ELEVEN: TOBIAS

6:21 P.M.

(A Werch is a Yeerk malefactor with no chance of redeeming themselves,) Ax explained. (Their crimes range from treason, assassination, destruction to the Council and so on. Their own people mistreat them as the lowest of their hierarchy, because of how much distrust the name carries. It is also loosely referred to as useless or the defeated.)

(I'm surprised Yeerks even have their own laws,) Rachel grumbled.

(The name isn't taken lightly, from what I've heard. Only high-ranking Yeerks who oppose the Empire are given it. Any Yeerk for other crime, either petty or dangerous, is disposed of instead of branded the name.)

(That's...a bit morbid,) Cassie admitted.

(And why don't they lock these Werches up?) Marco asked.

(It's Werch'ett. Not Werches,) Ax corrected him. (Starvation is already a fate worse than imprisonment for them. They die quickly because of the backlash.)

(That's horrible,) Cassie said.

(I have only heard about three cases and all three ended within the usual three days a Yeerk survives without Kandrona Rays.)

(Three days… So this Yeerk's going to die anyway,) Marco said.

(Yes. If this is a cover-up, the Yeerks wouldn't choose a Werch for this human,) Ax explained.

(Then you're really saying the girl we saw was an Andalite morphed as her?)

(Prince Jake may be right on that presumption. But-)

(But what?) I asked.

(I do not see a point in acquiring this human's DNA. A host with a Werch would draw too much attention from other Yeerks.)

(Maybe there's a reason for it? Maybe it's connected to that device we saw earlier,) Rachel added.

(It's possible but...what was this Andalite thinking?) Ax asked himself.

"I got this." The backdoor opened and closed. Elle dragged three big bags of garbage to the dumpster at the back. This was probably one of her regular chores she had to do, to keep up with the facade.

(Ok. Let's think this over,) Jake stated. (A girl bearing this Controller's description bumped into us with a Yeerk device. The Yeerks were after her for it.)

(She winds up dead at the accident and the Yeerks take back their gizmo,) Marco continued. (They then send police to this Werch to find out...what exactly?)

Good question. If this was really two separate incidents like what Cassie said, then what was the connection the Yeerks saw but we didn't? You could easily see how much the two cop Controllers wanted this incident to stick to Elle. Not out of desperation. Ax wasn't exaggerated about that backlash.

What were we missing?

"You're thinking."

At first, I thought it was meant to us. But that couldn't be possible. Maybe someone had come into the alleyway and Elle spoke out to that person. But we saw no one but herself, who was staring off aimlessly.

"What makes you say that?" Elle spoke again. This time, in the brooding tone we heard before. Except without the hostile vibe.

Then it switched back to her regular-sounding voice.

"You always make that face whenever you're thinking. Penny for your thoughts?"

"You cannot buy thoughts-ah. Right." She beamed softly. "It's nothing."

"But it is something." The smile changed. Warmer. With a hint of concern. "Why would those Controllers make a big deal about it?"

She flared her nostrils with an emotionless face. "They're looking for any excuse they can use against me. No different from any other Yeerk."

(What's going on?) Marco asked, sounding a little afraid. (Why is the Yeerk talking to herself?)

(Oh c'mon. Why would she do that?) Rachel said. The answer should be obvious. Elle's Yeerk didn't need to.

Yeerks have full control over their hosts. They could literally read minds and know what the host is thinking. There was no point in speaking to one another.

"I suppose...today has been an eventful day for us," Elle talked to herself, tossing the first bag into the dumpster.

"Totally. Getting jumped on, robbed and being accused of being somewhere when we weren't," she said, her right hand counting out a finger for each point.

"Hm."

"Hey, V'trix. Do you think…"

"Do I think what?"

"That maybe the person they thought was me was an Andalite in disguise. From this morning."

The eeriness just stacked up to a whole new level for us. An enemy of ours was somehow on the same page as we were.

(Okaaay… Did she hear everything we were talking about or is this just a big coincidence?)

(That's not possible and you better not say this Yeerk can read everyone's minds, Marco,) Rachel hissed.

"So you're saying the Andalite acquired your DNA without our knowledge and impersonated you?" Elle chucked the second bag in. "That's absurd."

"I mean, how can you explain it? Those centaurs ambushed us and one of them knocked me out." She pointed a finger at her bandage. "They took my jacket, my tips and my shoes. We don't know what else they took too."

Elle had this intellectual pose about herself, her left hand cupping her chin as she pondered. She thought about what she said…to herself. It was confusing - the only thing we could tell was the difference in tones and the exchanging in her demeanor.

"But...why you? You are just a human child."

Her body language switched again - she rocked back and forth. "I don't know. Ask the blue freaks. We weren't in two places at once. So it's gotta be those Andalites who are setting me up."

"That is another valid point...if there was some motive behind it. I am a Werch, clear as Madra's moonlight. There's nothing to gain from acquiring your DNA."

"Hm…"

Then silence. You could hear the gears grinding but it wasn't us doing the thinking. For such a bizarre scene, watching a Yeerk think about what happened before was something I never expected.

(She's right, you know,) Cassie broke the silence.

(Hey, now. Don't go listening to this Yeerk. We don't know what her endgame is here,) Marco warned.

(But you can't deny it. She just said she was mugged.)

(By an Andalite…? Well, I could see that if they knew she was a Controller,) Rachel said.

(So this Andalite acquired her DNA, morphed into her and stole the device from the Yeerks under their noses,) Jake said. (That's a big risk to take.)

Elle's sudden sigh made us stop our conversation and listen in.

"First that customer, your school friends and now this..."

"You're talking about that weirdo kid. Marco, right?"

Marco jumped, feathers ruffled. (Excuse me?!)

"Think he's connected?"

Then her face changed back to disinterest as she shook her head. "Doubtful. It's clear he showed an interest in you. Human attraction-"

"Pffft!" Elle made a raspberry sound. "Please. I know his type. He's an insecure Casanova who thinks he's hot but the only thing he can turn on is the microwave."

(Ouch,) Jake murmured.

(Oh, wow,) Rachel exclaimed. (That's the best burn I've ever heard Elle say.)

(Who's side are you on?!) Marco yelled. (That's the Yeerk talking!)

"That's...rather a harsh statement for you to say, Elle."

(Oh, great,) Marco continued (I don't want to hear a Yeerk defending me either!)

"I don't care. He was annoying me with all those questions," Elle grumbled with a pout. "Pretending he wasn't at the restaurant this morning."

(Wait, you were?) Jake asked him.

(No, I wasn't! She's making up stories!)

"...He might have been another Andalite."

Elle's eyes expressed the amount of shock we felt. It was almost close to the truth. To the Yeerks, we were known as the Andalite Bandits - a group of stranded Andalites on Earth fighting against the Yeerks. If someone figured out that we were actually five kids plus one Andalite, our whole act could crumble. It was even worse to think a Yeerk made the connection to Marco.

But Elle cut us before we could talk about it.

"One of my customers was a fake?"

"The one who came to the restaurant was the fake. The Andalite might have also taken his DNA and morphed into him."

(Wait. My DNA was taken?) Marco exclaimed. (Hold up. Wouldn't I know if someone took my DNA?)

(Ok. Either this Yeerk is either spinning the truth so well or she's delusional,) Rachel said.

(But...is this really a Yeerk being crazy?) I asked. (This doesn't seem so...I don't know. Irrational?)

(She's talking to herself. That says a lot.)

Maybe. That should be a clear sign things weren't right with this Yeerk. The problem was that the conversation sounded...real.

Real as in I was really hearing and seeing two people talking to each other. But it looked so fake! How could it look that natural?

"It can also explain what happened this morning. That wasn't your schoolmate we saw."

"But why?" Elle asked herself. "Why pick customers I know from school?"

"If I had to guess, to monitor you closely. Using humans in the same age group and with ties to this restaurant's delivery system."

"That's downright creepy. So they were after my DNA from the start?"

"I don't know…" She heaved a deep sigh. Back to thinking again.

(This is insane. My DNA wasn't taken...right?) Marco asked, sounding unsure of himself.

(I mean, we can't ignore the possibility there might be another Andalite,) I said and remembered how I got my human DNA back. (For all you know, they might have taken your DNA during your sleep.)

(Nice. First a Controller came to my house. Now I might have an Andalite being creepy at my bedside. Is my place a beacon for the weird or something?)

(Honestly, I think it's you who attracts the weirdness,) Rachel droned.

"Dzual Cell…" Elle said that name languidly. "I wonder if that is the device the Andalites are after."

She glanced at the ground, looking defeated before closing her eyes.

Then she rose back up.

"The accident was near that construction site, right?"

"Yes."

"The one we saw before, right?"

"That is correct."

"And the construction site was where we had to take that delivery to this morning, right?"

"Yes… What are you proposing?"

"Why don't we go there and look for answers?"

Elle jerked back, surprised at her own suggestion. But she digested it. "The Andalite with your DNA might be long gone by now."

"There could still be clues."

"Clues? That the Yeerks would overlook? The site is perhaps heavily monitored by police force and eyewitness Controllers."

"They don't know what to look for. But we do."

"We do?" she murmured with knitted eyebrows. "I thought the Andalites were too oblivious to tell time, let alone make it worth their time to speak to other species."

(Why, this...impudent Yeerk!) Ax huffed out. (I very much do know how to tell time!)

"They want that battery thing. We find it and give it to those centaurs. Problem solved."

"A straightforward idea but I have to ask, why the Andalites?"

"Yeerks are out of the question. They'll just kill us and take it off our hands, right?"

"You aren't wrong about that. But you haven't forgotten what happened this morning." She traced her left hand on the bandage. "Andalites are just as dangerous as the Yeerks."

"But we can't leave it alone either. Someone's walking around with my face. It's like...doppelgangers!" she explained to herself. "You know, people who look like you? 'If you come face to face with one, it's an omen. Both of you die'."

"An interesting comparison to Andalites."

(I do not like this Yeerk one bit,) Ax grumbled.

(Nobody does,) Rachel added.

"So the plan is to give them the battery and tell them to stop morphing into you?" she said in her other tone.

"Think they'll do it? If they get what they want, then they can leave us alone."

"And what if they don't agree?"

"Well…" Elle switched back to her perky self. But nervous. "They won't...kill me, will they?"

She shook her head, her aloof expression switching back. "They won't care for a Werch. And I am here." Her left hand held her right wrist. "I won't let them harm you again."

"Then...do you wanna forget everything and go on with our day?"

"No. The longer they indirectly involve us, the more dangerous it becomes."

"So to the accident site?"

"Yes."

"This is our unanimous vote?"

"Aye."

"Alright!" With as much enthusiastic force she could muster, Elle tossed in the last bag and shut the dumpster lid. BANG! "Let's get going."

Then her body language changed: her hands in her pocket and she looked all tough and cold. "And here, I thought I could spend the afternoon listening to the rest of that album." Elle collected herself before walking back inside.

(Okaaay,) Marco groaned. (What just happened?)

(What? You already know the answer,) Rachel said. (This Yeerk has a few screws loose.)

(Maybe not,) Jake pointed. (This looks like it's scripted. She has the same thinking as we did about what happened this morning?)

(Yeah. It's fishy. It's almost like this Yeerk's trying to humanise itself,) Marco droned.

(Maybe she is,) Cassie said that out of nowhere.

(What do you mean?) Rachel asked.

The backdoor opened again.

"Kong Kong, I'll be fine." It was Elle, with a parka and a backpack. The cheery Elle who didn't want her relative to worry over her. After a mugging. "I'm not going to that neighbourhood again."

Mr Liang folded his arms with the same frown I've always seen him wear. "Do not want you to go anywhere."

"Kong Kong, I'm a big girl," Elle assured him. "I can't stay locked up because of what happened. I got club work to do."

"Hmm…" her relative grumbled with disapproval. "Can not do it tomorrow?"

"It's for Monday. I want to get this out so I can have my Sunday free. Please, Kong Kong?"

He said nothing at first, putting his hands on his hips

"I'll be fine. It's just a few photos and I'll be back home before curfew. I promise."

Mr Liang heaved a soft sigh. "...Alright. Be back by 9."

"9 o'clock."

"Your bracelet-"

Elle raised up her left hand. Around the wrist was a green beaded piece of jewellery. "Always wearing it."

He nodded - his final approval. Then he went back to work while Elle got onto her yellow bike and rode off.

(Let's go,) Jake said.

We flew after Elle, eyes locked on her.

(I don't think this is scripted,) Cassie continued. (It's crazy but…doesn't it look like a normal conversation?)

(Between who?) I asked.

(The Yeerk and Elle.)

It sounded insane, coming from Cassie. And Marco was quick to say it.

(That is crazy. Why in the world would a Yeerk want to talk to their host? They're Yeerks.)

(Maybe it's because she's a nice Yeerk?)

(Really? Is this another dimension we landed ourselves in, where Yeerks are nice?)

(Yes. Aftran is one,) she rebuked back.

There are, in a way, some good Yeerks. Some time ago, Cassie had made friends with a Yeerk named Aftran. It almost jeopardized us but it turned out for the better. And it did change our viewpoint - just a bit, not as big as Cassie's after that experience.

There were even some rumors about some kind of Yeerk Peace Movement but some of us didn't want to put too much faith into that.

(That's Aftran,) Rachel pointed. (This is a totally different Yeerk. We don't know a single thing about her other than she's a criminal. That isn't a 'nice Yeerk'.)

(Yes but everything about this is strange,) Cassie continued. (And this Yeerk? She's trying to solve this mystery as much as we do.)

(So?) Marco exclaimed. (This could be a trap.)

(Maybe,) Jake said. (But we got nothing right now. She's the only lead we've got to this mystery.)

A/N: Hello all, the second quarter is starting up. 10 chapters to come gradually. To old readers, some of this might seem a bit familiar but a lot has changed. A lot more exposure about Elle and her Yeerk, quite honestly. There are gonna be fine details you'll be picking up (and hey, maybe at the end, you might reread to notice them more obvious than during your first read) or things you could miss in the background. There's a lot of hidden secrets I sprinkled across the pages regarding these two (some already brought up in my old versions).

Also, I will be taking it slow with this quarter because I'm dealing with time travel writing. So there's often a lot of back and forth for me so that I'm not repeating the same points that have been gone over. Or drag out points that the readers shouldn't be told several times but the characters in any books can be a little dumb if it goes over their heads. Ahem. It's quite difficult to keep in mind what I did or didn't write and relay back my information so I'm on the right page. So this quarter and the other 2 will take some time.

And it's to give me more time to work on the beta chapters for the other two quarters. AND BOY, are those gonna be a whirlwind of a ride for these kids. XD Good way, I mean. Anyhow, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and depending on my editing, I may get the next one up next week. Enjoy!

4/12/20 - First upload.