LittleMidgett; Cool! You're updating again! Yay!

I actually need your help with making the twins(both Megan and Michelle and Sean and Seth) different. Can you help me? And maybe with Elfangor and Aerionna too?

Neway, here's da nxt chappie! It might not be the best, but... here goes...

Megan

What can I say for myself? I'm a, shopaholic, a girls girl...well, a chick. And yeah, I complain every now and then, but who doesn't?

And I've got my reasons too.

For one thing, I was getting sooo bored watching Toni and Cody having a one-on-one war with each other. Over a stupid video game! I mean... puh-leeeze!

I walked off after a while, going and having a shower. I got dressed in my new jeans and the coolest new top I'd found in The Gap... it cost me all of my allowance, but... it was worth it. And it was half price! I mean, c'mon... half price girls!!

I went back, finding only Sean, fully dressed, and Elfangor playing a deck of cards at the table. My sister was next to them, still in her daggy night top and our brothers old pants, looking over Seans shoulder, a careful foot away from him. Jeez that girl just makes me want to wring her neck! If she likes him that much, she should just say so!

I mean, it's not like it's not obvious that he has... an interest... in her too.

She was just as bad as Alex and Nicole! Man, what a...

"Hey, Megan" Sean said waving at me as Michelle looked up from his cards. She gave me a dangerous smile and turned her attention back to him.

"Hey, like the new outfit?" I asked, giving a little twirl.

"It's... nice" Sean said a little absent-mindedly as he picked out a card from his hand and put it down on the pile in front of me. Elfangor gave me a funny little smile before returning to his hand. I decided to sit down next to him.

(Why is artificial... why is clothing so essential to humans?) Aerionna asked as she entered the room, carrying what looked like a component from one of the many gismos and gadgets they had around the place.

"Toni and Cody... broke... the video game" Michelle said, following my gaze.

"Man those two are like... I dunno... an explosive force when you put them together. Or, at least, against each other" Sean shook his head, and Elfangor played a card.

"Or like Siamese fighting fish. Separate... or with us... they're fine, but together..." Michelle trialed off, looking at me.

"KaBOOM!" I finished for her, laughing.

Aerionna came and stood beside me, looking at her brother with her stalk eyes, while playing around with the component in her hands.

(It is very well damaged. But I do believe... without my fathers help... that I may be able to fix it) she said. I rolled my eyes. Soon, Nicole and Cody came out, and Michelle disappeared, probably to go have a shower.

"Hey, have you seen Seth around?" Nicole asked. She was wearing daggy jeans and an average blue sleeveless top. That girl...

"He's asleep, remember?" I said as I noticed Sean tense up a little. Or... maybe I was just imagining it...

Could be he knew Elfangor was about to beat him.

"Well, maybe we should..."

"Or maybe you shouldn't" At that moment Alex stepped into the dinning room, his dark eyes on Sean. I flicked my hair back, wishing I'd tied it up a little neater...

"Yeah, you know how Seth is when he's woken up" Cody chimed in, smiling a little.

"No, we don't. Tell us" I said, looking back up at him with a smirk and batting my eyes playfully.

"He goes ape!" Sean cried, laughing at his own joke.

"Oooga ooga" Cody imitated an ape, getting down on all fours and doing just what an ape would do. I laughed, in spite of myself. The others had a bit of a laugh too.

"Well, whatever..." Toni came into the room, not looking happy. A little later, Michelle joined us, wearing something simular to what she wore to bed. Jeans... our brothers old jeans... and a black daggy top. I swear, if it wasn't for my other friends, I'd go insane with all these people!

Wait a minute...

Aerionna continued to work on her little thingy-mabobby, while the rest of us discussed what we wanted to do next.

Then...

WWWOOOOOAAAAAAAA! WOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!!WOOOOOOAAAAA!!!

"Hey! What the..."

"The alarm!" Elfangor bolted up beside me.

(We are under attack!!)

"Oh... oh! No way!!"

"From what?! Who?!!"

(It is...) Aerionna took a breath to try and calm herself (It is the planetary alarm for an attack... we... we must find mother and father!)

"Grab her!"

She began to run towards the stairs, but Sean and Cody grabbed her weak Andalite arms. She flicked her tail blade, about to knock them off, but Elfangor caught his sisters tail just before she hit Cody.

I swear, I don't think anything comes close to the speed of an Andalite tail. Except a Chanaiben one. And it all happened in the blink of an eye. Not even.

(Let me go! What are you doing?!) She cried furiously, trying to shake herself free, but they refused to let her go.

"You know the procedure if there is ever an attack. All citizens must remain in their dwellings, and..."

(We are not mere citizens brother! Our father is a War Prince, and that in turn requires...)

"It requires squat Aerionna. We're all citizens... and guests... here. And I don't think a bunch of kids can do much more than get in the way" Sean said. And he was right. After all, he was Chanaiben as well as human. He'd know the rules.

"So what do we..." Nicole was cut off by something hitting one of the walls upstairs, and we all watched in awe as a beautiful white stallion rocketed down the stairs, carrying Tobias and... and Seth!

It jumped off the last few steps as we all scattered, nearly breaking its legs, and the guys slid off its back.

"Seth? What are you...?"

"No time to explain. There's a... an invasion force... we...we..." he looked terrified as he came and joined us, his face was white and his eyes... they looked haunted.

Then I saw the horse begin to change! The mane disappeared, and the tail hair fused together and began to stretch out...

"Is everyone here?!" Tobias asked, his glare fixing on each one of us for a few seconds.

"Y-yeah. I mean, now there is. What... why is it...?" Cody's voice was hoarse, knowing we were caught in a war now. A war! Oh god... I felt sick...

Then I noticed who... yeah who... the horse was. Sean's dad!

"It's the Yeerks. They're back" Tobias said, his face changing from concern into hate the moment he said the word Yeerk.

"But... but they...but you..."

"The Blade ship got away. Nearly took Rachel and Jade with them, but they got out in the nick of time. And now... it's back..." He was seething now, and from above we heard the cry of wild animals. Wild earth animals.

"Back up!" Tobias snapped, pushing us all back into the wood hallway as I heard a tiger's roar, and then what sounded like thunder coming down the stairs. Seconds later, I saw a whole assortment of animals; two tigers, two polar bears, a grizzly, a cougar... and an Andaite. It had to be Aerionna's dad.

But that meant...

And then I noticed the grizzly bear put something down on the table. The two polar bears too... dropped what looked like a gorilla. Burnt and bloody. Then they all began to shrink. All but Aerionna's dad and the gorilla.

The cougar... was her mom. And the moment she had her own hands and feet, she raced over to a computer console with the War Prince following her.

"Computer! Authorise Rtaia and Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill!"

"Password?" It asked mechanically.

(Dear heart" they said together.

"Confirmed. Commands for..."

"Shield up! Maximum strength. Seal off from the upper half! Do it now!"

"Complying" Then, thunder! I saw small chunks of earth begin to rain down on us, and a massive... I dunno, door? Slid across above us, halfway down the stairs, trapping us below. Then I looked down at the... at our parents.

Nicole's dad was leaning on the table, shaking the thing that was on the table. It was... it was...

"Mom!" Nicole cried, joining her dad beside the burnt body. The rest of us surged forward in a little group. I didn't see my dad anywhere...

"Morph!" Jake was screaming "Come on, morph!"

Rachel was now crying, and Tobias put a hand on her shoulder. Cody went and stood next to her. She took his hand in hers, and he squeezed it gently. Aerionna and Elfangor went to their parents, and Sean and Seth hugged their mum, who was in shock, watching the scene unfold.

"Is she... dead?" Michelle asked beside me. Her face was pale.

"I... I don't know" I whimpered, terrified and sick as I watched as Jake shook her, and Nicole cried and begged her mom to get up. Or move, or... something!

"Dad" Alex suddenly said, pushing past us and going over to the gorilla and our mother. Mom was sitting beside it, hyperventilating, and looking like she was fighting back a scream. Seconds later, she lost.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" She hit the big gorilla's chest, crying and yelling and looking like a madwoman. Alex went and put his arms around her. She shrugged him off.

"Come on Marco, demorph! COME ON!!" She beat its chest again... and suddenly... I understood.

"Oh my god" Michelle whispered beside me, and I knew she understood it too. We both ran over to her, and the... our dad... both of us crying now.

"Come on dad! Come on!" Alex joined our mom in encouraging our dad to 'demorph'. But... I saw the blood... and his left leg was gone...

Beside us, Jake was screaming "Oh thank god!" and I turned to see Cassie's form changing... thick hair was growing... and she became a wolf... then reversed it. She was whole! Now... it was...

"Dad! Come on!" Alex yelled angrily "Come on you wimp!"

Beside him, mom was silent. She had her head in her hands, crying. Michelle was beside her, doing her best to hold our moms shaking form. Me? I felt like I couldn't breathe. Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I just stared at the gorilla's unmoving form... my father. The others were now watching us, crowding around...

"Back up!" Amanda yelled "Just back off!"

"Daddy, don't leave us" I whispered "We need you"

"Come on you sad, whiny excuse for a father! COME ON!!" Alex again, and I saw he was trying to fight back his own tears. Then... then...

The gorilla was shrinking! Olive skin replaced black leathery skin, hair... eyes... he was doing it! Very soon, it was just my dad... in very unflattering clothing... staring up at us. But he was alive!

"Dad! Mom, it's dad!" But before she could look up, my dad had his arms around her. Michelle backed off as we just watched them hold onto each other for a moment. Mom was crying and thanking god and dad was just hushing her and telling her it was all right. Then he looked up at Alex, who blushed.

"Uh... hey dad. Um... about what I said..."

"Yeah, I know what you said" He replied smiling grimly, then picked Mom up as he stood. Michelle hugged him. Then me.

"Daddy! I... I..." I stuttered, nearly squeezing the life out of him. But he held me just as tightly, kissing my forehead to assure me. Just like he did when I was little.

"It's not over yet!" Ithiell said. I noticed he'd joined Rtaia at the computer console, and was looking at it intensely, his big green eyes narrowed.

"They're randomly shooting the area! They'll shoot the cave dwelling above us any second!"

(Force fields are at maximum, and the hatch is closed, but... we may have to brace for the impact of the...)

"Into the hallway!" Ithiell instructed, and we all ran into the wooden hallway. Dad still held onto me, and I saw the others were kind of huddled in family groups as well, spaced out along the long hallway. Alex and mom had their arms around Michelle.

"Against the wall! It might help a little more!" Jake yelled, and he pressed his back against the wall, still holding onto Cassie's hand. His other arm was around Nicole.

Dad backed into the wall, and I held onto him. This was going to get rough, I knew.

KABOOOOOMMMM!!! The first blast!

It shook the whole cave! Rocks fell into the lounge and dining room! And we all stumbled.

KABOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

KABOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Two more! We all stumbled around, desperately trying to keep our footing.

KABOOOOOMMMM!!

The next one sounded further away. But it was still enough to send us stumbling again.

KABOOOOM!!!

KABOOOM!!!

KABOOOM!!

KaBOOM!!

The assaults kept coming, until it was nothing more than the sound itself, all far away. It was only then that we dared to move, or even breathe.

Ithiell and Rtaia went back out to the computer console, and we all slowly followed them, and I finally let go of dad.

Ithiell accessed the systems, his fingers flying across the console, and we waited anxiously.

"Well," he started "It looks as though they've moved off, but... the shields couldn't stop the dracon fire from destroying the outer cave. The shields however... they managed to stop them from... from getting us down here. But it was close"

"Too close" I agreed, standing with my arms folded across my chest.

"So... what do we do now?" my mom asked from beside me.

"Well, let me see if I can contact anyone..."

"I will try and contact my brother" Rtaia said, and Ithiell stepped aside for her to work her magic. A few seconds later, an older Chanaiben... older than Rtaia... was looking back at us. And he did not look happy.

"I know of the situation Rtaia. I am glad to see you and your... friends, are still alive. I was concerned when I saw your cave dwelling..."

"What is the situation brother? Is there any way we may be able to assist?"

"Not as yet. The Aerionna has picked up the Blade ship, yet we have a few minor repairs to do before we can follow it. The Ice Blade and the Kipnell are in pursuit, but they are not of the correct size to take a direct attack. Other ships are powering up all over the planet, and the Runchak have been contacted to help, but is beginning to look grim. The Blade ship has already managed to take out one docking port, where one of our most powerful ships were located, and the rest are at immediate risk..."

"But what can we do to help?" Mom pressed.

"There's got to be something!!" Amanda cried, looking desperate.

"Do, as you humans say, 'hold tight'. We will come for you when we have a clear opening"

"Good. I don't want to be left out of this. It's payback time!" Rachel said as she held up a fist, looking deadly.

"There's nothing I can do..." Tobias sighed helplessly "Just like..."

"Maybe you can" Ithiell looked hopeful.

"I will contact you when I... we need you" Rtaia's brother said, smiling heavily. Rtaia nodded, and the picture of his face faded.

"We can't just sit here!" Jake cried angrily, pacing the destroyed room. He shared a glance... just a quick glance... with my mother. Something I don't even think anyone noticed. But I did. And I got worried.

"We don't have much choice" my dad said, his eyes looking darker than I'd ever known them to be. He wasn't the happy-go-lucky father I knew anymore. He was... he was an Animorph. In fact, all of our parents seemed grim... different.

Was this what war did to people? Would it do this to us?

"Agreed. But for now, let's just be glad we're all alive"

(Prince Jake, I...)

"I thought you got over calling me 'Prince' a long time ago. After all, you're the prince now" Jake let out a hint of a smile.

(Perhaps you would like to be called Jake formally known as Prince)

All the adults laughed at a joke none of us kids could ever guess at. But it was grim laughter.

"Well, let's just wait... and hope... we can do something before it's too late"