My insides were reorganizing totally. Hork-Bajir have at least two hearts, maybe more. So entire new hearts were forming inside of me. And from the hearts, new arteries and veins had to sprout and spread throughout my body.

I had to go from having a digestive system designed to handle big chunks of raw mouse to a digestive system built for tree bark.

I could hear a gurgling sound as internal organs shifted and stretched and were pushed aside to make room for totally new organs. I could

hear a stretching, grinding sound as big, thick, solid bones replaced my hollow bird bones.

And on the outside I saw my wings grow till they were huge. Then, with amazing speed, the feathers melted into hard, leathery skin. There was a snap as the joints in my wings changed direction to bend the way a Hork-Bajir arm bends.

Then out came the blades.

SHWOOP! Blades at my wrists.

SHWOOP! Blades at my elbows.

SHWOOP! The forward-swept horn blades on my snake head.

"Hey, Tobias," Marco said. "You kept the same feet."

It was a joke. But it was true, too. There wasn't much difference between my hawk talons and the feet of the Hork-Bajir. Except that they were maybe a hundred times bigger.

Somehow that made me feel good. I liked the look of those big, ripping talons. I liked thinking about what they would do to a Taxxon.

Cassie and Ax took off at a run. They had a lot of distance to cover very fast. Fortunately, a wolf can run almost flat-out all day long. And there's no doubt about how fast an Andalite can move. No doubt. Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak left with them.

Marco was in his huge, powerful gorilla morph

and getting ready to leave, too. "See you guys later. I hope," he said.

"Be there!" Rachel growled. She pointed a dangerous Hork-Bajir hand at him.

"0kay, I'll be there. But don't be too long or I may decide to take a nap," Marco joked as he lumbered off through the trees.

Jake was perched on a branch just over my head. A peregrine falcon, the fastest thing in the air. He spread his wings and took off, leaving me and Rachel alone.

Rachel had morphed into a mirror image of me. We were a fine pair of Hork-Bajir.

"Ready?" I asked her.

She peered at me from behind alien eyes. "You okay, Tobias?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you haven't exactly had a great day," she said.

I laughed grimly. "l'm a freak of nature, Rachel. Any day I stay alive is a good day for me."

high above the treetops Jake flew in his swift peregrine falcon morph, calling down directions to Rachel and me.

It was weird. It almost felt like Jake had taken over my role or something. Like he was pretending to be me. Normally, I'd be the one up there riding the wind.

"0kay, not far now," Jake said. "You're almost there. You guys know which direction to go after the Yeerks catch your trail, right?"

"Yeah, we know, we know, Mother," Rachel said. "What are we? ldiots?" Then to me she said, "We do know, right?"

"l'm pretty sure. I mean, it's harder to keep track of where things are when you're down on

the ground. Just trees and bushes everywhere. You can't see the horizon, you can't see the sun."

The forest was impossible for a Hork-Bajir trying to be quiet. I mean, we could have slashed our way through the brambles and thorn thickets, but that would have attracted too much attention too soon.

So we tried to hurry, but without making too much noise. And let me tell you - Hork-Bajir bodies are not built for quiet.

"That's why you have me up here," Jake said cheerfully. "To guide you.

Don't sweat it. I can see the ravine. I can see that Cassie and Ax and the two Hork-Bajir are getting into position. And I see Marco. Heck, with these falcon eyes I can practically see Marco's fleas."

"Easy for you to be cocky," I muttered. "You're up there safe."

"Do you see the line of fire?" Rachel asked Jake. "Because I sure do smell it."

"Yeah," Jake admitted. "ln fact, the fire forms a semicircle around you.

The Taxxons and friends are the other half of the circle. The only way open is the ravine. So we're just going to get one chance."

"Wonderful," I said.

"0kay, you guys. A big, fat pair of Taxxons are just on the other side of that pile of rocks."

"What pile of rocks?" Rachel asked.

"0h . . . well, I can see that it's a pile of rocks from up here.

From where you are it probably just looks like a thick tangle of weeds and thorns."

"Cool," Rachel said calmly. "l guess it's time."

"Yep. Ladies first."

"No, no. After you. I insist."

We pushed our way through the bushes and climbed to the top of what did turn out to be a pile of rock boulders. At the top we stopped and stared.

Just twenty feet away were two Taxxons. Two vile, disgusting Taxxons.

Allies, not just slaves, of the Yeerks. A species that ate its own when given half a chance.

I don't know if it was the hawk in me that was angered by the sight of the two humongous worms marching through a decent forest, or the human side of me that just didn't like gigantic worms, period, or some deep instinct of the Hork-Bajir mind. But I was suddenly filled with hatred and rage.

The anger hit me like a baseball bat alongside the head. It was sudden and ferocious. The plan was to run from the Taxxons. But all of a sudden, I didn't want to run.

I wanted to see what my Hork-Bajir blades would do. I wanted to hurt the Taxxons.

"Let'stake 'em," I said.

Rachel turned her snake head toward me. "What? That's not the plan, Tobias!"

"They shouldn't be here. Look at them! Look at them, slithering through the forest like they own it! They shouldn't be here. This isn't their place, it's ours. It's mine!"

"Tobias, calm down. It makes me mad, too. But we have to stick with the plan."