A/N: And here it is. Finale. 54 was awesome. More like a really great fanfic than Animorphs, yet with such...authenticity. And that is wonderful.
Disclaimer: Animorphs belongs to K.A. Applegate and Scholastic. Falling for the First Time belongs to BNL. Heres To The Nights belongs to Eve 6.
P.S. The smaller bold-italic words are song lyrics. I was considering putting them in last chapter, remember?
Rachel:
And as I curled up and closed my eyes after the Ellimist's story, I saw the strange world that was the fabric of time and space. I watched as a thread woven across many others, a strong thread, yet one to be treated gingerly, dimmed and curled, disappearing. Deep down I knew it was mine.
I felt sad. It was the end. I'd never feel the rush of adrenaline as we charged into battle. I'd never fly with Tobias again, mock-hit Marco, tease Cassie about her (lack of) fashion, look to Jake for the solution that was always there, laugh at Ax's love of food. Never, ever again.
But I had mattered. I raised my head, and as I did, I saw the vague-I guess you could call them marks-where my line had been. Some places were brighter, some were darker, but all seemed to have a certain feel to them.
Me.
I set my hands down on what had to be Tobias' line where mine had touched his, and suddenly remebered kissing him by the ocean.
I smiled.
Tobias:
After I'd taken Rachel's ashes, I hid them in an abandoned shack near my meadow. Then I continued to the meadow.
I flew to the top of the tallest tree there, tucked my wings back, and cried out a cry of mourning, both in thought speak and through the hawk's mouth.
No!
"TSEEEEEER!"
Then I dove.
I didn't spread my wings and catch the thermals. I didn't circle upwards.
What point was there? She was gone. Forever.
And then, whether it was the Ellimist, or me, or Rachel, or something else, I remembered kissing Rachel by the ocean after my first encounter with the crazy sub-visser Taylor. Then a part that seemed different, more recent.
She smiled.
I opened my wings and flew upward.
