We celebrated our pair of simultaneous victories. We were relieved that Zenguh had lost the shard, and that we would hopefully never have to worry about the Helmacrons anymore. Without the shard, Zenguh couldn't give his outermost host the ability to morph, which meant he wouldn't be able to absorb any more people or other beings into himself.

We were even entertaining the idea that the Helmacrons had killed him somehow, even if it didn't seem likely. What did seem likely, however, was that if Zenguh was still alive, he would come looking for the shard.

Speaking of the shard, Ax had managed to reattach it to the rest of the morphing cube. Once it was whole again, he gave it back to Cassie, and she did whatever she usually does to hide it.

A few days later, I was hanging out with Ax at his scoop, and Marco was staying the night in the Hork-Bajir valley. We had just finished watching the latest Bond movie on his TV, when Ax looked up at the sky and stretched.

‹Tobias, it is time for me to perform my nightly rituals,› he said.

I didn't know if that was a euphemism for going to the bathroom, or if he really had rituals to perform, but I always gave him his privacy. I waited in a tree for Ax to return, and I felt myself getting sleepy. The recent roller coaster of stress had really drained me emotionally. I would have morphed to my other hawk form to stay awake, but morphing only rejuvenated my physical body, not my mental state.

A rustling sound snapped me out of my sleep.

‹Hey Ax! How were the rituals?› I thought-spoke to him.

There was no reply. The noise continued from Ax's scoop, but I couldn't see anything from this angle, especially in the dark. It was probably another raccoon. I had seen a raccoon at Ax's scoop every night this week, probably after that variety pack of potato chips he had picked up.

I fluttered to another tree to get a better view. I still couldn't make it out, but whatever it was, it was too big to be a raccoon. I squinted against the dark, and decided to try something that usually worked.

‹Aaaaaaaaaa!› I screamed at the thing in thought-speak.

It shot up and out of Ax's scoop like a rocket, and flew past me. It was big, and had too many wings for me to count quickly as I dove to get out of the way. I didn't need to analyze this thing for long to know that it wasn't from around here. It had to be a kafit bird, a creature that had been burned into my memory when Visser One had chased us through the city as one, almost killing Ax.

A kafit being here meant that either Ax was playing a prank on me, or that Zenguh was back, he had found us, and had been to the Andalite homeworld.

It looped through the air, head swiveling in every direction, looking for me. I landed in a tree and shrunk back, hoping to blend in with the trunk. It didn't work. The kafit locked eyes with me, then came to hover between me and the scoop.

‹I've found you, nothlit,› the kafit said. It snapped its long, razor-sharp beak, and asked, ‹Where is my shard?›

‹We don't have it! The Helmacrons do!› I said, panicking. I realized only too late that I had just given away that I was no ordinary hawk and that we had seen the Helmacrons and the cube. At least I knew that this was Zenguh now.

‹A disappointing answer,› Zenguh said. ‹After I kill you, I shall have to see if your friends have the same response.›

I couldn't fight this thing. I had to get out of here and lose it for long enough to decide on a better morph for this fight. I dove from the tree, and flapped so hard I thought my wings would fall off. My quick exit had earned me a nice head start, but I didn't think it would last long. I darted through the trees, knowing I couldn't beat Zenguh in a race in the open air above the trees. I remembered how maneuverable Visser One had made the kafit look when he chased us as one.

‹I will catch you, Tobias,› came Zenguh's voice. ‹And then I'll go back for Ax.›

This was too much. ‹How do you know our names?› I called back, still flying for my life.

‹I've been watching you all week, of course,› he laughed, and it was haunting.

I connected the dots. The raccoon at Ax's scoop the past few nights had been him all along!

‹I've found out that you don't keep the morphing technology in that scoop,› he said. ‹I've also seen that you never revert to Andalite form, which shows me that you foolishly got stuck in the body of a primitive Earth bird. But I'll find the rest of the scoops you Andalite bandits use and check them for the shard too, nothlit. Unless it's with your human friend, Rachel.›

My heart skipped a beat and my mind raced. My giant list of reasons to take this guy down had just gotten even longer. Suddenly, I had an idea; a way to kill two birds with one stone.

I hated that saying.

I veered off to my left, toward a meadow occupied by someone else I couldn't stand. When I got close, I let loose with a mighty...

"TSEEEEEER!"

Defending his territory, the rival hawk from this meadow left his tree and flew at me, talons outstretched. I dove into a bush, landing less than gracefully, both avoiding his attack and hopefully losing Zenguh. I righted myself, and poked my head out of the bush just in time to see the kafit bird spear the other hawk and throw him to the ground. The hawk struggled on its back, unable to right itself or fly.

A wave of guilt rolled over me. I had done something cruel, but I might still be able to save the bird's life. I left the bush quietly, on the far side, and began to change to the morph that I thought had the best chance of defeating a bird from the Andalite homeworld: an Andalite. My buddy Ax, specifically.

As I grew taller, my head rose over the bush and I could see that Zenguh was growing too. And he kept growing, even as my morphing came to an end. He grew into a truly enormous beast with a giant mouth and huge three-fingered hands.

The wave of guilt was quickly replaced by fear. I couldn't fight something like that on my own. I called out to Ax in targeted thought-speak, but heard no reply.

The beast loomed over the injured hawk. It reached down and picked up the thrashing bird, holding it close to its mouth.

‹This is your last chance!› Zenguh yelled to the bird, but broadcasting his thought-speak around the area in anger. ‹Give me the shard!›

The bird was, of course, unable to answer. It finally stopped struggling, and fell slack in the monster's crushing grasp.

‹Yes, of course I'm going to eat this hawk!› he said, shaking his head violently. ‹Holy mackerel, shut up!›

Who was he talking to? It couldn't be the hawk, it looked dead.

He regained his composure. ‹One Andalite down,› he said. And with that, he put the hawk into his mouth, and ate it in one bite.

I galloped back to Ax's place as fast as I could. He was there, searching for something new to watch on TV. He tilted his head in confusion when he saw me approach.

‹Hello…me?› he said.

‹Ax! Zenguh's back!› I yelled.

He jumped to his feet.

‹We must tell Prince Jake at once,› Ax answered, grabbing the remote to turn off the television. One of his stalk eyes peeked over at me. ‹But perhaps after These Messages?›

‹Those messages are going to have to wait, Ax-man,› I told him, and I explained the situation as I helped him quickly hide all of his stuff, fold down the roof of his scoop, and cover it in leaves. If I hadn't just helped hide it, I would never believe that his scoop had even been here. With a little luck, Zenguh wouldn't be able to find us either.