Author's Notes: This story takes place between #48 & #49. This is my first attempt at Animorphs fan fiction. Reviews will be welcome and appreciated. So without further adieu...
THE UPPERHAND
CHAPTER ONE
Jake paced back and forth through the barn as he waited for the last two Animorphs to arrive. Rachel was seated, leaning against a bale of hay, with a math book open in her lap. Ax was standing in his human morph a few feet away, watching Jake curiously. Cassie was keeping busy by trying to get an over-excited chipmunk to swallow its medication.
"I don't understand the reason for this behavior. Hav-yoor," Ax said. "What is the purpose of walking back and forth in such a manner?" Jake came to an abrupt halt, trying to suppress a smile.
Cassie, finally getting the pill into the chipmunk's mouth, looked at Jake and grinned, then turned away and covered her mouth, trying to hide her laughter. The chipmunk promptly removed the pill and ran to the other side of the cage, leaving Cassie to repeat the process. Rachel made no attempt to hide her own laughter. "Jake is just practicing an ancient human ritual, Ax. It is used to speed the process of another's return while waiting. He's hoping it will hurry up Marco and Tobias."
Ax looked surprised. "Does this actually work?" he asked.
Jake finally smiled. "No, Ax, it doesn't. It's just a nervous habit I've picked up. But they should be back by now. I sent Tobias for Marco over an hour ago."
Cassie once again put the pill in the chipmunk's mouth, this time holding it closed until it swallowed. "Jake, I'm sure they're coming as fast as they can," she said. "It might just take a little longer to get to and from the Hork-Bajir's new home. They'll be back soon."
Just as Cassie finished speaking, an osprey and a red-tailed hawk flew into the barn. The red-tailed hawk flew up and perched in the rafters. The osprey landed on the ground and began to demorph into Marco. Sorry I'm late. I was helping put the finishing touches on my parents' new cabin, Marco said, while he was still more bird than human. As soon as he had a human mouth he asked, "Did I miss anything?"
The chipmunk, seeing the birds, once again ran to the far corner of the cage. Cassie closed and locked the cage. "Just Jake's pacing ritual," she said, as she and Rachel started giggling again.
Pacing ritual? Tobias asked with confusion.
Marco looked up at him and shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me."
"Alright, let's get down to business," Jake said, interrupting the laughter. "As we all know, Visser One is stepping up the invasion. First, he tries to start World War Three..."
"Which, fortunately for the world, Ax was able to talk Visser Two out of," Marco finished. Ax turned away from the others as his face turned red. Jake looked sternly at Marco. Marco then also turned away, looking embarrassed at having brought it up. Ax's actions on the aircraft carrier and in the jet with Visser Two was still obviously a touchy subject.
"What I was getting at," Jake said, determined to go on. "Was that he's becoming a lot more open about the invasion. How many out of the military, that is, those that survived on that aircraft carrier, saw bug fighters and Hork-Bajir?"
That's right, Tobias said. And it's not like they were subtle about it. They didn't care if they were seen. This is the first time the Yeerks have taken such an open offensive.
"They're getting cockier," Marco added. "At least Visser One is. There's no one to stop him now that the `Yeerk Formerly Known As Visser One' is dead and out of the way. He wants an open invasion. And now he's getting his chance for it."
"Yeah," Rachel said. "And then the fight at the Hork-Bajir Valley. I mean, sure, we kicked Yeerk butt out there, but he brought a whole army through that forest. Who knows what campers, hikers, rangers, and how many other people might have seen them come through. And that's not counting those campers that helped us."
"He made no effort to remain unseen by uninfested humans," Ax added.
"That's part of the reason I called this meeting," Jake said as he walked over and picked up a newspaper from a workbench. "This is the morning paper. I know it's not front page, but look at this!" The picture, though out of focus and shot at a distance, obviously showed several Hork-Bajir walking through some trees. From the hand-held dracons they were armed with, it was also obvious that they were Controllers.
Cassie gasped in surprise.
"Wow," Marco exclaimed. "The Visser is getting bold."
Just a month ago, the Yeerks would never let something like this get out, Tobias said, gazing down at the newspaper in Jake's hands. We know from past experience that they have the resources to come up with a cover-up for this kind of thing.
"And it's not like this is a tabloid or something," Rachel said, pointing to the name of the newspaper. "I'll bet almost half the people in this city subscribe to this newspaper."
"And sightings and reports of infestation are spreading," Marco said. "Ax and I have been surfing the web for reports about the Yeerks. We found reports from all over the country."
"Indeed," Ax added. "There are reports from other regions of Earth as well. There have been reports from nations such as Canada, Russia, Japan, Australia, India, and France. Frans-zuh! Such an interesting sound that nation's name makes. Fuh-rans-zuh!"
"Yeah Ax, everyone loves the sound of the word, France," Marco said sarcastically. "I sometimes repeat the word `France' to myself for days at a time. Couldn't speak a word of French, though, to save my life."
"I'm actually doing pretty well in French. It was one of the few classes I got a good grade in last semester. The Yeerks haven't been helping my grades much," Jake sighed. "But those people in other states and other countries are just being taken. We can only be in one place at a time. I mean, this is still the center of the invasion, and we're needed here. But there's nobody to slow down the Yeerks in other places the invasion is growing."
But what can we do to help them? Tobias asked.
"I have an idea," Cassie said, watching the others' reactions. "But it won't be easy, and I'm not sure that you'll like it."
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Additional author's notes: Was it good? Was it bad? Please review and let me know.