AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For those of you that think that all I can do is write dialogue, here's one that breaks all stereotypes - there's not a single line of dialogue in this piece. This is a companion piece to my ongoing story, "The Reunion." But each story can stand alone. If you haven't read "The Reunion," all you need to know is that this is based on an alternative ending of the series. I started working on this idea before the series ended, probably somewhere between books #33 and #43, so everything that K.A.A. wrote after that point does not apply to this story.

The Renewal

by S.D.

Chapter 1 - Prologue

My name is Tobias. These days I'm going by the name Tobias Shamtul, but you probably just know me as Tobias. Or maybe "Bird Boy." It's been ten years since I became involved in the war with the Yeerks. And five years since my part in that war ended. This is my story.

For most of my life, I was a reject. That's not low self-esteem talking, that's a fact. My parents, for reasons I found out later, were unavailable. So I lived with one relative after another, with a few foster homes here and there, because no one wanted me. And of course, with bouncing from one house to another, I switched schools a lot. Being the new kid all the time, and not having much confidence due to my lack of family support made me an A bully magnet. I seemed to have an aura about me that said "pick on me, I'm easy." So, my home life sucked, my school life sucked, and the only place I really felt comfortable was at the park. Wherever I was living at the time, I'd find a park where I could read, draw, daydream, whatever. Just to be away from my life. But soon after my thirteenth birthday, things started happening that made my life up to that point look easy.

It all started the night that I walked home from the mall with Jake and his friends. I'd met Jake one of my first days at his school, when some of the resident bullies thought they'd get me acquainted with the school toilets – head first. Jake happened to walk in on it, and busted up their little party. He's this natural leader, people tend to listen to him and not really argue. So after that, Jake kind of took me under his protection. But it didn't really feel like real friendship. I was pretty sure that his best friend, Marco, thought I was a leech. But Jake was always friendly, so I didn't feel too bad about it.

The night that changed my life seemed pretty normal to begin with. It was a weekday evening, and Jake had mentioned that he and Marco were headed to the mall arcade after school. I'd saved up some money, so I decided to meet them there. I wandered through the comic book store, and the music store before heading to the arcade. When I got there, Jake and Marco were already in the middle of a two-player game. So I did my own thing for awhile. It wasn't until much later that I finally got up the nerve to join them. And by then, they were almost out of money. Jake's cousin, Rachel showed up about that time, with her friend, Cassie.

Now, the first time I ever laid eyes on Rachel was on my first day at their school. I had this disaster in the hallway with my books, and Rachel helped me pick everything up. She was really nice, and helpful, but as much as I had a "pick on me" aura, she had this untouchable aura. Like she was royalty or something. Set apart from the rest of the human race. This, compounded by the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous, and popular, left me completely unable to speak to her.

So when she showed up at the mall, my first thought was to turn and run. But, for possibly the first time in my life, I decided not to run. I've thought many times since then that if I had just left, my life would have been completely different. It was one of those moments – at the time it seemed like such an insignificant thing, to ride the bus home, or to walk with Jake and his friends. But it turned out to have consequences beyond anything I could have imagined. If I could go back, would I make the same choice? That's a difficult question. The next five years of my life were full of unimaginable horrors. But it's made me who I am. If I had taken the bus that night, I would be drastically different today. And there would be so much that I wouldn't know… I think I'd rather have it this way. I'd rather live through those horrors, and come out a stronger person. Because now I know the significance of a single moment. And I also know the significance of a single life. I know that one life can make all the difference…

That night, as Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie and I walked through the abandoned construction site near the mall, we saw something incredible. We saw a space ship crash land right in front of us. At this point, if you don't already know the story, you're going to think I'm crazy. I don't blame you. But trust me, this is for real. We saw the space ship crash, and we met the dying alien that had flown it. He was an Andalite, and his name was Elfangor. He told us that the Andalites were trying to stop another group of aliens, called the Yeerks, which were already secretly invading Earth.

As he lay there dying, he told us that the Andalites had lost a great battle, and that the fate of our planet was now in our hands. He gave us some Andalite technology, the power to morph – to change into animals. And then he told us to save ourselves and save our world. But as everyone else ran into the darkness, I stayed behind. Something about me had already changed, and I knew in my heart that I had to be alone with Elfangor. I'm not going to tell you all that he said to me, it's too personal. But I'll tell you this, I walked away from that construction site with the conviction that my life meant something.

That night, the Yeerks came. The Yeerk leader, Visser Three, executed Elfangor. I'm not going to go into that either… And five human kids went home that night wondering if it was now up to them to save the world.