Part Two
And I...told myself... This world....
Was not meant... For the harsh cruelty... Of my soul..."-Tobias
Chapter One
*Tobias*
"Do you understand the
plan?"
"Yes."
"Can you carry it out?"
"Yes."
"When will he die?"
"Within the week, sir."
"Have you confirmed
their location?"
"Yes."
"Have the others been
infected yet?"
"One has. The others
are remaining a safe distance away, sir."
The voices rang in my
head. Who they belonged to, I wasn't sure. But one clear message ran through
my head, clear as a bell. I had to infect the others. Or get away. But
I couldn't. I was tied up. A growl escaped my throat and I thrashed against
the loose ropes that held my arms pinned to my legs. The others were asleep.
They wouldn't see me if I left now...
A froth stained with
blood began to appear on my face. Suddenly, I whipped my head around and
used my teeth to rip the cords apart. And I disappeared into the night.
I opened my eyes to
find a thick amber liquid flowing into the container I was suspended in.
I began to pound on the glass, screaming for help from my friends. Where
was I?
< No use screaming,
Tobias, Son of Beast Elfangor. >A voice spat into my head, like the name
alone was a poison on the speaker's tongue.
"Visser Three."I whispered.
< Perhaps not as
dumb as you look, bastard. You realize your friends will come and try to
save you? And that I will kill them? I will make it slow and painful, payback
for the years of misery that put on me. And their deaths will be for nothing.
Because by the time they get here...You will already be gone. >Visser Three
sneered in my head, enjoying the look of pain on my face as his words rang
clear in my head.
< How does it feel,
traitor, to be the destroyer of your friends? I will kill each of them
in front of you! And I will
take pleasure in tasting Rachel's blood
in my mouth before I break her spine. >
I was now up to my
shoulders in the thick liquid that was slowly filling the chamber. I could
do nothing to him. Nothing!
"Dapsen."I howled,
as the liquid filled my lungs and placed me in suspended animation...
Before the world turned
black once again, I savored the look of rage on Visser Three's face.
Chapter Two
*Jake*
"He's gone."I whispered.
Cassie tried to stand
up again, but lost her balance and fell over. I helped her up to her feet
and grabbed a good sized length of wood-a staff, of some sorts.
"What are we going
to do?"Rachel asked, her lips trembling, threatening to break under the
force of her tears.
Erek dragged himself
slowly to his feet. Almost as if it pained him to do so.
He looked at me with
his brown eyes and smiled with his dog-like snout. "I have good news,
and bad news. You might want to take the bad news first."
I nodded my head and
all eyes turned to look at Erek.
"The wires from the
bomb reduplicate. They spreaded. They're now in Cassie's chest cavity."
The color drained from Cassie's face and she clutched the treelimb tighter.
"The good news is,
I know how to reverse it." A grin spread on my face.
"Will Tobias be better?"Rachel
asked, biting her lip, hoping against hope that he would...
Erek seemed unsure.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not."
Rachel sat down. Hard.
"So how do we make
this anti-virus thingy?"Marco asked.
Erek looked up at the
clouds floating in the light blue sky and closed his eyes for a few moments
before answering.
"Ax should be able
to construct a powerful bomb out of the remains of my body. Plant it in
the base."Erek told us, never opening his eyes, nor lowering his head.
"We won't, Erek. We
can't."Cassie cried. I was touched by the androids offer.
"You have to! Do you
think you're the only ones who are being terminated because of this infection?
It's spreading all over the country!"Erek yelled, suddenly showing a rare
flash of anger.
< I-I cannot kill
any sentinet being, Erek the Chee. >Ax told him.
Erek smiled slowly,
and his gaze wandered to where the few other Chee were watching. His eyes
resting on a vaguely female Chee.
"I have to. I created
the dogs, I helped build the pyramids, I have been the advisor of kings,
and a lowly beggar, and now it's time for me to give in return to this
world."Erek smiled sadly at us, and with a deft movement of his hand, severed
a panel on his chest and sliced through wires.
The female Chee's eyes
went wide, and she mouthed to word, "No!." Genuine tears ran down
her face, and for once, not for the benefeit of a human.
* * *
It was quick work. Ax was
able to build the bomb within the next two days. Rachel and the female
Chee seemed to form a bond over losing the ones they loved. I was amazed,
and approached the Chee one day.
"Androids can feel
love?"I asked her.
She smiled, slowly,
and sadly at me. "We are able to feel every other emotion, aren't we? We
grieve for lost
lives, we feel happiness for life, and
we love each other. We look exactly alike you when using a hologram. Even
in our regular appearence, we resemble you. Should it be any different
towards our emotions?"
I nodded my head and
squared my shoulders. Tonight we would be leaving the safety of the hidden
valley to go to the Yeerk base.
We would find Tobias.
And that's exactly
what I was afraid of.
Chapter Three
*Rachel*
"Have you noticed anything
strange?"I whispered to Cassie.
"No. Why?"
"There's no sound.
No crickets, no mosquitos, nothing."
Cassie stopped talking
for a second and listened. A suffocating silence fell over the group.
We continued walking
around the dusty dirt road in silence. I was carrying Erek's Sacrifice
in a crudely-made
backpack. And then, we came in sight of
the city. And gasped it horror.
No one was there. It
was as if the whole city had become devoid of life. As if everyone decided
to leave at once. Lights were still on, cars were still running, stoplights
still flickering...But no one was there.
Except, in the middle
of the once-bustling town, a large, black, menacing building sat, as if
watching over it's
smaller, weaker subjects.
< The Yeerk base.
>Ax informed us. As if we didn't know ourselves...
* * *
It was so easy to get in.
Almost as if the Yeerks weren't afraid of us any more. And what reason
did they have to be? They knew who and what we were. They could take control
of us as easily as they had Tobias, teasing him now and then with hopes
of freedom. It was worse than being in control of a Yeerk. Because there
was no escaping it...
We entered the building,
skulking in the shadows of the dark walls. Still, we saw no one.
There was no sound, but a slow hum coming from the end of the building.
We followed the hum.
It wasn't a gentle hum, more like a hum after you attacked a hornet's nest
with a baseball bat.
And then, we swung
open the door. And there, standing in the corner, was my most hated-and
feared-enemy.
Visser Three.
I would make him pay.
Chapter Four
*Jake*
Visser Three.
In the corner was Tobias,
suspended in a tank of what looked like clear jelly. I resisted the urge
to throw up, and swallowed a gag as I looked at him.
His skin had turned
a sickly green, his lips were cracked and bleeding, thick red welts and
gashes that spider-webbed across his face that looked like they had broke
open, scabbed, and broke open again. The skin along his torso looked blackened,
as if someone had beat him with a stick. His legs looked like they were
rotting.
Rachel, beside me,
let out a shriek of horror. I grabbed a heavy metal chair and slammed it
into the glass of the tank.
A thick gloop rushed
out onto the floor, drenching the small room. Tobias's blinked and looked
at Rachel.
"The woman must be
elliminated."He said in a voice, so cold and devoid of emotion, it sent
a chill crawling up my spine.
He grabbed onto Rachel's
neck and began to choke her to death.
"Tobias! No!"Cassie
screamed.
Tobias turned to look
at her for a second, his eyes moist.
Then he turned his
attention back to Rachel. Cassie knotted her eyebrow and slammed the heavy
iron chair into the control panel Tobias screamed in agony and clutched
his head. Rachel seized Tobias in her arms. The boy, seemingly helpless,
collapsed into her grasp. Anguished tears and screams sprang from Tobias's
lips. His voice became child-like and frightened as he curled into the
fetal position and hugged the confused warrior.
"Rachel..."Tobias's
boyish voice whispered as if through the roar of distant battle. "Destroy
this place. Go, please. Leave me to die."
"No one's going to
let you die, Tobias."Rachel whispered and met my gaze, then pulled the
shivering Tobias close. Carefully she brushed the dampened hair out of
his eyes. "He's back, Jake! Toby is back."
"Rachel, we don't have
much time. This place'll be swarming with Controller's in a minute. We
have to blow this place up. We'll take Tobias with us."
"No."Tobias's meek
voice gasped. He coughed, a mixture of scarlet and black spilling over
his chin and cheeks."Can't do that, Prince Jake. The bad things are too
strong."
Tobias was talking
like the young child we only glimpsed when at his worse. Talking of when
his uncle had beaten him, or his aunt ignored him. Tobias cringed, agony
washing over his features. He curled tighter, shaking. "The Yeerks still
want me. But you saved me. I'm free..."
Pathetically, he nuzzled
into Rachel's chest, tears streaming a river down his blood and ash smudged
face. He began to sob quietly. I squeezed his shoulder feeling my gut tighten.
I battled my tears, as I always did until the conflict was over. Tobias
was depending on me, and our time was running out.
"Yes Tobias. You're
a good kid."
"But I'm not a kid.
Funny... I don't remember growing up."Tobias turned his gaze up to sadly
look at Ax, "You can't fix me, can you Ax-man?"
Ax shook his head,
his main eyes welling up. < No, Tobias, my shorm. I cannot fix you.
>
"I know. I'm dying.
Inside out."He smirked slightly, and gazed at each of our faces, the fear
and pain fluent on his agonized eyes."My soul is dying. It rips apart your
soul. I'm not Tobias anymore. Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry that I'm
going to hurt you when I go." He huddled in the girl's comforting arms,
and allowed her to smooth out his dark hair before turning to look at her
with his blood-shot and swollen eyes, "Rachel, I need to talk to Jake and
Cassie alone, please?"
"Cassie... Jake..."I
caught a breath, seeing his lips tremble.
"It's okay, Toby, we
love you."Cassie smiled down at him.
"I know. I love you
too. I just don't show emotions too well. Kill me please. I can't live
any more." The voice
pleaded as did his dark agonized eyes.
"I can't, Tobias. Rachel
would die without you."
"You have to! I can't
get better! It's inside of me and it won't go away! It's eating at me!"
There was no other
way. The tears streamed down my face. I had once believed I wasn't a murderer.
"It's okay, Tobias."
He closed his eyes,
head dropping. For a moment I saw peace. "Do it, please."
I gripped his chin
in one hand and before Rachel could react, whipped my other arm around
his head and snapped his neck. I felt as though I was committing suicide.
Rachel froze in place
for a split second, her eyes going wide as she mouthed one word: No.
"JAKE!" Rachel's hands
slammed me into the wall. "What the hell did you DO?!"
"I did what needed
to be done! He was begging me to kill him? Are you so cruel that you'd
let him suffer so long? There was no way to save him!"
For a moment we stood
there, frozen. I knew that in her current state Rachel could kill me, and
was probably thinking about it.
Then her eyes closed
in pain and he let go, stumbling in the direction of the thing's central
core, tears streaming from her eyes. "T...Tobias?"
I felt the hair on
my neck begin to prick as I felt something important was going to happen.
Rachel suddenly pulled the bomb out, her eyes clouded as if she were blind,
and she punched in a time. One minute. Enter.
"You guys! We gotta
get out of here!"I screamed.
< Prince Jake! What's
going on? >Ax screamed over the rush of air that was filling the room.
"Your about to witness
the powers of the human soul."I murmured, and morphed to bird as fast as
I could. It usually took two minutes. It took less than thirty seconds.
"S...Sayonara, Tobias."I
heard Rachel whisper as the small building errupted into a shower of flames
that licked the sky and scorched my feathers.
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