DISCLAIMER: Tis I, Freak Apple. Tis not Katherine Applegate, nor is it anyone from Scholastic Inc. If thou assumeth I owneth the Animorphs, please come hither so that I may slapeth some sense into thy dwindling conciousness.

NOTE: **yawn** Just go read the story I can't think of anything to say. Hey, I heard that sigh of relief. . .**sticks out tongue**

Jake -

AAAGGGHH! the yeerk cried in our heads. He shook his head vigorously and swiped Rachel's spit out of his face. FILTHY HUMAN!

Rachel shot back some surprisingly colorful language. Her fists were clenched. It looked like she was about to attack the 7 foot tall monster with her bare hands. The yeerk raised his wrist blade, preparing to swing it down on my cousin. Her fingers relaxed. I heard her whisper softly.

"It's okay, Tobias."

ZZZZZZZZMMMMMMM.

The blue-tinted field disappeared.

YES! Cassie exclaimed.

Ghanin and Nuke must have disabled it! In a split second Cassie, Marco and I, who were practically pressed up against the field, spilled into the area. The Hork-Bajir blades were fast.

SCHHHHWAPP! His arm hurtled toward Rachel's throat.

GGGGGGGRRRRROOOOOOOWWWWWWRRRRR!!! I roared. I tackled the yeerk a nanosecond before Rachel's head would have gone rolling. The blade bit, but missed the intended target, slashing a nasty gash into Rachel's shoulder.

"AHH! Son of a - "

I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL! the yeerk screamed. He was on his back, thrashing like a fish caught in a net. I carefully placed my paws so as to avoid the whirling blades as much as possible. Cassie and Marco helped keep him down. (Note: Of COURSE I wouldn't kill Rachel!! She's so cool! I just like to put her in predicaments. Who do ya think I am, KA? Hehe. . .)

Oh shut up already. Marco muttered.

Ugh. . . I glanced to my right. Ax! He was waking up. His eyed darted around the scene wildly.

What. . .what? he stammered. Then I guess his memory flooded back into his head. YEERK! He was up on his hooves in a flash and he ran over.

ANDALITE FOOL! I WILL RIP THAT TAIL FROM YOUR HINDQUARTERS SO FAST - the yeerk was interrupted because Ax swung the flat of his tailblade into the side of his head. The yeerk stopped moving. (Note: There ya go, SH :-D)

About time, Ax, you missed the party! Marco said.

We let go of Tobias's immobile body.

Cassie, you can demorph. Me and Marco will stay in battle mode just in case. I said. Cassie nodded. As soon as she was human she strolled over to Tobias, checking to see if he was alright. He was, so she moved on to Rachel, who was holding her shoulder closed. She was trying to hide a painful grimace from her face.

"You should probably morph that away before you pass out." Cassie said, eyeing the blood streaming down her side.

"Gee, you think?" Rachel grumbled. She was mad, and Cassie knew it wasn't a good idea to irritate Rachel when she was mad. She closed her eyes. Nothing happened.

"Rachel?" I asked.

"Wait, just wait!" Rachel yelled. She knelt down.

"She's losing blood fast. Morph NOW!" Cassie commanded loudly. She startled me. She startled Rachel too, because her eyes shot open and she immediately started morphing to bear.

Touchy, aren't we? Marco said, raising an eyebrow.

Cassie raised her hand to her forehead. I guess it was a hard day for all of us.

Hey, it's my job to get the headaches. I said lightly. I saw a ghost of a smile appear on her face. While Marco filled Ax in on what he missed, I went over to Ghanin and Nuke.

Thanks, you saved our butts. I said.

Butts. . .? Ghanin asked, puzzled.

You saved us. Thank you.

We almost killed your friend. Nuke said sadly, pointing with two fingers at Rachel, who was watching Tobias.

"But you saved her too. And us." Cassie said. For some reason the Mercora couple refused to accept our gratitude. They must've felt since we provided them that "service" 65 million years ago they still owed us.

Um, Jake? What do we do now? Rachel asked.

I thought for a moment. We get Tobias out of here as soon as possible.

What is he doesn't wake up before his morph time runs out? Marco asked.

"He'll need an injection of adrenaline. I think we have some in our barn, that should wake him up." Cassie said. (Note: Vets have syringes of adrenaline or something, right? Hopefully. I should start researching what I write. . .)

Who's to say he'll morph back to hawk? Rachel asked.

"We'll find a way. He's psycho, remember?" Cassie assured her. I had doubts, but we couldn't do anything else. I wouldn't put it past the yeerk to trap Tobias as a Hork-Bajir nothlit.

We should do this now, before he wakes up. I said. I looked at the Mercora.

Yes, Nuke will show you the way. Ghanin said. He was leaning heavily on a machine and his wife. He reached out his remaining hand. Everyone was looking at me so I stepped up. I raised my paw and he grabbed my leg as far as he could reach.

Be safe. If we never meet again, I wish you all a prosperous life. Ghanin said. You have beaten the Nesk, you can defeat THEM. he indicated Tobias's yeerk. I nodded my tiger head. He probably had no idea what I was doing, but I was feeling weirded out by the weird handshake.

"You be safe too, Ghanin." Cassie said softly. "Good luck."

Marco picked Tobias up carefully. Rachel and Ax followed him from behind. Cassie and I walked in front, with Nuke leading the way to the shrine she mentioned. We found ourselves back in the confusing tunnels. After about five minutes we reached the room.

Whoa, this is pretty cool. Rachel commented.

Interesting. Ax said.

The room was brightly lit by several glowing plants. They were spread in a strange design that looked a lot like alien crop circles on those Kansas farms. Brightly colored cloth was strewn across the floor. On one wall was another replica of our cave painting. Another had a large rock statue against it that looked a lot like a Chinese New Year dragon. On another hung. . .

Oh, gross, are those fossilized Mercora legs!? Marco gawked. I mean, uh, interesting. . . They were hard, crusty, and dark brownish-gray. Dozens of them hung on the walls.

The legs of Mercora leaders and heroes. Nuke said. In remeberance.

"Um, problem." Cassie said. "A mole won't be able to dig a hole big enough for a Hork-Bajir to fit. Or a gorilla holding a Hork-Bajir."

Wait here. Nuke said. She disappeared for a few minutes. She returned with three Mercora females.

They can dig you out. she said.

Immediately, the three Mercora began to dig. There arms rotated like windmills, clawing through the dirt. They were surprisingly fast. Within five minutes they had dug a hole deep enough to keep a Hork-Bajir in. They continued, slowly sloping upwards. Their heavily muscled arms and claws made them perfect for digging. I had never noticed that before.

A little later I saw a tiny pinprick of light. One Mercora stuck her hand out and widened the hole. It suddenly occurred to me that we had no idea were this was leading out to. I calmly mentioned this to the others.

It is secluded, we sense little vibration above. Nuke assured us. So the Mercora widened the hole and we were greeted by a bright blue sky and lots of trees.

Oh, jeez what time is it? Marco asked.

We were with the Mercora for approximately seven of your hours and sixteen of your minutes. Ax reported.

MY minutes? Listen, blue-boy when are you gonna -

"That makes it about a quarter past four." Cassie said. "About time to get home from school."

School. I had totally forgotten it was a school day.

We hauled Tobias out of the newly dug tunnel and looked back at the Mercora.

I wish you well, heroes. Nuke said.

I hesitated. Um, about the heroes thing. . .

You will always be heroes. To our race and yours. she interrupted.

Cassie shook her head. "No, we - "

We must go. The permanent field will be put up soon. Nuke said.

"So we'll never see you guys again? Maybe after all this is over we can - "

No. I very much doubt we Mercora will have any contact with any other beings for a long time. Nuke said kind of sadly. It seems as though every time we come in contact with others, we lose our own people to evil.

We said nothing. This was true. . .

Good-bye heroes. The other Mercora said. Then they quickly began filling up the hole. Soon the Mercora were swallowed up by the dirt. Cassie sighed.

Well, about Tobias. . . I said, trying to get their minds off the Mercora.

"I'll morph bird. To see were we are and stuff." Cassie said.

Alright.

As Cassie morphed my thoughts drifted back to the Mercora. I was sure the others were thinking of them too. It was twice now that so many of them were killed because of us. And now they were forever trapped under our soil, and they never wanted to be found. Was that fair? Technically, they were here first. Now they had to be hidden underground, never to escape. They may never enjoy our fresh air and sunlight that they rightfully had 65 million years ago. . .

You guys, we're pretty close to that empty shack. Cassie called.

I shook away my thoughts. Time to be a leader.

Let's go.

**cries** That's it, no more Mercora. It really must suck to be them, huh? THIS SUCKS I WANT THEM BACK!! BRING THEM BACK!! Wait, this is my story. Hmm. Anyway, it still aint over. They still got junk to do with Tobias. Other than that. . .it's ending soon. Hope you guys are enjoying this. REVIEW and tell me! Oh and jeez, did you know all the math teachers got together and made up a holiday called "pi day" (3/14)?! Math teachers. . .**tsk, tsk** They almost as looney as me. Oh, and Jinako-chan, I'm one of those people who ruin everything by being deathly allergic to peanuts, hehehe. But hey, thanks for the ice cream and the cherry on top! **tries to eat it all in one gulp like Ax and cinnabon** AHHHHH BRAIN FREEZE! **chokes on cherry pit**