This story takes place before Animorphs #28 (except for chapter one which is in the sometime immediate future, 2020), so the rest of the continuum has pretty much been rewritten in by me.
Chapter One
It's cold. Cold as I drink in the flavor of cold death and revel in the bitter chilliness that whips across my face, almost colorless and grim, my pale skin fiendishly lumiscent in the revealing darkness. The moon shimmers down like a sphere of intense white fire, striking out at the lonely stream that runs before me with tendrils of teeming cold. I watch as it freezes over in a sheen of marble white, imprisoning the pools of inky blackness that, livid, slosh angrily against its icy cage. But to no avail. Silver slivers of ice form beneath the surface, encasing it further in a hell of glacial damnation that thickens until at last, the frozen waters stand eerily still. Now, my reflection is all that lingers over a life lost forever.
The dismal world is silent as I observe the desolate white desert, the bleak sky overlooking a doomed expanse of snow covered land with not a single star in sight. Shapeless shadows crawl along the ground, disappearing into obscurity as the morose night withers away. This place... haunted by death and loneliness... what I see... is all that's left of the Andalite homeworld.
The wind curls softly at my fingertips, as all feeling disappears and I become numb. Numb, just like a planet that can no longer feel. Darkness crashes over my heart, and my eyes glimmer with tears.
Loss. There was that word again. Like a shard that cut deep into my flesh and twisted, tearing muscle and sinew, and always drawing a scream. A scream that, once into the silent night, was swallowed up so that it was always soundless, but not painless, for the pain could still be heard from miles away.
I have experienced loss. Over and over again, and I know I will continue to, no matter where I go. It's like a curse. I can never be that loss, only watch as it happens to everything I care about, everything I grow to love, or even hate. It has made me into the hollow shell that you see today, the shadow of a man who, given a different time, a different place, I feel could've been very different. A man I wish every day and every night that I could be, but never will. And why? Because no matter how hard one tries not to, no one can forget the past.
And my past is full of blood. Full of tears. Full of everything people are afraid to tell one another about war, anarchy, chaos... and most of all, death. There are many versions to the story I am about to tell you, but only one is real while all the others are sad, false versions of the truth made up by generals, presidents, kings... all wanting to shield the truth and prevent any further insurrection of the public which has been blinded by their lies. Only six of us witnessed the terrible betrayal which I am about to tell you. Our word against a universe of liars. The question is, who are you going to believe?
Chapter Two
My name was Tobias. Just Tobias. I had neither a middle name, nor a last name, for if I did, both would be too difficult to spell out. These days I'm just known as Reese, a name which stuck with me right after the war of the Iskroot. It's an alien word, whose meaning suited me far better than Tobias. The name of a dreamer. Who was dead.
Her name was Rachel. She had a last name, but not one I'm so quick to divulge for the sake of her privacy. She was just known as Rachel, aka Xena, with fiery blue eyes and long curls that tumbled in waves over her shoulders, shining like a beacon under the sunlight and against the backdrop of a baby blue sky.
Rachel was my friend and fellow animorph, back in the days when the war was still in its early stages and the earth still flourished in its prime. Back then when she still treated me to the sight of her smile every day, purposely left the window open to her room so I could fly in at night, and talked to me endlessly about the world, the Yeerks, and what she wanted out of life and all its devices. And for as long as I've known her, that's how I like to remember her. The Year before our lives were changed for good.
We were doing a simple surveillance job that day, a task which involved morphing identical birds of prey and circling a dark grayish compound that reminded me more of a penitentiary than the communications center it was supposed to serve as. It was pretty routine; I would keep an eye out for any controllers and Rachel would swoop in every now and again and check from the windows that all operations were being carried out smoothly.
So far, activity had been pretty... well, inactive from the looks of it. It was a quiet working day, so after about an hour of careful observation, Rachel and I decided to stop and report our, findings, later on that evening at Cassie's barn. There was no point in continuing, especially since it was Thursday, the day when The Sharing held their fund raise committees and were more or less preoccupied for the remainded of the day. If they hadn't arrived by now, it was possible, and most likely that they wouldn't.
We flew back to the meadow, taking the time to enjoy some leisurely rides on the thermals for it was amazingly warm that day, with the sun high up in the sky. I soared in exhilaration as the scenery whipped past, spreading my winds then closing my eyes in bliss. I could tell that Rachel was having the time of her life as well, her thought speech echoing in my head as she zoomed by, performing some fancy moves like a jet fighter would.
I smiled to myself as she did, but also noting the familiar trees resting below us, as I signaled to her that it was time to land.
We swooped down, talons wide, and each caught a separate branch on my favorite tree.
Oh God, I could've stayed up there forever.>
I laughed.
I could see that.> Then I dipped my head began to preen my feathers which had gotten slightly ruffled throughout our flight.
Oh, come on Tobias, stop grooming and morph to human with me. We still have time to catch a movie before meeting the others.>
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye as she started to change. I turned away just as quickly though. As a hawk, I had much better vision that humans, and could therefore see a lot of minute details that they failed to see. And believe me, watching someone demorph from a hawk, to a girl, was not a very pleasant sight, no matter how many times I had seen it.
I don't know, it's a real bother to have to take a bathroom break just as the movie starts to get really interesting. And besides, I have no money, and I hate the way that always forces you to pay for everything.>
She narrowed her eyes. I shrunk away from her glare.
"Don't be such a wuss! So you miss a few minutes of screen time, what's the problem? Marco always has to make at least three trips to the bathroom, and I don't ever hear him complaining. And so what that I pay? It's the least I can do for the guy who's saved my butt at least a hundred time during battle."
But that's no reason->
"Morph Tobias. Now."
Her tone left no room for arguement. Begrudgingly, I focused on the image of my former human self, trying to block out the disgusting sounds and sensations that normally occured during the morph. After about a minute, I fully emerged, dressed in nothing but a skimpy morphing outfit. My lips curled in distaste.
"First we're going to have to find some clothing."
Rachel smirked, and to my bewilderment she ran across the field and towards Ax's scoop. I bumbled along after her, confused and wondering what the hell she was up to. I reached the scoop panting heavily, a bit annoyed that Rachel looked barely even winded after that long run. I seemed to bump into constant reminders everywhere I went at how unfit I was. Oh well.
She entered the scoop and began to rummage around while I waited outside, looking for any sign of Ax who was noticeably absent from his 'home'. After while, Rachel exited the scoop articles of clothing in each hand. She threw some towards me.
"Always be prepared." I grinned then started to undress as she ducked back into the scoop. No one was around, so I assumed it would be alright to do so.
Just as I had peeled off my skin tight shirt, I heard the pounding off hooves and immediately wrote it off as Ax. That would turn out to be the biggest mistake of my life. You see, had I not tripped over that rock right then I would've pulled down my pants and beared myself to the world in naked glory, right in front of the girl who sat atop her horse galloping towards me at an unbelievable speed. My jaw literally hit the ground as I scurried off to the side just as she sped past, seemingly locked in a fight with the animal as she roughly, but surely eased it into a standing halt. I could feel her curious eyes on me as she looked back, though not in any apparent concern for the boy she had almost run over. To this day, I still question whether it was her intention in the first place.
"You alright there?" She yelled, turning the horse around to face me. It was only then that I realized I'd been holding my breath, and exhaled loudly. Rachel, who'd been alarmed by all the commotion, had clammered outside and was now closing in on me, her eyes wide.
"Tobias?"
"Yeah." I grunted, answering both questions at once and propping myself up against a nearby tree. I glanced at where my elbow had scraped the ground, and decided I was lucky to get away with the injuries I had. Being trampled on would not have been very pretty.
The girl hesitated for a moment, but then nudged her horse in the sides and walked towards me, giving it a good tug on the reins when they were about two meters away. I think she was worried at what I would do if she came any closer. Then she sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry. Buddy here just got away from me for a moment. We meant no harm, I didn't think there was anybody around here."
"You're weren't the only one." I muttered, looking up. I shouldn't have. Really. Because the moment we locked eyes, a feeling of deja vu washed over me, and from the way she continued staring at me, I could tell she felt the same way. She had long brown hair that had been pulled back into a braid, except for a few strands that hung loosely around her face, framing a pair of strangely iridescent smoky gray eyes. The spell, however, was broken by Rachel who hovered above me like a mother hen.
"Well, you could at least be more careful next time." She glowered, obviously not caring what the girl thought of her. "Tryouts for the rodeo are being held at the riding arena back in town. And besides, Tobias doesn't resemble any type of bull I've ever seen."
"I'm Saffron Conners by the way." She said, completely ignoring Rachel. "I live about two blocks from here. We moved in about a week ago, and I was just getting myself familiar with the territory." She paused.
I took that as a hint to introduce myself.
"I'm Tobias. This is my friend Rachel." I said gesturing to Rachel, who's dark glares were now being directed at me. "
Saffron flashed me a grin.
"Well Tobias, it's nice to meet you. I've got to get going now, but I hope to see you soon." She shifted her gaze onto Rachel, her tone turning surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, icy. "You too Rachel."
She made a weird clicking sound with her mouth, and before I could do anything to protest and she her horse sped off, leaving Rachel and I covered in dust.
"Lovely girl." Rachel said sarcastically, helping me to my feet. I shook my head wearily then brushed myself off.
"Remind me to use the changing room next time."
Chapter Three
As it turned out, Rachel and I missed the movie. Our little run in with the mysterious Saffron Conners had made us five minutes late, and the stingy ticket lady refused to let us in, even though we offered to pay more than the fixed price. So we spent the rest of the afternoon in the arcade, simply because be both felt like blowing stuff up and because I was adamant against hanging around Tommy Hilfiger stores as Rachel had first suggested.
"I can't believe you missed him!" She fumed, rapidly firing off a series of shots as three dimensional blood splattered the screen.
"He was practically wearing a big bull's eye on the top of his head!"
"It isn't that easy!" I yelled back, trying to make myself heard over the noise that emanated from several other machinese all around us.
"You try hitting an alien that keeps messing up the screen with it's frickin acid, I can't bloody hell see what I'm shooting!"
Okay, so my nerves were on the edge. I couldn't help it. Video games had that effect on me.
"We're supposed to be partners here! I can't concentrate on what I'm doing if you're not there to cover my back."
"I've covered your back plenty of times." I spat, keeping my eyes trained on the moving target. "So get off my case already!"
She muttered a few words I'll pretend I didn't hear nor will I ever repeat. Instead I forgot about her and continued shooting, wincing every now and again when the gore got too explicit and the violence a bit too much for my taste.
Before I knew it we had completed the stage. I placed the gun back in its holster and shook my hand around for a moment, my finger sore for pulling the trigger so hard so many times. I noticed Rachel doing the same. Except she had her eyes squeezed shut and was nursing her finger, all the while using her leg to kick the machine. I let a smile pass my lips.
"What's so funny?" She demanded, sucking on her injured finger.
"Nothing." I said nonchalantly. "You just look really cute doing that."
The words didn't really register until I had said them, and when they did I felt like running out of there my head between my legs. Had I really said that? I felt a blush rising in my cheeks.
"Oh well, will you look at that!" I said before she could say a word, indicating the clock on the wall. "It's time! The others are probably waiting for us and there are probably many, many new and exciting things, and theories about the Yer-, nevermind, that we need to discuss. So, uh, let's go!"
Then I ran.
"Coward." I groaned, checking to see that she was following me as I leapt down the steps in a very spiderman like fashion. Then I raced past the fountain, the food court, then through the double doors that led the way to freedom. By the end of it, I was gasping for air.
Rachel appeared a moment later, slightly out of breath and giving me a disappointed look. I guess I knew why she was disappointed, but chose to chase the thought to the back of my mind. Instead I pointed in the direction of Cassie's barn. She shrugged her shoulders, and then together we began walking, neither saying a word. We walked the rest of the way in uncomfortable silence. But inside, my heart was aching.
Why did I run? Run like a person afraid of admitting his feelings. And now look what predicament I had gotten myself into. I glanced at Rachel discreetly, wondering what she was thinking at that moment. I saw a flicker of sadness cross her features, in addition to another emotion which I couldn't quite place. Why did I keep on doing this to her? She was my friend. She didn't deserve to be sad. In fact, I didn't deserve her. Inwardly I sighed.
We reached Cassie's in a matter of minutes, and after saying hello to her parents took the back route to the barn where the others were waiting.
"About time." Marco commented, the moment we walked in. "So where have Xena and Bird boy been this afternoon?" I picked up on his playful tone and returned it with a glare. Then I began to demorph.
"Sorry we were late." I heard Rachel tell Cassie.
"Don't worry about it. We have to bide time anyway until Erek arrives, which won't be for another half an hour." She looked down at the books strewn all over the floor. "So we decided to start studying for this mid-terms about a month away."
Rachel groaned then plopped down onto the floor, gathering some hay then placing it under her to make herself more comfortable. "Alright, lets hit the books."
As they began their study session, I quietly flew up to my usual perch on the rafters and kept a sharp look out for anything out of the ordinary. However, I could not help but sneak a glance or two at them with sharp pangs of regret. What I wouldn't give for just a bit of normalcy...
Stop it Tobias.> I scolded, shifting my attention back to my job.
"Stop what?"
Startled, I looked back down into the questioning eyes of Jake, who had undoubtedly heard me berating myself.
Uhh... nothing.> I lied. Nothing.>
I didn't whether or not he believed me, but he went back to studying nonetheless and I went back to watch guarding. Exactly half an hour later, I spotted a familiar figure walking across the road.
Erek's here.> I announced with a small flap of my wings.
Below, the others quickly tidied up their books and shoved it into a small alcove built into the wall.
"About time." Marco joked as Erek came in, stoic as always but with a pleasant smile on his face that told a different story.
"I'm sorry, but the Sharing kept me occupied longer than expected. I hope you got my message."
Jake nodded. "Don't worry, we kept ourselves busy. So what's new on the Yeerk front."
Erek's face fell. "Not too good I'm afraid. It can be interpreted as both good news and bad news, but our hunch on the communications center was correct. The Yeerks are planning on using the technology there to contact the Yeerk homeworld and, given time, a period of two weeks to be exact, transport a whole army onto the moon from which they will launch their attack upon earth."
No one said anything for about a minute. I think we were all in shock. Rachel was the first to recover.
"But that's not possible." She sputtered. "The technology we possess is not advanced enough to perform an operation of that kind of magnitude, let alone contact the Yeerk homeworld! If we did it would have been plastered all over the news by now."
"Usually I would agree, but..." Erek trailed off. "As you said, no, we do not possess the technology to do so. But we have recently developed an instrument that together with their technology, could create some sort of transportation or star gate if you will. I don't exactly know how it works, but, using your example, think Star Trek. Now think of a tractor beam that could pull an entire fleet of ships from one end of a worm hole, to the other within a fraction of a millisecond, a billion miles across the galaxy. That's what I'm talking about."
Rachel's face paled. "But Tobias and I scouted the communications center today, and nothing was happening."
"The Yeerks plan for this to take place in three days. First they'll infiltrate the compound then make hosts out of the workers there, the only people who are capable of working the machine. Visser Three is suppose to oversee the entire mission."
"And how do they know this will work?" Cassie asked tightly. "From what you've been saying it all sounds highly theoritical."
"Perhaps, but they seem highly confident that it will work."
"Wait." Jake interrupted. "My question is, why do this now? Why just suddenly decide to do this, after all this time? It doesn't seem to make any sense."
"He's right." Marco agreed, leaning back against the wall. "I mean, the communications center has been there for ages."
Something must have gone wrong.> I spoke up.
All eyes turned to me.
Think about it, doing something like this is only what I consider a desperate course of action. Some kind of disaster must have struck their planet to bring them running here. Or maybe this has something to do with the Andalites.>
"The only one who can offer you the answer is Chapman or Visser Three." Erek offered. "And both are rather untouchable right now. Security around the Sharing is tighter than ever before."
Jake bent his head then rubbed his temples. "Alright. We have three days to foil the Yeerks plan. Lets make the best of it."
And that we did. The meeting didn't end until two in the morning, where all the others had to sneak back into their houses without rousing their sleeping families. I accompanied Rachel back to hers.
So I'll see you tomorrow?> I asked as she opened the front door to her house.
"I guess."
I wanted to say something more. I think she knew that too, which was why she kept her hand on the door knob and eyes focused on the ground, making no move to move deeper into the house. And I should've said something more. But I didn't. Instead I flew away from her on a cold breeze that cut through the night.
Chapter Four
The meadow was still. Gloomy. The absence of life evident as the dark emerald grass rippled in the wind, and the twisted branches of the trees formed arbors high overhead in twine with the silver pallor of the moon. Somehow, I didn't feel sleepy that night. I felt... restless, full of adrenaline and yet nothing to use it on. So I continued to fly in circles around my meadow, sometimes swooping into the thick canopy of leaves and dive bombing unseen prey though there really was nothing there. Once or twice I nearly crashed into the ground, but I didn't care. Nor did I care for the many predators wandering around at this time of night. I felt powerful almost, gliding in and out of trees as if it were a second nature to me. That was when I saw her... or should I say, them. standing within the shadows or the woods, in deep discussion. I swear... I nearly fell out of the sky.
It was ironic really. The first time I had dismissed her as Ax. Now, for a second time, I had dismissed her as Ax again, for what I saw before me was a full grown Andalite, standing opposite another one with blue, almost lilac eyes. Their thought speech thundered in my ears, and it wasn't until I looked closely enough, that somehow, I just knew it was her.
Were you able to find out anything else?>
The message I intercepted was cut short, but from what I gather they should proceed with the mission in exactly three days.>
She then cursed in a word that was alien to me.
We've got to get back online with the mainframe and warn Decrondra Two. Do you have the necessary equipment to complete the task?>
We only brought back what they believed to be necessary my lady. We hadn't counted on human communications to be this... primitive. Although it might be for all the best if the Yeerks foolish attempt at contacting their homeworld ultimately fails.>
Indeed. I shall go back to the compound and see what I can find. In the meanwhile, go back and see what you can do. Cover your tracks.>
Yes my lady.>
They parted with those words. I decided to stick with Saffron, but as I looked back, I caught a glimpse of white disappearing past the trees.
He was the horse!> I thought, amazed. Then slowly, but surely, Saffron began morphing back to her human form, brown hair sprouting from her head and lips emerging where none had previously been. Within a matter of seconds, the fastest I'd ever seen anyone morph, she was fully human, and running through the woods at top speed.
I tried to fully comprehend and take in all that I had just witnessed, but found that I couldn't. Andalites? On earth? I couldn't believe it. If there were, why hadn't they contacted Ax and told him they had made it to earth? Why were they even here? A lot of it wasn't making any sense, even as I mulled through several other possibilities. The fact that they knew what the Yeerks were up to had to account for something.
Think Tobias, Think! I screamed in my head, flying as silently as I could. But I didn't want to think. The more I thought, the more messed up everything became. I abandoned doing so and stuck to concentrating on following Saffron. She was the key to all of this.
Unforunately, she didn't do much at all, except keep watch on the place, morphing then demorphing every now and again until traces of the sun could be seen beyond the horizon and light flared up and burned on the edges of the sky. Then, she back off and crept out of the woods. I chose to follow her, even though I was tired beyond belief and my wings hung like useless pieces of cardboard at my side. Somehow, fueled by determination and curiosity, I managed to make it all the way to the apartment where she stayed. Weary with exhaustion, I practically flopped onto the branch of a tree that had been planted in the sidewalk and closed my eyes.
I stayed there for a few moments, just wanting to catch my breath and then fly off again, but something prevented me from doing so. I don't know how on earth she managed to sneak up on me, but I felt a sharp object come into contact with my head, and then blackness. And the strangest part of all? I welcomed it.
Chapter Five
I woke up feeling groggy and confused, like a fog had been carefully placed over my mind to effect my thinking, for it felt as though any part of my brain at all ceased to function. Last nights events were also somewhere in that haze, like random pieces of a puzzle that just didn't seem to fit. I think that it was almost mid day, but I couldn't be sure. Sunlight streamed in through the window, but there was no clock to be found. I was in the middle of an empty room, perched on a potruding stick that balanced on the criss cross bars of my cage.
Wait... I was in a cage? My vision cleared and I felt this unbelievable urge to panic. Instinct told me fly away, but I couldn't, not in here, not like this. The human part of me tried to stay calm and collected, but the thought, the feeling of being locked up, in a cage no less, was utterly terrifying, and I was having a hard time keeping my instincts under control.
Good afternoon. You've been asleep for quite awhile now.>
I looked at the doorway, which previously empty, now had the formidable frame of an Andalite outlined against it. My panic grew to intense levels.
Now tell me who you are, what you are, and why you were following me last night. Or I shall have no choice but to kill you in order to protect the identiy of myself and my guardian. Do I make myself clear?>
I nodded.
Answer my questions.>
First, how who I know what you won't kill me anyway?>
So you do speak. Alright then, you have my word. And my word is all that I can give you.>
I thought it over. I knew for sure that she wasn't in collaboration with the Yeerks, but whether her intentions were good, or bad... well, I'd just have to take the risk.
Fine. But you know, I don't take to being lied to very well, Saffron Conners, if that's even your real name.>
I saw her tense up and her tail raise almost reflexively, but then she lowered it and looked at me a newfound respect in her eyes.
So I was right. Well then Tobias, I think you'd agree some explanations are in order.>
Yes, they are. But first get me out of this cage.>
She nodded, then walked over and undid the lock. The door swung open. I flew out giddy with happiness, flying around for it then landing on top of the cage. I regarded her apprehensively, even though she had admitted to being the girl who'd almost run over me the other day. There was something about her I couldn't quite put my finger on.
That's better.>
She gave me an amused look.
Now tell me Tobias, how is it that you have the ability to morph? And are... an eagle no less?>
I'm a hawk. A red tailed hawk, and no, I haven't always been this way. I'm a nothlit.>
I had to be careful at what I told her. I couldn't reveal too much without exposing the rest of the animorphs. Least to say, she seemed intrigued.
A nothlit? I'm sorry to hear that. How did it happen.>
Look, I don't really want to have to relive one of the most painful memories of my life, so lets just leave it at that alright? And don't try to act so regal and formal in front of me. Whatever happened to the laid back girl I ran into at the meadow?>
She didn't say anything. But when she spoke again I could see that she had taken my words to heart.
I guess it is a tad overdone, isn't it?> She said ruefully. Custom demands that I act this way. It's a bad habit.>
I could've grinned. She seemed so... different from Ax, and yet she was an Andalite. Interesting.
So what is your real name?>
To be quite honest, Saffron Conners is an abbreviated version of my real name. It's Saffrona-Zinthel-Carthaki. Well, almost. Your turn. So why were you following me?>
I overheard your conversation, sorry to say, and it sounded astoundingly similar to a piece of information I received earlier yesterday, about the Yeerks.>
At the mention of the Yeerks her eyes became narrow slits.
And what do you know about the Yeerks?>
I know enough.>
I don't think she was satisfied with my answer, for her tail flicked from side to side menacingly, and I prayed she wouldn't try to use it on me.
So how did you obtain morphing powers Tobias?>
I froze. I couldn't say anything without giving away Ax or Elfangor. And to make matters worse I could feel the hostility radiating from her. This was obviously a big issue to the Andalites, for I remember Ax telling me that it was strictly forbidden in Andalite custom, and could result in the immediate death of the perpetrator. I decided to take my chances.
If you've been around humans long enough Saffron, you'll know that we stay loyal to our friends. I'm afraid that you'll have to get that information from elsewhere.>
And what if I threatened to kill you.>
That wasn't a question. It was a statement. And I was speechless.
In the end, I chose to stay silent and let the threat hang. Neither of us said anything for at least five minutes, locked in a contest of wills. I don't know how or why, but I eventually won.
Alright Tobias.> She conceded. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But tell me something. That girl I saw you with... Rachel... does she possess morphing abilities as well?>
I think she took my silence as a yes. For some reason I just couldn't deny it, not to her. And the most frustrating thing of all... I didn't know why.
So there are others. Morph capable humans.>
Still more silence.
Alright Tobias, I see that you still don't entirely trust me. That will have to change if we are to help each other.>
Help each other? I admit the idea had come to me, but I didn't know enough about them to strike a deal. Where was Jake when I needed him?
Rayhn-Taraki-Zymiethia, come here at once.> She commanded. A set of hooves could be heard trotting across the floorboards, particularly loud to me since my superb hearing was way above that of humans.
Yes my lady?>
In the light I could see that there were many differences between the two. Rayhn-Tari-, I'll just call him Ray, had a noticeably large build than Saffron, who was more slender than muscular with cat like eyes. Her stalks were also surprisingly longer, longer than Ray's whose, like Ax, were rather stumpy and thick. The way she communicated to me in thought speak was more refined and delicate than anyone else I had ever heard, and that included Cassie and Rachel. But I guess they didn't count since they were humans.
I just want to introduce you to Tobias. Tobias, this is my faithful guardian who you may refer to as Rayhn, or whatever you want. Earth tongues are not suited for pronouncing our long and complicated names.>
I gave a little nod in acknowledgement and he did the same.
Now what we all know one another, I'll begin. Rayhn-Taraki-Zymiethia and I are part of a fleet known as the Girae First. Three weeks ago, prior to this day, we intercepted a disturbing message, relaying plans for a full out invasion on earth, targeted at the Yeerk homeworld. It was a very weak signal, however, and not all parts of the message got through to us. After a thorough debate with the council, the two of us were commissioned to investigate and so were handed over to the Decondra Four which has been orbiting your planet for some time now.
We are merely to find out what the Yeerks are up to, avert their plans and report back to the fleet where upon the Admiral will contact the council and thus decide what is to be done. We have been on your planet for ten days now, and will stay here until we have gotten what we came for.>
I was too mad, too... furious at that point to ask my next question. I was trembling with suppressed rage, but it needed to be asked.
And suppose it's true and the Yeerks succeed in transporting their entire army onto the moon. What then?>
If the Yeerks actions are deemed aggressive enough, with the likelihood of them trying again, then we'll have no choice but to declare war over your planet.>
So what you're telling me is, that this whole time you had a bloody FLEET circling our planet, and not ONCE, not even ONCE did it occur to you to come down and help us?>
What I said threw her off guard. I don't think she had been prepared for such a question, and I don't think I'd ever been as angry as I was just then.
Of course we wanted to help. It's just that we lacked the resources->
A FLEET.> I repeated. A WHOLE FLEET and you couldn't spare a few soldiers to help us in our war? And what about Ax? What about him? He's been waiting years for a sign, waiting years for the slightest indication that maybe, just maybe his people were coming to get him at last. What about us? What about the battles we've fought, what about the people we've lost? A WHOLE FLEET.>
Who's Ax?>
The name was like a slap to the face. In my anger I hadn't realized that I had blurted out the name of my uncle, my Shorm, and wholely admitted to there being several others like me. What had I done? She caught onto my indecision and thankfully, didn't let me answer the question.
Look Tobias, I'm not proud of standing by while you've done all you can on earth to help wage the unseen war against the Yeerks. You may not believe me, but I know what you're going through. We knew that there was at least one Andalite on earth, and although we wanted to contact him, we couldn't risk letting the Yeerks know our position around your planet. There have been plans, plans which no one's supposed to know about, that can end the Yeerks hold on the universe, and plans that have been drawn down to the very last detail. You have to trust me.>
Trust. How could I trust?
Please Tobias. Take us to your friends. Together, maybe we can stop the Yeerks from what they plan to do.>
I made my decision. But I guess I'll never know whether it was the right one. There are too many 'maybes' or 'perhaps's' to sort through when looking back at the past. Fate can choose to go either way, so it's never really for us to decide.
Chapter Six
It was weird really, introducing Saffron and Ray to the others. It was like I wasn't in control of anything I did. Even my thought speech was monotonous and my actions, forced, but somehow I managed to do it, with a thrown in explanation somewhere or rather, and gauging from their reactions I was relieved to note that some of them took it even better than I did. Ax in particular. But then again...
"I can't believe you did that!" Rachel hissed to me once out of earshot with the others, who were politely conversing with the two, now human, Andalites.
I cringed, not knowing what to say.
"I mean, we know hardly anything about them, and you just bring them here expecting us to trust them?
My sentiments exactly.
"Why?"
Why? Because of a feeling in my gut, that's why. But I couldn't exactly tell her that.
Alright Rachel, you want to know why? It's because I'm scared. I'm scared that these two might be the only hope we have left. Why are we kidding ourselves? If the Yeerks carry out their plan tomorrow, there's no way that we could ever hope to make a difference. I'm surprised that of all people, you're asking me this, because weren't you always the one to complain that we weren't taking enough risks? Well, I'm taking a risk, and if it turns out to be a mistake, I'll take the blame. But face it, without them we lose.>
That came out more dramatic than I had expected. I half expected her not to buy it, but I think she did, her eyes now stonily fixated on the floor and mouth drawn in a grim line. All of a sudden, I felt guilty.
Rachel... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that.>
No answer.
Rachel, I->
"Xena, Bird boy, get over here!" Marco called out.
I sighed. I'd have to have a talk with Rachel later. For now we'd have to listen at what Saffron and Ray had to say.
We went over the battle plan for the rest of the afternoon. We figured that sneaking into the compound and dismantling communications and destroying the device would do no good. In doing so we would be tearing into the fabric of the global network, which to put in simple english, would mean downing the entire radio network all across the country, including all emergency signals and international warnings. If things got desperate, however, we would have no choice. None of us had ever been in there, but Saffron had managed to get some blueprints of the layout which she had back at her place. We would move in as insects, then once in the air ducts drop straight into the main control room. It sounded simple, but in reality it wasn't. We would have to time it perfectly, due to the two hour limit and various alarm and security systems that had been rigged up all around the compound. One miscalculated move could mean being fried by a laser beam, setting off the alarms, or spending all of eternity as a cockroach, neither of which sounded very appealing.
Once inside the main control room we would send Ax, Saffron and Ray to work in rigging the system so that, when the Yeerks arrived and tried to infuse their technology into the device and replicate a transportation gate, it wouldn't work. If luck went our way and they were convinced that it was a failure, they would leave and then our three Andalites would program the system back to normal. Within that period of time there would be a slight disruption in communications, but not enough to cause chaos. All in all, it was a good plan, with many alternatives in case anything went wrong.
Ax went back with Saffron and Ray, hoping to discuss with them all that had happened since he had left. Luckily Saffron hadn't pursued the mystery of who had given us morphing powers again, but otherwise she knew everything else there was to know about us, so that at least had to leave her satisfied. But I didn't know for how long. Sooner or later the question would arise again, and I still had no idea how to answer it. Hopefully by that time, I would have figured something out.
As we said our good byes, I saw Rachel about to start towards her house. I nearly stopped her, but then remembered that there was something else I had to do first.
Jake?>
Yeah?> He answered, looking up.
You wouldn't happen to mind lending me some clothes again, would you?>
About forty five minutes later, I found myself dressed and standing in front of Rachels house, knocking on the door. Jordan was the first the answer, and she gaped upon seeing me. I smiled.
"Hey Jordan, is your sister home?"
She just nodded, backing into the house and waving me in. I stepped inside, wary that I had actually never seen the interior of Rachel's house before. Just her bedroom. It was really nicely furnished, a style reminescent to my third aunt, although Rachel's mum certainly had much better taste than that cranky old woman. It showed.
"Jordan, who was that... oh."
Rachel's mom entered the living room, wearing a purple headband and simple white T-shirt, an apron tied around her waist smeared with what I assumed to be cake batter.
"I wasn't aware that we would be having any guests."
I politely introduced myself, then told her that I was just looking for Rachel. She was nice enough, but seemed to regard me rather suspiciously. I then realized with a sinking feeling that I probably wasn't the first boy to coming to look for her daughter. She sent Jordan up to get Rachel, so I waited patiently by the door, glancing at some of the photos hung on the wall, photos of Rachel at a very young age.
Footsteps padded down the staircase as I heard strains of protests coming from Rachel as Jordan dragged her by the hand.
"Look, I don't care how good looking this boy is..."
My face turned beet red.
"But I don't want any visitors. Now just go tell tell him to leave whoever he-"
She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me.
"Tobias?" She stuttered.
I was confused. Maybe she really didn't want me here.
"I should go..."
"No!" She said much louder than expected. I stood rooted to the spot.
"No," She sighed, running her fingers through her thick blonde hair. "Um, what do you want?"
"I wanted to ask whether you wanted to go out for dinner with me."
I braced myself for the rejection. But instead her eyes flickered with surprise, then slowly, a smile spread across her face.
"I'd love to."
It was an evening I'll never forget. The last I would ever spend, happy, and just being Tobias hand in hand with the girl of his dreams as we strolled leisurely down the park after dinner, laughing and talking like the Yeerks had never existed. It was a night night for star gazing, for sitting back and thinking just how lucky we were to be alive. And enjoying the company of a friend whose friendship I wished would last forever. But yet I could not dispell the nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something bad was going to happen. I wanted so much to live in the moment, but that stray thought kept my senses on alert. I guess was wasn't too good at concealing my thoughts, for Rachel soon asked me what was wrong.
"Tobias you seem preoccupied." She said softly, as the wind rolled under her hair, lifting it up and making her autumn coat swirl around her legs.
"I guess I am." I admitted, chewing on my bottom lip.
"It's stupid though, because I don't even know what I'm preoccupied about."
"Well, just forget it and lets enjoy the evening."
I brought her home shortly afterwards, just like any guy would bring home his date. Her mother was waiting for us, converging on us the moment we stepped through the door, and she seemed relieved her daughter was home safely, although knowing Rachel, I wondered why. That made for a rather uncomfortable good bye, with her mother there, but nothing could take away from us what that evening meant, and most of all, the significance it shared. It's one memory that I still hold close to my heart, to remind me of why I continue fight. The only memory.
Chapter Seven
The day had come. The one we had all anticipated... and at the time dreaded, knowing full well what the consequences would be if we failed. The perimeter of the compound was closely watched by security guards and officers alike. There was about a thirty yard distance we had to cover as insects, in the mean while trying to avoid getting stepped on by the clumsy people lumbering about. Eventually we ended up using one of our old tactics, in which one of us would morph a dragonfly while the others would morph fleas. We would then proceed to play aeroplane. Now the only decision that had to be made was which unlucky morpher would have to become the dragonfly.
"Any volunteers?" Jake asked, assessing the group as we stood spread apart and hidden within the trees. Save myself who was perched on Rachels shoulder, trying carefully not to dig my talons into her flesh.
Saffron shrugged. "I'll do it." She offered, taking a step forward.
"Wait," Marco said. "Have you accquired Dragonfly DNA?"
"I accquired DNA from every single animal on your planet before arriving. It's just a simple task of remembering what it looked like, although the name sounds familiar."
Marco was astonished. "No, I'm not even going to ask. Alright so all we need now is to show you what a dragonfly looks like..."
He looked around us. "Dragonfly? Anyone?"
Over there.>
It had been buzzing around us for several minutes now, only that no one else seemed to notice. It was a mighty coincidence, though. Could've karma or fate.
Saffron nodded, her steely eyes sparkling excitely. "Alright. Morph one by one then get ready to come aboard." She was in her human morph just in case anyone discovered our hiding place, so she ducked behind a tree and began to demorph. We chose to morph into fleas one by one, remembering the trouble we had last time hijacking onto the last insect. This time at least with some help we were able to accomplish what sounded like a simple task, much quicker. Soon we were all boarded and ready to go.
Saffron, I sure hope you know where you're going.>
Jake said wryly from beside me, trying to get a better grip on her abdomen.
Don't worry Jake. I will get you and the others there safely.>
That she did. It was a bumpy ride, one that I would've surely thrown up on if I was human, but as a flea I found it almost impossible to get dizzy, although I found myself shaking a bit as we jumped off.
Again, morph one by one. I'll keep a lookout for you, these dragonfly eyes aren't as bad as you'd think.>
A hawk once more, I found myself peaking out from behind a stack of craters, a clever place to hide. Not only did it seem to go unnoticed by the people milling around, but it was tall enough to shield us from any unwanted attention, and stood just in front of a ventilation shaft which I assumed was to let some fresh air into the compound. After taking a quick look around, I concentrated on morphing a cockroach and shuddered in revulsion as an image formed in my mind of the insect I was supposed to become.
If it helps any, I read that cockroaches are supposed to be the cleanest form of life on your planet.>
Saffron must've noticed my discomfort.
It's okay, really.> I assured her. I'm just not as experienced at morphing as the others are.>
The morph was complete before I finished the thought through, and I was suddenly confronted by the cockroaches instinct which was to run. Luckily, Cassie who had already morphed calmed me down and prevented me from escaping. As I would later, much later, find out, tt wouldn't be the only time when she would do so.
Soon, a group of cockroaches squeezed themselves into the shaft and crawled along the air duct, a continuos network of shafts that ran along the interior of the compound, twisting and turning and never ending. I don't know for how long we crawled for. We just sort of went forwad mechanically, until at last...
We're here.> A collective sigh of relief rose among us, and we peered down at our destination from slits in the vents. The room, I thought, was suspiciously empty. So far, everything had gone as planned, and we had remained hidden from state of the art security systems, but I didn't know how much longer our luck would last. And who was to say that luck had anything to do with it anyway? I communicated to Jake privately.
This is too easy.>
I know. I'm going to keep everyone close. I don't like this.>
I nodded inwardly in silent agreement, then one by one we jumped down like sky divers, only that no parachute would open up to save us. It would've made for a pretty funny sight really. Bugs with parachutes. Focusing my attention back on the mission, I began to demorph. We had already discerned the notion of there being a security camera planted in here, so we changed shamelessly in the open. Saffron and Ray reverted back to their Andalite forms first, and so began work on the machine. I was not a computer wizard, so all I could do was watch, not really knowing what the hell they were doing. We would have to trust them.
Ax joined them a moment later. Just in case, the rest of us morphed once again into our battle morphs should any trouble arise. There was plenty of case, Cassie doing her usual wolf morph as Rachel did the bear, Marco the gorilla and Jake the Tiger. At first, Rachel had wanted to use her elephant morph but we voted against it. Not only weren't we sure whether or not the floor could support her weight, but the sound of her stomping around was bound to draw attention. And attention was the one thing we didn't need.
How's it coming along?> I asked, addressing the question to Ax.
Not very good Tobias. It's much more complicated than we had expected.> His forehead was creased and his hands working at a furious pace on the console. Saffron and Ray were doing pretty much the same thing, but in more agitated movements. I began to wonder if they had more riding on this than what they had first disclosed to us.
Which means...>
Which means we'll need longer than five minutes.>
That was a problem. Because in five minutes Visser Three and the controllers were going storm into the compound, take it over, then charge into this room and proceed to reprogram the machine. Definitely not good.
The seconds ticked by ominously. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock... I counted silently in my head, wishing that they would hurry up and casting anxious glances towards the door. I wasn't the only one. Rachel was swiping at the air, the expression on her face tense, and yet at the same time, apprehensive. I would've thought that she would've welcomed another battle, but then again... Jack was pacing back and forth across the floor, muscles rippling through his fur as he snorted then pawed at the ground. Marco was looking over Ax's shoulder. And if I knew any better, I would've said that he looked frantic. He and Ax both, like a realization had begun to dawn on them, some terrible thing that I didn't know.
Just then a terrible thing did happen. The sound of footfalls on the corridor outside, followed by pounding of hooves. There were here. I braced myself for the attack. We had no choice. Either, we would have to somehow render all of them unconcious, or even kill, or destroy the machine. It would all be down to the last few seconds. I didn't need to say anything, for the rest of them had heard it as well.
The door swung door and there stood Visser Three.
* * * * *
Authors Note: Okay, this wasn't exactly the kind of climaxing ending I was working towards, but after nearly four hours of writing, I need a break! It's not writers block, no; I have an outline of the story, uh, in some dark corner of my room somewhere, but as everyone knows school is starting soon and there's some stuff I need to do before continuing the fanfic... thanks for reading anyway. =)