Author's Note: Just kidding. I wouldn't leave you until August. I'm to impatient. I only got six reviews, and only two people voted! I got an equal reaction for my uncertainty about how many hearts Andalites have. Let's just go with two, shall we?
Anonymous-cat: In the Andalite Chronicles, I got the impression that Elfangor thought Aximili had died, and wanted to use the Time Matrix to save him. Thanks for the idea, though. Any tips for a new story title? I think the first one's losing relevance.
Wraithlord42: What do you have against Clippit? He/she/it is what gave me the idea for Esp's computer's opening line!
Dragoon123: When you said 'GET HIM!' in your review of chapter eight, it caused me some confusion. Were you referring to one of the characters or to me? For future reference, I'm a girl.
Rachel9466 (or Salad Shooter): You were right, I made an error, it doesn't say the Esplins came from the Sulp Niar pool anywhere. I think I got confused because Sulp Niar was mentioned in the Hork-Bajir Chronicles. Sorry for the unfounded criticism. I apologize.
Disclaimer: The only characters I own are the members of the Mob you may have seen in previous Author's Notes. Unfortunately for me, this Mob does not contain the Animorphs or any other characters created by Ms. Applegate.
Chapter Twelve: Tobias' POV[Please don't die, Ax-man,] I begged him in private thought-speak. I was getting desperate. He HAD to live. But he was dying.
ARBRON, YOUR CONSENT IS VITAL. AXIMILI'S LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Maybe it was just my imagination, but even the Ellimist seemed stressed out.
[Arbron, please,] Elfangor whispered. Wow, he was even more desperate than I was. Then again, why not? He had just basically come back from the dead, been reunited with his brother, met his son, and then found out his brother was ill. And not with a minor disease, either. A potentially fatal one.
[But what about those Taxxons? Their lives are important, too.]
"Maybe Crayak realized that," Tom/Esp whispered slowly.
[Realized what?] I demanded.
"Maybe he realized Arbron would protest about the Taxxons being put in danger, meaning that Aximili would die, AND the Yeerks on the Taxxon home world would be warned. Like the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone, except in this case it's killing sixteen beings by only attempting to kill one. Esp, you disturb me sometimes. Only sometimes? Okay, all the time, just not as much as now.."
"Hey, Elfangor, do you still remember where you hid the Time Matrix?" I turned to Loren—my mother—in surprise. What was the Time Matrix?
[Yes. What are you suggesting?]
"I'm suggesting that we use it. Arbron could 'consent' to Ellimist curing Aximili, and we could dig it up and go to the Taxxon home world to warn those rebels."
Arbron exclaimed something in Taxxon that made Tom/Esp give him a strange look. "Why exactly do you want to throw up and what does that have to do with anything?"
[I don't and nothing. I told Loren that she was a genius.]
Ax suddenly moaned and opened his eyes again. They were just as weak and bleary as the first time, but his breathing seemed stronger.
I think I heard Elfangor sigh with relief. [His heart started back up again.]
BE WARNED, said Ellimist. HE WILL BE WEAK FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
[But after that, he'll be okay, right?] Elfangor demanded.
YES. OR AT LEAST, HE'LL BE BACK TO NORMAL.
"Where'd Arbron go?" Jake asked suddenly.
HE WENT TO RETRIEVE THE TIME MATRIX.
[Already?] I asked. He was fast—I hadn't seen him leave.
Arbron suddenly re-emerged from his tunnel pushing an enormous off-white sphere. [I got it. When do we leave?]
"What's the rush? When's this attack thing going to happen, anyway?" asked Marco.
TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY, AT THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER, WITH THE TIME MATRIX, YOU CAN GO THERE NOW.
"Won't that create paradox?" Tom/Esp wondered.
NO. NOT IF YOU ARE CAREFUL.
"What about Ax?" asked Cassie.
[We could ask one of the Chee to watch him,] I suggested.
"I've got Erek on speed dial," said Tom/Esp. "I'll call him now."
"How do you even know what a Chee is?" Jake asked.
"You've been talking in your sleep," Tom reminded him. "The only thing I'm still uncertain of is whether Rachel was allergic to crocodile DNA or alligator DNA."
Rachel shot Jake a murderous look. Tom pulled out his cell phone and punched in one number.
"Hi, Erek?" he asked after a moment. "Yeah, it's Tom. I was wondering... could you do me this major favor? See, one of our friends is sick—he's recovering, but he's still groggy—and I've got to run an errand, so I was hoping you could keep him company until I got back." There was a brief pause. "Thanks, Erek. I owe you, big time." He began giving Erek directions to Cassie's barn. He made it sound like it was the house he was leading Erek to, but he said to go in by the back door, which you could see from anywhere in the main barn.
When he finished, we all stared at him. Jake spoke first. "Where did you learn how to lie so convincingly?"
Tom smirked. "I wasn't lying. I consider Aximili a friend. He's recovering from illness, but he's still groggy. We DO have an errand of sorts, and Erek WILL be keeping him company. Esp stayed out of things until I gave Erek directions, so I wasn't even lying about who he was talking to. And unless I'm mistaken, I will owe him for this. I simply didn't mention that the friend was an Andalite, the illness was inflicted by an evil, semi-omnipotent being, and that our errand involved twisting time itself to go to another planet and mess up said evil being's plot." He considered for a moment, then added, "Okay, it's technically lying by omission, but hey, it gets the basic point across, I don't suffer a major conscience issue, and Esi doesn't get suspicious and come kill us."
We all just continued to stare. All except Elfangor and Ax, who seemed to be having a private little dialog. Ax was clinging to Elfangor's hand—he looked scared. Elfangor was apparently trying to comfort him. Whatever they were saying must have been in private thought-speak, because I couldn't hear it.
Erek showed up ten minutes later. Tom/Esp was waiting at the door and led Erek to the barn. "You can drop the hologram if you want," he added casually as he entered. I admired his calm. If I didn't know better, I would say he went through similar situations on a regular basis. But then, he had to do a lot of acting. Around normal humans, he had to act like a normal human. Around the Yeerks, he would still have to act like a Controller or an involuntary host body. I had to act like a bird most of the time, but that wasn't the same.
The hologram of Erek's jaw dropped. "Um... what's going on?"
"Chill, Erek." Tom/Esp began giving the android a more detailed account of what they had said over the phone.
"So, you guys want me to keep an eye on Ax until you get back from saving a bunch of Taxxons?" Erek asked finally. He still looked shocked. Jake had taken pity on him and explain about Elfangor surviving, Tom/Esp being on our side, Arbron and Loren showing up, and Ax-man getting sick.
"Basically, yes. Once Elfangor acknowledges that the rest of us still exist, anyway." Marco laughed at his joke, but he was the only one who did. Elfangor was still reassuring Ax. I don't know why, but I felt a sudden twinge of jealousy.
For a split second, I felt really mad at Ax, and at Elfangor. Then I felt confused. Where had that anger come from? The image was almost sweet—an older brother trying to comfort his little brother. So why would I be mad?
Of course. I'd never had that sort of comfort. During the time I was with my uncle (on my mother's side) I would come home from school everyday beaten to a pulp. He never cared. My aunt (again, on my mother's side) didn't let me go to school, but if she had, she probably wouldn't have cared if I'd been beaten up either. I hadn't known my parents at all. Now, when I'd finally met them, my father was distracted with my best friend, who turned out to be my uncle. My mother had barely acknowledged that I existed. Again, because of Ax.
No. Because of Crayak and Ellimist. Crayak made Ax get sick. Ellimist made Elfangor leave Earth.
I laughed a little at the second phrase. Three E's, all capitalized. Again, I don't now why, but it struck me as funny back then.
I suddenly felt ashamed of myself. Ax was still a little sick. Elfangor had a right to worry about him, they were brothers! What right did I have to be jealous?
I was getting confused again. I had been so desperate for Ax to live, and now that he was recovering I was mad at him. It made no sense.
Elfangor had pulled himself away from Ax. I pulled myself out of my thoughts, which were getting rather random.
[I think we all need to touch the Time Matrix,] he said. He glanced up at me with one stalk eye. [Tobias, I believe you should perch on someone's shoulder.] I fluttered down, and landed on Rachel's shoulder. [This is going to sound strange—even by this group's standards,] Elfangor continued, once we were all touching it. [But you should all try to not think of anything. We don't want to end up on the wrong planet.]
"Or creating a new universe or dimension by mistake?" asked Tom/Esp amusedly. Elfangor glared at him with three eyes. The other was focused on Ax and Erek. Again, I felt jealous, then confused, then ashamed.
[Or that,] said Elfangor coldly. [So... everybody just relax...] He turned his other stalk eye so that both were facing Ax and Erek. [We'll be back soon.]
Suddenly, the barn was gone. We were in a desert.
Author's Note: Okay, since this is early I don't think—
Mob: NO! ANOTHER CLIFFIE!
Me: That you have a right to get mad because it's a cliffie. Since only two people voted, I drew the name out of a hat. The next chapter will be Esp's POV again because we'll need someone who can speak Taxxon, Hork-Bajir, and Yeerk, and for another, rather amusing reason you'll see when it's posted.
Forgive me if it's a bit random, but everything past Arbron retrieving the Time Matrix was written at around midnight.
(Oh, and while I have your attention, Ax will be called Aximili by Loren, Elfangor, and Tom/Esp for the remainder of the story. Tom/Esp will be called Tom/Esp unless it's from one of their POVs or it's obvious which one is speaking.)