A/N Whew! I'm so sorry this took so long. It ended up being a much longer chapter than I'd thought it would be. And then school started, and… well, it's done now. I hope you enjoy it! And I'd just like to clarify, for anyone who didn't understand: at the end of chapter 3, Elfangor used the Time Matrix. It took him to a point in time at the end of the war. Somewhere in Book 53. So when he was talking to Tobias in 4, and when Loren saw him: that was all in this time. Does that make sense to everyone? Okay, apparently the thought-speak indicator things aren't working at all, so for now I'll be using parentheses ( ). I hope it's not too confusing. I'll try to change it back when I can.
Disclaimer: Yeah, we all know I don't own anything, sadly. I don't even own all of the dialogue. Most of it – but not all. "Here Comes the Sun" belongs to John, Paul, George, and Ringo (right?).
We stood staring at the screen, hardly able to believe it was over. That Rachel had survived. Then Toby appeared on the bridge, wounded and bleeding, snapping us back to reality. "Jake," she said, "they're surrendering. We had to promise them amnesty and a chance to acquire the morphing power." She glanced at me, curiously. I was watching as Rachel bent over Tom, checking his pulse and breathing, while Elfangor accessed the ship's controls.
Both Visser One and Ax were staring, fixated, at the screen. Of course they would recognize Elfangor, having spent more time with him than the rest of us. I wondered what they were thinking. Toby continued, "Jake, I need your okay. The Yeerks want you. They want your assurance."
Here comes the sun, do do dodo,
Here comes the sun, an' I say,
It's alright.
Jake nodded his tiger head. (Okay, Toby. I'll be right there. Tell them Visser One is our captive, and we approve of your deal.) Toby gave a short nod and left. Jake turned to Visser One, but the visser was still staring at the screen.
It now showed Elfangor's face. (Hello again, Visser,) he said mockingly. (It's been a while, hasn't it?)
(You! How – how -) the visser sputtered, unable to speak a complete thought.
Elfangor just smiled in that strange Andalite way, and said, (It looks like you been stopped at last, Visser – One – is it now? And now it is up to these humans to decide your fate.) He nodded to Jake.
(Not possible,) muttered Cassie, mostly to herself.
Visser One turned to Jake. (I imagine it's time to kill me,) he said calmly. (You'll be doing me a favor. Whatever death you have for me will be nothing compared to what the Council of Thirteen would sentence me to. They really don't approve of vissers who lose Pool ships.)
(No,) said Jake. (No more killing. We don't kill prisoners. Marco?)
(Yeah, Jake.)
(The visser is going to remove himself from this Andalite body he has stolen and inhabited for so long. Find a safe place for him. Watch over him.)
(You got it.)
Elfangor nodded approvingly. (We'll be down soon,) he said, and shut off the communications.
Jake told Cassie to get Erek and tell him to hide himself. (Tell him -) Jake hesitated. (Tell him I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but it had to be done.) Cassie nodded and hurried off.
Jake must have given Ax some silent instructions, because he suddenly whipped his tail around, and knocked the visser out. Jake gave a few more instructions and left to take care of Toby's deal with the Yeerks.
Ten minutes later, Ax, Marco, and I had locked the Yeerk slug in a briefcase, and Ax had contacted the Andalite fleet.
Little darlin',
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter.
Little darlin',
It feels like years since it's been here.
The Andalites didn't believe us. They assumed it was a trap, but when Jake came back he delivered an impressive speech, trapping the Andalite captain into taking us seriously. Near the end of the speech, the Blade ship landed, and Elfangor and Rachel walked onto the bridge carrying an unconscious Tom just as the Andalite captain was saying, (Who exactly are you?)
Marco answered for him. "This is Jake. Jake Berenson. President of Earth." They agreed on a meeting place, and the communications were turned off.
Unable to restrain myself any longer, I turned and ran to Rachel. I caught her in my arms and kissed her. When we finally drew apart, she laughed happily, and hugged me tightly.
Ax and Elfangor touched tail blades in what must have been the Andalite version of a hug. It didn't seem very satisfying to me, and apparently not to Ax and Elfangor either, since they then threw their arms around each other in a very human way, and embraced. Then, Elfangor turned to me, his eyes smiling. (Tobias,) he said.
"Dad," I responded, with a smile. And he hugged me too.
Here comes the sun, do do dodo,
Here comes the sun, an' I say,
It's alright.
"I hate to break up the tender moment here," Marco said, "but I think I'm not the only one who's a little confused." He looked around at Jake and Cassie. "See, we saw you die."
Jake nodded. "Forgive us for being suspicious, but Marco's right. We watched it happen."
(The memory is painfully vivid,) Alloran agreed quietly. Cassie grimaced.
(You have every reason to be suspicious,) said Elfangor. (I know you have no reason to believe me, but the truth is that what you saw was a morphed version of me – someone else playing the part.)
"If that's true than where have you been for the past three years?" Marco inquired. "If you're really Elfangor – I'm not saying I believe you, but if you are – well, we could have used some help."
Elfangor nodded. (It is important to be careful when dealing with time travel,) he responded. (It was imperative that I not change anything before this day. For me it has not been three years, but only a matter of hours.)
"You used the Time Matrix," Rachel said.
(Yes. The one who died in my place came to me through time, asking me to change the outcome of this day. He died not only for me, but for all of you.)
"And you let him," said Cassie quietly.
Elfangor turned to look at her. (I tried to stop him, but he insisted that a past version of himself would live – would have a better life if I succeeded.)
"Well, who was it?!" said Rachel impatiently.
Elfangor looked at Cassie. She nodded. "It was Tobias, wasn't it?" I looked down, but not before seeing the surprised look on Rachel's face, the look of realization on Jake's, and Marco's unsurprised nod.
(Yes,) said Elfangor, (though an older and different version of him.)
Little darlin',
The smiles returning to the faces.
Little darlin',
It seems like years since it's been here.
There was a moment of silence, and then Marco said, "You realize that story is completely insane? I mean, you expect us to believe that a future-reality Tobias came back in time and told you to come here to change the outcome of this battle, and then morphed you and died in your place while we watched?"
(Yes,) Elfangor responded calmly.
Marco shrugged. "Well, stranger things have happened."
Jake looked at Ax. "We're sure it's Elfangor?"
Ax nodded. (Yes, Prince Jake.)
"Don't call me Prince," Jake said automatically.
Rachel spoke up, "If he was a Yeerk, there's no way he would have helped me back there."
Jake nodded. "Alright, then. I guess we trust him." He looked at Elfangor. "We owe you that much."
Here comes the sun, do do dodo,
Here comes the sun, an' I say,
It's alright.
We headed back up to the Hork-Bajir valley accompanied by Elfangor and Alloran. We had to go on foot, because we had to carry the still-unconscious Tom, and because we met Arbron on the way and he and Elfangor had an almost tearful reunion. They were both understandably surprised to see each other. Anyway, since Arbron couldn't morph, we had to walk all the way up the mountain.
No one talked much on the way. We just kept looking at each other and grinning until we finally just started laughing, giddy with relief that it was over and we were all alive. The Andalites just stared at us, not quite understanding what was so funny. Which, of course, only made us laugh harder.
When we got close, Jake asked me to fly overhead and guide us. Rachel said she'd go with me, and when we both had wings, we flapped up into the clear blue sky. We guided the others to the valley. When I was sure they were going in the right direction, I circled around the woods.
(How about one last flight?) I asked Rachel.
She was silent for a moment. Then she said, (Tobias, you -)
(Come on!) I called circling upward.
We flew, enjoying the thermals and the feeling of being alive. After a while we returned to the valley, where the others were just reaching the edge of the valley. We landed a little way ahead of them and Rachel demorphed, while I morphed to human for the last time.
When we were done, she looked at me, concerned. "Tobias, you don't have to -"
"Yes, I do," I answered. "I don't have an excuse any more, Rachel. The war's over."
"Tobias, you love flying. I can't ask you to give that up."
"You don't have to," I said quietly. "I do love flying, but –" I smiled, "I love you more." I stepped toward her. "I almost lost you today, Rachel, and it scared me so much, I –" I stopped. "If my wings are what I have to give up to be with you, then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." I took her in my arms and she smiled at me.
"I love you, Tobias," she said softly, and kissed me gently.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
The others joined us and we continued on into the valley. Our parents were waiting anxiously for us to return. When they saw us, they all rushed up to hug us, crying tears of relief. They let us go and turned their attention to our visitors. There was an awkward moment as Eva and Alloran stared at each other. Then Eva laughed and said, "Congratulations on your freedom, War-Prince Alloran."
Alloran bowed his head briefly and responded, (The same to you, human.)
I heard the exchange, but my attention was focused mainly on my parents. Elfangor looked pained and tried not to look at my mom, but she had noticed him and was looking only at him. Finally, he couldn't help but notice her staring, and he turned his head to look at her with his main eyes. She smiled, brokenly. "Elfangor," she said softly.
He stared at her. (Loren. You – you remember me?)
She nodded, tears starting to fill her eyes. "I didn't – but –" she stopped. "A few hours ago, my memories started coming back. Not all of them, and I don't understand what happened or why they stop, but I do remember." As she spoke, Elfangor morphed back to his human form, and when she was done, he walked quickly to her and drew her into his arms, kissing her. Everyone looked down, a bit embarrassed, and Rachel squeezed my hand and smiled at me. I smiled back, my heart swelling. I had two parents now. It didn't seem so long ago that I'd had none.
Little darlin',
I feel the ice is slowly meltin'
Little darlin,
It seems like years since it's been clear.
(So,) said Arbron, (out of the five passengers on the Jahar, it looks as though four of us are now together again.)
"Actually," responded Loren, "I think that would be five." She gestured toward where Chapman was being kept captive. We – the Animorphs – all looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Oh, I can't wait to hear this story," Marco said.
Tom, who'd been laid on the ground at our feet, emitted a low groan, as he started to come to. Everyone laughed.
"I can tell it's going to be a long night of storytelling," Jake said with a smile.
Here comes the sun, do do dodo,
Here comes the sun, an' I say,
It's alright.
Here comes the sun, do do dodo,
Here comes the sun.
It's alright.
It's alright.
A/N Well, that's chapter seven! I hope it didn't stray too badly from the style of the books. There's only going to be one more chapter, so get ready for the end, boys and girls. The song was, obviously, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. Yay! That's it until next time!
darklover: Yes, I skipped to the end. As I said, at the end of chapter 3, Elfangor used the Time Matrix to go to the end. So from chapter 4 on, it's been in that time. Get it?
Faith-sama: Thanks! J I'm glad you liked it. I agree: people just don't appreciate the happy ending enough. I'm glad I could help, and I hope you liked the semi-fluffiness in this chapter. I don't want to go too overboard and make it more fluffy than KAA would. Well, I probably already did, but…
Rad: Thank you. Sorry about the long wait!
Anonymous-cat: Thanks a lot! It's always nice to know you're appreciated.
JoJo: Thanks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Southern Belle: Thank you! I hope you liked the R/T in this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. There may be a little bit more, but I don't want to overdo it.
Taka ichijouji: Thanks! I hope you like this one! It took too long I know, but what with school and all…
PhebgaMFM: Thanks. Yeah, I thought the hirac delest thing was an interesting idea. Hey, you only read one chapter! Keep going! (Well, I guess you did if you're reading this…)
PadFootCc: Thank you! It was one of my more brilliant ideas…;-)
East Coast Ryder: Thanks for your opinion, and for being honest. I guess you're probably not reading this, but I'll respond anyway. It's interesting that you thought the first two were more interesting. Actually, I kind of like them better than 4 and 5 at least. The sad chapters are easier to write, and I think I work best with Tobias rather than Elfangor.
Silverchild of the winds: Well, I certainly hope that these changes are for the better. J
MimiChica: J It was a great song. And so fitting. Thanks a lot!
lilyofthevalley: Thank you! I hope you liked this update! Stay tuned!
AvengingStar: Here you are! I hope this was enough for you! One more chapter to go!
goddess of darkness3: Thanks so much! I hope you liked this one! Sorry about the wait.
