Disclaimer: Hum, de dum, the usual. I don't own Animorphs. That would be K.A. Applegate. Sigh.

A/N: Er, heh, heh, sorry. I know I haven't uploaded in ages, and I'm afraid nothing much happens in this chapter either. It's kind of a transition chapter, really. But there is Ax angst! Please, more reviews...'puppy-dog eyes' drat, I can't use stars either. Sigh.

Cassie

Ax was in my barn. He was almost crying. Or he would have been if he were Human. I don't think Andalites have tear ducts. Now, I'm not Rachel. I don't have an awful temper. But, man, was I mad. "So, what happened?" I asked Ax.

'Melissa Chapman and I were playing Monopoly. Then…we talked…and…we… 'kissed'. Then Marco said, "Ax is hot, isn't he," and I excused myself.' Ax's thought-speak voice shook with suppressed emotion.

I've been angry at my friends before. But nothing like this. I simply could not believe that they would do something of this sort to Ax. I could tell he felt terribly ashamed, and worse, betrayed. It had cost him a lot just to tell me that he and Melissa…it was such a private thing that I felt hot all over just knowing that three of my friends would do this to another member of our little band.

"Ax," I apologized. "I'm sorry. I guess it was partly my fault. See, they told me they were thinking of it, but I didn't think they'd go through with it, and then my dad got a call about a fox being hurt on the highway, and I went with him and forgot-oh, Ax, I'm so sorry."

His stalk eyes were drooping and his tail hung limp.

'It is not your fault, Cassie,' he told me. 'You did not know. I myself would never have suspected such a thing had Marco not spoken. I-I am going to leave now. I wish to be alone.'

I nodded and touched him lightly on his blue-furred shoulder.

"I understand," I said softly.

Rachel

Okay, it was a stupid, juvenile thing to do, and we shouldn't have done it. But Marco can be awfully convincing when he wants to be, and-well, I guess it's just human nature to be curious. Don't get me wrong. I'm not excusing our behavior; I'm just explaining it. I started to figure out that something was wrong after Marco said that line about Ax being hot. I swear, his little Andalite ears just pricked up, and somehow-I knew he'd heard Marco.

'Marco!' I hissed in private thought-speak, as Ax almost jumped to his feet. 'You said that out loud, didn't you?'

'WHAT?' Marco's though-speak voice was so aghast that even I, his arch-rival, couldn't believe that it had been intentional.

'Oh man,' I groaned as I watched Ax stumble out the door. 'He's gonna kill us!'

I could hear the shocked regret in Jake's voice as he said worriedly, 'Geez, this was really stupid ,' and Marco chimed in with, 'I'm really sorry, you guys.'

I just shook my cat's head. 'We'd better get back to Cassie's farm,' I said, leaping daintily off the chair where I had been sitting, my feline face knotted in a very human grimace.

When we reached Cassie's barn, I saw a familiar figure standing outside, waiting for us. Cassie's face was dark with anger, and her eyes flashed fire. "Uh oh," Marco murmured when he saw her.

"Oh man," Jake hung his head, blushing in shame.

"What did you guys think you were doing!" Cassie snapped. She snapped. My gentle friend who never argues or yells or pouts, but who now was snapping. This was not a good sign.

"It was Marco's idea?" I protested feebly, knowing full well what a lame excuse that made.

"And you agree with Marco? Rachel, you of all people should have known better."

As that was just what I had been thinking, I blushed and hung my head. Jake's tight voice added, "You're totally right, Cassie. I-I can't believe we did that. Did Ax-is he really mad?"

Cassie's face grew calm and cold. "No, Jake, he's not mad. And I wonder if you would think that if you really knew Ax. He's not mad at all. He's terribly, terribly hurt and terribly, terribly betrayed, and I don't know how long it will be before he's back to himself."

Jake looked as though he'd been slapped. "I-I-" he stammered.

"I'm not going to say anything else. I'm just disgusted with you," Cassie said. Then she turned and walked straight back into her barn.

"Well, uh, I guess we made Cassie mad," Marco said, trying a feeble quip.

I rounded on him, "Geez, Marco, is that all you can say? We've totally hurt Ax, completely betrayed him, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Marco at least had the grace to look abashed. Then he did something which utterly took me aback. He scuffed in the dirt with the toe of his shoe and muttered, "You're right, Rachel."

It knocked all the wind out of my sails. I just stared.

"Um, well, I guess if Marco says I'm right, I'm…right."

"We're going to apologize to Ax," Jake said decisively.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Marco nodded. He had a sick, ashamed look on his face.

"Let's…do it?" I ventured, my voice shaking a little. I can face hundreds of evil Yeerks, but one hurt friend sets me quaking in my boots.

"Yeah, I guess," Marco said, dismally.

Tobias

It was dark and gloomy and raining. Again. When it rains, I sit in my leaky hollow tree, and it is at times like that that I really think about just being human again. Especially now that-but I'm getting ahead of myself. Way ahead. Anyway, I was sitting in my leaky tree, grumbling to myself about the lack of prey in a wet, soggy meadow, when I caught sight of a lithe blue-deer-shape through the trees.

'Hey, Ax-man!' I called, flapping down out of the three and flying down to him. Right away, I saw that something was wrong. His tail dragged on the ground, and both stalk eyes drooped limply. I came to rest on a nearby branch.

'Ax-man, what's wrong?' I asked.

Ax brightened a bit when he saw me, but when he answered, his voice was laden with shock and hurt. 'Oh, Tobias, at least you have not betrayed me also.'

'Betrayed you?'

'Yes.'

'What happened?'

'I would rather not discuss it.'

'Okay, Ax.' I was curious, but I respected his right to privacy. 'Would you prefer me to leave?'

For an instant, one of Ax's stalk eyes flickered upward, but then it drooped again as he answered, 'Yes, Tobias, I would like to be alone. Would you say so if anyone comes to search for me?'

'Sure thing, Ax-man. I'll see them a mile away,' I promised and spiraled upward to the top of the trees, my sharp hawk eyes scanning the horizon.

Marco

I felt rotten. I was mad, too, though. Okay, it was my idea. Okay, it was dumb. But did Jake and Rachel have to act like it was all my fault? I hadn't exactly forced them into coming with me. I stomped behind Jake, scowling to myself, as we slogged through the cold late summer rain toward Ax's forest. Deep down, I was feeling really guilty, but I usually cover my feelings with more jokes, which would have been worse than useless at that point. So I trudged gloomily after my friends. We were pretty near Ax's home, when a slim bird-shape floated down from the trees.

'Hey, guys,' Tobias said. 'Ax-man doesn't want to be disturbed.'

"Not that I blame him," I mumbled quietly. Tobias turned his big yellow eyes on me.

'What do you mean, Marco?' Tobias asked.

"Didn't he tell you?" Rachel asked quickly, running a hand through her long, blond hair.

'Nope. So I guess I shouldn't ask. He'll tell me when he's ready.'

"Yeah, well, suffice to say, we hurt his feelings pretty badly," Jake said, sounding stressed and ashamed.

"It was my idea," I mumbled, kicking at a loose stone and staring at the ground.

'He said something about being betrayed,' Tobias said thoughtfully. 'Don't worry. He'll probably feel better soon. I mean, what you did can't have been that bad, right?'

Rachel bit her lip. "It was pretty bad, Tobias. If somebody had doe it to me, I-I'd have flung them through the nearest window."

'Oh.'

"We better go," I managed, still staring at the ground.

The last thing I saw as we turned and left was Tobias sitting on the tree, water dripping slowly down his dark feathers.