Chapter 21
We were all stunned and speechless. Ax's natural hatred of the Yeerks covered for our silence quite nicely. (Oh, what colorful lies you tell, Yeerk. Your crying and puling might help you among emotional creatures like humans, but we Andalites know better. You're fooling no one.)
Looking as composed as he could while being helplessly tied up, the guy just looked away. "I hope, for your sakes, he is not the leader of your group," he said to the rest of us. "If you cannot rise above your prejudices based upon the situation, you will never win this war, let alone win this planet."
Ax's fingers curled into fists and I could tell he was about to go at the Yeerk again, but Jake stopped him. (Not now, Ax. That's not going to get us anywhere.) Then, to the Yeerk, he said, (My partners and I would like to go outside and discuss what you've told us. Can we trust you not to damage your host while we talk? At least until we figure out what we're going to do?)
I could see the realization in the controller's eyes as Jake spoke to him – this was the leader. He was almost respectful as he said, "Yes, Andalite. You can trust me that far. Perhaps even farther than that – when you return, I have a proposal which may help you believe my story."
Jake started to reply, but Marco beat him to it. (What proposal, Yeerk?) To the rest of us, he said, (Look, we don't have enough information to decide about this guy one way or the other. Maybe this will help us.)
The Yeerk hesitated for a minute, then spoke with great distaste. "I don't care what happens to me. I'll be executed for this failure if I return to the Pool. All that matters is that this human is not set free among his kind. I know you call the Visser an abomination, and no doubt you see it that way. I swear to you that this human is truly an abomination. He has no right to exist, no right whatsoever. I have never even heard of a mind so demented as the one I now inhabit."
(More of the same,) Ax said impatiently. (You know we will never willingly believe your stories, Yeerk. Why do you persist?)
He gave Ax a look of naked hatred. "Tell this little one to be quiet. He speaks of which he does not know. Listen to me. Once I've told you what you need to know, I will prove it."
(We don't silence one of our own,) I told him. (If he has something to say, he will say it. But, for the time being, continue your story.) I hoped I'd sounded as haughty as Ax does when speaking to Yeerks.
"Perhaps it sounds ridiculous for me to say I care about what happens to humans after I die. And, in a way, I don't. But this human…look, no one deserves to die as this human kills. There is no honor anywhere near it." Ax started to sneer – in thought-speech, of course – and the Yeerk cut him off. "I do not care if you believe that Yeerks have honor or not. Maybe we do, maybe we don't. Maybe our idea of it is so different from your own that they're not even the same quality. That is not the point."
"The point is this – no matter what your view on honor, we can all agree on the fact that taking a life for pleasure is dishonorable. Abominable. This man is an argument against a higher intelligence, at least a benevolent one – only an evil, malevolent god would create such a man. His only interest, his only goal in life, is taking other lives. He murders his own as a hobby. He is a loveless beast among a society that would try to find a place for him, anyway. He lives on a world far too good for him."
He took a breath and continued. "You will see all of this for yourself. Here is my proposal, Andalites. I will give up my host and put myself at your mercy. Kill me, leave me here, I don't care." He smiled and nodded his head to a missing wooden board in the wall and to the stream just past it. "Throw me in the stream – that would actually be my best chance at survival. I can never go back."
His smile faded. "To know that what I am telling you is the truth, one of you will need to acquire me. Once you do, infest this human and look at his rotten, evil mind. I look forward to hearing what you have to say after you have done that. I look forward to hearing you try to insult me once you see what I have been through." He actually made his host, the alleged psycho serial killer, chuckle. "Yes, I look forward to that very much."
A/N – I'm assuming that no one is going to be mad at me if this one ends up being longer than the others I've written. I've pretty much got the plot sketched out, and I can't see myself finishing it in less than 40K words. Not while covering everything I want to play out. But here's the good news – if everyone follows the example set by jurjid, Sweetbriar, Theanimorpherz, wredan, iris129, and chlorinehamster and reviews, I'll finish this one up quickly. If the reviews are good, I can actually see finishing this one by tonight or tomorrow. That's up to you guys, though. Three people reviewing a chapter out of forty-eight signed in readers isn't going to cut it. Anyway, hope you're enjoying, take it easy!