Chapter ???: Confused
By: Hope
TOBIAS:
"Why do we have to meet like this?" I whispered as a smile formed from her perfect lips.
"They wouldn't understand why I'm here Tobias. They wouldn't want you to come join me." She pulled her face up to mine and once again smiled. There was something about her smile that seemed evil, insane but I paid no attention to it. In my mind all I knew was that now she was here and soon, soon Rachel and I would be back together.
"But I could make them understand, Jake would love to see you and it would really help him. Maybe even Hope." The smile faded from her face and her gaze turned cold as she reached her hand out to me to touch my face.
"Hope….don't trust her Tobias." Her hands were cold and lifeless. "Don't trust anyone but me. Not even Ax and especially not Hope, don't listen to her Tobias." My vision darkened and Rachel's voice seemed to become distant and another voice covered it.
"Tobias, time to wake up. Hope said that we have to get ready to go." I shoved Jake aside and stood up, scanning the area with my pathetically weak human eyes. Jake looked at me and took a step back, turning to walk over to Marco and Ax.
I dragged behind the rest of them for the next few days, only conversing when necessary. Tobias. Ax walked up to me with his andalite eyes scanning all surroundings, making sure that no one was watching us. But someone was, and I couldn't wait to see her again. Every night she would now visit me while I slept and she would tell me all the things that I had needed to hear for the past 4 years. That it wasn't my fault, and most importantly that she would come back. That My Rachel would come back to me.
AXIMILLI:
Not even the most gifted Andalite writers could put into words what I had experienced. I was taken in by a being called The One, my ship destroyed, all except for one lone fighter whom was sent to them, sent to my friends. It was all in this being's plans; he would send Mendorash to the Animorphs and have them come to find me. It was all predetermined by this one being that seemed to know so much about us, too much if I had a say in it. As an Andalite I am sworn into recording my last thoughts in my hirac delest and I did that in what I thought was my last minutes of life, when I screamed out the name of my prince and prayed to the gods that they would spare me or that I would soon meet Elfangor and run with him through the fields of our Ancestors.
The One is a very complex being. It seems to feed off of the carbo… Marco just stared at me as though none of this was even penetrating his head.
"And in English Mr. Spock?" Marco tried to ease the tension and the bad news he felt coming by parodying off of some Star Trek show which was coincidentally a very accurate and informing show. I had enjoyed watching the many seasons of it while I was stranded on earth during the war.
The One becomes whatever it touches, it gains the memories, the form everything of the creature that it touches. But when it learns about you, you learn about it. I paused not knowing if Marco was the person that I should be telling this too. In the past he had been a great help in reading between the lines and seeing what others couldn't and that was what I had originally relied on when I came up to him. It started out as a human, or part of a human at least. When…this human died it left something behind, as thought it's will to stay alive almost surpassed the laws of physics and of life in general. "Ax, cut the crap and get to the point." Marco stumbled over a stone as he spoke.
The One is what's left of the will of a very strong minded person. Even though it managed to survive for all these years and somehow become this powerful, it relies on others to survive. The One's motives are to reach Tobias in any way it can. The One is the part of Rachel that would do anything to survive and now it's after us to get to Tobias. Marco looked at me as though he didn't believe it. His gaze focused on Tobias who was trudging along about 10 feet in front of us, still looking like he was trying to morph back to his origonal form.
"So your saying that this thing…this new monster that we're up against is Rachel? That it has her memories, her desires, but it's basically mean Rachel with no sanity whatsoever?"
Yes, Marco. And that is why I came to you. Marco might have been one of those people that would crack jokes at every opportunity and seem as though he could never grasp onto the seriousness of a subject…he was the most serious person there and I fear the only one that I could trust. He was also the one that had the least emotional attachment to Rachel.
RACHEL:
We hiked through the different landscapes for what seemed like weeks at a time, getting brief visits by Aquaris every few days and a new supply of food. Tobias grew more and more distant until he stopped talking to us all together, and hardly even acknowledged Ax. "It's getting worse!" I complained to the Ellimist. He was the one being that I was able to confide in for the past few weeks. "Tobias hardly even acknowledges us anymore, it's like he's off in his own world now." The Ellimist looked at me with his wise, gentle eyes. "He is being brainwashed by that of Aquaris, he only sees now what she wants him to see."
"Who are you talking too?" The image of the Ellimist disappeared and was replaced by cassie.
"Oh, myself." I said quietly. "What are you doing up, you all need your rest. We're going to be going for a long hike tomorrow, I don't know if we'll be able to take a break."
Cassie circled around me, studying my movements and my words with the presicion of a psychiatrist. "Why don't you tell him Rachel…" Cassie said quietly, looking at Tobias who was off too the side of everyone else, laying down on the cool earth.
"I'm not Rachel…" I whispered, wanting to believe myself. From what I remembered Rachel….I was a madwoman, consumed by the heat of battle (ah! Now I'm sounding like Xena) and the hunger for blood. I don't know why Cassie even tried to bother with me, I don't even know how she knew I was me…
