Hi, sorry that I have been gone for so long.

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My name is Rachel and right now I am worried about my friend and fellow Animorph Tobias. I tried to call him a few hours after we returned from destroying the underwater Yeerk Facility but my call went to the answering machine after ringing three or four times. At first I thought maybe he and his family had gone to the movies or to a park but when I tried to call the next day and the answering machine picked up again I was worried.

I forced myself to remain calm as I pedaled down different streets until his house came into view. As I put the kickstand down on my bike I noticed that the front yard was bare of some of the toys I had seen on the grass on several occasions.

As I walked up to the front door I noticed that neither Champ or Indiana were barking like one or the other had done the few times I came to the house. However I did notice a note taped to front door.

We have gone camping for a few days in the middle of nowhere. We are sorry if we missed you but we will be back. Alan, Loren, Tobias, Leilani, Hoshi, Rio and Hayden

I stared at the note for a few moments before I headed back to my bike. I decided right then and there to head to Marco's since he knew Tobias's family the best so he would know if this was normal. I mean I know Tobias said on several occasions that his family going on camping trips but I got the impression that they haven't gone on one for some time.

As I turned on Marco's street I noticed Anji's bike was parked on the front lawn and I almost paused for a moment.

Yesterday Marco revealed to some of us that his mother is or was Visser One's Host. I can't imagine what that has to be like. I know that my cousin Tom is a Controller and that Jake has to live with that every day but it has to be different on many levels. I know that Marco's mom supposedly drowned at sea about three years ago so that would mean that for about two years Marco thought that his mother was dead. He had to have learned the truth when we were captured and taken to the Pool Ship in orbit. I had spoken the truth to him on Royan Island when I had said I had heard engines as we had headed for the beach but I am not sure if it is better for Visser One to be alive with Marco's mother as a Host or if she would rather be dead. Maybe death would be better than the dim hope of being freed.

I parked my bike next to Anji's and hoped she was visiting Marco for school reasons and not making him feel like a loser where his mother is concerned.

I forced myself to be calm as I pressed the doorbell.

A minute later Marco opened the door; he was surprised to see me but he forced a smile and stepped aside so I could enter the house.

I immediately noticed that Anji was sitting on the couch in the living room with school books on the coffee table and on a couch cushion. I almost laughed at the idea that Marco was doing homework with Anji but I had a more pressing concern.

"There's a note on the front door of Tobias's house saying that the family has gone camping." I told them.

Marco frowned.

"They used to go on camping trips for three to four days but they haven't gone for more than two days for the last year or so." Marco said with some concern in his voice.

"Is there a way to verify that they did go on a camping trip?" Anji asked as she headed over to Marco and I.

Marco nodded.

"They leave all their electronics at home. They line them up on the small kitchen table in groups of who they belong to. If they are really camping that is what we find in their house." Marco stated.

We all headed for Tobias's house but headed for the woods so we could morph into cockroaches and slip in through the kitty door on the backdoor. It was a frightening race.

Once we were inside we continued until we were in the main part of the house to demorph.

"I never realized just how inhospitable the furniture arrangement was for morphing!" Marco grumbled as we demorphed in the living room.

"I doubt that Tobias's parents took the fact that an Andalite might need to demorph in their living room into consideration when they bought and arranged the furniture." Anji commented once she morphed into her human morph.

Marco is right: the arrangement of the furniture would make it difficult for an Andalite to maneuver through the living room as well as the rest of the house. Hork-Bajir would have issues too with the arrangement as well.

Slowly we made our way to the kitchen and sure enough two high tech cell phones are on the table along with the cheaper one that Tobias uses along with three iPods, pink, yellow, blue, and three hand held gaming systems that I don't recognize.

"They went on a camping trip; has all the markers of one." Marco stated with confidence.

"I want to check the whole house to be on the safe side." I told him.

"Just don't touch or move too many things in Leilani and Hoshi's room; somehow they will know that someone touched their stuff." Marco said in warning. I knew he was serious.

There is some disarray as far as the drawers in the dressers are concerned in all the children's rooms but it could be normal for them; Cassie has at least one that is not completely closed all the time. In the Master Bedroom there is little to no hint of anything except for the covers looked a little rumpled in a few places; as if someone had packed bags on them. I went back and sure enough all the beds, that were made, had rumpled covers from a bag being packed.

Finally we met up in the back room of the house since it would be less crowded for Anji to demorph and then morph.

"Should we tell Arbron that Tobias and his family are camping?" Marco asked.

"We should so he doesn't worry about him." Anji responded.

We morphed and headed back for the place we left our clothes and bikes. I did feel a little bad about dragging them here and everything.

"Thanks for checking with me." I told them as we headed out of the wooeds.

"No problem," Marco replied, "if it was something serious we would have needed to know."

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Originally I wasn't going to do this but I thought that it would be interesting to explore Rachel discovering that Tobias and his family were gone. Then have some thoughts on how the home isn't morph friendly but Tobias isn't going to think too much on it since it has been that way since he was young and before he knew of the invasion so he isn't going to be asking why the house isn't morph friendly. Yes he has noted that it isn't smart to try to morph in the house but he doesn't know that there is a reason for it.

Guess what? I am going to attempt to write book #16 from Arbron's POV.