Hi everyone!

I know I said I was going to do Tobias next but my wheels spun and spun because I couldn't decide how or when I wanted to do the Reveal which led to me trying to write a couple 'what ifs' to explore various possibilities. One is mostly done and will possibly be posted separately with every other piece in a separate fic exploring the idea of Tobias learning about his Dad or at least something about his Dad.

This part is going to cover parts of Book #29 The Sickness.

I am terribly sorry I took so long to get this ready.

I wasn't aware of the corrupted upload until very late last night and my laptop refused to cooperate so I could fix it.

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School dances are usually the bane of my school experience. Rachel sometimes wants to hit the mall for a new outfit for the event and tries to get one for me and I feel like some odd doll or perhaps a noble of some kind being dressed in clothes until Rachel finds the perfect outfit for me. At the actual event I feel that I don't fit in.

Still we all went to hang out and pretend that we are normal teenagers while Arbron is looking for this mysterious Andalite that the Yeerks are searching for. The one responsible for actually taking out their Shark Base and apparently stealing the odd piece of technology from locations they thought were secure or a secret known only to a few higher ranking Yeerks.

Arbron, Aximili and Anjinnl are truly excited at the prospect of having a fellow Andalite here on Earth but they can't decide why one would be on Earth and if they did steal from the Yeerks why.

They have discussed that he could have survived the battle but if that's the case how is he hiding and getting his information; as far as Arbron knows none of the soldiers in fighters had human morphs and they would have been the most likely ones to survive the battle but that doesn't mean that they didn't acquire one after landing

Arbron didn't say it but I think he's hoping his friend Elfangor is hiding somewhere on Earth.

I glanced around the school gym and saw Marco, Anjinnl and Aximili talking on the far side of the gym, Tobias and Rachel were dancing in the middle of the throng of students almost like they belonged in the center. Rachel and Tobias are an odd couple since she was considered popular and Tobias was considered a nerd, into all things math, great with computers and studying topics that made my head spin but he could dance and Rachel got in the faces of anyone she heard dissing him in range of her hearing.

A hand tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see Jake standing there. "Want to dance during the next slow song?" He asked me.

"Sure," I answer.

A couple minutes later a slow song starts and Jake takes me onto the dance floor. We chose a spot, he took my right hand in his, put his left hand above my waist and I placed my left arm on his shoulder and then moved in a cross between a circle and a square we danced.

It was . . . nice to be normal for a few minutes and not have to worry about the Yeerks or anything like it. We had some recent scares which included the Yeerks planning on setting up a permanent Kandrona in the Arctic but it turned out it was just in the beginning stages of planning and going to be constructed at a different location and different date. Arbron told us that the odds are good that the Yeerks won't build it for a few more years since they don't have enough of the population under their control and they would have to cover up the emissions a Kandrona of that size would give off.

Then we were recruited by the Ellimist to save two races from the Howlers and in the process learned that the Ellimist and a being called the Crayak are fighting a proxy war and we are caught up in it. And then the Crayak tried to make life miserable for us by having the Chee either drop their holographic disguises or freeze where they were which forced us to race the Yeerks to the Pemalite Ship the Chee and the essences of their creators arrived on Earth in to stop a signal and reset all of the Chee.

So, it is nice that for the moment all I have to worry about is not stepping on Jake's feet.

Suddenly Jake paused and stood on his toes to see over the other dancing students.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

"I think something's wrong with Max." He whispered.

I turned but couldn't quite see Marco, Anjinnl and Aximili through the crowd but I could see that someone wasn't steady on their feet.

Jake and I stopped dancing and quickly made our way over to Marco, Anjinnl and Aximili were; I could see that Rachel and Tobias were coming over as well.

"I think he's sick, he has a fever." Anjinnl whispered fearfully to us once we got closer. Her eyes showed something that bordered on terror. "We need to get him out of here."

"Hey, Max, how are you feeling?" Jake asked Aximili, using our nickname for him when we're in public.

"I feel strange, I want to demorph." He mumbled; he sounded delirious.

"Max, not here, wait for us to get home." Anjinnl whispered to him quietly.

"Home," Aximili whispered, "you're taking me home? My parents must be really worried about me; they will be grateful that you brought me home." He whispered.

I froze inside. If he thought we were taking him home to his parents he had to be delirious.

"We need to get him out of here." I whispered to everyone.

Jake and Tobias quickly looped arms around Aximili's human torso and helped him stand and walk towards the door as Aximili continued to mutter things that didn't makes sense.

In the hallway Mr. Tidwell stopped us; a frown on his face.

"You're not supposed to leave the gym without permission." He stated.

"Our friend's sick, we're taking him home." Jake stated.

Mr. Tidwell took one look at Aximili, who was mumbling things softly and barely able to stand, before nodding. "Get him home, he's obviously ill."

As I walked passed his arm came down blocking my path.

"I have a message for you concerning Aftran Nine-Four-Two." He whispered to me.

I looked at him, trying to look confused.

"I don't know what you're ta-" I started

"She's being held in the Yeerk Pool on suspicion of collaborating with the enemy. She is going to be interrogated by Visser Three when he returns from an important meeting in three days; no one has withstood his interrogation methods." He continued; as if he didn't hear me.

I couldn't help the fear that crossed my face.

"I'll make sure you aren't bothered." He whispered before turning and heading back towards the gym.

"What was that about?" Rachel asked after I caught up to them.

"I'll tell you once we get somewhere safe." I whispered back; I needed time to process what was said and we needed to get Aximili away from the school.

"What's wrong with him Anji?" Tobias asked softly as we made our way across the parking lot.

"I think it's Yamphut." She whispered fearfully; her eyes were filled with terror.

"What's that?" Marco asked.

Anjinnl's face twisted a bit.

"It's a sickness, we get it when the Tria Gland becomes inflamed, unless the Tria Gland is removed it's fatal." She whispered.

We all froze at her declaration.

"Where should we take him?" Jake asked. "I don't know if we can get him to the Scoop or if he should be alone."

"The Barn should do for now." I whispered.

After a quick discussion Rachel morphed into an owl and helped guide us to my home while Anjinnl did her best to help Aximili stay in his Human morph.

Once we reached the barn I led the boys to an empty stall and helped them lower Aximili onto the floor.

Aximili slowly demorphed.

"He needs water, preferably in a pail." Anjinnl told us.

"There's some clean ones next to the trough." I said.

Tobias jumped up and raced to get one and filled one and returned a few minutes later; carefully setting it on the floor. Anjinnl carefully picked up one of Aximili's hooves and placed it in the pail.

/This isn't the Scoop./ Aximili stated.

/You're sick Aximili; we can better take care of you here./ Anjinnl told Aximili in Thought Speech.

/Where's Prince Arbron?/ He asked, dazedly.

/Looking for clues to the identity of the Andalite the Yeerks are searching for./ She answered calmly.

She gave him a soft smile with her eyes before gently running a hand on his face. /Get some rest Iltle Eno, you'll feel better soon./ She said, in an older sounding voice; trying to offer him comfort like a mother would.

"How long does he have?" I asked Anjinnl after she stood.

"We have until his temperature drops to normal; normal for us is roughly ninety-one-point-three degrees Fahrenheit." She rattled off aloud.

"Where is the Tria Gland; we can operate and remove it?" Jake asked her.

Anjinnl bit her lip as tears fell from her human eyes.

"It's located in the brain; I can't remember where – I can't remember." She said before breaking into tears.

Brain surgery is huge and with no idea where it is or how we could kill Aximili in our attempt to save his life.

Would morphing repair brain damage?

We had two choices: attempt to remove it and possibly fail or wait and pray that Arbron would return in time and help us remove it.

I hurried to the medical kit my Dad kept on hand and retrieved an ear thermometer and inserted it into Aximili's ear. The thermometer chirped and I checked it: Ninety-five point five.

"It's Ninety-five point five," I told them.

Anjinnl muttered something I couldn't understand.

/Mother, can you tell me about Elfangor? You and Father rarely speak about him, where is he?/ Aximili asked his absent mother.

My heart twisted as he talked to his absent mother; caught in memories.

"We have another problem." I said as I turned from Aximili to face the others.

"Mr. Tidwell told me that Aftran is facing interrogation from Visser Three in the Yeerk Pool about three days from now. He told me that no one has withstood the 'esteemed' Visser's interrogations." I told them solemnly.

Anjinnl jerked; her eyes wide with a myriad of emotions. Marco spat out a curse. Tobias stared at the rafters; an overwhelmed expression on his face. Rachel's expression was terrified and I knew she was thinking of her family. Jake sat down on a bale of hay; a troubled expression on his face.

"We can't allow him to interrogate her!" Rachel whispered. "He'll learn who we are; our families will be in danger!"

"How are we going to stop it?" Tobias asked. "We only know about a handful of entrances to the Yeerk Pool and they have Bio Filters set up at them to prevent us from getting in."

"Could it be a trap?" Marco asked worriedly

"We can't leave Aximili alone!" Anjinnl cried out. "Someone needs to monitor him."

"We'll figure something out." Jake stated, taking charge of the situation. "Marco, go get Erek, he should know whether or not this is a trap and maybe we can ask him for ideas to get safely to the Yeerk Pool and rescue her."

We waited in mostly tense silence for Marco to go and get our ally Erek King; too afraid to talk too much.

"Does morphing heal brain injuries?" I asked Anjinnl; needing to know.

"I don't know, the brain is a complex organ, no one told me much about what morphing is capable of besides healing injuries and passing unnoticed by the locals of various planets." She answered. "Part of me doesn't see why the brain wouldn't be healed but maybe the damage would follow them." She shook her head. "Prince Arbron would no doubt know whether or not brain damage would be healed by morphing."

"Do your parents have any books on brain surgery?" Jake asked.

"Maybe, I don't know if veterinarians do much brain surgery, I'll have to ask them." I answered.

"Can you go and as right now while we wait?" he asked.

I nodded and left the barn to go and ask my parents about the matter.

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