Theme 45: Two Paths Diverge

[regularamanda]

Today's theme:
Two Paths Diverge1. Submit your drabble that fits this theme as a comment to this post. It should be between 100-300 words, if you go over/under a bit that's fine! If it's longer than say 400 words, I ask that you post on your journal or fanfiction.net and then submit the link to this post. If you find that your story is going to be

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[rattyjol]

Fandom: Animorphs
Claim: fandom
Rating: PG
Drabbles completed so far: 18/100

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

He has a choice. Two options, two different ways his life can go. He can follow orders, slaughter thousands of helpless Yeerks. Or he can disobey a War-Prince and destroy any chance he ever had at being a warrior.

Arbron would have done it. He would have followed orders without hesitation. He would have pressed the button and jettisoned the hostless slugs into space, and then he would have gone on to be a great warrior, maybe even a Prince. Prince Arbron, a far-future idea that died before it was allowed to be born.

Elfangor, though. He's tired of killing. Sick of it, ready to give it up. What use is an intact military career if he doesn't want to fight anymore? What use does he have of a fancy title and faded honor? But the humans, Loren and Chapman, they're still on board. If he's arrested for mutiny he won't be allowed to take them home; certainly won't have any say in whether or not they remember what's happened. Perhaps that's a good thing. And the Time Matrix cannot be allowed to fall into Yeerk possession. And yet he still can't decide. Prince Elfangor. It has a nice ring to it.

Oh well. That name died with Prince Arbron.

He's done with war.

He says no.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.