Chapter 17

We chose to meet at the "Animorph's" choose of gathering. After all, we wanted to gain as much trust as we needed from these humans. Andalites didn't trust us at all and vise versa. The humans and I didn't get off the right foot, but Tobias was an exception. He saw a part of me not too many peoples did. He was lucky to be alive. His report to Jake may have gained more trust than what we started off with.

The place we met out was called "the barn." The young human, Cassie and her parents owned a wildlife rehabilitation center. This was were this little guerilla force had most of their meetings. It was a good spot. It was very private. We were waiting on Rattrap he was busy receiving a report from Trim right before we were ready to leave.

"I have a question," Rachel said, breaking the silence. She looked at him. "You had to chance to kill the Visser yesterday and you didn't, why?"

"Last time I fought the Visser he morphed into some type of monster," I said. "I had to worry about the fact if my comrades who were with me if they were safe or not."

"We obviously weren't ," Jessi pointed out.

"I can kill Visser Three at any given moment," I pointed out. "But I have to do it when I'm alone. I can't fight him at full force because I will endanger the lives of the others around me. I don't want anyone getting hurt if they don't have to."

"What's about your second encounter?" Marco asked skeptically.

I glared at him do only a few moments.

"That's when he kicked your ass right?"

"I'll kicks yours to the moon if you don't watch your tongue," I growled.

"Chill, Rip," Copper said.

I leaned back and gave him the okay. He did my speaking when I wasn't up to it.

"Rip's second encounter with Visser Three was unexpected," he explained. "Rip and the other's were on vacation for the first and only times in their lives sense they were twelve, I might add. Visser Three had taken from Sanalite scientist a new thing called ki ropes. It absorbed the ki energy you used to try and escape and shoot it back at you. Rip was in the ki grasp helpless."

"How did the ropes get on her to begin with?" Jake questioned

Copper looked at me, unsure of the answer.

"I'll finish that," I told him. "Visser Three found my one weakness before I did. It's also my one strength and that's my soul."

"You're soul?"

"I have only recently did research on why I haven't been able to enter a house of Yaweh," I explained. "Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim and what ever religion other planets worship him in, I don't care because I don't. It's because my soul is one way are another that of a demon. It was made clear to me when my first encounter with the Visser lead me into a church and the angel Michael attacked me calling me 'demon woman'. Whether I believe I'm this demon woman or not is totally not in reason right now. But I do know, my DNA contains sorcery. Simply by my eye color. There is no other sorcery in my family so the ancient books suggest that my soul is an incarnation of a higher life-force. Visser Three through holy water on me. Millions of gallons of it. It nearly burned my skin off. That's how he got the ropes on me. I would've been dead if it wasn't for my knight and shining armor." I teased Copper and batted my eyes at him. I could him blush.

That's quite a story, Aximili said. It's merely your theory of course?

"Correct," I replied. "No matter how unlogical it sounds, it's the only explanation I have right now."

"You're people just keep getting weirder and weirder don't ya'll?" Marco asked. "I wouldn't be surprised if you'd all be put in a freak show."

"Are you saying I'm a freak?!" I demanded.

"Settle down," Silverbolt said. "He doesn't know."

I snorted at him. True, the term freak disgusted me whenever it was directed to my friends and I. Afterall, what was so horrible about having special powers? "Don't make the mistake again, human. Towards any of us."

"So answer my question," Rachel said. "Why didn't you kill the Visser right there?"

"There was a chance where lives that weren't meant to be taken would have been taken," I replied. "If it's just the Visser and I , then only one life will be taken."

"I'm guessing you're not going to be that life," Jake said. "I have to admit you through Rachel and Reubren off you like she was a stuffed animal. What else can you do, other than make threats?"

"Basically, I'm the fastest and strongest known living creature at this moment known in the universe," I replied. "By body is capable of sustaining even more Ki energy than that of a saiyajin, and they live on Ki energy. The only thing I can't do is change the past."

"You're not as strong as the Ellimist, but then again, you're willing to do whatever it takes to kill the Visser. Directly I might add," he said.

Prince Jake, Aximilli said. You don't honestly think that teaming up with this Everstin will end the Yeerk war here. She is here for her own revenge and is willing to use you in anyway she needs possible. When she is finished she'll leave us high and dry with the rest of the Yeerk force to fight on our own.

"I'll make you a deal," I said. "Being the fact, that I am not all that anxious to get back home, we'll stay and help you drive off those nasty little slugs off your planet if you help me get close to the Visser. We'll take him from the bottom up. Starting from the host here and walking our way up to the mother ship and I'll crush his worthless body in my grasp."

I think I know why you didn't really kill the Visser when you had a chance, Tobias told me privately. As soon as you kill him, you have to go back home, and you don't want to go back home.

I gave a casual nod as if not to be suspicious of the others.

This is obserb! Reubren cried. He had had been the fartherest away from me. Prince Jake, teaming up with this monster will only certain our deaths!

"Brother Andalite," Silverbolt said. "You are clearly being far to rational. I assure you that Copper here will make sure that the only person Rip kills has a Yeerk in their head."

I felt my face flush and I could see Copper's do the same.

"Oh, I see," Melissa giggled. "You two are the objects of each other affection."

"No!" We both snapped at the same time. Then we both exchanged glances surprised by both of us. Just what were we too each other. After my experience I had had, I wasn't thrilled about letting anyone touching. That included Copper.

She chuckled again. "Okay, okay, don't get edgy."

"Yea, Melissa and Reubren knows what it's like to have messed up relationships," Marco pointed out. "That goes for Rachel and Tobias as well."

"Marco!"

Marco!

I cleared my throat. "We're not here to discuss our personal relationships with other people," I snorted. "Jake, do you accept my offer?"

He nodded. "That I do Rip Raptor. Consider us partners."

"Great!" I clapped my hand together and stood up. "Now if you would so kindly show my to the nearest shopping mall I will be quite happy."

"Shopping mall?" Rachel questioned.

"Of course hun," I replied, "This chicha is no fashion victium."

"Don't get to happy guys."

"Oh, hey Rat Trap, I'd thought you'd never join us," I said. "So what's the news?"

"New rules on Trium, on behalf of Cray," he said. "Seems he's just about taken control of the whole planet while we were gone."

"What?"

"Midtransformation is now banned."

"What?!" We all demanded at the same time.

"Only in life threatening situations and any license military solider is allowed to use it. It is completely banned from public. If you wish to use it in the privacy of you own home during 'certain times' then you have to have all windows and doors covered and locked. As for us. We have permission to do our forms in battle."

"That is so totally not fair!" Jessie yelled. "It's that ass Cray. He's making it harder and harder for us to get by. He's doing this to us on purpose Rip!"

"No, shit," I replied. My tail twitched. Midtransformation had become so natural for me. It was what I considered my "normal" state. It was all I had. "I know this sounds like I don't care guys, but I really do, buy we can't harp on this right now. We're here on Earth anyway. He can't do anything about it while we're here. We'll have to deal with this new little rule of his once we get home. Right now we have bigger fish to fry."

"She's right," Silverbolt said. "As much as I hate to admit that. I feel so naked without my wings." He gave them a flap making a gust of wind come from them. "But we're not here to gripe on what Trium is committing. We have a job here. And that is to aid M'Lady in killing the Visser. Well, defeat the whole Yeerk fleet on this planet while we're here."

"Hey sounds good to me," Copper said. "I'm in no mood to go back home anytime soon anyway."

"Who is?" Sabra grumbled.

I glanced over and saw Reubren digging his hooves into the ground. Melissa was still trying to calm him down. I didn't blame him for hating me. I had killed his young cousin after all. I was mistaken though. It was an accident. Andalites don't usually roam around in Trium forest. How was I supposed to know he wasn't the Visser at the time? I snorted to myself. Why was I even feeling sorry for it anyway? He was fighting a war. He should be used to death anyway. That's the only thing that comes from war anyway. Death, that is.

"Didn't you say you wanted a mall?" Rachel asked, breaking my thoughts. I almost saw a gleam in her eyes. The girl was like me. She kicked ass, but she was no fashion victum.

"Why not?" I replied. "I need a break anyway." I let my midtransformation melt to the humble form. "Let's see if humans have any fashion sense."

"Do you know what amazes me about ya'll?" Cassie brought forth.

"What's that?"

"You're cultural background, the way you act, the way you dress, the way you speak," she pointed out. "It's not much different from the way we humans are. You are so much more different form Andalites but not so different form us. Even our physical forms aren't that different from each other, and yet we're light years apart from each other without any knowledge of who each of us is."

"That's not hard to explain," Silverbolt replied to her. "Everstins, humans, Mendalite, Sanalites, Saiyajins, Noxes, and many races other than that are all connected through a common bond."

"What's that?" Jake asked.

"Yaweh."

"Yaweh?"

"The entity you call 'God'," I replied with a certain grim in my voice. Silverbolt knows better than to talk about Yaweh in my presence. I suppose it was ness Cary. "While you explain to the humans that little Everstine legend of ours. I am going to shopping. Who ever wants to accompany me. They can" I walked out that building, feeling even more disgusted than any other times I had thought about Yaweh. The fact that I was being used as a pawn on a chest board didn't at all thrill me.