The Fallen
*0:52:00 REMAINING*
Larynia sat absolutely still for a long time, holding Marco's lifeless body and staring into space, no longer noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks or the rain whipping mercilessly at her face.
She sat still, until Ax began morphing human to climb down the cliffs. Then she suddenly threw herself forwards, grabbed the dracon from where it had fallen and stumbled to her feet with it aimed. "Don't you dare come down here!"
Ax froze in the middle of a movement. Put the dracon down, Larynia.
"Why?" Larynia shrieked. "Because I might kill you? Like you killed Marco?!!"
Put it down, Ax said in a fake-calm voice. I… know how you feel. Marco was my friend. Ax was partly morphed to human. He was wondering if he should finish the morph… or give up and demorph. The dracon jammed.
"Jammed?!"
I tried to set it to low power, Ax said, keeping two watchful sets of eyes on the dracon. But it was stuck halfway. He made up his mind and began morphing back to Andalite. It was safer. I would have been too late if I had attempted to climb down. I could choose between my cousin or my friend. And I chose my cousin. I did what my friend would have wanted me to do.
"And completely forgot what your cousin wanted!"
Larynia, there was nothing I could do.
"You did plenty!"
Listen to me!
"NO!"
Larynia pressed the trigger. Ax almost jumped out of skin when the dracon sliced air straight between his stalk-eyes. He was highly thankful that Larynia never had been much good as a shot. But that she was mad enough to fire worried him.
Larynia-Talene-Sirinial! he roared, gathering his courage. Put that dracon down this instant!
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Larynia, we don't have time for this! Ax said, hoping he could plead to her sense of duty. We have a fire to start. We need to stop the Yeerks!
Larynia altered the grip on the dracon and fired at the closest big bush. Flames shot up where the dracon beam hit, spread quickly, and Larynia repeated the process on another bush. Then she raised it to aim at her cousin again.
Ax shifted his weight to another set of hooves. The flames were dancing wildly, spreading dangerously quickly despite the rain. Ax had been right when he guessed that enough heat would let the fire spread. But Larynia wasn't moving.
If you do not climb up here now, you will be burnt.
"I know."
Ax tried to catch her eyes. Larynia glared back at him. Angry. Cold. Despairing. Empty.
Larynia. You'll die.
"I was dead the moment you fired that dracon, cousin," Larynia spat. "It doesn't matter to me any more."
Do not be stupid! I… I can't just leave you down there!
"Maybe not." Larynia smiled weakly. "Farewell, cousin." She fired the dracon.
"Okay," Jake said. "I believe you. Me. From the future. Fine. Now explain what you're doing here."
"I can't tell you too much," the man who claimed to be Jake-from-the-future said. He was sitting cross-legged just inside the tent flaps. "But you've got about an hour before the Yeerks storm into camp."
That caught Jake's attention. He glanced back at Cassie, peacefully asleep behind him. "You sure?"
"I lived through it," Older Jake said bitterly. "I'm pretty sure."
"Did anyone…"
"Die? Get infested?" Older Jake sighed. "Yes. Either one or the other. No-one escaped."
Jake's eyes narrowed. "Then how come you're here? You a Yeerk? Trying to trick me?!"
"No! Look, just listen to me. I don't care where you go. I only care that you go. And that you go now. My team is out slowing down the Yeerks. We tried calling the Andalites, but their planet is under attack as well. We can't count on them. But you need to move this camp. Now. Quickly."
"Why should I believe you?" Jake said. "Give me a reason."
Older Jake shook his head, smiling thinly. "I knew you would ask that."
"Then I suppose you have prepared a reply."
"Yes. I shouldn't tell you anything, might mess things up, but I have no choice. You have to listen."
"Speak up. Do it quickly."
"Look behind you, Jake," Older Jake said. "See Cassie? She's alive. If anyone asks you, you'd say she was alive. I can't do that. I can't say that. She hasn't been alive to me for seven years."
Jake stared, feeling like every nerve in his body had been stirred. Every emotion he had ever known flamed up. "You're threatening her?"
"I don't need to."
Jake bit his lip. Twisted his hands. Tried to read the blank face, hidden by darkness, shadowed by a mass of feelings; bitterness and fear, mostly. Tried to figure out if this future-Jake was lying or not.
Decided that it wasn't worth the risk.
"Get out of here," Jake said finally, already deep in thoughts about the task ahead. "Don't let anyone see you. I'm moving camp as soon as I gathered the others."
Older Jake sighed and mouthed a 'thank you' at the roof of the tent. "Don't tell anyone about me coming."
"I'm not that stupid. Now go!"
*0:37:00 REMAINING*
All right, Jake said as he landed by Rachel and Tobias, this time an owl - dripping with rain - and not a falcon. I saw that the river was in place. And anyone can see that fire. I see the rockslide is prepared for. I see you two. I saw Ax running towards us further back. Where's Marco and Larynia?
"I don't know," Tobias said. "They should be with Ax, I'd guess."
Rachel was also in owl morph, keeping two very good eyes on things below the cliffs, waiting for the Yeerks to come. It was rainy and dark enough for anyone to have to squint to see further than anything at arm's length, but the owl's eyes saw everything.
The sky above the passage to the east was glaring red, and that the fire had caught up was obvious. And despite that, the rain was still pouring down, thrashing at faces and making the ground near the cliffs dangerously slippery.
They weren't, Jake informed the two. I saw that. I didn't dare check the passage, because I hardly get enough lift to fly at all in this weather and I'm not about to go dare-devil and fly over that fire. But I didn't see them, that's for sure.
Do you think something happened? Rachel said.
By the way Ax was running; yes, Jake said grimly, beginning to demorph.
"How much time do we have?" Tobias asked.
About half an hour, Rachel said. I think. Ax or Larynia'll know.
"Provided Larynia's still around to know," Tobias muttered.
Pessimist.
"I'm just saying something always goes wrong. So why should this be an exception?"
About then Ax came bursting through the trees, wild-eyed and moving in short jerks, water dripping from everything between tail-blade and stalks. He stopped suddenly, digging his hooves in and sliding on the muddy ground.
Before Ax said anything Rachel asked; Where's Marco and Larynia?
Ax's stalk-eye darted towards Jake and he made a movement which might have been a respectful nod. Marco's gone. Larynia…
"One moment. 'Gone'?" Jake said.
Dead, Ax clarified, but still speaking quickly. Controller. I… Ì shot him.
Controller?! Rachel exclaimed.
"You shot him?" Tobias said.
"We've got no time to debate it!" Jake snapped, his hands clenched tightly in a way that suggested he wasn't aware of it. "What about Larynia?"
She… she was in the passage. She started the fire, but she didn't climb back out.
"The passage is in flames, Ax-man," Tobias said. "And you just left her there?"
Of course not! Larynia is my cousin, but more like my sister. She… she had the dracon. She tried to shoot me!
Tried, Rachel said thoughtfully. Not succeeded.
Larynia is not very good with a dracon.
"What did you do?" Tobias asked.
I ran, Ax admitted. To fetch help. We don't have much time! We've…
"It's too late for that," Jake said, shaking his head. "The passage is history. And so is anything that was in it."
Ax's posture sank together, just a bit.
Ax, Rachel said, slowly. If she wanted you shot, you'd have been shot. You're not shot, so she didn't really mean to kill you. I'd be surprised if she did. She was just trying to get you out of her way. And it worked.
Ax blinked hard with all four eyes. Then did something very strange; sobbed loudly, his entire body shaking, looking very much like a beaten dog.
It's ok, Rachel whispered, realizing maybe too late that she should have kept that to herself.
"This is not looking good," Tobias said. "Two dead. We're down to four."
Jake nodded grimly. His face, if anyone (other than Rachel) could have seen it through the darkness and heavy rain, was completely blank. "We don't have time to grieve. We've got work to do. We need to finish these… these gadgets." He motioned at the logs and the masses of stone behind them. "And we need to hide them."
Rheith didn't know much about swimming. His host, a young Hork-Bajir named Ler Telpak who almost never said anything, was still in shock about his recent capture.
Rheith was very proud of his host. And of the information in his Ler's brain. It had given Reith a promotion up to Sub-Visser level. Ler had been one of the guards outside the resistance camp. Unfortunately for the resistance, the guards - very talented at guarding their camp - were not very well guarded themselves.
A good number had been captured and infested. And successfully sent back to spy on the resistance.
The resistance leader, a human called Jake who most Yeerks - including Rheith himself - hated very strongly and would love to infest, had made one, great big giant blunder. Ler was insisting what he had been told by some other infested resistance guard. That the fault was not Jake's; there were simply too few guards.
But the guards were scheduled to guard every fifth 12-hour shift. Which meant, easily spoken, every two and a half days. It didn't take a genius to figure the rest out. The infested guards were brought quickly to the Yeerk pool during their shift, their Yeerks took a swim, and then they were transported back before the twelve hours were up.
No-one had suspected anything. Despite a few close calls.
Anyway, about swimming. Rheith was not even sure Hork-Bajir could swim. They should be able to, logically, but he had never asked himself that question before. But now Rheith and a few others were ordered to swim across a storming river - that according to Ler and Rheith both had not been there a few hours earlier - and secure the other side. Going as far as to put out the small fire on the other side.
Rheith shuddered from the icy water storming past his host's legs, tearing at the blades. The current was strong. Maybe too strong. But Rheith felt a tingle along Ler's spine. And he knew that the tingle didn't come from Ler; it came from him.
Thoughts of capturing the resistance had brought it forth. And thoughts of finally, after years and years, after uncountable fights and battles, after hundreds of good Yeerks losing their heads to the Visser's blade due to failures… after all that and more finally capturing and breaking the spirits of the almost legendary rebels called the Animorphs.
They're coming, Rachel announced.
Jake flicked a tiger paw at a pebble. The rain had stopped. The fire was still blazing strongly in the distance.
Tobias stood up from where he had been sitting. He began morphing Andalite; the plan needed another Andalite tail. The tail that was supposed to have been Larynia's.
Ax inched closer to the first set of rocks, camouflaged into the shadows with branches and sticks and leaves. He would just need to cut the thin log in front with his tail, and the rocks would tumble down the slope at the Yeerks.
Any last moment orders, Jake? Rachel asked.
No, Jake said. We go for it. Rachel? Morph something useful. Ax and Tobias? You're in charge of the rocks and logs. Get them moving at my signal. Not before.
And Jake and I are taking care of anyone who makes it all the way up, Rachel said, sighing as she demorphed from owl. So give a yell if you see anyone. She completed the demorph and continued in normal speech. "By the way. What should I morph?"
Preferably something that can see in the dark, Tobias said. So you don't rush right over the edge by mistake.
"That would be cat or cheetah," Rachel said. "Cat is out of the question. And with the cheetah, I'd get tired too quickly."
Use the grizzly, Ax suggested. It is your most powerful morph. And I believe you are accustomed to seeing nothing.
Which, incidentally, Ax and I are also getting used to, Tobias said.
Rachel nodded and began morphing.
Jake crawled forth to the edge and peered down. The Yeerks were gathering at the bottom of the cliffs, preparing for the climb.
The cliffs might not seem the perfect place for launching an attack, since it was very easy to place an ambush there. But it was a good place because no-one would expect enemies from that direction, and the Yeerks needed to snare the resistance which meant blocking this way out.
The Hork-Bajir began climbing. Two of them, one on each end. They were coming up to check things out.
Bad idea.
Rachel, hide, Jake ordered, himself slipping into a shadow. Ax? Tobias? You too.
The Hork-Bajir came up over the edge. They walked around the area, listening for sounds, keeping both eyes open for anything suspicious. But it was a cloudy, starless night. Not even the moon was visible. It was pitch black.
The Hork-Bajir were soon finished with their ears-only search and called down "all-clear" to their friends below.
Get them! Jake said and launched at the Hork-Bajir which was standing right in front of him. A quick snap with his jaws and the Hork-Bajir fell before he had even realized what had happened, and long before he managed to give any cry of alarm.
There was a FWAP and Jake guessed that Ax or Tobias had taken care of the other Hork-Bajir.
Get back to positions!
Jake leaped to the edge. Peered down. Hork-Bajir were climbing swiftly now, thinking it was safe, putting up ropes as they went for their human friends to follow. The first group of climbers were about half-way when the next group followed. There was a team of Hork-Bajir and humans at the bottom, shouting orders.
Further back was a bunch of Taxxons with dracons, guarding BioFilter Vehicles.
What do you see? Rachel asked.
They've got too long gaps between the climbers, Jake said. We want to hit a big group. We won't be able to. They're being careful, despite the area being "cleared".
So what are we supposed to do, Prince Jake?
Our main target is the BioFilter Vehicles. I don't care how many warriors there are, you can still sneak past them. Get those BioFilter Vehicles out of the way and a big chunk of resistance will be able to escape. So we need to wait until they get close enough, and smash them.
They'll never bring those things close enough, Tobias reasoned. Not until half their army is up here. And we can't let that happen, either. We'd be toast. We'd be worse than toast.
Should we just hope for luck? Jake suggested.
Sounds good enough for me, Rachel agreed.
Okay. Tobias? Five steps west… no, the other west… and in front of you. There's a stone jumble. See it?
No. Tobias stretched out his hands. But I can feel it. Should I let the stones rock and roll?
Exactly. On my signal… Jake peered over the edge. Waited for about two minutes before he was happy. Now!
Tobias's tail flashed and he leaped out of the way and listened as the rocks tumbled down the steep slope. Hork-Bajir voices called out, first in surprise, then in alarm, switching over to fear, and finally in panic.
Human voices below shouted warning. Taxxons screeched in high-pitched voices. Jake could see them running far away as the rocks - which had brought along a few friends from here and there on the way down - hit the ground and rolled into the Controllers.
Ax! Your turn!
Ax repeated the process. Rocks rolled and tumbled and crashed down the cliffy slopes. Hork-Bajir succeeded - and failed - in getting out of the way.
It's begun, Rachel sighed. Now they know we're here.
Ax moved carefully through the dark to the next set of rocks. Tobias did the same. It took a few minutes for them to get into position, and by then the Controllers were busy climbing again.
On my signal… Jake started.
TSEEEW!
A glare of red!
Jake realized that there was one thing they hadn't counted on.
The bug fighters!
He felt the ground shake beneath him. He had been standing so close to the slope that he almost fell. He backed away quickly.
Get away from the slope! he called. You okay?
Fine, Tobias said.
Unharmed, Ax said.
A little mad, Rachel muttered. What was that?
Bug fighters, Jake said. We forgot about them.
TSEEEW!
That was the end of a large number of stone jumbles. They simply exploded, ceased to exist. Stone splinter flew through the air and cut deeply when they hit skin. The ground vibrated, the air shook. Jake was thrown away like a piece of cloth. He landed on his back, turned over, and stumbled up to his feet, feeling blood trickling down the side of his head.
Stone splinter bombarded his face so he turned away until it stopped.
Then he scanned the area. Rachel was curled up by a tree. She had been far away enough not to be affected by the blast. Her fur protected her from the splinter. Ax was struggling up, not far from where Jake was but a little closer to two still-standing jumbles of stone. Tobias was also just getting to his feet… dangerously close to the slope.
Jake! he called. Jake, where am I?
Jake was still the only one who could see anything in the dark. Let's just say this, he said. Whatever you do, don't move to your left. Or backwards. Come on. Go to your right. Slowly. Run to your right, get in among the trees.
Tobias nodded and moved to his right, stalk-eyes circling but seeing nothing but black, arms and hands stretched out in front but feeling nothing but air.
And the only thing Jake could think was that he was moving too slowly. The bug fighters above might not see - as in really SEE - them, but they had sensors or radar. They had to take cover among the trees. At least they were safer there than out on the edge of the cliffs, with only sky above them.
Jake realized that Ax was also asking for a location. He didn't see anything either.
Jake rushed up to the edge with five giant leaps. He stopped, the momentum almost carrying him too far, and looked down. The Hork-Bajir had given up their careful climbing. They had given up their few-at-the-time climb. They were swarming up the slope, as fast as water rushed down a waterfall. There were hundreds of them, thousands, climbing on each other as well as on the cliffs. Too many!
If they reached the top, Jake knew his pathetic little group would be slaughtered. Simply slaughtered. That is, if the bug fighters didn't kill them first.
Only one thing to do.
Ax, five steps in front of you. There's a stone jumble. You need to let it loose! Now now now!
Ax asked no questions. He cleared the five steps swiftly, found the thin log with his hands, struck with his tail and the rocks were on their way.
Get to the next one! Jake called. Quickly! Ehm… about seventeen steps in the same direction!
Ax did as he was told. Jake looked around. Except for the two stone jumbles Ax worked on, there was another three. Four had been destroyed by the bug fighters, and a few let loose already. The ones ready for service were on Jake's other side, opposite from Ax.
Jake rushed over. He hoped he wasn't too late. He didn't have a tail-blade to cut the log, but he could just lift it out of place. He wedged his shoulder in under the log, and lifted. The stones fell away, rumbling. Jake's shoulder ached. He let the log go and continued to the next.
Ax, get to the trees! Jake ordered. Quickly!
Jake! What are you doing?! Rachel demanded.
I'm trying to save our butts. Yeerks are climbing fast! I'm letting the rest of the rocks go. Jake paused for half a second, and then added; It's our only hope.
Jake reached the other jumble of stone. He ignored the screams and shouts from below. Ignored the pictures in his mind of the Hork-Bajir coming over the edge and cutting the four of them to pieces.
Wedged his shoulder in place under the log.
And then things happened fast. Next thing Jake knew, he was falling. Fast. There had been a glare of red. He was falling and falling, helpless. Stones and parts of the log flew past him. But the tiger balanced the fall and got his paws downwards.
He landed on a slope, his legs folded like spaghetti under him and he fell, tumbled down, rolled even further down, being battered by uneven cliffs on the way, and cut by sharp rocks. Fell another meter or so through air, landed hard on a cliff ledge and stopped.
Back ached. Head ached. Back legs ached. Front legs beyond pain. Broken. Possibly even shattered.
Jake tried to start demorphing. He had a vague memory of Hork-Bajir climbing. A memory which told him he was not in the best place to be.
If only his head hadn't been spinning like that.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's note;
*Yawn* Boring. Oh, well. That was a bit predictable. OF COURSE someone would fall down the slope. WHY would the story include a slope if no-one fell down it? *What would be the fun with that?*
I reintroduced an old character. The Yeerk, Reith. Check out chapter two and you'll know who he is.
I'll miss Larynia, though. She was turning into my favourite character. *sigh* Too bad. Maybe I'll give her a part in some other story.
Next part soon. As soon as I figure out what'll happen. *rubs hands and grins evilly*
*0:52:00 REMAINING*
Larynia sat absolutely still for a long time, holding Marco's lifeless body and staring into space, no longer noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks or the rain whipping mercilessly at her face.
She sat still, until Ax began morphing human to climb down the cliffs. Then she suddenly threw herself forwards, grabbed the dracon from where it had fallen and stumbled to her feet with it aimed. "Don't you dare come down here!"
Ax froze in the middle of a movement. Put the dracon down, Larynia.
"Why?" Larynia shrieked. "Because I might kill you? Like you killed Marco?!!"
Put it down, Ax said in a fake-calm voice. I… know how you feel. Marco was my friend. Ax was partly morphed to human. He was wondering if he should finish the morph… or give up and demorph. The dracon jammed.
"Jammed?!"
I tried to set it to low power, Ax said, keeping two watchful sets of eyes on the dracon. But it was stuck halfway. He made up his mind and began morphing back to Andalite. It was safer. I would have been too late if I had attempted to climb down. I could choose between my cousin or my friend. And I chose my cousin. I did what my friend would have wanted me to do.
"And completely forgot what your cousin wanted!"
Larynia, there was nothing I could do.
"You did plenty!"
Listen to me!
"NO!"
Larynia pressed the trigger. Ax almost jumped out of skin when the dracon sliced air straight between his stalk-eyes. He was highly thankful that Larynia never had been much good as a shot. But that she was mad enough to fire worried him.
Larynia-Talene-Sirinial! he roared, gathering his courage. Put that dracon down this instant!
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Larynia, we don't have time for this! Ax said, hoping he could plead to her sense of duty. We have a fire to start. We need to stop the Yeerks!
Larynia altered the grip on the dracon and fired at the closest big bush. Flames shot up where the dracon beam hit, spread quickly, and Larynia repeated the process on another bush. Then she raised it to aim at her cousin again.
Ax shifted his weight to another set of hooves. The flames were dancing wildly, spreading dangerously quickly despite the rain. Ax had been right when he guessed that enough heat would let the fire spread. But Larynia wasn't moving.
If you do not climb up here now, you will be burnt.
"I know."
Ax tried to catch her eyes. Larynia glared back at him. Angry. Cold. Despairing. Empty.
Larynia. You'll die.
"I was dead the moment you fired that dracon, cousin," Larynia spat. "It doesn't matter to me any more."
Do not be stupid! I… I can't just leave you down there!
"Maybe not." Larynia smiled weakly. "Farewell, cousin." She fired the dracon.
"Okay," Jake said. "I believe you. Me. From the future. Fine. Now explain what you're doing here."
"I can't tell you too much," the man who claimed to be Jake-from-the-future said. He was sitting cross-legged just inside the tent flaps. "But you've got about an hour before the Yeerks storm into camp."
That caught Jake's attention. He glanced back at Cassie, peacefully asleep behind him. "You sure?"
"I lived through it," Older Jake said bitterly. "I'm pretty sure."
"Did anyone…"
"Die? Get infested?" Older Jake sighed. "Yes. Either one or the other. No-one escaped."
Jake's eyes narrowed. "Then how come you're here? You a Yeerk? Trying to trick me?!"
"No! Look, just listen to me. I don't care where you go. I only care that you go. And that you go now. My team is out slowing down the Yeerks. We tried calling the Andalites, but their planet is under attack as well. We can't count on them. But you need to move this camp. Now. Quickly."
"Why should I believe you?" Jake said. "Give me a reason."
Older Jake shook his head, smiling thinly. "I knew you would ask that."
"Then I suppose you have prepared a reply."
"Yes. I shouldn't tell you anything, might mess things up, but I have no choice. You have to listen."
"Speak up. Do it quickly."
"Look behind you, Jake," Older Jake said. "See Cassie? She's alive. If anyone asks you, you'd say she was alive. I can't do that. I can't say that. She hasn't been alive to me for seven years."
Jake stared, feeling like every nerve in his body had been stirred. Every emotion he had ever known flamed up. "You're threatening her?"
"I don't need to."
Jake bit his lip. Twisted his hands. Tried to read the blank face, hidden by darkness, shadowed by a mass of feelings; bitterness and fear, mostly. Tried to figure out if this future-Jake was lying or not.
Decided that it wasn't worth the risk.
"Get out of here," Jake said finally, already deep in thoughts about the task ahead. "Don't let anyone see you. I'm moving camp as soon as I gathered the others."
Older Jake sighed and mouthed a 'thank you' at the roof of the tent. "Don't tell anyone about me coming."
"I'm not that stupid. Now go!"
*0:37:00 REMAINING*
All right, Jake said as he landed by Rachel and Tobias, this time an owl - dripping with rain - and not a falcon. I saw that the river was in place. And anyone can see that fire. I see the rockslide is prepared for. I see you two. I saw Ax running towards us further back. Where's Marco and Larynia?
"I don't know," Tobias said. "They should be with Ax, I'd guess."
Rachel was also in owl morph, keeping two very good eyes on things below the cliffs, waiting for the Yeerks to come. It was rainy and dark enough for anyone to have to squint to see further than anything at arm's length, but the owl's eyes saw everything.
The sky above the passage to the east was glaring red, and that the fire had caught up was obvious. And despite that, the rain was still pouring down, thrashing at faces and making the ground near the cliffs dangerously slippery.
They weren't, Jake informed the two. I saw that. I didn't dare check the passage, because I hardly get enough lift to fly at all in this weather and I'm not about to go dare-devil and fly over that fire. But I didn't see them, that's for sure.
Do you think something happened? Rachel said.
By the way Ax was running; yes, Jake said grimly, beginning to demorph.
"How much time do we have?" Tobias asked.
About half an hour, Rachel said. I think. Ax or Larynia'll know.
"Provided Larynia's still around to know," Tobias muttered.
Pessimist.
"I'm just saying something always goes wrong. So why should this be an exception?"
About then Ax came bursting through the trees, wild-eyed and moving in short jerks, water dripping from everything between tail-blade and stalks. He stopped suddenly, digging his hooves in and sliding on the muddy ground.
Before Ax said anything Rachel asked; Where's Marco and Larynia?
Ax's stalk-eye darted towards Jake and he made a movement which might have been a respectful nod. Marco's gone. Larynia…
"One moment. 'Gone'?" Jake said.
Dead, Ax clarified, but still speaking quickly. Controller. I… Ì shot him.
Controller?! Rachel exclaimed.
"You shot him?" Tobias said.
"We've got no time to debate it!" Jake snapped, his hands clenched tightly in a way that suggested he wasn't aware of it. "What about Larynia?"
She… she was in the passage. She started the fire, but she didn't climb back out.
"The passage is in flames, Ax-man," Tobias said. "And you just left her there?"
Of course not! Larynia is my cousin, but more like my sister. She… she had the dracon. She tried to shoot me!
Tried, Rachel said thoughtfully. Not succeeded.
Larynia is not very good with a dracon.
"What did you do?" Tobias asked.
I ran, Ax admitted. To fetch help. We don't have much time! We've…
"It's too late for that," Jake said, shaking his head. "The passage is history. And so is anything that was in it."
Ax's posture sank together, just a bit.
Ax, Rachel said, slowly. If she wanted you shot, you'd have been shot. You're not shot, so she didn't really mean to kill you. I'd be surprised if she did. She was just trying to get you out of her way. And it worked.
Ax blinked hard with all four eyes. Then did something very strange; sobbed loudly, his entire body shaking, looking very much like a beaten dog.
It's ok, Rachel whispered, realizing maybe too late that she should have kept that to herself.
"This is not looking good," Tobias said. "Two dead. We're down to four."
Jake nodded grimly. His face, if anyone (other than Rachel) could have seen it through the darkness and heavy rain, was completely blank. "We don't have time to grieve. We've got work to do. We need to finish these… these gadgets." He motioned at the logs and the masses of stone behind them. "And we need to hide them."
Rheith didn't know much about swimming. His host, a young Hork-Bajir named Ler Telpak who almost never said anything, was still in shock about his recent capture.
Rheith was very proud of his host. And of the information in his Ler's brain. It had given Reith a promotion up to Sub-Visser level. Ler had been one of the guards outside the resistance camp. Unfortunately for the resistance, the guards - very talented at guarding their camp - were not very well guarded themselves.
A good number had been captured and infested. And successfully sent back to spy on the resistance.
The resistance leader, a human called Jake who most Yeerks - including Rheith himself - hated very strongly and would love to infest, had made one, great big giant blunder. Ler was insisting what he had been told by some other infested resistance guard. That the fault was not Jake's; there were simply too few guards.
But the guards were scheduled to guard every fifth 12-hour shift. Which meant, easily spoken, every two and a half days. It didn't take a genius to figure the rest out. The infested guards were brought quickly to the Yeerk pool during their shift, their Yeerks took a swim, and then they were transported back before the twelve hours were up.
No-one had suspected anything. Despite a few close calls.
Anyway, about swimming. Rheith was not even sure Hork-Bajir could swim. They should be able to, logically, but he had never asked himself that question before. But now Rheith and a few others were ordered to swim across a storming river - that according to Ler and Rheith both had not been there a few hours earlier - and secure the other side. Going as far as to put out the small fire on the other side.
Rheith shuddered from the icy water storming past his host's legs, tearing at the blades. The current was strong. Maybe too strong. But Rheith felt a tingle along Ler's spine. And he knew that the tingle didn't come from Ler; it came from him.
Thoughts of capturing the resistance had brought it forth. And thoughts of finally, after years and years, after uncountable fights and battles, after hundreds of good Yeerks losing their heads to the Visser's blade due to failures… after all that and more finally capturing and breaking the spirits of the almost legendary rebels called the Animorphs.
They're coming, Rachel announced.
Jake flicked a tiger paw at a pebble. The rain had stopped. The fire was still blazing strongly in the distance.
Tobias stood up from where he had been sitting. He began morphing Andalite; the plan needed another Andalite tail. The tail that was supposed to have been Larynia's.
Ax inched closer to the first set of rocks, camouflaged into the shadows with branches and sticks and leaves. He would just need to cut the thin log in front with his tail, and the rocks would tumble down the slope at the Yeerks.
Any last moment orders, Jake? Rachel asked.
No, Jake said. We go for it. Rachel? Morph something useful. Ax and Tobias? You're in charge of the rocks and logs. Get them moving at my signal. Not before.
And Jake and I are taking care of anyone who makes it all the way up, Rachel said, sighing as she demorphed from owl. So give a yell if you see anyone. She completed the demorph and continued in normal speech. "By the way. What should I morph?"
Preferably something that can see in the dark, Tobias said. So you don't rush right over the edge by mistake.
"That would be cat or cheetah," Rachel said. "Cat is out of the question. And with the cheetah, I'd get tired too quickly."
Use the grizzly, Ax suggested. It is your most powerful morph. And I believe you are accustomed to seeing nothing.
Which, incidentally, Ax and I are also getting used to, Tobias said.
Rachel nodded and began morphing.
Jake crawled forth to the edge and peered down. The Yeerks were gathering at the bottom of the cliffs, preparing for the climb.
The cliffs might not seem the perfect place for launching an attack, since it was very easy to place an ambush there. But it was a good place because no-one would expect enemies from that direction, and the Yeerks needed to snare the resistance which meant blocking this way out.
The Hork-Bajir began climbing. Two of them, one on each end. They were coming up to check things out.
Bad idea.
Rachel, hide, Jake ordered, himself slipping into a shadow. Ax? Tobias? You too.
The Hork-Bajir came up over the edge. They walked around the area, listening for sounds, keeping both eyes open for anything suspicious. But it was a cloudy, starless night. Not even the moon was visible. It was pitch black.
The Hork-Bajir were soon finished with their ears-only search and called down "all-clear" to their friends below.
Get them! Jake said and launched at the Hork-Bajir which was standing right in front of him. A quick snap with his jaws and the Hork-Bajir fell before he had even realized what had happened, and long before he managed to give any cry of alarm.
There was a FWAP and Jake guessed that Ax or Tobias had taken care of the other Hork-Bajir.
Get back to positions!
Jake leaped to the edge. Peered down. Hork-Bajir were climbing swiftly now, thinking it was safe, putting up ropes as they went for their human friends to follow. The first group of climbers were about half-way when the next group followed. There was a team of Hork-Bajir and humans at the bottom, shouting orders.
Further back was a bunch of Taxxons with dracons, guarding BioFilter Vehicles.
What do you see? Rachel asked.
They've got too long gaps between the climbers, Jake said. We want to hit a big group. We won't be able to. They're being careful, despite the area being "cleared".
So what are we supposed to do, Prince Jake?
Our main target is the BioFilter Vehicles. I don't care how many warriors there are, you can still sneak past them. Get those BioFilter Vehicles out of the way and a big chunk of resistance will be able to escape. So we need to wait until they get close enough, and smash them.
They'll never bring those things close enough, Tobias reasoned. Not until half their army is up here. And we can't let that happen, either. We'd be toast. We'd be worse than toast.
Should we just hope for luck? Jake suggested.
Sounds good enough for me, Rachel agreed.
Okay. Tobias? Five steps west… no, the other west… and in front of you. There's a stone jumble. See it?
No. Tobias stretched out his hands. But I can feel it. Should I let the stones rock and roll?
Exactly. On my signal… Jake peered over the edge. Waited for about two minutes before he was happy. Now!
Tobias's tail flashed and he leaped out of the way and listened as the rocks tumbled down the steep slope. Hork-Bajir voices called out, first in surprise, then in alarm, switching over to fear, and finally in panic.
Human voices below shouted warning. Taxxons screeched in high-pitched voices. Jake could see them running far away as the rocks - which had brought along a few friends from here and there on the way down - hit the ground and rolled into the Controllers.
Ax! Your turn!
Ax repeated the process. Rocks rolled and tumbled and crashed down the cliffy slopes. Hork-Bajir succeeded - and failed - in getting out of the way.
It's begun, Rachel sighed. Now they know we're here.
Ax moved carefully through the dark to the next set of rocks. Tobias did the same. It took a few minutes for them to get into position, and by then the Controllers were busy climbing again.
On my signal… Jake started.
TSEEEW!
A glare of red!
Jake realized that there was one thing they hadn't counted on.
The bug fighters!
He felt the ground shake beneath him. He had been standing so close to the slope that he almost fell. He backed away quickly.
Get away from the slope! he called. You okay?
Fine, Tobias said.
Unharmed, Ax said.
A little mad, Rachel muttered. What was that?
Bug fighters, Jake said. We forgot about them.
TSEEEW!
That was the end of a large number of stone jumbles. They simply exploded, ceased to exist. Stone splinter flew through the air and cut deeply when they hit skin. The ground vibrated, the air shook. Jake was thrown away like a piece of cloth. He landed on his back, turned over, and stumbled up to his feet, feeling blood trickling down the side of his head.
Stone splinter bombarded his face so he turned away until it stopped.
Then he scanned the area. Rachel was curled up by a tree. She had been far away enough not to be affected by the blast. Her fur protected her from the splinter. Ax was struggling up, not far from where Jake was but a little closer to two still-standing jumbles of stone. Tobias was also just getting to his feet… dangerously close to the slope.
Jake! he called. Jake, where am I?
Jake was still the only one who could see anything in the dark. Let's just say this, he said. Whatever you do, don't move to your left. Or backwards. Come on. Go to your right. Slowly. Run to your right, get in among the trees.
Tobias nodded and moved to his right, stalk-eyes circling but seeing nothing but black, arms and hands stretched out in front but feeling nothing but air.
And the only thing Jake could think was that he was moving too slowly. The bug fighters above might not see - as in really SEE - them, but they had sensors or radar. They had to take cover among the trees. At least they were safer there than out on the edge of the cliffs, with only sky above them.
Jake realized that Ax was also asking for a location. He didn't see anything either.
Jake rushed up to the edge with five giant leaps. He stopped, the momentum almost carrying him too far, and looked down. The Hork-Bajir had given up their careful climbing. They had given up their few-at-the-time climb. They were swarming up the slope, as fast as water rushed down a waterfall. There were hundreds of them, thousands, climbing on each other as well as on the cliffs. Too many!
If they reached the top, Jake knew his pathetic little group would be slaughtered. Simply slaughtered. That is, if the bug fighters didn't kill them first.
Only one thing to do.
Ax, five steps in front of you. There's a stone jumble. You need to let it loose! Now now now!
Ax asked no questions. He cleared the five steps swiftly, found the thin log with his hands, struck with his tail and the rocks were on their way.
Get to the next one! Jake called. Quickly! Ehm… about seventeen steps in the same direction!
Ax did as he was told. Jake looked around. Except for the two stone jumbles Ax worked on, there was another three. Four had been destroyed by the bug fighters, and a few let loose already. The ones ready for service were on Jake's other side, opposite from Ax.
Jake rushed over. He hoped he wasn't too late. He didn't have a tail-blade to cut the log, but he could just lift it out of place. He wedged his shoulder in under the log, and lifted. The stones fell away, rumbling. Jake's shoulder ached. He let the log go and continued to the next.
Ax, get to the trees! Jake ordered. Quickly!
Jake! What are you doing?! Rachel demanded.
I'm trying to save our butts. Yeerks are climbing fast! I'm letting the rest of the rocks go. Jake paused for half a second, and then added; It's our only hope.
Jake reached the other jumble of stone. He ignored the screams and shouts from below. Ignored the pictures in his mind of the Hork-Bajir coming over the edge and cutting the four of them to pieces.
Wedged his shoulder in place under the log.
And then things happened fast. Next thing Jake knew, he was falling. Fast. There had been a glare of red. He was falling and falling, helpless. Stones and parts of the log flew past him. But the tiger balanced the fall and got his paws downwards.
He landed on a slope, his legs folded like spaghetti under him and he fell, tumbled down, rolled even further down, being battered by uneven cliffs on the way, and cut by sharp rocks. Fell another meter or so through air, landed hard on a cliff ledge and stopped.
Back ached. Head ached. Back legs ached. Front legs beyond pain. Broken. Possibly even shattered.
Jake tried to start demorphing. He had a vague memory of Hork-Bajir climbing. A memory which told him he was not in the best place to be.
If only his head hadn't been spinning like that.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author's note;
*Yawn* Boring. Oh, well. That was a bit predictable. OF COURSE someone would fall down the slope. WHY would the story include a slope if no-one fell down it? *What would be the fun with that?*
I reintroduced an old character. The Yeerk, Reith. Check out chapter two and you'll know who he is.
I'll miss Larynia, though. She was turning into my favourite character. *sigh* Too bad. Maybe I'll give her a part in some other story.
Next part soon. As soon as I figure out what'll happen. *rubs hands and grins evilly*
