Title: The Uncalled For (Chapter 2)

Title: The Uncalled For (Chapter 2)
Author: house arrest
Pairings: Gen at first, future Tobias/Marco
Summary: The Animorphs are used to dealing with enemies that can use science way more advanced than anything humans have ever seen. Heck, they are results of science more advanced than anything human. But what if the Yeerks found a completely different approach to conquering the human race?
Additional Notes: Thanks to J the Drafter for letting me know that we can't use brackets for thought-speech. As such, I'll be using "/" and "\" instead. Which is totally screwing up my already-damaged punctuation. Also, we can't even use tildes? WTH?

I looked at Rachel. "Huh. So how's it like being a controller?"

"Pretty good. Want to find out what it's like to be a toad? That's a pretty big step up the evolutionary ladder for you, from being an earthworm."

"You know I'm the cutest earthworm around, babe," I replied in my Casanova voice.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Also the slimiest."

\I don't think earthworms are actually slimy/ Tobias intervened.

"People, and I use the term loosely," Jake said, "is there any chance we can focus here? Erek, what can you tell me about this 'witch'?"

"Nothing much, and that's the point," Erek answered delicately. "You have to understand that among the Chee, I am the highest-ranked controller. But I'm still not part of any exclusive circles."

"You haven't met your monthly quota of dead bodies, huh?" I remarked.

Erek ignored the jibe. "But still, my rank clears me for certain levels of information. There was an announcement yesterday about the newest link in the chain of command. Sub-Visser 84 was presented to the assembly, and she's the one we should look after. We hacked into the host database and didn't find anything about her."

"So the Yeerks hid her profile very effectively?" Cassie volunteered.

I shook my head. "If the Chee can't find it, then it isn't there." Rachel nodded.

"Which means either she's connected to the highest circles, or they recognize that their information is vulnerable to some forces," Jake added.

\So they know the Andalite bandits have access to their information network/ Tobias opined. \Or do you think they vaguely suspect the presence of you Chee?/

Erek shook his head. "If they had even the slightest suspicion about us, they'd have taken far more drastic measures."
"So they're probably eyeing the Yeerk renegades," I offered. It was the logical thing to do. Possibilities were already becoming clearer in the mind. Somewhere among the jumbled pieces of information will be a plan. And I'm the best when it comes to seeing the bright clear line. If we watch Tidwell…

"Speaking of the freedom fighters," Erek continued, "we can't approach them."

We all looked at him in surprise.

"That's how Sub-Visser 84 more or less proved she wasn't an ordinary human-controller. During the announcement, she calmly stated that there's a renegade in the assembly, and that whoever he was should climb the stage. And a mall janitor presented himself."

"So she's psychic. We've encountered psychics before," Rachel said. "Not humans, but still psychic."

"A freedom fighter wouldn't just present himself like that." Cassie. "Couldn't he have been planted?"

"He was a genuine freedom fighter," Erek said. "I've worked alongside him."

"Maybe he thought the Sub-Visser wanted a date? It could happen," I joked to break the tension.

"Not everyone's as desperate as you are for a date." Guess who.

"So we're dealing with a hypnotist?" Jake asked.

Erek shook his head. "Hypnotism wouldn't have forced someone to do something against his will. Movie hypnotism is grossly inaccurate. I helped Doctor Mesmer develop his technique."

\So it's mind-control/ Tobias clarified.

"Evidence so far points to yes."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Jake said darkly.

I held my hand up. "You mean there's someone out there who could stop the chicks from following my every whim? That is so not cool."

"Marco, two things keep us girls from following your every whim: taste, and common sense," Rachel honestly admitted to being a part of the sad and bitter minority. I just know it.

"So what do we do?" This was Jake's tagline for initiating democracy.

"Kidnap her, duh." This was Rachel's tagline for initiating insanity.

Cassie, the sane one in their friendship, objected. "If we're dealing with a potential psychic, we have to be extra careful."

"I really don't think it's possible to be more careful than we already are. My paranoia's already at its peak." I was being honest.

\I think we should find out more about this person/ Tobias, our default spy, said. \Who she is, where she lives, how could the Yeerks gotten her, etc. Remember, if she's psychic, the Yeerks wouldn't have been able to trick her./

"She could have been a voluntary host," Rachel pointed out.

\A psychic collaborator?/

"It's possible. But I don't think it's likely," Cassie, whose intuition was rarely ever wrong, said. "I think this runs deeper than that."

"So that's step one: we research," Jake finalized. "Marco, you and Ax know what to do. No Baywatch sites this time."

"You wound me!"

Jake ignored that, too. "Any more details?" he asked Erek.

Erek's hologram shimmered. For a brief while, we saw the ivory and aluminum combination of his true body before another image appeared before us. A woman. Possibly in her late teens, possibly in her early forties. It was impossible to tell.

I saw her eyes and forgot to look at the rest of her face. They were startlingly close to Ax's green eyes, but that wasn't what caught my attention. Even as a hologram, her eyes made you feel as if she could see right through you. As if there was no hiding from her.

For a brief surreal moment I felt a chill run up my spine.

"Her name is Grace Templeton." Erek said. "And that's all we know."

Author's Notes: Nope, she's not a Mary Sue. Or, at least, I'm making sure she's not a Mary Sue. But an original character? Yes, of course.

So how was it? I had to put a lot of analysis in this chapter. I hope I eliminated the plot holes... Also, I'm still getting used to 's format. I tried using the horizontal slide rule at the beginning and end of the chapter to separate it from the author's notes and etc., but it didn't work. How did anyone else address this?

As usual, please leave points for improvement in the reviews. Thanks!