Ax
Alloran was the only member of my own species that I had seen in years. Despite the circumstances, my hearts beat faster at the prospect of meeting another Andalite.
I didn't want to like her. Not that I wanted to judge her hasty actions, either. She had been faced with the opportunity to destroy the Abomination; the only Andalite Controller in the galaxy. I did not want to think about my own possible actions in the same situation.
My hearts skipped a beat when I saw her, but I refused to allow my emotions to show. I remained formal. (I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. My prince has requested that I escort you to the bridge.)
(Filetta-Corass-Joroc. Your prince is a human, is he not?) She seemed skeptical. I wondered what was said about me on the homeworld.
We arrived on the bridge in time for some frantic planning. Filetta's actions had damaged our plans.
(They might know what happened. They'll be on guard now.) Alloran said. (We may have lost the element of surprise.)
"And the French bugfighters still have shields." Marco pointed out.
"They still won't know that Alloran isn't the Visser," Rachel argued. "We should go ahead."
"Could they have picked up our transmissions?" Cassie wondered.
(Possibly. Probably not. But possibly.) I told her.
Alloran nodded in agreement. (I cannot assume that I can safely continue this charade. I am willing to risk it, however.)
Prince Jake turned to Mr. King. "Is Erek keeping the President up to date?"
"He says to use your best judgment," Mr. King replied. "He hopes you can defeat the Yeerks and maintain peace with France."
"Well, that's helpful," Rachel mumbled.
"How many Yeerks are there in France?" Prince Jake asked. He knew the answer, but wanted to make sure everyone did.
(Enough to control the government and the military, but there are few controllers outside of Paris. The Visser was not willing to give hosts to a large number of Yeerks outside his direct control.)
Marco laughed. "Good for the Visser. He's been a great help."
(France has a Prime Minister and a President) Alloran explained. (As I understand it, the President holds more power in the French government then does the Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister's yeerk is of a higher rank than the President's.)
"Ah, Yeerk politics," Marco sighed.
(Chapman could still turn out to be a problem.) I commented. (It will only be a matter of time before he or his wife makes contact with another Yeerk.)
"We only really needed him out of the way for the morning. Not that it wouldn't be nice if he stayed put." Tobias replied.
"So, do we divebomb Paris, guns blazing?" Marco asked. "Or do we try to sneak in?"
Prince Jake rubbed his temples as he thought. "Even if they know the fate of the Pool Ship, they might not know the circumstances."
"We don't want to hurt the Prime Minister," Cassie said gently. "Or the President. We should be careful."
"Cassie's right. We really should try to avoid killing members of foreign governments. I vote for stealth." Tobias agreed. "We try our original plan, but be ready to abort and fight."
"Sounds good to me. I'm in," Rachel responded.
Prince Jake made up his mind. "O.K. Tom and Loren have to stay on board. Mr. King needs to keep in touch with Erek. Alloran plays the Visser once more. Some of us need to morph Hork Bajir and stay with him. The rest need to be ready to fight, if necessary."
Filetta stood silently beside me, her eye stalks lowered in shame. Once the planning was complete, her father approached her.
(Filetta. How did you come to be here?)
Filetta shifted uneasily. (I stole a fighter. I came... I came to destroy the Abomination. I am grateful to find that I do not need to do so.)
(I am glad that you are here. You can help my prince secure this planet.) Alloran turned to Prince Jake. (Prince Jake, may I present my daughter, Filetta-Corass-Joroc.)
(I swear my allegiance to you, Prince Jake) Filetta responded obediently. (I am sorry for my hasty actions.)
"I will be grateful for your service," Prince Jake answered. "What's done is done. Do you have a Hork Bajir morph?"
(Yes, Prince Jake.)
"Then you're with Alloran," he told her. "The Yeerks are unaware of his liberation, we hope. Be ready to fight if we are wrong."
Jake
I was worried about thrusting Filetta directly into battle, but how could I turn down a morph-capable Andalite in what could prove our most desperate hour?
"Rachel, Tobias, and Cassie. You're also with Alloran." I decided. "Ax and Marco, come with me. We'll see if we can't disable the shields on their fighters as planned."
Toby stepped forward. "My people are not here to stand idly by while you fight."
I cringed. She was right, and yet I did not want to be responsible for sending them into danger. "Cassie? Do we have any blue fabric on board?"
It was Marco who answered. "Loren's wearing blue. Get her!"
Fortunately, Loren laughed. "Marco, take off your shirt. I'll sacrifice mine, but I need something to wear."
Once all of our Hork Bajir, real and morphed, were wearing the blue bands of Visser One's select troops, we landed.
We found ourselves in a small version of the Yeerk Pool facility in our home town. I noticed immediately that there were only six bug fighters in the hangar.
"Alloran, shouldn't there be more bug fighters?" I asked, worried.
(I must admit that I am not sure, Prince Jake. But the Visser did purposely keep this base under-equipped.)
I nodded. Visser One had been a tyrant who didn't trust his own underlings, and his actions had made the Yeerks vulnerable. There were many such examples in human history.
My team headed for the Bug fighters.
(The Americans cower before me!) Alloran bellowed to no one in particular. (It is time that Europe and all the world did the same.)
Rachel
For once I was hoping that we didn't need to fight. I was tired. I listened to Alloran's blustering as he demanded to speak with a number of high ranking Yeerks. At the news that Chapman had failed to arrive, he exploded into a tantrum.
When, with the exception of Chapman, the controllers he had demanded had gathered, he announced that the United States had surrendered, and in addition that he had captured the Andalite bandits.
(There will be Andalite hosts for those who serve me best today!)
He was so convincing that I shuddered.
I heard Jake's voice in my head as he directed private thoughtspeak to the rest of us. (The bug fighters have been infected. They should be without shields and weapons.)
None of us responded. We were busy watching the French yeerks for any sign of suspicion.
(It is time to inform the French people that they have new leadership. You'll broadcast the message from on board my Blade Ship) the "Visser" informed the French leaders.
Now we would know. If they boarded the ship, we'd have them. They wouldn't risk it if they knew our true identities.
Yet they followed Alloran meekly enough, and were caught completely off guard when Tom and Loren turned dracon beams on them. Within minutes, we had all of the leaders of the French invasion locked in the brig.
Jake
I reboarded the Blade Ship just as the capture operation was complete. (Everything went smoothly?) I asked anxiously.
(Yes, Prince Jake.) Alloran answered.
But Cassie spoke up. (I don't think it would be wise for them to know that the Visser is dead. They should think that Alloran is a morph instead of a free host.)
I nodded. (Keep them off balance. Good idea.)
(Prince Jake, would you like to acquire me?) Alloran asked.
I was stunned, but saw the practicality of the offer instantly. (I would be honored.)
Several minutes later I approached the brig as an Andalite. The captives eyed me nervously.
"Who are you?" one asked.
(Do you not recognized your great Visser?) I mocked.
"But..."
(Silence, fool. Does it matter who I am? You are doomed, regardless.) I looked at each one in turn. (Yet you are lucky. I am not the Visser, but the leader of the Andalite bandits. I will spare all of your lives, on one condition.)
I waited until one of them spoke up. "What do you require?"
(Leave your hosts. Release them, and you will survive.)
"And if we don't?"
(Then you will die, because I will have no choice but to starve you out.)
They complied.
Cassie
The French cleanup operation was refreshingly boring. Once we were certain that almost all of the yeerks had been rounded up, we turned the responsibility over to the French leaders. Having been controllers themselves, they well understood the situation, and we did not have to worry that former controllers would be treated as traitors or persecuted in any way. We took the yeerk prisoners who had surrendered and left their hosts with us.
The newly freed Hork Bajir also boarded the Blade Ship, and we returned to Washington, D.C. The President promised to try and keep the media under wraps for a few more hours so that we could talk to our families. We had won. I looked at my exhausted friends, and wondered how we would adapt to new, more peaceful lives.
Rachel
Telling my parents about the past few years was interesting. I didn't want to go through the story twice, so I called my dad and had him come over. Fortunately, he had been in town, because otherwise he never would have made it. The military still had the airport closed down. They sat on the couch, and I could see how nervous they were. Their teenage daughter and her boyfriend, whom they had never met, had something serious to say. I can only imagine what they feared.
"Mom, do you remember Mr. ?"
"The crazy guy I defended a few years ago?"
"He wasn't crazy, Mom."
"I know, I shouldn't say that. But..."
"This isn't about being politically correct," I sighed. This was going to be hard. "I mean he was telling the truth."
"Rachel, he thought aliens were controlling his thoughts."
"Not his thoughts, mom. They were controlling his mind."
"There's a difference?"
My father got annoyed and interrupted. "Are you going somewhere with this?"
"Yes. It will be on the news soon, but I wanted you to hear it from me."
"Hear what?"
"There's been some excitement in town today. And I wanted to explain before..."
"This has something to do with the terrorists at the airport? Rachel, what are you mixed up in?"
"There are no terrorists, Mom. The President..."
My dad cut me off again. "The President has apparently lost his mind. That press conference earlier..."
"That press conference was a cover. So is the terrorist story. There was an alien invasion."
"Rachel..."
"Really. Aliens. But we won." I expected to be cut off, but both of my parents were quiet for a moment. I plunged ahead. "The yeerks have been quietly invading for years. My friends and I have been fighting them. But we were in over our heads, so we went to the President. Everything's fine now. We won. But we've been through alot."
Both of my parents were nodding absently. They didn't believe me. I exchanged a look with Tobias, then decided to go ahead. At least they'd stopped interrupting.
"I guess I'd better start at the beginning. We were all at the mall..."
Cassie
Home. I was so tired I couldn't see, but I needed to talk to my parents before they saw the news. The Chee who had played me for the last couple of weeks had left to play medic, so "I" hadn't been home all day. I hadn't even been briefed on how the last two weeks of my life had gone. But it didn't really matter. The lies were finally over.
My dad was in the barn. "Dad, can you come in the house? I need to talk to you."
"What's wrong with talking out here?" he asked.
"I need to talk to Mom, too. It's important." I answered. I expected more of a fight, but he agreed.
"I have a lot to explain," I began. "You might not believe me at first, but please hear me out."
"Why wouldn't we believe you, Cassie? You've never lied to us."
I cringed at my mother's words.
"Yes I have, Mom. Many times. Too many. But I'm here to set everything straight."
"Cassie?" My father was worried now.
"Mom, do you remember when that tiger fell through the skylight at the mall?" It was a stupid question. How could anyone forget about being called out in the middle of the night to rescue an injured tiger at the mall.
"Yes..."
"Well, I know why he disappeared from the operating room. And I know why he was found back in his habitat without a scratch." My mother nodded, confused.
"It wasn't a real tiger. It was Jake. You see, a few years ago we were at the mall..."
Jake
Tom and I went home. It felt good. Tom looked around the house in wonder. I could see him fighting to hide the emotion.
"Mom? Dad?" I called. "Anyone home?"
My mom wandered up from the basement. "Jake? What are you yelling for?"
"Where's Dad? Tom and I need to talk to both of you."
She only had a moment to be confused by my tone before Tom grabbed her and hugged her.
"What on earth?"
"I've missed you, Mom." Tom said, his voice strained.
"Missed me? Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," he answered. "Everything's great."
"Are you sure?" She looked us both over with motherly concern. "Tom, have you been crying? And Jake, you look like you haven't slept in a week."
"I haven't, Mom. We'll explain when Dad gets here."
"Explain what?" my father asked, walking in the front door.
"Well, I'd better start at the beginning. A few years ago I went to the mall..."
Marco
While the others were talking to their parents Loren and I went searching for Melissa Chapman. We were supposed to find her, then call Rachel. Cassie thought it would be best if we told her about her parents before it was on the news.
We had checked school, the mall, and her gymnastics class before trying her house. Then we felt foolish, because she was at home.
I suppose we should have been a bit more subtle than to knock on her door, but I was so tired that I forgot I was supposed to be dead.
"Do I know you?"
"Don't you recognize me? Marco, here, at your service?"
"Jake's friend? But you're dead."
"Oh, yeah...um...I kinda forgot. But I'm not. Dead, that is. I mean, I'm not dead." Did I mention that I sometimes get tongue tied around members of the opposite sex?
She looked skeptical, but she let us in. We didn't end up calling Rachel. Melissa questioned me about my alleged death until I ended up telling her the whole story. Except for how her parents were involved. I managed to hold that back til the end.
"Wow," Melissa said. "That's all pretty amazing, but you're still hiding something. Tell me."
"But you might..."
"I said, tell me!" Melissa was wearing an expression that meant business. I gave in.
"Your parents are in France," I began.
"This involves them, doesn't it?"
"Yes. They are controllers."
She didn't seem too terribly surprised. "And?"
"What do you mean, and?" I guess I expected her to break down crying or something. I sure didn't expect her to catch on that there was even more to the story.
I glanced at Loren.
"Melissa," she said gently, "Your father is a voluntary controller. He's in French custody right now, and so is your mom."
Melissa's face grew hard. I expected her to deny it, to argue with Loren and defend her family. She didn't. I had a sudden, dark thought. Was Melissa Chapman a controller?
"Well, this explains a lot. But I think there's more to the story." She stared hard at Loren.
Loren swallowed. "I knew your father, years ago. He's the one who told the Yeerks about Earth."
Tobias
So, who am I? Part human. Part hawk. Part Andalite. With Earth out of danger, I should become human again. But how can I give up those other parts of me? I cannot imagine never flying again. And I do not want to give up my ability to morph Andalite.
I suppose I'll stay morph capable for a few more weeks. I have the rest of my life to be normal. Normal. That's a funny word. How can I ever be normal?
I'm older than my own mother. I've fought an alien invasion. And Barbara Walters has been trying to lure me to 20/20 for an interview. These are simply not normal things.
I will marry Rachel just as soon as we have the blessings of her parents. They were pretty reasonable about it, seeing as they had never met me. So I guess we'll decide our futures together. We've all been offered full scholarships to a number of different universities, so college is probably the next step. I'd like to visit the Andalite home world someday, but for now I'm happy to stay on Earth.
Ax
Alloran, Filetta, and I ate while the others went to see their families. Earth was safe. What was next? The Hork Bajir homeworld needed assistance, and Alloran felt he owed them. If he asked me, I would go with them. A part of me didn't want to leave Earth, and my friends. But I wouldn't rest as long as the Yeerks were a threat.
I watched my companions as they moved off by themselves. It was probably some family business, so I didn't try to listen in. Then Alloran called me to join them.
(We must return to the home world) His thoughtspeak was grim. My hearts froze in my chest even before I heard his next words.
(The Yeerks are there.)
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