Busy as a beaver ... I focused on th e newest DNA I carried inside me. SCHLODP! My body began to shrink. Arm s and legs sucked into my torso. FWUUMP! I hit th e ground. PING PING PING . . . Thick brown fu r sprouted all over my body. I felt suddenly warm , like I'd pulled on a we t suit. POOT. PODT. My back legs reappeared as shor t little flipper-feet. A heavy weight pulled on my rear end. I turne d my head around. Stretching my spine almost tw o feet beyond my main body was a thick, flat, formidable mass. A paddle, a tool, a tail. Finally, my skull began to shrink, squeezing my brain into a new shape. Rock-hard skull bones, heavier than a human's, elongated to for m a very rugged jaw. And inside, my fron t teet h were growing. And growing . . . The beaver didn't have th e raw, quick strengt h of a tiger. Bu t it did have amazing stamina. And its mind was smar t in a goaloriented, problem-solving kind of way. It also felt very anxious to get to its project. The beaver's mind

CHAPTER 20 Jak e W e started to demorph. Based on their current position, the Yeerks had chosen to attack at dawn. It was showtime. <Tobias, what did you see?> <You know my eyes aren't great at night. But I could make out at least one company of heavily armed Hork-Bajir. More than a hundred strong. And they have blue bands around their arms.> My heart began to pound. The Blue Bands. Visser One's own elite guards. "Tell me that's all you saw." <Can't lie, Jake. There are almost as many Taxxons.> My stomach knotted. <Oh. And one Andalite.> Visser One. Our old nemesis, the former Visser Three. Andalite-Controller. Commander of every Yeerk on Earth. Only a mission of the highest importance draws Visser One to the scene. "It wouldn't be a party without the Earl of Evil," Marco said solemnly. I sent Tobias ahead to the Hork-Bajir camp. We followed, racing through the trees and down the hill. When we arrived, Tobias was announcing the news. <The Yeerks are coming and coming strong. Everyone take up battle positions.> Thought-speak was still new to the campers. Emily touched her hands to her head in confusion. "No, you're not losing your mind," I said. "Morphs let us communicate telepathically. That was Tobias." I pointed up through the trees. <Hey, I can see those campers a mile away!> Tobias said privately. <Tell them to lose the yellow coats. They're sitting ducks.> "You people have to blend in," I said. "Bury your coats and anything else yellow or orange or fluorescent green. Then get some camouflage. Anything but earth tones will get you killed." The campers covered their gear. Lewis took up position on a battle platform with a Hork-Bajir warrior. A guy whose right arm had been blown off during one of

okay," she said quickly. Then she lifted the beaver to the surface. His body was still from the acquiring trance, buoyed weight. Good thing, because this guy had to weigh at least forty pounds, big and sturdy. The body of an industrious worker. One by one, including Tobias, we reached out to touch the slick, bristly coat. The beaver splashed away as soon as we were done. "You know," Cassie said, forcing a smile, blood dripping from the cut on her hand, "when your mother tells you not to stick your hand in a beaver lodge, you really should listen."