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My name is Tobias.
And the world is coming to an end.
Think I’m being dramatic? Sensational? Maybe, but it’s still true. The Yeerks have come and they’re not in a hurry to leave, in fact, they’ve finally been forced to go public. We took down their Pool and as a result our city was blown to shambles. Families were torn apart. Hundreds of lives were lost.
What’s worst of all? Our best defense against an armada of technologically advanced parasites was a bunch of teenagers and the possibility that interspecies racism and treachery would somehow swing things in our favour.
The Taxxons have agreed to help us.
The Andalites have planned to kill us.
Tom has promised us salvation.
Jake has doomed his cousin to death.
Rachel. He’s going to kill Rachel.
I wasn’t supposed to hear their conversation. I should have been off to watch over the Taxxon rebels. Jake wanted me to be sure of their loyalty before having me morph Taxxon myself and become his own personal Trojan-Horse. I would help the rest of the gang (along with Toby and her Horn-Bajir army,) to get into the Pool Ship by posing as a traitor with a message for the Visser. It was an important mission.
But it was also a distraction.
Funny how, after all these years, Jake had become nearly as arrogant as Visser One himself. He didn’t bother directing his thought-speech to Rachel in private—after all, the rest of his soldiers were already sent off on their own missions. Stupid mistake Jake. I wasn’t as far off as you might have hoped.
I heard it all. He wanted Rachel to follow Tom at all costs. If Tom betrayed us in any way, Rachel was to act as the backup plan. She was given the orders to completely disarm Tom and kill him if necessary. In all likelihood she would end up on the Blade Ship, surrounded by Tom’s personal (morph-capable) foot-soldiers. Completely by herself.
She’d die up there. It wasn’t so much a question as it was a certainty.
I didn’t take the news well. It took all my internal-strength not to begin an aerial attack on the Jake that very moment. I knew we were in a war, I knew people died, but I wasn’t ready for this. I had always looked up to Jake—he was one of the first “cool” kids that had ever been kind to me—and I almost couldn’t believe that he was actually going through with something so ruthless. War turns us all into monsters (I knew that better than most), but I’d never realized just how far gone we’d all gone.
I wanted to hurt Jake. Some incredible base urge wanted me to destroy him, but instead I went after Rachel. Her Bald Eagle morph was much bigger then I was and she had a head start, but my fear kept me fast. It wasn’t too long before I was on her tail. She must have seen me, but she didn’t say a word.
<Rachel! Stop, Rachel! We need to talk.>
It took her a while to find her voice, but finally Rachel glanced in my direction. <Sorry Tobias, Jake’s got me running back and forth here. I don’t have much time.>
<I know exactly what Jake’s got you doing.> My thought-speak voice sounded strangled, even to me. <I can’t let you go, Rachel. You can’t do this.>
Rachel slowed down and allowed me to catch up to her, but she didn’t say a word. I wish I could tell what was going on behind those bright golden eyes. Would she snap at me? Tell me that I was being a sentimental fool? Would she try to reason with me? I had no idea.
Rachel angled her wings towards the Hork-Bajir camp and began descending. I followed silently, grateful that she wasn’t just ignoring me to go off and find Tom. She was stopping by “home” first.
She landed about a hundred feet away from the main meeting area and began to demorph. For reasons I couldn’t logically explain, I began morphing human myself. It seemed appropriate for her to have to look me in the eyes—my human eyes—if she was going to try and argue for her own death.
She waited for me to finish before starting. “Tobias. I have to go. Jake’s right, Tom’s probably going to try and betray us. Someone’s going to have to try and stop him.”
“It doesn’t have to be you! Jake could go. It’s his brother.” She stood firm, but I took a few steps forward, closing the gap between us.
“Jake has to be there for the rest of the team. He’s the leader, Tobias, he’s the one everyone’s going to be looking towards.”
“But why does it have to be you? You’re the best fighter; we could use that on the Pool Ship. Jake could send some of the Auxiliaries instead…” I sounded like a selfish coward trying to throw someone else into a suicide mission in the place of my girlfriend. It was pathetic, but I couldn’t help it.
“It just has to be. Jake’s right, it’s got to be me.” Rachel pulled a bit closer, taking my hand in her own. “I’ll be fine though, okay Tobias? You said it yourself. I’m a good fighter.” She was trying to be strong for me, but it just made me feel sick. She was the one that was going to die and yet she had to comfort me.
I really was pathetic.
All at once my sadness turned into a fire of fury. This was not some one-off mission, this was the end game. We were no longer dealing with the fumblingly-naïve Visser Three of yester-years. No, this was the fight that would decide the fate of the world—and what does Jake do? Split us up! Throw his cousin into the ring with his Yeerk infested brother! It was sick.
I couldn’t just stand there and let Jake do it. I had to change his mind. Ripping my hand from Rachel’s grip I spun around and began running towards camp. I would find Jake. I would find him now.
Though I caught her off guard it didn’t take long for Rachel to start chasing after me. Luckily, my legs were slightly longer, and my focus was clear. Detouring through a particularly dense patch of woods, I gained on her and swung around towards the fire-pit clearing. I knew Jake would be there, deep in thought no doubt. I wasn’t disappointed.
Twigs in my hair I burst from the bushes; balling my fists
He was surprised to see me, of course. “Tobias, what are you doing? I told you to fly over—“
I didn’t let Jake finish. I put on a burst of speed and reached him mid-sentence. For perhaps the first time in my life I fully embraced the anger burning in my stomach and let it fly. Without thought, without hesitation, I punched Jake, square in the face.
He fell to the ground almost immediately, obviously not expecting my attack. It was satisfying, but I wasn't done with him yet.
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed, half crazed, “You ruthless, arrogant coward! What gives you the right to play with people’s lives? What gives you the right to use us to clean up your messes? You sick, sick, son of a bitch! How dare you!”
“What the hell Tobias?!” Jake propped himself up on one elbow but didn’t bother trying to stand. Blood was trickling down his nose and it looked like I might have cut his lip as well. My own knuckles stung slightly but I didn’t care, one morph and all our injuries would melt away. This wasn’t about leaving scars.
“I will not let you kill her” I spat, glaring down in disgust “you are not taking Rachel.”
It took him a second, but once Jake realized what I was talking about all the emotion drained from his face. The well-worn mask of a leader fell into its place and all at once he stood up. “She’s doing what has to be done Tobias. If Tom betrays us—“
“She’ll die Jake!” I didn’t need an explanation; Rachel had already made her point. I needed Jake to come to his senses and change his mind. He could figure something else out. He wasn’t taking Rachel away from me.
“She knows the risks Tobias.” The slightest bit of sympathy crept into Jake’s voice, but his eyes held steady against my own. “It's the only way.”
His words made me feel so helpless; it was just like I was back in middle school again getting thrown into lockers or having my head thrust into toilet, except this time it was worse. This time I was trying to save the one person who ever really cared about me and I couldn’t. She was going to go die all alone up in space and there was nothing I could do.
“Then I’m going with her.” The words were out of my mouth before I had the chance to process them. “If someone has to go and it has to be Rachel, then I’m going with her.”
“Tobias…” Jake’s brows furrowed, “You can’t. I need you. You’re the only one who can morph Taxxon.”
“Ax has a Taxxon morph,” I blurted, trying my best to stay calm, “or you could get someone else to acquire one. The Taxxons are our allies now, right? It shouldn’t be too hard.”
Jake shifted his stance slightly, looking away as he wiped away the blood from under his nose. I could see he was trying to weigh the possibilities: should he let me go, or insist I stay? How would that affect their odds against Visser One?
“We need as many bodies we can get up in that Pool Ship. Toby’s people might not be enough.” Jake’s words were tentative, unsure.
“Take some of James’ people then.” I stood strong, steady.
Looking back at me Jake’s eyes were pleading. “It’s a suicide mission Tobias.” He was trying to give me an out, but I wasn’t going to take it.
“I’m going.”
He slumped slightly, but nodded. “Rachel?” Jake glanced over my shoulder, “are you alright with this?” I spun around; there was Rachel standing behind me, cool and collected—you’d never know that just moments ago she had been chasing me through the woods. That girl could walk through fire and still come out looking fabulous.
“He’s made up his mind Jake. Who am I to argue?” The ghost of Rachel’s trademark smile played across her lips, but it was bittersweet. She didn’t want to see me die, but she respected my choice to go anyway. It only made me love her more.
“Fine,” Jake finally conceded, “I’ll take two of the Auxiliaries and you can go to the Blade Ship with Rachel. But Tobias, I don’t want any of this getting back to the others, do you understand me? We’re right at the end here and I can’t afford any more issues.”
“I understand.” All at once the implications of my decision washed over me. In a few hours I would he fighting side by side with Rachel against a possible hundred Yeerks, all in an effort to kill or rescue Tom. “We’ll do our best.”
“Just go. Tie up any loose ends you might have, then go find Tom. Stick close to him and make sure you’re there in time for our meet up.” Jake turned around, heading back to camp. “Good luck.”
There I was, left alone with Rachel. My chest lurched as I looked into her eyes. How much longer would they stay open? How much longer did the two of us have together? I inhaled a deep, shaky breath just has she opened her arms wide.
“Come here.” I didn’t hesitate. I rushed to her and she held me tight. “It’s going to be alright.” She mumbled, “We’ll be okay.”
I felt a tear roll down from her cheek and on to mine.
We stayed that way for a long time, the two of us holding each other up, keeping each other strong. Finally, reluctantly, we parted. The sun was slowly dipping in the sky and we didn’t have much longer left. “I’m going to go talk to Sara and Jordan. My mom might understand, but I can’t leave my sisters without saying something. Can we meet up here in about an hour?”
I agreed, of course, though I didn’t really have anyone to say goodbye to myself. I wasn’t allowed to say anything to Ax and it would be selfish to burden Loren with my situation—she hardly knew me. Though, I didn’t mind a bit of alone time to process things. Demorphing quietly I watched as Rachel walked away before spreading my wings and taking to the skies.
I was too distracted to hunt so I didn’t bother trying. Instead I rode the thermals as high as I could go and looked down at the camp bellow. By all accounts it was small, almost laughably so. A handful of humans and aliens forced together with the insane hope that they could make a difference against an army of thousands. We should have been destroyed long ago, yet there we were. Still standing. Still surviving.
Would we make it through tonight as well?
I dove towards the ground, enjoying the wind against my face. Angling myself towards Toby and her group of Hork-Bajir, I circled lazily before finding a nice perch and settling down to watch them prepare.
They all seemed rather calm, eating a collection of pre-stripped bark and casually talking amongst themselves. Perhaps it’s just not in the Hork-Bajir’s nature to fear battle—they were a peaceful race, after all— or maybe they no longer feared death. A lifetime of Yeerk control was much worse than the alternative, after all.
“Hello Tobias.” Toby removed herself from the crowd and glanced up at me, her expression unreadable. “Has Jake sent you?”
<No, sorry, I’m just stopping by.> All at once I felt like I was intruding—though that wasn’t my intention. To be honest, I just didn’t want to be alone. <I can go, if you’d like.>
“Not at all. You are always welcome here.” Toby said, still staring up at me. Her gaze made me slightly anxious. It’s hard to read a Hork-Bajir, especially one blessed with the intelligence of a seer. My predator instinct screamed that she was a threat, while my human mind told me she was a friend. It always kept me on edge.
<Thanks,> I fluffed up my feathers, trying to shake away my unease.
“Forgive me for asking, but is there something on your mind, Tobias?” The Hork-Bajir seer pulled closer to my branch, offering me her arm (blade down) as a perch.
I jumped on. <Not exactly, I guess I’m just thinking about tonight.> I didn’t want to betray Jake’s trust and mention anything to Toby about Rachel and my mission—even if she was one of the few people who might understand. <To be honest, I’m actually pretty scared. I’ve never been the bravest of my friends, I guess.>
“Fear of death does not diminish one’s bravery, Tobias. Bravery is the ability to accept the risks, and still continue on. If you weren’t afraid, you would be foolhardy.” Toby slowly began leading us out of earshot of her companions. “You have always fought for the greater good in the past. I have no doubt that you are brave.”
At only a few years old, Toby was already wiser than most adults I’ve known.
“Many of us won’t make it through the night,” Toby continued, “But we have we have people who rely on us. Either by birthright or by chance we have become something greater than ourselves. If I must die, at least it will be in service of my loved ones and fighting for freedom. That is the truest of victories.”
Toby led us down to the bank of a small stream before finally stopping. I could hear her people in the trees behind us, but they were out of sight. For a while we just stood there, watching the water trickle by. It was nice, spending some silent time together. Tobias and Toby: two fish out of water among their own people. Two children forced to grow up too fast. Two soldiers off to fight what might be their final battle. We made a good pair.
Finally, when I feared that the hour was coming to a close I spread my wings. <Good luck tonight Toby. Do your best to make it out; you deserve to see some peace in your lifetime.>
“And you as well, Tobias. Stay strong.” With that, I took to the sky.
By the time I made it to the clearing Rachel was already there. She looked brave as ever; standing firm in her morphing suit. You would never know that this sixteen year old girl was getting ready to go save the world: to go shed blood and take lives. But she was so much more than just a girl. She was beauty and beast all rolled up into one. She was everything I had ever loved.
The moment she saw me, Rachel began morphing eagle. Within minutes we flew side by side towards Yeerk territory.
Finding Tom wasn’t hard. He was overseeing the construction of the new Yeerk Pool, surrounded by a group of heavily armed guards. The tough part was keeping track of him without getting noticed. We couldn’t get too close just yet. After all, we didn’t want to get stuck in the body of a flea before the rest of the Animorphs even made it onto the Pool Ship.
So we bided our time, keeping out of eyesight by flying high, or morphing something that would go un-noticed. It wasn’t until hours later, when we caught sight of Cassie—or, rather, Erek masquerading as Cassie—purposely getting caught by one of Tom’s guards, that we knew it was time to go flea.
It was tough work getting close enough to morph without drawing attention to ourselves, but still close enough to jump onto Tom once we were the size of a grain of sand. Luckily Erek (grudgingly) helped us by covering us in his hologram.
As Tom began dealing punches onto the silent Cassie, we latched on. The easy part was over.
Things felt like they were going in double-time from that point on. We were nearly blind, but still able to hear everything. Tom continued to beat on the “pathetic Animorph” and mockingly urged her friends to “come save her” (after all, he was under the impression that nearly everyone was hitching a ride on Cassie. He didn’t realize that Jake had other plans). Rachel was furious, of course. Even though she knew it wasn’t real, she couldn’t help but be disgusted by the thought of Tom hurting her best friend. She didn’t hesitate in calling him every vulgar name under the sun. I couldn’t blame her.
Finally, a handcuffed and bloody “Cassie” was dragged into the backseat of a car and Tom’s crew set course for the Pool Ship. Night had fallen and the time was ripe. Jake came with little time to spare and morphed fly in the back seat. He checked on us, but otherwise remained silent (when he wasn’t replying to Tom). Everyone was on edge.
We got on to the Pool Ship without too much trouble and were greeted by Visser One. Just on schedule Toby and her Hork-Bajir lead the Trojan-Taxxon in and at long last everyone was in place.
Of course, Tom betrayed us.
He ordered the “traitor-Taxxon” to eat Cassie in an attempt to appease Visser One. It was easy enough for Erek to fake, and everyone came out fine, but it was the nail in the coffin for Rachel and me. Somehow we would have to take down Tom and the Blade Ship.
Gloatingly, Visser One ordered Toby’s group of Hork-Bajir to take the “traitor-Taxxon” and kill it— fortunately giving the group an excuse to leave. (The Taxxon turned out to be Cassie with Ax, Marco and two Auxiliaries—Erica and Jessie—on her back). Rachel and I heard it all as Tom confidently walked away. He was a kid with the keys to a kingdom in his grubby little hands.
It was all on us now.
I don’t know how much time past, exactly, though it felt like an eon. We had to wait for Tom to get to the bridge and get the ship into the sky. We couldn’t attack too soon or we might alert Visser One that something was wrong. By the time Tom gave the orders to circle in on the Pool Ship we were getting close to our morph’s two hour mark. Had it been time enough for the others? We had to hope.
Jumping off what felt like the edge of the world, Rachel and I made our escape. It was time to demorph and remorph. Time to let hell break loose.
<It’s you and me Tobias.> Rachel whispered as we began our escape, jumping away from the smell of blood. <Are you ready?>
<Ready as I’ll ever be.>
Then, from above, “That’s… that’s not a waste dump. They aren’t dumping waste! That’s the pool. The main pool. It’s been flushed.”
Jake.
“The Pool Ship’s preparing to fire!”
“Hard left!” Tom yelled, paused, then laughed. “The Visser’s lost maneuvering ability. The Pool Ship handles like a drunken Gedd at the best of times, and now look at it.”
They others must have gain control over the ship. That had to be it.
Rachel had already begun demorphing and I quickly followed suit. It looked like we were crammed under an unoccupied control station. It was a poor hiding spot, but luckily the Yeerks were focused on a different target. The view-screen was lit up, displaying a larger than life picture of Visser One.
Tom gloated, typically. It wouldn’t do him any good in the end. Danger was already at his doorstep.
We were fully demorphed now. One human girl and a bird huddled together in an alien fox-hole.
<I love you>, I whispered. If I was going to die, then let my last words be to her.
She smiled, unable to thought-speak and not wanting to risk giving us away. But I knew.
I knew.
We were startled back into action by a gasp rising from the crowed in front of us. The view-screen had widened to reveal a Siberian Tiger standing next to Visser One—the other Animorphs not too far behind.
“You’re not dead!” Tom cried.
<I noticed the same thing.> Visser One replied.
Rachel began morphing Grizzly as Tom ordered the Blade Ship to shoot. It was time to bring out the big guns. Concentrating hard against my fast-beating heart I focused on the Polar Bear DNA deep within me. I was more than halfway there when I heard Jake’s words in my head.
<Rachel, Tobias, Go.>
The control station was far too small for the two of us now. We were forced out into the open. It came as no surprise when a Controller screamed out. “Animorphs!”
<That’s right, genius:> Rachel laughed, <Animorphs.> I watched the last vestiges of her blonde hair melt into a Grizzly’s mane. She lunged into the crowd without a second thought.
A Dracon beam flashed as Rachel bowled into Tom, knocking him into the control panel. I didn’t bother to check if it hit her before I jumped at the Controller who shot. I hit him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. His head made a sickening thunk against the metal; blood almost immediately trickling from his gaping mouth.
“No shooting! You’ll destroy the bridge! Morph! Morph you idiots!” Tom screamed.
Kicking away the weapon I turned back to Rachel. She had a dark burn along her flank, but it didn’t slow her down in the least. She was on top of Tom, swiping a horrific gash into his back.
Suddenly, one of the Controllers made a mad dash past me for the internal communicators—likely trying to call for back up. I ran; body slamming her down before swatting her halfway across the ship. I didn’t bother to check if she was dead, instead I flung myself at the control panel, ripping and tearing at anything I could. I had to make sure no one else was coming. Tom couldn’t rely on his lackeys to protect him tonight.
<Rachel! Behind!> It was Jake, watching from the Pool Ship. I watched as Rachel spun around, slashing at a half-morph leopard. It fell immediately, crumpling in on itself.
Then, all at once I felt pain blossom along my back.
Spinning around I came face to face with a mostly-morphed Polar Bear: my near equal. It caught me off guard, jumping at me as I heard a crash from Rachel’s direction. It had me on the ground, slobbering face inches from my nose. I struggled against him, kicking my back legs against his belly; ripping as best I could.
It didn’t help much, but he released his grip just enough for me to rear up and meet him jaw to jaw. My canines closed around his sensitive black nose and he instantly recoiled. I scrambled, trying to get out from under him.
I had just enough time to watch as Rachel charged at a massive Cape Buffalo. The two met like a pair of heavy wrestlers, evenly matched.
Were had Tom gone?
The Polar Bear lunged at me again, blood staining his white muzzle. This time I was at least ready. We met, shoulder to shoulder, fur against fur. We parried swipe for swipe. Rachel’s vicious growls pushed me on. As long as I knew she was alive I had a reason to fight.
I caught the Yeerk with my paw along his face, but that didn’t stop him from taking a gash out of my opposite shoulder. Blood trickled onto the floor and we both fell back.
Somehow, in the chaos Rachel had managed to tear down the main weapons station and the view screen flickered (most likely do the massive dent in the computer below). The Cape Buffalo’s face had been nearly torn off, but still seemed confident. Likewise, Rachel held her left paw in an awkward way, as if it had been broken, but it wasn’t holding her back. She stood at her full height, in an odd Mexican stand-off with her opponent.
But where was Tom?
The Polar Bear Controller stood at his full height and came crashing down on top of me, knocking the wind from my lungs and bellowing into my ear. I crumpled and fell—oddly though, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as the stinging that suddenly pierced my back foot.
It wasn’t until then that I heard the broken cries from the Pool Ship.
<To—ias! S—ke! –m’s a -ake!>
<What?> My mind was going foggy. Was it a lack of oxygen? Why what my leg hurting?
<Snake! Tom!> Jake’s thought-speak finally came across clear. A sinking panic shuddered through me. Summoning up all my strength I pushed back against the Polar Bear and spun around. There, staring back at me with beady black eyes was a cobra.
Tom. He’d bitten me.
<Rachel!> I cried, as fiery pain raced up my leg. <Tom’s a cobra!> She stood, over the thrashing body of her Cape Buffalo, bloody and broken but still victorious.
Did she hear me?
I growled in pain as the other Polar Bear began clawing at me again, ripping bloody strips into my flank. Still, it didn’t compare to the agony I felt as Tom struck me yet again, this time in my front paw.
<Help! Rachel!> The Buffalo had gone still and Rachel finally swung around. Bellowing out, she charged at the Polar Bear behind me—throwing him aside by sheer force. <No! Not him! It’s Tom, he’s a cobra! Look out!>
I tried to drag myself away, but Tom went in for a final bite. My face this time.
<Stupid bird! Die like the animal you are!> I stumbled. Collapsed. He slid away.
Demorph.
But I’m tired.
Demorph.
It hurts.
DEMORPH!
Okay, okay.
You’re not dying today Tobias.
I don’t know how I did it, but slowly, slowly, I began to shrink. Feathers grew out of seeping wounds. My mind cleared, vision sharpened. It took longer than I could ever imagine, but I did it. I demorphed. I was a Red Tail again.
Flapping my wings I jumped onto the top of a control panel (one of the few that weren’t damaged beyond repair. There, in front of me, lay the bloody carcass of my former opponent. His throat had been torn out, and it looked like he was stabbed in the chest with something sharp. Rachel’s claws?
However, most surprising of all was what lay underneath him. Tom—still in cobra morph—squirmed in vain to get out from under the dead weight of a massive white rump. He couldn’t move an inch, let alone fight back.
<Looks like I caught myself a worm.> Rachel laughed weakly. She was a bloody, broken mess, but she was still alive. All the Yeerks on the bridge were either dead or immobile, yet she was alright.
We both were.
It didn’t take long for Rachel to demorph. All the while Tom thrashed against the Polar Bear, screaming out in thought-speak. I don’t know if he feared that morphing might harm him further, or if he was just in too much of a blind panic to try, but he didn't try to return to his host’s natural form. All the better for us.
“So. What do we do now?” Rachel walked over to stand beside me at the control panel, looking down at the wriggling Tom.
<Lock the doors.> I spoke with a certainty I didn’t feel. <We can try and hold up in here for a while. We just need to make sure we don't get attacked again.>
She nodded and jogged over the bridge-gate as I fluttered closer to the view-screen. It still flickered, but the unmistakable image of a tiger, wolf, gorilla, and young Andalite shone through. Visser One was there too, (flanked by a lioness on one side and a Arctic wolf one the other), but the fight had all but left him.
We had done it. A group of six idiot teenagers with a death wish had taken down two of the Yeerks army’s biggest ships.
We beat him.
<Secur- --- bridge –nd hold tight guys. –‘re about to talk -- --- Andalites. Ax thinks he --- take remote control of The Blade ----. Just wait. ---- coming for you soon.> Jake was still a tiger, but I could hear the desperation in his voice as he asked up one final favour. <K--p Tom alive. --ease.>
And so, just like that, we we’re going to make it.
Rachel somehow managed to close and lock the bridge doors. All that was left was for us to free Tom. It was tricky—the stupid Yeerk would hardly listen to reason—but once I morphed human and helped Rachel life the Polar Bear off him, he settled down.
The Dracon beam Rachel found and held to his head probably helped too.
He demorphed, but refused to leave Tom’s head. It was a precaution, he said, to make sure he would make it out of the Blade Ship alive. Smart move. I’m pretty sure Rachel would have crushed him right there if she had the chance.
Hours past, but from what we could glean off of Ax through the broken view-screen, the Anadalites were coming. We just had to sit tight and listen to any order they gave to us. If all went well we’d be on Earth by sunrise.
After a while we could hear Controllers screaming for us to open up on the other side of the door, but luckily they never managed to get through. I guess the self-preservation of top Yeerk official’s ensured us some security. Visser One was paranoid after all—and paranoia demands strong locks.
Finally, my God finally, the Anadalites came.
We heard a small scuffle, before being ordered by though-speak to open up. Rachel was weary, but in the end she relented. We were held at tail-blade, scanned for Yeerks, than hurriedly whisked away. Tom struggled, but was kept alive (at “Prince Jake’s orders”).
More waiting, more being pushed around.
The Andalites kept their promise though. We were brought back to Earth and reunited with the others. I don’t think I’d ever felt so happy in my entire life. Cassie refused to let go of Rachel for almost half an hour. Even Jake cracked a smile or two—after all, we had finally saved Tom: the one person he'd been fighting for since the very beginning—when we'd fist learned of Yeerks, all those years ago.
We had suffered casualties. Most of the Auxiliaries, Jara Hamee, dozens of human and Hork-Bajir soldiers alike, but the six of us—the ones who started it all—we made it.
Against all odds, we lived.
One world ended today, but another was born in its wake.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.