Animorphs 39 The Lost (Cassie)
Author James the Lesser
I do not own the characters, Applegate and her many Ghost Writers do! But I do hope any who read this will enjoy, even if I change things up!
Sorry for the long delay between updates!
1
Cassie. Not Casandra, Casanova, but Cassie. How much a name matters. Especially when you can't tell anyone.
I think I lost a friend. Bobby, a Chee, has disappeared. Why, I don't know. I have ideas, all of them hurt, but in the end I don't know.
Some might be wondering, what's a Chee? Well, they're an advanced race created by the Pemalites. They've been here since time before the wheel.
Impossible? I might think so too if I wasn't in the middle of a war with an alien race.
The Yeerks. Slugs that crawl into your ear and wrap around your brains. They take control of you and make you a slave.
It means to fight them you have to kill an innocent. A slave. The Hork Bajir are herbivores that have been enslaved by the Yeerk Empire. Marco calls them walking salad shooters because of their bodies being covered with blades.
Part of that alien war was helped by having allies in the Chee. They use holograms to make themselves look like people. They can use those holograms to look like my friends and I to cover for us when we're stuck on a mission.
Bobby was my friend. She helped me with my chores. We talked about her creator, about my...
Boyfriend. Jake, my boyfriend. It still seems weird to say that word. Our first kiss, on an alien world, was months ago.
Now she's gone. Jake says his Chee is gone as well. I flew out to see his brother, Tom, and he says the Chee don't talk with him anymore.
When I say fly, I don't mean on a plane. I turn into a bird and fly.
The good guys, if you can call them that, gave us the power to morph any being we can touch. The Andalite Fleet was once our savior.
Now... Ax, our friend, says his people may wipe us out. May exterminate us. Both because of the Yeerks being here and because they're afraid of us. We're advancing faster than any race they've ever met and while they have millions, we have billions.
Why did she disappear? Well, that's complicated. The Chee are peaceful. By programming. They can't commit violence. Unless they have the Pemalite Crystal.
Erik, Marco's friend, used it to rewire himself. So he could commit violence. He saved our lives. He saved us and promised to himself that he would never do it again.
Some of the Chee want to be violent. Bobby is one of them. The Chee they assigned to my friend Rachel is one of them.
Friend Rachel. Is she still my friend? This war affects all of us but it seems to be hurting her the most. She seems to love the violence. I don't want to think that. I want to think something broke inside of her but it can be fixed.
She's seeing a professional, a Chee. Or was. They disappeared as well. I want to talk to her about it but she is, aggressive, towards me. She doesn't hate me. I can't think that. Never. She's still my friend.
Just one who glares at me whenever she sees me and refuses to talk with me.
Jake is busy and I need to talk with someone. His brother? Tom is a good guy but it is his cousin I'm worried about and I know he has his own troubles. Being a former Controller, he told me about his nightmares. His daymares. He can't sleep, and when he finally gets so exhausted his body gives up, he has dreams more terrifying than any of the things he went through when he was a slave.
Marco... Doesn't hate me either. He just doesn't like me. Thinks I'm too weak. Even though he agrees we can't corrupt the Chee.
Of course, I can't because I won't have that on my soul. He won't since he fears they're turn on us. The Chee created dogs. Pemalites were a lot like dogs that walked upright. When they came to Earth, fleeing an enemy unlike any other, they somehow transferred the souls of their creators into wolves.
Marco fears the Chee will obliterate countries like China because they eat dogs.
Ax fears any race other than the Andalite's having power. I can see it, feel it, when he talks about it.
It makes sense. The last time his race trusted someone it was the Yeerks.
I'm rambling, aren't I? I've gone through a dozen pages of my journal already. I need to talk to someone in person and Ax is the closest.
Ax has a television in his scoop. His home.
The first time you see an Andalite, you will think radioactive blueberry deer. Until you see the scythe on the end of a whip like tail.
His face has no mouth. He speaks with telepathic thought speak. He eats through his hooves.
Our relationship isn't the best. He sees me as weak, like Rachel does. I understand, I do. His entire life has been nothing but war. He grew up to be a warrior. To fight. To die.
I'm just an average teenage girl.
One who has an osprey morph that could carry a single honey bun out with her.
Andalite's have no mouths which means they have no taste buds. When he is in human morph he can be, dangerous, around food.
He loves Cinnabun, but I don't have any at home so grabbed a honey bun instead.
(Hello, Cassie.) He walks over and picks up the food as I demorph. (Why are you here?)
I finish demorphing before I reply. "I need to talk."
(About?)
His words are short. He is annoyed I'm interrupting, whatever it is, he's doing. So I cut to the chase. "Have you seen any Chee?"
(No. Prince Jake says the Chee have left.)
I never went to the house I know the Chee stay at. If they want to avoid us I won't push myself on them. "They didn't leave. They just, aren't helping us, anymore."
(That is a good thing.)
I want to agree with him. I do but I know that they are too much of a help. "Without them we are in a lot of trouble. School's going to start again and if we need someone to cover for us, we won't have it."
(Your planet would not be the only one in trouble if they decide to take control. The Chee could build more ships, enslaving your kind or the Hork Bajir, before expanding their new empire.)
"They aren't Yeerks."
(No, they would be worse. The Yeerk Empire is built upon technology stolen from others. The Chee have technology that surpasses even my own people's greatest scientists.)
This isn't helping me. "Ax, I'm glad you don't want to corrupt the Chee. Even if your reason is different from mine."
He walks over to the front of his scoop and sets the honey bun down. (In war you need warriors. In peace, we need those like you.)
Is he praising me?
(Unfortunately, we are at war. Your kind will get the galaxy lost to the Yeerk Empire.)
Nope. "We won't always be at war." I hope.
One of his stalk eyes turns towards the woods. A wolf runs out of the trees straight for us. (Ax!) I almost trips over its own feet when it sees me. (Cassie?)
"Tom?"
(Yes, uh, bad news. Uh, Ax, turn your TV to the local news.)
Ax picks up a remote and changes the channel.
"The news account from the hiker is said to have been caused by drugs, but he says he will take any drug test. The large reptilian like monster he claims he saw running through the woods is said to look like this."
A crude sketch comes on the screen.
All three of us say the words at the same time.
Hork Bajir.
Ax runs out to Tobias' meadow while I fly to the nearest of my friends houses. Rachel's.
I would have gone home and called her and the others but my dad is home and he might wonder why I'm going around the house in a swim suit with dry hair.
Landing outside of her window, about to thought speak at her, I realize that Ax won't find Tobias at his meadow.
Instead he is here and they are... Well, it wasn't, um, I mean sure we're old enough to drive but... Jake and I have kissed and stuff but nothing like this.
Thankfully, Tobias still has his boxers on when I look inside again. Do I interrupt them? No, I can fly to Jake's and have him call Rachel. If he asks why I flew to his house first, uh, I'll think of a lie before I get there.
Jake calls her and Marco. "Give me a minute to change and morph."
(I'll be on the roof.)
My mind races trying to not think about seeing Tobias and Rachel... And that Jake is only a few feet below me changing... Hormones. It must be hormones. And seeing those two, well, he still had his boxers on. Maybe he was morphing and fell on top of her after she just got out the shower...
If I weren't an osprey my cheeks would be burning.
Jake flies up as a Peregrine Falcon and we fly for the Hork Bajir colony.
Jake never asks why I'm so silent on the way to the colony. Maybe he thinks I'm focusing on flying as fast as I can.
When we land and demorph his brother and Toby, a Hork Bajor more intelligent than the others, greets us.
After a minute, Jake asks Tom where Ax is. "He's flying around making sure no other hikers are close."
No way were they at the colony. "They saw the colony? I thought the news said they only saw one Hork Bajir."
In a solemn tone, Toby's voice cracks as she speaks. "They saw me."
They saw Toby? But she'd never leave the colony. "How? You know it is too dangerous to leave this place."
She shakes her head a little. "I had to flee with the crystal. It wasn't safe here so I took it away from the colony."
No. No no no no. I came up with the original idea to have her hide it here. When the Chee who want to do more used the energy detector it was left to her to hide it again. "This is my fault. I'm so sorry Toby."
"Do not be. I should have been more careful. I let my guard down, not you."
It doesn't make me feel much better.
When Marco, Rachel, and Tobias make it I do my best not to look at Rachel.
When Toby and Tom explain what happened, Marco can only snark. "So the Chee are going to get you guys killed. So much for anti violence."
I clench my right hand into a fist. "It isn't their fault. If the Yeerks weren't here none of this would be happening."
"Whatever. So," He turns to Jake. "What's the plan?"
Jake taps a finger on his chin for a second. "The Yeerks will believe him. They will infest him. He'll be able to give them the exact location of where he saw Toby. From there they'll most likely have Bug Fighters going overhead."
Why doesn't he sound worried?
I'm not the only one confused as Marco asks the question on my lips. "That's bad. We need to think of a way to move everyone."
Jake smiles, surprising everyone. "Why? Holograms cover the valley. The Bug Fighters fly over it, see trees, and keep searching."
It makes so much sense. My nerves melt away as I see what he saw. "No way they can have Taxxon or other Hork Bajir in the woods. They'll cloak ships, fly over, and see nothing."
If only it would be that easy.
2
Everything is good. School is just a week away but I'm ready.
Until...
My dad comes home and checks on me. "Cassie, do you know a Megan Carter?"
I shake my head. "No, why?"
"She just went missing and they are asking people for information. If you knew her maybe you might know where she was."
At the time I didn't give it a second thought. It is sad that she's missing but there is nothing I can do.
It comes out she got "lost" in the woods near where Toby was seen.
Jake calls a meeting at the Barn my father uses for taking in injured wild animals. "She's either not missing or the Yeerks kidnapped her just so they could claim she is."
"Which means the Bug Fighters found nothing so now they'll have the help of all the good Samaritans in the area."
Marco's sarcasm isn't needed right now. "Which means we need to come up with a way to stop this. Finding her probably isn't an option."
Where does that leave us?
Everyone is silent. This is a huge problem and none of of have a solution.
Tom finally speaks breaking the silence. "Jake, Marco, maybe we should see if the Chee can get her? If she's been kidnapped by the Yeerks they could get her."
Jake looks at his shoes, while Marco blinks a few times.
This time I break the silence. "We need help. They can do it. Hear me?"
My gamble pays off as a Chee appears. "No. We are, at an impasse, on directly influencing this war."
Tom walks over to them. "Bob, I know, and I understand. We all," Rachel clears her throat. "Most of us get it. Except this threatens more than us. The free Hork Bajir, this valley where I and other freed Controllers live, can't be found. Please, if there is anything you can do, do it. If not, tell us so we can make alternate plans."
"Very well." Bob walks away leaving us to think, worry, and fight back any signs of panic.
With that, Rachel morphs into a Bald Eagle and leaves with Tobias.
My mind can't help but think what they might be leaving to do. "Cassie, are you okay?"
My face must have given away what is going through my mind. "Um, sure. Just a lot on my mind, Jake."
He grasps my hand with his. "Cassie, we will think of something. The Ellimist protects this valley too."
"Crayak wants it found. What if he makes a deal with the Ellimist? Spare a race but let the colony be wiped out?"
He gets closer, I can feel his breath on my cheek. "I have faith he wouldn't do that. And, if it is found, we have the other one in South America."
I hug him, resting my face in the crook between his cheek and shoulder. "Maybe we should try moving the rest."
He hugs me back and whispers in my ear. "It won't come to that."
Our moment is interrupted by Marco snapping his fingers at us. "Hey, before you two get too lovey dovey, we might want to think of a plan. If the Chee don't come through we need to act fast."
I want to yell at Marco, tell him to shut up, but he's right.
Pulling away from Jake is one of the hardest things I've had to do. "We need to do something that keeps people away from here."
Marco raises an eyebrow. "How? If ten people join the search we can do that. A few hundred, most of them Controllers, are in on it we're screwed."
Jake steps forward. "They're looking for Hork Bajir. How do we give them Hork Bajir without giving them the valley?"
I look off where Bob walked away. "Holograms."
Marco shakes his head. "We've worn out our welcome with them. We can't rely on them to step in and save our asses."
"There's another way." We all turn towards Tom. "We give them us. If we all morph Hork Bajir, with Toby, we can be enough."
I don't like how he ended his thought. "Enough to what?"
"Lead them away to a smaller colony. One with maybe a dozen Hork Bajir we can sacrifice."
"No!" The words leap out of my mouth before I can even think. "We can't kill them. They're free and deserve to live to enjoy it."
Tom's face shows more pain than I could ever imagine. "I know. Gods, I know that." He fights back tears before he speaks again. "How many of them would volunteer? Sacrifice the few to save the many?"
I want to shout again but Jake stops me. "We can't risk one or more getting caught. You're thinking the Yeerks will be out there with Dracon beams. What if they aren't? What if they try to capture the Hork Bajir instead? Aren't they valuable hosts?"
Tom slowly nods. "You're right."
He turns and walks away. He was a Controller for years. He knows what it is like to be alive and not free. Asking to allow someone else to die when finally free must have torn a hole in him.
It takes Jake holding my hand to keep me from following Tom and hugging him. He needs a shoulder to cry on. A shoulder that isn't mine. He needs a shoulder that comes from his mom or dad.
Jake hugs me to his chest and I listen to his heartbeat for a bit.
The first major search party starts the Wednesday before school starts.
Like Marco feared, hundreds are there. How many are good people looking to help and how many are Controllers?
Impossible to know.
All of us fly overhead staying just close enough that one person can communicate with each other.
(If they go near the colony, I think we should land and morph wolves. A wolf pack will scare them away.)
(You hope, Big Jake.)
(There has to be regular people mixed in with the Controllers. They can't pull a weapon, alien or human, and use them on wolves. They're protected.)
(We can't keep them away forever. If the Yeerks search every inch but the colony they will come back. At night, with monsters and weapons, that will kill any wolf they come across.)
Rachel's right but I can't think that right now. (Ax, how much time do we have?)
(We have ninety seven of your minutes left.)
For once, Marco doesn't tell him they are Ax's minutes too. The others don't seem to notice or care but I do.
(Marco, why didn't you tell Ax they're his minutes too?)
(Because they aren't. It's pretty clear he is doing his best to keep his distance from humanity.)
(Why would he do that?)
(Isn't it obvious, Cassie? He knows the Andalite fleet could come here and wipe us out. The closer he gets to us the more it will hurt when that whatever virus melts our bones.)
I don't think that's how the Quantum virus works but we don't have time to debate it.
Instead, we fly around hoping no one gets too close to the Hork Bajir colony.
Unfortunately, a small group of searches splits off from the main group and starts walking for the Hork Bajir colony. (Everyone, fly a mile or so closer to the colony and then demorph.)
We do as Jake says and as soon as we demorph we morph wolves.
The scent of humans sends a weird signal to the wolf brain. It knows we are dangerous but isn't sure why. It is an apex predator in this area yet it fears humans. Something primal from thousands of years ago remains hidden away.
Jake walks forward as they get closer. (Let's see if this works.) He leans back on his haunches and howls.
The concerned whispers reach my ears. (None of them seem to think coming this way is a good idea.)
(Good.)
We sit and wait for them or another group to get close but none do.
Ax informs us we only have twelve of our minutes left in wolf morph before we decide to demorph and go back to our various birds of prey morph.
3
Lazily flying in circles makes us look more like buzzards than the birds of prey we actually are.
None of us are on edge until one person seems to walk towards the colony with a purpose. (Guys, get ready to go back down.)
I start my descent when I see it. A flicker. A hologram. (It's a Chee)
Tobias is the first to ask, (What are they doing?)
When I get closer, I see the phone in their hand. (They're mapping their co-ordiantes.)
I'm confused until Ax gets closer and sees what they are doing. (I believe they are marking where they have searched in a quantifiable manner.)
I'm still a little confused. (Huh?)
(They're using GPS on their phone to prove they searched the area and found nothing.)
(Oh, thanks Tom.)
Brilliant. Without helping us, the Chee are still helping the Hork Bajir. At least one is.
(If this is over, can we go? Some of us have sisters we're supposed to be babysitting but are instead paying their friend to cover for them.)
(If Melissa is there, maybe I could follow you home? It has been a week or so since I took her on a date.)
(Piss off.)
The Bald Eagles that is Rachel turns and flies towards the city.
Soon, Tobias and Marco fly for the city as well as Ax flies to his scoop.
Jake, Tom, and I fly to the colony.
We should be feeling better. We should be relieved that a Chee is still helping us.
Instead... "It may not be good enough. The Yeerks know the free Hork Bajir are out here. They will keep looking until they find them."
Jake stays calmer than his brother. "The Chee that came here can prove it isn't here. I'm sure he plays a Controller. If he is willing to help maybe others are. Or we can have Marco ask Erik which one that was and have him make a fake colony."
Tom repeats some words Jake spoke before. "What if the Yeerks go to capture and not kill? They can't capture holograms."
I feel my stomach twist into knots. "We don't know what they will try. They, they might use Bug Fighters. They could."
Tom's smile is weak. "We can hope so."
Jake doesn't even feign a smile. "If the Chee agree to it. They might work to protect the colony but they may not work with us."
"But, Jake," I grasp his shirt. "Working with us is protecting the colony."
He places he hands on my arm, massaging it as he looks me in the eye. "We don't know if they will see it like that."
I feel the warmth from his touch spread through my arm. It helps melt the knots in my stomach. "We won't know unless we ask."
Tom looks around for a second. "I don't see Bob. He might be around but who knows? You two go and, have fun. I'll fly out and let you guys know if Bob tells me anything."
He looks at us and I realize how close Jake and I are to each other. I should feel embarrassed but right now I don't care. "Um, okay Tom."
Jake and I share a look before we morph into birds to fly away from the colony.
Flying around usually makes me feel better. Being above the world and floating on the thermals makes your worries go away.
This time, my mind has too many thoughts, for this to work. The Hork Bajir colony is still at risk of being found. Even with the Chee helping. Like Jake said, the Yeerks know it exists, and will not stop.
How do we let them find it without finding it? If Tom is right and the Yeerks try to capture valuable Hork Bajir hosts we can't use holograms.
The other part of my mind can't stop seeing that imagine of Tobias on top of Rachel. Making me think of Jake. Thinking of how much I... I love him.
(Does it mean we love each other less?)
(What?)
No! I didn't mean to thought speak that. (Um, nothing.)
(Cassie, what's wrong?)
I see him fly a little closer. Any bird watchers will be in heaven at seeing such a sight.
(I, um, it isn't,)
I stammer a little more before Jake interrupts me. (Cassie, if you think I don't love you, you're wrong. I know I don't buy you flowers or candy or take you out on fancy dates but I do.)
He sounds hurt when he says this. (No! I don't think anything like that. You help me muck the stalls, set the leg of a broken deer, and more. That time, that effort, means far more than some flowers or eating out at a restaurant.)
(Then what's wrong?)
I can't tell him what I saw, can I? Is it gossiping? I've never tolerated that at school. (I see my parents and how they are and wonder if we'll be like that. If we aren't, does it mean it's different?)
(They're married. Your mother tolerates his chili.)
If I could I would have laughed. (Promise me you'll never make chili like that.)
(I can barely cook a pizza.)
Thinking of Jake trying to cook helps push the other thoughts from my mind. (We can order take out then.)
We reach my house and I see my dad's truck is gone. My mom is at the Gardens. (Um, want to come in for a drink?)
(I could use a soda.)
Does Jake not notice my dad's truck is missing? Maybe he doesn't have his mind thinking about that since he didn't just walk in, or fly in, on Tobias and Rachel.
Standing in the kitchen in my swimsuit, him in boxers and shirt, would send my father to the hospital from a heart attack. "While we were flying, I got an idea."
He focuses on the soda I gave him. Maybe he does know my parents aren't home. "What?"
"They need to find the Hork Bajir. We, between morphs and Toby, have enough we could lead them somewhere that people can't normally go."
Eight Hork Bajir in one area might be enough to trick them. "Where would that be?"
"The power plant."
"The nuclear power plant? That, makes sense."
He nods as he walks over to the trashcan and throws his soda can away. "Erik said some of the Chee were thinking of hiding at the power plant if we didn't take out the energy detector. The security there has to be through the roof but the Chee could get in easily."
I've never been near the power plant but I know they bought the land around it to set up a buffer. No one could get within sniper rifle or whatever range of the power plant. The only road in and out is heavily guarded by the national guard.
Hell, if you go fishing and get too close to the cooling towers the National Guard send boats and helicopters out.
The woods would be off limits to anyone. Anyone who worried about the law.
Hork Bajir wouldn't care.
I hear the sound of a truck door slam shut. "Jake, um, you should probably go."
He looks towards the door. "I'll have to leave through your window."
We rush up the stairs so we can both change. Him into a bird, me into regular clothes.
4
With Jake's new idea, we have to figure out how to get a Yeerk to know the Hork Bajir are hiding there.
Enjoying our summer break, we go to the beach, which just happens to be close enough to see the cooling towers of the power plant.
Splashing around in the water with his dog is nice. Normal. Something a boyfriend and girlfriend do.
Waiting for Ax to fly back and tell us what he sees isn't.
Being in the water for a couple of hours helps me relax. Almost letting me forget that we're waiting for a blue alien centaur to fly back and tell us if the power plant has cameras in the forest around it.
(Prince Jake, I see no cameras or other devices. No ground patrols either.)
Not being in morph, we can't say anything back.
Jake nods his head and I watch the Harrier that is Ax fly away from the beach.
"Are we heading back?"
"Why would we?" He rubs his arm and I see a slight red tinge to it.
"You're getting a sunburn. Your sunscreen must be wearing off."
He looks at his arm. "Oh, I didn't even realize it."
"What had you so lost in your own little world?"
He smiles. "I wasn't lost. I knew right where I was and what I was looking at."
My heart melts a little as my cheeks burn. "Um, wow. That was, uh, romantic."
He laughs a little. "I can be." He takes my hand in his. "Maybe we can get changed and get something to eat?"
"What about Homer?"
He looks down at Homer. "The one stand down the way has good cheese fries and doesn't need us to go inside."
Now my heart beats a little faster as he squeezes my hand. "I'd like that."
Power plant security is either really bad or so good not even a bird of prey can spot it.
Either way, it will make for a good place to create a fake Hork Bajir colony.
Jake and I spent a couple days flying around together near the power plant.
Telling the others, we run into the same issue we had before.
Meeting at the Hork Bajir colony, we try and make a plan. "How do we get the Yeerks there? How do we get anyone to see a bunch of Hork Bajir without getting every alien or Bigfoot hunter to scour the area for the Yeerks?"
Marco's words sting as the truth can't be ignored.
Even Jake seems stumped. "It is a power plant. It has a fence to keep people out."
Marco chuckles. "A fence? Bolt cutters or a ladder can get around that. There are enough nutters out there they will be making videos for whatever website of them hunting down the alien."
Tom motions his hand to the trees around us. "What about the Yeerks? If they go there and don't see any trees have bark missing, they'll know. We need to move a bunch of Hork Bajir there to harvest as much bark as possible before we even try this."
Tom is right too. "We are so screwed. Getting all of the Hork Bajir over there will risk getting them seen by someone else."
"Hologram."
We all jump when Bob appears.
Tom nods towards him. "Hey Bob."
He nods back before continuing. "We could protect them with a hologram while they go to the power plant. Nothing involving you children, or Andalite."
The Chee are stuck in a war they never wanted and they're still trying to help the innocent. Even when they don't want to help us they'll help others. "Thank you."
"No need. We can coordinate with Toby, without your input."
His tone is clear.
Jake and Tom simply nod before walking over to the house Tom stays in.
Rachel rolls her eyes. "I guess that's it."
"Wait!"
Everyone flinches and then stare at me.
"Um, so we get the trees right and stuff but, um, the Yeerks." I do not like being the center of attention like this. "If they try to capture, I mean, what do we do? There won't be any Hork Bajir there. Not really. They'll keep looking."
Everyone is silent. The silence makes me feel like the world is gone and just their eyes, focusing on me, exist.
(The Yeerks may need the hosts. Especially if Visser Three decides to join the civil war.)
Ax's words take the weight of the world away.
Jake, being next to his brother, whispers something to him. Tom shakes his head. They whisper back and forth some more.
What are they talking about? Why keep it a secret?
Jake finally turns from his brother and faces the rest of us. "We have an idea. Marco, before you say it is suicidal, I'll just say it is."
"Great! What else would we be doing?"
Jake isn't as enthusiastic. Fake or otherwise. "Hork Bajir can't swim. We all say it is better to be dead than a host."
As my brain processes his words I realize his plan. "We're going to throw ourselves into the ocean? As Hork Bajir, who can't swim, before demorphing and morphing something else."
Jake nods.
Rachel and Marco say a few unpleasant words but don't disagree with the plan.
I have a few words just as nasty go through my mind but it is a good idea. The best we have.
(Andalite's are not the best of swimmers. I may drown before I can morph a dolphin.)
"You'll be the last one to jump in then. We jump, demorph, and then morph dolphins. Jump in after us and we'll, no."
Jake is finding a flaw in the plan. "Ax, uh, be our eyes in the sky since Tobias,"
Jake is cut off by Tobias. (Red tail hawks are probably just as bad if not worse swimmers.)
Tom looks towards Bob. "Bob, not helping us, but the Hork Bajir. Can you fake the Hork Bajir throwing themselves into the water?"
"We could, if that plan would work."
Bob must have thought of something else. "What else won't work?"
"The Yeerks will look for the bodies. They can't risk them washing up on shore. People will talk and wonder where they came from."
I feel like tears are about to force their way out of my eyes.
The others may not care. The others don't feel about the Hork Bajir like I do. Maybe Tobias might see them as more than monsters. The others, not so much.
"Maybe we could join the others?"
I didn't even hear Toby walk up on our group.
"That could work for the Hork Bajir but what about the humans? Some may not mind but one of you," Bob looks at Tom. "Helps fight. He can not move to South America."
The seconds of silence turn into minutes.
Marco starts laughing drawing our attention. "You know, I hate to say this, but this might be a good time to turn yourself into a nutter."
His words make no sense to me.
The others must be as confused as I am so he continues. "People go off into the woods and make bunkers. Saying the end of the world is coming or whatever. Using homemade windmills for power and hunting squirrels."
Tom looks at his house. It looks nice. Something that would fetch a lot of money if in a regular neighborhood. "Bob, Marco might be right. We can move the Hork Bajir to South America and make bunkers here."
"No."
5
Bob's stern word shocks all of us. "But, Bob, you have to help us move the Hork Bajir."
"Why? I have been on the Chee Net while you discussed your plans. The only way to move the Hork Bajir, as many as we have, is to use Bug Fighters. Stealing them will be noticed and will risk violence. Moving them is risking us. The Ellimist wants them protected yet he did nothing to protect our Creators."
"This was your idea!"
"It was. The others would need to agree on it and they do not. If you want, you can steal the Bug Fighters yourselves."
"How the hell do we do that?"
Rachel looks like she's ready to morph bear and go after Bob. If she doesn't remember what happened last time she did that...
I try and keep everyone calm. "If we find a way to steal them, um, Ax can pilot one."
Tom raises a hand. "I could help pilot another."
"We'll need more than two."
Bob's hologram shimmers. Something that shouldn't happen. "Bob?"
"Your group has done great things for us. For others. You've saved races, and turned the Howlers peaceful. The Hork Bajir are innocent."
Yes! He'll help,
"But we have agreed that we will limit our interference. Many of us are being pulled from their positions in the outside world. We will continue to use holograms to hide this valley, as well as the Hork Bajir in South America. Other than that, we are done."
No. "I, um," I want to scream. I need to cry.
Instead, I bow my head in defeat. "Thank you for helping us hide the Hork Bajir. We can't ask you to do more than you're comfortable with."
Rachel says a word that rhymes with wussy.
The Chee have done so much to help us. I can't let Rachel insult them like that. "They aren't. They want nothing to do with this or any other war."
Rachel sneers at me. "I wasn't saying that about the Chee."
Some might be angry. I know I should be. Who wouldn't?
The tears build in my eyes. Many would scream and call her every name in the book.
Instead, I know the friend I once had, is hurt even more than before. "Bob, you don't have to help us. Could you, um, help Rachel? She was seeing a psychiatrist. A Chee. Crayak tortures her in her sleep. Because we hurt him. Please, help her at least."
"I'll see what I can do."
With the Chee Net he can talk with any Chee on the planet in a second. Probably less time that that. "Thank you."
My kindness only seems to make Rachel madder as she flips me off. "I don't need your pity."
"It isn't pity. I miss you. This war has messed with all of us but Crayak targets you the most. He hates you more than the rest of us."
Her smile would make Visser Three take a step back. "He doesn't hate me. He hates Jake. He loves me. He wants me. I could end this war with a swipe of the bear paw."
Jake walks towards her. "But you won't. You're still Rachel, my cousin. Cassie's friend. Tobias' girlfriend. You won't become the monster Crayak wants you to be."
She turns away from him. "Yet." She starts to morph and for a second I'm ashamed to say I thought she was turning into a bear.
Instead, she morphs a Bald Eagle, and takes off with Tobias following.
The physical scars of war are easy to see. A soldier with a leg missing. Another with a claw for a hand.
The mental scars are worse. No one can see them. You can't cover them up with a bandage or replace with a prosthetic.
If Crayak came after me like he does Rachel, would I be as strong? Could I withstand it like she has?
Some reading this, if anyone ever does, may think she is crazy. A threat.
They'd be wrong. We're all crazy. How could any of us go through what we're going through without losing a bit of our sanity?
Rachel is stronger than I am. I know it. What she goes through every night would break me.
Tears finally escape down my cheeks at the thought.
Jake hugs me and I cry into his chest.
With the Chee refusing to help, we need a new way to steal Bug Fighters.
Ax agrees to help teach Marco how to pilot one, with help, after making a fake console at his Scoop.
Three... Might be enough. Maybe.
Four would be best but we'd need at least two people per ship and we simply don't have that many.
Maybe it won't be needed. Maybe the Yeerks will give up.
And maybe an asteroid will hit the Pool Ship destroying it.
One is just as likely as the other.
There is another search party being planned and I volunteer to help.
What I can do, I'm not sure. I need to be out of the house and doing something.
We'll be going farther north than before, away from the colony, but I want to make sure it is safe.
Someone else must want to keep it safe as I see Bobby.
Should I say hi? She's avoided me since the Chee pulled back.
I miss her. I have to say hi. Make sure she knows I'm not mad at her or anything. "Hey, Bobby."
She turns to me and smiles. "Hi!" She walks over to me so she can whisper. "What are you doing here? You know there is no missing woman."
"I have to make sure no one goes near the colony."
It is hard to tell what the look on her face means. Is she sad, happy, or angry?
"You care so much for them. And us. All life. You fight and you kill yet you will risk your life for beings not your own."
I almost reach out to grab her by the wrist but stop. "You're my friend, Bobby. Even after what happened. The Hork Bajir are innocent people caught up in the same war we are."
"Then I can help."
"You can?"
She nods. "Yes. While the majority of the Chee want to hide not all of us do. While we may not commit acts of violence, some of us still want to help."
"Really?"
"Yes. We've been split into three groups. The majority want to hide. Some of us want to help like we have been. Delaying messages, setting up ways to free people, so forth. Others, like myself, want to do even more."
Do more, she means kill. I can't allow that but we do need help. "Why don't you help us as best you can? That's all we can ask of you."
She shakes her head. "I can't. We can't. Not like we used to."
"But you can still help. Even if in more subtle ways?"
"Yes."
This may be the only good news I've gotten in a long time. "By stealing Bug Fighter ships for us?"
She grimaces. "That would be too much."
"That's fine. Any help is appreciated."
Now she smiles. "Like telling you when the next Bug Fighter lands at the Yeerk Pool with supplies?"
That might help but, "That is only one ship. We need at least three. If we could find enough pilots we'd take four."
She looks down at her feet. "Well, um, the Bug Fighter could be used to fly to the Pool Ship where other Bug Fighters are."
The thought of going back to the Pool Ship worries me. Not because we'd have no way to escape if caught.
No, instead, I can only think about how it would make Jake feel. The last time he was there he lost control of a morph.
Maybe as a tiger or a wolf he may have only killed one or two people.
Unfortunately, he was a Howler. A perfect killing machine. He slaughtered everyone in the room.
I missed it. A squirrel crawled into a transformer and took out the power to my house. My alarm never went off so I missed the mission.
"We would have to steal the Bug Fighter, go there, and steal several more."
"Yes. Putting you all in a lot of danger. I try using that as an argument for why we should help but the majority tell me it isn't enough."
I want to say something but she stops me. "You risked your lives to get rid of the Howlers. The monsters that killed our Creators. You crossed Crayak and became targets. For that I can never thank you enough or repay you. My Creator threw herself in front of me to protect me. She loved me so much and I have nothing but memories left."
She hugs me gently. It is weird to feel the structure of the Chee under the hologram. "If I could find the Pemalite Crystal, I wouldn't use it to change my programming. I would wipe that last memory. Seeing the cuts on her body as blood flew from her wounds. Hearing her cry of pain as the Howler struck her again and again. Ordering me to get on the ship and escape. Forcing me to leave her behind."
It hurts my soul knowing she can't cry. So I cry for her.
6
Telling Jake about Bobby and her idea is a little harder than I thought it would be.
Sitting in his room, I'm trying to keep from stumbling over my words. "So, um, I know that it is crazy but it is the best chance we have at getting enough Bug Fighters at once."
"We only have enough people, maybe, to fly three. That might not be enough. Even then, the Yeerks won't let us fly away with Bug Fighters. They'll chase after us from the Pool Ship."
I thought of that but I hope Jake will come up with an idea. "So, we steal one, and take multiple trips? It might take longer but it could work."
"Tom and Ax can fly it and work the cloaking. If the Yeerks don't look for it and shoot it out of the sky. If we steal a ship they won't just forget it. Cassie, at this point in time, I'm not sure we can do this. At least, not with a Bug Fighter."
I hate how defeated he sounds. "Then how do we do this? We can't put them on a plane or drive them down ourselves."
"Planes, trains, and automobiles aren't getting us anywhere. But,"
He gets on his computer and shows me something I wasn't expecting. "Ship?"
"Cargo ship. Huge, lightly crewed. I wonder how many Chee could get on one?"
The Chee... "They are uh, not really looking to help us."
Jake turns to me. "No, but they are looking to help the Hork Bajir. We won't be using anything from the Yeerks like a Bug Fighter. They just, uh, rent a ship or however you do it, and crew it while taking it to South America."
A whole ship of Chee and Hork Bajir could work. "We'd have to get the Hork Bajir there unnoticed."
"Again, the Chee will help the Hork Bajir, not us. Marco says right now the Chee are in a bit of a civil war. As much as beings programmed for peace can be at war. If it weren't for dogs they probably would have stolen as many ships as possible and left already."
"Not the ship they came here on?"
"Marco said something about it being large but slow and defenseless."
That makes sense. "So, you tell Marco about the ship, he tells Erik, and then the Hork Bajir escape to South America."
If only it could be that easy.
In the days it takes for us to set things up, another search party is formed. This one is far larger than the others.
More people, more risk of the Hork Bajir being found.
Thankfully, they will be going away from the colony as the Chee have tricked the Yeerks into thinking that area has already been searched.
Unfortunately, there may still be people out in the woods.
The Chee can only do so much. With so many eyes and ears in the forest we can't risk moving the Hork Bajir yet.
We are so focused on the Hork Bajir colony we forgot there is another alien hiding in the woods.
Ax, being an Andalite saw them before they saw him. He took off deeper into the woods before morphing into a wolf.
By the time he made it to my house and told me, they had already torn his Scoop apart.
(Ax, I'm sorry.)
(Do not be. Being so deep in the woods I never expected anyone to find my Scoop.)
The group who found it had to have been all Controllers.
Soon a Bug Fighter appears.
(Stay hidden.)
Visser Three steps off and looks over Ax's things. (This is only for two, possibly three Andalite scum. There must be another nearby. Look for them!)
Every Controller around him flinches before running off in different directions.
Ax and I stay hidden as wolves. (Ax, we need to tell the others.)
(He's alone.)
(For now. Ax,)
He walks out of the woods towards Visser Three. (Ax, Stop!)
Ax doesn't listen and continues towards Visser Three.
Visser Three sees him and seems intrigued. (Are you one of the Andalite Bandits or just a simple Earth animal?)
I follow out after Ax hoping we can pretend to be real wolves.
Visser Three doesn't step away from Ax's Scoop. (Or are you curious as to what I am?)
Ax gets closer but stops before his is in range of Visser Three's tail.
I stop behind him. (Ax, what are you thinking?)
(I was thinking if I could get my jaws around his throat I could avenge my brother.)
(Elfangor wouldn't want you to die so recklessly!)
Ax is silent as Visser Three studies us.
I turn my head when I hear a noise. Humans. Controllers. (Ax, now is the time to run.)
(Yes. Sadly, the wolf is not faster than the tail blade of an Andalite.)
We turn and run away from the Controller leaving Visser Three, the Bug Fighter, and Ax's Scoop behind.
We fly to Jake's and tell him what happened. "Ax, man, that sucks. What are you going to do?"
(I do not know, Prince Jake. The Yeerks may be looking for other Scoops as mine was only big enough for at most two Andalites. If I fly too far it will become impractical for you or the others to contact me.)
"Damn. Ax, you obviously can't stay in any of our houses or even at the Barn since Cassie's parents go in there."
(Of course. Perhaps I will need to relocate to the power plant. The security there is mediocre at best and no risk of any Yeerk finding it.)
Jake nods his head as he thinks. "That might be a good idea. Just, be careful, and talk to Tom when you are set up. He can tell Bob who can tell Erik who can call me."
(As you wish, Prince Jake.)
Ax takes off leaving me behind, still in Osprey morph, with Jake. (Jake, if Ax had been distracted by whatever soap opera he normally watches he might have been caught.)
He shakes his head. "Ax would cut his own head off before letting that happen."
(That's not any better.)
"Yes it is. It means we could still keep fighting." He sighs heavily. "I'm wondering if Crayak is part of this."
(Crayak?)
"It would be like him, wouldn't it? He doesn't just wipe us out or the Hork Bajir. He puts them at risk, which puts us at risk, by nudging things here or there."
(Like the Ellimist has in the past.)
"Exactly." He sits down on his bed. "Cassie, can you demorph?"
(Of course.)
I hop through his open window, landing on the floor, and demorph.
He immediately hugs me catching me off guard. "What's wrong?"
"Cassie, Visser Three could have morphed some crazy monster. Or the Bug Fighter could have fried you two before you knew it shot at you."
He squeezes me a little tighter as I hug him back. "He was alone. No one else was on the Bug Fighter."
"How could you know?" I feel his tears against my cheek. "We're all barely holding it together. If you, if he had,"
"Don't say it." I hold him as he holds me in the middle of his room until we hear a car pull into the driveway.
In bed, fast asleep, being shaken awake by someone is not how I usually am at three in the morning.
"Cassie, Cassie, please, wake up."
"What?" I'm so tired I can't tell who it is. "Mom?"
"No, Bobby. Please, wake up. You have to go."
"Go?" My eyes refuse to work and stay shut. "Bobby, what are you doing here?"
"Visser Three is done with the subtle searches. He's setting the forest ablaze and scorching anything in the area."
Now my eyes open. "Ablaze?"
"On fire."
"I know what ablaze means it's just, not usually, used." My brain tries forming more words into sentences but fails.
"You have to get up. Tell your parents you were getting a glass of water and saw the fire."
Bobby wants us to evacuate? But that must mean the fire is close. "The Barn, the animals."
Bobby pulls me out of the bed. "I have others working on that. We, we're all out. The Hork Bajir colony is in the path and we're trying to organize them but,"
She stops when we hear a footstep. We were talking too loud. One of my parents must have heard it.
"Cassie? Is someone in your room with you?"
"Dad! Fire! The warning just came over my phone and I checked it. There's a massive fire and it is coming this way."
Bobby is hidden behind a hologram as my dad opens the door. "Cassie?"
"Dad, fire! Big one!" I jump up and down while hoping Bobby can make it out without him noticing. "My phone just went off! We gotta get out of here!"
"Cassie, what are you talking about?"
"FIRE!"
Now it seems to get through to him what is going on. "Cassie, get dressed, I'll get your mom."
"Don't forget the keys."
He runs out of my room and I change into something more than a sleep shirt and shorts.
My phone beeps and I see it is a text from Jake. "Hork Bajir, Fire, Bug Fighters"
I text back as soon as I can while in the back seat of the truck. "I can't help. With Parents. Fire evac."
"If you can get away, do. If not, be safe."
A helicopter flies overhead and I know it is from the firefighters. I wonder what the Yeerks used to start the fire. Can water put it out?
We all scream when we hear an explosion. "What was that? Are we under attack? Holy shit did North Korea or China bomb us?"
My father's words get a look from my mom while I look out the back of the truck. The helicopter falls in flames. No one else would or could know why it exploded.
It hit a Bug Fighter. It had to be. Cloaked, unseen by the pilot, and killing everyone on board.
The Yeerks are getting reckless. Visser Three is getting reckless. Because the Council of Thirteen isn't there to keep him under control. Without them he feels, and probably has, free reign.
Now the forest behind us burns with an unnatural force. Unnatural because it is being set by aliens and their weapons.
"How did this happen?"
A missing girl. One who wasn't really missing.
The Yeerks looking for the free Hork Bajir.
Visser Three and the Yeerks finding Ax's Scoop.
Now the forest burns in an inferno that will consume thousands of acres. Our house is gone. There won't be any way of rebuilding this time. The entire area will be nothing but ash.
"Whoa!"
I flinch as my dad's shout pulls me out of my thoughts.
A deer, fleeing in terror, clips the truck. "Dad, are we okay?"
"The trucks fine. The side might be dented but the engine and the tires are good."
I hope he's right. Going well above the speed limit, if we hit a deer head on, it might kill us before the fire reaches us.
Less than an hour later, we have to stop as the truck is low on gas.
We're well out of the path of danger but my dad didn't want to stop. Couldn't stop.
His home, the Barn, all of it is gone. Driving away from it all seemed to fuel him.
They ask me to go inside with a twenty to prepay so I do.
When I come back I see my mom and dad hugging each other. They look scared, tired, and happy. How they can be smiling, ever so slightly, right now astounds me. "Mom? Dad?"
Before I can say anything else, they pull me into a hug. "Cassie, we're okay. Your phone going off saved all of us. We're alive."
That's why they are happy. Because none of us were hurt. I'm thinking of the only home I've ever known going up in flames. The Barn being burnt down, again.
They're thinking of me and how I'm okay. Alive. We all are.
We hug for a minute or two more before my dad lets us go and goes to the pump to put fuel in the truck.
Jake texts me later in the morning. "We did it. Everyone out."
"Everyone? Tom and the others?"
"Of course. Hiding right now. Holograms. Chee can't build homes right now."
"Where will they stay?"
"Chee are going to build apartments inside of a warehouse near the docks. Best solution for now."
"All the Hork Bajir made it out?"
"Yes. We had a few stragglers but the Chee corralled them."
"Good."
"It's good you made it out. Where will you stay?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"I'd say come stay with us, Tom's room is open, but we wouldn't have room for your parents."
"I doubt my dad would be okay with that."
"I doubt my mom would be okay with it either. Be safe, text me when you know more. I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too."
"Sleep well."
He doesn't respond. He must have been fighting to stay awake.
Everyone made it out. The Hork Bajir are on their way to South America and the former Controllers will be in a warehouse. Not the best solution but the only one we have.
The diner we stop at for breakfast has the news on. "One helicopter suffered a malfunction and crashed causing the deaths of four men. No other deaths have been reported and as of yet no cause for the sudden fire. There were no reported lightning strikes in the area so the most likely suspect is a campfire or arson."
No one will know the truth. No one not involved in the war anyways.
7
Living in a hotel sucks. The insurance company is dragging its feet about rebuilding trying to claim since the fire was ruled an arson that those who started the fire should be sued.
Bobby told me the Chee would do it but how to explain it to my parents? A house just magically appears in a matter of hours is not something...
Well, my mom could be told. My dad, not so much.
Unless we told him the truth. How all of the animals were saved by an ancient alien race.
My friends would be mad if I told him. My mom found out because of an accident. I can't do this, no matter how much it would make life easier for us.
Instead, I stay in a hotel room down the hall from my parents. Which is nice, since it means Jake can visit me and they can't hear us talking.
Just talk, um, mostly.
The Chee have the apartments set up at the warehouse so Tom and the others are safe.
Bobby tells me when the Hork Bajir make it to South America. They're safe.
For now. Really, until we stop the Yeerks or the Andalite fleet shows up, no one is safe.
It is wrong to assume that only us, or the Andalites, could stop the Yeerks.
More than a month after the fire, still living in a hotel, Bobby interrupts Jake and I... talking. "Cassie, oh, Jake, get your shirts on and come with me."
Jake smiles weakly. "Well, at least it isn't your parents."
I can't do anything but blush as I talk. "They would need to use the key card which would give you time to hide under the bed and morph."
After getting my shirt on I have to ask. "What's going on?"
"Visser Seven and his fleet have arrived."
The Yeerk Civil War? "He's attacking Visser Three?"
"For now, yes. We are unsure if he is here to conquer or eliminate. There are billions of potential hosts here. He could either be eliminating a threat or looking to add to his numbers. He has several Sub Visser fleets with his after crushing the Visser's they sided with."
Jake and I quickly find our shirts and pull them on when Bobby freezes. "Bobby? Are you okay?"
She sits down on the floor and her hologram drops for a few seconds before coming back up. "Visser Three's Blade Ship had what the Yeerks call the Dome Destroyer."
Jake picks it up faster than I do. "Some super weapon to take out Dome Ships?"
"Yes. He used it on Visser Seven's Pool Ship. The shields blocked some of the blast but not enough."
I'm more concerned for her. "Why did your hologram disappear?"
"We still have more than a dozen Chee on the Pool Ship. There was no way for them to disappear without drawing suspicion. When Visser Seven's Pool Ship was hit the blast reverberated back causing a minor disruption to the Chee Net and other systems."
That doesn't explain what happened to her. "And?"
"They drew extra power from those of us not in public to keep their systems going. If they all lost their holograms like I had they'd be exposed."
Jake grabs my arm. "Cassie, we have to call the others."
Bobby shoots up from the floor. "No. We, Erik may try to save Marco, but not the others."
"What?!" Bobby can't be saying what I think she is. "You came here to save me and Jake but not the others?"
She shakes her head. "I did not come here to save Jake. You are my friend. I've watched thousands of friends die over the years. Him being here is unfortunate but we can make room."
I'm too stunned to say anything.
Jake isn't. "Make room? You're stealing ships and fleeing the planet?"
"Yes. Visser Seven may be here to annihilate this planet. Any Yeerk who controls the invasion of this planet has access to billions of hosts. He may try and continue the invasion or he may not. Killing Visser Three and the Pool Ship with,"
Bobby stops mid sentence. "No! Get off!"
Jake and I flinch at her shouting.
Bobby goes silent while Jake and I stare.
When Bobby sits back down on the floor, she starts to cry. "Bobby? What happened?"
"Visser Seven, he, I can't believe he did it on purpose."
Jake puts a hand on my shoulder as he speaks. "Did what?"
"His Pool Ship. He crashed it into the other one. It was crippled by the Dome Destroyer. It couldn't make the jump to Zero Space. He was dead, his attack failed, so he tried to take out the other Pool Ship before the Dome Destroyer could be powered for another shot."
She said more than a dozen Chee were on the first Pool Ship. If Visser Seven crashed into it it meant she just lost over a dozen of her kind.
Jake must know that too. "Chee are strong. They don't need oxygen. Could you, maybe, survive the fall to Earth?"
She shakes her head.
"Any Chee on Bug Fighters? Scoop them up before they do fall?"
The hologram tears disappear from her cheeks. "We are already trying. Three are gone. The other eleven are still in connection with the Chee Net. With the attack failing, and both Pool Ships destroyed, Visser Three may flee."
I feel like I've been punched as Bobby says this. "Flee?"
Jake's hand squeezes my shoulder a little too hard before he falls back on the bed. "The war's over. If he runs away, the Controllers left here, will have no way of escaping."
The mission to the Pool Ship to kill the Council of Thirteen was one of the most dangerous we ever did. I missed it completely.
Jake went Howler and killed seven members.
The Civil War it started was great for the Andalite Fleet but it meant little to us.
Until now. Until the Civil War came here.
Before I know it, tears stream down my face, as I hug Jake.
Curled up together on the bed, both of us crying unable to contain our emotions, it is only Bobby that saves us from being discovered by my parents.
Her swift action to use the chain lock on the door stopped it from opening all of the way. "Cassie, why is the chain lock on?"
"Dad!"
Jake rolls under the bed and starts to morph, something small, as I try and collect myself.
Bobby whispers to me, "It's okay to cry. You lost a lot in the fire."
She's right.
Walking to the door, I wipe the tears away, as I undo the lock. "Sorry, I, I wanted to be alone. Um, just, be alone."
He sees my eyes are red, the tear stains on my shirt. "Cassie, it will be okay. We won't be here forever. I'm not sure we'll ever move back to where we were but we will get a home again."
Hugging me close, I cry a little more, as I do have a lot to cry about.
He only knows the tip of the iceberg but he knows enough.
With their plan to evacuate canceled, Bobby leaves the room.
Jake and I are too stupefied by the news to do anything but stare at each other.
The war might be over. For us at least. Visser Three escapes into Zero Space but what will he find? Another Visser who will ally themselves with him? Sub Visser fleets strong enough to come back and continue the invasion?
Of course, what about all of the Yeerks still here? The ones in the pool can just swim forever but those in hosts... "We're about to see something humanity isn't ready for."
It is the first words I've spoken since my dad, and Bobby left.
Debris fell across the planet. Alien bodies are found in some of them.
The world reacts. Thousands of Controllers are discovered and captured.
Bobby keeps me up to date on things the media doesn't report.
The weeks that follow, the Controllers surrendering or being found, and more send the world into chaos.
A Taxxon attack wiped out a small village in Mexico. Dozens of them ravaged their way across the border and devoured everyone in their path.
Hork Bajir, without a Yeerk controlling them, are gentle herbivores. They just want homes in a forest. Even if they look like monsters.
It is hard to focus on one crisis over another.
Until something close to home happens.
Tom wants to tell his parents he's alive. The world that he's alive and free of the Yeerk in his head.
It's risky. Some Controllers are let go, others aren't.
Rachel's mom is a lawyer and can probably protect him.
This is the first time I've seen Rachel or Tobias since before the fire.
Has she been seeing a psychiatrist? Has Crayak left her alone since the invasion ended? So many questions I want to ask her but can't.
Not now.
Jake and Tom already know my vote. It's the rest they worry about.
Marco motions at Ax. "How do we play this? That we knew and fought a secret war with an alien sidekick?"
Jake is silent.
"That's what I thought. We need a damn good story for how and why you faked your death and how the hell you got freed."
Jake's eyes light up. "So you vote yes?"
"Of course, Big Jake. We just need to do it in a way that doesn't get Ax locked up in Area 51 or us dissected."
(You guys can worry about that. I vote yes but I need to go. There was another hawk eyeing my meadow.)
"Wait, Tobias, I mean, don't you want to be human again?"
(Not until I'm eighteen. If I go back to my uncle now I'll be in legal trouble. Probably sent to foster care. I'm not dealing with that.)
He has a point, just, it is sad to think he will hide as a hawk. "Be safe. A red tail hawk is a lot more vulnerable than a person."
(I'm always careful.) He takes off leaving us behind.
Ax's thought speak fills all of our heads. (If what the others have told me, I may be at the greatest risk here.)
Jake nods towards him. "You would be, Ax. I'm sure some of the former Controllers are talking about Andalite bandits."
(This is your brother, Prince Jake. I vote he should be allowed to return. With a story that does not end with my capture.)
Jake turns to Rachel. "Rachel?"
"Yeah, whatever."
I hate how cold she is about this. Tom is her cousin and she seems to care less about him than what pair of shoes to wear in the morning.
So, I take my chance. "Rachel, is Crayak still,"
She cuts me off. "Yes, he's still there. Always watching me. Telling me he will send more horrors my way. Things worse than the Yeerks."
"I'm sorry."
She says something not very nice I won't write down here.
"Please, Rachel, I am sorry."
"I'm sure you are. The only reason I don't stop the nightmares is I'm not sure death can escape him."
I want to run over to her and hug her but I know I can't. She would more likely punch me than hug me back. "I hope you're still getting help."
"The only help they can give me is super strong tranqs that knock me out. They only let me take two a week as they're addictive and dangerous."
I cower back at her glare, cutting off anything else I might say.
Jake steps between us ending our fight. "So, it's settled. We'll think of a story for Tom and have him come back."
I see how happy Jake and Tom are and it makes me happy. Tom will be getting his life back.
The world might be scrambling to put out all of the fires that aliens being real has started. We are going back to a normal life.
Finally
Epilogue
Jake
My brother being back is better than ending the war.
My parents, I've never seen them so happy.
Tom hasn't been this happy since even before he was taken by the Yeerks.
I'm about to graduate high school with my friends. Marco and Cassie. Best friend and girlfriend.
My cousin Rachel... She ran away. We know she went with Tobias somewhere. Neither have been seen or heard from in months.
Ax has been hiding up in the mountains safe from prying eyes. I make sure we see him at least once a week.
He still calls me Prince Jake even though I'm no longer leading a group into war.
The Andalite Fleet made contact with him after the Chee built him a communicator. The end of the war here, and the expansion of the Yeerk Civil War, meant they were winning.
Marco wonders if his mom will ever come here. Visser One must be out there fighting. Will she unite the Yeerks against ever present extermination? Or will she, like the rest of the Yeerks, kill each other until they're too weak to fight off the Andalite Fleet?
I hope for Marco's sake he gets to see her again.
Marco
Graduating from high school doesn't feel real. How can such an insignificant event matter to me? Why should it? I fought a secret war against aliens. Getting a piece of paper seems pointless.
Sometimes I think about running away like Rachel and Tobias did. Morph, fly away, and never be seen again.
I can't. I love my dad too much.
If only I could tell him mom is still alive. How to explain that I know would put my friends and I at risk. So I don't. I can't.
Without the war, I dated Melissa a bit, before that fell through. A girlfriend here and there but none of it sticks. I can't find the ability to care.
Any moment, Visser Three could reappear.
Earth has shared what they found, and the knowledge of the Controllers now freed, to build new ships. Ships that allow us to go to Mars and the moons of Jupiter.
Some satellites have been sent out farther using Zero Space but we don't travel past Jupiter in person.
The world knows an alien race is out there. One that had invaded in secret for years. It, like me, waits for their return.
So, I get a girlfriend here, another there. I graduate high school, looking towards college, with no passion for it.
The ability to care about such minor things disappear when you know aliens could come at any time and attack.
AX
My people know. I, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil, was part of the force that started the Yeerk Civil War.
That Visser Three is still alive but weak. With no fleet to back him up he must be going from planet to planet attempting to find support.
Yet, they send no one for me. I remain here on Earth. For how much longer, I can't know.
Prince Jake, Marco, and Cassie still visit me frequently.
My Shorm, Tobias, sends me an electronic mail when he can. The others don't know but I have remained in contact with him.
Rachel never sends a message, only Tobias.
I wish him well. May he enjoy his freedom.
I am trapped. I must be careful when I leave my Scoop. While humans in these parts of the mountains are rare, hikers can still be a risk.
Looking up at the stars, all I can do it sit, and wait.
Tom
How does one feel when they rise from the dead?
My parents hugged me and begged me to never leave them again.
When I graduated, I went to college near home so I could stay close to them.
Jake just graduated. He, like me, can't help but look at the sky.
I wonder if the Yeerks will come back. The Andalite fleet must be killing them by now. Right?
Jake can't stop smiling but he isn't smiling because of his diploma.
He's smiling because he's holding Cassie's hand.
Ever since I came back... I just haven't found anyone that interests me. Maybe the Yeerk took that part of me?
I'm sure Jake and Cassie will have plenty of kids for me to spoil. I might be jumping the gun there. Who knows thought, right?
I just have to be happy that I'm alive and my family is happy. Even if I struggle to find a reason to smile, they have a reason to smile, and that makes me smile.
Cassie
I had to tell Bobby first, but now I'm telling you, journal. Jake proposed to me!
We were at dinner with our families after graduation. He nudged me in the side and slid the box over.
Just a small silver ring. No diamond. He's been saving up from his part time job for a car and didn't want to waste money of a rock.
I love it, and him. Both of our families cheered when we kissed after I said yes.
Bobby is almost as excited as I am.
If only I could tell my best friend. Even after everything that happened, the hate that somehow built between us, she is still my best friend.
Rachel, I hope you come back. One day. Just so I know you're safe.
Tobias
Rachel and I ran away. Why not? I ran away years ago. Even if as a hawk.
We fly, we sleep, we fly some more. We've been to Alaska, over Russia, and are currently in Japan. Fun, right?
Until I wake up one day and she's not there. Just a note that says "Sorry".
I know Crayak is still going after her. Did she, did Crayak do something she couldn't handle? She's always been so strong. To wake up and just see that note, it broke me.
I stayed in human morph longer than I had since I gained my morphing powers back. Holding that note and crying. Wondering. Hoping she is still alive.
I can't tell Ax. Right now he thinks we're traveling around the world. Supporting our world tour and keeping it a secret from the others.
Now I'm alone. Rachel's gone. Should I go home? To what?
No.
The next time I morph red tail hawk is the last time. Flying over Asia, Africa, up to Europe as a red tail hawk. Never becoming human again.
Rachel
…
A/N Okay, this one goes all over the place and back. Why? I had an idea. And then realized that idea no longer worked with what I came up with. So I changed it, only to have that idea not work anymore. So, in the end, I had it pure chaos, all over the place, with the end of the war. At least, on Earth.
With an epilogue from everyone so we can have some closure. If I didn't start writing my original work, this series would continue. But I want to end this, and other FF series I have going, so I can finish them and focus on my original work and YT Channel.
Books on Amazon- Seth Quillet
Youtube Channel- James the Lesser Express Lane