Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie (AU M/L ADULT) COMPLETE 5/5/17 + A/N 5/5/19

[keepsmiling7]

WOW....what a lesson in genetics........Antarian style. Now I understand the gaea species better.
So the humans had been "borrowed" to do tests........
I'm surprised they could hide their pure essences.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Roswelllostcause]

Wow what a lesson everyone was given!


Helen

[begonia9508]

Great update! I never thought that the antarians would go so far to destroy and control other people and races...

Earth isn't that different from antarians.. it has shown in history, that other people already thought about it! Think only about what Hitler did!!

Thanks EVE

[max and liz believer]

Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl) - Thank you


Jull_ana

I say that because all I could think was that I didn't trust Dresden as far as I could throw him. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I can see now that he deserved it. At least, I feel less animosity towards him right now.

It's very healthy to be a bit suspicious towards the alien characters in this story Let's hope that Dresden remains a good person. Maybe this next chapter will highlight that further.

Also, I am glad to see Liz putting on her big girl panties and dealing with things instead of playing the victim. We all know she suffered, and it was horrible, but it was high time to get this show on the road. She couldn't keep hiding away from reality and expect everything to solve itself.

Well, the reality she's been thrown into is a difficult one. She hasn't really had the means to defend herself. As I'm sure you remember, from reading this story from the beginning quite recently, Liz used to be a lot stronger and used to bug into a lot more. That changed the further we got into the story. And it definitely changed after she was captured. But with the evolving connection, she's starting to realize that she might have a lot of power on her own. So yes, a very correct observation on your part

Oh! And I'm getting totally spooked by the title now. I know that unbreakable is supposed to reflect their connection, but what is this beautiful lie referring to?

Yup. "Unbreakable" is the connection. Also their love. The "Lie" refers to this whole background "conspiracy" about a large part of the people she has met and known are actually not even human, and what they have been up to during all these years. "Beautiful" refers to the better aspect of that lie. How, even though it's a big freaking lie, it still brought her Max and he's part of that lie. How he tries to help people. And also, right now in the story, it represents how the Antarian race is actually peaceful. And how their true nature has been destroyed by the royals. How the lie itself has a beautiful background.

Well, that was complicated, but I hope you get the gist of it. Oh, and Max and Liz's connection is not a "beautiful lie". It's all true. There's no Matrix and I'm not gonna end this whole story with Liz waking up in her bed and realizing that it was all just a long horrible nightmare

Thank you so much for the feedback, Juls! I'm so glad to have you with me here, reading and analyzing


Natalie36

thank you for your brilliant writing

Thank you!!


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

WOW....what a lesson in genetics........Antarian style. Now I understand the gaea species better.

Yay! Great Happy to have made it a bit clearer

I'm surprised they could hide their pure essences.

Only the essence of the parim. Because it's the purest form of their race. So they could mix it up in the human genome; making gaeas. If all failed, maybe it would just make the human race slightly better. But if it worked, there was a chance that their essence/the nature of their race could start up again, on Earth.

Thank you so much for the feedback!


Helen (roswelllostcause) - Thank you


Eve (begonia9508)

Great update! I never thought that the antarians would go so far to destroy and control other people and races...

The goal of the true Antarian was not to destroy Earth's people. It was to incorporate themselves into the Earth's human population. It's the Royals (the other type of Antarian) that wanted to use (and eventually) destroy humans.

Thank you so so much for the feedback!



From ONE ZERO ZERO:

”What I’ve told you just now - about parims and the infusing of energy into the human genome, about the plan to remove the darkness out of the race and bring back our connection to the universe and what is good - it’s all top secret. No one knows about this. Only a handful. As far as we know, Command and his allegiance don’t know any of this. Command is interested in you because of your connection. Because you can communicate with your minds. Because Elizabeth - a human - can borrow Max’s abilities through the connection. Command understands that you two are important to the Rebellion and thus he wants you to himself. But he wouldn’t destroy you. It goes against his nature.”

I frowned. Destroying us seemed to go completely with Command’s nature.

”His nature is to steal. He’s blinded by power, just like his ancestors. He wants more and more. He’s been trying to get the healing ability his whole life, but has never been able to. With Elizabeth using Max’s abilities through the connection, Command had a theory that even Max’s healing trait could be shared. Which meant that he would have to get into that connection. Connect with Max. This is why - after all attempts at breaking your connection in captivity - he decided to put you together.”

When Dresden paused, I whispered, ”Why?”

Dresden met my worried eyes, his voice softening along with the fine crinkles around his eyes. It made him look nice, like someone you could really trust and confide in. ”His plan was to hurt Max, with his father on stand-by to heal Max if things didn’t work out. You, Elizabeth, would not be aware of there being a stand-by. You would only be desperate to help Max. So desperate that you might - through your connection - heal him.”

My throat was dry. Command’s plan to hurt Max had hot anger boil up my throat. Just like Dresden insinuated, Command was darkness. All darkness.

”You actually proved him right,” Dresden pointed out. ”You healed Max. Although it was not in that room, but in the tunnels earlier.”

”Command’s plan has always been to get more power, get more abilities,” Max observed in a mumble.

Dresden nodded seriously. ”Which is why Antarians like him need to be stopped. If they continue to grow in number, they could become dangerous - not only to Antarians - but to the human population. They wouldn’t hesitate to transform the human population into mindless slaves, just to gain as much power and abilities as possible. They would suck every human being dry. It would be the end of the homo sapiens as a sentient, intelligent race with a free will.”

Anger was pumping into my veins, filling me up. I could feel the connection answering in my mind, could feel it propelling the energy back and forth between Max and I.

My hands tightened around the back of Max’s hands resting against the lower part of my abdomen and in unison - in an eerie monotone voice - we said, ”We need to kill that bastard. Now.”

____________________________________

You will meet Sarah in this chapter. This is how I envision her. (NB: Actress Amy Adams)

ONE ZERO ONE

Our threat continued to bounce off the walls, taking on a life of its own while every set of eyes turned to look at Max and me.

We need to kill that bastard. Now.

But neither the darkness of our united voices nor the eeriness of its delivery seemed to faze Dresden. His tone of voice remained the same as he calmly interjected, ”Not yet, you don’t.”

”There’s still more for you to learn,” Mr. Evans said, speaking for the first time since we had been placed in a circle on the floor like some 6-year-olds.

In a way, I found it a bit annoying that it was suddenly of such acute importance that we were briefed in detail when they had been as tight-mouthed as the most tenacious clams earlier.

For some reason I felt scolded. As if we were children that needed to be put in time-out because the grown-ups were talking. In an appropriate childish response, I pressed my lips together, the corners of my mouth turning down in sulkiness, while I silently started chewing on the inside of my bottom lip.

”Fine,” Max muttered, sharing my general mood. ”Then explain to me why you would still pair me up with Tess and why Liz should be paired with Sean, if your plan all along was to get me and Liz together.”

Dresden opened his mouth to answer, but Max lifted one of his hands off my lower stomach to interrupt, ”I understand that you needed to go along with those plans to cover up your own plans. But what I don’t get is why you, Dad, would be so adamant at making me believe that I was committing something of a sin by getting involved with Liz. Even talking to her outside of those sessions with you and Sean pissed you off. Wouldn’t it had been easier to have included me in your plans? To have me play along? Maybe I would have treated the situation differently. Maybe I wouldn’t have put Liz’s life in any more danger than she already was. Maybe we wouldn’t have ended up as prisoners.”

I saw Mr. Evans’ mouth open to answer, but Max had one final thing to add, ”And why did you push for a meeting with Command and the rest of those psychos if you knew that it would put us in danger? That’s an extremely risky plan. Anything could have happened. Sean did happen. He tried to kill me twice.”

Dresden was looking at Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans was looking at his son. He didn’t seem pleased. Diane slowly put her hand on her husband’s underarm. As if to calm him.

Except for the area in the middle of my back which was most firmly pressed against Max’s front, I felt cold all over. For not the first time, this group of aliens made me feel alone. Alone with Max. Even though they had just made clear how important Max and I were to the revolution, it was still as if we were fighting this battle alone. Just like we had done from the start.

Before I had been informed of what was going on, Max had been fighting all alone. Protecting me the best he could when his own father had drawn my blood and scared me, in those repeated bedroom visits interspersed throughout my upbringing. Max had most likely looked out for me in other ways too, even though he was too modest to tell me about it. Protecting me and keeping me alive was as natural to him as breathing. It was not an obligation or a job, it was more important to him than his own life.

Would I ever be able to fully trust these people? In more ways than one, they made me feel like an experiment. They had been testing me my whole life, trying to determine whether I would be strong enough to mentally survive those numerous memory wipes during my childhood. Would I be strong enough to resist Sean connecting with me? Would I find my way to Max and trust him? Would Max and I connect? Would we become everything we were meant to become?

That was a lot of guessing. And a lot of things hanging in the balance. A lot of things that could have gone wrong.

”It might not seem like it,” Mr. Evans started, his voice as calm as Dresden’s, but much colder, ”but we have been keeping close tabs on what’s been going on. To not raise any suspicions we had to go along with the pairings suggested by Command. Considering what happened between you two in my living room when you were only five, it was crucial that we worked hard to keep you apart. With the pull you felt towards each other, the risk of you unwittingly exposing yourself - not just to humans, but to Antarians - was enormous. Also, we could not tell you or Liz anything, in the event of them getting into your minds. Everything the rebellion had fought to build up would be lost the second they saw the plans - our plans - in your mind, Max.”

There was a pause, at which Dresden picked up at the end of Mr. Evans’ string of answers and developed further, ”You make a lot of connections with individuals to heal them, Max. Do you have any idea what information they might access in your mind that way?”

Max stiffened behind me. To suggest that he was offended by Dresden’s statement would be an understatement. ”I don’t let them see my thoughts or my memories-”

Max’s father raised a questioning eyebrow, ”Even when you were in training?”

I didn’t like the condescending tone in his voice one bit. Neither did Max.

Max’s provocation was a cold silent explosion, dripping with sarcasm, ”What about you, Dad? You have known about this from when I was just a baby. How is it that you didn’t slip up and reveal something to someone you were healing?”

Mr. Evans narrowed his eyes. ”That’s different, Max, and you know it.”

A loud sigh was heard from the left of the circle, directly followed by Michael’s annoyed voice, ”Do we really have time for this? So what? They didn’t tell you.” Another sigh. ”Fine. Now, let’s move on. I’m assuming that there’s more to this story than bruised egos.”

I wondered if Michael was allowed to speak like that. Even though he obviously had a short temper, I had come to understand that he was keen to follow orders, to listen to authority. Had this whole thing lessened his respect for the men in charge in this room? What could that mean? Would that make Michael a loose cannon?

But then I saw Michael look to his right, towards Maria, his hard expression softening even though Maria didn’t see him looking - her gaze being fixed on Dresden as if she couldn’t look away, and I quickly reached the conclusion that Michael would not betray this group. If only with the aim to remain on the same side as Maria.

What was really going on there?

Dresden gave Michael a hard look, which completely passed Michael by as he was still looking at Maria’s profile, before Dresden said, ”It is important for parims to find each other naturally. Their wills cannot be manipulated. Especially not when choosing their mate. There are tales of this tainting their purity, meaning that their efforts at restoring the goodness of our race won’t be strong enough.”


I frowned. ”What does that mean?”

Dresden looked at me directly, his face warming. I got the feeling that he had - in some way - always watched me. Watched over me.

Not in a stalker way. More like a protective father figure.

”It means that you and Max needed to fall in love on your own. If we had interfered and told you two that you had to be together, you might have grown to resent each other only because you were forced. Even if you are obviously meant to be together, you had to find each other in your own way and walk your own path.” He paused and cleared his throat. ”And I understand that it might sound awful, but we realized already from the time that you connected as children that you would be even more tightly bound together if you had to fight for it. How the concept of ’us versus them’ has a tendency to bring people close together. Thus, Philip’s job was to push you, Max, as far away from Liz as possible. To ignite your protectiveness towards Liz. To make you long for her.”

I felt that blush heat my cheeks anew. Why did our love life have to be discussed in a circle in front of everyone?

It didn’t help matters that Dresden’s words were followed by silence, letting the expected awkwardness creep into the air around us.

”I have a question about that,” Max spoke up, his voice controlled and even, although I could hear in his thoughts that he was shaken, embarrassed and a tad pissed off about how his life had been ’handled’.

”What really happened at the Institute? When I was young? And… Why did you allow me to be placed in a room with Tess, with the risk of something happening that would jeopardize my future connection with Liz?”

It was not until then that I came to realize that Dresden had worked at the Institute. As clearly as the room before me, I saw his face distinctly appear in Max’s memories from that time.

”You worked there?” I asked with my throat drying up.

”Yes,” Dresden answered gravely. ”The Institute was the place where Command sent those Antarians who had started to show signs of resistance. Who had, for some reason or the other, started to object to the way in which humans were treated. That’s where Command sent all dissidents to have their minds wiped of traitorous thoughts. The Antarians working at the Institute were all highly trained in matters of the mind. Their ability to manipulate minds had to be superior, because in contrast to humans, the Antarians still needed some information to be intact after the memory wipe. Which meant that it was not a true memory wipe, rather a tweaking of the thoughts to make them more in accord with Command’s standing rules.”

I curled my fingers more firmly around the back of Max’s hand, still resting against my middle, seeking the calmness his very real physical presence brought me.

”That’s why this was the perfect workplace for me,” Dresden continued. ”Philip’s father, George, introduced me to Antar’s true history around the time that Max and Liz connected that first time. George was literally standing on my doorstep in the middle of the night with Philip behind him, holding a sleeping five-year-old Max, asking if he could trust me. Apparently he had heard of my abilities and something about me had made him think that I might not be happy about how Command ran things. This was true, of course, but it worried me for quite some time that George Evans had seen this, since it presented me with the plausible reality of someone else also seeing this. Those were dangerous times to be caught working against Command and his people. But I soon realized that George saw things that no one else saw. Mostly because of his healing ability - which gave him the ability to read auras and energies - but also because of who he was.”

Dresden paused, the momentary silence working to emphasize what he said next, ”George Evans was a really great man. It’s a shame that he didn’t live long enough to see this.”

Across Mr. Evans’ mildly expressive face flickered a strong expression of fear and anger. On reflex, I jolted, pushing back into Max’s body with my upper body.

After my thought of, What had happened to George Evans?, Max’s arms tightened almost painfully around my middle and from the suddenly erupted chaos in his mind, I could make out that he first now realized that his grandfather might have not died a peaceful death. Like Max had always been told.

But Dresden left us no time to mull this over, or even question Mr. Evans about it. His words leaving his mouth faster now, he continued, ”George begged me to care for his grandson. He explained the situation of Max possibly connecting with Liz, a human gaea, and how it was pertinent that no one found out the real explanation behind why they had done so. George wanted to keep it all between us. That’s how my wife got involved.”

His wife?

”Sarah,” I whispered, putting the pieces together. The maternal figure that had looked after Max at the Institute.

”Yes,” Dresden replied. ”Sarah.”

”She is your wife?” Max asked, perplexed.

”She was.”

The suction in my chest was as real as if it had been my own. But it wasn’t mine, it was Max’s. To him, it was like hearing that his mother had died. Because Sarah had been like a second mother to him.

”She’s dead?” Max croaked, barely restrained emotions breaking his voice apart.

Dresden’s eyes dropped. For a second, I actually believed his calm exterior might crack. I watched his chest move rapidly up and down, as if he was hyperventilating. Mr. Evans answered the question with sadness, making me recognize that she must have been loved, this Sarah. By many.

”She was killed when we broke Max and Liz out of the Institute, the night when Max was knifed by Sean.”

No.

The guilt was devastating. The pain was burning. I didn’t know Sarah, had and would never meet her, but still I felt guilty about her sacrificing her life to get us out.

But, it was hard to tell which emotions were my own and which were Max’s.

”I loved my wife deeply,” Dresden said, looking up with glistening eyes.

It was a difficult thing to see. This collected alien trying to stay away from the cold of the freezing grief that he probably had not had the chance to work through yet.

”And she loved me.” His voice was thick, bordering on unrecognizable. ”We never had any children. She was in a car accident when young and her uterus and one of her kidneys had to be removed. That night, when George and Philip came to visit us, was the first time Sarah met Max. Max stole her heart.”

I swallowed tightly. Max was pulling me closer, even though it was not possible. He needed us to be alone right now. He needed to let go of the control over his emotions. And he could only do that in front of me.


But instead of being alone, we were stuck in that circle of bizarre storytelling.

”She was human, working at a hospital as a nurse. But she left her job that next day - after George’s visit - to work with me at the Institute, to care for Max while we tried to figure out if we should break the connection he had formed with Liz or try and pause it instead.”

”How did she die?” Max asked gravely.

Dresden looked directly at Max, a lonely tear escaping his wet eyes. ”She never stopped caring for you, Max. So much so that she wanted to help in rescuing you that night. She knew the building very well and thought she would be an asset. I tried to stop her, I truly did. She was human after all, with no means of defending herself against us, but she always saw you as the son she never had. She knew the risk she was taking. I couldn’t stop her. I always loved that about her; that I could never tell her what to do. She made her own decisions. And she was fearless. Especially when it came to the ones she loved.”

”I’m so sorry,” I whispered, squeezing Max’s thumb, trying to offer my condolences to both Dresden and Max.

Dresden attempted a grateful half-smile and with a wipe over his face with the palm of his hand, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. The Dresden we had seen since the beginning had returned; as calm and collected as before.

”I worked closely with Sarah at the Institute to develop memory blocks. We started using it on the dissidents to hide away their true thoughts instead of manipulating them. If it worked, it meant that we could activate the memory blocks at any time, giving the Antarians all the pertinent information back. After making some attempts with varying results on Antarians, we decided to try it out on a human.”

Dresden looked to my father and I froze. Even though I knew of this before, it was still chilling to hear of my father being part of some larger scenario, a large rebellion.

”Jeff was needed to keep Elizabeth safe.”

My father nodded, looking serious but not angry. I figured that he had come to peace with this a long time ago. He was probably happier to be included in all of this than to have been left out. At least now he felt as if he’d had a part in protecting me. That he had been considered important enough to be used for that purpose.

”Because as you can probably discern from what I’ve just told you all, it was important to protect Elizabeth.”

”Which is why Alex was assigned to be my friend,” I added, looking over at Alex and meeting his eyes.

His eyes searched my face, but he must have been comforted by what he found because he visibly relaxed and gave me a soft smile.

”So all this time, you were forming an army out of the people who didn’t like Command’s ruling?” Michael asked, curiosity in his voice.

”You are part of that army, Micheal,” Dresden said and I watched Michael’s face pale, before he erupted in a ”What?!”

”Already as a 7-year-old, you started to object to how humans were being treated. You were in and out of the Institute a lot when you were little.”

”Is that why he’s so screwed up now?” Isabel asked.

The joke fell flat. Wrong crowd and wrong timing, I guess. I appreciated what she was trying to do, but the setting was too tense.

The semi-grin on Isabel’s beautiful face slowly started slipping, when Dresden moved on as if she hadn’t said a word, ”Your father was the same. Which is why we decided to make you Max’s protector. We knew that you would be loyal to Max. Not just as your duty, but as a friend.”

I wanted to disagree. I still had a bone to pick with Michael.

But at the same time as I decided to not voice my opinion, Maria spoke up. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had been looking at Dresden this whole time. And her inquiry had me questioning if she had actually heard a single word spoken since she had asked her own question almost twenty minutes ago.

”I want to see what you look like. I want you to shape-shift into your alien form.” She was pale as she slowly licked her dry lips and repeated quietly, ”I want to see what you look like.”

Had she been thinking about that this whole time? Had she been debating with herself if she wanted to see it or not?

Instinctively I felt that I didn’t want to. 

I had already seen what Sean and Sergeant had looked like. That was enough.

Why would Maria want to invite the nightmares into her mind?

”That’s actually a good idea, Ms. DeLuca,” Dresden, to my surprise, agreed. ”You need to be prepared in case the opposition decides to drop their disguises just to freak you out and distract you. It might be dangerous to be oblivious about such a matter.”

”Maria,” I whispered, feeling cold all over. When her eyes turned to me, I asked, ”Are you sure?”

Mutely, with wide-opened glistening eyes, white lips and grayish skin, she nodded.

She didn’t look sure at all.

I watched her turn to face Dresden and her scream almost stopped my heart.

I jumped in my seat and would have been halfway to her place had Max’s arms not been tight around my middle and keeping me in place. My body struggled in Max’s grip and Maria’s blood-curdling scream was still ringing around me when I snapped my eyes towards what was making Maria sound like she was about to die.

Dresden had dropped his human costume.


TBC...

[Morning Dreamgirl]

I love update days. To an extent that would probably astound you if you weren't already aware.

[Roswelllostcause]

It is so sad that Sarah died trying to help Max and Liz. Why am I not surprised by Maria's response to seeing what the aliens really look like?


Hurry back with more!


Helen

[begonia9508]

Totally Maria! She wants to play the big Girl but can't Support the real truth...

At least, Liz knows now that she is part Alien too, through the genes she has in her DNA and so do Max!

At least now, she knows her suspicions or even fear are real!

Anyway, I am looking for more and see what's happen!

Thanks EVE

[Natalie36]

all caught up. what the hell happened Maria?

[keepsmiling7]

Great part,
The connection between Max and Liz was not an easy process.
They did indeed fall in love on their own didn't they?
So sad about Sarah......
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Michelle17]

Hi Jo,

How are you doing? I really love all your stories. I'm really behind with reading this one, I'm promising I'm going to leave feedback on this one and Lethal Whispers. I'm still reading SnapShot, I'm a slow reader. Please let us know if you decide to make original books copy because I would really love to add it my collection of books. You are such a great Author and you inspire me to write, plus I'm working on rewriting my stories on this site and work on my grammar. I wish could find an editor and someone to guide me through writing.