This chapter took longer than I thought it was going to take, mainly because of the mental roadblock I was temporarily having. It's weird: I haven't had writer's block in such a long time, and now here I am, not being able to think of anything to write. That might be why this chapter kind of sucked -- in my opinion.

Sorry this story is taking so long, by the way, but I have a little habit of always drawing things out so I can organize them better because, somehow, I feel kind of like I've lost control of the story, but at the same time not. Don't tell that doesn't make sense because I don't want to have to explain it.

I don't own Animorphs or its characters or anything else to do with Animorphs that I might not know about. See? There's your proof that I don't own it. There are things that I don't know about that have to do with Animorphs. Anyway, just tell me to shut up anytime now.

XXX

Chapter 9

The Truth

(Yeerk.) The word echoed in my head and I scowled, trying to push the cruel tail away from me. (What are you doing here? Explain yourself!)

"Sorry, that came out wrong," I grunted as his tail pushed more violently against my neck. "I meant to say, 'I know you're an Andalite, but I'm not a Controller so don't chop me up into little pieces.' Alright? Now leave me alone."

(Do you truly expect me to believe that, Yeerk?) it spat inside my head. (I am an Andalite -- you should know that we are not easily deceived.)

"Truthfully?" I asked, astonished that he would even consider me to be telling the truth. I knew I wouldn't trust me if I was in his place, so I didn't expect him to. "No. I'd like you to believe me, but no, I don't expect you to. I know that Andalites are a lot smarter than you lead us meek humans to believe. Does that sound like something a Yeerk would say?"

(No, but that could be the point,) he replied. (The whole point of telling me that would have been to make me think you were completely human, but by telling me that, you have jeopardized your chance at my trust. Especially when you asked if that sounded like something a Controller would say,) he pointed out. (And humans are not always so humble as to call themselves 'meek'. If you were not an arrogant Yeerk, you would know that.)

"Ouch. Andy, be a little more sensitive to the human race. Besides, what Yeerk would want to take me over? I'm blind. Even if they did, they would want to get out right away because they wouldn't be able to see anything -- what good would I do them?" I asked, putting a fair amount of persuasion into my voice. "Believe me, I've been a Controller before -- the Yeerk who was in my head hated it. He was always complaining about how horrible it was to be in my head because the only things he could see was the stuff I imagined, or my memories. I can't help but agree with him on that."

(Just tell me why you were at the beach and who you are. Give me information if you want me to trust you,) the Andalite snapped, pushing his tail blade against my throat further. I backed away a little from the pain.

I sighed, annoyed once more. "I was on the beach last night or this morning, or whenever you found me, because I was just… taking a swim. By accident. I mean, I was flying and I slipped -- or something. I don't remember exactly what happened. Look, just don't slit my throat open. I have a lot to live for right now and I have no time in my schedule for death. Sorry, but I'll have to pass. I have things to do; Yeerks to fight, Andalites to fight alongside with. You know, the usual." His tail loosened against my neck to let me breathe and move, and I felt something like shock emanating from him.

Another voice, different from the first one, erupted inside my head this time. It was familiar, but I couldn't place it. It wasn't an Andalite as far as I could tell. A human in morph? No way. That would mean... (Wait, did you say "Andalites to fight with"?)

"Something like that, yeah. Why?" I asked, but I knew the answer now that he had spoken: these were two of the infamous Andalite Bandits, whom I admired so much.

(Which Andalites exactly?) he asked cautiously. I just barely stopped a smirk from creeping up into my face and completely giving me away.

"Ever heard of the Andalite Bandits?" I asked. Neither he nor Andy answered. "How about the incredible woman who fights alongside them? I hear she's pretty famous these days. The AB's are pretty intent on discovering who she is, aren't they?… But they aren't the only ones. They all want her on their side. The Yeerks already know who she is, but that's only because she's been a Controller before -- twice. But that doesn't mean that she'll go with them does it? Actually, it makes the chances of her becoming a Controller voluntarily pretty much a stupid concept."

(It's you,) the human breathed, (You're the Mystery Hunter.) The pressure on my neck seemed to almost disappear as he said it.

"Oh, please," I said, making myself sound flattered by the name. "I don't deserve such an amazing title." I put my hand on my face mockingly and plastered a sweet smile on to hide the pain that I felt crawling all over my skin. I shouldn't have been so reckless the night before. It wasn't their time to know -- no, I couldn't let them know. Ever. It was too dangerous for them to know right now. They couldn't know who I was, what I was doing, what had happened to my father. The less they knew the better. Silence was good here. I took my hand from my face and lost the tacky smile. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go," I said when I heard familiar steps coming toward our hiding spot. It was Cassie, I could tell by the way she walked smoothly through the forest toward us. If she saw me I was dead; she would recognize me instantly.

I concentrated and started changing after I pushed Ax's tail away from me. I shrunk and became feathery and brown with sharp, round, brown eyes and a razor-sharp beak made for tearing into my prey. My wingspan was roughly seven feet and I was about one meter long. I had dark brown plumage and a golden head and neck. I was a powerful, deadly bird, able to swoop down on any unsuspecting victim and plunge my sharp talons into their back.

I saw them now, the Andalite and the hawk. A beautiful red-tailed hawk to my left and an elegant Andalite to my right. ('Bye guys. Call me if you need anything. I would wink, but I don't know if eagles can do that.) As I took off, I saw Tobias flinch a little -- probably because Golden Eagles ate his kind. But, lucky for him, I wasn't hungry at the moment.

I flew steadily, quickly through the trees, rising up into the sun, which blinded me for a moment after so much darkness. When my vision cleared and I saw it clearly, once out of the surrounding foliage, I felt a sense of freedom that I hadn't had for a long time. I relished in the bird's ignorance, having no recognition of the dark red car below, having no sense of what it even was, having no sense of time except that it was midday. I looked down at the car with a spattering of blood against the windshield, but saw no body. Oh no; someone had found the body. I hadn't thought that anything in news could spread so quickly. He had only been dead one night.