Prologue
Humanity has always intrigued me. As has Earth. The centre of the Multiverse, some claim, the Earth is a beautiful work of art in this dull and plain timeline.
You cheated. A dark voice draws my attention. It is my adversary, frowning in distaste at the result of our latest game. I smile.
PERHAPS I DID, PERHAPS I DIDN'T, I say.
It is clear to me that you cheated, Ellimist, my foe growls, you helped those brats. Broke the rules and ruined everything! My smile widens as Crayak, my foe, raises his voice in anger.
CRAYAK, YOU MUST ACCEPT THAT YOU HAVE LOST, AND NOTHING YOU CAN DO WILL CHANGE THAT. Crayak smirks, and suddenly, everything changes. WHAT DID YOU DO?!
I simply followed your example and broke the rules. I watch in horror as the Animorphs' timelines separate and go in different directions. I see Jake's life dominated by an eagle, while an Armageddon shadows Rachel. Cassie's life is posioned by a viper and a victory puts Marco in the aim of technology. Aximili meets with black and white and Tobias learns of a certain X. Esplin 9466 is found by a cloaked King and there is a shield in Elfangor's path. My efforts become undone. Crayak watches this new timeline with glee.
The game has been reset. I glare at him as his gaze turns to me. Are you alright, Ellimist? His faux concern causes me to glance at myself. To my horror, my body is dissolving.
NO! I cry before glaring at Crayak again. WHAT DID YOU- I stop when I see that Crayak is dissolving also. He grins ruefully.
Changing the timeline to this degree caused the powers-that-be to erase us, he says before laughing. They forgot Drode though, and the changes I have made are irreversible. He glances at me one last time. Goodbye, Ellimist. It's been fun. He laughs as he dissolves into nothingness. I glance at the timeline.
HE DID SAY THAT THE CHANGES COULD NOT BE UNDONE… I tweak something with the last of my power, before smirking. I knew exactly what phrase to use; one I had learned from humans.
JOKE'S ON YOU. I then know no more.
Meanwhile, on Earth
I ran from the mall. It was like I could never get away from Joseph and Todd, the guys who thought swirl-the-new-kid should be an international sport. All I wanted to do was play at the arcade, maybe try and make friends with that Jake kid that had interrupted Jospeh and Todd when they were using my head for their game. Instead, I ran into 'Dumb' and 'Dumber', who decided that their other favourite game, take-the-dork's-quarters was appropriate for the public eye. Using the fact that I was smarter and faster than them (years of running from bullies is actually helpful), I bolted. Of course, when I got home, I was gonna be in so much trouble. Frank was going to be furious, and my getting there late wasn't going to help anyone. I turned at the abandoned construction site, before freezing. Turning back to the abandoned construction site, I mused cutting through it.
On one hand, it'd cut down Franks favourite pastime. I thought, on the other, it could be filled with nut-jobs and murderers for all I know. But something was telling me to go through. Looking back, then at my watch, I made my choice. It was probably a stupid choice, but I ran down the long path. It wasn't long before I realised that this choice changed my life forever.
As I ran, I glanced at my watch. Ten forty-five. Frank was going to be very mad. Glancing at the sky, I didn't notice the hole in the pavement. I tripped and rolled, my limbs scraping across the ground. But hardly any of that mattered. What mattered was the bright blue light in the sky. It was getting closer. The hair on the back of my neck was standing on an end, and even as I got back to my feet, the light was close enough to make out its source. A large spaceship. I was seriously geeking out. It wasn't massive, like in cartoons. It was a bit bigger than a school bus lengthwise, and was about three quarters the size of a double decker bus in height. It's end curled into a tail-like thing, arching over the top like a scorpion's tail. It was a weapon, I knew that for certain. It was a freaking spaceship! And it landed right in front of me. I blinked at that. I was so caught up in the fact that there was a spaceship in the air, that I didn't notice its landing. Cracks appeared in the side, in a large rectangle, and I was certain that it was the door. It tilted downwards to form a ramp. I couldn't see much of the interior, as it was masked by a bright blue light. The light was suddenly blocked by a figure out of my wildest dreams. In fact, this creature looked a lot like the most common aliens that my spacefaring dream-self met. It was blue. As in, it has blue fur. It resembled a centaur, except it had no mouth, a pair of eyes attached to stalks that were attached to its head in addition to its regular eyes. It's hands had seven fingers and it had a long tail with a curved blade on the end. I found my ability to speak.
"I…I mean you no harm," I said, holding my hands out in a show of carrying no weapons. "I come in peace."
I believe that's supposed to be my line, a voice resounded in my head. I don't know how, but I knew it was the alien's voice. Am I wrong? I blinked, before grinning.
"No you aren't." I was surprised when the alien clutched its side,cans stumbled. "Are you okay?" I asked as I ran over to it.
No… it said, I received an extremely detrimental wound. I gasped.
"What happened?" The alien's eyes met mine. I wasn't sure why, but those eyes seemed familiar.
I was attacked by creatures called Yeerks.
"Yeerks?" The alien-I suddenly realised that I didn't know its name-placed one of its hand on my head, and began to speak as an image flowed through my mind of a slug-like creature crawling into a human ear, then spreading out on a human brain, sinking into every crevice and crack.
Yeerks are parasites that take full control of a living creature, the alien said, the creature is then unable to do anything. All bodily functions, even the involuntary ones, are under the Yeerks control. I rocked back, out of the alien's reach.
"What?" I said, my head reeling from the images the alien showed me. "W-who are you?" The alien seemed to smile. Its eyes seemed to express its smile. It was hard to describe.
I am War-Prince Elfangor Sirinial Shamtul, it-he-said. I smiled slightly.
"I'm Tobias." I replied.
Tobias… I looked curiously as Elfangor brought himself to his full height. It obviously took him a great effort. Tobias. I need you to remember something.
"What is it?" What could an alien as impressive and awe-inspiring as Elfangor want a dorky kid like me to remember?
I need you to remember that the Yeerks are here, on Earth, he said, and that they are here to enslave your people. My throat ran dry. Enslave us? I can give you one thing to fight the Yeerks with. I want to say I wasn't scared. I want to say that running in the opposite direction was not my first thought. But I was terrified. There was something about Elfangor though, that made me want to stay. I want you to place your hand on this cube. I blinked in shock. When had he-? I shook my head, before looking at Elfangor curiously.
"What can this do?" I asked.
It can give you the one weapon that we Andalites have used to fight the Yeerks, he said, and I assumed that Andalites were his kind, the power to Morph.
Morph? I thought, before Elfangor elaborated.
To Morph, is to utilise the DNA of a creature that you have acquired, to become the creature, he said. I understood, slightly. He was giving me something I could use for a multitude of things. As a rat, for example, I could gather information. As a tiger or bear, I could fight. As a bird, I could travel great distances. It was an amazing weapon. Will you accept this gift? I hesitated, before nodding. I placed my hand on the cube, and felt a tingling sensation. It is done. Elfangor suddenly placed his hand on my head. Instantly, information was uploaded into my brain, like a USB to a computer. I suddenly learned many things, such as the two hour time limit, the existence of Visser Three, the only Yeerk with the ability to Morph, the Yeerk Pool, and its function and most importantly, the helicopter approaching. I reeled back again, before sprinting off. I was not sleeping tonight, that was certain.
Elfangor watched sadly as Tobias ran off. He hissed as his side flared up, creating a unique sound with his nose. Making a noise like that was uncomfortable…he supposed that all his time as a human hadn't left him. The helicopter settled down near his ship, and a man with grey hair and a toothpick in his mouth walked out. He wore a black bodysuit, clearly an armour of some kind. Over that was a black jacket. On his left pectoral was an insignia of a stylised eagle.
Nicholas Fury, I presume? he said, surprising the man. Fury's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know that?" Elfangor tried to smirk, but remembered his lack of a mouth.
I mean you no harm, Director Fury, he said, walking to the man, but we have much to talk about.