Chapter 22

Jake

Jamei had cut me a few times during the short struggle, but now it was all over.

She was lying on the ground, bleeding to death from several claw and bite wounds I'd inflicted. I was demorphing as quickly as possible, but not because I was injured. I wanted to watch the murderer die with my own eyes. I wanted to see Cassie's killer take her last breath with Jake's eyes.

I was almost completely done demorphing, my breath coming shallow and ragged. It was the first time I wasn't sorry for killing someone. I'd done it lots of times before, but the decent part of me had always been revolted. Not anymore. That decent, honorable person was dead. That Jake was as dead as Cassie, and I didn't miss him at all. I didn't care. Nothing mattered.

I gazed upon her with the same lack of emotion she'd shown after she'd killed Cassie. One of her bodyguards stepped between myself and his fallen princess. "That's not necessary," I taunted him. "She's dead. I'd piss on her, but she's not worth the effort." I heard the closest Taruffs to me gasp in shock. They were all decent, honorable people. I wasn't. Not anymore. I didn't care if they thought of me as dishonorable. I didn't care.

Tobias didn't move from his prone position on the ground. He'd managed to demorph. He was alive. That was good. Not what I cared about at the moment, though. All I wanted was to see her die. So much blood, but she still drew breath. The bodyguard laughed. "You still don't get it, do you?" he said to me. Get what? Who cared? Nothing he could say would diminish my pleasure at watching the alien bitch die. I looked back to her and nearly had a heart attack.

Slowly but surely, Jamei was changing, and in a flash of insight it came to me. 'The Andalite! Jake, you idiot, you moron, how could you have not known?' Sure enough, stalk eyes were growing out of her head. A tail was forming. I started to morph back to tiger, but I knew it wouldn't be fast enough. 'You let revenge cloud your judgement, and now you're going to die for it.' That was okay, though, because I'd die trying to avenge Cassie. Anyway, what was life worth without her?

Before even the tiniest traces of the tiger could begin to assert theirselves, I felt a numbing blow land on my neck. I fell to my knees. My brain was nothing but an explosion of pain. The Andalite finished demorphing, and I was absolutely appalled.

She was smaller than any Andalite I'd ever seen. Almost lithe. Her soft purple color was asthetically pleasing. Her tail blade was a dainty instrument compared to Ax's or even Visser Three's. It was like comparing a scalpal to a butcher knife. Physical structure was where the pleasantries stopped, though.

With Visser Three, who was now Visser One, there'd always been something in his body language that said 'bad news' to me. With this Andalite, there was no subtle, subconscious thing about it. She might as well have been carrying a light-up sign that said, 'I'm the most evil person to ever live.' The 'Taruff' who'd hit me in the neck calmly walked out to join the Andalite and the other obviously infested Taruff.

The Andalite cackled. (Crayak was right. You are worthless.) I struggled to retort, but I couldn't even move a finger. (My name is Teneel-Protolas-Hendreish. I came here with the intentions of merely ruining your credibility, but you forced my hand. At least you had the spine to fight me, even if you did send your defenseless girlfriend in your place.)

I still couldn't move, and Tobias, damn him, wasn't getting up.

"Jake the Mighty Yeerk Killer," one of the bodyguards taunted. "Don't you recognize me? I'm the one you sent to prison. You should have killed me when you had the chance, but you were too weak to end the life of your most personal enemy." Visser One, then. "I should kill you. You've been nothing but a headache to me. You've cost me very dearly." He took a few steps towards me as if to make good on his threat. I kind of wished he would.

(No,) Teneel stopped him. (He is as good as dead. By killing his little mate, I've crushed him emotionally. He's lost his will to live. Better to leave him here to suffer the consequences of his naïve decisions.)

Visser One looked at her in a manner I figured was envy. "Yes, you're right, of course."

Teneel ignored him. (Where is your other little friend? Aximili, the great warrior, the prince, nowhere to be found when his friends are in trouble. I've heard whispers that he's incompetant. This proves it. He is too scared to die for his 'prince.') Ah. That was something, then. Crayak's team didn't know Ax was on his way back with a star fleet.

"Where is the real Jamei, alien?" Amni'bel demanded. Oh. I'd forgotten about Amni'bel.

(Dead, of course. She was very brave. She didn't even cower with my tail blade to her throat. I couldn't let her doing what she intended – rounding up all of her warriors and fighters and uniting them with yours. It's too late for the Taruffs. You are all going to be very dead in a matter of days. Unfortunately, we have to go now. We have preparations to make.) Visser One and the other Yeerk followed her as she left the stadium.

Why weren't the Taruffs stopping them? Why were they allowed to leave? My limbs were starting to tingle, but I knew I'd not be able to move for a long time. Too long. Why was Tobias still just laying there?

Some of the pain-induced confusion faded and my thinking became more logical. Why should the Taruffs stop them? Had they stopped me when I attacked 'Jamei' without challenging her first? Had they done anything to Tobias after his sneak attack? The Taruffs were very ingrained in their belief of their honor system, but they knew that honor system didn't stretch beyond their race. They were content to let the aliens settle their differences between themselves. What they didn't realize was that, by all means, they should have been taking sides. They should have come to our aid when we needed it. They didn't realize by staying out of it, they'd dug themselves in a much deeper hole than they'd been in before.

Amni'bel understood. "People of my tribe! No! People of Xylen!" she raised her arms and shouted. The hooting and clicking of the assembled crowd abated. "Now do you see what we face? Our enemies do not deserve to be recipients of our honor! They deserve nothing but steel in their black hearts!" The mass of Taruffs howled its consent. "These creatures have the pure, poisonous gall to kill a princess of a sovereign tribe through trickery, and then come to our land and impersonate her!"

I shakily stood up. I heard Amni'bel's words, but I was not stirred by them. All I felt was hollow. No matter what, Cassie was gone. I looked around for her, but she'd been taken out of the arena. Amni'bel continued her lament.

"These 'Trunsk' have claimed to be peaceful, but any people who would ally themselves with such vile beings deserve nothing but death. If they want to come to Xylen, we will give them a very rude surprise. We will show the galaxy that we are nothing but the bravest of warriors! Delegates, step forward and declare your allegiance!"

Six Taruffs, all different sizes and shades of blue, stepped forward to stand before Amni'bel's speaking podium.

"The Quall Tribe is yours to command, Princess," one said, and kneeled before her lecturn.

"Ula Tribe has twenty thousand kertian and thirty-two fighter groups to offer," said another, kneeling beside the Quall delegate.

"The Matteo Tribe is yours."

"I am Prince Zo from the Fal'o Tribe. We are yours."

"Bacchos Tribe is not afraid."

"Rit'tar Tribe will show the Trunsk what it is to make enemies of our warriors."

All six delegates kneeled before Amni'bel. "Rise, my brothers and sisters. We are now a united world. Xylen will not fall!" she cried, and the crowd went nuts. It was a very touching moment – but not for me. I didn't care about their little war anymore. I didn't care about Crayak or the Ellimist. I cared about Cassie, and she was gone.