A/N Hey guys, here's another chapter for you all so thanks for waiting and let's get started.


It didn't take long to reach my house, just an hour thanks to the shortcuts and it was still dark out as we arrived at the house on foot before I stopped and stood before the former controllers while they waited for what I had to say.

"Alright, everyone, this is going to be your new home for now and don't worry since there's plenty of living space so you can pick whatever room you want, but please don't argue over who gets what room since we can't afford to fight amongst each other during this situation.

My name is Jeremy, and I know you must have questions as to what happens now after you've been freed from the Yeerks, but now you have to make a choice since I'm sure you all are rightfully pissed or even scared for what the Yeerks did to you.

Some of you may not want to fight anymore while some of you still want to keep on fighting the Yeerks, but let me be clear that I won't force any of you to keep fighting if you do not want too and you can stay here for as long as you like.

However, I have very big plans for the future, specifically to keep humanity safe from the likes of not just the Yeerks, but from anyone who would try to threaten us and that includes the Andalites if necessary," I said while everyone looked surprised and even Melissa looked the same.

"The Andalites? Jake and the others explained some of what's been happening while you were still fighting in that hellhole so didn't Elfangor tell you and the others-" Melissa tried to say, only I cut her off.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it will be a long time before the Andalites send any kind of support, and that's if they decide to send reinforcements since they do not view humans as a priority species because according to the Yeerks, we've been labeled as a Class 5 species since we're 'easy to infest and invade'.

The Andalites don't care about what they believe to be some backwater planet that hasn't achieved FTL so this isn't the Andalites' war, not on this planet at least so it's our war and our people being captured and enslaved.

It's our planet the Yeerks are trying to take from us, our families that are being taken from us, so humanity doesn't need a race of aliens to just come in and do the fighting for us because what it needs is a Shield to safeguard and protect humanity from threats both domestic and alien who would wish to prevent humanity from reaching its rightful destiny in the stars.

It's going to be our job, the Animorphs, and any future allies we make to become that Shield with anyone whom we can rally to our cause to free earth so we will show the Yeerks, no, the galaxy the power of the human race but I'm not going to force anyone to fight with me so, for those of you who wish to side with me and the Animorphs, step forward," I stated with a deadly serious look.

At first, everyone glanced at each other while the Hork-Bajir also appeared uncertain for a moment, but then they all stepped forward and the humans didn't even look nervous around the reptilian aliens anymore while I smiled at their decision.

"Welcome to the resistance, now let's get you all settled in," I said proudly, and after that, I allowed everyone inside the house where I gave them a brief tour of their new home, showing them the guest rooms, the kitchens, bathrooms, food stores, and everything else they needed to know during their stay.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a place for the Hork-Bajir and told them that they would have to sleep outside, but they didn't appear to mind and then the tour was soon over with everyone deciding to call it a night after what they've been through until the humans all went to their rooms and instantly fell asleep while the Hork-Bajir rested outside in the backyard and seemed to be fine with it.

Once they were taken care of, I returned outside to get in my truck since I still had a few things to take care of, namely wanting to make a quick stop at Melissa's house and see if I could grab some of her valuables to bring back, among other things so I started the truck and drove back to town as I kept my eyes open for any surviving controllers that were out late at night to search for the freed prisoners and find me to get revenge for what I did.

Either way, I made it to Melissa's house and didn't see that her parents were home based on the empty driveway, so I took advantage of that and snuck inside to get Melissa's things and her cat but the feline was less than happy to see me and showed it by swiping at me more than once whenever I attempted to pick him up, so I was forced to acquire his DNA to avoid getting scratched and I put him in his carrier.

After that, I put everything in the truck and made sure to bug the house to gather any future intel before I left the house after making sure I didn't leave any traces that I was there, then I got back in the truck and drove home until I brought Melissa's things and her cat inside.

I went to bed soon after and woke up tomorrow, seeing that the others were awake and getting breakfast while I checked the news and saw that they talked about Melissa being missing and presumed abducted with the police being on the lookout for her, and I knew that the controllers were searching everywhere for her and the other freed prisoners so it would be a while until it was safe for Melissa to go out.

Speaking of her, I hadn't seen Melissa yet so I assumed that she was still asleep, which I didn't blame her for but I decided to wake her up and brought Fluffer with me during my trip to her new room until I approached the door and knocked on it.

"Melissa, you awake? I've got something I need to show you," I spoke as I waited in front of the door.

"Yeah, hang on," Melissa replied groggily, then I soon heard her approaching the door before it opened and I saw her on the other side.

Melissa looked like crap with her hair appearing messy while she was still wearing her clothes from last night, but it was her dull eyes that concerned me since I was worried that she might be more affected by the traumatizing events she experienced last night than I first thought, though I filed it away for later and held out Fluffer as the cat meowed and it got Melissa's attention while the cat leaped into her arms.

"F-Fluffer? H-How...what?" Melissa asked in shock as I chuckled.

"I went to your house last night, thought I'd get the little guy and bring him here so that you could have a sense of home in this place, but believe me when I say that it wasn't easy since he damn near scratched me a few times so I had to put him in a carrier to make sure he wouldn't hurt me," I explained while Melissa gazed down at her cat before looking at me, and before I knew what would happen next, she suddenly hugged me with Fluffer jumping out of her arms to avoid getting squished as I froze up.

"Thank you, thank you so much! This means so much to me, so thank you!" Melissa cried out happily while I didn't know how to react to this since I wasn't used to such close contact, so I had to admit that it felt alien and unfamiliar to me right now.

"Um, y-you're welcome...Melissa...y-you can...let go now," I stuttered awkwardly while I was stiff as a board, causing her to look and see how nervous I was before she soon let me go and I relaxed slightly.

"R-Right, sorry...so, what are we doing today?" Melissa asked.

"Well, it's best you stay here until things cool down a bit since you're all over the news with everyone saying that you've been abducted and things like that, so they've got people searching high and low for you.

Just in case, I'd give it a few weeks or maybe even a month until it's safe for you to go out, and even then, I'd suggest you dye your hair and find other ways to disguise yourself so that you won't be recognized," I stated and Melissa nodded.

"Alright, but...what do we do then?" Melissa inquired curiously and I shrugged.

"Well, you could use the day to get used to the house since we gotta wait for Jake and the others to get out of school so that I can explain to them the things I know and my past," I said and Melissa looked confused at first, but then she appeared to realize what I meant and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I could have a look around...try and get to know the others who are here," Melissa agreed hesitantly before I smiled.

"Good to hear, so have a look around and if you need me, I'll be in the living room," I commented before I turned and walked away, heading to the living room after that.


"Glad you guys made it since you took long enough," I said as the Animorphs finally arrived at the barn, though I didn't see Tobias with them so I assumed he was providing overwatch, and considering the bombshell I dropped on them yesterday, I wouldn't blame them.

"Well, we actually have to go to school, you know? They don't have schools where you're from?" Rachel questioned, sounding a bit annoyed before I smirked.

"Plenty, but I've been homeschooled you might say, and even if I had gone to school and hadn't graduated, I doubt I have to go considering I'm not enrolled anywhere here," I stated and Marco sent me a look.

"Okay, now I'm officially jealous," Marco said before I chuckled.

"Yeah, pretty much makes up for being stuck in an alternate universe since I've got plenty of things to keep me occupied between missions, though it was starting to get a bit lonely over there until recently.

Anyway, we'd better get walking since my place is a fair distance away," I said as I turned around and headed into the forest with the others following close behind.

"You live in the forest?" Jake asked, making me nod back at him in response and Marco rolled his eyes.

"Of course, he's goddamn Tarzan," Marco muttered before I smirked at him.

"Says the guy with the gorilla morph," I countered and Marco sent me an unamused expression.

"Tigers live in forests too," Cassie pointed out.

"Yeah, in India and other Southeast Asian countries so a tiger would stick out like a sore thumb here since there wouldn't be enough sufficient prey here, but mountain lions on the other hand probably could," I replied and Cassie looked impressed.

"You know your animals," Cassie complimented.

"Yeah, I picked up some things when I was reading the Animorph books since they always went into great detail about the different animals you guys morphed into, so I did some research to see what's true and what isn't," I said casually.

"So...we're really just a book series where you're from?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, but not just that because when your books were released, you had a massive fan base and still do today with dozens of online forums and not to mention you guys even got your own toy line and a TV series, as well as video games," I replied, causing the others to look at me in surprise.

"Wait, did you just say TV series? Someone made us into TV stars?" Marco questioned before I nodded.

"Pretty much, the show itself wasn't all that groundbreaking, the animation for the morphing effects wasn't all that good, and the trained animals weren't that threatening but there were a few episodes that were interesting plot-wise and the acting was okay, though the books were definitely superior," I explained just as Marco grinned.

"What do you know, I'm a TV star so that's cool," Marco commented with a smirk and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"We're still just fictional characters to you..." Rachel trailed off before I shook my head.

"No Rachel, that mindset died the moment I came here and while that mindset may be the case for other people in my universe, I've met and fought side by side with you all so you're not a bunch of book characters to me anymore.

Basically, you all are as real as anything else in our respective universes, though I have to admit that it is very fascinating morphing into other animals since it's like stepping into another world whenever I become an animal like a dog, horse, or a wolf so the animal senses are beyond incredible but the parasitic alien slugs do ruin the experience somewhat if I have to be honest," I explained as Marco scoffed.

"Obviously," Marco remarked as we kept walking.

"How much further to your place?" Jake asked.

"Not much further, though it can be easy to miss unless..." I trailed off as I began to feel my eyes drifting away from the direction we were going and added, "Okay, we're almost there so just follow me and keep your eyes forward since they'll start to move away from the direction we're going, but it's a trick to keep the others from finding my home."

"What the hell is this, some kind of Jedi mind trick? Cloaking tech?" Marco questioned in confusion before I let out a light chuckle.

"God, I wish since it would be a lot better, but this works just fine," I said as it took a few minutes more until we finally reached my house.

"Nice place, seems a bit big for one person though," Marco pointed out and I nodded.

"I'd agree, though I haven't been living alone recently since Melissa's here, along with the people and Hork-Bajir we rescued from the Yeerks last night, and with the perception filter, it'll make it very difficult for the Yeerks to find us here," I explained when Jake looked puzzled.

"The what?" Jake asked in confusion and I shrugged.

"It's a thing from this show I've been watching recently called Doctor Who since I honestly couldn't think of a better name for the effect the area gives you so come on, the others are waiting and I'd gamble you'd want more proof than this," I said before I led the others inside the house and we soon entered the living room.

"Um, you might want to hire a decorator," Rachel commented as she eyed the rather empty and uncolored interior.

"I would, but I can't risk this place being located by human controllers since as we already established, they could be anyone so if the Yeerks find out we're humans and not Andalites, then this place will make an ideal fallback position for you and your families since it's difficult for anyone to find unless you know exactly where to look," I replied and the others blinked at that.

"Wow, you...certainly thought this one out," Cassie said in surprise.

"The Yeerks will find out sooner or later, preferably later rather than sooner so I'm focusing on the long term just as much as I'm focusing on the short term but if you're volunteering to help paint the walls, then by all means I'll buy the paint since it'd take me centuries to paint the whole damn house by myself," I offered.

"I think I'll pass," Rachel replied and I shrugged.

"Worth a shot, though Melissa is waiting in my room so we'll go over the details there," I said as we left the living room and entered my room, where Melissa was waiting with her cat.

"Hey guys...wait, where's Tobias?" Melissa asked in confusion before Jake sighed.

"He's...around so he'll be here soon," Jake answered hesitantly.

"In other words, he's here right now while listening in," I commented before I opened a window and called out, "Tobias, I know you're out there so come on in, it's gotta be fucking cold out there."

With that said, I didn't have to wait long because a few moments later, a familiar red-tailed hawk came flying through the window and landed on my bed as he said, "Hey Jeremy."

"Tobias, so how much has Jake told you?" I asked.

"Some weird things about you knowing us through a book series, kinda confused on that...think you could clear up the blanks?" Tobias questioned and I nodded.

"Will do, just hold on for a minute," I replied as I moved towards the wolf poster in my room, taking it down for a moment and revealing the large safe behind it.

"The hell are you keeping in that thing?" Marco questioned dubiously while I chuckled.

"The truth," I said before I put my hand on the palm scanner, as well as going through the other various security measures the Ellimist had installed into the safe until a metallic click came from it as the safe was unlocked, then I opened the door and reached for my copy of Animorphs #1 until I pulled it out for all the others to see when they gasped in surprise at the book.

"Jesus Christ...that guy on the cover...looks like Jake," Marco muttered in shock.

"And the lizard looks like the one you morphed into," Cassie commented as she looked at Jake, then I nodded.

"That's because it is so this is Animorphs #1: The Invasion, where it covers the details of all of you encountering Elfangor and ending with you all escaping the Yeerk pool in our first fight against them, so each book is told in a first-person perspective with this one showing things through Jake's point of view in this case," I explained while flicking through the pages.

"Must be very poorly written then," Marco remarked with Jake playfully jabbing him in the arm in response.

"So, it's true...can we read them?" Tobias inquired quietly before I held up the book.

"This one here? Yes, since we've gone over its events already but I can't let you read any of the future ones, one of the rules," I said as I tossed the book at Jake, who caught it while Rachel started looking pissed and was about to say something before I raised my hand.

"I know Rachel, it's bullshit but if I tell you anything I'm not supposed to, then I get sent back to my universe and everything I've done gets erased so I have a lot of work to do here and I promise you all right now that I will do everything in my power to make sure we all survive this shitstorm in one piece...so I'm just asking for you all to trust me on this," I stated with a serious look when the others glanced at one another for a short time until they nodded to each other.

"It's crazy, but...you haven't given us a reason not to trust you because if anything, you're giving us an awful lot of trust," Jake pointed out while looking at the book and I sighed before smiling slightly.

"Thanks, guys...I trust you because, well, I've read the books so I don't have a single reason not to trust any of you," I replied thankfully as it felt strange having people I can count on since I had mostly focused on the mission and didn't form any attachments because of my...twisted upbringing.

"So...what can you tell us about the books?" Melissa inquired after a moment of silence.

"Well, as I said earlier, a lot has already changed compared to what happened in the first book, most notably you," I replied as I stared directly at Melissa, causing her and the others to blink at that.

"E-Excuse me?" Melissa questioned, sounding a bit stunned.

"Yeah, during canon events in the books, you were never involved in this or even had knowledge about the war against the Yeerks that was happening so you only made a few cameos in some of the books, most notably during book 2.

You still lived with your parents and Rachel morphed into your cat to find out more intel on the Yeerks through your father by listening in on his communications with Visser Three, but now that you're here and fully aware of what's happening...well, that changes a few things on its own," I explained and Rachel frowned thoughtfully.

"So...what does that mean for what happens in book 2 then?" Rachel asked curiously and I smiled at her.

"Already taken care of because I visited Chapman's house just last night before I bugged his phones and put wires across his house to listen in on any conversations he or his wife have since now that Melissa obviously won't be there, they'll be more open about the Yeerk invasion and talk about it more openly.

It's not much, but it'll have to do until I can figure out a safer way to get into the hidden room in there and plant a bug there to get the really valuable intel...plus, I used the time to bring as much of Melissa's stuff from her house to here, including her cat," I said and Melissa sent me a thankful look.

"Which, again, I'm grateful for," Melissa told me with a smile.

"So...aside from that, what else can you tell us? Are there any other changes aside from that? Because it doesn't mean-" Marco started to say and I cut him off.

"You were only going to save one because, in the book, you guys only saved one controller from the Yeerks but let me ask you this, how many did we save this time? We saved nearly every single person and all Hork-Bajirs down in that hellhole so that's a lot of former controllers free from the Yeerks and when you consider that, things went a hell of a lot better than what happened in the book.

Plus, Tom had been freed as well so that's another huge change that benefits us greatly because he has knowledge of most of what the Yeerks have been up to thanks to the Yeerk being in his head for who knows how long, so he'll be able to give us valuable intel on Yeerk pools, who's a controller and who isn't, and more if he's willing to join the fight against those damn parasites," I pointed out and there was another short silence as the others took in all that information.

"So...we can make a difference?" Cassie asked and I nodded.

"Yes, it won't be easy but between you, me, and some of the other people and all the Hork-Bajir we freed who want to stick around, we stand a fighting chance against the Yeerks and we also have this now," I replied with a smile as I reached into the safe again and pulled out the morphing cube before the others gasped in shock at the sight of the Andalite's gift.

"Wait, is that..." Jake trailed off and I grinned.

"Yeah, Elfangor gave it to me before we left, said the Yeerks didn't have morphing tech so I decided it was a good idea to bring it with us to keep it that way and who knows, we could recruit more to our cause and build our numbers as Animorphs in the near future, so an entire army of morph-capable humans or 'Andalite bandits'?

The Yeerks will definitely regret invading this planet in no time," I assured with a smirk.

"As I said...you thought everything out," Cassie told me with a look of surprise and that's when I started appearing serious.

"I'm not going to lie, we're in the middle of a war so we need to adapt if we want to survive this so I've got contingencies for my contingencies and I hope that given enough time, I can plan out anything the Yeerks can throw at us, whether it's in the books or not but one good thing that came out of me taking the cube with me is that we can avoid what happens in books 20, 21, and 22," I said stoically.

"What happened in those?" Rachel asked.

"Some kid named David finds the cube in the construction site a while after book 1 and tried to sell it online, but you guys attempt to stop him and the Yeerks come around to steal the cube so you guys recruit him as an Animorph, but he becomes unhinged by book 21," I explained, free to talk about David since he won't be a problem anymore.

"Unhinged?" Cassie questioned before she and the others started looking taken aback by the grim expression that appeared on my face.

"He chafed under your authority, resenting you all for getting his parents infected and destroying his otherwise normal life so forced to live in Cassie's barn and forbidden to go out in public as himself, David began using his morphing ability to achieve the illusion of a normal life again, even if it meant committing heinous crimes in the process.

He eventually lost it completely when he attacked and killed a red-tailed hawk, thinking it was Tobias and almost killing Jake in a fight soon after," I replied darkly, causing everyone to wince at that as Rachel looked at Tobias in concern while Cassie did the same with Jake.

"Did...we beat him?" Marco inquired hesitantly.

"Don't worry, you tricked him into being stuck as a white rat for the rest of his life but as I said before, we have the morphing cube so he won't ever be an issue and we'll only use it for people who want the power and want to fight the Yeerks, so I'll make sure we won't bring in anyone who'll be similar to David if I can help it," I reassured and the others let out sighs of relief.

"That's good to know," Jake muttered but he still looked disturbed at the thought of nearly getting killed by someone he and his friends recruited in the near future so I didn't blame him since I probably would've felt the same way if I were in his shoes.

"So, what's your world like?" Marco asked curiously.

"Honestly, not that much different from here but there are slight changes where it's the 2020s back where I'm from with the year being 2026 while there's a large multinational conglomerate known as Armacham Technology Corporation, but we'll get to them later," I replied while the others looked to be taken off guard by my bitter tone when I mentioned ATC.

"Are you messing with us right now?" Rachel questioned and I shook my head.

"No, dead serious but we sadly don't have any hoverboards or anything like that yet, though video games and consoles have evolved over the years and we've finally left the dark age of summer movies," I answered before Marco sighed in relief.

"Thank god for that, so what kind of movies can we expect?" Marco asked when I started smiling and reached under my bed to pull out three movies in particular.

"How about Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III?" I replied as I revealed the three movies before him, and while Cassie and Rachel didn't seem all too interested, Marco and Jake were a different story as they eyed the DVDs with wide eyes of disbelief as if they were just offered a ton of gold bricks and even Melissa had an incredulous look on her face.

"Holy shit, dude," Marco muttered and I was amused by that.

"Yeah, you can see the prequel trilogy years before anyone else but I should warn you that it's not that good, though they thankfully redeemed themselves with this," I said as I pulled out a few more movies that consist of the sequel trilogy, Rogue One, and Han Solo as their eyes widened even further.

"And that's just Star Wars since I've got the reboot to Star Trek, as well as dozens of other movies that haven't even been created yet and that's not even including 21st-century video games, including VR games," I added while the others looked fascinated by what I was telling them.

"You are my new favorite person," Marco said half-jokingly and half-seriously as Jake nodded in agreement, then I chuckled at that until I recalled that I needed to tell them about my past and my smile went away with my expression looking more serious.

"Alright, jokes aside, I said that I would tell you guys who I really am so now it's time for me to explain to you all my past and how Armacham Technology Corporation is connected to it, but understand that my life wasn't a pleasant one and I had face plenty of things that would drive most people insane so listen very carefully to what I'm about to say and don't interrupt for any reason," I stated grimly, causing the others to look uneasy at my tone of voice before I sighed and started explaining.


I told the others everything, how my powerfully psychic mother Alma was raped twice by her father and other ATC head researchers of Project Origins to conceive me and my younger brother, how Alma was put in stasis after that while I and my brother were used as human test subjects to turn us into weapons of war.

I kept explaining, not holding back as I told the others how my mother psychically contacted my brother when he was ten years old, how that caused him to lose his mind and kill seven people before Project Origins was shut down with my mother's life support being disconnected and that she died a few days after that.

I continued telling them about how I and my brother were treated less than human over the years and never given names or taught about things like love and compassion so that we would be perfect killers without morals as we were experimented on for most of our lives to become psychic commanders of military replicas when I was deemed a failure and had my memories erased when I was 18 and handed off to the US Army to test how capable I would be in combat.

I told the others how I spent my adult life as a soldier, spending time as an army ranger, green beret, and delta force operative before I was transferred to the elite black ops division known as FEAR, then I explained how FEAR deals with supernatural or paranormal events that are a threat to national security and added that I had spent a week in FEAR until my first big mission happened.

I spoke about my first and only mission in FEAR, how my unit was to kill my own brother after he escaped containment in the Perseus compound by taking control of a battalion of replica soldiers and causing a massacre in the compound, and that I didn't know he was my brother at the time since I couldn't remember.

I said to the others that my unit and I were sent out to locate and neutralize Paxton while forming a joint operation with delta force, only my mother's spirit had wiped out both teams from delta force and did something that caused one of the members of my unit to vanish without any trace of what happened to him so I was on my own as I kept following my brother's path of carnage.

I described how the mission went on for two whole days as I took out many replicas while my journey took me through an abandoned building where my brother and I were born, a wastewater treatment plant, Armacham's HQ, an apartment complex, and the Origin's facility where it all started.

I talked about how I had discovered plenty of evidence of ATC's illegal activities that had occurred over the years during my mission and how it caused me to remember everything as I eventually located my brother and shot him in the head, then I spoke how Harlan Wade released my mother's body and she killed him before possessing her own dead body and beginning her rampage across the facility and I was told by a dying Norton Mapes to destroy the facility before my mother can escape and cause the end of humanity.

I continued explaining how I followed Norton Mapes' request by blowing up the facility and managing to escape before the blast happened, only most of the city of Fairport got wiped out in the explosion and my mother survived before causing the helicopter I was in to crash.

I said to the others that I and a delta force operative by the name of Douglas Holiday were captured shortly after by surviving ATC security officers and transferred to different locations with me being taken to an ATC owned prison in Brazil and that I had spent the entire year there being tortured for information but I never said a word since it was no different than what I'd experienced growing up.

Everyone kept listening without so much as saying a word as I talked about how my brother had come back as a spirit and helped me escape the prison, the two of us forming an uneasy alliance against the very people who treated us less than human since the day we were born as we went back to Fairport and discovered the surviving residents had either lost their minds and formed a twisted cult based around my mother or they were being killed by ATC security personnel to cover-up everything they've done.

Finally, I finished by saying that Paxton and I had discovered that our mother became pregnant after raping a delta force sergeant by the name of Micheal Becket and the sergeant died after Paxton possessed him since the man's body couldn't take it, then I was requested by the only female member of my former unit to kill the unborn child as my brother and I made it to where our mother was, then a fight between me and my brother broke out before I shot him in the head again and I couldn't kill my newborn sister since the baby was innocent in everything that had happened as my mother passed on and I decided to raise Hannah as I fled the ruined city with her in my arms to escape ATC's influence.

Once I was done explaining my backstory to the others, I looked at them stoically to see the others looking completely horrified as Cassie and Melissa covered their mouths with their eyes tearing up, Rachel appearing shocked and disgusted, and Jake and Marco looked stunned with expressions of disbelief while Tobias appeared shaken up if the look in his eyes told me anything.

"I...think I'm going to be sick," Jake spoke up as he looked ill and Marco stared at me with wide eyes.

"Dude, that is beyond fucked up," Marco added.

"Oh god, how can anyone do that to children?" Melissa wondered as she shuddered and struggled not to cry at what I had experienced.

"Easy, it was nothing but simple human greed because, in their eyes, Paxton and I were nothing more than money makers to them so we were pretty much toys for them to play with until we were tossed away like nothing once we outlived our usefulness, hence why my brother was targeted to be killed once he had shown that he was too dangerous to be kept alive," I replied grimly.

"Jeremy...I had no idea you went through something like that so I'm so sorry that you suffered so much," Tobia told me sympathetically and I sent him a small smile.

"It's okay, I survived and now I can use my skills and genetic enhancements for a good cause since I don't want anyone to experience the same hell my mother, brother, and I went through," I said calmly.

"So, about your newborn sister, is she doing okay?" Cassie asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, that cosmic being I told you about is looking after her while I do my part in making sure this war ends on a better note, but my brother is a major threat that needs to be dealt with or nobody will survive this, not even the Yeerks or any other forms of life on this planet," I pointed out darkly, making the others uneasy if their expressions were anything to go by.

"From what you told us about him, you're completely right about that so I agree that Paxton needs to be stopped or god help us all," Rachel agreed before I let out a humorless chuckle.

"I don't think God really cares all that much about us since I learned not to put faith in those kinds of things or you'll just wind up being disappointed in the end, but enough about that so let's talk about what I have to offer about the positive things that are in my world," I suggested and the others nodded in agreement.

For the next few hours, I just simply talked with the other Animorphs and told them about the 21st century with all the wonders it brought so it was a...different experience to say the least since it felt surprisingly good to actually have friends after never having any all my life.

After hanging out with the others, and introducing Jake and Marco to 21st-century gaming, most of the others eventually had to go back home as they said their goodbyes and left just me, Tobias, and Melissa by ourselves until I turned my gaze to Tobias and started showing a solemn expression.

"Tobias...I'm sorry," I said quietly and the former human was silent for a few moments before he shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Jeremy," Tobias reassured but I sighed.

"Even so, I came here to help you guys...help you so I wanted to stop you from being stuck in that morph, still have at least some kind of a normal life, but look at you...I never wanted this to happen to you," I admitted as I sagged down into my chair tiredly.

"According to you, it would've happened even if you weren't here so you can't blame yourself since maybe it was something that had to happen," Tobias replied and I let out a bitter chuckle while shaking my head.

"Tobias, even though I've seen a lot throughout my life, I'm not exactly a firm believer in things like fate or destiny and I know it's stupid when you consider what I've shown you guys, but I despise the idea we are not in control of our lives and that we're set on some predetermined path so the only destiny I believe in is the one we create for ourselves.

I believe in imagining a goal, one where we strive to achieve that goal through our own free will so I should've at least stayed to make sure you got out of there in time before the time limit ran out, which is why I'm wondering why the hell you aren't pissed at me," I said in confusion and Tobias was quiet for a short time, his avian head twitching upwards as if gazing towards the stars.

"I'm not that big a believer of that kind of either, but what I do believe in is that you would've helped me if you had the chance...we've known each other for only a few days and you've been the closest thing I've had to a true best friend.

I don't want to ruin it because of a grudge and besides, there are worse things to be stuck as," Tobias told me as he stretched out his wings and let out a short hawk cry when Melissa smiled gently.

"Jeremy, you tried your best and that's all we could ever ask from you so the past is the past now, and all we can hope for now is to make things better for the future...right?" Melissa spoke up, getting my attention and I laughed slightly at that.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right and I will find a way to get you back to normal, Tobias...you have my word," I vowed as I looked at the hawk with an expression of determination when Tobias moved his wings in a way that almost made it look like he was shrugging.

"Don't worry about it, you've already shown that we can change things and you said it yourself that we only would've saved one, now look how many we've saved so I think we can safely say that we kicked fate in the nuts last night," Tobias pointed out and I nodded.

"True, let's just hope it doesn't decide to kick back at us," I said as I thought about how my efforts to change the future will have consequences down the line and only time will tell when that will happen.

"As long as you and Jake are running things, I think we'll be fine and especially when you consider your military background and experience with things that are unnatural," Melissa told me and I couldn't argue with that since she had a point.

"Yeah, we can only hope...Elfangor's sacrifice will not be in vain, we'll make sure of it," I stated as I glanced outside the window, looking at the stars above and knowing full well that somewhere out there in that endless cosmos, the Yeerks and Andalites were giving each other hell.

"For Elfangor," Tobias declared as he nodded.

"For Elfangor," Melissa agreed with her own nod.

"For Elfangor...and humanity," I said in determination, understanding that it was going to be a long and harsh three years of fighting but with my help, things will end better than what was shown in the books and I hoped that I will be able to put a stop to my younger brother for good this time.


A/N Well, looks like the Animorphs know everything about Jeremy so they'll trust him more now that he's being honest to a certain degree since he still has to keep knowledge of future events to himself or all his efforts so far will be erased and he'll be sent back to his home universe.

Either way, that's the end of the first book but the next chapter won't start in the second book since the events of the second book won't happen because of Jeremy's involvement so he's is going to go out and request the help of a certain pacifistic canine android race while also looking for an arms dealer so that he can get more firepower since more weapons, ammo, and explosives wouldn't hurt because it's better to be prepared just in case.

Also, you could say that the next chapter will be a different version of the second book and the events of the third book will happen with many changes, so let me know what you think and stay tuned.