SSJ Claire : I know it's been awhile. I had a bit of a writers block plus I've been busy. This is chapter mostly dedicated to explaining things , but I kept it interesting as I could , without the usual boring step by step facts. It's longer than my other chapters , but I think you'll like it. Enjoy.

I plunged into the shadows of the forest as quickly as I could. It was work though , with Sabrina getting weaker and weaker. Almost all of her weight was on me now. At least she stopped bleeding some.

What I was really concerned about was our enemy.

" Will he follow us?" I asked breathlessly.

" I hope not. It doesn't look like he will this time." she answered. "We've been lucky so far. Come to think of it , YOU have been lucky so far. But we'll talk about that later."

Her voice was fading on me.

" Sabs!" I cried in alarm. " Or Asura , if that's you're real name. Stay with me. Tell me where I have to go."

" Not far." she gasped. " See that clump of trees? The big one over there."

It was a big tree. A huge oak tree from the look f it. Hard to tell in the dark.

"What of it?"

" Bring me over to it."

I brought her closer so that she could touch it. She raised her fist and knocked hard on the trunk. You'll hardly believe it I'm sure , but try to stay with me. A portion of the bark swung open like it was attached by a hinge. Inside was a panel that I could not see , but when she pressed her hand against it glowed a brilliant blue , in the shape of a hand print. Every little line , print , and contour of her hand lit up.

I had not a doubt that if there was anything false to detect , this device would.

" Don't freak out , but I have to morph , and demorph again to heal myself." Sabrina said.

" What?" I said , confused.

She looked at me apologetically. " Sorry. I wanted to wait until I explained more , but this is killing me. Just let go of my waist - gently."

I let go and she sank to her knees. I couldn't see well in the dark , but I knew that she was changing again. And suddenly the shadow against the blue light informed me that the snow leopard was back. Then she reversed the change and was Sabrina gain.

She took my arm. " Now stand with me over here." I hesitated. I looked at her eyes trying to decide whether I could trust her. I realized then that I had never noticed that her eyes weren't just blue. There was a tinge of violet right around the edges. You wouldn't have seen it if you weren't looking for it , but it was there.

" Your eyes." I said , just above a whisper.

" Yes , they are Mendelite eyes." Then added with a bitter smile , " As you have guessed by now , I haven't been completely honest about who I am."

" You're ..you're not human either , are you?" I stammered in disbelief.

" In a sense you can say we are related." she said with an understanding smile. " But no, I can't claim the same race as you."

I tried to back away , but she had my arm.

" I wasn't dishonest with you because I wanted it that way. I swear it." There was a trace of a hurt look in her eyes. " And if you walk away now you'll never survive on your own. I'm not being cruel , or condescending , and I'm not lying either. But on your own with their force bent full tilt on finding you , they WILL find you. I know Visser Three. He will never stop looking. You may have noticed the guy's not playing with a full deck."

I almost laughed despite everything. It was such a Sabrina thing to say. But I kept my guard up. " Say I refuse and they catch me. Then what? What can they do that's not worse than what they've already done to me? I've lost everything."

My voice was shaking , like one trying very hard to control one's emotions. I had been so distracted with escaping that the full weight of what was happening had not yet hit me.

" Well you haven't lost just everything yet. You have your freedom." She looked seriously into my face.

I tried to work out what she could mean by that.

" And if they caught you , you'd be lucky if they just killed you. But most likely you'd end up like your parents."

There was a long silence as she let that sink in. I felt like the blood in my veins had turned to water.

" But if you come with me , you have a chance to save yourself. Maybe even save your parents." she continued softly. " We can go where it's safe , and talk more comfortably."

I hesitated. Then I thought of my parents still unconscious. Still heard my fathers voice as he spoke over my bed , begging whatever unseen force was there to leave me alone. I thought of that creature , Visser Three.

I nodded. " Okay."

We stepped a little distance from the light. Then all of a sudden it became very bright and I felt myself being drawn upward.

" Drop shaft - well kind of." I heard Sabrina's voice explain.

And suddenly we were out of the chilly , dark forest. We were now in a lit room , and it was warm. The walls were a soft , yellow. There was a fire place right in front of me and a fire was crackling away. A television was in the right corner. The was a red rung on the floor. There were two leather sofas. Sabrina gestured for me to sit on one.

To say I was amazed was a bit of and understatement. " How - ?"

She smiled proudly. " Mostly holograms. But some this is built on the actual branches of a tree. The big one you saw. It is our home. We like to be close to the sky."

" We?" I asked.

She sighed like someone who has a long story to tell but doesn't know where to begin. She flopped down into the opposite couch. " The other Mendelites like me. You know some of them. But I won't call them until I've explained a few things. Don't need them having a fit."

" Sabrina , or do I call you Asura?" I said uncertainly.

" Don't use my real name. It's bad enough that Visser Three knows it. Use my human name."

" Okay , Sabrina then." I said. " What happened to my parents? Who is Visser Three? What is a Yeerk?"

She bit her lip. " I suppose I'll start like this. A Yeerk is basically what you call a parasite. A large gray slug. They live in a place called the Yeerk Pool and feed on Kandrona rays every 3 days."

" Kandrona?" I asked.

"The rays of their own sun , their food. They must have it every three days or they starve." she said. " Should be helpless , harmless. But they infest other species by the ear canal , getting into their brain and controlling them. They have already conquered the Taxxons and the Hork-Bajir. And of course their own Gedds. But now they're after humans."

I leapt to my feet as I realized the truth behind the change in my parents. What it must be. But I wanted to deny it.

" No! They can't just come in and - someone would notice!"

" Melissa ," Sabrina said very slowly and calmly. " They infest other species. Think. In the brain they know everything the host knows. The perfect actors. No secrets once they have you. Even people like you , who do become suspicious - could you have ever drawn the conclusion to this? Could you?"

I sat down and buried my face in my hands. This was not happening to me.

" They are slaves to the Yeerk Empire. It's harsh , but you need to understand. The most total slaves you could have , because even their own thoughts do not belong to them. Technologically , they are superior to you. Every ship they own has cloaking technology. Radar won't get it , no kind of sensor you humans posses will get it."

She paused. " There's also something else you deserve to know. It was not willing on your father's part. They already had your mother. He intended to fight rather than become a slave , but went along with them in the end , because he made the Visser promise not to hurt you. He wanted to protect you."

My cheeks were wet. The tears had been sliding silently and I didn't even notice.

Sabrina reached out and touched my shoulder. " I know it's hard to accept. Fate has dealt you a nasty hand of cards. It has to all of us. I was fifteen years old! Fifteen. And one day a bunch of officers from both our and the Andalite military just walked into our classroom one day and announced we were leaving to be trained for this war. I was terrified. Me and my friends were all led to one ship , and a bunch of other people our age and older into another."

She paused and I looked up at her. She had her eyes closed as though she was fighting not to cry also. But she continued , " We received a message only a month after training. We had to rejoin the Andalite Dome Ship that had been planning to fight along side us."

" I don't know what you mean when you say andalite." I admitted confused.

" They look like Visser Three's host body. He's the only one who has an Andalite." she explained.

" Are the andalites good , then?" I asked.

She winced. " I'll put it to you this way. You have bad humans and good humans. You have bad andalites and good andalites. They're a little on the arrogant side , but most are alright."

" Did you find the Dome Ship?" I asked.

She let out a bitter laugh and I knew I was going to wish I hadn't asked. " Oh yes. We found them alright. Crippled and half holding onto life support."

I felt sorry for them , despite the fact I'd never met an Andalite. " Oh my God! What happened?"

" The Yeerks laid a trap for us. Yeerk intelligence found out our plan somehow. Either they were lucky or something leaked out." She looked angry. " They didn't deserve to die. Not that group of Andalites , the only ones willing to fight alongside us. Alongside the 'aliens'."

She rolled her eyes and gave me a knowing look.

" The Blade Ship was there." she said growing solemn again. " Visser Three blasted what was left of them away right in front of us."

" What's that guy's problem?!" I snapped angrily.

" Oh , the Yeerks hate the Andalites Melissa. They hate everyone who tries to stop them." she said. " And we just two small war cruisers. Well , small compared to the Blade ship. More forces were supposed to come , but I don't know what happened to them. Me and my friends escaped on a small freighter. We were basically sitting ducks , but our cloaking technology saved us. We made it here."

" Only you?" I was shocked.

"Maybe more survived." She smiled sadly. " Just us five. As far as I know. No great warriors. Half trained cadets. A guerilla faction , not an army. Sorry Melissa."

I felt some of my resentment of Sabrina for not telling me everything ebb away. " It's okay. I - I'm glad you didn't die. Sabrina . If my parents are .."

" Human controllers."

" That. I can't , (I mean not that I'd be dumb enough ,) go home." I said , half hoping her to prove me wrong.

She looked sadder than I'd ever seen her. " No."

" I see." I said softly. " But there's something in my room I need to get. Something precious."

She nodded. " I understand. But wait a while first. At least until you've met the others and things have calmed down a bit."

" That makes sense." I agreed reluctantly. " I'll wait."