Chapter 13-Cassie
"Hello, Cassie," the Ellimist said. "You have found the Time Matrix. That is a feat that not many can be able to claim. Still, I would advise you to cover it up and never speak of what you found." He smiled a sad smile, a sign that he was saying this for Crayak's benefit.
"Sorry, Ellimist," I replied. "You won't be able to convince me to act like I never found the Time Matrix."
"Won't we," Crayak said, laughing this deep, bellowing laugh. It chilled my spine. "Although the Ellimist and I do not agree on much, we do agree that the Time Matrix does not belong in the hands of a mere player."
"That's what I am to you? A player in your intergalactic war?" I retorted angrily. "Do you know what will happen to me if I bury this up? I will be ridiculed by the entire world. My life as I know it will be over. My family's name will be disgraced for as long as this memory lives on in people's minds. There is absolutely NO WAY I am burying this up and pretending I never did this."
"That's just too bad," Crayak said derisively. "You must bury the Time Matrix. There is no other choice."
"Yes, there is another choice," I whispered. "Yes, there is." I straightened up, stood as tall as I could. "We're going to make a deal."
It was an insane thing to say. Both the Ellimist and Crayak knew it, and they started laughing. When they both realized they were laughing at the same thing, they stopped.
"A deal?!" the Ellimist said incredulously. "You must be joking. A deal?" he repeated.
"Yeah, a deal," I said, trying to act tough. "Actually, you're going to do what I tell you."
"We could erase you from the space-time continuum," Crayak said. "You can't do anything to prevent us from doing that."
That angered me. He thought I was some kind of idiot.
"Crayak, I'm smarter than that," I replied. "If you did that, you'd screw up the space-time continuum. Strands of space-time would be broken, and you'd have no choice but to restore me."
Crayak sighed. I had called his bluff.
"This is what you're going to do," I said. I took a deep breath and just blurted it out. "You're going to reverse time by three years, to the day of the final battle between the Yeerks and the Animorphs. The exact moment will be when Rachel is battling the Yeerks on the Blade ship. You will move her to the bridge of the Pool ship after she kills Tom."
"You know we can't do that," the Ellimist said. "It would break the rules of our war. Sorry, Cassie."
"Yes, you will. If you don't, I'll go back in time and kill the first of your respective species before you're ever alive."
I had done it. I had just delivered a threat to the two most powerful creatures in the universe. And they couldn't do anything to me. It would break the rules of their war.
There was a deafening silence. The Ellimist looked shocked, but I knew he was on my side. I couldn't read Crayak's expression. His face didn't give away his feelings.
"Cassie, you won't do that," Crayak sneered. "Your moral values won't allow you to. Blackmailing two people who have never done anything to you? That's not nice."
"Really?" I challenged. "You want to put your life in the hands of my moral values? I wouldn't be so confident, Crayak."
The Ellimist grinned a little.
"Or you too, Ellimist," I said, making him remember his life was on the line as well.
For the longest time, no one spoke. I looked at my watch. It was still five seconds short of midnight. Even though I had all the time in the world, I was getting impatient. I didn't feel like waiting hours for the Ellimist and Crayak to make a decision.
Both of them were looking at each other. I couldn't tell whether they were communicating by thought-speak or some other form. I wondered what it felt like for them. The two had never faced a greater threat to their existence before. Would they give in?
If they refused, I wasn't so sure I could carry out my threat. It was cruel of me to blackmail them. What else could I do? I wouldn't be able to bring my friends back any other way.
I had called Crayak's bluff earlier. I prayed he didn't call mine now. If he did, my world would crash down on me. The only thing I was counting on was that both of them valued their life more than their war.
"Cassie, do you realize what you've done?" the Ellimist said calmly.
"What, you think I'm stupid, too?" I snapped back furiously. Too many people had called me stupid and crazy recently. I'd had enough.
"Just do it," Crayak said with a defeated sigh. "The girl could kill us! Break the rules, just this once, Ellimist. I'll allow it. Then we can continue the game, only three years earlier."
"She could ruin the space-time continuum! What happens if she decides to use the Time Matrix again to demand something from us?" the Ellimist responded. He was acting his part as the concerned one.
"Turning the clock back won't ruin the continuum," Crayak said. "We aren't adding a new element into space-time, we are merely turning the clock back, and then simply manipulating a small strand if space-time. Besides, she will not know where the Time Matrix is located after time is rewound."
"Crayak, you forget things quickly," the Ellimist chided. "She is sub-temporally grounded. An anomaly in the continuum. The human cannot forget past timelines. She will destabilize the timeline."
"She does not remember what occurred in past timelines. She can only sense that something used to be, but will not clearly remember. Maybe with some luck, she will completely forget about the Time Matrix. As for the possibility of destabilization, it could occur. But we both know that the possibility of that is only twenty-five percent."
"That's a one in four chance! There's a very good chance the timeline will be destabilized!"
"It can be fixed. Quit looking for the escape, Ellimist. Just do the girl's request. We're trapped."
The Ellimist fell silent. I was surprised. Crayak argued for me. That was a change. Maybe he was the good guy this time.
"Okay, Cassie," the Ellimist said, speaking to me. "We will do as you say. Is there anything else you would like us to do?"
"Yeah. When Tobias is trapped in human morph, give him back his morphing power." I thought for a second, thinking if there was anything more. "That's it."
"Very well. The Ellimist and I will do all this. You must realize that there may be unseen consequences due to your actions, Cassie," Crayak said with a wicked grin. Chills went down my spine.
"I'll take my chances. What do I have to lose?"
"It's your choice. Don't blame us for not warning you," Crayak said. He looked at the Ellimist. "At least don't blame me."
"You have two minutes, starting now," I told them. "Better get to work."
Instantly, they were gone. My watch now read 12:00:01. I heard a loud rumble and the sound of stomping feet. The police barricade must have broken. A stampede of people were dashing to where I was.
I hoped the Ellimist and Crayak would hurry. There was no way ordinary people could see the Time Matrix. I was nervous.
I sat down, suddenly tired. My legs just weakened under the enormous tension. I looked at my watch. One more minute until I would be forced to destroy Crayak and the Ellimist. One more minute until my life would be changed, in one way or another.
I waited.