Tobias

I stared into the fire appreciating its warmth for the first time in ages, Rachel had convinced me to join her some hours ago. Even after she had gone to bed I had remained, for the first time in a long time feeling remotely human. I was overwhelmed by impossibilities, trying to grasp everything yet not succeeding in getting a handhold. Elfangor was alive!

Will you not hunt tonight Tobias? Ax stood behind me. I shook my head. Then perhaps you will join me for a run?

I found myself morphing Andalite and galloping across the grass in the valley, the cool night air whipping through my fur. Pushing ourselves faster and faster we raced through the night, my legs ached and I was breathing hard but I felt somewhat free. Good or bad, my life and it's horrible rejections and pains was finally giving back some of happiness that had been taken. For the first time today I spoke to my father…

Tobias! I turned one of my stalk eyes to look at Ax who was behind me eyes bright with that Andalite smile and a look that said slow down. Laughing I slowed my gait and broke into a lively trot allowing him to catch up, finally stopping beside a small stream. We were sweaty, hot and tired, but the good kind of tire that you get after a hard days play with your friends. I stuck my hoof in and felt my thirst getting quenched.

What do you think Ax, about all of this? I had wanted to speak to him ever since we had returned to the valley, I knew when he was ready he'd talk. He had taken Elfangor's death hard.

About what, there are so many things I am thinking right now. I am confused Tobias. I missed my brother greatly and would have given anything to see him alive and I have no doubt that it's him but at what price? To him and the rest of us, what does this mean for earth? Then there is your mother, how does she remember these things? She spoke words she could not have known to a man that she should not have remembered. There are many things I don't know.

We had started walking back, the sound of our hooves echoing between out words. The night birds sang the mournful songs, all of it seemed surreal like a waking dream.

Elfangor's a good person right? Your always telling me how honorable and respected he was as a commander and a brother so I am sure whatever made him comeback if he had a choice was something that would help not hurt. As for my mom maybe he wanted to help her so he asked for her memory back? Any power that could bring the dead back to life should be able to fix stuff like that.

Yes, I suppose. But he was rather rude today, even for a war-prince. He smiled, in all actuality we had met far worse and Ax knew it. I smiled back.

You're just saying that because you nearly choked to death on potato chips.

Well it would have been interesting for him to explain on the homeworld, first of all how he is alive and secondly how his little brother manages to survive so many battles and dies by potato chip.

Yes death by potato chip, he said dryly. I know something else Tobias, whatever his reasons are for returning I am certain he loves us.

I don't know why but those words were in my head many hours after Ax spoke them, an echo of hope where there had not been for a long time. We walked the rest of the way back in the silent company of our own thoughts, and even after Ax had gone to his scoop I stared up at the night sky and its breathtaking expanse above.

TOBIAS… My name drifted to me on the wind. TOBIAS!

Ellimist?

"Yes." He stood there like a funny elf, out of place in such a rugged place and motioned me back over to the fire where I demorphed. "Is the andalite child taking it well?"

He's fine, I said guardedly, the Ellimist never comes to chat.

"I am sure there are many things you would like to know and some I will tell you but much I will not. In all good time though much will be revealed." He stared at me almost seeing through me. "You are a lot like him you know, that's why I help you, that's why I help him."

My face was blank a look I had perfected, I didn't want him to know how eager I was to hear these things he spoke.

"I did not break the rules Crayak did and there had to be a balance, for every good there is an evil and so on. Crayak is a destroyer," he said flatly. "I give life… I have often over used Elfangor a pawn, but he did his duty and did it well. So I gave him the chance to live, because in the end I left him no choice but death."

I couldn't believe it; the Ellimist felt guilt at the lives he had ruined.

"In this game though some must die so that other's live. He didn't leave you by his choice I took him. Took him from his home from his home moments before your mother arrived to tell him she was with child, then placed him in a battle where he had no choice but to fight or watch his people die at the hands of Visser Three. Both of you are more important then you in your own lives will ever comprehend, to whom much is given much is expected. Your purpose is only beginning, allow him to teach you. I have always held the greatest expectations for you both always seeing what you were to become."

He fell silent. My mind was racing; it was like my higher callings in life had been revealed and like a knight of old I had no choice but to embrace my destiny. Somehow I knew Rachel would be proud. Why are you telling me this?

"The pieces are in motion, but the gamers have lost control." He looked at me sadly his black eyes unreadable as he faded away into the night mist.

What's that supposed to mean? I said to the night, I didn't expect an answer.

DARKNESS ENFOLDED THE LIGHT AND THE LIGHT COMPREHENDED IT NOT, BUT DARKNESS TURNED TO SHADOW AND THE LIGHT PRAVAILED.

The cryptic words smother the night leaving me in a silent black world. What was the darkness, the yeerks, the war or something far deeper and more sinister? That night I dreamed of things long before my birth, of an andalite child and a girl, taxxons and time matrixes and yeerks. For the first time I saw him, the glowing orb of his eye yet he could not see me. I dreamed of what might be and what was.

Alloran

My head was pushed under the slim of the yeerk pool just long enough for that abomination to crawl out of my ear. Two massive hork-bajir held me in a vice like grip, but it had been along time since I had actually fought them. I had bided my time and today I would fight because I had felt the Visser falter as he looked at the gore in Chapman's home and I had felt his fear. He had seen his death and knew somewhere out this planet awaited a messenger of death called Elfangor.

My head was jerked up as I was dragged down the pier towards my holding area. I began to struggle, not much but it caught them off guard long enough for me to break free for just a few seconds. But when one has been enslaved a few seconds can be a lifetime.

People of Earth and all those in need of hope! I shouted, a ripple went through the cages, I felt alive. Those words were mine; these precious seconds were all I had. Fight! Fight now because freedom and vengeance will come. Defeat is coming to our captors and we shall once again rise up to fight our oppressors, now when they're afraid. You see Chapman is dead, the others will soon -.

A dracon beam on stun knocked me down, I couldn't move and my eyes stared blankly but I saw them and I saw hope once again live in this dreadful place. Well at least I will really piss that yeerk scum off. I remembered the human girl Loren years ago, how she fought the Visser knowing that he would destroy her but fighting anyway. I could only hope there were enough like her.

I was aware of being dragged across the floor of the yeerk pool and shoved into my holding cell, then I was aware of nothing.

Loren

We were on our way back to the Valley and the events of the past few days ran over and over again in my mind. He hadn't been home last night for over three hours then when he did return I found the cloths and the blood… I didn't know what happened, maybe a run in with some yeerks… Then this morning I saw the news… I almost didn't want to believe what I saw but there was no denying how "coincidental" it all seemed. I couldn't believe that Elfangor, MY Elfangor would do such a thing. When I asked him about it, he didn't say anything except for me to not ask him about it again.

"Where do I turn?" He reached over to get my attention.

"Up here on the right is the entrance to the national park. Up a mile or so is a parking lot you can leave your car, just take the plates off. Waste of a Mustang I know but we don't have a choice." I smiled sadly; trying to pretend everything was normal. He just looked so… intense. We pulled into the parking lot and he shut off the car. Sighing heavily he reached for my hand.

Who are you, I wondered that you are able to love with the same hands that kill?

"Loren, about last night I don't really know what happened, I just don't know anymore. One minute I was waking up beside you and the next I had the sudden urge for revenge I don't even understand it because now I feel nothing but guilty. I am a soldier, but that was murder…" His voice faded and when he looked at me it was as if he was seeing something else. Maybe it was his eyes or the sincerity in his voice, but whatever it was I believed him, why not I thought stranger things have happened.

"Listen we'll have to tell them maybe not now but soon. For now let's just get back to the valley and talk to the others and everything will be alright." I reached for his hand and squeezed it, trying to be comforting, but with an Andalite how can you be sure.

"Your right, but we better be going." He climbed out of the car and so did I. By the time I was out he had both backpacks and was walking towards the woods. I ran after him. We walked silently for about half a mile till finally he stopped and set the backpacks down. "I'm going to demorph. How well do you know where we're going? Could you get us there with out us flying and having to come back for this stuff?"

"Um… I guess I could." He grinned; I felt this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Excellent." Immediately he began undressing, I turned around in a belated sense of modesty. The fact I was going back to my son and what was now my home did little to quell the uneasiness in my stomach. Whatever power or powers had given me back my memory and brought him back to life were probably capable of things we would never fully comprehend. If they would make a man kill in cold blood what else could they do?

I am ready. Turning around I looked at the Andalite that had I had just been kissing. He smiled, Yeah I know I'm a sexy beast.

How he ever managed to say that with a straight face I don't know but it took several minutes for me to stop laughing.

Glad to see you're feeling better but we need to hurry, someone is bound to notice a car with no plates. He reached down and pulled some rope out of one of the packs and began fashioning a harness of sorts so the bags could be carried on his back and not slip off. I had to give him credit, he was a quick one that andalite. Now the hard part, hop on.

"What?" I couldn't believe it. You don't ride an andalite!

You've done it before, look into your memory and you'll see. He was right I hadn't actually had time to search my memory completely but when I looked for it I found a memory of a strange universe and riding an andalite. Placing my hand on the small of his back and the other one by the base of his tail I settled myself on his back and stifled the urge to kick him in the ribs like on does a horse. We rode for what seemed like hours stopping to get a drink and to check our directions, I never realized how far into the park the valley was, because we had always flown I was sure he was exhausted but he never faltered.

The ride for me was exhilarating the wind in my hair, the thundering of hooves. It was like out of a movie, ducking branches and trees jumping over logs. I wished I had taken my mother up on the riding lessons she had wanted me to take as a teenager. "Over there, that's the entrance to valley," I pointed.

Cassie

We were all sitting around the fire as my parents cooked some more survivalist food and Marco's mom talked strategy. There are some days when living in the forest makes me feel so at one with the earth and living out here isn't as bad for me as some of us. But then when I remember the feel of battle and watching so many innocents suffer it feels like the camping trip from hell. We were waiting on Loren and Elfangor to arrive. Jake sat down beside me and kissed me and for the first time since we moved here he seemed young again. Jake needed a break.

"Where's Marco?' It was Rachel. "Tobias and I are supposed to be going flying and instead here we are but where is he?"

"Patience Beautiful I have arrived." He sounded cheery enough but I had seen that look on Marco's face enough to know something was wrong. Apparently the other's had too everyone settled down. I looked at Ax he stood off to the side stalk eyes scanning in all directions.

"So there I am watching Ax's TV, you know the one he rigged up and I'm flipping though the channels and the news comes on. Last night there was a gruesome triple homicide apparently someone barged in and shot three people in the head. But before they left they put these funny moon things on their faces or whatever."

"Yeerk activity maybe but too messy." Jake said thoughtfully.

"They would have never left the bodies." Eva added.

You say they had moon markings on their faces? Ax asked Marco, he nodded. Then maybe Andalites killed them; it is our custom to brand the dead with the marks of the moon.

"Yes, especially since they were all controllers." We all fell silent, he started to speak again but was cut off by a hork-bajir voice from the other end of the valley.

"Human friend Tobias, Andalite and Loren lady come." Seconds later he disappeared back into the trees. I loved the Hork-Bajir, they were so honest and child like. Trusting but dangerous, a walking contradiction but they had hearts of gold despite their fearsome appearances.

We all turned as an Andalite galloped into view, immediately I began searching the skies for Loren, but Rachel saw it first.

"Oh my God." The look of disbelief on her face was to say the least memorable.

"What's more suprising," Marco walked up and put his arm around her. "The fact Loren is riding an Andalite or that Rachel, for once, has nothing to say."

He jerked suddenly as he took a rib to the gut.

Now I've seen everthing.