Chapter One --Jake
I punched him in the shoulder. "Come on, Marco, we need a break. This is just a normal, sane activity."
"Excuse me? We have 'Max' the walking garbage disposal with us!" he shrieked.
"Shhhhhhh!"
We were in a movie theater, taking a break from life. All of us. Perhaps dangerous, all of the Animorphs together, but fun nonetheless.
I need fun. I need normal. I needed to watch some leader on TV make hard decisions because I could revel in the fact that it wasn't me.
Of course, going to a movie with Ax around would definitely NOT be normal.
Ax: alias Philip and, for the day, Max. Full name: Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.
Species: Andalite.
Luckily, the morph info was human. He had acquired a new morph for this occasion. It was a blend of me, Marco, and Rachel. The result was light sandy blond hair, brown eyes, very tall, tan skin.
"Hey, Marco, stop your groaning," Rachel cut in. "You're just complaining because his morph is cuter than you."
"Tobias, did you hear that?! She's checking out the other guys!" Marco warned him.
Tobias and Rachel laughed quietly along with the rest of us (minus Ax). Cassie and Rachel had announced that Ax's human morph was "cute." Marco, Tobias, and I couldn't really be expected to know that.
We were looking for seats. There was a row with about seven seats, but one of them was taken. In it sat a blond, dark green-eyed girl who was sipping a soda.
"Can we sit here?" Rachel asked.
She shrugged. "Sure."
Marco was first in the line, then Ax, then me, then Cassie, then Rachel, then Tobias. Marco carefully made his way down the long aisle. The rest of us followed.
"I forgot to get refreshments!" Marco said suddenly, slapping himself on the forehead. He turned to the girl. "Can I get you anything?"
She shook her head lightly. "I...I'm not especially hungry." She glanced back up at the movie screen (still playing previews) with a self-confident smile. "Thanks for asking, though. I didn't catch your name..."
"Marco," he said immediately. "I'm Marco."
"I'm Cat."
Marco stood up to get "refreshments," as he put it. Normally, he referred to such things as "food."
It was a sci-fi movie (of course, our lives are sci-fi movies). Aliens and creatures from outer space and intergalactic wars and basically things that we could film ourselves -- only we wouldn't have to waste big money on special effects. We are special effects.
Suddenly Marco skidded down the aisle and plopped into a seat.
"Did you get any popcorn?" I hissed.
"Yeah, man," he responded. "Want some?"
"Yes. But hey, Marco?"
"Yes, Jake?"
"Keep it away from Ax."
Marco nodded and passed the bag to me quickly. He reached for some of it.
Suddenly there was a blood-curdling scream from the direction of the snack bar.
"THEY'RE HERE!"
My head snapped around. A teenage boy --about my age, a little older...probably closer to Tom's age --was standing there in the doorway between the theater and the concession stand.
"YEERKS!! THEY'RE HERE!"
My heart stopped.
"One of the exits is in here!" Rachel hissed under her breath. "Escaped host!"
Cat looked back. A look of annoyance crossed her face as she stood up resolutely and walked toward the back.
"Huh?" Marco muttered.
Rachel stood up to follow her.
"Rachel, what are you doing?!?!?!" I demanded. "You might get captured!"
She ignored me and followed Cat. She grabbed her arm just as they entered the snack bar. The teenager emerged into the theater, pushing past the two girls. The words rang --"THEY'RE HERE!"
Chapter Two -- Rachel
"Um, Cat?" I said. "Don't go back there."
"Your name," she said with a firmness that made me feel as though I had to give it to her.
"My name?" I said blankly.
"Yes. Your name."
"Rachel," I responded, against my better judgment. "Don't go back there."
Her eyes narrowed. "I do not know you, Rachel. I must ask you to release my arm."
Her manner was intimidating, firm, resolute. There was a calmness in her eyes that I did not expect to see. She seemed as though she knew exactly what she was doing, and as though her opinion of me was nothing more than an obstacle in her path. She gently tugged her arm free.
I grabbed it again, determined not to let the Yeerks capture her. Even if I did not know her, she would be doomed if I did not act quickly.
She turned and sized me up, her wrist still in my grasp. She looked from me to the others, whose eyes were wide and whose faces were turned toward us.
She considered carefully. I could almost see the calculations inside her brain.
She leaned close, whispering in my ear.
"Andalite."
I released her wrist and staggered back. I collected my composure. "I'm sorry, what did you say about lights?"
She snorted derisively. "You know what I said, Rachel," she informed me. "If you'll excuse me..."
I gasped. Of course. She was a Controller, heading for the ex-host to silence him!
Cat walked up toward the concession stand. The teenager had already walked into the theater. I shook my head, confused.
Suddenly she screamed. "KILAN! KILAN!"
His head snapped around in amazement.
I had to do something, but I could do nothing. I could do nothing that might reveal what I was, what I knew.
He turned to go back into the front. He left the theater, walking swiftly towards her.
"Cairo?"
What? That was not her name. Was it?
I hated myself. But there was nothing for me to do.
Cat whipped a Dracon beam out. "Sorry, Kilan," she sneered. "This would be Cat. So sorry to disappoint you." She turned to look for me. I ducked out of sight. "Time to go back to the Yeerk pool, no? We wouldn't want you to leave so quickly. After all, Visser Nine is waiting for his host."
He whirled around. The employees formed a wall, keeping him from any route of escape.
"Hork-Bajir," Cat whispered, leaning close to the door. I remembered that Hork-Bajir had excellent hearing.
She turned to the two adults. "I hear nothing. They are not ready. Accompany Visser Nine's host to the pool."
"Yes, Sub-visser," they answered. She handed one of them the Dracon beam.
"Yeerk!" Kilan spat, his voice quivering with rage. Then he was gone.
The door slid shut.
Cat turned with a smile of satisfaction on her face. Suddenly the smile widened into a fierce grin and her hand began to reach for her throat. I had seen it before -- it was a host rebellion. It would last all of five seconds, and then it would be over. But now, the hand tightened and the other hand joined it.
I counted the seconds. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
The hand did not pull away.
I stepped forward. Strike now, while the Yeerk was unprepared. Strike now, while the host was breaking through. Strike and, if possible, hold her for three days. Just strike.
I stepped into the little clerk's booth thing and grabbed her by her shirt collar, pushing her back.
The hands snapped away from her throat. The expression relaxed into a normal, confident, self-assured smile.
She reached out with a single hand and pushed me away.
"Did you fall for my nice little act, Rachel? Did you think that possibly my host was rebelling? Did you think to destroy me now? No matter. You see, the tables have been turned. And I will not be destroyed."
Her dark green eyes, behind which lurked a Yeerk, filled with fire.
"You will."
Chapter Three -- Cat
I watched as my hands tightened around her throat as, seconds ago, they had around mine. This girl, this Rachel, gasped in pain and horror and helplessness. Then she struck out, hitting me, forcing me back.
trong, for a human. Very strong. Not strong enough for me (or at least the host body) and the Yeerk. The Yeerk --Sub-visser Fourteen --grabbed her arm and yanked her towards the doorway.
All of this was done without a sound from either of us. The quiet was unnatural.
Fire rose in my eyes, bloodthirsty rage emanating from Sub-visser Fourteen. The emotion sickened me. The Yeerk had so little control over itself.
But the fact remained true: Both of them were weakening. Rachel from the terror of feeling hands closed around her throat, cutting off the air supply; Sub-visser Fourteen from the fight, the strain, the battle against me, despite the fact that I hardly ever struck.
I was not weakened. I had conserved my strength, attacking at only opportune times. I had been able to do nothing for Visser Nine's host --for Kilan. I could do something for Rachel.
I lashed out with my hands, tearing them away from her throat. She whirled out of the way.
"Now, Rachel!" I commanded in my voice.
=Shut up, slave!=
=How is it that you talk to me so little, Sub-visser?= I asked politely. =Because you hate the weak, silly creature that you are? Because my strength belittles you? Because you know that I am on the verge of being able to resist you completely? What, don't you like conversation?=
The Yeerk was gaining control, though.
"Dracon beams over there!" I snapped, pointing at a drawer with my hands. The Yeerk struck, but too late. Rachel dodged the blow and ripped the drawer open, pulling out a Dracon beam.
"Thanks, Cat," she said.
I could make no reply. The Yeerk's roar of anger seemed to be enough for her. She pointed the beam at me.
Fire it, I pleaded silently. Fire, fire, fire!
She complied with the unspoken request.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!
=Stupid Yeerk!= I yelped in fury. The sub-visser had dodged and the Dracon beam had gone whizzing past.
"Rachel!"
A teenage boy about her age stepped in. Following him were the other people who had sat down on my row.
My eye caught on the sandy-blond boy. Something told me that he was not human. Something --I didn't know what it was. Maybe it was his manner. The same type of thing seemed to hover over the boy who'd spoken, despite the fact that it was in a much lesser degree.
"She's a Controller," Rachel snapped. She leveled the Dracon beam at me as two of the boys locked my arms behind me. Her mouth twitched in something approaching a smile. "I don't exactly think she's voluntary, though."
Well, duh, I thought.
"We have to take her and hold her for three days, I suppose," one of the boys said. "She knows what we are, and something has to be done."
"One," I forced out. Rachel looked at me in surprise.
"I think that was Cat," she said finally. "One day."
The Yeerk blew up. =YOU CURSED HUMAN! DO YOU KNOW WHAT --=
=Oh, shut up,= I muttered. =I know perfectly well what I did.=
"One day," the short one (Marco? Yes, Marco; I had heard him talking to Ax and the other boy) muttered. "Only one, instead of three."
Ax --he had mentioned that that was his name --glanced at me. He looked back at the other boy that Marco had been talking to and said, "How do we get her out of here? We cannot simply drag an unconscious body."
Rachel stalked over and placed the Dracon beam to my back. "Okay, Yeerk, here's the deal," she growled. "This beam is currently set to maximum. If you don't come with us, you DIE!"
"If I come with you, I die," the Yeerk shot back. "Only a much, much slower death."
She hesitated, unsure of what to say. She pushed the Dracon beam tighter until I could feel the "barrel" of it. "Move."
The Yeerk, despite its bravado, moved.
Chapter Four --Cassie
I watched the Controller --Cat -- as we walked. I could see rage and hatred lighting her face. The emotions made me sick. There was such intense hatred, such terrifying rage, that even a cold statue would feel fear. It was amazing that a single slug could contain such anger.
Cat was in the front of the group, Rachel directly behind. Beside Rachel, Tobias stood. I stood on her other side. Jake, Marco, and Ax brought up the rear. The Dracon beam would be invisible to anyone passing.
"So. You are not Andalites," Cat said in a low voice. "You are humans. And yet the host is inclined to believe that you and you" --she pointed to Tobias and Ax --"are not fully human. She is intelligent, that much I can say for her."
I kept my face as stone. "They are...we are all Andalites. All of us! We are only morphed."
"The host does not believe you."
"What, is she working against us, now?" Jake demanded.
"Oh no, no. I sometimes enjoy watching her thoughts, however, since they can be insightful --for such a primitive race."
"A full day, Yeerk, and then you die," Ax said after a silence.
"Less."
The word was so quick, so fleeting, so forceful that I determined that Cat herself had spoken. The rage that immediately intensified on her face was proof. The Yeerk struggled to control itself.
"How long?" I asked.
"You'll get nothing from me!" Cat fell silent --the Yeerk fell silent --as it struggled to control itself. I looked at her face, barely able to see her eyes from my angle slightly behind her.
You won't hold me for long, her eyes whispered. Not for long.
I shivered in fear. When Jake had been a Controller, he had said that. The Yeerk had been wrong.
Was this one wrong, too?
Her features gradually relaxed. A calm, cool expression overtook her face.
That only made me more afraid.
Captives are seldom calm. When they are, it is because they are confident of an escape and have decided not to bother with tears. What good are tears when you are already certain of escape?
This logic seemed to creep over her face. She noticed my gaze out of the corner of her eye and steeled her expression.
We crept into the woods, heading for the old, run-down shack where we had once kept Jake. She advanced willingly, no iota of doubt crossing her face. Her face held nothing of resignation, despair, regret, anger, or fierce hatred -- two of which we'd seen before.
"Is this where I am to die, in fourteen hours?" she asked in a perfectly calm voice.
She had told us the amount of time she had. That startled me. But even more, her words rent my heart. I'm a compassionate person, and it was hard to answer a cold "yes" to her question. I left it to Marco or Rachel or Jake or Ax or even Tobias to answer her.
"Yes," Ax said bluntly.
"Cold, arrogant Andalite fool," she remarked, still no emotion in her voice. "Torturing and killing a captive. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"No less than what you did to my brother, Elfangor," he spat.
"Reciprocating violence for violence? I thought the mighty Andalites were above that," she shot back.
"If we're done exchanging our polite conversation," Marco cut in sarcastically, "perhaps you would like to make yourself comfortable. You'll be here for about fourteen hours."
"As you may think," she said with a nod. "I leave you to wonder if your calculations are correct. I will confirm nothing."
"I'll take the first watch," Rachel said.
=I'll help,= Tobias said.
"All of us will stay, for now," Jake said firmly. "It's about two-thirty. Fourteen hours will put us at, umm..."
"Four-thirty AM," I finished. "At that point, it will just be Ax and Tobias."
Jake nodded. "Correct. All of us can stay until maybe seven-thirty, right?" We all looked at each other, considering. Everyone nodded.
I glanced at Cat, expecting a slight shade --if nothing more --of worry.
I saw nothing.
Chapter Five --Rachel
I called my parents and arranged a sleepover with Cassie "out in the woods, checking out nature." My mom didn't seem thrilled, but she finally okayed it.
Unfortunately, Cassie ended up having to back out. As a result, I was huddled in a corner at three A.M. with a hawk and an Andalite for company --the only real human around. Cat didn't count, as a Controller.
Cat said nothing to any of us. In a way, it incurred guilt. I ignored the guilt, knowing that this was what had to be done.
=The fugue will come soon,= Ax said flatly.
=Rachel, get some sleep,= Tobias said. =Once the fugue begins, the Yeerk is too absorbed in its pain to think about anything else.=
I nodded, knowing that his thought-speech had been kept away from the Controller. Besides, she was dozing.
I drifted off, still clutching the Dracon beam.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!!
I was awakened by the blast of a Dracon. I leaped to my feet, feeling for the Dracon beam.
It wasn't there!
Cat leveled it at me. She laughed evilly. "I told you, did I not? And yet you Animorphs persisted in your arrogance, believing yourselves unconquerable." She nodded at the limp form of a hawk.
"TOBIAS!" I blurted, terrified. Was he breathing? Was he alive?
"Oh, don't worry, he's alive," she said with a shrug. "I will keep you all alive, if only for the pleasure of letting Visser Three destroy you --I'll get more of a promotion for that than I would for simply killing you now."
Where was Ax? I searched the dark night, but did not see him. My watch read four A.M. I'd been asleep for an hour, and in exactly thirty minutes the Yeerk would die. We could not fail now. I had to detain her for thirty minutes, nothing more. It would be easy.
That is, if she didn't have the Dracon beam.
"The Andalite is unconscious. I took care of him before I took care of the hawk."
I edged back.
Suddenly I kicked out. I hit the Dracon and knocked it away. It flew out into the night through the single window.
I breathed in slowly. I could see Cat tense, ready for a fight. There was no time to morph, no time for any of those pleasantries. It was me and her, one on one.
I met her eyes and suddenly staggered. There was a mesmerizing force in them. My hands, which had been poised for an attack, dropped to my sides. I felt like I was falling away into those dark green pools.
Suddenly she leaped until she was not two feet away from me, then brought her leg up and hit me in the face.
The attack knocked the wind out of me. I dropped, feeling myself falling away, out of the dark green pools, out of the world, out of everything I knew...
=Rachel, wake up!= a desperate voice yelled in my head. =RACHEL!=
I opened my eyes to stare up into those of a hawk. It nearly collapsed with relief. =Rachel, I thought you were...dead.=
I shuddered. I brought my hand up to my face to smooth my hair back and suddenly froze. My face was covered with blood.
She kicked me in my face, I remembered. I needed to morph. I began to morph to my eagle morph as fast as I could.
It wasn't until I began to demorph that it hit me.
=Tobias, where is Cat?= I said, struggling to keep my voice calm.
=You don't know?= he gasped.
=WHERE IS SHE?!= I yelped frantically.
=Gone,= a new voice said. I looked up to see Ax. =I've searched the entire forest. She is definitely gone.=
I was more human than eagle now. My jaw dropped in horror. "She made it back to the Yeerks?" I asked slowly. "With all she knows?"
=Jake is going to kill us,= Tobias moaned. =If the Yeerks don't do it first.=
"We are so dead," I said flatly.
=There is nothing we can do,= Ax said. =We have no way to prevent the destruction of this little group. We are as good as doomed already.=
His words were made all the more powerful by the ring of truth that accompanied them.
Chapter Six --Jake
I was less than happy when Rachel, Tobias, and Ax told me of the news. I vaguely remember Marco yelling for about five minutes straight.
By the time we calmed down, Erek had shown up. There was something between a smile and a frown on his holographic face.
"I have news," he said.
"Yes?"
"The Yeerks have discovered Elfangor's hirac delest, his final statement, et cetera," he informed us. "They believe that they can recreate Elfangor from his memories."
There was a stunned silence.
=Bring him back?= Ax said with something unlike his normal, aloof manner.
=Bring him back?= Tobias echoed.
The emotions were understandable. He was Ax's brother and Tobias's father, after all. But I was focused on something else.
"His memories?" I repeated. "MEMORIES?! Excuse me, but there are two problems. 1) They'll just make him a Controller, 2) his MEMORIES INCLUDE GIVING US THE POWER TO MORPH!"
"That would be not good," Marco said. "No one except the Yeerks will gain anything. Sorry, Ax, Tobias, but which do you think would be worse for Elfangor: death or Controllerhood?"
Neither of them responded.
"There is one piece of good news," Erek said. "That is that, to recreate him, they cannot view the hirac delest. However, once Elfangor is back, they will infest him. And then the memories will be all too clear."
"Deadline," Rachel said. "When are they going to carry it out?"
"In about a week."
=So, in other words, we keep him dead,= Tobias said bitterly.
I hesitated. I could still remember him. He had been a great warrior, and he had died after stopping me from risking my life to save him. He had saved our lives and given Earth hope.
But the risk was too great. Silence reigned until Erek sighed. "The hirac delest is down in the Yeerk pool. To recover it, you will have to go down there."
"Plus the whole Cat problem," Marco muttered. "What happened to the good old days when the only real threat was the school bully?"
I sighed. "Marco, at this point in the Yeerk invasion, the school bully is probably a Controller."
"That's a sobering thought," he replied.
All of us glanced at Tobias, at Ax. To my surprise, Ax was glowering at me.
=I have but one word to say to you, Prince Jake,= he said in an angry tone. The emphasis he put on the word "prince" was a subtle hint that he blamed me for the "continued death" of his brother. =You humans accused us, the Andalites, of treating you as inferiors aboard the Ascalin. And yet you, who have a Controller as a brother, would ensure the death of mine.=
Cassie laid his hand on his arm, trying to calm him down (although the very thing that made his words so awful was that his tone, while angry, was also calm). "We have no choice, Ax," she said. "There is nothing else that we can do."
He jerked away, angry and frustrated.
=When the question was about your father, Jake, I was all for risking our lives to save him,= Tobias reminded me. =And now that it is mine, you would destroy him.=
"He's already dead!" I cried, stung by their words.
=But it may not be permanent.=
A silence fell over us. Marco broke it. "When do we do it?"
"Tomorrow night," I said, ignoring the angry stares from Tobias and Ax.
"No," Rachel cut in. "Tonight. Cat...remember, she's out there. Elfangor is not our only problem. Maybe if we get down to the Yeerk pool, we can get rid of her, too."
"Word will already be spread about us," Marco interrupted. "It doesn't matter, anyway, does it?"
"Let's just do this," she said. "Do it, and get it over with."
"I agree," I said finally. "Tonight."
I had the feeling, looking at Ax and Tobias, that I had just lost two friends.
Chapter Seven --Ax
I knew that it had to be done. I understood that. I could see their point.
But after remembering him for around a year, knowing him all my life, and missing him so much, I didn't care.
It had to be done. I resigned myself to the fact. I resigned myself, feeling anger boiling up furiously. Perhaps it was not true resignation, but merely a resolve to wait.
Wait until tonight, I told myself. Then, if they are wrong and there is some way to save him...
There would be nothing for any of us to do.
And, I admitted to myself, Elfangor would have preferred death to being a Controller. I knew that. Deep in my hearts, I knew that his fate was to remain dead, that there was no use in fighting it.
I fought it anyway.
We met in the woods. Almost nothing was said between any of us. All of them had known Elfangor, if only for a moment. None of them relished the fact that his life was beyond restoration if they were to remain alive.
He was already dead --why let him live again, only to ensure the death (or worse, slavery) of others? Why bring him back only for a fate worse than death? Why doom the entire universe --and gain nothing?
To see him one last time, some part of me whispered. I shoved it away. It was not worth it.
We flew in silence, owls (or, in Tobias's case, hawk) soaring up in the night air. We had nothing to say. Not even Tobias and I spoke to each other.
=There's the entrance,= Jake said finally.
I hated him at that moment.
We swooped down to land near a large tree in the woods. Rachel and Tobias had once seen it open, revealing an entrance to the Yeerk pool. All that remained was to find a way to open it.
=There,= Cassie said. =That large, red thing.=
I was closest to it. I did not move.
Marco punched it with a talon. The tree slid to the side.
The plan was to demorph and remorph --or simply demorph, for Tobias and me. We waited until the others were done.
We all crept down the stairs.
"ANDALITES!"
The cry seemed to lacerate the cold air of the underground cavern. People sprang into action, pulling out Dracon beams, organizing Hork-Bajir.
Erek had told us where this hirac delest device could be found. Jake would find it and destroy it.
I wondered if I'd destroy Tom. I wondered if I would be able to return his decision to him.
Jake took off in his tiger form. I sliced at a Hork-Bajir, taking out all my rage on the Yeerks running towards us.
=Should have done stealth,= Cassie said tensely.
I ignored her. I turned to the next Hork-Bajir as the other fell. There were many to be killed. There was little time.
=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!=
=Jake!= Cassie yelped. She shot off in the direction that he had gone in.
GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOWAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!
"Die, hruthin, die!"
A mix of Hork-Bajir and English. Hruthin meant Andalite. Obviously Jake was not in a good situation.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
Rachel dropped! The massive grizzly slumped to the ground as it roared weakly. It almost immediately passed out.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
Flump.
Tobias's hawk body hit the ground not two feet from her. He dropped without making a sound.
=Aaaaaaahhhhh!=
=Cassie?!=
I could hear Jake's voice. A wolf bounded out of the room, followed closely by a tiger.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
Both of them slumped to the floor.
=Not a good thing,= Marco moaned. We backed almost into each other as the Hork-Bajir hemmed us in.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
He let out a startled yelp and sank to the ground. I alone was left.
I braced myself for the Dracon beam blast. To my surprise, none came.
"Infest him," a human barked out. I could see the face of the almost-escaped host who was now, once again, Visser Nine. I remembered seeing him in the theatre.
The Hork-Bajir pressed in around me. I could barely move! The Andalite claustrophobia began to take over as I struggled to break free.
The crowd melted until it was behind me. I bolted forward, almost blind. I skidded to a halt and braced my legs against any forward movement. The blind panic was wearing off, and I could see the infestation pier!
=NO!= I yelled in panic. I backed up --straight into a crowd of Hork-Bajir. They pushed me forward roughly as my hooves slid along the ground. I slashed with my tail and knocked one away, but I was no match for the army behind me.
I caught sight of a familiar face.
Cat! The human-Controller!
She was monitoring the pier, armed with a Dracon beam.
Two of the larger Hork-Bajir stepped forward and pushed me the few remaining feet to the pool. There was no hope, no chance.
Cat drew in a sharp breath on seeing me closer. I could see recognition in her eyes.
I threw myself back, trying to resist them as they force my head into the water. I could already feel the sludge when --
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
One of them dropped.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
The other fell headfirst into the pool.
I whirled around as fast as I could. I could see the Hork-Bajir gaping at Cat as she fired rapidly.
"You would be Aximili," she said in a low voice, barely audible over the beams.
=And you would be Cat, the human-Controller,= I replied in private thought-speak, confused but not willing to show it.
"I escaped, actually. It took the Yeerk too long to find an entrance. It starved within a few yards of one."
=Then why are you here?=
"I have a cover to maintain. Although I've pretty much blown it now."
She fired again. The Hork-Bajir were dropping, no match for a Dracon beam.
=Thank you,= I said calmly.
"You're welcome, anytime, and all that, but we have to get your friends out of here."
I glared at Jake's body and wondered if I would count him as a friend. The last hope for Elfangor was gone. And it was his fault.
Cat thumbed the Dracon beam down to the lowest power and fired at the others.
=AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!= Jake screamed, leaping to his feet.
"Cool. It works," Cat said in satisfaction.
TSWEE!
=AAAAAAAHHHH!=
The others...awoke...from the unconscious state, screaming as they did.
Suddenly Cat dropped, twitching wildly. The Dracon beam skittered away and another human-Controller loomed over her.
=We have to get out of here!= I called to them. =Leave! Find an exit!=
=What about you?!= Tobias demanded.
=GO!= I moved for the Dracon beam.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
The human fired! I dodged it and grabbed Cat's Dracon beam. I thumbed it up to stun and fired.
TSEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!
He dropped. I winced as I set the power to the lowest setting and fired at Cat.
She suppressed a scream, which surprised me, but the look of agony that crossed her face betrayed the pain she felt. Nevertheless, she sprang to her feet.
"Thanks, now let's go!"
We ran.
Chapter Eight --Cat
=Jake, I am dead serious, if he's not here in fifteen seconds we are going down there!= a voice shrieked.
=Did you get it?=
=Where's Ax?!=
The morph-capable humans were obviously not following the same train of thought as Ax and I emerged into daylight --or, actually, the moonlight. It was night.
"Hello," I said very calmly.
=Yeerk!= a grizzly hissed.
I raised an eyebrow.
=She is not a Controller. I think that much is clear,= Ax contradicted.
"As you would remember, Rachel, I escaped at exactly four A.M. The Yeerk tried to make it to an entrance. It failed." I shook my head in amusement. "I was trying to find the six of you to inform you of the fact when I found out about Elfangor's hirac delest. I had a feeling that you'd show up."
=Why should we believe you?= Jake asked. =Why should we believe that this is not just a Yeerk trick?=
=Perhaps because she saved me from infestation,= Ax said simply.
After a short silence, they began to walk towards the woods. =Come with us,= Rachel said.
I shrugged. Not like I had anything else to do. My cover was blown. The Yeerks would search for me until they found me.
I had risked everything for...what?
For one of the six warriors who had done the same for me?
I followed them as they walked. Once they were out of sight, they began to demorph.
As the tiger demorphed, he dropped a small, shiny device from his teeth to his quickly-forming hand. He held it out to Ax.
"The hirac delest."
He took it, a look of astonishment on his face. =You were going to destroy it.=
He shrugged and then smiled faintly. "Keep it. Perhaps...perhaps one day it can be used."
"Elfangor's memories, all contained on that single, tiny device," I commented. "If the Yeerks found it, they could recreate Elfangor; they could find out who and what you are; they could destroy Earth and then move on to the galaxy; they could increase their forces using the blue box I'm sure you have; they could win."
=We're aware of it,= the hawk said tersely.
"Then there is, perchance, a reason that you keep it?"
=He was my brother,= Ax replied.
=He was my father.=
My jaw dropped. "How could he be your father?"
Tobias laughed a short, grim laugh. =I...I'm not sure. I do not know much about it.=
"Ah."
Epilogue --Ax
Cat was accepted into the Animorphs and given the power to morph. It was a unanimous decision --even Jake and Marco agreed to it.
I wondered why she had risked her life, her freedom, for me. Why would she care about a stranger? True, we had met during that fourteen hour time, but that was all. My death or slavery would make no impact on her.
Who was I to her? Not a friend, not an ally.
She told me where she would stay. Her foster parents had been made Controllers by now, we were sure of that.
"I guess I'm going to stay in the abandoned house," she said with a shrug. "I like to hang out there anyway."
=The large, grey house near the meadow?= I said curiously.
"Yes. Why, have you seen it?"
=My scoop is close to there.=
We both began to walk in that direction. I had to ask her one more question. =Cat? Why would you risk being made a Controller again?=
She smiled faintly. "Because I count you as a friend," she replied. "If it weren't for you and the others, I'd still be a Controller myself." Her eyes sparkled. "Here's the house."
=Yes,= I replied. I could see my scoop in the distance. =I should probably go.=
There was something in her eyes, something that told me that she wanted to say that I didn't need to go. She only smiled faintly. "Nice to meet you, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill."
I nodded as a human would. =Goodbye, Cat.=
I turned towards my scoop. I would see her later. Perhaps then I would learn more of her, see past the invisible shield around her.
Or perhaps I would be forced to wait.
I watched her with my stalk eyes. The wind blew her blond hair around until it covered her face. She reached up to push it back.
Her dark green eyes shimmered as she watched me.
Then she disappeared inside.