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JOHN

The Ellimist had returned. I remember the last time I saw him. A year ago, in a gladiator-like arena, given the choice to play a game to save Earth

We had succeeded and I thought we would never see him again

I was wrong

There he was, before us all, looking like a frail, wise old man, with glowing blue skin. Talk about freaky

And here he is, telling us about an offer that he's giving us

"Crayak is furious, in fact he's so furious, you are all he can think about"

"What did we do to him this time?" asked Dad

I also knew about Crayak, the evil force that we fought against. In fact, when he had to fight him, Leah went off her head. But we fought all the same and won. Now hearing his name brought shivers to my body. I knew about the history between Crayak and my father. How Crayak wants Dad dead for all the trouble he's caused

"You do not know of this, but your children played a game last year"

Mom glared at me, as Rachel and Adam joined Tobias. Dad also spun around to give me his what-did-you-do look

"The only reason you don't know is because your memories were altered," continued the Ellimist

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mom asked Sam

"You never knew, so we decided not to tell," he answered

"Now Crayak's mind is obsessed with killing you all," said the Ellimist, "and what not a better way than to destroy Earth"

"What?" asked Rachel in a deadly voice

"Who would be better to give us the news, him or the Drode?" asked Marco, "hey we're here to tell you that Earth's gonna be destroyed"

"But alas, not all is doomed," said the Ellimist, "We decided on a game. If you fight and win, Earth is saved. If not, well then, I don't have to tell you, do I?"

"What's the game like?" asked Dad

"A battle ground, with two fortresses. You occupy one and plan out your battles and strategies and the Yeerks and Howlers get the other"

"Yeerks and Howlers?" said Ax in disbelief

The Ellimist nodded as if he was agreeing

"There is also a time limit. Two weeks to fight and win, or Earth is gone, no questions asked"

"Why couldn't you fight Crayak?" asked Tobias

"Tobias, if they were to do such a thing, there would be no Earth at all. The force of their powers would annihilate the solar system," replied Ax

"Great, now we have no choice but to fight in a war, right?" said Marco

"If you want to save Earth, yes. And you know how much I love Earth. Such a wonderful and beautiful place"

"Can I pack some swimming suits and clothes?" asked Rachel

"You can pack some clothes, yes, but there is no swimming hole," answered the Ellimist

"Hey bro, you think we can do this?" asked Sam

"We've got no choice," said Leah, "I'm up for it"

"That's you. The rest of us aren't sure," I said

"Think about it. If we beat Crayak, we've beat him overall," said Sam

"And we have kicked his butt last year," said Leah

"They have a point," said Tori

"Fine, I'll agree," I said

"Same here," Tori agreed

We turned back to watch our parents discuss this situation

"Do we have supplies, like do we have what we need?" asked Dad

"Everything is catered for," answered the Ellimist, "you can pack some clothes and you have rooms, food, water and all other supplies. It's like a mansion, but it's fortified"

"How long do we have to decide?" asked Marco

"Well I was given two days to convince you, but it looks different otherwise"

"Cassie, Melissa and kids, come on over, we're taking a vote," said Dad

I had just realized that Melissa wasn't frozen like Ashley was. And neither was Damien

"Can I take my girlfriend along?" asked Adam, "it would suck having her there, frozen like that"

"No offence Adam, but what can she do?" asked Tobias, "she can't morph and we don't have the cube, plus we don't have time to get her morphs"

"She could be emotional support, just have someone there," said Adam

"Well, I think there is nothing wrong with bringing her along," said Rachel

"Besides, she knows about my morphing power"

"Fair point," said Tobias

"Come on guys, let's focus," said Dad

"Ooh, he's back, General Patton is back in the house," said Marco

Dad grinned and turned back to the Ellimist. By now, everyone had joined him, including Ashley who had a bewildered look on her face

"Alright, we're voting now," said Dad, "who's in favour of fighting?"

Rachel, Leah, Tobias, Sam, Tori, Adam, Mom and I raised our hands

"You know, this isn't the first time, but I'm going too," said Marco

"I'll follow you wherever you go, my prince," said Ax

"Melissa and Ashley, you know what's going on?" asked Dad

"Yeah sure, we're going to war," answered Melissa

"Alright and you know that I'm voting too"

"So that's eleven to nil," said Marco, "we're back in the olden days"

"Back to the screaming and running around," said Tobias, "as you called it"

"Let's do it," said Rachel

"I knew she'd say that," smiled Marco

"Ellimist, you have your answer," said Dad, "we're going to fight"

"But not until I've packed some clothes," said Leah

"Go for it," said the Ellimist, "I'll wait until you're ready"

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