"They called us in, they said you asked for us." Jake said, Marco
looked at me, and then cast a nervous look at the observation window.
It had been almost two days since…you know, and Ax wasn't at all
good, in fact it looked like he wasn't going to make it.
His eyes were bloodied and so was his nose and ears. The breakdown effect
or whatever it is, was defiantly taking its toll.
"He doesn't look so good." Cassie murmured.
No. I said. He doesn't and yes, I did call you.
Marco crept towards the glass, "Is he as bad off as I think he is?"
"He'll be okay." Rachel said, almost dismissively.
Does it look like it? Does it? I said sharply.
She looked away from the glass and towards me, her strong eyes
un-wavered, "Are you going to be okay?"
I'll be fine when Ax is. I muttered, embarrassed.
"Well? Is something up or what?" Jake said as he stepped in beside
Rachel and he too took a look, it was hard to tell whether Ax was awake or not,
his main eyes may have been open but they had this vacant far away look to them.
One second he'd be like that the other he'd be unconscious.
Yeah, something is up. Or at least someone is up to something.
"Huh?" Jake said. Rachel looked at me puzzled.
Crayak is up to something, I'm certain now. I said slowly,
He's playing his games again.
"But why now? And why Ax?" Rachel demanded
I avoided her eyes, I was sort of hoping you'd know. Or Jake
possibly.
"What?" Defiantly puzzled.
Marco got it, "You mean David?"
Possibly. I said.
Things got very uncomfortable, not that they were comfortable a few
seconds ago, Marco cast a look at the guards then cocked an eyebrow at Jake.
Jake shrugged then gave us a 'who cares?' look.
Marco turned to the guards, "Will you excuse us for a few minutes?"
The gaurds looked at each other, one of the said, I suppose so. But
don't take too long.
"Are you sure?" Cassie asked me once the guards were out and onto the
corridor.
Yes.
"I don't get it, why Ax? I was the one who planed." Cassie shook
her head.
Marco rolled his eyes. As if saying give me a break. But he didn't have
anything useful to add.
Jake said, "Well, he was with Rachel, wasn't he? At the end. With
David."
Yeah. There was something else I was waiting for someone to
mention. I didn't want to say it.
I didn't know if Rachel would say it. Surprisingly she did. She looked
at the ground and said, "I know why."
Everyone turned to look at her. "You know?" Marco said, then he
nodded, "Crayak came to you right? So you know more about this than Jake."
"They only come to those who have weaknesses." Rachel said. "Both
of them the Ellimist and Crayak."
There it was. And mentioning the Ellimist defiantly meant that Rachel
knew what I knew. What I did. What my decision has based on, my decision to stay
hawk.
'Weakness' the word that had been bothering me for a long time now.
Weakness. In all three of us; me at the first degree, Rachel second and
Ax third.
Jake and Cassie were strong in their own way, Marco in a different way.
But only Ax, Rachel and have any true weaknesses. Ones that trouble us.
The Ellimist tricked me. As did his enemy trick Rachel. Rachel didn't
fall for the tricks. I did. I fell for his tricks, what's more, I finally
accepted that I wasn't a nothlit by accident.
Would Ax fall for the tricks?
Cassie was watching Rachel intently, she said, "Rachel we need to
know."
She jerked her head, startled. "What?"
"You know." Marco laughed sardonically, and I glared at him, "What
did you do to David? As if the answer isn't obvious, you killed him straight
out, right?"
As Marco was speaking the Andalite official Cassador-Thiyl-Corass and War
Prince Raheeb-Jaril-Pothun had come in, they had inevitably caught Marco's
sentence. The guards came in trailing them, but this time, only two were inside,
the other two were out.
They gave us this questioning look. Marco sighed and said, "Always the
jerk of the situation. Marco my long life friend, congratulations."
What was it your were speaking of? Cassador demanded. Does
this by any chance have anything to do with Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill?
"Yes." Marco said, "As a mater of fact, it has something to do with
all of us."
Care to explain this? War Prince Raheeb asked.
"We've been avoiding this for a long time, too long." Cassie
muttered.
"It was for the best." Marco argued, "The past is the past, what
happened, happened, nothing is going to change it, and we were all responsible.
None of you people were willing to become killers, so we chose the alternative,
we all did. It was for the best. Wasn't it?"
"What I can't stop thinking about is, whose best? Ours or
David's?" Rachel muttered.
Cassador said, What are you talking about?
"The morphing cube," Marco said, "The one Elfangor used on us, it
hadn't been destroyed –at that time. Ax called it a freak accident, when
Elfangor's fighter was obliterated the box was thrown out or whatever, a kid
in our school found it, his name was David."
Marco paused, looked around to see if no one was lost, he continued,
"The idiot didn't know what he had and reckoned it was worth something, so
he decides to sell it. His customer, non other than Visser Three/One."
Again, Marco paused, he swallowed, "You could pretty much guess what
happened then, massive fight; tug of war, we wanted it, the visser wanted it,
only he can't have it and David and his father were in the way.
"We managed to get the box and ran off with David, unfortunately, his
parents were made controllers." Another pause, Marco looked up at the
Andalites, talked slowly, as if recalling that moment, "He was unconscious in
the ally, we were arguing about it, Cassie, and Jake were for it, so was Tobias,
they said it was worth the risk, that increasing our numbers was the way to
start, despite the risks, also, it was in their view that it wasn't
'right' to leave him there for the Yeerks, I was all for it, leave him, he
wasn't our problem. His fault he got himself in trouble."
No one interrupted Marco, no one said a thing. "Ax was against it too.
He was in favor that should we ever start down the line of duplicating our
powers, we should do it with someone we know and trust, not a complete
stranger."
I also didn't interrupt, but waited, and watched as he singled one of
us out, Rachel. "It looked as though we were going to have an equal vote,
three against and three for, but oh no," Marco turned to Rachel, "I just
knew your 'let's do it' had always been trouble from the start, just tell
me, why, why, why? Why didn't you do what we expected? Why did you change your
assumed vote? Why did you go for it?"
Rachel shrugged, "Just who with half a brain would volunteer to do what
we do?"
"You no doubt." Marco snorted.
"And see what kind of people you'd get turning up." Rachel argued,
but froze, realized what she said, too late to take back her words she
continued, she flicked her hair, as if unbothered, but I knew Rachel,
"Besides, we did need our numbers to increase, we had to take to hiding, with
David we could have blown the Yeerk's cover ages ago."
"True." Marco said. Jake watched the two silently, "But David was a
bad choice. He was confused, smart, but confused."
"He wasn't confused." Rachel retorted, "He was too smart for his
own good."
The Andalites too watched this banter in silence, either they were too
angry to say something or too shocked.
Finally, Cassador spoke, What do you mean too smart for his own
good?
"The guy was half nutty if you ask me," Marco shrugged, "He was
obsessed with being the 'new kid' his father worked for the secret service
as a spy or something, and his family moved around a lot, he had no friends. No
siblings. When he found himself in the new kid/animorph situation he disliked
it. The guy was all for firepower. He chose morphs that were stronger than ours
in face to face combat.
"Simultaneously with the David situation, the Yeerks were making their
move on the heads of our nations, powerful leaders of Earth, if the Yeerks got
them then it was ball game, they win, we lose end of story. David cropped up in
a very bad month. We weren't at all that sensitive about his condition.
"Long story short, David blew with the wind, he went against us, killed
what he believed was a red-tailed hawk in morph; Tobias, only it was a real bird
and Tobias was okay, he tried to kill Jake, almost did it, he tried to kill Ax,
but failed, he locked me up in my closest and had us cold, but we understood
David by then and we launched into this plan that would trap him."
Rachel said, "He told me he would never kill a human in cold blood, he
wasn't a murderer, but a human in morph was another thing. No one would care
if a bird dies."
Why was she defending him? He had actually gloated over my death.
"What's the difference?" Marco countered, "Killing a human/bird
or a human. The guy was playing dumb, he'd have killed us."
"No, he wouldn't kill us as humans, he didn't kill you even though
he hated you just as much as you hated him." Rachel contradicted, "He just
tied you up and threw you were no one would see you."
Jake clenched a fist, "He killed my cousin, let's not forget
Sadler."
"No offense Jake," Marco rolled his eyes, "But Sadler was already
half dead, he was in the intensive care unit, and according to the doctors his
heart had gave out and they knew he wasn't going to make it."
"But what he did was sick." Cassie said angrily, "I'd rather face
death than hide it."
That turned Marco, "Oh really?"
Cassie stuttered, wrong move Cassie, I thought, he has you cold
now, nowhere to hide.
"Weren't you the one behind that scheme anyway? You were the master
mind of our plan, Cassie, you were the one who worked out how to avoid death for
David, not because death is mean or whatever to him, but because you didn't
want your conscience smeared. You, Cassie, more than any of us, had always tried
to find the 'alterative' to death, you wouldn't for your life face it,
let's not forget Karen by the way, sure Cassie, you can face death, what a
joke, but guess wha-"
"That's enough." Jake snapped, "You weren't all for killing
David, Marco that was way out of line."
Marco shrugged like he wasn't bothered, "Fine, whatever, sorry
Cassie."
What was your alternative? Cassador asked, his eyes narrowing to
slits.
This time Cassie spoke up, "I came up with the plan. I told them how to
trick David, I understood David; what he wanted, what he was going through. I
understood more than any of the others." She looked down at the ground, "I
didn't want to take a human life, no one wanted to do it, even after all the
battles none of us ever killed a human. We wouldn't do it. Not even if the
human was a controller.
"I set up the plan, we had all the equipment, we made it, and we lured
David into thinking that he had us trapped, we fed his ego, we told him we'd
hand over the cube if he promised not to kill us, or rat out on us-"
Cassie's soft brown eyes winced. She paused for a few seconds.
"We told him we had broke down the cube and set it in an underground
sewer connection. Rachel and David morphed rat to get it." Cassie stopped,
looked up at Cassador and Raheeb, "A rat is a rodent, very small creature,"
-she held out her hands to show them just how big-" fairly smart, but in
comparison to humans extremely dumb. It's also way down the food chain; it has
many predators while being a predator itself. Nothing extraordinary about being
rat, the mind was always panicky. Ran on instincts that protected it from
falling prey to more able animals, a common animal in the wild and human
cities…" Cassie trailed off.
Yes, yes, but what did you do? What was your solution? Cassador
asked sounding a bit impatient.
"I led him into the box we made, it was big enough to keep him in
there. And that's what we did." Rachel's eyes were hard and unemotional.
"Ax and I kept watch, for two hours he begged us to release him, but David had
crossed the line. Not only had he proved that he would kill us, but he would
turn us to the Yeerks, plus, he planned on making his own team of 'animorphs',
that in itself is a nightmare. Think about what would happen if it fell in the
wrong hands.
"After the two hours"-Rachel licked her lips-"Ax and I morphed
birds and took him out to sea. We dropped him on an isolated rock with a
population of birds and rats and we left him there."
Raheeb just stared. Cassador looked shocked. You made him nothlit
deliberately?
The guards stiffened.
"We didn't have a choice." Jake said, "We couldn't just let him
go. He was a traitor for god's sake! He knew our secrets, it was either him or
the human race, we had to decided and we did."
I still do not understand what this has with
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill your story does not end here does it?
"No, of course not, past decisions always come back." Marco snorted.
Rachel said, "Jake and Crayak have a history. Jake destroyed his
Howlers, a race of murders, he wants to get even, but he still has to play
within the rules of their game."
Pay back? Raheeb asked.
"Yes." Rachel nodded, "Payback, David already hated us. Hated me in
particular. And Crayak…" She shook her head, a movement that caused her
blond hair to shiver across her shoulders, "Crayak believed he could use me to
get to Jake he knew that I…that I…"
"That you are a complete psycho, and a warmonger." Marco said for
her.
Rachel hung her head, I felt as if I should say something but I didn't.
What could I possibly say?
"I'm not psycho." Rachel whispered fiercely.
"Crayak believed that he could use Rachel to kill me," Jake said,
something he had known for a while after the war escalated, he looked at the
ground. "He knew that I could barley control Rachel, and he knew that Rachel
well, Rachel was Rachel."
Rachel said nothing. Just stared at the ground. I looked away.
Cassie spoke to her friend, she reached out for her, "I was there
Rachel, it was tough, okay? No one would blame you if you were…" she trailed
off suddenly, unable to continue.
"If I were what?" Rachel shook Cassie away, angry, "If I were
tempted? If I would actually take Jake's life? My cousin's life,? To gain
control? To play it my way? I don't believe you! " The last part was an
angry shout. "Hey, I played general once and look what kind of disaster that
was. I learn from my mistakes."
"Sure you do." Marco muttered, I don't think Rachel heard him. No
one did, just me.
"Rachel…" Cassie murmured.
"What happened there anyway?" Marco seemed to take a secret pleasure
in all this. Of course he would, he had never failed to remind us what kind of
warmonger Rachel was. "What did Crayak do?"
Rachel had been lying low from the start, but now, she exploded straight
out.
"He seduced me! Alright!?" Rachel screamed angrily, turned round at
Marco, then at all of us, "One second I was a helpless rat fighting with David
and losing and next second I was god!" –she shook her fists
and clenched her teeth- "Nothing, nothing I wanted to do I couldn't. All the
power I wanted. All of it!" -Rachel's blue eye's lit up like a cold blue
flame- "I had a face-off. Me and Visser One, Esplin." Her eyes glowed,
"And I won, do you hear me Marco? I won!"
Marco looked like was going to throw up, "You killed him?"
"NO!" Rachel shouted, "I'm not some monster, it's what Crayak
wanted me to do, don't you get it? He wanted me to kill him, but I didn't, I
let him walk away."
Why? I asked. I didn't understand.
"Because Crayak was only willing to use me," The flame was dying,
"The power was like drugs or something, if I won…if I got it…well, I'd
reach the end pretty fast."
What end? I was confused.
"The end Marco is always bugging me about." Her eyes were back to
normal now, her voice strained, "And I understood then, I…I wouldn't take
Jake's life to save the universe or whatever, it's some kind of trap, a trap
for me, oh sure, the war would be over, the game between the Ellimist and Crayak
over, but it will also mean the end of me."
Marco made a kind of choking sound, he swore. Then cursed, "Let me get
this straight, you refused not because you could save the universe, no because
Jake's life was on line not to mention yours, and ours" –he started to
raise his voice- "but…you chose so that you could continue exercising your
Rachelness? So that you could live and feed on this war you sicko!?"
Rachel hung her head, the fact that she had no answer to Marco's
accusation chilled me.
Finally she said, "That wasn't it, it went far beyond that."
Marco said, "Sure it did. Sure it did."
"I managed to get out of the trap. And I was in an alley, David begged
for death over his life now as a rat. I…" Rachel trailed off miserably. Her
head hung in shame.
"You killed him?" Marco laughed harshly.
Rachel's head jerked up, her eyes glared at him angrily, "No. I
didn't. I said I'm not a monster. I didn't kill him. I walked away."
That choked Marco's laughter, he just gaped at her. Unbelieving.
Silence.
Rachel spoke again, her voice cracked slightly, "Look, I don't care
what Marco says, I'm no psycho. I never was, I'm not. Jake I know were my
line is, and I wouldn't cross it. Hey," –she smiled bitterly, a weak
smile, it didn't reach her eyes- "I'm one of the good guys. Remember?"
Marco had a crack about that, I could see it in his eyes, but he remained
silent.
Cassie hugged Rachel, "You are Rachel, you are."
Rachel shoved Cassie away gently and said, "Who am I kidding?"
No one said anything. The Andalites didn't interrupt, this wasn't
their place to interrupt.
"Anyway." Rachel said, speaking as if nothing happened, her eyes were
strong again, the glazed look had long vanished. But I knew inside was a
different story. "I suppose Crayak found a way to get at Jake by using Ax. Or
I don't know, something to do with David?"
What can we do about this? Cassador asked.
"Nothing." Rachel said, "Nothing at all."
Actually, there is something. I said.
"What?" Rachel said. She looked at me from my perch.
I think I know what Crayak's trying to do. Back on Earth Ax
was…you know, an outsider, he always felt it, he never spoke about it to me,
but it was there all the same. I think Crayak is going to use that to break him
down or something.
Is that sufficient to for that creature to reach his goal? Raheeb
asked.
Rachel shook her head, "Man, with Crayak, something as little as
'I'm afraid of spiders' is enough."
That and I'm thing maybe he's… I stopped rearranged my feathers, remember that time when the Drode
was talking to us when we were off to get the Pemilate ship?
One by one they nodded.
Do you remember when he was talking about us? Do you remember what he
said about Ax?
Marco shrugged, "He said something about him living in his brother's
shadow."
Cassie frowned, "Tobias, are you saying this whole thing is family
related or something?"
I'm not sure, maybe is all I'm saying, how does Crayak work
anyway? I asked.
"Contrasts." Rachel said, "Gives you what you want then yanks it
away and leaves you completely without it. Twists reality."
"Dreams." Jake said.
"And the dreams." Rachel nodded.
But when they asked Ax, he said he didn't dream. I said.
Rachel looked stumped.
Cassie said, "Didn't dream or couldn't remember?"
Cassador said, This is leading somewhere, because when I spoke to Psychiatrist Sigarf he said that the Aximili could not recall anything.
Marco grinned stupidly, "Ax got a shrink?"
The look I gave him whipped the smirk off his face. "Okay. Okay. People are getting touchy here." Marco mumbled underneath his breath.
"What does that all mean?" Jake wondered. He was referring to the
dreams, Jake hardly ever tries to make sense out of Marco blabber for us, or
what Marco would be hinting at, Jake could translate, but even Jake has limits.
Besides, if Marco were thinking of this as joke then maybe when things got rough
he'd notice.
"It means that he's playing with reality." Cassie said slowly,
"I'm sure he's giving him what he wants in the 'other reality' when
he's unconscious. But he wouldn't remember it when he wakes up, and he'd
feel all miserable because he doesn't have what he wants."
"Only when he goes back he remembers everything. Kind of like the yo-yo
thing Crayak did to me." Rachel snapped her fingers.
"Yo-yo?" Marco questioned. "Do aliens even know what a yo-yo is?"
I kept my temper down, no point bursting at Marco, he was always picking
on pointless stuff. People's habits are had to hard to change.
What is it he giving and taking? Cassador wondered, looking lost.
I had the answer for that, I worked it out, Loneliness and
companionship. I think that's it. And do you people realize that this is
exactly what David doesn't have? The companionship.
"Does that mean anything to you Andalites?" Cassie asked.
Cassador shrugged the Andalite way, with his stalk eyes, Isolation
could drive an Andalite crazy.
"So that's it." Cassie said. "How do we repel that? How can we
bring down the wall here? What would make him feel better?"
Maybe he has a friend here. I spoke up.
Cassador shook his head, I have something better.
What is that? I wondered.
His brother.
Elfangor? I wondered.
His brother? Exactly what does that mean? But Elfangor is dead.
Isn't he? Well, you'll find out soon enough. And it's anything except what
you expect it to be. A very mean cliff hanger, huh? But believe me, not the meanest
I can come up with.