Children of Eden (CC, MATURE) Ch. 30 12/29

[Chione]

Merry Christmas! (A few days late.)

Chapter Thirty

“This is where we begin.” Liz said over the hesitant, weary chuckle at Alex’s statement. Her eyes were darker than usual, serious and solemn. Shoulders set in a proper, upright posture and arms crossed against her chest, reminding those who were there of the afternoon in Alex’s bedroom, following his funeral.

Maria shifted uncomfortably. “So we begin. But what do we do? I mean, we’re already training as hard as we can. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my muscles are killing me. No one tells us everything, and somehow Liz is expected--in the middle of this stupid war--to be a mother on top of all this? You know Serena keeps putting Sam’s care into Liz’s hands. Liz puts her to bed every night, for god’s sake. What do we do with Sam when we’re off fighting, if that’s even what we’re going to do? And am I the only one worrying about Gerin being gone? I want to know more about this Keiran, I want to know more about what’s going to happen when we get to Juron, I want a lot more info than we’ve got right now.”

“We all do, I think.” Liz answered, looking around at each. “I worry about Gerin too, and what Keiran wants with him or if he wants anything at all. As for Sam, yes, everyone expects me to take care of her, but Sam seems to be really good at seeing to herself when I’m not around.”

“Something’s up with Sam.” Alex interrupted. He leaned forward as everyone’s gaze shifted to him. “Yesterday she came to me asking what it was like to die. For some reason, she seems to think she won’t make it back to Juron--that she’ll die before we get there. And honestly, I think she’s right. I was holding her in my lap, and she just--vanished. Only for an instant, but she was definitely not solid, like a ghost or something. My hands went right through her.”

“Alex, that isn’t possible.” Maria whispered.

Liz was pale, eyes narrow and dark. “What?”

“I don’t know, that’s just what happened--”

“Ah, that I can explain.” Serena stuck her head in the doorway. She waited until everyone calmed down from her abrupt entrance before speaking. “Sam shouldn’t have come to you, but the choice was hers to make. She is afraid, and fear makes us all do things we mightn’t otherwise.”

Max waved a hand at her stalling. “Serena.” he said, voice low. Once her attention was on him, he continued. “Is Sam dying or not?”

“Yes, she is.” She didn’t blink. “She has been since the moment Andraya died. All this has been borrowed time. Haven’t you questioned why she hasn’t aged past five? It’s been fifty years.”

Everyone glanced at one another and shrugged. No one had really had the chance to think about it.

“Sam was only a baby when Andraya died. Juronian children have bonds--physical links--with their mothers from the day they’re born until they reach the age of five. In the ancient days of Juron, there was much turmoil, much fighting. Earth’s history of warfare pales in comparison. Most Juronians didn’t live to reach the age of separation--the five years. Over time, the mothers’ souls began to bind themselves to their children in the womb, so that as long as the mother lived, the child would. The fathers too would share a close bond with the child, but different. Not a life and death bond. The child’s emotional stability was tied to the link with their father. It’s--complicated. Humans have nothing like it, and few races do.

“When Andraya died, Psyche herself weakened to the point we thought she would be lost as well. Her light went out.”

Maria interrupted. “Psyche?”

Smiling, Serena closed her eyes, head bowed. “Forgive me. Sam, I meant. Her name, then, was Psyche. She was given a more appropriate name for living on Earth but her mother named her Psyche.”

“So how is she still here? If she should’ve died?” Liz asked.

“Crystal was there. At sixteen years, having not yet reached the age of maturity, she’d yet to come into her powers. But somehow, instinct, I suppose, she knew how to bind her soul in the empty places where Andraya’s should have been.” Serena shook her head, ebony locks flying back and forth across her face. “But a sister is not a mother. And Sam spent several hours without any ties at all. It did irreparable damage. Her body was able to sustain growth for a short time, five years. Nothing more. By rights, she should’ve been long dead. It is a thin line that keeps her alive now, and there is nothing can be done. Believe me, we’ve tried.”

“I refuse to believe she has to die. I was brought back from the dead, after how many weeks? Liz is here, Andraya’s reincarnation. There has to be a way. Sam will not die.” Alex said, standing abruptly, before anyone else had time to respond.

"You were brought back because of my daughter's powers. We've tried them before; they can't save Sam. It would be like a fetus in the womb, separated from the mother's body and forced to exist without being fully developed. Technology might keep the child alive on borrowed time, but borrowed time it would be." A soft, lilting voice spoke up from the doorway. For the first time in many weeks, Crystal stepped out into the lounge. She'd spent most of the trip thus far sleeping--recharging, Jonathan had called it. "I would do anything to save my sister, but there's nothing more to be done."

Serena nodded. "That doesn't mean Sam won't be reborn, though. She will, and she'll be your daughter again." she said, pointing to Liz.

"How? How do you know that?" Max asked--demanded.

Serena met his gaze. "That's how it works. Our religion tells us our souls are reborn after we die, and nothing has proved us wrong thus far. We were all reborn in some form or another, were we not?"

"I thought that was engineered."

"Partly. Only for the so-called Royal Four and for Andraya herself. The others? We fall into place according to her," Crystal explained, pointing to her mother. "Her soul is the anchor for ours."

Serena glanced over at her, startled. Her brow creased, head tilting to the side as long, black locks of hair fell over her shoulder. "That--how do you know that, Crys? What do you mean, an anchor?"

Leon chose that moment to make his presence known, clapping his hands together as he pushed his way past Crystal. Obvious irritation was scrolled across his face, the slight upturn of his lip as he half-grinned at the gathered group.

"Well. I've got good news and bad news. I'll tell you the good first so we can end this on a low note." he said, crossing his arms. He focused on Serena. "Good news: we've reached the edges of the Yetain star system. Bad news: we just received a nice little message from Larek. He says--"

"Larek?" Max, Michael, and Liz chorused together.

Leon glared at them from the corner of his eyes. "Yes. Larek. Yes, the one you've been in contact with. Yes, the one who knew Zan Kynyr. Now can I finish speaking?"

The three nodded.

"Good. We received this pleasant missive and he informs us Khivar has begun massacres of the Antarian people. Kathana and Sero have reported the strengthened presence of the Empire and worry for their own planets, so they're hiding with wings folded. Khivar wishes to negotiate a settlement with Zan Kynyr," Leon answered with a significant glance at Max.

Max stepped forward from behind Liz. "He wants me to come there?"

"He's massacring people?" Crystal asked, tears in her eyes. A hand covered her mouth as she gazed wide-eyed at the room. "We have to stop him!"

"Keiran has Gerin. And the Empire has assembled its Generals for battle against the Alliance. They hope to take us down before Andraya has a chance to regain power." Leon said. He stared at his niece, unblinking. "Antar and its people are the least of our concerns."

"The least of your concerns, but not ours." Isabel spoke up, rising to her feet. Alex followed, standing behind her.

Max frowned. "That was once our home. We can't just leave them to die at his hands."

"We can and we have to. Millions--billions more will die if we fail. Antar is a single planet, and the Empire won't risk attacking the other planets in its system until Juron falls again." said Leon, moving forward to face Max, barely a foot of space between them. "You, unfortunately, are vital. Andraya likely needs you at her side, if she's anything like she was. Splitting the two of you is what got her killed before."

"What?" Max jolted back. "She died because of me?"

Leon snorted. "Idiot. You died too. Both of you thought you could fight better if Kynyr stayed behind to defend his people--he died. When Andraya felt it happen, she lost the will to survive. She succeeded in what she set out to do, but her wounds killed her in the process."

"Why would she do that?" Maria asked, holding her hands clasped in front of her. She stood behind Michael, preferring to let the others duke it out. What part did a human play in all this, after all? They were all someone reincarnated. She was just Maria. But curiosity often got the best of her, and no one else seemed to ask the right questions.

"He's her soulmate." Leon explained. "Thus, her weakness."

"Then Max can stay with Liz, and I can go to Antar. I'm his second, right?" Michael strode forward, stepping past Max and into the fray. Leon's eyes strayed to him. "I'm no good at diplomacy, but I seem to be one of the best in training. I can take care of myself, meet with Khivar, make this deal, and you guys can still go beat the Empire."

"Michael, you can't go alone. They'll kill you!" Maria ran several steps, placing herself in his path and pressing her hands against his shoulders. "Don't be an idiot, spaceboy. If you go to Khivar, what possible reason would he have to let you live? You'll be stranded alone on a strange planet, without any allies around--besides Larek. It'd be suicide!"

"Maria's right, Michael." Liz added. "You're the strongest of us with the swords. We'll need your help."

"Leon could go with him," suggested Serena. She held a few fingers to her chin, tapping lightly. "Leon has no intention of being any use on Juron, and he's got the Valerian, plus a crew of able soldiers. We can't just abandon Antar, and Michael's right, he's a good choice. As the second, that's what his job is."

"You wound me, Lily." Leon held a hand to his chest, mocking a wound. "But I do find myself with this debt to settle, and Antar is the place to do so. Very well. Rath and I shall head out for Antar once we land. The crew's already waiting for my return; they'll be prepared to leave as soon as possible."

Maria let go of Michael's shoulders, spinning around on her heels to stare down Leon. "I'm coming too."

"Maria--"

"Michael, don't finish that sentence. And you," she poked a finger in Leon's chest, ignoring the raising of his eyebrow. "You will let me come because with Michael, you're going to need all the diplomacy you can get. I'm only human, and I'm mostly useless with this fighting crap, but diplomacy I can do."

Leon patted her on the head with one hand. "Wouldn't dream of denying you, darlin'."

He turned around, striding back out the door without another word.

Max stared after him. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Obviously not." Liz said, moving to stand beside him. She smiled as Maria left, Michael trailing after her with a fierce look on his face. That was one fight she'd be glad to miss. "Would you have changed anything if you did?"

He shrugged. "I guess not. I can't just let my people be slaughtered, even if I can't remember them much."

The rest of the group filed out, a silent understanding to take the rest of the evening to themselves. Only Liz and Max remained, standing several feet apart, side by side. Liz crossed her arms over her chest, hunching her shoulders closer.

"I don't like the idea of separating," she said after a moment. "We're stronger together."

"Do we have a choice?"

"Not really. I just--have a strange feeling."

Max threw her a glance. "Bad strange?"

She shrugged. "Hard to say." Turning to face him, letting her arms fall to her sides, Liz searched his eyes, scanning back and forth for something indescribable. "You forgive me?"

"Of course," he answered, stepping closer to her. "How could I not? I love you, Liz. I've never not loved you."

She felt a shot of electricity race through her heart. He always had words that could make her feel wonderful, loved, and guilty. "It's just been such a mess. The destiny thing, Future Max, and Tess, and our fighting, and Alex's death. Then finding out we had children and were in love in a past life--I feel like it's not just about us and what we feel anymore."

"I know." Max wrapped her in his arms, pressing his face into her hair and breathing deeply. Despite everything, she still smelled like Liz. Strawberries and cinnamon. "But we didn't fare so well trying to worry about all that crap. I want it to just be us, Max and Liz. We can be. We can do this if we're working together. I know we can, because I can do anything as long as I have you. I can be a king with you. But I can't do it without you."

Nuzzling her nose into the cotton of his sweater, she smiled against his chest and hummed her agreement. She'd missed this. Just being held by him.

"I love you too." she whispered into his shirt. "I just--I feel like she's swallowing me up and I'll never get out again."

"I'll help you. We can do this together: facing who we were, our memories." He rubbed her back, slow, wide circles with his palms. "If we get lost along the way, we'll both be lost, and we won't be alone."

There was silence for several moments, before Liz took a breath to speak.

"Do you remember the day we met? Dimaras Rock, like Larek said that time in the UFO Museum. You were there with Larek and Rath, right before you left the Antarian system."

Max nodded, smiling lightly. "Yeah. I don't know why you were there, just that you were. You stood on the cliff, overlooking the sky and the sea. Your hair reflected the stars and you seemed to burn in the darkness, so different from everyone else at the party. You smiled and nodded when appropriate, but stood off away from the mingling crowds. There was this look on your face: amusement, sorrow, yearning. You were bright--brighter than anyone I'd ever met and nothing in any world could've kept me from you, not even my own inability to act assertively."

She giggled, raising her head to look up at him. "And you were painfully shy then too."

"I had never left the star system and you were this galaxy-traveled warrior!" He matched her grin. "You were intimidating."

"I was a scared little girl," she said, laughing at the memory of herself. "I was furious with my father and completely lost in where to go next with my life. I'd just learned I was pregnant, and the idea of a life growing inside me made me feel like the universe rested on my incapable shoulders. I'd never even seen a baby, much less knew how to raise one."

The teasing in his voice dissipated, softening. "You were a wonderful mother."

Her eyes fixed on his. "I thought you didn't remember that much."

"It's amazing how much I remember without realizing it. It's like it's always been there, in the back of my mind and all I needed was to be told it was there," he said, lips hovering above hers. They stood, pressing foreheads into one another, smiling and giggling quietly to themselves.

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"Maria, you're not coming. I'll concede that you have a right to be here to help Liz, but this is nuts. I'm going into a more than likely suicidal situation, and you'll only get in the way. I can't be worrying about your safety!" Michael hollered after her down the hall. Maria ignored him, pressing her hand to the sensor that opened her bedroom door. She knew he'd follow, but there was steel in her inherited from her mother and she wasn't budging.

Punching his fist into the wall, Michael let the door close behind him before continuing. "Maria. Damnit, say something!"

She smoothed the duvet on her bed. She'd have to ask Crystal or Serena what it was made of; it was soft, fluffy but not obnoxiously so, and felt like silk and cotton, but--lusher, more luxurious. Selling it on Earth would make her a fortune.

"There's nothing to say." she responded once the bed was pristine. "I'm going whether you agree or not."

"That isn't an option."

She turned and faced him, hands on her hips. "You're right, it's not an option. It's what will happen."

"What are you going to do, yell at them? Tell them to listen or else you'll shriek in their ear? This isn't a game, Maria." he said, running a hand through his hair and straining his voice to keep it quiet. "This time I'm serious: You. Are. Not. Coming."

There was a burning in her heart, in the tips of her fingers. It grew with every word he said, and the muscles in her arms twitched--clenching, unclenching, clenching again. She felt sure her hair should be standing on end with the charge running through her limbs.

"Michael, get one thing straight: I am not under your command."

The door was thrown open and his body hurled out of it before she knew what was happening. A startled Leon stared at her from the hallway, sparing a glance to Michael as he rose to his feet. Maria met Leon's gaze, their eyes communicating something she didn't fully comprehend; finally, he nodded, stern and solemn, turning back to continue on his way to the bridge.

Michael gaped at her. "Fuck, Maria. What the hell was that?"

She was a stranger in her own body, thinking thoughts she despised and restraining urges she never knew she had. "I don't know."

----------------------------

Leon entered the bridge to find Josh in his seat. "Get up, kid."

"How is Keiran back and young? He should be an old man, dying away from us and away from Mom." Josh asked in response. He stared at the map of the starts, the swirling lights, tossing a ball in his left hand. "Mom couldn't beat him before, what makes anyone think she can now?"

Leon shook his head, scraggly locks whipping back and forth across his face. His feet carried him to the opposite end of the bridge, where a wide window looked out into the darkness of space. Far enough that it was smaller than his thumb was Yetain, a brilliant, shiny star of deep blue that resembled the summer sky on Earth. Juron was the third planet from the star; Leon couldn't wait to be home.

"Keiran is resourceful. He is the son of Yetain, the Goddess of Life. It doesn't surprise me he avoids death as he has. But your mother has the Chaos stone, and ability to use it. She is the only one who can kill Life's Abomination." Leon explained.

"What if she's stopped this time?"

"It's our job to make sure she isn't. We take care of the little guys, she deals with her father." Leon faced his nephew, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, kid. Half of us were dead by the time we faced Keiran last time."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Josh raised one of his pale eyebrows. "You, Michael and Maria are going off to Antar."

Leon nodded. "Yes."

"And Serena had a vision--"

"I don't trust a seer's eye. There's far more to the future than what they're able to glimpse."

Josh huffed, drawing his head back in indignation. "Serena's not just any seer--"

"No, she's a seer you're in love with. Which means you're especially susceptible to her fits and her fears." Leon gave the younger man a brief grin. "Trust me. Love isn't worth it."

"You're a bitter old man."

"Most people would call that 'wise.'"

Josh looked out the window, jaw twitched as he waited to respond. "I don't really care whether or not it's wise. In the end, how much does it really matter?"

Pretending to ponder a moment, Leon grinned wolfishly at his nephew. "Not much. We're all stuck with this lot in our lives, might as well make the most of it, I suppose." He shoved Josh out of his seat, dumping him on the floor. "Go find your lady-love. And decide when to tell your mother she's pregnant."

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"Give me that." Ava put her hand out to him, palm upward and flat. "It belongs to me."

Kyle rose to his feet, knees cracking. He winced at the sound. "Look, I don't want it. Take it. I've had more than enough of this alien shit."

"You and me both." She glared at the shining metal in his hands. "Where did you find that?"

"Where else?" He rolled his eyes, tossing the orb to her. "The rubble. Take it. What'm I gonna do with it? I'm through."

He dusted off his jeans and stalked over to the sign-in table. Depositing his shovel and what few things he'd managed to scrounge from the wreckage, he gave up for the day and decided he deserve a long, scalding shower followed by hours rotting in mindless sports. Golf had to be on, it was that time of year. Worse sport in the world, but it was better than dealing with reality.

Ava stared after him, throwing the orb up in the air and catching it back in her hands.

----------------

The next day, Kyle found himself back out at the Crashdown, shoveling piles of charred brick. The blonde, little green woman had disappeared, and Roswell was a better place for it.

The work was mind-numbing, and by the end of the afternoon, he was soaked with sweat and keen on soaking in the tub. Screw being manly. He was going to take a bath and put his feet up. Maybe splurge on a pizza.

What he discovered when he opened the door to his home ruined any and all plans of an enjoyable evening.

Ava sat at his table--in his home!--across from his father, the orb between them on the once-polished, somewhat-tarnished wood. Both looked up as he entered.

"Kyle," Jim said, half-standing.

He didn't bother with pleasantries. "What the fuck? Dad, what is she doing here? Do you not remember what happened the last time we let one of them into our home?" Kyle demanded, lips whiter than the rest of his face. He ignored his father's attempts to quiet him, focusing instead on the blonde. "Get out. I don't care what you're doing, just get out and leave me and my dad alone."

"Kyle! Enough." Jim shouted over his son. "Sit down. This is important."

Kyle glared at Ava, seating himself between his father and the alien. Keeping his hands bunched in fists, he nodded at his father to continue.

"Tess has been spotted in the Albuquerque airport. I asked a friend of mine who works security to ask his guys to keep an eye out for a teenage girl with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes, probably alone and probably traveling light. I said she's my ward, and she's running away from home because she's pregnant and scared. She's a minor still, and that makes me her guardian with legal powers over her, alien or not."

"Why the fuck do we care where she goes as long as it's away from us?"

"Because we need to keep an eye on her. She's still a threat, Kyle, and it's my responsibility to protect the people." Jim stared at his son. "She's going by the name Theresa Sanders, and she got a flight to Mexico City two days ago."

"Mexico City." Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yay. Now she's out of the country, can we drop this whole alien thing?"

"This thing's alien, and it was either in Liz's apartment or it was the cause of the fire. We need to know what it is, and what is going on. Just because Max and the others left doesn't mean it's over." Jim said, pushing the orb over to Kyle. He turned it over so the blue symbols were clear.

Kyle stared at the alien symbols and frowned. He knew it was alien, he wasn't stupid. But what could they do and why was it up to them? Hadn't they sacrificed enough? Let someone else worry about aliens. He wanted his normal, Max-Evans-free life back.

A frantic pounding on the door interrupted the conversation. All three twisted their heads to the door, where Amy Deluca's face was pressed into the glass. She saw them sitting around the table and hollered, "Jim! Jim Valenti, open this door! My daughter is missing and so is that Michael boy! He's kidnapped my Maria!"

Running a hand through what was left of his hair, cursing under his breath, Jim stood up and picked up his jacket off the back of his chair. He told Kyle, "Both of you behave. I've got to deal with this. I'll be back soon."

The door was opened and Amy's voice was no longer muffled, piercing the ears of everyone nearby. The teens at the table winced, saw the other one out of the corner of their eyes, and pointedly looked in opposite directions.

"Amy, calm down and tell me when was the last time you saw her." Jim said, hands raised in surrender. He nudged Amy out the door and closed it behind him. "We'll file a missing person's report at the sheriff's office."

Back inside, Ava felt the temperature in the room drop, and wondered when Kyle would tear into her again. She was getting really sick of this alien bullshit too.

Reaching across the table, she picked up the orb and rolled it around in her hands. If this was in Liz's apartment, that meant there was something either Liz or her parents were hiding. A coincidence that the girl who was healed by Max Evans had an alien artifact tucked away in her home? No. Whatever this orb was, it had answers she wanted more than anything.

Maybe it could even tell her what the hell she was doing here.

"Will you put that down?" Kyle asked without glancing her way.

"Why?" She tossed it up in the air and caught it. "Make you nervous?"

He snorted. "No. Why would it?"

"I dunno." She felt reckless all of the sudden. Grinning, she threw the orb as hard as she could against Kyle's chest. "How d'you know it ain't a weapon and I'm just tricking yous like my dupe?"

A brilliant flash of light as the orb bounced off his chest prevented any answer.

Kyle and Ava found themselves unceremoniously tossed on the floor, staring up in awe at the apparition floating in the air. The orb had dropped to the carpet, beams of light flaring up into the shape of--

"Is that a fucking Mayan pyramid?" Kyle demanded, bracing his arms behind him as the pushed himself upright. "It is! It's a fucking pyramid!"

"I never seen it before in my life."

"Of course you wouldn't have, you were probably taught by rats. What do they know of history?"

Ava snarled. "Look, kid, I don't like you, you don't like me. Fine. But if you don't stop insulting me, I'm gonna to beat your ass til your skin won't hold water. So I suggest you keep all non-constructive comments to yourself, got it?"

He stared harder at the image.

"Now what the hell is that thing got to do with aliens?" Ava wondered aloud.