Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Art done by me, Vickie1 (aka, vickie-believe)

Chapter Text

ONE: JAKE

3:23 P.M.

My name is Jake. 

I can’t tell you any more than that. Not my last name, or where I’m from. You know the drill. And if you don’t, just know that I have enemies. If they find out who I am, they’ll hunt us down. Even our families.

But you need to know that everything I’m telling is the truth. And we’re the only line of defence for this planet from the Yeerks.

What are they?

They’re parasites - small grey slugs that enter a person’s head, wrap themselves around your brain and take over your body. They make you do whatever they want. And you stop being a person. You become a Controller.

You can’t move your arms or legs. You can’t even scream. You’re trapped. Everything about you is the Yeerk’s. The Yeerk is you now.

Ridiculous, right? Something like that? It can’t be true. But here’s the thing. It’s real. The Yeerks have taken over Earth and they are fighting against the Andalites.

The Andalites, in a way, are the good guys. But they can't help us right now - not when they have their own battles on the other side of the galaxy. Only six of us are fighting the Yeerks. 

Sounds like a losing fight from the start. Not reassuring either. I try not to think about the odds. Keeps me going these days.

We’re not without any advantage. We have these amazing powers to acquire any animal’s DNA and morph into them. And we're using this power to save this planet. Because we’re the only hope Earth has. Just five kids and an alien cadet against the invasion, and the Yeerks’ leader, Visser Three.

It’s hard to believe. But you gotta believe my word. You can’t trust anyone. Your family, your friends, even the delivery guy. They’ll act normal to you, give small talk and all you can do is do nothing, knowing they’re not them anymore. Because if they learn that you know, they’ll make you a Controller too.

Same is said with us. We can’t trust anyone either. If the Yeerks find out about us, then we’ll take drastic measures. Even if a Controller is a human.

We have to keep going. Live a ‘normal’ life. That’s what we were trying on a Saturday afternoon at the mall.

We needed the break after everything that has happened this far, especially last month… So we came up with the plan - we’d buy stuff, head to the beach and relax there the next day. 

It got everyone in good spirits, Rachel especially. She took over the whole operation. Sending each of us to our own little tasks and to meet up at the lobby in an hour. 

I was done with mine so I waited.

"Hey, Jake." Marco was the first out of our group that came tumbling towards me. He straightened up with a grin and out of breath. "Ready to leave?"

He did something, didn't he?

No. Don't ask. Today is supposed to be normal. No life-threatening missions to worry about. That’s why we made plans to go to the mall. Less about Yeerks, more about teenage life.

I told myself all that.

But...as the group-appointed leader, I had to ask my best friend. He was the wits of this group and one who gave the name, Animorphs.

"What did you do?"

"What? Me? Nothing." He lifted up a cooler. "Just got the drinks. You know, for Beach day! "

"You tried to hook up with a girl, didn't you?"

"Yikes!" Marco jumped. Right behind him were Rachel, my cousin and Cassie, her friend.

Rachel is the pretty Teen Fashion model type, though she’s not what you’d call dainty. More like touch-me-and-I’ll-break-your hand kind of girl. Cassie wasn’t frilly either. Or boisterous. She wore denim overalls and a plain tee shirt. She’s pretty - she has dark skin and cute, short hair and I kinda like her a lot.

“I was right.” Rachel crossed her arms.

“Really, Marco. We've not even gone to the beach yet,” Cassie said, holding the newly bought blanket.

"I'm gonna take a gander and say her boyfriend chased you away," Rachel suggested.

“Well, I think she was interested,” Marco defended. “But her friend she was with wasn’t having it.”

“And why would she be so keen on you asking her out?” Tobias spoke up, approaching our little group with Ax eating a cinnamon bun.

Tobias used to be the gentle type. He used to get bullied at school. Now he was a red-tailed hawk, living as a human for two hours at a time.

We were given a warning when we first got the power to morph. Never stay in morph for more than two hours. In our first mission, Tobias had been forced to break that rule but he had gotten back his morphing ability and his human body. 

That’s the short story. Since then, he has lost that gentleness. Now, he had kind of an edge to his posture that still seemed a bit...off. 

"Is it unsuitable to ask the opposite sex?" Ax asked. "Sooot. Taa. Beeel. Beeel. I ask many questions to both Rachel and Cassie. Kass. Casssssieeeee."

"That's because you're nice and we know you, Ax," Cassie said.

Yes. Ax is weird. Because he's not human like us.

He’s the only Andalite on the planet and in their native forms, they communicate through thought-speech. They’re sort of a mix of a deer, human and scorpion. Human mouths are something of an oddity as far as Andalites are concerned. So when Ax is in human morph, he has a bothersome habit of playing with sounds.

“I...um.” Marco hesitated. “I kinda asked her out once and stood her up. Her friend. Not the first girl.”

“Jerk,” Rachel sniped.

“We were dumping oatmeal in the Yeerk pool, Rachel.”

“Oh.”

“Look, guys. This Animorph business is killing my love life. Back me up here,” Marco whined.

“I’m staying out of this,” Tobias said.

Marco turned to Ax, his last hope. Instead of an agreement, he was forced to step back when Ax got too close to his personal space.

“Did you get the cookies? Coooo-keeeey. Cooo. Keeeeey.”

“Yes, we got the cookies,” I answered Ax, holding up one bag. My job today was getting snacks. “Cinnamon-flavoured.”

Marco frowned in defeat. He was asking too much there.

“Marco, we didn’t come here for you to flirt. We’re here to prep for Beach day.”

“Which I did. See?” He directed Rachel’s attention to his bag of drinks. “I’m not sloppy.”

“Uh-huh, right.” Rachel rebuked. “Anyway, we’re done on our end. Really, Cassie. One of these days, you gotta let me look into your wardrobe.”

Cassie frowned. “I’m fine with what I have. What’s wrong with my old one anyway?”

“Lots of things! One, it’s outdated and two, this is supposed to be our time-off from saving the world. So of course, we need something special?”

“What is this? Is this another dress or something?” Marco blurted out.

“Swimsuits, duh. Why else would you go to the beach?” Rachel explained. “I had to literally drag her through the department to find a fitting one.”

“I’ve never been so embarrassed in my entire life…” Cassie moped. “Jeans, I don’t mind. Swimsuits are just too tiring for me.”

“Nothing more embarrassing than our first sneak into Zone Ninety-Nine?”

“Still doesn’t beat it.”

“Oh, come on. Cassie,” Rachel said. “We’ve finally accomplished our goal in getting you a swimsuit. And all flattery aside, I think it looks really great on you. I’m sure you’ll easily catch the eye of a special ‘someone’.”

Cassie huffed out a sigh with one peek at me before looking away, cheeks red.

Cassie. In a swimsuit.

There was an annoying lump in my throat that needed to be swallowed. I mean, anything Cassie wears, she still looks beautiful-I mean, nice to me. And I’ve seen her in swimsuits before, just with a shirt on top. 

The longer I stayed silent, the longer I could feel Rachel’s smirk on me.

I cleared my throat. Change the topic, quickly!

"Come on," I said, picking up the rest of the bags. "Let's go."

“Before Marco sees another girl to flirt with,” Rachel rebuked.

“I really didn’t do anything!” Marco hollered.

“Sure, you didn’t.”

So that was us, heading out the doors. A group of misfits, walking together to the beach.

And yet everything about it was normal. We spent a long time talking about whatever came to our minds. Ax threw in some Andalite words into the conversation. We tried to understand them but we didn’t. 

This was what a normal afternoon should be. Almost. I nearly forgot how often we used to do before we found out about the invasion. Now, we rarely do it.

The normality distracted us from everything else until I realized how familiar the road we walked on was.

“Hey, doesn’t this look familiar to you guys?” 

Everyone else stopped and noticed it too. Well, minus Ax. He had never taken this route before. 

“Wow, this is going down memory lane,” Marco uttered.

“Yeah,” Rachel said. “We haven’t been down this route for a long time,” 

Everything was still the same. The same side road, the same broad open field and the same empty and abandoned houses nearby.

Nothing had changed.

“We never had a reason to go back,” Cassie added nostalgically. “Not since that night.”

“Yeah, but if we had…”

Marco let it hang, he didn’t need to say it. 

Because nearby was a place where it all happened. Where we were given out powers. All thanks to a blue cube that gave us those powers. We had thought that the same cube was destroyed. But then it was recently found by a kid from our school.

Had we come back here once and took one look around, we would have found it. But...things wouldn’t have gone the way they did.

A lot of things happened at that one place, now that I thought about it.

I looked out for the place as we got closer. And there it was. Two, three roads away from us. 

The construction site.

Chapter Text

TWO: RACHEL

3:34 P.M.

The scaffolding and concrete walls were easy to spot over the old houses.

We all saw it. The very place where everything began. Where we got our powers that fateful night. Where someone we knew for a short moment died. Where someone else found that blue cube and lost everything to the Yeerks.

I couldn’t help but feel a lot of things. A bit sad. And a bit angry. At what happened in the past. At myself. 

I looked at my hand. The very hand that touched the side of a small blue cube. And I gained power on that day. The same went for Jake, Cassie, Marco and Tobias too. And it hit us hard. I could see it in my friends. We hadn’t gotten over it.

Honestly, I wished things had gone differently. I wished that I could turn back time and do a lot more. 

Marco broke our silence. “Well, what’s past is past. Nothing we can do about it.”

He was right. Even if he has a big mouth. All we can do is move on. And that thought helped us put our feet planted. Grounded. Push these feelings aside.

“Yeah,” I boosted. “We’re not here to grieve. We got a beach to go to.”

“Hm-hm.” Cassie was delighted. “It’s a clear day today. No rain clouds on the news. Sunshine, the ocean breeze, swimming along the shore and-”

“And cute girls to talk to,” Marco interrupted.

“That’s only you,” I mocked.

“What are you talking about? Tawk-ing. Tawk.”

The moment was short-lived. Because we sorta forgot not everyone knew what we were talking about. 

“Ax…” Cassie stopped herself. Ax wasn’t with us that day. He was down at the bottom of the ocean, hoping that his people would come to rescue him.

“It’s nothing, Ax-man. We were just reminiscing, that’s all,” Marco cut in. 

I really hoped that would be it. Ax would take it as a human thing and shrug it off. Then we could go to the beach and relax. No sad things to think about.

“It was the day you met my brother, correct?” 

But Ax was Ax. He was smart enough to know when we were trying to change the topic.

“...Yeah,” Tobias replied softly. 

We became quiet…

On that night, a spaceship from beyond came to Earth on that day. Inside that ship was Ax’s brother, dying. We knew his name. 

Elfangor.

It was the five of us when Elfangor gave us our power at the side. So that we could fight the Yeerks. 

We didn’t want to. But we didn’t have a choice. So we accepted.

Then Elfangor...

I bit my lip. That memory was still too fresh. Even after a year. For all of us.

"...Can you..."

We turned to Ax, who had a yearning look on him.

What he asked surprised us.

"Can you show me...where my brother died?"

Our eyes widened. We looked at each other - how should we do this?

"Ax-"

"Hey, Ax-man. Don't do this to yourself," Marco cut Cassie off but he had the same concern as she did.

“Yeah. It’s like what Marco said. It’s all in the past,” I said.

“Yes. I understand...” We could tell. Even if Ax didn’t know how human expressions worked, we knew. He was struggling. “But...I need to see it.”

“Are you sure, Ax?” Jake asked, choosing his words carefully. “There won’t be anything there.”

I didn’t know what customs Andalites have when grieving. Like if they had a graveyard or a Viking funeral. This was his older brother. He wasn’t there to witness his brother’s death.

And I knew on the spot. Jake was affected too but for a different reason. It was personal. What he saw in Ax and his loss was like looking into a mirror. A future vision that might come true one day.

The Yeerks took Tom, his brother. My cousin. And there’s that one dark thought Jake had on his mind. If this war might take his brother away just like it did to Elfangor. Whether by Jake’s own hands or something else.

“It’s not going to bring him back.”

Ax reluctantly nodded. “I know …but...” 

He looked at us with a stern face.

But he quickly became sad.

“Please.”

This was the first time Ax had ever sincerely asked us for something important. There was no way we could say no.

Jake thought about it heavily. He was the leader after all and we more or less knew the answers before he said anything. It could still be dangerous at the site. We don’t know if the Yeerks have stopped watching that place. But that was a year ago. And we could say we’re just walking by to anyone nearby.

“Alright.”

So we walked.

It was weird. The closer we got to the site, the tenser I was, thinking back to that night. 

I was preparing myself for the worst. A Hork-Bajir. Or a group of Controllers still looking for a bunch of kids who saw the lights in the sky.

I wasn’t that scared kid that night anymore. I’ve gone through a lot in one year. I knew how to fight. I had sunk my teeth many times.

But the moment we turned around the corner, there it was. Closed up and abandoned with old police tape left there. No spaceship. No Hork-Bajir. No Controllers.

No Elfangor.

I let out a deep breath I had been holding on this entire time.

“Geez. I really thought something would happen,” Marco groaned, yanking at his fringe like a wake-up call. 

“Same,” Tobias added. 

Marco then gazed up. “This place always has bad memories. Think we’ll see a spaceship?”

I scorned. “Don’t joke about that, Marco. You’re only asking for it.”

We waited.

Nothing happened. No small speck of blue light falling in the sky. No ship landing at the exact same spot. 

I didn’t like the silence.

“We really haven’t been here since that night,” I said.

“How could we? We were terrified,” Cassie pointed.

“Terrified, crying for our mommies,” Marco added. “Peeing our pants.”

“That was you,” I retorted.

Ax walked in further, maybe a bit faster than usual. He looked at his surroundings. Top to bottom. Left and right.

“This…” His voice sounded strained at first. “This was where you found Elfangor?”

“Yeah,” Jake said. 

“...Where he fought Visser Three?”

“All the way to the end.”

We didn’t see his face. Only his shoulders hunched up. Like he was proud to hear that. Then they sunk down.

“That...that is good…”

There was nothing else to say between us. Just the sound of the faraway traffic.

“It’s been more than a year,” Cassie broke the silence. Her smile was small but it grew wider. Warmer. It spread to us like an infection. 

“Man, a year. We’ve been through a lot of crazy stuff,” Marco said. “How are we still alive?”

“I still remember what you said,” I droned. “Idiot teenagers with a death wish.”

“Ah, but now we’re idiot teenagers and an alien cadet with a death wish.”

“I beg to differ,” Ax protested.

“On the idiot part or the death wish part?” He shrugged with a relaxed grin. “Still, we’ve gotten out of worse things on top.”

I couldn’t deny that. We’ve had our moments. We disagreed, we fought with each other and got into danger on a regular basis. Somehow, we managed to pull it off. Thinking like that actually made days like this that more special. Meaningful.

A whole year of an adrenaline-filled, terrifying, fur-feather-covered roller coaster ride. But there were also some good times. Short. But good.

“Yeah,” I said.

Again, the silence came. We didn’t make it go away while we stayed with our thoughts.

“Hey. Don’t we have a beach to go to?” Marco droned, lifting the drinks up. “We can’t let all this sadness get to us. These drinks won’t stay cold forever.” 

“Let’s get going,” Jake ordered. Not as our leader. But as a friend. 

“And we can get you something yummy too, Ax-man.” Marco ringed his arm around Ax’s neck. “Food always cheers you up.”

“Yes…” Ax slowly smiled. “That would be nice.”

“Good. Because I heard there are food trucks over at the beach today.”

“Food trucks? Trak. Trak,” Ax played with his words. “What are those?”

“They’re like food stalls on wheels,” Tobias explained as best as he could. “They drive around to sell food anywhere.”

“A portable cinnamon bun shop?” His eyes gleamed with awe. “Incredible.”

“I’m not sure if they sell cinnamon buns at the beach, Ax,” Cassie pointed. That made the poor Andalite deflated down with a frown. “But they do have funnel cake.”

“Funnel cake? Is that tasty? Tasss-teee.” 

“Ax-man. It’s not just funnel cake. They have everything. Fish tacos, burritos, ice cream, you name it. A full buffet of cheap, soggy, delicious food.”

“You know we’ve already had lunch, Marco,” Cassie chided. 

“You might as well invite him over for dinner too, then,” I joked.

“Dinner?” Ax’s eyes glimmered brightly. “Do I get to eat a lot of food like I did at Jake’s house?”

“Now look what you’ve done!” Marco barked. “Ugh, wonder if Dad has called in takeout yet.”

We headed for the exit. We got our plans for the day: have a normal, fun day and that was what we’d intend to do! No Yeerks. No Visser Three. No Animorphs business.

Our day at the beach might be meaningless or silly when you’re in the middle of a war but...we would be able to actually have fun and forget about the bad things. Just for one day.

So that we can keep going.

Suddenly, someone came through the open gates.

"Whoa." The person bumped right into Jake and nearly tumbled back. Luckily, he was quick to catch her. “Sorry about that.”

She suddenly backed away from him. I recognized her face.

Because I’ve seen her several times. From school and occasionally on takeout days. So of course, I said her name.

“Elle?”

Chapter Text

THREE: TOBIAS

3:47 P.M.

I didn’t know who the black-haired girl was. And I could tell, neither did the guys. But both girls somehow knew her.

The girl was Asian-American. With straight hair reaching her shoulders. She was around our age. Not as tall as Rachel but she wasn’t at Cassie’s height either. 

Just a normal-looking kid we walked into. She did wear a parka over a leotard and had some running shoes on. But other than that, there seemed nothing odd about it at first glance. 

Except something was off. She looked scared. Shocked. She even tightened her parka so much her knuckles turned white.

“No… Why-” The girl named Elle was out of breath. Like she had been running this entire time. “You weren’t-! I wasn’t-”

That wasn’t the only thing. She had one blatant obvious thing - her left sleeve was burned, showing raw flesh. 

“Elle, your arm,” Cassie hollered. “You’re hurt!”

“No. No, no, no! ” Elle wasn’t listening. “This isn’t right!”

“Right?” Marco repeated.

“Elle, are you ok?” Rachel asked worriedly.

“We should get you to a hospital-” 

All of a sudden, Jake stopped Cassie and pulled her back. So I wasn’t the only one who noticed it.

“Ax, isn’t that-” I started.

“A Dracon burn,” Ax replied softly.

Cassie looked at us, shocked. But that was the conclusion we drew to. That would mean that this kid was shot.

By Yeerks.

The girl staggered back, trying to cover her wound.

“Doesn’t matter,” Elle muttered to herself. “J-Just forget you saw me!”

“Why?” Marco asked suspiciously. 

Something wasn’t adding up. Moreover, there wasn’t any telling if this person was a Controller passing by. But we also had to be careful too. If she was a Controller asking for help from a bunch of kids who are actually enemies to the Yeerks, it could spell disaster. 

So this had to be delicate. 

Jake glanced at us one by one. We nodded. Everyone had the same thought. Whatever it was, it was Yeerk-related.

“Elle, is it?” Jake asked. “You need to calm down. Tell us what happened.” 

“What? No! You all need to get away from this place!” She was ready to run but Rachel was fast, immediately jumping into caution mode. She blocked Elle’s way with Marco’s help.

“Elle. If you’re in trouble, you can tell us,” Cassie offered.

“Stop making this difficult!” Elle groaned with frustration. She shook her free hand like she wanted to strangle someone. 

“How about you? You’re the one making it difficult for us,” Marco pointed out. 

He did it to stall for time. At the corner of my eye, Ax stepped back. Ready to demorph and fire his tail-blade at any bad sign.

Elle was trapped. Surrounded by us.

“How about we take you to have that arm checked?” Marco gave a passing glance at Ax. Silently telling him to get ready and knock her out. 

“Hang on!” Elle yelled. “I’m not a threat! I’m helping you!”

“From what?” Jake asked sternly.

“No! I…” She was getting hysterical, her eyes darting about. She might even have a weapon hidden in her jacket for all we knew.

“You know, I don’t remember us getting into any trouble today. So how about making this easy and cooperating with us?”

Elle was lost with words. It was a standstill for her, after all.

“Or are you one of them? ” Jake jabbed at her. 

Marco went wide-eyed, giving him a disapproving glance. 

“Wait! No! I’m not-” She grounded her teeth like she had a second thought. “Ok, she is. T-That doesn’t matter!”

“Doesn’t matter?” I uttered.

But it did. A lot. Because if Jake was right, what she did was a mistake. You don’t easily give a reply like that, not when we knew what they were.

“You don’t understand-” 

“Oh. I understand plenty. You said we can’t stay here,” Marco cut Elle short.

“They are coming,” Ax connected the dots there, bringing up the level of urgency to the max. 

“And you know something we do and something we don’t. Mind telling us how someone like you has that information?” Rachel pushed, her tone darker than before. “If this is some trick, then things won’t go nicely for you.”

That was enough to make Elle back away. She couldn’t reason with any of us.

“Prince Jake, we should leave.”

“Yes! Leave!” Elle urged and tried again to go through an opening. Rachel jumped over to block it.

“We’re not letting you go,” she said before she turned to Jake. “What should we do?”

Jake thought carefully. We really needed the next step. We didn’t know how dangerous this was going to get and I wasn’t up in the sky to be their eyes. We were blind and we had two choices: we could go on the attack now or wait it out.

“Wait! Wait!” Elle held her hands up. “Look! There isn’t much time left. Just leave and I’ll leave too. You’ll never have to see me again.”

“Wow. How fast you change your tune,” Marco droned. “You come here, spewing stuff like a crazy person and you want us to forget? You gotta do a lot better at convincing us-”

"Oh my god. Marco, I'm going to punch you if you don't shut up!"

Marco leaped back meekly from her outburst. Eyes as wide as dinner plates. This girl was reeling, prepped to hit him with a fist.

It surprised all of us too. Like completely not what you expected to hear when you have Yeerks close by.

“Wait. How do you know my name?”

“I don’t have time for this - Hey!”

Rachel grabbed her by the arm before Elle could force her way out of the site.

“Let me go!”

“Not until you tell us everything.”

Clank!

Out from the parka was something metallic and cylindrical. It was triangle-shaped and small enough to be held in your hand like a baton. There was an eerie pale green glow, bright but not as bright as the blue cube’s glow.

It definitely didn’t look like anything made on Earth. 

“What in the world...” Jake gasped.

Elle’s eyes snapped to Rachel. And she did the same. Immediately, both girls lunged down to grab the strange device.

Rachel got it first.

“Stop! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“What is that thing?” Marco asked, his eyes fixed on the thing.

“Ax. Do you know?” 

Ax furrowed his eyebrows. “That is Yeerk technology… But I do not recognize it,” he answered Jake’s question.

Even if it wasn’t much of an answer, that was our smoking gun. This did involve the Yeerks.

“Where did you get that, Elle?” Cassie asked pacifically.

Another good question. No way a normal kid like her could get her hands on Yeerk tech. 

“Give it back!”

“If I had to guess, somewhere a Controller could easily get their hands on,” Rachel pointed.

“I’m not a Controller!” 

Our circle around her tightened. There was no way we could let her go, or believe anything she said. The only person reluctant to do so was Cassie. Eventually, she joined us in blocking Elle’s escape.

Rachel was right. We’ve already been through something like this before. We couldn’t let it happen a second time. 

“It’s also convenient to have you come to us ,” Rachel barked.

“Then we are exposed,” Ax pointed. 

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into!” the black-haired girl yelled.

“Then tell us exactly what we’re ‘getting ourselves in’,” Jake warned. 

“I can’t! It’d change everything!”

“Basically, you mean our fate is already sealed,” Rachel said.

“Listen to me! Give me back the battery before the Yeerks come!” Elle begged. “They can’t have it!”

“They won’t get it,” Jake explained, still keeping his cool. “We’ll keep it away from them.”

“And we’re taking you too,” Rachel said. “Whether you like it or not.”

“I’m doing this for your own good! ”

Out of the blue, Elle shoved Rachel with her shoulder. Hard enough to take her down. Rachel, who could tear Hork-Bajirs and Taxxons apart as a Grizzly bear without any hesitation. Rachel, the strongest out of this group. She didn’t see it coming.

"Oofmph!"

“Rachel!” I dropped down to her.

“Stop!” Jake yelled. 

Before any of us could react, Elle had taken back the Yeerk device. She ran for the exit.

Ax demorphed quickly. Mouth shrivelling away, front legs sprouting out and the eyestalks were out. Pale blue-and-tan fur covered over his beige skin. A few more seconds and Ax could stop the Controller.

But Elle improvised. As she was dashing out, she grabbed for the gate’s railing. Elle pulled with all her might, closing it behind her.

Marco and Jack chased after her, only for their hands to bang at the gates. They tried to open it but I heard metal hit metal. 

“She locked us in!” Jake uttered.

“HEY! YEERKS!” We heard Elle holler. Then there was movement. Lots of people.

“She’s bringing them here!” Marco shouted.

“There she is!”

“Get her!”

Through the small gaps in the construction site’s boundary, I could see Elle run away. I counted, maybe three men going down the same path she took.

Then it was quiet. 

No Yeerks came to the gate.

“Wait… Did she just lure the Yeerks away from us?” I exclaimed. 

“Hey, that’s good!” Marco uttered. “Let them handle this without us.”

Cassie rushed to Jake, who was peeking out through the gates.

“Coast’s clear. Morph into birds now,” he ordered.

“Wait!” Marco stopped him. “Are you insane? We’re going after them?”

“Jake. She said she was helping us,” Cassie pointed out that one crucial detail to Jake.

His face said it all - he couldn’t help but agree.

“No. She’s the one who led them to us,” Marco argued.

“But why close the door?” I had to ask that. Because it didn’t add up. 

Marco couldn’t give an answer to that. He instead rebuked, “She’s a Controller. The Yeerks are probably after her for some misdeed-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Cassie said at Marco, alarmed. “They’re going to kill her!”

“Cassie’s right. Whether she’s a Controller or not, that’s still a human being,” Jake exclaimed. “She’s just a kid.”

Marco couldn’t deny that. We all couldn’t. No matter how bad the situation could turn out, there was no way we could turn our backs on one of our own species. 

If we let a human being die, then we are no better than the Yeerks.

“This is a mistake, man.”

“Like everything we’ve done haven’t been mistakes. Let’s go.”

Everyone dropped what they had on themselves and morphed before taking to the sky. Cassie was already in her osprey form. Jake and Marco were next, a Peregrine falcon and another osprey respectively. Ax followed in his Northern Harrier morph.

It was just me and Rachel left.

“Rachel. You ok?” 

“Yeah. I’m fine.” 

Somehow, that came off like a lie to me. She was fine, of course. But she looked like her pride was hurt. 

Rachel was Rachel, though. With a deep breath, she was back onto her feet. Ready to jump into the fire like always. “Let’s go after her.”

She morphed into her Bald eagle form and soared up.

I was the only one who didn’t morph. I demorphed. Into my red-tailed hawk body. Buteo jamaicensis. 

<Spread out! She couldn’t have gone far,> Jake said. 

We did as we were told. Six birds in the air scanning rows and rows of houses and streets, it wouldn’t take more than a few seconds to find a girl being chased by the three Controllers. Armed and primed with Dracon Beams. 

<I found her!> I yelled. <She’s heading towards the highway!> 

Elle wasn’t the only thing I saw. Or the three men I saw earlier. It came so fast at the corner of my eye. I didn’t notice it until it came speeding in, right into my peripheral.

It headed straight for Elle. She didn’t see it.

<LOOK OUT!> I shouted.

Elle did so. But it was too late.

She froze. 

Like a deer in the headlights.

SKREEEEE!

            THUD!

Chapter Text

FOUR: CASSIE

4:04 P.M.

It all happened too fast.

Everything didn’t feel real.

I watched it all. Miles away in the sky, I watched it happen.

     THUD!

The blue Volks came down one road but for Elle, it came out of nowhere. Her body hit the front and flopped six feet across the tar. A car moving at 50 miles per hour on an empty road collided into her. 

It wasn’t real. It didn’t happen.

I kept telling myself that over and over. But my eyes wouldn’t tear away from Elle’s mangled body. 

She didn’t move.

Then something red pooled out from her. It was all too familiar. Too horrible. My gut twisted so badly. 

<No...> I muttered.

This feeling, it was like before. That first night.

When Elfangor was killed.

“Oh god!” the driver jumped out of his car. More mortified than us at the sight of a body “Oh god, oh god, oh god!” He dropped down to the body and I desperately prayed. “H-Hey! Are you alright?”

She didn’t move at all.

<The Yeerks!> Marco hollered.

I didn’t know what the others were doing. I was too petrified. All I could do was watch the three Controllers hurry over to the car as the driver tried to tend to Elle somehow. One of them kneeled down and picked up the device, five feet away from the accident.

They got what they wanted and quickly left.

Heartless.

“Hey! Buddy! Hey! HEY!” the driver yelled at the Controllers but they ignored him. “Someone call 911! Please!”

The scene gathered a few passerbys. Two people rushed down to Elle’s body. Maybe to help her. Anything. 

But even I knew there wasn’t much they could do. Elle needed assistance - they couldn’t move her head. They can’t panic. They had to stay calm. They have to wait for emergency personnel.

Or else she’d bleed to death. Or that her injuries will get worse. She might die from brain trauma. Or shock. Anything.

I had to get down there!

<Cassie! Stop!>

I ignored Jake. I didn’t listen to anyone. 

Elle wasn’t a stranger. She was someone I knew from school!

I dove down as fast as I could. There was a fenced up clearing, covered up by the trees and bushes. An ideal place nobody could see from the road. I quickly demorphed and ran.

<Cassie!>

A feather-covered hand grabbed me back into the clearing. 

I looked back to see Jake, at least on his way to looking human. Morphing isn’t a graceful thing to see. It can be sometimes creepy externally and internally. Feeling bones melt and reverse or organs shifting uncomfortably around. We’ve been doing this for a year and honestly, you still can’t get used to it.

Jake was in between morphs, from a bird growing up with human arms and legs. His eyes were still golden and his mouth was still a falcon’s beak.

If anyone had stumbled into the clearing, they’d think there was a cryptid nearby. 

<You can’t go there-> His thought-speech cut short once his beak melted around human teeth. “There’s tuk mmank wyt-nyes.”

I knew what he meant. Too many witnesses. 

“I can’t stand by!” I told him. “That’s someone from our school! Our school! ”

“Cassie.” Finally, he was completely human. “There’s nothing we can do. You know that.”

I know.

And I hated it.

I’ve been through seeing death. I’ve seen it a hundred times. At the clinic and on the battlefield. Some deaths had to happen. Some were unavoidable. And I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

But seeing a kid get injured like that...a kid my age ...it shook me to the core.

I wanted to save her. Before it was too late.

Jake pulled me away from the accident. “We have to leave it to the professionals.”

I balled up my fists. I didn’t want to leave Elle like that. But he was right. That was all we could do. 

“Let’s finish what she started,” he said and gave a tight, assuring squeeze on my arm.

Yeah. We can only do what we can. The very thing we’ve been doing for a year. No one else on this planet can fight the Yeerks but us. I’ve never liked this fighting we do. I had thought many times to call it quits and only once, had I decided to go through with it. But I came back.

Because people like Elle, our families, everyone...they are the reason we keep going.

The Yeerks chased her and got her into an accident. For a stupid device.

“Alright,” I said.

We morphed back to birds and flew up. I still glanced back. I hoped so much for Elle to be alright. But like Jake said, we had to leave it to the professionals.

<I told the others to find those Controllers. They shouldn’t be far.>

The sky was limitless after all. On a clear day, you can see as far as these eyes can see in open blue space. However, every speck in the distance was any other bird, whether one or a flock with more numbers than our group.

Then a familiar sound thundered in the air, followed by a laser beam shooting upwards at three specks.

TSEEEW!

<That’s a Dracon Beam!> I yelled.

We picked up the pace, swooshing towards the three specks.

<Guys!> Jake hollered.

<Oh man! If you two were here earlier,> Marco uttered. <They nearly burned off my tail feathers!>

<The Controllers got into a car. Black sedan. But then they saw us and fired at us,> Tobias explained.

<Shooting in broad daylight too. They’re desperate,> I pointed.

<We’re just birds. They can’t see us from this far,> Jake said.

<Somehow they did,> Ax added. <Or they had already been alerted that we were coming. In whatever animal morph we would be.>

<We have to be ahead of them and change to another animal. There’s no way we can get that device from a moving vehicle,> Marco explained.

<Right. Tobias, you tail them but stay hidden. Rachel, Ax. You two cut them at the next intersect. The rest of us will->

He suddenly went quiet.

<Wait a minute. Where’s Rachel?> 

When Jake asked that question, we had only realized we were short by one.

Did something happen to her?

<I’ll look for her,> I told them. <Keep going!>

The boys were off. I searched for her for about five minutes before I found her near the accident. Rachel was in bird morph like us but she glided pretty low in the air.

<Rachel,> I called her.

For some reason, she didn’t hear me. That made no sense. It was thought-speech, not sound. Any one of us could hear it like it was telepathy. 

<Rachel!> 

Then her eagle head suddenly snapped up. <W-What?>

<Rachel. Are you alright?> I floated closer to her. <You drifted away from us.> 

<Huh? I did?> She glanced around, realizing it was just us in the air. <Where’s everyone?>

I got worried. Was she dazed because of what happened to Elle?

<They’ve gone after the Controllers. Come on.>

<R-Right!> 

We steered back to the direction the guys headed and caught up minutes later.

<I found her. Where are the Yeerks?> I asked Jake.

<We lost them.>

<Lost them?!> Rachel shouted. <How could you have lost them?>

<We followed them through a tunnel. Almost couldn’t see where we were going,> Tobias explained.

<When we came out, there was traffic but…> Marco sighed. <There were more than just one black sedan in the middle of the highway… We couldn’t tell which one’s the Controllers’.>

<It’s a Yeerk’s sedan!> Rachel hollered. <What good is raptor vision if you're not going to pay attention?>

<Hey! How were we supposed to know that model is so popular nowadays?! And where were you?!>

<Enough,> Jake hollered sternly. <Arguing isn’t going to help anything.>

<What should we do?> Tobias asked.

He sighed. <As much as I hate it, we’ll have to back off. C’mon.>

<I’m going back to Elle,> I told them.

<Cassie, there’s nothing else we can do-> Jake pushed. 

But I headed back to the accident site anyway. 

I didn’t know how much time had passed but certainly, an ambulance had to have arrived and taken Elle. I needed to have peace of mind. I could follow that ambulance to know which hospital she’d be taken to.

<Where’s Elle?>

I searched. High and low. These raptor eyes could see everything, after all. 

The scene was still the same but a little different. There was an ambulance, its back doors opened and its red light blaring. The driver sat on the pavement with his face so pale. Even the passersby had mixed expressions.

Elle’s body wasn’t there. Just her blood smeared across the road.

I did see the stretcher inside the vehicle. There were shoes. But the paramedics didn’t drive off like they should have by now. One closed the ambulance doors while the other tended to the driver.

<The paramedics are here! Why aren’t they bringing her to the hospital?>

They should have already taken her. But they were just wasting time!

<Cassie,> Marco called.

No! I didn’t want to hear it!

<She needs medical attention! Hurry up and drive her to the hospital!” I yelled.

<She’s dead.>

Again.

It happened again. Another death on my shoulders. And it hit me hard. It hit all of us. Different for each of us but it did hit.

We lost the Yeerks, that device and now, we lost a person.

<Dead?> Rachel gasped. <Elle’s dead?>

<Guys,> Tobias then called out. Somewhere in the distance, we heard the sirens. Different from the ambulance. 

<Police,> Jake said. <Which means more Yeerks too.>

<We cannot stay here any longer,> Ax reminded us.

<I know... We should leave.>

<I hate to point something out at a time like this but those Yeerks in the sedan?> Marco started. <They knew we were coming. They turned and fired at us. At me!>

<They came prepared,> Ax said. <Who knows what else they might have planned for us. They may even have backup.>

<Yeah. We split up. Then meet up at the barn later,> Jake proposed.

None of us objected. So we went our own separate ways.

But I stopped halfway and found myself a spot in an alley.

Demorphed back into a human.

Because birds couldn't grieve...

Elle was my classmate during English class. She was also the delivery girl too - her family owned a Chinese restaurant that my family orders from. So Elle helped out after school and on weekends. Now and then, she’d come to my home on her bike with the usual boxes. We’d make small chitchat.

We weren’t close to her but...she wasn’t a schoolmate I rarely talked to. 

So it still made me horrible. I wished I spent more time with her. Got to know her more. Anything. 

Because she wasn’t going to be at school anymore. Or at my doorstep.

Then I thought about her family. Her family. My dad knew her father.

Elle was gone. And she wouldn’t be coming back to them.

This was too much.

I felt like I had to tell Elle’s family. But I couldn’t say “Elle got killed because of a race of parasitic aliens”. I couldn’t say anything without telling the whole truth and endangering us.

I don’t even know if her family were Controllers. That they could easily sweep it under the rug like it was nothing. 

All of this was unfair.

My eyes were watering. I barely even noticed someone riding a yellow bike and passing by the alleyway I was in. The rider didn’t notice me.

“Is that a car accident?”

“Looks like it. It’d be wise to avoid that way.”

“Hm-hm.”

It was just a glimpse when I looked up. The black hair with a bandana. A parka jacket with badges sewn on the sleeves-

I froze.

No way...just no way.

I spun so fast my head felt numb. I thought I was imagining things.

She was already gone around the corner.

Chapter Text

FIVE: MARCO

4:49 P.M.

I was staring holes into my bedroom’s ceiling.

All of it felt unreal. Like it shouldn’t have happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything we saw.

Just who was that girl, where did she get that battery and why were the Yeerks after one of their own? And how much did she know? About the Yeerks and the invasion.

Once we all got back to the barn, our conversation over those questions didn’t go anywhere. It was also cut real short when Cassie never arrived. She was pretty shaken up at the accident scene.

So Jake was worried. Obviously. We all were, but being the leader too, he felt responsible. 

Under normal circumstances, I'd let it go. This was Cassie we’re talking about. Just like any of us, she can handle things on her own. She’s a better morpher than us too. 

So I wasn’t worried. She probably took a breather after everything. Cassie would be fine.

Yeah, Marco. Keep telling yourself that.  

In the end, Jake decided to go look for Erek to find more about this Yeerk battery. Tobias and Ax went to look for Cassie while me and Rachel headed home for dinner. The Chee would be able to find something about that device.

But the girl… I don’t know. She died before we could get any answers. It didn’t help that she stumbled into us. Any other kid in this city and she came to us.

Did she also know our secret? And how much?

It wasn’t a comforting thought.

It was strange how almost twenty minutes ago, I saw someone die and I was trying to forget it. Someone my age. Was I really that terrible? It made me feel a little guilty.

Hmph. Guilty. I wasn’t the one who killed her. Why should I feel guilty?

Ding-dong!

“Marco! Could you get that for me?” I heard Dad holler.

I sighed with relief. I desperately needed a distraction.

“Got it!” I yelled, leaving for the front door. 

“Money’s on the counter. Get the receipt too,” he added.

“I got it, I got it.” I wasn’t a kid anymore.

That kid in me was gone a year ago.

“And remember. You’re defending yourself tonight.”

“Fin-” I stopped. 

Wait, what?

I trailed to the bathroom, where he was. There was heavy cologne in the air.

“What do you mean 'defending myself'?”

He looked at me like I had one eye. “Don’t you remember? I’m meeting your Math teacher tonight.”

Meeting? Tonight?

My math teacher? Ms Robbinette?

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“Yes, I did. Last night.” He adjusted his tie neatly.

When? I came back from school and he said nothing like that. After dinner, I went off to do recon with Rachel. You know, to double-check on some stuff. Make sure there wasn't any Yeerk activity to ruin our beach day.

“Are you sure, Dad?” I asked carefully. Didn’t want to be grounded if he found out I was out past my bedtime.

“Of course, I’m sure. That’s why I got takeout for you.”

I tried to remember. But with what just happened, I guessed it didn’t click on me.

“What exactly is this about? Am I in trouble?”

“No, no. She just wants to discuss how you’ve been doing so far.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. It sounded fake to me.

But then again, I was getting mostly Cs in class.

“But she’s my math teacher. Not my homeroom teacher.” I looked at Dad again. Clean shirt and his nice shoes. “And why the fancy getup?”

“What? I don’t want to be a bad example to your teachers, do I?” he said. He frowned at his tie and undid it.

“Well, no. But-”

Ding-dong!

“That must be Mr Liang’s grandniece.” Liang? Who’s Mr Liang? “Can you get that?”

No. Explain to me what’s going on, I wanted to ask that. This looked too much like a-

Ding-dong!

Aaaaah, fine! The faster I’d get rid of this person, the faster I could talk to Dad. I headed to the front door. 

“Hello, Yan Fú Wok delivery. Is your father in?” the delivery girl said, already picking up my dinner from her bike’s basket.

“Yeah, he’s-”

I froze. 

I recognized that face.

It couldn’t be… I saw her die!

Standing in front of me was the Asian-American girl with medium black hair. 

Alive. 

Breathing. 

Smiling. 

Then she frowned at me.

“Oh. It's you again,” the girl named Elle grumbled.

What.

How.

When.

Why?!

The girl looked at me with concern. Cautiously, she waved a hand in front of my face. “Hello?”

“...AHHHHHHHHH!!!”

I couldn’t help it.

“AHH! What?!” She jumped away. “What did I do?!” 

“Marco?! What’s wrong?!” Dad yelled from behind, rushing to me with a plunger. The girl in front of me hunched up the bag over her like a shield at the sight of my ‘rescuer’.

“I didn't do anything!”

“What happened here? Are you alright?!”

How was any normal person supposed to react? How was I supposed to stay calm?! She was dead!

I swallowed. Keep cool, Marco! Think of an excuse! Anything!

“Ahahaha,” I gave out a nervous laugh. “S-Sorry. There was a...spider. On you.”

Reaaal smooth. 

She searched meekly for the imaginary creepy crawler. “Where-?”

“It’s eh, gone. Ran away.”

“I didn’t know you were arachnophobic,” Dad uttered.

Well, I suppose the first time I morphed into a spider made it worse for me.

“Oh, you know. Can’t handle those legs.” I shrugged.

“Well, I have to agree with you on that.” He turned to the girl. Who was still holding the bag up like a shield.

“Am I in trouble, sir?”

That was when Dad realized he was holding the plunger like a weapon. “Ah. No, no. Sorry.” He lowered it down and took the cash from me. “Here’s the money. Send my thanks to your old uncle.”

She gave a cheap smile and the bag of food. “I’ll do that. Enjoy the meal.”

Dad returned back inside. Then she locked her eyes on me. 

Oh uh.

“Hey.” The girl started off cautiously. “Are you ok?”

Uh… Well, I was terrified because a dead girl was standing at my porch. But other than that...yeah, peachy.

No, I wasn’t! 

She was real, alright. Fresh as a daisy! There wasn’t a single drop of blood on her. As a matter of fact, it looked like she had gotten new clothes - a new parka, new shoes, leggings and a long shirt. Like she walked away from the accident and changed out of her bloodsoaked clothes. 

Was she a zombie? As far as I could tell, she looked completely uninjured. Except for her forehead. She had a bandage there. 

It was so unsettling! Didn’t her head hit the Volks and the road?!

And why was she acting like nothing happened to her?! How was she even alive?! 

Was the stress of this war getting to me? Am I turning into a nutcase now?

“Hellllllooo!” She waved again, frowning angrily. “Is anyone in there?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah.” My voice was shaky. “I’m swell! Swell!”

“You don’t sound swell.”

Keep it together, Marco.

“Um… Do you remember what happened earlier?” I asked.

“You mean at the restaurant, right? I wanted to ask you that.”

I blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Don’t you remember? It was yesterday. Around 3.”

All of this wasn't registering for me. But I would remember a cute-looking girl. Who wasn't dead.

"Sorry. You must be mistaken. I was still at school."

"No. You snuck at the back. In tights."

I glowered. Ok, she was the insane one here. We saw her an hour ago. Near the construction site. Later run over by a car!

This was all too much to take in. What made things worse was that she was somewhere connected with the Yeerks. Whatever that connection was, she was a Controller regardless.

Right at my doorstep too. That thought got me tense. If that was the case, then my dad was in danger.

One wrong move and this Controller would call her friends. It’d be the end of the Animorphs as we know it. The fate of humanity out the window, and the death of my dad and me right in this house.

No. The worst thing on my mind was the last part.

All of a sudden, she stepped closer. Close enough for me to see her pretty whale-shaped eyes. 

“What were you trying to tell me back then?” she pushed. “You looked upset.”

“I-I was?”

“You kept saying things that didn't make sense. Something about a plant that exploded?”

Questions? What questions? And what exploding plant?

“Sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She looked even more confused than me. I could relate!

“But I saw you yesterday…” The ‘dead’ girl fiddled with her hands together before looking at them for some reason. She then gave a defeated sigh. “Never mind. Forget I said anything-”

“Hey.” I nearly jumped when she turned at me. “Were you...at the construction site today? Near the mall.”

“That abandoned place...? I passed by yesterday,” she replied. “But that route’s pretty out of the way for deliveries. And Kong Kong would be furious with me.”

“Kong Kong?”

“My great uncle,” she explained. “He’s the restaurant’s owner.”

I took a moment to digest what she said. That couldn’t be right. She was at the site in the afternoon. But her reply was so, well, normal.

Would a Yeerk lie about being at the site? What would she gain from that?

I still wasn’t convinced.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked. “Before today.”

“You’re our customer’s son. That’s about it,” she said sincerely.

“And my name?”

“I dunno. Mark?”

“Actually, it’s Marco.”

She shrugged. Hey! Don’t give me that! It’s a very pleasant-sounding name!  

“Ok, how about my friends?”

She hunched down an eyebrow and spoke oddly. “Do you even have friends with the kind of attitude you have?”

I stopped myself from laughing sarcastically. Oh, whether she was or wasn’t a Controller, she sure knew how to rebuke back.

She then looked apologetic. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

I stared at her. Hard. Yeah, I know. I was making a fool out of myself.

“You absolutely don’t know me?”

“Ok. You're creeping me out. I’ve only seen you at school. But this is the second time I’m talking to you in person.”

I knew how Yeerks were. They could easily hide everything right under your nose. Even lie to your face. Maybe that ‘first time’ she was talking about was a lie too. 

“Are you sure you weren’t at the construction site?”

“Yes. What are you, my dad?” she snapped, sounding annoyed. “I’ve been doing deliveries all day.”

“You’re not gonna punch me, are you?”

She looked at me bewildered. “Why would I do that?”

Well, you said so!

What was going on? Did that accident give her short-term memory loss or something? She had to know, right?

“Ok. You were strange yesterday and you still are now. Answer me this, are you alright?” she demanded again.

She was on to me. I’ve pushed too many questions that were going to put me six feet under.

I swallowed. Think carefully.

She was a girl. A beautiful one too. That bandana over her hair made her real cute.

“Ok, you caught me.” I forced a guilty smile. “I may be stalling for you to stay just a little longer.”

“Ahhh... Yeah, not interested,” she said quickly with a stiff smirk.

Ouch. Shutdown.

She folded her arms. “Pulling that stunt yesterday on me and now trying to pull a move on me. You're really shameless."

I really wanted to say, “Whoever you saw wasn’t me. You’re the one hallucinating!”. But I didn’t.

“I’m not pulling anything! Is it so wrong that I want to get to know you a bit better?”

“Yeaaah. If you want to go out with a girl, stop it with the sweet talk. Girls like honesty, not cheap words,” she said tartly.

Omph. Thank goodness Rachel wasn’t here to hear all that.

“Look. Are we done? I got work to go back to,” she said.

“Wait.”

She sighed irritatedly. “What is it?”

“You said you’ve seen me at school.” I really didn’t like the idea that a Controller was looking at me... If she was one. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’m from your school too. We’re in different grades,” she explained, looking upset. 

She was? I gave another hard look at her. I’d remember a cute face like hers-

“Ooooh. You’re Debbie Darko. From photography club.”

She pouted. With bug-wide angry eyes.

Oops.

“Wait… Is that what everyone calls me at school?!”

“Not...really?” I only heard that name from other classmates. About some girl who cooped herself up in the darkroom.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Why did you do that, Marco? You want her to stay longer?!

“Debbie’s not even my real name,” she grumbled to herself. She lightly patted her right hand. 

I still didn’t get it. She was keeping up the whole facade that she didn’t know me. Or she really had some selective amnesia. But one thing was clear, I had to know what we were dealing with.

“Ok. What’s your name then?” 

Her frown slanted even more to the right. “I told you. I’m not-”

“No, no. Not like that! It’s not Debbie, right?” I explained.

“No… My name is Elle,” she said hesitantly. 

I smiled. A fake one, of course. “Alright, Elle. Thanks for the food.”

“Enjoy.” Then ‘Zombie Elle’ rode off on her yellow bike. I kept my eye on her until she disappeared around the corner of the street.

I closed the door. Just to be sure. I wasn’t out of the clear yet-

Ding-dong!

My heart dropped.

Wait! Did she figure it out who I was? Or did she come for my brain?!

“Can you get that, Marco?”

“Y-Yeah, sure!” I answered my dad, desperately looking for a solution.

I spotted the plunger Dad left behind.

Fine. If that was what the Yeerks or zombie or whatever she was wanted, I was taking her down with me!

I grabbed it tight and threw open the door, raised up the plunger-

“Marco! What are you doing?!”

I stopped myself. 

“Cassie?” She was on my porch. I stared at the plunger in my hand and quickly put it down. “Where have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you-”

“Never mind that! You saw her, right? You saw Elle.”

That one sentence was all it took to bring me back to Earth. If Cassie saw her too, then I wasn’t dreaming.

“She’s alive! She’s really alive!” she blurted with tears.

In the end, I could only muster one sentence.

“What on Earth is going on?”

Chapter Text

SIX: TOBIAS

5:19 P.M.

“Ok. We’re here,” Jake said. “What’s so important we had to come back to the barn?”

I wished I knew myself. I found Cassie at Marco’s place some time ago and out of nowhere, she told me to get the others. Both of them actually. 

When I asked why, all Marco said was “It’s very important. So go get them. Pronto! What are you waiting for?! Go Bird-Boy! GO!”

I don’t think I have ever seen Marco this bad. Ever.

“Ok, Marco can be borderline paranoid,” Rachel said after I explained that to Jake, Rachel and Ax. “But not that paranoid.”

<Where are they now?> Ax asked.

<I don’t know. They just flew off without telling me where they were heading,> I replied.

Jake narrowed his eyes - his sense of being a leader was upfront as usual but with some concern present. It was very unlike those two. Especially those two . “This day couldn’t get any more confusing.”

<Things have gotten exceedingly unclear since that human approached us. Were you able to find the Chee?> 

“Oh, that’s another hurdle altogether. I went to see Erek’s dad but he hasn’t seen Erek all morning.” 

<That is a little unlike him,> I said.

Jake plopped his head against a beam with a tired look. “You know… I really was hoping today would just be a normal day. Just relax by the beach without a care in the world.”

<Has there ever been a normal day for us?> I jested. I noticed Rachel was quiet. <Rachel?>

“Hm?”

<Are you okay?>

The entire time we’ve been waiting, Rachel sat on a bale of hay, staring at the floor. It was easy to tell something was on her mind.

“I’m ok,” she replied, a bit too quickly. “...I just can’t stop thinking.”

<About the accident?>

<It was beyond anyone’s control,> Ax reminded us. <We have gone through many losses that we couldn’t stop. Lamenting will not change anything.>

“Yeah… I know. I know...” Rachel stared back to the floor. I know she was affected by the accident like the rest of us but I didn’t think it’d affected her that badly.

Jake groaned out of frustration. “That’s it. Tobias, can you go find them again?”

<No need. I see them outside,> I told the others. <Uh...>

It was something from a chase scene in a Nickelodeon sitcom. Marco and Cassie were still finishing up their demorphing but already, they ran to the barn.

“Jake!” Marco was the first to reach the barn. Completely out of breath. “Dude...! It’s...insane!”

Cassie made one peek out before closing the doors. Why? I was here as their lookout. I didn’t see anyone following them.

“You guys ok?” Jake asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Ghost,” Marco droned. But not in his usual way. In fact, he looked very confused. “Oh. You have no idea .”

“You won’t believe what we saw,” Cassie exclaimed. “I’m still in shock.”

“Jake,” Rachel started. “Can you do something about this? I think Marco’s craziness has rubbed off on Cassie.”

“What’s gotten into you two?” Jake asked. “You’re jumpier than usual.”

The rest of us agreed. Even alarming that the ones with the most reasoning in our group were having a freakout in front of us. They were basically rambling that we couldn’t digest anything they said.

“Ok. Before you all go “we were seeing things”, know that we’re telling the truth. Cassie saw her. I saw her too. So we’re both not losing our minds.”

“Who are you talking about?” Jake asked again.

Marco glanced at Cassie, who nodded at him - having a look that said it was now or never. They then burst it out together. 

“Elle’s alive!” and “That girl’s alive!”

Those exact words didn’t sit on us for a few seconds. The more we thought about it, the more we didn’t believe it. 

“Wait. What?” Jake exclaimed.

“The girl we saw at the construction site? She’s alive,” Marco said again.

<So...she survived the car crash,> I said.

Rachel was relieved hearing that. “Thank goodness. She’s alright.” 

“Which means we can get our answers from her,” Jake pointed and turned back to our two jumpy friends. “Did you find out which hospital they took her to?”

“No. No. You really, really don’t understand,” Marco uttered. “She didn’t go to any hospital. She came straight to my place.”

“What do you mean?”

“If this is a joke, I don’t get the punchline,” Rachel snapped.

“It’s not,” Cassie defended. “Right after the accident, she was doing her usual delivery.”

<Delivery?> I repeated.

“Yes. She works as a delivery girl. Anyway, she went to Marco’s house.”

“Yeah. My house ,” Marco snapped, trying to bring us to the gravity of the news. “Debbie Darko came to my house to give me my takeout for dinner.”

“Debbie Darko?” It was the first time Rachel and even Cassie - from the look on their faces - had heard that name. “Ok, Marco. That’s kinda uncalled for. She has a name.”

“I didn’t make that name,” Marco defended. “That’s not the point here! This girl is alive. And she claims she wasn’t at the site.”

“She wasn’t?” Jake said.

“Yeah. Doesn’t help that she has this big bandage on her forehead. That’s way too convenient after what happened to her.”

<Wait a minute,> I started. <So, what? This is another Elle?>

<Highly improbable,> Ax counterattacked. <That would imply it’s an Andalite. And I doubt this could have something to do with Visser Three.>

“Yeeeah. The Yeerks chasing him for stealing a device in a human form?” Rachel said. “That sounds like a very elaborate way. With no reason why he would have done it.”

<Precisely. Also, I do not need to say this but I was with you as well. So it is not someone with morphing powers.>

“We weren’t implying it was you, Ax,” Jake explained.

<My apology, Prince Jake, for the ‘snappy remark’. There is probably a more logical answer to this enigma.>

“Yeah. And I know what it is. She’s a zombie.”

“A what?” Rachel exclaimed at Marco’s outburst.

“A zombie. There’s no other explanation.” 

“Not helping yourself, Marco.”

Yeah, Marco was alone on this one. Cassie didn’t quite agree with what he said. Nobody agreed with him.

I’ve read horror books about the undead before. Pet Sematary by Stephen King is one good example. But the idea that someone is a zombie was already ridiculous. We have an invasion of parasitic slugs taking over the world, for goodness’s sake.

But I did think it was a little scary. I could imagine that Asian-American girl with glassy eyes and limbs contorted in horrible angles. She drags herself away from the accident, searching for human brains to feast on. And that was ours.

Yikes. Gave my feathers a ruffle.

“Really, man?” Jake said. “That’s like in games and movies. You can’t honestly think she’s a real-life zombie.”

“Alright. How do you explain her walking from the accident and delivering takeout to my house like it was nothing?” Marco exclaimed.

“Well…” Jake tried to think of something. But he looked defeated and grumbled, “I really don’t want a second invasion on top of the first.”

“Look. It’s simple,” Rachel stepped in. “We thought she died but she didn’t.”

“Seriously?” Marco uttered. “I saw exactly what I saw.”

“What you thought you saw. We were in the middle of a Yeerk chase. We had our priorities all over the place. Elle probably came out with just a bump. That’s it.”

“But...we saw the accident,” Cassie pushed. 

I agreed with Rachel on that one detail but I couldn’t deny what I saw. Cassie had seen her fair shares of injuries - from the animals she tended in the barn to those on ours whenever we were in battle. She knew just how physical trauma should be and what the cause was.

The impact that girl had on the car and the road… We’ve barely gotten out of danger by the hair of our teeth with broken bones and hanging intestines. But could a human really just walk off from a car crash like that?

“A bump. That wasn’t a bump,” Marco exclaimed. “Or are you saying the Yeerks somehow patched her up and let her off on her merry way?”

“I mean...” Rachel tried to think of something. An elaborate cover-up like that? It was clear she found that hard to believe. “I dunno! I got nothing.”

“Wait… You don’t think a Yeerk can control a dead body, do you?”

“Marco. There’s no such thing as zombies. Elle didn’t die in that accident,” she continued irately.

<Rachel is correct,> Ax said. <A Yeerk needs a functioning and active brain for them to have complete control. It cannot control the dead, or a vegetable host for that matter.>

“We don’t know if she was-” Cassie stopped herself. “Is a Controller.”

<Or maybe she’s a freed Controller?> I suggested. <She somehow escaped but now she’s back with a Yeerk in her head.>

“Are we sure she has anything to do with The Sharing?” she continued. “The Yeerks didn’t care about her at the accident. They wanted that device.”

“Of course they wouldn’t care about her. They got one problem solved without having to lift a finger.” Marco got a glance from Cassie for the insensitive remark. “It’s the Yeerks. They’re the bad guys,” he defended himself.

“I think what Cassie’s saying is why make her a Controller again after everything?” Jake added. “They could have just left her for dead. But they’re making an effort to keep her around?”

<It’s meaningless. There are too many holes in that line of logic,> Ax said.

“Makes you want to get the answers straight from the horse’s mouth,” Marco grumbled. “But we all know that’s not possible.”

“Ok, ok…” Jake tried to focus, taking in and out one deep breath. “We might as well investigate the root of the problem. Where’s Elle right now?”

“She’s at her family restaurant. Yan Fú Wok.”

“Yan Fú Wok?” Jake had a grim look on his face. “My family orders from there.”

“Same with my family,” Rachel added. “It’s actually how Cassie and I know Elle from. She does the deliveries herself.”

“So she delivers to mine, yours, Cassie’s and Marco’s… I don’t like the sound of that,” he offered.

“Why?” Cassie asked. “We’ve all ordered from the same restaurant. That’s not something strange.”

“Maybe not. But it might explain something else. She came to us at the site today. All six of us.”

“And you think she figured our secret out just because she’s our delivery girl?” Marco asked. “That’s…”  He started off as if he found that idea more outrageous than his zombie theory. Until it slowly hit him. “Actually possible.”

“You said she claims she wasn’t at the site. Could she be acting? Did she say something out of the ordinary?” Jake then asked.

Marco thought about it more. “I asked her questions. Nothing about us... She told me she passed by it yesterday and that she doesn’t use the route there for her deliveries.”

“Doesn’t mean she couldn’t have gone there this afternoon. She might still be pretending.”

<In other words, this Yeerk survived the accident and is waiting for the right moment to catch us when we least expect it,> Ax stated.

“Ax-man. I think that moment left my doorstep like thirty minutes ago. More importantly, would a Yeerk still come after us after all that?”

“I know. There’s a lot of unanswered questions here. But it’s something we can’t rule out,” Jake explained.

“I don’t like the sound of Elle being a Controller, though. She’s always this bubbly person but,” Rachel said. “You could be right about that being a possibility.”

<Well. One thing is for sure,> I said to them. <Looks like we’re heading to Yan Fú Wok then.>

Chapter Text

SEVEN: JAKE

5:36 P.M.

<Welcome to the Quarter, everyone,> Marco declared once we flew over to the area.

The Quarter is a hodge-lodge of Asian cultures in this part of the city - Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, and some Indian and Arab. It’s not big enough to be a Chinatown but close enough to stand out differently from the rest of the city.

<What is this ‘Quarter’?> Ax asked. 

<It's our version of a Chinatown,> Rachel explained.

<What does that mean?>

<Right. We’ve never taken you to that part of this city before,> I said.

<A Chinatown is its own subzone for Chinese people. The Quarter, however, is a remnant of culturalism,> Marco answered. <New immigrants that didn't speak English were basically forced to live outside town. Later, the city grew to the point that it absorbed the old district. What we have here is that. The Quarter.>

Ax didn’t quite get the whole definition. But he is an Andalite. To us, Andalites didn’t really have a vast amount of differences, unlike humans. And it’s not just physical appearances, it’s also cultures. We are all different across the globe.

<There it is,> Tobias said.

The restaurant was a narrow two-storey building, smaller than the other buildings it was cramped between. What made it stand up was the large golden Chinese characters with a sparrow symbol as its logo. I couldn’t read those characters but there was the English translation below the big text.

Yan Fú Wok.

<Are you sure this is a good idea?> I asked Cassie. <If Elle is alive, won’t she recognize us?>

<She might pretend she never met us. We did try to take her down,> Rachel said.

<It would also mean she won’t be willing to explain how she got that device. Or why the Yeerks were after her,> Ax added.

<Y’know, that’s a good point,> she then continued. <The Yeerks were after her until they got the device. If she isn’t a Controller and she lived after that accident, they would see this just as suspicious as we do.>

<Then her life could be in danger,> Tobias said. <It could be a matter of time then.>

<Oh no,> Marco uttered. <We are not doing that again. We’ve already learned just how bad it all went last time we tried to save a kid from the Yeerks.>

<We also don’t know what’s her connection with them.>

Too many “we don’t know”s. It was giving me a headache. And I wasn’t convinced with some of our assumptions. 

<One step at a time. One step at a time,> I said.

<It would be a lot easier if we just have Elle out somewhere alone and get the answers out of her,> Rachel offered.

<Bigger risk than what we’re gonna do.> I then said to Cassie, <Are you sure about this? Walking right into the restaurant?>

<We have nothing that says she’s dangerous or in danger,> she said. <But here’s the thing, I agree with Marco.>

That was a first, coming from Cassie. She and Marco almost always clash heads.

<Rachel and I know Elle enough the kind of person she is. She’s not like David. But how we handled things with him was what got us into trouble in the first place,> Cassie explained. <So we can’t do the same thing we did before. We can keep an eye on her until something happens again that’s beyond our control. Or we go up to her and ask. Discreetly.>

David.

Even if it was nearly a month passed, the memories still came rolling back to us. All too fresh on our wounds.

We went through a horrendous matter almost a month ago because of one kid named David. He lost everything and we took him in, making him the seventh Animorph. 

Then he backstabbed us. He was ready to throw us into the jaws of the Yeerks, including all of humanity. He almost won.

Now we had another kid involved in this Yeerk invasion. This time with a Yeerk device. There were too many similarities between the two incidents. I really wondered if the Ellimist and Crayak were playing some new game on us.

<And what if she turns out to be another David?> I asked her.

She didn’t reply right away.

I didn’t know enough about this Elle girl. I did know about the nickname Marco said: Debbie Darko, a girl who spent her afternoons in the darkroom at school. It sorta grew into a bit of a ghost story.

But I didn’t know anything past that. She might not be the person the girls knew. David only showed his true colors later...

<I dunno… But it’s a risk we should take,> Cassie said.

I heaved a sigh. It’s never a dull moment with what we do. 

<Alright. Here’s the drill. Marco and Tobias, you’re our eyes. Like always.>

<Roger that,> Marco droned. With this ‘Elle’ having already seen him at his house, she would be suspicious of why one of her customers was at her business after ordering takeout.

<Rachel and I will go in. We act as two kids grabbing takeout for our families,> I explained. 

<I want to in too.>

I glanced at Cassie. If we were humans right now instead of birds, I knew what her expression would be. <Cassie. Having three is too risky.>

<Then let me take Rachel’s place.>

<Cassie->

<I need to see it for myself,> she cut me short. <She somehow survived that accident. That kind of trauma she had...chances like that for anyone are just too slim.>

I could only imagine. What Cassie and Marco said? It sounded unbelievable, even when we have aliens and morphing powers. They’re not liars - well, Marco can stretch things for a joke but not that far. 

Moreso, I would be lying to myself if I said that the accident didn’t affect Cassie. It wasn’t like a Controller or an innocent human who got dragged into the battlefield. All of this happened out of nowhere. An accident. Something none of us could stop from happening unless you could, I dunno, reverse time or had the ability to predict the future.

<Alright,> I said. <But the moment Yeerks are around, we bail. No stopping for anyone.>

<I know,> she said.

<Ax. Rachel. You’re our backup inside the building. Anything happens, you know what to do.>

<Got it.>

<Affirmative, Prince Jake.>

<And Ax.>

<Yes, Prince Jake?>

<I swear to everything, you better behave in there.>

<An Andalite is always in control, Prince Jake.>

If I was human, I’d be cocking up an eyebrow at just how blatant that was from him. <Oh, really? Were you 'in control' at the McDonald's?>

<Or the Dairy Queen,> Cassie added.

<Or the food court,> Rachel chimed.

<And how many Cinnabons banned you? Three?> I pointed.

<While I do not deny I had some ‘lack of control’ in those establishments, I have grown aware of the customs during my time on this planet,> Ax stated sprucely. <I will not jeopardize us for the sake of my pleasure.>

<Yeah. You sure sending him in is a good idea?> Marco asked me. <No offense, Ax-man. But I don’t trust you around food.>

<I do not understand why you have that level of doubt towards me.>

<Because you’re you.> I said. <Let’s go.>

We split up, with Cassie and I taking to an alleyway across the street and demorphing.

Now the next step. Acting normal. We’ve never gone to this part of the city so we were unprepared and in the open this time.  If it were elsewhere, we made ourselves ready for anything. Fly into an area with just our morphing clothes and find our hiding spots that have a change of clothes. 

So we just improvised a little with what we could find around. Like clothes hanging out to dry or shoes left outside apartment doors.

Once we both were ready, we just walked casually to the restaurant.   

Kinda hard to act normal. Not because it's a mission. The Quarter was such a busy place that we both really stuck out like sore thumbs. It wasn’t like the mall where we could blend in. You could call us tourists in this area.

So it was dangerous. That’s why I volunteered to do it. I chose Rachel because, well, it wouldn’t be that suspicious. We’re cousins and we’re buying food. And if Elle did recognize us, then I knew Rachel would handle things. 

That wasn’t the only reason, by the way. Why did I choose myself to do this? It was more to confirm it for myself. That this girl was alive. 

But when Cassie jumped in to join me...I was worried. I knew why she did that. But I didn’t stop her either. Her reason was the same as mine.

Ding!

Immediately, the rush of rich smells hit my nose. It’s been...well, I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a restaurant like Yan Fú Wok. It was like we left America and ended up somewhere in Asia. It wasn't rush hour yet so it wasn’t crowded inside. Oriental decorations and old photos of another country decorated the worn-colored walls. The place was cramped with round chairs and tables. 

“Welcome to Yan Fú Wok! Give me a sec,” a Mediterranean-sounding voice called out from the back.

It was my first time visiting the restaurant. I only knew the place from the brochure on my fridge.

“Wow,” I gasped.

“First time?” Cassie asked.

“Yeah. It’s very...traditional,” I said before noticing a cat statue at the counter. I’ve seen it on the Internet before. It was a calico cat statue, standing on its hindlegs and holding up its one paw, with large painted eyes gleaming at us. You know, those special charms that brought good luck to Japanese stores. 

<We’re in,> I heard Rachel thought-speak. 

I forced myself not to look about. Ax and Rachel had to be something small, easy to crawl in without anyone noticing. Like cockroaches. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” the voice said again.

A tall tan-skinned girl with black hair and black eyes came to us. Around the same age as Tom. At first, I thought she was another customer but she had an apron over her lean body, notepad and pen in hands. So, a waitress at the restaurant. 

“So, table for two?”

“Actually, uh,” Cassie started off warily. 

“Hanan,” she introduced herself. “What can I do for you?”

“Hanan. Is Elle...in today?”

I gave her a disapproving glance. It was a risky thing she just did. What if Elle wasn’t here? What if everyone in the restaurant already knew about the accident?

“Elle? She came in half an hour ago.”

I looked at the tall girl like she had grown a third eye. Cassie...I guess at this point, she was used to it.

“Elle,” Hanan called out. “Some friends are here to see you.”

“Friends? Coming.”

We stiffened up when we heard that voice. Even more when she came from the kitchen and to the reception, wiping her hands with a wet towel.

We couldn’t believe it. 

I couldn’t believe it.

“Hey, Cassie. What brings you here?”

I replayed that accident in my head. Over and over again. It was...too hard to grasp it once I saw her up close and personal. That after the car crash, she walked away scot-free. Marco was right - the bandage’s placement on her forehead was so uncanny.

The Asian-American girl just smiled at us. She was...fine. Alive. And it was...honestly creepy.

So I couldn’t help but say, “no way.”

“What?” Elle asked. “Something on my face?”

Chapter Text

EIGHT: AX

5:46 P.M.

Our grasp of information was limited. 

A cockroach's eyes were useless at any kind of distance. You can only make out shapes unless they were very close to your peripheral vision. But this morph was ideal for recon. It was a simple creep in and out without detection, so long as a human did not see us in the open.

I had suggested to Rachel that we would slip in as cockroaches. She was uncertain at first to use this morph in the restaurant. The argument was that humans despise this particular type of insect. Even my human friends loathed their first time morphing into this animal. 

However, she didn’t have any other proposals so we went with the original plan.

From where we hid, I could only make out a small reception area for the restaurant - where Prince Jake, Cassie and the tall female human stood. There were foggy forms far in the back, making me unsure of the number of humans inside the restaurant.  

Tobias and Marco could only rely on what they could see outside the restaurant. Prince Jake and Cassie were in their human forms, therefore, they couldn’t thought-speak to us. So we were in the dark. 

“Is something wrong?” Elle asked, noticing the stiff silence. 

“No. No,” Prince Jake said. “Everything’s fine. Right, Cassie?”

“Y-Yeah. Yeah. Why would anything not be fine? ”

<Cassie…> Rachel softly spoke. <Hold it together.>

We could imagine how difficult Cassie was handling the news about this one human. One doesn’t shun off the idea of an organism unscathed from a horrendous incident like so.

“Ok…” Elle sounded a little concerned. “So what are you here for?”

“Actually, Elle. I have to ask,” Cassie continued as steadily as she could. “What happened to your forehead?”

“Oh, uh. This? Just a bump. Nothing to worry about,” her friend chided briskly. 

“A 'bump’?” the Hanan human interrupted. “Elle, you scared your uncle out of his wits when you came in. You even had blood.”

“Blood?” Prince Jake exclaimed. The circumstances of this injury and the car accident were overlapping together too conveniently.

“Hanan’s blowing it out of proportion. It was noth-”

“She got mugged yesterday afternoon,” the other human went straight to the point.

<Mugged?> Rachel uttered with surprise.

I understood that word, from a book called the dictionary. A very specific form of robbery by petty humans by assaulting another and stealing the things they were carrying. So my friends were shocked at this news.

“Wait. Someone mugged you?” Prince Jake asked.

“...Yes,” the Elle human confessed unhappily. 

“Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” Cassie pressed.

“I’m...more or less all right.” She nervously laughed. 

“You’re lucky they just took your jacket and shoes,” the older human pointed. “I told you before. That part of the city is shady.”

<Jacket and shoes?> Rachel said. 

<Were those not the artificial skins this human wore earlier?> I asked.

<What’s going on here…>

I could not answer that. I was just as perplexed as she was.

“Huh...” Prince Jake thought deeply. “But...she’s right. At least it’s only those things they took.”

“It’s not just that… They took my tips and an old watch,” Elle explained disappointedly. “They were in the jacket they stole.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cassie said.

“It’s ok. I’ve gone through worse while delivering.”

“That’s not a comforting thought,” Prince Jake exclaimed. 

“The life of a delivery person. It’s never an easy job…” Hanan sighed. “I’ve already called the police about the theft. I’m not gonna get my hopes up but stealing from a kid? That’s unforgivable.”

<I couldn’t agree more,> Rachel offered privately. <I vouch we look for this thief and give them what for.>

<Thief? What thief?> Marco uttered.

“All we can do is leave it to them and catch the culprit,” the tall human continued.

“Sure,” Elle muttered under her breath. “Like anyone can go after those freaks of nature.”

“Come again?” Prince Jake asked for better clarity.

“I mean, I didn’t get a good look at them. They surprised me,” she explained. “So I dunno if anything can be done about it.”

“And you came back here after that?” Cassie pried. “You didn’t go...somewhere else?”

“I didn’t think about going to the police. All I wanted was to go back home. So I came back to the restaurant.”

“I can imagine.”

“Hey,” Elle spoke out. “Can you two do me a favor? Can you forget you heard everything and don't tell everyone at school?”

“Why?” Prince Jake asked.

“I don’t want anyone to know. I already have Kong Kong and Hanan here worried about me after I came back.”

“Who wouldn’t be worried?” Hanan intervened.

“Elle, what happened to you, that’s pretty serious,” Cassie expressed her sincerity. 

“I know. I know,” Elle started. “I’m already going home tonight to get an earache from my mom. I don’t need any more people knowing about it.”

<Unfortunately...we all know,> Rachel exclaimed.

<Know what? What’s happening?> Marco asked from somewhere. So Rachel relayed what we’ve learned to the others outside.

“Look,” Elle continued. “I’m not dead. I didn’t get shanked. I wasn’t held for ransom or anything. I’m fine. So can you please not tell anyone at school?”

“I get it,” Prince Jake explained. “You don’t have to worry. We’re not the type to gossip.”

“Hm.” Elle wasn’t convinced.

“We won’t. You have our word.” Cassie heaved a sigh of relief. “Still, it’s good that you’re ok…” 

“...Cassie, are you alright? You’ve been acting weird since you walked in.”

She slightly skipped when Elle asked that. “W-What do you mean?”

“You look like you’ve attended a funeral today. Did something happen?”

“You...could say that,” Prince Jake pointed. What was the word again? Irony?

“I-It’s nothing, really. I’ve just had a lot on my mind. That’s all,” Cassie said.

Again, the human wasn’t convinced. Cassie’s reaction was too quick. Perhaps Elle picked up on something strange in her voice a Controller would notice.

<Should we intervene?> I proposed. The longer they stalled, the more dangerous their situation would become.

“How about this. You can have anything you want at 15% off. On the house.”

I have heard about this kind of custom.

The word, discount, was a powerful word to humans. Many useful things on this planet have a label attached to them, which you simply cannot take without a sort of abstract human concept for equivalent exchange: money. That label varies in numbers but occasionally, I’d see it be reduced with a symbol of two dots between a line. 

The ‘discounted’ useful item suddenly captures the humans in an extraordinary feat, to the point that item is sold out in one day.

“15? That’s a bit too generous,” Prince Jake stated.

“Elle, you don’t have to-” Cassie started.

“I don’t like customers being sad.” Elle first declared, “‘Yan Fú Wok. Bringing fortune and joy right to your table’. That’s our motto.” She then continued sincerely, “I won’t pry, Cassie. The only way to lift your spirits up with a good meal. Things get better on a full stomach.”

I will admit, it was an inspiring speech. Enough to sway both Prince Jake and Cassie’s worries away. Even Rachel herself that she uttered a small <huh>.

Humans are bizarre creatures. My friends have often shown their ways in our conversations. Some humans deduct with logic, just like we Andalites do in matters. Some express their emotions out loud or softly. Others use a more direct way. As Rachel once said, actions speak louder than words.

This human, however, used humble words to lower my friends’ defenses. I did not see anything wrong with them. She was, after all, promoting her business - a practice I’ve seen with human clerks at the mall, quite similar to hers but without the bright smile.

However, that charisma can also be a dangerous tool to a Yeerk.

“Besides, nobody from our school comes here to eat. It’s always takeout with you.” The Elle human then looked at Prince Jake. “And you. So why not for today. And if not today, then it can be for another day.”

Cassie smiled. “That’s really nice of you-”

“Also, it’s to bribe you to not tell anyone what happened to me.”

The remark took the two by surprise. Even to me and Rachel. As sharp as Marco’s sense of dryness but as kind as Cassie’s words. 

“Ok. That’s honestly...upfront about you,” Prince Jake admitted.

“Heh!” Elle grinned coyly. 

<And clever,> Rachel said. 

<Again, what’s happening? We can’t hear through windows, you know,> Marco complained. <That's it. I'm coming closer.>

“You’re full of surprises, Elle.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Cassie. Now.” She slapped her hands together. “About that discount. I suggest you take the mango pudding for dessert. Impress Cassie with that!”

Cassie laughed at the modesty. “Elle, the food here is already impressive enough. Though, I’ve never really tried mango pudding.”

“I’m glad to hear that. But I meant you.” She pointed at Prince Jake, surprising him yet again. “You should be the one buying that for her.”

“...What do you mean by that?” he cautiously asked.

“Isn’t that why you two came here? For a date?”

Elle’s question was indeed innocent-sounding and straightforward. However, it made the two flustered. As though the question was somehow provocative.

“I...uh, what…” Prince Jake was lost with words. Cassie was the same too.

“Oh, oh!” Hanan droned. “Sly dog…”

“This isn’t what you think it is,” he stated clumsily. 

“It isn’t?” Elle asked, realizing as if she may have unintentionally made a mistake. 

“Don’t be so bashful,” Hanan said to Prince Jake. “Elle makes a good point. You should take up that offer while you have the chance.”

“But we...are just here to…do takeout...” That was the excuse they had planned to say. However, they came out so soft that Hanan didn’t hear Prince Jake.

It also didn’t help with how confined the building was that small talk could reach the ears of other humans. 

“Oh, oh. Am I hearing that right?” One of the older humans at their tables, a female, overheard the conversation with a kind chuckle. 

"Ha! Now that's something you don't see often," her friend chattered.

“Hello!” a male human’s voice uttered from nowhere, but not enough to disrupt the atmosphere. “Delivery for Yan Fú Wok.” 

“The night market. Coming,” Elle said in response. “Hanan, can you take over?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll show the lovebirds in.”

“Wait… Elle…” Cassie pleaded but Elle was already gone. Leaving them alone with the humans’ gossiping.

“I remember being thirteen. My parents wouldn’t let me date by myself either. Remember the festival, dear?” one woman said.

A second male human laughed. “Of course. My friends begged me to help them when they knew I was with you that day.”

“They had to with Lee’s broken leg. And you saved the lion dance.”

Hanan giggled. “Oh, would you two relax? You’re as stiff as trees.”

It was a true observation. Prince Jake had also become very red in the face. He and Cassie refused to make eye contact.

“You know what?” Cassie uttered. “It was a bad idea to come.”

“Aw, don't go. You gotta treat that special someone once in a while. Life's too short to let it slip past you.”

“Here, here, Hanan,” one male dark-skinned human cheered with a raise of his drink.

“You're making this harder than it should be,” Prince Jake groaned.

<C’mon, Jake,> Rachel droned. <Hanan’s right. Grow a spine. This is a chance in a lifetime for you two.>

Prince Jake’s face darkened. He most definitely wanted a word with her, after they’d leave the restaurant.

<Hey. It’s not everyday you two have a nice dinner together. Get some alone time together. After everything we’ve gone through, I’d say you two deserve it.>

<Yeah. Yeah. That’s sweet but we don’t have time for this adorable denial rant,>  Marco groaned with a distinctive tone he normally says when he’d roll his eyes. <Jake likes Cassie. Cassie likes Jake. Rachel and Tobias have a thing. We all know and nobody cares. We’re here for this Elle girl, people.>

<Ahem,> Tobias coughed awkwardly.

<...Marco. I’m gonna kill you.>

“How about this? I can tell ya what the secret menu is,” Hanan whispered, jabbing an elbow at Prince Jake. 

<Oh! Did you hear that? The secret menu! Get that from her, would ya, Jake?> Marco droned.

“Not. Helping,” he said through his teeth, more directed at Marco than to Hanan. However, Marco wouldn’t have heard it.

<Guys,> Tobias called everyone. <Outside. On the roof. Now. Quietly.>

The tone of his thought-speech spoke volume to us - something urgent was outside the restaurant. We couldn’t stay any longer.

“Sorry but...we have to take a rain check on that discount,” Prince Jake explained to Hanan.

“What? So soon? But didn’t you come here for a date?”

“Elle put those words in our mouths,” Cassie muttered.

<Tell her you both need to use the bathrooms. Get out from there,> Rachel suggested.

<Rachel and I will leave through the back,> I added.

The conversation wasn’t going anywhere productive in Prince Jake’s and Cassie’s favors, however. Hanan was still convincing them to stay for dinner, which they kindly refused before heading to the bathrooms. I believe they were very eager to get out as quick as possible.

<This way,> Rachel told me.

It was a long and treacherous journey across unknown territory, hiding in anything dark we could slip in and out as we scaled across the wall.

My antennae led the way for me to a white kitchen in the back, or at least for the cockroach’s mind. The smells were overwhelmingly powerful but welcoming to the cockroach. Sweet and savoury. I even smelled something familiar. 

<Ax! Focus! We’re nearly to the backdoor.>

I steered away from the aromas. I knew enough that I couldn’t delay too long in this form and I promised Prince Jake I would not be lured by food.

As long as we stayed out of sight, no human would notice us and take action to ‘stomp’ on us.

“Meow.”

It was an unlikely sound that I least expected to hear. It wasn’t one I have never heard before but certainly, the insect’s mind was beyond terrified. It knew this kind of presence - different from the enormous humans. It was smaller and predatory.

Golden eyes with slit-shaped pupils glanced at us. Something orange, white and hairy moved their claw over our heads.

I hollered out exactly what the cockroach’s instincts said.

<Run!>

Chapter Text

NINE: RACHEL

5:56 P.M.

I ran as fast as my six little legs could take me. Even let the roach’s jumpy instincts take over in hopes it could boast me right out of danger.

But the ginger and white cat was fast. Eyes trailed after me with lighting reflexes. One paw down. A miss. Then its gaze locked on me.

<Come here!> Ax hollered at the perky feline. It worked for a second but he was more fascinated at me than at a second cockroach.

There was one thing I had forgotten about Elle’s restaurant. Well, three things. She often didn’t let them out during the day, even in the kitchen. She once told me that besides being one of the reasons for the restaurant’s popularity, they were “better than pest control”.

Elle had three cats at her family restaurant. 

Using a roach morph clearly was a stupid idea!

I couldn’t stay low to the floor anymore. I had to get somewhere high.

Right! Cockroaches have wings!

I took one leap of faith, flapping my gauzy, gross wings as fast as I could. But I didn’t go as far as I had hoped and landed on a metal table.

“Gingko!” I heard Elle shout. “What are you doing here? You know you’re not supposed to-”

<She sees you!>

Elle sounded like she inhaled all the air to stop herself from screaming. If she did, the whole restaurant would know - a roach was in the kitchen.

To a Yeerk, they couldn’t care less for a little insect. To a human whose family owns a small restaurant, that was a big deal. If word got out, Elle’s family business would be ruined. I was already guilty enough to go along with Ax’s plan and sneak in as a cockroach. 

So...to be honest...Elle had every right to take action on a roach.

<Run, Rachel!> 

The table shook violently. Bam! Bam! I think she got a utensil to try and squash me. I quickly sneaked under any nook and cranny I could find. Plates, pots, anything.

It was only for a split second every time. Elle was fast in tearing down my hiding places but I was already onto my next one. This couldn’t last this long unless either of us would give up!

“Gingko!”

I didn’t know what was happening. I think the ginger cat didn’t give up on me.

Someone. Help!

Cloof!

<Ow!> Then I suddenly hit a wall I couldn’t see.

“Kong Kong.”

<Rachel! Stay still,> I heard Tobias holler.

<Stay still?! I don’t know what’s happening!>

<The old man’s got you. In a glass.>

<That doesn’t sound good!>

My whole world shifted as something strange slid under my tiny feet. Whatever it was, it was very thin and brown. 

Another sudden jerk of my world and I saw an old man’s face close to the glass.

Elle’s great uncle, Mr Liang. Owner and chef. On first impression, the tall, broad man with grey hair looked very unfriendly. He had a scowl that told anyone to not talk badly about anything. Not even his business.

My family has been regular customers for years and before I even found out about the invasion, I learned that Mr Liang was, well, misunderstood.

He rarely showed expressions and didn’t speak much English either. So anyone would find him intimidating. But Mr Liang showed his hospitality in his own ways, like occasionally refilling our green tea or giving a bow every time someone comes and leaves the place.

On the day we decided to infiltrate the restaurant, I took it that everyone inside Yan Fú Wok was a Controller. Including Mr Liang. I couldn’t see the scary nice man like I did the same way.

So I really thought that he was one. All because he caught me with a glass and a piece of cardboard.

“Kong Kong, that’s a…” Elle lowered her voice. “A cockroach. The customers won’t like it.”

Mr Liang simply gave a deep “hm-hm”. I expected him to do something but all he did was look at Elle while keeping me in my prison.

At first, she looked confused. Then she glanced at me.

Had I been found out?

Elle looked sympathetic. Wait, to a cockroach?

“Sorry,” she apologised innocently. “‘Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.‘”

Mr Liang nodded at her answer. 

Hang on. Wasn’t that like something you read off a fortune cookie? Also, if you see a cockroach in the kitchen, you kill it! Elle was doing just that!

Suddenly, my whole world shifted again. The old chef was taking me somewhere. Where exactly?

<He’s heading for the backdoor,> Tobias confirmed for me.

The light around me blasted up a notch, nearly blinding me. I felt the world go down.

Then the glass came off.

I was near the wheel of a dumpster. Outside. The cockroach mind screamed at me to run away from Mr Liang’s looming shadow. Hide. But he walked back into the restaurant.

...Was I missing something here?!

<You ok, Rachel?> Tobias asked.

<I think so? I thought he was gonna crush me… Not take me outside.> 

Another cockroach then crawled out from under the door.

<Ax?> I guessed.

<Yes. It is me.>

<Good. We are never going back in there as cockroaches again. Ever.>

<Morph into birds. There’s something you guys need to see,> Tobias said.

<Good. Anything to get out of this gross form,> I complained.

The back alley behind the restaurant was perfect for me and Ax to switch into our bird morphs. Up we went, joining Tobias and three other birds on the next door’s rooftop.

<Rachel, I heard the commotion->

<I’m fine,> I cut Cassie short. <One of Elle’s cats found me.>

<What’s happening?> Jake asked, straight into business. Whatever it was, it had to be something urgent and bad for us to bail out.

<Cops,> Marco said.

And I was right.

Sure enough, the white and black car drove down the street before parking outside the restaurant. No blaring alarm but their presence made it obviously uneasy.

To everyone, the police are supposed to help people. Catch bad guys. They are supposed to be someone you turn to for any terrible thing.

But they can’t help stop an invasion. Not when they are all Controllers.

We had Yeerks coming to Yan Fú Wok.

“Oh, finally,” the waitress, Hanan, stepped out of the restaurant. “About time they sent you.”

The two policemen looked at each other, puzzled. 

“So have you caught the thief?” she continued.

“Hello, ma’am. What is this regarding?” one of the cops spoke politely.

“Isn’t this about the mugging?” she asked, sounding displeased right off the bat. “My boss’s relative got jumped on during a delivery.”

The news flew over the two men’s heads. They didn’t care. And Hanan could see that in their faces.

“I'm sorry. But we are here for another matter,” the same cop explained. “If you want, you can file in a report-”

“‘File a report’?” she snapped. “I just said someone was mugged and had an expensive watch stolen. You’re cops. You should be doing your job.”

What Hanan was doing was dangerous. If she wasn’t making a scene, with eyes on her, the police Controllers would take her and infest her with a Yeerk. I could feel the hostility within the Quarter. Two white men on patrol in this part of the city would make things uneasy for everyone there.

Out came Elle. “What’s going on?”

“Elle. Tell these cops what happened to you. They can’t just let that thief go off freely.”

The moment she glanced at the two men, Elle was visibly nervous. Her left hand tightened onto her right wrist. 

“Good afternoon, young lady,” the ‘sincere’ cop introduced.

“...What do you want?” Elle reluctantly asked.

The man approached. “Don’t worry. We would like to ask you a few questions regarding an incident today. Is that ok?”

“Incident? What incident?” Hanan asked in a protective manner.

“I’m afraid we cannot share any information.”

“No, she shouldn’t answer any questions. She’s not a culprit. She’s a victim!” 

“We’re not implying anything, miss...”

Hanan crossed her arms. She wasn’t going to give her name out. So he continued.

“We are only here to clear up any misunderstanding.”

Ding!

Mr Liang also stepped out of the restaurant to their rescue. With his unfriendly expression like always. “Girls. Inside.”

“The owner, I presume. We have some questions to ask your grandniece-”

“Mai,” Mr Liang replied sternly to the Controller with a foreign word before speaking to Elle in the same tongue.

“You can stand as her legal witness, sir,” the Controller continued, using his role to stop him. “We won’t make this too long.”

“Mai. Leave.”

“You should be more cooperative, sir,” the second cop rudely said. His whole demeanor was enough to mean business. He had the gun to prove it. 

What was surprising was how little of a dent he had to Mr Liang. He stood like an oak tree. Maybe because he had dealt with harsher customers than the officer.

But the thing was he wasn’t dealing with a person. He was talking to a Controller.

“Or else this is obstruction of justice.”

“Is that a threat?” Hanan hissed at the big cop.

“We can come back with a warrant, miss,” the other cop said.

No. Not a warrant. More Controllers instead. And with force.

<Oooh, this is not good,> Marco uttered dreadfully at how fast it was escalating. I didn’t like it either.

<What should we do?> Cassie asked Jake. I know, we all know - we had to keep a low profile. One wrong move just because we let our emotions get in the way, and that would be the end.

Even so, from all this, anyone could tell. Three humans that were probably not under the Yeerks’ control could lose it all in an instant if nothing was done.

“Kong Kong! Hanan!”

The tension seemed to cut in half thanks to Elle suddenly stepping in. She assured her uncle and friend with a wide smile.

“It’s ok. I’ll answer their questions. Then we can move on with our day.”

“Elle. These cops haven’t explained anything to us,” her friend pointed. 

“It’s just routine questioning,” the ‘good’ cop exclaimed calmly. “We won’t want to waste any of your time.”

The amount of ‘passive-aggressive talking’ made my skin crawl. If I could, I’d sock that Controller down. Full bear mode. Even Hanan and Mr Liang wanted him gone.

But Elle tried being the voice of reason. “Ten minutes. Then I’ll come back inside.”

The two older people were torn on the spot. Mr Liang, the most, even with what little expression he showed. He spoke to her again in Mandarin and she talked back to him.

<Hey, Ax. You have that translator in your head. What are they saying?> Marco asked.

<I thought you could answer that for me.>

<What? Don’t you understand most languages by now?>

<I have also told you that I need to hear enough of a native tongue for my translator chip to process the language. Speaking of which, what language are they talking in?> Ax curiously asked. <It is very different from the ones I’ve heard on TV.>

<It’s Mandarin,> I answered. <It’s what Chinese people use.>

Whatever Elle and her great uncle were talking about, it finally calmed him down. I think he looked calm.

“Alright,” he said. “Ten minutes. Then come in.” He nodded to Hanan.

“I don’t like this but ok…” Hanan gave a piercing glare at the police officers. “We’re watching you.”

“There is nothing to worry about, miss. She is safe with us.”

“...You cops are all the same,” she grumbled under her breath.

With that, Elle was left alone with the two officers.

<This can’t be good,> Cassie said. <Are the Yeerks here about the accident?>

<Well, can’t blame them. The Yeerks chase after a girl with a strange device. She winds up injured and now they find her fine and dandy,> Marco relayed out the events. <So they’re looking for the same answers we’re after.>

<This seems a bit, well, calm for Yeerks,> Tobias pointed. <I thought they’d be taking the situation in their hands but...a police interrogation?>

<Whatever they have plans, it’s not good. If they find anything suspicious from Elle, they might really drag her away. Even her whole family.>

<Like what they did to David,> Cassie said anxiously.

<Not this time. She has us watching her,> I explained. 

<Hey, now. Don’t go jumping in as the heroine yet. Let’s see how this plays out,> Marco insisted.

Elle was led to the police car. But she stood a good distance from the two men, where we and anyone from the restaurant could see them. We flew over them to a perch closer to them, a lamppost over the police car.

It had to be scary for her, being talked to by police officers for no particular reason. Worse, she might not even be related to the accident in the first place. Her being robbed in broad daylight? Yeah, it left more questions and a Yeerk wouldn’t care about it.

Elle wasn’t worried, though. In fact, she didn’t have her usual demeanor. She had her hands in her pockets, looking emotionless as she studied the men.

“Now, then. Can you tell us where you were this morning?” the ‘nice’ cop asked.

Elle averted her eyes away with a bored look. 

“Stop acting and answer the question, grub,” the ‘bad’ cop demanded impatiently. “I don’t have time to be dealing with you.”

<Excuse me?> I barked. Even if they were Controllers, that was downright rude.

His partner turned back. “Hey, this isn’t a good idea-”

“There are no humans here to worry about semantics, Cretri.” 

<What?> Marco gasped. 

<Did the Yeerks just outright expose themselves?> Tobias asked.

The ‘bad’ cop glared at Elle. “Let’s get to the point, Orekor.”

At first, the name didn’t sink for me. Who was he talking to? The other Yeerk? 

I had a bad feeling about this. 

“Orekor [redacted],” the Controller hollered again. To Elle. “Tell us where you were today.”

Nothing from her. 

“I won’t ask again, Werch!”

“Fine.”

The truth hit me like a ton of bricks when Elle glanced up to the cop Controller. Methodical like. She spoke in a tone Elle never spoke before. She didn’t react in a natural way that he was talking nonsense. That a human should react.

“What do you want?” she demanded calmly. Coldly.

Yeerk-like.

It wasn’t Elle.

It never was her...

I had been hoping this entire time. That we were wrong. But at the same time, I sorta knew. Deep down, I should have expected it anyway.

The cheerful delivery girl I know from school was a Controller.

Chapter Text

TEN: CASSIE 

6:08 P.M.

“I said, what do you want?” the person I knew as Elle spoke in a cold, condensing tone.

Something I’ve never heard her say before.

<I was right,> Marco uttered. <She does have a Yeerk.>

<But, she…> I was lost with words, letting the news sink in further. <...Elle’s a Controller?>

<Why is that so hard to believe? We’re in the middle of a Yeerk gathering.>

Like Marco said, it shouldn’t be that hard. I couldn’t wrap my brain around it.

It meant some of our earlier assumptions were right. But that also meant the contradictions too. Were the Yeerks really after her to keep her quiet? They could have left her for dead like at the accident.

It made me wonder if this really was Elle’s second infestation. If so, then how long had she been a Controller before today?

The dainty cop shook his head at the sudden setback. Then he grinned. Not the fake, friendly-looking smile like before. It was pure disgust at Elle. Even his partner showed no effort to hide that fact in him.

“Well. Might as well get down to business,” the ‘good’ cop said.

It wasn’t odd for Yeerks to dislike one another - we’ve seen some backstab each other. But something about this confrontation was a little different. More hostile even.

“Where were you this morning, Werch? ”

“You haven’t answered my question,” Elle said languidly. “Why should I say anything to you?”

“Silence, Werch. We do the questioning here,” his partner uttered. 

“We know your reputation all too well,” the first cop passively threatened. 

“I’m flattered. Want my autograph?” Elle droned sarcastically. 

Then I heard a snicker.

<Marco, did you just-> Rachel started.

<No. I didn’t. Yeerks can’t joke.>

The officer wasn’t amused by the remark. “Conspiring with the enemy, defamation, release of prisoners, defiance of the Council, even blackmail. The list goes on. All done in one day.”

<Conspiring?> I repeated.

<Whoa, did we stumble onto a dangerous Yeerk?> Marco droned.

<More dangerous than Visser Three? Please,> Rachel said.

“You know, Orekor,” the Controller taunted. “You should be grateful you were spared. If Sub Visser Fifty-Four hadn’t spoken up for you-”

“Is this to reminisce about my downfall or do you have a point to this meeting?” She was impatient. Spiteful of that name. This was old history and she wanted none of it. 

“Where were you between three to four p.m.?”

“Delivering food on the west side.”

“That’s vague.” 

“It’s straightforward,” she answered. “Do you want an exact listing of addresses I was at? I’ve been through four this morning and three in the afternoon.”

The good cop jotted the information down onto a notebook he took out. “Do those addresses include the construction site downtown?”

“What for? That place is off-limits.” 

“Answer the question, Werch, ” the cop’s friend demanded.

“...Yes. There was a delivery for ten forty-five a.m. at that street.” Elle’s eyes tightened with disdain. “You could have talked to my watcher.”

“Ah, yes. Sarric, was it? We’ll run with him on his reports.”

“To see if I’ve committed something terrible? Please. I was nowhere near those locations around that time.”

“Really?” He simply smiled. Like he had caught her in a lie. “Several eyewitnesses say otherwise.” The Controller relished her discomfort before reading off his notebook.

“Around 4 pm, a driver ran over a young girl fitting your host’s description. And before that, you were last seen by Fifth Avenue.”

“They are mistaken,” Elle rebutted coolly before holding out her arms. “Look. I’m unharmed. I don’t have any broken bones.”

“What about that bandage on your head?”

“That is from the mugging yesterday. What that human waitress just said? It should be in the records if you bother to check.”

It didn’t seem to convince the men. But Elle didn’t care if it did or didn’t.

“Do you know about the Dzual Cell?”

“The what?” Elle’s cold demeanor was replaced with confusion. For a short moment, she reprised her role as her host. She then scorned when all she got was the pen noisily scribbling on the notebook.

<Dzual Cell. Sounds very Yeerk-like,> Tobias said. 

“Are we done here?” Elle complained tiredly. “I have work to do-”

“There are still too many unanswered questions,” the Controller said wickedly. “It would make it easy on you to come to the station-”

She snorted. “What if I refuse?”

“Be careful, grub.” He arched forward like a typical villain you’d see in those cartoons. “It’s not nice to raise a voice at an ‘officer of the law’.”

“Hah.” Elle slipped out a laugh that couldn’t exhume any energy. “Mediocre tactics. Shows how desperate you are.”

 <Isn't this escalating fast?> I said.

<It’s a bad idea to jump in,> Marco warned. <We could make things worse.>

<But still…> I looked at Jake, hoping he’d give the word. Anything.

“You claim to have no involvement. Alright. All you need to do is take a DNA swab. And we can sort this mistake out.” The good cop smiled eerily at her. “It’s that simple.”

Elle wore her poker face throughout most of the conversation. No matter how stern and disinterested it was, it had no effect on the grinning cop. He wanted her to cave down and talk.

“No,” she said.

“You cannot refuse-” the ‘bad’ cop started.

“No. I can. If you had any proof that puts me at those locations, you’d be arresting me by now.”

“And you don’t have proof that you weren’t,” his partner counterattacked.

“You said a human was run over by a car. Why don’t you show me photos?”

The two men were strangely silent, reluctant to answer back. 

“You have no photos. No evidence. Only testimonies,” Elle scoffed. “I don’t need to prove anything.”

“...Tsk!” the nice cop clicked his tongue. “Your reputation does precede you.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not involved,” his partner stepped in. 

“And what? Do you plan to fabricate evidence? Toss in some ‘bad word’ that I’m up to no good? Go ahead and try,” Elle taunted. Not just surprising the two Controllers but also us as well.

What was she doing? 

“I’m sure you will get the same result as always. Like you said, I’m a Werch ,” Elle explained coldly. “The Council wouldn’t care about what you have to say about me.”

Both cops were riling in their anger. The game got turned around on them and they could do nothing but let her go off the hook.

“I’d advise you two to leave the Quarter. Two armed, male Caucasians talking to a defenseless teenager in this part of the city?” she started. “That is a very dangerous thing.”

“Ha!" the big cop scoffed. "You're threatening us, you damn y'vez?”

“I’m saying it paints a nice image of you being racist.”

Both cops glared at her with narrowed eyes until it slowly clicked with them. I even found that clever.

“That kind of uproar would create a lot of attention. It might even expose this invasion. All because two y'shol couldn’t stay in line,” Elle continued nonchalantly.

“You-!”

“And?” the ‘good’ cop stopped his partner. “The Council will just clean it up for us.”

“They will,” she said. “And they won’t be happy with you two.”

The two men looked nervous. Then fuming mad. It was a risk they couldn’t take. They couldn’t afford it. Despite how quiet and secretive they’ve kept this invasion from the people of Earth, there were hidden rules they couldn’t break.

“Ten minutes is up. Now,” Elle said with a gaze as freezing cold as ice. So distant, so ‘done with their business’. 

And she said the next sentence with utmost iciness. 

“Get out of my sight.”

Their faces said it all of how trapped they were, out in the open. They could do nothing but watch Elle walk back into the restaurant. Like some untouchable character from an action movie. 

Both cops went back into the car, banging their doors very loud, and they soon drove off. Once they were out of our sight, I could relax.

<Wow. That was tense,> Marco pointed. <They really don’t like this Yeerk.>

<Well, it’s not uncommon to see them hate each other. But...I do agree this is a little extreme,> Tobias said. <It looked like they’re bullying her.>

<She handled it just fine to me,> Rachel remarked. 

<Tobias’ right, though,> I said. <It’s like those Controllers wanted to pin her on something.>

<And what is that something? We came here for answers and got nothing out of it,> Marco groaned. <Man, this was pointless.>

<I don’t know,> Tobias disagreed. <I’d say that conversation was important.>

<That she wasn’t at the accident? She could be lying to them. She even denied the swab.>

<I’m pretty sure anyone in the world wouldn’t want their DNA taken, Marco,> Rachel pointed that out.

<Maybe we shouldn’t be thinking of this as one incident,> I said. <What if they are two separate incidents?>

<And what? That was really her twin at the construction site?>

<Twin…> That word got to me, even if Marco meant it as a joke. <Do you think that maybe the other Elle we saw was, well->

<Was what?>

<Someone like us. With morphing powers.>

Birds didn’t have any way of expressing emotions like humans but the sheer silence spoke volume to us. 

<It...actually explains a few things,> Tobias pointed.

<Wait. You’re accusing one of us acquired her DNA and morphed into her?> Marco asked. <We were all there, man.>

<I’m not saying any of us did… Even though we’re the only ones who have morphing powers,> I said.

<Well, it’s not something we should ignore,> Jake pointed.

<I mean, besides us, there is Visser Three. Are we really saying he has some part in all of this?> Rachel pointed back to the one issue we brought up before. <What would his goal be?>

<There’s a good chance it isn’t us or Visser Three,> Jake suggested. 

<Then...you’re actually saying it’s another Andalite?> Ax asked. 

I could tell by his voice he was a little hopeful. That another stranded Andalite like him could be alive out there. Just a bit that he could find it hard to believe.

<...It’s possible,> Jake answered. 

<Ok, but what does one Andalite have to do with this one Yeerk? Why do they need her host’s DNA?> Marco hit the hard questions. <It sounds so random to pick one Controller out of nowhere.>

<It isn’t a random Yeerk,> Ax cut in. <In fact, if there is an Andalite alive, I don’t see a reason why they would pick this specific Yeerk either.>

<Why’s that?>

<Because of her Werch status. She has no value to the Yeerks.>

< Werch, > Jake repeated. <What is a Werch , Ax?>

<Yeah,> Rachel agreed. <Sounds like a name you'd give to someone you hate.>

<It is for such a reason,> he explained. < Werch is a Yeerk term for criminal.>

Criminal.

That was one word I never thought to hear. 

We've learned a few Yeerk words and their meanings. Every time we heard the word, Visser, there was a sense of dread and alarm for us. Because it was a title at the top, a dangerous enemy.

Werch had a different weight compared to Visser. The word, criminal, to me, didn't sound as dangerous as Visser but it was still unsettling.

Elle had a criminal in her head.

<Oh, a criminal,> Marco groaned. <Ok. Exactly how bad is a Werch? >

Chapter Text

ELEVEN: TOBIAS 

6:21 P.M.

<A Werch is a Yeerk malefactor with no chance of redeeming themselves,> Ax explained. <Their crimes range from treason, assassination, destruction to the Council and so on. Their own people mistreat them as the lowest of their hierarchy, because of how much distrust the name carries. It is also loosely referred to as useless or the defeated.>

<I'm surprised Yeerks even have their own laws,> Rachel grumbled.

<The name isn't taken lightly, from what I've heard. Only high-ranking Yeerks who oppose the Empire are given it. Any Yeerk for other crime, either petty or dangerous, is disposed of instead of branded the name.>

<That's...a bit morbid,> Cassie admitted.

<And why don't they lock these Werches up?> Marco asked.

<It’s Werch’ett . Not Werches,> Ax corrected him. <Starvation is already a fate worse than imprisonment for them. They die quickly because of the backlash.>

<That’s horrible,> Cassie said.

<I have only heard about three cases and all three ended within the usual three days a Yeerk survives without Kandrona Rays.>

<Three days… So this Yeerk’s going to die anyway,> Marco said. 

<Yes. If this is a cover-up, the Yeerks wouldn’t choose a Werch for this human,> Ax explained. 

<Then you’re really saying the girl we saw was an Andalite morphed as her?>

<Prince Jake may be right on that presumption. But->

<But what?> I asked.

<I do not see a point in acquiring this human’s DNA. A host with a Werch would draw too much attention from other Yeerks.>

<Maybe there’s a reason for it? Maybe it’s connected to that device we saw earlier,> Rachel added.

<It’s possible but...what was this Andalite thinking?> Ax asked himself.

“I got this.” The backdoor opened and closed. Elle dragged three big bags of garbage to the dumpster at the back. This was probably one of her regular chores she had to do, to keep up with the facade.

<Ok. Let’s think this over,> Jake stated. <A girl bearing this Controller’s description bumped into us with a Yeerk device. The Yeerks were after her for it.>

<She winds up dead at the accident and the Yeerks take back their gizmo,> Marco continued. <They then send police to this Werch to find out...what exactly?>

Good question. If this was really two separate incidents like what Cassie said, then what was the connection the Yeerks saw but we didn’t? You could easily see how much the two cop Controllers wanted this incident to stick to Elle. Not out of desperation. Ax wasn’t exaggerated about that backlash. 

What were we missing?

“You’re thinking.”

At first, I thought it was meant to us. But that couldn’t be possible. Maybe someone had come into the alleyway and Elle spoke out to that person. But we saw no one but herself, who was staring off aimlessly.

“What makes you say that?” Elle spoke again. This time, in the brooding tone we heard before. Except without the hostile vibe.

Then it switched back to her regular-sounding voice.

“You always make that face whenever you’re thinking. Penny for your thoughts?”

“You cannot buy thoughts-ah. Right.” She beamed softly. “It’s nothing.”

“But it is something.” The smile changed. Warmer. With a hint of concern. “Why would those Controllers make a big deal about it?”

She flared her nostrils with an emotionless face. “They’re looking for any excuse they can use against me. No different from any other Yeerk.”

<What’s going on?> Marco asked, sounding a little afraid. <Why is the Yeerk talking to herself?>

<Oh c’mon. Why would she do that?> Rachel said. The answer should be obvious. Elle’s Yeerk didn’t need to. 

Yeerks have full control over their hosts. They could literally read minds and know what the host is thinking. There was no point in speaking to one another.

“I suppose...today has been an eventful day for us,” Elle talked to herself, tossing the first bag into the dumpster. 

“Totally. Getting jumped on, robbed and being accused of being somewhere when we weren’t,” she said, her right hand counting out a finger for each point.

“Hm.”

“Hey, V’trix. Do you think…”

“Do I think what?”

“That maybe the person they thought was me was an Andalite in disguise. From this morning.”

The eeriness just stacked up to a whole new level for us. An enemy of ours was somehow on the same page as we were.

<Okaaay… Did she hear everything we were talking about or is this just a big coincidence?>

<That’s not possible and you better not say this Yeerk can read everyone’s minds, Marco,> Rachel hissed.

“So you’re saying the Andalite acquired your DNA without our knowledge and impersonated you?” Elle chucked the second bag in. “That’s absurd.”

“I mean, how can you explain it? Those centaurs ambushed us and one of them knocked me out.” She pointed a finger at her bandage. “They took my jacket, my tips and my shoes. We don’t know what else they took too.”

Elle had this intellectual pose about herself, her left hand cupping her chin as she pondered. She thought about what she said…to herself. It was confusing - the only thing we could tell was the difference in tones and the exchanging in her demeanor. 

“But...why you? You are just a human child.”

Her body language switched again - she rocked back and forth. “I don’t know. Ask the blue freaks. We weren’t in two places at once. So it’s gotta be those Andalites who are setting me up.”

“That is another valid point...if there was some motive behind it. I am a Werch , clear as Madra’s moonlight. There’s nothing to gain from acquiring your DNA.”

“Hm…”

Then silence. You could hear the gears grinding but it wasn’t us doing the thinking. For such a bizarre scene, watching a Yeerk think about what happened before was something I never expected.

<She’s right, you know,> Cassie broke the silence.

<Hey, now. Don’t go listening to this Yeerk. We don’t know what her endgame is here,> Marco warned.

<But you can’t deny it. She just said she was mugged.>

<By an Andalite…? Well, I could see that if they knew she was a Controller,> Rachel said. 

<So this Andalite acquired her DNA, morphed into her and stole the device from the Yeerks under their noses,> Jake said. <That’s a big risk to take.>

Elle’s sudden sigh made us stop our conversation and listen in.

“First that customer, your school friends and now this...”  

“You’re talking about that weirdo kid. Marco, right?”

Marco jumped, feathers ruffled. <Excuse me?!>

“Think he’s connected?”

Then her face changed back to disinterest as she shook her head. “Doubtful. It’s clear he showed an interest in you. Human attraction-”

“Pffft!” Elle made a raspberry sound. “Please. I know his type. He's an insecure Casanova who thinks he's hot but the only thing he can turn on is the microwave.”

<Ouch,> Jake murmured.

<Oh, wow,> Rachel exclaimed. <That’s the best burn I’ve ever heard Elle say.>

<Who’s side are you on?!> Marco yelled. <That’s the Yeerk talking!>

“That's...rather a harsh statement for you to say, Elle.”

<Oh, great,> Marco continued <I don’t want to hear a Yeerk defending me either!>

“I don’t care. He was annoying me with all those questions,” Elle grumbled with a pout. “Pretending he wasn’t at the restaurant.”

<Wait, you were?> Jake asked him.

<No, I wasn’t! She’s making up stories!>

“...He might have been another Andalite.”

Elle’s eyes expressed the amount of shock we felt. It was almost close to the truth. To the Yeerks, we were known as the Andalite Bandits - a group of stranded Andalites on Earth fighting against the Yeerks. If someone figured out that we were actually five kids plus one Andalite, our whole act could crumble. It was even worse to think a Yeerk made the connection to Marco.

But Elle cut us before we could talk about it.

“One of my customers was a fake?” 

“The one who came to the restaurant was the fake. The Andalite might have also taken his DNA and morphed into him.”

<Wait. My DNA was taken?> Marco exclaimed. <Hold up. Wouldn’t I know if someone took my DNA?>

<Ok. Either this Yeerk is either spinning the truth so well or she’s delusional,> Rachel said.

<But...is this really a Yeerk being crazy?> I asked. <This doesn’t seem so...I don’t know. Irrational?>

<She’s talking to herself. That says a lot.>

Maybe. That should be a clear sign things weren’t right with this Yeerk. The problem was that the conversation sounded...real. 

Real as in I was really hearing and seeing two people talking to each other. But it looked so fake! How could it look that natural?

“It can also explain what happened yesterday. That wasn’t your schoolmate we saw.”

“But why?” Elle asked herself. “Why pick customers I know from school?”

“If I had to guess, to monitor you closely. Using humans in the same age group and with ties to this restaurant's delivery system.”

“That’s downright creepy. So they were after my DNA from the start?”

“I don’t know…” She heaved a deep sigh. Back to thinking again. 

<This is insane. My DNA wasn’t taken...right?> Marco asked, sounding unsure of himself.

<I mean, we can’t ignore the possibility there might be another Andalite,> I said and remembered how I got my human DNA back. <For all you know, they might have taken your DNA during your sleep.>

<Nice. First a Controller came to my house. Now I might have an Andalite being creepy at my bedside. Is my place a beacon for the weird or something?>

<Honestly, I think it’s you who attracts the weirdness,> Rachel droned.

“Dzual Cell…” Elle said that name languidly. “I wonder if that is the device the Andalites are after.”

She glanced at the ground, looking defeated before closing her eyes.

Then she rose back up.

“The accident was near that construction site, right?”

“Yes.” 

“The one we saw before, right?”

“That is correct.”

“And the construction site was where we had to take that delivery to, right?”

“Yes… What are you proposing?”

“Why don’t we go there and look for answers?”

Elle jerked back, surprised at her own suggestion. But she digested it. “The Andalite with your DNA might be long gone by now.”

“There could still be clues.”

“Clues? That the Yeerks would overlook? The site is perhaps heavily monitored by police force and eyewitness Controllers.”

“They don’t know what to look for. But we do.”

“We do?” she murmured with knitted eyebrows. “I thought the Andalites were too oblivious to tell time, let alone make it worth their time to speak to other species.”

<Why, this...impudent Yeerk!> Ax huffed out. <I very much do know how to tell time!>

“They want that battery thing. We find it and give it to those centaurs. Problem solved.”

“A straightforward idea but I have to ask, why the Andalites?”

“Yeerks are out of the question. They’ll just kill us and take it off our hands, right?”

“You aren’t wrong about that. But you haven’t forgotten what happened yesterday.” She traced her left hand on the bandage. “Andalites are just as dangerous as the Yeerks.”

“But we can’t leave it alone either. Someone’s walking around with my face. It’s like...doppelgangers!” she explained to herself. “You know, people who look like you? ‘If you come face to face with one, it’s an omen. Both of you die’.”

“An interesting comparison to Andalites.”

<I do not like this Yeerk one bit,> Ax grumbled.

<Nobody does,> Rachel added.

“So the plan is to give them the battery and tell them to stop morphing into you?” she said in her other tone.

“Think they’ll do it? If they get what they want, then they can leave us alone.”

“And what if they don’t agree?”

“Well…” Elle switched back to her perky self. But nervous. “They won’t...kill me, will they?”

She shook her head, her aloof expression switching back. “They won’t care for a Werch . And I am here.” Her left hand held her right wrist. “I won’t let them harm you again.”

“Then...do you wanna forget everything and go on with our day?”

“No. The longer they indirectly involve us, the more dangerous it becomes.”

“So to the accident site?”

“Yes.”

“This is our unanimous vote?”

“Aye.”

“Alright!” With as much enthusiastic force she could muster, Elle tossed in the last bag and shut the dumpster lid. BANG! “Let’s get going.” 

Then her body language changed: her hands in her pocket and she looked all tough and cold. “And here, I thought I could spend the afternoon listening to the rest of that album.” Elle collected herself before walking back inside.

<Okaaay,> Marco groaned. <What just happened?>

<What? You already know the answer,> Rachel said. <This Yeerk has a few screws loose.>

<Maybe not,> Jake pointed. <This looks like it’s scripted. She has the same thinking as we have about what happened earlier?>

<Yeah. It’s fishy. It’s almost like this Yeerk’s trying to humanise itself,> Marco droned. 

<Maybe she is,> Cassie said that out of nowhere.

<What do you mean?> Rachel asked.

The backdoor opened again.

“Kong Kong, I’ll be fine.” It was Elle, with a parka and a backpack. The cheery Elle who didn’t want her relative to worry over her. After a mugging. “I’m not going to that neighbourhood again.”

Mr Liang folded his arms with the same frown I’ve always seen him wear. “Do not want you to go anywhere.”

“Kong Kong, I’m a big girl,” Elle assured him. “I can’t stay locked up because of what happened. I got club work to do.”

“Hmm…” her relative grumbled with disapproval. “Can not do it tomorrow?”

“It’s for Monday. I want to get this out so I can have my Sunday free. Please, Kong Kong?”

He said nothing at first, putting his hands on his hips

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a few photos and I’ll be back home before curfew. I promise.”

Mr Liang heaved a soft sigh. “...Alright. Be back by 9.”

“9 o’clock.”

“Your bracelet-”

Elle raised up her left hand. Around the wrist was a green beaded piece of jewellery. “Always wearing it.”

He nodded - his final approval. Then he went back to work while Elle got onto her yellow bike and rode off.

<Let's go,> Jake said.

We flew after Elle, eyes locked on her.

<I don’t think this is scripted,> Cassie continued. <It’s crazy but…doesn't it look like a normal conversation?>

<Between who?> I asked.

<The Yeerk and Elle.>

It sounded insane, coming from Cassie. And Marco was quick to say it.

<That is crazy. Why in the world would a Yeerk want to talk to their host? They're Yeerks.>

<Maybe it's because she's a nice Yeerk?>

<Really? Is this another dimension we landed ourselves in, where Yeerks are nice?>

<Yes. Aftran is one,> she rebuked back.

There are, in a way, some good Yeerks. Some time ago, Cassie had made friends with a Yeerk named Aftran. It almost jeopardized us but it turned out for the better. And it did change our viewpoint - just a bit, not as big as Cassie’s after that experience. 

There were even some rumors about some kind of Yeerk Peace Movement but some of us didn’t want to put too much faith into that.

<That’s Aftran,> Rachel pointed. <This is a totally different Yeerk. We don’t know a single thing about her other than she’s a criminal. That isn’t a ‘nice Yeerk’.> 

<Yes but everything about this is strange,> Cassie continued. <And this Yeerk? She’s trying to solve this mystery as much as we do.>

<So?> Marco exclaimed. <This could be a trap.>

<Maybe,> Jake said. <But we got nothing right now. She’s the only lead we’ve got to this mystery.>

Chapter Text

TWELVE: AX

6:39 P.M.

We continued our pursuit after the Werch . The Controller took upon herself to ride on a strange vehicle - a bicycle. It was an unusual, very thin, brightly yellow-colored form that humans use as one way for transportation. She took paths that even my human friends didn’t recognize in this city but it was clear she knew the routes. ‘A city girl,’ Marco threw out in one of our short conversations while we followed her.

I was indifferent about this Yeerk. While I did agree with my friends that she was somehow connected, I didn’t share their eagerness that she may have all the answers to this enigma.

A Werch was a criminal. Useless. They had not only lost their status but also every possible resource and ally in their disposal. That is the extent of their punishment - completely removing any means for them to rise back up to their ranks. In fact, I had already anticipated that this lead would be a dead end.

It wasn’t long before Elle slowed down in front of one familiar place in the city.

<That’s the construction site,> Cassie pointed out.

<So she returns to the scene of the crime,> Marco droned. <That’s a given for criminals.>

We perched nearby and kept watch on the Yeerk as she put the brakes down and peered at the site. The gates were locked, just how she had left them. 

She flared her nostrils. “Never would I imagine us returning here…”

“It’s closed. It wasn’t closed this morning,” she said. “You think the Andalites are here?”

“For them to try the same trick...? Don’t drop your guard.”

“Geez. This place is definitely cursed.”

<Cursed?> Marco repeated.

<Somehow, I actually buy that,> Rachel admitted.

“It’s always bad news. Something crashed here, an Andalite having died here and then the strange rumors.”

I tensed up when I heard that.

Was she talking about Elfangor?

I didn’t know how to feel… I was disturbed that an enemy of mine was nonchalantly speaking about him. I wanted her to be quiet.

I didn’t want to hear about my brother.

“I don’t get why nobody has torn this place down…”

“Because this area was bought over by Visser Three.”

<Visser Three,> I spoke softly. Angrily.

<So...he personally took over this site,> Prince Jake said.

<Makes sense. This place started everything,> Marco said.

“Him? Why would he want this place?”

The Controller lightly shrugged her left shoulder, a strange human gesture I have ever seen. “I don’t know. It's probably another one of his ridiculous pedestals this planet he frivolously conquered...or he has something to hide.”

<Hide? What would he hide?> Rachel asked. <The Yeerks destroyed everything that night. Elfangor’s ship. Even Visser Three->

She stopped herself for some reason. I didn’t understand it at the time.

“You think he’s hiding the fact an Andalite died here?”

“What is there to hide? It wasn't even a kept secret to begin with," she answered. "Andalites and Yeerks despise each other. He’s too proud of himself to conspire in working with the enemy.”

<Of course not,> I snapped. <My brother wouldn’t work with that Abomination!> 

“And he’s not that clever to think of treason.”

<Wow,> Marco uttered.

“Yeah, he sounds really vain.”

<Double wow.>

<Well, it does show that Visser Three isn’t a likeable Yeerk to his own people,> Cassie pointed out.

“Let us go,” the human said in her second tone and she rode off. 

Prince Jake took off without needing to command us to move on. We already expected what our next destination was: the second street the cop Controller mentioned.

The accident site.

<Whoa,> Tobias uttered softly. <Look ahead.>

It was five streets away from the construction site, at the empty crossway. That was the last spot we saw that human get hit by a vehicle. We got closer to the scene at the nearby roofs, hopping from one to another as we kept close to the Controller.

Everything was almost the same as before.

The crowd from earlier had somewhat disbanded but there were also new faces. The female human’s body was gone, with only the dried-up blood pool as her evidence she was there. The area was taped up by the police.

The ambulance and the blue vehicle were still there. Both bashed down and turned over on its sides. Lights and windows broken to pieces. 

So my friends couldn’t help but look in shock. 

<Did a bulldozer run through the street?> Marco exclaimed. 

<What happened there?> Cassie asked.

The Controller riding towards the blocked-up street halted with a harsh stop on the braces.

“Whoa…” Elle gasped. “Ok, so there was really an accident.”

“Two vehicles colliding each other,” she then said. “Nothing unusual about that.”

<What? No, it wasn’t a collision. It was one car that hit that girl,> Cassie corrected, only to us and not to the Controller.

The Controller stepped off her bike and trailed onwards by foot. She passed by two female humans standing at the traffic lights, her pace slowing even more than before.

“And what happened next?” one of them asked.

“A rhino appeared out of nowhere and smashed into the ambulance. Turned it over completely!” her companion answered. “It was terrifying! My little Benjy was barking hysterically.”

“Really?”

“Ask anyone. It was like a stampede running through here. And that’s not the strangest part. The poor girl who died there?” her friend began, pointing at the accident. “She suddenly disappeared. Just like that.”

“Don’t tell me...did, did she get trampled?”

“I don’t know. I heard nobody has found her body yet. The police are completely useless.”

“Really. This isn’t the first time. The city needs to do something about these animals being on the loose. How often do we hear it on the news?”

“Speaking of the news, something similar to this happened at the mall last month. It was two big cats-”

“Rhino?” Elle said to herself. Then she picked up the pace and walked closer to the street, up till the yellow tape and away from any onlookers.

<Jake,> Marco began with an exaggerated tone, <Do you have something to tell us?> 

<What? No! I wasn’t here as a rhino. I was with you guys,> Prince Jake defended.

<But that’s your morph. Or is there a wild rhino loose in the city?>

<Ok. How many more mysteries are gonna be stacked on top of the last ones?> Rachel groaned.

Elle peered back to the gossiping humans. “Doesn’t this sound like the Andalite Bandits?”

“It fits their MO. Appearing as any Earth animal and sabotaging the Yeerks’ plans. I wouldn’t pass the idea that this Andalite is one of theirs.”

“So a Bandit did take my DNA. Wonderful.”

<Hey! Wait a minute!> Marco hollered. <Don’t go pinning this on us now.>

<It definitely wasn’t us,> Cassie stated. <We were chasing after those Yeerks for the device.>

<Argh! I’m so confused with this!> Rachel snapped.

“Your camera.” The Controller swung her backpack in front of her and took out a strange device I had never seen before.

<What is that device? A weapon? I don’t recognise it as Yeerk technology,> I asked.

<That’s because it’s not,> Prince Jake corrected me. <It’s a camera. Humans use it to take pictures.>

<Pictures? Like the images in my television?>

<Um, well. Kinda. But still images.>

<That does not sound entertaining.>

“Look at the accident.”

She lifted the device up to her right eye, her right hand twisting and turning the cylinder part of it.

“Do you see anything out of the original?”

<See?> Cassie said, as if that was something abnormal about the phasing.

<So she’s using the camera to zoom in on the accident. Huh,> Marco droned. <I’m now appreciating our raptor eyes more than ever.>

<Ok, then. Do you see anything weird, genius?> Rachel retorted. 

<It’s an accident. What’s there strange about it?>

<Other than a rhino went through here,> Tobias pointed that out.

“There’s a blood pool in the center,” Elle then stated what was already obvious to us.

“Confirming somebody was run over. By the Volks or by the ambulance…?” she asked herself. “What else?”

“Um… It’s smeared.”

“Smeared?” She then exchanged her right eye for her left. “Ah. Something disturbed it.”

I examined the blood pool again. The Yeerk was correct: something had indeed been dragged off from it, leading towards the ambulance. A minuscule detail we all missed.

“Our mysterious rhino Andalite, perhaps?” she pondered. “Or maybe something picked up the body.”

<Ok, that’s something out of the ordinary,> Tobias said.

<Yeah. If that’s true, then this is starting to look like a rescue,> Prince Jake explained. 

<So we’re saying there’s more than one Andalite out there?> Cassie asked.

I was a bit more hopeful. One Andalite would be good news for me. More than one would be extraordinary.

I was not the only Andalite that crashed on this planet but I wasn’t sure if I was the only one alive, other than my brother dead by the hands of my enemy. I hadn’t attempted to make contact or seek other survivors out on this planet - it would endanger us if the Yeerks were to find out.

But this hope was...deceiving. I had to push it back because if I thought any more of it, I might lose focus.

<You know. As much as it’s interesting to see a Yeerk play detective, it’s actually getting eerie how close her assumptions are,> Marco complained.

<That’s if she’s even right. Remember, this is a Yeerk. She could be playing,> Rachel reminded him.

<Playing with who? Us? She doesn't know we're spying on her.>

<All I know is she’s sick in the head,> she spat angrily. <What she’s doing to Elle is just...disturbing.>

<Heads up, nine o’clock,> Tobias uttered.

<It is not that late yet,> I said.

<No, to our left. Down there.>

A male human was by another traffic light when he noticed the Controller. Immediately, his eyes widened and his skin was much paler than before. He crossed the road, caring less that a car halted and honked at him angrily.

He was heading straight for the Controller.

Chapter Text

THIRTEEN: CASSIE

6:50 P.M.

The stranger looked hysterical. His buttoned shirt was crumpled and his eyes were bloodshot red. It was suspicious-looking but maybe it shouldn’t have been. He might be another Controller and he recognized Elle from a distance.

“You!”

The outburst frightened Elle that she almost dropped her camera. She turned to him, looking confused. 

“You’re alive! H-How?!” the man hollered.

<Wait. Isn’t that the driver?> Jake asked.

<You’re right,> Rachel answered. 

“What?” Elle said.

“But I saw your body!” the man hollered. “And-and those animals! They took it! They took your body away!”

“What are you talking about?”

“S-Stay away from me!” The human screamed. He bolted away, never to be seen again.

Alright. Maybe he wasn’t a Controller.

“What did I do?!” Elle exclaimed loudly, trying to progress what just happened.

Her expression ‘switched’. She had that languid mannerism but slightly annoyed this time. “Well, this is a predicament. Those two Controllers weren’t wrong about eyewitnesses.”

“Those eyewitnesses are wrong! We weren’t here. And I’m not a ghost!”

She heaved a deep sigh. “It would be wise to improvise... Wear your parka reverse. Hood up.”

Elle always wore parkas for all her delivery rides, each different from each other. On a sunny or rainy day. The one she had on her that day? She did as she was told, by herself, and turned it inside-out to show a different shade of color compared to its outer one. She then pulled the hoodie over her head.

“Gloves too. Hide your bike.”

She did all that: taking a pair she kept in her pockets and then parking her bike aside. 

“Let’s get dangerous,” Elle said with that sluggard attitude but this time slightly exaggerated.

With her head down and her hands in those little pockets, she walked around the outer perimeter of the accident - trying not to draw suspicion from any bypasser.

What she didn’t know was a flock of birds watching her. Each of us kept our distance from each other. Too many birds of prey close together would also be suspicious. We changed from perch to perch to keep up with Elle.

<Really? Keeping a low profile?> Marco mocked. <We can see you.>

<This is stupid,> Rachel mumbled. <She’s literally a ventriloquist making Elle talk with her.>

<I mean, that’s what Yeerks do. But I see your point,> Marco continued. <Even this is going a bit too far.>

<Right? It’s revolting. She’s doing all this ‘make-believe’ when Elle’s probably scared out of her mind. This is just a sick joke to her.>

<Is this really ‘make-believe’?> I asked.

It was odd for a Yeerk to do all that. Creepy and uncalled but...I had never seen so much conviction in one Yeerk.

<Of course, this is,> Rachel insisted. <This Yeerk’s a criminal, right? No friends to go to. So she has to make herself better by making Elle do all that for her.>

A criminal. Anyone would have the common sense to be apprehensive about a person like that. So I was too. Because this Yeerk could literally be using Elle as a playtoy. Making her speak and act in a way she and the Yeerk were two different people.

So I felt pity for Elle. I can only imagine her feeling so scared as she was forced to watch the Yeerk play both roles.

<Ok. We’re going all over the place,> Marco stated. <Are we saying she’s playing with her host or that she’s trying to trick us with this whole ‘she doesn’t know us from the construction site’ show? Which is it?>

That was a good point. Elle might know who we were this entire time. This make-believe could be a ploy to confuse us.

<Ax, what do you think?> Jake asked for his opinion.

<In all honesty,> he began. <I don’t know what her goal is… If she knew who we were, she would have done something by now. But she is a Werch .>

<Why would that matter?> Marco said.

<She’s an offender with no power or sources. No allies. She wouldn’t be able to overpower us anyhow.>

<So she’s a sitting duck,> Rachel said. <Good. Makes it easy if she becomes a threat.>

That sounded unfair for this Yeerk. She was already punished by her own people, right? And now she had us ready to pounce on her.

Elle was at the far left of the crossway and read the road sign there. 

<Fifth Avenue,> Tobias read. <Didn’t those cops say that name?>

<Yup,> Jake replied.

Elle trailed her eyes to one particular building that stood out on one of the streets. It closed down a few years ago. 

The old theatre.

<Do you think this mysterious Andalite would go there?> I asked.

<If he even exists,> Marco added.

<I don’t see any other safe location nearby,> Ax remarked. <Logically, that structure would be ideal for them to demorph.> 

<Yeah. After an accident like that, anyone would,> Jake said.

Elle approached the theatre, at first stopping at the fence. I thought she would give up but there was a hole in the chain-link for her to widen and crawl under. 

I nearly forgot that she wasn’t Elle but the Yeerk controlling her. I knew the real Elle was actually humble and responsible. She wouldn’t think to do things like trespassing.

<So the Yeerk’s breaking in,> Rachel said. <Suits her real nice.>

Elle stopped at the main door. From where we were, spread out like this, we wouldn’t hear anything she would say.

She peeked at the keyhole with her left eye. She then pulled something from her hair and used them on the lock. 

Bobby pins?

<Lockpicking?> Marco exclaimed, sounding cocky. <Ha. We could get in in just minutes->

The door opened. And Elle walked right in as quickly as she had picked the lock.

<Wait, what?> he uttered. 

<She’s fast,> I said.

<Come on.> Jake directed us to an empty spot behind the theatre. <We have to go in somehow.>

<As what? I don’t see any open windows to fly in,> Marco said.

<Well,> I started. And I regretted my suggestion before I even said it. <...We could go in as rats.>

<Rats? Really?> Rachel groaned bitterly. <I thought I was done with that morph.>

<You girls have that DNA. We don’t,> Marco said.

<Oh,> Tobias suddenly blurted out. 

He swooshed off for a second and then immediately back down, catching something in his talons. 

<How about this?>

In an alley, you can find all sorts of vermin hidden. To a red-tailed hawk who does his own hunting, catching a big, brown rat in this back alley was a pinch for Tobias. 

<Ok. So we are going in as rats… I don’t know if this is ironic or simply insane,> Marco droned warily.

<Suck it up. I don’t like this either,> Jake said. 

We demorphed and split into two groups. The boys gathered around Tobias, ready to acquire the brown rat’s DNA. The poor thing was particularly squeak-screaming. It squirmed agitatedly to break free from Tobias’ deadly, sharp talons.

“Ew,” Marco groaned. He definitely did not want to do this, for many reasons.

“Cassie and I will head in first,” Rachel said.

I took a deep sigh and prepared myself. It was something I didn’t want to do. Not after what happened last month with...David. 

I began to shrink down, feeling myself fall to the concrete floor. Not from gravity but from the shrinking. I watched white fur sprout all over my body, poking through my morph suit. It was uncomfortable. Like an itch that needed to be scratched.

But I focused. Just as I kept going down, I watched my face stretch and narrow out while I felt the base of my spine elongate and twist into a long, hairless tail.

The itch became almost unbearable at my ears, I had to scratch. But my arms became small, stubby, and contorted. So did my legs. I was down on fours before the ground rushed up to me.

Finally, I scratched my ears, feeling them bigger and at the side of my head. 

<Let’s go,> the second white rat said to me. Rachel found a way in and led us into what I think was the green room. All the doors inside were left unlocked so it was a straight line to the auditorium

The rat’s instincts were quicker than me. It could smell a human up ahead. It even noticed a brown rat by the main door. 

Another rat that didn’t want us invading their territory, the rat’s mind said to me.

<Eek!> I yelled.

<It’s us,> Jake said. <Do you see her?>

<There,> I said. <On the stage.>

It was easy to spot her. Standing out in the open as she admired everything around her in a spin. 

“Whoooa,” Elle chided. “I didn’t think it’d be this big inside.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

Elle was strangely captivated at the sight around her.

As if waiting for something to happen.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” she hollered out to the vacant seats.

<Whoa!> I never imagined how easy these ears would pick up sound, especially inside an empty hall. It gave me a fright.

<Gah! Gave me a heart attack!> Marco uttered.

“Welcome for one more glamorous night to our wonderful theatre! Even if our doors are closed, this building will hold a special place in our hearts. Our spectators and our troupers.” Elle gave a big, almost theatrical performance on stage. “That is why to commemorate those memories, we will have one show that will blow your socks right off!”

<Is she talking to us? She’s not, right?> Tobias asked. 

“So without further ado. Let’s give a warm welcome to the fantastic, V’trix! Artiste extraordinaire!”

The auditorium was absolutely silent. We were too awestruck to say anything.

Elle chuckled. So soft that only a mouse could hear.

“How’s that?” Elle asked herself briskly.

Her wide smile mellowed down, looking quizzical. “Could use a bit more polish. But I’d say that was a good start.”

“Polish, maybe,” she declared fiercely. “But once you get into your act, everyone will be smitten by it. They’ll forget the start.”

Elle laughed softly. “Perhaps. I’ll be sure to give my best performance then,” she chided, giving that languid expression again. But the small smile stayed.

Then her smile turned to a grin. “Good.”

“Hm? What’s good?”

“You laughed,” Elle said in her causal voice.

Her expression changed suddenly to...surprise. Just for a moment. Then Elle switched back to her usual self.

“You haven’t smiled once today. So I wanted to cheer you up.”

“Ah,” the other ‘Elle’ said. “I see. I hadn’t realized it-”

“It’s ok. We had a bad day today.”

“Bad day.” Her smile sunk to a thin frown. “Yet...you still got involved with this war. Because of me.”

<Well, duh! You’re a Yeerk,> Marco snapped.

“V’trix…” When Elle said that, it was...sympathetic.

“I don’t know what reason the Andalites have for involving us. But I know it has to be because of me. And you...got hurt for that,” she relented. “It was my responsibility to keep you away from these war antics... I failed miserably today.”

“I mean,” Elle started. “I’m friends with a Yeerk. It’s pretty unavoidable.”

<‘Friends with a Yeerk’?> Rachel grumbled. <This is making me sick. Fast.>

<I have to agree,> Ax added with spite. <No one would want to be allied with the enemy .>

It was understandable. Ax’s people despised them. The Yeerks took over our planet and people my friends knew close. So of course, some of us resent them. 

But the way Elle spoke to herself was like she was reciprocating to someone. A real person. It was even stranger when she said the next thing.

“And I couldn’t have asked for a better friend than you, V’trix.”

She was quiet but she still smiled. Warmer this time.

“Nor could I have asked for a better x’yta.”

X’yta. It was a Yeerk word I’ve never heard before but it didn’t sound disrespectful. It sounded meaningful and wholehearted. Like how I would address someone as a friend. 

When I looked at Elle even more, I actually stopped feeling pity towards her.

Because she didn’t look lonely on the empty stage.

Chapter Text

FOURTEEN: RACHEL

7:01 P.M.

I always thought David was twisted. Visser Three is always the evil conquerer we had to fight against. But I found someone that took the icing off the cake.

All that ‘acting’ Elle was doing - it was wrong. It made me so sick to the stomach. I wanted to demorph, go up to Elle and force that Yeerk out of her. End this right there, right then.

Ax told us after all. The Yeerk was a criminal. She had nothing. We could take her down easy and Elle could be free.

But I knew Jake would say we couldn’t risk it.

“You think there are still old, gaudy costumes in the backstage,” Elle said in her perky voice. “Let’s check it out!”

Her wide smile softened and she spoke in that other tone. “I thought we came here for an investigation... But I guess we can take a detour.”

“Yes!” she yelped with a fist pump and disappeared to the back. “I think a tailcoat jacket and top hat suits you.”

“You do know I’m still perfecting that trick, right?”

<Stop it,> I snapped. <Just stop this stupid game and tell us what you know already.>

<I know how frustrated you are. This Yeerk isn’t making it easy on all of us. But until she does something, it’s hands-off,> Jake said. 

Yeah. Elle’s Yeerk needed to make one screwup. And when she does, I would get my chance.

We hurried deeper into the auditorium, partially leaping off each step until we made it to the stage. On such tiny feet, it could have taken hours but it was only sheer minutes before we found Elle at the back.

Her face had turned pale. She stood at a clothes rack for a second before she cautiously walked away from it for some strange reason.

“V’trix,” she called again. Who was she saying that to?

She switched back to the calm, apathetic self. Cautiously, she pushed the rack aside. It made a loud creaking sound against the rickety, old boards.

“So... This was where our mysterious Andalite ended up.”

The smell of iron wasn’t from anything in the musky theatre. It was added recently, behind the clothes rack.

A small pool of dried blood.

Something bled there.

“From the amount back at the accident and here, it’s estimated to be 2 liters. Enough for a human to go into cardiac arrest.”

“But...where’s the body?” Elle looked about worriedly.

“The Andalite must have demorphed to heal their wounds.”

Elle glanced around, this time alerted. Maybe thinking the Andalite was somewhere present.

“I think the Andalite is long gone by now,” she assured herself. “If you are uncomfortable, we can go home.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m ok. I was thinking.”

“About?”

Why would she ask that? She could just read Elle’s mind.

No, that wasn’t right. She had no reason to ask that. Why was I falling for this trick?

“Well. This morning, you said there was an Andalite who died at the construction site.”

“Might,” she corrected herself. “I don’t know how true the rumor is.”

“I know. But the site’s not far from here. I just thought...what if this is the ghost of that Andalite?”

<Really? Now it’s the occult?> I grumbled. And I thought this Yeerk was trying to be clever. Now it was dumb.

Odd thing was that even she convincingly found it silly.

“An Andalite ghost? How ludicrous,” she scoffed. “Putting aside the absurdity of the notion, I wouldn’t credit Andalites with the creativity necessary to conceive something like that.”

<Why, you irritating-!>

<Ax. Calm down,> Jake said.

<...Yes, Prince Jake.> I couldn’t blame Ax for being insulted by an enemy of his race.

“It’s...simply...ludicrous…” She then sounded uncertain in that weird tone, giving a scowl. Like she was uneasy at the idea she just proposed.

“Ahem.” She cleared her voice. “I don’t believe this has anything to do with the occult. But it is possible there was an Andalite who survived and this is the same Andalite. If I think in that logic...that means this Andalite has been around this area for a year now.”

<No. That’s just…> Cassie was too stunned to speak. Everyone was.

What this Yeerk said meant...that Elfangor...

It wasn’t possible. Because the five of us were the last people who saw him alive. We saw how he died!

<This is a trick. It has to be,> I said. 

<Of course. It’s a Yeerk,> Marco reminded us. <We can’t believe anything she says.>

<...But what if she said was true?>

It was the last thing I expected Ax to say. Even more when he said the next thing.

<Maybe…maybe Elfangor is alive.>

It became very awkward fast. We didn't know what to say to that. The idea of Elfangor being alive... That was just too unbelievable for the five of us. 

<Ax…> Cassie couldn’t find the right words.

<It’s possible. Right?> Ax pushed.

<Ax, it could have been another Andalite. There’s nothing that proves your brother is alive,> Marco explained.

<How would you know?> he asked. A little contemplating. And a little hopeful.

<I… It’s just…> There was no way Marco could say it. None of us could. Even after nearly a year, the memory of that night was fresh in my head. Terrible. Horrible.

We have never talked about his death since we’ve told Ax. Never about the details. We didn’t have a reason to.

<You said he died. I have acknowledged that. But if it’s a small possibility that he survived somehow...then it’s something we need to look into.>

No. Elfangor didn’t survive.

The five of us saw it...

How...should we tell Ax that it was impossible for Elfangor to be alive?

I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

Despite how tense and heavy the atmosphere was, Elle’s Yeerk continued on with her investigation. Acting as a Yeerk detective.

“With the site and the theatre being the last locations the Andalite was seen, he must be staying within a 300 feet radius in this city. Give or take.”

<Then...he’s been in this city this whole time,> Ax added.

<Ax,> Jake stepped in. <This is a Yeerk. Until we know the whole story, we can’t take her word.>

<I-I…I know. I apologize, Prince Jake. I am not that easily swayed by this foul-mouthed Yeerk.>

Elle moved further to where the backroom’s exit was. “Forced entry. Hinges completely off.”

“Did a monster go through here?” she asked.

“Maybe a second Andalite. But...this was bashed in. Why didn’t they slice off the lock...?”

<The rhino, maybe? It would make what those bystanders said the truth,> Jake said.

<So there could be more Andalites,> Ax pointed. I swear his tone was getting more enthusiastic by the second. 

I both liked and didn’t like the news. On one hand, that could mean help. We might get more allies. But on the other...it sounded hopeful and deceiving at the same time.

I had a bad feeling about it just as I had one when Ax was being optimistic about his brother being alive.

“Well, well. What do we have here?”

It was some object we didn’t see until Elle picked it up. It looked like a strange camera that could be held like a gun. No, it looked a bit like a Dracon Beam.

“What is it?”

“It’s a Kkal-arpova Sapper.”

“That’s a mouthful.”

“Blame on the Yeerk engineer who named this. He was always conceited,” Elle mocked. “It’s a contraction that take away power from any electronic devices. It sends karpova pulses to the object it aims at and interferes with the object's interior power.”

“So…it makes machines stop working?” 

“The short story, yes… It is peculiar, though. Only Mekorli carry these devices.”

“Really? What for?” Elle asked again. 

“Crowd control on highways. Mekorli are almost on transport duty. They are on a strict schedule between places. Which means dealing with traffic on this planet. All they need to do is target a few cars and clear the road for themselves.”

“Oh. I see.”

<Hold on. You’ve been so talkative this whole time and now you don’t explain that one word,> Marco complained. <What are ‘Mekorli’?>

The only one thing ‘good’ about these conversations the Yeerk made up was the translations she was giving.

But it was odd when Marco pointed that out. What was the point of translating? For us? She didn’t know we were there. But she could also be feigning ignorance. We still dunno how much the Yeerk knew about us - if we were Andalites to her or the kids she saw at the construction site-

No, no. I had to remind myself whatever this Yeerk was doing was a ruse. That's it.

Thankfully, we have another translator.

<Mekorli is a Yeerk rank title,> Ax explained. <Specifically for security.>

<Ah, so henchmen,> Tobias said.

“Then those Andalites must have stolen this from the Yeerks,” Elle continued her conversation with...herself. Geez, this was getting stupider.

“Only to have its purpose fulfilled and be dumped here.”

“Should we keep it?” she asked.

“Hm… I don’t see why not. The sapper doesn’t just turn off devices. It can turn them on.”

“Really? So can this whole building be lit up?”

“For a short while. Let me show a demonstration.”

With that apathetic face of hers again, Elle raised the sapper up at a stage light in the catwalks.

BZZZTWAaaa…

<Ah!> I uttered.

<My eyes!> I heard Marco shout.

Everything was bright. Too bright for anyone to see- 

FLASH!

Elle ran.

She ran with the face of an athletic runner. She didn’t care that she was being chased by wild animals. By us. Or that she was running out of space on the rooftop.

<Stop!> I shouted. 

Elle didn’t stop.

She got to the edge, ready to leap-

FLASH!

<STOP!>

<Rachel!> I heard Jake holler at me.

<What’s the matter?> Cassie quickly asked.

I was back in the backroom. I was in rat morph. Not on a rooftop.

It totally weirded me out to the max. It felt...vivid. As real as where I stood in the backroom. One minute I was in this stuffy place, the next on top

The only problem was...this was the second time it happened.

<What are you doing?!> Marco hissed. <Are you trying to give us away?!>

<What…?> I managed to say. <But...I was somewhere else...>

<Somewhere else?> Jake uttered.

<W-What’s happening?>

<We’re asking you. You suddenly yelled, ‘stop’. Out loud!> Marco shouted.

I realized my mistake there. If everyone heard that from me, then...

I looked back at the backstage. Elle was still there. And she was afraid - her right hand tightening her parka collar. 

She wheeled in circles, glancing around for the source of my thought-speech. My voice. 

There was only a humming sound. The pitch getting higher and higher.

“Wait a minute…” Elle started. “W-Wasn’t that Rac-”

Crack!

Something burst. Glass rained down from the now-busted spotlight.

“Gah!” She jumped, covering herself from the shards. Elle tried to shrink as small as she could in the darkness.

She still searched for me. She was about to say my name. My name.

When nothing stirred in the shadows, all she could do was stand still.

“V-V’trix…” she called. “What’s-”

Her expression changed again: it was full-on caution. A Yeerk that knew danger was coming.

“Let’s go,” she said in that weird tone. Packing the sapper into her backpack, she hurried out through the back.

<This is bad! She has to know about us now,> Tobias uttered.

<Thanks to Xena here!> Marco snapped.

<I-I’m sorry!> I apologised. <I-I… It’s just- I saw...>

I couldn’t tell them what I saw. They’d think I was going crazy! Anything I’d say would be just an excuse.

Jake was unusually quiet this entire time. I expected him to be just as fuming as Marco was. I screwed up. I just revealed us right in the open! Clear as day!

But he said nothing.

<Well, stop losing focus! We gotta catch her now,> Marco said.

<I know! I know!> I yelled. We quickly scrambled out of the theatre.

Chapter Text

FIFTEEN: MARCO

7:16 P.M.

Everything was a disaster. There was no mistaking it: that Yeerk heard us. Us.  

<She couldn’t have gone far,> Jake ordered once we were all out of the theatre. <Tobias.>

<Got it.> And he was off to go bird morph.

<What should we do?> Cassie asked as we began demorphing one by one.

<The answer’s obvious. Catch her!> I said.

There was no way we could let a Yeerk roam free because of one mistake. We’ve had mistakes before, we had close calls and we had to take measures in order to protect our secret.

<But...she’s…> Cassie was the sympathetic one out of the whole group. She didn’t want this to be a repeat like what happened to David but she also didn’t want to hurt Elle.

<This Yeerk is a criminal. A bad guy,> I explained to her. <That’s all the reason we can’t trust her.>

<...Alright,> she agreed warily. <We can use wolves… Just don’t hurt Elle.>

We did just that: morph into a pack of wolves in the city and took off.  

<She’s across the street,> Tobias said overhead. <You’re in the clear.>

With the sun going down, we were just blurs running across the streets. Nobody saw us. It wasn’t long before we picked up Elle’s trail right to a grated alley.

No way out for her. Elle peered back and saw our golden eyes in the dim-lighted alley.

“Run.”

Her pace quickened but her eyes locked on us.

“ Run! ” 

She bolted.

If you are ever unfortunate enough to be pursued by wolves, I hate to tell you this, but you're screwed. Four wolves can take down animals much larger than a human, like elk and bison. 

It should go without saying that you can't outrun a wolf. And there's really nothing a human can do to a wolf to deter it. This is an animal that faces a deer kick to the face every time it wants lunch, and humans don't have a chance without some kind of weapon.

So, it should be easy to catch one kid. Right?

That was kinda what I thought. The alleyway she was in was short. Just a staircase up to a locked door. And five wolves blocked the only exit she went through.

<End of the line, Yeerk!> I shouted.

But Elle didn’t go right. She went up. And up even more.

<Hey!> I yelled. After she had climbed the staircase, she climbed up on the stairs’ railings. Then with another leap, she got onto a tiled awning. 

Up and up she went, hands gripping on a ledge and pulling herself up until finally, she was gone. Over the roof.

<What the-?> Rachel uttered.

<She’s not planning to stay up there, is she?> I asked.

Jake grumbled. <We have to change morphs. Tobias, are there any blind spots up there?>

<The vents. She shouldn’t be able to see you from there - what?!>

<What is it?> Cassie asked, sounding worried.

<She just jumped to the next roof! And she’s still going!>

<Tobias! Focus!> Jake yelped. <Everyone, move onto birds! Then back to wolves! Ax, stay as Andalite when you get up there.>

<Yes, Prince Jake.>

<Argh! This is annoying!> I glowered. But there was nothing we could do. In fact, this was the first time we were ever forced to switch animals so quickly. We could stay bird and attack her like that one movie. But that wouldn’t slow her down.

Morphing isn’t something you can do quick and simple. Cassie was the fastest morpher out of all of us, the first to reach the rooftop, and even then, it wouldn’t be enough to catch up to Elle.

It was all changing this, changing that. From muzzle to human nose to beak. Four legs to two arms and two legs to a pair of wings and two talons. Even forcing ourselves to flap our wings and fly was a hassle.

So I wasn’t surprised to spot Elle already thirty feet away from us once I demorphed out of my osprey form. She literally ran like Forrest Gump.

Ax was the only one who stayed as an Andalite. The rooftops were just flat enough for him to gallop after her, alongside Cassie. 

I tried to focus on the wolf again but it was hard not to tear your eyes off Elle. 

<We aren't trying to hurt you!> Cassie explained to Elle.

“Go away, you stupid centaurs!”

Elle vaulted onto a railing and then onto ventilation to get away from a wolf at her heels. She knew how to evade. Just don’t let her feet touch the floor.

Everything on the roofs particularly worked to Elle’s advantage. They blocked Cassie and even Ax from reaching her, giving her just a few more seconds. Elle headed to a small, triangular-shaped rooftop that stood out from the flat surfaces. Just a slide down on the other side and she was gone again.

<What is she, a spider monkey?> I hollered once I could thought-speak.

<Aw, you two would make a perfect couple!> Rachel joked.

<Oh, sure. I’ll pick a nice restaurant for our first date.>

<Cease your running, Yeerk!>  Ax warned, taunting her with a whisk of his tail as he kept on galloping. If it wasn’t for the stuff on the rooftops, Ax would be zooming right up to her and stopping her.

“We told you everything!” Elle yelled back.

Everything? What everything?

<I got this!>

<Hey! Rachel!> I yelled but she went off somewhere on the rooftops. Why was she losing focus on this one day?

<The Controller first!> Jake ordered. <Rachel said it. She’s got it.> As always, he took the reins as a leader well under harsh situations. 

It was a matter of time. Elle couldn’t escape with us wolves darting beneath her feet. Eventually, she would run out of things to vault and ‘acrobat’ over. 

She was trapped.

<No more games, Yeerk!> Rachel hollered from somewhere.

A nine-hundred-pound bear wasn’t something to laugh at. Elle skidded to a stop at the sight of Rachel in Grizzly form. Just one bear swap and she could be done for. 

But really. Her battle morph?!

<Rachel!> Jake yelled.

<There’s nowhere to go,> Rachel said to the Yeerk. Sure enough, the stalling gave us time to surround her from the back. She had no more exits to go.

The weirdest thing was that Elle wasn’t scared. Her eyes were wide but she was way too calm for a Controller. Other times we’ve fought against human Controllers, they’d easily drop everything and run for their lives.

She peeked to her right. 

What was she planning? 

Then Elle went into a running start.

<Hey!> Rachel hollered.

<Ax!> Jake called out.

FWAPPP!

Ax deliberately fired his tailblade at her, aiming for the concrete at her feet. It was supposed to be a harmless threat, enough to scare her to stop. We wanted her alive. 

But Elle had no fear. Even with one bear, one Andalite and three wolves. 

I didn’t know what her plan was. All this time, she kept the momentum going with her skills. The only problem was there really was no escape from us. Where she headed for was to the end of the rooftop. 

<Don’t tell me,> Cassie started. <She’s going to jump?!>

Ok, that was insane!

“I really hate this,” Elle snapped in that strange tone she had been using whenever she ‘switched’ character.

<Hey! Stop!> Rachel shouted. <Don’t do it!>

<Stop!> I hollered.

One foot on the edge and Elle rocketed off - arms spread out and knees bent.

I knew what Tobias meant when he said she jumped “that high”. It was terrifying. Crazy. But I admit, it was insanely amazing. Seeing a person do a death-defying stunt like that, like something out of a comic book. And this one girl didn’t even have the morphing power.

It was like she flew without wings.

She leapt twenty feet across and landed on the next rooftop, her body in a roll. Just as quickly as she moved about the rooftops, she got up and ran.

<I...I can’t believe it,> Rachel uttered. As one big scary Grizzly bear, she was all too stunned with what she witnessed. <She really jumped.>

<I hate to say this but wolves aren't going to cut it,> I pointed, demorphing.

Rachel was right about changing morphs - though I didn’t agree with her choice. We weren't in flat terrain or a forest. We were in a concrete jungle and this was the Controller’s element. Her advantage. 

<I'm going over!> I told Jake, finishing up my gorilla morph.

The building Elle went in was in the midst of being renovated, closed down for the night. But there was the scaffolding for me to get over. Ax went with me too, leaping over the gap. We split ways: him heading inside and me climbing up the scaffolding. The others had to start on ground level rather than risk a long jump in their current morphs.

It wasn't a steady climb. The scaffolding shook from my own weight. But opposable thumbs were way handier than paws. Smooth sailing for me until I caught up to her. 

“Ahh!”

I gave her a fright as I made it to the empty floor she was on.

<Would you stop running from us?!> I demanded and chased after her on my knuckles and feet.

A running gorilla could easily grab her in just minutes-

Crack! 

Suddenly, she went through the shakey floor. I froze up at the sound of the wooden planks creaking beneath me. Telling me that any more shifting of weight and they would give way. 

For Elle, it was like someone had fallen through thin ice. She was desperately trying to clench onto something. Anything.

I had to help her.

“V’trix,” she called out.

“Elle-!”

KA-CRACK!

<Hold on!> I bolted. Didn’t matter if the floor got worse. Gravity took me down with her. The only thing I could think was to grab her and use my body as a cushion.

CRASH!

It was a tall foyer that we fell through. And it hurt. Having a weight of a hundred and sixty kilograms didn’t mean I could walk away without pins and needles.

But I survived the fall. And I had Elle, my hairy arms holding her tight.

My heart was racing. I saved the girl. This Controller. And I caught her too!

<Ha!> I scoffed. <No more running from us.> 

It was then I realized her body went limp.

<Hey,> I called. I gently laid her down on the floor. <Hey!>

I lightly patted her on the face a few times. Nope, she was really out of it. Did the fall hit her that hard, even though I took the blow for her?!

<Oh. Wake up, please!> I begged. 

I mean, she was breathing! And looking at her sleeping face made me sick in the gut. 

She was a kid. She was just like us, really. And we were prepared to do everything it’d take to get her just like any Controller. We could have really killed her by our hands or had her fall off the roofs.

<Wake up, you stupid Yeerk! Wake up! >

Still nothing. How was I going to explain this to the others-

<Is she alright?> Cassie asked from behind. The others were with her.

<I’m innocent here,> I quickly defended myself.

<What? What did you do, Marco?> Rachel uttered harshly.

<Nothing! She’s still breathing.>

Cassie neared closer to the unconscious Controller and examined her. <She’s out cold.>

<Seriously. You’re a gorilla. You didn’t have to knock her out that hard.>

<What-I-! You morphed into a bear!> I yelled at Rachel.

<Yeah. But I wasn’t going to do anything to her.>

Liar! You totally were going to do something!

Jake sighed. <This day gets better and better…>

<Just what is she?> Tobias asked.

<A Yeerk who has made things troubling and confusing for us,> Ax complained. <We should have detained her earlier.>

<We got her now. And we can get the answers we need,> Jake pointed.

I couldn’t disagree with him there. We all wanted to know what was going on here and we’ve had enough with our quota of weird things for the day.

But we couldn’t get those answers for a while longer. Until she’d wake up. With the brand new situation on our hands, I had to ask one thing.

<Sooo… What should we do now?>

Chapter Text

SIXTEEN: JAKE

7:41 P.M.

We didn’t go back to the barn. Too dangerous to bring a Controller there. We’ve learned our mistake the last time but we needed a place to hold her down for the time being.

Easier said than done. A bunch of animals carrying an unconscious girl in the middle of the city? If this was the suburbs or the outskirts, we’d have cover. Nature spots, rural places, anything. But this part of the city was near the slums. Not the safest place for us to be at. 

Someone was bound to notice Elle. So we needed help. 

“It’s connecting,” Marco said. The ringtone was faint through the receiver.

Marco and I went to a payphone while the others stayed low and kept an eye on Elle. The one person who could help us was Erek, a friend of ours. Someone we could trust in this war.

Erek used to go to our school but he’s not your ordinary, average kid. He looks, acts and sounds like that but that’s because you see a holographic projection. The real Erek inside that hologram is an android, one of the Chee.

The Chee are our allies in this invasion. They may be a pacifist race of androids but they are definitely against the Yeerks, amazingly good at infiltrating our enemy. Any time we are in a pickle, Erek’s the first one we contact. 

“Hey, is Erek around?” Marco spoke. The call went through. His eyes went wide and he gave me a hand signal that Erek was on the other side. “Erek! Where have you been? You weren’t at your house-”

“Marco,” I said. 

“Right. Erek, we got an issue and-” Marco’s expression changed. “Wait. What? What are you talking about? Looking for us?”

“Give me the phone.” There was so much time and I wasn’t going to scrunch around for another quarter. “Erek?”

“ Jake? What’s going on-? ”

“We’ll explain later,” I cut him short. “We got an unconscious Controller and we need a safe place to keep her quiet.”

“ Oh. More Yeerk business. Where are you? ”

“Near the old abandoned theatre.”

“ Oh. Then you can use the address again, ” Erek said. “ I can meet you there. ”

“Address? What address?”

“ You’ve already forgotten it? ”

“Forgotten? You haven’t-” I forced myself to stop. We didn’t have time to go through whatever Erek was saying. “Nevermind. Can you just give us the address?”

The safehouse Erek directed us to was an old studio apartment his ‘father’ bought. On the front, the reason would be for investment or something. But in actuality, it would make an ideal safe base for the Chee - or so Erek said.

Thankfully, like he said, it wasn’t too far from us. We rendezvoused with the others and made our way to the address.

We stayed in our morphs most of the time. It was more to protect our identities from anyone passing by than from Elle. One Controller who knew our secret was enough on our plate.

Once we got to the studio, we hustled inside while Marco placed Elle down on a chair at the back. With whatever we could find around the place, Ax tied a rag over her eyes and ropes around her hands. If this was Chapman or any other Controller, they wouldn’t do this gently.

She may be a Controller but she was still a kid, trapped by a parasitic alien. Rachel might be right about this Yeerk toying with Elle. When you’ve been in a similar situation as hers, it becomes a bit personal.

It wasn’t by choice. It was a slip up that got my head right into a Yeerk pool, ending up being controlled by one who used to be Tom’s. 

Three days I spent being locked in my head. Taunted by that Yeerk, seeing myself try to escape. If it weren’t for my friends, I would have been far too gone to be saved.

And there we were again. 

“Shouldn’t we-”

I quickly cut Cassie off with a finger to my lips. We couldn’t talk next to a Controller. I signaled everyone to move to the next room.

“Are we really going to do this?” she asked meekly. “She’s been through a lot.”

“We’ve already discussed this,” I pushed. “We can’t let her go.”

Cassie bit her lower lip. She knew where and how this was going to end.

We were at war. Our lives were more important than one person. If Elle really did know enough about us, then we didn’t have any choice. 

Even if I didn’t agree.

“She knew our names and she has a Yeerk,” Rachel pointed. “She’s dangerous.”

“Geez, I wonder why,” Marco groaned.

“I’m talking about the construction site!” she snapped angrily. “And yes! I know! It’s my fault for what happened at the theatre.”

I stepped in. I had to, always as the leader, or else nothing would get done. “Nobody’s blaming anyone. We got her. Now we need her to talk. There are too many unexplained things going on here.”

“And her actions doesn't mean she knows us,” Cassie jumped in. Too quickly. “Everything she has done up to this point pretty much mirrors what we're doing.”

“And I said it before,” Rachel began. “She could be faking it or has some of her marbles lost. She is a criminal.”

“B ad news all around,” Marco vouched. 

“Aren’t you banking too much on this Yeerk because of that name?” Cassie asked. “What about Elle’s mugging? Or how those cops treated her.”

“Doesn’t mean anything. She could have other Controllers working for her. It’s part of an act,” he said so confidently.

Marco sent me signals with his eyes. If I had to guess, he wanted me to vouch on that theory. It was very clear that he didn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

But honestly...I couldn’t buy it either.

<I find that hard to believe,> Ax said it instead of me. <A Werch is an outcast to her people. A Werch has no friends or resources to compute us.>

“And that’s where I have to stop ya, Ax. You’ve always told us to be careful. But for this Yeerk, we can turn a blind eye?” Marco asked. “We shouldn’t take any chances with this one.”

<I am not disagreeing with you. However, it would be too immature to give all the credit to just one Werch . We do need, as you humans say, the whole story.>

I sighed. “This would be a lot easier if she just told us everything back at the site.”

“Since when do Yeerks make it easy for us?” Marco droned.

<Shush!> Tobias hushed us for some reason. 

We stopped talking. We listened. 

It started off as a groan from the next room. Then some shifting. Like someone trying to move.

<She’s waking up,> he warned us.

Which meant it was time to get the show rolling. As much as we didn’t want to. “Right now, we need to get to the bottom of this,” I whispered. “That’s why we’re doing this.”

“Alright Ax,” Marco declared softly, giving a light pat on the shoulder. “She’s all yours.”

“But gently. This is a kid, Ax. A kid,” I told him quietly. “She’s already dealing with that Yeerk in her head.”

He nodded understandingly. The rest of us morphed into animals as backup while Tobias stayed outside to look out for Erek.

Elle didn’t stir up at first. Whatever Marco did, he really knocked her out cold. Ax waited patiently for her to lift up her head.

Nothing happened. He directed an eyestalk at me.

<Start,> I ordered.

FWAPP! THUD!

“Hh!” She jerked up in her seat from the sound of Ax’s blade hitting the floor. Elle panted heavily from fright until she slowly registered something was wrong.

She tried to look but she couldn’t with the blinds. She tried to move her hands too. Couldn’t do that either.

For some reason, however, she wasn’t panicking. It reminded me of how back then, the Yeerk in my head didn’t lose his cool when I was first tied up. Showing me his fantasies that he would rise up with the information he gained from just looking into my head. He’d have over us on a silver palate to Visser Three. He laughed at me. Mocked at me that everything my friends did to keep him in control was pointless.

But I won that fight. I won back my freedom.

I expected Elle’s Yeerk to do the same.

“Anyone there?” Elle called out, sounding frustrated.

Nobody responded.

“Hey. Are you the same ones from before?” she demanded. 

<From before?> Cassie repeated those words.

<Shh,> Marco exclaimed softly.

We couldn’t take anything from a Yeerk’s mouth. But there was something just off when Elle said that. 

I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“This is the same place, isn’t it? We told you everything!”

We kept silent. 

“Answer us!” Elle shouted again.

Then her body relaxed. Like someone was taking over. 

Then came the strange tone.

“Who are you?”

The Yeerk stopped using her facade.

I nodded to Ax and he moved forward. His hooves clopped loudly, purposefully, menacingly on the wooden floors. Ax circled around the girl on purpose, letting the Yeerk know who she was dealing with.

This was all an act. I told myself. Just an act.

I was asking a lot from Ax to play this role. None of us could do it, not when you were interrogating a kid. A kid your age . 

It was too much. But Ax was determined to do the hardest task for us.

<You are in my power now, Yeerk,> Ax said with exaggerated Andalite arrogance. <No one will come to save you.>

Despite the threats, the Yeerk was strangely calm. Unnaturally. She didn’t shudder or whimper.

She just listened.

<You will answer all of my questions. Or else your life will be cut short.> Ax drew the blade close to her neck. 

The Yeerk still didn’t yield. She was stiff as a tree in her seat.

<Now tell me. Where did you find that device? How did you know about us?>

Two major questions. But she said nothing.

<Answer me, Yeerk filth!> Ax roared.

A deep sigh broke the tension in an instance. Finally, we could get our answers.

“This again?” Elle scoffed. “Can we just skip the interrogation and get to the point?”

Ax didn’t know how to respond to that.

She sounded bored. She looked bored. She even acted bored.

This wasn’t what I was expecting from this Yeerk.

“I’ve already answered all of your questions. I know just as much as you do, Andalite.” 

<Wait. We do?> Marco said quietly.

“This is the same stunt you pulled from before. Just bring out your leader and be done with your games.”

I nearly jumped out of my fur when she said 'leader'. 

Did she mean me? Did she really know about us?

Ax took mere seconds to regain back his composure. <You do not understand the gravity of the situation. There is no point in lying to me->

“Why would I lie?” Elle asked with absolute clarity. “You Andalites approached us this morning.”

Chapter Text

SEVENTEEN: AX

7:57 P.M.

The interrogation should have been done quickly. Five Earth minutes and I would have this Yeerk ‘spilling the beans’ - a proverb humans use that meant giving the truth. 

Prince Jake handed me an important task. It was important to him. And I was committed to seeing it through to the end.

Admittedly, I had never done an interrogation. I was never the instigator. But I knew how they were done to an extent. Before I was stranded on Earth, I was on board the Dome ship, GalaxyTree, led by my previous and deceased War-Prince, Old Hoof and Tail. I mean, Nerefir.

Old Hoof and Tail told stories of his Aristh days whenever he was in a good mood. Which was often rare. And they were far more interesting than my classes in my homeworld.

The trick was to show the Yeerk fear. Their host was incapacitated. There was no escape. Their end would meet the tail blade if they were to leave their host. 

The Werch should be shuddering. She should be submissive. Her life was on the line.

But she wasn’t.

<Yesterday?> Cassie said.

<Hold up. We didn’t approach her. She approached us this morning,> Marco insisted.

<We did no such thing, Yeerk filth,> I stated, raising the volume in my voice. <Any more lies out of you and it will be the end for you.>

Swssh! 

My tail blade ‘sang’ as I drew it close to her neck. Despite how rigid she kept herself in her seat, her right hand reflected her terror. Gripping tight to the chair’s arm.

<So know your place, Werch ,> I warned. <You are not fooling anyone->

“And neither are you,” the Yeerk countered back. “Why is there a need for a second interrogation? There’s not even a point in blinding me. You’re Andalites.”

Her reaction stunned me. Nothing in Nerefir’s stories has prepared me for this. 

Moreover, this Yeerk was more analytical than most Yeerks we’ve faced. Terrifyingly so. The only reason we put the blindfolds on was for a precaution to protect my friends’ real identities. 

“Let me speak to your leader. I have had enough of this game.”

I stood my grounds. 

<Silence, Yeerk!> I demanded. <You are speaking to me.>

“Really? Because you just gave me my answer. Again. You said “ we did no such thing”.”

My two eyestalks wheeled to Prince Jake. What should I do?! This was going poorly because of that one small slipup!

<Should we bail?> Marco asked.

No, no. We shouldn’t. If we’d stop here, then it would be fruitless. I heaved a deep breath and glared back at the Yeerk.

<We are at war here. You do not->

“Yeah, yeah!” the Controller cut me short with her regular voice. “We don’t have any mercy for this insolence.”

<What-?> I uttered. I was about to say exactly that. How did she know?

“Please! You’re a broken record!”

The outburst took me by surprise that I actually staggered back. Why was this Yeerk persistent in acting as her host?

“Shhh…” the Yeerk hushed. But it wasn’t towards us. All of a sudden, she huffed through her nose and muttered, “stupid centaurs.”

I couldn’t comprehend any of this. I couldn’t predict what this Yeerk was planning.

<Ax, don’t listen to her. She’s messing with your head,> Rachel snapped.

I knew that. I couldn’t let her get to me. I gave a passing glance to Prince Jake. The silence he gave was telling me he was deciding: pull out or keep going.

I couldn’t let him down. I puffed up my chest and regained my composure.

<You’ve forgotten who has your life. I'm the one in control.>

“Ok. Now it is becoming a broken record,” the Werch scoffed with a bored tone. “You’re saying the exact lines, back to back. Are you reading off a script?”

<Cease your mockery! I am the one in charge!> I hollered. Never have I had a Yeerk get under my fur.

“No, you’re not,” she countered. “If you were, you wouldn’t be interrogating a Werch . You would have killed me the moment we first met.”

I staggered back. She had caught me in another lie.

It was true. A Werch would yield nothing valuable to an Andalite. Out of the three incidents I’ve heard, only one was placed in the Andalites’ grasp. However, the outcome was obvious. That Werch was useless and later, extinguished. 

Nerefir was in charge of interrogating that Werch . He ended that Yeerk’s life.

The Controller relaxed back in her seat. “I know you are all there, Andalite Bandits. So let me speak to your leader.”

<You are overstepping your boundaries->

<Enough,> Prince Jake ordered. <Ax, we have to stop.>

I was angry. Disgraced. I couldn’t get what we needed. I couldn’t fulfil a task for Prince Jake. I backed down reluctantly. 

But I kept all four eyes on the enemy in the room.

<You know she’s bluffing,> Rachel pushed privately.

<This far in? Talk about committing to a story,> Marco said.

<But what if she isn’t?> Cassie asked. <And the cops too. What if there really could be a group of Andalites on Earth?> 

She waited for us to agree. However, I could tell that despite their being in animal morphs, Rachel and Marco were still skeptical.

<I dunno,> Marco glowered. <Why now?>

<Does it matter? We’ve been waiting for Andalites to come to Earth and fix this war problem. And now we have a group out there,> Cassie explained. <This could be it.>

<Something about this isn’t right,> he continued. <What does it have to do with this kid and that device anyway?>

<Maybe Elle’s Yeerk might know. She just said those Andalites already asked the questions.>

<That’s if anything she says is the truth,> Rachel rebuked.

Prince Jake sighed. <Ax, you’re going to have to coach me. Rachel, if she tries anything, get ready.>

I could tell - he didn’t like the idea of forcing information out of someone from his own species. A human child no less. 

<I am the leader,> Prince Jake said to the Yeerk. I believe he was trying to imitate on how we Andalites enunciate.

It was poor, however. But enough for the Yeerk to buy it.

“Again. Is there really a need for introductions? You’ve said this before,” the Yeerk complained.

How disrespectful! She should know her place! <You-!> 

<Ax,> Prince Jake said privately. I kept my exasperation in. <Do you know who we are?>

“The Andalite Bandits. Who else?” the Controller started. “I have told you before. I am not as oblivious as my people.”

<She really isn’t giving up,> Rachel whispered to us. <She has to know. Elle almost said my name.>

Prince Jake was hesitant to continue. Some facts the Yeerk had given contradicted others in a way. If she were at the site, she would have pointed that the Andalite Bandits were not completely Andalite. I was the only one whereas my friends were humans. 

But she still addressed all of us as Andalites, even with the blindfold on.

<You approached us at a location a few hours ago. A construction site.>

<Jake,> Marco hissed privately. <You sure about this?>

It was a very dangerous risk for Prince Jake to take. But I had confidence he knew what he was doing.

“Again with this construction site nonsense,” the Yeerk snapped. “We were not at that location today.”

<Do you have proof?>

Behind the blindfolds, the Yeerk looked puzzled. “Hm. I never took you Andalites to want evidence.”

<Answer the question,> Prince Jake pushed harshly. <Can you prove you weren’t at the site?>

“And if I did, are you willing to accept them?”

<Depends on your evidence.>

The Yeerk sighed tiredly. It did not matter if she put us on a stalemate. We would do the same to her. She couldn’t compromise with us-

“Takeout,” she suddenly exclaimed.

<What?>

“Check the bins. You Andalites threw away the takeout boxes.”

<If this is a trick, Yeerk-> Rachel started.

“Check it!” the Controller hollered in her host’s voice, being unusually determined.

Marco scoffed. Then he got a glance from Prince Jake. <Seriously?>

Prince Jake was serious.

<Fine.> Marco disappeared behind the kitchen counter, searching for this elusive ‘bin’. <Found it.> He brought up a small black container. 

<It’s empty,> Prince Jake said openly.

“What? But, we were doing a delivery. You Andalites came and took us here earlier. This is the same place, isn’t it?!” the Controller exclaimed.

<We have warned you before. Lies aren’t going to help you,> Prince Jake urged.

“You’re the ones being the crooks here. You’re literally wearing people’s faces around hours ago and pretending to be them! Mine too!”

<Enough, already. How long is she going to keep this up?> Rachel grumbled.

“Fine!” the Controller suddenly yelped. “I have proof we weren’t at the site. Physical proof! Check my backpack. Front pocket. The receipts are there.”

It took a moment for Prince Jake to give in and nod to Marco to do so but I didn’t see the relevance. Regardless, Marco found the Controller’s backpack and pulled out a stack of paper put together in a bundle. 

<And what does this prove, Yeerk?> I taunted.

“Seriously. Do you even-” 

The Controller stopped herself with a shake of her nod. She then spoke with that odd tone of hers. Calmly.

“Timestamps. This human’s establishment keeps a record for every delivery it makes. I presume you know this city well enough to cross-reference my locations for today.”

<Yeah, not doing that. This is too convenient for her,> Rachel privately said.

<I’d believe that, too. Except...this is my receipt,> Marco whispered to us, lifting one piece of paper for us to see. <It has my address on it.>

<Maybe she forged them?> Rachel tried to counter it.

<Dad made that delivery call today. And don’t go saying he’s working with the Yeerks.>

<Well, she can’t be telling the truth.>

<Wait,> Prince Jake started and repeated what Rachel pointed out. <You could have forged these. Get your friends to help.> 

“What-! Why would we-?!” The Controller exhumed out a muffled groan with her lips sealed tight. Her mannerism implied that she was trying to compose herself. A poor job at that. 

She took in another deep breath before speaking in the second tone.

“That's impossible. You Andalites know the answer.”

<Just because you’re a Werch? >

She nodded. “What do I gain from faking documents?”

Nothing. Even my friends could see that line of logic.

“Now can you explain what you Andalites want from me again? I’ve said everything I know.”

Rachel growled softly. <You haven’t told us anything.>

“And I will keep repeating until it’s clear to you I am speaking the truth.”

<Ha. The truth. Yeah, right.>

<This isn’t going anywhere, Prince Jake,> I informed him privately. <She is spinning us in circles.>

<Yeah…>

<Erek is here,> we heard Tobias silently inform us from outside.

<Finally. Maybe he can shed some light,> Marco said privately.

<Agreed.> Prince Jake then spoke to the Yeerk, <We’ll put this conversation on hold.>

“Say what?!” the Controller said with her normal voice, expressing a human’s look of confusion. “This isn’t a phone call, you blue freaks!”

<There is no point in pretending to be your host,> I stated. <Your facade was already broken from the start.>

She frowned angrily. I was pleased to see that.

<Sit tight, Yeerk. But then again, you’re not going anywhere,> Prince Jake added as a nice remark at her before we exited out of the studio apartment.

“Hey!” she uttered. “ Hey! ”

I was the last to leave, shutting the door with a satisfying kick.

“ You stupid centaurs! ”

I ignored her.

Chapter Text

EIGHTEEN: MARCO

8:10 P.M.

Erek. The one android, who could help us fight against the Yeerks. We couldn’t ask for a better ally in the middle of this war. So he was a welcomed sight for us when we stepped out of the house. Ax stayed behind to keep watch on the Controller.

“I see you got your hands full.” He smiled just like any young human being would do. He then lowered his voice. “Let me help.”

The air around us shimmered. Erek’s ‘human’ self vanished. In his place was an android of chrome and ivory structure, shaped with canine features. 

This was his hologram extending out around it. It could conceal us in plain sight and block noise inside and out. 

Ain’t Chee technology something that it was still downright scary? But who’s complaining? It gave us a moment to demorph.

“Hey, Erek. You’re a lifesaver today,” I said.

“Sounds pretty bad for this one Yeerk. Should I worry?” 

“Since when have we ever been scared of them?” Rachel exclaimed boldly. 

“The only bad thing is how disjointed everything is,” Jake pointed. 

“Or how uncooperative she is. She’s still trying to pretend to be Elle.”

“It’s not about her, Rachel. It’s about these Andalites. They might really be on Earth.”

“They are here,” Cassie said, looking pleased. Looking thrilled, even. Enough for her to give a light laugh. “They can help us with the war.”

It was so hard to believe it. Andalites. Right here in the middle of this invasion. We had been waiting for the Andalites to come for nearly a year to come and take care of the Yeerks. And finally…

But the more I thought about it, the more skeptical I grew.

“Ok. Let’s say there really are Andalites here. Why haven’t they contacted Ax?”

Nobody could give me an answer to that. The mood in the whole room softened down. 

It was harsh but I had to ask the hard questions here.

“Why the secrecy? And most of all, why this Controller?” I asked. “If what Ax said that Andalites don’t care about a Werch, then why this particular one?”

<It is strange,> Tobias said. <There’s nothing that says Elle’s Yeerk is important.>

“She’s not a Visser. Or a Sub-Visser.” 

“We don’t even know how long these Andalites could have been here in the first place,” Rachel said.

“Could,” Cassie began, a little uncertain but she said it anyway. “Could they be survivors from Ax’s ship?”

<It could be possible,> Ax answered. <I do not know who survived the crash.>

“Wasn’t she carrying something at the construction site? That thermo-looking thing?” I asked.

“Yeah. She was,” Rachel confirmed it. “She had it under her jacket.”

I snapped my fingers. “That’s it. The Andalites were after that thing too. Elle had it and ran away from the Andalites before she bumped into us.”

“But the Yeerks were after her too. And couldn’t the Elle we saw this morning be an Andalite too?” Cassie said.

“That’s what Elle’s Yeerk said. We can’t take anything she says for granted.”

“Agreed. Nothing out of her makes any sense,” Rachel added. “Those police Controllers had a name for that device, right?”

“They called it ‘Dzual Cell’,” I continued. “What is it?”

“Erek, have you heard anything like that from the Yeerks?” Jake asked.

Erek’s android head jerked back. Then it tilted to one side. “Not until recently. But yes, we did find something about this.”

“Whoa. That’s fast of you,” I said.

“What did you find out?” Jake kept things on track.

“Not much about this battery’s development. The Yeerks must have really been hushed about it till now. But we did just learn about the transport a few hours ago. The truck originally came from Seattle and just arrived in this city this morning. Then it stopped at the highway.”

“Stopped? By what?”

“By you, actually,” he said, still being serious this entire time. “The Yeerks classified it as an Andalite Bandit attack.”

Rachel’s hands shook as if gesturing a big no out of her before her palms went up. “Hold on. We didn’t stop any transport truck. We didn’t even know about this till now.”

“Well, human witnesses there took it as a car accident. Maybe it was a false report?”

 I frowned. “We’ve been seeing a lot of ‘accidents’ today.”

“When did it happen? The highway one,” Jake asked.

“Around 3:40,” Erek replied. 

“Does anyone remember what time Elle’s accident happened?”

“Maybe 4? I got back home around 4:30,” I said. I did see the clock after I swooshed right into my bedroom. I then remembered my experience after that. “Then Elle came to my doorstep about 10 minutes later.”

“If the battery came from that truck and Elle had it at the site, then the timing fits.”

Tobias took a moment to clean his feathers. <After that, those Controllers took that device and disappeared off from the highway.>

“Maybe to where that truck was supposed to go. Erek. Can you find out where the device is right now?”

“I already have. It’s at a place called ‘Tus'li 9’.”

Oh, great. Another alien term we don’t know. “What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a type of Yeerk research facility, well-hidden from anyone. But extremely hard to break in. Not even us Chee can’t get in.”

Rachel slouched back, looking surprised. “Really? Wouldn’t it be a cake walk?”

“In normal circumstances, sure. But even the Yeerks don’t allow just any of their own kind in. Only the ones with highest privileges can have access.”

“Namely Vissers,” Jake said.

“And it’s not just that. They have all of the tightest security available that it’s just impossible for a Chee to waltz in or get out. Even I don’t think you guys can sneak in with your morphs.”

“Huh. An indestructible Yeerk base. That’s problematic,” I grumbled.

“We’ll figure something out. We always do,” Cassie assured.

“So where is this T’usli 9 at?” was the next question Jake asked.

“At the nuclear power plant. The one by the coastline,” Erek answered.

“They have a facility below a nuclear plant? ” I uttered. “No. Of course, they would have.”

“Well, at least this time we know where it is. Thanks to Erek here. You’re actually ahead of the game,” Rachel droned with a grin. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one to say that to you?” Erek oddly said that. “It was impressive that you guys were right on the money about that Controller.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“About what happened on Fifth Avenue. Where the battery was last seen.”

Something was wrong. I couldn’t understand why. But what he said just nagged at me in the wrong place. It nagged at everyone!

“Ok. Now I’m very confused,” Rachel exclaimed, now annoyed. “When did we tell you that?”

Erek couldn’t express any human emotion without his hologram. But with how quiet he became after I said that? That was odd. He looked at us one by one.

“It was yesterday. You guys told me about what happened at the site.”

We all looked at each other.

“Yesterday? Erek, we haven’t seen you till now,” Jake said.

Erek’s head jerked back. “But you have. You contacted me to meet up here. Why else would you have brought this Yeerk here again?”

“Again?”

“Yes. That was the whole reason I gave you this address. You needed a safehouse.”

Just like that, everything felt...foreboding. Like a ball dropped to the floor and the whole room became still.

It was all wrong.

“Ok. Erek. Joke’s over. Now’s not the time to be all cryptic,” I droned. Just to get some normality back in the room.

He folded his metallic arms. “I am not joking. I did exactly what you guys asked for.”

“And what was that, exactly, Erek?” Jake asked cautiously.

“Where this battery was being taken. You asked me to look into it, Jake.”

Silence… Just dead silence.

“Didn’t you?” he asked. “You even told me I didn’t need to find out more about this battery. Because you already knew.”

“Erek… That wasn’t me,” Jake said sternly. “We didn’t meet you yesterday.”

No one spoke.

We were spooked. All five of us. And an android, I don’t know what without Erek’s hologram but he had to be affected too. Because he looked at Jake, at me, then the girls, and finally back at Jack.

This revelation we made? It was absolutely terrifying...

I really wanted it to be a Chee joke. A prank. Anything.

“What’s going on here?” Rachel said warily.

Jake took off. Like he had a mission on the go. He was out the door and we followed him to the trash bins outside.

“Jake?” Cassie called but he already tore open the first lid. Then the second.

I knew it was pointless to ask but I did anyway. “It’s empty, right?” 

He tipped the second bin over.

Out tumbled white cardboard boxes with food stains. Enough for one person’s meal. And all of them had a familiar logo I had seen every time that it got eerie very fast.

“Those...are Yan Fú Wok boxes,” Cassie said.

“Hey, Erek. Did you by chance order some from there?” Rachel asked weakly.

Erek shook his robotic dog head. “I don’t have a reason to do that, as you can clearly see why. Unless it’s for a facade.”

This was getting scarier by the minute. 

I felt goosebumps. No, no. Anyone could just dump takeouts from one specific restaurant in the middle of the city.

Then Jake pulled out one more thing from the black bin. It was a worn-out parka, about the same baggy size that our crazy Controller wears during delivery.

It was covered in blood.

“That...that’s the jacket Elle wore at the site,” Rachel said warily.

<Then those shoes.> Tobias didn’t need to be human to point out the obvious. The sneakers the ‘other’ Elle wore at the site were under the boxes on the ground.

“Ok… Ok, ok,” I started. “ What is happening today?”

“Wait.” Cassie wearily rummaged in one of the pockets, pulling out yet another surprise. 

An old vintage watch.

It wasn’t something that any random person would carry, let alone even a kid like Elle. But I assumed it belonged to someone in her family. You’d see these kinds of watches on auction. 

It was also the second thing Elle said that got stolen.

Takeout. My address on a receipt. A bloodied jacket. A pair of sneakers. And a stolen watch.

You know. Before all this, I wasn’t convinced. Yeerks lie. Yeerks are deceitful. Yeerks couldn’t be trusted. And when I got my receipt, I still wasn’t convinced. 

But with the evidence piling up, I’d be stupid to keep believing it was some cover-up. Some plan. Everything we had all lined up with what Elle’s Yeerk had been saying.

Tobias was deadly silent. Jake was wrapping his mind on this. Rachel was entirely disgusted and angry at the Yeerk a while ago but that all died out. Cassie was particularly trembling so badly, she wrapped her arms tightly.

It was downright chilling.

“Erek. Who else have you told about this place?” Jake then asked, as if needing some confirmation. Anything to debunk our revelation. 

“Only to you guys. The other Chee don’t know yet.”

“Then… The Elle we saw this morning...”

<Isn’t the same person,> Tobias finished for him. <There are two of them.>

Chapter Text

NINETEEN: RACHEL

8:17 P.M.

It was surreal. 

Like something out of a mystery show my dad watched. I think it was called Twin Pines? Anyway, it was a show that even if you rewatched it several times, you’d still be scratching your head.

It wasn’t that scary but it was still unsettling.

“This is insane,” Marco uttered. “That Yeerk is telling the truth?”

Even I found that hard to believe. But it was even harder for me to ignore the evidence we had.

“...Her DNA,” Cassie pointed out that one detail. “They did acquire it to take the battery.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked. 

<You can’t just pick any random host off the street like that. Even we wouldn’t do it,> Tobias added.

“But they did. They even took Marco’s DNA,” Cassie added. “To get close to Elle.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Marco stopped her. “Wouldn’t I have known?”

“When we acquire animal DNA, animals go into a trance. If they took ours while we were sleeping, we wouldn’t have noticed it.”

“Still,” Marco started. “Just because we’re her customers?” 

“The same can be said about them making Erek believe they were us,” Jake pointed. “That means they took my DNA.”

“Yes…” Erek stepped in. “If what you said is true, then I really let them go without knowing.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“Ok. These Andalites took our faces to get close to Elle. Because she’s a kid. I get it,” I said. “But why this one Controller?”

“Maybe she’s important for another reason. Like she has some special benefit other Yeerks don’t have,” Marco tossed that thought out.

I frowned. “And what is that ‘special benefit’? Her being a Werch? How can that help?” 

“I dunno! It’s all I got.”

“Then we’ll have to ask Elle,” Jake suggested. “Erek. Find out what else you can about this battery and this Yeerk.” He prepared himself to talk to Elle again, then stopped and wheeled back. “And if you meet our doppelgangers again, don’t tell them anything. Just get away from them if you can.”

“What if it’s you guys instead?”

Jake’s frown was thin and tight. It was obvious how annoyed he was at Erek’s question and even more annoyed that he had no good answer to it. “...Good point.”

“They may have our faces but they don’t know us,” Marco then told them. “Just ask us something that only the real us would know.”

Erek pondered with a metallic finger to where his holographic human chin would be. “Oh! Like the time you and Jake snuck into a concert as canines.”

Marcos’ face was pained, even with his agonized smile. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s go with that.”

Erek left while we went back inside and morphed back to our battle forms. Meanwhile, we gave a brief rundown to Ax in the kitchen.

<So how’s our prisoner?> Marco asked.

Ax directed one eyestalk to the room we locked Elle in. <She has settled down.>

We walked right back into the room.

“Are you done with your little entourage?”

<You-!>

I didn’t know why Ax was upset but we jumped in anyway. Teeth and claws ready. 

The Yeerk was defenseless. She was supposed to be tied up. But her hands were free - one of them clearly holding the rolled-up rope and the blindfolds we had used on her. 

<Ax!> Jake ordered privately.

FWAPPP!

A freed Yeerk was just as bad news as a Yeerk knowing who we were. Ax’s tailblade aimed right at her throat. 

“Rather careless to leave your captive alone,” she started. Unfazed by the threat.

<How did you free yourself?> Marco uttered. 

<There was nothing on you,> I barked.

“For starters. You Andalites should have learned to tie a better knot.” 

Flump! Elle tossed the rope at our feet, her way of rubbing it in our faces. And boy, was Ax mad. He didn’t say anything but his front hooves were trotting madly on the floorboard, at that display.

What made it frustrating was that she didn’t even care if she was caught.

<Why are you still here?> Jake began, trying to assess the situation. <You could have escaped.>

“Run. It would take less than three minutes to recapture us,” she stated the obvious.

<She’s not wrong,> Tobias whispered.

<At least she knows she can’t outplay us,> Marco said privately.

<Alright... What do you want?> Jake asked.

Elle’s Yeerk glanced around. She looked like she was evaluating us. “This constant probing of yours is both unnecessary and persistently astounding. To abduct us twice and break our agreement.” 

<We didn’t agree on anything, Yeerk,> he said to her.

“A pointless ruse. I’ve already told you your hostility is wasted effort on a branded criminal.”

<That isn’t for you to decide.>

<She might mean the other Andalites,> Cassie said privately.

<I can’t really blame her for assuming all Andalites look the same,> Marco droned.

Jake eyed Elle intently, waiting for a sign.

<You’ve been told this. If you are lying, your life will be cut short.>

Again, nothing out of her. Stiff as a tree. Elle studied him from top to bottom, then to us in the back. Other Yeerks would panic or mock us. But Elle’s Yeerk acted so differently. 

“If I was lying, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

<...How do you want to handle this?> I whispered to Jake. 

He was quiet at first. <We aren’t the Andalties you met yesterday.>

The Yeerk reacted with as much genuine confusion as we had a while back.

“But you took us…” she first spoke normally, then switched her tone again. “So? Even if they weren’t you, they are still Andalite. You ordered them because of some futile retrieval mission.”

<No.> Jake hesitated. <We didn’t know about their activity.>

She studied him again. “...So you have no affiliation with them. A rogue job, perhaps?”

<A warrior is never ‘rouge’. In all things, we still maintain our honor,> Ax rebuked.

“And yet, it seems like you have miscommunication within your own ranks,” Elle mocked flatly.

<Look. It’s hard to believe so how about we’re both right?> Marco suggested. <We saw you this morning. And you saw Andalites too. But we both were at different places.>

The Controller looked almost convinced. “...Ok. This explanation is more reasonable than an elaborate story about a Sario Rip,” she blandly droned.

<Oh no. We’ve already been through those.>

She raised an eyebrow, looking like it was a joke to her. 

<We think they acquired your host’s DNA to blend in,> Cassie cut in.

Elle pondered with mild surprise. “...That would explain why we heard her voice.” 

<Whose voice?>

“A young female human. Blond hair. Blue eyes.” Even as a bear, I tensed up on the spot. “Makes sense for you Andalites to acquire a human’s DNA.”

<We didn’t->

<That’s right.> Marco stopped me. <The best disguise is to hide in plain sight. Correct?>

<What are you doing?> I hissed privately at him.

<Shaddup! I’m fixing your mess.>

“And it’s not just her… A human boy was acting strange too.”

<She must be talking about my DNA thief. Man, are these Andalites being a pain in the neck,> Marco groaned secretly.

“That is so wrong,” Elle muttered with disgust. She then spoke in her flat tone, leaning forward in a calm manner, “No. That is a sound strategy to evade the Yeerks.”

<Why is she still acting weird?> I asked privately but no one answered.

<What did they want from you?> Jake continued.

“Why don’t you go and ask them yourselves?” the Controller said tartly. “You might as well get it straight from the horse’s mouth-” 

All of a sudden, Elle stopped herself and fiddled with her hands. But the way she did was odd. Like it was on purpose. She put an index finger to her lip, followed by her left hand doing a chopping action on her right hand.

She pouted, looking away. Then she did her hand gestures again. I sorta recognized one as the shaka hand gesture. Elle was so fast jumping between each new movement of her fingers.

<Hey.>

Elle ignored Jake completely. She focused on more hand gestures for another minute.

<We’re talking to you,> I warned her angrily.

“Fine.” Elle folded her arms. “I’ll listen.”

<Finally,> Marco droned loudly.

“That wasn’t to you, Andalites,” she said with her whole cold facade. 

<What do you mean? And what was all that about?>

“Just an Earth custom,” she replied. “It is none of your concern.”

<Can this Yeerk stop playing games with us?> I spat privately.

<Perhaps it’s some kind of Yeerk encrypted code they’ve developed,> Ax proposed. <I have never seen them do such manners with appendages->

<Ahem!> Jake uttered, reminding us we were off track. He closed the distance between himself and Elle, being as big and threatening as he could as a tiger.

Elle was completely deadpan. “You have my attention. I’ll entertain you.” She relaxed back in her seat but her brows squished together standoffishly. “Again.”

<We don’t like this as much as you do.>

“We are only here because of this war,” she said dryly.

<What was this agreement they made with you?>

“That we would be left alone, unharmed.”

<Unharmed,> Jake said softly, almost to himself. <I cannot speak for those Andalites. Your deal was with them, not us.>

Elle’s face darkened. “But of course. What mutual agreement can both parties come to this time? ”

<We want to find the others. You help us by telling us exactly what they said to you. Then we’ll leave you alone.>

<Wait, Jake!> I said privately. 

<I know,> he replied privately. <We’ll have Tobias watch her after this.>

“Basically, what the previous group proposed.” Elle squeezed the bridge of her nose with her left hand. “Regardless of what I say, you will simply dismiss it.”

<No. We will hear you. Because you are speaking the truth.>

He showed the small, vintage watch he had in his mouth.

Elle’s cold expression changed to a warmer one. “Becky’s watch!”

<We found it outside. In the bins.>

Carefully, Elle took the watch back with her right hand. She checked the front and the back before she held it tightly to her chest.

She then eyed Jake with her cold, aloof stare.

<This doesn’t mean you are pardoned. If you oppose us, we will take measures into our own hands.>

“...Not like we had a choice, to begin with. The faster we do this, the faster I can take her home safely.”

<Who are you talking about?> Cassie asked.

“No one. What do you need?”

<Answers. What did these Andalites ask you?> Jake pressed on the important question.

“I wouldn’t say their questions were entirely lucid. They didn’t make much sense. All they said is that it was imperil for them to retrieve a battery from the Yeerks. Something about it helping them return home.”

<They’re stranded here?>

“I wouldn’t know. I’m only repeating what they said.”

<Alright. So what is this ‘device’?>

“I don’t know either. It’s the first I’ve ever heard of.”

<You’re a Yeerk. Aren’t you supposed to know what it is?> Marco pointed.

“Does the title, Werch, not mean anything to you or do my words go through one of your auditory organs and out the other?”

<Ok. Fair enough.>

<Do you know about T’usli 9?> Jake asked next.

Elle’s cold expression changed. Just a bit.

“That is out-of-bounds. The general Yeerk public has no clearance to that place.”

<But you know what it is.>

“It’s not a simple walk-in,” she explained. “If this battery is there, it’s a lost cause. This rogue group of yours won’t survive.”

<They’ll be captured.>

“Being infested is the least of their worries. No one, not even a Yeerk, leaves a T’usli unscathed without the right credentials. They end up dead.”

<That…> Ax fell silent at first. Then headstrong. <That is not possible. These are Andalite Warriors you are speaking of.>

“Possible. Impossible. They may be simultaneously dead and alive in the Tsu’li. The only way you can know is to go and see it yourself.” 

<That’s...cryptic,> Jake pointed.

<Sounds more like an invitation to a trap,> I said.

“Against those odds, the best choice you have is to abandon your allies.”

<You can’t tell us to do that,> Cassie said.

“My people did,” Elle remarked without hesitation. Her tone wasn’t bitter but it was frigid cold. 

<What else did those Andalites say?> Jake continued.

She pondered. “...I overheard them planning to infiltrate the base tomorrow. I don’t know when.”

<That’s not good.>

<Then we have to stop them,> Cassie urged us.

FLASH!

I saw Marco by the restaurant’s cashier, hands upfront. 

“Hey, hey! Put that wok down. Let’s talk about this.”

I couldn’t go to him to help him. With whatever trouble he got himself this time. I was small. I could hear and see absolutely everything crystal clear. I was powerful! But I couldn’t move.

And this feeling...it felt somewhat familiar. Like I was back at an old cowboy movie-

“You barged in acting like a weirdo!” Elle shouted, holding the small wok in her right hand like a sword. She was the one carrying me with her other hand. Her left arm was rigid for some reason.

“Weirdo?! You’re the one acting up!”

“Get out! We - I don’t have anything to say to you! Or the Sharing!”

The Sharing?

“Oh! That’s rich. Coming from you! ” 

“What are you talking about?” Elle asked. She sounded legitly confused.

“Oh, don’t play dumb. You know a lot more than you’re letting on! Especially that battery! It made the power plant explode!”

FLASH!

I was back. Back to listening to everyone in the room.

And out of nowhere, I blurted out a question.

<What did you mean the power plant blew up?>

It stopped everyone from talking. And Elle clearly heard my thought-speech.

<Huh? What kind of question is that?> Marco asked. 

<Because you just said that.>

<I didn’t say anything.>

I staggered back. <What? But I...heard you…>

What was going on? I felt my fur standing on end. 

The vision was so powerful. So vivid. It wasn’t a dream, I was sure of it! Like I was back at the restaurant again.

Was the strangeness making me go crazy? It didn’t help that I could feel Jake’s eyes on me. I wanted to tell him it was a weird, stupid phrase. 

But my mind was all too wrapped up on what happened.

“So is all of that sufficient?” Elle broke the tension with her deadpan tone. “Or do I have to keep repeating a third time?”

<No,> Jake answered. <That’s enough.>

She bowed her head in a dignified manner. It rubbed me off the wrong way. “I held my end of the bargain. Again.”

<We’re not the Andalites you’ve met.>

“And? Twice we’ve had our lives in the hands of Andalites.” Elle looked at her watch attentively before putting it back into her pocket. “Thankfully, this civil discussion hasn’t devolved to using violence.”

<Don’t test us, Yeerk,> Ax snapped quietly.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She held her palms out peacefully. “I believe you have your next steps to think of. And it is nearly this human’s curfew.” She suddenly stood up. “We will take our leave.”

<W-Wait!> I yelled. No way was I having a Yeerk waltz out of here! 

This time, she looked slightly impatient. “What more do you want from a Werch? You're grasping at the reeds here.”

I had no idea what she meant by that sentence. But I pushed. <You’re still dangerous.>

<Rachel.>

I ignored Jake’s private thought-speech. <There’s something not right about this Yeerk! She could still tell her friends about us-!>

“So you want my silence?” Elle cut me off. “My silence is already imperative. Meeting your kind is a death sentence to us.”

<Death sentence?> Cassie repeated. <What do you mean?>

“Why would it matter to you? Whatever your qualm is with this rogue group or my people, it has nothing to do with us. I don’t give a Varx’s jaek who wins in this insidious war.”

Ax was suddenly flabbergasted. <T-That is completely vulgar!>

“My apology if you were born with highly sensitive hearing. But I don’t care.”

She practically pushed her way past us for the door. Animals that could tear her down. I turned to Jake to make an order. We couldn’t let her go!

<We will be watching, Yeerk,> Jake just warned her. <You can be certain of that.>

She stopped. “We wouldn’t expect nothing from you.” And walked right out of the studio apartment.

<...Did...did we just let our captive go?> Marco asked.

Cassie glanced up to me. <Rachel. Are you alright?>

<Y-Yeah. I’m fine.> I tried to convince her. But it was me I was trying to convince, not everyone. And I just couldn’t.

For the first time, since we became Animorphs…I was actually scared.

Chapter Text

TWENTY: TOBIAS

8:49 P.M.

I didn’t like any of this. The Yeerk, the Andalites wearing my friends’ faces or the T’usli 9 research facility. 

And there was Rachel. It wasn’t the first time she’s acted strange. She’s never acted strange. But ever since we met fake Elle at the construction site, she hasn’t been her usual self. So I was a little worried.

I didn’t get a chance, though. Right after Elle left, Jake ordered me and Ax to follow her while the rest would talk over everything we’ve learned. 

Did we really learn much? Felt like we got more than we bargained for. Because everything about Elle was completely the opposite of what a Yeerk should have done.

Ax and I tailed after her as birds. First she went back to her bike, then rode all the way to the Quarter. By the time she reached there, it was dark and mostly empty.

She stopped. Almost in a skid. Up ahead was the junction before her restaurant. And parked at one side, just before the traffic lights, was a police car.

<The Controllers from earlier,> I said. 

<I see them.>

Boy, after one problem, we got another piling on top. A Yeerk telling another Yeerk she’s met us.

There was something odd about Elle though. She was visibly afraid. Her right hand was shaking on the handle while the left was tightening on the other. 

“V’trix.” 

She then gave a dark glare. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with them like earlier. But she had no choice but to ride on.

<Should we stop her? She’s gonna tell them about us.>

<She can’t,> Ax explained. That was surprising from him, over an enemy. 

<Because she’s a Werch , right? But we can’t let her talk either!>

The red lights stopped Elle, right next to the police car. If this was going to be like before, those Controller cops wouldn’t let her go even if the lights turned green.

The window rolled down and from the passenger seat was the gruff, tough-looking officer. The polite-speaking officer was at the wheel.

“Hello, Werch. ”

Elle kept her eyes on the traffic lights.

Eventually, she asked, “What do you want?”

“Just checking in. Making sure you’re on your best behavior .” The smirk on his face was disturbing. Vile. A true reflection of a Yeerk.

“But you assumed I haven’t.”

“You were seen again at Fifth Avenue,” the big cop probed menacingly. “Care to explain?”

“And where did you get that idea?” she dodged the question.

“Oh. It’s easier to get testimonies once an eyewitness becomes a Controller,” his partner hummed. “Helps when they can’t remember the finer details with such a frail mind.”

<The driver from before,> I said, piecing the details together.

<Most likely. With how hysterical that human was after seeing her.>

“Should have done that from the start.” The big, tough cop glanced at the restaurant down the road. Mr Liang had stepped outside to move a display stand with a menu book inside. “That human has also been a problem. Would be ideal to make him a close-eye watcher-”

“He doesn’t understand English,” Elle quickly replied. Almost threateningly.

At first, the mean cop looked as if he had caught on to something. He glanced back and forth between Elle and the restaurant.

“Wait. Is the Werch feeling pity for the humans?”

Elle said nothing, her head still facing front.

“Ha! Of course. Should have known that. Coming from a hollow-brained grub! ”

They weren’t giving this Yeerk a break with the insults. It’s ironic but I did feel a little sorry for her when I’ve been in that sort of situation before.

<So she’s a Vesur,> Ax suddenly said that out of nowhere.

<A what?>

<The mentally-ill. Hollow-brained is similar to that definition by the Yeerks.>

<Well, she is a bit wacky but mentally-disabled?> It was kinda unbelievable for an alien race that takes over the brain to have a mental sickness.

“So. What were you doing there?” the calm officer asked.

Elle leaned forward on the handles with a tired sigh. “...I was passing by. Had to do a school assignment before I was stopped by a frantic human.”

“What kind of assignment?”

She pulled out the camera from her bag and uncaringly held it up for them to see. “Photography club. You can see the photos yourself.”

<Wait! Did she take any photos of us?> That thought just crossed my mind.

<I do not think so,> Ax answered but even he was unsure.

“...Ties with the statement.” The second cop dismissed the camera with a wave of his hand.

I couldn’t have been more relieved. Seriously, to suddenly have our secret out in the open like that? It would have been too much for my small bird heart!

“...It’s still peculiar. The same eyewitness shouting he killed you and later, you turned up fine,” his partner pointed. “You’ve been all over the place, Werch . Almost like being in two places at once.”

“What of it?” Elle asked.

“One plausible thought is that the Andalite Bandits could have acquired your host’s DNA. And that’s outrageous. There’s no point for a Werch. ” 

Then he grinned.

“But I wouldn’t pass the idea you’re not working with the Andalites again.”

Elle remained unfazed on her bike. The lights turned green, then red. 

“It’s no use hiding it. They forced you in a corner. Or you went to them willingly. How else would they know about the cell.”

It was honestly unnerving to see this one-sided confrontation going too far. Even if this was between Yeerks, it felt...wrong. Like we should do something.

“You may be a Werch . But you still serve the Empire. We can clear this little mistake up and no one would be the wiser. You just have to come to the station tonight. I’ll even give the good word for you-”

“Are you done rambling?” Elle broke her silence.

She lifted her camera up and pointed it at the car.

Snap! 

“Hey!”

“This conversation has been you wasting time on making assumptions. You’re pulling at the reeds because you got nothing,” she pointed. “I wonder...does Visser Three have anything to do with this cell?”

The two cops immediately went quiet.

“That’s why it’s gotten you tense?”

“Be mindful of your ds’sassi, Werch, ” the big officer warned. 

“I am right, am I not? And there’s this Dzual Cell.” Elle finally glanced at them. “Has to be valuable to fall under Visser Three’s radar... You said because of me, that’s how the Andalites knew about this device.”

“Of course! How else would they know!”

“Why? I have no idea what this Dzual Cell is. But you clearly know there’s a connection.”

The cops nearly jumped in their seats. They zipped their lips tight before looking at each other. 

“This cell. Does it have something to do with my past work-?”

“Quiet! This has nothing to do with you,” one of them rebuked. 

“And there you have it,” Elle remarked coolly. “It has nothing to do with me.”

The response shocked the officer, so distraught that he had fallen into a trap. 

“There’s a phrase humans often say… A picture is a thousand words.” Elle examined the photo in the camera viewport. One goofy image of those cops’ frozen faces. “And they’re right. Anyone can make different interpretations of what the picture is saying. Even Yeerks.”

“What are you going on about?” his partner demanded. 

“Someone’s going to wonder. Why two Yeerks are wasting their evening on one Werch . Instead of looking for a missing cell.” Elle purposefully showed the photo to them as a taunt. “You’re already making a fool of yourself. So stop wasting all our time.”

“Why, you-!” The big, mean cop reached out from his window. Literally attempting to grab Elle.

The police radio crackled. A woman’s voice spoke up from it.

“All vehicles in the area, Looking for an assist near the fish market.,” the dispatcher exclaimed. “They’re saying a pack of wolves was crossing and spooked the drivers.”

That stopped the second cop at first. His teeth grounded tightly as he fought every fiber not to attack. Like an opportunity had slipped out of his fingers. 

“I repeat. Requesting assist immediately-”

“Copy,” the first cop quickly replied over the radio. “We’ll check it out.”

“Traffic hazard. Looks like it’s going to be a long night for you,” Elle mocked coldly.

“...We’ll be in touch.” He pulled the brakes off and drove away.

It was over. And no one learned about us.

The man in the traffic lights turned green. Elle finally pedalled down the road with Mr Liang spotting her in the distance. We kept as close as possible from above.

“Welcome-” 

Elle practically ditched her bike aside and wrapped her right arm as much as she could around the big old man. The cold-looking owner gradually gave a tighter one back. 

“Ah girl. You ok?” Mr Liang asked.

Elle smiled widely. Back to being the bubbly grandniece he knew. “I’m just happy to see you, Kong Kong.”

That was understandable for Mr Liang. To him, it had been a bad day for Elle. But all of it was also sad when you know she has a Yeerk in her head. Mr Liang didn't know that he was talking to a total stranger right. And that’s the thing. The Yeerks didn’t want anyone to know about the invasion. 

“I got back Rebecca’s watch.” 

She lifted up the little watch by the chain for him to see, acting triumphantly. 

“I found it. By some trash. I won’t lose it again-”

Mr Liang pushed the watch down, at first puzzling Elle. Like he might have figured out the truth. That was too much to ask from me when he put his hands on her shoulders and looked meaningfully at her. 

“Watch not important,” he explained sternly but with a soft tone. “Rebecca would understand.”

It put the Yeerk on the spot. Like her charade was meaningless or something. You could almost take it as some heart-warming scene an actress had to act out from a movie. 

“I heat dinner.”

“Ok... I go clean up.”

They were gone from our sight. So Ax and I moved around the side of the building where there was a fire escape with two bedrooms on the second level.

One was a small girl’s bedroom but nothing like Rachel’s or Cassie’s rooms. Sure, every bedroom was a mess but this one had a sorta whimsical vibe to it: Christmas lights, art pictures, Polaroid photos and paper lanterns stuck on all over the walls. There were comic books in boxes and a game station on the carpeted floor.

Elle walked into that room and shut the door. I expected her to change character. She would scowl and look annoyed at keeping up with the act around Mr Liang. 

Her cheery smile did go away. But her face? She was petrified, trembling her lips. She slipped down to the floor and sorta curled up into a ball.

“V’trix,” she started warily. Again, that name. She’s been saying that name aloud and to herself. I didn’t know why.

Her face mellowed, this time mildly concerned. “I know.”

It switched again, back to her being afraid. “This won’t stop, will it?”

It switched back, this time a little apologetic. “No. It will not.”

“They were near Kong Kong’s restaurant.”

“Yes.”

She burrowed her head in her knees.

“I don’t want Kong Kong to get hurt.”

“...I know.”

<How ridiculously strange. This one Yeerk is entertaining herself by exchanging human vocabulary to herself. I find speaking words as a human enjoyable ,> Ax pointed. <But not to such an extent.>

I had to agree it was strange. Well, not exactly the same reason as Ax’s. But...something about it seemed like she was talking to ‘someone else’. Not herself.

Weird, right?

Elle lifted up her head. “What should we do?”

She was quiet. Then she gazed at the windows with a half-determined, half-apathetic look.

“What we need to do.”

She got up, burst the windows open...

And talked to us .

“I know you are out there, Bandits.”

There was no way she could have known we were there. And neither could she have seen us at where we were.

She just assumed she was being followed.

“I’m saying this again. I don’t care about you Andalites. Or this war… But the current situation has forced my hands,” she said sternly. “So I offer my help so you can find your rogue group.”

That was a surprise, coming out from her. Even bolder when she continued.

“You won’t last three minutes in a T’usli. But I know how to get you in safely,” she said. “We will wait at that studio apartment. At Gahilem. We can talk. But if you do not come in two hours, then we will leave for T’usli 9. With or without you.”

I didn’t buy it at first. But again, she was a Werch . There should have been many opportunities she could have taken. And a lot she said sounded convincing.

“Your call.”

Elle shut the windows before she sat back on her bed, looking like it was pointless to ask us all of that.

We waited. But nothing happened.

<What’s that about?> I asked.

<Gahilem,> Ax repeated. <It’s an Andalite term. It means ‘the first light break the horizon’.>

<So at dawn. But all of this sounds fishy to me. A Yeerk giving us a way in? I don’t buy it.>

<I agree… But we do not know what a T’usli 9 is,> Ax explained. <We do not even know what the interior is like.>

<Then we can just go in and survey. We’ve always done that.>

<A Chee could barely enter the perimeter. And with what this Yeerk says being the truth….as disturbing as that sounds,> he mumbled the last part to himself, <If the highest ranks of Yeerks are the only ones that can enter, then we cannot without endangering ourselves.>

<Basically, we’ll be going in blind. Then what should we do?>

He thought about it. <I will relay what we’ve heard to Prince Jake.>

<Yeah. You do that.>

He took off. With the window shut, it was a little hard to hear Elle. So carefully, I went closer to the window.

Elle paced about the room nervously. Then she spoke up.

“Do you think they’ll come?”

“Doubtful... But it’s worth a try.”

“...What now?”

Elle mellowed down with her expressionless face. “You should take a break. Go talk to Liang. Have dinner without me and get some sleep... I’ll work out a plan while I eat.”

Without me? While I eat? Those were odd lines.

“Ok.” She then dug into her backpack and pulled out a handheld compact.

It was smooth-looking with a shiny silver gloss. A teal dimly-glowing circle was engraved on the top. 

To anyone, it looked like a normal makeup compact. But I knew better. That compact was very alien-looking. I didn’t know what and Ax wasn’t here to explain.

Elle opened the compact, its insides softly glowing the same color as its circle. The substance didn’t really look like liquid because it flowed up but it wasn’t like air as it dropped back down. The motion was actually soothing. Calming.

Her back was to the window so I couldn’t see much. Other than she put her hand to her ear and put something dark-colored into the compact before closing it.

It was even weirder when she turned to her window. Looking genuinely worried. As if expecting something to burst into her bedroom.

No, she didn’t notice me. Just a coincidence. 

She turned away. Elle slipped that compact under a pillow before she went downstairs for dinner.

Chapter Text

TWENTY-ONE: CASSIE

9:04 P.M.

“This sounds like a trap,” Rachel bluntly said.

It had been some time later when we returned back to the barn. In case Elle’s Yeerk came back with friends. Or something else bad happened. From there, we continued the discussion about the whole interrogation.

We really didn’t get anywhere with it, though. We got some answers but there were more holes in them as well. Ax soon flew in and gave us everything Elle said to them out loud.

“What does she take us for? Too clueless we'd just walk into her clutches?” Marco droned.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Jake said. “We got what we could out of her and we know what those Andalites are planning tomorrow.”

“Really? I still feel like we’re at a loss here.”

"You heard her say all of this?" I asked Ax.

<Yeah, more or less. Probably paraphrasing a bit but I am not going to say we got it verbatim.>

"No, I get that, but…she was really talking to you, right?”

<She presumed we were present. We did not reveal ourselves to her.>

Something has been nagging at me after we finished interrogating Elle. “She talks to us like a normal Yeerk. She openly says all that to you guys, thinking you’re there. But when she’s alone, she’s talking out loud.”

“Yeah.” Marco said. “That’s all she’s been doing.”

“But...is she really talking to herself?"

Everyone looked at each other, then back at me. Like I had three heads.

"What do you mean 'is she really talking to herself'?" he asked, as if trying to get on the same page as me. "It's not that weird."

"It's not that weird for a human to do," I pressed. "This is a Controller. She has every reason to assume we were tailing her. And she said things out loud...?”

"Okay, yeah, it sounds a little fishy,” Marco continued. “But we're already thinking this is all some kinda trap. Could've been just laying it on thick."

"Overselling that... Also, Yeerks can read minds, can’t they? They can talk to their host without needing lips.”

“Yeah. Does defeat the purpose of a trap,” Jake pointed. “No way someone with a plan would announce it aloud.”

“Well… Except Visser Three,” Rachel added.

“So what I'm asking is... Does this Yeerk really have complete control over Elle?” I then asked.

Everyone looked at me again like I grew a fourth head. 

<Of course,> Ax quickly rebuked. <A Yeerk has control over anyone it infests.>

“It’s basic knowledge. Since when has any Yeerk let a host have free will?” Marco uttered.

“Sure but...something’s different about this one,” I pointed.

“Everything about this Yeerk is different that it’s annoying,” Rachel groaned.

“Doesn’t it seem like every time she talks to herself, it’s actually she who’s holding a conversation with someone?” I pressed on. 

“Yeah. To herself,” Marco droned. “What’s so hard about that?”

I glowered. Just a bit. There were times where...I wish I could just… do something every time it’s Marco. But I fought myself to stay calm.

“It’s not just her talking. It’s her mannerisms too,” I pointed. “It’s like there are two people talking to each other.”

“C’mon. This again?” Marco laughed.

Ax made a snort-like sound. <A Yeerk communicating with a human vocally. Now that is an interesting joke, Cassie.>

“Ax, no offense, but I don't know your average Andalite would pick up on the human subtleties,” I continued. “She didn't care if we heard her, talked in different voices..."

I stopped talking then. I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"Cassie?"

Sigh. "The back and forth. Talking to someone like that. It... it reminds of Aftran. When..."

"When you were a Controller."

I nodded.

“Cassie. Not every Yeerk is like Atfran,” Jake pointed with concern.

“I know that. I absolutely do.” I tried my best to think of something and get everyone on the same page. And there was one important detail. “...Wasn’t she using sign language?” 

“Sign language? The kind deaf and mute people use to communicate?” Marco pointed.

“Was that really sign language she was using?” Rachel asked, sounding unsure.

I wasn’t an expert myself. And the others wouldn’t know other than hearsay. But the signals Elle did looked familiar.

I snapped my fingers once I figured it out.

“Linda!” I suddenly burst that out. “From Sesame Street! ”

“I’m sorry. Why are we bringing up a kid’s show?” Marco asked. Nobody had any idea why I brought that up.

<The silent female human who moves her hands on that show? Yes, what about her?>

“ You watch Sesame Street? ” Jake said that to Ax, cutting through the conversation. 

<Well, yes. Occasionally.> 

“I get other shows like Friends . But Sesame Street? ”

<It’s rather entertainingly educational. Far more engrossing than my classes. Only, simplified.>

“Linda’s not silent,” I interrupted. “She’s deaf. She uses her hands to communicate.”

“Yeah… You’re right,” Rachel exclaimed, but towards me. “I remember now. That’s American Sign Language she uses.”

“So you’re saying that a Yeerk uses sign language to talk to someone else?” Marco asked.

“Yes, to Elle. Both of them were communicating to each other with sign language,” I pointed.

“Uh-huuuh. Sorry. But Ax’s suggestion that it’s Yeerk morse code doesn’t sound crazy anymore.” 

“There wasn’t anyone there but us and her. And Elle,” I said. 

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t that make Elle disabled?” Jake brought out another crucial point. One that should have been obvious to both Rachel and me.

“Elle’s not disabled,” Rachel uttered.

<If that is the case, then a Yeerk would not need her. They need capable humans to fully control them ,> Ax explained.

“Yeah. She talks. A lot. So she’s not mute. She’s definitely not deaf. And she jumped across rooftops like a squirrel when she was being chased by us,” Marco said. “If she’s disabled, what reason would a Yeerk have with her?”

“Other than being a sicko,” Rachel mumbled angrily. 

“But here’s the point I’ve been trying to make. Why is she acting differently? If this was charades, then fine. But it’s gone on for far too long to be called fake,” I pushed.

“That’s because she’s deranged. Ax just said that.”

“Maybe that sign language was a fluke. We’ve seen Controllers lose a bit of control now and then. This could be Elle doing it too,” Macro proposed.

“You could be right. For once.”

"Hey. I'm always right."

"Yeah. And it's infuriating sometimes."

I sighed. It was like a wall with everyone. And I couldn’t blame them for thinking like that. It’s not impossible for a Yeerk to let a host go willingly or a host to have a bit of control back. It’s unbelievable if she gives her host freedom on her own body too. 

But there was something about this Yeerk and Elle!

“Whatever the case is about this Yeerk, it’s not our main priority. We got other pressing matters here,” Jake said.

“But-” I started.

“But no. Ax said she’s a criminal. And the Yeerks don’t care about her. We have no reason to go after her.”

“Yes, we do,” Rachel uttered. “She’s involved somehow.”

“Which is what? I’ve seen nothing that she has a hand in this other than she was jumped on by Andalites yesterday. Look, I know you two care about this girl because she’s from school. But she’s not important.”

I didn’t like that. Being told that a friend in danger wasn’t important. Neither did Rachel. In moments like this though, Jake has to be the leader. He has to say what needs to be said. He has to make crucial decisions in this group. Jake does it because nobody else would.

But honestly, the way I’ve been seeing Elle lately...it didn’t look like she needed saving. It sounded horrible to think that, if I had never seen the stuff she did that day. I just couldn’t let go of this gut feeling.

Regardless, we had to drop the topic. 

“Right now, we have Andalites in the city, morphing as people. Including Marco. They could have taken everyone’s DNA here. Except Ax and Tobias.”

“Because we four have ordered from Elle’s place.” Rachel’s eyes were wide at the realization when Marco said that. Even she was scratching her head at the question: when could our DNA have been taken? 

“Right. And that’s a problem for us,” Jack pointed.

“Ok. Why?”

“Think about it. If they keep morphing as us, they’re more likely to expose us,” Marco explained. “We’re not Andalites. We’re kids.”

Jake nodded. “We’ve been in the dark with what they’re doing and why. But we also can’t let them keep doing their secret mission if it means we’ll be the ones put in danger.”

“We got Ax on our side. He can talk them down.”

Ax wasn’t too enthusiastic about that idea. <If they are cooperative. As much as I don’t like how this group is committing rogue acts…we also have to be cautious. Until we understand and elaborate on their reasons.>

“Considering the last time we met an Andalite group, it turned out to be a coup by one of their own,” Rachel reminded us.

“It’s not only the Andalites that could be a problem,” Jake stated. “Visser Three is involved. Because of this battery.”

“Of course. Anything Yeerk related is gonna go under his radar. And he has to be fuming about a device stolen by Andalites.”

“Or he believes we, the Andalite Bandits, stole it,” I pointed.

“Right. We shouldn’t be getting credit we didn’t do,” Jake said.

“Can’t we?” Marco droned. “We’ve been doing all the work on this planet.”

“First thing tomorrow, we head to the nuclear plant and try to search for these Andalites.” He relaxed, showing just how exhausted he was. “For now...we should get some sleep.”

Marco laughed. “I’m not gonna sleep tonight. I’m keeping one eye open if that Andalite comes back to my house again.” 

So we were ready to call it for the night. Marco was the first to leave, morphing into his osprey form and taking off. 

“Hang on a second, Ax.”

<Yes, Prince Jake.>

“Rachel,” Jake suddenly called out before she stepped through the barn doors. 

“What’s up?”

“Are you ok? You haven’t been yourself today.”

Rachel scoffed. “I’m fine. It’s been a long day, that’s all.”

“It’s been a long day for all of us. But you’ve been spacing out a few times. And you never do that,” I added.

<It is a concern. Because of your daze, you nearly revealed us to this Yeerk.>

“And I screwed up. Don’t rub it in,” Rachel warned Ax.

“We’re not pointing fingers on what happened. We know you, Rachel. You’re always careful.” Jake broke down the serious leader look and looked genuinely concerned. For his cousin. “But if something’s wrong, you gotta tell us. We’re a team.”

“And I always will. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Rachel was out the door, looking like she planned to walk the way back home instead of morph.

I exchanged glances with Jake. He knew something but wasn’t sure what.

“I’ll walk her down the road.”

I caught up with Rachel. We didn’t talk at first but she didn’t tell me to go back either. 

The night was pretty dark. Relaxing and cool for an evening stroll too. But between us, it was stiff silence that sorta made the walk awkward.

So I started the conversation.

“Wanna talk?” 

She glanced at me with a bit of irritation. But she knew I had good intentions. “I’m fine. Really.” She sighed. “Here I thought I could relax at the beach after what happened.”

“Something happened?”

Her stern face softened. “Eh, same, annoying routine. Siblings fighting over stuff… Jordan had the idea that she could borrow a camera without me knowing.”

“Camera?”

“I bought it for beach day, actually. Then she used up all the film and lied to me that I gave her permission.”

“Wait. Jordan, a liar?”

“Right? I dunno where she got the idea from! Seriously. Sometimes, I’m jealous you’re an only child, Cassie.”

I smiled. “Really? It looks fun to me. You and your sisters.”

“Oh, yeah? I’ll loan them to you for a day.”

“Hmm, nope. Raincheck.”

We chuckled softly.

“...I wasn’t talking about you,” I said meaningfully. Rachel was Rachel. The toughest out of all of us. “I wanted to talk about Elle.”

“Yeah... Weird, right? The delivery girl and schoolmate we know is a Controller… Cuts a bit too close, huh.”

“Really does.”

“...She’s in your class, right? Do you talk to her?”

I shook my head. “Not often. Only if it’s homework or projects. You?”

“Just a hello when we pass by at school. We chat a bit but nothing much.”

We were silent for a while. “...It’s still a shock. Kinda pathetic too,” I admitted. “We say we know Elle but...we really don’t.”

“How is it that we’ve seen her so many times but we didn’t know she was a Controller?”

“Elle always put her family business first. I’ve never heard her talk about The Sharing.”

“That’s why it’s all unfair for her. More unfair she’s stuck with a crazy Yeerk.”

“I dunno… Would have been worse if it was like Tom’s Yeerk. Or Visser Three’s.”

Rachel frowned. She didn’t like any of that all the same but in retrospect, if she were to pick Yeerks, a crazy one would make the better choice than a wicked one.

“Maybe but it’s still unfair. That Yeerk’s putting off a show because she gets a real kick out of it.”

I could tell. Rachel hated it - that someone you know was taken by the Yeerks. And it’s not just Elle. Jake’s brother is one. Marco’s mother is one too. And they can do nothing about it. Not without risking our secret.

So she couldn’t help but feel angry about it. She could do nothing. 

It made me wonder if Elle reminded her of Melissa too. She and Rachel used to be friends. She’s not a Controller, but her father, Mr Chapman and our vice principal, is. 

Since we became Animorphs, the two of them drifted apart.

Rachel then stopped walking.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter either way. She’s just another host we can’t save.”

“Of course, it matters. This is Elle we’re talking about.”

“You’ve heard Jake. We can’t save her because she’s not important. Because her Yeerk’s some outcast. We have these great powers but we still can’t do anything! What’s worse! This Yeerk’s playing Elle like a marionette and we can’t stop it!” 

She shook her fists, wanting to do something. But with how tired she was, she gave up being furious.

“I’m going off.”

“Rachel-”

She didn’t listen. She morphed into her Bald eagle form and flew away.

Chapter Text

TWENTY-TWO: RACHEL

9:14 P.M.

I shouldn’t have blown a gasket like that. But it was kinda hard not to after that day.

I think what got me upset was Elle. The idea that it had been a Controller delivering takeout to my house, my family , was frustrating. That every time I talked to her, it was the Yeerk talking to me. And every time I said goodbye to her, I really was letting a Yeerk torture Elle psychologically.

It also was bad that I never thought she could have been one. I never saw it coming.

The flight back home helped me clear my head up. A bit. It got me thinking too. 

If I had just guessed that she was a Controller earlier, could that have changed anything? She came to do a delivery one night and I did something. Anything. Maybe...morph into a bear and scare the Yeerk out of her.

Wishful thinking. Then I thought. Maybe I should do that. The others didn’t need to know-

FLASH!

“So we can borrow it?”

I was in my bedroom. My sisters were at my door, Jordan fiddling with the Kodak camera I bought earlier that week.

“Yeah. Sure,” I said and hurried over to my window. “Do whatever you want with it. J-Just don’t use all at once.”

“Yes!” 

I didn’t care about Jordan fist-pumping behind me. I couldn’t take my eyes off what I was seeing walking towards my front porch.

I saw my doppelganger coming to my house . 

And I was in my bedroom!

FLASH!

< Rachel! > I heard Jake holler.

I was back in the air. Flying.

And straight into a tree.

<Ahhh!> I couldn’t steer on time. The branches hit me and my momentum was lost. I went straight down to the pavement. Hard.

<Rachel! Are you alright?> A peregrine falcon and a Northern Harrier landed next to me.

<I’m…> I stopped myself. The Bald eagle wasn’t fine after such a terrible crash like that. A bird that is all about strength. The official symbol of this country.

It really dawned on me. Not only was that vision the craziest. But I saw myself. Another version of me! It was like looking into a mirror.

Nothing about this was fine.

So I confessed.

<Not alright.>

You don’t admit you’re hallucinating in the middle of a war. I know how it goes: that’s a sign of losing your head. The moment everyone learns that, I knew I’d be told to step down.

And now, I had to.

<Ax? What do you think?> 

Ax’s Northern harrier head tilted as if being observant. <I believe you might be onto something, Prince Jake.>

I sighed. <Alright. What’s next-?>

<Rachel. We have to talk. Now.>

When Jake demands one of us to talk to him, it usually comes across as his leader self. Like he had to be the adult of the group. But this time, he was concerned. 

<...This isn’t psychological stress, is it?>

We went to a safe spot and demorphed. The whole waiting though, it got me a little nervous. But once Jake asked me again why I was acting strange, I told him everything.

About the visions, why I randomly shouted “stop” earlier, and blurted about the power plant. Jake listened to every word attentively. More so than usual. 

“And that’s it,” I finished. “...I don’t know why I’ve been getting these visions.”

“I do. Because I’ve had them before.”

I was surprised. Then I gave a stern look at Jake. He wasn’t pulling my leg, right?

“When did you get freaky visions?”

“Last year.” He scratched his head sheepishly. “I never told you guys about it because...it’s hard to explain. I only told Ax about them.”

<It was very extraordinary. I did find it difficult to believe it the first time. However, Prince Jake would not ‘joke’ about such things.>

“Ok. Explain then,” I said. 

Jake explained, all right. It was about one of our missions we did in the past, where some experimental Bug Fighter crashed into a grocery store. We never went through with it and Jake never told us the reason.

Now I knew why. What he told me? It sounded insane. Then unsettling. He explained that we had taken the crashed ship for a ride and it exploded, blowing us backwards - or forwards - into time. In the middle of the Amazon. Like how we got blown back to the time of dinosaurs because of a nuclear fission explosion.

That’s another long story. Don’t worry about it. 

Anyway, Jake also got visions too. Showing what happened to us in the Amazon. Like it was some kind of warning. It’s why he called the mission off last year. So we wouldn’t go through the same thing again.

Like Ax said, hard to believe it. Except I was the one getting visions now.

“Wow,” was all I could muster after Jake finished his story. 

“Yeah. Wow.” He weakly laughed. “It felt like a dream to me.”

“So...everything I’m experiencing is because of a…”

<Sario Rip,> Ax said. <I proposed this theory to Prince Jake before. Why you are seeing visions is because of your other self after she’s been thrown through a Sario Rip.>

“So this ‘other Rachel’ and me are somehow linked?”

Ax’s four eyes all looked disturbed, two of them gazing at Jake before he continued. <Not entirely. It is not possible for one person to exist in two places at once. So the logical thinking is for her consciousness to snap back together to yours...this other Rachel has to be dead.>

My eyes were wide. Well, that was grim!

“Sheez… This day couldn’t get any better. Now I have to look forward to another Sario Rip and me dying .”

“On the plus side, at least your consciousness will snap back to your body,” Jake said it like that was the best outcome.

I narrowed my eyes at him. 

“Ok. Then we know what could happen, right? We can prepare.” I asked.

“I don’t think so. I couldn’t figure out anything the last time this happened,” Jake explained. “It was only after I died in that other time line, I decided to call off the mission.”

<Undoing the events altogether.>

“So what? We just let it happen?”

“I don’t think we can afford to.” Now Jake was back to being his leader self. “Back at the apartment, you said the power plant exploded.”

“Yeah… Because of what Marco said. I mean, what vision Marco said.” I groaned. “This is so frustrating.”

<That likely could be the cause of the Sario Rip,> Ax proposed.

“A nuclear explosion in the middle of the city… That’s not good.”

“Because people can get pulled in by the rip?” I asked.

“...Or thousands of people are gonna die from the explosion.”

I didn’t think of that. Jake and Ax had the same look of dread I had.

“Do you remember any details? Anything that might help us stop this explosion.”

“Well…” I thought back. All the visions I’ve gotten were all so real and vivid. Especially one of them. 

“Back at the construction site,” I started. “When we were chasing Elle, I mean, the fake Elle, we were in the air. The next thing I know…” I looked down at my hands. “I had the battery.”

<So at some point in the new time line, you took the battery back.> Ax gave a grimace in his Andalite eyes. <I mean, you will take it back.>

“What are the chances this battery might cause the power plant to explode?” Jake pointed. “Rachel. Anything else you can think of?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t recognize where I was.” I wrapped my brain around it but I couldn’t get anymore. “That’s all I got.”

<It is possible for you to have more visions later on.>

“And what if it all happens right after that one vision? We can’t risk that,” I said.  

“We’re talking to Elle’s Yeerk tomorrow.”

Ax and I turned to Jake when he announced that. We were shocked. 

“No. Bad idea. Terrible idea! Why would you want to do that after everything you said earlier?”

<I agree with Rachel. This might very well be a trap.>

“Well, do you think it is one?” 

Jake’s question caught Ax by surprise. He thought of a rebuttal. But with the info he told us about a Werch , it was clear that he couldn’t argue.

“I don’t like this either,” Jake started. “But we got Andalites heading to a high-security place, where a Sario Rip might occur… We won’t have enough time to scout ahead when we don’t know when this explosion will happen. I hate to say it. But Elle’s Yeerk is our best option.”

“Nobody is going to like this,” I told him.

“And they won’t like it either when they learn we’re having another time-travelling trip sometime in the near future,” he added. “Ax, tell Marco and Tobias the plan.” 

“I’ll go back to Cassie-”

“No. I’ll do that. You get some sleep. Believe me when I say those visions can take you out of it.”

“So I won’t get the backseat on this one?”

He smiled. “You’re not losing your mind.” Then that smile fainted. “Everything’s riding on those visions, Rachel.”

“Yeah…” I tried to relax. And it was very difficult when the fate of the city rested on your next crazy dream. “I know.” 

Jake and Ax took off their separate ways. I flew the rest of the way back home and tried my best to have a normal evening. 

Once I was home, I couldn’t stop thinking.

Sometime later, I was going to die. 

Sure, Jake and Ax said like it was no big thing. But when Jordan walked into the foyer and saw me, it really hit me hard.

My family doesn’t know anything about my secret life fighting aliens. They don’t know the kind of terror I jump into without a second thought.

I’m just an average older sister and daughter who’s supposed to do normal kid stuff. But I also can’t do normal kid stuff.

“Hey.”  

“...Hey, Jordan.”

“...Rachel.” Jordan squeezed her arm shamefully. “I shouldn’t have used all the film-”

I threw my arms around her. I held Jordan as tight as I could. I didn’t remember the last time I did that either.

But I held on for as long as I could...

“Uh...what’s with the hug? I’m in more trouble, aren’t I?”

“No, no…” I laughed. “Bad day today.”

“What happened? I thought you and your friends were going to the beach.”

“It got cancelled. We couldn’t go.”

“Bummer.” Jordan relaxed a little. “You can try next week. I heard there’s a Power Rangers event ongoing at the other beach. Until the end of the month.”

I shrugged. “Nah. The moment’s gone. Besides, I’m not into those kinds of events. Did you guys already eat?”

“Mom ordered pizza for dinner so there’s some leftover.”

“Good. Been thinking of pizza over takeout anyway.” 

I take back what I said to Cassie about loaning Jordan and Sara to her. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. 

The rest of the evening, it was family time together. All three of us and Mom. It did go a bit awkward - Mom thought I was up to something for a bride. But no, I wanted the most out of spending time with them.

I couldn’t stop thinking that I got some predestined death heading my way. That I might lose the most important thing in my life. Or that the most important thing, my family, will lose me.

I said goodnight to Jordan, Sara and Mom. But I didn’t say goodbye the next morning. I got up the earliest I could and flew to Elle’s restaurant, where Tobias was still watching. 

<Hey, Rachel,> Tobias called from his tree.

<Hey.> I landed on the strongest branch above him. <Had something to eat?>

<You’d be surprised how easy it is to find something behind a restaurant. But a rat’s not as juicy as a rabbit,> he joked. <Plump, sure. But there’s a fine difference in taste.>

I chuckled. 

<...What about you?> he asked, this time sounding sincere. <All ok?>

I would shrug my shoulders if I were human. <I needed a good night's sleep. That’s all.>

<...Ax told me. About the->

<Yeah. Can’t blame him for that.>

<...So are you really ok?>

It was a struggle in a bird form. The number of emotions I kept inside was almost unbearable. <...No. But we gotta do what we gotta do, right?> 

I said that as brave as I could and I was still scared.

<Right… Right…> 

We were quiet. It’s not like I wanted anything reassuring from Tobias. The silence helped a bit.

<...Well… Then I’ll keep a closer eye on you. Make sure nothing happens to you.>

And sometimes, he surprises me enough to get a smile out of me. As a human and in morph.

<...That sounds way creepier than I imagined in my head,> he grimaced.

I chuckled. <Oh, very creepy. But it’s the thought that counts.>

Elle appeared in her bedroom, having cleaned and dressed herself up for the day. She took her backpack and left. Several minutes later, she was outside the restaurant with a worried look.

“Are you sure about this?”

Her face darkened. 

“It will work this time.”

Once Elle got on her bike, we followed her to Erek’s safe house.

Chapter Text

TWENTY-THREE: JAKE

6:23 A.M.

Sundays should be days we didn’t have to do missions. But we were against the clock. So each of us arrived at Erek’s safe house as early as possible.

Tobias and Rachel were the next to arrive. The last one was the Controller who gave us the invitation, Elle.

<She is here,> Ax exclaimed.

<Talk about being persistent. You’d think she’d call it quits,> Marco droned. <Like what we should do right now.>

<And you know as well as I do how bad a Sario Rip can be. Have you forgotten about the dinosaurs?> I reminded him.

<I remember. Rachel and I were nearly eaten,> Tobias exclaimed.

Before Elle arrived, we spread out. Took to the high grounds to look out for any Yeerk friends of her. I was at the tree Tobias perched last night, so I could watch and listen to Elle. The door into the apartment wasn’t locked anyway. So she could just walk in.

She was cautious, first from the unlocked door. Then she glanced around the room. As if waiting for us to pounce on her.

“Ok... We’re here. Now what?”

“...We wait,” Elle said in that deadpan tone. 

She took a chair, the same chair we tied her in and positioned it in the centre of the room before sitting comfortably.

Her right foot tapped impatiently as she glanced around. Then she dug through her bag and pulled out a CD-player and a comic book. Turned on the music and placed the headphones over her ears.

Seeing her be...normal was weird to me. Elle did what a normal kid would do on her Sunday afternoon. Even humming to herself the tone “du, du, du, du”. 

<She’s listening to ‘Zombie’?> Rachel asked.

<What?> I uttered.

<‘Zombie’. It’s a song from a British rock band. I don’t remember the name though.>

<That’s fitting for someone who was supposed to be dead,> Marco partly droned and partly mumbled.

We waited. Nobody suspicious came down the street. Elle didn’t budge from her seat. She kept turning the pages now and then. 

<C’mon and do something already,> Rachel hissed impatiently.

<I do not think she will,> Ax pointed.

<Fine,> I announced and flew to the ground. 

<You’re really gonna hear her out?> Marco asked.

<Yeah. You guys know what to do.>

We didn’t need the whole group to interrogate so I volunteered myself to approach her. I knew they had my back if we were ambushed. 

If Elle’s Yeerk were to attack, I was already ready. A tiger was big. Intimidating. Stuck in a room with one would make any Controller give up.

Tobias and Ax guided me when and where I could sneak towards the building. On a Sunday morning this early, who would go out and suddenly spy a tiger on the street? We still couldn’t take the chance.  

I pushed the door wide open with my head. Its opening made a loud sound.

Elle gazed up from her comic. 

Her eyes slowly went as wide as dinner plates.

She freaked out. At the sight of a tiger by the front door. But she was so petrified that she couldn’t make a peep.

I paced slowly in, every step making Elle climb out of her seat. She was terrified of me-

Suddenly, her left hand clutched her right. She calmed herself down and sat back in the chair. This time, she gazed at me with an apathetic expression. 

It was a standoff between me and the Yeerk. I stood my grounds, being as big and scary as a tiger could be. Elle stayed emotionless and unnerved. But she didn’t jump for a Dracon Beam.

In fact, she had always been cautious but never provoked. There was a clear difference between her and Visser Three.

Visser Three knew we couldn’t win against him. Because he had monstrous morphs that could kill us in one go. He was overly confident. Elle’s Yeerk was only a Yeerk who already knew she couldn’t win against a tiger. And that didn’t frighten her.

That irked me.

She finally spoke. “Took you long enough.”

<You’re a bold Yeerk. Asking us to meet here.>

“And you’re daring yourself to accept my invitation. Don’t know if I should applaud you or give you pointers why associating with your enemy is a bad idea.” 

<What do you want, Yeerk?> I asked.

She put up her palms, a sign she wasn’t a threat. “First. I came alone and defenseless. I am only here to offer a compromise.”

<We don’t compromise with the enemy.>

“Of course. So how about you simply listen?” she proposed. “I’ve said this before. You and your rogue friends won’t be able to survive infiltrating the Tsu’li.”

<And you can?>

“If my plan goes well, yes.”

I didn’t buy it. <You plan to break in?>

She nodded. “I give the device to you and your rogue allies can cease morphing as this human.”

Sounded too good to be true.

<Why are you doing this?> I had to ask.

“It is not out of generosity. My intention is to resolve this as discreetly and quickly as possible.”

<That can’t be the only thing. You have the Bandits. You could be pardoned and nobody will see you as a criminal anymore.

<Prince Jake, it does not work that way,> Ax warned me in a whisper.

“You do know what a Werch is, correct? It is the end for a Yeerk. There is no redemption. Bragging to the superiors that I’ve met the Bandits will be cutting our lives shorter.”

<What do you mean?> I asked.

“Ever heard of the human term, ‘scapegoat’?”

I kept quiet, which I guess she took it that I, an ‘Andalite Bandit’ did. 

“Any Yeerk who finds out I know you? They will silence me and claim they were the ones who found you. Then they will capture you. If they’re that clever.”

<That’s what you are. A scapegoat.>

She nodded. “All we want to do is survive this war just as much as you do.”

It sounded convincing. Elle looked genuine when she said that. 

<How are you going to break into a research facility?>

“It’s not a research facility. It’s a vault,” Elle corrected. “Every successful and failed experimental project the Yeerks have created are locked up inside. So that the general populace doesn’t know about their existence. Yeerk and human.”

“Like Zone 91,” she broke out in her normal voice at the same time Marco said privately, <Like Zone 91!>

<Whoa,> he uttered, sounding shocked. <Ok. Can she stop that? It’s just creepy.>

<Why did they build a vault under a nuclear plant?> I asked.

“Power demand and heat control. A T’usli’s energy usage can easily blackout an entire city if we were to use normal means of energy. Moreover, without cooling from the ocean, a T’usli with that amount of power would basically cook any living being alive.”

<So it’s a giant microwave,> Rachel pointed.

The more I listened to what a T’usli was or had inside, the more I didn’t want to go there.

<Alright. How do you break in?> I asked again.

“You can’t. The first layer is fixed with Delta-type Gleet Bio-Filters.”

<The highest form of Yeerk security,> Ax added.

“Any animal, even a Yeerk without the correct ID recognition will be evaporated. You also have heat sensors and surveillance cameras at almost every corner, along with a skeleton crew of fifty armed Controllers.”

<Is it too late to abandon this mission?> Marco pleaded.

I didn’t like the odds either. But I would be lying if that was the worst we’ve faced.

“Those are the least of your problems.” 

I take that back. <There’s more?>

“The vault itself. It is one enormous Yeerk security machine,” Elle explained. “Its interior surfaces can rearrange its topography to infinitely form all sorts of rooms.”

<Meaning…>

“It changes. If you’re not careful, the T’suli will lock you in forever.”

<That explains why Erek and the Chee couldn’t break in,> Tobias pointed privately.

<If it’s impossible for us to enter, that means you can’t either!> I uttered.

She relaxed back in her seat. “Not by usual methods. Just because something is almost impassable, doesn’t mean there aren’t flaws in the design.” She pointed to her bag. “I have everything I need there.”

Now of course, I wasn’t going to demorph and show that I was human in plain sight. I waited while I privately called Ax to investigate the bag for me. He demorphed and carefully trotted in, taking the bag up to us with his tail.

“Hey-” Ax already shook the bag that everything tumbled right out. Each thud made Elle squirm in a way that something was gonna end up broken.

“Careful!” She leapt forth, catching the camera with her right hand. Instinct almost made me pounce on her just as Ax was about to fire his tail blade but she cared more about her camera than an Andalite and a tiger. 

I looked back at the contents and already, I wasn’t impressed. <Camera, thermos, box cutter, tape, paint spray...firecrackers, lighter and a thermal blanket?>

<This sounds like a kid’s school project,> Marco said privately.

There was one alien thing Ax pulled out. The strange device from the theatre.

<The Kkal-arpova Sapper,> Ax said its complicated name.

<I see. This is what you’ll use to break into the vault,> I said.

Elle was so unimpressed by me that her gaze almost bored into me.

<...It’s not enough to shut down a T’suli,> Ax explained.

<Ok. Duly noted,> I groaned. <What’s in the thermos?>

<If she is breaking in, I would gander it is a liquid form substance Yeerks use for their Bug Fighters. Enough to->

“It’s green tea,” Elle cut Ax short. “Humans drink it to improve blood flow and lower cholesterol. It doesn’t eat through solid walls.”

Ax grimaced as if his suggestion was bad from the start. <Ah. Yes. You are a Werch . You wouldn’t have access to dangerous chemicals.>

<You haven’t explained what you’re gonna do with these...things,> I said.

“Have you ever heard of the human phrase, ‘show, don’t tell’?” She picked up her stuff, one by one. “I do not know when this little heist will happen so I wouldn’t want to waste time explaining when I could be setting up as soon as possible.”

<We’re also wasting time listening to this Yeerk’s harebrained scheme,> Rachel uttered. <Whatever it is!>

<So what was the point of this meeting?> I asked.

She yanked the bag from Ax. Again a Yeerk totally ignoring she had a tail blade aimed at her. “So you Bandits know that I am present. If I have you lot be oblivious, you’ll cause a lockdown to happen. Locking all of us in.”

<Why is she insinuating we’ll do that? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?> Tobias exclaimed.

<This is a loss cause, man,> Marco said. 

I sighed tiredly. This was a bad idea from the start. <This isn’t going anywhere. We’ll get into the vault our own way.>

She shrugged her shoulders, as if she already knew that was the general response she’d get. “Fine. I’ve told you the basic layout of the T’suli. I suppose your line of action is to acquire a morph that can slip past twenty layers of high security in a place that is constantly shifting?”

<I...don’t know what you mean->

“It’s what you Bandits do every time,” Elle remarked sarcastically with that deadpan tone of hers. “We are all ears. How would you break in?”

Geez. This Yeerk. She was more confident that any plan we’d come up would fail. And I already felt doubtful!

<I got nothing. Ax?> I whispered.

<I am sorry, Prince Jake. I do not know either.>

<C’mon. There’s gotta be another way we can get inside,> Rachel uttered.

<Let me ask her something.>

Marco was the next to enter the apartment, in his gorilla morph. And Elle gave the face that said we ‘Bandits’ might as well be indoors instead of coming in one by one.

<You said this T’usli needs a lot of cooling,> Marco said.

“Yes. Did I stagger?” she remarked. 

<So that means it has cooling pipes. Are they also connected to the nuclear plant’s cooling pipes?>

Elle didn’t reply straight away. Like she was thinking. “...Yes. They are. You should be able to bypass all of the Bio-Gleet Filters and surveillance.”

<Where do those pipes end up at?>

“The maintenance level. Same floor as storage. That is likely where the battery is locked up.”

<What are you going on about, Marco?> Rachel asked privately.

<Hello? Science class? Nuclear plants need a lot of cold water to cool those towers down. And they’re linked to a large source of water. We can morph into fishes and swim our way into the T’usli.>

<Wait a minute. You really listen in science class?> I said privately.

<The better question should be how he can act so schmuck with that idea,> Rachel mocked. <What if we end up in the towers and not this Yeerk vault?>

<Easy. Vault is underground, right? Pipes go up to the towers and go down to the T’suli,” Marco explained.

<That’s...probably the cleverest thing you could think of.>

<Yeah. And that’s why we don’t need this nutjob here to help us.>

It was a solid plan. Crazy. But solid.

<We won’t be needing your help,> I told the Yeerk.

“Excuse me?” Elle spoke in her normal tone, raising an eyebrow. “Your plan is to go through the plant’s intake pipe.”

<Of course. That’s why we won’t need your help,> Marco said.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Elle continued. “There was that rumor about the plant too…”

<Rumor?> Cassie repeated.

<I don’t remember hearing any rumor,> Marco debated privately.

Elle’s body and tone switched back. Composed and calm. “This plan of yours is half-baked to begin with. This will not work.”

<It is more promising than accepting help from a deluded Yeerk,> Ax mocked.<This is not about making a recipe.>

“Are you sure you’re not the delusional one?” Elle rebuked back, enough to make Ax stomp a hoof. “You will need my help.”

<That won't happen. You won’t be able to catch up.> Marco then whispered to me, <Should we lock her up here so she doesn’t cause us trouble?> 

I thought about it. I really did.

<If this was a normal Yeerk,> I replied. <She’s in the same spot as we are.>

It took a bit of convincing for Marco but the three of us took our leaves, me being the last. It was odd that Elle let us go without much of a fight. Then again, she must have thought she couldn’t against the three of us.

<Sorry about that,> I apologised to everyone once we were safe and out of sight from the apartment. <Can’t believe I thought she could help. A Yeerk.>

<It was a decent attempt,> Marco said. <But, hey, we know more about the Tsu’li. Now all we have to do is fly over to the plant and dive into the ocean. Simple.>

<No, it’s not,> Cassie interrupted. <We can’t use our fish morph.>

Chapter Text

TWENTY-FOUR: TOBIAS

6:48 A.M.

<What do you mean we can't use our fish morphs?> Marco uttered.

<They’re freshwater,> Cassie quickly explained.

<So?>

<They can’t survive in saltwater. They’ll dehydrate if their bodies take in too much salt.>

<They’re fish. How can they dehydrate?>

<We need a saltwater fish morph if we’re going through those pipes. And the Gardens don’t have aquariums.>

<We can’t spend our morning fishing like last time,> Rachel grumbled.

<And we can’t go along with that Yeerk’s plan. She won’t even tell us what it is!> Marco uttered.

<Worse, she could figure out who we are if we did tag along,> Jake said.

I was up on a streetlamp keeping an eye out while everyone talked over our next course of action. Sure enough, Elle left the apartment - surprisingly calm after meeting the Andalite Bandits - and took off on her bike. 

<Elle’s leaving,> I told the others. 

<Is it ok to let her roam free?> Marco pressed on.

<She has more to lose than we do,> Ax explained. <And we are pressing for time.>

<Right. We can go after her or we go get this battery. We can't do both,> Jake stated firmly. <Where can we find a saltwater fish?>

<The night market,> Cassie exclaimed. <Elle talked about it at the restaurant. It’s bound to have saltwater fish.>

<Aren’t fishes in markets...dead?> I asked.

<There’s a supermarket there that keeps live ones. We can use those.>

<It’s better than nothing,> Jake said. 

Cassie led the way for us. I’ve never been to that part of the city, where the night market was. It wasn’t that far from the coastline so of course, it was an ideal spot. Down the road from there was the supermarket she talked about - a Hong Kong chain. But I didn’t see any tanks outside. 

We perched nearby and decided on our next plan of action.

<The tanks should be inside,> Cassie said.

<I hate to break it to you but we don’t carry money on us,> Marco pointed.

<We could cause a distraction. Like what we did for the parrots. At that restaurant!>

<Why are you sounding enthusiastic to do that?>

While they talked, I noticed a trunk parked at the back of the supermarket. It had the fish market’s logo on the side so that’s why it stood out. The driver stood by one of several large metal containers and opened the lid up for a staff member to look inside. 

The opened container caught my attention the most. It had water. Something black swam inside it. 

<Marco can yell that there’s a bomb inside. Like last time,> Rachel proposed.

<Too risky,> Jake said. 

<Or we can get a fish during delivery time,> I told them. They spotted the truck.

<Yeah. That could work.>

<Those containers look deep though,> Marco stated.

<Leave it to a professional,> I scoffed. 

<Do you need help distracting the driver?> Jake asked.

<No need. This is a one-hawk job.> I opened my wings and caught a breeze to go higher. I needed the right height for this dive. The right timing too. 

I circled around first. Waited for one of those silhouettes to swim to the surface.

There. One grew bigger. I took the dive.

Talons were wide open and ready.

Splosh!

“Hey!” It was all too quick for the delivery man. All he could do was watch a bird take off with his catch right out of the blues.

<Got it! Wow, it’s kinda squishy.> 

The fish had an odd texture. It felt smooth. I thought it might have been an eel, similar to the ones at the bait shop. Those were tasty-

Something wrapped around my leg. Many somethings! Creeping their way up my body.

<Whoa!> I yelled. 

It was like something out of a horror film! Tentacles coming out of nowhere, their suckers sticking to my feathers as the monster stared at me with its bulgy creepy eyes. Only it wasn’t some creature from a bad B-movie. 

What I caught was a very angry octopus!

<Guys! I didn’t catch a fish!> 

I tried to drop it. But the octopus stuck to my legs. One of its arms made its way around my right wing.

<Hey! No! Stop! AHHHH!>

Gravity took us down. I tried fighting. Flapping my one wing. Anything! But this creep was relentless! 

I was going to die by an eight-legged mollusc!

<Tobias!>

Nobody could catch me. I saw the ground zooming towards me.

THUD!

I felt pain but I didn’t feel any bones snap. I did feel something soft cushioning me. Something saved my fall. The arms immediately peeled off me.

My heart pounded so loud I could hear it. The hawk was stunned. What happened? Did I die?

I felt something wrap around my body again. I couldn’t move!

<AHHH! AHHH!> It still had me!

“Tobias! Stop! We got you!”

I looked up with my beak wide open. Instead of eight slimy tentacles, it was Cassie’s hands holding me back from going frantic. Everyone was out of their bird morphs, looking worried at me. I think we were in some back alley. Away from people.

Then I saw my attacker, picked up by Marco. Pale-looking and limp.

<AHH! Keep that thing away from me!> I yelled.

“It’s ok. It’s knocked out. I think,” Rachel assured me. 

“Can we technically acquire DNA if this thing just died?” Marco asked. “Gack!”

The octopus came back to life! It lashed a tentacle onto his hand but before it could take over his arm, he ditched it into a nearby bucket. Lid shut. 

“Yuk! Gross.” He wiped his hands onto his shirt.  

<Why was there even an octopus in those containers?!> I hollered. <I thought it was all fish.>

“It might have been caught by mistake,” Cassie said.

“What should we do? It’s not a fish,” Rachel pointed.

“No. But it’s still saltwater.”

I eyed Cassie like she was joking. Didn’t matter if I wasn’t human to glare at her. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! <We’re gonna morph into that thing? > 

“These are pipes we’re talking about. An octopus doesn’t have any bones so they can squeeze through anything. As long as their beak can fit.”

“Good point. We don’t know how narrow the pipes will be down there,” Jake said.

<Fine…> I grumbled. <The faster we do this, the better I can be done with this thing . >

“Not quite. Tobias, you have to be on lookout this time.”

<Wait. Why?> I was still frazzled by my experience with the octopus that it took me by surprise. <I’m fine!>

“It’s not about the fall. It’s about our doppelganger Andalites,” Jake explained. “We don’t know when they’re going to the Tsu’li. We need someone on the outside to keep an eye if they appear.”

I couldn't disagree with that. But that meant I would be separated from the others. And Rachel.

I promised her I’d watch out for her. Make sure nothing bad happens to her. With this sudden change in plan…

That wasn’t good. What if something bad really did happen? What if Rachel really did…

<Wait. How do we even know those Andalites are going?> I quickly asked. <This is from one Yeerk. A Werch. >

<He is correct. Although she isn’t a threat to us, we should not take every word she said to heart,> Ax vouched.

<Exactly!> 

<But there is nothing that says they won’t go. My concern is the Tsu’li layout. If what that Yeerk said is correct, then the Yeerks could easily capture the Andalites with the Tsu’li.>

C’mon, Ax! Stop going in circles!

“We really got nothing to go on but her word,” Marco groaned. “It’s either we do it or we don’t-” 

“Let’s do it.”

I was shocked when Rachel said that. But then again, this was Rachel.

“We’ve been saying “we dunno, we dunno”. And we’ve been doing nothing but that. We won’t know anything until we go get this battery and stop those Andalites from hurting themselves.” She folded her arms. “They got us involved in this mess they made. And we have to clean it up for them.”

“Yeah...but…” Cassie’s voice was weak. 

We were all quiet.

“Pft. You can’t get rid of me that easy,” Rachel uttered proudly and angrily. But for a while, she became sincere. “We’ve never been stopped before. We can't stop now.”

As much as I hated it, as everyone hated it...she was right. There was a lot at stake, with or without the Andalites. I couldn’t shake this knot off me but… I trust Rachel.

“Wow. When did Jake rub off on you? Because that’s so not you, Rachel,” Marco droned, bringing the dial further down. 

She smirked. “Shaddup. Don’t make me punch your sorry mouth clean off.”

“Just making sure we didn’t get a doppelganger sneak in along the way.”

Rachel looked back at me. This time, her smile was gentle and reassuring. Telling me it’d be ok.

“Well. What are we waiting for? We’re burning daylight being out here.”

“Jake?”

The only one out of the group was quiet. He didn’t answer Cassie.

His face had darkened somewhere in the conversation. Without us noticing. Jake was having second thoughts. Moreover, he’s been a lot more cautious since he found out about Rachel’s visions. 

We were only given a brief of whatever this Sario Rip we supposedly went through. I don’t remember anything. I couldn’t help but think there were some details Jake kept from us.

But that would be stupid. Jake? Nah.

“Jake.” 

It took a moment for him to snap out of his thoughts. This would usually be where Rachel would push his buttons. Fight at his authority for a bit. 

“...It’s your call. But I’d say we go with Marco’s plan.”

He must have held in a sigh for the longest time because he let it out in one go. “...We won’t know anything if we don’t do it.” He gave one hard look at each of us. Waiting for any one of us to call it quits there.

“Pass the bucket around.”

Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco and Ax acquired the octopus’ DNA. I also acquired it too as a precaution. If I was on lookout, then I needed a way in too if trouble heads inside the Tsu’li.

There were a few hiccups… The annoying pest tried to escape the bucket every time we opened it. Once we were done, we tossed the octopus back into the ocean before we headed off. 

Good riddance. Thanks to him, it took longer than expected. 

The nuclear plant was located by the coast, outside the city. Kinda scary - if you were at the beach sunbathing and you saw the building so far away. Or swimming near a nuclear-powered plant.

“I've never liked that place,” Cassie exclaimed with a frown once we arrived there. We found a spot where the giant intake pipe was by the shoreline.

“You don’t like a lot of things that aren’t environmental-friendly,” Marco pointed. “It’s not like it leaks radiation on a daily basis.”

“No. But it has caused a lot of problems for the wildlife for years. There've some activists wanting to shut it down to save this beach.”

“And that means causing blackouts for one part of the city. Hospitals. Emergency response. So on. You can only pick one, Cassie.”

She didn’t like it but she sorta understood. “Just wish it didn’t suck in hundreds of fish species and keep them trapped inside.”

<You know, I think I remember that rumor Elle was talking about,> I started. <Didn’t a diver get sucked into the pipe and was found dead years later?>

Everyone looked at me.

“Ok, Bird-Boy. Stop making this scarier than it should be,” Marco droned shakily.

“No. I think I’ve heard this before. Something from the 80s, right?” Rachel asked. 

“It’s an urban legend. Not real life.”

“I dunno, man. Dying all alone without oxygen down there? That sounds gruesome to me,” Jake added.

“We’ll be octopi. We can’t drown.”

“But we can get stuck there if we’re not careful.”

“But we have suckers. Right, Cassie?”

“Yeah, sure,” Cassie replied, but she sounded a little wary. 

Jake sighed. “Let’s get over with this.”

All five of them went to knee-deep water. I perched back as the spectator. It wasn’t an old thing, watching them morph while I stood by. But I knew better that morphing wasn’t a pretty sight. For the most part.

Each of them morphed at different speeds but the change was generally similar. Organs and bones were the first to go, shifting out of them and into Z-Space for the time being. 

Half of their bodies ballooned up. Their heads and torsos inflated together while most of their features melted away. Beige skin and blue fur turned into that rust-colored wrinkling, waterproof skin.

My friends’ eyes bulged out while Ax’s stalk eyes slurped inwards. Their irises narrowed in shape and turned horizontally in those pools of white. Looking demonic.

That wasn’t even the freakiest part.

Their shoulders dislocated and arms dropped down before they ‘exploded’ into four tentacles. It looked like something from an Alien movie. My skin crawled, seeing hundreds of suckers pop up.

It was only recent but I was already getting flashbacks from that stupid octopus. Could birds shudder?

Their legs exploded too underwater. I imagined it was like their arms. Two legs split into four. Ax’s legs didn’t have to split but twist and turn now that his bones were taken.

Because of that, they descended faster into the water than expected. While shrinking altogether.

<Whoa!> Cassie was the first to disappear into the water.

<I’m not looking. I’m not looking,> Marco whined.

With their new forms sinking down, bubbles rose up. They were gone under the water. Out of sight.

They crept further away from each other for some reason. I almost lost track of them, even if in clear blue water.

<Uh. Guys. The pipe’s that way,> I called them.

Rachel got darker. Bigger. With her arms curled up but spread out. She propelled forward as if she was going to punch one of them.

But it came off like a timid poke.

<Hey! Watch it!> Marco squirmed deeper into the rocks.

<Sorry! I-I think the octopus wanted you to leave it alone.>

<They are solitary creatures, after all,> Cassie explained.

<Alright,> Jake started. <You’re on your own, Tobias.>

<Be careful down there,> I told them.

<We’ll be back before you know it,> Rachel told me with confidence.

Their silhouettes faded in the water until I couldn’t see them anymore. Now it was the waiting game for me.

I had no idea that it would be the last time I would see my friends again...

Bonus: The picture that inspired the octopus snatch and aftermath. Poor Tobias.

(Link)

Chapter Text

TWENTY-FIVE: JAKE

7:49 A.M.

I could only see black and white with these eyes. But I could ‘sense’ color. There was a patch of coral to my right. A pink starfish and small sea anemones below me. It threw me off for a while.

Movement was a whole different thing too. An octopus didn’t have fins. And it was slow to pull yourself around with eight arms. But when they want to move, they move fast. You had to suck in water and...as disturbing as it sounds, expel it out the other way to propel like a jet.

<This is cool.> Rachel particularly danced through the water. <Look at me!>

<Can’t deny this is fun,> Marco droned. <With tentacles like these, I could do anything.>

<It’s ‘arms’,> Cassie corrected him. <Tentacles are for squids, not octopi.>

<A crab,> Ax started and went away from us. <That looks delicious.>

<Focus. I see the intake pipe,> I said.

The octopus mind was something. It was on a similar level as a dolphin. So yeah, it took a bit of effort to get back on track.

One jet into the sixteen-feet-long entrance and I began to feel the current change. 

<Here we go.>

The octopus didn’t want to go. I had to remind myself - it’s like a water ride. A very dark, confined water ride. Probably forty to fifty feet towards the nuclear plant from outside. For a human. Thankfully, it was a fast ride.

There was a light at the end of the pipe. Brighter and brighter. Then all of a sudden, poof, daylight. The current slowed down.

<That was fast. Way too fast,> Rachel murmured. 

<Where are we?> It was somewhere big and metallic. I saw the surface, where the light came down.

<This must be the basin,> Marco pointed.

<The what?>

<Basin. It's used to filter anything from going into the cooling towers. Now to look for that pipe.>

<Sure. If it wasn’t crowded,> Rachel said. Besides us, other fish had been dragged in by the intake pipe.

There was one that stood out. Because it was the biggest. Covered in many brown and white spots. Laid low to a floor made of square-shaped holes

And looking dead at us.

<Uh, guys? I don’t like the look of that fish. Over there.> I tried to point with an arm. Tried to.

<A grouper,> Cassie said. <A big one.>

<Do you think it’s been trapped here for some time?>

<I dunno. I’m not too sure what the workers do with the fish here.>

The grouper stayed where it was. Waiting.

I had a very bad feeling. And so did the octopus mind.

<Ok. Enough stalling. Let’s look for a pipe that’s going down,> Marco called out.

<Hey, Marco. I see a pipe. And two more,> Rachel began. <But they aren’t going downwards .>

We approached one side of the basin, where the three pipes were. Too small for any fish to fit. They went horizontal, not vertical.

<What? Isn’t one of them supposed to?>

<How would you know it’s supposed to go down?>

<I just looked at a picture from a science book. I’m not an architect!>

<Guys, stop,> I tried to get order back. <Ax. How much time do we have?>

<We have used eighteen minutes of our morphing time.>

<Ok. Plenty of time. We just need to...figure out which pipe will take us.> 

<Marco, if we’re trapped here forever, I’m gonna kill you,> Rachel threatened. <With all eight arms!>

<Watch out!> Ax warned.

The attack was silent! If it weren’t for Ax, I would be staring into an opened wide mouth. 

When did the grouper sneak in?!

<Ah!> 

<Cassie!> I yelled.

The grouper nearly sucked Cassie’s cephalopod head into its enormous mouth. She jetted away in time but the fish bit her tentacles.

<Help!>

The water turned black immediately. Ink black.

<I’m free!> I heard Cassie yell.

<Did you squirt yourself? Ew,> Marco mumbled.

<Now isn’t the time for jokes!> Rachel hollered. <We have to go!>

I scrambled far from the lurking grouper. <Ok! But which pipe?>

<We can’t pick anyhow! We could end up in the steamer room!> Marco shouted

<This pipe. There is something in it,> Ax pointed.

<Now isn’t a good time to be examining stuff, Ax-man!> 

<...That is Yeerk design! A Bio-Gleet filter!>

<Of course they’d put one in this place!> Rachel groaned. 

<What do we do now?! We are trapped! And I don’t want to be killed by Rachel!> Marco uttered.

<No. Wait. It is damaged. I can disarm it!>

<Hurry!> I ordered Ax. We scattered around the basin floor, with the grouper deciding which octopus to eat. Why couldn’t it go after the fish instead!

<...It is done!>

<Go down that way!> I ordered. 

<Wait! What if that’s not the way to the T’suli?> Cassie hollered.

<We have no choice! Go!> 

Ax went in first. Sucking in to make himself so thin that the pipe slurped him in. 

<It’s coming back!> Marco shrieked. 

The shadowy predator swam towards us. 

I swooshed forward and flexed my tentacles out. Made myself bigger. Redder. Like how Rachel did to Marco earlier.

<Jake!>

Rachel joined in too. Made herself as big as she could go. Her skin pigment made ripples of colors that were almost haunting. With our sizes and the flashing, it was enough to scare the grouper away. Buy us some time. 

Marco hurried into the pipe. Then Cassie. 

I had only taken my eye off for a second, just to make sure Cassie was completely down the pipe. 

The grouper did a fake turn to the left, then a whoosh to the right.

<Rachel!>

The mouth opened wide at her. But I latched four tentacles around its body and the other four stuck to some metal rod. Part of the whole cooling tower. I pulled with everything I got.

<GO!> I didn’t know how long I could hold the grouper down.

Rachel hesitated but she propelled herself to the pipe.

Wrestling with a grouper was like riding a tied-up bull. The strength really showed! I felt something snap! Flung around by the grouper that I lost my grip.

The fish made one long circle around. Another incoming attack. 

This time, I took a different strategy. I made myself bigger again. And at the right moment, I let it all out.

A thick cloud of black ink erupted out of me, creeping over the big fish. I didn’t look back. It was a straight arrow into the pipe.

Whatever the pipe was taking us, it had to be better than staying. The current gushed me further with slights rights and lefts. Then it went down. 

Down, down, down. Until I dropped into a bigger area - a water tank from the looks of it. 

Everything became calm.

<Ok. Now this is the end of this ride,> Marco said.

<Finally,> Rachel exclaimed. 

<Jake,> Cassie called me.

<I’m ok... Lost an arm back there.>

She sighed with relief. <At least it’s only an arm, not an entire gulp… Groupers are terrifying.>

<Yeah.>

<No kidding,> Rachel added.

The tank was deep from the inside but not as dark as the pipes. It was translucent. The only way out was a circular opening. About four or five inches in diameter. 

<I see a cap,> I said. <One of us has to demorph and unscrew it.>

<No need. Octopi are very intelligent creatures. Smart enough to unscrew a jar on their own,> Cassie explained. <Just turn it and we’re out.>

<I concur,> Ax vouched. <Without these arms, I would not have disarmed that broken filter.>

<Wait. What if there are people walking around?> Marco quickly said.

<Ax.> I stopped myself. A big risk to do this but it had to be done.

<I understand. I will go first.> Without hesitation, Ax crept up the tank’s walls and to the opening cap. 

Eight legs stuck to the bottom of the cap. His octopus body spun gradually, loosening it off.

<This is very convenient!> he boosted and crawled out of the opening.

It felt like an eternity, waiting in the water. My mind was thinking up the worst possible outcomes up there.

<It is clear.>

I climbed out from the tank, inhaling a deep breath the moment I felt it hard to breathe. With a wet plop , I just dropped to the floor. 

Then something fell on top of me while I demorphed. <Omph!> 

<Sorry!> Cassie apologized. <I didn’t see the floor.>

Four of my arms were stiffening and merging together. Quickly and carefully, I put her small body next to me and continued my demorphing. The others did the same. If anyone saw us, it would be like a scene from a B-rated horror film. The Four Things from the Deep. And One Andalite.

I was relieved that I wasn’t missing my feet because of that grouper attack. The remaining tentacles merged together into my human legs and out came my toes. I gave them a wriggle. Yeah, they were still there.

Then I looked up.

“Whoa.”

Cassie’s eyes were wide. “It looks like a normal plant but...the walls.”

It was something. You had the usual stuff: railings, grates, pipes, wires, valves, everything you’d see in a factory. But the walls, ceilings and floors were a different thing. 

They weren’t solid concrete. Every surface was made of many large, smooth panels. And each panel was strange - the shapes looked like they shouldn’t fit together but they did so seamlessly. Some messed-up jigsaw puzzle that didn’t use curves in the pieces. Because of that, it looked like the T’usli was eating up an industrial place from the inside.

This was Yeerk tech, all right. 

<This is the right place,> Ax stated. <The T’usli.>

“We better morph before someone sees us,” I told everyone.

“Elle said what? Fifty Controllers?” Marco reminded us.

“So we go in sneaky or loud.” Rachel said.

“I reckon we should go careful. Not dumb!”

“Can we really go sneaky?” I asked. “This place is supposed to be like a prison. We can’t get in or out.”

“Then loud it is,” Rachel cheered.

“How about we compromise? We go battle morph and be quiet until trouble comes our way?” Marco proposed. Ok?”

No objection there. We were in unknown territory. And we were down by one. Carefully, we left the water chamber and into what looked like large halls. Empty but going nowhere and everywhere.

Marco gruffed out a gorilla noise. <So...which way?> 

<The surveillance.> Ax’s eyestalks angled up to the ceiling.

<Are we caught on camera?> I asked.

<No. It’s offline… The entire security grid in this area is turned off.>

<Isn’t that a good thing? We won’t have to worry about anyone seeing us,> Rachel said.

Was it? But I didn’t say anything.

<Someone’s here,> Cassie warned. She sniffed the cold floor with her wolf nose. <Recent.>

<One of the skeleton crew?> I asked.

<It’s...Elle’s scent?>

<What?>

Chapter Text

TWENTY-SIX: RACHEL 

8:07 A.M.

Elle?

She was here? Inside this T’suli place?

Maybe I shouldn’t be shocked by that. This was a Yeerk we were dealing with. There’s no way that the junk in her backpack helped her get through.

<How is that possible?> Ax exclaimed.

<It’s not,> Marco uttered. <We were floundering in the pipes and she somehow got past layers of security? No way.>

<I’m telling you. This Yeerk is bad news,> I said. <She’s lying about how she got in.>

Jake was hesitant. Maybe still wrapping around how she got in. C’mon. It wasn’t that hard to point the finger at her. 

<Wait.> Cassie sniffed, her nose trailing along the cold floor. <There are more scents.>

<Human?>

<No. Definitely not human… It’s all over the place. I can’t tell what they are.>

<Perhaps, it’s our mysterious Andalites,> Ax proposed.

<Whatever they are, they’re with Elle. Stay on your guard,> Jake warned.

<This way.> Cassie headed down one hall and we followed. 

The more you looked at the surroundings, the more it made some sense. You could kinda tell what was a corridor, a closed door or a vent. There was some order out of the madness around us.

<It’s straight ahead.> We stopped at a high platform that led to a large entryway.

<Ok. Where are the stairs?> Marco looked around.

<Whoa!> I jumped back after I felt something push my front paws up. I had only taken a step and suddenly the floor came alive. Platforms rose up to form a convenient staircase for us.

<Well, this is something you don’t see every mission.>

<Something about this isn’t right,> I said.

<Getting cold feet? That’s unlike you, Xena.>

<Did you get another vision?> Jake asked.

<No. But...I dunno.>

If I was human right now, I’d be grimacing just as much as Jake was. Cassie would worry. Marco would shrug it off. And Ax would do his usual Andalite stuff.

It was obvious at this point of a mission: we only had two options. Bail out or go all in. If I know Jake well, he wouldn’t want us staying here. He’s been on edge ever since we found out there would be a Sario Rip.

But we already knew that choice was gone after we went through the pipes. It was a one-way trip only.

<We can’t turn back now,> Jake said. We all agreed as reluctant as he was. <Be ready for anything.>

Slowly, we climbed the stairs. Into the unknown.

It was dim. The hallway didn’t even look like it was going to end. I couldn’t see how far we had gone or how much more we had to go.

Being a bear, your eyes aren’t like a human. Or a wolf. Or a bird. You could see in the dark but it wasn’t excellent either. I had to rely on noises.

The thing was, it was quiet. So quiet that it all felt artificial. Unnatural. All you could hear was the soft, low humming from machines far away. Yeerk or human? I don’t know.

Finally, we came to a break in the structure. Looked like an entryway that was opened up. 

<Someone clearly went through here,> Marco pointed.

<Well duh, Sherlock,> I muttered. 

<A datalog.> Ax pointed to what I think was a panel before the opening. <It looks like it has been used recently.>

<By Elle, no doubt.> 

<Is that a card?> Jake couldn’t point with tiger paws but hanging from the panel was some card with a strap on it. Looked like an ID card.

<A Controller’s,> Marco asked. 

It did have a photo of a man in a lab coat. Causcian, mid-thirties, brown hair with glasses. A person in a Yeerk place was for sure a Controller.

I took a peek at the panel. Everything on the screen was mambo-jumbo. Unless you were an Andalite or Yeerk, you couldn’t understand anything written on the panel.

There was one image being displayed. And it looked familiar.

<Hey. That’s a Safeway,> I said. 

The image was taken at an angle. It looked like it was taken from a surveillance camera across the street. And captured right on camera was a Bug Fighter crashed into the Safeway.

<You’re right,> Cassie said. <Is that a Bug Fighter?>

The scene was so familiar I couldn’t put my finger on it.

<This is-> Jake started, immediately recognizing the image. <This is the Safeway behind that motel!>

<Motel?> Marco uttered.

<The experimental Bug Fighter we found. From last year.>

<...Oooh. Wow. That’s so long ago.>

<That’s the mission you suddenly decided to call off, right?> I asked.

<Yes. Because of that thing.>

<Ok. But what does something from last year have to do with what’s happening now?> Marco asked.

Ax glanced closer to the monitor. <This is Yeerk language but I can translate it. It looks like a detailed log of a confiscated item. The others seem to be entries about this Bug Fighter.> 

<Entries?> Cassie said.

<Hm. Two of them are kind of...puzzling to me.>

<If it’s Yeerk, it ain’t good,> Marco said. 

<What do they say?> Jake asked.

<The header reads ‘S-Tear Spacecraft Program, Test No. 55’.>

<Okaaay. What about it is puzzling?> Marco asked.

<I have never heard the word, ‘S-Tear’ before.>

<Maybe the Yeerks made it up? Something about crying tears?> 

Ax looked mixed about my suggestion. 

<And the next part?> Jake pried.

<Test experiment result: flight crew missing. Yeerk and host neurological signals mismatch. Error unknown,> Ax continued. <We propose that further experimentation be halted until we know the whereabouts of the missing flight crew and the Dzual Cell be reviewed about its by-product->

<Whoa, whoa. Just a summary, Ax.>

<I assume the flight crew on that Bug Fighter turned up missing. The battery was part of the engineering design.>

<Did we hear anything about a missing crew when we were investigating the Bug Fighter?> Marco asked.

<No. Chapman was the one who had the info. But he didn’t say anything like that,> Cassie said.

Something about that huge text Ax told us didn’t feel right to me. Especially that one part.

Yeerk and host neurological signals mismatch. Error unknown.

Somehow, I felt even colder in this T’suli place.

<Well, we know that this Bug Fighter is somehow connected to this battery. What’s this by-product they’re talking about?> Marco asked.

Ax’s two eyestalks steered towards Jake. <I can gloss over to give you a summary.>

Jake loudly grumbled. <We don’t have time to read through everything. Let’s hurry.>

I wasn’t complaining. The stuff on the monitor looked too much for our brains to understand anyway. We’re just human kids. Not scientists. 

We continued into the entryway. Even with all this fur and muscle mass, I couldn’t help but feel a chill.

When Elle said it was a vault of Yeerk devices, I thought it was one where you turn the big wheel and open it. The place was bigger than an aircraft hanger. I couldn’t tell how far the ceiling and the furthest walls were. Rows upon rows of tube-like towers were lined up inside. Each was roughly two storeys high and as wide as a big elevator. 

It felt more like a graveyard than a vault.

<Is it just me or did it get cold down here?> Marco asked. 

<Containers,> Ax pointed. <I have seen these in class. This must be where the Yeerks are keeping the battery.>

<How are we supposed to know which one has it?> Jake asked.

<That datalog is used for Yeerks to catalog their inventory. If that Controller used it, she must have found the device’s location.>

Which meant one of these towers would stay out. We looked for any difference.

One of the towers was dimly lit up from away.

<Over there,> I paced a few steps forward to show the way. 

We passed a few towers until I spotted someone standing besides one. I couldn’t see their face. They were short. And they wore a hood over them. 

No, I’ve seen that underside of the parka.

<It really is Elle,> I gasped softly.

<Well, she is a Controller,> Marco said quietly.

She was typing away on a dashboard nearby. A low rumbling sound erupted from the tower and plates moved. Elle waited for the curved panels to stop rotating so that the tower formed two doorways front and back. 

In the center of that tower was something familiar hovering on a sort of pedestal. Metallic, cylindrical and glowing pale green.

<The battery,> Jake said.

Something about this didn’t feel right. The device was right there. Easy for Elle to take it. Easier for us like it was on a silver platter.

I heard a new sound.

Something sharp clicking on the floor.

<Hork-Bajir!> Ax hollered 

The towers made it hard to tell what was around the corner. But I caught a glimpse of blades peeking out from within the dimness. 

Elle wheeled around. She had some sort of green toy mask covering her face. I think it was from some kid’s super squad show.

Didn’t matter. I was right that she was bad news!

<You did bring backup!> I yelled angrily.

<Should have locked you up back at the studio,> Marco added.

Elle looked surprised. “What are you talking about-?” 

<I’d say we take her down now before she causes more trouble!> I continued.

<Stop!> I heard Cassie shout from faraway.

<What do you mean stop?!>

<I didn’t say that!> Cassie was right next to me.

<Everyone, get back!>

That was Jake’s order. Are we under attack?

<We’re playing on the defense?> Marco asked urgently.

<Wait! That wasn’t me!> Jake shouted.

I don’t know what was happening. But all of the confusion and chaos was enough for Elle to disappear.

As if that wasn’t enough, the whole place turned red. An alarm rang loud. Meaning ‘intruder alert’. Before we could react, the panels shifted and shook with life. Rippling around us like an angry wave.

<The way is blocked!> Ax hollered. I watched the entrance behind us close up, almost like there had never been an entrance we went through.

<We’re trapped! Again!> Marco yelled.

<Elle must have triggered the alarm,> I hollered.

<Guys, stop! It’s not what you think!>

<Tobias?!> I searched for him. How did he get inside? Then I realized another thing. <Where did the Hork-Bajir go?!> 

Cassie’s ears perked up. <More people are coming! From the entrance.> 

<Everyone! Get into position!> Jake ordered.

We readied ourselves as the panels opened back up again. A grand, ominous reveal for the last alien we wanted to see.

<What do we have here?>

A large crowd of human Controllers dashed into the vault like the military, Dracon Beams drawn. Only Visser Three took his sweet time making an entrance.

<Six pests have wandered into a T’suli. How appreciating of you for this gift.>

The strange part was that he wasn’t talking to us. He wasn’t even looking at us. 

Visser Three’s eye stalks turned to us. They widened. Then narrowed. <And there are more of you Bandits. And here I thought the Mekorli were talking nonsense.>

<He must be talking about the other Andalites,> Ax pointed.

<Oh. Good. Can they come help us?!> Marco hollered. 

<Six. Seven. A whole army. It does not matter,> Visser Three scoffed. <This game of yours will end. Incapacitate them.> 

“Wait! The Dzual Cell!” a Controller in white hollered from behind. 

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

<Behind the panels!> Jake ordered. Quickly, we jumped inside the opened tower base. The opened-up panels shielded us from the shots.

<Ok. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place!> Marco hollered.

Hork-Bajir Controllers behind us and we had Visser Three in front of us. We were surrounded. 

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

<Jake, we need a plan!> I shouted. We were just sitting ducks here!

TSEEEW!

“Gah!”

Huh?

I turned around.

That voice was behind us.

TSEEEW!

Crack!

A Dracon Beam hit something. At the corner of my eye, the battery was violently flung off its pedestal and bounced across the floor until it landed behind us. Something broke.

“No!” another Controller hollered.

“It’s unstable! ” the Controller in white yelled. “ RUN! ”

Far from the tower, the Yeerks ducked behind any sort of cover they could find. Visser Three’s four eyes were at their widest before he turned around and fled.

The cracking grew louder. There was a sound that whirred up in volume. I shouldn’t have looked back. But I did.

I didn’t see the explosion. Everything was white. Ringing in my ears. My whole body felt hot.

I knew right then and there. We couldn't escape the blast. 

The world went dark.

Chapter Text

TWENTY-SEVEN: MARCO

Time Unknown.

This has happened before. Last time something like this happened, I didn’t know how long I was out. But when I came to, I was in a different place.

After that, my friends and I discovered we were thrown back to when dinosaurs were alive.

So I panicked when I opened my eyes. We weren’t in a dark, underground, secret Yeerk vault. It was bright and trees were everywhere.

<Where are we?!> I hollered. <When are we?! Guys?!>

<I’m here,> Rachel answered.

Everyone was there. One by one Jake, Ax and Cassie rose up from the ground. All of us still in battle mode.

<It happened, didn’t it?> Cassie asked.

<We can only assume a Sario Rip was present,> Ax pointed. 

<Ok,> I started. <At least this time, we didn’t get separated.>

<I beg to differ. We are short of one member.>

<Tobias,> Rachel called out. We heard his voice in the vault so logically, he should have been nearby.

No sign of the red-tailed hawk boy. No silhouette in the sky.

<I’d say he’s lucky. He didn’t get dragged back or forth in time like us,> I droned.

<The question is when is this time period,> Ax said.

<Wait a minute! What about Visser Three?> Jake uttered, suddenly spinning around in his tiger morph.

<What about him?> He didn’t answer me. We looked around. But there wasn’t any sign of him.

He sighed with relief. <Ok. Good. It didn’t happen again.>

<Visser Three wasn’t at the submarine last time.>

<No, no. I mean the other Sario Rip. The one that didn’t happen.>

<Ok... You’re freaking me out, man.> I wanted to ask him exactly what happened the last time we supposedly went through this other Sario Rip.

He calmed himself down. <Alright. First thing first. We need to know how far into the past or future we are in.>

<We’re surrounded by trees. You guys don’t see a volcano around, right?> Cassie asked. 

<And there’s animals,> I pointed, cupping a hairy hand to one of my ape ears. <Birds. Bugs. Everything.>

<This does look like the forest I stay in,> Ax remarked. <But I don’t recognize the landmarks.>

<So we’re not in the Amazon,> Jake said.

<And nowhere in prehistory either. That’s good,> Rachel added. 

<Yeah, good. We narrowed it down. Another 65 million years to go,> I droned.

<I can narrow the timeline further. I know it is three twenty-two p.m.,> Ax said. <But not what day or year.>

Andalites have the ability to keep track of time natural. It’s kind of like having a useful, internal clock. More useful whenever you’re in another time.

<Let’s go,> Jake exclaimed. <We’ll get our answers in the air.> 

No questions asked there. All of us morphed from fur to skin to feathers. We took to the sky and well, it took some aimless gliding till we spotted clear water and sand.

<There’s the boardwalk!> Cassie pointed.

I couldn’t help but feel relieved. The hot dog stands were there. So was the Ferris wheel. And the arcades! All the buildings were where they were supposed to be. That was the beach we were supposed to go to relax.

And there were people! Oh, man! Was I happy to see people! They walked along the boardwalk and the shoreline. They were everywhere!

<This is home, right? We’re in the right time period?> Cassie asked.

<I don’t see any difference,> Rachel said.

<Perhaps we were only thrown forward several hours instead of several days or weeks,> Ax proposed the idea.

<Really? For some big Sario Rip, it really came out underwhelming,> I admitted.

<What? You wanted to be tossed around in time for a second time?> Rachel uttered.

<Third,> Jake corrected.

<Why can’t we ever travel back to some place we want to travel? Like travel back to before the Yeerks found Earth, stop the invasion before it starts and call it a day?> I said.

That was a lie. If I could pick one time period, I’d go back three years. When Mom was still around. Before she became a Controller.

<And what? Give up these morphing powers?> Rachel rebuked. <Then we wouldn’t have exciting lives.>

<At least, we’d be alive. Not watching our backs every waking second.>

<We can’t be sure we’re still in the right time,> Jake put us back on topic.

<Newspapers. We can check the newspaper stand for the date,> Cassie proposed.

Seems like a simple idea. We swooshed past the boardwalk and into the city to find the closest newsstand. 

<But of course. Has to be out of newspapers,> I pointed at the empty box.

<They usually run out by late afternoon, right?> Jake said.

<Yeah but still doesn’t help us. Which afternoon is this? Last Tuesday’s?>

<Why last Tuesday?>

<It’s gonna be something stupid,> Rachel said.

<It’s not stupid. It’s having my arcade privileges back. Thanks to Ax-man getting me banned for a week.>

<And I am sincerely sorry for that,> Ax apologized.

<Of course you would want that,> Rachel droned, almost sounding like she was rolling her eyes.

<Ok. We’re not out of the woods until we know the time. We split up and meet back at the barn in an hour.>

<What about our other selves? I have said this before. It is impossible for one individual to exist in the same time line as the other,> Ax reminded us.

<Yeah. So we don’t let our other selves see us. It’s like the Marty McFly movie, right?>

<I, uh…have watched what you speak of… So it is possible-> 

<Alright. We’ll go with that.>

<And what if we come across our doppelganger Andalites?> I asked.

Jake groaned. Louder than I ever heard him groan. Almost like he wanted to strangle one of us. <We avoid them too! C’mon.>

We went our separate ways for answers. But it was easier said than done. Everything looked exactly as everything should look. There wasn’t any big difference I could tell from the time line I came from. It wasn’t a weekday - roads are usually packed with people on weekdays.

I decided to head back home. That would be the easiest for me to find out. Could be the todays’ papers Dad was reading or the TV news, anything. 

I still had to be careful. Who knows if we were thrown back weeks ago and I’d meet my other self in person. And faint from the whole experience. 

My bedroom was empty. I flew right through the window and demorphed. First thing I went for was Dad’s computer downstairs. That took forever to turn on. So I hurried to my kitchen instead.

The clock said twenty minutes to three. I checked the calendar. Just to be double-sure.

The year was this year. The month, this month. This week too. Nothing changed.

I sighed with relief. Then I laughed. Ax was right. We probably went forward a day later.

That should be ok, right? We disappeared from history for a while and reappeared later. So we couldn’t meet our past selves. Tobias might be angry, worried, that we didn’t get out of the T’usli for hours. 

In the end, everything came out fine.

“Marco? You’re here early. And why are you in those clothes?”

“Hey, Dad.” I spun a bit too fast when he suddenly walked right in. But he didn’t see it. “Oh, this? It’s a hot day.” I smiled.

Dad almost didn’t buy it. Almost. 

I quickly opened the fridge’s door. “Do we have any juice left?”

I think that did it.

“We do but don’t overdo it with the sugar. Remember last time.” 

“Dad, that was Halloween. When I was four. You had the responsibility to keep me off sweets.”

“Uh-huh. And the little smart-alek managed to climb his way up the counter to steal his candy bag back.”

“What? I don’t remember anything like that,” I feigned ignorance. 

“Sure, you don’t,” he laughed. “I won’t be cooking tomorrow. A meeting came up so you’ll be defending yourself for dinner.”

“Sure.”

He browsed through the brochures on the fridge. At first, his hand stopped at the pizza pamphlet but then took the Yan Fú Wok menu. “Fried rice or noodles?”

I didn’t answer right away. Having a Controller deliver food to your house made my stomach turn. But I couldn’t say no either.

Come to think of it, we’ve ordered from Yan Fú Wok for the longest time. Even the menu was so old and wrinkled. Price was decent and it was the easiest to eat when your father didn’t want to leave the couch for most of his time. 

We ordered a lot more after Mom disappeared. But I don’t order the pork chop rice anymore. 

That was Mom’s favorite. 

“I’m feeling...noodles,” I told him. “Oh and no extra veggies, please.”

“I’ve never asked for extra. But on the contrary, I think that’s good for you. Soy sauce and scallions on the side?”

“Always,” I said. “So what’s the meeting for? Work-related?”

“Actually, it’s your school. I have to meet your Maths teacher,” he answered while he took the phone off the receiver. “Really, though. We’re gonna talk about your grades one of these days.”

“You’re meeting Ms Robbinette again?”

Dad gave me a puzzled look. “Again? This is the first time I’m meeting her in person.”

That wasn’t right. That shouldn’t be right.

“You didn’t have dinner with her last night?”

Dad’s eyes widened. He coughed to clear his throat. Why did he need to do that? “It’s not so much a dinner. I...just want to show my gratitude to her that she’s looking out for my son’s education. And it wasn’t last night. It’s tomorrow night.”

Tomorrow night. The dinner night happened on a Saturday night.

“Dad. What day is today?” 

“It’s Friday. Did you forget? I was surprised to see you here early.” Then he frowned. “You didn’t skip school, right?”

I felt complete dread rush over me.

“Hey. Everything alright? You look pale.”

Oh, it wasn’t alright. We weren’t in the future. 

We were two days in the past!

“I-I just remembered. Left something in my locker.” I staggered. My mind was too wrapped up in the realization. “Homework. I’ll be back!”

“You plan to go back to school like that?!”

I was already out the door.

Oh man. 

Oh man, oh man, oh man!

This was bad. Very bad!

I had to stop myself from running. I got so frightened, I almost forgot I had morphing powers. Once I found a hiding spot, I morphed into my Osprey form and took off.

I only hoped the others had figured out before the worst possible outcome could happen! 

Please, let it be they scream and faint if they see their other self!