Hidden Enemies
*2:16:00 REMAINING*
Almost there, Marco said, soaring up higher on a thermal. You see? That valley down there. With the rocky slope. That's our new fireplace.
Good, Larynia said. But we need to talk to the others… about the Andalites failing to show.
I know. Then we would be going this way. he veered north. They probably aren't finished with the river yet, so we'll try there first.
Larynia and Marco soared down towards the river.
I'll land first, Larynia said. Secure the area. Wait here. without waiting for a reply, she folded her wings and blew downwards like a bullet.
Marco's eyes were kept on things from above as she demorphed. Then he swooped down to join her.
No-one here,Larynia said.
No-one that you can see, Marco amended, demorphing. Don't let that fool you. I can see them, because I know what to look for. he smiled with a half-human mouth. "We became very good at hiding while we fought the Yeerks."
With good reason, Ax said, and appeared from behind some trees. Larynia. Remember what tricks you yourself use to hide. Remember that I know them as well. As well as a few dozen others.
Larynia nodded. Good. Where are the others?
Rachel swung down from the branches of a tree, grinning at the two of them. Tobias stood up, among the reeds in the muddy river. He was wet, of course, but that didn't bother him. The river was an excellent hiding place.
"If we see a anyone coming, we hide," Tobias said. "To be safe. A few moments ago, there was a Taxxon."
Where is he now?
"Back at their camp, I hope. Because he looked like he was about to take a swim."
"We've got bad news," Marco said.
"The Andalites aren't showing?" Rachel guessed.
Marco nodded. Larynia did as well. Jaruili informed us that a large portion of the fleet was sent to Earth. But then sent back home because their own planet was under attack.
Tobias sighed, shaking his arms and legs to get the water off them as he came out of the river. "I forgot about that."
"We can write them off completely now," Rachel said. "They're done for." She looked out over the river, her eyes tensely scanning the other shore. The others looked in the same direction. Then Rachel shook her head. "Just a leaf. Anyway. We aren't out of the picture yet. But we better work extra hard."
How's the river going? Larynia asked.
"We're working on it," Tobias sighed. He pulled out a dracon from under a few leaves and waved it. "We use this to speed things up. But it takes time. About half an hour."
"Half an hour. What's out time?"
Two hours and ten minutes, Ax and Larynia said simultaneously.
"Get to work with that fire," Rachel ordered. "And let us take care of this."
Marco nodded. "Okay. It's that way, isn't it?" he pointed roughly southeast and Ax nodded. "Larynia? Up for some running?"
Larynia reared up halfway on her hind legs. Certainly.
Marco began morphing Andalite.
Jake was very relieved when at last the force field around the Yeerk camp disappeared. Just hanging around and waiting and feeling the clock ticking away was not his idea of a good time. But he forgot those thoughts as soon as he was in the air.
He had work to do. He found a nice thermal and rode it upwards as high as it went. The peregrine falcon wasn't much good for soaring, but it was a killer in a dive. So when Jake was high enough, so high that he could feel the air being much too thin, he folded his wings and dove downwards, heading towards the resistance camp.
The speed was insane. Thrilling. Faster than most cars. But despite that, Jake saw every single detail on the ground below him as they zoomed past.
He was on his third ride-up-and-dive-down when he flared his wings, the momentum threatening to snap them, and stopped the dive half-way. He had seen something below that made him feel much better.
Hey! Hey, Larynia! Marco!
Marco turned his stalk-eyes up and stopped running. A peregrine was soaring above them. Jake! They let you out, huh?
Yep. About time. And now we're dead if we don't move fast. Because the Yeerks are on the move as well.
Larynia turned her stalk-eyes up as well and bowed her head towards the peregrine. My Prince.
I'm angry at you, Larynia, Jake warned her.
I know.
You disobeyed a direct order.
Marco began laughing. In fact, he laughed so hard that Larynia's tail-blade whipped after him. He blocked it and backed away, still laughing.
Larynia honoured him with her sharpest glare. He stopped laughing instantly, pawing the ground with a hoof. Larynia turned back to the peregrine above them. I follow orders, she started.
As long as it suits you, Marco amended.
Maybe so, Larynia agreed, shrugging. I will not follow any order I consider unwise.
Your point is..? Jake said, circling in wide circles but keeping mostly to the same place.
Larynia bowed her head again, respectfully - or as respectfully as Larynia ever would. May I remind my Prince that, as things turned out, I did make the right choice as to not follow your order?
Silence. Then…
Point taken, Jake muttered.
Marco gave Larynia a proud, highly fond glance with his stalk-eyes. She always manages to do that.
Jake sighed. Look, I've got a highly stubborn resistance leader to talk to, so I'm outta here. You know what to do?
Fry Yeerk butt, Marco said.
Whatever. If it works, it's fine. Good luck! and he set off towards the resistance camp.
We've got work to do as well, Larynia said. Lead the way.
Marco did as he was told and trotted away in the direction they had been going to start with. When Larynia caught up, the two broke into a gallop and rushed through the woods, ducking branches, jumping logs and stones, and swerving in the last moment to avoid trees. They sped up when they reached any open areas, to avoid being seen, and because it was easier to run there.
They ran for a few minutes before Marco stopped, panting from the run.
Here, he said. This is it. This is where we're going.
He pointed at the passage below them. The only way down there, without going a long way around, was a steep cliff. The cliff would be easy enough to climb, Larynia thought, but not for an Andalite.
Marco began demorphing. Larynia morphed human. Then she walked up to the edge of the cliff, and sat down, legs dangling over the edge.
"Be careful," Marco warned.
"Are you afraid I might fall?" Larynia said.
"Yes."
Larynia gave him a short, amused look. Then she dropped over the edge.
Marco sped to the edge and looked down after her. She was standing safely on a ledge under them, laughing at him.
"I might be more experienced being Andalite," she said. "But I'm pretty confident I can at least climb."
"Okay," Marco said, landing on the ledge next to her, grinning. "Last one down. Ready… set…" Marco grabbed a hold on the stone wall and swung himself to the next ledge. "Go!"
"Cheater!" Larynia accused, but was fast to follow.
Finished, Ax announced.
The river was in place. So where a few of the traps that Rachel had fixed on the other shore.
And it had started to rain.
"If we're lucky, the rain will flood the river," Tobias said hopefully.
"And if we're unlucky, it will make it impossible for Larynia and Marco to start their fire," Rachel added.
Ax took the dracon from Tobias's hand. Not with this, he said. He set it to medium power, picked up a large stick, and lit the end. The flames struck up immediately, ignoring the rain and dancing closer and closer to Ax's fingers. Ax dropped it to the ground. The flames picked up quickly. In case they get past the river, he said. They will have more troubles.
Tobias nodded, morphing the hawk as quickly as he could. "Genius," he said, and then switched to thought-speech. Ax, take that dracon to our two firestarters. They have more use for it than we do. Then meet us down south for our final trap.
Ax nodded and disappeared among the trees. Rachel and Tobias, both birds of prey, took to the air.
*1:18:00 REMAINING*
Jake, the leader of the small remaining resistance, nodded, pleased with the ease of taking the decision if not about anything else, and told the others to go to sleep. It was late, and they all needed sleep. He told them, also, from habit, that the meeting was over.
"But we can't let them just take that thing!" Rachel protested. Jordan, next to her, nodded but Sara looked unsure. "I mean, it's our link to the Andalites! We NEED it!"
We haven't used it for years, Tobias said.
"And we learned the hard way; noble Andalites don't listen to puny, backward humans," Marco sneered. Then he glanced at Ax. "Except for you. You're the exception that proves the rule."
I do not know whether to feel glad or insulted, Ax said.
Cassie yawned. "Anyway. We can't find them now. It's too late. They're gone."
Rachel stood up, still with a menacing expression, and looked at Jake. "You're getting too soft. If we loose this war, it'll be because you're too damn weak-hearted to do anything about it!"
And Rachel walked away. Jake was silent. Sara gave him an encouraging glance before she left, but Jordan stood up and walked away with swift steps like her sister and without a sound.
She didn't mean that, Tobias said silently. She's just mad because that other eagle kicked her butt before.
"I know," Jake said. "But she's right, too."
"No she isn't," Marco said lowly, standing up and walking away. "None of us are. Not since this war started."
Cassie slid an arm around Jake's waist with the faintest trace of a smile - the closest thing to a smile any of them ever showed.
"That didn't help much, did it?" she said. Her voice was sharp and empty compared to how it had once been. They had all been beaten down by the war. Lost some of their personalities. Cassie had lost her caring; her mind had shut it down. She wouldn't have been able to handle any of it otherwise.
Prince Jake, Ax said, nodded once, and walked away with heavy steps. Probably to stand guard somewhere. To fix some part of their defence. Not to sleep. Ax seldom slept.
Tobias ruffled his feathers. Good night. And he flew away in the direction Ax had gone.
Jake nodded. Cassie tugged gently at his arm to get his attention. "I need sleep, too," she told him. "I'm going to the tent. You'll be there later, right?"
Jake nodded. By the time he reached the tent, she would be asleep. It had been one of those rough days. As always. He had forgotten what it felt like not to feel tired; how it felt to feel safe. None of them ever felt safe.
Jake found himself inspecting the place from where the Z-space transponder had been stolen. The two morphables who stood guard looked worriedly at him, maybe expecting him to shout at them. But what good would that do? The transponder would still be gone.
The morphing cube was still there. Where it had been earlier as well… hidden in a piece of cloth under a few leaves. The transponder had been slightly more obvious, but someone who found one would have found the other. And why steal the transponder but leave the escafil device?
It hadn't been Yeerks. The Yeerks didn't do small-scale theft operations like that. They were more for the big-strike, smash-them-down-in-a-single-blow attack. Not tactical defeats as cutting the phone line to the Andalites. Another point: they could simply have hacked it to pieces and left it. Why bother taking it away? Why would they steal a transponder that was primitive and useless compared to their own?
And they wouldn't have left the morphing cube behind. Definitely not.
Jake looked at the two morphables. They were tired. Angry. Possibly upset. "Go get some sleep," he ordered. And he slipped the escafil device into his pocket and walked away. He would make sure it was safe.
He'd give it to Cassie. Cassie could keep it safe. And he could keep her safe.
When he reached the structure that served as a tent, Cassie was asleep. He placed the escafil device in her hand and closed her fingers around it.
Then the flap of the tent door was lifted away.
Jake spun around as quickly as possible in the cramped space. He prepared to morph if he had to.
"Don't worry," a voice said. The man sat down just inside the opening and held out his hands to show that he was unarmed. Jake saw a dracon strapped to his leg with a degree of anxiousness. "I'm not Yeerk."
The voice was… familiar. More than familiar.
Jake swallowed. His throat was suddenly dry. "Hello, Jake," he greeted himself.
Marco and Larynia spent a few moments at the bottom of the cliff, resting from the long run and the climb. Larynia kept careful note of the remaining time, and figured that they had at least a few minutes to spare.
But not long after it started to rain, and Marco was the first to stand up. "Now then," he said, helping Larynia to her feet. "How do we light a fire?"
Larynia's forehead, peeking out from her wet hair, wrinkled. "I don't know," she admitted. "Let's take a look around and see what we find."
The ground was at a light slope, leading down from the cliffs and towards the centre of the passage. It was the perfect place for an ambush, but Larynia didn't think the Yeerks would bother about ambushing a passage they thought was empty. They would only use it as a short-cut to the resistance camp.
There weren't that many trees, and the view from the top of the cliff pretty much gave the whole picture of the other end of the passage. The bushes and rocks weren't enough cover to hide anything larger than an average-sized bird of prey, like her own hawk. The rain was making the ground slippery on some places, and Larynia began wondering if Marco was right when he said that the fire could be started despite rain.
Suddenly Marco slipped on a patch of mud, and fell. Larynia grabbed his arm to steady him but all that happened was that he pulled her down with him. The slope was soft and the bushes weren't thorny, so the two of them half-rolled, half-slid all the way down to the bottom without getting hurt.
Larynia was laughing when she finally managed to stop herself. She caught hold of a bush and stopped rolling, looking around to see where Marco was. He was further down, but crawling back towards her quickly.
Larynia waited, smiling, until he had reached her and then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly before pulling back.
"I always wanted to do that," she said, grinning mischievously. "But Andalites don't have mouths."
Marco smiled back. His arms, that somehow had find their way around her waist, tightened. "Then it's lucky you can morph."
Larynia nodded. She removed a bit of her mud from her face, and blinked to get the rain out of her eyes.
Marco brought one hand up to her face, stroking it with his fingertips, lowering it slowly until he was fingering on her throat.
"What are you doing?" Larynia asked.
Marco smiled. "Trust me." his one hand was rubbing her throat thoughtfully. The other arm held her trapped.
Larynia was Andalite. And Andalites don't like 'trapped'. But the human in her didn't have anything to complain about.
Not to begin with. But suddenly Marco's hand wasn't gentle any more.
He was holding under her chin. And pressing thumb and fingers together so that she had a hard time breathing.
"Marco," Larynia said again, twisting in his grip insecurely. "What are you doing?"
Marco smiled, squeezing her throat harder and pressing her back against a stone, ignoring her question.
"Marco, it isn't funny anymore!" Larynia said, trying to shove him away. Her throat was hurting. And she was about to find out how long humans could last without oxygen.
"Guess what, Andalite?" Marco spat. "Not Marco any longer. Not since the pool. Although he's putting up quite a struggle."
Larynia's eyes went wide. "Yeerk!"
Marco clamped his free hand over her mouth and nose, using his elbows and weight to keep her in place. "Yes, but we mustn't tell anyone, must we?"
By then Larynia was kicking with her legs and thrashing around wildly with her arms, trying to break free. The shortage of air was allowing panic to creep up on her, and the thought of demorphing to her trusty tail and hard hooves didn't strike her mind until very late, almost too late.
She began demorphing, slowly. Marco noticed that, driving an elbow hard into her stomach which made the little air she had left in her lungs go out instantly. Her stalks appeared. Her fingers and arms grew weaker and thinner, and she almost considered reversing the morph to let them stay strong. But then came her tail. Trapped under her, for the moment, but still her tail.
Marco elbowed her in the stomach again and the demorph hesitated, and stopped. She kept kicking, beating with her fists, struggling desperately for air and freedom.
Blackness was edging onto her mind, shadowing her thoughts and hopes and making her fight even more fiercely. Her lungs were burning, and her chest felt as if it had been hit by a dracon. But her protests were weakening, giving way to the darkness. Her half-Andalite arms were about as strong as spaghetti.
Tseeew.
Then she was free, jostling up higher on the stone, eyes darting back and forth, filling her lungs with the sweet, cold air of Earth's night. She finished the demorph, and half-fell, half-scrambled down off the stone.
Marco was on the ground. Twisting, his back scorched and burned by the dracon. His eyes wild, his hands clenched, and…
And Larynia knew there was no way he could survive.
She looked up to see who had pressed the trigger. On the top of the hill, above the steep, rocky cliffs… she met the eyes of her cousin. He looked away. The dracon dropped out of his hand, falling down the rocky cliffs and landing not far from where Larynia was standing.
Larynia looked down again. Her mind felt numb.
This couldn't be happening. Just couldn't.
The Yeerk crawled out of Marco's head.
Larynia cried out in thought-speech and her tail cut it to pieces as soon as it was on the ground. She lifted her tail again, shaking, feeling like all energy had been drained out of her.
Feeling as if she hadn't escaped. Feeling as if the darkness was still holding her, making her cold, numb, burning her chest and making her want to start screaming and screaming and never stop.
Marco reached out with one hand and grabbed Larynia's front leg. She wanted to cry. But Andalites don't cry. She fell down next to him and made a feeble attempt to hug him. But Andalites aren't made to lie down comfortably. And they aren't made to hug someone.
Her arms were too weak to lift him up and hold him as she wanted. Almost by reflex she began morphing human, and her arms grew slowly stronger. The tears came almost simultaneously with her human eyes.
Marco's eyes opened. "Forgive me," he whispered weakly.
I'd forgive you anything. Larynia sobbed helplessly, blinked away the tears, leaned down and kissed him gently. I love you, you stupid human.
Marco nodded once, accepting the reply. She had pulled him up into a half-sitting position, cradling him like a baby, with his head leaned on her arm.
Then his eyes closed, never to open again.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's Note;
Ouch. Sorry. I had to get rid of Marco, and it was that or having someone cut his guts out. *struck by the idea of having Larynia take the job but realises it's too late* And I'm a sucker for dramatic.
Anyway. Now you know what "bad thing" happened in the last chapter. Things are stepping up to the last battle. Wonder how that'll work out...
This time, I'm trying reversed psychology; WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT REVIEW!
*2:16:00 REMAINING*
Almost there, Marco said, soaring up higher on a thermal. You see? That valley down there. With the rocky slope. That's our new fireplace.
Good, Larynia said. But we need to talk to the others… about the Andalites failing to show.
I know. Then we would be going this way. he veered north. They probably aren't finished with the river yet, so we'll try there first.
Larynia and Marco soared down towards the river.
I'll land first, Larynia said. Secure the area. Wait here. without waiting for a reply, she folded her wings and blew downwards like a bullet.
Marco's eyes were kept on things from above as she demorphed. Then he swooped down to join her.
No-one here,Larynia said.
No-one that you can see, Marco amended, demorphing. Don't let that fool you. I can see them, because I know what to look for. he smiled with a half-human mouth. "We became very good at hiding while we fought the Yeerks."
With good reason, Ax said, and appeared from behind some trees. Larynia. Remember what tricks you yourself use to hide. Remember that I know them as well. As well as a few dozen others.
Larynia nodded. Good. Where are the others?
Rachel swung down from the branches of a tree, grinning at the two of them. Tobias stood up, among the reeds in the muddy river. He was wet, of course, but that didn't bother him. The river was an excellent hiding place.
"If we see a anyone coming, we hide," Tobias said. "To be safe. A few moments ago, there was a Taxxon."
Where is he now?
"Back at their camp, I hope. Because he looked like he was about to take a swim."
"We've got bad news," Marco said.
"The Andalites aren't showing?" Rachel guessed.
Marco nodded. Larynia did as well. Jaruili informed us that a large portion of the fleet was sent to Earth. But then sent back home because their own planet was under attack.
Tobias sighed, shaking his arms and legs to get the water off them as he came out of the river. "I forgot about that."
"We can write them off completely now," Rachel said. "They're done for." She looked out over the river, her eyes tensely scanning the other shore. The others looked in the same direction. Then Rachel shook her head. "Just a leaf. Anyway. We aren't out of the picture yet. But we better work extra hard."
How's the river going? Larynia asked.
"We're working on it," Tobias sighed. He pulled out a dracon from under a few leaves and waved it. "We use this to speed things up. But it takes time. About half an hour."
"Half an hour. What's out time?"
Two hours and ten minutes, Ax and Larynia said simultaneously.
"Get to work with that fire," Rachel ordered. "And let us take care of this."
Marco nodded. "Okay. It's that way, isn't it?" he pointed roughly southeast and Ax nodded. "Larynia? Up for some running?"
Larynia reared up halfway on her hind legs. Certainly.
Marco began morphing Andalite.
Jake was very relieved when at last the force field around the Yeerk camp disappeared. Just hanging around and waiting and feeling the clock ticking away was not his idea of a good time. But he forgot those thoughts as soon as he was in the air.
He had work to do. He found a nice thermal and rode it upwards as high as it went. The peregrine falcon wasn't much good for soaring, but it was a killer in a dive. So when Jake was high enough, so high that he could feel the air being much too thin, he folded his wings and dove downwards, heading towards the resistance camp.
The speed was insane. Thrilling. Faster than most cars. But despite that, Jake saw every single detail on the ground below him as they zoomed past.
He was on his third ride-up-and-dive-down when he flared his wings, the momentum threatening to snap them, and stopped the dive half-way. He had seen something below that made him feel much better.
Hey! Hey, Larynia! Marco!
Marco turned his stalk-eyes up and stopped running. A peregrine was soaring above them. Jake! They let you out, huh?
Yep. About time. And now we're dead if we don't move fast. Because the Yeerks are on the move as well.
Larynia turned her stalk-eyes up as well and bowed her head towards the peregrine. My Prince.
I'm angry at you, Larynia, Jake warned her.
I know.
You disobeyed a direct order.
Marco began laughing. In fact, he laughed so hard that Larynia's tail-blade whipped after him. He blocked it and backed away, still laughing.
Larynia honoured him with her sharpest glare. He stopped laughing instantly, pawing the ground with a hoof. Larynia turned back to the peregrine above them. I follow orders, she started.
As long as it suits you, Marco amended.
Maybe so, Larynia agreed, shrugging. I will not follow any order I consider unwise.
Your point is..? Jake said, circling in wide circles but keeping mostly to the same place.
Larynia bowed her head again, respectfully - or as respectfully as Larynia ever would. May I remind my Prince that, as things turned out, I did make the right choice as to not follow your order?
Silence. Then…
Point taken, Jake muttered.
Marco gave Larynia a proud, highly fond glance with his stalk-eyes. She always manages to do that.
Jake sighed. Look, I've got a highly stubborn resistance leader to talk to, so I'm outta here. You know what to do?
Fry Yeerk butt, Marco said.
Whatever. If it works, it's fine. Good luck! and he set off towards the resistance camp.
We've got work to do as well, Larynia said. Lead the way.
Marco did as he was told and trotted away in the direction they had been going to start with. When Larynia caught up, the two broke into a gallop and rushed through the woods, ducking branches, jumping logs and stones, and swerving in the last moment to avoid trees. They sped up when they reached any open areas, to avoid being seen, and because it was easier to run there.
They ran for a few minutes before Marco stopped, panting from the run.
Here, he said. This is it. This is where we're going.
He pointed at the passage below them. The only way down there, without going a long way around, was a steep cliff. The cliff would be easy enough to climb, Larynia thought, but not for an Andalite.
Marco began demorphing. Larynia morphed human. Then she walked up to the edge of the cliff, and sat down, legs dangling over the edge.
"Be careful," Marco warned.
"Are you afraid I might fall?" Larynia said.
"Yes."
Larynia gave him a short, amused look. Then she dropped over the edge.
Marco sped to the edge and looked down after her. She was standing safely on a ledge under them, laughing at him.
"I might be more experienced being Andalite," she said. "But I'm pretty confident I can at least climb."
"Okay," Marco said, landing on the ledge next to her, grinning. "Last one down. Ready… set…" Marco grabbed a hold on the stone wall and swung himself to the next ledge. "Go!"
"Cheater!" Larynia accused, but was fast to follow.
Finished, Ax announced.
The river was in place. So where a few of the traps that Rachel had fixed on the other shore.
And it had started to rain.
"If we're lucky, the rain will flood the river," Tobias said hopefully.
"And if we're unlucky, it will make it impossible for Larynia and Marco to start their fire," Rachel added.
Ax took the dracon from Tobias's hand. Not with this, he said. He set it to medium power, picked up a large stick, and lit the end. The flames struck up immediately, ignoring the rain and dancing closer and closer to Ax's fingers. Ax dropped it to the ground. The flames picked up quickly. In case they get past the river, he said. They will have more troubles.
Tobias nodded, morphing the hawk as quickly as he could. "Genius," he said, and then switched to thought-speech. Ax, take that dracon to our two firestarters. They have more use for it than we do. Then meet us down south for our final trap.
Ax nodded and disappeared among the trees. Rachel and Tobias, both birds of prey, took to the air.
*1:18:00 REMAINING*
Jake, the leader of the small remaining resistance, nodded, pleased with the ease of taking the decision if not about anything else, and told the others to go to sleep. It was late, and they all needed sleep. He told them, also, from habit, that the meeting was over.
"But we can't let them just take that thing!" Rachel protested. Jordan, next to her, nodded but Sara looked unsure. "I mean, it's our link to the Andalites! We NEED it!"
We haven't used it for years, Tobias said.
"And we learned the hard way; noble Andalites don't listen to puny, backward humans," Marco sneered. Then he glanced at Ax. "Except for you. You're the exception that proves the rule."
I do not know whether to feel glad or insulted, Ax said.
Cassie yawned. "Anyway. We can't find them now. It's too late. They're gone."
Rachel stood up, still with a menacing expression, and looked at Jake. "You're getting too soft. If we loose this war, it'll be because you're too damn weak-hearted to do anything about it!"
And Rachel walked away. Jake was silent. Sara gave him an encouraging glance before she left, but Jordan stood up and walked away with swift steps like her sister and without a sound.
She didn't mean that, Tobias said silently. She's just mad because that other eagle kicked her butt before.
"I know," Jake said. "But she's right, too."
"No she isn't," Marco said lowly, standing up and walking away. "None of us are. Not since this war started."
Cassie slid an arm around Jake's waist with the faintest trace of a smile - the closest thing to a smile any of them ever showed.
"That didn't help much, did it?" she said. Her voice was sharp and empty compared to how it had once been. They had all been beaten down by the war. Lost some of their personalities. Cassie had lost her caring; her mind had shut it down. She wouldn't have been able to handle any of it otherwise.
Prince Jake, Ax said, nodded once, and walked away with heavy steps. Probably to stand guard somewhere. To fix some part of their defence. Not to sleep. Ax seldom slept.
Tobias ruffled his feathers. Good night. And he flew away in the direction Ax had gone.
Jake nodded. Cassie tugged gently at his arm to get his attention. "I need sleep, too," she told him. "I'm going to the tent. You'll be there later, right?"
Jake nodded. By the time he reached the tent, she would be asleep. It had been one of those rough days. As always. He had forgotten what it felt like not to feel tired; how it felt to feel safe. None of them ever felt safe.
Jake found himself inspecting the place from where the Z-space transponder had been stolen. The two morphables who stood guard looked worriedly at him, maybe expecting him to shout at them. But what good would that do? The transponder would still be gone.
The morphing cube was still there. Where it had been earlier as well… hidden in a piece of cloth under a few leaves. The transponder had been slightly more obvious, but someone who found one would have found the other. And why steal the transponder but leave the escafil device?
It hadn't been Yeerks. The Yeerks didn't do small-scale theft operations like that. They were more for the big-strike, smash-them-down-in-a-single-blow attack. Not tactical defeats as cutting the phone line to the Andalites. Another point: they could simply have hacked it to pieces and left it. Why bother taking it away? Why would they steal a transponder that was primitive and useless compared to their own?
And they wouldn't have left the morphing cube behind. Definitely not.
Jake looked at the two morphables. They were tired. Angry. Possibly upset. "Go get some sleep," he ordered. And he slipped the escafil device into his pocket and walked away. He would make sure it was safe.
He'd give it to Cassie. Cassie could keep it safe. And he could keep her safe.
When he reached the structure that served as a tent, Cassie was asleep. He placed the escafil device in her hand and closed her fingers around it.
Then the flap of the tent door was lifted away.
Jake spun around as quickly as possible in the cramped space. He prepared to morph if he had to.
"Don't worry," a voice said. The man sat down just inside the opening and held out his hands to show that he was unarmed. Jake saw a dracon strapped to his leg with a degree of anxiousness. "I'm not Yeerk."
The voice was… familiar. More than familiar.
Jake swallowed. His throat was suddenly dry. "Hello, Jake," he greeted himself.
Marco and Larynia spent a few moments at the bottom of the cliff, resting from the long run and the climb. Larynia kept careful note of the remaining time, and figured that they had at least a few minutes to spare.
But not long after it started to rain, and Marco was the first to stand up. "Now then," he said, helping Larynia to her feet. "How do we light a fire?"
Larynia's forehead, peeking out from her wet hair, wrinkled. "I don't know," she admitted. "Let's take a look around and see what we find."
The ground was at a light slope, leading down from the cliffs and towards the centre of the passage. It was the perfect place for an ambush, but Larynia didn't think the Yeerks would bother about ambushing a passage they thought was empty. They would only use it as a short-cut to the resistance camp.
There weren't that many trees, and the view from the top of the cliff pretty much gave the whole picture of the other end of the passage. The bushes and rocks weren't enough cover to hide anything larger than an average-sized bird of prey, like her own hawk. The rain was making the ground slippery on some places, and Larynia began wondering if Marco was right when he said that the fire could be started despite rain.
Suddenly Marco slipped on a patch of mud, and fell. Larynia grabbed his arm to steady him but all that happened was that he pulled her down with him. The slope was soft and the bushes weren't thorny, so the two of them half-rolled, half-slid all the way down to the bottom without getting hurt.
Larynia was laughing when she finally managed to stop herself. She caught hold of a bush and stopped rolling, looking around to see where Marco was. He was further down, but crawling back towards her quickly.
Larynia waited, smiling, until he had reached her and then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly before pulling back.
"I always wanted to do that," she said, grinning mischievously. "But Andalites don't have mouths."
Marco smiled back. His arms, that somehow had find their way around her waist, tightened. "Then it's lucky you can morph."
Larynia nodded. She removed a bit of her mud from her face, and blinked to get the rain out of her eyes.
Marco brought one hand up to her face, stroking it with his fingertips, lowering it slowly until he was fingering on her throat.
"What are you doing?" Larynia asked.
Marco smiled. "Trust me." his one hand was rubbing her throat thoughtfully. The other arm held her trapped.
Larynia was Andalite. And Andalites don't like 'trapped'. But the human in her didn't have anything to complain about.
Not to begin with. But suddenly Marco's hand wasn't gentle any more.
He was holding under her chin. And pressing thumb and fingers together so that she had a hard time breathing.
"Marco," Larynia said again, twisting in his grip insecurely. "What are you doing?"
Marco smiled, squeezing her throat harder and pressing her back against a stone, ignoring her question.
"Marco, it isn't funny anymore!" Larynia said, trying to shove him away. Her throat was hurting. And she was about to find out how long humans could last without oxygen.
"Guess what, Andalite?" Marco spat. "Not Marco any longer. Not since the pool. Although he's putting up quite a struggle."
Larynia's eyes went wide. "Yeerk!"
Marco clamped his free hand over her mouth and nose, using his elbows and weight to keep her in place. "Yes, but we mustn't tell anyone, must we?"
By then Larynia was kicking with her legs and thrashing around wildly with her arms, trying to break free. The shortage of air was allowing panic to creep up on her, and the thought of demorphing to her trusty tail and hard hooves didn't strike her mind until very late, almost too late.
She began demorphing, slowly. Marco noticed that, driving an elbow hard into her stomach which made the little air she had left in her lungs go out instantly. Her stalks appeared. Her fingers and arms grew weaker and thinner, and she almost considered reversing the morph to let them stay strong. But then came her tail. Trapped under her, for the moment, but still her tail.
Marco elbowed her in the stomach again and the demorph hesitated, and stopped. She kept kicking, beating with her fists, struggling desperately for air and freedom.
Blackness was edging onto her mind, shadowing her thoughts and hopes and making her fight even more fiercely. Her lungs were burning, and her chest felt as if it had been hit by a dracon. But her protests were weakening, giving way to the darkness. Her half-Andalite arms were about as strong as spaghetti.
Tseeew.
Then she was free, jostling up higher on the stone, eyes darting back and forth, filling her lungs with the sweet, cold air of Earth's night. She finished the demorph, and half-fell, half-scrambled down off the stone.
Marco was on the ground. Twisting, his back scorched and burned by the dracon. His eyes wild, his hands clenched, and…
And Larynia knew there was no way he could survive.
She looked up to see who had pressed the trigger. On the top of the hill, above the steep, rocky cliffs… she met the eyes of her cousin. He looked away. The dracon dropped out of his hand, falling down the rocky cliffs and landing not far from where Larynia was standing.
Larynia looked down again. Her mind felt numb.
This couldn't be happening. Just couldn't.
The Yeerk crawled out of Marco's head.
Larynia cried out in thought-speech and her tail cut it to pieces as soon as it was on the ground. She lifted her tail again, shaking, feeling like all energy had been drained out of her.
Feeling as if she hadn't escaped. Feeling as if the darkness was still holding her, making her cold, numb, burning her chest and making her want to start screaming and screaming and never stop.
Marco reached out with one hand and grabbed Larynia's front leg. She wanted to cry. But Andalites don't cry. She fell down next to him and made a feeble attempt to hug him. But Andalites aren't made to lie down comfortably. And they aren't made to hug someone.
Her arms were too weak to lift him up and hold him as she wanted. Almost by reflex she began morphing human, and her arms grew slowly stronger. The tears came almost simultaneously with her human eyes.
Marco's eyes opened. "Forgive me," he whispered weakly.
I'd forgive you anything. Larynia sobbed helplessly, blinked away the tears, leaned down and kissed him gently. I love you, you stupid human.
Marco nodded once, accepting the reply. She had pulled him up into a half-sitting position, cradling him like a baby, with his head leaned on her arm.
Then his eyes closed, never to open again.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's Note;
Ouch. Sorry. I had to get rid of Marco, and it was that or having someone cut his guts out. *struck by the idea of having Larynia take the job but realises it's too late* And I'm a sucker for dramatic.
Anyway. Now you know what "bad thing" happened in the last chapter. Things are stepping up to the last battle. Wonder how that'll work out...
This time, I'm trying reversed psychology; WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT REVIEW!
