After he and Rachel had been forced to give up their search for Tobias by the demands of their respective schedules, Tommy found himself back in the air, searching for his friend and fellow Animorph once again. He was on his own this time, since for all the times that his free time had overlapped with that of his friends and fellow Animorphs, he was still three years older than them, and their different schedules couldn't overlap all the time.

And so, he'd gone to look for Tobias more than a few times on his own.

Here and now, however, Tommy could see that there was something else going on. Something bad enough that it involved a Hork-Bajir. Only one of them, sure, but that one was chasing someone.

(Tobias?) he called, as he caught sight of the red-tailed hawk that seemed to be following the Hork-Bajir; who was itself following a panicking man, crashing his way through the forest beneath them.

(Tommy?) the hawk asked.