disclaimer:anyone or thing from the Animorphs books do not belong to me.
"kill us! Hewants to kill us?! wait... who is He anyway?" Andre nearly yelled.
"and before you answer that, who are you?" Omar asked.
"ask the humanoid alien with your friend. he knows who i am-we were captured together. and He is someone you don't want to meet. sure, He's just a plain, over-sized red eyeball but He can destroy entire universes. just hope you can escape, unlike the person that was captured before you guys." the voice answered.
"Tristan, ask the alien with you in there who she is." Elizan told Tristan.
but Tristan didn't move. he didn't want to face 'the alien' and ask 'the alien' who the voice was. but, he didn't need to-he knew who the voice was already. "Nnyil-Lyannerri."
"you didn't even ask the alien with you!" Geniva stated.
"it's okay. he guessed my name right. i am Nnyil-Lyannerri. you can call me Nyl if you want since my real name is probably to hard for you to speak." Nyl replied.
"okay, Nyl. can you step out of the shadows, please?" Thomas asked.
"if it will make you all feel better," a red-head came into their view, her hair flowing past her eyes. she wore a torn leotard, and socks. her skin had bruises all over. she even had a long, wide, scar on her neck, and another one on her right leg.
they stared at her. she stared at the creature with Tristan. then, she turned to face Tristan himself.
"i believe you two knew each other before." Nyl said, referring to Tristan and the creature. then, she laughed. "Eldwardl knowing a normal human? but of course, he knew me and you're not completely human, are you?"
Tristan just stared dumbly at her.
"um, Nyl, can you tell us why He wants us-other than kill us, i mean." Andre wondered.
Nyl nodded. "he want us for who we are in a different universe. Omar-Jake, Elizan-Rachel, Thomas-Tobias, Geniva-Cassie, Andre-Marco," she glanced at Tristan. he nodded. "Tristan-Aximili, Eldwardl(the creature with Tristan)-Elfangor."
"what 'bout you?" Geniva inquired.
"me? you shouldn't know-it's nothing important." Nyl responded.
"how come are names in that universe are the same as the kids from that 'Animorphs' series?" Omar asked, he and Thomas already knowing the answer.
"you know. Eldwardl and Tristan also know-not just you and Thomas." Nyl started playing around with her hair.
"how long have you been here, wherever here is?" Elizan shifted in her cage.
"um...Halloween of...1999." Nyl stared at some markings on the floor of her cage. "yeah, 1999."
"1999? it's October 31st, 2007 today." Tristan said.
"you've been here for eight years?!" Omar, Elizan, Thomas, Geniva, and Andre nearly yelled in unison.
"eight years? really? it's only been eight days here. i marked down the date when we were captured and it says 'October 31st, 1999', and it's already 2007?" she pushed her hair behind her ears. Omar, Elizan, Thomas, Geniva, Andre, and Tristan were better off if she hadn't.
why? because it looked like her left eye was made completely out of glass!
Nyl noticed them staring at her eye. "it is fake, if you're wondering-but that doesn't mean i can't see you staring at my 'cause of it."
"no. it's not that..." Thomas stated. "i see something in it..." he studied it from his cage. "like two planets... i think they're both Earth..."
"except they're not turning in the same direction..." Geniva quoted.
"parallel universe?" Andre muttered.
"or maybe they are actually two Earths." Omar suggested.
"in the same galaxy? i don't think so," Elizan whispered.
"it is possible." Tristan said.
Nyl blushed and turned away. 'why do people always see two Earths in my fake eye?' she wondered.
there was a groan coming from Tristan's cage. the creature stirred and finally opened it/his/her eyes-all four. when it/he/she saw Tristan, it's/his/her eyes opened wider. "Tristan?" it/he/she mumbled.
Tristan nodded. "yes, Eldwardl." he faced his friends. "Eldwardl is my older brother."
Eldwardl noticed the others then. "i suppose Nnyil has told you somethings, correct?"
Thomas nodded. "she told us why we're here, who we are in an alternative universe, and when she and you were captured."
"the same day and month as today, but eight years before." Eldwardl faced Nnyil. "they said the true time-time passes differently here than on our Earth."
"yeah. should we tell them what you and Tristan are?" Nnyil inquired, mainly to Tristan and Eldwardl.
Tristan nodded in approval. "they saw me already in my real form when i had demorphed unwillingly."
"they should know who is also among them besides animals and other humans." Eldwardl agreed.
Nnyil breathed deeply. "you saw another of the same kind like Eldwardl-that was your friend Tristan. they are not human at all-they are Setilanda."
"we are basically humans with certain Andalite parts-such as the tail, stalk eyes, blue skin, and seven fingered hands." Tristan continued.
when they had finished, it was only eleven on Halloween night.
"okay, we know about the Setilanda, who we are in the other universe, but we still don't know who He is," Omar stated.
"it is better off if you don't know who He is." Eldwardl quoted. "anyone here reads those Animorphs books?"
"um, yeah." Thomas and Geniva responded in unison.
"then, who is the other enemy?" Tristan said. "i'll give you hints:giant eyeball, name starts with a 'c', Jake had dreams of him..."
"Crayak!" Geniva exclaimed. "wait... Crayak wants to kill us?! us as in the people here in the cages?!"
Nnyil nodded slightly. "that's Him-that blood-red heck of a giant eye." she paused. "wait a sec," the pupil of her fake eye turned white as she scanned the area they were in. she smirked. "we have some company..."
--quarter past eleven p.m., still Halloween. other place in Five-space where humans can live--
all eight of them were in the same cage, just awakening again.
Elizan glanced to the left, Kata, and another direction so she could see what was going on. she half expected to see the blood-red eye waiting for them to awake so it could kill them. what she got though, said otherwise.
an elderly man waited outside the cage-he was old enough to be her great grandfather, plus he was blue. he didn't move when he saw them awake. he waited for them to be fully awake before he spoke.
"Omar, Elizan, Thomas, Geniva, Andre, Tristan, Eldwardl, and Nnyil. Fearless Leader, Xena, Bird-Boy, Mother Nature, Joker, the young Setilanda, War-Prince, and a female that has yet to figure out how she is related with all this." he said.
"Ellimist." Thomas whispered.
"you guessed right. Crayak thinks he made Five-space on his own-a dark, evil, place. but, i had made part of it for good to balance this dimension. of course, that has nothing to do with this- what does, is that you all find the way out and find a way to the other Earth." Ellimist replied.
"other Earth?" Andre inquired.
"the parallel one to ours. the one that rotates the other way." Nnyil answered for Ellimist.
"that means we will be meeting the Animorphs, Yeerks, Andalites-what little there are on Earth-, Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, etc." Tristan stated.
"true. but, before you can, you need to find a way out of Five-space," Ellimist agreed.
"and who exactly are we gonna get out of a dimension we never heard of until now?" Elizan snapped.
Eldwardl smirked. "i've been waiting for someone to say that." he glanced at the Ellimist. "Ellimist and i know exactly how..."
--half past eleven p.m., still Halloween.--
"i can barely breath here! man, i can't even see!" Andre complained.
"what do you expect? this is Crayak's part of Five-space. he made it so pretty much only himself and Drode could get around." Nnyil quoted.
"yeah, but i expected to at least be able to breath properly!" Andre replied. "Eldwardl, how can you even tell if we're going the right way?"
"Setilanda have metal compasses like Andalites. also, to Tristan and i, it's not that dark nor hard to breath." Eldwardl explained.
"okay, but how can we humans know where we're going?" Omar asked.
"follow our voices. at least we don't use thought-speak like our cousins, the Andalites, otherwise, it'll be very hard to tell where we are." Tristan said.
"yeah..." Geniva responded. "um, i was just wondering, but, can Setilanda morph like Andalites? i mean, otherwise, how could you be able to blend in with humans?"
"we can. i believe you all noticed when i appeared, the other Setilanda disappeared. that was me. and that's also the reason why Eldwardl said, 'also, to Tristan and i, it's not dark nor hard to breath'." Tristan answered.
"all right. um, Tristan, Eldwardl, how long until we escape from here? i think i may choke here if we don't get out soon," Thomas muttered.
"you don't." a dark, cold, voice echoed around them.
--quarter until midnight, still Halloween--
Andre woke with a groan. "stop with the k.o.s then putting us in cages already!"
"good evening to you too." Nnyil replied, sitting nearby in the same cage. "at least we're all in the same cage instead of separate ones,"
"we are? i didn't notice, partly since i can't see through this thick air!" Andre complained. "wait, how can you see through it?"
"the fake eye can see through any dense air as if it was clear." Nnyil answered. "speaking of eyes, here comes the big red,"
"i see you were trying to escape Five-space," Crayak said. "of course, you will never escape. you will only die. eight humans can't do much,"
Tristan was about to say that he and Eldwardl were Setilanda, but then stopped himself when he saw that he and his brother were in morph.
"we may be just 'eight humans', but, we can and we will escape." Omar countered.
"you may be Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Aximili, Elfangor, and Loren in the other universe, but, none of you can morph-well, Eldwardl and Tristan can, but can not demorph now." Crayak quoted.
Thomas was silent from shock-'Nnyil, my mother? of course! both my parents disappeared eight years ago and i know Eldwardl is my Father since Tristan is my uncle!' he thought.
"not so fast, Crayak." Ellimist's voice stated. his humanoid figure appeared. "they can escape, for not all of Five-space you know of. they can hide and escape through the exit in the part of Five-space that you have never knew of!"
"impossible! i made Five-space myself! i know every single turn and twist in it!" Crayak yelled.
"not true. no realm can be pure evil nor pure good-there had to be balance so part of Five-space was made by Ellimist," Eldwardl muttered.
"no! this realm is completely evil! i know every part of it! there is no escape for you eight!" Crayak shouted.
Elizan and Geniva smirked. "oh really?" they said in unison. in a blink of an eye, the eight were no longer in the cage.
"how-?" Thomas asked.
"part Ellimist. mom was an Ellimist named Geniva." Geniva responded.
"dad was an Ellimist named Omarino." Elizan replied.
"also, Geniva and Omarino are twins, and i'm their father. amazing that Geniva, Elizan, and i are all related." Ellimist explained.
"sorry Crayak, but-to borrow a human expression,-you're toast." Tristan said, as he and Eldwardl were able to demorph to Setilanda once again.
"one full Ellimist, two half Ellimists, two Setilanda, four humans, v.s., one of Crayak? maybe even Drode? of course we'll escape." Andre exclaimed.
"no!" Crayak screamed, as Ellimist, Geniva, Elizan, Tristan, and Eldwardl attacked him. he disappeared into few, tiny, particles.
"that was easy-Thomas, Omar, Andre, and i didn't even need to lift a finger," Nnyil muttered. "now, which way to the other Earth?" she wondered as they were brought to the old construction site where the Animorphs' counter parts were captured.
--one a.m., November 1st--
"it's been one hour and we still have no idea how to go to the other Earth!" unsurprisingly, it was Andre. "it's one a.m. on November first. just be glad that it's only Saturday."
"yeah-if it was a weekday, i would be dead." Omar stated.
"Nnyil, i think the only way we can figure out how to get there is if we could see your fake eye," Geniva said.
Nnyil nodded and brushed her hair out of the way. but her fake eye no longer showed both Earths at once.
now, it showed just one Earth, the other one, not the one they were on.
"great! now how can we go over to the other Earth?!" Elizan exclaimed.
then, the image in the fake eye changed;it showed both Earths and a spot where two lights shown;one on Earth, right on the construction where Elfangor/Eldwardl did/should've died.
"okay...we found a way there;and, we are in the construction site." Thomas pointed out.
"problem is, how can we travel from here to there," Tristan muttered. "us Setilanda, on Earth, haven't been able to build space travel ships since we are hidden with humans."
"how long will it take to make a space ship?" Omar asked.
"well, it'll take about a month to gather the needed parts to make it, and another half month to build it." Eldwardl responded.
before he could get the first "month" out, the humans yelled, "a month?!"
shaken by the sudden yell, Eldwardl nodded. "a month and a half to complete."
"but, you have to be there by the day after tomorrow. or else, Crayak." a voice said.
"what?!" Andre shouted. "you never said there was a time limit!"
there was a sigh. "does it have to become tomorrow?"
"never mind. can you tell us at least how to get to the other Earth?" Geniva asked.
there was another sigh.
"i'll take that as a no," Elizan muttered.
"i-i mean 'we'-can help, daughter." another voice replied.
"daughter-wait, Dad?" Elizan whispered.
"and Geniva." a female voice responded.
three blue figures appeared-one was Ellimist/Toomin;the second, a young male;the female, also young.
"so, Omarino, Geniva, and Toomin arrive to tell us we had a time limit." Nnyil mumbled. "or, Omar, Gen, and Ellimist."
"um, you can't call me Omar and my sister Geniva;we have a human Omar and Geniva already. so, in order not to confuse us, i'm Omarino and my sister is Gen." Omarino explained.
"okay. so, how do we get to the Animorphs' world?" Thomas wondered.
"we give you a transport." Gen said as a Setilanda ship appeared.
before anyone could speak, the Ellimists disappeared.
"well, what should we name it?" Omar asked.
"how about Ani?" Geniva suggested. the others agreed as they boarded the ship.
"so, Eldwardl, how do you fly this thing?" Andre wondered.
/mind controls./Ani answered.
"whoa! the ship can talk?!" Andre exclaimed.
/yes, Andre. i can talk and i know who everyone aboard is./ Ani replied. /you all want to go to the parallel Earth, correct?/
"yes." Tristan responded for everyone.
/wait a minute while we take off./ Ani half ordered. /we are entering Parallel Earth's orbit./
"what?! we barely been aboard for a minute and we're already entering Parallel Earth's orbit?!" Thomas nearly shouted.
/correct. i am made by both the Setilanda and Ellimists; that is why we travel so fast. now entering Parallel Earth's moon's orbit. we'll be landing in three minutes./ Ani opened a window so the eight could see outside. /great, isn't it?/
the eight nodded.
"it's still Earth, yet, it doesn't look the same as our Earth." stated an amazed Elizan.
/true. the two planets seem different; but that's probably just because they're parallel and rotating in different directions./Ani suggested. /we'll be landing in ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... now!/
as Ani said "now", they skidded on the dusty floor of the "parallel" construction site.
"my head!" Andre complained as the eight exited Ani.
/my bad. i should have told you to grab something before we landed./ Ani started changing.
the humans stared, wide-eyed at the ship.
when Ani finished, she was in the form of a Chee. she noticed the humans staring. /what? you think i'm gonna let some jerks ruin me while you're gone? no way! i'm coming with you./
"then, pull up a hologram, Ani." Eldwardl ordered. "people will notice if a robotic dog on it's hind legs is walking through town."
Ani nodded and a image of a girl with black hair and a medium tan appeared. "where to now?"
"find the Animorphs-our counter parts." Thomas informed.
"and they would be-where exactly?" Omar wondered.
"Geniva's counter part's barn." Ani said. "i think the Ellimists gave me a tracking device so we could find them."
"if it's the same direction as mine, then it's that a way." Geniva pointed north-east.
"so, what are we waiting for? let's do it!" Elizan exclaimed.
"now we're doomed. you just had to say 'let's do it', did ya, Elizan?" Andre muttered.
--November first, one thirty a.m.--
"quiet." Tristan hissed. "they'll hear us!"
the others became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in a pile of hay.
the nine hid around Cassie's barn, listening to the Animorphs' meeting.
"i've been having strange dreams lately." a female voice said-Cassie.
"were they about people who look like us, act like us, but yet, aren't like us at all?" a male-Jake-wondered.
"yeah. but instead of an Andalite for Ax, it was like a human with seven fingers on each hand, stalk eyes, a tail blade, and was blue." Cassie replied.
"those are Setilanda. they are related to Andalites." another male-Aximili in human morph-stated.
"so, everyone has been having dreams about people like us and Setilanda?" another female-Rachel-asked.
there was a chorus of "yes"es.
"Ax, this means...?" Tobias in human morph inquired.
"possibly we are having dreams of our counter parts, or, parallel selves." Aximili explained.
Ani glanced at Eldwardl who was closest to her. /should we show ourselves?/
Eldwardl gave a slight nod.
/all right. time to turn ourselves in,/ Ani part joked to the others.
the nine quickly walked near the entrance of the barn.
/you're correct. you have been having dreams of you're parallel selves-probably 'cause your parallel selves are right outside the barn./ Ani spoke to the Animorphs.
"who's there?" Rachel demanded.
Ani sighed. /i told you-your counter parts!/
"then come in so we can tell for ourselves." Marco said.
the nine humans/Setilanda/ship entered the barn.
"okay. i can tell that you five are our counter parts- but who's are the others?" Jake asked.
"i'm Loren's;Tobias' mother." Nnyil responded.
"Aximili's." Tristan replied.
"me? i'm actually just a ship." Ani answered.
the Animorphs stared at Eldwardl.
"i'm Elfangor's." Eldwardl said.
Aximili nearly fainted. "Elfangor died..." he explained to Eldwardl. "your counter part is dead."
Eldwardl nodded. "i know. he died a year ago. in ours, Nnyil and i disappeared eight years ago."
"enough with the chit chat." Marco interrupted. "first of all, why are you all here?"
"Crayak wanted to kill us because of who we are here. my dad, Geniva's mom, and Ellimist/Toomin said the only way we would live is if we came over here." Elizan spoke.
"how does your dad and Geniva's mom fit into that?" Cassie inquired.
"my mom and Elizan's dad are twin Ellimists, their father is your Ellimist/Toomin." Geniva replied.
"you mean in your universe, i'm more than just related to Jake; i'm related to Cassie and i'm part Ellimist?!" Rachel nearly shouted.
"um, sorry to interrupt, but how do we know who they're talking about and vice versa if we don't know each others' names?" Tobias and Thomas asked in unison.
"i think we just found your counter part, Bird-Boy." Marco joked.
"Bird-Boy? your name is Bird-Boy?!" Thomas asked Tobias.
Tobias shook his head. "it's Tobias; Marco here, likes to tease me because i'm a red-tail nothlit." he jerked a thumb at Marco as he spoke.
"oh. sort of like Andre; wait, now i think we found their counter part." Thomas had pointed at Andre when he said his name.
"Thomas, ya know, here you're a bird. so, you must be one too-a chicken." Andre joked.
Tobias started to demorph. ((hey! no bird jokes! or else, like i told Marco, you better be careful who you're under.)) he started to try to claw Andre with his talons-which, luckily for Andre, he couldn't because they weren't in an open space.
Rachel laughed. "it may not be our Marco, but it's okay; even if it's his counter part."
"Tobias, stop."
"Andre, stop."
Omar and Jake ordered.
"okay. we're finding out each others' counter part, but not the names." Nnyil interrupted. "i'm Nnyil. you can call me Nyl, if you want."
"i'm Omar,"
"Elizan."
"Thomas."
"Geniva."
"Andre."
"Tristan."
"Eldwardl."
"Ani."
"Jake."
"Rachel."
"Tobias."
"Cassie."
"Marco."
"Aximili."
"now that we know who everyone is, Ani, you said you were 'just a ship'. you look human to me," Jake stated.
/i can show you, but, this barn is too small./ Ani switched to vocal. "it's better if i show you outside."
the Animorphs agreed and all fifteen walked to Tobias' meadow.
"we're here;go ahead and show us." Rachel said.
Ani nodded. she turned off the hologram and changed forms.
/see what i meant now?/ Ani asked.
the Animorphs nodded, amazed.
"but Setilanda ships don't change from a ship to a Chee." Aximili quoted.
/i was made by both Setilanda and Ellimists. i was a basic Setilanda ship, then the Ellimists added some more features-such as being able to know who is aboard me, speak, change forms, etc./ Ani explained.
"uh-huh. three Ellimists told you all that the only way to keep Crayak from killing you is to find us. you did that;now what do you do?" Cassie wondered.
"they are safe from Crayak here. now, the only way to stay alive, is to die here." Toomin, Gen, and Omarino said.