The Spiderweb

My name’s Melanie. And, to get this straight, I’m not a Spice Girl. The next
person who asks me that will end up in traction for a very long time.
You may think that the Spice Girls are taking over the world. Well, you’re wrong.
It’s not the Spice Girls that are the real danger.
It’s the Yeerks. What, you don’t know what Yeerks are? Well, I’ll tell you.
Picture a really disgusting slug. A big disgusting slug. Now imagine
having that slug inside your head, controlling you. You can’t move, breathe, or even blink
unless the Yeerks wants you too. It reads your thoughts. It mocks you. And there isn’t a
thing you can do about it. That slug is your master.
That’s why I’m not going to tell you aything about myself, anything that can help
the Yeerks find me. I’m not even going to promise you that Melanie is my first name.
I can say my other name, though. Ajia-Heroni-Shirian. Where they got
Melanie from, I’ll never know.
This is not a human name; however, this makes perfect sense. I’m not human; I’m
an ethyan, and my name is an Andalite name. An ethyan is a cross
between a human and an Andalite. I’m the only one.
I look human. I often act human. But I’m not. Even a Yeerk would figure it out
if it were looking for it, and if I was being careless. Which I almost never am.
They’d see it right away in my eyes. The look a lot like an Andalite’s. Bright,
bright green. And my hair looks like I streaked it with dark blue hair dye. And
the funny thing is, I don’t use blue hair dye. I keep a container of it, but I’ve never used
it.
Most people just assume I’m a rebel. A punk kid. Uh-huh. I’ll give them this
much: I am a rebel.
Recently, though, I’d been trying to relax a bit. This included being taken into the
umpteenth foster family in the past eight years.
“This is a single parent family. The mother is dead, and the father wants to start
getting back to normal. He thought that this might help. He has a son about your age.”
“Okay, Ms. McCarthy. Thanks for telling me.”
“They’ll be here any minute now. Why don’t you wait outside.”
Nothing like advance notice.
A blue, four-door sedan pulled up. Inside was a man and a guy about my age.
The guy had dark brown, almost black, hair. As he opened the door and stepped out, I
could see that he was short. An inch shorter than I was.
“So you’re Melanie,” the man spoke.
“Yeah, that’s me. Only, I’m not usually this messy. I just woke up an hour ago.”
He laughed. Then the guy spoke.
“Nice hair. The Smurf chic look, I see.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you, too. And you are. . .”
“Marco.”
“I was talking to the small animal on top of your head.”
He gave me a Look.
“Well, the papers are ready, and your stuff’s in the trunk. Let’s go.”
As soon as they arrived at the house, Marco decided to leave.
“Dad, I’m going over to Jake’s. Bye.”
“Wait. . .”
“It’s all right, sir, I really don’t mind. It’s evidence of a social life.” I was in a
good mood. “Besides, after I get my stuff out of the way, I want to go check out the
beach.”
“You don’t want to hang around here?”
“I’ll be here all day tomorrow. You can ask Marco to be, also.”
After I packed up my room, I didn’t head for the beach; instead, I went into the
woods. I had an incredible urge to run.
I went into my Andalite body. I love running. It’s as good as flying to me.
As I ran, I thought. I couldn’t believe that I was in such a major center of the
Yeerk invasion.
I had fought a bit before, but not often. This seemed to be the most important
Yeerk affected place. Other places had the problem, but none as much as here.
I didn’t run for long. I didn’t want to get lost or something. Even though it
wasn’t likely.
After I demorphed, I walked around a few vague trails for a bit. As I did, I could
have sworn that I “heard” thought-speak. I chalked it up to a long day. I wasn’t going to
check it out right away. I felt almost happy. I had a family. Not an orphanage or a
couple that collected kids. Or worse. A basic family. On my way back, I checked out the
beach quickly for real.
When I got back, Marco was there. So was a guy that I figured was Jake. He was
taller than me, which wasn’t unusual. He looked. . .pretty, somehow. Definitely cute.
And definitely weird. He was playing with sounds.
“So, you’re Jake, I’m guessing. I’m Melanie. I’m going to be living with Marco
until they can find someone to adopt me.” I said, ignoring that I thought he had severe
mental problems.
“No, I am not Jake. I am his cousin, Phillip. Phill-ipp. I am from out of town.”
I looked at him intently. There was something about him. . . I just couldn’t place
it.
Then it hit me! He was repeating sounds, just like I had when I came here. I
wanted to play with every sound. Until the novelty wore off, anyway. The poor guy
probably had a speech problem.
Still, something was bothering me. He looked. . . well no, it wouldn’t be looked.
He acted familiar. I just couldn’t tell where I had known someone like him
before.
As he looked at me, his face turned pale. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Hey, Phillip? Are you all right?” Marco broke my concentration. Phillip
regained his color.
“Yes. I am fine. I have to go.”
“Should I stop by later?”
“Yes, that might be a good idea. Bring Pri. . . bring Jake.”
Abruptly, he turned and left. At the corner, he was met by a guy with messy blond
hair.
“Okay, now that was weird.”
“Yeah, Jake’s cousin is a little weird. Jake’s even weirder.” Marco laughed as he
said this.
“You must have strange friends.”
“Yep, that I do, Mel.”
“Marco! Is Melanie back yet?” Marco’s dad was yelling from upstairs.
“Yes, she’s back!”
“Then come up for dinner, both of you!”
“Marco, for future reference, don’t call me Mel.”
“Then call me The Magnificent Marco . That’s what everyone calls me.”
“Yeah, right. How about Ares?”
“Ares?” He looked confused.
“Yeah. God of war. Macho guy who ran at the first sign of danger.” Human
culture fascinated me, and I learned as much as I could.
Marco glared at me.
“Are you calling me a coward?” He seemed annoyed. Jeez, all I had done was
bruise his massive ego a bit. But I guess I could understand why he didn’t want to be
called a coward.
“No. I wouldn’t know if you were or not. I just mean that you show off. Don’t
take it personally or anything.”
“Oh. Sorry about that.”
“No problem. I can see why you got upset.”
“And why was I upset?” We were in the Kitchen now, sitting down to eat. Marco
was looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“Because I wouldn’t know if you were a baby chicken or not.”
“I’m not.”
“Brawwk!”
We ate in relative silence after that. After dinner, I went up into the small room
that was now mine. All my stuff was there. My clothes, my books, my diaries. . .
One of my diaries wasn’t there. Everything else was, but it wasn’t. And some of
the stuff the boxes was looked messed with.
Not good. I wrote in the Andalite alphabet in the one that was taken. If any
Yeerk found it. . .
What was I worrying about? Marco probably had it.
But was Marco a Controller?
Either way, I’d better confront him, I thought as I walked down the hallway
towards his room.
“Hey, Ares!! Give me back my diary!”
“Huh? Are you calling me-”
“Just give me my bloody diary! ”
“What diary?”
“The green one that you took!”
“Oh, this one?” He held it up.
“Yes, that one!!! I want it back. And it’s. . .um. . . all in code, anyway, so you
won’t be able to know what it says.”
“I’m pretty good at cracking codes. I think I’ll keep it.”
“How much do you want for it?”
“Nothing. I’m keeping it until Friday. Then I’ll give it back.”
“Fine, you jerk.” I muttered as I walked away. Just my luck; I was stuck with an
immature short guy as a housemate. I just hoped that he wasn’t a life-threatening
immature short guy.
As I thought that, the phone rang. I picked up.
Just as I was about to say “hello,” I heard Marco’s voice.
“Joe’s taxidermy. You snuff ‘em, we stuff ‘em.”
The voice on the other end laughed. I was going to hang up, but then I decided to
listen. Turnabout was fair play.
“Yeah, I have a gorilla for you.”
“All I have is a tiger. Sorry.” They both laughed. I didn’t get it, and I wasn’t
going to ask. Probably some stupid guy joke. . .
“We should get together. It’s a nice night. Lots of stars.”
“Okay. Later.”
He hung up.
“Dad? I’m going over to Jake’s,” Marco yelled as he left. I could only assume
that he had my diary.
No way was he going to show it to Jake. That guy could be a Controller for all I
knew. If a Yeerk saw what was written. . . doomsday.
I followed him out to the edge of town. There was a barn, and then the woods I
had walked in. Marco went into the woods.
As quietly as I could, I followed. Human ears are pathetic compared to most
animals, and the eyes are even worse. He wouldn’t see me.
About five minutes into the woods, he stopped. There was another guy there, not
Phillip or Jake, and two girls. One was dark and short, the other tall and blond. The guy
was tall, with brown hair and a look of authority. As he talked, I jumped into a nearby
tree with lots of leaves. They hid me pretty well, and it was dark. No one would see me.
“Hey, Jake, what’s going on?” Oh, so neither of the guys that I saw was Jake.
“Wait. I’ll let Ax explain. He should be here. Tobias, too.”
Just as he said that, two creatures walked up. One was a hawk with red feathers.
I knew, somehow, who the next one was.
It was no creature native to Earth, yet I knew who and what it was.
Aximili, I thought to no one but myself. Some guy that had lived near me.
He must have been Phillip. Maybe the hawk was who I thought was Jake. The guy with
the messy hair.
“Ax, what’s this about.”
<Marco, you were telling me about the human who is now living with you
now?>
“Yes. . .”
<Well, I think that she may not be human.>
“You mean she’s a Controller?” It was the blond girl that spoke.
<No, Rachel. I think that she may be part Andalite.>
Everyone looked at him for about ten seconds before anyone spoke.
“No way.”

“Ajia?”
<A friend of mine.>
“Well, that would explain this.” Marco took out my diary. He gave it to Aximili.
“Now, that’s Andalite writing, right.”
<Yes.>
“Can you read it?”
<The writing is a bit irregular. It’s also difficult in this light. But I believe that I
can do it.>
I decided to make myself known.
“You don’t have to. I’ll do it.” I dropped down from the tree.
“What are you doing here?!” Marco yelled as Aximili put his tail-blade at my
jugular.
“I followed you. You had my diary, and I didn’t know if you were a Controller.
Aximili, would you mind giving me some breathing room?”
“If she’s a Controller, she knows too much. If she tells anyone. . .” The blond
girl, Rachel, was speaking.
“We can’t take the chance.” Jake, the one who seemed to be the leader. “We’re
going to have to hold her.”
<Prince Jake.>
Jake didn’t seem to hear him.
“Now. . .”
<Prince Jake.>
“Ax, what is it.” Jake’s voice was terse.
<This is Ajia, I am sure. She may be a Controller now, but if we free her, she
will be able to help us. She is morph-capable.>
Everyone stared at him.
<She can morph?> The bird was “talking.”
<Yes.>
“Then if she’s a Controller, this must be a high-ranking Yeerk. Visser Three is
going to notice if she doesn’t show up.”
“Why are you assuming that I’m a Controller?!”
I’ll take “Dumb questions” for $500, Alex. . .
<Because we’re paranoid, and you snuck up on us, and your diary had Andalite
writing in it,> the hawk replied.
Damn. He had me there.
“Good point. Fine, hold me for three days. On two conditions.”
“No conditions. We hold you.” Jake spoke.
“No, I insist on two. One: someone morphs me and pretends that they’re me.
Two: whoever morphs me acts like a human. Huuu-man. Maan. Huh-yew-man.”
Everyone laughed, even though they had no idea of how I knew that. Aximili
looked a bit hurt though.
“I mean, I understand that it’s fun. You should have seen me when I came here.
But it might be a little suspicious. Just a bit. If some Controller happened to see that. .” I
let the words hang.
“Not to mention the fact that everyone would think that I was crazy. As if I’m not
already.”
<You are mentally unbalanced?> Aximili seemed concerned.
“Nope. Just a bit weird and very paranoid. Now, come on, you have to hold me
for three days, and then you can trust me. So let’s just get it done and over with.”
“Fine. But at least one of us will be watching you at all times. So don’t do
anything stupid, or you will die. Tobias and Ax? Would you mind taking turns morphing
Melanie?”
Without warning, the hawk landed on my bare forearm. I felt myself getting sort
of drifty. Like a hypnosis thing I had done once. Very relaxed.
Suddenly, I came back to reality.
“Okay, who’s next?” I said as Aximili came forward.
He didn’t say anything, but put his hand on my forehead. I felt myself becoming
drifty again.
After I recovered, I sent a private thought-speak message to Aximili, who the
others called Ax. He was going to guard me for the first watch.
<It is good to see you, old friend.> How unlike me. Not unlike me, actually.
The side of me that didn’t show much.
<In three days, we’ll know whether it’s really you.>
<Do you think it is?>
<Is what?>
<Really me.>

<Aximili.>
<What?>
<Don’t call me that. Don’t you ever call me that!>

I can say nothing about my three days spent in the woods, other than it almost
drove me insane. There was nothing to do, and no one would talk to me. They wouldn’t
even answer me when I asked a question. I got referred to as “the Yeerk.”
When the three days were up, Jake spoke to me.
“Okay, Ax says you can morph. Show us.”
“Sure.” I decided to morph crow. It was the. . . well, pretty much the only
morph I had suitable for the occaision. It didn’t threaten anyone. It didn’t put me in a
position to be stomped.
I could see the changes right away. My skin turned jet black, like carbon
markings. Then it went three dimensional as the feathers emerged.
I started shrinking!
A few minutes after I’d started, I was a crow, blinking back up at them. Then,
point proven, I demorphed.
 This was Rachel, sounding almost angry
“If you get stuck in between morphs, like I did. . .”
“Stuck between morphs?”
“Yes, stuck between morphs. I happened when the Yeerks invaded a ship, the ship
that my parents were on. I was very young, only a few days old. Only a few cells stuck
together in a tube. They were putting a bio-shield on the ship that would kill all Andalites.
My parents wanted to save me, and they were both geneticists. They fused my Andalite
DNA with human DNA And, by a genetic dice toss, I was made. And I lived, obviously.
In a way, I essentially am stuck between morphs. I have parts of both DNA in me. From
those parts, I made a whole. So I can live as either a human, an Andalite, or an
ethyan. I want to be able to morph, so I choose ethyan. And this is my
natural body.”
“Thank you for the genetic explanation, Ms. Science. Now, we’d better head
home before my dad gets worried. There’s school tomorrow.”
“Oh, yeah, and I have to show up and everything.”
“Good thing we had yesterday off; we may have had some problems with school
bells. You know what a school bell is, right?”
“Yes. And you don’t have to worry about first period- I go to the high school for
math.”
<You go to the high school for math?> the hawk, Tobias, asked.
I shrugged.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like a big deal.”
“Great! Can you do my homework for me?” Marco asked hopefully.
“Sure. Just do mine for me.”
“Never mind.” I laughed at his answer.
“Actually, you seem pretty smart. You could probably do it.”
As everyone left, Jake talked to Marco.
“Why don’t you two come over to my house tomorrow afternoon? Tom has a. . . .
meeting. He won’t be home until later.”
“Okay. That would work.”
“Later.”
“Later.”
“See ya.” I added.

School the next day was boring. School has always been boring. I felt like
correcting the teachers constantly. So what else was new?
A few interesting things happened; I met Jake’s older brother Tom in my math
class. I don’t believe that he noticed me. I also told the history teacher that we should
unite as a species to become greater. Rachel and Cassie had to keep from laughing, but
Ms. Paloma and everyone else in the class looked at me like I was insane.
After that little embarrassment, I was ready to leave. However, teachers,
principals, and guardians don’t like it when people leave early, so I waited impatiently
until the final bell rang.
When it did, I met up with Marco and Jake, and we went to Jake’s house.
They told me all about what they had done. I learned that Ax’s brother, Elfangor
was dead, which made me cry. They told me about going to the Yeerk Pool and
infiltrating a Controller’s house, meeting the Chee and the Ellimist. They told me about
finding Ax, and about what happened to Tobias.
I told them about sabotaging Yeerk systems and putting chemicals in the Yeerk
pool that weakened and killed Yeerks. I told them about saving people from the Yeerks
and finding a few Yeerk fighters who thought I was a Hork-Bajir and tried to kill me. I
told them about Elfangor and how I knew Ax. I told them how I came here.
The only thing I didn’t tell about was my brother. When I left, Elfangor told me
what happened to him. And I didn’t tell him what else Elfangor said. Who he said to
protect for him. To keep safe from the Controllers.
As they were telling me about some Controllers, Tom, Jake’s brother came in. I
glanced from him to Jake and shrugged.
Jake shook his head. No, he didn’t know.
“Hey, midget. Who’s the girl, Marco? An older woman?”
“She’s living at his house, and she’s our age.”
“Oh. Well, she’s in my math class.”
Tom left for the next room.
As I said, “Jake, do we have science homework,” I thought-spoke <Is he against
“Yes.” His voice sounded strained.
“Page 50?” I said.
“Uh-huh.” Then, in a quieter voice, “He’s in the Sharing. A Controller. Don’t
say anything stupid.”
I glared at him and opened my mouth to speak, then Tom walked back in. I
changed what I was going to say.
“Hey, Tom. You’re in The Sharing, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it like? I’m thinking of joining.” I don’t know why I did it. Probably to
piss Jake off. I really don’t know. I wasn’t going to join, obviously; they’re all Yeerks.
“It’s all right. We’re like one, big, family.”
“Well, that sounds kinda hokey.”
He left, carrying two two-liter bottles of Pepsi. I don’t know what the look was
on his face. Maybe wistful. Or sad. Or maybe even frightened. He looked like he
wanted to say something, but had thought better of it. Then the look dissappeard.
“Later, Melanie.”
“See ya.”
The silence that followed was uncomforatble. I tried to say something.
“So, about science. . .”
“Shut up.”
I was taken aback by his harshness. It was understandable, but still, I was trying
to be tactful.
“Something was different,” Marco said. “Normally he’d have taken you there. He
didn’t. Something’s up.”
“Maybe he was just in a hurry. We can’t assume anything. If the Yeerk in his
head found out about any of us, it would be over.”
Jake gave me this kind of ‘I know, but I don’t want to believe it’ look. As did
Marco.
“Look, if it’ll do any good, I’ll shadow Tom.”
“Right. Uh-huh. Can you say ‘suicide?’”
“I have your permission, Jake?” There was a slight edge to my voice. Totally
unintentional.
“You shouldn’t do it. And if you start calling me ‘Prince. . .’”
“Yes, Prince Jake.” He gave me this incredibly annoyed look
“Kidding!” I added a moment later. “I’m not going to call you Prince Jake.”
He spoke to me seriously next.
“Melanie, we can’t kill him.”
“Yes, Jake. I understand.”
“You know. . .I just remembered! Dangit! I’ve got to meet with my counseler.
Later.”
Without waiting for a reply, I left.

I have excellent stamina; I can run at top speed for about twenty minutes, longer if
I need to. Not like my top speed’s all that fast. As fast as anyone’s, I suppose. I just can
hold it for longer.
Therefore, it wasn’t hard to catch up to Tom. He walked inside the middle school;
I was right behind him. He went to The Sharing, I went to somewhere much more
glamorous: a janitor’s closet.
I made sure it didn’t have a pool entrance; Jake and Marco had told me which
closet it was. I was considering just walking in there with my shredder and blasting the
place up. I was going to use my human form, so I could do it without getting caught.
Then I remembered something- I hadn’t charged my shredder in years.
Ohwell. Guess I’ll use an insect morph.
I had just started the first changes when I heard a voice outside.
“Stupid Paul; had to barf all over everything, didn’t he.”
I froze. I knew that voice. It was him. I began to demorph, but I knew that it
wouldn’t be fast enough. He would at least see the legs go back into my chest.
I hid in a dark corner. With any luck, he wouldn’t see me. Unless he turned on
the lights. . .
FLICK! Oh, well, so much for the lights. Plan two- get my shredder out and take
him as a hostage. It could be a bluff.
<Freeze, Yeerk. I don’t want to have to use this, but if you so much as blink, I
will.>
My thought-speak is strange. I rarely use it; it gives me a headache. But, when I
do use it, I make an impression that clearly states, “I’m an Andalite.”
“You’re an Andalite.” Tom came to the obvious conclusion.
<You’re fast. Now figure this out- you have exactly zero chances. You’re
going to have to do what I say.>
“No I don’t.” He pulled a Dracon Beam and aimed it at me. I swore, then took a
swing at his head.
Then I knew nothing more.

I woke up an undetermined amount of time later. It could have been minutes,
hours, days; I had no way of knowing. I was in a cage; cold steel bars all around me. I
didn’t have any weapons. And there were Hork-Bajir standing guard around the cage.
I moved my hand up to my head. I moved. I wasn’t a Controller. That
fact disturbed me greatly.
One of the Hork-Bajir called out something at my movement. I sat up and looked
around, expecting to see Hell incarnate; the Yeerk Pool.
All I could see were white walls, cabinet-like things, shelves, steel knives, like
scalpels. I took note of where they were; I’d need a weapon when I got out.
If I got out. I was not delusional about that. I probably would not get
out of there alive. All I could do was maybe take a couple of Horks down as I died.
I started to morph, to become an Andalite, but then all Dracon Beams were on me.
There were footsteps. Visser Three was coming. The Abomination, the evil
Visser.
<Well, it looks like these incompetants did something right for a change. They
caught an Andalite Bandit. And it doesn’t look like anyone’s around to help her. . .you
are a “her,” aren’t you?> He was using thought-speak, in human morph. I didn’t
recognize the morph; God only know how he had gotten it.
I gave him only icy silence.
<It’s a pity that they would abandon one of their own. And with such a small
group to begin with, one would imagine that the person in question would have to have
either made a terrible, terrible mistake. . . or discovered too much.>
All right, what the hell is his game? I thought. What is the scum
trying to prove?
<What happened, child? Did you voice some opinions they did not like? Or did
they just abandon you because you are female?>
They didn’t abandon me!
<What happened?> There was an expression of both cruel contempt and
corrupt compassion on his face. <What did you do?>
I glared at him, then “spoke.”
<Bite me.>
He threw me an evil look, but continued.
<Or perhaps it was insubbordination. The Andalite Princes get rather uppity at
times. I suppose you would have a problem with that.>
What is he trying to-
<You have nowhere to go to. Your comrades have obviously abandoned you.
You are alone. There’s nothing you can do. Except join us.>
Hell no!

<You have nowhere else to go!> the Visser roared.
Yes, I do. Oblivion.
I was going to voice this thought when I heard the cage open. I tried to rush out
and grab a knife, but there were strong hands holding me. I struggled against the Horks,
but I couldn’t get loose.
<Perhaps we can change your mind.>
I was dragged out of the cage and thrown onto the table, an operating table.
Roughly. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I couldn’t breathe.
I looked up in fear, and saw the Visser making gestures, as if he were speaking to
someone. Private thought-speak, meant to exclude me. He was discussing his plans.
I was lashed to the table as he gave what I could only assume were orders. The
ropes were strong- hemp- and I couldn’t break them.
A human walked into the room. He looked about fifty-five, with grey hair flecked
with an occaisional spot of brown. A doctor. Someone that looked trustworthy, that you
would let open you up and toy with your guts.
A doctor who had a Yeerk in his head. Whom I would trust with nothing.
There were devices around the room, ones I should have reconized; I couldn’t see
them clearly. The lights were dimmer.
The doctor bent over me. His benevolent continence twisted into a cruel smile.
“Are you comfortable.”
<Screw you.> A mindless comment. Something picked up in shelters. When
you got scared, you cursed.
He took out a needle, filled with some sort of fluid, and jabbed it into my arm. A
vein.
I have to stay awake!
The insides of my arms grew tingly, soft.
Stay awake! God damn it, stay awake!
I was floating. I was no longer on the operating table; I couldn’t feel it underneath
me. It wasn’t there.
I tried to focus on the ceiling. On the sprinkler that was there, the gleam of steel.
My eyes atarted to close. I was relaxed.
Sodium Pentathol. A truth serum in lower doses. An anesthesia in medium
doses. Death in high doses. Affects the body like hypnosis.
“Stay awake. . . try to morph. . .”
I was speaking aloud, speaking what I was thinking.
I forced my eyes open. The steel was beginning to dissapear.
“Stay. . .stay yourself. . .Ajia delpis fasdew” I slipped into my native
language, the Andalite language. “Ajia hold your honor.”
“Don’t go. . .”
It dissappeared. I was floating. I was relaxed.
I was a bloody fool, and I was no more.

I woke up in a black room, so I couldn’t see anything. I tried to move my fingers,
my eyes, but my movements came out sluggish. I tried my arms, my legs, and found they
were lashed down.
Every thought I had told me to run. Darkness was not safe. Anything could be
there.
A movement! I turned my head, but couldn’t see what caused it. When I turned
my head, my cheeks touched cold metal. I was lying down, I knew that. On a table.
How was I on a table?
I tried to think it all out, but everything was slow. My thoughts were gone before
they were completed.
Bright light! From the ceiling. Flouresent lights. They made my head hurt.
A man walked into the room. He walked with an air of efficiency and power. On
his face, he wore only concern.
“Melanie, are you all right? What they did to you. . .”
Who the Hell is Melanie? Maybe that’s me. . . there’s no one else in the
room.
“I feel. . .tired. I can’t think straight.”
“I was worried. After what you’ve been through. . . those Andalites! Those blue
deer and their vile tails!”
“What happened?” The way that he was talking. . . something very odd had
happened to me. If bad things, like those “Andalites,” had gotten to me. . .they could have
killed me!
“They wanted to kill you. We didn’t let them. And the way they treated you like
an inferior- that was disgusting! All because you were human.”
He seemed upset. Angry. Had these Andalites done something to me? And was
this man upset because they had? Did that mean he cared about me?
“They wouldn’t allow you to live with them, and they treated you like dirt. Then
they dump you off here. The fools.”
He untied me, and I sat up, confused and weak. What was he talking about? I
didn’t know. . . I didn’t know anything!
“Thank goodness we found you,” he said. Then he began to change. . .
He turned into a deer-creature! Blue, with extra eyes where antlers would be.
And a sharp tail. . .a scary tail. . .
He looked like what he descibed! An “Andalite.”
I screamed.
“Stay away from me, you. . .you bloody Andalite!” The words felt strange, thick
on my tounge. Unnatural.
I jumped off the table, wavering, and reached for a scalpel that was sitting on a
countertop. I held it in front of me, some part of my mind guiding my hands, my feet,
putting them into a good position. I didn’t even think about it.
<No. Not an Andalite.> A voice in my head. Thought-speaking?
Thought-speak? Telepathy?
A saw a bit of grey in the. . .the Andalite’s ear. Grey sliminess.
<What I am is a Yeerk. One of the race that saved you. If we are in a being’s
head. . .then the being is good. Many have volunteered for this. They welcome us. We
save lives.>
Yeerks. . .something. . . they had saved me? The word was powerful in my head.
Something had happened with them.
Parents. . .they were dead? I couldn’t see their faces. . .I wasn’t even sure if I was
making them up. . . had they been killed by the Andalites?
I knew I was alone, except for these Yeerks. That they said they had saved me;
and why would they lie?
 the Andalite. . .Yeerk. . . whatever. . .said.
“Who are you?”
 He said. Then he became human again. It took about
three minutes.
“You may call me Visser Three. Follow me.”
I followed him out of the room, out of one of two doors. It led into a waiting
room. With people in it.
I was still confused; my mind couldn’t sort everything out.
“All these people are Yeerks?”
He glared at me. The look would have frozen gasoline. He practically threw me
out of the room.
Outside, he started almost yelling at me. I knew that he wanted to; that was
plainly writted on his face. But he didn’t. Instead, he talked in a calm, even tone:
“You can not talk about this in public. Most humans don’t know about us yet.
One day we will tell them; now is not that day. If we told them, the Andalites would take
them.”
“Of course. . .” I said warily. This guy. . .Visser Three. . . scared me. But he
seemed to be the only person who knew me. And he obviously wanted me to be safe.
We walked down the hallway. There were doors with numbers and titles on them.
A lot of doctors. Maybe I was in a medical complex.
We went in one of the doors without a number. It said, rather simply, “Janitor’s
Closet.”
We walked inside, and went through a hidden door. Behind that door, there was a
long, steep staircase. It was lit by a few mangy electric lights. I didn’t know where we
were, other than far, far underneath the ground.
I could hear muffled sounds, screaming. And other noises. Waves. Other such
things.
“This is where we. . .the Yeerks. . .live when we are not inside of a being.”
The screams disturbed me. Were there Andalites down there? A battle?
“Here is where you live.” He led me to a shack. Inside, there was a bed, a desk
with a book on it, a small dresser, and a lamp.
I looked at the book on the desk. Concerning Andalites and their Lies.
Interesting.
“You remember how to morph, correct?”
“No. . .no Visser. How? What is morphing?”
“You touch an animal to aquire it’s DNA sequence. Then you can turn into the
animal. Think of a. . .crow. We found that you could do that one.”
I thought of a crow. The jet-black feathers and the tiny talons of the feet and the
way it reflected like, making dark rainbows. On the beak that was meant to eat bugs and
carrion.
I was changing, flowing. Soon I was the crow.
<Oh, God!>
“You will get used to it.” Although his voice was calm, his face registered shock,
then acceptance. “Focus on yourself to go back.”
I. . . I couldn’t really remember what I looked like. So I thought about having a
normal body, with all the normal parts in the right places. Without feathers.
As I began to morph out, the Visser walked out of the shack. I finished morphing
and pulled my clothes on. I had only taken my long t-shirt with me when I morphed.
Exausted, I flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep.
Thank God the Yeerks had found me...

Three months later

I woke up on the weirdest day of my life inside of a shack. A very bare shack, but
what do you expect inside of a secret place?
I really don’t want to get up, I thought, staring up at the roof. Then I
remembered the last time that I slept in. I nearly missed the greatest fight of my life.
Dragging myself to the opposite corner of the room, I practically slammed into a
Hork-Bjarr.
Only at six a.m. in the morning could I nearly impale myself on a seven foot
walking razor blade.
“What are you doing here?” I spat at the creature.
“I gharflat. I look for sanxz.”
“Well, it’s not here. Get out.”
“I. . .”
“Just get out. You’re lucky it’s this early in the morning. I haven’t had time to get
in a bad mood.”
To my relief, he left. I was not up for a fight just yet.
“Nobody else better mess with me today, I swear I’ll. . .” I muttered to the wall as
I got changed.
Outside, I noted, everything was already bustling. Maybe more so than usual.
Many Yeerks with human hosts chose this time of day to recharge. I suppose that they
thought they wouldn’t be missed at this hour.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
<I’m glad to see that you are awake this time for this mission.>
“Hello, my Visser. And you are wrong. I am always ready for a battle.”
<You should watch your tone. Were you one of my people, you would have
been struck down for that.>
“I was trained by Andalite warriors. I believe I could handle you.”
<You were not trained by Andalites.>
I furrowed my eyebrows. “What? I thought. . .oh yeah, I remember. You trained
me.”
<Just keep to your place. I allow you to be free for a reason.>
I decided not to ask what the reason was.
<If you are not at your post in ten minutes, Melanie, I will forget that reason.>
“I’m on my way.” Talk about your multiple personalities.
Today’s mission was important. I was to search the woods in morph along with
Visser Three. We were going to find the Andalite bandits feeding grounds.
The Yeerks had tried to search the woods before, but had allowed a infiltration by
Andalites in morph to succeed in killing a key part of the plan. It was actually kind of
funny. . .
This would be in secret. Only we knew about it. Visser Three and his first officer.
There was no way it could fail.
So, that’s how I ended up in the forest on that day in morph. It wasn’t too bad at
first. We searched, the time limit grew closer. I used a falcon morph, one I”d recently
aquired, and Visser Three used some other morph. Kafit bird, I think it was called. He,
being the high, important leader that he was, was allowed to demorph first. Then, and
only then, was I allowed to demorph.
Not caring where I landed, I dove down into the trees. As I sat, perched on a
branch, I began to demorph. Once I was fully human, I began to hear footsteps on the
leaves.
Not footsteps. Hoof steps. An Andalite.
I didn’t sat a word. Had I said anything, and he. . .she. . . whatever would have
found me.
He, yes he, turned around. He saw me. I saw him. I swear, he looked so
familiar. I knew his name, I just couldn’t think of it.
He, however, knew me.
<Ajia? Aristh Ajia? Melanie? I thought you were. . .>
“Yes, dead. I know that.” I jumped down from the tree branch and faced him.
<But, you were here. The entire time. And you knew.>
“Uh-huh.”
<Why?>
“I just was.” I couldn’t use thought-speak, not without being in morph, and
yelling would be too obvious. This was just an aristh. . .
That word. He had called me aristh Ajia. I did not know that I had a
rank.
“I was trained by Andalite warriors. I believe I could handle you.”
<You were not trained by Andalites.>
I assumed I was wrong. But here, this guy was saying that I had a rank. I must
have been trained to have a rank.
Visser Three lied.
That thought hit me as hard as a rock. That Visser Three, the only person who
seemed to care about me, would lie about my past seemed impossible. I couldn’t really
even think of it. I wouldn’t.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
<Ajia? What are you talking about?>
“Tell me who you are, or I may do something I won’t regret.”
<You know me. I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. You know me.>
Aximili.
I couldn’t believe it. I knew that name. Maybe I had known him before.
I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. It didn’t seem like he had hated me or anything.
I couldn’t just kill him. I didn’t have any weapons.
I could call for Visser Three and he would. . .
Shaking furiously, I spoke in quiet rapid tones.
“Listen to me, Andalite, I don’t know why I’m doing this, and I may decide not to
at any time, so listen!” I half-cried, half-hissed, ignoring the tail-blade now at my
throat. “Visser Three and his scout are going to be flying over here in a few minutes.
You have to morph an insect or something native to here. You can not get
caught! Just go. And watch yourself. Like I said, I could change my mind at any time.”
He looked at me with a mixture of hatred and confusion. Then he started to
morph into something very small.
I started morphing also, back into my falcon body. I finished first and took off.
Then I thought about what I had done.
Why had I done that? I should have told Visser Three that he was there.
Should have, but didn’t, I thought. I knew that I could never tell him
what had happened. Not if I wished to avoid his wrath.
And if it should happen again. . .well, the next time Aximili will not be that
lucky, I thought while mentally sneering.
I looked at the ground with the excellent eyes of a bird. I noticed strange prints in
a clearing.
I strained harder. Yes, they were Andalite hoof prints.
<Visser!>
<What is it?>
<There are Andalite hoofprints in a clearing directly below me.>
A pause. <Yes, I see. We will have to watch here. There is also a small pond;
prime feeding ground. We will head back now; I must prepare for the Council of
Thirteen’s conference shortly.>
<Yes, sir.> I headed back towards the Pool entrance.
After I demorphed, I sulked and walked around the Yeerk Pool. How could I
have been so stupid? I had let the enemy go in a moment of foolishness.
I clenched my jaw angrily and climbed up the rock face. A Hork-Bajir tried to
stop me, but I showed him my identification. And the scar on my arm from an Andalite’s
tail blade, fesh, from just before the Visser rescued me.
I could see everything from where I was sitting. I tried not to look at the
infestation pier. It disturbed me a great deal to see people struggling.
<They are weak,> the Visser had told me. <They long for a way
to get out of real life. We give that to them.>
Still, despite that logic, I could not look at it without feeling at least a little bit sick.
I climbed back down and watched everyone hustling around.
Visser Three was going to go in the Pool now. Then he was going on a short
expedition on his Blade Ship for a meeting. He would be back in a week.
The Visser slid from his host’s ear and into the Pool. The Andalite then began to
struggle, but the circle of metal around his tail prevented him from both fighting and
morphing. They threw him in a cage.
I don’t know why I walked up to the cage. Morbid fascination, perhaps. Or
maybe I was just in a bad mood.
I looked the Andalite, Alloran-Semitur-Corass, that was his name, and smiled
wickedly. He looked back with sad, frightened eyes.
<Ajia, listen to me!> The name again. What the Andalites had probably
called me.
I shut him out.
<You aren’t like him! You aren’t. . .scum. . .like that. He’s tricked you.
. .>
I struck him through the bars.
“Shut up!” I snarled.
Still, he wouldn’t shut up.

“I told you to shut up!” I yelled and hit him with the back of my Dracon Beam.
“But I suppose you are too arrogant to listen, Andalite,” I said and walked away.
<Listen to me, aristh!> The angry roar of a fallen Andalite. . .
I couldn’t believe it. That word again.
I turned around and leveled my Dracon Beam at him.
“I will let you speak for ten seconds. Then I will stun you. Understand?”
<You are being->
“Time’s up,” I sneered and blasted him. He collapsed, unconscious.
I heard a strong, male, voice behind me.
“Stop pestering the Andalite fool. He can do nothing but talk now.”
In a fury, I turned around and hit him. The Visser’s training paid off, and the man
fell, helpless. I changed the setting on my Dracon Beam and pulled the trigger. The man
was no more.
“Now, does anyone else feel like telling me what to do?” I snarled. “This filth
gives the Visser hell, and now he’s giving me hell. Any more objections to what I just
did, and you will not live to regret your words.”
I got no words, but some mumbled responses such as, “Yes, ma’am.”
I stalked away, put the Dracon Beam back in its holster, and went back to my
shack.
An hour later, Visser Three came in.

“This being,” I said, gesturing to the body the Visser was in, “was harassing me.”
<How so?>
“He was spouting delirious lies. He would not stop. So I stopped him.”

“Yes, Visser.”
He left the room. A moment later, a boy, about my age, came into the shack and
walked to the back. I turned to face him.
“What are you do-” I said before the boy that I had not seen come in hit me over
the head.

When I came to, I was in the middle of the forest, tied to a tree trunk. I could
barely open my eyes. I heard a voice.
“She is not a Controller, Jake. But she is Visser Three’s first officer. Trainee.”
I groaned in pain. My head really hurt. Whoever did this was going to be very,
very sorry.
I opened my eyes and saw a tiger, a gorilla, a wolf, a bear, an Andalite, and a really
big rock.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
<No,> the tiger thought-spoke to me. I got another hit over the head by the
gorilla, but I didn’t quite go unconscious.
<She feels. . .evil. Like Visser Three,> I heard a faint thought-speak voice say
this. <Not like before.>
“She killed a man in the Yeerk Pool today. Out of anger. And she Draconed
Visser Three’s host while he was in the cage.” The rock was talking. I didn’t argue with
the logic of it. My head hurt so much. . .of course a rock could talk.
<But if she’s not a Controller, why did she do that? And why are we bothering
with her?>
<She spared my life earlier today. She saw me in the woods and did not alert
Visser Three. She helped me escape. And she can morph.> The Andalite. Aximili.
I spoke up. “Listen to me; if any of you Andalites hit me over the head again, as
soon as I get out of here, I am going to kill you. To hell with what the Visser wants. The
next one to strike me dies.”
<Silence, kibna,> Aximili spoke.
“I should have let him kill you, filth,” I snarled and turned away. I felt everything
going limp and dark again. I slumped down, not completely blacked out. I was
envisoning the deaths, the infestations that would follow this. It would be wonderful;
bloody revenge. . .
<You’re telling me she’s not a Controller? You’ve got to be kidding, Erek.>
I saw a hawk fly down and land on the ground.
“I know that Visser Three did something to her. Warped her memories and her
mind. But I didn’t know that she could morph.”
<We knew that. But since we weren’t caught, we just sort of figured. . . you
know. . .>
“That makes sense. But all her memories have been erased. She doesn’t’ know
anything about you.”
<So you’re saying that she’s basically been brainwashed? Is that what you’re
saying?> A pause. <That is what you’re saying.>
I slowly began to work at the ropes that had me tied. I felt them getting looser.
I also felt the Dracon Beam in it’s holster at my waist. There had been one on my
bed; whoever had taken me had thought that I only had one.
I tugged at the ropes again. They came loose.
Quickly, I pulled the beam, set it on stun, and aimed it at Aximili.
“None of you move, or I’ll shoot him.”
I saw the slight motion that told me that he was going to move his tail blade. I
pulled the trigger, and he went down as his blade rose.
The rock shimmered for a moment after the blast. I knew that there was
something inside it. I leveled the beam at it.
The tiger was heading for me at deadly speed. I pulled the trigger at the rock and
was going to turn towards the tiger when I felt a blast inside my head. The rock had
deflected the blast, and it hit me instead.
I fell to the ground, unconscious.
When I woke up again, I was tied to the tree. Much better than before, I might
add. Night was coming; it was getting dark.
I saw Aximili walking around.
What is he doing here? I thought groggily. What am I doing here?
Where is here?
I looked around with heavy eyes. There was a Dracon Beam lying about twenty
feet away. There were large animal shapes in the trees.
My head felt like someone had put it in a box of nails and shaken it. Whoever had
been using the beam on the ground had been an excellent shot. A head is a very hard
target to hit. . .
My hands were tied. My head hurt. I was coming to and knowing what had
happened. All of it.
I was the one with the Dracon Beam. I shot Aximili. The whole head thing was a
deflection.
I hadn’t been a Controller. It was me, the real me, who had done those things.
I started screaming.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my GOD!”
<She’s awake, Prince Jake.>
“What did I do. . .the Dracon Beam. . . I shot. . .Alloran. . .Ax. . .that poor guy,
that poor guy. . . Visser. . .that poor guy. . .” I babbled endlessly, not making any sense. I
was vaguely aware that I was shaking like a leaf.
I started to cry. I couldn’t think! I hated not being able to think. I looked up at
Aximili, scared.
“Aximili, what’s going on?” I asked quietly.
No reply.
“Aximili, you have to tell me what’s going on! Please, come on, please!”
Still no reply.
“Tell me!”
Silence.
I started thinking to myself. What day was it, what year was it? Where was I?
Was I on a mission?
Oh, God, what’s my name?! I started to hyperventilate at that thought.
Gradually, I gained some self-control. Then I started probing my mind for
answers.
First, my name. Melanie. That was simple enough.
Age? About 14. Give or take a year.
Rank? I now started getting two answers. I was an aristh. I also was Visser
Three’s first officer.
I was a Controller?
No, you were never a Controller. They wouldn’t do that to you.
They had reasons not to. They wanted to use you. Change you.
You’re delirious. Visser Three just didn’t want to hurt you.
Right, the Abomination was just being kind. Dream on!
I was tied to a tree trunk, having a mental argument with myself. I came to three
conclusions.
Conclusion One: I was insane. Probably schizophrenic.
Conclusion Two: I was insane. Probably brainwashed.
Conclusion Three: I was insane. Probably stressed from being held prisoner by
Andalites.
“Well, at least I know I’m crazy,” I muttered.
<She doesn’t look the same as before. Right now, she’s hurting, pissed, and
confused. Before, she looked possessed.>
I realized something. My hands were tied way too tight. I couldn’t feel them at
all.
“Uh, would you please loosen my hands?” I asked everyone.
<Why?>
“I don’t know, because I don’t want them to fall off?! I really can’t feel them at
all.”
I felt myself gradually sorting things out.
Fact: I was still alive. They hadn’t killed me.
Fact: I had two sets of memories. Only one could be true.
Fact: I had not been a very nice person.
“Actually, you can probably untie me completely. I don’t think I can stand now,
and I’m not going to attack any of you, anyways.”
<Then why did you before?>
“If I could answer that question, I’d be a whole lot happier right now.”
Nobody said anything, but I started to feel my hands again.
<Who are you?> one of them asked. Now that I was paying attention, I think
that it was the tiger.
“I am who I was before I got caught. . .I was going after Tom. . .”
<And after that?>
“I will not speak of that!” I said shortly. I knew that the more I dwelled on that
part of my life, the more real it became to me. And if it became real to me. . . well, people
would get hurt.
<Ooookay. . .>
“Listen, I know that you probably don’t care about this, but would you like to
know why I was in the forest today?”
<That would be helpful.>
“We were looking for feeding grounds. They’re going to be poisoned. And I
know where the poison is being held. And I can arm the self-destruct sequence on it.
There’s only one problem.”
<What problem?>
“There are about ten, eleven Hork-Bajir guarding it. And they won’t let anyone
through. Not even me.”
<You’re serious?>
I saw the tiger shake his head.
“If you aren’t going to help me I’ll have to. . .” I paused, and felt a wave of
nausea pass over me. “I’ll have to save your worthless Andalite necks myself!” I finished,
not completely aware of what I was saying.
The looks they gave me seemed to say, “There is something seriously wrong with
that girl.”
I didn’t care. They couldn’t die.
I struggled to gain my self-control again. Couldn’t think about the past. Had to
focus on now.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I’m sorry I yelled.”
The rock shimmered again, and this time turned into a boy about my age. I looked
at the ground, afraid. No, not afraid. . .I was rarely afraid. Ashamed.
“You know where this thing is?” he said gently.
I nodded.
“And you know the codes to disarm it?”
Another nod from me.
He looked towards the tiger. This time the tiger nodded.
<All right. Ajia?> It was the tiger speaking.
“Yes?”
<Lead the way.>
“Ah, I’m a bit tied up at the moment,” I said, motioning to my feet. “And I don’t
know if I can. . . oh, right. Morph.”
Aximili covered my eyes as the others demorphed and remorphed. He must have
thought I didn’t remember. . . after all, I had referred the them as Andalites. But that was
the Y- the not real me talking.
I morphed into the falcon from earlier today; it was much better than a crow
morph. And the others demorphs and remorphed.
<Follow me,> I said after we finished. Then I headed for the Yeerk Pool,
looking at the rock which had reappeared on the ground.
<Here’s the safe entrance,> I said as I began to demorph. <No guards. I
can disarm the filters. And only the Visser and I know about it.>
I finished the morphing, and stared blankly at the wall. Aximili had demorphed,
but the others were still birds.
“Remind me again of why I’m doing this,” I muttered as I entered my code. Then
I walked inside, fighting back the memories rising up.
“Wait!” I said as Aximili started forward. “Do you want to get fried? I haven’t
disarmed the filters yet, fool.”
I entered in the sequence that would disarm the filters. “Now you can
come in.”
Aximili led, and then the rest of them came through the door. I felt his hands
going over my eyes again. . .
“Why are you covering my eyes?” I asked.
<Because,> came the reply.
I stayed, blind, until I heard a small cough.
“Let go of me! I heard something.”

“I heard something. There’s someone here with us!”

I ripped his hands off of my eyes and looked around. There were no people
coming up to the entrance.
<Ajia->
I turned around. There were five partially morphed creatures standing there. Four
were part human.
I sighed. “Hello, Marco, Jake, Cassie, Rachel, Tobias. You thought I didn’t
remember you?” I said, and rolled my eyes. “Come on, we have to destroy this stuff!”
They finished demorphing and followed me.
<You can’t tell anyone about who we are, Melanie. Understand?> Jake, I
assumed, figured that I would respect him as a Prince. As Aximili probably did.
“I’m not stupid. I know that.”
<Good,> he said as we reached the door.
“God I hope this works,” I muttered to myself, opened the door, and then pointed
to the garage-looking thing where the poison was stored.
“I’m going to need some help with the guards. Then I’m going to activate the
destruct sequence. It’ll explode violently. The poison is only dangerous if you ingest it,
so don’t eat anything here. Aximili; you should close off your hooves as well. You’ll have
thirty seconds to get away from the shed after I arm it before it explodes. It will be a hot,
contained explosion. Got it everyone?”
They nodded.
<Let’s go!> The bear said. I heard a groan, and then we went forward.
It was only maybe twenty feet until we got to the shed. And no one saw us.
Boom, the gorilla punched a Hork. The bear slashed one open. And a
Hork-Bajir morph was ripping a Contr oller of the same kind.
Thus began the battle, hidden in the same crevace the building was in. I snuck
around back, and walked inside the control room. Inside, there was only one Hork-Bajir.
I sneered at him and walked up to the computer.
“Halfanix you doing?”
“The Visser told me to check the computer out before he left.” That was true; he
had told me yesterday to check it before he departed.
I showed him both my ID and my scar. He nodded. I continued working on the
computer, getting into it. . .
<Are you almost done?!> I heard the voice from outside. <There’s
only one left.>
The computer spoke. “Destruct sequence activated.”
The Hork-Bajir looked at me.
“Sorry, it must be that time of the month!” I said as I grabbed his Dracon Beam
and ran out of there.
I walked outside and nodded to the others they ran.
I pointed at the one Hork that was left outside. “Andalite!” I yelled and shot at
him. He was vaporized. Everyone except the gorilla had gone.
The other Hork was pounding desperately at the computer.
The shed exploded as I was running away behind the remaining “Bandit.” I caught
the edge of the blast and was both badly burned and bruised as I hit the gorilla.
I morphed a small fly as I felt the gorilla getting smaller.
Visser Three’s Blade ship came in as I was finishing the morph. The gorilla was
morphing too.
<What happened?! What is going on here?> the Visser yelled.
“The Andalite bandits destroyed the shed,” a brave Controller said. “We found the
leak, though. There was an oatmeal-affected guard who was removed earlier. He was
babbling about it outside. In a human gathering place. He has been dispatched.”
Another one walked up with a charred, melted piece of plastic. My ID. I knew it
bore a human name. Melanie. My name
“Sir? Your first officer was trapped in the explosion. She killed one of the
Andalite Bandits. And she is dead.”
I couldn’t see the Visser’s face. Fly eyesight isn’t that great. But I could hear his
voice.
<NO! They will have to pay for this.> A pause. <You are sure?>
“Yes, Visser. There was no possible way that she could have survived. I saw her
die in the blast myself.”
There was the sound of a Dracon Beam firing, then the Visser’s voice.
<They will pay for this,> he said in a voice of deadly quiet. And a
touch of sorrow. Or maybe I imagined it.
<Are you morphed?> I said.
<Yep, and I am really ready to go.>
<Then we go,> I said. <Follow me.>

We all headed towards the woods. It was late, and most of the people had to get
home. Tobias didn’t, because he is a nothlit. And Aximili didn’t because. . .well.
. .his home was a billion miles away.
I didn’t have to go home either. I didn’t have a home anymore.
I climbed up into a tree to think. I had been so. . .so evil. And I wasn’t
completely normal. I still had those made-up memories, and it was hard to tell which were
which sometimes. My head was very messed up.
I climbed down from the tree quietly and picked up the fallen Dracon Beam. It
was the same one I had used before. To kill.
There’s one way to clean up my head, I thought, and ran off.
The Yeerk Pool. I needed to get there.
I ran inside, disarmed the filters to be safe, and hid behind a rock face.
I stared at the Dracon beam. Maybe it was a better way out than-
No, it wasn’t. The plan I had was. . . if not better, safer. If anyone found my
body, the Visser would know how I had- or hadn’t- died. And if the Dracon blast
didn’t kill me. . .
I noticed a few rapidly growing bugs in front of me. Three. Ax. Marco. Cassie.
I shuddered. They’d been following me, possibly as fleas or flies attatched to me.
Could I still do what I came here to do??
“Marco?” I said. “Marco, after I finish, you put me where I belong.” I figured
that, of all of them, he would be the one to do what I needed done.
He couldn’t answer. I began to morph. A Yeerk. One the Visser forced me to
acquire.
My bones, my skin, disappeared. I sagged onto the ground.
Aximili. . .I couldn’t see him, but I felt his blade touch me.
<No! I won’t allow you to do this; I will kill you first.>
<Go ahead, Ax. I’m beyond caring,> I replied. Then I lost the ability to
thought-speak.
I could still hear.
“It’s her choice, Ax. Let her do it.” Cassie.
Marco didn’t say anything. But I knew it was he who carried me, discreetly, to the
water and dropped me into the endless sea of Yeerks. The unseen land.

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