The children find that a straggler from Elfangor's previous battle has followed him to his hiding spot. He crashes into the bank, roaring his challenge to the Andalite and reengaging combat, and with his father's life on the line, Tobias struggles to give Elfangor the advantage he needs in order to survive his monstrous assailant.

The Dying Star IV

"DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HIDE?!" A voice exclaimed from inside the bank. It was definitely not Elfangor's.

"Oh crap… Is that a Controller?" Rachel asked Tobias in a concerned voice.

"Maybe. I… I don't know, I've never even –"

Tobias was unable to finish before Elfangor was thrown through the walls of the bank. He rolled as he landed and stopped several dozen feet away.

"Father!" Tobias cried out fearfully, reflexively reaching forward. He caught himself just before his hand went past the barrier.

We looked at the hole to see his attacker walk out. It was human, wearing what looked to be a black jumpsuit… except even from this distance I could see that it… wasn't. Many parts of his body had mechanical replacements, including… a tail? I thought I was seeing things at first, but it was hard to miss after he stepped out of the hole. It was longer than his entire body! And, mind you, it wasn't a tail like a cat's or a dog's. It had a blade at the end of it.

"You… you… YOU ABOMINATION!" the… thing screamed with rage as he ran over to Elfangor.

While all my normal friends and I could do was hope that the new subject of our nightmares wouldn't spot us through the invisibility field somehow, Tobias was desperately searching through his bag. He picked up a bunch objects that I didn't recognize, though some of them were obviously alien weapons. He settled on something that looked like a pistol with a long barrel covered in some kind of pods, and aimed it at the Controller.

Meanwhile, Elfangor was actually getting up somehow. That heightened pain tolerance is no joke. Just as he did though, the Controller reached him and pushed him back on the ground, then started pounding on his head.

I winced. Not only could I hear him screaming in fury, but I heard every metallic punch connect with his head from all the way over here.

I heard Tobias let out a whisper that I almost didn't catch. "No," he said before putting the weapon he had on the ground and continuing to desperately rummage through his bag.

"WHY AREN'T YOU SCREAMING?!" the monster shrieked in fury before stopping his assault and grabbing him by the collar. "Come on, throw me your bones. Die screaming, just like your friends!"

At the last word the freak threw Elfangor.

"Aaaaaargh!" Tobias' father shouted. He sailed until he hit a tree so hard the impact left a dent in it and snapped off a thick branch.

Then he stopped moving. His head lolled to the side and faced us. His eyes were lifeless.

"No…" Cassie said, her hands over her mouth. Everyone winced in pain.

Rachel took her friend in her arms to comfort her. "It'll be okay, it'll be okay," she reassured her. "It's just like Tobias said, he can't hurt us here!"

If we hadn't listened… If we went for the mineshaft just five seconds later…

"How disappointing," the monster said with clenched teeth. "But… just to be absolutely sure…" It raised its tail blade to the point where it looked like a scorpion. He slowly walked over to Elfangor, partially crouched down, arms forward, hands open.

I looked one last time at Tobias' father for signs of movement, but he didn't move a muscle.

"I'm sorry, but –" I said before noticing what was now in his gloved hand.

A crystal, a long jagged purple crystal.

"Wait," I said hurriedly. "I don't think he's out yet, Elfangor's got a crystal!" I said.

"A what?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Jake's right, there's a Critaggium Crystal in his hand!" Tobias said, excited and hopeful.

"How is the crystal not mauling his hand right now?" Marco whispered.

"Apparently, it has to touch a living creature with nothing in between in order to activate," Tobias explained. "Dad still has a chance!"

"A snowball's chance in Hell more like!" Marco said fearfully. "Look at him, how much of those superhuman abilities do you think he has left? Even though that's not his true form, for all intents and purposes your dad's a regular human, right?"

Tobias opened his mouth, before closing it again. He was speechless for a while. "Well… My dad can play dead like no one else," he said eventually, while looking forward at the fight grimly.

Marco didn't know what to say to that.

The monster picked up Elfangor by his collar, then raised him to the air, his lifeless expression passing out of view. I saw the monstrosity move its tail out to the side, then it started swinging like an arm using a lasso. Part of his tail seemingly became loose and started swinging faster and faster, so fast that it became a blur. Then the cyborg's tail changed positions again, about to move to cut off his head.

Then like lightning, Elfangor struck!

"Haaaah!" With a shout Elfangor thrust the crystal towards the tail that was moving to cut off his head at the exact same time. It happened in a blur at breakneck speed.

"AaaaaAaAaAaAaARGH!" the cyborg let out a terrifying sound of pure agony that couldn't possibly have come from the throat of a human. We all covered our ears in pain at the deafening roar. I glanced at Tobias to see his expression unchanged, staring stoically at the encounter with a subdued expression of hope.

The tail retracted and the tip of it convulsed in pain. Tobias' dad was untouched!

"Yes!" I silently cheered behind my teeth.

Elfangor was quick to act, again thrusting the crystal. He hit the tail again, closer to the base this time.

AaaaaAaAAAAGRRRGH!" the Controller shouted as he let go of Tobias' father and sunk to his knees.

Elfangor thrust again, piercing the leg above the knee. Just as he did, purple crystals began to emerge from the monstrosity's tail. It looked so… wrong, it made me want to puke!

The cyborg retaliated with its bare hands, swinging at him lightning quick. But Elfangor dodged.

"Tobias, you said it should only do that to flesh!" Marco accused.

"It does, but I've never seen… this thing before! The tail has to be partly organic!"

"So a mutant cyborg?" Marco asked incredulously.

The crystals grew to the point where the monster's tail fell off at the tip, and close to the base where he was stabbed a second time. The cyborg was now at a major disadvantage. His tail was practically gone, only a foot of it was left. Still, he powered through the pain and kept trying to grab Elfangor with his lightning quick hands.

Not quick enough, though, and his amputation put him off balance. Several times a second the arms swung for him, but he dodged them every time.

"Oh my God, look at him go!" Rachel laughed with a wide smile on her face, rightfully impressed with the superhuman dodging she was witnessing.

Nevertheless, the cyborg's fists were moving faster. The near-misses became more frequent and more narrow.

Then the cyborg suddenly kicked out with his uninjured leg. Elfangor stabbed with the crystal again in response, piercing the cyborg's knee. But it wasn't enough. He hit Elfangor right in the gut where his injury was. He jumped back several feet.

We all winced. I saw Elfangor vomit a pint of red blood out of his mouth and nose. He barely managed to land on his feet. Then he leaned down, cradling his gut. Elfangor then threw away the shard. It landed on the other side of the bank.

"Well, guess I hit a weak spot!" the cyborg laughed mockingly. "It's dangerous to go alone!" he said in a fake, condescending old-man's voice, as he limped over to where Tobias' dad was. "Take THIS!" he suddenly shouted before smashing his hand on his left collarbone. I heard it shatter from all the way out here. Elfangor's fell to his knees, pale-faced.

"Why you-!" I moved forward in fury, automatically leaning down to pick up Tobias' gun. I took aim but before I could pull the trigger…

"Jake, no!" he said, holding me back, lowering my arm.

"Let go of me!" I practically shouted.

"That gun shoots homing missiles, you'll kill them both!"

I stopped resisting. All I could do was stare at the brutality unfolding, powerless to do anything. I heard Tobias continue to desperately rummage through his bag.

How can we fight that? What can we do to fight that?!

"For a cripple, you put up an amazing fight," the monster said as he limped over to where Elfangor was. "Even using our own weapons against us."

"So, it is a controller," Marco whispered.

"You were cunning, the deadliest adversary I've yet to fight. But all things come to an end, even you, your death is here and now."

"This… isn't over… abomination," Elfangor managed to gasp out.

"This, no," the cyborg agreed with Elfangor as its hand reached out for him. "This is just the beginning. But your life is done."

Then, impossibly, I saw Elfangor summon one last vestige of strength and jump to the monster's side, his right arm hanging limply. He extended his left arm, and tendrils came out of it. Elfangor smashed his left fist in the back of the cyborg's head, it went to its knees, stunned.

I saw Elfangor grab both of his arms, gritting through the pain, and put them behind his attacker's back. The tendrils wrapped around the cyborg's arms, thickening into alien ropes that tied the cyborg's arms behind his back.

"You think these binds can hold me?" The cyborg said cockily, trying to tear his arms free.

"No," Elfangor said with finality. "They can't."

The tendrils then disconnected from Elfangor's arm, and he jumped forward on to the cyborg's back and put his left arm over him. The cyborg tried to shake the Andalite off, but combined with his injured legs, he was truly immobilized. Tobias' father then turned to the mineshaft.

"Tobias, the rocket!" he cried at the top of his lungs.

What? I thought in disbelief, then I looked to the rocket launcher on the floor.

"No…" Tobias said in despair and horror. He had an expression on his face that indicated his worst nightmare was coming true "Not you… too…"

My eyes widened in horror at what was going to happen.

"You're not the only one?!" The cyborg said in anger, I heard Tobias pick up the rocket launcher and aim it at the both of them.

"Where is it?!" It shrieked in anger, then it's eyes locked on to the mineshaft.

"FIRE!" Elfangor repeated. "OPEN FIRE!"

The cyborg's eyes locked on to us, then widened in horror and he struggled even harder to break free. "What?! You're insane! You'll kill us both!"

Tobias' gun made a beep noise, and then his voice was… somehow in our heads.

((I love you, Dad.))

"No… NOOO!" The cyborg cried out, the bindings beginning to snap.

Then the rocket was launched. Elfangor then loosened his grip, then kick jumped off of his attacker's shoulders behind him.

The cyborg broke free, but at the exact moment he did the rocket reached its target and exploded just below his neck.

It was the loudest thing I've ever heard. The cyborg was consumed in fire and smoke in an instant, and a massive cloud of dust was kicked up. I saw dark bits raining down from the sky a second later, then saw something large land close to us.

It was his skull. The jaw was gone, but some metal bits were still attached to it, including steel teeth.

The cloak deactivated and Tobias immediately ran to where his father was.

"Tobias!" I called out to him, giving chase. The others followed me.

We ran for what felt like forever, but it was only half a minute. As we got closer to the blast zone, we heard our footsteps fall on what could only be described as scorched earth. It crunched like stepping on broken glass. When I eventually caught up to Tobias, his father was on his back, held in his son's arms. Somehow still alive.

"What was that… thing?" Marco asked him.

"That… was…" he started, struggling to get it out. "… a remnant Mercora cyborg, created as living war machines for their army. I thought we had destroyed them all, but that one must have survived, was repaired… infested and then… tracked me here."

He coughed. "Children, listen close… You must find… the Last Recorder… If you don't, then, it means, the end of all things."

Then he turned to Tobias. "My son… don't, let them go… don't you ever… let them go," the Andalite said in a gasping voice.

"Dad!" Tobias said.

"The coordinates are… 40, 18'29.2… degrees North, and…160… West…"

Coordinates?

"I love you my son," Elfangor barely managed to whisper before closing his eyes and laying his head on the grass.

Then he went still.

"No, no no no no!" Tobias said rapidly as he cradled his father. He held his hand, which was now limp.

"You can't fade here!" Tobias cried out in a piercing voice sharp with denial.

We all stood silently, not sure what to do.

"Get up! I said get up!" Tobias cried out desperately before putting the palm of his hand to his dad's chest. I heard a boom go off, as a light briefly shone underneath Tobias' hand. Tobias was trying to restart Elfangor's heartbeat.

He put his head to Elfangor's chest, listening.

His eyes narrowed. He shook his head and repeated the procedure.

"Come on, get up!" Tobias said more desperately.

Boom.

"This isn't your time to die. You said so yourself, father. Get up!"

Boom.

"Come on, we came so far!"

Boom.

Boom.

boom.

He kept going at it for several minutes, but it was no use. Elfangor's body spasmed less and less with each subsequent jolt, until eventually it stopped moving at all.

I felt like I should've said something, or helped him somehow, but what could I have done or said? What do you say to someone who practically just had to shoot his dad with a rocket launcher?

Cassie figured it out eventually. She just walked forward and put her hand on his shoulder. He stopped, and sat like that for a while, letting his tears fall on his father's chest.

Tobias slowly rose to his feet and whispered in disbelief. "No… no… you can't… after everything…"

Tobias reared his head and let out a howl of despair and anguish to the sky.

He beat the ground, as tears came out of his eyes. "He's gone!"

Cassie, not knowing what else she can say, backed up to me.

Tobias pulled the trigger. The cyborg was dead, but… he's gone, Elfangor's gone.

"First mother, then the others, not you too! Anyone but you! How can I do this without you, Dad?!"

Cassie burst in tears and cried into my chest. I looked to Rachel and saw her barely holding back her own, but moved forward to hug Tobias. He didn't reject. Marco looked stunned, like he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Why? Why have we been denied everything? EVEN OUR RIGHT TO DIE IN PEACE?!" Tobias roared at the heavens before getting down on his knees, causing Rachel to back off. Right then, I heard a thunderclap in the distance.

Tobias looked up to the sky, at the clouds. The wind blew his hair.

"Their light…" Tobias said in a broken, hollow, and defeated voice. "Everyone's gone, they're all gone. Their light has sunken into the earth forever. I'm the only one left. Oh God, what have those monsters done? I'm last remaining…" Tobias stopped in the middle of his sentence as if he couldn't go on.

"Tobias…" I said, kneeling down next to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

When I touched him, I was shocked at first because it was numb. Then I remembered; the effects of the cube won't wear off for several hours.

I then felt Cassie leave my embrace and walk over to Tobias on the scorched earth. She laid the cube down gently next to him, then backed away.

"He went down swinging," I heard Marco say. Tobias went completely still, not even his silent shuddering breaths could be heard. "Your father went down swinging Tobias, he took his killer with him. That's a better end than a lot of people had, and will have. Certainly better than my mom's." Marco finished, choking at the memory. Tobias nodded in acknowledgement.

His silence carried on for a long time. Eventually, Tobias took Elfangor's arms and crossed them over his chest.

"Go," he finally said.

"What?" I asked him.

"Go back to where you came from. A storm is coming… You'll get soaked…"

"Guys, he's right, we need to go," Rachel said, walking away. "We've been here too long, the councillors are probably turning the camp upside down looking for us."

I nodded, and took the first step toward, but just then Tobias spoke again.

"Jake," he said. I looked behind myself to see him staring at me.

"The last of the Andalites are gone from this world, excluding Visser Three," he continued, his voice clear and determined. "If their spirits are going to find any rest, then we must take him down. With Elfangor gone, you're the leader now."

"Tobias…" I said. "I-"

"Go, commander," he said, his voice breaking again. "I'll remain here and… tend to the fallen, and make sure nobody else is coming. Go!"

And like that we were out of there. We ran. When we got to the outside of the ghost town I looked back in time to hear Tobias let out one more wail of grief to the heavens, far louder than before. I will never forget that howling voice carried by the wind.

We got to the upper trail we came from, and when we got to the woods around the camp it was beginning to rain. We avoided any serious punishments due to Marco saying that nothing bad happened. Yeah, right. The worst we got was a scolding.

We got through the rest of the camp day acting like it was any other. When the bus came to pick us up, we all boarded and spent the rest of the ride in a catatonic state.

It had sunk in for me then, we were alone. No Andalites, no human military, just four kids against the worst alien invasion we've ever suffered.

No, not just four of us. Tobias was on our side too, and he has a good amount of alien tech skill. Still, the nightmare had just begun, and it was clear then, that we weren't going to wake up for a very long time.

As always credit goes to flaks 314 for editing another chapter of this fanfiction. [EDIT: And for noticing a few inconsistencies in the chapter, this chapter has been edited for the sake of ensuring your reading experience is optimal.]

And since the last chapter's been updated, there has been surprisingly few views, what happened guys? This is the longest one yet, please review, it gives me great motivation and helps fuel my fire, any review would be nice!