Author's Note: I am sorry this took so long. It's all because of a variety of things, more or less writer's block and the fact that soccer practice has started, which is taking a more out of me than I expected. Then finally, dogs attacked my cat and that didn't help, especially because her baby kittens were freaking out because mom and I had to feed them and they were confused about who was their Mommy.
Okay, my long boring rants on my life being over, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Be Stupid Chapter Nine: When Ax Decides

Everyone stared at the hawk that landed on the floor.

Ax couldn't think of anything to say. It had been three years. Three years since Rachel's death, since he had seen his shorm and nephew. Three years without any attempt at contact or any way of knowing if Tobias was still among the living. What did you say after so long?
I had to, Tobias paused and flapped back up to the windowsill. I had to come. I saw all of the stuff on TV and I had to come and see if Ax was allright.
Marco was the first to speak. "Tobias! You don't call, you don't write! You don't even send us mouse meat for Christmas!"
Tobias shot a fierce glare at Marco. Oh, shut up.
Then he looked at Cassie, making every effort to avoid Jake. Hey Cassie. the birdboy said. Then with the most clipped voice Ax had ever heard, Tobias also said, without even looking at the person he was speaking to, Hello Jake.
Ax saw Prince Jake wince against his own will. Tobias looked in paranoia at the white, closed room. Um...
Can someone close the door? Tobias asked.
Cassie stepped over and gave the door a gentle shove, and it closed. The changes had begun. Tobias's hard beak was melting into soft lips. The feathers were melting off miscolored flesh, and Tobias hit the ground as his bird legs could not support the weight. In a few minutes, the glop of melting and shifting half-bird half-boy seemed to have made up its mind and emerged as a young human boy.
"Deja vu." Marco muttered, and Ax had to agree.
Tobias frowned and wrapped his arms around his chest that just only managed to be covered by his morphing suit. With movements that looked like they hadn't been practiced in a long while, Tobias walked over to Ax.
And in near complete unison, Jake, Cassie, and Marco all left the room. Ax wasn't sure if he was relieved or anxious because of that. His mind was still trying to find the words to say and even with his superior Andalite intellect, he was coming up with nothing. Part of him wanted to yell and scream at Tobias for leaving like he had with no trace of evidence aside from random "Birdboy Sightings", as they'd been coined, that he was even alive. In all honesty he was angry and hurt that Tobias seemed to have decided they could all be dropped from his life. Yet on the other side, he could understand Tobias's pain. It was no secret that his shorm had loved Rachel. Ax did understand the reasons for Tobias's actions, and he was relieved beyond belief to see his him again. There in lay Aximili's conflict. He was clueless about how to express all of these conflicting emotions to the person that had once been the one he was closest to on this planet.

It hurt.

Tobias took in a deep breath and sat himself on the edge of the hospital bed Ax was laying in. Ax's one-time shorm wasn't even looking at him, but instead stared at the gaping hole in the window he had created.
"It's been so long." Tobias said, and even though Ax felt it wouldn't be respectful to tell him, it was easy to tell it had been a while since the boy had spoken to anyone. "I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to come."
Then Tobias looked away, then his brows knitted in determination as he turned to look Ax in the eyes. "Sorry."
Sorry? Ax thought. That was all he had to say? But then to Ax's relief, Tobias continued. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about leaving you guys, but I couldn't cope with it..." Tobias' throat closed up for a moment. "I couldn't cope with her being gone, with never being able to see her again. I shouldn't have turned away from all of you, I know that now; but I loved her. I loved her more than I've ever loved anyone before or since. I didn't realize until a while ago that I shouldn't have some monopoly over Rachel now that's she gone...we all loved her, and she wasn't the only thing in my life." Tobias smiled at Ax. "I had you, after all. You were my best friend."
"Yes, I was." Ax said. "And you were mine, Tobias." Tobias looked at Ax with an expression of relief.
"So you don't hate me?" Tobias asked in a slow, nervous tone. Ax shook his head. "No. I could never do that."
Then at that moment, the two former shorms embraced. Not a long hug by any means but more than enough. In a moment the two of them unlocked with tears shining in both of their eyes. After that, Ax felt some of his anger melt away. Some of his pain was starting to hurt less. In his hearts, he knew that just one hug would not reconcile everything between him and his time-shifted nephew. But it was a beginning. In time, maybe, just maybe, they could regain what they had lost. Time was something there was more than enough of.

Tobias took a good, hard, long look at the TV hanging up near the ceiling of Ax's room. "It's not on." He said.
"The others have been here so long I have not had time to watch." Ax said.
Tobias bit his lip, though only for a second. "Any good soaps on? The Young and Restless still going?" He asked.
"Yes, I believe so." Ax said. "I think Tara finally came out with her feelings for Danielle a week or so back."
Tobias gaped. "You mean after all those years of hinting?" Ax nodded.
As Tobias took the remote and clicked the TV set on, Ax fought back a sense of nostalgia. In time, he told himself. And now, there would be so much to tell -- for both him and Tobias. And hope be with them, their friendship could take it.

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It was an hour or so later when Jake, Cassie, and Marco returned. To Ax's utter delight, they'd stopped at a McDonald's near the hospital and returned with Quarter Pounders and Happy Meals.
For himself Ax had snagged a Happy Meal and two Quarter Pounders, while Jake and Cassie each took a Quarter Pounder, leaving poor Marco with the only other Happy Meal. Tobias had decided to hunt for his lunch.
"I feel like a kid." Marco whined, looking down at his happy meal. "I thought you were a kid." Cassie said.
"Hey!" Marco glared and Cassie started giggling. Jake hid a smile behind his hand. Ax was agreeing with Cassie. But to be fair, he decided to slip Marco the other quarter pounder.
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Marco chirped as he picked up the box. Then he turned to Cassie and Jake to tease them. "See? Somebody loves me." He said, trying to have a serious look on his face. It didn't work. Not that Ax hurling a fry at Marco helped things any. Marco picked up the french fry and pretend to sulk. "Okay, maybe I'm not loved."
Then Ax chucked about five more fries in Marco's face. Marco threw most of his fries at Ax in retaliation. This escalated into an all-out food fight between them. Jake and Cassie watched on with their mouths open as Ax and Marco started picking off pickles, tomatoes and lettuce from their burgers and starting hurling them at each other. Ax ducked to the left as a mustard-covered pickle started zooming towards his face. The pickle did miss the Andalite, but both Ax and Marco stopped to a dead halt as they heard the pickle hit something with a loud, wet smack. In slow horror, the two of them turned to face a mad, glaring, mustard-coated birdboy.
"Um...he did it." Marco said, pointing at Ax. Ax gaped at his boyfriend in indignant anger. "I did not! That was him."
Tobias looked once at Marco, once at Ax, and once at Jake and Cassie. Cassie? He asked. Who was it?
Cassie, fearing the wrath of the mustard-covered one, pointed at Marco. Marco took the hint and started to flee.
Ax stood staring in mild shock as Tobias began chasing Marco around the room. Part of him knew he should help, not only because Marco was his boyfriend, but also because no one deserved to have his or her eyes pecked out. Then again, Ax didn't want his eyes pecked out either. That would prove to be quite painful.
At he wasn't alone. Jake and Cassie were too motionless and deaf to Marco's pleas for help. So it wasn't just him. Marco then performed a feat of amazing acrobatics by leaping up onto the bed and seizing one of the wooden swords. "Back!" He shouted, brandishing the sword at Tobias. "Back ye evil bird!"

Using his quick-thinking brain in an attempt to save Marco, Jake had grabbed the remote changed channels.
It had stopped Tobias. However, it had also stopped everyone else in the room. There was a far too familiar blonde man on the screen, charming politician smile and all. "Tompson!" Cassie hissed.
Chris Tompson, anti-alien activist of the century, was talking with charm and vibrance to a pretty young redhaired news woman. "Yes, Patricia, it is shocking." Tompson was saying. "Of course, I have long been of the opinion that other life forms are morally corrupt and those that assist them are no better. But even I did not expect this. This is just sick." The newswoman nodded in strict agreement.
What are they talking about? Tobias wondered.
"I have no idea." Marco muttered. Jake shrugged and Cassie just glared at the screen, her eyes darkening with bad expectations. Without realizing it, Ax started to chew on his bottom lip. He wasn't one to believe in premonition, but he felt a sick feeling creep up in his human stomach. It was no secret the Human Alliance had hooked onto him. They were the ones responsible for publicizing his presence on Earth and his attack on the punks that had been harassed an Andalite female. What else could they know, what other thing could they use?
"My fellow Alliance members had gathered these photographs from reliable sources. I assure you that these are no fakes, no sad tabloid scam. What you are about to see is pure fact." Tompson was saying.
"Parents may want their children to leave the room." Then the series of pictures began to flash on the TV screen.
Ax could not believe what he was seeing. For a moment he thought that perhaps he was imagining this, but he knew that wasn't the truth. Otherwise he wouldn't be feeling the cold sweat on his forehead. Cold sweat that kept accumulating as more of the images began to fly across the screen. They weren't objectionable images, but more than enough to show the two people in the photographs were sharing more than a simple outing at a theme park.
They were pictures of Marco and Ax's trip to Pirateland. It had been their first and so far, only, date. Simple and innocent enough. Until now, that was. Ax placed a hand on the wall to keep from collapsing. His thoughts had drifted to his parents, who would sooner or later find out about this. His mother would be shocked but Ax trusted Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen would be able to accept this. Perhaps she even saw it coming, Ax thought. He remembered that not long after he had told his parents of his attraction to other males, his mother had begun teasing him that since he was so human-like it would be more likely for Ax to court a human male than one of his own kind. His mother would be the only one to accept him as he was, though. Ax knew that in his hearts. Noorlin-Sirinal-Cooraf would disown him. Before Ax had even left for Earth his father had stopped talking to him. This would destroy what fragment of a father-son bond they still had. And as for his people? His fellow Andalites? Ax held no illusions of acceptance in his mind. To his own people he would be good as dead.

Marco lost his grip on the sword and it hit the bed. He said only one word. "Shit."
Cassie's lips were pressed together in a tight line and her eyes were flashing in what Ax interpreted as anger. Prince Jake was, from the look on his face, pissed off. "That scumbag." He said, moving his thumb up and clicking the TV off. Tobias had perched onto the edge of the bed and stared at the blank TV screen, his hawk form making his emotions unreadable. That relieved Ax, he didn't want to think about Tobias's thoughts right now.
"Damn it!" Marco yelled. He jumped off the bed in an ungraceful burst of fury. "What am I going to do now?"
All of Ax's emotions -- his shock at the news now made public, his sadness at his now inevitable rejection from his people, his fear at what was happening to him, turned into one burning feeling. Anger. It made him sick inside.
"What are you going to do?" Ax repeated Marco's question, his voice coming out a distorted version of the way it often sounded in human form. Marco turned to look at him, mistrust playing in eyes. But he still fell for it.
"What do you think I mean? How in the world can things go back to normal now?" Marco challenged. "Don't you get it? I just lost everything! My fans are going to hate me, my show, my book contracts, they're all dead now! Let's not even mention what my parents are going think! I've lost everything and all because of someone I'm not even sure how I feel about!" Marco yelled. Then Marco took a step back as he realized what he'd just said.
"I understand." Ax said. "I understand what you've lost. I have lost my father, my people, and my home. I can sympathize." Then Ax started walking out the door. "However, I do not apologize." He said to Marco as he left.

Ax was heading for the elevators. He didn't know enough about the hospital to know where he was going, he just wanted to go somewhere away. He pressed the down button near the elevator door, and in a few moments it opened. It was empty, thank all that was good. Looking over at the number panel on the side of the elevator wall, Ax pressed the number 3 button. Ax just watched as the doors started to close, trying not to think about what had just happened and the things to come.
"No!" To Ax's surprise, a hand shot through and grabbed the left door. With a groan, Marco forced himself inside the elevator. The metal doors closed behind him. "I screwed up, okay?" Marco said. "I apologize for what I said. But I'm not letting you leave until I at least get a chance to explain myself." Ax sighed. What choice did he have?
Marco took a deep breath. "When I said that I wasn't sure how I felt about you, I didn't mean it in an 'I want to end this relationship' way." He said. Ax looked at the boy in front of him. What was Marco getting at? "It's the truth, though. I'm not sure how I feel about you. I just know a few things right now. One, that you're the first person I've dated since the war that treats me like a real person. Two, that you've got me in a whole new kind of situation I don't have that much experience with. I mean, you know, this is the first time I've ever dated a guy. It's new for me. Then third, and most important..." Marco took another breath, looked up at the ceiling and spoke.
"I care about you. I worry about you with everything that's happened. You start blacking out in the middle of the street, start attacking kids, and I don't know why. You see, that kind of bugs me for some strange reason. Then there's all this crap with Chris Tompson and his little gang, too. I guess what I meant to say is that, yeah, looks like my public image has been ruined and all for a guy I that I don't know what I feel for. But it's okay, because at least I'm losing all of that for someone I care for. At least I'm losing it for a friend." Marco said.
"Well, that's all I had to say. Unless you've got something you want to tell me, I guess that's it." Marco shrugged.
"Thank you for telling me, Marco." Ax said in the most formal voice he could manage. It was his turn to tell the truth.
"I do not know what is happening to me." Ax confessed. Marco raised his eyebrows.
"Whatever is happening, it is out of my control. It was not my intention to attack those boys, even if they did deserve it. Someone, no...something, was in control of my body. It has been happening ever since that day we went out, when I had nearly passed out at the amusement park. There had been a voice speaking to me right before I started to lose consciousness." Ax frowned at the memory. "That explains that for you."
"And I had one more thing I wanted to say." Ax rolled words around in his head to explain himself. "I have more than likely lost any chance I had to reunite with my people. But I feel that it is worth it. After all, as you said, at least I am losing that chance for a friend." Then Ax smiled at Marco. "Or to be more precise, a friend with benefits."
Marco smirked. "Well..." He began to say, but Ax put a hand up to his face. "But I need time."
The elevator door opened right then, near what seemed to be an empty waiting hall. A new, revolutionary idea was occurring to the Andalite. An idea that seemed to have taken ages to come to him. Ax stepped out.
Marco chased after him. "What are you doing?" His boyfriend demanded. Ax smiled at him, his eyes twinkling.
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Ax said. As Ax was heading down the hall with Marco lagging behind, he reviewed the situation in his head for the last time. Now that his and Marco's relationship had been made public, there wasn't a chance that his people would welcome him anytime soon. Even despite being the brother of Elfangor, and an honored war-prince. Sure, that would help but Andalite society did not open up to new ideas easy. Ax would be welcomed back when he was old and feeble, of that he was certain.
And these days he had been finding it so easy to slip into human morph. For reasons of privacy and security, he had told himself. It was a plausible excuse, but even during the war he had not been spending this much time as a human. Also, something else occurred to him. Where was it he had gone whenever things were too hard?
Whenever he needed a break, where was it he had headed? Where was it that he felt comfortable? Where?
Where was it that he felt at home?

Ax stopped moving as the answer came to him. It was a shock, but yet...it didn't surprise him as much as it should.
Earth was where he had gone whenever things were too hard. Earth was where he went when he needed a break. Earth was where he felt comfortable. Earth was where he felt at home.
It made so much sense now. Ax knew what he needed to do. He still had three minutes, enough time to demorph if he needed to. It would take a while to get a response, but he could still have contact with his mother. She would understand. The others Animorphs, his friends, they would get it sooner or later. To be honest, though, Ax didn't care that much what they thought. He just could not believe the idea hadn't occurred to him earlier.
After traveling through the hall Ax and Marco had located a waiting room with a vending machine. There were hard plastic seats decorating the whole room.
Ax plopped down on of them and after a long sigh, Marco sat next to him. Now he had a minute.
Ax shut his eyes as the tears started to flow. In his mind he counted down the seconds.
Fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine...Ax felt Marco squeeze his hand, and Ax was grateful for the bit of comfort.
The seconds were going by agonizing slow, but then they would speed up, and then slow down again.
Five, four, three, two...one...Ax opened his eyes. They were still blurred with tears but that was fine. Ax took a deep sigh and leaned back in the chair. That had taken a lot out of him.
But he didn't regret it at all. After a moment, Marco spoke. "You'd better not have done that because of me."
Ax turned at him and glared. "Who said I did it for you? You are not the only thing in my life." Ax stated.
Marco smiled. "That's good. I wouldn't want to be the only thing your life anyway, it'd be too creepy."
Ax then tried to hide a smile. "That is very true. After all, if you were the only thing in my life, then the world would have two Marcos and I doubt the Earth can handle that." Marco was nodding to himself until he realized what Ax was saying.
"Hey! You finally learn to joke and it's at my expense? That is so not fair!" Marco whined.
Ax had a hard time hiding the smirk threatening to crawl onto his lips. "But it is so easy." Ax teased.
Unable to think of a mature response, Marco stuck his tongue out at Ax. The Andalite laughed and got up, pulling Marco with him. "The others will be wondering where we are." Ax said. Marco nodded. "They probably think you killed me."
"Yes, I could see why." Ax agreed. Marco just shook his head in resignation.

With that, the two of them headed back to Ax's room. When they got there, Jake, Cassie and Tobias were waiting for them. No one said anything, but Tobias did send Ax a fierce hawk glare. He must have known.
Jake got up, and faced Ax. "One of the doctors came by while you were gone. They want you to leave the hospital, because apparently one too many of the patients don't like the idea of you being here now with all the information the Human Alliance is broadcasting." Jake sighed. "I tried to reason with the doctor, but I got nothing out of that. It's okay, though, since the morphing did heal your injuries." Jake told Ax.
"So I should go home then?" Ax asked Jake. Cassie decided to answer this question with a hesitant shrug. "No, not yet. I, I mean, we thought it would be safer for you to stay with one of us for a while. There are reporters flocking your apartment from what I've heard, and things probably more dangerous than that."
"I do not wish to impose on any of you." Ax said, but was stopped by Jake's stern face. "You're not imposing. You're one of us, Ax, and you always have been." Ax was forced to comply with Prince Jake, who seemed to grow even taller when he was angry or frustrated. "Yes, Prince Jake." He managed to say.
"Ax, stop calling me that." Jake said. "Of course, Prince Jake." Ax said. Jake inhaled a long breath and rubbed his temples. "Right," Jake said. "He's not staying with me if he keeps doing that."
I don't have anywhere for him to stay at. Tobias added.
Cassie's brow furrowed as she thought. "I have a date with Ronnie tonight, but he could still stay with me."
In near unison every head in the room turned to look at Marco. '"You're kidding!" He screeched.
"Marco, out of all of us, shouldn't you be having the least trouble with having him at your place?" Jake asked.
"But come on! If there's reporters and psychos at Ax's place, they've got to be at my house too! Are you insane?" Marco was close to screaming. Jake shrugged. "True, but you've got security at your place and it's not like you two are closeted anymore. What's the huge harm?" Prince Jake asked.
Marco sighed in resignation, but not before telling Jake he hated him. Jake then started to more or less shove Marco out the door. "I get the picture!" Marco cried, running out with Ax behind him.
"Fine, then!" Marco shouted to the now closed hospital door. "We'll just go get a taxi!"

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That turned out to be the exact thing Marco and Ax had to do. It was hard work because every cab driver in the city knew about them, and of course none of them wanted the two gay Animorphs inside their cab. Just as they were about to give up and try to walk to Marco's mansion (which was on the other side of town), one driver stopped for them. She was a redhaired girl in her early twenties with chocolate brown eyes. Even though he felt no attraction towards her, Ax had to admit she was a beautiful woman.
"My name's Claire and there's no need to tell me who you two are." She said to the two men as the got in the back of the cab. Marco rolled his eyes. "I'm sure." He said that in the most sarcastic tone Ax had ever heard him use.
Claire then smiled a wicked smile. "No, really. I heard all about you guys from my girlfriend. She thinks it's cute."
"Your what?" The two men asked in unison. Claire laughed at them. "Oh yeah. She was laughing her butt off this morning when she saw what was on the news. You've got to admit it is pretty funny. Now, you're on which street again?"

To Ax's utter amazement, they both survived the cab ride to Marco's. Not to say it was the most comfortable experience he'd ever had in an automobile, but they did survive. That was important.
Ax was a bit intimidated when he stepped inside the mansion. He had been there once before for a failed attempt at an Animorphs Reunion, but that had been the only time. That time there had been other people in mansion, which made it much easier to handle. This time it was just him and Marco, which was strange enough, but worse in this huge house.
"Oh crap!" Marco said. "All of your stuff is still at your house, right?" He asked Ax.
"Yes, it is." Ax said. Marco groaned. "Okay, let's go to the laundry bin and see if there's anything you can fit into."
So the two of them traveled to the laundry bin and ended up picking out a large and faded Spiderman shirt from deep within the bowels of the laundry baskets. "Okay, that's done with." Marco said. "You can pick out any of the guest rooms you like, most of them are upstairs...bathroom on the left end and a kitchen on the right."
Ax smiled to himself. "Thank you." He said. Marco shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to do?"
"No, I have not formally thanked you." Ax argued. "I have not thanked you for the support you gave me today, nor have I given you the recognition you deserve for explaining yourself to me. For that, I thank you."
"I feel like you should be knighting me." Marco commented.
"I lack the proper equipment to do that." Ax said, then leaned in and kissed the shorter man. "I hope that compensates." Marco was still staring at him when Ax started heading up the stairs. "Good night." the human nothlit said.
"Um, yeah....night..." Marco mumbled.

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Ax had picked the first room he found upstairs, and began to sleep at almost the exact moment his head hit the pillow. It was hours later when he began dreaming. It was a strange dream, with a mutating creature of some kind. A creature similar to the Ellimist, but without the Ellimist's good intentions.

WAKIE WAKIE LITTLE ANDALITE.

Ax did not stir, and just ignored the voice. No point in giving power to a nightmare. He would have thrown his pillow at the voice, but he was absent any pillows. It was when he realized this that the Ellimist had appeared in Ax's dream. That was even stranger.

AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL, WAKE UP.

Now even the Ellimist was speaking to him! This was starting to become a very annoying dream.

PRINCE AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL, BROTHER OF PRINCE ELFANGOR-SIRINAL-SHAMTUL, YOU MUST WAKE UP. The Ellimist's voice was demanding. WAKE UP! Now the Ellimist was screaming at him. Ax groaned and sat up to swing a fist as his Dream Ellimist. When his fist hit dead air, Ax opened his eyes.

Then he realized it wasn't a dream.

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Talking to the fans, oh my fans, lovely fans...

Doctor Strangelove - First of all, thank you so much for fic! It gave me the kick in the butt I needed to start writing this chapter. And just for you we have more Tilopid, swords, and...there was food, which counts right? Oh, and more cuteness. Pirate Marco shall live a long and fulfilling life and I'm trying to work out payback for Tompson. Oh, yes, please ignore the foreshadowing! Just pretend it's not there! I don't want people guessing my ending...

Myst - Wagh. Yep, the plot thickens lots! Go plot thickeningness! I really did mean to update soon, sorry about that. I like humor. Humor makes sure my readers don't get too depressed (and it's fun to write). 'S okay your sentences jump and jump and jump. See, these are too! **sentences jump** Wow, I didn't know plushies could do that. 0_o...wait a sec, you mean someone actually reads Desperate Freedom? You've got to be kidding me!

Evil Slytherin Queen - Hi, new reviewer nice person! **waves** Um, Marco morphed so that nobody would freak out over his broken nose. I should've explained that one, huh?

Forlay - I hope you enjoy your plushie, miss. Oh, yeah, I'm going to need to throw some pastries into my next chapters...a lot of pastries. Oh yeah, making Marco freak out is just fun. Torturing him and making him act stupid is fun, too. Ooooh, new ficcie! I love new ficcies...(and a big gggrrrr at the FFN bans)

Lauren - Hi again! Um, I got banned for writing a chatroom fic. Which was two years before they even started the ban, but oh well. I'm glad you like Tilopid! And I'm not killing Ax! I'm not killing anybody! At least, I don't think so. Wooohoo! Favorites list! Yay. Okay, I'm shutting up now 'cuz I'm sounding weird.