As Visser Three dove after Ax, Shara found herself nearly slammed into the edges of the McDonald's sign Ax was diving through in a clear effort to escape from the alien bird that the Visser had morphed. Ducking as close as she could to the Visser's back, she jabbed her sharp beak into the back of his head, as Ax smacked his left wing tip into the inner edge of the right McDonald's arch.

(You are swiftly becoming an annoyance, Andalite,) Visser Three snapped, sounding more than a bit like the brief glimpses she'd had of Darkon, those times when the Warlord had attacked her mind and attempted to drive her back to the Radam's hidden base.

Ignoring the Visser, giving him nothing more than she had always given Darkon, Shara watched as Ax staggered through the air, managing to land on the roof of the McDonald's the three of them – or two, depending on how you counted – had been flying over for so long. Letting go, as the Visser dove down, himself, Shara managed to flutter to a landing on one of the AC units that Ax had landed between.

(Are you all right?) she asked, even as she watched both him and the Visser beginning their respective demorphs.

(I will be fine, Shara,) Ax said, though she had the feeling that he was just as focused on Visser Three as Shara was finding herself.

Still, as the both of them demorphed from their respective bird forms, Shara concentrated on one of her other powers. One of those that had been forced upon her by the Radam, a subset of the telepathic abilities that she'd used long enough that they'd begun to seem like second nature to her. After all, with his newly demorphed tail-blade, the Visser would easily be able to cause her seagull body enough damage that she would be forced to demorph in front of him, and so she projected into his mind that she was a foot left of where she'd actually managed to land.

A pair of seagulls fluttered down to a landing nearby, with two more swiftly following them, then a last seagull followed in their wake.

(Let's demorph,) Rachel said, and Shara could actually get a sense of the younger girl's determination, even through the flattening effect of thought-speak.

(We can't,) Jake said. (We can't allow any of the Yeerks to see us in human form. If any of us demorphs, we'll have to make sure that Visser Three can't walk away from this.)

(With Shara and Slade here?) Rachel retorted. (Even if the rest of us didn't demorph, those two would make sure he didn't walk away.)

(Prince Jake, we can't take that chance,) Ax said, taking an unfamiliar but clearly marital stance. (If Visser Three sees any of you in human form, your lives will be over. I can avenge Elfangor on my own.)

(Stop trying to be a hero, Ax,) Jake said, some of the impatience he was clearly feeling making it through.

(This isn't the place, Ax,) Cassie said, clearly trying to be reasonable. (People on the ground saw a six-winged bird land up here. Some of them are probably on their way up right now.)

(Ax, do you think you can back off without getting hurt? Cassie's right: we don't want this fight in public.)

Ax seemed to hesitate for a long moment, and while Shara had to maintain the illusion that she was projecting into Visser Three's mind – it'd already saved her once, since the first thing the Visser had done when he'd had his bladed tail back was to swing it directly at where he currently thought she was – there was still a part of her that remained curious about what Ax might have been thinking. Shara honestly doubted that she'd ever, personally, have the chance to face Darkon for what he'd done to her family and friends.

And, even if she did, Shara doubted that she'd survive.

Ax and Visser Three struck almost at the same time, snapping Shara's attention back to the battle that she and the rest of the Animorphs were watching from the sidelines. Though, calling it a fight seemed a bit much, since Ax and Visser Three only struck out at each other once, before the Visser threw himself from the rooftop. Shara didn't see where he landed, but her attention was taken up with Ax.

He seemed… really, either worried or unsatisfied, and Shara could fully sympathize with either feeling; she wouldn't be happy if she'd been deprived of her chance to fight Darkon, even if she probably would end up being killed, in the end.

And, as she, Ax, and the rest of the Animorphs all left the abortive battleground behind, Shara could only wonder how Ax was really feeling about everything that had happened; or really, everything that hadn't.