Книга: The Prophecy

My name is Cassie.

Just Cassie. At least that's all I'm going to tell you. It's not because I think I'm so special I only need one name. I know I'm not Jewel or Brandy or Beck.

I'm actually pretty ordinary. If you saw me walking down one of the halls at your school, you probably wouldn't give me a second look. Unless it was one of the days when I had a little bird poop on my jeans from working with my dad in his Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. If it was a bird-poop day, you might give me a second "oh-gross"

look.

But I really am your basic, average girl. A first and last name plus middle initial kind of girl. Ex-1

cept for the fact that I spend most of my time try-great Andalite prince named Elfangor gave us the ing to stop the Yeerk invasion of Earth.

power to morph into animals. He knew he was That's why I can only tell you my first name. If about to die, and he didn't want to leave Earth the Yeerks knew my last name, I'd be dead. No, completely defenseless against the Yeerks. Later worse than dead.

we were joined in our fight by Elfangor's younger Let me give you the Cliffs Notes version.

brother, Ax. Aximili-Esgarrouth-lsthill.

Fact: Yeerks are alien parasites that have the Usually the six of us work as a team, but appearance of small gray slugs. They enter their tonight I had a secret mission, and I didn't want hosts through the ear canal, then spread their too many people around. I asked Rachel if she'd soft bodies into the crevices of their hosts'

be my backup, and of course she agreed.

brains.

You should see Rachel. She's like Stone Cold Fact: The Yeerks have already enslaved many Steve Austin crossed with Miss Teen USA. Unlike species, including the Hork-Bajir, the Gedds, and me, Rachel is someone who could pull off the the Taxxons, although the Taxxons submitted whole l'm-so-special-I-only-need-one-name deal willingly. Now the Yeerks have targeted the entire even if she didn't have to keep her identity a se-human race for use as hosts.

cret.

Fact: You already know someone who is con-

"So are we going in or what?" Rachel asked trolled by a Yeerk. You just don't know you know me.

someone who is controlled by a Yeerk. Yeerks can I stared up at the old Victorian house. A sin-access their hosts' memories and make them act gle light burned in one window. A loose shutter exactly the way they always have. A human host, kept swinging back and forth on its hinges. The called a Controller, cannot move a single muscle screeching sound made the hair at the back of unless the Yeerk in his or her head gives the order.

my neck prickle.

Fact: The Animorphs may be your only hope

"We're going in," I answered, ignoring the of escaping becoming a human-Controller your-prickling sensation.

self.

"This plan of yours is . . . what's the word I'm The Animorphs are me and four of my looking for?" Rachel asked. "Oh, yeah. Insane.

friends — Jake, Rachel, Marco, and Tobias. A As in Looney Toeowww —"

Rachel's words turned into a high meow. Her My nose and mouth stretched, merged, then vocal cords had started to change first.

re-formed. My teeth sharpened. A wave of dizzi-

"We have to do this," I told her as her nose ness engulfed me as I fell toward the ground, my narrowed and sprouted fur. "It's life and death."

body shrinking to the size of a . . . of a rat. My I watched Rachel for a few more moments.

hairless, ropey tail appeared and I was done.

She was going to use her cat morph to go into the

<Dog door by the porch, but the dog pee house. I was going to use my rat morph. I figured smells in the yard are stale,> Rachel announced it couldn't hurt to give her a little head start.

in thought-speak.

That way she'd be in total control of her cat brain My little rat heart was racing. My little rat before I became all small and delicious.

brain was ordering me to run, run, run away from When a fluffy black-and-white tail sprang the cat. I clamped down on my new instincts. It's out of Rachel's rear, I decided I'd waited long easier when you've already morphed a particular enough. I focused on the rat DNA inside me, and animal before, as I had done with the rat. The instantly felt my hands begin to wither.

first time can be tough, though.

Morphing is easier for me than anyone else in

<After you,> I answered.

the group. Maybe it's because I spend so much Rachel took off across the lawn, her body low time around animals. I don't know.

to the ground. I scurried behind her. The grass But even for me, morphing isn't a smooth trans-brushed up against my belly and tickled my formation. It's not like my body shrinks first, then nose.

grows hair, then shoots out whiskers and a tail.

Without a sound, Rachel slipped through the No, morphing is a lot less logical than that.

dog door. <You could have held it open for me,> Grosser, too. Like right now I had little tiny hands, I complained. I gave the door a head butt. It and I could feel coarse hair popping out on my opened wide enough for me to scramble through.

back. But otherwise, I still looked like me.

<There was only one light on,> I reminded Then my ears rolled up to the top of my head, Rachel. <Upstairs. Left. Let's try there first.> and my eyeballs contracted until they were the We beat feet to the staircase. It would take size of BBs. I felt a sloshing, twisting sensation me forever to haul myself up all those stairs. I as my internal organs began to shift and shrink.

decided to take the rat ramp instead. I dug my 4

claws into the wood and climbed the side of the middle with a really dorky cupid drawn next to banister. Then I ran straight up.

it.>

Of course, Rachel still got to the top before

<That's it. I accidentally turned it in with my me. I half-climbed, half-fell off the banister and test. Just get it. And don't say anything,> I followed her down the hall to the lighted room. I warned Rachel.

hoped we hadn't gotten here too late.

<Nothing?>

I took a quick peek inside. Yes! My math

<Nothing! Not. One. Word.>

teacher was sitting at a desk grading papers. At Rachel laughed and leaped down off the desk least I knew this was the right place.

with the sheet of paper in her teeth. <Okay, I ducked back. <We have to wait until —> you're my best friend. So not one word. Espe-EEEEEEE!

cially not "Awww, isn't that sweet?" And defi-

<She saw us!> Rachel cried. <Get out! Now!> nitely not "Cassie is in lo-ove, Cassie is in

<That wasn't her,> I shot back. <Teakettle.

lo-ove." And no way I'd ever say —> She'll be coming out. Hide!>

<l knew I should have done this alone.> I pressed myself tight against the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut tight so she wouldn't see them glistening in the shadows.

I felt the floor begin to vibrate. Did she see me? Did she see me?

No. Her big feet walked right on by.

<Now's our chance,> Rachel said. <Let's do it!> She darted into the room and leaped up onto the desk. <What am I looking for exactly?>

<A doodle. It's, um, of a . . . a heart,> I stam-mered. I tried to climb up the desk leg. But it was metal. My claws couldn't get a grip.

<Think I see it,> Rachel answered. <lf the heart has "Cassie Loves Jake" printed in the 6

That was totally clear when we kissed. Yes, even though we don't walk around groping each other like some couples, we have kissed a few times. Usually right after we've managed to survive something horrible. It's usually an "l-can't-believe-we're-alive!" kiss.

Not that I'm complaining. Well, not exactly. I have to admit it would be nice to kiss Jake after a movie instead of after a battle or some other near-death experience.

I dropped one wing and made a sharp turn.

The back of our barn came into sight.

Hork-Bajir!

The distinctive nightmare shape moved The cool night air fluttered my owl feathers through the shadows that were bright as day to as I flapped toward home. I tightened my right me. Just one. One was enough.

talon around the doodle. There was no way I was Shouldn't be here! Couldn't be here! The going to lose it again.

Yeerks, they had to know everything!

I still couldn't believe I'd turned it in to a No!

teacher. Was love turning my brain to mush, or The image of my parents being ripped to bits what? I wondered if Jake ever did stupid stuff be-by the Hork-Bajir's blades blasted into my brain.

cause he was daydreaming about me.

Images of other Yeerks rounding up my friends.

We never talked about things like that. We'd Doors kicked in, Dracon beams firing, flashing never even used the " L " word to each other.

blades. Rachel. Jake.

That's what Rachel calls it. The " L " word.

No! NO!

But even though he'd never said it out loud, I Couldn't worry about them. Not now. Focus! Had knew that Jake loved me. And I knew Jake knew I to stop this one Hork-Bajir. Just this one. Then . . .

loved him, even though I'd never said it out loud, Land on the other side of the barn, demorph, either.

then morph to wolf, attack, attack!

No time. It would take too long. Too late! The This Hork-Bajir wasn't a Controller, wasn't a Hork-Bajir could . . . what was a lone Hork-Bajir creature of the Yeerks. It was Jara Hamee, one of doing here? One by himself? Irrelevant! Focus!

the tiny group of free Hork-Bajir. I'd almost What would Rachel do? Attack right now. She blinded him. The thought made me nauseous.

wouldn't wait to morph. She'd swoop down and But my entire universe was being put back in rake the Hork-Bajir with her talons.

place in my mind now. No attack on my parents.

Attack now.

The Yeerks did not know about us. No violent as-I focused on the Hork-Bajir and flew straight sault to seize Jake and Rachel, Ax and Tobias for it. I'd aim for the eyes. While it was stagger-and Marco.

ing around blind, I'd morph from owl to human to None of that was happening. And eventually wolf. Or polar bear. Then I'd go for the throat. I my heart would stop hammering like it was trying could almost taste the flesh already.

to get out of my rib cage.

Closer. Closer. I stretched out my talons, I concentrated on my own DNA and demor-preparing to strike. A noiseless night-stalker de-phed as fast as I could. <What are you doing signed by nature for much smaller prey.

here, Jara? It's too dangerous for you to be away I flew between the light above the shed and from your valley.>

the Hork-Bajir. The Hork-Bajir spun, alerted by The colony of free Hork-Bajir live in a hidden my shadow. He would slice me in half!

valley created for them by a being called the El-Then, in the light, at the last possible mo-limist. Even if you know exactly where it is, it's ment . . .

hard to find. Your eyes just seem to slide away

<Aaaahhh!>

from it. Your mind just seems to want to forget it.

I jerked my talons back and spun my body It's the only place that the Hork-Bajir are at all hard to the left. I crash-landed in the dirt a few safe from the Yeerks. Or from humans for that feet away from the Hork-Bajir. I wasn't hurt but I matter. Most humans who saw a Hork-Bajir was definitely shaking.

would shoot first, ask questions later. It's not I lay there on my side in the dirt, a wing hard to understand why. The Hork-Bajir look as if crumpled beneath me. <Hi, Jara Hamee,> I said.

they were designed to kill. But they are among

the gentlest creatures I've ever encountered.

They're even vegetarians. The razor-sharp blades on their ankles, knees, wrists, and elbows are for stripping bark off trees. That's what they eat. Bark.

"Need help," Jara answered. "Toby say, 'Father, get human friends. Bring.'"

I emerged into fully human form. "Why? What happened? What's wrong?" I demanded. Amazing how now my human heart was still beating way too fast from the adrenaline rush of sheer terror.

Jara rocked back and forth on his big T. Rex feet. "Alien come valley."

"The Yeerks? They found you?!" I cried. "Did they attack you? What's the situation?"

<An Arn, on Earth? Here? Why? That's the Talking to Jara Hamee was sort of like talking question. What's he up to?> Rachel wondered.

to a four-year-old. Which was fine usually. But

<He had to come. Star Wars: The Phantom not now. Every second wasted could be putting Menace isn't coming out on DVD there for, like, the free Hork-Bajir in danger.

two years. He buys up a bunch of copies here,

"Not Yeerks," Jara explained. "Arn. From the takes 'em home, makes a fortune.> old world. Arn . . . make . . . Hork-Bajir."

<Don't be dissing TPM,> Marco said. <Cool is cool.>

The whole group was in bird-of-prey morph. It was the fastest way to get to the Hork-Bajir valley. The night had passed. The sun had come up on a new day. A beautiful, cool Saturday morn-12

ing. The deep green forest foothills below us, the the trees they depended on for food. They did towering cumulus above. It was almost hot in what came naturally. Did what the Arn designed the direct sunlight, cooler under the shadow of them to do.

the Mount Everest-sized clouds.

Then came the Yeerks.

<lf he's hoping to pick up some new slaves in The Yeerks didn't see tree maintenance work-the colony, he can forget it,> Rachel continued.

ers when they saw the Hork-Bajir. They saw an

took the peaceful creatures away from their Rachel wasn't being totally accurate. The home planet and began using them as killing ma-Hork-Bajir were never slaves on their home chines, shock troops of the Yeerk Empire.

planet. Not exactly. It's not like the Am made the There's a longer story there, but that's the Hork-Bajir wait on them hand and foot.

short version.

What we knew of all this came from Tobias,

<Rachel, you know, there are some nice ther-who'd heard the story from Jara Hamee. There mals today, we have a sweet little tailwind,> Towas a terrible cataclysm on the planet we call the bias said. <You don't have to exhaust yourself Hork-Bajir home world, but in those days the with all that flapping.>

planet was populated only by the Am. It shat-Tobias is the expert. Tobias is, or was, trapped tered the planet's crust and stripped away much in red-tailed hawk morph. He regained his ability of the atmosphere. The Am who survived needed to morph, but he's chosen to consider hawk as trees to provide oxygen. Lots of exceedingly large his true body.

trees. They didn't feel like taking care of the trees Long story there, too.

themselves. Solution? They used genetic engi-I stretched open my wings and caught one of neering to design creatures of low intelligence those thermals. The warm air lifted up my osprey who ate tree bark: the Hork-Bajir.

body.

An elegantly simple solution for the Am who A couple of thermals later I spotted about were masters of genetic manipulation.

twenty Hork-Bajir clustered together in the cen-The Hork-Bajir just lived their lives, utterly ter of the valley. Adults and kids. Seeing the kids unaware that the Arn even existed deep down in was especially cool. They were the first Hork-the impossibly steep valleys. They took care of Bajir in generations to be born into freedom.

We circled down from the clouds and landed, like diamonds lit from within. Their intensity daz-one by one. All of us demorphed, except Tobias.

zled me.

Toby Hamee moved away from the group to I blinked a few times, and began to take in greet us. Toby is the daughter of Jara Hamee and more details of the Arn's appearance. He had Ket Halpak. She's what the Hork-Bajir call "dif-four legs, two elongated arms, and a pair of short ferent." She's what the Am call a freak of nature.

wings. He was about half as tall as Ax and his She is a seer. A Hork-Bajir whose intelligence skin was a vibrant emerald-green.

matches that of the Arn themselves.

I stared at the Arn. We'd gotten almost used

"Thank you for coming. We felt the need of to seeing alien races: Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, Anda-your advice."

lites, Howlers. Almost. There was still something

"No problemo," Marco said. "It was either unsettling about seeing something, someone who this or wash my dad's car."

was so definitely not from around here.

"The Am landed last evening in a small Yeerk And even by the standards of aliens, the ship. We nearly killed him, thinking he was a Arn was bizarre. He stood, surrounded by seven-Controller. He has some sort of plan in mind. We foot-tall nightmares, watched by a deceptively told him to wait so we could bring you to advise peaceful-looking Andalite, a hawk, and a gaggle us."

of badly dressed kids.

"We're flattered," Jake said, "but you don't And he was still the strangest being there.

need us."

And all the more strange to me because I could

"I do need you," Toby said. "I especially need see, or felt I could see, a deep, unreachable sad-you," she added, looking at Ax. "If I understand ness behind those glittering, unhuman eyes.

his goal, we could use an Andalite's opinion."

"These are humans," the Arn said, nodding.

"Let's see what he's got to say," Jake said.

"Yes. I spent a day waiting in orbit, learning your We followed Toby over to the Hork-Bajir. They languages. You have many interesting languages moved closer together to make room for us in the but your biology is not at all remarkable, I'm circle.

afraid. Two arms, two legs, a most unstable plat-The Arn stood in the center. The first thing I form. And entirely lacking in physical innovation: noticed about him was his eyes. They glittered simple bilateral symmetry for the most part."

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too," Rachel said.

"What are you up to, what do you want?"

"I am Arn."

<We know about the Arn,> Tobias said. <We know your species.>

If the glittery-eyed creature was shocked at being addressed by a bird he didn't show it.

"I am Quafijinivon," he said. "The species you claim to know is no more. And I am the last of the Arn.

I have come to give the Hork-Bajir a chance for freedom and rebirth. And revenge against the Yeerks. I have a plan that will require your assistance."

"Who's going to give them a shot at revenge against you, Arn?" Rachel muttered.

"Ten bucks says whatever he has in mind ends up with us screaming and running," Marco said.

Quafijinivon's small red mouth pursed disap-provingly. "I have very little time, humans. No time at all for pleasantries. I will live for only four hundred and twelve more days, give or take a few hours, that is a biological fact."

<There are forces other than biology,> Ax 18

said. He gave his deadly tail just the slightest lit-Bajir than any of the rest of us. Toby Hamee is tle twitch.

named after him. Toby for Tobias.

"Yes, well, an Andalite. Charming, as al-

"To fight the Yeerks, yes," Quafijinivon replied.

ways." He made a grimace that might have been

"But not for me. To regain their planet. To regain a smile. "Recently I intercepted a Yeerk trans-what the Yeerks took from them."

mission and learned to my amazement that a And from you, I thought. I'm usually pretty free Hork-Bajir colony existed on Earth. I risked good at figuring out people's motives. But I everything to steal a Yeerk ship, and have trav-wasn't sure what the Arn's deal was yet. Was he eled a great distance to find —"

trying to help the Hork-Bajir? Or was he just try-

"Do the Yeerks know the location of the ing somehow to help himself?

colony?" Jake interrupted.

Jake shook his head. "Even if the Hork-Bajir

"No," Quafijinivon answered. "I found it my-agreed, how would some small colony win a war self. We Arn long ago developed technology to against the Yeerks? No ships. No orbital weapons track our —"

platforms. Not even handheld Dracon beams."

"What exactly is this plan of yours?" Rachel

"Yeah, the Yeerks have these cute little things demanded.

called weapons," Marco added.

The Arn shot her a quelling look, clearly dis-

"So would the Hork-Bajir," Quafijinivon an-pleased to have been interrupted a second time.

swered. "Before they lost their lives to the Yeerks,

"My plan is to collect samples of the DNA of the Aldrea-lskillion-Falan and Dak Hamee stole an free Hork-Bajir. With their permission," he added entire transport ship filled with handheld Dracon quickly. "I would then use the DNA to create a beams, as well as a good supply of very sophisti-new colony on my home planet."

cated explosives."

<To do what? Fight the Yeerks for you?> To-I saw Jake and Marco exchange a look.

bias asked. He edged back and forth on the log Marco shrugged. "No question that opening a he was using as a perch. <ls that what you meant new front against the Yeerks would be helpful. A when you said the Hork-Bajir would get re-guerilla war on the Hork-Bajir home world would venge?>

pull Yeerk resources away from Earth, away from I could practically feel the disapproval com-the Andalites."

ing off him. Tobias is probably closer to the Hork-

"This isn't our fight," I pointed out. I nodded 20

toward Jara Hamee and Toby. "I think we're just

"No. That would be self-defeating. I have here to advise."

something rather more . . . unusual in mind."

Jake winced, realizing he'd been playing boss.

<Unusual is our middle name,> Tobias said

"I will do whatever I can to continue the work dryly.

of Aldrea and Dak Hamee," Toby said guardedly.

"I have in my possession the Ixcila of Aldrea-

"A DNA sample is little enough to ask."

Iskillion-Falan."

Aldrea and Dak were Toby's great-grandparents.

<Seerow's daughter?> Ax exclaimed.

They were heroes to the Hork-Bajir because they

"Ixcila?" Jake repeated.

had led the battle against the Yeerks. And lost

"Her stored persona," Quafijinivon explained their lives in the fight.

impatiently. "Her brain wave patterns. Her mem-

"I give, too," Jara answered.

ories. Her personality. Her essence."

The other Hork-Bajir all chimed in. All agree-His voice had started to sound quavery, and ing to allow Quafijinivon to harvest their DNA, for the first time I realized that he was old and despite the fact that none of them besides Toby weak. It's impossible to tell the age of an alien had any idea what DNA was.

till you know what to look for.

Quafijinivon lowered his head. "I thank you,"

"The Atafalxical must be performed. It is the he told them. "But that is only the beginning.

only way to unlock the Ixcila. But the Ceremony There is one more thing I must ask before I can of Rebirth will not succeed unless there is a move forward with my plan."

strong receptacle mind available, a mind as

"Uh-oh," Marco said in a loud stage whisper.

strong as Aldrea's own."

"Here it comes."

Receptacle mind. The phrase repeated itself The Am turned his weird eyes toward me and in my head until it became nothing more than a the other Animorphs. "Aldrea and Dak Hamee hid jumble of sounds. An echo that felt important the weapons. I have been unable to recover them.

but whose meaning I could not grasp.

We Arn are perhaps unequaled in our biological I felt that something-crawling-up-your-neck science. But we have no great technological skill."

sensation that warns of disaster approaching.

<So what do you propose?> Ax asked. <Do The tornado is coming, Auntie Em.

you plan to create new Hork-Bajir and send them

"If all goes well, the Ixcila will move into the out to search for the weapons?> receptacle mind, and we will be able to com-22

municate with Aldrea," Quafijinivon continued.

"She will be able to lead us to the weapons."

"And what happens to the receptacle?" Jake asked.

"Oh, it will be undamaged, if that is what concerns you," Quafijinivon answered. "The receptacle mind simply shares space with the Ixcila until the Ixcila is returned to storage."

The Arn pulled in a wheezing breath. "Only one in four Ceremonies are actually completed.

The appropriate receptacle mind is essential. Aldrea's Ixcila will be attracted to someone most like she was. Someone strong, fierce, independent. Presumably female. Hork-Bajir or Andalite, most likely, but I suppose she might gravitate

"And the next words out of Rachel's mouth toward a human. If such a human female ex-will be . . ."

isted."

"I'll do it," Rachel said, giving Marco a self-

"Oh, I think I know where one could be mocking look.

found," Marco said.

"Bingo," Marco said.

"I don't consider myself worthy of the honor,"

Toby said, "but I, too, will volunteer."

I kept quiet. The description fit Rachel and Toby. Not me.

We debated. We argued. Rachel for. Tobias for. Ax and Marco against. Jake listening, weigh-ing, considering whether to once more put us all in harm's way. Me? I just felt unsettled.

I knew how the debate would end. It was a 24

chance to hurt the Yeerks. It was a chance to toward Toby. We'd all agreed that Aldrea would help the free Hork-Bajir. A no-brainer, morally or be drawn to one of them . . . if the so-called Cer-strategically.

emony worked at all.

Except for the fact that, as Marco pointed Rachel, because of her Rachelness. Toby, be-out, it was insane. We very seldom ended up re-cause she was Aldrea's great-granddaughter and fusing to do what was insane.

a Hork-Bajir seer.

Quafijinivon asked if there was some more

<And if she doesn't chose to release her confined space nearby. The Hork-Bajir led us to a hold?> Ax prodded.

cave.

"We could probably sell the story rights I shivered. I told myself it was because the to Lifetime for big bucks," Marco commented.

cave was cold.

"This is so television for women. Two strong, in-

<l would like to ask a question> Ax said. He dependent girls. One body."

turned all four of his eyes toward the Arn. <You Toby turned to Ax. "You only ask this because claim that the receptacle will share space with you don't trust Aldrea. As an Andalite you mis-the Ixcila of Aldrea until it is time for it to be re-trust anyone who would choose to permanently turned to storage.>

become Hork-Bajir," she accused.

"That is correct," Quafijinivon answered. His Toby's gifts didn't just make her more articu-eyes were as bright as stars in the darkness.

late than the other Hork-Bajir. They made her

<What if Aldrea does not wish to leave the re-more insightful. More capable of drawing conclu-ceptacle after she helps us find the weapons?> sions.

Ax asked. <ls there some way to force her to do I wondered if she was right about Ax. The so?>

thought of an Andalite choosing to become Hork-There was a long moment of silence. The kind Bajir had to be repellent to Ax. Almost sacrile-of silence that feels as if it sucks half the oxygen gious. Andalites are not known for their humility.

out of the air.

But I understood Aldrea's choice. More than

"Aldrea must choose to release her hold on that, I admired it. I admired her. Aldrea discov-the receptacle," Quafijinivon said, not exactly ered that her own fellow Andalites had created answering the question Ax had asked.

a virus targeted to kill the Hork-Bajir. It was a Ax rolled one eye stalk toward Rachel and one cold-blooded, military-minded decision. The An-26

dalites knew they would lose the Hork-Bajir Toby bowed her head graciously. Then she planet. They knew that if the Hork-Bajir survived said, " I , too, want an answer, Arn."

in large numbers they would be used as weapons Quafijinivon sighed. "If Aldrea does not for the Yeerks. And that with such troops the choose to release her hold, there is no way to Yeerks would have a much-strengthened chance force her to do so," he confessed.

of conquering other planets throughout the galax-

"I see. I trust my great-grandmother," Toby ies.

said firmly. "If she chooses me for this honor I The leader of the desperate Andalite forces wilI trust my freedom to her."

on the planet made the call. Later it was dis-

"Okay. Rachel? It's your call," Jake told her.

avowed by the Andalite people. Too late to stop He clearly felt obligated to ask the question what happened. Sometimes, in war, even the even though anyone who knows Rachel also knew

"good guys" do awful things.

what her answer would be.

Once Aldrea learned of the virus, she was

"I still say let's do it," she said.

forced to choose between her own people and No surprise there. Rachel wouldn't have been Dak Hamee, the Hork-Bajir seer she had come to Rachel if she'd said anything else.

love. She chose Dak. She stayed in Hork-Bajir Quafijinivon nodded. He reached into a small morph until the change became permanent. Al-metallic pouch hanging from a cord around his drea and Dak vowed to fight both the Yeerks and neck and pulled out a small vial. The liquid in-the Andalites. They died keeping this vow.

side glowed green.

Ax shifted his weight from one hoof to the

"Isn't that what nuclear waste looks like?"

other. <l ask only because it is a logical ques-Marco asked in a loud whisper.

tion.> he finally said.

"We gather to conduct the Atafalxical," Quafi-

"I did not mean to sound suspicious of my jinivon began. "The Ceremony of Rebirth is an Andalite friend," Toby said with no sincerity occasion for both solemnity and joy, for grieving whatsoever.

and celebration."

<The Hork-Bajir have reason to be . . . hesi-

"Not to mention a severe case of the willies,"

tant . . . about trusting the Andalites,> Ax al-Marco said under his breath.

lowed.

If he was close enough I would have elbowed 28

him. Not that it would have shut him up. Solem-In and out.

nity just isn't part of Marco's repertoire.

My heart began to beat to the same rhythm. I Quafijinivon continued with the ceremony as could feel it in my chest and in the base of my if he hadn't heard Marco. He pulled the stopper throat. I could feel it in my ears and in my finger-out of the vial and a wisp of vapor escaped. A tips.

moment later the inside of my nose started to

"We call on Aldrea-lskillion-Falan. We call on burn, although I couldn't smell anything except Aldrea-lskillion-Falan."

the odor of damp cave.

Quafijinivon repeated the words again and

"We call on Aldrea-lskillion-Falan," Quafi-again, stamping his feet as he cried them out.

jinivon said. He reached into the pouch again. I

"We call on Aldrea-lskillion-Falan." His voice squinted, trying to see what he'd removed. It grew louder. His feet stamped so hard they sent a looked like a small piece of metal.

vibration through the rock floor of the cave.

It must have been some kind of catalyst, be-The liquid in the vial contracted and ex-cause the instant he dropped it into the vial, the panded faster. In and out. In and out. In and out.

liquid turned from green to a fluorescent scarlet.

My heartbeat matched the new rhythm.

Its light washed over those closest to it.

"We. Call. On. Aldrea. Iskillion. Falan,"

Rachel's fair skin appeared to have been Quafijinivon wailed.

drenched in blood. Toby's green flesh had dark-

"If I see one single zombie I am —"

ened until it was almost black.

The cave floor jerked under my feet. I stum-Quafijinivon added another piece of metal to bled forward and landed on my knees in front of the vial. "We call on Aldrea-lskillion-Falan," he the Arn.

repeated.

"The receptacle has been chosen!" Quafi-

"Paging Stephen King," Marco said quietly.

jinivon shouted.

"R.L Stine calling Stephen King with a message He reached out and put his hand on my head.

from Anne Rice."

"Will you accept the Ixcila of Aldrea-lskillion-The liquid in the vial thickened. It began to Falan?"

contract and expand.

What? What? She chose me?

In and out.

That couldn't be right.

"Will you accept the Ixcila?" Quafijinivon repeated, his voice echoing in the cave.

"No!" Jake snapped.

But there was only one answer I could give.

"Yes."

I braced myself f o r . . . for what, I didn't know.

I once had a Yeerk in my head. I know the sensation of another being invading me. I know the violation of having my most private memories exposed. I know the horror of losing control over my own arms and legs and mouth. But I felt none of these things now.

"She chose Cassie?" I heard Rachel mumble.

"I feel so ten minutes ago."

"May I speak to my great-grandmother now?"

Toby asked eagerly. Her voice was filled with awe.

She revealed none of Rachel's bemused resentment.

I swallowed, then swallowed again. My throat 32

felt as dry and scratchy as sandpaper. "I'm sorry, I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want any Toby. I don't think the Ceremony was —" I be-outside stimulus right now.

gan. Then I realized something was different.

"Aldrea?" I called aloud, softly, tentatively, Have you ever been taking a test and totally feeling like an idiot talking to the dripping, dank blanked? You read a question. You know you cave walls.

know the answer. You know you memorized it No answer.

when you were studying. But you can't get to it.

Aldrea! I repeated, this time silently, hoping It's like there's a wall in your brain separating you she could hear my directed thought. If you're from the information.

there, please try to say something to me.

That's how I felt now. And the wall was enor-No answer.

mous. High and long and solid.

<Well, this is odd,> Tobias said. <Like a I was pretty sure Aldrea was on the other side stance. All we need is a Ouija board.> of the wall. But nothing was getting through. I She had to be totally disoriented. I wondered wasn't picking up even a fragment of a thought if she'd been able to experience anything while or a hint of an emotion. The only thing I knew she was in storage. Did she have any idea she was that something, some force, some bundle of had been taken to a planet in a different galaxy?

sensations, some object or person was sitting in-Had she been aware that the Ceremony was tak-side my mind.

ing place? Did she realize she wasn't in the vial It was as if she was behind me, or beside me, now?

but turning my head I couldn't see her. There but Did she know she was dead?

not visible. There nevertheless.

"Aldrea, if you can hear me, I want you to

"Cassie, are you okay? What happened?" Jake know that you're safe," I said.

asked calmly. Too calmly.

"Safe as a dead person can be," Marco said.

"Did the Ixcila take root?" Quafijinivon asked,

<Who's safer than a dead person?> Tobias his voice breaking. It was the first real emotion asked rhetorically.

the Arn had shown. He wanted this to work.

"Aldrea, you're sharing my brain and body.

Needed it to work.

My name is Cassie. I'm a human girl. I live on

"Shhh," I said. "Please, just shhh, all of planet Earth. An Arn just performed the Atafal—"

you."

<Arn?!>

Red dots exploded in front of my eyes. The felt her acceptance, I rushed on. You were question in my head was so loud and forceful it brought to this planet because there is a colony made me dizzy.

of free Hork-Bajir here. Your grandson, Jara There was definitely a hole in the wall now. I Hamee, is part of the colony. So is your great-could feel Aldrea's emotions coming through.

granddaughter, Toby Hamee."

Anger was the strongest.

I paused to receive Aldrea's reaction. I felt a

<Where . . . what has . . . what have you done swirl of too many emotions to take in. I caught to me, Arn?> she demanded. <What have you traces of curiosity and disbelief, of hope, and done?>

fear, and panic. "Toby Hamee is in the cave with Her voice was a noise like a chainsaw in my us," I continued. "Can you see her? You should brain. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Aldrea, stop! Please, stop!

be able to see through my eyes."

You're hurting me!" I yelled.

<AII I see is blackness,> she answered.

Jake grabbed me around the shoulders and I glanced around the cave. I wanted some-held me up. My knees had given way.

thing basic to look at. I focused on Rachel's red I felt a welling up of pain from Aldrea, an shirt.

echo, and knew that my silent scream had hurt

"Maybe you just aren't used to the way my her back.

brain gets information from my eyes," I told Al-I pulled in a shaky breath.

drea. "Right now, I'm looking at something red."

"Did you guys hear that? Did she speak I felt her concentrating. Then I felt the relief through my mouth?" I asked, confused.

of recognition.

"No, we just heard you," Rachel said. "At

<Red!> Aldrea exclaimed.

least, I guess it was you."

I turned toward Toby. <Now I am looking at —

Bringing up the Arn was definitely not the way is that her? Is that my great-granddaughter?> she to win Aldrea's trust. I needed another way to interrupted.

reach her. Something that would get through her

"Yes," I answered.

anger,

I felt a strange desire to go and press my fore-

"Aldrea, don't say anything for a moment.

head against Toby's. It took me a moment to real-Just listen. Let me explain," I said softly. When I ize the desire was Aldrea's.

If Aldrea wanted to touch Toby, why shouldn't she? I started to take a step forward, but a group of rapid-fire questions from Aldrea stopped me.

Her panic grew so intense that I felt sweat break out on my forehead.

"I think maybe it's time to call the Exorcist,"

Marco said. Not a joke, really. He was worried.

Everyone was worried.

"Do you remember an old Arn storing your Ixcila?" I asked.

<Yes,> she replied. <l agreed to have my per-ALDREA

sona harvested, although I didn't think the Arn My name is Aldrea-lskillion-Falan.

were really advanced enough to make a success-And I have been told that I am dead.

ful transplant.>

Impossible.

I knew the moment the knowledge hit her.

Ridiculous.

Really hit her. My heart started to pound, and I The thought patterns the Arn had stored felt like my nerve endings were getting jolts of would only allow for a crude reproduction of me.

electricity.

A jumble of facts and sensations. Nothing more.

<But that is what has happened, isn't it? A There was no possibility that the thoughts and successful transplant.> Aldrea continued. <This emotions I was experiencing now could be com-can only mean that —>

ing out of electrical impulses and chemicals col-I hesitated. But she had to know the truth.

lected years ago. I must have been knocked

"Yes, Aldrea, you are dead."

unconscious in a battle. A hallucination. A ploy the Yeerks were using to break me. They must be hoping that I —

But what about the body? What about the 38

hands with too few fingers to be Andalite, the her ears and how I could use her brain to trans-arms too weak and frail to be Hork-Bajir?

late the data into words I could understand.

I didn't want to believe I was dead. But I

"The Yeerks did extensive blasting to create could not deny the fact that I was in a body that level places for training grounds. My lab was was not my own. A small, weak, defenseless body heavily damaged. The Ixcila of Dak Hamee was covered in furless brown skin.

destroyed," the Arn explained.

"Aldrea?" the creature called Cassie said.

Was it true? If so, then Dak was truly dead.

"Are you all right?"

Dead like my parents. Like my brother, Barafin.

I realized that I wasn't just hearing her words.

concern and sadness. A little fear, too. Fear for Had I had the chance to say good-bye to Dak?

herself.

Had we fought side by side until the end? I would

<ls Dak alive?> I asked, speaking in what felt never know. My Ixcila had been collected before like my own native tongue of thought-speak. I my death, so the memories of my last moments had to know. Unless . . . no, either way I had to with Dak did not exist.

know. The emotions from Cassie gave me my an-I felt a wave of sadness from Cassie. I shoved swer before her words.

it away. I had no use for her emotions. She was

"No, Aldrea. He died a long time ago. A long nothing to me.

way from here. I'm sorry," she answered.

There was one final question I had to ask, al-

<Where is his lxcila?> I demanded. I knew he though I was terrified to hear the answer. <My had one, too. It could be put into another body son. What happened to the son I named after my the way mine had. Dak and I could still be to-father, Seerow?>

gether.

I waited for Cassie to repeat my question.

"I don't know," she answered.

It was the young Hork-Bajir who answered.

Cassie turned her gaze toward the Am. It took

"They took him, Great-grandmother. Seerow be-me a moment to realize that she wasn't commu-came a Controller. He was brought to Earth as nicating with him in the way we had been com-part of their army, here. He died in captivity."

municating. It took me a few moments more to There was not a worse fate I could have imag-comprehend how her brain received input from ined for my child. The Yeerks had made his life a 40

living death. And I had not been there to protect him.

"But Seerow's son, Jara Hamee, my father, escaped with the help of the humans here," Toby continued. "And I, your great-granddaughter, was born in freedom."

I studied her through my new eyes. There was something about her. Something familiar. The words were too well organized, the speech flowed too smoothly, the ideas .. .

Through my despair I felt a tiny bubble of something that could have been joy.

<Ask her if she's different,> I told Cassie.

A smile spread across Toby's face when she heard the question.

The Arn quickly outlined his plan for Aldrea.

"Yes, Great-grandmother, I am different," she I could feel her mistrust and anger growing as he answered. "I am different as Dak Hamee was dif-spoke.

ferent."

"Can you help us?" the Arn asked. "Do you A seer. A seer born in freedom.

remember where the weapons are hidden?"

"We have brought you back from death be-

<No. I know nothing of any weapons. It must cause we need your help," Toby said.

have occurred . . . if it did occur, after,> Aldrea

<Tell her that there is nothing she could ask said.

of me that I would not give,> I said to Cassie.

I repeated her message.

My rebirth had brought me a pain that felt al-The Arn nodded his head sadly. "And yet, most unbearable. My Dak gone. My Seerow gone.

it was the mind that found the hiding place.

But it had brought me a gift as well. The Found once, it could find again. Could Aldrea chance to know my great-granddaughter.

find them?"

I wouldn't give that up for anything. Perhaps I

<Could I find weapons I hid? Yes, most would even see Toby's child one day.

likely,> Aldrea said.

"Then the two of us — no, I suppose that

"Cassie, you okay?" Rachel asked.

should be the three of us, counting the recepta-I couldn't answer her. Aldrea had my teeth c l e — will leave tomorrow," Quafijinivon replied.

locked together. I held up both hands and nod-

"While the new Hork-Bajir are being grown in my ded, trying to show everyone that I was okay. My laboratory, you will have time to retrieve the hands were still mine, at least.

weapons."

"Thh — Thh — "

"If Cassie goes, we go," Jake said.

I could feel little specks of spit flicking down

"But she is just a vessel," Quafijinivon said onto my chin. I expected to get at least a "say it, with a sort of greasy smile. "Why would you hu-don't spray it" out of Marco, but he stayed quiet.

mans need to come?"

"Thh. Ihh. This. This. This is Althrea. Drr. Drr.

<Because you think she's nothing but a ves-Aldrea. Cass-ie is al-low-ing me to u-se h-er voi-sel, that's why,> Tobias said.

ce," Aldrea explained.

"I hadn't thought to b r i n g — " Quafijinivon She reminded me of a little kid sounding out began.

words in a book that was too hard for her. She

<Tell him to be silent,> Aldrea ordered. <This also reminded me of a Yeerk. She was using my discussion is pointless. I could no doubt find mouth! Speaking with my voice!

these weapons, but I will not help the Arn —>

"I sa-id I wou-ld do an-y-thing to he-l-p my

<Wait, wait. You're going too fast,> I told her.

great-gr-and-dau-gh-ter and the Ho-r-k-Ba-ji-r,"

I found I could communicate mind to mind with she continued. "But I wi-ll not do this."

her now. As easy as any internal dialogue.

"What do you mean?" the Arn demanded.

<Then let me use your speech centers. I will

"You must! You are refusing the chance to give speak to them directly.>

the Hork-Bajirs' planet back to them?" His voice A perfectly logical request. I had no real rea-was quivering. I wasn't sure if it was because he son for refusing, did I? <lf you can access my was furious or simply exhausted.

speech centers, I guess go ahead.> Aldrea laughed. It was a harsh, ugly sound Almost immediately I felt a tickling sensation that hurt my throat. "No, Arn. I am refu-sing the in my throat. My tongue gave a twitch and I let chance to give you your planet back. That is what out something that sounded way too much like a you are tru-ly asking. You care no-thing for the pig grunting.

Hork-Bajir. Your kind never did."

Her words were coming much more smoothly

"You are a seer, Toby, but you are also young.

now. Aldrea was getting comfortable with operat-You don't know what this Arn, this Andalite, and ing my mouth. I wasn't getting comfortable with even, I suspect, these humans, intend. Even well letting her. I felt like the world's largest ventrilo-armed, do you think the few Hork-Bajir that this quist's dummy.

creature, this Arn, this manipulator, this liar from

"Ridiculous," the Arn protested. "I am old.

a race of liars, this coward from a race of cow-Soon I will be dead."

ards . . . " She stabbed my finger toward the Arn.

"You're asking me to help you use the Hork-I felt my face twist into an expression of fury.

Bajir again. Every time one of your new Hork-She regained control over her emotions, but Bajir kills a Yeerk he will also be killing one of his now adrenaline was flooding my system. She had own kind." Aldrea asked, "You brought me back triggered the classic human physiological re-to help Hork-Bajir kill Hork-Bajir?"

sponse to stress. And with that hormone rush my

"What you say is true, Great-grandmother,"

own fear and anger grew.

Toby said. "But there is no other way. Few of our

"Hork-Bajir kill Hork-Bajir and who will people survived the Andalite virus. Only those profit?" Aldrea demanded.

who had already been taken off-world by the

"All the enemies of the Yeerks will profit,"

Yeerks, and those few with natural immunity like Jake said. Toby nodded and said, "True, Great-you and my great-grandfather. We could grow grandmother, it would be a sideshow. It would again, take back our world. But not until we only be a distraction for the Yeerks. Many Hork-weaken the Yeerks."

Bajir would die. And yet we must fight."

Toby stepped up in front of me and leaned Aldrea spread my hands wide. "Why?"

down so she could look into my eyes. No. Into Al-

"Because we must be a free people, Great-drea's eyes, because I might just as well not have grandmother. So far our freedom here, in this val-been there. "Let me accompany you to our ley, on this planet, has been bought and paid for planet. We can start again, continue the work you by these humans, our friends. But freedom can't and Dak Hamee began," Toby pleaded.

be given. It must be taken and held and de-I felt another stab of grief from Aldrea when fended. Our freedom has to be our own cre-Toby said Dak's name. Then I felt her push that ation."

grief aside.

I felt again some measure of Aldrea's sad-46

ness. Every word from Toby's mouth reminded ally self-controlled, capable of lying and manipu-her of Dak.

lation for your own ends. You are also fundamen-

"Brave talk, Toby. You may reconsider when tally peaceful, moral, courageous, and capable of you see the bodies piled high. Your great-self-sacrifice. You are, in short, an Andalite. Not grandfather did."

a Hork-Bajir.>

No one said anything. The decision was Al-

"You could have been describing a human,"

drea's. Had to be hers. "We go. But I warn you, Rachel said brightly. "Now, add in 'arrogant' and Arn: You will not betray the Hork-Bajir and live.

'humorless,' and then you have an Andalite."

Now, let us go home."

To my surprise Aldrea laughed out loud. My

<She calls it home,> Ax muttered.

laugh. "Obviously you humans have spent some Aldrea jerked my head toward him. <The An-time with Andalites."

dalite,> she said silently to me. <What is an An-Ax didn't join in the sense of eased tension.

dalite doing here?>

He kept his large main eyes focused on me. On

<He's a friend,> I said.

her.

<My people were friends to the Hork-Bajir,

<l want to be sure, daughter of Prince toor> she said. Then she looked directly at Ax Seerow, that you realize you have only one func-and, out loud, using my voice, said, "This hu-tion to perform. As soon as you show us the loca-man, Cassie, tells me you are a friend, Andalite. I tion of the weapons your Ixcila will be returned warned her about Andalite friends."

to storage. You are dead, Aldrea-lskillion-Falan.

<Did you warn her about Andalite nothlits, When you have performed this one duty, this illu-daughters of Seerow, who pretend to be Hork-sion of life will be ended and Cassie will be Bajir?> Ax shot back.

Cassie alone.>

The wall between me and Aldrea went back

<No. The Hork-Bajir are like Jara and Ket and up. It felt even stronger than before. I had no the rest. You could perhaps consider yourself the idea what her true reaction to Ax's question was.

equivalent of a Hork-Bajir seer, but your intelli-

"I understand why the Ceremony of Rebirth gence is not the result of a genetic fluctuation. I was performed," she replied neutrally. "I under-do not know you, Aldrea-lskillion-Falan, but I stand that the Arn brought me here only to use know of you. You are highly intelligent, emotion-me for this one purpose. I will do what I must."

Not the answer I wanted to hear.

<l will take back control of my speech centers now,> I said.

A better answer. And if she'd given it without hesitation, it would have been better still.

Okay, we're supposed to brief you, so here goes: One of Cassie's best fighting morphs is a wolf," Rachel told Aldrea as we headed home through the sun-dappled woods.

The others had morphed and flown off ahead.

At least they had been seen to fly off, and at least one no doubt did. There were plans to be made.

We'd be away for a while. The Chee had to be contacted.

But if I knew Jake he'd left at least one or two others behind to watch us secretly. Jake was no happier with Aldrea's careful reply than I was.

This leisurely walk through the woods was a test. If Aldrea did anything troubling, Rachel was on hand, and probably Tobias and Ax, as well. I 50

didn't spot either of them. But I'd have bet any-Of course not. I'm just saying . . .

thing they were close by.

<Why should I have chosen her?> Aldrea Jake had suggested that Aldrea learn how asked.

to control my morphs. On the Hork-Bajir world,

"She wants to know why she should have cho-she'd be in charge. In a fight we needed quick resen you," I reported. "Should I explain to her sponses. She needed to know which weapon to that you are the mighty, the powerful, the use. And we needed to see how she handled it.

ultimate Yeerk-killer, Xena: Warrior Princess,

"The wolf has good speed," Rachel chattered whereas I am merely an ambivalent, animal-on. "Great ripping abilities with the teeth. Terrific loving, tree-hugging wuss?"

endurance. They can run all night. Now if you'd

"You forget to mention that I clearly have a chosen me, Aldrea, you'd have gotten some seri-superior sense of style," Rachel added.

ous firepower. My African elephant morph. It's,

"Actually, I'm curious about why you chose like, fourteen thousand pounds. Not to mention me, too, Aldrea," I said, speaking out loud for my grizzly bear."

Rachel's benefit. "We all thought you'd go for I felt a tickle of admiration mixed with amuse-Rachel or Toby."

ment from Aldrea. A little of that wall between us

<l don't know,> Aldrea finally admitted. <l had come back down, but what I saw and felt have no memory of making the choice. The first was only what Aldrea allowed me to see and feel.

thing I was aware of was being in your body.> I have to admit it's not as if I was pouring out Maybe it was because she'd been able to feel my deepest, darkest secrets to her. I was control-my admiration for what she had done by becom-ling my body, my mouth, and my eyes again. But ing Hork-Bajir.

I was carefully not searching the trees and No, that didn't make sense. I wasn't the only bushes for signs of Tobias or Ax, lest she figure one who believed her decision to defy her own out what I was up to.

people to fight the Yeerks was heroic.

"So, not that it bothers me, but why didn't I relayed her answer to Rachel. I could have you choose me, by the way?" Rachel burst out. "I shared control of my mouth, perhaps, but it mean, come on! There I was, all ready to go."

would have caused problems, confusion. I didn't

"Not that it bothers you," I said.

want to give her any more than she needed. But 52

concentrating on my wolf DNA right now. Can neither did I want to make her hostile by treating you sense it?"

her with suspicion. / don't think Miss Manners

<Yes,> Aldrea answered.

covers this particular social situation, I thought.

"To start to morph all you need to do is —" I

<Aldrea, perhaps we could both access my speech centers. If we are each careful, we may said.

avoid problems.>

<You're forgetting that I was born an An-

"Yes," she said.

dalite,> Aldrea answered. <We invented the mor-

"Yes what?" Rachel asked, phing technology.>

"l-she-jamrff-coo har dabdiligg . . ." Two Her superior tone reminded me of Ax. Every minds, one mouth.

once in a while he makes it clear how primitive our human technology still is.

Rachel gave us a fish eye. "Uh-huh. And I could have asked her how many times she'd meanwhile, back at the psych ward . . . "

morphed. How many animals. I could have

<Go ahead, Aldrea,> I said.

pointed out that my friends and I were probably

"I thought I'd been given a ridiculous recep-the galactic morphing champions. But I didn't tacle at first," Aldrea admitted, speaking to feel right. I f e l t . . . I don't know. Aldrea was a Rachel almost as if I weren't there to hear. "I hero right out of history. And I was the girl with didn't know how I would be able to fight in this the raccoon enema bag.

soft little body. No blades of any kind. It doesn't

"Well, go ahead, then," I mumbled.

even have hidden poison sacs!"

I felt the tip of my nose turn wet and cold.

"Yeah, but she has an enema bag she uses on But only for an instant. My fingernails grew raccoons," Rachel joked.

thicker and longer. But a second later they re-

"But now that I know it has morphing abili-turned to their usual shape.

ties, I'm sure it will work well enough," Aldrea continued.

"You're fighting me, Cassie," Aldrea said.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know," I answered. "Go It. I guess " i t " is the right word to use when ahead."

you're talking about a body. "It" stepped in to reach the speech centers.

I felt Aldrea begin to concentrate on the wolf DNA. I started to take a deep breath, then I real-

"So, are you ready to try this?" I asked. "I'm 54

ized that right now she should be controlling the speed there wouldn't just be a splash of fake breathing. The changes began again. The bones movie blood. There would be an explosion of very in my legs cracked as the joints reversed direc-real pain.

tion. The skin on my arms itched as coarse hair

<Aldrea, look out!> I shouted.

popped through it. Morphing has always been She swerved, missing the tree by inches.

creepy. This time it was terrifying. Each sensa-

<What were you doing? You almost bashed tion felt magnified by a hundred. I wanted to my — our — head in,> I cried.

scream as I felt my intestines shift and my ribs

<What are you talking about?> Aldrea shot contract.

back. <This morph has excellent reflexes.> I ordered myself to get a grip. I decided to She was right. I'd probably come that close to pretend I was watching a movie. I even tried to trees dozens of times when I was in wolf morph.

imagine I could feel the nubby material of the Aldrea was obviously having no problems con-theater seat behind my back and the sticky floor trolling the body. I just had to trust her. Except under my feet.

she wasn't from Earth. What if a situation came When my lips began to stretch away from my up that she couldn't recognize? Would I be able face, I tried to think of it as a cool special effect to take over the body quickly enough to deal?

in the Aldrea: Alien Werewolf movie.

I decided to try a little experiment. Without It helped a little. Very little.

saying anything to Aldrea, I tried to wag my —

I fell forward on my hands. No, my paws.

our — wolf tail.

They were paws now. A moment later, the transIt didn't move.

formation was complete.

I tried again, concentrating all my energy on Aldrea took off running through the forest. I the muscles in the tail. The tail gave a twitch. It could feel her exhilaration. She felt powerful and wasn't exactly a full-out wag. But at least it free.

moved.

I felt as if I was locked in a speeding car with

<What are you doing, Cassie?> Aldrea asked.

no brakes and no steering wheel. I tried to hold She slowed from a run to a trot, and I got a little on to the image of the movie theater I'd created, puff of annoyance from her.

but I couldn't. Not with Aldrea racing straight I hesitated. I didn't want to admit I'd been toward a huge pine tree! If we hit that tree at this trying to see what kind of control I had.

Rachel loped up beside us in her own wolf morph. I couldn't help thinking that if Rachel had been in my situation she would have gotten a lot more than a pathetic little twitch out of the tail.

Rachel would not have been intimidated by Aldrea. She'd have laid down the law: Do what I tell you, or else.

Or else what, though? That was the question, wasn't it. Or else . . . what?

I wondered again why Aldrea hadn't chosen Rachel as her receptacle. But maybe the answer was all too clear: Maybe I'd been chosen because she sensed that I was the weakest.

Had she felt that I would be the easiest to Okay, there's that girl, Holly Perry, you control? Had Aldrea, even in her inchoate Ixcila know, she transferred from Polk?" Marco said form, marked me as an easy victim?

from his seat on one of the big bales of hay in my barn. "I want my Chee to ask her out for me. I tried a couple of times, but this thing happened with my voice."

"He started clucking like the chicken he is,"

Rachel commented.

"Holly Perry. No problem," Erek the Chee told Marco. "It's not like we have anything else to do but work on your love life. Yeah, the Chee who plays you will also hold down his regular full-time job as a restaurant manager, but hey, your love life comes first."

Marco nodded. "Good. As long as we have our

"Any other instructions?" Erek asked.

priorities clear."

"Ask whoever is me not to be so nice to my Aldrea was completely lost. It was comforting to sisters this time," Rachel answered. "They get to feel her confusion. <The Chee are androids,> I ex-expecting it."

plained. <They can throw holograms around them-Erek smiled. "Jake? Cassie? Anything?"

selves to change their appearances. While we're Jake shook his head. I could tell that in his gone, Erek's going to get a few of them to take our thoughts at least, he'd already left Earth far be-places at home and school. Passing as u s > hind.

"If we're not back before the date, my Chee

"Maybe I shouldn't ask this," I said slowly.

should just go out with her and make sure she

"Maybe it's bad luck or something. But if we . ..

really has fun," Marco continued.

if we don't come back, would . . . " I couldn't fin-

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Rachel ish the sentence. A terrible grief welled up be-asked. "Won't Holly be disappointed when she neath my own less intense worry.

goes out with the real you?"

It took me a moment to realize that most of it I felt impatience from Aldrea. The emotional was coming from Aldrea. My thoughts had made wall between us was becoming more of a sieve.

her think of her own parents and her little Her thoughts were still beyond my reach, but I brother. All lost to her forever.

could "feel" her now as a person more inside me

"We could stay with your families," Erek said.

than out.

"If you really wish."

<lt's their way of blowing off steam. You

"No," I said quickly. "Forget it. No. I . . . I know, of dealing with the anxiety of leaving for a don't think I want anyone being me perma-mission,> I explained to her.

nently."

Her impatience didn't lessen. <You are all Erek nodded. "No. I've lived a long, long still such children,> she muttered.

time. Seen a lot of death. I've never seen the

<Actually, we're not much younger than you point in denying death. People die. People and Dak Hamee were when you fought the grieve. It's better than playing games with it." He Yeerks.>

turned to go.

I got the strong feeling that she didn't appre-

"Oh, Erek, one more thing," Marco called af-ciate the comparison.

ter him. "I kind of need a makeup paper on some 60

great figure from American history. It's kind of due day after tomorrow."

"How about Franklin Roosevelt? I was the White House butler during his administration. I was the one who came up with the phrase 'New Deal.' Of course, it was during a poker game."

For the second time in less than one full day, we were flying to the Hork-Bajir valley.

No one was talking. Marco and Rachel weren't bothering with their usual exchange of insults. Aldrea wasn't even communicating with me in our private shared-mind communication.

Jake wasn't saying much to me, either. He couldn't talk to me, even to reassure me, without talking to Aldrea, too. I knew he was aware of po-tential problems there.

I felt relieved when I spotted Quafijinivon, Toby, and the other Hork-Bajir already gathered around the small Yeerk spacecraft. It was larger than a Bug fighter, but still fairly small. Instead of the cockroach-shell shape with the twin ser-62

rated Dracon cannon, it was closer to the oval story. Dak Hamee was history to me. To Aldrea he shape the Andalites use, with an engine pod on was a living, breathing person.

either side. But the Dracon cannon were slung I acquired Jara's DNA as quickly as possible underneath rather than mimicking a raised tail.

and slid my hands away. <You still really miss I wanted to get on that ship as quickly as pos-him, don't you?> I asked Aldrea.

sible. The only way to complete this mission was

<He died yesterday. And I was not with him. I to begin it. The only way to return to Earth was to did not hold his hand and tell him I loved him.

leave it. The only way to regain the sole use of my Maybe in reality, but not in my memory, which is body was to allow Aldrea to use it now.

all the truth I have.>

I was ready. I had to be ready. That choice

<l'm sorry.> The words felt totally lame. But I was made for me when Aldrea chose her recepta-didn't know what else to say. Aldrea said nothing cle.

more.

I tucked my wings close to my body and let

"It is time," Quafijinivon announced.

myself drop to the ground. I demorphed quickly.

He took a step toward the ship, leading the

"Anyone who doesn't have a Hork-Bajir morph, way, then stopped and turned back to the expec-get one now," Jake instructed before the feathers tant Hork-Bajir.

had all disappeared from his face.

"Friend Hork-Bajir: I am deeply grateful for I stepped up to Jara Hamee and reached the gift of your DNA. I will do everything in my toward him. "May I?" I asked.

power to aid the new colony in banishing the

"Jara help," he answered.

Yeerks from your home planet. Believe me, or do I pressed my hands against his leathery not, but I tell you that I, the last of the Arn, will chest. Aldrea fought to resist a renewed wave of atone for the sins of my people."

grief. I couldn't figure out why for a minute, then Of course the Hork-Bajir didn't grasp half of I realized that touching Jara must remind her of this little speech. But they caught the tone.

how it felt to touch Dak Hamee.

Jara Hamee slapped his hand against his It was all new to her. A loss that had occurred chest. "Free or dead!" he exclaimed.

before I was born had happened to Aldrea just

"Free or dead!" Ket Halpak echoed. She hours before. I couldn't stop thinking of it all as a slapped her hand against her own chest.

The other Hork-Bajir joined in the cry.

take the helm. We will translate to Zero-space as

"Free or dead!"

soon as we clear the atmosphere. I must prepare Thump!

for the trip to the Arn planet."

"Free or dead!"

"The Hork-Bajir planet," Rachel muttered, Thump!

with a significant look at me.

My eyes began to sting. I didn't know if it was Quafijinivon didn't appear to hear her. He my emotions or Aldrea's that caused the tears to squatted uncomfortably, leaning back against form. In that moment our feelings were almost a captain's chair designed for Hork-Bajir. The identical.

space beside him was without any chair, appro-

"Okay, let's go," Jake said.

priate for a Taxxon.

Aldrea and I took one last look at the Hork-Ax went to look over the controls. <This is a Bajir. We thumped our hand against our chest.

newer-generation Yeerk ship,> Ax commented.

"Free or dead!" we shouted.

Then, his thought-speak tone elaborately casual,

"We" is the only way I can describe the expe-he said, <They've made some small innovations rience. I'm really not sure if it was my voice or since they acquired the original Andalite tech-hers that uttered the Hork-Bajir battle cry. For nology from . . . well, we all know who gave the that moment, the wall between us was down.

Yeerks the capacity for Z-space travel.> But as we made our way to the ship's door, I

"My father," Aldrea answered defiantly. "My felt Aldrea pull away from me. I pulled away a lit-father, Prince Seerow. Without my father, the tle, too.

Yeerks would never have had the opportunity to We were still almost strangers to each other.

spread their evil," she continued. "Without my We both needed a little privacy. I stepped into father, we would not all be risking our lives on the ship, Marco right behind me.

this mission. That is the point the Andalite

"Hey, all right. A hot tub," he exclaimed. All wishes to make."

you ladies are invited to join me." I followed his

<Aldrea, stop,> I begged. <No one blames gaze to the small, drained Yeerk pool that domi-you.>

nated the only "room."

She ignored me.

"It's empty," Quafijinivon reassured us. "I'll

"All this is true," Aldrea insisted. "It is also 66

true that my father did what he believed was

"We have to be a team here," Jake said in a right. He believed he was helping a worthy race voice so quiet it forced everyone to lean forward to advance."

to listen. "We have to be able to count on each

Hork-Bajir planet is Yeerk-held. Ringed by Yeerk Aldrea whipped her — our — head toward him.

defenses. And we're relying on two people we

"What he did is not so different from giving these don't know: Quafijinivon and Aldrea."

humans the power to morph. And who did that, He shot me/Aldrea a hard look. "We'll be ad-Aximili-Esgarrouth-lsthill? I know they could not vised by Quafijinivon and Aldrea. And we'll always have developed the technology on their own."

listen to Toby. But this is an Animorph mission."

<You cannot compare your father to my

"Meaning that you are in charge?" Aldrea de-brother,> Ax began to protest.

manded, almost laughing.

"Oh, but I can!" Aldrea cried triumphantly.

"That's exactly what I mean," Jake said.

"If your brother gave the humans the power to I felt Aldrea's emotional reaction. A mix of re-morph, that means he gave an inferior species sentment, condescension, and worry.

technology they were incapable of developing

<Jake has led us through more missions, themselves. That is all my father did."

more battles than you and Dak ever fought,> I

"Wait a minute, are you comparing humans to said, annoyed at her attitude.

Yeerks?" Rachel demanded. "Is that what I'm Using my — our — mouth, Aldrea said, "I hearing?"

will follow Jake as though he were my prince."

"Well, we're off to a good start," Marco said Did she mean it? I couldn't tell.

with a laugh. "We haven't even gotten to the first I had the feeling Ax was about to say some-rest stop and already the kids are fighting in the thing snide. Jake raised his hand, cutting Ax off.

backseat."

"Thank you, Aldrea. It's an honor to have you on

<You know, Ald —> Tobias began to say.

the team."

"Okay. Discussion over," Jake said. Tobias fell The moment passed. I saw Rachel smirking at silent in mid-word. I could feel Aldrea's in-me. No, at Aldrea.

credulity at being silenced by what she saw as an

<You care for this Jake person,> Aldrea said alien youth.

to me.

<Yeah. I do.>

<Yeah. I guess so.> It was a disturbing comparison. Neither Dak nor Aldrea had survived their war.

<l'll open the observation panels,> Ax said. A moment later a ring of metal slid back, revealing windows in all directions.

My eyes went straight to the blue-and-white ball that was Earth. It was so far away already.

The ship picked up speed. It hurtled through space faster and faster.

Flash!

ALDREA

Earth disappeared.

I rolled over and realized that Dak was gone. I

<Translation into Zero-space,> Ax told us.

opened my eyes.

started toward him, hesitated, then bent down to I looked around at our motley group. Four hu-pick up the weapon I'd had within reach for every mans, a red-tailed hawk, an Andalite, a Hork-second of the last two years. I came up behind Bajir, an Arn with his back to us, and, invisible him, stepped around his curled-up tail, and put but still there, the hybrid thing called Aldrea.

my arm around his waist.

I must have looked worried.

We were at the edge of the small platform Marco caught my eye and laughed his sar-built seven hundred feet up in a crook of a Stoola donic laugh. "So. Yahtzee anyone?"

tree's branches. We were at the far end of the valley, all the way down where it narrowed so much that the branches of trees across the valley reached and touched the branches from this side.

The Yeerks had searched the area thoroughly, spoke. Not as a Hork-Bajir, but with fluency and hunting for surviving Hork-Bajir. The searching ease.

had been done by Hork-Bajir-Controllers. And yet

"The Yeerks will take me, Mother."

we had escaped detection. Dak had taken the

"No."

platform apart, buried it in the ground, then,

"You will not save me, Mother."

when the search had passed, we defiantly rebuilt

"I . . . I couldn't."

our little home.

"Where is Father?"

"I love you, Dak."

"What? He . . ." I reached, and Dak was no He squeezed my arm against his chest.

longer there. "He was just. . . what is happen-

"Seerow is sleeping well now," he said.

ing?"

"Yes. For the last few days, since the ships

"Nightmare," the small, brown creature said.

stopped arriving with all that noise."

She had taken my son's place. "You're having a A huge buildup had begun. The Yeerk forces, nightmare."

the forces we had fought, would be doubled.

"Seerow!" I screamed.

"I fear for him, Aldrea."

The young Andalite sneered at me. <Did you I couldn't answer. My throat was choked. We imagine it was real, Aldrea-lskillion-Falan? Did had long since realized that we would not sur-you think it could last?>

vive. We had accepted that. As well as anyone

"Seerow! Dak! Come to me, come to me, let can accept the death of a loved one, or their own me . . . where are you?"

death.

<Wake up! Wake up! Aldrea, wake up!> But I could not accept it for Seerow, my son.

"Seerow!"

Our son. Could not. And yet I could see no way I woke. Cassie, the human, had run to plunge out.

our face into cold water.

I looked to the little cradle of twigs where he I looked around, through her eyes. The lights lay.

had been darkened for sleep. The Andalite

"What will become of you, my sweet little stood at rest, with a single stalk eye open, watch-one?"

ing. Jake, the leader of the humans, had awak-He sat up. Too young to speak, and yet he ened.

"It's okay, Jake," Cassie said. "She just had a nightmare."

Seerow. Dead after a life as a Yeerk host. Dak.

Dead, I knew not how. All of them, all our brave soldiers, all gone.

A nightmare. A dream of death from a person already dead.

Three days had passed. Three days of having the strange, sad, secret Andalite-turned-Hork-Bajir in my head.

Sleeping with her on the hard, cold deck.

Awakened shaking, sweating, wanting to tear my head open with my bare hands as I felt the awe-some grief of her nightmares.

Eating with her, if you could call the concentrated nutrient pellets food. Going to the bath-room with her.

A lot more togetherness than I'd have pre-ferred. Bad enough figuring out how to pee in a toilet designed for Hork-Bajir. Worse doing it with an audience in your own head.

We had gotten good at sharing control of

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone Z-speech. I controlled everything else. I had gotten space the whole way," Marco whined.

used to it. I still didn't like it.

Ax and Aldrea both laughed. Then they real-The Arn had stayed at the helm, ignoring ized they were both laughing at the same thing us for the most part. I'd learned nothing more and they both stopped laughing.

about him. Was this really some voyage of re-

"Just say it," Marco told them. "I am but a demption for him? Aldrea doubted it. And she poor Earth man, unable to understand the ways knew one hundred percent more about the Arn of the superior Andalite beings."

than I knew. Jake was talking with Quafijinivon

"Hork-Bajir," Aldrea corrected him.

when we translated out of the blank white noth-

<Aldrea, why do you —> Ax began.

ingness of Zero-space into what now seemed to A flash of green streaked by.

be the warm, welcoming black star field.

"Shredder fire!" Aldrea yelled, and suddenly I The Arn checked his sensors.

was up and running toward the front of the ship.

"Quafijinivon says we are now in Hork-Bajir She had taken control of my body! It was so sud-space. We may pass the Yeerk defenses unno-den, so effortless.

ticed. Or not," Jake announced. "We should get Ax reached the "bridge" first. He leaned his ready. We don't know what we'll be walking into.

torso forward and looked over Quafijinivon's I want everyone —"

shoulder.

Marco held up his hand like he was asking a

<One of ours,> Ax said. Then he clarified.

question.

<An Andalite fighter. It must be on a deep patrol.

"Yes, Marco."

Harassing the Yeerk defenses.>

"Do we have correct change for the tolls?"

"Can we outrun him?" Jake demanded.

Jake blinked. Then he grinned. He and Marco

"They're between us and the Arn planet,"

have been best friends forever. Marco knows how Quafijinivon answered. "We're smaller. It's possi-to knock Jake down a peg when Jake starts tak-ble we could outmaneuver them. But it would ing his fearless leader role too seriously.

place us well within their firing range."

Jake sat down on the floor across from Tseeeeeew!

me/Aldrea.

The Andalite fired again. A miss! But the 76

cold, hard data from the computer made it clear tor everything they have at us. We'll all be killed exactly how close it had come.

and so will the Andalites."

"Fire back!" Rachel burst out. "Knock out one

"Here he comes," Toby said.

of his engines or something. Enough to keep him I looked — and my stomach rolled over.

busy until we can land. They can't follow us The Andalite fighter was on us. Seconds from down."

firing.

Quafijinivon's red mouth pursed thoughtfully.

This time he wouldn't miss.

"Young human, that pilot is an Andalite warrior.

One of the best trained fighters in the galaxy. I cannot hope to win a battle with him."

Ax and Aldrea both said roughly the same thing, which translated to human vernacular was, <You've got that right.>

<We can't fire on an Andalite,> Tobias said.

He was flapping a little nervously, being tossed around as the Arn swung the ship into an evasive maneuver.

"So we let him shoot us down?" Rachel demanded. "There's one of him, eight of us. Or nine."

The Andalite fighter was coming back around in a tight, swift arc. In a few seconds his weapons would come to bear on us.

"Ax?" Jake asked.

<l cannot fire on a fellow Andalite who is merely doing his duty. Do not ask me,> Ax pleaded. <Maybe I could communicate —>

"No!" Aldrea interrupted. "If the Yeerks pick up a voice transmission, we're dead. They'll vec-78

A jolt of electricity, my hair tingled, Rachel's hair was standing straight out from her head, a blond halo. The air crackled blue. Then Rachel's hair dropped back into place.

The acceleration stopped instantly. I'd been straining forward and now, released, I tripped and fell like someone who's been tugging on a rope that snaps.

Marco landed sprawled all over me. He put his finger to his lips. "Shhh, don't tell Jake. You know how jealous he is."

<Left main engine down,> Ax reported. <And now he is angry. He is coming in slow.>

"Slow, that's good, right?" I said. I put my Ax leaped. He dragged the willing Arn out hand to my lip and saw blood on my fingers. I of the way and grabbed the controls.

didn't even remember hitting anything.

<Computer, lateral thrusters, left side, full

"No, not good," Aldrea said. "He's decided burn!> Ax cried.

we won't or can't shoot. He's coming in slow to WHAM!

make sure of his shot."

I flew back into Toby. We both crashed to the

<Cutting lights, environmental and artificial ground. One of her blades nicked my arm and I gravity so I can give all power to the remaining felt a trickle of warm blood.

engine,> Ax said.

Everyone who'd been standing was pinned The cabin went dark except for the glow from against the left side of the ship. An invisible the control panel. And then I realized my feet force pushed me, forced the air out of my lungs, were no longer glued to the floor.

squeegeed my cheeks back against my ears.

"Ax, can we outmaneuver him? Yes or no?"

Tseeeeew! Tseeeeeew!

Jake asked.

The Andalite fighter fired.

<No, Prince Jake, we cannot. But I cannot —> 80

Jake ignored his answer. "Aldrea?"

gently, caressing the targeting crosshairs till they She knew what he was asking. I felt her am-centered on the Andalite's right-side engine pod.

bivalence. Her hesitation.

Had she retargeted because of Ax's threat? Or

"Yes or no!" Jake snapped.

had she always intended to aim for the engine?

"Yes," she said. She seized control of my In either case, a miss would likely mean a direct body again, pushed off from the ceiling and hit on the Andalite ship itself.

floated weightlessly in beside Ax.

H M M M M M M M M . . .

"Cripple him if you can. If not. . ." Jake said.

TSEEEEEEW!

<Prince Jake, we cannot —> Ax pleaded.

A single shot. The red Dracon beam punched

"My decision, Ax-man," Jake said gently. "Al-through the blackness. Stabbed at the Andalite drea, it's your show."

ship. Then a pale, orange explosion. The engine Aldrea wrapped a restraining strap over our pod blew apart. The Andalite ship spun wildly, shoulder to keep from floating away. My hands falling away from us.

moved, taking a large, ornately designed joystick

"Yes!" Rachel cried as she drifted in midair, obviously constructed to accommodate Hork-almost upside down. "You clipped an engine!"

Bajir fingers or Taxxon pincers. Aldrea's eyes, my

<Targets approaching!> Ax yelled. M u l t i -

eyes, were glued not to the slowly growing image ple . . . I count four!> He swung his stalk eyes of the Andalite fighter, but to the tactical wea-backward to look at Jake. <Yeerk Bug fighters.

pons readout.

They are coming to finish him off.>

"Computer, go to manual firing mode," my

"Can he fly?" Jake asked.

voice said.

<Yes. He is regaining control. But he is as I watched the crosshairs on the screen swing slow as we are, now. He will never outrun them.> across the field of stars and come to rest on the

"They won't attack us," Marco remarked.

Andalite ship. Dead on the cockpit.

"They see we fired on the Andalite. We're a bona

<lf you were not in my friend Cassie my tail fide Yeerk craft."

blade would be at your throat now,> Ax said in

<How lucky for us,> Ax said acidly. <That thought-speak only Aldrea and I could hear. <Do warrior has bought us our passage.> not miss.>

"We just keep flying, we're home free," Marco Aldrea moved my fingers again, ever so slightly, pointed out.

Quafijinivon said, "Yes, yes! Keep flying."

At that speed, that angle, you hit the left-side One by one we looked at Jake. "Nah, I don't leader and —>

think so," he said.

"And the debris will shred the following Marco smiled. "I had a premonition you'd say ship!" Aldrea said enthusiastically.

that."

Ax hit lateral positioning thrusters for just a

"Ax? Aldrea? Four of them. If we fire on the second, then we drifted, seemingly without Yeerks, will the Andalite figure it out? Will he join power.

in?"

The Yeerks saw us in their line of fire, split

<Yes!> Ax said. <He is already wondering why left and right, just as Tobias had . . .

we do not finish him off.>

TSEEEEEEW! TSEEEEEW!

"Okay," Jake said. "Wait. Wait till you can't We fired.

possibly miss your first shot. Then, boom! Boom!

BOOOM!

Boom! Boom! Four shots. Hit or miss it'll con-The left-side lead Bug fighter blew apart.

fuse the Yeerks, scare the slime off them."

Tseeeeew!

Four Bug fighters loomed up from the brilliant The Andalite fired. The right-side leader ex-crescent of the planet below, racing around their ploded.

orbit toward us, engines blazing.

The left-side leader plowed into his partner's The Andalite ship seemed to be drifting now, debris. An engine erupted. Ripped loose, sliced helpless.

open the entire back end of the Bug fighter,

"Is he really —" Marco asked.

which spun, then BOOOM!

"No," Aldrea said. "He's hurt but not that Three Bug fighters down in less than ten sec-badly. He's playing dead to draw the Yeerks in.

onds.

He'll take one last shot. That's his plan. One shot The Andalite fired his one good engine and and then die."

went after the remaining Yeerk. But not before It was Tobias, the instinctual flier who saw the giving a slight roll to his ship. A sort of wave.

possibilities. <Hey, we drift left, get behind the

<Good hunting, brother,> Ax said.

Andalite, the Yeerks may hesitate to shoot, think-Everyone started cheering.

ing we're friendly and they might hit us. They'll

"Good shooting, Ax and Cassie!" Rachel split left and right to get a safe angle of attack.

crowed.

"Yes, good work," Jake said much more quietly. "We may have just alerted the Yeerks, made things harder. So take five seconds to celebrate, then get ready to land. Be ready for battle morphs if needed."

<Cassie, I believe I like your boyfriend,> Aldrea said.

ALDREA

Down. Down through the clouds, through the atmosphere that made the hull scream. Down to my home. The planet I had never left, and yet now returned to.

"The Yeerk automated defenses appear to have accepted our codes," Quafijinivon said.

"That would be a good thing?" Rachel asked.

"If they did not accept our identification they would have targeted us with ground-based Dracon cannon. We have another threshold to cross when we enter the valley proper."

I hadn't seen it from space since I first arrived with my family. My father, in disgrace, but acting as though he didn't know that this was a dead-end, irrelevant assignment for an Andalite whose 86

name had become a derisive joke, a synonym for had control of my body. If she didn't, I may not

"fool."

have been able to remain standing.

With my mother, just happy to have new, un-The trees! The trees! So many gone. The val-classified species to study. With my brother, who ley walls had been scarred, stripped. The Yeerks felt our humiliation so much more deeply than had cut deep gashes into the valleys to make me.

level spaces.

All dead, of course. I'd seen them die in the

"You must remember that it has been years blistering Dracon beam attack from low-flying since you last saw your home," Quafijinivon told Yeerk Bug fighters.

me.

It was not a beautiful planet, at least not to But it wasn't the years that had ravaged the Andalite sensibilities. An Andalite sought in-trees. It was the Yeerks. More than half of them, stinctively for the vast expanses of open grass, gone. Pieces of most of the others had been the delicate pastel trees, the meandering rivers blasted away.

and streams.

<l should have known . . . I should have ex-But the Hork-Bajir planet was scarred by pected .. .> I said to Cassie.

the impact of the asteroid or moonlet that had Even before I . . . before I died, some of the erased its former character. The surface was trees had been destroyed. But now it was as if barren, cracked, and fissured. The cracks were the planet had been massacred. For the trees miles wide and miles deep, with shockingly were the planet.

steep sides. Life on the planet existed now only

"We appear to have been accepted and regis-in those valleys.

tered by the inner-defense grid," Quafijinivon There the giant trees soared. There the Hork-said, breathing a sigh. "This is fortunate. We Bajir had once lived in peaceful ignorance, prais-pass within a hundred yards of Dracon cannon in ing Mother Sky and Father Deep, harvesting the the valley walls."

bark, avoiding the monsters that guarded the

"I can't believe we haven't reached the depths of the valleys.

ground yet," Jake said. "How tall are these We skimmed the barrens and then, suddenly, trees?"

dropped into the valley. Dak's valley. My valley.

I knew he expected me to answer. But I I looked and was suddenly glad that Cassie couldn't.

"The largest are two thousand feet tall,"

remained a mystery. We would be landing, soon, Quafijinivon answered. "The trunks a hundred and I didn't even know my own mind. I did not feet in diameter. They are a masterpiece of Arn trust the Arn. I did not like the Andalite, but bio-engineering."

trusted him to be what he was.

<Aldrea, are you all right?> Cassie asked I didn't know the humans, not even the one softly.

whose brain I shared. The one named Jake had

<Turn away,> I begged. I hated the weakness performed well.

in my voice, but I couldn't bear to look anymore.

But I did not know what was ahead. I knew

only one thing: Whether the Arn was true to his She did. But then, she looked again. And I word or plotting some betrayal, it didn't matter. I looked, too. Because even now, scarred and had seen what the future held for my adopted blasted, raped and despoiled, it was my home.

world. And all my doubt, my cynicism born of ex-

"Two minutes," Quafijinivon said. "We will haustion, was wiped away.

land just above the vapor barrier, within the for-I, who had never left, was back. And I would mer range of the monsters we created to restrain make the Yeerks pay. No matter the cost.

Hork-Bajir curiosity."

I sensed the human, Cassie, reading my emo-I felt the tension rise in Cassie. This was all tions, listening for clues. I was being careless. I alien to her, of course. A strange world.

closed my mind to her and sealed off my emo-For me it was familiar, and yet not. I had, in tions.

my mind, never left. The years had not passed.

The change seemed sudden, massive, shocking.

The destruction of decades in the blink of an eye.

But it was Toby who interested me. This was her ancestral home. A place she had never seen, but that must, in some way, be part of the sub-structure of her Hork-Bajir mind.

She was staring out of the window with curiosity, even fascination. But Hork-Bajir faces show little emotion. What she felt, if anything, 90

Yeerks don't come here now that all the monsters are dead. And, of course, they think all the Arn are dead as well." He gave a sad, dusty-sounding laugh.

He led the way to the ship's exit bay. I couldn't help noticing that his legs were slightly unsteady.

When I stepped onto the ramp, I was struck by how bright it was outside. That's really all I noticed at first — t h e intensity of the light and the way the sky almost seemed to glow.

"I must start my work soon, or risk a degrada-tion of the DNA I harvested," Quafijinivon said.

"My lab is not far. Follow me."

I felt the ship gently touch down. I felt the He led the way across a gently angled space wall inside me go up.

of scrub bushes and weeds that ended abruptly I couldn't blame Aldrea. If the situation were in a jaw-dropping cliff that went straight down reversed, I don't think I'd want to witness all the seemingly forever.

ways Earth had been violated by war and then

"You may not be aware of this, but not all of have some second person reading my first us have wings," Rachel pointed out. "At least not thoughts.

at the moment."

"We have made it," Quafijinivon said with

"There are steps," Quafijinivon assured us some satisfaction. "We are home. I will open the without turning around.

hatch and —"

I gingerly approached the drop-off and peered

"Hold up," Jake said. "What's out there?

down. Straight down almost nothing could be Should we morph to Hork-Bajir?"

seen. But across the narrow chasm I could see Quafijinivon shook his head. "We're just that the far side was carved with doorways, win-above the Arn valley, in the no-man's-land. The dows, archways, and walkways. They were cut di-92

rectly into the stone. Sections had been blasted as they moved from step to step. If Aldrea was away by Dracon beams, perhaps long ago, but feeling any fear, or any contempt of my fear, she the Arn village was still beautiful.

wasn't letting me know about it. She'd sealed up the wall between us and every brick was still in Jake said, "Tobias?"

Tobias flapped his wings, took to the air, and place.

soared out over the valley. He floated for several

"What's that red and yellow gunk at the bot-minutes, using his laser-focus hawk's eyes to tom?" Marco called. "It looks like it's moving."

look down and around. Then he swooped back.

"Oh, thank you, Marco," I muttered. "Right

<l don't see anything alive down there,> he now I really need to be thinking about what's reported. <Pity. It's a stunning place. It must way, way, way down there."

have been something when it was all inhabited.>

"It is the core of the planet," Quafijinivon an-

"Yeah. It looks like those Anasazi cliff dwel-swered.

lings in New Mexico or wherever," Marco said.

"The core," Rachel repeated. "You're talking Rachel gave him a look. "Since when do you core as in center?"

even know the word 'Anasazi'?"

"Yes, of course," he answered. His tone made

"I've told you guys before, every now and then it clear that he thought she was a little on the I stay awake in class. Just for a change."

slow side.

Quafijinivon led us down a narrow stone stair-

"So, it's like a volcano down there, with lava case. There was no guardrail.

and everything," Marco said. "How hot is that

<lt's times like these I appreciate my wingsf> lava? You know, in case we fell in?"

Tobias said. <l'd be real careful. You fall off and

"You're not helping," I told him, without rais-you'll have a long time to think about it on the ing my eyes from my feet. "Really not."

way down.>

<You do not have to worry about the lava, Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Ax, Marco, and Toby Cassie,> Ax comforted me.

started down the side of the cliff after Quafi-

"Thanks, Ax," I answered.

jinivon. I fell in at the end of their single-file line.

<lf you fell, I believe you would be inciner-I wasn't happy about it. I'm not crazy about walking on cliffs. But it's not like I had a choice.

ated before you hit the actual magma,> he con-I locked my eyes on my feet, watching them tinued.

Sometimes I think hanging around Marco so 95

much has given Ax a totally twisted sense of humor. Very un-Andalite.

Quafijinivon turned at one of the arches.

One by one, we followed him into a long, narrow room, almost a cave.

For the first time since we started down the side of the cliff, I raised my eyes from my feet. I watched as Quafijinivon pressed a small blue pad set in one wall.

An instant later the whole wall slid open. A row of long, clear cylinders and an elaborate computer console filled most of the room.

"It took me years to piece together all the equipment I needed for a new lab," Quafijinivon ALDREA

said. "The Yeerk raids destroyed almost every-Home. Planet of the Hork-Bajir. My planet.

thing."

I was desperate to escape from the soft, slow

"I've never heard of Yeerks using Arn hosts,"

human body and feel my true form again. I Toby said. "I understood the Arn spared them-wanted to be Hork-Bajir.

selves that by altering their own physiology."

"Okay, we aren't here to sightsee," Jake said.

"True, Seer," the Arn said. "The Yeerks did

"We're here to retrieve the weapons Aldrea and not kill us in pursuit of hosts. It was a game. A Dak hid. We find them, we tell Quafijinivon where sport. My people were exterminated, our culture to pick them up, and he flies us all home."

destroyed, because the Yeerks enjoyed using us

"Toby is already home," I said.

for target practice."

Toby looked up sharply. The idea surprised The Arn's voice held only an echo of a bitter-her.

ness that must go very deep.

"This is your home world, Toby," I said.

Then the strange creature shuffled away. "I

<Toby wants to stay that will be her call,> the have work to do."

nothlit hawk said. <The rest of us, me, Ax, Jake, 96

Rachel, Marco, and Cassie? We're all going

<Oh, my God! You don't! I can feel it. I can home.>

tell you're lying.>

The emphasis on " a l l " would have been im-

warning me.

And what, I wondered, would you be able to

<No!>

do if I decide that Cassie stays here? But I said She opened her mouth. "J — . . . unh . . .

nothing. The humans and the obnoxious Andalite Ja . . . "

were already suspicious of me. Paranoid. Aximili

was more concerned about me than about the I released my hold, shocked at my own behav-Yeerks.

ior. I hadn't meant to stop her, hadn't meant to I had no allies in this group. With the possible battle for control. A mistake; I'd had no time to exception of Toby. She was, after all, my great-think it through.

granddaughter.

Everyone was staring at me. All but the Arn

<Aldrea, he's waiting for an answer.> who was busy elsewhere.

<What?>

<Don't ever do that again, Aldrea,> Cassie

<Jake asked you a question.> said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," I said aloud.

< l — >

"Are you ready? You're our guide. Take us to

<Don't ever fight me for control again.> Then the weapons. Let's get this moving."

she opened our — her — mouth and said, "She

"Yes, I'm ready," I said. I tried to cover the doesn't know where the weapons are. Not for uncertainty I felt, tried to hide it from Cassie.

sure. She has an idea."

I did not know the location of the weapons. I Andalite facial expressions are subtle. But I remembered Dak and I and the others, the few had been born an Andalite. I saw the triumph in who still gathered with us, taking the ship. But I Aximili's eyes. The sense that he had judged me must have hidden them after recording my Ixcila.

correctly.

<You don't know where they are!> Cassie ac-Human facial expressions were still strange to cused.

me. Jake's face showed nothing. It seemed to be

<Nonsense!>

deliberately void of expression.

"That's something we should have thought want to avoid Earth morphs if we can. No point about before we took off," he said mildly.

announcing 'The Animorphs are here.' We'll

<May I use your mouth to speak?> I asked travel as Hork-Bajir. All but Tobias. I want you in Cassie.

the air, man. But stay out of view if possible."

<On my way,> the nothlit said. He spread his

"I am confident I can find the weapons. I wings, flew along the ground for a while, then know where I would have hidden them. Where I flapped up and away into the mist.

intended to hide them."

"Okay. Now we morph."

"That's great," Marco snapped, "but there's a big difference between getting yourself killed for a 'definitely' as opposed to a 'possibly.'"

"No one will be in danger. I know the place. I know the trees."

Jake said, "No choice now. We're here. But, you, Aldrea, are no longer to be trusted. You're mad at the Andalites, mad at the Arn, and you don't treat humans as allies. I understand your anger. You're in a very strange reality right now.

But we get in and out alive, that's what we do. So if you get in the way, make me doubt you again, we will put you down."

I bridled at the insult and the threat. "This is my world, human. My battle. Follow me, do as I say, and you will soon be able to scurry back to Earth."

Rachel said, "And you'll be back in Quafijinivon's bottle."

"That's right," I said.

Jake took a deep breath and then said, "We 100

101

The internal organs shifted with a liquid sound, some disappearing altogether, others appearing, forming, finding a place, making connections, beginning to secrete and digest and filter.

Her heel bone grew a spur, the Hork-Bajir back toe. Her own five human toes melted together, then split and grew into three long claws.

The tail grew as an extension of her spine, adding link upon link, bone growing from bone, wrapping itself in flesh and blood vessels and skin.

Her flat mouth pushed outward, lips stretch-ing into a hideous grimace then softening into ALDREA

the familiar Hork-Bajir smile.

<l assume you will control the morph,> I said Then she did something I did not know could to Cassie.

be done: She controlled the appearance of the

<Yes, I will,> she said.

blades so that they appeared, one by one, rip-I waited as she focused her mind on the Hork-pling up one arm, down the other, down a leg, up Bajir DNA within her.

the next.

The changes began with surprising swiftness.

The horns grew the same way, one, two, three.

Cassie was an experienced morpher, that much She was showing off. Trying to impress me. And I was clear. But as I watched the smooth, elegant was impressed.

transitions, I realized she was more than experi-

<You have a talent for morphing,> I said.

enced. She was talented.

<Thanks.>

Her five-foot-tall frame expanded upward, I saw the subtle evolution from human to Hork-growing like a sapling, shooting up by a full two Bajir eyes. Colors shifted as the spectrum of visi-feet. The muscles layered over her own weaker ble light moved toward the ultraviolet, losing color human musculature. The bones became dense.

toward the infrared end of the spectrum.

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103

I saw the planet of the Hork-Bajir as a Hork-I was climbing. The experience that was so Bajir. I was truly home. Myself once more. Not a strange for an Andalite had been so strange for female, a male, but that was irrelevant.

me for so long and was now so familiar.

I was Hork-Bajir!

To my surprise the human Cassie was both All the others were completing their morphs. I afraid of the growing height and, at a deeper was back with my adopted people. Or at least the level, strangely comfortable racing up toward the illusion of my own people. And in my life as it lowest branches a hundred feet or more up the was, at this moment, nothing could be free of il-trunk.

lusion.

Of course. I should have realized: the arms

<Lead the way,> Jake said, obviously prefer-that hinge through three hundred and sixty dering to use thought-speak rather than struggle grees, the strong hands with opposable thumbs, with the difficult Hork-Bajir diction.

the feet with vestigial fingers.

<Cassie, I w a n t . . . it would be best if i con-

<You humans are a brachiating species?> I trolled this body, for now.>

asked.

<Okay. Do it.>

<Of course. Our ancestors, the species that I pointed upward, out of the valley. "To the came before humans evolved, lived in the trees.> trees!"

not fear heights. Up the stairs, across the bar-

<Yeah, as long as we don't fall.> rens, feeling the slope grow ever more steep. Up

<Hork-Bajir do not fall from the trees.> through the mist. And then, still at a run, my Up and up, toes and blades biting the bark, head rose through the mist and saw the first tree.

racing straight toward "Father Sky."

Huge! It was a curved wall, a monstrous

<These are some seriously big trees,> Marco Stoola tree. My hearts leaped. I ran straight for it.

said. <This one tree could be lawn furniture for Cassie ran. The Hork-Bajir ran. Andalite, human, the entire country.>

Hork-Bajir all become one in the excitement

<Why are we climbing?> Rachel asked. <l of running, running, then leaping up, digging mean, we want to go somewhere, right? Not just blades into the soft bark.

straight up?>

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105

<This is the way to travel here,> I reassured them. <Go up to go left or right.>

<l've been telling them that for a long time,> Tobias remarked. <Altitude is everything.>

<How's it look, Tobias?> Jake asked.

<Chadoo,> I said.

<Whatever. Aside from that I just see some really, really large trees. I mean, these trees are up in my face. I don't mind flying through branches for a while, but I'm used to the air above two hundred feet being wide-open.> We reached a long branch that ran almost Run!

level toward the south. Toward the valley's end We raced along the branch. Ran at full speed where Dak and I lived. Had lived. Had given birth on a curved, uneven, knotted branch.

to Seerow.

Ran like giant squirrels, sure-footed, and yet, If I had hidden weapons, it would be there.

within a few inches of falling and falling and . . .

And it was my home. A week ago, to my mind, The end of the branch!

it had been home.

<Aldrea, the branch is — AAAAAHHHH!> I had to see it.

Leap! Fly! Falling, arms outstretched, falling, wind whipping by, a flash of Tobias, leaves the size of circus tents.

She stuck out a hand. Grabbed a thin branch, I could close my hand around it, too small to hold us, oh God, we were going to die.

Falling, the branch bending down and down 106

107

and down and then, slower, slower, uh-oh, uh-oh, this Andalite or Hork-Bajir, whatever she was we were going back up! Spring action now who shared space in my brain, had nothing. She whipped us up at dizzying, insane speeds, a giant rubber band, a slingshot, and at the top of was not alive. Not truly alive.

the arc, she released.

Unless.. .

<Aaaahhhhhhh!>

Unless she refused to return to oblivion.

It occurred to me then, for the first time, that We flew, somersaulted, and fell, down, down, THUNK!

Aldrea could live, through me, if I permitted it.

No! No, this wasn't up to me. Was it?

My Hork-Bajir feet bit into a new branch, a new tree.

She was alive, now. Alive in a way. She spoke and thought and felt and experienced and even

<Okay, that was nuts!> I yelled. <Let's do it again!>

learned. She was alive, but only by my grace.

Oh, my God. Was it my decision to make?

The others were following, move for move, more or less.

Would I have to tell her when the time had come to return to nothingness?

We took off again, more businesslike now, but Was I going to be the one to kill Aldrea-still swinging wildly from branch to branch, tree Iskillion-Falan?

to tree in a trapeze act like no one on Earth had ever seen.

The realization took my breath away. Aldrea felt my emotions.

Aldrea stopped finally and rested. She

<What is the matter?> she asked.

watched the others catch up. More specifically, I couldn't answer. What could I say? If I'd re-she watched Toby. The young Hork-Bajir seer was alized before I accepted the Ixcila I'd never have blazing through the trees, smiling, laughing.

agreed to go along. It was impossible. It was im-

<She's all I have left,> Aldrea said.

moral. Aldrea was alive, and if she died again, if

she ceased to exist, it would come from my own selfishness.

<She is all I have,> Aldrea insisted. <And I There it was, I thought, the fatal weakness don't even have her. I have oblivion.> that had drawn Aldrea's Ixcila to me. At some I felt a chill. Aldrea was right. This person, subrational, instinctive level, Aldrea's spirit had 108

109

sensed the weakness in me. She had known that I could not, would not, demand her death.

Tobias came swooping past. <Aldrea, how much further in this direction?> he asked.

<Another quarter mile, no more,> she said.

<Not anymore there isn't,> Tobias said. Then, to Jake, he said, <Trouble ahead, fearless leader.>

<What's up?>

<You'll see for yourself in a few minutes,> Tobias said grimly. <Just keep your heads down.> ALDREA

Hearts in my throat I raced through the trees.

All familiar, a path I had traveled a hundred times, a thousand, with Dak beside me, with Seerow hanging onto my belly as we moved.

Home. It was just ahead. Home.

And somehow, somehow, he would be there, Dak, strong, smiling, holding his arms open for me.

My son, my little one, my Seerow, he would be there in his nest, waiting, smiling happily to see his mother.

Impossible. I knew. I was not insane. I knew.

And yet, the hope . . . irrational hope. An emotion not touched by all that I thought I knew.

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111

Home!

decades ago, but from just the other day. Just the I swung faster and faster, leaving the others other day I left my husband and my son there.

behind, with only the hawk for company, now.

Just the other day they were alive.

I stopped. A clearing where there couldn't be

<l'm sorry, Aldrea,> Cassie said.

a clearing. An open space between the branches It was true. I was dead. I saw, I heard, I ahead. Sky rather than leaves.

touched and felt, and yet, I was dead.

No. It couldn't be. I would die rather than see This life was no life at all. This life was an il-it. No.

lusion created by the Arn. My life was Dak. My I crept forward and now the others caught up.

life was Seerow. Everyone who had made up my They stayed back, cautious, knowing something life with theirs was gone.

terrible had happened.

I looked for any last clue to what had been.

At last I did not need to go closer. I saw. A These had been trees I knew. Trees that had per-hundred trees, gone. The earth was scarred, sonalities, at least to me. They didn't have the bare. A huge, open space, naked beneath the near-sentience of some Andalite tree species, sun.

but they were individuals nevertheless.

The Yeerks had destroyed most of the valley's Stoola, Nawin, Siff trees, all gone, most end. It had been dammed up. A muddy gray burned away by Dracon blasts. Those that re-sludge filled a crudely constructed lake. Tree mained had been used to form the dam. Four of trunks formed the sides. Bisected branches them laid lengthwise, stacked, then buttressed formed the piers that extended out into the lake.

by saplings.

Only it was not a lake.

Behind the dam a billion gallons of the sludge My home, my valley's end where the branches Yeerks love. I knew Yeerk pools. I had spent my reached across the chasm to touch, was a Yeerk youth on the Yeerk home world with my parents.

pool.

This had to be one of the largest Yeerk pools in The others caught up to me. We all stood existence. It might be home to ten thousand amid the high branches and gazed down at the Yeerks, even more.

devastation. The humans did not understand, of Then I spotted something I knew. Barely visi-course, not really. This was my home. Not from ble from this range. A minuscule patch where the 112

113

bark had been cut away. Nothing unusual: where

<We mess with that tree,> Marco said, <the there are Hork-Bajir, there is scarred bark.

whole dam may come crashing down.>

<Friend hawk,> I called. <l understand your

<That's what she wants,> Rachel said. <Re-sight is very powerful.>

venge.>

<Better than human,> Tobias answered.

I said nothing.

<The entry you talked about, can you get it to I told him where to look. And he described open again?> Jake asked.

what I'd known he would see: The wood where

<Yes. It will still work. It was precisely con-the bark had been scraped away was cut with structed. And the water pressure will have kept it symbolic branches entwined. A bit of Hork-Bajir shut.>

graffiti. A love letter.

<Yes. The opening is on the far side of the Toby told the others. <lt sounds as if it contains tree. It is beneath the surface of the Yeerk pool.> the Andalite letters "A" and " D , " as well.>

<The weapons will be there,> I said firmly.

<lnside that tree. It has a hollow base. Dak and our fellow fighters used it as a hideout. There is a chamber inside, all smooth wood, silent and dark. The chamber is forty feet, almost round.

Large enough to conceal a small transport ship.

We cut a wide entry, disguised, grown over with new bark after each use.>

<You said you were not sure where the weapons are,> the Andalite said.

<lt is part of the dam. It will be heavily guarded. Seven of us? It would be suicide, and for what? To learn that you made a mistake?> 114

115

"You have a better plan?" Rachel demanded.

"Because we're all ears, here."

"What you are proposing is suicide!" Aldrea argued, speaking through me.

Marco laughed. "You've got my vote."

"We need a whale," Jake said. He looked at me, at Rachel.

"I'll do it," Rachel said. "Hey, it'll be —"

"No," I interrupted. "A sperm whale has a very narrow mouth. And I'm better at controlling a morph. Faster."

Rachel argued. Jake hung his head. He'd known it had to be me. I snuck my hand into his and he squeezed it briefly.

It was not an easy plan to work out. We

"This is not how morphing powers are used,"

needed to get into the Yeerk pool itself.

Aldrea said. "Let's take our time, raid the Yeerks, We needed to be able to function underwater.

take weapons, perhaps capture some Hork-Bajir Aldrea needed to be in Hork-Bajir morph in order and starve the Yeerks out of them, then, when we to open the tree.

have an army —"

Then, if she opened it, we needed to be able

<You and Dak Hamee, all over again?> Ax said.

to get inside, enter the ship, and figure out how

"I want this attack to succeed!" Aldrea to fly it out of the middle of a log a hundred feet shouted. "I don't want a wasted, futile effort. You in diameter.

humans are just children! What do you know The plan we hatched was pure insanity. I about fighting the Yeerks?"

knew this, not because Marco pronounced it in-

"They know quite a bit, Great-grandmother,"

sane, he thinks everything is insane. But I knew Toby said.

we were in trouble when Aldrea said it was in-Jake held up his hand, cutting off debate.

sane.

"The Chee can't cover for us forever. We need to 116

117

get this done and get out of here. Aldrea, yes, it's I took to the air, released my grip on a crazy. But we've been doing 'crazy' since Ax's high branch and floated out over the valley, out brother showed up."

into the Hork-Bajir night. The narrow valley There was a vote. Aldrea pleaded with me to tunneled heat upward, an almost continuous vote against.

thermal that made flying easy. I turned in a

higher.

That's what I told her. What I felt was a whole I flew up till I could see the barren lands be-different story.

yond the chasm. There the thermal failed, dissi-

<Cassie, don't be stupid,> Aldrea urged. <lt pated by horizontal winds. I was as high as I is you who will die. The others will survive, but could go.

you will be the target.>

<That's it, boys, girls, and etcetera.> I said.

<l can see the Yeerk pool. The dam is brightly lit.

<lf your timing is off by a few seconds . ..

There's a Bug fighter more or less hovering at the too much s p e e d . . . too much mass too far end. Hork-Bajir are patrolling the dam, walk-early .. . Cassie, you won't just kill yourself, I am ing along the top. Both banks of the pool. They in here, too! If you are killed . . . I won't have the have guards everywhere. So. You guys need any-option of returning to a bottle and awaiting some thing before I start?>

new chance at life.>

I was trying hard to sound nonchalant. I was

<l knowthat,> I said.

scared to death. I was so far up, but not far She was still arguing as I morphed to osprey.

enough.

Still arguing as the others all morphed to flea or

<l could use a soda,> Marco said.

fly, all as small as they could get. Only Toby

<We're not the problem, Cassie,> Jake said.

would not be coming along.

<Just don't open your mouth and we'll be okay.

Once I was completely osprey, I picked the in-We'll start demorphing as soon as there's room.> sects up, one by one. They crouched inside my

<Okay.>

beak. Not roomy or pleasant maybe, but safe I took a deep breath. I picked my aiming enough.

point: near the dam, but not too near. I didn't 118

119

want to hit wood. I didn't want to hit as a full-fledged whale, either. A whale at that speed would be crushed by the impact.

Speed. It was all a question of speed.

I began to demorph.

<It can't be done!> Aldrea warned.

<Yes, it can,> I said. <l can do it. Now please, shut up. I need to focus.> I began to demorph. My talons became pudgy and grew into toes. My feathers melted together like wax under a blowtorch.

My face flattened, my beak softened into lips.

My sensitive human tongue could feel the five in-sects inside my mouth.

Don't open your mouth, I reminded myself.

But that was only my secondary worry. That part was easy.

The hard part was keeping my wings.

I fell. Down and down through the night.

Down and down toward the bright Yeerk pool be-120

121

low. Down toward the still-oblivious sentries who Now I was within visual range of the Hork-could burn me out of the air.

Bajir guards. Now they could shoot at me, any I fell, more and more human. But my wings, moment, if only they looked up. One head raised my osprey wings, I kept.

to look at the stars and I would be —

Morphing is never logical or rational. Things Tseeeeeew!

don't happen in a neat, predictable sequence.

A red beam appeared five feet from my face, No one can ever be sure how it will happen. But I then disappeared.

could, with some part of my mind I couldn't even

<Let go! Fall!> Aldrea cried.

feel, some part of my brain with which I could

<No! It's too early!>

not even communicate, shape the way the mor-

<Jake, they're shooting!> I reported.

phing happened.

Ax says I have a talent. A gift. It wasn't my do-

<l don't know!> I cried. <No. No, we're not.> ing, and I don't know where it came from or why I

<Your call, Cassie. I trust you.> have it. But, as I fell and demorphed and fell, my Tseeeeew!

human body, my short, pudgy human body had A second shot, this one behind me. More and wings that grew and grew and spread wider than more Hork-Bajir were looking up, goblin heads osprey wings can spread.

tilted back to see me.

I couldn't flap them or even turn the edges or They would not see a human. That was vital.

control a single feather, but I could hold them We could not be here, certainly could not be hu-stiff, and as I fell, I fell .. . slowly.

mans. Humans on the Hork-Bajir home world? It

<You're doing it!> Aldrea cried. <lmpossi-would cause a galaxy-wide alert and bring more ble!>

pressure than ever on Visser Three to find us, at I fell slowly, reusing the accelerating pull of all costs.

gravity. And then, only a hundred feet above the When the Hork-Bajir looked up they saw a Yeerk pool, I began to morph to whale.

melting, shifting thing with wide white wings and My feet twined together, like fast-acting ivy, a whale's tail.

or spaghetti twirled on a fork. They melted, and

fused and my flesh grew thicker, fatter.

<Not yet,> I grated.

And still, I kept the wings.

Tseeeeeew! Tseeeeeeew!

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123

<Aaaarrrgghh!> A hole the size of a quarter appeared in my tail fin, smoking.

Tseeeeeew! Tseeeeew! Tseeeeew!

Red beams everywhere, left, right, some so near I smelled the air burning.

<l am taking over,> Aldrea cried. I felt her will surge, a tidal wave inside my mind.

<NO!>

She was trying to fold my wings, trying to drop, reaching to take over my mind.

Tseeeeeew! Tseeeeeew!

A shot burned a seven-inch slice into my side.

The pain was staggering.

My wings were . . . closing . . . losing the ALDREA

morph .. .

I had lost.

NO! This was my body, this was me!

We fell, fell toward certain death, plunged tail I shoved against the tidal wave of Aldrea's first into the Yeerk pool, and still, all I could will, weak hands holding back a cataclysm.

think was that I had lost.

But my wings stayed firm. I fell, faster, but Lost to a human child. I'd assumed the only not too fast. Aldrea fought me, I fought back, but question was one of self-restraint. I'd believed I I still owned this body, this morph. We fell, the could seize this body if ever I chose. But the lit-strange, sad Andalite turned Hork-Bajir, the dead tle human female had held me at bay even as she creature with a will of iron, and me. And all the performed an act of morphing that would have while I morphed. Morphed till my osprey wings made her a hero among the Andalites.

grew heavy with flesh that was as much whale as No time to think about that. No time to think human.

about how she could have . . . no, there was a The ground fire was a wall of flame.

battle to fight.

At last, close enough. I demorphed my wings We plunged deep in the Yeerk pool and now and plunged.

Cassie was growing with a shocking speed, grow-124

125

ing so huge, so fast that the body was creating

<Need some air soon,> Jake said.

little whirlpools.

Cassie kicked, changed the angle of her fins,

<Now I need you,> Cassie said.

and skimmed the surface. <Whales don't breathe I almost laughed. It was outrageous. Now she through their mouths,> she explained. <I'll need needed me?

to travel on the surface, keep my mouth open.>

<l am here,> I said. What else could I say?

As soon as we surfaced, the firing began.

<Use my eyes. Use my echolocation. Take us Tseeeeew! Tseeeeew!

to the log and the opening.>

Misses that caused eruptions of steam. And We swam, almost blinded by sudden, hits that caused agony.

seething groups of Yeerks in their natural state,

<Diving!> Cassie warned. <Everyone breathe But the firing was done. The Hork-Bajir-deep!>

Controllers could not fire on the pool. As the hu-And down we plunged, turned, and stopped.

man Marco had predicted. Once in the pool we

<Jake. We're there.>

were safe. Until the Yeerks could evacuate their

<We're ready.>

brothers, call them to the far end of the pool.

Pah-loosh! Pah-loosh!

Then they would heat the water to steam with

<l heard something,> Cassie said.

their Dracon beams and boil us alive.

<Taxxons. They're sending Taxxons in after Minutes. No more. Maybe less.

us.>

<l can't see,> I said.

<Rachel and Jake will take care of them. De-

<l'll fire echolocation clicks,> Cassie said.

morphing, now! Jake! Three . . . two . . .>

<You'll see a sort of sketchy picture. Relax into Cassie was confident that her two friends it. Let it happen to you, don't strain for it.> could stop a small army of Taxxons.

She fired a series of rapid sonic hiccups. I read We raced toward the solid wooden wall ahead.

the picture. The sketch, really, as she had said.

We surged, dived, then suddenly rocketed up to

<Left. A hundred yards. I think. I don't know.> the surface.

We were already moving, huge tail whipping Into the air! Mouth wide-open. Amazing that the water, scattering lingering Yeerks.

this monstrous beast could almost fly!

In my vast mouth, the whale's mouth,

<One!> Cassie cried. <Go! Go!> Cassie's, I felt the others demorphing, growing.

Aximili and Tobias leaped. One real Andalite, 126

127

one morphed Andalite. Marco bounded, in Hork-

<Okay, Aldrea, our turn.>

Bajir morph. They landed atop the dike wall bat-Cassie had already begun demorphing, build-tlement.

ing up the smaller, subtler changes so that she We crashed back into the water, used our mo-could finish in a rush. This part was critical. The mentum to race along the wall toward where I'd humans were determined that the Yeerks never heard the Taxxons. <Now!> Cassie yelled. She know they'd been on the Hork-Bajir planet.

opened the whale's mouth again for Jake and And yet, Cassie had to be human, at least for Rachel.

a moment between morphs.

<Jake, Aldrea says we have Taxxons,> she It happened quickly, but not instantaneously.

warned.

We shrank, shriveled, wasted away at a shocking

<Yeah, I can smell them,> Jake answered.

speed. Human arms and legs emerged from the Jake and Rachel, a pair of streamlined, dark-vast tons of blubber.

gray aquatic creatures with sharply raked fins Whale lungs became human, and Cassie and a head that seemed squashed and flattened.

kicked for the surface.

<Hammerhead sharks,> Cassie said.

<They'll see you!> I warned.

Pah-loosh! Pah-loosh!

<Have to breathe,> Cassie said. <Trust my

friends.>

<lt doesn't matter. Taxxon versus shark isn't Her head, our head, broke the surface. Deep even a battle, it'll be slaughter. None of the breath. Again. Battle just over our heads atop the Taxxons will live to tell their masters anything.> dike wall. Two Andalites, tails whipping, slash-

ing, cutting. Hork-Bajir-Controllers backing away

<l'm worried for Jake and Rachel. It will be and running as one of their own kept yelling horrible for them.>

"Run! Run! Andalites everywhere! Thousands of

"Sreeeeee-yah!"

them, run!"

A Taxxon's scream resonated through the Marco, of course.

water.

The Hork-Bajir guards broke and ran. None

<Worse for the Taxxons, from the sound of was interested in a human face poking up from it,> I muttered.

the filthy muck of the pool.

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129

Cassie steadied herself. I felt her exhaustion.

<You're tired. >

<Yeah.>

<lt's a miracle you're alive!>

<Yeah.>

She began to morph. Hork-Bajir features appeared, but more slowly now. Too many morphs too quickly. And each a work of art.

As soon as the first blade appeared I said,

<Cassie, slam the blade into the wood. It'll help keep you from sinkings

I heard the sounds of Hork-Bajir-Controllers being rallied above, the shouts and threats of their sub-vissers.

The water echoed with the horrifying screechI was fully Hork-Bajir now. I was done for.

ing of Taxxons.

Tired inside and out.

<Take over, Aldrea,> I said.

Ax said calmly.

Couldn't fight her. Needed her. My mind was

<He means, hurry!> Marco cried. <Hurry or going fuzzy, confused. Not sure what body I was we're toast!>

in. Bits of unmorphed data, stray instincts, body images, echoes of fins and wings, all jumbled together.

Tseeeew! Tseeeew!

The battle above us on the battlements was joined again.

Aldrea propelled us down, crawling, Hork-Bajir style, down the dike wall, down into the water that no longer rang with the cries of dying Taxxons.

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131

Two hammerhead sharks swam up beside us.

The tree opened! Water rushed in, dragging There were bits of Taxxon flesh trailing from their us with it. A tangled mass of sharks, Andalites, rows of razor teeth.

and Hork-Bajir was swept inside and bobbed up, Aldrea was running short of air. We were. She to my utter amazement, into air. There was no was searching in the murk for some sign on the light, but there was definitely air.

vast tree trunk before us. Searching . . . the wood It was silent inside the tree. All the sounds of was swollen and discolored . . . gasping for breath.

battle were muffled.

<We're coming in!> Tobias yelled.

Aldrea gasped, choked, breathed. Then, Pah-loosh! Pah-loosh! Pah-loosh!

"Computer, identification: Aldrea-lskillion-Falan.

Aldrea said, <Marco! Sink your blades into Code: . . ." She hesitated, then said, "Code: the wood, don't try to swim! Slow your heart-Mother loves Seerow. Ship, acknowledge by turn-beats, it will preserve oxygen.> ing on exterior lights."

There! The faint, almost invisible line. It was The sudden illumination seemed blinding af-on the underside of the log, almost where it ter the total darkness.

joined the tree beneath it.

We were floating in a placid pool at the bot-Aldrea slashed with expert ease. Then she tom of what looked like an upturned, smooth, pulled.

wooden bowl. We were inside the tree. Lying half-Nothing!

submerged in water was a stubby Yeerk ship,

<The water pressure!> she cried. <Too much.

maybe forty feet long and almost as wide.

Can't do it!>

We paddled toward the ship and then I felt Marco crawled down beside us and added his wood beneath my feet. We stood up.

strength.

Jake and Rachel were demorphing as fast as Slowly the crack widened.

they could, and when they had feet and legs, Tseeeeew! Tseeeew! Tseeeeew!

they, too, stood up in waist-deep water.

The troops on the battlement were firing into

"There it is," Aldrea said.

the water. They wouldn't be able to hit us, they

<You have no memory of this ship,> Ax couldn't even see us, but they'd soon parboil us.

pointed out. <How did you know the identifica-WOOOOOSH!

tion code?>

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133

"The number represents a logarithm of The engines began to whine. The Dracon Seerow's birth date. I always used it."

beams began to hum.

Jake clapped his hands briskly. "Okay, we

<You know, that says something that you can have minutes before the Yeerks figure out we're bury one of these things in a tree for years and in this tree. Let's get this over with."

then just crank her up like this,> Marco said.

We slogged over to the ship and hauled our

<Two points for Yeerk technology.> wet, exhausted selves up inside. I lay on my back

<"Andalite technology,"> Ax and Aldrea said on the deck, unable to get up for a while.

at the same instant.

"You okay, Cassie?" Rachel asked.

"They stole it. That doesn't make it theirs,"

"Aldrea, actually. Cassie is exhausted," Al-Aldrea added.

drea said.

<Everyone should brace themselves,> Ax sug-

"Why are you in charge? Get Cassie back!"

gested. <There may be some instability.> Aldrea laughed. "You don't need to worry

"Ready?"

about Cassie. She takes care of herself quite

<Ready.>

well."

"Fire!"

We stood up and went to the ship's controls.

The Dracon beams fired, a blinding blast. And

"I need someone on weapons," Aldrea said.

kept firing. A hole burned through the outer side Ax appeared beside her. <We burn our way of the tree, out into the air. The water began to out?>

rise. The hole grew larger. Now the water was

"We burn our way out."

rushing in, gurgling up around the ship. The es-

<Once we create a hole, the water will rush in caping air howled.

and through. It will create a vast drain that will Then, all at once, the wooden wall was gone.

empty much of the pool and suck many of the WHAM!

Yeerks to their doom.>

Aldrea hit the engines just as a wall of water

"Yes," Aldrea said. "Do you object, brother caught us, slammed into us, and spit us out into Andalite?"

the night.

<No, sister Hork-Bajir. I do not.> The ship rolled, spun, bucked then . . .

"Then power up the Dracon beams."

Whooooom!

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135

<Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!> Marco yelled. <Take that, George Lucas!>

The ship blew out of the log, down the valley, and turned to take a look back. A Bug fighter had come up, saw we were a Yeerk ship, and hesitated.

TSEEEEW! TSEEEEEW!

The Bug fighter blew apart and veered down into the draining Yeerk pool.

Water rushed out of the rapidly widening hole. I could not see the Yeerks, of course, but I knew they were being dragged along in the irre-sistible current. Hundreds. Thousands. We might never know.

ALDREA

I didn't want to know.

We delivered the weapons to Quafijinivon. We

<l sense regret,> Aldrea said. <But this is a were reunited with my great-granddaughter, Toby.

great victory. And it is because of you, Cassie.

The humans, and the one Andalite, had done Without you, none of this would have been possi-the impossible, the absurd! But there was no cel-ble. You've just done the most impossible, in-ebration. Instead there were awkward silences credible, and heroic thing I've ever seen.> and stilted conversations and eyes averted.

The water continued to drain. The Yeerks in I still had charge of Cassie's now-human host bodies might be able to save some of their body. She was doing something very much brothers and sisters. Not many. Not all. Thou-like sleeping. She had withdrawn, exhausted, de-sands of Yeerks would lie there, dying a slow pressed.

death of dehydration as the water left them I drew Aximili aside. "You have lived with stranded, or asphyxiation as they sank, helpless, these humans. They seem troubled by their vic-into the mud.

tory."

Because of me.

<Yes. They regret doing what they know they must. They have an almost Andalite sensibility.> 136

137

I smiled. "I was going to say that they remind

"No, I suppose that's true. But with your me of our Hork-Bajir warriors, who never forgave help, Aximili. And with Cassie's, I think I can themselves for learning to kill."

convince her." I explained to Aximili. Cassie, of

<Let us agree, then, that all civilized species course, heard. And now, at last, she came up out must share a hatred of war,> Aximili said.

of her haze of regret and guilt.

"It may be the definition of true civilization,"

<You know what this means,> Cassie said.

I said. "And yet, we are here to promote another

<Yes. Yes, I know. But my life ended long ago.

war. The Arn will spawn his new generation of I tried to pretend otherwise. But with Dak gone, Hork-Bajir, and, thanks to us, they will be and my little Seerow, and even this planet that I armed."

loved so much . . . all that's left now is Toby.>

<Young Toby will lead them,> the Andalite

<No, Aldrea, that's not all that's left,> Cassie said, turning his stalk eyes toward my great-said. <You didn't stop the Yeerks. But you slowed granddaughter.

them. And that gave humans time. Now we may Toby had her back to us. She had been work-not stop them, but we, too, will fight, and delay, ing with the Arn, learning from him. A strange and weaken them. And someday, somewhere, couple: the last remnant of the race that had they will be stopped.>

made the Hork-Bajir to serve in simplicity and ig-

<And one thing more,> she said. She turned norance, and the living example of the Arns' fail-our gaze to Toby. A young Hork-Bajir seer who ure.

would, at least in my last dreams, guide her She was so like Dak when I first met him. Be-people to freedom.

fore the battles. Before I had led Dak to serve the I almost weakened. It was so hard to say Andalite will.

good-bye.

"No," I said suddenly. "No, Toby will not lead

<Let's get it over with,> I said.

them. Her place is with her people, on Earth.

war."

<Don't you know? Even now? The Ixcila is

<l do not believe she will go voluntarily,> Ax drawn to a mind that reflects it. And I like to said. <She believes this is her duty.> think even that inchoate, nonconscious version 138

139

of me was honorable enough to know I might be For a while I could remember.

tempted. That I might be tempted to cling to life.

It wouldn't take Toby long to realize she'd And that I might need someone strong enough to been tricked. But by then Toby and the others return me to the path of my own fate.> would be on their way back to Earth.

Cassie didn't say anything more. There wasn't My thoughts, my consciousness, my memory, anything to say, not to each other.

were all fading. I still saw my son. Still saw Dak.

"Jake!" Cassie cried. "Aldrea is struggling to Still saw . . .

seize control of me!"

Jake and all the others jerked around, bristling, ready to fight.

Aximili moved quickly to get behind Toby. He whipped his tail forward and held the blade against the young Hork-Bajir's throat.

"Ax!" Jake cried.

"I'll kill you, Andalite!" I cried through Cassie's mouth. "The Arn will give me a new body and I will come after you!"

I did. I left Cassie behind, lifted up out of her

OCR by Nihtelek

body, her mind, and was drawn back to the bottle.

I could no longer touch. No longer hear. No longer see.

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