The Doctor

"So what do we know, Erek?" asked Jake.

He took charge so naturally, the Doctor noticed. It was almost strange- most people automatically took a step back around himself, but if anything, Jake had already subconsciously added him and Rose to the list of people he had to take care of. Jake was used to doing a thankless job, and simply assumed the roll of leader would fall to him again and again. Poor boy.

"No…" said Cassie.

"But why the escalation? Why not just build up security?" the Doctor asked. He felt sick. He had been hoping he would be preventing violence, not increasing it. He had miscalculated, and now the entire planet might pay the price for his mistake.

"Visser Three has been dying for an excuse to go all out since the beginning," Marco replied, "We've always known that. Question is, can he get the approval or the troops he would need for it?"

"He's already got them," said Erek, "Or at least, he will shortly. And all of the construction equipment they've got has been working around the clock on a tunnel, a massive one, leading straight to the subway lines."

"They're going to connect to the rails," said Cassie, horrified.

{Bring people down in herds to be infested,} said Tobias.

Rose moved closer to the Doctor's side, looking as bad as he felt. "We did this." Her voice was flat, stunned and she clenched her fists.

"No," said Jake firmly, "You can't have known this would happen. All this was inevitable. We've known that from the beginning. It was just a matter of time."

The corner of the Doctor's mouth pulled slightly up, into something that might have been a smile. He was so grateful to hear Jake say that, and he gave Rose's hand a reassuring squeeze. No time to look unsure though. People were counting on him.

"Do you have any idea what the time frame here is Erek?" the Doctor asked, "What do we have to work with?"

"Two days, maybe three, tops," the Chee responded, "It's hard to say for sure, but they're going to try and finish the subway lines before moving forward."

"Well, we can travel someplace instantly," said Rachel, "Even if going through time very far isn't an option yet. We go in, we turn off the Kandrona, we get out."

The Doctor opened his mouth to correct her, but Cassie beat him to it. "But that still leaves the problem of what happens next," she said. "The idea was to minimalize loss of life. If we just shut down the Kandrona, they'll try and contain it, at least at first."

"Same problem as last time," Jake said, "Humans will start dying. They might go for a full-scale invasion anyway."

"Then we don't have a choice," said Rachel. "We can't fight an all-out war against the Yeerks. We're barely hanging on as it is. The morphing technology is the only advantage we've had this entire time. The only thing that's kept us alive. But it won't be enough in an all out war."

"It's not the only thing. Not anymore," said the Doctor. "You've got me now."

That didn't exactly seem to cheer anyone up. None of the Animorphs would even look up, except for Marco, who was studying him closely. He was being subtle about it, sure, but the Doctor could feel Marco's eyes on him whenever he turned to look in another direction.

"What if…" began Cassie, slowly, "I mean… obviously, you have a way of giving this to large groups of Yeerks, if you're considering this even a little…"

The Animorphs turned and looked at her. She was so unsure, spoke so carefully. Did she even realize how good of instincts she had? The others did. Jake watched her speak calmly, and none of the others interrupted, despite how slowly her words came. "Well, what if we just gave it to the members of the Yeerk Peace Movement? If Illim and Aftran could enter the Pool, organize everyone some how. I mean, there is some limited awareness as a Yeerk, we know that much…"

"Seeing that could be enough to start a rebellion within the Yeerk forces," said Marco thoughtfully. "I mean, it' s completely insane, and there's no way it would work, but if it did, the Yeerks wouldn't just be fighting us anymore."

The Doctor allowed himself to smile, just a little. From his place on the railing, Jake shifted, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked thoughtful, serious. It almost reminded the Doctor of himself. That wasn't a pleasant thought, not really. But maybe he could help this boy in a way he was never able to help himself. Maybe he could keep Jake from becoming, well… just like him.

The Doctor brushed those thoughts aside as Jake spoke up now. "Do we have the ability to do that? I mean, is it even possible?"

"How would we even go about doing this? How could we even begin to make it work?" said Marco, "I mean, assuming we don't decide you're completely insane and decide to listen instead. How do you get enough Yeerks to have the morphing ability that it actually makes a difference?"

{That is, if we're seriously considering this as an option,} said Tobias, {And it might be our only option, if we want to keep as many people alive as possible.}

"We have to consider it," said Cassie simply.

The Doctor saw the wheels turning in the Animorphs heads, and despite the awfulness of the situation, he was proud of them. They were terrified. They had been fighting a losing battle since day one, but they were still willing to consider a solution that went against everything that had kept them alive. Cassie got it, at least. He knew she would. With everything he had seen of her, everything Aftran had told him, and he knew that Cassie the Animorph was capable of not only seeing the peaceful solution, but also showing her friends what the possibility could mean for all of them. He'd never met someone who had such powerful empathy and understanding. He probably never would again, come to think of it. Meeting her first hadn't been chance. Her trust in the Doctor, and his faith in her, well, it might just save this universe.

"How would it work?" asked Jake, looking towards the Doctor, "We need to know if giving the Yeerk Peace Movement the morphing ability can be done before we worry about if it should be."

The Doctor nodded and pulled on his glasses. He turned to a monitor on the control station and started pushing buttons, bringing up the technical data. He gestured to Erek to come look. Erek walked over. He had been quiet this whole time, the Doctor noted. Maybe he thought it wasn't his place to say anything. Which was ridiculous, in the Doctor's opinion. It was as much the Chee's planet as the humans at this point.

"There's two tricks to this," he began, pulling up the data the TARDIS had collected from the Animorphs morphing. "Getting the Yeerks the morphing technology and making sure they become… nothlits, was it? The latter is easy if we take out the Kandrona- morphing does nothing to stop the original body's energy needs."

"If they don't stay in a morph, they'll starve after three days," said Marco, nodding, "Smart. It certainly forces their hand. Makes things simpler as far as that goes."

"The Yeerks would riot," said Aftran, speaking again from Rose's mouth, "They are already desperate for ways to escape the Pool and experience the world- it's why the Yeerk Peace Movement is as small as it is. Couple that with the threat of starvation… Visser Three would never be able to keep the population under control."

"Yeerk on Yeerk fighting is exactly what we need right now. If they're taking each other out, it cuts our work in half," said Rachel and the Doctor cringed. She was right, but the way she thought about these things disturbed him a little.

Rose nodded, looking up at him from where she leaned on the railing.

The Animorphs turned to Jake. He was clearly given the matter heavy thought. The Doctor knew the idea of a peaceful solution appealed to him. It meant less risk for his brother, controlled by a Yeerk. But Jake was not someone who made decisions based on his own personal desires.

Jake looked at Cassie, briefly, before speaking. "I think it's something we have to try," he said, "We've never had any hope for an end other than the Andalites making it here to Earth in time. This is a chance to not only end our fight, but end the entire war." He turned now, and looked over at the Doctor.

When their eyes met, the Doctor nodded. "If you think this is a chance worth taking, then I say we take it."

Jake paused, and looked around the room. "I mean, we're gonna have to vote on it. We'll decide, together," he added, "This is another thing that's too big for just me to say what we'll do."

"I vote yes," said Cassie quickly, "This is the best hope we have for peace."

"I don't know about peace," Rachel spoke now, "But it sounds like we might just be able to beat the Yeerks, no matter what goes down. I'm in."

Marco sighed loudly and crossed his arms.

Rachel glared. "What now?"

"Nothing, I just know, somehow, things'll go wrong," Marco said wearily, "They always do. But I still say yes. I just hope you're as good as you say."

"Sometimes, I'm even better," the Doctor smiled as he responded.

"We're in, er, uhm, Aftran and I," said Rose, "We both think it's worth a shot. And not just because this one's my ride." She smiled and gestured to the Doctor. When her eyes met his, the smile remained, but her gaze became serious. She was worried and wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing. The corner of his mouth twitched, and she nodded, ever so slightly.

{I agree with Jake,} Tobias said, {This is the best shot we've had since the beginning of all this. Ax-man?}

{I will do whatever is decided, Prince Jake.}

"That's not an answer Ax," Jake replied, and the Doctor respected him all the more for it. Even if he was afraid that Ax would protest further… well, it was clear that the Andalite was being forced to break some of his culture's most important rules today. As backwards and misinformed as they were… well, the Doctor knew it was hard to go against everything you had been raised to believe… "You're allowed to say what you're thinking."

{Then I must say that I do not believe this plan will work. The Yeerk Empire will not give up its hold on the planets and species it has consumed. It is a foolish hope.} Ax paused and took a deep breath, {But until recently, I would not have believed that a Yeerk Peace Movement could be possible, or sincere. I would not have believed that I would owe a Yeerk my life. Or that the technology I have seen the Doctor use could be possible. And so I am forced to rethink what I would normally believe.}

He turned and looked straight at the Doctor with all four of his eyes and the Doctor nodded in return. {I am not sure what will happen. But a true mark of a warrior is hoping for peace, and so I will vote to take a chance.}

Cassie beamed at Ax, and so did the Doctor. He was proud of them all. It was silly, perhaps, but he understood that what he had suggested went against every survival instinct they had. Now he just had to make sure their faith in him wasn't misguided.

"So, the thing that gets tricky is how we get the technology out to a large number of Yeerks at once, but thankfully, I am somewhat brilliant. Well, very brilliant- but I'm still going to need Ax and Erek to run over the parameters with me here… "