Tellion stared up at a seemingly uncaring sky as she still tried to make sense of what the Ellimist had just revealed to her. Akdor, the Yeerk that she had once idolized and believed wanted to bring peace and unity to the galaxy only to eventually realize that it had all been a lie. The one that had forged everything about her existence that she had come to despise and tore through her consciousness, her ancestor. Her hereditary kin.
She was sure that hereditary had little to no meaning to most Yeerks, but because he was…had been, a Prime, and now upon learning that she was a Prime too, that had to mean something. But really, to what end?
Tellion lifted her trembling hands, Susan's hands, and stared at them. Was she really…any different from him? Did she just lie to herself and make excuses for the things that she did in a vain attempt to mask her actions in an encasement of righteousness?
You stole this native's life. Tellion shuddered, remembering Akdor's mocking words to her at her current status. You stole her body, her home…her husband.
She began to rock her body in a vain attempt to bring comfort to her nearly shattered mind. She had taken over Susan's life, and was daily lying to Mark and the others about everything. Did that really make her as bad as him? Did that same…darkness…that Akdor had embraced, did it flow through her as well?
You were a conqueror of life itself. And it disgusts me to see what you've done to yourself.
Hearing him again, not just his words, but the way he addressed them to her, she hadn't recognized the tone in them only up until now. Anger, disappointment, maybe even a trace of sadness. She detected it all because it was in her nature to.
I am truly sorry that you had to discover this, but you wanted to know. The Ellimist said as he hovered over her. I had hoped to keep this truth hidden from you until you were ready.
"Ready…" Tellion whispered. "When would I…ever be ready to learn this?"
When you had found the strength to embrace yourself for what you are. Not just as a Yeerk or a Prime, but for who you yourself are, Tellion.
"And what am I supposed to embrace?" she asked almost mockingly. "That I'm the great-great-whatever grandchild of the Yeerk that laid the foundation for the conquest and destruction of almost a dozen worlds? That caused the deaths and enslavement of tens of millions of innocent beings, and exterminated entire species from existence. That somehow, that same evil courses through me."
Tellion, you bear no responsibility for any of those things. All of that happened long before you were born. You are not bound by heredity or fate to become like Akdor. You are your own person.
"And what, person, is that?" she demanded.
Whoever you choose to make yourself into.
"But, if I truly am Akdor's heir. If," she felt sick just thinking about it, "a part of him does exist inside of me, then why the hell am I so different? Why am I everything that he isn't?"
The Ellimist stared at her in silence for a while, his eyes betraying him to her that he was struggling to find a way to explain something that would clearly be difficult to explain.
Tellion, he said, you may think of me as omnipotent, but even I don't have all the answers to every question in grand expanse of existence that is life. All I truly have is…a theory.
"You?" Tellion said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "You don't know?"
Just because I have existed for a time incomprehensible to you or that I have vast comsic powers doesn't mean that I know everything about the existence of the universe and all that dwell within it. I'm not like my counterpart, I always try to stay, humble about my understanding of things. It is his belief that he knows and sees everything that is one of his few weaknesses.
"Then just tell me your damn guess." Tellion demanded. "Why am I nothing like my ancestor?"
Well, the Ellimist said, it is my theory, or belief if you will, that when your ancestor Akdor unleashed his vision of what the Yeerk species could be upon the galaxy, he upset the natural order of existance throughout the cosmic balance of life itself. So, it is my theory that, the universe felt the full weight of that imbalance come upon it. Whether it was through the natural forces of the universe, or maybe even powers greater than myself and my counterpart, something had to be done to correct the imbalance. And not just through the Andalites and others rising to oppose the Yeerk Empire. No, the only way to create something that could oppose that rising tide of evil was for a special Yeerk to be born, one that didn't harbor any cruelty or malice within them, which embodied everything that was potentially noble and virtuous within every Yeerk, and most importantly, one that was of the Prime Yeerk line. All of these things so that such a Yeerk could act as a possible counterweight to that darkness and return balance back to a tortured universe.
"You're saying that you think that I was created by…the universe itself…to stop what my ancestor set into motion? You really, expect me to believe that?" Tellion said in a stunned voice.
Do you really find it so hard to believe that such a thing is possible? The Ellimist asked her. You always have known that you were different than the rest of your kind. None were like you, not even your siblings. Think about it Tellion, you were raised no differently than any other Yeerk. The same propaganda was feed into you since your first day of life. The same conditioning to hate the Andalites and view all other sentient beings as little more than platforms to be used at your whim that meant to saturate your thoughts encompassed your young life daily. Yet you never took to the conditioning, every bit of darkness that was thrown at your mind and spirit simply washed over you without taking any effect on forming your core feelings and beliefs. You never once thought to use deception, or betrayal, against another to advance yourself. You never desired to bring intentional harm to another, no matter how much it may have helped you in the end. It was why you idolized Akdor in the beginning, you truly thought he wanted to bring joy and peace to the galaxy. It was why you became a Kandrona Ray tech, you wanted to preserve life any way that you could.
Tellion looked off in the distance, past the Ellimist, her focus truly staring at nothing as she struggled to make sense of it all. The Ellimist was right. She had always been different from others. Her comrades. Her siblings. Even Aftran had seen that, no matter how much she had tried to hide it. Had the universe, really created her to not only stop encroaching darkness of the Yeerk Empire, but also save her people from themselves? Like always when dealing with the Ellimist, there were far more questions than answers.
I know this is a lot to process, and I truly wished that I didn't have to reveal these things to you until much later. But this was the path that you chose for yourself.
"Tell me." Tellion said, looking at the ground before her, not having the strength to stare into his gentle face. "Tell me how it happened."
I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by your question.
Tellion raised her gaze to peer directly at the Ellimist. "Tell me how I came into being! A Yeerk can only be born when three Yeerks fuse together, and it kills them in in the process. So how the hell am I alive? Akdor was killed by a Hork-Bajir rebel with a captured Dracon beam, every Yeerk alive knows that. So how am I here? I have to know, how is any of this even possible?"
You are right of course, Tellion. The Ellimist said. But you should already know by now that not every story that is told is the full truth.
He floated closer to her, until they were only a few millimeters of distance apart.
Words would be meaningless to bring the full understanding of how this all transpired to bring you into creation Tellion. Instead, allow me to show you everything, of how you came into being. Then I believe it will all become clear.
He held out his hand to her. Tellion grasped it without a moment's hesitation. And reality instantly twisted and morphed all around her. She was taken to another place, and another time…
The Hork-Bajir home world, long ago…
She was in a cold, metallic, and poorly lit room. It was bristled with a small array of what appeared to be crudely constructed machines with a few equally portable tables. Just as she was about to ask the Ellimist where he had taken her, the door to the room burst open. Tellion jumped back as a group of Hork-Bajir came pouring in. Their words were frantic, but she recognized them as the natural language of her people. Hork-Bajir controllers. Among them they carried another Hork-Bajir, each of its limp limbs held by one of them, with a final controller cradling its head. Behind them limped in a trio of Gedds. Tellion watched from her corner of the room as the injured Hork-Bajir was thrown upon one of the tables, and she saw the full extent of its injury. A large portion to the side of the head was missing, where half of its beak and an eye should have been had been scorched away. The wound was so extensive that Tellion could see inside the Hork-Bajir's cranial cavity, and the equally burned Yeerk that lay within. All along where the burn marks were, the Yeerk had been fused together with the host's brain due to the intense heat damage. It was…a horrific site to behold.
"Akdor's gravely injured!" One of the Hork-Bajir shouted at the Gedds. "Do something! Save him!"
The three Gedds grasped a multitude of nearby tools and equipment, and began tending to the badly injured Akdor. Every time they so much as touched the injured head, the whole body thrashed violently. It took three of the Hork-Bajir standing around to hold the body down. As they struggled to assist the Gedds, confusion reigned among the rest of the assembled controllers.
"How did this happen? This was supposed to be a secure facility!" One of them snapped, symbols painted on its chest marking it as an officer.
"We don't know Garoff." A Hork-Bajir answered weakly. "It was one of those damn renegade Hork-Bajir."
"How in the hell did it get through our security checkpoints?" Garoff demanded.
"It…it had an officer's markings, just like your host body does. Down to the very last detail. We think, it snuck in to destroy the new prototype fighter, but must have seen Akdor and his officers and decided to target them instead. It waited until it saw Akdor doing an inspection of the fighter before attacking. It had a captured Dracon beam. It killed three of Akdor's officers and nearly killed him."
"Ridiculous!" Garoff snapped. "Their primitive savages, they don't have the intelligence to perform such a complex and subversive operation!"
"This one, it was different. It wasn't like the others. It was…smart. It moved like one of us, and spoke like one of us too. Down to the last little phrase and expression. The host I inhabit knows that there is some kind of special Hork-Bajir like this one, they call it a Seer."
Garoff puffed up his chest as he loomed over the gaggle of Hork-Bajir around him. "And where is it? This 'Seer' Hork-Bajir? I want it infested immediately so we can get answers to how the hell it managed to do this."
None among them spoke.
"Answer me!" Garoff snarled.
"It, after its attack, one of the great beasts of the deep valley…some kind of flying predator, came out of the sky and carried it off. The Hork-Bajir escaped."
Garoff kicked over a nearby table in an almost uncontrollable fury. "This is insanity! The Hork-Bajir do not know how to tame those beasts! There are no smart ones! Their savages. Simple, stupid, savages!"
After his wild outburst to the rest of the Hork-Bajir, he finally turned to the operating table, and where the three Gedds were desperately working to help an obviously gravely wounded Akdor.
"Janath 429, report. Give me Akdor's status."
The oldest and most frail looking among the three Gedds took off some equipment she had been wearing. Hoping down to the floor, she slowly dragged herself over to Garoff and lowered her head.
"The wound…the wound is too grievous. There's nothing more we can do."
The surrounding Hork-Bajir controllers, Garoff included, were shaken by Janath's words. Many of them lowered their heads in a mixture of shock and sadness, one or two even fell to their knees. Garoff marched over to where Akdor lay. His arm blades shimmered under the artificial light.
"Then we'll cut him out of that damn flesh bag. Tear that primitive's skull open and pull him out, we'll get him in a Pool where he can…"
Janath 429 weakly lurched into Garoff's path, knowing full well that he could toss her aside with a mere brush of his hand.
"Get the hell out of the way Janath 429." Garoff growled.
Janath, despite being so tiny when compared to him, remained steadfast. Her small Gedd head lowered again. Sadness was not something easily shown among Gedds, but Janath's sorrow was all too easily to read here. "It won't do any good, we estimate that almost thirty percent of his body mass was vaporized from the blast. The rest of him is damaged to one extent or another. There's nothing more that we can do for him. He's…Akdor is going to die…"
Only then did Garoff appear fully shaken by what he was hearing. His head dipped in clear despair. But only for one instant. He looked weakly over at where Akdor lay, his host body shuddering through a series of painful spasms. His hands clenched tightly into fists. "Then…there's nothing that can be done? We've lost our leader."
Janath looked back at Akdor, observing him for a short time. "There…may be something…"
"What is it? Speak Janath!" Garoff commanded.
Janath hobbled over to where Akdor lay, staring at his gruesome injury. "We can take him from this host, and let him merge with two others…"
Garoff stepped closer to them. "Janath, are you suggesting…"
"He's going to die no matter what we do now." Janath said, not turning her large yellow eyes away from Akdor's dying body. "At least, this way, a part of him will live on."
"That's insanity." Garoff countered. "No one's ever done something so foolish. We don't know if it would even work."
"He's the first known Prime in a thousand years!" Janath snapped at Garoff. "We don't know if there'll ever be another Prime if we let him perish like this."
"This is…"
A low moan echoed from where Akdor lay, drawing the attention of all within the room.
"Do…es…it…it…end with…me?" Akdor gasped weakly. "Am…I…the last?"
Garoff looked to Janeth. "Who's he talking to?"
"He's delirious." Janeth claimed. "His mind is collapsing. We don't have much time left."
Garoff observed Akdor in his dying state, his Hork-Bajir face void of any recognizable expressions. "No." he stated. "We are not going to waste precious time and resources just to entertain a convoluted scheme like this."
He drew the Dracon Beam from his side holster and aimed it at Akdor. "Better that we just finish him off now rather than let him linger like this."
Janath made a feeble attempt to leap at his aimed weapon. "Garoff you can't! Akdor…"
Garoff slapped her aside and glared at the old and frail Gedd controller. "You do not give me orders! I do as I…"
"D…do…i…it…"
The room fell silent upon hearing Akdor's commanding voice. Even in the clutches of death itself, his words ceased all activity in the room and drew all eyes to him. All controllers present, even Garoff, were left stunned as Akdor defied all known boundaries of physical injuries, and weakly forced his host body to lift. A small stream of blood and other indistinguishable matter oozed out the side of his gaping head wound, splattering sickeningly on the floor. Akdor ingnored his clearly fatal wound, rising up until he was able to glare at all of them all harshly with his one remaining eye.
"Get me…out of…this…savage." he wheezed. "B…bring…others…I merge…"
"Akdor…" Janath whispered.
"My…legacy…" Akdor managed to force out before collapsing back to the table. "…carry on…an…nother…Ppprrriiimmmeee…"
Janath turned to Garoff and the others. "Get me two other Yeerks, I don't care who they are. Get them now!"
None among them moved at her command.
"Move!" Garoff snapped, speaking as if he were in a trance himself. "Or I'll execute you all!"
The surrounding Hork-Bajir immediately lept into action, scrambling out of the room, leaving only Garoff, Janath, and the two other Gedd controllers in the room. Tellion said nothing as she watched the Yeerk called Janath 429 slowly lumber over to where Akdor lay. She attempted to grasp his hand, but he weakly swatted it away, showing to all that he was defiant even in his time of dying. Janath only smiled a toothy smirk at Akdor.
"You're legacy will carry on, great Prime." she cooed to his in his one remaining ear hole.
Before Tellion could ask what was going to happen next, the room was blown away like a leaf captured in a strong wind. Images dashed across her eyes, so fast and so maddening that she wasn't sure if any of them were truly real. But they must have been. Then, the world stopped spinning and she was brought to another place in time.
Sometime later.
"There is to be no more discussion about this matter." Garoff addressed the small group of Hork-Bajir controllers surrounding him. "The new Emperor wants those Yeerks executed immediately!"
There were faint whispers that rolled all through the surrounding controllers. Only one among them dared to step forward, somewhat hesitantly.
"But, Garoff, the merger was modestly successful. There's over a hundred newborn Yeerks that carry Akdor's genetic legacy."
"Akdor was our leader." Garoff cut him off. "But he was of the home world. Now he's dead. And that is how it should remain, permanently."
"But, the Prime Yeerk…"
"Is a relic of the past." Garoff proclaimed. "I've discussed it at length with the new Emperor, and we agree that any link to the past needs to be purged. We will not risk having our fledgling Empire tearing itself apart with wild fables of a semi-divine Yeerk rising from the lower ranks to lead our people! The Emperor and the Council will lead us now. No more foolish reliance of ancient tales and traditions. Now carry out my orders!"
Janath 429 sulked back into the darkness from where she had heard everything. She said no words, let no emotion pass over her Gedd face as she quickly hobbled away. Her old and clearly failing Gedd body mimicked her own natural form. She was old, far older than most known Yeerks. She was already beginning to have trouble keeping full control over her host, which was why she opted to remain in her Gedd when they had landed upon this world. She had lived her entire life as a Gedd. She would end her days as a Gedd. It was the only thing that Janath felt she still could maintain control over since Akdor's fall.
It had all happened so quickly. Far faster than she would have ever suspected. Once Akdor had merged with two other Yeerks sentenced for execution, formerly loyal subordinates quickly scrambled to assert control over their forces. There had been a lot of 'accidents' and incidents of incompetence that had led to many executions. It hadn't taken long for her to be cast from her position in the inner power circle of the fledgling Yeerk Empire as Akdor's personal advisor to being relegated to a position of training officer of newly host appointed Yeerks. A glorified teaching position where she held no more say over the Empire's doings than a new born Yeerk. She was expected to live out the rest of her days in obscurity and pointless tasks. No, that would not be her fate.
Janath 429 would not allow it.
It was she that had first recognized Akdor 1154's uniqueness when he had been a fledgling Yeerk. It was she that had helped to raise him and teach him everything that she had known. It was she that had encouraged him to seize upon a greater destiny than any others could have foreseen when the Andalites had first arrived. She had guided him as he had learned everything from the blue furred bastards, and his ambitions had grown far beyond their home world. It was she that had rallied others of their pool to his side when he had spoken of leaving their world in search of far greater hosts to inhabit, setting into motion their path through the understanding that as the first Prime Yeerk in recent memory, Akdor would lead Yeerks to a greater future than they could presently comprehend.
After all that, she would not be reduced to a forgettable task to live out the rest of her days. Her destiny was better than that.
After a short, but mildly painful journey, Janath found herself standing before the miniature Yeerk pool that Akdor and the others had been placed in. She hadn't known why at the time, but Garoff and others had insisted that Akdor and those he merged with to have their offspring be birthed in a separate Pool away from the main body of Yeerks. Now it all made sense to her. They had never intended of letting any of these new born Yeerks surviving. Not with what each of them potentially meant to the future. A new Prime Yeerk.
There were of course no Primes among this brood of Yeerks, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be one in the future. Akdor's grand legacy lived within each of them. Janath 429 approached the pool and stared at the still surface. No movement came from within, the new borns were likely lurking near the bottom, instinctively hiding from any potential harm that would befall them. Janath didn't know why, but something compelled her to dip one of her wrinkled little hands into the metallic liquid. When she did, she felt it. A soft, very vulnerable pair of squishy ends touching her leather like skin. A Yeerk's papal antenna.
Janath pulled her hand back slightly, her eyes widening at the sight of a Yeerk daring to let itself be pulled from the Yeerk Pool. Strange, in all of her long years of life, she had never known of a Yeerk to dare such boldness, especially at the beginning of their life. This one, it seemed to hold no fear of the unknown, only curiosity. Janath 429 smiled at its strange desire to push all known boundaries for Yeerks.
"No fear within you, only a desire to discover. Then you're the one." she said both to the curious newborn Yeerk and herself.
Without another word needing to be said, Janath 429 scooped up this curious Yeerk and gently cradled its slimy body in her weak hands. She immediately hobbled away from the small pool. Even as she exited the room, her failing hearing detected the many sharp clicks of approaching Hork-Bajir feet talons on the metal floor. She had reached the end of the hall when the ominous sound of a Dracon Beam's firing filled the air.
"There." Some unseen Hork-Bajir controller proclaimed. "It is done!"
"Wait." Came Garoff's easily recognizable vicious voice. "There's Yeerk Pool liquid on the floor. It's leading out…dammit!"
Janath pushed her frail body to move faster. She exited the building, utilizing her memory of the layout of the facility to compensate for her host body's very poor vision. Janath knew the infestation schedule rotation, there would be no infestations or demarcations for a short time. And no guards. She was all alone as she weakly dragged herself into the main Yeerk Pool area and down the small pier that lead out to the middle. Panting from exhaustion, she finally reached the end of the pier. With her shaking old hands, she lifted the single Yeerk she had saved from extermination and stared at it. Nothing outwardly special about it, but the legacy that it carried, was beyond any known comprehension to all but her.
"The Prime Yeerk line must survive." Janath 429 spoke defiantly before flinging the new born Yeerk into the Pool. A satisfied smile was forced onto her old lips as she watched it disappear under the surface with a small plop of the metallic liquid. The sound of approaching feet caused her to turn back. There she saw Garoff and another Hork-Bajir controller racing up to intercept her.
"You're too late." Janath 429 proclaimed to Garoff. "There will be another!"
Garoff skidded to a hault just before her, panting and his sharp eyes full of bewilderment. "Janath 429, what have you done?"
"What cannot be undone." Janath stated in clear defiance.
Garoff growled at her, pulling his Dracon beam from its side holster. His body was trembling with rage. "You…you fool…"
"Akdor would have wanted this." Janath told him. "You were loyal to him once."
"He's dead. The Emperor and the Council now lead us."
"Not forever." Janath 429 spoke with true conviction. "One day, a new Prime will rise, to lead our people to a great and glorious future!"
"It's an archaic fable." Garoff said. "That dies with you!"
He took aim with the Dracon beam and fired it without the slightest hesitation. The beam struck Janath, encasing her body in its dark red field. Tellion winced when she heard Janath 429's anguished cry pierce through the night sky. But she didn't disintegrate, not the way a normal victim of Dracon blast should have.
Instead, small electrical currents danced all across her small furry frame, burning away all of her hair and scorching her withered flesh. As Tellion looked on in absolute horror, Janath's mouth dropped and her cry of agony echoed throughout the entire complex. What Janath was suffering through, Tellion didn't dare to fathom. The volume in her scream began morphing, becoming higher in its pitch until the last noise that passed from her jagged teeth sounded eerily like air seeping through punctured pressurized hose. Janath's body began to changed color, darkening into a greyish hue as her small Gedd body stiffened. Before Tellion could truly understand what was happening, Janath had become a motionless statue that was a dull grey color. Tellion's stomach tightened and her lungs clenched as she watched while the top of Janath's Gedd head began to cave in on itself.
No. Crumble. Crumble within itself. Parts of her frozen body began to fall away in small clumps as well, quickly giving way to larger chunks. It happened so fast afterwards. The rest of her body simply caved in on itself, falling to the metal floor of the pier, leaving nothing behind but a small pile of dust.
Garoff menacingly stomped over to the small pile, all which remained of Janath 429. He brought the Dracon beam up and inspected it with grim approval.
"A specialized execution model Dracon beam." he said more to himself than anyone else. "Unlike regular Dracon beams, this one vaporizes all the liquid in a target's cells, drying them out. The victim feels every moment of their entire body turning into dust from the inside out, until all that's left is…this!"
He kicked the pile of dust, scattering it across the surface of the Yeerk Pool. Satisfied with his weapon's performance, he holstered it and stared in silence at the still surface of the pool. His companion cautiously approached him.
"Garoff," he spoke with fear in his voice. "what do we tell the Emperor?"
Garoff glanced back at him.
"There's nothing to tell. Akdor's offspring were destroyed. The traitor Janath has been dealt with."
"But, that Yeerk she escaped with…"
"It means nothing!" Garoff snapped, fully turning to face him. "The Prime Yeerk is no more. We Yeerks will forge our own destiny! And we'll never again be shackled to some old relic of the past."
He looked one last time at the Yeerk Pool.
"The myth of the Prime Yeerk is finished. And if somehow, another Prime Yeerk ever does appear…I'll find them and execute them myself."
Tellion was instantly brought back to the present, finding herself struggling to breathe. Though nothing she had experienced had been able to physically harm her, she definitely had been scared by the whole ordeal.
She buried her face in her hands as the sorrow of it all began to overwhelm her. She didn't really know why she was feeling this way. Was it because she had seen how the bloody path that had set into motion the events that had eventually lead to her birth had been forged? Was it seeing her ancestor's savior Janath 429 perish in such a horrible way? Or was it knowing that the leaders of the Yeerk Empire were aware that a Yeerk like her could come into existence, and that they had vowed to kill her for no other crime than simply being born?
It was all a horrific ordeal. The Ellimist said. But I thought it best for you to see how events from long ago transpired to bring about the paths of fate that eventually led to your birth.
"So…my destiny…wasn't ever my own?" Tellion cried. "I'm just…some kind of…guarantee to carry on my ancestor's dark designs?"
Tellion…your original destiny was to perish in a boiling Yeerk Pool. I told you once before, this new life, this new destiny, is yours and yours alone. No one, not myself, not even Crayak, can make you do anything that your spirit doesn't truly desire. So the real question you have to ask for yourself is, what do you truly desire from this new life?
"I don't know." she answered.
It is ok to not have the answers to understanding your life. The Ellimist said. Sometimes it is just enough to know that you are yourself.
"Myself…" she trailed off, her mind struggling to understand it all. "So then, before we ever first spoke…you knew who I was. You knew what I really was?"
I did. The Ellimist answered sadly.
"Then, you only save me because I'm the next Prime? The next great leader of my people? You were just hoping that I could somehow change everything because of my supposed status?"
Tellion, when we first met, I told you something that you should have understood fully. One's postion in life is not a factor of their greatness, it is their actions. I didn't choose you to become my hopeful champion of your species simply because you are of a special hereditary line of Yeerks. I choose you because you fully embody all that is potentially good within your kind.
Tellion gave him a mocking laugh at the statement.
"Yeah, and what would give you that impression?"
You've already done so much, but you've let grief and guilt blind you to those things. The young warrior you who's life you spared at the Yeerk Pool, you not only saved his life, but in doing so it created a ripple effect that has allowed him to save his comrades time and time again throughout their many battles against the invasion forces. Without your act of mercy, it is almost certain that the resistance would have been crushed some time ago.
"And how many of my kind died because I did that?" Tellion asked. "All the soldiers that they've killed in their various battles, the Yeerks in mini-Yeerk Pool where I was supposed to die, Callisum, Temrash, the Kandrona Ray generator, untold thousands of Yeerks withering away from Kandrona starvation…the hundreds of my brood brothers and sisters that perished. All those lives lost, because I choose to save just one enemy's life. How does my one act of mercy make up for all that death?"
War…The Ellimist sighed. Is never an easy endeavor. Many conflicting parties attempt to justify their actions by wrapping them in a blanket of righteousness while viewing the other side as horrific perpetrators of viciousness. But you certainly cannot deny the twisted things your kind has done to so many unsuspecting words…
"And that somehow makes the Andalite's actions right and just? Did the fall of the Hork-Bajir home world justify their releasing a deadly virus that caused the near genocide of that entire species? Their willingness to destroy entire alien populations rather than let them fall to the Empire? Did our conquest of other worlds give the Andalties some sort of cosmic approval to obliterate every single Yeerk settlement on my home world through planetary bombardment?"
I didn't realize that you knew…
"All your vast knowledge and you didn't realize that?" Tellion declared to him. "How do you think the trainers install such viciousness in all newborn Yeerks towards the Andalites, to make us hate them so much that any Yeerk would almost willingly sacrifice themselves if it meant killing one of them as well? We all have seen the long range videos and still photos that had been smuggled out of our home planet's system, of entire sections of our home world burned away and the ancient pools and settlements reduced to nothing more than gigantic craters of fused glass. All those countless Yeerks massacred by the Andlites, for what, because they committed the crime of having interacted with the Andalites? That they deserved to be exterminated for harboring the knowledge that the Andalites gave to them? It is nothing short of a miracle that I myself don't harbor such a hatred towards them!"
And yet, as you said yourself, you don't. So why not?
"Being consumed by hatred…" Tellion answered sadly. "won't bring back all those lives have been extinguished. And it won't bring me peace."
And what else. The Ellimist asked.
"And because…it's…it's war…"
There are no true victors in any war Tellion. Or losers.
"There's only survivors." she finished her statement that she had proclaimed to herself not so long ago.
And you have survived. Though I wish that I could tell you that there was some way you could save both your people and everyone else, that would be a lie. I know you find yourself torn, between your loyalty to your own kind and wishing to save them while also wanting so desperately to stop them from what they are doing. But Tellion, at some point, you will have to come to realize and accept that no matter what you do, lives will be saved, and lost, through your actions. You simply cannot save everyone, no matter how much your spirit yearns to do so. It is just my hope that you manage to do the most good, for everyone, with how you choose to carry on with your life.
"So what?" Tellion asked. "I saved a frightened young warrior's life, and it caused so many others to die in turn. What real good have I done in my life? What good could I ever hope to do in the future to bring about redemption for myself and my kind? Knowing where I came from, the darkness that gave life to me, and the evil legacy that I carry within me."
Turn away from the guilt of your actions and your ancestry that are of no fault of your own Tellion. Look deeper into the greater meaning of them. Your greatest accomplishment recently was sparing Visser Three's life, showing mercy upon a being that by no accounts deserved it. And by doing so, you allowed me a small victory in my great galactic game against Crayak.
"And what victory would that be?" Tellion asked.
It would be best at this time for you to not know the full understanding of it all Tellion, but the important part is that, because you showed compassion, I will now be allowed to enact a plan that I have desired to do for many years now without any interference from Crayak. It will be very important to you, and your part in this great story as well Tellion. It may even allow events to be set into motion that will eventually save not only this world, but many others as well.
"And what would have happened if I had killed Visser Three?" Tellion dared to ask.
Killing Visser Three would have certainly hurt the Yeerk forces in the immediate future. The Ellimist told her. But ultimately, they would have remained to carry on the invasion as you suspected. And, as per my agreement with Crayak, if you had followed through with that dark act and murdered him, then Crayak's ultimate prize would have been letting the surviving Yeerk forces discovering the last remnants of the resistance, and this world would have surely fallen to the Empire with the extinguishing of the resistance. Your compassion for Visser Three may very well have been what ultimately saved this world Tellion. But time will also ultimately tell.
"I don't feel like I've saved this world yet." she told him. "And you don't know if everything that I've done will end in a 'good' outcome for myself, my people, or the universe itself."
You still doubt the accomplishment of your actions still Tellion? You mentioned Callisum, and though I know you feel responsible partially for his death, you merely acted in self-defense. But through his demise, you freed Samier from a lifetime of imprisonment within his own body. And in doing so, you gave his family who are still enslaved hope that they will one day become free themselves. You also spoke of Temrash. Though he had lived a life of cruelness and inflicting countless deaths upon others, he showed remorse upon his own demise, and sought forgiveness from someone in his final moments. And though perhaps he didn't truly deserve it, you still offered him forgiveness for his many acts of evil. Your compassion inspired him to share that dying memory of a tiny act of compassion that he himself dared to show to his final host, the leader of the resistance. With that memory, you helped to show that young warrior that Yeerks are not all creatures of pure evil. He will remember Temrash's small act of compassion and mercy for the rest of his life, and it may help inspire him to in turn show compassion where it isn't warranted in the future. But above all Tellion, there was Tallaxia…
"Tallaxia? What about Tallaxia?" Tellion questioned.
See for yourself.
Before she could object, he took them away from the forest, and back to one of the most confusing, and terrifying, moments of Tellion's young life. It was the moment she had given Tallaxia back her freedom. Tellion held a hand over her mouth as she stood in that cramped living space and watched as Tallaxia took her first steps of freedom in so many years.
Tellion murmured every word that both she and Tallaxia had spoken in that short time. The hardest part of all of that was watching Tallaxia joyfully spinning around as she revealed in her newfound freedom.
"Take me away from here." Tellion begged, barely able to hold back her tears. "I…I don't want to see anymore of this."
He didn't do as she asked. Instead, the moment froze, leaving Tellion staring at a completely still image of Tallaxia in perhaps the most joyous moment since the Yeerks had snatched away her freedom.
I know you dread to think upon this memory Tellion, but unknown to you it is one of the most crucial moments of your entire people's history.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tellion demanded. "She tried to kill us both. What could ever be so important to my people about this?"
You've let that terrifying moment of near death blind you to everything that happened just before it. Look at her. Really look at her.
So Tellion did. Though she felt more human now than she had anything else, she knew every last micro expression of a Nahara's body language and how the movement of their facial tentacles expressed happiness. There was no denying that Tallaxia's actions, her expressions were perfect copies of the few times Tellion herself had dared to show the pure joy she had felt at various times in her life.
You asked if there was another way for your people. A way for them to achieve higher existence that didn't come at the price of eternal slavery for other helpless beings. While your distant cousins the Yoorts have found their own way to that end, it is but one path towards that goal. And yes, while the Yeerks would never accept such a desire at the present time, it does not mean that the foundations for such a movement to take hold cannot be set. Behold Tellion. This moment, the new way was found by both you and Tallaxia. True symbiosis.
"True symbiosis?"
It is when a Yeerk and their host find balance, learning to understand and respect each other. You surrendered your control over Tallaxia, giving her back her freedom. In doing so, you found peace within your tortured spirit, and Tallaxia was able to reveal in the joy of freedom again. It was a moment, if even for the briefest of time that a Yeerk and their host coexisted in harmony.
"If it was vital, so important to Tallaxia, why did she try to kill us both?"
Her attempt to take your lives was an act of desperation. Even as she basked in the pleasure of what you had given to her, Tallaxia knew that it wouldn't last. Sooner or later, just as you must have known it would, you would be reassigned to a new host. And her life would return to the dreary, horrific existence that she has known for so much of her life. She had only one chance to truly escape that.
"She said that she hated me!" Tellion protested. "Tallaxia said that she wished that I would just let her kill me."
Many things are said in a heated moment. Things that if we take the time to look back and dwell upon them, we come to regret later. Ask yourself Tellion, would you have acted any differently if you had been in Tallaxia's place?
"I'd like to think that I wouldn't." Tellion said, the sorrow firmly planted in her words. "But don't know. I've always been the slave master, and not the slave."
Your empathy towards others is one of the things that make you so very special Tellion. You may not believe it, but as I said, it is your actions with Tallaxia have sowed the seeds for something truly remarkable for you people.
"I don't understand what you mean. Explain."
Important memories that are shared between a Yeerk and their host remain in the memories of the host, even if their Yeerk has left them. This moment of blissful coexistence between you and Tallaxia will carry on in her memories. As such, first Illiam, and then every other Yeerk that inhabits Tallaxia will be exposed to this memory. They will see that it is fully possible to experience higher existence that all Yeerks desire without forever being bonded to a slave, they will see that if they were to dare to replicate your actions, they can potentially gain joy and friendship from a host instead of agony and guilt. They will also see this…
Before she could ask what he meant, they were swept away again from the tiny living quarters and were instantly hovering over the main underground Yeerk Pool. Just above the demarcation pier. Tellion remembered this moment well, even if she had not truly seen it. It was when she had left Tallaxia forever. She watched her feeble little form slip from her former host's ear hole and into the pool.
"…lliioonn!" Tallaxia cried out, lunging towards where she had just fallen. Two of the Hork-Bajir guards attempted to restrain her, and despite their larger size, struggled to hold her back.
"I don't want any other Yeerks, I want you Tellion!" Tallaxia cried, reaching out with her four arms and flailing her tentacle ends about wildly to grasp at the surface. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything! I want us to be friends, I want us to be free together! Just come back to me. Please come back…"
Another Hork-Bajir guard struck her across the head with a metal rod, dropping Tallaxia to the floor of the pier. Even as they dragged her away, leaving a small trail of blood behind, Tallaxia continued to weakly reach out towards the end of the pier, muttering Tellion's name over and over again.
"Oh Tallaxia…" Tellion whispered, unable to restrain her tears anymore. "I'm so sorry…"
She felt the Ellimist's hand gently rest upon her shoulder. I'm sorry that I had to show you these things, but it was the only way to make you fully understand what you have already accomplished in your life Tellion. You and Tallaxia forged a bond the likes of which have never existed before between Yeerk and host, and while it was supported upon unsteady foundations, it remains just as strong. Even now, with her being passed from one Yeerk to another as if she were nothing more to them than a vehicle to pilot, she still considers you her Yeerk Tellion. The only Yeerk she would ever dare to call friend. No matter where life takes either of you, both you and Tallaxia will forever be bonded by your experiences together.
With a snap of his fingers, they returned to the forest. The Ellimist floated in front of Tellion.
I've now shown you the full truth of your past Tellion. Your origins, the darkness that you came from, your attempts to bring light into that void. There will be many trials you will have to face in the future. Every action you take with have its own repercussions, some good, and some ill. You may save lives, or lives may be lost through your deeds. It is the unfortunate reality of the universe. The ultimate question that you have to ask yourself Tellion now is, whose legacy do you wish carry on?
Many hours later…
Tellion stared out the car window of at the setting sun as they neared the exit to the area that they lived in. After the Ellimist's question to her, and a few others she had dared to ask him, he vanished as quickly as he had appeared with a vow to come to her again sometime in the future. When she had made it back to the camp, Mark and the others were beginning to go looking for her. According to them, they had woken up with her not there, and she had returned just as they were starting to become concerned. A quick lie of wanting to see the water of the river glisten at first light from Tellion had dismissed their worries, but had earned her sharp rebukes about wandering off into the woods alone. As far as they were all concerned, she had only been gone a very short time. They ate breakfast and enjoyed the rest of the morning before hiking back and returning home. Tellion had given them convincing smiles and careless converstations to mask the sorrow that lingered within her. It was only when they were finally traveling back that she had time to contemplate everything.
Her part, however miniscule it may be, in a galactic game between two vastly powerful beings. Her discovery of not being a true Yeerk, but more of a Yoort, as the Ellimist had called them. The actions that she had taken in her life so far, and the effects it had on so many others. But above all of them, the revelation that she was great-great-whatever grandchild of Akdor 1154, the Yeerk who had unleased so much death and suffering upon the galaxy.
You'll never be free of yourself. Akdor's voice continued to mock at her even long after his death. You'll always be a part of my legacy.
The last thing that I ever want to be…Tellion thought bitterly as she gritted her teeth. …is anything like YOU! I won't carry on your legacy Akdor, I will forge my own! I swear upon my very spirit, I will tear apart everything that you've done. The universe will not forever remember Yeerks as the harbingers of destruction, terror, and death. I will show that there was something worthy of redemption in our kind to the cosmos. That will be MY legacy!
"Almost home." Mark said, breaking Tellion from her deep thoughts. "Glad to be back?"
"Yes, glad to be back."
They said nothing else until they had returned to the home. Tellion remained quiet as she helped him carry their gear inside and put it away. When they were done Mark proposed going to get pre-made food from somewhere else while she stayed at home and rested. Tellion agreed and watched from the front door as he left. Once he was out of eyesight, Tellion's smile vanished.
She turned and went back inside, unable to hide the sadness on her face or stop her body from shaking as Tellion braced herself to face her final ordeal.