Story [Animorphs] The Twins (Updated 4/27/09)

Title: The Twins

Author: Alexis Steele

Fandom: Animorphs

Characters: all the majors

Genre: Alternate Universe, after #23 The Pretender

Series: First story in the ?Descendents of the Ellimist? Chronicles

Summary: Rewrite of #23 The Pretender. Tobias is about to find more family than he can deal with. Who is telling the truth, and who is spinning a web of lies?

Author?s Notes: This fic was my first attempt at fanfiction back in 1999. It has been lying dormant in notebooks and my computer until I pulled it from the Net in 2004. Looking back on the fic about a year ago, I realized that I had a lot of interesting ideas that I wanted to portray in this fic ? eventually to become a series ? and that I wanted to pick them up again, but I had some major changes that needed to be done to my OC, Shayla. She was a blatant Mary Sue, and now she?s become an attempt to see if I can write a competent OC without her becoming a Mary Sue.

And, while I will be following more closely to the events that occurred in the book series, I will always see the characters as their TV counterparts. Let?s face it, ladies, the TV series might?ve deviated a lot away from the books, but it definitely gave us some nice eye candy to glance at. I will also be extending the timeline of the story to five years, instead of three. Therefore, the Animorphs have been fighting the Yeerks for over two years.

Normal speech denoted with ???. Thought-speak denoted in ((italics)).

Each chapter heading will tell you who is narrating this part of the story. If you don't see a character's name in the chapter heading, assume that the character from the previous chapter is still narrating.

Disclaimer: With the exception of Shayla and any other minor OCs, all the other characters are the property of K.A. Applegate and Scholastic Books. All feedback is greatly appreciated.

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[b]Prologue:[/b] Elfangor

My name is Elfangor. I was once an [i]aristh[/i] in the Andalite military. Now, I am living peacefully as a species known as human on a planet called Earth. I have made a good life on Earth. I am happily married to my true love, Loren, and I have a good job working in my adopted homeworld?s rising computer industry. I never realized the kind of life I was missing being caught in the middle of an intergalactic war. However, it is on this day that I'm reminded just how much I've taken my existence on Earth for granted for I have been pulled from my peaceful life on Earth by an all-powerful being known as the Ellimist. Now, I am standing in a blinding light, in my former body, listening to the words being spoken to me.

YOU WILL HAVE A SON AND DAUGHTER, ELFANGOR. THEY WILL BE TWINS. THEY WILL ALSO POSSESS VERY SPECIAL ABILITIES FROM YOURS AND LOREN'S UNION. UNLESS YOUR CHILDREN ARE REUNITED BY THEIR SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY, THEY WILL BOTH LOSE THEIR POWERS FOREVER. BECAUSE THESE ABILITIES STEM FROM LOREN?S FAMILY HERITAGE, YOUR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM EACH OTHER. WHILE YOUR DAUGHTER WILL BE ABLE TO DEVELOP HER ABILITIES AS SHE AGES, YOUR SON WILL APPEAR AS IF HE POSSESSES NO POWERS AT ALL.

At first I couldn't understand why the Ellimist said 'reunited' -- I assumed that my children would grow up with their mother.

[i]((Is there anything you can do to help them along?))[/i] I asked him.

I WON'T HAVE TO. THIS WILL ALL OCCUR IN ITS OWN?TIME.

[i]((Why are you telling me this at all?)) [/i]

TO SHOW YOU THAT ALTHOUGH YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR DESTINY IN THE UNIVERSE, YOUR TIME ON EARTH WAS NOT WITHOUT ITS OWN REWARDS.

[i]((What kind of abilities will they possess?))[/i] I asked, unable to curb my curiosity.

AS A RESULT OF THE ANDALITES' ADVANCEMENTS IN MORPHING TECHNOLOGY, THOUGH THE POWER LAY DORMANT IN YOUR BODY AT THE TIME OF CONCEPTION, YOUR CHILDREN WILL POSSESS A NATURAL MORPHING ABILITY THAT WILL NOT BE HINDERED BY A TWO-HOUR TIME LIMIT. THEY WILL ALSO HAVE THE POWER TO HEAL AND WILL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER WITH THEIR MINDS.

With those final wo

 

Ooooh, yay! I loved Animorphs growing up, and really can't wait to see where you take this!


Great start!

 

Let?s face it, ladies, the TV series might?ve deviated a lot away from the books, but it definitely gave us some nice eye candy to glance at.

That it did. *swoons at pic of Joshua Peace* That, and the Melissa/Tom undertone from their one scene at The Sharing, are the only good things I can come up with just now. (I STILL want to see Book Seven done right in the TV/Movie/Cartoon format.)

Hmm... did you post this anywhere in '99 or so? It feels kinda familiar... good start.

 

MianaKenobi Thanks for reviewing. New chapter tomorrow

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DaenaBenjen42:

That it did. *swoons at pic of Joshua Peace* That, and the Melissa/Tom undertone from their one scene at The Sharing, are the only good things I can come up with just now. (I STILL want to see Book Seven done right in the TV/Movie/Cartoon format.)

The TV show is what got me hooked on the Melissa/Tom ship in the first place. *is embarrassed to admit that she had to search for what Book 7 was* Oh yeah, that would've been cool. And I actually thought that the TV show going with Cassie having the allergy, rather than Rachel, made more sense to me, given Cassie's penchant for morphing.

Hmm... did you post this anywhere in '99 or so? It feels kinda familiar... good start. happy

Yes, to fanfiction.net, under the penname 'christobiasgirl'. Thanks for reviewing.

 

Well, as promised, here is the next chapter for "The Twins." Enjoy!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 1: Tobias

My name is Tobias. I can't tell you my last name or where I live because it would place my life, as well as the lives of my friends, in danger. Let me try to explain. Long story short: Earth is being invaded by a race of parasitic space slugs known as the Yeerks. While they look harmless in their ordinary forms, the Yeerks refuse to remain ordinary. Instead, they control hosts. They enter the host's brain through the ear canal. Once in control, the host is incapable of resisting. The Yeerks have already conquered the Gedds, the Hork-Bajir, and the Taxxons. Now they're after humans. Fortunately for us, the Yeerks have a weakness. Every three days a Yeerk must return to a special pool to absorb Kandrona rays--particles from their homeworld's sun.

Now, guess who's responsible for saving mankind from permanent enslavement? Yep, that's right. Us. Five human children, more or less (I'll explain later), and one Andalite cadet against the scum of the universe. Us. Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie, Ax, and me.

Jake is the unofficial leader of our group, better known as the Animorphs. I say 'unofficial' because no one really made him the leader, he just sort of fell into the role. Although he says he doesn't want to be the leader, and would gladly switch with any one of us, I think he knows now that he is the leader. Jake is very responsible and out of all of us, in my opinion, has had to do the most growing up in the shortest amount time. Jake is the only one of us who knows what it's like to be a controller, well Cassie does too, but her situation was unique compared to other controllers, but Jake is the only one of us to go through the fugue--the final release of a host from a Yeerk by Kandrona starvation.

He also has a very stressful home life. His older brother, Tom, is one of them - a controller. Jake eats dinner every night right across from the enemy and worries if one day his parents will be next. Jake is very tall, only about an inch taller than I am, with short, dirt-blond hair, blue eyes, and a muscular build. Jake actually saved my life once, prior to the Animorphs I mean. On my first day of school two years ago I was receiving a swirlie, compliments of the school bullies when Jake walked in. He didn't really order them to put me down. He just told them in this stern tone of voice to put me down, and they did. That's the kind of impact Jake has on people. When not trying to save the world, Jake enjoys playing basketball and video games.

Then there?s Jake's best friend, Marco. Marco is known as the joker of the group. He tries to find the joke in every situation. He actually came up with the name 'Animorphs', or as he called us "idiot teenagers with a death wish." But Marco's also the one who makes us think about the consequences of our actions before going on missions. His favorite word is 'insane'. But he's really only thinking about the well-being of his father.

Before the invasion, Marco believed his mother had drowned in a boating accident, but then later discovered that she was the host for Visser One, leader of the invasion of Earth. Marco feels that if anything were to happen to him while on a mission, his father would lose it, again. Marco is short, for a guy. He's also Latino-American. He has a darker complexion than Jake, Rachel, Ax, and I, but a lighter complexion than Cassie. Marco has short, jet-black hair that he likes to plaster to his head with way-too-much hair gel, and brown eyes. Marco is also into video games. He and Jake have been best friends since they were in diapers.

After Marco, there's Jake's cousin, Rachel. Rachel is very beautiful -- supermodel beautiful. She's also very tall. Rachel is the kind of person who looks like she's walking around with her own personal spotlight shining on her. She also has a lot to deal with at home. Her parents are divorced. She lives with her mother and two sisters, Jordan and Sara. Her father lives on the other side of the country and com

 

Man, it's been so long since I've read one of the books. Reading this was like reliving parts of my childhood.

Anxious for more!

 

MianaKenobi: That's what I'm hoping for with the tone of my writing in this fic. I want it to feel as though you're reading another installment from K.A. herself, so thank you! Next chapter is being posted!

~ Lexi

 

Chapter 2:

On this particular night, we weren't fighting any Yeerks. No, we were sitting in the school gymnasium. Rachel thought it would be a good idea to take a night off from trying to save the world, especially after our recent encounter with David. David was once an Animorph. He found Elfangor's blue box, the morphing cube. After broadcasting over the Internet that he wanted to sell it, Visser Three destroyed his house and made his parents into controllers.

As a result, and for his own safety, we made him one of us. Big mistake. It worked out well, for a while. But since we knew very little about him, we were unsure about his reactions to being face to face with a near-death situation. And that almost proved to be our downfall. David was ready to turn us all over to Visser Three in order to save his own life. Then he turned on us. He almost killed Jake, Ax, Marco, and I, and made life miserable for one of Jake and Rachel's relatives. In the end, we decided to trap David as a nothlit, in the literal form of what he signified to us Animorphs, a rat.

Now I was sitting in the gymnasium, in my human morph. I had just returned from the bathroom where I had demorphed and remorphed into my human form. I had another two hours left. We started out the night at the mall with pizza and Italian food at Sbarros. It's nice to have human food once in a while, especially if your diet usually consists of mice and other rodents, and if Rachel ever discovered the black-outs I?ve been experiencing lately as I hunt, we?d get into another discussion on how she thinks I should stay human for two hours and leave the fight behind, and that?s not what I needed right now. From there we went to the high school, and took our seats in the school?s auditorium. We were sitting in the front row, right at center stage.

We were at the high school?s annual spring talent show. Rachel wanted to see Melissa Chapman perform her latest gymnastics routine, and be able to give her some moral support. We watched Melissa's performance. I thought it was good, but since I don't know much about gymnastics, I couldn't really give an honest account on the technicality or perfection of the performance. If only Melissa realized that her father was one of the most important controllers in the Yeerk organization ? Vice-Principal Chapman.

Then we heard some bands and saw some dance routines. We also saw a magic show. Boy could my friends and I show them a magic trick. The emcee was just about to end the program when a stagehand gave him a note.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have one last minute entry. Please give a warm round of applause for Shayla Cooper who will be singing Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All"," he announced.

Everyone in the audience waited for newcomer to make her appearance on stage. When she finally did, I immediately felt a strange connection to her. It was as if I knew her from somewhere. I shoved the feeling aside. The girl walked up to the stool situated at center stage and sat down. She had soft brown hair lying just above her shoulders and was about Marco's height. Then she started to sing. Whoa. Her voice was so captivating. It was so sweet and comforting to listen to. And, in a strange way, I felt as if she was singing the song directly to me.

As Shayla was finishing her song, I took a moment to look above her. And the moment I did, I watched as the cable holding a lighting fixture broke away and started to fall towards the stage.

"Watch out!" I shouted.

Thanks to my early warning, Shayla was able to leap out of the way just in time. That got everyone's attention.

"Whoa. How did that happen?" Jake interjected.

"I don't know," Cassie responded.

"That girl was amazing," Marco exclaimed.

"Only you would think about that now," Rachel interjected.

"If it hadn't been for Tobias, Shayla would've been killed," Jake pointed out. "What made you look up?"

"I don't know," I answered.

I took that moment to look back up at the stage and discovered that Shayla was gone.

"Where?d she go?" I asked.

"She

 

Chapter 3:

The next day we met at Cassie's barn for a meeting. We were still waiting for some other people to arrive. I was sitting up in the hayloft, in my hawk body. I am often the lookout since I can see for miles.

((Did anyone see that girl Shayla today?)) I asked. Ever since we left the talent show last night, I hadn?t been able to get Shayla off of my mind.

"I didn't see her, but with it being the weekend and all, that doesn?t really mean anything," Rachel answered.

((Who's this Shayla?)) Ax asked.

((She's this girl from the talent show last night,)) I told him.

Ax didn't go to the show last night due to safety reasons. If you think it's hard trying to hide in a bathroom while morphing a hawk body, try hiding a horse or deer.

"Yeah, she was almost splattered by a light fixture." Marco, of course.

"Can we please get back to the business at hand?" Jake demanded.

((Here comes Erek,)) I announced.

Erek may look like an ordinary human being, but he's not. He's from an android race known as the Chee. Erek is a member of the Sharing, the front organization for the Yeerks. Since Erek is an android, he can't be controlled; therefore he's a spy on the inside. A very good one I might add. Erek's race developed a holographic program millennia before man could build fires. That's how old Erek is.

"What's up Erek?" Cassie asked.

"Right now, nothing. At least, nothing they're telling lower ranking controllers about. The Yeerks have been keeping to themselves. They are only talking to the highest ranking controllers. Unfortunately, my Yeerk is not one of them," Erek announced.

"No, but Tom's is. He's been moving up fast in the ranks. They must be planning something huge if they're keeping this quiet. Just keep your ears open Erek. As soon as you get any information, let us know. Until then, everyone lie low and relax for a while. We've had too many close calls lately," Jake clarified.

"That's the best mission you've ever given," Marco shouted.

"I kinda have to agree with him," Rachel followed.

"All right. Score one for Marco," Marco continued.

"Shut up. Just don't get used to the idea of me agreeing with you. It probably won't happen again," Rachel interjected.

"Okay everybody, go home," Jake said, breaking up the soon to come fight.

With that, we all left in our separate directions, except for Jake who stayed behind to help Cassie with her chores. They sort of like each other; though they're too scared to admit it. As I started flying back to my meadow, I saw her. Shayla. What was she doing here? I felt that sudden urge again that I knew her. Why does she appear all of a sudden? She was walking away. I followed her until she came to a house that was across the street from Rachel's. Who was this girl?

*~*~*~*~*~*

~ Lexi

 

Hehe, nicely done. You've really nailed Marco's sense of humor as well.

 

"Yeah, she was almost splattered by a light fixture." Marco, of course.

"Can we please get back to the business at hand?" Jake demanded.

((Here comes Erek,)) I announced.

Love the feel here, with Jake trying to keep them on track. It all works.


Good chapter.

 

MianaKenobi: Thanks! Marco's sense of humor is one of the toughest aspects of his character to nail, so to hear that is a great complement.

DaenaBenJen42 Yeah, there's a time for joking, and a time for seriousness. Thanks for reviewing.

Next chapter to follow after this post.

 

Chapter 4:

The next morning I awoke at the crack of dawn. I started out to find my next meal. I found a few field mice. I grabbed one. It never knew what hit it. I devoured it and returned to my favorite perch. After a few minutes of just sitting there, I saw her again. Shayla. She was walking towards my tree. She was also looking above her, as if she was looking for something, or someone. She walked right up to the tree I was perched on and looked up. Right. At. Me!

"You can come down now. I know who you are...Tobias," she said.

At first I didn't acknowledge her presence. I thought maybe she'd think I was just another hawk.

"Please, don't try to pass yourself off as another hawk. I can tell the difference. I can feel a human presence inside that hawk body. So, come on down. I promise I won't hurt you," she continued.

I still sat there. I was completely shocked, and scared. If she knew my name and that I was trapped as a hawk, then what else did she know about me? What frightened me more was I didn't even know if she was a controller or not. If she was a controller and could see through me, then freedom, as my friends and I knew it, was over.

Yet, somehow, I knew she wasn't a controller and I knew that I could trust her. I took a chance and flew down to the ground. Another strange feeling came over me. It told me to morph. And something told me that she wouldn't be surprised by the sight of a hawk turning into a human being.

Again, I took a chance. It took a few moments. I felt my feathers melt into the pinky flesh of my former self. I grew four times my actual height. My beak softened into my mouth and nose. In a few moments, I was human again. And, as I suspected, Shayla wasn't frightened by what she saw. In fact, she was impressed and curious.

"So, you can change into animals too?" she asked.

"Why? Can you?" I inquired.

"Yes, since the age of eight," she continued.

"Who are you? How is that even possible? And, how did you know my name?" I posed.

She began to explain. "As you probably remember from the talent show, my name is Shayla. I just moved here this weekend to live with my new foster family. Since I?ve been in this town, I have felt this unending urge to locate someone, someone important to me. That person, apparently, is you.?

I was stunned. ?Why me??

Shayla shrugged. ?I don?t know. You?ll probably think I?m completely out of my mind, but I've never been what one would call a normal child. I have special powers that I thought no other human possesses, until I saw you morph just now. Since I?ve been here, I have been feeling your presence around town. In some parts it was very vague, but it was always there.

?As such, I?ve been pretty distracted by what was happening around me. My foster parents took me to the talent show in hopes that it would get me out of the funk they thought I was in, as well as hoping I could meet some new people before registering at school today.

?During the performance, for the first time, your presence was nearly blinding, which meant that you had to be somewhere close by. As I was watching the different acts perform, my foster sister kept urging me to perform a song since she knows that I like to sing. At first I wasn't going to, but I thought it might be a way to see if you were in the audience somewhere. That's when I went up to the stagehand and asked him if he would accept a really late entry. At first he hesitated, but when my foster sister intervened, he changed his mind. As the fixture came down, I was frozen in place. If it wasn't for you, I would've been killed. After the fiasco was over I tried searching the audience for the person who had yelled the warning, but was rushed off-stage before I could find you. Before people could start asking me questions, I slipped out the backstage exit.

?Then yesterday, I was walking through the woods, trying to get some fresh air and clear my thoughts, when I sensed your presence again. This time it was vaguer, but as I continued further into the woods, it became stronger. It led me to this tree. Then

 

Nice chapter! Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

MianaKenobi: Thanks! Next chapter coming right up!

~ Lexi

 

Chapter 5:

We walked out of the woods and started on our trek towards my uncle's subdivision. When we arrived, I found it wasn't very hard to try to sneak back in. My uncle had left the screen door open last night. He was probably too drunk to remember to close it. I'm surprised he hasn't been broken into yet. We snuck up into my old bedroom. Most of my stuff had been moved, but there was still some things left in the closet. As I looked at my clothes, I was worried about whether or not they would fit anymore. I found an old outfit of Jake's that he'd let me borrow two years ago and put it on. While I was searching for my secret hiding place that held all my valuables, Shayla was trying to salvage what was left of my wardrobe. My secret hiding spot held my most personal possessions, including a picture of my parents; at least I hoped they were my parents. I brought out the picture and showed it to Shayla.

"Does this picture look familiar to you?" I asked.

"Yes, I have an identical picture on my night stand," she answered.

Shayla stared at the picture. "I sometimes wonder what our parents were like. Didn't you?" she continued.

"Of course. When I was younger, I kept wishing that perhaps they were still alive somewhere and that someday they would return and take me away from my aunt and uncle. But that never happened, obviously."

I stuffed the picture into a backpack I had kept hidden from my uncle. The backpack also contained, the last time I checked, $350. I was too frightened to put any money I'd gotten into the bank because, as my legal guardian, my aunt or uncle to go into the bank and take out whatever they wanted, usually wiping out my account. Then I stuffed the clothes Shayla had picked out in the backpack too. Just as we were about to walk out the door, I heard a creak in the floorboards. My uncle was up.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," I demanded.

I grabbed Shayla's arm and pulled her over to the window. Then I opened the window and had her start climbing down. If my uncle walked in before we were out, I would protect Shayla with all I had left. Years ago I had removed the screen in case I had to make an emergency escape. Luckily my room wasn't too far off the ground. Shayla jumped to the ground and I followed. We ran to the bushes down the street from my uncle's house. After a few minutes of hiding, we started walking towards school. With that, Shayla and I strolled towards the entrance of the school. Then, suddenly, Shayla stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Where's my necklace?"

"What does it look like?" I replied.

"It's a 14 karat gold chain with a dragon pendant surrounded by two dolphins," she described.

I searched the ground for it. Suddenly, my eyesight sharpened. I couldn't handle it. I quickly covered my eyes and blinked owlishly until my eyesight returned to normal. "Ow!"

"What? What?" she asked.

"I don't know. All of a sudden, my eyesight just grew sharper. And I mean sharp, like my vision was when I was a hawk. By the way, your necklace is about thirty meters back that way."

"This is interesting. I think you might be acquiring another ability. Something to help you compensate for the years you lived as a hawk."

"But, didn't the Ellimist say we wouldn't acquire anymore?" I asked.

"What would he know about this?"

"I don't know. Has this ever happened to you? Acquiring an ability that wasn't supposed to be there, I mean?"

For a long time, Shayla was silent. "I wouldn?t know. All of the abilities I?ve learned over the years aren?t necessarily powers that a human is supposed to have, if you know what I mean. All of this is uncharted territory. Do you think it could be this Ellimist of yours again??

"Possibly. I mean, I've heard of people having enhanced senses, usually in response to losing one of them. Like a blind person having a heightened sense of hearing or touch. Let me try something. I'm going to see if my other senses are enhanced too," I concluded.

"Okay, I'll run over to my necklace. I'll whisper something. Tell me if you hear it," she said.

"A

 

Let's get someone else's POV now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 6: Rachel

Today was not the start of a good day for me. First I woke up late because I was so worried when Tobias didn't show up to talk to me last night I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning waiting for him. I tried to rush through a quick shower, but I didn't feel any better. Then I was rushed through the rest of my daily routine. I ran downstairs, grabbed a Pop-Tart and bolted to the bus stop. I got there just as the bus was pulling up to the stop. I spotted Cassie sitting with Jake in a seat in the middle of the bus. As soon as Jake saw the kind of mood I was in, he switched seats and sat with Marco, who was sitting across from Cassie. That's just the kind of person my cousin is. I strolled to the seat and sat down.

"You look terrible," Cassie said matter-of-factly.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," I explained.

She whispered, "Worried about Tobias?"

"Yeah, he's so obsessed with this Shayla girl," I said.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Marco interrupted.

"Shut up. I am not jealous. I'm just trying to figure out why Tobias was the only person who took the time to look up at the catwalk? What made him suddenly look up? Everyone else was concentrated on Shayla. And why is he so insistent upon trying to find her?"

"Maybe you should ask him," Jake suggested simply.

"Yeah, right."

"Jake has a point. Maybe you should ask him? What's the worst he could do? Not answer you?" Marco explained.

At that point I felt someone brush up against my shoulder. I turned around to see Gerald, star quarterback for the football team, staring at me.

"Hey babe. Wanna go out?"

"Drop dead, creep," I shouted.

"Ooh feisty. I like that. Come on beautiful. Just one date," he continued.

"I wouldn't cross Rachel if I were you Gerald," Marco interjected.

"Shut up midget. When I want your opinion, I'll give it to ya. So what do you say?" Gerald repeated.

"Okay, but it's your funeral pal," Marco joked.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm involved with someone right now," I told him.

"Who?" Gerald demanded.

I was just about to say Marco when, saved by the bell, the bus pulled up at school. All the students on board rose from their seats and proceeded out the door. I was so relieved. I walked steadily to my locker. I started on my combination. After I finished, I pulled up, but it wouldn't open. I was starting to get seriously annoyed.

A voice behind me said, "Here, allow me beautiful."

That did it. That jerk was mine. I spun around and stared straight into the face of...Tobias!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Next post: 4/20/2009

~ Lexi

 

Awww Rachel!

Nice job.

 

Miana Kenobi: Yeah, Rachel's a hoot. I love writing her fiery spirit. Hope you like the new update!

*~*~*~*~*~*

Chapter 7: Tobias

As the busses started pulling up to school, Shayla and I made our way into school.

?Wait here,? I told her, ?I?m going to go get the others.?

As I walked towards where I knew Rachel?s locker was, I realized that I was walking the halls of this school for the first time, except for the previous night. I had become trapped in my hawk body before Christmas vacation during eighth grade. Rachel had stopped by her locker the night of the talent show to get a notebook she needed for her homework. I strolled up to her locker. I noticed she was having trouble with her locker.

I began, "Here, allow me beautiful."

Obviously, she was in a bad mood because she spun so fast I didn't even recognize her. At the same time, luckily, Rachel must've recognized me because she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Tobias, what are you doing here? Is everything all right? How long have you been in your human morph? What?s going on?" she demanded.

"Relax Rachel. I'll explain everything once everyone is together, which shouldn't be too long now," I said, calming her down.

As if on cue...

"Hey Rachel!" Jake yelled down the hall.

I spun around to see Jake, Cassie, and Marco walking down the hall towards us. It looked like they were going to try to calm Rachel down before classes began. But once they saw me, they stopped dead in their tracks too. Jake recovered first.

"Tobias, what are you doing here? Do you realize how much risk you're placing on us? How much time do you have left in your morph?" he scolded.

"Good, I'm glad we're all here. How long do we have before classes start?" I asked.

"Fifteen minutes. Why?" Cassie answered.

"Because we're gonna need every minute of it. Come on, let's take a walk outside," I said.

I led them outside to a picnic bench on the opposite side of the school from Chapman's office. Once they were all seated, I made a motion for Shayla to come forward.

I began, "Okay, this is going to take a lot of explaining. Where do I begin? Well, first of all, you all remember Shayla from the previous night, right? Well, early this morning, Shayla came searching for me in the woods near Cassie's house. She came right up to the tree I was perched on and started having a conversation with me. At first, I tried to ignore her, but Shayla isn't like any other person we know, and now, neither am I."

"What do you mean?" Rachel demanded.

"While Shayla and I were talking, the Ellimist made an appearance," I explained.

At that point, everyone, except Shayla, groaned in exasperation.

I continued, "And he told us some very startling news. Shayla and I are twins."

"Twins!" the remaining Animorphs exclaimed in surprise.

"How can you be so sure Tobias? I mean, the Ellimist has tricked you before. And how does Shayla know the Ellimist?" Rachel demanded.

"He?s been coming to me in my dreams the whole time I've been in town telling me to search out someone named Tobias," Shayla spoke up for the first time.

"Figures," Marco said in disgust.

I continued, "I'll try to explain as best as I can. See, I was as skeptical as you so I asked the Ellimist to show us some proof. Suddenly, we were whisked away into another dimension. You can laugh, Marco, but I swear I am telling the truth."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Marco interrupted.

"Yes, you were," I responded.

"I believe you Tobias. Continue," Cassie said.

I explained, "This place was unbelievable, but not as incredible as what the Ellimist showed us next. We were taken to a special section of this dimension. In this area, the Ellimist showed us the lifelines of millions of species across the universe. He showed us our lifelines. It showed two lines separated shortly after birth."

"But what does that prove?" Rachel inquired.

"I'm getting to that. At first, I didn?t believe him. He told me to follow my lifeline further down the road. I did, and it revealed everything. Our fateful night when we met Elfang

 

I'll be posting Wednesday's chapter (which is late, so sorry) and Friday's chapter today, because I won't be home much tomorrow on my normal posting day. Enjoy!

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Chapter 8: Shayla

Hi. My name is Shayla. I think you know the drill better than I do at this point. So, no, I?m not going to tell you my last name, or where I live, or any other pertinent information like that. I suppose you want to know a little more about me. Well, I suppose I could fill you in on a few details of the events in my life up to this point.

Walking to school with my brother and meeting his friends was one of the greatest moments in my life. The greatest was finding out I actually had a brother, because it cleared up so many things in my life. See, I?ve always held this belief that I had more family living out in the world somewhere, but whenever I would tell someone about this, they were more likely to dismiss my ideas as a childhood fantasy.

I could tell by his reactions that Jake wasn't ready to trust just yet, even if I was Tobias' sister. I watched him as Tobias was telling them the story. He was just like any other leader, analyzing what's being said and staying out of the conversation as much as possible. I knew why too. Thanks to Tobias, I now know all about the Yeerk invasion, including the Animorphs' recent encounter with David. Do I think he deserved what he got? Absolutely, the guy tried to murder my brother. That's crossing the line. I think Jake still feels personally responsible for the entire situation with David, even though everyone agreed to allow David to receive the morphing power.

I couldn't get a full reading on Marco. At first, he seemed to favor Jake, but as the story went along he started shifting back and forth. He'll probably wait and see what I'm like during a battle. Rachel was just as skeptical about me as Jake; though she started to warm up to me as time went along. Cassie was the only person who seemed to believe me from the start. Maybe it was because she knew there was finally someone in Tobias' life who actually cared for him. But whatever the reason, I?m grateful for her silent support.

It's never easy living in foster care, but it?s not like I ever had a choice in the decision. I was brought to the children?s home two weeks before my second birthday. I have always known I was a special child, even from the age of four. I knew this because what other four-year-old could read the minds of others around her.

Yes, telepathy was my first gift. I was living with this couple from Connecticut at the time and I began to see images in their mind. I found out that they were fugitives from New York and that they had changed their identities. Of course, not knowing what I saw, I asked them about it one day. Consequently, I was returned to the children?s home and they fled. I quickly learned how to block my telepathic abilities because I wanted to be able to fit in with a nice family. But every time I moved in with someone during that first year, I would accidentally read somebody's mind and end up right back where I started -- at the children?s home.

I have known Natalie since I arrived at the children?s home. We were both brought to the children?s home on the same day. I think we grew into such a strong friendship because we had such a similar background -- neither of us remembered our parents. Anytime one of us was in trouble; usually the other wasn't too far behind. Another reason for our close relationship is our closeness in age. Only one day separates us from each other. We?ve considered ourselves twins from the age of three. When I started developing my abilities, Natalie never ran away from me, just like any sister would. We wore the same clothes and even requested, as we got older, that if one of us was being taken into a foster home, then the other had to come too. That only worked once.

As I told the Animorphs, I acquired my ability to change into animals at the age of eight. I instinctively knew that all of my abilities would emerge on the eve of every fourth birthday. So, I knew

 

Chapter 9:

At that moment, we arrived at the office. Tobias led the way.

"Hello. How can I help..." a man began.

The man suddenly stopped as he looked up and saw who was in front of him. I could sense Tobias' fear and contempt for the man before him. I knew why too. This man was a well-known controller ? Vice-Principal Chapman.

He continued, "Ah, this is indeed a surprise. May I inquire where you've been for the past two years, Tobias?"

?Two years,? I thought. How horrible it must've been for him to be trapped in that frail body for so long. He must've felt what I was feeling because he 'pathed to me, ((It wasn't that bad.)) Then he turned his attention to Chapman, and sneered, "I can survive on my own."

"Can you now? Both of your guardians have no clue where you are. So where have you been living?" Chapman inquired.

"I'm not surprised they didn't bother to look for me. I was staying with a friend near my aunt?s, until he and his family moved away," he said nonchalantly.

"Is that so? And this friend would be??

?Doesn?t matter anymore. They won?t be back, so I figured I could use a change of scenery, and now, here I am,? he concluded.

?I see. Well, I take it you?re here to register for classes now? It's pretty late in the quarter. How long do you think you'll be staying with us this time Tobias?" Chapman said.

He shrugged. "However long I feel like it," Tobias responded.

Tobias? attitude towards Chapman confused and frightened me. Why was he trying to sound all tough now?

"And who might this be?" Chapman directed his question towards me.

"I?m Shayla, sir. Frances Cooper called on Friday and said I would be registering today," I replied.

"Ah, yes. Mrs. Schultz has everything you need. I'll need to speak to you after school, Tobias," Chapman finished. With that, Chapman entered his office. He even closed his blinds. I stared for a moment, trying to see if I could get a reading of that Yeerk's mind, but then I brought my attention back to Mrs. Schultz.

Mrs. Schultz began, "All right, Shayla, here?s your schedule and locker assignment. If you?ll wait a moment, an envelope arrived just this morning, concerning you Tobias. It must be your transfer records from your previous school."

After Mrs. Schultz left, I walked over to Tobias. ?Transfer records??

?Probably the Ellimist, again,? Tobias suggested. ?It?s not like I haven?t kept up with school subjects. I usually hang out with Rachel and the others while they?re studying sometimes. It gives me something to do with my time.?

I noticed that Tobias kept pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked

"Not really," he explained, "My head feels like it's going to explode. There are so many thoughts spinning through my head. How can you keep sane with them?"

"I've created shields to block them," I answered, "After school, I'll teach you how to build your shield. For now, just concentrate on the teacher's mind in your class today. Don't read his or her mind or make comments, though. Does that help at all?"

"Not really," Tobias said.

"Well then, try to concentrate on me for most of the day. I can help you if it gets too overwhelming for you,? I suggested.

?What if we?re in different classes though?? he inquired.

?Doesn?t matter, if we?re still in the same building, I can feel you and help you,? I assured him.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem. That's what incredibly gifted sisters are for."

"Get over yourself," he interjected as he shoved me, lightly, into the wall.

About ten minutes later, Mrs. Schultz returned. She handed Tobias two pieces of paper identical to mine. One was white, the other was blue.

"The white paper is your schedule for the year. The blue paper is your locker assignment and combination. We are in the middle of first period right now," she explained as she wrote two additional notes, "You can start with that class. You can use these passes for today in case you can?t get to your classes on time. Just hand the teacher this note from me and he or she will understand. Your lockers are located on the

 

I like the background on Shayla!

Can't wait to see where this goes.

 

Miana Kenobi: I hope the rest of the chapters meet your expectations. Thanks for the review. New post now!

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Chapter 10: Tobias

Well, at least I wouldn't have every class with Shayla, just our math and lunch periods together. I guess I could live with that. It was better than having all our classes together. I heard twins can sometimes do that. In fact, I even upped her one. I'm in Chemistry and she's in Biology. I must remember to thank the Ellimist for those transcripts. I guess all that studying with the other Animorphs paid off. I breezed my way through the first three periods of classes, taking the opportunity to test out my telepathic abilities by conversing with Rachel throughout our first period chemistry class when we were situated at opposite ends of the classroom from each other, until I met up with Shayla outside of our math class for fourth period. I knocked on the door, as class had already started before we arrived. A fairly young man answered.

"May I help you?" he asked.

Shayla handed him the hall passes given to us by Mrs. Schultz and said, "Sorry to disturb you, but we're in your class now."

"No problem at all, come on in," the teacher returned.

As he read over the schedules, I surveyed the room. I was hoping that maybe one of the other Animorphs would be in class with me, but to my surprise I saw all four of them sitting in desks in the back of the room. In fact, the only two available seats were next to Rachel and Marco.

"Welcome back Tobias," the teacher announced.

"Do I know you?" I asked, perplexed.

He explained, "You probably don't remember me, but I had you in my class two years ago when you were in middle school. I was promoted when Mr. Perkins left."

I remember Mr. Perkins. It was after we destroyed the Kandrona situated at the EGS Tower. Perkins was a controller and when his Yeerk died, he tried to free Tom, but failed. He's now living out in the wilderness somewhere.

"Oh yeah, now I remember you," I returned. ?Mr. Starr, right??

"That?s right. Why don't you and Shayla take the desks next to Rachel and Marco?" Mr. Starr suggested as he handed us our textbooks. We took our seats. I sat next to Rachel. I just hoped Marco wouldn't mess up Shayla's studies.

"Shayla, Tobias, we are currently on page 78," Mr. Starr said.

"Thank you," we both replied, simultaneously. That got a chuckle out of Marco. Rachel "tapped" him upside the head.

The rest of the class period flew by so fast. The next thing I knew, the bell rang and class was over. It was time for lunch. Shayla and I walked back to our lockers and proceeded out to the picnic bench from earlier before. The others were already at the table with their lunch trays. While I went to get lunch, I noticed Shayla stayed behind and chatted with the other Animorphs. I tried to listen in, but she was blocking me. Hmm, that's strange. When I reached the table, Shayla went back inside to get her lunch.

"What was that about?" I inquired.

"Oh, nothing. Just something Shayla had to tell us," Rachel answered.

"About what?"

"It's nothing, don?t worry about it," Shayla interjected.

"Whatever," I concluded, shrugging my shoulders. I could probably swindle the truth out of Rachel later.

"Good, then let's get back to what we were discussing earlier this morning," Jake said.

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Next post: 4/29/09

 

"What was that about?" I inquired.

"Oh, nothing. Just something Shayla had to tell us," Rachel answered.

"About what?"

"It's nothing, don?t worry about it," Shayla interjected.

Something tells me it wasn't exactly the 'nothing' they're making it out to be...

 

I really enjoyed reading the Animorphs and felt cheated when Ms. Applegate practically killed everyone at the end of the series.

I hope that you update soon and please pm me when you do!