Hear No Evil . . .
PART NINETEEN: Infinite Voices and the Cold Sun

Marco snorted, "You're kidding, right?"

"Look we have to test this out and options are limited," Jake sighed. "Just touch it already."

The caterpillar raced across his fingers, so Jake had to turn his hands over and over to keep it from escaping to the carpet. They were in his room, on the second story of his house. Marco was sprawled back on Jake's bed near the far wall, one leg flat, the other balancing on the windowsill. He hadn't slept last night and was on Jake's stoop at dawn.

Jake still didn't know how Marco managed to charm his way past Jake's sleep-deprived father, but knew he had a way with words.

"Buddy," Marco said slowly."There is no way you're going to get me to be a caterpillar."

Feeling a bit embarrassed and not willing to show it, Jake spun in his chair. With a quick flip, the caterpillar was tossed into the desk drawer nonchalantly. Facing Marco, he folded his arms over his chest and said, "What's wrong with it?"

"Jake, this is stupid." Seeing his hurt look, Marco conceded a bit. "Sorry, man. But we need something a bit saner. That's a freaking caterpillar." He let his other leg thud to the bed for emphasis.

Jake nodded. "Oh okay, got a bird or a squirrel on you?" he sarcasmed. Neither he nor Marco had pets and both lived in the suburbs. They had already planned to group with the others later, but it was still early and Jake was eager to morph. He didn't want to be the last person to try out their new powers.

Marco gave him a wry look. "How about we do something less terrifying now and then get some cool animals later?"

Jake's jaw tightened. He had been thinking of Marco and the others as new recruits. Another group of child soldiers. He felt stupid. He should have known that his best friend would have an opinion, not just follow blindly. But that was okay, Jake thought.

This is my equal.

"How about you morph me?" The words were out before he thought them through clearly. Jake simply reacted with whatever seemed to be simplest, once again, not looking before he leaped.

After all, he just suggested Marco become him.

Marco swung both feet around and sat up. "That's fine," he nodded. "It'd be just to test the technology. See how this morphing thing works." He stood up and held his hand out to Jake for a moment before pulling it back. "Wait, should I put some of your clothes on or something?" He plucked a piece of his shirt. "Think mine will tear?"

Jake chuckled. It was the same shirt Marco was wearing last night that Elfangor had saved. "You might get a 'wedgie', but I'm not that big." He rose, took Marco's hand and waited.

"Now what?"

Jake skewed his eyebrows in thought. "I think it's controlled through willpower," he said, his tone now more serious.

Marco shrugged. "So we should just try to concentrate on becoming the thing."

Then Jake and Marco focused on each other. With a loud CRUNCH! which resonated through his spine, Jake's leg bones shortened suddenly. "Whoa!" For a moment, he stopped the morph, but then pushed on, calming himself. He tuned out Marco's voice.

"How's the weather down there?" Marco laughed. "Oh boy, you know how many times I've heard that one."

That's Marco, Jake smiled, Always trying to make people laugh. He looked at his hands and skin, then ducked to try and catch his reflection off a plaque on the wall.

Morphs completed, their bodies stopped shifting. "So are we superheros yet?" Marco asked. He looked down at his newer, more impressive self.

Jake shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. Marco's body seemed to have a natural kink in the right shoulder that just wouldn't relax. He stared into Marco's eyes... his eyes actually. "It's like hearing yourself on tape," he said, raising a hand to Marco's arm muscle. "It's like, 'Dude, I actually look like that?'"

"You look handsome, by the way. My body really becomes you," Marco smirked, then grunted and pulled at his pant leg. "You were right about the wedgie, man."

Ethan rolled in the grass and leaves floor of the forest. Autumn now, it was really more leaves. He yawned.

Cassie was still up the tree, of course. She had already morphed everything caged in the barn and then dragged him out to hunt for any furry, cute thing that she could charm into letting her touch it. He still had yet to use his power. Ethan was none too eager to join this fight.

For what? So I can walk ahead of the group and be their "mine detector?" He could expect no less from Jake.

He checked the watch left in Cassie's pile of clothes. She still had one hundred minutes left. He knew she would use up every second. Not only did she enjoy being each animal, she would rant in his mind a veterinarian's spiel of animal facts she had memorized and how amazing it was to experience it in the flesh. The thought speak was a perfect communication tool. Every time she 'said' something, pictures and thoughts would rise in his mind. As if he said the words himself or was seeing Cassie's inspiration and visual interpretation. He simply knew what she was saying.

Peering through the trees overhead, boredom combined with fatigue claimed their victim. He rolled once and was asleep.

On the plateau again. He had never had a dream recur so often, before. Now he was alone. The floating square of Earth was instead a hard-wood floor.

A voice came from all around. Above and below and inside, bass pounding in his chest. For a moment he feared heart arrhythmia from the shock and resonance.

Hello, the voice said conversationally, like at a picnic.

"Hey" Ethan shrugged and responded. Strange, it was the first time he ever had a dream where he knew it was only a dream.

We are called "the Ellimist". We have come to you in your dreams, uninvited...

Ethan quirked an eyebrow. "Right. This is different. First time I've dreamt of you, Mr. Ellimist."

A chuckle surrounded him, invaded him.

I have been in your dreams for months now. I apologize for any unwelcome invasiveness. It was absolutely necessary to us, however, that you understand our trust and commitment in you.

"What are you?" He shakily asked, a little less cocky now.

I am the Ellimist, the voice repeated.

Ethan opened his eyes. Once again, he lay prone on the forest floor, staring at the endless sky through the forest canopy above. Conscious, but unable to move! He tried to kick his limbs, but even wiggling his toes was impossible. Was he awake?

I may soon seem infinitely powerful to you, but I have a terrible enemy. An unlimited criminal who would like nothing more than the destruction of all life in the universe.

The vision continued. Standing above him, as if from empty air, appeared an old man. His robes, which looked more like differently colored sheets, hung around him in threads with an illusion of poverty. His ears were slightly pointed at the tips and his beard hung just past his collarbone. He spoke, not with his former infinite voice, but with the silent lip movements that Ethan had long become accustomed to, "Many things shall rest on your shoulders. Very soon, indeed, Ethan."

What? Why are you here? He thought he asked.

"I needed to gain your trust." The old man pointed at the bandana wrapped on Ethan's brow.

Cassie's mother had handed him it without any ceremony, but one nervous look from Cassie, at the time, told him this was a significant gift. In fact, his dream of a similar bandana was his primary reason for approaching Cassie at the state fair. Ethan's other dreams flashed in his mind. She was there. Before he even knew her. Jake's form materialized. That friend of his, Marco or Macro or something. Some blonde girl.

He tried to holler for Cassie's help, but his throat no longer vibrated on command. Waving his arms did nothing, as they lay still at his sides. Imprisoned, restricted! Even though he was surrounded by trees and open area, the inability to move triggered his claustrophobic instinct. Deny as he might, it was in every human to require at least five square feet of space for sanity.

"I am only holding you for a moment, be calm." The old man smiled. "I visited you in your sleep, so you would be where you are now." He raised his hands up, "Are you happy where you are?"

So much information to process in a matter of hours. The invasion of Earth by parasitic aliens, being invited into Cassie's family as her equal, the discovery of a belated ally in the 'Andalites', the disorganization, Cassie changing animals like sandals. Now some . . . creature had been disturbing his dreams. Inflicting nightmares upon him without his knowledge.

This place is better than where I was, he admitted, silently. Until last night.

"There is a better place," the Ellimist replied, "A place so far from here, you could never reach it. While it is not a perfect world, freedom and happiness are much more abundant there."

If I can never reach it, why should I care? Ethan tried to ask. Not with his frozen lips or even through thought speak. It was just a prevalent question in his mind. The Ellimist answered as if he had spoken it aloud.

"I have other warriors in this other place. They are on the brink of failure. If they fall, this is how the world shall be forever. As it has always been for you. While I cannot help you in any way, I can tell you, Ethan, you are our hope. If my other warriors fail and this becomes 'Ultimate Reality' than I need to insure the possibility of this world joining my others. Becoming peaceful and democratic. You are the best hope of making this planet docile."

Ethan barely shook his head. Wordlessly negative. "You expect me to do something on a world-wide scale? Because I can morph into a raccoon?" He tried to express the absolute futility of his situation to the Ellimist.

The Ellimist took a floating step forward, increasing Ethan's panic. Before reaching him, however, the Ellimist simply dematerialized until he was naught but a disembodied voice again.

I expect you to realize that if the others succeed, you will cease to exist. I expect you to know there is nothing you can do to sabotage their fight. I expect you to do with this information what I already know you shall do.

After waiting a bit for more, he knew the old man was really gone. Or at least, not speaking anymore, which was just as good. His limbs were able and strong, once again. Ethan decided that to tell even Cassie about this would be just stupid. Who would believe the crazy, nervous, aftereffects of his dream?

The branches above him rustled as Cassie perched on a particularly thin one, which bounced under her weight. Hey there! she giggled with exhilaration. So are you ready to try one out now, Ethan? What would you like to morph first?

He struggled to his feet and grinned up at her, covering his recent anxiety. "I don't know." He remembered Cassie's first demorphing experience. "How about something small? Just in case I don't get the hang of clothes right away."

She laughed. In that case, I suggest bird. She peered at the open sky and sighed, Oh, Ethan, you're going to love it!

"Cassie? Cassie!" Her father's voice rang out over the acres of her family's farm.

Oh no! She darted to the ground and began to demorph. Ethan, hurry up there and tell my dad... uh, something! she tripped over her rapidly growing talons.

He nodded, accepting her orders and raced up the hill. At the border of trees, he could see clearly across the brilliant grass to the barn where Cassie's father was searching. Walter peered into the barn. "Cassie?"

"Down here, Sir!" Ethan called, waving.

Walter shook his head and laughed. "Oh, so she has you down there playing 'animals' with her now?" Ethan hid a smile. Cassie's father had no idea how close to the truth that was.

Cassie emerged from the dark, fully human and with a strange choice of clothing. "Hi Dad!" She smiled and darted her eyes nervously. "We weren't goofing off, I swear." she pushed to make her voice sound natural.

Walter pulled out the broom he was hiding behind his back and grinned in mock evil. "It's a perfectly good day out, be a shame for you kids to waste it. Get on up here."

Four o'clock rush hour. The cold sun beat down, luring pedestrians to dress lightly. But all it warmed was the pavement as an autumn breeze stole the promised heat. Proudly, the shorts and t-shirt clad traveled the streets as others sat on their porches, smoking and watching the cars blow by.

Bowing his head, he stretched his paws before him, every movement, every smell drawing his attention. Anything that breathed within fifty yards was identified, prioritized and ultimately ignored. After all, there's not much out there that will impress a cat.

Tobias's powers were being wasted, crouched next to the alleyway dumpster, not much to smell there. But the last thing he needed was to be shot and scooped up by the dogcatcher. With one last, reluctant, deep breath through feline nostrils, he slinked behind the dumpster and demorphed.

He stayed ducked down even after he was completely human. Whipping his clothes out of the stashed bag, he shivered from the cold and put them on. He wished he could stay a cat forever. Find some nice house to sleep the day away in.

Tobias scoffed at his own delusion and stepped out into the sun, heading for Jake's house. If anyone knew what to do now, it'd be Jake, he thought.

He ignored the stares from porch monkeys as he passed them, keeping his head down as always.

Tobias never liked too much attention. His nature was to keep quiet, stay in the back, out of the radar. It was an obvious conclusion to him. When he knew that someone was depending on him, when he knew he was being watched, judged, he failed. Again and again. Something about the scrutiny made his hands shake, his brain confused and nervous. Just about the only skill he had developed during the years was his artwork- it was one of the few after-school hobbies he could perform without an audience.

Now he was falling back into his simple pattern. Go to Jake. He'll know what to do. Follow him. Don't look like an idiot, please, don't look like an idiot.

"Tobias?"

Ugh.

Tobias looked up to see Melissa Chapman across the street. She waved and hurried through a break in the traffic.

"Hey Tobias, I thought that was you!" Melissa smiledwhen she reachedhim.

"Yeah, uh hey."

"What are you up to on this fine afternoon?" she asked cheerily. Apparently she was one of those who preferred to ignore the thirty degree temperatures and concentrate instead on the clear sky of a bright day.

Tobias was truly unsure how to respond. Now he wasn't a complete social recluse, but he did limit himself in not making light conversation with anyone. He really didn't know anyone here, save Cassie and Marco. He'd been shuttled between one Uncle and another since his father died and his mother was executed, leaving him with broken or interrupted friendships.

"Well . .." he hesitated. What did she care what he was doing? Oh yes, she probably was only interested in him as pertaining to the alien invasion occurring under the world's nose.

"I was just about to head over to Jake's," he recovered. "I, uh- " he lowered his voice and leaned closely, confiding. "I was a cat about five minutes ago."

"Really? So was I!" she whispered back. Melissa didn't pull away, despite how close Tobias was leaning. After the extreme emotion of last night, he felt a little guilty for enjoying her proximity.

Pathetic, he groused to himself. First girl who willingly gets within smelling distance of you and you turn into mush. Cowboy up, man.

If Melissa was disconcerted by his sudden, awkward silence, she didn't show it.

"I guess Jake's house is as good as any to start. Let's go!" she touched his hand for a moment, as if she meant to grab it, then chastely pulled away. She giggled. "Sorry, don't know what I was thinking."

Tobias blushed. "It's nothing." he shrugged and started walking, Melissa by his side.

Melissa hid her disappointment. Tobias had been so brave the night before. Ignoring Jake's orders and rushing to help an alien creature that could have destroyed him. But all that was gone now and he was running to Jake for help again.

She watched Tobias through her peripheral vision. His shoulders were slumped and he was staring at the pavement as it passed under their feet. Though she hated the idea of going to Jake's house, knowing it would only serve to support his ego, she really couldn't think of anything better to do. So instead of scrutinizing Tobias's decision, she patted his back on a whim.

Tobias jumped a bit at her touch and whipped his head towards her in surprise. Then he gave her a crooked smile and tried to act cool.

Melissa forced a smile. "Don't worry, Jake will know what to do."

End of Chapter
A/N: Fear not, there shall be no J/M slash in this fic.