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Back to Before (Megamorphs)
Encyclopedia
Megamorphs #4: Back to Before is the fourth and final book in the Megamorphs series, a spinoff of the Animorphs
series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between The Other (#40) and The Familiar
(#41).
sends the Drode
to tempt Jake
into accepting an alternate reality in which the Animorphs did not walk home through the abandoned construction site, did not meet Elfangor
, and did not become Animorphs.
The results are drastic: a friendless Tobias
joins The Sharing, and is infested by a Yeerk who is later revealed as a spy for Visser One
, and is killed. Marco runs into his mother, but she escapes before he can confront her. Jake discovers that his brother Tom is involved with dangerous dealings after a Yeerk
security leak. And all the while, Cassie
has a strong feeling that all is not right. Ax
manages to escape from his Dome Ship, and begins to warn the people of Earth about the Yeerk presence.
The Yeerk response is immediate: they abandon their silent invasion and launch all-out warfare. In the ensuing chaos, Marco, Rachel and Cassie are all killed, while Jake and Ax meet up and manage to kill Visser Three
. They take control of the Blade ship and plan to use it to destroy the Yeerk Pool Ship, at which point the Drode and the Ellimist
interrupt the timeline, returning the deceased characters to life and returning everyone's memories. The Drode complains that the events in this timeline are doomed to cause failure, and the Ellimist reveals that Cassie is an anomaly, a rare individual who is grounded in the true timeline and will disrupt any other timelines that try to take its place - explaining Cassie's feeling that something was not right. It is also revealed that The Ellimist manipulated events (or as the Drode exclaimes in disgust "stacked the deck") to ensure that Cassie, Marco, Tobias, and Ax - the anomaly, the son of Visser One's host, Elfangor's paradoxical son and Elfangor's brother - were all Animorphs; Jake and Rachel apparently became Animorphs through chance alone.
The Ellimist restores everything to as it was - with only Cassie retaining even a vague memory of this new timeline, preferring that Jake and Tobias not know how they gave in to the Drode and the Yeerks respectively - and this time around the Drode decides not to try to tempt Jake into accepting the alternate reality.
, which aired on Nickelodeon
and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. It is covered by the seventeenth episode "Not My Problem". The TV episode does not follow the book faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, and changing plot lines. However, this could be because the episode in question was written independently of the book, and the book was written without knowledge of the episode.
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. With respect to continuity, it takes place between The Other (#40) and The Familiar
The Familiar (Animorphs)
The Familiar is the forty-first book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux. It is narrated by Jake.The cover quote is "They're out of sight...
(#41).
Plot summary
After a particularly vicious battle, CrayakCrayak
Crayak is a fictional character and villain from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate.-Description:Crayak is a nearly omnipotent entity appearing in the form of an armless cyborg with massive limbs and nothing but what would resemble as a blood-red eye for a head...
sends the Drode
Drode
The Drode is a character in the Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate.-Physical appearance:The Drode is an alien creature, described as being similar to a very dark purple dinosaur with wrinkled, pruny skin, and an oddly humanoid face. Like a small dinosaur, it walks on two legs and balances by a...
to tempt 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...
into accepting an alternate reality in which the Animorphs did not walk home through the abandoned construction site, did not meet Elfangor
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...
, and did not become Animorphs.
The results are drastic: a friendless 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...
joins The Sharing, and is infested by a Yeerk who is later revealed as a spy for Visser One
Edriss 562
Edriss 562 is a Yeerk that controls Marco's mother Eva. For most of the series, her rank is Visser One. She is the subject of the novel Visser, which describes her rise to and dramatic fall from power...
, and is killed. Marco runs into his mother, but she escapes before he can confront her. Jake discovers that his brother Tom is involved with dangerous dealings after a 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:...
security leak. And all the 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:...
has a strong feeling that all is not right. 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...
manages to escape from his Dome Ship, and begins to warn the people of Earth about the Yeerk presence.
The Yeerk response is immediate: they abandon their silent invasion and launch all-out warfare. In the ensuing chaos, Marco, Rachel and Cassie are all killed, while Jake and Ax meet up and manage to kill Visser Three
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...
. They take control of the Blade ship and plan to use it to destroy the Yeerk Pool Ship, at which point the Drode and the Ellimist
Ellimist
The Ellimist is a fictional character from the science fiction novel series Animorphs.The Ellimist is an almost god-like being, displaying many reality warping powers, though it is stated several times that while he appears to be, he is not omnipotent. By standard values, the Ellimist is a force of...
interrupt the timeline, returning the deceased characters to life and returning everyone's memories. The Drode complains that the events in this timeline are doomed to cause failure, and the Ellimist reveals that Cassie is an anomaly, a rare individual who is grounded in the true timeline and will disrupt any other timelines that try to take its place - explaining Cassie's feeling that something was not right. It is also revealed that The Ellimist manipulated events (or as the Drode exclaimes in disgust "stacked the deck") to ensure that Cassie, Marco, Tobias, and Ax - the anomaly, the son of Visser One's host, Elfangor's paradoxical son and Elfangor's brother - were all Animorphs; Jake and Rachel apparently became Animorphs through chance alone.
The Ellimist restores everything to as it was - with only Cassie retaining even a vague memory of this new timeline, preferring that Jake and Tobias not know how they gave in to the Drode and the Yeerks respectively - and this time around the Drode decides not to try to tempt Jake into accepting the alternate reality.
TV adaptation
Back to Before was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV seriesAnimorphs (TV series)
Animorphs is a 26-episode television adaptation made by Nickelodeon of the Scholastic book series of the same name. The series was broadcast from September 1998 to March 2000 in the United States and Canada...
, which aired on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. It is covered by the seventeenth episode "Not My Problem". The TV episode does not follow the book faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, and changing plot lines. However, this could be because the episode in question was written independently of the book, and the book was written without knowledge of the episode.
- It is the Ellimist who grants Jake's wish to be normal in the TV series, not the Drode, (Crayak having never been introduced in the TV series) apparently to make a point to Jake that his actions as an Animorph have been for the best when he is feeling particularly frustrated at the seemingly pointless war.
- In the TV series all of the Animorphs except for Tobias (and the apparently absent Ax) are Controllers, while in the book only Tobias is made a Controller.
- In the TV series none of the Animorphs realize that the timeline is wrong, while in the book Cassie is an anomaly, a rare individual who is grounded in the true timeline and will disrupt any other timelines that try to take its place, and realizes that the timeline is wrong.
- In the book only Cassie faintly remembers the alternate timeline (because she is an anomaly), while in the TV series Jake remembers it very clearly.