Casablanca Memories***

Characters: Estrid, Aximili

Estrid pawed the ground softly with her front hoof; and the again. She breathed in slowly, turning her blade flat and did a test swing. She moved a back hoof a step backwards; lowered her tail. FWAP. In one swift movement, she curved her tail over her head and leaped gracefully in the air. Landed, her tail low to the ground, her small blade pointed at a small tree: her intended target.

Estrid sighed: her morning exercises were complete. She withdrew her tail.

The fields around her were familiar, though it had been quite a few years since she had been around them: they were her ancestral grounds. The Andalite female had been arrested and jailed, wrongfully, in her opinion. Not that it mattered. The charges were long: all dealing with that fateful mission to Earth. She shook her head—those times were long gone.

However she had learned much. Things she would never quite admit to herself, not even to this day.

The lands were empty for the moment, Ajhat and mother would be home as soon as they could. Mother had her classes at the capital; Ajhat on a transport from Earth, serving the tail fighting community well. She didn't mind the quiet after all that had happened.

Somehow, while she was incarcerated, someone had fought to get her out; she didn't know who in the dark sun it was. When she got home from the mission, she had no friends in high places, and she was sent behind electro-walls, kept there even at the end of the war. Even after the dome ship Elfangor. Hypocrisy. Her life had suddenly become more that her love of knowledge, and the hero-of-the-day. A conspiracy that the Electorate took no responsibility for.

Didn't matter: she was one andalite, a female. One genius out of many that they could pick up and throw out. Even though she knew how to get her way, learning how to use her gender, she found that people would be one thing she could not conquer—she was manipulated in the end, and she found out how truly naive she really was.

So who would save her life like that? What remained of her family didn't have the power, or the rank to be able to read the confidential files. The power to get her out. Unless...

Estrid came to the scoop, and of course found it empty. She found the cool space familiar; safe. The computer came on at her command, and greeted her. Would you like to order Starbucks today? it asked coolly. The Andalite female blinked: things had indeed changed at home since her freedom.

Before she was tempted to order jelly beans, she keyed in the latest electorate cases, her popping up amongst many. Hers was a mere speck: nothing of consequence because she was a nobody. A few of the politicians had come out of the war without blades she noted. She opened her case for a detailed account, but found the date she was tried, arrested, and then freed. Nothing else. Nothing on who had even brought it up and exonerated her.

She brought up another screen. {Keyword, Aximili-Esaggarouth-Isthill.} Estrid hesitated for a few moments, the ordered some jelly beans.

Her eyes bulged out of their sockets as the computer scrolled off everything about him. {Marooned on Earth, rescued by Animorphs. Fought alongside them between Earth years 1996-2001. Promoted to Warrior. Liaison between Human world and Andalite world. Distributed Escafil Devices. Liaison between Yeerk and Andalite—}

{Stop!} she snapped. She sighed. {Computer, are there any listings of challenges to the Electorate case decisions?}

{Four listings.}

{Can you list them?} she asked excitedly.

{Escafil distributions backed by Alloran-Semitur-Corass. The rest of the information requires code blue clearance.}

{Damn,} she said, using a human expletive.

Well, it would be the perfect time to test her rusty math and science skills. And get herself arrested again. The system, though the highest in Andalite technology, was a joke to her quick, searching fingers. She was soon in, and the rest of the information opened in from of her like a human codex. The computer recited everything, not aware at all of the laws she had broken.

{Escafil distribution backed by Alloran-Semitur-Corass. War crimes exonerated of Alloran-Semitur-Corass as Hork-Bajir home world. Seerow's Kindness Law 11212.2 exonerated of Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Back ops code 0, exonerated Gonrod-Isfall-Sonilli and Estrid-Corill-Darrath.}

Even though it had only been a hunch, Estrid started at the transparent screen dumbly. A few days out of the year while she had been jailed, she had wondered if that silly Aristh that broke her hearts had remembered her. He very obviously had. And Estrid hated charity more than anything.

{Computer, where is Prince Aximili located?} she asked.

{Last appearance: Earth, United States of America, Washington DC.}

{Good, I will wait for him there.} A give him a piece of her tail.

She "Booked tickets" to the soonest transport leaving for Earth, immediately forgetting about her family who was going to arrive soon. Estrid moved quickly out of the scoop, and out onto the field, moving at a full fun. The andalite scenery unfolded around her, the small trees, the tall glass; everything that she had missed, all forgotten because of her anger.

She arrived at the transport station in no-time, and found the port much different than she had remembered it. The structure had remained the same, but around it bustled creatures not indigenous to the planet: Humans, Leerans, Hork-Bajir and others she couldn't put a name to. Few looked at her, save for a human child, who stood dwarfed with fascination.

He reached out towards Estrid. "Mommy I want to pet!"

An older human female yanked him up into her arms. "I'm sorry," she said breathlessly, "He's in his terrible twos."

She left without another word, leaving Estrid confused as to what the "terrible twos" were. A metamorphosis? A mutation?

She shook her eye stalks and boarded one of the smaller transports, meant just for locals. She stood with five other andalites, left with her own worried thoughts—how much had everything changed? Her rage soon evaporated into something that made her wish that she had it back. How much had Aximili changed? Even though he had freed her—did that mean he still had feelings for her? Maybe what she was doing was brash, but she had to see him.

The local Metropolis grew exponentially after a slow Earth hour. She was relieved to find that it had remained pretty much the same—save for the aliens that bustled around the blue or purple of andalites. She got off at the ground station, leaving her with some time to spare before going up to the sky port and onto the ship that would take her to Earth.

Her ears pricked, her tail shaking. It was an instinct that had been used so little, that she didn't know what it was. She looked around her, finding that other andalites were in the same disturbed condition—and even humans picked up on it. Everything else moved on around them as if something was wrong.

The ground shook, the sound of something colossal hitting the ground—and then another and another. It was as if the sky suddenly started to fall. Tall structures began to tumble, thunder pouring from clear golden sky. Glass breaking. Explosions that didn't make any sense. Were they under attack?

It took about two seconds afterwards for the screams to start. And then Estrid realized what the instinct was preparing her for—a predator.

Pandemonium! People ran for their lives, peoples of all races. Dust grew from the shock waves, wild animals screamed. Transports rushed out. But then Estrid realized: they were trapped by the confines of the city.

Another shockwave hit, and those that were around were thrown to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her, and all that she could breathe in was dust when she hit the ground. She struggled to stay conscience, to see, but her mind was losing it. She heard a pain cry that sent another shockwave. And laughter in her mind so loud that she no longer had a coherent thought.

She came to; and thought she was dreaming. A wave! A wave of black oozed through the rubble. She saw arms, claws, tentacles, razors wriggling in the black as it destroyed. She tried to stand, but one of her back hooves was broken; everyone else around her was dead. So this was what it was like to be at war.

One of its oozing eyes blinked; saw her. She screamed, instincts kicking into overdrive. Estrid tried to get up. She tripped, but quickly caught herself.

She could hear it heaving as it breathed.

It stopped in front of her, and she was able to form a coherent thought.

{What are you?}

After all of the destruction it had caused; it hesitated. It watched her. And after a few moments she realized: it was confused. Why?

It was a hundred yards away, its dark shadow looming over her. Then it fell, and the female andalite dropped to her knees, covering her face and bracing for the pain as it would hit her. It never did. She opened all four of her eyes.

The wave of bladed black rolled, hitting the ground. Black dust rained upwards into the sky like ash. The rest turned to an oily substance, absorbing into the ground, and as it got closer, animal shapes began to take form, the disappeared, only to be replaced by more shapes. The black rolled off the forms, the animals of all shapes deteriorating into sand. The monster grew small and smaller; she saw a hand. A blue fingered hand out of all the mass.

She fell to her knees, the pain in her hearts incomprehensible. And andalite tumbled out of the mass, thrown as if spat out through all of the destruction and debris. Estrid crawled forward when the body came to a stop. He was still breathing, his sides heaving.

Carefully, she lifted his head and placed it on top of her knees, stroking the side of his face. Dust curled out of his nose; he blinked, barely able to move much of anything else.

Estrid refused to look at his injuries, too serious for him to even still be alive. Burns, open wounds covered his sides—he was splattered everywhere. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He reached up to touch her face—kiss her. The andalite way.

{Aximili,} she whispered. Her stalk eyes searched his face. {What happened?}

{The One,} he mumbled. His eyes rolled in his head. {I happen to be his main host. He is still all around me... In me...}

{But you are dying,} she reasoned. She rain her hands down his collar bone, remembering.

{He keeps me alive. He is curious, pulls us apart, sees how we work. But I still do not die.} She watched him, horrified. {He doesn't understand still.}

He touched the side of her face. She jerked back from a jolt. His hand curved against her face, and she could see a glowing web; space-time itself, shining out around her before flickering back to reality. {He is a part of it—like the Ellimist, only more—}

She saw herself boarding the ship to Earth. Saw the humans who had called themselves the Animorphs. She saw herself coming up to Aximili and slapping with the flat of her blade. Saw how stunned he looked, and saw Marco elbowing him as he said something about ex girlfriends.

Saw them together as humans by candle light. Hands touching. A week later, on the beach. Another, kissing with human mouths, fumbling, clumsy, wholly unandalite. Slowly demorphing, kissing the andalite way.

Saw him being sent on exploratory missions. She went home. Saw her brother and mother. Estrid saw herself as a professor at the University. Aximili on leave. Another promotion—

{STOP!} she screamed. She couldn't bare it anymore, couldn't bear to see something that was not going to happen.

{But he can see what can happen, how things change if he moves a piece.}

Black spots began to form on the ground, crawling slowly towards them.

{He wants to see everything before he moves!} he said deliriously. He ran his fingers down the sides of her face, almost fascinated by the touch. Had he even married? Mated? No. He was of two different worlds. A male ahead of his time. Though he would be strange: unwanted by females. An equivalent of a vecol. {I must tell Prince Jake!}

She saw the monster, the One growing and lifting out of the ground. Estrid pulled Aximili's injured body closer to her with weak arms. Scrabbled to keep him longer. But he was being pulled from her nonetheless.

{Help me! Kill me!} he screamed.

{Don't leave me!} she cried.

She could feel the One now. Exploring her mind, felt its power, its emptiness. It knew nothing of sentience, and had watched them interact. Black exploded from Aximili's sides, tearing him apart. His screams. A different mind took control of his head, seething, laughing with the Prince's voice. Black dust fell from the sky, and the andalite was whole once more, though the original mind gone, or suppressed.

It was quiet when the creature left, and Estrid realized she was the only one that had remained alive. There she knelt, until her front hooves were sucked into her body. Her stalk eyes went dark, her fur shed, revealing light skin, and five fingered hands.

Humans could cry and scream with rage with voice boxes.

AN:

Thanks for your reviews, HotPinkCoffee and Sarah1281! I enjoyed them immensely! ^_^

And as promised, another drabble! :3