THE DISEASE: Chapter One

The next morning after school, Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Marco and Ax were sitting in Cassie's barn and doing nothing in particular. Marco was sitting on a haystack reluctantly doing his homework.

"Rachel, how do you spell 'reluctant'?" he asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes and reluctantly answered.

"Where could Tobias be?" Jake questioned suddenly, as he looked up into the Tobias-free blue sky.

Marco snorted, not looking up from his homework. "He's probably eating a mouse or flying over now. He'll be here any minute, don't worry."

Cassie looked at the others and said, "You don't suppose the Yeerks found him while he was watching them, do you?"

Marco shook his head. "No way!"

"Yes way!"

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice to see Erek, their android friend, standing in the doorway.

"Ah, I see. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." Ax commented.

Jake stared at him. "What?"

"I saw it on Earth cable television last night. It's about two youngsters who go back in time in a time travelling phone booth, though it is scientifically impossible to insert such advanced components in such limited space..."

"Ax, I think you've been watching too much TV." Jake turned his attention back to Erek. One thing about androids was that they could throw up a holograph around themselves. Underneath, they really looked like huge canines.

"Well?"

"I saw them capture Tobias."

"No! They couldn't have."

"They did," Erek confirmed.

It took a while for the truth to sink in, then Rachel spoke. "But if they captured him and infested him with a Yeerk..."

Jake nodded slowly. "Yes... they would know who we are."

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Tobias looked as far around the Blade Ship as he could from his cage. It was full of weird machines that hummed and buzzed as Taxxons worked at their controls to get the huge ship into the air. Several Hork-Bajir walked around calling up display screens and shouting commands to the Taxxons, threatening to shoot those who disobeyed.

Visser Three moved towards Tobias in his stolen Andalite body, his tail arched over his back like a scorpion.

Tobias asked.

The Visser laughed.

The Visser walked out of the room, and a while later was back with a strange looking contraption in his hand.

If Visser Three had a mouth, he would have smirked.

Panicky thoughts started surging through Tobias' mind as the Visser stuck the toginry through the cage bars. What could be in that syringe?

He winced as the syringe's liquid entered his bloodstream. The last thing Tobias saw was Visser Three's sneering face... and then darkness closed in again.

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TO BE CONTINUED