Cassie

I tried to block it out of my mind. I tried to forget. I hadn't even mentioned it. Hadn't even recorded it. But it was there always. And now my friends had to know why I had turned cold to Jake. It wasn't because of some stupid thing he said. It wasn't because we had an argument. It was because I had seen something. I had seen the near future. It wasn't some dream I had, or some figment of the imagination. I had actually seen the future. Not the kind of future you see in movies where the characters go twenty years into the future where there are flying cars. I saw the future in a couple of week's time.

I looked at my friends. My legs felt wobbly, like jelly and I found that I couldn't stand up anymore. I lowered myself to the ground. All of my friends were looking at me. Rachel looked curious. Marco looked angry. Tobias as always had his piercing hawk stare. Ax looked wondrous. His two main eyes looking at me, while his stalk eyes searching the skies, his scoop, my friends. And Jake. We had grown apart because of me. Because of what I'd seen. He didn't know why I was cold. He thought I didn't care and had backed away, being the modest, kind guy he was, he didn't bother me, giving me space. He looked at me and I saw all the hurt, the anger, the confusion, the sorrow that engulfed him.

"The Ellimist came to me," I said. "Right after Crayak came to us. He showed me the near future."

"How near?" Rachel asked. "Are we talking a year, a month, a day?"

"A couple of weeks from now," I clarified. "He showed me what would happen to everyone of us if Jake had accepted that offer that Rachel had just proposed. To fight for revenge. I saw what would happen to each one of us."

I let that sink in. Ax's four eyes were on me. I had to continue.

"I also saw what would happen to us if Jake decided to stay out of this war," I looked at him. "I won't continue if this will put any more pressure or stress or worry onto you."

"Continue," he said, simply.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

I looked at Rachel. "If Jake were to accept your offer, you would die from Jake's tiger morph. If Jake were to stay out of the war, you would be so consumed with rage and hatred that you would continue. You would live, but you would have so much hatred that it would finally corrupt you."

I watched her for a bit. She had grown pale. She looked at Jake, who had slid to the ground and had his face in his hands. I walked over to him and put an arm around him. He didn't move.

"Marco," I looked at him. He didn't look back. "If Jake were to accept, you would have rebelled against Jake's commands, finally costing the Animorphs freedom. Except Rachel… and Jake. If Jake were to decline, you would have resigned from the Animorphs and your mum would forever be lost."

Marco turned away from me. I felt Jake tremble and I hugged him tighter.

"Do you want me to continue?" I asked them.

"We… we have to know," Rachel said.

"Tobias," I looked at him and he returned my stare. "If Jake were to accept, you would have been made into a controller like the rest of us, but you would lose your power when they made you demorph for over two hours. If Jake were to decline, you would have gone down in Rachel's world."

Tobias ruffled his feathers but said nothing.

"If Jake were to accept, I would have been made into a controller, one of my main jobs was torturing the innocent. If Jake were to decline I would lead a normal life again, but be paranoid as hell. Never making friends, always by myself." I then turned to Ax.

((Please, just tell me,)) he said.

"You were made into a controller, Ax," I said softly. "That's if Jake were to accept. If Jake were to decline, you would have been stuck on Earth. Knowing nobody, having nobody. All by yourself."

I took a breath. I couldn't say the last bit. I couldn't destroy Jake. But he had to know. I looked at his trembling hands over his face. Gently I pulled them off his face and saw the pale boy underneath. He wasn't crying, he wasn't sobbing. His eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at anything. I could see the hurt in his eyes and for once I wasn't the only one. Rachel stared at her cousin with great pity. Marco would do anything for Jake, but he looked like he couldn't do anything to take the pain away. Even Ax looked sorrowful for his prince. After everything he has been through this past week, who wouldn't feel sorry for him?

"I won't continue if you don't want me to, Jake," I said softly.

"You've come this far," he said.

"Do you remember me saying you still had your freedom?" I asked. He nodded. "You were never made a controller. You were kept in a chamber. A torture chamber. Dying bodies everywhere. Rachel's dead body pinned opposite you as a constant reminder of what you did. I was one of your torturers." A tear rolled down my cheek as I said that. Rachel had turned away and Tobias landed on her shoulder. I knew he must have said something to her, because she nodded. Marco looked sick. Only Ax showed no emotion. Jake just sat there.

"And if I were to decline?" he asked.

"If you were to decline, you would set into a state of depression. Jake, you would be clinically depressed. You had stopped eating altogether. Marco and I tried to get you out of it, but I had no social skills anymore and Marco couldn't do it on his own."

I was probably imagining it, but at that moment Rachel and Jake shared a look.

"Is that it?" Marco asked, his voice sounded hollow, croaky. "Why did the Ellimist show you this?"

"He said that recent events would change how we think, how we act and we needed to know what would happen," I said.

There was silence, absolute silence. Nobody talked and then…

"So this is my decision?" Jake said. Everyone looked at him. Everyone pitied him. "If I fight, the Yeerks get us; if I don't fight we have a Day's of Our Lives scenario? So once again I'm left to decide the fate of the human race."

"I shouldn't have told you this today," I said, ashamed of myself. "I should have let you relax. I don't know what I was thinking."

"So either way, we're doomed?" Marco said.

"The Ellimist said if Jake accepts my offer," Rachel pointed out. "My offer was to become cold and ruthless. If Jake fights by being himself it won't happen. Jake would never kill me. I know that for certain."

"That's if Jake fights by being himself, Marco said. "Who's to say he's not going to change."

"Guys," Jake said suddenly. "I'm right here. Stop acting as if I'm not."

"There's still the morphing problem," Marco said. "Jake, man, you need to find a way to get your morphing power back."

((How's he supposed to do that with all that's going on?)) Tobias asked sceptically.

"Wait a minute," Rachel said suddenly. "Remember that day you found out that Crayak made that deal with me," she looked at Jake. "You were so angry with me. When you were yelling at me, I thought I saw your hair change from brown to orange. And you didn't even notice."

"So you're saying we have to make Jake angry?" I asked.

((There is still the problem of Jake not wanting to morph,)) Tobias pointed out. ((Ax-man are you sure there's not a simpler way to get Jake's morphing power back?))

((I am sure, Tobias,)) Ax said.

((Well I'm out of ideas,)) Tobias said.

"What idea did you have in the first place?" Marco asked.

"So lets make Jake mad," Rachel said.

"I don't think so," Jake said, standing up. He stumbled a bit, but caught himself before he fell over. "I am not getting mad. I don't feel like it today."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Rachel asked. "I don't like the idea of being driven to hatred."

"Yeah, well I don't like the idea of killing my cousin," Jake snapped.

"Let's just stick with the original plan," I said. "Let's go on hiatus for a couple of weeks, let Jake relax."

"I'm fine with that," Marco said, quickly.

Jake looked at his watch. "Great, I should have been out of here half an hour ago. Next time if we're meeting lets choose a place where there aren't so much thorns. I think I got pricked about thirty times before I got here."

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked as he walked towards the small opening he made.

"Uh, no thanks, Cass," he said. "You have no shoes anyway."

"That's alright, my feet are pretty strong," I insisted.

"No thanks, Cassie," he said.

"Oh, alright," I said disappointedly as he disappeared from view.

I looked at the others. Rachel had already morphed to bald eagle and she and Tobias were starting to fly away.

Marco looked at me. "He'll be alright," he said. "I'll make sure he doesn't become depressed."

"That's what you said to me in couple of week's time,' I sighed.

"I won't let anything happen to him," Marco repeated. "I promise that to you."

In the back of my mind I remembered a similar promise made by Marco. The result, Jake got shot in the head.

"I wish I could believe you," I said. "I really do."

((I don't think Prince Jake would appreciate you talking about him behind his back.))

I jumped. I had completely forgotten Ax was still there.