Chapter Two: Dreamings
Riley stood at the doorstep of the extravagant house belonging to Marco Peña and his wife, Jeanne Gerard-Peña. She raised her hand to do a simple movement such as ring the doorbell, but she paused. Did she really want to see them and have them know what she did? And not just to this world but to others? She couldn't keep those kinds of secrets for very long. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
"If anything goes wrong, I can just…" Riley spoke out loud, twisting the emerald ring around her finger. Just what? Travel out and leave everyone behind? Leave them to-
The door opened to a handsome, taller version of Marco who was around her age. "Can I help you?"
"Is Marco Peña here?" Riley asked. Prince Aximili had warned her about how long it has been and some things had changed. When she took Rachel back, Cassie and Ronnie had Jonathon and she was pregnant. And of course, there was Lee.
"Yes, would you like me to get him?" the boy asked, carefully.
"Tell him that it is Riley Sinclair and.." Riley paused, debating on what she should tell him. "And Prince Aximili told me to meet him here."
"Oh, you're her." The boy moved aside and held the door open but did not invite her in. She walked in, confused if she should be walking in or staying outside. The boy walked away, closing the door, and Riley followed him. Down a hallway with no-personality paintings and into a room where she nearly gasped.
Jake was sitting next to a boy identical to him when she first met him. The ex-leader of the Animorphs had always had old-man eyes but now he just looked beaten. The boy looked exactly like Jake except for the eyes, which were still young looking and optimistic.
On the same couch was another boy, appropriately distanced from the Berensons. On the couch across from them, sat Jeanne and two teenagers, one the boy from the door, and on the final couch was Cassie's family. Marco and Prince Aximili focused on a computer and a hawk was perched uneasily.
Riley smiled at the hawk, "It's good to see you again, Tobias."
>How are the other worlds, Riley?> Tobias asked in thought-speak. Tobias and Prince Aximili were the only Animorphs she had gotten along with- possibly because they were all outcasts. >Or did you take a break from making everywhere an Utopian paradise?>
Riley looked down. She knew Tobias wasn't happy at the end, when she had to take Rachel away from him. Again. But Tobias didn't know how horrible her last expedition ended. "Yeah. I'm sorry but it's been so long and last time I was here, you guys were barely older than me."
>Well, Jake and his son, Alex, and there's Lee. You haven't seen Lee since he was just barely six months old.> Tobias paused. Lee was half and half of Rachel and Tobias. Rachel's beauty and Tobias' goofy handsomeness made a very rugged and awkwardly attractive teenager. >Cassie and Ronnie with Jack and Rachel. And Jeanne and David and Phoebe.>
"Wow. Has this much time really passed?" Riley asked out loud. Receiving no answer, she continued. "So what's going on? Tobias? Prince Aximili?"
Aximili walked over and did a sort of bow and Riley, by impulse, bowed back, blushing at the treatment. He spoke, >There have been a few people related to the Yeerk War killed. Through dreams.>
"And I'm the only one that can travel there." Riley shook her head. "And I'm supposed to take some has-beens to fight?"
>Riley.> Tobias warned.
>No, we were hoping that you could take some of the children.> Aximili said. >Alex, Rachel, Lee, and David.>
"So, the son of Jake Berenson, Cassie's daughter who happens to be named Rachel, some smartass kid of Marco's, and the mess I caused." Riley repeated. "And the only one who has probably seen a dead person in this screwed up group is me."
"We need you, Riley." Marco said from the computer. "It was hard enough talking Jeanne and Cassie into letting Rachel and Davy go."
Riley just shook her head and frowned, "It's dangerous enough for me to travel but to take fours kids into a place as unpredictable as dreams. It's suicide. Especially if I die, they die."
Cassie started crying silently and Ronnie held her, whispering, "It will be fine, Cass" over and over again. Jake shifted uncomfortable and Jeanne hugged David and Phoebe. The children looked just as worried.
"Traveling isn't peaches and crème, especially between dreams." Riley said and shifted her weight. "And you want me to go between people's nightmares, people who might have been trapped in their own minds for years and saw the chaos that the Yeerks created, and rescue them from being killed. Do you have any clue how dangerous those nightmares will be?"
>We know, Riley, but if we don't stop him, we're next.> Tobias said, almost pleading.
"Do birds dream?" Riley joked and bit her lip, "I wanted to be done after I screwed up your life once. I can't fix anything."
>We need you to, Riley.> Tobias said, simply. Riley looked around the group and shook her head. >Riley, Mikhail was killed last week.>
Riley narrowed her eyes, "You were just playing me! You were just using me, Tobias! Not giving me a fucking choice in the end since you knew how far I would go for Mikhail!"
>We are sorry but we did not want to tell you unless we had to.> Aximili said and switched to private thought-speak. >I know you loved Mikhail and I did not want you to hurt. But he was killed for being an innocent boy captured by the Yeerks years ago.>
"Fine, I'll do it." Riley hissed, angry at everyone.
Author's Note: I am sorry but for some reason, I can't do " "s so if you know how I can change it, please tell me. Thanks for understanding.