A/N: Sorry for the wait for this update... expect updates to be very sporadic, as usual with me! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I had to wait a long time while the plan to get Tobias captured and find the AMR was carried out. My role was to wait at the Sharing meeting as long as possible, and help give advanced warning to the others of any approaching Controllers. This was easier said than done, however, as it required me to stand close to the children's playground that the fake entrance to the Yeerk pool had been constructed in. It was, of course, away from the main event and not somewhere that non-members were meant to be. Nevertheless, after the meal I managed to sneak away to the edge of the playground. I slunk into deep shadows between two parts of the building, and waited.

(All clear, Aftran?)

There were a few Controllers around, but as they were manning the tunnel in shifts, that was unavoidable. It was probably about as quiet as it was going to get, a fact I reported to Jake.

There was chaos for a few minutes as Ax and Tobias, carrying Rachel in flea morph, headed into the tunnel that was being presented as a fake entrance to the Yeerk pool in hopes of trapping an 'Andalite bandit'. Ax then turned tail and ran away, to draw off the guards and make it seem as though Tobias had been captured in a genuine attack. Much as I disliked Andalites, I had to admit his job required a lot of courage. Though perhaps not as much as Tobias'.

(I think Tobias and Rachel are in,) Jake reported. (We'll have to wait until Rachel gets back to us. Aftran, we're going to need to demorph and remorph as roaches when she does get back, so we can get in easily. Any ideas?)

(I'm currently in a deep patch of shadow between the buildings,) I reported. (I seem to have gone unnoticed so far, but they'll be on the lookout for animals more than a lone human. You'll have to come in one by one, then while you remorph I can keep an eye out for you. I can probably head off most Controllers, as long as they haven't already seen an animal on the way in here.)

(What about cameras?)

(One of our people has made sure the one in this gap breaks. It should have broken about ten minutes ago. He disabled the alarm system on it, too, so the Yeerks should still think it's working. It's not monitored by eye: it's infra-red.)

(Infra-what?) Marco asked.

(It detects changes in heat, and sends an alarm if any warm-blooded creature comes in here. A conventional CCTV camera would need some light to record properly.)

(So if it was on, it wouldn't be able to record our faces?) Cassie asked.

(Probably not, but it would show your forms as human, rather than Andalite. Probably a good thing it's been turned off.) I glanced around. (It's clear. One of you can come in now.)

After a few moments, Cassie flew down in owl morph, and swiftly demorphed. After a few moments, I had a complete set of Animorphs bar Rachel, Tobias, and Ax who was still leading the Controllers away.

To my surprise, however, Rachel didn't take much longer.

(Damn it!) she exclaimed suddenly, making me jump. I looked down to see a cockroach at my feet.

"Where is he?" Jake asked, wasting no time.

(I lost him!) Rachel ranted, panic and anger fighting equally in her voice. (There was some girl, she sprayed us with this paralysing gas out of her arm. I fell off Tobias' feathers and they took him somewhere else. I don't know where… I lost him!)

There was silence while the rest of the team took in this new information. It took me a few seconds to digest, as well. Paralysing gas out of her arm? I vaguely remembered talk of some sub-Visser's host: a deal being struck with a young human girl to restore her damaged body in return for her cooperation. Yeerks had whispered in the Pool about it for weeks, envious of the features this body would have, and nervous of the sub-Visser it would belong to. She had come from the Hork-Bajir world, and had gained her status through interrogating… torturing… suspected rebel Yeerks.

My human body shuddered involuntarily. Thankfully, the others were too distracted by Rachel's news to notice. This was information I needed to keep to myself.

"Right. Well, we'll just have to go to where you lost him as roaches and do our best to carry on from there," Jake was saying. He was matter-of-fact, but I could hear the anxiety underlying his tone. "We have to wait for Ax, but the sooner we can get down there, the better. Aftran? Rachel? Can you reach him with thought-speak?"

(I'll try,) I responded.

After five minutes of calling, though, it was clear he was out of range.

(Let's just get down there!) Rachel exclaimed. (Aftran can tell Ax where we've gone. We don't have time for this!)

Jake shook his head. "No. We don't know what's going to be down there. We need our full firepower. And Ax is the best if we need to crack any codes or passwords to find Tobias. We'll have to wait for him."

(I'll keep calling,) I promised. (At least that way we can get him to hurry back as soon as he comes in range.)

It was a long and anxious wait. Cassie scuffed a shoe against the ground, while I flicked the end of my thumb against my index finger, worried that at any moment I would be missed from the meeting and a Controller would come looking for me. It seemed like years before I heard Aximili's answering voice. He stayed hidden out of sight at the edge of the woods while the others morphed into cockroaches and went to meet him.

I watched them enter the tunnel. Unable to participate, I hurried back to the main meeting, anxious. I had hoped my re-entry would go unnoticed: I didn't want anyone to note the direction I'd returned from. Unfortunately, however, Jazira spotted me the instant I reappeared.

"Karen!" she exclaimed, hurrying over to me. "I thought you must have gone home. Where did you disappear off to?"

"I just wanted some of my own space," I mumbled, trying to look upset and hoping she wouldn't pry too much.

"I understand," she nodded, her voice soft and her eyes inviting me to continue.

It was strange to see the Sharing from an uninfested host's perspective. It had never been completely clear to me why they flocked to it the way they did, but I'd been even more confused that so many happily submitted even after the nature of the Yeerks had been explained to them. But I understood a little better now. Jazira's face, voice, everything about her demeanour invited trust. She clearly knew what she was doing.

I didn't rise to the bait, though, remaining silent instead.

"Do you want to come and sit back down?" She asked. "Or we could go play table tennis or something?"

I considered my options quickly. Table tennis would mean we were less likely to talk, hopefully avoiding any awkward questions about who I was, or where I lived. "A game sounds good," I responded.

"Great."

I discovered my new body wasn't the best co-ordinated, as I lost repeatedly, even managing to hit the ball behind me at one point. However, the physical activity and the concentration it required distracted me, at least a little, from thinking about what might be happening to the Animorphs.

"I don't think I'll ever be a professional table tennis player," I joked.

Jazira smiled. "Well, neither will I. Do you want to play again?"

I shook my head. "I think we both already know what the outcome will be."

I was beginning to become anxious. The Sharing meeting was winding up, and most of the non-members had already gone home. Controllers cleared away glasses, folded tablecloths and were starting to take the furniture back inside. The Animorphs had hoped that the mission would be over quickly, and I'd been instructed to hang around the Sharing meeting as long as possible, just in case I was needed. However, it would soon become impossible for me to stay any longer. I had expected it might take them a little longer to find Tobias with Rachel having lost him so early, but it was even longer than I had anticipated.

I took the decision. "I'd probably best be heading off."

"Please don't feel you have to," Jazira said instantly, perhaps sensing my reluctance.

"It's getting pretty late."

She nodded. "Long past my daughter's bedtime," she said, nodding to the child who was half-asleep on a nearby chair. "Where's home? Will you be able to get there OK?"

I gave her the name of the neighbourhood the Chee lived in, and said I would be fine. I knew there was one more bus I could get, though if I stayed much longer I would probably miss it. I didn't want to be relying on a Sharing member for a lift.

"I've just moved there," I said, embellishing my story a little. "Foster parents."

Jazira nodded understandingly. "Mmm," she said, letting me know she was listening without preventing me from continuing.

I didn't, however. "Thanks for hanging out with me," I said.

"No, thank you for your company," Jazira said. "I hope you'll come again, you're a lot of fun to hang out with."

After we finished saying our goodbyes, I anxiously made my way back to the Chee house. What would happen to me if the Animorphs were successfully captured? Were the Chee strong enough to hold back Yeerk forces? Could they even attempt to do so, with their programming? I was already wondering whether it had been wise to have me around at the meeting at all: several Yeerks would probably now be able to recognise my face, and Jazira's Yeerk certainly would. I could only hope that the Animorphs would be successful, and return alive and unharmed.