Listening with half an ear – so to speak – as Jake discussed the function of the submarine with Ax, Shara found herself paying more attention to what the rescue divers all around them.

(It looks like those guys are really in a hurry.)

(That was just what I was about to say,) Rachel said.

(The ships all seem to be clearing the area as fast as they can,) Cassie said, a thread of worry coming through the flattening effect of thought-speak.

(They're not even heading for the surface, just scattering as fast as they can,) she said. (I have a bad feeling about this.)

(Get outta here! Move!) Jake shouted, as the eight of them turned to leave as quickly as they could.

Still, the fact that they needed to surface to breathe slowed them down enough that they quickly lost sight of the rescue vehicles; the divers, having boarded quickly at some unknown signal, were already long gone by this time. Shara couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to them all, and even as Rachel asked nearly that same question herself, something erupted behind them like a supernova.

The shockwaves passed over them, the light burned through them, and then… Shara reached out…

~MM2~

Panting, struggling back to the surface of both the ocean and her own mind, Shara tugged lightly on the mental bonds she'd formed with the rest of her fellow Animorphs.

(Are you guys all right?) she asked, once she'd managed to compose herself enough to actually speak using her telepathy.

(I'm… Well, I'm not great, but I'm here,) Rachel said, as Shara turned herself around in the water.

(Same for me,) Marco said, and Shara found herself wishing again that thought-speak could be used to locate the people she was talking to.

(All right, that's good,) she said, opting to stay in morph until she'd managed to locate the other five Animorphs. (Jake? Cassie? Ax? Tobias? Slade?)

(I'm all right,) her brother said, and Shara could get at least some idea of where he was, muted as it was by the morphs they were currently in.

(Good to hear. Is there anyone else around you?) she asked. (I've managed to make contact with Rachel and Marco, so why don't you check in with the others? See how they're doing,) she continued, even as she kicked her tail and started moving again.

(I will,) Slade said.

Shara was glad that he, at least, seemed to be doing well.

(Shara,) Marco called. (Why don't we try diving down, then looking up? The others should be silhouetted against the sun.)

(You know, that would be a great idea, except for the part where it's still rain-) Rachel began to say, pausing for a long moment.

Shara herself hadn't noticed it, not while she was so worried about how the rest of her and Slade's friends might have been doing, but the storm seemed to have ended. It would have seemed strange to anyone else, but Father had told her that the weather around the ocean was only slightly less unpredictable than the weather up in the mountains.

(I guess things cleared up while we were out.)

(Yeah,) Rachel said. (I just hope we haven't stayed in morph too long.)

Shara wondered if the other girl was worried, but if she was, it clearly wasn't enough to make it through the flattening effect of thought-speak.