A/N Hey guys, it's time for the raid on the Yeerk pool so I hope you're all ready since there will be some big changes that you won't be expecting, so sit back and enjoy.


After we had left the Garden, I headed back to my home to make some last-minute preparations and since I didn't have to worry about Cassie being caught, that was one huge weight taken off my shoulders but I still had to be alert for anything to happen when the first battle inside the Yeerk pool went down.

I entered my house, and after I grabbed something to eat, I accessed the 1990s internet through my 21st-century computer so it was simply absurd just how...primitive the internet was back in these days with no Google, no Youtube, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter existing yet so operating online was like running through a demolition derby with an M1 Abrams MBT.

I felt a little proud knowing that I probably have more advanced computers than the entire US Military during this moment in time, something that was tied into my overarching plans for the future because if I had a trillion dollars in my name, then I'm surely going to use most of it to help save the world.

Stage one was simple and that was expansion since now that I had the cube in my possession, I'm in a position where I could recruit more people to the cause of being fellow Animorphs, so I hoped that saving people during tonight's raid might allow us to beef up our roster a bit with more morph-capable humans.

Of course, we had to tread lightly with that since adding too many might tip Visser Three off early that the Andalite Bandits are really humans, which is why the illusion of there being a unit of Andalite shock troops needs to stay up for as long as possible for the sake of the others and their families so if they do decide to bring more into the fold, I will likely convince Jake to place them in roles of recon to gather valuable intel by monitoring known controllers, identifying new ones, as well as Yeerk pool access routes.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg because I didn't just want to recruit a few new morphers, I needed to recruit more than a small resistance group since what earth needed was a real army that could actually hold their own and put the hurt on those Yeerk bastards but it was very apparent that the militaries of 1990s earth would be hard-pressed to fight off the Yeerks once they begin a full-scale invasion, so that needed to be rectified quickly and that meant uplifting their technology a bit.

I couldn't do it since I wasn't a technological genius like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, but I had an idea that could help pull it off and I knew a certain race of robot canines known as the Chee would do it if I could convince them.

From what I know about the Chee, they've been around since ancient Egypt so there had to be at least a few good entrepreneurs among the machine race so they could help me kickstart a corporate entity, which can begin work on steadily upgrading mankind's technology level to a point where they won't get completely demolished by the Yeerks, but the biggest problem was the Chee's pacifistic nature that prevented them from causing any kind of violence but at least they find a way to work around that in Book 10.

Thinking about Book 10 irritated me since even though Erik King saved the Animorphs, he seriously screwed up by swearing off killing entirely before letting Marco lose the Palamite crystal in the beach of all places and didn't even let his fellow Chee make their own decision on the matter.

I could understand that he was unwilling to take a life after what just happened since not everybody is cut out for something like that, but they were at war for the very survival and freedom of humanity so having those kinds of doubts gets everyone around you killed, especially when people need help and you're in a position to do it.

Also, if he was that horrified by the memory of killing others, then he could've had them erased or blocked and he could've uploaded them from the Iskroot to project onto holograms so that they would be erased as well.

It's that reason as to why I've become envious of the Chee since they have the option to erase those memories and forget they ever happened, but we humans don't get that kind of luxury and have to live with the knowledge of killing people or witnessing god awful horrors for the rest of our lives.

The thing is that it may dull away with time but the memories will always be there and despite knowing that, I know that most people would rather die than be slaves to the Yeerks and this was a war we're talking about while I knew perfectly well that war was bloody and horrific, so if I had to kill a few Yeerk-infested controllers to let several more humans or Hork-Bajirs have a chance at freedom, then I was willing to carry that burden all the way to the end if that's what it takes.

I let out a tired sigh as I recalled the number of replicas or monsters I had killed during my only mission in FEAR and the worse thing is that I didn't feel anything when I killed them, not even the slightest emotion of fear or alarm so it made me wonder what kind of person I had become thanks to Armacham and Harlan Wade if I merely saw them as nothing more than obstacles to get past.

Either way, I went back to focusing on continuing my work so that I wouldn't be distracted by the what-ifs as I stared at the schematics for the new bunker since my plan was for me to make contact with the Chee and once I did that, until I can get the Palamite Crystal, I was confident that I could get them to help us build a bunker system around the soon-to-be Hork-Bajir valley.

Basically, the bunker would be an underground base that's similar to the one the Chee had under Erik's house so it would be a place for the Animorphs and their families to take shelter in once everything eventually goes to hell, and even though there were a lot of details to hammer out regarding those, the general idea was simple and practical enough as long as I get the Chee on our side.

I was actually considering tracking down the Chee to get some work done with them early, pulling it off by either using my dog morph to locate a human that didn't have a scent or a wolf spider to see through their holograms but before I could go deeper in that line of thought, the phone rang and I moved to answer it as I picked it up while knowing only a few people knew my number.

"Tobias?" I guessed and was correct a few seconds later.

"Yeah, Jake just called and we're moving out for the school, so you ready?" Tobias asked before I sighed.

"As ready as I'll ever be, and did everyone call in?" I inquired.

"Yeah, everyone else called in and said that they'll meet us, so I'll see you there," Tobias told me and I nodded.

"Will do," I said before I hung up, knowing that I had nothing to worry about now that Cassie was safe from being kidnapped by the controller cop.

Even so, we were going to be walking into a situation where any one of us might die, which is why we can't afford to make any mistakes or people will get killed so I decided that I would have to use my surgical skills with firearms and use of explosives if I wanted us to have an edge against the Yeerks and save as many lives as I can.

With that in mind, I slipped out of my casual clothes and got dressed in a black military uniform with no identifiable marks on it while also wearing black combat boots and gloves as I took a black duffle bag to fill it with a black tactical vest, leg holster, ballistics helmet, balaclava, and weapons that consisted of a standard MP5, small grenade launcher, holstered combat knife, and a Glock 17 while I also put some ammo and grenades in the bag.

I zipped up the bag and slung it over my shoulder as I headed for the door and morphed into the werewolf form, taking off like a bolt of lightning as I moved like a blur through the woods and entered the town so if anyone were to see me, they would assume that their minds were playing tricks on them as I soon arrived at a small patch of trees outside the school and morphed back into my human form before heading to the rendezvous point where the others would be at.

I arrived at where the others were waiting and could see Jake and the others as I got close, then the others saw me and started looking confused as I walked up to them and I noticed Tobias in his hawk morph already, which did not give me a good feeling at all but I ignored it as I placed down the bag and unzipped it before taking out the tactical vest.

"What the fu-" Marco uttered and couldn't even finish his sentence as I slipped on the vest and filled it with ammo while I also attached grenades and the knife on it before I took out the grenade launcher and the other started looking alarmed.

"Jesus, are those grenades and is that a goddamn grenade launcher?! Where the fuck did you get those, Jeremy?!" Jake hissed in disbelief as I strapped my leg holster to my leg and took out the Glock and MP5.

"Not now," I replied quietly as I checked my weapons for any possible malfunctions before I loaded the Glock and holstered it until I also loaded the MP5 and kept the safety on for now as I slung it.

"Jeremy...those weapons, except the handgun, are very illegal to have pretty much anywhere in this country so how the hell did you get your hands on those?" Cassie questioned in shock as I removed the balaclava and the helmet from the bag.

"Look, I know you all have questions, but we have more important things to worry about right now so once we save people from the Yeerk pool and head back to my place, then I'll tell you everything I can," I placated as I covered my head with the balaclava and put the helmet on just as Tobias flew down to land on Rachel's shoulder.

"He's right, we'll have all the time in the world to ask questions later so are we doing this or what?" Tobias asked before we all looked at Jake, who had the final say until he snapped out of it and sighed.

"Yeah, we're doing it but I expect you to give us some answers, Jeremy," Jake told me as his eyes were narrowed and I nodded before we started moving.

Using the access route through the unlocked science window, we managed to get into the school easy enough and the only source of light came from the setting sun as the light glinted off of the glass beakers and test tubes.

"I'll check it out," I whispered, beating Jake to the punch as I headed for the door, cracking it open slowly to where it was just large enough for me to see outside as I looked down the nearly dark hallway to the janitor's closet and saw about six people standing there while they entered the closet one by one.

"Okay, we've got half a dozen controllers entering the closet, so we're in the right place," I whispered back at the others as I held my MP5.

"How the hell are we going to get in there?" Marco asked.

"Wait a minute, do all controllers know each other by sight? I mean, maybe we're controllers," Rachel said, smirking at the last part of her sentence before Marco looked at her like she's lost her mind.

"So, we just walk right on in like we belong there? Wonderful plan so I have a better one, let's just kill ourselves now and get it over with," Marco whispered in disbelief.

"Rachel could be right," Cassie said as Marco scoffed.

"Big huge maybe, and what about Tom? He would know whether people like me or Jake were controllers," Marco argued quietly as I peeked out into the hallway again.

"It's likely Tom may already be down there and Rachel has a point since, during the second world war, German commandos used allied uniforms behind their lines during the battle of the bulge and the allied troops couldn't tell the difference at first.

We could do the same and pretend to be controllers because there's no way in hell every single Yeerk could tell who's a controller and who isn't, too many different humans out there so it's worth a-" I said and stopped myself as I saw three more people show up, recognizing one of them as Chapman while the second one was a woman who was unfamiliar and the third one was a teenaged girl who held a resemblance to them as the two adults were dragging her none too gently to the closet.

"Jeremy, what is it? Is something wrong?" Tobias asked as I got a good look at the girl and quickly recognized her as Melissa, Chapman's daughter based on her appearance that fit her description in the books.

"I see Chapman and a woman, they're dragging a girl to the secret entrance to the Yeerk pool and the girl looks like she might be related to them," I informed the others, who widened their eyes but Rachel and Cassie looked more alarmed than the rest of them.

"Oh god, they're going to infect Melissa...son of a bitch, like hell I'm letting them do that!" Rachel hissed lividly, looking like she wanted to morph right there and then before going down the entrance to the Yeerk pool and tear apart every single controller in sight.

"Okay, we're going in like Rachel said since we figure there are too many controllers for them to know one another on sight, so they must have new bodies to infect all the time, right? So, maybe we're new controllers?" Jake spoke up quickly.

"Oh shit," Marco moaned and I sent him a stern glare.

"We're going in and we're getting people out of there because we have no other options, so we move in now," I said firmly, causing Marco to raise his hands in a placating manner.

"I know, I know, we take our fucking chances with this so let's rock and roll," Marco replied nervously.

"Okay then, everyone act cool and it's too late for you to morph back now, but try not to let them see you," Jake told Tobias and the hawk nodded.

After that, we all stepped out into the hallway as I kept my MP5 aimed low but ready to snap it up at a moment's notice if there was the slightest hint of a threat as I knew the others were terrified, but I had faith that this plan would work or Rachel and Cassie's friend would get infected and I couldn't let that happen, though the other controllers had already gone inside so we entered the closet and Jake followed the correct sequence for opening the door before the door opened and I heard the screams.

Screams of terror, despairing cries and shouts but the most sickening of it all, shrieking triumphant laughter as I heard Marco say something about running if he saw a guy with horns and a pitchfork while I wouldn't didn't blame him if he did as we began our descent into hell.


We continued moving deeper and deeper to the pool until we arrived at a massive cavern, where I could see other stairways like ours coming from all directions while leading out from the rocky walls and down to the floor of the cavern.

On the ground floor, I could see sheds and buildings built into the side of the cavern like a giant city and large yellow caterpillar-like constructs and cranes that were obviously in creating the massive facility, then we could see aliens ranging from Hork-Bajir and Taxxons to dozens of other aliens I have never seen before but I think I could see a Gedd or two in the mix among other things while there were mostly humans.

At that moment, I spotted the Yeerk pool that consisted of a hundred in diameter circular pool with a sickly grayish color looking like melted lead as it sloshed around with hundreds, maybe thousands of Yeerks swimming around in their natural state as they absorbed what they need to survive in their most vulnerable state.

Around the pool, I could see the cages with Hork-Bajir locked in larger heavy-duty ones as they paced while howling and slashing the air with their bladed arms, then there were the smaller ones for human men, women, and children all packed into cages like animals as I thought about places like morgues, graveyards, and nazi death camps.

I knew this place was going to be fucked up, but no amount of reading every last Animorph book would prepare me for actually seeing the Yeerk pool with my own two eyes, and I had witnessed fucked up events before so I was kind of numb to most things now but what infuriated me was all those innocent people locked up in cages and treated less-than-human like what my brother and I went through when we were kids as I saw Melissa being dragged to the infection pier by her parents while my eyes turned cold with rage.

"I'm morphing and getting Melissa away from them!" Rachel growled quietly as she looked livid, and I felt the same way but charging in there blindly would only get us killed while Cassie went and put a calming hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Not yet, we need to get down there first," Cassie reasoned as she shook her head.

"Melissa's okay, Rachel, just scared and they haven't hurt her yet," Tobias reassured while Jake scowled, looking pissed at the cruelty he was witnessing.

"Those bastards better not hurt her so keep an eye on them, Tobias," Jake instructed, then I looked at the others with a steely look.

"We need to get down there right now before Melissa is infected, so let's hurry," I urged as I heard the female controller being freed from her Yeerk's control and screaming as she was dragged back to her cage.

With that said, we continued down the steps as I flicked the safety off on my MP5 before Tobias pointed out the collaborators that were simply sitting comfortably and watching TV, not even caring that their fellow humans or Hork-Bajir were suffering a horrific hell and I glared at the disgusting bastards since they were just as much of a threat as the Yeerks are while I was using my training to keep myself calm.

"We are beyond sympathy at this point...we are beyond humanity," I muttered in complete disgust as we kept moving, reaching the bottom of the stairs as we took cover behind a shed as Tobias was up above staying out of sight while I was keeping an eye on Tom and Melissa as Jake and Marco talked about not letting the Yeerks take them alive just before I heard a voice behind us.

"Hey, you three!" the person shouted, causing me and the other two Animorphs to turn around before we saw a single human controller as he was flanked by a Hork-Bajir and a Taxxon but they luckily haven't seen Rachel and Cassie yet while the two girls were behind them.

"Who the hell are you?" the man questioned as he narrowed his eyes at me, my uniform and equipment causing a huge amount of suspicion and I knew that I had to stall so that the others would have enough time to morph as I stepped forward.

"I'm new, just transferred here to provide security and as for the uniform and earth weaponry, my host is a mercenary who's voluntary since he was sick of working for low pay so is there a problem?" I lied and I obviously took the controllers by surprise as the human one still stared at me in suspicion.

"What about them?" the man asked as he gestured at Jake and Marco.

"We're just waiting for the line to die down a bit since we still have some time before we need to get more Kandrona, and they're also voluntary hosts so that's not an issue either," I informed him, motioning my head at the long line that was at the Yeerk pool.

The controllers actually seemed convinced since who in their right mind as a non-controller would come down into this hellhole? Either way, the illusion worked long enough as I briefly glanced behind the controllers to witness Rachel already morphing, seeing her growing massive as her ears shifted into large leathery ones and her nose stretched out into a trunk until she became a thirteen-foot tall African elephant.

"Hell yeah, I did it!" Rachel cheered through thought-speak as the Taxxon was the first to notice her with its big red jelly eyes, but it must've been shocked by what was behind it that it couldn't react as Rachel began to charge.

The Hork-Bajir controller managed to react in time as it sliced at Rachel's trunk, but it was already too late since she was moving like an out-of-control freight train and a cut like that would only piss her off.

"Puny little thing, you dare attack me?!" Rachel cried in outrage and retaliated by trampling the Hork-Bajir controller, killing it as the Taxxon tried to escape but was also killed as blood and gore splattered across the floor before me while the human controller was staring in morbid shock.

"What the-" the man started to say, only he was cut off when I shot him in the head and he fell to the ground deader than a doornail.

The gunshot and the sight of Rachel rampaging caused the other controllers to quickly react as they all got ready to defend themselves as I looked back at Jake and Marco, who were staring at the bodies in shock.

"Morph, now!" I shouted, snapping them out of it and they began to morph while I started moving and fired at the controllers through single shots as I killed a few.

The controllers spotted me and used their blasters or regular firearms to return fire as some of them went into cover and the others stayed on the move to throw off my aim, only they also had to deal with Rachel who was tearing through the controllers like they were nothing as Jake and Marco joined the fight in their tiger and gorilla morphs.

My reflexes kicked in as everything slowed down and I shot the controllers that were out of cover as the body count continued to rise with humans, Hork-Bajirs, Taxxons, and other alien controllers getting killed by my expert sharpshooting before the survivors started realizing that I was wiping them out with the help of the others without so much as getting a scratch as they looked frantic and alarmed by the situation turning FUBAR on their end.

I saw a Hork-Bajir coming at me with its bladed arms swiping at my head, and I ducked before spinning around to kick it in the back of the knee to send it down until I shot it in the back of the head to kill it while my eyes were completely cold and devoid of emotion as I kept tearing through the controller's ranks without mercy as the remaining controllers realized that they were out of their league as they started to retreat.

"Now, before they get organized again!" Jake ordered as he pushed forward, prompting Rachel and Marco to charge alongside him as Rachel smashed through sheds and buildings like Godzilla heading for Tokyo while the others took down more controllers.

As I shot my way through the controllers that were trying to flee so they could regroup, there was nothing but chaos as I threw a grenade and the large explosion wiped out several controllers or severely injured them as screams of agony erupted from what's left and I shot them to put them out of their misery as I focused on saving Melissa before she could get infected.

I spotted Cassie behind enemy lines, sneaking her way over to the infestation pool to save Melissa while the controllers were mostly focused on me and the others as they struggled to put up any kind of defense.

I began my way towards the direction of the pool as I saw Melissa just behind the next person in line to be infected, the girl screaming and struggling to fight her way out of her parents' grasp as my eyes hardened and I moved as quickly as I could, knowing that I had to hurry before it was too late as I moved from cover to cover while killing more controllers.

However, something odd happened as the Yeerk inside Chapman seemed to have had enough of Melissa and raised his free hand to slap her, causing Melissa to flinch but the controller froze for a short time until Chapman and his wife widened their eyes as they suddenly let go of Melissa and fell to their knees while punching and choking themselves.

'I'll be damned, it's a host rebellion! The Chapmans' are fighting back!' I thought as I was more determined than ever to reach Melissa and get her away from her controller parents before the Yeerks inside them managed to regain control.

"Melissa, run!" Chapman groaned loudly, which was all his daughter needed to flee the infestation pier as a Hork-Bajir guard attempted to grab her, only I showed up just in time as I took out my knife and expertly threw it with the blade going into the Hork-Bajir's head and the large reptilian controller collapsed with the life leaving its eyes while Melissa was in shock by what I did as I quickly approached.

"Listen carefully, find some cover and stay out of sight because once the prisoners are freed, we need to bug out!" I instructed over the sounds of chaos occurring in the background while I yanked my knife out of the dead body and wiped the blood off the blade, causing Melissa to snap out of it and she nodded before running to find a place to hide.

With that done, I holstered my knife and looked over at where Marco was as he was being blocked from the cages by a group of Taxxons so even though they were pretty easy to take care of, they were still a threat in large numbers but I knew of a weakness that can easily be taken advantage of.

I quickly moved as I dashed towards Marco and the Taxxons, shooting a human controller dead and knocking down a Hork-Bajir before pulling out my sidearm and killing it with a shot to the face, then I holstered my sidearm and reloaded my MP5 while I was approaching the first Taxxon and killed it with a three-round burst until the body hit the ground.

"Marco, head for the cages and free as many people as you can while I hold them off! Taxxons are cannibals, so just wound one and the others will lose focus on us!" I instructed as I saw the other Taxxons going after the body of their dead comrade before feeding on it.

"How the hell do you know that?! You write a book on alien biology or something?!" Marco shouted as he punched another Taxxon, sending it flying.

"No time for questions so just grab Tom, free as many people as you can, and then we bug out!" I insisted as I used my knife to slice through another Taxxon and shot another one with my sidearm.

That apparently got the message across as Marco moved from the Taxxons and headed for the cages, using the gorilla's strength to crush and tear off the locks and bars of the cages, letting the captive humans and Hork-Bajir out before my reflexes kicked in and I ducked to avoid being hit by a dracon beam.

I spun around and saw a human controller while she had a stunned look on her face, then I shot her dead and heard gunfire right behind me before I quickly turned around and saw a Hork-Bajir collapsing to the ground until I spotted Melissa looking shaken up as she held a beretta in her hands.

"Oh god...I killed it," Melissa said while shuddering and I carefully walked over to her, gently taking the empty gun and putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Look at me, you did what you had to do because you saved my life, so we should go," I reassured as Melissa was letting out shaky breaths until she nodded.

"You're right, let's get the hell out of here," Melissa agreed just before I had her run to the crowds of freed hosts that were fleeing or fighting back and took a moment to witness the absolute chaos that was enveloping the Yeerk pool as I went back to fighting.

Controllers were desperately trying to multitask between stopping the rampaging animals and recapturing the freed controllers who were either running for the nearest exits or grabbing the first weapon they could use to fight back against the Yeerks, from dracon beams to firearms to just simple steel pipes.

These people were fighting for their very freedom, for their right to live free or die and while the Yeerks were barely keeping them contained, they were still giving the alien parasites hell and I felt proud to see them working together to make the Yeerks pay for the suffering they've endured for god knows how long.

However, I knew that I wouldn't be able to save all of them but I'm going to do my damndest to save as many as I can, though I understood that we didn't have a lot of time before Visser Three showed up as I looked for Jake and saw that he and Marco had freed Tom before heading to the closest exit.

"Everyone, head for the exits that are located up the stairs, and don't let the Yeerks take you back alive so freedom or death!" I shouted as loud as I could so that all the freed humans and Hork-Bajir could hear me.

That got them motivated quickly as across the pool, freed controllers began charging for the exits while some of them, even Hork-Bajir, were chanting 'freedom or death' as they attacked any Yeerks that were between them and the exits before we all scrambled for the exit until I saw Visser Three arriving.

"Oh Christ," I muttered as I stared at the Andalite controller as he daintily stepped out from behind a bunch of Hork-Bajir controllers, looking calm at first glance but I knew that he was completely livid as he kept himself composed to command his troops properly as the other Animorphs also noticed him and so did a few runners.

A Taxxon slithered up to Visser Three and spoke in a whistling voice before backing away, though Visser Three didn't respond and just stared at us with all four eyes while I tensed up and got ready to defend myself since his morphing ability was going to make things even difficult for us.

"The Taxxon fool says that you all are wild animals and a single human, so he wants to know if he and his brothers can eat you," Visser Three said before letting out a short silent laugh and adding, "But I know none of you are animals or a simple human because I know who and what you are. So, not all of you Andalites died when I burned your ships.

I have to commend you for making it this far, but it will accomplish nothing because now, my brave Andalite warriors, you are in my domain so once I kill you all, I will recapture all of the hosts you've set free and if any of you happen to survive...I will infest you with my best and most trusted lieutenants."

"You underestimate these humans, Visser Three," I spoke up as I stepped forward, causing the Andalite controller to glance at me.

"So, the Andalite speaks and how, might I ask, are we underestimating those weak race of hosts?" Visser Three questioned condescendingly.

"Unlike you, Visser Three, I have seen what humanity can accomplish because I have spent much time researching them, and although they may not be ready to accept the same responsibilities as us Andalites, the progress they have made so far proves their potential as a future space-faring race someday...maybe even sooner than you think," I said and Visser Three laughed at that.

"Humans a space-faring race on their own? You seemed to not have researched them enough, Andalite, for they are still divided upon themselves over such pretty subjects like 'culture' or 'religion' so never have I seen a race so divided against itself!

If we committed to an open invasion, we would crush them one nation at a time but Visser One and the Council of Thirteen demands for a secretive invasion, though it is fortunate that they are such a race to infest and control," Visser Three stated arrogantly but I wasn't phased by it.

"Humanity may be divided for now, but all it takes is a common enemy to unite them because I have been across the stars and seen battles with us against you parasites...I have gained and lost many comrades but we will always stand to fight the Yeerks even though we're still new to war, and so will the humans who stand beside me!

Look around you, Visser, these humans you once enslaved are now fighting your own forces so we realize that the sacrifices will be heavy, but we will fight on against you because all it takes is a single spark of courage and the fires of hope will ignite with the storm of rebellion beginning!" I declared as I glared up at Visser Three defiantly, then the controller narrowed his eyes at me.

"You overestimate humanity and you own race, Andalite, now I have grown tired of speaking to you," Visser Three stated as he began to morph and added, "I acquired this form on the fourth moon of the second planet of a dying star, so are you impressed?"

I tensed up as I witnessed the controller's Andalite body growing to over twenty meters in height as he towered over all of us, four more legs sprouting as all eight thickened to the size of tree trunks as two arms became eight long spindly ones with claws until seven more draconian-like heads formed while the eighth shifted into another reptilian one.

It was one thing reading about this morph in book 1, but it was another seeing it with my own two eyes as I gazed at it in morbid fascination since that morph made the one that killed Elfangor look like a chew toy, though I needed to make sure his attention is focused on me so everyone else can escape and I had the perfect idea for that even though it would be morally wrong in the eyes of the others.

"Everyone, get the hell out of here because we need to leave and bring as many people as we can with us, so don't let Visser Three scare you because the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" I shouted to the other Animorphs while I slung my MP5 and went to get a powerful explosive.

"You heard him, everyone up the stairs!" Jake yelled before he and everyone else started to run.

"Yes, run, it makes for more challenging targets!" Visser Three exclaimed sadistically as I had seen that most humans had already escaped, as well as many Hork-Bajir thanks to my efforts while Cassie had already morphed into a horse and two Hork-Bajir were on her back as the former human girl was galloping to the exit with Visser Three about to start shooting fireballs when I let out a sharp whistle to get his attention.

All eight heads focused their attention on me as I tossed the explosive into the pool and removed a detonator from a pouch, then I pushed the button and the pool erupted from the explosion as the liquid sprayed into the air while thousands of Yeerks in their natural states were killed instantly as Visser Three and the other controllers froze with pure horror in their eyes from seeing me massacring so many members of their fellow species until all eight reptilian heads roared in fury.

"You disgusting insect, I will kill you slowly for that!" Visser Three screamed lividly as the other controllers opened fired on me with looks of sheer hatred in their eyes.

'That right, just keep your focus on me,' I thought as I dodged the gunfire and dracon beams while killing controllers with well-placed shots as I also targeted Taxxons so that people and Hork-Bajir were able to get away.

Visser Three began shooting fireballs at me but I avoided them because of my enhanced reflexes, causing him to growl in rage and frustration as I kept killing more controllers and slung my MP5 before taking out my grenade launcher.

Visser Three opened his mouths to shoot more fireballs and I fired a grenade into one of his mouths, causing him to recoil at that just before the explosion severed the head from his neck and he roared in agony as blood spurted out and started showering the area.

"You bastard, I will burn you alive!" Visser Three shouted as he started shooting fireballs wildly, only he was so angry that his shots were inaccurate as I kept shooting grenades at him while they exploded on impact and caused the controller to start swaying from the pain.

Once the launcher ran empty, I saw that Visser Three's body looked injured even though his hide took most of the damage, but continued hits from grenades have left nasty-looking burns on him while another head was gone and he was bleeding badly as Visser Three glared at me with a look of hatred in his eyes.

"Damn you...I will make you regret this, Andalite," Visser Three wheezed in agony as I saw that everyone had already left but reinforcements were arriving and that was my cue to escape so I started bolting to the exit.

"No, you're not escaping..." Visser Three groaned as he went to shoot a fireball at me, only I moved fast to avoid it and made it to the stairs before going up them but I remembered that Tobias was still here and I saw him staying in the shadows as human controllers started to secure the area with some chasing after me.

No time to help him, I kept running since staying any longer was suicide but at least I seriously hurt Visser Three and cut down some of the Yeerk forces in half here while also rescuing nearly all of the freed hosts as I continued up the stairs before making it to the entrance and loading the grenade launcher with one shell.

Turning around, I fired at the ceiling of the tunnel and it collapsed to prevent the controllers from following before quickly leaving the school and meeting up with the others, who were back in their human forms and fully dressed while they looked relieved to see me.

"Jeremy, are you okay?" Cassie asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured as I began to remove my gear and place them in the duffle bag I left out here.

"Fine? You took on an army of controllers and Visser Three by yourself so are you out of your fucking mind?!" Marco exclaimed in disbelief.

"Wait, where's Tobias? Is he okay and did he make it out?" Rachel asked with her voice filled with worry as I finished filling the duffle bag with my weapons and equipment.

"No, he didn't and he's still alive, just hidden somewhere the controllers can't find him but there's no damn way he's getting out of there within two hours," I said grimly as I zipped up the duffle bag and stood up while slinging the bag over my shoulder.

"I knew what you're thinking and it's not your fault because there's nothing you could've done...nothing any of us could've done with those controllers chasing us," Cassie said, trying to sound reassuring.

"But I still could've done something and worst of all...I knew it was going to happen in the first place," I said darkly as the others looked surprised by that before Rachel narrowed her eyes.

"How could you have known what would happen down there?" Rachel questioned suspiciously.

"He did know those Taxxons back there were cannibals and I don't think the Andalite mentioned anything about that," Marco pointed out.

"And weren't you acting a little too calmly when that controller confronted us?" Jake wondered.

"Now that I think about it, I've never seen you in school...in fact, I don't think anyone knows where you live," Cassie stated before everyone started staring at me with a mixture of distrust and suspicion.

"Maybe he's a controller, like...like Tom used to be?" Jake asked as I spotted Tom standing nearby and chatting with a couple of people while I was surprised that I've managed to change a huge part of the timeline but I chuckled at what Jake said.

"Trust me, if I were a controller, I would've killed you guys and Elfangor during that night in the construction site and let's not forget that we were injected with something to prevent us from becoming controllers," I said logically.

"Then how do you know that things are going to happen before they do?" Rachel demanded, but I wasn't affected by her tone and simply stared at her and the other seriously.

"Alright, I will admit that I wasn't fully honest with you so just bear with me because all I want to do is to help you but fair warning, this is going to sound insane," I replied stoically.

"Considering all that's happened, I think we'll try to keep an open mind," Cassie told me before I nodded.

"Okay, but considering the crap I've gone through before I showed up here, this is weird even for me so let me start off by explaining that I'm from a parallel universe much like this one with the same planet and countries and all of that.

The thing is that in my universe, everything here that you know so far is part of a science fiction novel series written by K.A. Applegate from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s and it was all about you guys while the series is very popular so I was brought here to make sure the war ends the right way while preventing a dark future from happening," I explained and for a few seconds, there was nothing but dead silence as everyone just looked at me like I had two heads.

"Look, I don't care if you think it's crazy, I just needed to get this off my chest," I added firmly before Marco scoffed.

"Crazy? Oh no, when you put it like that, it all makes perfect fucking sense! What, did you escape out of a goddamn local nuthouse or something?" Marco questioned sarcastically.

"Are you okay, Jeremy? You could've hit your head while you were still down there fighting," Cassie told me, though I didn't react to that.

"Even if I did, my helmet would've protected me from any head trauma and morphing heals all injuries as long as the damage isn't on a genetic level," I stated just as Marco laughed.

"Do you honestly believe-" Marco started to say and I cut him off.

"Marco, your mother's name was Eva and she went missing almost two years ago while your father is named Peter and he works as an electrical engineer," I interrupted calmly, then Marco stared at me with wide eyes.

"Wait, how the hell did you-" Marco tried to speak but I wasn't done yet.

"Jake, your father is named Steve and he's a doctor while your mother's name is Jean and she's a freelance writer, then there's Tom who sometimes calls you midget," I said as Jake recoils a bit.

"Rachel, you're Jake's cousin on your father's side, whose name is Dan while he's a news anchor and your mother Naomi is a lawyer while you have two sisters by the names of Sara and Jordan with your parents being divorced.

Cassie, both of your parents are veterinarians while your mother is a great shot with a tranquilizer gun and your father got sprayed by a skunk once...Melissa, your father is the school's vice-principal while your mother works at a barbershop and you have a cat named Fluffer McKitty.

Still don't believe me and want to hear more? I can go into more embarrassing details if you want," I said while pointing at each of them as I told Jake and the others how much I know about them, causing Jake and the others to stare at me in amazement as I was able to list off those details almost perfectly and I didn't blame them since this was really hard for them to believe.

"If...you really are who you say you are...how the fuck did you get here?" Jake began, being the first person to recover from the shock.

"Well, long story short, I can't tell you his name but let's just call him an all-powerful being within time and the universe so he sent me here, wanting to change the future...I can't go into too many details because of certain rules set in place," I replied before Rachel looked irritated to hear that.

"Screw the fucking rules! You're supposed to be helping us, but you can't even tell us how you got here fully!" Rachel shouted and I shook my head.

"Look, I can tell you some details about the future, but I can't tell you everything because there's a whole list of things I'm not allowed to tell you until the time is right so if I told you direct information about these events, then I get sent back to my dimension and all my time here gets erased," I replied before Marco sneered.

"Oh, so that's how it is? We all risk our lives but if something happens to you, then you just click your ruby shoes and go home?" Marco spat out bitterly until I sent him a grim look.

"It's not that simple because another rule states that if I were to die here, then I cease to exist in my own dimension and I'm dead permanently," I stated darkly.

"So, if Visser Three had killed you down there..." Cassie trailed off and I nodded.

"Yeah, we're all in this together...listen, I know you all probably still don't believe me so how about we meet at Cassie's barn tomorrow and I'll take you back to my place, where I'll tell you what I can," I offered, then Jake and the others glanced at each other as if they were having a silent conversation before Jake sighed.

"Well, I'm not convinced you're not completely crazy, but...you've helped us out so far and if you were working for the Yeerks, then you probably would've killed us already so I suppose that we can trust you...for now," Jake said hesitantly, and I smiled before I nodded.

"Thanks Jake, so right now, I think we should all get moving since you guys have families to get back to," I suggested, just as Melissa flinched.

"Not all of us..." Melissa trailed off with her voice barely above a whisper, but I caught it and remember what happened back at the Yeerk pool before I grimaced and scratched the back of my head.

"Sorry, I-" I started to say but Melissa shook her head.

"No, it's okay, just...I don't know where to go now...I can't go home at all now," Melissa admitted solemnly before Rachel perked up.

"You can come with me, I'll just tell my mom that you're spending the night-" Rachel started to offer, only she was cut off.

"No...I can't...Rachel, if my fath...if Chapman finds out I'm staying at your place, it will draw attention to you and the last thing I want is to cause trouble for you and your family," Melissa refused as she shook her head.

Rachel looked like she was going to argue, but she couldn't since Melissa had a point because staying at Rachel's house could create more problems than it solves, and even then, Melissa would only be able to spend the night there so any longer and Rachel's mother would get suspicious, then an idea came to me and I coughed.

"Actually, you could stay at my place since it's in the mountains, the last place the Yeerks would look while it's got tons of space so it's the safest place I can think of," I said, causing Rachel and Melissa to look at me in surprise.

"A-Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to impose or anything," Melissa stated and I shook my head.

"No, it's alright since I've got plenty of room and my house is pretty big, so it's got more than enough room to have one more person live there," I assured while Melissa still looked unsure, though I could see that she eventually concluded that she had nowhere to go as she sighed.

"Well...I guess it would be alright..." Melissa said reluctantly.

"Melissa, are you sure? We still don't know if what he's saying is true," Rachel stated, still looking at me suspiciously before Melissa sent her an irritated expression.

"I've got nowhere else to go, Rachel, unless you have any better ideas," Melissa retorted, causing Rachel to groan a bit before she sent me a sharp glare.

"If you try anything funny with her, then so help me god-" Rachel started to threaten and I cut her off by holding up my hands in a placating manner.

"Calm down, I'm not going to try anything so she'll be safe," I reasoned calmly.

"Good, but...what do we do about them?" Rachel wondered as she looked at the large group to our left, which consisted of several dozen humans and so many Hork-Bajir but the humans were keeping their distance from the Hork-Bajir and stared at them warily while the reptilian aliens just look lost and had no idea where they should go.

"Why are there several dozen humans among the Hork-Bajir? I thought we saved nearly every single person in that hellhole," I pointed out in confusion.

"We did, but half of the other humans decided to go their separate ways after we escaped and ran off on their own...so these several dozen are the only ones who've decided to stick around for now while the Hork-Bajir have nowhere to go, so we have no idea what to do with them," Marco explained as I looked at the large group that was near us until I sighed.

"In that case, I'll look after them and don't worry because like I said, I have a big house and there's enough room for everyone so I can handle having a bunch of people and aliens staying there...besides, I have a feeling those people stayed because they want to help somehow and the Hork-Bajir have nowhere to go," I said, surprising the others.

"Are you sure? A large group consisting of humans and Hork-Bajir is definitely going to attract attention," Jake pointed out.

"Don't worry, I know the quickest way back to my place without drawing attention," I reassured until Jake sighed.

"Alright...just remember that tomorrow, we meet at Cassie's barn and you're showing us your house, but if Melissa and all those humans and Hork-Bajir aren't there...then we're going to have a problem," Jake warned as he sent a small glare at me.

"They'll be there, Jake, and I promise you that I will tell you everything I can tomorrow," I said with a nod, and that was thankfully enough for Jake as he and the others walked away into the forest as Tom joined them before I let out a sigh and looked at Melissa.

"Are you all right? I know the others probably asked, but...with what happened..." I trailed off as I recalled her shooting that controller dead and hoped that she would be okay since taking a life for the first time wasn't easy, just as Melissa looked surprised for some reason before she nodded.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm fine so...thank you for saving me Jeremy, you and the others even though I'm a stranger to you," Melissa said gratefully.

"No problem, I couldn't let you go through that hell and Rachel was about ready to go down there and tear apart every single controller on her own just to save you," I stated before Melissa chuckled.

"Yeah, that sounds like her since Rachel is fiercely protective of her friends, but...my parents," Melissa said as she lowered her head and frowned.

"I'm sorry...I would've saved them if I could, but those damn Yeerks were still in their heads," I admitted grimly.

"It's alright, but it's not that...I didn't know what was really going on and figured that they were simply growing distant from me for the past year until we had a big fight this morning and I started thinking that they stopped loving me...but I know the truth now.

Those damn parasites were controlling them...a-and they still loved me...s-so much they...fought back for control briefly so that...I would escape," Melissa whimpered as she struggled to keep her composure, then I sent her a look of sympathy and gently pulled her into a hug.

"It's alright, just let it out," I said quietly, then Melissa did by sobbing from the trauma of what she experienced and the hope that her parents were still trapped in their bodies while they cared for her to risk everything for their daughter.

"I promise you that someday, I'll free both of your parents from those bastards," I added and Melissa sniffled.

"I know...thanks Jeremy," Melissa replied after a moment of silence and we separated.

"You're welcome, now let's rally everyone here because I know a quick way back to my place where we won't be spotted," I said before we turned to the group of humans and Hork-Bajir before beginning to approach them.


A/N Hey everyone, I'm finally done with this chapter and I hope you like it since Tom is now free and nearly everyone in the Yeerk pool was saved while Jeremy severely injured Visser Three and killed dozens of controllers, not to mention that he wiped out thousands of Yeerks by detonating an explosive in the pool, which is sure to lower morale and It's going to take a while for the Yeerks to recover from that as Visser Three is going to want revenge.

Anyway, I'm wondering who should be the host for the Yeerk that controlled Tom since Jake's brother is definitely not going to be taken off guard so easily next time, so who do you think should be a host for Tom's Yeerk?

I've been thinking that it would be either David or a new character I've created by the name of Sam, who's a serial killer that becomes a voluntary controller to satisfy his thirst for causing human suffering since he's a sadistic and ruthless sociopath similar to Marvel antagonist Cletus Kasady, so let me know your answer and stay tuned.