Author's Note: Argh! Freaking formatting... Any tips on how to stop it from messing up all the work I've done would be appreciated. And, yes, right now, it's rewriting, but it's just the first book so far, and there's major exposition to get through. I already have a new plot line ready, but it will take a while for me to get there. Stay patient, and if you have a keen eye, you'll already note minor changes.
Oh, and XXMBogan, the Creator only gave them the option to change things from the beginning. They may have wanted to just bring Rachel back, but the option of THAT wasn't available.
Oh, and P.S. Yay me! Getting this chapter finished before a year has passed!
Oh, but I'm lazy...
Chapter 7
Cassie
I was frightened, and frozen with fear. Usually, people just say things like that for attention, but this is the truth.
The Hork-Bajir pointed his weapon around, and jerked his head around, trying to find us.
Silence!> the Andalite warned. Hork-Bajir do not see well in the darkness, but their hearing is excellent.
The Hork-Bajir moved closer still. He was six feet away now, with just the low wall between us. I couldn't believe he couldn't hear my heart pounding. Maybe it didn't know what it was.
If you really thought you were brave, then I think you should be in the same place I was, facing death at the hands of a monster who could possibly turn you into coleslaw in just a couple of seconds.
Then the Andalite spoke again. Courage, my friends.>
And then a warm feeling came over me. I can't really describe it, just tell you that there was less... I wouldn't say fear, since I was still scared out of my wits and still arguing with myself over whether or not this was a dream, but I wasn't panicking.
Finally the Hork-Bajir moved away.
Something else came out of the Blade Ship.
Peaking over the top of the wall, I saw the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons turn to face the Blade ship.
"They're standing at attention," Jake whispered. I glanced over to see him doing the same as me.
"How can you tell?" Marco whispered. "Who knows when a jelly-eyed centipede or a walking salad shooter from hell is standing at attention?"
And then HE appeared.
Visser Three, the Andalite said.
I got it.
Visser Three was an Andalite.
Or rather, Visser Three was an Andalite-Controller.
"What the... Isn't that an Andalite?" Rachel asked.
Only once has a Yeerk been able to take an Andalite body. There is only one Andalite-Controller. That one is Visser Three, the Andalite explained.
Visser Three walked confidently towards the Andalite- the actual Andalite. The Visser was so similar to the Andalite that I couldn't tell them apart at first.
But the Visser FELT different. He felt evil. What's more, it was almost physical, the evil of the Visser.
Well, well,> the Visser said.
My eyes widened and I swear, I nearly died there.
"Can he hear our thoughts?" I asked.
"If he can, we are SO dead, I don't even want to think about it," Rachel whispered.
Unless you direct your thoughts to him, he will not hear you,> the Andalite explained. You hear his thoughts because he is broadcasting for them all to hear. This is a great victory, for both the Yeerks, and himself.> The Andalite's words would have been spat if he were human.
What have we here? A meddling Andalite?> Visser Three looked closely at the Andalite's ship. Ah, but no ordinary Andalite warrior. Prince Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul, if I am not mistaken. An honor to finally meet you.> There was something in the Visser's tone that suggested they did already know each other, and was attempting to antagonize the Andalite. You're a legend. How many of our fighters have you shredded? Seven? Or was it eight by the time the battle ended?>
Somehow, I think it was more than eight.
The very last Andalite in this sector of space. Yes, I'm afraid your Dome Ship has been completely destroyed. I watched it burn as it fell into the atmosphere of this little world.>
There will be others,> the Andalite said.
The Visser took a step closer to the Andalite. Yes, and when they come, it will be too late. This world will be mine. My own contribution to the Yeerk Empire. Our greatest conquest. And then, I'll be Visser ONE.>
What do you want with these humans?> the Andalite asked. You have your Taxxon allies. You have your Hork-Bajir slaves. And other slaves from other worlds. Why these people?>
Because there are so many, and they are so weak,> the Visser sneered. Billions of bodies! And they have no idea what's happening. With this many hosts, we can spread throughout the universe, unstoppable! Billions of us. We'll have to build a thousand new Yeerk pools just to raise Yeerks for half of this number of bodies. Face it, Andalite, you have fought well and bravely. But you have lost.>
Visser Three stepped right up to the Andalite. The Andalite's fear swept over me, but rather than cower, he fought the pain of his wound and climbed to his feet. He knew he was going to die. He wanted to die on his feet, looking his enemy in the face.
But the Visser wasn't done taunting his foe. I promise you one thing, Prince Elfangor. When we have this planet, with its rich harvest of bodies, we will move against the Andalite homeworld. I will personally hunt down your family. And I will personally oversee the placement of my most faithful lieutenants in their heads. I hope that they will resist, so that I can hear their minds scream.>
The Andalite struck!
His tail whipped up and over, so fast I didn't really see it. The Visser twisted his head aside. The Andalite's tail blade missed the Visser's head by a bare half-inch. But it sliced into his shoulder. Blood- or something blood-like- sprayed from the wound.
"Yes!" I heard Jake hiss.
"That was awesome," Greg murmured in awe.
The Visser howled in pain.
At the same moment, a blinding beam of blue light shot from the tail of the Andalite's ship. It sliced into the nearest Bug fighter. Hork-Bajir and Taxxons scattered.
Even crouching behind the wall, I could feel a wave of scorching heat. The Bug fighter sizzled and disappeared.
Fire!> the Visser screamed. Burn his ship!>
The night exploded in blinding light. Red beams lanced from the Blade ship and the remaining Bug fighter. The Andalite ship glowed, and, with a strange slowness, disintegrated.
Then, in the flash and glow, I saw... humans, back in the shadows behind the Visser.
"There are people over there," Greg whispered.
"Are they prisoners?" Marco asked.
Take the Andalite. Hold him for me.> My attention returns to the Visser.
Three Hork-Bajir grabbed the Andalite and held him down. Their wrist blades were at his throat, but they knew better than to kill him.
That was Visser Three's honor.
Then we saw why a Yeerk as powerful as Visser Three would inhabit the only captured Andalite body. As we watched, Visser Three began to morph.
His Andalite head grew larger. The four horselike legs merged into two and then expanded, each leg becoming as big around as a redwood tree. The Andalite arms sprouted and became tentacles.
"This isn't real," I told myself. "This isn't real."
In the Visser's hideously bloated head, a mouth appeared. It was filled with teeth as long as your arm, and it grew wider and wider, becoming a monstrous, terrifying grin.
There was nothing left of the Andalite body. A monster was now in the center of the construction site.
The Visser let out a horrible roar which shook the ground.
I covered my ears and whimpered.
The Visser right now made the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons look as harmless as the frozen grasshoppers my Dad would feed to the animals at our barn.
With that thought in my head, I was afraid I'd never see my Dad again.
The Visser reached out with a thick tentacle and grabbed the Andalite by the neck.
"No, no, no," I whispered.
"Don't look," Rachel said. She put her arm around my shoulder and held me close. Then she reached for Tobias and took his hand.
Visser Three lifted the Andalite straight up in the air, tearing him from the grasp of the Hork-Bajir. The Andalite prince struck again and again with his tail, but it did no good against whatever the Visser was.
Visser Three held the Andalite high in the air.
And then, Visser Three opened his mouth wide.