Chapter One -- Tobias
I flapped my wings, struggling up for altitude as I searched the ground for prey.
A rat! The little rodent caught my hawk's eye immediately. I swooped down, watching every twitch in its now-shaking frame.
My name is Tobias.
Yeah, it's a human name. And I guess that, inside, I am a human guy. But on the outside, you'd never know I had ever lived a human life.
I, along with five other kids – four humans and one Andalite – now have the capability to change forms. A curse or a blessing, look at it the way you want. From my perspective, though, it's definitely a curse.
Well, maybe not. After all, we are resisting the Yeerks, trying to keep them from defeating Earth and, hopefully, the entire universe – without this power we probably wouldn't last five minutes. But I'll spare you the boring details of meeting a dying alien prince who happened to be my father, watching him be...killed...by Visser Three, running for our lives, raiding the Yeerk pool, being stuck as a hawk, and skip to the punch line: The Yeerks are here.
The rat moved, momentarily distracting me from my dull thoughts.
I struck!
The rat never knew what hit him. I did my best not to think about it as I began to eat.
I don't like concentrating on where my next meal will come from. It's not a pleasant thought.
All I can say is this – humans definitely take the grocery store for granted.
I soared up on the thermals, rat blood still on my talons. I could see the whole world from here, or at least that's how it seemed. Actually, I was only looking at a forest. But with the detail that my hawk's eyes saw, I could see everything in that forest.
I caught a flash of blue and broke into a dive. [Hey, Ax!]
[Tobias?] The blue centaur thing looked around with its stalk eyes. [Hello.]
[What's up?] I landed gently on a tree branch and began to preen my feathers.
[The stratosphere of this – oh. I keep forgetting that "What's up?" is a human expression with absolutely no relevance whatsoever to true facts. Such a backward species. Not even the Yeerks are so – ]
[Uh-huh,] I said, used to his Andalite arrogance but not really appreciating the "backward" part. [So, Ax, what have you been up to?]
He looked like he might make a comment on that phrase as well, but he didn't. [I have been feeding.]
[Ah.] I knew it was obvious that I'd been doing the same. I spied a little bit of remaining blood on a talon, a cruel reminder of what my life was like now.
[Is there anything scheduled for the day?]
Was that a joke? I wondered. With Ax, you never can be sure. [No meetings, at least I don't think there are. But these days, things change pretty quick,] I added under my breath. Or at least in a low tone. Thought-speak isn't quite the same as normal speech.
I regretted the words the instant I spoke them.
See, a member of our team turned on us pretty recently. Things had changed pretty quick. And I didn't really think Ax wanted to talk about it.
[Want to go to the Cinnabon or something?] I asked, eager to change the subject.
[No.]
He turned down cinnamon buns, I realized. I almost fell off my branch. That's less than normal.
But then, I'm a bird freak and Ax is an alien whose current mailing address is the woods in – oh, I forgot, I can't even tell you the state because, let's face it, there are parasitic aliens invading out planet who want to take over your mind!
What's normal anymore?
[You sure?]
He changed the subject. [Has there been any more...trouble...with –] He hesitated just an instant, then continued. [With her?]
[Not that I know of,] I said evasively, silently adding, Nah, don't think so. We're all still alive, aren't we?
Probably just as well that I didn't say that.
Ax glanced up at the sky with his stalk eyes. He scanned them leisurely. I knew what he was looking for.
He froze quite suddenly.
No, no, no, no, NO! I yelled silently. I looked up.
Perfect. Juuuuuuuuuust perfect.
The northern harrier glanced down. I knew that I had seen her before.
Okay, Tobias. Don't panic. Go get the others.
But I guess I shouldn't have worried, because suddenly she soared up into the sky until all that was left was a tiny dot.
And then that, too, was gone.
There was a still silence for a few moments. This was ridiculous. We'd just seen her, and we were doing nothing. At the very least we should contact the others.
But where did that leave us? Grouped together, so that she could annihilate us all at once?
Or was it better to be spread apart, so that we would fall one by one?
[It doesn't make sense,] Ax said in frustration. [Couldn't she simply use her power to control us? Couldn't she just kill us like that?]
[Maybe that's not good enough for the twisted, sickening, evil –]
Ax cut me off. [It's risky for her to keep taking chances. She should just go ahead and use that warped xilinni power to destroy us. And how did she simply disappear the last time? She did not have that power before, I'm sure of it.]
Ax's expression looked as though he was struggling to remember something and couldn't. Like there was a blank spot in it or something.
Not unusual, considering who were dealing with.
[We should probably get the others,] I said finally.
[She's gone.]
[Yeah, well, she might come back.]
[Why would she have left if she was going to come back?] he reasoned. [Obviously, she wants us to contact them, putting all of us in te same place. Otherwise, she simply would have struck then.] He looked up at the sky, a bitter expression on his face. [Then again, maybe she'll just take us one by one.]
[Gee, that's a happy thought,] I muttered.
It did occur to me that maybe he just didn't want to face them. He'd trusted her. He'd thought she trusted him. And then she'd tried to kill him.
She'd tried to kill all of us. Sometimes I wonder if he blames himself.
I wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault. But, in some twisted way, that would probably make him feel worse.
I sighed. It was a no-win situation.
But hey, there were six of us. The Animorphs. We were warriors. We'd fought the Yeerk empire.
Surely we could handle this one traitor.
After all, we'd handled David.
Of course, this one has about sixteen times his power, a little voice in the back of my head whispered. Realism, I think it's called.
Of course, I ignored it.
Chapter Two – Xilite
I did not even bother struggling as we rose up, out of sight. She knew that they had spotted me. She knew that they were not together. Therefore, she would strike.
I did not bother to tell her she could not do this, though the words echoed again and again. I did not bother wasting my breath on such a cliched statement, so obviously untrue. She knew she could do it. She knew she had the power.
Even I knew she had the power.
*Now to find that sick – what's the human word? – free hugger?*
She was trying to provoke me. Trying to make me yell at her to stop, and then laugh at me as I begged for their lives. I knew that I could do nothing. And I knew that if I angered her enough, she'd be careless. So I simply said, It's tree hugger, Thchi. It means a human so engrossed in nature that they would hug trees, though the human trees, unlike the Andalite trees, obviously do not have power to think or to speak. It is ridiculous, indeed. Although I do approve of enjoying nature and taking care of the various animals on this planet. Trees, though? That is going too far.
I could hear her roar in fury. *Do not mock me!*
I laughed.
Her voice changed to a silky whisper. *Don't pretend it doesn't bother you, Xilite,* she purred. *Don't pretend you don't care. I know that you do. Especially for that Andalite.*
Icy bands gripped my heart.
*Should I take care of him first? Should I annihilate him first? Should I rip at his throat with my – your – talons, until the blood pours?*
Sickening, her lust for blood. Absolutely sickening. But I did not speak. There was nothing I could do.
*If you care so little for them, why do you not agree?* She laughed cruelly.
She was angling my body toward Cassie's house. Cassie, Rachel's best friend. Jake's girlfriend.
I couldn't let this happen.
But I couldn't stop it, either.
*In the barn,* Thchi mused. *She has to be.*
Don't say anything, Xilite. Conserve your strength. If you have to, maybe you can resist...maybe...
I could feel Kitten growing tenser, tenser, tenser to the point of explosion within me. She was not happy at this intruder in her mind.
I wondered if Thchi was aware of her.
I could hear Cassie's voice with my harrier's excellent hearing. She was cooing at a probably dangerous animal. It was a "please don't bite me, I won't hurt you if you don't hut me" type of voice. Humans have many different tones.
Thchi was smart, I'd give her that much. She carefully entangled my body in a tree, on one of the lower clusters of branches, and let out a screech.
SCREEECH!
I hadn't even known that any creature could make such an atrocious sound.
After a moment, Cassie came rushing out. Her eyes half lit up and half looked sad when she saw me. I could guess her reaction – an animal she could possibly save, but also an animal she might not be able to save.
Or an animal that might kill you! I raged silently.
*One quick slash across the throat,* Thchi purred in my head. *And she'll die. One down, five to go. Maybe I'll save the Andalite for last, to draw out your agony.*
I was not a fool. Thchi didn't care about Earth one way or the other. Same with the Animorphs. This whole stupid thing was just to break my spirit.
Thchi wanted a dumb slave who would not question her, not a defiant, wild, arrogant Xaralite who would fight whenever given the chance.
Not that I could resist much now – no, she just wanted my complete submission.
Never, I hissed to myself. She couldn't hear my thoughts, for that I was grateful. She couldn't control my xilinni power either, or else the Animorphs would already be dead.
"Shhhh," Cassie cooed, reaching out a heavily-gloved hand for me. "Shhhhhhhhhhhh," she whispered again as Thchi started to struggle very realistically.
I couldn't resist. Could I?
Not yet. Not yet. Save your strength for the moment when it's necessary.
I was surprised to hear Kitten in my head. A sentient creature, I already knew, despite the "mind of the cat" nickname that I'd given her.
Maybe cats are sentient. I don't know. I don't even know if the Ki, Liakre, and Dahc are sentient, and they're on my planet.
I stopped my rapid, out-of-control, racing mind and listened to her.
Not yet. Not yet.
I could feel Thchi in my mind, positioning her talons and her beak, ready for the perfect moment.
So was I.
Ready.
NOW!
I slashed out and hit her across the wrist. She backed away.
*NOOOOOOOO!*
She gasped. It was a shallow cut – I'd carefully missed any veins that I could see – but blood was still oozing.
I flapped my wings. I was gradually freeing myself.
*NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*
I ignored Thchi's screams of fury and tried harder.
The branches released me!
I flapped up as fast as I could.
Thchi was regaining control, though. This would not last.
*You thought you could outfight me?!* she shrieked in my head.
"Xilite!"
Cassie had recognized me. My heart sank. She'd believe that it was me.
But she was running back towards the barn. She slammed the door shut just as Thchi wheeled my body around and began to dive.
She pulled up, straining every muscle in my wings.
You missed, I informed her with grim satisfaction.
*But it won't last,* she replied, venom in her voice. *It won't last.*
I could hear the beeping of the cell phone as Cassie began to inform the others that I had come. That I was after them again.
But I'm not, I wanted to tell her. I'm not. It's not me.
I was getting really sick of that line. It sounded too helpless.
I've never liked helpless.
But, after all, before Thchi, I was.
Chapter Three – Rachel
BRIIIIIIIIIINGGGGG!
"Stupid phone."
Hesitation. Then, another loud BRIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGG!
I leaned over and slammed it hard with my fist.
BRIIIIIIIIIINGGGGG!
I knocked it off my dresser. The handset flopped to the floor.
"Hello?"
Cassie's voice. This was definitely bad news.
I lifted the handset up off the floor, dragging the rest of the phone with me. I'd have to remember to turn off that ringer. I momentarily prayed that Cassie had just seen a bear or something prowling outside her barn, or maybe a wild African elephant stomping down the school or something. Then I took a deep breath. "Hello?"
"Our friend is here."
Her voice was flat. Not even a pretense at cheerfulness. "I'm elated," I said in an equally flat tone. "Really. I'll be right over."
"Wonderful. I'll call the others."
"Yeah. I'll get the ones you don't normally call."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Click on her end of the line.
SLAM! on my end of the line. The handset hit the base, then bounced away.
"Darn. I missed." I leaned over and grabbed both the base and the handset, *carefully* setting them on the dresser. I looked for something else to throw.
Nothing within range. I sighed, scrawled a note Mom would see when she got back from chatting with Sarah's friend's mom and picking up Jordan from whatever activity she was doing – momentarily feeling a pang of guilt that I wasn't there for either Jordan or Sarah much anymore – ran back down the hall to my room, and morphed.
If Xilite was after us again, Cassie needed all the help she could get.
I'd get Tobias first. Then I'd get Ax.
Ax's fault. The words suddenly blazed into my mind. Ax's fault.
Jake had ordered him to kill her once, when we first met her and she started controlling us. He didn't. If he had, we wouldn't have this problem.
His fault.
It did occur to me that I, myself, could have done it just as easily. But it's always easier to blame someone else.
I'd taken care of the last traitor. I'd been the actress. I'd been the one to lead him to his doom.
And Jake would probably want me to take care of her, too. The twisted, evil betrayer we were dealing with now.
And they'd expect me to love every second of it, I was sure. Old "killing doesn't bother me" Rachel. Call her when you need dirty work done.
But I'm not bitter.
Right.
I knew I was exaggerating, if only slightly. But I didn't care.
The thermals lifted me up, but even flying didn't do much to calm me down.
I sighed Tobias's tree and dived.
[She's here,] I announced without ceremony.
He just about fell out of the tree. [Don't sneak up on me like that!]
[Xilite's here,] I repeated. [Cassie called me. We have to get Ax. She'll call Jake and Marco.]
[Yeah. Let's go,] he said, with a considerable lack of enthusiasm.
[And we watch our backs.] I lifted up, up, up into the sky, feeling none of the ecstasy flying usually brings. I didn't want to be here. For just a moment, I wanted to be a normal kid.
Part of me wanted action, battle. I knew we'd have that, anyway. But I was not looking forward to looking forward to action and battle, if that makes any sense. I didn't want to love it.
But I did.
[Have you seen Ax today?]
There was a slight hesitation. Then he sighed. [Yeah.]
I didn't know what to make of the silence.
He sighed again in frustration, considerably more anger in his voice. [We saw Xilite, too. As a northern harrier. But she didn't do anything, and she left almost immediately, so we didn't tell anyone or say anything. She must have gone straight to the barn.]
[You didn't tell us?!] I demanded. [Cassie could have been killed!]
Normally I wouldn't make a big deal. But this wasn't normally.
[She left,] he said lamely.
I snorted and almost made another remark, but just then I spotted Ax.
[Your girlfriend's back,] I said contemptuously.
[Rachel!] Tobias reproached in private thought-speak.
I didn't listen. In fact, I continued. [Tried to kill Cassie.]
I was making assumptions now. For all I knew, Cassie had simply sighted her. She hadn't said much over the phone – a common precaution. But I was mad and I needed someone to take it out on.
Ax was looking up with his main eyes. Without a word he began to morph his northern harrier.
[Aww, isn't that sweet? They have the same morph.]
[RACHEL!]
Tobias sounded mad. I didn't care.
I knew that I had hurt Ax. I hoped that I had hurt Ax. I knew it was cruel. I can't even explain why I thought that. But I did.
We could all die, because of her.
I wheeled around and headed for Cassie's barn, already sighting a peregrine falcon and an osprey in the distance.
I wondered if I'd be seeing another northern harrier pretty soon.
Of course you will, Rachel. She wouldn't let such a perfect opportunity go by.
Chapter Four – Jake
I was the first to the barn. Rachel and Marco were just behind me, and Tobias and Ax barely behind Rachel.
Rachel was mad. I could see that as soon as her face appeared. She was very mad.
"What happened?" I asked Cassie.
"She pretended to be stuck in a tree or something. I came close, thinking she was a normal harrier –"
"That was dumb," Marco interjected. She ignored him.
"And she lashed out, slashing me across the wrist." I spotted a small cut just above her right glove. "I think she was trying to aim for my throat. I don't know. She immediately freed herself and flapped away, then whirled around and dived. I slammed the door and she didn't have time."
"Lucky it wasn't worse," Rachel said unemotionally.
Almost unconsciously, I felt my eyes travel to Ax. He ignored me.
How would I feel if it were Cassie?
No comparison. None at all. We'd just met Xilite, practically. Known her for under a month. I'd known Cassie for a long, long time.
And she would never turn on us.
A wolf eyed me from a cage. I didn't like that look.
"We have to do something about her," Rachel growled. "Like kill her."
Her face was so dark. So angry.
My cousin, the rage machine.
"Nothing out of control," I cautioned, sending her a look to let her know my warning was intended especially for her. "We can't take chances with her."
"Don't tell me what we can and can't do."
The wolf's cage drew my eyes yet again. Then I turned back to Rachel. "Like it or not, I'm the leader," I said bluntly. "And if it's left to you, you'll run out there like an idiot and challenge her."
"I don't know if she's still out there," Cassie jumped in, seeing the expression on Rachel's face. "She could have left."
"But it's not likely," Marco snorted.
"Yeah, not likely," I agreed.
I turned ever so slightly to see the wolf glaring directly at me. Its gold-brown eyes were glittering with an countenance almost human.
"Cassie," I said in a low tone. "Have you left this area at all since you saw Xilite?"
She looked confused. "I checked on one of the horses over there," she said, pointing to a stall several aisles away. "It was spooked by something."
I glared at the wolf again. I looked over the cage.
Then I noticed the lock.
It was mutilated.
My heart stopped.
"Xilite," I said in the same low tone to Cassie. "The wolf. Not real."
[Not a complete idiot after all, are you, Jake?] she said, pushing against the door. It gave way, the already warped lock breaking. She spun out, growling through her bared teeth.
We were frozen. I sent Ax a look and he leaped forward, tail blade arched high.
Rachel laughed harshly. I glanced at her and saw the dark look on her face give way to amusement.
What was wrong with her?
Other than the fact that Xilite was in our midst?
Ax's tail blade created a miniature sonic boom as he struck. It was too fast for the eye to see. However, when he withdrew it after missing, I could see that he had only been using the flat.
She let loose a terrible growl and dived for him, howling at the top of her lungs. The animals that were not already beserk went beserk.
He dodged back and she flew past.
They bristled, face to face.
We were all morphing as fast as we could. Cassie finished first and sprang at Xilite just as Ax struck. He hit Xilite on one side and Cassie hit her on the other.
She yelped in pain, howled, and leaped forward.
Tobias dived from the rafters and slashed her with his talons.
Rachel roared, drawing herself up to her full height. She roared again, clawing with her two front paws. Xilite screeched as claw connected with body and she sprawled to the side.
I was fully tiger. Definitely the most agile, if not the strongest. Xilite stared up, stunned.
[Don't kill her,] Ax whispered.
I realized that he probably hadn't meant to speak aloud. Marco probably knew the same thing, but that didn't stop him from commenting.
[Protecting her?!] he yelled. [What kind of a stupid moron are you?!]
I clawed her. She sprang up, fire in her wolf's eyes.
She scared me.
Deep down inside, she scared me.
Tobias dived again and hit her. A wolf shriek sent two more horses into a panic.
Suddenly Cassie froze. She sniffed the air.
[What is it?] I demanded.
[My dad!] she moaned. [He's coming!]
[Tobias!] I yelled. [Cassie, get out there and stall him! Act injured!]
[Oh, I'll make sure she doesn't have to act,] Xilite growled. She leaped to her feet and bit down on Cassie's left foreleg.
[AHHHH!!]
[Cassie! GET OUT OF HERE!]
She started to limp away. I sighed in relief.
Xilite roared and moved to hit her again. She slammed into me as I blocked her path.
Tiger vs. wolf.
[He's coming! I can't stop him!] Cassie yelled. [I think he's trying to find me! The real me!]
[Everyone out!] I ordered in a thought-speak shielded from Xilite. [Try and lure her out, we can't have her attacking innocent –]
She moved!
Xilite knocked my on my side and was then ripped away by Marco. He flung open the door and literally threw her out. He slammed the door behind him.
She hit the ground, then leaped, once again, to her feet. She sized us up.
[Ax, distract her,] I ordered. [Marco, distract her. Try and keep her attention away from us. Rachel and I will...do what we have to do.]
Chapter Five – Ax
Aiding in her death.
The death of a monster.
I shouldn't have cared.
But I did.
Stupid dreams. Maybe without them, I wouldn't have felt this way. But every night, I dreamed about her.
Dreamed of her telling me that she had not done this. That she had never wanted this. That it was not truly she who had attacked us.
Lies, they have to be, I told myself. I felt her eyes on me as I slooooowly heading towards her, then dodged away. Her attention was focused on me as Jake and Rachel slipped around for the attack. I could see Tobias in the air, preparing to dive. Cassie was limping toward us, barely able to move now on her injured leg.
She's a murderer, a monster, a killer, I thought as I felt my resolve weaken. Perhaps because Rachel was towering over her. Perhaps because Jake was poised to kill. Perhaps because Tobias was already diving.
Rachel struck!
Xilite spun crazily, falling over and over. Jake took advantage of the moment and slashed. Tobias hit her.
I was frozen, not knowing what to do.
Wasn't she the evil one? Didn't she deserve death?
Her huge wolf eyes rolled to meet mine. Her body convulsed in spasm of – of what, I didn't know.
Death?
[Ax.. not dreams.. they are not dreams...]
What? Not dreams? But they had to be...
[Not me...It isn't me...Ax...I love you.]
My hearts stopped.
I could barely breathe. What little breath escaped me was in short gasps, without rhythm. It seemed as though my lungs would not accept the air into them, and yet they screamed for oxygen.
Not dreams.
They had to be dreams. What else was possible? She could not be controlled!
The Animorphs did not seem to have heard.
Her blood stained the snow on the ground. I suddenly realized how cold I was. But it didn't matter.
Rachel reared up, lifted her paw, and –
FWOOOOOF!
It hit the snow, sending up a flurry of snowflakes as the wolf scrambled out of the way.
Xilite began to fade. Her wolf body was lightening as she disappeared. And the last thing I heard from her, the last agonized scream that she forced out before she evanesced entirely, echoed through my mind.
[THCHI!]
Then she was gone.
And when she vanished I felt memories flooding back.
Thchi had taken her. Thchi had tricked her. I remembered now.
Then it was Thchi who was the murderer.
She can fool you, Aximili, I told myself. She can make you think things that are not real. You can't go on what you remember or what you don't anymore. She can fool you.
But what if...
Yeah, right, Aximili. What if...she's a liar and they're right? What if she just sends you these stupid scenes and makes you think that she's something she's not? What if she just wants an ally to stand beside her as she wrecks everything that you and the Animorphs have fought for?
The Animorphs were breathing hard as they demorphed.
[Almost!] Marco raged. [Almost had her!]
A thought was occurring to me. [If Xaralites have the power to simply teleport away, then why didn't they use that during their war?]
[Huh?] Tobias said blankly. But Cassie nodded her almost-human head.
[That's true. But, Ax, she was – what did she call it? A Xarilian? One of the super-Xaralites or whatever? She might have powers that they don't have. No other explanation.]
[Morph human, Ax,] Jake commanded. [Let's head back in to the barn.]
I hesitated. Should I tell them what she had said?
I nodded to myself as I morphed. They were my friends. Maybe...just maybe...they would understand.
Marco snorted. "You have completely and totally lost it. You just don't want to see the cold hard truth. The cold hard truth is that she couldn't care less about you, she just needs someone to stand against us for her. And it's working out pretty well, isn't it?"
I had not told them everything. I did tell them about the dreams, the fact that she had denied being in control of it, the memories rushing back, and the single word she'd spoken: "Thchi."
I did not tell them the other thing she'd said.
That she loved me.
Just as well, I gathered from the harsh look on Marco's face.
Rachel just glared at me. "Marco's right, for once. You're in denial, Ax, or have you forgotten she specifically tried to kill YOU?"
Not the reaction I'd hoped for. I struggled to think of something to say to make them see. But not even Cassie, not even Tobias said anything.
[You don't understand,] I said lamely. [Thchi is –]
"Will you just shut up!" Rachel yelled, suddenly interrupted by Marco.
"And the Tooth Fairy's making out with Santa Claus. Come off it, Ax. She's Estrid warmed over."
Estrid. I froze.
I remembered Estrid.
She'd basically used me to get at the Yeerks. Used me to find out the Yeerk pool entrances. Used me to find out what she knew.
Was Xilite the same?
I could not think of anything to say. I was silent.
Why had I told them this?
"Estrid needed you to get to the Yeerk Pool to wipe out the Yeerks. What, will it be the Andalites this time? Will it be US?!"
Why had I trusted them?
"Ax, you are NOT going to trust her. You'll put all of us in danger for some stupid little wishy_washy crap. We can't take that, not now. So you either come off it, like Marco said __"
I looked up to meet Jake's eyes. He flinched.
[Or what?]
Marco snorted again after a brief silence. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, insert sentimental junk here, the blunt truth is that we don't need any more dangers."
"Marco!" Cassie blurted in a shocked tone of voice. Even Jake looked shocked.
"Shut up, Nature_girl. He either snaps out of it or...well...she'll kill him."
He carefully avoided my eyes. I understood the meaning hidden in his words.
So much for turning to friends.
Cassie laid her soft hand on my arm. "Ax, I don't want to hurt you, but..." She searched for words, then continued. "Xilite is a danger to us. I know you cared for her, but..." She trailed off, unwilling to hurt me further.
Marco laughed in a harsh way. "A lot of 'buts,' Cassie. Deal with cold hard reality." He turned to me. "She's nothing but a sickening, manipulative, twisted, warped __"
He looked away from my eyes again, obviously surprised by the look he saw in them.
I resisted the urge to snap my tail blade to his throat, quivering as Cassie interrupted him.
"You are nothing more than a tool to her, Ax," she said gently. Her voice hardened as she continued. "And.. well...we can't have this...affinity...you have for her put us in danger."
I was shaking with rage and pain and a cold feeling inside that maybe, just maybe, they were right.
"You're awfully quiet," Rachel smirked. "Are we dealing with actuality yet?"
"Rachel, that's enough," Jake warned, visibly agitated by the anger on my face.
Or maybe it was the way my tail blade was twitching.
"What? He knows we're right," she continued, obviously enjoying it. I wondered why she took such a sadistic pleasure in the agony I felt. "Xilite was just using him. Estrid was just using him. I think he's having trouble swallowing the reality pill." She laughed the same way that Marco had. "Judging by what I've seen of Andalites so far, I'm not impressed. They could stand a few lessons from humans in the area of, oh, I don't know, facing facts?"
These were the people I had thought I could turn to?
Tobias sighed in my head. [Ax?]
Private thought-speak. I responded in such. [Yes, Tobias?]
He had been silent thus far. Maybe...
[You know they're right.]
That was all I could stand. I turned slowly, deliberately, and walked out the door.
They were not friends.
Or maybe I was just a blind fool.
Chapter Six – Jake
Back to school. I groaned as I saw the big "POP QUIZ TODAY!" scrawled on the blackboard of the history room.
I plopped into a seat. Marco practically threw his books on the seat beside me, looking mad and tired, like he hadn't slept much and the few hours he had managed to grab were full of nightmares.
Probably the truth.
"Hi," I said shortly, not so much from an actual irritation as from the fact that I hadn't slept much either.
"Unh," he grunted in response.
I noticed Kelli, a girl also in this class, trying to catch his eye. She smiled a little bit.
His face brightened quickly.
"I said, hi," I repeated, amusement creeping into my voice as he smoothed his hair back.
SLAMMMM!
I flinched in surprise as I heard someone slam a book onto a desk. By twisting my head around in a most uncomfortable way, I could see the "someone."
It was Rachel, looking even more mad and tired than Marco.
She met my eyes. "Cassie," she mouthed.
I was confused. I leaned back and whispered, "What about Cassie?"
"Class!"
The history teacher tapped on his desk. He was one of the more strict teachers. Everyone in the class respected him – if they weren't at least slightly afraid of him. Marco actually stopped winking at Kelli. She stopped giggling with her little friends.
I stopped trying to hear Rachel. Rachel did not stop scowling.
He started to pass out the pop quizzes. I groaned again as I took out a "writing utensil," as he preferred to call them.
And still Rachel's silent word echoed in my head.
Cassie?
What about Cassie?
I bumped into Cassie in the hall. It wasn't completely accidental, I have to admit. I wanted to find out what Rachel meant.
"Hi, Jake," she said, a darkness in her eyes that I'd never seen before.
"Hi, Cassie," I replied, acting like I hadn't noticed anything. "What's up?"
"I may be late for class, that's what's up," she said with a fake laugh. "Have you seen Marco?"
Alarm bells went off in my head. Cassie knew that I had three classes with Marco. I played dumb. "Nope. Don't have any classes with him."
"Oh," she said. Nothing more. Not a correction of how many classes I had with him in actuality. Nothing.
"Have you seen Rachel today?"
She turned to see me, a challenging look replacing her dark look. "Why?"
Xilite.
Had to be!
"Well, let's see, maybe I'm curious?"
"Why would you care?" she said in a seething way.
"No particular reason," I said absently. I checked my (invisible) watch. I wasn't actually wearing one, but Cassie/Xilite didn't seem to notice. "Gonna be late for class," I informed her, backing away already. "See ya."
I broke into a jog. Had to tell Marco.
Rachel already knew. Rachel had spotted her first, knowing Cassie.
Then it snapped into my mind like a bolt of lightning.
Where was the real Cassie?
Chapter Seven – Rachel
Between classes. I ducked into the bathroom and ran a brush through my hair. Couldn't face algebra next period. I just could not face it.
I could face Visser Three. I could face a Hork-Bajir warrior. But I could not face that algebra teacher droning on and on and on and on...
The bathroom door opened just as I steeled myself to go face it, or at least to take a nap-nap until it was over.
"Cassie!" I said in surprise. Then I remembered that Cassie had not seemed like Cassie.
"Hi, Rachel," she said coldly.
"Where are your books?" I demanded. She was not carrying any.
"Don't you mean Cassie's books?" she laughed.
Couldn't morph! Not here! If anyone came in I'd be dead.
"You can't do anything here, Xilite," I informed her. "You can't morph here."
"Why not?" she said with an almost human giggle. Not a Cassie-giggle. More like a Visser Three version of a human giggle.
Didn't really sound like Xilite. Or Cassie. But then, what was to be expected?
"Hey, Rachel!"
The door opened again. Xilite whirled around, fire in her eyes.
The girl shoved rudely past her. I could see her face now. It was Melissa. But at that moment, I didn't care.
Xilite's attention was not on me. It was on the intruder.
I hesitated a split second. I could leave through the other exit. But who knew what this wild killer would do to Melissa?
"Don't you ever push me," she growled. She grabbed Melissa's shoulder and spun her around until she was facing Xilite.
Melissa looked mad, now. "Likewise," she shot back, moving away. I groaned silently as Xilite's eyes went wild.
"You little –"
"Hey, Melissa, we're going to be late for class," I blurted. She was in my algebra class as well.
"Yeah, you just try and –" Xilite sputtered.
"Uh, Cassie, I think you've lost it," Melissa muttered.
The door opened yet again. I sighed. Was this now the local meeting place?
A girl I didn't really know came in. Kelli, I think. She was surrounded by a crowd of giggling girls.
"He winked at me!" she screeched.
"I can't believe you think Marco is cute," someone in the crowd muttered.
"Oh, he is!" Kelli screeched.
Melissa and I shoved through past them. Xilite wasn't as fast.
Safe, for now.
Good thing algebra was the last period.
I turned around and glanced at Cassie/Xilite. "Hey, Cass, you should hurry up," I purred. "You'll be late."
"Oh, I'll take care of you," she growled. "You just wait, Rachel."
I rolled my eyes for effect, then walked into the classroom.
I was shaking.
I knew it wasn't the last I'd see of her.
And I knew that she'd make good of her threats.
Chapter Eight – Cassie
TSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!
[Cassie, WAKE UP!]
I opened my eyes.
"MFFFFF!"
The red-tail's beak was inches from my face. A startling sight.
[It's me, Tobias. What happened to you?]
I started to sit up and fell back down.
I stopped and surveyed my surroundings. I was in a stall of the barn. I was tied up with one of our horses' lead ropes.
Xilite.
This was getting annoying.
I started to morph small. When I was small enough, I started to slide off the lead rope with my now-tiny human hands. I demorphed instantly.
"Had to be Xilite," we said at the same time. I shook my head. "Where are the others?"
[In school.]
"WHAT?!"
[I assume that Xilite will be playing the role of you in school, though. No unexcused absences. Although I guess that's the least of your problems. Do you remember anything?]
"About what must have happened? Nothing. Urgh. The last thing I remember was cleaning out the stalls, then I got hit pretty hard from behind. She must have acquired me then."
[She's already acquired your DNA, remember? Part of her Frolis maneuver thing? She just needed to make sure that there weren't two of you running around.]
I let myself out of the stall. "Good thing you came in before my dad did," I commented. "This would have been really fun to explain."
Tobias looked worried – at least as much as a hawk can look worried. [I wonder what's happening at school.] He shot a glance at the clock we keep on the barn wall. [It's almost three o'clock. They'll be out of school soon. Maybe they've figured out that she's not you.]
"She's a good actress," I muttered, remembering how I'd truly thought that we were friends.
[Yeah, well, you're complete opposites.]
I didn't know what to make of that statement, so I didn't say anything.
[I'm going to go fly around. See if I can see them at school or something.]
"Okay. Meeting after school at the barn, okay?"
[I'll tell them.] He hesitated. [Hey, Cassie?]
"Yeah?"
[Maybe you could go talk to Ax. He seems pretty upset. I tried to talk to him earlier, but...at the first mention I made of the other day he became...irritated. I have a feeling that he will not be in a good mood today. And I have a feeling that Rachel and Marco will start in again.]
I felt a burst of sympathy. They had gone over the edge in rudeness, after all. "Me? Talk to him? What good will it do?"
[You're the understanding one,] he said with a small laugh.
I considered. "Maybe before the meeting. But I still have to finish some stuff here..." I shook my head. "Apparently she knocked me out in the middle of my pre-dawn chores."
He sighed. [Okay. See you then.]
Chapter Nine – Ax
I was running through the woods when I spotted the bald eagle above me.
The human school had, apparently, "let out." Let what out, any Andalite would ask? The students, I think. But you never can be sure with the typical human language.
[Hello, Rachel,] I said stiffly when I saw the bald eagle swoop down.
[Hi, Ax. Your fiancé made yet another attempt on our lives today. When can we expect you to face reality?]
I ignored her pointedly. But I could still hear her voice.
[This time she tried to pass herself off as Cassie.]
I still did not respond. I did wonder silently if she would ever go away.
[What, you have no comment on all this, Ax? You're just above it all? Even though it was YOUR psychotic girlfriend who's doing all this, you're not going to say any-]
[Rachel, that's quite enough,] said the red-tailed hawk who had come silently up from behind her.
[Shut up, Tobias,] she said in a rather furious tone.
[Rachel, this is not his fault.] Tobias sounded angry. At Rachel? At Xilite? Both?
[And it's not mine either, Tobias. So go away.]
I mentally asked myself when Rachel had started arguing with Tobias.
[Yeah, he was the only one who could resist her and so he's acting like she's not a problem or anything. Maybe if he was on the other side of the fight, he'd see it differently. As opposed to blaming Thchi – blaming anyone except his precious Xilite. He'd blame us if we were the only people to blame. Tobias, face it, he may be your friend but he does have problems dealing with reality.]
[I truly did hear her say that!] I said defensively.
[Truly? Come on, that belongs in one of those crappy love songs.]
Define crappy, I thought but didn't say. Now was not a time to point out that all human songs have something lacking. I have found that few of them have understandable lyrics...well...at least some of them do not have understandable lyrics. [You do not believe me merely because you disliked her from the start. You were too weak to stand against her.]
[And so you don't treat her as a threat, just because of that, is that it?] I could hear fury in her words. She is not fond of the word "weak."
[She risked her life for us!] I yelled. [Or have you forgotten who saved us in the Yeerk pool?!] I noticed that Tobias had flown away. I could not blame him. This was not his fight. It was between me and Rachel.
I had never been this angry at anyone, much less a fellow Animorph. I would never have expected this from Rachel. Not even from Marco, for that matter.
[Have you forgotten who tried to kill us?!] Rachel shot back. [She was just trying to get close to us!]
[And on that cursed planet where her people were incapacitated?! She saved you from being trapped unconscious, practically a corpse -- are you going to say that she was "just trying to get close to us"?!]
[Yes, Ax, I am.]
I was shocked into silence. I could not think of a response to such an absurd statement.
[She just wanted the satisfaction of killing us herself, Ax. And you are a gullible fool to believe anything else. You cannot trust such a rage machine.]
[She is not the rage machine, Rachel. YOU are,] I accused, deathly calm. [YOU are the one who loses control. Not her.]
There was a stunned silence. When Rachel finally spoke, her voice was wavering. Whether from hurt or anger, it was hard to tell. [Ax, you...you...]
I enjoyed the fact that she had nothing to say.
She regained some measure of composure. [She hates Andalites, Ax. Hates YOU. How long will it take you to get that through your thick alien head?!]
I hesitated. Rachel was right. She did hate Andalites. [She does not hate me.]
[She hates Andalites. You are an Andalite.] She said it in the tone of one explaining basic arithmetic. [Besides which, do you know how that sounded? It sounds for all the world like you care more about your love life than you do about us.]
[I...I do care about the Animorphs,] I said lamely, feeling as though, in a small way at least, she was right. [But...but I know she is not --]
[Estrid betrayed you. Xilite betrayed you. You just don't want to face the fact that NO ONE cared. You just invented all these stupid little sentiments in your head.]
It was like a slap in the face. I reeled slightly, mostly from the ring of truth. She believed this.
Was she right?
I could not speak.
[You're fooling yourself, Ax. She never cared about you. Never.]
[You're wrong,] I forced out through the agony I felt. [She did.]
[You wish, Ax,] she said with a savage tone. [You wish.]
I did not respond.
Finally she laughed harshly. [Oh, and they sent me to tell you and Tobias that there's a meeting. Let's just hope that your psycho, nutcase girlfriend doesn't show up.] She laughed again. [We may have to kill her.]
I was frozen. Outrage, anguish, horror, fury, and fear for her life had all blended to make me unable to even move a muscle.
Then I snapped out of it and started morphing my northern harrier as fast as I could.
Chapter Ten – Marco
Between me, Rachel, and Jake, we'd made the details of Xilite's little impersonation known. Cassie did not look pleased.
"So then I'm in the bathroom, brushing my hair, totally unsuspecting, and she decides to pay a visit, gets mad at Melissa, and we were saved by a bunch of giggling idiots talking about how cute Marco was."
My eyes widened. "WHAT?!"
Rachel sighed. "Never mind. Point is, she's a psychopath, she knocked Cassie out, she tried to kill us, she has to go."
[Xilite would never do that,] Ax muttered.
I whirled around to face him. "She did, you Andalite freak! Get over it, open your eyes, wake-up call."
"Marco's right," Rachel snapped. "So WAKE UP and smell the coffee, Ax, she's TRYING TO KILL US!! What does it take to get that through your head?!"
I cast a sidelong glance at Cassie, half-expecting her to defend Ax. She ignored us all and continued feeding a raccoon.
"A jackhammer, Rachel," I replied. If Ax wasn't going to tell her what it took, I'd have to start making assumptions. "Hey, maybe Cassie's brain surgery screwed up his ability to.. oh, I don't know.. maybe FACE FACTS, Ax, she's trying to kill us, stop this stupid game and GET REAL."
[I am factual,] he said calmly. That angered me more.
"At least Estrid didn't run around trying to kill us. Estrid was half on our side, she was against the Yeerks at least, I can see where maybe you'd like her, BUT THIS DERANGED IDIOT?!?!?!" I continued less than calmly.
[She is no idiot. She is more than marginally more intelligent than you.]
"Too many 'mores,' Ax. And convert to English, please," I started to say, but was cut off.
[I seem to remember the phrase "negative IQ" used in conjunction with you, in fact.]
"That one I agree with," Rachel interrupted before I could calm down enough to speak. I made a mental note to get back at her. "But Ax? FACE THE FREAKING FACTS!!!"
There was a loud shriek from an obviously spooked horse in another aisle. And still Cassie said nothing. I glanced at her again. By this time, I would have expected her to stick up for Ax. Or maybe Tobias. But both of them were silent. Jake looked as though he was too exhausted to bother with us.
[Perhaps you should make a reasonable attempt to do so yourself, Rachel,] he said in an almost sneering tone. [Humans are generally backward, which I suppose contributes to your general behavior.]
"Oh, we're backward," I started to say, beginning to realize that, for some strange reason, this fight was between Rachel and Ax. But she cut me off yet again.
"We, Ax, can tell when a girlfriend is trying to use us. Maybe Andalites could take a lesson from us in that area."
[Will you just stop bringing Estrid up?] he said, obviously trying to keep his voice calm, but beginning to fail. Maybe we were finally getting through to his obviously non-functioning brain.
"Awww, are you going to snap now?" I smirked. "One too many girlfriends turn out to be traitors?"
I blinked in surprise suddenly. I felt the cool tail blade pressing against my throat in a very un-cool way.
[It does not matter what you think, what you say,] he said clearly. [I believe her. Your opinion cannot change that.]
"What, so now you're going to threaten Marco? What, did the truth hurt?" Rachel's sneering words and her cool blue eyes seemed to cut deep into his. As a result, the tail blade pressed down harder.
He was mad. Oh, he was definitely mad.
"Ax, we do not threaten each other," Jake interjected wearily, finally snapping out of his own little world.
"Go explain that to Xilite," Rachel snapped, the words pointed at Ax more than Jake.
He pulled his tail blade back. [Would you hold a host responsible for the actions a Yeerk has done?]
"No," Rachel admitted. "But she's not a host."
[Perhaps she is.]
"I've had all of this I'm going to take!" she yelled suddenly. "Open your eyes, Ax! This is ridiculous! You can't keep believing because of some pitiful the-way-it-could-have-been fantasy in your head! Just because you WISH she wasn't a traitor doesn't mean she's not."
[She is not.]
"You rely on her word," she spat. "Just because she said she wasn't – after she's tried to kill us –"
[You rely on your own narrow-minded views. You hope that she's a traitor, Rachel. After all, then you'll have more to kill.]
I was shocked by his words. Seriously shocked.
But what happened next shocked me even more.
"Ax, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Cassie exploded. "SHE IS A TRAITOR! NOT SOME STUPID HOST, NOT AN ANIMORPH, A TRAITOR! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YET?!"
We were all thunderstruck. Cassie never loses it. It's impossible.
Ax did not say a word.
Rachel did not say a word, though a smug smile did cross her face. I can't swear that the same expression wasn't on mine.
"Well, what else could you expect from the daughter of your worst foe?"
The voice came out of nowhere. The form materialized seconds afterward.
Chapter Eleven – Xilite
Daughter of your worst foe? I wondered. At the same time, I felt a jolt of energy. Were my parents, then, alive?
Ax's stalk eyes swiveled to meet mine. Sadness was evident in them. Sadness and hope.
Thchi had made sure that I'd heard the entire conversation. I would have been mad at Rachel and Marco and even Cassie if I had not known that they had a right to believe this.
And Ax. He believed in me. He still cared for me.
"Daughter of your worst foe?" Marco sneered. "Last I checked, Xilite" – he sent a sneering look at Ax – "you headed the list."
Thchi twisted my lips into a cruel smile before she struck.
Aaaaah!
Electricity blasted from my human hands and enveloped Rachel. She screamed in pain as she sank slowly to the ground.
So this was why she remained in human form, I realized. A slap in their faces, as well as the fact that she could take them on without being in any other form.
Rachel lay limp in the dust, electricity still sizzling and materializing on her form every few seconds.
Thchi faced them.
"Thanks for believing in me, Ax," she snickered. "For that, you'll die a painless death."
Leave him alone! I yelled furiously.
Contempt passed over his face. [You are not Xilite.]
She growled deep in her – my – throat, raised my hands, and brought them down.
Noooooo!
He dodged nimbly out of the way.
The electricity flew past him and burned a hole in the wall.
I wanted to scream. Wanted to beg for his life. But there was no point. Thchi would only laugh at me. Better to conserve my strength.
"She is a monster," Marco said clearly. He whirled at Ax. "Do you believe us now?"
He did not answer. His full attention was focused on me.
Had to be ready.
Not yet.
Kitten. Once again.
I'd succeeded in saving Cassie. Would I succeed now?
Focus.
[Rachel!]
I had barely noticed Tobias, on the ground beside Rachel. Now I saw him.
Was she dead?
Even I knew not the capabilities of Thchi's electricity. Maybe I didn't want to know.
"Die, Andalite," Thchi purred. "Die in agony. Die with the knowledge that I used you. Die with the fact that they will follow you in death. Die knowing that you are nothing more than a tool, both to your human prince and your supposed friends and to me."
I felt her gathering strength.
NOW!
Kitten's scream in my head made me jerk. I focused all my strength and whirled around just as Thchi blasted the air. A tree outside vaporized.
*NOOOOOOOOOOO!*
Kitten took over in my mind. I felt her take control of even Thchi for the instant.
We vanished.
Thchi was furious. So furious that she left. She could not face me. I had seen something in her eyes as she vanished, to where I knew not. I had seen...fear? Was that it?
Was she afraid of my power?
A ridiculous thought. Completely ridiculous. I was the tool. I was her puppet. The thought enraged me.
This battle had taken less out of me. I wondered if I'd be able to resist her fully soon.
I felt empty. Lost.
And hollow...so hollow.
"The daughter of your worst foe"?
Her words haunted me. Mostly because my brain was already putting it together.
I knew who the worst foe of the Animorphs was.
I knew all too well.