"The art of frolis," Ax began, "is a delicate, inimitable one. It cannot be compared to anything tangible, it cannot be rationalized or predicted upon. No two are the same, even if the same subjects are used to draw the combined DNA from. It has been impossible to master, and is thought universally by Andalites to remain so."

"Does this mean even Cassie wouldn't be able to morph the perfect cross between Halle Berry and Jessica Simpson?"

"Shut up Marco," both Rachel and Cassie said at the same time.

They were sitting next to each other indian-style right outside the black tent the three days before everyone was set to leave for Washington. For the past week, all they and the rest of the people in the valley had done was finalize plans on exactly how they would get there, and that included everyone learning how to frolis maneuver. It was the only way they could efficiently disguise themselves in public, and was a lot safer than relying solely on discreet travel routes.

"You know, I'd be offended, if that double-team thing hadn't sounded so cool," Marco mumbled from his perch on a stump. Erek had managed to convince Eva to let him go, after some careful prodding and many reassurances. In the end, it came down to her trust in the son she inwardly knew was no longer a child.

"Go on Ax," Jake encouraged.

Ax began, "Frolis maneuvers are a two-step process. As you know, the first step is to acquire the separate sets of DNA from the donors you wish to combine. The amount of donors you can utilize for one frolis is theoretically infinite, but numbers that large are not nearly necessary for most purposes," he said, and added with an adorable blush, "my personal limit is five, as you can see."

Everyone smiled at that, even Tobias, who was only watching the demonstration out of curiosity. The Animorphs were depending on sky blue contacts and a continuously shaved head to be enough to conceal Tobias' appearance. Past that, there was not much they could do.

"For demonstration's sake, why don't you have someone try it now," Tobias suggested, and Jake nodded his agreement.

"Any volunteers?" he asked. A few moments passed before Cassie realized everyone's gaze had gradually turned on her. The girl shrugged and stood.

"Well, why not?" she couldn't help but grin, excited despite herself. She'd always been curious about trying a frolis maneuver, but never really had an excuse to do so until now.

She shed her outer clothing until she was down to her morphing suit.

"Why don't you start off with using only two donor sets of DNA," Ax suggested, and Cassie complied, first reaching down to acquire Rachel but remembering she already had the girl's morph, then walked over to the other side of the firepit to press her fingers lightly against Marco's cheek.

"I couldn't pass up an opportunity so inviting," Cassie said to Jake, Tobias, Ax and Marco's highly amused expressions, while Rachel just glared.

"Very funny, Cass."

After a few moments, Cassie lifted her hand from Marco's face and said, "Ready."

A warm, gentle breeze blew around them as Ax slowly coached Cassie through her first frolis.

"Concentrate first on the two of them separately. Make the image of them in your head as far apart as you possibly can." This was not to hard for Cassie. It wasn't too far of a stretch to imagine Rachel and Marco on two opposite sides of anything.

"Okay," she said faintly, in deep concentration.

"Now focus on superimposing the two separate images onto each other. See them combining, melting, fusing-"

Who knew this would be so raunchy-sounding...I like it! Marco thought to himself with a tiny grin.

As if Rachel were reading his mind, she simultaneously mouthed the word "Never" in his direction.

"This is harder than I thought, but I think I've got it,"Cassie said faintly, but not breaking her concentration.

Ax went on, softer.

"Don't force your imagination to create a picture of what you want, but let your subconscious control the power of your morphing from here on out."

For the next few moments, everyone focused on Cassie's face, which had taken on the appearance of a deep sleep. In fact, Jake started to ask her if she was okay when he noticed her skin was slowly, but surely lightening. It was changing from a milk chocolate tone to a light olive, a color perfectly between Marco's and Rachel's. Her nose became slightly more aquiline as her mouth almost imperceptibly became less full, while her face lost most of its heart shape for a more oval one.

They watched in awe as her dark curls grew out several inches to a straighter, almond brown with honey highlights. The last of the changes occurred in her stature and body shape, as she now stood about two inches taller with a slightly smaller bustline and narrower hips.

When Cassie finally opened her eyes, which had not changed at all in size, they found them no longer midnight brown, but a spectacular light hazel, with flecks of blue and even a bit of gold in the afternoon sun.

Rachel was speechless, and Jake, Ax, and Tobias grinned.

All Marco could think of was how sick he was to be so attracted to something that was essentially half of him. He glanced at Rachel, who still couldn't believe a cross between herself and Marco could turn out so well.

"Well? How did I do?" Cassie finally asked, with a voice that was no longer her own.

"So, what did you think?" Tobias asked Rachel as they walked towards their cabins for the last time before they would take off later on. Despite the fact him and Rachel would be spending so much time together within the next two weeks, he never (well, almost never) tired of being around the girl.

She looked up at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You probably think this is funny, and well...it kind of is. I never thought I'd see anything like that. I mean, basically Cassie's morph is what could happen if Marco and I ever had a kid. NOT that that would happen," she added at Tobias' somewhat agitated look. She poked him in the ribs and said, "Green's not a good look for you."

"Probably not."

The two fell into silence as they walked along the forest line, still about a quarter of a mile from the cabins.

Uncomfortable with the odd vibe now between them, Rachel ran her fingers over his bare arm.

"I wasn't serious, Tobias." He sighed, running a hand through his dark blonde hair.

"Rachel, I know you weren't serious. I just got to thinking about some things, that's all," he assured her, taking her hand into his. Now she was really curious.

"Like what things?"

He opened his mouth to speak before closing it, and instead looked at the grass covered ground in front of them as they strolled. Finally, he came to a stop.

"Like, um, the future. Our future, maybe."

"Go on."

Rachel slowly smiled, as Tobias' piercing but somehow still gentle gaze slowly traveled to hers.

"You know, I never really had a family. I had people who felt responsible for me, for my health and safety, but only because they thought they had to. I'm not saying I don't appreciate what my aunt and uncle did for me, but past that, I learned not to expect much when it came to making real connections to anyone. And I also learned to live with it. But after these past months, years...sometimes I think about what I could have...with you...."

"It scares you, doesn't it?" Rachel knew exactly what he was trying to say, because in a different way she felt the same. He let go of her hand to continue walking.

"More than anything, Rach. Because the way I feel about you, that's something I've never had before, and don't think I could lose."

The cabins were in view before they knew it, but instead of breaking away so Rachel could say goodbye to her mother and sisters, the two held each other close, both knowing that things would probably progress between them a lot sooner than either ever imagined.

"You're not gonna lose anything else, Tobias. Not if I have anything to say about it."

At that moment, Naomi poked her head outside and witnessed the tangibly emotional scene between the pensive blonde boy and her daughter. Frowning, she realized she had a lot more than Rachel's physical safety to worry about.

If it's not one thing...

While Rachel's mother was finally coming to the realization her oldest daughter truly was no longer a child, Marco's was strangely quiet as she went about her every day laundry tasks. In fact, Marco could've sworned by then he'd be knee-deep in another "the importance of sound judgment" lecture from her in the last few hours before their departure.

"No offense, Ma, but you're kind of disappointing me right now. I was all ready to take notes and everything," he said as he watched her fold and unfold the same pair of socks five times.

Eva glanced at him sharply, but said nothing, continuing her repetitive, futile movements.

The quiet air around them, along with majestic scenery was driving him crazy, especially when he could practically feel how horrible his mother must feeling about him leaving.

Before he could say anything else, Eva suddenly spoke up.

"There are things that need to be said, Marco. Many things..." she said to herself, finally placing her still hands in her lap, looking at her son, who grinned goofily.

"I knew you wouldn't let me down!"

Instead of rolling her eyes like she usually did at his smart mouth, she sighed.

"Mi hijo," Eva began softly, "this is not a joke. I'm about to share with you something I've never told, never wanted to tell. But you deserve to know, and in some ways, maybe you will understand my present feelings better."

Sobered, Marco focused his complete attention on his mother, whose eyes were already welling. He frowned-something was really up. She'd always erred more on the protective side of mothering, but he'd never witnessed firsthand a more serious air about her, not even after she was freed from Visser Two.

"Whatever it is, I can handle it," he assured her. Instead of answering, she just nodded, glancing down at her lap before looking at her son once more. This time, she smiled a little.

"You're such a strong boy. I'm proud of you." He blushed slightly, waiting for her to continue.

"Years ago, when you were much younger, your father and I spoke of having more children. We loved you more than we ever thought possible, and as time went by we realized one of the best things we could do for you was give you a brother or sister."

At this point, Marco still had no idea where her story was going. He wasn't too surprised by Eva's words, however, so he failed to ask the preliminary questions that were already swimming around his head. He let her continue.

"But getting pregnant the second time was harder. Of course, my age was part of the factor in that, so we visited a fertility specialist. Fortunately, it did not take long for the hormone cycles to work. I got the phone call confirming my pregnancy the day before your eleventh birthday, Marco," she told him, the tears she'd suppressed now coursing down her cheeks freely. She was crying not only from the remembrance of the joy she felt that day, but the sorrow she knew still plagued her son and husband.

Eva didn't need to fill in the next part of the story for her son, as he picked up with haunted words, "You drowned, mom. That was the same day you died."

Eva nodded silently, grabbing her son's shaking hands. For a few moments, the two sat in silence, anything that could have been said out loud would have done nothing to lessen the impact of what had already been said. Finally, Eva spoke up.

"Earlier that day, I'd went to your father's work to tell him the news in person. When he learned of the child, he was so very happy he nearly talked me into taking you out of school to tell you the news as well. Of course, I convinced him it could wait until after you birthday, so you could feel like an only child one more time before becoming a big brother. He agreed, and kissed me goodbye, and that was the last time I ever saw him again." By this time, her words were becoming shaky, but she pressed on.

"After I was captured, the first thing I remembered after waking up was a horrible feeling of invasion...my body was no longer my own. Before I could even begin to understand what was happening to me, the emptiness here-" Eva's hands were now firmly pressed against her abdomen "overwhelmed everything else. It was worse than anything, including the paralysis I also felt. I didn't even hope it to be untrue, I knew my child was gone from me. I knew that whoever had taken me had also taken my baby."

Eva and Marco were now embracing each other, all attempts at being strong for each other completely shattered. He couldn't believe his mother had carried such a terrible secret by herself for so long, it was no wonder her nights were plagued with nightmares.

"Jesus," was all Marco could get out. All he could do was hold her, as he focused all his strength on not thinking about how hard the days following his mother's death had been. And with a sickening realization, Marco thought, Dad didn't just lose his wife, but his kid, too.

When Eva finally let Marco go, he said, "I won't go if you don't want me to." Before he could get the words out, Eva was shaking her head.

"I didn't say this to you to guilt you into staying here with me. Just as you now know what I've told you, I also understand your duty. All I wanted for you was to understand that I refuse to lose my son, my first baby, that you must come back to me."

She had regained some of her composure, and her last words were infused with the familiar determination Marco had witnessed all his life from her, as her beautiful cocoa eyes reflected in his identical ones.

"Take care of yourself, mi hijo, and bring yourself and all of your friends back to me safely."

After his mother left to rest for a little while, Marco decided to try and find Erek and see if there was any way possible he could stay with his mother for at least a couple more days. On his way towards the meeting tents, he saw Cassie sitting against her own hut, far down across the lower part of the fields. Even though he'd just left a pretty emotional confrontation, he got the distinct feeling that was just the beginning.

He walked the several yards down to Cassie, who was staring intently at something concealed by her hands. She jumped at the shadow Marco's body suddenly made over her, and quickly righted herself.

"Hey Marco," she said with a shaky smile, an image that was highly contradictory and not at all the girl he knew.

Instead of replying right away, he just sat down beside her and waited for her to say what he knew had to be coming.

"So...was it positive?" he broke the silence Cassie wasn't willing to. She frowned at him.

"What did you just say?"

"I know what a pregnancy test looks like, Cassie. But it was a nice try." The girl just sighed and turned her head away from him, resting it on her knees.

"This is so messed up. I mean, I had some suspicions months ago, but when I got my period, I just didn't think it was possible...this shouldn't be possible. It just can't be," she whispered, giving him her answer.

Marco, although he didn't show it, was shocked. What were the odds of two bombs dropping in one day?

And they hadn't even left the valley yet.

Never in a million years did he think Cassie (or Jake, for that matter) would let something like this happen. He wasn't that surprised they were having sex, but he thought for sure they'd be more careful, all circumstances considered.

"Are you gonna have it?" he finally asked. Cassie turned her head back to look at him, her eyes blank but watery.

"I don't know," she murmured. She rubbed her fingers across the dust on the ground between them. "But you have to promise me you won't tell Jake, alright? It's really important to me."

"What?"

Cassie sighed again, trying to find the words.

"Just think about it Marco. Think about what kind of distraction that would be for him. It's also not fair to everyone else. We all have to focus on getting to North Carolina safely and fast, too. You shouldn't dwell on this. I'm not going to, either," she admitted.

Marco never thought he'd see the day Cassie would come off so nonchalant about a living creature, her own kid, no less. Between the conversation he'd just had with his mother and this one, he truly felt like he was in the twilight zone.

"Are you sure you can do that?" he couldn't help but ask. The girl pondered silently before answering, her face practically an open book to all the thoughts that were going through her mind.

"Honestly, yes," she spoke up, stronger. "If there's one thing I've learned in these past few months, there's no point in getting worked up over circumstances I can't change. For now, I can't change this one, and no one can know about it. Please, Marco?"

For the second time in just a matter of hours, he felt a great deal of conflict. On one hand, it was Cassie's right whether or not to inform Jake of their situation, even at the expense of her own mental well-being. On the other, Jake had a right to know about his potential child- period. Either way, people would get hurt. But in the end, he agreed that Cassie's reasons were the best not only for her and Jake, but for the entire group.

"Okay, I won't say anything. But please answer one question," he added, pulling the girl into the warm embrace he knew she needed.

"Yeah?"

"How could you even think about getting it on with a boy like Jake when you've got a man like me lighting up your life?"

Cassie stared at his serious expression for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. For that short time, she felt exactly like she did when her life was normal, when the only problems she had extended no further than the boundaries of her beautiful farm and an embarrassing crush on her best friend's cousin.

A/N: I apologize for the wait, and to any readers-don't hesitate to ask me any questions if you are confused about anything! Thanks for reading.