A New Beginning
By Micansana Dini
Authors Note: { }'s represent Chinese translated to English
Chapter 1
Cassie sighed quietly as she watched the human controllers march into the Yeerk pool. In the back of her mind, the same questions poked and prodded her. 'Were her friends out there? Was her family controllers too? Where were all the people she had known?' She sighed again.
As the last of the controllers marched in, Cassie rose from her hidden crevice in the rock and skillfully made her way back to a carefully hidden cave. When Cassie had first chanced upon spotting this cave, she knew Mother Nature was taking care of her like all the times she had taken care of the mother's children.
Cassie took the foul tasting broth that they fed the human controllers and poured it into the old, chipped bowl. Cassie sighed. She was running out, she would have to get some more soon. That meant going into the camps. A big risk. Yet Cassie knew it was the only way to get supplies. 'I'll need a new blanket, too.' she thought as she looked at the threadbare, worn piece of material her own blanket had become. The winter months would be here soon and that just wouldn't do.
Her eyes ran over her newest possession, a few blank notebooks and mechanical pencils. She thought about writing in them now. No, she would save them for the nights she couldn't sleep. She finished the filthy tasting broth and the withered carrot and blew out the candle. Covering herself with the thin blanket, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Cassie jolted awake, hearing footsteps. She looked to the entrance of the cave and saw Jake's silhouette. Quickly lighting a candle, she saw him standing there, dressed in his morphing outfit. She ran to hug him and tell him how much she had missed him, but he pushed her away and looked at her with a cold stare that chilled her to the bone.
"You left us, Cassie." he said in a cold, echoing, emotionless voice, "You left us."
"But Jake..." Cassie began, choking back the tears.
"No buts Cassie. You left us to a fate worse than death, Cassie. You left us to become controllers."
"Oh Jake." Cassie sobbed, dropping to her knees in front of him. Yet as she sobbed, she saw Jake's feet change... change to hooves. She looked up into the evil stare of Visser 3.
<Time to die, little Animorph.> Quick as lighting, his tail flashed towards her.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!" Cassie sat straight up, smashing her head on the roof of the cave. She rubbed her head and growled to herself under her breath. She knew she would get no sleep for the moment. Trying to would be futile. She lit a candle and took one of the notebooks. After chewing on the pencil a bit, she began:
My name is Cassie. You want a last name? Okay, how about Cassie Coward? Fitting enough for what I did. Anyway, My story really begins about seven years ago, when I was 13. I, along with four others, became Animorphs. We fought the Yeerks' silent invasion for three long, tedious years. I was 17 when the bombs fell. Nuclear bombs, dropped by the Yeerks. They devastated more than 75% of the earth's land masses. Of course, the Yeerks were careful not to hit any cities, at least not any major ones. They wanted as many controller bodies as possible. A few, like me, escaped. I felt bad for leaving my friends behind. I often wonder if they escaped.
Cassie thought for a moment, now that she was calmer. Leaning over, she blew out the candle and fell into restless, but thankfully, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 2
Not far away, underground the remains of a town, a young Hispanic man with long, scraggly black hair and a five o'clock shadow picks his way through broken pieces of plastic, metal, and shattered android bodies.
"I just can't believe they did this, Tobias." he says sadly.
<Neither can I, Marco. Neither can I.> comes the reply. <But the real question is how, Marco. I mean one of them nearly took out the whole Yeerk force! Can you imagine what a whole army of these could do?>
Tobias swooped down and perched on the one of the androids, accidentally jogging it's hologram program. A very human face stared up at them, frozen in a gasp of horror, its now lifeless eyes staring in terror at something only it could see.
Marco drew in his breath sharply. "Erek" he said with a tinge of fear in his voice "Well, they look like they were killed by their own weapons. I bet the Yeerks somehow reprogrammed them to kill each other." Marco exhaled noisily. This war has grown tiresome for him. There have been too many close calls, too many casualties. He hates the Yeerks for what they have done. He keeps his anger controlled tightly however. For anger clouds the mind, distorting the senses and skewing the perception. If one is full of anger, they cannot reach projection.
Tobias shudders a little in his bird body, then leaves the ghostly image of the friend they once had and perches on Marco's shoulder. This war has been tedious and nerve-wracking for him as well. This new discovery is particularly disturbing.
"Are you sure it's Cassie?" Marco asks again.
<I don't know, Marco. I haven't seen her for four years. None of us have. We assumed she died in the blast from the bomb that hit near her farm.>
"I know, I know." Marco said with a sigh, "I just wish we knew for sure. How do we know she isn't one of them?"
<Marco, I told you. She's living in a cave in a mountain, hiding from the Yeerks. I've seen her go in and not come out for weeks. Now, unless she has her own personal entrance to the Yeerk pool in there, I doubt she's a controller... Plus, if it is Cassie, isn't it worth the risk?>
"Yeah." Marco admits, "It is."
They near the broken down elevator shaft, rubble across it's entrance and it's car destroyed. Marco grabs a cable and starts climbing the walls with nimble precision. Tobias waits above, staring in almost disbelief at the shattered remains of the town he had grown up in most of his life.
Marco emerged from the shaft, cobwebs in his hair and beads of perspiration on his forehead. One look around sends a shudder down his spine. He quickly pushes the thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind and concentrates on morphing.
Soon, both Marco and Tobias had morphed into what looked like a small wolf with big ears. The coyote. The animal that adapted to nearly any environment. Also one of the only animals that the Yeerks hadn't killed off on earth. So, they were the safest morph.
They spent the day watching Cassie, She came out of the cave only once, to water the small garden she had coaxed out of the rocky mountain soil. Even then, she waters quickly and quietly, taking the ripe crop and then vanishing into the cave again.
She is much different than the Cassie they remember. With long hair kept braided tightly to her head, and a lankier frame covered in the long ago stolen uniform.
As Marco chances to see her face, he sees her sunken-in eyes and overly-prominent cheekbones, brought on by malnutrition, and the frown lines on her face. No longer is Cassie the bubbly, happy, strong, little animal girl. She has grown old fast. She has changed. 'This war has changed us all.' Marco thinks to himself, 'Even me. And no matter how we wish we could go back to the way we were, we can't.'
Chapter 3
As dusk neared, Marco got into morph for his hour and a half watch as Tobias demorphed. <We need to go in.> Tobias said.
Marco nodded in agreement, now fully in coyote morph. <Let's go.> Marco trotted into the cave, tongue lolling out and ears perked. Tobias flew to the entrance and watched carefully, keeping himself out of sight.
Cassie looked up from her meager meal at the visitor. The coyote sniffed her bowl. She moved it and motioned for the coyote to go away with her hand. This hadn't been the first coyote to come asking for food. She was running low as it was. The last thing she needed was to feed some beggar coyote. But when the coyote looked at her and cocked its head and she gave in. A slight smile cracked her hardened face and she set a bit of food by the coyote. She pet the coyote, its fur was soft and warm. Amazingly, instead of turning to gulp down the food, it cocked its head the other way and looked her right in the eye.
<Cassie?> She jerked in surprise. She hadn't 'heard' what she had just thought she had just 'heard' in a long time. But she knew what it was. Thought-speech. More importantly, Marco's thought-speech. Was she just imagining it? Was she going crazy?
"Marco?" she asked. Her voice was low and husky from not being used for so long. Marco quickly morphed back to his human form. Cassie threw her arms around him and sobbed "Oh don't leave, Marco. Please don't leave. I need you. I'm sorry I ran away. I was scared. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Cassie sobbed on Marco's chest. Marco slowly put his arms around her to comfort her, a bewildered look on his face.
He hadn't known what to expect when he saw Cassie. But he certainly didn't expect this, a sobbing, hysterical, grief and guilt stricken Cassie, who clung to him like he was going to run away or disappear. He didn't know quite what he had expected, but it wasn't this.
Cassie's sobs started to die down and she calmed as she realize that Marco was real and wasn't going to disappear or change into Visser 3. She reluctantly pulled away from him, taking several long, deep, shaky breaths.
She saw a red-tailed hawk in the corner and instantly knew who it was, since red tails, and most other birds for that matter, were extinct on earth. "Are the others here?" she asked.
"No." Marco answered "We're the only ones left, Cassie."
"Ax?" Cassie asked.
Marco shrugged "We don't know, we never saw him after the bombs fell. We think he's dead... We thought you were dead." he added quietly.
Cassie was a little shaken "Rachel?" she asked, fearing the answer.
"Rachel is a controller, Cassie. A Visser. We have fought her many times."
Cassie was shocked, she never thought Rachel would be taken. Cassie really didn't want to ask her next question "What about..." she gulped, "What about Jake?"
There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Finally Marco said "Jake is dead, Cassie." Cassie's eyes widened in shock. "He died right after killing Visser 3, a few years ago."
Cassie knelt there, staring straight ahead. Silent tears glistened on her cheeks. Neither Marco nor Tobias knew what to do. They both felt uncomfortable.
Tobias finally broke the silence. <The first part of our story you know all too well, Cassie.> he said, <When the bombs fell and the Yeerks took over, Jake, Marco, and I escaped... Rachel didn't. Upon making Rachel a controller, the Yeerks found out about us. They immediately issued a warrant for our arrest. We ran. We fought. We killed.... Cassie, we did things I never dreamed we'd have the guts to do. We lived hunted everyday. Then... Jake killed him, Cassie. He killed Visser 3... But Jake was outnumbered and surrounded by controllers, Cassie. He turned the dracon beam on himself and killed himself, Cassie. He didn't want to become a controller...> Tobias trailed off.
Cassie took a deep, relaxing breath and asked "Why are you taking the chance of being here then? If you are so hunted?" Cassie was starting to wonder if her two old friends were also controllers. Marco looked and acted so different... so distant. His hair and face had lost their luster and gone from his eyes was that mischievous twinkle of amusement. It was like she meeting him for the first time. He was so different.
Tobias too seemed changed. There was an unusual aura about him. Something Cassie couldn't quite put her finger on.
"The Yeerks search for us no longer, Cassie" Marco said, "Sure, they'd still love to get their hands on us, but we haven't attacked since Jake's death. Cassie, we have found the only place on earth where it's still safe to be free. In the mountains in Asia, there is a small DoJo. They focus on meditation and Astral plane projection. When a Yeerk goes in their mind, they simply 'disappear' onto the astral plane and pester the Yeerk by sabotaging everything the Yeerk does. For this reason, the Yeerks have simply 'ignored' our DoJo in their invasion."
<We too have learned this art.> Tobias added.
"How did you find me?" Cassie asked.
<I saw you when I flew over here to survey.> Tobias said, <But how? Who knows? Fate? Luck? Coincidence?> Tobias laughed a bitter little laugh to himself.
"What do you want?" Cassie asked.
"Will you return with us to the DoJo? It's not much, but it has to be better than hiding in this cave." Marco said, looking at Cassie with hopeful eyes.
Cassie thought for a moment before answering "I will, but how? I don't have a coyote morph and I can't possibly swim across an ocean in two hours, even AS a whale or a dolphin."
"You don't have to, Cassie" Marco said, smiling for the first time since Cassie had seen him.
<Cassie, I have seen you sneak into the Yeerk camps and steal necessities without being seen.> Tobias said, <Do you think you could travel the few miles back to our old town without being caught?>
Cassie blushed, embarrassed. Sure, she stole to survive. But she still was embarrassed that anyone knew about it. "Yes." she answered, "I could."
<Good.> Marco said, now back in coyote morph <Let's go.>
Cassie grabbed the notebooks and pencils while Tobias morphed.
A few minutes later, a dark figure exited the cave into the darkness of night and started making it's way stealthily towards the ruins of a small, seaside town.
Chapter 4
Below the crust of the earth, two figures walk along a tunnel, a hawk is perched on one of their shoulder's.
"So, let me get this straight." Cassie said, "We're traveling in tunnels the Yeerks made?"
"Yeah," Marco said, giving Cassie an annoyed look, "I've told you that a million times already!"
Cassie smiled "You haven't told me that many times, Marco." Marco mumbled something under his breath and repositioned his pack. "Isn't it kinda dangerous to be here. I mean, in their territory?" Cassie continued "What if some controllers come along?"
Tobias laughed. <Cassie, did you ever travel in the sewer?>
"No." Cassie answered, confused, "Why?"
<The Yeerks were gonna use this system for transportation, but air travel proved easier.> Tobias said, <So they use it for waste disposal.>
Cassie made a face "Eww! I was wondering what that smell was!"
Both Marco and Tobias laughed. They walked on in silence for a while, each lost in their own worlds of thought, fighting thier own demons.
"Still..." Cassie said after awhile, "What if there are controllers down here?" You could tell she was worried about it.
"Cassie, if there are controllers down here, which I seriously doubt there are, we'll see or hear them before they do us, and we'll morph a different face." Marco said, "Tobias and I both have different human morphs and you still have Rachel's teenager morph."
<Stop worrying about what ifs, Cassie> Tobias said, <We'll worry about it if it happens, not before.>
The next few weeks were spent traveling. Cassie noticed her friends were weary. Not in body, like her, for they had made this trek many times before, but in spirit. These years had taken a real toll on her friends. Despite this, she knew they were definatly glad to have her back.
Chapter 5
Dear Journal,
We reached Africa today. I was sad to see the condition of this once beautiful land, but it was better than the polluted, oil-filled sea. It is sad to see what I care for torn apart, but the tides of change may ripple someday, and this world may be beautiful once again. Marco says we are about halfway there. I am glad. I am tired. I am no longer so ashamed of stealing. Of course, I'm not particularly proud of it, but it keeps us alive. Marco and Tobias have promised me a real meal once we get to this DoJo. After almost four years of downing this broth though, I don't even remember what real food tastes like!
Cassie set the notebook aside and blew out the lantern. She snuggled up against Marco for warmth. The first nights she had been self-conscious doing this, but she soon found it almost essential to do in the cold tunnels. Laying her head next to his chest, the steady rise and fall of his breathing soon lulled her to sleep.
Dear Journal,
We entered 'the sanctuary' today, as Marco calls it. It was such a change in landscape, it was amazing! We have been traveling for so long, I have lost track of how many days. It seems like ions ago I left that cave. The landscape around us is so beautiful. Life seems to be everywhere. From the wet rice fields to the grassy meadow. I have seen animals I have no name for, and others I know well. Tomorrow, we shall reach the DoJo. I am a bit excited, but mostly nervous. My head is full of questions that I am afraid to ask. My friends seem like strangers, even now in this familiar environment. Tobias has taken off somewhere on his own. And Marco... Marco, so different from whom I remember it amazes me. He is so in tune with nature, it is as if he has become one with the nature around him. And in his grime-smeared kimono and dirt streaked dark face, he blends in with nature herself, becoming part of its beauty. All this, and I still mourn for my Jake. He would have loved this. The serenity. The calm. My love, my love, why have you left me alone? A love lost that was never found...
Cassie let out a shaky sigh, putting the notebook away into her pack. Tears clouded her eyes as she lay down on the soft reed and grass mattress Marco had made for her. A single tear rolled down her cheek before her weariness overtook her and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 6
A dark figure crouches next to a small flickering fire, silhouetted against the eerie orangish sky. Behind him, the sun starts to rise, a blinding yellow ball of flame peeking over the horizon.
Marco shuffled the food around in the tin so it wouldn't burn. He cast a sideways glance at the figure sleeping on the ground... Cassie... He had been with her more than a month now and he still couldn't believe it was her. How do you deal with getting to know someone that you mourned for years ago?! Marco sighed. He was frustrated and confused.
Cassie sat up and yawned, stretching her arms out.
"Good morning." Marco said.
"Gut murn'n." she slurred in reply, looking at Marco with blurry, sleep-hazed eyes. She sniffed the air and smiled, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. "ummm... something smells good, what are you cooking?"
"Breakfast." Marco said, "Get your bowl." Cassie dug into her pack and pulled out the old, chipped bowl. She held it out and Marco dished some of the stuff into her bowl and then some into his.
Cassie ate the food with her fingers. It was very good. It had a nutty flavor to it. She finished her bowl. "That was really good. What was it?" she asked.
Marco grinned "You don't wanna know."
"Tell me, Marco."
Marco's grin grew wider "Wild rice and spiders."
"Ewww! Yuck! I can't believe I ate that! I think I'm gonna be sick!" Cassie said, her face paleing, "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Because I knew if I told you you'd say 'Ewww! Yuck! I am not eating that! I think I'm going to be sick!' " Marco laughed. Cassie rolled her eyes a bit at Marco's humor then laughed along with him.
A soft flutter of wings announced Tobias' arrival <What's so funny?> he asked.
"Oh, Cassie is just sampling some of the fine cuisine we have around here."
<Eggrolls or rice meal?>
"Rice meal."
<Oh poor Cassie, don't listen to Marco. They don't make you eat bugs and spiders here.> Tobias told her, <That is, unless you want to, Marco.> Tobias looked at Marco, and Cassie could almost swear that he was smirking.
"Har. Har." Marco said dryly, giving Tobias a wry look.
Cassie giggled and they picked up their packs and moved on.
Chapter 7
They traveled most of the morning before they came around a turn in the path to the DoJo. Its shacks intimidated Cassie a little, the only buildings of any kind she had seen in a long time belonged to the Yeerks.
Nervously following Tobias and Marco, they entered the DoJo. Tobias flew into one of the buildings, Marco took her to another. Wordlessly, he tossed her a blue kimono and motioned to a separate room.
Closing the reed mat of a door behind her, she saw a small room, a washbowl of clean water in the corner. Shedding the worn, filthy rag the poorly made uniform had become, Cassie washed her face, arms, and hands as well as she could.
Slipping the silky kimono on, she felt the coolness and smoothness on her hot skin.
A rustle came from the reed door as Marco knocked on it "Are you ready?" he asked.
Cassie tied the wide blue sash around her waist before answering "Yes." and opening the door.
Marco was dressed in a shorter, dark red kimono with wide-legged pants underneath. He looked at Cassie with approval as he took a piece of material and tied his long, dark hair back into a loose ponytail. "Just follow my lead." he told her.
Cassie followed Marco out. They were joined by Tobias, in human morph. This was the first time Cassie had seen Tobias in his human morph. He looked amazingly alike to the teenage Tobias Cassie had left. Cassie wondered if maybe his human morph didn't age, but she was too nervous to ask.
Cassie bit her lip nervously and followed Tobias and Marco into a large building. Along one side of the room there was a row of old, official-looking, Asian people. Marco and Tobias knelt in front of them, Cassie followed suit and knelt as well.
One of the people spoke in Chinese {"Marco, Tobias. I am glad to see you have returned from your trip to the outer. Who is this whom has returned with you?"}
{"Sensi-san"} Marco replied, {"This is Cassie."}
{"Is she too, a God's child?"} the old man asked.
Marco sighed, he had told the old man many times how they had acquired these powers, and that they weren't the Gods' children. But the old teacher could be so stubborn with his beliefs sometimes. {"Yes"} he replied, {"She too can morph."}
Cassie did not speak Chinese, so this was all jibberish to her. Her eyes wandered around to the different objects in the room. The reed walls. The beautiful tapestries. The five old Asian men drew her attention the most, though. Decorated in beautifully embroidered garb, they fascinated her. She kept her head down though, allowing only her eyes to venture up to the faces that looked at her with interest.
Marco and the man continued talking in Chinese for what seemed hours, then the old man rose and walked to them. One by one he placed his old gnarled hands on their heads and rattled off a blessing in Chinese.
Marco and Tobias stood up. Cassie quickly followed, they left the room. "What was that all about?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, just some formal things." Tobias said "A welcome back ceremony."
"I'm gonna take you on a small tour." Marco said.
"I'll see you guys later" Tobias said, crossing the dirt walkway to the hut he had come out of before.
Marco showed Cassie around to various places in the small community. They stopped for supper at Marco's hut. Then Marco took her to RyuTaro, a middle-aged man whom had volunteered to be Cassie's teacher.
After the formalities, Cassie excused herself to the small room RyuTaro had prepared for her. She noticed it was similar to the room at Marcos'. She took the futon from the wall and lay it on the ground. She hung the beautiful blue kimono and sash on the wall and slipped the nightdress on. She lay on the soft mat and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Jake. Tears started to well up in her eyes, but she had no energy left to cry. Before one tear had hit the soft futon on which she lay, Cassie had fallen fast asleep.
Chapter 8
[Three Years Later]
{"Everything is a ring, an eternal cosmic wheel, Cassie"} RyuTaro said to her {"Everything that rises must fall, including the Yeerks"} RyuTaro paused and looked at Cassie. She nodded her head in understanding. {"This is the way of the universe. Do you understand this, Cassie?"}
{"Yes, sensi"} Cassie said {"But what do my dreams have to do with that?"}
{"Patience, my child, you will see"} RyuTaro said {"Visualize this ring in your mind. Now if that ring stays rigid and unmoving, what will happen if more and more power is piled on top?"}
{"Why, it will break, of course."}
{"Yes, exactly, and so is the way of the universe, Cassie. Right now, Yeerks are gaining more and more power and staying on top of that ring. Many have tried to push the ring, to restart the natural cycle, but they have failed. The ring is already starting to crumble. If you look at the outer world of this planet, you can see that. Your dreams are your kami* calling you to use your gifts to push this ring and make it turn again"} *roughly translated kami means "spirit wind"
Cassie sighed. She had suspected this, but didn't want to admit it. She hated the thought of going back out into that war. {"Thank you, sensi"} Cassie stood up and left, deep in thought.
"Hey Cassie!" called a teenage Asian boy in English. He waved and ran over to her "You just gotta see what I got on our last run!"
"Okay KenShin, drag me to where you and Marco stashed the circuits." KenShin grinned from ear to ear and grabbed Cassie's hand. Cassie smiled and rolled her eyes at him. KenShin was such a computer nut. Everytime he could beg Marco into taking him into a Yeerk civilization, he scrounged up tons of computer stuff.
Between KenShin and Marco, they had fixed up a computerized system that piped in water from the Indian Ocean and purified it into drinkable water. They also made a lot of devices Cassie saw no use for, but Marco told her she would see the use for them in the future.
As they entered the hut they used to store this equipment, even Cassie, with her limited technical knowledge, was amazed by the sheer quantity of quality equipment they had found. The floor was nearly carpeted with circuit boards, wires, connectors, and gadgets. Marco was sitting in the middle of it all working on a circuit board. He looked up at Cassie and KenShin "Quite a haul, ay Cassie?" he said with a smile "Ken Shin, I thought I told you to bring me the black katey, not the black lady."
"I got it" KenShin said, handing Marco a tool "But Cassie was out there and I wanted her to see."
"Oh" Marco said "If you want to, Cassie, you can hang around here for a while"
"Thanks" Cassie said, sitting down on the floor "I think I will."
They chatted while KenShin and Marco tinkered with the electronics. For a bit, Cassie let her thoughts of these dreams, and the discussion with her sensi, RyuTaro, linger in the back of her mind while she talked of the rice harvest and other things.
KenShin's eyelids started drooping after a while. Marco cracked his neck and stretched his arms out "Well KenShin, time to call it a night." he said with a yawn.
"Aw, Marco, I'm not tired" KenShin said, stifling a yawn.
"But I am, KenShin" Marco said.
KenShin sighed "Okay" he said, putting away some electronics and heading out the door "Goodnight Cassie."
"Goodnight KenShin" Cassie said. Marco finished putting away some stuff. The earlier discussion with RyuTaro shoved it's way back to a prominent place in Cassie's mind. She knew what she needed to do. "Marco?" she said. He turned to her. "You know how you always are telling me I should get more practice morphing and go on a training session with you?"
"Yea, and you always tell me off when I ask you to."
"Well, Marco, I think I'm ready now."
Marco was surprised. "Okay" he said, giving Cassie a strange look. Marco wondered about her motives, but didn't question them, for he knew Cassie always had a reason for the things she did, and that reason was almost always good. Besides, why she chose to go wasn't really the issue. The fact was she had agreed to do it, finally. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then, bright and early"
Cassie smiled softly at Marco and disappeared out of the hut.
Chapter 9
[5 days later]
Cassie sat in a lotus position on the ground. A low, serene hum escaped her lips. Her eyes closed in silent meditation. Focusing on nothing, Cassie felt her spirit leave her body, onto the astral plane. Stretching out in all directions, she felt many different minds. Many of them were fractured... Controllers... She sensed a few free, open minds... those were ones at the DoJo.
Then, in the fractured minds, a faint glimmer of recognition, something Cassie somehow knew. Cassie desperately fought to get in touch with that glimmer again. But the harder she struggled, the less minds she sensed. Slowly, her spirit came back to her body.
Cassie's eyes popped wide open, her jaw fell and she drew in her breath sharply. She didn't know just how she knew, but she knew that frightened, fractured mind. She knew... Rachel.
Cassie quickly got a hold on herself. The sun would be down soon, and then the peak of this training mission would begin. The littoral survival of the fittest... the game.
Tobias sat high in a bonsai tree, scanning the terrain in front of him. Crickets, huge water beetles, and other bugs skittered around in the rice fields. His hawk mind had made it hard for him to sleep that day, but he had managed to get a little shut-eye. Mentally, he prepared himself for the hunt. For tonight's little game of cat and mouse. 'Or should I say, owl and mouse?' he thought. He silently laughed a little at his own joke. Spreading his owl wings, he silently swooshed out of the tree, leaving only a gust of air behind him.
Chapter 10
[The next morning]
The dawn breaks on a still landscape. There are no signs of life except a sleeping red-tailed hawk in a lone bonsai tree and the chirping of crickets in the dry reeds below.
Suddenly, there is a rustling in the reeds and young man with long dark hair walks out of them. Dressed in only a loincloth, and followed by a black woman about his age, he walks over to a rice field. Both of them take some rice and eat it.
The man walks over and shakes the banzi tree "Wake up, Tobias." Marco called up "Early bird gets the worm."
<I don't eat worms,> Tobias sleepily replied <Only mice.>
"Har Har" Marco replied "Get up"
Tobias opened his eyes, tired from last nights 'exercise'. <What do you want?> he asked grumpily.
"We're heading back," Marco told him "Get your breakfast and get back."
<Okay> he replied, and flew off his perch.
As Tobias hunted and ate his breakfast, he felt tired and agitated. He had been having those feelings again. It seemed Rachel was strong enough to cry out, even from a trapped mind. She called to him, he felt so helpless and so alone.
Lately, the feelings had been coming more and more often. They stirred up emotions in him and upset him greatly. He was starting to doubt not only his own sanity, but he was seriously doubting the choice he had made to leave the war.
As he lifted to the sky, Tobias made his decision. He would tell Marco tonight, and together they would decide when or maybe even if to tell Cassie.
One thing was for sure though, Tobias was going back. He wanted Marco and Cassie to come with him, but if they didn't, he would go alone.
'One thing is certain' Tobias thought to himself 'This IS the last battle. This time we either win... or die trying.'
Chapter 11
'ZZTT!'
"KenShin, don't touch that!" Marco told him too late. KenShin shook his head to clear it. Loose strands of his black hair stood on end. Cassie walked in.
"Whoa KenShin, you looked shocked." she said with a giggle.
KenShin grinned and laughed "Just a little."
"Cassie, KenShin" Marco called from the other side of the machine "come over here"
As they rounded the large machine, they saw Marco. "Watch, and be amazed" he said and he flipped a small switch and a screen turned on. Static ran across it. Cassie thought it looked like a TV not tuned into a channel.
"Whoa!" KenShin said "it actually worked!"
"Of course it worked" Marco said, grinning "Marco, the computer genius made it!" Cassie noticed that Marco grinned and joked around more and more. He was starting to come back to his old self. Cassie was glad. But silently, Cassie wondered how this war had gotten so grisly and so ugly for him as to completely change his views, way of thinking, and attitude so drastically.
"Now we just have to see if we can tune in a channel on this hummer." Marco said and he started adjusting the dials. It looked like tuning a TV, suddenly, a picture flashed across the screen and then back to static. "Aha" Marco said as he tuned it back.
Andalite eyes looked at them with a sense of urgency. "Don't ask questions, just do it" said the thought-speech translated voice.
"Yes, Prince Aximili" came the reply.
"AX?!" Marco and Cassie said in unison.
"KenShin, help me fix this thing so we can talk to him," Marco ordered "Cassie, go get Tobias."
Cassie ran out and soon returned, a surprised Tobias in tow.
Marco flicked on the make-shift radio. Static crackled across the room as it came to life. "This is callsign AniMon5 calling HAM station 5435, please respond." Marco said into the radio.
Ax looked confused, then quickly responded "This is HAM station 5435, callsign PowY15, please state your name and location"
"Aximili" Marco said "This is Marco, and as for location...... earth"
Chapter 12
Cassie felt the warm sun on her dark face, it felt good. Suddenly, a swift movement caught the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to see the door to one of the huts close. 'That's odd' she thought 'I've never seen that hut there before'
Cassie went and knocked on the door.
{"Come in"} said a quiet, muffled voice from inside. She opened the door to a strange doorless hallway. She stepped inside and the door closed behind her.
Although it had been bright outside, the only light in the hall came from candles mounted on the wall. Their flickering light made the shadows dance in an eerie way.
As Cassie started walking down the hallway, she noticed the murals on the walls. Light feather paintings that looked as if a light gust of wind would blow the delicate things right away.
They were pictures of meadows, serene rolling grasslands. Bunnies and prairie dogs gallivanted merrily among the wildflowers on the lush green grass.
As Cassie walked further down the hall though, the images became darker. The grass turned brown and the frolicking prairie dogs disappeared. The gently rolling hills became rough, jagged mountains.
Soon, the mountains melded into abstract art. Black dragons with tormented grins seemed to jump out from the walls at her. Their gleaming ruby red eyes seemed to bore right through her.
She wanted to stop, to turn back, away from these things. But her actions were not her own and she continued down the eerie hall.
Demons and monsters loomed around her. The light feather-like quality of the paintings disappeared, transposing into bold, dark colors that seemed to leap at Cassie with an evil ferociousness.
Slowly, the frightening pictures melded into symbols of no meaning and then into Chinese writing 'We are here.' Cassie read to herself 'We are many. We are four'
"We are four?" Cassie asked the empty hall, her voice echoing through it. She read it again 'We are here. We are many. We are SHI.....we are four,... or we are.........'
"DEATH" Cassie said aloud with a gasp. Suddenly tormented screams filled Cassie's ears. She fell to her knees, grasping her ears, screaming, her own meager wail blending with the millions of tormented howls around her. Cassie sobbed into her hands, overcome with fear. Slowly, the screams stopped.
"Cassie?" came a quiet voice, Cassie looked up.
"Rachel?! But y-y-y-you're-you're a c-" Cassie stuttered, her bloodshot eyes widening and her mouth falling open.
"Cassie" she said "I am here to give you a message. This battle that will happen soon, it is important that you win, at any cost. Kill me if you can, but in this battle remember, look with your heart, not with your eyes."
Rachel faded and the agonizing, tormented screams echoed through the hall again.
"Rachel?" Cassie called "Rachel!! NOOOOOO!!!!"
Cassie woke right up, cold sweat gushing from every pore in her body. She drew in her breath shakily. Nightmares.... Was it though? A nightmare? A dream? A vision? Or something totally different?
Chapter 13
The next days had been spent in preparation for the battle. They had learned many things. For one, they knew that Rachel, Visser 1, was visiting earth for a short time.
But Cassie's dream stuck in her mind. She often found herself pondering the meaning of Rachel's words. 'Look with your heart, not with your eyes.' What did it mean? Cassie wished she knew. Those words haunted her, but she didn't tell the others of her dream.
"See with your heart, not with your eyes" Cassie whispered to herself, pondering even now, in the dark crevice of the Yeerk fortress, watching Marco fiddle with some wiring. She wondered if she was close enough to get in touch with Rachel mentally.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Tobias started arguing in harsh tones with someone.
Tobias had been guarding the entrance, he was in human morph. Suddenly there was a sound of a laser blast, and Tobias slumped to the ground.
'Tsseww' Marco fell to the ground beside Cassie.
Two humans with laser weapons stepped into her view "Now," one of them said, addressing Cassie "you can either come along quietly., or you can join your buddies in la-la-land."
Cassie quickly considered her options before allowing them to cuff her and lead her off.
"Oh, by the way" one of Cassie's captors told her "Don't try to morph your way out, these cuffs make it impossible."
Chapter 14
Cassie, Marco, and Tobias were chained against a cold metal wall. Cassie had found what the guard had said was true. When she tried to morph, nothing happened.
Marco was starting to wake up, but Tobias was still out cold. Cassie was scared for him, she was almost certain he had been in morph for more than two hours.
The door to their prison clanked open. Rachel walked in. She looked strange. Well kept blonde hair hung limply about her neck. a tall, shapely lady with a clear complexion, but a glint in her eye that was pure evil.
'That is NOT Rachel' Cassie told herself. The arrogant posturing and swagger of the Yeerk Visser helped confirm Cassie.
"Well well well" the Visser said, using Rachel's voice, an evil grin gracing her features "Look who we have here. Cassie. Marco. Oh, and yes, Tobias."
The Visser walked up to Marco and lifted his chin up, looking into his face. "Marco" she sneered "Always was a little pest, now won't even wake up to see me." She slapped him across the face.
Cassie's eyes opened. She lifted her head and looked at Rachel nonblinkingly, with eyes of pure silver. Cassie saw her as the two beings that she really was. The scared, human Rachel, and the arrogant Yeerk. "Twla one" she said in an unearthly voice.
A suspicious look crept over the Visser's face, and she stepped back a step, holding a quivering nervous eye contact with Cassie's strange eyes. "where did you hear that name?!?" the Visser snapped.
"I pulled that name from your twisted, dark, and turbulent mind." Cassie continued in that strange, wild voice. Cassie began chanting in an ancient dialect.
Marco looked up as the Visser stumbled back as if she'd been slapped. Then she fell to her knees, moaning softly, her face scrunched up in an expression of excruciating pain. She clutched at her ears as if to keep from hearing the phrases Cassie was chanting.
Marco was scared for his friend. What was this doing to the human Rachel? Had they come this close only to lose Rachel forever?
Yet, as Marco watched, Rachel pulled that ugly, pulsating, gray slug out of her head.
Chapter 15
Rachel, the real Rachel, looked up at her friends. Cassie stopped chanting and looked exhausted and drained. "C'mon you guys" Rachel said, showing no emotion "We're not out of here yet." She determinedly walked over the wall, deftly stepping on the Yeerk and killing it on the way. She pressed a button and their chains came off.
Tobias' fall to the floor jolted him awake. He looked at her, with a feeling of vertigo "Rachel?"
Rachel went over and knelt down to help him up and, for one short moment, she let her emotionless cover drop as she looked into his eyes. She broke into a hopeful, shaky smile, then quickly reasserted herself and helped him up.
"C'mon, let's go" Rachel said. She led them out a different way then she had come in and proceeded in taking them through a vast maze of passageways, finally stopping at a door which she couldn't open.
"Damn!" Rachel said "It's canceled my security code, which means they know Visser 1 is dead, and we've escaped. That's not good, and this is the last door we need to get through and it's locked!"
<Not for long> Marco said, he was in gorilla morph.
"How'd you morph so fast?" Rachel asked, surprised.
<Three ways> Marco said <Practice, practice, practice> with every word he punched the door, and with the third 'practice' the door flew off it's hinges.
"Well, that probably set off about a million alarms, so let's get out of here!" Rachel said, and they all ran as fast as they could, Marco quickly morphed back to human before he started.
As they ran, laser beams blew up the dirt around them. Suddenly, the laser beams froze, along with everything else.
"What happened?" Cassie yelled to the others as they all continued running.
"I don't know but let's hope it lasts long enough to let us get out of here!" Marco yelled back.
But soon, they had to stop as a wall rose in front of them. Marco looked very annoyed. "OKAY!!" he yelled angrily "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!! I AM SICK OF NOT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING ON!! WE DESERVE SOME ANSWERS! WE'RE NOT TEENAGERS!"
"I know you aren't" came a mysterious voice. A 'rip' opened in front of them, and out of it stepped two beings. One was a shorter, elderly man with a tired look on his face. The other was a tall, vivacious blonde, with a huge grin and ponytails coming out of the sides of her head.
"Um, like hi!" the blonde said in a high bubbly voice "Um, I'm like Renet and this is Lord Simultaneous, we're from the Inter-Council, and we're like here to like, right some wrongs and stuff, Okay?"
They stood there dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that two people had just stepped out of a rip in space. And, even more surprising was that one of them talked like a typical, earth, suburbanite, valley girl airhead!
"Shut up Renet!" the old guy hissed at her "Don't tell them that!!"
They were confused, but Marco took action. "Okay" he said "just exactly what do you want?"
"Well, we are here on cleanup duty." the man said "You know of an Ellimist, correct?"
"Well, yes" Marco said "He has screwed with our lives quite a few times"
"My point" the man said "We are here to clean up the mess he has made. He was... how do you say... unstable."
"Unstable?" Cassie asked.
"A koo-koo, a nutcase, A madman, a ravin' loony!" Renet explained more, with extravagant hand gestures. Rachel giggled a little at how silly this situation was. Lord Simultaneous growled at Renet. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"So what are you gonna do?" Marco asked again.
"The question is, how will you fare against the rages of the winds?" Lord Simultaneous said mysteriously.
"Which means...?" Tobias asked.
"What my co-worker is trying to put so vaguely," Renet explained, "is that we have been sent to take you guys to where you will complete a course in faith. Namely, it is called The Path of the Four Winds. Before you go though, you get to spend some time on the totally cool Tetra, it's a vacation city!"
"Don't we get a choice in this?" Cassie asked.
"Umm Nope!" Renet said.
"Ahem" Lord Simultaneous said "Aren't you forgetting something Renet?"
"What?"
"The gifts."
"Oh yea!" Renet said.
"Cassie," Lord Simultaneous began "for your love and kindness, for your perseverance, and for vesseling the energy to free Rachel and destroy Visser 1, you shall have closure with Jake. Your final letters shall both be delivered beyond the realms." Cassie looked surprised, but pleased just the same.
Lord Simultaneous then turned to Tobias "Tobias," he said "for your bravery in battle, for your self sacrifice, for helping Rachel sustain mentally through your mental link, you shall receive your dream. You shall be human once more and keep your morphing powers." Tobias' mouth fell open in surprise, Lord Simultaneous touched him on the head with his scepter, and Tobias felt a strange tingle go through him as his morphing power was returned.
Renet yawned loudly "Um, like, let's get on with this already? I'm bored!"
"Yes let's" Lord Simultaneous replied, and a sphere of light appeared around them all and they were transported to Renet's Ship.
Chapter 16
Cassie looked out the viewing window of Renet's ship at the stars. They were beautiful, like a melding river or a song. So peaceful, but deep inside Cassie, two battles were waging. What would she write to Jake? What would he write to her?
Cassie sighed. A hand rested on her shoulder. She jumped a little out of her thoughts. She turned and saw Marco standing there.
"Oh, hi Marco"
"Hey"
They stood in silence for a while, just marveling at the stars, thinking private thoughts.
Cassie finally turned to Marco and asked "Marco, Have we really won this time? Were we given the victory?"
Marco sighed and thought a moment before answering "Cassie" he said softly "I don't know if we've won or not. All I know is that we've been given a chance."
"A chance for what, Marco?" Cassie pressed.
"A chance for a new beginning, Cassie." he said, then more softly "A new beginning"
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