CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

::Marco::

By some strange miracle, we managed to make it back to Cassie's barn without much hassle. By that, I mean we escaped the hassle of being identified as weirdos in bike shorts and leotards by flying, while Ax remained human and walked Loren back – just in case he had to morph, it would be direct to Andalite. Now that Loren's cover had been blown, this walk would effectively be her last outside in public. It was a terrible message to convey to her, but strangely enough, Loren accepted our verdict without much complaint. The calm way in which she was absorbing our instructions was more than unnerving; it simply told me that she knew more than she had been letting on. Cassie was edgy, and I could almost feel her bristling throughout the flight even though she was flying a good few feet away from me.

Once we had demorphed in Cassie's barn, Jake brushed himself down and tried to make sure Cassie was okay. Cassie, on the other hand, didn't seem to need fussing and was almost annoyed by his concern.

The old Cassie would have been crying tears of joy upon seeing Jake lavish so much public attention on her, to be honest. I mean, not that she really would. That's just me trying to be funny.

We waited for Ax and Loren to arrive, following which, Cassie shut the doors tight. It was slightly unnerving not to have our usual eyes and ears up in the rafters, so Ax decided to do the bird morph instead to keep watch.

Jake looked back at all of us, his eyes a little vacant. "Is – is this what you all deal with on a regular basis?"

‹Yes, Prince Jake,› replied Ax, from the rafters.

Jake winced. This battle was nowhere near any of our worsts, but it was clear that it was more than enough for him at the moment. I don't even think he knew a tiger could roar that loudly, let alone bring himself to launch upon enemies and attack like crazy. If there's one thing Jake has inherently that can't be lost? It's his sense of responsibility. He knows when things are getting serious and he'll stop asking questions and do what is expected of him at that point in time.

And this sense of responsibility was wrecking him right now. He sank in the hay bale, looking weary and almost frightened, an emotion we hardly see in Jake. To be honest, he was making me frightened too.

"You've nearly died before. Lost a paw, huge gash at the neck," said Cassie. "This isn't that bad."

Jake stared at her incredulously.

I sighed.

Then I turned to Loren, who had been sitting quietly by the corner. She must have sensed that I was staring at her, for she looked up almost immediately. Her lips were pressed tightly together.

"Loren? How did you know the Yeerks?"

"I..." She paused. "I think I should be asking you that question." Her eyes sparkled slightly. "You're not Andalites."

"We're Tobias's friends," said Cassie.

"Cassie!" I gasped, at the same time as Loren.

"What?" Cassie spun around. "She's not going to talk to us unless it concerns her son. She loves Tobias far too much." She turned back to Loren. "We're not giving you any answers until you give us what we want to know."

This side of Cassie was scary – but to be honest, very effective at this point in time.

"How is Tobias even supposed to be involved in this?" whispered Loren, her face pale.

"Why do you even approve of him going to The Sharing if it's a Yeerk front?" I demanded.

"I didn't know!" Loren groaned. "If I had known, I would have never allowed him..." She trailed off. "Aria... who is she?"

"Visser Three," said Cassie, bluntly.

Loren looked like she was about to faint. "He..." She became really pale. "Oh my God."

"You know who Elfangor is," Cassie accused, "and you know Visser Three. Did you know..."

‹Cassie,› said Ax, in what I guessed to be a private tone. ‹Do not move ahead so quickly. Marco?›

I nodded slightly so that only Ax and Cassie could see. Jake was still lying in the corner looking dazed. Loren was now shaking quite badly, so I motioned Cassie to back off a little.

"Okay, one step at a time. Let's talk about Tobias first, 'cos you're most comfortable with that. Why push him to The Sharing in the first place? Why are you so connected to Aria?"

Finally, Loren looked up and spoke quietly,

"I wanted Tobias to join The Sharing because it seemed like it might help him. He needs to get out there, make friends, not be stuck at home all day long." Tears were now streaming down Loren's cheeks. "He can't survive in the world like that."

Jake massaged his forehead. "And he was previously homeschooled. What's wrong with him?"

Loren bit her lip. "He was diagnosed with antisocial tendencies at a young age."

All of us stared at each other.

"I've been helping out a care centre dealing with kids having such tendencies to find out more. But I can't let Tobias go to those kind of centres. Those centres make you feel like you're different, like you need help. I don't want him to be looked down upon by others. That was why I was so grateful to Aria," her voice turned dark and spiteful at that name, "when she offered to negotiate with a school to let them accept Tobias."

Judging by Tobias's real life, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for Bird-Boy. Even in this reality, his life wasn't much better despite Loren's presence.

‹I believe that was what you were researching on in your room,› said Ax.

"What?" Cassie looked confused.

‹Human mental illnesses. She was researching and designing something on that.›

Loren's eyes flashed; clearly, she wasn't pleased that we had been stalking her. "I'm helping out with a carnival with the care centre this weekend. But it looks like it's a no-go, isn't it?" She made a rude noise. "I might as well not exist on this Earth anymore!"

She looked away as she said that.

"Then... what about Elfangor?" I asked, slowly.

There was quite a long silence. Cassie was extremely agitated by now that I wouldn't be surprised if she was to go all full-blown polar bear again. Somehow, it seemed as if Cassie and Rachel had switched bodies, and it wasn't a pretty feeling at all.

Speaking of Rachel, I had no idea where she was. Or where Tobias was.

"Tobias could be in danger if you withhold any more information," said Jake. Cassie and I turned to stare at him in surprise. "We would really appreciate your cooperation."

"Where is he?" whispered Loren.

"On the run, maybe?" Cassie replied, coldly. "Because Visser Three knows he's Elfangor's son!"

Loren buried her face in her hands. "What have I done?"

‹Elfangor was my brother.›

Loren's head shot up once again, staring at the northern harrier shifting awkwardly above, rafters creaking as he moved.

‹This is a very complicated situation, but I believe my brother was murdered by Visser Three.›

Loren's lack of surprise confirmed it. I walked forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "You knew."

Loren nodded. "Yes. He died. I was visited by a spirit of some kind, I don't know who. He told me... he told me what happened to Elfangor," she swallowed hard, "I didn't want to believe him, but Elfangor's last words... he told me what they were, and it had to be from him. But the spirit wanted me to forget everything. How could I?"

"The Ellimist," said Cassie.

‹What were his last words?› Ax sounded desperate.

Loren began to sing a few lines, but it wasn't in English. I stared at her, slightly mesmerised by how deeply enchanted she looked with the song.

When Loren finished, she looked back at Ax, who hung his head.

‹The Andalite lullaby. Encouraging a young one to grow, to be strong, to be a good male or female and to bring dreams to the family. To sing this song again to his or her young one day. Elfangor taught you that.› His voice was trembling.

"Yes," whispered Loren. "He knew, somehow, that Tobias would be born."

Even Cassie looked pained now.

"There was nothing I could do. I'm only human. Eventually I found out I was pregnant. Alan's child..."

Alan. Alan Fangor. Elfangor. Tobias's story with the McGroot lawyer a year or two ago had sent chills down our spine. He had retold it emotionlessly, but guys just don't like to let things show. Particularly a guy who can't even make expressions beyond a single dimension on a bird's face.

I frowned. "Well... was Tobias born with such tendencies?"

Cassie looked at me questioningly, but I shook my head slightly.

Loren's eyebrows furrowed together. "Actually... no."

I could literally feel my eyes light up.

‹But it is a mental illness, is it not?› Ax was thoroughly confused.

"Well, yes it is diagnosed a mental illness, but it wasn't biologically defined," said Loren, quietly. "It was trauma-defined. It happened after I had a near-car accident sometime when Tobias was six. I jammed the brakes so hard when this kid ran past, and it gave Tobias a huge shock he never recovered from."

"Well, the Tobias you know now, who lives – or has been living in your house now, doesn't have antisocial tendencies," I said, coolly. "He might be a bit whiny sometimes, or a bit angsty? But that's just teenage hormones."

Loren stared, perplexed. "I don't get you."

Cassie looked at me impatiently, her hands on her hips. "Well, I guess it's time we told you our story now."

"Better make it quick," I said, looking at a rusty clock hanging on the barn wall. "We need to find Rachel and Tobias, and then make some good plans. Otherwise, we've got a Yeerk search party out for our butts."

There was a thump, and Jake had slumped further into the hay bale, groaning.