After the War

Prologue

Marco stared at the swirling letters: RIP. Jake, Cassie, Tobias, Rachel, Ax, They were dead. All of them. He knelt down and placed the flowers at the foot of the monument, Marco closed his eyes and cried. He hardly ever cried. He wasn't that kind guy.
He remembered that day so clearly. It happened exactly one year ago. Jake and Tobias had planned surprise second weddings for Cassie and Rachel to renew their vows. Marco was supposed to pick up Rachel's and Tobias's daughter from the daycare meet them at the church and be Jake's best man. Ax was Tobias's best man.
Everything was planned to the exact detail. It was suppose to perfect, except Marco got a flat tire on his way to the church. It made him late. It also saved his life.
The wedding was planned to start a 12:00; the bomb went off at 12:01. Everyone in the church was killed. Jake, Cassie, Tobias, Rachel, Ax, their families, the numerous guests, and Marco's parents.
He had finally saved his mom, and he lost her again. He couldn't believe it when they told him. She had died, and this time, for real. On that one day, Marco lost everyone he ever cared about.
The police never caught the bomber. That was why Marco was in danger. A note had been sent promising that Marco wouldn't escape next time. Whoever the bomber was, he had a vendetta against the Animorphs. Marco stood up and looked at the baby stroller beside him. Michelle. Rachel and Tobias's daughter.
Marco ran his hand against the smooth marble surface of the monument. It wasn't even a grave, there hadn't been anything left to bury.
"Goodbye guys. Jake, you were the best friend a guy could ever have. Cassie, I hope you and Jake are happy together, wherever you are. Rachel, Xena, I never told you this, but I really admired you. Tobias, don't worry, I'll take care of your daughter. Ax, Elfangor would have been proud of you, man." A lump developed in his throat. Tears dripped down his cheeks; he wiped them away hastily.
He had once thought laughter would erase any pain. Now he knew that wasn't true. Nothing would close the hole in his heart. Ever.
Marco turned away. He pushed the stroller in front of him as he walked out of the cemetery. A limousine was waiting for him at he gates. He looked back one last time at the monument. He was never coming back here. Never.
To protect their lives, Marco and Michelle would disappear.
That night they would fly to England. The next day, the widowed computer programmer Andrew Coolings and his adopted daughter, Elizabeth, would move into their new house.
Marco vowed he would never tell Liz about her parents. About his old life. She would never learn the secrets of the past. They were buried, and they would stay that way, forever. He would see to it.

Chapter One

I rolled my eyes at my friend Vicky. We were in history class, learning about the Andalite Alliance and the Galaxy War, a.k.a. Great War, a.k.a. World War III, a.k.a. The Yeerk War. Whatever you call it, it's still the darkest chapter in human history. During the initial battle and the aftermath, 1.4 billion people died. A fourth of the population. But now, twenty years later, it's just another chapter in our history books. Still, the effects of it will last forever.
Anyway, the teacher was droning on about how in our new unit we would learn about the Animorphs.
The Animorphs were these five kids and one Andalite who delayed the invasion long enough for the Andalites to get here and defeat the Yeerks.
Then my teacher said something that caught my attention. "In two weeks we will that a trip to the city where the Animorphs lived. As you know, the Animorphs lived in the United States so you must receive permission from your parents before we can go. This will be an excellent educational experience."
It sounded pretty cool. A chance to visit America. I had never been there. My father said he didn't want to go there.
"This will be so cool." I whispered to Vicky.
"Elizabeth! No talking."
That night, I told my dad about the trip. It was obvious that he didn't want me to go.
"Dad, please! Everyone else in my class is going. I don't want to be left behind!"
"I said no."
"Dad, this is for school, as in my education. You were the one who said education was important."
"Fine. Fine, you can go. But, promise me you'll be careful."
"Yeah, I promise." I decided to change the topic of conversation. "Hey, dad, did you ever fight in the Great War?"
He was surprised at the question. "Yeah, for a year I stood guard at a naval base. The place never got attacked." He picked up a book and concentrated on it.
I got the feeling he didn't want to talk about the war.

Chapter Two

For the next two weeks I talked and thought about nothing but the trip. There was one incident that at the time I thought was unimportant but later proved different.
I was in the attic searching for my snorkeling equipment because the teacher has said we might get a chance to go swimming.
That's when I found the box. It was hidden away under a loose board. Inside was a bunch of medals and a photograph. The medals were all awarded to someone named Marco. There were a lot of them. Whoever this Marco guy was, he must have been a head honcho in the military. The photograph was old. It was of a woman with soft brown eyes. Her brown hair cascaded around her shoulders like a waterfall. She had a beautiful smile, one of someone who received a lot of love; and had a lot to give.
My chest tightened. I rarely thought about my biological parents, but sometimes, like now, I wished I had a mother.
I shut my eyes and willed away such thoughts. They were useless.
I took a small disk out of the box. It was a holo emitter. I pressed a button and the display appeared. The display was one of five teenagers in military bearing standing with an Andalite. Two girls and three guys. What struck me odd were the uniforms they were wearing. They looked different from the ones I had seen. Then I realized they were US StarFleet Uniforms. (Someone had decided to model it after the old 90s TV series). Four Captains and one Admiral. Each was wearing an insignia on their right collar. I peered at it. It was the letter A. Each wore a nametag. I pressed another button to magnify the projection.
I read the names out loud "Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco."
Marco, the guy with all the medals. He looked pretty young in this picture, probably not even eighteen. That was pretty weird because you have to be at least eighteen to join the Armed Forces and it takes years to reach a high rank. The more I thought about it, the stranger it got. They others in the projection didn't look much older, yet one of them was an Admiral.
Then it struck me that Marco looked a lot like the woman in the picture. Could they be related?
Questions churned in my mind. Who were they? And how did their stuff get into our attic? Maybe the people who lived here before probably left it here. But this sort of thing was usually important to people. Why would they leave it behind?

Chapter Three

I meant to ask my father about the box in the attic, but in the excitement of the trip, I forgot.
Soon, it was time to leave. We boarded a Passenger Class Atmosphere Ship. It took us to the city in thirty minutes. We arrived at an Aircraft Only Station (meaning spacecraft wasn't allowed there). From there a Hovercab took us to our hotel.
After lunch, we went to a museum on the Animorphs.
"Here is a projection of the Animorphs with their friend Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. It was taken immediately after they joined the military."
My blood froze. It was the exact same hologram I had found in the attic.
I don't know why I hadn't seen the resemblance earlier. I had seen many projections of the Animorphs. Perhaps it was because they ones I had seen before were of older Animorphs.
In a daze, I followed my class out.
I didn't understand it. A hologram of the Animorphs had ended up in our attic. That sort of thing didn't happen to nobodies like me. Which made me wonder if I really was a nobody.
Next we visited the construction site where the Animorphs had first received their powers. It was now a Historic Site.
As I looked at it I felt drawn to it. Like it was calling to me. But I couldn't exactly jump in because there's a force field.
Fifteen minutes later, we went to the renamed Animorphs Mall.
"Class!" My teacher called out. "I know you want to do some shopping. You have two hours to yourselves. Then, return to the hotel."
The class buzzed excitedly at this prospect.
"Come on Liz." Vicky grinned at me. "We're going to shop until we drop."
I shook my head. "I've got a phone call to make. You go ahead, I'll catch up."
"Okay." She said reluctantly.
I left the mall and went to the construction site. Security was tight but I managed to bypass it. It was something I had picked up from my dad. He was a whiz at computers. Amazingly, the system was not unlike the one on my house. This is probably what got me in. Inside the force field, it was eerily quiet. The force field blocked out the noises from the street. I walked to the center, to where people say the fighter landed, to where they received the power. I stood there for a while. Not doing anything.
Then I found Prince Elfangor's Hirac Delest. His final statement.
What it contained blew me away. Through his memories, I saw Loren, and Loren looked like me. Or rather, I looked like her. Almost identical, except my eyes are a different color and I'm thinner and taller. Too much to be a coincidence. There was only one possibility.
We were related.

Chapter Four

I left the site and headed for the library. There was still one around, even though everything was stored on computers. After an hour, I found what I was looking for: An article on the birth of Tobias and Rachel's daughter, Michelle. Her birthday was one day from my. The only thing was, if you converted it to the time in England, it would be the same as my. Somehow, it didn't surprise me. Maybe my sub-conscience had figured it out long ago. I don't know. The little things had added up, but I needed proof. So I went to the hospital. Using a computer, I was able to identify my DNA code and search for an identical one.
There was a match. Michelle. Me.
I left the hospital and found a phone. I called my dad in England.
"Dad?" My voice shook.
"Sweetie! Hi! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"What!?"
"I found out, dad. Or maybe I should call you Marco." I don't know where that came from. It was a guess, a blind stab at the truth.
It hit the bull's eye.
There was silence for a few moments. "How did you know?"
"Prince Elfangor's Hirac Delest."
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Meet me at the construction site. The password to get in is Gorilla Boy."
"How can you be there in fifteen minutes?! The planes take thirty!"
I heard him chuckling. "The military has fast planes."
Oh. "Bye."
"Bye."
I hung up the phone and headed for the construction site.
Once inside, I sat and waited. He showed up right on time.
I told him the truth, and he told me the truth. Everything in life I had taken for granted crumbled away like paper in a fire. There was nothing left.

Chapter Five

"Freeze."
I turned around. Standing there was a man holding a Dracon beam at us.
"We didn't break in. We have the password and the authorization." Dad explained.
"Don't you remember me Marco?" The man laughed crazily.
"How do you know my name? How did you get in here for that matter?" Dad became angry.
"You don't remember, do you? Well let me refresh your memory. A church blew up on June 21, fifteen years ago. You were suppose to be in that church."
Dad paled. "The bomber they never caught." I saw him move his hand slowly to his pocket.
The man smiled. "Give the man a prize."
I finally understood what he meant. "You kill my parents. Why?"
"Because they were the reason my wife and daughter died. It was their fault! They were the ones who blew up the Yeerk Pool. But I got my revenge. I killed them." He laughed again. "They died in a explosion. Just like my family did. But one little Animorph got away. He covered his tracks so I couldn't find him. But I did! And now, it's time to say good-bye."
My Dad pulled a Shredder out just as the man pulled the trigger. Marco disintegrated into nothingness.
I dove and grabbed the Shredder. In one fluid movement, I twisted around, aimed, and fired. He fired at the same time. The two beams collided and exploded. A bright light devoured me.

Chapter Six

I woke with a pounding headache. Where was I? What happened? Then I remembered the construction site, and the beams colliding.
I looked around. I was still at the construction site, holding the Shredder. The man was gone.
I left the construction site and headed back to the hotel. Problem was, I forgot where the hotel was. Stupid me. I wandered around, trying to get my bearings. I would have gotten a taxi, except I didn't have any money on me. Finally, I decided to call the hotel and get directions.
That's when I noticed the date. It was flashing across the screen of the phone.
June 21. The day my parents died.
The time was there too. 7:04 AM.
I had gone back in time. Pulled back in a Sario Rip. And I didn't know how to get home. Not that home was very appealing. How was I going to explain that my real parents were Animorphs, my "dad" was an Animorph, and that he had been murdered by the same guy who kill my parents? Not to mention that I had gotten sucked into a Sario Rip. Who was going to believe that? And I still didn't know how to reverse the Sario Rip effect and get back to my own time. What a day.
And I still wanted revenge. I know it sounds incredibly stupid, but at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to blow the head off of the guy that killed my family. Hey, it's an honor thing. Avenge deaths of family members.
I knew exactly where I would find him. At the church setting up the bomb.
So I went there.
He was there; planning something that would destroy my life.
I walked up behind him slowly, holding the Shredder.
"Turn around." My voice was like steel.
He turned. "Who are you?"
"Your worst nightmare."
That's when I got a brilliant idea. Or an incredibly stupid one. Depends on how you look at it.
I need to get back to my own time. An explosion opened the Sario Rip. Wouldn't another explosion close it?
And there was a bomb sitting five feet away from me.
I could kill him and get back to my time. Kill two birds with one stone. I decided to risk it.
I fired at the bomb.
It exploded.
I was no longer behind a church. I was in space, orbiting the Earth.
FLASH
I was in a woman's arms, being carried into a building.
I recognized the woman. She was my mother. My real mother. Rachel.
I was two years old again. I had memories from both Michelle and Liz. I was both of them, rolled into one neat little package.
She handed me over to a young lady. The baby-sitter.
That was okay. I would be in my mother's arms again soon.
I waited patiently for hours. Then they came. All of them.
Rachel, Tobias, Jake, Cassie, Marco, and Ax.
To the rest of the world, they were the Animorphs, the heroes who saved Earth.
To me, they were my family.
I was finally home.

THE END