Chapter 2-
Tobias
I knew, right then, that my life was over.
Saw that smile on Jake's face. That familiar smile. Rachel's smile.
"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake said. "Ram the Blade ship."
Dangerous. Deadly. Beautiful. Rachel.
The gap between us and the blade ship closed quickly. The screen flashed and disappeared as the bulkhead behind it was torn away. The deafening explosion of the engines over shadowed the moaning and creaking of the ship.
I felt the air being sucked out of my tiny lungs. Felt the cold of space through my feathers. Watched as my friends were sucked out of the bridge through the gaping hole.
I gasped for air. Air that did not exist in space. My lungs screamed in pain.
I felt the capillaries in my wings close. My vision blurred as the whites of my eyes froze. Felt my brain shutting down.
Rachel......
Suddenly my senses returned. I could feel fingers and toes. My vision was narrow. I was human.
Of course. The Ellimist. I should of known the all-powerful weakling would put his two cents in. He couldn't just let us die.
I smiled. 'Soon enough, I'll be with Rachel.' I thought to myself. 'Soon enough.'
I listened attentively as the Ellimist explained there was nothing he could do. That the rules of the game prevented him from doing anything about our deaths. That our sacrifice had not been in vain, that it had prevented a 2000-year tyranny of the Yeerks. Billions had been saved.
I pretended to listen to Marco's joke, but I wasn't interested. We said our goodbyes. Jake asked for the Ellimist to inform Cassie as to what had happened to us. He said he would.
The Ellimist said farewell. I felt my consciousness slip back into my bird body. At least no one would call me bird- boy anymore.
My body began to spasm. A reflex to generate heat in my muscles when the bird's body was hypothermic. Too bad it doesn't work at -370 degrees. I felt the vertebra in my back snap.
I died..
*****
I awoke on my feet in my human form.
Not quite right, I was supposed to be dead.
'Maybe this is what death is like,' I thought to myself.
That's when I saw the others. Ax. Jake. Marco Cassie.
Rachel.
At that moment, it didn't matter to me if I were dead or alive. All the feelings I had buried away so long ago came rushing back. The one who had cared about me. Loved me. Gone to a war.
There she was, inches away. I don't remember bridging the gap between us. I just remember that one minute she was next to me, looking at me, tears in her eyes. The next, I was in her arms, with tears in my eyes.
All the time that she had been dead, I had held back my emotions. My pain. My suffering. My love.
And now here she was. In my arms. Smiling.
I leaned in and kissed her. Brushed her wild blond hair away from eyes. Looked into her eyes and deep down into her soul. And found the same love I had for her, looking back at me.
"Rachel.."
She wiped a tear from my cheek. I wiped a tear from hers.
"I should have said this long ago."
Her eyes sparkled in the starlight behind us.
"I love you now and I forever will"
I leaned in and kissed her again. "Ahem" Marco, of course.
I gave him a look that, in not so many words, told him I was about to rip his head off.
"What do you think?"
A voice. None of ours, but someone else's. A voice of power, authority.
"The universe certainly is beautiful tonight, thanks to you"
Ok. This was kind of freaky. That jumble of stars that had been to my back. That was the universe?
Rachel stepped next to me. Our hands together, never breaking apart for a moment. I had lost her once; I wasn't going to let her go any time soon.
"Watch." The voice, booming in my head.
The stars disappeared, zooming into one. Narrowing further. A blue green circle.
Earth.
"You have saved it, and for that much is owed."
The image of earth began to shimmer. It became a man. Maybe thirty five. Moustache. Glasses. Looked kind of what I expected myself to look like in twenty years.
"You have a slight problem however. You are all dead."
The words stung. Dead.
***
Cassie-
The rocky outcropping was a tough climb. The handholds were getting smaller and smaller. I considered morphing, but dismissed it.
My hand slipped. My grip had failed me. And there was no rope to stop me.
I tried morphing to a bird. My thoughts were too jumbled. What the Ellimist had told me.
The ground rushed up at me. I heard Ronnie's cry
"NOOOOOOO!"
I hit the ground. The impact crushed my ribcage. I felt the pain. Not enough time.
I awoke with the others. In a place indescribable. Galaxies swirled and tumbled. Stars came to life and died. Watched the emotional scene between Tobias and Rachel, too confused and shocked to react to anything.
I saw Jake out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me.
***
Tobias-
The man spoke again.
" While you are all dead, this is not how it must remain. You have a choice. Accept it, and you will have the opportunity to live. If you are strong enough. If you pass the test."
Marco finally spoke up for all of us. "What if we refuse? What if were tired of playing these little games?"
The person spoke. "Then you will go back to what you were. Dead. With no consciousness. You will return to what it is that happens to all dead beings."
Jake stepped forward. "Who are you? Are you god? You aren't the Ellimist or Crayak. What do you want?"
Laughter. "The Ellimist and Crayak are mere beings, like yourself. No, I am no god, simply the overseer."
Pictures flashed through my mind. The Big Bang. Galaxies. Planets. I suddenly knew everything. The history of time and the universe. What we had to do to survive.
Face our inner demons.
Do it successfully, and we live. Fail, and we die.
"Whoa." The others and myself said it collectively. I guess they had seen it too.
"Call me Fate. I control everything. You have ten of your minutes to decide. "
Marco smirked. "For the eight millionth time, They're EVERYONE'S MINUTES!!"
***** Some Quick Notes...
I do NOT own the Animorphs series in any way, shape, or form.
I am very disappointed in the way #54 ended, to say the least. That's why I'm writing this continuation.
Please read and review this story, PLEASE. Your feedback shapes the plot.
I will post more soon. Peace out!
Tobias
I knew, right then, that my life was over.
Saw that smile on Jake's face. That familiar smile. Rachel's smile.
"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake said. "Ram the Blade ship."
Dangerous. Deadly. Beautiful. Rachel.
The gap between us and the blade ship closed quickly. The screen flashed and disappeared as the bulkhead behind it was torn away. The deafening explosion of the engines over shadowed the moaning and creaking of the ship.
I felt the air being sucked out of my tiny lungs. Felt the cold of space through my feathers. Watched as my friends were sucked out of the bridge through the gaping hole.
I gasped for air. Air that did not exist in space. My lungs screamed in pain.
I felt the capillaries in my wings close. My vision blurred as the whites of my eyes froze. Felt my brain shutting down.
Rachel......
Suddenly my senses returned. I could feel fingers and toes. My vision was narrow. I was human.
Of course. The Ellimist. I should of known the all-powerful weakling would put his two cents in. He couldn't just let us die.
I smiled. 'Soon enough, I'll be with Rachel.' I thought to myself. 'Soon enough.'
I listened attentively as the Ellimist explained there was nothing he could do. That the rules of the game prevented him from doing anything about our deaths. That our sacrifice had not been in vain, that it had prevented a 2000-year tyranny of the Yeerks. Billions had been saved.
I pretended to listen to Marco's joke, but I wasn't interested. We said our goodbyes. Jake asked for the Ellimist to inform Cassie as to what had happened to us. He said he would.
The Ellimist said farewell. I felt my consciousness slip back into my bird body. At least no one would call me bird- boy anymore.
My body began to spasm. A reflex to generate heat in my muscles when the bird's body was hypothermic. Too bad it doesn't work at -370 degrees. I felt the vertebra in my back snap.
I died..
*****
I awoke on my feet in my human form.
Not quite right, I was supposed to be dead.
'Maybe this is what death is like,' I thought to myself.
That's when I saw the others. Ax. Jake. Marco Cassie.
Rachel.
At that moment, it didn't matter to me if I were dead or alive. All the feelings I had buried away so long ago came rushing back. The one who had cared about me. Loved me. Gone to a war.
There she was, inches away. I don't remember bridging the gap between us. I just remember that one minute she was next to me, looking at me, tears in her eyes. The next, I was in her arms, with tears in my eyes.
All the time that she had been dead, I had held back my emotions. My pain. My suffering. My love.
And now here she was. In my arms. Smiling.
I leaned in and kissed her. Brushed her wild blond hair away from eyes. Looked into her eyes and deep down into her soul. And found the same love I had for her, looking back at me.
"Rachel.."
She wiped a tear from my cheek. I wiped a tear from hers.
"I should have said this long ago."
Her eyes sparkled in the starlight behind us.
"I love you now and I forever will"
I leaned in and kissed her again. "Ahem" Marco, of course.
I gave him a look that, in not so many words, told him I was about to rip his head off.
"What do you think?"
A voice. None of ours, but someone else's. A voice of power, authority.
"The universe certainly is beautiful tonight, thanks to you"
Ok. This was kind of freaky. That jumble of stars that had been to my back. That was the universe?
Rachel stepped next to me. Our hands together, never breaking apart for a moment. I had lost her once; I wasn't going to let her go any time soon.
"Watch." The voice, booming in my head.
The stars disappeared, zooming into one. Narrowing further. A blue green circle.
Earth.
"You have saved it, and for that much is owed."
The image of earth began to shimmer. It became a man. Maybe thirty five. Moustache. Glasses. Looked kind of what I expected myself to look like in twenty years.
"You have a slight problem however. You are all dead."
The words stung. Dead.
***
Cassie-
The rocky outcropping was a tough climb. The handholds were getting smaller and smaller. I considered morphing, but dismissed it.
My hand slipped. My grip had failed me. And there was no rope to stop me.
I tried morphing to a bird. My thoughts were too jumbled. What the Ellimist had told me.
The ground rushed up at me. I heard Ronnie's cry
"NOOOOOOO!"
I hit the ground. The impact crushed my ribcage. I felt the pain. Not enough time.
I awoke with the others. In a place indescribable. Galaxies swirled and tumbled. Stars came to life and died. Watched the emotional scene between Tobias and Rachel, too confused and shocked to react to anything.
I saw Jake out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me.
***
Tobias-
The man spoke again.
" While you are all dead, this is not how it must remain. You have a choice. Accept it, and you will have the opportunity to live. If you are strong enough. If you pass the test."
Marco finally spoke up for all of us. "What if we refuse? What if were tired of playing these little games?"
The person spoke. "Then you will go back to what you were. Dead. With no consciousness. You will return to what it is that happens to all dead beings."
Jake stepped forward. "Who are you? Are you god? You aren't the Ellimist or Crayak. What do you want?"
Laughter. "The Ellimist and Crayak are mere beings, like yourself. No, I am no god, simply the overseer."
Pictures flashed through my mind. The Big Bang. Galaxies. Planets. I suddenly knew everything. The history of time and the universe. What we had to do to survive.
Face our inner demons.
Do it successfully, and we live. Fail, and we die.
"Whoa." The others and myself said it collectively. I guess they had seen it too.
"Call me Fate. I control everything. You have ten of your minutes to decide. "
Marco smirked. "For the eight millionth time, They're EVERYONE'S MINUTES!!"
***** Some Quick Notes...
I do NOT own the Animorphs series in any way, shape, or form.
I am very disappointed in the way #54 ended, to say the least. That's why I'm writing this continuation.
Please read and review this story, PLEASE. Your feedback shapes the plot.
I will post more soon. Peace out!
