AN: Sorry for the hold up folks. I can't believe how fast time flies these days. One day it's the beginning of May, the next next, we're halfway through June. Didn't realise just how long it had been since this story's last update. Well, again, sorry.

I hope you like the final chapter of Return of the Hyena.

The Attack Part 12

With how overwhelmed I was with more unpleasant sensations than I could list just a few seconds ago, the sudden switch to feeling absolutely nothing at all was enough to leave me frozen in place. My mind just couldn't quite comprehend it.

I couldn't feel my body shutting down, I couldn't feel the pressure in my lungs and the struggle it was to breathe. I couldn't feel the blood coming up like the urge to puke anymore. In fact, I couldn't feel my body at all.

The changes from my senses was just as extreme. Smell and touch had completely ceased to exist. I wasn't breathing, but I felt no urge to, like it was completely unnecessary. The sounds of battle and Jake's voice were completely gone with a flick too, only replaced by the sound of slow moving air, like when someone's breathing behind you. As for sight...

I didn't register anything but dark red at first. It wasn't until a good few moments later, when it finally sunk in that I had died and adjusted to the change, that I noticed that the red was moving. And that I was looking at it through my transparent hand, which I immediately put down. What was in front of me was terrifying enough. I could freak out about my lack of solidity later, when this...thing was far, far away.

He was as big as a freaking mountain! Sitting in a throne just as big as he was, he looked like a red and black mass. His body was a mix of organic material and machines, bringing the word cyborg to mind. And at the top of him was one blazing, malicious eye staring right at me. I didn't need the descriptions Jake had given me from his dreams. Between the look and the air of evil radiating off of him so greatly that it made the one around Visser Three himself feel holy in comparison, there could be no mistaking him. This was the other side of the Ellimist's coin. This was Crayak.

"Ah, Warren. The saviour, handpicked by the Ellimist himself. I was hoping you'd be the first to fall." I didn't have a spine anymore, not really. If I was right, the fact that I still looked like my living self was just a subconscious attempt to ease the ride. But I still felt shivers go down it at the sound of his voice. The cruelty, malice and pleasure lacing his voice was beyond what I'd heard even the most terrifying of horror movies I'd ever seen, much more fear inducing than that of any Yeerk. "What's the matter, 'brave' cripple of the Animorphs? Unsettled by what you see?" He asked tauntingly, a rumbling, patronising laugh quickly following. It took everything I had, and the reminder that I was basically a ghost and that as long as I was, he couldn't touch me, to not run as fast as my transparent legs would take me and calm down. Even if I was alive, running was pointless. I could never escape a being like Crayak if he didn't want me too.

Ignoring the embodiment of evil himself as he chuckled at my fear, I forced myself to calm down. If I was going to be stuck with this guy for an unknown amount of time, I was not going to give this guy the satisfaction of seeing me shaking like a leaf.

"Why did you want to see me of all people? And why did you call me The Saviour? The others have saved at least as many people as I have." I asked as firmly as I could, letting myself get distracted by my genuine curiosity.

"You have no idea what you have already done. The changes your mere existence and reactions have already caused." Crayak retorted, losing some of his air of greatness as irritation revealed itself. "You have already neutralised a number of events I set into motion, as the Ellimist knew you would, with the simplest of tweaks to the events of your allies. For example, before you were brought into the game, the changes in history resulting in the Yeerks' genetic, chemical lab were already in place. That night the Hork-Bajir would have raided a different facility, leaving the lab until they were far more prepared for it, unaware of what was being created within. The night they would have raided the place, the bull experiment that you saw would have been finalised and not only would that cause their raid to be a failure, but many Hork-Bajir would have died, including your friend Toby. A great blow to your side. A fatal one. Without her leadership, the colony's work would become incredibly sloppy, as is nature with such dimwitted creatures and the colony's location would be exposed. The free Hork-Bajir would have been reinfested with ease and the Animorphs' secret exposed to the Yeerks. They would have been completely unaware of the Yeerks coming down on them until it was too late."

If I had real skin, I would have paled in horror. And not just because of the future that was just painted for me, but how easily it occurred and how lucky it was that it did not. Crayak's scheme had targeted one single person. And as a result, the entire resistance fell. Or would have, whatever.

On top of that, the only reason it didn't happen was because I had a mental breakdown and going on a major, life saving raid and talking with Toby was the decided solution to help me. Something so...specific, a mere one possibility in over a thousand. If just the slightest difference had been made in that chain of events...well, it was a decimating reminder of just how fragile our resistance was. How even just a single, miniscule member could bring it all down.

"All those lives could have been taken. The world could have been left defenceless. And all of it ruined simply by adding a weak boy with a despicable sense of morality." Crayak snarled hatefully. "That is why you are declared the saviour. Because you were chosen due to having the perfect, pathetic personality to correct such events and guide your side to a better future. You save lives without even knowing you're doing it. I must admit, that irritation is impressive when it comes to picking the perfect pawn for each chain of events." He grumbled grudgingly, definitely not pleased at the prospect of complimenting the bane of his existence. "But no matter. The Ellimist is not the only one who adapts to changes caused by the other player and we are free to manipulate the situation until a race is either saved or destroyed. And you will no longer interfere with my plans."

"Assuming the others don't beat the Howlers." I retorted, only to remember how stupid it was to be a smart ass with people like this creature. Did I actually want to stay dead?

"You actually believe that they-" His sentence was left unfinished however, and his entire mountain of a body went rigid. The air of all things evil radiating off of him had changed too. It was overflowing with a sense of fury and panic, so much so that even my transparent form shivered. The back of my mind marvelled at how easy it was to actual feel this guy's emotions, like he was projecting them deliberately, but the rest of it was focusing only on two thoughts.

The others must have won and that I'd smirk if I wasn't so terrified.

A second later proved me right, for without any warning the others all appeared out of thin air. All of them looked extremely confused, particularly Marco who'd no doubt just regained consciousness as he appeared, but they were all fine, solid and tangible as they'd ever been.

They were all in their normal forms and completely healed, much to my relief. Though every other emotion was temporarily suppressed when I noticed that all the humans were on their knees, staring up at the creature before them like he was their terrifying king. Who the hell did Crayak think he was?

"Warren!" The spell was second later however, as Jake's head snapped to me, relief concealing his grief and fear. His smile receded a little when he noticed that I was see-through, but it was still enough for Crayak to send another irritated ripple through that aura he demanded we feel.

"Um, why is he over there and...floating?" Marco frowned, his voiced sharpening as he went on. He didn't get an answer though, at least not directly. The instant he saw me, all traces of fear left David and he jumped to his feet, glaring furiously up at the ultimate antagonist.

"Hey, we won! Why isn't he alive again?"

"Silence, traitor." The response was calm and relatively soft, but held so much hatred and venom made all of us freeze or shiver. "I made no agreement to revive your fallen."

/Perhaps not, but I did./ Another, much more familiar and friendlier voice responded. The Ellimist's voice echoed around the entire area as he flickered right into existence, once again in the form of an old man. Only this time he looked a little more like one of those elves that make toys for Santa. /Unusual circumstances allow for unusual conditions, a fact that you too had taken advantage of. It is simply disappointing that all the conditions demanded the side benefiting had to win. In which case.../

Just as he finished talking, I dropped straight to the ground, taking in a huge, loud breath as my lungs not only returned to existence and demanded that I fill them immediately. For a good few seconds I couldn't even sit up right, every cell in my body too busy demanding oxygen to move. By the time I had the control to get off my hands and knees, a firm pair of arms was already pulling me up and pressing my side into the owner's chest.

"Oh, thank God." It took my befuddled mind a moment to figure out just what was happening before I turned to offer Jake a small smile. Our leader wasn't so fearless at that moment, I can tell you that. His breathing was as heavy as mine, though he'd only run maybe ten steps and while his relief was evident in every inch of his face and the way he was holding himself, I could still see pain and fear flickering around in his eyes. He was still horribly shaken from my death. I could only hope that my resurrection would lessen the mental trauma, though I had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case. At the very least, he was going to be watching all of us a lot more cautiously now and second guess anything even remotely dangerous. I just hoped that we could stop it there. If it got any further, I doubted all of us combined could bring him back from whatever dark place he ended up in.

"You did it Jake. You saved us all." I said reassuringly, trying to be as comforting as I could. The best time to stop the spiral I really didn't want him to take was to cut it off right at the beginning. I couldn't stop it completely, but I could limit the descent. "You saved me."

"I was the reason we lost you. Why..." He started as the others approached, only for me to shut him up with my hand over his mouth. Seeing what was going on, the others, even Crayak and the Ellimist stayed back and quiet. Crayak seemed to just be enjoying the show, but the others watched on sympathetically and worriedly, waiting. We all knew that Jake and I needed a moment. That jumping in right now could be a very bad idea. Jake needed to hear this from me.

"I was killed by my actions, not yours." I said firmly, looking him right in the eye. "And we had agreed to an event where we were all guaranteed to die. If I don't blame you for this, then I don't give you permission to either." I added with a small smirk.

"But if I didn't hesitate and morphed sooner-"

"Then you would have gone tiger and we'd all be dead right now." I butted in, not giving him the chance and startling him. "Am I wrong? Would you have used the Howler if you morphed sooner?" I pressed as his jaw dropped.

"I...no, I wouldn't have." He answered a moment later, closing his eyes tight as he shook his head before looking back at me with a pained expression. "I would have used something that I knew that I could control. I wouldn't risk killing you guys myself."

"And then we'd all be dead." I said again, determined to get it through his head. "This is war Jake. It might have been only a handful of fighters on each side, but it was still a war to the death. We all knew that going in to the war with the Yeerks and it was no different with the Howlers. And in war, even the greatest of commanders, with every tactical advantage in the world, can't save everyone. People on our side are going to die, even if you come up with the best plan in the history of all existence. That doesn't make it your fault. The sign of a good leader is the ability to save as many lives as possible, keep the inevitable death toll as low as possible. And you did that Jake. An entire planet of living people was at stake and you made sure the death toll ended at one. That is an absolutely amazing achievement Jake. One to be proud of. I'm proud of you." Admittedly, I had to fight back a blush at just how corny that last sentence sounded and Marco was gonna tease me for it later, the look on his face guaranteed it, but Jake needed to hear it.

"We all are." Cassie nodded, giving him a soft smile as the others approached. Gently unlatching his death grip on me, she wrapped his arms around herself and rested her head on his chest, Marco and Rachel each placing a hand on his shoulders as they too voiced their agreement. Ax, Erek and Tobias stayed a little further back, but not so far that they didn't make their support clear.

"OW!" David was the only exception. He walked right up and gave me a particularly painful slap to the back of my head.

"Don't you ever go and play the bloody martyr again, you hear me?" He shouted, glaring heatedly at me. It didn't last longer than a few seconds though. After that, his face softened and rested on my shoulder, an arm wrapping around the other one. From what I could see, I guessed he just needed the physical reassurance that I was still there. That and he didn't want anyone to see the look on his face. "I can't repay you if you die before I can save your life."

"Please spare me anymore of this drivel." Crayak drawled, causing all of us to tense and shiver. For a moment, I think we all forgot he was there and where we were. "I care not for mushy moments."

/Nor the company of anyone present./ The Ellimist said nonchalantly. /However, the cause of their presence is a matter of attention. They have won. So the Iskoort shall live./

"They shall live." Crayak conceded, though his rumbling voice was full of his discontent of the matter. It was replaced by menace a moment later however, when his eye focused once again on us. "However, Earth is still fair game. We will meet again soon and it will not end so well for you next time."

"Cliché." The retort slipped out before Marco even noticed his mouth had moved, only for him to turn pale as a bed sheet when the realisation struck him. Fortunately, before Crayak could give him any response, the world around us had changed again. From the place with Crayak, to the insides of all existence in space, to normal space and back to the barn with the time span of about a second. The transition was so quick it had my head spinning. I was pretty relieved that I was sitting on the same bale of hay I'd been on before we'd left, I was too dizzy to stay on my feet.

"Hey! My hair's back!" Rachel cheered, drawing all of attention as she laughed and played with its restored length.

"So's our clothes." Marco mused, taking a few deep breaths. It's not fun when you realise that you risked obliteration by offending an all powerful being. Again.

"And my defibrillator." I scowled, my hand rising to the hard, protruding bulge in my chest. "Of course it would come back." I muttered moodily, ignoring as the others looked at me sympathetically. I was almost free of it. Almost capable of every needed morph, to not be cut off from helping the others due to a need to be small, or because of a morph with an irregular shape. Almost free of the danger to my life it represented.

/As I promised, you have all returned as you were the moment you left./ The Ellimist stated as his old man form appeared once again, smiling proudly as he looked around the room.

"You couldn't leave the metal blob back with the Iskoort?" Jake asked, almost as annoyed with it as I was.

/I could have, if it was part of our agreement. The rules are severely stretched in situations such as this challenge, but they do exist. As such, Warren was restored as he was the very moment before you left this planet, just as Rachel was./ The Ellimist replied, turning a little apologetically to me. /I am sure that you will find your way free of it, but now is not the time. I do promise however, that this will benefit you in ways you do not yet understand./

/So, it's like we never left?/ Tobias asked, turning his head around a bit more than usual, though there would be no need. As long as the Ellimist was here, no one would come here. If time was moving at all.

/Exactly. This is the very moment you left for the Iskoort planet. All the proof that remains is either back with your friend Guide or in your memories. With one exception, of course./

"And what would that be?" David asked with an irritated raised eyebrow, crossing his arms.

/The first piece of the reward requested for your assistance./ The Ellimist responded, smiling as he turned to Jake. /The request allowed a bend in the rule. As such, Jake has been allowed to keep the DNA of the Howler. A morph even Visser Three would find tricky to fight, would you not say?/

Ok, that brought a round of smiles from everyone, even Ax and Erek, though theirs were far more hesitant. The Ellimist was right after all. That kind of power, even if it was only in the hands of one member, could give us a very big edge. It couldn't win this war for us or anything, but it did change things a lot. We'd have to be careful about where and how such a morph was used, but in places like the forest or the Yeerk Pool, where exposure wasn't an issue...

"What about the real Howlers?" Jake asked, looking more than a little conflicted. "They're still connected to the collective memory, that I'll flood with my own. Wouldn't Crayak..."

/He cannot erase you./ The Ellimist answered, his smile growing significantly larger. /To do so would be in direct violation to our rules. As for the other Howlers, why don't you tell me./

With that, Jake's jaw dropped and shock took over as he started morphing, far faster than even Cassie had ever done it before. He was a Howler in thirty seconds.

"Should have asked for that morphing speed." Rachel muttered as I nodded beside her. That could have provided quite the advantage.

"Next time." Erek stated with a shrug, keeping his face carefully blank as he stared at Jake. Yeah right, like we were gonna let there be a next time.

/What do you see in the memory pool Jake?/ The Ellimist asked, his face developing a look of calmed excitement. /Did anything survive Crayak's attempt?/

/Um.../ It was a little weird seeing such a calm, thoughtful look on the face of a being who'd not ten minutes ago tried to kill me as Jake wracked his brain. Though I took the weird feeling quite happily. It sure beat the sick feeling I got looking down at the metal claws that had ripped me open twice. It only lasted a moment though before his face turned to us with a happy, satisfied expression. /The understanding of pain and suffering of those they play with did. And...sodidthekiss./ He added quickly, and Howler or not, the embarrassment decorated his face spectacularly.

"The kiss?" Marco smirked, his mischievousness returning. "Can you still feel it Jake? Cassie's lips pressed against yours? What about you Cassie? Was it everything you dreamed it would be?" It was simply amazing how red Cassie's skin could become as Marco turned his smirk her way.

"Just because you're jealous is no reason to rip into Cassie." David butted in, making me snort at the implication. Marco wasn't offended either, strangely enough. Normally any comment from David had him snapping back, but in this case, he just made kissy faces.

"Not on your life Marco." Rachel stated amusedly as he turned to everyone in the group, ending with her.

"Does that mean that the Howler threat has...come to an end?" Erek asked the Ellimist, growing incredulous toward the end, before turning to Jake. "They finally understand what they're doing and that was enough to stop their tirade?"

/What do you mean by understand?/ Ax asked, sounding just as perplexed as I felt. /It is hard to mistake brutal slaughter as anything else./

"More like impossible." Rachel agreed as Marco, David and I nodded.

/Unless they only thought of it like a video game./ Jake replied, heralding incredulous cries from everyone but Erek and the Ellimist. /The Howlers are all children, they only live for three years and don't reproduce. They're made in a facility. And just like human three year olds playing with animals, they no understanding that their actions were causing pain. They had the belief that we were just toys and they had no understanding of pain to begin with. Thanks to my memories, now they do./

"We were trying to kill kids?" Cassie asked, looking nothing short of horrified, none of the rest of us looking too thrilled either. How freaking wrong can you get? We were trying to kill kids and said kids were grown and encouraged to slaughter. They were doing it by age one!

/A problem you will not have to deal with again./ The Ellimist assured us, not that it made me feel any better. /In three months, they will land on another planet. They will find the dominant inhabitants, but instead of attacking them, they will be friendly. Very friendly, if you catch my drift./ He chuckled, looking thoroughly amused. Admittedly, most of us showed signs of amusement at that one, a number of snickers adding to the mix. I would actually like to see how that turns out, it promised to be amusing.

/Hey, wait./ Tobias cried, the sudden outburst startling everyone. /That means that...that was your plan all along, wasn't it?/ He stated more than asked as his intense eyes burrowed into the Ellimist's. /You wanted us as your champions because you knew we'd cripple them as an army!/

/Hoped is the more technical term, but yes./ The Ellimist nodded.

/That would imply.../ Ax started, only to stop short as the full implications hit the group. Even the animals seemed to have grown absolutely quiet.

/That in saving the race I refused to let Crayak take, you have in fact save countless races./ The Ellimist finished for him as if it was nothing more than giving a hungry kid an apple. Good, but unfitting of the monumental feat we'd just pulled off. It sent Rachel and Jake gasping for air as soon as they realised they'd forgotten to breathe, had a smile threatening to break Cassie's face as the shock faded and left perfectly stunned looks on everyone else's faces, from Marco to Erek. /Crayak's greatest creations have now become his most embarrassing of failures. One that will mark the universe for a long time, for they create themselves and even if they are his creation, he is forbidden by our rules to destroy the entire race himself. Considering how tough he made them, you can be assured that they will survive most attempts of extinction through our games./

"Is that why you fought for the Iskoort so greatly? Simply to have us face the Howlers?" Erek asked suspiciously. Judging from the glare crossing Ax' face, he'd come to the same conclusion.

/No, though I knew they would be his champions when the battle was decided and took advantage of it./ The Ellimist admitted calmly, unphased. /Just as he knew that I would choose you. Like the Iskoort home world, Earth represents another major position in our game. Both he and I want the advantage that our side will gain from winning the Earth. Crayak was just as keen on removing you from existence as I was on neutralising the Howlers. It just turned out that my faith was correctly placed in this venture./

"So then what does make those good for nothing pain in the butts worth fighting over?" David snapped impatiently. "What great thing will they possibly do to make it all worth it?"

/Possibly nothing. However, it is now far more possible that in three hundred years time, the Yeerks and the Iskoort will meet and the Yeerks will find another way to live, ending their conquering ways much like the Iskoort did./

"Oh joy, we gave the Yeerks something to hope for. Are you kidding me?" David shouted, glaring furiously.

/I would advise you to be careful about how you think of life David, no matter what kind it is./ The Ellimist said calmly and...almost coolly, leaving more than one of us gobsmacked. That was the first time he'd ever said something to us that sounded like a warning, even if it was the kind that comes from someone trying to caution you, not threaten you. /You may be Crayak's traitor, but you still embody the traits that had him choose you as his destroyer, a title you have not revoked. That is fine, but if you do not remember what you are destroying for, you may return to what you once were. A warrior fighting unknowingly in the name of Crayak./ And with that, he disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a very stunned, almost painfully tense silence.

No one really said anything after that. I barely heard anyone say goodbye as we all left, putting my helmet on and riding home on autopilot. We were all far too overwhelmed for any more talking. Too much had happened too quickly, too much information was thrown at us at once. And the Jupiter sized rippled we'd thrown into Fate's chain of events...I wasn't sure how my sleep deprived mind was still conscious after being hit with that one. I couldn't even come close to comprehending it all.

Reaching home, I put my bike in the garage, gave an over excited Lexi a hug and went straight to my room, flopping face first onto the bed.

There was far too much to comprehend. And plenty to worry about. The guilt trip Jake would still send himself through, the Ellimist's warning to David, the fact that we'd technically killed nine kids, even if most were at the hands of Crayak. But that could wait until later. Right now, all I focused on was the sense of accomplishment. The warm feeling that always came with the knowledge that I'd saved lives. And this time, we saved countless lives.

I guess saviour is an ok title for me. I'm no better or important than any other Animorph. We're all worthy of that title. But if they wanted to give it to me, even if Crayak did it spitingly, then I'll where it like a badge of honour. If someone told me I exist solely to save lives, I think I'd believe it. And I was more than ok with that. The feeling that comes from doing it, be it from death, despair, loneliness or anything else...there was nothing better.

But I could worry about that later. Right now, all was good and sleep sounded like heaven.

AN: And now this story's all wrapped up. The next line of episode arcs, whenever I get around to writing them, will be put up as Alternamorphs 2. This is partly because Alternamorphs 1 has been deemed big enough and because...well, if this was a tv show, this would have been season 1, where everything is set up. From the next episode arc onward is season 2, where it's all developed. It'll pull a little further away from the series now too, as there will be new resistance groups and a few more Animorphs joining the fight. Three are definitely joining in sooner or later, and there are two other possibilities, though most would hold a lesser role than the current Animorphs for reasons to be explained later in the series. Well, see ya then.

Oh yeah, and thanks again everyone who reviewed this story. They really made my day.