Chapter 12 (Cassie)

As we marched down into the Deep, Tobias flew off into the fog, out of my sight. A few moments later, he called back. ((Cassie?)) he said, sounding slightly shaken. ((I think I just saw an Arn.))

"What? Alive? But, but, how can that be?" I stuttered, my voice taking on an eerie flatness because of the thick air.

((I'm not trying to explain it,)) Tobias said, sounding just as incredulous as I felt. ((I'm only telling you what I saw.))

"Well, where is it now?" I asked.

((I don't know. I lost sight of it for just a second, and then it was gone.))

I sighed. "Well, maybe this air is playing tricks on your mind."

((I know I saw it, Cassie. Hawk eyes don't lie,)) he said, then fell suddenly silent. I thought I saw him fly over me, and then he shouted, ((Cassie! Behind you!))

I turned. And there it was. There was no mistaking that four-legged, winged build, the glittering eyes, the gaudy color.

"Explain yourself," I demanded before it could try to run off again. "Why aren't you extinct?"

But the Arn apparently didn't want to stick around and chat. It immediately took off again, and quickly disappeared again in the thick mist. I gave chase, but I couldn't see what I was chasing.

"Get back here, you little-" I grunted as I ran.

I heard a high-pitched cry, followed by Tobias exclaiming, ((Ha, I got 'im! Right in the leg! Okay, now I'm acquiring him to make sure he doesn't go anywhere. Hurry up, Cassie!))

I ran towards where the two of them should be, and found a sleepy-eyed Arn with Tobias digging his talons into its left rear leg. I grabbed the Arn by the neck, and Tobias flapped away and began to morph to Hork-Bajir.

The Arn came out of the acquiring trance with a panicked look in his eyes. "I don't want any trouble, just let me go!" he begged.

"Not until you tell us why you aren't dead," I said, as menacingly as I could.

"Nobody was supposed to know!" the Arn moaned. "They'll kill me if anyone finds out!"

"Why? What's the big secret?" I asked. "Tell me!" I shouted after the Arn kept silent.

((A guy by the name of Quafijinivon once told us he was the last Arn,)) Tobias pointed out. ((Now, why might that not be right?))

"You knew him?" the Arn asked, surprised and possibly a little awed. "Quafijinivon wasn't lying. Although heaven knows how he actually knew that fact." Then the Arn looked abashed, like he had revealed more than he meant to.

"He also told us he had something like two years left to live," I said, straining to remember that mission. "That was at least five years ago."

To my surprise, the Arn made a nervous chittering noise. I think maybe he was laughing. "On that point, he did lie to you. Did you actually fall for that? Do you not know how impossible it is to predict when one will die? It is like trying to predict which way the wind will blow. It cannot be done. Even with Arn technology."

I tried to hide my growing annoyance. "That's entirely beside the point. The point is that he was the last Arn, and he was dying. So how are you here?"

Tobias was fully Hork-Bajir at this point, and the Arn kept casting panicked glances in his direction. He gulped and glanced down at my hands still around his neck, looking for a way out but knowing he had no choice except to answer our questions.

Finally, the Arn gave a nervous sigh, and said, "You have to promise me. Promise me they won't know! You can't tell anyone, you can't act on this information, you can't do anything that might lead them back to me."

((We promise,)) Tobias instantly said.

"Quafijinivon's motives were, shall we say, less altruistic than he may have led most people to believe," the Arn began.

((Huge surprise,)) Tobias snorted derisively.

"You know that he created a force of Hork-Bajir to drive the Yeerks off of this planet, correct? I believe his story was that he was doing this to give the Hork-Bajir a shot at revenge. This was not . . . entirely correct. Rather, he did it to give himself more time," the Arn said carefully, obviously stalling, as if he were still worried about revealing too much.

((More time for what?)) Tobias pressed.

"He was . . . there was . . . the backup plan," the Arn stuttered. "We had prepared for the eventuality of our own extinction, of course. We had kept an extensive bank of Arn DNA for decades before the Yeerks even came to this planet. What Quafijinivon wanted was a distraction. So that he could re-create his kind."

I gasped, shocked and maybe even a little sickened. But I should have guessed this. The Arn cared nothing for anything but their own survival. I should have known that they would have seen their end coming, and would have been ready to do something about it.

"Can you let me go now?" the Arn pleaded.

"Not so fast," I said. "You still haven't told us why all the secrecy. Why do you want to keep everyone thinking that you're still extinct?"

"That, I can't tell you," he said anxiously. "What they'll do to me if I tell you that is worse than death!"

I looked at Tobias. He nodded, and I released my grip on the Arn. He had told us enough. We would have to figure the rest out on our own. The Arn, grateful that we were letting him go, quickly disappeared into the mist.


Hooray, I'm actually getting reviews on this fic again! Thanks, you guys!

Atlastme: Thank you. But sorry, I've seen enough fics where the Ellimist brings Rachel back, I don't want mine to be the million-and-first. I'm hoping you'll like what I have in mind instead, though. ;)