Hey, Gang. This is a story written by my good friend, Robbie Walker and I'm making this a Massive Multiplayer Crossover Continuation of Animorphs called "Undermorphs"

My Name is Yoshi...

Hamato Yoshi...

I risk revealing my entire name, for it is my destiny to lose one of my closest friends.

Long ago during my boyhood in 1968: me and my friends Yukio, Saa-kun and Naa-kun were boys who had just entered what you call the 'impressionable 6-11' demographic... not that we had any money to participate or anything, in fact we were begging on the street. An elderly man walked by us and dropped a coin. Despite my hunger and the protests of my friends, Yoshi returns the coin to the stout fellow. He seemed surprised by my honesty, so he offered to give the coin to whichever of us could snatch it from his hand. Yukio, Saa-Kun and Naa-kun tried, but failed, but I succeeded - much to the elder's surprise! The man offers to buy myself supper, but I refused and asked that my friends join myself and the man who would later be our sensei. Somewhat reluctantly, the man agrees and takes all four lads back to his dojo and feeds them.

He then chose to train us in the art of Ninjutsu raising us as our father while we longed. As time passed, we encountered another lost soul named Tang Shen, another orphan who the Ancient one would take in being raised by our sensei. Shen has taken it upon herself to make the Ancient One's dojo a comfortable home, and so we all pitched in, taking turns with the housework as we trained with our sensei. One night, a hungry rat enters the kitchen as Shen prepares a meal. Sawaki drew and readied his blade to smyte the rodent, but Shen stops him, taking pity on the starving creature as sensei had done for us. Shen makes a pet of the rat and Yoshi builds a cage for her to keep it in. Over time it becomes apparent that while both Yoshi and Nagami are in love with Tang Shen, her heart belongs to Yoshi, and later, the Ancient One allows Yoshi and Shen to be wed. This does not please Nagami.

Several Months Later, in the Tokyo streets at night. Yoshi, Mashimi, Sawaki, Nagami, and Shen (now pregnant at the time) walk arm-in-arm down the darkened streets when they spot some shadowy figures in the alley. A business man is being assaulted by a group of black-clad ninjas! Without thinking, we chose to even the odds a bit.

We help the business man, who had identified himself as Mr. Mortu, in his efforts to defeat the Foot ninjas. During the fray, Mortu's forearm is cut off, revealing the robotic parts beneath his skin. He then offered us a choice - leave now and live with the small mystery of what they have seen, or consider service as Guardians and learn the whole story. The boys decide to listen to Mortu. Mortu tells them the history of the Utroms who were a benevolent race from another planet who evaded these alien slug people called the Yeerks, inevitably crash landing here on earth in 1965, back when we were in training pants. They peacefully interigated into human society into human android bodies, while guarding peoples lives and their recent battle with the Foot Clan. And thus, we decided amongst ourselves to join the Utroms and be trained as Guardians.

We return home and tell our sensei of our plans, but he forbid us to become Guardians, saying our minds are not yet prepared for such a task. Twas '81 at that time and as such, we were grown men capable of forging our own path. And thus we prepared to leave our home behind to become Utrom Guardians. Time Passed and we were ready to begin our training, with Mr. Mortu and his collegue, the Sensei (not our sensei, but a little girl with black hair and a blue bowtie, around the age Shen was by the time she arrived) bestowing us a cube which we had to place our hands upon, but then the man spoke something which stunned me and my wife: "This gift is for you, Shen"

Shen had given birth to our daughter, Miwa, by that time. So she demanded that she tend to the baby as she trained... and thus, she tapped her hand onto the Cube and we both felt the sensation of our genetic makeup shifting to accommodate a new power stemming from the Cube... And when it finished. "It is done" Mortu spoke...

"The Power of Change is in your flesh."

To be frank here... I am really freaking hoping that this doesn't turn out to be another one of those things that pisses Robbie off, but considering his distaste for expansive universes, That's never stopped him before... Either way, Read and Review, folks... It's gonna be an odd one.