A/N: So, instead of having an epilogue I decided to just write a longer final chapter. So this is it guys. I had fun, and I hope you enjoyed reading about the Pemalites. Oh, and yes, to answer many questions, E'rok is the same Chee we see in Animorphs as Erek. I was originally planning the epilogue to explain that, but realized that it did not fit in with the rest of the story.

I'm taking a week off and then I'll be back, working on the sequel to The Traitor. Please R/R and I'll try to return the favor. Love to all of my readers!

-T.

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Chapter Thirteen

Release

The next few weeks would be etched in my memory forever. Shortly after I received the Pemalites only salvation the situation began to worsen. When Layek fell ill, I knew that the end was near. When Layek passed, I knew that it was upon us.

Just seven Pemalites were remaining, four of which were barely clinging to life. Siran and two others were the only ones still capable of moving about the ship. I thought it a bitter piece of irony, that Siran was to seem so healthy even when I knew he was doomed.

Every time another Pemalite fell victim to the disease another pang of hatred would well up inside of me. If only we had fought the Howlers, maybe the outcome would have been different. At the very least, perhaps we could have prevented total extinction.

“E’rok?” Siran asked, as I missed the third sterin he tossed at me in a row. I shook myself from my thoughts. Siran was looking at me with mild concern, as if he was unsure how to react to my distance.

“I’m sorry, Siran.” I said, retrieving the small disc. “I was just thinking…”

“About what?” He asked, “Not about souls again?”

“A bit.” I admitted. Siran saw my worrying as foolish, and a waste of time. He had let me know as much on several occasions. In his mind, he was doomed regardless so he may as well spend the time he had left enjoying himself.

“You know –” Siran began, preparing to chastise me again. His words were cut off by a sudden onslaught of coughing.

“Siran!” I cried, rushing to his side. But he was already straightening up, a sheepish half-smile playing on his face.

“I’m fine, E’rok. Calm down.” He said.

“No.” I responded, knowing that the moment I had dreaded above all else was upon me at last, “You need to get to the medical center.”

“Why?” Siran laughed, and the joyful sound was intermingled with deep coughs. “So I can die lying down, surrounded by Chee who don’t know what to do and can only stare? No, I won’t. If I must die, I will die my way.”

I had had no idea that a Pemalite could have such a strong conviction. I suppose that the last few weeks, with so much death, had finally managed to wear a bit on Siran’s optimism. Even though he seemed cheerful enough, despite his coughing, a sort of pall had settled over him that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Alright.” I said, moved by his words, “I’ll play.”

So we played. We continued throwing the sterin to one another, and when Siran tired of that we ran just to feel the breeze on our faces. Every few paces we would pause so that Siran could catch his breath, and I could see his face twist in pain, but he insisted that we carry on. It was in the middle of a game of tag when Siran suddenly collapsed, as if his legs had been cut out from under him. A moan came up from him that had nothing to do with the fall; it was as if an animal was inside his throat, crawling to get out. I had heard that sound far too often in the past months.

Slowly, half refusing to accept what was happening, I walked over to Siran. Careful not to move him too quickly I picked his half-conscious form up and carried him towards the medical center.

“E’rok…” Siran’s voice came out twisted and raw. I was amazed at how quickly the illness had set in. It was as if his entire immune system had failed all at once.

“Shh…” I murmured, laying him down on a vacant bed. There were other Pemalites here, most of them unconscious. One was wide awake, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling: I could see the pain in them. The other Chee quickly moved out to give me privacy. They knew that I was Siran’s Chee.

“Sh…” I said again as another cry was ripped from Siran’s throat, “I’m here. Don’t worry, it’ll be alright.”

Siran’s tail moved slightly and he fell still.

I didn’t linger. Once Siran was unconscious I quickly drugged him so that he would stay asleep longer. I wanted him to be in pain for as little as possible. When I had finished I went to see the other Chee.

“Loros.” I said, trying to ignore the tearing feeling I felt. “How many?”

“We are down to six Pemalites.” She said, her eyes following mine to the medical center. Since the Pemalites began falling more rapidly we rarely took down our holograms. It was our one source of strength, at the moment. “All are ill.” She added.

“And how long….how long until we get to the planet?” I asked.

“We will arrive late tomorrow. With any luck…” Loros trailed off. I didn’t need her to finish her statement. We both knew what she meant.

“Yeah. With luck.” I said. I left her then, going to stand by myself and think. Layek had been very clear of the requirements of his serum. It was only nearly complete, not entirely. The final ingredient had to be added immediately before I injected it into the animal. Blood from a living Pemalite.

“Please, hold on.” I murmured, not entirely sure if I was speaking to myself or the unhearing Pemalites.

---

When we arrived at the planet we found that it had changed greatly from when the Pemalites had last visited. The primary sentient species had advanced greatly, no longer congregating in feeble hunter-gatherer groups. Now they had cities, thousands strong. The wilderness, however, was vastly unchanged. It was there that we went.

Miraculously all six of the Pemalites had managed to cling to life. Siran’s condition had worsened, and the drugs which had kept him unconscious were no longer working. Every time he cried out it was as if my entire system was being shocked.

“This place is different.” Loros said. We were standing at the helm of the ship, looking out at the wilderness. There was a sort of forest in front of us, with deep green leaves and dark brown bases. Everywhere I looked I saw green, none of the brilliant colors of the Pemalite world. The very air itself seemed pale, washed out. A single medium-sized star was nothing in comparison to the rich double-suns that had warmed our air.

“Should we go out?” I asked, unsure of how to proceed. We needed to hunt down these four-legged animals that so resembled our masters, and we needed to do it quickly.

“Not yet.” Loros said, giving me a disdainful look. “I recalibrated our sensors to look for this species Layek set you to find. Once one comes close, we can capture it with a tractor beam and you can complete this…process.”

I hadn’t told the other Chee precisely what it was I was going to do. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. After all, if it didn’t work….regardless, I had told Loros and the others that I had a job set to me by Layek, and that was enough for them.

“We don’t know how long that will take.” I protested. “And we don’t know how long we have left. We need to get this taken care of as soon as possible.”

As if to punctuate my opinion another Chee approached us, his holographic face distraught. “We lost three in the past fifteen minutes.” He said. I felt my body seize up.

“Siran….?” I asked.

“Is still with us.” The Chee said, smiling sadly, “Barely.”

I relaxed my hologram. There was still time. Not much, but perhaps enough.

“Loros.” I said, redirecting my attention to the problem at hand, “We need to get one of these creatures immediately.”

“I can try to capture one on long-range sensors.” Loros said, looking down at the computer controls, “But it will be risky. The creature will die unless just the right amount of energy is used.”

“I don’t care.” I said, “Do it.”

Loros made a sound that clearly indicated her disapproval. It didn’t bother me; her opinion was the last of my worries. We were here, on our new world, and Siran was dying, and Layek’s last hope lay in one syringe which I held in my holographic paws.

“I’ve got one.” Loros said after a moment, “There is a group of eight or so not too far away. I think I can capture it and draw it closer safely.” She was silent for a long moment as she worked, “Yes, I’ve got it. I’m drawing it closer. It looks as if the others are following…”

I had heard enough. It was time. Quickly I moved to the medical center and assessed the situation. Of the three surviving Pemalites Siran was the furthest from death, with minutes rather than seconds. I picked his fragile body up in my arms and made way for the main hatch.

“E’rok, can you tell us –” Loros had come up behind me, looking alarmed at the fact that I had Siran in my arms.

“No.” I interrupted. “Just trust me. I need Siran for this to work. Is the animal here?”

“Yes, it’s being held by a tractor. But there are seven others there as well. I’m coming out with you.” Loros said, “We don’t know anything about this world, it could be dangerous.”

I nodded my silent agreement and opened the hatch.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped out into fresh air was the unbelievable lightness I felt. The thick metal that made up my physical being might as well have been air. I was so shocked by the transition that I almost dropped Siran.

“Lighter gravity.” Loros commented, glancing down at a small sensor she held in her hand, “3.8 times lighter than the gravity of our world.”

“You could have warned me.” I commented, quickly returning to the task at hand. Just as Loros had said there were eight large beasts in front of me, vaguely resembling the Pemalite I held in my arms. Before I knew about the change in gravity I had been worried about this part of the process. Siran was weak, my programming would not allow me to harm these creatures, and they looked mean.

Now I did not worry so much about the animals as Siran as I moved slowly towards the one being held immobile by the tractor beam. They watched me warily, and one or two snarled at me, but I paid them no mind. They seemed to be afraid of approaching something which smelled so alien, and I used this to my advantage. Loros kept in front of me, ready to hold them back if need be.

Being painstakingly careful I laid Siran on the ground next to the animal. He coughed and opened his eyes halfway. For a moment they gazed around, unseeing, until he managed to focus on my face.

“E’rok…I’m dying.” Siran said, his voice an echo of what it had once been.

“I know.” I said, taking the syringe from Loros as she handed it to me.

“I’ll be…” he paused, breathing deeply, “I’ll be with Tirah soon. And Layek.” A ghost of a smile flickered across his face, but faded quickly. “But….not you…”

“You will be with me.” I said soothingly. I worked quickly as I talked. Siran didn’t even notice as I pricked him with the syringe and drew it out, his blood intermingling with Layek’s concoction. I shook the syringe, making sure that it was completely mixed.

“E’rok…” Siran said, and now he was too weak to cough even. The sound caught in his throat, a wretched gagging noise. His agony was too great for me to bear. If I could have, I would have died in his stead right then. Instead, I switched off my hologram so that he couldn’t see my pain.

“Shh..” I said, placing my free hand on his forehead, “Rest now, Siran. It will all be just fine.” He seemed to nod complacently at that, and slowly his eyes closed. For awhile I watched him breathe, each intake of air further and further apart until finally he exhaled and his body grew still.

“E’rok.” Loros said from behind me, her voice full of sympathy. I ignored her. I had a job to do, and then, only then, could I allow myself to grieve. I pulled away from Siran’s body and turned to the animal. It looked at me with vicious, angry eyes that were so different from my friends. But it was held tight by the tractor beam and could not move so much as a molecule. My android body reached through the energy beam easily and pressed the needle against the creature’s skin. Within a moment I had emptied the syringe into its bloodstream.

I had hoped that I would feel something. Some sense of satisfaction. Some release similar to that the Pemalites felt when they celebrated the release of a soul. In reality, though, I felt nothing. I had no way of knowing whether or not the solution had worked.

Loros and I returned to the ship, carrying Siran’s corpse. Once inside we released the animal and it ran off with its pack mates, looking as if nothing had happened.

“Did it work?” Loros asked.

“I don’t know.” I admitted, “I suppose, if it worked, we will know in time.”

“Ah.” Loros said. “Well, time is something we have plenty of.”

“Unlike our masters.” I said quietly.

“Yes,” She said ruefully, “Unlike our masters.”

We took Siran’s body back to the medical center and laid him beside the other dead. The other Chee were in their, looking on. For a long while we stood in silence, all that remained of the great Pemalite race.

“Loros?” I said, after the silence had become too much to bear.

“Yes, E’rok?” She asked.

“Would you like to play?” For a moment I thought I might be reprimanded for ruining the solemnity of the moment. But then her hologram broke out into a wide smile. We left the medical bay and together the Chee celebrated the final release of the Pemalite souls.