CHAPTER 7
Cassie





I opened my eyes, and sat up. Blinked, looked around, and blinked again.

Had that been a dream, or had the Ellimist really visited me? Or both? I wondered. I looked up, at the sky. The sun was rising in the east.

"It must be around six 'o'clock," I said.

"Yeah," somebody behind me said. I jumped.

"Marco, you startled me!"

He didn't blink, or laugh, or even smile. He just said: "I need to ask you a few things."

"Okay..." I didn't know what else to say.

"One: Has Jake ever acted like this before?"

"Like what?" I asked.

"I believe you know. He's so anxious about something. He has a wild look in his eyes..."

I hesitated, and nodded. "Yes..."

Marco frowned, sensing that I had hesitated. "Two: Jake has lost almost everybody dear to him. His family, Rachel, you... all dead. Ax, kidnapped. Earth, almost fully destroyed or enslaved by Andalite-Controllers. I fear he is going to pull off something very dangerous. Has this happenend... you know... in your timeline?"

Marco was definitely getting warmer. "Yes," I said weakly. Since when had Marco become so mature?

"Three: In your timeline, everybody else except you in the Animorph group is dead. Did Tobias and I die getting dragged into one of Jake's missions... his most dangerous one?"

I couldn't talk, but Marco seemed to sense my answer. He nodded, and walked away.

I stood up, and thought. 'Jake is leaving at 5:00 PM, and it was already 7:00 AM. That gave me ten hours to try to stop him.' My stomach rumbled. 'But first....'

*Jake*

The Yeerks would pay for everything. They had to be stopped.

There was a way. I knew there was. It was simple. And the Yeerks wouldn't take anymore. Yes... very simple. The only thing supplying the Human and Andalite-Controllers was the Kandrona Transport Ship. Without it, the Yeerks would be forced to retreat.

I would have to destroy the ship.

I would have to give my life.

It didn't matter anymore, just as long as this all stopped.

::Tobias.:: I called. ::Tobias!::

::One 'o'clock, buddy.:: He said.

::What?:: I said.

::It means a little to the right, okay?:: He answered. ::Are you sure this is a good idea?:: He was skeptical.

No, I said to myself. Then I scolded myself. Now was no time to back out of it. I started to run faster.

I was in tiger morph.

::A quarter mile to go,:: said Tobias. ::Jake, you really shouldn't do this. Look, I can go by myself... I mean... it's not like there's anything here for me, anyway.::

::There's nothing here for me, either.:: I said.

::Yes, there is! There's the rest of the Animorphs. You're the leader, man. They need you.::

::They?:: I said. ::Only Marco and you are left. Cassie's really dead, Ax gone, Rachel... look, I'm going and that's that.::

Tobias thought-sighed. ::Whatever you say. Fifty yards to go. Forty.:: He counted down the yards.

I saw the ship appear on the horizon. It gleamed, like it was newly polished.

I also saw two other figures.

A gorilla and a wolf.

And without second thought, I attacked them.

*Ax*

I was getting closer... closer...

Then, right before I landed, the ship jolted. Power failure!

I didn't hesitate. I crawled into the operation room and began to demorph. The bug spray slowly disappeared.

I hastily looked around for a place to take cover. There was a door in the corner. I ran over to it and opened the door.

It was a storage room. It was tiny, and was full of all kinds of odd equipment. And one other thing.

I swiveled my eyestalks in it's direction.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

::Rachel?::


**Woo-hoo, don't you HATE cliff-hangers? Haha. Sorry it takes so long between chapters. I'm so busy 'cause of school and stuff ((heh-heh, what a wonderful excuse)). I'll try to update more often, I promise.**