NOTE: following from the disaster that was this chapter's original version, editing is still ongoing. I apologize in advance if I end up changing anything major in the near future.
I felt Delnik's presence as I refocused. ((He...he changed your memories!?))
((No, he didn't change them. He just...faded them,)) I said. ((I needed it, Delnik. I really did. Had he not done it, I'd have...))
((...I see,)) Delnik said.
All three of us were in Sonja's bedroom – Arash, Delnik and myself. It was a wide open space, with a soft carpeted floor and a luxurious-looking double bed. I had been demorphed, and was dressed in nothing besides a pair of underwear from Henry's room next door. I wasn't bothered by this: since I would soon be morphing again anyway, any additional clothing seemed unnecessary.
To one side of the bed was a small desk, on which Sonja's computer was always kept. That computer was switched on, and had just been connected to the Yeerk Undernet. Born as a project of the yeerk military, the Undernet was only actually completed a few months after the war's end. Since then, it had become a haven for any yeerk wishing to live a life of secrecy. Advice on a wide range of matter could be exchanged freely, as could Kandrona locations whenever there was the need.
Which, right now, there was.
Delnik browsed the undernet with my hands, muttering quietly. Arash, meanwhile, remained a hawk. He stood on one side of the wooden desk, his eyes firmly on the screen before him. The unmistakable sound of a helicopter rushed over the house. Delnik muttered some more.
'Someone's already raised the alarm,' Delnik said. 'Must have done it from inside.'
((I should have known someone would,)) Arash said. ((Look at this; it's a mess))
"A mess", in my view, was putting it mildly. Eight yeerks were still caught inside, Gedis included, and the chances of any escaping were getting slim. Worse, at least some of their hosts were sure to talk It was unsurprising, then, to see the Undernet filling with requests for shelter. Instructions and announcements were continuously appearing in response, at least some of them contradictory. No-one seemed to be in charge.
'Larton,' Delnik said, all of a sudden. 'Shouldn't we-'
((No,)) Arash said. ((There's no point. Sonja will have come to by now; they'll already have him.))
Sonja, Delnik had assured us, had promised not to breathe a word about our intended location. The same could not be said for her father and Larton; despite Larton's kind treatment of his host, it seemed that Sonja was set on separating the two.
((Don't worry,))Arash said. ((They'll be kind to him,))
'He'll still be made a nothlit, though. Or sent to the homeworld. Aren't those enough?'
Arash was slow to respond. ((I guess.))
Larton Nine-Three-Four, from what I'd heard, had a clean enough record. He'd ignored his first human host, but had never stooped to trying to silence him. He'd thawed later on, but by then it was too late. To remain a yeerk on Earth would require an appeal with the backing of all known previous hosts; for Larton, such backing was surely impossible.
((We should just go,)) Arash said. ((We shouldn't have come here.)) He began to spread his wings. ((Morph Lucas and follow me. I know somewhere we can hide.))
Delnik stood me up, and for a second I thought this would all go ahead without incident. Then he folded my arms and glared at Arash, and I knew we were in trouble.
'Gedis Six-Seven-Two,' Delnik said. 'The one who caused all of this. Who was he?'
Arash cocked his head, ruffling his feathers a little. ((What do you mean?))
'I mean, Arash, that you're the one who brought him here,' Delnik said. He began to pace me around the room. 'Clearly, his host didn't like him; otherwise, he wouldn't have struggled. So who was Gedis? How did you know him?'
I saw Arash look down and away from us – an oddly human gesture, given his current form. ((He was...a friend of a friend,)) Arash said. ((A staunch imperial, back in the day, but I was told he had mellowed. Evidently, I was told wrong.))
Delnik said nothing to that. Arash looked back up at us.
((He tried to break his host and was caught as a result. He deserves anything he gets.))
'Tried to break...?' Delnik stopped pacing. My hands tightened in unison. 'Who was that friend, Arash? Tell me.'
((It was...)) Again, Arash averted his gaze. ((It doesn't matter. We should go. Now.))
Delnik let my arms fall. 'No.'
They just stood there, staring one another down. I don't recall either of them blinking. Delnik stood me tall and straight, with both hands balled into tight fists. Arash remained hunched over, his talons clutching the edge of the desk, his wings neatly folded.
((Delnik, stop!)) I said. ((There's no need-))
((Yes there is,)) Delnik said. ((You don't know it yet, but there is.))
I went quiet, watching and waiting for whatever would come next. There was nothing I could do, I realised – not right then.
((I don't understand you, Delnik.)) Arash said, his wings opening a small fraction. ((You were willing to go with me before. Why turn against me now?'
'I didn't know,' Delnik said. Air hissed through my clenched teeth.
Arash tilted his head – the other way, this time. ((You didn't know...what?))
'You changed his memories. You changed him,' Delnik said. 'I don't know all of what you've done, Arash, but I'm stopping it. Now.'
Once again, silence reigned. I could practically feel the tension in the air between them. And I could do nothing. For the first time in years, my yeerk wouldn't listen. For the first time in years, my yeerk didn't care what I thought.
I felt my body shudder; evidently, Delnik was listening. I refocused again, quieting my mind as much as I could,
((Tell me something, Delnik,)) Arash said. ((Do you know why I brought you with me?))
'You...huh?'
((It would have been easier to leave you, but I didn't. Why?))
'I...don't know,' Delnik said. I could feel my whole body getting tenser and tenser.
((I'll tell you, then. I took you because I thought neither you nor Sonja would want you gone. And judging by that promise of hers, I was right.'
'You were...' Delnik began. 'Yes.'
((You could have stayed behind, given Larton a chance to stay free. But you didn't. You came with me. You could have ended up helping yeerks far worse than you, but you still came with me.))
'But I...what are you trying to say!?' Delnik said, his vigor abruptly returning. 'Don't try to moralize, Arash. You have no right.'
((And neither do you,)) Arash said. ((Remember that, Delnik. Neither do you.))
To that, Delnik said nothing. He just stood me there like some dumb-struck imbecile, without a clue what to say.
((Now,)) Arash said. ((If you still wish to return to Sonja, you're free to. Until you can, I'm sure Lucas will more than meet your needs.))
His wings opened all the way.
((Lucas, I'll be back for you.))
He leapt, wings in motion.
'Hey!' Delnik said. 'Hey! Stop!'
Delnik grabbed for Arash, but Arash was far too quick. He banked hard through the open doorway and disappeared down the corridor. A second later I heard a terrible smash, and I knew right then that Arash had escaped.
Delnik just stood by the desk, breathing heavily, his quarry gone.
((You'd have never caught him,)) I said. ((He's better than you. He always will be.)) A part of me felt guilty for saying such things - Delnik was my yeerk right then, after all - but only a small part.
Delnik said nothing to that. He opened Sonja's window wide and then, still silent, began to morph osprey.
((What now?)) I said. ((Where are you going? Are you hiding?))
((No. No, I'm not,)) Delnik said. ((I'm taking you home.))
