Originally dated: 9/10/00, 10:58 PM
SpAcE & TiMe
AnimorphZooger
ProLogueAnox-Lemsa-Yassar looked out over the balcony. The cool night air captured the essence of the whole night. His wife Aneisha-Ursuella-Shamtul, was resting. Anox knew he should not be enjoying the spectacular view of the beautiful derrishoul trees or enjoying the flight of the shuaffir. Those were the 'bats' from the Andalite home world. He should be at the war alongside Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, Aneisha's distant cousin. The Andalites were in the war fighting the Yeerks, and Anox, being a coward, had disgraced himself by refusing to go and faking his death on the bridge.
Yes, he had disgraced himself and his family, and, he had lied to his wife. He had told her the Andalite fleet did not need any more guerrilla fighters. What was he to do? If the captain knew, he would be very angry. Prince Elfangor would not be better. Oh, if only he had not been such a coward! By being so, he had dishonored himself and his family and would be forced to be exiled onto Earth, the planet in which the Andalite fleet was fighting the Yeerks for. He would be forced to protect them by the thousands. He would escape into the Maszasshiiy planet, the planet of many beings. Until then, no one, but no one could know.
The next day, the sad news was brought that Prince Elfangor had died while in combat with Visser Three. If only I had been so brave, thought Anox. Well, he might as well pack his things and leave, because his wife would be so disappointed in him, thinking he was the cause of her beloved cousin's death. But, he thought, it was his fault. If he had not refused and fought bravely like the rest, maybe he would have a place in his people's hearts if he died also. But, now, his children had no hero to look up to except for their uncle, of whom died because of their father. How could he? They would think. Impossible, Anox thought, if they do not find out, but everyone will know if I am found alive. I will escape yet again and fake another death. Yes, it would be a disgraced death after the Andalite fleet and its people found out he was alive when the news was brought, but at least they would not know…
Chapter 0nE"All I'm saying is that this is, by far, our craziest plan ever." Marco, of course.
May I suggest that we do not attempt this mission, for it is not really ours.
"Ax? Pipe down. Just chill. Everything'll be fine."
Yes, Prince Jake. Humor? Sarcasm? I could never tell with Ax. Jake had just told everything would be fine, which is what a sensible leader should say, but, what we were about to do was not sensible.
Cassie had heard another cry for help and so had Tobias, but it was not near at all. They weren't even sure it was in this universe, but, they were sure this time, that it wasn't in this town, county, or even this state. Maybe in the country, maybe in space, they didn't know. Ax, at least, said it was in the U. S. A., so, we were pretty much clear it was either in the country or farther in outer space. It was an alien cry, but Ax said it was not an Andalite.
So, this creature was new.
Don't get me wrong. Cassie's my best friend and Tobias is my sort-of boyfriend, but, this was whacked. We were planning to 'save' this whatever-it-was and we didn't even know if it was safe or not. But, one thing was clear. Visser Three had an Andalite host body, and Ax and Cassie and Tobias were able to hear Andalite cries, so, obviously, the sounds must have been bothering Visser Three also. So, that was why we were planning to save this creature. It was obviously sentient, but, it was also foreign—not your local alien. Not Hork-Bajir, not Taxxon, not Andalite, definitely not Leeran, and probably not Yeerk or Yeerk-controlled.
We were sure this wasn't a trap set out by the Yeerks, otherwise, the Yeerks are more whacked than we are. Of course, they think we're Andalites, so, maybe it was a trap, but we had already discussed it, and Erek told us the Chee had sensed some sort of presence out. Out where? Well, he told us that some fifty Chee would go over there and investigate to see what was going on and tell us. They had special sensors. They knew where to go, and, no Yeerk could control them either.
Today, he returned, and we called a meeting.
"Um, Marco, when have our plans not been crazy?"
"Well, Xena, unlike you, I'm not a blood-crazed moron." Teasing, obviously, but I decided to take it personally.
"Hey, get off my back."
"Sorry. I was only kidding. I didn't think you'd get all protective 'cause usually you don't care."
Erek walked in just in time to see me and Marco circling each other like two lions fighting for a pride. "Whoa, guys, am I interrupting something?"
"No, Erek, you're just in time. These two got impatient."
Erek laughed, "Oh, I see, Jake. Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"I'd go for the good news. I expect the bad news to affect us at full impact."
Erek laughed again. I guess he was in a laughing mode, but right now, I was annoyed. I didn't notice that the laugh had been a little nervous, like he was being watched, because I was far too annoyed at the moment. "Just get to the point," I snapped. I should have noticed that Erek was being too pleasant, but, I didn't. I should have noted that what happened next never happens to a Chee, but, I was far too annoyed and angered to notice. We all were being blind…
He looked at me blankly, then he got a confused expression, and Jake must have interrupted his thoughts. "Yea?"
"Oh, well, we know where the figure is. Out in Area 51."
"That's good news. Now, I'm expecting the bad news to have the same effect, but, towards the other direction."
"Hold on, I'm getting there."
"Do I really want to hear this?" Marco muttered.
"But, the bad news is that Visser Three is already there."
A moment of silence. Yep, the truth hit us full on and a hundred times over. This was bad. If Visser Three took control of this being, we could not tell whether it would help the invasion or complete it. But either way, it was bad…VERY bad.
"O…K…" Jake managed. He tried again. "Do you know where Visser Three is going to take this, uh, thing—"
Ax interrupted. Prince Jake, 'Being' is a more suitable word.
"Uh, yea, this, being—where is it going to be taken for interrogation or infestation?"
Erek said nothing.
Jake went on, "Um, Erek?"
Erek still said nothing.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
Chapter Tw0 ESPLIN 9466I had sent out a message for the Andalite bandits. I hoped they would come. They had made many foolish mistakes, but, I had them now. I would tail them to the location of this newfound host and infest them all. I hoped my friend had done what he promised. Otherwise, his family and race would all be annihilated.
"Visser. Incoming message from the Council of Thirteen."
What could possibly bring them here?
Allow transmit to come through.
Counselor Garoff appeared on the screen. "Ah, Visser Three, how is your progress coming along? I hear from Sub-Visser thirty-nine that there is a, somewhat of a creature on Earth. Did you not know of this? The Yeerk sensors should have picked it up. Or are you trying to hide this all from us? We are watching, Visser. One wrong move, and your Kandrona starvation will start on the double. I have nothing further to say." His face buzzed off the screen and it went blank. Counselor Garoff had said what he wanted. His threat was clear: anymore foul-ups, and my life was over. But I had hoped to bring them back a host with a brother Yeerk in it, not with a low-life Sub-Visser to find out about it and tell them first. He would surely be promoted.
I needed that location!
I asked no one in particular, Whom is this Sub-Visser thirty-nine?
As I knew too well, no one could answer.
Then, we received a signal.
"The Andalites are leaving for the site, Visser Three, sir."
Well, head them off, but follow at a close pace first.
"Yes, Visser."
Well, get to it! Now!
You can say that the appearance from Counselor Garoff had ticked me off a bit, and I was not in a mood to be pleasant. Besides, those bumbling fools had all acquired bumbling fools as hosts, which made them even more bumbling fools.
I was not thinking clearly at the moment, but, unless Sub-Visser thirty-nine's radar was better than a Visser's, then, he could be nothing other than an Andalite. But, at the moment, my reputation would be a lot more to me. I should have realized that maybe this Sub-Visser thirty-nine was just an Andalite bandit. After all, they had met Counselor Garoff, in a way, at the Inquisition of Visser One and I. But, still, I had not seen.
My Yeerk troops prepared my Blade Ship for cloaking and myself, and my pilot and navigator, and three Hork-Bajir body guards came in, but, two dozen to about thirty were hidden in the back, in several rooms. The Blade Ship has four rooms, so, many stood in the corridors, but, if the Andalites were to come aboard my ship, they would not see the Hork-Bajir troops because the corridors were at a different angle—the angle exactly they would be standing if they were here.
We followed and some stupid Earth bird flew into our Blade ship. Well, one more did and then none others did. Birds usually hit our ship, and it was very annoying, but I had to resist the urge of Draconing to not attract any attention, although the humans who had witnessed that event would be infested immediately. But, today there weren't many birds. We were heading for …
"Area 51, Visser."
Use Quasar Ecletion Device and press coordinates I–2.
"Yes, Visser."
Then, the navigator directed the pilot. Usually I flew my own Blade ship, otherwise, planned everything with the computer, but, today, I felt some sort of need for extra security. Every member on board owned at least one Dracon beam, but, I was the only one that didn't. I didn't need cumbersome weapons to defend myself. I had my Andalite body and fighting experience, along with my many morphs.
The Quasar Ecletion Device was a recent invention, a cross between an old Andalite model of Morph technology and Leeran psychic technology and some human gadgets the Skrit-Na scavengers found in a human "dump". The power of the Morph technology, a sort of energy source: not strong enough to support morphers (thank the Yaolin), but still strong enough to give off ectoplasmic energy. The Leeran psychic technology was in factuality, its brain, but, a certain part of it—a nerve that gave it that power, psychic—to locate our location. And, lastly, the human gadgets we found: the remains of a clock, an alarm system, a mechanism, an part of an automobile, and many more. What we created altogether was the Yeerk Quasar Ecletion Device, which, according to specific units and coordinates entered in its memory code, we could access through a space-time-dimension and quickly reach our destination. Only pilots knew how to operate one so far, because these devices were, like I have said already, fairly recent, and, we would not want a Yeerk to mis-operate or mis-manipulate the machine.
Coordinate I–2 was Area 51, but we had placed a tracking device on our friend the Android, and he had "inopportunely" placed it on one of his Andalite friends while he was in an shall-we-say, trance. He would put on his holographic generator and the Andalites would not suspect a thing while he placed the tracker on one Andalite. He was unwilling until we threatened to destroy his pitiful peace-loving race. He reluctantly agreed. I knew the old fool would. All species, except the Yeerks, were weak.
Then, all of a sudden, a jolt. The machine had back-fired.
Incompetent fool! Was all I could think of to reply to that. I referred to no one in particular, just not myself.
Where are we? I demanded.
No one answered. Of course not. No one was there. Except me, and four human children, an Andalite, and an Earth bird of prey, hawk. They drifted in space, and were unconscious. Then, one woke up and saw me, seemingly confused, but soon I saw horror and confusion in his eyes…
Chapter ThReEI felt blackness. Blackness surrounded me. I guess this must've been death. We were on our way to Area 51. Tobias and Marco had plunged into something in the air, no doubt the Yeerk Blade Ship of Visser Three.
Then, blackness. Total blackness. What was wrong?
I then woke up.
What or should I say, whom was staring back at me was the biggest shock of my life, well, figuratively speaking. It was Visser Three.
I stared down at myself and I realized I was in my human body, and was vulnerable for attack and definitely for exposure. Marco, Rachel, and Cassie were also in their normal bodies. This was not good. Ax and Tobias had nothing to worry about, but me and the rest, well, we had a big problem, and I do emphasize the word BIG. If Visser Three figured out we were the so-called 'Andalite banditos', then, we were in trouble. Also, Erek was in trouble. And, wait… hold on… why would Visser Three's Blade Ship be in the air? If he knew where the location of the alien was, why was he heading the opposite direction?
Visser Three's eyes were all on us. Rachel had stirred. Marco had just awoken. The look in his eyes showed the same contempt I felt. Ax was already awake. I guess Andalites recover faster than humans. For what? I don't know, because I didn't know what happened to us or where we were. Ax looked calm, but I could tell he felt fear and hatred and confusion. This had to be the Ellimist, otherwise Crayak. Who else could it be? I couldn't see Tobias, but Cassie was nearest Visser Three. She was still unconscious. What was wrong with her? Why was she taking so long?
Then, a voice in our heads, and one red eye in the center—
…we were in a circle! Visser Three was part of it! And worst of all, Crayak was here! We were as good as dead…
GREETINGS, VISSER THREE, CHILDREN.
Visser Three looked confused, but we all knew who it was. Rachel's lip quivered with hatred. I guess everyone had that look, even Ax couldn't hide it. Crayak had tried many times to kill us and eliminate us. Finally, Cassie woke up. Yep. What a nightmare it would've been. But Cassie caught on fast. She was cunning, conniving. She was gentle and shy, but she was the next smartest person in our group besides Marco, well, human-wise. Otherwise, Ax.
The voice continued.
I HAVE GATHERED YOU HERE FOR YOUR ENJOYING PLEASURE. DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE ALL TRAPPED HERE TOGETHER, MOST HATED NEMISIS MUTUALLY?
He directed that towards Visser Three. Yep. Just as I expected. Completely clueless, but, probably not for long.
Crayak, that big creep. He was revealing our identities. I hoped the Ellimist could interfere. Because he was making me sick. If Visser Three knew who we were, first of all, he'd know we weren't Andalites and our cover would be blown, and, secondly, he could just capture us and infest us and all hope for the human race would be lost…over.
YOU ARE TRAPPED HERE BECAUSE VISSER THREE ATTEMPTED TO USE HIS QUASAR ECLETION DEVICE TO TRACK DOWN YOUR ALIEN FRIEND IN AREA 51 AFTER FINDING OUT WHERE YOUR LOCATIONS WERE AND WHERE YOU WERE HEADED
We were all trembling…even Visser Three was stopped in his tracks, although we were all frozen in time, but you could still tell. But Visser Three was also mad. We, Yeerk, and Animorphs both, did not really enjoy the company of Crayak. But, Erek said that Visser Three was already there, so something didn't really click here.
YOUR LITTLE FRIEND BETRAYED YOU.
Erek betrayed us? But, he would never do that unless threatened…
NO, YOU ARE INCORRECT IN THAT STATEMENT. HE TOLD THAT INFORMATION TO SAVE HIS RACE, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE VERY COMPATIBLE TO THE YEERKS.
Nooo! Impossible…
HAH-HAH LITTLE HUMAN BOY, I GUESS NOT EVERYONE IS LOYAL TO YOUR LITTLE YEERK-RESISTANT BAND.
Wait a second… no one was looking at me or Crayak. They weren't hearing this!
I CAN HAVE THEM HEAR EVERYTHING AGAIN IF YOU WOULD LIKE IT.
I guess he was listening to my thoughts, even though I wasn't revealing them to anyone. But, hey, he was Mr. Time and the Ellimist like the Son-of-Time compared to him, or something like that. But WHAT did he want!
NOTHING, DEAR HUMAN MORPHER, NOTHING.
Nothing?
NOTHING.
Nothing at all? Then why were we here?
DO YOU NOT LISTEN AT ALL? I EXPLAINED BEFORE AND I WILL EXPLAIN AGAIN. VISSER THREE WAS USING A LATE YEERK INVENTION OF TECHNOLOGY, THE QUASAR ECLETION DEVICE TO REACH AREA 51. HE HAD BEEN TRACKING YOU DOWN—
How did he track us down?
LET ME FINISH FIRST. HE NEEDED TO MAKE A HOST OF THIS BEING YOU WERE ALL TRYING TO FIND.
Hmmm.
NOW, YOUR FRIEND EREK PLACED A TRACKING DEVICE ON ONE OF YOU WHILE YOU WERE "PLANNING" YOUR SURPRISE. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN, IT WAS WHEN HE WAS IN HIS "TRANCE".
I didn't want to know anymore, so I changed the subject.
How did they start to make this "Quasar" thing?
IT WAS COLLECTED FROM PIECES OF SCRAP METAL AND OTHER ALIEN INVENTIONS AND THEIR TECHNOLOGY AND EVEN BODY PARTS. IT HAS SPECIAL POWERS. JUST LIKE THEIR DRACON WEAPONS—MODELED AFTER THE ANDALITE SHREDDER, BUT LESS EFFICIENT.
Hmmm. Again.
Chapter f0uR Aximilli-Esgarrouth-IsthillThe Animorphs must have been no more. Not after Visser Three figures it out. O, he will, eventually. If Crayak held us here for much longer. Prince Jake had a solemn look on his face, then, it suddenly changed to disbelief. I was guessing that the Crayak was personally talking to Prince Jake. Visser Three was as confused as ever. A human may not be able to read his expression, but, as a fellow Andalite, I could tell.
He was still evil. But even he did not like Crayak, I could tell. He had a look of disgust directed at Crayak. A look of pure hatred towards me. A look of amusement and confusion at my human friends. Yes, I had learned to not trust my own race after many turns of betrayal and change of rules for desperation.
AXIMILLI.
I despised the Crayak.
AH, I SEE.
How could he decipher my thoughts!
I DO NOT DECIPHER. I KNOW. I AM CRAYAK.
Where was the Ellimist?
HE IS NOT HERE. HE SENSES THIS, BUT I AM HERE, SO, HE WILL NOT APPEAR. HE IS TOO WEAK, LIKE YOUR ANDROID FRIEND. NO ONE IS LOYAL TO YOUR YEERK-RESISTANT MORPH-CAPABLE GROUP.
He was laughing at us!
Then, Prince Jake saw that something was happening to me, and he faced me, somehow, and just mouthed a word. He shook his head and tried again. This time the word took shape and meaning: "No".
He obviously did not want me to do something. Perhaps to ignore the Crayak.
HAH-HAH, JUVENILE ANDALITE.
Or not.
What do you want, Crayak? I forgot to hide the hatred in my voice, but he could see through us.
OH, NOTHING. DON'T YOU IMMATURE JUVENILES EVER PAY ATTENTION!
Nothing?
He seemed angry.
I WILL EXPLAIN ONCE MORE, BUT IF ANYONE ASKS AGAIN, I WILL EXPLAIN TO ALL, HAH-HAH. VISSER THREE WAS USING A LATE YEERK INVENTION OF TECHNOLOGY, THE QUASAR ECLETION DEVICE TO REACH AREA 51. HE HAD BEEN TRACKING YOU DOWN BECAUSE EREK PLACED A TRACKING DEVICE ON CASSIE. YES, HE WAS THREATENED BY VISSER THREE.
The Chee can easily reprogram themselves to become killing machines, like the Earth "Terminator".
YOU FORGET, SMART, SMART ANDALITE.
Was he mocking me?
THE CHEE DO NOT ENJOY VIOLENCE. THEY WERE NOT CREATED SO. THEY DO NOT ENJOY IT, BUT, YES, YOU ARE CORRECT, THEY ARE CAPABLE. BUT, HE HAS BEEN THROUGH THE YEERK-SLAUGHTERHOUSE BEFORE AND HE IS STUCK WITH THE MEMORY. IT WAS TOO MUCH. HE COULDN'T TAKE MORE.
Did you tell all this to Prince Jake? I am not to withhold information he does not know. He must know immediately.
YES, he said tiredly—lazily, even.
I HAVE TOLD YOUR LEADER.
I did not trust him. He was lying through his teeth—I knew, by his strange tone, but, I could tell.
Then, no more talk. His speech towards me stopped altogether, but, I tried directing speech toward Prince Jake.
Prince Jake? Then, a look of pure agony crossed Prince Jake's face.
Prince Jake? Prince Jake! A look of pure terror crossed his face. Then, I understood. Crayak had made it secure and sure that we could not communicate with each other. The person who speech was directed to by another individual would go through constant and unbearable pain. Then, I had an idea.
Chapter 5IvE TOBIAS.Across from me, Visser Three's face twisted into an unbearable expression, both to look at, and probably to feel. The contorted look didn't just stop, it kept going, straining…straining…it was making an impact. You could feel the pain. It was like his head was going to explode—it was slightly bloating.
Then, "' ANDALITE FOOL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! '" AHHHH! A voice so huge in my head that it strained my nerves for my head to not explode. I noticed the others wore the same expression I felt. I guess Visser Three explained what he was going through with what he just said. I looked over at Ax. He seemed to be enjoying this. Hold on—enjoying this? I knew it would hurt Ax, big time, but, I needed to know.
Ax-man? What's going on?
He stopped looking happy. I knew he was just trying to bear the pain, but, I knew him too well. A little twitch would have gone unnoticed by the other Animorphs, but, Ax twitched a little from the blast I was giving him. Well, I tried "speaking" in a soft voice.
"' TOBIAS! IS THAT YOU! '"
AHHH!
Yea…Ax…man…it…AHHH! Sorry…ihh…szz… What I meant was "Yea, Ax-man, it is" but of course, he probably got BIG sounds. Well, my reply came soon. I knew both of us weren't enjoying this, but we both needed to know what was going on, well, I did, at least.
"' TOBIAS…IT SEEMS WE CANNOT SPEAK '" it sounded like he had been cut off, but, he came on soon enough.
"' TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT '" I knew this was hard for him, because it was hard for all of us. It took more strain to direct it towards one person. The look of pure agony was on Ax's face.
"' GOING THROUGH MUCH AGG- '" I knew the word. Agony. But, he felt he had to continue. I don't really think anyone needed anymore head-blasting. But, I would live through it to understand what was going on. I think I already knew, but I let Ax finish none the less.
"' AGG…ONEY… '" Well, that had been too much for him, I guess, because, all of a sudden, his head went limp. Multiple voices were in the air, I could feel it, but they were all straining to direct it to one person instead of all. That was in a way stupid, and in another way, smart. Then, I felt too tired. And I didn't want anymore head-blasting, so, I fell asleep, or, at least, became unconscious…
Somebody was shaking me awake. I felt groggy, but I woke up. It was my old room. I was little. My mom's smiling face was beaming down at me. "Toby, it's time for breakfast. Get dressed okay? Today me and daddy have a surprise for you." I was excited. Today was a special day. Today was my birthday.
I quickly got dressed and looked in the mirror. I was five or six then. I had a T-rex T-shirt with red shorts. My bare feet had stubby little kiddo toes. I quickly stumbled down the stairs in all my excitement. My ruffled hair could never be fixed. As hard as my mom or I tried, it wouldn't fit to mat down. Even the gel didn't work. So, we left it at that. It fit me. Wild, untamed. I looked downstairs.
Wow. Look at all those presents.
But, there were two people down there I didn't know. One woman was petite and narrow. She was beautiful with long wavy brown hair. It was layered. She was wearing a purple silk sundress. The purple was lavender and had bumble bees and butterflies all over it. She was wearing slippers with little sunflowers on them. She was wearing sunflower earrings.
The other man was maybe half a head shorter than the already-short lady, who looked like my dad. I assumed the lady was related to my mom, because they bore a subtle resemblance. The man, however, was short and plump. He had an aura about him that said, "Hey, I'm cool. Just don't push it, buster." I decided the lady was nicer. The man was wearing a rough, brown suit. It was made from corduroy. It was old because it was "hairy" and there were brown leather patches at the elbows. He was wearing ridiculously short dark green pants that were much too baggy. His shoes were polished. They were black—leather—like those of businessmen. It had the Italian pattern and the smell of polishing grease. It smelled like gasoline from a car…
AH, I SEE.
Then, very suddenly, the older Tobias, who was already a hawk was submerged inside the little Tobias, reliving, re-seeing everything. I was there, but not consciously moving my arms, seeing my mom, how much I felt like crying right then and there because of her. Of course, Crayak and the Ellimist had laws—no interfering with time. Crayak was there, in plain sight, on that weird place we were at, and yet, I was reliving my memories…oh, how I wished I could have this replaying like a tape over and over again…
YES, TOBIAS, I AM HERE. I AM SEEING ALL YOU ARE SEEING. BUT, ONLY YOU, THE OLD YOU, CAN SEE ME. EVERYONE ELSE, THE YOUNG TOBIAS, he paused. CAN'T SEE ME.
He finished.
Shut up! Just shut up! I knew that no one could hear that. But, I really wanted to capture the last moment I would ever see my mom or dad. These two people, yes, they were my aunt and uncle, and, if anything ever happened to my parents, they were my godparents. Oh, mother, how I miss you! Then, I realized I was giving too much of myself up. The small Tobias. The young Tobias. Well, he was sensing my presence. Sadly, I fell silent and continued to watch in agony.
HAH-HAH.
Urgh! That Crayak really made me mad and want to scream, "CAN'T YOU LEAVE ANYONE IN PEACE, OR AT LEAST LEAVE THEM SOME PRIVACY!"
HAH-HAH, TOBIAS.
That laugh was really getting to me. Then, I was back. Me, my real self now. My hawk body. I felt, in a way, lucky, that Visser Three would just think I was an Andalite in morph, and not what Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel appeared to be.
Let me talk to Ax.
I AM SORRY, HUMAN.
Then, no more. He moved on. To another victim. Then, a voice.
"' WHO ARE YOU HUMANS? '"
Shoot, that voice was loud, but, Visser Three was starting to suspect something. That was not good. Then, FLASH! We were back in the sky. But, Crayak was still here.
HUMANS, YOUR MISSION IS NOT OVER. GO, DO WHAT YOU SET OUT TO DO. BUT, BEWARE. VISSER THREE IS NOW WATCHING YOU UNDER SUSPICION. ARE YOU ANDALITES? OR HUMANS?
He was sneering at us. Then, he was gone. Then, the Ellimist came. Why so late, I really didn't care. But, I was hoping that he could help us.
Animorphs, I can relieve your suspicion from Visser Three, but, it is you who must complete that mission. First, finish what lies before you. Then, I will help you.
Then, he was gone.
Great. Just great. Then, I felt something shadow over us. Maybe the shadow didn't show. But my feathers started to ruffle. Something was hovering over us, and, it was big—very big.
Chapter SiXThis was not turning out well. First, Visser Three was starting to suspect that the "Andalite bandits" were really just a bunch of juvenile class-five species. Excuse me. He would suspect that the "Andalite bandits" were really just the Animorphs, a band of human juveniles plus an Andalite juvenile and an Andalite turned nothlit (even though Tobias is human). What were we to do? And now, Visser Three's Blade Ship was hovering over us. We all froze. There really was nothing we could do. If we ran, or should I say, tried to escape and fly away, Visser Three would, as humans say, "fry" us. He wouldn't care now if humans saw Dracon beams firing at birds out of nowhere. He was yeraat, or, as you humans say, "steamed".
The Ellimist had not even helped us towards the site, like he could have done.
Visser Three's thought voice was in our heads.
Well, well, Andalite braknets. I was shocked. That was a very rude word in the Andalite language. I assumed he was testing our knowledge, and if we were really Andalites at all. Unfortunately, he overlooked something. Anything the Animorphs did not understand and knew was Andalite, and coming from Visser Three's mouth, was, most likely not good. I was infuriated. To have him call us such a name was unmistakably rude on the Andalite home world, and, the price would be exile on Anatia. Too bad. I felt infuriated enough to say something even worse—something an Andalite my age was not supposed to know how to say, especially to an elder: Well, haamalith, you fare no better. Something must have told my human friends that this was an Andalite cursing match. They knew not to interfere. I was glad. If they interfered, I would not, excuse me, we would not live for much longer.
I could tell he was surprised.
Alloran-Semitur-Corass knew the word, which also gave Visser Three the knowledge. Alloran was shocked, I'm sure. Visser Three, on the other hand, would probably be amused.
Very good. Identify yourself, you damned ulyth-braknet. Visser Three had used an earth word. Very well, he was angry. I felt somewhat comforted. His words could not hurt me, for, the Yeerk, Esplin meant them. I was insulted, and Alloran should be very much in my debt of offence, but, Alloran, I am sure, would be very disgraced that he was trading curses with an Andalite juvenile.
Marco whispered to me, Ax, what's going on?
I just replied, Not now, Marco. I will explain later.
Then, all were silent and watched in awe.
Andalite filth, I will come back and infest you one by one, but, the one who has referred to me as such, I will kill slowly. Yes, I understand infestation is much worse, you fools, but, your death, foolish one— I could tell he was referring to me.
—will cause you more pain than the others.
He was done. I was not.
Well, Ax, I guess the Visser isn't going to go infest whatever it is out there, but, we need to talk, and, while we're at it, we need to get Erek into a group meeting. Back to the barn, everyone, pronto.
After Marco, Cassie, Tobias, and Rachel started to fly back, I shook myself and was going to go after them, but Prince Jake stopped me.
Ax, I need to talk to you.
Yes, Prince Jake.
Don't call me Prince.
Yes, Prince Jake.
Anyway, what went on back there? We were all worried. Don't let your anger towards Visser Three show so much. Then, he'll know that he has gotten you.
Yes, Prince Jake. But, he called you all—
He referred to you as well, you know. You're also an Animorph.
Yes, but, he called us all something an Andalite should never call fellow Andalites. He thinks you are all Andalites, so, that should account for something. But, only I understood.
Ax, we all knew what sort of name he called us. Maybe not exactly the perfect translation, but, we knew it was something bad.
Yes, but, you do not understand, Prince Jake? You must understand. The words we both spoke would have been punished—on the Andalite home world and by Andalite law—in exile on Anatia, which is currently free from Yeerks.
Ax? Get over it—okay? Everything'll be alright. With that, he said, Let's go home.
He did not understand. I was not just suffering from that filthy Yeerk's insults, but, from the immoral words I myself had spoken. Those words would be a lasting impression in my conscience, and, I now realized, Alloran's. I had committed a great sin, letting myself be pulled in by that Yeerk scum.
I sighed.
Well, as an Andalite can only sigh.
Well, I sighed, and I flew on, trying to catch up to Prince Jake.
I flew on, heading home.
Where the heart is.
Chapter SeVeNI was worried about Ax. He had displayed a side of himself he had never shown. Smart, sensible Ax had become a violently provoked monster. I was worried about him, but I couldn't speak for the others. I'm sure, though, they felt the same. Tobias, however, was the only one who could talk any sense into him.
"Tobias?"
Yea, Cassie?
"Could you ask Ax what's wrong? What happened?"
Sure, but, I think Jake already did. Besides, I think we'd all like to know what happened back there.
Rachel cut in. "Cass? You ok?"
"Yea, Rach, but, I'm worried about Ax."
"Well, so are we. But, whatever it was, Jake took care of it. Ok, babe?"
"Yea, I guess you're right."
Usually, I was the comforting helping hand, but, right now, Rachel was doing the sweet-talking and comforting. I was thankful to her for being my best friend. But, still. Ax had shown a side of Ax I knew that other species, especially his own, would not approve of. Visser Three had forced it upon him, and Ax had taken the challenge. I wish I had seen it coming. I felt bad enough already. It was, in a way, everybody's fault. Ours for not warning Ax of the upcoming trading of insults, and, his for not containing himself, but, I guess he was just trying to defend us.
We were in the barn to discuss Ax's act of misconduct, but, also to meet up with Erek. We still had about five minutes. So, we all took this time now to ask Ax what had happened.
"Ax, what happened back there?"
I would rather not talk about it.
"Come, on, Ax, we're a team, and everything's all about trust." Marco, of course.
Ax looked imploringly at Jake. Jake nodded.
Visser Three referred to us as very— he paused. Then, went on to say, very, uncivilized and ruthless. He was testing our knowledge of Andalite words. To be honest, I still do not understand why he would shame his Andalite body so, but, he is a Yeerk after all. He stopped. All for the better. We were shocked. But, what he said after we were all totally unprepared for.
Erek helped Visser Three.
Jake was solemn. "We—I know."
No. Crayak did not tell you the truth. Jake was not surprised.
Ax went on. Crayak told me, Erek could not stand to kill Visser Three right on the spot, and all for the best. Visser Three suspected he was too sentient to fight, so, naturally, he surrendered. Visser Three threatened the annihilation of all the Chee, and Erek did not fight back. He paused for some effect—to no extent.
You may remember that once before Erek had saved us all by murdering a countless number of Yeerks, for he had reprogrammed himself, but, it is still in his memory, and it is too much to bare.
We all nodded. So, Visser Three, the worst piece of Yeerk scum, had threatened our poor friend into giving us up, because he couldn't sacrifice his own people. Well, I guess I would to if I were threatened. But, I didn't expect Erek to lie to Visser Three and to us. He must've had some sort of plan. He lied to Visser Three about us knowing where it was, and, to us about Visser Three already being there.
Erek appeared very abruptly. We didn't notice at first, but, soon, what was nothing became something. Erek's hologram shimmered and he became "human".
None of us were happy to see him, but his human form had a weird look, like, guess what?
"What d'ya want you traitor!" was Rachel's response to his appearance. Of course, she was only half-serious.
"No, I have a plan."
"Well, yea, I gave you guys away, but, Visser Three—"
"Yea, yea, we know. Just cut to the chase." Rachel, again.
"So, I told him that you knew where the alien was and I told him that you guys knew where the alien was!"
Jake was confused, "And?"
"And, that makes him confused even more—sorry about telling you about how he knew where it was, but, he was listening in on me to make sure I told you guys that he was already there, so you guys would 'rush' there and he would follow."
"Mm-hmm."
"Now, that I'm sure you've gotten rid of the tracker—" he paused.
Everyone looked at me. No, I didn't. Of course I didn't. I didn't even know I had it on. Shoot. Visser Three would find us, wouldn't he? Then, the grass outside ruffled as if a helicopter were landing, but, no shadow appeared. We all were utterly and entirely—altogether too frightened to do anything. I was starting to panic. Then, Jake's voice shouting, "Battle morphs. Now!"
Chapter 8igHTShoot. Oh, shoot. The Yeerks knew where we were, all because of Cassie. Well, not exactly Cassie, but, pretty close. Oh, if only Visser Three hadn't suspected the Chee of helping out the "Andalite Guerrilla fighters", then we would be fine.
I had just finished morphing to Gorilla. I felt strength. And power. It was Yeerk butt-kicking time!
Uh, Cass, I think you should—
CHOMP!
Never mind.
Cassie had chewed up the tracking device after morphing to wolf. The remaining parts were all staticking up and it looked like the circuits would go out in any second.
Then, I could feel a presence.
An evil presence.
Rachel
Well, well, well, if it isn't the Andalite bandits. Why should you meet at a human's barn-house, I might add.
Visser Three. Leader of the Yeerk infiltration business on earth.
The Abomination.
He knew that at least two or three of us were human. Or so it seemed, because he was asking us why we were at a human farm. An Andalite should not meet at a human family's barn.
Then…
TSSEEWWW! TSSEEWWW!
Dracon beams! A simultaneous Ahhh! followed.
One, two, three! Three of us were down! I realized, they were the three people closest to me—Jake, Cassie, and…Tobias. They all had burns the size of the fist of my grizzly morph. No way could they remorph without the Yeerks finding out. If Visser Three suspected, there was no way we were gonna prove him right.
Then…
FLASH!
All of us, back in the barn. Humans. Erek was telling us something. The Ellimist was there, his whole blue body. Animorphs, I have transported you all back to when Erek was first telling you about Visser Three and the mission. And, that was it…
Erek laughed, "Oh, I see, Jake. Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"I'd go for the good news. I expect the bad news to affect us at full impact."
Erek laughed again. I guess he was in a laughing mode, but right now, I was annoyed. I didn't notice that the laugh had been a little nervous, like he was being watched, because I was far too annoyed at the moment. "Just get to the point," I snapped. I should have noticed that Erek was being too pleasant, but, I didn't. I should have noted that what happened next never happens to a Chee, but, I was far too annoyed and angered to notice. We all were being blind…
He looked at me blankly, then he got a confused expression, and Jake must have interrupted his thoughts. "Yea?"
"Oh, well, we know where the figure is. Out in Area 51."
"That's good news. Now, I'm expecting the bad news to have the same affect, but, towards the other direction."
"Hold on, I'm getting there."
"Do I really want to hear this?" Marco muttered.
"But, the bad news is that Visser Three is already there."
A moment of silence. Yep, the truth hit us full on and a hundred times over. This was bad. If Visser Three took control of this being, we could not tell whether it would help the invasion or complete it. But either way, it was bad…VERY bad.
"O…K…" Jake managed. He tried again. "Do you know where Visser Three is going to take this, uh, thing—"
Ax interrupted. Prince Jake, 'Being' is a more suitable word.
"Uh, yea, this, being—where is it going to be taken for interrogation or infestation?"
Erek said nothing.
Jake went on, "Um, Erek?"
Erek still said nothing.
"Cassie!" I shouted.
"What, Rach? What's wrong?"
"Get that stupid tracking device off now!"
What I had so easily overlooked the first time, I didn't overlook this time. The others may not have noticed, but I saw. I saw a little shiny piece of metal all-of-a-sudden appear on her green cardigan jacket.
Cassie gave me a skeptical look—almost with amusement, but I saw the concern—as I was going crazy. "What tracking device?" What was this? Cassie didn't remember a thing?
"Yea, Rach, what tracking device?" Jake, too?
Tobias, however, gave a different response. Yea, Cass, I see it. It's near the bottom of your jacket, on the left side. Right where the zipper begins. Athough, I was thinking that if I hadn't opened my mouth, then, he wouldn't have seen it.
Cassie looked down. Sure enough, there was a Yeerk tracking device on her.
"Rach, how did you…?"
Marco cut in. "Look, Erek has brought a message for us from the Yeerks. And no, Visser Three is not out at Area 51, which means, Erek?"
Erek came out of his trance, his human face ashamed.
"How did you know?"
Marco and I, who were usually in disagreement with each other, glanced at one another and nodded. "We just knew."
Marco had a plan. We would, in fact, still morph birds, but with one difference: this time, Cassie didn't have a tracking device, and Erek was coming with us. His friends would stand in for us (yet again) until we came back. Visser Three was left with nothing—nada.
I felt so happy with this that I wanted to twirl around in happiness. But, that didn't fit my character. I was supposed to be tough, rough, and bad-to-the-bone. I was Xena, warrior-princess. But, I was still happy, nonetheless.
CHAPTER NiNeSo, somehow, Rachel and Marco knew about the tracking device, but, all they explained to us was that it was "too long a story" and that we would "never believe it". So, we were left with that.