Previously on

The platoon arrived in Old New York only to be separated. Marco received a psychic call from a mysterious girl calling herself Cataluna and went off to find her. Breeyar, Geoff, and Aci were captured by Yeerk patrol only to be freed with the help of a member of the Yeerk Peace Movement. Jake discovered the final resting place of the victims of the 2026 Massacre, and Rachel made some new friends.

Meanwhile, back in Buffalo, the Yeerk arsenal is making its way slowly and surely towards where they think the South tunnel is. The tunnel was actually moved to a location, but before it is completed, the arsenal's route will run directly over it. During the effort to save the tunnel from being exposed, it collapses, trapping twelve people (including Ax) inside with a limited amount of air. Tobias and Cassie officially join the AAA as cadets without consulting Jake, and are immediately sent on a rescue mission.

Also in Part 1: Hints are dropped of a new Yeerk base that is to be built where the remains of New York City stand. The Kandrona is about to arrive in the city, but while the transports land, they spot Breeyar, Aci, and Geoff, who were hiding in the marina. And Marco is receiving psychic cries from something apparently beyond the grave.

Danger Zone

PART TWO

Chapter One

"Sir, you should take a look at this."

Sytsirk turned and looked blankly at one of his officers. "Excuse me?" he asked, confused.

"I said, you should take a look at this."

He blinked, and stared at the Controller as if he were thinking about something else. "Really? What is it?"

His officer looked at him. "Well . . . come and see."

"Oh. Right." Sytsirk somehow managed to guide himself over to where the officer was standing, looking at a screen. He stared at it.

"Do you see it?"

"See what?"

His officer turned and stared at him. "Sir, those are the missing prisoners. We're picking them up via the camscan on the Bug Scout."

Sytsirk blinked. "Really?" His voice sounded vague, uninterested. "Well, then, pick them up." He turned and started walking away.

The officer stood up. "Sir?" he called. "Sir, where are you going?"

Sytsirk turned to look at him. "Just . . . to my quarters. I'm not feeling very well, Aicrag. Just . . . bring in the prisoners. Let me know when they've arrived."

Aicrag stared at his commander's retreating figure. "Yes, sir," he said, even though he was pretty sure Sytsirk didn't hear him.

Something is seriously wrong with that guy, he thought, turning his attention back to his screen. But since Sytsirk outranked him, Aicrag didn't dare say anything. He would've gotten killed for it.

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Jake heard the Bug Scout long before he ever saw it. "Shh," he whispered to Coalmeer and Marco, who were arguing about something. Jake didn't know what, but he was betting it had something to do with the food at AAA. They ignored Jake, and continued to talk.

"SHH!" Rachel snapped, hitting Marco lightly on the head. "Shut up, already!"

"Ow," Marco complained, rubbing his head where Rachel had hit it. "Be careful!"

Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off when Shane suddenly stopped short. Since he was directly in front of her, Rachel had to kill her speed immediately or risk tripping over him. "Watch where you're going!" she hissed.

Shane looked up at the sky. "Look."

Everyone looked.

In the distance were several pairs of lights. Faintly, they could hear the sounds of Z-space engines as the ships raced towards them. They were coming closer, almost directly at them. One of them, the closest, seemed to be sweeping along the water. Jake froze, and motioned for the others to do the same. In just a few minutes, the spotlight would hit them.

Then the ship stopped about a mile downstream, and circled back around. It continued circling over one spot.

"They found something," Marco muttered.

Coalmeer nodded. <Something that they do not wish to lose sight of.>

"What could be so important that they have to keep a constant watch on?" Jake murmured. "Who could be so important . . ."

<RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!> The thought-speak sounded in all of their heads, but it wasn't Coalmeer's. The 'voice' was deeper, roughing, more challenging.

"Breeyar!" Rachel gasped.

"Come on!" Jake shouted.

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Jackie wasn't holding up very well. During the minutes that Ax was using the oxygen, he would cough and gasp a lot. Ax found himself cutting his minutes short to give Jackie more air. In the back of his mind, he thanked the ancient gods of Andalite lore for creating Andalites so that they could hold their breath longer.

<It'll be all right,> Ax said reassuringly to the boy. As Jackie breathed, he gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly. Ax secretly wondered what the hell the AAA was thinking, sending a paralyzed person into a tunnel that had a good chance of collapsing while they were working. I'm going to have a talk with Galuit when I get out of here, he thought angrily. Then his anger subsided. If I get out of here.

Stop that! he scolded himself. Don't start saying if! Of course you'll get out. Everyone will.

Another spray of dirt showered down on top of them. Ax glanced up at the ceiling.

I hope.

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<How much time do they have?> Galuit asked Kishi.

Kishi checked the screen in front of her. "The people in the tunnel should've started using the air tanks about five minutes ago. The rescue team reached them about three minutes ago. They have about ten minutes left."

Galuit looked at her. <They reached them three minutes ago? What's taking so long?>

Kishi shook her head. "I don't know, sir. The scanners and cameras in that area have been turned off so that the Yeerks don't pick up the broadcasts. And I'm not picking anything up from L.C. Garcia's com link, either."

Galuit stared straight ahead. <Any more word on the platoon?>

Thomas glanced over at him. "None, sir," he said.

Again, Galuit stared. <And the distraction?>

Thomas checked the screen. "Incoming call from Taylor now, sir."

<Patch them through.>

A minute later, the screen appeared. "Captain?" Taylor whispered, his face barely visible in the darkness.

<What's the report?>

"We can see the Yeerk arsenal now, and it appears to be slightly smaller than we first believed," he said. "Requesting permission to take the offensive?"

<Is everyone ready?>

"Yes, sir."

<Then permission granted. And Taylor?>

"Sir?"

<Keep them away from the rescue attempt!>

"Yes, sir. Taylor, out."

<Galuit, over.> Galuit terminated to message and looked at Kishi, who had taken up Garcia's station. <What's the status?>

"Distraction has begun, sir," Kishi reported.

"Still no word from Garcia," Thomas said softly.

Damn, thought Galuit.

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What was going on with the rescue attempt? Well . . .

"Holy shit!" Tobias shouted as Dracon beams began appearing out of nowhere. He grabbed Cassie's arm and pulled her to the ground behind a log. "Where'd they come from?"

"I don't know!" Cassie shouted back.

Garcia handed the code book to Carson and told him to start figuring it out. She grabbed the radio and her gun and hurried over to where Tobias, Cassie, and the other members of the rescue party were cowering. Carson was shielding from the attacks by the shed.

"Tobias," Garcia said, handing him the radio. "See if you can figure out a way to get a hold of the Command. The rest of you, arm yourselves and get ready!"

Tobias touched Cassie's arm. "Cass, you can take the radio and I'll fight," he whispered. "If you want."

Cassie shook her head. Already gray fur was forming on her face. As her nose and mouth began to protrude out, she said, "I want to do my part to defend thish plass." Quickly she switched the thought speak. <This place,> she finished. <Understand?>

Tobias nodded and started messing with the frequencies on the radio. "Good luck," he whispered.

Cassie nudged him with her nose, then leaped over the log.

Chapter Two

Breeyar, Aci, and Geoff tore around the corner of an old, run-down building, only to find themselves staring at one of the largest Hork-Bajir they'd ever seen. "Oh, lord," Geoff whispered. He started backing up. At that moment, a hand landed on his shoulder. Another hand clamped down on his mouth as he started to scream.

"It's all right," Jake's voice said calmly. "Rachel's not going to hurt you."

"R-Rachel?" Geoff turned and looked at Jake, then back at the Hork-Bajir.

<Like it?> Rachel asked, spinning around like she was showing off a dress. <It's the latest in bladed-alien culture wear.>

Breeyar looked at Jake. <Am I ever glad to see you guys,> he said, his voice full of relief. <But how did she get a Hork-Bajir morph?>

"Incredibly long story," Marco said, appearing from behind the building. "Can we get out of here?"

"They're right behind us," Aci whispered.

Rachel grinned her horrifying Hork-Bajir grin. "Don't worry," she said in a Hork-Bajir voice. "I can handle them."

"Let's go," Jake said in his I'm-in-charge voice.

"Go where?" Shane asked.

Something clicked behind them. "How about straight to Sytsirk?"

"Not again," Marco sighed, turning around to face yet another gun. "Look, can we just skip the melodramatics for once? You don't have to say 'how about straight to whatever-his-name is', like they do in movies and junk. Why don't you just arrest us already?"

The Controller pointed his gun straight at Marco. "I have orders to shoot on sight," he whispered dangerously. "I'm going to shoot you first."

Chapter Three

"Isn't this the part where the hero suddenly shows up and saves everyone?" Marco whispered timidly. The Controller didn't hear him, but Jake did.

"Marco, we're supposed to be the heroes," Jake whispered back. Marco didn't say anything. He couldn't take his eyes off the Dracon beam being pointed at him. The Controller was adjusting the settings and getting ready to shoot.

The barrel aimed at Marco's heart.

TSEWW!

"AHHH!"

The shot came quickly, only to be deflected by a large circular metal object that whizzed by like a Frisbee. The laser immediately bounced off the metal and hit the shooter right in the chest. He had just enough time to scream before he went down.

For exactly one minute, everyone, even the Controllers, stood completely still.

One minute was exactly enough time for Cat to aim her gun at the building behind the Controllers and knock out the support beams. "Get out of the way, you idiots!" she shouted to the good guys as the building began to collapse forward.

"Where the heck did you find this girl, Marco?" Jake demanded as they hurried away from the collapsing structure.

Marco shrugged, breathing heavily from his near-death experience. "Oh, you know -- around."

Jake rolled his eyes.

"Come on," Cat said, slipping the metal ring back into whatever hiding place she'd been keeping it in and charging her gun up again. "There are other ships coming, and I don't think we want to be here when they get here."

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Marco asked softly, coming up next to her.

Cat shrugged indifferently. "You're a psychic, Marco," she said. "You figure it out." She started to move forward, but Marco grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Thanks," he said in the same soft tone. "For saving my life." Then Jake called him, and he hurried past her.

Cat stared after him.

No one had ever thanked her before.

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Oh man, Cassie thought as she led about five human Controllers on a chase through the woods. Jake's going to kill me when he finds out I did this.

If these creeps don't get me first.

Behind her, another shot rang out, this one just barely missing her head and slicing through the bark of a nearby tree. Normally, Cassie wouldn't have been too happy, but this tree looked like it was used regularly for target practice. At this point, one more shot wouldn't hurt it.

"Come back here, you filthy Andalite!"

The words just barely registered. Then suddenly they broke through. Andalite? she thought. I thought the Yeerks found out we were human. That's what Tom said. He said his former Yeerk had told Nine.

But had Nine told anyone else?

A small idea began forming in the back of Cassie's mind. She hoped he wasn't too far away. <Tobias? I know you can't answer me, but if you can hear me, I need your help. I need you to use your Andalite morph.>

Chapter Four

Nine stood in front of the observation screen in its office and growled softly under its breath. The attack on the AAA base was not going well. None of his troops had managed to access the passageway that Sytsirk had said was there.

"That fool Acissej must have figured out some way to warn them!" it growled, slamming its fist down on the computer console controlling the image. "They must be extremely well organized to be able to cover it up in such a short amount of time." But Nine wasn't worried -- Nine was never worried.

To Nine, there was no such thing as failing. If you were unable to do something at that moment, then you would just keep trying until you succeeded. Plain and simple. Failure was when people quit after they were unable to succeed.

This motto was how Nine had risen to power in the Council.

Disgusted at the sight of the rebels holding their own, Nine shut off the screen and folded its hands (if that's what you could call them) thoughtfully. "I must figure out a way into that base," it whispered. "Those spies in Old New York are the key -- if I could just infest them! How could they have escaped?" Then, suddenly, Nine's eyes widened.

Quickly, it turned to the communications speaker. "Trab," it snapped, "get Sytsirk on the line."

"Yes, Nine."

A minute passed, and a groggy voice came over the system. "Hello?"

"Sytsirk, it's Nine," Nine said quickly. "We need to talk."

On the other end of the line, Sytsirk shivered as a chill went down his spine.

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Cassie was reaching the end of her strength. <Tobias, I need you!> she shouted desperately, but she wasn't even sure if Tobias could hear her. She didn't know how far away from the new entrance she was.

The shots from the Dracon beams were getting closer and closer to her, and she was beginning to slow down. The woods were getting thinner, and she was nearing the town. Once she was in the town, they'd be able to catch her . . .

"Gerfrash Andalite! Kill! Kill!" The twisted Hork-Bajir voice shouted from behind her. Cassie tensed as he fired, but no shot passed by. No shot hit her, either. She turned.

<Cassie, get out of here!> Tobias shouted as he dodged the Hork-Bajir's shot.

<Tobias!> she shouted with relief. He had heard her, after all! <Are you going to be all right? Can you handle them?>

Tobias laughed, something he hadn't done recently. <I'm half-Andalite, Cassie -- this is second nature to me. Now get going! Ax and the others have six minutes left!>

Cassie ran.

Tobias turned and looked calmly at the Controllers. They looked not-so-calmly at him. Then one of them raised their gun shakily.

Tobias was so intent on watching them that he had all four eyes trained on the group in front of him. The Controller tried to squeeze the trigger, but his hands were shaking too much.

Tobias, who still wasn't used to four eyes, turned his head.

The shaking Controller stopped shaking and fired.

Chapter Five

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Sytsirk nodded, then realized that Nine couldn't see him. "Yes, my liege," he managed to reply.

"You have your orders, then," Nine said with authority. "You will put your team on standby the moment we infiltrate YPM headquarters. Acissej was . . . kind . . . enough to tell us where the base was when she was brought before me." There was a click as Nine terminated the transmission.

Sytsirk stared mutely at the silent transmitter on the wall.

Then, quickly, Sytsirk opened a hidden panel next to the transmitter and tapped out a secured channel. "Come on, come on," he whispered. "Be there!"

A female voice crackled over the system. "Lam speaking," she said. Her voice was tense.

"This is Sytsirk, calling Ornum," Sytsirk whispered urgently. "Connect me immediately.

A moment later . . .

"Sytsirk, this is Ornum," another female voice replied. "What is it?"

Sytsirk glanced nervously at the door, hoping no one would be able to tap into his transmission. "We've got problems, ma'am," he said tensely. "Nine knows where the base is. You need to evacuate immediately."

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Nine smiled evilly as it listened to Sytsirk's hurried discussion with the Yeerk Peace Movement leader. The fool, it thought. He doesn't have a clue that I didn't close down the transmission.

Silently, it continued to listen to the mounting evidence against Sytsirk and the entire YPM.

Chapter Six

Ax drowsily blinked his eyes. His internal clock told him that they had about two minutes left, and they were therefore running out of air. Ax had been letting Jackie get a few more seconds of air than he had taken, and it was beginning to effect him drastically.

The roof had begun sprinkling showers of dirt on a regular basis, but Ax had long since stopped wondering what the heck was going on up above ground. Now he just wondered whether or not losing air would kill them, or having the rest of the dirt roof collapse in on them would.

Suddenly Jackie touched Ax's arm. Ax removed the oxygen mask and looked at him. "Did you hear that?" Jackie whispered in a low, hoarse voice.

<Hear what?>

"That." Ax cocked one ear and listened. It took a moment for his senses to come together, and then he managed to identify what it was he was listening to. A soft, clicking sound. Like something turning. Like a . . . here he searched his memory . . . like a combination lock.

Charlie, who was sitting directly in front of the exit door, suddenly moved away. He handed his mask to the person next to him. "This thing moved!" he gasped, pointing to the metal rod that helped keep the door shut. "It moved!"

Ax quickly moved over to the door and pressed his ear against it. Then, with the little strength he had left, he pounded hard against the metal with his fist.

A second later, an answering pound shook the door. Then a muffled voice called through: "Pull the latch up!"

<What?> Ax hadn't heard him, and he was glad that you didn't have to be able to hear in order to understand thought-speech. If ears were a requirement, he wouldn't have been able to get Carson to repeat his words.

"Pull the latch up!"

"This thing," Charlie said, grabbing the metal rod. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the rod up and over.

There was a sigh, then a click, and then the door swung open. A rush of cold air blew into the compartment.

Immediately, hands started pulling people out. Ax, barely thinking about what was happening, made sure everyone got out before he did. Thirty seconds after the last person -- Jackie -- was out, Ax felt himself being lifted through the door.

His hooves touched solid concrete, and then he collapsed.

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Tobias blinked once, twice.

Where am I?

He sat up -- in his human form -- and looked around in astonishment. He was lying in the middle of a ditch, about a hundred yards from where the Controller had shot him.

How did I get here?

Why am I human?

How long have I been out?

Tobias managed to pull himself to his feet and climb out of the ditch.

Lying motionless around the ditch was the entire group of Controllers that had attacked him and Cassie. They all had their throats slashed. Small pools of blood had gathered, but had long since stopped dripping. They had been killed a few hours earlier.

Tobias O'Conner stared at the lifeless bodies.

What is going on?

Chapter Seven

The platoon had managed to find a safe haven in what used to be a subway station. Shane had managed to start a small fire, since it got extremely cold at night. Coalmeer, thankfully, had managed to rescue what little food they had.

After a quick meal, Breeyar called a meeting together. <We left the base about four and a half days ago,> Breeyar said. <We've been unable to get a message to the captain, and we have no idea what has happened at the base.

<The way I see it, we have two choices. The first choice is that we head back to the transport and try to get home. The second is that we stay here and finish what we were sent to do, which could potentially kill us. I'm not going to force anyone to do anything, so it's entirely up to you.>

Jake leaned against a wall and folded his arms across his chest. "We were sent here to stop the Kandrona from being installed. We can still do that."

"No." Everyone turned to look at Acissej, who was shaking her head. "There's no way we can stop them from installing the Kandrona Wave/Particle Generator. Those Bug fighter's were already transporting it. They'll have it installed in no time. The only way to stop them now is to blow up their entire base."

"But we don't know where their base is!" Marco argued.

"Yes, we do," Geoff cut in. "Aci, Breeyar, and I just escaped from there."

"They'll be on the lookout for us," Jake said. "We can't send too many people in, or else they'll spot us. And we don't have any way to blow up the base."

Marco suddenly got an idea. It was a slim chance, but still -- "Hey, Coalmeer?"

<Yes?>

"You know all those weapons you've managed to collect from various dead Controllers, and that computer junk you've got?"

<Yes?>

"Do you think it's possible to make a bomb out of it?"

Everyone stopped looking at Acissej and started staring at Marco.

<I just might be able to do that,> Coalmeer replied thoughtfully. <It just might work.>

<We'd need someone who could get in and out of the base quickly,> Breeyar said. <I'd suggest Acissej, since she'd probably know her way around best, but she's higher noticeable.>

Marco nodded. "We need someone who's been in that base before -- and who's never been caught."

"We don't know anyone who has," Rachel reminded him.

Marco's gaze focused on someone past the group. "Yes, we do."

Everyone turned to look at Cat.

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<What do you mean, you can't find Tobias?> Galuit yelled at Garcia over the communications link.

Garcia took a deep breath. "Just that, sir," she said carefully. "The boy is nowhere in sight. He went off to help Cassie, and hasn't come back."

<Has Cassie returned?>

"Yes."

<Where did she last leave him?>

"We've already checked that area, sir," Garcia replied. "We've been checking ever since we dispatched the patients to your location. There's no sign of him; but we did find the remains of the Controllers following Cassie."

Galuit straightened up in surprise. <All dead?>

"All dead," Garcia confirmed.

<How many?>

There was some hectic whispering on the other end, then Garcia replied, "Five or six. Something took them out."

<What do you mean, something took them out?>

"Just what I said, Captain," replied Garcia. "Something slashed their throats. It could've been Tobias -- he was in Andalite morph, but Aximili claims that he's not very used to a tail blade. And from the looks of it, they've been dead for awhile."

<Approximate time?>

"About three hours."

Something in the back of Galuit's mind was telling him to get his people the hell out of that area. <Start heading back,> he commanded.

"What about Tobias?"

<You heard my orders, Lieutenant, now follow them!> He terminated the call and leaned forward, bracing himself on the desk. All four of his eyes were trained downward, staring at absolutely nothing.

A knock on the door caused him to look up. <Yes?>

A scout poked her head in. "The tunnel evacuees have arrived, sir."

He nodded. <Tell the medical team that I'll be there shortly.>

"Yes sir." The scout closed the door.

Galuit glanced at the screen in front of him, the one from the camera trained on the woods. Somewhere, Tobias was out there. Where, he had no idea. <Forgive me, Elfangor,> he whispered.

Then, pushing all thoughts of Tobias O'Conner out of his mind, he hurried out of his office to the med bay.

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"Why should I?"

Those were the first words out of Cat's mouth when Jake approached her about entering the Yeerk base.

"Haven't you done it before?" Jake asked.

Cat glared at Marco, then nodded almost unnoticeably. "Then you can get in there without being spotted."

"There's no guarantee of that," snapped Cat.

Jake narrowed his eyes, and was about to snap back when Marco grabbed his arm. He leaned in a said in a low voice, "Let me try. I think I can deal with this without having it end in a blood bath."

Jake looked at Marco, then at Cat, then back at Marco. Finally he nodded, and walked away.

"Finally," Cat muttered. She returned to cleaning off her blade when Marco grabbed her wrist. Surprised, she looked up at him.

"Listen to me," he growled in a low, steely voice. "I don't know why you have such an attitude towards my friends -- they haven't done anything to you -- but you will not have the same attitude towards me. Now, we have a chance to strike a serious blow against the Yeerks, and from what I gather, you don't like them very much. Some get rid of that chip on your shoulder and do something to help us out here."

Cat stared at him for a few minutes. Marco wondered what she was thinking, but there was no way for even him to figure it out. Then, lightening quick, she pulled her wrist out of her grasp. For a minute, Marco thought she was going to bare her teeth and hiss at him like a real cat.

"Don't ever touch me," she said in a low, silky voice. "Do not touch me. And as for the so-called 'attitude' you say I have against your friends, well, I don't have anything against them. What I do have is a problem with you. Just because you heard my call, just because we're both psychic, does not mean we have a connection. Don't think you can make me do something for you just because you say you can. For all I care, go plant your own bomb. I'm out of here." She grabbed her blade, which Marco now could see was more like a boomerang than a Frisbee, and slid it away into its holder.

"Where are you going?" he demanded as she began heading for the exit. He grabbed her arm.

She whirled around, shoved him up against the wall, and pressed her claw-like fingernails against his throat. "If you follow me," she said with deadly intention, "I'll kill you." She moved her hand and let him go. Cat eyed the shocked group around her. "That warning goes for all of you."

Pulling her hood over her head, she slipped into the shadows and disappeared as quietly as she had appeared just 24 hours earlier.

Marco raised a hand to his throat, and when he shakily pulled it away, a drop of blood from where she had scratched him stained his fingertips.

Chapter Eight

<How are you feeling?> Galuit looked down at Ax, who was lying down next to a wall. One of the medical staff was checking him over.

Ax shook his head groggily. <A little better,> he admitted. <They've been pumping oxygen into me since I got here.> He pointed at the oxygen mask covering his face. <Any news on Tobias?>

Galuit shook his head. <We've still got scouts out there searching,> he lied.

Ax glanced up at him and seemed to be thinking about something, then he shrugged. <What about Jake and the others?>

<Still no word from them, either,> Galuit sighed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. <But we're still trying. We're hoping that, even if their comlink did get destroyed or damaged, they'll still find a way to contact us.>

Ax closed his stalk eyes and breathed deeply. <I hope you're right. How's Jackie?>

<The boy in the wheelchair?> Ax nodded. <He'll be all right. He's a lot better off then most of the others -- he says you gave him most of the oxygen in the emergency tank.>

Ax's cheeks colored slightly, but he didn't say anything to contradict Jackie's statement. Galuit smiled slightly. <It must run in your family,> he commented. <Always looking out for others. Your brother was a lot like that, too.>

<He was?>

Galuit nodded.

Outside the med bay, the PA system crackled. "Captain Galuit, please report to the bridge. Captain Galuit, please report to the bridge."

<I'll talk to you later,> Galuit said to Ax, then hurried off.

Chapter Nine

Galuit walked briskly onto the bridge. <What's going on?>

Thomas spun around in his chair. "We're picking up a call from the Old NY region."

<Is it the platoon?> Galuit demanded.

Thomas shook his head. "No, sir," he said.

<Then why do we care?>

"It's a relay message, sent out by a Yeerk named Sytsirk," Thomas reported, pulling the transcript of the message up on the screen in front of him, "to another Yeerk named Ornum."

Tom, who had returned shortly after the Yeerk lines had begun to pull away, looked up. "Sytsirk was the named of my former master," he said to Galuit.

Thomas arched an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you said the Yeerk before Acissej wasn't very nice."

"He wasn't," Tom replied. "Why?"

<Yes, Mr. Thomas,> Galuit said, <Do tell.>

"This message was from Sytsirk to Ornum. Apparently, Ornum is one of the leaders in the Yeerk Peace Movement, and Sytsirk is warning them that Nine is on their way." Thomas' eyes widened slightly. "He says that Acissej gave away the location of the YPM base."

Kishi and Garcia exchanged glances. "That means the platoon must have been captured," Kishi whispered.

Galuit narrowed his eyes. <I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this. Did anyone contact Sytsirk before he made this call?>

Thomas fiddled with a few buttons and typed in some numbers. "One call, from the Buffalo Yeerk Base to the New York Yeerk Base. It must have been Nine."

Galuit nodded. <To borrow a human phrase, I smell a rat. Did Nine close out that frequency before Sytsirk made the YPM call?>

"That'll take me a moment," Thomas replied.

<Make it quick.>

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"How's it coming?" Jake asked, looking over Coalmeer's shoulder.

Coalmeer glanced at him briefly, then returned his gaze to the components in front of him. <So far, so good,> he replied. <Though I don't know how much good it'll do us -- we don't have any way of getting it into the base.>

"Acissej and Breeyar are trying to figure one out now," Jake said, trying to sound positive. "Just keep working."

Jake left Coalmeer and went over to where Rachel, Shane, and Shane's Aunt Kristy were sitting. "You look exhausted, cuz," Rachel said, handing him a water bottle. "You should get some rest."

"I will once I know I'll be able to sleep," Jake replied, drinking about half of the bottle in one gulp. "How's Marco?"

Shane nodded to where Marco was sitting. "He's been there ever since Cataluna left."

"Is she normally like that?" Rachel asked.

Kristy nodded. "I'm afraid so. Sometimes, she can be a big help. She'll even be willing to help. However, she doesn't seem to trust anyone. And sometimes, there are people she'll react very strongly to. They'll usually the ones who try to get her to open up, or to trust them, like your friend did. And she'll turn on them."

Shane looked down at the floor. "It's like she's afraid."

Kristy looked surprised. "What makes you think that? The Cataluna's never been afraid of anything."

Shane shook his head. "You're wrong, Aunt Kristy," he said. "She's afraid."

"What could she possibly be afraid of?" Rachel asked. "I mean, have you seen those weapons she had? And even without the weapons, she's dangerous. If I'm Xena, than that girl's Callisto."

Shane sighed. "I don't know what she's afraid of, I just know that she is." He looked over at Marco again. "And whatever it is, your friend must have found it."

<Jake?>

"Yes, Coalmeer?"

The Andalite scientist held up the small, but lethal, bomb. <It's finished.>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobias was cold. He was wearing his AAA uniform, which was tight enough that it was morphable, but that was it. He wasn't even wearing shoes (naturally). Tobias had never liked the night as a hawk, and he had never liked it as a human. The night was when anything could happen.

A shiver went down his spine, and once again he got the feeling that he was being watched. He'd been having the same feeling off and on constantly in the last half hour. It didn't help that there was no moon out, and that the woods were almost completely pitch black.

Tobias froze.

"Who-who's there?" he called shakily. Whether that was from the fact that he was scared or because his entire body was shaking from the cold, he didn't know. But it was definitely one or the other. He was scared, and he was cold.

But apparently, he was not alone.

Tobias could see something through the trees in front of him. It looked like a large egg of some sort. "What in the . . .?" Cautiously, he approached the "egg". He pushed aside a bush to be able to see it better. There were lights near it, and it was illuminated against them.

"Oh, my lord," he gasped.

Snap. This time is was directly behind him.

He turned around.

A brief glimpse . . .

A flash of light . . .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marco stared into the shadows that Cat had disappeared into. Despite the fact that she had basically threatened to slice his throat with her fingernails, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind since he'd laid eyes on her.

Who is she? he wondered. They'd told her all about where they were from, but she hadn't offered anything. She'd just made it very clear that she didn't trust anyone, and probably wouldn't anytime in the near future. Or the far future, for that matter.

All that had intrigued Marco, so he had continued to pursue the matter, to try and get her to talk. He had put his complete trust in her, and she had put none in him.

So why couldn't he get her out of his mind?

He suddenly realized just how tired he was. Maybe I'll sleep. For just a few minutes, he reasoned. His eyes began to close.

Marco.

His eyes sprang open.

Marco.

He knew that voice. He glanced around, just to make sure no one else had heard anything. No. They were all busy with the bomb plan.

Quietly, he got up and slipped off the way Cat had gone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Controller quickly read the notice Nine had just given him. "Sytsirk? But I thought --" He got no further as Nine focused its eyes on him. The Controller gulped.

"You thought what?" Nine asked calmly.

He shook his head. "N-nothing, my liege."

Nine nodded. "I thought so. Now. Dispatch that notice immediately. Alert the entire confederation that Sytsirk is indeed a traitor to the Yeerk Empire. Then contact the New York Base and have them arrest Sytsirk."

"When?"

"Immediately."

The Controller nodded and turned to his station.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is it, Three?"

Three stood and faced the Emperor. "I have something to show to you," Three said, holding up a notice. "This is being dispatched all throughout the Earth Confederation."

The Emperor held out a gloved hand. "Let me see."

Three passed the notice to Two, who handed it to the Emperor. The glowing red eyes focused and read the words on the page. "Was this discussed with us at any point?" he demanded.

Three shook his head. "No, sir," he replied. "Nine did not bring this to our attention."

The Emperor was not pleased. "See to it that we bring Nine's attention to it. And Nine had better have a good explanation."

Three saluted to the Emperor, and left the meeting room.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sytsirk was staring worriedly at the window in front of him. He had a pretty good idea where the platoon had disappeared to, but it wasn't his biggest worry at the moment. His biggest worry was Nine's attack on the YMP base.

A knock on the door brought his thoughts back to where he was. "Yes?"

The door opened, and three guards stood in the doorway, one of them holding an official-looking parchment. "Sytsirk 9-1-0?"

"You know who I am, you fool," Sytsirk growled. "What is it you want?"

The guard handed him the paper. Sytsirk read it, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What does this mean?"

The first guard motioned to the other two. "It means," the first one said as the other two clamped restraints on Sytsirk's arms, "that you are under arrest for high treason to the Yeerk Empire."

Chapter Ten

Marco squeezed gently between two slabs of concrete, one of which had a large T carved into it. Checking himself so that he didn't go falling into a hole or anything, he crawled along the side of the slab, listening for anything that might be trouble. He was almost positive that this was where the call had been coming from.

Suddenly, just a few feet away, a Bug Scout loomed above him. Before he could panic, he realized that there was no way he could be seen, not from where he was hidden. As he watched, three large Farsight Controllers were dragging another Controller, a Hork-Bajir, between them. Marco hadn't seen a Farsight since Elysia, but it didn't surprise him that the race had been enslaved. Almost everyone in Elysia had fallen victim to the Yeerks at one point or another.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

Someone grabbed him from behind.

Chapter Eleven

Marco let out a strangled gasp and tried to pull away, but the grip was strong. Whoever it was pulled him away from the rock and into the shadows. "Shhh," the person said.

Marco knew that voice. "C-cat?"

"Yes."

He was no longer afraid that a Yeerk had caught him. However, now he was worrying about what Cat would do to him now that she had caught him. "What is it?"

"That's Sytsirk," Cat said, pointing to the captured Hork-Bajir Controller. "He's heading up the operation in New York."

"What's happening to him?"

"From what I can gather, he's been arrested," Cat replied, bringing her voice down to a whisper. Marco had to move closer to her in order to hear her. "I've been keeping tabs on him for quite sometime -- it turns out that he's not such a bad guy after all."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a member of the YPM," Cat replied. "And my guess is, somehow Nine found out."

"What do you mean, your guess is?" Marco hissed. "Don't you know for sure? For all we know, this could be a trap."

"I know that," Cat snapped. "If I hadn't been running around with you and your team, I would know for sure. I definitely wouldn't be standing here having this conversation with you."

"You called to me," Marco said, changing the subject. "Why?"

For the first time, Cat seemed to falter. "I -- I don't know," she admitted. "I do know that something needs to be done, but I don't know what." She looked at him. "You've dealt with these creeps longer than I have. What do we do?"

Marco stared at her in amazement. Was Cataluna, the girl who had practically taken down two dozen Controllers on her own, asking him for help?

This isn't your decision to make, a little voice whispered to him. You're not the leader -- Jake is.

But Jake doesn't trust her, Marco thought. No one does. Except . . .

He looked at her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lieutenant Thomas slammed down his pen. "I've got it, sir!" he called to Galuit, who was standing impatiently on the bridge.

Galuit turned towards him. <Well?>

"Nine never disconnected the call line," Thomas replied. "Unless Sytsirk did it himself -- which I doubt -- Nine must have heard everything that Sytsirk said to Ornum."

Chief Taylor turned to the captain. "Now what, sir?"

Galuit's eyes narrowed in an Andalite frown. <We have no choice,> he stated. <Mr. Thomas, try and follow that dispatch Sytsirk sent out. Figure out some way to get word to the YPM that Nine is setting a trap for them.>

Tom stared at Galuit. "We're helping the Yeerks?"

<These Yeerks are our allies, not our enemies, Tom,> Galuit said calmly. Then suddenly, his eyes widened. <If Sytsirk is arrested for treason, what's to stop Nine from trying to find our own people?>

"Sir?" Garcia asked, confused.

Taylor turned to her. "The extra security, plus the prison transport, in the city limits," he explained. "The prison transport, especially, used heat-seeking technology to track down people. If they get unusual readings -- such as an Andalite -- then the platoon is, to put it bluntly, screwed."

<That's it!> Galuit shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Galuit rarely yelled. <We have no choice but to send in a rescue team.>

"But sir," Taylor said uncertainly, "we're short manpower, what with the last rescue and distraction mission. Many of our people are in sick bay. The O'Conner kid is still missing, and it'll take at least three days to get from here to New York without any Yeerks spotting us."

Galuit straightened up and turned to his chief. <The 'O'Conner kid', as you so eloquently put it, is a member of this base. He is not a civilian. So treat him with a bit of respect.> He turned to look at the main screen. <As for getting to New York, well, we're going to need a pretty fast transport.>

<Captain?>

Galuit turned to see Shamia, the only surviving female Andalite from the StarSword, standing near the back of the bridge. <What is it, Shamia?> Galuit asked the pilot.

<I'd like to offer my transport,> she said.

Taylor smothered a smirk. "What makes you think that hunk of junk will get us to that city any faster?"

Shamia looked at him. <Not that one,> she said, <the one I've been building on my own.>

Galuit looked at her. <You've built your own transport?>

Shamia nodded.

<I'd like to see it.>

<Follow me.> She turned and walked out of the bridge.

Curious, Taylor and Galuit walked after her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Is everyone ready?" Jake asked, looking at the others. Everyone nodded.

<Let's go,> Breeyar commanded.

"Aci, are you positive that you remember the way to the base?" Geoff asked uncertainly.

"Yes," she replied patiently. It had only been the fifth time he'd asked the question, after all. Geoff seemed to accept the answer and fell silent. At least they're beginning to trust me, she thought. She glanced over at Breeyar, who refused to look in her direction. Some of them, anyway.

"Um, question," Shane said from behind Rachel. "Well, two actually. What do we do once we've reached the base, and what happened to Marco?"

Jake spun around. "Marco?"

<Halt, everyone,> Breeyar said, also turning around. <Where is he?>

"He's gone!" Rachel growled when it became apparent that Marco was nowhere in sight. It was an unnecessary comment, but she didn't care. Marco had ditched them and she wasn't happy.

<Where do you think he went?> Coalmeer wondered.

"He probably went after that Cat person," Geoff commented. "I don't blame him."

Rachel and Aci both glared at Geoff. "Just kidding," he whispered.

"He probably did," Jake growled. "Great. MARCO!" His voice echoed off the abandoned buildings. "MARCO!"

Rachel clamped a hand over his mouth. "Do you want to get us all killed?" she hissed. Jake shook his head. "Then stop trying to cause an avalanche or something. The Yeerks will hear you!"

<You better listen to her, man.>

"Marco?"

<Yeah, it's me.>

"Where are you?"

<About a mile away,> Marco said.

"How the heck can you hear us -- wait, don't answer that. A psychic thing, right?"

<Right.>

"What's going on?"

<There's no time to explain," Marco snapped. <Look -- just do me a favor. Start heading a mile to your right. You and Rachel better morph, too.>

"Into what? And what are you?"

Marco laughed cynically. <Well -- remember the Mariott?>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Ax."

Ax looked up and saw Cassie sitting next to him. <Hi, Cassie,> he said. She was wearing her uniform, which Ax thought was a little strange. Cassie didn't exactly like uniforms. Plus, there was a little tag clipped over where her name was embroidered. <What's that?>

Cassie looked at the tag. "Oh, this?" She looked slightly uncomfortable. "It's nothing."

But Andalite eyes are extremely good, and when Ax looked again, he had no trouble reading what it said. <Cadet?> he read uncertainly. <You joined the AAA? What does Prince Jake say?>

Cassie shook her head. "Jake doesn’t know that Tobias and I joined up," she confessed.

Ax was surprised. <You did this without consulting Jake?>

Cassie glared at him. He decided to change the subject.

<How's the search for Tobias coming?> he asked. <They won't tell me anything. Being in this hospital is aggravating me.>

Cassie's eyes widened. "You mean, they didn't tell you?"

<Tell me what?> Ax stared at her. <What happened?>

"Galuit has decided to concentrate all efforts on getting the platoon out of New York before it's crawling with Yeerks," she said. "There is no search for Tobias."

<No search?>

"He's been declared MIA -- Missing In Action."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nine stood calmly in the middle of its chamber. Everything was going according to plan. Soon, very soon, the Yeerk Peace Movement would be in his grasp. And, if Acissej and the AAA platoon were still within Old New York, so would the AAA. "No doubt I'll get a promotion for this," it snickered to itself. "I just need to keep it a secret from the rest of the Council for just a little while longer."

"Hello, Nine."

Nine spun around and found itself face to face with Three of Thirteen. "Three!" Nine gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Three held up the object of his arrival. "This is why I am here?"

Nine stared at the notice.

"What does this mean, Nine?"

Nine continued to stare.

"Have you committed treason to the Empire? Have you wrongly accused your right-hand man?"

Nine shook its head.

"Then what does it mean?"

I mustn't tell, Nine thought. Its eyes narrowed. Even if it means taking drastic measures.

"Would you like me to tell you?" Nine whispered.

Three stared at Nine, his gaze unwavering. "You had better. The Emperor is most seriously displeased."

"Very well then," Nine said, moving closer to the unsuspecting Councilmember. Puny Ongachic body, it thought, sneering. "I'll tell you."

Three started to smile, congratulating himself that he was getting Nine to talk.

Suddenly, Nine's arm melted into a tentacle, which wrapped around Three's neck.

"But then I'd have to kill you," it whispered.

Three let out a choked gasp. "Wha -- what are you doing?"

Nine grinned, showing all of its teeth. "You asked me what it meant," it said. "It's classified information."

"Don't kill me," Three whispered. "I don't need to know, honest."

Nine dropped Three to the ground, and he began to edge closer to the door.

I have to tell the Emperor, Three thought wildly. Nine has gone crazy!

Nine froze. "Tell the Emperor?" it repeated, reading the thoughts from the Ongachic's mind. "Tell the Emperor?"

Three froze as the tentacle began to wrap itself around his waist and pull him closer to Nine.

"I. Don't. Think. So."

Chapter Twelve

Meanwhile, several light years away . . .

"How's the evacuation coming?" Ynomrah Ornum as they passed each other.

"There'ssss no way we can get everyone out without help," Ornum whispered so as not to panic any of the others moving around them. Her forked tongue flicked out of her mouth nervously. Ynomrah noted that Ornum seemed very tense, since her snake-like body was coiled tightly. Ornum was one of the few Alleri-Biotes. A Biote was the name given to a Yeerk who carried an agreement with their host.

"Is there anyone who can help us?"

Ornum glanced around to make sure no one could overhear her. "There'ssss a station about ten light-nanossss from here, and an Andalite transport issss there, but do you really think that they will believe usss when we sssay that we are peaceful?"

Ynomrah shook her head.

"Any more word from Ssssytsssirk?" Ornum asked.

Ynomrah sighed. "No."

"And Acisssssej?"

Again, Ynomrah sighed. "No."

" Systems Ecats calling Commander Ornum. Systems Ecats calling Commander Ornum. Please report to the command station. Repeat, please report to the command station."

"Continue to evacuate," Ornum ordered Ynomrah.

"Yes, ma'am," Ynomrah said, nodding and hurrying off.

Ornum slithered into the command station at top speed. "What isss it, Ecatsss?"

The Hork-Bajir Biote turned to look at the commander. "Someone is contacting us, Commander," she replied. "From Earth."

"Isss it Ssssytsssirk?"

"No, ma'am," Systems Analysist Ecats replied. "He's human. He says his name is Lieutenant Julio Thomas and that he's with the AAA."

Ornum looked puzzled. "I've never heard of sssuch -- wait! Sssytsssirk hass mentioned sssomething called the AAA. Find out what thisss 'Lieutenant Julio Thomasss' wantsss"

Ecats nodded and turned back to the controls. A minute later: "He says that he tracked the call Sytsirk made to us, and that this whole evacuation is a trap. According to him, Nine was listening in on Sytsirk's call!"

"What? Patch me through." A picture appeared on the main screen. Sure enough, a human man wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and a hat with the words AAA embroidered on it was looking back at them. "Lieutenant Thomasss, I presssume?"

Thomas nodded. "Are you Ornum 2-0-9?"

"I am."

"I relayed my message to your communications officer," Thomas said briskly, as if he wasn't exactly comfortable making this call.

"How do we know you are to be trussted?" Ornum demanded.

Thomas glanced to an area off the screen, then nodded. "Excuse me," he said. He got up and moved off screen. A minute later, an Andalite warrior stood in his place.

"I am Imoteo-Samnil-Eyks," Imoteo said, his thought-speech transmitting into regular speech through the network. "I'm an officer of the Andalite-Animorph Alliance -- the main resistance to the Yeerk forces on Earth."

Ornum and Ecats exchanged glances.

"I am here to inform you that Nine has laid a trap for you and was using Sytsirk as bait. Nine has not only tricked Sytsirk into giving up your evacuation route, but has also tricked Sytsirk into incriminating himself. Sytsirk has been arrested." Imoteo looked steadily at Ornum, as if daring her to believe him.

"Thank you," Ornum said. "Closssse the link," she told Ecats. Ecats nodded and signed off momentarily after Imoteo did.

"Now what?" Ecats looked at Ornum.

Ornum turned to look at another Biote. "Samoht."

"Yes?" Samoht turned to look Ornum.

"Call of the evacuation."

No questions were asked, as everyone in the command station had heard the call from the AAA.

"What about Sytsirk?" Ecats asked.

Ornum just shook her head dismally.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Imoteo looked at Thomas. "Do you think they believed us?"

The Andalite sighed. <I hope so.> He began to walk away. <If you need me, I'll be with the Captain. Garcia, you're in charge.>

"Yes, sir," Garcia said. She watched as the bridge doors closed behind Imoteo, then turned to Kishi. "See if you can get a reading on Tobias," she whispered.

Kishi nodded. "Right."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, where is this transport?" Taylor asked Shamia as they neared the docking bay that she had reserved for herself. "If there is one," he muttered under his breath.

A pounding of hooves behind the trio alerted them to Imoteo's arrival. <I left Garcia in charge,> he said as he pulled up. <We got through to the YPM, and now it's up to them to believe us or not.>

Galuit nodded. <Well, Shamia -- let's see this transport of yours.>

Shamia nodded and punched in a series of numbers on the keypad, then scanned her palm print into the security database. "Identity confirmed," the mechanized voice said. "Welcome, Shamia-Erbrew-Irkyts." The doors slid open.

<There she is,> Shamia said proudly, motioning to the fighter in front of them. <Not exactly a transport, but serves the same basic purpose.>

Taylor, Galuit, and Imoteo looked at the fighter in shock.

At first glance, it appeared to be quite narrow. But upon further observation, they realized that it could, in fact, hold several people at once. It was a gleaming blue color -- sapphire, the humans called it -- made out of an extremely hard metal. It was shaped like an orca, or a large dolphin, and under the flippers and on either side of the fluke was a thruster. It's narrowness was no doubt perfected so that it would cut through the atmosphere easily.

<She's designed for atmosphere, land, sea, space, and even underground voyaging,> Shamia said. <I call her The Quest.>

Galuit finally figured out something to say. <You designed her all on your own?>

Shamia nodded. <With a few modifications by Coalmeer so that she would actually work.>

<And has she been tested?> Imoteo wanted to know.

<Only in underground voyaging,> Shamia replied. <We -- Coalmeer and I -- have actually done simulations with the other methods, but we can only say on a 75% percent study that she will operate in those as well as she does underground.>

"How can she move underground if she's a spaceship?" Taylor scoffed.

Shamia motioned to the nose of the vessel. <Hidden inside that nose is an extremely powerful drill. It's so powerful that it can slice through pure diamond like it was aluminum foil. Any more questions?>

Taylor, shocked, shook his head.

<Good.> Shamia turned to Galuit. <Well, Captain?>

Galuit didn't even need to think. <Ready her for activation,> he said promptly. <Shamia, of course, will pilot her.>

Shamia turned to Imoteo. <Care to be my co-pilot once more, Im?>

<You don't have to ask me twice,> Imoteo said quickly. The two of them hurried to the ship to prep it for the launch bay.

"We've never even seen her move!" Taylor hissed in Galuit's ear.

<Doesn't matter,> Galuit said shortly. <Shamia's Quest is our last chance to get Breeyar and the others out of that city.>

Chapter Thirteen

<YEEEEHHHAHHHH!>

With one quick motion, Jake turned right and wiped out a lamppost. No one minded -- except the Hork-Bajir the lamppost ended up slicing through on its way to the ground.

Meanwhile, while Jake was charging blindly into concrete blocks and Bug Scouts with his large head, Marco was busy charging blindly into various Controllers with his horn. Only Rachel had any clue where she was going -- as a full grown African elephant, it was her job to get Sytsirk.

<Oops . . . hope that didn't belong to anyone,> Jake said meekly as he slammed into something very hard. <What was that, anyway?>

Rachel, who was trying to break into the largest Bug Scout, the one that Marco and Cat had seen them take Sytsirk to, said in exasperation, <It was the Hard Rock Café sign, you idiot. I doubt the owner cares anymore. Really.>

A few feet away, hidden by the ruins of some building that was beyond identification, Breeyar and the others stood watching. And talking.

"You know, I think they're maybe having just a little too much fun with this," Geoff commented. "What do you guys think?"

Breeyar watched as Marco speared a Hork-Bajir and just kind of waved it around for a few minutes before throwing it back at another Controller. <You might be right,> he agreed.

Acissej glanced around. "We lost Cat again."

Sure enough, the girl was no longer where she had been standing.

"Why does this not surprise me?" Geoff wondered. "I'm hungry."

<We're all hungry,> Coalmeer replied.

"I'm hungrier," Geoff countered.

"How do you figure?" Shane wanted to know.

"This is the stupidest conversation I've ever heard," Aci muttered. Breeyar had to agree.

TSSEEWWW!

TSSEEWWW!

<Whoops, they've got guns!> Jake shouted. <Rachel, can you get him yet?>

<No!> she called back. <The hole's not big enough!>

<Here's an idea,> Marco said as he began backing away from the armed Controllers. <Take the entire thing.>

Rachel considered this, cocking her gigantic, leather-skinned head in a very thoughtful, un-elephantlike way. Then she bobbed her head. <Okay.> Shoving her tusks into the ship, she lifted it up and began moving away, stomping anything that got in front of her.

Marco and Jake made short work of the rest, then hurried after her, demorphing as she went along.

Too easy, Aci thought as she and the others hurried off behind them.

Hidden by the rusted remains of the Hard Rock Cadillac, Cat frowned. "Too easy," she muttered, echoing Aci's thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Any news?" Garcia whispered to Kishi as she made her rounds on the bridge.

Kishi shook her head. "Nothing in the area where he disappeared. I calculated how quickly he was most likely moving and sent a scan off in every possible direction, but nothing's turning up there, either."

Garcia bit her lip. "I'd hate to be the one to tell the other Animorphs that Tobias' disappeared without a trace."

<What was that?>

Garcia looked up and found herself staring at Ax and Cassie, both of whom didn't look incredibly happy.

"Cadet," Garcia said, nodding to Cassie. She looked at Ax. "How'd you get on the bridge? No civilians -- even if they do where the AAA uniform -- are allowed on the bridge unless they're with the captain."

"I cleared him," Cassie replied, her hands on her hips. She didn't look pleased with Garcia. "What was that statement you just made about Tobias?"

"Cadet," Garcia began, "I am your commanding officer, and you do not speak to me in that manner. I don't care if you are an Animorph. We are in no position to tell you anything."

Ax focused all four of his eyes. <Yet, you are required to inform family members of the missing about the progress.>

Garcia nodded. "You know the rules," she said, impressed. "Yes, we have to tell families. But Tobias, last I checked, didn't have one here."

<Yes, he does,> Ax said. <He is my nephew.>

Garcia stared at the Andalite.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My head . . . sudden pain . . . what's . . . happening?

A figure moved nearby. It was nothing more than a shadow in Tobias' eye . . . he tried to move his hand.

His eyes tracked the figure as it made progress around the room. There was a yellow film in front of Tobias' face.

He tried to rack his brain for the answer.

He began to feel suddenly lightheaded, as if someone has just poured helium into his mouth.

Although he couldn't close his eyes, everything suddenly went dark.

Chapter Fourteen

"Easy now," Aci urged as she helped ease Sytsirk out of the crumpled wreck of the Bug Scout. "You're all right."

The Biote -- for that is what he was -- landed easily on the ground, but his knee almost gave out. "Your . . . friend . . . almost sliced me in half," he muttered.

"Sorry," Aci apologized. "I can see you haven't changed much. Still the ungrateful little idiot that you were six years ago."

<You two . . . know each other?> Breeyar looked from one to the other.

Sytsirk nodded. "Eight years ago, Acissej and I were both extremely active on the YPM front. About six months after the massacres stopped, I went undercover. Nobody but my supervisor knew that I still worked for the YPM. Not even Acissej."

"How'd Nine find out?" Aci asked.

Sytsirk shrugged. "I haven't found that out yet. It might have something to do with the call I made to Ornum -- my supervisor -- about Nine attacking the base. I'm suspecting that was a trap for me, because he claimed you told Nine about the location."

Aci shook her head. "You know me better than that."

"Eight years have changed many people," Sytsirk reminded her. "Especially you. Where did you get that host?"

Aci looked slightly uncomfortable. "Um, I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get out of here. With you on the loose, security is going to get extremely tight around here."

"There's no way we can plant that bomb now," Jake added. "Sytsirk -- is there anyway that we can contact our base?"

"The radio in the Bug Scout should still be working," Sytsirk said. "Any of you experts in Yeerk systems?"

<I am,> Coalmeer said, stepping into the wreckage.

"The signal device in that thing is on a timer," Sytsirk said as Coalmeer got to work. "I'd say we have an hour before they find us."

"The Yeerks or the AAA?" Marco asked, leaning against a concrete slab.

The look on Sytsirk's face told him the answer.

"Aw, man," Marco groaned.

Chapter Fifteen

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Taylor complained.

Shamia didn't dare take her eyes off the controls. <If all you're going to do is whine, why did you come in the first place?>

"To make certain that you didn't screw things up," he snapped.

Shamia rolled her eyes. <Give me a break.>

<We are approaching the Manhattan border,> Imoteo reported.

<Quest, began a wide-range scan for the transport.>

"Who ever heard of a talking ship, anyway?" Taylor muttered.

"Never mind."

Shamia glanced over at Imoteo, who was trying his best not to make a comment.

<Coordinates?>

<Im, see if you can get a visual.>

Imoteo nodded. <Right.> He paused. <Shamia? How do I do that?>

Shamia sighed. <I'll have to give you a crash course in The Quest. Quest, get a visual.>

<This is some ship, Shamia,> Imoteo said approvingly. <I have a feeling we'll really benefit from her.>

Shamia nodded.

Then . . .

<HANG ON!> Shamia shouted as The Quest's drill increased its power. <We're going under!>

"Under what?" Taylor demanded. Then his eyes widened as he remembered just what New York was built on. "No way!"

The Quest broke through the rock, and slammed into a wall of water . . .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maybe I should have gone with them," Cat muttered to herself as she climbed over concrete slabs and dodged sunken pits. "On second thought -- it's not like they need me or anything. I'm sure they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves on their own.

"I have other problems. I don't need theirs."

She staggered into her apartment -- what was left of it, at least. The smell of smoke was long gone, as well as the charred remains of her past. The fire had taken care of that. She'd had to rebuild everything when she returned from Brooklyn.

Shutting the door behind her, Cat proceeded to remove her cloak and every weapon she had been carrying with her. Her gun, her blade, and a few others that hadn't been needed in the past few days.

After placing them back in their various holders, she sat down on the old mattress she used as a bed and prepared to do some meditating. She'd found it extremely necessary, what with her powers and all.

I wonder if he meditates, she thought.

Her eyes opened. "What am I thinking?" she berated herself. "What do you care if he meditates or not? You're never going to see him again, and it's not like you would care if you did or not!"

Oh really? her inner voice asked. What's the matter? Afraid to admit it?

"Admit what?" she snapped, fully aware that she was talking to herself, and not giving a damn about it.

That you might need him. That you might want him.

"What are you, crazy?" she snarled. "I don’t need him, and I certainly don't want him. I don't need anyone."

The voice was quiet.

So was Cat. She leaned against the wall, her hands behind her head.

"I don't," she repeated softly.

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Before him, a battle raged. Yeerk against Andalite. Yeerk against Human. Yeerk against Yeerk. A small battle compared to most, but still it captivated his interest.

Who were these people, who fought so valiantly against the universe's greatest enemy? Why did they fight? Where did they come from? These were all questions that he could not answer.

And what of the girl? What had happened to her? Did she not fight alongside these others? These . . . changelings?

Silently, he hid. And silently, he watched.

Something was about to happen.

TO BE CONTINUED

Danger Zone: Part 3

Situations have reached an all time high as more and more problems occur. With Tobias still missing, and The Quest racing to the platoon's aid, the AAA is being stretched to its limit.

Nine has no intention of giving up on the search for the YPM and the AAA bases, but now that Sytsirk's out of its grasp, it's going to need to think fast.

Meanwhile, the mysterious Cat is beginning to come a bit more into focus as she struggles to maintain her vow of untrusting. But the questions of who she is and where she came from are still a mystery. Will that mystery ever be uncovered?

And just who is that person only referred to as 'he' in the last section of Part Two? Will his true identity ever be discovered? What role does he play in the story? Find out in this (hopefully) suspenseful conclusion of DANGER ZONE.

IN A WORLD A FEAR AND SLAVERY, THEY ARE THE ONLY HOPE.