When all of the Animorphs had managed to meet up again a couple days later, back in the woods where Ax had set up his small home, Ax seemed prepared to tell them a great deal more of the secrets he'd seemingly been keeping. Perhaps not all of them, which Tommy hadn't honestly been expecting from him, but at least something more than what he'd previously shared.

(We call it the law of Seerow's Kindness,) Ax said, shifting slightly as his stalk-eyes swept their group slowly, as if gauging the interest of everyone around him. (It means that we are not allowed to transfer advanced technology to any other race. It is a very important law; one of our most important laws.)

"You guys don't want any competition," Marco said, though Tommy privately had his doubts that things were that simple. "You Andalites want to be able to stay on top, I understand that. But humans are already on your side; we're the ones being conquered, here."

"Marco, chill. Let Ax tell his own story," Jake said, looking over at Marco in that disapproving way he would; he'd noticed that Jake didn't yell, so much as he made anyone he was arguing with feel kind of silly or stupid for whatever it was they said.

(Seerow was a great Andalite; a warrior, a scientist. He,) Ax paused for a long moment, seeming to be trying to compose himself again. (He was in charge of the first Andalite expedition to the Yeerk home world.)

Tommy felt a shudder run the length of his spine, and it looked like he wasn't the only one. As it turned out, Seerow had been the one to give advanced technology to the Yeerks; sure, it was because he felt sorry that they'd never even seen the stars, to say nothing of being able to leave their own planet. He and Cassie figured it out at about the same time, and while Ax seemed to think that they should be mad at him, Tommy didn't see that from any one of them.

"We understand, Ax," Jake said, smiling softly. "A long time ago, someone tried to be nice, and it ended up being a disaster. Seerow tried to be a good guy; he hoped all the different people of the galaxy would get along. That we'd all go to the stars together."

(Yes, and the result was terrible.)

"Ax, you don't just give up because something goes wrong," he said, smiling softly as he made his way to stand closer to the Andalite. "You try again. Sure, you'd be more careful, you'd try to be wiser about things, but you do try again."

"You always keep hoping," Cassie said, turning a brief smile on him, before she turned to look at Ax.

"Look, Ax, we don't want you to give us advanced technology; we don't want you to break your peoples' laws. We just want you to trust us, tell us the truth. Be one of us."

"You aren't alone Ax," Cassie said, as they all drew closer to the Andalite. "Maybe we aren't your people, but we are your friends."

They all managed to come to an understanding after that, each of them in their own way, and Tommy found himself feeling lighter than he had since he'd encountered Alloran and had to leave the older Andalite behind to be recaptured by the Yeerks and their forces. He was glad that they'd managed to clear the air between them again.

It was good to have things back to at least some semblance of normality again; well, at least as normal as any of them really could be, anymore.