"Books can have a strange effect on people

"Books can have a strange effect on people. They can keep you up all night, make you cry, keep you thinking about them long after you've read them…the list goes on. We've been reading ever since people have been writing, which dates all the way back to when man first walked the earth. Sometimes you can get into a book so much that it seems like nothing else matters. It can feel like you're right there, standing next to the main character. And sometimes it can feel so real, that you wonder if it really is…."

Fi.

I'd thought – hoped – that it would also restore her memory. But it didn't. She still didn't know me.

"Fi! Fi, honey, are you listening to me?" A part of my head was telling me that my mom was calling me. But the other part of my head was saying, Leave me alone! Go away!

That had to count for something, didn't it? "Have you told her about Elfangor?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, mom," I mumbled. Almost done…

"…and then, after getting all worked up over a husband she can't remember, say, 'Oh! And did I mention he's dead?'"

"I wouldn't bother her, mom." I heard Jack in the back of my head. "When she gets into those Animorphs books, she doesn't put it down until it's done. And for that period of time, she can't hear anything we say to her. Fi! Fi! How many pages left?"

"They're still alive," I said. "We can still save them."

I slowly put up one finger. I didn't want to take the energy to say "two paragraphs."

"See, mom? But in a couple of seconds she'll be able to talk to us once more."

"Okay, uh…Fi? Well, we've stopped for gas. You can come get a few snacks or stretch your legs or whatever. Okay…I'll be outside if you need anything." Out of the corner of my eye I saw my mom walk off the bus.

"…As long as we keep fighting, Visser One will keep them alive."

I closed the book and stared blankly at the wall for a few seconds. Wait – where was everyone?

Oh yeah. Gas station. Outside. Right.

I stepped off the bus and squinted in the bright sunlight.

"Oh look. Fi finished her book." I turned to see Jack walking towards me. Clu was walking with him.

"Yeah Fi. What is it with you and those books?" Clu asked.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "K.A. Applegate just makes it feel so real sometimes."

I noticed another girl my age that was staring at me.

Jack followed my gaze and saw her. "Uh...come on. Let's go get some chips or something." He walked behind me. We were both still looking at the girl who was staring at us.

"Hey Fi. Welcome back to Earth," my mom said sarcastically.

"Hah, thanks." The bell on the door rang. I turned around and saw the same girl who was staring at me in the parking lot. She was still watching me. A little freaky…

"Well, now that you're listening to me, I guess I should tell you our plan. Ned says we're ahead of schedule, so we're going to go camping in the mountains right over there." She pointed out the window. "The club we're playing at is only about twenty miles from here anyway."

"Sure mom."

"Mom, are you sure?" Jack came up behind me. "Remember the last time we went camping?" He shot me a look. I rolled my eyes.

"This time you guys can just stay closer together, huh?"

I nodded.

All of a sudden the guy at the cashier leaned over the counter. "Hey! Aren't you that Molly Phillips?"

"Yes. I am actually."

"Wow. I'm a huge fan. Do you know how many people love your band? A lot of people see you as their idol. They want to be just like you."

"Oh…thanks…" my mom shrugged. Then she turned back around to get a drink from the refrigerator.

But the guy at the counter kept talking. "Yeah, seriously. Did I hear you guys were going to stay in this area for a while?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Great. Boys? Come here, you might want to hear this too."

Carey, Clu, and Jack walked over. I stayed next to my mom. Ned was still outside pumping gas.

"Well, you see, there's this great club that you can all join while you're here. It's called the COC, or Community of Caring. And it isn't just for kids, it's for everyone. All are welcome. We work together to make this world a better place." He handed each of us a flyer. "Actually, tonight at the beach, we're going to have a big party."

"Awesome! Dude, maybe I can catch some waves!"

"Shut up, Clu!" I said under my breath. I elbowed him.

"Ow…"

The guy continued, "Yes, you can if you'd like. It's not just based on making the world a better place, but having fun and meeting new people too."

Okay. Really freaky. I was reading way too much Animorphs. Now it was just messing with my head.

A refrigerator door slammed shut, waking me from my trance. I turned at the noise to see that same girl from the parking lot, continuing to watch me.

Ned walked in, breaking the silence. "Hey, Molly. Can you also pick me up a soda, some gum, and a light candy bar?" I must have jumped about five feet in the air. I had barely heard the "candy bar" part. Our new friend behind the counter seemed a little alarmed as well.

"Sure Ned." We all put our stuff on top of the counter. "Thanks for telling us about that club thing."

"No problem. I think you would all have a lot of fun. You should check it out."

As soon as we stepped on the bus, I completely panicked. Completely. "Jack! Oh my gosh, did you see that?! He jumped when Ned said 'Andalite'. What if –"

He interrupted me. "Ned said 'and a light candy bar.' That's completely different. You always act so weird when you finish reading an Animorphs book."

"No, Jack. I'm serious this time. And the COC? That sounds exactly like the Sharing!"

"Listen. I've never read any of those books. You're the Animorphs freak of the family. But there's a reason why it's called a 'fiction' book. They aren't real, okay? And to prove it to you, I think we should go to that COC party. Besides, I think it sounds like fun."

"But Jack –"

He held up his hand. I could take a hint. "Okay, okay, I'll go get started on my geometry."

I went into my room and stared blankly at my geometry book. I read aloud, "The measure of the altitude drawn from the vertex of the right angle of a right triangle to its hypotenuse is the geometric mean between the measures of the two segments of the hypotenuse." Who came up with this stuff, anyway?

I closed the book and opened up my laptop to wake it up from its sleep. Something more interesting to do. I had to check my mail sooner or later, anyway.

Four new e-mails. I looked down the list. The last user was "unknown." Oh no, I told myself. Not this again.

I opened it up. It read: IT IS YOU. YOU ARE THE ONE.

I clicked the reply button and typed quickly: One what? Who are you?

Almost instantaneously I received a reply. I opened it up right away. It said: I WAS WATCHING YOU AT THE GAS STATION. I AM ALL THAT YOU BELIEVE. I AM ALL THAT YOU DON'T BELIEVE. I AM THE ELLIMIST. AND YOU ARE THE ONE.

I walked out of the room. Jack was sitting on the couch reading. So I went back to my laptop and clicked on the instant messenger button. Yep, that "person" was on.

I typed: What is this, some kind of joke? Who is this really?

The reply was: NO JOKE, FI. THERE IS A WINDOW RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. LOOK OUTSIDE. LOOK UP.

I did what it said. I saw a red-tailed hawk riding the thermals in the sky. Like I said, too much Animorphs for me.

The person who claimed to be the Ellimist typed: HONK, HONK. JERKS CUT YOU OFF.

I stared at the screen, puzzled. Almost as if planned, I heard the bus horn honk. Ned said, "Jerks cut us off. Can't they see a big bus headed at them?"

I felt a chill down my spine. I typed: How did you do that?

But the other person was gone.

Rachel.

Hey guys! I just saw Molly Phillips' tour bus! I looked up and saw Tobias flying overhead.

"Molly Phillips? As in the famous singer Molly Phillips?" Marco said.

Duh, Marco. It looks like they're headed this way.

"Let's hope they're just going camping," Jake said. He looked at me for a second, then continued to talk to the sky. "Tobias, why don't you come down and take a little rest? I'll keep an eye on the bus."

He started his peregrine falcon morph. Jake had been kind of distant ever since we all had to move into the Hork Bajir valley and we had to leave his family behind. We had no choice.

Tobias landed in his 'hut'. The Hork Bajir had made homes for each of our families. Kind of weird and primitive, but thoughtful.

A few moments later, Tobias walked out of the hut in his human form.

"Hi Rachel," he said to me. I smiled. Okay, so I had been waiting for him.

"Can we go for a walk?" I asked.

"Of course."

We started walking, past all of the trees in a dense forest that the Ellimist had created for the Hork Bajir. It was all so beautiful, so peaceful.

"What's wrong?" he asked me as soon as no one could hear us. There were a few Hork Bajir here and there, but they probably couldn't understand us anyway.

"I don't know – it just feels like we're falling apart. Jake has lost it. He doesn't really have a family right now. Cassie can't even talk to him. We don't have a leader. And all we've been doing is sitting around. We can't stay here forever, with a war raging around us."

"I know exactly what you mean." He took my hand in his. I squeezed it. "But everything is going to be okay," he continued.

"What about you? Are you okay? I mean – you just got a mom and everything, when you thought she was dead."

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'll get used to it. Who knows? Maybe one of these days her memory will come back to her. It hurts her, though. That she can't remember her past, my father… She tries. I just hate to see her like that."

I nodded. "Everything will work out."

"Sometimes I just wish I could be human. To comfort her, be with her. Be with you…but I can't leave the fight. If only I could be a human with the power to morph…then we could be together."

Tobias stopped. I stopped. He turned and took my other hand. Then he leaned in to kiss me-

"Rachel! Oh good, I thought it was you. Sorry, bad timing, I know."

I could have screamed. "Mom! What are you doing?!?!?" Tobias let go of my hands and took a step back, as if embarrassed. Don't you just hate how parents come out of nowhere sometimes?

"Well, I was looking for Toby for help with some documents, and then I saw you." Oh great, she was walking towards us. As if that wasn't enough, she kept talking. "Gosh, Rachel. You can tear me away from my life, tell me about aliens that are taking over the world, and tell me about your superpowers – but you can't tell me about a boyfriend of yours?"

I sighed. "Okay, okay. Mom, this is Tobias."

"Tobias? Aren't you…"

Tobias answered politely, "The hawk? The one who can only morph to human for two hours at a time? Yep, that would be me."

"I'm so sorry."

Suddenly I heard Jake in my head. Hey you guys? Luckily, Molly Phillips is going camping, from what I can see. She is just awfully close to out boundary.

I looked at Tobias. "The Ellimist said that no one could find us, right?"

"That's what he said. But he's lied before."

Then I said to my mom, "We've gotta go." We took off running back to camp.

Fi.

I jumped off the bus.

"Fi, you want to help us set up camp?" Ned called.

"Oh, that's alright. Maybe later. I'm just going to go for a little walk." I grabbed Clu's arm to drag him along with me.

It really was a beautiful here. But I had this weird feeling inside my stomach. Maybe it was just that Ellimist guy online. But something was definitely weird about this place.

There were so many trees and bushes everywhere. It was easy to get lost.

After a couple of minutes I saw a peregrine falcon perched in a tree. Just what I was looking for. It looked like it was watching me. So I stopped and stared at it.

Clu stopped next to me. "Whoa, cool bird. Hey, Fi. Hang on a second. Let me pull out my camera."

I grabbed Clu's arm. "Wait."

I continued to look at the bird. "Jake?" I said softly. The bird spread out its wings like it was going to fly away. "Wait!" I called. "Wait, Jake! Oh, I knew you guys were here! I need to talk to you guys. The Ellimist contacted me and told me that I was 'the one'."

The bird flew away.

"Were you talking to that bird, Fi?" Clu asked.

"Um…sort of. Please don't tell Jack. Let's go back to camp."

Rachel.

"No, I swear. She called me 'Jake.' Then she said that the Ellimist had contacted her and told her that she was 'the one'." Jake.

We were having a meeting in Cassie's new barn that the Hork Bajir had made for her family. It just felt natural that we should have it in there.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Cassie. I know you guys all think I'm crazy, especially after everything that has happened. But I know what I heard.

"Sounds like a trap to me," Marco said.

"No, I don't think so," Jake said. "I think she's Molly Phillips' daughter. They're always on tour, riding around on that bus. I don't think she's a Yeerk."

"It is possible that they could have a portable Kandrona on the bus," Ax replied.

"Yeah, but I don't think she is. I don't care what you guys say. I thin k we need to talk to this girl and find out what the Ellimist was talking about." Jake had changed so much. He was never risky and quick to make decisions. That was supposed to be my job.

"Rachel? You haven't said anything. Can you see where I'm coming from? This could change the whole war," he continued. It kind of scared me. He was asking for my advice.

"Can all of you guys please excuse us?" I said. It was weird. I had never asked anyone to leave during a meeting before. Even Tobias flew out.

Once they were all gone, I said, "Jake! What is wrong with you!?" It was as if we'd switched places.

"What do you mean?"

"Jake! Have you even thought about this? About the consequences this could bring? I'm the one who's supposed to do things without thinking."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Okay? I just can't take it anymore!"

"Have you talked to Cassie? She said you've been ignoring her."

"Cassie? I-"

"Jake. Talk to Cassie. And get some sleep."

"I can't sleep."

"Talk to Cassie." As I walked out of the 'barn', Cassie approached me.

"Thanks," she said, "for talking to him." I just smiled and nodded.

Fi.

I woke up the next morning with so many thoughts racing through my head. I can't really tell you what happened during the day, because to tell you the truth, I don't remember.

I was like a zombie all day. Jake commented on it a few times, but I just told him that I was tired.

It wasn't until the afternoon that I finally realized what I had to do. I had to find them. Time to go hiking.

"Mom? I'm going to go for a little hike."

"Okay honey. Take one of the boys with you."

"Well, right now I just need some alone time." My mom looked at me and hesitated.

Then she tossed me a cell phone. "Be back before dark, and don't go too far. Keep this phone with you."

"Okay, thanks."

I started walking away. "Fi?" I stopped and walked back. "You know that if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm right here."

I smiled. "Thanks mom."

I slipped the cell phone in my pocket and kept walking. I could hear Jack laughing somewhere far off.

I was probably walking for about twenty minutes or half an hour when I saw movement in the tress above me. My feet stopped. I slowly turned my head up.

The sun was reflecting off something that was hiding in the trees.

A metal blade. An image of a Hork Bajir flashed in my mind. Hork Bajir? Wait a second…

"Hork Bajir?" I whispered aloud. "Are you a Hork Bajir? Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Oh right, Fi. Tell that to a seven-foot master with blades.

I pulled a strip of bark off of the tree and extended it to the Hork Bajir. "Come here, it's okay. Here, I have some food for you." The Hork Bajir slowly descended down the tree. I could see now that it must have been a baby or something, because it was a little shorter than me even.

The Hork Bajir was about halfway down the tree when it suddenly started screaming. Well, it wasn't really screaming, but some kind of weird noise like that.

Out of nowhere came many Hork Bajir. And these weren't the small ones. They were seven foot - eight foot – monsters with blades, beaks, and talons. The kind of guys you don't mess with.

I stood paralyzed in fear. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. My head was telling me to run, but my feet weren't getting the message. What good would it do me, anyway?

One of the smaller Hork Bajir stepped out from the crowd. "What is your name?" it demanded.

"Fi…Fi Phillips. Are – are you guys Hork Bajir?"

Several of the Hork Bajir started laughing. "Come with us, Fi." Like I had a choice. I was completely surrounded.

They led me to a place where I saw a bunch of little "huts" – kind of like the ones you see in Gilligan's island. The huts were made of wood, however. It looked like they had wooden roofs as well, with some plants and leaves on top of that – sort of like insulation.

We stopped. The Hork Bajir were still all around me.

A Hork Bajir stepped out of one of the huts. The Hork Bajir in front of me stepped aside. The other Hork Bajir continued to walk towards me. It stopped, and then it looked like it was doing something. Something like…morphing.

The tail came first. The Hork Bajir fell on its hand and knees. The tail came over it – a blue tail with a blades like a scorpion's at the end.

The Hork Bajir blades made a swooshing noise as they were sucked in. Its legs thinned and turned blue, just like the tail.

I started hearing some other weird noises of bones rearranging and crunching into place. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. So I closed my eyes. I remembered reading about morphing in the books. I didn't want to see it in real life.

Open your eyes.

I did. Standing in front of me was an Andalite. I felt a surge of excitement rush through my body. "Cool! Are you Ax?"

How did you find this place? And how did you know my name?

"I just went walking. I think I saw Jake yesterday so –"

That was you? You say that the Ellimist contacted you, correct?

"Yeah, it was so cool. He-"

We need to talk, Ax interrupted me again. He motioned for me to follow. He led me to another hut. Inside were more Hork Bajir. This was a different kind of hut though. There were a few animals inside, some haystacks, and a couple of tables. It looked almost like a barn.

When I walked in, everything was silent. Several of the Hork Bajir turned to look at each other, as if they were talking in private thought speak.

One of the Hork Bajir looked at me. "Do you know who we are?" it asked.

"The Animorphs, I'm guessing."

The Hork Bajir all looked at each other again. "How do you know that word?" one of them demanded.

"I knew it! I knew it! The books are real, aren't they?" I said excitedly.

The Hork Bajir all began to morph. I closed my eyes again. When I opened them I found myself staring at four humans, an Andalite, and a hawk that was perched on one of the human's shoulders. That human was about my height and she had long blond hair.

"I'm Jake," a tall boy with short blond hair said. Then he began pointing to the others, one by one. "That's Rachel, Tobias, Marco, Cassie, and you already know Ax. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"I did. But there's one thing I don't get. If the books really are real, and they're there for everyone to read, then why haven't the Yeerks found you guys yet? And before, wouldn't they have found out you were humans?"

"I think she's innocent – Jake, man," Marco said.

Jake tensed up a little bit. Then he sighed a long sigh and sat down. "The Ellimist. We don't write those books, he does. I don't know how. We found out about them a long time ago. It's scary how accurate they are. He said that it was to indirectly let people know about the invasion, even though the books are labeled as 'fiction'. And when they became Yeerks, they would lose all memory of the existence of the books."

"That's impossible," I whispered.

"Well, when you hang around us, nothing is impossible. But you know what else the Ellimist told us? That no one else could ever find this valley. Yet you did. So we need to know what it is exactly that he told you."

"He just said that I was 'the one'. Then he told me to look outside and I think I saw Tobias."

"So you know all about the Yeerks?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Of course. I've read and have every single Animorphs book."

"But…how?" Cassie wondered aloud.

Rachel continued, "So you know about the COC/Sharing thing, and the-"

A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Oh my God, Jack!" I turned to the Animorphs. "I have to go. Now!" Then I started running. As fast as my legs could carry me. Somehow I knew the way to go.

I didn't look back. I just ran. I had no idea if the others were following. I didn't think they were.

As soon as the camp came into view I started screaming with all the wind I had left in my lungs. "Jack! Jack! Oh please! Mom! Clu! Carey! Jack!!!!"

My mom came running out of a tent. She put her hands on my shoulders. "What is it, Fi? What's wrong? I thought you had gone with Jack and the others."

I was too late. They were already gone.

"Yeah, I'm going to catch up with them." I ran to the bus to grab my bike. The beach wasn't too far. I had the flyer in my pocket, so I knew exactly where to go.

"Are you okay, Fi?"

"Yeah, mom. Love you. Be back soon," I screamed as I was biking away.

No, no, no. They couldn't take Jack. Not Jack. No.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When I reached the place where it said to meet, I found a big red tent. It was like a "welcome tent" or something. But it was the only way in.

I dropped the bike and started yelling, "Jack! Jack!"

One of the guys in the Welcome Tent stepped in front of me to stop me. "Hi. Welcome to the COC," he said casually.

I bumped into him and kept running. "She's coming, "I heard the guy say in his phone behind me. They knew who I was.

Two guys came out of nowhere and grabbed me. They were unusually strong. I kicked one of them and tried to break free, but a couple more guys came and grabbed me.

I was kicking and screaming, but no one seemed to notice.

They dragged me into a room in a building, then locked the door. I pounded and screamed, but it was no use. So I started looking around desperately, for something. Anything.

A window.

They obviously didn't think that the humans with the power to morph would come save me. That made two of us.

"Fi?" A voice from outside. Jack! He was here!

The door swung open. "Jack! Oh my God! It's you! Jack, I-" I ran to him and hugged him. He wasn't hugging me back.

I let go and took a step back. "Jack?"

He started laughing. "Oh, Fiona. Dear Fiona. It really will be quite fun when you become one of us."

My blood went cold. No.

"Jack. I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Fight it, Jack. Fight. I love you, Jack. We don't get along all the time, but I love you. Come back to me Jack. Don't leave me…" the tears welled up in my eyes.

Jack flinched a little bit, then got the cold look back on his face. "It's no use, Fiona. You know that. Oh, and mom? I called her and told her that we having a lot of fun and we wanted her to come. She's on her way. Molly Phillips is perfect. We can all stay here and do concerts to recruit new members. We knew you'd come."

No. I had already lost one parent.

"Give me my brother back!" I screamed. I ran at jack in a fury. He threw me against the wall.

"I'll come back and get you when you're a little cooled down. That way you and your mom could be taken at the same time."

He walked outside and closed the door. I got up and tried to open it, but it was locked again. I looked up at the window. It was too high to break. There was no way out.

I could hear Jack's footsteps as he walked away.

I slouched down in a corner, my head down in my knees. This couldn't be happening. There was no way.

Fi?

Tobias!

Um…okay. If you're near the window, I suggest you move. Now. A red-tailed hawk came flying through the window, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces.

In it's beak it was carrying a bag.

"Tobias? Why did you -"

Because you're the one. Now shut up and open the bag. I did. There was a small blue cube inside. It couldn't be. Touch the box. There's about thirty seconds until that door flies open and they find you. I touched the box. A tingling sensation flowed through me. Then, a wave of happiness…Now acquire me.

"Tobias, I can't –"

"I've done this before, remember? You've read the books. You know how. Acquire me!

I touched the hawk, concentrated on it. Got the image in my head. After a few moments I began morphing the hawk myself. I closed my eyes.

The sound of organs being shrunk and feathers popping out of my skin made me sick, but there was not time to think about that.

No time.

The door swung open.

Fly! Fly!

We flew out the window. Let the hawk fly. We were going as fast as we could possibly go.

"Get them!"

The sound of dracon beams being fired below.

At us.

A flash of brown below. A grizzly bear.

Rachel! What was she doing here?

But then, an incredible pain in my right wing. I turned to look at it. There was nothing there.

The next thing I saw was the ground, rushing at me.

And then…blackness.

Rachel.

"Tobias…come back…"

In my arms laid a hawk, bloodied, bruised, burned, with random parts of it missing…and dampened with my tears.

It was wrapped up in my blanket, and I held it close.

"You can't be dead…"

The hawk hadn't been breathing for a long time. It was motionless in my embrace.

It was never supposed to be like this. We were just going to check it out. The rules were that we weren't going to put any of ourselves in danger unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Please, Tobias…wake up…"

But Tobias had gone in the building to save Fi, before we knew it.

He had given her the power to morph.

"Don't leave me…come back, Tobias…"

I stared across from me. The blue box. It was safe. Next to the blue box was Fi. When we found her she was knocked out and badly hurt, but she was able to morph out. She was safe.

But Tobias?

The parents still didn't know.

"No…no…no…" I choked on a sob.

We were all sitting around the fire. No one was saying anything.

Fi looked at me. "I'm sorry. I never meant…" She stared blankly into the fire. I didn't say anything.

Cassie put a hand on Fi's shoulder. "It isn't your fault. You lost your family too back there."

Tobias! Please! My heart screamed silently.

Fi walked over to me. "I'm so sorry…" She touched Tobias softly. The hawk's chest went up sharply.

Fi jumped back, almost falling.

I looked up at her quickly, then back at the hawk. It was breathing. Irregularly, but it was breathing.

I couldn't believe what was happening. He was dead.

He was dead.

My trance suddenly broke. The hawk opened its eyes. "Morph out! Tobias, morph! Morph to human, now!"

The others all stared in awe, as wings became hands and arms. Charred feathers were sucked in to become soft human skin.

And a once dead hawk became the boy we knew as Tobias.

He looked up at me. "Rachel, I was…" I stared into his eyes, still not believing what had just happened. I kissed him.

He put his arms around me, hugging me, holding me close. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Tobias. But you're alive. You're alive."

I looked at Fi, my arms still wrapped around Tobias. "How did you do that?" I asked.

"I…I don't know. I just touched him…and…"

The fire in the middle of our little circle went out. I jumped. In it's place came a bright white light. The light soon formed into a very familiar creature. One that I had seen in many different forms.

The Ellimist.

He was laughing. VERY GOOD.

"What is so funny?" I yelled back.

DON'T YOU SEE NOW? FI IS THE ONE. I BROUGHT HER TO YOU PURPOSELY. SHE IS THE TRUE SIXTH ANIMORPH.

"Why did you do this?" Fi screamed. I didn't blame her. "I just lost my whole family! I have no where to go now!"

YOUR PLACE IS HERE NOW, FI. YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE, WITH THE OTHERS. JAKE IS ALONE AS WELL. MAYBE ONE DAY YOU'LL SAVE YOUR FAMILIES. MAYBE YOU WON'T. THAT IS UP TO YOU.

"But the books…they're ending soon."

AS IS THE WAR. WHAT HAPPENS IS UP TO YOU. BY JOINING THE ANIMORPHS YOU HAVE CHANGED THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE WAR. IT IS IN YOUR HANDS NOW.

Fi stood there, not knowing how to answer.

The Ellimist turned to Tobias. TOBIAS. YOU RISKED YOUR LIFE AND ALMOST DIED TO SAVE FI. WHY?

"You said she was the one."

VERY GOOD TOBIAS. AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED. MAKE A WISH. YOU KNOW IT CANNOT BE TOO LARGE. DON'T SAY IT. THINK IT. I WILL KNOW.

Finally. He could wish to be human. Human with the power to morph. Then he would be safer. No more close calls like this. No more having to count down two hours every time we went for a walk. When the war was over, things would be okay. He could be with his mom, like he said. We could be together…

The Ellimist smiled. WISH GRANTED. He disappeared. The fire reappeared.

I looked at Tobias, my face still wet with old tears. But there was sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rachel." I gave him a confused look.

"Tobias! Tobias!" Loren came running to our fire. Tobias stood up. Loren hugged him, as hard as she could, like she was never going to let go.

"I remember, Tobias. I remember everything."

Tobias looked at me. I smiled. So that's what it was.

"Elfangor?" Loren asked.

"I'm sorry, mom. He's…uh…he died, a while ago."

Loren gasped. Her hands went to her face, trembling.

"We really need to talk, mom. Come on." Tobias smiled a soft, sad smile to me. I smiled back.

Tobias and his mom went into a hut. I watched them until they closed the door behind them.

"Rachel?" Fi was standing behind me. I looked at her. "I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I'm really sorry. I know you went through a lot thinking Tobias was dead. If it makes any difference, you always were my favorite character in the series. I always felt like I could relate to you the most."

"Thanks," I laughed. "You know, you're alright. You've been through a lot tonight too. Come on, I'll show you around."

I outstretched my hand. "Welcome to the Animorphs."