The Separation is the thirty-second book in the Animorphs

Animorphs

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

series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by the two 'halves' of Rachel

Rachel (Animorphs)

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

.

Plot summary

On a field trip to the beach, Rachel is exploring tide pools when she loses an earring in the water. Wishing to get it back she comes across a starfish, acquires it, and morphs into it, retrieving the earring. Unfortunately, before she can demorph, a child chops her in half. Thanks to the regenerative properties of starfish, Rachel does not die; instead, in the shock of being sliced in two, both halves demorph, resulting in two Rachels - Mean Rachel and Nice Rachel.

Mean Rachel is violent, aggressive, and despises all forms of "weakness" - weakness including most feelings, and any attitudes towards enemies other than homicidal hatred. She is totally incapable of planning ahead, making her useless in anything other than a direct combat situation, and believes that she is always right. This leads her to try to kill Marco

Marco (Animorphs)

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

 and Jake, and take control of the Animorphs. In contrast, Nice Rachel is totally passive, easily frightened, and is too scared to morph. She cannot fight, making herself a liability in battle, although she is good at making plans. Both Rachels are actively dangerous towards the secrecy and long-term survival of the Animorphs, and the rest of the Animorphs must find a way to combine them back into Normal Rachel.

Jake convinces Nice Rachel to come with him to follow a Yeerk truck. It turns out to be a trap, and Jake and Nice Rachel are put in boxes to await the arrival of Visser Three. Mean Rachel follows them in an attempt to kill Jake and Nice Rachel. Jake pretends to be dead, forcing Mean and Nice Rachel to work together in order to escape the trap. Nice Rachel makes the plan and Mean Rachel actually does it, flying into Visser Three

Visser Three

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

's ear canal while morphed and threatening to demorph, killing both of them. All three escape unharmed.

After they escape safely, Nice and Mean Rachel finally realize that they need to be together to work well and Erek King

Erek King

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

 helps make them back into one whole Rachel again by morphing into each other while touching. After Rachel is returned to normal, she realises that it is both sides of her personality that make her who she is, and vows to try not to become either of the two.

Contributions to the Series' Story Arc

• The anti-morphing ray is first talked about, but not yet seen.
• Rachel gains introspective into her own personality and tendencies.

Morphs

Morpher	Morphs Acquired	Morphs Used
Jake		Siberian Tiger, Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...	Starfish	Starfish
Nice Rachel	Mean Rachel	Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs... , (Mean) Rachel
Mean Rachel	Nice Rachel	Bald Eagle Bald Eagle The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle... , Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America... , Fly Fly True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax... , Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs... , (Nice) Rachel
Tobias Tobias (Animorphs) Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...		Hork-Bajir Hork-Bajir The Hork-Bajir are a race of aliens in the Animorphs novels.The Hork-Bajir are fictional aliens that are usually about seven feet tall. They are a dark shade of green and have three-toed theropod feet. Their necks are long and they have a mouth that resembles a falcon's beak with teeth. Their legs...
Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...		Gray Wolf Gray Wolf The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family... , Fly Fly True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...		Gorilla Gorilla Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...		Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...