The Renewal

by S.D.

Chapter 2 – What You Already Know

The five years that I was an Animorph changed me forever. I overstayed the two-hour morphing limit and became a nothlit, trapped in the body of a red tail hawk. Months later, I was given the power to morph again by an incredibly powerful being called the Ellimist. I even had the power to morph my own human body, and I could have chosen to remain human forever. But I couldn't give up the ability to morph. I couldn't walk out on the war… on my friends who were risking their lives every day.

During that time, I became best friends with Ax, the younger brother of the Andalite warrior who had given us the morphing technology. Ax and I are what the Andalites call shorm, friends who trust each other even to the point of allowing the other to place his tailblade against your throat. We were drawn even closer when we discovered that Elfangor, Ax's brother, was actually by a strange twist of fate, my father. I was a human in the body of a hawk, and Ax was an Andalite living among humans, but we were family.

Perhaps even stronger than my friendship with Ax, was my relationship with Rachel. It started that night at the construction site. I think being given the opportunity to save the world is just what Rachel needed to reveal her true self. She is a warrior; courageous, loyal, dedicated, and selfless. And that night, watching Elfangor give his life to save ours, something clicked inside of me too. That's what brought us together. We no longer feared pain, or death. Only losing each other…

Throughout those years, we faced nightmares that no teenager should ever have to face. We were tortured and threatened. We were betrayed, and we betrayed others. We saw both the best and the worst of humanity, even inside ourselves. But those stories have been told. What hasn't been told is how my part in the war came to an end, and what happened after. So let me take you back five years, to my last battle. The last battle between the Animorphs and Visser Three.