C Kill it. Kill it immediately. I wanted to run. I wanted to panic. But some strange combination of the cat's cunning and my own intelligence came together and saved me. I didn't so much as flick a whisker. If I had, I would have been dead. I knew that for a fact. If I'd reacted like I'd understood, they would have known for sure that I was no normal cat. Visser Three's hologram watched me closely. All four of his Andalite eyes were focused on me now. And behind that gentle Andalite expression, I could feel the razor-sharp focus of the powerful, evil Yeerk. Chapman, too, was staring at me. He had the same look in his eyes that he had when he caught someone trying to skip out of school. I was terrified. Or at least the Rachel part of me was terrified. Fluffer couldn't have cared less. He sensed my concern, but he had none of his own. There were no birds of prey here. There were no dogs. There were no smells of dominant cats. There was only a sort of three-dimensional picture that had no scent. And Chapman. Chapman might be prey, or he might not, but he was certainly no threat. "It could be an Andalite," Visser Three said. "Destroy it." In response I said, "Meow." Visser Three glared at me. "What is that?" "It's . . . it's ... the s-s-sound a cat makes, Visser. I b-b-believe it wishes to eat." SAWWWAPP! Suddenly, without warning, Visser Three whipped his tail at me. A dangerous, foot-long, scythe-shaped blade arced toward me at a speed no human could hope to evade. But I wasn't just a human. In a tenth of the time it took to blink, I had seen the sudden motion and I was crouched down, ears back, teeth bared. My paw, claws out stretched, swiped at the tail blade. My paw went straight through the hologram. And the blade, nothing but a projection, swept through me. "Ha, ha, ha." It took me a second to make sense of the sound. It was Visser Three laughing. Chapman seemed amazed, too. Like he had never heard the Visser laugh. Like it wasn't even possible to imagine the Visser laughing. "What a ferocious little beast," Visser Three said approvingly. "See how he did not back away or run? I am many times his size and yet he struck at me. A pity that the species is too small to serve as a host." "Yes, a pity," Chapman said warily. "Kill it," Visser Three said. "What better form for an Andalite to use? Better kill it, just to be safe." "Yes, Visser," Chapman said. "0-o-only . . ." "Only what?" the Visser snapped. "It belongs to the girl. If I kill the animal she will be angry. She may draw attention. Killing a cat is seen as a bad deed. It would violate my cover." Visser Three did not look happy to be disobeyed. But he was not a creature who made im petuous decisions. He considered for a moment while my future just hung there, balancing be tween life and death. "Do not violate your cover or draw attention," the Visser said at last. I figured it was time for me to do something in my own defense. I walked over and rubbed my flank against Chapman's leg. "What is it doing?" Visser Three demanded. "It is signaling that it wishes to be fed." "Interesting. Claws and teeth and ferocity mixed with the subtlety to manipulate creatures larger than itself. A worthy creature. Yes, let it live, for now. Let it live until we have resolved the matter of the girl." Chapman's face actually seemed to twitch. It was the only emotion he had shown, other than fear. "The girl? But . . . Visser . . . the agreement with the human Chapman . . ." Visser Three sneered. "Agreements. Don't be a fool. We make agreements to gain voluntary hosts. Agreements are a tool. Just as you are my tool. If you had brought me the Andalite bandits, I would not have to concern myself with a cat or a girl." Chapman bowed his head. "I will bring them to you." "Do that," Visser Three said coldly. And then the solid-seeming image began to change. The gentle Andalite body melted away and in its place grew a monster like nothing ever seen on Earth. Where the Andalite head had been, there was now a long, thick tube. There was an opening like some horrible mouth at the end of the tube. The thing was purple, but translucent. You could al most see through it, although I wasn't sure if that was because it was a hologram, or if the animal itself was that way. The hologram Visser lowered the tube-mouth toward Chapman's head. The mouth opened, revealing hundreds, maybe thousands, of tiny suck ers, each dripping slime. It seemed as if the tube mouth closed over Chapman's head. Chapman shook and quivered in terror. Visser Three's artificial voice said, "Don't for get, Iniss two two six, I gave you this Chapman body. I placed you in his head because I trusted you. I fed you his brain and made you my lieutenant. But I can suck you back out again if you fail me. Would you like to see what happened to the last fool who failed me?" Suddenly an image appeared in the air, like a little movie. It was a second hologram. It showed a human woman, pain-wracked, screaming, with the purple creature sucking on her head. The real Chapman began to moan. "Oh, oh, no, Visser. I beg you." In the little movie the translucent purple thing suddenly went into a spasm. From the woman's ear there came the slug . It was sucked, dripping, gray, slimy, right out of her head. The purple creature swallowed the Yeerk slug. Then the little movie ended. "Not a very pretty picture, is it, Iniss two two six?" Chapman just shook his head. His eyes were still staring at the empty air where the image had appeared. Visser Three began to resume the Andalite form. "Don't fail me," Visser Three said. Suddenly Visser Three vanished. The room was dark again. Chapman sat hunched over the desk, with his head in his hands. It was a while before he opened the door and we both went back up the stairs. Ms. Chapman was there, waiting. "What are the Visser's orders?" she asked in a whisper. Chapman looked at her like he'd just seen a ghost. "He wants the Andalite bandits. He ... he morphed into a Vanarx. A Yeerkbane." He kept his voice low, too. He glanced toward the stairs. I guess he was checking to see if Melissa was around. Ms. Chapman shuddered. "I'd heard that he acquired a Vanarx. I always thought it was just another story to frighten his underlings." "He showed me ... he showed how he de stroyed Iniss one seven four." Ms. Chapman looked shocked. "He used a Vanarx on an Iniss of the second century?" "That Andalite-Controlling scum," Chapman said viciously. "I wish the Council of Thirteen would find out what kind of a mess he's making on this planet. Let them take that Andalite body from him and throw him back in some distant pool on the home world." "Don't wish for that," Ms. Chapman said grimly. "Long before Visser Three loses power, he will surely have destroyed you for failing him." My cat ears noticed the sound before either of the Chapmans. Movement. Human feet pounding. I cocked my ears toward the stairs. "Hey, Mom? Dad? Can one of you help me with this math problem?" It was Melissa. She was halfway down the stairs. She stopped and glanced hopefully at her parents. Or at least at the people who had once been her parents. "We're busy right now, Melissa," Chapman snapped. "Besides, dear, you should do your own work. That's how you learn," Ms. Chapman said. "If you still can't figure it out later, your father will help you." Melissa's face fell. She forced a smile, but there was no happiness there at all. "I guess you're right, Mom. It's just this square root stuff." She hesitated, like she was hoping her par ents might change their minds and go back upstairs with her. Ms. Chapman smiled. It was a smile as empty as Melissa's. "Square roots are hard to understand, aren't they? But I know you can do it." "I'll come up and check on you before you turn in, sweetheart," Mr. Chapman said. The words were normal enough. I guess my own mom or dad could have said exactly the same things to me. "Dear." "Sweetheart." But the way they were said . . . There was something missing. Humanity. Love. Call it whatever you want. The words were right, but they were corn pletely wrong. It was horrible. Horrible in a totally different way than the monsters we had fought in the Yeerk pool. This was the kind of horrible that made you want to cry instead of scream. And suddenly I found myself running after Melissa as she headed back up the stairs. When I reached her room, Melissa sat down on the bed and began sobbing. less-than Rachel? Can you hear me8greater-than less-than Yes, Tobias. I'm up out of the basement. I'm upstairs in Melissa's room. greater-than less-than Thank goodness. I've been trying you every minute or so. I was worried that you were trapped downstairs. greater-than less-than No, I'm out. greater-than less-than Good. You have more than an hour left, but Fluffer is trying to head home. Cassie and Jake and Marco are trying to capture him again, but you know better than anyone how wily he can be. greater-than Melissa flopped on her fac
e on the bed. She pulled a pillow over the back of her head and just cried. less-than like can't leave just yeteagreater-than I said. less-than Rachel, if the real Fluffer walks in while you're still there . . disgreater-than less-than Yeah, I know. But I still can't leave right now. I have something I have to do. greater-than I went over to the bed. As small as I was, the side of the bed looked like a wall. It could have been the side of a two-story building. I settled back on my haunches, gathering energy in my leg muscles. Then I sprang up, effortlessly, to land with perfect grace on the bed. I walked over to Melissa and sniffed her hair sticking out from under the pillow. I heard a sound coming from somewhere. It was a sound that reminded me of my mother. It reminded me of both my mothers, the hu man woman, and the cat who had licked my fur and carried me around in her mouth. I recognized the sound. It was purring. I was purring. Melissa put her arm around me and drew me close. The physical contact made me a little anxious. It made the cat in me want to leave. But then she started scratching my neck and behind my ears. I purred a little louder and decided to stay for a while. "I don't know what I've done," Melissa said. It startled me to realize she was talking to me. Did she guess the truth? Did she know I was human? No. She was just a girl talking to her cat. "I don't know what I did," Melissa repeated. "Tell me, Fluffer McKitty. What did I do?" less-than Rachel, what are you doing in there8greater-than less-than Tobias, I have plenty of time. greater-than less-than You have less than an hour. Don't push your luck. Jake is practically having a fit out here. He's telling me to tell you to get out greater-than less-than Not yet . Melissa needs me. greater-than I had stopped purring. Probably because I was preoccupied, arguing with Tobias. I started purring again. I felt Melissa needed me to purr. She was still crying. Still scratching slowly behind my ears. "What did I do, Flutter?" she asked again. "Why don't they love me anymore?" I felt like my own heart would break right then. Because I knew now why Melissa had stopped hanging out with me. I knew why she had become more withdrawn. And I knew how little hope there was for her. My stomach turned and twisted. Next time Marco asked why we were fighting the Yeerks, I knew I would have a whole new an swer. Because they destroy the love of parents for their daughter. Because they made Melissa Chapman cry in her bed with no one to comfort her but a cat. It was a small answer, I guess. I mean, it wasn't some high-sounding answer about the en tire human race. It was just about this one girl. My friend. Whose heart was broken because her parents were no longer really her parents. less-than Look, Rachel, I told Jake what you said. He said to remind you that you have a job to do in there. You're not in there to comgreater-than less-than Tell Jake to shut up, Tobiaseagreater-than I said angrily. less-than l'll come out. I'll come out. Just not yet. greater-than I purred as loud as I could. Melissa cried. And it came to me, like a vision: All the children all over, whose parents had been made into Con trollers. And the parents whose children had been taken from them to be turned into Con- trailers. It was a terrible image. I wondered how it must feel to see your parents stop loving you. After a while, Melissa fell asleep. I got up and padded down the stairs to the pet door. It was chilly outside. My friends were all wait ing. They were also a little mad at me for making them wait and worry. "You only have ten minutes to spare, Rachel," Jake said. "I hope it was worth scaring us all half to death. Did you at least discover something useful?" less-than Yes. I discovered plenty. I discovered that Chapman has a way to communicate directly with Visser Three. I discovered that Visser Three is pretty hot to catch us, although he still thinks we're Andalites. And I decided something, too. greater-than "What?" Cassie asked me. less-than like decided that I don't care what it takes, or how many risks I have to run. I don't care what happens to me. I hate these Yeerks. I hate them. I hate them. And I will find a way to stop them. greater-than T hat ni ght and the next morning, I barely got any homework done. In math class that day I got the first C I'd gotten in a long time. My grades were starting to fall because I was busy trying to save the world. Or at least to save my old friend. I knew now what had happened. Why Melissa and I weren't friends anymore, at least not close friends. Something had gone terribly wrong in her life. Her parents no longer loved her. They pretended to, they sounded like they did, but Melissa knew it was all wrong. Every time I thought of it, I felt like my in-sides were burning up from the anger. I guess I knew a little bit about what she was feeling. Ill When my parents got divorced, I worried that maybe that meant they didn't love me anymore. I was wrong. They still did. I don't see my dad as much as I would like to, but he does love me. My mom loves me. Even my sisters love me. Love is pretty important. It's like wearing a suit of ar mor. It makes you strong. On my way out of math class, Jake came sidling up next to me. "Meeting later, okay?" "Yeah. Whatever. Whereat?" "The church tower, where we were the other day." "Okay. But it's a long walk." He turned around to face me, walking back ward and grinning. "So, don't walk," he said. He waved and headed off down the hall. Two hours later I was in the air. Let me tell you something: Getting that big eagle body off the ground isn't easy. It is definitely work. I won dered if my human body got any of the aerobic benefits of the exercise. Once I got clear of the ground, I was able to catch little gusts of wind to climb higher. But it wasn't till I made it above the trees and the school buildings that I started getting a good, solid breeze that helped lift me up. When I finally got high enough, I spotted Tobias. His reddish tail feathers were like a beacon. less-than Man, that was a workouteagreater-than I said when I got close enough. less-than Tell me about it. Follow me. The mall is an excellent place for thermals. greater-than less-than The mall? Why the mall8greater-than less-than lt's all that parking space. See, the concrete gets hot in the sun. The concrete, the cars, the buildings themselves, they're all hot. So there's almost always a nice warm updraft. greater-than less-than Flying is like the nicest thing in the worldeagreater-than I said dreamily. less-than Yes, it iseagreater-than Tobias agreed. less-than One of the nicest things. But there are things you miss, too. Sitting back on the couch with a can of pop and a bag of chips and no school the next day and something good on TV. That's a good feeling, too. greater-than He didn't sound like he was feeling sorry for himself. Just like he was mentioning something that happened to be true. less-than There's the church tower. I see another bird heading toward it. And I think I see Cassie com ing out of her morph. greater-than less-than Down we geagreater-than Tobias said. Ten minutes later I had morphed back into my human body. "You know what we need?" Marco said. "We need to coordinate these morphing outfits. I mean, Cassie's wearing green patterned leggings and a purple stretch top, and Jake's got on those awful bike shorts, and Rachel is stylish, as always, in her black tights. Put it all together and we look pretty scruffy." "What do you want?" Jake asked him. "You want us all to wear blue with a big number four on our chests? Become the Fantastic Four?" less-than The Fantastic Four plus the amazing Bird Boyeagreater-than Tobias added. "No way," Marco said. "Not Fantastic Four. I'm thinking more an X-Men kind of thing. It's not about being identical, it's just about having some style. Right now, if anyone saw us, they wouldn't think 'Oh, cool, superheroes," they'd think "Man, those people do not know how to dress."" "Marco," I said, "I think it's time to get over this fantasy of yours. We are not superheroes. This is not a comic book." "Yes, but I really, really want it to be a comic book. See, in a comic book the heroes don't get killed. I mean, okay, they killed Superman that time, but it was only temporary." "Can we deal with reality here?" Jake asked. "We have business to discuss." "What's the matter with combining green and purple?" Cassie asked Marco. "It's a major fashion no-no," Marco said. "Been reading Vogue again, Marco?" I teased. Jake put his hand over Marco's mouth. "Peo ple? And I use the term loosely. We need to de cide what we're doing next." Marco pried Jake's hand away. "I want to de cide what we're not doing next. I should be spending more time with my dad. You know, he's still messed up over my mom. . .
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