Animorphs Re-Read: #3 The Encounter (Chapters 25-27)

Chapter 25

Visser Three commands that the truck ship move and it does so. The Visser brags, of course, and Tobias wants to tell the Visser the truth. That he isn't an Andalite and his name is Tobias. What's funny about this is that while Tobias was born human, his father was an Andalite. So Tobias is sort of an Andalite, though not genetically so.

Tobias decides not to brag as the outlook of his current situation is very bleak at the moment. The ship he is on is now picking up speed. This is bad news as bird-boy is trying to fly  to the front of the ship.

As he strains himself he finally reaches his destination. He tells the Taxxons to die and then fires. Up to this point we've never had a character hold a Dracon beam before so we didn't know how it felt to fire it.

Tobias mentions that the Dracon beam didn't have a recoil LIKE A NORMAL GUN. So did Tobias ever fire a gun? Did he pick one up once and think about using it on himself and/or using it on his classmates? Why am I giving myself sad ideas for a fic without meaning too!

Tobias can't hold the weapon any longer and drops it. Luckily enough he had completed his mission of shooting the control panel so that the ship would crash.

Tobias describes the ship being injured was a sight to see. The ship had seemed invincible before, but now it was revealed not to be.

The truck ship tries to fly away but it turns back towards the ground. The truck ship ends up smashing into one of the choppers and a Bug fighter before Tobias sees the hole in the ship.

He watches as they tumble out of the ship screaming in horror. Well, this is worrying me since they don't have bird morphs.

Tobias is freaked out and flies towards the falling Animorphs though he knows he won't be able to help them.


Chapter 26

The chapter begins with Tobias saying that as his fellow Animorphs were falling they were morphing into birds. This is why the 'cliffhanger' at the end of last chapter doesn't make sense to me. It's not like Tobias didn't know the others had bird morphs as #2 The Visitor began with the whole group in bird morphs. If you want to do a cliffhanger make sure there is actually doubt if the characters can survive.

Cassie morphs Osprey, Marco and Rachel morph Bald eagles, and Jake morphs Peregrine falcon. There is a mistake here as Marco's bird morph is an Osprey and I don't believe he ever morphs a Bald eagle again.

Tobias thinks that the others won't be able to complete their morphs in time. That they will fall and die leaving him alone in a world that will quickly be conquered by the Yeerks.

Cassie completes her morph in time and Marco is a little slow in morphing but survives. Tobias shouts in joy when he sees that Marco survives. Oh you two!

Marco says that he's done with the Animorphs stuff as he nearly died. Tobias tells him that they aren't in the clear yet. Bird-boy tells the others to fly into the trees so that they can hide from the Yeerks there.

There is a loud explosion when the truck ship crashes because, you know, it's a big ass ship.

With the explosion the remaining birds fly off. One of them is the female red-tailed hawk. You know, the hawk that Tobias rescued in the beginning and had a little crush on. The hawk that might even like Tobias in her own way.

The Yeerks had looked at Tobias and thought the female red-tailed hawk was him and shot off her wing thinking she was one of the 'Andalite bandits'. She then falls and dies when she crashes on the ground.

I am not sad! I am not sad!


Chapter 27

Tobias says how the Yeerks destroyed all evidence of the truck ship but they had hurt the invaders and most of them got out alive. He isn't saying that an Animorph died, but is probably referring to the female hawk that died.

Tobias goes to visit Rachel a day later. He mentions that it seems like she's expecting him. AW!

Rachel asks first if Tobias is okay and then talks about all the Animorphs going to the mountain lake so they can bury the female hawk. She says it must sound crazy but Tobias replies it isn't crazy, it's a very human thing to do.

Tobias says that's not what he wants since the wild animals will have eaten the hawk. Hell, maybe even a fellow red-tail hawk will have eaten her. Rachel says that Tobias is a human and should react to the hawk's death like a human.

You know how I've been saying this book is about Tobias coming to peace with his hawk nature? About him realizing he has to deal with his hawk self because he's not fully human anymore? The next paragraph is a perfect example of this.

Tobias tells Rachel that he is both a boy and a hawk. He hunts to eat and he also cries over those who have died. He is neither one or the other, he is both. Rachel looks sad at Tobias' realization. Their relationship, including Rachel not wanting to accept Tobias as a hawk, will be covered throughout the series.

Tobias then flies away. He thinks about how he is a combination of both a boy and a hawk. He tells the reader that they now know why he can't tell them who he is or where he lives. He ends with telling the reader:

Be happy for me, and for all who fly free.

I am a big Tobias fan and so love this book. It deals with showing how he reacts to being stuck in hawk morph for the long haul.

It is a dark book in that it isn't afraid to delve into the topic of suicide. An entire FUCKING chapter talks about that. And throughout the book Tobias pulls off some very risky moves.

I actually like the female hawk sub-plot as that's a big factor in how Tobias realizes who he really is now.

The next book in the Animorphs series I will be Re-Reading will be

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Animorphs Re-Read