Author's note: After a long hiatus, I decided to try and pick this story up again.

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Rachel

I came to still in my grizzly morph with no idea how long I'd been unconscious. I was alone in what looked like an enormous pet carrier. It was a large, rectangular box, seemingly made of cheap plastic. Even Chapman can't be that stupid, I thought to myself. One swipe at a wall of my prison confirmed that thought. My razor-sharp claws didn't even leave a scratch. There were air holes in the crate. Surely they were protected by some kind of alien force field? But no, I stuck one claw right through one. I looked at the room beyond through one of the circular air holes. Fluorescent lights cast a sickly green glow on a dirty linoleum floor and white cinderblock walls. The room had an institutional feel, like the school cafeteria. To my left a metal desk sat in one corner, gathering rust. To my right was a steel door. There were no surveillance cameras I could see. Maybe I could just morph something small and—

The door swung open, and in walked my best friend since second grade. Or at least, she used to be. Melissa and I had grown steadily apart since middle school. These days she was always busy with yearbook and photography club, and I…well nothing eats up your spare time like saving the world from an alien invasion. Apparently Melissa had gotten into other extracurricular activities too.

"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you to demorph or die," the Controller said to me. She circled my box.

"Ultimatums so rarely work in these situations. You can just rot in there until you're stuck as a bear forever. Your little friends will come charging in to save the day, of course, but I'll take them too." She continued to rattle away with typical Yeerk arrogance about how the situation would unfold. I guess Yeerks don't get a lot of socializing time because she would not shut up. I tuned her out and tried to think about escape. It seemed like it should be ridiculously easy. I hoped Tobias wouldn't bother trying to save me. I could be out of here in ten minutes.

At least, that's what I thought until I tuned back into Melissa's endless monologue.

"…because we both know, don't we, that you're just a human. And only 17 years old at most. I can't believe the Visser hasn't caught on by now!"

I stopped probing the air holes and sat down hard. My old schoolmate noticed.

"Oh yes, I know your little secret kid. Did you think this whole charade was really about infesting your whole stupid class? Of course, that's what I had to tell the Visser and the others. Not that they could be bothered to spare any competent personnel for this farce. I spent weeks convincing daddy Chapman this was a good idea. And I couldn't tell any of them what I know. Those who even suggest the Visser's precious 'Andalite Bandits' aren't really Andalites end their careers as Taxxon food, especially lowly triple-digits like me. I wouldn't be surprised if Chapman told everyone this was his idea." She grumbled that last part mostly under her breath.

No wonder she was chatty. This Yeerk had delusions of grandeur. We'd found out from several of our missions that low-ranking Yeerks tend to be a little unscrewed. All that pent-up ambition and no place to go. And the Yeerk military doesn't have any worker appreciation days, I guess.

"A few dozen new hosts is just a bonus." She stopped finally and stared at me. Trying to read my reaction. Stupid nutcase, I thought to myself. Hadn't she ever seen James Bond? Villains should never reveal their evil plans.

My mind raced. How much did Melissa really know? Did it matter? As long as the Visser was in charge, no one could question his beliefs and opinions. Initiative was not a prized quality among his employees, we'd noticed. But if Melissa was using this little posse of Yeerks to get proof…

I tried to block her from my mind and focus on escape. Whatever she knew, I couldn't do anything about it until I got out of the box. My jail was about six feet high. The air holes ringed the top foot of wall space. If I ducked down, maybe I could demorph without her seeing. Risky, but she couldn't be sure I was human. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

I looked out, trying to see what Melissa was doing. I came eye to eye, almost literally, with my captor looking back through the hole at me. I didn't flinch, and neither did she.

"And once my host's father and the rest of your teachers get back, your little group will be destroyed," she hissed in my face. "I'll get a promotion, of course, because you see, I know something that pathetic rabble doesn't."

Call it a premonition, but before she'd even said it, I started demorphing.

"See, it's why I don't care if you demorph or not. Because I know exactly who you really are, Rachel."

She chuckled, then moved rapidly to out of control laughter.

"Remember in second grade when Miss Tam caught us playing with slap bracelets on the playground?? Melissa does! Oh my best friend in the whole world! Let's exchange 'BFF' necklaces and call each other on the phone EVERY DAY!" she shrieked manically. That sealed it. This Yeerk was nuts.

A chill ran through my veins, but it was almost immediately replaced with a shot of adrenaline. I shed the last remnants of bear and stood on my tip-toes so I could look my old friend in the eye again. Instead of fear or frustration, a cold-blooded calm overtook me. All emotions drained, leaving my thoughts clear. Because as bad as Melissa's discovery was for me and the other Animorphs, she'd revealed two things during her long-winded rant that extinguished any traces of trepidation in me.

One: she was the only one who knew exactly who I was. She was keeping the information secret so she could look good for her superiors.

Two: she was here at the compound alone. Everyone else was out hunting Marco, Ax, and my civic values class.

It was so easy. Eliminate Melissa, and I eliminated the problem.