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For the Rachel from the Amazon Sario Rip, see Rachel
For Nice or Mean Rachel, see Nice Rachel or, see Mean Rachel
For the Rachel from Back to Before, see Rachel
For the Rachel from the simulated dream, see Rachel

"I'd been protecting her. Them. Jake. Cassie. Tobias. Even Marco and Ax. Helping to protect their innocence. Letting them see themselves as the good guys. It was a symbiotic relationship. Or co-dependent, whatever. They needed me to be the bad guy. And I needed them to be the good guys. See, if they were good guys, and I was on their team, then that automatically made me a good guy, too. Even if I was different. At least that’s what I'd been telling myself."
―Rachel[src]

Rachel was a founding member of the Animorphs and was known for her aggressive, bold and reckless nature. Due to her ruthless demeanor, she was often used by the Animorphs to commit actions such as murder that the other Animorphs could not bring themselves to do. She was the only core Animorph to be permanently killed during the Yeerk war.

Biography

Early Life

Rachel was born in 1984[7] to Naomi and Dan.[12] When Rachel was two, she became a big sister when her parents had a second daughter named Jordan.[2] Rachel lived in California,[5] with a mother who was an attorney and a father who was a weatherman.[2] While her father was Jewish, her mother was not, and Rachel did not identify as being Jewish herself.[8] When Naomi was pregnant with her third child, Rachel overheard a conversation between her parents on what the biological sex of their new child would be. When Naomi mentioned that Dan always wanted a boy, Dan replied that while he had initially wanted a son, thinking that only a male child would be one he could bond with and go out on excursions with, only to realize that Rachel was just as good if not better than a boy. While Naomi notified Dan that he shouldn't ever repeat that in front of Rachel, she was happy to hear her father's remark.[12] Rachel was very close to her father and the pair often spent time together on outings,[12] and once went on a whitewater rafting trip, although Naomi came along too. Unlike her sisters, who inherited their mother's brown hair and eyes, Rachel inherited her father's blond hair and blue eyes.[2]

Rachel also had two paternal cousins[13] named Tom and Jake, the sons of her father's brother, Steve. However, despite knowing Jake all of her life[14] as well as them being the same age and attending the same school, Rachel and Jake were not close as their families did not interact much.[12] Rachel was also aware and had minimal interaction with another paternal cousin named Saddler, who lived in another town and who Rachel did not know very well. Rachel's contact with her paternal family became more limited when her parents got divorced.[15] Rachel studied gymnastics in her childhood and continued to spend time with her father, who would spend weekends and other visitations bonding with her.[12]

Pre-Animorph Life

"Rachel is every cover girl from every Mademoiselle or Seventeen you've ever seen. Tall, thin, blond hair and flawless complexion, and approximately four hundred shiny white teeth. To make matters worse, she can't just be written off as another fashion bimbo. [...] That's the power she has: to be everyone's vision of physical and intellectual perfection and not to care. [...] I wonder how she can have every boy in school throwing himself in her path, and be indifferent. Not that she's humble. No. You wouldn't call her humble. She knows she's special. But she's impatient with the whole idea of being popular or whatever. I get the feeling with Rachel that she's waiting. Impatient. Looking for something more. Moving through life in search of a very different destiny. Her sports are gymnastics and shopping."
Cassie[src]

Rachel had a best friend named Cassie and a second best friend named Melissa Chapman, although Cassie and Melissa were not friends with each other.[2] Rachel also became enamored with shopping and received credit cards from her parents to make her own clothing purchases. Rachel then developed a reputation of being quite fashionable and put together. Rachel was also very much into gymnastics, which she and Melissa both started taking classes for at the local YMCA specifically as something the two of them could do together. Rachel had aspirations of becoming an Olympic gold medalist like Shannon Miller when she was older.[2] In 1996,[16] Rachel attended Melissa's twelfth birthday party, where she witnessed Melissa's father, Hedrick Chapman, present her with an unfixed tomcat named Fluffer McKitty.[2]

As they attended junior high, also known as middle school, where Hedrick Chapman served as vice/assistant principal, Rachel found her friendship with Melissa waning.[2] By the time she was thirteen,[4] Rachel's physical appearance was likened to cover girls from magazines and was often the target of many school boys' attraction. She also grew to be quite tall, thus restricting her ambitions of becoming a gymnast. In addition to gymnastics, Rachel was very much into shopping and relished pairing outfits while prowling through the mall hunting for sales.[14]

Around this time, Rachel realized that Cassie had developed a crush on Jake and would often tease her about it, while also assuaging Cassie's fears that Jake may not reciprocate due to her race.[14] Rachel began conversing with Jake more often as a result. Rachel found herself physically attracted to Jake as well, but did not act upon it since they were cousins.[17] Rachel was also attracted to a new boy at school named Tobias, who was often the target of bullies. However, Rachel and Tobias never spoke to one another.

Becoming an Animorph

Night at the Mall

"Don't look. It's Jake."
"I can't look at my cousin?"
"You can look, just don't
look, that's all I'm saying."
Cassie and Rachel[src]

One Friday in 1997,[18] when she was thirteen,[4] Rachel went to the mall after school with Cassie as she went shopping. Rachel discussed the sale prices and pairing of sweaters and jeans from different stores and gave Cassie a look of incredulity and confusion when Cassie did not understand what she was saying. Cassie then informed Rachel that Jake was at the mall and not to look, to which Rachel wondered why she couldn't be looking at her cousin. Rachel then went on to talk about how Jake had big, strong arms and lips that Cassie wanted to have wrapped around her body and pressed against her, and asked Cassie if she was worried that by looking at Jake she would convey this to Jake.

Rachel and Cassie then headed to the exit where Jake and Tobias were, along with Jake's best friend Marco,[14] a boy whom Rachel did not know too well.[12] Greeting them, Jake asked the girls if they were intending to use the abandoned construction site across the mall as a shortcut home, warning them that it was dangerous for them since they were girls. Offended, Rachel mocked Jake and asked if he was a "big, strong man" who would protect them. As she began berating him for thinking girls were helpless, Cassie interrupted her, stating that she was afraid and would appreciate the boys walking home with them. The five thirteen year olds then left the mall and headed towards the construction site.[6]

Gaining Morphing Powers

Animorphs 1999 Calendar Crop

Rachel meeting Elfangor

"An Andalite prince named Elfangor crashed his shot-up fighter in our path. Coincidence? No, history. And a helping hand from the Ellimist who of course never lends a helping hand. Elfangor died, but not before he told us what was happening and gave us the morphing technology."
―Rachel[src]

As they were walking silently through the abandoned construction site, Rachel heard Cassie exclaim that there was a flying saucer in the sky. Looking up at the night sky, Rachel remarked that the spaceship was headed their way before noting that it was coming to a stop near them. When the ship landed in front of them, Rachel suggested that they should try and communicate with whomever was on board. As Tobias stepped forwards and announced that they would not hurt them, Rachel and the others heard a voice in their head reply that he knew they would not. Rachel witnessed as a blue alien exited from the ship, who greeted them all before collapsing. Dying of his injuries, the alien informed the teenagers that there were other aliens on Earth who had come to destroy humans.

Rachel sees red lights

Rachel notices the red lights

The alien transmitted an image of a green-gray slug into their minds and explained that these were the Yeerks, a parasitic species that take over bodies to use as hosts, after which they become known as Controllers. The alien, revealing himself to be a member of a species called an Andalite, added that it would take a year if not more for the Andalite forces to come to Earth, and urged the teenagers to warn humanity of the Yeerk threat. The Andalite suddenly exclaimed that they should retrieve a blue box from his ship. As Jake retrieved the box, the Andalite informed them that he could use the box to grant them the ability to morph — by touching an animal and concentrating, they could acquire that creature's DNA and transform their bodies into that of the animal's. As the teenagers decided whether they should accept the power, Rachel remarked that they had to deal with the situation before she looked up into the sky. Noticing pinpoints of red light, she asked what it was, to which the Andalite replied that those were the Yeerks.

The Andalite urged them to decide quickly, and Rachel agreed to accept the morphing power. With Cassie, Tobias and Jake also in agreement, the five of them pressed their hands against the box, and Rachel felt a tingle run through her as she received the morphing ability. The Andalite warned them that they should not stay in morph for more than two hours or else they would be trapped before yelling at them to hide since Visser Three was coming. Rachel told the Andalite that she would stay with him and help, although he instead responded that she should run and save herself and save Earth.

Hiding behind a low wall, Rachel witnessed as the Blade ship and Bug fighters landed. As tall, bladed creatures emerged from the Blade ship, the dying Andalite used his thought-speak to mentally communicate with them, informing them that these were Hork-Bajir-Controllers and that the giant centipede-like creatures that were also emerging were known as Taxxons. The five kids then tried to remain silent as one of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers positioned himself near their hiding spot. They then noticed an Andalite emerging from the Blade ship, which the dying Andalite explained was Visser Three — the only Andalite-Controller to exist.

Rachel watched as Visser Three greeted the Andalite as Prince Elfangor before morphing into a monstrous creature with multiple ringed teeth. With tears streaming down her face, Rachel comforted Cassie by putting an arm around her shoulder as she also held Tobias' hand. However, when the Visser lifted Elfangor, Jake picked up a pipe to rush into action, prompting Rachel to cover his mouth as Tobias and Marco restrained him. They then watched as Visser Three dropped Elfangor in his mouth and were forced to hear Elfangor's mental screams as he was being ripped apart.

Marco then threw up, prompting the nearby Hork-Bajir-Controller to look in their direction. The five teenagers then bolted as the Yeerks began chasing them. Rachel and Jake both noted that Marco and Cassie were struggling to flee as they were short while Tobias was out of shape, so the two athletic cousins served as a distraction to ensure the other three escaped; Rachel uttered a stream of profanity at the Yeerks, which stunned Jake. Rachel then noticed that Jake, who was running behind her, had tripped, but he yelled at her to leave him. Heeding his words, Rachel continued to run and successfully managed to escape from the construction site. When she returned home, she spoke to Jake on the phone and apologized profusely for having left him behind.[6]

Investigating the Yeerks

"He's not the only one who's got people to worry about. I have a family. We all do."
"Not me. It's true. No one gives a rat's rear about me."
"I do. [...] There's no one else who can do anything to stop the Yeerks. I'm scared to death, just thinking about it. But I'm there."
―Rachel and Tobias[src]

The next morning, a Saturday, Rachel was contacted by Jake once more, who informed her that he and Tobias had morphed and that he wished for them to all meet at Cassie's farm. Rachel then went to the farm, where she witnessed Cassie constantly practicing her morphing by becoming a horse, noting that Cassie was improving her ability every time. Rachel was shortly joined by Tobias and Marco, and they read a newspaper which stated that residents near the abandoned construction site had called the police about seeing spaceships and explosions. However, the police claimed they had investigated the matter and concluded there were no spaceships; additionally, the police stated that the explosions were just teenagers using fireworks, whom they were now looking for. They then realized that the police and media contained Controllers, and when Jake arrived, they shared the newspaper and their realization with him.

As they sat in silence, Marco told them that they should just forget what they've learned and move on with their lives. Rachel and Tobias both looked at Jake expecting him to argue with Marco. When Jake began to do so, Marco interrupted and yelled that they could all get killed if they get involved, adding that if something happened to him, his father would stop deciding to continue living. Rachel then noticed Cassie galloping towards them and demorphing. However, as she began to turn back into her human form, a police cruiser suddenly pulled into the farm. Rachel then joined the others in shielding Cassie from view as she finished demorphing.

When the police officer stepped out, Rachel tried to sound more responsible as she asked him why he was here, and the officer responded that he was looking for information on kids who were at the abandoned construction site the night before. When they responded that they did not know anything, the police officer told Jake that he should join The Sharing before driving off. Rachel then warned the others that they needed to be careful and inform someone important whom they could trust to handle the Yeerks since they were just kids. Tobias then responded that they couldn't trust anyone since they could be Controllers and that he believed they should fight, prompting Marco to retort that Tobias couldn't even fight off the bullies at school. Rachel then shot a dirty look at Marco for this remark and stated that now aligned with Tobias' decision to fight the Yeerks.

Delicate boy modesty

The argument came to an end when Cassie and Jake decided that they should take some time to think before deciding, and the teens went their separate ways. Later that day, Rachel was invited by Jake to join him and the others as they attended a bonfire that The Sharing were hosting at the beach. After observing the behavior of the members there, Jake decided to spy on the full members in his golden retriever morph while ordering Tobias, who was flying above in his new red-tailed hawk morph, to land and demorph. Since Jake and Tobias would be nude as they still hadn't learned how to morph clothing, Rachel offered to turn around to avoid "offending their delicate boy modesty." When Jake returned, he informed the group that his brother Tom and their assistant principal Chapman were both Controllers, and that they were still looking to kill the kids from the construction site. When Marco stated that they should just forget everything and resume their usual life, Jake refused and declared that he wished to fight in order to free Tom, with Rachel, Tobias and Cassie agreeing to join him. The group then went their separate ways as they all went back home.

On Monday, Rachel met with the others at the mall's food court after school, where Rachel learned that Yeerks needed to feed every three days by absorbing Kandrona rays at a Yeerk pool. After Jake informed them that janitor's closet at their school held the secret entrance to the pool and that human screams could be heard, Rachel declared that they should do something about it. When Marco stated that they should forget about it, Rachel was upset that Marco could turn a blind eye to it despite Marco's family troubles, claiming that they all had families. Tobias then retorted that he had no family and that no one worried about him, to which Rachel immediately responded that she did care about him. Jake notified them that he was heading to the Yeerk pool later that night to rescue Tom; Rachel agreed to go with him, declaring that while she was afraid, there was no one else who could fight the Yeerks. With the others agreeing to join Jake on his mission, Rachel stated that they needed more powerful morphs and that they should go to The Gardens, an amusement park-zoo in their city, in order to acquire more DNA. As they prepared to leave, Marco dubbed them as the Animorphs,[6] a portmanteau for "animal morphers."[12]

First Mission

"Tobias swooped down and perched on Rachel's shoulder. It surprised me a little. Why would Tobias perch on Rachel's shoulder? And she didn't seem at all annoyed. She rubbed her head against him a little."
Jake[src]

Upon arriving at The Gardens, the five of them began pooling their cash to pay for admission. Tobias remarked that he did not think he should come inside with them since he did not want to morph anything other than the red-tailed hawk, to which Rachel informed him that she thought that would be a mistake since their only method of fighting the Yeerks was to morph and thus they should acquire as many animals as they could. Entering the park, Cassie led them into the employees' hallway, which contained the doors leading to all of the other enclosures. She guided them to the enclosure belonging to Big Jim, a Silverback gorilla, and Rachel goaded Marco into acquiring the gorilla. An employee who recognized Cassie then saw them, prompting them to return back to the hallway. At a crossroads, Rachel decided to head towards the dolphin tank, although Cassie remarked that they would have no need for dolphin morphs. Marco, however, began walking down the path leading to the more dangerous animals, citing their need for firepower.

As a security guard spotted them, Rachel fled, with Tobias and Cassie following her, while Jake followed Marco; since the security guard chose to pursue the two boys instead, the trio were able to escape without worry. Returning back to the public space, the three stuck together and headed towards the African elephants, with Rachel deciding to acquire one of them. Both Cassie and Tobias elected not to acquire any additional morphs and thus the three returned to the main entrance, where Jake and Marco soon met up with them. The five of them then left The Gardens and took the bus back to their respective homes, planning to meet up at the school later after dinner.

A few hours later, Rachel biked to school, where she waited alongside Marco and Tobias, the latter already having morphed into a hawk and was flying above. Jake arrived shortly after and was infuriated that Tobias had already began his morphing clock, since they were unsure how long the mission would take. Tobias then landed on Rachel's shoulder and she chose to nuzzle him, much to Jake's surprise. Jake then informed them that Cassie had gone missing but that they were going to continue their mission regardless. Entering the school through an unlocked window that Marco knew of, the four Animorphs discovered that one of the Controllers entering the Yeerk pool through the janitor's closet was the police officer from earlier that day, and that he was dragging Cassie with him. Rachel then let out a few profane words before suggesting that they simply walk in after the Controllers, since they would naturally assume any human entering was one of them. The four then made their way to the closet and walked through the entrance to the pool.

As they began descending the many stairs, they were stunned to discover that the passageway in the janitor's closet was not the sole entrance and that were multiple access points, as the Yeerk pool was revealed to be a gigantic subterranean cavern that was situated under half of their city. The group watched in horror as the Controllers re-entered the pool on one pier, with their screaming hosts thrown into cages, after which they would be brought to the reinfestation pier. Jake noticed a group of Controllers laughing as they watched television, which Tobias explained were voluntary Controllers. Rachel disparaged the humans who had willingly allowed themselves to be infested, to which Tobias responded that certain humans turned to The Sharing and accepted the Yeerks in their heads as they believed becoming something different would be the solution to their personal troubles. When Marco retorted that some other humans turned to hawks in order to do the same, this offended Tobias and prompted him to fly away from them. Rachel then berated Marco, telling him not to be a jerk to Tobias and that they needed everyone. Tobias then flew back and informed them that Cassie was on the infestation pier and that they had mere minutes to save her.

Rachel morphs for the first time

Rachel morphs for the first time

Rachel, Jake and Marco walked away from the stairs and ducked behind a shed; there, Marco pulled Jake to the side, although they were spotted by a human-Controller, who found them to be suspicious and ordered his accompanying Hork-Bajir-Controller and Taxxon-Controller to take them. Rachel, who hadn't been noticed, stealthily manuevered herself behind the three Controllers and morphed for the first time by turning into an African elephant. Rejoicing that she had successfully morphed, she popped the Taxxon and flung the human-Controller away. Joined by Jake and Marco, who had morphed into a Siberian tiger and a Silverback gorilla respectively, the trio ran towards the cages, defeating the Controllers who attempt to impede them with ease. Rachel fended off additional Controllers as Marco and Jake liberated the prisoners from the cages. Rachel then noticed that Cassie was about to be infested and screamed at Jake to save her, although Tobias was able to get to the Hork-Bajir-Controller holding Cassie first, allowing her to escape and morph into a horse.

The Animorphs attempted to escape with the prisoners they had freed only for Visser Three to arrive and prevent them. Believing them to be Andalites in morph, the Visser morphed into a giant fire-breathing monster with eight heads. Shooting fireballs out of his many heads, one of them struck Rachel, causing her to scream both verbally and in thought-speak. She attemped to escape by rushing straight for the stairs but found her elephant body unable to ascend them. She then started to demorph as per Jake's orders and began running up the stairs as a half-elephant, half-human hybrid[6] while asking the others where Tobias was.[19] The four Animorphs, minus Tobias, successfully escaped from the Yeerk Pool and returned to their school hallway; however, they were unable to rescue Tom as he, along with every other host they had freed minus one woman, had been burned, killed or recaptured.[6] Rachel, still an elephant-human hybrid, parted ways with her friends, demorphed[20] and returned home; she later learned that Tobias, who was left behind in the Yeerk Pool, managed to escape on his own, although he had passed the two-hour limit and was now trapped as a red-tailed hawk.[2]

Melissa Chapman Investigation

Morphing Practice

Rachel and Tobias GN2

Rachel flying alongside Tobias

"Look, Jake, how many times have you been walking around the mall or whatever, and you'll see a girl who seems good-looking from far off, but when you get closer it turns out she's a skank? I mean, if you could see this well all the time—"
"Excuse me? I'm sure I didn't hear you say what I thought you just said."
"I wasn't being sexist. It goes both ways. See, from far off, I look taller than I am."
Marco and Rachel[src]

Rachel was then taught by Cassie how to incorporate skintight clothing such as stretch tops with leggings or tights into the morphing process so that she wouldn't be nude when he demorphed. A little over a week after their trip to the Yeerk pool, the four morph-capable Animorphs acquired bird-of-prey morphs, with Rachel acquiring a bald eagle. The four then walked to a run-down church near a beach by some cliffs and made their way to its abandoned bell tower. Stripping off their outer clothing, the Animorphs morphed into their raptor morphs for the first time and joined Tobias in the sky. Rachel soared above the thermals next to Tobias, noticing Jake as he struggled to flap with his smaller falcon wings. Tobias then asked Rachel if she wanted to try diving, and although Rachel was hesitant, she did not like turning down a challenge and thus agreed. She then tucked her wings back and plummetted towards the ground, only to find herself afraid of breaking a wing and dying, as well as realizing that she could not demorph in mid-air. When she shared these worries with Tobias, he advised her to tap into the eagle's mind and instincts to guide her, and to her relief Rachel found that the eagle could handle the dive. Jake then shot past them, which bothered Rachel due to her competitive nature. A bullet then whizzed past her, forcing her and Tobias to exit their dive.[2]

Rachel steals Chester's rifle

Rachel steals Chester's rifle

Rachel was aghast that someone would shoot at a bald eagle as they were an endangered species.[21] Cassie notified them that the shooter and his friend were in the woods and Rachel formulated an idea to disarm them. The Animorphs then dove into the woods and ambushed the two shooters, who were teenagers. The one with the rifle was attacked by Tobias, causing him to lose his grip on the rifle which allowed Rachel to grab it and fly away with it. Rachel then flew towards the beach and dropped the rifle into the ocean before they returned to the bell tower, where they demorphed. As they started resuming their human shape, Rachel and Marco shared jabs at their mid-morph stages; Rachel also glanced at Jake's human self, mentally remarking that he was big and strong-looking. Now fully demorphed, Marco mentioned that he was grateful to have human vision again and referred to certain women at the mall as being skanks. This insulted Rachel, although Marco quickly claimed he wasn't sexist and that the judgment worked both ways since he was short. Rachel mentally remarked that Marco was self-conscious about his height and that he was a very smart boy that many girls found cute.

Rachel calls Marco a friend

As the group walked home, Rachel listened to the others as they discussed how they could've used morphing to have a career in show business. The Animorphs walked past the abandoned construction site, which brought back memories. Rachel noticed that Cassie had stopped walking and was crying and walked back to check on her. Rachel then mentioned a nightmare she had the night the before about the Yeerk pool. Rachel then noticed that Tobias, who had been flying above them, had descended into the construction site and landed on the spot where Elfangor had died. The thought of Tobias mourning the Andalite on the site bothered Rachel, who then proclaimed to the others that they needed to find another way to attack the Yeerks. Jake informed the group that he had checked the janitor's closet entrance at their school and that it had since been sealed. Rachel then suggested that they follow Tom to find a new Yeerk pool entrance, although Jake quickly shut it down, stating that he did not want to risk the Yeerks noticing and killing Tom. Jake then brought up using Chapman instead and wondered aloud if there was a way they could get close to him; Rachel noticed that Jake had intentionally avoided looking at her and immediately realized that he wanted her to use her friendship with Melissa Chapman to get close to Chapman himself. Rachel admitted that she was not comfortable with the idea of using a friend, prompting Marco to chime in that Rachel didn't seem to have any issue putting his life in jeopardy; Rachel then immediately retorted that Marco wasn't her friend. This hurt Marco's feelings, which Rachel noticed, and so she quickly assured him that she was kidding and that they were indeed friends. Rachel then privately reflected that while it made sense to use Melissa, it made her feel like dirt to do so.[2]

Escaping Sexual Predator

"I was supposed to head over to the mall, then call my mom when I was done to come pick me up. That was the plan. But since I didn't feel like mall-crawling I just headed home. Alone. With the sky growing dark as rain clouds moved in. It was stupid and careless of me. But I guess I was preoccupied with other things. Although at least I had the sense to stay out of the construction site. I was walking down the sidewalk that runs along the boulevard when suddenly I realized that a car had pulled up just a little way down the sidewalk from me. A guy got out. He looked like he was in high school or even college. He also looked like trouble. [...] "Hey, baby," he said. "Want to go for a little ride?" I shook my head and clutched my gym bag close. What an idiot I was to be so careless! "Now, don't be stuck-up, sweet thing," he said. "I think you'd better get in the car." The way he said it didn't sound like an invitation. It sounded like an order. Now I was really afraid. I clutched my gym bag close as I passed him. "Don't ignore me," he hissed. He reached for me and missed. I walked faster. He was behind me. I broke into a run. He ran after me."
―Rachel[src]

The next day after school, Rachel made her way to the YMCA across the mall to attend her gymnastics class. She planned to go to the mall after class and made arrangements to have her mother pick her up. While in the locker room, she noticed Melissa Chapman changing into her leotard and asked her if she wanted to go the mall after class to shop for shoes and look at cute guys. When Melissa looked uncomfortable, Rachel privately questioned how she and Melissa had drifted apart this much, since Melissa and her often went to the mall to hang out in the past. Rachel told Melissa that she missed her, to which Melissa flippantly remarked that maybe they could get together sometime. Rachel then called Melissa out for blowing her off and asked her what was going on with her, and noticed an immense sadness in Melissa's face. When Melissa then left the room, Rachel berated herself for being such a bad friend that she hadn't noticed that something had happened to Melissa and that she had only reached out to her for ulterior motives. Rachel then got changed and attended her gymnastics class, where she was unable to focus; this resulted in her slipping on the balance beam and banging her knee, which caused her to cry. Melissa rushed over to her side , but after noting that Rachel was fine, retreated back to her moody demeanor across the room; Rachel then began to wonder whether Melissa was a Controller.

No longer feeling like shopping, Rachel decided to walk home from gymnastics, wearing her leggings with a sweater over it. As the sky darkened with rain clouds moving in, Rachel noticed a car stop in front of her; a grown man, which she believed to be high school or college aged, stepped out of the car and asked the thirteen year old Rachel if she wanted to go for a ride. Rachel then began to blame herself to walking home alone, remarking that it was stupid and careless for her to do so. The man ordered her to get in her car, and when Rachel kept walking, the man became upset that she had ignored him. He then tried to grab her, which Rachel avoided before breaking into a run. As the man chased her, Rachel began morphing into an African elephant. Stopping the transformation mid-morph, she turned around and frightened the man, who screamed and fled. As she demorphed, she noticed that it had begun raining and that her shoes had burst, although she was grateful that she was wearing leggings and a loose sweater; while both items of clothing had stretched, she had avoided destroying and morphing out of her clothes.

To her surprise, a second car then pulled up to her, this time driven by Chapman's Yeerk. Melissa then asked Rachel if she wanted a ride, although Rachel declined, worried that "Chapman" had seen her morph. "Chapman" then insisted that he drive her home, which she reluctantly agreed to. She was then dropped off at home without incident. Entering her house, she was shaking from her predatory encounter and threw her shoes in the garbage before greeting her mother in the kitchen. Naomi immediately inquired how she had gotten home, as she did not want Rachel walking home alone, to which Rachel assured her that she had gotten a ride from Melissa's father. Rachel then asked what they were having for dinner, and Naomi told her to order pizza or Chinese over the phone since she was busy with legal work. Rachel then told her mother that she wasn't good at cooking and that she did not mind ordering pizza for dinner. After dinner, Rachel called the human Animorphs to come to her house where she told them about her conversation as well as her terrifying encounter with the man, although she omitted that Chapman was in the vicinity and had driven her home. Marco berated her, claiming that her actions had been stupid since anyone on the street could've witnessed her morphing, and that even if the man hadn't been a Controller, he could share the tale with someone who was. Jake told Marco to ease off, although he added that what Rachel had done was a mistake while Cassie chimed in stating that Rachel should never have put herself in such a dangerous position to begin with. Jake then redirected the conversation into fighting another way to spy on Chapman since Melissa wasn't keen to hang out with Rachel. Rachel then noticed a photo of herself with Melissa and her cat, Fluffer McKitty, and informed the group that she could morph into the cat to spy on Chapman.[2]

Morphing Trauma

"You didn't get creeped out by the shrew, did you?"
"Why? Just because I'm a girl, you think the shrew bothered me more than it would have bothered you or Marco?"
"No, that's not it at all. It's just... see, when I did the lizard morph, that bothered me. I had nightmares—"
"Nightmares? [...] I guess it's the different characters of the animals. Maybe some are good matches for our human brains. Maybe others aren't."
Jake and Rachel[src]

One night, Rachel and the other Animorphs traveled to the street where the Chapmans resided, bringing a cat carrier with them. When Tobias flew back towards them, informing him that he had located Fluffer McKitty, Rachel took stock that Tobias' gentle visage was now that of an intimidating and ferocious hawk. When Tobias mentioned that he could see rats and mice and that he found them to be juicy and plump, Marco berated Tobias, stating that he could not be friends with someone who ate rats, which angered both Rachel and Jake. Tobias then led them to the lawn where Fluffer was trying to hunt a mouse. As Jake and Marco waited, Rachel and Cassie crossed onto the lawn, where Rachel put on a high-pitched voice and tried to get Fluffer to come to her. When she reached out, Fluffer clawed at her, leaving three bloody scratches on her hand before jumping up into a tree. In order to get Fluffer down, Rachel asked Tobias to find her a mouse. Tobias quickly retrieved one and delivered it to Rachel, although Cassie clarified that the animal was actually a full-grown shrew instead of a mouse.

Rachel then morphed into the shrew, although she was immediately overwhelmed by the shrew's fear and desire to gorge on maggots. As she fled, Tobias plucked her from the ground and managed to calm her down enough where she could reassert her control over the body before setting her back down. Still committed to seeing this through, Rachel was picked up and dropped in front of the tree, where Fluffer leaped down to pounce on her. Rachel was too distracted to notice but was saved by Jake and Marco, who grabbed Fluffer and tossed him into the cat carrier. Rachel then demorphed and felt extremely sick, declaring that she would not ever morph into the shrew again. Feeling guilty, Jake announced that he should have morphed into the lizard instead of letting Rachel morph into the shrew, which Rachel immediately shut down, stating that Jake was not in a position to "let" her to do anything and that he was disturbed by the lizard morph. Rachel then acquired Fluffer as Cassie remarked that Rachel now had four available morphs. Rachel felt uneasy that she had four animal DNA strands in her system, some of which preyed on each other. Still feeling unwell, she asked if they could postpone the infiltration mission to another night, which the group agreed to.

That night, Rachel had a nightmare where she was a shrew who came upon maggots feasting on a dead cat and started feasting on both the maggots and the cat's dead flesh. She then started talking about maggots out loud before screaming in her sleep. She was then awakened by her sister Jordan. Recalling her nightmare, Rachel felt the urge to vomit and rushed to the bathroom to throw up in the toilet. Jordan contemplated waking their mother, although Rachel assured Jordan that it was unnecessary and that it was just a bad dream. Jordan then told Rachel that despite being a younger sister, she wanted Rachel to know that if something bad was going on with her, she could talk to her and trust that she wouldn't tell anyone, including their mother. While Rachel appreciated the sentiment, the idea that Jordan might be a Controller lurked into her mind. She then pulled Jordan into a hug before bidding her good night. Rachel then returned to bed.

The next morning, Rachel was on the school bus when she was joined by Jake, who noticed that she looked tired and asked her if becoming a shrew had freaked her out. Rachel immediately became defensive, wondering whether Jake thought she was bothered by the experience because she was a girl, although Jake quickly assured her that he was asking in general and revealed that he had a nightmare when he became a lizard. The pair then discussed their dreams and the possibility that they might have to morph into bugs someday. Upon reaching the school, Rachel noticed Melissa and bid Jake farewell. Noticing that Melissa was crying, Rachel approached her former friend and asked her what was going on. Melissa questioned why Rachel cared, and began talking about how everything had changed, including her friendship with Rachel and her parents until she was interrupted by the bell. Rachel watched as Melissa walked away and eventually made her way inside the school building, where she accidentally walked into Chapman.[2]

Infiltrating Chapman Residence

"I discovered that Chapman has a way to communicate directly with Visser Three. I discovered that Visser Three is pretty hot to catch us, although he still thinks we're Andalites. And I decided something, too."
"What?"
"I decided that I don't care what it takes, or how many risks I have to run. I don't care what happens to me. I hate these Yeerks. I hate them. I hate them. And I will find a way to stop them."
―Rachel and Cassie[src]

A few nights later, the Animorphs regrouped outside the Chapman Residence, where Tobias informed the group that the real Fluffer McKitty was nowhere near the house and that there was no risk of people spotting them. Assuring Jake and Cassie that she was fine, Rachel declared that she needed to get inside the house in order to help Melissa Chapman. Marco then reminded her that her job was to spy on Chapman and not to help Melissa, although Rachel merely replied that she knew why she was doing this before she began morphing into the cat. Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find a surge of graceful and confidence while in the cat morph. Despite being warned that the mixture of cat confidence and her natural personality could result in her being too cocky, and potentially acting un-catlike, Rachel lied to the others that she was completely in control of the morph; this was because she found the cat's confidence to be quite reassuring and calming. Rachel then entered the Chapman Residence through the cat door.

Rachel inside Chapman house

Rachel inside the Chapman Residence in cat morph

With the cat's sense of hearing, Rachel discerned that Melissa was muttering in her room. As she made her way further into the house, she noticed Chapman sitting in the living room but found it unsettling that he was not watching television or reading, but rather just sitting there and staring blankly ahead. She then glanced at the kitchen, where she observed Ms. Chapman cutting vegetables silently. Chapman got up shortly after and started walking into the basement, with Rachel deciding to follow him. She was startled by Tobias' thought-speak, who had decided to check up on her, but told him that she was going into the basement. As she descended down the stairs, she realized that neither of them could hear each other anymore since she was out of range. Rachel followed Chapman into a secret room where a holographic emitter transmitted the image and voice of Visser Three. Rachel listened as Chapman's Yeerk introduced itself as Iniss 226 and as Visser Three inquired whether Iniss had made any progress in locating the Andalite bandits, which Rachel registered as a reference to the Animorphs. Rachel was then caught by Visser Three, who ordered Iniss to kill the cat as it could be an Andalite in morph. However, Iniss responded that he might blow his cover if he killed his daughter's pet. Visser Three then "struck" Rachel with his holographic tail, although Rachel tapped into the cat's instincts to swipe back. This made Visser Three laugh, who appreciated the cat before allowing her to live.

When the meeting eventually concluded, Rachel made her way upstairs with Chapman, discovering that Chapman's wife was infested by a Yeerk as well. Melissa then appeared on the stairs and asked for help with her math homework, although her "parents" dismissed her. Rachel then followed Melissa to her room when she heard Tobias' thought-speak, who notified her that while she had just a little over an hour left in morph, the real Fluffer was trying to return home and that the others were struggling to capture him. As Melissa began crying in her room, Rachel told Tobias that she could not leave yet as there was something she needed to do. Rachel then jumped up onto the bed and began purring next to the crying Melissa, who began scratching her "cat's" ears. Tobias informed her that she now had less than an hour in morph and that Jake was angry and wanted her to leave the house immediately, to which Rachel responded that she could not yet leave as Melissa needed her. Rachel listened as Melissa cried about her parents not loving her anymore; this resulted in Rachel finding within her a new reason to fight the Yeerks: she realized that she despised them for robbing a child of their parents' love. Tobias then interrupted once more, relaying Jake's wishes, to which Rachel cut him short and told him to tell Jake to shut up and that she would leave soon. Rachel then stayed with Melissa while ruminating how there were parents who became Controllers or parents whose children became Controllers and how it felt to have family stop loving you. Rachel stayed with Melissa until she fell asleep and then exited the Chapman house, with only ten minutes left on her morphing clock. Regrouping with the others, she informed them about Chapman having a way to communicate with Visser Three and that the Yeerks still believed them to be Andalites. She then added that she hated the Yeerks and that she would find a way to stop them regardless of what happened to her.

Flying is the nicest thing in the world

Rachel flying with Tobias

Returning home, Rachel worked on some of her homework before going to sleep; she then worked on the rest of it in the morning before making her way to school. Upon leaving her math class, she was approached by Jake, who told her to fly to the church tower after school since they were having a meeting there. Two hours later, school had let out and Rachel morphed into the bald eagle and spotted Tobias, who guided her towards the mall's parking lot, which gave off good thermals. Rachel and Tobias soon arrived at the church tower, where Rachel demorphed. Marco made comments about their morphing outfits, and upon mention of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, Rachel made it clear to Marco that they weren't superheroes and that their life wasn't a comic book. After a brief discussion about Marco's family life, the group began discussing their next plans. Rachel informed the group that she wanted to go back inside the Chapman Residence so that she could learn the location of the Kandrona, as destroying it would strike a significant blow to the Yeerks. Jake added that he believed Rachel shouldn't go in alone while Rachel noticed that Tobias was privately thought-speaking to Cassie, who then also stated that Rachel shouldn't go in alone. Since two cats couldn't be present, Rachel made a flippant suggestion about one of them morphing into a flea and riding on her back. Rachel told the other Animorphs that she was going to return to the house and find a way to hurt the Yeerks; Tobias then privately thought-spoke to her, claiming that she was going in to help Melissa, to which Rachel replied that it was the same thing. The Animorphs then disbanded for the day, planning to meet outside of Chapman's house in a few hours.

That night, Rachel made her way down the street of Chapman's house, noting that it was dark and stormy. Upon meeting with the others, she observed that Jake was not there, to which Marco claimed that Jake had been grounded by his father and thus could not make it. As it began raining, Rachel morphed into Fluffer and prepared to set off towards the house; however, before she could leave, Cassie placed her hand firmly on Rachel's back before allowing her to go. Rachel then trotted towards the Chapman Residence and entered once more through the cat door. She waited for a short while for Iniss 226 to make his way to the basement and followed him. She then heard Jake's thought-speak, which startled her and nearly caused her to reveal her presence to Iniss. Rachel then ran into the secret room and hid under the table, barely avoiding Chapman's feet. Rachel then inquired where Jake was and became aghast when Jake revealed that he had morphed into a flea with the help of the others and was currently on her back, and she realized that Cassie had deposited him there when she touched her. Rachel then informed Jake that Chapman's Yeerk was in a holographic meeting with Visser Three and thus she was hiding, to which Jake replied that she shouldn't have to hide since she was a cat that lived there and thus it wouldn't be suspicious for her to be in the room. Rachel then divulged that she had been caught the night prior and that Visser Three believed she might've been an "Andalite in morph," causing Jake to yell at her for hiding it from them and still choosing to return. Iniss then kicked Rachel, revealing her to both Iniss and Visser Three.

Visser Three then declared that the cat was definitely an Andalite bandit and ordered Iniss to capture it. As Iniss leaped towards Rachel, she used her claws to lacerate his arms and legs, although she was eventually pinned. Unable to use her feet or claws, she chose to constantly bite Chapman's arms. Visser Three then ordered Iniss to bring both the "Andalite cat" and Melissa to him. Iniss then pulled a Dracon beam on Rachel and ordered her to enter the cat carrier that Ms. Chapman's Yeerk brought. As they went upstairs, Rachel watched in surprise as both Chapman parents struggled against their Yeerks and managed to regain control over some of their limbs, such as Chapman falling to his knees while Ms. Chapman tried to choke herself. Both Yeerks managed to regain control of their hosts and decided not to bring Melissa to Visser Three, since their hosts were fighting to protect Melissa. While Rachel was glad that Melissa was spared, to her horror Melissa noticed her "parents" and wondered why her father had her cat in the carrier. As "Chapman" started to leave the house, Melissa began to cry and follow her father. Realizing that Iniss might be forced to take Melissa after all if she continued to follow him, Rachel reached out to Tobias using thought-speak and asked him to get the real Fluffer back to the house. Rachel then watched as Tobias chased Fluffer back the front lawn of the house; seeing the real cat, Iniss claimed that the cat in the carrier was another cat and that he was taking her to the shelter. He then placed the cat carrier in his car before driving away from the house.

Rachel was relieved that Melissa was spared but became fearful at the idea that she was about to be given to Visser Three. Determined to remain in cat morph and not expose her humanity to the Yeerks, Rachel ordered Jake to jump off and escape; when Jake refused, Rachel tried to scratch him off. Jake then claimed that he had jumped off, and Rachel, to test him, suddenly claimed that she changed her mind and that she needed him. When Jake didn't respond, Rachel was glad that Jake had fled but felt lonely. She had also noticed that Iniss had brought her to the abandoned construction site and watched as the Blade ship and two Bug fighters landed in front of them. Visser Three then disembarked from his ship and approached Rachel, who was overwhelmed by the fear she was felt. Realizing she would crack under interrogation but that Fluffer was not afraid of the Visser, Rachel retreated into the cat's mind. Rachel then watched as Iniss 226 relinquished control of the body so that the real Chapman could speak to the Visser and was shocked to discover that Chapman had become a voluntary host in exchange for Melissa's freedom. Iniss then left, but not before Rachel spotted his watch and realized she had only seventeen minutes left in morph.

Unlocking the cat carrier

Rachel unlocks the cat carrier by partially demorphing her paws

A Hork-Bajir-Controller then picked up the cat carrier and made their way to the Blade ship. Rachel was then startled to hear Jake's thought-speak, who revealed that he had never jumped off her back and that the others were somewhere on the site as well. As the cat carrier was placed inside the Blade ship, Rachel noticed that one of the earthmovers had been started and relayed the information to Jake. Jake then told her that he would try a double morph and jumped off of Rachel's back. Rachel watched as Visser Three maimed a Taxxon for telling him that it would take two minutes for lift-off before ordering the Hork-Bajir-Controllers to shoot and destroy the earthmover. From the corner of her eye, Rachel watched as Jake rapidly demorphed from flea to human and then from human to tiger, undergoing the whole process in under a minute. Rachel then concentrated on partially demorphing her paws so that she could regain her human fingers, which she used to unlock the carrier. Jake, now fully in tiger morph, rushed at the Visser, who was standing outside of the open door of the Blade ship; at the same time, escaped from the carrier and remorphed back into the cat as she could not run with human fingers on her cat feet.

Rachel in cat morph GN2

Rachel escapes from the Blade ship

As Jake wrestled with Visser Three, Rachel ran out of the Blade ship and back onto the construction site, where she was pursued by two Hork-Bajir-Controllers. Jake then rushed to her side, telling her to run as she was not in a morph strong enough to fight. Jake then tackled one of the Hork-Bajir while Rachel narrowly avoided the other. Rachel then jumped into a hole underneath a building and was about to begin demorphing as she had mere minutes left when the building above her was ripped out of the ground. To her horror, Visser Three stood in front of her, having morphed into a giant three-legged rock beast. Rachel tried to skirt around the beast but was unable to avoid it for long. However, right before she could get injured or killed, she was snatched by Tobias, who flew her to the nearby trees. Now in the safety of the woods, Rachel demorphed before the time limit could run out, where Tobias informed her that the others had all escaped as well. She then watched as an angry Visser Three rampaged throughout the construction site, crushing Taxxons and tossing Hork-Bajir into the air.

A few days later, Rachel typed a letter to Melissa using her computer stating that her father loved her more than she knew. During her next gymnastics class, she slid the envelope containing the letter into Melissa's locker and watched as Melissa opened and read it. After class, she was picked up her mom, who then drove her home. Rachel then got together with the others, to whom she had since disclosed the reasons regarding Chapman's voluntary host status. Rachel notified the others about the letter she had sent and began talking about what they would do next when Marco interrupted her and in mock horror "protested" against the idea of a next time. Tobias then affirmed that the Animorphs would keep fighting until the Andalites arrived.[2]

Relationship with Tobias

Lending Her Assistance

Rachel crushes convertibles

Rachel crushing cars at Dealin' Dan Hawke's Used Cars

"You know something? I'm tired of trying to talk you into this, Marco. You want out? Fine, you're OUT!"
"Hey, Rachel, you're not just doing this to help save the human race. You get off on the danger. That's why you went with Tobias to free that bird. That wasn't about saving the world. That was about rescuing some stupid bird."
―Rachel and Marco[src]

Having grown to care for Tobias, whom she realized had a crush on her, Rachel installed a birdhouse outside of her bedroom window to make it easier for him to land if he ever chose to visit. She also located a photo of Tobias' human form, which she cut out and kept in her nightstand. A short while later, Rachel was informed by Tobias that there was a red-tailed hawk named Price-Cut Polly that was being kept captive by Dealin' Dan Hawke to serve as the mascot for his used vehicles business. Tobias wanted to Rachel's assistance to free Price-Cut Polly, and Rachel agreed. One Saturday, Rachel planned to take the bus to meet Tobias at Dealin' Dan Hawke's Used Cars, although she missed her bus. Catching another bus, she arrived there just in the nick of time and morphed into an African elephant. Tobias then called for her help, as he was trying to unlock Price-Cut Polly's cage while some of the employees were trying to hit him. Rachel then made her presence known and began to crush the convertibles on the lot. A film crew was currently at the dealership to film a live commercial, and so Tobias' liberation of the other hawk and Rachel's destruction of the cars were all broadcast live. As Price-Cut Polly flew to freedom, Tobias and Rachel retreated to the patch of woods behind the dealership.

Rachel slightly berated Tobias for doing this during a live broadcast and agreed that the other Animorphs were going to see the footage and yell at them. Tobias offered to take the sole blame, although Rachel expressed her excitement at being able to crush the cars. Now demorphed and wearing a black leotard as part of her morphing outfit, Rachel walked to the nearby convenience store to see if they sold flip-flops. She then took a bus back home. As she arrived on her street, she noticed Tobias flying above and winked at him. She then entered her house and went upstairs to her room, where Jake, Marco and Cassie were. Tobias then flew in through the open window, and the pair were both yelled at by Marco, who revealed that the three of them had seen the broadcast and had made their way to Rachel's house to confront them. Jake then had the two promise him that they wouldn't do anything stupid like that ever again. The argument quickly turned jovial, after which the Animorphs departed from Rachel's house; however, before Jake left, he mentioned that he would be leaving some dinner for him in his attic, where Tobias lived. Rachel then told Tobias that she did not like the idea of him living in attic, although he replied that he would be fine before bidding her a good night and flying off into the night.

The next day, the Animorphs convened at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic on Cassie's farm, where Tobias notified them that he had seen an invisible Yeerk ship coming to and from the mountains. When Marco expressed reluctance, Rachel yelled at him for his hesitancy and told him he could leave the group, prompting Marco to fire back that Rachel was not truly interested in saving humanity but rather got off on the danger and action. Amidst the argument, Tobias stated that he was going to the mountains the next morning regardless of what everyone else did. Rachel, Jake and Cassie then agreed to come with him, although Marco pointed out the next day (a Monday) was a school day and that if they skipped school to attack the Yeerks, Chapman might suspect them. The Animorphs then decided to go to the mountains after school the next day.

On Monday, the Animorphs regrouped at the clinic. Deciding not to fly out to the mountains as their assortment of raptor forms could be spotted by bird-watchers, it was decided that they would travel there with wolf morphs; there was a pair of wolves at the barn, with Jake acquiring the male while the other three acquired the female. As Cassie's farm bordered the national forest, they entered the forest on foot and walked a good ways in before morphing into the wolf, after which they ran through the forest at twenty miles an hour. Tobias, who had been performing reconnaissance, informed them that there was a nearby lake surrounded with Park Ranger Controllers armed with automatic weapons alongside Hork-Bajir-Controllers. They then decided to walk to the lake in order to witness the situation for themselves; there, they marveled at the sight of the uncloaked disturbance that Tobias had seen, which was revealed to be a giant spaceship. Noticing that the giant ship had oxygen intake and was currently draining water for the lake, the Animorphs realized that the ship, which they dubbed a Truck ship, was carrying oxygen and water to orbit, most likely to the Pool ship.

Deciding to retreat, they returned to the forest, where they accidentally entered the territory of a rival wolf pack that had just killed a rabbit. The rival pack believed the Animorphs were encroaching on their territory to steal their kill, and Jake was forced to stand his ground as Cassie remarked that looking weak might cause the other pack to attack them. Tobias then swooped down and snatched the rabbit, redirecting the wolf pack's attention which allowed the other Animorphs to escape. As they ran through the woods, Tobias screamed at them via thought-speak to demorph, telling them that they had no time left in morph. Rachel tried to demorph but struggled, describing the process as trying to crawl out of molasses. Her attempts to demorph caused her human hands to appear where her legs should've appeared, much to her frustration. However, with Cassie's coaching, Rachel and the others were able to return to their human forms. As the four rejoiced over not being trapped in morph, Tobias flew away. Rachel, realizing they had been insensitive, yelled at him to come back, although he did not return. The other Animorphs then returned home.[22]

Providing Comfort

"You are a human being, Tobias."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because what counts is what is in your head and in your heart. A person isn't his body. A person isn't what's on the outside."
"Rachel... I don't even remember what I looked like. I didn't know you had a picture of me."
"It's not a great picture. In real life you look better."
―Rachel and Tobias[src]

That night, Rachel was in her bedroom in a bathrobe when she heard Tobias outside. Opening her window, she greeted him, telling him that she was worried about him before inviting him inside, assuring him that it was safe for him to enter as she had locked her door. When Tobias flew in, he told her that he felt like he was losing himself. Rachel began to worry about Tobias even more, and listened as he admitted that he saw Price-Cut Polly at the lake earlier and felt like he belonged with her. Rachel then stated that Tobias was a human who belonged with them, and declared that a person wasn't their body but rather what was in their hearts and mind. When Tobias replied that he didn't even remember what he looked like before, Rachel fought to suppress her tears. She then went to her nightstand and showed him the picture she had of him, adding that the picture didn't do him justice and that he looked better. Still fighting to prevent tears, she assured him that one day the Andalites would come and restore his human form. Tobias eventually left her room and returned to Jake's attic.

The next day after school, the Animorphs gathered for a meeting inside Jake's room, with his house being safe since Tom would be away at a Sharing meeting. Rachel informed the others that she could not stay for long as her gymnastics class was holding an exhibition at the mall in a short while. As the team discussed the Truck ship, Rachel brought up the idea of destroying the ship, stating that perhaps the Yeerks might leave Earth if they ran out of air and water, although Cassie pointed out that they did not know how many other Truck ships the Yeerks possessed. Marco then brought up the idea of turning off the Truck ship's cloaking technology while it was flying above the city, thereby allowing everyone to see it. Jake and Rachel became excited at the prospect of the rest of the world discovering the invasion and letting the authorities handle it. Jake then announced that they would be using fish morphs to enter the Truck ship through its water pipes in order to uncloak the ship. With a plan set, Rachel and Cassie left Jake's home, although not before Marco told Rachel that he come to see her exhibition at the mall.

Rachel GN3

Rachel notices Tobias while doing her routine

Rachel made her way to the mall where she began to perform on the balance beam. Just then, she noticed Tobias zooming past her and she called out to him. Noticing that Tobias was trying to hit a wall at full speed, Rachel yelled out at him and mouthed at him to not to do it; as she was pleaded with her eyes, Tobias flared his wings and tumbled down towards Rachel, who caught him and rolled both of them onto the mat. Tobias told Rachel that he was lost as he killed, to which Rachel responded that he wasn't lost so long as he had her and the other Animorphs. As other people gathered around her to try and "help" her get away from the "wild bird", she threw him into the air. She then watched as Tobias flew straight up toward the skylight. Before he could collide with the gass, Marco, who was on the second floor as he had come to see her perform, quickly threw a baseball at the skylight, shattering the glass and allowing Tobias to survive and escape.

Rachel became worried when Tobias disappeared for a few days, terrified that something bad had happened to him. On Friday night, a few days after the Tuesday incident at the mall, Rachel was in her room reading a book in bed when she heard Tobias' thought-speak outside of her window. Rushing to the window, she tried to hug Tobias before she criticized him for disappearing on them. She became a little disturbed when he revealed that the hawk mind had won over and that he had also killed and eaten a rat. Tobias then divulged that he had used his thought-speak and helped a man in the forest escape from Hork-Bajir and Park Ranger Controllers. Rachel began to feel like crying when Tobias brought up how he felt so trapped and how he wished he had fingers to move and a mouth he could speak out of. Rachel began to caress Tobias' hawk head and reminded him that so long as he had her and the other Animorphs, he would never truly be alone. Tobias then told Rachel that he had to go see Jake to discuss their planned mission the next day; when Rachel replied that they didn't have to go through with it, Tobias declared that the human hosts of the Yeerks were trapped in their bodies, a sentiment he was now familiar with, and that while he was trapped permanently, the hosts were not; thus, he wanted to keep fighting so that they could free some of these hosts. He then left Rachel's house to discuss the mission with Jake.[22]

Truck Ship Destruction

"Tobias! We're trapped! The tank is full, but the grate won't open. [...] They'll find us when they get to the mother ship and unload the water. Tobias? We... we don't want to be taken alive. [...] I have to morph to human. We'll tread water here. We have to be ready for when we get to the mother ship. Then we'll morph into other animals and go down fighting." [...]
"Rachel... I never told you..."
"You didn't have to, Tobias. I knew. Good-bye."
―Rachel and Tobias[src]

The next morning, Rachel and the other Animorphs gathered and solidified their plan: they would morph into wolves and travel to the lake, where they would then start fishing. Once they acquired a fish, they would practice the morph before retreating to a nearby bear cave that Tobias reported was empty. Then, when the Truck ship arrived, they would slowly make their way to the edge of the lake, morph into fish and swim towards the Truck ship, where they would then get sucked up into the ship. Rachel fashioned a tan-colored nylon pouch, which contained a watch, a fishing line, some fishing hooks and a lighter, and tied it to Tobias' leg. At the lake, Rachel and the others spent hours trying to catch a fish before Cassie finally caught a trout, which they acquired.

Just then, Tobias informed them that the Park Ranger Controllers were arriving and the four of them ran into the cave to hide. They were shortly joined by Tobias, who notified them that Visser Three had arrived on the site, along with additional reinforcements. As they debated on whether to terminate their mission, since they could no longer walk to the water's edge without being spotted, Cassie suggested that they morph into fish while in the cave; since trout could survive outside of water for a few minutes and was small enough to be carried by a red-tailed hawk, they could morph in the cave and be flown into the water by Tobias.

Once Tobias deposited them all into the lake, they swam towards the Truck ship and were sucked in by the water pipes, where they found themselves in a water tank with a grate above them. Jake and Cassie then demorphed and tried to open the grate but were unable to. Realizing that they were now trapped within the water tank, the four agreed that they did not want to be taken alive and thus decided that when the Truck ship docked with the Pool ship, they would assume battle morphs and go down fighting. However, Rachel, still in trout morph, quickly thought-spoke with Tobias, relaying their predicament to him. Since the Animorphs did not want to risk being taken alive, she asked him if there was anything he could do to destroy the Truck ship, as it would kill them in the process. As Tobias panicked about what he could do, Rachel informed him that she would be demorphing. Tobias then tried to tell her that he had feelings for her, but Rachel cut him off and told him that she was already aware of the fact. She then bid him goodbye and demorphed back to human.

As the four of them treaded water in the water tank, Tobias had seized a Dracon beam and destroyed the Truck ship's controls, causing it to lose altitude. The careening Truck ship then hit a Bug fighter, which collided into the water tank and exploded, destroying the tank. As the water poured out like a waterfall, the four Animorphs fell out of the hole and began hurtling towards the ground. Rachel then rapid-morphed into the bald eagle as the other three also rapid-morphed into their respective raptors. They regrouped with Tobias in the air and the five flew into the woods as the Truck ship slammed into the ground, creating a concussive shockwave. Rachel then witnessed as Price-Cut Polly, the female red-tailed hawk that she and Tobias has saved, flew into the sky and was shot down by a Dracon beam. The Yeerks then destroyed the grounded Truck ship to eliminate evidence as the Animorphs escaped and returned home.

The next day, Rachel was spending the Sunday afternoon in her room where Tobias flew in through the window. She told him that she had informed Cassie about Price-Cut Polly's death and that the two of them, with Tobias' help, wanted to return to the mountains and locate her so that they could bury her, but Tobias responded that she was to be eaten by other animals and that was the way life was. Rachel once again stated that Tobias was human as well, to which Tobias replied that while he was human, who grieved over the death of another animal, he was also a hawk who hunted other animals for food. Rachel became sad at Tobias' comments and then watched as he flew out of her bedroom window.[22]

Rescuing Ax

"How did these Yeerks get this far? How did this happen? If you Andalites are so tough, why didn't you stop them a long time ago? How did a bunch of slugs who live in dirty ponds manage to become so powerful?"
"I am forbidden to tell certain things."
"You're telling us all of planet Earth may be scheduled for destruction and we are the only thing standing in the way, and you are going to keep secrets? I don't think so."
―Rachel and Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill[src]

Rachel began to enjoy fighting and the thrill of combat, and updated her room accordingly with Post-it notes with inspirational sayings, where she included a quote from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. While at school on a Monday, she was notified by Cassie that they needed to have a meeting, and Rachel offered to have the meeting at her house after school since Naomi, Jordan and Sara would not be home at the time. There, Rachel listened as Cassie and Tobias revealed that they both been experiencing the same dream about a voice calling to them from the ocean. Jake then pulled out a video cassette and asked Rachel if they could use her VCR, and the team went downstairs to the living room. Jake then inserted the tape and showed them footage from last night's news that he had recorded, which showed a metal fragment that had washed up on the beach. Jake pointed out that the writing on the metal fragment was the same writing he had seen when he entered Elfangor's ship to retrieve the morphing cube and that he believed the fragment was a piece of an Andalite ship. Just then, both Cassie and Tobias fainted. Rachel then saw a brief flash of a vision herself before rushing to the telephone to call 911, although Cassie and Tobias regained consciousness. The two then revealed that the voice calling for them was stronger now and was definitely thought-speech, and concluded that it was an Andalite under the ocean who was sending out a distress signal. Rachel then declared that if there was an Andalite calling for help, she would definitely save him. She then called out Marco for his reluctance, although Marco stated that he would participate in a rescue mission since Elfangor had died for them. The team then headed to the beach to see if Cassie would experience another vision from being closer to the sea.

While at the beach, Rachel wondered why only Cassie and Tobias were receiving the dreams, which Marco theorized was because Cassie had a talent for morphing while Tobias was trapped in morph. Tobias, who had been flying above them, then informed them that a group from The Sharing was also on the beach with flashlights and that "Chapman" and "Tom" were with them; additionally, Tobias had eavesdropped on their conversation and learned that the metal fragment was indeed part of an Andalite ship and that Visser Three was also receiving the visions, which Marco believed was because he had an Andalite host body. Just then, the Controllers noticed the Animorphs' footprints and began to follow them. The four human Animorphs then ran towards the water; as it was nighttime, the Controllers could not see them clearly, although they could see their silhouettes, prompting one of the Controllers to shoot at them with a handgun. Jake then told everyone to get into the water and morph into trout, despite Cassie pointing out that trout was a freshwater fish and the ocean was saltwater. Struggling with the burning sensation they felt in their gills, they were able to survive in the saltwater long enough to swim to another shore, where they demorphed and returned home safely.

Rachel then resumed her normal life for two days, attending a gymnastics class as well as an award ceremony for her mother receiving a "Best Lawyer of the Year" award, which she enjoyed because a ceremony allowed her an excuse to go shopping for all new outfits. After school on Thursday, she took a city bus with Jake, Cassie and Marco to The Gardens so that they could acquire bottlenose dolphin morphs. There, Cassie expressed her discomfort with morphing into a sentient animal as she believed it made them no different than the Yeerks, although Rachel rebutted that the Yeerks infested other creatures whereas the Animorphs merely absorb an animal's DNA and transform into a copy of it. Rachel then acquired one of the dolphins.

The next day, the Animorphs did not have school due to a teacher conference. They met at a river estuary in a park since as an estuary, the river flowed into the ocean. Finding a spot that was isolated enough for them to morph, Rachel tied a Timex watch onto Tobias' leg so that he could keep track of time while the other four morphed into dolphins and swam from the river to the ocean. There, they spent forty-five minutes frolicking before sensing a humpback whale being attacked by multiple tiger sharks via their echolocation. The four of them charged forward and attacked the sharks, with Rachel ramming into one of them, although Marco was nearly bitten in half. When the sharks left, Marco demorphed and the grateful whale carried him to the surface. The humpback whale, dubbed the great one, then telepathically showed Cassie a vision of where the Andalite was. Marco then remorphed into a dolphin and the Animorphs returned to the river estuary.

On Saturday, Jake and Cassie visited Rachel at her house to discuss their next steps. Going over some maps, Jake and Cassie determined where the Andalite's location most likely was. However, it was too far for the dolphin to get there in under two hours, prompting Rachel to suggest that they acquire and morph into seagulls in order to land on a container ship that would be traveling in that direction, after which they could jump off the ship and morph into dolphins. Sometime later, Tobias and Marco appeared and were filled in on the plan before everyone dispersed. On Sunday, the Animorphs went to Cassie's barn where seagulls were kept as patients and acquired them. Flying out of the barn, the four seagulls and Tobias flew towards the beach and across the ocean when they spotted a container ship called Newmar. The Animorphs all landed on the ship and found themselves a secluded spot away from the crew. Tobias then left them the watch before flying back to shore as the four human Animorphs demorphed. After an hour had passed, Rachel helped Jake and Cassie push a half-morphed Marco into the ocean before jumping off the ship themselves and morphing into dolphin.

They noticed a helicopter dragging a sensor through the water and realized that the Controllers were very close. The four Animorphs then dove into the water and swam to the ocean floor before proceeding onward, where they came across a Dome ship. Jake noticed a hatch and opened it, and the four dolphins entered an airlock that then began to drain the water. Having demorphed back to human, the Animorphs opened the door to the Dome ship's interior when they were knocked out by an Andalite. When they came to, they informed the Andalite of who they were and what they were capable of. The Andalite, an adolescent named Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, revealed that he was Elfangor's younger brother and offered to fight alongside the Animorphs until he could return to his own people. He asked them who their prince was, prompting Rachel, Cassie and Marco to all look at him. Jake then grumbled that he was no one's prince before Ax pledged to loyalty to "Prince Jake."

Ax then began to give them a tour of the Dome ship, and Rachel mouthed to Cassie that Ax was cute before winking. Ax notified them that the Yeerk Empire had a habit of making the planets they colonized barren, much like the Yeerk homeworld, and only kept enough species to sustain the local host population; in addition, he added that were now only three species left in the galaxy who fought the Yeerks, and that Andalites would not come to Earth for another year or two. Jake was aghast at the realization that it would take two years for Andalite reinforcements to come and that the five kids were the only ones who were fighting the Yeerks on Earth, to which Ax chimed in that there were six of them now. Rachel then inquired as to how the Yeerk Empire was able to get so powerful when they started off as slugs in a pond if the Andalite military is so powerful, and became angry when Ax replied that there were some details he was not allowed to share with them.

Just then, the Animorphs noticed the silhouette of the Blade ship above them as sonar pings began to reverberate. They all ran to the airlock chamber and started to morph as water filled the chamber. They then exited the ship, with Ax in tiger shark morph, and swam away just as depth charges shattered the reinforced glass of the Dome ship. During their escape, they noticed that a group of Taxxons had been dropped from the Blade ship and were swimming towards them, although the four dolphins, alongside Ax in shark morph, fought and killed the Taxxons with relative ease. They then continued to swim towards the shore, where Ax revealed that he had the mental ability to accurately keep track of their morphing time.

However, at that moment a large alien aquatic creature began to pursue them, which Ax confirmed was called a mardrut, a creature that lived one of the moons of the Andalite homeworld. The group realized that the mardrut was Visser Three in morph and pushed their bodies to continue swimming for over thirty minutes, although the Visser, who confirmed his identity by thought-speaking to them, gained on them. With the five of them unable to keep swimming, Rachel declared that it was time to turn around and fight. Ax chimed in that they couldn't win, to which Jake responded that he would rather die fighting than allow the Visser to kill them one by one in a chase. Just then, a group of wild whales, led by the great one, arrived and attacked the mardrut mercilessly, causing Visser Three to scream in rage and retreat. With their morphing time almost depleted, the group demorphed in the ocean. Cassie then notified them that the great one would ferry them back to shore, so they climbed on his back and relaxed as he traveled towards land. Once he got close enough, the team disembarked and remorphed into their aquatic morphs as they swam back to the river estuary.

The four Animorphs began to get dressed with some outer clothing they had hidden by the riverbank when Tobias appeared, and Cassie introduced Tobias and Ax to one another. Jake then wondered what they were going to do with Ax, as they had nowhere to keep him and he could not travel in town with them. Cassie offered to hide him on her farm, as it contained forests, meadows and woods that extended into the national forest. Marco chimed in that they still couldn't bring Ax to the farm in his Andalite state. Ax then declared that he needed to morph and approached Cassie.[23] Asking for permission,[24] Ax acquired Cassie, Marco, Jake and Rachel in succession. Rachel then watched as Ax began to blend the four acquired DNA strands into one unique strand; as the four DNA samples he acquired contained two male DNA and two female DNA patterns, Marco wondered whether Ax was going to be biologically male or female, and the Animorphs turned away to give Ax some privacy. Jake then told Ax that he had an extra pair of boxers and a T-shirt and told him to get dressed. The Animorphs then turned around to find Ax holding up the shirt as his bottoms and wearing the boxers on his head like a hat. Jake then asked if the morph was biologically male or female, and Ax replied that he had made it male since he himself was male. Jake then told Rachel and Cassie to turn around while he and Marco helped Ax get dressed properly. Ax struggled to walk on two legs and began to play with his words while verbally speaking, as it was his first time having a mouth. The Animorphs then walked Ax back to Cassie's farm.[23]

Meeting Visser One

To be added

Detaining Jake

To be added

Meeting the Ellimist

Return to the Yeerk Pool

13 year old Rachel

Rachel in 1997 (aged 13)

"I lived in two completely different worlds. One world was filled by my family, school, gymnastics classes, shopping, listening to music, watching TV... normal stuff. But then I had this whole other life. A life where I wasn't just Jordan and Sara's big sister, and my mom's first child, and a teacher's pet, and a gymnastics student who was weak on the balance beam. In my other life I was... a warrior. I risked my life. I fought in deadly nightmare battles against terrible odds. I became so much more than just a kid."
―Rachel[src]

To be added

Visit to Alternate Future

To be added

Battle at the EGS Tower

To be added

Temporary Amnesia

To be added

Trouble with Ax

To be added

Quest for the Pemalite Crystal

Meeting the Chee

To be added

Matcom Infiltration

To be added

Morphing Allergy

Crocodile Incident

To be added

Destroying Her House

To be added

Jeremy Jason McCole Investigation

To be added

Crocodile Birth

To be added

Free Hork-Bajir

To be added

Zone 91 Infiltration

To be added

Royan Island Mission

To be added

Preventing a Suicide

To be added

Battle for Leera

To be added

In the Time of Dinosaurs

To be added

David Debacle

To be added

Weapon of War

When Jake thought that David, the newest Animorph, had gone rogue and apparently killed Tobias, Jake orders Ax to get Rachel. Rachel then becomes angry at Jake for thinking of her as the person who would be willing to kill another Animorph while also becoming troubled that from all of her battles with the Yeerks, she has changed so much from the person she was prior to meeting Elfangor to the present, where she craves combat and high-adrenaline situations.

Divisive Personality

To be added

Further battles

To be added

Leading the Animorphs

During an occasion where Jake was absent on a family trip, the Animorphs were temporarily left without any leadership. When forced to go on a mission involving an Inspector for Visser One, Rachel was chosen as the interim leader. Her plan was to raid multiple known-Controller-operated or-owned businesses in an effort to discredit Visser One. However, Rachel’s actions cause an innocent old man to die of a heart attack and cause Cassie, in polar bear morph, to become captured by the Yeerks. Although Cassie is saved, Rachel realizes that she doesn’t have any leadership skills, despite her warrior abilities.

David's Return

Crayak and the Drode, who developed a fascination with Rachel during the events of The Exposed and wished to have her kill Jake for them, rescue David from his marooned island and give Rachel reoccurring dreams where she simultaneously respects and hates Jake for being the leader of the Animorphs and ordering him around, and has a nightmare of maiming him to establish dominance. Rachel is pit against David and later Visser One, with Crayak granting Rachel power in exchange for Jake's life. When Rachel refuses, realizing that the world would see her as a monster, Crayak and the Drode make their leave, discarding their interest in Rachel. David then begs Rachel to end his life, citing it to be more humane than leaving him marooned once again. Rachel notices a mirror shard and breaks down in tears, before making her decision. Although the decision is not shown, it is implied that she murdered David.

Endgame

To be added

Death

"We were so close. We were right there, right at the finish line, I'd already survived so many times when I shouldn't have. It seemed unfair. To come this far, get this close... Jake gave me the job because he knew that only I could do it. [...] I'm the one you send when you need someone to be crazy, to do the hard thing. I don't know whether I'm proud of that or not. I was Jake's insurance policy. He thought maybe he wouldn't have to use me. He hoped, anyway. But down deep he knew, and I knew, and we both hid the truth from the others because Cassie couldn't let Jake make that decision, and Tobias couldn't let me, and those two, by loving us, would have screwed everything up. It was a war, after all. A war we had to win."
―Rachel[src]

During the final battle against the Yeerks, Jake orders Rachel to secretly follow Tom’s Yeerk and kill him when he gives the order. Following him on board the Blade Ship, Rachel attacks the Yeerks in control of the ship and kills Tom, before dying at the hands of a Controller in polar bear morph shortly after; the Ellimist briefly stops time to memorialize her death, tells his own story to her, and she dies.

Legacy

Funeral

"The next day an Andalite scout ship reported finding a human body floating in space. Young, female. The Blade ship had jettisoned her body before going into Zero space. The Andalites brought her to California. [...] Two days later, Rachel's body was cremated. It was inconceivable that she'd ever want to be buried in the ground. She ended up as a few handfuls of ashes in a pretty china urn. [...] The President of the United States was there. He gave a speech, too. I guess Rachel would have liked it, in her own way. She would have laughed. She would have thought it was all way over the top, but at the same time, she would have liked the attention. Would have, but she was a few ounces of ash in a jar resting inside an open wooden box."
Cassie[src]

After the Yeerk war is officially over, an Andalite scout ship finds Rachel’s body. The Blade Ship had jettisoned her body before going into Zero space. Her body was brought back to California with Rachel’s mom and Jake identifying her. Two days later, Rachel’s body was cremated and her memorial service was attended by dozens of free Hork-Bajir, Andalite Warriors, the Animorphs, and many others. Tobias then arrives and flies away with Rachel’s ashes.

The Rachel

Three years later, Jake, Marco, Tobias, Sergeant Santorelli, Jeanne Gerard, and Menderash-Postill-Fastill board a former Yeerk cruiser and go on a mission to save Ax from an unknown group of pirates aboard the Blade Ship. Menderash, following an Andalite tradition, believes it bad luck to board the ship before it is named; after Tobias notes that it is "beautiful and dangerous and exciting," the group gives it the only fitting name, The Rachel.

Personality

"This is why we fight. And to be honest, I like a good fight. The adrenaline spike of battle. The rush. The challenge. And now that I've admitted that, I'll admit something else: Lately, it's been scaring me that I like it. That I look forward to it so much. [...] I can't help myself. It's like I'm addicted or something. Addicted to danger. Addicted to defeating the Yeerk invaders."
―Rachel[src]

Rachel was the most violent member of the Animorphs. She is Jake's cousin on her father's side, and was in love with Tobias. Before the war, she trained in gymnastics. Marco's nickname for her was Xena, Warrior Princess.

Rachel was the character that changed the most during the war. Before the war, she was characterized by her involvement in gymnastics, her friendship with Melissa Chapman (daughter of Principal Chapman, one of the Animorphs' enemies), and her incurable mall-crawling and shopping addiction. An attractive girl, she was also smart, confident and bold. She was also known to have a temper. After the groups' meeting with Elfangor, her relationship with Melissa faded, and her obsession with the war took the place of her older shopping hobby. Out of all the Animorphs, Rachel was the only one that seemed to enjoy the war, always eager to jump into a crazy mission. Her catchphrase was "Let's do it!" Soon her daring and love of action grew to a dark, almost sadistic love of fighting and aggression.

Rachel's love of violence was noticed, and "exploited" by Jake and the Animorphs, and later, even Crayak. Though her will to battle and sacrifice herself was a powerful asset to the team, it disturbed all of the groups' members, including Rachel herself. In The Separation, Rachel is accidentally split into two different beings, possessing different qualities of Rachel; most easily described as "Mean Rachel" and "Nice Rachel." Her violent side was far stronger than her kinder side, a fact that haunted Rachel throughout the series.

Relationships with the other Animorphs

"Cassie thinks I'm fearless. Marco thinks I'm reckless. Tobias... well, Tobias loves me. I guess they all do, in different ways. Jake, too."
―Rachel[src]

Jake

"Jake is our leader. I respect him. I don't always agree with his decisions, but he's in charge and I'm not. And that's the way I want it."
―Rachel[src]

Jake and Rachel, as cousins, are arguably two of the most similar Animorphs. They share not only physical resemblance, both being tall, well-built, and possessing natural leadership and strength, but they share many of the same values. Both are very brave, though Rachel's bravery borders more upon rashness, and very self-sacrificing, always considering what is best for the group and for Earth itself. They share a value of strength and honor, and both have a strong sense of morality and right and wrong, though Rachel sometimes pushes the border with her habit of violence, something that haunts both her and Jake, on occasion. Jake, being the leader he is, must do what's best for the group, and sometimes he's forced to use this dark side of Rachel to their advantage, and Rachel understands this. They share mutual respect for one another, and, though they sometimes have wild fights and disagreements, like Rachel rebelling under his leadership or Jake unable to deal with Rachel's senseless risk-taking, they are something of a dynamic duo, both in battle and out of it, and never quite lose the kinship between them, even in the hardest of times.

"Jake was there. He's my cousin. He's cute. Kind of big. I mean, if we weren't cousins..."
Rachel[src]

Despite being cousins, Rachel and Jake were not very close at the start of the series, as their families did not interact much with each other. However, Jake and Rachel both had a close friend in Cassie, and thus were acquainted with one another during and after school. After becoming Animorphs, Rachel admits that Jake is now one of her few loved ones in her life, and has admitted an attraction to him, which she refuses to pursue since they are cousins. Jake worries about Rachel the most out of all Animorphs, often pondering on Rachel's bloodthirsty and degenerative nature, while the darker side of Rachel's mind wonders on what would happen should she ever challenged Jake's leadership - however, this is a thought process she throws out towards the end of the series after she confronts David and the Crayak along with the darker side to her nature. When Rachel accepts her final mission, which they both knew would be very dangerous, Rachel tells Jake not to be overwrought by his decision, knowing full well the burden under which Jake is placed. Jake is distraught by having had to send Rachel off to kill his Yeerk-infested brother and never recovers.

Tobias

"I have strong feelings for Tobias. The kind you can't help. The kind that seem inevitable. Like they were always there, even before you knew the person."
―Rachel[src]

Before the start of the series Rachel and Tobias weren't friends, although they had some prior knowledge of each other. They quickly develop feelings for each other, and eventually begin a relationship and fall in love. Tobias sees the good in her, and worries about her like she's a normal girl, not the fighting machine the others sometimes think of her as. Like Rachel, Tobias is no stranger to violence and doesn't shrink from making hard decisions, although to some degree, seems to be something of an odd pacifist, refusing to take life when it isn't needed, and showing remarkable pity for his prey and even certain enemies.

Cassie

"Cassie is my best friend, although we're nothing alike. Cassie is probably the most capable, in-charge, amazing person I will ever meet."
―Rachel[src]
This section requires expansion

Rachel and Cassie are best friends. However, tension develops between them over the course of the series; Cassie is increasingly wary of Rachel's darkening nature, and Rachel in turn becomes impatient with Cassie's morality.

Marco

"Marco is Jake's best friend. He's smaller than Jake, funnier, darker, more skeptical. But his suspicious nature makes him very good at seeing beneath the surface of things. And as much as he whines and complains about the dangerous situations we get into, he's still there in the worst of the fight, still making dumb jokes."
―Rachel[src]

Rachel and Marco often argue, though their verbal sparring is good-natured. They are similar in terms of ruthlessness, although Marco is inherently much more calculative and strategic; a side which contrasts with her increasingly reckless nature. He is the least affected by her death, given his philosophy towards life. In Back to Before, a book where an alternate-reality is concocted by the Ellimist and the Crayak, she agrees to date him. Marco, while sharing some of Rachel's coldness and ruthlessness, is in some ways her opposite, his characteristic trait being caution and a somewhat selfish sense of automatic self-preservation, whereas Rachel is completely reckless and very self-sacrificing. However Marco is often the only person who truly understands Rachel's mindset during a group decision, and they tend to often be on the same side of an argument when it comes down to it, as much as they bicker among each other.

Ax

"Ax is Andalite. Not human. Technologically brilliant, but emotionally thick as a brick. Or at least that's the assumption we go on. Don't ask me why. Because it's usually Ax, who, in his own strange way, seems to understand what's going on beneath the surface."
―Rachel[src]

Ax is the Animorph that Rachel has the least affiliation with. Ax and Rachel were similar in many ways, both sharing a militant attitude towards war and combat, both valuing strength and other warrior-like qualities. In the beginning, Rachel was initially distrustful of Ax, and was quick to criticize him when he would hide things from the group, show disloyalty towards the Animorphs or disrespect for humans. Outside these situations, she was initially generally indifferent towards his existence within the group, only speaking to him when necessary. Despite this, Ax held respect towards Rachel in their early days, admiring her for being a brave warrior ready to lay her life down fighting the Yeerks; however, over the years, he became apprehensive of Rachel's bloodthirstiness and recklessness, traits he considered to be unfit for a warrior and akin to a mental illness. Despite being Animorphs for three years and fighting numerous battles together, the two rarely, if ever, interacted one-on-one.

Morphs

Book Morphs

"I've been a whole zoo, you know. Everything from a fly to an elephant."
―Rachel[src]
Morph Book Acquired
African Elephant The Invasion
Bald Eagle The Visitor
Shrew
Tomcat (Fluffer McKitty)
Wolf The Encounter
Trout
Bottlenose Dolphin The Message
Seagull
Black Garden Ant The Predator
Cockroach The Capture
Housefly
Great Horned Owl
Grizzly Bear The Stranger
White Rat (Courtney) The Secret
Termite
Skunk
Brown Bat The Android
Spider Monkey (unusable; acquired by alternate self) The Forgotten
Jaguar (unusable; acquired by alternate self)
Crocodile (unusable; DNA expelled via hereth illint) The Reaction
Hork-Bajir (Jara Hamee) The Change
Racehorse The Unknown
Parrot (yellow-orange) The Escape
Hammerhead Shark
Mole The Underground
Mosquito The Decision
Deinonychus (unusable; Sario Rip morph) In the Time of Dinosaurs
Flea The Threat
Giant Anteater The Suspicion
Baby Ringed Seal The Extreme
Polar Bear (Nanook)
Sperm Whale The Exposed
Giant Squid
Chimpanzee The Experiment
Eel The Sickness
Starfish The Separation
Squirrel The Proposal
Cockatiel
Orca (Swoosh) The Mutation
Cheetah The Weakness
Honeybee The Other
Human (female Air National Guard officer Michele Leary) The Deception
North American Beaver The Resistance
German Shepherd (Champ; acquired but never used) The Diversion
Dragonfly The Answer
Human (U.S. Army Soldier)


Television Show Morphs

Morph Episode Acquired
Cat My Name is Jake, Part 2
Lion The Underground
Fly On the Run
Melissa Chapman's Cat (Fluffer McKitty) Between Friends
Cockroach The Escape
Ferret
Red-tailed Hawk The Forgotten
Mouse Face Off, Part 1
Yeerk Face Off, Part 2
White-headed Capuchin My Name is Erek
Grizzly Bear Changes, Part 1
Gecko Changes, Part 2
Boa constrictor
Skunk Changes, Part 3

Books Narrated by Rachel

Trivia

  • When she was thirteen, her shoe size was a women's six.[2]
  • Rachel is allergic to crocodile DNA.
  • Rachel was based on Steve McQueen's character from The War Lover.[25]
  • From the Anibase:  Katherine Applegate always admitted to borrowing ideas from other sources, and the split Rachel (in The Separation)  idea is no different. Here's what she had to say about the idea, and also about how she was trying to develop Rachel's character: "I'd admit I stole this from the original Star Trek, except, of course, that they stole it from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It was really fun to write. And I was advancing my view of Rachel as the 'warrior who comes to need war.'"

Gallery

Elfangor eye closeup andalite chron "Someone took a picture of me? Not cool. Do you see what I'm wearing? I'm Spandex-boy. Totally not cool."

The image gallery for Rachel may be viewed here

References

  1. Since not all children receive their father's surname, Rachel's surname is unknown. One should not assume Rachel has the same last name as Jake.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 The Visitor
  3. The Return
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Answer
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Beginning
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 The Invasion
  7. 7.0 7.1 The Andalite Chronicles is said to take place in 1976 and states it is 21 years before Elfangor met the Animorphs, meaning the Animorphs met Elfangor in 1997. In #53, Jake states they were 13 when they met Elfangor, placing their year of birth c.1984
  8. 8.0 8.1 Elfangor's Secret
  9. Killed by a human-Controller in polar bear morph
  10. https://www.reddit.com/r/Animorphs/comments/oqx7he/cover_models/
  11. https://www.reddit.com/r/Animorphs/comments/ou1lcf/animorphs_rachel_cover_model_ama/
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 The Stranger
  13. The Conspiracy
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Back to Before
  15. The Solution
  16. In #2, Rachel mentions having attended Melissa's 12th birthday. Melissa and Rachel are the same age, and Rachel was 13 in 1997, placing Melissa's birthday party in 1996.
  17. The Separation
  18. The Andalite Chronicles is said to take place 10 years after the 1966 Yeerk exodus of The Hork-Bajir Chronicles and 21 years before Elfangor met the Animorphs. This places it in 1976, meaning the Animorphs met Elfangor in 1997.
  19. The Test
  20. Jake, Rachel and Marco had not yet learned how to morph clothing by the time they attacked the Yeerk Pool, which was on the same day Rachel and Marco acquired their first morphs, meaning they would've been nude when they demorphed during their escape. The graphic novel rectifies this by giving the Animorphs a day between acquiring their morphs and attacking the pool as well as adding a new scene where Rachel, Jake and Marco are confirmed to have learned how to morph clothing in the interim.
  21. In the reprint, Rachel instead says that the bald eagle is a national symbol. This is because the reprint, published in 2011, attempted to modernize the series for a younger generation, and the bald eagle was no longer endangered as of 2011.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 The Encounter
  23. 23.0 23.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 4TM
  24. When Ax decides to acquire the four human Animorphs, he does not share this idea with the others; instead, he puts his hand on Cassie's face and says "With your permission." However, before Cassie can realize what he is doing and can even consent, he begins to acquire her. The others realize he is acquiring her before Ax starts to acquire them without asking for permission. However, the rest of the series continues to treat it as if Ax had received everyone's consent before acquiring them.
  25. Animorphs Anonymous talks to MICHAEL GRANT!
Animorphs
Animorphs Jake | Rachel | Tobias | Cassie | Marco | Ax | David
Auxiliary Animorphs James | Collette | Timmy | Kelly | Craig | Erica | Julio | Liam | Tricia | Jessie | Judy | Ray
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