Disclaimer: One day, I'm gonna inherit the Animorphs after K.A. Applegate dies. I can see it now...Electric Skye OWNS the Animorphs...

But until then, it just belongs to that woman whose name I don't feel like writing since it's sooooooooooo long.

Bits of drama in this one. Bits of stupidity. And a lot of transition. Yes, its another transition chapter. But they're fun to play with.

No offence, but I can't help but look at Marco and Ax and think "Jeez. How dense can ya get?"

But I won't give away anymore.

Read, or the boogie monster will come to get you. (Man, did that sound sketchy or what?)

Chapter Eight

I was enraged.

The boy didn't trust me. And while one part of me was impressed at how quickly he picked up the fact that I was self-preserving, lying, and threatening them, the other part of me was simply enraged. What more did I have to do? What more did they need? Did they expect me to roll over and die when they told me to?

I could almost imagine why this David betrayed them. They could be infuriating!

But I wasn't so stupid. It was only Marco that was annoying. And I could handle my rage. It wasn't worth it to lose it over one boy.

It was afternoon,in the next week. Marco was no friendlier to me than he had been last week at the food court.

I was scheduled to fly over the Yeerk pool with Tobias. On my first trip to Earth, my Yeerk had led the project of the newest Yeerk pool. He had come down to Earth to check it out. I remembered the entrance. What I didn't think about was how many of those entraces there were. Why the humans built so many of these contraptions boggled my mind.

I had told them of the entrance in a large open place where humans gathered to sit in carts and get dropped down long railings and scream in fear. Then they would get back in line and ride the whole thing over again.

(It's called a roller coaster.) Tobias said. We were flying towards the place. I could hear the screams of the humans clearly.

(I know what it is called.) I said. (I simply do not understand why it is made.)

(It's for fun. You know, for the thrills.)

I stared at the humans. (They do not look as if they're having fun. Look, that dark-haired one is waving his hands around for help. And the boy next to him is screaming.)

(Well, they…hold on, that's Marco and Ax. Dudes! What are you guys doing?)

(AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!) Ax screamed. (Tobias, we- yahhhhhhh!!)

(Ax-man, are you cool?)

(No, Tobias. In fact, my own human body is retaining its heat, and it is at a healthy 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit.)

(That's not what I meant Ax. Marco, what are you doing there?)

"Yahhhhhhhhhhh!" Marco screamed.

Tobias sighed. (We'll wait then.)

We watched as Marco and Ax disembarked from the cart and walked over to some bushes.

(Sorry, Tobias. We couldn't resist.) Marco said as he rose in the air as an osprey.

(I bet you could. Marco, we aren't here for the roller coasters. We're supposed to find the ride that leads into the Yeerk pool.)

(But Tobias-) Ax's voice shook. (-that was the most amazing, yet terrifying moment of my life. You must come try it.)

(Jake will have my skin if I do. We're supposed to be scouting around!)

(Why would Prince Jake take your outer organ?) Ax sounded puzzled. (Will he use it as artificial skin?)

(But we've already staked out this place fifty times!) Marco grumped. (The Yeerks are just waiting for us. We already figured out what to do. We know the underground layout, the secret computer codes, and all the equipment. We actually have a plan for once. And we're not doing anything.)

(You know why Marco.) Tobias told him. (Madi suspects a trap in the underground. We're waiting for information from the Chee. And if we don't get any sign of a trap, then we go tonight. Plus, Madi's not exactly sure which ride leads to the place. We've seen Controllers everywhere on every ride. They're just throwing us off scent, which means they know we know, and Madi thinks that means there's more likelihood of a trap.)

(Yeah? And we're gonna trust her?)

There was silence. Obviously, Marco had no idea I was here, or else he would not have said that out loud.

(Hey, Marco.) I said, flying pass him. (Tobias and I are ready to take the next shift.)

(Oh…uh…) he stopped talking.

It didn't matter. They might think I was soft and petty, but I was used to this. My odds were already good. Rachel liked me, she said as much. Cassie might not trust me, but she willing to give me the chance. Jake was just fair to me. Tobias explained stuff to me. Ax understood my confusion with the human world, and so he bonded with me like that. Or he was just really happy that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand human things.

I didn't need any pity. I didn't need anyone to take care of me. I needed to Animorphs to help me here, and once I killed off Visser Three, then I would be off. Maybe I'd become a nothlit. Maybe I'd just disguise myself as another human. I don't know.

I had another dream that I dared not even think about. If I could save Darwin….

Foolish of me, I know. But Darwin meant everything to me. He would know what to do. He planned everything out. He would help. If I could rescue him.

I rather doubted it.

(Your shift is over, Ax.) I said. (You can go now.)

(Tobias?) Ax asked. (Since our turn is over, may I-?)

(Yeah! One more time, then we'll go home.) Marco said, and flew off to land in the bushes.

They demorphed, and walked out. Tobias muttered something about roller coasters and idiots, then flew off to the other side of the park.

If it weren't for the hawk eyes, I might not have seen Marco sneakily take a piece of paper from the ground and give it to the person behind the glass window. The person accepted it, and I heard Marco tell him to give them the bigger ride.

"You mean, the tunnel ride?" The person asked.

"Yeah. Give us the pool ride." Marco grinned.

The person stopped smiling and nodded. "Right this way, sir." He nodded towards the side door.

Marco dragged Ax inside, but not before giving us a little wave.

(Tobias?) I asked curiously. (What is a pool ride?)

(What do you mean the pool ride?) Tobias asked from the other side.

(Marco went inside with Ax to what they call the pool ride.) I said. (Marco called it the bigger ride, but the man behind the glass said it was the tunnel ride.)

(Oh. That's just an extension of the original ride. You know, like a different ride that has the same theme as the first ride, but you can't go on it, unless you have a member account or lots of money. Say, how did Marco get in there?)

(He picked up a piece of paper from the ground and gave it to the man behind the glass.)

(Did you see what it looked like?)

I tried to remember. (It was green and crumpled and had several pictures and words on it.)

(Did you see a number?)

(Yes. It was twenty.)

Tobias sighed. (That was money. It was a twenty dollar bill Marco took.)

(Money? I thought they came in silver or copper alloys shaped as small flat disks.)

(Yeah, some of them are. They're just different parts of each other. You know, a nickel is worth five pennies and so on.)

I didn't get it. (Humans have such complex systems.) I muttered. (Why carry around such invaluable things when they are so easy to lose?)

(I really don't know. All I can say is that there is a lot of money on the ground. People drop stuff everywhere.)

(Why are there two different roller coasters then?) I asked confused.

(Well, people want more money, so they charge more so people can ride the better roller coaster. But they don't want people to not go on their roller coaster, so they decide to put up a smaller roller coaster. You know what? Ask Cassie about this. She gets it better than I do.)

I angled around. (Whereare Marco and Ax? Will they not ride on the large contraption below us?)

(Nah, the other roller coaster is inside. That's why they call it a tunnel. The whole thing is called the "Freakazoid. Consists of thrills, chills, and spills! Come ride this wet roller coaster, with a big pool at the end!") He read the sign.

(A big pool at the end?) I asked slowly. I was remembering something, but I couldn't quite get there.

(Yeah, a big…pool.)

We both realized it at the same time.

(Holy...Get Jake and the others.) Tobias said.

(No, Tobias. You fly faster than I do. You go. Besides, I know my way down there better than you do.)

He hesitated, then said, (Ok. I'll be back soon. Don't do anything without us.)

He might've said that because he was afraid I would get hurt. But I knew better. I knew he was saying that because he was afraid of a betrayal.

He flew away. I flew down and demorphed.

I remorphed my new human morph, the "Rachel/Cassie reincarnation." I looked around for the pieces of paper they called money, but I couldn't see any. No matter. If I was high-ranking enough, they wouldn't mind either.

I strode over to the counter, and glared at the man behind the glass. He looked bored.

"Yeah?" He asked. "You know, you need money for this ride."

I curled my lip, and lowered my voice. "Fool. Give me the pool ride, before I report you to Visser Three."

He straightened, and I could see the fear in his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."

I tossed my head, and walked to the door.

It had been so easy. Just walking in, and talking in that cold hard voice. It made me shiver. I didn't like the fact that I could imitate high-ranking Yeerks.

I wondered if the boy Marco was right. Maybe I was like David. If David was arrogant and mean, and cold and harsh. It wasn't a good thought.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. No, I had to save Marco and Ax first. They didn't even realize where they were.

I remembered my first trip to Earth. The one where I had ran away from the Yeerk pool into the forest. I remembered the Yeerk pool vaguely.

One thing I did remember. At the end of the "ride", there was a pool.

A pool full of Yeerks.

I had found the Yeerk pool. And Marco and Ax were headed straight for it.

Nice dramatic ending.

Stupid Madra. How can you forget a roller coaster called the Freakazoid?

Yeah, stupid name. But hey, I was gonna call it the Sluggy the Super Slugster. I much prefer the Freakazoid.

Ok, time for me to catch up on my lost hours of sleep. Remember to review for me!