Visser Six? I thought. Visser Three was the guy in charge here, so I guessed that Visser was something like colonel or general. But Kullan 926…my dad's Yeerk was also a Visser?

Something wasn't adding up here. I got up, slowly. Sestran twitched and Kullan turned back to me. My body seemed heavier with only three forepaws but I managed to get myself up right and drag myself to the pool.

What's happening here? I asked, remembering to disguise my voice.

I watched two of the Yeerks as they appeared to chase a third one. They were so close to me that I could have lapped them up, but I didn't think that would help my chances of getting out of here. The faster Yeerk, I assumed was Forham.

"They are mating," Kullan explained. "A Culrath and Endran are emitting a pheromone that Forham's body cannot help but respond to. Though he consciously does not wish for this time to come, they are drawn to it and his will is not enough."

You die when you mate, I realized. Not because I know Yeerk physiology, but because it explains why Forham and Sestran were suddenly so terrified. In the natural world, plenty of animals die after they procreate.

Suddenly, I remember a special on the Discovery Channel about tape worms and how they reproduce by breaking off every single part of their body. The new organism then grows and spreads itself in a similar fashion. But what would happen if you were an intelligent being and you were perfectly aware of what was going on?

One of the Yeerks caught up to Forham. The other latched on shortly after. Seconds later they stopped swimming.

"And the cycle begins."

I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A mass of stagnant green flesh was beginning to writhe and twist. If I leaned closely to the water, I could see small…I don't know what they were, breaking off from the mass and starting to swim around.

"Watch Andalite," Kullan said. "Watch my new empire forming."

I glanced up at Kullan. It was getting easier to separate the Yeerk from my father with every word. Especially when I considered that Kullan's plan was insane.

How do you plan to overthrow your empire with a handful of newborns? I asked, desperately hoping I still sounded like an Andalite.

"I like this one, Sestran. Inquisitive, intelligent." Kullan grabbed my face and pulled it upwards so that we were looking into each other's eyes. The dog instincts hated being grabbed this way and I fought to keep it under control. "You would make an excellent host, Andalite. Young and inexperienced though you are I have no doubt that your intellect would benefit graciously from our time together. Because I assure you of this Andalite, the Empire has all ready made inroads to the conquest of your home world. And when it comes down to the final battle, between my Empire and theirs, mine is the side you're going to want to fall on."

And suddenly, I hated Erek. I hated John and Bryce and all of the Chee who had agreed to tell me everything. Because while my "friends" had their limitations and couldn't get me out of this mess it was my enemy who had given me the chance to save my father.

Those Yeerks in the pool couldn't possibly have been old enough to infest someone yet. My dad would be like the freed humans and Hork-Bajir. Probably sedated for a time, but free. And all because Visser Six wanted me as his host.

Never mind that I wasn't an Andalite. I was someone who had the morphing power. And at the time I hit that strange cube, I didn't know what I had. If the Chee had just saved my life and told me to take a hike, I would never have known about them. There would be no risk and Visser Six would no doubt recognize the power that his very enemies had created. Big deal. He'd probably get his stupid ass killed trying to attack the Windmill that was the much more powerful Visser's considerable force, and bring me down with him, but at least I died willing to save my father.

But no. Because of everything I knew, because I knew the Yeerk would stop at nothing to get the Chee and whatever technology they had, I couldn't take the out that Visser Six was giving me. The reason I was doing all of this in the first place. Now, my choices were infestation or death. And the Chee had chosen for me.

Thanks a lot guys.

I think you better go ahead and kill me, I said.

Kullan grimaced and dropped my head.

"Very well," he said. He turned to Sestran and nodded. Then he pulled his Dracon beam out and aimed it at me.

For the second time that day, I stared death down. I tried to prepare myself for it. But, you can't really prepare for death since you don't really know what's going to happen. I guess it was fate that I was to die in the basement of a Church.

I wanted to say good bye to Dad. I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I couldn't. As Kullan pressed some kind of dial on the Dracon beam, I realized that Dad was still in there somewhere. And if I was going to die, I didn't want him sitting in there, knowing that it was his hand that pulled the trigger.

But instead of a blinding flash of light, Kullan threw out his foot, kicking me in the stomach.

"Urrrh," I moaned.

Kullan laughed out loud and crouched low, grabbing me roughly by the ear and looking into my eyes once more.

"Did you really think you had a choice in the matter, Andalite?" He asked, snidely. "That's just now how the world works. The dog's brain is easy enough to infest. And after that, I'm sure your morphing technology will be-"

There was a knock at the back door. I hadn't noticed it before, but the shaft of daylight from a space in the far back of the room was where the truck had pulled up to. The knock came again, louder this time.

"Sheriff's department! Open up please."

Kullan and Sestran were distracted for just long enough.

I lunged at Dad's leg, biting his ankle.

"Ahh!" He yelled.

Sestran came around the pool, hoping to get a better shot. I scrambled to my remaining legs and leapt up, putting the full force of the attack dogs trained body into the leap and forcing my father's very human body to the floor. The impact forced him to lose his grip on the dracon and I immediately knocked it out the way with my nose.

The door was kicked in and with the speed and eagerness of a dog, I bolted to the exit. I expected the sheriff to raise his gun to me. Most officers were probably well trained in what to do if an eighteen pound dog came flying in your direction, but to my surprise he simply stepped aside and let me go.

"Go to the van around the front," he said.

Without even having to stop and look back, I realized he was a Chee. I limped towards the front of the church and sure enough, there was a K9 unit van parked there, with another officer waiting for me. I didn't realize Vermont's police force was staffed by people who were programmed not to harm anyone, but then it also explained some things about my beloved State's finest as well.

"Behind you!" The office shouted.

I turned around and saw Sestran, who had somehow gotten past the Chee cop and was now bounding up towards me.

Oh, that's right, I said, wishing I could roll my eyes in this morph. They couldn't have stopped him if they tried. And officer McGruff back there is undoubtedly staring and wondering what the hell use he could be right now.

"Die Andalite!" He yelled, raising his Dracon.

There was a short distance between us, but my adrenaline surged as and my hind legs were still perfectly functioning. And in what felt like a cliché slow-motion movie scene, I lunged. Sestran panicked and fired, scorching my flank with the beam. This only pissed the dog off more as pain surged through my body. I landed, full force on Mosely, grabbing his weapon arm and chomping down as he fell back words against the bank. His head struck the ground and I believe…I desperately believe, that he was only unconscious. But the force cause me to tear a significant chunk of flesh from his arm.

I let go immediately and tried to fight the dog's instincts to go for the throat. A powerful set of arms grabbed me and lifted me into the air. Before I could lunge.

"Easy," the Chee said. "We're getting you out of here."

And then everything sped up. I was placed in the back of the K-9 van and told to morph out. Much to my relief, the changes happened quickly and by the time we were halfway to the Treet residence I was fully human and fully exhausted.

"That's a Hork-Bajir," I said, pointing to the holographic image in front of me. The image changed to the millipede. "That's a Taxxon."

"Those are the most common Controllers in the Empire," Erek explained. "The Hork-Bajir are a conquered race, as Kullan told you, and like humans, most of them are involuntary controllers. The Taxxons are all voluntary controllers. In exchange for rare and exoctic meats from all over the galaxy, the Taxxons are basically, forgive the expression, the dogs of the Yeerk Empire."

It turns out the Taxxons are also fierce cannibals. The Chee had arrived sometime during my stunt in the woods and later filled me in on what I had missed. Apparently the Taxxons tried to attack the Hork-Bajir, who promptly slashed out and injured them both mortally. They proceeded to then eat each other, which explains why they weren't there for the alien Baptism.

Forham and Sestran arrived in the nick of time to stun them, giving the Chee plenty of time to erect a force field and hologram around the Church, to keep humans from getting too curious about what was going on at the Church.

I felt like Luke Skywalker watching his holographic image in the dog park beneath Bryce's house. Joey was at a friend's house, so Bryce's parents were down here, along with the Paul and a few other Chee who were gathered around me. Some were out further, playing with dogs, but I had no doubt that they could hear me.

A German shepherd rested its head in my lap and I scratched its ear with one hand as I tried to sip the hot chocolate Mrs. Treet made for me. It was supposed to calm my nerves. The dog or the chocolate. Maybe both. Either way, my stomach was in knots over the events of just a few hours ago. I have the Chee a brief rundown of all that had happened.

"If your Dad's a Visser, you're not going to be safe for much longer," Bryce said. "We can keep you safe here if you like. Paul can continue playing-"

"No," I said. "No, Paul can't go on to play me. Don't you see it's the same risk either way? What if I get killed? How long can either of you keep this up while Kullan continues to use my Dad as a pawn in his stupid scheme?"

No one seemed to have an answer for that. I gently pushed the dog away and got to my feet.

"Thank you for the hot chocolate, Mrs. Treet," I said, handing the mug to her. "But I need to go."

"Will you be safe?" Mrs. Treet asked, concerned.

I looked to the Chee, finally focusing on Erek.

"Look, a part of me is really floored at you guys for telling me everything," I said. "But I also know that giving myself up to Kullan wouldn't solve anything. If anything, they still would have had me and my Dad and with my morphing power, Dad would have been more expendable." Frustrated I threw my hands up. "God I hate this!"

I got back to the surface and left out the Treets backdoor. The sun was setting and the air was getting cooler. I needed time to think and the sky was going to be my therapy couch that night.