******************************

The water was clear, it wasn't murky, there was nothing in it, I could see right to the bottom.

"Are you happy now?"

I looked back at him, still not convinced.

::You could still be one of them.::

"Alright, if I was one of 'them' wouldn't I have turned you into 'them' by now? I mean your not exactly in the condition to fight back."

He had me. ::And you don't exactly seem like the average human.::

"Why is that?"


::Humans are supposed to be paranoid.::

The man smiled. "Sorry to disapoint. If it makes you feel better, I thought I was dreaming when your ship crashed. My name is Erik."

He held his hand out, apparently it was some sort of greeting. I held my hand out in return.
He grinned. "No, it's called a handshake." He took my hand and moved it up and down before letting it go. "Do you have a name?"

I lowered my eyes to his. His hair was an autumn red, brown spots covered his otherwise pale complextion. Adult male with blue eyes.

::My name is Asgariem Elonther Firegsth.::

He just blinked. "..Can I just call you Gari?"

I smiled with my main eyes, humans were unusual. ::Fine. What are these?:: I indicated the red things at my feet.

"They're called apples, you eat them...if you eat that is."

::Yes, I eat. Are they poisoned?::

He grinned. "Not unless your Snow White."

::Who?::

"nothing, it was just a joke."

I took my hoof and dipped it into the water.

"It's my home. Kind of out of the way, middle of nowhere. But the way the city is devoloping, it won't be so for long. Twelve acres of land and forest, all mine."

I watched him carefully. I had never seen a human up close. His mouth was just too strange, it was strange he even had a mouth, seemed like some kind of eyesore that marred his face. There were fuzzy things above his eyes too, red tufts of hair each curving into an arch. He didn't look impressive, but it would have to do.

::Give me your hand::

"What?"

::Give me your hand again.::

"Alright."

Hesitantly he held out his had for me again, I took it, holding on, letting Erik's DNA be absorbed through my body, he started to grow sleepy, listless as the transfer completed.

"What happened?"

::I absorbed your DNA.::

"You what?"

::Our people have a technology that allows us to absorb the DNA of other beings. We use that DNA and become an exact duplicate of the original.::

"...I'm sorry. What?"

I smiled with my eyes, concentrating on Erik. My tail shrunk and disappeared, my boddy pulled back until I only possesed two legs. The bandages fell away as my skin began to pinken. Stalk eyes slunk back into my head while my three slits merged and formed a human nose. Where I had no mouth before, one began to grow, red hair formed from my scalp instantly as my ears shrunk and rounded out. My hooves extended out into feet, toes, violet eyes becoming blue and brown spots on my cheeks. Erik was gaping, barely able to speak as he stared at an exact mirror image of himself, in the nude.

"Woah..Okay, Now I've seen..everything."

I smiled, replying in an exact coppy of Erik's voice. "Not exactly, but you get the idea."

"Hey..your not going to, stay like this are you? I mean not that I'm not flattered but, it would be a little awkward having, two of me around."

"No, this is only temporary. We can only assume a morph for two hours. A second longer then that and it becomes permanent."

I concentrated on returning. My tail exploded outward at record speed, skin fell away giving way to blue fur. My stalk eyes returned to their position and my mouth disapeared as all four legs grew back. I had returned to normal.

Erik grinned. "Not that I was complaining before but, I think I like you better this way."

I smiled with my eyes, putting my legs forward and pushed myself back to my feet. It was all worth it to see Erik's expression of surprise.

::Morphing can heal too.::


"Hmm, strange but, makes sense. Body returns to original DNA makeup?"

::yes::

"Well, guess you don't need to stay here anymore."

************************



Earth was no home, but it wasn't a bad place. The passing weeks gave me time to think, Erik was always kind to me and he showed me where he had hid my ship. It was completly destroyed, there was no way to repair the damage. For some reason, I wasn't that upset about it.

"Hey."

I swivelled my stalk eyes around, it was Erik, he was holding some sort of cloth dome in his hands. My eyes kept focus on him as he walked over to my side.

::Whats that?::

He looked at the dome. "This? Well, I was thinking, you havn't really seen Earth yet and I can't exactly have you in the back of my truck, much less go driving around with my double. Then I got this idea, about how you can morph."

With a flourish he pulled off the cloth, revealing a small winged animal in a cage. "It's a bird. A sparrow to be exact. I was going to find you a hawk but, these are easier to catch. This will be okay right?"

I turned around, looking at the bird, then Erik with all four eyes. ::It's a great gift Erik, thank you.::

I reached out with my hand, closing it arround the sparrow as I began to absorb it's DNA. The bird grew limp in it's cage and I withdrew my hand.

"Well?"

I nodded. ::it's ready::

My entire body began to shrink my face extenting into a hard beak as my body became covered with brown feathers. My botom half just pulled into my chest, growing two stick legs, my tail melting into a stub that grew long brown feathers. My arms exploded into wings and my eyes changed to black beads.

I was hungry, I wanted to fly, get off the ground. I quickly pushed down the sparrows mind and flew onto Erik's shoulder. He looked at me, watching as I took off into the sky, beating my wings for an aerial view.

It was amazing to be up so high, to be able to look down and see dots of homes, the city ahead. Objects moved along a gray surface, several similer to Erik's truck. The buildings were huge, rectangular boxes where people went in and out all day. Humans, hundreds of them walking along, taking, laughing. They had no idea what was happening to their planet. They were absolutely clueless, not even Erik was aware of my true mission. Beating my wings I turned immediatly, flying back to the Erik's cabin.

::this isn't right:: I explained as I morphed back.

"What isn't? You don't like the morph?"

::It's a wonderful gift but, you should know why I'm here Erik. You deserve to know.::





Erik stared down at the floor as I continued on, explaining about Prince Seerow, the Yeerks, my mission. For awile he was very silent, not wanting to speak. He just stared into the floor.

"So..thats a yeerk is it?"

::Yes::

"And we're practically doomed by some parasite that has aspirations for universal domination?"

::yes::

"Hmph, as if we didn't have enough problems."

::Erik, I'm going to continue with my mission::

"Save the world huh?"

::No, just scouting::

"You can still stay here if you want."

::...Alright::

Erik helped me, he took me into hospitals, me playing as a tamed sparrow while we slipped into the rooms of people in comas. They wouldn't notice, as Erik said it, a blue centaur with antenai and a scythe tail. I went out some nights too, sneaking into open windows, demorphing and aquirring the necessary DNA before anyone woke up.
At last I was ready, Erik had made something called popcorn and mountain Dew. Some type of arbonated beverage they made on Earth. He sat on the couch and waited with a robe, ready to hand it over when the morph was complete. Humans called it modesty, they refused to walk around bare.
I began to concentrate on the human DNA I selected, choosing, eyes, hair color, skin pigment, gender. My back pulled into my body as my skin pinkened, long autumn hair grew down my back and green eyes replaced my violet ones. My hooved turned to feet, my height shrunk a few inches and my stalk eyes melted away. My chest curved outward, forming two identical breasts. My mouth formed, lips, then a nose and smaller ears. When it was all over, Erik had dropped the robe. His mouth hung wide open in pure shock and he just stared.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head, seeming to pull himself out of his shock. "Nothing, I just. Your a girl right?"


"Is that a problem? Did I get it right?"

"Oh..yea you got it right." He fumbled picking up the robe and shoving it at me, looking away while I pulled it on.

"Why were you looking so strangely before?"

"Well. Lets say you make a very good human."

=================