." Marco's voice always cracked whenever he mentioned his mom. He'd start out sounding tough and all, but his voice would end up with that little break, that little wobble. It had been two years since his mother disappeared. They said she drowned, although they never found her body. His father had fallen apart. It was the main reason Marco was so reluctant to be an Ani morph. He was worried that if anything ever happened to him, his dad would just give up totally. I could see that Jake was about to say some thing impatient. And I was feeling the same way, like Marco just needed to deal with reality. But Cassie put her hand on Marco's arm. "Don't ever let any of this get in the way of spending time with your dad," she said earnestly. "He needs you. We need you, too, Marco, but your dad comes first." She looked at Jake, then at me. "There isn't much point in doing any of this if we forget why we're doing it." I thought about Melissa. And I thought about my mom and dad and how great it was to have them, even when they got on my nerves. "Cassie's right. When you get h ome, tell your dad you love him, Marco." I blurted it out with out thinking about it. It wasn't the kind of thing I normally say. "Thank you, Doctor Rachel," Marco said. He said it snidely, but I could see he knew what I was talking about. Then he was suddenly all business. He rubbed his hands together. "Okay, let's get serious here. How are we going to go about getting ourselves killed next? Turn into flies at a frog convention? Morph into turkeys at Thanksgiving?" "I want to go back in," I said. "Back into Chapman's." "Why?" Jake asked. "We learned a lot already. We -" "We didn't learn the location of the Kandrona," I pointed out. "That's what we need to do, sooner or later. The Andalite made it pretty clear to Tobias that the Kandrona is the weak point for the Yeerks. The Kandrona sends out the rays that are concentrated in the Yeerk pools. If we destroy the Kandrona, we hurt them bad." Marco raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Excuse me, Rachel, but what is a Kandrona? I mean, we know what it does, but what does it look like? How big is it? For all we know, the Kandrona could be the size of a lighter and be in Visser Three's pocket." less-than That's not the impression I got from the An daliteeagreater-than Tobias said. "Whatever," Marco said impatiently. "The point is: How do we destroy something when we don't even know what it is?" "That's why we have to follow the one lead we have," I said. "Chapman. Chapman communi cates with Visser Three. The two of them know where the Kandrona is. If I can spy on them, maybe I can figure it out." They were all staring at me. Marco looked at me like I was crazy. Jake looked thoughtful. Cassie looked worried, like she wasn't sure about what I was saying. Tobias turned his fierce, intimidating hawk's stare on me. less-than Are you sure you're just going back to spy on Chapman8greater-than he asked me privately. "I don't think you should go back in there alone," Jake said. "How is anyone else going to go in with me?" I asked. "We can't have two cats running around. I mean, as Fluffer I can go anywhere without any of them being suspicious." See ... I hadn't told anyone about Visser Three telling Chapman to kill me. I knew it was wrong to keep secrets like that from the group. But if I'd told them, they would have never let me go back in. Unfortunately, although Jake may not be all that perceptive, Cassie is. "Are you sure nothing went wrong while you were in there, Rachel?" Cassie asked me. She was looking at me with this kind of sideways look Cas sie gets when she's trying to figure someone out. "It was scary," I said. "But nothing hap pened." It wasn't exactly a lie. Kind of a lie, but not exactly. Cassie thought for a moment. Her eyes went blank. Suddenly I knew what was going on: Tobias was talking to her privately. He was telling her something. She nodded like she was agreeing. Tobias didn't know what happened with Visser Three. But he did know that I was pretty freaky when I came up out of that basement. "I think we should find a way for someone to go along with Rachel," Cassie suggested. "What are you going to do, turn into a flea and ride on my back?" I asked her. She smiled and gave a little shrug. "I'm just saying we should think about it." "Okay then," Jake said. "Rachel goes in one more time. Maybe we'll get lucky." "We haven't gotten lucky since we walked through that construction site and met our first alien," Marco said. "Maybe that's going to change," I said. "I'm going in and I'm finding a way to hurt those creeps." less-than That's not the only reason you're going back in thereeagreater-than Tobias said in my head. less-than You're not just doing it to hurt the Yeerks, you're going back in there because you want to help Melissa. greater-than "Same thing," I said. I guess the others won dered who I was talking to.
C I t was a dark and stormy night. Sorry, I've always wanted to write that. But it really was a dark and storm y night. "Where is Jake?" I asked as we all got to gether down the street from Chapman's house. Everyone else was there. Cassie and Marco were wearing raincoats, although it hadn't started raining yet. Tobias was overhead, trying to hold onto a branch in a tree while the wind tried to knock him off. "Jake had to stay home," Marco said. "Some thing about his dad grounding him." "Why would his dad ground him?" "How do I know?" Marco said, sounding grouchy. "You know how parents are. Don't ask me to explain them." I bit my lip. Somehow I felt more nervous with Jake being absent. The crazy wind whistling through the branches wasn't helping my confi dence, either. less-than I've spotted Fluffereagreater-than Tobias said so all could hear. less-than He's kind of torturing a little rat he's found. But at least it's not a shrew. greater-than "Look, I'm not a big fan of shrews just be cause I sort of was one." I took a deep breath. "Okay, look, we can't always count on all of us being together, I guess. So we go without Jake." I glanced at Cassie. She smiled blandly. Something was going on with her, but I didn't have time to find out what. less-than l'll scope out the areaeagreater-than Tobias volunteered. He opened his wings a little and was immediately propelled out of the tree by the wind. I watched as he rode it expertly, swooping quickly up into the air beyond the range of my weak human eyes. After a while we saw something shooting over our heads at about fifty miles an hour. less-than All cleareagreater-than Tobias called down as he shot past. I felt strange. A little nauseous. A little scared. Everything seemed strange tonight. The weird thing was, I knew I'd feel better as soon as I morphed. I concentrated. The first raindrop fell just as I felt my tail grow out behind me. By the time I had fallen to the ground, surrounded by the tent of my clothing, the rain had started for real. "Oh, perfect," Marco said. "This just gets more and more fun." less-than At least you have a raincoateagreater-than I said. less-than like have nothing but fur. And this rain makes it impossible to smell anything out here.greater-than Cassie squatted next to me. She's just a normal-sized girl, but when you're a ten-pound cat any human being looks like Godzilla. "Be careful, Rachel," Cassie said. And then she stroked my back. I started to move away, but she kept her hand on my back for a few seconds. Then, smiling mysteriously, she stood up. I found I soon lost interest in Cassie's expres sion. Cats really don't have much interest in humans at all, unless food is involved. less-than I'm out of hereeagreater-than I said. I took off at a medium run. Cats don't like rain. I could feel the cat brain's distaste. I'd always thought cats hated all water. But that wasn't Flutter's attitude. See, to him it was all about the smells and the sounds. Rain washes away scents. Without scents, a cat feels cut off and lost. Almost as bad as losing smells is the fact that rain plopping all around you makes it hard to lis ten for the important sounds: the tiny high- pitched squeaks and the little furtive scritching noises. Rain to cats is like being in the dark is to human beings. It just makes the whole world kind of boring. So I ran toward the kitty door, actually looking forward to the friendly smells and sounds of home. At least, that's what Fluffer was thinking. I was still wondering why Jake hadn't come. And I was wondering if it was some kind of bad omen. There was a bad feeling over this whole mission. I knew my way around the Chapman home, both as a cat and as a human. And I was pretty sure I knew the routine. Last time Visser Three had made contact right at eight o'clock. If Visser Three communicated with Chapman at the same time every night, then I had arrived right on schedule. Chapman was sitting on the couch, same as last time. And just as I'd hoped, at three minutes till eight he stood up and
headed down toward the basement. My whole plan was to go down there with him. I remembered the layout of the little secret room. I remembered the desk. I knew if I could somehow follow him down without him seeing me and then get under the desk, I would be invisible to him, and to the Visser Three hologram. The problem was that the whole plan counted on Chapman not noticing me. He headed for the basement door. I fell into step right behind him. The trick was to stay just inches behind his feet. From there he couldn't see me. But I had to watch his feet closely. If he hesitated, I could plow right into him. That would be a very un-catlike thing to do. He walked. I kept pace perfectly, just behind. He headed down the stairs. I figured this part would be easier. When people walk down stairs they usually look where they are going. They don't turn around and look behind them. But one sound, one clumsy move, and I was finished. We reached the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly Chapman stopped dead. I leaped behind the couch. He looked around, like he'd heard a noise. Or maybe he just sensed something. I froze. I didn't move a muscle. He started on toward the door. I fell into step behind him again. less-than So, what's happening8greater-than I nearly had a heart attack. My tail puffed up. My back fur went straight up. I almost bolted. Chapman stopped and I nearly got entangled in his legs. His left foot moved. I dodged. He backed up a little. I squirmed out of the way. less-than lt's me, Jake. What's going on, Rachel8greater-than Jake? Chapman opened the door of the secret room. He stepped through. I was right between his monstrously big feet. If he happened to glance down . . . But he didn't. He didn't, and when he turned around to shut the door behind him, I bolted for the desk. I jammed my body as far back in the dark corner as I could. I'd made it ... barely. I was alive ... so far. less-than Rachel? Can you hear me8greater-than less-than Jake! Where are you? You scared me half to death. greater-than less-than Are we okay8greater-than He sounded concerned. Me, I was just angry. less-than What do you MEAN are WE okay8greater-than I yelled silently. less-than Where are y8greater-than less-than Well ... I'm kind of on you. greater-than less-than 0n me? Jake, this is not the time to be play ing jokes. greater-than Chapman sat down at the desk. His feet pushed beneath the desk, just narrowly missing me as I once again dodged nimbly out of the way. less-than Sorry. I can't exactly see. greater-than I kept my eyes focused on Chapman's feet. Cats have incredible powers of concentration. I focused hard on those big feet, each almost as big as I was. I had to stay out of their way. That was the key to staying alive. less-than Jake, we're in kind of a situation here. In like ten words or less, where are y8greater-than less-than In ten words or less, I morphedeagreater-than Jake said. less-than I'm a flea. greater-than less-than Every xcuse me8greater-than It would have been funny if I hadn't been so terrified. less-than Are you telling me you morphed into a flea? A flea8greater-than less-than Yeah. I'm on your back. Or your head. I can't tell. I don't really have eyes. At least not eyes that see anything I can understand. I mean, all I know is warm or not warm. I ... I think I can sense blood. That's about it. And I can kind of sense motion. Like when your hair stood up, I knew there was something going on around me. greater-than less-than Jake, this is sick. This is beyond sick. What is the matter with you? A flea? Are you insane? Just being a lizard made you sick. This is way worse. greater-than less-than Actually, it's kind of okayeagreater-than he said. less-than like mean, I don't know how to explain it, but the flea mind is so limited it's not hard at all to control. All it knows is to move toward the sense of warm blood, and eat. It's like ... I don't know, like in a way I'm not even really in the flea because I can't see much or sense much. I expected it to be horrible, but when Cassie and Marco and I tested it out -" less-than They're in on this with y8greater-than Of course! That's why Cassie had made such a point of pat ting my head. She was depositing Jake on me. less-than Rachel, we were worried about you. We fig ured someone should go along with you. Tobias said comgreater-than less-than Ah, so Tobias is in on this, too. greater-than less-than Tobias said you were not telling us every thing. He wasn't sure why, or what it was you weren't telling. greater-than I sighed inwardly. I guess it's good to have friends who care about you. But on the other hand, Jake had practically made me run into Chapman. Besides, the idea of Jake morphing into a flea and crawling around in my fur just gave me the worst creeps you can imagine. Suddenly the brilliant light went on. Visser Three appeared in the room. less-than Jake. The Visser is here in hologram. So don't distract me, okay? We're hiding under the desk about half an inch away from Chapman's foot. greater-than less-than 0h. But it doesn't matter if he sees you, right? I mean, he'll just figure you're the cat. No biggie. So you shouldn't be acting suspicious. greater-than I hesitated. Oh, well, it would have to come out sooner or later. less-than Um, Jake? That thing I didn't tell you? It's that Visser Three saw me in here last time. He told Chapman he should probably just . . . you know . . . kill me. He was worried I might be an Andalite in morph. greater-than For a while Jake didn't say anything. I had the feeling he was trying to keep himself from yelling at me. He failed. less-than Rachel, are you CRAZY? You came back down here after that? Are you INSANE8GREATER-THAN But just then Chapman began to speak. "Welcome, Visser. Iniss two two six of the Sulp Niaar pool submits to you. May the Kandrona shine and strengthen you." "And you," Visser Three said curtly. "Report." "I have four new voluntary hosts, Visser," Chapman said. "Two are children recruited through The Sharing, the front organization. Of the two adults one is an agent for the FBI, a sort of policeman. He may be very -" "FOOL!" Visser Three's artificial voice was flat, but still carried a load of anger. "Do I care about a handful of hosts? What have you learned of the Andalite bandits?" "Visser, what can I do ... unless they show themselves?" "They used Earth animals in the attack on the pool," Visser Three said. "They used powerful, dangerous Earth animals. Find out how they obtained such morphs. My experts here tell me such animals are rare on this part of the planet." "Yes, Visser. I will do- his "Yes. You will. And we have another matter. We need six more human-Controllers, suitable for work as guards. They will be used to increase the guard around the Kandrona." less-than What's happening8greater-than Jake asked. less-than Chapman is getting reamed by Visser Three. greater-than less-than Too bad Marco isn't here. He'd enjoy seeing Chapman get chewed out. greater-than less-than He wants us badeagreater-than I said. less-than 0r at least he wants the Andalites he thinks we are. He's put ting extra guards around the Kandrona. Human- Controllers caret less-than That's interesting, maybe he'll comgreater-than The foot moved too quickly. The point of the shoe hit me in the ribs. "Mrrrraaaoowwww!" Chapman pushed back from the desk. He passed right through the Visser Three hologram. For a second I saw them united, as if they were one horrible creature. "What's happening?" Visser Three de manded. Chapman stared at me, horror and fury in his eyes. I flattened my ears back against my skull. My claws came out. My teeth were bared. "It's the animal, Visser. The cat," Chapman said in a voice full of loathing and fear. Visser Three seemed to make a seething, half-hissing noise. "You should have killed it when I told you to, Iniss two two six." "But Visser -" Chapman protested. "And yet it all works out to my advantage," Visser Three said. "Now there can be no doubt that this cat is one of the Andalite bandits." less-than Jake? We're bustedeagreater-than I said. less-than We're busted really bad. greater-than "We will no longer have to search for the An dalites," Visser Three said. "We have one right here with us." "Shall I kill it?" Chapman asked. "No. Don't kill it. Seize it. Seize it now, be fore it can morph back into Andalite shape. By the time I am done with this one, we will have them all! It has been a long time since I tortured a proud Andalite warrior. But I know how to break them. Seize it and bring it to me!" Chapman knew better than to argue. 132 Child apman dived. His hands were open wide, grabbing for me. I was trapped! No way out. No way to open that door and escape. Trapped! No sensible choice but to surrender. But the cat and I were in agreement on this: You never surrender. I felt my claws extend. My pupils were wide, ready to see every tiny movement. My ears were flattened back against my skull. My needle-sharp teeth we
re bared. My liquid steel muscles were coiled. Chapman's hand seemed to slow down. It was like he was moving in slow motion. Everything seemed slower to my heightened cat senses. Only I was moving at normal speed. My paw lashed out. My claws bit flesh. I saw three bright red tracks on the back of Chapman's hand. I could smell the blood that flowed. "Ahhhhh!" Chapman howled. He backed away. "Get it!" Visser Three shouted. less-than What's going on8greater-than Jake wondered. less-than like feel like we're bouncing around a lot. greater-than Chapman got a determined look on his face. He came at me again. I was cornered. No way out. I slashed. Chapman cried out. My claws were lacerating him, tearing furrows in his arms and hands. He grabbed me around the middle. The cat in me hated being grabbed that way. Hated it a lot. I brought my teeth into it. I was a ten-pound bundle of lightning-fast claws and teeth. Chap man's hands looked like raw hamburger. "A magnificent animal!" Visser Three com mented. "Twist it around. Hold it with your fore arm. That's right." I did a lot of damage. Believe me, Chapman got hurt. But in the end, no matter how tough I was, I was just ten pounds of killer. Chapman was about eighteen times bigger. He got his forearm around my chest. He had me pressed back against his chest. My front legs were pinned. With his other arm he managed to grab my hind legs. All I could do was bite. I bit. I bit again and again. But although I could hurt him, I couldn't kill him. I couldn't stop him. His fear of Visser Three was greater than the pain I was causing. "Bring it to me," Visser Three said enthusias tically. "Bring it to me. I will come to collect it at the nearest landing site." "Visser, what if it ... Owww! . . . What if it resumes its Andalite shape?" "You have weapons. If it tries to remorph, kill it." "Yes . . . Ahhhh! . . . Rotten little beast! Yes, Visser. I will go directly." "We will deal with this Andalite bandit. And bring the girl, too." "The girl . . . Melissa?" Chapman asked. "I have been indulgent too long. This Andalite spy has penetrated your home. It is because of the girl. I have already chosen the Yeerk for her. Bring her with the Andalite. Obey me, Iniss two two six. Or prepare to face the Vanarx." Visser Three's hologram disappeared. Chapman suddenly threw me across the room. I twisted in midair and brought my legs around for the landing. I hit the floor and skidded. less-than 0kay, something is definitely going on out there. greater-than By the time I was up, Chapman had reached his desk and opened a drawer. His bloody hand came out with a small pistollike device I had seen before. It was a handheld Dracon beam. Chapman leveled the weapon at me. He was shaking. His face seemed to be twitching. The weapon jerked a little with each spasm. But I knew he would still have gotten me if I had tried to move. less-than Are you going to tell me what's going on8greater-than Jake demanded. less-than A few seconds ago I felt an other warm body close by. And I think I'm sens ing blood. greater-than less-than We're in kind of a messeagreater-than I said. less-than What kind of a mess8greater-than Jake asked. less-than Chapman has a Dracon beam pointed at me. He knows I'm not exactly a cat. He thinks I'm an Andalite. He's taking me to Visser Three. greater-than less-than 0h. This is bad. greater-than less-than It gets worse. Visser Three wants Melissa, too. greater-than Chapman opened the door a crack. "Get down here! Now!" he yelled upstairs. I guess he saw my eyes flick toward the door. He made a fierce, vicious grin. "Try it, Andalite. Go ahead and try it. I'd love the excuse to fry you." I decided not to head for the door. "You've made life very difficult for me," Chapman said. "Very difficult. If I have to let Visser Three take the girl, my host will make life annoying for me. Do you know how tiring it is to have an uncooperative host? No, of course you don't. But trust me, Andalite: I will gladly kill you." Ms. Chapman appeared at the door. "What is it?" "This cat is one of the Andalite bandits in a morph. Visser Three wants him. Get me the cage we use to take him to the vet." Ms. Chapman nodded and disappeared. less-than What's going on now8greater-than Jake asked. less-than Ms. Chapman is getting a cageeagreater-than I said. I was feeling utterly defeated. Because of me, the Yeerks were going to take Melissa. I had failed. I had made a mess of things. Ms. Chapman brought the cage. She opened the little barred door. "In," Chapman snapped. I didn't move. "In," he said in a cruel whisper. "In or I'll fin ish you right here." He looked like he meant it. I walked into the cage. Ms. Chapman closed the door and made sure it was locked. Chapman snatched up the cage and carried me to the top of the stairs. "Now," he snapped at his wife, "go get . . . ungh!" Peering through the slats in the side of the cage, I saw him stagger. His face was twitching like he was a crazy man. He seemed to be having a hard time getting control of his mouth. "Go . . . get ... the ... girl," he said through gritted teeth. Ms. Chapman started to obey, but then Chap man cried out. "Oh! Ungh!" He fell to his knees. "He is ... urgh ... he is ... fighting me. . .
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