CASSIE101: Oh! My! God! so good! continue!

Well, thank you. I was thinking about quitting, retiring to the Bahamas and a life of shaken martinis and island girls, but, what the heck, I'll finish this first.

Quillian: I really like this story. Sorry, but I can't say much more than that. :)

Normally, I would demand a much longer review, but that smiley eased my troubled mind. And apologies for past, present, and future sarcasm. It runs in my blood.

rockergurl13: i KNEW you wouldn't dissapoint me! most people forget about that thing, YOU ROCK! well, i loved this chapter, that Cran guy sounds like the meaner version of Yoda, good, i LOVE Yoda. this is AWSOME update ASAP!

Most people forget about what thing? Elfangor? I rock? Um, I mean, uh, of course...of course I rock! Yeah. And I was aiming for the "angry-at-kids-in-his-driveway-but-still-kind-to-others-and-still-wise-in-the-way-of-the-world" kind of guy, but Pissed Yoda works, too.

Elwing: You've taken a while to update. Were you out of ideas? Anyway, good chapter. But the name of the ship sets a kind of premonition for me.

Anyway, like I said, good chapter! Hope to see the next one soon!

Yes, ungodly short of ideas! And I have been distracted by certain...things. (Hint: They're everywhere and have an abnormal obsession with shoes.) And who says band girls aren't attractive? But anyways, I wanted the name to be more aggressive. I don't know why.

LucreziaNoin86: Oh no! Let him be ok, let him be ok.

Not much to say to that. Cross your fingers and thanks for the review.

Edriss: Well, this chapter too was interesting. Are you in some weird way following the Animorphs time line? You know, like Ax getting kidnapped by the One?

Wich, I don't know if you've ever watched Star Trek, sounds a lot like the Borg crossed with a ticked off Q.

This was a really great chapter. Please update soon.

AHHHHHH! You've figured it out! I mean, nice guess, but maybe not? Hence the title. But I've never seen Star Trek. All I know about that subject is William Shatner, "Set your phasers to stun/kill", and "Beam me up, Scotty".

LilManiac: glad youre back!
this is cool! Jake is back in the game!
loved the tiger bit. the instincts bit.
and the name of Ax's ship... the hunter... :)

Yes. I'm back, Jake is back, the tiger is back, Ax is – well, we will see about that.

Rachel

"THE ACTION."

I rolled my eyes.

"THE ROMANCE."

Marco jumped up on a hay bale, with a brush clasped in his hands. He was speaking into it like that movie announcer. The one that speaks in all the previews with a deep, dark voice.

We were in Cassie's barn. Yep, that one. The one that is now considered all but a shrine. After The End, as the dénouement of the war is called, Cassie offered to use her new fortune to reconstruct the barn into a huge new building, and renovate it with new equipment and a permanent staff to help her dad. But the National Historical Landmarks Society pounced on it, and it is now considered a greater attraction than Disney World, Vegas, and Hollywood combined.

So instead, Jake and Cassie bought her dad a huge five story building three miles to the east, with over twelve hundred employees, and the barn was closed to visitors today, because Jake had called a meeting. Just like old times.

"THE DRAMA." Too much like old times.

"You realize, of course, that Cassie probably scrubbed horse dung with that thing," Tobias pointed out. Cassie giggled as Marco dropped the brush as if it were aflame and possessed by the devil.

Marco smoothed back his hair and changed the subject. "Where's the fearless leader, Cassie? He said the meeting was at two and it is now," he glanced at his brand new Rolex watch, "one fifty-four."

Alright, so when we heard about the meeting we all arrived half an hour early, absurdly excited. Tobias raced from some news studio, I came from a shopping center, Cassie walked the three miles from the new Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and Marco came from some celebrity's house. Jake, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Tobias shifted uncomfortably and glanced at the rafters. "He should be here any minute."

It took seven before he slowly walked in the wide doors, head down and a solemn look. "Thanks for coming, guys," he greeted us. Marco looked at his longtime friend and cheerfully waved. "About time. You are late."

Jake rolled his eyes, and kept them rolling to his watch. "One minute. Just one minute late." His brief smile vanished, and we all sensed something bad. He glanced at the ground, then to Cassie, and looked up at the rest of us. "I won't drag this out. Ax is missing."

Nobody said anything. I think everybody was too stunned to reply. Ax? He couldn't just be gone.

Tobias was the first to speak up. "We'll go look for him," he blurted, and we all voiced agreements.

Jake shot us down quickly. "No."

It was said so powerfully, but also quietly, that Cassie and I became silent. Marco did not relent, however. "Hey, Mr. Big Man, if we want to risk our prosperous and valuable lives to save that flea-bitten Andalite, then we will. No matter what you say." He crossed his arms and Tobias continued where Marco left off.

"I can tell you want to protect us, but Ax is our friend, and my uncle, so I am definitely going and I'm sure they want to go, too." I started to agree, but Jake cut me off. He launched into some defining speech and I began to realize that I had become soft. I wanted to help Ax, but I was also averse to fighting again. Plus, Jake had cut me off twice! Twice! Since when did I let that happen?

"Hey!" I yelled. Jake closed his mouth and looked at me, irritated. "Listen to me, you self-righteous punk, we're a team, so we get to vote, right? Who wants to go?" Jake tried again to get a word in edgewise, but I wouldn't allow it. "No, you dull-witted jock, I am not going to listen to you. You had your chance, but now it's a vote. Who's going?"

Everybody raised their hands. I turned on Jake. "See? Democracy does win in the end." He glanced at the smirk on Tobias's face, Cassie's satisfied smile, Marco sticking his tongue out. He sighed.

"I'm going alone." Without another word, he left.

-

Jake sure does like to yell.

"Why, why, WHY can't you guys listen to me? In the war, sure, I could snap out orders, but now I tell you something and you pretend like I'm a bloody ghost!"

Tobias looked at our leader strangely. "You realize you sound British."

Marco tut-tutted. "Irish, man, can't you recognize Irish Rage when you see it? But where's the Love?"

I smiled. We were on the Soufflé, a large Andalite ship with two crew members and another Andalite by the name of Menderash. We were deep in space when forced to demorph, lest we be fleas roaming Jake's head forever. We had demorphed in front of three amused Andalites and one pissed off human.

"Menderash, take us back to Earth. We have some unwanted cargo."

I was ready to punch him. Why couldn't we go? Instead I walked to the navigations controls and pushed away one of the crew members. He whipped his tail to my throat. I could feel the smooth blade as I laughed. "Go ahead, behead me. Then head back to your High Command, or War Council, or whatever and explain why you killed an Animorph." I focused my eyes on his until he blinked rapidly. "All I'm here to do is help rescue Ax."

Jake started to give another command but Marco chimed in. "I figured this would be a mostly silent trip, so I brought some music. Weird Al, anyone?"