Prologue
The Ellimist did not notice a new strand of space-time appear as soon as Rachel's was gone.
Rachel
Drode came to me as soon as the Ellimist had gone. *Oh, great. Can't I die in peace? Is the Drode here to gloat?* I wondered.
I was wrong.
"Ah, Rachel. So we meet again." Drode giggled, weird and disturbing. "My master has a final offer for you."
"What is it?" I snapped, sick of games, sick of everything. I felt like I was already drifting, already slipping into death.
"Crayak will make you a powerful being. You might just see your little friends again. Who knows, you might even be more powerful than Super-Rachel. Remember her? Remember the power? Remember the thrill?"
I was so loopy already that I was having trouble focusing. "Yes," I mumbled. "Okay, Crayak. Do it. Keep me alive."
Those words made my life hell for the next three years.