A/N I'm going to put all of the chapters up in one go- this is bugging me WAY too much. This is not the new chapter- this was what I had intended to put up. I don't know when I'm going to put the alternative ending up. Busybusybusy. . Anyway I figured if and when I do put the alternative up, I can post that story, along with the different ending in a separate fic. Hope I'm not disappointing or corny with the original- here goes.

Chapter Eight

Everything behind my eyelids was warm colored instead of black. I left them closed for a few moments, knowing that Azele would be there to control them- but nothing happened.

"He looks like he's coming to," said one of the voices- a female probably slightly younger than me.

"Finally," said a male.

There had to be more around me because, for some reason, the room felt crowded. Very crowded. Unwillingly, I opened my own eyes to see who they were. The girl who has spoken I assumed was the one standing over me- she was dark skinned, and had deep brown eyes. She smiled down at me warmly.

"Oh look, sleeping beauty's up," said the Latino, sitting on a bale of hay on the other side of me- the male who spoke while my eyes were still closed. Right across from him was a blond who rolled her eyes sarcastically at him, and right next to him was a guy with brown hair, his lips in a crease.

I looked up at the one who was still looking at me, checking the wounds on my stomach and head. I pulled away, not liking the contact. "Where am I," I said, my eyes wide and alert. Something was wrong.

The girl pulled her arms away, wincing, but her warm demeanor returned. "You're in my barn-"

"Ze headquarrrters of ze resistonce," finished the Latino in a fake French accent.

"Shut-up Marco," snapped the blond.

The brown-headed guy forced back a grin. He had to be the leader.

The girl standing over me continued, not hiding her grin. "I'm Cassie- that's Jake-" she pointed to the leader, "-Marco-" We already know who that one is- "Rachel-" The blond. But then she continued pointing up at a hawk-looking bird. "That's Tobias."

"Your mascot?" I said almost sarcastically.

(No,) snarled a voice in my head.

"Sorry," I snapped, defensive, glaring at the bird, which glared back in turn. I looked back up at the girl called Cassie. "Who are you people- how did I get here?" my voice demanded. My features were over reacting to how I felt, magnified by the emotions- I wasn't used to having complete control.

This time it was the leader who stood up. "We're the resistance against the Yeerks. And how we resist them is through the power to morph- we can turn into animals. We rescued you that way earlier today."

"Your the Andalite bandits," I finished shortly. "Azele told me about you guys." Great I didn't like them already.

Prince Jake- said a voice coming into the barn.

"Whoa!" I screeched, sliding over on the table I had apparently been put on. A very narrow table because I ended up on the ground a millisecond later. I coughed, my eyes suddenly not focusing because of how hard I landed on my butt. It was a blue centaur- almost like the one that Azele had confronted- an Andalite. I didn't like those either. As I got up, I could hear Marco snorting back laughter. I made sure that Cassie was right in front of me. "He's not evil is he?" I asked, my eyes wide.

The Andalite gave me a look, his voice flat, (No, I am not evil.) His stalk eyes, or whatever they were, turned here and there. It was very disconcerting. I shouldn't have asked- he didn't make the room freeze in fear. In fact, everyone seemed calm as if he was a calm human being.

I stepped out from behind Cassie. "Sorry." I took a deep breath, trying to get used to the none-humanoid figure in the room. "So why am I here?" I asked, really wanting to know the answer- and I wanted to know where Azele was. Part of me didn't, afraid to hear the answer to the question.

"We were trying to get your friend-" Jake paused, waiting for me to scream with hatred that she wasn't my friend. It didn't come. "But they got to her first-"

"Is she going to die?" I blurted.

"We don't know," he answered honestly. I wished he lied instead because I didn't like the answer.

"We're not heroes for hire for you people," snapped Rachel. I turned to glare at her. "We're not going to rescue every stinking Yeerk that needs our help."

"But what if it hurts an empire as a whole?" Cassie asked her sensibly.

I sat on the floor, somewhat closer to them, but still at a distance, and sighed. "She's not really all that important to them. She ended up being in the middle of two Vissers- or whatever you call them. She worked for Visser One, and Visser Three wanted to take out some of the people that worked for her- her being one of them. At first she ended up lucky, and he stripped her rank, but she came back, wanting to prove herself- she had me by that time."

I was talking more to Cassie because she seemed like the one who wouldn't sneer at Azele. Cassie moved to sit next to Rachel, looking at me, concerned and a little bit confused like the rest of them.

"So wait- we're saving someone who's still on their side?" Marco said, his voice harsh. The Andalite was sneering at me distastefully.

I looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of my neck. "Well, not exactly. She asked for it the first day I was with her, but during the end of the day, I got the feeling she doubted the empire's intentions- for a while at least. That the empire wasn't what she thought it was."

I looked up at the leader, gauging what he was thinking. He was listening intently, waiting for me to come to my conclusion. The hawk- Tobias- I couldn't tell what he was thinking- he was a bird after all and didn't have a human face. There would be no turning Marco or Rachel unless I could sway Jake. I almost laughed- I have become Azele.

"She even acts more human than Yeerk- I mean, from what I could tell. She likes coasters a lot, she even took me clothes shopping." I blushed slightly at the thought.

"Good fashion taste," muttered Rachel. I could have sworn that she really meant it. I told them the rest, like the things about Yezlin and everything. Marco was the one who was going to be the hardest, unless Tobias was hiding his opinion. The Andalite sounded as if he respected 'Prince Jake'.

"So she just could be switching sides because she's afraid to die and she knows her life is threatened," Marco snarled.

The Andalite nodded his head in agreement. (Marco does have a point, Prince Jake; Yeerks do often care more for their life than the lives of others.)

I was losing them. They had to understand. "She cared for my life."

"Stockholm's syndrome!" Marco threw up his hands.

I was beginning to get angry with him. I stood up in anger, hovering over him. "Look! You don't understand! When everyone gave up on me, she came around and actually took me places instead of locking me up as some mental case. Those Yeerks have done a lot more than the human race!"

Marco stood up glaring back at me- he didn't even reach my height. It made me feel better. "Yeah- that's right then, huh? They make the world all better by destroying families to fix their agenda-"

"That's enough," Jake said, pulling me away from shorty. When I stopped pulling, and when I was calm enough, he let go. "We'll save your friend. We'll take what Yezlin has said, and what you have said. It'll aggravate Visser three if anything else."

He looked around, and everyone seemed to have agreed. Though I could tell that everyone didn't have a high opinion of me anymore.

(L)(A)(T)(E)(R)

At night I was to sleep with the hawk-boy and the Andalite- who introduced himself grudgingly as Aximili. Also known as Ax. They walked me to some sort of tent-thing hidden half underground in the middle of the forest. Something that he called a 'scoop'. I kind of liked it because of how snug and warm it was.

I didn't want to go into it because I knew it would have invaded the Andalite's privacy, so I sat on the edge, staring blankly at a tree. The TV glowed in the dark, as the sky began to let lose a drizzle to the ground. "Great," I muttered, but I kept quiet. The fact that they were going to get Azele was all that I needed. I didn't need them to shelter me whether they hated me or not.

Resting my head on my arms and knees, I stared at the trees, noticing from the corners of my eyes that they seemed to be discussing something. Apparently thought-speech could be limited to whoever you directed it to- I couldn't hear a word in my head. Finally, the bird fluttered out from under the shelter, and the Andalite sighed.

(I suppose I should let you in,) he said, his voice flat, devoid of any emotion.

He didn't look like he really wanted me in. I shook my head, trying to avoid a potentially awkward situation. "No thank-you." A rain dropped down the side of my nose.

(Look, it is raining outside.) He paused, trying to say something nice. I could tell because it looked as if his eyes went back into his mind. Great he was making it awkward. (I would be honored... if you joined me.)

Heavily I stood up, relenting- I didn't like the fact that my butt was beginning to get wet- and went into the shelter, sitting next to him. In a lawn chair. Facing the TV perfectly. "Wow," I uttered.

('Wow' what?) he asked suspiciously.

"It's just that you seemed really prepared for company," I stuttered, looking up at him, to show that I really meant it. I looked down, still unused to having four eyes on me.

(Yes,) the Andalite began awkwardly, (Sometimes Tobias perches at the top, and sometimes Marco comes in to look at the 'hot' human females.)

I nodded. He offered the remote, but I held my hands up. "I don't watch much TV."

(Well, what little do you watch?)

I rolled my eyes looking up at him, with a smirk. "The last time I watched TV, I was still watching cartoons."

(I have plenty of those channels.) Instantly he began flipping through a few channels, which did, sure enough, show cartoons. He was really trying.

"Ooh, that one," I pointed when I found something that caught my attention. The Batman Superman series. I grew up with those two super heroes. My spine hunched forward towards the warmth of the TV, glee piercing my face. "I was never allowed to watch this- bad for my head."

(Bad for you head?) quoted the Andalite, confused.

"That it would make everything worse," I explained, eyes still glued to the set, "I was mentally ill- I think I still am, but not as bad as before. I had voices- I mean I knew it was me all along, but I wasn't all that sure some of the time." I stopped, looking up at him. That was the most intense face of pity I had ever seen in my life, he seemed to be trying to understand what I went through. It was obvious that his own people, or whatever, very rarely went through stuff like that.

"I-I mean- I don't hear them anymore..." I looked back at the set, avoiding the look and continued. "Ever since Azele came, they all went- and it was just she and I. It was great because it was like having a friend right there with you all the time."

'Ax' very clearly didn't like the subject of Yeerks because of the cold silence as he considered his words carefully. (Like a shorm,) he suggested. I looked up. (A best friend in human words,) he defined.

"Y-yeah," I said slowly, registering the new word.

(Ahh. Tobias is my shorm, though he does not live in my head.)

I had to laugh. All four of his eyes were on me.

(I was funny?) He looked blank.

"Yeah," I said, smiling, rubbing the back of my neck. "I guess you were." I looked down at the dirt-packed ground. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier today- about pissing off that other guy. I really think I hit a weak point, though I don't know what."

(Marco's mother is the host to Visser one. But that is 'okay'- as you put it- because you did not know.) Ax was looking at Superman throw one of his enemies across the room. (Very curious,) he muttered.

"I acted a little bit too exaggeratedly. I'm not used to having full control over my body like this. Azele controls it better than I do."

(That cannot be right,) he said, looking at me. He was confused.

"Yeah, all my senses were always on high alert. Like my hearing for example- I can't stand crowded classrooms because they set me off. I either pass out, or start screaming. Or my taste- everything wouldn't seem right, so I wouldn't eat it."

(Ah.) Ax still didn't understand it. His mind was on something else. (This 'superman' is not the average human- because I have seen him fly and pick up things at least three times his own weight.) Then he said quietly, more to himself, (Maybe he is like Erek...)

I laughed again. "He's a super hero- he's supposed to be like that. He saves people, but he has a double identity as Clark Kent at the Daily Planet."

(Prince Jake, Cassie, Rachel, and Marco must be able to relate to him.)