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~Rachel Go.~
The order I had been waiting for. I jumped off Tom’s head and began to demorph. I ignored what the Controllers were doing as I became fully human. Luckily, the spot I had chosen to demorph had kept me hidden. I grinned.
Not for long.
As I began to morph into my Grizzly, I heard one of them yelp.
“Animorph!”
~That’s right, genius. Animorph!~ As soon as I was morphed enough, I barreled straight for Tom. I knocked the wind out of him, but he wasn’t my main target, well, not yet, at least. I had to do damage to the ship itself first. I felt the sting of a Dracon beam but didn’t even pause. I had a job to do, and it would take a lot more than that puny thing to make me stop.
“No shooting! You’ll destroy the bridge!” I heard Tom’s voice scream at his so-called hand-picked best of the best. “Morph! Morph, you idiots!”
I swung my paw full strength at his head, a quick death for them both. I could at least give my cousin that. But no! He ducked, and my paw missed. Not defeated, I got to my full height and slashed at his spine. Still, he didn’t even pause. I growled and slammed Tom to the ground, WWF style. But my slam wasn’t faked as I watched blood seep from Tom’s nose and mouth. I snorted. Was this my last battle? It was already almost over. I turned back to the weapon panel, slamming my paws down against it, sparks shooting out.
Those few seconds I had used to destroy the Bladeships’ weapons had given the Controllers time to morph. I mentally grinned. Now this! Is what I am talking about!
I felt adrenaline fill my body as I threw myself into the fight. Every few seconds, I heard Jake screaming in my head, but he didn’t make sense.
~Tom! Tom!~
~Tom! Rachel, Tom! Look out for Tom!~
His voice… it sounded far away…
~He’s a snake! Rachel!~ A voice called to me. So hard to think… I stumbled. The floor was coated in blood.
My blood…
Suddenly, my eyes burned, and I could no longer see. Everything went black, and the voices yelling in my head became more and more distant…
Jake stood in front of me with a failed attempt at a smile. "I used to think my line was drawn at using my friend, my cousin, to do my dirty work. Guess that turned out not to be true."
My Mom refused to move another step, glaring at Ax, "Am I the only one of you people worried about our kids?"
~You do not need to be afraid on behalf of Rachel. Rachel is the one who frightens others.~
Cassie... Cassie glared at me. "Why do you have to be so horrible? You are, you know. And you get worse every day! Your own Mother can't even stand you!"
Marco, his arms crossed, tilted his head up to look into my eyes, just staring, spitting out the words he knew would make me angry. "Don't you think we should take a look first? Investigate? Prepare? You know, before we march into certain death!"
Tobias... his beautiful eyes revealing nothing as he looked into my eyes, as I forced myself not to cry. "Yeah. If I were human. If."
Why had I been carrying around all that guilt all by myself? Why had I been shouldering so much of the pain? Suddenly, I knew... I'd been protecting them. Their faces appeared to me one by one... Their real faces...
Jake: My mediocre basketball player, oh, so serious, little cousin.
Ax: My goofball friend from another world so strict right until he gets his hands on food.
Cassie: the greatest best friend a girl could ask for… even if she did have zero style sense.
Marco: My personal pain in the rear, who made it his mission in life to drive me crazy… I loved him for it.
Tobias: My heart hurt just thinking of his name... I wanted to see Tobias again.
I wanted to see my Mom and sisters again… I wanted Mom to ground me for the rest of my life...
I wanted my Dad to walk me down the aisle. Tobias was waiting for me...
~Help me, Tobias!~
~I can't… I...~
I wish... he didn't understand what I meant by help, but I needed him to be my eyes!
~Help me get him! Help me get him!~
I could feel the hesitance before his beautiful voice filled my mind and soul. I knew these would be the last words he'd ever speak to me. Somehow, I just knew.
~Okay. Okay. He's... your left paw, toward your face... Get ready. It has to be fast.~
I took a deep breath. The venom was making me feel woozy. I forced it back. This was it, my last chance.
~I'm ready~ And I was...
~Now!~
It happened so seamlessly that it was like Tobias had been right beside me—not hundreds of feet, probably more away. I jerked my paw exactly as Tobias instructed. I heard Tom's shriek of no as I felt him squirming on my claws.
~Sorry…~ I wasn't exactly sure who I was speaking to, and the venom was messing with my mind. Was it Jake I was talking to? Tom? It might even have been an apology to the Yeerk itself.
Blind and slowly dying, I knew there was only one way to kill the snake. As I slowly brought my paw to my mouth, I heard the snake scream.
~Jake, stop her!~
There would be no stopping me, though, even if Jake gave me the order, but he didn't, and I bit down hard, ending the lives of both my innocent cousin and the Yeerk Jake and I hated above all others.
For a few moments, time seemed to stop. I heard nothing from the screen showing my best friends and love. But to my surprise, the Controllers were not moving either. A few moments…
It felt like a lifetime as I realized my body was demorphing the dying grizzly, melting into the healthy human Rachel. Once I was fully human again, I realized the head of the bisected snake was still in my mouth. I spat it out and focused on the screen, which still showed my friends. Everyone was in battle morph, except Ax, in his natural Andalite form, and Tobias, who had morphed into his human self.
As I focused on him, I understood.
Hawks couldn’t cry.
Tears poured down his cheeks, cascading from his beautiful eyes. There were so many things I wanted to say to him… To say to all of them…
The Controllers weren’t going to stay passive forever, though. This was a gift—a sign of respect for a warrior who was to be executed—a chance for last words.
Last words… That wasn’t anything I had ever thought about before. I didn’t want to say my last words! I wanted a miracle! I wanted Ellimist to come and save me! I was sixteen! How was it fair that I died for his game?
I wasn’t stupid… I knew he wasn’t going to come. I smiled at them. I wanted my death to be as easy for them as possible.
“I love you,” I whispered to Tobias as I allowed my eyes to close.
~You fight well, human.~
I took a breath in.