Stacey>
My name is Stacey. A member of the new Animorphs team. My brother, sister and I, along with our friends, are the children of the original Animorphs. My father, Jake, was the leader. He used to tell us about all of his battles when he was my age. I remember telling him that I wanted to be an Animorph when I grew up, now I am. I was a golden eagle soaring high above the city streets heading towards Yellowstone Park to find the Hork-Bajir colony. I've been there a thousand times and knew the way by heart, but in the air was a different story, so we followed Tobias. Being able to fly is so amazing. There is a feeling of absolute freedom no one has ever experienced before.
This is so cool!> Jason yelled in thought-speak.
This isn't fun and games. We have a major responsibility. Don't forget it,> I told him.
Yes fearless leader.>
I was about to make a rude remark when Tobias interrupted, There it is.>
He folded his wings back and fell towards the Earth, we followed. It was scary. You feel the air whip past you as the ground rushes up to hit you, but when it seems like you're going kill yourself you open your wings and let the momentum carry you forward. My heart was racing even faster by the time I landed and demorphed. Ketara was right, it only took us seconds to become human. And we were wearing the clothes we had morphed in. Tobias morphed to human and stood before us in a pair of bike shorts and a tight T-shirt and no shoes. He had the older version of the morphing technology as did our parents. He led us to a clearing in the woods.
"Toby!" he called. "It's Tobias!"
I heard a rustle in the trees above, a moment later a Hork-Bajir dropped down in front of us. Toby. Leader of the Hork-Bajir colony and seer (a Hork-Bajir that has a higher intelligence). She stood over seven feet tall with blades protruding from her forehead, wrists, elbows, knees, with a long tail that drug limply behind her.
"Hello Tobias, have you come to visit?" she asked.
"I wish we were. We have a problem, the Yeerks that got away are planning another attack with the aid of other galaxies. I need one or two of your people to join us. "
"What do you need?"
"A couple of your people that we can give the morphing power to, someone who can handle the instincts without difficulty."
"My son Darrax is different like me. He can help you more than I can."
She called for her son and he came bounding up to us. He stood a little less than six feet tall, with a broad muscular body and long sharp blades. Darrax was a good friend of mine, we grew up together. He would carry me on his back as he swung through the trees. We had fun when we were together. Toby explained what we wanted him to do. After some careful consideration Darrax accepted the power and acquired Tobias' hawk DNA, and together the seven of us headed to a nearby army base where a ship was located. Ketara said that in order to get rid of a problem, go straight to the source. But something was nagging at me, like a voice was trying to tell me something important, only I couldn't make out the words. The only thing I understood was Time Matrix and Rachel.
"Time Matrix?" I said aloud.
Ketara turned around so fast she almost cut Darrax with her tail blade. What about the Time Matrix?> she asked.
"It just popped into my head. And the name Rachel. What is a Time Matrix?"
It is a device created by the Ellimists to take its beholder to any time.>
"It can take us to any time we want?" I asked.
It is controlled by thoughts and memories.>
"What are you up to Stacey?" Jason asked.
"You'll see. But first we need some firepower."
We morphed and flew back to the zoo. The sun was sinking below the horizon and the only people there were either security or staff. We landed in the antelope habitat and demorphed. Tobias perched gently on Ketara's back as we walked through the park. We split into groups, I went with Cheyenne and Ketara while everyone else went in a separate direction as Tobias kept watch from above. Our first destination was the big cat exhibit. Ketara acquired a snow leopard. I decided on a black panther, one of my favorites. I descended the ladder into the pit. Grass and leaves crunched beneath my feet as I crept slowly through the environment.
My toe got caught on a tree root and I went falling forward, hitting my head on a large rock and knocking myself senseless. Blood trickled down my face from the cut on my forehead, my temples throbbed with pain as I climbed to my feet. A twig snapped off to my left and I saw a pair of eyes glowing from the faint moonlight. I wiped blood away from my eye and realized the panther must have smelled it and thought I was wounded prey. I began to back away. Not watching where I was going, my heel caught the same root and I fell onto my back. What's with me and damn tree roots?!
A loud roar erupted and all I could make out in the pitch black night was the glistening of razor-sharp fangs lunging for my throat. As I tried to get up and run the panther knocked me back to the ground and began to tear at my delicate flesh. I threw my arms up to protect my eyes and neck.
"Stacey!" Cheyenne cried.
"Get it off me! Get it off!"
Cheyenne was behind me and pulled me free from it's deadly grasp. Fear paralyzed every nerve in my body as it stalked closer. The muscles coiled in it's back legs and the panther was airborne, mouth open and claws outstretched. I closed my eyes, I knew this would be the end, I was going to die before I had a chance to make a difference.
FWAPP!
A sound like a whip cracking echoed through the still night. I looked and saw Ketara standing over the panther's still form. Her tail twitched with anticipation as her stalk eyes scanned the area for any other danger. I reached down and pressed my hand against the panther's flank to absorbed it's DNA. I noted that it was a female. She was a beautiful creature, but that beauty only masked deadliness. As I finished the acquisition process and pulled away Ketara's tail suddenly snapped up. All four of her eyes were focused on a spot at the other side of the habitat.
How many of those creatures are in this confinement?> she asked.
"At least..." I searched my memory, "oh shit."
A low growl arose from behind a fallen log. I gave myself a mental kick. Stupid! I should have known there were two of them in here. The dark figure stepped from beyond the concealment of the shadows. The male panther.
"Back up. Very. Slowly," I told them.
"ROWRR!"
"Screw that! RUN!" Cheyenne yelled.
We ran for our lives. I reached the ladder first and began to climb at super speed. Cheyenne followed. We were already out by the time I noticed that Ketara was still down there. She couldn't climb the ladder as an Andalite and I knew that if she morphed to bird the panther would easily kill her. There was only one other alternative. And I wasn't at all thrilled about it. I went back down into the pit.
"Stacey what are you doing?!"
"I've got to help Ketara."
"She can handle him by herself, get out of there!"
"She can probably handle one, but what about two?" I pointed to the female who was rising to her feet.
I trotted over and stood next to Ketara. Her tail was held high above her head as she assumed her fighting stance. I assumed my Jackie-Chan-Kung-Fu-Fighting stance. Like it was really going to help at this point.
Princess Stacey, I must suggest you go to safety,> Ketara told me.
"No way. And don't call me 'Princess'."
Yes Princess.>
Now I knew what my dad had meant when he told me that Ax kept calling him "Prince Jake". I had a feeling Ketara was going to be the same since I was Jake's daughter and he was Ax's prince. Both of the panthers were encircling us now preparing for the attack, gathering power in their back legs. They were going to jump us. I held my breath for it seemed it would be my last. The panther in front of me snarled and then...
"Tseeer!"
A figure swooped down from the sky and slashed its head. I only saw the rust colored tail feathers and knew it was Tobias.
Get out now!> he yelled.
"Morph bird, I'll carry you," I told Ketara.
She quickly morphed to Harris hawk. I scooped her up in my arms and began to climb the ladder while Tobias distracted the two cats. I was almost to the top when something grabbed my pants leg and began pulling me back down. One of the panthers had me and was trying to make me lose my grip. My hands started to slip. I handed Ketara up to Cheyenne and began to kick at its face. I dropped one rung at a time. Closer and closer to the predator.
"Tseeer!"
Tobias struck and the panther released me. I scurried back up the ladder and collapsed to the ground shaking. That was way too close. Cheyenne knelt beside me.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Hell no! I was nearly killed how else would I be?!"
Princess Stacey, I thank you for helping me,> Ketara said. Such bravery is the trait of a good leader. I insist that you lead us in battle.>
I had no idea what to say to that except, "Whatever."
Cheyenne was the only one left without a battle morph. She acquired a wolf and an elephant. I acquired an anaconda before we met back up with the others. Travis had acquired a cheetah, Jason a lion, Darrax a rhino, and Nicole a white Siberian tiger (a very rare breed). We morphed and flew to the construction site where our parents first met Elfangor. For reasons unknown to me, I felt like something was beckoning me to this place. A statue of an Andalite had been built to memorialize the great warrior. I found some shovels and we began to dig.
"I think I found it."
We pulled out a large white sphere and set it on the grass. I told them my plan, they weren't too thrilled about the whole idea. In fact, they didn't like it at all. I was going to go back in time and save Rachel.
"This is ludicrous!" Cheyenne said. "You can't do that, it will screw everything up!"
"Like things aren't screwed up already? If I do this it would mean that Dad wouldn't lose his cousin and possibly his brother. Plus I'm doing it for Tobias as well."
Why me?> he asked.
"Because I've seen the sadness in your eyes. I know how you felt about Rachel. I want to give you another chance. A future. You deserve that. She deserves that."
You have a point. I'll go along with it.>
Ketara said that it was too dangerous for the Time Matrix to travel with us in case the Yeerks got a hold of it. So she made a type of bracelet that tied us directly to the Time Matrix. Only three of us would go: Cheyenne, Jason, and I. We put the bracelets on and I told them what needed to be pictured.
"Make sure you are in your battle morphs before we go."
I focused on my favorite animal: the black panther. Of course, after the incident at the zoo I think koala bears are now my favorite. The changes occurred instantaneously; black fur, fangs, tail, then down on all fours. Jason morphed to lion, and Cheyenne to wolf. Together the three of us placed our front paws on the Time Matrix and focused on where we wanted to go. The air around us swirled, everyone else disappeared and were replaced by the morphed Controllers on the Blade ship. I saw a polar bear standing over Rachel preparing for the blow that would end her life. I roared ferociously and leapt onto his back, biting his neck as I dug my claws into his hide.
Rachel, morph!> I yelled. Now!>
She jumped up and ran to a corner where she then began to morph. The Controller I attacked swatted fiercely at me. I jumped clear and attacked again but my timing was off. He swung one massive paw and sent me flying to the other side of the ship. I lay dazed and confused on the cold steel floor as the fight raged on. I could see Rachel growing brown fur as she got larger and larger. Grizzly bear I had guessed, my dad said it was her favorite morph. Tom was morphed to cobra and slithering my way. He had to demorph to keep from dying.
I don't know who you are, but you just made a terrible mistake by interferring.>
He reared back and struck. His fangs went into my left front paw. I jumped up and batted him against the wall. I knew if I didn't demorph I would be dead within minutes. Seconds later I was human standing over Tom. I picked him up and pried open his mouth, then forced him to bite down on his tail. I squeezed every drop of venom he had into his bloodstream and threw him aside. I had to morph and rejoin the battle. Rachel was fighting the polar bear, Cheyenne was fighting a cape buffalo and Jason was fighting two lionesses. I looked at the screen and saw my father in Siberian tiger morph.
Who are you?> he asked.
"A friend," I said.
I morphed back to panther and took down one of the lionesses that was attacking Jason. Cheyenne severely wounded the cape buffalo, but Rachel was having difficulty with the polar bear, he was her equal in strength and greater in size. But where was Tom? I searched high and low. I finally found him near the controls.
"I'll show you!" he screamed. "Computer... open the hatch."
There was a grinding of metal, the next thing I knew I was being sucked out the door towards the cold blackness of space. I grabbed the frame of the door and held on.
"Jason!" I screamed. "Jason! Help!"
My fingers began to slip. I couldn't hold on any longer. Just as I lost my grip a pair of hands grabbed me by the wrist and started pulling me back in. Rachel! The doors began to close and the two of us fell to the floor. I let out a sigh of relief. I was alive. Tom was unconscious, Jason and Cheyenne stood next to him.
"Are you okay?" they asked.
"Been better," I said. I pointed to Tom, "What about him?"
"He'll live," Jason said.
Tom began to wake up. I had to do something. I morphed to a thirty-five-foot anaconda and began to wrap myself around his body. When he was fully aware I began to constrict and squeeze the air from his lungs. Tom gasped as I squeezed harder.
Your host body is dying Yeerk. Leave now or die with it,> I told him.
"You... will never... win...Ani...morph," he gasped.
Wrong answer.>
Tighter and tighter I squeezed. I heard bones begin to snap. Tom's face was twisted in pain. I was going to finish him off when I saw the Yeerk slowly writhe out of his ear and plop onto the floor.
Rachel, you do the honors.>
She smiled and stomped on the vile slug until it was nothing but a sticky puddle of goo. I released Tom, he lay in a ball gasping for every breath he could get as I demorphed. Rachel stared at me for a long time before asking who I was and how I knew her.
"You'll know in about twenty years."
I winked at my father on the screen and pressed the button on my bracelet. There was a bright flash and the three of us were back with the others.
I trust you were successful?> Ketara asked.
"We accomplished what we meant to do," I told her. Then I had a realization, "Ax! We've got to warn Ax!"
No! You've already altered history as we know it, you cannot change anything else.>
I wanted to argue but I knew there was no point in doing so. If I had warned Ax of what was going to happen to him I wouldn't be where I was now.
"Where's Tobias?"
"He disappeared," Darrax said. "He just vanished."
We had to catch another red-tail for Darrax to re-acquire because he couldn't morph to hawk for some odd reason, then flew at top speed back to my house. When we got inside I saw my dad talking to a woman with long blond hair. She turned in my direction and smiled that same smile I had seen just minutes ago. My jaw dropped to the floor when I realized who it was.
"R-Rachel?" I stuttered.
She laughed. "You were right. I would know in twenty years. Thank you."
"Dad, have you seen Tobias? He disappeared," Jason said.
"No I haven't."
We all turned to see an adult human Tobias standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He sat down by Rachel and put his arm around her. I felt confused. What was going on? It was Tobias who explained it. After rescuing Rachel Tobias stayed in human morph a few months after that last fight (that's why Darrax couldn't morph, Tobias never actually went with us). They were married some years later. Tom had survived and now has a successful career. The weird thing is that I remember all this and how things used to be.
"Let me guess... you and Rachel had a kid too?" I asked Tobias.
"Yeah, Michael."
Michael came into
the living room and stood by his parents. This was way too deranged for
my mind to absorb. The only thing that hadn't changed was Ax. He had still
been captured and mutated, some of the Controllers survived our attack.
Except for the polar bear, he's floating around space somewhere. We still
had the morphing power and were going to stop the new menace that threatened
Earth. Now that Michael was here, he could join us. The more members we
had the better our chances of success. And so the process was repeated
and one more joined our army. Now there were eight of us.