Chapter 11

When I closed my eyes, I could see a strange forest before me. It wasn't totally alien – the colors were a little off, but bushes were bushes, trees were trees, and so forth. A light blue mist covered the ground from about knee-level down, but was wispy enough to see the forest floor through. I realized, as I looked down, that my legs were the most abnormal part of this place. I checked the rest of my body that I could "see," and it was more like my being was made up of the vibrations I felt in the air. When I concentrated, I felt faint connections with everything – the trees, the ground, everything.

Like magnetism, I felt rather than saw others joining me. One vibration-being was clearly Jara, though how I knew that, I can't say. It just felt like him. The connection between the two of us was much stronger than my connections with everything else, and I concentrated on it. I was overwhelmed with the flood of information of the things that made him – the important details were amplified, the insignificant details completely washed away. I felt his gratitude to me and the others, his bravery, his gentle, good nature. Along this connection, I could also feel myself channeling to him, and I felt him receive it. I wasn't consciously sending anything – the important things just flowed.

I "turned" as I felt an even stronger link of someone else, and instinctively I knew it was Tobias. As we "shared," I actually watched that already-strong bond grow more elastic and flexible, all the while gaining in power. We were like two similar electrical currents, following the same paths.

I reached out and found Cassie and Marco, and began "sharing" with them, too. I'd always thought of us Animorphs as so different from each other, but as we shared ourselves, all I could see were the similarities. We all wanted the same things, we all hurt the same way…experiences were the same, just the way we expressed them were different. It was a level of understanding that I knew I couldn't maintain, but for now, it was enough.

I shared with everyone. The Hork-bajir became a part of me, and I became a part of them. Time was meaningless. I felt like I could do this forever, and I still wouldn't know everything I needed to know about my friends, my family. Above all the information that was flowing between everyone, a general sense of peace and well-being dominated.

All too soon, I felt Tobias' link slipping away. I realized Toby must have warned him about getting close to his two hour morphing limit, and as I had that thought, reality solidified. I felt this dream-world fading, and it made me sad. I realized that my eyes were closed, so I opened them.

A few things had changed about the campfire. Toby was talking quietly, every now and then tossing some sort of powder into the fire that was mostly died down, now. Tobias was in hawk form, watching her intently. As I noticed that the Hork-bajir were holding hands, I realized that I was also holding Jara and Cassie's hands.

Slowly, the Hork-bajir and my friends seemed to wake out of their meditative state, one by one. The Hork-bajir looked at each other as if seeing each other for the first time. As I looked at my friends, I realized I kind of felt the same way – it was nothing I could put into words, but I felt a deeper understanding of them, a stronger bond. Even Marco looked slightly mesmerized, awed at how real the Hork-bajir ceremony had been.

As we watched, the Hork-bajir stood one by one and huddled up like a football team. Ket saw us watching from the outside and gestured for us to join, making room between herself and her daughter, both of them careful to keep their blades away from our bodies.

When we were all pressed together, Jara quietly spoke. "Afh is done. All same, now. All roots of same tree. Together, we grow strong." After this, the Hork-bajir slowly broke off into groups of two and three, talking in subdued, reverent tones.

Jara and Ket held hands and faced us, the Animorphs. "Thank you," they both said. Jara smiled and said, "We are glad you come to valley today. Happy to share with human-folk. Human family, now." Then the two of them left, to be alone with each other, I guess.

"Wow," Cassie said, and it was the same way I felt. Now that it was over, I'd lost that feeling of a mystical oneness with everyone, but I could still remember it. It was still powerful, even just as a memory.

(That was…something,) Tobias said, and even in thought-speech, I could hear the awed tone.

"You said it," Marco whispered, still staring at the fire. "Man, that was so real."

I felt another connection, this one far less mystical and far more logical than those of the afh. Had I done what the Ellimist thought I should? I thought so. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was responsible both for the valley of the free Hork-bajir and my revelation. I thought maybe this connection we'd had with each other, however brief, would bring us together in the way we needed.

Cassie sighed. "Well, I guess we know what comes next." We all looked at her, slightly confused. "I think we need to find Jake. I know I need to apologize to him. I want to let him know that I appreciate him."

Marco nodded. "Lately, I've been getting the feeling that Jake's been using me – been using all of us. After this, I kind of see it's the other way around. I've been using him, taking his leadership for granted, you know?"

As they spoke, I felt reassured that this was the Ellimist's plan all along. So it sort of surprised me when Tobias mentioned it. (So, I guess it's not just me the Ellimist turns to when he needs something done, huh Rachel?)

Before I could reply, Marco gave me an abashed grin. "Yeah. I got that off of you, too. I saw what the Ellimist showed you in my other future, and how you felt about it. That's crazy. I don't know how much of it was a magic trick, but I didn't like it. This is better," he said, gesturing to the Hork-bajir valley, and I knew he was talking about our lives in general.

"Yeah," I said in agreement, "that sucked. But if it brings us closer together, then it was worth it."

"And that's as introspective as I care for you to get," Marco told me humorously. "Keep talking like that, and I'm going to feel like this is an alternate future. Come on, let's go see Jake."