Empowered #1: Newcomers

by tarsis

ARGH, I *will* get this working, sorry to all whose Author Alerts I am on. -- Nine aliens escape from a world of torture to find Earth, and that the humans there are resisting a force that has already engulfed what's left of the alien race.

[Hey all! I had to change a few...plot details...in this. Specifically, A) ACapir's name and B) his personality in the flashback. Please ignore all opinions you have of him so far. Thank you, and have a nice day.]

NEWCOMERS

Chapter One

"So here we are," Cylité said fiercely. "Earth. Any objections, speak now."

They weren't fooled. If they made an objection, they'd be on their own. She'd go to Earth, and she'd leave them behind anyway, and none of them wanted to face the Zacetons - if they found them - without her.

So no one spoke. No one could call them stupid, and only fools would oppose her now - only a fool or a very brave, very independent, very strong leader. And perhaps they could fit the category of brave, perhaps even under normal circumstances independent, and possibly one or two of them had the capacity to be a leader, but somehow those attributes fled under her stare.

"Are we clear on the procedure?" she said, relaxing a bit. Cylité had been afraid, despite herself, that one of them would oppose it. She couldn't handle a mutiny right then.

One stepped forward. Cylité dipped her head in a swift inclination. "Takara?"

"Set up residence on Earth," she said, with pronunciation so marked that even the clear tone could be the object of bloody satire, and then added, "until we have an excellent reason to leave."

"Yes," Cylité approved. She had the odd feeling of an instructor, but compared to what they'd gone through in the past few months it felt normal. "And as we know, a major offensive force inhabits this planet."

Someone cleared his throat. "The Yeerks. It is absolutely vital that none of them capture us. They cannot be allowed to read our thoughts, our past, because once one comrade is caught, the rest are as good as dead."

Cylité eyed him, and felt strangely threatened. If any of them would tire of her savage desires for control, and try to rally the others, Kalaos would. She didn't like thinking about it, but refused to admit to herself that she needed them in some elusive, inexplicable way.

The problem with that strategy is the simple fact that, despite denial, some demon breeding self-doubt whispered that it was still true.

She shook her head to clear it. "Yes, Kalaos. Most correct."

"We need battle with them," Rlin hissed. Even in her mildest tones, she sounded like a snake waiting for a chance to strike as bloodlust screams through its every impenetrable tunnel of self-control. "We need it. We can't be idle that long. We're warriors, Cylité, warriors!"

"I don't dispute that," she said coolly. Again, she felt the slender knife blade of fear against her mind's throat, remembering that she was one felinoid in front of - her eyes scanned them - six others, and two who were not present - all of which at least partially trained. She could never take them all on physically. But mentally - ah, there the advantage was hers. "I don't dispute that," she repeated, in her most subtle, insinuating, deceptive tones. "You are warriors. Excellent warriors. And the Zacetons are there. Why don't I give you a chance to prove your worth?"

Kalaos snarled, ears flattening against his head. How much longer does she think that will work? he demanded silently as his defiance broke down under her glare. How much longer does she think she can cast up our failures? How much longer?

"Do you agree?"

Forever, a voice wisped in his tortured brain. Forever.

"The Yeerks would be a good test run, Cylité," he said, standing at his full height, every bit as tall as she, and perhaps taller. He winced under her eyes, and then straightened. "They would be prey. We would be the hunters. And then - then, we can go back."

Cylité jerked, and involuntarily took a mental step away from his words. He'd always known how to get under her skin like that, how to shock her back into what she didn't want to remember. Or perhaps it was only luck.

Show no weaknesses. She shifted, and held her head high. "Perhaps we will," she answered, hoping that she lied.

"Yes." The enunciated, almost slow voice of Takara slipped its way through the air timidly. "Members of our race are back there. We have to carry on for them."

The leader fought the instinctive sneer threatening to engulf her face. Naive idealism. But it's what they believe. Let them believe it, until the day comes, and they're so petrified with fear that they won't be able to take a single step forward. Not even Kalaos.

"We fight!" Rlin shouted. "We go down there, and we fight. The Yeerks can't take us! There's no way the Yeerks can take us."

"Haven't you ever learned caution?" a new voice snapped. A crystal felinoid, haunts of blue shivering on her fur, shouldered forward. "Fool! You'd get us all killed. You don't just attack when you hardly know anything of the foe!"

"Very good, Llera," Cylité said calmly, trying to regain a degree of control over the conversation. "And Rlin?"

Rlin raised her eyes to Cylité's face.

"You lost to them. Face it. You can't redeem that by a few quick battles with slugs."

The sheer force of the words knocked Rlin's eyes to the floor. A fist closed weakly while moisture that she quickly forced back stung her eyes.

"Am I understood?"

"She understands you," Kalaos snapped. He often had the feeling that he represented their will - their perforated, battered, screaming will, and still with almost no chance of reconstruction - against a raving tyrant who would crush them all if they raised a hand to oppose one of her decrees. He had somehow become the defender, unconsciously, unofficially, and why? Because he was the only one of them who could become it.

And he was losing what shreds of self-mastery he'd managed to gain after that horrendous life, which didn't say good things for the people's Congress. But he would not, he would not let her say that to his sister. No matter what problems she had.

Cylité kept her eyes on Rlin, ignoring the background figure.

"I understand," she said finally, in so low a voice that Kalaos hardly heard it. His lips formed a thin line as he stared straight ahead, hating himself for not defending her.

"Good." Cylité repelled the urge to ask her to repeat it. There was only so much cruelty she could administer to her small army before it snapped, and either became useless or mutinous or both.

She could see it in Kalaos' averted eyes, and in the clenching of his fists. She paused, wondering if she should wait - let Rlin recover from the blow - let him relax - or charge ahead to prove that she did not fear them.

"Tykeln and Xioyes," she said finally. "Why aren't they here?"

"They're plotting a strategy to take against the Yeerks - if you choose to allow it," a hitherto silent shape informed her. Xahis shifted in the shadows, until she could make out his face in the darkness. "They think it best to be prepared."

Kalaos' eyes rose slowly, resting on her face, waiting for a reaction. She saw it out of the corner of her eye and curved her lips into a smooth smile. "And they're right," Cylité said, perhaps a bit too loudly. Playing mental games with Kalaos could get old in a very short amount of time.

But I have the power over them, she reminded herself. They broke. I didn't. I have the right to hold this spot. I have the right to control them. They forfeited their minds and their lives in exchange for the cessation of that endless torture - and I didn't. I have the right. And they know it, and one day I'll take a few seconds of rest, a few seconds of time where my guard is down, and then -

She drew herself up taller, if it was possible.

That would require the courage to do it. And not even Kalaos has that.

She couldn't make herself believe the last part. Not quite. Almost - so close - but not quite. It wasn't that she was certain it was false; she just wasn't certain that it was true. Overconfidence lead to downfall. She had to remember that.

She'll push Rlin over the edge, Kalaos thought. She will. She'll push all of us off if she doesn't stop this. We know we failed, we know it. And she knows it. And she'll control us for as long as she can. She'll control anyone she finds.

"Well. Takara, you are right," Cylité said, seemingly out of nowhere. There was not a hint in her tone that suggested any deception at all. "Some of our own are still back there. We'll have to get them as soon as we can."

So you have more to control, Cylité? Kalaos screamed silently. So you have more of us?

Takara smiled, pleased with the childlike thought that she had obtained agreement from Cylité. The idea itself paled by comparison.

"Entering atmosphere," a coy voice said from behind Cylité. She turned slightly, and Kalaos flexed his muscles, wondering if he could take her out quickly.

No. Even if I could - we need her. All of us need her. It's sick, and it's terrifying, but we need her.

He relaxed.

His eyes had not noticed the way her hand slipped to her waist, fingering the knife that hung in a small scabbard. She reminded herself to be ready if she heard a footstep behind her; then her face harbored a wry grin at the thought that she might possibly be fearing them. The hand floated up to brush a strand of dark gold hair from her face as she thought there was no need to be so much on the defensive.

I'm getting overconfident. The hand dropped casually back down, not too close to the hilt, but close enough.

The brown Xaralite who had spoken was dark enough to be black. Eyes of a lighter brown winked at the others, and she felt the knife as she glided slender fingers across the blade.

You idiot! Kalaos motioned for her to stop. She paused, puzzled.

"I wouldn't recommend drawing that knife, Serua," Cylité said calmly. "Because you see, if you do, I will paralyze you and have what's left of your consciousness thrown out into space. A nice death, you agree?"

"I didn't intend to draw it," Serua responded smoothly. "I only prepare it for when we land, because we don't know what kind of animals we will face."

Cylité smiled, a healthy, blooming smile that scared Serua badly enough to close her fist on the handle of the knife. "Well. That's good to hear. I'd hate to think that I couldn't even trust my own comrades. At what velocity are we entering it?"

"Approximately three point five taryn," Serua reported, sliding her hand away from the weapon. For some reason, it instilled more fear than it reduced.

"You idiot!" Xahis roared from behind them. He pushed his way forward, shoving Serua aside, and grabbed the controls. "You'll kill us!"

"Land the fighter," Cylité commanded, but with a shaken air as she watched the data from the temperature sensors climb into the danger zones. "Intact, please, not in pieces."

"That may be too much to ask for," Xahis said in a deathly calm voice as his fingers flew. He brushed lank hair into place as he sat back.

"Get back here, then!" she roared. They crowded near her as she raised a hand high.

The console exploded into flames.

Cylité grabbed Serua's arm and threw her back, away from it. That was what they needed to see, that she would protect them from any other force. It would be sweet to see the rebellious, insubordinate girl burn, as a lesson to them, but this way they would trust her to protect them from anyone else - when really the only threat to them was her herself -

The flames spread.

She concentrated.

The smooth sides of a bubble formed around them.

"Takara!" she snarled, choking in the smoke.

"TYKELN!" the naive fool screeched. "XIOYES!"

"They're here!" Cylité shouted, not knowing if they were or not, but fully aware that the sacrifice of two was worth the life of the rest. She felt them slide into the room as Takara screamed. "DO IT!"

The bubble solidified.

And then the fighter exploded.

Chapter Two

Cylité moaned and tried to move her hands. They strained against the branches that pinned them in a primitive trap, green leaves fluttering in the face of weakened struggles.

Trapped. No escape. Run.

I've been trapped before. I won't take this now.

Her mind held no conscious thought of where she was, and a cold fear gripped her. She could almost feel the shackles on her arms, and around her throat, choking her...

FLASH.

"Cylité." His hands touched the metal bands that bolted her against the icy metal wall, and they released her.

She stretched as she moved away, testing out stiff limbs.

"I know you can't stay here." The rough edge was in his voice, the edge that she heard so often with the Zacetons and the other captives. It denied all emotion except anger, which beat a hollow wound within him. She had seen it. She knew.

She crumpled against his chest for a moment of blessed weakness, feeling his arms around her and almost believing, just for a second, that she could stay - but she couldn't. The torture daily brought her closer to fading, and not even he could stop it. The others had already broken. The Zacetons were making bets on how long she'd last.

"I have to take the others," she said quietly, pulling away. "You know I can't leave them here."

"Yes. I know."

She looked at him. The words sounded almost strangled in his throat. She wondered what waited for him if, or when, his comrades discovered how the yet-unbroken captive had escaped.

When they lost their bets.

There was something else in the tone, as well. Something she could not identify. Something that, she thought with a chill, she did not want to.

"Will we ever see each other again? Ever?" Her arms stole around him. "Why can't you come with me?"

"Because this is all." His eyes closed.

"All of what?"

"All of life. All I know. All of me."

"If that's true," she questioned, a faint unidentifiable fear rising in her heart,"then why am I allowed to leave?"

He did not answer. His eyes remained closed as he drew her closer against him.

There was a long silence, during which she realized that he had never answered her first question. "Will we see each other again?"

"Can either of us know?" He released her and touched the lock on the barred door and it swung open, apparently having had enough of sentiment.

The harsh thought startled her.

"Thank you."

He turned to face her just as a tear snaked down her cheek.

He leaned toward her, his hand tilting her face upwards until her huge green eyes looked directly back into his, and kissed her softly, arms strong around her with the sense of safety, and strength, that he provided, but she felt his uneasiness. She felt how much the action threw him out of the secure ground he was used to - controlling others. She felt it, and it bothered her, because she knew leaving that ground bothered him.

Memories of a first kiss hit her suddenly. She shuddered against him fearfully, and he instantly released her, guessing her thoughts. "Forgive me."

"It's not you. Not your fault." Her tone had nonetheless lost its softness, and her eyes remained half-closed. "I love you, Orion."

He smiled. "And I you. But you must go." It was as if he struggled with some silent demon that he did not want to prevail against him. As though he wanted her to leave before he could give in.

And it came to her, unexpectedly, just how much he hated himself for what he was doing: releasing a captive. The realization rocked her.

She forced a smile and drew back quickly. "Wish me luck."

And then she was gone.

FLASH.

"No!"

The branches snapped as Cylité yanked her wrists forward. She sprang to her feet, trembling. Would the memories, in living color, always be there when she closed her eyes?

"Kalaos! Rlin! Llera!" The names of her three best warriors split the air.

"I do not know where all of them are," a voice informed her, the tone of which could only belong to one member. "But Xioyes and Tykeln are here."

Cylité scanned the greenery. Huge trees shadowed the sun's rays, making it a darker place than it should have been. A few pairs of animal eyes glared at her from various positions - but not Serua's. She shifted uneasily. It was always best to know where Serua was, especially since she had her own suspicions as to why that knife had been drawn.

Instinct made her spin around, and she found herself staring at Serua's amber-brown eyes. Tykeln and Xioyes nodded at her from behind.

Her next glance went to the scabbard at Serua's waist. The knife lay in it harmlessly.

This is ridiculous, Cylité. You don't need to be afraid of what they can do. You could blocked that knife with a bare arm.

Perhaps. But if one mutinies, the rest will see that I am not invincible.

Do they think you are now?

Most likely.

"Good. So four of us are here. We lack Xahis, Kalaos, Llera, Rlin, and Takara." Even she knew that it was a pathetically small "army," but it was larger than she would have been alone.

"We'll find them," Serua insinuated. Cylité shook her head in amusement at how Serua could even insinuate spelled-out words with no apparent double-meaning.

Cylité glanced at Xioyes and Tykeln. "Was the fighter destroyed?"

"Absolutely." Tykeln nodded. "Not even the force field could withstand that much, and it shattered after the second explosion."

"You, of course, were unconscious by that time."

Her head snapped up and a growl started in her throat as she eyed the smug look on Serua's face. "Serua? Do you have any clue how much power it takes to sustain a force field that strong, even with one other person, for five seconds?"

"No," answered she coolly, unashamed of her ignorance.

"Then you have no right to imply anything."

"Are you to take away the power of free speech as well, then?"

Cylité's thin eyebrows rocketed skywards. "I gave you the right - or power, whichever term you prefer - to pass a day without torture."

"True," Xioyes said in his faintly nervous way. "She's right, Serua."

Cylité managed to turn her sneer into a cough. Xioyes would rather have surrendered any right he had to avoid conflict. He had, in fact. He'd broken by the second day.

"Cylité!"

Llera bolted out of the undergrowth, startling all of them. Cylité regained her composure first, and nodded at her. "Where are the others?"

"Rlin and Kalaos are searching for Takara," she said breathlessly. "No one's found her yet."

"They should have reported to me first," Cylité said icily. "They know nothing of this planet."

"And do you?" Serua snapped.

Cylité turned green eyes on her. She winced, and took a slight step back. Cylité nodded and turned back to Llera. "Any clue as to where she is?"

"None." Unlike Serua, Llera held a slightly respectful stance - not one of the potential for unquestioning obedience, but one that recognized Cylité's right as leader. She enjoyed that. Serua - Serua just annoyed her.

"Fools," Cylité murmured, but absently, as though taking some pleasure in the way things were returning to a relative normal. "Well. All are accounted for except Takara and Xahis."

"What if the inhabitants of this planet capture them?" demanded Xioyes. "Who knows how far this race has advanced in torture? None of us will be safe! Worse still, what if they are captured by the Yeerks?"

"You worry too much," Cylité said with dismissive scorn. Xioyes deflated a bit, but felt a little of his worry evaporating. "We'll find them." She swore suddenly. "The fighter could have tracked them, but it's destroyed."

"So? How do we find them, O Omniscient One?"

She spun around in less time than it took to blink, and pinned Serua to a tree by the throat. "Let me get one thing straight with you. I'll tolerate your attitude as long as you don't pull some stupid insubordination stunt. I saw that knife, Serua. And if you try one more comment, I swear I will kill you before I will warn you. Understood?"

Serua nodded slowly. She really didn't have much choice.

The captain released her, feeling the fearful eyes of other subordinates on her, and swallowed almost nervously. They were getting closer to the point when they'd rebel. Much closer.

She smiled tightly. "Let's find our comrades, shall we?"

* * * * *

Hey, Jake!

A young man on the sidewalks paused and looked around casually, running a hand through his hair. He nodded, a nod that would have been imperceptible to all but the best of eyes.

Fortunately, the creature that wanted his attention had the best of eyes.

Cassie and Tobias are calling a meeting. I don't know details. Ax is finding Marco now, no need to call him - just find a place to morph and meet us at the barn A.S.A.P.

He ran his hand through his hair again, and chanced a quick smile at the blue sky. He started walking again at the same pace, no more hurried than it had been before.

An eagle screeched, and wheeled in the air, plummeting out of view.

Brown eyes scanned the surrounding area for a secluded place to switch forms. It wasn't even weird anymore, somehow. He didn't even pause to think about the idiocy of it. It was just...accepted.

He broke into a light jog as he spotted a neighbor's toolshed. That would be good enough. If he lost his outer clothing, he could deal.

"Cheap clothes anyway," he muttered as he darted into the shed, leaving the door unlocked so he could push his way out. The neighbors were gone, that was a plus. If someone saw him go in and then went to find him, to find an empty shed and a bunch of clothes, well, that person tended to freak. The theory wasn't proven yet, as he'd never had that problem, but it wasn't a theory he wanted to test.

No matter how many times he'd morphed the peregrine, it shocked him, because no two morphs are ever the same. This time, falcon eyes appeared first, sunk in an otherwise human face. Huge talons expanded his feet to a length of a yard across, and then rapidly began to shrink down to peregrine size. The sudden shift caused him to fall hard on his back as feathers exploded from his skin and a hard beak erupted from his mouth.

Ugh, he commented, hopping into an upright position as the last of the changes fell into place. His body strained against the door, and managed to prop it open just enough to squeeze out.

He tumbled unceremoniously out onto the lawn.

Fearless leader!

Marco. He took off into the air, taking care not to get too close to the osprey. Know anything about what's going on?

Not majorly, man. Just that Tobias was nearly mangled by a something-or-other before Ax-man showed up.

He was not nearly mangled, a distant voice said. He was only slightly harmed, as I recall.

Hey, Ax, he said by way of greeting, then repeated, what's going on?

Hello, Prince Jake. I will let Tobias and Cassie explain the situation.

Can't we get a briefing at least? whined Marco. Ax ignored him and flapped higher into the air.

Flying, Jake reflected, always made distances seem far shorter than they were. In a mere matter of mental seconds, they swooped into the barn, a perfectly coordinated SWAT team.

The reinforcements are here, baby! Marco crowed.

You're addressing who? a grizzly bear demanded.

You know you want me.

I know I want you to shut up, that count?

"Come on, guys. This is serious." The new voice belonged to an African-American teenager who suddenly materialized from the shadows.

Just explain. Rachel reared up and slammed heavy paws on the ground. I'm missing a sale. The more meetings we have, the more sales the mall has. There should be some way to apply this.

What, we call meetings randomly so the irony gods will mistakenly activate the great Sale Device and Destructo Queen can shop?

"Guys!" Cassie looked noticeably upset. She wiped her hands on a clean cloth in an agitated fashion.

What is it, Cass? Jake paused. Can we demorph, or is there something...

"There's something," she said grimly. "But they've already seen me."

WHAT?!

"They're both unconscious now, though...I say battle morphs." She looked to Jake for agreement, but he was already demorphing. The others followed his example, with the exception of Rachel, who stood looking at the scene with dim grizzly eyes. Ax stayed in his default form once he'd demorphed; the tail blade was the best weapon he had to offer.

Cassie. Morph wolf.

"But - what if one's hurt? I can't help them if I don't have hands!"

First we find out if they're worthy of help, said Marco, coldly, just as his human mouth reappeared. "If not, wolf morph may make it easier to destroy them."

Cassie moaned slightly as she fell to all fours and her hands and feet shrank into paws.

Where are these prey, exactly? said Rachel. A glint in her eyes scared all of them, and Jake quickly said, They may not be prey.

So don't get too excited, Marco agreed, gorilla by now. He flexed powerful arms. Man, there should so be some way to keep these muscles! The chicks would go wild.

Rachel snickered. Jake managed to turn his into a polite cough. Everyone done? he demanded, looking around the circle. Cassie had gotten a late start, but she was a fast morpher, and had been waiting patiently for the last twenty seconds.

Tobias swooped from the rafters and landed on Rachel's shoulder, previously unnoticed. Cass? You want to explain?

She hesitated. Yeah. I guess so.

Well then do so, fast! Marco shifted impatiently.

I think maybe a visual would come in handy. She nodded to Ax, who walked over to a stall door. His stalk eyes peered in, and he closed small Andalite hands on the door bolt.

This may be too heavy - Oh. The door flew open, powered by a very angry creature like nothing any of them had seen before.

He was tall, about six feet, maybe a little more. Dark fur glimmered in the overhead lights, and his extended claws and sharp teeth sent most of the animals into a screaming fear. A wildcat, however, gazed back at him immovably, while a wounded wolf yelped and crawled around in its cage.

There was a definite feline air about him. Short, pointed ears flattened against his skull as his upper lip pulled back to reveal those teeth to a greater extent.

A Controller? Rachel asked. Could this be a new breed...?

I don't know, snapped Cassie with none of her gentle air. She nuzzled Jake worriedly. What do we do with him?

What are you? Jake demanded, opening up the thought-speak to include the new creature.

He ignored the question, merely stared back at Jake with a kind of eerie omniscience.

Answer! roared the grizzly, stalking over.

Silence.

Rachel rammed her fist down at him and struck him hard.

"I've been through worse torture." He had a rough, curt voice. "If you wish to know anything, I highly suggest that you resume your natural forms. I am in my own form; you should be in yours."

Do we do it? asked Cassie.

Yeah, Jake replied. Do it. Ax versus that creature? Ax'd win, easily. We only really need one, and Tobias will be there too.

It has no natural weapons, Ax observed arrogantly.

Except the claws and teeth - that's all pumas or lions have, and that's all they need, Cassie pointed out. Be careful, Ax.

"Humans," he said with a nod as the changes stopped. "I'm afraid I don't recognize the other two creatures."

I am an Andalite, Ax said proudly. This is what is called a red-tailed hawk.

"A pet." The creature smiled in a most unpleasant way.

A nothlit.

He evidently didn't understand, but he didn't ask for an explanation either.

"Your turn." Jake eyed him coldly, warily.

"I am a Xaralite."

Marco rolled his eyes. "And that just tells us so much."

"As much as 'I am an Andalite' tells me, I'm sure. What do you want? A life story?"

"Might be nice."

"So for the mere crime of landing on your planet, I am required to open my memories for all to see?" He snorted.

For the mere crime of nearly killing the red-tail, Ax said with a very human shrug.

"It was not a natural creature. I had no intention of killing it, only of incapacitating it and obtaining the information about this planet that I needed."

"Xahis?"

Um. There were two, Tobias said with a slight cough. We may have forgotten to mention that.

There was wood and hitting steel, and then the bolt was sliced in half. A scared creature leaped out, and quivered as she re-sheathed the knife.

The apparently so-named Xahis rolled his eyes.

"Wh-where are the others?"

"What others?" said Xahis, pointedly.

Marco blinked. "Yes, what others?"

"No others," Xahis snapped. He moved back towards the door, grabbing the second one's wrist and pulling her with him. "Goodbye, humans."

"Ax!"

Ax leaped forward and snapped his blade to Xahis's throat, then struck lightly, driving him back against a wall. They exchanged glares, Ax's one of cool confidence and Xahis's one of inflamed hatred.

And fear, Cassie realized. And fear.

I suggest that you talk, Ax said calmly. It would really not be wise to avoid doing so. How many of you are there?

"Do you think I haven't faced worse threats?"

"Xahis!" exclaimed the female, that ever-present scared look more vibrant than ever.

Xahis shot her an eloquently disgusted look.

Jake, Tobias said suddenly. If they have comrades, those comrades will be looking for them.

Jake nodded at Tobias meaningfully.

Battle morphs, he communicated, and took off, soaring out the barn door into the blue sky to see if he could spot the supposed colleagues of their captive.

* * * * *

"Are Rlin and Kalaos together, at least?" Cylité demanded of Llera as they ran through the thick woods.

"Yes."

"They do have common sense, even if they don't have your -" Serua shut up suddenly as Cylité half-turned to her, and forced a smile.

"That's good to hear," said Cylité, and turned back to the path ahead when she heard a noise. "Rlin!"

"And I," Kalaos said, appearing where she could have sworn there were only trees. "We haven't found them."

Llera shifted. "We're going about this wrong. There has to be an easier way."

"By all means, reveal it," Tykeln said brusquely.

She shrugged. "Well, a human could have found them. We should try and search for human structures...?"

"Llera is correct," said the leader, calmly. "Let's go."

* * * * *

Jake! Rachel! Ax! SOMEONE! Tobias swore. This is not a good situation.

There is no way I can outrun them, he thought, watching the creatures below. They moved like deer, bounding and leaping so often that they hardly touched the ground, but walking on two legs instead of four. One, a blazing white, ran so fast that it was impossible to see where her feet were in the blur that supported her. Unless I could break into a dive that lasted all the way to the barn, I don't have a chance.

He rose up to get as much altitude as he could, and plunged to the ground. It was much faster, but each time he'd have to climb for height before he could dive, and that took a good deal of time.

There was no way to be certain if they were headed for the barn. But they were going in the right direction.

He tried to count them. Six. No, seven. Or eight. Maybe five. He growled in frustration and plummeted again.

JAKE!

Tobias? Did you see anything?

Only about ten of them!

Argh, that's not good, Marco said briefly. This one isn't telling us a thing...but the girl might. She still seems terrified. Practically fainted when we morphed.

Wimp. That had to be Rachel.

Not everyone enjoys grotesque changes of form, Tobias said diplomatically. Anyway. The ten are headed for you. Well, it's probably more like eight. Or something like that. I can't count them.

Even with your eyes? Cassie said worriedly.

They're very fast, and it's almost like they have illusions. Or else they blend in well with their surroundings. Just be ready, I don't know how well they can fight.

These two haven't done much damage to us, Rachel said dryly.

Tobias held his breath as they came within seeing distance of the barn. The white one screeched to a halt as another called out an indiscernible order. The one who had spoken stepped to the front of the group and nodded.

They advanced towards the barn at a cautious pace.

They're definitely heading for you, said Tobias flatly. And there are seven. I can see them now.

So there are nine of these 'Xaralites,' Ax said, so far.

Absolutely, he said snappishly, nerves stretched tight. You can count, Ax-man.

I did not mean to offend, the Andalite returned contritely.

Sorry, Tobias muttered. Okay. One's drawing a - what the? A knife? Make that all seven are drawing knives. And it looks like that's how they plan to open the door.

No way! Cassie yelped. How would I explain that to Dad?!

I suggest, then, that we open this door before they can.

Do it, Jake said, but a laugh escaped before he could suppress it. The door flew open on cue, and Tobias saw Rachel's grizzly form as she roared.

Helloooo, ladies and gentlemen! Marco sang. Let the party begin.

Chapter Three

Cylité's eyes went wide as the huge animal roared again.

"Idiots!" she muttered as she spotted Xahis and Takara, held near the wall by the Andalite's tail blade and the tiger's teeth. She raised her voice. "Captured by Earth-creatures?"

At least Xahis had a gash down his shoulder. That probably meant he'd resisted. She nodded silent approval.

Neither of them answered her mocking taunt. A sudden rush of emptiness slammed her hard, and she closed her eyes briefly. Why now? Why does that silence spark an ache when I always know they feel such...enmity towards me? Not that I don't deserve it. Why does it hurt in the first place, anyway?

This isn't the time. She opened her eyes nearly as suddenly as she'd closed them, and spoke.

"There are nine of us, and six of you."

Two of you are captured. A more correct phrase would be 'seven to six.' And we have hostages.

"I care nothing for those weak enough to be captured."

They have to be Controllers, said Rachel privately to the other Animorphs. Can we kill 'em?

They may not be, Cassie answered. There are people sick enough to think that, normal people.

Not normal, Marco said with one of his brief but poignant flashes of insight. Not normal.

I think, Ax said openly, that our forms could handle yours.

"Try me."

Llera and Rlin stepped up by her side. The others shifted into the ready position.

I would propose one-on-one combat, except it is simply too theatrical. Jake spoke with a clipped tone, feeling that someone besides Ax had to speak. Shall we simply attack each other? Or shall we discuss this rationally?

"What can be more rational than bloodshed?" Rlin's eyes glittered.

Cylité glared at Rlin, then looked at Takara and Xahis. She needed every warrior she had, and an attack would most certainly finish it off for them. Personally, they had no value in her eyes, but as warriors...

"Rational discussion," she allowed. She made a quick motion with her hand, and the blades were sheathed.

We are not demorphing this time, Rachel said assertively to the others. Cylité's brow furrowed as she sensed the private words, but try as she could it was impossible to make them out.

Agreed, Jake replied.

Cylité bared her teeth in frustration. "Release our comrades. Now."

I think they may be necessary to keep the peace, Marco informed her.

Her eyes narrowed. "There will be no peace if you don't - only a complete kamikaze attack. You can't know if we would truly risk death to kill you, because you know nothing of us. Likewise, we cannot know that of you. I highly recommend a, as you put it, 'rational discussion.'"

"We are new to this planet," Tykeln said logically, having seen Cylité's slight nod to him. He was most assuredly recognized as the most convincing speaker of her army, and she did not often want to risk insights into her own psyche. "Allies would be most profitable to both of us."

Really? snarled Rachel. And what could you give us?

A piece of the puzzle snapped into place for Cylité. "You fight a war, do you not? A war against the Yeerks? Do you not need as many warriors as you can have?"

Warriors that we can trust, Tobias clarified. Not warriors who we know nothing of. Then, How the heck does she know about Yeerks if she's not a Controller?

"And would you please do us the politeness of halting your private conversations?" Cylité demanded. "You can't imagine how frustrating it is to know of it, and not be able to hear the words."

She cursed herself for admitting the last part.

The tiger and Andalite stepped back from the captives. The released Xaralites crossed over to stand with their allies.

"Attack now?" Rlin asked in a low voice.

"No, you idiot."

I heard that, Tobias said calmly. I can hear every little word you say. You are aware of this?

"Don't annoy me, bird," Rlin hissed. "I'm sure I'm fast enough to rip your little screaming body apart if you -"

Cylité sighed and drew her knife. She pressed it lightly against Rlin's throat. "I said this was to be rational. If you plan to obstruct this, I think it's very rational to make sure you don't interfere." Rlin nodded, and she removed the weapon, and smiled up at the Animorphs. "As you can probably see I don't play favorites among my subordinates."

She's sick, Cassie said in horror. Absolutely sick!

Pragmatic, Marco argued.

I can't believe you'd say that! she cried.

She said that to stop the orange one's rants on killing off Tobias. That's sick? Marco snapped. Then, after a beat, Well, stupid maybe, but sick?

Gee, thanks.

Anytime.

That's not the point! Have you even been watching her?

To see what? Sure, I've been watching her, because she's standing in our meeting place with eight other aliens, but aside from that? No. Marco stated. Aside from endangering us I could care less what she does.

Have you - we're not going to ally with this...thing...are we?

Cassie suddenly stiffened.

Are we?

Silence.

JAKE?!

Let's just see what she has to say, he said finally.

Cassie turned, very decisively, and refused to look at any of them. Jake was already refusing to look at her.

"I asked you to stop that."

This is our meeting place, you know, Rachel snapped. Cassie glanced at her and felt something within her ache for all the anger in her friend. You get out, or you play by our rules.

"You wouldn't let us leave," Cylité said with a shrug. "I know how leaders think. You couldn't let us endanger you. After all, these Yeerks would give us rich rewards for the location of your 'meeting place.' That would send us directly into the final battle."

You talk like we're already deadly enemies, Jake said calmly. We could, however, be allies.

"Could we? Equals?" Tykeln shook his head. "Allow us to tell our story." He hesitated, and looked to Cylité.

She nodded impatiently. "Go ahead."

"We are from a planet called Xarila."

That'd make sense. Xarila, Xaralites...

"Do you want the story or not?" Marco shut up. "Thank you." Tykeln took a quick breath. "We are from Xarila. A...while ago, we were...forcibly removed from that planet by a rival race, the Zacetons, who demand tribute from that planet."

"Demanded," Xahis corrected.

"Demanded," Tykeln agreed. "Some of our families..." he threw a significant glance to Takara and Llera "...resisted. Because of this, the planet was utterly destroyed, along with everyone on it."

Cassie drew in a gasp and turned back to face them. A murmur ran through the Animorphs.

"We were subjected to torture there," Cylité said, taking over, since Tykeln would probably not be all that secure on that topic - none of them would be, except her. "They wanted our power, our compliance, fill-in-the-blank." And they got it, from most of them. "Our main torturer -" Her mouth snapped shut suddenly, and a tear boiled up behind her eyes and slipped down her cheek. Fighting for composure, she spoke again. "We escaped."

"Our main and secondary torturers, Orion and AXarin respectively, apparently lowered their guards one day," Tykeln resumed, oblivious to the emotion she was hiding. "An excellent stroke of luck. I for one glory in how they must have been punished."

Cylité drew forth all her reservoirs of strength, and her face did not react to either name, displaying neither her yearning for the one or her terror for the other.

"We came here because it is one of the few planets the Zacetons have no influence over," the hitherto silent Kalaos said calmly.

"And your story?" suggested Serua. "It is not fair for us to give our lives as a book, and for you to tell us nothing."

She snorted at Serua's dramatic air. This wasn't a play. This was life. This was real. She wondered if that fact had hit any of them yet.

What do we tell them? asked Jake. This was definitely not a decision the leader wanted to make himself. How much?

They already know we're human, or at least two of them do, and I doubt they keep secrets from each other. Not those kind of secrets anyway, Cassie corrected.

Are you suggesting that we tell them everything?! Marco screeched. No way. We can't do that. No. Way. How do we know they won't turn on us?

Marco's right, agreed Rachel. And how it hurts me to say it, as an afterthought.

We request a meeting tomorrow, Jake said politely. One of us will find you.

Cylité's eyes narrowed to angry slits. "You pick the time? The place? You choose? What gives you this right?"

This is our planet, not yours.

"So on Xarila - if it existed - we could simply make you wait around for us?"

Yes, said Marco, since that was a situation that would never happen.

Do not expect to find us mirrors of compliance, she hissed silently. She could see the spoken thought forming in their minds, and that simply would not do. Let them think of us as submissive fools and if they try to use that concept against us, we will kill them.

She wondered if her thoughts should disturb her.

"Agreed," said Cylité.

Exit without threats, she reminded herself. No threats of retribution for this. It's understandable, yes. Very understandable. They simply want time.

Time that we don't have for them! She motioned to the others, and they exited behind her. She inclined her head briefly, then vanished out the door.

Chapter Four

This is so messed up, Rachel seethed. She began to demorph at no signal from Jake. We should have killed them when we had the chance!

Cassie shifted uneasily, but waited for Jake to give the command to demorph. It suddenly seemed more important to obey him, to let him lead, after a glimpse of Cylité's attitude towards her secondaries. She prayed that he'd never end up like that.

What if they turn out to be allies? argued Marco. And they may.

Those two couldn't beat us.

Couldn't? Cassie said, hesitantly. Or were they just waiting for their leader? She seems like someone who they'd trust to arrive. She makes them feel like they can't be killed, while she's there. Her tone became angry. And she treats them like pond scum. Maggots.

I really didn't see anything that bad, Cassie, Marco said pointedly.

'I care nothing for those weak enough to be captured'?

Both of you, stop it, Jake snapped finally. We make a decision tomorrow. Bring reinforcements.

Are you suggesting, Tobias said, to break the deathly silence, that we get the free Hork-Bajir involved?

Yes, I am. I do not want to take the chance of having a casualty among us while fighting those things.

Oh? Cassie cried. But it's okay if the Hork-Bajir have casualties?

Jake looked at her. She trembled, and the wolf eyes blinked rapidly, as though ushering away tears that were not there.

There are many of them, Marco said coldly. Six of us.

Cassie...it may not even come to that, Jake reminded her. They may turn out to be allies.

Sick allies.

I believe Prince Jake is right about at least one thing. Ax had remained silent, as he rarely participated in the group arguments over morality, but now he spoke. We make our resolution tomorrow, with time to weigh the odds. Not now, when we are still rather...surprised...by their arrival. It would not be wise to make what you humans call a 'snap decision.'

Jake shot him a grateful look, and agreed. Demorph, everyone. We should get out of here.

We should have kept one as a hostage, Rachel muttered.

And sealed enmity between us? Ax countered. We already fight the Yeerks. We do not need guerilla warriors against us as well.

Absolutely, Jake said as the tiger pattern became just etchings on still-orange skin. Go home. Get some sleep. And meet here tomorrow, at ten o'clock in the morning.

Thank heaven for the weekends, Cassie said finally, with a small laugh.

At nine, disputed Marco, ever the argumentative one. Not ten. Let's do this as early as possible.

Tobias? Ax? Jake paused. Can you guys somehow keep an eye on them?

We obey the fearless leader, Tobias said with a slightly harsh laugh. Are we to notify the Hork-Bajir as well?

I'll take care of that.

Good.

Jake's human mouth finally appeared. "Bye, everyone." He took a quick breath, then began the morph to falcon.

In a moment, he was airborne.

* * * * *

"So we let them set the conditions?!" Rlin roared. She paced angrily across the thick carpet of pine needless and browned grass.

"For now," Cylité said, unperturbed. Something in her tone gave the impatient warrior pause, and Cylité stood, the unchallenged object of dominance and invincibility.

"I don't say," she said in a very quiet voice, one they had to strain to hear, "that we have to eternally comply with them. Just this time. If they try to kill us, well...we don't have to comply with that either." She showed her teeth.

"First day on Earth, and we've already found human enemies," Takara said sorrowfully.

"Shut up, fool," Llera snarled at her sister.

Cylité glanced at the many siblings present - Rlin and Kalaos, Takara and Llera, Xahis and Xioyes. Xaralites almost never had one child, and one only. She had been one of the few, she reflected, lucky enough to be spared the horrid echo of a sibling. Not completely, since Serua had been raised as her sister when an accident took the life of Serua's entire family, as well as Cylité's mother, but freed of fraternal siblings at least. Tykeln was also an orphaned "only child," but for a different reason: the Zacetons had selected him to be taken, and the rest of his family had been killed when Xarila...disappeared. She winced.

Serua was her sister like Xamoro had been her father. The ties went no further than a vague sense of family - not as deep as blood, not as deep as love. Never as deep as love.

She thought of Orion, and of his "brother" AXarin. The name still made her shudder. One day, she would come to grips with the memory. But not for a long, long time.

"That's enough," she said absently to Llera, who was taunting Takara with some past horror. How she'd been the first of them to break, probably.

Her eyes steeled. She'd been through nightmares. She'd been through fire. She'd been through unimaginable torture, and she'd been through... She closed her eyes quickly. The important thing was that she'd come through it, and she was still her. Still a leader. Still the same decisive Cylité she'd always been, seeing her paths with clarity.

"We get them on our side," she said curtly to the silent group, "and we take it from there."

"If we can't get them on our side?" Takara said, trembling.

"You guess, Takara. You guess."

* * * * *

The wind was cold, an icy cold that whipped through the nine figures that stood silently in the morning air. All but one supposed that this meeting was a mistake. But the one who did think that was the one who had the power to make sure it was carried out.

"They're not here," Xahis said nonchalantly. "We should leave."

"Shut up," Cylité muttered irritably. She shifted. "They'll be here."

"How do you know?" challenged Xahis.

"Because they can't afford to not be." She scanned the area around them with perfect calm. "They'll be here."

"Six humans versus us?" Rlin said arrogantly. "They may not come for fear that we'll turn on them."

"They won't come alone, most likely. And they're not all humans, or didn't you see the Andalite?" Kalaos watched Cylité carefully, though he could not have explained why, as she spoke.

"The bird came, and he told us to be here," Llera reminded them. "We're completely relying on him being truthful, and not setting up an ambush."

"Are we really? All of us missed that," Serua answered sardonically. "Thank you so much for reinforming us of it."

"Cut the sarcasm," Cylité snapped. "We're all on edge. But there's nothing we can do about it. If we leave now, they'll track us, and they'll wait until we're not ready. So yes, Llera, you're right. And Serua, you're right to be anxious." The stress on "anxious" was almost imperceptible, but it grated on Serua's nerves.

Cylité felt it suddenly, a freeze in time. She had just a second to grab the knife from its scabbard before the Hork-Bajir melted out of the trees.

"Ready position," she hissed.

Hello, Xaralites, the Andalite said, galloping forward. We meet again.

The animals behind him halted as they reached an invisible line. The wolf looked around in confusion.

Cylité still held her hand high, teeth gritted through the pain. Takara and Tykeln joined her quickly, passing their energy on to her. The force field's line had become a wall, one that the humans and the Hork-Bajir could not hope to get through.

She tossed her head, throwing dark gold hair back. "We reach a truce," she managed in a guttural speech.

You can't hold that up much longer, Ax observed, and we haven't declared any war of enemies yet.

"Then get your filthy allies back!" screamed the ever-enraged Rlin.

One Hork-Bajir nodded to the others, and they melted back into the shadows.

"Drop the shield," Cylité gasped.

"Do you think we don't know that the reptilian creatures are not gone?" Kalaos challenged. "They're only hiding."

Do you have any clue how many there are? the tiger said, pacing absently. There are approximately fifty there. More than enough to handle you. We will listen to you, Xaralites. Peaceably.

"They're trying to control us!" Llera hissed in fury. "They think they can -"

We only want to continue with our war, without you working against us, the tiger broke in, having obviously heard. If we can't trust you, we will annihilate you.

"How monstrous," Cylité said mockingly. Subconsciously, the Xaralites relaxed. She showed no fear. Why should they? "Well. Think about this. Only one of us has to survive for you to be, as we say, cooling meat before your foes. You can't ensure that all of us will die."

"Wait," Takara said gently, clearly. All eyes turned to her, even the eyes of the Hork-Bajir. "There is no reason for us to talk like this. No reason. We only seek a planet where we will not be hunted - that is all. You seek the same, don't you? The Yeerks hunt you as the Zacetons hunt us."

She's right, the wolf said. Cassie reflected that even if Cylité was a monster, perhaps the others weren't. That Xaralite seemed softer than her commander - than any of them, actually.

If we are to ally, we must have proof that you will not turn on us.

"Such as?" Llera dared.

The gorilla shrugged impatiently. Cylité felt the buzz of thought-speak racing past her, indiscernibly, and slid her knife in and out of its sheath.

Can Yeerks control you? one asked finally.

"No Xaralite has ever been captured," the Xaralite leader hissed proudly. She rose to her full height.

What if one of you is?

"Then I will kill the weakling with my own knife," she said with a shrug.

Cassie balked, but said nothing.

Before or after the dangerous info of who we are is lost?

Cylité smiled her dangerous smile. "If it is shared, I have ways of compensating for the damage done."

Did she? Kalaos raised an eyebrow.

How can you ensure that you will not -

"Oh, I've had enough of this," Serua snapped, shouldering her way to the front. "We won't betray you. What would we gain? An alliance with filthy slugs who would move against what's left of our race eventually? At least you humans are nearly chained to the ground! If the Yeerks are beaten, we're a step safer. Pragmatism: You see my point?"

The gorilla nodded approvingly. Cylité sensed the private conversation again.

How well can you fight?

Sixty-four pairs of eyes turned to Cylité.

"Would you like to see?" She smiled again. Cassie's blood ran cold. "Well. Send out one of your combatants."

Not a fight to the death, you understand?

"Understood, yes."

Again, the rush of words flew by. Cylité drew her knife decisively.

Let me rephrase that. How well can you fight without weapons? The voice was condescending and it made her blood boil. She slammed the knife back in.

"Watch."

A Hork-Bajir stepped out of the crowd. She looked it up and down carefully.

"We may attack at any time?"

Any time.

"Then let's do." She sprang forward, and met a hard blow from the wrist blade against her arm. She twisted and received contact with only the flat of the blade.

Her own wrist shot up, and she struck the creature between the eyes with her bare palm. It reeled back slightly, shocked, and both of them backed away for a moment.

Weaknesses! her brain screamed. Find them! Now!

She analyzed it wildly. Blades at every corner. Snakelike scales on its body. Nowhere she could strike without killing it.

How smart was it?

She waited for it to make the first move, but it didn't, evidently intelligent in the ways of combat at least. She took a half-hesitant stepped forward, then dropped to the ground and spun, knocking it off its feet.

A moment later she placed her clawed paw on its throat.

"That well," she answered calmly.

A slight mutter. She was becoming used to it, and relaxed.

Let the alien go, the Andalite requested. She shrugged and released it, and it lumbered back to its comrades without much sign of humiliation or any other emotion.

Not that smart. She grinned fiercely, showing her teeth.

"Well done, sister," Serua said quietly. She was impressed, much as she hated to admit it. "Very well done."

"Thank you." Cylité watched the faces of the animals, which betrayed little, as animal faces generally do.

I hope that you understand that we will kill you on the first sign of consorting with the enemy, the gorilla informed them.

"Of course," said she, with a shrug. "I'd do the same with any of my subordinates."

Somehow she knew that hadn't been the answer they'd expected.

Well, then. The tiger smiled, though Cylité couldn't figure out how he'd managed it. Welcome to the Animorphs.

"No, no, no," said Cylité with a rapid shake of her head. "We're allying with you. Not joining you."

It is the same to us, he said somewhat edgily.

"Very well." She shrugged. "Many thanks."

Rachel and Marco looked at each other. Something seemed missing in the ceremony. Something unidentifiable. Gratitude? No, not quite...

Respect?

"I am Cylité." She inclined her head slightly. "You've met Xahis and Takara. The others are Tykeln, Llera, Rlin, Kalaos, and Serua."

Rachel's eyes lingered on the last two. They didn't accept Cylité's control wholeheartedly, it seemed. They were strong enough to resist. She nodded to herself.

Demorph, Jake ordered. They resumed their forms quickly - excepting Ax and Tobias. "The Andalite is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil. The hawk is Tobias, a nothlit."

"Define?" Tykeln said curiously.

"Stayed in morph over two hours. Trapped. Regained power to morph from the Ellimist."

"Ah."

"I, Rachel, Cassie, and Marco are the humans. I am Jake."

"The leader," Cylité guessed.

"Yes."

She extended a hand. He shook it formally, and their eyes met in a brief moment of understanding. He prayed that he would never become the nightmare she was - but he saw it, almost inevitable, down the path. He released her hand suddenly.

Cylité read it in his eyes, and a sigh almost escaped her.

"The leader of the Hork-Bajir is called Toby," said Jake, quickly. The image he had disturbed him. He pointed to an alien, who nodded at Cylité.

"Do you attack?" Rlin said suddenly.

Marco eyed her. "What?"

"Do you attack? Or do you defend what you have?"

"Mostly defense," Rachel said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Mostly."

"Ah." Rlin looked vaguely disappointed.

"One last question," Marco said. He flashed a grin. "You were good with the Hork, Cylité. How well do you do - armed?"

She grinned, and looked at Toby. "Pick one."

Toby emotionlessly nodded to one of her army. It stepped forward, and Cylité again noticed the lack of intelligence in its eyes. Wisdom, almost - but not intelligence.

Like butchering children. Her teeth flashed.

She drew her knife quickly, and nodded. "We begin now," she said clearly.

It leaped forward, and then dodged past her. As she turned to face it, she was struck in the face. She blinked hard, and then ripped the knife from its scabbard and slammed it across the cheek with the flat of the blade.

It left a bloody imprint.

She struck again, and drove it against a tree. It roared in pain as she slashed at its arm.

"Do you surrender?" Cylité demanded.

It whimpered.

"Do you?"

"Yes," whispered the defeated warrior.

She released it. Humiliation was evident in this one, but none of the other reptilians reacted. There was no mocking. There was no hatred, no enmity for the fool. It held its head just as high after a moment.

"Are all of you that good?" Rachel asked.

"Not all of us," Llera snorted, smirking at Takara.

"No. Not all of you," Cylité said with a pointed look. "Lay off."

The white Xaralite subsided without any traces of rebellion.

That's it, isn't it? Cassie realized. She'll protect them from each other, and she - she'll rip them all to shreds with her verbal attacks. But she gives them the illusion of protection.

Cassie's eyes floated to Kalaos. She doesn't fool him, though. Or that one. Serua returned Cassie's gaze calmly, or perhaps defiantly. She wondered what Serua would have to be defiant about.

"Kalaos, and Llera are about 'that good,'" Cylité clarified. "And perhaps Serua." She looked grudging.

"What are the rest useful for?" Jake asked, then winced to hear the words coming out of his mouth.

"Hmm? Some of those above are useful for more than one thing," she said, hiding a smile. "And the rest have various talents, fighting not the last of them, even if they're not on the top three."

"Top three besides yourself, you mean," Marco challenged, "as you are obviously the undisputed best."

She answered him with a look that affirmed his half-question.

And what are you all going to do while you're here? Tobias asked. Hide out in the woods?

"That is our decision," she hedged uneasily, then regained composure. "We will, doubtless, inform you when the time comes."

Do we give them the power to morph? Ax demanded privately of the other Animorphs.

Jake glared up at Tobias pointedly. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, Jake, that we will meet later, confidentially, to discuss that, Tobias guessed. Jake nodded almost imperceptibly.

Cylité ground her teeth at the thought-speak, but kept an impenetrable expression. She'd had her say on how much she hated it. There was nothing to do now except wait, and threaten them into silence when she had that much fear.

But would she? She eyed them warily. Could she keep them in fear of her when they'd fought so many terrors?

Not likely. She just had to keep her army in fear of her. And then it wouldn't matter if the Animorphs feared her or not, because with one signal she could have them killed.

If she lost her army, she lost everything.

"What can you do except hide out here?" Rachel inquired. "You won't, no offense, fit in with humans well."

"Why would we take that as an offense anyway?" Rlin muttered.

"We have ways," Cylité said vaguely. She straightened. "When will we meet next? There is much to be spoken of."

"One of us will find you."

"No!" Her hand fell to the hilt of her knife, and the Animorphs drew back a step while Ax swept his tail blade into a fighting position. "No. That is not how it will be, humans. We will be told before. We will not wait at your convenience. One of us," she said with a grin, "will find you."

She nodded to her warriors, and though the Animorphs couldn't have explained how it had happened, the felinoid creatures were suddenly gone.

Chapter Five

"Let's go," Jake said roughly. He began morphing to wolf immediately, not waiting for their go-ahead at all.

To kill them? Ax asked, mildly.

"No. Back to the barrrrrrrrrrrrnnn..." He opened and closed his mouth, then said, No. Back to the barn. We have to figure out what to do about them.

Tobias shot up into the sky, off on a head start. They heard his wild screech to the winds, and then he was gone.

There is nothing more beautiful than a hawk in flight, Cassie said in fascination, staring after the russet blur.

"Rrrachel? Rrryou gorrrnna crrrommrrrent?" Marco smirked with a half-wolf face.

She ignored him as slender fingers melted into claws and her sunshine-hued hair became the color of soot, but then she snapped her wolf jaw. What was that, Marco?

Nothing, he said meekly as shining wolf teeth sprouted from his gums.

Good. She stretched and arched her back slightly. Let's go!

Everyone ready? Jake demanded.

Been ready, Cassie said with a touch of amusement.

I am ready, Prince Jake.

Jake took off, leaping through the brush. They ran at his heels, Rachel just drawing ahead, quickly followed by Marco, and the two raced to the barn in ever-competitive style.

She knocked him to the ground in the last yard, and sprang inside first.

Cheater!

Darn right. She swelled in pride as he limped in.

Rachel, reproved Cassie.

She rapidly began demorphing, and grinned. At least it might have been a grin. It looked more like a snarl.

"Where have you been?" a wall demanded, and then a android stepped out of the solid structure.

"Wow. Are we glad to see you," Marco said dryly. "Let me guess. One more mission. One more freaking fatal mission."

"We've never had a fatal mission," said Rachel, with her arrogant little smile.

"You know what I mean."

"One more potentially freaking fatal mission," Erek admitted. "The Yeerks have a new race of hosts."

Jake felt his heart rise to his throat. "Felines?"

Erek stared at him. "How did you know?"

"Jake? How did -" Cassie's mind screeched to a halt. She blinked, as if trying to clear her thoughts, but they stayed.

Jake nodded grimly.

"What is it?" Erek demanded with a touch of panic.

"There were nine who came here," Cassie said, choking. "Saw what we were."

Erek let out a Pemalite swear. At least that's what they assumed it was, since the word wasn't recognizable. "And you didn't kill them? You just let them get away?"

"We thought they would be allies," Jake said tightly. "These might have been free Xaralites."

"Xaralites, yes, that's the name of the race infested. And Zacetons."

"The ones they said they were running from," Rachel reminded them.

"Might just have been a clever ploy to get us to trust them." Marco looked sick. He'd wanted us to ally with them, Rachel remembered. She tried to blame him, but she couldn't.

"We're overreacting," Jake said clearly. "We don't know for sure that these people aren't who they say they are."

"And what if they aren't?"

Jake ignored the question. "Surveillance. It'll take more than one of us at once, that's for sure. Two people at the minimum, all the time. Tobias and Ax, that'll be you while we're in school."

Ax sounded worried. Yes, Prince Jake.

"Meanwhile," Jake said, turning back to Erek. "Anything else?"

Erek nodded. "These hosts apparently have some kind of ability that the Yeerks have tapped into."

"Oh?"

"They can power a Yeerk."

"I don't understand," said Rachel. "What do you mean?"

"No Kandrona rays," he said bluntly. "Everything they need, they can draw off of the Xaralite's brain."

"Cylité said a Xaralite had never been captured," vented Marco. "The liar!"

"She may not have known, if she is free," admitted Erek. "May not have. But may have."

"We need to warn them," Cassie stated. "In case they don't know."

Rachel strained her ears and thought she heard a rustling outside the barn door. She opened her mouth, but Marco spoke harshly before she could say anything. "Warn them that their race has been Yeerked?"

There was a huge crash, and the door flew open. Cylité, bristling with rage, stood boldly in the doorway.

"What did you say?"

"I said," said Marco with perfect calmness, not even reacting to her sudden entrance while the others began morphing, "that your race has become a race of hosts for Controllers. Nothing more. Just empty shells for slugs."

She was on him in a minute, backing him up against the wall, knife blade drawn, fur pale with fury. "Take it back," she hissed.

Ax crept up behind her silently, tail switching from side to side. Marco stayed silent.

"Take it back!"

Her ears pricked, and on instinct she dodged, Ax's blade hitting her with only the flat, but hard. She rolled on the floor and raised a hand to defend herself, but the dark gold waves of hair, now filled with wood chips and falling around her face, obstructed her vision.

She twisted away, and felt the blade cuff her arm. Blood spurted from a shallow but long cut.

One hand instinctively flew to her scabbard, but she'd drawn the knife, and it was now lying several feet away. One of the humans - Rachel? - grabbed it and prepared to bring it down on her.

Ax drew back his tail.

Rachel drew back the knife.

She twisted, caught Rachel's hand, forced the knife away, and used it to stab the Andalite when he drew back for another shot. The tail split in two, just above the blade.

Cylité collapsed in a bleeding heap on the ground for just a moment, then sprang to her feet and steadied herself against the wall. She realized that she was facing a small group of animals, an Andalite, and one partly morphed grizzly.

"I really don't think so," a voice that had to belong to Takara said as the rest of the Xaralites stepped in. "I really don't."

Time slowed for a moment, just long enough for Cylité to contemplate it. Takara wanted so much to be a hero, or sound like one. And all she ever became was a laughingstock. It was almost, almost enough to induce pity from even Cylité. She shook her head. The others tormented her. And she only wanted was to be accepted by someone, somewhere...

Cylité lunged at the gorilla. He laughed in her head and drew back a fist to hit her.

She caught his arm and strained against his power. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a robotic looking creature blocking Rachel from harm as she morphed. A hawk wheeled under the barn ceiling, diving to strike.

She closed her eyes. Either she or Jake had to move, or this would be slaughter.

Releasing Marco, Cylité stepped away. "Stop it. Now." The voice was barely a whisper, but her army froze where they were.

STOP! Jake roared, and the Animorphs paused, but remained poised for attack.

"To me." The same soft voice had its effect, and eight Xaralites stepped to her side.

Jake motioned to the Animorphs and Erek, and the two sides faced each other.

"What was he saying?" Cylité demanded, barely controlled fury in her tone. "What was he saying?"

Erek stepped forward, unafraid. There was nothing flesh-and-blood creatures could do to something made of metal. "You are aware that the Xaralites have been captured by the Yeerks?"

Rlin roared in anger. Several of them tried to move at him, but Cylité raised an eyebrow and they stiffened. "You get your sources where, circuit board?"

"I have a name."

"Well, share it, by all means."

"Erek."

"Now answer my other question."

"My sources? The Yeerks themselves." He smiled. "The Zacetons were also captured."

"All of them?" There was an unnecessary hesitation in her voice.

He shrugged as well as a android can. "Who knows? The Yeerks don't think so. But no one knows. The other ship could have been destroyed."

"Which ship was it? Tamael or Haedrin?"

He raised an eyebrow in surprise at the fact that she seemed so aware of the Zaceton business. "Tamael."

Her eyes closed briefly. So he hasn't been captured. He will never be captured. She shook her head. Sentiment.

The others, however, looked enraged at this. They said nothing while Cylité maintained her calm look, just waited for permission to speak. She smiled at the thought.

"Well. We're not Controllers, at least. I can swear that."

Takara suddenly gasped. "So the others are all Controllers!"

Llera rolled her eyes. "Aren't we a quick learner."

"What? It's - no!"

"It would be 'Aren't we quick learners,' Llera," Cylité said with a shrug. "Plural. And yes, Takara. All the more reason for us to fight with these humans. A common goal now."

You'd have to let us watch you for a full three days to make sure, Jake said authoritatively. Yeerks have to - He stopped dead, and swore. No, that's what Erek was saying, isn't it? Xaralites can power Yeerks.

"Zacetons as well," Cylité added.

So there's no way to know, Marco said fiercely. I say we kill them.

"At least you gave us the courtesy of saying that in open thought-speak," Cylité grinned. "At any rate. Try it. I'll take any of you on, your best morph."

You're far too arrogant, Xaralite.

"And you Andalites don't have the same reputation?"

There's something wrong there, Rachel realized. Xahis had no clue what he was. But she knows. And she knows their reputation.

We probably do. But we have much to be arrogant about.

"Like giving the Yeerks the ability to fly?"

He twitched his tail, realized that he had no tail blade, and snarled.

Ax, demorph and remorph.

Yes, Prince Jake.

"How cute," Cylité commented. Serua started to say something and thought better of it.

"You can't know that we're not Yeerks," Tykeln said with a shrug. "But you can't know that we are. You've seen our leader fight. Many of us are also very...good...at it."

The power to morph. We have to decide. Ax's voice was clipped. He reversed the morph from harrier to Andalite.

Yes, said Rachel, we do. Vote?

Later. Not now, Marco said swiftly. Now we figure out what to do with them. We can't know. That one is right.

I think his name's Tykeln, Cassie suggested.

And I'd care, why?

Cylité leaned casually against the wall. "Well? I know you're reaching a decision. With all that thought-speech you must be."

Can you present any proof at all that you are not Controllers?

She paused, and frowned. "How good are you with programming code, android? Erek?"

"Reasonably good," he said cautiously.

"Excellent. Program something that can detect the presence of two life-forms in one body. And all of us will be tested."

"I don't know if that's possible," said Erek, flatly, with a vague idea that the Xaralite knew it wasn't.

Cylité looked annoyed. "This is becoming ludicrous. What do you want?"

"To know if we have to kill you or not," Rachel said with a disarming smile.

"We came from their other ship, Haedrin," said Llera, almost absently. "The worst torture in the world, from all angles of the universe. We survived it. Escaped. Only to find that our race is at least half-infested."

"How sentimental."

They wondered if Cylité had to make a derogatory statement about everything that was said.

She could be a Controller, Cassie said almost poisonously.

I doubt it.

Why, Marco? Jake asked, meeting his eyes.

I don't know. I just don't think she is.

What can we do? Either kill them or accept them. End of options.

Accept them, Jake decided after a long, long silence. One slip-up, and we kill them. Just one.

Are you certain, Prince Jake?

I'm certain, he lied.

"That's it!" Xahis exclaimed suddenly. He moved restlessly, a shadow against shadows. "The Vanarx."

"Yes," Cylité agreed. She looked up. "Do any of you -"

That thing that Visser Three morphed! Rachel half-shouted in remembrance. Yes. It can sense Yeerks in another's head and remove them.

Xahis nodded. "Do you have a morph of it?"

The Animorphs looked at each other. Jake shook his tiger head.

"Well. Come with me."

It could be a trap, Tobias warned.

We're staying in these morphs, Marco questioned, right?

Absolutely. Come on.

* * * * *

"There." Cylité sat back from a small computer with a flourish. "Its DNA is ready, anytime."

How is that possible? Tobias called from above.

"The computer is informed of the basic structure of the Vanarx and produces a copy of the DNA. This copy is then matched against a factual representation stored in the 'hard drive,' as humans would put it, of the computer." She snarled suddenly. "Personally, I think that going this far so you could find out if we're Controllers is proof in itself, but what do I know?"

We have to be careful, said Jake mildly.

"Who acquires it?"

All of us, Jake stated. It may come in handy later. In any battle.

She rolled her eyes. "Who tests us?"

"I don't like this," Rlin hissed to Kalaos. "I just don't. We're at their mercy. I don't like this."

Yes. You are at our mercy, snapped the tiger. Deal with it.

Rlin rose from her sitting position on the ground and drew her knife.

"Stop it."

At Cylité's words she resumed her seat.

"You can acquire it from the computer screen," she informed Jake, as he demorphed.

"That doesn't sound possible."

"I programmed it. I should know."

Ax looked at her with a new interest.

Jake shrugged, reached out, and touched the screen. A powerful shock ran through his body, and he fell to his knees, eyes closed, a vapid look on his face.

Jake!

"He's fine," Cylité said in a bored tone. "Just give him a second."

She talks very much like a human. I've been noticing it, Marco said in a whisper.

What else have you been noticing, Marco? Rachel snickered. I have a feeling that it will be harder to get a date from her than from a human. Which is, she added, challenge enough for you.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Jake stood up slowly, suspicion replacing vapidness. He shook his head and started the morph.

Sometimes instinct gets control in a morph, Ax said openly.

Cylité shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle."

Jake's head narrowed, and then became featureless, save for his human mouth. The mouth spread up towards the end of the long tunnel, and rested on the top. His teeth jutted out for a moment, and then transformed into small suckers. The tube elongated in short, choppy waves.

Wow. This is so weird.

Yeah, Marco. Rachel's voice wavered for a second. Seen it before.

The skin turned purple, and oozed oddly until the entire body was covered in a slight sheen of, as Marco eloquently referred to it later, "gook." The whole body was one long tube, except for innumerable legs at the bottom, supporting it.

Jake? You okay in there, buddy? asked Marco, when the changes seemed to have stopped.

Yeah. Yeah, I think so. No instincts. Nothing. He sounded shaken nonetheless.

"No instincts mean no Yeerk," Cylité said in a very basic-facts-explanation, very simple tone. "The Vanarx detects them immediately. If this Jake had morphed one in the Yeerk pool, he'd go insane very quickly."

He instantly began the demorph. Cassie held her breath, half-expecting it to wrong, but it didn't, and his human form was eventually resumed from the monster.

"They're not Controllers," he confirmed.

"We feel so honored that you have finally realized this," Kalaos said dryly. Inside, he was almost screaming from the sheer humiliation of being accused of harboring a Yeerk in his brain.

But are we sure they're not enemies?

They won't turn on us if we fight the Yeerks, Cassie said clearly. They have to free their kind now, too. Not just somehow occupy their time on Earth.

Jake nodded to Cassie.

They should be able to morph, she added.

Ax made a half-choking sound as he answered in the affirmative, no doubt thinking of his sliced tail blade. But they were obviously excellent fighters, he reasoned. Better for the Animorphs than against them.

Marco nodded his gorilla head. Rachel paused, debating with herself. Then shrugged. No.

Why not? Marco challenged. You've seen how well they fight, not morphed.

No. We've seen how well one fights.

In a morph, it doesn't matter anyway.

I just don't trust them.

I vote yes, Tobias shouted down. Their kind is enslaved. They deserve the right to change that.

Jake looked at Cylité. "You wish to fight with us?"

Her pride mutinied as she confirmed it aloud.

"You will be given the power to morph, then. The power to change forms as I have done. It was created by an Andalite scientist named -"

"Escafil. I know. I know. I've studied Andalites." She shifted uneasily, then straightened. "With all due respect, Jake, I believe that my army and I would rather not accept this...gift...yet. Perhaps later. Not yet."

"What? Why?" Confusion overtook him.

I believe it is an issue of pride, Prince Jake, Ax said poisonously, obviously offended. They do not wish to stoop so low as to accept lowly Andalite technology.

"You know nothing of my world, Andalite fool," Cylité snapped, hand on her knife. "Nothing. Our world was almost destroyed, with virtually no technology, from the last Zaceton war. You are probably more advanced than we - than the majority of the population was," she salvaged. "It's not an issue of stooping so low."

That is possibly the greatest proof that they're not Yeerks, Tobias said, swooping down to land on Rachel's shoulder. They'd be adverse to accepting the technology, maybe, but they'd love to take it and humiliate the Andalites, not to mention the promotion from Visser Three.

"I'm glad you recognize that," Cylité said with a smile. Tobias frowned mentally, wondering if it was just a ploy...but then again, the Vanarx had detected no Yeerk. He nodded to himself as Cylité resumed speaking. "Could you enlighten us as to the situation on Earth?"

A tree suddenly disintegrated, and Erek stepped out of it. She blinked, not having even known that he had followed them. "I believe I can do that well," he said with a human smile as his hologram adjusted to project the new form. He told them quickly, and as briefly as he could.

"Taxxons?" Llera frowned. "The tariens?"

"That means cannibals," Tykeln translated for the Animorphs. They nodded.

"Yes," Erek said. "Cannibals."

"And Hork-Bajir. So those ones with you before were free, I assume." Again, it was Llera who questioned the races. Erek made a sign in the affirmative.

"Have you ever seen another Xaralite here? Any of you?" Cylité's voice was suddenly wistful. She had always thought of herself as failing the ones left behind. Never enough to feel a horrible, gnawing guilt - she generally only plotted how to use people - but a guilt greater than she'd felt many times before. Almost as great as when Rahtoh had been killed, and she had stood at his deathbed, and lied -

She shook the thought away. One lie. And maybe it had helped him to die in peace. Maybe.

"They haven't, but I have," Erek said. She looked at him sidelong. He felt compelled to explain. "We are the androids of the now-destroyed Pemalites. No Yeerk can control us. Knowing this, we accepted infestation, and we pass as Controllers. I have access to a great majority of their business and plans, which are passed to the Animorphs, who fight these plans."

"Ah." Her answer expressed no approval or disapproval. "Well. Do you know anything about the Xaralite you saw?"

He shrugged. "No."

"Ah." The same one-word answer still expressed nothing. "You said," to Jake, "that you all wanted to acquire the Vanarx. Go ahead."

"Do it."

At his command, the other Animorphs began demorphing. Tobias hopped over to the screen and cautiously tapped a talon against it.

"No! You idiot!"

Tobias jerked at her words, and his talon hovered a centimeter off the screen as the shock illuminated the air around the computer.

"I don't recommend acquiring it in such a small form. The shock would kill you," Cylité clarified.

This is my natural form. I can't acquire it in any other.

"Then you'll have to go without until I can make adjustments." Her words sounded unnecessarily harsh, though he couldn't place why.

Ax glanced at Cylité. She nodded. The shock threw him backwards, but he kept his hand there until the DNA had completely entered him. He then stepped back.

It went the same until Cassie, the last. She frowned. "I wasn't shocked."

"Is she an estreen?" the Xaralite leader asked. When her suspicion was confirmed, she smiled tightly. "The computer reacts badly to any other creature, as you may have noticed. It obviously has a few...quirks...to iron out." She looked vaguely displeased about something, but none of them noticed it - except perhaps Kalaos. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

In the safety of private thought-speech, Marco mumbled, The human phrasing again.

Would you give it a rest?

I'm not freaking checking her out, Rachel! It's just weird.

Sure.

He muttered under his breath. She laughed.

Tobias, still somewhat miffed at his exclusion from the acquiring process, looked at Ax. What time is it?

About two o'clock, post meridian. The Andalite looked proud of his new knowledge of the last two words.

"We should be getting back, then," Jake said with a small smile. He felt that politeness demanded some sort of good-bye. "Nice to meet you."

They smiled also, but in something like amusement. "Likewise," Cylité said cautiously. She nodded to the android. "Could you stay for a moment?"

When the others had vanished, she turned to him. "My people. How long have they been captured? Approximately how many? And how many Zacetons?"

"I'd say one hundred and fifty Xaralites. Perhaps three hundred Zacetons."

She staggered back from the number. "So three hundred Zacetons and another one-fifty Xaralites are still on the other ship."

She wondered if there were other Zacetons somewhere else.

She wondered if Orion had somehow ended up on the wrong ship.

She wondered if he was free.

"Thank you," she said softly. "You can go."

* * * * *

FLASH.

Torture.

The most horrible way to die.

"I'm sure you'd like a last goodbye," AXarin murmured in her ear as he shoved her roughly into the small room. He was not the nightmare he would soon be to her. Not yet. Then he was only a torturer.

Cylité writhed, eyes tightly closed, as she tried to wake up. But she never could, not until the end of the scene. It was the same with any flashback. Any horror.

Rahtoh lay pale on the cold floor. She stooped to kneel beside him, the shackles on her wrists clanking heavily on the metal surface.

"Cylité." He smiled wanly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't choose for me. I chose." His hand, unnaturally stiff, found hers. She tried not to wince as the unsheathed claws bit into her hands slightly. "Don't break, Cylité. Don't break. You won't be here forever."

"Death is often a welcome rescuer," AXarin commented dryly, "but not many find it before they, as you put it, break."

Rahtoh's eyes flashed, and then closed. "I don't want to leave you. How long until you die as well?"

"Or break?" AXarin said mockingly.

"I don't break," she hissed at the torturer. "And I won't."

"Promise me that, Cylité. Promise me that this death is not vain." Rahtoh grasped her hand more tightly, not realizing how badly his claws hurt her. "Promise."

"I promise."

She did not even need to promise that, she realized. She would have carried on for her friend, even if he had not requested it.

"One last thing," he said softly. She felt a slight adrenaline rush of panic as she realized what the next question would be.

Don't, Rahtoh. Don't. Don't ask me that.

"Did you...ever...feel anything? More than friendship?" His eyes opened slightly to read hers. "Anything?"

Don't lie now. Not when he's dying. Let him go truthfully. Don't let your last word be a lie.

Don't hurt him. Don't let him die for you and not even grant him that one statement.

"I..." She swallowed to bring moisture to her suddenly dry throat. And made the decision she'd hate herself for later, that she knew she'd loath herself for - later.

"Yes, Rahtoh."

Her voice held no fragment of doubt. It was the ability she possessed, to lie so convincingly that no one could ever doubt her. And he was no different.

He smiled, and then his eyes rolled up until the pupils were hardly visible, and his hand relaxed over hers.

"There. Aren't you glad we permitted you a farewell?" AXarin laughed cruelly and dragged her to her feet by the bonds that held her.

She kept her mouth firmly sealed, and her eyes on the corpse.

Liar, her mind whispered. Even in his death, you lied.

"He died a heroic death," her captor said thoughtfully, following her gaze.

"More than you'll ever be able to hope for," she said venomously. "That honor will be denied to a coward. And I hope you rot, AXarin. I hope you rot."

FLASH.

She sat up, bolt upright, on the branch of the tree where she slept. Far away from the others. She'd wanted it that way, so they could not see the agony in her face whenever her eyes opened from sleep - sleep that should have been a blessed retreat from her reality.

She wrapped her arms around her legs in an effort to warm herself against Earth's night air.

I didn't break, Rahtoh. I didn't break. She had kept that promise to him, possibly the only friend she had ever had. His death had begun the downward spiral that left her a manipulative enigma. But she had been so different, then.

And Orion - the only being to whom she could truthfully given the answer she gave Rahtoh.

Possibly a Controller. Or possibly so far away she would never see him again. But she kept the memory of him, she consoled herself as her eyes closed. Not completely a pleasant memory - and yet it was.

At least she had that.