We would be able to move faster if you were to climb on my back the way you did before, Elfangor said, deciding that his newly discovered feelings for Loren could be discussed at a later date.

"Yeah, I guess we would."

Hefting herself back up onto Elfangor's back, Loren held on as he started to gallop again. Elfangor was almost sure at this point that he and Loren were inside a hyper-dimensional spiral. He was also fairly confident that they would find the Time Matrix at the center of the spiral. But he was also a bit worried that Visser Thirty-two might have figured that part of the puzzle out before he had.

The landscapes were starting to mix more thoroughly now, and it was becoming more difficult to avoid those areas that had been created to resemble the Yeerk world. Finally, Elfangor came across a wide expanse of Yeerkish territory that was directly in their path.

"I - I think we have to go through this," Loren said with a shudder of distaste.

I think you are right, Loren. Though I don't like it any more than you do, Elfangor thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath, and trying to quash the persistent feeling of unease he had at the thought of just walking blindly into the territory of his greatest enemy. Elfangor took a tentative step into the Yeerk area. The intense humidity hit him like a solid wall, more humidity than Elfangor had ever felt in his life. It was also hotter in that area than it was in either the Earthlike landscapes or the Andalite areas.

Elfangor was not hungry, for which he was very grateful, but the sparse Yeerk foliage would have probably made him lose his appetite. As they ventured further in, Elfangor and Loren saw another one of those plant/creatures that Elfangor had seen when he had been searching for Loren. It slid out of its hole with a sound like wet cloth being dragged over gravel, then it started to lick the air in a circle around its hole.

Luckily though, Elfangor was far enough out of its range that it didn't try to eat them. It was not as though he couldn't have handled the creature if it had attacked, but it would have cost them a fair amount of time. Time was something Elfangor did not want to waste. As they ventured still further into the Yeerkish territory, they both began to lose some of the optimism that seeing each other again had caused. The landscape around them seemed to be adding to the feelings of depression and uncertainty that were building in both of them.

Finally, they came to the edge of the Yeerk landscape and gratefully stepped over it. They had arrived in the Andalite countryside again. It was a place Loren was starting to like almost as much as the valleys and meadows she had seen on Earth. Elfangor was looking around carefully, since he had recognized something about this particular area.

It came to him rather abruptly: this was the scoop that belonged to his friend Allania-Essal-Corrosi. Elfangor wondered whether or not Allania would be in his scoop, before deciding that he would rather not find out how well he had recreated his friend from memory.

"Is that your home?" Loren asked suddenly.

No. That is the scoop of a friend's family.

"Well, maybe your friend's home. How about we go see if we can find him?"

Elfangor sighed. That is something I was hoping you would not suggest.

"Why?"

Have you already forgotten about your mother? Or that McDonald person? I don't want to have to face my friend that way.

"Oh, all right then." Loren said, sounding not the least bit put-out. "After all, we still need to find the Time Matrix so we can get out of this funhouse-mirror world."

Indeed, Elfangor agreed, although he hadn't the slightest idea what a funhouse-mirror was.

Unexpectedly Elfangor's right forehoof caught on a rock, nearly causing him to knock Loren into his back. Loren, for her part, was staring in shock at her fingernails. They had grown a little under half an inch, and she could still see them growing!

"Elfangor! Elfangor, something weird's happening to my fingernails," Loren said, managing to control the slight hint of panic that had crept into her voice when she had first seen her nails growing that fast.

Elfangor turned his stalk-eyes back so that he could get a look a Loren's fingernails. What he saw was not very reassuring, her fingernails were more than half an inch longer than they had been when he had found her. As a matter of fact, her hair was somewhat longer as well.

Your hair has grown as well, Loren.

Loren ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "God, it's grown an inch, it would have taken a couple weeks for it to get this long normally. What's going on here?"

We are beginning to age more rapidly than we would in the outside universe. My hooves are growing about as fast as your nails, that was why I almost tripped. It is something I was concerned about, as we get nearer to the center of this spiral universe, time is going to start moving faster than it does in the outer regions.

"Then we'd better hurry up," Loren said, not wanting to spend any more time then she had to in this bizarre place.

Without another word, Elfangor set off at a rapid clip, being very careful to lift his overgrown hooves well clear of the ground. The entire universe was becoming less and less distinct. Andalite, Earth, and Yeerkish patches were no longer clearly separated from one another by definable borders, instead they were all starting to swirl together like melting ice cream.

Loren thought it was starting to look like some kind of abstract painting, even the sky seemed to be mixed all together. In fact, it looked lower in some places than it was in others. Though how that was possible, Loren didn't have a clue.

"Well, this is certainly unusual," to Loren even her voice was swirly, making it sound like some strange, alien music.

Elfangor did trip then, throwing Loren right off his back. Loren just managed to get her hands under her as she rolled, coming to a stop just a few feet away from where Elfangor had fallen. Loren looked over at him and had to stifle a gasp. His hooves were longer than her fingernails! No wonder he'd tripped, it could not have been easy to walk - let alone gallop - on those oversized things.

"Elfangor, are you all right?"

No, Loren, but I will be better shortly.

He's remarkably calm for a guy who can't walk, Loren thought appreciatively. It was good to have someone who didn't panic under pressure, even more so when you had to deal with off-the-wall situations like these. As she watched, Elfangor began to cut off the excess hoof with quick swipes of his bladed tail. It was a pretty good job for someone who had probably never had to trim his own hooves before, but as soon as he finished, his hooves had started to grow out again.

Loren looked down at her own hands, and began to wish she'd brought that pair of nail-clippers she'd seen on her desk at "home". They were still growing and had now reached a length of two inches, way longer then she'd have ever let them grow at home, in the real universe. Loren looked down at her feet, and only just stopped herself from yelling. Her toenails were so long, they had burst through the thin canvas of her shoes.