Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the plot. Animorphs were created by K.A. Applegate and Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing.

A/N: Thanks for the good reviews. I really appreciate it. :-) And I'm sorry, but this chapter is a cliffhanger. I'll post the next chapter ASAP though.

1 Chapter Four

So what do you know about Maggie? I asked. Tobias as we soared above a McDonald's.

Well, Ax and I looked up all the apartment buildings within our area, then checked if there was a Maggie living there.

Wait a second, Tobias. There are like a million apartment buildings in our area, and Maggie is a very common name. There must have been at least 100 matches, I said suspiciously.

Tobias laughed a little. There actually were. But only 10 were listed as senior citizens, and Jake described Maggie as being around 70 years old. When we looked at each one of the 10 matches, one of them, in the occupation spot, said 'looking for Rachel.' I don't think you can get anymore clear than that.

A thermal billowed up from below and carried us 20 feet like a warm elevator.

Whoa, weird. So when do we check it out? I asked eagerly.

Jake said around 10:00 tomorrow morning. Her name's Maggie Craven, and she lives in apartment 3B of the L.A. Elegance Apartments. ((A/N: I'm not sure if it ever tells you what her apartment building and number is, cause my friend borrowed my 1st book and has had it for like 3 weeks RIGHT COURTNEY?? lol. If it does tell you and I just forgot, please tell me and I'll change it.)) We'll all be around in battle morphs in case it's a trap. And Rachel? he began, sounding worried.

Yeah?

Be careful. I wouldn't want you getting hurt.

I'll be careful. Thanks, Tobias.

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The next morning I got up early and showered. I brushed my hair and dressed in Gap Jeans and an Abercrombie shirt over my morphing suit. Yeah, really preppy I know. So sue me.

I left a note for my mom and was out the door. When I was hidden in an alleyway, I put my outer clothing in a bag then morphed to eagle with the bag in my beak. Anyone who saw me would just figure it was a bird holding some kind of prey.

For about ten minutes I flew alone, listening to the quiet whisper of the wind rustling my feathers and the hums and growls of cars down below. Today was nice and warm, and there were great thermals coming up from the street. I barely had to move a muscle.

It was the kind of morning where you know the day is going to turn out perfectly.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

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After a quick meeting and discussion of the plan, we left Cassie's barn for the apartment building. I put my outer clothing back on while the others hid in corners of buildings in various battle morphs, ready to spring into action at the slightest sign of a trap.

I walked shakily up to the door buzzer, anxious to see what Maggie wanted. I pressed the button for 3B and said "It's Rachel."

The magnetic lock on the door opened with a buzz.

I ran up a set of faded, blue-carpeted stairs and into a small, comfortable looking apartment. Inside were those girls from school: Vanessa, Serena, Jimena, Catty, and Tirana. Also, an elderly woman with grayish brown hair. I assumed she was Maggie.

"Rachel," she said softly, "we have a lot to talk about."

"First I want to ask you a few things. Who are you? What do you want from me? And why do they," I began, gesturing towards the other five girls, "keep following me and whispering about me?"

"Sit down," Maggie said, ignoring my questions and pointing to an armchair. I sat reluctantly and gave them all the evil eye. I wanted them to know that they didn't intimidate me.

"You know, Jimena, she reminds me of you," Catty commented.

Jimena laughed. "Cierto, ella hacer. Yes, she does."

"Guys? Rachel does deserve an explanation about now," Vanessa suggested. The others nodded. Maggie sat in a chair across from mine and looked solemnly at me.

"Rachel, do you know the story of Pandora?" she asked.

"Yeah. kind of," I answered, wondering where this was going.

"Well, thousands of years ago, Pandora opened her box and sent all the trouble and death and pain out into the world. The last thing to leave the box was hope. Only Selene, the Goddess of the Moon, saw the creature sent by a dark and evil being called the Atrox to devour hope. She took pity on Earth and gave her daughters, like guardian angels, to protect it. They would be beautiful, strong, and mortal. And those things are all true about you. ((A/N: okay, forgive me if I completely screwed that story up. I did it from memory. If it's wrong tell me and I'll fix it.)) You are one of those daughters," she told me, taking a small silver necklace out of a drawer. Hanging from the end of the thin, delicate chain was a silver moon charm, which reflected rainbows. I noticed that Vanessa, Catty, Serena, Jimena, and Tianna were wearing identical ones. Maggie handed the necklace to me.

"Tu es dea, filia lunae," she said in Latin. "You are a goddess, a Daughter of the Moon."

I stared at her and placed the necklace around my neck. She was crazy, insane. Maybe a Yeerk trying to trick me. There were no such things as goddesses. But then, three years ago I didn't think there were such things as aliens and turning into animals, either.

"She's not a Yeerk, Rachel We are not trying to trick you, and there are such things as goddesses," Serena said. I flinched, startled.

"How did you. how'd you know. how do you know who the. what's going on?!" I demanded.

"Look, Rachel. We are all goddesses. We all have a power. Serena reads minds. Jimena has premonitions, Catty travels back in time, Vanessa can become invisible, and I can move things with my mind.

"Serena read your mind. That's how she knew what you were thinking and who the Yeerks are," Tianna explained.

"That's also why we were staring at you in the hall at school. I read you mind and saw the fighting you do, your power, your enemy. it surprised me. We didn't expect you to be experienced in fighting already," Serena said.

"Yes. You see, I knew there was another Daughter living in Los Angeles, and then I found you and kept trying to come to you in your dreams," the dreams! The woman on the moon! So that's why I had suddenly remembered it.

Maggie continued. "When that didn't bring you to me, I talked to your cousin who I had seen you with a few times. Then, I told the girls to find out more about you. They saw you in school, Serena read your mind, and here you are."

I sat not moving for a full minute. A goddess? Me?

I couldn't take it all in. As though one war wasn't enough, now I had to fight this Atrox thing, too?

"But, unfortunately, there is a down side. When we're 17 we have to make a choice. Either we choose to lose our powers and lose all of our memories of our adventures as Daughters, or we disappear and become. well no one really knows. Glamorous, choices, aren't they?" Catty laughed.

Again, I stared. Then I thought of something.

"Wait, that can't be right. I can't lose my power when I'm 17. It's not like I got it when I was born. I only received it three years ago. It's not even really a power, it's a technology. How could I just. lose it?"

"That's not the power we're talking about," Maggie said quietly.

"You mean. there's another?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Aren't you friends always telling you that they think you are 'inhuman?' Because you could stand under an avalanche and come out perfectly? Did you ever wonder how you're hair and makeup stay perfect even through the toughest fight?" Maggie inquired.

"Yeah, but that's not a power, either. It's just how I am," I almost laughed.

"It's the power of purification and healing. You have the ability to touch something and it will be healed of any damages it has. Once you are trained to use it, of course," Maggie explained.

"Ooookay. well I guess that will come in handy with the Animorphs," I considered.

Maggie's face fell. "Oh, Rachel, it's not that simple. I hate to have to tell you this, but you're going to have to stop fighting the Yeerks."

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A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to post. Don't you just hate it when you are sitting in your computer room with the door shut and you're typing a very long chapter to your story, and you're almost done when the power in your house goes out? Then, the room is pitch black and you almost weren't able to find your way out of the room, but finally you found the phone with the glowing numbers, then the lights go back on about an hour later and you realize that you only saved your chapter halfway and you have to do the second half all over again? You know, not that that's ever happened to me. lol.