Disclaimer I do not own Animorphs or Ben 10
Chapter 28: Reasons
Marco's POV
Okay, now I've experienced a lot of weird stuff over the time I've become an Animorph with Jake and the rest, but this definitely is one of the weirder ones.
A couple of weeks ago, Ben called us out to the mall and we talked about what had happened back at the forest. And during that time we kinda came up to a unspoken truce until we figure out what will happen next.
And guess what? The next thing we know after a couple of weeks, he walks up to our table in the cafeteria and let me tell you it was really awkward for the rest of us, well me and Jake, I can't speak for Rachel and Cassie though.
"Hey guys." Said Ben as he sat at out table, placing down his tray of food.
Rachel gave him a small wave while the rest of us kinda just stared at him. He looked back at us confusedly.
"Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, wiping both his cheeks with one hand and seeing if there was anything on them.
"There's nothing on your face, but. . . why are you here?" Asked Jake.
"Why?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Should I not be here?"
"We're not sure ourselves, but since you're here anyway I guess you made up your mind?" Said Jake.
"Hm." He hummed, and took a bite of his sandwich then replied after swallowing. "Kind of. I'm still not sure about this whole invasion thing, but you guys probably did the smart thing. Nice job by the way, you guys really got me back there." He chuckled. Wait a second, did he just compliment us on kidnapping him?
"I. . . don't understand." Said Jake.
"What I mean is, you all did the smart thing with that ambush, tying me up, and interrogating me. if I were in your situation, I probably would've just rushed in head on and get my ass kicked." He said.
"So, you're not mad or anything?" I asked.
Ben shrugged. "About the whole kidnapping thing? Not really. What really rilled me up back then was the fact that my friends lied to me." He gave another shrug. "But after giving it some more thought, I completely understand why you guys had to keep everything a secret. Besides, like my grandpa used to say 'There's no point in holding a grudge. Things will always end up worse off if you do'. Anyway, it's not like something like that hasn't happened to me before."
Did he just say what I think he said? I can't be sure, but I think he just said that was was kidnapped before? Man, what kind of stuff has he gone through already?
Then Cassie asked."What do you mean, Ben?"
Ben shrugged once more. "Meh, that's a story for another time." He then looked at his watch. "Looks like we gotta hurry, Lunch is almost over." He quickly finished off the rest of his food, stood from our table and headed out of the cafeteria. "I'll catch you guys later, all right?" Giving us a wave.
We all waved back as he walked out.
"That was totally surreal." I muttered, then said. "Weeks of nothing then he suddenly pops this one out of nowhere?"
"Maybe those 'weeks of nothing' are actually a good thing." Said Cassie.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well, since all this time nothing seems to have happened, It's probably a safe bet it say that everything between us and Ben is fine, I guess." She replied.
"Either that of he's just waiting for the right moment when our guards are down." I said darkly.
"Always the pessimist aren't you?" Said Rachel.
I gave her a grin. "You gotta see the bad side first before you can make fun of it." I reply.
I laid down in my bed, thinking of what happened earlier today when Ben suddenly came up to us at lunch. It was weird alright, it definitely gave me a X-files vibe, but what about our lives now isn't like an episode of the X-files? It's just one insane thing after another.
As much as I don't want to trust Ben, why can't I shake this feeling in my gut that there's a lot more to it than just one weird lunchtime meet up.
I could hear someone opening the door down the hall, looks like he got home a bit earlier than usual. I couldn't even muster the effort to get up and greet him. There was just way too many things going on in my head right now. My mom being alive and a Controller, this whole fiasco with Ben. Sometimes I think that this is all just way too much for a group of teenagers. I'd be right actually, that this is way too huge for us, but we just gotta hang in there the best we can. And I'm sure that the others have thought about it too.
And with that on my mind, it took some time before I got to sleep.
It had been a few days since Ben suddenly got all buddy buddy with us again. We all kept out guards up, but he seemed pretty genuine about it. After several days things got back to normal, well relatively speaking, it was still kinda weird for us, but Ben seemed as chipper as ever. Damn, I envy him. I wish we could be like that, not having to worry about everyone around you.
In my mind, Ben's position right now is absolutely terrifying from our perspective. I mean he isn't like the Chee that can't be infested by a Yeerk. But since he knows about them now, I doubt that he'll be convinced or captured by the Yeerks. I mean the dude can morph into a walking fireball for Christ's sake.
So yeah, it's pretty understandable that we were all pretty tense about him.
"So Jake, any new plans on how to deal with Ben?" I asked, taking a bite out of my burger.
"Nope." he replied, grabbing a fry. "As much as I hate to admit it, waiting for Ben to make the first move is frustrating."
"I'm pretty sure most of the girls in school are saying that about me." I joked
Jake chuckled, "Yeah, sure they are." he said sarcastically. "But I think they're saying that about Ben too."
"For entirely different reasons." I added.
"But going back on topic, Ben's holding all the cards right now. Besides knowing our identities, I bet even he could give Visser Three a run for his money." said Jake.
"Can't argue with you on that." I replied.
It was kinda terrifying, knowing that Ben is a powerhouse of dangerous morphs like Visser Three. I mean we've seen Visser Three morph into some insane stuff, who knows what he can morph into, but Ben too has some insane morphs. Even I can't be sure who'd win in a fight between them.
"Jake! Marco!" we heard a voice call out.
Jake and I turned in our booth to see Ben coming in and walking towards us.
Well speak of the devil.
"Hey, Ben." I greeted stiffly.
"I've been looking everywhere for you guys." he said, once he reached our table. "You guys mind if I sit down?" he asked.
Jake and I both shook our heads and since Ben was closer to my side of the table, I made some room for him to sit at our booth.
He sat down and propped his chin up on his elbow on the table.
"I know that back at lunch the other day was kinda weird." said Ben.
"Less weird and more like totally awkward." I said reflexively. "Not to mention the past couple days."
He chuckled, "Yeah I guess you could say that." said Ben. "And I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about that, giving the two of you the cold shoulder while I was still figuring things out."
I gave a wide ingenuine smile, "Apology accepted, Ben." I said flippantly
"You said you were looking for us." said Jake, "Any particular reason why?" he asked.
"Yeah. . . about that." replied Ben, leaning back and sitting a bit more upright, "Remember when we talked at the mall a few weeks back?" he asked.
"How could I forget." answered Jake, "You said that you needed time to think. So I'm guessing. . ." he trailed off.
"I've had more than enough time to think." said Ben.
Now that piqued my interest, and without thinking I sat a little bit straighter in my seat.
"Dude, took you long enough." I said in a joking tone, "We were about to go insane with how long you were taking." Well I was only half joking, we were all literally on edge while waiting for Ben to make his decision. Well, it wasn't as if we were just sitting around doing nothing while we waited for his response. Tobias and Ax were both tailing him every few days, making sure that any high profile Controllers weren't getting a little too close for comfort to Ben, or if he did anything we thought was suspicious. If that happened. . . well let's just say that we'll have no choice but to do what we have to and leave it at that.
He smiled, "Well sorry about that." he said. "You guys really gave me a lot to think about and I had a lot on my mind."
"So you made your decision?" asked Jake.
Ben nodded.
"And your decision is?" Jake continued.
"Well about that, I don't really think that this is the best place to talk about that." said Ben, ignoring Jake's question. "What about this, why don't you guys come over to my house tomorrow around after noon and I can explain everything then."
Jake and I looked at each other, and this time we didn't need thought speech to know what the other was thinking.
It could be a trap.
"I'd like everyone to be there if that's alright. I mean you guys are a team, right? And I want everyone to hear what I have to say, even Aximili."
Yup, sounds fishy. Definitely sounds like a trap.
Jake didn't immediately respond, he seemed to be deep in thought. Then he responded,
"Let us talk it over with the others if they're okay with it." Jake said, "But if not we'll decide someplace else."
Ben nodded his head in understanding, "Yeah that's cool with me." he said, then took a piece of paper out from his pocket. "Here's my address if you guys decide to come. It also has my phone number just in case you guys want to meet somewhere else." Ben then stood up from our booth, "Well I'll be seeing you guys around. Just tell me where we're meeting or if you wanna do it at my place. See ya!" and just like that he left.
Jake and I kept our eyes on him as he left and walked out the door. Once Ben was out of sight, Jake and I both breathed a sigh of relief.
Ben was the biggest wildcard we've ever encountered ever since we learned about the invasion and formed the Animorphs. Every other foe or alien that we have to deal with had some clear motive. The Yeerks wanted hosts and take over the earth. The Taxxons wanted to eat. The Hork-bajir wanted to be free. Visser Three wanted us dead or infested. David wanted to abuse his morphing powers and do whatever the hell he wanted. The Chee just want to be left alone in peace with their dogs. The Ellimist Well no one really knows what he wants. See? Simple. It's almost funny, when you think about it like that. It almost makes it sound like our battle against the Yeerk invasion was some kind of Saturday morning cartoon.
But Ben? We have no idea what his motivations are and what he really wants, and that's terrifying.
"Sooo. . . emergency meeting?" I asked Jake.
"Eeyup." he replied.
With that we both began scarfing down our food and headed out as quickly as we could without looking too frantic.
(Prince Jake, Marco, what is the emergency?) Ax asked.
We were all sitting in a circle at Ax's place in the forest. When Jake and I left Mickey D's we went to the nearest payphone and called up Rachel and Cassie. Thankfully they were both home and we told them to head over to Ax's scoop asap.
(Sorry for dropping by so suddenly Ax.) Jake said as we both began to demorph from our bird morphs once we landed in Ax's scoop.
Once Jake and I had fully demorphed he continued, "But we just got into contact with Ben again and we're holding an emergency meeting.
All four of Ax's eyes widened. (What did he say to you?) asked Ax, We could tell by some of the mild sensations from his thought speech that he was just as shocked as the two of us that Ben was finally going to continue where we left off several weeks ago.
"Marco and I will explain later." said Jake, "We'll wait for the others first. By the way Ax could you go look for Tobias and bring him here. He also needs to hear this."
(I will fetch him right away, Prince Jake." said Ax, and with that he ran off, out of the scoop and into the forest.
Jake and I grabbed a couple crates and sat down. Neither of us wanted to talk and we could both tell that what Ben wanted was weighing heavily on our minds.
Cassie arrived first, landing on a nearby tree in her osprey morph.
(Hey guys.) she greeted us and glided down to the ground and quickly demorphed as well. "You guys said over the phone that we needed to talk, is it something to do with Ben?" she asked.
"Yeah it does." said Jake, "But before we explain, let's wait for the others to arrive and we'll tell you everything.
After a while, Rachel arrived, and Ax came back with Tobias soon after. Once everyone was here and got settled down Jake spoke first.
"So a couple hours ago, Ben came looking for me and Marco and he told us that he's finally ready to give us his answer." said Jake.
The others listened intently at Jake's words. naturally he's the leader so I kept my mouth shut for once.
"But he didn't tell us his decision right then and there, but I'm guessing that he wants to have a long talk since he invited all of us to his house so that we can hear him out."
(Well that sounds reassuring.) said Tobias sarcastically. (It sounds like a trap.)
(I agree with Tobias, going to his home may very well be a trap.) said Ax.
"Yeah we thought the same thing too." I said.
"So what are we going to do?" Rachel asked.
"That's why I called everyone here. Right now with things as they are we're totally exposed and vulnerable." said Jake, "But now's our best chance to know his stance in the war. This kind or ceasefire has been going on for too long and I want to get this over with as soon as possible."
"But as far as we know he hasn't gotten in contact with the Yeerks, which is pretty reassuring." said Cassie. "So far every mission we've been on since we confronted him at the mall nothing seems to have changed with how they think we're all Andalites."
What Cassie said was true. Every time we encountered the Yeerks they responded just like usual, trying their damnedest to kill or capture us. If they knew about our real identities, we all had no doubts that they would target our families and us without a second thought.
"So when are we going to meet with Ben?" asked Rachel.
"Just a second, Rachel. We haven't even decided if we're going or not." I said.
Rachel scowled at me, "So you're saying that we shouldn't? He deserves to be heard out, and not only that we need to hear him out."
"Cool it, Rachel." said Jake. "Ben gave us the option of choosing where we want to hear him out if we're uncomfortable with going to his house."
Rachel turned her gaze towards Jake, "What's so wrong with going to his house?" she asked.
(As Tobias had already mentioned, there is a possibility of it being a trap.) said Ax.
"Yeah it could be a trap, but what if it isn't? What if he really just wants us to hear him out?" she asked.
"That's why Marco and I called everyone out here." replied Jake, "We have to decide whether or not we take his word and he really wants to just talk or that he has something else planned."
"I don't think it's a trap." Interjected Cassie.
We all looked towards her, and honestly I was pretty surprised that she said that.
(Under what pretense makes you think that, Cassie?) Ax asked.
Yeah, even I was pretty curious why she thought that.
Cassie looked away a bit sheepishly and said, "Well I can't really put it into words, but during the past few weeks I've spoken with Ben."
What the hell?!
The looks on everyone's faces, well except maybe for Ax and Tobias but I'm pretty sure if they could they would, were full of shock.
Cassie raised her hands up and waved them defensively.
"I haven't been talking to him behind your guy's backs or anything." She explained, " What I meant to say that I've seen him around school and town and occasionally spoken with him in passing. He didn't really act hostile or gave me the cold shoulder or anything. He just kind of acted like he usually does."
She then noticed the still shocked looks on my and Jake's faces.
"Didn't he still talk with your guys like usual?" she asked curiously.
That sneaky bastard! Here I thought he was avoiding all of us the entire time and there he was hanging out with the girls!
"No, he didn't." I said. "The first time he talked with Jake or me was during that lunch when we were all together."
Cassie's brows furrowed, "That's weird." she muttered.
"So going back to the subject, why do you think it isn't some kind of trap? Cassie" Jake asked.
"Like I said I can't fully put it into words, but I guess you could say that there's this sort of honest vibe I get from him. And I can tell you it's the sort of feeling that I get that's few and far between ever since we got into this war." Explained Cassie. "But that doesn't mean he isn't hiding something, we all know that. But. . . I doubt that it has anything to do with the Yeerks."
We all listened to Cassie's explanation intently. As far as arguments go it wasn't the best, but Cassie had always been the best among us when it comes to reading people, heck she's the best at it when it comes to reading aliens! I guess you could call her our resident alien diplomat. So even if her reasons weren't completely solid, I had to admit when they came from her I was pretty convinced.
Jake nodded at what Cassie had said, then turned to look at Tobias and Ax.
"Ax, Tobias, has Ben done anything weird or out of the ordinary during the times you two have tailed him?" Jake asked.
"Well more out of the ordinary than what we usually deal with." I quickly added.
Ax shook his head, (Nothing in particular stood out, Prince Jake. During the times that we have observed him he appears to follow the routine of other humans similar to his age.) he said.
(Apart from that while he does visit the McDonald's with the Yeerk Pool entrance from time to time he usually just chows down there, and we could always see him through the windows. But aside from that, it looks like he spends a lot of his time at home since we confronted him at the mall.) added Tobias.
(We had also decided to trail his parents, but from our observations they do not appear to be affiliated with The Sharing or any other companies with close ties to it.) said Ax.
Jake nodded at what they said, "But what do you guys think? Should we agree and meet him at his house?" he asked.
(I'm still dubious about the situation, but if you my Prince decides to do so then I will gladly follow.) replied Ax.
(Well as long as he doesn't lead you guys into his creepy basement, I don't see why you guys can't bust out at any time.) said Tobias.
Jake paused for several moments, thinking it over, but I could tell that he had already made up his mind.
"Alright." Jake began, "We'll go to his house. We'll keep our guard up just in case and Tobias will be our eyes in the sky as usual in case anyone suspicious or we know approaches the house. Apart from that, if things go south we immediately go battle morphs and take him out if we can. If things get worse than that, we'll split up and try to escape."
"Solid plan, but what'll happen next if that happens, Fearless Leader?" I asked.
"Well it seems like he doesn't want to be exposed as much as we do, so that's one thing we can count on. If it does come to that, then we'll have no choice but to figure out a way to eliminate him without the Yeerks getting wind of it."
Well when he puts it that way, I'll say it again, solid plan. But that last part sent shivers down my spine. To be fair, we've all killed a number of Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, and a few Yeerks, but this was going to be the first time we'd be forced to intentionally kill another human being. That's one of the Yeerk's greatest advantages in this war, every single one of their troops was a hostage. We all did our best to do the least amount of injury to any human controllers, but of course accidents do happen.
"Anyone object to the plan?" Jake asked, looking at each of us in turn.
None of us did.
Well this is gonna be a fun weekend.
It was a really nice Saturday, I would've enjoyed it if we weren't heading towards the proverbial lion's den. But hey, just another day in the life of a Animorph.
We were all standing in front of Ben's house. Ax was with us in his human morph. We all met up a bit earlier so that Ax could demorph from his bird morph, morph into human and wear some decent clothes.
"So who's knocking?" I asked looking pointedly at Jake, trying to relieve some of the tension.
He gave me a 'are you serious?' look and I laughed it off before he sighed and took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
We waited for a few tense moments until we heard the door being unlocked and when it opened it revealed Ben.
"Hey guys, come on in." Ben greeted, opening the door wider and moving aside giving us room to step in.
We all entered and he closed the door behind us.
"Come on, we can talk in the living room." he said guiding all of us. "And don't worry, Monica and Bruce aren't home."
Now that struck me as weird. Did he just refer to his parents by their first names? Is he adopted? Or is he in foster care? I'm definitely keeping that in mind, and I'll ask him about it later.
Once we were all in the living room he gestured for us to sit down. I sat in a vacant armchair, while Jake, Cassie, Ax, and Rachel all sat on the couch. Ben Pulled up his own chair and said,
"I'm glad that all of you guys are here." he began, "You guys really gave me a lot to think about, these past few weeks and I gotta say it was a pretty difficult choice. I was really going back and forth with myself about what I'm gonna do now that I know that there's a alien invasion going on and no one knows about it. I mean it'd be so easy just to look the other way and ignore it, but at the same time doing that just doesn't sit well with me. Well that and they'd never let me hear the end of it if I just turned a blind eye. So after really taking my time thinking about it. . . "
Ben paused and took a deep breath before looking at all of us straight on.
"I want to fight the Yeerks."
Now I was taken aback by that. I know that some of us were hoping that he'd join us, but I never expected him to actually say it.
Now things have definitely gotten interesting.
Author's Notes: Hey Everyone! I know that it's been a few years since this story has been updated but I decided to put this on the back burner so I could focus more on real life stuff as well as other stories I've had on my mind. I hope that I have improved and that the flow of the story is still flowing like it should and that the Animorphs are still IC, since it's literally been years since I even last looked at an Animorphs book.
Also this chapter is sponsored by a reader, which prompted me to take it off the back burner and get to working on it again. If you guys would like to support me and my work then feel free to donate by sending me a Ko-fi. A link is available on my Userpage.
If any of my original readers are still waiting on this story, then I hope that it meets your expectations and that you're still interested in my little story even after years since my last update. I really hope to hear what you think so remember
Please Leave A Review!
