The Newcomer

By A. A. Kuehl

Prologue

My name is Anna. Just Anna. No last name. Or no human last name I'm willing to tell you. See, the concept of staying alive appeals to me. Some people want me dead. They want me dead badly. So I won't tell you a lot of information, no last name, no address, no last names of my friends, heck, I'm not even going to swear to you that
Anna is even my real name.

What I will tell you is the important stuff. Stuff that may mean the difference of being alive...or dead.

As I said, I won't tell you my human last name. As I suggest, I'm not really...human. Neither are my parents. Both sets of parents. I'm a second phase of a biological experiment. An experiment that has aliens walking among you. We call ourselves the Shifters. We each have a host, a human host. They have a human name, they have a human personality, their own parents, their own instincts, and the most frightening, their own, conscious, aware, mind. They have their own ideas and emotions. My full, Navarazzi, name is Lex-Cossette-Keke-Blade-Huntress-Shifting Experiment II. Long name, ain't it? Now you see why the others just call me Anna or Lex. I look like one of the characters on that cartoon show Gargoyles. Same basic look, only I have a very long, sharp, blade protruding out of my forehead. Plus, I have a very long, thin, scar across my eye. Very narrow, so narrow it fit inside my cat-like pupil. I have Aximili to thank for that. I was made a controller and he stopped me just in time. I almost Draconed the others. But that's another story.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Controllers? Yeah, what state of insanity are you from?" Actually, I'm from Illinois, but I live ... well I can't tell you that. Sorry.

Like I said, I'll be telling you stuff that may save your life. Here goes ... A Controller is someone who is infested with a Yeerk. A Yeerk is just a slug, really. A slug who likes to crawl in your head and wrap around your brain and trap you in a corner of your own mind. That's when you stop being truly human. Like my human parents.

And the others I was talking about were the Animorphs and Aximili. I once suggested we change our name to A.A.A.A.: Animorphs, Aximili, And Anna. Lame name, I know. Animorph sounds way cooler. Back on the life and death, save the world and all decent species subject. They can morph. They acquire an animal's DNA and turn into that animal. I honestly don't have a clue how it works, but I do know its much more advanced than Navarazzi shifting technology. If it works like ours, the technology breaks apart their DNA and allows it to rearrange and separate, changing them into a different creature. It is they who fight the Yeerks.

For me, it started when I still lived on the Nafir-Jakal, my parents starship. I was only one year old in Navarazzi years, but to a human, I was six months old. In developmental terms, that is. I was so young, barely out of the egg, I don't remember much other than flying with my father, Keke, my mother, Cossette, and my brother, already a Lieutenant, Notum.

But that's not what's important. What's important is that somehow, I was selected as a member of the second group of Shifters. My host was selected, our DNA was combined, and I was taken from my parents and put on Earth. I lived up my twenty-four, excuse me, twelve years as a human until the Navarazzi came and tried to collect everyone. Unfortunately, they chose the exact month I became a warrior.

Chapter One

My parents seemed less interested in me. They told me I would stay with my uncle for a while. I said cool, I had bigger problems than the fact that my parents no longer loved me.

I did not know it at the time, but my Navarazzi instincts were beginning to shine through. I was developing a taste for meat, I wanted to hunt, I felt that I wanted to be dominant. Of course, I thought I was going nuts.

So, anyway, I move in with my uncle Ted, my aunt Barb, and my cousins Amy and Nick for a few months.

My first Friday at school was weird. A short, African-American, girl wearing casual clothes who looked a grade above me walked up to me after school.

"Hey, I think I know you, you're Tasha's friend, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how do you know her?" Tasha was my best friend back home. This person looked a lot like her.

"She's my cousin. She told me you'd come here."

"Oh."

"You okay? You seem distracted."

"Huh. Look, I'm new here, okay? I heard about this club called the Sharing, and I was thinking of signing up. Could you tell me where to go?"

"Yeah, sure, um..."

It was obvious this person didn't want me to join, but I didn't know why.

"Look, I think I know something even better. My name's Cassie. My friends are hanging out today, wanna come?"

"Where?" I asked .

"My barn. You like animals, right?"

"Sure, I love hanging with 'em. I've always wondered, what do you think it would be like to be, say, a dolphin?"

She smiled and laughed. Then she changed the subject to where her barn was.

She was hiding something, I could tell.

The barn was awfully far out from where my uncle's house was. When I said what had happened, my aunt and Amy looked angry that I didn't sign up for the Sharing. I didn't get it.

I biked down to the barn. While I was biking, I spotted a squirrel. What happened next was immediate. Like lightning, I was off my bike and chasing that squirrel, thinking one thought: Prey.

Fortunately, I pulled myself together before I ate the thing. I looked down at myself and saw something no human should see on their hands: Claws.

"Noooo!" I screamed.

I focused and slowly, painfully, my claws sank back in. I hopped back on my bike and rode back to the barn.

I was kind of shaken up by the claw thing, so I was slightly bad tempered when I walked in the barn.

"Hey! It's the shrimp!"

A short, Hispanic, kid with an excessively bad hairdo had shouted that at me. It made me mad, but I didn't say a word.

I didn't have to.

"What the...how are you doing that?!"

A shortish, dreamy-eyed, kid with messy blond hair looked alarmed. A girl who looked like a super model tensed up and narrowed her eyes, a tall, responsible looking kid with brown hair looked ready to bark out orders. A wonderfully cute looking boy looked to the leader-looking guy. Cassie looked ready to scream.

My vision was unbelievably clear. I looked at the bottom of a shiny bucket. And then I realized why Cassie wanted to scream.

"My eyes...my eyes!" My eyes were glowing bright red. Like those lights on a car, only they were coming out of my head! I guess the guy who originally made me mad had the same thought, cause he then shouted:

"Hey, headlights! Like on a car!"

"Shut up, Marco!" the super model girl shouted. She then narrowed her eyes even more.

"Who are you?"

"My...my...my name is...Anna. What's happening to my eyes?!"

"We don't know. My name is Jake," the leader said calmly.

"Hey, look! They're not red anymore! They stopped glowing!" the dreamy-eyed kid said.

"Okay, maybe since they stopped, we're okay. In the meantime, don't tell anyone what happened, got it? One of us will talk to you in a few days. Now get out of here!", Jake ordered.

I ran out of there so fast I almost forgot I had a bike. When I got home, I started crying.

Chapter Two

What was wrong with me? People's eyes did not glow. People did not have claws. They did not hunt squirrels for food. They did not crave meat.

I was walking through the woods, trying to get my head together. I made a point of not looking for wildlife, like I always did. I was scared. Suddenly, I heard a crashing through the brush. I heard Jake's voice and ducked. Unfortunately, I didn't know how close I was to a stream. I fell in, but did not make too big a splash.

"So, Ax, any idea what she was?"

What I "heard" next shocked me. A voice in my head!

I do not, Prince Jake. I have never heard of, or encountered, a species with glowing eyes.

"But wait. Her eyes started glowing just after Marco teased her. What if it was her anger that triggered it?"

I am sorry, Cassie, but I have never heard of a species like this.

"Well, we know she's not human. And I don't think Chee would do that kind of thing," Super model's voice.

"Yeerk?"

I doubt it. She looked genuinely terrified when she saw her reflection

Another head-voice joined the others.

Hey guys. So, did we figure out this kid?

"Hey, Tobias. Nope," Jake said.

I ducked into some Cattails and peeked through. I saw Jake, Cassie, Marco, the girl who looked like a super model whose name I did not know, a Red-Tailed hawk on a branch, and an alien.

Wait a minute! An alien? An alien?!

I was scared, but I had enough of being a wimp. Of course, I hadn't seen the tail. If I had seen the tail, I would have done the smart thing and stayed put. Some weird part of my brain was screaming at me, crying, cursing me to stay where I was. Of course, I didn't listen.

I stood up and then I saw the tail. It looked like a scorpion's tail, but with blue fur. In fact, he was covered in blue fur. He looked like a centaur, but with no mouth. He had slanted eyes and eyes on the top of his head. They were placed on stalks that were aimed at me. But I wasn't really concerned about that. My full, complete, one hundred percent attention was on the tail. I would have admired it, it's blade, it's speed, it's accuracy, except for the small fact it was at my jugular, threatening any further existence on my part.

Prince Jake, now what?

I answered his question for him.

"You either take that really dangerous-looking blade away from my throat or you sever my head. Either way, do something because nobody likes it when people discuss their life, whether to continue it or end it while a guy who is definitely not a local boy has his tail blade stuck at your throat, threatening your existence. So do something!"

I believe we are right, she is not a Yeerk, she did not recognize me.

"Oh, I recognized you all right. You're a big blue alien who is going to wipe me out in a second with out letting me tell my parents and my aunt and my cousin that I know they don't give a rat's rear about me because they only tell me what to do. 'Live with your uncle, Clean your room, Go away, I'm having a private conversation with your cousin, Join the Sharing-"

"WHAT!?"

I knew I was talking too much. I was scared, and I do that when I'm scared. I was also getting angry that they were not deciding my fate fast enough.

"The Sharing? The Sharing?"

"Yeah."

"Well, at least we know one thing. Her parents, her aunt, and her cousin are Controllers."

"Jake, look."

"Huh? What is it, Cassie?"

"Her eyes are glowing again."

Okay. That's it. What are you? the talking bird asked me.

"First, you make this big guy remove his tail, then I talk."

"Ax, let her go," Jake ordered.

So then there I was, being demanded of an explanation that I didn't know.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"This is Rachel, I'm Jake, this is Marco, and-"

I'm Tobias. said the talking bird.

I'm Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill said the alien.

"Hello, Aximili, Tobias, Rachel, Jake, Marco, Cassie. Please don't kill me."

"We won't. Who and what are you?" Rachel demanded.

"I thought I was human. You know my name."

Human's eyes do not glow.

"You noticed, Ax? I thought it was normal to make your eyes glow and have claws like a bear's!" Marco commented.

"Claws?" Jake asked.

I looked at my hands. Sure enough, claws were sprouting out of my fingers. Looking closer, I saw only my thumb and first three fingers were clawed.

They were right. I was definitely not human.

We started walking to the barn, which was close by. They told me their story. How Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul gave them the power to morph, how they rescued Aximili from the bottom of the ocean, how they fight the Yeerks, who the Yeerks were, who the Gedds, the Hork-Bajir, the Taxxons, the Ellimists, the Chee, the Pemalites, and the Skrit Na were. They told me about Visser Three. They told me about the Sharing. Cassie explained that's why she invited me to hang with them. She liked me and didn't want me infested.

And I believed them. I don't really know why, maybe because they hung out with Aximili, who was pretty cool when he wasn't about to kill you, maybe I'd been a wimp so long I longed for a reason to fight, maybe I was listening to the part of my mind that told me to walk out of the brushes and show myself in the first place, maybe it was my calling in life, but I wanted to join them, these Animorphs.

"So," Jake asked, "are you in?"

"It's gonna mean you can't trust anyone, you will be in perpetual danger, and not a moment will go by when you can actually feel safe," Rachel warned.

I thought A life where I could trust no one? Where I would do battle with someone way stronger than me? Against an evil so powerful only three species, not including the Animorphs, fought it? Seven people?

Hold it, you didn't make a choice yet. Six, not seven. A voice in my head said. Only it wasn't thought-speak. What was going on?

You could be killed! You will die! No! No! No!

The voice sounded desperate, afraid, terrified. I didn't know, but it was my human mind surfacing, becoming truly independent, for the first time. Then, suddenly, another mind joined the debate.

If you don't fight, they might lose! Then everyone will die! No one messes with me! No one! Join! Join! Join!

I shook my head. I was going to say no, as much as I wanted to join them, I wanted to stay alive. But then I looked right into Aximili's emerald eyes; his main eyes, not his stalk eyes, I just couldn't say no. I had no idea where my words came from, it was like they came from deep inside me, where my dreams and memories were kept.

"No one tries to conquer my planet while I'm around. No one. The Yeerks want Earth? They have to get through me. Through us."

Aximili looked impressed. Jake nodded. Tobias looked at me even more intensely. Cassie nodded like I said something deep. Rachel smiled the broadest smile I've ever seen. Marco was Marco.

"Oh great. Now we have another Rachel. We've got the whole set! Xena: Warrior Princess and her sidekick Gabrielle."

"Just ignore Marco. He leaves you alone eventually."

"Hey! No one can ignore me! I'm too annoyingly cute!"

"Sure, Marco. You keep dreaming."

Chapter Three

So there we were. Walking through the woods, with Aximili morphing a human, Tobias on Rachel's shoulder, and me, looking at the first stars of the evening. We would have dinner at Cassie's. I was glad. It seemed like my metabolism was accelerating.

Jake was arguing with Marco about some stupid video game. I heard the words marvel and capcoml, but that was it. They were like ten feet ahead of us. Cassie had gone ahead to see if we could come over.

I looked up and saw a small, blue star that looked like it was moving. In fact, it was moving!

"Oh man," I groaned.

"What? What-tuh. Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-tuh?"

The others had warned me of how Aximilli got weird in his human morph. Man, they were right. I had been told he was dangerous around food, too. Andalites don't have mouths, so the ability to make actual sounds fascinated him. I guess the sense of taste could be overwhelming, too.

"A spaceship."

"A what?!" Marco demanded.

"She's right!" Rachel shouted.

"Oh, man. It's coming here."

"Deija Vu," Jake commented.

"Deija? Day-ja? Ja ja ja. Vu? Vuuu. Deija Vu?" Aximilli, of course.

"It means this is a lot like something we've encountered before."

"Ah. I see."

"Aximilli," I asked, "do you recognize the type? It looks familiar."

"No. I have never seen a ship like this."

"How would you recognize it?" Rachel pressed.

"I wish I knew. I really do."

The ship was long and fat, like a cigar. At the front, there was a small red oval, looking like some sort of portal or mouth. At the back, a bright, blue light was trailing behind. It looked almost harmless, until you saw the wings. They looked like bat wings, but with sharper edges. And at each tip, there was a sharp reddish glow emanating off the tip. Plus, there was the small dishes on the underside of the ship.

Tracer ship, The voice in my head told me. Run. Run far and fast.

"Run!" I screamed.

To this day, I don't know what happened. But a large white light snapped on, from one of the dishes. It first fell on Jake, then Rachel and Marco. It hesitated on Tobias, then fell on Aximilli and I. That's when all hell broke loose.

The light snapped from white to red. Red like my eyes. And then, from the red "mouth" of the ship, hundreds, thousands of gargoyle-like creatures flew out. They were each different, I could see that. Some had blades here and there, others had crests on their heads. Some had tails like a Stegosaur. Some of their tails looked like Aximilli's. Some had hair, others did not. But each had four clawed fingers, a tail, bat wings, taloned feet, reversible knees, and very long fangs. The males' eyes glew white, while the females' were red. Just like my eyes. Exactly like my eyes.

"Everyone split up! Just like at the construction site! They can't follow all of us!"

"Yeah right. There's nine million gargoyles following us, and they can't catch six people! Suuure, Jake. Next we'll all be able to fly like the birdies!" Marco said very seriously.

"That's it! Morph!" Rachel shouted.

They all did it at once. Jake sprouted black and orange fur, Rachel started to get brown fur all over while her nails turned into claws. Marco started to triple in size, Aximilli started to turn blue.

And the whole time, I could hear the snarling, howling, and growling of the beasts. And so we ran.

Everyone had completed morphing, except for Aximilli. And, of course, me. Aximilli's tail was just beginning to appear when he was knocked over by one of the creatures. I turned and realized my vision was clear again. I ran back to him and helped him back up. I soon realized I'd been foolish. Evidently, the alien who'd knocked him out had slashed him with a blade. I saw fresh, Andalite, blood pour out of his side. At that moment, I had two reactions: hunger and anger. The sight of all that blood made me hungry. And the fact some body slashed him made me angry. I realized my eyesight was even clearer.

Suddenly, I was knocked over. I simply flew through the air. I looked behind me and saw an alien with a cat-like smile across his face. Then, using a voice so similar to my head-voice, he spoke to me.

Ah, so that made you angry, did it? A Shifter, I see. Your eyes are glowing white, not red. That is a sign of great anger.

He was right. I was furious.

Go ahead. Try and use Tele-speech. I'd like to hear your first words.

Aximilli moved behind him. I wondered...could I use this...this Tele-speech? Would Aximilli hear it?

Aximilli, I said, Aximilli-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Can you hear me?

Huh? What? Who?

Why not talk, Shifter? You know you can.

That's when I clicked. Of course! Tele-speech must be like Thought-speech! I could exclude the other alien, if I wanted to.

Aximilli, you need to morph. You're losing blood. If you morph, your DNA will be restored, right?

Yes, he said weakly, yes, it would work, but the others-

What about the others? Are they all right?!

No. They are-ohhh-they are trapped in a tight circle of this species. Ahhhh! My side!

Aximilli! MORPH!

Fool! what are you doing, ignoring me?!

The other alien stepped in front of me and pressed his Stego-like tail against my throat. Then, he laughed and whipped it into my shoulder. I was conscious just long enough to see it was blackened at the tips of the spikes. Before I blacked out, I saw Aximilli, in human form, draw his arm back, and be snatched into the air.

Chapter Four

When I woke up, it hurt to move. I had no way of knowing where I was. The room I was in was dark, I could tell, but I had keen vision, just the same. My forehead itched, so I reached up to scratch it. But something was sticking out of my head! A blade! I felt my hands. Four fingers, including the thumb, were clawed. Just like in the woods, but now my fifth finger was gone. Simply nonexistent. No scar, no lump, nothing. Like it never existed. I realized these were not the only changes. I felt a tail. I felt a foot that was also a talon. Like a hawk foot. I stretched, hoping to ease the pain, but I found out I had wings! Then I clicked. I was one of those aliens!

But had I always been?

"Aximilli?" I called out. Nothing. Silence.

Aximilli? I used Tele-speech. Nothing. Nada. Squat.

"Hellooo? Anyone home? Yoo hoo? Am I alone here?"

Suddenly, I felt afraid. I had no reason to be. Besides the fact I was on some spaceship, was no longer human, had recently joined a group of guerrillas, and was immensly hungry, I had no reason to be afraid.

But that's not what bothered me. I wanted Aximilli with me. I did not know why, but I would have felt better if Aximilli was there. I just presumed it was because he had that tail of his.

"No, you are not alone."

I spun around. To my utter shock, I saw a face I recognized. My old friend, Katie, from back home. With her, were two others. One, I recognized: her sister, Jen. The other looked familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"Do us a favor. Don't move cross-country on the day before we are summoned. We had to use a Tracer ship to find you."

"I am Krazi-Lyntof-Arabinov-Crest-Wellar-Shifting experiment II," said Jen, "My sister, Intia, is your friend, I believe?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Then I believe she should explain"

"No," the larger, more dominant-looking male said, "I will explain."

"My name is Notum. You are my sister, Lex."

I couldn't believe this. I had a brother?

But I didn't care at the moment. I wanted to know what the heck was going on. So I listened to Notum as he walked me through the corridors of the Trace ship. He spoke in Tele-speech.

Long ago, we Navarazzi discovered Earth. We wanted to know everything about it without hurting anyone. So we developed Shifting technology. We took a hatchling, at a very young age, and graphed their DNA to another's. A human's. The first group had a hard time fitting in. The technology was new. They would accidentally Shift at the worst times. So most died. But the few that survived developed the second group. You were selected and taken away. But after twenty-four Navarazzi years, the treatment began to wear off. Navarazzi instinct became more dominant. So we came to collect everyone.

I interupped his story.

This is all nice, but I have a bigger question. What did you do with my friends?

They have been released. We have no interest in Andalites.

So even they thought the Animorphs were Andalites. Good.

Where is my friend? You took him, too.

He is in the Transition Room.

Trans-what?

Transition Room. We are reassimilating his Navarazzi DNA, but he is simply not accepting it.

Then I realized it. The white beam must have looked for some signature that signaled the person was not in their true form. Once found, it would turn red. Of course! Aximilli was in morph, so he was mistaken for a Shifter! He wouldn't accept the new DNA because he was an Andalite.

A Transition Room is a room that you woke up in, Notum continued, it releases a chemical that would cause you to revert to your natural self.

Notum! Take me to where he is! NOW!

Notum seemed shocked, but he led me down several corridors to a small chamber. On the way I recognized many faces, those of Shifters in their human form, still getting used to this life. Others, in their real form, would stretch their wings or test their muscles, which looked a lot stronger than a human's.

Once we got to our destination, Notum pressed a large, green pad. The wall opened and inside, I saw something horrible.

Hundreds, thousands, of small chambers, each packed with a human, Navarazzi, or some sick combination of both, were pressed against the walls. It looked like a small, green, fluid was dripping off their bodies. We walked down the hall, and the whole time, my human and my Navarazzi mind were disgusted. I had been told, earlier, about the two different minds in my bodies, and so I was no longer creeped when I talked to myself.

But what I saw did give me the creeps. Thousands of bodies, changing, mutating. Even as I watched, one person, who had tried to beat me up last year, had their face explode. The crest that had come out with alarming speed stated to form spikes.

But, finally, we reached Aximilli. He was unconscious, like the others, but his face was wrinkled with pain. The green fluid that dripped off his body made stinging welds wherever it touched. He was still in human form, so I was alarmed.

"How long has he been out?" I said.

You don't have to talk, you know. Our only vocal communication is used as growls, hisses, whines, like an animal. Actual speech is used in Tele-speech.

"I prefer to talk, thank you. HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN OUT?!"

I realized what Notum meant. My eyes were bright red and I was growling, showing my fangs.

Two hours in five minutes.

I remembered the strong looking muscles I saw on the others. I decided to test mine.

CRASH!

I had smashed the tube open. Green fluid sprayed everywhere. Aximilli fell out. I grabbed him and found out he was regaining consciousness. Then I ran.

Stop! Breach! Breach! Security team in the Transition area! Lieutenant Notum's orders! Stop!

"Huh? What? Let me go! Help!" Aximilli cried out.

"Aximilli! Chill! It's me, Anna!" I shouted at him

"Anna? What? What is happening?"

"We are on a ship. I just found out I'm not human. My brother is sending a security team to catch us. I can't carry you like this. Stop hanging on to my wings. You've got your own legs, and you're conscious. Walk. Thank you. Okay, let me rephrase that. Run," I said with a monotone voice.

"How long have I been in morph?"

"I thought you can keep track yourself."

"Not as a human."

"Just morph out."

So he did. I was getting kind of ticked, but I kept in mind he was still a little disconnected from being out so long. His tail appeared, his stalk eyes appeared, his other set of legs popped from his chest, and he fell over. I helped him up when his legs were ready to run. Then I had an idea. If my knees were reversible, then....

I reversed my knees and sure enough, I could walk on all fours! I started to run. Aximilli soon caught up with me and raced ahead, and stopped to look back at me for a moment.

Where are we going?

"Good question."

May I make a suggestion?

Yes! I said, reverting to Tele-speech.

There was a small opening at the front of the ship. I believe if we found our way there, we could escape.

Any idea how to get there?

I did not say it was a complete suggestion.

Wonderful.

Chapter Five

The security team chose that moment to try and jump us.

ROAWR

HISSSSSS

WHIIIINNE

Amazing, Aximilli noticed, this species is highly advanced, yet they still use animal noises to communicate. An intelligent, yet primitive, race. Fascinating.

He said this very calmly, even as he slashed with his tail. I would have agreed, but, being a member, I had to do something in defense.

No you don't, Anna. Just get out of here! Save yourself!

My human mind, of course. The Navarazzi mind was having a ball. A dominance fight. Yes!

Suddenly, my saliva tasted funky. It was a lot thinner than usual. I already knew what was happening. I was making venom! Cool!

I bit again and again. I think I bit my sixth grade math teacher. One of them looked a lot like her. And whoever I bit, was down in about three seconds flat.

Go to the second corridor on the right, My Navarazzi mind told me.

So I did. There, in front of me, was a panel, like the green one, only it was larger, thicker.

No, Lex-Cossette-Keke-Blade-Huntress-Shifting Experiment II. You are not leaving.

I spun around and saw my own brother, growling, venom dripping off his fangs, holding a large black gun that looked like the wings of the ship. Too much like the wings of the ship.

And it was pointed at me.

I shouldn't even have worried. Just before he pulled the trigger, Aximilli left him with no hand.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Press the panel.

So I did. A door appeared and we walked through. But I heard my brother's voice in my head again.

How do you expect to survive on Earth? You know so little about yourself! You could be a warrior with us!

I already am, I said.

What?!

I fight the Yeerks.

You fight them? With this Andalite?

And with the others, yes.

Notum paused for a long time. I guess he was thinking. All my one-hundred and sixty years that I intend to live, I will always remember what he said next.

I am sorry for taking you from the battle. Here, take this disk. I was saving it for, for I don't know what. But it will explain so much.

He pulled a small disk from his belt. I walked over to him and he pressed it against my forehead, at the base of my blade. A rush of information blew through my head. I looked up at him.

Thank you.

Anna, we have to go.

I'm coming, Aximilli, I'm coming.

Chapter Six

I don't really know how I got home. All I know, is this. I got home at eight o' clock and I wasn't tired. See, I'm nocturnal. I sleep during the day. Thankfully, we had a four day weekend, so I still had three days left. So I slept the whole day on Sunday. I'd have to work something out on that part. It would be hard to keep a cover when I only slept while the sun was up. Plus, I'd have to find a territory. I found out I was a predator. I needed something with mountains, a river, and a nice population of deer or something. I was still a little grossed, don't think I wasn't, But I had to eat meat. I'd need mountains for a roosting area. I had to sleep somewhere. My uncle said I could build a fort up in the mountains, witch were nearby, but he didn't know why I wanted to. I could stay there on the weekends.

On Monday, I finished my roosting area in the pouring rain. It had a mini fridge, a cell phone, a bookshelf, and a table. But that was it. I slept on a rocky outcrop that faced the setting sun. I was tired, so I slept there.

I woke up two hours later and called Rachel.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rachel. Did Axi-"

"Who? Oh, you mean Philip."

I had forgotten phones could be tapped, especially cell phones.

"Yeah, Philip, sorry. Did he tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, we had a meeting yesterday, but your aunt told us you were asleep."

"Yeah, I stayed awake pretty late last night."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. So, you wanna come over? Bring the others, too."

"Cool. I'll call Cassie."

"You know were I am? At my fort?"

"Yup."

"Bring a raincoat. It's raining pretty hard out here."

"Cool, see ya."

We were all at my roost. Marco, lolling on the floor, Rachel, standing in the center of the cavern, Jake, waiting patiently to see why I asked everyone to come, Cassie, reading Charlotte's Web, Tobias, looking out across the meadow, Aximilli, looking at Jake and me, and me, desperately trying to get a radio that Rachel brought over to work.

"All I'm saying is, when you press the 'on' button, it should work."

"Oh, man. And the Alanis Morsette solid hour is on. One hour of Alanis. Solid. And the radio doesn't work," Marco, of course.

Marco, why don't you help. You're a grade above her. She hasn't taken technology science yet. You have. Tobias pointed out.

"Hey, she's the person of superior intelligence! She's an alien! And she can't even get a radio to work? What can I do if she can't help it at all?!"

"Yeah right Marco," Rachel said, "It worked fine before it got wet."

Attach the red wire with the other one, then pull the black wire, Aximilli instructed. He never got to finish his sentence, because the radio suddenly snapped on, and the volume control was on max.

"IT'S LIKE RAAAAIN, ON YOUR WEDDING DAAAAAY, IT'S A BLAAACK FLY, IN MY CHARDENAE. IT'S A FREEEE RIDE, WHEN YOU'VE ALREADY PAAID. AND WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT, IT FIGURED?!"

"Now that's Alanis!" Marco shouted.

"Turn it down!" Jake ordered

I never knew, till then, how keen Navarazzi hearing was. My ears were ringing. I shifted to human form to make them stop. Aximilli, too looked in pain. So did Tobias.

"Okay, enough with the Radio of Death. What did you want to see us about?"

"Yeah, what?" Cassie asked.

"Look, I wanted to say something and to ask something."

What? Aximilli asked.

I looked directly at Aximilli. I looked at those emerald eyes. I think that's when it happened. I'm not sure, maybe it was because I admired him, had seen him in battle, maybe because he was an alien, too. Maybe I just was feeling lonely, I don't know. But I realized I had developed a special affection for Aximilli. And it wasn't so bad.

"Um," I said, coming back to reality, "I just wanted to say that if you guys ever want to come here, you're more than welcome. And I wanted to ask: when do we go on a mission?!"

The whole cavern exploded in laughter. All except Aximilli, who didn't get it.

"What'd I tell ya! We've got a Xena: Warrior Princess, and now we've got a Gabrielle!" Marco. I wondered how many times he would call me that.

"You go, girl!" Rachel shouted and we exchanged high-fives.

It was official. I was part of the team.