CHAPTER 2: Ellimist and the Rules of Engagement

(MIKE'S POV)

I awoke to the unusual sound of birds singing outside my window, and I decided to get up and get my Maths homework over with.

I rolled over and stared, half asleep, at the ceiling about ten feet above me. And I was awake instantly. My bed is like a bunk bed minus the bottom bunk, so the ceiling should only be three feet above me.

I pinched my arm, hard. It hurt, so I had to be awake, so what was going on? Where was I?

"Where are you? You ask. This is your new home Mike. For the moment at least," a voice from across the room answered.

I leaped out of bed (I had slept in my clothes), got into a defensive stance (I have a first Dan Black belt in Karate), and prepared to face the stranger. But it wasn't a stranger, at least not entirely. I recognized the creature standing in front of me almost instantly. I had seen it on the cover of Ellimist Chronicles a dozen times. It was a Ketran. But since the Ketran are extinct, it could only mean one thing. The creature standing before me was none other than the meddler of the galaxy, Crayak's arch nemesis, the Ellimist himself.

I didn't know what to say to him. Fortunately, he seemed to know what was going on. But then again, he was the Ellimist.

"I believe you know who I am," he said, reading my mind.

"Ellimist?" I asked trembling.

"Yes Mike, I summoned you here because the Animorphs need you," he told me.

"What do they need me for?" I asked. "They defeated the Yeerks, became allies of the Andalites, and then went and got themselves a nice little grave in the vacuum of deep space, everyone's happy." I pointed out sarcastically.

The Ellimist was not amused. He shook his head. "No Mike, that wasn't supposed to happen. Think of all the people in the series who died in vain, deaths that could have been prevented. Rachel, Tom, the Auxiliary Animorphs, and not forgetting seventeen thousand, three hundred and seventy-two defenceless Yeerks, who died when the main pool was flushed. And others too, you could save them all Mike. Or will you leave them to die when they could live?" he asked.

I sighed. The Ellimist was right of course. How could I live with myself knowing that I had abandoned thousands of people to their deaths? Besides, wasn't this what I had been wishing for the night before? I sighed again.

"What can I do to help Ellimist?" I asked.

"Simple Mike. Today happens to be the day the Animorphs meet Elfangor and receive the morphing power. But this time round, you're going to be their too Mike. You're going to become an Animorph! Isn't this what you always wanted Mike? To be an Animorph?" He asked me.

"Yes Ellimist, I always dreamed of becoming an Animorph. Not that I ever expected my wish to come true, but I'll do it anyway. I can't let all those people die." I told him. "By the way Ellimist, where am I exactly?" I asked while looking around the unknown room. "And what's with the lack of decoration?" The room was almost empty aside from a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a picture of a tiger on the right side wall.

"As I said before Mike, this is your new home." He answered. "You will live in this house in Tobias' meadow until the end of the series. This house is hidden in the same way as the Hork-Bajir valley, so you won't get any unexpected guests. As for the absence of décor, I presumed you would prefer to decorate your home by yourself. I have left you with funds in a secure bank account with which you can purchase food or anything else you may need."

"You created a house in the middle of the woods just for me?" I asked. I was surprised at his concern. "What happens after I leave? You putting this up on the market?" I laughed.

"When the series ends, you will be automatically transported back to your own universe at the point at which you left. It will be like you never left at all; your family will never know you were gone." He explained.

"What about…" I gulped. "What happens if I die here? Will I go back? Or will I…" I stopped. Somehow I already knew the answer. I didn't feel much like laughing anymore either.

"I'm sorry Mike," he said solemnly. He raised his hand, and a piece of paper appeared out of thin air. He handed it to me saying, "Here is a list of rules that Crayak and I have agreed on, so read them carefully. If you break a rule, all your time here will be erased. You have to be at the Mall at seven pm tonight to meet the others. Farewell for now Mike, I wish you the best of luck." There was a blinding flash of light. The Ellimist was gone.

I sat down heavily on the bed, trying to absorb the shock of what had just happened. We do not interfere with the affairs of other species. That was what the Ellimist used to say in the books. So much for that theory, I thought to myself.

I took several deep breaths to try and calm myself down and looked at the paper that the Ellimist had given me.

Rules for Mike the Animorph:

1) You can't directly give away any information about the future of the Animorphs.

2) If you ever return to your own universe, you can't tell anyone about your time in this universe.

3) If you ever return to your own universe, you can't take anyone back with you.

4) If you ever return to your own universe, you can't take the morphing cube back with you.

5) You can't reveal the location of the Time Matrix to anyone.

6) At a random point in the series, Crayak will send someone from another universe. You must kill this 'off-worlder'.

7) You can look through any of your Animorphs books at any time you wish, but your fellow Animorphs are forbidden to do so.

8) If you die in this universe, you will also cease to exist in your own universe.

P.S. You can morph extinct creatures.

The final rule had the most impact on me. Would my family ever discover what had happened to me? Would the Ellimist even let me say goodbye to them? Don't think about it Mike, I told myself. I had to concentrate if I wanted to get out of this alive.

I folded the paper in half and shoved it in my pocket. I then glanced at my watch which said it was two pm. That meant I had another five hours until I had to be at the Mall. So I decided to have a look round my new home.

My house had ten rooms: My bedroom, six guest bedrooms (one of which had been converted to Andalite specifications), a kitchen, a dining room, and a bathroom. Most of the rooms were as empty as mine, but still contained the essentials such as beds, fridges, chairs, an oven and other things which would be hard to have delivered to the middle of the woods.

My room could have belonged to any kid. Other than the fact that there was a bank account book which contained ten thousand dollars lying on my desk (AWESOME!) and the fact that the room was incredibly empty, it seemed pretty ordinary. But I found a post-it-note stuck to a framed picture of a Tiger, which told a different story. The note said:

To Mike,
Take out the piece of paper I gave you and look on the other side. Follow the instructions carefully.
Ellimist.

Puzzled, I took the paper out of my pocket, unfolded it, and turned it over. I was shocked to see more writing appearing on it.

There is a hidden safe concealed behind the Tiger picture, follow these instructions to open it:

1) Take the picture off the wall.

2) Press both of your hands against the wall and say 'Animorph' (the sensors inside the safe will only respond to your hand prints and voice).

3) A large camera lens will emerge from the wall; look through it with both eyes for a few seconds until the thought speech speaker tells you that the retinal scan is complete.

4) A number pad should now appear. Type in an eight-digit code to use for future access and don't forget it!

5) A mini-plasma screen should now appear. Press your right index finger against it until the thought speech speaker tells you that the DNA scan is complete.

6) If the safe's sensors are satisfied, the wall will open up to reveal a large hollowed out section of the wall. Inside you should find your entire collection of Animorphs books. You can also use it to hide other important objects should you feel the need to do so…

I got the feeling that he was trying to tell me something, but I shrugged it off and followed the Ellimist's instructions and got Animorphs #1 The Invasion out of the safe. Then I began to read it very slowly; I didn't want to miss a single detail.