I took the morphing cube home with me and hid it. We had had a long discussion over who got the second cube and finally I pointed out that since I found it, it was technically mine.

Now that I look back, that blue box changed everything. But that comes later.

I was about to learn what being an Animorph truly meant.

A few days after I first met the Animorphs, I was to practice morphing in the woods.

"Hi, Cassie." I smiled as I poked my head into her barn.

"Hi, Kay." She glanced around the barn. "You’ll need a bird of prey, a wolf, some bug morphs. We need to go to the Gardens to get you a power morph and maybe a dolphin. But not today." She added.

"I think I’ll skip the bugs." I grimaced at the thought of becoming a bug.

"Okay, but you’ll have to do them eventually." Cassie warned. "First, a bird. We’ve got a sharp-shinned hawk with a broken leg."

"Why not?"

Cassie opened the cage and I acquired the bird. After she closed the cage she led me to another area of the barn where the more dangerous animals are. I acquired a female wolf with a wounded paw.

"Sorry, I can’t go with you when you try out your morphs." Cassie said apologetically. "Oh, well. Tobias is the best flying instructor there is."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He said he’d be here as soon as he had breakfast." Cassie glanced at her watch. "I gotta go. Just wait here until he comes." With that she left.

I sat and waited. About fifteen minutes later, Tobias flew in.

"Sorry I’m late. I had to go out of my way to avoid a baldie."

I picked up my bag. "Is there any where I can hide my stuff?"

<Yeah, sure. Follow me.>

I ran after him to a clearing. I took off my outer clothing and stuffed in my bag. Then I put the bag behind a bush.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, you can do this." I told myself.

I focused on the hawk DNA I knew was in me. SPROUT. A beak prodded out of my face. I began to shrink. It was like I was falling, without ever hitting the ground. A feather pattern spread over my body. The individual feathers lifted up and became 3-D. My feet turned into talons, and I was a bird.

The instincts hit me with full force. I was in someone else’s territory!!! They would come and kill me! I spotted a red-tail on a branch nearby. No! This must be his territory. He was bigger than me! He would kill me! I had to get of there! I flapped my wings as hard as I could.

Altitude! I had to get up in the air. I had to fly. Then I‘d be safe.

The blessed thermals lifted me up. They were small, but I was almost to the treetops.

<Kay! Get a grip! You’re human. Human!>

Human? What was that voice?

<Come on Kay! Think about school, and TV.>

TV? A little black box with moving pictures in it. TV! I was human! Me, Kay.

<Sorry, Tobias. I guess I lost control there.> I slowed down and circled back.

<Don’t worry about it. Happens to the best of us.>

We flew over the forest for a while.

<Sweet thermals.> Tobias commented. <You wanna dive?>

<Sure.> I said lightly. Inside, I was shaking.

Tobias pulled his wings back and plummeted. I followed suit.

<Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,> I screamed. <This is insane!>

<You sound like Marco.> Tobias pulled out of the dive.

<Don’t ever say that again!> I spread my wings and let the air catch them and slow me down.

<Hey! There’s Ax! Let’s go say ‘hi’.> Tobias made a sharp turn.

I did the same and spotted Ax by a stream.

<Hey, Ax.> I called.

<Hi, Ax-man.>

<Hello, Tobias. Is that you, Kay?>

I nodded. <What time is it?>

<Eleven thirty-six.>

<We’ve been in morph for an hour.> Tobias told me.

<Let’s take a break, eat lunch, and do the wolf this afternoon.> I suggested.

<Lunch? Is that food.> Ax asked.

<It’s when you eat food, yeah.>

<You have food?> Ax asked excitedly.

<Uh-hn. You want some?>

<Yes!>

<You shouldn’t have said that.> Tobias told me privately.

<Well, just follow us.>

We flew slowly so Ax could keep up with us. When we reached the clearing, I demorphed and Ax did his human morph.

<I’ll go get lunch.> With that, Tobias flew off.

I opened my bag and took out my lunch: two ham and cheese sandwiches and two sodas. I tossed a sandwich and soda to Ax and dug in.

"This is good, goooooo, ed."

I looked over at Ax and noticed half of the sandwich was gone.

"Ax! Slow down."

He didn’t. I wasn’t surprised. I calmly eat my sandwich while Ax gulped down his soda.

<Guys, watch out!> Tobias screamed. <Chapman is headed right for you!>

"What?!" I gasped. "Morph!"

<No!> Tobias yelled. <There’s no time. And shut up! you don’t want him to hear you.>

<What should we do?> It took me a moment to figure out that it was Ax using thought-speak.

<I don’t know. If he sees you, he’ll be suspicious.>

"What if we say we’re lost?" I whispered.

<There are never any hikers near here. He’ll probably make you Controllers because you saw him.>

<What if he does not think we see him.> Ax suggested.

"How?"

<Well...there might be a way...> Tobias sounded uncertain.

"What?"

<Think a guy and a girl in the hormonal stage alone in the middle of the woods, far away from prying eyes.>

I shook my head. "Uh-un."

<We’re out of time! Do it!>

<What do I do?> Ax asked.

<Kiss her.>

<Kiss? Is that not the thing humans do with their mouths?>

<Yes! Now kiss Kay!>

We were out of time. Chapman would see us any second. Ax leaned over and kissed me.

And three seconds later, Chapman saw us.

<Am I doing this right?> Ax asked Tobias.

<Yep.> Then. <Are you frenching?>

<What is frenching?>

<The way your kissing her.>

<This is how humans kiss on TV.>

It wasn’t that bad. Not that I had any experience in kissing. After all, I had never kissed a guy before. I know it sounds disgusting, kissing an alien, but it’s not. I mean he was human. Just like any other guy.

I watched Chapman through the corner of my eye, which was half-closed because I had heard you were supposed to close your eyes when you kiss. When he saw us, he stared for a moment, then backed away. I didn’t dare stop because I wasn’t sure if he could still see us.

<He’s gone.> Tobias called.

Ax backed off, leaving me gasping for breath.

"Tobias, where did Ax learn to kiss?"

<Young and Restless.>

"You let him watch soaps?"

<Soap? Is that not the substance humans use to clean themselves> Ax asked, puzzled.

Tobias shrugged. <It’s the only thing on daytime television.>

"I guess I can’t judge. I’m a Days addict myself."

<Days?> Ax asked.

"Days of our Lives."

<Oh, yes.> Ax nodded knowingly. <Very interesting show. But I do not understand how Stefano could have changed Hope into Gina with the technology available on the planet.>

"Actually, he..."

<Guys! Chapman.> Tobias said. <Let’s follow him and see what he’s up to.>

"Oh, right. Him. You go ahead, we’ll follow when we finish morphing."

<Okay.> Tobias flew off.

I began to morph the hawk. When I was done, I noticed that Ax had demorphed. I flapped my wings and flew in the direction Tobias had headed. A couple of minutes later, I caught up with him. Soon, Ax joined us in his harrier morph. We followed Chapman to a rock wall. He pushed into a piece of the rock and the air around it shimmered. Of course, a hologram. Behind the hologram, was what looked like a white square. Chapman pressed his hand into the square.

What we had taken for a rock wall shimmered and revealed a cave.

<Should we follow him?> I asked.

<No way. Too risky.>

<Well, what is that?> The rock wall was back.

<Perhaps it is an entrance to the Yeerk Pool.>

<No. The Yeerk Pool doesn’t extend this far, unless it quadrupled in size in the last few months.> Tobias was shaking his head.

Very weird, a bird shaking its head.

<We must tell Prince Jake.>

<He’s gonna love this.> Tobias said sarcastically.

I flapped my wings. <I’ll go find him. Where is he, anyway?>

<I think they’re at Marco’s house working on some project for school that’s due on Monday.>

I nodded. <Should we get Cassie and Rachel too?>

<Why not? I’ll stay here and play stakeout since I don’t have a time limit. Ax can find Rachel and Cassie.> Tobias suggested.

<Whatever.>

Ax joined me in the sky.

<Cassie’s at the barn and I think Rachel is at home.> I told Ax.

<I will go there.>

Since we were headed in different directions, we separated.

I flew to Marco’s house, which I had visited earlier in the week.

I found them in Marco’s bedroom. Which was a total mess.

<Guys?>

Jake’s head snapped up.

I beat my wings against the window. <Open up.>

Marco opened the window. "Who are you?"

<It’s me, Kay.> I began to demorph.

"What happened?"

<We found a secret Yeer...> At that moment, I lost the ability to thought-speak.

My mouth grew in. "What I meant to say was: We found a secret Yeerk entrance in the forest."

"You what?!" Marco yelped.

"Is it another way into the Yeerk Pool?" Jake asked.

"Tobias doesn’t think so. He said it was too far away to be connected to the Yeerk Pool. This is something else."

"Another Yeerk Pool, maybe?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. The cave whatever this is in is hidden by a hologram and probably a force field."

Marco sighed. "And my dad wonders why my grades have dropped. I’m too busy saving the world!" Marco continued whining. "I thought we’d have a peaceful weekend, but nooooo. We have to check out another painful way to die."

Jake was already morphing.

I began to morph as well.

When Marco saw we were leaving, he threw up his hands in despair. "I give up!" With that, he started to morph his osprey.

It took us thirty minutes to fly back to the cave. Cassie, Ax, and Rachel were already there, waiting for us.

<I’ve learned something.> Tobias said. <While you were gone, I noticed that there’s a force field covering the entrance. Also, another Controller, one that we didn’t know about, came and went in. That’s how I found out there’s a Gleet Bio Filter at the entrance. Some poor bug tried to get in and got fried.>

<Is there another way to get in?> Jake asked.

<I don’t know. But I do know that the force field extends into the ground.>

<Into the ground? As in through the soil?> Marco asked, bewildered.

<Yep. Another thing, the cave is solid rock. No digging through, and I don’t think the cracks will extend all the way through the rock.>

<Wait a minute. Why are we talking like we’re going to infiltrate the place?> Marco asked.

<Infiltrate? That a pretty big word for you, Marco.> Rachel laughed.

<We’re just considering the possibility.> Jake answered, ignoring Rachel. <So, Tobias, I know you don’t call a meeting every time you find a new way into the Yeerk Pool. What’s so special about this one?>

<That’s just it. I don’t think it’s a way into the Yeerk Pool.>

<Then what is it?>

<Either a new Yeerk Pool that we don’t know about, the Kandrona, or some other secret Yeerk project. Of course, it could still be another way into the Yeerk Pool, but that would mean the Yeerk Pool has at least quadrupled in size.>

<I do not believe it is where the Kandrona is stored, Prince Jake. The elevation would make it difficult to beam the Kandrona rays.>

<Then what is it?> Cassie wondered.

<There’s only one way to find out.> Rachel sounded happy. <We’re going in.>

<How?> Marco asked. <There’s no way in.>

<Can’t we dig underground as moles?> Rachel asked.

<I doubt it.> Tobias told her. <We don’t know how far the force field extends in to ground.>

<You mean there’s no way in?> Jake asked.

<There is one way, Prince Jake.> Ax spoke up. <The Gleet Bio Filter works with DNA. When we morph, we alter our DNA.>

<Are you saying we morph Controllers?> I asked.

<We can’t do that!> Cassie said. <We can’t just borrow their bodies without their permission.>

<Permission? Like a Yeerk is going to let you acquire him?> Marco asked sarcastically.

<Besides,> Tobias added. <There probably not going to let just any Controller in, only the high-ranking ones. How would we know which Controllers to acquire and how are we going to acquire seven high-ranking Controllers without them knowing?>

Something clicked inside my mind. <Why do we have to morph Controllers?>

<Cause there’s no other way inside. Duh.> Marco, who else?

<No, I mean, if the Bio Filter thing only lets the host in because his DNA matches, how do the Yeerks get in?>

<Huh?>

<Doesn’t the Yeerk have a different DNA than its host?> I asked.

<Yes.> Ax answered.

<So, do they scan the Yeerk DNA in too?>

Everyone looked at Ax.

<No, that would be pointless. They would just program the Gleet Bio Filter to ignore any Yeerk DNA.>

<There you go. That’s your way in.>

<WHAT?!> Marco yelled. <Are you out of your mind? You want to morph a Yeerk?>

<I didn’t say I wanted to morph a Yeerk.> I said defensively.

<You know,> Jake said thoughtfully, <she might have a point.>

<What!?> Marco yelled. <Are you nuts, Jake? Remember the last time we did that morph?>

<Look, Marco, we are the only ones standing between the Yeerks and Earth. What’s inside that cave may be key to the invasion. It’s our duty to find out what it is.>

<You guys never told me you morphed Yeerks.> I exclaimed.

<Yeah, well, it wasn’t the most wonderful experience of our lives.> Jake said grumpily.

. <Jake, the last time we used that morph was because our lives were at stake. As evil as they are, Yeerks are still a sentient species.> Cassie pointed out.

<Yeah, well, so are we, and they're trying to wipe us out.> Rachel snapped.

<Besides,> Cassie continued. <Kay doesn’t have a Yeerk morph.>

<She’s right, Jake. If we do this, Kay needs to acquire a Yeerk.> Tobias said.

<Or she could just sit out?> Jake suggested.

<No way!> I cried. <I am not missing my first mission.>

<If we do it.> Jake stressed.

<Prince Jake,> Ax interrupted, <We have used up fifty percent of out morph time.>

<Tobias, how long will it take for us to fly to Cassie’s barn?> Jake asked.

<Half-hour, maybe.>

<Then let’s go.>

With that, we took off.

One the way back, we stopped to pick up my bag, which, in all the excitement, had be left behind in the clearing. Luckily, no Controller had stumbled upon it.

When we arrived at Cassie’s barn, we all demorphed with the exception of Tobias. Ax morphed human.

"So, what are we going to do?" I asked.

"Well, we vote on whether or not to morph Yeerks and sneak into this cave." Jake looked around.

"Let’s do it." Rachel grinned.

"I second that motion." I grinned back.

Marco shrugged. "How can I argue with two beautiful women?"

Rachel punched him in the shoulder and everyone laughed. The tension was gone for the moment.

Jake coughed to get our attention. "Back to business?"

<Morphing Yeerks again is definitely gross, but who else is going to do all the dirty work? What do you think, Ax?>

"I follow Prince Jake."

"I’m not even going to bother." Jake muttered.

"Well, ‘Prince Jake’?" I teased.

Jake cracked a smile. "In the spirit of, as Marco calls it, doing stupid things that always ends up getting us almost killed; let’s do it."

Everyone laughed except for Cassie.

"Cassie?" I asked.

"I’ll do it, but I don’t have to like it."

"And now," Marco said in an announcer’s voice, "the question for the grand prize! Where do you find a Yeerk for Kay to acquire?"

There was silence for a few minutes.

"I know one thing," Rachel declared, "we are not going down into the Yeerk Pool again."

Jake shook his head. "She doesn’t even need to acquire a Yeerk. People are going to notice if a bunch of slugs slither in. We need to go in hidden on a Controller."

I caught on. "Are you saying I morph a Controller?"

Marco snapped his fingers. "That’s brilliant! And I know the perfect candidate."

"Who?" I asked.

"Chapman."

<And what do we do with the real Chapman. We can’t have two running around.>

"How’s this: We grab Chapman, Kay acquires him, and we leave him tied up. By the time the Yeerks notice that he’s missing, we would have already sneaked in and gotten out."

"How are we going to get Chapman?" I asked.

"Simple. We call in a friend of ours named Erek King."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "That’s so insane it might work."

"I still have that phone number Erek gave us." Marco suggested. "I’ll give him a call."

"Great, so what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" I asked.

"Weeeellllllll. I was thinking of finishing a certain project." Marco said pointly.

"Lighten up!" Jake punched him in the arm.

Marco looked horrified. "Oh, man! That’s what I’m supposed to be saying to you. First I care about homework, then Jake stops being serious. What’s the world coming to?

"Actually, there is something I want to bring up." Jake got serious. "The Sharing is having a big party for the fireworks festival tonight. They’re trying to attract new members. What do you say we crash the party."

"Let’s do it!" Rachel and I said at the same time.

Marco buried his face in his hands.

"Wait." I said. "What fireworks festival?"

"Every year there’s a fireworks display at the beach." Cassie explained.

"Hey, I love fireworks. Why don’t we go and see it after we mess up the Sharing thing." I suggested.

"Why not?" Jake grinned. "We need a break. Anything else?" He asked.

"Well," Cassie said, "if we’re going to cause a commotion, Kay needs a power morph."

"Or in case Xena decides to start some trouble." Marco laughed.

"So we go to the Gardens?" Rachel asked.

"We go to the Gardens." Jake affirmed.

We actually decided to fly there. Hey, we’re kids. We can’t afford those high amusement park admission prices.

Of course, to blend in, I had to acquire and morph a seagull. Cassie conveniently had one at her barn.

Let me tell you something: That seagull brain loves garbage. I almost ate a banana peel on the way to the Gardens.

There was only one bad part about the trip: We didn’t have shoes.

I looked around. "Where first?"

Cassie thought for a moment. "Well, we are really close to the dolphins. We probably won’t need them this time, but we might need them later. Might as well get it now and save a trip."

I nodded. "Dolphins it is."

Acquiring the dolphin was easy. I just patted it and no one noticed.

"Did we tell you about the time Tobias acquired his dolphin?" Marco asked.

<Shut up, Marco. You’re not wearing a hat; so if I were you, I’d be careful what I say.>

I looked up. Tobias was circling overhead.

"Now for the power morph." Jake was saying.

"Cassie," I said, "can I get a panther?"

She frowned thoughtfully. "Panther? Um, we’ll have to go inside and hope one is sleeping."

She led us to a doorway and we slipped inside without anyone noticing.

The walkways were an ugly beige color. Kinda humid.

We walked for awhile, until Cassie stopped at a door, looked around suspiciously, and slowly opened it.

I peered inside. It was a small room, nothing much in it, except for the big Black Panther sprawled on the floor.

"Good," Cassie murmured, "He’s asleep." She looked at me. "Go ahead."

I walked slowly up and place my hand on his flank. It rose up and down with each breath. My heart was pounding. I closed my eyes and focused. And the panther became a part of me.

"Come on. Hurry, before someone sees us."

We left.

We slipped out of the building obtrusively.

I grinned. "That wasn’t so hard."

"Yeah, well security didn’t chase you into a tiger habitat." Marco grumbled.

I ignored him. "What now?"

Jake shrugged. "We meet tonight at eight-thirty at Cassie’s. We fly over to the beach. Do our power morphs. Scare some Controllers, and leave. Then we watch a fireworks display."

"Wow. We actually have a plan." Marco smirked. "Usually we just go in and get our butts kicked."

I looked at my watch. "Oh, man! I told my mom I’d be home in time for dinner. Gotta go, bye!"

I poked my head into the barn and saw the group waiting.

"I’m I late?"

"No. We’re still waiting for Marco. He probably chickened out." Rachel rolled her eyes.

Marco walked in. "I heard that! The reason I was late is, I called Erek."

"And?"

"They can’t exactly grab Chapman for us, ‘cause that’s against their programming. But, he did get Chapman’s schedule so we can grab him. We’re meeting him at his house tomorrow at 11:00."

"Okay."

"Hey, where’s Jake and Cassie?" I asked, confused.

<They drove there to find us a spot on the beach. We’re going to meet them there.> Tobias explained

"Now that we’re all here," Rachel gave Marco a look, "let’s morph."

We all started to morph. This time, I remembered to wear tight clothing, or my ‘morphing outfit’.

My first sensation was shrinking. But it seemed more like everything around me was growing. I was about three feet tall when the feathers popped out of my skin. My mouth bulged out and became a beak. My toes merged and split into talons. My hair sucked up into my head like spaghetti. And all the while, I was still shrinking. Finally, my eyesight sharpened to that of a hawk’s. My glasses clattered to the barn floor and I picked them up in my talons. <I really hope I don’t drop these.>

I could feel the hawk instincts, but I had done this morph before, and I could handle them.

<What I’m I going to do with my shoes?> I asked.

<Leave them here.> Rachel said. <You can pick them up later. We don’t really this time.>

Tobias flapped his wings. <Everyone done? Then let’s move.>

We all flew out of the barn.

It was a warm night, and warm thermals billowed the air. It was only dusk, so there was still light out.

We flew to the beach. There were already people who had staked out spots to watch the show. Many were play beach volleyball, having a late swim, or throwing a Frisbee around.

The Sharing party was well underway. Perfect time to crash it.

Tobias was the first to spot Jake and Cassie. <There they are!>

We swooped down and landed on the sandy beach ground.

"Hey, guys" Jake looked quickly around. "All right. It’s safe to morph."

We all demorphed, and after taking a short break, began to remorph into our power morphs.

I morphed the Black Panther I had acquired earlier in the day. Luxurious black fur covered my skin. My ears slid up my head as my mouth filled with sharp teeth. My spine stretched to accommodate a tail. Unable to balance, I fell forward on to my hands that were quickly becoming paws. My eyesight sharpened. Black Panthers hunt at night, so their sight is excellent. I could see every detail as if it were noon. My hearing was also sensitive, as was my sense of smell.

As the panther’s mind arose within my own, I knew that the morph was complete. It was a predator, a hunter. But it was calm, unafraid. That is, until it noticed Jake.

See, Jake has a tiger morph, which was what he was in. Big cats generally avoid other big cats. Jake’s morph was bigger and stronger, but as long as he didn’t bother me, I didn’t bother him.

Jake cocked his head. <Let’s move.>

We ran towards the Sharing party, using the trees beside the beach as cover. Within minutes we were there.

"RRROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!" That was Jake.

I roared as well, and ran towards some Controller. They were holding beers and smoking.

<Didn’t you know smoking can kill you?>

The Controllers screamed and fled. There was a lot of screaming going on.

TSSWWEEEE!!!!

Someone was firing Dracon beams. Time to get out.

TSSWWEEEE!!!!

TSSWWEEEE!!!!

TSSWWEEEE!!!!

I ran for the cover of trees.

TSSWWEEEE!!!!

I felt a searing pain in my back. All I could see were stars. Red and black. Soon the black enveloped the red. I didn’t even feel my body hit the ground.

I was running, running through the woods. I was hunting someone, something. Or maybe both. I was a Black Panther, a predator of the night. As I stalked through the trees, ears strained to hear every sound. My eyes caught every movement. But it was my nose that smelt it first. My prey was right in front of me. My claws dug into the bark as I climb a tree. I would attack from above. My back hunched, my ears flattened, I coiled my muscles and prepared to leap. I sprang towards the ground with a roar. My prey turned her head to face me. I saw her face. It was...

<Kay! Wake up!>

The world of trees began to swirl.

"Kay! Morph out!" A voice ordered. "You are losing too much blood. Morph out!"

Kay? Who was Kay? Me. Memememe.

"Come on girl, back to human!"

But the blackness was so comforting. And there was a light. A bright white light. I wanted to go to it, so I did. Slowly, the light came closer and closer. I was almost there…

<Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!> I screamed. An unimaginable pain had just shot through my leg.

I opened my eyes. I snapped back to reality. The trees, the hunt, they were a dream, just a dream. I look around. We were back at the beach spot Jake and Cassie had picked out. Everyone else had demorphed, and Ax and Tobias were in their human morphs.

"Sorry, Kay." Cassie whispered. "I had to do something to wake you up."

<So you just yanked on my broken leg?> I grumbled.

"Well, if you don’t demorph, you’re dead meat." Marco pointed out.

<In that case, thanks.>

I demorphed as fast as I could.

"Did we do it?" I asked as soon as I had a human mouth.

"Why am I not surprised?" Asked Marco sarcastically.

"We did it." Rachel answered. "But that was way to close."

"You’re okay?" Jake asked.

I nodded.

"All right, let’s go home." Jake said.

"What?" I asked, frowning. "Why?"

"You almost got killed there. You need to rest."

"Come on Jake. We can’t go." I argued. "One, if we go home, our parents will think it’s weird. We said we were going to watch the fireworks show. Two, with the Sharing mess, someone might put two and two together if we do something unusual. Three, I’m fine. I just had a little scare, no problem."

Tobias shrugged. "She’s got a point."

Jake sighed. "Fine, let’s just try and relax."

"Fine by me." I plopped down on the blanket that had previously been spread out on the sand. "So when do the fireworks start?"

"Ten." Cassie answered.

I bolted up. "Ten!?" It only, what, nine?"

"Nine twenty-seven." Ax answered without looking at a watch. Andalites have this natural sense of time and direction.

"Great! What are we going to do until then?" I whined.

"Was that sarcasm? Casum, asum, um." Ax asked.

"Yes, that was sarcasm." I rolled my eyes. Ax has this thing with sounds. See, Andalites don’t have mouths, so every time he’s in human morph, Ax plays with sounds. It’s soooo annoying, but it bugs Marco more than me.

"We could go swimming." Rachel suggested.

Marco looked at her with horror. "Are you INSANE? Swimming, at this time? That’s nuttier than going to the arctic in spandex!"

"Well," Rachel grinned, "we went to the arctic, so now, let’s go swimming."

"I can’t swim." Marco grumped.

Jake frowned. "I thought you took lessons."

"I did. But I’m not good at it."

"So? It’s not deep."

Eventually we convinced Marco to get in the water. It wasn’t that cold. We just splashed around until it got too dark to see anything, and then laid out on the sand to dry off.

I grinned as the fireworks started. "It’s wonderful."

They went on for five minutes, then there was a pause as a new team set up.

Jake squeezed Cassie’s hand. "You want to take a walk?"

Cassie smiled and nodded. "Sure."

I refrained from making a comment. The moment was too sweet to break. I guess Marco felt the same way, because he didn’t tease them.

The two walked down the beach strip and were soon out of sight.

The fireworks started up again. There was one I particularly liked. It was a flag. I don’t know what country, but it almost looked like it was waving in the air.

"Tobias, you want to stroll down the beach?" Rachel asked.

I heard Marco snicker.

Tobias stood up and pulled Rachel to her feet. "Let’s go."

They slipped away, hand in hand.

"I wonder what Xena and Bird-Boy are going to do once they’re out of sight." Marco said quietly, so that Rachel wouldn’t hear him.

"You have one dirty mind."

"Tell me you weren’t thinking that too."

"I take the Fifth Amendment." I chuckled.

"Just don’t tell Rachel. She’d rip out my stomach."

"Like she’d be kinder on me. Speaking of stomach. My’s growling."

Marco nodded in agreement. "I’m hungry too. Battling evil parasites does that to your metabolism. Hey, Ax. Want some food?" Marco clapped his hand over his mouth a second after the words were out. "What have I done?" He moaned.

Ax grinned like a kid. "There’s food?"

I nodded. "Burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and pop."

Marco looked at me critically. "You say pop?"

I gave him the Skunk Eye. "And what is wrong with that?"

Marco held up his hands in mock surrender. "Ahhh! Gabrielle is mad at me! Have mercy." Marco stopped smirking. "Seriously, I just haven’t heard anyone say that around here."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. And there’s soda. Happy?"

"Very."

"I would like all of them. Them, em, emmmmmmmm."

"How much money do you have?" I asked Marco.

"Uh, actually, I don’t have money."

I groaned.

"But," Marco triumphantly held up a leather packet, "Jake left his wallet here."

I shrugged. "Okay, so it’s on Jake."

Marco looked disappointed. "And I thought you were one of those pure, innocent types."

I snorted. "Think again. So how much is there?"

Marco quickly counted. "17 bucks!"

I quickly did some math in my head. "Three hot dogs, three sodas, and that still leaves Jake with enough to buy Sports Illustrated."

"Brain." Marco stood up. "I’ll get them. What do you want?"

"Ketchup, sauerkraut, and a Sprite."

Marco nodded. "Ax?"

"Yes?"

I sighed. "Just get him a hot dog with everything and a coke."

"Gotcha." Marco turned at walked in the direction of the food carts.

"You do realize that we have to pay Jake back." I called after him.

"Aw, man!" Was his reply.

I sat back and watched the display. Even with the constant flashes, I could see the stars.

"They’re out there." I whispered.

Ax knew what I meant. "We will stop them."

"Do you really think we can? There’s just the seven of us. Your people aren’t coming. They think this war has already been lost. There’s only so much we can do. I mean, we’re only kids."

"Kids can accomplish amazing things."

"You think we’ll survive?"

"We survived this long."

It was getting depressing, so I changed the subject.

I pointed into the sky. "There. That’s the North Star."

Ax stared up. "We call it Vesta."

"The stars are amazing."

"So are you."

I looked at Ax, confused, unsure what I should answer. "Thanks."

"It is true."

"Why do you say that?"

"I can see it in you. You are a warrior."

"I’m no warrior. I’m just a kid who’s caught in the middle of a galactic war."

"You are everything that makes a true warrior. You are smart, courageous, and most importantly, you have honor."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Not everyone."

"There are a lot of people who would do what we do, given the chance."

"Perhaps."

I rested my head on Ax’s shoulder, still staring at the stars. The fireworks had ceased.

"Know what, Ax? For an alien, you’re a really nice guy." I turned to him and smiled.

"Thank you." Ax smiled back at me.

Then he moved forward. I didn’t know if it was accidental, if he lost his balance, or intentional, but him face ended up a centimeter away from my.

And I leaned forward as well.

That’s when the fireworks started. And I don’t mean in the sky…

Our lips met. For one second that seemed like an eternity, we kissed.

Then I jumped back. "Oh God." I stared at Ax. What had we done?

Ax had the same look on his face. He was so shocked he was speechless: A formidable feat.

I gulped. "Ax, tell me we didn’t kiss."

Ax pause for a very long time. "We didn’t kiss."

I was shaking. "Don’t tell anyone about this."

Ax simply nodded. He understood the implications of what had just happened.

See, the first time was okay. It was a cover. Besides, one kiss is excusable. But a second? No way. A second meant something.

I jumped up and ran out of there, nearly colliding with Marco, armed with hot dogs and drinks.

I took a few deep breaths. "Marco! I was…I was…just coming to help you with the food." I smiled brightly. It was sooooo fake.

Marco passed a can and bun to me. "There’s yours."

We walked back silently, myself lagging behind Marco.

Cassie and Jake were already there, waiting.

Jake was holding his wallet. The moment he saw Marco, he’s eyes narrowed. "Someone’s be raiding my wallet. Marco?"

Marco grinned sheepishly.

"We’ll pay you back." I told Jake. "In fact, you can have my hot dog. I’m not that hungry."

Jake was mollified by the food. "You still have to pay me back." He warned.

I shrugged. "Whatever."

At that point, Rachel and Tobias made their entrance; holding hands.

Marco winked at me. "So how far did you and Bird-Boy go? Don’t tell me he hit a home run."

Tobias turned beet-red. Rachel simply glared. If looks could kill, Marco would have been dead ten times over.

I stifled my laughter. Hoping Rachel would not notice my heaving sides. That girl could inflict some serious damage if she was infuriated.

We all just sat there, watching the fireworks and eating. It was amazingly normal.

I hadn’t been an Animorph for long, but I could see what it had done to them, to me. There are those who would beg to fight with us. But I know, it’s not something you should wish for. For all the glory and thrill, there is ten times more pain. Pain and sacrifice and loss. My friends gave their childhood. I ended up giving my life.

I was running, running through the woods. I was hunting someone, something. Or maybe both. I was a Black Panther, a predator of the night. As I stalked through the trees, ears strained to hear every sound. My eyes caught every movement. But it was my nose that smelt it first. My prey was right in front of me. My claws dug into the bark as I climb a tree. I would attack from above. My back hunched, my ears flattened, I coiled my muscles and prepared to leap. I sprang towards the ground with a roar. My prey turned her head to face me. I saw her face. It was Rachel. But a different one than the one I knew. She was a Controller.

"Well, well, well, Kay. You lost." She smirked.

Yet, as I heard her voice, I could also hear the real Rachel. The one stuck in a small corner of her mind. "Kay! Why didn’t you stop them?"

I looked at her with horror. "Rachel, I never wanted it to be this way."

The voice of the real Rachel was getting louder. "How can you say that? You let us down!"

Then Jake appeared. "You could have stopped them!"

"I did everything I could!" I whispered.

"Well, it wasn’t enough." I turned to see Marco.

"Why didn’t you save us." Cassie looked at me with sad eyes.

<How can you call yourself an Animorph?> Tobias hissed.

<Your the reason the Yeerks won.> Ax glared at me.

They were all standing in a circle around me.

"It’s your fault!" Rachel cried. "It’s your fault we lost!"

"Yeah!" Jake agreed. "It’s your fault I’m a Controller."

"It’s your fault I’m dead."

"I’m sorry!" I screamed through tears.

"It’s all your fault!"

"All your fault!"

"All your fault!"

"All your fault!"

There were more people appearing. People I knew, people I didn’t. They were all chanting the same words.

"All your fault!"

"Noooooooo!!!!!!!"

Ax’s thought-speech penetrated the pounding sounds. <You failed, Kay.>

I bolted up in bed, dripping with sweat. I buried my face in my hands.

"A dream, a dream. It’s just a dream." I repeated it to myself.

It was just a dream, but a very real one.

Some people say dreams mean things. This one meant something alright. I was afraid. Afraid of losing this war. Afraid of letting everyone down. Afraid of failing. I’ve never failed in my life. Not really failed. And the future of my race was in my hands. That scared me too.

I tried to fall asleep again, but I couldn’t. After I got over that terrifying dream, I kept thinking about that night. About Ax.

Could it have been an accident? Something meaningless?

Or did I really like Ax?

The second possibility bothered me because it was a possibility.

After tossing and turning for three hours, I decided to get out of there. Just get out of there.

I slipped out of bed and put on a pair of bike shorts and a tight T-shirt. I lifted the window and felt the cool breeze wash over my skin.

Two minutes later, a sharp-shinned hawk flew into the night.

I flew around aimlessly for a while, until I realized I had been in morph for over an hour. I looked around for a place to land and demorph, when I noticed I was over the forest. To be exact, near Tobias’s territory; where Ax lived.

I spotted Ax immediately. He was trotting restlessly in a circle.

He must have seen me because he called my name. <Kay?>

<Hey Ax.> I was low on morph time, so I flew down and demorphed.

"I, uh, couldn’t sleep." I said as soon I was completely human.

<I could not either.>

I fidgeted, not knowing what to say. "About tonight..."

<I was thinking...> Ax said at the same time.

"You first."

<What happened could have been accidental.>

"I know, but I’m worried it might not have been."

<How do we know for sure?>

"There is no way. I mean, normally, people would go out to sort of test it, but, we’re not normal."

<In an experiment, if you get unexpected results, you repeat the experiment to test it.>

"Are you suggesting we..."

<Will it tell us?>

"Yes, but, you and me..."

<Do you want to know?>

I paused. "You’re right. What do we have to lose?"

<I will morph human.>

I shifted nervously from foot to foot as Ax morphed.

"Let’s just do this and get it over with." I said when he finished.

Ax and I stood very close, in front of each other. The tension in the air crackled.

Ax leaned forward and kissed me, and I kissed him back.

There were no mixed feelings this time. I liked it. I liked it a lot. And I wanted more. But I knew it was wrong, so I pulled back.

There was a long silence as Ax and I stared at each other. I could not read the look in his eyes.

"So...did you...did you...like it?" I whispered. I wasn’t sure what I wanted his answer to be.

There was a long pause. "I...No. I didn’t feel anything."

My throat tightened. I didn’t know if I should tell the truth. He’s already said no. Saying yes will just complicate things. "Me neither." I lied. The tension evaporated away. I drew a deep breath of relief.

Ax simply nodded.

I started giggling, and soon, Ax was laughing as well.

"Why are we laughing?" He asked.

"We made this big deal out of nothing. We were so tense. And now, everything’s okay again." There really wasn’t anything funny about the situation, but laughing helped.

I went home and fell asleep. I only got about an hour’s nap when there was a tap at my window. It was Tobias.

I was still wearing my morphing outfit and basically decent, so I let Tobias in.

"Shouldn’t you be knocking on Rachel’s window?" I yawned.

<I needed to talk to you.>

"‘Bout what?"

<I saw you this morning.>

"You did?"

<I saw you and Ax.>

"What you saw...it...it’s not what you think!"

<You and Ax were kissing! What was I supposed to think?>

"Look. Nothing happened. There’s nothing between Ax and me. It was just…just an accident."

<Kay, I talked to Ax.>

"What?"

<Why did you lie to him?>

"What are you talking about?"

<I saw the look on your face when his kissed you. You liked it. You like him."

"Fine." I yelled. "I lied. Okay? I lied. Is that what you want to here?"

<Why?>

I sighed. "I didn’t want to complicate things."

<What do you mean?>

"Tobias. He’s an Andalite. I’m human. We’re different species. It doesn’t matter whether I like him or not. There is no way anything can come of it."

<So? I’m a bird, and Rachel’s human.>

"You were human to begin with. You can still become human."

<Ax can morph too.>

"Tobias! Think about it! Andalite and human?"

<What about my parents?>

"Your par...Oh."

<It worked out for them.>

"And you really think he’d do what Elfangor did just to be with me?"

<Maybe not. But you do need to tell him the truth.>

"What does it matter?"

<Kay, Ax likes you.>

"He does not."

<He told me so.>

"Then why did he tell me that kiss meant nothing?"

<You said it yourself. Too many complications. You think he want to admit that he liked a human?>

"Look, Tobias. It’s not going to work out either way. Let’s just forget it ever happened. Get on with our lives."

<Fine. I won’t tell anyone. But think about what I said.> With that, Tobias flew out the window and left me to my own thoughts.

I called up Rachel and she gave me directions to Erek’s house, where I would rendezvous with them.

I rode my bike since Rachel’s directions were for the ground and not the sky. When I got there, everyone else was waiting.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late."

"It’s not a big deal." Jake indicated with his head a door. "Erek’s inside."

Erek was, of course, an android. A gleaming metal humanoid with canine features.

"Hello, Animorphs. I see you have new member."

I held out my hand. "I’m Kay."

He shook it. "Right now, I go by Erek."

Erek’s ‘father’, another Chee, come over and handed Jake a small, pistol-like object. "It’s a sedative. Chapman will be asleep for five hours."

"Thanks." Jake nodded.

"Right now, Chapman’s headed for the cave. We don’t know what’s in there. Only the most important Yeerks know. He should be about a third of the way there by now."

"Thanks, Erek" Marco said.

"Let’s-" Rachel grinned as she said her trademark phrase.

"-do it!" I joined in on the last two words.

Marco shook his head. "Why am I not surprised."

We morphed birds flew for the forest.

We spotted Chapman hiking through the trees.

"Okay. Tobias will stay up here and keep a lookout. The rest of us will fly down and demorph. Ax will inject the serum into Chapman, hopefully without him seeing. Kay will and acquire Chapman as soon as he’s down. Marco, Ax, and I will get Chapman’s clothes. Then, we all morph wolves." Jake dished out the orders. "Got it?"

<Yes, Sir!> Marco said in his best military voice.

<Yes, Prince Jake.>

<Don’t call me Prince.>

<Yes, Prince Jake.>

I swear Jake rolled his bird eyes.

Rachel did a little roll in the air. <Let’s do it!>

Jake and Cassie Ax, Marco and Rachel dove down into the trees. I trimmed my feathers and followed. I could see Chapman clearly.

THUMP! Chapman fell to the forest floor.

I landed and demorphed.

"Ready to acquire your principal?" Marco teased.

I chuckled. "Who’d thought I’d ever be a teacher?"

I touched Chapman’s arm and focused on his DNA. Soon as I was done acquiring him, I morphed wolf.

Rachel picked up Chapman’s briefcase. She and I turned away while Jake, Marco and Ax got Chapman’s clothes. Yes, his clothes. I wasn’t going to show up at a Yeerk base wearing spandex, right?

We traveled until we were only a few minutes away from the cave. Then we stopped to demorph. I focused and an image of Chapman.

Morphing Chapman was weird. Not as weird as morphing Ax, but weird all the same. For one thing, how many girls get to know what it’s like to be a guy? There weren’t that many changes. I got taller, and inherited a potbelly. Also, my hair thinned greatly. Very small changes. Of course, there were certain masculine features that came with the morph. That was rather unpleasant.

I put on his gray colored suit. Then I held up the tie. "What do I do with this?"

Marco raised an eyebrow. "You’re asking me?"

Rachel came over. "Here. I know how to put it on."

While Rachel worked, Marco circled me critically. "I keep on getting the feeling you’re going to give me detention."

I chuckled.

Rachel took a step back looked carefully at the tie. "Perfect. Let’s morph."

"Oh joy." Marco commented.

Rachel threw him a look. "Don’t be a such a baby."

"I don’t see you jumping for joy." Marco retorted.

"It is kind of hard to get excited about morphing your worst enemy." Rachel admitted.

"Guys." Jake interrupted. "Morph."

Marco rubbed his hands together. "Right, oh Fearless Leader." With that, Marco began to morph.

It was defiantly the most disgusting thing I have ever witnesses. He melted, literally. Well, that’s what it looked like.

His skin got paler, sort of translucent. It began to cover with wet slime. Marco made a face. Then he didn’t have a face anymore. It was like wax being slowly heated. His features melded into his body. He started shrinking, and then his legs melded together. Unable to balance, Marco fell over. He was only a foot tall at the time. Marco’s arms sucked into his body, and soon, he was a small slug on the forest floor.

I resisted the urge to throw up. I looked around. Everyone else had morphed, or was almost done.

Ax, who had been standing beside me, was completely morphed. I bent over to pick him up and put him in the suitcase. But I slipped on some wet grass. I slipped and fell, missing Ax by mere inches.

I didn’t realize it then, but Ax was right by my ear.

And Ax was a Yeerk.

A spear of pain shot through my head as Ax slithered in.

I was in morph, so I could use thought-speak. <Ax! Ax, get control! GET CONTROL!> I screamed.

No answer.

This was bad. This was very bad.

<Jake! Cassie! Guys! Help!> Ax wasn’t in control. Not yet.

<What’s wrong Kay?> Rachel asked.

<Ax is in my head. He doesn’t have control. Do something!>

<Oh, shit.> Jake muttered.

I tried to send a thought-speak message, but couldn’t. Ax was gaining control.

<Ax?> I tried talking to him inside my own head.

<Wh-what?>

<Ax! The Yeerk’s instincts have you. Get control of them!>

<Kay?>

<Duh!>

<Where am I?>

<You’re in my head!>

<What!?>

<Just give me control.>

Immediately, I was able to sit up. "That was so not funny." I muttered.

<Kay? You okay?>

<Fine, Jake. Ax’s back in control.>

<Good. Ax, get out.>

<No, it okay.> I interrupted. <It might be better this way.>

<How?>

<Well, whatever is in that cave, we probably want to destroy it. I don’t know how to mess up alien technology, but Ax does. This way, he can see what’s in there and tell me what to do.>

<As long as you’re okay with it, Kay.>

<No prob.>

<I’m very sorry, Kay.> Ax was obviously embarrassed.

<Don’t worry about if. Just don’t read my memories.>

<Of course I wouldn’t> Ax sounded insulted at such a suggestion.

<Ax, one word. Joke.>

<Oh. That was a joke?>

I picked up a Yeerk on the floor.

<I’m putting you in the briefcase.>

<Okay.> Rachel replied.

After everyone was in the briefcase, I snapped it shut.

"This was suppose to be the easy part." I muttered.

It took only ten minutes to walk to the cave.

<This better work.> I walked boldly up to the seemingly solid rock wall. I pressed my hand against the surface where I had seen Chapman press before.

A white illuminated pad appeared on the rock surface.

I pressed the palm of my hand against it and it scanned my DNA.

The wall disappeared and revealed the cave.

<All right, guys. We’re going in.> I took a deep breath and walked through the mouth of the cave. When no alarm sounded, I let go the breath I was holding.

<We are inside, Prince Jake.> Ax announced.

A Taxxon slithered up to me. "Stweeeeeeeee."

<What the hell did he say?> I asked Ax.

<He said, ‘Welcome’.>

I gave a brisk nod.

A teenage guy walked over. "Iniss two-two-six. The project is coming along well. It will be completed in two weeks."

I thought fast. "I want to see it."

"Right this way." The Controller turned and walked towards the back of the cave.

As I followed him, I noticed that there were only a few Hork-Bajirs and Taxxons here.

The Controller gestured to a metal machine. "As you can see, we are almost completed.

<What is that thing?> I asked Ax.

<It’s looks like a Flarbrack machine.> Ax answered, surprised.

<A what?>

<It’s complicated.> We moved closer and Ax took control. He pressed a few buttons. <No…it can’t be.>

<What is it?>

<We better leave.>

<Should we attack?> Rachel asked.

<No, there might be a better way to stop them.> Ax sounded hesitant.

<Then let’s get out of here.>

I nodded to the Controller. "Good. Keep working."

With that, we left the same way we came.

After we had gotten some distance away, we demorphed.

"One word." Marco grimaced. "Yuck."

"For once I agree with Marco." Rachel said. "I never even want to think about that morph again."

"Ditto." Cassie looked a little queasy.

"So what did you see?" Jake asked.

<A Flarbrack machine.>

"Translation: Silver metal machine with lots of buttons." I added.

"So what will the Yeerks do with this Flarbrack thing?" Rachel asked impatiently.

<I’m not sure.>

Marco threw up his hands. "Great! We morph Yeerks, risk our lives to see some stupid machine, and now the resident alien doesn’t even know what it is."

<Is that sarcasm?> Ax asked.

"Yes, it’s sarcasm."

<I do know what it is.> Ax pointed out. <I don’t exactly know what the Yeerks will do with it.>

Jake frowned. "Huh?"

<The Flarbrack machine is an Andalite invention, however, it has never been built.>

"Why not?"

<It’s based on the theory of the existence of a certain atom. It was commonly referred to by scientists as the Bakar atom. The existence of the atom has never been proven, until now.>

"By the Yeerks."

Ax nodded. <I don’t know how they found the atom, or managed to contain and stabilize it.>

"Is this thing dangerous?" Jake asked.

<Well, everything I know is theoretical. The Flarbrack machine, when used with the atom, affects cells, both on the atomic and sub-atomic level. It could be used as a very dangerous weapon.>

"How?" I asked.

<Well, to understand that, you must first understand the atom and the Flarbrack machine. Most atoms are made of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by electrons. This atom is made of electrons and protons held together by their attractive force. No neutrons.>

"What?" I asked in bewilderment. "That’s impossible!"

<That’s what I thought, until now.>

"So what does it do?" Rachel asked impatiently.

<The atom itself, when heated, attracts stray particles of matter converts them into energy. The Flarbrack machine directs this energy and controls the reaction.>

"Skip the techno talk. Who so dangerous about it?" Marco asked.

<The energy, on the sub-atomic level, works somewhat like a quantum virus. It can break the strong force that holds the particles together.>

"My God" I whispered. "Whatever it’s used on would literally disintegrate. If it was alive..." I didn’t need to finish the sentence. The meaning was clear.

<Exactly.> Ax nodded.

Jake let out a low whistle. "Now I see why you say this thing is dangerous. Are they planning to use it against us?"

<No. Yeerks want hosts. They won’t use a Flarbrack machine to kill. They have another way to use it. When the energy released by a Bakar atom is at a lower strength, it can also affect molecules. It can reduce their kinetic energy to a point that they would stop moving.>

"In English please." Marco said.

<It would freeze them.>

"Freeze them?" Rachel asked. "If cells stop working, wouldn’t the person die?"

<Not in this case. It would seem like it person was in bio-stasis.>

Marco caught on. "And the person wouldn’t be able to resist the Yeerks."

<The majority of humans would be infested within weeks.>

"Oh, man." Marco shook his head. "We gotta stop them."

"Wait a minute." I interrupted. "Why are they keeping it here and not the Blade Ship, or the Mothership? What’s so special about that cave?"

"I don’t know, but I’ll find out." Rachel promised.

"So, how do they focus the energy?" Jake asked. "Is it like a Dracon beam?"

<No. The energy affects everything within a radius of up to approximately one light year from the machine.>

"Wait a minute." Rachel frowned. "Why doesn’t this thing affect Yeerks."

"The Yeerks programmed it to affect only cells with human DNA."

"Program?" I asked. "Does that mean we can reprogram it?"

<It’s a distinct possibility.>

"How?" Rachel asked.

<At this moment, it is targeted for human DNA. We can reprogram it to target Yeerk DNA.>

"What would that do?" Cassie asked.

I already understood. "It means we can kill every Yeerk on the planet."

<And in orbit.> Ax added.

"Can you do that Ax?" Jake asked.

"Jake!" Cassie cried, horrified. "That’s genocide."

Marco glared at her. "This is no time for morals."

"I agree with Marco." Rachel spoke up. "This is war. We do what we have to do."

<We made a mistake on the Hork-Bajir world when we released the Quantum Virus.> Ax pointed out.

<I agree.> Tobias said. <We don’t want to do that here.>

"But this is the opportunity of a lifetime." I argued. "If we let this pass by, we may never get another chance to save Earth. Think about it. We are alone. There’s no help coming. Don’t tell me you honestly think the seven of us can stop the Yeerks just by morphing? This is our chance to end this war once and for all."

Three against. Three for. Jake was the deciding vote.

There was a long silence. "Can we freeze them?" Jake finally asked.

"What?"

"You said it could put the person in bio-stasis. Can we do that to the Yeerks?"

<Yes. It would render them incapable. And free the hosts.>

"Then let’s do that. We aren’t killing them, but we are ending this war."

Jake had found the perfect solution. I smiled. That was why he was the leader.

"What’s your plan?" I asked.

"We sneak in again, Ax does his thing while the rest of us cause a distraction."

<It may work. Depending on how far human technology has advanced.>

"What do you need?" Jake asked.

<The computer system is heavily protected by passwords. I would need to integrate Andalite computer chips into a human system. With that, I should be able to override the Yeerks commands and gain control.>

"Andalite computer chips?" Rachel frowned. "We don’t exactly have any of those."

<Yes we do. There is one in each Escafil Device.>

I grinned. "Now for the computer."

Jake turned to Rachel. She does know the mall by heart. "Well?"

Rachel frowned thoughtfully. "Probably Circuit City. They have the biggest store."

Jake nodded "Circuit City it is. How’s tomorrow after school?"

Marco shook his head. "As a result of my extracurricular, or maybe I should say extraterrestrial activities, I have to get remedial help from my math teacher."

"If you’re having problems, I could tutor you." I offered.

"Brain." Marco muttered.

"I have chores." Cassie shrugged.

"Tobias and I are going to a movie." Rachel quickly glared at Marco before he could comment.

"No prob." Jake said. "This is a shopping trip. We don’t need everyone."

Rachel looked upset at the prospect of missing a shopping trip, but I guess Tobias won out in the end, because she didn’t say anything.

"Kay, we’ll hook up after school, meet up with Ax, and go to the store. Okay?" Jake looked around.

Both Ax and I nodded.

Our ‘meeting’ basically ended and we all went home.

The next day, after my last period chemistry class ended, I caught up with Jake in the hall.

"Let’s go."

We went into the woods behind the, took off our outer clothing, and began to morph.

Within a few minutes, a peregrine falcon and a sharp-shinned hawk flew into the sky.

<I see him!> I called to Jake.

I swooped down towards the trees. <Ax, up here.>

Ax turned his stalk eyes to me. <Hello, Kay.>

<Ax, follow us.> Jake turned back.

We flew slowly so Ax could keep up. Andalites are fast, but not as fast as birds.

After we landed and demorphed, I turned away while Ax morphed human and Jake helped him put on clothes.

We had to ride the bus to the store. We couldn’t exactly wander around in spandex.

The ride took twenty minutes. We had about an hour to shop.

I looked around for someone who worked here. Finally, I found a guy who knew something about computers.

"We’re looking for the most advance, most powerful computer out there." I told him.

He smirked. "Go to the Pentagon, kid."

"Just tell us what you have."

He shrugged and led us to a set on display. "550 MHz. Win 99, 64-bit. Pentium III. Newest model."

"A-Philip. Do we need an operating system?"

"What is an operating system?"

I pointed to the screen. "That. Windows."

"No."

"How big?"

"Smaller. I must be able to carry it."

I turned back to the guy. "We need a laptop. Latest model."

He pointed to one on display. "Most power and memory you can get in a laptop."

Ax strolled over and started typing.

"Well?" Jake asked.

"Primitive, but it’ll do."

"How much?" I asked the guy.

He frowned. "Kid, you don’t have that kind of money."

"Depends."

He checked the price tag. "$3199"

"Shit." Jake muttered.

I silently agreed. That was a lot of money.

"What if we don’t want programs. Just the hardware."

"I’ll ask the manager."

The manager happened to be a fat slob. "We don’t sell ‘um without programs."

"Could you give us credit?" I asked hopefully.

"Are you even old enough to vote?"

"Um, no."

"Forget it. Get out of here, you kids. This is a business, not a playground." With that, he kicked us out.

"What now?" I asked as we stood outside the store.

"We ride the bus back. Ax needs to demorph." Jake was, as usual, practical.

The bus ride was bumpy, and depressing. Where were we going to get $3,200?

We went to Cassie’s and called Rachel and Marco while Cassie shoved pills down a sick wolf’s throat.

Fifteen minutes later, Rachel, Tobias, and Marco all showed up in bird morph.

When everyone was human, Rachel announced her news.

"I did some digging, and I found out what was so special about that cave."

"What?"

"It’s made of some weird compound. C-something. Anyways, it’s really rare. Some geologist wrote a report on the high levels of gamma radiation in the cave."

I choked. "Gamma radiation?! We went inside a cave full of gamma radiation?"

<That could explain why the Yeerks are keeping it in there. Gamma radiation could help stabilize the atom.>

"Hello, people. Isn’t anyone else worried about radiation?"

"Should we be?" Cassie asked.

"The stuff kills people!"

Rachel shook her head. "The report said something about how this wasn’t as strong as normal gamma rays."

"If you say so."

Then, we discussed the money problem.

"I’ve got twenty bucks I was going to buy my dad a birthday present with." Jake offered. "My bank account is empty."

"I’ve got sixteen in my." Marco added. "I guess I could return that new CD I got."

Rachel blushed. "I’m broke. But I get my allowance tomorrow. That’s fifty bucks."

<I can fly around looking for loose change.> Tobias suggested.

<Why do you humans rely on this useless concept of money?> Ax asked.

No one bothered to explain it to him.

"I’ve saved up eighty." Cassie said.

"I’ve got about $100 in bills and coins stashed in my room. And," I took a deep breath, "I’ve got $3000 in the bank."

Rachel gaped. "Girl, you are rich!"

"It was supposed to be for college." I grumbled.

"That’s enough, right?" Jake asked.

I quickly did the math in my head. "We’re still short about $60 for taxes."

"Is there anyway anyone can get some more money?" Jake pleaded. "Beg for it, borrow it, steal it if you have to." As an afterthought, he added, "That last one was probably too extreme."

"The last few dollars are not the problem. The problem is that my parents will notice if $3000 all of a sudden disappear." I said.

"Does that mean we can’t get at it?" Jake asked worriedly.

"The timing will have to be really tight. We’d have to buy the laptop and stop the Yeerks the same day I take the money out."

Jake looked even more worried. "Can we do that?"

I shrugged. "I take it out first thing in the morning. We buy the laptop at soon as the store opens, which is 9:00. Ax does what he has to do. Then, we have the rest of the day to stop the Yeerks."

"Ax, how long will it take you?"

Ax waved his stalk eyes back and forth in a ‘who knows’ expression.

"Wonderful." Marco muttered. "Just wonderful."