Author's Note: Grrrrr! Why the hell doesn't my formatting show up properly anymore on this site?! Anyway, annoyance aside, here is the next part, having to do with Elfangor.  Now, I know that introducing a third human, Maria, into it instead of just having Loren and Chapman, is a bit strange but, trust me, the idea of having Arbron and Maria together does have a purpose. I'm not one for story maps, usually – I normally write it as I go (as I'm doing here) – but I do know what I'm going to do with all the characters. Well, most of them…anyway, please R&R, and any extra feedback to nova_mist@yahoo.com Thank you! Oh and, Angel of Music? I like the idea you presented in your review! Send me an email, okies? ^_^ Thanks!

Another Author's Note: remember, this is AU, so I can change things around a bit. ^_^

~ Paths of Fate ~

Book One: Resurrection

4.

Elfangor felt nothing but pain as the jaws of the Visser's monstrous morph closed around him, cutting his nerves to shreds, trying not to scream in pain, and he was succeeding, until the Visser bit straight through him.

ARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! Elfangor screamed in agony, and then he felt himself go limp, and everything around him grow dim, but he also felt something else. A feeling of detachment from the world around him. Almost as if he was watching all that was going on through someone else's eyes.

YOU COULD SAY THAT.

Elfangor's blood ran cold. He knew that voice. He hated that voice. It was the voice that had ruined his entire life. Elfangor spun around to face the voice's source, hatred burning in his eyes.

What do you want?! Elfangor spat angrily.

TO REPAIR THE FABRIC OF YOUR FATE, ELFANGOR-SIRINIAL-SHAMTUL,

An incredible anger rose up in Elfangor. I've heard that before, you told me you'd "repair the fabric of my fate", and you ruined my life! Elfangor snarled.  And if you're planning on ruining my life any further, you're not going to.

I MADE A MISTAKE, ELFANGOR, YOU WERE MEANT TO FOLLOW A DIFFERENT PATH,

Elfangor was about to say something, when he stopped himself. He inwardly repeated the words that had just been said to him, and computed them. He took them, twisted them around, trying to detect some hidden meaning behind them, some silent sub-text. But he found none.

After a moment, Elfangor finally spoke. What do you mean? he asked, a little defeated that he was actually asking one of the creatures he hated most a question.

The air opened up around him, and an old man stepped through. He was wearing long robes, had long silver hair and a matching beard, and his ears were swept up into points. He looked like a wizard he had once seen a picture of in a book Loren had shown him.

"I made a…mistake in the timeline, Elfangor, " the old man said, cautiously.

A mistake? Elfangor said in a voice so calm it made the old man uncomfortable.  Elfangor rolled his eyes upward, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. A…mistake?

Elfangor walked around in a circle for a minute or two, and then walked back towards the old man. He leaned in very close, so he was looking the old man in the eyes. If you think that messing up my life like that is a mistake, then you are actually right, for once, Elfangor sneered. In the back of his mind, it did indeed occur to him that yelling at a being such as the "old man" in front of him might not be such a bright idea, but what did he have to lose? So what if it made the old man mad? Besides, he was probably just going to let Elfangor go back and die again.

But, to Elfangor's surprise, the old man did nothing of the sort. The old man hung his head, looking truly ashamed of himself. "It is an understatement to call what I did to you and you wife and son a mistake, but it is a mistake I am willing to fix, just as I fixed the mistake I made when I dealt your friend Arbron a cruel fate." The old man said quietly.

Arbron? Elfangor asked, confusedly. He's still alive?

The old man nodded. "He is now." The old man said. "And he has been dealt a far happier fate. Just as you deserve."

Elfangor was truly relieved to find out that Arbron was still alive, but wasn't quite sure if he trusted the old man. Prove it. Elfangor snapped at the old man. Prove that Arbron is alive and happy.

The old man smiled to himself. So much for being a reasonably trusting individual, he thought to himself, referring to Elfangor.

"Very well," the old man replied, and in front of Elfangor's eyes, a portal opened up, and through it he could see Arbron, as an Andalite, standing next to Elfangor, Loren, and another human female he didn't recognise. He saw himself morph to his familiar human form, and Arbron morph to human as well. They were both grinning, as were Loren, and the female Elfangor didn't recognise. Many things flashed by, all very quickly, a timeline of events spanning about a decade. Elfangor relieved his and Loren's wedding day, and saw Arbron and the female Elfangor saw before marry. Arbron and his wife had a daughter, who was born about a month after Tobias.

Elfangor was quiet for a moment. He looks very happy. he said finally. He turned to face the old man. That other me looked very happy as well. he added. He paused for a moment, trying to compose himself. Those images of himself happy with his wife and son, and Arbron happy as well, with a wife and daughter of his own, were almost too much.  But why do you want to help us? Elfangor finally asked.

"Perhaps, if I show you the alternative fate that greets your wife and son, as well as the other youths you gave the morphing power to, it will explain the answer to your question better than my words could." The old man said in reply.

Elfangor nodded, and was about to say something, when the portal opened up again, and he was assaulted with images of pain, terror, and heartache for his son and Loren, as well as the other youths he gave the morphing power to – the Animorphs, as the called themselves – and his brother, Aximili, who joined them about a month or so after they first received the power.

Elfangor forgot that the old man was there after a few moments, and stood there with his hand over the place his mouth would be in human form. He cried in his hearts when he saw his wife's car crash, and the subsequent amnesia she developed because of it. The old man could feel the hate Elfangor directed towards him for causing all this.

But it was nothing like the hate Elfangor felt towards the old man when he saw his son's fate. Trapped as a red-tailed hawk during the Animorphs' first battle at the Yeerk Pool, tricked by the Ellimist into staying a bird nothlit, a captured and tortured by Sub-Visser fifty-one. Tobias was screaming in agony, and Elfangor couldn't hold it off any longer.

Let me help him! Let me save my son! Elfangor screamed at the old man.

The old man was startled – but not necessarily shocked – over Elfangor's sudden outburst. Then he smiled to himself. "Tobias is very lucky to have a father who loves him so much," the old man said to Elfangor, remembering his own father and mother, and remembering the sadness he felt when they were killed, when they perished with the rest of his…

This is no time to be getting into that! The old man told himself sternly. I have to help Elfangor and Arbron first.

Elfangor looked at him a little strangely. The old man looked almost wistful, as if remembering a time from long ago. Don't worry about him, worry about Tobias! he snapped at himself.

Let me help him! Elfangor snapped again. Please, let me save my son! Elfangor said desperately. He's dying! he screamed.

The old man looked at Tobias, and then at Elfangor. "Go to him." The old man told Elfangor. Elfangor nodded, and was transported with Tobias to a forest – with a strange blend of human and Andalite plants, much like the little universe that Loren, himself and Visser Three had created so long ago.

Tobias, Elfangor said to his son. Don't be afraid. he gently pressed the flat of his blade to Tobias's forehead, passing his memories to him through the DNA they shared. Elfangor was glad that he had kept himself partially Andalite in human form, even if it was only the colour of his eyes, so that he could pass the memories to Tobias. he was also grateful that he remembered what he had heard about the utzum ceremony that ancient healers performed.

But it seemed that that would not be enough. Tobias would need some extra encouragement to go back. You are not alone in your suffering, Tobias. Elfangor told him gently, soothingly. You may die, but never alone. You are one in a legion of warriors. Valiant Andalites who have died for freedom. Your lineage is courage and bravery. If you live, you carry our torch. A burden carried by many. A singular honour…  

Elfangor sent a final surge of his memories to his son, hoping to save him, but knowing that if Tobias did die, it would at least ease his passage to death.

But Tobias was holding onto the pinpoint that was life. Hold the pinpoint, Tobias! Hold onto it! Elfangor silently told him. Out of respect for life, you have to endure. Elfangor whispered to Tobias. The torture device flickered and stopped. Elfangor felt a surge of joy rise in his heart, when he saw that his son had survived. I love you, my son, Elfangor said quietly, his final words to Tobias as the Ellimist transported him back to his realm.

+++++

I still don't really understand why you want to help me. Elfangor said to the old man after a few long moments of silence.

The old man looked at the Andalite War-Prince in surprise. Does Elfangor truly think that I'm that cold-hearted? he asked himself.  "Then perhaps I should show you Loren's fate." The old man said.

You mean before or after the car-crash that you caused? Elfangor sneered angrily.

The old man hung his head again. "After," he said after a moment, and opened the portal again.

The old man didn't dare look at Elfangor while he watched the playing out of Loren's fate. You blinded her, you bastard! Elfangor screamed in anger. You left her blind, scarred and stamped clinically insane!

"Now you see why I wish to repair your's and Arbron's fates, because by doing that, I will also repair Loren and Tobias's fates." The old man cut in quickly.

Elfangor looked at the old man once again. All right, repair the fabric of my fate. Elfangor said sharply. And do it properly this time!

The old man nodded, and closed his eyes, concentrating on the timelines he could now see. He smiled slightly as he found Elfangor's, and then proceeded to adjust it ever so slightly…

Suddenly, something occurred to Elfangor. Wait! Where will I end up? What planet? What year will…

But he was already gone. The "old man" smiled, and disappeared.

He just hoped this would all work out for the best.

Another Annoying Author's Note: What do you people think? Should I continue? What do you think should happen? Got any ideas? I'd love to hear from you. Either review this story and tell me, or, if you want a more personal approach or whatever, email me at nova_mist@yahoo.com The next part might not be up for a while, but I guess that's reasonable, because I already have 5 chapters and the prologue up. Anyway, please review! Thank you!