Even after making their way back to the beach, and then down into the ocean, Tommy found that he couldn't stop thinking about the way Cassie had called herself a coward in front of all of them, just because she hadn't thrown herself into the clutches of the Veleek when it had come down on all of them. Just because she hadn't morphed when it had been right in front of them.
Just because of a dream she'd been having, really.
Sighing as much as he could through the blowhole in the back of his neck, Tommy surfaced and took his turn to demorph and remorph. They were holding the Veleek close to the surface of the ocean, since they'd found the whale Cassie was looking for, and had to keep it away from her while she demorphed to acquire it. They had to make sure Cassie had the time she needed, without the Veleek attacking her.
It did seem like the Veleek wanted to stay far away from the water, so that was something, at least.
(Here she comes,) Rachel said, once it became obvious that something was falling from the sky. (Do you think we should try to keep the Veleek interested in us anymore?)
(No, it's up to Cassie now,) Jake said.
If there was one thing that Tommy could absolutely respect Jake for, it was the younger boy's steadiness and leadership abilities. He sometimes wondered if Jake was a martial artist too, but when they were in battle wasn't the time to ask, and the pair of them didn't really interact outside of it. Not long enough to have that kind of a conversation, anyway.
(She's too close! There's not enough time!)
For a moment, Tommy wanted to tell them to trust her, but that wasn't the kind of thing that would be reassuring at the moment. (The Veleek will slow her down. Just watch.)
Following his own advice, Tommy watched as the Veleek wrapped around Cassie's morphing form, even as it grew and shifted into the huge form of a humpback whale once it had wrapped itself too tightly around Cassie to escape, Cassie slammed into the water, even as the Veleek struggled in vain to free itself. The Veleek was washed away in an instant, and the residual momentum from the dive sent her plunging deep into the ocean.
As the other Animorphs called frantically to her, and then celebrated once they knew she was all right, Tommy allowed himself to relax for the first time in entirely too long. He'd been keeping a tight grip on the dolphin's cheerful mind for as long as they'd been dealing with the Veleek, and Tommy was glad to be able to let that go amid the sound of Cassie's whale song.
The name she gave it was perfect: she called it "hope".
