Animorphs Book 56: The Rebirth

[Horsefan1023 (Seal)]

Oh.  My.  God.  Nothlit, welcome back.


OK, Mr. Guy and I have developed a theory.  You are K. A. Applegate in disguise, who is the Ellimist in disguise.  You wrote Animorphs to warn us, but we didn't see the warning, so you wrote This Is For Real to make us notice the warning.

And that is what you are.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Aw, thanks for the compliment.  You guys thinking I'm K.A. in disguise is about the highest compliment a fanfic writer can receive. 

[MoppingBear]

havent read the story yet, but your username got me thinking, what if one of the animorphs HAD become a dinosaur nothlit  and then came back to our time? since they couldnt morph to dinosaurs, does that mean they would return to normal?

[CDJV]

ooh, I wonder how P'O'd Rachel's gonna be when she finds out what happened.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Chapter 18 (Marco)

I was sitting in the living room, playing pretty much the coolest game ever.  Save the Galaxy III.  The graphics were stellar, the controls felt so real, and of course the subject matter of the game didn't hurt its case one bit.

I had just acquired the gorilla and was about to face Visser Three again when-

"Hello, hello . . . hola!  I'm at a place called Ver-ti-go!" a disembodied voice sang.

It was my cell phone.  I looked at the caller ID.  It was Jake.  I picked up.  "Hello?"

"We're going to the Hork-Bajir home world.  Pack your things," he said, apparently not in the mood for chitchat.

I groaned, but tried to fake enthusiasm anyway.  "Cool," I said.  "I'll be ready in a few hours."

A few hours later, I was standing in the hangar where I kept my very own private space ship.  Yeah.  I really am that rich.

Jake met me there, which of course was no surprise, but I hadn't expected him to be bringing a guest.  It took me a second or two to recognize the guy behind him.

"Hey, long time no see!" I exclaimed to Erek.  "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Marco," he said, somewhat less enthusiastically.  Then he shrugged.  "Actually, even I don't know what I'm doing here.  But apparently Cassie said I was supposed to come."

We got into the craft, the three of us plus our Andalite pilot.  We had a fairly decent amount of room left over in the medium-sized craft.

After we took off, Jake filled us both in on what he knew.  Which was really just that the Yeerks were, indeed, up to something.  I scoffed.  "That's real specific," I said.

"Cassie couldn't tell us much, because communications can be intercepted," Jake rationalized.  "But . . . she did mention one other thing," he said cautiously.

"Please, do go on," I prodded.

Hesitantly, cautiously, he told us the other thing that Cassie had told him.

"They found Rachel's Ixcila."

I wasn't sure how to react.  My gut reaction was that . . . this didn't feel right, so much so that the wrongness of it made me feel a little ill.  Rachel . . . alive again?  But not really alive.  Only a part of her, a copy of her.  Was she alive, or wasn't she?  I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the reason why, but that uncertainty really bothered me.

"Jake . . . " I began.  "You know as well as I do that an Ixcila isn't the same as the real person.  We can't-"

"What is your problem?!" Jake suddenly exploded.  "Why are you still so set against Rachel being alive?!"

"Jake, man, you know that isn't it," I said apologetically.  "It's just that this isn't the right way to bring her back.  This is worse than nothing.  How can you not see that?"

"At least she's alive," Jake said stubbornly.  "How we accomplish that doesn't matter."

"This is cruel!" I fumed.  "We're bringing her back only because we can't move on!  It has nothing to do with her!  A miserable existence is worse than none at all!"

"Calm down, both of you," Erek interjected.  "If there's one thing Rachel wouldn't have wanted, it would be her friends fighting over her like this."

Jake raised an eyebrow, giving Erek a curious glance.  "Erek?  Where do you stand in this?"

Erek shrugged.  "I don't have an opinion here.  We Chee do not experience death."

"But you must have seen more death than any of us," I pointed out.  "You live forever.  Everyone you ever knew is either dead or will die before you do."

Erek looked down.  Probably wishing I hadn't brought that particular point up.  I didn't care.  I was going to squeeze an opinion out of him, one way or another.

"That's different," he said.  "We watch others die, but never experience the knowledge of mortality for ourselves.  I'm sure if we did, we would try to deny death, just as you humans do.  But as it is . . . I've watched so many die, that it seems pointless to deny it anymore.  I've learned to accept it.  Death isn't good, it isn't evil, it just is."

"Ha!" I crowed to Jake, pleased that Erek was on my side.

"But, as I said, I can't have a truly informed opinion," Erek amended.  "Sure, I can say I would accept death, but I'm an outsider to the whole picture.  I can't really know what I would think of death, if I were mortal."

"You're just afraid to choose a side," I taunted.

"Marco, let it go," Jake said.  "He's right, he doesn't get to vote on this."

"Oh, sure, defend him as soon as he decides not to vote with me!" I criticized.  I was breathing hard, my anger and indignation mounting.  "You've been acting like an immature little spoiled brat on this whole issue, you know that?  You just want everyone to agree with you!"

Jake growled.  "Drop it, Marco."

"You're trying to deny it because it's true!" I shot back.  "You want everyone to agree with you because you're scared I'm right!  This is an abomination and you know it!"

"You're wrong.  Rachel's alive!  That's a good thing!  We should be celebrating!  And here you are saying we should let her stay dead!" Jake screamed.

"Cool it," Erek said, talking to both of us.

"No, I won't cool it," Jake said.  "Not until Marco realizes that Rachel didn't deserve to die!"

"Neither will I," I agreed.  "Not until Jake realizes that this doesn't have anything to do with who deserves what!  It's about denying reality!"

"Why do you hate her?!" Jake shouted at me through gritted teeth, his fists clenching.

"The real question is why do you?!" I yelled back.  "How can you be so selfish?!  You want her to be alive because that will clear your guilty conscience!  You don't care what's best for her!"

"I want her to be alive!  How is that not caring what's best for her?!  You want her to be dead!  You're as good as a murderer!"

"I'm a murderer?!  That's rich, coming from you!"

As heated as our arguing was getting, I didn't notice the change in Jake at first.  His eyes changing color, becoming more reflective.  The first hints of orange fur that were growing around his face.

But Erek noticed.  "Jake, don't," the Chee threatened, standing up from his seat.

"That's the way you want it, Jakey boy?" I mocked once I noticed that he was morphing.  "Fine!  We'll play it your way!"  I began morphing to gorilla, focusing hard to catch up with Jake.

"Jake, Marco, stop this!" Erek moaned.  "Rachel would be horrified if she could see you two!"

"Marco doesn't carrre whak sche kinks!" Jake said, his speech becoming garbled as his mouth changed.  He switched to thought-speak to finish.  <He only cares that she stays dead!>

<And you only care about your conscience!> I spat back.  <You should have thought about all this before you killed her in the first place!>

Jake replied with a tiger's roar.  I bellowed back with my gorilla voice.

Jake charged at me, his teeth and claws bared in rage.

----------------------

Russianspy: I've thought about that myself, and I don't know the answer.  I would guess that they would stay the way they were, though, since being a nothlit is different from just having a morph.  Knowing that, one of them should've gotten stuck as a T-rex and gone on a rampage against the Yeerks when they got back. 

CDJV: I know I would be. 

[danpfeiffer]

Nothlit, another awesome chapter. Keep up the unbelievably good work!

[dolphin4077]

2 great updates, definitely the pick me up I needed

[foxglade]

YAY!! I am SO HAPPY that you've FINALLY updated!! (no I'm not trying to make you feel guilty for NOT UPDATING SOONER) PLEASE KEEP WRITING!!

[DinosaurNothlit]

Chapter 19 (Cassie)

It would be another week or so before Jake and Marco would arrive. It was nervous waiting, knowing that we would go into battle soon after. But we made good use of the time. We spent every moment in Quahyliera's little hide-away, with Rachel.

We got to know Nenan, the Hork-Bajir whose body Rachel was sharing, quite well, too. He reminded me of Jara Hamee. Remembering Jara, I realized once again just how much I regretted that he had died. He had made the Hork-Bajir colony on earth what it was. Toby still led the colony, but she could never quite replace her father to me.

After a few days, we'd talked Quahyliera into reconfiguring the force-field to recognize our DNA patterns, thus allowing us to pass through. Not Rachel's, though, of course. We still hadn't managed to gain the suspicious Arn's total trust.

It was the day after we'd found Rachel, and Tobias was in Hork-Bajir morph, inside the force field, the two of them nuzzling each other like each thought the other was the only thing in the world that mattered. It was sweet. And it was so clear how much Tobias had missed her.

I felt awkward watching, though, so I talked to Quahyliera. I'd had an idea that I wanted to discuss with the Arn, but I wasn't sure how to voice it. I tried anyway.

"I was wondering," I started. "Could you create a new body for Rachel? If you were provided with DNA, I mean?"

She looked at me curiously. "Not with the equipment I have available," she said simply. "I could create a few cells, maybe some biogenic compounds, but that's it, really."

"Oh," I said, disappointed. "Hmm. Well . . . " I continued, thinking for a moment. There had to be a way around this, a way to get Rachel out of Nenan's body and into her own. Then, suddenly, in a flash of inspiration, the answer came to me. "Do you think you could trigger, say, an allergic reaction with the equipment you have, then?"

Quahyliera nodded. "Of course," she said. "It's only a matter of generating a specific type of antibody, coded to signal your body to attack a foreign material. It's fairly elementary. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Never mind that. Next question. Can you scan my blood for the DNA pattern of a blonde human girl?"

A few days later, Quahyliera had not only found Rachel's DNA in my blood, but had engineered the antibody that would make my body attack it. In return for this favor, she demanded that we inform the Andalite high command of the Yeerks' operation before going through with our plan to attack it. I weighed the two options for a while, before I very reluctantly agreed. But I said that we needed to wait for Jake and Marco to arrive before making that fateful call.

The next day, my injection was finally ready. I bent down to let Quahyliera clean my arm with a cloth that had been soaked in some sort of reddish liquid. Once that was done, she took the syringe of the clear liquid and stuck it into my skin, releasing the antibodies into my bloodstream. I felt a wave of nausea accompanied by a feeling of pins and needles, but the feeling quickly passed.

"Remember," Rachel advised. "The allergic morphing is controlled by emotions. Just relax, and you'll be fine. Heck, you're probably a lot better off than I was."

"Right," I said, emptying my mind of emotion. Harder than you might think, what with a dangerous battle looming before us, a new war possibly on the horizon, and Rachel alive again after four years. But I couldn't think about any of that.

"Okay, time to test you," Rachel said with a devious grin. "Imagine Jake here."

I did as I was told, my mind picturing Jake's confident brown eyes and his tentative smile. Immediately, the feeling of pins and needles came back. When I looked down, I saw that I was growing brown fur. I was morphing!

Wait, I was morphing? That meant . . . No! I did not still have feelings for Jake!

Of course, the moment that fear of my own emotions spiked, the morph only proceeded even faster. My feet lengthened, my face pressed forward into a muzzle, and a thick, powerful tail shot out of my spine.

"You morphed a kangaroo?" Rachel crowed, amused. "When did that happen?"

Finally, I got my emotions under control and demorphed. "Long story," I said with a sigh.

Over the next week, I continued to practice controlling my emotions. There was a decent chance I would have to go into battle with this morph allergy, so I had to know how to keep it under control. But I was pretty confident after a few days. Thank god I'm such an easy-going person. For the most part, controlling my emotions wasn't as hard as I'd thought it might be.

At the same time, we filled Rachel in on bits and pieces of things she'd missed. I told her about the time when I'd acquired the kangaroo on my solo adventure in Australia, and Tobias answered her curiousity about what had ultimately become of Taylor.

She never asked about how she had died. Maybe she didn't want to know.

Finally, Jake called on the communicator to say that he, Marco, and Erek had arrived. I gave them our position, and they arrived several hours later.

The three of them walked into the cave, obviously worn-out from their trip. But what was strange was the tension I sensed between Marco and Jake, so intense that they each seemed to radiate energy. The cues were subtle, but I could see that they weren't making eye contact with each other, and they seemed to want to stand as far from each other as courtesy would allow.

Whatever was going on between them, they still managed to act as though nothing were wrong. "Hey, girls," Marco said with a wink when he stepped into the cavern. "Rachel, you're looking better than ever."

Rachel gave him a rude gesture. Marco just laughed. "Yep, that's Rachel, alright."

"Who's this?" Jake said, looking at Quahyliera like she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out. "Aren't you an Arn?"

"Very astute," she said sarcastically. "My name's Quahyliera."

She proceeded to quickly sum up the situation for the boys. She told them the full story about what the Yeerks were doing, and the dealings we'd made with her to get Rachel back.

Immediately, Jake gave me a furious glare. "Cassie, you had no right to tell her that we would tell the Andalites about this! That's as good as firing the first shot of a new war!"

"We're getting Rachel back," I shot back. "That's what you wanted, too, isn't it?"

"Yes, but not at the price of another war!" he fumed. "You could have, at the very least, waited for me to agree to this! To go over my head, to do this without my approval, what were you thinking, Cassie?! You're talking about risking everything! For one person!"

"Good to know you missed me, cousin," Rachel said bitterly.

I took a deep breath, as I felt the pins and needles again. I watched as feather patterns began to trace themselves across my skin.

Oh god. Please don't notice, please don't notice, please-

"Cassie?" Erek said, speaking up for the first time. He, Jake and Marco were all staring at me.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked, suddenly concerned. Somehow, his concern wasn't helping.

I closed my eyes and focused. Eliminate all emotion. Demorph.

Human again, I said, "Part of the deal was getting a new body for Rachel. And apparently the Arn have a way to trigger morph allergies. So I burp a body for Rachel, and we have her back. All the way."

For a brief moment, Marco made eye contact with me. He looked furious. But then he turned his face away, seething in silence.

Jake didn't look much happier. "You could have at least waited until after the battle," he scolded.

"I'll be fine," I reassured him. "Don't worry about me."

After a moment's pause, he smiled that slow, cautious smile of his. "You're right. I won't," he said, his confidence in me showing in his eyes. For all his angry words, even after I'd disobeyed him, he still trusted me.

I smiled back, and carefully kept my back-side from Jake's sight, so he wouldn't notice the giant squirrel tail that had come shooting out of my spine.

[foxglade]

lol, love the end. keep writing!!

[DinosaurNothlit]

Chapter 20 (Jake)

After I'd had a moment or two to cool off from the shock of Cassie's most recent news, I had to admit that I felt a little bad for snapping at her the way I had. The truth was, I knew she'd made the right decision. I'd have made the same decision in her place.

Rachel had to live. No matter what. Even if the cost was a new war. We owed it to her. The world owed it to her.

No, all that had really upset me about what Cassie had done was only that she had done it behind my back. My anger with her had just been my knee-jerk reaction to being disobeyed. And once it hit me that she was worthy of my trust, that she knew what she was doing, well, that was when I realized that I would have done the same.

Now that I'd had the chance to mull things over, I didn't like the way I'd handled the situation that had recently arisen with Marco, either. Sure, he'd been wrong about keeping Rachel dead. He was still wrong. But that didn't give me the excuse to overreact the way that I had. If anything, I'd only made things worse between me and him. He would be indignant at me, now. And he would only feel all the more justified in his own deluded position because of it.

Of course, the fact that my attempt at an attack on Marco had only ended with my head slamming painfully and ingloriously into Erek's force field, didn't help me feel any better about the matter. In retrospect, I really should have known not to underestimate the Chee's ability, or determination, to stop a fight.

But it was pointless to think about any of that now. What was done, was done, and there was no taking it back. Marco would eventually come to see that I was right, anyhow.

Until then, there were more pressing matters to attend to. We had to uphold the bargain Cassie had made with the Arn in exchange for Rachel's body. It was time to call the Andalite high command.

I made the call on a special, heavily encrypted connection that Erek had set up for me. I waited a second for it to connect, and then Erek projected the hologram of an Andalite officer into the air in front of me. Cassie, Tobias and Marco were careful to stay out of sight of the hologram, since they each knew that I was the one most qualified to handle this conversation, and that interruptions would only slow us down.

<What is this?> the Andalite asked coolly. <Do you realize who you are contacting?>

"Yes, I do," I said, keeping my voice as even as I could, even as I tried not to think about the deadly significance this conversation might pose. "This is Jake Berenson. I have information on a situation on the Hork-Bajir home world. The Yeerks are here."

The Andalite's eyes widened briefly at the sound of my name; even among Andalites, my name was widely known. But then he immediately went back to his stoic, arrogant scowl. <Yes, yes, we already know that much,> the Andalite said gruffly. <Anything else?>

It took me by surprise that the Andalites knew about the Yeerk presence on the Hork-Bajir home world, but I tried not to show it. "They've enslaved the Arn," I continued, keeping my composure even though my suspicions were rising. "They're building mind-control technology. They're going to try another take-over."

The Andalite fell into a shocked silence. But, once again, it lasted only for a moment. When he came back, he sounded just as arrogant as ever. <We suspected as much,> he said, but I got the distinct feeling he hadn't known about the Arn or about the Yeerks' plans. <War-Prince Galuit has already seen fit to send Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil to resolve the situation. But . . . thank you,> the Andalite said reluctantly. <We will use this new information well.>

My eyes widened when I heard Ax's name, and I heard gasps of amazement from my friends. <Ax?> I heard Tobias blurt out in wonder. "Thank you," I told the Andalite as I held up a hand to make sure my friends stayed quiet. "Aximili is a friend of ours, as I'm sure you know. It gladdens me to know that we are working towards a common goal."

I paused for a moment then, trying to decide where Ax might fit into the bigger picture of our situation. How could I use him? Where would he provide the best advantage?

"There is a Blade Ship somewhere in orbit around this planet that contains plans and blueprints for the mind control devices," I pointed out. "If he has a fighter of some sort, he might be able to destroy it. All we have are civilian craft, useless against a Blade Ship. But we could still take care of the blueprints and devices here on the ground if he got rid of the ones in the air."

<Yes, his superiors have seen fit to equip him with a Sstram grid-ship. The ship is innocuous enough, since Sstram ships can be used for plenty of innocent undertakings, and the vessel obviously has no association with Andalites. But he does have some firepower, we made quite certain of that. I do not know if he can match a Blade Ship,> the Andalite admitted with some hesitation, <but I suppose there may be no other option.>

"If I know Aximili," I said brightly, "he can find a way."

The Andalite smiled with just his eyes, the way all Andalites do. <Ah, that he can, I am sure.>

After a moment, the Andalite bowed and said, <I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I am Prince Rastorrin-Nerivix-Darak. Well met, Prince Jake. And I thank you for your assistance in Prince Aximili's mission. I will be sure to relay your information to his superiors.>

I thanked him in return, and signed off.

<I can't believe Ax is here, too!> Tobias said, still incredulous. <Do you realize that this will be the first time the six of us have been together in four years?>

"Feels like only yesterday," Rachel said with a half-hearted laugh, but Marco was the only one who laughed back. Cassie just gave her a sideways glance, a brief glimmer of sadness in her expression. Rachel gave Cassie a bewildered glance, then turned away.

I waited a moment for the silence to sink in, and then I stepped forward at just the right moment to break the stillness. I knew that we had more important things to think about than Ax, right now.

"Alright everyone," I said to my team, reminding them what we were here to do. "We've done enough stalling. Are we ready to go get some Yeerks?"

[Horsefan1023 (Seal)]

Oh...Nothlit...I love your writing....



SO MUCH.


Write more.  Please.  It's...so...good!

[DinosaurNothlit]

Chapter 21 (Ax)

I was nearing the Hork-Bajir home world when I received a communication from the Andalite fleet.  I opened my ship's two-way communication, the screen taking a moment or two to warm up before displaying the face of a familiar Andalite.

<We've received new intelligence,> War-Prince Galuit, the commander of my mission, said.  <There is a Blade Ship above the Hork-Bajir home world which must be destroyed.  It contains blueprints for mind-control devices that the Yeerks intend to use to re-create their empire of slavery.>  He paused for a moment or two to let the new information sink in, then added, <They must be stopped at all costs, do you understand me?>

<Yes, sir,> I answered with feigned calm, careful not to show any of the sudden fear I felt.  <Do we know exactly where this Blade Ship is?>

<No,> Galuit admitted.  <You will have to find that out for yourself.  And there is another thing.  A second group on the planet has plans to attack and destroy the blueprints on the Yeerks' base itself.  They have asked to coordinate their attacks with yours, in order that the attacks might provide a distraction.>

<Another group, sir?> I asked, curious.  <Who?>

Galuit smiled with his eyes, and answered, <Why, I believe they are old friends of yours.  Jake Berenson and his team are down there.>

My hearts jumped.  <The Animorphs, you mean?  But,> I stuttered, <they have retired from active duty, have they not?>

<It would seem that they felt they were needed,> Galuit said.  <And perhaps they are right.  Andalite involvement in this matter is forbidden, as you know.  But the Animorphs, of course, do not answer to Andalite government.  And, acting as a member of their unit, neither do you.>

<But,> I said, still disbelieving, <they have done enough, and more.  They are still mere humans, after all.  They are not meant for war.  Not when there are others who can fight.  They need to->

<Tell it to them, not me,> Galuit interrupted me gently.  <Your only duty is to find the Blade Ship, and then to wait for the signal from your former prince.  That is all, Prince Aximili.>

<Yes, sir,> I said again, and turned the communicator off.

I could barely think straight, my hearts were beating so fast.  The Animorphs, back in the war?  I felt excited to fight side-by-side once again with my former comrades, but I felt afraid for them, too.

Their first war had left them different, scarred.  I had watched each of them change over the course of those three years.  Humans were not born warriors, not the way Andalites were.  That was a truth that I had seen first hand.  Were they really doing the right thing by getting themselves involved again?  Now, when the burden of war needed no longer fall upon their shoulders alone?

On the other hand, I realized that the new intelligence that Galuit had mentioned must have undoubtedly come from my human friends.  And without that information, I would not have known what the Yeerks were doing, nor how to stop them.

They knew what they were doing, no doubt.  The only question was, what would it do to them this time?

I shook myself out of my thoughts, and set myself to the task at hand.  I scanned the area nearby for the characteristic shape of the Blade Ship, on the offhand chance that they had been careless enough to leave it uncloaked.  I didn't expect to find it so easily, and, of course, I didn't.

My vessel, a Sstram grid-ship, was a fairly primitive design.  Many of the controls were flawed and imperfect compared to Andalite ships, but I felt it would serve my purposes.  The grid-ship was only slightly smaller than a Blade Ship, and its design consisted of interlocking plates in complex geometrical patterns.  It was actually slightly asymetrical, with two cube-shaped extensions on its left side each equipped with small beam weapons, and a larger platform on the right that held a sizeable beam cannon.  It could not match weapons with a Blade Ship, but as long as I carried the element of surprise, I surmised that I might be able to overcome that difficulty.

I awkwardly held the joysticks that were designed for the tentacle-like hands of a Sstram, and set the ship to skim the barren, dark grey surface of the Hork-Bajir planet.  I scanned the air for the characteristic shimmer that might give away the presence of a cloaked ship.  I cloaked my own ship in the meantime, not wanting to alert the Blade Ship to my presence.

It was a long and tedious search.  A few times I thought I saw a shimmer, but it always turned out to be simply the movement of one of the lizards that lived on the barren rock beyond the Hork-Bajir valleys.  And I could not even be certain that the first cloaked ship I encountered would be the Blade Ship.

Finally, I spotted it.  To my chagrin, it was not even cloaked, but rather only hidden by virtue of its dark color against the black of space.

It made sense, I realized as I thought about it, as I wondered why the Yeerks might have left a Blade Ship out in the open.  As obvious as a Blade Ship was, it had to remain clearly visible.  So long as it remained uncloaked, the Yeerks might be able to excuse its presence with an innocent explanation.  But if it had cloaked itself, and was then discovered, it would only appear much more suspicious.

It had been 'hiding in plain sight,' as the human saying goes.

I was still cloaked, but I didn't trust the cloaking devices on a Sstram ship to hide me from a Blade Ship's instruments.  So I piloted my ship down to the crater-ridden surface of the Hork-Bajir planet, concealing it from the Blade Ship behind the lip of a small ravine that ran parallel to one of the Hork-Bajir valleys.

As I waited, I followed the Blade Ship's slow, steady, orbital movement, hiding in craters and valleys whenever the opportunity presented itself.  And as I watched the Blade Ship, I noticed that it was ever so subtly different from the ship formerly belonging to Visser One.  This Blade Ship had slightly smaller wings, a larger bridge, and a longer, curved stem that joined the two.  Its curved shape and large bridge gave it a more snake-like appearance, so that, while it didn't appear as blatantly dangerous as Visser One's infamous vessel, it had a subtler, sinister presence of its own.

I shivered again, itching to do something, anything, and afraid that the Blade Ship would detect my presence.  Or that it would cloak itself and I would lose it.

Finally, after a few hours, Jake's signal came.

His face appeared on the screen after a moment, and it was not the broken and hollow face of a human destroyed by war.  His face was a mask of confidence.  He was his former self once more, a leader, the same prince that I had followed for three years on earth, and his renewed strength of will shone through the miles between us through my screen.

Perhaps I was wrong about him, at least, I thought as I looked upon his hardened face.  Perhaps Jake, my prince, truly was meant for war.

"It's time," he said simply to me, and the screen went dark.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Chapter 22 (Rachel)

I listened eagerly from behind my force field as the others discussed a plan of action.  Plans to be made, Yeerks to be killed.

"Okay, we need a discreet morph to get in, but something that can destroy the computers that hold the blueprints.  Would morphing Hork-Bajir work?" Cassie asked.

Quahyliera sneered.  "These are Yeerks, not idiots.  They're are such a small group that they can recognize each other.  They'll know immediately that you don't belong.  You'd have about as much luck going in as humans."

"Insects, then?" Jake asked.

"Gleet biofilters," Quahyliera retorted.  "They fear sabotage, and they know all about the dangers posed by morphing.  They'll only let in the individuals whose DNA is programmed in, and even then, they check them now and then to confirm their identities."

"Can the biofilter be shut off from the inside?" I asked, determined to contribute something.  It was weird.  I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just an outsider here, even though these were the same Animorphs I'd known for years.

"Yes, theoretically," Quahyliera said.  "But the Yeerks will be alerted the moment that it is deactivated.  There is a security system connected to the biofilter that cannot be disabled."

Jake looked thoughtful.  While he was thinking, I decided to speak up again.  "If the system were down, you guys could get in with your battle morphs.  Then it wouldn't matter if they knew you were there or not.  You could just fight your way through, and destroy whatever needed to be destroyed.  Wham, bam, boom."

It didn't feel right to me, referring to the Animorphs as 'you' instead of 'we.'  But I knew I would be excluded from whatever plan they came up with.  I couldn't morph.

Quahyliera looked horrified.  Or at least what I guessed represented horror on an Arn expression.  "How in the name of the Deep did you manage to keep the Yeerks at bay for as long as you did without being killed?!" she exclaimed.  "Have the Yeerks never shot a Dracon beam at you?!  You can't be serious."

"Rachel's right," Jake said, defending me.  "We've faced worse than a bunch of terrified Yeerk nothlits.  I think 'wham, bam, boom' is exactly what we need.  Quahyliera, could you shut off the biofilter for us?"

"Absolutely not.  Your idea is pure lunacy, and I do not wish for you to get yourselves killed."

"Look," Jake said, exasperated.  "Even if you don't help us, we are still doing this.  Tobias has an Arn morph.  He can shut off the biofilter himself.  But it would be easier for him not to need to demorph when this goes down.  We have a better chance of success if you were the one to shut it off."

"No.  When you fail, I would be punished, perhaps even killed, for helping you.  I will not sacrifice myself for a plan that will not even work."

I breathed in, then out again, trying to stop myself from lashing out against the Arn.  She was so annoying.  So steadfastly determined to stay in control of her situation, at any cost.  And I was, very quickly, beginning to hate her for it.

"If you won't help us," I growled.  "Then release me, right now.  If you would make us use one of our own members to disable the biofilter, then you need to let me out so I can fight in-"

That got Nenan's attention.  Immediately, he grabbed my voice and screamed, "NO!" at the same time as Quahyliera echoed his sentiment.

The Hork-Bajir and the Arn both began talking at the same time, both trying to make themselves heard over the other.

"Nenan not want to fight!  Bad voice-in-head,-"

"This idea is lunacy, and I will not-"

"-evil-voice, made Nenan fight other Hork-Bajir, made kill-"

"-let a precious Ixcila be lost just because-"

"-other Hork-Bajir!  Not want fight, not want fight!"

"-you insist on being a fool!"

Nenan continued for a while even after Quahyliera stopped talking.  "Yeerk, evil-voice-in-head, make Nenan fight!  Nenan not want fight!  Kill with blades, brother and sister!  Kill free Hork-Bajir!  Blood on blades . . . no, no, no!  Hork-Bajir never hurt Hork-Bajir.  But Yeerk angry, make Nenan kill.  Please bottle-spirit, please not make Nenan kill.  Please, please . . . Yeerks are dead, dead and gone, no more Yeerks, no more kill!"

The others jumped in surprise at Nenan's outburst, and Cassie looked sadly at me.  Or, well, at Nenan.

"You can't force him to fight," Jake said to me, his tone accusing.  "You'd be no better than a Yeerk if you did.  Not to mention that Nenan can't morph, so you couldn't afford to get injured.  I'm sorry, Rachel, but you have to sit this fight out."

"I know that," I said, as soon as I was able to get a word in over Nenan's whimpering.  "I'm just getting sick of that Arn's self-righteousness."  I glared at her.  "Anyone who would refuse to help someone who wants to help them is not worthy of my respect," I spat.

The Arn glared right back at me, furious that I would dare to insult her even when I was still completely at her mercy.

"You say you wouldn't sacrifice yourself for a plan that wouldn't work," I continued, letting my disgust with her show plainly in my voice.  "But won't you even sacrifice yourself for your own people?  Do you not even have that much decency?  If you wait until the Andalites arrive to save you, your people would be caught in the crossfire of the war that is coming.  By then your friends won't be slaves.  They'll be dead.  And until then, this is the only plan we have.  And unless you have a better one, this is what we are doing.  So I'd suggest you help us, unless you want to watch your people become extinct for a second time."

Quahyliera's expression went blank, unreadable, as she considered my words.  "You're right," she finally said.  "I would sacrifice myself for my people."  She glared around the room, making sure her point was clear.  "And it is for my people, not for you, that I will lend my aid to our common goal.  Yes, I will help you."  She paused, then added quietly, but forcefully, "But remember well what is at stake for me and my people if you fail."

The Arn glared around the room again, her hard, cold eyes finally coming to rest on Jake, who said, "We won't fail."  Jake smiled back at me, as if acknowledging that I was the only one of us who could have cowed Quahyliera the way I did.

But there was more than just acknowledgement in his smile.  Wistfulness, maybe.  Reminiscence for days gone by.

He jerked his gaze away from me and began laying out the plan.  It took another hour or so to get all the details of the scheme worked out, during which time I mentally apologized to Nenan for making him think that I was going to force him into battle.  As much as I hated to stay behind while my friends risked their lives, I had already accepted that there was no choice.

I put my hand against the force field as I watched them make their final preparations for battle.  I wanted so badly to join them, to participate in the first battle of the new war.  But I couldn't, not while I shared a body with Nenan, and not while I couldn't morph.

Finally, the moment had come.  Jake called Ax on Erek's communicator, and simply said, "It's time."  Then he immediately began to shift, orange and black fur rippling across his body.  Cassie was well on the way into her wolf morph, and as I watched her transform, I realized it was her I was most worried for.  Her allergy would make her vulnerable in battle, even as emotionally controlled as she was.

"Make sure to watch your emotions, okay?" I said.  She nodded, her shaggy grey fur swaying as she moved her head up and down.

Marco grew taller, blades sprouting from his elbows and wrists as he completed his Hork-Bajir morph.  I glanced at Tobias, and was surprised to see him morphing a creature I'd never seen before.  His feathers had changed color to grey and green, and glimmered like they had been coated in lacquer.

As I watched, each feather sharpened to a point, and Tobias's body shot upwards to match Marco's Hork-Bajir height.  His now-humanoid form was angular, yet graceful, and his eyes were cold, diamond-shaped plates of red glass.  And he'd kept his wings, which now stretched almost twenty feet across when he unfurled them.

<It's called a Kelbrid,> Tobias said when he noticed me staring at him.  He turned around to let me get a better view of the angular, razor-bladed wings that extended from his shoulders.  <What do you think?>

I flashed him my Hork-Bajir smile.  And I glanced down at his razor-edged, deadly talons, talons the size and shape of daggers, and I pictured his new form in battle, swooping down from the air to strike at his foes.  "I think it's perfect for you," I said fondly, feeling a sudden swell of ferocious pride for him.  Tobias had finally found his perfect battle morph, and it was beautiful.

The four of them left the cave, and I was left alone with Erek.  He looked concerned, like there was something about this whole affair that bothered him deeply.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," I said to him, wondering why he looked so worried now, when he had known we had gone into more dangerous battles so many times before.  "They know what they're doing."

His gaze met mine, reluctantly, as though he could barely bring himself to look at me.  As though I reminded him of something he could not bear to remember.  His expression was a strange mix of wonder and pity and bewilderment and perhaps even horror, and he shook his head and said, "It isn't the outcome of this battle that I worry for."

[jaymz]

We need more dino I love your style