A tremor shook the ground beneath our feet, causing Rachel, Marco and me to lose our balance and hit the ground hard. Only Erek, who was still attached to the large central core of the Abyss, managed to stay standing.

Rachel helped me to my feet just as another tremor ripped through the Abyss. Both of us were once again knocked down. This time Rachel landed in my lap. We both blushed and quickly stood up. So did Marco.

"For future reference, after the ground shakes like that, usually expect an aftershock," Marco informed us.

"How do you know that?" Rachel demanded.

"I don't always sleep through science."

Suddenly Erek stepped away from the core. "All right," he said. "That's done."

"The program? It's downloaded?" I demanded.

"Completely. It'll work, unless the Abyss falls apart before it manages to filter into the entire system. I would definitely advise that we not be here to find out." Erek switched his hologram back on and hurried over to us. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Rachel shouted over the roar of the shaking ground. "If the Ellimist is busy with Crayak then there's no way he can get us out of here."

"He doesn't have to!" Marco shouted back. "I can probably get a hold of Loren in the netherworld. Combined with my abilities, she should have enough power to get all four of us safely to where they are."

"And if she doesn't?" I asked.

"Then we'll, you know, combust or something." Marco looked at me indignantly. "I don't think it really matters, though -- it's not like we have a choice!"

He was right. We had not choice. Staying in the Abyss was not an option.

The ground began to crack. "DO IT!" I shouted.

Marco closed his eyes and began moving his mouth. No sound came out, but I knew, somehow, that my mother could hear every word from where she was. "She can't move us unless we have a firm grip on each other!" he said.

I reached out and grabbed Rachel's hand. She in turn grabbed Erek's arm. Marco didn't grab anyone -- he could get himself out on his own.

I hoped.

The crack was getting bigger, and Rachel was tightening her grip on my hand. I almost cried out in pain when she squeezed really hard. My hand was turning white! "Rach, loosen your grip a little -- you're breaking my hand!" She loosened it, but not by much. My hand still throbbed painfully.

Then, the next feeling I had was of floating. There wasn't any ground underneath me. My first thought was, oh shit the crack opened up beneath us! We're going to fall! But then I noticed that, even though we were suspended in mid-air, we weren't falling. We were just . . . floating.

The Abyss started twisting and turning, like it was actually one of the spinning wheels where you pour paint into it and the wheel spins the paper and the paint ends up in a swirl. Even though we weren't moving, I couldn't seem to close my eyes, and my stomach started getting a little queasy. Had I been a hawk, I would've probably been more or less okay. But I was human, and with humans there's such a thing as motion sickness.

Then we dropped.

It was only about a foot, though.

"Ow!" (Erek)

"Hey!" (Me)

"Watch it!" (Rachel)

"Get your metal foot off my rib cage, Erek!" (Marco)

"Man, are we glad to see you guys!" And that was Jake and Cassie talking simultaneously.

One by one, we picked ourselves up off the ground. "Let's never do that again," I suggested.

"What's happening?" Marco's mother demanded.

"The Abyss is falling apart," Erek said quickly. "I managed to download the virus-destruction into the core's mainframe, but it won't work if the Abyss falls apart before it filters into the entire system. Crayak and the Ellimist are probably at each other's throats by now, and Marco says the virus is out of control now that Visser Three is dead."

<Did I forget to mention that part?> an Andalite said.

"Yahh!" I shouted when I recognized him.

"Chill, Tobias," Marco chided. "That's Visser Three's old host. Visser Three isn't in him. They're dead."

"Oh." But I was still shaking like a leaf.

<We need to get to the Ellimist's Realm and help him,> Elfangor ordered. <Most of the other rings are still evacuating. I think the virus is still active in several parts of the Golden Communities. Which parts I don't know. We have to hope that it's not where we're going.>

"Can the living get into the Realm?" I wondered. "When the Ellimist . . ."

"I don't think it really matters," Jake said shakily. "Look!"

We looked.

Heading right for us were dozens, if not hundreds, of very dead people. Very evil looking people.

<Crayak's brought the wastelands here,> Elfangor whispered, terror creeping into his voice. <We don't stand a chance.>

"One question," I said. "Can they hurt us?"

<Yes,> Elfangor answered.

"Can we hurt them?"

<Yes.>

I looked at the rest of the Animorphs. "Okay," I said. "Come on, guys. Battle morphs. Ax, you morph, too. You're not in good shape right now." Ax nodded in agreement.

War-Prince Alloran looked at me like I was crazy. <They'll tear us apart!>

"They have us surrounded," I pointed out. "I, for one, am not going down without a fight."

I concentrated on the tiger. I knew his DNA was flowing inside me - I had become him several times in the past. I knew how to handle him. As my muscles began bunching up and growing and my spine began to elongate, I took a look around at my friends.

Tobias, erasing the final traces of human from his hawk morph.

Cassie, already completely a wolf and staring passively at the oncoming enemy.

Rachel, with long blond hair, blue eyes, and the massive paws of a grizzly.

Marco, with huge shoulders and white fur appearing from every possible place as he became the mighty polar bear.

And Ax, a very freakish sight of blue fur and gray feathers as he shrank into the harrier.

We were a circus act. But, judging from the way a quarter of the onslaught slowed down, some of them had once come face-to-face with us before. Perhaps they'd even died from us. And I knew . . . I knew . . . that they were afraid.

My knees completely changed direction and I dropped daintily to all fours. I was ten feet long and seven hundred pounds of sheer terror and force -- and they knew it. I was the Siberian tiger.

I was a Siberian tiger surrounded by a red-tail hawk, a northern harrier, a grizzly bear, a polar bear, and a wolf. Even the people who knew we were on their side seemed wary of us.

<Elfangor,> I said. <Can you guess fight?>

<Don't worry about us,> Elfangor said. <We didn't survive this long by hiding.>

The lines from the wastelands were almost here. They were fifty feet away and closing. <Okay, you guys. Here's the plan: we kick some evil butt. And no one, absolutely no one -- Ax, Rachel, Elfangor, Alloran -- has my permission to get killed. Got it?>

One by one, everyone agreed.

"Um, Elfangor --?" Loren started, but I cut her off.

<All right then. On my command.> I watched as they got closer. Forty feet. Thirty. Twenty. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six . . . <Attack!>

Both sides attacked at the same time. Now, I can understand Elfangor and Alloran, and even the Animorphs fighting. They actually have built in defenses. But I guess no one stopped to think about me and Laura.

I grabbed Laura's arm and pulled her behind a large rock. "I don't suppose you have any weapons, do you?" I asked.

"No," Laura answered. "Not even a Dracon beam. What about you?"

"I gave my knife to Devone for protection . . . not that he'd ever use it," I admitted. "So now we're sitting ducks."

"Quack, quack," Laura chided.

"So not funny."

I glanced over the rock just in time to see Elfangor slice a very large spider right down the middle. I decided that maybe watching wouldn't be such a good idea.

"There must be a way through these forces," Laura muttered. "There must be."

I suddenly noticed something peculiar about some of the attackers. They seemed to be hanging back. "Why do you think those guys aren't attacking?" I wondered, pointing at the small group standing in the trees. They were looking decidedly disgusted by the entire fight.

"I haven't got a clue," Laura said, "but I think I recognize one of them . . . wait! I do know one of them! That human, right there. Beside the big Hork-Bajir. That's Asher Ortiz -- he formed a symbiote with one of the members of the Yeerk Peace Movement. Last I heard, he was tried as a traitor along with his Yeerk, Gargo 278. I wonder how he got in with the wastelands. He was such a nice boy. Barely twenty-five." She sounded sad.

I frowned. "He might have gotten caught by the virus, and sent to the wasteland. But then he'd be evil. Souls that are destroyed in the Golden Communities always turn evil."

"And this is proven?"

"No . . ."

"Come with me." Laura was already moving quietly towards the group of people. I didn't have a chance to protest. No one was paying the slightest bit of attention to us, not even the people who knew we were there. I told myself that I was going to have a talk with Elfangor about that once this was all over.

Laura came up behind the boy, Asher, and grabbed his arm. I braced myself, expecting a weapon to come flying out of nowhere. Instead, Asher calmly turned around. The Hork-Bajir and two others with him glanced over, but he just shook his head. I stood next to Laura just in time to hear what they were saying.

"Laura?" Asher grinned. "Nemu hoped you were still alive. You are alive, right?"

Laura nodded. "Yes. I sneaked in aboard one of the imported Bug fighters. What are you doing here, Asher?"

Asher glanced around, seemed to decide it was safe, then lowered his voice: "I bring a message to Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul from Warrior Arbron-Latros-Ifinal." He slid a piece of paper out of his pocket and into Laura's. "Make sure he gets it."

"He's kind of tied up right now," I interjected.

Asher nodded. "There's a path around the mountains. Once you step onto it, no one will be able to see you. Follow it for about five miles, and you'll reach a small field. My forces will hold back Crayak's followers long enough for you to escape."

Laura and I nodded. "Come on," I said, grabbing her arm.

"Thanks, Asher!" Laura whispered.

"Don't mention it." He turned and look at the battle field. That was when I noticed that about half of the lines were just kind of half-heartily fighting, if they were at all. Asher brought his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle.

Boy, was Elfangor and the others surprised when the non-fighters stopped, turned, and started beating up on Crayak's followers. I actually heard their shouts of surprise. "Over here!" I shouted to Elfangor. "Hurry!"

<What is going on?> he demanded.

I grabbed his arm and started pulling him after me. "Just move."

I smiled gratefully in Asher's direction as we ran for the path he had pointed out, but I don't think he saw me.

Loren and Laura practically shoved us away from that fight. Every time one of us demanded to know what was going on, they just shouted at us to keep moving. I was in a slight daze.

<What just happened?> I demanded when Loren finally stopped in a clearing. <That had to have been the easiest escape in history.>

Laura was leaning against a tree and breathing heavily. "A lot of those guys were former Community people," she wheezed. "Your theories about them turning evil were incorrect, and I think they just proved that. Aside from being sent to the wastelands when their communities were destroyed, a least of third of them used to work for the Yeerk Peace Movement. They had the whole thing planned from the start."

"They were helping us?" Marco asked as he neared the end of his transformation.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Laura pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to me. "It's from Arbron."

Hurriedly, I unfolded the letter and began reading:

1. Neither the Ellimist nor Crayak can interfere with mortals directly.
2. Energy is energy.
3. Crayak is vulnerable to iron: be sure to have some nearby.

I smiled slightly and refolded the note. Loren took it and placed it in her pocket. "What did he say?"

<Everyone's in one piece in the wastelands,> I said. <They're making the best of a bad situation. And Arbron gave us some hints.>

"Hints?" Jake was confused. "What do you mean?"

<He told us how we could defeat Crayak.>

We all looked at Elfangor attentively.

<First,> he began, <neither Crayak nor the Ellimist can interfere with mortals – that’s us – directly.>

"We already knew that," Marco muttered. "The Ellimist has reminded us several times of that. But there’s always a loophole."

Everyone ignored him.

<Second: energy is energy – whatever that means. And third: Crayak is vulnerable to iron.>

"That’s all he said?" Jake asked.

<That’s all he said.>

I frowned. "What did he mean by, energy is energy?"

Marco snickered. "Are you sure it was Arbron who sent that, and not the Ellimist himself? That sounds like something the all-powerful blue guy would say."

Everyone glared at Marco.

"What?" he demanded. "What’d I say?"

Everyone ignored Marco.

I didn’t mean to, but right at that moment I yawned. I didn’t even bother to cover my mouth. And you know how they say yawns are contagious? Well, at that moment they could have done a case study. Seconds after I yawned, Jake yawned. Then Loren, then Rachel, then – well, you get the basic idea.

We all realized then that we were very tired.

"Didn’t you people sleep at all?" Erek demanded. It was the first thing he’d said since he’d gotten back from the Abyss – or what was left of it.

"We were afraid the virus would come back," Loren said.

Erek just shook his head. "Look. Why don’t you guys try and get some sleep? I’ll keep an eye out for awhile. I doubt Crayak and the Ellimist are going to annihilate each other in the next half hour, so just take a breather."

Jake and Elfangor decided this was a very good idea. We were all very tired. We’d only gotten about five hours of off-and-on sleep, at the max. I think I only got an hour. And Rachel, Tobias, and Marco had gotten zero. They were practically sleepwalking.

So we all agreed to get some sleep.

"Just for a few minutes," Jake reminded Erek. "We don’t want to sleep too long."

Erek nodded.

We all kind of just collapsed wherever we were. Half of us went to sleep right away. I was trying to, when I noticed that Jake was staring up at the sky. "What is it?" I asked.

He bit his lip. "Do you think we’ll get out of this?"

"Yeah," I said. "I do. We’ve been in worse messes before."

He nodded. "Erek said a week had gone by when he got here. That was twenty-four hours ago, Elysia time. I wonder how much time has passed since then."

I realized what he was getting at. "You’re not worried about getting home, you’re worried about whether or not home will still be there when we get back."

"Yeah," he said. "I mean, what if we get home and the Yeerks have won? Earth is destroyed? And all because we weren’t there to stop it. Instead, we were running around the afterlife trying to stop a computer virus from eating everything." He expression turned sober. "My brother might be dead, and it’s all my fault."

I reached over and grabbed his hand. I couldn’t think of anything to say that would comfort him, and I knew that there were no words that could. So I just held his hand.

Not for the first time, I realized just how hard a job Jake really had. He was the only Animorph who lived under the same roof as a Controller. He was our unofficial leader, the guy who sent his friends into battle at a moments notice, who decided whether or not we should fight or retreat. He had to make flash decisions on the spot, and he couldn’t worry about whether it was right or whether it was wrong. He knew everything about us, and used that to our advantage. Maybe he was even a bit manipulative if he needed to be.

He’d been this way for three years.

Eventually, even Jake drifted off to sleep. But now I was the one thinking. I wasn’t thinking about what Jake had said, though. I was thinking about what Arbron had written.

Energy is energy. The words swam around in my head. Bits and pieces of science lectures came rushing into my consciousness. Energy is energy, and everything has a limit.

Energy is energy, and everything has a limit.

Energy is energy, and everything has a limit.

Energy is energy, and every – that’s it!

I woke up and sat straight up, startling everyone around me, even Erek. "Energy is energy, and even Crayak must have a limit!"

"We cannot fight here!" I shouted as Crayak once again tried to blow me up. "It’ll destroy the careful balance between the Golden Communities and the Wastelands!"

Crayak growled. "Isn’t that the point?" he snarled. "You and your people have been in a state of grace for far too long. Now it’s my turn!"

I had to protect the waiting souls who had yet to be placed in the communities. Their preservation came before mine. "Can’t we take this someplace else?" I pleaded.

Crayak’s answer was a well aimed photon bolt at my head. I barely managed to block it with an increased energy shield. He wasn’t using an energy shield, and mine was draining me slowly. If I activated my full power, the entire Realm would be destroyed. Every Ellimist, every community, every planet under my watch.

And he knew it.

The pact we had made eons ago had been broken by Crayak. But he was one. There were hundreds of Ellimists throughout the dimensions, and I could not break the pact of not fighting directly without their agreement.

And he knew it.

If I was forced out of my Realm, Crayak would have full and complete control over everything. He’d have my power, and would be one step closer to total dimensional domination.

And he knew it.

"You’re in a trap, Ellimist," Crayak growled. "You don’t stand a chance against me. I can feeling your power draining out of you. It’ll be only a matter of time before you fall and quiver beneath my might."

"Even a foul creature such as yourself knows that something cannot be all evil or all good. What makes you believe you can force the entire dimension to follow you?"

"You’re wrong about that, Ellimist," he sneered. "I can tell you one place that is complete evil: my wastelands."

"How can you be so sure?"

That stopped him momentarily. But only momentarily. "I grow tired of this chatter," he said in a bored tone. "It’s time to finish this, Ellimist. Let down your shield and fight me to the finish!"

I drew in a deep breath and shook my head. "Let down your shield or I’ll destroy your precious communities."

My head snapped up. "You wouldn’t."

His expression told me otherwise.

I closed my eyes and told myself that I had no choice. I had to break my vow of indirect fighting in order to save the lives and souls of millions of people. I could no longer turn my back on the evil that Crayak was bringing to the world.

My power began to concentrate into one area. I drew the power from the Realm inside of me, and prepared to scar my reputation as a peaceful race for eternity.

I opened my eyes.

it ends tonight, crayak.

We were transported out of the Realm, to the community of Nitram.

The Ellimist chose a flat, out of the way place to fight. Just like him, always concerned about innocent people being harmed. Hah. When was he going to learn that no one was innocent?

He wasn’t, of course. I was going to destroy him, and soon I would be Supreme Ruler of the Dimensions!

There was nothing he could do about it.

"Rules of the game, Ellimist," I said. "Neither of us can use weapons or shields. We can’t use anything on the ground or in the air. No trees, no rocks. We can’t hide. It must be open, face-to-face combat. This fight is between us, and no one else."

if that is what you choose, crayak, then so be it, the Ellimist said. but remember: you must abide by those rules, as well.

"No problem, old man," I sneered. I took a step forward with one of my spider legs. "This will be over in no time."

The Ellimist didn’t flinch. I couldn’t read any facial expressions from him at all. He was afraid, and he knew that I knew.

A photon blast erupted out of nowhere, almost catching me in the face. I dodged it, taking several steps back.

hah hah hah, the Ellimist taunted. is the mighty crayak afraid of a little photon blast? hah hah hah.

It’s no secret that I loathe and detest the Ellimist. But at that moment, I actually kind of admired him. He had taken the first shot, and then had the nerve to mock me to my face.

Of course, that would be his mistake.

But there was no need to tell him that.

I grew a tentacle out of the side of my body. One thing about being a cyborg*: you often have little surprises waiting around everything corner. I whipped the tentacle forward and wrapped it around the Ellimist’s neck. I began to focus my energy –

He disappeared!

you can’t contain me that easily, crayak. come on – i know you can do better than that. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Where are you, you little fink!" I shouted. "Remember the rules – no hiding!"

i’m not hiding. i’m right here. it isn’t my fault if you can’t see me.

Stupid Ellimist with his stupid Ellimist tricks! I could feel my rage begin to boil up inside of me. I felt nothing but rage and fury towards this creature of peace and good.

The Ellimist continued to mock me, taunt me, and annoy me. I began lashing out with my tentacle, trying to get a grip on him. Everything I touched was air!

"ARRRGGGHHHH!" I screamed in rage. I hadn’t felt so annoying since the time that human Jake destroyed my entire legion of Howlers. He’d be the first to go once I got rid of the Ellimist. I concentrated my energy, and fired a photon in all directions.

The Ellimist gasped in surprise, and suddenly popped into my view.

"What’s the matter? The mighty Ellimist can’t handle a little photon blast?" I sneered. "You’re such a fool, Ellimist. A goody-goody, peace-loving, chicken-hearted fool." He was staggering from the blow. The photon had cut through his energy levels. I wrapped a tentacle around his neck, preparing to hold him still so that I could crush him.

A searing pain shot through me. My tentacle cramped up, and I turned to look at what had hit it. A long spear was sticking out of it. Another one was right next to it.

<They’re iron, Crayak,> a voice said in my head. <They’re iron.>

*{Author’s note: A cyborg is a living creature that is half flesh and blood, half machine. And, even though Crayak is mostly just a big eye attached to a box, we can’t escape the fact that all of K.A. Applegate’s descriptions of him depict him as a cyborg. Hope that clears something up for some people.}

I will say this once, and only once.

I was not the one who wanted to throw iron-tipped spears at the long metal tentacle that was attached to Crayak. That was Loren’s idea. Sheesh, that woman is insane. She’s worse than I am. She’s worse than Rachel. If Rachel’s Xena, than Loren was definitely Callisto. I can’t believe she and Tobias are related. Bird-boy must take after his father’s side of family.

I didn’t even want to go after Crayak. But everyone insisted, since I’m psychic and everything. They thought I might be able to help.

Ha. Right. Me, Marco, help. Not on this suicide mission. No thank you.

Jake and Elfangor made us all come. I don’t know why. Erek couldn’t do anything. Neither could my mom. Cassie never liked Crayak in the first place (although maybe she was hoping Jake would kiss her. After all, last time we faced Crayak . . . never mind).

I had the feeling we were all having mixed feelings about this.

Anyway, back to just after Elfangor threw those spears.

Crayak turned his big, ugly red eye in our direction. His entire tentacle had gone completely limp. "You little . . . Ellimist! We had a deal!"

The Ellimist tried to stand up, but he was laughing.

{Author’s note: Let’s just clear something up. For the sole purpose of not confusing people so badly that they get bored and stop reading this fic, the Ellimist looks human. Besides which, I find it very hard to write a big fighting scene between two almost all-powerful beings when the true shape of one of them is most definitely unknown. So the Ellimist resembles a human.}

we agreed, crayak, that you and i wouldn’t use weapons. we never said anything about elfangor and the others.

Crayak growled. "They shouldn’t even be here! My forces should’ve taken care of them!"

I snorted indignantly. "Your so-called forces helped us get here. A lot of them lived in the communities at one point or another – I guess they happened to like the Ellimist a bit more than you."

apparently you were wrong, crayak. nothing can be entirely evil. not even your wastelands.

Crayak looked like he wanted to chop someone’s head off. I desperately hoped it wouldn’t be mine. Then he decided to think better of it. "You’re going to wish you never did that," he growled. He turned his entire body – spider legs and all – towards us. His dead tentacle dragged behind him. Another one sprouted out the other side. With a deep rumbling sound (I think he was breathing), he whipped it forward –

And the tentacle sailed harmlessly through us. That’s right. Through us. I let out a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding.

"What the – what happened?" Crayak demanded, outraged.

The Ellimist couldn’t keep it in anymore. He started laughing. remember the rules? this fight is between you and me – no one else. therefore, you can’t touch them. you can’t do anything to them. one the other hand –

He let his words hang in the air.

Crayak looked like he was going to protest. Then, he did something I didn’t expect.

He surrendered.

Crayak had surrendered, and the Ellimist had locked him up someplace that he wouldn’t tell anyone. no offense, he said. it’s not that i don’t trust you. it’s just that, well, it’s better if no one knows where he’s being kept. i don’t think any of us want to risk that thing coming back.

"Hear, hear!" Marco praised, and everyone laughed.

It was a few hours after Crayak’s surrender, and we were all crowded into the Ellimist’s Realm. The Ellimist was busy passing out assignments for new arrivals into the Golden Communities.

"What’s going to happen now, Ellimist?" Jake asked, leaning against the wall.

The Ellimist sighed. "I suspect someone else will be chosen to run the wastelands. It’ll take quite some time for things to get sorted out around here – a millennium, at least."

<A millennium?" Ax repeated.

Elfangor chuckled. <Don’t look so dismayed, Ax. A millennium isn’t all that long when you have eternity.>

"About half of the Golden Communities were destroyed by that nasty Neutro-Virus," the Ellimist continued. "By the time those are rebuilt, we’ll need to add on a few rings for new arrivals. Don’t worry, Elfangor. Elysia will be one of the first rebuilt."

"What about all those people who got sent to the wastelands?" Cassie asked. "What’s going to happen to them?"

"In time, they’ll be able to return to the Golden Communities. I’ll have a chat with the new Wasteland Director, who will hopefully be in a much better mood than Crayak was, and we’ll work something out."

<Are you going to get in trouble with the other Ellimists?> I asked.

"Well, I did manage to lock away Crayak," he said, smiling. "With your help, of course. I think maybe they’ll overlook this little mishap."

<What about the virus?> Elfangor demanded. <What happened to it?>

"The virus was half-Crayak," replied the Ellimist. "Not to mention, Erek’s little anti-virus program helped."

"Let’s thank Doctor Soloman for that," Marco laughed.

Then the Ellimist grew solemn. "Now we come to the most important reason that I invited all of you here. This concerns many of you." He was looking at Jake and the other Animorphs, as well as Erek and Laura. "Some time has passed since you came here. Chances are you will not return to Earth the way you knew it. The virus did some damage, and time passes differently. Even I do not know what year it is. So you must make a decision – you can return to Earth, and take your chances. Or you may stay here in the Golden Communities for the rest of your lives, and when you die you will be kept here as well."

Jake glanced at us. "The choice is yours alone," the Ellimist reminded them.

<May I say something?> I said. <The Ellimist is right about the time change. When I left, it was –>

"No, Alloran," Jake said. "We don’t want to know what year it was. We need to make a decision, and it shouldn’t be influenced by anything."

"I’m staying," Erek said suddenly. "There’s a lot I can do here in the Communities. Not to mention that my creators are here. It’ll be a second chance."

Laura nodded, and I saw a dawning fear cross Marco’s face. She saw it as well. "Marco, I’d like to return home," she said. "But it’s been too long – everyone thinks I’m dead. And if the Yeerks are still there, I’ll just be putting you and your friends and everyone else in danger. Remember, I’m wanted there for treason. It’s the only way."

"Then I’ll stay, too!" Marco said. "I just got you back – I’m not going to lose you."

Laura shook her head. "You have to stay with your friends. If the Yeerks still exist on Earth, then you’ll need to stop them. And I won’t be gone forever. We’ll see each other again."

Jake placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder, then glanced at each of the Animorphs. Tobias was looking at Elfangor and Loren, then at Ax. They nodded. Then Cassie, and Rachel, too.

"We’ll go back," Jake said.

very well. the choice is yours alone. the golden communities will always be open to the six of you. we will see you soon.

but not too soon.

Then, suddenly, we were back on Earth.

But there was something different about it . . .