By Kay (AKA: Sp00kyfile)
Disclaimer: I don't own Ax, Jordan, Erek, the Animorphs, or the Yeerks. I don't own ANYTHING in this except for Tobi. Please don't sue me. Thank you.
NOTES: 6th sequel to "A New Chapter." Not exactly how I wanted it to turn out- It's not very good I think. But that's me. :)
January 18th, The Future
Jordan made a face as the batter on her spoon dripped slowly into the bowl. God, she hated cooking. Usually the attempts at baking produced burnt scupltures twisted into unnatrual shapes. Making chocolate chip cookie batter for dinner was no different, only it wouldn't get burned. By now, Jordan was pretty sure that the clumped mess in front of her had to much sugur and flour in it.
Jordan groaned and ran a hand through her blond hair- which at the moment was tied up messily, and had clumps of flour, egg, and some substance she couldn't even recognize. At this rate, SHE'D be the chocolate chip cookie if the stupid ingrediants would stay in the bowl when she tried to mix it with their mixer.
Footsteps sounded from behind her, but before she could turn around to see who'd entered the kitchen, a pair of arms wrapped around her.
"What are you making... it looks like some sort of glue mixture," Alex Isthil asked in a doubtful tone, peering down at the mess. He had his arms around her waist loosely.
Jordan scowled and elbowed him. Ax yelped in surprise and dropped his arms. "Thanks a lot, Ax," Jordan groaned. "That made me feel so much better."
Ax rubbed his side, looking confused. "I do not understand."
"I'm TRYING to make chocolate chip cookies," she grumbled. "NOT glue."
Ax raised his eyebrow. "Chocolate chip cookies?" He looked over her shoulder at the mixture. "I believe you have the resipe wrong, Jordan. You have a greater quantity of flour than required." He smiled. "A MUCH greater quantity."
"Ha, ha," she said, rolling her eyes. "If YOU'RE such an expert, why don't YOU try it." She stepped back, smirking, and held out her apron. Ax shook his head.
"This unsalvagable, I'm afraid." He took the spoon and poked at the lump of...something... in the mixing bowl. "I am not even sure what you put in here..."
Jordan pointed to the ingrediants card. "Everything it said." She scowled again. "It still turned out terrible."
"It is not that bad," Ax said, trying to sound reasurring. "I'm sure it's edible." He hesitated, wondering if he dare try it. As if reading his mind, Jordan lifted an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Then why don't you try it?"
Ax stared at her and then back at the mixture. Reluctantly, he took the spoon and forced a small peice of the mix onto it. Jordan watched intently, grinning.
Ax ate some, and swallowed.
Jordan watched, worried and anxious. For a second, he just stood there.
"Ungghhh..." Ax moaned. "E..xcuse me..." He ran for the stairs, where the upstairs bathroom was. The sound of gagging was followed. Jordan sighed and threw out the mixture.
"If Ax doesn't like it, no one will," she muttered.
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Ax finsished his heaving and closed his eyes with a groan.
He had learned many lessons while on Earth. Now he realized that the most valuable of them all was never to eat anything that Jordan had any part in creating.
Ax leaned over the sink in the bathroom and turned on the water. He leaned down under the faucet and gulped some of the cold, rushing water to rinse out the bitter taste in his mouth.
"Never again," he muttered, shutting off the faucet with a sigh. "One would be a mentally incompentent fool to ever attempt to eat Jordan's cooking again." "Ax?! You okay now?" the dangerous cooker herself called from the bottom of the stairs. Ax reluctantly opened the door and walked downstairs. He noticed with a small degree of relief that the batter she had been making had vanished.
"I am sorry," he said, embarrassed. "I must not feel very good today. Your, uh, cooking was excellent, though."
Jordan attempted to choke back a laugh, but it escaped. She burst into giggles, and clutched her side. The counter supported her as she let out the peals of laughter. At Ax's confused expression, she giggled even more. Finally, she stopped, and wiped the small tears from her eyes that gathered there from her continuous, aching laughter.
"I'm sorry, Ax," she giggled. "But you just try to be so sweet sometimes- trying to make me feel better about my cooking when we BOTH know that I shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen." She threw her arms around him and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "You know what? Just for being a great guy who didn't want to hurt my feelings, I'll take you to the Cinnabon tomorrow. Okay?"
Ax did not answer, only contented himself to kiss her again. For the past month, he and Jordan had been, well, seeing each other might be a good way to put it. They were not "hot and heavy" as Jordan said, but they had a definate relationship. At least, that was how Jordan put it- Ax still had very little idea what she meant by "hot and heavy." As far as he knew, he was never hot, since the temperature outside was well below normal Earth degrees- and as for being heavy, he wondered what gravity and weight had to do with a relationship.
Once, he asked Jordan what she meant, and she looked at him with a odd look that he could not place. Almost the way she looked when she was on a very complex math equation- trying hard to figure it out, and wanting to solve it. He had seen Jordan do her math homework before- he was always amazed at how she chewed on her lower lip when she worked. To this day, some human gestures and habits caught his attension, and that had been one of them.
Anyway, he had asked her what "hot and heavy" meant. Jordan placed that odd look on her face. "Well," she finally had said. "It means intimate. To be... more serious."
I was serious. I'm always serious, Ax thought with a slight smile. But when I told her so, she just laughed.
He still had no idea what it meant.
Jordan made a face and pushed against him. "Come on, Ax- I have to cook supper, and I can't have you distracting me." Ax smiled and sat at the table in the kitchen. Jordan noticed this, and rolled her eyes. "Why do you always come here? I mean, what- is the Chee's food REALLY that bad?"
Ax nodded solomnly. "I would rather have your unidentifiable glue mixture than Erek's attempts to make hamburgers."
He crossed his fingers below the table while he said it.
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Ax watched the hundred-story high monster crash through the ruined city. People were screaming- every was running for their lives. Everything was being destroyed; homes were crushed, and skyscrapers where knocked over.
Jordan yawned. "I love these old Godzilla movies... Mom bought me this one for Christmas. I still haven't had a chance to watch it..." She gazed intently at the black and white screen as Godzilla knocked down another bridge.
Ax did not know what to tell her. After dinner with Jordan's family, he and Jordan retired to the living room to watch the old video Jordan insisted they see. She had always been a large fan of Godzilla's old movies, while Ax did not prefer their colorless terrains or the unrealistic way the monster had been created. But he always tolerated them for Jordan, because she seemed so engrossed in the "science fiction masterpiece," as Jordan called it.
The couch was comfortable, and Ax slouched down more in his seat, and let out a yawn. His mind felt fogged with exhaustion and comfortablness. Jordan curled up next to him, making him feel even more content. There was nothing he would rather do on a Friday night, he thought drowsily, than be here with Jordan and a bowl of popcorn. This thought made him smile, but slowly, his eyes closed and his breathing relaxed...
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Jordan sighed in happiness as the credits started to roll. This movie was the best of the series yet- every thing she craved in a Godzilla movie. She glanced down at the empty popcorn bowl, and set it aside. She turned to Ax.
"Hey, A-" she started to say, but trailing off as soon as she saw the peaceful expression on his face. His whole body was relaxed, and his breathing was deep. She had to smile softly- he looked so much younger and so innocent in his sleep. Unable to resist, she brushed a lock of brown hair that had fallen on his face away. He sighed soflty.
Jordan studied him curiously, and sadly. In his sleep he looked so happy- so much more content and at peace than he did when he was awake. It was rare that she was given a chance to see him with all of his guards down, and all of the painful memories forgotten. It made her heart hurt slightly, but it made her postitive that he was moving on. That he was letting go of his guilt little by little.
Ax murmered in his sleep, and Jordan stifled a giggle. She wondered what he was dreaming about. What DID Andalite nothits dream about anyway? Home? Family? Or just the meangingless, silly dreams humans often had?
Jordan lightly laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. The sound of his breathing was steady and deep, and slowly she felt her own breathing turn to the same rythem. She knew her mother wouldn't like it if she found her daughter asleep with a guy, but when she tried to lift her head, it felt like an iron weight. With a sigh, she allowed her senses to shut down.
Slowly, she drifted off to sleep and into her dreams.
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Ax opened his eyes.
He knew he was in a dream- there was no other explanation. The world around him was still, and quiet. The discolored landscape was filled with trees and bushes from the forest.
Ax's breathing seemed to slow down, as if the whole world was stopping in time. The terrain seemed to glow softly, a soft, eerie blue and pale ash. He closed his eyes, breathing in a slow, rythmic beat. He felt like his grip upon reality was slipping away lightly, and even when he opened his eyes, it was like in slow motion.
The woods around him were silent, still- devoid of life. The moonlight was a soft blue, and the landscape was painted in paleness and grey. Everything was moving slowly, if moving at all. Ax knew he should be confused, maybe even afraid, but he only felt at peace. As if his world, and his logic, were being drowned out with the soft, understanding feel in the air.
"Oh..." he breathed out. He did not speak. There was no way to describe how the sound came out- as if it too were a ghost or just a thought. It echoed airly through the silence.
Ax turned, and saw a glimmering light coming from the next hill. It was soft, shining, with a blue hue to it. Only, unlike the trees around him, this light was brighter with happiness and warmth. Slowly, as if he were underwater, he took a few steps. He felt like he was walking on soft air- like he couldn't feel himself at all. He thought- no, he knew- he should not be feeling this way. He knew the whole thing was almost unreal, unexplainable...
But he did not care.
Ax slowly walked over the hills, and reached the top. In front of him, stretched across the distance...
Ax stopped breathing for a moment. His heart beat slowly in his chest, loud in his ears.
Children. People. Many of them young- younger than Ax- younger than he had been when he had started to fight the Yeerks. Many were merely toddlers, laughing and playing with toys. Many of them. The whole clearing was filled with children. All from different times, he realized. All from different places. Their faces shone with the soft, warm light he had seen.
Ax could see through them.
Their ghostly figures glided everywhere, laughing, playing jump roap. Some were building castles in sandboxes that were not really there. They were all laughing- smiling brightly.
A boy of about five walked up to Ax, and smiled at him. Slowly, he took Ax's hand in his small one and pulled on it. Ax knew without asking that the boy wanted him to come, and he knew without reason that he would find the truth here.
This was the end of the road.
The boy led Ax through the children- and oh the faces he saw! Girls smaller than his waist, giggling with dolls- dressed in overalls, dresses, nightgowns- everything. Boys gathered around a frog, pointing and smiling. So many- all of their faces happy. There were older children too. Teenagers gathered in groups- many playing with the smaller children. They too, were smiling and laughing.
The boy let go of Ax's hand and left him in the middle of the clearing. Ax looked around for the boy in confusion.
That was when he saw them...
A small group was sitting by the edge of the clearing. A few of the younger children were sitting in a circle, laughing at something. There were older ones there too- teenagers.
People that Ax knew.
Cassie, dressed in those familair overalls was laughing, her eyes wide, and her smile kind. She was sitting next to a boy with brown hair and dark eyes. Prince Jake... Next to him, a beautiful girl with long, blonde hair that was laughing wildly at something. Her blue eyes were sparkling with the blue light. Rachel... And then- yes, there was Marco, with the same twisted grin on his face, making funny faces at the kids- making them laugh.
Ax stopped breathing, staring at them with wide, tear filled eyes. His friends... His family... They were shining with the blue light as well, and their bodies were transparent, but oh how wonderful they looked to him. He took them in with his eyes, desperatly drinking in the sight of his friends so peaceful. THey were all together, and happy- which had been a rare sight even when they were alive.
Then... Ax saw the boy sitting in the group next to Rachel.
The boy's messy hair was a blonde color, but the light shone softly on it, making it look like it was glowing. He was laughing; a smile that lit up his face was spreading across his features. Happiness, love, and contentment radiated from him. For a moment, his gentle blue eyes found Ax's, and they brightened with even more happiness. "Tobias..." Ax breathed, his voice echoing through the clearing, amid the laughter. Tobias stood, smiling at Ax, and ran to him, grinning at him as if he was greeting a friend from long ago.
Ax was smiling as he felt the tears come. They fell slowly, feeling hot and painful against his skin compared to the light in the clearing. Tobias was running, and Ax was standing, crying and smiling at the same time.
Tobias slowed as he reached Ax, still a ghost of the past, but looking solid, with the color of his eyes and shirt coming through.
Tobias stepped forward again, and silently opened his arms. Crying softly still, Ax stepped into them and felt the warm, almost solid arms wrap around him tightly.
"I knew you'd be okay..." Tobias whispered gently, tightly hugging his living friend. "I knew... I knew..."
Ax nodded, biting his lip and closing his eyes as he hugged his friend back tightly. He smiled widely through his tears, a smile that seemed to glow with the very light surrounding him. It held relief, happiness, and grief in it all at once. His friends were dead, they had left him- but they were happy. He could tell by their smiling faces.
Tobias was grinning with his own relief. "I missed you... I missed you so much, Ax-man. I'm so sorry I left, but we had too." He stepped back, still holding Ax by his arms. Ax opened his eyes, as if he were afriad Tobais would disappear.
"Don't go," Ax whispered desperatly, a pleading tone to his voice. "Please don't go. Don't leave me."
"I won't... Just not in the way you think," Tobias said quietly. "You have to go, Ax... You have to let us go."
Ax shook his head, his eyes casting a suffering look of pain to his features. "I.. I... I can't-"
"You will," Tobias said firmly. He smiled sadly, and waved his hand around to the other Animorphs. "Look at them, Ax. We miss you. But you can't come with us... Not yet. Not now." Ax nodded, knowing it was true, but still not wanting to let go of his friend. Not when he finally saw him again. Not so soon. But he had to go. He had no choice.
Ax glanced at the others, who stopped and waved sadly at him. He silently waved back, tears flowing down his face.
Tobias took his hand...
"Someday," Tobias whispered. "You'll be here. But not now."
And the world truly stopped.
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Jordan slowly opened her eyes, and blinked a little in the dim light of the living room. She was surprised to find her head laying on a sofa pillow, instead of Ax's shoulder.
How long had she been asleep? she wondered. The room was barely lit, and the clock on the wall was in shadows. Jordan shook her head to rid it of sleep and sat up. Did Ax leave?
No, there he was, she realized.
Ax was sitting quietly on the chair beside the sofa, his eyes closed and his face pale.
"Ax?" Jordan asked softly. "Are you okay?"
Ax opened his eyes and looked at her. She was shocked to see tears in his eyes. And something else... a light. Something she had never seen before.
Ax looked at her, looking more tired and pained than ever, but at the same time, Jordan saw a new peacefullness about him she had never seen before. As if he could not rest for years, but was finally able to sleep.
"I'm fine," Ax said. He stood, and smiled at her. "I should leave Good night, Jordan."
Jordan blinked again, and shook her head to clear the cobwebs some more. "Oh... Well, uh, yeah. That would be a good idea. Night, Ax."
Ax picked up his jacket and shrugged it on. Jordan glanced at the clock, and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow, we were out for a couple hours," she commented.
Ax looked up, looking startled. "Really?" When she nodded, he shook his head in disbelief. "It seemed to last forever there." Ax bit his lip thoughtfully. "Perhaps it was in a way."
Jordan didn't know what he meant, but she didn't ask. Somehow, without knowing, she knew that she would never find out what he meant. She could tell by the look in his eyes. It was to close to him, something he wanted to know only. As if someone would ruin it if they knew.
So she didn't ask.
Jordan walked him to the door, and leaned against the frame as he walked down the sidewalk. The night air was cool, and the sky was a dark abyss above them- the stars hidden from view.
"Night," she called. "Sweet dreams, Ax." He stopped and looked back at her.
"I am sure they will be," Ax said with a smile. "Good night."
From there he walked home. When he entered the King's residence he was careful not to wake any of the Chee, or bother them if they had not turned in. Ax went to his bedroom and kicked off his shoes. He didn't bother to take off his clothes- he was to tired to bother with the painsaking chore. Ax fell into the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
He did not dream.
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THE END: I don't know what to think about this one. It didn't turn out exactly how I planned, but I wanted to do this idea for a while, so I guess I succeeded. Hope you liked it! :) I got the idea from this episode on the X-Files...