Boy, Full Sail's Film Program is tough. Happy Holidays, everyone. There's lots of talkie-talkie in this chapter. Hopefully they'll be an action chapter before the new year (2007).

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((Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!)) said a thought-speech voice. ((You Lose! I am Master!))

I stood there horrified. Quafijinivon made Bone sentient. What kind of . . . . . person was Bone? Has this once peaceful animal turned into some brutish, violent monster?

"Bonehead, I've asked you not to play in my lab." Quafijinivon said sternly, but calmly.

((Sorry, Quaffy.)) Bone replied.

"And don't call me that!"

((Yes, Quaffy.)) Bone answered back. ((Toadie? Are you okay?))

"Toadie . . . . . ow." Said the other Mini-Titan on the floor.

((Oh, goodness.)) Bone said as he made a laughing sound with his Mini-Titan mouth. ((Let me help you up.)) Bone extended his humanoid arm to the fallen Mini-Titan whose name is probably Toadie. Toadie took his arm and was pulled to his hooves.

Brutish, yes. Violent? Not so much.

Tony Mercer entered the lab. "I see you've met the new and improved Bonehead von Buffalo."

"How'd you know that was his name?" I asked.

Tony Mercer looked at me as if I were an idiot. "He told us."

((Whoa! Boss!)) Bone suddenly yelled in thought-speech. Bone looked right at me and sprinted toward me.

When you see a buffalo running toward you, you're supposed to run away. When you see an anthropomorphic buffalo running at you with all the restraint of a five-year-old, you run away faster. I, however, only managed to back up a few steps before Bone came up to me and put his massive body-builder arms around me.

((Hiya, Boss! It's nice to see you. Do you like the new me??? My head feels so much clearer! It's all fixed!))

Bone was squeezing me very tightly. "Bone . . ." I eeked out.

((Yeah, Boss?))

"Put me down!"

((Sorry. I'm not used to having arms. I better demorph now.)) Bone said as he released me. I watched as the Mini-Buffa-Titan shrank to become a regular Cape Buffalo.

Of course, how 'regular' was up for debate.

"That was just a morph?" I asked.

"Yes." Answered Mercer. "We created Toadie the Mini-Buffa-Titan as our go-between for the Buffa-Titans. Bone must have acquired and morphed Toadie."

"Son of a bitch, it's like the Planet of Dr. Moreau in here."

Bone, in his own body, walked up to me. ((Hey Boss!))

"Are you talking to me?" I asked him.

((Duh.)) Bone replied.

"Well, what is it, Bone?"

((I'm hungry! There's no grass down here!)) Bone whined as he tossed his head about.

"Toadie will take him to valley." Toadie offered.

((I'll race ya!)) Bone challenged Toadie.

"No racing down here!" Quafijinivon quickly commanded.

((Ooooooh.)) Bone whined disappointedly.

Bone and Toadie left the lab and I stood there with a fixed look on my face.

"He's a kid!" I finally said.

"What did you expect, for him to come out quoting MacBeth?" Mercer replied to me flippantly.

"He's a child!"

"Technically, so are you."

"Don't give me that shit, Mercer. You know what I'm talking about. I just wanted you to take away his morphing power, not make him . . . . that!"

"If that's what you wanted, why didn't you just trap him in the morph of another Cape Buffalo?" Quafijinivon asked me.

Oh crap. He was right. That would have been a hell of a lot simpler.

"Uhhh, ummm, well still!" I stammered. "With the Buffa-Titans, and Toadie, and now Bone, what do you plan on doing with them?"

"Mercer? Those monsters are your creation." Quafijinivon said with a glance to Mercer.

"The Buffa-Titans and Toadie are meant for our protection. As for Bonehead . . . . I'm not sure what you're asking us for." Mercer said glancing at me.

"Me? I can't take him. You want me to take that five-year-old freak back to Earth. What is he supposed to do there?"

"Fight the bad guys?" Mercer weakly supplied.

"'Bad Guys'??" I repeated incredulously. "What Bad Guys?"

"I don't know. It's practically the only thing he's talked about since the treatment took."

"Why don't you ask him?" Quafijinivon suggested annoyed as he got back to work.

I found Toadie and Bone up top on the grass field near Proteus. As I approached, I 'heard' Bone singing something in thought-speech.

((Hork-Bajir grass is yummy. Hork-Bajir grass is yummy.))

This was going to feel ridiculous.

"Ummmm, Bone?" I prompted.

Bone stopped grazing and lifted his head to look at me. ((Yes, Boss?))

Why did he call me Boss? "So, um, now that . . . your head is fixed, what do you want to do?"

((I want to fight the Bad Guys with you!))

"What Bad Guys?"

((The Bad Guys that tried to blow up me and Big Sister. The Bad Guys who like to crawl into peoples' brains and use them like slaves. You know, Bad Guys. Yeerks.))

"Not all Yeerks are Bad Guys, and not all Bad Guys are Yeerks."

Bone cocked his head at me. ((Whoa, that's interesting, Boss. I never thought about that. Good thing I have you to tell me what to do.))

"Bone, it's very dangerous where I'm going . . . ."

((I know that. First Home was a very dangerous place. Have you ever ran from a Queen Cat when you barely knowed how to walk? Huh? I don't think so! Stupid Queen Cat ate my Mommy.))

"Are you talking about a lioness?" I asked incredulously. Did Bone have memories from before 'his head was fixed'?

((Mommy and Daddy and I and the rest of the herd drinking from the stream, minding own business when 'RAWR!' buncha Queen Cats go lunchtime!))

"Bone, the Bad Guys you want to fight are a lot more dangerous than queen cats."

((I'm more dangerous than Queen Cats now! I can morph!)) Bone insisted. ((Hee-Hee-Hee.))

"Bonehead fights hard in Toadie-form!" Toadie supplied.

"Bonehead," I started, "maybe you should stay here. With Toadie and creatures more like you."

I could swear I saw sadness in his big Cape Buffalo eyes. ((But, Home is home. Hork-Bajir planet isn't home.))

"Home is wherever you make it. This could be home if wanted."

((I know that too, Home used to be pretty savannahs. Then Home was a bunch of cages or big weird fields where it never rained, and humans looked at me all day. Then I stepped on that blue rock and my head got fixed for the first time when I turned into a human!)) Bone recounted.

Bone's odd perception of what happened to him was innocent like a child, but still . . . very insightful.

((And that's when I met Big Sister. She was sweet and nice. She said I was good. She also had dark skin like the humans that lived around First Home.))

Africans? Cassie! Big Sister was Cassie.

((Big Sister and her herd fought the Bad Guys. I want to fight the Bad Guys too, Boss!))

"Ok, my name is not 'Boss'; it's David. And Big Sister's name is Cassie."

((And my name is Bonehead von Buffalo!)) Bone proudly proclaimed.

"I know what your name is Bone. I gave it to you."

((No, you didn't. Pretty Lady did.))

Gee, I wonder who Pretty Lady was.

((I want to be in your herd.)) Bone continued.

I signed in exasperation. "Bone, you can't join my herd," I said as I started to walk away, "I don't have a herd, and you can't join Cassie's herd, because, well . . . . you just wouldn't fit in."

((You're not in Big Sister's herd?)) Bone asked back.

I turned around expecting to have to yell to where I left Bone, but he and Toadie had followed me while I walked. "No, I told you: I don't have a herd."

Bone cocked his head in what I think was an expression of confusion. ((No herd? That's silly, Boss! Everyone has a herd!))

How do I explain this? I thought to myself. "When you lived in your First Home, did you ever see humans, by themselves?"

((During the Sun's time, I would see humans by themselves. Sometimes they carried weapons and went after hoof animals.))

"Ok." I sighed, satisfied that he understood me now.

((But when it was Moon's time, they'd go back to their herds.)) Bone added. ((Don't you have a herd to go back to, Boss?))

Did I? I alienated my family. I alienated the Animorphs. "No, I don't."

((I'll be in your herd, Boss!!!)) Bone loudly (in thought-speech) proclaimed.

"Toadie too! Toadie too!" Toadie added.

"No, No! Toadie, your herd is here, and Bone, your herd can be Toadie's herd. You like Toadie, right? His home can be your home."

((No.)) Bone yelled, defiantly. ((Home is where the savannahs are. And where Big Sister and her herd is. And Pretty Lady. And you!))

I tried walking away, but Bone followed me. ((Especially you, Boss. You don't have a herd!))

I reached the door to Proteus and walked in. "I don't need a herd, Bone." I said as I turned around to direct that to Bone, but he was gone. Toadie, on the other hand was sitting down staring intently at a flower.

I rolled my eyes and closed the door to Proteus. I was relieved to be rid of Bone, but I wondered where he ran off to so quickly.

I was halfway to the bridge when Ayla spoke to me. "What was all that about?"

"Oh, Bone? Yeah, he's sentient now. He has the personality of a kindergartener to boot. He wants to join me to fight 'the Bad Guys'."

"So, why not?"

"'Why not?' What the hell am I supposed to do with the Baby Huey with Horns? How am I supposed to destroy an empire from the inside out and save millions if not billions of lives while babysitting a giant with a Superman complex?"

"You were saying earlier how you were afraid that you would do something terrible again." Ayla replied back to me. "That you fear yourself more when you're alone. Maybe the solution is to not be alone anymore. To have someone to hold accountability to."

"I'm supposed to hold myself accountable to a toddler in a monster's body?" I said as I entered the bridge. "You're as bad as the buffalo. I don't need a herd."

((Yes, you do, Boss.))

"What? Who said that? Bone?" I replied startled. "Are you in morph?"

((Umm, I don't know.)) Bone quickly replied.

"Bonehead von Buffalo! Get out here and demorph, right now!" I yelled. As a chadoo glided on its small feathery wings to the floor and began to change shape, I turned my guns of annoyance at Ayla. "Why didn't you tell me there was a morph on my ship?"

"You didn't ask." Ayla responded with fake-innocence-and-surprise in her voice.

Bone finished demorphing. I don't know how, but I swear his giant, bovine head was giving me puppy-dog eyes. I felt a little uneasy at berating something that could gorge me with a head flip, but Bonehead was acting like a spoiled, pissy, little ingrate.

I wonder if I annoyed the Animorphs this much when I first joined them.

"Bonehead, never, and I mean, never sneak on my ship without my permission. You got that?"

((Excuse me, Mr. Hunting, but unless you're the Boss of my herd, I don't have to listen to you.)) Bone snottily replied turning his giant buffalo snout up at me.

I was searching my memory for any morph I had that could possibly brain a buffalo when Ayla warned me a lone Hork-Bajir approaching the ship.

"Neo or Unas?" I asked.

"Neo. Male." Ayla replied.

I left Bone at the bridge and told him not to follow me. Naturally after a few seconds I heard the CLOP-CLANG of heavy hooves walking on metal floors. Disobedient brat.

I opened the outer door to see a male neo Hork-Bajir looking at me. His eyes were downcast and he hung his neck low as to not appear so much taller than me. He was the normal Hork-Bajir height around the area of seven feet. His frame was a little bit larger than most, but no where near Ursa Wulvef-size. His skin was a dark blue-ish purple and his horns and blades were blue-tinged. "Mr. Hunting?"

"The one and only." I flippantly greeted him.

"My name is Babylon Skorre, and I . . . ." He started.

"Wait, your name is Babylon?"

"Yes. I named myself after an ancient human civilization . . ."

"I know what it is, Hork-Bajir! What's your business here?" I yelled at him, frustrated. Too many things have not gone my way. Maybe I was the spoiled brat.

"When you leave the planet, I would like to go with you."

((He could join our herd, Boss! Please?))

"Bone, shut up." I scolded the Buffalo as I then addressed the Hork-Bajir. "Absolutely not."

"I would be your servant if it pleases you."

Yes, that's a great idea. Give the megalomaniac a slave. "It most certainly does NOT please me. What would please me is if you would please leave and please take the stubborn buffalo with you. Now if you please!" I said as I heard the familiar sounds of flesh and bone reshaping behind me. Bone was morphing. "Do I have a sign on my ship that says 'We Accept Strays'?"

"You have a large ship with no crew. Surely, you could use some help."

"Why does everyone in the fucking universe wants to either kill me or help me? It seems for the last sixteen Earth months the only thing that no one seems to be capable of is leaving me the fuck alone!!!! And at the risk of sounding like every buddy-cop movie I ever saw, I work best alone."

"That's not what you were saying yesterday, David." Ayla chimed in.

"Ayla, shut up!" I yelled as I turned back to Babylon. "If you think you can get the morphing power from me, you're wasting your time. I don't have an Escafil Device."

"I don't need the morphing power to fight. I just want to get out of here." Babylon pleaded.

"Why? This is your home. You were born here. Believe me; you don't understand how precious that is until you don't have one. You were made to protect your home, and this is your home."

"But it is not my fate!" Babylon insisted. "My fellow Hork-Bajir, both Unas and Neo, Quafijinivon, the humans and gedds we've freed, even the enlightened yeerks who wait patiently for the next step in their destiny are tending to the tree that grew from the seed that you planted. I don't want to tend to that tree. I want to plant more seeds!"

"And you think you can do that with me?"

"I want to travel the universe." Babylon's eyes lit up like a high school graduate.

"Do I have a sign on my ship that says 'Star Tours'?"

"You planted this seed and you can plant more, David Hunting. Don't you know what impact you will have on the universe?" Babylon ranted.

I became very edgy right then and I put a forceful hand on Babylon's chest. "I know more than you think. More than you or anyone does. More than I should. So you shouldn't talk about things you don't know anything about." I spat out at him. "Go away, and take the buffalo with you."

I turn around expecting to see Bone in the morph of some animal native to this planet, but who I saw was Quafijinivon. 'Quafijinivon' looked up at me with a strange expression of superiority. As pissed as I was at this constant harassment from him and Babylon, I felt most of my rage disappear as I stifled a chuckle.

"Bone . . ." I started.

"I'm not Bone. I'm Quafijaynovin." Bone replied in near-perfect English. So to speak.

Ayla broke in with an alert. "David, I'm detecting a Dayang encrypted distress call."

"You mean Quafijinivon?" I lightly corrected Bone.

"That's what I said, Quafifineejo." Bone continued. "I'm very old and smart and I say you should take that handsome, strong buffalo that is nowhere in this room and that Hork-Bajir and whoever that voice is and start a herd to fight the Bad Guys."

"That's what you think, huh?" I asked as I tried harder to stifle my amused laughter. Do not encourage this behavior. Do not laugh! But I also felt I needed a good laugh after lashing out at Babylon.

"Uh-huh, and you should listen to me, because I'm Quaffy the Last Arn, and I'm old and smart and stuff." Bone lifted his feathered arms over his head in the gesture of 'proclamation' I've seen Quafijinivon do.

I wanted to yell in anger at him, but all that came out was a snorting laugh. "Bone, get off my ship." I finally said softly.

((Oh, Hyena Turds!)) said a dejected Arn as he walked out of Proteus. Babylon looked behind him at me as he walked away.

The nerve of that Hork-Bajir to invite himself to my ship. Why the hell did he want to join up with me for? They must think I'm some sort of George Washington. More like Fidel Castro.

"He's cute." Ayla commented. "Can we keep him?"

I ignored her. "Ayla, what's this distress call?"

"It's coming from Gianna Draquen, the Dayang Home World." Ayla announced. "It's asking for any available combat ready Dayang Traders to call back."

"Well, let's see if they'll talk to me. Phone 'em." I commanded.

A Dayang face appeared on my communication screen. I face I recognized.

"First Mate Hollin?"

"$That's 'Captain Hollin' and who is this? David Hunting? The Morph Human? How did you answer this call?$" Hollin demanded in Draque, his native language.

Hollin was an adult Dayang with red hair. I met him and other Dayangs when the Ellimist dropped me right in the middle of his ship named Rogin Gavic. We didn't like each other at first, but in our own separate ways, we saved the ship from both the back-stabbing yeerks and her greedy Captain, Gwarver.

"I discovered the secret of Dayang Encryption." I explained in my native language. The Dayangs implanted in me a translator device that deciphers languages. That's how we understand each other and how I understand many aliens. "You nearly handed it over to the Yeerks. I liberated it and kept it to myself. No need to say thanks."

Hollin's red, middle compound eye pulsed darkness and brightness as his tentacles curled into each other, a gesture of annoyance.

"$As much as this bothers me, you may actually be the best one to handle our problem. An Andalite diplomat recently came to our planet and while Rogin Gavic is in port, I had the duty of accompanying them.$"

"What sparks this sudden interest of the Andalites in your planet?"

"$I'm not sure. The Andalites know we often deal with the Yeerk Empire. They may be trying to sway us to their side. Both sides are afraid of some new presence in the galaxy.$"

"Another species?"

"$An individual. Some psychopath that was able to capture morph-capable Andalites, two high powered Yeerk Vissers and a member of the Coucil of Thirteen! He killed one Visser and tortured the other. The Councilor escaped. They even say he can take away morphing powers. I'd be careful of this creature if I were you, David Hunting.$"

I felt a pit in my stomach. "So you don't know who or what this individual is?"

"$No, the Andalites are not keen to reveal his identity, but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I really want to know a monster like that.$"

"No, I imagine not." I muttered softly. "What's the problem?"

"$The diplomat and one of his attendants have been kidnapped by morph-capable warriors.$"

"Other Andalites?"

Hollin's tentacles fell like a weeping willow tree. He hooked his main arms behind him and turned his eyes to the ground. These were all gestures of shame. "$Not Andalites. Dayangs.$"

"What?!" I yelped in surprise.

"$Six Dayangs have gained the power to morph. They didn't appear until after the Andalite diplomat came. Now neither the Diplomat nor the attendant that was captured have the morphing power.$"

"Were there other Attendants?"

"$One other. At the time of the kidnapping, he was arrested for being in a restricted area in one of our defense camps. We've imprisoned him in a Ramonite Box; he won't be going anywhere, but he's not very talkative.$"

"Wait'll he gets a load a' me." I said, doing a very bad John Wayne impression. "What about the morphers? Are you sure they're Dayangs?"

"$Yes. The leader is Gwarver Passay-039.$"

"Your former captain of the Rogin Gavic? Him? You told the Yeerks he was executed."

"$How did you—, well, if you were listening in on that transmission, you'd have realized everything I said was a complete lie. You didn't help Captain Gwarver sabotage a Blade Ship, nor did I ever plan on dealing with Visser Three directly again.$"

Gwarver's tentacles spun around in circles, a gesture of revulsion.

"So how did they get the morphing power?"

"$We don't know, but it must have something to do with the lone attendant we've arrested. We need to get answers from him, but he's being uncooperative. And time is something we can not afford to waste. Gwarver and his morphers have been terrorizing us for only a week, and they've caused so much damage. Will you help us, David Hunting?$"

"Sure. No problem. Over and out." I said solemnly as I ended the transmission. I just wanted to go home, but I can't ignore the problem I've created on Gianna Draquen.

"So . . . . . I take it we're not rushing back home just yet." Ayla said.

"It's my fault, Ayla." I explained. "If it weren't for me, Andalites would have never come to that planet, and then there wouldn't be those six morphing terrorists."

"You couldn't have foreseen this, David. The odds of something like this happening are . . ." Ayla began.

"Don't bother me with the odds. I will go to Gianna Draquen. I will take out these terrorists. I can take on six morphing novices. In another timeline, I nearly defeated the Animorphs."

"'Nearly' being the operative word here. And I suppose as statistical precedent would dictate, you're going to handle them alone?" Ayla computed.

"I'm the person I trust the most."

"You're also the person you hate and fear the most." Ayla countered.

"What are you getting at, Ayla?"

"If you're so confident you can defeat six morph-capable warriors yourself, than perhaps you could tilt the odds more in favor with . . . . an extra ally," Ayla stammered, "or allies."

I grunted in frustration. "For the last time Ayla, I'm not taking the buffalo and I'm not taking that overeager Hork-Bajir."

"What about the whole 'afraid to be left to your own devices' thing?" Ayla reminded me. "If you take Bonehead and Babylon, you'll be getting people for whom you'll have to hold yourself accountable."

"Or I'll be getting two willing followers who don't know any better." I shot back. "Bone's too mentally young to understand what's going on, and who knows what Babylon's motives are?"

"That's worthy of an investigation." Ayla suggested.

"Ayla, every moment I take to investigate here, those Dayang bandits are causing chaos half the galaxy away. I don't need anyone to help take them. I've sort have done this before."

"Right. Your alternate self." Ayla said. "Let me ask you this, Captain Hunting, is the David that nearly defeated the Animorphs in that timeline the David you want to be now?"

Minutes later, I walked outside and found Babylon talking to a Neo Hork-Bajir I recognized as Nomar Jaraket. I asked Nomar to take me to Karig, the Hork-Bajir-Controller. He stuttered and then complied. Karig's quarters were in the stony ruins of the Arn civilization. Nomar actually managed to get lost a few times, so I guess that answers how smart the Neo Hork-Bajir really are.

Nomar and I arrived at Karig's quarters. Karig's quarters looked surprisingly sparse. One side of the room had a deep stone basin jutting out of the wall with metal appliances attached to it. That side also had a human-made desk with a Yeerkish-looking computer. The other side had only a large potted oak tree. I wondered where they got the oak tree from. Karig was hanging upside-down from a limb on the oak tree, eating some bark.

"Um, Karig, can I talk to you?"

"No Karig. Just Laet." The Hork-Bajir answered me as he drew his attention back to the piece of bark he was eating and took another bite. Laet Caffej was Karig's host. I guess Laet had his own head for the moment.

"Where's Karig?" I asked Laet.

Without taking his gaze off of the bark he was eating, Laet pointed to the stone basin across the room.

"Can I speak to him please?" I pressed.

Again, without taking his eyes off of his snack, Laet flipped off the branch he was hanging from and casually walked across his room to the stone basin. Without looking at them, he pressed some buttons on one of the appliances attached to the basin as he popped the rest the bark he was eating in his mouth at once. He then proceeded to lick his hand. I do the same thing with tortilla chips. Thankfully, he used his other hand to pick up Karig the Yeerk from the basin and place it to his ear.

When Karig took control he looked at the hand his host was just licking and grimaced.

"I know it's his body, and I shouldn't complain," Karig said he walked back toward the oak tree and used some leaves to wipe his hand, "but that's so disgusting. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"A Neo Hork-Bajir came up to me and asked to join me as I go back to Terra Firma." I explained.

"Just one?" Karig asked. "I'm surprised the whole lot of them didn't rush to be on your crew. You're a legendary figure of great adventure to them. You're like a Paul Bunyan or a Heracles. Several of the Neo Hork-Bajir have named themselves some derivative of David or Hunting. Was it one of them?"

"No, it was a guy named Babylon. Babylon Skorre?"

"Babylon Skorre?" Karig repeated with a concerned look on his face.

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. That we can find." Karig began. "It's just that, Babylon is the last of . . ."

Karig leaned against the oak tree and got comfortable. Nomar decided he wanted to hear the story and began to lean on the wall behind me. Karig started again. "When I first arrived here and found Quafijinivion and his rebel group, there were eight broods of his artificially grown Neo Hork-Bajir and the first two broods were in different stages of reproduction. Myself and some of the freed human scientists wanted to lift the burden from Quafijinivon's shoulders and prepare the new broods so that he could work on your ultimate solution. One of them, Brood 10, had a problem.

"The artificially grown Hork-Bajir become fully mature in two weeks as opposed to the two and half years it usually takes. Brood 10 matured fine, but after those first two weeks, they began to get sick. Their bodies had begun to breakdown. Their organs would liquefy and then their bone and muscle would dissolve into powder."

"Son of a bitch." I muttered.

"The worst part was . . ." Karig continued.

"That's not the worst part?"

"The worst part," Karig continued again, "was what was leftover from their bodies would release a noxious gas into the air that kills pretty much anything it came into contact with. That's why the scientist that was responsible for Brood 10 is no longer with us."

"Yuck."

"Once we discovered the problem, we put the remaining members of Brood 10 in individual quarantines. They all died within four weeks," Karig explained, "except one."

"Babylon?"

Karig nodded his hork-bajir head. "During his quarantine, he showed absolutely no signs or symptoms of the degeneration disease. He did however become increasingly combative and by his eighth day in, he was raving things. Insane things."

"So Babylon used to be crazy." I bottom-lined.

"Could you blame him? Trapped in a twenty by twenty capsule, hearing and watching your fellow hork-bajir die a horrible death behind thick plastic so the gas wouldn't hurt anyone?"

"But if he went nuts after only eight days, how many of his fellow brood did he actually watch die while sane?"

"Just one. And they weren't close." Karig admitted. "He's fine now. After Quafijinivon decided he wasn't going to unleash a toxic gas and kill us all and that the only danger he was to us was that he was gedd-shit crazy, we released him. We injected him with enough tranquilizers to kill a Clydesdale first, but we released him. After a few days of eating his favorite barks and for the tranq to wear off he was fine. Although, when we put him back on combat detail he would act reckless and suicidal."

"Why?"

"He might think he is still going to die of the degeneration disease someday, and the members of Brood 10 who died unnaturally didn't become poisonous gas clouds, so maybe he was trying to protect us. Still, we took him off combat detail and he eventually found his place helping the human refugees grow Earth plants."

"Earth plants?"

"Apple trees. Orange trees. Or this oak tree here." Karig explained. "Also a vegetable and spice garden."

"So how has he been lately?"

"From what I hear, fine. The humans say he is very calm and considerate of others. They also say he can be stubborn, cranky, and one-track minded. The Hork-Bajir consider him 'smart', which is just average intelligence to a human, no offense."

"None taken."

"He likes gardening, especially Earth produce; which is odd, because he doesn't eat any of it."

"He did use a lot of plant metaphors when he talked to me."

"He's never shown any desire to leave the planet though." Karig said in a confused tone, half to me, half to himself. "Are you gonna take him?"

"Why should I? He's a walking time bomb of lethal gas, and he could go monkey-nuts on me at any point." I rationalized.

"What about the buffalo?" Karig asked me. "I hear he wasn't what you expected."

"There was a miscommunication in that regard. I had a morph-capable buffalo. I wanted a non-morph-capable buffalo. What I got was a morph-capable buffalo with the mind of a three-year-old after watching too much 'He-Man'. Sometimes I envy Bone. He comes from Africa which is a very ecologically hostile place. He remembers lionesses eating his mother. Yet he still thinks of his life in the savannahs fondly. Because of the morphing power, he can never go back to being an ordinary cape buffalo and he's been thrust into an intergalactic war. Yet, he thinks this is the best thing that ever happened to him."

"Bonehead von Buffalo reminds you of innocence." Kirag deduced. "And if you regarded Babylon with any kind of seriousness, you'd see he represents the wonderfully precarious dichotomy of strength and fragility."

"That was a whole lot of SAT words there, Yeerk. Bravo." I joked.

"My point being you should take those kind of reminders with you, just so The David Hunting Show never gets renewed."

Oh, crap. "You saw that?"

"We received the signal. Not everyone has seen it. Quafijinivon has seen it. I've seen it. The Hork-Bajir and Humans we've put in positions of power have seen it. Nomar, you've seen it, right?"

Nomar shook his head suddenly. "What?"

"As Captain of the Guard for the Deep Base, you've been shown the pirate transmission with Mr. Hunting, right?"

"Uh . . . yes?" Nomar stammered. "No?"

"Nomar, what's wrong with you?" Kirag asked, concerned for Nomar's apparent weirdness. "Do you remember seeing the video signal with Mr. Hunting capturing the yeerks and the Animorphs?"

Nomar turned his head suddenly to me. "Mr. Hunting put Big Sister's herd in a cage???!!"

"'Big' who?" Kirag asked.

"What did you just say?" I asked suspiciously.

"Um, uh, I didn't say anything. In fact, I don't speak Human-English." 'Nomar' babbled. "And I've certainly never met any Animorphs, especially Big Sister, I mean . . . Ms. Cassie, I mean . . . oh, hyena turds."

Bonehead von Buffalo strikes again.

"Bone, I'm not going to tell you again. Demorph now, and this time, stay in your own body!" I commanded.

((In my defense, I was minding my own business talking to Babylon, when you came up to me and told me to take you here.)) Bone argued as he demorphed. ((It wasn't until halfway through Kirag's boring story that I figured out you thought I was Nomar.))

"'Boring'?" Kirag repeated, offended by Bone's lack of tact.

"Why were you in Hork-Bajir morph?" I asked Bone.

(( . . . Cause.)) Bone replied as if that was an explanation. ((But did you hear Kirag? He said you should take me and Babylon!))

"This is so not the time to discuss that!" I yelled, furiously at Bone. "Now, go up to the field."

((Ok)) Bone said as he began to morph.

"No," I stopped him, "in your own body."

((But . . . the slope is all steep and difficult and four legs is harder than two legs.))

"All the more reason you should practice. Go!"

Bone stopped his two forelegs on the floor. ((But I didn't even do anything wrong!!!))

I was about to yell at Bone for throwing a temper tantrum when Karig started laughing.

"Ha Ha Ha. We sure did a number on you, Boy." Karig said as he stroked Bone's head. After a few strokes, his hand stopped and just rested on the top of Bone's forehead. I looked at Kirag and his eyes were half-closed.

Bone was acquiring him! He was doing the exact same thing he did when he wasn't sentient. Only this time, he should know better.

"Bone, what're doing?" I demanded.

((Nothing.)) He answered meekly. Kirag's eyes then opened fully as he came out of the acquiring trance.

"Did you just acquire Kirag's host?" I asked him intensely, trying not to yell at him.

((Maybe.)) He quasi-admitted.

I flash-morphed into Ursa Wulvef. My hand became fist as I raised it. I then brought it down quickly on Bone's head.

((Owww!)) Bone yelped surprised, more shocked that I hit him than the pain of the hammer blow which to a buffalo was about as damaging as a slap.

I knelt down and looked into Bone's eyes. Even in Ursa's body, Bone could have headbutted me into a three week coma, but he did no such thing. I grabbed both his horns with my strong Hork-Bajir arms and roughly pulled his head closer to me. Again, I'm not sure if Bone could have shook free of me, but I did it anyways.

((Never, Ever, EVER acquire a sentient person's DNA without their permission. Are we clear on that, Bonehead?)) I said to Bone strongly.

((Yes, Boss.)) He answered back.

I let go of his horns. ((Now, go to the field.))

Bone turned around without complaining and quickly trotted away.

"How odd." Kirag commented. "Bone is biologically an adult of his species, yet he is psychologically a child. And you, David, are the exact opposite."

((I didn't create this creature; the Animorphs did.)) I said as I demorphed.

"And yet, you're the one that brought him here where he was given complete sentience." Kirag added. "To a large herbivore like a Hork-Bajir or a buffalo, what you just did could be considered a dominance ritual."

"He knows what right and wrong means; he just doesn't know what things are right and what things are wrong." I realized. "He called me 'Boss' again."

"Someone has to teach him right and wrong." Kirag said; his implication was obvious. He was trying to convince me to take Bonehead with me, but after I realized how invested I was in Bone's new life I no longer needed convincing. "You're a tough and brutal disciplinarian, David Hunting."

"My father was a General in the US Army. This is something you wouldn't understand. Laet. Kirag. It was nice meeting both of you." I said as I left Kirag's quarters and made my way to the field.

I couldn't believe what I was getting myself into. A large part of me told me it was a bad idea for me, which probably meant it was exactly what I needed.

I found Bone in his own body talking to Babylon. I approached the two of them and addressed them by name.

"Bonehead von Buffalo. Babylon Skorre. My ship has rules. Proteus is my home. Moreover, it'll be your home, I expect you to treat it as such. I'm the Boss. You're the crew. Crew is family and I'm the head of that family. Do as I say, we won't have a problem. If you don't, you better have a damn good reason. Not an excuse, a reason! Don't do anything crazy. Don't put the crew in danger. If you can do all that . . . . ." I said as I took one last breath, "welcome aboard."

((Yaaaaay!)) Bone shouted as he tossed his head up in what I think was happiness. ((We go back to Earth now, Boss?))

"No, our next stop is Gianna Draquen, the Dayang Home World. We have to stop a group of bad morphers. Bad Guys, but not Yeerks. Got it, Bone?"

((Got it.))

"I have some personal effects I'd like to bring along," Babylon told me, "including a rather harmless animal I keep as a pet. Would that be all right?"

"Sure, and see what you can do about getting some Earth plants for us and some Hork-Bajir plants for yourself. I have a place to plant them and we could be gone awhile." I said.

"Right away, Boss." Babylon said as we walked away.

I need to not enjoy that so much. "Hey, Babylon?" I called out.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Why'd you name yourself that anyway?"

"As a reminder. The Babylon civilization was once the center of the Earth. Now it is a just a memory."

Nodnarb Three-Nine-Five

My name is Nodnarb Three-Nine-Five. I am a yeerk. My current host is a burly male Hork-Bajir. My current designation is Blue Band Elite Guard for Councilor Four. My unit was recently wiped out by Andalites and Hork-Bajir under the "coercion" of Beast David Hunting, the Morph-Human. It was part of a nightmarish event all ready being sensationalized as "The Battle of the Proteus", "The David Hunting Show" or simply, "The Flogging seen through the Galaxy" describing the humiliating torture of one of our most feared warlords: Visser Three. We tried our best to suppress its existence or deny its reality, but the various species beyond our immediate control made that difficult.

"Get it here! Get it here only!" shouted the Hawajabran vendor. "Get the complete recording of The David Hunting Show: Uncut! That's right; Complete and Uncut! The version the Empire doesn't want you to see! For only fifty units of prescio, you can have this piece of galactic history, available in all standard formats!"

I was with my charge, Councilor Four. He was also my good friend, Pietta zero-nine-double-nine lesser. He was the first lesser twin on the Council of Thirteen. His twin brother, Pietta zero-nine-double-nine prime was also a Councilor. I hated him, but that was personal, more personal than his twin's hatred of him.

We were waiting inside Concord Skye, a Skrit Na 'space station', if you could call it that. We were shrouded in robes as not to be recognized. This space station was more like a haven for black market merchants and illegal bootleggers, a concentration of galactic scum. It was run by the unscrupulous Boss Mug, a Na who fancied himself an intellectual. Boss Mug was something of a celebrity himself; like most Na, nothing he did made a lot of sense, but he was known for being especially frustrating, cunning, and had a penchant for talking in riddles.

Though, it appears that David Hunting may have stolen the collective galactic attention spans with his theatre of horror.

"Do you believe this, Nodnarb?" the Councilor asked me. "These lowlife soil merchants mock us and our great Empire. Hunting has made us look like fools."

"We're the fools for even thinking about dealing with this Bounty Hunter." I muttered.

"To kill a monster, we need a monster. No one knows what David Hunting's motives are, so no one can understand what he does or what he'll do next. Now, Tak's motives are greed and revenge. That's so much simpler to understand."

"I still say this is a bad idea, my Councilor."

"Nonsense. You're just saying that because he hated you and nearly killed you."

While that may have been true, I did not want the Councilor thinking I was a coward. "I just want to get this over with."

The Hawajabra are broad but short creatures, rarely over a human's height. They have two legs and a torso with shoulders that carry two arms each (one in front of the other) instead of one. Their arms end in three fingered opposable hands (2 to 1). Hawajabran do not have heads in the traditional sense as their faces are below their shoulders between large pectoral muscles, so it looks shoulder to shoulder like a big flat long line. They have short snouts that jut out like reptilian mouths or beaks. Hawajabran eyes are strange. They exist on stalks that sometimes pop out from below the collarbone on either side and sometimes they retract so far into the body it looks as if the Hawajabran has only little black dots for eyes. If I remember correctly, their ears are located above and below the base of each eye socket and covered with tufts of fur. Hawajawbran also have a semi-prehensile tendril that hangs on their backs from between the shoulder blades.

This particular Hawajabran Media Vendor was rust-red in color and three of his hands each held three different media formats, presumably copies of The David Hunting Show. His other hand was making showy motions as he continued to yell and gather customers of various species.

"Everyone remembers where they were when that pirate signal beamed into our ships, our space stations, even our very homes! Well now you can own your very own copy of this historic event. See the creature who defies the very Andalites who tried to save him, who defies the yeerks who tried to enslave him, who defies his own people because he just didn't like them! See how one flimsy, primitive alien makes the two mightiest forces of the galaxy cry like babies. See the creature the Yeerks call 'the Second Beast Elfangor!'"

(('Second Elfangor'?!!)) Came a loud thought-speech cry. Three Andalite warriors trotted into the room dispersing the Media Vendor's customers.

"Andalite Warriors." The Councilor whispered worriedly. "I've changed my mind. Perhaps we should leave now, before they see us, Nodnarb!"

"Let's not draw undue attention to ourselves, my Councilor." I rationalized while making myself look brave in the process. "Those Andalites have drawn enough attention at themselves and it won't be long before Boss Mug draws his attention on them as well."

((The Yeerks call this animal 'the Second Elfangor'?)) The lead Andalite said again as he sauntered closer to the Media Vendor. ((That is an insult to the memory of a fine, honorable warrior.))

((Prince Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul was a hero of the finest caliber.)) said the second Andalite. ((He answered to the People. He served the people.))

((This David Hunting is a monster, a backwater alien with stolen Andalite technology, he answers to no one, and he serves only himself.)) said the third Andalite.

((This is what I think of David Hunting.)) the second Andalite said as he drew his shredder and blasted all of the Media Vendor's goods.

"Nooooo! Stop!" the Vendor cried, but all that was left of his bootleg recordings were melted glass and plastic. "My media!"

((No one should ever profit from that Abomination's terrorism.)) said the first Andalite.

"You are going to pay for those, you blue, piss-drinking greed-mongers!" the Vendor yelled as he reached behind the molten pile of media software and pulled out a pike launcher. He aimed it at the lead Andalite.

The other Andalites were quick. They drew their shredders and aimed them at the Hawajabran. At this point all of the other patrons hanging around this particular hall of the Space Station either quickly exited or backed away from the four mad aliens and the three weapons between them.

"Fascist Andalite Filth." Councilor Four commented on this spectacle.

But I saw what everyone else had missed. "Wait for it . . . ." I baited.

The three Andalites were suddenly hit with small disks that electrified them. A Na rushed up to take the confused Hawajabran's pike launcher. Two more Na ran to the staggering Andalites and aimed Dracon Beams at them.

((Who dares attack us?)) the lead Andalite commanded.

"One cannot dare in his own cave." Said a Na's voice. "Supreme entitlement signifies law. Dares are done in strange caves. It is the Andalites who dare."

The Na speaking revealed himself from behind a door. It was Boss Mug. He walked in slowly on all fours as Na are known to do. He wore shiny purple robes. As he walked in front of the Hawajabran vendor, he stood up on his two hind legs.

"What laws are enforced here? I granted this merchant a license to sell his wares. Perfectly legal. There is no grass here. Do not deal dares, Andalites."

((As usual, I have no idea what you are saying, but this 'merchant' is making money off the suffering of others.)) the recovering Andalite charged. ((He is peddling illegal, obscene acts of torture.))

"YOUR TAILS ARE SHORT!" Boss Mug suddenly yelled as he picked up a half-charred copy of The David Hunting Show. He held the software close to his eye and continued. "Stars that burn bright grow big. Then quickly they emerge all their brightness in a fantastic vision of supreme brilliance. Just as quickly, the vision fades . . . into nothing. Supreme Brilliance of the past is today's Oblivion. Stars that don't burn as bright are still here."

The Andalites obviously had no more patience for Boss Mug's musing. ((We came for energy.))

"Energy?" Boss Mug asked as he signaled the Dracon Beam bearing Na. They herded the Andalites toward the large lifts that take patrons to the different levels of the Space Station. "Your shiny rocks may be bartered to sate your hooves."

((We came for . . . )) one of the other Andalites started.

"I heard you! Fortune has found the river for you." Boss Mug creepily muttered. He turned to whisper something into the grieved Vendor's ears and made his way on two legs back to the door from whence he entered.

He stopped short suddenly and whipped his gaze into our direction. He looked straight at us and narrowed his eyes, making both me and Councilor flinch. He turned his head back around, got down on all fours, and walked away.

"Skrit Na. They make even less sense than humans." Councilor Four commented.

"What about those Andalites Warriors?" I commented. "Concord Skye is pretty far from their usual 'grazing pastures'. What are they doing in this part of the galaxy, anyway?"

"One could ask the same of you, Yeerks!" hissed a voice behind us.

The Councilor and I turned our heads to face a standing, hooded form. He was taller than a Hork-Bajir. His long brown coat may have obscured his body, but there was no mistaking that sinister, devious, reptilian voice.

Tak Sistranus was a Gervasid, one of two sentient races from the planet Pentasera (the other being the S-s-stram). The militaristic Gervasids have been at almost constant war with the more peaceful and less dangerous S-s-stram. Gervasids have two legs and only two arms, but they are related to the S-s-stram. Tak's coat concealed all of his nasty, biological weapons and who knows how many manufactured ones.

Gervasids are deadly, dangerous creatures. Gervasids of the past had only one known weakness: they're tendency to overheat themselves after long periods of exertion. The S-s-stram did not have this problem; they have a small hole at the top of their heads which releases heat. This was their only advantage over their genetic enemies until the Gervasids solved the problem with medicine. Ironically, it was this heat-releasing hole that made it possible for us to infest the reptilian creatures, while the Gervasids remained a Class One species.

There are only a few Gervasids wandering around the galaxy. Tak Sistranus is by far the most dangerous.

I have a long, bitter history with the S-s-stram, the Gervasids, and especially, Tak himself, but I'd rather not go into it.

All that I was focusing on at that point is that Tak Sistranus once hunted me down and left me for dead.

"The Blade-tailed Overlords and you Populous-Absconding Brain-Slugs just reach further and further out every year." Continued the hooded Tak as he came up to our table and rested on his powerful tail as gervasids are known to do instead of actually sitting on stools as I was. "This arm of the galaxy is getting very crowded."

"They'll always be room for you and your kind, Bounty Hunter." Councilor Four schmoozed. "I am Councilor Four of the Council of Thirteen, the ruling body of the Yeerk Empire. It is the Empire that beseeches you to carry out this task on our behalf."

"Well," Tak Sistranus began, "before we discuss new business, let's settle old business."

Before I could blink, Tak stood up and whipped his powerful reptilian tail around my neck and pushed me to the table-top. Tak then jumped on the table and straddled me. He pushed his face into mine. Even then, I could barely see Tak's facial features within his dark hood, but I didn't need to. I see his face in my nightmares often.

At this, the second violent disturbance in this grand corridor in the last hour, many of the visitors decided that this was a bad part of the space station and high-tailed it. Despite my predicament I became worried that Boss Mug would show up again.

"Nodnarb!" Tak shouted at me. "Nodnarb three-nine-five, did you think I wouldn't smell you in that new body? Did you think I don't know or have somehow forgotten your odious yeerk stench? Nodnarb, the great Emperor of the Yeerk Empire!"

I grunted as I struggled to breathe in air as Tak's tail constricted my neck. "I'm not the Emperor anymore, La'ankike!" I spat back at him. 'La'ankike' is a derisive term for the type of hunter he was on his home planet.

"You back-stabbing body thief!" Tak accused. "You betrayed me!"

"Well," I began again, "since you were going to betray me as soon as we got rid of your blood-mad praetor for you, I guess that makes us even!"

A blade extended from what was probably a Naharan Defense Gauntlet on Tak's right arm. Tak put the blade against my throat. "I should have made sure I ended your miserable life all those years ago."

"You did end my life! I've spent these last long years trying to get it back from scratch. Same as you."

Tak laughed me. "How does it feel, Nodnarb? How does it feel to lose everything? I found it to be the most horrible pain I've ever felt (and coming from me, that says something), but in a strange way it was also quite . . . freeing."

"You're mad. It felt like feces."

Tak laughed at me again; his laugh was a throaty, airy thing like a hacking cough with hisses.

"Honorable Bounty Hunter, could you please release my Blue Band?" Councilor Four requested.

"Blue Band?" Tak repeated. "Are you trying to get back your old life or a new one, Nodnarb?" Tak laughed again as he released me.

"Perhaps some of Chelzub's Nectar will calm all of us so that we may do business." The Councilor suggested as motioned for the Liquor Vendor.

I sat back down on the stool as Tak rested on his tail again. The Na Liquor Vendor gave us three tall cups of a strong fermented drink known as Chelzub's Nectar. The Vendor tried not to notice the three tense hooded figures.

"You may be a councilor of a ruling body of blah blah blah," started Tak, "but I find you all manner of stupid. You insult me by bringing only one bodyguard. Said bodyguard happens to be a hated enemy, and to top it off, you come to me as a S-s-stram. You must know your host's people and my people don't get along well."

"Now you're insulting me and my intelligence, Bounty Hunter." Councilor Four said with a sneering smile. "My host heard stories of your viciousness, but also that you saved his princess from a Nitair, and even without my host's memories, there's everything you told my Blue Band back when he was Visser One. Then there's your post-exile exploits. You slaughtered the Hawajabran pirates of The Dark Zanto and sold their loot to Skrit Na. The Naharan Duchess of Crime, Sagevina, hired you to rob a Yeerk Imperial Train on her home planet. Boss Mug has even hired you for a few jobs, including the robbery of an Andalite Base on Rekklabb Five and the murder of a famous Na Scientist. I take it that one was personal? A former Visser Six hired you to assassinate a Dome Ship Captain and then those same Andalites hired you to assassinate that Visser Six. You seem to like playing both sides."

Tak growled as he took a swig of his drink. "I don't take sides. I hate Andalites, and I have no love for the Empire either. However if you can pay, then I'll do whatever chore you have, but it'll take more than best drinks that make you go blind to impress me."

"You've impressed us, Tak Sistranus. You're the best, and we need the best for this job. So for this job, I can both pay you and impress you." Councilor Four boasted. "Here is something that not even you have seen, Bounty Hunter." Councilor Four pulled out a Data Badge.

"That's a Yeerk Data Badge. I've seen one." Tak said flippantly.

"Ah, but see what it says." Councilor Four invited as he activated the badge.

"'Note of Transit'? 'By Order of the Council of Thirteen'?" Tak read aloud, flabbergasted.

"Yes, Tak, a Note of Transit. It cannot be rescinded, not even questioned, and you'll be able to go anywhere under Yeerk authority. Even through that little blockade around your home planet keeping your 'old friend' Koa Zanzor, on his damn rock. Everything you ever wanted is right here, Bounty Hunter. All you need to do is one little thing for us."

I was shocked. Allowing Tak to go back to his planet with advanced technology could have seriously backfired on us. Why would the Council have allowed this? Fools! They didn't know Sistranus like I did. Was eliminating the Morph-Human worth this?

The only other creature to cause us this much headache, besides Elfangor, was Koa Zanzor, the leader of the Gervasid Hunter Guild. When we came to seize the S-s-stram (with the Andalites on our trail), Koa used the opportunity to make the Hunter Guild the driving force of the Gervasid Nation. He was a fanatic who demanded not only his genetic enemies, the S-s-stram, be slaughtered, but all aliens as well. He exiled Tak Sistranus from the planet by shoving him into a small Andalite Probe Ship and sending it at full throttle into Z-space. (No one is sure how Tak escaped).

Because of him and his followers, the Andalites and the Yeerk Empire fled Pentasera together. Koa and his worship of his War-God Qayar proved to be an unreasonable evil that neither we nor the Andalites could stop. That's why the Yeerk Empire keeps a blockade of warships around Pentasera, just in case someone left any advanced technology for the Gervasids to use against us. Is David Hunting the same way? Is he an unstoppable evil that would consume both the Yeerks and Andalites?

The only good thing was that the offer had wiped that smug look off of Tak's face. Tak was staring hard at the Councilor. "All right, I'm impressed. I like the payment. What's the job?"

Councilor Four curled all five of his claws inward. "Tell me, Bounty Hunter: have you ever heard of David Hunting?"