Jake

"Ram the Blade Ship."

Menderash complied, swinging the Rachel into the black ship before them. There was a sickening crunch, and then everything went black.

I opened my eyes. I was somewhere and yet, somehow, nowhere. I leapt to my feet, surprised. Surprised because I hadn't expected to be able to leap anywhere, let alone to my feet. I looked around, instantly searching for my team. Marco was collapsed near me. Oh, no, I thought, running to him. I knelt next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was freezing cold. No! No, no, no!! I shook him gently. "Marco? Marco!" He's dead, Jake. They're all dead, and it's all your fault! "Marco!!" I yelled again, shaking him hard. Suddenly, the Hispanic man opened his eyes.

"What… Jake? What happened?"

"I don't know," I admitted, then: "Stay here."

"Here? Where is 'here', anyway?"

Shrugging, I stood up again and looked around again. I was searching for the others that had been on that Blade Ship. Tobias, Menderash, and of course the two human students from my class. I spotted a pile of feathers crumpled on the floor, a few feet from us. "Tobias?" I murmured, picking him up, "Oh, Tobias. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this mess."

"Hey! Where's my apology?!" demanded Marco, grinning. "Or am I not as precious as Tobias?"

Ignoring Marco's teasing, I made to move on when the bird in my arms stirred. ((Jake? Wh… where are we?))

"I'm not sure," I murmured, setting him on my shoulder and wondering where the other members of the Rachel's crew were.

((Jake…)) murmured Tobias in his mind.

"Yes, Tobias?" Wherever the others were, they weren't here. There was just one more figure that the dim light revealed collapsed on the ground. I moved towards it gingerly.

((Um… listen, I'm sorry about what I… about the way I've been acting these past few years. I… we've been friends since, well, since Elfangor landed in front of us, you know? And I… we should stay friends, I think.)) I felt my very soul inside me twist in agony at his words. He was forgiving me, and in turn asking for forgiveness. After all I had done, after I had ordered Rachel to her death, he was forgiving me! More than that, he was asking for my forgiveness, as though he'd been wrong to hate me.

((Jake?)) asked Tobias uncertainly.

"Tobias, you don't need to apologise to me. I'm sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry."

((Well… friends?))

"Friends," I agreed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Marco doing a small victory dance as we made up. Grinning, I moved to the figure on the floor. It was a blue Andalite, painfully familiar. "Ax," I breathed. Suddenly his four eyes flickered open. I stiffened, ready to morph, knowing as I did that he was now an enemy.

((Ax!?)) cried Tobias, unable to take it any longer. ((Ax-man, are you alright?))

The Andalite stirred slightly. ((Prince Jake? I…)) he seemed confused. Then, he went into overdrive. ((Where is he?! Get away! Don't touch me! Leave me alone!!!)) He seemed about to bolt. I knew what was happening. The 'One' as he called himself had abandoned Ax to his death, as we had so long ago seen Visser Three do to Alloran when Alloran was poisoned. I grabbed Ax's shoulders and said "It's okay. He's gone."

((Prince Jake?)) he muttered blearily, seeming to just recognise me.

"Ax." I replied. "You're okay?"

((Prince Jake! What happened? How did we get here?)) He rose unsteadily to his hooves. ((And, come to think of the matter, why am I alive?))

"Come to think of it, why am I alive?" said Marco. "We rammed the Blade ship. Big boom and we end up here. I don't like this. It's too tidy. Ax is back and safe, not to mention uninjured or a part of that… thing. What did it call itself? The One?"

"I think so, yeah," I muttered.

"Whatever. But what if it's a trap? I know I shouldn't have any reason to be suspicious, the war's over and all, but…"

"True," I admitted. "This is too clean. And what happened to Menderash? Is he lost out here too? Or are we on our own?"

"You're certainly not on your own," said a quiet voice from behind us.

"Cassie?!"

She looked faintly annoyed. "Duh. Where are we, why are we here, and –"

"–All those other important questions," I finished. "But everyone's here now. All of the Animorphs. Cassie, Marco, Tobias, Ax, and me of course."

"And me!"

Heads snapped around. Eyes stared. It was too good to be true. It couldn't be! Could it?

((Rachel?)) whispered Tobias.

"The one and only!" the blonde girl declared.

((Rachel!)) Tobias swooped down and landed on her shoulder. ((Rachel, this is impossible!)) He rubbed his head against her cheek. She laughed.

"So is us being here," Marco pointed out. "And once upon a time, we'd have thought an alien invasion was impossible, too. Not to mention us winning that war. We live in a world of impossibilities. Maybe this is just one more."

I laughed. Then I hugged Rachel. My cousin had come back to life!

Cassie sprinted over and hugged her, too. Tobias flapped away, complaining, ((Can't a guy have a bit of space?))

"Not when dead friends reappear out of nowhere," said Marco. "So, Rachel, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Rachel smiled in amusement. "Roundabout what you guys are doing: wondering what the hell is going on."

Cassie laughed and Marco whooped. "To the Animorphs!" he shouted.

"Yes, yes. To the Animorphs." came a quiet voice from a corner. We all turned to see the Ellimist standing before us. "Ellimist?" I demanded, "Is this your doing?!"

"Yes," he said simply, and then fell silent. I glared at him. The others all glared at him. He stared pleasantly back.

Finally, Cassie said, "Oh, just ask him already!"

"Fine," I murmured, "What is going on? Why have you intervened?"

"Because you need help," he replied simply.

"Well, yes, but a simple fix-a-ship would have done. Why have you done the whole saving-Rachel stuff? Not that I object," Marco added swiftly.

"Not you," the smiling Ellimist said.

"But you just said-"

"It is your future selves that require assistance," he continued, "or, more specifically, your daughter, Jake."

"My-"

"Daughter, yes. She needs you, Jake. Will you help her?"

"At what cost?" I demanded. He smiled.

"If you die, I will not save you again."

"Oh, that's great. We never expect you to save us anyway," said Rachel cuttingly.

"She makes a good argument!" put in Marco.

"I have even given you Rachel for the duration of this task," added the Ellimist tactfully, but Cassie picked up his careful wording.

"Only 'for the duration of this task', huh?" she said sadly. I stiffened and tightened my arms, still around Rachel, until I held her firmly. Rachel herself had gone deathly pale. No! my mind screamed at me, not deathly pale! Not deathly! I thought quickly, and then addressed the Ellimist.

"This is important, isn't it? I mean, this kid is obviously in trouble for you to do all this, right? And I'd wager it'll be difficult to get her out of the fix she's in, right?" Waiting only until the Ellimist nodded tersely, I said "In that case, I require payment."

"Payment, Jake?" he said.

"Yes, payment," I replied stubbornly. "Rachel. You will pay me with her life, or we will not help you or this girl you claim is my daughter. And that's my price: I will accept nothing less."

In the gloom, I could just make out the Ellimist's nod. "So be it," he said, and then all went black.