CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Meeep! Meeep! Meeep!

The alarm buzzed frantically.

"Great. Just what I need. A headache before I die."

"Cut it out, Marco," Dad said. "Tobias, have we broken the atmosphere yet?"

"Forty-five seconds," he answered, his hands gripping the controls.

"As soon as we do, power up and set us down."

"I'll try, Jake."

((If my calculations are correct, our chances of survival are 3.7 percent.))

"Calvin, I swear I'll kill you if Jake doesn't do it for us..." Marco said, shaking his head.

We continued our descent. Colorful grass came into view and drew closer...

Closer...

CLOSER!

"Now!"

The engines kicked on. The alarm stopped. Tobias steadied the ship bit by bit, eventually lining us up with the ground below. But we were still approaching fast. Too fast to make an easy landing...

We zipped over the planet. Andalites galloped in fear below us. Some ducked under trees. Others ran into their scoops. It was pandemonium. After all, we did look like a Yeerk ship... Well, maybe a Yeerk ship on a suicide mission.

Suddenly, we passed above the ERC. Over the plain. Straight towards Eshren Field.

"We're gonna crash. We're gonna crash. We're gonna crash," Marco repeated.

Dad gave him a sideways look.

"What? I'm not supposed to be the fearless leader. That's your job, pal."

Suddenly, impact!

The ship rattled beneath me. It was like the Dracon fire, but a hundred times stronger. I was afraid the ship might come apart at the seams, if it didn't burst into flames first...

"Reverse thrusters are on! Stabilizers active! We seem to be slowing.." Tobias gasped, sounding relieved.

"Good job. Just keep it steady."

Slowly but surely, the Rachel came to a halt, barely missing the Halafan Forest. We were at the very edge of Eshren Field.

Tobias opened the hatch. Together, we stepped outside. The Andalite world looked so beautiful to me right then, especially since I had just narrowly escaped my death... The Taxxon world would've looked inviting compared to that..

"We're home," Dad said, grabbing my shoulder.

Marco stepped over. "I hate to ruin the Kodak moment here, guys. But my guess is that Yeerks will be on the surface soon, if they're not already."

Dad turned to me. He looked afraid. I'd never seen Dad like that...

"I have to get home," he said. "Your mom could be in danger."

"I'm going with you."

"No. Marco and I will go. Tobias can protect you and Malbin for now."

"No, Dad. You guys might need us. Five Animorphs are better than two."

"Oh, so you're an Animorph now?" Marco said while rubbing a hand over my hair, messing it up.

Dad shook his head. "No. It's not safe."

"Neither is sitting around here, waiting to be found by the Yeerks," I countered. "Come on, Dad. You know I'm right. I can help you."

Dad put his hands on his hips, like he always does when he's thinking hard. He looked at Malbin.

"What morphs do you have?"

((None, I'm afraid. But I performed very well in my Tail Blade Techniques class.)) With a pause, Malbin added, ((I would be honored to fight at your side, Prince Jake.))

Dad sighed. "Here we go with that again."

Marco covered his mouth and seemed to laugh.

Dad turned his eyes back on me. "Is Andalite the best morph you have?"

"Yeah. The only other thing I have is a Yugosin."

"A Yugosin?" Dad's eyes seemed to light up. He had an idea.

"If they're going with you, then I want to take care of something..." Tobias said.

Dad turned. "You realize how risky that would be? She might kill you.."

Tobias shook his head. "She wouldn't. I know she wouldn't."

"No offense," Marco interrupted. "But Rachel's not exactly in control of her actions anymore. She can and probably will kill you. It's sad, but it's the truth."

Tobias looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry, guys. But I have to do it. I'm willing to take the risk." He looked up at us. There was sadness in his eyes. But there was bravery in them, too.

"Okay," Dad said.

Tobias turned and re-entered the ship.

((I am curious as to Tobias's intentions.))

"Don't you get it?" Marco asked, walking away from the ship. "Tobias is nuts. He's gonna take one of the shuttle crafts back into space. He's gonna try to get Rachel."

"Let him go, Marco," Dad said, folding his arms across his chest. "He's going to do this. No one can stop him. Not even me."

"Why doesn't Tobias just morph and fight with us?" I asked.

Dad motioned for all of us to follow Marco. We were walking towards the ERC. "Tobias can't morph. Not anymore. It's a long story. Basically, he was trapped in the body of a red-tailed hawk."

((Tobias was a nothlit?))

"Exactly. But Tobias regained the morphing power. He could even morph into his human form, but only for two hours at a time. Or else..."

"He'd have to give up the fight. Or at least his best weapon," I finished.

"Tobias chose to remain a hawk. Until you were born, Tom. He was getting weak. Old. Hawks can't live as long as humans. So he chose to become a human nothlit, technically..."

((Amazing..))

"Tobias doesn't think so," said Dad. "He's been down about it ever since."

I shook my head. "But he still gets to fight. He's an awesome pilot."

"You're right, son. But to him, it's not the same. He feels guilty because he can't join us in battle.."

Marco gave a rude snort. "If you ask me, Bird-boy should be happy. If he wasn't a nothlit right now, he'd be a stuffed hawk on someone's desk. At least he can fly a ship." Dad shot Marco an angry look. I didn't like Marco's tone either. What did he have against Tobias?

About thirty minutes later, I crawled up through the ground and crouched behind my scoop. In Yugosin morph, I had dug an underground tunnel from Eshren Field to the ERC. In case there was any danger, Dad and Marco had approached the camp in battle morph. Malbin stayed behind them. I was to provide a sneak attack, if need be. My morph would give us the element of surprise. Funny. I never thought the little fella would actually come in handy.

((Looks clear so far. Don't see any monkey business.))

((I never should have let you morph that gorilla. The jokes never stop,)) said the nearby tiger.

((Oh, come on. No matter what, I'd have something to say. I'm a joke machine. And a love machine. You know how it is.))

((Uh huh. Keep your head up.))

Malbin trotted quietly behind, his stalk eyes searching for trouble. I demorphed and morphed Algon's body, just like we had planned.

Whatever happens, this is all for you, Algon.

Suddenly, we heard a scream. My mom flew out of the scoop and landed on her face in the yellow grass. A hoof pressed down on her back, pinning her to the ground.

((Cruspen?)) Malbin exclaimed.

((Duh,)) he replied. I still couldn't get over his thought-speak. I guess cockiness will make anyone sound like that, no matter what species they are. ((Come on. You must have seen this coming.))

((Another Andalite-Controller?)) Dad gasped.

((No. I am simply a traitor to my people. Though a very smart one.)) Cruspen reached down and lifted Mom up by her hair. He then lowered his tail blade to her throat. ((One move and I kill this pathetic human.))

"Jake!" she cried.

((Don't worry, Alicia! I'll get you out of this...))

((Ah, yes. Human love. Very fascinating, if I may say so myself.)) Cruspen's stalk eyes darted left and right, but he didn't notice me approaching from behind. His confidence was getting the best of him.

((Let her go,)) Dad pleaded.

((Hmmm... I think I shall keep her. The wife of Prince Jake Berenson is very valuable...))

What made him think he could talk about my mom like that? I galloped behind him as quickly as I could. It wasn't a smart move, but it worked. My tail blade was pressed against his throat before he heard a sound.

((Let. Her. Go.)) I narrowed my main eyes at the back of his head.

((Is that you, Tom? Well, well, well... I had not foreseen this. I made you an aristh to die, not to fight.))

((I guess I'm just full of surprises.))

((Indeed you are. But I now have a surprise for you, Tom... I now call upon The One!))

I expected there to be a blinding light. I expected to see a strange form, constantly changing from one shape to the next. But what I saw was neither...

A little girl stepped out from behind a neighboring scoop. She seemed to be about my age. Zits covered her face. Her odd smile revealed a line of braces.

"Hello, Tom," she said to me. There was no evil, deep-sounding tone to her voice. It did not echo for miles. There was no malice or hatred in her eyes. She looked like a regular, everyday girl to me.

But I knew she wasn't. I knew she was The One.

((Master! Help me destroy these fools!)) Cruspen shouted.

She turned to him. "Silence, imbecile. Know your place."

It's kinda hard to decipher animal expressions, but I could tell that Marco and Dad were confused. Malbin raised his tail blade slightly, prepared for battle.

"It is time," The One said, looking at me.

((Time for what?))

"To make your choice."

None of this made any sense. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Kill your enemy now, if that is what you wish. But if you do, I promise that your father shall never regain his fallen comrades."

Comrades? As in plural? I only knew about Rachel.

"Yes, I know," she said, as if reading my thoughts. "But there is another. There is another within me."

((Ax...)) Marco said.

"Yes. Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill."

Suddenly, the world around us went black. There were no scoops, no trees. The sky was gone. My hooves seemed to float in emptiness. But our positions did not change. My tail blade remained on Cruspen's throat, just as his hovered before my mother.

There was one change, though. A new Andalite lay nearby, wildly kicking his hooves. He grabbed his head in pain. His tail thrashed about. If any of us had been standing near him, we'd have been sliced and diced into pieces...

"I can free him of his cage. I can release his mind, his body... He will reemerge, once again a part of your world. All you have to do is let Cruspen go."

I stood still, thinking to myself. None of this felt right...

((If you're so all-powerful, why don't you just kill me now?))

The girl smiled. "And what fun would that be?"

((Is this some kind of game to you?))

"Precisely."

I looked at the others, hoping for some kind of guidance. But there was none. I think they were just as confused as I was... But I knew what I had to do. As much as I hated it, I had to let Cruspen go. We would have to stop him another day...

((Fine. But he leaves this planet. And he doesn't come back.))

"You have a deal."

Suddenly, my home reappeared. Everything was as it looked before, except that Cruspen was gone... Dad, Marco, and I demorphed. Then, I helped Mom up and walked her to her husband. No words were said. They just held each other, looking out at the horizon.

Over the hill galloped an adult Andalite. He looked strong, heroic, kind... He reminded me of Algon. But he wasn't Algon, no matter how much I wanted him to be. He was Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.

Aximili approached us. Dad stepped over to him and gave him a hug.

"Ax... You have no idea how good it is to see you."

((It is good to see you as well, Prince Jake.))

Dad laughed. "Ax. It's just Jake."

((I know, Prince Jake. I know.))

The Andalite's eyes smiled.