The Aftermath
This is based around the three part of the tv show, 'Changes', if you have not read it, DO NOT READ THIS, it gives a major secret. However, you have full self-permission if you have read 'The Pretender' (No. 23), it's the same thing basically, only forget the lawyer, forget Aria, and Visser Three doesn't know, and he found out from the disc, not the lawyer. Phew!!! Also, I kinda themed this around the TV show version because I like Christopher Ralph, and because his Tobias is a bit better than the book one
Tobias flew down towards the barn, and he sat thinking for a moment. His father. He knew who his father was. He morphed human, and sat with his knees drawn to his chest, hands around his knees. He began to rock gently, back and forth, tears coursing down his face. He had seen his father eaten right in front of him. And he hadn't even known it. So that was how he had known his name that night. His father. His father. The father he had never known. He was totally stunned. Tobias now knew, however, why the disc had given him the power to morph again. His father had given him a chance. He knew he had to return the favour to the ex-Yeerk hosts (now probably re- infested) and save them, if he could. He put his head down on his knees, and cried openly, for the first time in ages. And it was this way that Ax found him an hour later.
"Tobias?" There was no answer, only an indistinct muffled sob. He called out again. "Tobias, what troubles you?" He could see Tobias had foregone the tuxedo that he had worn to the 'dance'. He was back to his normal ever- present black leather jacket. He lifted his dark head, and Ax could see he had been crying for a long time. "I-I just found out something, Ax." He thought for a moment. "Look, Ax, I have to think about something. There's something I have to tell you all. Get everyone here, pronto." Upon seeing the bewildered expression on the young Andalite's face, he said, "Quickly." Ax nodded in understanding, although it was abundantly clear he didn't. Tobias let out a sigh, and thought of all of the ex-Yeerk hosts. 'I'm going to help you,' he promised.
A little while later, Cassie, followed by Marco, Jake, Rachel and finally Ax, walked into the barn to find Tobias atop his perch at the end of the biggest cage. It was Jake who spoke first. "Tobias? Ax said there was something up." What Jake hadn't mentioned was that Ax had come to them in a flaming tizzy about how Tobias was leaking through his eyes. Rachel had caught the meaning first, and was out the door, followed closely by everyone else, who hadn't quite realised what Ax had meant. They had flown there, and morphed just outside. Tobias answered slowly. I just found out what the disc really was. Silence. Tobias morphed human, and stood just in front of his perch. "It was for me." "Well, we knew that Tobias." Marco, of course. "No, I mean it was a message for me. From Elfangor. Maybe I should start at the start. Rachel - the real reason I missed the dance was because I was in the mall looking at a tux, and I saw some graffiti that was really like the hawk on the disc. So, I followed it up and I discovered that there was a gang of Ex-Yeerk hosts who were fighting against them. I pretended not to know anything they said, but they felt I shouldn't leave. Maybe they thought I'd go to the Sharing, or something. I don't know, but I tried to run. They found the disc, and they saw it was Andalite. I didn't tell them anything about us. Nothing, I swear." They believed him. Tobias wouldn't tell anything to anyone about the Animorphs. He went on. "So, they had the thing for operating it. They were scared to run it, in case it fried their brains, but I thought it should be okay on me, because the disc had been entrusted to me by Elfangor. I tried it. Then the Yeerks came, and I ran for it. The disc got broken, and Chapman got it. But it won't open for him anyway, so it's okay." He took a breath, and Cassie voiced the question that they were all thinking. "What was the message, Tobias?" He sighed for a moment, and Rachel noticed a tear welling up in his eye. "It was from Elfangor. He said he had left the disc for me, to tell me something. He knew he was going to die, see." He paused, and they all waited with baited breath. "He's my father." He stopped again. Marco laughed. "Yeah, right, bird-boy. What was it? 'Luke. I am your father. Come to the dark side.' Come on, don't be ridiculous, we're not that stupid." Tobias looked really angry. "Shove it, Marco. I'm not kidding. I never even knew my father. So it's impossible just because he's an Andalite and I'm not? My mother was human, so am I. And didn't you think it just a bit suspicous that without telling him our names he knew mine? He trusted the disc to me." He turned to Jake. "Jake. You told us that when Tom was talking to Visser Three before we got the disc that he had found out it was keyed to Andalite DNA, and that only a specific member of Elfangor's family was able to open it?" Now that he had said it, they all realised how true it was. Tobias was part Andalite. Elfangor was his father. Ax spoke up. "If this is true, Tobias, then I am your uncle." Tobias nodded miserably. "Uh-huh. You're my only real relation." He stopped. "Besides you guys." They all stared at their shoes. Before they could react, Tobias had returned to his now natural hawk form, and he flew off. Rachel raced out after him. "Tobias!" I just have to think for a while. She knew exactly where he was going, though. They all did. The construction site.
Tobias flew free over the thermals, but they were a bit on the sparse side. It was a cold day, and his mood only seemed to heighten the heaviness. He landed on the spot where to him his father had died. Not where Visser Three had devoured him in an instant. He waddled around awkwardly on the flat ground, and he thought about the father he had never known. He wished that Elfangor had really told him the night he had died. But he was probably just protecting him. He wondered how he could have known Tobias was going to be walking through the site then. Of course, Elfangor probably had some device for tracking Tobias' Andalite DNA, or something. Tobias idly imagined whether or not Elfangor had known how badly he had been treated in school and by his aunt and uncle. He stilled himself totally, and listened with his acute hawk hearing. Detecting nothing from any of his senses, he morphed himself human. He sat silent for a moment, and then he looked up into space and called out gently. "Father! Where are you? It's me, Tobias. I promise I will continue to fight the Yeerks. I swear now, after what he did to you, Visser Three will die by my hand." He demorphed and took off. After he had flown well away, a single tree from the woods beyond moved. It began to shrink slightly. It changed colour. It grew four legs, and four eyes. Last, but by absolutely no means least, it sprouted a huge, scorpion-like tail. An Andalite, blue as day, stepped forward to where Tobias had been scant minutes ago. It smiled a very dangerous, curiously mouthless smile. "So, Elfangor, you have a son? No doubt the recipient of your disc. But this was not an Andalite. This was a human. I will now fulfil my promise I made to you before you died. I promised that I would personally oversee the infestation of every last member of your family. And now, I will destroy your son. Tobias." The grin spread from ear to ear, as Visser Three morphed back into his preferred form, that of multi-billionaire, Victor Trent. And deep in the heart of the Andalite afterlife, a voice cried out in terrified anguish. 'No!'
Tobias flew over his favourite meadow. He fluttered down onto the branch he usually stayed on, and he decided to do something unusual. He morphed into his human self for the fourth time that day. He sat, looking out over the meadow, at the sunset. Suddenly a sound behind him startled him. Rachel was sitting beside him, her eyes open huge. But she didn't say anything. She just nodded. He dipped his head, and she leaned over next to him. The sun set and as twilight faded fast into darkness, she said goodnight. He smiled an almost imperceptible smile as she, in her eagle morph, flew off towards Cassie's barn. She had said something that morning about staying over with Cassie that night. Tobias decided that he'd go over to her room and maybe watch some tv. Or maybe he'd read a book. Marco swore that Harry Potter was worth a read, and he knew Cassie had it. So he took off. However, he had a strange feeling, but he couldn't identify it. It was an insecure feeling, but as soon as he reached the house and Cassie's window, he was at ease.
A flapping frenzy at the window made Cassie and Rachel jump. They turned, as one, to see a beautiful red-tailed hawk hovering outside the window. Cassie turned the latch and the window opened. Tobias flew in and landed on the chair by her dresser. He quickly morphed human, and said, "Um, it was a cold night. I'm used to it, but I just thought." He left off. Cassie grinned, as did Rachel. "Sure, Tobias, you can stay for a while. Whatcha wanna do? I didn't think you were a fan of Jerry Springer." She said, gesturing towards the tv, as screams of 'don't you go near a sister!' erupted from the set. "Um, do you have any books, any new ones." "Here you are, Tobias. If you want, we'll give you a makeover in a moment." Tobias shivered in mock terror. "Oh no. That's fine. I'll just read this here book nice and quiet- like." He answered in a fake southern accent. Rachel leaned over to his ear, and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?" He nodded, and smiled, and she knew that he was.
"Prince Jake. Do you think that Tobias will be alright? All lllll right rite?" Ax asked. However, before Jake could answer, Marco cut in. "Hey, Ax-man, one of his parents is an alien. I know how he feels. He'll get over it. Right Jake?" "Almost, Marco. He'll get over it, but he's so different from you it's unbelievable. He never knew his dad. You know yours. His mum died. So did yours. Yours is still alive, you can still save her. There's no way he can rescue Elfangor. Your mum wasn't born an alien. And, last time I checked, your mum hadn't died in front of you. His father did." As he let the words sink in, Ax thought about his nephew, who had been very visibly upset when he had told them about Elfangor. Marco looked at the Andalite, then to Jake. "Hey, Tobias is strong. He'll be fine." "He will, Marco. He will." At that moment, the telephone in Jake's room rang. Jake picked it up. Tom had picked it up also. "It's for me, Tom." "Okay." There was the sound of the phone dropping and the line was clear. "Hello?" "Jake? This is Erek. We have a bit of an emergency. Chapman has organised a big pep rally for tomorrow's game, care of The Sharing." Marco gasped. They all remembered the last time The Sharing had tried something like that. The super-Yeerks. Rachel's cousins. 'Uh-oh', Marco thought.
"Three-three-five! Is everything in place?" "Yes sir, Visser Three. The after-game rally will go forward. We should have hundreds of new hosts, and no doubt the Andalite bandits will be drawn to it. Perhaps we will capture them." "I do not care about them all. I only want one of them. He will not come in. He will be outside. I want guards outside and traps set. No failures, Three-three-five." "Yes sir."
The next day, seven o'clock, the game began. As per usual, the rest of the Animorphs sneaked inside while Tobias and Ax patrolled either side of the school. Ax was in his fly morph, Tobias in his hawk form. Inside, the game was perfectly normal. However, after the half-time, all of the doors were locked. Rachel sent as powerful a thought speech as she could, and Ax picked it up. He relayed the information that there were many guards outside, all controllers. There were many around, and Tobias had gone up over the roof. As they conversed silently, a cry of pain cut through the night like a knife. Tobias. Ax took off. As soon as he reached where Tobias had gone over the edge, he saw five controllers supporting a net between them. Contained in the net was a wildly thrashing red-tailed hawk, but it was obvious he was in a no win situation. One of the controllers stepped forward, and bent over Tobias, a syringe in his hand. He received a slash all down his arm for his trouble. Two more stepped forward as the controller recovered the syringe and thrust its contents into Tobias' leg. Five seconds passed, and Tobias stopped moving. Ax could see the tiny movements of his chest as he breathed in and out. One of the controllers took him out of the net and placed him in a small cage with glowing blue bars, and held up a small walkie-talkie. "******Visser Three? We have retrieved the target. Over. ******" "***********Is it alive? ***********" "***********Yes sir it is. ***********" "************** Bring it down, now. *****************" Rachel. The Yeerks have captured Tobias. They were waiting for him. Ax? We can't get out of here! What can we do? Perhaps you can morph to a fly and crawl under the door. Good idea. We'll try that. See you in a minute.
Ten minutes later, Ax, Jake, Marco, Cassie and Rachel stood outside the gymnasium, solemn looks adorning their already apprehensive faces. Ax started. "They were waiting for Tobias. There was a net. They caught him as soon as he ascended above the level of the roof. Rrrrrroooooooffff-uh. Roof. Roof. Then one of the controllers used a small device with a needle on his leg. He stopped moving around. It was as if he was asleep." "Syringe. They drugged him." Jake answered. But then Cassie asked, "But why would they be waiting with a syringe and all? I mean, they couldn't have known." "I think they may have, Cassie," Jake said. "They must have. Otherwise they wouldn't have been waiting. I think it's safe to say that - oh no." "What? Jake, let us in on this, man. We can't stand out here out all night." "He's not dead. And he won't be. Not by Visser Three." "Why?" Rachel. "Well, um, if they retrieved the disc, they know that a member of Elfangor's family can open it." "Tobias would never open the disc, Prince Jake." "He would if he wasn't in control." "But, Jake, they - that is the Yeerks, they can't take over a hawk brain, can they? I mean, they haven't taken over any other animal brains, ones that could kill us like lions, otherwise we'd all be Controllers by now." "Jake, what are we going to do?" "I don't know. I guess - I guess we go in after him." "As what?" "Fleas." "Oh, man. I knew you were thinking something gross." "Shut up Marco." "Yes sir, General Jake sir!" he saluted. Everyone laughed, if a little uncertainly. They were all thinking the same thing. What Visser Three would think when he found out Tobias was a human. Or maybe he already knew.
Tobias' eyes fluttered open. He was in a little bird-cage with luminescent blue bars keeping him in. They were not solid, more like some form of energy, restricting him. So this was what pet birds felt like. However, he seriously doubted that any misfortunate bird had woken up to come face to face with Visser Three. "Tobias." Tobias would have blinked, had he eyelids. How did you- "I knew someone you did. I have connections." Oh. Visser Three looked vaguely satisfied. "Demorph." I am. Visser Three looked taken aback. "Then you must be a nothlit." Yes. "Then morph to your human form, Tobias. I know you are not an Andalite. I can understand why you are working with the Andalite bandits. It's what your father would have wanted. But, I'm afraid, time is not on our side, and we have a fresh batch of new Yeerks waiting to be put into their new hosts. Morph. Now." Visser Three shut off the energy bars. Tobias did as he was told. But as he did, his mind raced. He still doesn't know that they're human, he thought. He thinks the others are Andalites in morph. Maybe if I can pretend that, I can keep it a secret. He stood, quite nervously, in front of Visser Three. But his head remained high in a bid of defiancy, and Visser Three had a sudden flashback of Elfangor. Tobias was so much like him in his manner. Proud, accepting, the warrior. So easy to crush. "What do you want me for? Why control me? If I stay in this morph more than two hours, I'll lose the power to morph. I'll become a nothlit human. If I morph, the Yeerk will die. The hawk brain is too small for it." "I do not need your morphing powers. I only need your DNA." And he stepped forward, his hand quickly growing several extra fingers, and turning an evil shade of blue. Tobias gulped. He was going to aquire him. He must have the disc, he thought bitterly. If only he'd grabbed it at the last second before Chapman had burst in. But at that moment, a human- controller came running in like the hounds of hell were on his heels. He tripped over his shoelace, and fell forward onto Visser Three, preventing him from touching Tobias. What is it, you fool! "Excuse me, Visser Three, but the Andalites have attacked! There are many human-controllers already down!" Visser Three morphed to a human. He searched the tiny room and quickly found the materials he needed. He opened a side of electrical tape, tied Tobias' hands behind his back, and then placed some over his mouth. He barked orders to the surrounding Hork-Bajir. "You! All of you! Follow me! NOW!!! We must counter attack. But no- one fire until I say so." He grabbed Tobias roughly by his arms and pulled him out of the room, Hork-Bajir in front and behind him.
We've got to find him, Jake! Time is running out! I know! Cassie, look over - "Andalites!" The voice boomed throughout the entire cave. A tiger, wolf, bear, Northern Harrier and a skunk froze where they stood. Marco breathed (in thought-speak) two words. Oh no. They could all see, plain as day, Tobias trussed up, Visser Three holding him, three human-controllers with Dracon Beams levelled at him. "Andalites! I know this human is the son of Elfangor!" The whole cavern was silent. "Come quietly and he will live! Make one wrong move and he dies!" He needs my DNA, Ax. Ax landed on the ground next to Marco. Tobias! What do you mean? He needs my DNA so that he can open the disc. He aquires me, he opens the disc, he kills us all. Simple as that. I understand. I will tell the others. Has he aquired you yet? Are we still alive? I see. Go, Ax-man. Good luck.
"Andalites! I need only two things! Three-three-five, go now. Fetch five new Yeerks for our Andalite friends. We will be strong. Now!" Tom ran as fast as his human legs could carry him. What's the other thing, Visser? Ax asked in as brave a voice as possible. "This." Visser Three demorphed again to an Andalite. He walked over towards Tobias, who was still, unmoving. Visser Three suddenly felt a rush of rage. He yanked Tobias' hair and he pulled him up to meet his face, nose to where Andalites were missing noses. Bow before me! Tobias shook his head. Never. Tobias returned back hotly. Visser Three flung him onto the ground, and removed the tape. Tobias rubbed his mouth, it was rough and sore. Yes, you will, son of Elfangor. I will destroy you like I destroyed your pitiful father. Jake looked sadly at Tobias. He could see tears welling up in his eyes, but they were quickly replaced by a wave of fear as Visser Three began to morph. And then Tobias trembled, as he looked at the figure before him. This was the second time he had seen it. The first was that night at the construction site. The alien that had devoured Elfangor. No. He breathed. No. Not again. No. He repeated 'no' in wide-band Thought-Speak over and over and over again. He couldn't believe it. Visser Three had decided not to aquire him. He was going to eat him. He was going to eat him alive, just like he had eaten Elfangor. Jake joined in silently. No. The next thing, Jake saw Tobias' eyes light up. His head shook from side to side as he whispered at Visser Three. Jake was too far away to hear him, but Tobias screwed his mouth into a pout, defiant 'till the bitter end. A voice, cold and unbecoming to Tobias, rang out in all of their heads. Just you mark my words, Yeerks. They will come. You will all die. And I will be at peace, as will my father. You will never win. Never. Marco shuddered, Tobias had spoken with a finality that had made almost all of the Human-controllers shudder. And then, just as Visser Three lifted Tobias up to devour him, Tobias bowed his head and smiled an evil smile. A pain unlike they had ever known shot through their heads. Visser Three dropped Tobias, and all controllers in the room dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. Tobias ran for all his life. The pain stopped, but clearly it was still going on for the Yeerks there. Run!
The Animorphs ran. They ran faster than they had ever ran. Or flew, in Tobias and Ax's case. But as they raced out to the stone steps out, Tobias stopped. Rachel stopped and ran back to him. Tobias! What're you doing! Hurry up, let's go!!! Tobias perched on a fallen human. It was dead. Eight of them - the Ex-Yeerk hosts. Dead, because of him. His fault. 'Way to repay the favour, Tobias' his inner voice chided. He flew onto Rachel's shoulder, and the two of them raced out of the Yeerk pool, mere seconds ahead of the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. As soon as they were safely away, Tobias hopped off Rachel's shoulder. They all demorphed, except for him, and Ax morphed human. He half flew, half jumped onto Ax's head. Then he took wing and flew off as fast as his tired wings could carry him.
The construction site. Where they had been the fateful day Elfangor, his father, had appeared to them. There were complications. They were alive, barely, but indeed doomed. Visser Three would find Tobias, they would find them all. He called out to the only being who could help him. Help me, he called. Help us all, please.
A white apparition floated towards him. Ellimist. Can you- It is done. The Yeerks won't remember? Yes, Tobias. I will tell you one thing. Your father was one of the great ones. The galaxy shall never see his like again. He paused, and smiled at Tobias. Or perhaps it will, very soon. And he was gone, leaving Tobias alone with the night. And then the night was alone by itself.
THE END
This is based around the three part of the tv show, 'Changes', if you have not read it, DO NOT READ THIS, it gives a major secret. However, you have full self-permission if you have read 'The Pretender' (No. 23), it's the same thing basically, only forget the lawyer, forget Aria, and Visser Three doesn't know, and he found out from the disc, not the lawyer. Phew!!! Also, I kinda themed this around the TV show version because I like Christopher Ralph, and because his Tobias is a bit better than the book one
Tobias flew down towards the barn, and he sat thinking for a moment. His father. He knew who his father was. He morphed human, and sat with his knees drawn to his chest, hands around his knees. He began to rock gently, back and forth, tears coursing down his face. He had seen his father eaten right in front of him. And he hadn't even known it. So that was how he had known his name that night. His father. His father. The father he had never known. He was totally stunned. Tobias now knew, however, why the disc had given him the power to morph again. His father had given him a chance. He knew he had to return the favour to the ex-Yeerk hosts (now probably re- infested) and save them, if he could. He put his head down on his knees, and cried openly, for the first time in ages. And it was this way that Ax found him an hour later.
"Tobias?" There was no answer, only an indistinct muffled sob. He called out again. "Tobias, what troubles you?" He could see Tobias had foregone the tuxedo that he had worn to the 'dance'. He was back to his normal ever- present black leather jacket. He lifted his dark head, and Ax could see he had been crying for a long time. "I-I just found out something, Ax." He thought for a moment. "Look, Ax, I have to think about something. There's something I have to tell you all. Get everyone here, pronto." Upon seeing the bewildered expression on the young Andalite's face, he said, "Quickly." Ax nodded in understanding, although it was abundantly clear he didn't. Tobias let out a sigh, and thought of all of the ex-Yeerk hosts. 'I'm going to help you,' he promised.
A little while later, Cassie, followed by Marco, Jake, Rachel and finally Ax, walked into the barn to find Tobias atop his perch at the end of the biggest cage. It was Jake who spoke first. "Tobias? Ax said there was something up." What Jake hadn't mentioned was that Ax had come to them in a flaming tizzy about how Tobias was leaking through his eyes. Rachel had caught the meaning first, and was out the door, followed closely by everyone else, who hadn't quite realised what Ax had meant. They had flown there, and morphed just outside. Tobias answered slowly. I just found out what the disc really was. Silence. Tobias morphed human, and stood just in front of his perch. "It was for me." "Well, we knew that Tobias." Marco, of course. "No, I mean it was a message for me. From Elfangor. Maybe I should start at the start. Rachel - the real reason I missed the dance was because I was in the mall looking at a tux, and I saw some graffiti that was really like the hawk on the disc. So, I followed it up and I discovered that there was a gang of Ex-Yeerk hosts who were fighting against them. I pretended not to know anything they said, but they felt I shouldn't leave. Maybe they thought I'd go to the Sharing, or something. I don't know, but I tried to run. They found the disc, and they saw it was Andalite. I didn't tell them anything about us. Nothing, I swear." They believed him. Tobias wouldn't tell anything to anyone about the Animorphs. He went on. "So, they had the thing for operating it. They were scared to run it, in case it fried their brains, but I thought it should be okay on me, because the disc had been entrusted to me by Elfangor. I tried it. Then the Yeerks came, and I ran for it. The disc got broken, and Chapman got it. But it won't open for him anyway, so it's okay." He took a breath, and Cassie voiced the question that they were all thinking. "What was the message, Tobias?" He sighed for a moment, and Rachel noticed a tear welling up in his eye. "It was from Elfangor. He said he had left the disc for me, to tell me something. He knew he was going to die, see." He paused, and they all waited with baited breath. "He's my father." He stopped again. Marco laughed. "Yeah, right, bird-boy. What was it? 'Luke. I am your father. Come to the dark side.' Come on, don't be ridiculous, we're not that stupid." Tobias looked really angry. "Shove it, Marco. I'm not kidding. I never even knew my father. So it's impossible just because he's an Andalite and I'm not? My mother was human, so am I. And didn't you think it just a bit suspicous that without telling him our names he knew mine? He trusted the disc to me." He turned to Jake. "Jake. You told us that when Tom was talking to Visser Three before we got the disc that he had found out it was keyed to Andalite DNA, and that only a specific member of Elfangor's family was able to open it?" Now that he had said it, they all realised how true it was. Tobias was part Andalite. Elfangor was his father. Ax spoke up. "If this is true, Tobias, then I am your uncle." Tobias nodded miserably. "Uh-huh. You're my only real relation." He stopped. "Besides you guys." They all stared at their shoes. Before they could react, Tobias had returned to his now natural hawk form, and he flew off. Rachel raced out after him. "Tobias!" I just have to think for a while. She knew exactly where he was going, though. They all did. The construction site.
Tobias flew free over the thermals, but they were a bit on the sparse side. It was a cold day, and his mood only seemed to heighten the heaviness. He landed on the spot where to him his father had died. Not where Visser Three had devoured him in an instant. He waddled around awkwardly on the flat ground, and he thought about the father he had never known. He wished that Elfangor had really told him the night he had died. But he was probably just protecting him. He wondered how he could have known Tobias was going to be walking through the site then. Of course, Elfangor probably had some device for tracking Tobias' Andalite DNA, or something. Tobias idly imagined whether or not Elfangor had known how badly he had been treated in school and by his aunt and uncle. He stilled himself totally, and listened with his acute hawk hearing. Detecting nothing from any of his senses, he morphed himself human. He sat silent for a moment, and then he looked up into space and called out gently. "Father! Where are you? It's me, Tobias. I promise I will continue to fight the Yeerks. I swear now, after what he did to you, Visser Three will die by my hand." He demorphed and took off. After he had flown well away, a single tree from the woods beyond moved. It began to shrink slightly. It changed colour. It grew four legs, and four eyes. Last, but by absolutely no means least, it sprouted a huge, scorpion-like tail. An Andalite, blue as day, stepped forward to where Tobias had been scant minutes ago. It smiled a very dangerous, curiously mouthless smile. "So, Elfangor, you have a son? No doubt the recipient of your disc. But this was not an Andalite. This was a human. I will now fulfil my promise I made to you before you died. I promised that I would personally oversee the infestation of every last member of your family. And now, I will destroy your son. Tobias." The grin spread from ear to ear, as Visser Three morphed back into his preferred form, that of multi-billionaire, Victor Trent. And deep in the heart of the Andalite afterlife, a voice cried out in terrified anguish. 'No!'
Tobias flew over his favourite meadow. He fluttered down onto the branch he usually stayed on, and he decided to do something unusual. He morphed into his human self for the fourth time that day. He sat, looking out over the meadow, at the sunset. Suddenly a sound behind him startled him. Rachel was sitting beside him, her eyes open huge. But she didn't say anything. She just nodded. He dipped his head, and she leaned over next to him. The sun set and as twilight faded fast into darkness, she said goodnight. He smiled an almost imperceptible smile as she, in her eagle morph, flew off towards Cassie's barn. She had said something that morning about staying over with Cassie that night. Tobias decided that he'd go over to her room and maybe watch some tv. Or maybe he'd read a book. Marco swore that Harry Potter was worth a read, and he knew Cassie had it. So he took off. However, he had a strange feeling, but he couldn't identify it. It was an insecure feeling, but as soon as he reached the house and Cassie's window, he was at ease.
A flapping frenzy at the window made Cassie and Rachel jump. They turned, as one, to see a beautiful red-tailed hawk hovering outside the window. Cassie turned the latch and the window opened. Tobias flew in and landed on the chair by her dresser. He quickly morphed human, and said, "Um, it was a cold night. I'm used to it, but I just thought." He left off. Cassie grinned, as did Rachel. "Sure, Tobias, you can stay for a while. Whatcha wanna do? I didn't think you were a fan of Jerry Springer." She said, gesturing towards the tv, as screams of 'don't you go near a sister!' erupted from the set. "Um, do you have any books, any new ones." "Here you are, Tobias. If you want, we'll give you a makeover in a moment." Tobias shivered in mock terror. "Oh no. That's fine. I'll just read this here book nice and quiet- like." He answered in a fake southern accent. Rachel leaned over to his ear, and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay?" He nodded, and smiled, and she knew that he was.
"Prince Jake. Do you think that Tobias will be alright? All lllll right rite?" Ax asked. However, before Jake could answer, Marco cut in. "Hey, Ax-man, one of his parents is an alien. I know how he feels. He'll get over it. Right Jake?" "Almost, Marco. He'll get over it, but he's so different from you it's unbelievable. He never knew his dad. You know yours. His mum died. So did yours. Yours is still alive, you can still save her. There's no way he can rescue Elfangor. Your mum wasn't born an alien. And, last time I checked, your mum hadn't died in front of you. His father did." As he let the words sink in, Ax thought about his nephew, who had been very visibly upset when he had told them about Elfangor. Marco looked at the Andalite, then to Jake. "Hey, Tobias is strong. He'll be fine." "He will, Marco. He will." At that moment, the telephone in Jake's room rang. Jake picked it up. Tom had picked it up also. "It's for me, Tom." "Okay." There was the sound of the phone dropping and the line was clear. "Hello?" "Jake? This is Erek. We have a bit of an emergency. Chapman has organised a big pep rally for tomorrow's game, care of The Sharing." Marco gasped. They all remembered the last time The Sharing had tried something like that. The super-Yeerks. Rachel's cousins. 'Uh-oh', Marco thought.
"Three-three-five! Is everything in place?" "Yes sir, Visser Three. The after-game rally will go forward. We should have hundreds of new hosts, and no doubt the Andalite bandits will be drawn to it. Perhaps we will capture them." "I do not care about them all. I only want one of them. He will not come in. He will be outside. I want guards outside and traps set. No failures, Three-three-five." "Yes sir."
The next day, seven o'clock, the game began. As per usual, the rest of the Animorphs sneaked inside while Tobias and Ax patrolled either side of the school. Ax was in his fly morph, Tobias in his hawk form. Inside, the game was perfectly normal. However, after the half-time, all of the doors were locked. Rachel sent as powerful a thought speech as she could, and Ax picked it up. He relayed the information that there were many guards outside, all controllers. There were many around, and Tobias had gone up over the roof. As they conversed silently, a cry of pain cut through the night like a knife. Tobias. Ax took off. As soon as he reached where Tobias had gone over the edge, he saw five controllers supporting a net between them. Contained in the net was a wildly thrashing red-tailed hawk, but it was obvious he was in a no win situation. One of the controllers stepped forward, and bent over Tobias, a syringe in his hand. He received a slash all down his arm for his trouble. Two more stepped forward as the controller recovered the syringe and thrust its contents into Tobias' leg. Five seconds passed, and Tobias stopped moving. Ax could see the tiny movements of his chest as he breathed in and out. One of the controllers took him out of the net and placed him in a small cage with glowing blue bars, and held up a small walkie-talkie. "******Visser Three? We have retrieved the target. Over. ******" "***********Is it alive? ***********" "***********Yes sir it is. ***********" "************** Bring it down, now. *****************" Rachel. The Yeerks have captured Tobias. They were waiting for him. Ax? We can't get out of here! What can we do? Perhaps you can morph to a fly and crawl under the door. Good idea. We'll try that. See you in a minute.
Ten minutes later, Ax, Jake, Marco, Cassie and Rachel stood outside the gymnasium, solemn looks adorning their already apprehensive faces. Ax started. "They were waiting for Tobias. There was a net. They caught him as soon as he ascended above the level of the roof. Rrrrrroooooooffff-uh. Roof. Roof. Then one of the controllers used a small device with a needle on his leg. He stopped moving around. It was as if he was asleep." "Syringe. They drugged him." Jake answered. But then Cassie asked, "But why would they be waiting with a syringe and all? I mean, they couldn't have known." "I think they may have, Cassie," Jake said. "They must have. Otherwise they wouldn't have been waiting. I think it's safe to say that - oh no." "What? Jake, let us in on this, man. We can't stand out here out all night." "He's not dead. And he won't be. Not by Visser Three." "Why?" Rachel. "Well, um, if they retrieved the disc, they know that a member of Elfangor's family can open it." "Tobias would never open the disc, Prince Jake." "He would if he wasn't in control." "But, Jake, they - that is the Yeerks, they can't take over a hawk brain, can they? I mean, they haven't taken over any other animal brains, ones that could kill us like lions, otherwise we'd all be Controllers by now." "Jake, what are we going to do?" "I don't know. I guess - I guess we go in after him." "As what?" "Fleas." "Oh, man. I knew you were thinking something gross." "Shut up Marco." "Yes sir, General Jake sir!" he saluted. Everyone laughed, if a little uncertainly. They were all thinking the same thing. What Visser Three would think when he found out Tobias was a human. Or maybe he already knew.
Tobias' eyes fluttered open. He was in a little bird-cage with luminescent blue bars keeping him in. They were not solid, more like some form of energy, restricting him. So this was what pet birds felt like. However, he seriously doubted that any misfortunate bird had woken up to come face to face with Visser Three. "Tobias." Tobias would have blinked, had he eyelids. How did you- "I knew someone you did. I have connections." Oh. Visser Three looked vaguely satisfied. "Demorph." I am. Visser Three looked taken aback. "Then you must be a nothlit." Yes. "Then morph to your human form, Tobias. I know you are not an Andalite. I can understand why you are working with the Andalite bandits. It's what your father would have wanted. But, I'm afraid, time is not on our side, and we have a fresh batch of new Yeerks waiting to be put into their new hosts. Morph. Now." Visser Three shut off the energy bars. Tobias did as he was told. But as he did, his mind raced. He still doesn't know that they're human, he thought. He thinks the others are Andalites in morph. Maybe if I can pretend that, I can keep it a secret. He stood, quite nervously, in front of Visser Three. But his head remained high in a bid of defiancy, and Visser Three had a sudden flashback of Elfangor. Tobias was so much like him in his manner. Proud, accepting, the warrior. So easy to crush. "What do you want me for? Why control me? If I stay in this morph more than two hours, I'll lose the power to morph. I'll become a nothlit human. If I morph, the Yeerk will die. The hawk brain is too small for it." "I do not need your morphing powers. I only need your DNA." And he stepped forward, his hand quickly growing several extra fingers, and turning an evil shade of blue. Tobias gulped. He was going to aquire him. He must have the disc, he thought bitterly. If only he'd grabbed it at the last second before Chapman had burst in. But at that moment, a human- controller came running in like the hounds of hell were on his heels. He tripped over his shoelace, and fell forward onto Visser Three, preventing him from touching Tobias. What is it, you fool! "Excuse me, Visser Three, but the Andalites have attacked! There are many human-controllers already down!" Visser Three morphed to a human. He searched the tiny room and quickly found the materials he needed. He opened a side of electrical tape, tied Tobias' hands behind his back, and then placed some over his mouth. He barked orders to the surrounding Hork-Bajir. "You! All of you! Follow me! NOW!!! We must counter attack. But no- one fire until I say so." He grabbed Tobias roughly by his arms and pulled him out of the room, Hork-Bajir in front and behind him.
We've got to find him, Jake! Time is running out! I know! Cassie, look over - "Andalites!" The voice boomed throughout the entire cave. A tiger, wolf, bear, Northern Harrier and a skunk froze where they stood. Marco breathed (in thought-speak) two words. Oh no. They could all see, plain as day, Tobias trussed up, Visser Three holding him, three human-controllers with Dracon Beams levelled at him. "Andalites! I know this human is the son of Elfangor!" The whole cavern was silent. "Come quietly and he will live! Make one wrong move and he dies!" He needs my DNA, Ax. Ax landed on the ground next to Marco. Tobias! What do you mean? He needs my DNA so that he can open the disc. He aquires me, he opens the disc, he kills us all. Simple as that. I understand. I will tell the others. Has he aquired you yet? Are we still alive? I see. Go, Ax-man. Good luck.
"Andalites! I need only two things! Three-three-five, go now. Fetch five new Yeerks for our Andalite friends. We will be strong. Now!" Tom ran as fast as his human legs could carry him. What's the other thing, Visser? Ax asked in as brave a voice as possible. "This." Visser Three demorphed again to an Andalite. He walked over towards Tobias, who was still, unmoving. Visser Three suddenly felt a rush of rage. He yanked Tobias' hair and he pulled him up to meet his face, nose to where Andalites were missing noses. Bow before me! Tobias shook his head. Never. Tobias returned back hotly. Visser Three flung him onto the ground, and removed the tape. Tobias rubbed his mouth, it was rough and sore. Yes, you will, son of Elfangor. I will destroy you like I destroyed your pitiful father. Jake looked sadly at Tobias. He could see tears welling up in his eyes, but they were quickly replaced by a wave of fear as Visser Three began to morph. And then Tobias trembled, as he looked at the figure before him. This was the second time he had seen it. The first was that night at the construction site. The alien that had devoured Elfangor. No. He breathed. No. Not again. No. He repeated 'no' in wide-band Thought-Speak over and over and over again. He couldn't believe it. Visser Three had decided not to aquire him. He was going to eat him. He was going to eat him alive, just like he had eaten Elfangor. Jake joined in silently. No. The next thing, Jake saw Tobias' eyes light up. His head shook from side to side as he whispered at Visser Three. Jake was too far away to hear him, but Tobias screwed his mouth into a pout, defiant 'till the bitter end. A voice, cold and unbecoming to Tobias, rang out in all of their heads. Just you mark my words, Yeerks. They will come. You will all die. And I will be at peace, as will my father. You will never win. Never. Marco shuddered, Tobias had spoken with a finality that had made almost all of the Human-controllers shudder. And then, just as Visser Three lifted Tobias up to devour him, Tobias bowed his head and smiled an evil smile. A pain unlike they had ever known shot through their heads. Visser Three dropped Tobias, and all controllers in the room dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. Tobias ran for all his life. The pain stopped, but clearly it was still going on for the Yeerks there. Run!
The Animorphs ran. They ran faster than they had ever ran. Or flew, in Tobias and Ax's case. But as they raced out to the stone steps out, Tobias stopped. Rachel stopped and ran back to him. Tobias! What're you doing! Hurry up, let's go!!! Tobias perched on a fallen human. It was dead. Eight of them - the Ex-Yeerk hosts. Dead, because of him. His fault. 'Way to repay the favour, Tobias' his inner voice chided. He flew onto Rachel's shoulder, and the two of them raced out of the Yeerk pool, mere seconds ahead of the Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. As soon as they were safely away, Tobias hopped off Rachel's shoulder. They all demorphed, except for him, and Ax morphed human. He half flew, half jumped onto Ax's head. Then he took wing and flew off as fast as his tired wings could carry him.
The construction site. Where they had been the fateful day Elfangor, his father, had appeared to them. There were complications. They were alive, barely, but indeed doomed. Visser Three would find Tobias, they would find them all. He called out to the only being who could help him. Help me, he called. Help us all, please.
A white apparition floated towards him. Ellimist. Can you- It is done. The Yeerks won't remember? Yes, Tobias. I will tell you one thing. Your father was one of the great ones. The galaxy shall never see his like again. He paused, and smiled at Tobias. Or perhaps it will, very soon. And he was gone, leaving Tobias alone with the night. And then the night was alone by itself.
THE END