The next day was pretty normal. As in, as normal as you can get when you meet aliens and turn into animals and have your life turned upside down. Yep. Pretty normal.

After school, we all hooked up at Cassie’s barn for a meeting.

"So, what are we going to do with this Flarbrack thing?" I asked.

"We wait." Jake said immediately. "It won’t be finished until two weeks later. We get together the money, and then, right when they finish, we barge in there and make our move."

"What do we do until then?" Rachel complained.

"We relax, Xena. If you’ve ever heard of the word."

"Guys, your forgetting something." Jake interrupted their arguing. "The dance is tomorrow."

"Oh yeah." Cassie said. "I did forget."

Marco grinned. "And I’ve got a date with Lindsey, the most gorgeous girl in the school."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "That slut? Only she would go out with you."

Marco glared at Rachel. "You’re just jealous you can’t go to the dance with the best-looking guy on campus!"

"And that would be you?" Rachel snorted.

"You said it, not me." Marco shrugged.

"Guys..." Jake said in a warning tone.

"Sorry, sir."

< I remember the last human dance I attended.> Ax nodded. < It was very enjoyable.>

< Until you got sick.> Tobias pointed out.

< I would like to go again.>

Jake shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Uh, Jake. This is a formal, students only." Cassie pointed out.

"Students and their dates." Jake countered.

"Well, who are you going to get him to go with?"

"I was thinking Rachel..."

"No can do. I’m taking Tobias."

I cocked my brow. "You are?"

"Well, he is my boyfriend."

"It’s just that the way Brad was acting, I thought you had agreed to go with him."

< Who’s Brad?> Tobias asked.

"This guy that asked me out." Rachel muttered.

< Oh.>

"About Ax..." Jake coughed, trying to change the subject.

"I’ll take him." I offered. "I was planning to go stag anyway, so it’s no problem. A date from another planet is better than no date at all."

< Are you sure about this, Kay?> Tobias asked me privately.

I nodded. I could handle it.

The next day after school, I was heading home when Rachel called to me.

"Kay!"

I turned. "Hi!"

"What do you say to a picnic?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Jake figured we needed a break. We’re going to Tobias’s meadow."

"You serious?"

"Hey, we’re teenagers. We don’t fight all the time. We need to have some fun. Today, we forget about the Yeerks."

I grinned. "Deal."

We walked over to the woods that border the schoolyard. From there, we morphed birds and flew to Tobias’s meadow.

Jake, Marco, Cassie, Tobias, and Ax were there, waiting. Ax had already morphed human in anticipation of the food.

I floated down and demorphed. "Hey, people."

"Finally!" Marco joked. "Jake wouldn’t let us start without you two. I thought I was going to starve to death."

"You whine too much, Marco." Rachel shook her head.

Marco dug into the picnic basket. "You better morph, Tobias. No mice."

< Ha ha. Very funny.> Tobias started to morph.

Ax peered over Marco’s shoulder. "Are there cinnamon buns?"

"Nope. Sorry, Ax." Cassie smiled. "But I did bring some chocolate."

"Chocolate?" I brightened. "Ohhhh! Pass here!"

Cassie tossed me a Snickers Mini. "You sound like Ax."

I peeled of the wrapper and popped it into my mouth. "Mmm. I love these things."

I noticed Ax had already eaten two and was in the process of opening another wrapper.

"Ax! Don’t eat too much. You’re going to get sick to your stomach again." Jake told him.

Ax swallowed. "Yes, Prince Jake."

"You know, Ax. The Andalites are coming, and when they do, they’ll assign you a Prince, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you can stop calling me Prince Jake. I’m not your Prince anymore."

"You will always be my Prince, Prince Jake."

Jake shook his head good-naturedly and smiled. "Don’t call me prince."

"Yes, Prince Jake."

The ‘Prince Jake’ argument was almost a ritual. They did it every time, and they seemed to enjoy it too. For Ax, it was no longer a requirement, it was sign of friendship loyalty. For Jake, it was no longer complaining about being leader. It was a position he had already accepted.

I lay back on the grass and basked in the warmth of the sun.

"Hey, Kay." Rachel poked my shoulder.

"Hm?" I asked without opening my eyes.

"Wanna come over to my place to get ready for the dance?"

"Sure."

"Good. I need you to help me to convince Cassie to wear her dress."

I opened one eye and squinted at the sun. "She actually owns a dress?"

"Technically, no. I bought it, but it’s absolutely perfect for her."

"You bought me a dress?" Cassie, who had overheard, screeched.

"Well, you can’t wear jeans to the dance." Rachel said rationally.

Cassie sighed. "Fine. I’ll wear it."

Rachel grinned. "Good. Now all I have to do is fix your hair, put on your make-up, and get you a purse."

"Rachel."

"Oh, and you need a pair of heels."

"I am not wearing heels. Those things hurt my feet."

"You get used to it."

"You do, I don’t."

"You have to wear them! You don’t want your neck to cramp while starring up at Jake."

Cassie blushed. "Rachel, shut up!"

Rachel sighed. "You’re hopeless."

"And I like it that way."

Rachel looked at me for support.

"Those things do hurt."

Rachel looked exasperated.

"But I wear them anyways." I added.

"Rachel, how about we just help you pick out a pair." Cassie suggested.

"Make sure you don’t wear the five inch ones!" I advised Rachel. "If you wear those, Tobias will you starring up at you."

"I’m wearing my black platforms."

"Do you have a silver pair? I need one to match my dress." I asked.

Rachel nodded. "Sure."

Marco threw a frisbee aimed at Rachel’s head. Both Cassie and I ducked in fear of being decacipated. But Rachel caught it right before it hit her face.

"Go Xena!" Marco cheered.

Rachel jumped up and threw the frisbee back. "I’ve been practicing, Joxer."

"Care to join us, Gabrielle?" Marco asked.

I got up. "I don’t know how I got that name. I’m not half as gung-ho as Rachel."

"You’re not?" Marco looked confused.

"No, I just act that way."

Marco laughed.

We spent the rest of the afternoon tossing the frisbee around and eating. We were normal kids. It made me forget. Even now I can’t remember why, but there had been a feeling of dread hanging over my head that morning. But the laughter swept it away. I still don’t know what caused that feeling. It was something. Something.

As planned, me and Cassie went to Rachel’s house. First, we stopped by my house to get my dress, fav lipstick, and earrings.

When we got to Rachel’s, she immediately had Cassie put on the dress. As Rachel had predicted, it was perfect.

Rachel coached us on hair, make-up, and accessories. I wasn’t as fashion-impaired as Cassie, but I had no where near the amount of expertise that Rachel did.

I ended up borrowing a lot of things from Rachel. I swear, that girl has a wardrobe the size of Bloomingdale’s.

I have to admit, I looked pretty good. Rachel, of course, looked stunning. And Cassie looked a lot better in a dress than her animal-poop covered overalls.

At precisely 7:00, the boys came to pick us up.

Jake looked quite handsome in his tux. Marco was, of course, being an idiot and wearing a bright yellow suit. Then I noticed his date. It immediately understood why Rachel had called her a slut. Lindsey had on a very revealing dress.

And Ax? Well, he looked great. He looked normal. Jake had found a suit for him to wear.

"So, how are we going to do this?" I asked. "We can’t all go in one car."

"Jake can take Cassie, Marco, and...her. I’ll drive the rest of us."

Jake nodded and hopped into his car. The foursome drove off.

Rachel looked Ax up and down. "Well, at least he looks decent. Good thing Jake dressed him and not Marco." She hopped into her car. "Come on people, let’s move."

Once we reached the club, Jake pulled Ax over and whispered some last minute instructions.

"There’s going to be food, so don’t go crazy. Don’t call me Prince Jake, some of these people are Controllers. And remember, you’re my cousin Philip from out of town."

"Yes, Pr-Jake."

This is going to be interesting. I thought to myself. I didn’t know how right I was.

The party was in full swing when we stepped in.

Ax, despite Jake’s warning started on the food.

"Ax," I hissed, "try to act like a human."

"What should I do? Doooo. Oooo."

"First of all, don’t play with sounds. And second of all, dance."

"Dance?"

I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle of the dance floor. "Now, put your hands on my waist."

Ax did so and I put my hands on his shoulders. "Now, just slowly rock back and forth to the music." I instructed.

Ax attempted this, but completely missed the beat.

I sighed at his exaggerated motions. At least this is a slow song. It’ll be easier to teach than a fast one.

By the end of the number, Ax figured out the basics of slow dancing.

We spent the next three dances pigging out because they were all fast and I didn’t even want to think about Ax trying to dance to those songs.

I noticed Rachel and Tobias have a great time, and Jake had dragged Cassie onto the floor of a couple of songs despite her protests.

Finally, the heavy metal song ended and a slow one came on. I recognized it immediately. Truly, Madly, Deeply by Salvage Garden. It was slightly old and outdated, but someone must have requested it.

"Come on." I gestured to Ax.

Ax caught my cue and this time he danced normally.

"You know what, Ax. You’re a pretty cool guy, for an alien."

"And you, Kay, are very nice, for a human."

After the dance ended, I went to the bathroom, leaving Ax to embark on a feeding rampage.

When I came back, Ax was swaying dizzily by the punch bowl.

"Ax, you okay?" I asked.

"Hello, Kay. I love you."

"What?"

"Ohhhhh." I caught Ax before he could fall on the floor.

"Ax! Are you okay?"

"I seem to have more difficulty balancing than usual."

"What have you been doing while I was gone?"

"Eating. And drinking."

"Drinking?" I took the cup of fruit punch Ax had been holding and sniffed it. An unmistakable aroma filled my nostrils.

I took a small sip of the liquid and groaned. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

I quickly grabbed a ladle and filled another cup with punch. This one tasted normal.

"Ax, how many cups did you drink?"

"Six? Seven? My memory seems to be impaired."

I groaned again.

After depositing Ax with Rachel and Tobias, I went off to find Jake.

"Jake! Ax is drunk." I whispered.

"He’s what?!"

"Shhhh!"

"How the heck did that happen?"

"Someone sneaked some beer in. I think they spiked the punch."

"The punch isn’t spiked. I’ve had some."

I shook my head. "I tried both of them. Only the one on the left is spiked. We need to get Ax out."

Jake sighed. "Aw, man. For once I thought we’d have a normal good time."

"You can stay if you want. I’ll take care of Ax."

"You don’t have a car." Jake pointed out.

At that moment, Marco wandered over. "Hey, guys."

"What’s wrong.?" He looked depressed.

"Lindsey just dumped me for David. I’m out of a date."

"Good." I smiled.

"You have all the bad luck with davids, don’t you?" Jake remarked.

Marco ignored Jake and gave me a strange look. "Good? Good? My date dumps me and that’s good?"

"You can drive us then."

"Say what?"

"Ax is drunk. Someone spiked the punch."

Marco looked at me guiltily.

"Marco! It wasn’t you, was it?"

"No, but I know who it was."

"Whatever. We just have to get Ax out of here."

Marco shrugged. "Okay, I’ll drive you. There’s no point in me staying anyways."

I slipped over to Ax where was. He was wavering, supported by Rachel and Tobias.

"Thanks guys" I smiled at Rachel and Tobias. "You have a good time. We’re out of here. I took Ax’s arm and dragged him away.

Marco was at the exit waiting for us. He took one look at Ax and shook his head. "Man. You are drunk."

"Marco, you know how to drive, but you don’t have a car."

He swung a keychain full of keys in my face. "Jake let me take his car."

"Hey, Ax. How are you holding up?"

"My stomach seems to want to empty its contents." Ax remarked.

"Hold it in until we get outside." I told him.

Ax managed to stagger outside into the parking lot before he threw up.

Marco groaned and pushed him inside the car. "Hope no one steps in that."

We drove to the edge of the woods where Ax demorphed. The alcohol was still in his system, so he was still slightly drunk.

"Hey, Ax." I looked worriedly at him. "You’ll need to sleep that off. And you’ll have a hangover in the morning."

< I will be recovered tomorrow.>

"Good night."

Marco drove me to my house and parked out in front.

"I’m taking Jake’s car to my place. He can pick it up tomorrow."

"How’s he going to get home?"

"Rachel will give him a ride." Marco sat back and there was a moment of silence. "Good night." He looked at me expectantly to get out of the car.

"Marco, wait."

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering, how do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Live like this?"

"As an Animorph?"

"How can you fight. How can you keep going?"

"Because we have to."

"Aren’t you scared?"

"Of the Yeerks?"

"Of dying."

"Course I am. I’d be crazy not to."

"But you still do this, knowing you could die the next day."

"We’re the only thing stopping them. If we don’t fight, no one will. Earth is the only thing we have. We’re not going to lose her."

"It scares me. It scares me that when the time comes I’ll make a mistake and ruin everything. And I know I should do this. But there’s this part of me that says I should quit. That you guys are already saving the world and it wouldn’t do any good if I risked my life."

"You thinking about leaving?"

"No! I couldn’t that. It wouldn’t be right. But, God, I want to. I want to."

"I was going to quit once."

"Why didn’t you?"

"I found out about my mom."

"Oh."

"Look Kay, I understand what you’re feeling. We’ve all felt that. But we’ve been Animorphs for years. We’ve accepted this. But you just joined us. It takes time. And then you’ll understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why we do this."

"Tell me."

"Because we’d rather be dead than a Controller."

I stared at Marco. "You feel that way?"

"There was a time when I didn’t. But now I do."

"Does it help? To think that way?"

"Yeah. Because it’s the reason the Yeerks are going to lose." He whispered. "There are a lot of people who think that way. Too many for them to control."

"How do you know that?"

"Humans have fought too many wars for freedom to give it up."

"And now we’re fighting another one."

"Fifty years from now, people will call us the greatest generation that ever lived."

"Why’s that?"

"That’s what they said about the people who fought WWII. This is bigger. This is worse."

"Are we going to live to see the end of it?"

"I don’t know, Kay. Nobody knows. We just have to keep trying. Keep hoping. ‘Cause you know what I learned? You gotta have hope. You always have to have hope."

I stared at the ground, and then the sky. "Hope, huh?"

"Yeah, hope."

I looked away. "This is a weird question, but would you die to stop the Yeerks?"

"Why do you ask, Kay?

"I don’t know. Something tells me I need to hear your answer." I looked at him. "So, would you? Would you do it?"

"I’m fighting, aren’t I?"

"I mean, if you had a choice."

"That’s a hard question. Right now, I think I would, but you don’t know. You don’t know until the actual time comes. And you know what? I don’t want to find out."

"You think I could do that?"

"I’ve got faith in you, Kay. If you choose too, you could do anything."

"I what to be able to do that. I want to have the courage to die."

"Kay, you’re not going to die. It’s almost over. We’re going to win."

"Yeah, we’ll win." I tried to convince myself. "We’ll win."

I went inside after that and went to bed. I couldn’t understand why I had asked Marco those questions, or why I felt I needed to know so badly.

The next morning was usual. I didn’t get to see the others all day long. Jake, who I had classes with that day had a field trip. At lunchtime, I looked for Rachel and couldn’t find her. Later I learned that she had beat up a guy who had stole a kiss and had spent the lunch hour getting a grilling from Chapman.

After school, I stayed late for a Science Club meeting.

I finally got home at 4:30 and the moment I walked in the door, the phone rang.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Kay, it’s Cassie."

"Hi."

"You remember Philip, Jake’s cousin?" That, of course, meant Ax.

"Yeah."

"Well, he came up with this great idea. He wants you to bring him that paperweight of yours," Paperweight? "the blue square one," Oh, the Escafil Device. "to Tobias’s place." Which meant Tobias’s meadow.

"Okay. Are you going?"

"Yeah. See you there. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up.

I wondered what Ax wanted with the morphing cube.

I recovered the cube from my hiding place: Inside the air vent.

I headed for the balcony.

Normally, I would have taken off from my bedroom window, but my parents installed some new screening and I couldn’t get it off.

I was just about to start morphing when the phone rang again.

I dashed down the hall and into the office room. In my rush, I left the cube on the hall table.

I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Kay, it’s Cassie."

I heard the rumbling of a motor.

"Something happen?"

The garage door opened.

"We just got a call about some hurt skunks. I’ll have to go with my dad to get them. Tell Philip I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and looked around. Where did I leave that cube?

Table. Hall table.

I dashed out of the room and looked around frantically. There it was. Right on the table.

I picked it up and headed for my room.

"Kay." My dad called.

I turned my head. He was on the stairs. "Hi, dad."

He walked up casually. "Hey, what’s that you’re holding?"

"Uh, nothing."

He turned me around and stared at the morphing cube. His eyes widened in surprise. Just as quickly as the look came, it left. "So, what is it?"

"Uh, um, a paperweight." I said quickly

"Paperweight, huh? It looks nice. Where did you get it?" Why does he want to know?

"Um, a pawn shop." I lied.

"Really? You know, I’d like to get one. Do they have any more?"

My throat was dry. "I don’t think so. I didn’t see any others."

"Oh, well which store was it? I’ll go ask them some time."

"Store? I...I forget."

"Oh." He was disappointed. "I don’t suppose I can buy it off of you?"

I shook my head. "It’s, uh, a birthday present. Uh, yeah. For...for a friend of my. Uh, she collects paperweights."

"Oh. Well, do your homework." He turned and went back downstairs.

My heart was thumping. I saw recognition in his eyes when he saw the Escafil Device. He knew what it was. Which meant he was a Controller.

I was beginning to shake. No, not my dad. He couldn’t be, he just couldn’t be.

I took a deep breath and pulled myself together. What now? Of course, the Yeerk would contact Visser Three. I had to stop him. At that moment, I knew. I would do anything to keep out secret safe. Even if it meant killing my father.

I crept downstairs, hoping he would not hear me.

My dad was on the phone.

"Yes. I must speak with the Visser." Pause. "Tell him it’s vital."

I felt the blood drain from my face. There was no time to get help. I silently rushed down the stairs.

"Visser! I’ve found it. I found the Escafil Device."

I stood behind him and raised the blue box over me head.

"My host’s daughter-"

I swung my arms down in an arc. The heavy box connected solidly with skull.

My dad fell to the ground. A Dracon beam fell out of his pocket and I picked it up. I quickly hung up the phone.

My dad groaned. He would wake up soon.

I couldn’t let him see me as a human. I had to morph. But I didn’t want to give up the Dracon beam, so I morphed the only morph I had with hands. I morphed Ax.

When my dad awoke, I was fully Andalite.

"How did you get in?" He asked.

I did not answer.

I had really big problem. I couldn’t just stay in the house and hold my dad at gunpoint until the Yeerk died. It could have meant days, and people, especially other Controllers, would become suspicious. Not to mention my mom. "Why am I pointing a gun at my dad? ‘Cause there’s an alien slug in his head and I’m starving it to death." Yeah, like my mom would have understood that.

Besides, if I guarded my dad for that long, I’d be stuck in Andalite morph.

I couldn’t let him get in contact with any other Yeerks or they’d find out about the Escafil Device. I wasn’t going to kill him. And on top of that, we still had the Flarbrack to deal with.

The only thing I could think of was to hide my dad somewhere for the next few days. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that myself. How was I going to get my dad out of the house?

I tried to think. If I knocked him out, carry him to the garage, and put him in either the trunk or backseat; then I could drive him to the woods.

There were only a few problems with this plan. One, there was no way I could get my dad out of the house if he was conscious. Two, even if I knocked him out, he was too heavy for me to carry. Even if I morphed, I couldn’t do it. Andalite arms are really weak, and panthers don’t really have arms. Three, I didn’t know how to drive.

The only way this could work was if I got the other Animorphs over to help me. Marco’s gorilla morph could defiantly carry my dad, and both Rachel and Jake had their own cars.

Unfortunately, to tell them what had happened, I would have to call them. You can’t thought-speak over phone lines, which meant I had to demorph.

In front of a Controller.

The garage door flew open.

We were in the family room, out of sight.

I threatened.

The door clicked shut.

"Kay? Are you home?" Damn. It was my mother.

She stepped into the room. "Hon…" She gapped at me. "Andalite!" She hissed.

My mom was a Controller.

She pulled out a Dracon beam.

Before she could fire, I swiped with my tail and hit her hand with the broad side. The Dracon beam went flying.

I need help. Fast.

I back away slowly, aiming the Dracon beam in my hand. I ordered.

She moved quickly over.

I had to demorph. I knew that.

Keeping the weapon trained on my parents, I began to morph.

The blue Andalite fur sank into my skin. My teeth materialized in my jaw. My mouth appeared as my lips formed.

"He’s morphing!" My mom cried. "He’s morphing a human."

I continued to concentrate. I almost fell over as I lost my forelegs. My black hair fell around my face. The last fragment of the morph to disappear was my tail sucking back into my spine.

"He morphed our hosts’ daughter." My dad said, surprised.

I picked up the phone and called Cassie. She wasn’t home.

I tried Rachel. No one answered there either. But her answering machine was on.

"This is…" I paused, I wanted my parents to keep thinking I was a morph. "This is Gabrielle." Please, please let Rachel understand, I prayed. "I couldn’t get to Tobias’s place. Something happened. I need your help with something. Call me back as soon as you hear this. It’s really important." I hung up.

My mom stared at me. "You are human."

< I’m an Andalite.>

"How many Andalites use the phone?" She asked. "If you were really an Andalite, you would have just killed us and fled. No, you’re human. And that’s your real body."

< No.>

"Deny it all you want." My dad smiled. "The Visser is on his way."

I gulped. I had to contact the others.

"If you’re human," my mom continued, "maybe the others are also human. That would be a laugh. The Andalite bandits that have been causing us so much trouble turning out to be merely human children."

I stared at her in horror.

She saw the look on my face. "It’s true, isn’t it. Humans with the ability to morph."

I ignored her. I had to find the Animorphs. Back to the telephone.

I remembered Jake was on a field trip. That left Marco.

I prayed he was home. With shaking fingers, I dialed his number.

He picked up on the third ring.

"You’re home!" I gasped in relief.

"Kay?"

"It’s me. I need your help."

"What happened."

"My parents are Controllers." If the Yeerks weren’t sure I was human before, they were now.

"What?! How do you know?"

"Because I’m standing here with a Dracon beam pointed at them!" I shouted.

"Oh." Then, "That’s bad."

"It gets worse. Visser Three is on his way over."

"Run! Get out of there!"

"I can’t. They know I’m human. You have to come over and help me get them out of here."

The doorbell rang.

I stared transfixed in horror at it. "There’s someone at the door." I whispered to Marco.

Someone knocked.

Please, please, go away.

There was more persistent banging. "Open up!" I knew who it was.

The Yeerks.

I dropped the phone and morphed as fast as I could. I must have set a new record.

I heard the smashing sound of wood, and knew they were trying to break down the door. They would not use Dracon beams in the open.

As the last fragments of my morph finished, they burst though the door. Four human-Controllers. All cops; armed with both guns and Dracon beams.

Their eyes widen when they saw me.

"Andalite!"

My Dracon beam was aimed at them, theirs were pointed at me. I could kill them, but they would kill me. It was the same thing the other way around. If they shot at me, I would kill them before I went down.

It was a stalemate. But not for long. Other Yeerks would come, and I would lose. But I could take some of them with me.

And take my secret to the grave.

I was going to die. I knew it.

I looked around, searching for a way out.

My mind, both the human one and Andalite one were analyzing plans.

See, I could not just die. I had to make sure the Yeerks did not get the Escafil Device. I had to keep them from knowing the ‘Andalite bandits’ were human.

Finally, my wandering eyestalks settled on the fireplace beside me. The gas fireplace.

Gas was explosive.

I remembered reading about a house that had been destroyed when the gas pipe exploded. It could happen again.

I had no time to waste, so I put my plan into action.

With the blink of an eye, I sliced my tailblade through the plaster wall and felt it connect with the gas line. I cut through the metal like putty.

The moment my tail moved, the Controllers fired.

But before their shots could reach me, I had already cut a gaping hole in the wall. Gas was slowly filling the room.

The Dracon beams ignited the gas and flames surrounded us.

I could feel the burning pain as the Dracon beams hit me.

This all happened in less than a second.

The flames snaked over to the wall and ignited the pipeline.

The room was engulfed with heat and light as a boom resounded through the air.

One fleeting thought flew through my mind before the blackness swallowed me. What Marco had once told me. The unwritten code, the mindset of the Animorphs. The reason they chose to fight.

He said, one day I would understand.

And at that moment, I did.

I too could say it from my heart. It was now the reason I fought.

I’d rather be dead than a Controller.

I was in the shower when Kay called me.

"You’re home!" She gasped in relief.

"Kay?" This was unusual.

"It’s me. I need your help." She sounded scared.

"What happened?"

"My parents are Controllers."

I nearly dropped the phone. "What?! How do you know?"

"Because I’m standing here with a Dracon beam pointed at them!" She shouted.

"Oh." Kay was in big trouble. "That’s bad."

"It gets worse. Visser Three is on his way over."

My stomach turned at the mention of Visser Three. That guy’s the most evil creature in existence. "Run! Get out of there!"

"I can’t. They know I’m human. You have to come over and help me get them out of here." Kay pleaded.

Before I could answer, Kay whispered. "There’s someone at the door."

"Who?" I asked.

There was a clatter as the phone dropped to the ground

"Kay?" I asked.

There was no answer.

"Kay!" I called frantically.

Still now answer.

Something was wrong. I could feel it.

I could hear pounding through the phone. Then, wood splintering.

Then came the hiss. "Andalite."

Andalite? Ax? Or maybe Kay in morph.

There were a few moments of silence.

FWAAP!

TSEEEEEEEW!

BOOM!!!!!!

My heart leapt to my throat. That sounded like an explosion.

The dial tone rang hollowly in my ear. The line was dead.

I ran to the window, morphing with each step.

I flew for Kay’s house as fast as my osprey wings could carry me.

But Kay’s house wasn’t there. Instead, there was a blackened smoking hole.