Текст книги "Animorphs - 18 - The Decision"

Автор книги: Katherine Alice Applegate

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A fellow Andalite told me we were weak because we are not united. We do not speak with one voice,"; I said. But this union does not feel weak."; Free people who get together to defend freedom are never weak."; It was Marco who said that. Maybe you can see why, despite all their strangeness, I like humans. And I was starting to like Leerans.

We let the Leerans go their own way to their underwater caves to recover from their injuries.

And we began what might be the most bizarre morph any of us has ever done. The physical part was strange, but no more disturbing than any number of Earth creatures I've morphed. The powerful webbed feet in back, the four sinuous tentacles, the neckless head were almost ordinary compared to the body of a fly or a cockroach.

It was the new sense that was stunning: the psychic sense. It wasn't that I could read every thought in the heads of Prince Jake and Cassie and Marco.

But I could feel enough of their secrets to be embarrassed for them. And, of course, for myself.

Because my own secrets, my vain little ideas, my pretensions were all open to them as well.

I could see so clearly that Marco was hoping for some news of his mother, Visser One. He wondered if she was here on Leera, if she had survived our last encounter.

I could see and feel Prince Jake's crushing weight of responsibility. The way he kept running things through in his mind, over and over again. Trying to figure out what had happened to Tobias and Rachel. Desperate to find a way to protect the rest of us.

And I could feel Cassie's mind as she cried for Rachel and Tobias. As she wondered whether we were doing the right thing. As she dealt with the aftereffects of the violence we'd just endured.

Well,"; Marco said, obviously uncomfortable. I would just like you all to know that whatever thoughts of mine you're reading are totally made up. They aren't real."; Same here,"; Prince Jake said quickly.

Absolutely."; Hey,"; Cassie said, ^the are just morphs to us, right? Lots of times we have trouble controlling the brain of the morph. But we usually handle it. So maybe–"; Maybe since these are just morphs to us, maybe we can turn off the psychic thing!"; Marco said, clutching at the idea.

Then, one by one, I felt their minds close to me. And I closed my own.

It seemed suddenly very lonely as we grabbed the water jets and rode away through the brilliantly alive sea. Suddenly very lonely.

But I guess each species feels most comfortable when they are just themselves. And for humans and Andalites, secrets and lies and the loneliness of privacy are natural.

We passed through a loose ring of Leeran-Controllers set up around the far edges of the City of Worms. None challenged us. We were riding Yeerk-issued water jets, and we stayed far enough off that no one could read our thoughts.

The Leeran city rose from the seabed like a wondrous tower, perhaps half a thousand feet wide at its base, dwindling to a few dozen feet at the very top. The top pressed right against the sparkling water ceiling, up to the border between sea and sky.

At the very top, huge fans sucked in air and blew out exhaust from the entire city.

The city itself violated every logical law, at least as far as Andalites or humans were concerned.

Andalites and humans are accustomed to moving in two dimensions, left and right, forward and back.

But in the water, up and down were just as likely as left or right.

It looks like a gigantic Dairy Queen cone, poked full of a million holes,"; Cassie said. Look! Doors everywhere.

Windows and doors all the same."; The predominant color was pink. But there was blue and green and purple as well, in vast swatches of seemingly random color. Openings were everywhere. Leerans drifted in and out and around and through, a hundred feet up, twenty feet below us, everywhere.

And like some slow-motion tornado, the long, electric-blue worms swam around and around the City of Worms. They formed an eerie halo.

Even as strangers, we could tell the city was tense. There were weapons poking from many of the windows.

And nestled up against the base of the city, floating free, were two craft I'd seen only in pictures: Andalite submarines.

Are those good guys or bad guys?"; Prince Jake asked, gazing at the submarines.

Or a little of each?"; Marco asked dryly.

They are Andalite vessels,"; I said.

Let's go say hello,"; Prince Jake said.

We swam toward the submarines. As we got nearer we could see that a transparent tunnel had been set up between the subs and the city.

Andalite warriors were rushing through the tunnel on urgent errands, their tails cocked and ready.

Down we went, sifting air from the water with our Leeran skin. Down we went, expecting at any moment to be challenged, even shot. But we passed through dozens of Leerans who made no move to stop us.

It's the psychic thing,"; Cassie said.

They know who we are and why we're here."; Then I guess they know who we're looking for,"; Prince Jake said.

And to my amazement, an answer came. It was a vision that filled my head: a sort of arrow showing a doorway we should enter.

Ooookay,"; Marco said. I guess we follow the yellow brick road."; We entered the city through one of the thousands of windows. I don't know what I expected inside, but it wasn't what I found. The tower was merely a shell. Inside were seven or eight, maybe more, huge, floating, transparent bubbles. In each bubble there were levels, a dozen or more floors. There were open holes in the bottoms of the bubbles. Some seemed to be filled with water. Others were filled with air. All contained Leerans doing work, sleeping, living. And one, mostly air, contained perhaps two dozen Andalites on one floor.

We entered the bubble from the bottom and stepped out at last onto dry ground. Two Andalite warriors were waiting.

Demorph,"; one said curtly. The Leerans have told us who you are. Commander Galuit is waiting."; So humility is just not something you Andalites do, is it?"; Marco asked.

We demorphed. It felt good to be Andalite again. But I was worried. I was nervous. I had given my word to Prince Jake that he, and only he, would decide whose orders I should obey. It had seemed easy to make that promise before. But now we were going to see Galuit! The idea of saying no to him ... it made me gasp.

We rushed and stumbled to the room where Galuit waited. Only he wasn't waiting. He was rushing forward to meet us. He was flanked by three tough-looking Andalite security guards, and accompanied by his aide, an Andalite who had lost one stalk eye and half his face from a war injury.

.Aristh Aximili,"; Galuit said without bothering to introduce himself.

all yes, sir, I–"; ationo time,"; he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. I'm a member of the highest circles, so I know all about your escapades on Earth.

Yours and Elfangor's. Very disappointed in Elfangor. Although, by the galaxy, your brother could fight! I don't know how you came to be here with these humans of yours, but it is a stroke of luck! We need you."; I was almost completely bowled over. First of all, Galuit even knowing my name was incredible.

It would be as if a human child were sitting at home by the telephone and suddenly got a call from the head general of the army.

Second, Galuit needed me? Needed?

Me?

Sir, may I introduce this human named Jake?"; I said I need you. Now stand to attention and listen to my–"; Sir, this is Jake. My prince."; That stopped Galuit in mid-yell. The guards all stared incredulously at Prince Jake. Then at me. Then at Marco and Cassie, as if they might be able to explain.

Every warrior must have a prince to follow, and the princes must obey the People,"; I said.

Galuit looked like he was seriously considering using his old tail on me. But then he nodded stiffly. Just so, Aristh. No one is a law unto themselves. We each must serve."; Galuit turned to speak to Prince Jake.

I have need of you to save this planet from the Yeerks. Will you–"; all yes,"; Prince Jake said.

ally say yes without knowing what I'm asking."; Will it save the Leerans? Will it keep them free? And most of all, will it hurt the Yeerks?"; all yes to all three. Especially the last.

If we save Leera it may turn the tide of the war against the Yeerks."; Then we'll do it."; Galuit seemed surprised. Maybe even impressed. In private thought-speak he said to me, I have known worse princes than this one.";

Galuit explained what he needed and why.

It was exactly what I had suspected. The reason we had to flee the land and take to the sea.

The reason I could not risk being taken by the Yeerks: It had all been a trap.

A trap for the Yeerks.

We knew the Yeerks would take the battle to the continent,"; Galuit said. And we thought it very likely they would defeat us there. So we had a backup plan. We have planted a series of quantum bombs around the continent. Our plan was to wait until the Yeerks had moved all their troops down to the continent, then explode the bombs."; I nodded. all yes, I suspected this."; Prince Jake looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, then raised one eyebrow. It wasn't an angry look, as I interpret human expressions. It was a little reproachful, though.

We had transferred to one of the submarines and were already racing at maximum speed, south to a point on the continent.

The Leerans don't need the continent. They are quite happy in their underwater cities,"; Galuit said. But there's been some kind of problem with setting off the bombs. Our forces were overrun much too quickly. With the Ascalin's forces we should have held out longer. The main switch was never armed. We've been beaming the destruct signal for hours. Nothing. And the Yeerks will soon discover our trap. It's now or never."; I hesitated. Should I tell Galuit why our forces were so easily overrun? I took a deep breath. Sir, the Ascalin was never in the fight."; Galuit swiveled both stalk eyes toward me. What?"; Captain Samilin was ... a traitor,"; I said. He set the ship toward a landing behind Yeerk lines. He was killed. Once it was clear the Ascalin could not escape, Tactical Officer Harelin made the decision to fire all weapons while on the ground. No one survived.

Except for us and two of our friends who have disappeared."; I could see Galuit slump. He seemed suddenly older. More frail.

"Why us?" Marco asked. "Why do you need us to go in and arm this switch?"

We have few Andalites here on the planet now. And none who possess the wide array of morphs you have,"; Galuit explained. All Andalite warriors are morph-capable. But few acquire morphs or use them. That is mostly done by our people in intelligence. Spies. But you four may be able to penetrate the Yeerk forces."; Suddenly he looked confused. His eyes went left, then right. I was sure it was four. Where is the other human?"; A cold lance of fear struck my hearts.

Prince Jake was still there. Cassie, too. But Marco ...

"Marco!" Prince Jake cried.

"Marco! Marco!"

We are disappearing one by one!"; I said.

Galuit yelled a thought-speak summons that was heard clear through the submarine. Science officer, report to me, right now!"; "This is insane!" Cassie said, her eyes blazing. "What is happening? One by one we're disappearing."

Cold fear wormed through my insides. I felt sorry for Marco and the others. Very sorry.

But now I was more afraid than anything. It didn't take too much imagination to figure out that the rest of us would be disappearing eventually.

It's one thing to face an enemy. It's very different to wait, powerless, for some unseen force to simply ... delete you.

The sub raced on through the bright Leeran sea.

But there was no time to enjoy the view. Prince Jake, Cassie, and I were surrounded by Andalites. We were cross-examined by the sub's science officer. In between questions from him we were bombarded by questions from Galuit and a counterintelligence officer.

It was nerve-racking. But at least it kept my mind off the awful suspense of waiting ...

waiting ... waiting for another one of us to disappear.

How long were you in Zero-space?"; Are you sure Captain Samilin knew the ship was heading for Yeerk lines?"; What was the mass of the creature you morphed on Earth before being dragged into Zero-space?"; Did Captain Samilin seem embittered, stressed?"; At last, after an hour, Galuit put an end to it. Enough! Samilin was a traitor.

We have to accept that."; He turned to the science officer. And you've asked the same questions fifty times. Give me a hypothesis."; Sir, I don't have enough–"; the science officer started to say.

Just give me your best guess!"; Galuit demanded.

I ... I think these humans and this aristh are still caught in a residual flux field. It is pulling them back toward Zero-space. It may even be snapping them all the way back to Earth. But my best guess is that what's happening is a sort of elastic effect. They were stretched through Zero-space and back into normal space, but a small amount of their mass is still back on Earth. It may be acting like an anchor."; "We're on some big Zero-space rubber band?" Prince Jake asked. "It's been stretching all this time, and now it's starting to snap back?"

all yes,"; the science officer said, after I explained what a rubber band was.

"Maybe all the way back to Earth, in which case Rachel and Tobias and Marco are alive," Cassie said. "Or maybe just into Zero-space. In which case ..."

From the data you've given me, the effect appears to be accelerating,"; the science officer said. ally will go, one by one, faster and faster now.

Like your friends, you will each disappear."; Galuit said, Under these circumstances, I cannot ask you to carry out this mission."; Prince Jake shrugged. "Under these circumstances, it doesn't look like we have anything to lose."

We were briefed by one of Galuit's officers.

The central arming unit is well hidden.

It is in what the Leerans call a "bright hole." Here on Leera the volcanic past created a number of large, underground bubbles in the rock. Because the rock contains a great many phosphorescent minerals and bio-organisms, there is light in these holes, and thus, life."; "What kind of life?" Cassie asked.

Even now, she was interested in living things.

Plant only, aside from insects and microscopic animals. This particular "bright hole" can only be reached two ways: Either someone on the surface must tunnel down through several feet of rock. Or one must travel underwater, up a river, enter an underwater cave, pass through an absolutely lightless tunnel, and emerge at last in the "bright hole.""; Prince Jake took a deep breath.

Cassie took a deep breath. I took a deep breath. We each looked at each other.

Galuit said, That's not all. The river itself may be guarded by Leeran-Controllers. The lightless cave is inhabited by a species of snake that uses echolocation to strike at anything passing by. These snakes hang from the ceilings and walls. But once within the "bright hole" you are safe. Unless, of course, the Yeerks have already found it."; "Is it too late for us to change our minds?"

Prince Jake said.

Galuit looked alarmed.

It is humor,"; I said quickly.

Human humor often consists of pretending to wish something one does not really wish."; "What makes you so sure I don't mean it?" Prince Jake muttered.

More humor,"; I explained to Galuit.

The submarine took us to the mouth of the river. It was as close as it could take us without becoming far too visible for safety.

"I know the oceans are saltwater here, just like on Earth," Cassie said. "But how about the rivers?"

The rivers are lower saline,"; the briefing officer said.

Cassie shook her head. "Hammerheads are saltwater fish. I don't know how they'd deal with freshwater. I just don't know. But they're still probably the best morph for moving fast and winning fights."

Good luck,"; Galuit said. The freedom of this planet rests on your tails.

Or ... or whatever humans have that would be the equivalent of tails."; "Shoulders," Cassie said.

"As long as there's no pressure,"

Prince Jake said.

That would be human humor?"; Galuit asked.

"Plus a little human fear," Prince Jake said. But then he laughed.

Five minutes later, we were in the river, swimming against the current, our dorsal fins slicing upward into the air.

This should be interesting,"; Prince Jake said darkly.

I smell Leerans,"; I said. Up ahead. I recognize the smell from before."; allyep,"; Cassie agreed. Good Leerans or bad? That's the question."; We powered ahead. Through the slightly murky river water we saw them: two pebbly, yellow, tentacled amphibians.

Psychic amphibians.

As soon as we were within range of them, the Leerans knew what we were. They turned and swam away as if their lives depended on it.

After them!"; Prince Jake cried.

They were heading for the banks of the river. Trying to get up, out of the water, beyond our reach. They didn't have water jets, just their natural Leeran bodies.

We were faster, but the bank was close, closer!

The water grew shallow. No more than seven feet. Five feet! The Leerans were kicking up mud, but my shark senses could feel the electrical field of the Leerans now.

Blind, scraping my belly in mud, I lunged.

My teeth bit down. I clamped and held on and struggled to pull the creature back out into the water.

But then, up through the ripply surface I saw a huge, looming Hork-Bajir. Two, no, four of them! They came stomping out into the water.

I pulled back. I tried to turn as the Leeran kept fighting me.

Then I heard the Leeran's psychic cry to the Hork-Bajir. ..Explosives! The whole continent is rigged to explode. There's a central switch. Bright hole! It's in a–"; I bit down harder. The pain stopped the Leeran from saying more. A Hork-Bajir blade slashed down into the water. It sliced me, but not deep.

I let go of the Leeran, jerked my head right, bit down with all my might on the nearest Hork-Bajir's leg. I heard a howl of pain come burbling down through the water.

The Leeran was scrambling away. Still half-blind, I lunged.

The Hork-Bajir had backed off. And now I dragged the Leeran-Controller back out into deeper water.

ationo!"; the Yeerk in his head cried.

Oh, yes,"; I said. I swept behind him and bit off the lobe at the back of his head. Out came the Yeerk.

Are you okay, brother Leeran?"; I asked.

..I am now. Thank you, my Andalite friend! Hurry. Hurry! The Yeerks know your mission now! Hurry!"; I turned back upstream. Cassie and Jake fell in beside me. They had each had their own battles in the murky, shallow water.

How long will it take the Yeerks to find this "bright hole"?"; Prince Jake asked.

Using the sensors aboard their orbiting ships, they will have a map of every subsurface cavern on the continent within five minutes. How long to find the right "bright hole"? I don't know.

We must hurry. The fate of this planet depends on us.";

There! Is that the underwater cave entrance?"; Cassie cried.

I think so. It's in the right area. But there could be dozens of caves."; ationo time to worry about it,"; Prince Jake said.

We plunged into the mouth of the cave. The floor rose steadily and we swam on grimly, blind, scared, and in a desperate hurry.

Suddenly I felt my snout break the surface. Air!

I think we're there,"; Prince Jake said. Demorph! Cassie, what do you think?

Bat morphs?"; There was no answer.

Cassie! Cassie!"; Prince Jake cried.

The rubber band effect. She's gone. Back to Earth. Or ..."; It's happening faster,"; Prince Jake said. Less time between people disappearing. Just two of us now. We could both be snapped back before we reach this switch."; He sounded like I felt. Like he couldn't breathe. Like he couldn't stop his heart from pounding.

It was too much!

Demorph. Nothing to do now but hurry and try to get this job done!"; Prince Jake said.

all yes, Prince Jake,"; I said.

ally know, Ax, there's just the two of us now.

We could probably drop the whole "prince"

thing."; He paused, then added, ally could just call me "The Jake formerly known as Prince.""; Is that a bit of humor?"; all yeah. A joke. Not much of one, but Marco isn't here, so I figure ..."; At that point he made the transition to mostly human and lost his thought-speak ability. I emerged as Andalite, standing in a cold, absolutely black cave, with water still sloshing over my hooves.

"Bat," Prince Jake said. His mouth-sounds echoed slightly.

I focused on the bat. I felt myself shrinking, although there was nothing to see for comparison.

But I could almost feel an upward breeze as I dropped from my own height down to the stumpy, few inches of the bat.

Just you and me now, Ax."; all yes."; If one of us is stopped, for any reason, the other one has to keep going. Clear?"; We fired echolocation bursts and saw the sketchy portrait of a cave that stretched on and on, far past our faintest ultrasonic echoes.

We took to wing. We flapped up on leather wings and raced at full, tearing speed.

We have to remember the snakes,"; I said.

Ugh. Ughughugh,"; Prince Jake said with a sort of shudder.

all yes,"; I agreed.

We flapped as if our lives depended on it. Through jutting rocks and stalactites, around sudden turns, up sudden chimneys, and down sudden wells. All of it reduced to colorless lines in our mind's eye. A sketch drawn with blasts of sound.

Around one hairpin turn and suddenly ...

A blast of sounds! A cacophony of echolocating squeaks and trills.

The snakes!"; I cried.

Our own echolocation showed them as writhing lines that hung from the low ceiling and reached out from the walls. There were thousands! Millions! All firing their own echolocations, yammering and confusing the echoes of our own blasts.

Suddenly, in all the ultrasonic noise, the pictures in my head became distorted. Wild, swerving, swooping lines. Writhing borders of objects that no longer seemed solid.

What do we do?"; Prince Jake asked.

As Rachel would say if she were here: We go for it!"; It was a nightmare! Deadly snakes filled the air. Lost, confused, we powered on, flapping wings that became more and more shredded as more and more snakes found their target.

I was losing maneuverability. Losing speed.

I had lost sight of Prince Jake altogether. I could no longer tell up from down. I was spinning, flapping madly, afraid and confused. Lost!

Lost in a squirming madhouse of darkness.

And then, swoosh! I blew free of the snakes. The cave walls backed off. The ceiling was gone. And light! Blessed light was glowing all around me.

I was in the "bright hole."

I soared upward on tattered, shredded wings.

Up into the stale air. Everywhere flowers and plants in absurd colors exploded from the walls of the hole.

Prince Jake! Jake!"; I called.

But there was no answer.

Quite suddenly, I was all alone.

I landed on a clump of screamingly orange mold or lichens or ... something. And began to demorph.

Within minutes I was standing alone, an Andalite in a bizarre underworld universe cut off from the world outside.

The "bright hole" was perhaps five hundred feet at its longest, half that wide. The roof was no more than a hundred feet over my head. It was very large for a hole in the ground. But it felt very small.

No rain had ever fallen here. No sun had ever shone here. The only light was from the greenish glow of the walls. A light that never grew brighter, never grew dim.

It was alive, but dead-feeling. A wonder of nature, but a creeping, spirit-crushing place.

In the center of the place was the only artificial object: a vertical cylinder, five feet tall, a foot in diameter. On the side was a control pad, showing glowing blue numbers. Right where Galuit had said it would be.

Just as Andalite intelligence agents had placed it.

I looked cautiously around. But I saw no Hork-Bajir, no Taxxons, no Gedds.

Just unnatural plants in an unnatural place.

I exhaled, trying to shed my tension. Whoever decided to hide this thing here sure picked a good hiding place,"; I said.

I began to trot toward the cylinder. But the ground was rough, rising, falling, overrun with mosses and molds and clumps of hideous flowers. There were no paths.

I ended up having to step carefully, only able to hurry when I was sure of a place to leap.

Ba-Whoooom!

An explosion rocked the room. The concussion, trapped in that hole, knocked me off my feet and left me temporarily deaf.

Brilliant light!

Falling rock and debris.

A hole had been blown into the top of the "bright hole." Leeran sunlight streamed down in a blinding shaft.

And down, down through the shaft of light, the Hork-Bajir dropped.

Their fall was slowed by small rockets on their feet and tails. The rockets burned red.

Two, four, a dozen Hork-Bajir warriors falling in slow motion, unlimbering their Dracon beams. I could see them peering about as they fell, searching for the cylinder. And for me.

I ran. I didn't care if I broke a leg. I ran, I leaped, I fell and lurched back up.

It was a race between falling Hork-Bajir and me.

Tseeewww!

ZzzzaaaaPPPP!

The Dracon beam stabbed at me, missed, and boiled a bright blue cabbage into steam.

Just a few more feet!

Suddenly, my hands were pressed on the cold metal. The code! What was the code?

My fingers flew.

Tssseeewww! Tseeewww!

"Het gafrash nur!" a Hork-Bajir screamed.

Tsseeewww!

Aaaahhh!"; I felt a burn across my back, a glancing blow from a Dracon beam.

The code! The code! I entered it. Was I right? Had I remembered?

Then ...

System armed."; The cool, thought-speak voice of the computer. Warning. This system is armed."; I collapsed, leaning back against the cylinder.

Galuit had said once they got confirmation that we had armed the system, they'd wait half an hour to give us time to escape.

Half an hour would be too long. The Yeerks would be able to disarm it by then.

A huge Hork-Bajir hit the ground right in front of me.

I punched the built-in communicator on the cylinder. This is Aristh Aximili,"; I said. Do it now. Do it now! Blow the Yeerks off this planet!"; "Filshig Andalite!" the Yeerk inside the Hork-Bajir screamed.

I was calm. Shockingly calm.

Detonation in ten seconds,"; the computer warned.

"Disarm that weapon!" the Hork-Bajir commander yelled, switching to Galard, the interstellar language.

Seven ..."; I don't think so, Yeerk. This time you lose. This time, you die."; Five ..."; The Hork-Bajir raised his Dracon beam in rage. "You'll die first, Andalite scum!"

Three ..."; He squeezed the trigger.

The Dracon beam fired. Point-blank range. Five feet from my face.

One ..."; I literally saw the Dracon beam stop. The beam stopped in midair as time froze. I heard a "pop!"

And suddenly, I was no longer there.

I felt the warm, human skin beneath my six legs. What?"; I yelped.

What the ...?"; Rachel yelled.

Whoa! Whoa, I am serious: Whoa!"; Marco cried. This is way too strange."; I was back. On Earth. In mosquito morph.

We were all back. All back! And all at the same exact moment.

We were in the hospital room, surrounded by human-Controllers who were busy firing human guns out the window at the bushes below. Still trying to kill the Andalite.

Me.

But that was not the biggest problem I had. Because right then, as I sat on vibrating human flesh, surrounded by giant hairs, a huge, sky-filling object came hurtling down toward me.

ationo way!"; Rachel yelled. Ax, move out!"; I fired my wings.

The object, five fingers each as big around as a large tree, came slapping down at me.

"Ow!" said Hewlett Aldershot the Third, as he slapped the spot where I'd been busily biting him.

"Ow!" he said again.

"The human! He's awake!" one of the human-Controllers said.

"He's not supposed to wake up yet!"

another moaned. "He's in a coma!"

"What do we do?"

"The Visser will kill us!"

"The police are coming. We can't be taken!"

"Run! Run!"

"What do we do with this Aldershot human?"

"We have no orders."

"Run!" someone yelled again. And this time, the rest agreed.

There came a loud vibrating thunder as the human-Controllers all raced from the room in a panic.

Moments later, a frightened nurse came in.

"Mr. Aldershot! You're ... you're conscious."

"Of course I'm conscious," he said.

"Nurse, are you aware that this room is full of mosquitoes?"

"So wait a minute here," Rachel said.

"We get zapped back here through Zero-space, one by one, at different times. But when we get back here, we all arrive at the same moment?

And no time has passed?"

I nodded my human head. We were at the mall. At the place where the excellent food places are. I was in human morph. Behaving perfectly like a human. "Exactly, Rachel.

Eggs-Act'-lee. Zactly. We arrived back at the precise moment when we were snatched away. We were all yanked away at the same moment, so naturally we all arrived back at the same moment. Yanked. Yanked is a strange word. Yank. Yank-kut."

"Yeah," Marco said. "That's what's strange: the word "yanked." Us turning into mosquitoes to suck some guy's blood so we could morph into him and instead ending up in the middle of some war to control psychic yellow frogs, and oh, by the way, blowing up a small continent full of Yeerks, saving an entire species, then getting back here to find out Coma-man woke up from a mosquito bite delivered by a morphed alien-slash-deer-slash-scorpion-slash-four– eyed centaur, that's all totally normal.

That's just an average day. Dear Diary: another boring average day, till someone said "yanked.""

I recognized his tone. Sarcasm. It is a form of humor. So I laughed using mouth-sounds.

"Hah. Hah-hah. Hah. Hah." I considered, then added, "Hah."

Prince Jake, Cassie, Marco, Rachel, and Tobias, in his own human morph, all stared at me.

"What was that?" Rachel demanded.

"I laughed."

"Don't ... don't do that, Ax," Prince Jake said. "It's disturbing somehow."

"Yes, Prince Jake."

"Don't call me prince."

"I will call you "The Jake formerly known as Prince.""

Marco made a horrified face. "Oh, no. Now he's making jokes. Bad, bad jokes."

"Actually, that was my joke," Prince Jake said stiffly. "Oh, fine. I get it. You can't laugh at my jokes. Okay. Great. I don't even care."

I was an Andalite, all alone, far, far from home. Far from my own people. Except that sometimes your own people are not just the ones who look like you.