Disclaimer: KAA = owner of Animorphs. Me = owner of absolutely nothing.  

A/N: Okay, this first chapter is going to be a little confusing. I wanted it to have the appearance of being jumbled, frazzled thoughts, a mix of reality and memories. And yeah, it's pretty short too. But it's only short because it's the first chapter, and I like to have the first chapter be short. And lastly, the italics represent his memories. Please read and review at the end. Thanks!

{Tobias!}

I flew. I flew faster and harder than I had ever flown before, than I would ever fly again-  trying to fly away from everything.

{Tobias!} The bear swipes blindly at the masses of Hork-Bajir surrounding it, engulfing it. {Tobias, go!}

{Rachel!}

I wasn't flying anymore; I was speeding. I was a speeding bullet, looking for a target to hit me and to wake me up from this nightmare.

{Tobias, you have to leave.}

It wouldn't end. I needed something to rid me of this hellish delusion, something to help me escape from this hallucination.

{No! It's a trap! Everybody, get back!}

{It's too late, Tobias,} The tiger looks up at me, sounding grim, but knowing the truth.

{Guys, morph, do something, you've got to get away!}

{No. We will fight.} The Andalite straightens up, prepared to fight until the end.

The rain began to relentlessly pour down. Maybe it could wash away the pain, the ache, the thoughts. Why wasn't it ending? When would it be over?

{I finally have the Andalite Bandits!} The Visser crows.

{Tobias, there's still time. You have to go.}The wolf looks at me with always compassionate eyes.

{No...I can't….}

The rain beat down on me, beating the hard facts into me. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I couldn't escape from the truth.

{Tobias, go!} The tiger glares determinedly.

{Come, Andalites! I have waited for this day!}

{Tobias…if you can…someday…tell my dad, okay?} The gorilla also looks at me, serious for once.

The tree loomed up in front, unseen by me. I increased my speed, ready to crash into it and end it all.

{Tobias….I love you.}

{Rachel!}

I veered suddenly away from the tree. I landed, and morphed to the human boy I once was. My tears blended with the rain until I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

{Rachel, I love you too! God, I love you!}

"Leave me alone!" I shouted to the memories. They wouldn't stop coming, kept tumbling out, giving me no relief.

{Tobias!}

I closed my eyes. They were captured. All of them.

It had been a fateful battle. We should have known our luck wouldn't hold out. We should have known this would happen. We weren't invincible.

 By now they would be controllers. And I hadn't done anything. I had escaped, unharmed. I had run away. I had condemned my friends to a fate worse than death, the same fate that would inevitably befall me as well. The Yeerks knew who I was. They would be searching for me. I was hunted, an endangered species.

I didn't care.

I was alone, all alone. Again. Everything important to me was gone, captured, taken. And I hadn't done anything to prevent it.

I was a coward.  A disgrace.

And I was alone.

I could see the faint outline of lightning. The rain poured down, drenching me in my guilt and cowardliness. What was there left for me? What was left for me to do?

I demorphed back into red-tailed hawk. I flew up to my tree. The only thing in my life that hadn't changed in the last few hours.

{Tobias…}

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the rain fell steadily, gradually reminding me of the pitiful reality of my life.