When they all met up at Cassie's barn again, Tommy waited until they'd made their way out to the woods to demorph. It was a risk, but it was either take that risk or the risk of spending the rest of his life as a bald eagle. Tobias was annoyed to have ended up sleeping through their entire running battle with the Veleek last night, but since he couldn't morph the creature wouldn't have been interested in him.

"Okay, here's what we know: one, the Veleek is some kind of an insect swarm; the individual creatures spread out until they find a source of energy they can eat, then they call the swarm together. The swarm itself forms into a beast that chews through anything. And two: Visser Three has altered this creature to serve his own ends."

(Yes. It is fairly simple, really: the Yeerks reprogrammed the beast to hunt morph energy, but to eat a different kind of energy. The energy from the engines of their spacecraft.)

"Like a trained hunting dog," Rachel mused. "The dog chases the fox or whatever, but only because its owner will give it a different kind of food. The Veleek chases morph energy, then brings the morpher to Visser Three so it can be rewarded with energy from the engines."

"The Veleek is Visser Three's dog," Jake said, nodding. "And unfortunately, it might be unbeatable."

"I don't think so," Tommy said. "Visser Three used water to control it, back on the Blade Ship."

"It also couldn't seem to lift Rachel in her elephant morph," Cassie said, moving to stand next to him. "So it at least seems to have some limits," Cassie took a deep breath, seeming to brace herself for something. "I have a plan."