The Answer is the fifty-third and penultimate book in the Animorphs

Animorphs

Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...

series. It is narrated by Jake

Jake Berenson

Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...

.

Plot summary

After the destruction of the Yeerk

Yeerk

Yeerks are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the book and television series "Animorphs" written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic.-Biology:...

 pool, Jake, Tobias

Tobias (Animorphs)

Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...

, and Marco

Marco (Animorphs)

Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...

 witness the Yeerks destroying the last remnants of their hometown and watch as the Pool ship lands amidst the destruction. After briefly considering destroying the Pool ship, the Animorphs decide that capturing the vessel would be a better strategy.

Hoping to gain military assistance for the attack, Jake visits Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Sam Doubleday. Although Doubleday is initially distrustful of Jake, he eventually listens and agrees to Jake's plan after a Controller-major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

 on the general's staff tries to kill Jake. After a Yeerk attack on the general's base, Doubleday evacuates his troops and confines them and himself for three days to eliminate any remaining Controller's amongst his soldiers.

Unfortunately, the confinement of Doubleday and his troops means a three-day delay before the Animorphs can launch their attack on the Pool ship. Sensing that the Yeerks could get the new Yeerk pool that is under construction operational within that time period, the Animorphs decide to take out the Taxxon

Taxxon

The Taxxons are a fictional sentient race in the Animorphs book series by K.A. Applegate, one of the species conceptually created for the series. They resemble giant, centipedes, with the forward one-third portion of their body held erect. They move on many rows of needle-like legs and the legs...

s digging the pool. In the ensuing battle, Jake finds himself underground and in the company of several Taxxons, led by none other than Arbron

Arbron

Arbron is a fictional character in the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate.He was an Andalite aristh, a cadet, who was never serious and was always competitive with Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, who back then was an aristh as well....

, a former companion of Eflangor's

Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul

Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul is a character in K. A. Applegate's book series Animorphs. He is of an alien race known as the Andalites. His adventures are highlighted in the book called The Andalite Chronicles, which takes place before the main Animorphs series.Elfangor is an Andalite war-prince, who...

 who became a Taxxon-nothlit several years earlier

The Andalite Chronicles

The Andalite Chronicles is a science-fiction novel, and is the first companion book to the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. Within the timeline of the series, this book takes place before the first book in the series, The Invasion...

. Arbron makes Jake an offer: in exchange for allowing his followers to become nothlits and make a home for themselves on Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

, the 1709 non-Controller Taxxons on the surface and on board the Pool ship will defect and join the Animorphs in their fight against the Yeerks.

Jake returns to the Hork-Bajir

Hork-Bajir

The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...

 valley and tells the others of Arbron's offer. The brief period of excitement that reigns through the camp is spoiled, however, when Ax

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...

 tells the others that the Andalite

Andalite

The Andalites are a fictional alien race of grazers in the Scholastic book series Animorphs.-Biology:The Andalites are fictional aliens from the book series and TV series Animorphs....

s have decided that the war for Earth is lost and are planning on destroying humanity in order to stop the Yeerk menace once and for all. Ax insists that the only way to stop this is to capture the Pool ship and use its communications technology to contact the Andalite people directly, whom he does not expect to support his governments sterilization plan.

The Animorphs return to Arbron and his Taxxon followers and secure their support. Jake promises the Taxxons a safe haven on Earth and the opportunity to morph anaconda

Anaconda

An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda...

s. Immediately afterwords, Tom arrives and offers to assist the Animorphs in capturing the Pool ship, in exchange for the Blade ship, a hundred of his own morph-capable followers, and safe passage out of the Solar System

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

. Sensing a trap, Jake accepts Tom's offer while simultaneously setting his own plan into motion. Jake dispatches Marco to locate Erek King

Erek King

Erek King is a fictional character from the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate. He is a member of the Chee, a pacifistic android race created by the Pemalites. Erek King was the name of a real Animorphs fan who won a competition on the Animorphs Official Site to have his name included in one of...

 and bring him to the Hork-Bajir valley, while Cassie

Cassie (Animorphs)

Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...

 and Ax are sent to capture Chapman. Jake manipulates Erek's pacifist programming by threatening to kill Chapman if Erek does not actively participate in the assault on the Pool ship. Erek grudgingly agrees to help.

With the attack set to begin, Jake meets up with Tom and the original Animorphs, including a severely beaten Cassie, and proceeds to board the Pool ship. Once on board, Tom, as expected, betrays Jake by having a Taxxon eat Cassie and the other Animorphs, whom he believes to be hiding on Cassie in morph. Unknown to Tom, "Cassie" is actually a holographic projection by Erek, and the Taxxon is Tobias in morph, escorted by free Hork-Bajir led by Toby Hamee

Toby Hamee

Toby Hamee is a fictional character in the Animorphs books by K. A. Applegate.Toby Hamee is a Hork-Bajir seer, the daughter of Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak. She is the first free Hork-Bajir born in the free Hork-Bajir colony...

. After devouring the hologram, Tobias and Erek, with the other Animorphs in tow, are led off the bridge by Toby so they can begin trying to gain control of the Pool ship's computer systems. Visser One

Visser Three

Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...

 gives Tom command of the Blade ship so he can wipe out the Taxxon resistance. Unbeknownst to the Yeerks and the Animorphs (save for Jake), Rachel

Rachel (Animorphs)

Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...

 is hiding as a flea

Flea

Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...

 on Tom's head, with orders to kill him and prevent the Blade ship from escaping with the morphing cube

Escafil device

The Escafil device is a fictional technological apparatus from K.A. Applegate's popular children's book series Animorphs. It is the proper name for the "Andalite morphing cube", a device that when operated gives the user the ability to 'acquire' a copy of DNA patterns from any animal that physical...

, an assignment that Rachel is not expected to survive.

The auxiliary Animorphs

Auxiliary Animorphs

The Auxiliary Animorphs are a team of fictional characters from the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate. All of them were physically disabled in some form...

 and General Doubleday's forces begin their attack on the Pool ship. Visser One lifts the ship off the ground and uses its massive weapons array to kill the auxiliary Animorphs and several of Doubleday's troops. Jake, who is still on the bridge, is forced to watch the massacre until Ax and Erek are able to gain control of the helm and force the Pool ship out of firing range. This act makes Visser One realize that the Animorphs have infiltrated the Pool ship's engineering section and orders his troops to kill everyone in the room. Jake meets up with the others, who escaped the engine room before Visser One's forces could carry out their orders, and tells them of Rachel's part in his plan. The Animorphs continue with their assault and make their way to the Pool ship's on-board Yeerk pool. Hoping to distract Visser One and Tom long enough to save Rachel's life, Jake orders Ax to flush the pool, killing 17,372 unhosted Yeerks. The Animorphs continue to the bridge, where they find a defeated and battle-weary Visser One. Jake asks the visser to fire on the Blade ship with the hope that the shots will disable it, but the Dracon beam's miss and Erek drains the remaining power from the weapons. Tom hails the Pool ship to gloat about his victory, and see's Jake in tiger-morph. Enraged at the realization that the Animorphs survived his trap, Tom orders the Blade ship's weapons to be targeted at the Pool ship's bridge.

Jake orders Rachel to attack...

Contributions to the series' story arc

• The Animorphs make an alliance with a group of Taxxon's led by Arbron.
• Jake proposes to Cassie, but she opts to wait until a year after the war ends.
• The auxiliary Animorphs are killed.
• Rachel is sent to the Blade ship, while the rest of the original Animorphs begin their assault on the Pool ship.

Inconsistencies

Marco initially tells Jake that Doubleday a three-star general, which in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 is a Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General (United States)

In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...

. However, Doubleday himself later says that he is a Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

, which is a two-star rank.

Morphs

Morpher	Morphs acquired	Morphs used
Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...	Anaconda Anaconda An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda...	Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"... , Dragonfly Dragonfly A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body... , Siberian Tiger, Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , Anaconda Anaconda An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake found in tropical South America. Although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer only to one species in particular, the common or green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which is one of the largest snakes in the world.Anaconda... , Fly Fly True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...		Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs... , Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America... , Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , African Elephant, Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood... , Bald Eagle Bald Eagle The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
Tobias Tobias (Animorphs) Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...		Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs... , Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , Taxxon Taxxon The Taxxons are a fictional sentient race in the Animorphs book series by K.A. Applegate, one of the species conceptually created for the series. They resemble giant, centipedes, with the forward one-third portion of their body held erect. They move on many rows of needle-like legs and the legs...
Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...		Wolf, Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...		Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... , Gorilla Gorilla Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies... , Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , Cheetah Cheetah The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws... , Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...		Bat Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,... , Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood... , Northern Harrier
Tom	Jaguar Jaguar The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico... , Cobra Cobra Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
James Auxiliary Animorphs The Auxiliary Animorphs are a team of fictional characters from the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate. All of them were physically disabled in some form...		Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"... , Lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
Ray		Leopard Leopard The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
Tricia		Rhinoceros Rhinoceros Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....