Chapter 16
James and Imrahil stood in the opening of the Bug fighter to watch the battle. The Kelbrid seemed eager for the fight to begin. But of course, Kelbrid love only one thing more than watching combat: entering it.
I was nervous. That was only to be expected. Guraff had seen more fights than even I had. He rarely lost. Especially when the stakes were high. He wasn't famous by and large, but amongst the higher levels of the Andalite military, his was a name whispered in dark rooms. We knew of him.
He raised both of his bladed arms. Hork-bajir are not as fast as Andalites, not even Guraff's body. That was, perhaps, my only advantage. I would have to make full use of that.
I struck at Guraff before he could react. A shallow cut along his left arm was my only reward. After that first attack, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He blocked my tail with a wrist blade even as he swiped at me with his other elbow. I leaned my torso back, millimeters from being slashed. I swear he shaved hairs off of my chest.
I was faster, but he had more blades. Many more. I was on the defense now, and losing ground. I'd deflect one arm only to be met with another and a kneeblade besides. It was more than just the physical prowess of Guraff's host. There was refinement to his attacks, a discernible technique so unlike all the other Hork-bajir I fought. The other Hork-bajir were always basically just flailing with their blades. There was no skill involved. But with Guraff... it was an art.
Guraff was forcing me back. His blows were like being hit with a hammer. My tail was starting to go numb and all I could do was frantically try and keep him from cutting me. All four of my eyes were focused on Guraff, so I didn't see a James and Imrahil. But I could hear them. "That's it, I'm going in there," James began.
I heard a familiar sound. I believe Imrahil struck James with the flat of his tailblade. ((Do not be a fool. If we rush in to help, so will those Kelbrid. If you want to get out of this alive, you must trust in the great Prince Aximili,)) he snorted.
"Since when do you people know sarcasm?"
Guraff gave me a Hork-bajir frown. "I am disappointed, Prince Aximili." Then, he caught my tail with one hand and punched it with his right, right on a very important nerve. My whole tail felt like it was on fire. Then it just felt numb. Before I could even realize what happened, he followed up by punching me just above my upper heart. A third blow to my throat almost made me black out.
I sank to my knees and he released my tail. It fell to the floor, my blade sounding almost hollow when it landed. ((Pathetic as always, Aximili,)) Imrahil sighed.
Guraff laughed. "Would you care to fight me as well, traitor? Then by all means, come forward. Or what about you, human? Would you fight me?"
James looked at me. ((That is not a fight you will win, James,)) I told him privately.
"No," James said at last. "Imrahil can be my guest."
((Imrahil,)) I said, ((If you fight him, he will kill you.))
((I am stronger than you, Aximili.))
((Not nearly strong enough. Neither of us is. Even together, we could not stand against him. The only way we'll survive is to do as he said. We already agreed to offer no resistance.))
((You agreed to offer no resistance.))
((So die then.))
"It seems that none of you is willing to fight any more. You agreed that you would offer no resistance. Please stand and follow me. I do not wish to have to resort to restraining measures."
((I understand.)) I struggled to my feet and kept my tail low. A Kelbrid put a sheath on my blade as well as on Imrahil's. Then, Guraff sprayed us with something in a can.
"I cannot take the chance that your allies are hiding on you as bugs, of course," Guraff pointed out.
We followed Guraff through the halls, down a dropshaft, and into the Blade ship's detention level. The walls appeared to be lined with iron doors, although I know they were much more sophisticated than that. The Visser has nostalgic tastes. "To the left are the torture chambers," Guraff said.
((Why would I care to know that?)) Imrahil demanded.
"So that when the command comes to take you to the left, and it will, Imrahil, you will know what it means." Then, Guraff turned to James. "We have not met."
James looked at me and I nodded. "I'm James." He gave his last name. "The new guy, I guess, although I joined at the end of the first war."
"And how did you come to join this fight, James?"
"Uh…magic?"
Guraff looked at me. ((Crayak assisted him,)) I explained.
"Ah. I am glad to meet you, James. This will be your cell. If you are a man of valor, I will do what I can to see that you are not mistreated. If you are a man like Imrahil, I will do all within my considerable power to ensure that you meet a slow and painful end. Accept your confinement with dignity."
"Can't we talk about this? Ax, isn't there some sort of plan?" James asked even as he was being shoved into the cell by a Kelbrid.
((This was supposed to happen to the others,)) Imrahil spat.
Guraff shoved him into a different cell without a word. The Kelbrid departed, leaving me with Guraff. "Soon, you will once more be Esplin's host, Aximili. Does your honor let you accept this so casually?"
((My honor is anything but casual, Guraff. Surely you understand this.))
"I do indeed. So I will give you your last moments of freedom to spend with your family." Guraff opened an unusually thick door and gestured that I should go inside.
I walked in and he closed the door behind me. I heard a voice faintly. One that was painfully familiar. ((Prince Aximili?))
((Yes. It is me, Alloran.))
Chapter 17
Alloran hugged me in the dark. ((How did you get here? Have you been captured too? Where is Prince Tobias?))
I waited for him to calm down. ((We were captured by the Yeerks. Tobias is a hostage of the rebels. But do not worry, Alloran. All is going according to plan.))
((Forgive me, Prince Aximili, but it does not sound like things are going well at all.))
((We planned to steal the Blade ship,)) I started to explain. ((But it would not be easy. We needed one team to be a distraction and one to actually steal it.))
((Both seem to have failed.))
((The distraction has worked perfectly,)) I assured him. ((Guraff has been concentrating on us. Concentrating so much, in fact, that he did not notice the flies that flew out of James' mouth after he sprayed us for bugs.))
((James?))
((Oh. Perhaps I should explain that.)) After I told him about James.
((So he is a coward,)) Alloran surmised.
((Yes, that seems to be the case. But perhaps he can prove us wrong. David certainly did, it seems.))
((And how is the ship going to be stolen?))
((We are the distraction, Alloran. The others were flies hiding in James' mouth, where nothing would detect them. Once we were sprayed, James released them. Marco, Jeanne, and David are going to get to the bridge and hijack the ship.))
((How? It is all heavily encoded, and dozens of Kelbrid could be summoned to the bridge in a moment's notice.))
((Marco and Jeanne were supposed to go back to the Visser's personal hangar, now that it's unguarded. They were to morph to Garatron; with those morphs, they can reach the bridge and seal it off before even the Kelbrid can react. They have probably already done it. As for the other security…Jeanne knows how to penetrate Yeerk security better than most. There are few who are as familiar with it. She should have complete access soon.))
((And then what?))
((Then, she will unlock these cells. With David's help, we will get to the bridge and join Marco and Jeanne. Then we will land this ship in the community center and give it to the rebels.))
((Why will we give it to them?))
((Tobias tells me that-)) The door swung open. In the light from the hallway, I could see what had happened to Alloran. He was thin and weak. ((When did you last eat?))
((The Visser ordered me to be starved. He thought it would be ironic, since we tried to starve him. Guraff fed me when he could, but he had to be careful about it.))
Imrahil stepped out of his cell. ((What happened?)) he demanded.
((Oh, I'm afraid I forgot to mention a small detail of our plan. We were the distraction.))
An identical pair of lions appeared from different cells. ((Hello, David. James.))
((Hey,)) they both said. One of the lions turned to Alloran. ((And you must be Alloran. Nice to meet you. I'm James.))
((It is an honor.))
((Can we cut the introductions short?)) David asked. ((I'm pretty sure Marco and Jeanne disabled all of the wide alert systems, but it's only a matter of time before we're discovered. We need to get to the bridge.))
We made it out of the prison complex with no difficulty. The guards were probably concentrating on the bridge by now. That was good news and bad news. Good because it meant we wouldn't have much trouble until we got close to the bridge. Bad because when we did get there…
I could see the bridge. Marco and Jeanne, both in Garatron morph, were working at command consoles. A transparent force field separated them from a veritable army of Kelbrid. Guraff stood just outside of the force field, typing on a keypad in the wall. Presumably trying to override it while Marco and Jeanne tried to keep him out.
Between us and Guraff were the Kelbrid. I raised my tail. Perhaps I could not win. But the hall was narrow. Imrahil and I, standing side by side, filled it. Perhaps we could defeat the Kelbrid this time. David and James, twin lions, guarded our rear. We kept Alloran between us; I doubted he was in any condition to fight.
((Imrahil,)) I said slowly, ((I think it is time for us to put our differences aside.))
((Agreed, Aximili.))
((Should we have some kind of battlecry?)) James suggested. ((You know, get us psyched up before we die?))
Imrahil and I met with our main eyes. There were only two things we could agree on. ((For honor and glory?)) I suggested.
((For blood and death,)) he replied.
((It seems, Prince Imrahil, that we have have more in common than I thought.)) Then, together, we raised our tails once more and charged the Kelbrid. We were five against an army, crying for blood and death. If we had been against other opponents, they would have been afraid of us.
But these were Kelbrid and they knew no fear. And for all our words, Imrahil and I were just two Andalites against an army. Perhaps I was finally crazier than Elfangor.
Chapter 18
The Kelbrid in the rear spun to attack us. I parried his stinger while Imrahil decapitated him. Almost immediately, two more Kelbrid took his place. I struck harder and faster than I ever had before. Every millisecond found my blade in a new place. I knew no peace. None. Just battle now.
Slowly, step by step, Imrahil and I forced our way forward over fallen Kelbrid. But we could not keep it up for long. Already the acid in their blood was burning my flesh and melting my tailblade.
Imrahil parried a strike from the Kelbrid in front of him and I sank my tailblade into its throat. I must have hit an artery because its blood spurted over my face. The pain was unimaginable, yet not unbearable. I felt the pain, but it seemed so far away, almost as though it was Imrahil who had just been blinded in one eye and not me.
Instinctively, I wiped the blood off of my eye with my hand. A foolish move because now my hand burnt as well. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for the next step forward, the next blow of my tail, my next breath.
I was aware, dimly, of Guraff giving orders. The Kelbrid were circling around through side rooms, trying to flank us. Already James and David were battling more Kelbrid on our rear. I heard a roar of anguish from both man and beast as James felt the Kelbrid blood for the first time.
((AHHH! What are these things? Their blood burns!))
((It can melt steel,)) David agreed. With one stalk eye, I saw him club a Kelbrid in side of the head. The beast looked disoriented for a moment. James sank his teeth into its throat. At the same time, David dove over James to get at the Kelbrid that was attacking James from behind.
Imrahil and I continued to press forward but our strength was failing. My tail felt heavy and my blade was already worn away to little more than a sharp nub. I was blind in one eye and had several gashes along my flanks that I didn't even notice thanks to the Kelbrid poison.
Imrahil himself was not in good shape. One of his stalk eyes was missing, and there were various burn marks along his flank and torso.
The Kelbrid were coming from all sides not. It was pure chaos. It was like the massacre in the Matcom building that we survived only because Erek had been reprogrammed to kill. No, no, this was worse than that. It was like being in the ant tunnels. Only there had I ever experienced such a fight.
((GoddamnitJeannelowerthedamnforcefield! Theyneadourhelp!)) I heard someone say. Who was it? Marco? My mind was beginning to fade.
((''tgoingtohelpthematall.))
I sank my knife of a tailblade into a Kelbrid's flesh, but there was no force behind the blow. I suddenly realize I was lying on my side. Alloran was vainly trying to fight off the Kelbrid, but to no avail. He and a lion were fighting back to back. David probably. Where was James?
Then I saw him. A bloody mess lying next to Imrahil. Imrahil, my lifelong rival. Imrahil the traitor. Imrahil, the Prince who would die by my side. Much is forgiven when one is dying.
David slumped and fell to the ground, his mind fading away as mine was. Darkness swam at the corners of my vision. Everything seemed so far away…The ship was spinning slowly.
There was a leg next to my good main eye. A Hork-bajir foot. The vision from my stalk eyes made very little sense anymore. I think Alloran was fighting Guraff.
Guraff held Alloran's tail in one claw. His other was on my nephew's throat. Alloran's legs wobbled. "Goodnight, sweet prince; and a flight of angels sing thee to thy rest." Gently, he lowered Alloran to the floor.
I seemed to live in two worlds. In one, I could see Marco pounding on a keypad, Garatron fingers flying faster than I could comprehend. Guraff and his Kelbrid waited.
But I also saw something else, almost beyond my vision. Something was replacing the darkness around the edges. Something…something alien, yet familiar. What was this?
There was a voice in my head. ((Hey. Sorry, Ax-man, but it isn't your time yet.))
That voice…no. Impossible. But it kept going. ((You've got to get back up, man. It's not time. You don't get to leave this war just yet.))
A hallucination. It had to be. It could not be real.
((If this isn't real, why do you feel stronger?))
((It cannot be,)) I whispered.
((Does it matter if it's real or not, Ax? This strength is real. This fight is real. And you really need to get back up. That's an order.))
((Yes, Prince Jake.))
((Don't call me Prince.))
Chapter 19
Slowly, I climbed to my hooves. Guraff watched me rise. ((It is not over yet, Guraff.))
"You are stronger than I thought. With your wounds, you should not be able to stand." Then, with one hand, he shoved me. I fell over.
I struggled to my hooves again and raised my tail. The Kelbrid were watching, fascinated. Guraff shoved me down once more. "Do not make this more painful than it must be, Prince Aximili."
Again I rose to my feet. ((This will be as it must be, Guraff.)) I struck with my tail. I did not even break the skin.
For the third time, Guraff knocked me to the floor. "Do not embarrass yourself, Prince. I do not enjoy this."
I rose on shaking legs. ((The only embarrassment would be to remain on the floor.))
He placed one talon on my chest and shoved me down. This time, he held me there. "You are brave, noble, and honorable, Prince Aximili. Do not force me to add foolish to that list."
((How'sthisforfoolish?)) Marco asked. ((We'vereprogrammedthebiofilterstodestroyallKelbridintwominutes. AndoncewefoundyourDNAinthesystemallittookwasalittlefancyworktohaveyousetfordestructiontoo. Youcanstayorgo. It'syourchoice. MaybeyoushoudlnthavespentsomuchtimescrewingwithAx.))
Guraff looked at Marco. Slowly, he turned his head back to me. "If I sacrifice this ship, I will not leave without giving the Visser a prize. Your nobility, Prince Aximili, has spared you this time. Remember this."
He took his foot off of me. Then, he hefted Imrahil over his shoulders. To his Kelbrid, he said, "Come with me to the hangar. At least we can stop them from getting the Bug fighters. We will take what we can."
The Kelbrid followed Guraff to the dropshaft and then disappeared out of sight. Only then did Marco lower the force field. He went to gorilla morph and together, we carried Alloran, David, and James into the bridge. Then we sealed it back up.
After a few minutes, we succeeded in waking the others up. They morphed and demorphed to restore their bodies. I myself morphed to human. I sat in the corner with my arms wrapped around my legs. There is something comforting about that position.
Jeanne sat next to me and put one arm over my shoulder. "You did well, Prince Aximili."
I did not respond. Marco joined in. "Yeah, Ax-man. You had one of the toughest missions we've ever faced. And that fight in the hallway…do you have any idea how many Kelbrid you killed? There are going to be more legends about you by the time those remaining Yeerks reach the pool."
Alloran, in his human morph so similar to the shorm I knew during the first war, sat on my other side. I know that he wanted to appear to be a strong, brave warrior. But it was very obvious that he was just a scared child. We all were.
The ship having been put on auto pilot, James and David joined us. We all sat in a heap on the floor, holding one another. No one moved or spoke until the ship's computer told us that we had entered the atmosphere and were preparing to land. "Guess it's time for round two," Marco sighed.
I nodded. "Mersa will not want to return Tobias since we do not have Imrahil."
"After what we just went through, an army of Hork-bajir won't seem so bad," David said. "At least their blood's just sticky and wet."
The community center came into sight. I got an idea. "Jeanne, try to hail the Reliquary. It might be in the area."
Indeed it was. A hologram of an impatient Rachel was soon glaring at us. "Well? I see you got the ship. Is everything alright? Why are you in human morph?"
Then she caught sight of Alloran. "Oh...Al. I can't believe…I mean, I hoped and prayed, but… I'm going to have a special dinner waiting when you all get home, okay?"
After our previous ordeal, that did not sound too terrifying suddenly. Nevertheless, all of us but James shared a concerned look. "Actually, Rachel," Alloran began, "I think I would prefer to dine as an Andalite tonight."
"I'll have his dinner," Marco bluffed.
Rachel gave him a look. "I'm not wasting my cooking on you, Marco. If Alloran wants to feed Andalite-style, I'll just order in, okay?"
"Perfect," David said with a smile. The hologram winked out. "Crisis number one avoided," David said.
"More like crisis number seven, the way this day's been going," Marco groaned. "Let's just nab Tobias and get out of there. God, I wish he had been with us on this mission."
"Me too," Alloran added. "When we were all crying…he would not have been."
I nodded "He would have remained strong for the rest of us. The way I should have."
"Believe me, dude, you did," Marco said. "If you hadn't kept getting up… That was inhuman."
"I cannot disobey a direct order, Marco. And I do not think I should have to remind you that I am, in fact, not human."
"Order? What order?" James asked.
This time I remained silent. There was no reason for them to know about my hallucination. If that is what it had been. I always considered myself a man of science, but some of the things I have seen…
We landed the Blade ship in the parking lot. Alloran input the self destruct code, just waiting to be triggered when we needed it to be done. Now, the only thing left to do was get our leader and go home.
Chapter 20
I demorphed and found, to my surprise, that my left eye was still burnt away. I also had a few deep scars on my body. Marco took a look at my eye. "Oh man, that's nasty, Ax. Why didn't that heal?"
((I do not know,)) I admitted. At least my tailblade was restored. If it had not been… ((Sometimes, injuries do not heal as they should when morphing. I am no scientist, so I could not tell you why that is.)) I looked at James and Alloran.
Both shrugged. "After that sario-storm, I don't even care," James said. He looked at me. "Did I use that word correctly?"
((Well, you really shouldn't use it all,)) I reminded him. ((Especially not in front of Alloran. But yes, it was grammatically correct.))
"Trust me, James, Alloran's been through far worse than your cursing," Marco said. Then he looked around. "Sario. Rachel and Tobias are both gone."
"Don't you start saying it," Jeanne warned. "Let's just get Tobias and go home."
The guards at the front looked at us oddly when they saw we were accompanied by an Andalite significantly younger than the one with which we had left, but they did not stop us. One led us to Mersa's office.
Mersa and Tobias were both leaning over a chessboard. We entered to hear Tobias complaining, "-game of strategy my formerly-feathered ass. If this was a real war, my options wouldn't be nearly so limited."
"You must work within your means," Mersa replied, moving a piece.
"Maybe in a game. But war isn't a game, now is it? In war, there are no limits."
"Everyone has their limits, Tobias. Checkmate."
"Not if I move here."
"Your king can't move there."
"Why not?
"Because he just can't. The rules clearly state that."
"I'm aware of the rules. I play by my own."
"But then how can you lose?"
"So you see the appeal." Then, Tobias noticed us. "Oh, you're back. Ax, what happened to your-" He cut off when he saw Alloran.
"Where is Imrahil?" Mersa asked almost distractedly.
((He was captured by the Yeerks,)) I answered as calmly as I could.
"Very well," Mersa sighed. "Tobias, it seems you and I are going to be spending a lot more time together. You had best learn to play by the rules."
Tobias shook his head. "No, Mersa. You have the Blade ship. I'm leaving now."
"Well, go on then," Mersa said, waving is hand to the door. "Make sure to say goodbye to your family. You broke our deal, you know and, as you pointed out, they are vulnerable to my retribution."
Tobias laughed. Then, it cut off abruptly. A Howler claw sprang out of his wrist. He picked Mersa up by the throat, the rest of his arm already morphing to that of the Howler.
"Let me make this very clear, Mersa. My family is the one thing I will not sacrifice for this war. If anything happens to anyone I consider to be my family, I will blame you. And I will find you. And I will kill you. Is that clear?"
"But…you…need…me," Mersa hissed, already changing colors either from rage or lack of oxygen.
"Not as much as I need them," Tobias answered, giving him a Howler smile before he dropped the gasping Yeerk back down. We all turned to leave.
"Do you really think you'll win in the end?" Mersa asked. "Do you think you can prevail against all of us?"
Tobias glanced at the chess board. "A game is one thing, Mersa. War quite another. In war, your options are limited only by what you're willing to do. And me...my options are limitless."
"As are our numbers, Tobias. You few…what can you do against us all?"
"'For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.' Master Sun. It is a simple matter for the few to defeat the many, you see. We need attack only where you are weak. But you, not knowing where you are weak, must strengthen all points. And in doing so, you weaken all points as well. The more you expand, the more you expose yourself. The longer you stretch your neck, the easier it is for the axe to find it."
Tobias turned to us. "Well, it looks like you've all had quite the day. Let's go. I'm sure Rachel's going to have a hot meal ready for us."
"She ordered out."
"Oh thank God. Or Crayak. Or Ellimist. Whatever. Alright gang, let's go home."
Chapter 21
Having no means of transportation, we walked to Rachel's house in human form. None of us had much to say about that day. I suppose it could not have been pleasant for Tobias to spend that time with Mersa as his only company. But I think that would have been pleasant compared to the ordeal on the Blade ship.
He noticed we were all being unusually silent. "What happened?" he asked us. "I can see you lost Imrahil. But that shouldn't hit you so hard. He was a traitor, after all. And we've got Al back. Why no smiles?"
"There was…a battle," I began slowly.
"Battle isn't the word for it," James said. "That was a slaughter. How are we even alive?"
"Guraff told them to take you alive," Marco told him. "He wanted to capture all of us."
"How many Kelbrid?" Tobias asked.
I shook my head. "We do not know. It does not even matter. They just did not stop coming. We were in a narrow hallway and they came at us from all sides. Three Andalites and two lions against an army of Kelbrid. Marco and Jeanne were trapped behind a force field. They could not help us."
"Have you ever experienced anything like that slaughter?" James asked.
"Santorelli and I once-" Tobias cut off and shook his head. There was a far off look in his eye. "It must have been terrible."
"One weird thing," David began. "It might have just been the death-induced hallucinations, but did Guraff quote Shakespeare after he strangled Al?"
"Did he?" Marco asked. "I never read any Shakespeare."
"What did he say?" Tobias wanted to know.
Al answered him. "He said, 'Goodnight, sweet prince; and a flight of angels sing thee to thy rest.'"
Tobias smiled. "So he took my advice. Good. I always thought he'd enjoy Hamlet."
When we reached the house, the others went inside. Tobias, Alloran, and I went around to the backyard. Alloran and I demorphed while Tobias morphed to Andalite. There was not nearly enough room for us to graze properly, but we were content just to walk around for a bit.
Privately, so Alloran could not hear, Tobias said to me, ((I know what that battle must have been like, Ax. I've told you about the battle of He Fei, haven't I?))
I thought about it. ((Thirty-seven times.))
((Oh. Well…during that episode with the Time Matrix, Santorelli and I ended up there. He and I fought alongside Zhang Liao at He Fei. That was a slaughter, a bloodbath. Santorelli and I were Howlers and we still almost didn't come out of it. There were just so many… And all humans. That battle never left me and never will. I've got my own scars from it.))
((What did you do afterwards?)) I asked. ((I sat in the corner and almost cried. We all did. What did you and Santorelli do?))
((We celebrated with Cao Cao and Zhang Liao.))
((How could you manage to celebrate after something like that?))
((Because once the dust settled, we were still standing. Life, Ax…it's all just a series of small victories, really. You have to take all the pleasure you can from the little successes. Any day I'm alive, I've won.))
((You did not always believe that,)) I reminded him.
((No. But I do now. And you know the reasons.)) I nodded. We both looked at the house, full of our family, which was expected to grow in a few months. And we looked at Alloran, grazing happily and completely oblivious to our conversation. I suddenly realized something.
((Tobias, do you see what we've become?))
((What?))
((I remember being on the Dome ship. I would be grazing, just like Alloran. And not far away, there would be the old soldiers, the Princes, talking about war and life and I would not really understand a word of it. We've become them, Tobias.))
He laughed. ((Doesn't that always happen? When you're young, you always look at the older ones and think about how different they are from you. And then one day, it hits you: you're exactly the same.))
((I suppose so.))
Rachel came from the house. "Hey, you three! Come on, the food's going to get cold. And Marco won't stop complaining because I won't let him eat until the three of you are with us. Ax, what happened to your eye?"
((Kelbrid,)) I shrugged. ((Some wounds do not heal as they should. Captain-Prince Asculan-Semitur-Langor lost a stalk eye to the Yeerks, you may remember.))
"Who?"
((Uh..Ax? She was dead when we met him,)) Tobias reminded me. How could I have forgotten that?
((Sorry,)) I mumbled. Well, as much as one can mumble in thought speak.
"Don't worry about it. We'll have to get you something to cover that scar and missing eye, though. We'll go shopping tomorrow, okay?"
((You know he's going to want cinnamon buns if you take him to the mall,)) Tobias reminded her.
"We'll see how he behaves."
We all morphed to human and entered the house. It was an incredible sight, really. The dining room table was covered in food. Around the table sat Jacques, Naomi, Jordan, Sarah, and Jeanne. They were Rachel's family. But also, there was Marco, David, and James, soon to be joined by Alloran and myself. Tobias's family, in a way.
We all sat down and I was struck by how odd this all was. For all that it had torn apart, this generations-long war with the Yeerks had brought a lot together, too. It was not, in my mind, a small victory at all.
And now, to leave you with some words of wisdom from Streetlight Manifesto:
"Falling,
fallen, we all fall down Everything we built Calmly,
calmly and patiently Somehow, someway, we persevere
It only really matters how we stand our
ground
And if and when we rise to our feet again
We'll be on
our own
(It's gone)
And everyone
around
(Is stunned)
We just sit here staring blankly
And
everything goes numb
Lord, if I felt a thing
I could wrap my
mind around this
And prevent our getting singed
Please excuse
my enemies
I think they do not know
I will gladly self destruct
if they leave me alone
Friend, that's the end of us
Because
you're way behind in empathy and overdue on trust
We've seen all the evidence
But still
cannot believe
And if and when we rise to our feet again
We'll
be on our own
The questions
on our lips fall on deafened ears
And if and when we rise to our
feet again
We'll be on our own"
—If and When We Rise Again
Don't miss the next installment of the Animorphs series:
66: The Hunters
This meeting had a totally different feel to it than the ones I had grown used to. Usually, there was a big meal in front of us (granted not even I could eat Rachel's cooking, but still…). Sure, the atmosphere was never festive, but there wasn't the pervading sense of impending doom that I felt going in to this one.
Tobias was seated at the head of the table, as usual. Rachel took a seat to his left, Ax and Al to his right. I sat at the other end, as far away from Rachel as I could get. Sara had made the wise decision to disappear. Although no one had told her exactly what was going on, I think she realized it was Animorph business and knew to get out of the way.
Marco, Jeanne, and James arrived last. James was an interesting story, I think. He is…my opposite, I suppose. I grew up with a loving family; he was alone. I had a healthy human body; he was confined to a wheelchair for his whole life. But the very thing that was my curse, the morphing power, was a blessing to him. He gained everything I had lost. Maybe it's true what they say: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Marco sat down and moaned. "Oh man. This just does not feel good. Does anyone else feel all the negativity in this room?"
"It's going to get a lot more negative if you don't shut up," Rachel snapped. At the same time, Jeanne said, "I think part of that is that everyone knows you're going to say something ridiculous, Marco." Sometimes, in spite of everything, it's hard to remember they aren't related by blood.
"I have some news," Tobias began. He never sounds happy exactly, but this was definitely beyond his normal tone. He was not happy about this. "The Visser launched an attack on the community center. He sent a transport ship full of Kelbrid and Guraff to attack it, supported by a full squadron of Bug fighters.
"Mersa's forces met them in space. In the resulting battle, the transport ship was destroyed by the Blade ship. The Visser lost about half a squadron of Bugs, Mersa the same. Early reports suspect that Guraff escaped in one of the Bugs."
"Why do you sound so disappointed?" James asked. "I thought that was what we wanted."
Tobias nodded. "It is. Mersa can take care o f himself now. Which means that we don't have to sit here and babysit him anymore. And the other front has been neglected for far too long already…"
"Wait, you mean…go back?" Marco asked. "What about the fight here?"
"Mersa can't really afford expand his operations. He has a very limited number of Yeerks at the moment and has to wait some time to breed some more. They're actually overextended as it is. They got greedy and nervous and grabbed more hosts than they could handle. Already they've had to take Yeerks out of Horks and stick them in humans just to keep hosts from getting free. Now's the time to strike the Visser's forces."
"What could we do to them?" Marco asked. "How can we do some real damage?"
Tobias turned to Ax. "Do you want to explain?"
((I would be honored, Tobias.)) Ax went through a whole hell of a lot since I met him so long ago. He did a stint as the Visser's host and that messed him up. And in our last battle, he lost an eye to the Kelbrid. Now, he had a stylish eye patch covering the burn marks from the Kelbrid's acidic blood. He always made me nervous, but now he scared me.
((The Kelbrid have a few weaknesses. They are driven by an almost Taxxon-like need for battle. But on top of this, they have a very fast metabolism. If not properly and frequently fed, they starve rather quickly. It takes a great deal to fuel the Kelbrid body.
((In the event that a Kelbrid is unable to feed, it is capable of going into a hybernative state that will prolong its life. When traveling from world to world, the Kelbrid are often in this state. Otherwise, the expenditure of food that would be necessary to keep them alive during the journey would be astronomical. I believe that sums it up, Tobias.))
Tobias nodded. "Right. Here's what I'm thinking. Ax also told me that the Visser doesn't exactly feed his Kelbrid. Guraff's elites are fed, but the others are left to die. This is why he only imports Kelbrid when he needs them.
"According to Ax, he stationed several packs of Kelbrid on the Hork-bajir world. His personal team of smugglers transports them from the Hork-bajir planet to a waiting transport ship beyond the sensors of the Andalite blockade. The transport ship then brings the Kelbrid to Earth. This is faster than waiting for the One to ship him some."
I realized where this was going. ((With the recent loss of that transport ship that Mersa's people took out, he'll be importing more Kelbrid. Since he needs them in a hurry, he'll use the ones from the Hork-bajir world. If we keep wiping out transports, he can't get more Kelbrid.))
Marco caught on then. "And because he doesn't have the resources to sustain his other Kelbrid, they'll go into hibernation. That'll be a massive blow. And all their facilities will be massively exposed. No amount of humans or Hork-bajir could ever overcome a Howler, two Andalites, a pair of Garatrons, and a couple of lions."
James sighed. "I wish I had a cool alien morph."
Tobias ignored him. "Yeah. This could be the opening we need, now that we know about this weakness in the Kelbrid. It's time for us to strike back. So pack your bags everyone because we aren't coming home until this is all over."
I snuck a glance at Rachel, who was carefully not looking at anyone. This couldn't be easy for her, to have us all leave to fight the war. Now I understood the dark look in Tobias's eyes.
Preview Summary
Mersa's Rebellion can now defend itself against the Visser and Guraff. It's time for the Animorphs to strike back on the original front of the war. But the Visser cannot allow Mersa's forces to exist. He has unleashed two deadly assassins with only one goal: the destruction of the Yeerk Rebellion.
But the Animorphs cannot allow the Rebellion to be put down. It ties up the Visser's resources and slows both invasions. Once more, David, Al, Tobias, Ax, James, Jeanne, and Marco must step in to defend Mersa. But this time, they may have their match...
Part I of a Trilogy