AN- So... this story really is so fun to write. I skipped a book as I said I might. The Predator isn't really a book easily done from Dawn's POV. It is about things that Marco knows but Dawn wouldn't. So I hope you guys like this chapter and the next will be coming out in a couple of days. However, when I get to the mega-morphs I might take up to a week to type them up. They will also be the only chapters that are not in Dawn's POV. Review and tell me if there is a book that you would love to see because I can add them if they are not written already...

Chapter Two- The Capture

"You got stuck in a roach motel?" Marco teased Jake.

Goddess knows I couldn't stop laughing. Jake was telling us that he had tried to morph a roach to see if it was a good morph. We were worried about doing anymore insect morphs since a bad, bad experience with an ant morph. The others hated the hive mind set, it was much harder for them to fight it than me, and then there is the fact that we walked right into the wrong colony.

"I felt like such an idiot. I ran right onto the sticky paper and couldn't move." He said rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

"You could do a commercial, 'These things works, take it from roach-boy.' It would be perfect." Marco was a joker; he loved to make people laugh, so much like Xander. He smiled as he pushed his dark shoulder length hair behind his ear and shifted on the bale of hay. We were all piled into Cassie's barn, where her parents ran a wildlife rescue.

Ax was shifting next to me, and I think he still felt a little guilty for how our last mission went down. Hell, even I thought it was a bad idea. Sending out a Yeerk distress beacon in the hopes we could steal a ship to send ET home? Yeah that's going to end great... I told him as much too. I also told him that I have no home to go to, that at least he had something to look forward to.

Everyone but Cassie was smiling, she just looked upset, "You should have known better."

"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure it was a good morph for us." He replied.

We all stared as Cassie got up and pointed a finger in his face, "You don't get to just go off on your own just because you are our sort of leader."

"Wow, I really like the new Cassie." Rachel said. She was Cassie's best friend and couldn't be more different. Rachel's blonde hair was always perfect and her clothes always at the height of fashion. When you looked at her she could be a Cordelia, but she's not, Rachel is a thrill seeker. She is what Faith could have been, the perfect female warrior.

"Look Cass, I was just-"

"Uh-uh, no, you were not 'just' doing anything. And you won't do it again." She told him.

{Dude, I think this is where you grimace and nod like you are sorry.}Tobias told him from up in the rafters, ruffling his feathers.

"Right, I'm sorry." He looked down at his feet.

"So, how'd you get out?" I asked.

"Well, I could feel all the vibrations in the house and I realized that my mom and dad were up stairs. So I started to de-morph."

"But I thought you were behind the fridge." Rachel said.

"Yeah, well, it was tight, but as I grew I kind of pushed it out inch by inch. Everything was going great until my mom came down stairs."

We all leaned forward.

"So what'd you do? Did your mom see you? What did she say?" Cassie fired questions at him

"She asked me why I was behind the fridge, and why I had half a roach motel on my head." He said making us all laugh.

He had been testing out the morph because of his brother Tom, who was a Controller, was raising in the Yeerk ranks. Jake had been calling back some of the numbers his brothers has been calling. The problem was he had been talking to doctors, at the local hospital.

"If they are using the hospital to infest people while they are put under it will raise their numbers sky high." I said.

Marco's eyes widen, "Oh man, go in to get your tonsils taken out, leave with a slug in your head."

Yeah, it was bad.

~*~

After everyone left I followed Ax and Tobias out of the barn. I always spent a lot of my time off with Tobias since I sure as hell didn't want to go home to my uncle, he has a heavy hand it you get my meaning.

I watched Tobias fly over head for a while before turning to Ax, "I 'm sorry I was so hard on you before."

He turned his main eyes to look at me, {No, you were right. I was behaving like a fearful child, not a warrior, and because of that, I placed everyone in danger.}

"Yeah, but I think that I might have tried the same thing, if I had someone to go back to." I told him, "My mom died a few months ago and my sister followed not long after that. I overreacted because I was jealous, and that was stupid."

He didn't say anything so I kept going, "My sister, she died in a construction site too. She climbed up a tower that some crazy people had tied me up to and after she untied me she... Ah... Slipped on some my blood and fell."

{You were bleeding?} He asked, I had actually thought he wasn't listening until he said something.

"They had cut me, to bleed me out, thought it would end the world." I tried to keep it as close to the truth as I could. I was trying to gain some trust between the two of them, lying wasn't a great way to do that. I really wanted to be his friend, we were so alike. So alone in the world.

{Are humans always so pointlessly violent?} I didn't think he was trying to be insulting, he really didn't know anything about us.

"No, of course not. Most of us are kind, loving and just want happiness. There are others that fight for the goodness in other people, giving up their own goodness, their happiness, for others. And there is a small percent, the smallest, which are bad people." I looked at him and smiled, "I come from a long line of people willing to die for humans, I only hope I can compare to them in the end."

{You are very brave.} He said.

"Or very stupid."

~*~

Roaches. They pop up as fast as you can kill them, if you can kill them. There was a reason Buffy called vampires demon roaches. And so I really want to be one? Not really. Do I have to? Yeah, I kind of do. Jake stayed human so we could learn how to understand speech in a roach body; he said something about how it takes time.

Morphing is an odd and ugly experience and going insect is about ten times uglier. As I closed my eyes and concentrated on the roach DNA I felt my body start to shrink I keep getting smaller and smaller. Next I could feel my skin thickening and hardening as my bones moved out of me. Insects have exoskeletons, which mean their bones are on the outside and the inside is all gooey yuckyness. Out of my middle I felt two extra legs grow as my arms and legs shortened, causing me to fall forward on to my stomach. Lastly I felt two antennae grow out of my forehead...-ish, I don't think it is really a forehead at this point.

I moved my legs to make sure everything worked. Sometimes it doesn't, I have this screw-up morphing problem. It's not pretty.

{Okay, we're bugs; let's get this over with because I have an insane urge to step on myself.} Marco said.

We felt a few strange vibrations.

{Go ahead say something.} Rachel said.

The vibrations again, {Wait, I felt something.} Cassie said.

{Jake said 'Hello.'} Tobias told us.

{Jake say 'I'm a big dork.'}Marco said followed by some more vibrations, {Very funny, I don't know what you said but I know you.}

{You do know what a dork is right? I mean it light of some recent events...} I told them.

{What is a dork?} Rachel asked.

{It's a... a... Private part of a whale.} Cassie said, of course she would know, being our animal expert.

We spent the next hour learning to 'hear' the vibrations with the roach's body. Finally we de-morphed to talk about the impending mission.

"You know, we don't all have to go." Jake told us.

"What do you mean? Of course we all have to go, we are like the six musketeers." Rachel said.

"Seven now," I said looking at Ax.

{What is a musketeer?} Ax asked, but nobody answered.

"Look, normally I 'm all for staying out of trouble, but it just doesn't seem right for you to go off on your own."

"It just makes sense; one of us can do this." Jake said looking uncomfortable.

"You're afraid for Tom." I said. I knew this feeling, my sister may have never been my enemy, not counting when she was thinking about killing me to save the world, but I feared for her life every time she went out at night. The life span of a slayer is sadly short.

Jake whipped around to look at me, "I get it, okay? My brother is one of them, a Controller, but when it comes to it... If it comes to a fight..."

"So, no hurting Tom."Marco said.

"It's not that easy, he'll kill us." Jake look so sad, it almost hurt to see him like that.

I walked over to him and pulled on a strand of his light brown hair, "That is the creepy, bastard slug in his head, not Tom. I may have never meet the real Tom, but I don't need to if he is anything like his brother."

He gave a small smile as I sat back down. I really wished I could have met the real Tom. Not that I really would know the difference, a Yeerk is able to act exactly like its host because it can access the memories straight from the brain. Fooling everyone; family, friends, lovers, anyone and everyone. That is what makes this fight so damn hard. We can't be sure who isn't a Controller. And when we kill a Controller we are not killing just the Yeerk but most likely, an unwilling host.

"We don't have to do anything, not yet. We could just go there and look around, then decide." Cassie said.

"I know, a spy mission." Jake said. He didn't sound any better. Poor Jake.

~*~

Rachel and Cassie were taking about the shows they were missing during the mission and it made me feel kind of like being home. Like when Spike would complain about missing Passions or Buffy complaining about getting demon goo out of her clothes. Just felt right.

It was late, just after sunset, but not too late. And at the moment we looked like normal kids, just like we wanted to appear.

{This sucks, I am completely blind at night. I should have gotten stuck as a owl, at least then I could see now.}

"I don't understand how you run in these bodies. Bod. Boodyy. There is no tail to hold you upright. Up. Rittte." Ax was in human morph that he had obtained by mixing Jake, Cassie, Marco and Rachel's DNA. He had called it a frolis maneuver, and it made him a mix off all of them, a strange tri-racial cousin.

"It's easier when you have a lifetime of memories in your head." I told him. I have a habit of letting little things like that slip around the Andalite. I don't know why, maybe because I don't want him to feel completely alone, or maybe I'm just a complete idiot.

"I may need more practice." He said nodding. Ax liked exploring the world in human morph, mostly he loved exploring taste, a sense he does not have as an Andalite. He will eat anything you put in front of him, even things he shouldn't.

"I see it up ahead." Jake told us.

It was a building in the middle of some low-budget shops. There were a dozen or so cars in the parking lot and the windows were blacked out. This was The Sharing. The sign said they were building easier lives. Sure if you were an alien slug, or really enjoyed slavery.

~*~

We had gone into an abandoned building next to the sharing. I watched as Ax returned to his Andalite form. We couldn't go from one morph to another; we had to return to our original form first. The others found Ax a little frightening, but I didn't. Sure it was a different but I have seen some truly frightening things, like a group of human knights, I am talking medieval swords, spears, and chain-mail, who's only propose was to kill me. That's frightening.

"Alright let's do this already." Rachel said.

"Wait," Cassie said, turning to Rachel, "Remember this is a spy mission. That means no becoming elephants and stomping around creating hell."

Rachel had a elephant morph, and she like it. Like Buffy liked her troll hammer.

"You guys ready now?" Jake asked and a moment later we were six little roaches, just asking to be sprayed.

As we moved to the side in a fast little group,

{Cool, vertical rock climbing.} Rachel said as we reached the stairs.

I felt my little roach legs grabbed onto the holes and crevices like it was nothing. Up, swoop, across and up again.

{Man, you guys are creepy, and I really want to step on you. If I had shoes... or feet.} Tobias said. {Okay, you guys are almost out, I am going to fly to the street light where I can see you better.}

{Remember guys these are Yeerks, they think we are a group of Andalite Warriors and will be expecting morphs.} Jake told us, {So act like normal roaches.}

It took a minute but Cassie found a crack for us to slip through, which lead all the way into the building and in no time we were over hearing the meeting.

"...It is now time to strike a decisive blow in the earth invasion."

{Is this a Yeerk pep rally?} Marco asked. Making us giggle, in thought-speak.

{No, but here's hoping it is the evil meeting were the bad guys lay out their plain step by step. Followed by an evil cackle, of course.} I answered. Sure it sounded unlikely, but you'd be surprised.

{Okay everyone lets head out.} Jake said. And a moment too late said, {Not all at the same time!}

We all hurried down the wall. We were lucky, six cockroaches would have been noticed by humans, but a bunch of aliens intent in global takeover didn't notice what-so-ever.

{Ah, guys?} Tobias said from outside, {There is a limo that just pulled up. And a bunch of guys in suits are getting out, followed by this clumsy dude.}

After a minute we felt them walk in, {Thanks Tobias, we got them.} Jake told him.

"My brothers," A voice said. "May I present our great leader, Visser Three."

There was a gasp among the members. Us too, though ours were unheard.

"I know you may be confused, this is my human morph." The vibration that must have been Visser Three said.

Yeerks named themselves by rank; Visser Three was higher than Visser Five and Five was higher than Ecilthon 32, yadda, yadda. Visser Three was way up there because he is the only Yeerk with an Andalite body, giving him all the Andalite's morphing powers.

{Now way man, you mean Visser Three can morph human?} Marco asked.

{Duh,} I said. {Ax does bozo.} If I could I would have rolled my eyes.

"Our plan is in two parts, one is to take unwilling hosts from the hospitals. That is expected to bring in Two hundred Controllers a month. You have done very well collecting doctors and nurses for our control." Visser Three said.

{Two hundred.}Marco whispered.

"But the second part, the part very few know about up to this point, is the Governor will be in for a minor surgery in just a few days. When he checks out he will be one of us."

{This is bad.} Cassie said.

{Is the Governor some type of Prince?} Ax asked. To an Andalite a Prince was a general or a person of extreme power. That is why he calls Jake 'prince Jake.'

{Kind of, he controls much of the state, including the police and the National Guard.}

{Don't any of you follow politics?} Rachel asked, {Next year he is planning on getting a presidential nod.}

{Which means,} I said {In a couple of years we could have a Controller as the most powerful man in the world.}

{That would be bad.} Ax said. Yeah, he got the idea pretty well.

~*~

Things were going well. Until someone noticed us, and Visser Three pointed out that Andalites could morph in to small creatures as well.

Cassie and Ax made it to a crack in the wall, Marco was hiding out in a toilet, praying no one had to pee, Rachel rode someone's sock, and Jake was picked up by Tobias after he was sprayed with bug spray. I on the other hand was trapped. I was hidden under the rug, a very, very bad place to be when Controller seemed like they were river dancing around the room.

{Dawn, are you well?} Ax asked.

{Uh, not really.} I said, I didn't really want to think about it. {I'm...ah... Under the rug.}

{Dawn!} Cassie called, {Please tell me you are not serious.}

{I wish I wasn't.} I said. I could feel the Controllers getting closer I tried to hug the edge of the rug to move away from the flaying legs of death. But I was trapped, {Guys? I don't thin- Ahhh.} Blinding pain came through me with a pop.

{Dawn!}

{Dawn!} I heard so many voices but couldn't think, couldn't move. I should de-morph, I was not in good shape. But if I did the others would be discovered, I couldn't do that. I just couldn't. I saw this strange flash, a bit of green. Followed by nothing.

~*~

{Dawn.} I heard. {Dawn, you have to de-morph.}

"How did she get out?"

"Maybe she got stuck on someone's shoe. Look it doesn't matter, she is going to die."

{Die? She is going to be stuck in roach morph. Crippled roach. Dawn please, wake up.}

{Toby?} I was trying to make sense of things.

{Dawnie! You have five minutes. Please, de-morph!}

I felt myself start to change, after a while I could breathe, then move, and finally think.

"Goddess." I said sitting up. The others were quickly on me checking and prodding me to make sure I was completely human.

"I'm fine." I told them. "Is Jake okay? He was poisoned."

"I'm okay." I turned to look at him.

"Close calls, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah," He ran his hand through his hair. "We thought... I didn't think you made it."

"I'm hard to kill."

I stood up, we were in the basement again, where we started. "How'd I get here?"

"Roach-Marco found you as he was making his way back here; I de-morphed and picked you up." Cassie said.

"Thank you. Both of you." I told them. I really was grateful, wouldn't you be?

"Hey I should get home. If everyone is fine, if I don't my mom's gonna flip." Rachel said.

Everyone went their separate ways. As I got close to home I saw the TV flicker in the living room, maybe he drunk himself to sleep again. I eased the door open and went to walk up the stairs when I heard the voice. "Where the hell have you been?"

I froze, this was bad. He was drunk, but not so drunk he couldn't stand. "Studying with some friends."

"Hum, studying. You know I studied when I was your age." He reached out and stocked a strand of hair. I tasted bile in the back of my throat.

"Obviously not." I muttered. I knew it was a stupid thing to say, that is why I was expecting the strike way before it connected. So, what was I doing getting beat up by a drunken uncle? First, I couldn't go anywhere, I wouldn't abandon the others, they needed as much fighting power as they could get. Second, I knew perverts, sadly, and my uncle is one. Big time. I would rather get him angry and striking me then... other things.

Morphing heals wounds so none of the other knew. Except for Toby, he lived with us until he got stuck in hawk morph. He knew why I put up with this, but he didn't like it.

After the first blow he got bored and wobbled to his chair again, with a fresh beer, and I ran up stairs to my room. I morphed into my favorite morph, a pygmy owl. It was a little late for the owl to be out, since it was a owl that tend to stick to twilight hours but I needed the comfort. The owl reminded me of Buffy, it was small and cute, but it had sharp oversized, for its body, talons that dug deep.

It didn't take me long to get to Tobias' meadow. I landed on a branch next to him and looked down to see Ax below.

{I hope that is you, Dawnie and not the world's dumbest pygmy.} Tobias said.

"Hoot." I said out loud while I giggled in thought-speech.

{You okay?} Toby asked.

I landed and de-morphed. "Yeah, just can't sleep." I shrugged, "And lonely."

I sat with my back leaning against a tree and talked about nothing with the other two before I must have dozed off. I felt safe sleeping near them. Safer than at home, that's for sure.

~*~

Flies, that's what we became in order to save the Governor from infestation. However flies are ugly mofos, watching Cassie morph made Rachel throw up and everyone else cringe. I, however, have seen worse.

We jumped on Tobias' back so he could fly us to the hospital.

{Ahh, what is that.} Marco cried. Flies have compound eyes so everything is broken up and distorted.

{A flea.} Cassie said.

{What! Are you saying I have fleas?} Tobias asked.

{Ah... No, it jumped off, you know?} Marco lied to him.

{Aaaa... I'll find you some flea drops.} I thought about it, {I should find some for Ax too.}

{Okay when I say you guys jump off. Like paratroopers.}

{Didn't most the 101 st Airborne die during the first jump on D-Day?} I asked.

{Not a fact that needs to be brought up!} Marco whined.

{Okay, one...two... three, bail.}

It took a while and a lot of coaching from Tobias to get to an open window because every sign looked like a window to a fly.

Almost as soon as we enter Rachel commented, {I found the nursery. Lots of baby poop.}

{Alright, everyone look for a Yeerk pool. Everyone but Ax as been near one so look for the smell, or something that doesn't seem right to the fly.} Jake said.

{I smell lots of poop.} Marco said.

{Okay, lets split up. Dawn and Ax, you're with me. Cassie, take Marco and Rach.} Jake said.

As the others left, the three of us moved down the hall and were able to pick up a number of smells; banana, poop, sweat, poop, blood, poop. Kind of got a theme going.

{Hey! I smell something!} Cassie said.

{More poop?} Jake asked.

{No, something different. Like poop, but not.} She said.

{I smell it too.} Ax told Jake. I did too.

We couldn't get a hold of the others because they were out of thought-speech range, so we followed the smell to a room. After getting in through the crack at the bottom of the door we took survey of the room finding a large dome shaped object in one of the corners.

{That could be a Yeerk pool.} I said.

{Right, there are no people moving in the room. Ax de-morph, if anyone comes in you will be more use than a human.} Jake said.

{Yes, Prince Jake.}He said as he started to change.

{Don't call me Prince.}

{Of course, Prince Jake.}

I couldn't help the little giggle that came out.

Ax de-morphed and informed us that there was one unconscious person in the room. We de-morphed too and I had to keep myself from laughing. Both Jake and I were wearing skin tight clothes, his biker short and tight tee made him look like a freak. While my leggings and tight three-quarter shirt made me look like trailer trash.

We looked at the object in the corner, "It's a whirlpool for muscle therapy." I said. I spent a lot of time in hospitals when my mom was sick.

Jake went over and took the top off. Inside was a brown liquid filled with swimming brown slugs. Yeerks, in their natural state.

{Yeerks.} Ax said full of disdain and hate.{There must be a Kandrona nearby.}

A Yeerk could only survive for three days without drawing nutrients from a the rays of their sun. But they had found a way to recreate the rays, allowing them to take over the universe. They created the Kandrona which is near all Yeerk pools.

"Can they see us?" Jake asked.

{No, Yeerks are blind in their natural state.} Ax told him.

"What would happen if someone was to turn up the temperature, say... a lot?"

{It would kill them.} Ax said, but he seemed confused.

Jake walked over to the tank, "Ax, watch the door. Dawn, morph something that can do a lot of damage."

"Jake, what are you doing?" I asked, but I had a feeling I already knew.

"We are here to stop the Yeerk's plan; boiling a couple hundred Yeerks seem like a good place to start." He was bending down playing with the controls.

"That is murder, Jake." I said, grabbing his wrist. They're helpless, it... isn't right.

{This is war, Dawn.} Ax told me as Jake pulled his hand free, turning pool on to the highest setting.

"Andalite!" We turned to see a nurse standing in the door way. Ax was on her in a heartbeat and used the blunt side of his tail to knock her out but she was followed quickly by two guards. Jake must have set an alarm off because one of them had a gun.

I was trying to morph in to my leopard; it would be easier to get out, since it was faster, as a leopard rather than a croc. But I saw something, a gun pointed at a Jake. I took off, grabbing a half tiger morphed Jake out of the way and pulling a couple of strange were-cat looking creatures right into the Yeerk pool, full of dying Yeerks.

~*~

When I came to, I felt like I was being carried, in big harry arms... Marco. {A human?}

My head was hurting so bad, so bloody bad. I felt like Spike had driven a railroad spike into my skull. {Friends with a killer, huh?}

What was that?

"My... Head..." I heard Jake say.

{He's ours now too.} I heard the voice say again. {They are all human, huh? Except for Aximili.}

Marco set me down and I tried say thank you, but I couldn't. I tried to stand, but my body wouldn't let me. Instead I looked at Jake, who smiled back at me.

{He thinks he is lucky. But I am the one who really got the prize, right Dawnie?} The voice said. But I knew what it was now. A Yeerk, in my head.

{No!} I said. I tried to yell, to scream, to cry, but nothing happened.

{It is no use, Dawnie. I am you now. I control you, I have access to your memories.} The voice paused. {Which aren't real? What are you?} It asked.

{Nothing!} I answered, but he knew, all he had to do was look it up in my mind.

{The Key.} It laughed, {Oh, this is too good. Not only do I have a human with morphing powers, I have a weapon powerful enough to destroy the universe.}

I wanted the laughter to stop.

{Dawnie, are you okay? Come on neither you or Jake are talking. We are going to take you to the hospital.} Tobias said.

"Five by Five, Toby." It was my voice saying it but it wasn't me.

"I'm fine," I heard Jake say. I knew though, he had fallen in with me.

{I wonder who is in there.} The Yeerk said, {I am Eerith four-nine-nine. I was going to be a famous movie star, but I would much rather be here.}

{We should take you to a hospital, both of you.} Tobias said.

"No, I am fine. I was just in shock, okay?" Jake said. Or the thing in his head did.

"I just woke up. But I'm fine. Plus, if I went to the hospital it would be worse for me in the long run. You know that, Toby." My voice said.

{She's right,} Tobias said, {Our uncle...} He trailed off.

{Your cousin, Tobias, stuck in hawk morph. Related through your dead mother. Mother to the Slayer. Now dead. Willow, the witch. Tara, her girlfriend. We will make them ours, of course. Humm. Vampires? Really? Maybe useless, if the brain is dead, we have no use for the body.}

{Leave them alone!} I said. I could hear Jake talking about splitting up. No! I thought.

I could feel the Yeerk going through my head, no one noticed because I was normally so introverted. I felt a hand on my arm and I turned around to come face to face with Ax. He face was close to mine; I could see his large almond shaped eyes staring at me. It was strange seeing him so close. His eyes were beautiful, and his hand warm.

{Andalite!} He said it the same way Ax says Yeerks. I spent more time with Ax and Tobias than any of the others if anyone noticed...

But it was Jake that revealed himself; out of the corner of my eye I saw a look of hatred. And Ax saw it, with his stalk eyes, which were pointed right at Jake.

{Yeerks!} His tail blade came to rest a inch from Jake's neck, all while he still has a hold of my arm.

{Clever Andalite.} Four-nine-nine said.

"Are you crazy?" Marco asked.

{Prince Jake and Dawn have been taken. They are Controllers.} He said.

"Ax! You are out of it!" Rachel said.

I could feel the Yeerk wanted Ax to let me go. It didn't like Ax touching him, {I don't mind.} I told the Yeerk.

{Dawnie has a bit of a crush on the Andalite? Disgusting.} He spat the last part.

{They were both in the pool long enough to be infected. And you saw the look Prince Jake gave me. I am not human, so you tell me what was that look?} Ax looked at everyone.

"I didn't." The Yeerk said with my voice, "Aximili, I didn't."

I felt his hand tighten then loosen slightly. He wasn't as sure about me. Please Ax! Don't let him fool you.

Jake and the others we're talking about how weird Jake acted while I was still passed out. How they should keep him, both of us, Ax put in, for three days to be sure. All while Ax still had my arm, finally the Yeerk snapped. "Get off me, Andalite."

That made everyone freeze. "Well..." Rachel said.

{Oh, Dawnie.} Tobias said.

{If Dawn is a Controller than Prince Jake would be as well.} Ax said.

"But what do we do? How will we keep them for three days?" Rachel asked.

"Right," Jake said. "My parents will go to the cops if I disappeared, there will be searches, posters, and the five o'clock news, you know?"

{No one will notice Dawn missing.} Tobias said.

Go Toby! Yeah for being unloved trash.

{Except for your vampire. What are you going to do then?} The Yeerk asked.

{By then you'll be dead.} I told him.

"There may be a way," Cassie said. "For Jake. If Ax morphed Jake he could take his place."

After Rachel and Cassie each took one of my arms as Ax touch Jake on the forehead. A moment later Jake twitched, "Andalite filth!" He yelled.

"And now we know for sure." Marco said. And I did a happy dance... In my head.

~*~

Tobias showed the others a place in the woods to store us for the tree days. My Yeerk didn't seem too bothered, he thought he would just morph and run away. Jake's most likely thought the same thing. But they had two people on us at all time, plus Tobias. Jake tried first, but was caught by Rachel. Then they tried it as the same time. However they had to many tells while trying to communicate with each other to plan an escape, and Cassie knew what was going on.

It pissed them off, knowing that the smallest animals couldn't get far, but the strongest were easiest to track.

We got attacked by a local wolf pack when we tried to become wolves. Jake tried ant only to, once again, be the wrong ant. Ouch.

{You think you will come out of this just like you were before?} The Yeerk was getting hungry, weak. {If I die, than I will tell them what you really are. How will they take that Dawnie? That you are not human, not even real.}

{Ax isn't human.} I told him. But really I was scared.

He showed me myself tied to the tower, bleeding, opening a portal to hell. {And how will they take you being the end of the world?} She showed me Buffy jumping, {You killed her, Dawnie. You'll kill them.}

I heard Jake call out in pain. No, not Jake, the Yeerk. {It has begun, the fugue.} The Yeerk said. Jake was in the barn with Cassie and Rachel while I was out with Tobias and Ax.

{This will not be pleasant, Dawn} Ax told me.

{But it will be over soon, Dawnie.} I could hear the tears in my cousin's words, even if he couldn't cry as a hawk.

Pain swept through the Yeerk. "What do you care, Tobias? Dawn isn't even your cousin."

{Is that the best you have, Yeerk?} Tobias asked. Please don't...

Another bit of pain, "She is a altered clone, Andalite. That is why she did not want to be part of your Frolis. The human's memories have been altered to include her, to hide her."

{He is lying!} Tobias exclaimed.

But I could see Ax thinking, "She keeps so much from you. The Key." The Yeerks laughter was mixed with painful gasps. I couldn't feel his pain, but I was watching him destroy my life. That was painful enough.

I saw things, the lives of the Yeerks other hosts, its home world. What it felt like to be a Yeerk, the blindness, the loneliness, the bland nothingness of their life before a host. As the Yeerk was beyond pain I saw something else. Buffy?

"You are doing good, Dawn. Remember, Slayer's blood." She was happy. I could feel it I knew it. I love you, Buffy...

~*~

I opened my eyes; I was the one to open my eyes.

I looked up at Ax standing near me. {It is over.} He said.

I sat up and saw the dead Yeerk and wanted to smash it in to little piece. Bring it back to life, only to kill it again. "Jake?" I asked.

{Woke up before you and Cassie took him home. We told her we'd take care of you.} Tobias paused, {We didn't tell them.}

They were distant, unsure. I think I was too.

{What are you?} Ax asked.

"I don't really know. The Key. A ball of energy that a bunch of monks decided to make human." I shrugged. "I didn't know for the longest time. And I didn't tell you because I was scared, that you would..." I trailed off.

They were silent for a while.

{Dawn. That's what you are, you're Dawn.} Tobias said.

I smiled up at him, before looking at the Andalite. He was smiling too, with his eyes.

"So... Ah... you have questions?"

{Oh, you bet we do.} Tobias said.

I didn't tell them about vampires, or witches, or the slayer. I just told them about myself, about The Key. Ax was amazed, he seemed to think it was placed on earth by some advance race and it ended up in the hands of humans. Whatever I am, I have friends, and a war to fight.

Oh, and next time I say boil the bastards alive. Just in case you were wondering.