I'm back!

(Chapter Nine)

(Ellen)

"Mom, I'm going for a walk in the forest," I called to her, tying my shoes. "I don't have any homework tonight."

"Be back before six," Mom called back. "And take Wah, please. She's upset because you haven't had time to walk her."

"Yes, Mom," I said, punching in the code to the secret entrance to my lab. The door slid open, revealing steps. I walked down to see my various HUMANE experiments. The only experiments I have ever done on living things are to change fur color and size. Wah is a blue dog and Oink is taller than I am, even though she's a rabbit.

"Woof!" Wah barked, seeing me. She jumped on me.

"Hey, Wah," I said, rubbing her back. "Ready for a walk, girl?" I refilled Oink's food and water dish and gave her a carrot, noticing the back was ripped again.

When isn't Wah ready? Enni asked. Wah brought me her leash.

Good point, I replied, clipping the leash to Wah's collar. "Come on, Wah," I said, walking out of my secret lab. I waited for Wah to step outside before closing the door. I rubbed the color-camouflage cream into Wah's fur, making her appear to be a brown dog, not blue. (Final product tested on animals). From there it was a short run to the forest where Eric lived.

I sat on the stump, near the middle of the forest, and unclipped Wah's leash. "Be good, and come back here when I call," I ordered her. She barked and ran off, smelling everything. She would come to me when I called. It's just how I had her trained. Wah is a good dog, I thought.

She chews your slippers, rips open the carrot bags, chases squirrels, and rolls in skunk scent. You call that a good dog? Enni asked.

She's a good dog compared to other dogs, I retorted. She doesn't dig up the flowerbeds, chew on furniture, or eat paper. What dog can resist squirrels?

(Ellen!) Eric exclaimed as a bluebird flew down to rest on my shoulder. (You came. I saw Wah. Could she be any more visible? She is as blue as the sky.)

"She could be yellow or red," I replied. "How are you?"

(I'm great. My younger sister is here, though she should not be. She told me you were the one to bring her to this forest.)

"I couldn't leave her out there, alone. Eventually the hunters would have found her. I couldn't leave her to that fate. It would have been cruel." The bluebird flew down to the ground and slowly, grossly, changed into the Andalite I knew as Eric.

(And for that, I am grateful. Did she tell you what happened to her before she met you?) He sounded so concerned for his sister, but I couldn't give him an answer.

"No, she didn't. The only reason she came with me is because she smelled you on me. That was the only thing I didn't ask her." Eric's eyes turned up at the corners in an Andalite smile.

(You do ask many questions, Ellen. Did my sister complain?)

"Yes, she did. Why did you ask if she had told me what happened to her before she met me? I just met her. I don't even know her name! Why would she tell me?"

(I asked her, but she told me to ask you. Ellen, I'm worried about her. She lost a vital part of her childhood while she was here.)

"The only hint she gave me was when she smelled Enni. She talked about me taking her to my Visser." Eric nodded.

(I suspect she had just escaped from Visser 3 when you met her. She did tell me, in a roundabout way, she escaped from him the same day she met you. I fear it will be a while before she says anything else.) He looked so sad and worried that I walked over to him and gave him a hug. He gently tugged on my braid in response.

"Why do you have to be so tall?" I asked him, looking up to see his face.

(Would you rather me morph human?)

"I would," I said, letting go and stepping back. For once, it was interesting to watch him morph. Eric's extra limbs and fingers dissolved as he reared back on his hind legs. The eyes on the ends of his eyestalks dissolved as the eyestalks turned brown, shortened, and broke apart into strands of hair. Less than a minute later, Eric looked like a human, though I knew better.

"Better?" he asked. I laughed and hugged him again, though he returned my hug this time.

(Good day, Ellen,) the mystery Andalite, Eric's sister, said as a golden retriever trotted up to me. (Do you know who the blue dog is? She stands out a lot.)

"Sorry about Wah. She is a normal dog except for her color. I should have tried to make her green…"

(A green dog? Ellen, that is odder than a blue dog!) I laughed at her exclamation.

"At least she would blend in better," I replied. "I feel weird calling you Eric's sister. What's your name?" The golden retriever turned blue, and then grew taller. The tail stretched and became less furry, then grew an Andalite's scary tail blade. By this time, her feet had turned into hooves and her face was pushed in. About 30 seconds after she started, Eric's sister was fully formed as an Andalite girl.

(My name is Betmilionali-Patricia-Hogenota.) And I thought Eric's name was hard to pronounce. Hers was worse.

"May I just call you Betty?" I asked, grimacing.

(Please try to pronounce my full name.)

"Fine, Betamillie…Betminnie…Betty." Enni made a noise that sounded remarkably like a groan in my head.

"Betmilionali, I think 'Betty' is the closest Ellen will ever get to actually pronouncing your name, unless you like being called 'Betminnie'," Eric said.

(Very well. Ellen can call me Betty.)

"I always knew I could. It was just a matter of whether you wanted me to call you Betty or not." Betty looked at Eric.

"Ellen, quit correcting people's grammar."

"I will when people start using proper English. Look! Isa butterfly!" I squealed, ran after it, then tripped over a tree root. "You are a very, very naughty tree root," I scolded it.

Ellen, get a hold of yourself, Enni said. Betmilionali's looking at you strangely.

But…but it was a butterfly! I explained.

"Ellen, are you okay?" Eric asked.

"The butterfly got away," I said, pushing myself to my feet. "It got away." I frowned. "Bye-bye, butterfly."

(Is she always like this, Eriaca?) Betty asked her brother.

"No," he replied. "Most of the time she pretends to be sane. It seems today is one of the few days when she stops pretending and lets herself relax." I brushed off my knees, then stared at the dirt on my hands.

"I gots dirt on my hands," I said. Enni groaned again. "Eric, I gots dirt on my hands. Isn't it pretty?" I held them out to him.

"Enni, can you make her act normal?" Eric asked my Yeerk. I scowled at him.

"No," I said. "She promised she wouldn't control me unless…unless…" I frowned. "I forget the words." I smiled. "My train derailed. It went BOOM!"

(She isn't making much sense,) Betty remarked. Oooh, chipmunk! I squealed, and then ran after it.

Ellen, get a hold of yourself! Enni exclaimed. Chipmunks don't like humans. But…but…I Ellen. Ellen, they don't like you. I frowned and tripped over a rock.

(What do you do with her on days like today?) Betty asked.

"If Ellen's with people who know she can get like this, we try to calm her down and Enni, her Yeerk, prevents her from saying anything about any aliens she may happen to know. If Ellen is with people who think she's normal, Enni asserts complete control until Ellen calms down. In this forest, I typically let her do whatever until she calms down." Wah trotted up to me, though I noticed she stayed well away from Betty. She saw me on the ground and looked absolutely puzzled. She woofed, licked my face, then tried to push me onto my feet with her nose. "That isn't going to work, Wah," Eric said to her, walking over to us. He stretched a hand down to me. I took his hand and stood.

"Eric, I think maybe the gene for hair/fur color may be at least partially attached to something that affects how smart the person/animal is. Of course, this could mean there is some truth behind the 'dumb blonde' jokes, but it wouldn't necessarily explain why I have moments when I leave almost everyone else behind (mentally, of course)."

"So, you're pretending to be sane again?" he asked.

"Yep," I replied. "And further discovering Wah isn't the smartest dog on the face of the Earth. What time is it?"

Ellen, you have a watch, Enni said. Oh, right. I looked at my watch, which read 5:54.

"I promised my mom I'd be home by six," I said. "I have about six minutes to get home."

(Ellen, before you go, I need a human morph. May I acquire you for my human morph?) Betty asked, using proper grammar.

"I'd be honored," I replied. Betty walked over to me, scaring Wah off. "Eric, here's Wah's leash. Could you clip it to her collar and keep her near here? And then here's her color-camouflage cream," I said, handing them to Eric. He took them and called Wah over. She happily ran to him. I stretched my hand out to Betty, knowing a little about morphing and acquiring DNA for morphing. Betty took my hand. I felt calm and drowsy, unwilling to pull away from Betty. Betty was the one who broke the connection, though the lethargic feeling stayed.

"Ellen, you should be going," Eric said, handing me the color-camouflage cream and the leash to a brown Wah.

Ellen, is it okay if I take us home? Enni asked. Her words barely registered. I'll take that as a yes. "Come on, Wah," Enni said with my mouth. I stayed in the back of my own mind for the rest of the walk home.

How'd you like chapter nine?

Review, please?

~ukrainianelfhorse