Chapter 6

"She's in this for revenge?" Marco said. "It's like having a second Rachel. Or third," he added, looking at Tobias. Then he turned to Jeanne. "I think we should see other people."

"Jeanne," Rahel added, "I also think you should see other people. Anyone but Marco."

We found a chair for Melissa and then I sat back down to finish 'eating' my 'breakfast'. Now we were waiting for Tobias to give us some instructions. We ate in silence for far too long. I expected Tobias to bring something up, but he didn't.

"So..." Melissa began. "What happens now?"

"This is the part where the Prince of Darkness tells us how he wants us to try and kill ourselves next," Marco explained to her. "Well, Tobias? What've you got for us?"

"War-Prince of Darkness," James corrected quietly.

Tobias shrugged. "I don't know. We've got no information to go on."

"Well, I'm all for sitting around for a day," Marco assured him. "Not that I'll remember it. Is it odd that I have to be reminded that I have memory loss?"

"I think the word odd no longer carries any meaning," I told him. "If we don't have any plans, I think a few of us should go and find Melissa some morphs. You know, the usual array of bugs and some battle morphs."

Tobias nodded. "She's your job, Jake. You brought her into this, it's up to you to make sure she knows exactly where she is. In the mean time, Al will be taking a look at the files we lifted from the Yeerks. Maybe something will turn up. If not, we might have to try the Chee."

"I'll do it," I told him. I didn't like the way he said it, though. It was definitely an order. I was starting to realize that the Tobias sitting across the table from me was a very different man from the one I had given the job to. But maybe this man was better at it.

We finished the meal in silence and then Melissa and I headed out. Since she didn't have a bird morph, we walked to the Gardens. Along the way, I had to ask, "So what do you think of everyone?"

"It's hard to believe I went to school with some of those guys," she answered. "Cassie and Marco. You. And Rachel with a baby... That's a lot to take in, considering I thought she was dead. You've all changed so much. But..."

"But what?"

"But in a lot of ways, you're still the same. Marco hasn't changed a bit, at least."

"What about the rest of them?"

"Well, they're kind of hard to believe. Jeanne seems nice enough, but it's so weird that she's Rachel's sister. And dating Marco. I can't believe Rachel allows that."

"Tobias keeps her in check," I informed her.

"Yeah... James seemed fine, too. David was a bit much to take in, though. I mean... Bolts the Talking Rat? Where'd he get a name like that? And while we're at it, why is he a rat?"

"The answer to the second question is a long story. The answer to the first one is that Tobias is...odd."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that impression. The Andalites were kind of a shock. I heard about Ax, but I didn't know he was missing an eye. Who was the little one? Al, right?"

"Yeah. He's Tobias's brother; another long story, I think. I don't actually know much about it. He's a solid kid and great with computers. One of the best."

I realized she had left someone out. "What about Tobias?"

"He... He scares me," she decided. "There's something really dark about him. Was I the only one who noticed that all the fun stopped when he walked in?'

"He's been through a lot," I reminded her. "I think he'll unwind a bit once we figure out what we're going to do. He can be cold, but inside, he's really a good man. I mean, a lot of the reason he's fighting so hard is because he promised to end this war before his kid was born."

"It doesn't seem like he's capable of that to me," she said to me. "He just doesn't seem like the warm and fuzzy type. I don't know if I could work for someone like that."

"It's not exactly an optional job," I reminded her. "Now that you're in, you follow him wherever he tells you to go. Although if we split up, he'll probably send you wherever he sends me."

"He just seems so cold..."

"Yeah. When it comes to the war, he is. He can be completely heartless. The Yeerks call him the Devil Prince for more reason than one. But I know what he's like outside of the war. In the rare moments when he actually relaxes and stops being Tobias the Prince and becomes Tobias the man, you can see it. Just watch him with Rachel one time. Just don't watch too long," I added. "Al still has some trouble sleeping from that one."

"Okay, so I met all my new friends. What about my new enemies? I already know about the Visser. Is there anyone else you need to tell me about."

"Oh yeah. First, there's Salheer. He's a dangerous one. When the Pythagi Conglomerate talked Mersa into rebelling, they smuggled Salheer off of the Yeerk homeworld so he could advise Mersa. When the Visser took control of the rebellion, he let Salheer live since his abilities were useful. He's smart; very smart. He used to be the Yeerk Emperor. And he seems to have a knack for predicting us."

"Right. Salheer. Got it. We'll just have to hit him with the unexpected," she assured me.

"We always seem to. And then there's Kalroth. He thinks the Visser is like some kind of god. He's crazy, but dangerous. He doesn't care what he does along the way as long as he accomplishes his goal. He'd rather die than fail the Visser. Kind of ironic, since failing the Visser typically means death."

"Kalroth. I'll remember it. Anyone else?"

"Yeah. Guraff Four-Two-Seven." What could I say about Guraff? Ah, yes, that was it. "If you see a very large Hork-bajir with a sword coming, then I have only one word of advice. Run."

Chapter 7

We didn't have any trouble at the Gardens. It was harder to get morphs nowadays. With a notable percentage of the population having the morphing power, as well as the Andalite tourists, there had to be some regulations about it. It was illegal to morph without a permit, for example; the degree of the offense depended on the animal. A fly, for example, was a misdemeanor and was usually ignored. A tiger, though, would land you in jail.

Likewise, it was harder to acquire animals now. Unless you had a permit to acquire one. To get those, you had to go through the military. Luckily, I happen to have two very good friends who are both Princes. Ax and Tobias took care of all the paperwork.

With our passes, security was no problem. I doubt they would have stopped me anyway, but Tobias had warned me that Cassie's mother had alerted them about him the last time he tried acquiring animals.

We had only one slight problem. "What is it you want to morph?" I asked. "Usually, we just go for whatever we need at the time. Let's see... At the very least, you'll need some air morphs, some bugs, and something to fight Kelbrid."

"Let's start with getting big and nasty," Melissa decided. "What can take on one of these Kelbrid?"

I shrugged. "Not a lot, really. It would have to be something really big, but I can't think of what we have left... We've already got a tiger, two lions, grizzly bear, gorilla.... And a notable amount of aliens."

"What about a Hork-bajir?"

"Maybe. We try not to morph sentient creatures, though. We've always felt that it's kind of a Yeerk thing to do."

"What if I asked nicely?"

"I'm still not really in favor of it, even when we have permission. We try to avoid it all the time unless we have no choice. You sure there's not some sort of animal you like?"

"Well... I've always liked panthers," she decided. "I know there's one around here somewhere."

"Yeah, but how do we find it?" I asked.

Without bothering to consult me, Melissa walked up to one of the security guards and flashed the pass Tobias gave her. "Hi. Can you show us where the panthers are?"

An hour later, she had a panther, a raptor I didn't recognize, a cockroach, a fly, a dolphin, and some sort of owl. It felt kind of like cheating. All that time we had to spend during the first war breaking in, sneaking around, playing tag with dangerous animals seemed like a waste now that we could just walk in and acquire whatever we wanted with help from professionals. Then again, I didn't almost get ripped in half by some animal's claws, so I guess I can't complain.

We made it home in time for lunch; which, thankfully, Rachel wasn't making. Most of the Animorphs seemed to be elsewhere, enjoying their day off. We knew we wouldn't get many of them; not if we were lucky, anyway. The only one home seemed to be Tobias.

As usual, he was hunched over one of his war books. I admired that about him, the way he was constantly trying to make himself a better leader. But it worried me, too. He needed to relax sometimes. "Why don't you put that away for now?" I suggested.

He shrugged. "Fine. We need to talk anyway."

"What about?" I asked him, sitting down.

"We need to decide who goes where when we split up. We have to choose teams." He glanced at Melissa. "Perhaps you should leave for now. Rachel's in the backyard with Al."

Melissa shrugged. "Fine by me. Have fun, Jake."

When she left, Tobias shook his head slowly. Then an amused smile crept across his face. "What?" I asked.

"You don't get it? You haven't changed a bit."

"Get what?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. It only took you a few years last time. I'm sure you'll get there quicker in round two."

"What are you talking about?"

For once, he actually seemed to be in a good mood. "Don't worry about it. But back to business. Since the Electorate put Al in my charge, he's definitely coming with me, so it seems to me that you should get to pick the first two."

I nodded. "So we're doing this gym-class style?"

"Jake, if this was gym class, I wouldn't be one of the ones picking teams."

"Good point. In that case, I want Marco. I couldn't have gotten through the first one without him. And if I'm taking him, then I think I've got to have Jeanne, too. With his memory-loss thing, he definitely needs her. I can't separate them."

Tobias nodded. "I thought so. In that case, I'll take David. You get Nuts, I take Bolts. Your move."

"Well..." It was down to a choice between Ax, Cassie, James and Melissa. I knew I could use Ax; badly. He was the only one left with any real technological experience. But he was Tobias's best friend and I didn't want to separate them. So I said, "Melissa. I know you don't want to deal with a new recruit. She's my responsibility."

Tobias nodded. "James."

"Not Ax?"

"You need him more. And I'm going to be fighting on the other front, where Guraff is. Which means you'll be up against the Visser. If anyone deserves a shot at shim, it's Ax and I'm not going to take that from him."

"Alright, Ax it is. That leaves you with..."

"Cassie," Tobias finished.

"You alright with that?" I asked. "I know you two had your problems... If it's going to be a problem we could swap someone..."

"No. I need her more than you do. You'll keep your people honest, Jake. I know you. You'll hold them to some moral standard or another. Not me. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. What I really need is someone who isn't."

"I didn't think you'd want to be weighed down."

"I don't. But I've found that what I want and what I need are almost always completely different. The two cannot coexist. I could become just as bad as the Yeerks. As heartless, as ruthless... I'm willing to be that if it'll get us the win we need, but I know I shouldn't let myself get that bad. I may not be able to stop myself, but at least I can make sure there's someone around who will try."

Chapter 8

Dinner that night was pretty massive. Not only were all ten of us Animorphs there, Rachel's whole family was there, including her father. He had been around a few weeks ago but left once we went off of Earth at the beginning of this new war. He was back now, but only for a few days. Ronnie and Loren were with us, too. I think I've finally gotten used to Ronnie.

It seemed unusually quiet for a while. Maybe it was because Tobias and Naomi weren't fighting or because, for once, no one was talking about the ongoing war. For whatever the reason, it seemed like a pleasant, normal meal.

But, of course, Tobias doesn't do pleasant and normal. "I have some news," he began quietly. Then he looked at Naomi. "You'll be pleased by this. I'm leaving."

"I'll pack your bags," she said instantly. Anyone else would have been joking. Only Jacques's hand on her arm kept her in her chair.

"And I'm not going alone," Tobias finished. "Al, James, and David are coming with me. And I'm asking you to come along as well, Cassie," he added. "Presumably, you'll be bringing Rodger."

"Ronnie," Cassie corrected. "If you need us there, we'll go, Tobias. We aren't leaving too soon, I hope?"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Ronnie asked. "If you go, I have to go."

"You don't have to-"

"Yes, Cassie, I do. I'm not going to sit around at your parents' home wondering if you're dead or alive. Wherever you're going, I'm following. But it's my life, too, and I think I deserve a say in how I spend it."

Cassie thought about that for a moment. "What is it, then, Ronnie? What is it you want?"

"I say we go," Ronnie said simply.

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "If you were just going to agree with her, why did you argue?"

"Because if I didn't argue, then it wouldn't have been my choice, it would have been hers," Ronnie answered.

Tobias gave a little smile. That seemed to be coming more easily to him. "Mayhaps I misjudged you."

Marco looked at Tobias. "'Mayhaps?' Someone, please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure no one else talks like that. Maybe Shakespeare..."

"Marco, Jeanne, Ax, and Melissa will stay here with me," I interrupted. "We'll defend the home front."

"These fronts need cooler names," Marco complained.

((Something with Greek letters,)) David agreed.

"Alpha front and Omega front?" James suggested.

"Which is which?" Melissa asked.

"Well," Marco told her, "I think this one here is Omega, since it's the last place we want to lose. And the other is Alpha, because we were fighting there first in this war.

"That makes sense," I agreed. I turned to Tobias. "How about it?"

He nodded. "I guess that makes my team the Alphamorphs. Kind of catchy..."

"That would make us, what... Omegamorphs?" I decided.

"I believe so, Prince Jake," Ax agreed.

"So that's it?" someone said. Jordan. That surprised me. I kind of expected the non Animorphs to be quiet for this. But then again, my instincts are notoriously bad. "James just runs off without any argument? And Alloran and David, too?"

"We don't have a lot of choice," James told her. "Tobias needs us there, so we go. Pretty simple, I think."

"So it doesn't bother you that you don't get a choice?"

"Call it an occupational hazard," James said, giving her a weak smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Rachel will be back and forth all the time. You can drop in for a visit."

Why would Jordan want to visit? Was there something going on there? I looked at Cassie. I had always counted on her for this sort of thing. She gave me a sleight nod. Well, that explained that.

Rachel shook her head, though. "I won't be staying here. I'm going with Tobias."

"Stress is bad for the baby," he argued quietly. "It's best if you stay here."

"It's safer if I stay with you," she insisted. "Who do you think is more likely to come after your family: Guraff or the Visser? If Guraff shows up at our home, it'll only be to say hi."

"Tobias can go off and get himself killed however he wants," Naomi told them. "Rachel, you are staying here. So are you, Jordan. And Sara and Jeanne."

To Rachel, Tobias said, "You make a good point. But I'd feel a lot safer if you had somewhere to stay other than the Reliquary. Who knows when we might have go call it into battle? I don't like the thought of you on it in a firefight."

"So you're just going to ignore me?" Naomi asked.

"That seems to be the most productive way of dealing with you," Tobias answered.

Quietly, my uncle, Dan, said, "I'm starting to like this kid." Not quietly enough, judging by the way his ex-wife glared at him. "Uh...could someone pass me a Shredder?"

Chapter 9

After that announcement, dinner basically descended into pointless argument. The civilians, in this case meaning mostly Naomi and Jordan, spent the time making some ridiculous insistences about who should go where. After Naomi told Tobias to go to hell and he informed her that he was already there, we decided to go our separate ways.

Melissa and I went outside. She wanted to try out one of her morphs. Since night had fallen, we decided on owl. I focused my mind on the animal inside of me. It was so long ago that I used this morph... I don't even remember when I acquired it. That made me wonder if I had morphs I didn't remember I had.

It felt familiar, though. The eyes came first, which was great. The night sky suddenly lit up. I could see everything. Every twitching blade of grass, the bark on the trees, every strand of Melissa's hair.

I watched as the feathers appeared on her body. First like tattoos. "Ohhh..." Then they exploded into three dimensions. "OHHH!" She shouted, much louder this time.

((Yeah...I probably should have warned you about that,)) I said to her. ((Then again, no one warned me...)) My transformation was almost halfway done. Like a lot of other things, morphing gets easier the more you do it.

For a moment, Melissa just stood there, a girl covered in grey feathers. ((You lost your concentration,)) I told her. ((You have to keep thinking about the animal or it won't work.))

"Okay. I'm trying..." Her mouth pushed out into a beak. She started to shrink. That's about as interesting as the details get, I guess. I mean, it'd be pretty boring if I gave you every tiny detail, now wouldn't it?

I knew she was finished when she took off and started flying. ((Melissa, what you're experiencing is the animal's instincts,)) I told her. ((You have to control this part. It's the hardest part of the morph.))

I followed her through the air for a few moments. I didn't notice any sort of effect. ((Think about human things, Melissa,)) I urged. ((Think about home. About the school you used to go to. About...gymnastics.))

That last part seemed to do it. She slowed down, and her flying got clumsier. But why wasn't she saying anything? Oh, right; she might not known that she could use thought-speak. ((Melissa, if you direct your thoughts at me, I'll be able to hear them.))

There was a pause. Then, ((Can you hear me now?))

((Yeah.))

((Good!)) Then she laughed. ((This is soooo cool, Jake. Flying is like... Why would anyone ever bother walking? God, why did we have to evolve without wings?))

((A question I've asked myself a lot,)) I admitted. ((But flying's even better a a hawk.))

((No way. Not possible, Jake.))

((As a hawk, you can really soar,)) I told her. ((You can catch a thermal, a sort of pillar of warm air, and just float up a mile or so up. Then, you can just let the air take you and enjoy the ride.))

((And the view. These eyes are amazing! I never realized this place looked so good at night.))

We were flying above town, looking down. It's hard to describe the effect of the streetlights and headlights when you can see through darkness. They were almost blinding. ((Yeah, I guess it does.))

((So show me around, Jake. Or do I have to call you fearless leader now?)) she joked. I hoped she was joking, at least. Marco was bad enough... At least I think he forgot he used to do that.

((Just call me Prince Jake,)) I told her.

((I know you're joking, but I'm so doing that.)) Damn it! ((So where do we fly?))

((The best part about flying is that you don't have to be going anywhere. Getting there is all the fun,)) I told her. We flew around town for almost two hours before circling back to Rachel's house.

We demorphed in the backyard. I finished first and then waited for her. "Wow," she said once she was done. "I guess you just took my virginity. Or morphginity."

"Uh...well...I..." I stuttered. What exactly did she expect me to say to that? Then I noticed something. Tobias and Marco were looking out of the windows facing the yard. I could see Rachel and Jeanne with them. What were they up to?

Melissa leaned up against the wall. "It's pretty late. And it's kind of a long walk home..."

"You could always fly again," I suggested.

She turned to me. "I was more hoping I could stay here for the night."

"Oh, yeah. We've got plenty of room." I noticed Tobias giving a slight nod. Marco gave me a thumbs-up. What the heck were those two doing? Sorry, those four; I could still see Rachel and Jeanne. "We've got a couple of couches."

Tobias smacked his head. Marco slowly turned his thumb the other way and frowned. What was going on? And how did they know what we were saying? And why did they care?

"I was more hoping..." She paused. "... Do you think you have some room in... your room?"

"Oh. Uh, sure. I could go sleep on one of the couches. Plenty of space for you. I-" At that point, Tobias and Marco came out of the back door.

"We're going to have to borrow our boy here for just a few minutes," Marco told her. He grabbed me by one arm, and Tobias took the other. Together, they marched me off towards the garage.

"Guys, what's going on?" I demanded.

Tobias shook his head. "Jake, we need to have a little talk."

Chapter 10

"A talk about what?" I asked.

Tobias shoved me into a chair in the Reliquary. "The birds and the bees."

"Honestly, Jake," Marco added, "it's pathetic. How do you not know about this sort of thing? Your dad is a doctor!"

"My dad's a pediatrician," I reminded him.

"Isn't that a kid doctor? Who better than a pediatrician to tell you about this?" Marco demanded.

"A gynecologist?" Tobias suggested. "Maybe a urologist."

"What are you two babbling about?" I asked.

Tobias sighed. "How to put this...? See, Jake, when a man and a woman love each other-"

"He doesn't have to love her," Marco interjected. "She just has to think he does. Or, you know, be really cool."

"I know about all that," I interrupted. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Again, Tobias smacked his forehead. "Did you leave a few brain cells in the afterlife? Or, you know, a whole hemisphere? Do you need a neon sign or something?"

"This is Jake we're talking about," Marco reminded him. "So I had Ax take the liberty of making this." He clapped his hands twice and the computer screens of the Reliquary sprang to life. There, in big, electric blue letters were the words SHE WANTS YOU!!!

For a moment, I just looked from the screens, to Marco, back to the screens, to Tobias, and back again. Then I shook my head. "You guys are way off. She-"

"Jake, even Ax saw it!" Tobias interrupted. "Ax. The guy who was licking the drywall after breakfast. The guy who eats paint chips. Lead-based paint chips. He likes dipping them in engine oil."

"Look, Jake, I may not know much about women," Marco began.

"True," Tobias interrupted.

"-But even I saw this one. Do you realize how painful it is to watch you stumble around like this?"

"So painful," Tobias finished, "that Rachel and Jeanne begged us to help you. I mean... Hell, even Guraff would have caught on sooner."

"I wonder if that guy has a girlfriend," Marco trailed off idly. "He told me he's celibate, but... I mean, I'm sure that, by Hork-bajir standards, he's pretty good looking. Don't they go for that muscular thing?"

"Honestly, I've thought of trying to introduce him to Toby, but there's never been any real opportunity," Tobias answered.

"Great," I said. "Why don't the two of you work on that and let me handle things on my own?"

"Because the thought of the previous conversation makes me want to throw up," Marco answered.

"Look, I don't know what everyone's seeing, but there's nothing there."

"Jake," Tobias said, "she came to you to become an Animorph. Not her friends, Rachel and Cassie. Not to me, the leader, She came to you. And look who she chose to teach her how to morph."

"And let's not forget the comment about her morphginity and asking to, oh yeah, SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM!" Marco added. "I mean... How the hell could you miss signals like that!?"

I didn't want to believe them for one reason: my pride. I couldn't be this stupid, could I? I mean, for even Ax to spot something like this... Then again, I was kind of out of touch. The only girl I ever dated was Cassie, who always spelled things out for me...

"Listen to us on this one, Jake," Tobias told me. "We know what we're talking about. And if you don't think so, why don't you go inside and ask my tall, hot, blond girlfriend? And did I mention that she's a gymnast?"

"Or you could ask her cute French sister," Marco put in. "You know, the chick who I wake up next to?"

"If you want, we can call Richard and James in here too," Tobias suggested. "I'm sure they'd be happy to help. I mean... Hell, even David would be an improvement at this point."

"At this point, I'd even take the Drode," Marco muttered. Then he looked up at the sky. "And oh God, please don't take that as an invitation. We can handle this without the help of extradimensional powers." Then he looked back at me. "Or maybe not..."

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," I admitted. "So what do I do about it?"

"We could have David pretend to kill you," Tobias suggested. "It worked for me."

"That's your solution for everything," Marco muttered.

"Two words, Marco. Ferris. Wheel."

"Fair enough, oh wise and omnipotent leader."

"Apparently a little too potent for my own good..."

"Since when do you make the puns?"

"Are you going to give me any serious advice or are you just going to keep making jokes?" I asked them.

"I'm going to keep making jokes," Marco answered. "Tobias does the serious thing so much better."

"There isn't much to be done for tonight," Tobias told me. "The girls are probably already grilling her on what your little date was like. Just keep your eyes open for opportunities like...well, like the one you screwed up a few minutes ago. Keep a look out and you should be fine."

"And if it helps," Marco said, "we could hide on you as bugs. We really don't have anything better to do lately. Just ask David and Al; they were in the backyard, letting us know how you were screwing things up."

I learned several things in that meeting. One of them was how Guraff and Tobias could be friends. Sometimes, there isn't much of a line between a close friend and your archenemy.