Note: I am now adding a response section to your reviews, at the beginning of the chapter. If you don't want to read all of them, just skip down to the story.

Elwing: Well, I like the beginning of the chapter, because it has great pace and character, but I felt that near the end, the pace went a little too fast, and James should have taken more time to comprehend what was going on.

This seems to be following pace with the Animorph books closely. When and how are you going to change it?

Yeah, it did go a little fast. But you have to understand, the all-out war had begun. James would have more readily accepted their story in this reality than the original Animorphs. And changing it? First, Loren isn't with the gang. Second, Jake's parents (and Tom) are. Third, all-out war sooner in the story. Fourthly, well, just read this chapter. I know, they are minor differences, but let me develop the story and I hope to give you something to gasp about.

Tobias1452: POLLY THE WONDER PIGEON?
Me likes.

Anyway, since tom is yeerk free, does that mean he is a morphie?

Yeah, there's a song called Harry the Wonder Hampster (I think). But no, Tom isn't a morphie. Jake doesn't want to lose Tom in a battle now that he's free, so he has banned Tom from even looking at the morphing cube, let alone touching it.

LilManiac: Aww... sadness. Definately different... and cooler!

Yep. It's Cassie. What can you expect?

animorph19: hey, it's good that tom is free so jakey won't be so depressed like in the books. oh and i loved chapter 5! very good :)

Yeah, I loved chapter 5 too. Not really. But I was hoping you guys would notice Jake's attitude. Thank you.

SilverHawk27: wow. Polly the wonder pigeon. OH! Rachel's father is named Dan

Thank you! I'll try to update chapter 5 with that info as soon as possible.

LucreziaNoin86: I have a question is Tobias a nothlit human already or not (he's my favorite)? I couldn't tell. Thanks

No. He's the way he was at the end of the series. I like him, too. Second favorite character for me.

Marco

On the second day we brought Ax. We figured his presence would help the kids believe us. We needed to be in and out as quickly as possible, in case the Yeerks checked this building out.

James brought ten more of the kids in the lobby. Ten seemed to be our number. It was the most we could comfortably fit in the lobby with me, James, Cassie, a tiger, and Ax.

When they got inside everybody would be surprised about the tiger, then completely flabbergasted over Ax.

"It's just not fair. How come Ax gets fawned over? Sure, he's an alien and all, but how often do you see someone of my beauty?" I was complaining to Cassie, who gave me a dirty look and put her finger over her mouth. Jake had just finished talking.

James took a deep breath. "Okay, who wants to fight?"

Slowly everybody raised their hands.

James sighed. We went through the morphing cube process and had them acquire Polly, who was living in the lobby now.

Jake looked at James, then cleared his throat. "Today we are all going to the Gardens to get you some battle morphs. When you are acquiring those, Cassie will go to her barn and find us some bug morphs. Is everybody ready to morph?"

You could feel the excitement in the air. They were all jabbering fast, eyes darting around.

"Remember to take control of the morph quickly. It will be important in some morphs." He looked around once more, and went peregrine.

Cassie and I went osprey, Ax went into his northern harrier, and the twenty new Animorphs became pigeons.

(This must look extremely strange,) I said, (a flock of pigeons and four birds of prey.)

We soared, and the others flapped, to the Gardens. Landing outside the maintenance access area, we demorphed. I came out of my morph in time to see several half-pigeon half-humans, and some of the disabled kids already demorphed were lying down, in awkward positions. I saw Cassie turn away, her eyes watering.

But I saw somebody stand up. It was James. Slowly two others stood as well. Craig and Erica.

(I assume,) Ax began, (that if their disfigurement was caused after birth, then they should be healed.)

James looked around the group. He nodded to Timmy, winked at Kelly, and turned back to Jake. "Doesn't the Gardens have several wheelchairs around here?"

Cassie slapped her head for her stupidity, and ran inside. James, Craig, Erica, Jake, and I ran after her. We almost lost her when she burst out of a large closet with three folded up wheelchairs.

"Grab some more!"

We did, and had everybody in one within five minutes. Cassie morphed osprey and left for her barn. Any body who couldn't push themselves was pushed. We slowly got everybody a battle morph.

Crocodile for Collette.

Bobcat for a kid named Tuan.

Kelly acquired a bull.

Julio got a grizzly.

And James chose lion.

I had a bad flashback. David hitting me with a baseball bat. He betrayed us all.

Tsk tsk. Bad choice. But I seriously doubted that James would turn out like David. I hoped not. He seemed okay.

"Okay," Jake started, wiped out from the day's work. "You all have a battle morph now. Cassie will go to the rehab center later to let you acquire her bugs. Now go home and try to sleep."

They morphed to pigeons and I watched them fly away.

-

The next day we returned to the rehab center. James had already gathered the last ten in the lobby and was awaiting our arrival.

We flew in the window and started to demorph. As the ten non-morphers stared with jaws on the floor, James and the other nineteen auxiliaries explained what was happening. By the time the morphing cube was reassembled, the new ones had decided to fight.

Why not, they said, if James was already fighting? He looked at them proudly and warned them it wasn't going to be all fun and games.

This was almost too easy. I shot a look at Jake, then Cassie. None of us had said much.

The new recruits touched the cube, then acquired the pigeon flapping around the room. They were excited.

I looked at Jake with wonder. We were now six times our original size. He shook his head, disbelieving.

Then a horrified expression crossed everybody's face as an explosion rocked the building.