Chapter 3

A/N: This is an extra long chapter... My mother helped me to type this chapter that is why you get to read this chapter so soon.

Disclaimer: the characters are KA's.

Claimer: kelbrids are half mine. Istram is totally mine!

When I woke up, I was in a cage. The first thought which came into my mind: Are my two hours up yet? I'm in hork-bajir morph and I don't want to become a nothlit again!

A familiar scream broke my thoughts, and I took more notice of my surroundings. I was at a yeerk pool.

They were going to infest me! The thought struck me as I saw two kelbrids pushing Jeanne's head into the pool.

Jake, who had just been infested walked pass my cage.

"Don't worry Tobias. Everything will be alright." He/ the yeerk said softly.

"Yeerk. What have you done to my friends," I said coldly.

"You'll understand later," Jake/ the yeerk replied, walking off.

I was the last to be infested. Two Kelbrids came, unlocked my cage and flew me to the pool's edge. But not without a struggle.

"You won't get me!" I screamed.

"Ghock-bajirs ghave ears," one of the kelbrids said.

It took me a moment to realize that they added a "g" in front of most words.

Their claw's grip was strong. When they landed, one of the kelbrids slapped the back of my head.

I was caught unaware and fell forwards as they pushed my head into the sludge of the pool.

Yeerks. I felt a burning hatred for them at that moment, stronger than ever before.

As the yeerk crawled in, I felt a terrible pain in my ear. A stream of bubbles escaped from my mount as I tried to scream.

The yeerk entered my head. I could feel it take control of my free will. It probed my memories and looked into my every thought and feeling.

The kelbrids released their hold on me and the yeerk calmly lifted my head out of the water, as if nothing had happened. I/the yeerk stood up, demorphed into a hawk and remorphed human.

(Don't struggle or fight back. I'll explain everything to you later) the yeerk said.

The rage I had contained for a few months had reached its peak. I exploded in anger, (Explain! What use is it now that I'm a controller? Get out of my head!)

The yeerk sighed and we walked away from the pool. (Fine. I'll tell you as much as I can now. I'm Istram nine-four-double-one. I am one of tho-)

(What does your explaination have got to do with anything? I can't stand you and I don't want to listen to you!) I interrupted hotly.

(Just listen will you? Here I am, trying to be nice and you, on the other hand, trying to make things even more difficult for me!) Istram was starting to get angry.

(Oh really. I have a nice yeerk in MY head. Isn't that nice. )

(See! You can still be sarcastic! It's not like us yeerks have a choice do we? In our normal form, we are blind, deaf and dumb! We're not trying to enslave you creatures! It's just that we want a better life!) Istram was really worked up. Then, he added darkly, (well at least some of us are not like him).

I fell silent, and, not to my surprise, manage to "see" a few of the yeerk's thoughts and feelings.

(You are a visser. And you're going to see The One now,) I said.

(That's right) Istram replied as we came to a doorway.

He waved my hand over a lock-pad as the door slid open. We walked in and the door slid close behind us.

The rest of the animorphs were already there.

"Ah.... I see you've FINALLY arrived, visser six," The One drawled.

(That's a high position, eh?) I said, trying to irritate Istram.

Istram gave me a mental glare and replied, "Yes, Master, The One."

"Take a seat," The One said, grinning evilly.

Istram shuddered and sat.

(You don't seem to like him) I noted.

(Nobody does.)

"Now, I assume all of you already know about tomorrow's attack. Time for the details. We will attack in sector 31, cave 11. Any questions?"

Santorelli spoke up, "How are we getting there?"

"You're a fool, Visser Four, a fool. We're going there in the Fleeters," The One's eyes glinted dangerously and his tail started twitching, a sign he was getting angry.

(Fleeters?) I asked.

(Kelbrid light-weight ship. Big enough for three kelbrids or four humans.)

(Oh).

As The One continued speaking, I felt bored. My mind started dreaming, as Istram remained attentive.

Nearing the end of the conversation, I heard The One say, "Visser Two stay behind. Visser Six, go for the BF procedure now. The rest, acquire same different kelbrid morphs. We don't want to be so stupid as to let the non-controllers see two identical kelbrids attacking, do we? Now go!"

All of us left and Jake remained.

(So he's Visser Two,) I said.

(Yes, and Jeanne's Visser 11 and Marco's Visser 9. The BF machine stands for Base Form. And you hoped there were more good yeerks didn't you? I'm one of them. So are Jake's, Marco's and Jeanne's yeerks.) I/Istram walked down a narrow hallway.

(What about Santorelli?)

(Unfortunately, we couldn't find enough good yeerks ready to be promoted to a high Visser position,) Istram told me as we reached another doorway.

Repeating the same hand waving process, we entered a huge room. In the middle was a complicated looking structure. There were like, four bars curving outwards and back in again from the middle of the structure. Right smack in the centre of the structure stood a padded chair. There was a machine attached it and a bar which looked like a perch for the kelbrids extending from the ground in front of the machine.

(This is the BF machine. Your base-form is a hawk right? So with it, we're going to change your base-form to a human. Meaning after the process, you'll acquire DNA in human morph, morph from human to animal and back to human again. You understand?)

(Sounds great...I think.)

(But I'm warning you, it might not work...)

(What! You're putting me through a process which might not work?!) I screamed at Istram.

Istram sighed. (You see the kelbrid have very advanced technology, maybe even more advanced than the Andalites. Most slightly no harm will be done if the process doesn't work. You see, there was once a famous kelbrid scientist. She created a program, when it was installed, in which if the experiment doesn't work, the subject will still be the same. On most occasions, the subject, which is us, will remain exactly the same.)

(Do I trust your word for this?)

(You should learn to,) he told me as he spoke into a speaker. "Calling all BF scientists. Visser six is ready and waiting for the process."

A shuffling sound came out from the speaker and I heard a muffled reply, "Chupo"

(Huh?) I asked.

(That's in Brid, the kelbrid native language. "Chupo" means coming, and, as you've heard earlier, "Ulandir" means weapons and "Sullivan" means sorry.) Istram told me.

(I'm still worried about the process...)

(If it goes wrong, you can worry all you want. If it doesn't work, then don't worry! One in a million experiments go wrong with kelbrids, so why worry?!)

(You mean it can go wrong?!)

(Sigh... some people never understand...) Istram said as three kelbrids entered the room.

Istram gestured to the machine and we headed for the padded chair.

We saw one of the kelbrids fitting a crystal into a small hole in the machine and activating it. Another one keyed in a series of strange letters and the machine started to hum.

We were sitting on the chair when one of the kelbrids started jabbering excitedly and pointing at the machine. Already I started to feel sleepy.

(Oh no... the kelbrids said...yawn...something went...wrong.) Istram struggled to keep awake.

(One in...a....yawn....million....he....said,) I muttered, and with one last yawn, we fell into a worried sleep.

A/N: A cliffie! Me love cliffies! Now review! NOW! Next chapter is back on earth with Cassie.