"The mission was a success," Giorno reported to Bruno.

"Ax helped a lot too," added Fugo.

"Where is he?"

I am in fly morph. I will demorph now. It won't be pleasing to look at so I advise you to look away.

"Now we can move out," Abbacchio said.

Suddenly, Tobias came racing across the sky. Get Trish out of here. I spotted Yeerk Bug Fighters during my patrol. There's maybe 12. They'll be here in less than three minutes.

"Bug Fighter?" Trish asked.

"That's what we call the Yeerk ships. They look like giant beetles," explained Cassie.

"Alright, animorphs," Jake said. "Battle morphs. We won't be able to get out in time without the Yeerks trailing us. We'll have to stay behind and fight."

"Narancia, Fugo, since you're still injured, I want you to take Trish and get a head start to the train station. We'll meet you there," Bucciarati ordered.

"You're staying behind?" Narancia sounded surprised.

"Yes. The rest of us are helping the animorphs," he replied.

"I can't wait to blast holes into some Controllers," Mista said, whipping out his gun.

Even with your stand I am not sure bullets will do much damage. The Yeerks have Dracon Beams, Ax said.

"Yeah," Giorno agreed worriedly. "Those Dracon beams are basically deadly lasers."

"We'll do our best," Bucciarati said.

Trish, Narancia, and Fugo peeled out of the driveway.

The Bug Fighters came into view and landed beside the house. Out came Hork-Bajir Controllers and Taxxon-Controllers.

"What are those?" Abbacchio asked in horror.

The centipedes with razor sharp teeth are Taxxons, Rachel, in her elephant morph, replied. And the bladed creatures are Hork-Bajir. A pretty peaceful species before the Yeerks took them over.

The Hork-Bajir aimed their Dracon Beams. Rachel the elephant, Ax the Andalite, Cassie the wolf, Tobias the Hork-Bajir, Jake the tiger, and Marco the gorilla all charged into battle.

"Are they insane? They'll get blasted to bits!" Giorno exclaimed.

Rachel trumpeted in pain as a Taxxon bit her large foot but stomped a Hork-Bajir with her other. Tobias slashed his arm blades into a Hork-Bajir's neck. It retaliated by leaving a gash on his chest. Cassie bit down on a Taxxon, letting go when it bit a chunk out of her flank. Jake was on it before any of the stand users could blink, a flash of orange and black stripes.

TSEWW! TSEWW! TSEWWW! TSEWW!

Marco howled in agony as a Dracon beam singed his shoulder, red blood pooling down his black fur.

My eye! It got my left eye! Jake yelled in thought-speak.

Cover me! Cassie called.

Rachel picked up a Taxxon with her trunk and threw it a few feet in the air.

Thanks! Cassie gasped.

"It's a bloodbath," Mista said, aiming his gun. But everything was happening so quickly that he didn't know where to shoot.

Ax slashed a Hork-Bajir Controller with his tail blade. It fell down and didn't get up.

"We have to help. They're outnumbered," Bruno said gravely.

Mista ran, charging for the Taxxon that Rachel had tossed in the air. It was crawling back to the battlefield. BLAM! BLAM! Sex Pistols went right for the brain area. The Taxxon dropped dead. Its fellow Taxxons started eating its body.

"Oh, gross," Mista groaned.

Help! Marco called in thought-speak.

Giorno ran toward the sound and found him cornered by a Taxxon and Hork-Bajir. One of his hands was missing, having been sliced off by a Hork-Bajir.

"Gold Experience!" Giorno yelled, summoning his stand. The stand punched the Taxxon, causing it to explode. The Hork-Bajir turned toward Giorno, its arm blades raised. BLAM! Mista shot a bullet in its back. It paused for a second, and suddenly Tobias shoved his arm blade through the Hork-Bajir's throat, killing it.

"Sticky Fingers!" Bruno shouted, using his stand to unzip a Taxxon in half as it tried to eat him. Sticky Fingers then turned and punched a Hork-Bajir in the chest. It flew backward. Rachel stomped on its throat.

"AHHH!" Mista cried out as his arm was slashed open by a Hork-Bajir. Bruno hurried over to his teammate and quickly zipped up the wound.

Giorno turned a Dracon Beam into a tree. It impaled a Taxxon. SPROOT! SPROOT! Two more trees impaled two more Dracon beam wielding aliens. As he aimed for another, the Hork-Bajir spun around, aiming the weapon right in Giorno's face. The ground opened up and Bucciarati pulled him underground. A scream came from an agonized Taxxon as the Controller's Dracon beam fire hit it instead of the intended target.

"GAHLA GHFUSH!" One of the Hork-Bajir shouted something in an alien language. The remaining Hork-Bajir and Taxxons ran for the bug fighters and retreated.

They rose into the sky, firing a Drcon Beam blast at the house. It exploded. Bucciarati opened the zipper and he and Giorno stepped above ground.

Abbacchio was staring in horror at the scene before him- Rachel, half her trunk and an ear missing, Marco, his hand missing, Cassie, her fur more bloody than brown, Jake, one of his back paws nothing but a stump, and Tobias, his horn ripped out of his head. Ax was missing his stalk eyes but was quickly morphing to get rid of his injuries.

"Dear God," Bucciarati breathed, looking at the bodies and blood all over the battlefield, and at the animorphs.

Everyone quickly demorphed. "Are you alright?" Giorno asked.

"We're fine," Jake said.

"Unless you count another nightmare added to the list of endless ones we already have," Marco added.

"Morphing and demorphing heals injuries," Cassie explained.

"I see," Bucciarati said interestedly.

"The Yeerks are getting backup," Rachel interrupted. "We may have to fight both stand users and Yeerks together, soon."

"Giorno, can you turn that Bug Fighter into something?" Jake asked. "We'll take the other Bug Fighter and fly it to the train station to meet the others."

"Sure," Giorno answered, getting to work.

"Do any of you even know how to fly that thing?" Abbacchio asked.

I do. It is not difficult for an Andalite. But for a human who has no knowledge of space travel the way Andalites do, it is difficult, Ax answered.

Giorno turned the Bug Fighter into an actual beetle. Then everyone boarded the other Bug Fighter.

"Man, Narancia would think this is so cool. He's going to be so jealous!" Mista exclaimed.

Ax went to the control panel. Here we go.

The Bug Fighter lifted off into the sky.