ Marco said. /Alan said that this could usher in a new understanding of space and help us shift through the white noise of space better./

/He also said that it would be a great asset to SETI./ Tobias put in. “SETI?” I asked. /Search of Extraterrestrial Intelligence./ Jake said. /In other words aliens./ Rachel said

Before I could fully process what they were saying something hard connected with my head. “Ow!” I yelped and I turned to see Anjinnl standing over me with a school book.

/What are we going to do?!/ she asked, anger and concern evident in her mental voice. /Prince Arbron is gone so we can't ask him what to do./ /We tell them nothing or as little as possible and I will see about destroying the program./ I told her.

Anji nodded and walked into the Scoop. “Where is the program now?” I asked. “At the Observatory,” Marco answered after he finished demorphing.

“You're lucky that we were able to convince our fathers that it was a freak accident. My Dad is still puzzling over the whole thing.” Tobias said as he picked a flower.

Anjinnl chose at that moment to return with a notebook and started writing. I peered over her shoulder and frowned. It was just a bunch of mathematical equations; both human and Andalite.

Suddenly something occurred to me. This radio telescope could be used to communicate with the Andalite Home World and let them know what happened.

“Ax, what are you thinking?” Rachel asked. “Not much apparently.” Anjinnl answered for me.

xxxxxxxx

/Remind me again why you couldn't have brought Anji with you.” Tobias asked as we flew towards the observatory. /Anjinnl would destroy it before contacting our home world and letting them know that the Yeerks are indeed on Earth./ I stated.

/Oh,/ was Tobias's only reply.

Finally it came into sight.

I was once again taken back by the primitiveness of the Humans. /You still you dishes to pick up signals?/ I asked. /Until we find something better than yes./ Tobias said calmly.

/My parents are going to kill me when they learn that I skipped school./ Tobias muttered. /Then why did you come?/ I asked. /Because I thought it would be nice and I hate Mr. Gagnon anyway./ Tobias said in a tone that I learned was sarcasm.

/It's still under construction so you shouldn't meet anyone./ Tobias told me as we got closer.

I flew through an open window of an empty office and demorphed. I took my place at a computer and disabled the security system as if it was annoying child's program. I then did what I had to do to get in contact with the Andalite Home World. I braced myself for the fallout that could come from this.

It took about ten Earth minutes to do it and I knew that I would have to face the consequences of my actions.

I told the Andalite on the other end as little as possible. That Prince Arbron-Bantec-Deroma was alive as well as me and Anjinnl-Kardon-Liuary. I told him that Prince Arbron had found a way to gather information but I wasn't sure what that was. I had decided to omit the humans from this. I didn't want them to suffer from it.

The hardest thing I did was tell my Father that my brother, the one that we had hoped was still alive out there; somewhere was most likely dead.

I didn't really know my brother except that he disappeared before I was born on a mission and was never heard from again.

Elfangor was a mystery to me. Even Prince Arbron was hesitant to talk about my brother. If I didn't know any better I'd say that he was hiding something.

No sooner had I finished making my vow to kill the Yeerk that more or less admitted to killing Elfangor the screen went dark.

I felt a mixture of panic and confusion.

“I had to break the connection because it was breaking my heart.” A human male's voice said.

I turned and saw him standing thirty feet away holding a Dracon Beam. This man was a Controller and I was in his sights.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

No they haven't figured out the z-space window. Elfangor wouldn't go that far if you will.

Funny how he wouldn't, but Ax would... all the while thinking it was a game!!!

Prince Arbron had taken Jake's place while we waited for the Yeerk to die.

Good. That way, Jake wasn't subjected to a therapist due to Ax's wacky behaviour.

/Both my Dad and Tobias's are blown away by it./ Marco said. /Alan said that this could usher in a new understanding of space and help us shift through the white noise of space better./

...right. (I'm hoping for a reunion here eventually. Because the revelations and the stories shared are gonna be awesome. And then Al can join Anji in slapping Ax upside the head for stupidity.)

Before I could fully process what they were saying something hard connected with my head. “Ow!” I yelped and I turned to see Anjinnl standing over me with a school book.

**cheers Anji on**

“You're lucky that we were able to convince our fathers that it was a freak accident. My Dad is still puzzling over the whole thing.”

Of course he is: he recognizes the math. Hee.

I peered over her shoulder and frowned. It was just a bunch of mathematical equations; both human and Andalite.

Hmmm... that bit about her working in both makes me wonder.

/My parents are going to kill me when they learn that I skipped school./

There's a positive side to this: he HAS parents to kill him for skipping school. And, for that matter, school to skip.

/Because I thought it would be nice and I hate Mr. Gagnon anyway./

Refresh my memory. Was it Mr. Gagnon that actually remembered Tobias the person when he saw him at a school dance in a later-series book?

No sooner had I finished making my vow to kill the Yeerk that more or less admitted to killing Elfangor the screen went dark.

He'll have to stand in line behind a bunch of Yeerk Peace Movement members... and also the controller with the dracon beam. Even Visser Three's own people don't really want him. Or that's how it seemed, anyway...

 

DaenaBenjen42 Elfangor doesnt want to stick out like a sore thumb and attract the wrong type of attention.

Ax should have had more control since he was supposed to be pretending to be a human.

Elfangor might face palm at the thought that Ax was so careless. But the reunion is going to be amusing. One of my sisters thinks that Anji is being unfair to Ax and not cutting him enough slack. After all she received training to pass as a human where Ax didn't.

Elfangor does recognize the math but he can't figure out is why one of his people would be so foolish to alter a software program on a planet filled with the enemy.

Anji doing both is a way to calm down. She's looking for common factors among other things.

I liked school; even though I was teased to the point of tears at times, But seeing that I went to catch the bus at 8:00 am was at school from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, got off the bus at about 3:35 pm five days a week there wasn't much to question in my day unless it was an early release or a Doctor's Appointment was during school hours. Either way I knew where I was supposed to be.

I honestly don't know. I am 99.99% sure hat I mad him up for this. Hmm.

Hard to know with the Yeerks; for the most part. Most of them it's all about power



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We stared at each other for several moments. I was waiting for the attack and the controller waiting for only he knew what.

“Welcome Andalite, I knew that one of your kind must have created the software so I waited for one of you to come.” The Controller said almost conversationally. “The people here know me as Gary Kozlar; my designation is Eslin three-five-nine.”

Panic gripped me until the Human-Controller did something odd: he knelt on the floor, set the Dracon Beam down before standing then kicked it across the room.

/Ax,/ Tobias's voice came to me, /did he just kick his weapon across the room?/ /Yes he did./

“It appears that we have something in common Andalite.” Eslin said calmly. “You see when you and your friends destroyed the Kandrona the Visser decided that some less important Yeerks needed to be sacrificed for the rest of us to survive.”

/What does this have to do with me?/ I asked.

Eslin smiled at me. “Your brother Elfangor is missing isn't he? He disappeared on a mission and was never heard from again. And you heard some time ago that he wasn't coming back.”

I nodded to show that I understood. Visser Three had said that Elfangor wasn't coming back and the Visser had let some Yeerks die.

“One of the causalities was someone that was close to me. We trained together and had been on many of the same assignments. My position here was deemed more important than hers so she was one of the ones cast aside.” He said anger thick in his voice.

/And I guess you want me to kill the Visser so we both can have revenge./ I said. He just nodded.

/How am I to do that seeing that Visser Three is either watchful or has guards?/ I asked, more curious then anything.

Eslin smiled in a way that made me nervous. “He needs to feed.” He said simply.

For a few moments I didn't fully understand what he was talking about but then I thought of how I had eaten this morning. It was possible for Andalites to eat liquefied grass but in all honesty it tastes horrible. But to stay healthy an Andalite needed fresh grass which is the reason for the Dome on our ships or the grass on the shuttles and a few fighters’ decks.

Eslin walked over to a table and quickly wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I looked at it and saw that it had a date, time and place written on it.

“There are only a few guards and even then they stay back unless he calls for them or they have news for him.” Eslin told me before leaving.

I quickly memorized the note before morphing back into the Northern Harrier. I still took the note with me.

/Tobias, don't tell the others what happened at the Observatory. I will tell Anjinnl and Arbron if he gets back in time./ I told him /It's your call Ax-Man./ Tobias commented.

Tobias and I split after we returned to the area where he lived and I headed for the Scoop.

Anjinnl was already there doing her homework. She made no comment as I demorphed and headed into the Scoop.

I hid the note in one of the books that Tobias and Marco picked out for us to read. It was filled with quotes that famous humans said throughout their recorded history.

I decided then and there not to tell Anjinnl about what I learned; that there was a huge chance that Visser Three could be destroyed. She's a female and a computer technician at that. She wouldn't completely understand that I needed to do this myself.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning I performed the Ritual a good distance from Anjinnl so she couldn't see what I was doing. She most likely would demand to know what I was doing and either come along or tell the others.

After I was done I raced off for the place where the Visser fed his host body.

I arrived at the place and an hour early just so that I could check the place out.

At first I doubted that this was the right place because of how normal it looked but when I ventured out by the stream that ran through the meadow I noticed that the grass was shorter and that there were Andalite hoof prints there.

He had been here recently; three days or so.

I went through a mental list of all the morphs I had that would be of use but discarded them just as fast as I thought of them. Then I remembered something; I had acquired a rattlesnake a few days ago. It was poisonous, fast and he wouldn't see it coming either.

I morphed into the snake and slithered to what I felt was a good place to be: near the stream. And I waited.

I had been waiting for some time when I felt the vibrations of what could only be bug fighters landing.

I calmed myself as I heard him bark out orders to the guards he had brought with him.

More vibrations that were getting closer; galloping I guessed from the rhythm of them.

I could smell flesh coming closer and closer.

Then the sun was blocked out. I glanced up and discovered that he was standing over me.

A hissing noise that I recognized as the noise the snake had made before it had tried to bite me. A warning the others had told me.

The Visser moved slightly so he could look at me. I could see the fear in his eyes as it dawned on him what was going to happen.

I struck.

I didn't care for the taste of Andalite flesh but at least I was poisoning him.

He shook me loose but I struck again.

After I let go that time I raced off just in time to miss his tail blade. Demorph! I told myself as I slithered towards safety.

/There's a snake!/ I heard the Visser shout. /Find it and kill it!/

Not long afterwards I found that I couldn't move anymore. Demorphing had made it impossible to move any further.

Movement and I saw a Hork-Bajir standing in front of me; ready to kill me. So, this is how it ends. I thought.

At that moment the Hork-Bajir staggered and then went flying. In its place was a grizzly bear, roaring.

/Rachel?/ I asked. /No, it's Smoky the Bear./ She said sarcastically. /Of course it's me! Now finish demorphing idiot./

I demorphed had examined the meadow. Jake was dropping on a Hork-Bajir in his tiger morph, Tobias was in the air, and Anjinnl was baring her teeth as a Black Panther. Visser Three stood about where he had been when I bit him with two Hork-Bajir Controllers guarding him

/Two more by the Bug Fighters./ Tobias reported. /Never mind, Marco and Cassie got them./

/Tobias why is everyone here?/ I asked. /I told them that you were going after Visser Three on your own and it didn't help that Anjinnl found the note in one of her books./ He explained. /Besides if I didn't tell them then you would be dead./

I saw his logic so I didn't say anything.

/I say it's nearly time to talk to the Visser./ Rachel said. /No, this is something I need to do./ I told her. /As you wish./ she replied.

I saw the Visser stagger and I smiled grimly, the poison was working. A few moments later his body buckled and he collapsed on the ground.

The Hork-Bajir seemed to freeze as we approached. They saw Jake, Rachel, Marco, Tobias, Cassie, Anjinnl and me.

The Yeerks in their heads fear Andalites more than anything and now they saw me in my Andalite form and saw Anjinnl demorphing.

/Your Visser is finished! You can run or die with him!/ I told them. The two Controllers shared a quick look before racing away; Hork-Bajir can be very fast when motivated.

Tobias was the first one to reach Visser Three and quickly flapped his wings to get higher in the air.

Anjinnl trotted to my side and gave me a look that spoke volumes. She was worried, angry and nervous.

As we got closer to the incapacitated Visser we formed a circle and slowed down; just in case he still had enough strength to fight back.

/What?/ Tobias cried, sounding shocked.

I looked up and saw him dive towards the ground with his morph's talons extended. He pulled up before hitting the ground.

/NO! NO! NO!/ He yelled over and over.

/Tobias, what's wrong?/ Jake asked. /He bailed!/ Tobias cried out incredulously. /The Yeerk bailed!/

/Tobias you're not making any sense. Can you tell us what happened more slowly?/ Jake asked. /I saw the Yeerk crawl out of the Andalite's ear and then worm his way through the grass. He got into the stream and I can't see under the surface. I doesn't help that the current is fast./

/The Visser left his host?/ I asked, shocked.

For several moments we just stood there, stunned. At least I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the thought that the Visser would abandon his host. I had no idea what everyone else was thinking.

Suddenly Anjinnl moved to the side of the dying Andalite. I quickly hurried after her and stopped just short of him.

I watched as the Andalite looked at us with his main eyes; hope and despair warred in them.

My stomachs dropped. You could tell who the Visser was just by the darkness that seemed to come off him in waves. But with the Yeerk gone there was nothing.

/Kill me,/ he whispered desperately. /Kill me before he takes me again! Please, please kill me./

I felt my hearts stop. The thought that he still aware, still existed on any level was horrifying.

/The snake-/ /No, you don't understand!/ The Andalite said, cutting me off. /The Visser - he has backup forces ready. Half a dozen Bug Fighters! They'll keep me alive. The poison is too slow./ The despair in his voice cut me to my hearts.

/I – but you're an Andalite. I can't./ I whispered.

I turned my stalk eyes to Anjinnl and observed that she was distraught; as if this was hurting her more than it should.

/He'll take me again./ The Andalite said, begging now. /Once they find him they'll bring me to him. You don't understand: the things I've seen . . . horrible./

I watched as he lifted his tail; trying to his blade to his own throat. But the poison had weakened him too much and his tail fell.

/I understand./ He said with sorrow that twisted my stomachs. /Listen, my name is . . . ./ He trailed off clearly searching his memories for his name.

Finally he nodded and gave a weak smile of triumph. /That's it, my name is Alloran-Semitur-Corrass. I was once a War Prince. If you survive . . . my wife and two children . . . tell them that . . . I love them./

/They will hear your message./ Anjinnl said with conviction that surprised me

/Is there more that you would have us do, Prince Alloran?/ I asked.

He reached up with a weak, shaking hand that I took. /Fight them . . . stronger than you think. They . . . infiltrated . . . the home world . . . ./ He trailed off, unable to finish his message.

/The Yeerks are on the Home World?/ Anjinnl asked, fear evident in her voice.

Prince Alloran tried to nod but went limp before he could finish.

I gently laid his hand down and tried to not to think of when we would meet again.

/Come Ax, Anji, there will another chance/ Jake said gently.

We turned and hurried away before the Bug Fighters could arrive.

xxxxxxxx

When we arrived at the Scoop we noticed immediately saw that Prince Arbron was waiting for us. He didn't say anything to us but I could tell that we were in for what humans call a dressing down.

He gestured at all of us to follow him into the Scoop which we did. Our human friends sat down on the chairs that we had there for them.

I noticed that Anjinnl was morphing into her human morph. When she was done she sank into a chair, she cried and wailed as if she had lost someone important.

Cassie moved to sit next to her and wrapped Anjinnl into a hug.

/What happened?/ Prince Arbron asked as he observed Anjinnl cry. /We tried to take Visser Three out; we failed./ I informed him.

He blinked in surprise.

/What led you to believe that you could destroy him?/ He asked. /I accidentally improved a human program that was for a human radio telescope. I contacted the home world to let them know what happened. I didn’t tell them about what you did. A human controller came and told me of a way to kill Visser Three and I tried to do just that./

Prince Arbron looked ready to do what humans call a face palm.

/Why did the attempt fail?/ he asked point blank. /The Visser left his host and escaped before we knew what had happened. I couldn’t bring myself to kill the Andalite./ I answered.

I expected him to reprimand me for not killing the Visser’s host but he just nodded. /Greater warriors have hesitated to kill him./ Prince Arbron told us.

I felt just a little better at the thought that I wasn’t the only one to fail at the task.

“My Prince, we were given some disturbing news.” Anjinnl began. “The Yeerks are infiltrating the Home World.”

The silence that followed was so deep I thought that I could hear the beats of everyone’s hearts.

Prince Arbron was silent for what felt like hours.

/Are you sure?/ He asked, worry evident in his voice. /That’s what he told us and I don’t think he’d have wasted time telling us something that wasn’t important./ I said.

Prince Arbron looked worn.

/Aximili, I want you to go and destroy the program tomorrow. If you didn’t tell them about our friends don’t. If the Yeerks are in fact doing silent invasion on the Home World then we must protect them at all cost./ Prince Arbron said.

I nodded.

xxxxxxxx

The next day I stood in the Observatory ready to contact the Home World. I needed tell them that Prince Arbron wanted to know when more ships were coming and how many. I also needed to tell them to pass on Prince Alloran’s message.

Once I was done I erased the program.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


I would have posted this yesterday but I made arrangements with a friend to play SW:TOR for a few hours with two of my brothers. then I was out and then the computer had to stay off for the rest of the night. Today I was out helping turn logs into boards for a new barn then I was spending time with a friend watching Iron Man and the Avengers.

 

Elfangor might face palm at the thought that Ax was so careless. But the reunion is going to be amusing. One of my sisters thinks that Anji is being unfair to Ax and not cutting him enough slack. After all she received training to pass as a human where Ax didn't.

Oh, I think she was cutting him just enough slack and should now take up training him in how to act like a human.

The comment about school and parents had to do with Canon Tobias. You know... the one stuck in morph.

I honestly don't know. I am 99.99% sure hat I mad him up for this. Hmm.

If it helps, the incident was a Tobias-narrated school-dance incident. (And that was one thing I couldn't figure out at Seerowpedia. Ack.)

I decided then and there not to tell Anjinnl about what I learned; that there was a huge chance that Visser Three could be destroyed. She's a female and a computer technician at that. She wouldn't completely understand that I needed to do this myself.

More to the point: she WOULDN'T let him try to do it all by himself. And then she'd probably hit him upside the head with a book again for thinking she's a lowly female computer tech.

/I told them that you were going after Visser Three on your own and it didn't help that Anjinnl found the note in one of her books./

For that matter, neither would Tobias. Hee.

Liked Arbron's reaction to the attempt. Really, really did. And good on him that he told Ax to say nothing about breaking Seerow's Kindness.