“You’re insane,” Marco told us, lounging back into the plush couch in his hotel room suite. He was usually a funny guy, full of jokes and smiles, but it was clear he didn’t find my plan amusing in the slightest.

“We can do it,” I said, my human voice sounding strange. “We’ve done it before.”

“Huh?” His brow furrowed, incredulous.

“Jake,” Cassie said simply from where she stood, leaning against the frame of a large window, looking out over the town where we grew up. An odd mix of rubble and new construction stretched across the skyline.

“Last I heard, he’s been wandering around his parents' place, pretending to be a vegetable,” Marco said, with a weak attempt at humor. Cassie didn’t quite glare, but she gave him a look that spoke volumes. Marco held up his hands in surrender.

“Sorry, it’s just hard, okay?”

Cassie sighed, shaking her head. “We’re not here to discuss Jake’s mental state. We’ll do that when we go see him.”

“Oh, you think you’re gonna get big Jake out of his head with some hopeless cause?” Marco’s words sounded like they should have been a joke, but his tone was thoughtful, his fingers rubbing at the stubble on his chin.

“It’s not hopeless,” I insisted. “If Jake can come back from the dead…”

“Jake didn’t come back from the dead,” Marco pointed out. “Technically, he never died in the first place. We never actually did any of that stuff.”

“Same difference,” I muttered.

Ugh, Rachel-voice said. Tell Marco those shoes don’t suit him at all.

I wasn’t sure why I listened, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

“Those shoes don’t really work for you.”

Yeah, his outfit is just all wrong.

“Your outfit is all wrong.”

Marco stared at me. Cassie stared at me.

“Since when did you become such a fashion expert, bird boy?” Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I—you see a lot of people flying around all the time. You pick things up.”

I couldn’t tell if Marco bought it, but he was looking at his shoes, then his shirt, as if comparing the colors. Cassie, though—she was watching me closely. Luckily, I wasn’t good at making facial expressions.

You think she’s figured out you’ve gone crazy? Rachel-voice asked. I almost shrugged, checking the movement at the last second. Instead, I crossed my arms and avoided Cassie’s eyes.

Am I crazy?

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Tobias, we’re all crazy. We’re Animorphs.

But—

Not any more than the rest of us, she said, and I could practically hear her playful grin.

“Earth to bird boy. Hello?” My head snapped up. Marco had given up looking over his outfit and had apparently been trying to ask me a question. “There he is,” he said, clapping his hands together with a sharp snap. Cassie and I both flinched slightly. His smile dropped a little, and he looked like he was about to apologize but decided against it.

“So, is that the whole plan?” Marco asked, repeating the question I’d missed. “We get together and then, somehow”—he put air quotes around the word—“we time travel and save Xena from herself.”

“I—yeah,” I said.

“That’s great! Tell me, at what point do we collect underpants?”

Oh! Tell him—

No. I cut her off. If I displayed fashion sense and dry wit in the same conversation, Marco would start calling me Xena, and Cassie would devise some sort of bird therapy.

Boo! Rachel-voice said, but she fell silent.

“One step at a time,” Cassie said, coming to my rescue. Marco looked from me to her and threw his hands up.

“Really? Nothing? You guys are no fun. Rachel would’ve been all over that underpants line.”

I totally was. It was gold too.

“Alright, I’m in. If only because I need to hang out with someone who gets my jokes.”

Oh, everyone gets them, Marco. You just don’t realize we’re usually laughing at you.

Please stop, I told her, not sure if I meant talking or just being… her. She seemed to take it as the first, because she fell silent.

“You’re in?” I asked, suspicious.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, giving me a dismissive wave like it was nothing. “I was going to do a phone interview, but they can wait. We’re heroes, baby.” He gave me a double-thumbs up and an exaggerated wink. “They’ll reschedule. I’m the Amazing Marco, after all.”

“Ugh,” Cassie groaned, rubbing the heel of her palm into her forehead. “I hate that. Do you know how weird it is when people you don’t know, know your name? Your whole name?”

“It’s awesome!” Marco said, pushing himself to stand. “And you’re right, Tobias. These shoes really don’t work. I’m gonna go change, and then we can go see Jake.” He headed into one of the suite's bedrooms without waiting for a reply.

Cassie didn’t miss a beat, turning to me as soon as the door snapped shut.

“New hobby?” she asked, quieter now, like the space felt smaller without Marco’s voice filling it. “I didn’t think hawks had much interest in shoes.” Her eyes lingered on my bare feet. None of us had ever figured out how to morph shoes, and it wasn’t convenient to keep any around. Rachel used to bring extra stuff for me when I needed to morph human.

“We—” I cleared my throat. “They don’t, but you do have really good vision.” I avoided her eyes, and she didn’t ask any more questions before Marco came back out, dressed in what looked like a much more expensive outfit.

“Interviews must pay well,” Cassie commented, and Marco gave her a grin.

“They sure do, Cass. I bet we could make a fortune if we did a few together.”

“No thanks,” she said, her tone definitive. Marco shrugged and gestured toward the door.

“I guess we’ll be headed to rope in our brave leader?”

“What are you going to do with your clothes?” I asked. Marco glanced down at himself, then back up at me, confused.

“Aren’t we going to fly?” I clarified.

“Oh, no. My driver will take us. Sorry, Tobias, old buddy—my morphing days are done. From now on, if I need an animal, I’ll buy one.”

Cassie and I followed him out the door. Cassie’s look, quiet but sharp, told me everything I needed to know—Don’t be fooled, Marco is way worse off than he’s pretending. What was it he always said? Everything is either tragedy or comedy?

Which one does he think we are? I wondered.