Rachel smiles weakly, shaking her head. She's already heard about Lydia's world from Stiles, the basics anyway, and while it's definitely not a bouquet of roses...she's not really sure anything really tops hers, yet. She takes a deep breath to steady herself, looking up at Lydia.

"The world I come from...Earth is under attack. No, more like -- we're being invaded. By these ugly alien slugs, these things called Yeerks. They can crawl inside your head, flatten themselves around your brain, and that's it. You're a slave, now. A Controller. You don't so much as breathe unless the Yeerk in your head decides you do. They're staging a silent invasion on Earth, slowly infesting more and more of us every day, and nobody even knows they're there. Except for us. Me and a few of my friends." She rubs one arm, trying to figure out the best way to continue. She'd told all of this to Stiles before, but somehow, talking to Lydia is different. "It was totally by chance, I think. We met this dying alien, an Andalite, one of the ones who are fighting the Yeerks, trying to stop them from conquering every last race in the galaxy. He gave us Andalite technology. Morphing capability. The ability to turn into any creature we can touch. It's our only weapon against them. And if they ever found out who we are...that'd be it. War over."