At long last, the timeline changing chapter.
What is the smallest possible move?
What will Cassie do?
How will she change everything and save everyone?
Will the author ever stop with the annoying questions?
How old IS Augustine Quill?
All this and more now!
**********************************************************************************************
9:10
There was no flash of light. All of the sudden I was at my parents' house. The attic. The Time Matrix stood there just like it was part of the junk of the attic.
I was in a different time. Back when this house was my home. 1999.
I would do the least possible thing. The smallest move and let it make all the difference.
But to do that, I would need to morph my father.
I crept into my parents' bedroom. My parents were already sound asleep. They just came back from a convention in Manhattan.
Funny that I remember that.
I walked toward my sleeping father. I placed my hand on his forehead.
"I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission, but I know you would if I were going to save a life." I said as I acquired his DNA. I began to walk out.
"Cassie?" My father said half-asleep.
"Yes Daddy?" I called back.
My father gave a slight chuckle. "You haven't called me that in a long time." He said as he fell asleep.
"Longer than you know, Daddy." I said wistfully as I began my morph. I took off my shoes and put on my dad's robe. This morph was one of the strangest I have ever morph. It was strange because it was familiar. I became taller. My shoulders widened. My hair shortened and, in some parts, disappeared on my head. My breasts shrank and were replaced with coarse chest hair. And, well, let's just say a few other parts changed too.
I came downstairs just as I came in the house.
Let me clarify. I came down stairs while the Me of the Past just returned from saying goodnight to David.
David. God, I hope I was doing the right thing.
I made myself sound groggy.
"Hi sweetie." I said. It was weird hearing my father's voice come from my mouth.
"Hi Dad." Young Cassie said. "You haven't called me that in a long time."
"Old habits die hard." I said. I yawned for good measure. The Younger me will think her old dad is half-asleep. I guess only Cassie can fool Cassie.
"You should be in bed. You look tired."
God, so many things I could tell her. Rachel's dead. Tom's dead. All at Jake's command. So many things.
No. Minimal interference.
"Did you remember to give that deer her meds?"
The Younger Me got a look of genuine "d'oh!". "No I forgot. Don't worry I'll do it. You should get your sleep. Commuting to the Big Apple always takes a lot of you."
I said what my father would have said. "One hundred miles of disgusting -
"concrete and asphalt."
"concrete and asphalt." The Younger Me said at the same time as I did. "I know, Dad."
I went over and kissed the younger me on the forehead. "Goodnight Sweetie." I then turned around and went back up the stairs. I heard the back door open and close. The Younger me had gone out to give that deer her meds, and if I'm right, she'll catch David just as he was trying to leave.
In the original history, I didn't remember to give that deer her meds till ten. By then David was long gone.
Now things should change.
And they did quite suddenly. Suddenly, I found myself in the desert. The Time Matrix next to me. All I could see was a vague glow in front of me. I was no longer wearing my father's robe, and I had my shoes on, but I was still in my father's morph. I demorphed immediately, then remorphed to owl. I flew toward the glow which I now realized was an Andalite Shuttle. Two Andalite warriors came out and looked as if they were searching for something.
Where am I? When am I? Why am I here?
That's when a gorilla landed on top of them knocking them out. I then saw a Humvee glow and drive closer to the fallen Andalites. A tall gangly man who seemed to have trouble walking got out with an equally tall, very handsome, very broad young man.
Jake.
The Gorilla demorphed. Marco.
An Andalite youth galloped up. Ax. He morphed to red-tailed hawk. Correction. He demorphed to red-tailed hawk. It was actually Tobias.
A man and woman in their mid-twenties got out. I didn't recognize them. They were followed closely by a Taxxon.
A Taxxon? I thought they all became snakes! I said to no one in particular.
Then another woman got out. Her hair shined gold in the desert moonlight. I almost didn't recognize her.
The last time I saw her she was a girl of sixteen and never got any older. Now, she was a woman of nineteen, and even more beautiful.
Rachel.
Owls can't cry, but I swear I almost did.
I did it. Rachel survived. But what of David? Jara? James and the others?
The shuttle took off. I flew back to the Time Matrix. I demorphed and willed it to take me back to the present.
Again, no flash of light. All of the sudden, I was there with Erek. He looked sad.
"You failed." He said, eyes downcast. "All is the same." He showed me an article printed up on computer paper. Downloaded off the Internet. The headline was the same. Only now it said "Four Animorphs Declared Legally Dead."
"Maybe it will all turn out for the best." I said.
Three falcons flew in and landed.
Cassie! Cassie! said a familiar thought-speech voice as the three falcons demorphed.
"Geez, guys!" Erek said. "Haven't you ever heard of low-profile?"
No time. said the same voice hurriedly. They demorphed and I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was James Malcolm, leader of the Auxiliary Animorphs with Collette Ser and Tuan "Timmy" Choi. They survived too.
"Cassie, we have to go now." James said very authoritative. Very Jake-like.
I looked over at Collette and Timmy. Collette's legs were braced with what looked to be some weird type of metal. Timmy had the metal on all his limbs and even a strange band of it on his head.
Erek walked over to Timmy and pointed at his head. "So this is the miracle organic metal."
Hojerval'c does good work, no?Timmy said. He was thought-speaking, and he wasn't even in morph!
And who was Hojerval'c? But then I knew. All at once, I knew the name Hojerval'c Kasaldra, and why James and Collette and Timmy were alive. I knew that Erek had brought me here to stop Jake and the others from leaving to save Ax. And why James said I have to go. I remember what happened that fateful day. How Rachel survived. How the Auxiliary Animorphs survived. And what had happened the five years after that, but I could still remember what originally happened. Rachel's death. James and the others dead. Jake and the others gone.
I guess that last part didn't change much.
"The Time Matrix thing didn't work?" James asked.
I smiled wistfully. "I think it's better this way."
"Well, that's what our plan is for." Collette said excitedly. "Right, Timmy?"
Timmy gave a thought-speech chuckle.
Don't take your failure close to heart
For our rescue mission will soon depart!
And you, Lady Verenda, must go.
Commander Hunting wills it so!
*************************************************************************************
Heh-Heh. Boy, I'm such a tease.
I hope all your questions are answered, and I hope you now have new questions.
Well, actually, I only answered the first three questions, so for all of you (and especially Jan Girl) I will answer the other two myself:
-No
-19
Till next we meet.
Augustine Quill.