I arrived at Tobias' tree must faster than Rachel and Cassie. Jake and Marco were already there. I decided against using the bus and just ran. I ran and ran and ran, as fast as I could. I beat the other girls by a good half hour.

When we all assembled, Jake said, "Suggestions?"

Before Rachel opened her mouth, I said instantly, "We go down to the Yeerk Pool and get my brother back."

"I can see why Rachel likes her now," Marco commented. "Reckless, no plan, just action."

"I do have a plan, actually, but I don't lead this group."

Jake shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Obviously we're going to go get him back," he said, "but we do need a plan. That's why I asked for suggestions."

"And if you have a plan, lay it on us," Marco said to me. They were all looking at me.

I took a deep breath and told them my plan: go down to the Yeerk Pool, possibly as insects, get me into their so called food court, where their weapons should also be stored, and while they create a distraction in the main Pool area, I will get a Dracon Beam and blast away any opposition, while getting Aximili out of there.

"Great plan," Marco said, sarcastically. "While we get ourselves killed, you'll get a weapon and attack? We don't even trust you enough for that."

"Not to mention your accuracy may not be so good," Rachel added.

"My accuracy is perfect," I said.

"Oh, and she's humble, too," said Marco. I sneered at him.

"Jake asked for suggestions and I gave mine."

"Thank you," Jake interjected before Marco could give another comment. "Any other suggestions?"

"Battle morphs and we kick butt!" Rachel said, with much passion.

"And that would be no different from what I suggested," I muttered.

"No, I said battle morphs and kicking butt. You just want a distraction so you can use a Dracon Beam in, what, human form?"

"My human form is my battle morph."

"You couldn't go up against a Hork-Bajir in human form!"

"Not like I haven't before."

"Okay, enough!" Jake put in, loud enough not to be like him at all. Everyone was quiet. "Fighting and arguing isn't going to get Ax back!"

((We have another problem,)) Tobias pointed out. We looked up at him. ((There's that new security device at every entrance to the Pool now, remember?))

"What device?" I asked.

((It's called a Gleet BioFilter. It scans for Yeerk DNA, and if it doesn't find any, it purifies the area, thus killing any body a Yeerk isn't in.))

"Oh; that." I thought quickly.

"What do you mean, 'oh that'?" Marco asked.

"Sush." I kept thinking. Maybe I still knew Visser Three's security code? But that was years ago; surely he would have changed it, if he were intelli- "I think I still know Visser Three's code. I can disable that scanner before we get into it."

"How do you know his code?" Jake asked.

"I grew up with him. I picked up a few things."

((He also has robot like things guarding the other side of the entrances,)) Tobias added. ((They fire on anything that moves that isn't Yeerk.))

"Not a problem," I said. "If I use Visser Three's code to get by, they won't fire on me."

"They will know it's not him when he doesn't emerge on the other side."

"They don't have to; they're robots. They can only tell the difference between people based on their code. All they'll know is that Visser Three is coming out and not to fire." Everyone looked at me expectantly. I asked, "Is there anything else?"

"How do we create a diversion?" Jake asked, grinning. Cassie smiled as well. Despite the situation, I felt pleased that the leader, at least, trusted me now.

"Hold on a second!" Marco said. "It's considerably more complicated than that, isn't it?"

"And as I already stated, I'm not the leader here. This is your group, Jake. You tell us what to do, as long as you can get me into the food court and divert attention out of there to you in the main area."

"There's not much to think about," said Rachel. "Sarah punches the code, we morph insects, we go in, we kick butt, we save Ax, and we leave. Easy as pie."

Everyone except me laughed. It was very impressive that they could do that, despite the situation. ((There's another problem,)) Tobias brought up.

"Only one?" Marco joked.

((What if Ax is already taken?))

There was a small silence. I broke it. "He isn't."

"How do you know?" asked Cassie.

"Because Visser Three is an arrogant bastard who likes to brag to death his accomplishments."

"That's true."

"Besides, most likely he's waiting for the rest of the so called 'Andalite Bandits' so he can capture them all at once. It's better for his image that way. Imagine telling the Council of Thirteen that he caught everyone at the same time? It'll make up for him letting you get away for so long."

((So if he already knows we're coming, wouldn't he have changed his code?))

"The only people who know his code are him and me. And he probably thinks I went down with the Dome ship months ago. Not to mention he doesn't know I know his code."

Hesitation. ((What if you get the code wrong?))

"Then an alarm will sound in the Pool and guards will rush out to see who's trying to hack the system."

"Oh, well, is that all?" Marco asked. "That's a little too much risk, don't you think?"

"I know his code. Trust me!"

"I don't think so. Any other plans?"

"Do you have any siblings, Marco?" I demanded.

"No."

"Then you shut up and let me do this." My eyes were tearing up again. "I will do anything; take any risk, to get my brother back."

"I understand," Cassie said, silently.

"You don't have siblings, either."

"But you said Ax was your best friend. I know what it would be like to lose my best friend. I would do anything for him and her as well."

Another silence. The only thing I could hear was my own breathing. They didn't trust me. I should have figured. I didn't need them. "I don't need you," I said, angrily. "I can get him back myself. I just got Aximili back: I am not losing him again!" With that, I turned around and proceeded to walk out of the forest.

"I didn't dismiss you yet!" shouted Jake. I halted immediately. I slowly turned to face him. He was trying to look intimidating, but I saw the red on his cheeks. Acting like the boss was embarrassing to him. Nevertheless, I stood straight, shoulders back, at attention. I glared at him, not saying a word, awaiting instruction. "Now," Jake finally said, turning away from me to the others, "Sarah knows the code, so we'll do as Rachel says: go in, get Ax, get out. Easy as pie."

"Can't think of any better way to spend my Sunday," Marco added.

"Any questions?" Jake asked, looking at me expectantly.

I just said, "No, sir."

"Don't call me 'Prin-', uh, 'sir'," he said right away. Everyone laughed.

It always impressed me how they could laugh in situations like this.

((Next problem,)) Tobias put in.

"See? I knew he had more," said Marco.

Ignoring him, Tobias continued, ((Which entrance will we use? It has to be one not used often; something that leads to like a back way.))

"There's one near The Hole," I suggested. "It should be good enough: it's far enough away from the mall that I know of, and if I remember correctly, the mall is the biggest Yeerk attraction."

"Do you know where it is exactly?" Cassie asked.

"And how to get into it?" Rachel added.

"Yes."

"Then that's where we go," Jake said. "Everyone go home and make up some feeble excuse to explain why you're not going to be home until late."

"Better yet, let's explain why we may not get home at all," Marco said. I don't think he was joking. Everyone looked grim about this mission. They must have had bad experiences with the Yeerk Pool before.

"We'll go in as soon as everyone meets at The Hole -"

"No." I interrupted. They all looked at me. I doubt they expected me to interrupt Jake. "We will not meet at The Hole. That place is swarming with the scum of the earth. They will actually gang up on someone like Rachel to try to rape her. They will push drugs on you until you either buy them or get hospitalized. I will not allow you to go anywhere near The Hole."

"Your concern is touching, Sarah," Marco said, sarcastically, placing his hand to his heart over-dramatically, "but I seriously doubt anyone could rape Rachel, or hurt the rest of us. We fight the Yeerks, okay? We've gone up against seven-foot razor-blades of death. Drug dealers are the least of our worries."

"Do you fear me, Marco?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you think I live there? Do you think I'm the fairy princess of that place? Those people are very much like me."

After a short, uncomfortable silence, Rachel said, "Well, she makes a good point."

"We'll meet near the park. The entrance to the Pool is closer to the park anyway."

"The park it is," Jake concluded. "Everyone hurry up."

"Or else I'll go without you," I muttered…

I was the first to arrive at the rendezvous point. As I stated earlier, the old lady didn't care when I came home. Tobias came shortly after I did. Apparently he hadn't eaten at all that day.

Next came Cassie, whose home was closest to the forest, so she could talk to her parents before anyone else. Rachel came next, then Jake. Marco didn't arrive for a much longer time later, claiming his father wasn't home when he got there.

"Okay, Sarah; where's the entrance?" Jake asked. I nodded and led them away from the park and through some bushes, in the direction of The Hole, but still far enough away not to attract attention. We wedged in between a tall fence and a huge building, which was actually The Hole's abandoned recreation centre. We walked the tiny area all the way to the back door of the Rec centre, opened it, and was hit by a nasty wave of cigarette smoke, booze, and grass, which of course was not really grass at all.

It was one room, no lights, dirty floor and a very high ceiling. The door I opened was the only door that could open. Littered on the floor, besides dirt and butts, were abandoned and long worn-out basketballs and other such sports equipment. There were also the remnants of what could have been a pool, but was now a container for just about all the garbage on the planet.

And there were already two other people in the now shed-like Rec centre: both teenagers, no doubt dwellers of The Hole. I never made it a policy to get to know the people there, although the boy looked somewhat familiar.

"Eh, Sarah? What you doin' 'ere?" said the boy. His grammar or lack there of, made my teeth grind ever so slightly.

"Who dat?" asked his female companion. Now I understood why no one from The Hole goes to school.

"She just some low ass -" and the language here does not bear repeating. Even Marco looked away uncomfortably. I just stood there, glaring as I always do.

"This is my spot now, moron," I said.

"Hey; if you value you life, bitch, you'll git outta here!"

"Make me." The boy didn't budge. His female friend cowered a bit. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he still didn't make a move. I snickered. "All talk, no action. Now you 'git' out before I make you!"

The boy scurried away rather quickly. The girl backed out slowly, keeping an eye on me and trying to move as far away from me as she could. When they were out of sight, Marco whispered to me, "Wow, you're scary."

"Thank you." We walked into the building. Rachel shut the door behind.

((Hey! It's dark in here!)) Tobias complained.

"Do you think those kids noticed a giant red-tail coming in here with us?" Jake asked.

"Please. They were probably so doped up that they didn't even realize there was anyone with me."

"There are advantages to living in The Hole, I guess."

"Yeah. Loads." I walked to the very back of the room, where almost no light was shining. I felt around the wall, hoping to find a little outcropping of wood. I'd only seen this entrance used a few times, so I wasn't too sure if I could find it.

After five minutes, though, I found it. "Ah, here it is."

"What are you looking for?"

"This." I pulled the piece of wood as far out as it would come. A few clicks later, a big chunk of the wall moved aside and a brightened panel emerged. There was a small screen that flashed the message 'Input Code', and a tiny keypad with symbols and numbers, instead of letters.

"Oh, that's subtle," muttered Rachel.

"The only people who can even reach this place are drug dealers and addicts," I pointed out, staring at the keyboard. "No one would even notice a small piece of wood sticking out here in the shadows. It took me five minutes to find it, and I was actually looking for it."

All the symbols on the keyboard were Yeerk symbols. I recognized most of them. "Damn," I muttered.

"What?" Cassie asked, from beside me.

((You don't remember the code, do you?))

"No, I know the code." I sighed. "I just don't remember what that symbol means."

"We don't have time for Yeerk Alphabet 101," Marco pointed out.

"Alright, alright! Get ready to go cockroach." I put my hand on the keyboard and closed my eyes. I knew the code. I hope. What if I did get it wrong? Even one symbol, one number, one slip up, and it'll all be over. We'll all be dead. It would take less than a minute to get troops out from the Pool.

I tried to breathe steadily. Come on, Sarah; you know the code! Remember to rely on your instincts. If you know it's right, if you truly believe in your heart and soul that it's right, then it's right.

My brother was very wise, I thought. I sighed, and input the code. It was a very long code, and my fingers flew over the keyboard. It would be faster and easier to do it if I had more fingers. I suppose that's why Visser Three made it look short. Ten, twenty, thirty numbers later, I heard a short blip, and the message on the screen changed.

Access Granted.

A door formed in the wood and cracked open slightly. There was a collective sigh. "Whew! That was close," Marco said.

"He hasn't changed his code in over three years," I muttered. "What an idiot."

"Cockroach time," Jake announced, just as two antennae sprouted out of his head. The others followed suit. Tobias' change was the strangest, as he had to go cockroach from a hawk body.

They were taking too long to morph. "Come on, guys. It's not going to allow access forever. If we don't get in there soon, it'll lock on us."

((We're hurrying!)) When they had finally morphed all the way, I collected them up in my hands and dumped them in my pocket. ((Hey, watch it! I fell on Cassie.))

((Sorry.))

((Too bad for you, Jake.))

((Shut up!))

I walked passed the door, closing it behind me. The small proceeding room was dimmed. If this really was a Gleet BioFilter, the room would be brighter. I guessed the code deactivated it. "Again: what a moron. I would have kept the Filter activated in case I was followed."

((You can tell him that when you see him.))

((Family reunion.))

"Do you want to be squished?!" I hissed loudly.

((Hey, I was only kidding!))

I exited the Filter from the other side of the room, and closed that door behind me. The Yeerk Pool was deep underground, so it didn't surprise me to find a staircase going down and down and down. Overhead light bulbs made it decent to see, though more light would have been preferable. As I descended, I passed the robotic guards, who were just sitting there, as if shut down. The code must have done that, as well.

((I'm glad I'm a roach,)) muttered Marco, ((because now I can't hear the screaming.))

For there was screaming coming up from below. And pleading, crying, threats… I heard it all. I pretty much grew up to those sounds. The only difference between then and now is that the begging and crying made me feel guilty and enraged; back when I was younger, those sounds wouldn't touch me at all.

The deeper I went, the louder the noises. Hundreds of voices merging together. I had a strong urge to save them all, and at the same time, I wished they'd stop.

My second wish came true first. ((SILENCE!)) The roar shook my head. I stopped moving, but only on instinct alone.

((Well, we know who's down there,)) Jake whispered. There was no need to whisper as long as he was speaking only to us. I guess he had the same reservations as I did.

There was no more screaming or crying. There was faint muttering, a few sobs, but that was it. I continued going down the stairs. I couldn't speak, because I was in human form; I would have been heard. However, Cassie spoke for me: ((We need to stop short of the staircase; just enough to get us out, Sarah morph roach, get in position -))

((And then we kick Yeerk butt!)) Rachel finished.

((I have a question,)) Marco said. ((What if Visser Three kills Ax to get us?))

I shook my head unnecessarily. They couldn't see me. ((They won't,)) replied Tobias instead. ((Waste a perfectly good Andalite body that he's already captured? He won't do that.))

I got to the end of the stairs. There were still a good twenty or so left, but there was enough cover for me to morph without being seen. I took the others out of my pocket and put them on the ground. The five of them sat perfectly still. What a very un-roach thing to do.

((What a great opportunity I have here!)) Visser Three spoke up again. ((I have a visitor to my Pool, and no doubt his friends are already here.))

I almost snickered at his stupidity. If he was really worried, he'd have guards standing at the foot of this staircase. I didn't snicker, but I almost did. Antennae sprout out of my head, much in the same way as Jake. I also allowed my back to harden and turn into sort of body length wings. I began to shrink at that point, as well.

((And I owe the capture of this Andalite to two Yeerks, standing here.))

My mouth disappeared and I instantly said to the others, ((He's going to kill those Yeerks, you know.))

((How do you know?)) asked Cassie.

((Because they went behind his back, stole technology without permission and didn't inform their Visser.))

((But they captured an Andalite. He'll reward them, won't he?))

((A quick death is the best reward anyone can get from him.))

All my bones disappeared and replaced with an exoskeleton. My arms and legs thinned out, and two more came out of my side. I could hardly see a thing, but I could smell everything. This was good enough.

((However, there is a problem,)) the Visser continued.

((Does he ever shut up?)) Marco asked.

((These Yeerks went behind my back, stole technology without permission and didn't tell me anything of their plan. You may have captured an Andalite but the fate for going against me will not be favourable.))

((Time to go,)) I announced. I hugged the wall as much as I could, and scurried across the floor.

((Watch out for hungry Taxxons!)) Marco said. The others laughed. Must have been an inside joke or something.

((However, I do reward those who exhibit initiative, so for capturing an Andalite, your deaths will be quick and as painless as possible.)) I felt the air ripple twice, the ground shake twice, and I felt, rather than heard, the whole Pool gasp.

((Wow, Sarah was right,)) Marco said, shocked. ((What else can you predict he'll do?))

((Nothing you couldn't,)) I replied. ((You can't tell me you didn't see that coming.))

((I wonder how the Andalite Bandits will invade this Pool,)) Visser Three went on. If I had eyes, I would roll them. Like I said, he likes to brag and brag. I couldn't wait to stuff his smugness back up his ass.

I was amazed by just how little obstacles I had to get passed. I figured everyone was waiting for the Visser to do something. My roach antennae led me to the food court easily. I hid under a table and smelt around. There were a few humans here, but not much. I smelled no Hork-Bajir or Taxxons. They must be in the main Pool area already.

This was almost too perfect.

((Most of the people are in the main Pool area,)) I reported. ((You guys have your work cut out for you.))

((Yeah, making it easier for you to do whatever.))

((Just don't get us killed.))

((As long as you don't piss off Visser Three too much, you will not die,)) I pointed out. ((I can demorph and get a hold of a Dracon Beam in less than ten minutes from when you guys start the distraction.))

((What about the people in the court now?))

((As long as you're effective, they'll leave instantly.))

((Then are we ready to go?)) Jake asked.

((Yes, I replied.))

((Let's kick Yeerk butt!)) Rachel shouted. They didn't say anything after that. No doubt they were demorphing to go into battle form.

I waited. Time seemed to go far too slowly. My head was aching listening to Visser Three go on and on about how he captured Aximili now. Arrogant bastard.

Soon, I heard a loud roar. Loud enough to shatter glass. This roar was followed by a second roar, then a third. Everyone already in the court just dropped everything and left, as expected. Visser Three stopped bragging and said, ((Ah; there you are! Get them!))

I felt a lot of vibrations. It was time. I started demorphing. Everything now depended on the next few minutes. I was a human stuck under a table in less than thirty seconds. I crawled out and stood in a hunched position. There were windows showing out into the main Pool area that I could not be seen through. While hunched, I walked over to the very back of the room, where normally the weapons were stored. Of course, there was another keypad.

I punched in Visser Three's code again and the door opened. There were many Dracon Beams stored here. I took two: one for each hand. I haven't held a Beam in years, so the weight was a little awkward. However, as soon as the weapon was in my hand, my memories came back. I knew how to use this thing easily. The trigger was built for Hork-Bajir, but I could use it.

Now with human ears, I could hear the madness much easier. Visser Three was shouting orders, Hork-Bajir were screaming, animals were roaring, and I bet there was a lot of blood.

I swallowed hard. I just stood there, holding the Beams, breathing heavily. This was it. The ultimate confrontation. I would face my past in a few moments. This was my opportunity to make right all that I did.

((Sarah, if you are going to do something, now is the time,)) my precious brother's voice came in my head. His voice was all I needed to make my feet move finally. I was here to save his life. I would face my past, and get my brother away. I made a promise to him when we were younger that I would protect him with my life, and I was going to keep that promise.

((Sarah, hurry, or we all die!)) Rachel shouted.

((She's not coming,)) added Marco.

((Yes, she is!)) Cassie objected.

Yes I was. The first thing I fired on was the overhead light in the food court. TSEEW! And the light went out. No one out there could see me in here now. Some Hork-Bajir looked around curiously, but the majority of them were focused on the five animals they cornered near the other end of the Pool. There were a few handfuls of Hork-Bajir and Taxxon bodies cluttered around my friends' feet. They did some decent damage in their distraction. It made my job easier, as well. Aximili was chained closer to the infestation Pier of the Pool, where, of course, Visser Three was standing as well.

There were hundreds of humans in the cages, and a small handful of Human-Controllers off to the side a bit, away from the fight going on with Jake and the others. I saw their battle morphs for the first time as well. The tiger, near the front of the group, who I assumed was Jake himself, had scars all over his body. The grizzly bear, which I guessed was Rachel, because she valued power, had lost a paw. There was also a wolf and a gorilla, which I couldn't determine who were Cassie and Marco, but the hawk sitting on Rachel's massive shoulder I knew was Tobias.

Before anyone who looked back could ask what the heck caused the light to go out, I fired again. TSEEW! Down went a Hork-Bajir. TSEEW! TSEEW! Two more. I kept firing. TSEEW! TSEEW! TSEEW! The weapons in my hands shook with each pull of the trigger, but my accuracy was perfect. I hit each Hork-Bajir and Taxxon on target and they all fell. The ones cornering my friends were gone. The ones overhead on the piers looking on fell; some actually fell over the rails.

They were all dropping like flies. I kept shooting until Visser Three finally roared, ((WHO IS DOING THAT?!))

The whole Pool was quiet. Even the prisoners in their cages were speechless. I can't remember the last time a Yeerk Pool was this quiet. I don't think it ever happened. I slowly emerged from the shadows. I had a Dracon Beam in each hand, pointing upwards, because then if I needed to use them, they were easier to put in a firing position than if they were facing the ground. Besides, it looked more dramatic that way.

When the Pool's lights hit me, making my presence known to everyone there, I stood up straight, looked Visser Three right in his main eyes and said, with a huge smile on my face, "Hello, Visser. Remember me?"

It seemed like everyone in the Pool looked at Visser Three to see what he'd do. His eyes widened, his stalk eyes swivelled over to look at me, and he hissed quietly, ((You!))

"Yeah. Me. I bet you thought I was dead, huh?"

It only took a split second for him to act, but that split second was the greatest moment of my entire life. ((KILL HER! he roared. KILL HER NOW! RIP HER TO PIECES! RIP HER PIECES INTO PIECES! I WANT HER BODY TO BE REDUCED TO ASH! KILL HER RIGHT NOW!))

((Holy crap, he's angry!)) Marco said, just as every remaining Hork-Bajir not in a cage and every Taxxon not already eating their fallen comrades came charging towards me. I can't believe how many of them I missed. But it was all too easy to take them down.

TSEEW! TSEEW! TSE-TSE-TSEEW!

They all hit the ground before any of them even reached me. I just stood there, amongst the bodies, the grin never leaving my face, and I said, "You know, Visser, you never should have taught me how to use a Dracon Beam with perfect accuracy. But then, I bet you didn't think it'd come back to haunt you, huh?"

He screamed in pure rage. I actually flinched and most of the humans in the Pool covered their ears. Not that that would do much. ((IF SHE IS NOT DEAD SOON, YOU WILL ALL WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!))

At this point, no one was guarding Jake's group. But even they were too focused on what was going on with me than anything else. All the Human-Controllers came at me now. They were coming rather slowly and fearfully. Whatever. I had perfect accuracy. If I could hit a bird flying high in the air, I could hit a Human-Controller charging me a few feet away.

CLICK. CLICK.

Everyone stopped. Again, it was only a spilt second of wait, in which I looked at the weapons that were completely discharged, then looked back up at Visser Three, who now realized what happened and was smiling the way an Andalite smiles.

"Shit!" I said, and time resumed. I tossed the useless weapons to the ground, adopted a fighting stance, with my hands in front of me. The humans were closing on me. I analyzed the situation: there were about a dozen or so of them, unarmed, and most of them were full grown adults. One or two were probably older teens.

Luckily, they were only humans. The first one reached me and instantly tried to attack. I leaned as far back as my back would allow and dodged the punch completely. Then I came back up, bringing my own fist into his face. One down.

Two came at me at once, followed by three more. It was a little more difficult, but I managed to wave around their attacks, trip one of them, who fell on another, kick a human male in the groin, karate-chopped another in the back of her neck and finally knocked the last human out.

Four other humans were standing there, unmoving. I was standing in a mass of bodies. I was breathing harder than I intended to. I haven't been gang-attacked in years. The four of them looked back at their Visser, but judging by his look, they knew they had to attack. I almost pitied them. Almost.

They came at me and I disposed of them all too quickly. I looked back at Visser Three and said, "Are you proud of me? I can take out a dozen opponents at once. You've always hoped I would be able to do that."

((Sarah, have I ever mentioned you are the coolest person ever!)) Marco shouted.

((The toughest girl in the school,)) Rachel added.

I couldn't help but smirk. I felt more confident now. ((I am going to make you wish you were never born, Human!)) Visser Three yelled.

"If I had a nickel for every time you told me that over the past three years, I'd be rich." Some of the prisoners snickered at that.

He snarled in my head. He started walking towards me, completely ignoring everything and everyone else in the Pool. He didn't even notice, or probably didn't care, when Jake and Rachel lumbered towards Aximili to break him free.

((I am going to kill you myself,)) he growled. ((It'll bring me more pleasure that way.))

I spread my arms out invitingly. "You're welcome to try." He charged. He was fast! He'd always been faster than me. As soon as he got within reach, he swiped his tail at me.

FWAPP!

Instinct instructed me to raise my arm up. I blocked! My wrist collided with just the base of his tail blade; enough to stop his attack, but not close enough to slice myself. He FWAPPed again; I blocked again. I could see his movements. Growing up with Andalites trained my eyes as such.

FWAPP! FWAPP! FWAPP! Block, block, block. With each attack and subsequent block, my arms were getting more and more tired. He was still too fast. My arms were having trouble keeping up. Not to mention the force of his tail was hard. It had to be; an Andalite's tail was designed that way.

((Die, pthak!)) he spat. I recognized the word: it was the worst kind of profanity a Yeerk could utter.

I snickered. "You haven't even hit me yet," I pointed out, blocking yet another attack. He snarled again. This was actually kind of fun: pissing off my former master. It made me feel good that I annoyed him so much.

My smugness was repaid in kind. His tail blade finally sliced my wrist. I jumped back, grabbed my wrist with my other hand, but didn't stay like that for long, because of the other FWAPP that I blocked successfully. My wrist was bleeding badly, I felt my eyes blur, but I didn't pass out. I was determined not to. I've bled worse.

((Now I've hit you,)) he said. ((Yet you haven't hit me yet.))

While blocking with my undamaged arm, I raised my other arm to punch him, but he just blocked with his own arm. Damn that Andalite, having more extensions than me!

I kicked instead, but he jumped back. FWAPP! I blocked, just as he stuck out his hoof and managed to trip me. It wasn't a very Andalite-like thing to do, but he did it, and I fell over.

I can't believe how careless I was being. Maybe it was because I was dealing with a blade instead of just regular fighting. Maybe it was because he could slice, kick, block and punch all at the same time. Either way, my carelessness was making me angry. ((You're pathetic, Visser Three said, standing over me. You're more agile than this. I would think growing up with Andalites would have taught you better!))

"Shut up," I muttered, getting back on my feet. FWAPP! I blocked. The blood coming out of my wrist was getting less and less. I still felt a bit light headed. FWAPP! FWAPP! FWAPP! I blocked each attack. I jumped out of the way when he tried to hit me. Lucky for me, Andalite arms are weak, so his moved very slowly in comparison to mine. I brought a fist to punch him, which he FWAPPed at, but I blocked that with my other arm and finally landed a hit. It was closer to his chin than I wanted, but I hit him.

The shock made him stumble. I took that opportunity to attack again. The thrill of hitting him blinded me from his already in motion FWAPP and I didn't notice it until it slit deeply into my shoulder.

"AHH!" I shouted, and almost fell over again. I did, however, manage barely to stay on my feet. My breathing increased and I could no longer try to hide it. My shoulder was now bleeding worse than my wrist had. The loss of blood was making it hard for me to see. Not to mention my movements were also slowing down.

((I have a question,)) I heard Marco say. I had thought they left already. Why were they staying behind? To watch me? ((Why don't you just morph, Sarah? Going up against him as a human is rather stupid, isn't it?))

((She will not morph,)) Aximili pointed out. ((She will fight him the way she always knew him. It is a matter of honour and principle.))

((Seems like a stupid way to die,)) Rachel said.

((She will not die, either.))

I tried to believe him, but the way this was going, Rachel may be more correct. He already slit me twice, and I only hit him once. Barely hit him even. I tried to focus on him, but my eyes were coming in and out of blurs, and I guessed my posture was probably worse than I thought it was.

He came at me and FWAPPed yet again. My arm didn't come up in time to block it, and he slit my other shoulder. "AHH!" I shouted again.

((Sarah!)) Cassie yelled.

((Your movements are pitiful!)) Visser Three yelled at me. I hadn't even noticed I fell over until I opened my eyes again and saw him leering over me. ((You're slow, amateurish and you're not anticipating properly! I taught you better than this, you Human waste!))

"I… I…" My mouth wasn't moving the way I wanted it to. I wanted to say that I was far better than he gave me credit for, and possibly throw in an insult, but I couldn't make the words form.

((You could keep up with me far better when you were five. Why do you think I made you a general?)) My eyes couldn't stay open anymore. I couldn't even hold up my own head. ((Killing you now will almost be pointless.)) He raised his tail. ((Almost.))

FWAPP!