Rachel

We were all alive.

Everybody. My mom and my two sisters, Sara and Jordan. Cassie's parents, Michelle and Walter. Marco's parents, Eva and Peter, were leading the adults into an abandoned cave near the back of the Hork-Bajir valley. Jean and Steve, Jake's parents and my aunt and uncle, were already back there.

I broke of from the group. I had a job to do. I went to the next cave over and smiled, seeing our captive.

Tom. My cousin. Jake's big brother. A Controller since the beginning of the war.

He tried to spit, but couldn't because he was gagged. Tried to kick, but was tied to the chair. My grin widened, then I started to laugh. I wanted this as much as Jake did. I didn't like the idea of one of my relatives controlled by a Yeerk.

I leaned against the side of the cave, arms crossed. "How long has it been, Yeerk? How long until you shrivel away and die? I'll be counting, Yeerk." I smiled. He shot me a death glare.

I overheard pieces of the briefing one cave over.

"-they crawl in your ear and take total-"

"-we've been fighting them with our only power. Morphing."

I heard Jake retell the story of this long war. The story of our fight. I was glad he was telling our parents. I wanted them to know. There would be no more lying. No more sneaking around behind their backs.

Then I heard my mom, very clearly. "Why should we believe you? You're my nephew and I love you Jake, but kidnapped us! You say we're living in a Hark-Badger colony, but I haven't seen any of them yet. This sounds like a really bad joke!"

Jake asked her to explain seeing her daughter (that's me) turn into a bear.

She started to answer, but Steve cut her off. "Whether this is a joke or not, I want to know where Tom is."

Tom looked like he had an idea. I sneered. "They aren't gonna believe you. Even if they do, we'll never let you leave the colony."

"MM HMM GMMM DMM!" I smiled just to make him mad.

"Tom? Tom!" Jake's dad ran past me and went over to Tom. Tom's Yeerk put a convincing scared look on his face as Steve started to tug at the ropes that tied Tom to the chair.

"Why is he tied up?" He looked at me. "Did you do this, Rachel?"

I looked at Jake. "Did you tell them about Tom?" He shook his head. I tried to pull Steve away from Tom. Jake continued talking.

"I told you about what the Yeerks do and how they do it. I didn't tell you that Tom is one of them."

His dad shook his head vigorously. "No. No. We would've known. They can't just do that and not have us notice."

"That's exactly what they did, Dad. But don't worry - within three days Tom will be himself again."

Steve had stepped away, but had also removed Tom's gag.

"Dad! Dad, what are they doing! Are you going to believe them! They're crazy!" Tom was going nuts.

Jake just smiled. "Ax, you can demorph now."

"Yes, Prince Jake." The strangely handsome kid who had stayed in the back started to turn blue and sprout hair all over his body.

"AHHH!", "WHAT IS THAT THING!" and various other shouts resounded through the cave. Ax finished demorphing.

"Everybody? This is-."

"ANDALITE FILTH!" Everybody stared at Tom. His face was twitching.

Jake moaned and turned to Ax. "Is it dying?" He looked back at Tom, who was taking control of his body every few seconds.

(I believe so, Prince Jake)

Jake immediately ran to his brother's side. Tom was groaning and rolling his head around in circles. This was it. Tom is finally going to be free.

"AARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Something started to crawl out of Tom's ear. All of the adults stared, mouths gaping. Jake grabbed the Yeerk and flung it to the ground. Eva calmly walked over to Tom.

"It's going to be okay. It's dead now."

Tom's eyes fluttered open, then closed again. Jake looked horrified.

Eva smiled calmly. "He's fine. He's just very tired." She stood up and went to stand by her husband.

Jake stood up, his eyes on the ground. When he looked up, I saw a new fierceness in his eyes. In Jake's eyes, he had won already. He had won the war.

"Alright, everybody, try and get some sleep. We all have a big day tomorrow." The adults were too stunned to argue. They wandered off to thelog cabinsthat the Hork-Bajir had helped build. The Animorphs gathered around Tom, whom Jake was untying.

"What now, fearless leader?" Marco grinned like a madman, happy that Tom was free. Jake just laughed.

"One thing at a time, man. One thing at a time."

Note: I hope you liked this chapter. I always liked Tom and wanted him to be free. Thank you all for reviewing. An answer to the question by SilverHawk…yes, Tobias will still meet his mom. Later in the story. Review and ask questions, or just tell me what you thought of it.