Author's note: this is actually a re-post. After getting some feedback (particularly from A-cat, Anni, and kitakatz) I went back and re-read the Cassie part of the chapter. And I totally agree with you guys…that didn't sound like Cassie at all! So I decided to go back and re-do that part, and hopefully rectify the situation.

: )

DH

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Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews! I did a double-take when I saw them all… so thanks! Ya'll really made my week!

Anywho.. answering your questions/comments:

KP: Thanks about the IC stuff! I don't actually try to write the characters much anymore, rather I write my friends who I think resemble the characters… makes it a lot easier. So why did Marco refuse Tom so blatantly to go to the Sharing? I actually have no idea… I think I'm going to go back and fix that like you suggested next time I get a chance. (unfortunately it won't be this time b/c my allotted writing time is almost up). So maybe next Sat morning I can get it. Oh! And glad you liked the "cleaning room line" that one cracked me up too! And yeah, Leonora is actually me when I was 16.

Wraith-lord: Thanks! smiles now hurry up with yours!

Summer Tabone: hmm… threats work sometimes with me, but those life and death ones just aren't as motivational as they used to be… thanks for the review!

A-Cat: Y are the Yeerks going after Marco's Dad? I dunno… why does Marco think that, is more the question…mainly b/c he's semi-paranoid. Yeah, I got my pen-name from DH Lawrence… so that's prolly why you got it from that movie. Thanks for the review!

Anni Morph: yeah, Marco is such a ham! Glad you liked the story!

Tabatha: Thanks! And thanks for the review! Here's the next chappie!

Lady of Romantic Dreams: Yeah, Tetris… mainly b/c that's like one of my all-time fav video games. Yeah Marco's Dad is used a lot..but I'll give you a hint, the title of this story is The Candidate not The Father….so its not really going to be about his Dad, but I can't tell you more than that b/c its cheating. Oh and if you're interested in reading my other story, that'd be much appreciated!

Kitakatz: thanks! And thanks for the review!

Slicedpigeon: thanks for the compliment! But I have to give KA props for thinking up of everything… thanks for the review!

Kaz456: yeah, that's how I feel…I've been missing them too which is why I'm writing my own! Thanks for the review!

Jedsel: thanks, thought they were funny too!

Liaranne: thanks! And thanks for the review!

Miss Piratess: thanks! And thanks for trying out my new story!

Dani: thanks for the review! And thanks for reading!

JoBean: thanks! Trying to keep this accurate while still doing my own thing…note the Cassie part in here…been wanting to do something like that to her for a long time!

……………….

Sorry ya'll that those response (above) were so short… I'm running super late for something, I just realized and trying to upload this ASAP!

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disclaimer: not mine!

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It was the following day and we Animorphs were all assembled in Cassie's barn. Cassie's barn, or rather the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic as she calls it, is like an animal hospital for injured or sick wild animals. But besides its obvious function, the barn serves a more important one. The barn is our Animorph's Bat Cave, our secret super-hero lair. Well, except that it's missing all the cool superhero gizmos and computers, and it has a weird bird poop mixed with manure scent. But hey, we make due. Anyways, the barn is where we hold all our anti-Yeerk "town hall meetings."

'So Marco, I still don't understand why you think the Yeerks are going after your Dad' Tobias was saying from his perch among the barn's rafters.

Jake and I had just finished de-briefing the others on the Sharing's community fair and blood drive.

"What don't you understand?" I asked.

'Why would the Yeerks bother going after him or anyone in Tinly Square. I mean, they're not that important. At least not compared, say to the governor or the mayor or someone like that.'

Tobias is a nothlit, a person who stayed in morph longer than two hours. He is now stuck as a red-tailed hawk. However, he just recently regained his morphing abilities through the aid of the non-interfering all omnipotent Ellimist.

"Yes Marco, I understand that you're worried about your Dad, but what do the Yeerks have to gain by infesting a bunch of computer programmers?" Cassie voiced. Dressed in an old pair of overalls and rubber boots, she was standing ankle-deep in a pile of sludge, scooping out the horse-stalls. "It just really doesn't make sense."

"They're software engineers," I corrected her. "And just think of all the clearance the Yeerks would have if they infested them. All that access to technology."

'Yeerks do not require human technology' Ax interjected. He was standing in the corner, a dark blue centaur looking creature with a wicked scythe-like tail, and an extra set of eyes. 'It is far too primitive to be of any real usefulness.'

Why couldn't any of them understand? Maybe I was being a bit over-presumptuous, but I wasn't going to loose my parent. Not again. See, I've already lost my mom to the Yeerks. I thought that she had died in a boating accident when I was younger, but that was actually a Yeerk cover-up. A very high-ranking Yeerk had infested my mom and then invented the boating "accident." My mom was now serving as the host-body to Visser One, a fact that I had only recently discovered. Jake was the only other person who knew about what the Yeerks had done to my family.

"Alright," I conceded. "Let's just say that I'm wrong, and that the Yeerks aren't targeting my Dad's work. Then why else would the Sharing be planning a community Yeerk-drive in which the only developed area within a good square mile is Tinly Park?" I asked. "Why not have it near a school, or in a neighborhood, or even at a Church? Why not have it somewhere where there are other people and not just a slew of computer scientists?"

Jake, who had been quietly pacing the barn the whole time, suddenly stopped. "I agree with Marco on the Sharing's choice of location." He said finally. "They definitely have a specific target in mind. But the target is probably access to technology via engineers, and not just a random infestation of engineers." Jake turned to me, with that fearless leader look in his eyes. "Marco, what kind of things does your Dad work on?" he asked. "Anything important that would warrant so much Yeerk-attention?"

"I don't know."

"Well what kind of projects has he done since he started?"

I shrugged.

"Oh come on Marco, even you can't be that pathetic." Rachel snorted. She was lounging on a hale bale, absently running a piece of straw between her fingers. "Don't you even know what your Dad does for a living?"

"Yeah, he's a software engineer."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah and my Mom's a lawyer. What kind of things does he do though?"

Like I was supposed to know. One rule that I learned long ago was to NEVER ask my Dad about what he did. Its like listening to a math lecture that's taught in Swaheli for two hours.

"He does engineering things." I replied.

Rachel sighed. "You're so hopeless."

Ignoring Rachel and I, Jake began planning. "Well, what we need is to do some reconnaissance then, I guess. Tobias and Ax, I want you guys to do a fly-by both of West Sattler Park and of Tinly Square everyday of this week. Look for anything suspicious. Marco," he turned to me," try to find out what your Dad's company or any other of the computer companies in Tinly Square could have been doing that would make the Yeerks so interested in them."

"Aye, aye mon capitan." I flashed him my best salute.

"I'm hoping that whatever it is that the Yeerks are after, we can figure it out before the fair starts." Jake concluded. "I'd rather that we don't attend the fair, if we can help it."

"Aw, but then Marco won't get to ride the merry-go-round and visit the petting zoo." Rachel sneered.

"And She-rah won't get to go on a Yeerk- Rampage," I shot back.

"Anyway, that's all I have to say," Jake finished. "So I guess we're done here, unless anyone else has anything?"

No one did.

The meeting was over then, and one by one we began to file out of Cassie's barn. Ax morphed his harrier morph, and then he and Tobias headed for the scoop. Rachel became her bald eagle and took off for her house. Jake, on his bike, headed for his home.

"Hey Marco, wait!" Cassie called as I began to go my aerial morph.

I pretended that I couldn't hear her, and began to speed up the morph. I really was not in the mood to have a Cassie-intervention over my feelings and my Dad.

"Marco!" Cassie called again. Leaving her shovel in the horse-stall, she sprinted across the barn to me. As she was running, the cuffs of her overalls slid under the soles of her boots, and she tripped. Down, down, down she fell, and landed face first into a very large, and very fresh pile of horse droppings.

"Oh gross," Cassie wailed, rubbing manure from her cheeks.

Well then, I had to stop reverse the morph. I couldn't leave Cassie coated in excretion. 'Cassie are you alright?' I asked in thought-speak as I reversed the bird morph.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied, sitting up. She dabbed at her face with the sleeve of he shirt, trying to wipe off some of the manure.

'Hey, just stop--' I began. But then I lost my thought-speak ability. It was a few more seconds before I developed a mouth and speaking parts and could continue. "Just stop," I repeated. "We'll get the hose."

About five minutes later and some very intense power-washing, Cassie was thoroughly soaked, but no longer poop-face.

"Thanks, Marco." She said as I turned off the power-washer. Dripping water everywhere she turned to her house. "I think I'm going to take a long, hot bath," she commented.

"Good idea," I replied. I turned to leave her, grateful that we had somehow avoided the subject of my Dad.

"Hey Marco, wait a minute," Cassie caught me.

Shoot.

"Can we talk for a second?"

I shrugged.

Taking that as a yes, Cassie began in earnest. "Marco, you looked really worried today." She said carefully. "You looked really upset."

I sighed. I really wasn't in the mood to discuss my feelings or to listen to Cassie discuss them for me.

"You lost your Mom when you were little and now you're afraid of losing your Dad," Cassie continued. "You're afraid that you're going to lose the rest of your family."

I stared at the floor uncomfortably. I really don't like talking about my family. Not even to Jake, my best friend since we were four and I stole his GI-Joe and buried it in the sandbox.

"And now its looks like the Yeerks could be targeting your Dad's work, and therefore targeting your Dad." Cassie said quietly. "And that scares you, doesn't it? The thought of loosing your Dad to the Yeerks?"

Of course I was scared! Tinly Square was the only logical target for the Yeerk community fair at West Sattler Park. And that meant that my Dad was now at risk.

I looked thoughtful for a moment, hoping that Cassie would believe that I was taking the time to "think things through" and to notice all the innate wisdom in the blatantly obvious things that she had pointed out to me.

"Gee Cassie, now that you mention it, I guess I never thought that this mission, where the Yeerks are targeting my Dad and his work colleagues, could cause me concern." I said, trying not to let my irritation show. "So thanks for pointing that out to me."

Cassie furrowed her brows, obviously sensing my sarcasm. "Marco just be careful that you're not so focused on your need to protect your Dad that you're blinded by it." She said concernedly.

And then, I instantly felt bad for using my mean tone on her. I mean, she was just trying to help me, afterall.

"Anyways, I think I'd better go get cleaned up," Cassie said, allowing me an escape without having to apologize to her for my rudeness.

"Yeah, and I think I've got to get going now," I said as I began to once again morph my flight home. "I think you'd better get acquainted with some Cascade."

"But that's a dish detergent."

"Yea and a very powerful one at that," I explained. "Twice the power of Dawn and gentle on skin. You're going to need something stronger than Zest if you want to get that stench out."

"Oh."

'Yeah, see ya'. The morph was finally finished, and spreading wide my wings I took to the air, and headed for home.

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author's note: Yeah, but so for anyone who read the screwed-up one, is this version any better? Or is the Cassie characterization just as bad?

yeah, can you tell I'm the Cassie Hater's Club Pres? Anywho.. got's to split, LIKE NOW!

So plz review, ya'll!

: )

DH