Animorphs 2.0: Novamorphs Generation
Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. I do, however, own this story.
Chapter Two
"I'm in." Jeff replied without hesitation.
Aldrea took my arm, and said in private thought-speak to me, ((Are you sure we can trust him? For all we know, it could be a trap. Perhaps an attempt to kidnap us and demand a large ransom.))
I stopped for a second, then said, "Everyone except Jeff, morph. Jeff, I'm sorry, but we have to discuss this in private."
Once we were all morphed, I said, ((Something about him just tells me we can trust him. I don't know why. It's just . . . one of those things you know without really having to think. My instincts tell me we need to trust him and that he's telling the truth.))
((I'm with Alex.)) Kendra said.
((So are we.)) Jarad and Laurie said simultaneously.
((I have to agree with Aldrea. I say we hold him for three days to make sure he isn't a Controller. In the meantime, we should get our parents to put in letters of recommendation for us to be given Class Four morph clearance. We also should have them run a background check on him. They've got all sorts of connections.)) Darren said. Darren was a guy I trusted. He usually knew what he was talking about with regard to possible courses of action.
((Okay. Anyone have any problems with that?)) I asked. When no one spoke, I began to demorph from seagull. When I got the human mouth, I said, "Okay, Jeff, we've decided on a course of action. We're going to have to hold you for three days in case you are a Yeerk trying to lure us into a trap. During that time, we'll be running a background check on you. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Actually, I completely agree. Don't trust anyone, like I said." Jeff said.
As we began walking to my house to pick up a few things, Aldrea moved her tail blade so that it was hovering near Jeff's neck, ready to separate his head from his shoulders if he tried anything.
"So, Jeff, what level of morph clearance do you have?" I asked casually.
"Class Four. My dad apparently pulled a few strings, sent in a letter allowing me to apply for higher clearance. I wouldn't suggest that you get your respective parents to do it. The Morph Laws Regulation Board doesn't exactly like it when parents use prestige to get their children higher clearance. However, they do seem to turn a blind eye to it when parents send in requests for their friends' children. Like you and Kendra, Alex. Have Jarad and Laurie's parents send in the letter asking them to let you two apply for Class Four. Darren, have Kendra and Alex's parents send in yours, and Jarad and Laurie's letters of recommendation can get sent in by Darren's parents." Jeff said.
"Okay, we just need to work out a story for why you need to stay at my house after we've made sure you're clean." I say.
"My parents are gone and I need a place to stay for a while." Jeff said, coming up with the story seemingly off the top of his head. "You and I have known each other for a while, but we've been too busy to hang out with each other very much, which is why I haven't been over before."
"That sounds like a plausible story." I said.
When we got to my house, it was dark outside. I sneaked inside and grabbed some rope, then met the others at a shack in the woods. Aldrea had gone to clear it with her superiors that she was going to be staying off-base for the next few days. We tied Jeff to a chair and worked out a guard schedule. Aldrea would guard him during the day, and the rest of us would take turns guarding him at night.
As the next three days passed, we went about our daily business while Darren's parents, using a picture of Jeff, ran a background check on him using some of the connections they still had from the first Yeerk war. Also, we had managed to convince our parents to write special recommendations so that we could apply for Class Four morph clearance. While I was guarding Jeff to make sure he didn't try to escape, I talked to him. We talked about all sorts of things. He would sometimes go off on tangential stories about the original Animorphs and sing high praise for them.
We were a little surprised when the background check came back. He completely checked out, but his birth certificate was the most interesting. It had 'Jake Berenson' as the father. Jake Berenson had been one of the original Animorphs; their leader, in fact. The only thing was, to public knowledge, Jake had dropped off the face of the planet years ago without leaving any children.
Finally, after three days of watching Jeff, we had no choice but to pronounce him safe. We decided that now was the time to try and see if my parents would let Jeff stay at my house.
We went over to my house after releasing Jeff and getting him cleaned up. I walked in the front door and noticed my Mom and Dad sitting next to each other on the couch
"Hey, Mom, Dad, there's something I need to talk to you about." I said, walking over and sitting in a chair. Jeff and the others followed.
"Mom, Dad, this is Jeff." I said. Now I was committed. There was no more time to second guess my decision. I had to go ahead with our explanation.
After telling my parents the explanation that Jeff and I had agreed on, I wasn't surprised that my parents said that Jeff could stay with us for as long as he needed to. I had no idea how long that would be. The main concern I had was how my Mom was going to handle living in the same house as the child of the man she'd loved when she was just a teenager.