A/N-
Thanks again. We're coming close to the end of the first day (can you believe it?) First, we've got to get M/M in and out without getting caught and then back to Roswell. The rest of the pace of the story will be a little faster, but we still have a long way to go. I was going to post this last night, but I had to check on my Swedish word first.
Here we go.
Chapter 20 – Överraskning!
After Michael returned from the bathroom for the second time (Maria had sent him back to wash his hands after the first time), Michael and Maria went over their plans for the rest of the evening. Then, Maria put in a call to Liz.
“Maria?” Liz asked.
“Yep, it’s me.”
“How are things going down there?”
“Just fine. You were right about the museum. Guess what happened there 4 days ago, which was last Wednesday?”
“I have no idea. What?” Liz replied.
“They had a break-in. Well, it wasn’t exactly a break-in since the thief did it right in the middle of the day.”
“Oh, my God! What did they steal?”
“A crystal. We’re positive it’s the crystal that we found at the rented property. You know, the crystal that started the Granilith?”
“You’re serious?! Max? You need to hear this, too.” There was no pause before Max’s voice came over the line, so Maria knew that they must have been together when the phone rang.
“Repeat what you told me. Max is listening now, too.”
Maria repeated the news to Max. Michael leaned into Maria’s ear, and she turned the phone slightly so he could listen as well.
“Really? You’re sure?” Max answered after hearing Maria’s conclusion.
“Yes. It has to be. There are 5 other crystals almost exactly like that one still at the museum. They were part of their exclusive crystal collection.”
“Crystals!!” Liz exclaimed. “That’s what that museum is famous for!!!! I knew it was something.”
“You mean, there are still 5 more crystals there?” Maria could hear the excitement in Max’s voice.
“Yep. And me and Space Boy here are going to steal the rest of them tonight.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Liz shouted at the same time Max did.
Maria grinned a little at that reaction, but she could feel Michael bristling at their comments and decided to try to calm them down as quickly as she could. She put her hand on Michael’s arm and gave him a warning look to shut his already opening mouth.
“Relax, you guys. It’s going to be fine. We already did our homework earlier before we left. Michael figured out their security system, so that shouldn’t be any problem to beat. We’re going to make up phony duplicates to replace the real crystals, so they won’t have any idea that they’ve been taken. We figured that they’ve already done all their tests and stuff on them. There’s no need to run them again. Besides, it doesn’t matter if the museum actually has the real crystals, only that everyone thinks they do.”
There was a slight pause from the other end and Maria could almost picture the look that Liz and Max must be sharing. There was complete silence from their end, and she just knew that they were doing their silent communication thing. Maria was confident that their plan would work and she waited for Max and Liz to come to that conclusion as well.
It was Max that answered.
“Ok, you’re probably right. But, I want to make sure that you contact us before you go in, and then minute that you get out.” Maria could see Michael rolling his eyes at that command. “I mean it. I don’t want to have to come bail you guys out of jail on burglary charges. This is serious stuff.”
“We know, Maxwell.” Michael jumped into the conversation for the first time. “We won’t get caught. But we have to do this. You know that, right?” Michael appealed to Max’s logic.
Max sighed heavily into the phone before replying. “Yes, I know. If only we knew what those crystals could do. What did you find out about the translation? Was the computer there?”
This time it was time to Michael to sigh. “No. It was gone. The whole place was clean. Someone is trying to cover their tracks down here, Maxwell. That’s another reason why we have to get those crystals tonight. They might be the next things to disappear completely.”
Maria could hear Liz curse softly under her breath. “I know it’s a big disappointment, Liz, but maybe we’ll still get some more information from Jennifer Coleman. We’re going to go over to her dorm tonight before we go back to the museum.”
“Yeah, ok. Do you know what you’re doing to say to her?”
“Well, I’m still working on that, but I have some ideas. I’m going to start with the roommate. See if I can pry some information out of her first. Then, maybe I’ll tackle Jennifer. Which reminds me, is Isabel around?”
Liz replied, “Yeah she’s right here. We’re all over at Valenti’s tonight.”
“Maria?” Max’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Yeah, Max?”
“Is Michael still there?”
“I’m still here, Max,” Michael replied.
“Can I talk to you privately for a sec?”
Maria handed the phone to Michael and got up from the bed and walked over to the table, watching Michael out of the corner of her eye. She started pacing back and forth, wondering what Max wanted to talk to Michael about. Michael wasn’t saying much. Just one word replies, mostly in the affirmative. She figured Max must be issuing some specific executive orders.
Finally, Michael handed the phone back to Maria. “Here’s Isabel. What did you want to ask her?”
Maria pounced on the offered phone and began chatting away.
“Isabel?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I was just thinking. You say you can’t control what someone is dreaming about right?”
“No. I just see what’s in their subconscious mind.”
“Well, how about if we try to help you out then?”
“How?”
“We’re going to try to talk to Jennifer tonight. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m going to push her about a couple of things. We’re going to take the assumption that some alien has been using her body for alien possession. Now, from what Brody’s told me about his experiences, he doesn’t remember specifics, but right before and right after it happens, he has bizarre dreams. If I can ask her about enough things to get her subconscious thinking about it, maybe that will trigger her mind into dreaming about it tonight. So maybe you not only be able to confirm that she has been possessed, but maybe you’ll even get a look at what the other person was doing while they were possessing her body.”
“Oh, Maria. That’s a great idea.”
“Isabel. I have to warn you though. I’m going to show her a picture of Alex, so you might see him in her dreams tonight. I just wanted you to be prepared.”
Isabel was silent for a moment, and Maria realized that she was right to warn her about the possibility of seeing Alex in Jennifer’s dreams. When she began to speak again, her voice was hesitant and full of emotion. “Oh, ok, Maria. Thanks for warning me.”
“Sure. We’ll we’d better get going over to the dorms now. Tell Max that we’ll check in before we head into the museum. Bye, Isabel.”
“Bye.”
Maria set the phone down and walked over to look at the now empty Snapple Bottles. Michael was preparing to transform them into the duplicate crystals. She read the insecurity in his eyes. He had never been as confident in his powers as Max and Isabel, but she knew that he had the same powers within him that the others did. He just needed some positive encouragement.
“Ok, so if I remembered correctly, there were two that were exactly the same size, about 6 inches in length, right?”
“Yeah.” Michael seemed relieved that she was taking the initiative. He gaze focused on the first 2 bottles in the line. “So, let’s just zap these two into shape. He took the first bottle in his hands and concentrated on the picture of the crystal in his mind. He sensed Maria’s comfortable presence around him and he held the image of the crystal firmly in his head. His hand began to glow and the bottle slowly compressed and become the very image he had pictured. Pleased with his success, he quickly grabbed the second bottle and it soon joined its mate.
Maria was bursting with happiness at the ease of his performance. She nodded encouragement to him as he turned his attention on the remaining bottles. Soon, all 5 replicas of the crystals were lined up on the table.
They placed the fake crystals in Maria’s bag, not wanted them to be accidentally discovered by any snooping cleaning crew staff, and then set off for the campus. After some subtle inquiries and some alien-enhanced spy power, they determined that Jennifer had returned yesterday morning and wasn’t in her room currently, but her roommate was.
Armed with some convincing looking Physics notes that Michael had conjured up from some flyers posted on the bulletin board in the hallway, Maria knocked on the door. When Jennifer’s roommate answered the door, Maria began her little speech.
“Hey. Is Jennifer here?” Knowing full well that she wasn’t, Maria tried to look sincere in her request.
“No, she isn’t. I think she’s at the library.”
“But, then she is back from visiting her mom, right?” Maria and Michael made their way into the room walking right past the roommate. “My friend Liz said she ran into her yesterday,” Maria added for good measure. “So, I guess her mom’s ok then?”
“Um. Yeah, I think so,” the roommate replied cautiously, frowning slightly at Maria’s forward behavior. “She showed back up her yesterday sometime. I didn’t ask about her mom, but I assumed she was ok since she came back early. And who are you again?” the girl replied, trying to remember where she had seen these 2 people before.
“My name’s Maria. This is Michael. We were here the other day,” Maria replied casually, moving further into the room. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name last time.”
“My name’s Michelle.”
“Oh, nice to meet you Michelle. Well, that’s good news to hear about her mom. Here are those Physics notes I borrowed from her the other day. We’ll just put them back in her room, if that’s ok?” Maria tried to sound as innocent as she could, as she handed the fake Physics notes to Michael and motioned for him to go to Jennifer’s room with the notes.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll tell her you came by,” Michelle added.
Maria didn’t want alarm Jennifer with her roommate comments, so she quickly said, “Oh, no. Don’t worry about that. I’ll stop by the library on the way back and let her know. I want to ask her about her mom anyway.”
Michelle seemed ok with that suggestion, so while Michael returned the notes to Jennifer’s room, Maria decided to try to milk some information about Jennifer.
“Actually, I’ve been a bit concerned about her lately. Maybe you’ve noticed some things about her, too, since you’re her roommate.”
“What do you mean? What kind of things?”
“Well, like the fact that she disappears or has to go out of town all the sudden sometimes. And usually she’s gone for a couple of days. I know she says it’s to see her mom or her aunt or some other relative, but it just seems kinda weird. And others things, too. Like have you mentioned something to her from a conversation you had with her one day, and she doesn’t have any idea what you’re talking about? I mean, I flake out occasionally on details of old conversations, but this is totally different. It’s like she doesn’t even remember having that particular conversation with you and that she says she wasn’t any where near the place where you said you talked with her.”
Michelle thought for a moment. “Well, I guess now you mention it, I do remember something like that happening back in January. I just thought that she had a really bad day that day, and just totally spaced out our conversation. But, you say that she’s done that to you, too?”
“Oh, yeah,” Maria lied effortlessly. “What about the disappearances? Has that happened recently?”
“Well, she does take off a lot. But, like you said, she always said it was her mom, or someone that she needed to see.”
“Nothing about a boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, yes. I think she would have mentioned if she was going to see a guy or not.”
Maria reached for her purse. “I found this picture among some of the possessions of a friend of mine who just died last month. He was one of my best friends from my hometown. He was down here at school for about 5 weeks at the beginning of the year before he returned home.” She showed the picture of Leanna and Alex in front of the glass building that had been torn down in 1994.
“Umm . . . where was this taken?” Michelle asked.
“I have no idea. I didn’t even know that my friend knew Jennifer. He talked about a girl named Leanna, but I never met her. Then, after he died, I went home for his funeral. I found this picture among some of his things. Of course, I recognized Jennifer right away. As soon as I got back here, I asked Jennifer about it. She had no idea what I was talking about. I even showed her the picture. She said that couldn’t be her. She had never seen that building before. I showed her another picture of my friend, Alex, hoping it would jog her memory. But, she gave the picture back and told me that she had never seen him before,” Maria lied.
“She said she didn’t recognize the building? Michelle asked.
“Yeah, that’s what she said,” Maria replied.
Michael, having returned from Jennifer’s room, spoke up, “What? Do you recognize it?”
Michelle looked up at both of them with a puzzled look on her face before looking down at the picture again. “Well, I think she must have been confused, because even I think I recognize the building and I definitely recognize this sweater she’s wearing, too,” Michelle stated.
“You do?” Maria asked, trying to contain her excitement.
But, Michelle didn’t answer. She continued to stare at the photo like she was trying to recall where she had seen it before. Instead of answering, Michelle got up and walked into Jennifer’s room. Maria and Michael followed her, looking at each other, their curiosity rising with each second. Michelle began going through Jennifer’s bookshelf, pulling out photo albums and thumbing rapidly through them. Finally, she found one where she began to turn the pages slowly, apparently searching carefully for a certain photo. At last her eyes stopped and she pointed to a picture. Maria and Michael came around to check out the photo and Maria gasped. There before her was a picture of an entire family posing for the camera. They were all dressed in matching sweaters, the very same one that Jennifer was wearing in the picture with Alex.
Michelle began to speak. “Jennifer showed me these pictures when we first became roommates. I remembered this picture because I thought it was so cute of the family to all be wearing the same sweater. And see, here’s a picture of them all standing in front of that building, the one that’s all glass windows. You see, she’s been to Sweden lots of times. This was when she was little.” She pointed at a young blond girl, smiling sweetly at the camera, holding fast to the hand of an older brother. “That’s her, that’s Jennifer. Of course, that sweater is too small to fit her now, but . . .” she put the photo album down and walked to Jennifer’s closest and began rifling through the pile of sweaters on the shelf. She found the one she was looking for and turned around holding it up for Maria to see. “She wears her mom’s now. I see her wearing it every time she goes to give her presentations.”
“Presentations?” Maria asked, heart pounding, her eyes fixated on the sweater before her.
“Yeah. She goes to on a circuit tour of high schools in the state, giving presentations on the study abroad programs in Sweden. I’ve seen her slideshow a bunch of times, too. She gets credit for one of her Swedish classes for it. She’s Majoring in European Arts with emphasis on Sweden. Didn’t you know that?” Michelle asked curiously.
Maria just shook her head, her mind incapable of forming words at the moment as she felt like the air had just been sucked out of her lungs.
Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 25 10/30/11 [WIP]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, ISLANDGIRL5, truelovepooh, Forum Moderators
Re: Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 21- 4/18/11
A/N-Ok. So I finally managed to finish this chapter and my editing didn't take as long as I thought it would. I have no idea why this took so long. I think it's because the premise of this chapter was not in my original plans. I had to totally write it from scratch, having absolutely no notes at all on what would happen in this chapter. It kind of came about through some plot turns from previous chapters that came to life on their own. Plus, I wasn't sure exactly how to write the parent's interractions. On the show, the parents were pretty much non-existant. I'm trying to write them in a bit more, instead of having these teenagers run off at the drop of hat and have no parent involvment whatsoever. Also, the results of Isabel's dream at the end of this chapter were just as shocking to me as they will be to you. I had no idea what I was writing until it came out. But, I like it!! I'm going to have to use this information in my future chapters and change things a bit to facilitate those revelations.
So, without further ado. Chapter 21!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!
Chapter 21 - I’ll See You in my Dreams
The campus of the college was pretty big, but Maria and Michael managed to find the library without too much trouble. Maria’s thoughts were still reeling from the information she received from Jennifer’s roommate. Michael’s lips were pursed in deep thought as well.
As they entered the library, they started searching the tables and cubicles for Jennifer. Finally, on the 4th floor, they saw her sitting alone in one of the side cubicles. Maria handed the picture of Alex and Leanna to Michael, took a deep breath, and asked, “Ok, ready?”
“Ready.” Michael walked towards Jennifer’s cube, and managed to knock into her pile of books and study notes, spilling everything on the floor.
“Oh, Jeez! I’m sorry.” He immediately bent over to help pick up. Maria walked up a few seconds later and started berating Michael in a fierce whisper. As Michael put all the books and papers back on the desk, he put the picture of Alex and Leanna on the top of the pile. Jennifer looked at the picture and quickly picked it up and stared at it.
“What kind of a joke is this?” she exclaimed. “Did you put this picture here?” She looked at Michael and Maria with a startled expression.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Michael replied. I’m sorry I knocked down your stuff, but I just picked up what I knocked down.”
“But, this picture isn’t mine!” Jennifer cried out, holding the picture out towards Michael and Maria. “Someone must be playing a joke on me.”
Maria took the picture from Jennifer’s shaky hands and looked at it, trying to appear as if she was seeing it for the first time. “Well, isn’t this you? That should mean this is your picture.”
“Well, yes, that looks like me, but it can’t be.”
“Why not?” Michael asked.
“First of all, that building behind me is in Sweden and it’s not there anymore. I went there a lot as a kid, and I remember seeing this building being torn down and a new shopping center constructed in its place. And second of all, I’ve never seen that guy before.”
“Really?” Maria asked. “Are you sure?” she handed the photo back to Jennifer.
Jennifer stared at the photo again, thinking hard. A small shudder passed through her, but she looked back at Michael and Maria and said, “No, I don’t think so.”
“Well, how could you be standing next to someone that you’ve never seen before? He’s even got his arm around you.” Michael replied.
“I don’t know, but I’m telling you, this picture is impossible,” Jennifer countered. “Someone went through a lot of trouble to manipulate this picture. They would have had to . . .” Jennifer suddenly stopped.
“What?” Maria asked.
“My slides. Someone has been through my slides. That’s the only explanation!” Jennifer declared. “The only way someone could have done this is if they got into my slides. I have pictures of my family in Sweden in front of this building wearing these sweaters. But, that was a long time ago, when I was just a little girl. Someone must have gotten one of the pictures from the slides and twisted it around to put me in this picture.”
“But, why would someone want to do that?” Michael asked. “I mean why go through all this trouble if they weren’t going to show it to you.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was for this guy in the picture then, if it wasn’t for me,” Jennifer concluded.
“How could someone have gotten into your slides? Don’t you keep them in your room or something? Have you had a break in?” Maria asked.
“No, I don’t think so. But, I carry the slides around to a lot of places when I give my presentations on the Sweden Study Abroad Program. I supposed someone could have gotten a hold of them sometime during my trips. I visit a lot of high schools in the state.” Jennifer stopped and looked at the picture again. “Maybe this guy was at one of my presentations and some friends of his played a joke on him by staging this picture. But, if the picture was for him, why do you guys have it?” Jennifer suddenly looked up at Michael and Maria with an accusatory stare.
“Hey, I was just picking up your stuff,” Michael replied, putting the picture back down on Jennifer’s table and grabbing Maria’s hand, he walked quickly away. Maria glanced back at Jennifer and saw her staring at the picture again.
“Well, that should do it. We’ve done our part. Now, we’ve got to see if Isabel can get anything from her dreams tonight. With any luck, that picture and our questions should prompt her to dream about Alex tonight and we might get some answers,” Maria muttered as she and Michael hurried off campus to wait at the motel until it was time to steal the crystals.
Finally, Liz’s cell phone began to ring. Liz put the call immediately on speaker.
“We’re on our way back with the crystals, Liz. Everything worked out just fine. We were able to slip in and Michael used some of his alien voodoo to get past all the security systems and we swapped out the fake crystals for the real ones.” Maria yawned, loudly. “I’m going to try to get some sleep while Spaceboy drives. It’s a good thing these guys don’t need as much sleep as we do.”
“That’s great news, Maria,” Max said. “How long before you’re back here?”
Maria’s phone must have been on speaker, too, because Michael piped in. “Well, we’re driving a Jetta, Max, and I’m pushing it to go 90, so probably not for a couple more hours,” Michael replied annoyingly. “We’re just passing the exit to White Sands now.”
“Did you have any luck with Jennifer?” Isabel asked.
“Yeah, there is something going on with her. We showed her the picture of her and Alex and there was definitely a reaction there,” Michael reported.
“We’re pretty sure she’s been used by an alien named L’anna. We think she’s been working with Tess for a while,” Max revealed. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to catch you guys up on. We’re all here at Valenti’s for an overnighter. All our parents are coming over tomorrow for a BBQ party. So, come straight here, whatever time to you get in. The guys are sleeping outside in the tent, and the girls will be sleeping in the living room. Valenti’s orders.” Liz and Isabel agreed that they would rather sleep in the living room than sleep in the room Tess had been using for the last year. They wanted to completely rid themselves of Tess’s presence there first.
“Oh, great, a day of posturing for the parents. Terrific,” Michael moaned.
“Hey, shut up,” Maria said. “This is a good chance for you to try to make a good impression on my mom. Besides, it’s got to be better than breaking into secure facilities and committing larceny.”
“Ok, fine. Whatever,” Michael replied.
“Alright, Max,” Maria said, turning her attention back to Max and Liz, “We’ll be there and Michael will join the guys outside in the tent.”
“I’ll be waiting for you in the tent, Michael,” Valenti said, warningly.
“Um, yeah, sure thing,” Michael managed to choke out. Michael knew better than to cross Valenti.
“Ok. Drive safe. We’ll see you soon,” Liz replied.
After Liz hung up the phone, everyone started making preparations for the night. Max used his powers to make the tent considerable bigger so they could all sleep comfortably inside. Kyle got an extra sleeping bag from the garage for Michael to use when he arrived.
While Isabel made herself comfortable on the couch at Liz’s insistence, Liz was in the bathroom, getting ready for the night. As she began to brush her teeth, Liz heard the bathroom door open and close again. The intruder walked in and stood close to Liz, just watching her, not saying a word. Liz took a quick sideways glance up and swept her gaze up and down his body approvingly while still vigorously brushing her teeth. She had known before he walked in the room who it was and what was on his mind. She continued to brush her teeth while he stood there and when she finally finished brushing and rinsing, he closed the few remaining steps between them and tenderly brushed his thumb over her soft cheek.
“Max,” Liz said pleadingly. “You know we can’t . . .” Max cut her off with a finger to her lips.
“I know, but I had to take advantage of a few minutes alone with you before I had to sleep outside away from your soft, warm, sexy body,” Max replied.
Liz blushed prettily at his comments, but her eyes never left his face. “But, what if someone needs to use the bathroom,” Liz asked.
“Well, Isabel’s already brushed her teeth, washed and moisturized her face, etc. and I don’t think Kyle and his dad are into a nightly facial régime, so that just leave us,” Max said as he began nibbling his way around her jaw line towards the back of her neck.
Liz’s eyes closed in perfect bliss and her arms went around Max’s head, holding him closer to her as she tipped her head to allow him greater access to her neck.
“Ok, but just for a few minutes,” Liz replied huskily.
Max continued slowly and thoroughly to kiss and suck at Liz’s neck, his hungry emotions bleeding through their connection, causing both their pulses to quicken. Some rational part of Liz’s mind held onto the fact that they were in Kyle’s bathroom, allowing her to keep a tentative hold on reality even though Max’s actions were doing wild things to her body.
Liz moaned softly when Max sucked heavily on a sensitive part of her neck, and she knew she’d have a mark there when he was done. She raked her fingernails lightly over the back of Max’s neck and then her fingers sank themselves into Max’s dark hair, running mindlessly through his thick tresses.
Liz’s body began to hum in pleasure and as her intimate parts began to tingle in sexual anticipation, Max groaned in response as her feelings came racing through their connection. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight as he ripped his lips from her neck and sought her lips instead. Their mouths came crashing together and their passion ignited. As they finally came up for air, they both opened their eyes and gazed into each other’s eyes. They were breathing hard, their faces and necks flushed with arousal.
Finally, Liz found her voice. “Well . . . I guess we should say goodnight now,” she said reluctantly.
Max was equally loath to stop their actions, but he knew that now was not the place or the time to continue.
“Ok. I guess it’s my turn to brush now anyway,” Max said. He gave her a soft peck on the forehead before she turned to leave.
“Good night, Max.”
“Good night, Liz,” he replied. He watched her retreat and then turned to the mirror, smiling slightly at the sight of his tousled hair, and began to brush his teeth.
Isabel looked around her to see where she was. Being one of the only members of the group to have not gone down to Las Cruces, the hallways of the building she was in were unfamiliar. As she walked along, looking for Jennifer, Isabel turned a corner and spotted her walking towards her. As always, her subjects never were aware of her presence, so Jennifer passed by Isabel and continued walking without breaking a stride in her step. Isabel turned and followed her.
Jennifer stopped outside a classroom door and went inside. Isabel followed her and found herself in a giant lecture hall. She watched where Jennifer sat and found a seat close behind her. The professor at the front of the room turned around and Isabel gasped. Alex stood poised and collected in a crisp, blue suit, a set of smart looking spectacles on his face, and a laser pointer in his hand. Isabel sat, not moving as the dream Alex began his lecture to the group on Biology 101. The huge screen behind Alex showed a series of images of cells, which professor Alex would point to with the laser and explain to the class. Isabel couldn’t even concentrate on what Alex was saying; she just focused on keeping herself calm as she stared at the figure of the man in front of her whose life had been cut short because of a manipulative alien.
She managed to tear her eyes away from Alex to glance at Jennifer, and saw her taking copious notes. But, as Isabel leaned closer to exam her notes, she realized Jennifer’s notes had nothing to do with Biology.
Jennifer’s paper was covered with writing, but all the notes were about one thing-the ’47 Crash. Witness statements and names were followed by detailed information on the life and death of the witnesses, including family members and friends. Each of the witnesses was traced through several generations to the present day and as she watched Jennifer write, each of the names were crossed out, as though a process of elimination was being carried out.
Isabel wondered what all that meant, when suddenly, she tuned in on what Alex was saying.
“You are the Royal Four. You were created from the genetic materials of your alien predecessors and human subjects. You are given human forms so you can . .” Alex instantly cut off and just stood there with his mouth open, mid-sentence, seemingly frozen in time for several seconds. And then, just as fast as he had stopped, Alex begin talking again, as if nothing had happened, “. . . carry materials to other parts of the cell such as the plasma membrane or Golgi apparatus.”
“Excuse me, Professor, are you alright?” a student near the front called out.
Alex looked puzzled for a moment as if he just realized something bizarre had happened. “I don’t know. What was I saying?”
Suddenly, Isabel saw the image of Tess stand up from the far right section of the lecture hall and make her way to the front where Alex was standing.
“Here let me help you with that,” she said sweetly, and then she closed her eyes and Isabel saw Alex’s whole body tremble as Tess began using her powers on him.
A gasp of horror escaped Isabel lips and the sounds of protest penetrated the air, but they weren’t coming from her. She looked down at Jennifer and saw that her face, too, was fixed in horror at the sight of Alex being mindwarped by Tess.
“Nooooo! Stop! You’re doing it too much. He’s not going to make it much longer,” Jennifer cried out.
Tess suddenly fixed her gaze on Jennifer and snarled back, “You just keep working on finding those crystals or I’ll have to tell your brother that you aren’t being cooperative and you know what that means for you. No marriage to that simple commoner and no place in the Royal Court for you. And who would be left to rule your planet when your brother and I take control of my planet if that happens, huh?”
Tess turned back to Alex and said, “Now, professor, I believe you were talking about Endoplasmic Reticulum before we were interrupted. Please continue.”
Alex looked back at Tess and said calmly, “Of course. Thank you so much for your assistance." He turned back to the students. “The smooth endoplasmic reticula have a variety of different functions. One important function is to produce lipid compounds such as phospholipids, steroids, and fatty acids.” Alex continued on his lecture.
Isabel wasn’t sure what happened next, but all of the sudden, Jennifer was grabbing her arm and looking directly into her eyes. A strange light filled her aura. “You have to stop her,” Jennifer pleaded to Isabel. “She’s bewitched my brother and she’s planning on taking over your planet and possibly mine as well.”
Isabel was beyond shocked. No one had ever acknowledged her presence in their dreams before and certainly had never touched her. But, now, Jennifer’s hand was squeezing her arm so tight, Isabel began to wince slightly in pain.
“L’anna?” Isabel managed to ask.
“Yes. You and your brother have to find a way to stop her. Soon. Or you won’t have a planet left to come back to.” L’anna’s eyes bore into Isabel’s in raw desperation.
“What can I do? I want to help, but I don’t know what we can do. Can you help us?” Isabel choked out.
“I can’t do anything now, he’s watching me too close. But, I’ll try to find a way to get another message to you. Be ready,” L’anna said and all at once the strange light was gone and Jennifer snatched her hand back from Isabel’s arm.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened,” Jennifer said apologetically. “Are you ok?” she asked.
Isabel could only nod slightly as she watched Jennifer turn around and resume taking notes again.
Isabel woke up with a start, forgetting for a moment where she was until she looked around and recognized the Valenti’s front room and remembered. She looked down at her arm where it was slightly red and sore where L’anna had grabbed her in the dream. She wanted to run into the tent and tell Max everything right then, but she finally accepted that the news would only distress Max since there wasn’t anything to be done about it right then, and he would be left unable to sleep. Isabel rubbed her arm gently and tried to figure out how to get to sleep after that disturbing dream, but eventually, the emotions from the last 24 hours hit her, and she fell into an exhausted sleep.
“Thank you, Jeff. I picked up a few things while I was at home these last few months. You wouldn’t believe all the ideas you can get from watching the Food Channel all day long. I’ve been trying out some different things, and it’s not half bad,” Jim said.
Jeff didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm in the former sheriff’s voice, and he nodded his head in understanding and sympathy. “Well, we really appreciate you throwing this little BBQ together for all of us. It’s not often we get together as parents.” Jeff looked across the yard at his wife, Amy Deluca, and Diane and Philip Evans talking animatedly and then at his daughter, laughing at an apparent joke told by Max Evans. He commented, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Liz this happy.”
“Yeah, I know things have been pretty tough for everyone after Alex’s death and I wanted to find an occasion to gather together without a tragedy being involved. These kids are pretty resilient, but I could tell by talking to Kyle about school and stuff that they needed a time out from their worries to just be kids.”
Jeff agreed. “Liz took Alex’s death pretty hard, and then after that, there seemed to be some trouble with Max and his friends. I know most teenage daughters don’t confide a lot about their love life with their dad, but it looked to me like Liz wasn’t hanging around Max Evans and his sister and friend as much as she had been in the past. But, it looks like everything is good now,” he said gesturing to the group of friends that were now so much at ease with each other after the last 24 hours of events in their lives.
“I’m afraid my former charge might have had something to do with that,” Jim said, candidly. “I don’t know if you heard the news yesterday about the Evans’ jeep and Tess Harding, the girl that I was taking care of for these last several months?” Jim asked, knowing that in a town like Roswell, news travels fast, but not always accurately.
Jeff nodded his head, “Yeah, I heard something about that,” he admitted.
“Well, I don’t know all of the details either, being a little out of the loop as a parent as well, but I do know that Tess latched onto Isabel Evans and her brother from the start and the group dynamic changed after that. I think now, that she always had her eye on Max, but he was involved with your daughter at the time. Then, after last summer, it seemed that Liz and Max kind of backed off from each other for a while, and I think Tess took that to mean he was available. To give him credit, Max didn’t show any interest in Tess for a long time, and believe me, Tess could be very persuasive when she wanted something,” Jim said, knowing poor Jeff Parker had no idea how true that statement was.
“I think just these last couple of weeks, Max finally started going out with Tess. He was over here a lot hanging out with her, but in the end, I think he wasn’t really over Liz. That’s why they got in a fight Saturday night and Tess took off in the Evans’ jeep, set it on fire and pushed it over the cliff.” Jim sighed. “I tried my best with her, but I guess some people just can’t be helped. She’s on her way back to where she lived before coming to Roswell,” Valenti said truthfully.
“Huh. Sorry to hear about the problems she caused, but it looks like Max was able to convince my daughter that it wasn’t his fault,” Jeff said, still not sure that this Max kid was the right guy for his only child.
“I know we think of them as young and naïve teenagers who will fall in and out of love at the drop of the hat, but consider giving Max a chance, Jeff. I saw Liz with my son 2 years ago and I see how she is with Max now, and I can tell you, there’s no comparison. There’s something special there.” Jim reflected back on the way Liz and Max looked at each other several hours ago after everyone had gotten up this morning. He remembered feeling that he was an intruder in his own house, spying on something so special and tender, his heart panged with feelings of loss for his wife when they were first in love.
Jeff looked across the yard again at his daughter and caught a glimpse of the affection between Liz and Max that that Valenti had just described.
“Well, we’ll see if another out-of-town girl doesn’t come to town and lure him away again,” Jeff said, still not quite able to trust Max yet. “But, as long as he’s good to Liz and doesn’t distract her from her school and her studies, I guess I’ll have to give him a chance.”
The rest of the afternoon went by fast, and even Michael seemed at ease with all the parents. Amy hadn’t had any more mindwarp breaks and wasn’t giving Michael too hard of a time for the last episode of taking off with Maria for several days in February. The Evans and the Parkers spent a lot of time talking with each other and observing their children interacting. The misgivings they might have felt over Liz and Max’s relationship soon began to disappear as they each saw how affectionately they looked at and treated each other.
Soon, the BBQ had to come to an end. Liz had an evening shift at the Crashdown to make up for her day off on Sunday, so Liz and her parents were the first to leave. Liz and Max said good bye touching hands and silently communicating their love for each other. The Evans’ thanked Jim and Kyle for hosting the party and Isabel and Max left with them as well. Max and Isabel agreed it was best to keep it cool tonight after a day with their parents, so everyone spent the rest of the evening at home, going over notes, trying to figure out a time to go back to the Pod Chamber with the crystals and to try using the orbs again.
Earlier that morning, before all the parents had arrived, Isabel shared her experience of dreamwalking Jennifer. Her news about Jennifer’s dream was just as disturbing to the rest of the gang as it was to her. She hadn’t had any luck with Brody or the human that Sero was using; they both had normal dreams. But, it was the information that L’anna might be on their side, trying to help them, that surprised and excited them. Isabel hoped that L’anna would find a way to contact her again, and she vowed to dreamwalk Jennifer every night in hopes that L’anna would be there again. Liz, Max, Kyle and Isabel filled Michael and Maria in on all their discoveries from the previous day and Michael and Maria did the same. Everyone took turns looking at the crystals, the same thoughts running through their heads; what were the purpose of these crystals?
Michael agreed with the idea that they couldn’t trust the message they saw from the orbs since Tess’s mission was revealed. His typical impulses kicked in and he wanted to try the orbs right then, but since everyone else’s parents were due anytime, he reluctantly agreed that they’d have to wait for a better time.
The pieces were beginning to fall into place as they began to fill in the blanks of what had really been happening with Tess in the last year. How she had used Malamud to find out about Jennifer’s lectures on Sweden and used her contact’s sister to possess Jennifer to obtain the perfect alibi for Alex’s time away from Roswell. How she was able to use Jennifer’s slides to manipulate pictures of Alex and Jennifer together and Jennifer’s memories of Sweden to construct false memories of Alex’s time there. From what Isabel saw in Jennifer’s dream, it was apparent that L’anna was trying to find the crystals talked about in the translation by tracking down anyone who was associated with the crash. According the sign posted next to the crystals in the museum that Michael and Maria had seen, the crystals were found by someone on the Mesaliko reservation, so L’anna must have found that out and realized the crystals they were looking for were right there in Las Cruces.
The questions that remained were why did L’anna only steal the one crystal, leaving the rest? What did the translation really say and how could they find out? What message did the orbs really have for them? And most of all, how were they going to find all this information and when?
So, without further ado. Chapter 21!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!
Chapter 21 - I’ll See You in my Dreams
The campus of the college was pretty big, but Maria and Michael managed to find the library without too much trouble. Maria’s thoughts were still reeling from the information she received from Jennifer’s roommate. Michael’s lips were pursed in deep thought as well.
As they entered the library, they started searching the tables and cubicles for Jennifer. Finally, on the 4th floor, they saw her sitting alone in one of the side cubicles. Maria handed the picture of Alex and Leanna to Michael, took a deep breath, and asked, “Ok, ready?”
“Ready.” Michael walked towards Jennifer’s cube, and managed to knock into her pile of books and study notes, spilling everything on the floor.
“Oh, Jeez! I’m sorry.” He immediately bent over to help pick up. Maria walked up a few seconds later and started berating Michael in a fierce whisper. As Michael put all the books and papers back on the desk, he put the picture of Alex and Leanna on the top of the pile. Jennifer looked at the picture and quickly picked it up and stared at it.
“What kind of a joke is this?” she exclaimed. “Did you put this picture here?” She looked at Michael and Maria with a startled expression.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Michael replied. I’m sorry I knocked down your stuff, but I just picked up what I knocked down.”
“But, this picture isn’t mine!” Jennifer cried out, holding the picture out towards Michael and Maria. “Someone must be playing a joke on me.”
Maria took the picture from Jennifer’s shaky hands and looked at it, trying to appear as if she was seeing it for the first time. “Well, isn’t this you? That should mean this is your picture.”
“Well, yes, that looks like me, but it can’t be.”
“Why not?” Michael asked.
“First of all, that building behind me is in Sweden and it’s not there anymore. I went there a lot as a kid, and I remember seeing this building being torn down and a new shopping center constructed in its place. And second of all, I’ve never seen that guy before.”
“Really?” Maria asked. “Are you sure?” she handed the photo back to Jennifer.
Jennifer stared at the photo again, thinking hard. A small shudder passed through her, but she looked back at Michael and Maria and said, “No, I don’t think so.”
“Well, how could you be standing next to someone that you’ve never seen before? He’s even got his arm around you.” Michael replied.
“I don’t know, but I’m telling you, this picture is impossible,” Jennifer countered. “Someone went through a lot of trouble to manipulate this picture. They would have had to . . .” Jennifer suddenly stopped.
“What?” Maria asked.
“My slides. Someone has been through my slides. That’s the only explanation!” Jennifer declared. “The only way someone could have done this is if they got into my slides. I have pictures of my family in Sweden in front of this building wearing these sweaters. But, that was a long time ago, when I was just a little girl. Someone must have gotten one of the pictures from the slides and twisted it around to put me in this picture.”
“But, why would someone want to do that?” Michael asked. “I mean why go through all this trouble if they weren’t going to show it to you.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was for this guy in the picture then, if it wasn’t for me,” Jennifer concluded.
“How could someone have gotten into your slides? Don’t you keep them in your room or something? Have you had a break in?” Maria asked.
“No, I don’t think so. But, I carry the slides around to a lot of places when I give my presentations on the Sweden Study Abroad Program. I supposed someone could have gotten a hold of them sometime during my trips. I visit a lot of high schools in the state.” Jennifer stopped and looked at the picture again. “Maybe this guy was at one of my presentations and some friends of his played a joke on him by staging this picture. But, if the picture was for him, why do you guys have it?” Jennifer suddenly looked up at Michael and Maria with an accusatory stare.
“Hey, I was just picking up your stuff,” Michael replied, putting the picture back down on Jennifer’s table and grabbing Maria’s hand, he walked quickly away. Maria glanced back at Jennifer and saw her staring at the picture again.
“Well, that should do it. We’ve done our part. Now, we’ve got to see if Isabel can get anything from her dreams tonight. With any luck, that picture and our questions should prompt her to dream about Alex tonight and we might get some answers,” Maria muttered as she and Michael hurried off campus to wait at the motel until it was time to steal the crystals.
~~~~~
After calling an hour ago to let everyone know they were heading into the Museum to get the crystals, Michael and Maria still hadn’t called back. Valenti was trying to make small talk to keep everyone’s minds off the subject, but it was a half-hearted attempt as he, too, began to worry.Finally, Liz’s cell phone began to ring. Liz put the call immediately on speaker.
“We’re on our way back with the crystals, Liz. Everything worked out just fine. We were able to slip in and Michael used some of his alien voodoo to get past all the security systems and we swapped out the fake crystals for the real ones.” Maria yawned, loudly. “I’m going to try to get some sleep while Spaceboy drives. It’s a good thing these guys don’t need as much sleep as we do.”
“That’s great news, Maria,” Max said. “How long before you’re back here?”
Maria’s phone must have been on speaker, too, because Michael piped in. “Well, we’re driving a Jetta, Max, and I’m pushing it to go 90, so probably not for a couple more hours,” Michael replied annoyingly. “We’re just passing the exit to White Sands now.”
“Did you have any luck with Jennifer?” Isabel asked.
“Yeah, there is something going on with her. We showed her the picture of her and Alex and there was definitely a reaction there,” Michael reported.
“We’re pretty sure she’s been used by an alien named L’anna. We think she’s been working with Tess for a while,” Max revealed. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to catch you guys up on. We’re all here at Valenti’s for an overnighter. All our parents are coming over tomorrow for a BBQ party. So, come straight here, whatever time to you get in. The guys are sleeping outside in the tent, and the girls will be sleeping in the living room. Valenti’s orders.” Liz and Isabel agreed that they would rather sleep in the living room than sleep in the room Tess had been using for the last year. They wanted to completely rid themselves of Tess’s presence there first.
“Oh, great, a day of posturing for the parents. Terrific,” Michael moaned.
“Hey, shut up,” Maria said. “This is a good chance for you to try to make a good impression on my mom. Besides, it’s got to be better than breaking into secure facilities and committing larceny.”
“Ok, fine. Whatever,” Michael replied.
“Alright, Max,” Maria said, turning her attention back to Max and Liz, “We’ll be there and Michael will join the guys outside in the tent.”
“I’ll be waiting for you in the tent, Michael,” Valenti said, warningly.
“Um, yeah, sure thing,” Michael managed to choke out. Michael knew better than to cross Valenti.
“Ok. Drive safe. We’ll see you soon,” Liz replied.
After Liz hung up the phone, everyone started making preparations for the night. Max used his powers to make the tent considerable bigger so they could all sleep comfortably inside. Kyle got an extra sleeping bag from the garage for Michael to use when he arrived.
While Isabel made herself comfortable on the couch at Liz’s insistence, Liz was in the bathroom, getting ready for the night. As she began to brush her teeth, Liz heard the bathroom door open and close again. The intruder walked in and stood close to Liz, just watching her, not saying a word. Liz took a quick sideways glance up and swept her gaze up and down his body approvingly while still vigorously brushing her teeth. She had known before he walked in the room who it was and what was on his mind. She continued to brush her teeth while he stood there and when she finally finished brushing and rinsing, he closed the few remaining steps between them and tenderly brushed his thumb over her soft cheek.
“Max,” Liz said pleadingly. “You know we can’t . . .” Max cut her off with a finger to her lips.
“I know, but I had to take advantage of a few minutes alone with you before I had to sleep outside away from your soft, warm, sexy body,” Max replied.
Liz blushed prettily at his comments, but her eyes never left his face. “But, what if someone needs to use the bathroom,” Liz asked.
“Well, Isabel’s already brushed her teeth, washed and moisturized her face, etc. and I don’t think Kyle and his dad are into a nightly facial régime, so that just leave us,” Max said as he began nibbling his way around her jaw line towards the back of her neck.
Liz’s eyes closed in perfect bliss and her arms went around Max’s head, holding him closer to her as she tipped her head to allow him greater access to her neck.
“Ok, but just for a few minutes,” Liz replied huskily.
Max continued slowly and thoroughly to kiss and suck at Liz’s neck, his hungry emotions bleeding through their connection, causing both their pulses to quicken. Some rational part of Liz’s mind held onto the fact that they were in Kyle’s bathroom, allowing her to keep a tentative hold on reality even though Max’s actions were doing wild things to her body.
Liz moaned softly when Max sucked heavily on a sensitive part of her neck, and she knew she’d have a mark there when he was done. She raked her fingernails lightly over the back of Max’s neck and then her fingers sank themselves into Max’s dark hair, running mindlessly through his thick tresses.
Liz’s body began to hum in pleasure and as her intimate parts began to tingle in sexual anticipation, Max groaned in response as her feelings came racing through their connection. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight as he ripped his lips from her neck and sought her lips instead. Their mouths came crashing together and their passion ignited. As they finally came up for air, they both opened their eyes and gazed into each other’s eyes. They were breathing hard, their faces and necks flushed with arousal.
Finally, Liz found her voice. “Well . . . I guess we should say goodnight now,” she said reluctantly.
Max was equally loath to stop their actions, but he knew that now was not the place or the time to continue.
“Ok. I guess it’s my turn to brush now anyway,” Max said. He gave her a soft peck on the forehead before she turned to leave.
“Good night, Max.”
“Good night, Liz,” he replied. He watched her retreat and then turned to the mirror, smiling slightly at the sight of his tousled hair, and began to brush his teeth.
~~~~
Isabel moved around on the couch, trying to get comfortable. She missed her familiar bed, but she figured the couch was better than the floor. Liz was asleep on the floor beside her so she figured it was time to try Jennifer again. She stared at the picture in her hands and tried to mentally prepare herself for the next step. She took a deep breath, and slowly touched the image of Jennifer Coleman and focused her powers to locate the girl’s subconscious. Isabel fell back against the pillow just as her mind reached out and found Jennifer’s. Isabel looked around her to see where she was. Being one of the only members of the group to have not gone down to Las Cruces, the hallways of the building she was in were unfamiliar. As she walked along, looking for Jennifer, Isabel turned a corner and spotted her walking towards her. As always, her subjects never were aware of her presence, so Jennifer passed by Isabel and continued walking without breaking a stride in her step. Isabel turned and followed her.
Jennifer stopped outside a classroom door and went inside. Isabel followed her and found herself in a giant lecture hall. She watched where Jennifer sat and found a seat close behind her. The professor at the front of the room turned around and Isabel gasped. Alex stood poised and collected in a crisp, blue suit, a set of smart looking spectacles on his face, and a laser pointer in his hand. Isabel sat, not moving as the dream Alex began his lecture to the group on Biology 101. The huge screen behind Alex showed a series of images of cells, which professor Alex would point to with the laser and explain to the class. Isabel couldn’t even concentrate on what Alex was saying; she just focused on keeping herself calm as she stared at the figure of the man in front of her whose life had been cut short because of a manipulative alien.
She managed to tear her eyes away from Alex to glance at Jennifer, and saw her taking copious notes. But, as Isabel leaned closer to exam her notes, she realized Jennifer’s notes had nothing to do with Biology.
Jennifer’s paper was covered with writing, but all the notes were about one thing-the ’47 Crash. Witness statements and names were followed by detailed information on the life and death of the witnesses, including family members and friends. Each of the witnesses was traced through several generations to the present day and as she watched Jennifer write, each of the names were crossed out, as though a process of elimination was being carried out.
Isabel wondered what all that meant, when suddenly, she tuned in on what Alex was saying.
“You are the Royal Four. You were created from the genetic materials of your alien predecessors and human subjects. You are given human forms so you can . .” Alex instantly cut off and just stood there with his mouth open, mid-sentence, seemingly frozen in time for several seconds. And then, just as fast as he had stopped, Alex begin talking again, as if nothing had happened, “. . . carry materials to other parts of the cell such as the plasma membrane or Golgi apparatus.”
“Excuse me, Professor, are you alright?” a student near the front called out.
Alex looked puzzled for a moment as if he just realized something bizarre had happened. “I don’t know. What was I saying?”
Suddenly, Isabel saw the image of Tess stand up from the far right section of the lecture hall and make her way to the front where Alex was standing.
“Here let me help you with that,” she said sweetly, and then she closed her eyes and Isabel saw Alex’s whole body tremble as Tess began using her powers on him.
A gasp of horror escaped Isabel lips and the sounds of protest penetrated the air, but they weren’t coming from her. She looked down at Jennifer and saw that her face, too, was fixed in horror at the sight of Alex being mindwarped by Tess.
“Nooooo! Stop! You’re doing it too much. He’s not going to make it much longer,” Jennifer cried out.
Tess suddenly fixed her gaze on Jennifer and snarled back, “You just keep working on finding those crystals or I’ll have to tell your brother that you aren’t being cooperative and you know what that means for you. No marriage to that simple commoner and no place in the Royal Court for you. And who would be left to rule your planet when your brother and I take control of my planet if that happens, huh?”
Tess turned back to Alex and said, “Now, professor, I believe you were talking about Endoplasmic Reticulum before we were interrupted. Please continue.”
Alex looked back at Tess and said calmly, “Of course. Thank you so much for your assistance." He turned back to the students. “The smooth endoplasmic reticula have a variety of different functions. One important function is to produce lipid compounds such as phospholipids, steroids, and fatty acids.” Alex continued on his lecture.
Isabel wasn’t sure what happened next, but all of the sudden, Jennifer was grabbing her arm and looking directly into her eyes. A strange light filled her aura. “You have to stop her,” Jennifer pleaded to Isabel. “She’s bewitched my brother and she’s planning on taking over your planet and possibly mine as well.”
Isabel was beyond shocked. No one had ever acknowledged her presence in their dreams before and certainly had never touched her. But, now, Jennifer’s hand was squeezing her arm so tight, Isabel began to wince slightly in pain.
“L’anna?” Isabel managed to ask.
“Yes. You and your brother have to find a way to stop her. Soon. Or you won’t have a planet left to come back to.” L’anna’s eyes bore into Isabel’s in raw desperation.
“What can I do? I want to help, but I don’t know what we can do. Can you help us?” Isabel choked out.
“I can’t do anything now, he’s watching me too close. But, I’ll try to find a way to get another message to you. Be ready,” L’anna said and all at once the strange light was gone and Jennifer snatched her hand back from Isabel’s arm.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened,” Jennifer said apologetically. “Are you ok?” she asked.
Isabel could only nod slightly as she watched Jennifer turn around and resume taking notes again.
Isabel woke up with a start, forgetting for a moment where she was until she looked around and recognized the Valenti’s front room and remembered. She looked down at her arm where it was slightly red and sore where L’anna had grabbed her in the dream. She wanted to run into the tent and tell Max everything right then, but she finally accepted that the news would only distress Max since there wasn’t anything to be done about it right then, and he would be left unable to sleep. Isabel rubbed her arm gently and tried to figure out how to get to sleep after that disturbing dream, but eventually, the emotions from the last 24 hours hit her, and she fell into an exhausted sleep.
~~~~~~
“Well, Jim, this just about the best BBQ burger I’ve ever had,” Jeff Parker admitted. He was standing next to Jim Valenti at the grill, but his eyes kept flickering over to where his daughter and Max Evans were standing across the yard. “Thank you, Jeff. I picked up a few things while I was at home these last few months. You wouldn’t believe all the ideas you can get from watching the Food Channel all day long. I’ve been trying out some different things, and it’s not half bad,” Jim said.
Jeff didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm in the former sheriff’s voice, and he nodded his head in understanding and sympathy. “Well, we really appreciate you throwing this little BBQ together for all of us. It’s not often we get together as parents.” Jeff looked across the yard at his wife, Amy Deluca, and Diane and Philip Evans talking animatedly and then at his daughter, laughing at an apparent joke told by Max Evans. He commented, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Liz this happy.”
“Yeah, I know things have been pretty tough for everyone after Alex’s death and I wanted to find an occasion to gather together without a tragedy being involved. These kids are pretty resilient, but I could tell by talking to Kyle about school and stuff that they needed a time out from their worries to just be kids.”
Jeff agreed. “Liz took Alex’s death pretty hard, and then after that, there seemed to be some trouble with Max and his friends. I know most teenage daughters don’t confide a lot about their love life with their dad, but it looked to me like Liz wasn’t hanging around Max Evans and his sister and friend as much as she had been in the past. But, it looks like everything is good now,” he said gesturing to the group of friends that were now so much at ease with each other after the last 24 hours of events in their lives.
“I’m afraid my former charge might have had something to do with that,” Jim said, candidly. “I don’t know if you heard the news yesterday about the Evans’ jeep and Tess Harding, the girl that I was taking care of for these last several months?” Jim asked, knowing that in a town like Roswell, news travels fast, but not always accurately.
Jeff nodded his head, “Yeah, I heard something about that,” he admitted.
“Well, I don’t know all of the details either, being a little out of the loop as a parent as well, but I do know that Tess latched onto Isabel Evans and her brother from the start and the group dynamic changed after that. I think now, that she always had her eye on Max, but he was involved with your daughter at the time. Then, after last summer, it seemed that Liz and Max kind of backed off from each other for a while, and I think Tess took that to mean he was available. To give him credit, Max didn’t show any interest in Tess for a long time, and believe me, Tess could be very persuasive when she wanted something,” Jim said, knowing poor Jeff Parker had no idea how true that statement was.
“I think just these last couple of weeks, Max finally started going out with Tess. He was over here a lot hanging out with her, but in the end, I think he wasn’t really over Liz. That’s why they got in a fight Saturday night and Tess took off in the Evans’ jeep, set it on fire and pushed it over the cliff.” Jim sighed. “I tried my best with her, but I guess some people just can’t be helped. She’s on her way back to where she lived before coming to Roswell,” Valenti said truthfully.
“Huh. Sorry to hear about the problems she caused, but it looks like Max was able to convince my daughter that it wasn’t his fault,” Jeff said, still not sure that this Max kid was the right guy for his only child.
“I know we think of them as young and naïve teenagers who will fall in and out of love at the drop of the hat, but consider giving Max a chance, Jeff. I saw Liz with my son 2 years ago and I see how she is with Max now, and I can tell you, there’s no comparison. There’s something special there.” Jim reflected back on the way Liz and Max looked at each other several hours ago after everyone had gotten up this morning. He remembered feeling that he was an intruder in his own house, spying on something so special and tender, his heart panged with feelings of loss for his wife when they were first in love.
Jeff looked across the yard again at his daughter and caught a glimpse of the affection between Liz and Max that that Valenti had just described.
“Well, we’ll see if another out-of-town girl doesn’t come to town and lure him away again,” Jeff said, still not quite able to trust Max yet. “But, as long as he’s good to Liz and doesn’t distract her from her school and her studies, I guess I’ll have to give him a chance.”
The rest of the afternoon went by fast, and even Michael seemed at ease with all the parents. Amy hadn’t had any more mindwarp breaks and wasn’t giving Michael too hard of a time for the last episode of taking off with Maria for several days in February. The Evans and the Parkers spent a lot of time talking with each other and observing their children interacting. The misgivings they might have felt over Liz and Max’s relationship soon began to disappear as they each saw how affectionately they looked at and treated each other.
Soon, the BBQ had to come to an end. Liz had an evening shift at the Crashdown to make up for her day off on Sunday, so Liz and her parents were the first to leave. Liz and Max said good bye touching hands and silently communicating their love for each other. The Evans’ thanked Jim and Kyle for hosting the party and Isabel and Max left with them as well. Max and Isabel agreed it was best to keep it cool tonight after a day with their parents, so everyone spent the rest of the evening at home, going over notes, trying to figure out a time to go back to the Pod Chamber with the crystals and to try using the orbs again.
Earlier that morning, before all the parents had arrived, Isabel shared her experience of dreamwalking Jennifer. Her news about Jennifer’s dream was just as disturbing to the rest of the gang as it was to her. She hadn’t had any luck with Brody or the human that Sero was using; they both had normal dreams. But, it was the information that L’anna might be on their side, trying to help them, that surprised and excited them. Isabel hoped that L’anna would find a way to contact her again, and she vowed to dreamwalk Jennifer every night in hopes that L’anna would be there again. Liz, Max, Kyle and Isabel filled Michael and Maria in on all their discoveries from the previous day and Michael and Maria did the same. Everyone took turns looking at the crystals, the same thoughts running through their heads; what were the purpose of these crystals?
Michael agreed with the idea that they couldn’t trust the message they saw from the orbs since Tess’s mission was revealed. His typical impulses kicked in and he wanted to try the orbs right then, but since everyone else’s parents were due anytime, he reluctantly agreed that they’d have to wait for a better time.
The pieces were beginning to fall into place as they began to fill in the blanks of what had really been happening with Tess in the last year. How she had used Malamud to find out about Jennifer’s lectures on Sweden and used her contact’s sister to possess Jennifer to obtain the perfect alibi for Alex’s time away from Roswell. How she was able to use Jennifer’s slides to manipulate pictures of Alex and Jennifer together and Jennifer’s memories of Sweden to construct false memories of Alex’s time there. From what Isabel saw in Jennifer’s dream, it was apparent that L’anna was trying to find the crystals talked about in the translation by tracking down anyone who was associated with the crash. According the sign posted next to the crystals in the museum that Michael and Maria had seen, the crystals were found by someone on the Mesaliko reservation, so L’anna must have found that out and realized the crystals they were looking for were right there in Las Cruces.
The questions that remained were why did L’anna only steal the one crystal, leaving the rest? What did the translation really say and how could they find out? What message did the orbs really have for them? And most of all, how were they going to find all this information and when?
Last edited by 6throck on Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 22 pg 19 4/25/11
A/N-Thanks for the feedback and comments everyone. We're finally getting to the chapter where I've had the last page of written since this fic began. Warning:It is a cliffhanger.
evans-dreamer-Well, Tess is pretty much bent on one goal, so I don't think anyone is safe calling her an ally.
alien friend-The L'anna twist was totally a surprise to me, too, but I like it. I'll try to throw her in the story a little bit more, but it will have to wait a while.
Timelord-Thank you!
keepsmiling-Yeah, RL parents may not know everything that's going on with their teenagers, but certainly more than they did on the show. Yes, the piece are beginning to fall into place, but I'm about to throw a monkey wrench into the mix soon.
Ginger-Thank you. I'm trying to answer questions left, using my imagination, which sad to say is more than the writers on the show did.
Eve-You're right. But, hopefully, all their questions will be answered soon. Hang tight.
Chapter 22-Commencement
When they returned to school on Tuesday, the gang was very busy. Max, Maria and Liz talked to all their teachers to get their assignments from the days they missed last week. After some reflection and thought about the recent turn of events, and with a little push from Maria, Michael went in and talked to his guidance counselor about his grades, determined to pass every class. Max still had some assignments to make up from last semester, so everyone met in the library during lunch to do make-up work. Isabel had to talk to all her teachers who had given her recommendations for San Francisco and tell them that she had decided to stick closer to home and try Santa Fe instead.
Kyle cornered Malamud and asked him about the meeting for the study aboard program. He couldn’t remember much about it, but when Kyle showed him the picture of Jennifer Coleman, he immediately recognized her as the hot chick that gave the lecture. He did confirm going out with Tess a couple of times, but that he never got past third base with her. This information just confirmed the gang’s theory that Tess found out about Jennifer through Malamud and decided to use her as a cover for Alex’s absence from school, utilizing her information about Sweden to plan his memory implants.
Valenti informed the school regarding Tess’s departure. Most of the students had already heard that Tess was gone from the town gossip. Various rumors about her sudden departure spread like wildfire about campus, especially after it was made quite obvious to everyone that Max and Liz were back together again. They ranged from the one where Max dumped Tess and she was so distraught that she left town, to the one where Liz beat her up so severely that she had to have plastic surgery to repair her face, and she was so ashamed to be seen that she transferred to a different school. As everyone met together at the Crashdown after school, they shared some of their favorites. So far, though, no one suspected Max of any foul play in regards to Tess’s disappearance, which was a great relief to everyone.
The Tess rumor mill began to die down as the week progressed and the students’ attentions turned towards finals and the end of the school year. Max, Liz, Maria, Michael, Kyle and Isabel fell back into their usual routine of school and afterschool activities. Michael was spending all his time either working at the Crashdown or doing make-up assignments to pass his classes. Maria was helping him when she wasn’t on duty as well. Isabel was filling out her application for Santa Fe State, reading up on all the literature for the college and getting her admissions essay ready, and studying for her finals which as a Senior, she was currently taking. Kyle was looking for employment for the summer; something that would pay and also help him keep up his athletic skills. With his father still out of work, Kyle was counting on an athletic scholarship to get him to college the next year, so he finally decided to help out at the local YMCA, coaching basketball, once school let out for the summer. The pay wasn’t terrific, but it would look good on his scholarship application.
Isabel was constantly checking Sero’s human’s and Brody’s dreams to see if any signs pointed to them being possessed soon, but so far, their dreams all seemed like normal dreams. She continually checked on Jennifer’s dreams to see if L’anna would be there again, but so far she had not made a reappearance.
Max was able to get a hold of Brody’s cell phone, but to his disappointment, all the call history for the last several weeks had been deleted. The only calls that showed were from the last couple of days, and Tess’s phone number was not saved in the directory. Max and Liz had study dates after her regular Crashdown shifts and his UFO Museum duties. They managed to spend most of the time actually studying, but their goodnight kisses got progressively longer and it started getting harder and harder to say goodbye. Max wasn’t sure if this would get any easier once school got out and they had the entire summer together. It would be their first summer vacation as a couple, and he wondered about how their relationship would progress. He wanted her so much, and from the emotions he felt from her when they were together, he knew she felt the same way. But, he feared that once they took their relationship to the next level, the thirst of his desire would not be sated, but would increase his need instead.
Before they knew it, it was Friday. Everyone had been so busy during the week that they hadn’t had a chance to visit the Pod Chamber yet. Friday was a half-day for everyone and the seniors’ last day of classes. Friday afternoon, the West Roswell High Class of 2001 was having their Graduation ceremony. As the gang began to leave school on Friday, Max decided it was time to make some plans and so he asked everyone to come to the Crashdown Saturday evening after closing to talk.
The Graduation ceremony was wonderful. Diane Evans, sitting by her husband’s side, was in tears as she watched Isabel walk across the stage and receive her diploma. Max sat next to his mother and Liz sat right next to him. Maria had been asked to sing a solo in the choir. Apparently, the choir director heard about her performance at the KROZ Blind Date contest and had asked her to cover for his first soloist, who had come down with mono. Michael had come to hear her sing, and was sitting between Liz and Amy DeLuca.
After the ceremony was over, everyone went outside to take pictures and gather with their families. Liz was talking to a couple of senior girls that she knew from her advanced Chemistry class, giving them her congratulations when Max came up behind her and casually wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up and him and smiled and then resumed her conversation with the girls, missing the look of envy that they gave each other as they watched the couple interact.
As soon as the girls walked away, Liz turned around and asked, “Did you tell your parents about the party at the Crashdown for the graduating seniors? They’re coming, right?”
“Yeah. They’re getting ready to head over there right now. Isabel said she’d ride over with mom and dad in dad’s car and leave us her new car.” His parents had made good on their promise to buy Isabel a new car for graduation, and so she was now the proud owner of a brand new Saab. “But, she made me promise that we’d come straight there with no parking in it beforehand.”
Liz grinned up at him. “Hmmm . . . I guess that means we have to be good tonight, then,” she said, pulling her arm away from his waist and taking a small step back.
Max frowned as she pulled away, instantly missing her body’s warmth against him. With a low growl in his throat, he quickly remedied the situation, wrapping his hands around her small waist and pulling her flush against his front. As she came in contact with Max, Liz felt his body heat, along with his burning desire, wash over her, causing her to gasp out loud. She looked up in his eyes and saw that they were smoldering with passion.
Max stared down at her intently. “Isabel just said she didn’t want us doing anything in the car. Something about how we leave an imprint of our auras in there when we do that, and she feels when she drives it later.”
At those words, Liz felt her face flush with embarrassment at the realization that Isabel had been sensing their make-out sessions in the car. She missed what Max was saying.
“ . . . so that leaves everywhere free for the taking. I’ve really missed you this week, Liz.”
The tender pleading tone in his voice broke Liz out of her thoughts and she looked up at him.
“Silly!” she teased, hitting him lightly on the chest. “What are you talking about? We’ve been together every single night this week.”
“Yeah, but we’ve been studying and doing homework. That’s not the same thing. I mean, I love being with you, even if it is just for schoolwork, but I miss being close to you, physically and mentally, without any other distractions.”
Liz felt how much Max missed her and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I’ve missed you too, Max. So much.”
Max wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in the side of her neck, breathing in her unique scent. The smell intoxicated him and his lips began to dance over the smooth skin behind her ear, causing her to shudder with pleasure. Max realized how long it had been since he had the joy of tasting her delicate skin. He opened his eyes, checking for the telltale marks that he had left behind Sunday night and wasn’t surprised when he couldn’t see them.
“Besides,” he murmured suggestively, “I haven’t even had the chance of replacing the hickeys on your neck,” he said, moving his head around to the other side. “I’d liked looking at them, knowing that they were mine.”
“Max,” Liz breathed, tipping her head so he had better access. “This has been the first day that I’ve been able to wear my hair back all week because of those.” She tried to be stern, but Max’s movements along her neck caused her words to come out quite breathy, sounding like she was urging him on instead of scolding him.
Max brought one of his hands up, and giving a quick tug on her ponytail, whispered into her ear, “But you know, I prefer your hair down, anyway.” And with that he found that sweet spot behind her ear and began sucking the delicious skin into his mouth, tasting it, savoring it, as his fingers began searching for the band that held her ponytail in place. Liz’s fingers curled into his hair and her blood started racing, her breaths beginning to come out in soft moans.
“MAX! LIZ!!!” Maria’s voice came piercing through the din, and they quickly broke apart and Liz whirled around to face her. Max had just managed to pull the band from Liz hair before she turned, and her hair came tumbling down, cascading around her face as it settled. Maria rolled her eyes at Max. “Good grief! Don’t you two ever take a rest? What do you mean, mauling my best friend in public like this, Max?” Maria had her hands on her hips as she questioned him.
“Sorry, I just can’t help myself. She’s just so irresistible,” he replied, burying his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. Liz giggled at his actions.
“Come on,” Maria urged them forward. “Everyone is getting ready to head for the Crashdown for the party. Liz, your dad wants us there early to help set up and be ready to serve everyone. Michael left already to start up the grill, so I’m hitching a ride with you guys. Time to dawn the gorgeous waitress uniforms you and I love so much,” Maria finished, turning to walk towards the parking lot.
When she saw that Liz was still looking at Max instead of following her, Maria went back and took Liz by the hand and began pulling her along. “Come on. You and Moondoggie can make eyes at each other later.”
Liz reluctantly went along with Maria and Max followed close behind. As they got to the parking lot and Max opened the passenger door for Liz, Maria opened the back door and pulled Liz in with her instead. “Uh uh, I’m not sitting back there by myself while you guys sit up front and ignore me the whole way there.” Max said nothing, but closed the passenger door and went around to the driver’s side and got in, thinking to himself that he would soon find a way to get Liz alone.
When they got to the Crashdown, Maria pulled Liz into the backroom to quickly change into their uniforms and start taking orders. Max went around front and tried to find an empty booth to sit at, but it was impossible. The whole place was jammed with excited seniors, talking loudly about their next steps in life now that high school was done. Max reflected on what a simple thought that must be for most teenagers and wondered what questions he would be asking himself next year when he was in their place.
The party lasted several hours and everyone working was exhausted after the last person left. Liz’s parents told the girls and Michael to go home and wash up and that they would clean up, which was a great relief to Maria and Michael as they headed out to Michael’s place without a second thought.
Max was already in Liz’s bedroom as she came in. He could see how tired she was and he felt her weariness through their connection. After kissing him, Liz headed straight for the shower. Max politely waited on her bed, although the thought of her in the other room taking all of her clothes off was almost impossible to bear.
Liz emerged from the bathroom, clean and wet, dressed in her tank top and pajama bottoms. As he crossed the room to hold her, she fell into his arms and he kissed her passionately. She returned his kisses as best as she could, but she was just about asleep on her feet.
Max carried her over to her bed and gently placed her in it, tucking her in. She softly murmured her thanks as her eyed closed the moment they hit the pillow. Max carefully got into the bed, staying on top of the covers and spooned in behind her. He quickly dried her hair with his powers, pressing his face against it, relishing the sweet smell of her freshly cleaned body. He began to gently knead her scalp, giving her a head massage, sending small waves of healing power through his hands, soothing her tired muscles. He moved onto her shoulders, back, and arms, continuing to give her a very amazing, healing massage. Liz was barely conscious as Max’s touch lifted every single ache from her body, leaving her feeling so light. The last words on her mouth as she drifted off to sleep were, “I love you, Max.”
She knew he must have left after she fell asleep and wondered when they might have time to be alone together again. She, too, wondered if the time had come for them to finally take the next step. She turned to her nightstand and opened the drawer, taking out the little box of pills that she had gotten from the clinic last week. She had found it hard to find time to sneak away to visit the clinic without Max finding out, but she had managed to do it. She popped the next pill out and quickly swallowed it, contemplating when the right time to talk to Max would be. She returned the package to her drawer and closed it. As she went to her dresser, she automatically put the alien pendant on as she had every morning this last week. She loved wearing it and always felt her connection with Max stronger when she was wearing it.
As planned, the gang was coming over to the Crashdown after closing to talk about everything again and to see what they should do next. Liz had already asked her parents if everyone could come over for one last round of “studying” before next week’s finals and they had agreed to the arrangement. During the day, several of the parents of the seniors stopped by the Crashdown to once again thank the Parkers for the wonderful party they had hosted for the Graduates.
Just before closing, Isabel showed up and sat down in the last booth close to the kitchen where Max was already sitting. Liz had already turned the grill off and sent Jose home, so it was just Maria, Michael and herself left in the kitchen. Liz’s parents had gone out to the movies for the night. Once the Crashdown was closed, Max went to the front door, turned the sign to “Closed” and locked the door. Kyle and his dad were coming, but had called to say they were running a bit late as they had been out enjoying a day of fishing at the lake.
As Max sat back down, Isabel said, “Max, I know you want to talk about going to the Pod Chamber again to try out the orbs, but first I have to tell you all what happened last night.”
Max nodded and Isabel began. “I dreamwalked Jennifer again. I was hoping that this might be the night that L’anna would be there again. I started out in Jennifer’s dream, but just as I started to approach her, she turned and I saw the strange light in her aura and knew that it must be L’anna. Excited by what L’anna might say, I ran to catch up with her and found myself surrounded by a thick fog, unable to see more than several inches in front of me. I looked around, calling L’anna’s name, but I was unable to find her. Desperate to locate her, I began running with my arms out in front of me, calling her name over and over again. All of a sudden, I tripped over a log and fell down. As I was getting back up, a pair of arms reached out to pick me up. Looking up, I smiled, expecting to see L’anna’s face, but was shocked instead to see a young man with the most piercing green eyes I have ever seen before. He smiled at me spoke one word—‘Isabel.’ That scared me so much, I woke up right after that and was unable to get back into Jennifer’s dreams again.
Max opened his mouth to comment, when suddenly, 5 men entered through the Crashdown doors. To most people, they would have looked like ordinary customers. Dressed casually in jeans and T-Shirts, nothing in their appearance or manners seemed out of place. But, something about them put all 3 aliens instantly on alert. Liz and Maria weren’t far behind as Liz sensed what Max felt through their connection and Maria knew Michael well enough to read the change in his emotions.
As the group of men drew near, four of them hung back, leaving one in front. He was young, maybe in his early 20’s. He was tall and thin, but not lanky. He was also extremely good looking, with a chiseled jaw, strong nose, and beautiful bright green eyes. He would have had the entire movie star/model look down, except for the crop of shocking, wild, fiery red hair that covered his head, drawing all attention away from all his other features.
As he drew closer, the sense of foreboding grew stronger, sending Michael into motion. Before anyone knew it, Michael was standing in a protective stance outside the booth, staring down the approaching man. Isabel gave a small gasp as she recognized the stranger from her dream the night before. She desperately tried reading his aura, hoping to understand his intentions, but she couldn’t. “Max,” she whispered. “I can’t read him at all!! I think he’s blocking me.” Max’s eyes flickered over to Isabel at that statement, reading her fear, and then pushed Liz behind him, attempting to shield her from any threat these men might present.
The leader of the group of men stopped a few feet in front of the 5 teenagers, looking them over one by one. Max watched him scrutinize the others, and curiously noted that his eyes seemed to soften at the sight of Liz. Max’s jaw tightened and his blood began to stir, and he jumped up out of the booth and stood next to Michael.
“What do you guys want? The restaurant is closed.” Max spoke with calm authority, portraying a confidence in his voice that he didn’t feel inside.
The man with the bright red hair looked at Max and said, “We only just arrived in town and we heard this was the best place to grab a bite to eat.” His voice was deep, with a soothing tone.
Michael stepped forward, slightly in front of Max and pulled one of his classic Michael-looks at the men, as he folded his arms across his chest. “Well, you heard what he said, we’re closed. Didn’t you see the sign outside? Come back again tomorrow.”
The man was slightly amused at the tone that came from the young man in front of him. “Sorry. Like I said, we’re from out of town. Surely you wouldn’t turn away hungry men from getting a quick meal? I’m sure you still have something available for us. After all, you can’t have been closed for too long, I mean, the door wasn’t locked and you’re all still here, aren’t you?” he said in a somewhat arrogant tone.
Max was getting restless. His unease at the presence of these men was growing more and more each minute. He was also sure that the door had been locked. He sensed that the leader, if that’s what you could call him, was toying with them. His emotions began to run wild, and his fear over the situation escalated.
Liz sensed his rapidly growing apprehension. She immediately slid out of the booth and stepped up behind Max. She heard both Maria and Isabel hiss at her before Max turned in alarm, his eyes wide with fear for Liz’s safety. He turned and looked into her eyes and whispered urgently, “Liz, you should get out of here. Take Maria and Isabel and go in the back. Let Michael and I handle this.”
Michael had also turned to face Liz, his protector mode in full force as he looked down at the girl who was not only his best friend’s girlfriend, but also his own queen.
“Max is right, Liz. You need to leave. It’s too dangerous,” Michael declared, keeping his voice down as well.
“Too dangerous is leaving your side and going somewhere without you,” Liz whispered furiously, her eyes blazing up at Michael. “There could be someone waiting for me in the backroom, upstairs, outside, or around the next corner. Is that where you want to send me?” Liz demanded, staring straight up at him defiantly, turning her head to give Max the same look. She saw the panic in Max’s eyes as realized the truth of what she said. Her tone softened. “You boys are going about this all wrong. You need to be more diplomatic. Let me do this.” Liz stepped around Max and faced the strange men that stood in front of them. She tried to push her fear, and the fear she felt coming from Max, deep down in her stomach.
She put on a pleasant, welcoming face and smiled. “I’m sorry for my friends’ abrupt manners. I’m afraid you’ve caught us as we were about to start our group study session. We’re all a little on edge about our upcoming finals next week. We are closed for the night, but if you promise to come again tomorrow morning for a hearty alien-themed breakfast, I’m sure I could find something to tide you over ‘til then. I know my parents wouldn’t want me to turn out hungry strangers without something to wet their appetites for more of our home-cooked alien specialties. So, if you wouldn’t mind getting something to go, I believe we still have some Asteroid pie left. It’s our number one best seller.”
Liz began to walk towards the counter to get the pie from when the man stopped her. Carefully not to actually touch her, he put forth his arm to impede her further progress forward.
“I’m sorry. I can’t allow you to do that,” he said in a somewhat friendly, yet ominous tone.
Liz looked back at him, startled and a little scared. “Wh—what? What do you mean?”
The man with the vibrant red hair looked down at her smiling. “Now it’s my turn to apologize for my behavior. I put you through my own test of sorts, to see how you would react in a strange situation like this. Clearly, you have shown the courage and presence of mind fitting to your chosen appointment. And one would have to be blind not to see the love you have for our King. You remind me so much of . . .” he stopped himself from continuing, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me and my foolish games. I cannot permit you to serve me. It is I who should serve you.” He knelt at her feet and bowed his head in reverence. His men followed suit behind him.
“And you, my King,” he said raising his eyes to look at Max, who had by this time, joined Liz’s side. “Many years have we have waited to hear of your progress. We have been preparing our forces, strengthening our numbers, waiting for the time when you should come again to take back your throne. We finally received word that you had been found, and we arrived as quickly as we could. Our informant told us that you weren’t raised by your protector, and that there is much that you do not know. We are here to train you and teach you all that you need to know before returning home to defeat Khivar and reclaim your throne.”
The silence that met that small speech was deafening.
evans-dreamer-Well, Tess is pretty much bent on one goal, so I don't think anyone is safe calling her an ally.
alien friend-The L'anna twist was totally a surprise to me, too, but I like it. I'll try to throw her in the story a little bit more, but it will have to wait a while.
Timelord-Thank you!
keepsmiling-Yeah, RL parents may not know everything that's going on with their teenagers, but certainly more than they did on the show. Yes, the piece are beginning to fall into place, but I'm about to throw a monkey wrench into the mix soon.
Ginger-Thank you. I'm trying to answer questions left, using my imagination, which sad to say is more than the writers on the show did.
Eve-You're right. But, hopefully, all their questions will be answered soon. Hang tight.
Chapter 22-Commencement
When they returned to school on Tuesday, the gang was very busy. Max, Maria and Liz talked to all their teachers to get their assignments from the days they missed last week. After some reflection and thought about the recent turn of events, and with a little push from Maria, Michael went in and talked to his guidance counselor about his grades, determined to pass every class. Max still had some assignments to make up from last semester, so everyone met in the library during lunch to do make-up work. Isabel had to talk to all her teachers who had given her recommendations for San Francisco and tell them that she had decided to stick closer to home and try Santa Fe instead.
Kyle cornered Malamud and asked him about the meeting for the study aboard program. He couldn’t remember much about it, but when Kyle showed him the picture of Jennifer Coleman, he immediately recognized her as the hot chick that gave the lecture. He did confirm going out with Tess a couple of times, but that he never got past third base with her. This information just confirmed the gang’s theory that Tess found out about Jennifer through Malamud and decided to use her as a cover for Alex’s absence from school, utilizing her information about Sweden to plan his memory implants.
Valenti informed the school regarding Tess’s departure. Most of the students had already heard that Tess was gone from the town gossip. Various rumors about her sudden departure spread like wildfire about campus, especially after it was made quite obvious to everyone that Max and Liz were back together again. They ranged from the one where Max dumped Tess and she was so distraught that she left town, to the one where Liz beat her up so severely that she had to have plastic surgery to repair her face, and she was so ashamed to be seen that she transferred to a different school. As everyone met together at the Crashdown after school, they shared some of their favorites. So far, though, no one suspected Max of any foul play in regards to Tess’s disappearance, which was a great relief to everyone.
The Tess rumor mill began to die down as the week progressed and the students’ attentions turned towards finals and the end of the school year. Max, Liz, Maria, Michael, Kyle and Isabel fell back into their usual routine of school and afterschool activities. Michael was spending all his time either working at the Crashdown or doing make-up assignments to pass his classes. Maria was helping him when she wasn’t on duty as well. Isabel was filling out her application for Santa Fe State, reading up on all the literature for the college and getting her admissions essay ready, and studying for her finals which as a Senior, she was currently taking. Kyle was looking for employment for the summer; something that would pay and also help him keep up his athletic skills. With his father still out of work, Kyle was counting on an athletic scholarship to get him to college the next year, so he finally decided to help out at the local YMCA, coaching basketball, once school let out for the summer. The pay wasn’t terrific, but it would look good on his scholarship application.
Isabel was constantly checking Sero’s human’s and Brody’s dreams to see if any signs pointed to them being possessed soon, but so far, their dreams all seemed like normal dreams. She continually checked on Jennifer’s dreams to see if L’anna would be there again, but so far she had not made a reappearance.
Max was able to get a hold of Brody’s cell phone, but to his disappointment, all the call history for the last several weeks had been deleted. The only calls that showed were from the last couple of days, and Tess’s phone number was not saved in the directory. Max and Liz had study dates after her regular Crashdown shifts and his UFO Museum duties. They managed to spend most of the time actually studying, but their goodnight kisses got progressively longer and it started getting harder and harder to say goodbye. Max wasn’t sure if this would get any easier once school got out and they had the entire summer together. It would be their first summer vacation as a couple, and he wondered about how their relationship would progress. He wanted her so much, and from the emotions he felt from her when they were together, he knew she felt the same way. But, he feared that once they took their relationship to the next level, the thirst of his desire would not be sated, but would increase his need instead.
Before they knew it, it was Friday. Everyone had been so busy during the week that they hadn’t had a chance to visit the Pod Chamber yet. Friday was a half-day for everyone and the seniors’ last day of classes. Friday afternoon, the West Roswell High Class of 2001 was having their Graduation ceremony. As the gang began to leave school on Friday, Max decided it was time to make some plans and so he asked everyone to come to the Crashdown Saturday evening after closing to talk.
The Graduation ceremony was wonderful. Diane Evans, sitting by her husband’s side, was in tears as she watched Isabel walk across the stage and receive her diploma. Max sat next to his mother and Liz sat right next to him. Maria had been asked to sing a solo in the choir. Apparently, the choir director heard about her performance at the KROZ Blind Date contest and had asked her to cover for his first soloist, who had come down with mono. Michael had come to hear her sing, and was sitting between Liz and Amy DeLuca.
After the ceremony was over, everyone went outside to take pictures and gather with their families. Liz was talking to a couple of senior girls that she knew from her advanced Chemistry class, giving them her congratulations when Max came up behind her and casually wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up and him and smiled and then resumed her conversation with the girls, missing the look of envy that they gave each other as they watched the couple interact.
As soon as the girls walked away, Liz turned around and asked, “Did you tell your parents about the party at the Crashdown for the graduating seniors? They’re coming, right?”
“Yeah. They’re getting ready to head over there right now. Isabel said she’d ride over with mom and dad in dad’s car and leave us her new car.” His parents had made good on their promise to buy Isabel a new car for graduation, and so she was now the proud owner of a brand new Saab. “But, she made me promise that we’d come straight there with no parking in it beforehand.”
Liz grinned up at him. “Hmmm . . . I guess that means we have to be good tonight, then,” she said, pulling her arm away from his waist and taking a small step back.
Max frowned as she pulled away, instantly missing her body’s warmth against him. With a low growl in his throat, he quickly remedied the situation, wrapping his hands around her small waist and pulling her flush against his front. As she came in contact with Max, Liz felt his body heat, along with his burning desire, wash over her, causing her to gasp out loud. She looked up in his eyes and saw that they were smoldering with passion.
Max stared down at her intently. “Isabel just said she didn’t want us doing anything in the car. Something about how we leave an imprint of our auras in there when we do that, and she feels when she drives it later.”
At those words, Liz felt her face flush with embarrassment at the realization that Isabel had been sensing their make-out sessions in the car. She missed what Max was saying.
“ . . . so that leaves everywhere free for the taking. I’ve really missed you this week, Liz.”
The tender pleading tone in his voice broke Liz out of her thoughts and she looked up at him.
“Silly!” she teased, hitting him lightly on the chest. “What are you talking about? We’ve been together every single night this week.”
“Yeah, but we’ve been studying and doing homework. That’s not the same thing. I mean, I love being with you, even if it is just for schoolwork, but I miss being close to you, physically and mentally, without any other distractions.”
Liz felt how much Max missed her and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I’ve missed you too, Max. So much.”
Max wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in the side of her neck, breathing in her unique scent. The smell intoxicated him and his lips began to dance over the smooth skin behind her ear, causing her to shudder with pleasure. Max realized how long it had been since he had the joy of tasting her delicate skin. He opened his eyes, checking for the telltale marks that he had left behind Sunday night and wasn’t surprised when he couldn’t see them.
“Besides,” he murmured suggestively, “I haven’t even had the chance of replacing the hickeys on your neck,” he said, moving his head around to the other side. “I’d liked looking at them, knowing that they were mine.”
“Max,” Liz breathed, tipping her head so he had better access. “This has been the first day that I’ve been able to wear my hair back all week because of those.” She tried to be stern, but Max’s movements along her neck caused her words to come out quite breathy, sounding like she was urging him on instead of scolding him.
Max brought one of his hands up, and giving a quick tug on her ponytail, whispered into her ear, “But you know, I prefer your hair down, anyway.” And with that he found that sweet spot behind her ear and began sucking the delicious skin into his mouth, tasting it, savoring it, as his fingers began searching for the band that held her ponytail in place. Liz’s fingers curled into his hair and her blood started racing, her breaths beginning to come out in soft moans.
“MAX! LIZ!!!” Maria’s voice came piercing through the din, and they quickly broke apart and Liz whirled around to face her. Max had just managed to pull the band from Liz hair before she turned, and her hair came tumbling down, cascading around her face as it settled. Maria rolled her eyes at Max. “Good grief! Don’t you two ever take a rest? What do you mean, mauling my best friend in public like this, Max?” Maria had her hands on her hips as she questioned him.
“Sorry, I just can’t help myself. She’s just so irresistible,” he replied, burying his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. Liz giggled at his actions.
“Come on,” Maria urged them forward. “Everyone is getting ready to head for the Crashdown for the party. Liz, your dad wants us there early to help set up and be ready to serve everyone. Michael left already to start up the grill, so I’m hitching a ride with you guys. Time to dawn the gorgeous waitress uniforms you and I love so much,” Maria finished, turning to walk towards the parking lot.
When she saw that Liz was still looking at Max instead of following her, Maria went back and took Liz by the hand and began pulling her along. “Come on. You and Moondoggie can make eyes at each other later.”
Liz reluctantly went along with Maria and Max followed close behind. As they got to the parking lot and Max opened the passenger door for Liz, Maria opened the back door and pulled Liz in with her instead. “Uh uh, I’m not sitting back there by myself while you guys sit up front and ignore me the whole way there.” Max said nothing, but closed the passenger door and went around to the driver’s side and got in, thinking to himself that he would soon find a way to get Liz alone.
When they got to the Crashdown, Maria pulled Liz into the backroom to quickly change into their uniforms and start taking orders. Max went around front and tried to find an empty booth to sit at, but it was impossible. The whole place was jammed with excited seniors, talking loudly about their next steps in life now that high school was done. Max reflected on what a simple thought that must be for most teenagers and wondered what questions he would be asking himself next year when he was in their place.
The party lasted several hours and everyone working was exhausted after the last person left. Liz’s parents told the girls and Michael to go home and wash up and that they would clean up, which was a great relief to Maria and Michael as they headed out to Michael’s place without a second thought.
Max was already in Liz’s bedroom as she came in. He could see how tired she was and he felt her weariness through their connection. After kissing him, Liz headed straight for the shower. Max politely waited on her bed, although the thought of her in the other room taking all of her clothes off was almost impossible to bear.
Liz emerged from the bathroom, clean and wet, dressed in her tank top and pajama bottoms. As he crossed the room to hold her, she fell into his arms and he kissed her passionately. She returned his kisses as best as she could, but she was just about asleep on her feet.
Max carried her over to her bed and gently placed her in it, tucking her in. She softly murmured her thanks as her eyed closed the moment they hit the pillow. Max carefully got into the bed, staying on top of the covers and spooned in behind her. He quickly dried her hair with his powers, pressing his face against it, relishing the sweet smell of her freshly cleaned body. He began to gently knead her scalp, giving her a head massage, sending small waves of healing power through his hands, soothing her tired muscles. He moved onto her shoulders, back, and arms, continuing to give her a very amazing, healing massage. Liz was barely conscious as Max’s touch lifted every single ache from her body, leaving her feeling so light. The last words on her mouth as she drifted off to sleep were, “I love you, Max.”
~~~~~~
Saturday morning dawned, and the warmth of the sun slowly woke Liz from a wonderful dream. She turned in bed and stretched, expecting to feel the tightness of her muscles reminding her of her busy night, but was pleasantly surprised to notice she had no soreness at all. She vaguely remembered Max massaging her last night after her shower, and realized what he must have done.She knew he must have left after she fell asleep and wondered when they might have time to be alone together again. She, too, wondered if the time had come for them to finally take the next step. She turned to her nightstand and opened the drawer, taking out the little box of pills that she had gotten from the clinic last week. She had found it hard to find time to sneak away to visit the clinic without Max finding out, but she had managed to do it. She popped the next pill out and quickly swallowed it, contemplating when the right time to talk to Max would be. She returned the package to her drawer and closed it. As she went to her dresser, she automatically put the alien pendant on as she had every morning this last week. She loved wearing it and always felt her connection with Max stronger when she was wearing it.
As planned, the gang was coming over to the Crashdown after closing to talk about everything again and to see what they should do next. Liz had already asked her parents if everyone could come over for one last round of “studying” before next week’s finals and they had agreed to the arrangement. During the day, several of the parents of the seniors stopped by the Crashdown to once again thank the Parkers for the wonderful party they had hosted for the Graduates.
Just before closing, Isabel showed up and sat down in the last booth close to the kitchen where Max was already sitting. Liz had already turned the grill off and sent Jose home, so it was just Maria, Michael and herself left in the kitchen. Liz’s parents had gone out to the movies for the night. Once the Crashdown was closed, Max went to the front door, turned the sign to “Closed” and locked the door. Kyle and his dad were coming, but had called to say they were running a bit late as they had been out enjoying a day of fishing at the lake.
As Max sat back down, Isabel said, “Max, I know you want to talk about going to the Pod Chamber again to try out the orbs, but first I have to tell you all what happened last night.”
Max nodded and Isabel began. “I dreamwalked Jennifer again. I was hoping that this might be the night that L’anna would be there again. I started out in Jennifer’s dream, but just as I started to approach her, she turned and I saw the strange light in her aura and knew that it must be L’anna. Excited by what L’anna might say, I ran to catch up with her and found myself surrounded by a thick fog, unable to see more than several inches in front of me. I looked around, calling L’anna’s name, but I was unable to find her. Desperate to locate her, I began running with my arms out in front of me, calling her name over and over again. All of a sudden, I tripped over a log and fell down. As I was getting back up, a pair of arms reached out to pick me up. Looking up, I smiled, expecting to see L’anna’s face, but was shocked instead to see a young man with the most piercing green eyes I have ever seen before. He smiled at me spoke one word—‘Isabel.’ That scared me so much, I woke up right after that and was unable to get back into Jennifer’s dreams again.
Max opened his mouth to comment, when suddenly, 5 men entered through the Crashdown doors. To most people, they would have looked like ordinary customers. Dressed casually in jeans and T-Shirts, nothing in their appearance or manners seemed out of place. But, something about them put all 3 aliens instantly on alert. Liz and Maria weren’t far behind as Liz sensed what Max felt through their connection and Maria knew Michael well enough to read the change in his emotions.
As the group of men drew near, four of them hung back, leaving one in front. He was young, maybe in his early 20’s. He was tall and thin, but not lanky. He was also extremely good looking, with a chiseled jaw, strong nose, and beautiful bright green eyes. He would have had the entire movie star/model look down, except for the crop of shocking, wild, fiery red hair that covered his head, drawing all attention away from all his other features.
As he drew closer, the sense of foreboding grew stronger, sending Michael into motion. Before anyone knew it, Michael was standing in a protective stance outside the booth, staring down the approaching man. Isabel gave a small gasp as she recognized the stranger from her dream the night before. She desperately tried reading his aura, hoping to understand his intentions, but she couldn’t. “Max,” she whispered. “I can’t read him at all!! I think he’s blocking me.” Max’s eyes flickered over to Isabel at that statement, reading her fear, and then pushed Liz behind him, attempting to shield her from any threat these men might present.
The leader of the group of men stopped a few feet in front of the 5 teenagers, looking them over one by one. Max watched him scrutinize the others, and curiously noted that his eyes seemed to soften at the sight of Liz. Max’s jaw tightened and his blood began to stir, and he jumped up out of the booth and stood next to Michael.
“What do you guys want? The restaurant is closed.” Max spoke with calm authority, portraying a confidence in his voice that he didn’t feel inside.
The man with the bright red hair looked at Max and said, “We only just arrived in town and we heard this was the best place to grab a bite to eat.” His voice was deep, with a soothing tone.
Michael stepped forward, slightly in front of Max and pulled one of his classic Michael-looks at the men, as he folded his arms across his chest. “Well, you heard what he said, we’re closed. Didn’t you see the sign outside? Come back again tomorrow.”
The man was slightly amused at the tone that came from the young man in front of him. “Sorry. Like I said, we’re from out of town. Surely you wouldn’t turn away hungry men from getting a quick meal? I’m sure you still have something available for us. After all, you can’t have been closed for too long, I mean, the door wasn’t locked and you’re all still here, aren’t you?” he said in a somewhat arrogant tone.
Max was getting restless. His unease at the presence of these men was growing more and more each minute. He was also sure that the door had been locked. He sensed that the leader, if that’s what you could call him, was toying with them. His emotions began to run wild, and his fear over the situation escalated.
Liz sensed his rapidly growing apprehension. She immediately slid out of the booth and stepped up behind Max. She heard both Maria and Isabel hiss at her before Max turned in alarm, his eyes wide with fear for Liz’s safety. He turned and looked into her eyes and whispered urgently, “Liz, you should get out of here. Take Maria and Isabel and go in the back. Let Michael and I handle this.”
Michael had also turned to face Liz, his protector mode in full force as he looked down at the girl who was not only his best friend’s girlfriend, but also his own queen.
“Max is right, Liz. You need to leave. It’s too dangerous,” Michael declared, keeping his voice down as well.
“Too dangerous is leaving your side and going somewhere without you,” Liz whispered furiously, her eyes blazing up at Michael. “There could be someone waiting for me in the backroom, upstairs, outside, or around the next corner. Is that where you want to send me?” Liz demanded, staring straight up at him defiantly, turning her head to give Max the same look. She saw the panic in Max’s eyes as realized the truth of what she said. Her tone softened. “You boys are going about this all wrong. You need to be more diplomatic. Let me do this.” Liz stepped around Max and faced the strange men that stood in front of them. She tried to push her fear, and the fear she felt coming from Max, deep down in her stomach.
She put on a pleasant, welcoming face and smiled. “I’m sorry for my friends’ abrupt manners. I’m afraid you’ve caught us as we were about to start our group study session. We’re all a little on edge about our upcoming finals next week. We are closed for the night, but if you promise to come again tomorrow morning for a hearty alien-themed breakfast, I’m sure I could find something to tide you over ‘til then. I know my parents wouldn’t want me to turn out hungry strangers without something to wet their appetites for more of our home-cooked alien specialties. So, if you wouldn’t mind getting something to go, I believe we still have some Asteroid pie left. It’s our number one best seller.”
Liz began to walk towards the counter to get the pie from when the man stopped her. Carefully not to actually touch her, he put forth his arm to impede her further progress forward.
“I’m sorry. I can’t allow you to do that,” he said in a somewhat friendly, yet ominous tone.
Liz looked back at him, startled and a little scared. “Wh—what? What do you mean?”
The man with the vibrant red hair looked down at her smiling. “Now it’s my turn to apologize for my behavior. I put you through my own test of sorts, to see how you would react in a strange situation like this. Clearly, you have shown the courage and presence of mind fitting to your chosen appointment. And one would have to be blind not to see the love you have for our King. You remind me so much of . . .” he stopped himself from continuing, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me and my foolish games. I cannot permit you to serve me. It is I who should serve you.” He knelt at her feet and bowed his head in reverence. His men followed suit behind him.
“And you, my King,” he said raising his eyes to look at Max, who had by this time, joined Liz’s side. “Many years have we have waited to hear of your progress. We have been preparing our forces, strengthening our numbers, waiting for the time when you should come again to take back your throne. We finally received word that you had been found, and we arrived as quickly as we could. Our informant told us that you weren’t raised by your protector, and that there is much that you do not know. We are here to train you and teach you all that you need to know before returning home to defeat Khivar and reclaim your throne.”
The silence that met that small speech was deafening.
Last edited by 6throck on Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:58 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Re: Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 23 pg 20 5/15/11
Avalon Rose-So sorry I missed mentioning your feedback before. Yes, the crystals. I've had to put a lot of thought into what the gang will discover about those crystals.
I hope this next part helps answer some questions, but many more answers will follow later.
FYI, if anyone notices, Ca'allyn's description is loosely based on the Alex character from the Roswell books.
So, in case you forgot where I left you all dangling, here's where the last chapter ended.
The man with the vibrant red hair looked down at her smiling. “Now it’s my turn to apologize for my behavior. I put you through my own test of sorts, to see how you would react in a strange situation like this. Clearly, you have shown the courage and presence of mind fitting to your chosen appointment. And one would have to be blind not to see the love you have for our King. You remind me so much of . . .” he stopped himself from continuing, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me and my foolish games. I cannot permit you to serve me. It is I who should serve you.” He knelt at her feet and bowed his head in reverence. His men followed suit behind him.
“And you, my King,” he said raising his eyes to look at Max, who had by this time, joined Liz’s side. “Many years have we have waited to hear of your progress. We have been preparing our forces, strengthening our numbers, waiting for the time when you should come again to take back your throne. We finally received word that you had been found, and we arrived as quickly as we could. Our informant told us that you weren’t raised by your protector, and that there is much that you do not know. We are here to train you and teach you all that you need to know before returning home to defeat Khivar and reclaim your throne.”
The silence that met that small speech was deafening.
Chapter 23-Ca’allyn
The moment was short lived. Soon, everyone started talking at once. Isabel and Maria were out of the booth and standing alongside Michael, Liz and Max, staring at these men with a mixture of emotions, talking rapidly amongst themselves. Max had to silence them all.
He looked down at the man, still kneeling before him. “I’m sure you’ve mistaken us for someone else. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, if you don’t want some of the pie that was offered to you, then I suggest that you leave now and come back tomorrow when the café is open again.”
The man stood up and looked at Max. “I understand your caution in this matter, my Lord. I will tell you that you have the power to judge for yourself whether or not I’m telling the truth. You just may not know how to use it.”
The man turned his gaze towards Liz. “You are the key. Once bestowed with the royal crown, the queen is given the power of discernment. She alone can access its powers. But, one of the queen’s primary roles is to be as asset to the king. So, when it is necessary for the king to pass royal judgment, the queen strengthens her connection to the king, allowing him to tap into that power. Then her power of discernment combines with the king’s own gifts, letting him see into the heart of anyone, thus empowering him to pass righteous judgment.” He looked at Max again. “I know the two of you have been joined, and although you have not been formally crowned here on earth, I believe this judgment can take still place, that is, if you have the queen’s royal crown in your possession?”
He read the confused look on their faces, and continued. “Ahh. I can see that you do not know about this. On our world, the royal crown is not so much of a physical crown as it is a visible manifestation of our world, our galaxy. But, I understand it was transformed into a physical object, a pendant I believe, for the queen to wear here, since a glowing circle of light around your head would most likely have drawn unwanted attention to you all.”
Max and Liz shared a look filled with multiple levels of questions, before Liz slowly drew the pendant out from beneath the confines of her uniform and held it forth for the man to see.
He breathed a sigh of relief to see the royal crown around the neck of the young queen. “Yes, that’s it. I was hoping that it survived somehow.” Turning to Max, he continued, “Once linked with the queen while she is wearing the crown, you will have the power to judge my heart and the hearts of my men, and see if the words which I speak are true.” He took a couple of steps back, waiting to see what the young King would do.
Max and Liz turned to each other, comprehension spreading across their faces as pieces of the puzzle began falling into place—the experience in the UFO Center, the vision they saw later of that same incident and the flashes of what really happened in the Observatory. All caused by the pendant and their connection. Liz also read the hesitation in his eyes. If he attempted to do this, he risked exposure in the act, but Liz knew that they needed to find out the truth. She somehow felt that this man was telling the truth and she sent Max feelings of encouragement.
The man watched the small exchange take place between them. He knew before they turned back to him, that they would agree. He marveled again at the wonderful choice of companion the young King had made. Their unspoken communication and agreement told him that they were indeed a perfect match for each other.
Max looked behind him at Isabel, Maria, and finally Michael, nodding slightly at him. Michael understood his intentions, and although he didn’t agree with him, he was ready to stand by his decision. He steadied his stance, turning his full attention to the strange men, ready to attack at the first sign of trouble. Max noted this reaction and turned back to Liz, grabbing her hand in his. He brought it to his lips for a quick kiss before lacing his fingers through hers, and then he turned to face the red-headed stranger and his men. He took a deep breath and then concentrated on the link between him and Liz. Immediately, he felt her energy join his and he began reaching for her power of discernment. He marveled at how naturally her gift flowed into him as the pendant came to life, shining brightly against Liz’s chest.
Max’s eyes began to change from warm amber to vivid green as this new power expanded within him. Just as the crescendo building up within him reached its peak, Max cast his eyes upon the eyes of the stranger before him.
Behind Max, Isabel gasped out loud as she watched the man’s beautiful emerald eyes glow strangely with a new light, turning even a brighter shade of green. They continued to glow for a long time, before Max relinquished his gaze and turned to the other men behind him. One by one, their eyes glowed green as Max used his power to search their hearts for the truth. After many seconds, it was done. The amount of knowledge that Max had gained in those seconds was amazing. But, there could be no doubt as to the truth of it. Max turned slowly around to tell the rest of them what he discovered. There was no need to tell Liz, she had felt everything that he had.
“He’s telling the truth. He was my . . . I mean Zan’s loyal palace guard and . . . his brother-in-law.” Max’s eyes grew wide as he looked back at the man, startled by this newly realized knowledge. The man nodded back in acknowledgment of this fact, and smiled in hopes of easing the shock. Max turned back around and continued, “He is here to help us. I . . . I completely trust him.” Max looked steadily into the eyes of Michael, Isabel, and Maria. It was hard to describe what he had felt during his connection to the man, whose name he had learned during their encounter. “His name is Ca’allyn,” Max rolled the name off his tongue, testing the sound of it out loud. It sounded similar to the English name Colin with slightly different vowel sound and extra syllable, but he somehow knew how it was spelled in his own language.
Michael was still hesitant, but Isabel wasn’t. During Max’s judgment, Ca’allyn’s guard had been down and she was able to read his aura. It was different than Max, Michael, and even Liz’s auras, with no one color as a dominant base, but a prism of colors instead. However, the feelings she read were enough to convince her of his intentions. She felt only loyalty and trust from him.
Max turned to the 4 men standing behind Ca’allyn walked up to each of them. He saw their names in his mind as well—G’laer, Daen, Thedri, and Feran. On some level he knew these men personally, but at the same time, they were still almost strangers. He looked into each of their faces and smiled, feeling the warmth of their friendship and loyalty to him. He announced their names out loud to the rest of the group.
Max turned around and walked over to where Ca’allyn stood. He had studied Ca’allyn hard, longer than anyone else, determined not to be deceived. But it was impossible for anyone to hide anything from him while using his power. He had read intimate details of his life. Extremely private things.
He put his hand on Ca’allyn’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry for intruding on some of those thoughts that should have remained private. But . . . I had to know. It wasn’t just my life at stake, but everyone else that I love. I hope you can forgive me.”
Ca’allyn bowed deeply before his king. “My lord, I know it was necessary, and no forgiveness is required. I only hope you now judge me worthy enough to continue to serve you, as I once did before.” Ca’allyn raised his head to behold Max. There were tears of joy in his eyes. “I wanted so much to come with you when you were first sent here, but your mother insisted that I stay and gather loyal troops to await your return. I have yearned for this moment for a long time now—to behold my lord and king once again, to be at your service once again, to pledge my allegiance to you once again.” Ca’allyn took Max’s hand that hung before him, and kissed it reverently.
Max was a bit uneasy at this emotional display of obeisance. The kingly power he had felt judging Ca’allyn had faded, and he was unused to anyone treating him so regally.
“Thank you,” Max said, as calmly as he could. He tried to get Ca’allyn to rise, but he turned his attention towards Liz instead.
“My queen. Since hearing the first reports of you, I have yearned to see what kind of a woman our king had chosen. You are indeed a very lovely and special person. You remind me so much of our first queen, my dear sister, whom I loved dearly. Your life also I have pledged to protect.”
This was the second time he had bowed to her and called her his queen. Liz knew that Max considered her as such, but she never expected anyone from Max’s home planet to call her queen when everyone there knew Tess had been their queen.
“Thank you, Ca’allyn. But, I don’t understand. I’m not from your world. I wasn’t the one sent with Max. I wasn’t his wife before. I . . . I. . . um . . . guess I thought that since you are from Max’s planet, that you would regard Tess as your queen and not me,” Liz stammered, biting her lip nervously. “I mean, why would you even wonder about who Max was with when Tess was his bride?”
“Tess?” Ca’allyn questioned as he arose, unfamiliar with that name.
“Yeah, Tess,” Max replied, showing his distaste for that name by the tone he used. “She was the fourth one sent down with us. She was called Ava on our world. She may have been the queen there, but I never considered her to be my queen here. Liz was always my choice for that role,” Max said lovingly, looking directly at Liz as he spoke that last sentence, reminding her of where his heart had always been.
It was the name Ava that got Ca’allyn’s attention. He started. “You mean to say, that the being who was formally Ava on our world found you and asserted her presence among you?”
“‘Asserted her presence’? Yeah! You could say that,” Maria retorted, wrinkling her nose at the memory, jumping in to the conversation for the first time. “She’s been using her powers on us, trying to mate with Max for the last year.”
But it was Michael who realized the implications of Ca’allyn’s words and quickly asked, “What do you mean? Wasn’t she supposed to be with us? She was our fourth, right? Our Pods were all together. Why are you asking if she found us?”
Michael’s question got everyone’s attention and Max and Liz looked at the others in their group realizing that Michael had a valid point. They all turned to face Ca’allyn and his men, their puzzlement evident on their faces.
But Ca’allyn was not looking at them. He had turned to his men and they appeared to be silently communicating. As Ca’allyn returned his gaze to Max and the others, the look of concern still lined his face.
“Please, my lord. I know you want answers, but I need to know this first. Was this person . . . Tess you say . . . was she alone or was there someone else, someone like us, with her?”
“You mean Nasedo?”
“Nasedo? I don’t know that name.”
“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t,” Max replied. “That’s the name we knew him as. It was given to him by the Native Americans who came in contact with him a long time ago. He posed as Tess’s father when they first arrived in town. He was an alien though, but different than us. He was a shapeshifter. He said he was our protector, but considering everything that’s happened recently, I have serious doubts that he was telling us the truth about who he was.”
As soon as Ca’allyn heard that news, he nodded to his men. Two of them began to take up flanking positions around the group, and the other two went to the front window as lookouts.
“Where is he now?” Ca’allyn inquired. The tension in his voice was quite obvious.
“He’s dead.”
“Are you sure? You saw it for yourself?” Ca’allyn had to be sure.
“Yeah. We’re positive. He was hurt pretty bad. We tried to heal him, but his body just disintegrated and turned into a pile of dust.”
Ca’allyn relaxed his stance and his men stood down their guard. “Well, no longer is the fate of Tebryn a mystery,” Ca’allyn said to his men. “If he was unable to stop Sidoc, then it was most assuredly at his hands that Tebryn met his death.”
Ca’allyn turned back to Liz. “As for your question, there is a long story to that, which I will explain to you all later. But, right now, I will just say this. Anyone can tell from watching the two of you together that you were made for each other. You are his, and he is king, so you are queen. You compliment him in every way possible, completing his gifts and strengthening him. No special powers are required to see the bond that you two share, although, they do make it more visible, colorful, and beautiful to behold. Wouldn’t you agree, princess?” he asked smugly, as he flicked his gaze up to catch Isabel’s eyes, smiling when he saw her eyes widen in shock of recognition at his description
Isabel started to stammer, something quite usual for her.
“Wh . . . what? I . . . I . . . don’t . . . H . . . h . . . how . . .?” she managed to get out, wondering how he could have possibly known that during the last week she had seen been able to see something between Max and Liz’s auras that she was just beginning to suspect was a visible manifestation of their unique bond.
Ca’allyn ignored her question and looked back up at the others. “I know that you have many questions that you want answered, and I am willing to sit and answer everything I can. But, maybe we should pick a more secure location.”
Max agreed immediately. “Michael?” he questioned. “How about your place?”
“Yeah, sure, as long as some of you don’t mind sitting on the floor. I don’t have enough chairs for everyone.”
“We don’t mind. Is that the location on Valencia Place? Apartment #6A?” Ca’allyn asked.
“Yeah!” Michael blurted out in surprise. “How did you know?” he demanded.
“We’ve been watching you all this last week. We wanted to make sure of your identities first. We were also hoping to make contact with our informant, Tebryn, but we came to the conclusion that something must have happened to him. My men will meet you there so we can begin our story. I will accompany the king and queen.”
Max looked up at this man, who was familiar to him on some level, yet a stranger on another. “Ca’allyn, I appreciate the offer, but we can make it to Michael’s on our own. We’ll meet you there.”
“As you wish, sire.” Ca’allyn motioned to his men, and they all turned to leave. Max and the others followed closely behind. Liz locked the door behind them. As she glanced back inside the now empty café, she realized that their lives would never be the same.
I hope this next part helps answer some questions, but many more answers will follow later.
FYI, if anyone notices, Ca'allyn's description is loosely based on the Alex character from the Roswell books.
So, in case you forgot where I left you all dangling, here's where the last chapter ended.
The man with the vibrant red hair looked down at her smiling. “Now it’s my turn to apologize for my behavior. I put you through my own test of sorts, to see how you would react in a strange situation like this. Clearly, you have shown the courage and presence of mind fitting to your chosen appointment. And one would have to be blind not to see the love you have for our King. You remind me so much of . . .” he stopped himself from continuing, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me and my foolish games. I cannot permit you to serve me. It is I who should serve you.” He knelt at her feet and bowed his head in reverence. His men followed suit behind him.
“And you, my King,” he said raising his eyes to look at Max, who had by this time, joined Liz’s side. “Many years have we have waited to hear of your progress. We have been preparing our forces, strengthening our numbers, waiting for the time when you should come again to take back your throne. We finally received word that you had been found, and we arrived as quickly as we could. Our informant told us that you weren’t raised by your protector, and that there is much that you do not know. We are here to train you and teach you all that you need to know before returning home to defeat Khivar and reclaim your throne.”
The silence that met that small speech was deafening.
Chapter 23-Ca’allyn
The moment was short lived. Soon, everyone started talking at once. Isabel and Maria were out of the booth and standing alongside Michael, Liz and Max, staring at these men with a mixture of emotions, talking rapidly amongst themselves. Max had to silence them all.
He looked down at the man, still kneeling before him. “I’m sure you’ve mistaken us for someone else. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, if you don’t want some of the pie that was offered to you, then I suggest that you leave now and come back tomorrow when the café is open again.”
The man stood up and looked at Max. “I understand your caution in this matter, my Lord. I will tell you that you have the power to judge for yourself whether or not I’m telling the truth. You just may not know how to use it.”
The man turned his gaze towards Liz. “You are the key. Once bestowed with the royal crown, the queen is given the power of discernment. She alone can access its powers. But, one of the queen’s primary roles is to be as asset to the king. So, when it is necessary for the king to pass royal judgment, the queen strengthens her connection to the king, allowing him to tap into that power. Then her power of discernment combines with the king’s own gifts, letting him see into the heart of anyone, thus empowering him to pass righteous judgment.” He looked at Max again. “I know the two of you have been joined, and although you have not been formally crowned here on earth, I believe this judgment can take still place, that is, if you have the queen’s royal crown in your possession?”
He read the confused look on their faces, and continued. “Ahh. I can see that you do not know about this. On our world, the royal crown is not so much of a physical crown as it is a visible manifestation of our world, our galaxy. But, I understand it was transformed into a physical object, a pendant I believe, for the queen to wear here, since a glowing circle of light around your head would most likely have drawn unwanted attention to you all.”
Max and Liz shared a look filled with multiple levels of questions, before Liz slowly drew the pendant out from beneath the confines of her uniform and held it forth for the man to see.
He breathed a sigh of relief to see the royal crown around the neck of the young queen. “Yes, that’s it. I was hoping that it survived somehow.” Turning to Max, he continued, “Once linked with the queen while she is wearing the crown, you will have the power to judge my heart and the hearts of my men, and see if the words which I speak are true.” He took a couple of steps back, waiting to see what the young King would do.
Max and Liz turned to each other, comprehension spreading across their faces as pieces of the puzzle began falling into place—the experience in the UFO Center, the vision they saw later of that same incident and the flashes of what really happened in the Observatory. All caused by the pendant and their connection. Liz also read the hesitation in his eyes. If he attempted to do this, he risked exposure in the act, but Liz knew that they needed to find out the truth. She somehow felt that this man was telling the truth and she sent Max feelings of encouragement.
The man watched the small exchange take place between them. He knew before they turned back to him, that they would agree. He marveled again at the wonderful choice of companion the young King had made. Their unspoken communication and agreement told him that they were indeed a perfect match for each other.
Max looked behind him at Isabel, Maria, and finally Michael, nodding slightly at him. Michael understood his intentions, and although he didn’t agree with him, he was ready to stand by his decision. He steadied his stance, turning his full attention to the strange men, ready to attack at the first sign of trouble. Max noted this reaction and turned back to Liz, grabbing her hand in his. He brought it to his lips for a quick kiss before lacing his fingers through hers, and then he turned to face the red-headed stranger and his men. He took a deep breath and then concentrated on the link between him and Liz. Immediately, he felt her energy join his and he began reaching for her power of discernment. He marveled at how naturally her gift flowed into him as the pendant came to life, shining brightly against Liz’s chest.
Max’s eyes began to change from warm amber to vivid green as this new power expanded within him. Just as the crescendo building up within him reached its peak, Max cast his eyes upon the eyes of the stranger before him.
Behind Max, Isabel gasped out loud as she watched the man’s beautiful emerald eyes glow strangely with a new light, turning even a brighter shade of green. They continued to glow for a long time, before Max relinquished his gaze and turned to the other men behind him. One by one, their eyes glowed green as Max used his power to search their hearts for the truth. After many seconds, it was done. The amount of knowledge that Max had gained in those seconds was amazing. But, there could be no doubt as to the truth of it. Max turned slowly around to tell the rest of them what he discovered. There was no need to tell Liz, she had felt everything that he had.
“He’s telling the truth. He was my . . . I mean Zan’s loyal palace guard and . . . his brother-in-law.” Max’s eyes grew wide as he looked back at the man, startled by this newly realized knowledge. The man nodded back in acknowledgment of this fact, and smiled in hopes of easing the shock. Max turned back around and continued, “He is here to help us. I . . . I completely trust him.” Max looked steadily into the eyes of Michael, Isabel, and Maria. It was hard to describe what he had felt during his connection to the man, whose name he had learned during their encounter. “His name is Ca’allyn,” Max rolled the name off his tongue, testing the sound of it out loud. It sounded similar to the English name Colin with slightly different vowel sound and extra syllable, but he somehow knew how it was spelled in his own language.
Michael was still hesitant, but Isabel wasn’t. During Max’s judgment, Ca’allyn’s guard had been down and she was able to read his aura. It was different than Max, Michael, and even Liz’s auras, with no one color as a dominant base, but a prism of colors instead. However, the feelings she read were enough to convince her of his intentions. She felt only loyalty and trust from him.
Max turned to the 4 men standing behind Ca’allyn walked up to each of them. He saw their names in his mind as well—G’laer, Daen, Thedri, and Feran. On some level he knew these men personally, but at the same time, they were still almost strangers. He looked into each of their faces and smiled, feeling the warmth of their friendship and loyalty to him. He announced their names out loud to the rest of the group.
Max turned around and walked over to where Ca’allyn stood. He had studied Ca’allyn hard, longer than anyone else, determined not to be deceived. But it was impossible for anyone to hide anything from him while using his power. He had read intimate details of his life. Extremely private things.
He put his hand on Ca’allyn’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry for intruding on some of those thoughts that should have remained private. But . . . I had to know. It wasn’t just my life at stake, but everyone else that I love. I hope you can forgive me.”
Ca’allyn bowed deeply before his king. “My lord, I know it was necessary, and no forgiveness is required. I only hope you now judge me worthy enough to continue to serve you, as I once did before.” Ca’allyn raised his head to behold Max. There were tears of joy in his eyes. “I wanted so much to come with you when you were first sent here, but your mother insisted that I stay and gather loyal troops to await your return. I have yearned for this moment for a long time now—to behold my lord and king once again, to be at your service once again, to pledge my allegiance to you once again.” Ca’allyn took Max’s hand that hung before him, and kissed it reverently.
Max was a bit uneasy at this emotional display of obeisance. The kingly power he had felt judging Ca’allyn had faded, and he was unused to anyone treating him so regally.
“Thank you,” Max said, as calmly as he could. He tried to get Ca’allyn to rise, but he turned his attention towards Liz instead.
“My queen. Since hearing the first reports of you, I have yearned to see what kind of a woman our king had chosen. You are indeed a very lovely and special person. You remind me so much of our first queen, my dear sister, whom I loved dearly. Your life also I have pledged to protect.”
This was the second time he had bowed to her and called her his queen. Liz knew that Max considered her as such, but she never expected anyone from Max’s home planet to call her queen when everyone there knew Tess had been their queen.
“Thank you, Ca’allyn. But, I don’t understand. I’m not from your world. I wasn’t the one sent with Max. I wasn’t his wife before. I . . . I. . . um . . . guess I thought that since you are from Max’s planet, that you would regard Tess as your queen and not me,” Liz stammered, biting her lip nervously. “I mean, why would you even wonder about who Max was with when Tess was his bride?”
“Tess?” Ca’allyn questioned as he arose, unfamiliar with that name.
“Yeah, Tess,” Max replied, showing his distaste for that name by the tone he used. “She was the fourth one sent down with us. She was called Ava on our world. She may have been the queen there, but I never considered her to be my queen here. Liz was always my choice for that role,” Max said lovingly, looking directly at Liz as he spoke that last sentence, reminding her of where his heart had always been.
It was the name Ava that got Ca’allyn’s attention. He started. “You mean to say, that the being who was formally Ava on our world found you and asserted her presence among you?”
“‘Asserted her presence’? Yeah! You could say that,” Maria retorted, wrinkling her nose at the memory, jumping in to the conversation for the first time. “She’s been using her powers on us, trying to mate with Max for the last year.”
But it was Michael who realized the implications of Ca’allyn’s words and quickly asked, “What do you mean? Wasn’t she supposed to be with us? She was our fourth, right? Our Pods were all together. Why are you asking if she found us?”
Michael’s question got everyone’s attention and Max and Liz looked at the others in their group realizing that Michael had a valid point. They all turned to face Ca’allyn and his men, their puzzlement evident on their faces.
But Ca’allyn was not looking at them. He had turned to his men and they appeared to be silently communicating. As Ca’allyn returned his gaze to Max and the others, the look of concern still lined his face.
“Please, my lord. I know you want answers, but I need to know this first. Was this person . . . Tess you say . . . was she alone or was there someone else, someone like us, with her?”
“You mean Nasedo?”
“Nasedo? I don’t know that name.”
“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t,” Max replied. “That’s the name we knew him as. It was given to him by the Native Americans who came in contact with him a long time ago. He posed as Tess’s father when they first arrived in town. He was an alien though, but different than us. He was a shapeshifter. He said he was our protector, but considering everything that’s happened recently, I have serious doubts that he was telling us the truth about who he was.”
As soon as Ca’allyn heard that news, he nodded to his men. Two of them began to take up flanking positions around the group, and the other two went to the front window as lookouts.
“Where is he now?” Ca’allyn inquired. The tension in his voice was quite obvious.
“He’s dead.”
“Are you sure? You saw it for yourself?” Ca’allyn had to be sure.
“Yeah. We’re positive. He was hurt pretty bad. We tried to heal him, but his body just disintegrated and turned into a pile of dust.”
Ca’allyn relaxed his stance and his men stood down their guard. “Well, no longer is the fate of Tebryn a mystery,” Ca’allyn said to his men. “If he was unable to stop Sidoc, then it was most assuredly at his hands that Tebryn met his death.”
Ca’allyn turned back to Liz. “As for your question, there is a long story to that, which I will explain to you all later. But, right now, I will just say this. Anyone can tell from watching the two of you together that you were made for each other. You are his, and he is king, so you are queen. You compliment him in every way possible, completing his gifts and strengthening him. No special powers are required to see the bond that you two share, although, they do make it more visible, colorful, and beautiful to behold. Wouldn’t you agree, princess?” he asked smugly, as he flicked his gaze up to catch Isabel’s eyes, smiling when he saw her eyes widen in shock of recognition at his description
Isabel started to stammer, something quite usual for her.
“Wh . . . what? I . . . I . . . don’t . . . H . . . h . . . how . . .?” she managed to get out, wondering how he could have possibly known that during the last week she had seen been able to see something between Max and Liz’s auras that she was just beginning to suspect was a visible manifestation of their unique bond.
Ca’allyn ignored her question and looked back up at the others. “I know that you have many questions that you want answered, and I am willing to sit and answer everything I can. But, maybe we should pick a more secure location.”
Max agreed immediately. “Michael?” he questioned. “How about your place?”
“Yeah, sure, as long as some of you don’t mind sitting on the floor. I don’t have enough chairs for everyone.”
“We don’t mind. Is that the location on Valencia Place? Apartment #6A?” Ca’allyn asked.
“Yeah!” Michael blurted out in surprise. “How did you know?” he demanded.
“We’ve been watching you all this last week. We wanted to make sure of your identities first. We were also hoping to make contact with our informant, Tebryn, but we came to the conclusion that something must have happened to him. My men will meet you there so we can begin our story. I will accompany the king and queen.”
Max looked up at this man, who was familiar to him on some level, yet a stranger on another. “Ca’allyn, I appreciate the offer, but we can make it to Michael’s on our own. We’ll meet you there.”
“As you wish, sire.” Ca’allyn motioned to his men, and they all turned to leave. Max and the others followed closely behind. Liz locked the door behind them. As she glanced back inside the now empty café, she realized that their lives would never be the same.
Re: Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 24 pg 20 6/11/11
A/N-So sorry about the delay. R/L took its toll for a while.
I know this chapter won't answer a lot of questions (the title is Recap), but I thought it was necessary to bring Ca'allyn and his men up to speed on what has been happening to our gang these last couple of years. It was a nice way to get everyone talking about the events and get reactions and comments that hadn't been there before.
However, the following several chapters will be the big reveal. I'm still tweaking parts of them, so I hope I'll have them ready soon. We're nearing the end of what I had already written previously and getting into the parts that I still need to write. I have the story mapped out in my mind of where everyone will end up, but the journey there may take a couple of unexpected turns, and it usually does when I actually start putting it all down in words.
So sit back, and enjoy Chapter 24-Recap. It's quite lengthy.
Chapter 24—Recap
Liz called Kyle and Jim Valenti to tell them of the change in plans, and to meet at Michael’s instead. Once Jim and Kyle arrived at Michael’s, formal introductions were made on both sides. Then everyone sat down around the couch where Ca’allyn and two of his men were seated.
Ca’allyn looked at the unusual group assembled before him. His king, now a young man with a new face, was sitting unceremoniously on the floor with his arms wrapped around the waist of the beautiful, petite human girl who had miraculously joined herself to him, something that had only been accomplished between two full-blooded Antarians before. Vilandra, now Isabel, was still as beautiful as she ever was and appeared just as cold and icy on the outside as she had been in her former life. But, in the short time that he had been watching them all since his arrival, Ca’allyn knew that her heart was tender and caring. During the week, he had seen her crying alone in her room at night, and wondered what was causing her sorrow. Only Rath, now called Michael, seemed the most like his former self. Except, Michael lacked the confidence that Rath had shown, which, Ca’allyn reflected, was probably for the best. Rath’s confidence had led to arrogance, something that was beginning to drive a wedge between Zan and Rath before the tragedy struck. As Ca’allyn looked at the small, human girl next to Michael, he realized that their mutual love and support of each other would help build the confidence that Michael was lacking. And he also had a feeling, based on the interaction he saw between the two of them, that she would definitely keep him in check, preventing any hint of arrogance from emerging.
The other 2 humans present were a curiosity to him. As far as he could tell, they had no connections with any of the 3 hybrids, other than they lived in the same town. He wondered what events had brought them all together this way.
The room was completely silent. The sense of anticipation in the air was so thick it palatable. All eyes were focused on Ca’allyn as he began to speak.
“My, Lord. I know that you are anxious to hear everything that I have to tell you, but I must ask your permission to first hear all that you know about yourselves, all your interactions with other aliens, and especially how you all came to be in this group here today.” Ca’allyn asked. “We only know a little, and it will really help us understand the whole picture before we then explain our part to you.”
Max sharply expelled the breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding. That wasn’t what he expected to hear from this man who knew so much more about them than they did. But, he immediately saw that Ca’allyn was right to request the information first. He took a quick look around the room and saw that everyone was in agreement. He looked at Liz next and she smiled at him. He turned back to Ca’allyn and began.
“We don’t know much about ourselves, but this is what we’ve been able to learn so far. We figured our ship crashed here in Roswell, in the year 1947. That’s what Roswell is known for, if you’ve heard any of the history of this town. At the time of the crash, we were still in our pods. We didn’t come out until 1989 and we looked like normal 6 year-old humans. We left the cave that our pods were in and went out into the desert. Michael, Isabel, and I all emerged at about the same time. Tess, was still in her pod. I wasn’t sure about leaving her, but Michael and Isabel were already leaving the cave, so I decided to leave with my sister.
“We walked a long way before the headlights of a car found us. Isabel and I knew we would be safe, but Michael was afraid. He hid behind some rocks, and the Evans only saw Isabel and me when they stopped. We were taken to an orphanage for a while before our dad was able to work out the legal paperwork to adopt us. They had been unable to have children of their own, and our mom felt that finding us out on the desert highway was a sign that we were meant for them.”
Isabel immediately looked over at Max. “I didn’t know that mom felt that way. How did you know that?”
Max dropped his eyes for a moment at her plaintive look before answering her. “I felt it from her when I touched her once when we were little. It was when she gave me the toy house to help me stop crying at night about wanting to go home. When she handed it to me, I touched her and got that flash of how she felt about us, and how sad she was that I was so unhappy. It was that moment when I vowed not to make her sad like that again, and I stopped crying at night. She thought it was because of the house she gave me.”
“Oh, Max! I never knew about that,” Isabel exclaimed, sympathetically.
“I know. It was different for you.” Max turned and addressed Ca’allyn again. “Isabel was instantly comfortable with mom and dad, adjusting to her new life and the love she felt from them, even though she was upset that Michael hadn’t come with us. We knew that he was out there somewhere, but we didn’t know where to look or how to track him. It wasn’t until we got to school that we found Michael”
Michael started speaking. “I’m sorry, Izzy. I know I should have come out when you called, but I wasn’t as trusting as you were. I knew we were different, and I thought we needed to stay away from those who weren’t like us. If I had known what the foster care system was like, I’m sure I would have thought it was worth the risk.”
Maria squeezed him around the middle a little harder at that statement. She alone knew what he had gone through living with Hank when he had shown her those flashes, and she admired him for admitting as much as he had out loud to his friends. When he looked down at her, she slowly raised her lips to his, giving him a quick kiss to wipe away the bad memories of his childhood.
Max continued. “We didn’t speak at first, but somehow Isabel and I communicated anyway.” Max looked at Ca’allyn and caught his quick nod at that statement. “That’s probably not a surprise to you.”
“No. Our people can be quite telepathic, especially between family members and joined mates,” Ca’allyn replied.
Max accepted this information and went on. “Slowly, we learned to talk out loud, so it was about 2 years before we entered public school. Mom had been teaching us at home until then, helping us adapt. We always knew we were different, but we never told anybody about it. By the time we found Michael, we had learned not to reveal that we were different. We had started to see signs of our powers, and although we weren’t very adept, we knew that we had to keep it a secret. Once we found Michael again, it was just like the 3 of us against the world. We knew about the Roswell crash, and we knew that we must have survived it somehow.”
Thedri interrupted Max to ask, “Your powers—can tell me about them?” When everyone looked at him in surprise at his first communication with them, he blushed briefly before explaining. “You see, my sister was one of the scientists who came here with your pods. I’m curious to find out what powers she and the others worked on to instill in you in these new bodies,” he finished. “I know that she must not have survived,” he bowed his head for a moment in sorrow. But then he raised his head again with renewed determination. “But, it was her greatest wish to be able to accompany you and give you new life once again.”
Max nodded at Thedri. “I’m very sorry for your loss. We are all grateful for all the sacrifices of everyone involved to bring us here. As for our powers, we all can do basic stuff, like manipulate the molecular structure of things and connect with people, but we also all have special, unique gifts. I can heal, and have a shield that I can produce." He quickly gave a brief demonstration of that power, much to both Thedri’s and Ca’allyn’s delight. "I guess I just now learned I can read people’s thoughts as well, with Liz’s help of course.” He gave her a quick squeeze. “Isabel?” he nodded at Isabel to continue.
Isabel turned slightly to Thedri. “My power to read people isn’t as strong as Max’s. I only get their subconscious thoughts. I can go into people’s dreams and see what it is they’re dreaming about. I use pictures to connect with the person, and then I can find their dreams. I can’t change what they are dreaming about, I just watch.”
“What about what you did with Max and Pierce, Isabel?” Liz questioned. “They weren’t asleep then, remember?”
“Well, a couple of times, I was able to connect with someone when they were awake, to try to read their thoughts, but those were desperate situations. I haven’t tried it again since.”
“Sometimes, it is in the most desperate situations that we learn the most about ourselves,” Ca’allyn said. “Go on, describe your latest power,” he said, a bit assumingly.
Isabel wasn’t sure what the undercurrent was she was beginning to feel from Ca’allyn, but she did what he said. “Well, just in the last couple of months, I’ve been able to see and read people’s auras. Humans are harder for me to read, unless their emotions are really heightened. But, Liz is the exception to that I can read her just as easily as I can read Max and Michael, and now G’laer, Daen, Thedri, and Feran, and sometimes you,” she said, turned back to Ca’allyn as she spoke, “when you let your guard down enough for me to read you,” Isabel said, pointingly.
The growing vibes between Isabel and Ca’allyn were becoming obvious to everyone in the room, and Michael cleared his voice to bring the discussion back on point. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t compete with Isabel and Max on the powers scale. All I’ve been able to do is this power-blast thing. No other special gifts, just that,” Michael said.
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure that once you’ve had the right training that your other special gifts will manifest,” Thedri said. “Had you been raised by Tebryn, I’m sure you would have mastered them already. It just requires the right guidance. I would love to help you work on them later,” Thedri said sincerely.
Michael turned to Thedri, “I’d like that, Thedri. Thanks for the offer.”
Thedri, bowed slightly to Max. “Thank you, Sire. The abilities you described are similar to what you had in your previous lives, but with some modifications. I am happy to know my sister’s work was successful.”
Max continued their story. “When we were younger, we knew that if anyone knew about what we could do, that our lives would be in danger, so we made rules—rules that we would never use our powers in public.”
“Rules that Max threw right out the window when he healed Liz 2 years ago,” Isabel said sarcastically, but her tone was joking, and everyone was knew it. “Lucky for us, too, that he knew when to break the rules or none of us would be here today,” she added, smiling at him and Liz, warmly.
“What do you mean, when he healed Liz?” Ca’allyn asked sharply, his eyes flashing. He quickly looked over at Liz, checking her up and down, trying to see any sign of injury in the young queen. “What happened to her?” he asked accusingly.
“I was shot,” Liz explained briefly. “It happened 2 years ago this fall, on September 18th, 1999. I was working at the Crashdown when an argument broke out between 2 of the customers and a gun went off. I was hit. Max and Michael were in the diner that day . . .”
“We were there every day,” Michael interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Max dragged me to that place every day of the week that you were working there. I think he knew your schedule as well as you did.”
Max grinned widely. “Yep!! I sure did,” he confessed, unrepentantly. “And let me tell you, it was a chore getting him in there. But, I had it bad for one of the local waitresses there and being the loyal wingman he was, Michael came with me, although not without loud complaints.”
“Do you know, I never knew?” Liz looked up into Max’s eyes with love. “I never realized that’s why you were there all the time. Maria would tell me that you were staring at me, but I never believed it.”
As Max and Liz got lost in each other’s eyes for a moment, Michael mumbled under his breath, “I can’t imagine that she didn’t know with Max mooning over her all the time.”
Isabel heard Michael’s grumblings and rolled her eyes in agreement. She looked back over at Max and saw that he was still staring at Liz. She gave him a nudge to focus his attention back to the story.
As soon as he felt the dig in his ribs from Isabel, Max broke his gaze away from Liz and resumed his tale.
“Anyway, as soon as I saw her lying on the floor after the gun when off, I got up and started to go to her, not even thinking about exposing myself. Michael tried to stop me . . .”
“ . . . unsuccessfully, of course,” Michael added. “I don’t think anyone could have stopped you from going to her.”
“As soon as I saw the blood pouring from the wound, I felt my heart stop. She couldn’t be dying. Not her. Not Liz. I knew that I could heal her, but I had to make a connection with her first. I got her to barely open her eyes and look at me. As soon as she did, I made the connection, put my hand over the wound and started to heal her. I got a rush of images from her life and all the emotions that accompanied them as well. I never felt anything like that before when I connected with someone. It wasn’t until I was sure she was ok that I began to worry about what I had done. I saw a bottle of ketchup on the shelf and I broke it, spilling out the thick liquid all over her. I told her not to tell anyone what I had done, and I ran out of the diner.”
“You can imagine what I was thinking,” Liz said, jumping in. “Here was this boy I had known for years, healing me, bringing me back to life, and then begging me not to tell anyone. Not only had he left me with this huge secret, he had also unknowingly left a silver handprint on my stomach, exactly where he had put his hand on me to heal me. The next day at school, I took a pencil that Max had put in his mouth and scraped some cells from it, examining them under the microscope. Needless to say, they weren’t normal human cells. I confronted him about it, and he told me that he was an alien.”
“Telling you the truth was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but as soon as I did, it was the biggest relief. I knew it was the right thing to do,” Max admitted.
“I know it was. But, I wasn’t even thinking about how it must have been for you. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that aliens even existed, not to mention the fact that one of them saved my life. Max knew that I wasn’t sure about him, so he decided to come talk to me about it. He mentioned that he had seen flashes of me when he healed me. Then he offered to try to make the connection go the other way, so I could see him and know that he was really the same Max I had known since I was 8. He opened himself up to me and I saw everything—how he was found by the Evans, how scared he had been growing up with this huge secret, and I saw me as he saw me.” Liz looked up at him and smiled shyly, humbled by the depth of Max’s love for her.
Ca’allyn interrupted. “You formed a connection with her? And she was able to see into your mind?” Ca’allyn was a bit puzzled. He knew that the hybrids would have the capabilities to tap into the minds of humans, but for a human to be able to see into their minds . . . that was something that shouldn’t have been possible. This might explain how Liz came to be joined with Max. “Can you tell me how you did this? Was it difficult for you?”
Max looked steadily into the Ca’allyn’s bright green eyes and said, “It was the easiest thing in the world to do. I just held her face in my hands and told her to blank out her mind. I concentrated on forming a connection, and the next thing I knew, we were connected. I willingly opened up my mind to her, letting her see who I was. I had no idea what images she was seeing. I only knew that I trusted her with every fiber of my being and that I had nothing to hide from her anymore.”
“Thank you for explaining the detail to me, Sire. It is very interesting information. Please, continue with your story.”
Liz glanced back up at Max for a quick confirmation and then began again. “Well, after that, things escalated pretty quickly. The Sheriff was already suspicious of Max after a couple of tourists told him that the bullet that I claimed had missed me was nowhere to be found. Kyle also saw the handprint on my stomach and told his dad about it. And Maria found my order pad with blood all over it and was demanding answers. Eventually, I had to tell Maria about their secret in order to keep her quiet.”
“Hey, I was just doing what I had to do to keep from losing my best friend,” Maria cried indignantly.
“The Sheriff was narrowing in on Max, and we had to stage an accident . . .”
“ . . . which required me rolling around in dirt and risking my mother’s car,” Maria chimed in.
“ . . . using Kyle as a decoy . . . Sorry about that . . .” Liz glanced over at Kyle.
“Hey, I understand, Liz,” he replied.
“ . . .all to throw Valenti off the trail of Max.”
“Well, I still had my suspicious about him, but I just couldn’t do anything about it,” Jim added.
“After that, I wanted to be with Max, but he said we were just too different.”
“You don’t know how badly I wanted to kiss you that night, standing on the hill,” Max said.
“You don’t know how badly I wanted you to kiss me,” Liz countered.
“Our lives were never the same after that. The Sheriff was still suspicious of us. Maria was so freaked out at first, that we thought she was going to cave and tell the Sheriff everything. We found a key which ended up leading us on a bunch of different adventures, trying to find answers to where they came from. An FBI agent from the Special Unit assigned to investigate aliens was posing as a guidance counselor at school, trying to get more information about us, making it even harder to follow up on all the clues we were finding. I broke up with my boyfriend, Kyle as I realized my feelings for him could never compete with the feelings that I was developing for Max. Max and I got into a car accident which put him in the hospital, causing problems regarding his blood being taken by the doctors so we had to involve another human, our friend Alex, into the equation. . .” At the mention of Alex’s name, Liz broke off suddenly. She looked up at Ca’allyn with tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “Alex was one of my best friends. It’s only been a couple of months since he died, and . . . .” she stopped again as Max pulled her tighter against his chest, kissing her face in comfort.
Max turned to Ca’allyn and asked, “How much detail do you need from us?”
Ca’allyn looked around at the group of humans and hybrids gathered around him as he took in the information that had been given him through their story. It helped Ca’allyn to understand how the other 2 humans became involved in their secret. It spoke measures to their character that they remained loyal to them instead of turning them into the local authorities, or else the group would not be here today. “Can you tell me more about these clues that you said you were following, trying to learn about your origins?”
Max turned to Jim. “I think we’d better start with Atherton.”
Valenti looked startled at being asked to tell his part in the story, but he obliged, telling Ca’allyn and the others about the man Atherton, the book he had written, he photo of his body with the silver handprint that he had shown to Liz, the files that he had on Atherton that were taken by the FBI, and the key that he had kept from them, hiding it in his thermos cap. “I can only assume that our own dear Michael was the one who broke into my office and found that key, right Mr. Guerrin?”
“Yeah. It was me,” Michael admitted. “I was determined to do everything I could to find more answers. The first time I touched the key, I had a flash of something. My powers were never as developed as Max’s and Isabel’s were, but for some reason, I was the only one who got a flash from that key. It wasn’t until several weeks later that I had a clearer vision of what it was. I drew it out and my art teacher told me it was a geodesic dome. I had no idea why I would have a flash of that. It wasn’t until Isabel saw the picture in the back of Atherton’s book that we saw why. It was Atherton’s dome. I snooped around and found out that he lived in Marathon, Texas. I wanted to go there right away and find out what was in there, why I was having vision of this dome, but Isabel and Max wanted to be cautious. They were worried about the Sheriff and our mysterious guidance counselor as well. So, I decided to go on my own.”
“But, first you needed to steal a car, never mind who was still in it!!!!” Maria jumped in, her eyes flashing with mock anger.
“Yeah, well, you were just too cute to just kick out, so I figured I got a bonus for getting you in addition to the car.” Michael’s look was challenging. “Too cute that is, until you started opening your mouth and complaining about everything I did. But, then you covered for me with that cop, and I decided to keep you around.” Michael smiled, kissing her quickly on the forehead to avoid any backlash for that last remark. “Besides, I began to grow quite fond of that mouth,” he whispered in her ear. “Especially when you use it so well on me.”
Whatever words of protest were about to be issued from Maria’s mouth were suddenly and completed silenced with that. She looked up into Michael’s eyes and knew she had met the man that she would be sharing the rest of her life with.
“At Atherton’s we used the key Michael had to open a secret room under the dome. We found boxes of stuff there and were about to look through it when we realized that someone else was there. We quickly grabbed a couple of boxes and escaped through an air vent. We never had a chance to look through the stuff, because the next day, our house was “robbed” by the FBI. The only thing we got out of that trip was the pendant that Isabel found. The same pendant that you see now around Liz’s neck.”
“Do you mean, the queen’s royal crown?” Ca’allyn asked breathlessly. “It was found at this man Atherton’s house?”
Isabel responded. “Yes. It was just hanging there, among all Atherton’s boxes of junk. I recognized it immediately, but I didn’t know what it was. I grabbed it and put it on. That’s the only reason why we still have it today. If I had put it in the boxes we took, the FBI would have it now.”
“It was very quick thinking on your part then, to keep it so close to you and not let it out of your sight,” Ca’allyn complimented. “Who was this man then, and how to you think he came to be in possession of the pendant?” he said, disturbed that a strange human had touched the queen’s royal crown at all.
“We don’t know for sure. We did found out later, from an Indian named River Dog, that Atherton knew the person like us that he called Nasedo. The people of River Dog’s tribe gave him that name. It means “Vistor” in their language. They must have realized that Nasedo was not from around here. From what River Dog said, Nasedo stayed with them for a while. He also knew Atherton. He said that they were friends. But, one day, he saw Nasedo kill Atherton. He was too far away to see everything, just that he killed him. River Dog showed us the cave where Nasedo stayed. There were symbols etched into the wall. We think it was a map.”
Ca’allyn spoke. “I’d like to see this cave. Do you think you can take us there sometime?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Michael declared, excited that someone else might be able to tell him more about those symbols on the walls.
Max continued. “Later, after visiting with the tribe during a religious sweat, Michael got real sick and we had to take him to the cave so River Dog could help us. River Dog told us it was a test, to see if Michael was truly one of the same people that Max and Nasedo were. I had passed a test before. Now it was Michael’s turn. But, Michael didn’t get sick right away like Nasedo had. It took a little while longer, so at first River Dog rejected Michael. But, once he realized that he had become sick he gave us these stones. He said that Nasedo had given them to him, that they were from his home world. We each held a stone and let our life force energy heal Michael. When Michael woke up, he said he had a vision and he knew that the symbols on the wall were a map. Later, he used the constellations to line up the map with corresponding locations in Roswell. He and Isabel sent a signal to Nasedo, letting him know that we were here.”
“Are these stones small and clear?” Thedri asked.
“Yes”
“Those are probably the medical balance stones used during your creation process. My sister mentioned that they were bringing those stones from our world to help instill your powers and keep your new bodies healthy and able to withstand any illness, preventing you from getting sick. There were 5 stones, one for each of you and one for the organic casing which housed your bodies during your development, allowing it to grow with you and keep you safe,” Thedri explained.
“Wow. Thanks for that information, Thedri,” Max said. “They must have great healing powers as even Liz, Maria, and Alex were able to use them to heal Michael. River Dog said their energy would activate them.”
“Well, I’m not positive,” Thedri said, “But I believe that since your bodies were created with the help of these stones, and since your bodies are mostly human, that the powers within the stones would be able to be activated by humans, especially if they had a mental or emotional connection with one of you.”
Max continued to tell their story to Ca’allyn and the others—how he had called for some time to step back from Liz after Michael got sick and how hard it was on both of them, saving his mother from the kitchen fire, the Sherriff’s continued suspicions of them, the sighting in the woods, Liz’s blind date and how he had gotten drunk with just one sip of Kyle’s flask of alcohol.
“That was the night that I first got flashes from Max,” Liz announced.
“You had a flash that night, Liz?” Max asked surprised.
“Yeah. I guess you didn’t see it, or else you didn’t remember it,” Liz said pointedly, reminding him that he had been a little out of it that night.
“What do you mean by flashes?” Ca’allyn asked curiously, as Max had mentioned seeing flashes before and he didn’t understand that term.
“Well, you remember we told you how I connected with Liz when I healed her and saw images of her as a little girl, and then how I made the reverse connection so she could see me as well?” Max asked.
Ca’allyn nodded.
“Well, sometimes, especially when our emotions are intense, Liz and I see images or flashes from each other when we kiss. I just didn’t know that she had seen one from me that night. I thought the first time was that night I came to the Crashdown, when you knocked over the bowl of strawberries?” he questioned Liz.
Liz grinned. “Well, maybe that was the first time for you, but that night of my blind date, when you kissed me on stage, I saw things. Well, I not only saw things, but I felt things, too.”
“What did you see?”
“Well, I saw us, together, at different times throughout the last year, but I saw something else as well. It was kinda hazy, not like our flashes now, but I think it was that constellation, you know, that “V” shaped one that we looked up that day in the science lab.”
“The one I saw when I kissed Tess?” Max breathed. “That’s the flash that she sent me! But, I don’t understand, you saw it first? Liz, do you know what that symbol is? It’s the symbol of the five planets surrounding our world. It’s the Royal Seal that I have inside me, inside my head.” Max turned to Ca’allyn in question. “Do you know what this means?”
“Only that it proves to me that you and Liz were joined together before this time. That fact that she was able to see inside you, inside your head, testifies to that fact.”
Max and Liz looked at each other as he gently stroked her face with his hand, each of them feeling their connection and love surround them completely. Liz didn’t still understand why or how she could have joined with Max, but she couldn’t image her life without him now.
Max kissed Liz on the forehead before turning back to Ca’allyn and the other guards to continue their story. “Shortly after that, I had this uncontrollable urge to be with Liz. I couldn’t stay away from her. I attacked her in the backroom of the Crashdown one night and we starting seeing flashes from each other. Liz starting seeing images of the crash and I saw things from inside her head. We tried repeating that experience several times to see if Liz could see anything else about the crash since we wanted more answers about where we came from. Eventually, we were led out to the desert, close to where our ship crashed and we found an orb. The flashes stopped after that.”
“This orb, my Lord. Can you describe it?” As Max described it, Ca’allyn was sure it he knew exactly what the orb was. He made a mental note to ask more about that later.
Ca’allyn and the other guards continued to listen to Max tell about how Topolsky appeared again, talking about another orb at the same time Tess showed up with the book, sending Max visions and causing him to be very uncomfortable in her presence. Ca’allyn jaw tighten more and more as he heard Max talk about what Tess did and how Nasedo, or Sidoc, posed as Max to lure the FBI Special Unit away from the real Max by taking Liz with him, ultimately resulting in Max’s capture and subsequent torture by Agent Pierce. It took all his willpower to control his body and to quickly command Gl’aer, Feran, Thedri and Daen to keep still, preventing them all from jumping up immediately to hunt down these people and kill them for the treatment of their King.
After his rescue, Max explained how they had captured Pierce, and how they questioned him about Nasedo’s whereabouts. He also told them about Kyle’s accidental shooting, Pierce’s death, his healing of Kyle, and using the stones to heal Nasedo.
It was at that point that Max, Michael, and Isabel talked about the message they received from their mother and their recent suspicions that the message was changed by Tess. Max explained that hadn’t had the chance to retry the orbs again and that the meeting they were having that night at the Crashdown was to discuss when they should try again. Max quickly covered the last 9 months, with the death of Nasedo, the discovery of the Granolith, the confrontation with the Skins, the surprise discovery of their Dupes, going to the summit meeting, and Alex’s death. He also told them about his relationship change with Tess and the memory retrievals, and candidly revealed the mindwarp of having sex with Tess and the baby. Max told him that he, Isabel, Tess, and Michael were planning on leaving just last week, but Liz, Maria, and Kyle found out at the last minute that Tess had lied about everything, including sleeping with Max and being pregnant and stopped them from leaving. How Tess had told him just before she left of Nasedo’s deal with Khivar to get pregnant with Max’s heir and return home using the Granolith and deliver Max, Michael, and Isabel to Khivar. They also explained the recent exposure of Tess’s plans and their discovery of another alien possessing a human who was aiding Tess in these plans.
Ca’allyn was blown away at the knowledge of so much hardship and trials that these young royals and their friends had dealt with in these last 2 years and was actually speechless for a few moments.
“My Lord, I am extremely anxious to see all the items you have collected and to visit the Granolith Chamber with you, and also to find out more about this another alien, but the time is getting late. I know that there are still so many things to talk about, but I understand you have a responsibility to your earth parents to help maintain your cover here. How much longer can you stay here before you need to return to your home for the night?”
Max checked the time and realized that his parents would indeed begin to wonder how long their study session would last. Liz and Maria came to the same conclusion. He sighed deeply as he understood that his answers would have to wait until another day. “Well, I guess you’re right. We do need to head home. Where should we meet tomorrow, Ca’allyn,” Max asked.
“Most of the items you mentioned are at the Granolith Chamber, and considering it is a very secure location, I suggest we meet there,” Ca’allyn replied.
Max looked around the room at the others. “Can everyone plan on spending the day tomorrow at the Granolith Chamber so we can continue? Jim, you and Kyle are also welcomed to come if you like,” Max invited.
Everyone quickly nodded and plans were made to meet at the cliffs tomorrow morning at 9am. Michael, of course, was the most upset since he didn’t have any parents to worry about going home to, but Maria convinced him that if he wanted to keep her mom happy, that he would need to quell his anxiousness for a few more hours. She also prevented Michael from staying up all night asking questions of Ca’allyn and the others on his own without the others by reminding him that her room was on the other side of the house from her mother’s and considering all that her mom had been through that day, Maria was sure that she would be sleeping soundly that night. Maria’s offer was just tempting enough dissuade him from doing exactly what she suspected he would do.
With an unknown alien conspirator still at large, Ca’allyn and his men posted watch over all the royals and their friends that night, something that Max was extremely grateful for, and with that knowledge, he fell into an exhausted sleep as the toll of the last 24 hours finally hit him.
I know this chapter won't answer a lot of questions (the title is Recap), but I thought it was necessary to bring Ca'allyn and his men up to speed on what has been happening to our gang these last couple of years. It was a nice way to get everyone talking about the events and get reactions and comments that hadn't been there before.
However, the following several chapters will be the big reveal. I'm still tweaking parts of them, so I hope I'll have them ready soon. We're nearing the end of what I had already written previously and getting into the parts that I still need to write. I have the story mapped out in my mind of where everyone will end up, but the journey there may take a couple of unexpected turns, and it usually does when I actually start putting it all down in words.
So sit back, and enjoy Chapter 24-Recap. It's quite lengthy.
Chapter 24—Recap
Liz called Kyle and Jim Valenti to tell them of the change in plans, and to meet at Michael’s instead. Once Jim and Kyle arrived at Michael’s, formal introductions were made on both sides. Then everyone sat down around the couch where Ca’allyn and two of his men were seated.
Ca’allyn looked at the unusual group assembled before him. His king, now a young man with a new face, was sitting unceremoniously on the floor with his arms wrapped around the waist of the beautiful, petite human girl who had miraculously joined herself to him, something that had only been accomplished between two full-blooded Antarians before. Vilandra, now Isabel, was still as beautiful as she ever was and appeared just as cold and icy on the outside as she had been in her former life. But, in the short time that he had been watching them all since his arrival, Ca’allyn knew that her heart was tender and caring. During the week, he had seen her crying alone in her room at night, and wondered what was causing her sorrow. Only Rath, now called Michael, seemed the most like his former self. Except, Michael lacked the confidence that Rath had shown, which, Ca’allyn reflected, was probably for the best. Rath’s confidence had led to arrogance, something that was beginning to drive a wedge between Zan and Rath before the tragedy struck. As Ca’allyn looked at the small, human girl next to Michael, he realized that their mutual love and support of each other would help build the confidence that Michael was lacking. And he also had a feeling, based on the interaction he saw between the two of them, that she would definitely keep him in check, preventing any hint of arrogance from emerging.
The other 2 humans present were a curiosity to him. As far as he could tell, they had no connections with any of the 3 hybrids, other than they lived in the same town. He wondered what events had brought them all together this way.
The room was completely silent. The sense of anticipation in the air was so thick it palatable. All eyes were focused on Ca’allyn as he began to speak.
“My, Lord. I know that you are anxious to hear everything that I have to tell you, but I must ask your permission to first hear all that you know about yourselves, all your interactions with other aliens, and especially how you all came to be in this group here today.” Ca’allyn asked. “We only know a little, and it will really help us understand the whole picture before we then explain our part to you.”
Max sharply expelled the breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding. That wasn’t what he expected to hear from this man who knew so much more about them than they did. But, he immediately saw that Ca’allyn was right to request the information first. He took a quick look around the room and saw that everyone was in agreement. He looked at Liz next and she smiled at him. He turned back to Ca’allyn and began.
“We don’t know much about ourselves, but this is what we’ve been able to learn so far. We figured our ship crashed here in Roswell, in the year 1947. That’s what Roswell is known for, if you’ve heard any of the history of this town. At the time of the crash, we were still in our pods. We didn’t come out until 1989 and we looked like normal 6 year-old humans. We left the cave that our pods were in and went out into the desert. Michael, Isabel, and I all emerged at about the same time. Tess, was still in her pod. I wasn’t sure about leaving her, but Michael and Isabel were already leaving the cave, so I decided to leave with my sister.
“We walked a long way before the headlights of a car found us. Isabel and I knew we would be safe, but Michael was afraid. He hid behind some rocks, and the Evans only saw Isabel and me when they stopped. We were taken to an orphanage for a while before our dad was able to work out the legal paperwork to adopt us. They had been unable to have children of their own, and our mom felt that finding us out on the desert highway was a sign that we were meant for them.”
Isabel immediately looked over at Max. “I didn’t know that mom felt that way. How did you know that?”
Max dropped his eyes for a moment at her plaintive look before answering her. “I felt it from her when I touched her once when we were little. It was when she gave me the toy house to help me stop crying at night about wanting to go home. When she handed it to me, I touched her and got that flash of how she felt about us, and how sad she was that I was so unhappy. It was that moment when I vowed not to make her sad like that again, and I stopped crying at night. She thought it was because of the house she gave me.”
“Oh, Max! I never knew about that,” Isabel exclaimed, sympathetically.
“I know. It was different for you.” Max turned and addressed Ca’allyn again. “Isabel was instantly comfortable with mom and dad, adjusting to her new life and the love she felt from them, even though she was upset that Michael hadn’t come with us. We knew that he was out there somewhere, but we didn’t know where to look or how to track him. It wasn’t until we got to school that we found Michael”
Michael started speaking. “I’m sorry, Izzy. I know I should have come out when you called, but I wasn’t as trusting as you were. I knew we were different, and I thought we needed to stay away from those who weren’t like us. If I had known what the foster care system was like, I’m sure I would have thought it was worth the risk.”
Maria squeezed him around the middle a little harder at that statement. She alone knew what he had gone through living with Hank when he had shown her those flashes, and she admired him for admitting as much as he had out loud to his friends. When he looked down at her, she slowly raised her lips to his, giving him a quick kiss to wipe away the bad memories of his childhood.
Max continued. “We didn’t speak at first, but somehow Isabel and I communicated anyway.” Max looked at Ca’allyn and caught his quick nod at that statement. “That’s probably not a surprise to you.”
“No. Our people can be quite telepathic, especially between family members and joined mates,” Ca’allyn replied.
Max accepted this information and went on. “Slowly, we learned to talk out loud, so it was about 2 years before we entered public school. Mom had been teaching us at home until then, helping us adapt. We always knew we were different, but we never told anybody about it. By the time we found Michael, we had learned not to reveal that we were different. We had started to see signs of our powers, and although we weren’t very adept, we knew that we had to keep it a secret. Once we found Michael again, it was just like the 3 of us against the world. We knew about the Roswell crash, and we knew that we must have survived it somehow.”
Thedri interrupted Max to ask, “Your powers—can tell me about them?” When everyone looked at him in surprise at his first communication with them, he blushed briefly before explaining. “You see, my sister was one of the scientists who came here with your pods. I’m curious to find out what powers she and the others worked on to instill in you in these new bodies,” he finished. “I know that she must not have survived,” he bowed his head for a moment in sorrow. But then he raised his head again with renewed determination. “But, it was her greatest wish to be able to accompany you and give you new life once again.”
Max nodded at Thedri. “I’m very sorry for your loss. We are all grateful for all the sacrifices of everyone involved to bring us here. As for our powers, we all can do basic stuff, like manipulate the molecular structure of things and connect with people, but we also all have special, unique gifts. I can heal, and have a shield that I can produce." He quickly gave a brief demonstration of that power, much to both Thedri’s and Ca’allyn’s delight. "I guess I just now learned I can read people’s thoughts as well, with Liz’s help of course.” He gave her a quick squeeze. “Isabel?” he nodded at Isabel to continue.
Isabel turned slightly to Thedri. “My power to read people isn’t as strong as Max’s. I only get their subconscious thoughts. I can go into people’s dreams and see what it is they’re dreaming about. I use pictures to connect with the person, and then I can find their dreams. I can’t change what they are dreaming about, I just watch.”
“What about what you did with Max and Pierce, Isabel?” Liz questioned. “They weren’t asleep then, remember?”
“Well, a couple of times, I was able to connect with someone when they were awake, to try to read their thoughts, but those were desperate situations. I haven’t tried it again since.”
“Sometimes, it is in the most desperate situations that we learn the most about ourselves,” Ca’allyn said. “Go on, describe your latest power,” he said, a bit assumingly.
Isabel wasn’t sure what the undercurrent was she was beginning to feel from Ca’allyn, but she did what he said. “Well, just in the last couple of months, I’ve been able to see and read people’s auras. Humans are harder for me to read, unless their emotions are really heightened. But, Liz is the exception to that I can read her just as easily as I can read Max and Michael, and now G’laer, Daen, Thedri, and Feran, and sometimes you,” she said, turned back to Ca’allyn as she spoke, “when you let your guard down enough for me to read you,” Isabel said, pointingly.
The growing vibes between Isabel and Ca’allyn were becoming obvious to everyone in the room, and Michael cleared his voice to bring the discussion back on point. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t compete with Isabel and Max on the powers scale. All I’ve been able to do is this power-blast thing. No other special gifts, just that,” Michael said.
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure that once you’ve had the right training that your other special gifts will manifest,” Thedri said. “Had you been raised by Tebryn, I’m sure you would have mastered them already. It just requires the right guidance. I would love to help you work on them later,” Thedri said sincerely.
Michael turned to Thedri, “I’d like that, Thedri. Thanks for the offer.”
Thedri, bowed slightly to Max. “Thank you, Sire. The abilities you described are similar to what you had in your previous lives, but with some modifications. I am happy to know my sister’s work was successful.”
Max continued their story. “When we were younger, we knew that if anyone knew about what we could do, that our lives would be in danger, so we made rules—rules that we would never use our powers in public.”
“Rules that Max threw right out the window when he healed Liz 2 years ago,” Isabel said sarcastically, but her tone was joking, and everyone was knew it. “Lucky for us, too, that he knew when to break the rules or none of us would be here today,” she added, smiling at him and Liz, warmly.
“What do you mean, when he healed Liz?” Ca’allyn asked sharply, his eyes flashing. He quickly looked over at Liz, checking her up and down, trying to see any sign of injury in the young queen. “What happened to her?” he asked accusingly.
“I was shot,” Liz explained briefly. “It happened 2 years ago this fall, on September 18th, 1999. I was working at the Crashdown when an argument broke out between 2 of the customers and a gun went off. I was hit. Max and Michael were in the diner that day . . .”
“We were there every day,” Michael interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Max dragged me to that place every day of the week that you were working there. I think he knew your schedule as well as you did.”
Max grinned widely. “Yep!! I sure did,” he confessed, unrepentantly. “And let me tell you, it was a chore getting him in there. But, I had it bad for one of the local waitresses there and being the loyal wingman he was, Michael came with me, although not without loud complaints.”
“Do you know, I never knew?” Liz looked up into Max’s eyes with love. “I never realized that’s why you were there all the time. Maria would tell me that you were staring at me, but I never believed it.”
As Max and Liz got lost in each other’s eyes for a moment, Michael mumbled under his breath, “I can’t imagine that she didn’t know with Max mooning over her all the time.”
Isabel heard Michael’s grumblings and rolled her eyes in agreement. She looked back over at Max and saw that he was still staring at Liz. She gave him a nudge to focus his attention back to the story.
As soon as he felt the dig in his ribs from Isabel, Max broke his gaze away from Liz and resumed his tale.
“Anyway, as soon as I saw her lying on the floor after the gun when off, I got up and started to go to her, not even thinking about exposing myself. Michael tried to stop me . . .”
“ . . . unsuccessfully, of course,” Michael added. “I don’t think anyone could have stopped you from going to her.”
“As soon as I saw the blood pouring from the wound, I felt my heart stop. She couldn’t be dying. Not her. Not Liz. I knew that I could heal her, but I had to make a connection with her first. I got her to barely open her eyes and look at me. As soon as she did, I made the connection, put my hand over the wound and started to heal her. I got a rush of images from her life and all the emotions that accompanied them as well. I never felt anything like that before when I connected with someone. It wasn’t until I was sure she was ok that I began to worry about what I had done. I saw a bottle of ketchup on the shelf and I broke it, spilling out the thick liquid all over her. I told her not to tell anyone what I had done, and I ran out of the diner.”
“You can imagine what I was thinking,” Liz said, jumping in. “Here was this boy I had known for years, healing me, bringing me back to life, and then begging me not to tell anyone. Not only had he left me with this huge secret, he had also unknowingly left a silver handprint on my stomach, exactly where he had put his hand on me to heal me. The next day at school, I took a pencil that Max had put in his mouth and scraped some cells from it, examining them under the microscope. Needless to say, they weren’t normal human cells. I confronted him about it, and he told me that he was an alien.”
“Telling you the truth was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but as soon as I did, it was the biggest relief. I knew it was the right thing to do,” Max admitted.
“I know it was. But, I wasn’t even thinking about how it must have been for you. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that aliens even existed, not to mention the fact that one of them saved my life. Max knew that I wasn’t sure about him, so he decided to come talk to me about it. He mentioned that he had seen flashes of me when he healed me. Then he offered to try to make the connection go the other way, so I could see him and know that he was really the same Max I had known since I was 8. He opened himself up to me and I saw everything—how he was found by the Evans, how scared he had been growing up with this huge secret, and I saw me as he saw me.” Liz looked up at him and smiled shyly, humbled by the depth of Max’s love for her.
Ca’allyn interrupted. “You formed a connection with her? And she was able to see into your mind?” Ca’allyn was a bit puzzled. He knew that the hybrids would have the capabilities to tap into the minds of humans, but for a human to be able to see into their minds . . . that was something that shouldn’t have been possible. This might explain how Liz came to be joined with Max. “Can you tell me how you did this? Was it difficult for you?”
Max looked steadily into the Ca’allyn’s bright green eyes and said, “It was the easiest thing in the world to do. I just held her face in my hands and told her to blank out her mind. I concentrated on forming a connection, and the next thing I knew, we were connected. I willingly opened up my mind to her, letting her see who I was. I had no idea what images she was seeing. I only knew that I trusted her with every fiber of my being and that I had nothing to hide from her anymore.”
“Thank you for explaining the detail to me, Sire. It is very interesting information. Please, continue with your story.”
Liz glanced back up at Max for a quick confirmation and then began again. “Well, after that, things escalated pretty quickly. The Sheriff was already suspicious of Max after a couple of tourists told him that the bullet that I claimed had missed me was nowhere to be found. Kyle also saw the handprint on my stomach and told his dad about it. And Maria found my order pad with blood all over it and was demanding answers. Eventually, I had to tell Maria about their secret in order to keep her quiet.”
“Hey, I was just doing what I had to do to keep from losing my best friend,” Maria cried indignantly.
“The Sheriff was narrowing in on Max, and we had to stage an accident . . .”
“ . . . which required me rolling around in dirt and risking my mother’s car,” Maria chimed in.
“ . . . using Kyle as a decoy . . . Sorry about that . . .” Liz glanced over at Kyle.
“Hey, I understand, Liz,” he replied.
“ . . .all to throw Valenti off the trail of Max.”
“Well, I still had my suspicious about him, but I just couldn’t do anything about it,” Jim added.
“After that, I wanted to be with Max, but he said we were just too different.”
“You don’t know how badly I wanted to kiss you that night, standing on the hill,” Max said.
“You don’t know how badly I wanted you to kiss me,” Liz countered.
“Our lives were never the same after that. The Sheriff was still suspicious of us. Maria was so freaked out at first, that we thought she was going to cave and tell the Sheriff everything. We found a key which ended up leading us on a bunch of different adventures, trying to find answers to where they came from. An FBI agent from the Special Unit assigned to investigate aliens was posing as a guidance counselor at school, trying to get more information about us, making it even harder to follow up on all the clues we were finding. I broke up with my boyfriend, Kyle as I realized my feelings for him could never compete with the feelings that I was developing for Max. Max and I got into a car accident which put him in the hospital, causing problems regarding his blood being taken by the doctors so we had to involve another human, our friend Alex, into the equation. . .” At the mention of Alex’s name, Liz broke off suddenly. She looked up at Ca’allyn with tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “Alex was one of my best friends. It’s only been a couple of months since he died, and . . . .” she stopped again as Max pulled her tighter against his chest, kissing her face in comfort.
Max turned to Ca’allyn and asked, “How much detail do you need from us?”
Ca’allyn looked around at the group of humans and hybrids gathered around him as he took in the information that had been given him through their story. It helped Ca’allyn to understand how the other 2 humans became involved in their secret. It spoke measures to their character that they remained loyal to them instead of turning them into the local authorities, or else the group would not be here today. “Can you tell me more about these clues that you said you were following, trying to learn about your origins?”
Max turned to Jim. “I think we’d better start with Atherton.”
Valenti looked startled at being asked to tell his part in the story, but he obliged, telling Ca’allyn and the others about the man Atherton, the book he had written, he photo of his body with the silver handprint that he had shown to Liz, the files that he had on Atherton that were taken by the FBI, and the key that he had kept from them, hiding it in his thermos cap. “I can only assume that our own dear Michael was the one who broke into my office and found that key, right Mr. Guerrin?”
“Yeah. It was me,” Michael admitted. “I was determined to do everything I could to find more answers. The first time I touched the key, I had a flash of something. My powers were never as developed as Max’s and Isabel’s were, but for some reason, I was the only one who got a flash from that key. It wasn’t until several weeks later that I had a clearer vision of what it was. I drew it out and my art teacher told me it was a geodesic dome. I had no idea why I would have a flash of that. It wasn’t until Isabel saw the picture in the back of Atherton’s book that we saw why. It was Atherton’s dome. I snooped around and found out that he lived in Marathon, Texas. I wanted to go there right away and find out what was in there, why I was having vision of this dome, but Isabel and Max wanted to be cautious. They were worried about the Sheriff and our mysterious guidance counselor as well. So, I decided to go on my own.”
“But, first you needed to steal a car, never mind who was still in it!!!!” Maria jumped in, her eyes flashing with mock anger.
“Yeah, well, you were just too cute to just kick out, so I figured I got a bonus for getting you in addition to the car.” Michael’s look was challenging. “Too cute that is, until you started opening your mouth and complaining about everything I did. But, then you covered for me with that cop, and I decided to keep you around.” Michael smiled, kissing her quickly on the forehead to avoid any backlash for that last remark. “Besides, I began to grow quite fond of that mouth,” he whispered in her ear. “Especially when you use it so well on me.”
Whatever words of protest were about to be issued from Maria’s mouth were suddenly and completed silenced with that. She looked up into Michael’s eyes and knew she had met the man that she would be sharing the rest of her life with.
“At Atherton’s we used the key Michael had to open a secret room under the dome. We found boxes of stuff there and were about to look through it when we realized that someone else was there. We quickly grabbed a couple of boxes and escaped through an air vent. We never had a chance to look through the stuff, because the next day, our house was “robbed” by the FBI. The only thing we got out of that trip was the pendant that Isabel found. The same pendant that you see now around Liz’s neck.”
“Do you mean, the queen’s royal crown?” Ca’allyn asked breathlessly. “It was found at this man Atherton’s house?”
Isabel responded. “Yes. It was just hanging there, among all Atherton’s boxes of junk. I recognized it immediately, but I didn’t know what it was. I grabbed it and put it on. That’s the only reason why we still have it today. If I had put it in the boxes we took, the FBI would have it now.”
“It was very quick thinking on your part then, to keep it so close to you and not let it out of your sight,” Ca’allyn complimented. “Who was this man then, and how to you think he came to be in possession of the pendant?” he said, disturbed that a strange human had touched the queen’s royal crown at all.
“We don’t know for sure. We did found out later, from an Indian named River Dog, that Atherton knew the person like us that he called Nasedo. The people of River Dog’s tribe gave him that name. It means “Vistor” in their language. They must have realized that Nasedo was not from around here. From what River Dog said, Nasedo stayed with them for a while. He also knew Atherton. He said that they were friends. But, one day, he saw Nasedo kill Atherton. He was too far away to see everything, just that he killed him. River Dog showed us the cave where Nasedo stayed. There were symbols etched into the wall. We think it was a map.”
Ca’allyn spoke. “I’d like to see this cave. Do you think you can take us there sometime?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Michael declared, excited that someone else might be able to tell him more about those symbols on the walls.
Max continued. “Later, after visiting with the tribe during a religious sweat, Michael got real sick and we had to take him to the cave so River Dog could help us. River Dog told us it was a test, to see if Michael was truly one of the same people that Max and Nasedo were. I had passed a test before. Now it was Michael’s turn. But, Michael didn’t get sick right away like Nasedo had. It took a little while longer, so at first River Dog rejected Michael. But, once he realized that he had become sick he gave us these stones. He said that Nasedo had given them to him, that they were from his home world. We each held a stone and let our life force energy heal Michael. When Michael woke up, he said he had a vision and he knew that the symbols on the wall were a map. Later, he used the constellations to line up the map with corresponding locations in Roswell. He and Isabel sent a signal to Nasedo, letting him know that we were here.”
“Are these stones small and clear?” Thedri asked.
“Yes”
“Those are probably the medical balance stones used during your creation process. My sister mentioned that they were bringing those stones from our world to help instill your powers and keep your new bodies healthy and able to withstand any illness, preventing you from getting sick. There were 5 stones, one for each of you and one for the organic casing which housed your bodies during your development, allowing it to grow with you and keep you safe,” Thedri explained.
“Wow. Thanks for that information, Thedri,” Max said. “They must have great healing powers as even Liz, Maria, and Alex were able to use them to heal Michael. River Dog said their energy would activate them.”
“Well, I’m not positive,” Thedri said, “But I believe that since your bodies were created with the help of these stones, and since your bodies are mostly human, that the powers within the stones would be able to be activated by humans, especially if they had a mental or emotional connection with one of you.”
Max continued to tell their story to Ca’allyn and the others—how he had called for some time to step back from Liz after Michael got sick and how hard it was on both of them, saving his mother from the kitchen fire, the Sherriff’s continued suspicions of them, the sighting in the woods, Liz’s blind date and how he had gotten drunk with just one sip of Kyle’s flask of alcohol.
“That was the night that I first got flashes from Max,” Liz announced.
“You had a flash that night, Liz?” Max asked surprised.
“Yeah. I guess you didn’t see it, or else you didn’t remember it,” Liz said pointedly, reminding him that he had been a little out of it that night.
“What do you mean by flashes?” Ca’allyn asked curiously, as Max had mentioned seeing flashes before and he didn’t understand that term.
“Well, you remember we told you how I connected with Liz when I healed her and saw images of her as a little girl, and then how I made the reverse connection so she could see me as well?” Max asked.
Ca’allyn nodded.
“Well, sometimes, especially when our emotions are intense, Liz and I see images or flashes from each other when we kiss. I just didn’t know that she had seen one from me that night. I thought the first time was that night I came to the Crashdown, when you knocked over the bowl of strawberries?” he questioned Liz.
Liz grinned. “Well, maybe that was the first time for you, but that night of my blind date, when you kissed me on stage, I saw things. Well, I not only saw things, but I felt things, too.”
“What did you see?”
“Well, I saw us, together, at different times throughout the last year, but I saw something else as well. It was kinda hazy, not like our flashes now, but I think it was that constellation, you know, that “V” shaped one that we looked up that day in the science lab.”
“The one I saw when I kissed Tess?” Max breathed. “That’s the flash that she sent me! But, I don’t understand, you saw it first? Liz, do you know what that symbol is? It’s the symbol of the five planets surrounding our world. It’s the Royal Seal that I have inside me, inside my head.” Max turned to Ca’allyn in question. “Do you know what this means?”
“Only that it proves to me that you and Liz were joined together before this time. That fact that she was able to see inside you, inside your head, testifies to that fact.”
Max and Liz looked at each other as he gently stroked her face with his hand, each of them feeling their connection and love surround them completely. Liz didn’t still understand why or how she could have joined with Max, but she couldn’t image her life without him now.
Max kissed Liz on the forehead before turning back to Ca’allyn and the other guards to continue their story. “Shortly after that, I had this uncontrollable urge to be with Liz. I couldn’t stay away from her. I attacked her in the backroom of the Crashdown one night and we starting seeing flashes from each other. Liz starting seeing images of the crash and I saw things from inside her head. We tried repeating that experience several times to see if Liz could see anything else about the crash since we wanted more answers about where we came from. Eventually, we were led out to the desert, close to where our ship crashed and we found an orb. The flashes stopped after that.”
“This orb, my Lord. Can you describe it?” As Max described it, Ca’allyn was sure it he knew exactly what the orb was. He made a mental note to ask more about that later.
Ca’allyn and the other guards continued to listen to Max tell about how Topolsky appeared again, talking about another orb at the same time Tess showed up with the book, sending Max visions and causing him to be very uncomfortable in her presence. Ca’allyn jaw tighten more and more as he heard Max talk about what Tess did and how Nasedo, or Sidoc, posed as Max to lure the FBI Special Unit away from the real Max by taking Liz with him, ultimately resulting in Max’s capture and subsequent torture by Agent Pierce. It took all his willpower to control his body and to quickly command Gl’aer, Feran, Thedri and Daen to keep still, preventing them all from jumping up immediately to hunt down these people and kill them for the treatment of their King.
After his rescue, Max explained how they had captured Pierce, and how they questioned him about Nasedo’s whereabouts. He also told them about Kyle’s accidental shooting, Pierce’s death, his healing of Kyle, and using the stones to heal Nasedo.
It was at that point that Max, Michael, and Isabel talked about the message they received from their mother and their recent suspicions that the message was changed by Tess. Max explained that hadn’t had the chance to retry the orbs again and that the meeting they were having that night at the Crashdown was to discuss when they should try again. Max quickly covered the last 9 months, with the death of Nasedo, the discovery of the Granolith, the confrontation with the Skins, the surprise discovery of their Dupes, going to the summit meeting, and Alex’s death. He also told them about his relationship change with Tess and the memory retrievals, and candidly revealed the mindwarp of having sex with Tess and the baby. Max told him that he, Isabel, Tess, and Michael were planning on leaving just last week, but Liz, Maria, and Kyle found out at the last minute that Tess had lied about everything, including sleeping with Max and being pregnant and stopped them from leaving. How Tess had told him just before she left of Nasedo’s deal with Khivar to get pregnant with Max’s heir and return home using the Granolith and deliver Max, Michael, and Isabel to Khivar. They also explained the recent exposure of Tess’s plans and their discovery of another alien possessing a human who was aiding Tess in these plans.
Ca’allyn was blown away at the knowledge of so much hardship and trials that these young royals and their friends had dealt with in these last 2 years and was actually speechless for a few moments.
“My Lord, I am extremely anxious to see all the items you have collected and to visit the Granolith Chamber with you, and also to find out more about this another alien, but the time is getting late. I know that there are still so many things to talk about, but I understand you have a responsibility to your earth parents to help maintain your cover here. How much longer can you stay here before you need to return to your home for the night?”
Max checked the time and realized that his parents would indeed begin to wonder how long their study session would last. Liz and Maria came to the same conclusion. He sighed deeply as he understood that his answers would have to wait until another day. “Well, I guess you’re right. We do need to head home. Where should we meet tomorrow, Ca’allyn,” Max asked.
“Most of the items you mentioned are at the Granolith Chamber, and considering it is a very secure location, I suggest we meet there,” Ca’allyn replied.
Max looked around the room at the others. “Can everyone plan on spending the day tomorrow at the Granolith Chamber so we can continue? Jim, you and Kyle are also welcomed to come if you like,” Max invited.
Everyone quickly nodded and plans were made to meet at the cliffs tomorrow morning at 9am. Michael, of course, was the most upset since he didn’t have any parents to worry about going home to, but Maria convinced him that if he wanted to keep her mom happy, that he would need to quell his anxiousness for a few more hours. She also prevented Michael from staying up all night asking questions of Ca’allyn and the others on his own without the others by reminding him that her room was on the other side of the house from her mother’s and considering all that her mom had been through that day, Maria was sure that she would be sleeping soundly that night. Maria’s offer was just tempting enough dissuade him from doing exactly what she suspected he would do.
With an unknown alien conspirator still at large, Ca’allyn and his men posted watch over all the royals and their friends that night, something that Max was extremely grateful for, and with that knowledge, he fell into an exhausted sleep as the toll of the last 24 hours finally hit him.
Re: Arriving (M/L,CC Mature) Chp 25 pg 22 10/30/11
A/N - Ok, everyone. Sorry for the looooong absence, but I hope this chapter make up for it. This contains a ton of information about the Pod Squad and their history. Most of the talking is done by Ca'allyn. I've made him the spokesman for the group. We might get to hear more from some of the other men, but not too much. They are mostly just there to help train Max and the others, so their part in all of this will come later. Maria also doesn't say much in this chapter. Right now, the focus is on Ca'allyn and Max, Michael, and Isabel. This is the information they have been waiting a long time to hear. I do have to give some credit to Anne McCaffrey and her Pern books for giving me the idea about the joining bond between mates, similar to the dragonriders and their dragons.
I've been developing this back story for a long time, but some new ideas came to me when I was reworking it concerning the Royal Four, which was surprising and exciting to me
Thanks so much to Eve, keepsmiling and Alien_friend for your comments.
And so we come to it.
Chapter 25—A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .
A shiny new silver Saab, a tattered red Jetta, and a black BMW Sedan, which only days earlier had been an abandoned Honda, were the only cars on Highway 380 West early that Sunday morning. Max, Isabel, Liz and Maria had little difficulty the convincing their respective parents that they were going to Hobbs for the day for a little recreation after their long night of studying. Isabel wanted to take her new car out for more than just a ride around town and talked about shopping for summer clothes. Liz had been working really hard at the Crashdown, and despite some lingering reservations about her new relationship with Max, her dad decided to trust her with Max and the others for the day. Everyone felt that keeping their parents in the loop about their plans to be together, only hiding the reasons behind it, was a more productive method than what they had been doing in the past.
Although they were invited, Jim Valenti and Kyle decided not to come. Jim explained to Max that he was very pleased that he had wanted him and his son to be there, but he felt as if they needed to hear about their origins privately and he hoped they would share their story with him at another time.
After entering the pod chamber, Max showed Ca’allyn his men the Destiny Book, the healing stones, and the orbs. Michael had also brought the crystals he and Maria had taken from the Museum in Las Cruces. The healing stones were only a mild curiosity, the crystals were vaguely interesting, but Ca’allyn and the others studied the orbs and the Destiny Book much longer, murmuring quietly to themselves.
Ca’allyn turned to the group, his men filing in behind him, and addressed the teenagers. “We know exactly what these orbs are, my Lord, and they are not communication devices, as you were led to believe. They do have the latent powers that can be used to send a signal, like a beacon, that can be detected with the right receiver, but that was not their main purpose. Their main purpose has already been fulfilled. However, they were specially encoded with a message which you mentioned last night that you saw. But, the message that you related was most likely altered, considering my knowledge of your mother’s wishes and the company you were in when you received the message,” his green eyes flashing with emotion as he referenced Tess. “I believe your desire to try the orbs again is a good one. The messages are most likely different than the ones you were supposed to see,” Ca’allyn concluded.
“Messages? You mean they are more than one?” Isabel asked.
“Most certainly,” Ca’allyn replied. “As there is more than one of you, the orbs were given specific messages for each of you.”
“I don’t understand,” Michael said.
“I know, and I promise more will be clear once I tell you more about yourselves and your past life,” Ca’allyn replied sympathetically.
Ca’allyn held the destiny book longer and studied it quite carefully. He ran his finger over several of the pages, his lips murmuring words that no one could hear.
“What does it say?” Michael asked, boldly. “Can you read it?”
Ca’allyn looked up at them and shook his head slowly. “No, I cannot read it. It is an ancient text, written for our ancestors. It was left with the Royal Four, the first people of Antar. It explained their purpose and the power of the Granilith to assist them in their development. The language is it written in is only learned by the Royal Families, so that the extent of Granilith’s powers is kept with the King and Queen and cannot be used by those wishing the power for themselves. An exception was made in this situation for Tebryn to be instilled with the gift to read the language in order for him to teach to you here from the book.
“What I find curious are these pages here,” Ca’allyn said, turning the book toward the group and pointing to the pictures of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess that were engraven on the metal plates. “Since this book was initially created for our first parents, these pages are a curiosity, wouldn’t you agree?” Ca’allyn asked.
Everyone looked at each other in shock, and couldn’t come up with an answer.
“My Queen, would you try something for me,” Ca’allyn requested. Liz nodded and walked forward to Ca’allyn, still uneasy at his continued use of the royal title. Despite her requests to call her Liz, Ca’allyn had yet to do it.
“Place your hand on this page, and tell me if you sense anything strange about it,” Ca’allyn instructed.
Liz took a quick look over at Max for reassurance and then placed her small hand on the metal page. She knew what Ca’allyn wanted her to do, and she concentrated on the pendant lying beneath her shirt, leaning into the power that she felt coming from it. The pendant began to glow and then slowly a small light began to appear beneath her hand as well. She looked down at the page and saw the images of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess begin to change into new, unfamiliar faces. They remained children still, 2 boys and 2 girls, but their looks were completely different.
Ca’allyn nodded, “As I suspected. The faces you see now are the faces of our first parents, our Royal Four. This book was meant for them; their images engraven upon the plates so all on our world would know them and where we came from.” Ca’allyn pointed at the following page, showing the images of the girls, pregnant with offspring. “And this was their instruction to go forth and produce new life for our planet, creating children together. I suspect Ava must have needed to change their appearances to mimic your own to help convince you all that you were the ones that had to be together. This made it easier for her to begin to fulfill her mission to get pregnant with Max’s child and return home to Khivar. But, you are not the Royal Four. This book was not written for you. It was only sent with you to give you some background on your origins and give you instruction on the Granilith.”
Ca’allyn turned his attention back to Liz, who was still holding her hand over the altered image. “Concentrate on making the change back to its natural state,” he coached. “Feel the images carving themselves back into the metal, erasing the former. The image is there, just allow it to take shape once again.” Ca’allyn placed his hand on Liz’s back, helping to feed her strength to accomplish the task.
Soon, Liz dropped her hand, and the pendant stopped glowing. The pages of the book no longer bore the pictures of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess, but of 4 strange, but beautiful young children.
“Wow,” Max said, as Liz returned to his side with the book in her hand, “that’s incredible, Liz.” Isabel, Michael, and Maria were still speechless.
Michael spoke up. “So, we are not the Royal Four? I’m not Max’s second in command?” Michael asked incredulously.
“No. You were Lieutenant General of the Antarian Army, and you were Zan’s best friend, but you were never called a Royal yourself. I believe you were sent with the others was because you were a strong supporter of Zan, almost like a brother to him,” Ca’allyn explained.
Ca’allyn picked up the crystals and the 2 orbs and said, “Now, if you’ll follow me into the next chamber to check on the Granilith, I believe I have a story that you would all love to hear,” Ca’allyn said, calmly, ducking his head to crawl through the opening at the back of the pods.
“It’s about freakin’ time,” Michael murmured softly, as he turned to follow Max and Liz through the hole, grabbing Maria’s hand linking his fingers through hers.
~~~~~~~~
On the floor of the Granilith Chamber Ca’allyn began his story.
“Our world is the 5th planet from the star in our system. There are 4 other planets in our system. Our planet is the highest ranking planet, with our King and Queen as the predominant leaders of the United Council of the Planets. We have always been at peace with the other worlds, until the last few years, when Khivar took over. Our people. . . ”
Isabel interrupted with a question. “Wait! What is the name of our planet?”
Ca’allyn looked over at the young princess. He smiled slightly at her innocent question. “Antar. Antar is the name of our planet.”
He watched her face soften as she said the name of the planet out loud for the first time. He marveled at the easy pleasure she experienced at hearing that simple information. How much she had changed from the being that she once was! She was just as beautiful as she was on Antar, but Vilandra was close to only a few select people. To everyone else, she was cold and aloof. Ca’allyn perceived that Isabel came across icy to those that didn’t know her, but he could see that her heart was pure and had not been tainted as Vilandra’s had been. Inside this being was Vilandra perfected, and as he continued to gaze upon her, for the first time in his life, Ca’allyn began to fall victim to the charms of Vilandra.
Ca’allyn shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. He cleared his throat and continued with his story.
“On our world, there are 2 races, the Antarians and the Karians. The Antarians have always been the ruling class, the Karians the lower class. The Antarians were the original people of the planet. The book you hold in your hand tells of their creation and the instructions given to them by their creators. We’ll talk about that more later.
“The Karians, however, were refugees from a distant world. Their own world had been destroyed by a plaque, and they sought for a new home. They had heard tales of the power of the Granilith and they requested to come and live with us in peace, hoping that the Granilith would be able to help restore their health to them. The disease they carried was not dangerous to Antarians, as the Granilith had made us all impervious to all sickness.
“They landed on our planet millennium ago, and our King at the time permitted them to live in peace with us. They were indeed healed from their plague. They choose a new name for themselves, the Karians, forsakening their old name and their old way of life on their homeworld. They hope to settle more fully into our society. Over the centuries, they began to develop some of the gifts that our people had been blessed with by the Granilith. Some of them were extremely adept at their gifts, but the majority of their people as a whole were never quite able to attain the same level of powers that we Antarians had. Even after thousands of year of co-existence, there were always rifts between the two classes.
“Your father was King V’ran and your mother is Queen Izandra. They have ruled our planet since you 2 were just infants,” Ca’allyn said, indicating Max and Isabel. “When your father became King, he wanted to bring the Antarians and Karians together, to lessen the gap between them. He started by giving Karians more authority. He began by choosing a Karian and making him the General of the Antarian Army. King V’ran had a good heart, but I think he put a little too much faith in this man, disregarding his own judgment of the man’s heart. He truly believed that this would help bring peace and harmony to the entire planet.”
“Khivar,” Max breathed. “Was the man Khivar?”
“Yes. At first the choice seemed to be a wonderful thing for our people. Khivar had the respect of the King and others of our race began to soften their hearts towards the Karians, treating them with more equality than before. Karians began to be appointed in other positions of respect and authority. Our world was peaceful for a while. It was during this time that our prince and his betrothed were joined together,” Ca’allyn said, looking directly at Max.
“It wasn’t Ava, was it? It was someone else.”
“Yes,” Ca’allyn began, “Ava was . . .”
“So, it’s true. Zan was joined to someone before Ava,” Max said confidently.
“Yes. Prince Zan’s young mate was called Shi’raellyn. They had been betrothed since the prince’s Age of Bonding.”
“Age of Bonding?” Max prompted.
“Yes. That’s the best translation of our word into your language. On our world, when our future King reaches his Age of Bonding at age of 8, his genetic encoding causes a pressing need inside of him—the urge for him to seek out his future mate. This selection of a mate usually takes several years because the importance of finding the perfect one is vital to the survival of the Royal line. You see, the reason our future Kings seek their intended companion at such an early age is so that they can spend many years together, strengthening their connection, allowing their powers to grow in support of each other. By the time they reach maturity, the two are a complete unit, functioning as one. When their joining takes place, the bond of their connection is sealed upon them and their genetic coding is permanently tuned to each other. However, in this case, the moment Zan felt the urge of his encoding, he laid eyes upon my sister Shi’raellyn and he instantly knew she was the one. And although Shi’raellyn was only 6 at the time, she felt exactly the same way. I could see it in her eyes. The two of them were made for each other. Their connection grew quickly, surpassing the connection most couples achieve only after many years together. It wasn’t until after Zan and Shira’s joining. . .”
Max interrupted, “Shira?”
“My apologies, Sire. That was mine and Zan’s nickname for Shi’raellyn. I hope you don’t mind my using it.”
Liz turned to Max in surprise, wondering at his abrupt interruption and at the mixed feelings she was receiving from him. “Max? What is it?” she asked.
Max turned and looked at Liz. “I don’t know exactly. It’s just that when he said her name, it almost seemed familiar somehow.”
“Are you starting to remember some of your past life?” Liz questioned anxiously.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that that name just . . . I don’t know. . It just feels right.” Max shook his head in confusion. “Does that even make sense?” he wondered aloud.
“My Lord, it is not surprising to hear you feel that way, considering the depth of the connection between Zan and Shi’raellyn. I will refrain from using the nickname if it discomforts you,” Ca’allyn offered.
“No, Ca’allyn. It doesn’t bother me at all. Please feel free to use it as you wish.”
“Ca’allyn?” Isabel asked. When he turned to look at her, Isabel continued. “You mentioned that Max was betrothed and that he had an ‘Age of Bonding.’ What about me?” she asked anxiously, remembering her conversation with Liz last week after learning about Max’s genetic link to Liz.
“Our princesses don’t have an Age of Bonding. Only the first born sons. However, at the time of your joining to your selected mate, your genetic coding is linked together with your partner, but you and Rath were only betrothed, not joined.”
Isabel and Michael looked at each other a bit uncomfortably.
Ca’allyn saw the look and continued. “But, from what I know of it, I believe the alliance was just once of convenience, not of affection.”
Isabel’s face and aura showed relief at this knowledge and Michael relaxed a bit more and leaned into Maria’s embrace as Ca’allyn continued.
“As I was saying, it wasn’t until after Zan and Shi’raellyn’s joining that I began to notice changes on our world. At the time we didn’t realize it, but Khivar had started to abuse the authority of his position. He enjoyed the power he had and begun to crave more. Slowly and subtly, rifts began appearing within society between the Karians and the Antarians. Social disputes and fights were common once again. I believe at this time, Khivar began to see a way to gain the power he desired. He devised a deadly plan that was twofold. First, despite her betrothal to Rath, Khivar began forming an attachment to Princess Vilandra, slowly convincing her of his professed love of her, and second, to ensure Vilandra’s ascension to the crown by eliminating Zan.”
Isabel gasped at the mention of Vilandra’s association with Khivar. Ca’allyn stopped and glanced over at the young girl. “Have you heard this information before?”
“Only a few things, but they weren’t from a friendly source,” Isabel replied. “I’m sorry for my outburst, please continue,” she pleaded. She was torn between excitement and fear at learning about Vilandra’s role in the fate of their former lives.
“The first part of Khivar’s plan seems to be working well. Vilandra was seen with Khivar more and more. She became more distant, shunning her friends, shirking her duties, and using her rank to obtain her desires.”
Ca’allyn observed the emotions going through Isabel and realized that she was feeling guilty about the actions of Vilandra. He decided he needed to try to ease her anxiety a little. He looked directly at Isabel as he revealed something he had only now allowed himself to believe. “Isabel. I understand you are uncomfortable hearing about the things that Vilandra did before, but you have to understand how powerful Khivar was. You have had associations in this world with the person that was formerly called Ava on our world, correct?”
Isabel nodded her head in answer.
“Then, I’m sure you had a small taste of what she can do. Both Ava and Khivar had a special knack for getting inside of people’s minds and making them do things. At the time I didn’t realize it, but looking at the situation now, I truly believe Khivar manipulated Vilandra into doing whatever he wanted. I don’t think she was really in control of her actions.”
Isabel nodded in understanding and Ca’allyn continued.
“Once that part of the plan was working, the next step was to get rid of Zan. However, Shira had become suspicious of Khivar. Although she was not particularly close to Vilandra, she was good friends with one of Vilandra’s servants, and her friend spoke to Shira in confidence regarding Vilandra’s changing habits and behavior.
Ca’allyn stopped and looked at everyone for a quick explanation. “Our queens have always possessed the special power of discernment as a help to the king and the kingdom. Although Zan was not yet King, after Shira and Zan’s joining, Shira’s powers as the future queen began to develop. It was through these developing powers that Shira pinpointed Khivar as the source of the changes in Vilandra.
“Shira confided in me, her brother, after she discovered Khivar’s true nature. As Captain of the Royal Guard, I too, had felt changes in Khivar, and I was not surprised at this knowledge. I told her that although Khivar was very adept at hiding his feelings for Zan from everyone, I had observed an occasional slip of resentment in his aura when Zan addressed him.
“After confirming her suspicions with me, Shira quickly informed Zan of her discovery. After Zan was told, he relayed the information to King V’ran. But by that time, it was almost too late to do anything about the situation without making it worse. Khivar had been in charge so long, that without firm evidence, a sudden removal of Khivar from his position would cause a backlash in the public that King V’ran needed to avoid. So, King V’ran began to slowly take away some of the responsibilities given to Khivar, trying to reduce his position a little at a time. However, Khivar realized what was happening and through his palace spies he was informed that Shira was the cause of the situation he now found himself. He had been working on a new weapon to kill Zan with, but now I believe his anger turned to Shira instead. However, his goal of eliminating Zan was still well in place.”
Ca’allyn paused at this point and looked at Max and Liz. “Do you remember my description of the joining process?”
They both nodded and Max replied, “Yes, you said the 2 of them function as one unit, each one completing the other.”
“Exactly. What I didn’t mention before is that a Royal Joining is so strong, it is literally for life. Upon the death of one, the other usually dies as well, unable to survive without their other half. Only twice in the history of our planet has a Royal survived without their joined mate,” Ca’allyn stated.
“Zan. Zan was one of the 2, wasn’t he,” Max breathed.
“Yes,” Ca’allyn confirmed. “Although the choice to live wasn’t his. But, I’ll come to that in a minute. So, Khivar’s plan to kill Shira would still result in Zan’s death, as he believed Zan wouldn’t be able to survive without her. Khivar was working on a new weapon—one so deadly that not even the healing power of the King could save someone who was hit by it.
“An attack was planned and Shira was shot,” Ca’allyn’s voice hitched a little at this point, as it was obvious he was still deeply emotional at remembering his sister’s untimely death. “Zan tried everything in his power to save her, but the weapon’s effect was too strong. Zan was in agony at Shira’s loss. King V’ran arrived at the scene as Zan was nearing death after Shira finally faded away. In that moment, with his son’s life force fading away, King V’ran made a decision. He felt that Zan was the best person to rule and that Zan’s existence was vital to the survival of the planet. He placed his hands on Zan’s head and activated the Royal Seal of Antar that Zan carried inside him, officially marking him as King. Then he used all his own life force to heal Zan and bring him back from the brink of death, he himself, dying in the process. Of course, Queen Izandra felt the moment her connection to King V’ran was severed. She, too, was almost close to death, but fought to stay alive in support of her son. Zan and Queen Izandra were forced to lean on each other for survival, each half the person they were before.
“Upon his formal coronation, King Zan officially dismissed Khivar, naming him as the primary person responsible for Shira’s death. There was no objection from any of the people of Antar, not even the Karians, for Shi’raellyn was beloved by everyone. King Zan began his rule, but without his Shira, he was not the same man. He struggled to make the simplest decisions and his judgment was very poor.
“Zan spent many nights talking with his mother. I believe now, King Zan had a plan. What is was, I do not know for sure. But, I think it was a solution to the problem that he saw himself in. He knew he was in no condition to rule the planet, and his concern for the welfare of the people would have caused him to think of their well-being. But, unbeknownst to him, his closest advisors tried to come up with another solution. Something that had never been tried before.”
“A rejoining!!” Liz exclaimed. “They wanted to rejoin Zan with Ava.”
Ca’allyn turned to her in surprise. “Yes. Khivar was still hard at work, trying to find a way to seize the throne. After Zan had fired him, Khivar still continued to see Vilandra. I’m sure he convinced her that he had nothing to do with Shi’raellyn’s death. His control over her was still that strong. I believe Vilandra told Khivar what Zan was planning. Whatever it was, it threw Khivar into action. He used his source within the Royal council to suggest to the other members of the council the solution of a second rejoining. The person that was suggested was Ava. Ava was a Karian, and one of the personal assistants of Queen Izandra. The idea was to bring peace to the Karian Separatists by instilling one of their own to the throne. Of course, Khivar knew Ava fairly well. They were distant cousins, although at the time, most people were unaware of that fact. Khivar’s plan was to promote Ava to the throne, and then rule through her and eventually through the child she would bare.”
“So, Ava was chosen for Zan? But, he met her at a party, didn’t he. On Dimaras?” Max was confused.
Ca’allyn faltered for a moment, a look of puzzlement marring his perfect face. “No, my King.”
“But, someone from our world told me this,” Max replied.
Ca’allyn shook his head emphatically. “Then this person was mistaken, my Lord. Ava came to serve Queen Izandra when she was about 10 years old. She lived in the palace. Zan would have met her there, in the palace.”
Max was completely taken back. “But . . . . I don’t understand. Larak’s memories. I had a flash.”
“Larak? Ca’allyn’s voice grew anxious. “But, I thought you said you only saw Larak briefly at the Summit Meeting. When did you get a flash from him?” Ca’allyn quizzed.
“He regularly possesses the body of someone we know, a man named Brody,” Max explained. “Brody’s my boss at the UFO Center. A few months after the Summit, something happened and Brody somehow tapped into Larak’s memories. It started driving him crazy. That’s when he told me about Zan and Ava’s first meeting on Dimaras. He also told me that I loved her. I didn’t want to believe it, because I didn’t have any feelings for Tess. I thought that if Zan had really loved Ava it would validate Tess’s claim that I should love her now, and I just couldn’t accept that. But, when I healed him, I connected with him, and I got a flash of Larak’s memories. They didn’t show much, just a glimpse of the cliff on Dimaras and a flash of me and Tess together, but it was like it was a memory of Zan and Ava instead. It wasn’t much, but after that I went to Tess and told her I remembered her and we started working on the memory retrievals together,” Max concluded.
Ca’allyn looked around at his men and they all shared a look that told of silent communication. Ca’allyn then said, “I was uncomfortable earlier when you mentioned the possession of humans by members of our home system. I now find this information of alien possession disturbing. We,” Ca’allyn said, indicating his men, “had no idea our people found the ability to possess the bodies of humans here on earth,” he confessed softly. “But, usually, the person has no memory of the events that happened while they were being possessed, correct?”
“Yeah. But, there was an accident with some equipment Brody was using and we think that somehow caused him to be able to tap into the part of Brody’s mind that Larak used when he possessed him, revealing some of Larak’s memories,” Max replied.
Ca’allyn’s mind was sorting madly through all this new information.
“Please, my King, tell me everything that happened in detail. This could reveal some information that is critical to our plan to defeat Khivar.” If this human had told Max that Larak’s memories revealed that Zan and Ava met on Dimaras and that they loved each, then there was more to their problems on Antar then he knew about.
Max started at the beginning, when the lights in town had gone out and he had gone to check on Brody. Ca’allyn and his men sat and listened to the tale, anticipating the confirmation of their suspicions.
Once Max had finished his story, Ca’allyn was quiet for a minute, his mind trying to process this information. He turned to his men again briefly and they all nodded in confirmation. He looked squarely at Max, and began. “I believe, my Lord, the only explanation for this incident is that Larak and Ava are working together to bring about your demise. Those flashes you received from Larak were not true as in regards to your previous relationship with Ava. The only reason I can imagine that you saw that is that Larak was in control and made you see that. Since it was after that experience you began to spend time alone with Ava, or Tess as you called her, so she could implant more false memories into your mind, then they must have been working on that plan together.
“But, I thought Larak was my friend,” Max exclaimed. “He warned us about the Ganarium crystals and he seemed to want to help me at the Summit Meeting.” Max was scrambling to understand.
“Let me tell you a little about Larak. Larak is the crown prince of the 2nd planet in our system. He did indeed know Zan very well. They were friends when they were younger. After Shira’s death, Zan was a changed man. With the exception of his mother, Zan closed off everyone around him, including Larak. The conflicts that began on our planet after Shira’s death were starting to concern the other planets in our system. Larak had come to talk to Zan about the situation, but something happened in their meeting that sent Larak away completely frustrated. But, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to turn Larak against Zan. Guess who Larak was in love with?”
“Ava?” Max guessed, apprehensively.
“Ava,” Ca’allyn repeated in confirmation. “I don’t know all the circumstances, but I believe that Ava was close to marriage with Larak before Khivar convinced her to marry Zan. But, I can tell you positively that Zan did not meet Ava on Dimaras. Zan knew Ava since she came to serve in the palace when he was a child. It was Larak that mostly likely met Ava on Dimaras, during one of the Queen’s trips there. Those were probably his memories of meeting Ava. He is the one that loved her, although I’ll never understand why. She was a lovely person to look at, but I could tell she was a manipulative creature. Zan never had any feelings for her. There was only one woman who ever held his heart, and that was Shi’raellyn.”
“But, if Zan loved Shi’raellyn so much, why would he agree to a second joining with Ava?” Michael asked.
Surprisingly, it was from Max that the answer came. “He thought it would be best for his people. He knew he could never love another, but he saw his kingdom falling apart and hoped that this marriage to Ava would help bring peace back to the land.”
When he got surprised looks from the others, Max responded. “I was just trying to imagine what Zan must have been going through. He had this tremendous weight on him, to be a King, to lead his people. He had an entire planet’s welfare to think about. And without his wife to receive wise council from, he would have been persuaded by the arguments of his counselors that this was the best solution.”
“My Lord, you have correctly described Zan’s motives. The second joining with Ava did take place, although to those of us close to Zan, it was a day of little celebration.”
“So, did they, umm . .. . consummate the marriage that night?” Liz asked, anxiously.
“I was not the King’s personal attendant, but I knew him quite well. From all reports, however, the Zan never left his suite at night. Ava was given her own rooms, since Shira and Zan never had separate rooms.
“Zan left right after the ceremony to go out into the land to settle some disputes. He returned after a couple of weeks, but then left again after only a week or so. This pattern continued up until a few weeks before his death. He was gone from the palace as often as he could be and when he was there, he secluded himself in the upper chambers. Often, Queen Izandra joined him.
“The state of peace in the land that had started shortly after the rejoining didn’t last for long. By the end of the first year, wars and battles were being fought all over. Khivar was getting restless. Ava showed no signs of being able to entice Zan to her bed. Khivar’s plans rested upon Ava baring the King’s child. When that plan looked to be failing, Khivar began to use his influence over Vilandra to poison her mind. I think his plan was to kill Zan, marry Vilandra, and rule in Zan’s stead. The only problem was the Royal Seal. Somehow, he’d need to get Zan to transfer the seal to Vilandra. I don’t know how he planned to accomplish this though.
“It was Rath who finally discovered Vilandra with Khivar. He immediately informed Zan and Zan’s Royal Guard went out to try to kill Khivar. However, Khivar had many allies and he was able to elude us. The very next night, Khivar and his men penetrated the palace. I believe it was Vilandra who let him in. I really believe she had no idea what Khivar was planning. She probably thought he was just there to see her since Zan had placed her under house arrest. A mighty battle took place inside, of which I was a part of. Once Vilandra realized that Khivar was there to kill her brother, she tried to warn him. She threw herself in front of a blast meant for Zan and was killed. When Vilandra was hit, Rath went after Khivar. Niko, Khivar’s right-hand man, took out Rath just as he was about to hit Khivar. Ava stumbled into the middle of the fighting and was accidentally hit in the cross-fire. King Zan died protecting his mother. We managed to drive Khivar’s forces out of the palace, but it was too late. Queen Izandra commanded that we bring the bodies of those fallen to a secret chamber deep underground. In this room, lay the body of Shi’raellyn, perfectly preserved, an orb resting on her unmoving chest, glowing faintly.
“It turns out, the queen had a plan. She would extract the essence of those who had died, and store it in an orb until it could be combined with the DNA from another source, allowing their spirits to live again. I believe this was a modified plan from the one that Zan had for Shi’raellyn. She had already completed the process with Shi’raellyn’s essence and stored it in an orb shortly after her death, at Zan’s request.
“This planet was carefully chosen as the site for you to be brought. Here you could learn to develop your powers, you skills, and then return again to defeat Khivar and his forces.
“As time was critical, Queen Izandra quickly extracted the essence of all who died, including Ava. However, Ava’s essence was not chosen to be sent with the others. When the Queen extracted Ava’s essence, she connected with it and realized all the things Ava had been plotting to do for Khivar. In addition, Queen Izandra learned that Ava had been secretly having affairs with many others, and at the moment of the attack from Khivar that night, she had been in bed with one of palace guards, Sidoc. When the Queen announced her decision, Sidoc pleaded on her behalf. He begged the Queen to give Ava another chance at life with the others. The Queen adamantly refused. A small group was gathered, including 4 of the greatest scientific minds on the planet, to take a ship and come to this planet, bringing the essences, and create new life for them. The Queen sent the Granitith, our most powerful source of all energy here with you, in part to help you in your new forms, learn and grow to defeat Khivar, and also to prevent Khivar from trying to use the power of the Granilith to strengthen his control of the planet.
“I wanted to come, too, but the Queen had to have someone stay behind to gather more troops loyal to the Royals in preparation for your return. We never returned to the palace that night, but went into hiding. These last 4 years we’ve been gathering all those still loyal to you and training them in the ways of battle, waiting for the day of your return.”
“Wait a minute!! Four years? You mean, it’s only been 4 years since Zan and the others were killed? But, that’s impossible. Our ship crashed in 1947!! That was over 50 years ago!!” Michael exclaimed.
“Ah, yes! You see, time passes differently on our planet then on yours. That was one of the reasons why this particular planet was chosen. Tebryn’s report mentioned the exact time difference.” Ca’allyn closed his eyes as he did the calculations in his head. Let’s see, for you, it has been 54 years since the ship’s crash on this planet. For us, it has been only 4 years since Khivar’s actions killed Zan and the others. But, we never planned on it taking this long. The crash was an unfortunate loss to us. According to the scientists’ notes, it should only have taken 4 of your earth years for the pods to mature to a point where the hybrids could survive outside. Without anyone present to initiate the birthing cycle, the pods stayed in stasis until their energy cycles ran low enough to trigger the birthing cycle on their own.”
“Who was Tebryn, exactly? You’ve mentioned his name several times before, but we still don’t know who he was,” Michael asked.
“Tebryn was one of the personal guards for Shi’raellyn. He took her death very hard, blaming himself for not protecting her. But, he was a faithful and loyal guard, and after Shira’s death, Queen Izandra reassigned him to the palace. I believe she also charged him to frequently look after Shi’raellyn’s body, which she had preserved at Zan’s request. He was chosen to come with you, as your protector, to help raise you, train you and help you return to Antar and defeat Khivar.”
“But, if he was sent down here with us, where is he, what happened to him, and how did he contact you?” Isabel questioned.
“We didn’t hear any reports from him or anyone else initially. But, just a few months ago, he sent a message. He had a very, lengthy report, informing us of the crash and the subsequent events. We have it recorded if you want to see it.”
“See it?” they all asked in unison.
Instead of answering, Ca’allyn simply pulled a flat disk from his pocket and set it on the table in front of them. He waved his hand over the object and suddenly, an image of a man appeared. The image was 3 dimensional, like a hologram, similar to the image of their mother that they had seen that day in the Pod Chamber, except the image was much clearer and less ethereal. Max and Liz gasped at the same time as they recognized the man as the same one who saw them in the desert the morning after they had found the orb.
With a slight Spanish accent, the man began speaking.
I've been developing this back story for a long time, but some new ideas came to me when I was reworking it concerning the Royal Four, which was surprising and exciting to me
Thanks so much to Eve, keepsmiling and Alien_friend for your comments.
And so we come to it.
Chapter 25—A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .
A shiny new silver Saab, a tattered red Jetta, and a black BMW Sedan, which only days earlier had been an abandoned Honda, were the only cars on Highway 380 West early that Sunday morning. Max, Isabel, Liz and Maria had little difficulty the convincing their respective parents that they were going to Hobbs for the day for a little recreation after their long night of studying. Isabel wanted to take her new car out for more than just a ride around town and talked about shopping for summer clothes. Liz had been working really hard at the Crashdown, and despite some lingering reservations about her new relationship with Max, her dad decided to trust her with Max and the others for the day. Everyone felt that keeping their parents in the loop about their plans to be together, only hiding the reasons behind it, was a more productive method than what they had been doing in the past.
Although they were invited, Jim Valenti and Kyle decided not to come. Jim explained to Max that he was very pleased that he had wanted him and his son to be there, but he felt as if they needed to hear about their origins privately and he hoped they would share their story with him at another time.
After entering the pod chamber, Max showed Ca’allyn his men the Destiny Book, the healing stones, and the orbs. Michael had also brought the crystals he and Maria had taken from the Museum in Las Cruces. The healing stones were only a mild curiosity, the crystals were vaguely interesting, but Ca’allyn and the others studied the orbs and the Destiny Book much longer, murmuring quietly to themselves.
Ca’allyn turned to the group, his men filing in behind him, and addressed the teenagers. “We know exactly what these orbs are, my Lord, and they are not communication devices, as you were led to believe. They do have the latent powers that can be used to send a signal, like a beacon, that can be detected with the right receiver, but that was not their main purpose. Their main purpose has already been fulfilled. However, they were specially encoded with a message which you mentioned last night that you saw. But, the message that you related was most likely altered, considering my knowledge of your mother’s wishes and the company you were in when you received the message,” his green eyes flashing with emotion as he referenced Tess. “I believe your desire to try the orbs again is a good one. The messages are most likely different than the ones you were supposed to see,” Ca’allyn concluded.
“Messages? You mean they are more than one?” Isabel asked.
“Most certainly,” Ca’allyn replied. “As there is more than one of you, the orbs were given specific messages for each of you.”
“I don’t understand,” Michael said.
“I know, and I promise more will be clear once I tell you more about yourselves and your past life,” Ca’allyn replied sympathetically.
Ca’allyn held the destiny book longer and studied it quite carefully. He ran his finger over several of the pages, his lips murmuring words that no one could hear.
“What does it say?” Michael asked, boldly. “Can you read it?”
Ca’allyn looked up at them and shook his head slowly. “No, I cannot read it. It is an ancient text, written for our ancestors. It was left with the Royal Four, the first people of Antar. It explained their purpose and the power of the Granilith to assist them in their development. The language is it written in is only learned by the Royal Families, so that the extent of Granilith’s powers is kept with the King and Queen and cannot be used by those wishing the power for themselves. An exception was made in this situation for Tebryn to be instilled with the gift to read the language in order for him to teach to you here from the book.
“What I find curious are these pages here,” Ca’allyn said, turning the book toward the group and pointing to the pictures of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess that were engraven on the metal plates. “Since this book was initially created for our first parents, these pages are a curiosity, wouldn’t you agree?” Ca’allyn asked.
Everyone looked at each other in shock, and couldn’t come up with an answer.
“My Queen, would you try something for me,” Ca’allyn requested. Liz nodded and walked forward to Ca’allyn, still uneasy at his continued use of the royal title. Despite her requests to call her Liz, Ca’allyn had yet to do it.
“Place your hand on this page, and tell me if you sense anything strange about it,” Ca’allyn instructed.
Liz took a quick look over at Max for reassurance and then placed her small hand on the metal page. She knew what Ca’allyn wanted her to do, and she concentrated on the pendant lying beneath her shirt, leaning into the power that she felt coming from it. The pendant began to glow and then slowly a small light began to appear beneath her hand as well. She looked down at the page and saw the images of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess begin to change into new, unfamiliar faces. They remained children still, 2 boys and 2 girls, but their looks were completely different.
Ca’allyn nodded, “As I suspected. The faces you see now are the faces of our first parents, our Royal Four. This book was meant for them; their images engraven upon the plates so all on our world would know them and where we came from.” Ca’allyn pointed at the following page, showing the images of the girls, pregnant with offspring. “And this was their instruction to go forth and produce new life for our planet, creating children together. I suspect Ava must have needed to change their appearances to mimic your own to help convince you all that you were the ones that had to be together. This made it easier for her to begin to fulfill her mission to get pregnant with Max’s child and return home to Khivar. But, you are not the Royal Four. This book was not written for you. It was only sent with you to give you some background on your origins and give you instruction on the Granilith.”
Ca’allyn turned his attention back to Liz, who was still holding her hand over the altered image. “Concentrate on making the change back to its natural state,” he coached. “Feel the images carving themselves back into the metal, erasing the former. The image is there, just allow it to take shape once again.” Ca’allyn placed his hand on Liz’s back, helping to feed her strength to accomplish the task.
Soon, Liz dropped her hand, and the pendant stopped glowing. The pages of the book no longer bore the pictures of Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess, but of 4 strange, but beautiful young children.
“Wow,” Max said, as Liz returned to his side with the book in her hand, “that’s incredible, Liz.” Isabel, Michael, and Maria were still speechless.
Michael spoke up. “So, we are not the Royal Four? I’m not Max’s second in command?” Michael asked incredulously.
“No. You were Lieutenant General of the Antarian Army, and you were Zan’s best friend, but you were never called a Royal yourself. I believe you were sent with the others was because you were a strong supporter of Zan, almost like a brother to him,” Ca’allyn explained.
Ca’allyn picked up the crystals and the 2 orbs and said, “Now, if you’ll follow me into the next chamber to check on the Granilith, I believe I have a story that you would all love to hear,” Ca’allyn said, calmly, ducking his head to crawl through the opening at the back of the pods.
“It’s about freakin’ time,” Michael murmured softly, as he turned to follow Max and Liz through the hole, grabbing Maria’s hand linking his fingers through hers.
~~~~~~~~
On the floor of the Granilith Chamber Ca’allyn began his story.
“Our world is the 5th planet from the star in our system. There are 4 other planets in our system. Our planet is the highest ranking planet, with our King and Queen as the predominant leaders of the United Council of the Planets. We have always been at peace with the other worlds, until the last few years, when Khivar took over. Our people. . . ”
Isabel interrupted with a question. “Wait! What is the name of our planet?”
Ca’allyn looked over at the young princess. He smiled slightly at her innocent question. “Antar. Antar is the name of our planet.”
He watched her face soften as she said the name of the planet out loud for the first time. He marveled at the easy pleasure she experienced at hearing that simple information. How much she had changed from the being that she once was! She was just as beautiful as she was on Antar, but Vilandra was close to only a few select people. To everyone else, she was cold and aloof. Ca’allyn perceived that Isabel came across icy to those that didn’t know her, but he could see that her heart was pure and had not been tainted as Vilandra’s had been. Inside this being was Vilandra perfected, and as he continued to gaze upon her, for the first time in his life, Ca’allyn began to fall victim to the charms of Vilandra.
Ca’allyn shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. He cleared his throat and continued with his story.
“On our world, there are 2 races, the Antarians and the Karians. The Antarians have always been the ruling class, the Karians the lower class. The Antarians were the original people of the planet. The book you hold in your hand tells of their creation and the instructions given to them by their creators. We’ll talk about that more later.
“The Karians, however, were refugees from a distant world. Their own world had been destroyed by a plaque, and they sought for a new home. They had heard tales of the power of the Granilith and they requested to come and live with us in peace, hoping that the Granilith would be able to help restore their health to them. The disease they carried was not dangerous to Antarians, as the Granilith had made us all impervious to all sickness.
“They landed on our planet millennium ago, and our King at the time permitted them to live in peace with us. They were indeed healed from their plague. They choose a new name for themselves, the Karians, forsakening their old name and their old way of life on their homeworld. They hope to settle more fully into our society. Over the centuries, they began to develop some of the gifts that our people had been blessed with by the Granilith. Some of them were extremely adept at their gifts, but the majority of their people as a whole were never quite able to attain the same level of powers that we Antarians had. Even after thousands of year of co-existence, there were always rifts between the two classes.
“Your father was King V’ran and your mother is Queen Izandra. They have ruled our planet since you 2 were just infants,” Ca’allyn said, indicating Max and Isabel. “When your father became King, he wanted to bring the Antarians and Karians together, to lessen the gap between them. He started by giving Karians more authority. He began by choosing a Karian and making him the General of the Antarian Army. King V’ran had a good heart, but I think he put a little too much faith in this man, disregarding his own judgment of the man’s heart. He truly believed that this would help bring peace and harmony to the entire planet.”
“Khivar,” Max breathed. “Was the man Khivar?”
“Yes. At first the choice seemed to be a wonderful thing for our people. Khivar had the respect of the King and others of our race began to soften their hearts towards the Karians, treating them with more equality than before. Karians began to be appointed in other positions of respect and authority. Our world was peaceful for a while. It was during this time that our prince and his betrothed were joined together,” Ca’allyn said, looking directly at Max.
“It wasn’t Ava, was it? It was someone else.”
“Yes,” Ca’allyn began, “Ava was . . .”
“So, it’s true. Zan was joined to someone before Ava,” Max said confidently.
“Yes. Prince Zan’s young mate was called Shi’raellyn. They had been betrothed since the prince’s Age of Bonding.”
“Age of Bonding?” Max prompted.
“Yes. That’s the best translation of our word into your language. On our world, when our future King reaches his Age of Bonding at age of 8, his genetic encoding causes a pressing need inside of him—the urge for him to seek out his future mate. This selection of a mate usually takes several years because the importance of finding the perfect one is vital to the survival of the Royal line. You see, the reason our future Kings seek their intended companion at such an early age is so that they can spend many years together, strengthening their connection, allowing their powers to grow in support of each other. By the time they reach maturity, the two are a complete unit, functioning as one. When their joining takes place, the bond of their connection is sealed upon them and their genetic coding is permanently tuned to each other. However, in this case, the moment Zan felt the urge of his encoding, he laid eyes upon my sister Shi’raellyn and he instantly knew she was the one. And although Shi’raellyn was only 6 at the time, she felt exactly the same way. I could see it in her eyes. The two of them were made for each other. Their connection grew quickly, surpassing the connection most couples achieve only after many years together. It wasn’t until after Zan and Shira’s joining. . .”
Max interrupted, “Shira?”
“My apologies, Sire. That was mine and Zan’s nickname for Shi’raellyn. I hope you don’t mind my using it.”
Liz turned to Max in surprise, wondering at his abrupt interruption and at the mixed feelings she was receiving from him. “Max? What is it?” she asked.
Max turned and looked at Liz. “I don’t know exactly. It’s just that when he said her name, it almost seemed familiar somehow.”
“Are you starting to remember some of your past life?” Liz questioned anxiously.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that that name just . . . I don’t know. . It just feels right.” Max shook his head in confusion. “Does that even make sense?” he wondered aloud.
“My Lord, it is not surprising to hear you feel that way, considering the depth of the connection between Zan and Shi’raellyn. I will refrain from using the nickname if it discomforts you,” Ca’allyn offered.
“No, Ca’allyn. It doesn’t bother me at all. Please feel free to use it as you wish.”
“Ca’allyn?” Isabel asked. When he turned to look at her, Isabel continued. “You mentioned that Max was betrothed and that he had an ‘Age of Bonding.’ What about me?” she asked anxiously, remembering her conversation with Liz last week after learning about Max’s genetic link to Liz.
“Our princesses don’t have an Age of Bonding. Only the first born sons. However, at the time of your joining to your selected mate, your genetic coding is linked together with your partner, but you and Rath were only betrothed, not joined.”
Isabel and Michael looked at each other a bit uncomfortably.
Ca’allyn saw the look and continued. “But, from what I know of it, I believe the alliance was just once of convenience, not of affection.”
Isabel’s face and aura showed relief at this knowledge and Michael relaxed a bit more and leaned into Maria’s embrace as Ca’allyn continued.
“As I was saying, it wasn’t until after Zan and Shi’raellyn’s joining that I began to notice changes on our world. At the time we didn’t realize it, but Khivar had started to abuse the authority of his position. He enjoyed the power he had and begun to crave more. Slowly and subtly, rifts began appearing within society between the Karians and the Antarians. Social disputes and fights were common once again. I believe at this time, Khivar began to see a way to gain the power he desired. He devised a deadly plan that was twofold. First, despite her betrothal to Rath, Khivar began forming an attachment to Princess Vilandra, slowly convincing her of his professed love of her, and second, to ensure Vilandra’s ascension to the crown by eliminating Zan.”
Isabel gasped at the mention of Vilandra’s association with Khivar. Ca’allyn stopped and glanced over at the young girl. “Have you heard this information before?”
“Only a few things, but they weren’t from a friendly source,” Isabel replied. “I’m sorry for my outburst, please continue,” she pleaded. She was torn between excitement and fear at learning about Vilandra’s role in the fate of their former lives.
“The first part of Khivar’s plan seems to be working well. Vilandra was seen with Khivar more and more. She became more distant, shunning her friends, shirking her duties, and using her rank to obtain her desires.”
Ca’allyn observed the emotions going through Isabel and realized that she was feeling guilty about the actions of Vilandra. He decided he needed to try to ease her anxiety a little. He looked directly at Isabel as he revealed something he had only now allowed himself to believe. “Isabel. I understand you are uncomfortable hearing about the things that Vilandra did before, but you have to understand how powerful Khivar was. You have had associations in this world with the person that was formerly called Ava on our world, correct?”
Isabel nodded her head in answer.
“Then, I’m sure you had a small taste of what she can do. Both Ava and Khivar had a special knack for getting inside of people’s minds and making them do things. At the time I didn’t realize it, but looking at the situation now, I truly believe Khivar manipulated Vilandra into doing whatever he wanted. I don’t think she was really in control of her actions.”
Isabel nodded in understanding and Ca’allyn continued.
“Once that part of the plan was working, the next step was to get rid of Zan. However, Shira had become suspicious of Khivar. Although she was not particularly close to Vilandra, she was good friends with one of Vilandra’s servants, and her friend spoke to Shira in confidence regarding Vilandra’s changing habits and behavior.
Ca’allyn stopped and looked at everyone for a quick explanation. “Our queens have always possessed the special power of discernment as a help to the king and the kingdom. Although Zan was not yet King, after Shira and Zan’s joining, Shira’s powers as the future queen began to develop. It was through these developing powers that Shira pinpointed Khivar as the source of the changes in Vilandra.
“Shira confided in me, her brother, after she discovered Khivar’s true nature. As Captain of the Royal Guard, I too, had felt changes in Khivar, and I was not surprised at this knowledge. I told her that although Khivar was very adept at hiding his feelings for Zan from everyone, I had observed an occasional slip of resentment in his aura when Zan addressed him.
“After confirming her suspicions with me, Shira quickly informed Zan of her discovery. After Zan was told, he relayed the information to King V’ran. But by that time, it was almost too late to do anything about the situation without making it worse. Khivar had been in charge so long, that without firm evidence, a sudden removal of Khivar from his position would cause a backlash in the public that King V’ran needed to avoid. So, King V’ran began to slowly take away some of the responsibilities given to Khivar, trying to reduce his position a little at a time. However, Khivar realized what was happening and through his palace spies he was informed that Shira was the cause of the situation he now found himself. He had been working on a new weapon to kill Zan with, but now I believe his anger turned to Shira instead. However, his goal of eliminating Zan was still well in place.”
Ca’allyn paused at this point and looked at Max and Liz. “Do you remember my description of the joining process?”
They both nodded and Max replied, “Yes, you said the 2 of them function as one unit, each one completing the other.”
“Exactly. What I didn’t mention before is that a Royal Joining is so strong, it is literally for life. Upon the death of one, the other usually dies as well, unable to survive without their other half. Only twice in the history of our planet has a Royal survived without their joined mate,” Ca’allyn stated.
“Zan. Zan was one of the 2, wasn’t he,” Max breathed.
“Yes,” Ca’allyn confirmed. “Although the choice to live wasn’t his. But, I’ll come to that in a minute. So, Khivar’s plan to kill Shira would still result in Zan’s death, as he believed Zan wouldn’t be able to survive without her. Khivar was working on a new weapon—one so deadly that not even the healing power of the King could save someone who was hit by it.
“An attack was planned and Shira was shot,” Ca’allyn’s voice hitched a little at this point, as it was obvious he was still deeply emotional at remembering his sister’s untimely death. “Zan tried everything in his power to save her, but the weapon’s effect was too strong. Zan was in agony at Shira’s loss. King V’ran arrived at the scene as Zan was nearing death after Shira finally faded away. In that moment, with his son’s life force fading away, King V’ran made a decision. He felt that Zan was the best person to rule and that Zan’s existence was vital to the survival of the planet. He placed his hands on Zan’s head and activated the Royal Seal of Antar that Zan carried inside him, officially marking him as King. Then he used all his own life force to heal Zan and bring him back from the brink of death, he himself, dying in the process. Of course, Queen Izandra felt the moment her connection to King V’ran was severed. She, too, was almost close to death, but fought to stay alive in support of her son. Zan and Queen Izandra were forced to lean on each other for survival, each half the person they were before.
“Upon his formal coronation, King Zan officially dismissed Khivar, naming him as the primary person responsible for Shira’s death. There was no objection from any of the people of Antar, not even the Karians, for Shi’raellyn was beloved by everyone. King Zan began his rule, but without his Shira, he was not the same man. He struggled to make the simplest decisions and his judgment was very poor.
“Zan spent many nights talking with his mother. I believe now, King Zan had a plan. What is was, I do not know for sure. But, I think it was a solution to the problem that he saw himself in. He knew he was in no condition to rule the planet, and his concern for the welfare of the people would have caused him to think of their well-being. But, unbeknownst to him, his closest advisors tried to come up with another solution. Something that had never been tried before.”
“A rejoining!!” Liz exclaimed. “They wanted to rejoin Zan with Ava.”
Ca’allyn turned to her in surprise. “Yes. Khivar was still hard at work, trying to find a way to seize the throne. After Zan had fired him, Khivar still continued to see Vilandra. I’m sure he convinced her that he had nothing to do with Shi’raellyn’s death. His control over her was still that strong. I believe Vilandra told Khivar what Zan was planning. Whatever it was, it threw Khivar into action. He used his source within the Royal council to suggest to the other members of the council the solution of a second rejoining. The person that was suggested was Ava. Ava was a Karian, and one of the personal assistants of Queen Izandra. The idea was to bring peace to the Karian Separatists by instilling one of their own to the throne. Of course, Khivar knew Ava fairly well. They were distant cousins, although at the time, most people were unaware of that fact. Khivar’s plan was to promote Ava to the throne, and then rule through her and eventually through the child she would bare.”
“So, Ava was chosen for Zan? But, he met her at a party, didn’t he. On Dimaras?” Max was confused.
Ca’allyn faltered for a moment, a look of puzzlement marring his perfect face. “No, my King.”
“But, someone from our world told me this,” Max replied.
Ca’allyn shook his head emphatically. “Then this person was mistaken, my Lord. Ava came to serve Queen Izandra when she was about 10 years old. She lived in the palace. Zan would have met her there, in the palace.”
Max was completely taken back. “But . . . . I don’t understand. Larak’s memories. I had a flash.”
“Larak? Ca’allyn’s voice grew anxious. “But, I thought you said you only saw Larak briefly at the Summit Meeting. When did you get a flash from him?” Ca’allyn quizzed.
“He regularly possesses the body of someone we know, a man named Brody,” Max explained. “Brody’s my boss at the UFO Center. A few months after the Summit, something happened and Brody somehow tapped into Larak’s memories. It started driving him crazy. That’s when he told me about Zan and Ava’s first meeting on Dimaras. He also told me that I loved her. I didn’t want to believe it, because I didn’t have any feelings for Tess. I thought that if Zan had really loved Ava it would validate Tess’s claim that I should love her now, and I just couldn’t accept that. But, when I healed him, I connected with him, and I got a flash of Larak’s memories. They didn’t show much, just a glimpse of the cliff on Dimaras and a flash of me and Tess together, but it was like it was a memory of Zan and Ava instead. It wasn’t much, but after that I went to Tess and told her I remembered her and we started working on the memory retrievals together,” Max concluded.
Ca’allyn looked around at his men and they all shared a look that told of silent communication. Ca’allyn then said, “I was uncomfortable earlier when you mentioned the possession of humans by members of our home system. I now find this information of alien possession disturbing. We,” Ca’allyn said, indicating his men, “had no idea our people found the ability to possess the bodies of humans here on earth,” he confessed softly. “But, usually, the person has no memory of the events that happened while they were being possessed, correct?”
“Yeah. But, there was an accident with some equipment Brody was using and we think that somehow caused him to be able to tap into the part of Brody’s mind that Larak used when he possessed him, revealing some of Larak’s memories,” Max replied.
Ca’allyn’s mind was sorting madly through all this new information.
“Please, my King, tell me everything that happened in detail. This could reveal some information that is critical to our plan to defeat Khivar.” If this human had told Max that Larak’s memories revealed that Zan and Ava met on Dimaras and that they loved each, then there was more to their problems on Antar then he knew about.
Max started at the beginning, when the lights in town had gone out and he had gone to check on Brody. Ca’allyn and his men sat and listened to the tale, anticipating the confirmation of their suspicions.
Once Max had finished his story, Ca’allyn was quiet for a minute, his mind trying to process this information. He turned to his men again briefly and they all nodded in confirmation. He looked squarely at Max, and began. “I believe, my Lord, the only explanation for this incident is that Larak and Ava are working together to bring about your demise. Those flashes you received from Larak were not true as in regards to your previous relationship with Ava. The only reason I can imagine that you saw that is that Larak was in control and made you see that. Since it was after that experience you began to spend time alone with Ava, or Tess as you called her, so she could implant more false memories into your mind, then they must have been working on that plan together.
“But, I thought Larak was my friend,” Max exclaimed. “He warned us about the Ganarium crystals and he seemed to want to help me at the Summit Meeting.” Max was scrambling to understand.
“Let me tell you a little about Larak. Larak is the crown prince of the 2nd planet in our system. He did indeed know Zan very well. They were friends when they were younger. After Shira’s death, Zan was a changed man. With the exception of his mother, Zan closed off everyone around him, including Larak. The conflicts that began on our planet after Shira’s death were starting to concern the other planets in our system. Larak had come to talk to Zan about the situation, but something happened in their meeting that sent Larak away completely frustrated. But, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to turn Larak against Zan. Guess who Larak was in love with?”
“Ava?” Max guessed, apprehensively.
“Ava,” Ca’allyn repeated in confirmation. “I don’t know all the circumstances, but I believe that Ava was close to marriage with Larak before Khivar convinced her to marry Zan. But, I can tell you positively that Zan did not meet Ava on Dimaras. Zan knew Ava since she came to serve in the palace when he was a child. It was Larak that mostly likely met Ava on Dimaras, during one of the Queen’s trips there. Those were probably his memories of meeting Ava. He is the one that loved her, although I’ll never understand why. She was a lovely person to look at, but I could tell she was a manipulative creature. Zan never had any feelings for her. There was only one woman who ever held his heart, and that was Shi’raellyn.”
“But, if Zan loved Shi’raellyn so much, why would he agree to a second joining with Ava?” Michael asked.
Surprisingly, it was from Max that the answer came. “He thought it would be best for his people. He knew he could never love another, but he saw his kingdom falling apart and hoped that this marriage to Ava would help bring peace back to the land.”
When he got surprised looks from the others, Max responded. “I was just trying to imagine what Zan must have been going through. He had this tremendous weight on him, to be a King, to lead his people. He had an entire planet’s welfare to think about. And without his wife to receive wise council from, he would have been persuaded by the arguments of his counselors that this was the best solution.”
“My Lord, you have correctly described Zan’s motives. The second joining with Ava did take place, although to those of us close to Zan, it was a day of little celebration.”
“So, did they, umm . .. . consummate the marriage that night?” Liz asked, anxiously.
“I was not the King’s personal attendant, but I knew him quite well. From all reports, however, the Zan never left his suite at night. Ava was given her own rooms, since Shira and Zan never had separate rooms.
“Zan left right after the ceremony to go out into the land to settle some disputes. He returned after a couple of weeks, but then left again after only a week or so. This pattern continued up until a few weeks before his death. He was gone from the palace as often as he could be and when he was there, he secluded himself in the upper chambers. Often, Queen Izandra joined him.
“The state of peace in the land that had started shortly after the rejoining didn’t last for long. By the end of the first year, wars and battles were being fought all over. Khivar was getting restless. Ava showed no signs of being able to entice Zan to her bed. Khivar’s plans rested upon Ava baring the King’s child. When that plan looked to be failing, Khivar began to use his influence over Vilandra to poison her mind. I think his plan was to kill Zan, marry Vilandra, and rule in Zan’s stead. The only problem was the Royal Seal. Somehow, he’d need to get Zan to transfer the seal to Vilandra. I don’t know how he planned to accomplish this though.
“It was Rath who finally discovered Vilandra with Khivar. He immediately informed Zan and Zan’s Royal Guard went out to try to kill Khivar. However, Khivar had many allies and he was able to elude us. The very next night, Khivar and his men penetrated the palace. I believe it was Vilandra who let him in. I really believe she had no idea what Khivar was planning. She probably thought he was just there to see her since Zan had placed her under house arrest. A mighty battle took place inside, of which I was a part of. Once Vilandra realized that Khivar was there to kill her brother, she tried to warn him. She threw herself in front of a blast meant for Zan and was killed. When Vilandra was hit, Rath went after Khivar. Niko, Khivar’s right-hand man, took out Rath just as he was about to hit Khivar. Ava stumbled into the middle of the fighting and was accidentally hit in the cross-fire. King Zan died protecting his mother. We managed to drive Khivar’s forces out of the palace, but it was too late. Queen Izandra commanded that we bring the bodies of those fallen to a secret chamber deep underground. In this room, lay the body of Shi’raellyn, perfectly preserved, an orb resting on her unmoving chest, glowing faintly.
“It turns out, the queen had a plan. She would extract the essence of those who had died, and store it in an orb until it could be combined with the DNA from another source, allowing their spirits to live again. I believe this was a modified plan from the one that Zan had for Shi’raellyn. She had already completed the process with Shi’raellyn’s essence and stored it in an orb shortly after her death, at Zan’s request.
“This planet was carefully chosen as the site for you to be brought. Here you could learn to develop your powers, you skills, and then return again to defeat Khivar and his forces.
“As time was critical, Queen Izandra quickly extracted the essence of all who died, including Ava. However, Ava’s essence was not chosen to be sent with the others. When the Queen extracted Ava’s essence, she connected with it and realized all the things Ava had been plotting to do for Khivar. In addition, Queen Izandra learned that Ava had been secretly having affairs with many others, and at the moment of the attack from Khivar that night, she had been in bed with one of palace guards, Sidoc. When the Queen announced her decision, Sidoc pleaded on her behalf. He begged the Queen to give Ava another chance at life with the others. The Queen adamantly refused. A small group was gathered, including 4 of the greatest scientific minds on the planet, to take a ship and come to this planet, bringing the essences, and create new life for them. The Queen sent the Granitith, our most powerful source of all energy here with you, in part to help you in your new forms, learn and grow to defeat Khivar, and also to prevent Khivar from trying to use the power of the Granilith to strengthen his control of the planet.
“I wanted to come, too, but the Queen had to have someone stay behind to gather more troops loyal to the Royals in preparation for your return. We never returned to the palace that night, but went into hiding. These last 4 years we’ve been gathering all those still loyal to you and training them in the ways of battle, waiting for the day of your return.”
“Wait a minute!! Four years? You mean, it’s only been 4 years since Zan and the others were killed? But, that’s impossible. Our ship crashed in 1947!! That was over 50 years ago!!” Michael exclaimed.
“Ah, yes! You see, time passes differently on our planet then on yours. That was one of the reasons why this particular planet was chosen. Tebryn’s report mentioned the exact time difference.” Ca’allyn closed his eyes as he did the calculations in his head. Let’s see, for you, it has been 54 years since the ship’s crash on this planet. For us, it has been only 4 years since Khivar’s actions killed Zan and the others. But, we never planned on it taking this long. The crash was an unfortunate loss to us. According to the scientists’ notes, it should only have taken 4 of your earth years for the pods to mature to a point where the hybrids could survive outside. Without anyone present to initiate the birthing cycle, the pods stayed in stasis until their energy cycles ran low enough to trigger the birthing cycle on their own.”
“Who was Tebryn, exactly? You’ve mentioned his name several times before, but we still don’t know who he was,” Michael asked.
“Tebryn was one of the personal guards for Shi’raellyn. He took her death very hard, blaming himself for not protecting her. But, he was a faithful and loyal guard, and after Shira’s death, Queen Izandra reassigned him to the palace. I believe she also charged him to frequently look after Shi’raellyn’s body, which she had preserved at Zan’s request. He was chosen to come with you, as your protector, to help raise you, train you and help you return to Antar and defeat Khivar.”
“But, if he was sent down here with us, where is he, what happened to him, and how did he contact you?” Isabel questioned.
“We didn’t hear any reports from him or anyone else initially. But, just a few months ago, he sent a message. He had a very, lengthy report, informing us of the crash and the subsequent events. We have it recorded if you want to see it.”
“See it?” they all asked in unison.
Instead of answering, Ca’allyn simply pulled a flat disk from his pocket and set it on the table in front of them. He waved his hand over the object and suddenly, an image of a man appeared. The image was 3 dimensional, like a hologram, similar to the image of their mother that they had seen that day in the Pod Chamber, except the image was much clearer and less ethereal. Max and Liz gasped at the same time as they recognized the man as the same one who saw them in the desert the morning after they had found the orb.
With a slight Spanish accent, the man began speaking.