"I'd like a happy meal." Ax said. He smiled at the cashier.

(With extra happy.) Tobias reminded.

(But I really want a happy meal.) Ax argued. (The aroma is overpowering!)

(With extra happy!) Tobias commanded.

"With extra happy." Ax said grumpily.

The cashier laughed like she'd heard the joke a million times. She probably had.

Ax smiled and walked towards the bathroom. Out of sight of the customers, he ducked into the kitchen.

(We are here.) Ax said. He opened the walk-in fridge.

(Good, 'cause I do not want to stay in here any longer than necessary.) Rachel grumbled. (Gross nation.)

Ax walked into the fridge and closed the door behind him.

"Please shield your eyes from the gleet-biofilter." A mechanical voice droned.

Ax shut his eyes. (This is it.) He said.

FLASH! The gleet-biofilter went off, and Ax felt sudden pain in his nose.

(AHHH!) Came the mixed cries of his friends.

(Is everybody still alive?) Ax called. There was no answer.

(Please affirm your continued existence!) Ax cried.

(Huh?) Rachel said groggily. (We're here. We just can't really move that well.)

(What happened?) Ax asked, moving down the dirt staircase.

(You're sinuses suddenly flared up. Cassie got frightened and bumped into the back of your nose.) Jake groaned. (We're sort of stuck in-)

(Mucus. Snot. Nose juice.) Marco offered.

(We need you to get us out.) Rachel said. (Yuck. And hurry.)

Ax emerged into the yeerk pool. He cringed inwardly at the cries and screams of the hosts, but knew he couldn't reveal anything. A real controller wouldn't care.

"I cab breed true my dose." Ax said to himself.

"Huh?" A passing controller asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"I haf a colt." Ax lied, nodding. "Stubby dose. Cab breed true it."

"Oh." The controller said, hurrying away. "Well, don't give it me."

Ax hurried though the pool, looking around for something to unclog his nose.

"Hey, you!" A Gedd snapped. Ax spun around.

"Visser three want you." It nodded. "He says, get you."

Ax looked frightened. The Gedd patted him on the back sympathetically. "You mebbe die. Visser mad."

The Gedd led Ax over to the Visser's room. Ax wished his knees would stop shaking.

(Ax.) Jake said. (Cassie isn't responding. What are you doing? Get us out of here!)

Ax ignored Jake and stepped forward. The Visser glared at him.

(I have been waiting.) The Visser said icily. (You should not keep me waiting. It is bad for your health.)

"Yes, Visser." Ax said through clenched teeth.

(You look different from the last time I saw you.) Visser said. (You do not look like Tom.)

Ax's eyes widened. He had created a new human morph for today by recombining the Animorphs' DNA. He had used a lot of Rachel's and Jake's. Somehow, he must have managed to look like Tom. Enough so that a poor-sighted Gedd would mistake him for Tom.

"P-Plastic surgery, Sir." Ax stammered. "It was ten-percent off at Medicare plus. Look beautiful for the holidays."

The Visser sneered. (Humans are so vain. Report.)

"R-Report?" Ax said, trying with a super-human effort to keep the hatred from his voice.

(How is the tracking of Santa coming.) Visser snapped. (Did you find the escaped elves and reindeer?)

"Um." Ax was trying to find something to say that wouldn't get the real Tom killed. "We are on their tail. We have hunted them down, and are about to capture them soon."

(Acceptable.) The Visser sneered. (And Conner?)

Ax wanted to scream, "It's Donner, you moron!". But he restrained himself. "Dead." he said. "Definitely dead."

(Good.) Visser nodded. (You may go.)

Ax turned around to see two Hork-Bajir warriors pointing dracon beams at him. Behind them was the real Tom.

(After,) The Visser said softly. (You tell me who you really are.)

Ax froze. He looked back and forth.

(Well?) The Visser laughed. (We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.)

"I choose..." Ax said slowly, focusing with all of his will power. "I think that I choose..."

He backed against the wall. "I know! Neither!"

FWAPP!

He whipped his half-formed tail forward and knocked a surprised Hork-Bajir off balance. He bowled him over and raced out the door.

(ANDALITE BANDIT!) The Visser bellowed.

Tom fired at him, but the shot was way off.

Ax kicked a Taxxon in front of the door and sliced a huge gash in it's side. Immediately, a huge wave of Taxxons dove on top of it.

Ax ran.

(Move, you disgusting worms!) Visser bellowed, chopping at the Taxxons. He was just adding to the problem, as more and more Taxxons dove for the fresh meat. If he had just waited, they would have gone away after a while. But nobody with any brains was going to try to tell an angry Visser Three that.

(Ax, We're getting heavy vibrations in here!) Marco yelled. (What in the world are you doing?)

Ax raced for the food court. Surprised controllers stared at his tail protruding from his rear end. Some recovered fast enough to pull out their dracon beams.

"HAH!" Ax cried, diving across a table. He grabbed a bottle of pepper and sprinkled some into his nose.

(What the-) Jake began.

"AACHOOO!" Ax sneezed.

(AHHHH!) The Animorphs screamed. They landed in a man's tray of fries. The man looked disgusted.

"Give me those!" Ax yelled, and grabbed the tray of fries. He dashed out of the food court, dodging dracon fire and racing for the launching bay. Maybe they could still pull off their plan.

(Demorph!) He yelled, ducking behind a pool ship. Five tiny black dots soon became discernible from the other black dots of pepper.

They grew from five snot and pepper covered fleas into four snot and pepper covered teenagers and one snot and pepper cover bird.

"Uugh!" Marco groaned. "It's times like these that I wish we had full body morphing outfits.

"Yuck." Rachel spat on the floor. "This is disgusting!"

"Okay people." Jake said with a grossed out look on his face. "We'll be disgusted later. Ax, hack into two bug fighters."

(Already done, Prince Jake.) Ax said, fully demorphed. The doors of two bug fighters stood open.

"Three in this one, Three in that one." Jake commanded. "Ax, Cassie, and me in this one. Marco, Rachel, And Tobias in that one."

They heard the pounding of leathery feet on the steel floor. Hork-Bajir.

"Move people!" Jake snapped, racing inside. They piled into the fighters.

"Hah!" Marco crowed, jumping into the pilot seat. Rachel shrugged and sat down in the co-pilot seat.

"The co-pilot gets to fire the weapons, Marco." Rachel laughed. Marco cursed.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Marco yelled. Ax's ship was already starting to launch. "Tobias, ask Ax how to close the door."

(Ho do you close the door!) Tobias yelled. He could see the Hork-Bajir closing in on their fighter.

(The flashing R- -----!)Ax called faintly.

Marco jabbed a flashing red button. Rachel's console glowed.

"Cool!" Rachel said. "You just activated the weapons!"

"Hold 'em off!" Marco yelled, searching for a flashing something.

Rachel grabbed the joystick eagerly and started mowing down the Hork-Bajir with the ship dracons. The twin lasers were melting the floor and incinerating Hork-Bajir. The Lasers were designed to blast through force fields and armor, not skin and flesh. It was a massacre.

TSEEW! TSEEW!

"Don't fire so close to the ship!" Marco yelled, as debris flecked the window.

"Oops." Rachel said. Three Hork-Bajir dodged the beams and charged for the door.

Suddenly a green button next to a speaker started flashing. Marco slapped it just as the Hork-Bajir reached the door.

(Can you hear me Marco? Marco, do you read?) Ax said. His thought speak voice was coming through the speaker. (The flashing red switch. Above your head. Pull it.)

Marco grabbed the switch above his head and yanked it down. The door hissed shut, slamming down on the second Hork-Bajir. The head Hork-Bajir dove through.

(One Hork-Bajir.) Tobias swore.

"And a half." Marco chuckled at the upper half of a Hork-Bajir lying on the floor.

TSSEER! Tobias dove at the Hork-Bajir. But he couldn't fly too well with his wings weighted down. He was batted across the room.

"Grash-Korhar!" It growled, and ripped Marco from the seat. Marco yelled and started kicking ineffectively at it's stomach.

ZSEW! Sparks flew from the console as the Hork-Bajir slammed Marco into it.

"AHHH!" Marco bellowed, as the ship rocketed backwards. Marco and Rachel slammed into the front window. The Hork-Bajir landed on top of them with a sickening crunch.

(I have a visual on you!) Ax yelled. Marco must have turned on a screen when he hit the console, because Ax's face was on a TV to the left. (Turn off your reverse! The front window is sustaining too much pressure!)

"Yeah, Like I didn't think of that!" Marco snapped.

As if on queue, a crack appeared on the window.

Thump! Tobias hit the window.

"Marco! Stop the ship!" Rachel growled, tying to push herself off the window. It cracked some more.

(Oh no!) Tobias groaned. (Miss Scarlet with the pipe in the kitchen. I thought you had used the candlestick. Shame on you.)

"I can't." Marco choked. The Hork-Bajir had him by the neck. "Help, Xena!"

Rachel kicked out and hit the red flashing switch.

"AHH!" Marco yelled. They were all tumbling towards the open door. The Hork-Bajir and Rachel fell from the ship.

"GRAAAARRRRR!" It yelled. It grabbed onto the edge of the doorway. Rachel grabbed it's flailing tail.

"Close the door!" Rachel yelled, feathers sprouting from her arms.

Marco grabbed Tobias before he fell out the door, and pulled the red switch. The door began closing.

"Korar!" The Hork-Bajir bellowed in pain as the door closed on it's fingers. Rachel and the Hork-Bajir spiraled away.

"How do I stop this crazy thing?" Marco yelled. He started flipping switches and levers.

Suddenly, the engines cut off. The Bug Fighter plummeted through the air.

"Marco!" Jake's face appeared on the screen. It was red. "You are never flying another bug fighter again!"

"It was the stupid Hork-Bajir! He screwed up the controls!" Marco kicked the console, and the engines turned back on.

"Sit down and do exactly as Ax tells you!" Jake commanded. Marco sat down, and Ax described the basic controls. Pretty soon he knew how to fly it. Marco style.

(The goose!) Tobias yelled. (The goose! The goose! The goose!)

"I see it!" Marco barked, yanking the bug fighter upwards.

(The plane!) Ax yelled. Luckily, the cloaking was on, or else a dozen passengers would have seen a bug fighter narrowly miss their left wing.

Thud! A hawk splattered against the window.

(Hey!) Tobias yelled angrily. (That was a red tail! Fly higher, Marco!)

Thwack! Marco nicked a pigeon's wing, and it careened crazily away.

"Stop hitting birds!" Cassie yelled, sticking her tongue out at Marco on the view screen. Marco ignored her.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Marco hit a flock of geese.

(DO YOU HATE BIRDS?) Tobias bellowed.

Marco narrowly missed an eagle. "Ha!" He said. "Dodged that one."

(As if!) The Eagle snorted. (I dodged you.)

(Rachel!) Tobias cried out in joy. Marco yanked the bug fighter into a hover and opened the door. The eagle swooped in.

"Just in time." Marco laughed, landing sloppily on the Chee roof. The other bug fighter smoothly settled down next to them.

"Well, that was exciting." Jake said. He stepped from his bug fighter, jumping over two Taxxons in the doorway. "Those two were doing repairs. Ax took care of them."

"Now we just need the Chee to disassemble these things." Jake said. He looked down and frowned. "Doesn't this roof seem bigger than normal?"

"Too bad we couldn't get another one of these things." Marco sighed. "Bet it goes faster than reindeer."

The Animorphs morphed and flew down from the roof. Rachel and Tobias, already birds, got inside first. They were staring at a massive basement, filled to the top with an assortment of toys.

(What happened to the dogs?) Cassie cried out.

"WeBuiltThemAnotherBasement!" Mr. King yelled. "AndWeExpandedOurWholeHouse!"

(I-I see.) Jake said. (How many toys have you made?)

"We'reAheadOfSchedule!" Erek said. "ByTwentyThousandToys!

AtThisRateWe'llBeDoneTwoDaysEarly!"

"Nope!" Mr. King shook his head at hyper-speed. "WeHaveToTake ATenMinuteBreakEveryDay! SoThatWeDon'tBurnout!"

(Well, you'll still get done in time.) Tobias said. (Thanks for all you help. Can you do one more thing?)

(WeAlreadyDeassembledTheTelporterFromTheBugFighters.)

Erek said. (WeAlsoMadeYouASleighFromTheSpareParts.)

(Thanks.) Jake said, amazed. (We might actually pull this off.)