I was running late.
On purpose, of course. I had figured out that seven minutes late is the perfect 'fashionably late' time. Five minutes isn't long enough, and after ten people get cranky. I didn't bother to hide my Dracon beam- the hawk would've been able to spot it anyway.
They wouldn't double cross me. At least, not yet. Not until they had figured me out, and I wasn't about to let that happen.
Besides, I look human, and humans tend to believe their eyes. Oh, and they were human, alright. In everything they said, or didn't say, I knew they were human. If the Visser ever found out, I wanted to be there to see the look on his face.
It promised to be great.
I had to walk, of course, to get the meeting site. I hummed Phantom of the Opera (I'm sorry, I sorry! So I like Broadway music- sue me!) as I walked. I saw a bird take flight and I smiled grimly to myself. The same hawk I had seen yesterday, spying on me, the same hawk I had seen in the Yeerk Pool.
Come, come, humans. You can do a little better than that!
"I'm here," I announced loudly, strutting into the clearing. They were all in the same morphs as the day before. Were there only six of them? That seemed likely and if it was true, they needed all the help they could get.
(What do you want from us?) the tiger asked. He was in charge, obviously, though not in the usual Andalite way, which called for almost total submission to superiors. No, this relationship was far more relaxed, and it had to be. Guerrilla warfare is different from pure fighting.
"I told you yesterday, your help killing the Visser," I said loudly, in a bored tone.
(We've been trying to kill him for a while,) the gorilla said. (He's kind of hard to get rid of.)
Oh, could he sound more human?
"You didn't have me then," I said. "Here's my proposition. I can get you onto the Visser's Blade Ship, but I can't get close enough to kill him. He knows me, and now that he knows I'm still alive, well, it'll be harder. That's where you come in. Do your big bad ass whooping thing, and rid the world of that son of a bitch."
(Don't you want to kill him?) the bear asked.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not sentimental. It doesn't matter the manner of someone's death- when you're dead, you're dead. Seeking personal revenge is an Andalite- or human- trait. I don't really care who kills him, as long as he's rotting in hell."
(I will kill him,) the young Andalite said, glaring at me with his two main eyes. Of course. I had just dissed his whole way of life. (I do have a personal vengeance. He killed my brother.)
"He's killed a lot of people."
(What did he do to you?) the wolf asked.
Oh, yes, let's analyze this new 'friend'. Get inside her head. I didn't think so. I just smiled. "He ruined my favorite pair of socks."
They all just stared.
(What about Alexxen 337?) the tiger asked. (How do we deal with him, if he's on the Blade Ship?)
"I can deal with him," I said, giving him a look. They knew about him. They must have somebody giving them information, because they knew all about Alexxen now. It was obvious from the way the said his name- no longer with fear and confusion, but now with fear and understanding.
But they didn't know about me yet.
(How?) the hawk asked. (Are you… like him?)
I laughed at them, loudly, mockingly. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
(I hate it when people say that,) the gorilla whined.
I kept smiling.
My head almost did a little jerk thing, which would have given me away.
I knew that voice. I knew that tone, that joking, whining one. And inside my head, it all came together all at once. I knew all these 'voices'. Thought-speech 'voice' sounds like your regular voice if your original body has a mouth to talk with.
I just kept smiling, but inside I felt anger.
Who the hell did they think they were? They knew who I was, of course, and now they were trying to pull one over me, trying to keep secrets.
They didn't know who I was. But I knew who they were.
Damn it!
(How can you get us in the Blade Ship?) the wolf asked. I recognized it now, now that I was listening for it, and I cursed myself mentally for missing it before.
"Trust me," I said, my voice like ice. I smiled grimly at her. Let her wonder about this smile. Let her ponder over it's meaning.
She wouldn't figure it out. Not even she would be able to.
"Give me a week," I said. "One week, and I'll give you your ticket onto the Visser's Blade Ship. I'll be able to keep Alexxen out of the way."
(Seems like we'll have to put a lot of trust in you,) the Andalite said suspiciously.
"I can give you the Visser. The question is, how willing are you to get him?" I asked. My question hung in the air and I turned to leave. "I'll meet you here next Saturday, same time. It's up to you whether you show up or not."
And I kept walking. The upper hand was mine now. I had taken out their big advantage- that they knew more about me than I knew about them. It was their move on the chessboard, but all I had to do was play my part just right at school, and they would make the move I wanted them to.
And then it would be my turn.
PLEASE REVIEW!!
On purpose, of course. I had figured out that seven minutes late is the perfect 'fashionably late' time. Five minutes isn't long enough, and after ten people get cranky. I didn't bother to hide my Dracon beam- the hawk would've been able to spot it anyway.
They wouldn't double cross me. At least, not yet. Not until they had figured me out, and I wasn't about to let that happen.
Besides, I look human, and humans tend to believe their eyes. Oh, and they were human, alright. In everything they said, or didn't say, I knew they were human. If the Visser ever found out, I wanted to be there to see the look on his face.
It promised to be great.
I had to walk, of course, to get the meeting site. I hummed Phantom of the Opera (I'm sorry, I sorry! So I like Broadway music- sue me!) as I walked. I saw a bird take flight and I smiled grimly to myself. The same hawk I had seen yesterday, spying on me, the same hawk I had seen in the Yeerk Pool.
Come, come, humans. You can do a little better than that!
"I'm here," I announced loudly, strutting into the clearing. They were all in the same morphs as the day before. Were there only six of them? That seemed likely and if it was true, they needed all the help they could get.
(What do you want from us?) the tiger asked. He was in charge, obviously, though not in the usual Andalite way, which called for almost total submission to superiors. No, this relationship was far more relaxed, and it had to be. Guerrilla warfare is different from pure fighting.
"I told you yesterday, your help killing the Visser," I said loudly, in a bored tone.
(We've been trying to kill him for a while,) the gorilla said. (He's kind of hard to get rid of.)
Oh, could he sound more human?
"You didn't have me then," I said. "Here's my proposition. I can get you onto the Visser's Blade Ship, but I can't get close enough to kill him. He knows me, and now that he knows I'm still alive, well, it'll be harder. That's where you come in. Do your big bad ass whooping thing, and rid the world of that son of a bitch."
(Don't you want to kill him?) the bear asked.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not sentimental. It doesn't matter the manner of someone's death- when you're dead, you're dead. Seeking personal revenge is an Andalite- or human- trait. I don't really care who kills him, as long as he's rotting in hell."
(I will kill him,) the young Andalite said, glaring at me with his two main eyes. Of course. I had just dissed his whole way of life. (I do have a personal vengeance. He killed my brother.)
"He's killed a lot of people."
(What did he do to you?) the wolf asked.
Oh, yes, let's analyze this new 'friend'. Get inside her head. I didn't think so. I just smiled. "He ruined my favorite pair of socks."
They all just stared.
(What about Alexxen 337?) the tiger asked. (How do we deal with him, if he's on the Blade Ship?)
"I can deal with him," I said, giving him a look. They knew about him. They must have somebody giving them information, because they knew all about Alexxen now. It was obvious from the way the said his name- no longer with fear and confusion, but now with fear and understanding.
But they didn't know about me yet.
(How?) the hawk asked. (Are you… like him?)
I laughed at them, loudly, mockingly. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
(I hate it when people say that,) the gorilla whined.
I kept smiling.
My head almost did a little jerk thing, which would have given me away.
I knew that voice. I knew that tone, that joking, whining one. And inside my head, it all came together all at once. I knew all these 'voices'. Thought-speech 'voice' sounds like your regular voice if your original body has a mouth to talk with.
I just kept smiling, but inside I felt anger.
Who the hell did they think they were? They knew who I was, of course, and now they were trying to pull one over me, trying to keep secrets.
They didn't know who I was. But I knew who they were.
Damn it!
(How can you get us in the Blade Ship?) the wolf asked. I recognized it now, now that I was listening for it, and I cursed myself mentally for missing it before.
"Trust me," I said, my voice like ice. I smiled grimly at her. Let her wonder about this smile. Let her ponder over it's meaning.
She wouldn't figure it out. Not even she would be able to.
"Give me a week," I said. "One week, and I'll give you your ticket onto the Visser's Blade Ship. I'll be able to keep Alexxen out of the way."
(Seems like we'll have to put a lot of trust in you,) the Andalite said suspiciously.
"I can give you the Visser. The question is, how willing are you to get him?" I asked. My question hung in the air and I turned to leave. "I'll meet you here next Saturday, same time. It's up to you whether you show up or not."
And I kept walking. The upper hand was mine now. I had taken out their big advantage- that they knew more about me than I knew about them. It was their move on the chessboard, but all I had to do was play my part just right at school, and they would make the move I wanted them to.
And then it would be my turn.
PLEASE REVIEW!!