(A/N) Tabatha, thanks for reviewing again. Same to you Qenies9, Sharina, Silvarius, and Fuzy Llama. Your reviews are much appreciated. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :) Okay, sorry about that. We'll get back on track. Stella has been struck down with a quantum virus. The only thing that can save her lies at the bottom of the ocean and if she tells any of her friends about it they will be struck down by the same virus in a matter of hours. What's to become of the Animorphs? Can they possibly survive? Oh, the suspense! The inhumanity!! To be or not to be! That.........is the question! Woah, woah, woah. Sorry, kinda lost control there for a minute. I'm gonna quit rambling now, okay?

Follow the Star

Chapter 4: Into the Void

"Ax, slow down. We already know that Andalites have used quantum viruses before on the Hork-Bajir home world. Now can you tell us what a quantum virus is exactly?" Jake asked Ax, trying to calm him.

{ I should have seen it before! There cannot possibly be any help for her now! } Ax was, quite literally, freaking out.

As soon as the sun had risen Ax had morphed to human and gone for Cassie and Tobias. Cassie, in turn, had gotten messages to the other three Animorphs. Now we were all in Cassie's barn, even though it was still snowing hard. My condition hadn't really improved much during the night. As I knew it wouldn't. My legs had looked like tentacles during most of the night but now the legs below the knees had completely disintegrated. Almost as if they had never been there. It terrified me but I tried to keep it together for the sake of the others. The pain was intensifying with every passing minute. I had one more day left.

{ This is all my fault. I should have realized- } Ax was cut off mid sentence by Rachel. She had slapped him across the face.

"Snap out of it, Ax. You've been pacing and blaming yourself for the last thirty minutes. That isn't going to get us anywhere. Now.........can you tell us what a quantum virus does?"

For a moment Ax just stood there staring at her, shocked. But he finally found his voice.

{ A quantum virus is a sort of disease of space-time. It slowly breaks down the force that holds subatomic particles together. It will slowly disintegrate whatever it affects. Living creatures affected with a quantum virus will find their very molecules breaking down. It is the most agonizing death known to any sentient creature. } Ax finished sadly.

"Isn't there anything that we can do?" Cassie asked him.

{ Normally quantum viruses bypass all possible counter measures. But there may be some hope here. The Yeerks are not too technologically advanced. I believe that the substance that was introduced into our systems was the virus. Although I cannot understand why it is only affecting Stella and not us. But because it was manufactured by the Yeerks there may be a cure. } he speculated.

"What sort of cure?" Rachel asked.

{ That is the problem! I have no idea! } Ax shouted in a frustrated voice.

"Ax, just calm down. It won't help for you to lose control. You're the only one who could posibly come up with an antidote." Jake said.

{ But it would take me months to come up with something like that. I doubt that Stella has that much time. } Ax said as he glanced over at me.

He was right. I didn't have that much time.

"Just don't get your hopes up. I only have one day left." I said angrily. No sooner had the words left my mouth then I realized my mistake. All six of them turned to look at me.

{ How do you know that, Stella? } Tobias asked me from his perch in the rafters.

"Um......I don't know. I'm just guessing." I knew they didn't believe me.

"You know something, Stella. Tell us." Jake said.

"I........I can't-"

{ Stella, you must. Your life depends on it. What do you know about this virus that you aren't telling us? } Ax asked me.

"I can't tell you. You will destroy yourselves." I whispered.

"Oh come on. We've been through more suicidal missions than I can remember. What makes you think we can't take on whatever Visser Three has planned?" Marco asked.

"This is different. You wouldn't have a chance. Just forget about it. It's too late."

{ Stella, I will not abandon you again. I will not see you die like this! Tell me. Please. } Ax begged me in private thought speak. As he gazed down at me I stared back into his fierce green eyes. I was frightened by what I saw in them. A haunted desperation.

Ax lowered himself to his four knees. An act that was difficult for any Andalite. Slowly he drew his tail blade forward. For a moment I was afraid that his desperation had driven him over the edge and that he would use it on me. He caressed my neck with the flat of the blade but ended up bringing it to his own throat.

"What are you-"

{ If you insist on keeping your silence then I shall die as well. Speak, or I will use the blade on myself. }

He was serious! I heard the fear in his voice, but I knew that he meant it.

"Ax, please......don't do this."

He took my hands in his own weak, Andalite ones. We were both trembling. I wanted to tell him. I really did. But if I spoke then he would die anyway. They would all be destroyed. I had to stand by my decision. I steeled my face and stared coldly back at Ax.

"I'll take my secret to the grave."

"Woah, that's a little harsh. Don't you think, Stella?" Marco said.

Ax didn't answer to this. He simply gripped my hands tighter. He pressed his tail blade more firmly against his neck. A small trickle of his own blood dripped down from the place where the blade was pressed. I heard him cry out silently in my own head. That cry filled me with an anguish deeper than the virus could ever produce.

"AAAAAAAAHH!!!" I cried out in sudden pain. The pain attacked me with a vengeance. When I looked back down at my half-legs I saw them disintegrating further. The blood and guts right along with them. Even my arms were beginning the slow, agonizing mutation towards oblivion. How could I possibly pass the same agony along to Ax?

I slumped forward in agony. Ax moved his hands to my shoulders and held me upright. As he stared back at me I felt my own resolve melting away.

"All right! Fine! I'll tell you! Just stop it, Ax! Stop it!!" As I spoke I felt the tears coming. I bowed my head, not willing to let the others see my weakness.

Ax pulled his tail blade away from his throat. I saw the relief blossom on his face like the sweetest flower bursting into bloom.

"You are right, Ax. It is a quantum virus. You all have it too. It's only dormant. But it will be activated if.......if-"

"If what?" Jake demanded.

"If I tell you about it."

Even before I had finished speaking Marco cried out in pain. I saw him sink to his knees. I watched in horror as his hands began to twist and mutate. Not morphing, just terrifying, awful mutation.

"Marco!" Jake cried out as he knelt beside his best friend. But I saw what Jake had not yet noticed. His own arms were already changing and mutating.

"Jake!-" Rachel started towards her cousin but she too dropped to the floor in screaming agony.

"What's happening?" Cassie asked.

"It's the virus. Why did you all bring me to this?" I asked sadly. But even as I spoke I knew that there was no one else to blame for this except me. I turned away from the three only to see Ax, still on his knees, slowly mutating. I heard his screaming in my head once again. I had brought him to this.

"Why did you do it, Stella? Now we'll all die." Cassie whispered in a frightened voice.

"No, we might live. Ax was right about there being a cure. But it is hidden in the wreckage of the Andalite dome ship. Twenty miles off the cost. We can go after it." I said.

Suddenly I realized something.

"Why isn't the virus affecting you or Tobias?" I asked Cassie. For indeed, Tobias was still perched in the rafters, seemingly unaffected. Cassie was still standing and she wasn't mutating at all.

{ Of course! Some creatures have a natural imunity to quantum viruses. } Ax said suddenly. { It must be so with Cassie and Tobias. }

"Then there's still hope?" I asked him.

{ Yes, we could- reach the antidote. Before it's too late. } he gasped.

"Then we'll- split up. Tobias stays here with Stella, Marco, and Rachel. Cassie, Ax and I will go after the antidote." Jake said.

"I'll go with you." Rachel volunteered.

"No, Rachel, I don't want all of us on this mission in our condition. Cassie goes because she's still well. Ax goes because he knows the dome ship. And I won't risk anyone else. You three will stay here with Tobias. Stella has suffered enough from this as it is."

"I should go. This is all my fault." I said to Jake.

"No. You are in no condition to do this mission."

"What? And I suppose you are?"

Jake was silent after that. But he began to morph to falcon anyway. Cassie followed his lead and morphed to Osprey.

{ Ax, maybe you should stay behind. } Cassie suggested as she completed the morph.

{ No, Cassie. I must do this. Besides, you and Prince Jake do not know the lay out of the Dome ship. I do. } Ax said as he began to morph to harrier.

"But you guys might get lost in this snow. Maybe you should wait until it lessens up a bit." I said desperately.

{ We'll have to risk it. We might not even have that long. } Jake said gravely.

{ Well, we fought the good fight. This could be it. } Tobias said.

{ I know. } Jake replied.

Cassie sidled over to Jake. It looked sort of strange to see a falcon and Osprey together like that. But hey, you might have a tendency to express yourself if you were facing certain doom like we were now.

Ax seemed to hesitate mid morph and went back to Andalite. Then he morphed something else. Human.

{ Ax, what are you doing? We have to leave. }

"No. Not yet, Prince Jake."

He knelt beside me and lifted my upper body into his arms.

"Stella, forgive me, please."

Forgive him? Forgive him for what? What had he done? As I thought back I started to realize what it was. Ax never showed it openly or mentioned it but he still felt guilty about what happened on Leera. When he deserted us for Samilin and Samilin had betrayed him. Ax knew that he had hurt me. I don't think that either of us had ever gotten over it. I was still afraid that he didn't really want to be with me and that he would leave me again the first chance he got. He was still feeling guilty and afraid that I would never trust him again. Those fears still lingered in me but I had learned to live with them. I knew that I could trust him again with time. But he didn't seem to know that.

"I do forgive you." I whispered as he lowered his face to mine.

"I love you." He whispered against my mouth.

"I love you, too." I whispered back to him as he pulled himself away from me and lowered me back to the ground. Then he began to demorph.

{ Hurry up, Ax. We're running out of time. } Jake said urgently.

When all three of them were finally ready they shot off into the driving snow.

"We're counting on you guys!" I shouted after them.

I sat staring out into the storm for what seemed like hours after they had gone. In that time, Rachel and Marco made their way to one of the empty stalls so as not to be seen in case Cassie's dad came out. Finally Tobias fluttered down to speak to me.

{ Stella, maybe you should go into the stall with the other two. You need to lie down. }

I didn't answer him. My only response was the single tear that fell from my eye.

* * *

It took us thirty minutes to fly from the barn to the beach. When we reached it we all demorphed. When we were all in our true forms I was horrified to discover that our excess mass had continued to disintegrate while we were in morph. Prince Jake was missing a leg and an arm. Cassie helped him to stand. When I swiveled my stalk eyes around to see what damage the virus had done to me, I realized that I only had one stalk eye. My tail was vanishing rapidly and half of my right arm was gone.

"So, w-w-w-what's the plan? I d-d-d-don't think we w-w-want to b-b-be standing on the b-b-beach in the middle of a b-b-b-blizzard." Cassie said as her teeth chattered. I have seen my human friends do this before. I believe that it is an expression of cold.

"We'll morph d-d-d-dolphins and swim there. It's t-t-too far t-t-t-to fly in the snow." Prince Jake said as Cassie led him out into the water.

I followed them into the water. The cold struck me immediately. As we walked further out into the surf I saw Prince Jake put his arms around Cassie's shivering form. I could barely make them out through the snow. When we were far enough out into the ocean we regrouped to morph. I saw that both Cassie's and Prince Jake's lips had turned blue.

"W-w-we'd better hurry b-b-before we freeze to d-d-death." Cassie said as she began to morph. Prince Jake began the morph right along with her. I hesitated for a moment, then I too began to morph.

As soon as we had all morphed to dolphin we shot off through the water. We swam lower to avoid the rough waves. For awhile it seemed that we were swimming blindly, even with the echolocation. I knew that Prince Jake and Cassie had forgotten the way to the dome ship, but I never would. You could wait a hundred years and then tell me to find my way back to it. I would always be able to find the spot where our great dome ship had gone down. Some part of me would always remain at the bottom of Earth's ocean with it. It had been my home away from home for many months before coming to Earth.

Now I began to wonder. Once I returned to the dome ship would I ever leave it? Cassie and Prince Jake had each other in this bleak moment. These moments might be the last that they had together if we didn't reach the antidote in time. The same held true for Tobias and Rachel. They were together for now. But what of Stella and myself? Would I ever see her again? Would I die here in this cold, heartless ocean knowing that I had failed to save her?

Would that last, brief kiss be the last that I ever gave her? If only I could experience just once before I died......

{ Stop thinking like that! You are not going to die, Aximili! } I rebuked myself.

We swam and swam through the darkening waters. My thoughts darkening along with it. Until we finally reached the spot above the dome ship. It was hidden beneath tons of water but I knew it was there.

{ Prince Jake, we have only five of your minutes left in morph. We must demorph here and now. Then I would recommend that we morph to shark to search. I know that the dome ship is far beneath the surface and that the dolphins need to breath air. }

{ Don't call me prince. And that sounds like a good plan to me. } Prince Jake said as he began to demorph.

When I finally had eye lids to close, I shut them tightly. So as not to see what further damage the virus had done to Prince Jake and I.

Almost immediately I began the morph to shark. I ignored the changes as best I could. My thoughts were back at the barn. With Stella, Rachel, and Marco.

{ Are you guys ready? } Cassie asked us as we completed the morph.

{ Yeah. Let's get it over with. } Prince Jake said.

With that we began the descent to the ship. It took no more than fifteen minutes but it seemed like hours. When my shark eyes finally beheld the remains of my old ship I very nearly cried out in shock.

The dome had been completely destroyed. All that remained was the floor of the ship. Some of the trees and plants still remained, but most of them were just blackened remains. This blow from the Yeerks cut me deeply. The last trace of my home on planet Earth.........destroyed. I was only glad that Elfangor wasn't alive to see this. It would have broken his hearts.

{ Oh my God. } Cassie whispered in horror as we descended into the remains of the dome ship.

I was silent as we swam through the ghost of what had once been a small piece of my home. The grass waved with the ocean currents. I shivered inside as we passed burnt, tree stumps. It was almost as if the trees were people and their dead spirits called out to me. That I could feel the pain that they felt when the Yeerks had draconed the dome ship.

{ So evil. } I whispered. I didn't think that I had spoken out loud until Cassie swam up beside me and spoke to me.

{ I know. It's awful, isn't it? }

{ I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to come back and find that the Yeerks had left it alone. But no, how could they? They are destroyers of life. All life. } I said sadly.

{ I guess we should split up and search for the medicine or whatever it is. } Prince Jake suggested.

{ Of coarse. } I said as I split off from them. I swam around, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

I swam for quite awhile, searching for I don't know what. Until I heard Cassie's voice from across the plain.

{ AX! JAKE! I think I found something! } she shouted.

I hurriedly swam in her direction. I found Cassie and Prince Jake at the base of an uprooted tree. It was, in fact, the only tree that was still in one piece in the whole park. Nestled in the tangled roots was a small canister.

{ That must be it! } I said triumphantly.

Cassie reached her shark snout into roots and clamped her jaws around the canister. She struggled for a few minutes and finally pulled it loose.

{ Got it! } she shouted as she came up from the tangled mess of roots.

{ We've got to hurry. Time's running out. } Prince Jake said worriedly.

Just as we were about to swim away I gazed up at the tree. To my horror I found that it was a therant tree. Many therant trees have been known to have "voices" in a manner of speaking. There had been a therant tree on my parents' land. Elfangor and I had called it Hala Fala. When I had joined the military and completed acadamy training I was assigned to this dome ship. I had "spoken" with this tree many times. It had heard my fear of being so far from home. It had heard that I was proud to be fighting against the Yeerks. This tree had been the only living thing that heard me when I was a lowly aristh. I had become much more than that since then but I still remembered this therant. I pressed my shark snout against the bark of the tree. I felt nothing from it. Dead, like all the others.

Sadly, I turned away from the tree and swam to rejoin Prince Jake and Cassie.

{ All right. We may leave now. } I said dully.

Suddenly I heard a voice from somewhere in the distance. A voice that I recognized. A voice that would habe sent a chill down my spine if I'd had one.

{ You were fools to come here, Andalites! Now you shall never leave! }

Swimming towards us out of the blackness of the ocean came a creature that I had only seen once before. A Lebtin Javelin fish. A giant, yellow ray that shot spears from it's mouth.

{ Visser Three. } I hissed contemptuously.

{ He was waiting for us. } Cassie whispered.

{ Well this is one battle that we cannot afford to lose, my friends. } I said as I steeled myself for battle.

* * *