Book Three of a Trilogy
[A/N: Whew! Long and bumpy ride to get here! Anyway, I'd like to thank the following people for this series, Dark_One for giving me lots an' lots of constructive criticism, Utahraptor for giving my fanfics several encouraging and constructive reviews, Daronesea for writing The Love, ect, giving me mental breaks from time to time, Kyla for writing an Animorphs' Torture Story, giving me lots of laughs, CobraGirl for writing yet another conversation with the character story, (more laughs), Meeko for writing You KNOW You've been Writing Too Many Fanfic When . . . . (even more laughs, noticing a pattern here?), my parents for allowing me to use the computer for hours on end, and my dog Sherlock for barking, giving me some interesting ideas for this series.]
[A/N: The scene in Chapters Three & Four may be offensive to some, but then, it's not my POV. I just put it in, because it has a reason for being there. The sections from Marguerite's POV may be a lil' confusing, but it's on purpose, all right? It's sorta like the prologue to another series I'm doing.]
[A/N: And another thing. (Yeah, I'm sure you're sick of me by now.) The Minocite Chronicles are property of Utahraptor, as are Sins of the Past. Defining Moments belongs to Ali, Shifter Chronicles belongs to Annamorph, Gecc Chronicles belongs to 2CoolGirl, Take These Broken Wings & Consumed are Guardians, Take Me to AniTv Land is CobraGirl's, and Animorph Torture Story! is property of our resident insane author aka Kyla. I'm pretty sure I got permission from all the authors to use the bits I used, but if I didn't, see, I gave you credit up here, ok, so please don't sue me! I only get five bucks a week for my allowance! I'm plain broke!]
He takis the knichts in to the field,
Enarmit under helm and scheild,
Victor he is at all melee,
Timor mortis conturbat me.
That strong, unmerciful tyrand,
Takis on the motheris breast,
Sokand,
The babe full of benignitie,
Timor mortis conturbat me.
- Lament
By Harper
Prologue - Allegra
I fluffed my pillows, and whipped the bedcovers back, making my bed look neat. I checked the clock again.
9:00 PM.
I could visit Marco, when he was awake if I took enough trouble, but it took too much energy. And I wasn't about to risk getting caught by Ansysith. Or Drode.
He wouldn't go to sleep for another twenty minutes.
I sighed, then scanned the walls around me.
After you live in the same room for a few years, and you don't go a lot of places, you get a little sick of it.
I snapped my fingers, and a new picture appeared on my nightstand.
I snapped my fingers again, and the new novel I'd been reading appeared in my lap. Maybe it'd been written several years ago, but I still liked reading The Runaway Jury.
Before long, I was lost in accounts of legal snarls.
By the time I looked up from the book, it was 9:30. Plenty of time for Marco to be asleep already.
I made the book disappear, then snapped my fingers one more time. Time to visit Marco.
Marco
I was having a dream of being in my house. Real creative dream, ain't it?
For some bizarre reason, I was redecorating the bookshelf when there was a brilliant flash of light.
"Hey, Marco."
I whipped around. "'Legs?"
Allegra laughed at me. "More than ten years, and you still haven't learned not to call me that?" She gave me a light shove. "But then, you were never known for being the quickest learner."
I stared at her. "But you're a dream."
She rolled her eyes. "Dream, schmeam. Whatever. I'll give you the quick run through. Technically, I'm dead. But when I died, I didn't die, die. I simply evolved."
"Hello, Heavens Gate," I muttered.
Allegra cocked an eyebrow. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, the reason I didn't die, per se, was that I still play an important role in your history. Your future, I should say. So I still know what's been going on with you guys."
I stared at her. "What do you mean? I mean, we don't have any enemies anymore."
"No. That's what you think. But you do. Sometimes, you just can't see what's under your nose."
"W-w-wait," I stammered. "I still don't get it. What enemies are you talking about."
I guess Allegra got annoyed now, because she pressed her lips together. "Don't fool yourself, Marco. You've got plenty of enemies. There's Ansysith, Drode, Crayak, the Yeerks, the Krinal, the Crayanrle, and the Andalites. That's plenty of enemies for anyone. And you know very well that David might still be out there."
"C'mon, Legs, give me a hint."
"Look, I'm just saying, watch your back. I'll stay in touch with you."
She stood up, and sighed. "I gotta go. Before Drode catches me . . . ."
I didn't exactly think I was meant to hear that last comment. Then she smiled at me, leaned forward, and kissed me.
Then I woke up.
Chapter One – Marguerite
My name is Marguerite.
You wanna know who I am? Don't fool yourself. I'm not tellin' you.
Maybe I come across as being a little harsh, but then, that's the way I am. It's the way the Yeerks made my personality, harsh and abrasive.
To get back on track, I've got a lot of enemies. Too many.
Our history's a bit complicated, but I'll run through it for you. I suggest you ask one of the others if you want the long edition.
See, originally, the Yeerks won, and the five of us – Jeremy, Leslie, Lilith, Jesse, and me – lived together on the streets for several years. Then the Ellimist gave me a chance to change everything so that the Yeerks would lose with one condition – I kill myself. I did that, and then he changed the timeline so that the Yeerks never took over in the first place, and were all gone, so that I died in that timeline by being assassinated by some jerk with a gun. Then Jess, being the wonderfully sensible person he is, cracked a deal with the Ansysith, stating that he would trade his freedom for my life. The Ellimist again changes timeline so I am assassinated, but I survive assassination, and we all end up with three sets of memories.
Nice and simple, ain't it?
Anyway, now that the Yeerks were gone, we had a chance to relax.
Everything I just told you about, that happened about a week ago. So we still weren't quite used to the changes in our environment.
I plunked down across from Leslie and Lilith.
Leslie looked up. "Hey, 'Laya."
I guess you'd say that Leslie's a little pretty. She does, however look like a blend of all of us, which is rather possible when you consider who her parents are.
I grinned. "'Allo, Rysans, Brillinth."
Rysans is Leslie. Brillinth is Lilith. That's their street names.
See, when we were on the streets, we had two names: our regular names, or Anglish as we termed it, as well as our street names. Most names have a meaning behind them. Like my name, Skarlaya? It translates to graceful death.
Rysans means Between. It makes sense, when you consider the fact that Leslie's the one always mediating for us. Brillinth is the name of a type of flower we see in the few remaining forests, sometimes. It's very rare, and very delicate. Korin, which is Jeremy means rock or pebble, and Prionon – Jesse – is Quick Trickster.
I know it sounds strange, but we tend to go by those names sometimes. Lilith and I use the street dialects more often then the others, mainly because we're used to them. Lilith's a year younger, and I used to hang out on the streets most of the time.
All of us kids, and the adult Animorphs, they remember the three separate timelines, but the other people don't. Uncle Aximili has a theory about this, that is, the Ellimist preserved our memories on purpose, because we were the ones who brought the changes about, in a way.
"'Sup, guys?" Jesse called from across the room.
I shrugged. "Hey, thought you had 'tention with Doggett."
He sat down next to me and smirked. "Oh, I accidentally forgot to mention to him that I had an appointment with your mom with the new designer line, so he let me out early."
See, I forgot to mention that in this timeline, my mom – Rachel – is a major fashion designer, and Jake's dad does a heck of a lotta medical stuff.
"Jesse, you know we're not supposed to pull rank on the teachers," Jeremy said, sitting next to Lilith. "Besides, we're supposed to fit in, relax. Eight years of them was more than enough stress for me."
Leslie nodded. "I agree. You two are not going to pull any tricks, right?" She leaned over and shook her finger in my face. "Right?"
I laughed. "'Course. Jesse an' me'll be good lil' kids, right, Jess?"
He inclined his head to one side. "We wouldn't dream of pulling any rank."
"Uh-huh," Jeremy said.
That's how this story begins. It's a strange story.
One that I would never have believed, unless it was totally true.
It involves elements of my past that I wanted to forget.
And the story begins here.
Chapter Two - Lilith
Marguerite slipped a datasheet from her backpack to Jesse. "Here's the . . . . " She shot a quick look at Jeremy. " . . . . History notes."
Jeremy's eyebrows shot up. "History notes? You guys know you aren't supposed to trade homework."
Jesse laughed. "It's not homework. It's tutoring."
Leslie nodded. "I'm sure it is."
Marguerite laughed. "Hey, Lil', didn't you say that you were going to the mall after school?"
I shook my head. "No. I was going to head to Jeremy's game of soccer. The Anglish version, I mean."
Marguerite slapped herself on the forehead. "Yikes! Um, Jeremy, I've got a gymnastics meet, so I'll have to miss the first ten min of the soc' game. 'K with you?"
He nodded, giving her a smile. "Yeah, that's cool."
Jesse laughed. "Aren't they nice little kids together?"
Marguerite aimed a killer look in his direction. "You know, Marco never said I couldn't drag you to the mall and –"
Jesse winced. "All right, I surrender. Here's the English essay you wanted."
He slipped another datasheet across the table.
Marguerite picked it up in one fluid motion. "You want Science, or Math tonight?"
See, I forgot to mention one thing. Most of the time, Jesse and Marguerite trade homework.
Personally, I don't get it. The two aren't going out, but they're still pretty close friends. And that's one of the things they do together.
It's just part of their friendship.
Strange, yes. I'm fully aware of that.
Then Jesse lowered his voice. "Have you guys heard about this club, The Sharing? Used ta be called The Giving, but they changed the name again."
Jeremy's eyebrows shot up. "The Sharing. . . . "
Leslie shook her head. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."
Marguerite laughed, maybe a little coldly. "In case you haven't noticed, guys, our lives have been a whole mass of 'coincidences', ever since an Ellimist came knocking at our door, and said, 'Hey, kids, wanna go change a timeline?'"
"So," Jesse said. "You think that the Ellimist is interfering again?"
Marguerite shook her head. "No. I think it's Crayak, or Ansysith."
Jeremy cleared his throat, loudly. "Ahem. I thought we said that we were going to relax for a few days."
"Uh-huh. Anyway, we can check it out next week," Leslie said.
And that was the last word for the evening.
Chapter Three – Marguerite
"Are you looking for a fight?" I asked in a sweet tone. "I mean, Jeremy may not exactly be totally white, but then, he's got a complete brain. Which is more than I can say for you morons."
Some idiots had cornered us, before the game, in the locker room, of all places, where we weren't even supposed to be, by the way, because Jeremy was half African and half Caucasian. Nothing annoys me more than a couple of racist idiots.
"And besides," I continued, "he's my cousin. Which means that if he's a 'halfer, I am too. And I don't think you want to get in a fight with me."
The boys sneered at me. The leader stepped forward. "Aww, it's a little girl. Standing up for the -------, too. Isn't that sweet."
I flipped the blade out of my sleeve. "Yes, it is quite sweet. Now get the hell outta my way, you, before I slice a few inches off the top of your brain."
The leader lunged for me, trying to punch me. I repeat, trying to punch me.
Now, consider this. He had been in fights for kids' lunch money. Maybe a few judo lessons. I'd been in fights for my life. And I'd been trained by the best, eight years of fighting.
Needless to say, he failed to punch me.
I simply slammed him against the wall, the blade a few millimeters from his left eye. "Now, listen, moron. We can make this easy, or we can make it hard. Either you leave us alone, and I let you go, unharmed, or you annoy me, and I send this blade through your eye. Are we clear on that?"
He nodded frantically. "Y-y-y-y-yes. Clear. Very clear."
I laughed. "Very well, then."
And with a flip of my wrist, I let him go. The other couple of kids cleared out in a few seconds.
Jeremy gave me a disapproving look. "You know, that was totally unnecessary."
"That's what makes it so fun," I retorted.
Leslie rolled her eyes. "Ladies? Gents? Could we just find a way out of here?"
I shrugged. And that's how we ended up eavesdropping on the Sharing.
Chapter Four – Jesse
"Ow!" I shoved a knee out of my eye. "Jeremy, get your freaking knee outta my face!"
"That's not his knee, that's my elbow, and shaddup!" Marguerite snapped.
"God! Could you two just shut up?" Leslie said, in a annoyed tone.
BANG!
"OW!"
That last bang was from Jeremy, who'd just body-checked the closet door. So was the 'OW!'.
See, we were in a closet. A closet. A freaking closet. And we were trapped. Like you couldn't figure that out?
It's a long story, but it involves us trying to escape from the locker room, when we heard some teachers coming. We ducked into the closet, and we got locked in it.
Real brilliant maneuver, all right.
Lilith was silent, as always.
BANG!
"Jeez! Can't we just –"
Suddenly, Marguerite cut off my next comment with a hand over my mouth. "Shh. Listen."
"What?" Leslie asked in a normal voice.
"Shh! Can't you tell?" Marguerite sounded rather annoyed. "There're people out there."
We froze in silence, for several seconds. You live on the streets for years, you learn how to be quiet. You learn lots of things, like how to slow your heart down, and how to be ruthless. How to stop your breathing, for one.
Then, faintly, I heard it.
"- the meeting of The Sharing will be held in the –"
"- going to transport the –"
Then, there was a lot of indiscernible mumbling.
And then, one final voice: "- Visser –"
My heart stopped.
Visser.
Chapter Five – Leslie
Eventually, we somehow made it out of the room.
We stood outside the locker room, trying to decide what to do.
It was Jesse who spoke first. "So. They're back."
Marguerite smirked. "Well. We can put up a fight, us. I mean, we can –"
"No! Wait. We might still have an option," I said. "I mean, we don't have to fight. We could let our parents do it for . . . . "
My voice trailed off. Even I didn't believe what I was saying.
"No. First, we go to the game. Normality, remember?" Jeremy said. Trust Jeremy to remember that detail, that people would notice if we were missing from the game.
I don't know how we ended up sitting through the game, acting normal. I mean, everything was just so normal. And every semblance of normality had just been ripped from my grasp.
Hours later, we'd called a meeting, at Jake's house. We told them what we'd heard.
The adults looked at each other, cautiously.
"But . . . . Marguerite's bargain. . . . " Rachel trailed off.
"Wrong. The Ellimist plays tricks, remember?" Marco's voice was cold. "David . . . . Allegra . . . . Tobias . . . . He's played his games with all of us."
They talked on for another two hours, about what to do.
My eyes were starting to shut on their own, when Jake stood up, and sighed.
"So. We'll formulate a battle plan, tomorrow," he said, trying to get all the adults to listen. "Kids, you'll have to stay home, alone."
Marguerite smirked. "See, we know what to do."
She laughed, quietly.
"We want the morphing powers."
Chapter Six – Jesse
"No!"
Jake's response was sudden, and immediate.
"Why not?" Marguerite asked. She leaned back against a table, and crossed her arms. "Why not?"
Jake walked over to her, holding her cool gaze, staring her down. "Because you're too young."
She let out a harsh laugh, not dropping her gaze. "Too young. Ya know how many years I've been fighting the Yeerks, me?"
He didn't answer her.
Her gaze went icy cold. "Eight years. I started when I was five, me. That was eight years ago, it." The lilt in her voice started coming out, making her words sound like music. "And ya know what? I had no choice, me. If I din't fight, I'd die, me. I gave up my life to get rid of them. An' you're telling me that I'm too young to fight? That's a laugh."
Cassie walked over to her. "Marguerite, you don't have to fight now. That's what we're trying to tell you kids. You didn't have a choice, when the Yeerks took over, and your parents were gone. We never had a choice, all those years ago, when we walked through a construction site, and an alien spaceship landed in front of us."
Marguerite shook her head. "Wrong. You had a choice. You could have walked away, you, and forgotten all about it. But then, a'course, Earth'd be gone, 'long with all the Anglish stuff, it."
[A/N: Whenever the kids refer to Anglish, they mean all of the "old" Earth stuff, eg "pure" English, government, democracy, the "old" way of life, ect.]
Cassie sighed. "That's not the point."
Marguerite laughed, coldly. "Oh, but it is. See, if you guys had walked away, you, things woulda been different, right? But you didn't so, things were the way they shoulda been, them. And so, I'm tellin' you, we've got the experience to do it. We're old enough, us. And we can take it, us."
Jake shook his head, definitively. "No."
Marguerite smirked. "Yes."
His gaze challenged her to say something else.
But surprisingly enough, it was Lilith who spoke. "We've been fighting them forever. They're all we know. Knew. And . . . . even . . . . even if you forbid us to fight them, and you don't give us the morphing power, we'll fight anyway, with blades and fists, like we did, all our lives."
Jake swiveled, staring incredulously at Lilith.
She looked back, timorously, nervously.
He opened his mouth to say something else, then sighed, watching us with a curious smile. "Very well."
Cassie stared at him. "Jake, they're just –"
Jake twisted to face her, cutting her off gently. "They want to fight. It's their choice. And better that they fight now, with the morphing, then without."
"It's late now anyway. We'll meet back here at the center, [A/N: Jake's referring to what used to be Cassie's barn, but was later renamed as the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation, aka the Centre.] and Cassie will find some morphs for you guys."
And then, we all went home.
What, you were expecting us to launch an attack on the Yeerk Pool?
Chapter Seven – Jeremy
The next morning, we ended up arriving at the Centre a little early.
However, not as early as Marguerite.
Margot scares me, sometimes. I mean, when we were little, in the first timeline, she was so . . . . oh, you never could have imagined what she was like. Full of laughter, and energy, and just . . . . she was the kind of girl that everyone thought was the best at everything. You know the type. Pretty, smart, all that.
Then the Yeerks came, and she became a Controller for six months.
And after that, she changed.
I don't just mean that she was older, and more mature.
She was tougher. She'd learned to hate. She'd learned how to stop feeling pain or fear or any emotion at all.
And she became the greatest weapon that we had against the Yeerks, because of all of that hate.
But that's another story. And right now, right here, she was sitting on a table counter, swinging her legs, and brushing out a cascade of her golden mane.
Cassie smiled at each of us, then pulled out the Escafil Device.
I'm not going to bore you with what happened, because you already know what happened to our parents. Let's skip right to the morphing scene:
We were all gathered around Marguerite, and a black-shouldered kite. It's a type of bird, not a real kite, just for those of you who don't know your wildlife.
Marguerite closed her eyes.
The hawk closed its eyes.
And then, she began to change. Marguerite, that is, not the hawk.
Her blond mane stretched, and flattened. Blue eyes slid backwards, as her nose bulged outwards.
I heard Leslie breath inwards, slowly, in what sounded like a gasp of amazement.
Marguerite stretched her arms out, watching them, as her pale skin changed, becoming even paler. Paper white. Her golden hair, carelessly tossed across her shoulders turned black, and melted into her shoulders.
This is unreal, I thought. Unreal. My cousin once removed is becoming a hawk.
Her perfect teeth began to meld together, slipping forward, merging with her pseudo-beak.
Totally, bizarrely, unreal.
"This is unreal," Lilith said, echoing my thought.
Jesse laughed. "No, duh. Our whole lives have been nothing, but unreal, ever since we got in a gang fight, and ended up in a time three decades before we were born."
I heard laughter in my head.
That's the whole insanity of life.
I whipped my head sideways, to stare at my cousin.
Marco laughed. "She's got Rachel's genes, all right."
Jake snorted. "Could we focus here?"
Marguerite laughed again, giving us the hawk version of a smirk. Well, what're you guys gawping at, you? Ready to go flying?
Chapter Eight – Allegra
- was it he said when he winked?
One flew east one flew west.
I sighed, and put the book down, glancing around my small, enclosed room.
"Great. My life is so wonderful. This is seriously like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I'm stuck in a room, all alone, and –"
There was a brilliant flash of light, and I swiveled to see the Ellimist. My reaction was instant, and immediate. "You!"
Now, let me make this clear. I am not all-powerful. I don't even have a lot of powers. What I have, is so small compared to the Ellimist, that I'm practically a speck on the wall. I have what maybe Drode has. What Ansysith has.
Beyond that? Nothing.
And you gotta realize that me, the speck, was not feeling too overjoyed and confident in the presence of the Ellimist.
The Ellimist smiled, and let out a laugh. You don't sound too happy to see me.
"Well, of course not, duh," I snapped. "Every time I see you, you end up playing games with us."
He laughed, again. There are reasons for what I do. Everything has a reason.
I laughed, harshly. "So you say. And you say that all the time. But do you ever have a real reason? No. You're just screwing around with all of us, making us into your little pawns."
He laughed, yet again.
We must sound like a couple of hyenas, I thought, irrationally, and tried to suppress a giggle.
I offered you a choice. You took it.
"Yeah, right. You forced me into it."
I gave you a choice, the same way that I gave Marguerite and Jesse choices. They all took it.
"Wrong. You didn't exactly give Marguerite any way out. She wasn't exactly in the most stable mental state. And Jess was emotionally unstable, from her death. And I was emotionally unstable when I took your deal, from . . . . "
I trailed off.
His voice was large, and booming, now.
This game has higher stakes than you, Allegra. You and Jesse and Marguerite and David, and the other Animorphs for that matter, are part of a much larger game. The stakes are far higher than you can imagine.
"Oh? I'm the one who's getting screwed with here. And –"
My point here, is that you always have a choice, Allegra. You've always had a choice. I've always given you one. I gave all of you choices.
I'm about to give you another choice, take it or leave it, Allegra.
"Oh?"
I tried to sound disinterested, but my ears pricked up anyway.
I am willing to offer you another home. Another place to live. Somewhere away from here.
"What's the price?"
Did I say that there was a price?
"No. But there's always one, isn't there?" It was more of a statement, than a question.
There is no price. For now. Just be ready.
"For what?"
There was no reply. The Ellimist was gone.
"Ready for what, you Ellimist jerk? For what?"
No reply again. And I settled down, trying to focus on a book that I'd read hundreds if not thousands of times before, and get ready for something that I didn't even know about.
Chapter Nine – Jesse
I flared, and shot upwards.
Flying is, well, it's the most incredible thing.
Imagine the first time that your parents let you go where you wanted, unmonitored, for more than an hour, and you could do anything you wanted to do. Now add a sense of total power.
Cube it.
And even that won't come close to what flying is like.
Marguerite wheeled, and dove downwards.
Cassie had told the truth. Kites are very graceful.
Having fun? I called.
Mmhmm. Especially since I'm the only one with enough guts to dive, she retorted.
I'm not afraid to, I flung back.
Uh huh. If you're not, then I dare you to dive toward the water, over there.
What?!
The adults soared a couple of hundred feet above us.
Kids, Jake said.
Oh, so now you're the big family man, Jake? Marco said in a sarcastic tone.
Hey, someone has to be responsible in this madhouse, Jake replied.
I seem to recall you being even worse than them, Rachel butted in.
I continued arguing with Marguerite. No way. If I do it, then you have to, also.
I was hoping it would make her stop and think.
It didn't.
Ok, then.
And before I could say anything else, Marguerite was wheeling downwards, in a dive toward the water.
I sighed mentally, but went after her.
We were both diving at an incredible speed.
Seconds before she hit the water, she pulled out of the dive.
Marguerite's pretty good at flying. Maybe it's the hawk in her, from her father. Maybe it's her name. Whatever it is, she's good at flying.
I, however, am not.
I flared, a second behind her, but not quickly enough.
So I went catapulting into the water.
Whoa!
Chapter Ten – Jake
Marco smirked, in his habitually sarcastic way. "I dunno. Something's not right."
"Oh? Like what? I mean, if you're worried about the Yeerks, everything's going to be fine. We've been fighting them for years, we can fight them for a couple more."
He smirked again. "No. It's something."
"Like what? A premonition?"
"No. Something about what 'Legs said, the other night."
"What?"
I heard my voice waver a little.
Allegra. But she's dead, isn't she?
Marco shook his head, seriously. "The other night, I saw her. In my dream. I mean, it wasn't a dream, but . . . . you know what I mean. Like when," he gestured at me, "when you were having those dreams from Crayak."
I nodded. "So?"
"I dunno. It was strange. She said . . . . she said something about the fact that we still had enemies out there. Like the Yeerks, Crayak, David, and . . . . she sounded like there was really something to be worried about. Not just the Yeerks. Something worse."
"I'm sure there isn't anything to worry about, Marco. I mean, it was just a dream."
I heard my voice come across, so calmly.
He smiled, for a brief second, then dropped it. "No. This was more than a dream."
"Anyway," I said, "We'll find out, eventually."
"Yeah. Hopefully before we get attacked by some enemies."
Chapter Eleven – Jesse
I threw the pencil at the wall.
THWAP!
It landed, neatly, right in the middle of one of my posters.
Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Must you?"
We were at my house, waiting for Kim to arrive.
Leslie'd already left to hang out with some girl. Allison.
FLASH!
Allegra walked over to me. "Jeez, Jess, you could at least comb your hair once in a while."
I stared at her. "Mom . . . . uh . . . . what're you doing here?"
She sighed, and straightened my shirt collar. "Look. I don't have a lot of time here, so I'll make this snappy. Don't trust Kim. The other boy. Don't trust him. I'm telling you, Crayak's pulling strings, left and right. And –"
She broke off. "I . . . . the Ellimist plays tricks. Like all his kind. And the bargain –"
FLASH!
"The bargain what?!" I yelped.
"Huh?"
Jeremy gave me a blank look.
I opened my mouth to tell him what had just happened.
But then, at that precise moment, Kim arrived.
Most girls would say that Kim's a pretty cute guy. I suppose he would be, by girl standards, but then, I'm not a girl. (Duh!) To me, he just looks like a guy that I know, that used to run with another gang in a different timeline, with blond hair and green eyes.
And right at that particular moment, he was staring at me, with open eyes. "Not . . . . Can't kill . . . . Nothing to do . . . ."
Jeremy shook his head, sadly. "Kim, is there something wrong?"
He backed away from us, with eyes that looked like he'd been trapped. Trapped eyes. Eyes I'd seen, so many times before, when a gang member of mine'd been trapped by Hork-Bajir, or when a host was being dragged to the Yeerk Pool again. Like, oh, like an animal.
Once, in that alternate timeline, I'd seen a picture of a rabbit, in a trap. It was going to be killed. And it had a glazed look of terror in its eyes. That's the look that Kim was wearing. Trapped terror.
"Sorry. Ally's with Rysans."
His voice was choked, strangled, terrified.
Rysans! What about Leslie?!
I tried to step forward, but he backed away again. "Sor - . . . . Sorry."
Then he turned, and ran back down the street.
Chapter Twelve – Leslie
I was a little nervous. "Hey, look, Allison, do we have to be here? I mean, this place isn't exactly –"
A few seconds later, the lights went out. Completely.
And the doors slammed shut, with a loud clang.
Now I wasn't a little nervous. I was a lot nervous.
We were in a warehouse. Not the kinda place you want to be, when the lights are out. A few seconds later, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Barely.
Allison looked up at me casually. "You know, I know all about you."
"What d'you mean?" I asked. To my horror, I heard a slight lilt in my voice coming out under the nervous energy.
No! No street dialects. Not now!
Allison dipped her head to one side. "I know. About all of you. And your parents. About that scum Elfangor, and Visser Three and all, Rysans."
She knew my street name. She knew.
"Crayak was kind enough to restore my memory. And I know what you've done, Rysans. What that best friend of yours has done. Can do. And is probably doing something similar to that, right now."
Allison leaned closely toward me. "That child killed several of my best friends. Skarlaya."
She knew about Skarlaya, her. She knew, her.
"If she were here right now, I'd probably be dead. But she's not here right now."
My eyes slid toward the intercom in my belt. New device. Ax had programmed it for us, as a new technological device. I knew it was automatically programmed to signal everyone else if I tapped in an emergency signal. I could make it there, before she killed me.
Have to warn the others, me. Hafta warn 'em, me.
"You're the only one here, Rysans. And you don't have half of the ability that your best friend has."
My heart thudded so hard that I was surprised that she didn't hear it beating.
And at that moment, everything clicked.
"Oh my god," I whispered. "You're a Yeerk."
Chapter Thirteen – Marguerite
The intercom activated in a burst of static.
I could barely hear Leslie's voice over the com.
" . . . . get it? Allison . . . . here, now. Trapped . . . . And . . . . you. . . . 'ta Hell outta . . . . "
I tapped the intercom, trying to get a better signal.
Then it cut off, so I swiveled on my heel, and walked toward the door.
"Going anywhere, Margot?"
The voice was light, mocking, and I whirled to see the face of Jennifer.
My reaction was instant, and immediate. I tensed all over, and felt the blade in my sleeve slide down a few inches, toward my hand.
"Whaddya want?"
She smiled at me. "Nothing, Marguerite. I just wanted to tell you something."
Jennifer leaned in a little closer to me. "See, we're back. And there's nothing stopping you from killing me right now. Only you won't."
I gave her a smile.
FLASH!
"Don't be such an idiot!" I snap. "You're supposed to flirt with the guy, not get married to him!"
I give an exhausted tug on my hair. Black hair.
Black?
FLASH!
I was back in the room with Jennifer, fueled with adrenaline. The flashes could wait till later. Now, there was Jennifer to deal with.
"Why won't I kill you now?" I asked.
She laughed. "Because I have a greater master than you."
I knew what that meant, and sudden rage shot through me.
Crayak. She was serving Crayak.
Jennifer leaned toward me, so close that I could see every one of her eyelashes, and her green eyes seemed to be enormous. "There are three of us, now, serving him. And you know what?"
I didn't blink an eye. "That you're a rtia'tk bitch?"
"No. We're back, Marguerite. You don't just have to deal with the Yeerks. The Crayanrle are back. And there's not a thing you can do about it."
Chapter Fourteen – Marguerite
My reaction was pure adrenaline, fueled with a cold rage, so icy that it burned me.
I slammed her into the wall, so hard and fast that it would have broken the spine of a normal human.
But then, Jennifer wasn't a normal human. She was a Crayanrle.
There was a flash of brilliant light, and suddenly, I knew what was happening.
Everything suddenly made sense, in a horrible way. Leslie, Jeremy, and Jesse didn't know what the Crayanrle could do. They didn't know. And I was sure that Leslie didn't know that Allison was a Crayanrle. She still thought that Allison was a Yeerk. Leslie might be dead if she was trapped with Allison. Kim was heading for the boys. The boys might be dead, also. Lilith? Who knew? I might be the only one left.
Jennifer punched me.
FLASH!
"We're in this together, you guys! I mean, it's just the three of us. The IDIC. No one else. We gotta hang together. Together!"
I walk along the ridge, and catch a glimpse of the other two girls staring at me.
One is Asian with glasses that she pushes up her nose, as she stares at me.
The other is blond, pretty, blue eyes, and tough look.
Me. Marguerite.
I sigh. "I mean, we got this ability, right –"
FLASH!
Jennifer was raising her hand to punch me again. She shot it forward so fast that it would have broken my cheek bone, if I had been normal. But then, I wasn't normal either. I'd run with the Crayanrle, once, a long time ago. And I had the abilities, also.
I felt the cold hard anger within me. I could have cut through steel, right now with that anger. And even though it'd been a long time since I'd used my powers, I could still use them.
If I morphed, I'd be vulnerable for those few seconds.
I lashed out with my mind. I wasn't a telekinetic by any means, but I could still hit with it, and hit hard.
Jennifer staggered, then smiled at me. "So, the girl remembers her training."
She lashed back. "Remember Sabyr? And Lyrren, and Zekein, and Tilney? This is for them."
I remembered them. I'd killed them. Of course I remembered them.
Rachel would have gone immediately for Jennifer's throat, probably.
Vixen would have manipulated, cold, hard, and waited for that final chance.
Colleen would have kept Jennifer talking.
Vixen? Colleen?
I kept that cold hard fury in me.
I wanted to rip Jennifer's head off, slash her throat, cut her chest open like the scum she was. But I only waited. Keep cold, Marguerite. Cold fury. That's what's best.
And I paused, waiting for her next move.
Chapter Fifteen – Lilith
I was with Mom and Dad when it happened.
My intercom unit came alive, and I heard Leslie's voice saying, " . . . . get it? Allison . . . . here, now. Trapped . . . . And . . . . you. . . . 'ta Hell outta . . . . "
There was silence for a while. Then I heard a loud shriek through the intercom.
Marguerite's voice.
It wasn't a scream, scream, as in pain.
I knew that screech so well.
Remember some time ago, I told you that one of the translations of her name was Hawk-Death? One of the reasons for that was Tobias, of course. The other was her shriek in battle.
It sounded again, now, causing Rachel and Tobias to wince.
Then Marguerite's shriek, one more time.
There was a loud banging sound, then another shriek, this one filled with pain. I couldn't tell whose's voice it was, distorted as it was by pain.
"You . . . . . –ing . . . . !"
"Get the . . . . outta . . . . kroyina oroain!"
". . . . killya idjit prianoa aoyre . . . . off!"
Most of the above was obscured by static. Probably a good thing, considering the language that the two were using. Then there was only a lot of banging and crashing coming from the 'com.
Then one word came across the intercom, loud and clear.
"Crayanrle!"
I shuddered. Crayanrle . . . .
Another voice came across, cutting across the noises. Leslie.
"Marguerite? Jesse? Jeremy? Lilith? Anyone?"
She sounded so desperate. "I . . . . Allison's one of them. I need help. I'm hurt bad, me. She's comin', now, any sec', her. I need . . . . "
The signal broke up in static.
Chapter Sixteen – Lilith
"Can we locate her?" Rachel asked.
I barely heard her voice.
Tobias's voice was soft. "No. I don't think so. We'll have to find her on foot."
My throat was dry. "Yes. I'll find the boys."
Luckily, I didn't have to do that, because the telephone rang at that second. Automatically, I picked it up. "Hello?"
"Lil? That you?"
"Jeremy! Thank God!" I sank down into a chair, focusing only on my cousin's voice, trying to stay calm.
His voice was unreassuringly worried. "Lilith? So you're fine, right?"
"Of course I'm fine, Jeremy. Is Jess with you?"
He let out a sigh. "Uh-huh. So're Marco and Jake and Cassie. We already called Aximili and Siraki. Can you guys be at our house in ten min?"
I nodded automatically, then jerked my head to the side, forgetting he couldn't see me. "Yes. I think."
Tobias nodded at me.
Jeremy sounded unenthusiastic. "Cool. Meetcha in an hour, you."
There was a loud click, and then Rachel, Tobias, and I moved to the door, to go to a meeting that was already doomed.
Chapter Seventeen – Leslie
I shuddered, pressing myself against the wall, cowering, hoping that they'd gotten my message.
Please, please, please, God, if there is a God, I thought. Could you just, you, let me out of this, alive?
Like I said earlier, I'd made it to the com unit. She'd caught me, before I could finish my message. And I knew the transmission quality was bad. There was a high probability that none of them would ever have gotten my message. Or been unable to understand it.
And she'd slashed me up, pretty bad.
I had several long cuts running along my side. Two on my left arm, where I'd tried to protect myself. And I think that at that point, I had a broken right arm.
You can morph, Rysans. Morph. No. No morphing. Be helpless when morphing. Defenseless. No protection. No. Can't morph. Pain. Hurts. Can't morph. Hear that, Leslie? No morphing. None!
I bit my fingers, to keep from screaming. No noise. She'll hear you. No noise. She's a Yeerk. Can't let her know that you can morph.
[A/N: You have to remember that at this point in the story, Leslie thinks that Allison is a Controller instead of a Crayanrle. Just tryin' to clear up any possible confusion.]
I felt my teeth press downwards, harder and harder, and I shoved myself against the wall. No noise, Rysans, you. No noise.
Then, suddenly, soundlessly, she was there, grinning, freckles standing out against her pale skin.
She smiled at me.
"'Allo, Rysans."
Allison's voice was so calm, the same way it would have come out, if she'd been asking me if I wanted to go to the mall, or hang out together.
Then, she sprang, eyes blazing in the darkness, knife in hand.
Chapter Eighteen – Jeremy
The door opened, and Jesse and I stood, confused, disoriented by the sudden darkness. Leslie was just there, bloody, and Allison was struggling with her.
Then there was a loud ear-shattering shriek, and Marguerite suddenly came in, streaked with blood, aiming directly at Allison.
We stood, frozen, rooted to the spot, as Allison and Marguerite rolled back and forth, yowling and banging into things.
Then the two rolled apart, and were circling around each other.
I saw Marguerite's face, snarling, lips drawn back unconsciously into a strange smile. Blood streaked her face, turning her into some strange apparition, suddenly beautiful and terrifying, all at once.
Have you ever seen a Dracon Beam? The first time I saw one, I was very young. Too young to understand what it meant. I thought it was beautiful. Just the whole graceful design of it. Then, when I found out what it could do, after the Yeerks invaded, the image of beauty was marred, by the thoughts of what it could do.
Beauty and Death. Strange companions, together.
Allison lunged at Marguerite. Marguerite ducked, and slammed Allison upwards into a wall. Allison punched her. Marguerite whipped her foot under Allison's leg, sending her sprawling.
"Um. Anyone else here think this is really stupid?"
We all whirled around and stared at Jesse.
He shrugged. "I'm just saying, these two girls are beating the crap outta each other, and we're just standing here, like it's on Pay-Per-View."
What is going on here?!
Seven birds of prey suddenly landed right in front of us, and began demorphing.
Jake aimed a furious look at me. "I will repeat. What is going on here?!"
Leslie shrugged. "See, Marguerite's having a fight with Allison."
Jake coughed. "I can see that. Why, may I ask, are they having a fight with each other, with you kids standing here doing nothing?"
Before we could reply, there was another sudden loud shriek of fury from Marguerite, startling Allison. Before she could recover from the shock, Marguerite suddenly slammed Allison into another wall, with an audible cracking sound.
And the result of all this was that Allison fell to the ground, dead.
The adults stared at Marguerite in shock.
Jesse, Leslie, Lilith, and I were silent.
"Well. What're you gapin' at, you?" Marguerite stood up, calmly, brushing a lock of crimson hair back from her face. "Shall we go, us?"
The lilt in her voice was strong, hinting at the fact that she was controlling herself extremely.
"Yes. We'll go now," Jake's voice sounded slightly shocked, but remained level. "We'll go now."
Chapter Nineteen – Marguerite
I looked at myself in the mirror. What am I?
I had a cut on the right side of my face. Blood had trickled down from it, making that side of my face almost entirely crimson.
I could still feel the cold, hard anger in me.
Allison had tried to kill Leslie. And Jennifer was dragging the others into our fight.
This fight's between you an' me, Jenny, I thought.
FLASH!
"What do you know about hate, Marco?" I ask. "Have you ever tried to kill your own sister? Or . . . ."
FLASH!
"You know what, James? I had a good reason to keep secrets. The world doesn't exactly lend a helping hand when you're an orphan, right? Especially when you haven't got –"
FLASH!
Secrets. Too many secrets. Too many freaking secrets. Secret upon secret.
I'd thought I could leave all those things behind when I'd killed myself. Strange to hear myself thinking about having killed yourself. Thought I could have left it all behind. I was wrong. I'd been a fool.
All that, the intrigue, and the hate, and the anger, and the terror, and all that stuff? It's a part of me. I can't get rid of it. I'll live with it as long as I live.
It's been there, since I was a little kid and I was infested by a Yeerk. And it's never going to leave me. Not till the day I die.
I can't live without it. I need that fear, and rage inside of me. It's what makes me who I am. And that fact scares me. See, I know that someday, the Yeerks will be gone. And I don't know what I'll do then. Don't know.
The world doesn't have a place for a girl who only knows how to fight. I mean, I can see the similarities between me and Rachel. Not just the looks. The other stuff. The thrills. The rage. All that's a part of me, but cubed.
But Rachel knew other things. She had a mother, and two sisters, and a father, and cousins, and a family that loved her, before the war. She knew how to laugh at people, and cry sometimes, and do all that stuff. She could live like a normal person. She could do gymnastics, and shop, and tease Marco. I mean, after the war, she could still think about that stuff, before all of the rage and pain and terror.
I can't. All I've known all my life is precisely that stuff. Rage, and pain, and terror.
Do you know how long I've been fighting the Yeerks? More than half of my life. About eight years.
I morphed, then remorphed, leaving no signs of injury. The cut was healed. That's how morphing works, all right. Takes away the outer wounds. Leaves the inner ones.
There were still several spots of blood on my face.
Then I reached for a towel, and began to methodically wipe all traces of blood away.
You can wipe away the blood, Skarlaya, I thought to myself. But you'll never be able to wipe away the blood stains on your mind.
Chapter Twenty – Jesse
We all sat, and stared at each other, in Jake's living room, until Jake snapped his fingers. "Guys. Talk. What's this thing about the Crayanrle, anyway?"
Marco nodded. "That was one of the things that Allegra mentioned."
I looked at Jeremy. Jeremy looked at Leslie. Leslie looked at Lilith. And Lilith looked at Marguerite.
Marguerite's voice was clear and distant. "The Crayanrle were a street gang, dedicated to wiping out the Yeerks, originally, but eventually, they changed their goals to controlling everyone else. Like the Anglish Mafia. They ruled through terror. That's why they were called the Crayanrle. Anrle means Fear, or terror. The Craya root stands for Crayak. Derived from their alliance with Crayak."
"After a month of existence, Crayak gave them the technology to alter DNA. All of the members were altered, in one way or another. Their genetic patterns were resequenced, giving them various mental and physical powers."
"I joined them, a few months after I became a Controller. I thought it would help the cause, but eventually, I left the gang, and rejoined the Vrelth. My DNA was also resequenced."
Jake interrupted her at this point. "With what effect?"
She turned her gaze on him. "I gained fast reflexes, and increased agility. If I have to, I can speed up my metabolic rate, making me move faster. And I have average mental powers, for the MentaKroi."
Aximili looked fascinated. The MentaKroi?
"The MentaKroi is a method of fighting that only members of the Crayarle use. It involved 'hitting' others' minds with your own mind, in an attempt to distract them, or harm them."
"What happened eventually?" Cassie asked.
Marguerite inclined her head, turning her steady gaze to each one of us in turn. "I decided to switch sides. In the process I killed Sabyr, Tilney, Zekein, and Lyrren. Four of the other members of their gang."
Cassie looked slightly shocked. "So, you're saying that Jennifer, Allison, and Kim are Crayanrle?"
Jeremy nodded. "Essentially. It is possible that Crayak decided to save them, recovering their memories."
"That's what Allison said," Leslie interjected. "When we were in the warehouse."
Jake nodded. "Well. We'll resolve this problem later. All of us."
Marguerite looked puzzled. "This is a vendetta between Jennifer and I. Besides, you couldn't hope to take on a Crayanrle, even with your morphing powers. Kim, maybe. Jennifer, no."
Jake drew himself up. "Marguerite, I am your uncle, and I'm telling you not to go after this girl."
Marguerite laughed, suddenly. "Who's going to stop me?"
Then she stalked easily out of the room, and we heard the door slam.
Chapter Twenty-One – Jeremy
Jake spun me around. "Jeremy. What's she going to do?"
It was strange. I mean, Jake was asking me for help. And he was more than twice my age.
Jesse shrugged. "She'll go after Jennifer. And she'll kill Jennifer."
Rachel drew herself up. "Can't she get injured by Jennifer?"
Leslie shook her head. "Yes. But this is Marguerite you're dealing with. And she won't give up."
"I can't believe that she would be that irrational," Marco said. "She won't go that far, will she?" He looked at each of us.
We just stared back.
Cassie looked worried. "But why? Why would she go that far?"
Leslie laughed, sadly. "This is Marguerite. And she left out part of the story. See, when she joined the Crayanrle, it was right after she'd been infested. And she never told you why she decided to switch sides."
"Why?" Surprisingly, it was Tobias who asked the question.
I glanced at Jesse. Jesse glanced at Leslie. Leslie glanced at Lilith. And Lilith glanced back at me.
I sighed. "The Crayanrle killed two kids from our gang. Theo, and Janet."
"That doesn't explain it all. Why is this thing personal to Marguerite?" Jake said. He sounded rather like he was out of patience.
"Jennifer was leading Marguerite's squad that was deputized for the job at the time," Leslie said, like it should have explained everything.
That does not explain a large amount, Ax said.
Lilith bit her lip, and I could see tears gathering behind her eyelids. "It was Jennifer who ordered their deaths. And that's when Marguerite switched sides. Because Jennifer ordered the deaths of two of her former teammates. The two had a big fight about it, from what I heard. Even we don't know the whole story. She . . . . Skarlaya never talks about it."
She took a deep breath. "Anyway, when she switched sides, she killed four of her Crayanrle teammates. We still haven't figured out whether she did it accidentally, or on purpose, or for revenge, or just in self-defense. Jennifer took that as a personal insult, and then to make Margot upset, she went ahead and killed Theo and Janet, her. Then Skarlaya took that as personal, also."
I made a mental note to talk to Lilith later. She'd just lapsed into a little street dialect, and used Marguerite's street name.
"Can't they just forgive each other?" Cassie asked.
Leslie gave her an incredulous look. "Marguerite isn't a very forgiving person." She said it in a flat tone, in what Marguerite called her "stop-gap" way.
Jake let out a sigh, and got his why-me look. "What if we tried to stop her? Ordered her to stop? Or got in her way?"
Jesse shook his head. "She'd probably injure you pretty badly. She wouldn't kill you, 'cause you're what she thinks of as one of her "gang members", but she could still injure you badly. Especially in this mood."
"She wouldn't. We're still her parents," Tobias said.
He took a look at all of us. What he saw in our faces didn't seem to reassure him much at all.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Marguerite
I flapped my wings hard, and skimmed toward the Erian Kasi.
Erian Kasi. It was . . . . in the old timeline, it was where we'd met before. Jennifer and I. And it was where I'd find her. I knew.
See, people are –
FLASH!
"Oh, please, Nathan. Like you can't see it? People are just like chess pieces. You move them, accordingly. Maybe someone has a virtue, whatever. Then you use it."
FLASH!
Marco's voice, but younger. "You what? You WHAT? Are you telling me that you switched places with your sister? Just so you could spy on a mission? You swit –"
FLASH!
Falling! I was falling!
I whipped my wings around, and regained altitude. That flash had, unfortunately, stopped me from paying attention to the small, but subtle fact that I was flying. And that's not exactly the best thing to do.
Scanning the area.
Then I saw it.
Old. Abandoned.
And I felt the icy steel inside of me.
One more fight, 'Laya. One more battle.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Marguerite
"Charming, isn't it?"
I heard my voice, so calmly.
Jennifer smiled back at me, equally calmly. "Lovely."
Then she began smiling, laughing at me, taunting me. "You know, Marguerite, you were a disappointment to all of us. You could have had everything. You could have –"
FLASH!
"Don't you see, Vixen? You're becoming as bad as she is. You're becoming Avril!"
My voice, calm, cold. "Lecturing me isn't going to do any good, James."
Have to think, I thought. Cold. Arrogance. Yes, arrogance is what will --
FLASH!
"— had it all! You could have wiped out all of the Yeerks, with your fighting ability, and your blood line. Your mother was probably one of the greatest warriors this world has ever seen. The galaxy. And you give it up for what? False friends? Your cousin once removed? Some boy who you didn't even care about? Your aunt? Your sister? Puh-leaze. You could have had it all. And you gave it up for some kids who only offered you false promises."
I smirked. "Oh, and I suppose you were so successful? I seem to recall your mother was a sub-visser, Jennifer. And I believe your father was about to be promoted ten ranks, right before he was unfortunately killed by the Vrelth."
She blanched, slightly. "Well, — "
FLASH!
"God, Marco, shut up! Is it physically possible that you could –"
FLASH!
"— it seems that we're both equal. But you know what? I'm one up on you." She gestured to one of the computer screens in the room.
It was an incongruous image, computer screens in an old car garage.
Then I saw an image on one of the screens that made my blood freeze, and my anger grow icier still.
Visser Three.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Marguerite
"So," I sneered. "You're using Visser Three as part of this."
Jennifer laughed. "Of course. He's just a tool. Even you should remember that, from your days with the gang. 'Use whatever means possible to seize power.'"
"That was a long time ago, it," I said, calmly. "I left, and you didn't. And it was me, not you, who got rid of the Yeerks. Remember, Jenny?"
I used that name on purpose. I knew it would inflame her, make her attack me. And I didn't care in the least about it.
She lunged for my throat.
I ducked, but she'd anticipated my move.
FLASH!
"Vixen, I'm sorry, but you're going too far."
I smile. "Too far? No, too far is what he did to me. I'm not going too far. I'm simply inflicting the same amount of pain on him."
He shakes me by the shoulders. "Vix, you're one of my closest friends, ok? And I'm telling you, you're going too far."
FLASH!
I let out a mental groan. Oh, please, not now, when it was so important. No flashes! Please!
Jennifer landed on me, sending me skidding across the balcony.
I revved my metabolic speed up. I felt the rush of power surge within me. The thrill!
No, Skarlaya, I thought. No thrills right now. No flashes. Just fighting.
I launched myself upwards, sending Jennifer into the air. She twisted around in midair, trying to stop her fall. She fell, barely inside the edge of the balcony, and launched a mental whip directly at me. I jerked back as it hit my mind, and . . . .
Kim entered the balcony, Dracon Beam in hand.
"Kill her!" Jennifer shrieked.
He raised a mask of terror upwards to us. "I-I-I-"
"Kill her! You've seen what she did to the others! You saw! Kill her!"
She was a terrifying apparition, blond hair streaked red with blood, green eyes wide, face with spots of drying blood.
He lifted the Dracon Beam, to aim at me. "I'm sorry."
Chapter Twenty-Five – Marguerite
TSSEEEEEWWW!
Jennifer dropped to the ground, jerking for a few seconds.
Kim walked over to her, checked her pulse.
Everything clicked for a strange second. He hadn't been aiming at me. He'd been aiming at Jennifer. But why? He'd been her sister. He'd loved her. Why?
Kim raised a strange face to me. "She was my sister."
I just stared, raising one hand to my face, drawing it away, stained with blood. The words sounded so strange, so inane in this place.
He shook his head. "Jennifer was my sister. All I ever had." His voice was so childlike. "All I had . . . . "
I opened my mouth. "Why? Why would you kill her?"
Kim laughed, sadly. "She went too far. I think . . . . Jennifer died a long time ago. The only one left in her place was a faint shadow of herself. And of course, Zreina."
He began laughing to himself, quietly. "And I was the one who created her. And I'm the one to stop her."
I simply looked at him. "I understand."
Kim nodded. "You would. You two were close, a long time ago. Just . . . . make sure you don't lose Marguerite, and just become Skarlaya. Make sure."
"You know, I always loved you."
His voice was so resigned, it startled me.
"W-w-what?"
He just gave me a sad gaze. "I loved you. Ever since we were children, and you used to play games with her. I did."
I shook my head. "Kim . . . . I can't return that love. I'm sorry, but I can't care for you outside of a friendship."
I knew it was cruel to say that. I knew. But better to get it over with, here and now. I couldn't care. Couldn't. And if I told him here, and now, it would minimize the pain.
Kim nodded. "I know. I always knew that too, Graceful Death."
Then he turned his gaze to Jennifer's body, lying sprawled on the ground. "She was all I had. All I ever had."
He shook his head. "She had so much potential, you know. When we were young . . . . " Kim took a few steps close to me, and handed me a computer disk. "That's our hirac delest."
I gave him one last glance, brownish blond hair tumbling across a pale face. He smiled at me, quietly. "She was all I ever had."
Then he turned away, and turned the Dracon Beam on himself. "You should go now."
I shook my head. "No. The least I can do for you is be here for this. That's the least I can do."
He nodded at me. "I understand."
Kim turned the Dracon Beam on himself.
"Goodbye."
TSEEEEEWWW!
Chapter Twenty-Six – Marguerite
Leslie and Lilith and Jesse and Jeremy arrived later with the other Animorphs. We gave Kim and Jennifer a proper burial. Like I said, it was the least I could do for them.
And I knew Kim would have wanted me to bury him with his sister, as much as I had hated her.
I left some flowers at their grave.
It was a simple burial. We didn't bury them in a cemetery. The Yeerks might have questioned that. Instead, we buried them on Cassie's farm, by a waterfall.
Sometimes, to this day, I still go there, just to see the way the water falls, and listen to the sound of the breeze. And think about the way things might have been.
Kim had been right. Jennifer and I had been close friends when we were young. It had been partly because of her that I'd joined the Crayanrle gang. But then, I'd gotten out before it was too late for me. She hadn't. And that had made all the difference.
What if? I wonder, sometimes, when I'm out there on that cliff by the waterfall. What if things had been different, and she'd been the one who'd left the gang, instead of me? What if?
But then, I can't answer that question.
Life is too complicated to ask questions like that.
Kim had loved me. I didn't question that. But I couldn't return it.
Do you know what that's like, when you know that someone cares about you, but you can't return it? Because you honestly can't feel anything back?
It's the hardest thing there is to live with.
Sure, you say, I could have faked it. Pretended that I loved him, all that bull. But I can't. I couldn't. And I'll never be able to.
I'm like a razor. I hurt whoever picks me up, sooner or later.
Double edged.
And I can't help it. I hurt Jennifer, years ago, when I killed her three gang members, who had once been my friends. I hurt those three, when I turned on them, because of a feud.
Just the way I'm made, I guess.
The way I'm put together.
I know some of you will say, "That was harsh, man," and turn away from me, thinking about what a cruel person I am.
And it's true, I am. I am a cruel person. Just not in the way that you think.
But I'm not one of those kids who can fake stuff really well. I don't believe in shades of gray. To me, things are black and white.
Simple.
I haven't opened his hirac delest yet. I'm waiting, for the proper time. When someday, I know, that it's the right time to share his story with the others.
He'd known, that he was going to die, when he came into that building. He'd known.
That's why he'd had his hirac delest ready, and the Dracon Beam with him.
I knew that. It was the same thing I'd done, when I'd killed myself for the others.
Strange. We'd been so unalike, yet similar in many ways.
He'd loved Jennifer. I'd hated her.
He'd hated death and killing. I loved it.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
Who am I? I'd asked myself earlier. I still hadn't answered that question.
I am Skarlaya, yes. Hawk Death. Beauty Death. Graceful Death. A member of the Crayanrle, and the Vrelth, the daughter of The Warrior, and The Hawk. The fighter whom no one would fight with; the rebel who swore to wipe every Yeerk off the face of the galaxy.
But I'm also Marguerite. A girl who wants to be a gymnast, or a designer. A member of the Animorphs, the daughter of Rachel and Tobias. I'm still a fighter and a rebel. And I'm still going to wipe every Yeerk off the face of the galaxy.
Like I said, I'm two people.
I'm a mix of things.
Half Human.
Quarter Hawk.
Quarter Andalite.
Another quarter human.
I don't add up.
Half Marguerite, half Skarlaya.
But then, only one thing matters.
I'm still going to wipe every Yeerk off the face of the galaxy.
He takis the campion in the store,
The captian closit in the tour,
The lady in bower full of beautie,
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He sparis na lord for his pittence,
Na clerk for his intelligence,
His awful straik may no man flee,
Timor mortis conturbat me.
- Lament
By Harper
Epilogue – Allegra
I was at home, grinning at how everything had turned out, when there was a sudden flash of light and smoke, and a girl appeared in the middle of my room.
"Whaddya want?" I snapped.
The girl laughed. "My name is Meridian. I'm the one who runs everythin' 'round here. The one who you were supposed to wait for."
I scrutinized her carefully. Asian, long black hair, glasses, hearing aid, in fact, the same as the girl called Vixy, with one major difference. Her eyes were silver. Yes, I said silver.
Meridian inclined her head gently. "You've still got to fulfill quite a lot of prophecies, 'Legs."
She snapped her fingers.
And suddenly, I was in another room. Black. With what looked like TV screens all around me. Showing pictures of us. The Animorphs. But so many different pictures, that had never happened to me.
My jaw dropped. "T-t-this is where you spend all your time?"
She laughed at me. "Yes, this is my home. It's the various places where the Animorphs live. Alternate possibilities."
I walked over to one of the "channels", taking a look at what was happening on it.
Melissa Chapman was dodging Rachel, giving her a kick to the back. Rachel stumbled, but kept control, and kicked Melissa.
Meridian laughed. "Oh, yes, the Minocite Chronicles. Utahraptor did that one. She's one of my colleagues in our dimension. Would you like sound?"
I nodded, mutely, caught up in the story.
Suddenly, the sound clicked on.
Rachel was running at Melissa. A few seconds before impact, a single long claw shot out of Melissa's hand, and Rachel was impaled.
Melissa looked into Rachel's eyes. "Game. Over."
I guess I let out a startled gasp, because Meridian snapped her fingers again, and the sound cut off.
I stared at this . . . . person?
"Your assessment is incorrect. I'm not a person."
Another screen blared, with sudden volume.
My life's not flashing before my eyes, but everything else is. Songs I never sung. Words I never spoke.
Every waking moment I...
Tobias? Don't go before I do.
Fly too fast and soar too high...
I told you. I won't be without you... Rachel...
Drifting further from your love...
I love you.
Forgetting why I'm meant to fly...
It's getting dark. I love you too.
Every waking.... moment..
"That's Take These Broken Wings and Consumed, by Guardian. Another colleague."
"I don't understand," I stammered. "Are these all real?"
Meridian let out a sigh. "Sorry. I keep forgetting I'm dealing with mortals, here. See, this is where we regulate the affairs of the universe, and parallel universes. My colleagues and I, the AniFanFiction Writers, as we call ourselves sometimes, regulate the affairs of the Animorphs sector of the universe."
She continued. "See, you know how the Ellimists and Crayak are a few dimensions higher than you? They're in the fifth dimension, to be exact. We exist in the ninth dimension. And I created this realm, just as a home for myself."
Several voices from several screens merged together.
And so, you have just read my warning. Do not be fooled. The other Animorphs are not the same as us. If you see them, just turn and walk in the opposite direction. Never lose faith in us.
Because unlike some people, we are not idiots.
What, why are you smirking? We're not!
Myra smiled and blushed. I took her into my arms and pressed my lips against hers, the sweet taste of hot fudge still coming from her lips. I hugged her tightly in an embrace as our heads separated.
"I'm found, Marco. So is your mom. So are you," Myra told me softly. "We're found."
Whoever's hearing this, I just want you to hear one last thing. The last thing the real Jason without the Magus in him had ever said to me. "Kar," he said, using my nickname. I was debating whether to go back to Magus, and be taken over. "People are built of moments. Moments give you emotion. But only the defining moments will give you strength. Defining moments make us who we are, and destine us to be who we are supposed to be. Let the moments find you, don't go looking for them." Remember the moments. If I did, maybe so many people wouldn't be dead.
But that's not what's important. What's important is that somehow, I was selected as a member of the second group of Shifters. My host was selected, our DNA was combined, and I was taken from my parents and put on Earth. I lived up my twenty-four, excuse me, twelve years as a human until the Navarazzi came and tried to collect everyone. Unfortunately, they chose the exact month I became a warrior.
Cassie—
Jagrey and Meeko half-carried Cassie into the helicopter. "We can let her roam free to terrorize the innocent!" they yelled at the same time, giving each other a high-five as the helicopter took off.
Marco—
Marco breathed his last breath and Kyla grinned happily, even though (or maybe because) she was covered with blood.
Meridian gave me an oddly crooked smile. "CobraGirl, 2CoolGirl, Ali, Annamorph, an' Kyla. They're jus' tryin' to let me know what's going on right now.
"'grinned happily, even though (or maybe because) she was covered in blood'?" I asked.
Meridian winced. "That would be the work of one Kyla. Nice writer, but a lil' strange in the head."
Hey! Am not! A voice rang out.
"Geez, Kyla, ok. Kyla's not strange in the head. She's bizarre in the head, and strangely psychotic."
Yeah! Much better.
Meridian rolled her eyes. "Quid pro quo. An' the goddess of torture speaks." She turned her silver gaze to me. "What I'm sayin' here, is, d'you want to be my assistant here?"
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"I said, do you want to help me here? I need an assistant, as well as someone to protect me from the dinosaur insanity of Utah, and the torture of Kyla, and the AniTv ranting of CobraGirl."
I smirked. "Yeah, I suppose."
Meridian grinned, and clapped her hands. "Goodie! Then you can start by finishing formatting The Love, by Daronesea, over there. And then take a look at Sins of the Past. And The Betrayal. And, ooh, finish reading Animorph Torture Story, and see if you can find that story about uh . . . . you know, the one about that host, by uh . . . . Treste! And –"
She interrupted her monologue suddenly. "And see if you can familiarize yourself with this area. You'll probably be spendin' a lotta time here. Oh, and spell check that story I've been workin' on, the one 'bout Marco's nightmares, and ooh, we'll hafta introduce you to the others."
"There's Ali and Keeks, an' Kyla and Meeko and Utah and CobraGirl an' Khar'pern an' SilverDragon an' Golden Eagle an' Meeko, for starters." She laughed. "Oh, and you know, I forgot to tell you what this place is called."
"Well?" I asked, on the verge of a mental overload.
"I call it AniFuture – The Next Wave of Morphs. The name fits."
So, that's how it all started. I met a girl named Meridian, who introduced me to a world of strange and bizarre things (especially on the case of Kyla) and an dimension of Animorphs.
You know my story now. You know who I am, and what I am.
But, like Meridian said, the story isn't over yet. Marguerite, Jesse, Jeremy, Leslie, and Lilith still have a long way to go. They have Yeerks to kill. Battles to fight. Songs to sing. And prophecies to fulfill.
They've got a long road to travel. And I'll be right there with them.
I'm still debating whether that's a good thing or bad, especially when you consider Marco's jokes.
This is a place separated from the rest of the universe, a place where the past and future blend to form a new place.
Where the fight between the Yeerks, Andalites, and Animorphs goes on forever.
Animorphs in the Future. . . AniFuture. . .
[A/N: That was an interesting book, wasn't it? Anyway, yes, I know that you were probably thinking about something along the lines of "Where'd the Yeerks go?" but the story ended up a totally different way. To tell you the truth, it probably would have been a "kids fight the Yeerks" story, if it hadn't been for the input of Dark_One, who gave me a lot of ideas for this series. But, mainly because of Darkie, I've decided to do a sequel trilogy to this, (Well, more like a prequel trilogy,) about what happened to the kids, in the alternate timeline, and what happened to their parents. So, Darkie, this next trilogy's going to be for you.]
[A/N: One more thing. The Future Trilogy is officially, as of now, Finis.]
To be continued (or begun!) in the prequel, The Past Trilogy in the first volume known as The Traitor . . . .
[A/N: Well? Loved it, hated it, put it on a shrine? Either way, e-mail me at anifuture@hotmail.com, and please, please, please look at my homepage with an updated version of the story at http://anifuture.hypermart.net.]