DISCLAIMER: See Ch. 1.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter briefly touches upon what may have happened with Sept. 11, 2001, as it happened in this universe. Check The Beginning and you'll see that it was published mere months before 9/11. That final book also mentions terrorism becoming a serious problem with visiting and resident aliens. I realize how much of a sensitive topic this is for lots of people, especially after what just happened recently in London. My sympathies go out to everyone and anyone who lost someone or something on that terrible day in New York City, as well as more recently in London.
CHAPTER 4
Tobias
A small celebration of sorts took place on board the Rachel as Ax was welcomed back.
(Thank you all for coming to my aid,) he said for all of us to hear as the Rachel zoomed through Z-space.
(Don't mention it,) I said. (You would have done the same for us.)
The thing is, I was Ax's shorm, and he was mine, so I knew it to be true. Shorm is an Andalite's tail blade, but for them, it has come to mean a person whom you could completely trust, like a best friend.
Just then, Marco snapped his fingers. "Oh, I just remembered!" He dashed out of the room, and came back in a moment later, hiding something behind his back.
"I have a riddle for you, Ax. What's about a foot in diameter, made and sold on Earth, and something all Andalites with human morphs now crave?"
(A Cinnabon, of course,) Ax said without the slightest hesitation.
"Wow, however did you guess?" Marco asked sarcastically as he revealed the wrapped Cinnabon from behind his back; as he waved it around, all four of Ax's eyes followed it eagerly. "We figured you could use some after being kept prisoner by The One… good thing it's still fresh and edible and –"
"MINE!" Ax declared gleefully, now in human morph and charging at Marco, fingers itching for the Cinnabon. He practically charged Marco down like a football player in his attempt to grab it. Wait, just how fast did he morph into a human so he could devour it?
I shook my head (or at least as best as I could, as a hawk). (Yup, it's him, all right.)
Menderash looked thoroughly shocked at seeing his commanding superior act so… juvenile. But then again, I guess he couldn't blame Ax. He was able to regain his composure just as Ax finished devouring his Cinnabon in what I was sure was record time.
"Poor, poor Cinnabon," Marco said aloud, with mock sorrow as he shook his head. "It never stood a chance." Santorelli snickered at this, and Jeanne had to hide a grin.
Ax had now reverted back to his true Andalite form, and was now business again.
(First Officer Menderash,) he said, addressing the only other Andalite on board.
(Prince Aximili.)
(As soon as we are out of Kelbrid space, please send a message to the home world informing them of my rescue. Once we return to Earth, we can go to the home world from there.)
(Yes, Prince Aximili,) he said, bowing dutifully and trotting over to the console.
Things became more relaxed from there as Ax acquainted himself with Santorelli and Jeanne, thanking them again for helping to rescue him. Ax and Jake did some catching up, and in a good sort of way, it was nice to watch them talk like old friends. For the last two years, especially since Visser One's trial, Jake and Ax very rarely were able to contact each other. Both were busy training future soldiers or commanding them; Jake told about his experiences training people even older than himself, Ax talked about the incidents which some clumsy arisths caused every now and then… Time certainly had gone by.
After all was said and done there, he came over to me.
(Hello, Tobias,) he said quietly in what I was sure was private thought-speak.
(Hi, Ax. Long time, no see.)
(That goes without saying. I haven't seen you since Rachel's funeral… not even at Visser One's trial.)
(I heard about that. I've had the past couple of months to catch up with Jake and Marco since we took off to rescue you.)
I couldn't bring myself to talk… I really didn't know what to say.
Deciding to change the topic, Ax commented, (It is good to see Jake doing better.)
(Yeah… then again, we've all changed. No one could go through what we have and not change.) I paused, thinking about things. (Then again, our differences all helped us now again. Me, the reconnaissance person, you, the alien expert… Jake the leader, Rachel the warrior, Marco the opportunist, Cassie the pacifist…)
God, I was rambling.
(Elfangor recounted in his hirac delest what his prince once told him: Some people are glorified in war, and some it destroys, even if they are among the victors. What's that saying humans have… something about fortune being blind?) Ax said.
(Yeah, I've heard that one before. Fortune must really be blind, especially if you consider how Marco has been quick to indulge in the luxuries ever since the end of the war. I've flown by his spacious new home from time to time; he's really done well for himself. Then again, you can't blame him for being happy, especially with his family reunited. His mom has mostly recovered, his dad has some highly important scientific job…)
(I should know,) Ax said, looking slightly amused. (He was at some of the meetings I held to discuss technological trade between humans and Andalites. I have said now and again that there may not be so much for Andalites to trade with humans because of how fast human science progresses, and he is proof of that. After all, why help those who can help themselves?)
Ax did have a valid point there: While Andalites were definitely more advanced than humans, human science went at a quicker rate than Andalite science had. The Andalites were willing to slowly trade technology, one bit at a time, as not to cause such a major leap in technology and all the chaos that would have come out of it. Most of it went towards commercial purposes and space travel; understandably, weapons were out of the question.
(I heard Marco saying once or twice that he was begging you to try and recreate that program you made once, after we had told him everything.) Neither of us could forget how Ax accidentally helped create something which he later used to contact the Andalite home world.
(No, he did not beg me "on hands and knees," as you would say, but he did keep looking at me in a way which would suggest that he would have done it.)
I had to mentally laugh at the image of that.
(Wait… you said something about Elfangor's… my father's hirac delest. What happened when that reached your home world? How did people react to that?)
(Well, it did cause a bit of a stir. They did censor some things out, mainly in regards to the Time Matrix and the Ellimist. Although, come to think of it, we also omitted details about the Ellimist, Crayak, David and the Time Matrix in our own accounts, so we are really in no position to criticize there.)
(I have to agree with you on that one. Although… what happened overall, once people learned of Elfangor giving us the power to morph, how did they take it? Were you let off the hook?)
(War-Prince Lirem and I stood before the Electorate on that issue. There was no real clear winner in that situation. I was absolved of any guilt, but they did have to agree with Lirem that telling the truth about Elfangor's deed, especially during wartime, would have been devastating to morale. So, in the end, Lirem and I both went on with our lives.)
There was a pause while Ax seemed to be thinking of something. (Tobias… When I returned to my planet, I recounted everything to my parents. After hearing both my stories and my brother's hirac delest, they expressed interest in meeting you. You are essentially all that is left of Elfangor.)
I didn't know what to say. I had lived the last three years as a loner.
(I don't know, Ax… I'll have to think about it. Why don't we just return to Earth first?)
(Agreed.)
A month or so later, we returned to Earth, or at least in our own solar system. We had dropped out of Z-space, and would fly to Earth the normal way for a few days. Ax and Menderash had immediately contacted the Andalite Electorate, telling them that Ax was taken hostage by The One (which we explained to the best of our ability), and our rescue. After they showed relief, we explained that there was a message to be delivered to them. They told us instead to give it to the Andalite ambassador to the United Nations, who would take it from there.
We had just gone beyond a boundary defined by the Moon's orbit when some systems came online.
"Unidentified ship, this is Planetary Security. Identify yourselves."
Jake took command. "This is Jake Berenson, with two of my students in the counterterrorism classes I teach, Sergeant Santorelli, a U.S. Army Ranger, and Miss Jeanne Gerard, who works for the French government in the Deuxième Bureau. Also with me are two Animorphs, Marco Espinosa and Tobias Fangor. Accompanying us are Andalite Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill and his First Officer, Menderash-Postill-Fastill. This ship is my own, called the Rachel."
There was momentary silence, and I knew whoever was on the other end was in awe of the famous Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs and hero of the human race. As for the ship we swiped… well, something told me that they would let Jake keep it, since he never asked for anything and didn't try to get anything after the war the way Marco did.
"Mr. Berenson, what have you been doing, and where have you been? Everyone here has been going nuts since you and your friends and students took off!"
Marco smirked at how instantly the professional, tough tone was dropped. Jake mainly ignored this as he explained the situation.
"Prince Aximili was kidnapped by some alien cult or collective, including some Yeerks who survived and escaped the war a few years ago. Menderash escaped the battle, and requested my help. We also are carrying messages from another alien race whose space we were in, and they have also been fighting this collective for some time, from what they've told us. I carry a message for the United Nations from this alien race; likewise, Prince Aximili carries one for the Andalite Electorate, who have told him to deliver it instead to the Andalite ambassador to the UN."
There was silence, and the person on the other end said, "I will contact the United Nations. Please wait."
For the next several minutes, we waited in silence, wondering what would happen from there.
The person on the other end contacted us again. "Clearence granted. Go to La Guardia Airport, landing pad 5."
"Thank you," Jake said with some relief bleeding into his voice, and then shut it off.
We slowly made the descent into Earth's atmosphere, coming at a narrow angle as we flew north along the Eastern seaboard. Finally, we came to a land in La Guardia Airport.
Over the past few years, airports all around the country, if not the world, had added some landing pads for any alien spaceships coming in. Due to how relatively few ships there were that came or left from Earth, most airports had a maximum of five or ten landing pads.
There was considerable security as we landed. Between the factors of aliens in general and urgent messages for world leaders, it wasn't surprising.
I knew how Jake had been teaching various law enforcement people from all over Earth how to morph into combat terrorism against resident or visiting aliens. Here in New York City, things became more apparent why.
On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America had damaged the Pentagon and destroyed the twin towers at the World Trade Center. The main reason for this was widely believed and accepted to be that the radical psychopath behind the attacks wanted to try again after the first attacks had failed some years before. However, people eventually reasoned that the presence of aliens on Earth and relations with them were an additional reason behind the attacks. It had come to be seen as a rude awakening to how some people on Earth wouldn't accept aliens from other planets, even peaceful ones with good and honest intentions.
In addition to the thousands of people killed that day, it just so happened that an Andalite ambassador was on his way there to work out some transfer deals when it happened, and had even bought his wife and son along. While the ambassador himself only got a few scrapes and bruises, his son was hit by falling debris and nearly killed. Some amateur photographer had taken a shot of a hysterical Andalite mother clutching her unconscious and possibly dying child. Even though the kid miraculously survived and pulled through, the image was still very powerful not able to be forgotten. Andalites may not be able to make a lot of the same facial expressions as humans can, but it still radiated grief and pain. It helped gain a lot of sympathy for Andalites and their tourists to Earth.
In case you can't imagine that horrifying image, think of it this way. Ever see the gigantic mural by Picasso entitled Guernica It's the size of a wall, entirely in black and white, and is one of the artist's most powerful works. In case you've never seen it before, look it up in a book or online. Now, look to the far left in the painting. You'll see a mother clutching her dead child, screaming with her head thrown back; it's so powerful, you can almost hear her screaming. Now, replace those human figures with Andalites, and you've more or less got an accurate idea of how horrible it was.
Anyway, since then, people had taken great pains to combat terrorism and crimes aimed at aliens, by both protecting said aliens and sniffing out the criminals responsible for the crimes. People like Jake now taught people how to morph and put the morphing power to good use for those reasons.
All that said and done, back to the present now.
As soon as we landed, Menderash, Ax and I all morphed human and did our best to look normal, since announcing our sudden arrival/return would undoubtedly have attracted unwanted attention. From there, we walked over to where two limos were waiting for us. The two Andalites and I went in one limo while the others went in the other one.
"I can only imagine how people are going to react to all this about the Kelbrid," I said, partly expressing what was on my mind and partly to make conversation.
"Which people?" Ax asked me. "Humans, or Andalites?"
"Now that you mention it, both."
"I didn't dare tell the Electorate that the territory we were in belonged to the Kelbrid," Menderash admitted among us.
"Yeah, well, I suppose they'll find out soon enough, won't they?"
The traffic was miraculously and mercifully quick that day, as far as NYC traffic goes. About halfway through, the three of us took turns demorphing and remorphing; at least no one could see us through the shaded windows.
We were about ten minutes away from the United Nations when the phone rang. After hesitating a moment, I answered it.
"Hello?"
Marco's voice hailed me. "Hey Tobias, is this sweet or what?"
I hung up.
Both Ax and Menderash looked at me curiously, but I just said, "Please, don't ask."
Finally, we arrived at our destination. We (or at least Jake and Marco) speedily went inside before anyone could stall us (or at least them) for whatever reason. Several minutes and a checkpoint or two later, we arrived right outside the main doors to that large chamber all the delegates from different countries meet in. The three of us demorphed, and Ax allowed me to perch on his shoulder.
(Prince Aximili?) came a voice in thought-speak from behind us.
We all turned around to see the Andalite ambassador whom I mentioned earlier, who had been an alien witness to Earth terrorism. His name was Camsorar-Nithlor-Ambadal. He was middle-aged, for an Andalite, and from what Ax had told me, he was overall a kind and decent Andalite who saved his tough side for meetings. It was he who proposed a counterterrorism force with morph-capable members after what he and his family lived through on 9/11, after some people had suggested the idea. Camsorar was also the Andalite who was responsible for the care of the Escafil device which Jake used in his classes.
(Ambassador Camsorar, it is a pleasure to see you,) Ax said genially. (How are you doing?)
One of Camsorar's redeeming qualities was his sense of forgiveness; he did not begrudge the entire human race for what a handful of criminals and terrorists did on that day. He understood it as what we humans tended to call "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." With an Andalite smile, he said, (As usual, contending with everything from delegates of this planet's nations to dealing with this city's notorious traffic.)
Marco chuckled lightly behind us, and I admit that if I were in my human morph at that time, I would have allowed myself a small smile.
The smile disappeared, and Camsorar became more serious at that point. (What happened, Prince Aximili? Everyone on the home world was panicking when reports of your abduction came through, and nearly everyone here on Earth was acting the same way when your friends disappeared, presumably to rescue you.) Here he gestured towards us.
(In short, I was abducted by this collective called The One. It is comprised of belligerent Yeerks, some Skrit Na and even some Norshk pirates. They held me hostage in Kelbrid space.)
All four of Camsorar's eyes looked about ready to fall out of their sockets and roll across the floor.
(The Kelbrid?) he whispered, almost fearfully.
Ax went on a little quickly, hoping to pacify the ambassador. (There is nothing in the Andalite-Kelbrid treaty about humans entering their territory. My First Officer, Menderash, even allowed himself to become a nothlit trapped in a human body. They came to my aid; they even killed the Yeerk who killed the Animorph Rachel, and the Blade ship was destroyed. The One abandoned me and fled, and we escaped. However, our ship was damaged in the explosion. When we came to, we found that the Kelbrid had rescued us and fixed everything so we could return here to Earth. They even thanked us for dealing such a blow to The One!)
I had no clue what or how Camsorar was feeling right at that moment, but he looked and Menderash and slowly asked, (If Menderash was trapped in a human body, then how is it he's an Andalite again?)
A little uneasily, Menderash answered, (I don't fully understand it myself, Ambassador, but they somehow had the technology to reverse the problem. It's as though I never became a nothlit to begin with!)
By now, Camsorar looked so stunned that the slightest breeze probably would have made him topple over.
Turning back to Ax, he asked, (What did the Kelbrid look like?)
A little embarrassed, Ax replied, (We don't know. We never had the opportunity to see them. Then again… that matters rather little, since they forgave the trespass into their territory. They didn't want to argue as to whether or not an Andalite nothlit trapped as a human still counted as an Andalite, and since I was held captive by The One against my will. From the way they treated us, you would have never even guessed how hostile they could be!)
An awkward silence followed this. (Yes indeed, Aximili,) Camsorar said, regaining his posture. (This is indeed fascinating.)
(I almost forgot,) Ax suddenly blurted, retrieving the disc. (This is a message from the Kelbrid for the Electorate. I contacted them, but they told me to give it to you instead.)
(I know,) Camsorar replied with a small smile as he accepted the disc, (since they contacted me about it only a day or so ago.)
Just then, the doors opened, and the guards led us inside.
The murmuring subsided as all the different delegates focused on us.
I stayed off to the side with Ax as Jake explained everything that had happened, from planning their attempt to rescue Ax to our rescue by the Kelbrid. (Here, Comsorar briefly explained about the Andalites' treaty with them.) From what could be gathered, The One, whatever it was, was not a threat which could be easily ignored.
The delegates were now all understandably nervous about a new alien threat, but knew better than to simply panic. Once that was done, Jake turned to the small disc. "I don't know how to activate this…"
And as if on cue, the disc glowed and projected a hologram that nearly touched the ceiling. A hooded figure was shown, but we could not guess how it appeared underneath the hood.
In what seemed like their own version of thought-speech, it was projected to all occupants in the room, bypassing language barriers.
GREETINGS, PEOPLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF EARTH. I AM THE LEADER OF THE KELBRID PEOPLE.
AS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD BY NOW, WE KELBRID HAVE HAD A LONG-STANDING SIMPLE PROVISO WITH THE ANDALITES. THEY DO NOT ENTER OUR SPACE, WE DO NOT ENTER THEIRS. HOWEVER, WE ARE CONSIDERING DOING AWAY WITH THAT TRUCE, NOT JUST BECAUSE IT WAS INVOKED AFTER THE YEERKS STARTED THEIR WAY, BUT BECAUSE WE ALLMAY HAVE TO FIGHT TOGETHER TO DEFEAT THIS BEING WHO CALLS HIMSELF "THE ONE."
THE ONE IS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS BEINGS IN THE KNOWN GALAXY. IT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE SHAPES AND MORPH MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN EVEN THOSE WHO POSSESS THE POWER TO MORPH BY WAY OF ANDALITE TECHNOLOGY. IT CAN ALSO POSSESS BEINGS MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN ANY YEERKS CAN.
THE ONEHAS STARTED SOMETHING OF A CULT, ROUNDING UP EVIL YEERKS STILL BITTER OVER THEIR DEFEAT IN THE YEERK WAR, PLENTY OF SKRIT NA, AND EVEN SOME PIRATES BELONGING TO A RACE KNOWN AS THE NORSHK. THERE MAY BE GOOD ODDS THAT THE ONEHAS HIS SIGHTS SET ON EARTH, EVEN IF YOUR PLANET IS BEYOND ITS REACH AT THE MOMENT. EVEN IF THE KELBRID AND SOME OTHER ALIEN RACES ARE THE ONE'S CURRENT TARGETS, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL STOP WITH US AND SIMPLY LEAVE OTHER PLANETS AND PEOPLES ALONE. IF LEFT UNCHECKED, A SINGLE PROBLEM CAN BECOME EVERYONE'S PROBLEM.
JAKE BERENSON, AND THE REST OF THE CREW WHO SERVED ON BOARD THE SHIP HE CALLED THE RACHEL, MANAGED TO DEAL A SEVERE BLOW TO THE ONE, BUYING US SOME TIME. HOWEVER, MORE ACTION MUST BE PLANNED.
IF THE PEOPLE OF EARTH WISH TO ASSIST US IN DEFEATING THIS GREAT EVIL WHICH THREATENS ALL, WE WILL WELCOME ANY HELP. IF THEY WISH TO STAY OUT OF THIS CONFLICT, WE WILL ACCEPT THAT, AND WE WILL NOT PRESSURE OR COERCE THEM INTO DOING SO.
WHEN THIS MESSAGE IS FINISHED, TWO SMALL BUTTONS WILL APPEAR ON THIS DISC. THE GREEN BUTTON WILL BE A CONFIRMATION OF AT LEAST CHOOSING TO MEET WITH US, AND WORKING FROM THERE. THE RED BUTTON WILL BE A REFUSAL BE GET INVOLVED IN THIS CONFLICT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND PATIENCE.
And with that, the message ended.
All the delegates murmured worriedly. What were they going to do?
In the end, the delegates decided to wait a few days, during which they would meet with their own governments and decide what to do. Likewise, Camsorar went off to contact the Andalite Electorate.
My human friends, on the other hand, went to face the governments they worked for. They had done plenty of things to answer to.
All five of us – Jake, Marco, Jeanne, Santorelli, and myself – were questioned later that day and debriefed by the military, and were all essentially forbidden to mention any details of our rescue. The story was this: We heard that Prince Aximili was in trouble, we went off to rescue him, we succeeded in doing so, got help from a native alien species in the area, and returned.
However, something told me that the government didn't want me, Tobias, the Missing Animorph, to suddenly get loose again beyond where anyone would find him… and for more than just security reasons. In the end, I had to promise them that I would stay with Cassie and Toby Hamee.
Finally, they let us go, and I went off to find my Andalite uncle.
As I later found out, Ax and Menderash were also told off, but to a lesser extent. Ax had gone against Andalite protocol by boarding himself once he discovered the hairs to be that of the Yeerk who killed Rachel in polar bear morph, and Menderash for also playing his part in the unauthorized rescue. I think Ax's Andalite superiors may have disliked it a little that he should go off to "avenge" the death of a non-Andalite alien. Andalite superiority and all that, I guess.
I demorphed and walked down the hall of the government building to the room where Ax and Menderash were communicating to the Andalite home world. I got looks of admiration and awe as I walked down, from seasoned war veterans all the way down to new recruits. I tried to ignore them without looking too acerbic.
The door to the room opened just as I was a few feet away from it. Menderash trotted out, but then stopped briefly to give me a curt bow. (It was an honor to fight alongside you, Tobias.)
"Likewise, Menderash," I replied evenly. "Take care of yourself."
Menderash acknowledged it, and then left, shrugging off the occasional look some people gave him. I guess lots of people were more used to seeing Andalites on TV or in pictures than in person.
Ax stayed behind, looking at me with his passive, emotionless face. He said to me in private thought-speech, (I'm still here because I am about to contact my parents, in a separate message just for them. Do you wish to talk to them?)
I was speechless. I honestly didn't know what to say, either. I had grown up bereft of any real family, and now I was being offered to the opportunity to talk to my alien grandparents. (Of course, I didn't consider them less important simply because they were of another alien species.)
I demorphed back into a hawk and spoke to Ax in private thought-speech, not wanting the people around me to hear. (If it's not a problem, Ax, please tell them that I would like to meet them, on a better occasion.)
He nodded (a human gesture he had obviously picked up from us), and replied, (As you wish, Tobias.)
I bade him farewell, and flew out an open window.
Instead of all of us going back to California, we were able to get some rooms in New York City, where our clothes were shipped to us. We were able to keep it low-key as not to announce our presence to tons of people who wanted to welcome us back (and a few who wanted to give us hell for whatever warped reasons they had). Jake and Marco shared a room, I got paired up with Santorelli, Jeanne got a room all to herself… and, surprisingly, Ax and Menderash were able to make do in a nice, big hotel room. At least we picked a hotel close to Central Park, should one or both of them want to go out and graze.
Here, I was back among human civilization again… oh great, now I was brooding to myself again.
Actually, I had done plenty of brooding over the past three years: Whether or not I should live the rest of my life as a hawk or a human, how I missed Rachel, etc. However, I knew what was going on with the other Animorphs all the time, since I could see newspapers from far away and see what was going on with them.
I spent a lot of time hanging out with my namesake, Toby Hamee, the Hork-Bajir seer. Often, I felt like she was the only one I could talk to. Even with the rest of her fellow Hork-Bajir living their simple lives in Yellowstone, maybe she felt a bit like an outsider because of her higher intelligence… in fact, probably the same way her ancestor Dak Hamee felt all those years ago back on the Hork-Bajir home world.
I kept thinking to myself… did I want to rejoin the human race? Back then, Rachel seemed like the only reason I would have given up being a bird forever. I preferred an overall good life as a hawk than the fairly miserable life I had had as a human.
Then again… there was now the new Kelbrid doohickey which could undo "nothlit-ism," as Marco had called it. That was worth considering. Just like after I got the morphing power but before I first became trapped as a bird… I would be mainly human, and become a bird again if I chose. Maybe if I ever encountered the Kelbrid again, I could ask them.
A couple of days later, Ax asked if I wanted to go for a walk in Central Park with him. (It has only recently occurred to me that I have not been able to enjoy this planet's natural beauty while walking in the open, especially if compared to the few years I fought alongside you when I had to hide my true form. Besides, with all the Andalite tourists these days, I would not stick out.)
And so, after Marco spared me some clothes, I was fit to walk out in the park.
Hardly anyone recognized me as Tobias the Animorph, since I was now obviously older and was rarely seen in human form. Hardly anyone recognized Ax either, probably because all Andalites looked more or less the same to them.
"I've been considering your offer for me to meet your parents," I said quietly. "I suppose I'm a little jumpy and afraid of meeting them. I honestly just don't know what to say to them."
(They want to hear of your exploits. More importantly, they just want to get to know you.)
"Yeah, I guess I just don't know what to expect. Don't get me wrong, Ax, it's not because they're a different species from me…"
(I know, Tobias. I know.)
"So… yes, I guess I do want to meet them."
About a week after we had returned, we were back in the main chamber. Jake and my other human friends essentially got off with a slap on the wrist each; while they had done plenty wrong, plenty of good had also come out of it. Jake would be doing a lot more work in the near future to compensate for all he had missed, as did Santorelli and Jeanne. However, it seemed that they let him keep the Rachel. I think they all agreed that maybe he would need it, just in case some other conflict started up in the near future.
It was agreed that humans would at least meet with the Kelbrid to know what was going on; they would work everything out from there. So, a transmission was sent back through Z-space from the device Jake had delivered from the Kelbrid. In return, a display popped up, showing a good place to meet on Earth which was far from any real places that could be in danger: The American desert.
It also turned out that the Andalites would also be meeting with the Kelbrid there. The fact that these were leftover evil Yeerks who survived the war was a primary reason; I guess they wanted to finish the job, and in all honesty, I couldn't blame them. The fact that the Kelbrid wanted to do away with the proviso was another thing; plenty of Andalites now expressed genuine interested in seeing what these Kelbrid even looked like.
Finally, it was time for us to return home. Jake, Marco, Santorelli, Jeanne and myself had seen off Ax and Menderash as they departed for the Andalite home world on a departing shuttle, and we returned home on a private jet which Marco had managed to acquire.
While Marco managed to absorb most of the attention, it did allow the rest of us to get away and avoid the same attention which we didn't want.
I perched on Jake's shoulder as his parents came up to us. After all they had been through, they seemed to be doing well. However, what his mother said next nearly made me fall off laughing.
"Jake, how could you steal spaceship to rescue your alien friend and not even tell us?"
I had to admit, that was pretty funny. I mean, how often would you hear a human mother tell that to her son?
"Yeah, well… sorry," Jake said, looking embarrassed.
Jake was lucky that Marco wasn't here: He would have been laughing his butt off.
They talked a little more, until I excused myself and departed.
The last thing I heard with my hawk hearing was Jake telling his parents something quietly. "By the way… Tom says hi."
I had no idea what that meant, but I figured I wasn't supposed to, either.
TBC…
A/N: This is a transitional chapter, I admit, but a necessary one. (Not to mention LONG.)
Next part is where we finally meet my version of the Kelbrids, and see what they look like… –Quillian