Chapter 5-
Tobias
I held on tightly to Rachel as Jake looked at all of us.
I knew that we were about to be separated again, and that there was the possibility that I would lose her again.
Permanently.
I kissed her as Jake said "We accept."
I whispered, "I love you" into her ear, and then she vanished.
Everyone vanished. Everyone except me.
Fate walked towards me. And I got the feeling I wasn't going to like what I heard.
He spoke. "I assume you are wondering why you are still here."
"Well, kind of." I realized I was giving him a "Hawk" stare. I was used to being a mile away when looking at someone, where they wouldn't notice me. I shifted my gaze. "I sort of figured I was going to be going wherever everyone else is. Wherever that is."
He chuckled. "I see no reason for that."
"You see, the others have gone to a place which I have created. Different for each of them, no two alike. I believe humans refer to it as an 'alternate universe'. There they will have to face whatever it is that they fear most. Their inner demon. Their darkest fear."
Oh.
"There will be no measure of success or failure. I have engineered every universe except one to be an unsolvable puzzle. A conundrum, if you will.
"So what is this whole pass or fail factor, then? How is it a test!?" I realized I probably shouldn't have shouted at him, but at that moment I was afraid that I would never see Rachel again.
"Faith." He said. "If they keep faith, if they don't lose hope, if they never stop fighting, then they are victorious. If they give up, then. well, they die. And I don't intervene.
I felt a little better. Rachel was not a person to give up. She would fight and fight and fight until she couldn't anymore.
She had always been the strongest willed person I knew.
Time to get back to the original question. "Why am I still here?"
Fate chuckled again. "Don't you get it? It should be so clear to you!"
I was at a loss.
"You," he said "are smarter than you are letting on. You know exactly why you don't have to face your inner demons."
Nope. Nothing.
"Oh well." He seemed disappointed. "I'll spell it out for you. You already have."
Of course.
"Losing Rachel was your greatest fear. The death of your soul mate was the thing which you feared most. And it came to pass."
I kicked myself for not figuring that one out.
"And in your darkest hour, you didn't lose hope. When you were about to die yourself, you had faith. Hope, because you knew that you were about to be reunited with Rachel."
Yeah. And now she was gone again.
Question two. "What happens to myself and the others?"
"A very good question. You know what happens if they fail. If they are successful, they will come back here, and then return to earth and carry out their lives. You also will return, as the human you are now."
Uh Oh.
"Don't worry." He said. "You will have full use of your morphing powers. And I suspect that you will lead a happy life."
Question three. "What happened to James, his band of Animorphs, and those we were with on the ship?"
Again with the laugh. This was getting kind of annoying. " They had no way of knowing that death was a result of their actions. They walked into it voluntarily, and died in fear. They will be returned to their lives and bodies in perfect health."
Time for the grand finale. "Who has the solvable puzzle universe and what is it they have to do?"
Sounded kinda dumbed-down, but oh well.
"Jake. To survive, he will have to take a life. He was faced with the choice before, and he was stopped by Cassie. She knew then if he carried it out himself, he would become a monster. I believe you can figure the rest out."
Oh my god.
Tom.
To live, Jake was going to have to kill Tom. And this time there was no one else to do it for him, and no one to stop him.
No other choice.
****
Author's notes-
Huh. Another cliffhanger. Guess I'll just have to write another chapter.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!
Chapter 6 will be posted by 10 pm on Friday, August 8th (or sooner if I can get around to it.)
Tobias
I held on tightly to Rachel as Jake looked at all of us.
I knew that we were about to be separated again, and that there was the possibility that I would lose her again.
Permanently.
I kissed her as Jake said "We accept."
I whispered, "I love you" into her ear, and then she vanished.
Everyone vanished. Everyone except me.
Fate walked towards me. And I got the feeling I wasn't going to like what I heard.
He spoke. "I assume you are wondering why you are still here."
"Well, kind of." I realized I was giving him a "Hawk" stare. I was used to being a mile away when looking at someone, where they wouldn't notice me. I shifted my gaze. "I sort of figured I was going to be going wherever everyone else is. Wherever that is."
He chuckled. "I see no reason for that."
"You see, the others have gone to a place which I have created. Different for each of them, no two alike. I believe humans refer to it as an 'alternate universe'. There they will have to face whatever it is that they fear most. Their inner demon. Their darkest fear."
Oh.
"There will be no measure of success or failure. I have engineered every universe except one to be an unsolvable puzzle. A conundrum, if you will.
"So what is this whole pass or fail factor, then? How is it a test!?" I realized I probably shouldn't have shouted at him, but at that moment I was afraid that I would never see Rachel again.
"Faith." He said. "If they keep faith, if they don't lose hope, if they never stop fighting, then they are victorious. If they give up, then. well, they die. And I don't intervene.
I felt a little better. Rachel was not a person to give up. She would fight and fight and fight until she couldn't anymore.
She had always been the strongest willed person I knew.
Time to get back to the original question. "Why am I still here?"
Fate chuckled again. "Don't you get it? It should be so clear to you!"
I was at a loss.
"You," he said "are smarter than you are letting on. You know exactly why you don't have to face your inner demons."
Nope. Nothing.
"Oh well." He seemed disappointed. "I'll spell it out for you. You already have."
Of course.
"Losing Rachel was your greatest fear. The death of your soul mate was the thing which you feared most. And it came to pass."
I kicked myself for not figuring that one out.
"And in your darkest hour, you didn't lose hope. When you were about to die yourself, you had faith. Hope, because you knew that you were about to be reunited with Rachel."
Yeah. And now she was gone again.
Question two. "What happens to myself and the others?"
"A very good question. You know what happens if they fail. If they are successful, they will come back here, and then return to earth and carry out their lives. You also will return, as the human you are now."
Uh Oh.
"Don't worry." He said. "You will have full use of your morphing powers. And I suspect that you will lead a happy life."
Question three. "What happened to James, his band of Animorphs, and those we were with on the ship?"
Again with the laugh. This was getting kind of annoying. " They had no way of knowing that death was a result of their actions. They walked into it voluntarily, and died in fear. They will be returned to their lives and bodies in perfect health."
Time for the grand finale. "Who has the solvable puzzle universe and what is it they have to do?"
Sounded kinda dumbed-down, but oh well.
"Jake. To survive, he will have to take a life. He was faced with the choice before, and he was stopped by Cassie. She knew then if he carried it out himself, he would become a monster. I believe you can figure the rest out."
Oh my god.
Tom.
To live, Jake was going to have to kill Tom. And this time there was no one else to do it for him, and no one to stop him.
No other choice.
****
Author's notes-
Huh. Another cliffhanger. Guess I'll just have to write another chapter.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!
Chapter 6 will be posted by 10 pm on Friday, August 8th (or sooner if I can get around to it.)
