Chapter 1: Tobias:

My name is Tobias.

And I'm a hawk aboard an Alien vessel.

I knew what was coming. I had seen in in Jake's eyes, as he had given us the order. It wasn't exactly an order but he knew we would do it.

I didn't want to do it at first. I had a life to look foreword to at the end of the war.

At least I thought I had.

What Jake sent us to do was certain death. I despised him for it, but I could not deny the logic of it, the necessity.

You know what? I don't think I would have done it originally. Not without some very big persuasion.

But I had to. Because she agreed to go. How could I let her risk her life for her friends on her own?

Because Jake hadn't just sent me to certain death. He sent Rachel. His cousin, and probably the only person who had ever loved me.

Jake gave Rachel the job because she of all of us was the most capable. He gave me the job to make sure Rachel succeeded.

We were an insurance policy, if you will. Jake pretended otherwise but Rachel and I knew. He pretended to hope that he wouldn't have to use us. I hated him for that. He couldn't face the reality.

See, if it were just me, maybe I wouldn't begrudge Jake, the leader of the Animorphs, so much. It was because of Rachel.

But Rachel said that she didn't grudge him at all, and despite all my efforts to persuade her otherwise, she refused to abandon her duty. Of course, there was no way I was going to leave her alone after that.

But as much as I hated it, there was a point: this was a war. A war that we had to win at all costs. We were up against far worse enemies than humanity had ever seen.

Our enemy were the Yeerks, a parasitic alien species that thrive by gaining control of a host's brain and taking control of the hosts body. Living as the host. They've taken many species from other planets. They've taken the Hork Bajir, a peaceful but deadly species from far away, used as the Yeerks shock troops.

They've even taken thousands of humans as hosts. They are the hosts. A human body, perfectly normal, controlled by a grey slug wrapped around the host's brain, controlling its movements. Imprisoning the host in its own mind.

We were at the final stages of the war. We, the Animorphs had resisted for so long. Three years. Three years, four human teenagers, one nothlit hawk ( that's me, long story), and one stranded Andalite.

We've taken massive strides fighting the Yeerks. Only recently, we destroyed their main pool, killing thousands of them. They retaliated by razing our hometown to the ground.

Jake's brother, Tom, is a controller. He's at the head of the Yeerk Command, second only to the Visser himself. But he chose to help us. He betrayed the Yeerk empire, not out personal goodness, but for his own ambition. Because he has the very piece of technology that helped us resist the Yeerks so far.

He has the morphing cube. Now the Yeerks can acquire animals and morph into them, just as we could.

Now Jake and the other Animorphs controlled the Yeerk Mothership, the Pool ship, currently housing 20,000 unhosted Yeerks and the command center of the Visser himself.

Tom's Yeerk and his allies controlled the Visser's own personal Blade-Ship, which was much faster and deadlier than the Pool ship.

As far as Tom's Yeerk knew, Jake was dead, and all that was left was the now defeated Visser.

He thought he had won.

He was wrong.

We knew what we were supposed to do.

We were right on the Blade Ship.

We were going to kill Tom, and stop the Blade ship.

Chapter 2:

We were two fleas on Tom's head. Fleas can't see much, especially in the dark. They're absolutely nothing like the sight of a Red-tailed hawk, for example.

Unfortunately, a Red Tailed Hawk would not be an appropriate disguise morph at this point. But we needed the flea morphs no longer.

We jumped down and hit the deck. As we did, we became more aware of the Controllers speaking to each other, in a panic. Something had gone wrong, until Tom's Yeerk silenced them, stating it was not their problem.

We heard enough. Tom's crew had just discovered what happened aboard the Pool Ship. Jake had just given the order for the Yeerk Pool to be emptied. He just sentenced almost 20,000 sentient beings to die.

Twenty Thousand and Two, I thought bitterly.

As Rachel and I demorphed, her to her human body, and mine to a hawk, we began to hear them aboard the Bladeship. I heard him speak. The defeated Visser aboard the captured Pool Ship, and Tom exchanged pleasantries, when something made Tom stop cold.

He saw the Tiger right beside Visser One.

'' You're not dead!'', he screamed at Jake from the viewscreen.

I've noticed as much the Visser said dryly.

Tom didn't waste a second. '' Bring us around to target the Pool Ship's bridge! Do it now!''

This was it. I looked towards Rachel.

It hit me then. This was the end for us. This was the last time we could be together.

((Rachel)), I said.

'' I know, Tobias,'' she whispered back.

There was so much I wanted to say right then.

But there was no time.

((I love you)), Rachel, I thought-spoke to her at last.

I saw her smile. '' I know, me too, ''

Then came Jake's command. ((Rachel, Tobias, Go.))

We began to morph. Rachel morphed into her favorite battle morph: the Grizzly bear. I knew my hawk morph wouldn't work so well, but neither would a Hork Bajir. We had killed too many of them over the last few year.

I became a Polar bear.

((It's been an honor, fighting by your side Rachel)), I said.

I was not completely morphed when I heard a controller shout. '' Animorph!''

Several heads turned. I completed my morph.

And then Rachel, her Grizzly morph almost as large as my own Polar Bear, stepped out of the shadows.

((Wrong.)) She coldly corrected the Yeerk, ((Two Animorphs!))

And simultaneously, we charged.

Chapter 3:

Rachel went straight for Tom. She rammed him into the View screen, and sent him falling. Not enough to take him out but the bridge was our concern.

And me, I went straight for the rest of the crew, scattering them with ease, I roared and brought both paws down on a consul. The glass smashed, the metal crumpled under the weight.

TSEWWWWW

((Aahh!)) Rachel!

Someone had fired a Dracon Beam. I spun towards Rachel- there was a burn mark, right across her shoulder.

((I'm alright)), she said.

I saw red. RAWWWWWR!

I spun to my right and spotted the controller, her Dracon Gun out.

'' No shooting!'' Tom yelled. '' You'll destroy the bridge! Morph you idiots, morph!''

I ignored him. I charged the other controller. She would pay for that. She screamed but my paw shot out and her Dracon gun went flying.

WHAM

I struck the Controller with full force. She crumpled to the ground.

Behind me, I heard a loud crunch of metal impacting the deck.

((I think I just destroyed their main weapons station!)), Rachel said cheerfully.

But we were losing time. Already, the remaining controllers were beginning to morph, though they were at half shape yet. Tom himself was starting to morph, but he wasn't our main concern yet.

I went for the bridge, and proceeded to smash more consoles. The more we destroyed the bridge, the less of a chance this Blade-ship had of escaping.

Rachel was alright. The crumpled body of what looked like to be a half-morphed Leopard lay behind her.

But the other Controllers were finally morphed. In front of us was a giant Polar bear, equal to my size, flanked by a Lioness and a Cape buffalo.

The Polar bear alone was the equal of either me or Rachel's grizzly. And don't underestimate the Cape Buffalo either, those guys could kill you with a single ram of their horns if they have enough momentum. Either of us could take the lioness by herself but if she stuck with her friends, the fight was only going to get more difficult.

Where was Tom?

((You scared?)) Rachel taunted the Yeerks. They didn't answer.

((Rachel, I'll take the Buffalo and the Lioness. Can you handle the Polar Bear?)) I asked privately.

If we defeated these controllers here, and Tom, we would have complete access to the bridge.

((Let's do it!)) She said back.

And we charged.

The cape buffalo didn't expect to be charged like that. I was upon him immediately, and I struck the top of his head. He staggered back.

Meanwhile, Rachel had charged straight for the Polar bear in the middle. 800 pounds of grizzly crashed into the Yeerk, and down he went. Then Rachel withdrew her right paw, extended her claws, and in a move no real bear had learned, drove them like daggers into the Controller's chest, right where the heart was. Then, before he even comprehended the shock, she struck him again, this time on his head. And then again.

Meanwhile, I struck the cape buffalo again, and this time my claws ripped open its left shoulder. The Yeerk bellowed in agony.

And then the Lioness struck. As I was distracted, it pounced on my side, landing on my upper body, just out of reach of my paws, clawing at my face, my neck, like a crazed Alley cat. Trust me, I know what that's like.

RAWRR!

I swung a paw but the cat dodged, and pounced again. It got a hold of my shoulders and neck and started biting and clawing madly.

WHAM

I had wasted too much time trying to get the lioness off me. The cape buffalo wasn't as badly hurt as I had thought, and it took advantage to charge and ram me in the gut. If he had full momentum, that might have killed me. Even so, it crushed the air out of my lungs. I staggered to the ground.

WHAM

The buffalo rammed me again, and this time I felt my ribs break.

Things would have gone very badly if I was alone.

But Rachel came to my rescue.

The Grizzly's bellowing roar was the only warning the buffalo had. Rachel brought both her paws smashing down on the buffalo's hind-quarters, and I heard the sound of bones breaking. The buffalo bellowed but he was Rachel's meat now. She grabbed him, mercilessly digging her claws into his flesh, until his neck was in range. ((YAAAA!)) yelled Rachel.

RAAAWWWRR went her Grizzly morph.

The buffalo bellowed. (( NO, please don't!)), The yeerk begged, using his host's voice in thought-speak.

Rachel brought her grizzly jaws down on the buffalo's neck and tore out it's throat.

Meanwhile, I recovered my strength. Enraged at being caught by surprise, the lioness snarled and pounced on Rachel's chest. But I rose up and swiftly grabbed the Lioness, yanking it off Rachel, as its claws flailed madly.

I hurled the Lioness into a wall. Then, before it could recover, I struck it once, twice. She dropped with a thud. I could hear no breathing.

((Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!)) Rachel cheered.

But our celebration was quickly cut off.

((CROCODILE!)) Jake screamed from the view-screen. ((Tom! He's a Crocodile! Rachel, look out! Tom!))

Tom had completely morphed while we were busy fighting his friends. He had morphed a massive crocodile, about 15 feet long. His beady eyes watched us.

((You're too late.)) He snarled, ((I have my entire crew up and ready. Reinforcements are already on their way. Curse Jake for this pitiful attempt! It will NOT happen AGAIN!))

And he charged.

For such a heavy, clumsy looking Reptile, Crocodiles can run extremely fast, with a top speed of 40 miles per hour. That's faster than most humans can run. And those jaws have a crushing power that make a polar bear's jaws look like a set of false teeth.

Rachel dropped on all fours but even that wasn't enough to prepare her for Tom.

SNAP

Tom's jaws closed on Rachel's front right limb, just above the paw, and he gave a vicious jerk.

The sound of tearing flesh and tendon, along with Rachel's subsequent subsequent scream of agony rang through my head.

((Die Human!)) The Yeerk shrieked as he let go, and began to crawl on top of her, hoping to bite out her neck.

He turned his back on me.

ROARR!

I barreled into Tom, knocking him off Rachel, and sending him skidding over the metal floor.

Unfortunately for Tom, his underbelly was exposed. The backside is protected by scales. A crocodiles belly is not.

He realized this exactly one second after I did. His limbs flailed madly, as he attempted to right himself but I was upon him. I bellowed, and struck the flailing crocodile, again and again, and I started biting at its throat.

Cold reptilian blood covered my fur but I didn't notice. I was too focused on Tom. I brought my paws down again and again, crushing bones, ripping out muscle and spilling blood.

Finally, I stopped.

ROAAAAR!

((Tobias?)) Rachel asked me.

I didn't answer her at first. I just kept breathing, until my heart slowed to normal, as I stared at the lifeless crocodile.

Finally, I turned away.

Rachel had already demorphed. She was fine. No mangled limbs. No blood spattered fur. No Dracon beam mark.

I became aware of how much pain I was in. I was scratched, battered, bitten, bleeding. My ribs were still broken. It hurt to breath. It hurt to do anything, but the adrenaline of the battle had kept my mind off the pain. Now that the battle was over, the agony was unbelievable. To think I could move at all was incredible. To do battle again was impossible.

Motionlessly, I demorphed.

I was a hawk again. Rachel was human.

((We did it)), I said softly.

She shook her head. '' No. We didn't stop them yet. Remember what Tom said?"

My heart sank. She was right. Even though we had stopped Tom, his crew could still pilot the Blade-ship. They still had the Escafil device.

'' We can't let them get away'', she said determinedly.

((How?)) I asked. As I spoke, I began to morph again- this time to Andalite. The time for brute force was no longer needed. For the next battle, I needed all the lethal speed I could get.

The door to the Blade-ship's hallway slid open with a pleasant beep.

A Hork Bajir and a Leopard stepped in, followed by at least 10 other fully morphed controllers.

I was still not completely morphed.

((Eslin!)) said one of the Yeerks, I didn't know which, ((what happened?))

The Leopard scanned the room. At the six bodies. At the smashed up consoles.

((Who did this?)) asked the same controller as he spotted the dead crocodile.

'' You're too late, Yeerks.'' Rachel. She had picked up a Dracon gun off the floor and kept it pointed at the Controllers.

((Impressive fighting, humans,)) Noted one of the other Yeerks, ((But for nothing. You will not leave this ship alive.))

'' No, let me tell you something, kitty", said Rachel, ''You will never get this Blade-ship out to space."

((Why? Do you believe we will allow you to pilot this space-craft?))

'' That would be nice'', Rachel admitted.

I saw out of the corner of my eye a human Controller step out into the visibility of the hallway, Dracon gun out.

TSEWWW

TSEWWWW

((AAAHHH!)) I cried out. The Dracon beam had missed my chest, but had struck my Andalite arm. The beam severed through muscle, tendons, bone. As I watched in horror, half my left arm fell onto the deck, one end burned.

The Human controller who had fired the Dracon was down, Rachel fired half a second after he did, and she was more accurate than he was- the beam went straight through his human chest. I just hoped the Yeerk didn't escape its dying host in time.

With that, the stalemate was broken.

The Hork Bajir and the Leopard charged towards me and I mustered my strength to meet their charge.

The Leopard reached me first. He leaped up towards my chest, but my tail-blade flashed, quick as ever.

The leopard collapsed to my feet, dead.

The Hork Bajir was upon me before I could withdraw my tail blade. The Yeerk apparently decided that brute force was the smarter choice, because he smashed his shoulder into my chest, knocking me off my front hooves. As he did, his wrist and elbow blades slashed across my chest.

Pain.

If he had taken me off my feet completely, it would have been over.

I didn't know what Rachel was up to until right then.

Suddenly, the Bladeship swerved, and the floor went out from under us. The Hork Bajir, me and the other controllers were knocked off our feet.

The once stable surface of the deck was now at an odd angle.

((Whoa, Rachel! What's going on?)) I demanded.

'' I'm a little busy right now!'' She called back.

Busy? Doing what?

((Hey Birdboy.)) Marco's voice. ((I think you'd better say you're prayers. Xena's at the controls right now. And she has that look on her face.))

In that instant, I knew.

I knew what was happening.

So did the Controllers.

((Stop them!)) screamed their commander.

Several of them began to rush onto the bridge. Those that weren't still struggling to regain their balance.

Instinctively, I reached for a flying Dracon gun with my good arm.

TSSSEEWWWWWWW

One of the Controllers saw me. He had kept his Dracon gun with him, and he fired.

Last time the dracon beam had burned off my arm.

This time the hot laser beam burned right through my stomach.

I collapsed onto the ground.

((The Andalite's down, let's go!)) Said one of the Yeerks.

I was down, lying on the deck. Morphed controllers rushed past me, in the hast to get to the bridge.

((Rachel)), I managed to say, ((Look out))

'' I know,'' she said back from the Pilot seat.

And then I felt the Blade-ship bank down and plummet.

((NO!)) Shouted one of the Controllers. ((Stop them!))

I fell towards a platform, lying there. I saw the controllers ahead, regaining balance.

The Hork Bajir controller was still struggling to regain its balance.

My vision was fading. I put my hand to the hole of my stomach. I was weak.

I was done.

Dying.

I heard the sounds of two more Dracon beams, maybe more.

I turned my stalk eyes around, towards the bridge.

Rachel was still piloting. The Controllers were not strapped in like she was. And then I saw what was out the window.

Land, coming at us fast. We had already broken the clouds.

((NOOOO!)) Screamed a Controller as he realized what was happening.

But it was too late.

We were in a nose-dive at over 500 miles per hour.

I saw Jake, Cassie, Marco and Ax from the Viewscreen. I could hear them yelling in thought-speak, at both of us. I couldn't hear them though, over the metallic screeching as the Bladeship plummeted through the air.

Couldn't hear them over the sound of blood pounding in my ears.

The last thing I heard was Rachel's voice, loud and clear: '' Lets Do it!'