Korean Pearl: Yeah, unfortunately I won't be continuing to show you the dialogue as I've leant my copy of the Departure to a friend, so unless you want updates to stop for a while, I can't do the dialogue. Anyway, people who have read the Departure ( including me) I'm sure will all want to get to the bit KAA doesn't mention, as repeating the same story is boring. This chapter will give you a basic overview of the story, so you should understand the plot. Hope you enjoy it, don't be too mad at me!
Anonymous- cat: This chapter is also a very brief re- cap of the book, but there are some emotions included, especially towards the end. I will do a lot more detail once Aftran gets into the Yeerk pool, as KAA doesn't show you this bit.
LilManiac: Thanks.
Elwing: This is also a departure re- cap from Aftran's POV, but there's a bit towards the end that KAA doesn't detail.
Anifan1: I will continue until Aftran becomes a whale; and then I will write part 2, an AU, which will start between book 43 and 45 and end when the series does; I won't tell you any more now!
The beginning of this chapter is an overview of the Departure form Aftran's POV, so people who have read no. 19 should simply skip the first half or so. Enjoy!
The two days that followed were some of the most frightening in my life; but they also tore down the pretence I was keeping up to myself; the pretence that I really didn't care anything for hosts, that I had to do what I was doing and so on.
One of the most frightening things was when an escaped leopard attacked me. He would have killed me if Cassie had not intervened, giving up her pretence and morphing to a wolf to scare the leopard away.
We spent the night in a cave, and Cassie woke up screaming. It was then that we began to bond a little with one another; I told her my life story, and she told me a few things about her past.
The next day, Cassie found some mushrooms to eat, but I refused them; although I acted as though I just did not like them, I didn't quite trust her not to give me poisonous mushrooms, even though she had said that she had taken a paper on wild mushrooms last year, and had saved my life the day before.
I shall not go into too much detail on these events, as they are told in full elsewhere. I will give you only what you need to know.
One of the bandits, Marco, had found Cassie. He would have killed me, but Cassie let me into her head. I still do not truly understand why she did that, but I admire her bravery and her mercy.
When I entered her head, it only increased my admiration for her. I saw all her memories; all her missions and battles, and I felt her regret increase with each battle. The same regret that I had felt in Jaolin, the regret that had made me volunteer for Karen because I couldn't face up to war. I realised that we were actually very similar, despite being separate species and enemies on top of that. I couldn't turn her over to my people, I just couldn't do it. Call me a coward, soft- hearted, whatever you want- I've heard it all before.
I wasn't so much a traitor that I would neglect to warn my people who were, after all, searching for me. But I told them that the birds chasing them were Andalites. At first Cassie felt like I had betrayed her, but then she realised that I had lied to my fellow Yeerks.
We returned to Karen, and she tried to run as soon as she recognised me, but I easily caught her, although I felt awful about making her suffer such pain.
Long story short; I made a deal with Cassie, a deal with the enemy. I would give up paradise, I would leave Karen and vow never to take another host; if she would suffer the same fate. I asked her to morph a caterpillar, a blind, slow, helpless creature. Perhaps I had learnt about caterpillars and butterflies, perhaps subconsciously I wanted her to have a way out.
Anyway, Cassie morphed. She morphed and stayed in that insect for two hours. Right at the end, I told her I had seen enough, begged her to demorph, but she must not have heard me.
Her friends found me, and as soon as they had found out what I had done, the one named Rachel swore to kill me. I ran as fast as was physically possible on a bloody, swollen ankle. The leopard attacked me, but the Animorph named Marco saved me. He saved my life, I don't understand why, but he did. They formed a circle around me.
Rachel wanted me dead. The Andalite looked to Jake for an answer, but the boy wanted everyone to make up his or her own minds about this. He picked up the stalk of the plant that Cassie was now crawling on, and carried her away.
One by one I watched them leave. The last was Rachel.
"I'm not doing this to spare you, Yeerk," she spat. "I just won't be the one to call my best friend a traitor." Then she left, and I was left alone. I knew I had to keep my vow to Cassie, as she had to me.
(I think that's very brave,) Karen said to me.
I was surprised. (I thought you hated me.)
(I've never hated you. I've been frightened of you, I've disliked you, I have, mostly, pitied you… but I feel now as though I like you, I look up to you. You've been through a lot.)
(So have you, and thank you for lending me your eyes, Karen, and for saying you don't hate me. It means a lot to me.)
(I know.)
I walked to the Yeerk pool before anything else, and left my host for the final time. She screamed and then became calm when she was supposedly re- infested, to keep up the pretence. But I never entered her ear again.
It was very tempting just to wallow in despair, to swim around the pool with my thoughts, but I owed Cassie, Karen, Jaolin and yes, even Samilin, more than that. I had to do my part for the humans. There was only one way I could help them; recruit like- minded Yeerks into an organisation. I knew there were others like me, but most of them did not dare to take action on their thoughts, just like I had previously. They needed to be brought together and organised. I also needed to try and make other Yeerks see that what they were doing was wrong. I needed to form an undercover movement, a resistance to war.
(What shall I call my group?) I wondered. (We want peace…)
(The Peace Movement. The Yeerk Peace movement.) I had hit on exactly the right name. With those two sentences of thought, my work had begun. The legacy of Aftran 942, the reason I am remembered in the history books of the war.
But how on Earth did I start?
Ohhh, cliff- hanger! Don't blame me, blame Aftran; she wrote it :)
Don't forget to review!
