Alteramorphs 0: The Alteration

by Vickie1

Someone has seen the Animorphs. How did this happen and what are they going to do, especially when the Yeerks and an old enemy are after this kid? Even more shocking is that she has premonitions about the invasion! With much at stake, it's a race to save her with the help of a mysterious black-suited woman. And they're going to learn a lot more than they ever imagined. Megamorph #1

26. Epilogue

Epilogue

Kelly

My name is Kelly.

Four weeks ago, I was just a normal girl. Well...almost normal.

I guess that's an understatement if you were in my shoes.

I lost my biological parents and my memories when I was very young. All because of an invasion. Since then, I've had dreams of monsters, animals and the most terrifying things ever. One day, I dreamt of my best friend passing away...and it came true. Three weeks later, I ran away from home because...I had thought if I did, then everything would be alright...

But during this week, my life was completely turned upside-down.

I've learned that the dreams I've been having were as real as anything that I once knew. Those monsters and animals were real. I've seen them with my own eyes!

Only thing was...I wasn't supposed to be real.

I wouldn't have 'existed' if not for Elias. She's...was my future self. She changed her past or, at least, my past. And I became who I am today because of that. But a crazed man from Elias' timeline named David wanted me, five other kids and an alien dead. He wanted me gone so that my life would never continue to exist.

Elias stopped him. At a terrible price...

David's gone but so is Elias.

So...technically, I'm supposed to grow up to be Elias, go back to the past, change it and die in the present.

I know, that's crazy. I expected my future to be...brighter. Anyone would. I wanted to be a cook or an artist when I'd grow up, not some time-traveling mercenary. What's more...I don't think I have a choice.

I've watched 'Back to the Future'. I know how it goes.

If I don't choose to be Elias, then everything in the past would never have been changed. 'Kelly' wouldn't exist. And everything that has happened to me would never have...well, happened.

I would have to make a choice between a future death in the present and non-existence.

The thought scares me. A lot more than you think.

But right now, I don't think that choice will be made anytime soon. Right now, the future shouldn't be my concern. For some reason, just like what Axmili said...maybe Elias has gone back to where she came from. It wasn't because her body wasn't here anymore.

It was because I believe those words. I don't know why but I do.

I guess I don't want to believe that 'now' was the end for Elias. I truly hope that she has gone back to where she belonged. Her time. Her home. Her future. Not for my sake.

But because that should be where she belonged. When she's needed the most by people who cares for her. Nowhere else.

And if time has been changed...her life should now be more important over there.

So right now, it was the present that was my concern. The future can wait. Right now, I was sitting on a bale of hay in the barn, looking at those real people: five kids and one blue alien. All from my dreams.

They were right here. And I was with them...with just as many questions as I had.

If only the silence wasn't so awkward.

No one had spoken for nearly twenty minutes but I guess they didn't know what to say. This was just some time after Elias's body disappeared and I came back to the barn.

Jake did open his mouth once or twice but he couldn't find the words. Rachel was impatiently tapping her foot away, anxious to speak too. So was Cassie. Marco had been giving hand signals to Jake, maybe forcing him to say something. But every time I looked at him, Marco would quickly hide his hands behind his back. A kid named Tobias, who I remembered was a new kid from school a long time ago and who I couldn't see anywhere in the barn, kept quietly somewhere. But I had a feeling he was rarely a talker to begin with. And Axmili...

...The blue centaur I have been seeing in my dreams all the time and the boy named Phillip. He was waiting for something to happen but he looked like he was uncertain of what to do himself. Each of his two strange eyes peered at different directions while his main ones stared down. And as scary as it looked, his tail hung low to the ground with twitches.

There was also one more kid. Erek King, a transfer kid.

Horatio whined at me, also anxious. I gave him an assuring pat.

I couldn't blame them. So many things had happened and I was right in the middle of it. Most of all, we all had questions to ask. I guess it was which question to ask first.

But I didn't want this awkwardness to continue.

I was finally with the people from my dreams, who I have been asking to save me this whole time. And they did.

That was why I spoke first.

"H-How," I started and everyone's attention was immediately on me. "How long have you been keeping this secret?"

No one answered at first. I felt like my effort was in vain. Maybe it was a bit too soon.

But Jake finally replied, "Almost two years ago... No one knows it but us. And well, Elias and now you."

Nearly two years. They have been hiding it for so long. But I understood why they didn't tell anyone. They couldn't. Nobody in their right mind would believe there were aliens on Earth.

It was just like me. Who would believe that my dreams were of crazy things, let alone real aliens?

Come to think of it, two years ago was when I started dreaming of the animals. Before then, the monsters.

"You probably have some questions about what just happened."

"Yeah... A lot," I said. "You also want to know about my dreams too."

"More than you know it..." Jake laughed softly. "Where to begin..."

"Can..." I bit my lip. I was scared that I would be asking too much but I needed to know. "Can you answer mine...? Please. I...I want to know now. I've wanted to know for a long time..."

A very long time. I've always asked the same questions over for as long as I could remember. And I've never gotten my answers till now.

Jake nodded. "Sure. You've seen everything longer than we have. You have the right to know."

I relaxed. It felt like the waiting was finally over. I didn't have to live without knowing anymore.

I took my time to think and ask my first question. What those 'things' were.

Jake explained to me that they were called Yeerks, a parasitic race from another planet. They were small gray slugs that enter your brain and reduce you to slavery.

I swallowed. I never realized that some a creature was capable of doing that to people. Or something like that was happening. That you lose yourself if a 'Yeerk' is in your head.

It didn't stop there. Those aliens – Taxxons, Hork-Bajir – and the people I've seen in real life were all enslaved by the Yeerks and became Controllers. I wondered if that was what was happening to those people in my dreams.

It was horrible and sad at the same time. Even though I was nearly attacked earlier, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

No one should have their freedom taken away like that.

The Yeerks were absolutely cruel. It made me wonder why nothing has been done to stop them.

"Now," Cassie stepped in the conversation. "They're after the human race. There are thousands of humans who've been made into Controllers."

"What?" I gasped. I was disbelieved. I know I shouldn't when I also saw our people as Controllers but to hear that...

Already, there was an invasion that I never knew before. Why hasn't anyone noticed this? Why haven't these...Yeerks been stopped?

"My brother's one," Jake said.

Jake's brother, Tom. I knew him before. He used to visit Mom's community centre and practice basketball there. And...the funny thing was that I liked him very much whenever he came to visit the centre.

However, for a very long time, he stopped visiting. I now knew why.

My hands tightened on my knees. I just had a frightening thought. I was almost too afraid to ask...

"W-What about my parents? A-and my brother?"

"Probably are or have been Controllers," Marco blurted out. Cassie shot an angry, disapproving look at him and Jake joined her.

I became terrified. My family... Did that mean I could have already lost them a long time ago?

"Well, she's got to know the hard truth," Marco said. "The Yeerks probably know her by now and if her folks aren't Controllers, they may already be at their doorstep to take them to a Yeerk Pool. They don't want people knowing what's happening and saying if they are, the Yeerks are going to keep your family quiet."

I felt my eyes water, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself by squeezing tighter. Although I had no idea what he meant by a Yeerk Pool, I just didn't want to believe it.

I didn't want to think that all the time I've spent with my family could have been a lie or that they would be lost forever. Dad, Mom, Baxter...

"W-Wait! You'e crying-!? Ouch!" Marco didn't finish his sentence when Rachel elbowed him.

But it wasn't his fault. He was telling me the truth. And it was hurting me.

"...My mom's also a Controller."

I glanced up to Marco's troubled face.

"My dad and I thought she was dead a long time ago. Then I found out she isn't... She's one of them."

I have never seen this side of him before. At school, he was always the joker. The class clown Roxanne liked the most. But he was not that funny guy in front me. This was a different side to him.

"...I'm sorry," he apologized.

I shook my head. "No. I get it. It's just...I don't want to believe that my time with them was a complete lie. That I have been living with Controllers all my life-"

"I don't think everyone in your family was a Controller from the start," Jake pointed. "Your dad's in a wheelchair, right? Yeerks don't make anyone who's disabled a Controller. They want healthy humans so your dad is safe."

I still fiddled with my fingers. "What about Mom and Baxter?

(Erek and I had been checking your folks now and then,) Tobias explained somewhere. (So far, they haven't gone to the Sharing for the past three days.)

"The Sharing?" I repeated. Wasn't that what the woman from the mall said? "Why the Sharing?"

"It's because the Sharing is actually a place for the Yeerks to get more hosts. Whoever joins the Sharing becomes an official Controller, whether or not they like it," Rachel said.

I sighed with relief. "Then it's alright. They can't be Controllers."

"How can you be so sure?" Marco said.

"I know they aren't. My mom hates the Sharing."

Jake's eyebrow lifted up. "Come again?"

"You guys know my mom's the head of the local community centre, right?" Most of them nodded and I continued, "She has lost many people because of the Sharing. Mom really believes they are out to close down the centre."

"I can't blame her. The centre used to have a lot of people."

"Besides, what does that have to do with your mom not being Controllers?" Marco persisted on the question.

"You don't understand," I said. "She really hates the club. Some people from the Sharing went over there one day to hold a session at the centre. Even asked her, me and Baxter to join. Mom drove them out of the centre after that."

When I said Mom 'drove them out', I really meant she gave them the boot. She's really not a violent person. Ok, she used to be in the navy before she married Dad and had Baxter and me, but she has never used force before. So I never expected her to be physical and watch her fling two men out the building.

"You know what? Your mom's not a cuckoo," Rachel droned. "She's cool."

"Um, thanks. I think." Where did they hear that my mom was crazy? Still, I wasn't reassured. My family wasn't Controllers throughout my whole life...but what if they could still become Controllers because of me?

"B-But if those...Yeerks know who I am then-"

"I think you don't need to worry about that too much," Erek explained.

"Erek, she's been seen by the Yeerks three times," Marco uttered. "Exactly what makes you think they won't come after her?"

"Well, the Yeerks should have immediately gone after Kelly and her family. They can access everything to find out about her. Reports, documents, photographs. But I've recently checked their movement and oddly, they're not going after Kelly."

Our eyes were as wide as plates at the shocking news.

"You're got to be kidding me!"

"Nope. Visser Three did give a vague description to the Yeerks to find Kelly and Elias. However, I've discovered that that very description was immediately modified. The Yeerks aren't looking for a human girl identical to Kelly's description and a red-haired adult woman. Now they're looking for a 'red-haired person with green-blue eyes'. No age included."

(Wait, they were given the wrong information?) Axmili pointed, his tail restlessly flickering about. (By who?)

"I couldn't find out who changed it. But I wouldn't pass the idea who was the culprit. Red hair. Green and blue eyes. Doesn't that remind you of something?"

Green and blue eyes. I have those weird eyes. But I'm not the only person with that trait. And that other person also has...had red hair.

"Elias," I gasped softly.

"If she is capable of a lot of things we've seen her do, she's capable of misdirecting the Yeerks to somewhere else. The Yeerks are on a pointless search for a person who doesn't exist. And I doubt they will ever be successful. The probability of a human with natural red hair and heterochromia is very high. Practically impossible."

Again, Elias has protected me. Even when she wasn't here anymore, there was a sure way that she'd keep protecting me from the Yeerks.

"Does that mean-"

"That the Yeerks won't find you or take your family away? Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can go back home and to school," Jake said. "If you do, they'll find you."

"And it'll be all over for all of us," Marco stated. "So no going to the city, no talking to anyone, not even saying anything about us, them and you."

"...That's ok," I told them. "I ran away because I wanted to protect everyone from my dreams. I swore to myself that I won't let these dreams hurt anyone. So I'll keep out of sight to do just that."

All of them stared at me with startled looks but I meant what I said.

"I don't want to lose anybody. And all of you too," I explained and I meant it. "You saved me. This is the least I can do to return the favor."

The others smiled at me. Axmili also smiled in his own way. His four eyes seemed pleasant to me. I wasn't sure if Tobias was also smiling as well but I had a feeling he was.

(Excuse me,) Axmili soon interrupted. (I am sorry to disrupt but...what is heterochromia?)

The unavoidable question. I knew this day would come.

I let out a deep sigh just as Erek was about to explain. No doubt everyone heard me and glanced at me, wondering why I just did that.

I knew someone was bound to ask. It was frightening to think that I would show them one of my secrets.

But...somehow I felt that I could say anything to them. And no one would see me as different.

"This is heterochromia," I said and pulled back my hair that was covering my left eye.

Everyone stared at me with surprise. It was expected.

I have heterochromia. My left eye is blue and my right is hazel green.

Sounds funny but it's true. I was born with this rare condition. The same went for Elias since...she was me.

"It's why my eyes are like this," I put it plainly.

(So that's what you look like without your hair in your eyes,) Tobias stated.

"Huh, no one would have expected you have two different eye colors," Rachel pointed.

(Is it common for humans to have this heterochromia condition?)

"No, not really. Dogs, cats and horses have it more than humans," Cassie answered Axmili's question. "But, Kelly, why did you hide that?"

I pushed down my hair over my left eye. "I used to be teased when I was a kid. The other children used to call me a weirdo... They told me that no family would want me... Ah, I-I, I was-"

"We know," Jake said. "That you were adopted."

"What-? When?"

Jake scratched his head guiltily. "We were inspecting everything about you. Sorry, we wanted to know if you were a Controller or not."

"That's ok." I wasn't angry at them for invading my privacy. They were going to know sooner or later anyway. So I just continued. "The bullying didn't stop even after I was adopted. So I grew my hair long and hid it."

"You shouldn't feel bad because of them," Cassie said. "It's alright to be different."

"I know. My dad always tells me that too... I guess I was afraid of what people would think." I stared at the floor, discouraged. "I...didn't want to be called a freak anymore."

Silence. Complete silence in the barn

Footsteps then made me look up. Rachel walked up to me with an annoyed face. I cowered back in my seat. Did I say something wrong?

Then...she suddenly slapped me on the head.

It was a light slap. But it took me completely by surprise.

"You are really an idiot," Rachel blurred out angrily. "Which moron would tell you you're a freak?"

I was taken aback by her words.

"So you have two different eye colors? That doesn't make you one. You practically could be a supermodel with those looks! If I could find those kids right now, I'll whack them hard for teasing you."

"For once, I'd agree with Xena. And hey, if it makes you any better," Marco intoned. "You're particularly with freaks here."

"Now that's harsh," Jake uttered, his shoulders sinking.

"Oh come on. Jake here is our fearless leader. Cassie's the tree hugger. Tobias is the lost, messed-up kid who might I add isn't human anymore-"

(Hey,) Tobias hollered but Marco ignored him.

"Rachel's the warrior princess inside a fashion queen. I'm the only one who wants nothing to do with this war but hey, I'm struck with it. Ax is the alien away from home and we have a robot behind us."

"True," Erek said, shrugging his shoulders.

"And now we have an oracle. Yup, we are all freaks."

"What Marco means is that you're not alone," Cassie explained. "Kelly, you're not a freak to us and certainly, not to the whole world. And we all have been through a lot of things that make us freaks. Believe me."

Her words were honest and I didn't doubt them. I felt myself smile. "Thank you."

"Good," Rachel declared. "Because from now on, you're not going to hide your eyes. Really, that hairstyle of yours is horrible."

I chuckled. Yeah, I did have bad taste in fashion. "I know but I don't think I can do that. I'm pretty sure they can find me. So will that other alien centaur."

"Visser Three. Oh, he'll have a field day if he finds you again and learn that you're going to grow up to be his number one enemy," Marco intoned.

"And we won't let him," Jake said. He then noticed my puzzlement. After all, I didn't even know what a Bisser, Visser Three was. Or why an alien that is one of Axmili's kind was helping the Yeerks. "That other alien is also a Controller. Visser Three is the Yeerk inside."

My hands tightened again. I bit my lips not out of fear...but actually out of anger...

I had never been so angry before I ran away. Never in my entire life. Yeah, I have shouted but I have never hated anyone before. Now I was...because of one alien who took everything from me in the past. I was angry at that alien... But I was even angrier at myself. Even after everything Elias has told me, I still couldn't remember anything.

Because of that, I hated myself.

"So that's the blue alien's name. Visser Three...the one who killed my real parents..."

Everyone except Cassie and Axmili were surprised to hear that from me. It was news to them anyway.

But it was the truth. That alien murdered my parents nine years ago.

"...Kelly, it's not him. It's the one controlling that blue alien," Jake earnestly explained. "He had stolen and enslaved an Andalite."

"Andalite?" I repeated.

(That is what I am called,) Ax explicated.

Andalite. So that was the name of those centaurs I've seen in my dreams. What Axmili really was. It was a nice name for an alien centaur I see in both fantasy and reality.

"The Andalites are the good guys of the galaxy," Jake continued.

Good guys? I grew hopeful at the mention of that.

"Does that mean they can stop this war?" I hollered, rising from my seat. My mind kept on shouting that it was going to be alright. The Andalites would come and they'd stop the Yeerks. Everyone could be saved.

The entire group looked sullen at me.

"The Andalites haven't send help here yet," Jake put it in plain words as best as he could. "They are still fighting the Yeerks but we don't know when they'll come to save us."

I plopped back on my seat. Everything I was hearing and the fact this world was going to be lost to the Yeerks were a lot to absorb. It was all too good to be true to think we'd get help so easily. I should have learnt my lesson by now. It didn't matter how many times everything would be alright.

Everything can go very wrong.

"Nothing's going to stop the Yeerks, right?" I asked hopelessly. "Elias... She's fought those things. And she's d-..."

I couldn't say it. I just couldn't say 'she's dead'.

"Elias...was the only defense this world had against them?"

I didn't care if I was the one who'd fight the Yeerks when I'd grow up. The fact was still there. If Elias didn't die...

...Was there really no hope to save this world?

"She wasn't the only one who fought the Yeerks," Jake suddenly said.

I looked at him, half optimistic, half discouraged. Who? Who else could stop this invasion?

"You know those wild animals you've seen in your dreams and in real life?" Marco asked and pointed to himself. To all of them. "Us."

I was startled. It wasn't that I didn't believe what he said. In my gut, I did believe him. To hear that the animals I've seen during those five days...were them. I could have laughed and said it was just impossible for anyone to turn into an animal but I didn't.

"That was all of us. See, Visser Three and Ax here aren't the only one who can change into animals. So can we. Me, Jake, Rachel, Cassie and Tobias."

"Any animal we can touch, we can become," Cassie said. "A dolphin, a skunk, a wolf."

For some reason, I felt a sense of familiarity as she said those animals.

"An elephant or a grizzly bear."

"A gorilla and a shark."

The more I listened, the more I wondered. Where did I have this feeling? It wasn't just recently.

It was as if I've knew it for a long time.

"A tiger, a fly, a cockroach," Jake said. "Any animal. Any size. But only for two hours at a time. You can never stay in morph for more than two hours."

"Why?" I wondered.

(Kelly, you do hear me, right?) Tobias asked.

"Yeah," I replied, still confused.

"Oh, do I like this part," Marco droned, patting me on the back. "Kelly, my friend. Meet Tobias in person."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. What did he mean by that? I've seen Tobias before. Twice, really. I still remembered what he looked like even though the last time I saw him was the same day I broke my arm.

I then heard a swooshing sound from above. It landed beside me. I gazed to my left and sure enough, it was a red-talked hawk.

(Hey, Kelly.)

My jaw dropped. A bird was talking to me. And it was the bird from my dream. And the bird I saw earlier back in the woods. Sure, it could be any bird but I knew, deep down, this was the bird.

What was more, it was Tobias. Trapped in that body.

"How...? What...? When...? Why...?"

"She's stunned," Marco intoned again.

"This...is totally unreal," I groaned. You'd think I would be used to this by now.

"Everything is unreal," Rachel agreed with me. Cassie nodded with a sigh.

I gathered back as much composure as I could. "So... You stayed too long in that form?"

Tobias seemingly shrugged. I think. (It's not too bad. Sure, I mostly eat animals and enjoy flying but at least I don't have to go to school.)

The 'eating animals' part made me a little uneasy. If they can change into animals, do they also think like animals? That was a scary thought.

"It does explain why you never went to school anymore since the first day."

He titled his head. (Wait, you still remember me since then?)

"Of course." I was confused why he would say that. "Why would I not remember you?"

(I bet you wouldn't. After all, I was being bullied then.)

"That's not it. You don't remember?" He didn't give a response, just tilted his head. "When the semester started, I said hello to you."

(...Oh.)

"I still remember that day. You were new then."

"Oh, yeah. Before Tobias came, Kelly was the new kid," Marco said.

"And my brother, Baxter." I turned to Tobias. "It's ok if you don't remember. It was a long time ago."

(No, I... I didn't expect anyone to. I mean, I was a nobody when I was human. And I'm still am.)

"Then, that makes the two of us," I told him.

Tobias stared at me with his hawk eyes. I couldn't tell what his expression really was but the silence told me that he was baffled.

"Or like what Marco said, that makes eight of us. I was bullied too. And I just found out I'm a nobody... I'm not supposed to exist in the first place."

The room grew quiet again. I understood why. How would you react if you've been told from a psychotic man that you had never existed? That the only reason you were here was because your future self changed the past?

"And that's ok." Staggered looks were on me. "I'm still Kelly. I'm still here. And there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

I hoped Tobias would understand what I meant, especially when you can't read emotions in animals.

Even though he said nothing, I think it got through to him.

"Yup, you're still Oddball Kelly."

"Oddball?"

Marco immediately clamped his mouth with both his hands.

"Why did you call me that?" I persisted. Marco, however, simply backed away.

"Don't mind him. He's an idiot," Rachel stated. "But come on. You are an oddball. And a klutz."

I was hurt by her words. I admit I can be clumsy sometimes but really, a klutz? An oddball? When have I been branded those names? "So mean. I'm not odd."

"Oooh, the things I could tell you." Marco dropped down his hands but they came back on his mouth when Rachel stepped on his foot. Hard.

"Um, there's one more question I want to ask."

"Sure, shoot," Jake said.

"How...did you guys get this morphing power? Is it...like my dreams? You've had it a long time ago?"

"No, not really. We were given this power also two years ago. It was the day you went to the hospital. Ax has the power longer than we do. All Andalites have."

"I see. Then you were given? Like the calling power?"

"Somewhat. But not from Elias." He frowned. "From another Andalite."

(My brother,) Axmili stated sadly.

Ah. I remembered Axmili telling me his brother had passed away. And what they were about to tell me wasn't going to be a story they'd enjoy retelling. Maybe like this story I'm telling you. It wasn't like I was bestowed a special power without any consequence so I understood that it was a difficult thing for them to recap.

"It's a long story. Very long," Jake continued.

"I have the time."

Jake looked at the others one by one, waiting for their approval. Once he was giving the OK, he prepared himself with a deep breath.

"...Almost two years ago, it was just the five of us. Marco, the girls, Tobias and I were just heading home by cutting through the abandoned construction side."

"Boy, was that the biggest mistake of our lives," Marco interrupted. Rachel elbowed him again.

Jake continued the story anyhow. But there was one strange thing. The more he talked about seeing a blue light in the sky and a spaceship crashing into the site, the more I couldn't help but feel like...I knew this.

Really, where have I've heard this before? But how could I have heard it? They've probably never told anyone until now.

"-then we met an Andalite onboard it. He was the one who gave us the morphing power."

"What was his name?" I asked curiously.

(My brother...his name was Elfangor,) Axmili replied.

My eyes widened.

The name was very much familiar.

I remembered why the animals they told me sounded familiar. Why I felt like I knew the events Jake was telling me.

I also remembered. The first Andalite I saw in my dreams. The alien who whispered his name to me.

And died in that dream.

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have known about the invasion and gotten the morphing power." Jake sighed. "When we found him though-"

"He was badly burnt...wasn't he?"

Jake stopped and everyone stared at me, shocked. As if I was right on the money.

Just like how right I was about the dream about Roxanne's death, I was right about that dream too.

"I remember now," I told them. "That one dream... That dream was the first. That was when I started seeing the animals. You guys..."

I have a very good memory. So remembering that dream was like an instant flashback. Like I just had it yesterday. I had made a vow to treasure my memories since the day I couldn't remember anything about my childhood.

Even the bad ones.

I soon found myself asking one question out loud.

"Why didn't I believe them?"

"Kelly?" Jake uttered.

"I was there," I continued. "In the dream, I was right at the site. But no one could see me. You were there. So was the alien. I remember him saying his name like it was to me. I wanted to help him but... I couldn't do anything. I was just...like a ghost in those dreams. All I could do was just watch him show a box to you."

(The Escafil Device,) Axmili pointed. I assumed that was what the box was.

"After each of you touched it...the monsters came," I said. "You hid but not Elfangor. He...he went to fight against that other Andalite. But...that other Andalite changed."

I was shaking. I still recalled the giant terrifying monster. I wanted to stop and forget about it but I couldn't. Not now, I told myself. I had to continue or else I would keep on regretting.

I grasped my collar.

"...When that...thing was about to eat him...I screamed... I screamed for that monster to stop...but it was too late."

"Kelly, it's ok," Cassie reassured me. "You're not back at the dream."

She was right. I wasn't back at the dream. But it was still frightening to recall all that.

"After that, I woke up in my bed..."

"Those dreams...they really terrify you, don't they?" Marco asked.

I nodded. "...They aren't normal. I'm sure no one has these kinds of dreams... And there's another thing about them. In almost all of those dreams, I guess I have always seen you guys in it. Or at least your animal forms but...I don't think I've ever seen myself in those dreams."

I only realized that. Never have I ever seen my own self interacting in the dream. Not once.

"I mean...if it's true about these dreams, then I can predict those events... And I am always in the dream, watching everything happen but... I have never seen a prediction of just myself get in trouble. I also know that I've never seen Elias or that man before in my dreams."

"I think I understand," Jake pointed. "I...somehow got a glimpse into one of Elias' visions. I don't know how but...it did seem like I was looking through someone else's eyes."

"And you've been dealing with them for almost your whole life?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah...it's not something I'm proud of. Still...sometimes it felt like they were telling me something. After that night I had that dream, I really did want to go to the site that day." I heaved a deep sigh. "Never had that chance with my arm broken after that."

"You're not telling us everything," Jake said suspiciously.

I massaged my arm, as if I was still feeling the pain I had then. It was only half of the story. I never told anyone about the other half.

I swallowed. "The day I broke my arm, Roxanne told me someone needed to speak to me at the top floor. So I went and waited and..."

The day was crystal clear to me. I wanted to leave as soon as I met that somebody. To see if my dream about the construction side was true. I was on the top floor, near the stairway. But I didn't slip and fall. It wasn't an accident.

It happened so fast. I didn't hear anyone sneaking up.

I only felt hands shoving me from behind.

"I was pushed."

The looks they gave me were predictable. Some were shocked. Others were both shocked and angry.

"Pushed? Someone pushed you off the stairs! ?" Rachel hissed angrily.

"R-Rachel, it's ok-" But she cut me off.

"No! It's not ok! When your brother and I found you at the stairs, you were unconscious! I was afraid you'd broken your neck!"

"You got to be kidding me," Marco uttered. "Who the heck would want to hurt you? The friendliest oddest kid in school?"

"Did you ever find out who did that?" Cassie asked worriedly.

"No," I admitted. "I never did find out. Then again, I didn't actually tell anyone I was pushed."

"Anyone you can think of?" Jake asked.

I shook my head. I didn't like making enemies or picking fights and if there was anybody like that, I'd ignore and turn the other way. But still, I couldn't think of anyone that bad or have a reason to dislike me villainously.

I still frowned. "Then again, whoever did push me...I guess it was his or her fault I never made it to the site."

There were so many possibilities that ran through my mind, had I not been pushed.

"If I didn't have to go to the hospital...I would have been with your guys from the start."

My eyes were wet but it was useless. I was pretty much dried up.

"M-Maybe...if I had believed in those dreams sooner... Or if I had decided to go to the construction site instead of waiting...I would have been there with you guys... I would have known everything... And most importantly...

If I was there, maybe I could have saved that Andalite... Or...maybe...I could have saved all of you..."

Everyone looked at me, baffled to hear me say all that. But I meant it. Every single word.

Those dreams...the things I have seen weren't just monsters and animals. I've also seen the fights, the consequences. I've seen their happiness and determination. I've seen their pain, suffering and their terrible ordeals without even knowing who they were.

Jake, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, Tobias and Axmili...they must have had it tougher than I did. They had to fight without knowing how it would end. And what did I do? All I did was cry in my bed, pretend those dreams were just dreams and hope for someone to come rescue me from my own nightmare.

I was selfish. I was completely selfish!

"I shouldn't have been asking for you to save me... I should have been the one to save you..."

I should have trusted my dreams. I should have realized it earlier. I should have come to them sooner.

If I was with them when it all started, maybe I could have made it easy for them... I could have changed everything... Maybe I could possibly save Elfangor and...Elias...

Maybe more...

"What's done is done."

It took me by surprise. I looked at Jake in the eye and he gave me a comprehending glance.

"There was nothing you could have done. You didn't know," he explained. "After you ran away...there were a lot of things we wanted to do. We couldn't help but think we could have done something to help you. And Elias. But again, we didn't know that everything would go like they did."

It was surprising. I never expected a bunch of kids I barely knew from school and one new friend I crossed paths with days ago to worry about me. It never occurred to me that they had the same feeling like I did.

The inability of stopping a tragedy from happening and spinning out of control.

"Things just happen. And that's the most terrible excuse we can come up for all of us. But thinking otherwise won't change anything. We've already gotten this far and like you said, we can only move on... So don't keep blaming yourself just for what could have been."

(Prince Jake is right, Kelly,) Axmili said calmly. He gave me a pleasant, soft expression through his eyes. (Do not take responsibility for something that's beyond your reach.)

I had told that right to Axmili before and already, I was doing the exact thing I lectured him. I laughed lightly at how ironic that was.

I could keep on thinking how different it could have went if I went to the site. But it wouldn't make the pain go away or bring anyone back.

"So stop the waterworks. You've cried enough," Marco droned.

I nodded. I felt better. Much better than I had in a long time.

"And now you know. The story of the Animorphs. I bet you it'll make a best seller series somewhere in the future."

"Animorphs?" I asked.

Rachel groaned. "It's just a stupid name. Don't mind it."

"Stupid? It's our title! Who we are," Marco defended. "The saviors of Earth!"

"I thought it was teenagers with a death wish," Jake said with a raised eyebrow.

"That too."

"Alright. Then you have no objection of Kelly joining us," Rachel said. She stopped and looked at me guiltily. "Um, sorry. I shouldn't have said that like it's already decided."

"It's ok if you don't want to," Cassie pointed. "We had thought of making you one of us so that you'd at least have the morphing power to protect yourself."

"I see," I said. But I thought deeply on this.

"You know what? Take my advice," Marco droned. "Being an Animorph is just a crazy job. I mean, you got to deal with insane stuff like charging into the line of fire or seeing yourself morph with disgusting results or-"

"I want to join you."

"Come again?"

"I want to join you," I repeated.

"Kelly, are you sure about this?" Jake asked. "This is dangerous stuff you're going to be in."

"I managed to stab an alien in the eye, fight against that crazy lunatic and also run away from those Controller people back in the mall. Most of the time, I was in peril."

"And we'd give you credit for that. But still-"

"Jake, it's not because this is a game to me or that I'm saving the day," I said seriously. "It's because I need to do this. All I've done is tremble from my dreams before I learned everything. I'm tired of doing nothing and being helpless. Heck, I could even prevent a dream from happening this time round. If I don't do this, then what is a point of me staying?"

There was a moment of silence. Jake studied me, half staid and half concerned. This was something I could tell the others had been through. Once.

I suppose that was with that man, David. Or a boy I remembered from school named David, who they would tell me much later about.

This would make their second time in making a choice. And I knew they didn't want to regret it again. The same was for me. I was making a choice that could change my life forever and whatever would happen next, I might regret it too.

But my life was already changed.

"You're really going to fight with us, huh?"

"...Maybe I don't make the best ally. Maybe I can slip up and get hurt. Maybe a lot of things can happen. But I'm all you got."

He blinked. Jake's serious face was gone in a second.

"I'm already done with running. And while I'm grateful for your help these past few days, I don't want to sheltered forever. This time, I got reasons to do something. And that's for you guys, my family, my friends, and the people who aren't here anymore."

Chogan. Roxanne. Elfangor. And Elias.

All of them. Everyone who I've met and known. Even people who I may meet.

"I want to fight for everyone."

I wasn't sure if my answer convinced Jake at first. He and everyone else were still stunned by my reply and I was intent on keeping true to it.

Call me stubborn, naïve or just plain foolish. But I'm not stupid.

And like Jake said before, things just happen. We can't fix the past and we can't anticipate the future. Maybe we can just a bit, thanks to my dreams. But there are so many things that we can't control.

All we can do is pick ourselves up each time we fall and scrape our knees.

Strange enough, Jake grinned, no longer doubting me.

"There can never be another Kelly," he whispered.

"Huh?"

"It's alright. I'm just repeating what someone told me. I'll tell you another time." He turned to the others. "And you guys?"

He was offering the verdict to them too. I understood it wasn't just my choice. If a majority of them were against me joining, then I had no choice but to stay out of it.

It was a still moment before they said their answers.

"You're going to fit right in, Kelly," Rachel uttered.

(Same choice as the beginning, I'm with her in joining us,) Tobias pointed.

(I am with Kelly on this as well,) Ax said nobly.

Cassie sighed deeply but with a tender smile. "Alright. She's one of us. But only if it doesn't get too dangerous. Then you have to stay out."

I had no objective to that. After all, these guys were more experienced than me.

"Marco?" The six of us looked at him, waiting for his answer while he gazed at us with an irritated face, like he had already expected the odds to be against him.

Marco rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. His face lightened anyway. "Why not? She's already in this deep."

Oddly, Erek kept quiet but he smiled nonetheless. I guessed on the spot that he wasn't actually an Animorph. But later on, I did learn he was...an android. Who knew?

"Ok then. Let's get prepared," Jake ordered.

"Maybe somewhere else? I think my parents will wake up anytime soon," Cassie pointed.

"Good point."

"You guys can go on. I'll clean up the place and head home. My dad must be worried about me by now," Erek said.

And with that, we got up and were heading to Axmili's clubhouse, which later, I learned it was actually his home. But before we just left, I eyed the empty stall at the far end of the barn.

An hour ago, Elias was lying right in that stall. Now she was gone. The only evidence that she was there in the first place was the battered helmet she had worn. I picked it up and carried it with me.

Then I followed the others. During the time from the barn to Axmili's home, I was thinking. Very deeply. I thought about Elias and everything she's done. The things that I'd have to do. I wasn't too sure that when I grow up...I'd be able to meet the same expectations that Elias carried. I wasn't positive I could be willing to kill like she did.

I did see her robotic arm and legs. Even the scars.

All that was caused from this war.

It wasn't exactly the same as what Chogan had told me about his people and hunting. Or what little Mom told me about marines who have to defend their country. It was much bigger and I knew more dangerous than anything I can imagine.

Elias was that clear example.

And yet, she told me not to force myself to grow up too fast. Not to lose my way.

Thanks to the thinking, I understood what she meant by those.

Elias was right about so much.

I just wish I could have told her that now.

We had split into two groups, Cassie and Axmili one way and the rest of us another way but we all met together at the scoop. And that was when Cassie took out the familiar blue box from her waist pouch.

The same one I saw in my dream. And a lot bigger than the ones I brought out to call my Taliths.

She passed to Axmili and he brought it closer to me.

"This...will give me morphing power?" I asked.

(Yes. Press your hand on the square nearest to you,) he replied.

"And after that, you'll be an honorary member," Marco hummed "The newest Animorph. We'll get out the punch and throw you a party."

"Really? After all that, I just want to go home and have a hot shower," Rachel groaned.

"I agree. We've been through a lot this whole week," Jake pointed.

"And if you're suggesting singing the national anthem, then I'm out."

"We could...always sing "We will rock you," Cassie said with a grin.

We all laughed. Including me.

I turned my attention to the box.

This was it.

I raised a hand and slowly reached towards it.

Then my mind went back to what I was thinking just a while ago.

About Elias...

"What's with the holdup?" Marco uttered.

I lowered my hand.

"...No."

That...was my answer. No.

I wasn't going to accept this morphing power.

That completely astonished the guys. I could tell they didn't expect that kind of answer.

"Wait, WHAT! ?" Marco and Rachel hollered in unison, looking at me with widened eyes like I was insane.

"I-It's not because I'm having second thoughts. It's just... Did Elias ever morph?"

The question got all of them by surprise and they looked at each other.

"Actually...we don't know," Jake said forwardly.

"Heck, we've never seen her morph into an animal at all," Marco blurted out, amazed.

"Kelly, does that mean..." Cassie started.

I nodded. "Part of the reason...is because of Elias."

It was fact. I might change something if I accepted the morphing power. And they knew it too.

Like everyone else, Cassie frowned. "You're really...planning to be Elias when you grow up?"

"Yeah. I've seen enough movies to know how things go..." I said. "I did say it's scary to think that's...my future. But...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Elias. If that's the case, then I'll do it. But that's probably years from now. I guess you can say these are baby steps."

"Y-Yeah... So...what's the other reason?"

"As much as I think the idea of 'changing into animals' is awesome, I don't think I can handle it well. No offense... Besides, I have the calling. I don't think I need a second power to help me out."

"I dunno," Rachel started. "Would make you one powerful ally. But you make a good point. With all those problems of yours on one plate."

"I think I have fewer problems now than I did."

"Ok, that's fine but you do know the situation you're in? You're hiding from the Yeerks. You're not going to be an Animorph but you're going to help us by summoning alien creatures? To fight the Yeerks?" Marco asked all those questions with a raised eyebrow, a slanted mouth and shrugged shoulders. "Are you THAT insane?"

"I kinda agree. There were many times where we needed to morph and you'll be in a predicament if you're just yourself," Jake pointed. "You're sure about this?"

I lifted my hands to my view, palms up.

"Elias gave me this power. So let's see what it can do."

"You really are crazy," Marco uttered, shoulders down.

"Well, she drives a good point. We saw how she fought against David," Rachel admitted. "Actually, I'm really curious about those Taliths. We've only seen them once."

"True. We don't really know much about them," Jake stated. "Still, I'm surprised you came up with those creations in your head. Was this a hobby or something?"

"Yeah, they were really detailed and lively."

I fidgeted with my fingers. "Um... This is going to sound silly but...those animals...they were actually my art homework."

"Wait. Homework?" Marco looked at me like I had to be joking. "Homework is what got you making those Taliths?"

"Well, the first few drafts, maybe. In art class, we had an assignment to make up a creature. When I started drawing them, I got really motivated. After that, I went on improving their designs. And what you saw back there was the result... Come to think of it, I got the assignment after the dream at the site."

"It took you two years to think about them?" Jake questioned.

"I didn't want to make them simple. But...when I thought more of their concepts, I eventually made them as...my guardians. Something to save me from my dreams. Of course, this was all in my head."

"Homework...? I can't believe it," Marco groaned with disbelief. "Homework was what helped us?"

"Guess you have to give thanks to education this time, Marco," Rachel gloated.

"These Taliths...you can also morph into them, right?" I asked.

(Well, that is the theory. But Elias explained to us that we can only morph into one of those Taliths each. We can't acquire all of them,) Axmili clarified. (It was for safety reasons.)

"I see. Alright. I'll call them. You guys need to know which ones are yours."

"Kelly, are you up to it?" Jake asked. "We could do this another time."

"I'll be ok. Might as well get used it now since I'll be doing it more often."

"Oooh, I hope I get the big centaur Talith!" Marco sang with a silly grin.

I concentrated. Thought about one of the creatures from my imagination.

I was...telling them I needed them to come. That was what I was feeling when I was concentrating.

Then I felt as if something had answered me. I somehow was greatly relieved to get a response and I opened my eyes.

"Whoa," Marco uttered.

"Yeah, it's...really something," I admitted. "Like a totally different world."

"World? You mean see everything different?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah but only when I'm...calling."

"What it's like?"

"It's hard to describe it but..." I said. "I guess like some user interface?"

It was like through my eyes, some brilliant bright white overlay was cast all over the world. While I could barely see my surroundings like trees, it was like the overlay had obscured them. And around me were flashing strands. DNA strands, really but with a space-age look to them. Each had a faint word, which now when I looked closely, I realized it was the name of the animal DNA.

Dolphin. Whale. Wolf. Elephant. Bear. Gorilla. Shark. Lizard. Hawk. Tiger.

And many more.

I also noticed the guys in this weird perspective. They were highlighted completely in blue, the same color as the cube. And they linked to the strands. Not all of them but a few to one person and so on.

It was like this before. That man I fought was also highlighted in blue and linked to a few strands – which now, I didn't see those strands anymore – but I think it varies between people. Because when Elias was teaching me then, her body was highlighted in bizarre vivid orange-red. So were my hands. My whole body.

Spinning around me were six blue small cubes. But only one was my focus. I reached to it and the others backed away to give me more space.

Within my hand, the cube was warm and pulsating. I could hear a strong heartbeat from it.

The Talith's heartbeat.

Then I broke it.

CRACK!

In a flash, the bright overlay dispersed from my view but only to an extent that I could make the details around me. The broken shards pieced together to form the Talith I had thought of.

And there she was.

"Reeeeeeeeee," Paikea the floating armored whale cooed, gleeful to see me.

It was still hard for me to grasp how real everything was again. The way Paikea hovered before me and clicked merrily...I still couldn't believe my own drawing came to life.

"Man, this is like those Japanese monsters in that game," Marco pointed with awe.

Paikea neared to me, her hooked nose brushing under my hand as if wanting a pat. Her weird skin felt cool to the touch and strangely like feathers. Yet it didn't look like she had any to begin with.

"It's very friendly," Cassie laughed.

I smiled.

"Hey, Paikea-"

Before I knew it, I suddenly found myself being licked by a giant tongue.

Yes. I was licked that it nearly got me off the ground. Like my week didn't need enough surprises...

"Are you alright?" Jake hollered.

"Koff! Koff! Bleh! Eeeew," I groaned. I think I tasted its saliva. Horribly fishy. "She's...a bit too friendly. Yuk."

"Kelly," Cassie suddenly called and grabbed my face, angling it to a side. "Your cuts. They're gone."

"What?"

I glanced down at my hands. The soaked bandages were slipping off easily but right underneath them, I could see the skin of my palms didn't have the deep scratches from the time I had grabbed the bars of my cage fiercely.

My hands were healed.

Like they had always been that way.

"Wait, hold it. This whale can heal wounds by licking them?" Marco blurted. "Talk about being literal."

"That's...koff, right. I really did think a lot about you," I said to Paikea.

She simply chirped, as if more gleeful for a job well done.

"I kind of noticed it has patterns of an osprey bird," Cassie said.

"That's not all... It's also part humpback whale and cockroach."

"Part cockroach?" Rachel raised an eyebrow and eyed at the creepy legs underneath it. "Really?"

"I thought of her as mainly a protector. And also support. You guys already saw how she defends. She even can blow bad people away with her vocals."

Just like that, Paikea floated to my right arm and swiftly latched its creepy legs around it. Because of the curved underbelly, my arm fit perfectly under it.

"So she's literally a living shield," Cassie said.

"And good at dealing with crowd control," Marco added.

(Fascinating,) Axmili exclaimed.

"Ok but how the heck does she fly in the air? Or hover?"

"If I'm right..." I carefully reached out to what seemed like nothing to the others, just above Paikea's flippers.

My hunch was right when I gently grasped thin, fragile insect wings. Because of the light, they were so hard to spy unless I moved it just to show them the reflection of the veins.

"Yeah. These are her wings. She can hover because they beat really fast and she'll use the flippers and tail to stir. But she can be even faster in the water."

"Wow," Cassie gasped.

I let go of the alien insect wing and watched it fold onto Paikea's flipper and stick to it. Another thing so that she wouldn't have her wings torn off just in case.

"Ok, I get the reasons which part came from which animal but the armor came from where?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms.

"Uh, also cockroach. I read up that cockroaches can survive anything. So, I just thought its armor was just as resilient as a cockroach."

"You really did think a lot for each Talith."

"So...got some scientific name for the thing?" Marco probed.

"Um, no. I just call her Paikea."

"What? This got to be like the greatest discovery of the millennium or something. It's got to be called something like...," Instantly, his eyes shone. "Guard whale! Or maybe siren? Oh! I know! Armored vhalren!"

"I don't like those names," I said straightforwardly.

"You and me both," Rachel grumbled.

"It's a working progress! Give me some slack," Marco yelled, marching up to me and raising up a hand above Paikea. "You're going to be taking back those words once I acquire its DNA and be awesome on the field."

Without warning, Paikea unlatched her legs off me and floated away, missing Marco's hand. He tried to touch it again but no matter what, Paikea would easily evade him by swinging left and right.

"Hey, Kelly. Tell your Talith to hold still, would you?" he hollered with frustration.

"Well, you keep referring her as 'it'," Rachel pointed, crossing her arms.

Paikea then steered to Cassie. For some reason, as she stared at it eye to eye, Cassie became rather relaxed. As if in a trance.

"Cassie?" Jake called. Nothing. "Cassie?"

She then snapped out of it. And the connection broke. Paikea chirped cheerfully.

"Whoa... I think I get what you meant, Ax," Cassie exclaimed, holding her head.

(So then, this Paikea is your morph.)

"What do you mean?" I asked.

(Elias had explained that we cannot easily choose which Talith to morph. It has to choose which one of us it wants us to morph. I still don't have an explanation for this bond but it is remarkable.)

Cassie smiled at Paikea. "So you're mine. Hey, Paikea."

Marco frowned. Disappointed. "Man. It'd have been so cool."

"I don't know. You'd be morphing into a girl Talith," Rachel laughed.

"On second thought, I'm glad she's yours, Cassie."

"Come here." Paikea drifted towards me obediently. "It's time to go. I'll see you later."

She nodded understandingly. With a swing of my hand on Paikea, she was gone. Broken into blue fragments.

Gone to Z-Space.

I called again.

CRACK!

Out came Oro.

His snake-headed tail slithered up near his short mane as the forked tongue slipped out and all four eyes looked at me pleasingly. Oro roared softly to greet me.

A real life chimera.

"Hey, Oro."

"Oro? Weird name," Marco admitted.

"Maybe. I named him after Odo."

(Star Trek? Deep Space Nine?) Tobias asked.

"Yeah. Dad and Baxter love that show."

"So what is he made up, exactly?" Jake asked.

I looked at the words from the DNA strands linking up to Oro. "Tiger. Cobra. And bull."

"Say, you don't suppose the snake's poisonous?" Marco questioned, stepping away from the tail.

"No. It's not fatal. The poison in the tail can slow a person down. Like a sneak attack. It can even constrict willingly. Give Oro enough time to flank him away."

"What's the rundown?"

"A born fighter. Very fast on the feet and with powerful kicks. Excellent in sight, smell and hearing. His horns can break down any obstacle like walls. And no enemy can take him down from the front or the rear."

"I like that. Come here, Oro. Let's see if you're my morph."

Just like before, Oro ignored him completely and paced slowly to Jake instead.

The four eyes locked on Jake. He was ready to bolt, slightly frightened Oro would attack but once he glanced into his eyes, he calmed down. Swimming into a trance state too.

Two minutes later, a small roar from Oro snapped Jake out of it.

"...So you're my morph. Hello, big guy."

As if Oro understood him, he nodded and gracefully walked back to me.

"Strike two, Marco," Rachel droned.

Marco scowled at her. "Next."

"Bye, Oro."

And he was gone.

I concentrated on the next one.

CRACK!

"Ursa," I called with a smile.

Ursa really towered over me. Just like before. But this time, I wasn't terrified. Not with the way she was looking at me. She grunted happily as I reached out and scratched her from behind the ear.

A softie. But really one of the strongest Taliths.

"I guess Ursa's a fighter type?" Jake examined her from head to bear feet.

"Yeah. Ursa...after my two favorite constellations. Pure strength and untouchable on land and water. Grizzly bear. Seal. Chimpanzee," I explained. "She'll bat away anyone and if in danger or needs to be quick, she can slide across the ground easily. Like a seal. But only for a short distance and if there's not much friction. Good for quick evasion."

Curiously, Ursa strolled to a tree and reached out a claw. With an iron grip, she took a branch easily and began picking at the colored leaves with the other claw carefully. Almost like a human with a flower.

"And she's the only one with opposable thumbs," I added.

"Swee-" Marco frowned again as we then watched Ursa walk up to Rachel. "I can already guess whose morph this is."

"H-Hey. Whoa." Rachel cautiously stepped back but Ursa ignored her, nearing her head closer. And eye to eye, Rachel fell into the strange docile trance she was sharing with Ursa.

A sound distracted Ursa from her, breaking the spell, and she went to look for the source.

"Wow," she uttered. Amazed. "That...was something. So...she's my morph?"

"Fights you like a glove," Marco groaned.

I waved Ursa to come back and she did. I said goodbye and called her away.

I called the next one.

CRACK!

And he burst out, four wings spread out and soaring to the sky.

"Whoa! Get that bird down here before some hiker sees it!" Marco yelled.

I know I should have ordered him back. But I was just mesmerized of watching him fly in swirling circles at super speed. Some minutes he was there. Others, he wasn't. But I knew he still up there.

I could tell. Pajackok was enjoying his flight.

Free.

He angled downwards to Earth and zoomed past us, encircling swiftly. Then he flew upwards again.

"Welcome to the sky, Pajackok."

"That's his name?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah. It means thunderbird in Algonquin."

"Well, he certainly is one," Jake pointed.

"Hawk. Great Horned Owl. And squid." Even from a faraway distance, I could see which animals Pajackok was made of, the names linked to him. "A fighter. And a supporter. Silent and nearly invisible in the air like a stealth aircraft. Better sight than any of the others. He can see anything from miles away. And you already saw what he can with his feathers."

"Oh, we remember those weird drills...tendrils...whatever they are too well."

Pajackok drove up to a tree, exactly where Tobias was perched on. Folding his four wings, he joined Tobias, nearly giving him a fright.

And Tobias was locked into Pajackok's enchanting gaze.

That was his morph. No one else's.

(Whoa. Now I know how animals feel when we acquire their DNAs,) Tobias dizzily said.

Pajackok leapt off the branch and flew down to me. I lifted my arm like any bird master I've seen would do and being a big bird, he suspended on both my shoulder and arm.

Lucky thing he felt light.

I told him I'd let him out longer next time. And he was sent away.

Next one.

CRACK!

"Cheiron."

Cheiron tilted his wide head sharply at me and chirped happily with the clicking of his claws.

"Big fellow," Jake uttered.

"Yeah. The biggest among them. Shark. Lobster. And...Andalite."

Axmili looked at me with puzzlement. (Andalite?)

"Yeah. Why?"

(Elias had told us the Taliths were made of DNAs we collected. However, no one has that morph.)

"True. It's not like we asked Ax to lend us his DNA," Cassie explained.

"Actually, we could-"

(I'd rather you didn't,) Ax immediately cut Marco short. (Perhaps, it could be because of my original self.)

The oddest thing was that the link was partly to Axmili and yet...

It also was a crossroad. Leading to two more ways. One very fade link towards what I thought was where Tobias was perched. And another to nowhere, passing Horatio.

It's confusing to explain. I was still new to this and I don't even know much about this calling.

Maybe we'll learn more as I use this more.

"Guess it'll be a mystery," I said and turned back to Cheiron.

(I presume you are mine then, Cheiron.)

"You sound like you've met him before."

"Oh, they've met. Well, Elias' one," Rachel said.

(But I am curious. You named your Taliths after something. What is he named after?)

"Um, I don't suppose you've heard about centaurs before?" I asked. Like an alien would know that.

(Actually, I read that term in a book once. An ancient lore you humans fabricated in your history. You portrayed them as notorious, overly indulgent, barbaric creatures.)

"Except for a few." I looked back at Cheiron. "Cheiron is the name of a kind and wise mythological centaur. He was a great advisor and helper to many heroes."

Axmili examined Cheiron with admiration at the meaning of the name.

"I created Cheiron as a both a fighter and a protector, on land and in water. His armor can deflect any sort of projectiles and he is powerful with his claws and tail. To me, Cheiron is a guide to aid anyone out of the darkest times."

His eyes smiled at me. (It is a fitting name indeed.)

Axmili turned back to Cheiron and it was then that he fell into a trance with him. Like a click that he knew. This was his Talith. Axmili eventually brought himself out of the trance and gave a noble nod of his head to Cheiron.

Cheiron bowed back respectfully.

(Goodbye, Cheiron.)

I called Cheiron away.

"Hang on. That's five. The only Talith left is..." Marco's eyes widened just as I was about to call the last one. "Wait. No way. It can't be-"

CRACK!

A disk-shaped figure rolled out of the scattering remains of the blue box. It dropped onto the ground and swiftly circled around me before it unfolded its body and crept up my legs to my right arm. I was almost frightened to have that feeling of a creeper on your body but once I heard the hiss and looked at the strange figure, I was happy to see him.

The long, bladed, many-eyed lizard. And the smallest of the Taliths.

"Auryn," I said his name.

"Auryn?" Cassie uttered. "That's the...talisman from the Neverending Story movie, right?"

"Yeah. It was my favorite movie." I glanced back at Auryn. "Lizard. Spider. Hork-Bajir. The best ninja lizard to sneak anywhere without being seen and take foes down with a paralyzing bite. And with the sharpest blades to cut through anything like butter if any in a bad situation."

Auryn leapt off me and darted towards Marco. Before he could do anything, the lizard Talith scurried up his leg.

"Whoa! Hey! Get off me!" Marco yelped frightfully as he tried to shake him off.

But the moment Auryn crawled onto his waving arm, he locked Marco into a glance: eight eyes to two. And with that, Marco was completely still. Calm.

In a click, the trance was over.

"Oh, heck no!" The sudden outburst frightened Auryn off Marco's arm and he scampered behind my legs. "He can't be my Talith!"

Auryn hissed angrily and softly at Marco from behind me.

"But...he's cute," I admitted. If you look past the blades and the fact he was something I thought off in my head.

"Cute! ? CUTE! ? That thing is a SHRIMP compared to the other Taliths! I want a refund!" Marco hollered. "You got to think of another one for me! A bigger one!"

"Uh, I don't know. It might take a while. Like I said, it took me two years to finalize their designs."

"I think you shouldn't pressure Kelly into creating more. The amount of details she thought of for each of them is amazing," Cassie pointed as she kneeled down and stroked Auryn's side.

"Face it, Marco," Rachel droned, patting him on the back. "Looks like you're struck with 'shrimp' for a while."

"Man... I was so looking forward to the other ones."

"So, that's six of them," Jake pointed. "Our own Talith morphs."

"Better than our battle morphs," Rachel said. "I can't wait to try mine out."

"But these aren't like a wolf or tiger. Since these are Kelly's creatures, we've got no idea how to use them." Jake looked at me. "You're going to have to guide us through when we test them out. You know them better than any of us."

"I'll do my best."

"This is starting to sound like that one old arcade game. What was it again...?" Marco clicked his fingers until the name came to mind. "Oh yeah, Altered Beast."

"That really old machine that was at the back of the arcade two years ago? Can't believe you still remember that," Jake said.

"Yeah, well, was a bummer that they removed it. But thanks to that reminder, I just got a brainstorm."

"Oh boy," Rachel moaned.

"These are altered morphs, right? So, whenever we morph into them, we become the Alteramorphs."

"Hold it. What's the difference between that and Animorphs?" Jake asked.

"Basically, teenagers with an even bigger death wish. Just cooler looking."

"Ah. Sounds about right."

Alteramorphs. Simple and fitted to just them when in Talith morph.

I looked down at Auryn and he tilted his head, whipping his forked tongue out and in. No objection to the name.

"Yeah. I like it," I said.

I then called Auryn away. With all six Taliths summoned, I stopped concentrating on the calling. And the world through my eyes returned to normal. It took a while before my vision adjusted though.

"Everything about this is just as freaky as morphing. Including your eyes," Marco droned.

I frowned at him, offended. "Can we stop talking about my eye color?"

"No, Kelly. He meant the glowing circles in your eyes. You have that whenever you called," Jake explained.

"Oh." I guess I should get a mirror to see what they meant.

"Well, one thing for sure, this calling is one incredible weapon," Rachel said.

The pleasure faded out of Cassie's face. "...Yeah. I guess you can call it that."

"One we can use against the Yeerks," Jake pointed out.

Their attention slowly slipped and I found myself listening to them debate about the calling – or at least mostly Jake, Rachel Marco and Cassie. Cassie was a little defensive, bringing out a point that Elias did say it wasn't a toy. Axmili and Tobias would offer their thoughts now and then.

A really tight group... They never even asked for my opinion.

I was alone again.

And I found myself thinking...they were wrong.

"No. It's not a weapon," I said honestly and out of the blues. Maybe I just said that so I wouldn't be an outsider anymore.

They stopped talking and stared at me for my reason why it wasn't one.

"I know what a weapon is. And there are different reasons," I explained. "Chogan told me that his people used spears to hunt so they could survive. My mom, she was part of the navy. And she told me she was involved in the Invasion of Grenada."

That was a surprise to some of them. Finding out the head of a community centre was part of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Even more so that she followed in her veteran father's footsteps to the cause. Two years before Baxter was born.

Even with the invasion going on, we humans were still capable of making our own wars.

"She never said much about it. Only my dad said she went to fight to protect our country and those she cared. And just these few days ago..." I sighed. "I know a weapon can take a life away."

I still recalled Elias fighting down those aliens, despite the fact they were nothing more than slaves. She gunned them down when they couldn't make a choice. But it was them or us.

The same went when I attacked that Hork-Bajir before. I wondered if I had known it had no choice, would I still attack it.

I would. Because as grim as it sounded, I wanted to live. I also wanted to save Axmili from it.

A life for a life. But if I didn't...I would have lost more than just my life.

That didn't mean that didn't affect me. The moment I thought about that Hork-Bajir as a Controller, I was sad. Who's to say it wasn't just as important to someone else as I was to everyone I knew?

I couldn't take it back.

"I get the reasons why you guys think this. The same goes for the morphing. I know it's not that easy. We can use this to fight the Yeerks but we'll also cause more bloodshed. I get it."

"Kelly..." Jake tried to find the right words. "We have to fight. If we don't, then Earth would be lost to the Yeerks."

"I know. I know either way also costs things. No one prepares you for any of that. But that's not going to stop me from helping. Yes, I'll use the calling to whatever I can. But I won't see it as a tool of destruction. If I can find another way without resulting to mass carnage, then I'll do it. I know it's a stupid thing to say. But I'm not going to call my Taliths or morphing weapons."

I might have overstepped my boundary because it was a while before anyone spoke. But I meant it.

Elias gave me this power for a reason. And I chose not to take the morphing power.

I've been through hell and I'm probably going to go deeper into it.

But I won't lose my way.

"You're that confident you can find another way?" Rachel asked.

I gave it a thought. Then an answer. "This time, I have my dreams. So yes."

She eventually grinned. "...Alright. Calling's not a weapon. Then what is it?"

What was it? It was some futuristic power of summoning upon creatures to help us.

But Taliths...they're alive. They're real. Their actions. Their expressions. Their affection. And they had a reason of being real. Not because of my reasons. I wasn't using mind-control over them. I wasn't going to make them monsters on my foes just for fun. If they'd fear something just as much as I did, then I won't force them to attack.

There was a time I wanted them to save me from my dreams. But one time, I had wished that if they were real, alive and breathing, that they shouldn't be chained by me.

I'd want them to see, hear and experience this world.

There's always a reason why a life is here.

So you couldn't call them weapons.

"Four truths," I repeated what Chogan had told me. "Everything on Earth is alive. Everything has a purpose. Everything is connected. And everything is to be embraced."

I waited for them to take in what I've said. Then I said it.

"It's a promise. My promise to Elias."

The other smiled at my reply.

"You really have a way with words, Kelly," Jake stated.

I smiled too.

There was a pause that hung steadily.

"...So what now?" Marco broke the silence. "This is what? The end?"

"Hey. Don't make it melodramatic," Rachel uttered. "But...I don't know. We all had a rough week. And..."

She fell quiet. One by one, we stared back at the broken helmet in my hands. Even me.

A cold reminder of who wasn't here anymore.

I gripped the helmet tightly. Breathed in. Breathed out.

No more. No more crying. Elias would hate that.

"...You know," I started, breaking the still silence. "When Roxanne passed away...it really got to me badly... I felt like it was just meaningless to go on without her anymore... But I also knew exactly who Roxanne was."

I shut my eyes. Imagining Roxanne right in front of me. Grinning widely. That headstrong and kind attitude I remembered.

"'What are you doing, Kelly? Crying up a storm? C'mon and get going! I won't forgive you if you stay like this forever'," I said exactly what Roxanne would have said. "Roxanne was that kind of person. Making you smile and getting you out of the worst things ever... I spent three weeks crying for her...when I should have done something else. Something that would have her very happy."

I opened my eyes and gazed at everyone.

"I don't think we should grief over someone after they die. I think we should celebrate the day for them. Make it memorable so that we can show to them that we will be fine."

Everyone smiled softly. Yes, we were still hurt. This feeling wouldn't go away that easily. But this was something we could do for Elias. A choice we didn't need to regret over or spend our days wondering what could have been.

We couldn't stop here.

"Alright. We're living for Elias," Marco stated. "So what do you have in mind, Oddball?"

"Have you guys ever tried a cooked meal over a campfire?" I asked.

They shook their heads.

"Ok, you all are going to try then."

"You're going to cook? Out here?" Jake asked.

I nodded. Then I sheepishly scratched my head. "Though I probably gonna need to cook enough for all of us."

"You know, it's easily for us to go to Burger King and grab the breakfast combo," Marco pointed.

(I want to try what Kelly will 'cook',) Axmili asked happily.

"But of cooourse, you would. Are you sure you're still not delirious?"

Rachel hid her grin away behind a hand, her shoulders shaking up and down. "Well, that settles it. We're all having breakfast here. Besides we got no school today. So why not?"

"We should tell our parents what we're up to," Jake ordered.

"And we can get the stuff you need along the way too," Cassie added.

"Alright. I can make the campfire," I said chirpily.

(Do you need assistance, Kelly?) Ax asked.

"I wouldn't mind. We'll need logs for seats anyway."

(Logs?)

"Wait, we're pitching in cash for grocery, aren't we?" Marco groaned as we walked away from the scoop.

"What, you expect Kelly to make breakfast with nothing?" Jake handed out his hand. "Which reminds me. Pay up. You still owe me for those buns."

"How about we all vouch that Marco pays for everything instead?" Rachel said wickedly.

"Ah, come on!"

I stopped and gazed up to the sky. I then stretched up my hand and tried to grasp the blue in it.

It was something I always do. It's a silly thing.

But it helps me.

I always saw the sky was something unreachable, untouchable. Like the answers to my dreams. But I always kept thinking that one day, I'd be able to touch the sky if I kept following my goal. The same went that one day, I'd get my answers. Even for any promises I made to heart.

I got most of the answers that day. But not the sky.

But I made a new promise.

I wondered. All this time, I had believed these dreams were terrible nightmares. I had been running away from them. But...maybe they were leading me to the guys.

Trying to guide me, even when I was so terrified of them that I just ignored them. But they were persistent and kept on showing me the visions.

All this time, they were just trying to show me the right direction. It was only until I met Elias that I really opened my eyes.

She gave me the push I needed to catch up to them.

It was thanks to her that I was here.

"Hey, are you moving or daydreaming?"

I glanced back to the guys. It had been just the six of them before.

Now it was seven.

A nice number.

I smiled widely and followed after them. And that same morning, we spent together around the campfire; talking, laughing and enjoying the eggs, bacon and hash browns I cooked. Even when the fire died, the conversations, the laughs and smiles kept going for as long as they could.

For Elias.

So...

...Elias, if one day you are reading this from the future, thank you. For everything.

You don't have to worry about me. I'll be okay.

I will have to face the worst kinds of days. I may lose just as much as you did. And I'll have to leave everyone one day.

But it'll be alright.

The days to come will be days I'll cherish. Just as I've done before I've met these guys. Whatever's to come in this war for me, I'm not going to let it stop me.

Before I have to leave, I'll do everything I can to help them. I'll be their back. I'll be there for them for as long as I can.

I'll be their push towards a future that's without me. Just like you did for me towards one without you.

It'll hurt. It'll be sad one day. But it'll ok.

I'll hold my head up again. I'll look forward to what's to come. Whatever craziness I'll be getting myself into, I'll march on. I'm not going to be scared.

So Elias, don't worry about us...

I'm not alone. Not anymore.

---

Vickie: DEAR GOD! This epilogue took forever to work on to bring an end to this Megamorph. But yeah, it deserved to show just how the others are taking and be told by Kelly herself: the person that had been dealing with so many things in this story. The aftermath of the Alteration.

And I bet none of you expected Kelly not to become an Animorph. That has been the base aim of my entire story: bring in a character that can help the Animorphs and yet choose NOT to be one. Yup, a challenge that will come even in future books. This was something I wanted to accomplish and differ from the other typical storyline (I become an Animorph) in FFN. Way before I decided to give her the Calling power and her premonitions. From the start, I wanted to write a story with a reason why a character would not accept the morphing power and it created this whole fanfic you have read to the end. Yup.

And while sad to say, yes, people, we have come to a close. We knew it had to come. But that doesn't mean it's the end. I did say this will – hopefully – become a series. Although I'm really not sure how the whole series will go except the beginning. The end is even hard to tell how everything will unfold thanks to Elias' alterations to the timeline. A bigger question to think about is also how Kelly's morality and psyche will change to that of Elias'. For everything that happened in the Original, it was what made Elias: her bloodlust and vengeance on the Yeerks, her dislike on the Animorphs and her build-up through the toughest parts of her life. Now that it's Kelly running forward with a better determination than Elias, it's going to be different, especially since Kelly knows the world doesn't always go black and white. Of course I'd say that she'd properly be changed more when she's older so now is too soon in the beginning of this series. Come on. She's thirteen! And also, all this time, you've been reading the POVs of the original Elias. Not an altered version of her. Regardless, Kelly will have the biggest character development of all because not only of her destined end but also because of her experience in this war, without even morphing.

But remember, time is a crazy bat-sh*t essence that we just can't understand. Nothing is entirely set in stone. One path will always lead to the same end. And yet how different it angles or forks can cause a different end. A different path could also lead to the same end. And so much more possibilities. So how the Animorphs, Kelly and many people – even Elias herself, how that will play after her death – involved will changed, they may pick up both old and new ways.

What's to hold? Well, we'll see how that will unfold for them. I even don't have the answer to that. All I can do is write out how the characters will have to build up from this one major point in their changed life.

In all, I've already started the first book of the series. It'll take a while but hopefully with some brainstorming and help, I'll get it up soon. It won't be as wordy as this one (cuz it's not a megamorph anyway) but I still intend to make it as traditional as the old series we have loved. Just probably more high-tech and time-altering consequence than you'd expect. I may come across writer's block between books so I hope any writer who loves this story would like to take part as a ghostwriter (as long as you let me know and collab together in a way it fits to the alternate storyline). This is something that I see as extremely large scale and may not be able to finish it on my own. But I'll still write on with confidence. :D

And with that, I am happy to have done this story with all of your support. Thank you very much for staying with me to the end on this fanfic and enjoying it. I couldn't have gone so far without your feedback and care. I hope you will look out for the next book (I'll also notify you via pm) and what's to come.

Thank you again, everyone. And see you again!

Chapter inspired by Metal Gear Rising's song, The War Still Rages Within.