I wasn't completely ignorant about the Peace Movement. After Liliss had been in my head for a couple of weeks, long enough to think she might tell me the truth, I had asked her more about what the Peace Movement was like. Liliss had told me that, when she'd first joined, there were only twenty other members. All of them had hosts, but having a host wasn't a requirement for joining. In fact, it might even be better if you didn't have one, because it meant you took your beliefs seriously.

Not that all of the others had Hork-Bajir or humans. A couple of them had Gedds. I'd seen Gedds before, but never in cages at the Yeerk Pool. Temrash had told me that, aside from Yeerks, they were the most advanced life forms on the Yeerk home world. Not that this said much about their intelligence. As long as a Yeerk didn't intentionally hurt a Gedd's mind, Gedds were basically voluntary by default. He'd sort of laughed, darkly, when he told me this, so I'd gotten the idea that he'd been purposefully cruel to his Gedd host. Which was pretty typical of Temrash.

Anyway. About half of the other Yeerks in the Peace Movement had Taxxons as hosts. Two did have Hork-Bajir. And the rest had humans who either started out voluntary, or became that way over time.

I remembered thinking that the Peace Movement didn't have much of a shot at taking down the empire, with twenty something members.

Liliss, having heard my thoughts, hadn't taken offense.

(Well, Tom, there are probably far more Yeerks with our views than who are in the Movement,) Liliss had told me.

(Then, why aren't they with you guys? No offense, but twenty Yeerks is basically nothing,) I'd complained.

(Well, there's the ever present fear of being caught, and executed. Then, there's the fact that it's difficult to join. We don't exactly send out invitations with our meeting time on them,) Liliss had reminded me, gently. (You have to know someone who's already in the Peace Movement, and you have to...humans would call it "vetting". No matter what your views are about involuntary hosts, if you don't know someone in the Peace Movement and you aren't willing to risk your life to try to find someone, it will be very difficult to join.)

That did make sense. (And as the Movement grows, the Yeerks who are interested will have a better chance of knowing a Yeerk who's already there?)

(In theory,) Liliss had explained. (It's a small but growing movement.)

Which made me realize how lucky I had been to be assigned to someone in the Peace Movement. Although, maybe, a Peace Movement sympathizer would have treated me okay.

Hard to treat me worse than Temrash, and given that I was broken, I figured that most empire Yeerks wouldn't bother. They'd mostly just ignore me, leave me to myself and wishing for death.

Things were a lot better, now. I was glad that I hadn't been able to kill myself those handful of times.

When, a little over seven months after she'd infested me, Liliss announced that a Yeerk named Aftran had joined, it had been a passing comment. The Peace Movement was now at fifty members, and the fiftieth was a Yeerk named Aftran 942 of the Hett Simplatt Pool.

(She's younger then you, right?) I asked Liliss.

We were back in my car, and she'd given me full control back. Even then, we still communicated mind to mind. Way safer that way.

(Yes. The Yeerks of the Sulp Niar Pool were the first ones to be spawned outside of the home world,) Liliss explained. (Not all of us were born at the same time. I was born after the Hork-Bajir were nearly eliminated by the Quantum Virus, so you could saw I was near the end of that generation. In human years, I'm twenty-three.)

I hadn't asked her age, but, of course, Liliss must have known that I would wonder.

(And the Hett Simplatt Pool?) I pressed.

(They began immediately after the Sulp Niar Pool. Well, there was a slight overlap, but that ended up being atypical. It was the first one to be built on the Hork-Bajir home world. It spanned about five years, which became a typical length of time for breeding Yeerks,) Liliss replied. (That means that Aftran would be between fifteen and twenty-five, in human years.)

Yeerk years, I knew, were way longer than human ones.

I nodded, following the math. Not that it was very hard. (How old are you when you get your first host?)

(I was five, but that was fairly late,) Liliss began. (Since most of the Hork-Bajir had died from the Quantum Virus, there were far fewer to infest. Not that I started out with one, but it meant that Yeerks with Gedds were less likely to be promoted. We also hadn't encountered the Taxxon home world. I imagine that Aftran would have received her first host during the first or second year of her life. Yeerks develop more quickly than humans, as do Hork-Bajir and Gedds,) Liliss added.

(Yeah, I know. We're slow,) I teased her. (So, you spoke to her?)

(No, not yet. I just know that she joined,) Liliss admitted. (She's meeting the other Yeerks in the movement as they feed, so there's more time for her to get to know everyone, and us to get to know her. I might not have a chance to speak to her for a few weeks. There's been talk of coordinating our schedules so we feed at the same time, or at two times, but Oliss and Arklam think this would be too dangerous, especially if word of our movement reached Yeerks like Visser Three. Anyway, most Yeerks don't follow a standard feeding schedule anyway.) Liliss shrugged. (I'd like it to be more standardized, but I understand the concerns.)

(Yeah, makes sense,) I answered. (You looking forward to meeting her?)

Liliss gave a sort of nod and shrug. (As much as any new Yeerk who joins. I don't know anything about her, aside from her name and the pool she's from. I will be happy to learn more about her, of course.)

(You've met everyone who's joined so far?) I guessed.

We didn't talk about the other Yeerks in the Peace Movement, much. It wasn't a taboo subject or anything, just wasn't that interesting to me. Still. Aftran, or any Yeerk, being the fiftieth to join was kind of a milestone.

(Yes. Not that it was difficult, in the beginning. There were twenty before me, and this will be the twenty-ninth person to join after me. I'm now considered one of the early members,) Liliss laughed.

(If it keeps growing, you could be considered one of the founders,) I teased.

(Yes, exactly. We'll create our own new ranking system,) she teased back. (The Peaceiarchy.)

I groaned at the pun. (Just don't use the term "Pisser", okay? Do Peacer, or something.)

Liliss giggled. (You know that when the Yeerks wanted to track down the Andalite Bandits by destroying the trees in the wooded area they were likely to reside, they called it the Dapsen Logging Company?)

(Yeah, but I thought you'd want to rise about Visser Three's behavior,) I laughed. (That was when one of the Andalite Bandits sprayed him as a skunk, right?)

(Yes,) Liliss laughed. (I'm glad we weren't around him. The smell was pungent, from what others have said.)

(We got a whiff of it from Midget's dog. Remember, he got sprayed by one a few days later? Jake banned him from the house until it faded,) I recalled.

(I remember. The ban might have only been three days, had we been able to wrangle him into that tomato juice bath,) Liliss smiled. (That was truly a lost cause.)

(Yeah, he might as well have been a cat, the way he ran from that bath. Even growling at us.) After snickering in my mind, I added, very unconvincingly, (Poor guy. But, really, you'd have thought he would have learned to avoid skunks. Or, at least, not chase them.)

Liliss just shrugged and smiled at me in reply.

I think we both expected to go at least a week before Liliss ended up meeting Aftran, but she was waiting to talk the next time Liliss fed. While I waited in my cage, looking defeated and miserable-while, really, I was just bored-Liliss learned all about Aftran's past.

Once my Yeerk reinfested me, I could tell that something was off. Well, not off, but definitely on her mind.

(Liliss? You okay?) I asked, as she walked me away from the pool. Away from the screams.

(Let's take a walk on that path you enjoy,) she answered, almost distractedly. (I have some important news to tell you. About Aftran.)

(Okay.) I felt bewildered by her response, but at least, she hadn't told me about a reassignment. (I can have control then, right?)

(Of course you can, honey.) She gave me a level 1 mental hug, which definitely settled my emotions. (I promise.)

She drove my car in silence, and I could tell she was distracted. Maybe even worried. About what? Aftran's role in the Peace Movement? She didn't say, and I might have pushed, had I not known she would tell me in ten minutes.

Well, fifteen, as it turned out. The roads were pretty busy, and we seemed to get all red lights.

Finally, though, she arrived at my favorite trail, and parked the car in the makeshift lot. She unbuckled my seat belt and got out, locking the door behind us, before giving me full control.

I started to walk.

Liliss was quiet for a few minutes, maybe lost in her own thoughts, maybe figuring out what she wanted to tell me. Since I had control, I wasn't too worried.

Like I said, it didn't sound like she was going to be reassigned, and I'd end up with another Yeerk like Temrash.

(Aftran met the Andalite Bandits,) Liliss finally began. (Her host was a small girl, about six in human years. Involuntary. She'd signed up for the position after a few years of combat and guard work as a Hork-Bajir, and she'd offered to infest the human child.)

I shuddered. I knew the empire took kids, even though I couldn't imagine what kind of evil went through a Yeerk's mind to agree to infest someone who probably couldn't even ride a bike without training wheels. Aftran had actually volunteered for this job? I already didn't like her.

(When the Andalite Bandits attacked two weeks ago, they killed one of Aftran's brothers, who had infested a Hork-Bajir. One of the guards. She wanted to kill the Andalite who had personally killed him, so she began following her,) Liliss continued.

(I thought Andalites don't usually let their women fight in the military,) I remembered.

(Not usually, no,) Liliss agreed, but her tone suggested that this wasn't important, or not to the story, so I just gave her a mental nod.

(She figured out where they were living?) I wondered. (Did she bring anyone with her?)

(No, she just stole a Dracon beam. Aftran had experience with combat as a Hork-Bajir, so, perhaps, she thought that this would help. Rather foolhardy behavior,) Liliss observed.

(Yeah. I mean, a Yeerk infesting a six year old with one weapon versus a group of Andalites who have been kicking Visser Three's butt for the last year. I wonder who will have the edge,) I deadpanned, grinning.

Liliss snickered. (She came across one Andalite...except it was a human child.)

(In morph, then,) I assumed. (Did the Andalite morph back?)

(Not exactly...They were both lost at this point, and Aftran's weapon went missing. There was also a leopard on the hunt, who the Andalite saved Aftran from. Aftran mentioned that she saved the Andalite from drowning, so she told the Andalite that they had each saved each other's life and neither owed each other anything anymore,) Liliss recalled.

(Was Aftran still pretending to be a human, or did she lay her cards down?) I asked.

(It would have been smarter to pretend to be human,) Liliss acknowledged, with a smile, (but Aftran went, as you would say, "full Yeerk" on the Andalite bandit.)

I stopped walking. (I'm surprised she didn't kill her.)

Liliss shrugged. (They found shelter and the Andalite tried to feed her. Aftran's host's leg was also injured, so the Andalite tried to take care of her. She asked Aftran a lot of questions, but Aftran mostly refused to answer them. Somehow, they ended up becoming friends.)

(You're kidding.)

Well, the whole thing was pretty far fetched, but still.

(Another Andalite bandit arrived, and wanted to kill Aftran, but the first one refused. She protected Aftran's host by forcing Aftran into her own head,) Liliss began, then stopped.

Probably waiting for my reaction.

(She did WHAT?) I yelled.

There was only one Andalite Controller in the galaxy. No one was entirely sure how Visser Three had managed it, but Alloran sure hadn't gone up to Visser Three and said, (Of course, Yeerk, you may have and control my body.)

(Aftran then learned that the Andalite Bandits consisted entirely of five human children and one Andalite who was, by Andalite rules, not old enough for combat, but fighting all the same,) Liliss continued.

There had been rumors that at least one of the Andalite Bandits were human. Liliss and I weren't sure if we believed them. It made a little sense, sometimes, because they had a better knowledge of human animals and the area than Andalites would have. If at least one human was working with the Andalite Bandits, they would have information a band of Andalites who had survived a crash landing wouldn't have been privy to.

But human kids? Liliss was pulling my leg.

(You're joking,) I told her, flatly. (No way human kids could do all of that.)

(I was just as surprised as you were, Tom,) Liliss insisted, her voice soft. (But Aftran didn't just tell me. We used palp to palp communication, and she showed me these memories.)

I shrugged, then began jogging. (Wow. Okay. Human kids who somehow got the power to morph. Okay, um, I want to ask how...I mean, what with Seerow's Kindness and all. Did they find the technology after his ship exploded?)

(He gave the technology to them, moments before he died. He wanted humanity to have a fighting chance, and he encountered five kids in his last moments,) Liliss explained. (He must have thought the circumstance warranted a breaking of Seerow's Kindness.)

(Yeah, well, he wasn't wrong, but kids? Man, they're going to have nightmares for life,) I mused. (So, Aftran's still alive...what happened after she infested the Andalite?)

(She made a deal with the Andalite, who was a female human child, to trap herself as a human caterpillar if she would return to the Yeerk Pool and free her child host. She kept her word,) Liliss told me. (Her host's family was extremely wealthy and connected, and she told the child how to get out of the Yeerk Pool without a Yeerk. She also briefly left her host to explain the situation to the child's parents. As far as Aftran knows, the human and her family are living in another state, using only human cash, where they plan to reside for as long as possible.)

(I guess that's as good a plan as any,) I agreed. (I'm surprised that the human child went through with it. Stinks that she'll have to live out the rest of her life as a caterpillar, though.)

A high price for another kid's freedom. But, I guessed, it was her choice to make.

Anyway, Aftran could have reported them all and gained a huge promotion. The human kid would have been infested, then. There was no way she was getting out of there unharmed.

(Yes,) Liliss agreed, quietly. (A very high price.)

I figured that was the end of the story. Not a happy one for the Andalite, but definitely for the kid.

(Tom, honey, there's something else I need to tell you,) she murmured.

(You're getting reassigned?) I asked, panic in my voice.

We'd prepared for this, kind of. If it took place after I turned eighteen.

I was still months away from turning eighteen.

If I disappeared, I wouldn't just be a missing host or a missing son. The second would be awful, but if the war ever ended, I could explain it to my parents. No, if I went missing before I turned eighteen, I'd be a missing minor.

The chances of being caught, of being infested again, would be a lot higher.

Liliss had promised to avoid getting a promotion, but you couldn't always prevent being reassigned.

(No, no, nothing to do with that!) she reassured me, pulling me into a mental hug. Level two, I knew. (I promise. I'll be your Yeerk for...well, however long this lasts.)

(Okay. Okay.) I felt a little better. Slowing my pace to a quick walk, feeling less panicked, I added, (What's the rest, then?)

(Um...your brother is the leader of the so-called Andalite bandits?) Liliss tried to laugh. Failed. (They call themselves Animorphs.)

I froze in my place. (You're joking.)

(Oh, honey. I wish that was the case,) Liliss sighed. (Jake, his best friend Marco, your cousin Rachel, and their friends, Cassie and Tobias. The Andalite is Elfangor's little brother.)

I sat down, covering my face with my hands. (Wow. Then, thank God he never joined The Sharing.)

(Yes,) Liliss murmured. (I know.)

We didn't speak for awhile. I stood up, and began to run. As I focused my efforts on speed, on endurance, I went through everything in my head.

The Andalite bandits were human. Jake was the leader. He'd been fighting them for a year. With some level of success. I mean, they had destroyed a Kandrona, resulting in the loss of thousands of Yeerks. They'd even managed to destroy the clinic, which not only killed dozens, maybe hundreds, of Yeerks, but they'd prevented our governor (now well on his way to running for presidency) from getting infested. They'd probably killed hundreds, maybe thousands, of Controllers.

For a bunch of kids, they were totally kicking butt.

Midget. My fourteen year old brother. The one who, until the last year, looked up to me like I was some kind of deity. Who'd tried out for the basketball team and had been crushed not to make it-and stupid Temrash had made things worse by telling him sports were no big deal, and I'd quit.

Then, another flash of realization dawned on me. Jake knew about The Sharing. Which meant, he'd known about me. Why hadn't he tried to save me? Sure, I liked Liliss now, but he wouldn't have known that. He killed Controllers, destroyed Kandronas, but he couldn't save his own brother?

Did he hate me that much for quitting the team?

(He tried to save you, Tom. When they first invaded the pool,) Liliss reminded me, softly.

I remembered that. I'd gone up against Visser Three on my own. No weapons, just my hands. He'd morphed some sicko creature from hell that had multiple heads and threw fireballs, and I'd gone up against him, allowing Jake to escape.

(You saved his life,) Liliss soothed. (As well as the lives of countless others in the pool.)

(He didn't come back. He didn't save me. He knew I was a prisoner in my head, and he didn't do anything else to help me,) I complained.

Like I said, I wasn't really a prisoner to Liliss. Probably, if it had been her instead of Temrash, I would have gone voluntary. I knew that she never would have tried to get Jake to join The Sharing. Plus, I wouldn't have been broken when she entered my mind. I would have been myself...

(Tom, you saw what happened when they destroyed the Kandrona and some of the humans' Yeerks died. They were killed. Immediately. Jake must have seen that, and realized that if your Yeerk died, so would you.) Liliss let that sink in for a minute. (He must have believed that the only way to save you and keep you free was to keep fighting until the Andalites returned.)

(Or the Peace Movement takes over,) I added, feeling better.

Well, kind of.

What Liliss said, it made sense. I hated to think of Jake hating me enough to keep me a slave in my head, but if he knew what would have happened had he freed me...

Anyway, it was kind of a good thing he hadn't tried. At least, after Liliss infested me. I didn't want her to die, and if they kidnapped me and starved her out, not only would she have died in the most painful way possible, I might end up killed or infested less then a day later.

It was a war. War was about making those kinds of decisions. Jake had tried to free me that night a the pool. I'd chosen to save his life, instead. Even though I hadn't known it was him.

We were both alive, now. I wasn't broken. Not anymore. Liliss was good to me. I trusted her. As far as things went with me, this was as good as it was going to get, until the war ended.

I should be grateful-and I was grateful. To Liliss, and really, even to Jake for not doing something stupid and getting us both killed.

Yeah. He'd been making the right decisions.

(Knowing what we do, I think it's time to talk to him,) I told my Yeerk. (He already knows I'm infested. He should know we're on his side. Maybe, we can help. With information, and with support.)

I had a feeling he could use a lot of support. I'd seen what he looked like, but it had to be taking a bigger toll on him, emotionally. I was his big brother. I might not be able to protect him from the war, but I could be there for him when he came home from battles. I could listen to him, give him hugs, let him cry on my shoulder, if he needed.

(Yes, we should do that,) Liliss agreed. (We just need to figure out the best way to make it safe for everyone.)

In the end, we decided to corner him when our parents would be gone for an extended period of time. That wouldn't be hard. They sometimes went out to eat, or play tennis or something.

It would also have to be after Liliss fed. Because I didn't like the idea of having a time limit where she would be due back at the pool within a few hours. Or even the following day. We needed as much time as possible. Just in case.

That left both what to say, and how to say it.

Not that either would be at all difficult. Of course.

(What if I carried you in a glass and said something like, "Jake, I've been a Controller this whole time, which you know. Here's my Yeerk. Let's talk."?) I asked, as we relaxed in my bed after finishing my homework.

(What if you don't get that far and he thinks it's a Yeerk intended for him?) Liliss pointed out. (That could get me killed immediately, and you later. At best.)

(Yeah. Okay. So, should he see you leave my head?) I wondered.

Liliss considered. (There's no other way to prove that you're speaking on your own without him seeing a Yeerk leave your head.)

(He could still try to kill you, though.)

(Not if we warn him before.)

(Still risky.)

Liliss laughed. (What isn't, honey?)

(Okay. Since he probably won't agree to being in the same room with me for any longer than possible, what do we do? Get a bat and knock him out, then tie him up?) I asked.

I sure wasn't in favor of this solution. I'd given Jake noogies on occasion, but nothing worse. By big brother standards, that was nothing. I knew-some of my classmates actually enjoyed beating up on their younger brothers.

Jerks.

(The best way may simply be to corner him, and then I'll leave your head before he can do much.) Liliss laughed. (Once he sees me leave your head, Tom, he'll probably be too shocked to move.)

(And then, I'll scoop you into a glass of water, and explain everything. Which amounts to that you were assigned to me after my first Yeerk, and you're in the Peace Movement and aren't horrible to me,) I determined.

Liliss, knowing that I'd give Jake a more flattering evaluation of her than that, gave me a mental nod. (If it comes down to it, would you let him...verify the facts?)

(Huh?)

Liliss sighed. (Acquire me, and infest you.)

Oh.

I wasn't sure. Well, no, I really didn't want any person or Yeerk in my head aside from Liliss, but yeah, if it came down to being infested to make sure I wasn't lying or being manipulated, Jake would probably be the best option.

I mean, I sure didn't want a near stranger in my head, and as for Rachel? No thanks. I was a human teenager, and while I hadn't thought about her the way I had about Lisa (the girl I'd joined The Sharing for), she'd never let me hear the end of it.

Even if she didn't say anything...yeah, no.

Jake was my kid brother, so that presented another level of awkwardness, but better the kid brother I loved to death than my female cousin or two of Midget's friends I wasn't close with. Or worse, an Andalite.

(Yeah. If it came down to that,) I sighed.

Liliss and I both really hoped that it wouldn't, but, well, better be prepared.

Author's note:

Things just got real. I don't know if they'll tell Jake in the next chapter or so, but it will be soon. Be warned: lots of hugging will occur.