Title: True North-Roswell, 1/5
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: TEEN
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
******
June 2001 - Finals Week
Crashdown Café
Liz capped her pen and closed her journal. The breeze carried the smell of fried food from the open window of the café. She smiled slightly and knew she had to go down there and face Max. He'd been there every night since Tess's departure. Once he finished his shift at the UFO Center, he invariably showed up and waited for Michael to get off work and give him a lift home. It was a good excuse, but Liz saw right through him.
She sidled through the window and pushed her journal into its usual hiding place. As she replaced the brick that kept her thoughts safe from prying eyes, something slithered around her leg. Liz yelped at the contact and fell backwards on her bed in fright. She peered out from under the pillow and saw nothing but the curtains fluttering in the night air. Long lace panels danced furiously and dueled with one another as the wind picked up, signaling an approaching storm. Liz's throat tightened in painful memory of the night when Future Max first made his appearance. That night was the beginning of the end. The end of her innocence. The end of her relationship with Max. It was the night that dreams ended and the road to hell began. As she watched the curtains swirl wildly, she remembered her fanciful turn as a bride, her head covered with the dusty runner from her dresser. She was delusional. It would never happen. Not in a million light years. Destiny and duty came first, and this small town girl could no longer dream the dreams of a normal teenager. Liz wiped her eyes and her hands came away wet from the tears that spilled down her cheeks. With a sigh, she changed into her uniform and headed down the stairs to start her shift.
******
Liz entered the kitchen in time to see Maria pat Michael on the back as he wiped a charred mass from the ceiling. "What was that in its former life?"
"Maria's attempt at gourmet cooking," Michael quipped sarcastically and ducked away from Maria's swat.
"You know how she gets when you leave her alone in here," Liz joked as she pulled Max's order off the spindle. She loved working with Maria and Michael on the late shift. Work was a blast since her dad had reassigned Jose to the breakfast shift, and best of all, it helped take her mind off her problems.
Denial was the only way she could cope right now. If she started thinking about Max and Tess?.together?no, she couldn't think of that now. She couldn't let the pain out of its cage in her subconscious. Madness was only a heartbeat away, and she'd rather have a coronary than acknowledge Max's betrayal or his hateful behavior over these past few months. Yet, as she gathered up his order and forced her feet towards his table, she could still feel the iron bands of his fingers branding her arms from their encounter at school. In his rage, he'd nearly snapped her left radius and her right arm still bore the silver imprints of his fingers.
"Here you go. One Alien Smoothie, Saturn Rings, and a Strawberry Saucer with Cosmic Cream. Enjoy your dinner." Liz plopped the food on the table with a clatter and looked pointedly at the rip in the wallpaper behind him.
"I will," Max said gently, his voice so velvety soft that it drew her gaze towards his like a magnet. His eyes brimmed with love, but that emotion was joined by sadness and more than a little guilt. Guilt she understood, because her own part in this drama absorbed her every waking moment and lately, it dominated her dreams as well. Beneath the layers of deceit and betrayal was her undeniable love for him. Unfortunately, love was not enough this time. For one moment, her body remembered the way his hands and lips had worshipped her and it sang in response. She started to retreat, but was stopped by his plea. "Stay. Please. Just for a moment?"
"I can't. I have to?." Liz's voice faltered and her mouth got very dry when she saw the way Max stared at the strawberries. "Umm, I have to?"
"Do you remember??" Max asked hoarsely, his voice raw with unrequited passion. He looked away forcibly and she saw him struggle mightily with his emotions.
"Yes," she whispered, feeling a shiver of sympathy. She touched his hand and felt her resolve melt as she was dragged into a shared memory.
Strawberries strewn all over the floor. Max stooping to help her. His hand brushing hers with a jolt that spread through her like liquid fire. Heavy breathing. Teeth biting her neck. His delicious tongue plunging into her mouth before he hardened the kiss and cradled her buttocks with his palms. Her legs straddling his waist as his strong arms lifted her onto the counter and shoved her back against the fryer. His long, lean frame pressed against her, their hips moving in perfect unison as his mouth moved down her neck and explored the valley between her breasts.
And then, like a party ruined by parents dragging the phonograph needle across that perfect 60s tune, the vision dissolved and reality returned like a blast of cold water from her morning shower.
She was kneeling next to the booth and Max's face was only a few inches away. His eyes seemed to memorize her features and from the way they darkened, she knew he was about to kiss her. "You can't. We c-can't," Liz cried, her heart hammering in her chest.
Max framed her face with his hands. "You have to stop running away."
"I'm not...running away, Max. I'll be in town all summer." Liz couldn't bring herself to force his hands away. Forgiveness was not possible right now, but the sexual tension was stretched so tight between them that she could taste it.
Max nodded with a sweet but sad smile. Suddenly, his breath escaped from him like he'd been sucker-punched and he stared at her arm in horror. "Did I...do that to you?"
Liz glanced at the silver fingerprints and felt the cold rush of anger burn through the haze of passion. "Yes!"
Max held her loosely and examined the marks by tracing them with one finger. Liz wanted to protest, but she suddenly was sucked into another vision.
West Roswell High. A busy corridor. She saw herself and knew she was in Max's head. Helpless. Trapped. *Help me, Liz*. That weak plea was soon drowned out by a cacophony of whispers twining insidiously through their connection. *Hurt her. You can't let her stop this*. Tess. *Do it, you ignorant git*. Arrogant. Male. Oddly accented. Max whimpering. Hurting Liz. Hands clamped on her forearms like a vise. There. Two of them. Blonde and brunette. Male and female. Behind Liz. Directing him. Forcing him. The scene shifted to some unidentifiable cavern. Dim lights. Tess staring down with a smug look on her face. A figure emerging from the gloom. Three shadows bending over his prone body. Flashes of metal. Ominous clicks. Blossoming pain. An unearthly shriek. Max screaming his lungs out. Her own voice. Keening. Terrified.
The vision dissolved and the floor rose up to meet her. A strong arm grabbed her around the waist and restored her balance. Max. Holding on tightly and not ready to release her.
"What's wrong?" Max asked with a rising edge of panic in his voice. His right hand slipped to the table and started drumming hypnotically to the beat of some unheard song.
Liz stared at his hand, completely mesmerized by this action. She felt her eyes blink rapidly as a series of mental pictures slammed into place. Kyle. Amy DeLuca. Brody. Fingers drumming. Mind warped. Excitement and confusion warred within her and chaos won out. "You were...you were...oh, Max," she croaked compassionately, her hand reaching for his and forgetting everything but the moment.
"Tell me what you saw," Max urged gently.
She shook her head and pulled away from him. "I have to go," she said hoarsely and started backing away from his table.
"Go where?" Max was confused and rattled by her reaction.
He raised his hand to stop her and she waved him off. "I can't do this right now. I'm sorry."
"I understand," he said sadly and she felt him watch her as she fled to the kitchen in retreat.
*******
Max slumped dejectedly in the booth and pretended to focus on his biochemistry textbook. If he waited long enough, Michael would offer him a ride home. The formulas blurred on the page and he closed his eyes for a moment and then tried refocusing. As he delved into the wonders of metabolism, the front door jingled and Kyle sauntered through with a knapsack in his hand. Max acknowledged him with a nod.
Kyle hesitated and seemed like he wanted to say something before thinking better of it and moving forward again. Before he could escape, Max decided to ask the question that had been burning at him for so long. "Kyle, can we talk for a minute?"
Kyle turned slightly and looked between Max and the kitchen like he wished he could just disappear. "OK," was all he said before sliding into the seat across from Max.
The silence grew uncomfortable. "How are finals going?" Max asked lamely.
Kyle snorted. "I've been on academic probation since December. How do you think it's going?"
"Sorry."
"You have something else on your mind, don't you?" Kyle looked over his shoulder and stabbed his thumb towards Liz.
Kyle was more astute than he looked and maybe a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Max nodded mutely and waited for Kyle to continue.
"You want to know if we did the 'dirty deed'," Kyle said with a hint of mischief coloring his solemn tone.
"I was wondering about that, yeah," Max admitted.
"What has Liz told you?" Kyle was clearly enjoying this one small moment of triumph over his former nemesis.
"She denied everything. At least, that's the latest version of her story." Max was relieved to finally throw this out on the table for discussion.
"Do you believe her?" Kyle asked and his blue eyes pierced straight through to Max's soul.
For a moment, Max listened to his heart and knew that the truth had always been there. He had just stopped trusting his instincts. "Yes."
"So why are we having this discussion?" Kyle seemed puzzled and Max couldn't blame him a bit. He was confused too.
"Because...she never told me why."
"Huh!" Kyle sat up straight like that fact had really got his attention. "And you think I know?"
"Well, sure. You were there." Max remembered the two of them together and it had looked pretty real to him.
"Were we convincing?" Kyle simpered.
Max sighed. Kyle was well aware of everything that had happened over the past few months.
"Sorry," Kyle said after a long beat. "Look, I'm as clueless as you are. Liz told me she needed a favor, so I helped her out. She said it had to look like we slept together. She wouldn't tell me why but she was desperate. I could see it in her eyes. She had no one else to turn to and I was obviously a likely candidate."
"Desperate, huh?" Max chewed on that for a bit and motioned for Kyle to keep talking.
"It was pretty boring, Max. All we did was talk about you. How you healed us both. What that meant for us. And in my case, I gotta tell you, there's nothing like surfing dreams with your hotshot sister," Kyle offered with a grin.
"Surfing dreams?" That was an interesting choice of words.
"Never mind. The important thing is, she's being straight with you. Look, I gotta meet Maria and Liz." He patted his knapsack. "It's Alien Night. Starman. Close Encounters. ET."
"On a school night?"
Kyle shrugged his shoulders. "They asked me. Guess they need the break from studying. Can I give you a piece of advice?"
"Sure."
"Ask Liz yourself. She won't appreciate you going behind her back."
"Noted." Kyle gathered up his things and Max managed to remember his manners. "Thanks, Kyle."
"Sure. Whatever."
******
"Need some help?" Kyle's voice rang out like a shot in the dark and Liz almost dropped the bowl of popcorn she held to her chest.
"I'm fine," she replied bravely, but knew her quivering chin was a dead giveaway.
Kyle took the bowl and set it aside before pulling her down to a nearby chair. "Come on, Liz. Who are you trying to kid? I know you, remember? You're not even close to fine."
Liz ran her fingers through her thick mane of hair before burying her face in her hands. "Maybe you're right, but?."
"Do you love him?" Kyle straddled the chair next to her and rested his meaty forearms on the table.
"It's not that simple," she started, her excuse dying in her mouth at Kyle's disgusted wave.
"It seems pretty simple to me. If you love him, then forgive him. He acted like a jerk and he's totally messed up his life. It's human nature," Kyle paused momentarily. "Scratch that last comment. What I'm trying to say is..."
"I know." She took Kyle's hand for a moment. "Thanks for trying."
"Am I interrupting something?" Maria's voice startled them and they broke apart.
"Don't be ridiculous. Here's the popcorn." Liz handed the bowl to Maria and missed the way Maria's eyes widened in alarm. The silence grew and she saw Kyle and Maria stare hard at the marks on her right arm. "Liz? You mind explaining this?" Maria questioned.
She clapped her hand over Max's fingerprints. "It's nothing," she said brightly even as she knew her smile wasn't fooling them.
"Max did that to you?" Kyle's voice was steady enough, but from the way he was clenching his jaw, he was working up a good head of steam.
"It's OK, Kyle. He wasn't in his right mind," she explained evenly before realizing what her words meant to Kyle.
He gasped like he'd been struck and the skin around his lips turned white. A moment later, shock turned to anger. In trying to be straight with them, she had forcibly reminded Kyle of his own part in killing Alex. "That's no excuse!" Kyle snapped with more than a hint of self-loathing. His eyes were suspiciously shiny and he turned away in disgust as he dashed tears from his eyes. His body shook and Liz laid her hand on her friend's shoulder. Maria whispered something about cedar oil and disappeared from the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean to remind you...about..." She blinked back her own tears and managed to keep it together for the moment.
"I meditate on this all the time, Liz. It's the only way I can...it's the only thing that keeps me sane. It's not like I can discuss this with anyone in a professional capacity. Can you imagine telling someone that some alien screwed with my mind and made me an accessory to murder? Knowing that I couldn't help it, that I didn't have a choice...doesn't make it better. It's not an excuse." Kyle's voice was torn and ragged with grief and he clenched her hand tightly.
"Maybe it is," she whispered to herself, wanting so much to erase and forgive Max's actions.
Kyle caught her words and frowned at her. "No, it isn't," he replied adamantly. "And nothing you say will ever convince me of that. If Max hurts you again..."
"He won't," Liz countered and surprised herself by how sure she sounded.
"If you say so." Kyle looked at her dubiously and waved off Maria's offer of cedar oil as she breezed back into the kitchen. "Buddha doesn't approve of suppressing your true feelings with artificial ingredients."
"I'll have you know that this is 100% cedar oil and it's specially prepared by my Mom." Maria took a generous sniff and sighed in contentment as she tucked the vial into her pocket.
"Your mom makes great peach cobbler, but I think I'll pass on the cedar oil if you don't mind." Kyle sounded more like his usual self and managed to mollify Maria with his compliments.
"So those marks." Maria touched them gently and looked at Liz. "How did they get there and how come we never noticed them before?"
"When Max grabbed me...you know, in the hallway at school...they showed up later that night. I kept them hidden with makeup until they disappeared."
"So why are they back?" Kyle chewed hard at his gum and she saw a hint of suspicion underlying his concern.
Liz shrugged. Kyle was on edge and any little thing could set him off. Discussing her recent connection with Max was not on the agenda. As for the marks, they seemed to appear whenever she had a vision. It was hard to admit that she was having visions, or that the visions were getting stronger and more detailed. Calling the visions nightmares didn't diminish the horror she felt when those marks reappeared and painted her arm with their unearthly shine.
Kyle noticed the time and gathered up his videos. "I gotta get going."
Liz showed him to the door and asked, "What are you doing on Friday night?"
"Nothing. Except...there's no way I'm sitting through Starman again," Kyle complained. Liz was glad to see that his normal humor was nearly restored.
She smiled. "The Astronomy Club's having their monthly star party. I thought you might like to join me."
Kyle looked helplessly at Maria, his eyes begging her to get him out of this. She grinned widely and said, "Don't look at me, bud. I have enough of aliens on a daily basis."
"Why me?" Kyle asked Liz. "Can't you pick on one of your nerdy friends? Or how about your bowling buddy Sean?"
"I wouldn't ask if it weren't important," she said quietly.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "What time should I pick you up?"
"9:00."
"See you then." Kyle kicked at a rock and disappeared down the back stairs.
She looked over her shoulder at Maria. "You staying?"
"On one condition. I get the first shower."
Maria had a habit of using up every last bit of hot water, but it was worth it. She was great company and Liz didn't want to be alone tonight. If one of her visions haunted her sleep, her friend would be there to comfort her.
*****
Rain hissed against Max's partially open window and a humid breeze fanned the hair on his neck. He watched the small hours of the morning inch by as his alarm clock's red digits mocked him. He tried every conceivable position and could not find his way into slumber, so he finally gave up. With a frustrated sigh, he snapped the light on and grabbed his biochemistry notes from the floor. His final was scheduled for 3:00 in the afternoon and he had the rest of the day free, so if sleep didn't claim him, then at least he'd be well prepared for his exam.
The lamplight gleamed off a wooden picture frame on his nightstand and he lifted it reverently. Maria had snapped the photo on their road trip to Marathon and it perfectly captured a carefree moment between him and Liz. Max touched Liz's face and was instantly transported into the past. He heard her laughter. Smelled the sunshine in her hair and the sweat beading on her brow. Saw the love shining in her eyes. The warmth of the sun was suddenly blotted out by a towering shadow and Max was dragged into another dimension.
*****
Liz sees him approaching her, his eyes cold and stormy. Anger burns in the hazel depths of eyes that used to look at her so gently and compassionately. Frigid righteousness colors his words and instantly transfers itself through the iron bands of his hands around her wrists. She tries sliding away but he grasps her right forearm even harder and accuses her of terrible things. *This is not Max.* Then a flash of movement brings a quick burst of mental energy that nearly sends Liz to her knees, only it isn't directed at her. For a second, she swears that something flickers in Max's eyes that seems like he is begging for mercy. It ends. He releases his hold on her and some third party relinquishes control of his mind. In that one moment, Liz the dreamer sees it all so clearly. Two players direct this drama. Blonde hair. Tess. An overly tall, caped figure with dark eyes that swirls out of the locker room and brushes against her. For a moment, time stands still. She turns and meets his gaze. Something passes between them and awakens the sleeping beast within her. Something that knows and recognizes but does not fear him. As it unfurls its tendrils of power, it bows to no one.
*****
Max is swamped by a maelstrom of images. Seeing Liz helpless in front of him, his hands encircling her like manacles. He is confused and trapped, hurting her and hating himself for doing it. Brave and beautiful Liz stands her ground and refuses to waiver. Then Max jerks like a marionette and feels something shift inside him. He releases her and feels her back away from him. Pain lances through his head and it is too late to call her back, too late to tell her that he didn't mean it, that he wanted to help her find Alex's killer.
Thoughtstreams fill his head, jamming his brain like crosstalk on a radar screen. Voices rise in a braying cacophony and whisper insidiously. He wipes his eyes, hoping to clear away the cobwebs, but darkness shrouds his dream self. Then a flash of light blinds him, and for a moment, two figures are haloed as they move in opposite directions. A slight blonde girl and her unlikely companion. *Tess*. The whispers rise to a feverish pitch and drown out any coherent thought.
*****
Liz moaned and muttered something unintelligible. Heat lightning flashed intermittently and seared her room with bright flashes of white that matched the glowing marks on her exposed right arm. She drew her legs up to her chest and assumed a fetal position as her consciousness surrendered to REM sleep.
Her face in the mirror, her head swathed by a lace runner. Pretending for a moment that life was normal. A crack of thunder. Booted feet. A face peering in at her. A face she knows. Max. Older. Cracking jokes about his gray hair. What he asks her to do...how can he possibly think she is up to the task of breaking the hearts of two people? Her own, and the boy that sings outside her window, his heart in his eyes as he serenades her. The boy and the man. The same and yet not the same. Her heart wrenches with pain as she lies and tells the beautiful young man that she wants a safe life. Talking to Tess about a destiny that her heart cannot accept. Scene after scene rushes at her as she relives that terrible moment when Max sees her with Kyle. His eyes, shocked and stunned. Disbelieving. Gone forever from her life. Lies piled on lies. Max following her in an Arizona town. Denial. Connecting with him in a faraway place. Warning him. Asking her again. More denial. All her mental walls came tumbling down and the truth shrieked in her ears.
Liz sat bolt upright with tears coursing down her face. "My fault. It's my fault. My fault..." Her words faded to a whispered mantra that woke Maria. Comforting arms surrounded her like an island and she collapsed sobbing as all the guilt she'd been repressing came pouring out of her.
*****
The streets are awash with light. A mariachi band playing faintly. Familiar music. Singing. Tres Diaz. A face looking down from a balcony. Liz. Puzzled. Flattered. Embarrassed. Red roses turning white, his hand pricked by their thorns as he throws them. Desperation. Passion. Her father's voice rings out and he starts to move on. But there is something else. A sick feeling that something has changed. No going back. His own face peering back at him. Older. Maybe not wiser. More music. Two people dancing. I Shall Believe. A cheerful bedroom. He knows this place. Her room. Another reflection. Himself working out. Her face at the window. Delight at seeing her quickly changes to something else. No hope. Her words...they tear at him...rip his guts to shreds. Something turns. Her despair. Lies trembling on her lips and tumbling out of her. Romeo and Juliet. The dark holes of her eyes. Evasive maneuvers as she looks away from him. Someone crying like their heart is breaking. A feeling he understands.
*****
"My fault," Liz whispered. "Everything...my fault."
"Sssh," Maria murmured as she stroked Liz's hair.
Liz laid her head sideways on Maria's shoulder and watched the lightning flicker. Something seemed to coalesce from the fragments of light bouncing off the walls and formed itself into something vaguely humanoid. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words could describe the shape coming towards her. The being's face crystallized and Max looked back at her. His muscular body was shrouded in misty swirls that curled around his feet like serpents. He extended his hands and without thinking, she got to her feet and approached him. "Max?"
"Liz." His voice was hollow and sounded like someone calling on a cheap cell phone. He repeated her name and suddenly disappeared.
Fingers grasped her shoulder and Liz nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden contact.
Maria grabbed her other shoulder and turned Liz to face her. "You OK? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I kind of...did," Liz admitted shakily. "Didn't you see him? Hear him? He was here, Maria."
"Who was here?" Maria led Liz back to the bed and sat facing her.
"It was Max." Liz flopped back against her pillows and thought of Max's trip to New York. A trip where he would have died if she hadn't warned him of impending doom. It was mind-bending and hallucinatory, but it was real. It had happened. She couldn't explain how or why. "Astral projection," she added absently.
"You sure?" Anyone else would have reacted like she had flipped, but Maria's life was defined by every New Age toy in existence. Astral projection was a cakewalk compared to everything Maria and Liz had experienced in the last 24 months.
Liz wasn't sure of anything right now. She shrugged and said, "Just a feeling that maybe it was...like me dream-walking Max. Only in reverse."
Maria's bright blue eyes opened wide and she pointed at Liz's arm in shock.
Liz gasped at the silvery light blazing from five distinct marks that burned brighter than a supernova. Her eyes widened as the light flared and then faded like the retinal afterburn from a flashbulb. "Oh. My. God," was all she could manage.
Maria gulped. "What the hell is that?"
Liz took a deep breath and managed to regain some composure. "I don't know exactly, but it started about a month ago."
Maria pursed her lips thoughtfully. "This is pure speculation, but didn't Ava mention something about you being different 'cuz Max healed you?"
Liz had actually liked Ava, but she wanted no reminders of Tess. "She did, but..."
"So maybe you're...evolving or something."
Maria's guess was a stab in the dark, but it struck its mark. When the marks flared like that, she felt different inside. Darker. More...alien. That feeling still lingered and left an acrid trail in her gullet as it subsided and slithered back under its rock. Discussing the paranormal and her freaky connection to Max were not Liz's topics of choice for the wee hours of the morning. "Maybe. We should get some sleep or something. Don't you have to open for my Dad while he's away?"
"Yeah," Maria sighed and settled back onto Liz's futon. A few moments later, her breathing evened out and she passed into sleep.
Liz curled herself back under the covers, her eyes watchful. As she listened to Maria's peaceful slumber, she knew that sleep would elude her for the rest of the night.
*****
Another flash of light. Glistening tears on her cheeks. Someone...Maria...hugging her. The crying wanes and her eyes widen. She sees him...recognizes him. He reaches out his hands, wanting desperately to touch her. She gets to her feet and cocks her head sideways, fascination and fright warring on her face. "Max?"
"Liz." His own voice echoes from a great distance and Max feels their connection start to disintegrate. A moment later, he feels himself falling through space and hears something crack.
"Max," a familiar voice calls. Not Liz. "Max," the voice repeats more stridently.
"My fault," Max croaked before opening his eyes. He found himself flat on the floor with Isabel standing over him. The picture from Marathon lay face down with glass scattered in every direction. Blood trickled from a cut in his hand and with an impatient swipe, Iz healed him before yanking him to his feet.
"M-max, what is that?" Isabel stammered uncharacteristically as she grabbed his right arm. Five points of light pulsated on his arm and with shocked recognition, Max realized they were in the same location as the marks on Liz's arm.
"I..." He sat on his bed and watched the lights disappear. Max was overwhelmed by his experience, but there was one person who would understand and help make it better. Liz. If he could see her face and talk to her, maybe she could shed some light on this. Without thinking of the time or the logistics of getting across town in a rainstorm, he headed for his closet and threw on a shirt.
"What are you doing, Max?" Isabel exclaimed as he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
"Going to the source," he said enigmatically as he looked over his shoulder.
"The source," she repeated like he had lost his mind.
"Liz." Before Iz could stop him, he took the stairs two at a time and headed for the garage and his trusty bike.
*****
Liz sat bent over her biochem notes with her knees drawn under her. As she rocked back and forth to the beat of the Smashing Pumpkins, she memorized equations with her lightning quick mind. The dynamic combination of science and driving rock music sent her spirits soaring and helped her push her problems aside.
The alarm buzzed obnoxiously and Liz smiled at Maria's groans as she slipped off her headset. "Rise and shine," she said mischievously with a glance over one shoulder.
Maria swatted at the alarm and finally silenced it. "Why can't you wake to music like normal people?"
Liz stretched her upper torso. Her joints cracked as she looked out and saw the rain dribbling down the window. "This rain is depressing."
"Tell me about it. Michael and I were supposed to ride down to Santa Fe for a few days. I'll be pissed if we have to cancel our plans."
"Your mother's letting you..."
*Thump, thump, thump*. Liz nearly fell off her seat and Maria jumped sideways as the sound repeated itself. Their attention was drawn to the window, where Max huddled like a drowned rat. He lifted his hand in a wave and his eyes pleaded with Liz to let him in. She completely forgot about her undressed state and ran towards the window while Maria wrapped a blanket around herself and disappeared from view.
Liz opened the window and moved aside to let Max through. He was soaked to the skin and was dripping water in every direction, but she didn't care. She threw her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. "I'm so glad you're here," she murmured without thinking. Max rested his head on top of hers and hugged her fiercely with every wet inch of his body clinging to her.
"So am I," Max whispered. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent. His breath tickled her ear and he mumbled something about loving the way she smelled.
"Thank you," Liz replied.
"What?" Max loosened his hold on her and regarded her curiously. He brought her chin up with his fingers, his eyes warming her face with the heat of his gaze. The depth of emotion she saw reflected back at her was soulful and intense and seemed to burn with an inner light that was at odds with his water-logged clothes. "You picked up on my thoughts?"
She nodded and his eyes widened in amazement. "Wow. I didn't realize...I mean, it's happened before, but we were under the influence..."
Continued in Part Two
True North-M/L-CC-TEEN {COMPLETE}
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Forum Moderators
True North-M/L-CC-TEEN {COMPLETE}
Last edited by Peregrine on Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
True North-M/L-PG-13, 2/5
Title: True North-Roswell, 2/5
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part One
"From the orbs."
"Right. So this...it's..."
"Different." Her voice trembled. "Scary stuff."
"That's why I came," he explained. "I had to know...about these." Max pulled his shirt sleeve to his elbow and she gasped at the marks on his forearm.
"I don't understand." Liz offered up her own arm for inspection.
"I mean, I've heard of matching tattoos, but this is...well, a bit much," Max stated wryly with a hint of a smile. Liz knew he was trying to calm her fears, but he was scared too. It hovered behind the humor, waiting to swoop down and consume them both.
"They flare up," Liz said with a wan smile, hoping he couldn't sense her uneasiness. Her earlier conversation with Maria and the suspicion that something unnatural lurked inside her returned in full force.
"Flare up...when you see things? Like visions?" Max guessed.
"Yeah," Liz agreed with a furrowed brow as she relived every harrowing moment of her nightmares. They swirled through her head in kaleidoscopic formation and dragged her along with them.
"Liz? Are you OK?" Max's hand waved in front of her face and brought her back to reality. Then she became aware of her wet clothes and how little she was wearing.
Maria appeared in the doorway with bath towels and a pile of clothes. She grinned knowingly and dropped her burden on Liz's bed. "Thought you might need these. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
"Thanks," Liz called. "I think you've covered everything."
"Not everything," Maria joked, referring to Liz's dishabille. She grabbed her antennae from the chair and wiggled them saucily before moving off to start the morning shift.
"I better get changed." Liz grabbed her robe and wrapped it tight around her. Just before disappearing into the safety of her bathroom, she caught Max's shy but appreciative smile. Once she had the door closed, Liz peered down at the T-shirt that clung to her like a second skin and the underwear that rode low on her hips. Every inch of her was clearly defined.
As she stripped and changed into dry clothes, she was bemused by the way he had just appeared at her window at the crack of dawn. The sight of him had sent a spear of joy straight through her heart. That initial rush of happiness had been so profound and searing that it scared her to death. Where was her anger and her strength in fending him off? Where was her stiff upper lip and her backbone? Maria would say her spine had been surgically removed, but then Maria was the queen of jellyfish when it came to warding off Michael. Liz turned it over in her mind and searched for the anger that had hardened her heart for so long, but her rage was strangely absent. Perhaps her visions had served their purpose after all. Perhaps...she could forgive him and most importantly, maybe someday she could forgive herself for pushing him away.
Liz tossed her clothes in the hamper and peeked around her doorway in time to see Max remove his shirt. "Sorry." She headed straight for her desk and buried her face in her notes. Maybe some formulas would cool her jets and help her forget the sight of those beautifully sculpted muscles on his back and arms. Balancing an equation or two would squelch any lewd thoughts about poetry in motion and the way those muscles flexed when he moved. Max appeared at her elbow with his wet clothes folded neatly. He smiled hesitantly and touched her shoulder with one hand. That mixture of shyness and his inherently sweet nature was a major turn-on and Liz had to remind herself to breathe. "I can throw those in the dryer if you want," she offered and nodded toward the laundry basket at the foot of her bed.
"Thanks." Max did as she suggested. He looked down at his baggy jeans and T-shirt. "Are these your Dad's clothes?"
"Yeah. He used to be your size...until he discovered beer." Liz grinned as Max pulled out at least 6 inches of waistband.
"So your father...is he home?"
"They're both at a conference for a few days."
"Oh." Max sounded absurdly pleased by that fact. "So it's OK that I'm here?"
His presence was totally against the house rules, but Liz didn't care. "It's totally OK."
"Ah." Max knew she was fibbing but wasn't inclined to call her out on it.
"So maybe we can study or something," she suggested with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Study. Sure." Max deliberately looked at her bed before looking back at her with a deceptively innocent expression. She grabbed her notes and pulled up a second chair to the desk before they got to work.
*****
"I think I'm ready." Liz pushed her notes aside and laid her pen down with a sigh. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms overhead.
"Ready for what?" Max started, wondering if she was referring to the exam or the forbidden topic that weighed on them both.
"The exam." She was playing it safe and he supposed he couldn't blame her, but they had to talk about it sometime.
"Me too. Uh, Liz, we really should talk about...you know." He nodded toward her arm.
"OK." She rested her chin on her hand and waited for him to start.
"Last night. I saw things...felt things...which I can't explain. I heard you crying. Saw you here. With Maria." Max sat back in his chair and watched her face carefully. Her normally open expression was guarded, and more than a little fear flickered behind the exhaustion in her eyes.
"I saw you too. It was like..." Her gaze drifted to the ceiling as she searched for the right words. "New York. Except...did you dreamwalk me, Max?"
Max nodded reluctantly. He had always disliked it when Isabel invaded people's dreams, but this was different. This was Liz. She might be the only person in the world who could understand what he was going through and she might be the only person he could dreamwalk. "I was looking for answers."
"And did you find what you were looking for?" Liz inquired as she laid her head on the desk and yawned.
"Maybe."
"So what did you see?" she asked lightly.
"I saw dancing. Heard music. Sheryl Crow. There were flowers. White roses. It was the night I...the night we...ended." Max swallowed hard and looked pointedly at her bed. The image of her and Kyle was burned on his retinas and he could never erase it from his mind. Knowing the truth didn't change the facts that something had gone down, that his life had ended on that night.
His own pain was reflected in her eyes and it prompted him to take her hand. That slight touch was all it took to kick him straight into her head.
Her and Kyle. Together in bed. His own reflection in the window. A look of stunned horror freezing his smile and turning it to stone. There was someone else there, peering around a corner. Long, graying hair. Leather. Knee high boots. Not a stoner or a biker. Not some hippie freak. Himself. Future Max.
His face gripped with agonizing pain as he watched the scene play out. Liz gripped his hand hard and her voice stated hypnotically, "He came to me that night. The granolith brought him to our dimension. He told me I had to make you fall out of love with me. That Tess was ready to leave town and her staying was critical."
"Is that why...?" Max looked at the bed and all the pieces fell into place. Her spying on him and Tess from Whitaker's office. Showing up at his house with that long speech about Romeo and Juliet. Cutting his heart out and feeding it to the dogs. Taking up with Kyle. Her cryptic comments about the granolith and her stubborn refusal to explain her meaning. At some level, he had never stopped believing in her. Now that time had given him some distance, he realized that he had always doubted the events of that night.
"Yes. He said...you said that all our lives depended on it. Oh, Max, what else could I do? I couldn't let you die," Liz cried as she jumped up and starting pacing around the desk. "Before he left, he said maybe I belonged with humans. That maybe I was better off without you. But you see, that just isn't true. Everyone else would be second best because..."
Max caught her arm and stopped her in mid-stride. Like a bird interrupted during takeoff, she flopped awkwardly until his hands steadied her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let this happen...to us? You could have stopped this."
Liz closed her eyes and tears streaked down her face as she reclaimed her desk chair. "I know that now, but then...he had faith in me. Trusted me to do as he asked. I couldn't let you down, Max. I'm sorry, but there it is. Now that...Tess is gone, none of it matters...the sacrifice I made...it was a total waste. I destroyed what we had and created more problems for all of you."
"That's not entirely true." Max hung his head as he let the tidewaters of his own guilt come rushing in. "I think there's still hope...for us."
Liz's only answer was a slight squeeze to his hand before sleep claimed her. Her head fell backwards as she slumped sideways in the chair. Max picked her up gently and carried her to the bed. Liz curved her body into a ball and was drawn into the slumber of the totally exhausted. He sat at the foot of the bed and a short time later, his eyelids grew heavy. Without thinking of the repercussions, he curled up behind her with a protective arm around her waist.
*****
Tess kisses him. The moonlight caresses her hair. She belongs to the night. Melds and moves with it. She leads him by the hand and pulls him toward the dome. He senses a presence and looks behind him. There is nothing but the faint whisper of wind on an empty hillside. She yanks hard on his arm and he turns around one last time. Too late. They are on him like a pack of mad dogs. The ground lurches beneath him and a focused energy beam freezes his mind. Double turns to triple and his world spins around. Burning pain races through his veins and locks his limbs. He staggers. They catch him and drag him up a long flight of stairs. Toss him on the ground like trash. His brain fog lifts for a moment. Three hooded figures converge on him. They see that he recognizes them. Someone among them has great power. Uses it on him and tries to send him over the edge. They try and make him forget, but a tiny part of him remembers. Watches what they do. Sees the face looming over him. Raccoon eyes. Hot hands caressing his face. Little brother. Ice cold steel clamping his lower regions like a vise. Squeezing hard and draining him dry. He wants to die. Wants it all to end. Make it stop, he screams. Mocking laughter. Their dirty work is done. Tess laughs with them. Slaps her hand against their palms. Taunting. Evil. Alien. Not remotely human. A whispered sibilance fills his mind. Erasure. Time passes. He blinks against the bright sunlight and closes his eyes. Hopes he can forget where he is and who is with him. A long beat passes and he looks again. Knows the truth. Arms and legs entwined. Stuck together. Tess lies against him, but she's not the one who haunts his dreams. Her eyes open and she smiles at him. He smiles back but there is no joy in the gesture. There is nothing but emptiness and a hole in his heart. A feeling that something is terribly wrong. That nothing will ever be the same. Someone jerks his arm and a wizened face looms before him. River Dog. The answers lie within you. Listen to your heart. Trust what it tells you.
*****
Her body seemed to float in suspended animation. Safe. Loved unconditionally. No strings. That last sentiment prodded her to open one eye. One long, sculpted arm was draped across her waist. A heavily muscled leg rested lightly against hers. Her head was nestled against a rock-solid chest. Someone's heartbeat thumped strongly in her ear. Max. Steady and reassuring. Liz needed that reassurance right now. She knew the visions were true. Knew they vindicated him and restored his honor. To imagine that someone could do this to him...ruin his life so completely...she just could not fathom it. And that damage extended to a lot of other people. Sheriff Valenti. Kyle. Alex. All had suffered greatly at Tess's hands. In the process of creating her own destiny, she had destroyed the lives of those who trusted and loved her. Liz gritted her teeth and managed to suppress her anger, but it was enough to rouse Max from a sound sleep. He murmured her name and she pushed all thoughts of the she-devil aside for later dissection. She settled against him and felt his arms tighten around her. Liz tipped her head back and saw herself mirrored in the luminous depths of his hazelnut eyes. His tears shimmered like brilliantine before dripping down his face like vapor trails painting the sky. She reached up and wiped away his wash of sorrow and felt her own eyes mist up in compassionate response. "I'm sorry."
Max kissed her forehead. "Don't be. None of this was your fault." His voice was bright with pain and remorse.
"Wasn't it?" she countered flatly. "The way I treated you...pushed you away..."
"You had good reason." His voice was laced with self-loathing. "I could have stopped this."
Liz shook her head vehemently. "No, Max. You were no match for them. She..." That hated name stuck in her throat but she continued, "Tess had help. We both saw...the others."
"But was it real?" Max asked dubiously, resting his head on his hand. "I mean, I saw River Dog. That had to be my imagination."
"It was real. I'm sure of it." Liz gripped his hand hard to emphasize her point. "Last night...did you see them behind us in the hallway?"
Max's eyes closed in pain and as much as she wanted to comfort him, it was important that he understood what had really happened. His fingers started tapping as his memories drifted in like a slow moving tide. "I saw two people. Tess and..."
"Max!" Liz pointed at his hand and he looked at her inquisitively. When he continued to pound on her headboard, she swatted him into silence. "That's proof. You were warped."
"What?"
She hadn't shared that little tidbit with him. "Kyle and Maria's mom. They did the same thing after Tess messed with their minds. I saw it with my own eyes."
"OK. It's just...well...they say hypnotists can't make you do anything against your will." Max was trying hard to blame himself and she was damned if she'd allow that. He had suffered enough for his sins.
"It's not the same. Not at all. She made Kyle...he would never have done that...would never have helped her if he knew..." Liz felt a sob building and had to keep it at bay.
"I know. But I'm not...human. I can fight back; they couldn't."
Liz sat up and kneeled in front of him. "Listen to me, Max. They ganged up on you. Four against one. You never had a chance. I saw Lonnie, and you can bet that Rath was involved too. I mean, they had a major grudge against you. When you were in New York, didn't you say they disappeared with Tess after they tried to kill you?"
Max nodded solemnly but she heard the doubt in his voice. "That's the way I remember it."
"How much time passed between the time you saw me and when you found her? Could something have gone down?" Liz had the heart of an investigator and while it made her seem cold-blooded at times, it served her really well in a crisis.
"I suppose...yeah."
"Maybe the whole trip was a setup." Liz had always wondered about this.
"I don't think...how could she..." Max shrugged.
"There's a lot we don't know about Tess. She spent a lot of time with Nasedo, and look how he turned out. He betrayed you. Her powers...the way she could draw fire. Was any of it real or was it some grand illusion? I mean, how could Nicholas be in New York? Didn't he die in the fire?" Liz pressed home her point and she saw that she was finally getting through to him.
"OK, suppose you're right. What happens next?"
Liz suppressed a smile. Everyone always fired that question at Max and she wasn't used to hearing it from his lips. "Well, I guess we watch our backs and look for your...son."
"My son." He bit off the words and frowned. "Maybe that's an illusion too."
"I wish that were true, but we have to assume...that what we saw...really happened." She tried to keep her fear from showing, but couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his ordeal.
Max gulped and nodded in agreement. "There was someone else with Tess. In the hallway...when I grabbed you..."
Liz recalled, "He was tall. Taller than Michael. And he wore...I think it was a cape. His eyes were dark. I heard his voice. Cold and arrogant. Accented."
"You remember all this?" Max asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"
"You sort of told me. When we connected last night, I must have tapped into your subconsciousness. Your memories are there, Max. All you have to do is find them."
"I'm not sure I want to find them," he admitted ruefully.
"That's understandable. What I also remember...is seeing this look in your eyes. Like you were begging for mercy. Then your whole face changed and...I've never seen you look like that. They were controlling you, just like last year when she...kissed you."
Max gazed into space with a thoughtful expression that turned to a wince. "Now that you mention it...yeah. It felt exactly like that. When I woke up on the morning after Tess and I..."
Liz lowered her eyes as the vision replayed itself in her mind. It hadn't been the happiest of moments -- seeing them together like that was almost more than she could stand. Even knowing what she knew now didn't make it completely better. "Go on," she urged quietly.
He squeezed her hand compassionately. "You shared my dreams. So you know...I felt this emptiness. It was like someone cut this huge hole in my heart and...well, they took something from me. Tried to erase it by burying it. I guess they didn't count on you, Liz."
She was stunned by the force of his feelings. "Count on me how?"
"Your strength and your determination to get at the truth and your...connection to me," Max murmured tenderly with a flash of that shy smile she loved so much. He smoothed her hair behind her ear and rested his hand lightly on the back of her neck.
Without thinking, she leaned into his hand and rested her face against his palm. When he stiffened, Liz looked at him questioningly. "Max, what's wrong?"
His hands were shaking and she caught the stab of fear in his eyes. "I don't want to screw this up. All I do is hurt you. All I've done is ruin your life."
Liz shook her head. "I disagree. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead now. You once told me that we make our own destinies. We've both made really bad choices. But those are in the past. Can't we just move forward?"
"I wish it was that simple. I wish...things could go back. But they can't and I don't see..." Max choked on his words and looked down.
Liz touched his hand. "You have to have faith that things will work out." Her smile was bittersweet, because they both remembered that awful moment last year when he had pleaded with her to have faith in him.
"Faith," he repeated, his voice empty and devoid of hope.
"But more than that, you have to believe in yourself. And I don't think you're there yet," she stated sadly, wanting to boost his spirits but not willing to give him false hope.
His shoulders sagged. "I wish I could say you were wrong. But you've been right about everything. Right about me. Right about Tess. And I look around me and see that everyone doubts me. Michael and Isabel...neither one of them respects me anymore. I see it in their eyes. Hear it in their voices when they talk to me. Before this destiny business, we used to be friends. We used to stick together. Watch each others' backs. Now all we do is fight."
"You have to earn their respect, Max. And that may take time. Maybe you have to grow into your role as a leader."
"Time is a luxury I don't have," he answered solemnly. "The world could end today. Or tomorrow. Or next year. What happens when they come for us? What if I'm not ready?"
"What if frogs had wings?" Liz joked and was gratified to see a slight smile emerge from his gloom and doom.
"Point taken."
Liz happened to glance at her watch and shrieked when she noticed the time. "Oh my God. It's 2:45. If we don't hurry, we'll be late for our final."
"Uh, Liz? Unless you have a ride, we're definitely going to be late. My Jeep is kind of..."
"Right." She knocked the side of her head. "I got it. Maria's Jetta."
Liz lunged out the door and down the stairs at top speed. In her haste, she tripped over the bottom step and collided with Maria. Max came sprawling after her and the three of them fell to the floor in a jumble of arms and legs.
With her usual wit, Maria cracked, "If you wanted to play Twister, you should have told me."
"Maria. Your car. We have to borrow it or we'll be late for our exam," Liz said breathlessly.
"Lost track of the time, huh?" Maria smirked.
"We overslept." Max's excuse was as lame as they came, but it happened to be true.
"Overslept. Right. OK." Maria fished her keys out of her pocket and dangled them in front of Liz's nose. "Here's the deal. The Jetta just came out of the shop. If anything happens...I'm sending my mother after you."
"Maria," Liz screeched as her friend held the keys just out of reach.
Maria finally took pity on her and tossed her the keys. "You owe me for this. I think maybe...a date with my cousin will even the score."
"In your dreams," was all she said as the two of them raced for the Jetta and tore out of the alley at top speed.
*******
The exam was grueling, but Max was more than ready for it. He finished early and sat quietly in the back row. Liz labored over her test and he heard her break a few pencil leads with her efforts. To kill time, he doodled on his note pad and let the events of the past 24 hours unfold in his mind. That someone could orchestrate such a monstrous chain of events...it was truly unbelievable. Unthinkable. Horrifying. Tess had hatched from the same pod as them. Her genetic material was derived from the same source as theirs, or so he had always believed. His first instincts had been correct and he should have trusted his own judgment. Don't trust her. Let no one else in. Then the dreams came. Michael and Isabel remembering their past lives. Something Tess called their awakening. But how did they know the dreams were real? What if they were planted there by Tess? Perhaps all of it came from her.
Before she arrived, none of them remembered a thing. And he only remembered his past because of Larek. Tess may have manufactured the rest of it. Filled in the blanks with a history that only existed in her imagination. What she desired and wanted for herself. After the initial dreams faded and Tess focused her attention on him exclusively, the others never repeated their dreams. And then there were the Dupes. They seemed to remember everything about Antar, just as Tess did. Liz's comment about Tess disappearing with them struck him forcibly. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that a deal had gone down. And maybe, her relationship with the Dupes went back a long way. Maybe back to the time they'd hatched. He'd always wondered why Tess hadn't hatched with the rest of them. Perhaps Tess wasn't really Tess. Perhaps Ava was the one they had left behind in the pod chamber. Because Ava wasn't like the others. They were amoral. Coarse. Without regard for human life. He'd seen them in New York. Saw how they operated. Sensed the rotten core that ran through them. That more than anything had forced his decision at the summit. For once, he'd seen everything clearly. Liz had seen to that, just like she always did. He looked over at her fondly and saw her staring into space as she searched for an answer. She chewed on her eraser and finally returned to her work. Their conversation on the way over to school had been rather interesting.
"So you saw River Dog," she commented idly as they turned a corner with a squeal of tires.
"Yeah." Max cast a glance at her and wondered if she had heard the old man's message. "Did you see him too?"
"Not exactly. It was more like a feeling that he was there. Did he say anything?"
"Sort of." He felt his face flush as the meaning of River Dog's words came back to him. Listen to your heart. Trust what it tells you. Max's heart was beating awfully fast and he knew exactly what it was telling him. Liz seemed oblivious to the blatant passion that radiated off him like waves. It consumed him like a fever and left him wasted. His feelings had always been strong, but never like this. His earlier hesitance seemed like a distant memory and he felt this overwhelming desire to grab her and never let her go.
"Can you be more specific?" Liz the scientist always wanted to cut straight to the heart of the matter. She stomped on the brakes and nearly missed hitting an innocent pedestrian. When he didn't answer, she looked over and sat back slightly at the look on his face. The elderly woman who had nearly decorated Maria's Jetta shook her fist angrily at them, but they were totally oblivious to the imaginative string of swear words she threw at them.
"More specific than this?" Max brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed her hand. He inhaled her scent and thought he had died and gone to heaven. Her breathing quickened and a low moan escaped through her lips. Message delivered. She turned her hand over and gave him an open invitation to continue. It was almost more than he could bear. What he wanted to do...he couldn't do in public. He brought her hand to his cheek and let her see his fantasy. His mouth sucking the center of her palm. His tongue tracing her lifelines. Kissing his way up her arm.
"I think I'm dying," she whispered, her dark eyes huge in her face. Her features were an exquisite tapestry that revealed every nuance of thought that passed through her mind. Liz could never hide anything from him, and she wasn't dodging him now. She started leaning toward him when the blare of an air horn tore them apart. Her lips slowly curved into a sensuous smile. "We better get going."
"Yeah," he agreed, relinquishing his hold on her hand with extreme reluctance.
In an amazing turnabout, she jumped back to their previous subject like nothing profound had just happened between them. "You know, Max, I've been thinking. River Dog wouldn't just appear like that. He's some kind of shaman, isn't he?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"Shamans are supposed to have some kind of mystical powers. Some even believe they can shape-shift. Maybe River Dog can communicate with you...like you connect with me. You know," Liz looked over and added, "In dreams. Maybe he was trying to contact you."
"I haven't seen him for two years, Liz. Why now?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, but maybe you should find out."
"You mean go to the Rez? I wasn't exactly welcome there on my last visit," Max reminded her.
"I think it's important. You should check it out," Liz suggested.
"Only if you come with me. How about tomorrow night?"
"Tomorrow night?" Her voice squeaked oddly and she wouldn't look at him. "I have to...I have plans."
"What kind of plans?" Max didn't like the way she was avoiding his eyes.
"The Astronomy Club is having a star party. I invited Kyle to come with me," Liz explained. The Jetta squealed to a halt and she jumped out of the car. "Here we are. We better dash or we'll miss the exam."
He returned to the present and saw that Liz was finishing up. She sighed in relief and noticed him staring at her. "That was tough," she whispered.
"I didn't think it was so bad," he commented as they filed to the front of the room. "But then, I studied for half the night."
"Right." Liz dropped off her test and stopped dead in her tracks. Kyle was waiting in the doorway and was motioning for her to come out in the hall. "Max, I'll be right back."
"OK," he said to himself and wondered what was she hiding from him. He watched from the doorway as Kyle gestured with one hand and pointed at a flyer on the wall. Max sidled closer and managed to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Why did they change it to tonight?" Liz asked.
"Something about more rain in the forecast for Friday," Kyle explained.
"I'm supposed to work, but I guess I can switch with someone."
"Liz, what's so important about this star party? And why me? Why not Heckle over there?" Kyle jabbed his thumb toward Max.
She frowned at Max for spying on them and drew Kyle further down the hall. The two of them waved their hands at one another as they discussed their plans and it ended with Kyle brushing past him with a strained look on his face and Liz trudging up to him with disappointment etched on her brow. "Let's go," she muttered flatly.
He caught her elbow and turned her to face him. "Don't do this, Liz. After all we've been through, the least you could do is be straight with me. I know you're up to something, so you might as well tell me what it is."
Liz stared at his fingers with something akin to dread and he dropped his hand. "We're going to a star party at the Roswell Observatory. That's it. End of story."
"You can't..." His teeth bit down hard on his tongue and drew blood when he realized what he was doing. Issuing orders. Falling back on his old habits. Trying to control everyone around him. And judging from the angry look on Liz's face, she did not appreciate it one bit. He amended his response. "I mean, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Max, it's a star party. We set up telescopes and look at the stars. What's the harm in that?" Liz asked.
Max could think of a million reasons why she shouldn't go, but he recognized that stubborn look in her eyes and knew it was hopeless. Her tenaciousness had saved his ass on a number of occasions. Isabel and Michael also owed her a life debt. If Liz hadn't persisted in her investigation, then they'd probably be on their way to Antar and their ultimate executions. Nothing he could say to her would make a difference. Something was nagging at her, pulling her toward the observatory. Maybe that something was coming from him on some level. "What if I asked you not to go? What if I told you...that what you find there will hurt you? That you may not like the answers you find? Would that change your mind?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to do this," she insisted.
"At least let me come with you." Max framed it as a suggestion, but something in his voice seemed to irk her and he knew it had sounded like an order.
"No, thank you," she replied politely, looking at the ground. "Kyle already said he'd go with me."
"He didn't seem too happy about it," Max commented.
"Max," her voice started rising, "I don't want to discuss this anymore."
"Can you at least tell me why?" Her attitude puzzled him. Hadn't he gotten through to her in the car? Hadn't their shared dreams and visions sent the point home to her? Didn't she know they belonged together and that apart, they were weakened? Aliens needed humans desperately. Their differences complemented one another. Look at Michael. No one had changed more than him in the last year. Max wished he could say the same about himself. If anything, he felt more lost than ever.
Liz was flustered and she laid her head in her hands. "I can't..."
"Please don't shut me out," he begged and something in her eyes softened and shifted to pity.
"I can't explain this without hurting you. But since you ask, I feel compelled to go on this outing with someone who's..." Liz chewed on her lip as she struggled for the right words, but it was too late. He heard the words 'not alien' ring clearly in her mind. It cut to the bone and he staggered back against the wall. She tried touching his shoulder but he flinched away from her. "Max, please try to understand."
"What I understand is that you don't want to be with me. That my being... alien...is something you no longer accept." His voice was hoarse and gravelly, and even to him, it scraped like an open wound with its rawness.
"That's not true," Liz insisted as he started away from her.
"Isn't it?" he countered as she caught up to him, keeping pace with her short legs. "I heard what you said, Liz."
Liz cut him off and stood squarely in front of him. She raised her eyes to his and he could see the terror shimmering there along with a dozen other emotions. Neither one of them was dealing with this well. The changes in them. The connection between them. It scared her. Hell, it scared him. Reading her mind was not high on his list of pleasurable activities, at least, not in this context. And yet, it seemed to be occurring more frequently and more intensely with every passing moment. "You shouldn't have...you weren't meant to hear that. Those were private thoughts. And it wasn't about you."
There was no admonishment in her voice, but it didn't matter. Max lowered his voice, "Not about me? How can it be about anyone but me?"
Liz laid her hand gently on his arm, which was in stark contrast to the way he had grabbed her elbow. "Max, this is about me. It's about the marks on my arm. There's something inside me that I can't figure out. I have to find out what it means and the answer lies at the observatory. Something is drawing me there. I wish I could explain it better, but I can't."
He wanted to apologize. Tell her he was sorry to have interfered in her life and put her at risk. Ask for her forgiveness for inadvertently reading her mind because of this connection between them. And more than all of that, he wanted to expunge the fear that now ruled her life. But he never got that chance, because something caused Liz to jump away in shock. Her body went on alert and she seemed to withdraw into herself.
Continued in Part Three
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part One
"From the orbs."
"Right. So this...it's..."
"Different." Her voice trembled. "Scary stuff."
"That's why I came," he explained. "I had to know...about these." Max pulled his shirt sleeve to his elbow and she gasped at the marks on his forearm.
"I don't understand." Liz offered up her own arm for inspection.
"I mean, I've heard of matching tattoos, but this is...well, a bit much," Max stated wryly with a hint of a smile. Liz knew he was trying to calm her fears, but he was scared too. It hovered behind the humor, waiting to swoop down and consume them both.
"They flare up," Liz said with a wan smile, hoping he couldn't sense her uneasiness. Her earlier conversation with Maria and the suspicion that something unnatural lurked inside her returned in full force.
"Flare up...when you see things? Like visions?" Max guessed.
"Yeah," Liz agreed with a furrowed brow as she relived every harrowing moment of her nightmares. They swirled through her head in kaleidoscopic formation and dragged her along with them.
"Liz? Are you OK?" Max's hand waved in front of her face and brought her back to reality. Then she became aware of her wet clothes and how little she was wearing.
Maria appeared in the doorway with bath towels and a pile of clothes. She grinned knowingly and dropped her burden on Liz's bed. "Thought you might need these. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
"Thanks," Liz called. "I think you've covered everything."
"Not everything," Maria joked, referring to Liz's dishabille. She grabbed her antennae from the chair and wiggled them saucily before moving off to start the morning shift.
"I better get changed." Liz grabbed her robe and wrapped it tight around her. Just before disappearing into the safety of her bathroom, she caught Max's shy but appreciative smile. Once she had the door closed, Liz peered down at the T-shirt that clung to her like a second skin and the underwear that rode low on her hips. Every inch of her was clearly defined.
As she stripped and changed into dry clothes, she was bemused by the way he had just appeared at her window at the crack of dawn. The sight of him had sent a spear of joy straight through her heart. That initial rush of happiness had been so profound and searing that it scared her to death. Where was her anger and her strength in fending him off? Where was her stiff upper lip and her backbone? Maria would say her spine had been surgically removed, but then Maria was the queen of jellyfish when it came to warding off Michael. Liz turned it over in her mind and searched for the anger that had hardened her heart for so long, but her rage was strangely absent. Perhaps her visions had served their purpose after all. Perhaps...she could forgive him and most importantly, maybe someday she could forgive herself for pushing him away.
Liz tossed her clothes in the hamper and peeked around her doorway in time to see Max remove his shirt. "Sorry." She headed straight for her desk and buried her face in her notes. Maybe some formulas would cool her jets and help her forget the sight of those beautifully sculpted muscles on his back and arms. Balancing an equation or two would squelch any lewd thoughts about poetry in motion and the way those muscles flexed when he moved. Max appeared at her elbow with his wet clothes folded neatly. He smiled hesitantly and touched her shoulder with one hand. That mixture of shyness and his inherently sweet nature was a major turn-on and Liz had to remind herself to breathe. "I can throw those in the dryer if you want," she offered and nodded toward the laundry basket at the foot of her bed.
"Thanks." Max did as she suggested. He looked down at his baggy jeans and T-shirt. "Are these your Dad's clothes?"
"Yeah. He used to be your size...until he discovered beer." Liz grinned as Max pulled out at least 6 inches of waistband.
"So your father...is he home?"
"They're both at a conference for a few days."
"Oh." Max sounded absurdly pleased by that fact. "So it's OK that I'm here?"
His presence was totally against the house rules, but Liz didn't care. "It's totally OK."
"Ah." Max knew she was fibbing but wasn't inclined to call her out on it.
"So maybe we can study or something," she suggested with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Study. Sure." Max deliberately looked at her bed before looking back at her with a deceptively innocent expression. She grabbed her notes and pulled up a second chair to the desk before they got to work.
*****
"I think I'm ready." Liz pushed her notes aside and laid her pen down with a sigh. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms overhead.
"Ready for what?" Max started, wondering if she was referring to the exam or the forbidden topic that weighed on them both.
"The exam." She was playing it safe and he supposed he couldn't blame her, but they had to talk about it sometime.
"Me too. Uh, Liz, we really should talk about...you know." He nodded toward her arm.
"OK." She rested her chin on her hand and waited for him to start.
"Last night. I saw things...felt things...which I can't explain. I heard you crying. Saw you here. With Maria." Max sat back in his chair and watched her face carefully. Her normally open expression was guarded, and more than a little fear flickered behind the exhaustion in her eyes.
"I saw you too. It was like..." Her gaze drifted to the ceiling as she searched for the right words. "New York. Except...did you dreamwalk me, Max?"
Max nodded reluctantly. He had always disliked it when Isabel invaded people's dreams, but this was different. This was Liz. She might be the only person in the world who could understand what he was going through and she might be the only person he could dreamwalk. "I was looking for answers."
"And did you find what you were looking for?" Liz inquired as she laid her head on the desk and yawned.
"Maybe."
"So what did you see?" she asked lightly.
"I saw dancing. Heard music. Sheryl Crow. There were flowers. White roses. It was the night I...the night we...ended." Max swallowed hard and looked pointedly at her bed. The image of her and Kyle was burned on his retinas and he could never erase it from his mind. Knowing the truth didn't change the facts that something had gone down, that his life had ended on that night.
His own pain was reflected in her eyes and it prompted him to take her hand. That slight touch was all it took to kick him straight into her head.
Her and Kyle. Together in bed. His own reflection in the window. A look of stunned horror freezing his smile and turning it to stone. There was someone else there, peering around a corner. Long, graying hair. Leather. Knee high boots. Not a stoner or a biker. Not some hippie freak. Himself. Future Max.
His face gripped with agonizing pain as he watched the scene play out. Liz gripped his hand hard and her voice stated hypnotically, "He came to me that night. The granolith brought him to our dimension. He told me I had to make you fall out of love with me. That Tess was ready to leave town and her staying was critical."
"Is that why...?" Max looked at the bed and all the pieces fell into place. Her spying on him and Tess from Whitaker's office. Showing up at his house with that long speech about Romeo and Juliet. Cutting his heart out and feeding it to the dogs. Taking up with Kyle. Her cryptic comments about the granolith and her stubborn refusal to explain her meaning. At some level, he had never stopped believing in her. Now that time had given him some distance, he realized that he had always doubted the events of that night.
"Yes. He said...you said that all our lives depended on it. Oh, Max, what else could I do? I couldn't let you die," Liz cried as she jumped up and starting pacing around the desk. "Before he left, he said maybe I belonged with humans. That maybe I was better off without you. But you see, that just isn't true. Everyone else would be second best because..."
Max caught her arm and stopped her in mid-stride. Like a bird interrupted during takeoff, she flopped awkwardly until his hands steadied her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let this happen...to us? You could have stopped this."
Liz closed her eyes and tears streaked down her face as she reclaimed her desk chair. "I know that now, but then...he had faith in me. Trusted me to do as he asked. I couldn't let you down, Max. I'm sorry, but there it is. Now that...Tess is gone, none of it matters...the sacrifice I made...it was a total waste. I destroyed what we had and created more problems for all of you."
"That's not entirely true." Max hung his head as he let the tidewaters of his own guilt come rushing in. "I think there's still hope...for us."
Liz's only answer was a slight squeeze to his hand before sleep claimed her. Her head fell backwards as she slumped sideways in the chair. Max picked her up gently and carried her to the bed. Liz curved her body into a ball and was drawn into the slumber of the totally exhausted. He sat at the foot of the bed and a short time later, his eyelids grew heavy. Without thinking of the repercussions, he curled up behind her with a protective arm around her waist.
*****
Tess kisses him. The moonlight caresses her hair. She belongs to the night. Melds and moves with it. She leads him by the hand and pulls him toward the dome. He senses a presence and looks behind him. There is nothing but the faint whisper of wind on an empty hillside. She yanks hard on his arm and he turns around one last time. Too late. They are on him like a pack of mad dogs. The ground lurches beneath him and a focused energy beam freezes his mind. Double turns to triple and his world spins around. Burning pain races through his veins and locks his limbs. He staggers. They catch him and drag him up a long flight of stairs. Toss him on the ground like trash. His brain fog lifts for a moment. Three hooded figures converge on him. They see that he recognizes them. Someone among them has great power. Uses it on him and tries to send him over the edge. They try and make him forget, but a tiny part of him remembers. Watches what they do. Sees the face looming over him. Raccoon eyes. Hot hands caressing his face. Little brother. Ice cold steel clamping his lower regions like a vise. Squeezing hard and draining him dry. He wants to die. Wants it all to end. Make it stop, he screams. Mocking laughter. Their dirty work is done. Tess laughs with them. Slaps her hand against their palms. Taunting. Evil. Alien. Not remotely human. A whispered sibilance fills his mind. Erasure. Time passes. He blinks against the bright sunlight and closes his eyes. Hopes he can forget where he is and who is with him. A long beat passes and he looks again. Knows the truth. Arms and legs entwined. Stuck together. Tess lies against him, but she's not the one who haunts his dreams. Her eyes open and she smiles at him. He smiles back but there is no joy in the gesture. There is nothing but emptiness and a hole in his heart. A feeling that something is terribly wrong. That nothing will ever be the same. Someone jerks his arm and a wizened face looms before him. River Dog. The answers lie within you. Listen to your heart. Trust what it tells you.
*****
Her body seemed to float in suspended animation. Safe. Loved unconditionally. No strings. That last sentiment prodded her to open one eye. One long, sculpted arm was draped across her waist. A heavily muscled leg rested lightly against hers. Her head was nestled against a rock-solid chest. Someone's heartbeat thumped strongly in her ear. Max. Steady and reassuring. Liz needed that reassurance right now. She knew the visions were true. Knew they vindicated him and restored his honor. To imagine that someone could do this to him...ruin his life so completely...she just could not fathom it. And that damage extended to a lot of other people. Sheriff Valenti. Kyle. Alex. All had suffered greatly at Tess's hands. In the process of creating her own destiny, she had destroyed the lives of those who trusted and loved her. Liz gritted her teeth and managed to suppress her anger, but it was enough to rouse Max from a sound sleep. He murmured her name and she pushed all thoughts of the she-devil aside for later dissection. She settled against him and felt his arms tighten around her. Liz tipped her head back and saw herself mirrored in the luminous depths of his hazelnut eyes. His tears shimmered like brilliantine before dripping down his face like vapor trails painting the sky. She reached up and wiped away his wash of sorrow and felt her own eyes mist up in compassionate response. "I'm sorry."
Max kissed her forehead. "Don't be. None of this was your fault." His voice was bright with pain and remorse.
"Wasn't it?" she countered flatly. "The way I treated you...pushed you away..."
"You had good reason." His voice was laced with self-loathing. "I could have stopped this."
Liz shook her head vehemently. "No, Max. You were no match for them. She..." That hated name stuck in her throat but she continued, "Tess had help. We both saw...the others."
"But was it real?" Max asked dubiously, resting his head on his hand. "I mean, I saw River Dog. That had to be my imagination."
"It was real. I'm sure of it." Liz gripped his hand hard to emphasize her point. "Last night...did you see them behind us in the hallway?"
Max's eyes closed in pain and as much as she wanted to comfort him, it was important that he understood what had really happened. His fingers started tapping as his memories drifted in like a slow moving tide. "I saw two people. Tess and..."
"Max!" Liz pointed at his hand and he looked at her inquisitively. When he continued to pound on her headboard, she swatted him into silence. "That's proof. You were warped."
"What?"
She hadn't shared that little tidbit with him. "Kyle and Maria's mom. They did the same thing after Tess messed with their minds. I saw it with my own eyes."
"OK. It's just...well...they say hypnotists can't make you do anything against your will." Max was trying hard to blame himself and she was damned if she'd allow that. He had suffered enough for his sins.
"It's not the same. Not at all. She made Kyle...he would never have done that...would never have helped her if he knew..." Liz felt a sob building and had to keep it at bay.
"I know. But I'm not...human. I can fight back; they couldn't."
Liz sat up and kneeled in front of him. "Listen to me, Max. They ganged up on you. Four against one. You never had a chance. I saw Lonnie, and you can bet that Rath was involved too. I mean, they had a major grudge against you. When you were in New York, didn't you say they disappeared with Tess after they tried to kill you?"
Max nodded solemnly but she heard the doubt in his voice. "That's the way I remember it."
"How much time passed between the time you saw me and when you found her? Could something have gone down?" Liz had the heart of an investigator and while it made her seem cold-blooded at times, it served her really well in a crisis.
"I suppose...yeah."
"Maybe the whole trip was a setup." Liz had always wondered about this.
"I don't think...how could she..." Max shrugged.
"There's a lot we don't know about Tess. She spent a lot of time with Nasedo, and look how he turned out. He betrayed you. Her powers...the way she could draw fire. Was any of it real or was it some grand illusion? I mean, how could Nicholas be in New York? Didn't he die in the fire?" Liz pressed home her point and she saw that she was finally getting through to him.
"OK, suppose you're right. What happens next?"
Liz suppressed a smile. Everyone always fired that question at Max and she wasn't used to hearing it from his lips. "Well, I guess we watch our backs and look for your...son."
"My son." He bit off the words and frowned. "Maybe that's an illusion too."
"I wish that were true, but we have to assume...that what we saw...really happened." She tried to keep her fear from showing, but couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his ordeal.
Max gulped and nodded in agreement. "There was someone else with Tess. In the hallway...when I grabbed you..."
Liz recalled, "He was tall. Taller than Michael. And he wore...I think it was a cape. His eyes were dark. I heard his voice. Cold and arrogant. Accented."
"You remember all this?" Max asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"
"You sort of told me. When we connected last night, I must have tapped into your subconsciousness. Your memories are there, Max. All you have to do is find them."
"I'm not sure I want to find them," he admitted ruefully.
"That's understandable. What I also remember...is seeing this look in your eyes. Like you were begging for mercy. Then your whole face changed and...I've never seen you look like that. They were controlling you, just like last year when she...kissed you."
Max gazed into space with a thoughtful expression that turned to a wince. "Now that you mention it...yeah. It felt exactly like that. When I woke up on the morning after Tess and I..."
Liz lowered her eyes as the vision replayed itself in her mind. It hadn't been the happiest of moments -- seeing them together like that was almost more than she could stand. Even knowing what she knew now didn't make it completely better. "Go on," she urged quietly.
He squeezed her hand compassionately. "You shared my dreams. So you know...I felt this emptiness. It was like someone cut this huge hole in my heart and...well, they took something from me. Tried to erase it by burying it. I guess they didn't count on you, Liz."
She was stunned by the force of his feelings. "Count on me how?"
"Your strength and your determination to get at the truth and your...connection to me," Max murmured tenderly with a flash of that shy smile she loved so much. He smoothed her hair behind her ear and rested his hand lightly on the back of her neck.
Without thinking, she leaned into his hand and rested her face against his palm. When he stiffened, Liz looked at him questioningly. "Max, what's wrong?"
His hands were shaking and she caught the stab of fear in his eyes. "I don't want to screw this up. All I do is hurt you. All I've done is ruin your life."
Liz shook her head. "I disagree. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead now. You once told me that we make our own destinies. We've both made really bad choices. But those are in the past. Can't we just move forward?"
"I wish it was that simple. I wish...things could go back. But they can't and I don't see..." Max choked on his words and looked down.
Liz touched his hand. "You have to have faith that things will work out." Her smile was bittersweet, because they both remembered that awful moment last year when he had pleaded with her to have faith in him.
"Faith," he repeated, his voice empty and devoid of hope.
"But more than that, you have to believe in yourself. And I don't think you're there yet," she stated sadly, wanting to boost his spirits but not willing to give him false hope.
His shoulders sagged. "I wish I could say you were wrong. But you've been right about everything. Right about me. Right about Tess. And I look around me and see that everyone doubts me. Michael and Isabel...neither one of them respects me anymore. I see it in their eyes. Hear it in their voices when they talk to me. Before this destiny business, we used to be friends. We used to stick together. Watch each others' backs. Now all we do is fight."
"You have to earn their respect, Max. And that may take time. Maybe you have to grow into your role as a leader."
"Time is a luxury I don't have," he answered solemnly. "The world could end today. Or tomorrow. Or next year. What happens when they come for us? What if I'm not ready?"
"What if frogs had wings?" Liz joked and was gratified to see a slight smile emerge from his gloom and doom.
"Point taken."
Liz happened to glance at her watch and shrieked when she noticed the time. "Oh my God. It's 2:45. If we don't hurry, we'll be late for our final."
"Uh, Liz? Unless you have a ride, we're definitely going to be late. My Jeep is kind of..."
"Right." She knocked the side of her head. "I got it. Maria's Jetta."
Liz lunged out the door and down the stairs at top speed. In her haste, she tripped over the bottom step and collided with Maria. Max came sprawling after her and the three of them fell to the floor in a jumble of arms and legs.
With her usual wit, Maria cracked, "If you wanted to play Twister, you should have told me."
"Maria. Your car. We have to borrow it or we'll be late for our exam," Liz said breathlessly.
"Lost track of the time, huh?" Maria smirked.
"We overslept." Max's excuse was as lame as they came, but it happened to be true.
"Overslept. Right. OK." Maria fished her keys out of her pocket and dangled them in front of Liz's nose. "Here's the deal. The Jetta just came out of the shop. If anything happens...I'm sending my mother after you."
"Maria," Liz screeched as her friend held the keys just out of reach.
Maria finally took pity on her and tossed her the keys. "You owe me for this. I think maybe...a date with my cousin will even the score."
"In your dreams," was all she said as the two of them raced for the Jetta and tore out of the alley at top speed.
*******
The exam was grueling, but Max was more than ready for it. He finished early and sat quietly in the back row. Liz labored over her test and he heard her break a few pencil leads with her efforts. To kill time, he doodled on his note pad and let the events of the past 24 hours unfold in his mind. That someone could orchestrate such a monstrous chain of events...it was truly unbelievable. Unthinkable. Horrifying. Tess had hatched from the same pod as them. Her genetic material was derived from the same source as theirs, or so he had always believed. His first instincts had been correct and he should have trusted his own judgment. Don't trust her. Let no one else in. Then the dreams came. Michael and Isabel remembering their past lives. Something Tess called their awakening. But how did they know the dreams were real? What if they were planted there by Tess? Perhaps all of it came from her.
Before she arrived, none of them remembered a thing. And he only remembered his past because of Larek. Tess may have manufactured the rest of it. Filled in the blanks with a history that only existed in her imagination. What she desired and wanted for herself. After the initial dreams faded and Tess focused her attention on him exclusively, the others never repeated their dreams. And then there were the Dupes. They seemed to remember everything about Antar, just as Tess did. Liz's comment about Tess disappearing with them struck him forcibly. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that a deal had gone down. And maybe, her relationship with the Dupes went back a long way. Maybe back to the time they'd hatched. He'd always wondered why Tess hadn't hatched with the rest of them. Perhaps Tess wasn't really Tess. Perhaps Ava was the one they had left behind in the pod chamber. Because Ava wasn't like the others. They were amoral. Coarse. Without regard for human life. He'd seen them in New York. Saw how they operated. Sensed the rotten core that ran through them. That more than anything had forced his decision at the summit. For once, he'd seen everything clearly. Liz had seen to that, just like she always did. He looked over at her fondly and saw her staring into space as she searched for an answer. She chewed on her eraser and finally returned to her work. Their conversation on the way over to school had been rather interesting.
"So you saw River Dog," she commented idly as they turned a corner with a squeal of tires.
"Yeah." Max cast a glance at her and wondered if she had heard the old man's message. "Did you see him too?"
"Not exactly. It was more like a feeling that he was there. Did he say anything?"
"Sort of." He felt his face flush as the meaning of River Dog's words came back to him. Listen to your heart. Trust what it tells you. Max's heart was beating awfully fast and he knew exactly what it was telling him. Liz seemed oblivious to the blatant passion that radiated off him like waves. It consumed him like a fever and left him wasted. His feelings had always been strong, but never like this. His earlier hesitance seemed like a distant memory and he felt this overwhelming desire to grab her and never let her go.
"Can you be more specific?" Liz the scientist always wanted to cut straight to the heart of the matter. She stomped on the brakes and nearly missed hitting an innocent pedestrian. When he didn't answer, she looked over and sat back slightly at the look on his face. The elderly woman who had nearly decorated Maria's Jetta shook her fist angrily at them, but they were totally oblivious to the imaginative string of swear words she threw at them.
"More specific than this?" Max brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed her hand. He inhaled her scent and thought he had died and gone to heaven. Her breathing quickened and a low moan escaped through her lips. Message delivered. She turned her hand over and gave him an open invitation to continue. It was almost more than he could bear. What he wanted to do...he couldn't do in public. He brought her hand to his cheek and let her see his fantasy. His mouth sucking the center of her palm. His tongue tracing her lifelines. Kissing his way up her arm.
"I think I'm dying," she whispered, her dark eyes huge in her face. Her features were an exquisite tapestry that revealed every nuance of thought that passed through her mind. Liz could never hide anything from him, and she wasn't dodging him now. She started leaning toward him when the blare of an air horn tore them apart. Her lips slowly curved into a sensuous smile. "We better get going."
"Yeah," he agreed, relinquishing his hold on her hand with extreme reluctance.
In an amazing turnabout, she jumped back to their previous subject like nothing profound had just happened between them. "You know, Max, I've been thinking. River Dog wouldn't just appear like that. He's some kind of shaman, isn't he?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"Shamans are supposed to have some kind of mystical powers. Some even believe they can shape-shift. Maybe River Dog can communicate with you...like you connect with me. You know," Liz looked over and added, "In dreams. Maybe he was trying to contact you."
"I haven't seen him for two years, Liz. Why now?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, but maybe you should find out."
"You mean go to the Rez? I wasn't exactly welcome there on my last visit," Max reminded her.
"I think it's important. You should check it out," Liz suggested.
"Only if you come with me. How about tomorrow night?"
"Tomorrow night?" Her voice squeaked oddly and she wouldn't look at him. "I have to...I have plans."
"What kind of plans?" Max didn't like the way she was avoiding his eyes.
"The Astronomy Club is having a star party. I invited Kyle to come with me," Liz explained. The Jetta squealed to a halt and she jumped out of the car. "Here we are. We better dash or we'll miss the exam."
He returned to the present and saw that Liz was finishing up. She sighed in relief and noticed him staring at her. "That was tough," she whispered.
"I didn't think it was so bad," he commented as they filed to the front of the room. "But then, I studied for half the night."
"Right." Liz dropped off her test and stopped dead in her tracks. Kyle was waiting in the doorway and was motioning for her to come out in the hall. "Max, I'll be right back."
"OK," he said to himself and wondered what was she hiding from him. He watched from the doorway as Kyle gestured with one hand and pointed at a flyer on the wall. Max sidled closer and managed to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Why did they change it to tonight?" Liz asked.
"Something about more rain in the forecast for Friday," Kyle explained.
"I'm supposed to work, but I guess I can switch with someone."
"Liz, what's so important about this star party? And why me? Why not Heckle over there?" Kyle jabbed his thumb toward Max.
She frowned at Max for spying on them and drew Kyle further down the hall. The two of them waved their hands at one another as they discussed their plans and it ended with Kyle brushing past him with a strained look on his face and Liz trudging up to him with disappointment etched on her brow. "Let's go," she muttered flatly.
He caught her elbow and turned her to face him. "Don't do this, Liz. After all we've been through, the least you could do is be straight with me. I know you're up to something, so you might as well tell me what it is."
Liz stared at his fingers with something akin to dread and he dropped his hand. "We're going to a star party at the Roswell Observatory. That's it. End of story."
"You can't..." His teeth bit down hard on his tongue and drew blood when he realized what he was doing. Issuing orders. Falling back on his old habits. Trying to control everyone around him. And judging from the angry look on Liz's face, she did not appreciate it one bit. He amended his response. "I mean, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Max, it's a star party. We set up telescopes and look at the stars. What's the harm in that?" Liz asked.
Max could think of a million reasons why she shouldn't go, but he recognized that stubborn look in her eyes and knew it was hopeless. Her tenaciousness had saved his ass on a number of occasions. Isabel and Michael also owed her a life debt. If Liz hadn't persisted in her investigation, then they'd probably be on their way to Antar and their ultimate executions. Nothing he could say to her would make a difference. Something was nagging at her, pulling her toward the observatory. Maybe that something was coming from him on some level. "What if I asked you not to go? What if I told you...that what you find there will hurt you? That you may not like the answers you find? Would that change your mind?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to do this," she insisted.
"At least let me come with you." Max framed it as a suggestion, but something in his voice seemed to irk her and he knew it had sounded like an order.
"No, thank you," she replied politely, looking at the ground. "Kyle already said he'd go with me."
"He didn't seem too happy about it," Max commented.
"Max," her voice started rising, "I don't want to discuss this anymore."
"Can you at least tell me why?" Her attitude puzzled him. Hadn't he gotten through to her in the car? Hadn't their shared dreams and visions sent the point home to her? Didn't she know they belonged together and that apart, they were weakened? Aliens needed humans desperately. Their differences complemented one another. Look at Michael. No one had changed more than him in the last year. Max wished he could say the same about himself. If anything, he felt more lost than ever.
Liz was flustered and she laid her head in her hands. "I can't..."
"Please don't shut me out," he begged and something in her eyes softened and shifted to pity.
"I can't explain this without hurting you. But since you ask, I feel compelled to go on this outing with someone who's..." Liz chewed on her lip as she struggled for the right words, but it was too late. He heard the words 'not alien' ring clearly in her mind. It cut to the bone and he staggered back against the wall. She tried touching his shoulder but he flinched away from her. "Max, please try to understand."
"What I understand is that you don't want to be with me. That my being... alien...is something you no longer accept." His voice was hoarse and gravelly, and even to him, it scraped like an open wound with its rawness.
"That's not true," Liz insisted as he started away from her.
"Isn't it?" he countered as she caught up to him, keeping pace with her short legs. "I heard what you said, Liz."
Liz cut him off and stood squarely in front of him. She raised her eyes to his and he could see the terror shimmering there along with a dozen other emotions. Neither one of them was dealing with this well. The changes in them. The connection between them. It scared her. Hell, it scared him. Reading her mind was not high on his list of pleasurable activities, at least, not in this context. And yet, it seemed to be occurring more frequently and more intensely with every passing moment. "You shouldn't have...you weren't meant to hear that. Those were private thoughts. And it wasn't about you."
There was no admonishment in her voice, but it didn't matter. Max lowered his voice, "Not about me? How can it be about anyone but me?"
Liz laid her hand gently on his arm, which was in stark contrast to the way he had grabbed her elbow. "Max, this is about me. It's about the marks on my arm. There's something inside me that I can't figure out. I have to find out what it means and the answer lies at the observatory. Something is drawing me there. I wish I could explain it better, but I can't."
He wanted to apologize. Tell her he was sorry to have interfered in her life and put her at risk. Ask for her forgiveness for inadvertently reading her mind because of this connection between them. And more than all of that, he wanted to expunge the fear that now ruled her life. But he never got that chance, because something caused Liz to jump away in shock. Her body went on alert and she seemed to withdraw into herself.
Continued in Part Three
Last edited by Peregrine on Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
True North-M/L-PG-13, 3/5
Title: True North-Roswell, 3/5
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Two
*****
"What is it?" Something wasn't right. A vague feeling of unease crawled along his spine and he looked around in all directions.
"You know that expression about someone walking on your grave?"
"Sure."
"It was like that," she intoned ominously. "I better go. You need a lift?"
Max shook his head. "No thanks. Maybe I'll catch you later."
"OK." Liz turned away from him and dragged herself down the hall. She turned for a moment and stared back at him and that creepy-crawly feeling returned in force. With one last glance at the corridor behind him, she fled up the stairs and disappeared.
He followed in her wake and headed out into the desert air. If he walked straight for a few miles, he'd end up on Route 70 and could hitch a ride to the Rez. Since he was out this way, he might as well find out what River Dog wanted.
******
Liz frowned at herself in the mirror as her mother announced Kyle's arrival. Black on black with a dash of red. Her best colors. Great for a winter's night, but hardly standard fare for summer. In fact, she was perfectly dressed for a funeral and wondered if it was her own. Was this star party some fool's errand? She jogged down the stairs and smiled at Kyle.
"You look...hot," he commented dryly. Liz wore black jeans, black boots, and a sleeveless red knit top. "I mean, it's a hundred degrees out there."
"Did Buddha tell you that?" she cracked as they got into his Mustang and headed out of town towards the observatory.
"So help me, if one more person gives me crap about Buddha...my dad was on me about my incense sticks."
"Sorry, Kyle." Liz caught the weather forecast on his radio and they predicted an early start to the rain. "Hey, I thought the rain was supposed to hold off till tomorrow."
"What can I say? I can't control the weather. Maybe you should put in a special request with your local Martians," Kyle quipped with his usual sarcasm.
"I wish you wouldn't call them that. It's not very..."
"Polite? Since when have I ever been polite when it came to this alien business? Everything about them sucks. They destroy everything and everyone around them. Am I supposed to be happy that Heckle healed me? 'Cuz right about now, I wish he hadn't." Kyle was royally pissed at his personal situation.
"You don't mean that," she said forcefully. "Don't ever wish your life away."
"What life? What do I have to look forward to? My dad sits home and does woodworking projects and broods the rest of the time. He has no employment prospects and you know, it gets real old after awhile." Kyle was bitter and she guessed she couldn't blame him.
"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you."
"There is. Stop apologizing. You sound just like my dad and I'm tired of listening to it. I wish he would...just do something instead of complaining about everything. I mean, look what he got for helping your alien goons. He lost his job, which was his whole life. Some thanks he gets for defending them," Kyle snapped. She swallowed and looked away, not knowing what to say and knowing that anything she said to protect Max was indefensible. The silence grew uncomfortable and Kyle finally said, "Look, this isn't your fault. You just happen to be..."
"A convenient target?"
"Something like that." Kyle pulled into the parking lot and said brightly, "Tra-la-la. Here we are. Shall we follow the dancing telescopes?"
He was referring to the sign flashing by the edge of the parking lot that directed them to the star party's location in the field behind the twin domes. The grass was flattened from the passing of the horde that dotted the hillside and Kyle saw another opportunity to poke fun at aliens. "Hey, is this one of those crop circles? Ooh, how exciting."
Liz sighed in frustration. "Look, Kyle..."
"Am I spoiling your evening, Liz? Sorry to rain on your parade, but you insisted on inviting me. Said it was 'really important' that I accompany you, though God knows why," Kyle commented. "Seems to me that Spaceboy would have been a better choice."
"I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to about...you know." She knew what he meant about the alien business and sometimes it was suffocating. "And I kind of needed a break from..."
"Max and all his angst? Gee, I wonder why."
They came to the first bank of telescopes and Liz stopped cold. She felt something crawling along her spine. It was the same spooky feeling she'd gotten at school during her tiff with Max. Someone was watching them. At close range.
Kyle had continued a few paces past her and suddenly noticed she wasn't with him. "Liz? What is it?"
"There's something...someone here."
"No kidding. I see at least a few dozen geeks. Since when do they scare you?"
"Not them. I'm talking about...something alien." Liz did a 360 and tried to pinpoint the source of her anxiety. Nothing immediate came to mind, but the trees lining the edge of the field would provide good cover for someone.
"Oh, great. Heckle followed us and plans on killing us both with his deathray. Tell me something I don't know." Kyle survived by poking fun at the world around him, and lately, that world was full of UFOs and aliens.
"This isn't funny, Kyle." Something in her voice got through to him and he took her arm in his. "I'm really scared."
"Is this why you asked me along? You needed a bodyguard?" Kyle didn't sound like he minded that role.
"I needed a friend. Someone...human. At first, I wanted to ask you about mindwarping. What it felt like. How you know when you've been warped."
"You don't. Not until you start getting these freaky visions and it feels like insects are crawling in your head." Kyle led her over to an unoccupied telescope. "You know how to operate one of these things?"
"Umm, yeah." Liz looked through the eyepiece and tried not to think about the ice cold fist wrapping itself around her. It was a hot night and she felt positively glacial. "You know, that kind of sounds like a drug trip."
"Exactly what I said. Maybe that's the point. If you tell someone about it, they'll think you're smoking crack. So what are we looking for?"
"Barnard's Star." Liz straightened suddenly and stumbled backwards. Kyle caught her arm and helped her maintain her balance "No, I mean, Saturn."
"You OK?" he asked. When she nodded, Kyle replaced her at the telescope. "Hey, that's pretty cool. So, what's the deal with Barnard's Star?"
Liz looked up at the skies and shivered as the words resounded in her head. "I heard someone say those exact words. It was like...they were whispering in my ear. It was...Tess." Her words hissed through her lips and brought Kyle's head up so quickly he nearly brained himself on the telescope.
"What?" His eyes bugged out and he scrubbed his hands through his hair like he was infested with lice. "Are you possessed, or is this like...that channeling they talk about on Sally Jesse?"
"Nothing like that." Liz changed the coordinates and aimed the telescope towards the Pleiades. "It was a flash."
"You get these flashes often?"
"Yeah. Here, take a peek. This is pretty impressive." The Seven Sisters. Close to Max's home.
"Hey, I've seen these before. Is this what I think it is?"
"That's where she went. Home. That V-shaped configuration is part of Taurus, and Taurus is...well, that's where they come from."
"It's beautiful. Far too beautiful for the likes of...them."
"Hey, Parker. Someone over here could use your help. We have a few newbies, and you know how they are." Liz's wire-haired friend Ari looked over at Kyle and said, "Oh, sorry. I guess you have your hands full."
Liz rolled her eyes at Kyle as Ari walked back into the throng of geeks. "Do you mind if I help out for a few minutes?"
"No problem." As Liz retreated, she heard him mutter, "What a bunch of charmers. Can this night get any better?"
*****
It was twilight and Max was no closer to the Mescalero Indian reservation. It was at least twenty miles from Roswell and what seemed like an easy drive in his Jeep was impossible on foot. His feet ached and his throat was as arid as the desert surrounding him on all sides. What an idiot he had been to run off on Liz without thinking things through or trying to work it out with her. Not only that, he had left his phone behind on his mad dash across town. He was close to the end of his rope and his hand was tired from trying to flag down motorists. Was he that scary looking? Maybe a bit unshaven and rumpled looking, but surely not fodder for the Post Office wall.
He heard a truck approach from behind and barely noticed when the driver pulled over to the side of the road. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar called, "Hey! You need a ride somewhere?"
Max turned around and saw a swarthy face leaning out the window. It was friggin' Eddie. "Eddie?"
"Yeah. Get in." Eddie seemed highly amused at his predicament. As Max climbed into the dusty cab, he commented, "You've been on the road awhile, eh?"
"You could say that."
"Where you headed?" Eddie asked as he put the truck in gear and got back into the traffic lane.
"Actually, I'm headed to the Rez to see River Dog," Max explained, hoping that Eddie wouldn't remember their last conversation about him not being welcome.
Eddie chuckled at some private joke. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Huh?"
The Indian laughed even louder at his expense and finally took pity on him. "We're on Indian time. That's kind of like...when the shadow falls in a certain place, you know it's time for something. We don't run on clocks."
Max nodded and kept his silence. Eddie seemed inclined to chatter, and that was OK by him.
"River Dog's been expecting you. Says he has something important to tell you...before he passes."
"Passes?" At some level, Max knew what this meant, but he didn't want to say it aloud.
"He's dying. The white doctors think it's cancer."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He's led a long and happy life and it's his time to go. We don't have the same view of death as your people. To us, it's just passing to another level of existence."
"River Dog's a good man. He saved my friend's life. I'll never forget that."
"Whatever," Eddie mumbled as they turned down the road leading to the Rez. They came to a stop and he pointed at a run-down trailer and said, "He's in there. Don't stay too long."
"I won't, but...can I ask you something?" Max requested.
"Sure."
"Is he related to you?" Eddie always seemed protective of River Dog and it implied a family connection.
"He raised me, but we aren't related by blood. Only by what's in here." Eddie thumped his chest and bowed his head.
"I'm adopted, so I understand."
Eddie shrugged and looked at Max sagely. "We've had...one of your kind among us."
"You mean Nasedo?" Max guessed.
"Not him. This is more recent. Like the last couple of months...she turned up in our trash heap." Eddie watched a shooting star streak across the sky before adding, "The elders took her in and she's been with us ever since."
"Does this 'she' have a name?" Max's heart constricted in fear and wondered if Tess was making her home here.
"It changes every day. Kind of like her hair color." Eddie chuckled and lit up a cigarette. Its glowing tip brightened with each drag.
"What does she look like?" Alarm buzzed in his head like a thousand bees and Max went on full mental alert.
"Enough questions." Eddie jabbed his butt towards the trailer before tossing it in a rain barrel and heading off down the dirt track.
******
Ari walked away from the line of telescopes and approached the double domes that crowned the hillside. Her short legs were no match for his long spindly shanks. "Ari, how much further?" Liz cried, stumbling over a rock and nearly falling. A strong hand steadied her and helped her regain her footing. An extremely tall man towered over her and in the starlight, she glimpsed the flash of white teeth in a dark face. Freezing tendrils brushed along her spine and raised goosebumps on her arm. Liz managed to suppress a shudder. "T-thanks."
He inclined his head and nodded towards an expensive telescope. "I could use some help here."
His voice...she was sure she had heard it somewhere. As she brought the eyepiece into focus, she remembered. The corridor. Tess's partner in crime. The one who had brushed by her. He was the right height. Liz looked up at him and suddenly knew that he was the one who had been watching her today at school and again in the field with Kyle. Be brave. Do this for Max. Stand up to him. Her skin started itching and Kyle's words came back to her. Insects crawling in your head. The bastard. He was trying to warp her. Liz steeled herself and tried to imagine mental walls slamming into place. "H-here you go. I've focused you on M51, the..."
"Whirlpool Galaxy," he finished with a smug smile.
"I thought you were a newbie," she retorted, stepping back from him and wondering if she could make a dash for Kyle's car.
"I can run a lot faster than you, Liz Parker. So don't even try it." He knew her name. Knew what she was thinking. Oh, god, what had she gotten herself into by coming here? Liz's lower lip trembled and from the way his nostrils flared, she knew he could smell her fear.
"Have we met?" she asked lightly, but her cavalier attitude wasn't fooling him.
He gazed down at her and his flash of teeth was feral and primal. "Not in this life."
*Not in this life. What did that mean? Did I know him before?* Then it hit her. The knowledge was there and it thrust savagely at her with its sudden revelation. Her eyes went wide as a name formed in her mind. It wasn't possible. He couldn't be here. There must be some mistake. Perhaps he was a container...a vessel for the real man. "Kivar," she intoned, her voice fraught with dread.
"Very good. It's a pleasure to meet you finally." He extended his hand and smiled at the way she wrapped her arms behind her back. Kivar might be piloting the body of a stud with rippling muscles and a smooth-as-silk voice, but she had no intention of touching him. Ever.
"What do you want?" Liz saw two shadows emerge from behind one of the domes and knew she was doomed. Rath and Lonnie.
"You see? I told you she was stupid." Lonnie snapped her gum as she moved to stand next to Kivar.
"Can I do her before you kill her?" Rath begged, leering at Liz with an evil smirk. She felt about ready to toss her cookies on Kivar's shiny black boots.
"Cool your jets. This one is very special and far too good for the likes of you."
"So let me do her after you're done with her."
Kivar swatted at Rath like he was a flea. "Back off."
"And miss out on all the fun?" Lonnie said. "The least you can do is let us watch you torture and kill her."
"That's a possibility. For now, I will deal with her. Is that understood?" Kivar commanded respect and exuded authority. The Dupes were used to obeying his orders, but they didn't seem to like it much. Rath itched at his Mohawk and Lonnie's eyes flashed irritably.
"Yeah," they said in unison.
"Now go and mingle already. Keep a watch on the Valenti kid and make sure none of the Royals show up." The two Dupes grumbled and went off to do their master's bidding.
"So," Kivar said, looking up at the stars. "Too bad the boy isn't with you. That would have made things so much easier. You've caused me a lot of grief with your investigation."
Liz managed to find her voice. "Is that what this is about? I mean, surely you, with all your powers, could have stopped me."
"I tried. Unfortunately, when Zan healed you, he enhanced your natural abilities."
"Natural abilities?" she echoed, not quite understanding him.
"You're a telepath. Quite rare in your species. And when one of our kind connects with you like that and has feelings..." Kivar made emotions sound like something dirty. "Warping you has little effect except to stall you momentarily. You also have the power to undo all our hard work. Like you did with Zan. That is truly unfortunate, because I really have no desire to hurt you. For a Human, you are quite remarkable."
"You've been watching me."
"With a little help, yes. They, those who you call the Dupes, have their uses. By posing as Michael and Isabel, they were able to spy on both of you. And, they were quite instrumental in taking down Zan. It made things so easy for me. It's a pity they won't be around to enjoy the spoils of war."
"Why are you telling me this?" Liz wondered.
"Because you won't survive the night. Now, you came here because you wanted the full story. And that, my dear, you shall have." Kivar gripped her arm and dragged her along with him.
*****
The trailer smelled of death. River Dog was close to the edge and Max didn't need shaman credentials to see that. However, on spotting Max, the old man's eyes brightened noticeably.
"It was time you came." River Dog struggled to sit up and waved off Max's unspoken offer of help. "There is nothing you can do for me now."
"Are you sure? Because maybe I can..."
"I called you here for different reasons. Walk with me." The Indian managed to get to his feet and hobbled towards the door with his cane supporting his weight. The proud look in his eyes was enough to warn Max to keep his distance. The night was bright with stars, and ordinarily, the sight never failed to fill Max with wonder. But tonight, he had another agenda. His questions were stilled by the reverent way that River Dog gazed at the sky. "This is where I seek my answers. Where I see...two people dancing in the stars. There is a Paiute tale that my grandmother used to tell me..."
Max fidgeted. "Please. I need to know..."
"Patience, my friend." River Dog paused to rest on a flat rock and pointed at Polaris. "The North Star never seems to move. Why do you think that is?"
"The Earth's axis points towards it, so all the other stars seem to rotate around it." Max sensed the old man's amusement over his scientific explanation.
"That is one theory, but there are those among us who believe that the North Star once existed in human form. They called him Nagah, the mountain sheep. He was courageous and daring and he always hunted for the highest mountains to climb. One day, Nagah found an impossibly high peak. Its sides were steep and smooth and the top was covered by clouds. He was determined to climb this mountain. Around and around he traveled..."
River Dog's words faded into the distance but his message struck a familiar chord that resonated throughout Max's body. The old man could have been describing his own odyssey. The story went on to describe Nagah's journey up the mountain as he tried to find a trail to the peak. He encountered great difficulties and obstacles and found himself in a very dark place. Nagah began to lose all hope and felt great fear. Suddenly, light blazed before him and the way became clear, but he was stuck in one place until someone turned him into a star. "I understand," Max said softly with dawning recognition of how his destiny and Liz's were intertwined.
"Do you?" Another enigmatic smile. "The North Star...shines where everyone can see her. She is a guide for all living things on the earth or in the sky."
"She?" Max needed River Dog to say her name, to spell it out for him.
"The human girl...when you look at her, when you are with her, you will always find your way. She will never waver. Liz Parker is your true north. This you must already know."
"True North," Max repeated, scarcely able to breathe at the significance of these words.
"You heard my message in your dreams and I know you hear it now. Yet I still see doubt in your eyes. Hasn't your path become clear? Don't you know..." River Dog paused to cough up something that looked suspiciously like blood. "What this girl means to you? How crucial she is to your survival?"
"I guess."
"You guess? This is not a time for guessing games. Lives are in danger. Hers in particular."
Danger. Liz had freaked out at school and was weirdly compelled to go to the observatory. Questions threatened to erupt from him but he was interrupted by a burst of white light in the distant sky. He sensed a rush of air and someone flung herself at him.
"Liz is in trouble." Max was stunned by the slight figure tugging on his arm. White blonde hair. It couldn't be. It was impossible. "Don't just stand there, Max. You have to come now."
"Tess?" he croaked.
"Ava," she corrected indignantly. He suddenly noticed the rainbow of blue and orange stripes in her hair and felt immensely relieved.
"Have you been here all this time?" He indicated the Rez.
"She's been taking care of me," River Dog interjected. "I trust her with my life. So should you. Go help your friend...while there's still time."
"But the observatory is miles from here."
"We can borrow River Dog's Harley."
"His Harley?" Contrasting the abject conditions under which River Dog lived with the gleaming motorcycle in his front yard was a contradiction in terms.
"Will you come on? I'm driving." Ava rushed over to the bike and gunned the engine. Max got on behind her and with a burst of acceleration, they roared off towards the star party and perhaps, their ultimate demise.
*****
Someone called her name. Kyle. Off in the distance. Sounding desperate and frustrated. Another presence. Kivar. His fingers dug painfully into the soft flesh of her upper arm as he led her across the parking lot to the far side of the second dome.
*You wanted to see. You had to know. Isn't that why you came here?* Mind-melding. My mind to your mind. Star Trek. Kivar seemed awfully amused by that concept.
"I don't..." Her mouth was dreadfully dry and her words emerged as a croak. "It's not..."
*You disappoint me, child.* He was speaking of her refusal to communicate telepathically.
"I'm not a child," Liz stated emphatically, suddenly finding her courage and glaring at him defiantly.
Kivar looked up and down her body with knowing eyes and chuckled. "Perhaps you're right. Come along now."
Blurred images formed in her head and resolved themselves into Max and Tess. Kissing passionately. Liz tried closing her eyes but the vision burned even brighter. This had to be a warp. Max would never do that, would he?
"I sense your doubts, and I don't blame you. Zan's downfall happened for a reason. Bad judgment and bad taste in women." Kivar tightened his mental hold on her and Liz felt her consciousness start to implode as pictures exploded in her head. It was Max's dream multiplied by a million.
Myriad voices twisting sinuously through the serpentine passages of her mind. Their violent and nasty thoughts polluting her. The Dupes. Kivar. Tess. Max. His pain. The way they attacked him with no warning. Him falling. Being dragged up the stairs with his head bumping on concrete. Lonnie's black-tipped nails stroking Max's face. Rath hanging back with a long cylindrical tube. Raping Max. Taking his seed. Killing his memories. Horrible laughter. Tess's smug face. Stripping Max of his dignity and throwing his clothes in a pile. Removing her own clothes with mechanical precision. Snuggling against his limp body with a tiny smile curling her lips. Sneering. Self-satisfied. Patting her belly. Getting what she wants. Her destiny.
"Seen enough?" His vile mouth whispered against her ear and she twisted away from him. Kivar made the mistake of grabbing at her and she spewed the contents of her stomach all over his highly polished boots as originally predicted.
Liz's smile never reached her eyes but she was quite amused by the disgust on his face. "Quite."
He swept his fingers over his feet and removed the vomit. "Time for Act Two."
Liz didn't like the sound of that. He stunned her with a bolt of mental energy and before she collapsed on the floor, she realized this was the same way they had attacked Max. She blinked several times as his face hovered overhead and dissolved into nothingness.
*****
The Harley whizzed by the sign for the Roswell Observatory and ascended the mountain road in record time. Ava parked the cycle in the very back of the parking lot and Max helped her dismount from the huge beast of a bike. She nodded her thanks and seemed to sniff the wind. "They're close. I can feel them."
"They?" Max felt nothing except a low-level disquiet.
"Rath. Lonnie. Liz. And...Kivar." She uttered the last name with extreme reluctance but sounded absolutely sure of what she was saying.
Max wasn't surprised that Kivar was here. He had come for one reason. To clean up after Tess and make sure that none of them walked away from this. They had watched and waited to see if his mindwarp was permanent. That was before Liz figured it all out and gave his life back to him. Kivar couldn't afford to let her live. She was the key to everything. He knew that with every fiber of his being.
"What are you doing here?" Kyle ran up to them with tousled hair and wild eyes.
"Looking for Liz. We thought she was with you." He managed to keep accusation from seeping into his voice. Kyle hadn't yet spotted Ava, who was kicking a rock with growing impatience. Max had to contain this and make sure Kyle didn't freak out over her presence.
"She was, but some guy named Ari needed her help. I figured she'd be gone a few minutes and she never came back. Man, I don't know what to do."
Max spotted lights moving through the trees and up the mountain behind the domes. Ava came over and said, "It's time, Max. We gotta go now."
Kyle's breath hissed through his teeth and Max saw that his fists were balled by his side. His body was coiled tightly and he looked like he was ready to spring onto Ava. "What the hell is this, Max? Tess is here...and you're working with her? I always knew you were bad news, but this is..." Kyle was so furious that he lost his breath for a moment.
"It's not what you think. I can explain," Max offered, but Kyle was having none of it. He shoved Max aside and started towards Ava.
"Don't bother," Kyle growled. He grabbed Ava by the shoulders and shouted in her face. "How could you do it? How could you kill Alex? We took you in and treated you like family. You were my sister. I'll never understand this. There's nothing you can say that will make this better."
"I ain't her," Ava stated quietly. Her blue eyes were filled with steely determination and she stood her ground.
"What did you say?" Kyle retorted. He dropped his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. Max hovered in the background and was sure that Ava could handle Kyle without his help. Anything he tried to do might make things worse.
"The name's Ava. I'm her dupe."
"Her what?" Kyle looked over at Max for some answers.
"There were...copies made of all of us," Max explained.
"Wonderful. So this means there are two of you running around?" Kyle seemed less than pleased by that prospect.
"Actually, no. The other one kind of..." He saw Ava's face crumple and his words stopped dead.
"He died. OK? Can we just...look, we have to go. Now." Ava gestured towards the mountain and started off down the path.
Max looked between her and Kyle. "I have to go. I'm sorry, Kyle. For everything."
Kyle muttered, "Yeah, whatever. Is there anything I can do? Like find Michael and Isabel?"
"There's no time for that, but maybe your dad can help. I have a feeling...some of us won't walk away from this." He saw Kyle gulp for air and look away in horror before stumbling away towards his car. Ava's slight figure was halfway up the hillside and if he didn't get moving, she'd leave him in the dust. With growing trepidation, he dashed off after her and hoped it wasn't too late.
*******
Voices conspired behind her. Trying to focus did nothing but give her an even bigger headache. Liz ached to her very marrow and every muscle screamed for attention. Someone had kindly dropped her against the bole of a giant tree and the bark scratched roughly at her clothes. She saw the circle of their flashlights and wondered why they didn't use their powers to create a light source. Maybe they were conserving their energy for something...like a showdown. Then she felt someone touch on her mind. Gentle, like the patter of raindrops on the leaf litter piled around her. Familiar word patterns. It was Max. *We're coming for you, Liz. I hope you can hear me*.
"She's awake." That awful accent grated at her sensibilities and she squinted up at Lonnie.
"Good." Kivar shouldered her aside and swept up Liz in his strong arms. "They're on their way. In a few minutes, this will all be over."
"Over for you, maybe," Rath challenged from his perch under a nearby overhang. "But we got nothing to look forward to. The granolith is gone and there's no way home. So we kill her ass and fry Max. Big deal. What next?"
Liz saw the glitter in Kivar's eyes and knew Rath was pushing his luck. "Maybe I let you live," he warned.
"Now, boys. Can't we all just be friends?" Lonnie said with a big evil grin as she laid her arm across Kivar's shoulders and patted Liz on the head.
Continued in Part Four
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Two
*****
"What is it?" Something wasn't right. A vague feeling of unease crawled along his spine and he looked around in all directions.
"You know that expression about someone walking on your grave?"
"Sure."
"It was like that," she intoned ominously. "I better go. You need a lift?"
Max shook his head. "No thanks. Maybe I'll catch you later."
"OK." Liz turned away from him and dragged herself down the hall. She turned for a moment and stared back at him and that creepy-crawly feeling returned in force. With one last glance at the corridor behind him, she fled up the stairs and disappeared.
He followed in her wake and headed out into the desert air. If he walked straight for a few miles, he'd end up on Route 70 and could hitch a ride to the Rez. Since he was out this way, he might as well find out what River Dog wanted.
******
Liz frowned at herself in the mirror as her mother announced Kyle's arrival. Black on black with a dash of red. Her best colors. Great for a winter's night, but hardly standard fare for summer. In fact, she was perfectly dressed for a funeral and wondered if it was her own. Was this star party some fool's errand? She jogged down the stairs and smiled at Kyle.
"You look...hot," he commented dryly. Liz wore black jeans, black boots, and a sleeveless red knit top. "I mean, it's a hundred degrees out there."
"Did Buddha tell you that?" she cracked as they got into his Mustang and headed out of town towards the observatory.
"So help me, if one more person gives me crap about Buddha...my dad was on me about my incense sticks."
"Sorry, Kyle." Liz caught the weather forecast on his radio and they predicted an early start to the rain. "Hey, I thought the rain was supposed to hold off till tomorrow."
"What can I say? I can't control the weather. Maybe you should put in a special request with your local Martians," Kyle quipped with his usual sarcasm.
"I wish you wouldn't call them that. It's not very..."
"Polite? Since when have I ever been polite when it came to this alien business? Everything about them sucks. They destroy everything and everyone around them. Am I supposed to be happy that Heckle healed me? 'Cuz right about now, I wish he hadn't." Kyle was royally pissed at his personal situation.
"You don't mean that," she said forcefully. "Don't ever wish your life away."
"What life? What do I have to look forward to? My dad sits home and does woodworking projects and broods the rest of the time. He has no employment prospects and you know, it gets real old after awhile." Kyle was bitter and she guessed she couldn't blame him.
"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you."
"There is. Stop apologizing. You sound just like my dad and I'm tired of listening to it. I wish he would...just do something instead of complaining about everything. I mean, look what he got for helping your alien goons. He lost his job, which was his whole life. Some thanks he gets for defending them," Kyle snapped. She swallowed and looked away, not knowing what to say and knowing that anything she said to protect Max was indefensible. The silence grew uncomfortable and Kyle finally said, "Look, this isn't your fault. You just happen to be..."
"A convenient target?"
"Something like that." Kyle pulled into the parking lot and said brightly, "Tra-la-la. Here we are. Shall we follow the dancing telescopes?"
He was referring to the sign flashing by the edge of the parking lot that directed them to the star party's location in the field behind the twin domes. The grass was flattened from the passing of the horde that dotted the hillside and Kyle saw another opportunity to poke fun at aliens. "Hey, is this one of those crop circles? Ooh, how exciting."
Liz sighed in frustration. "Look, Kyle..."
"Am I spoiling your evening, Liz? Sorry to rain on your parade, but you insisted on inviting me. Said it was 'really important' that I accompany you, though God knows why," Kyle commented. "Seems to me that Spaceboy would have been a better choice."
"I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to about...you know." She knew what he meant about the alien business and sometimes it was suffocating. "And I kind of needed a break from..."
"Max and all his angst? Gee, I wonder why."
They came to the first bank of telescopes and Liz stopped cold. She felt something crawling along her spine. It was the same spooky feeling she'd gotten at school during her tiff with Max. Someone was watching them. At close range.
Kyle had continued a few paces past her and suddenly noticed she wasn't with him. "Liz? What is it?"
"There's something...someone here."
"No kidding. I see at least a few dozen geeks. Since when do they scare you?"
"Not them. I'm talking about...something alien." Liz did a 360 and tried to pinpoint the source of her anxiety. Nothing immediate came to mind, but the trees lining the edge of the field would provide good cover for someone.
"Oh, great. Heckle followed us and plans on killing us both with his deathray. Tell me something I don't know." Kyle survived by poking fun at the world around him, and lately, that world was full of UFOs and aliens.
"This isn't funny, Kyle." Something in her voice got through to him and he took her arm in his. "I'm really scared."
"Is this why you asked me along? You needed a bodyguard?" Kyle didn't sound like he minded that role.
"I needed a friend. Someone...human. At first, I wanted to ask you about mindwarping. What it felt like. How you know when you've been warped."
"You don't. Not until you start getting these freaky visions and it feels like insects are crawling in your head." Kyle led her over to an unoccupied telescope. "You know how to operate one of these things?"
"Umm, yeah." Liz looked through the eyepiece and tried not to think about the ice cold fist wrapping itself around her. It was a hot night and she felt positively glacial. "You know, that kind of sounds like a drug trip."
"Exactly what I said. Maybe that's the point. If you tell someone about it, they'll think you're smoking crack. So what are we looking for?"
"Barnard's Star." Liz straightened suddenly and stumbled backwards. Kyle caught her arm and helped her maintain her balance "No, I mean, Saturn."
"You OK?" he asked. When she nodded, Kyle replaced her at the telescope. "Hey, that's pretty cool. So, what's the deal with Barnard's Star?"
Liz looked up at the skies and shivered as the words resounded in her head. "I heard someone say those exact words. It was like...they were whispering in my ear. It was...Tess." Her words hissed through her lips and brought Kyle's head up so quickly he nearly brained himself on the telescope.
"What?" His eyes bugged out and he scrubbed his hands through his hair like he was infested with lice. "Are you possessed, or is this like...that channeling they talk about on Sally Jesse?"
"Nothing like that." Liz changed the coordinates and aimed the telescope towards the Pleiades. "It was a flash."
"You get these flashes often?"
"Yeah. Here, take a peek. This is pretty impressive." The Seven Sisters. Close to Max's home.
"Hey, I've seen these before. Is this what I think it is?"
"That's where she went. Home. That V-shaped configuration is part of Taurus, and Taurus is...well, that's where they come from."
"It's beautiful. Far too beautiful for the likes of...them."
"Hey, Parker. Someone over here could use your help. We have a few newbies, and you know how they are." Liz's wire-haired friend Ari looked over at Kyle and said, "Oh, sorry. I guess you have your hands full."
Liz rolled her eyes at Kyle as Ari walked back into the throng of geeks. "Do you mind if I help out for a few minutes?"
"No problem." As Liz retreated, she heard him mutter, "What a bunch of charmers. Can this night get any better?"
*****
It was twilight and Max was no closer to the Mescalero Indian reservation. It was at least twenty miles from Roswell and what seemed like an easy drive in his Jeep was impossible on foot. His feet ached and his throat was as arid as the desert surrounding him on all sides. What an idiot he had been to run off on Liz without thinking things through or trying to work it out with her. Not only that, he had left his phone behind on his mad dash across town. He was close to the end of his rope and his hand was tired from trying to flag down motorists. Was he that scary looking? Maybe a bit unshaven and rumpled looking, but surely not fodder for the Post Office wall.
He heard a truck approach from behind and barely noticed when the driver pulled over to the side of the road. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar called, "Hey! You need a ride somewhere?"
Max turned around and saw a swarthy face leaning out the window. It was friggin' Eddie. "Eddie?"
"Yeah. Get in." Eddie seemed highly amused at his predicament. As Max climbed into the dusty cab, he commented, "You've been on the road awhile, eh?"
"You could say that."
"Where you headed?" Eddie asked as he put the truck in gear and got back into the traffic lane.
"Actually, I'm headed to the Rez to see River Dog," Max explained, hoping that Eddie wouldn't remember their last conversation about him not being welcome.
Eddie chuckled at some private joke. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Huh?"
The Indian laughed even louder at his expense and finally took pity on him. "We're on Indian time. That's kind of like...when the shadow falls in a certain place, you know it's time for something. We don't run on clocks."
Max nodded and kept his silence. Eddie seemed inclined to chatter, and that was OK by him.
"River Dog's been expecting you. Says he has something important to tell you...before he passes."
"Passes?" At some level, Max knew what this meant, but he didn't want to say it aloud.
"He's dying. The white doctors think it's cancer."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He's led a long and happy life and it's his time to go. We don't have the same view of death as your people. To us, it's just passing to another level of existence."
"River Dog's a good man. He saved my friend's life. I'll never forget that."
"Whatever," Eddie mumbled as they turned down the road leading to the Rez. They came to a stop and he pointed at a run-down trailer and said, "He's in there. Don't stay too long."
"I won't, but...can I ask you something?" Max requested.
"Sure."
"Is he related to you?" Eddie always seemed protective of River Dog and it implied a family connection.
"He raised me, but we aren't related by blood. Only by what's in here." Eddie thumped his chest and bowed his head.
"I'm adopted, so I understand."
Eddie shrugged and looked at Max sagely. "We've had...one of your kind among us."
"You mean Nasedo?" Max guessed.
"Not him. This is more recent. Like the last couple of months...she turned up in our trash heap." Eddie watched a shooting star streak across the sky before adding, "The elders took her in and she's been with us ever since."
"Does this 'she' have a name?" Max's heart constricted in fear and wondered if Tess was making her home here.
"It changes every day. Kind of like her hair color." Eddie chuckled and lit up a cigarette. Its glowing tip brightened with each drag.
"What does she look like?" Alarm buzzed in his head like a thousand bees and Max went on full mental alert.
"Enough questions." Eddie jabbed his butt towards the trailer before tossing it in a rain barrel and heading off down the dirt track.
******
Ari walked away from the line of telescopes and approached the double domes that crowned the hillside. Her short legs were no match for his long spindly shanks. "Ari, how much further?" Liz cried, stumbling over a rock and nearly falling. A strong hand steadied her and helped her regain her footing. An extremely tall man towered over her and in the starlight, she glimpsed the flash of white teeth in a dark face. Freezing tendrils brushed along her spine and raised goosebumps on her arm. Liz managed to suppress a shudder. "T-thanks."
He inclined his head and nodded towards an expensive telescope. "I could use some help here."
His voice...she was sure she had heard it somewhere. As she brought the eyepiece into focus, she remembered. The corridor. Tess's partner in crime. The one who had brushed by her. He was the right height. Liz looked up at him and suddenly knew that he was the one who had been watching her today at school and again in the field with Kyle. Be brave. Do this for Max. Stand up to him. Her skin started itching and Kyle's words came back to her. Insects crawling in your head. The bastard. He was trying to warp her. Liz steeled herself and tried to imagine mental walls slamming into place. "H-here you go. I've focused you on M51, the..."
"Whirlpool Galaxy," he finished with a smug smile.
"I thought you were a newbie," she retorted, stepping back from him and wondering if she could make a dash for Kyle's car.
"I can run a lot faster than you, Liz Parker. So don't even try it." He knew her name. Knew what she was thinking. Oh, god, what had she gotten herself into by coming here? Liz's lower lip trembled and from the way his nostrils flared, she knew he could smell her fear.
"Have we met?" she asked lightly, but her cavalier attitude wasn't fooling him.
He gazed down at her and his flash of teeth was feral and primal. "Not in this life."
*Not in this life. What did that mean? Did I know him before?* Then it hit her. The knowledge was there and it thrust savagely at her with its sudden revelation. Her eyes went wide as a name formed in her mind. It wasn't possible. He couldn't be here. There must be some mistake. Perhaps he was a container...a vessel for the real man. "Kivar," she intoned, her voice fraught with dread.
"Very good. It's a pleasure to meet you finally." He extended his hand and smiled at the way she wrapped her arms behind her back. Kivar might be piloting the body of a stud with rippling muscles and a smooth-as-silk voice, but she had no intention of touching him. Ever.
"What do you want?" Liz saw two shadows emerge from behind one of the domes and knew she was doomed. Rath and Lonnie.
"You see? I told you she was stupid." Lonnie snapped her gum as she moved to stand next to Kivar.
"Can I do her before you kill her?" Rath begged, leering at Liz with an evil smirk. She felt about ready to toss her cookies on Kivar's shiny black boots.
"Cool your jets. This one is very special and far too good for the likes of you."
"So let me do her after you're done with her."
Kivar swatted at Rath like he was a flea. "Back off."
"And miss out on all the fun?" Lonnie said. "The least you can do is let us watch you torture and kill her."
"That's a possibility. For now, I will deal with her. Is that understood?" Kivar commanded respect and exuded authority. The Dupes were used to obeying his orders, but they didn't seem to like it much. Rath itched at his Mohawk and Lonnie's eyes flashed irritably.
"Yeah," they said in unison.
"Now go and mingle already. Keep a watch on the Valenti kid and make sure none of the Royals show up." The two Dupes grumbled and went off to do their master's bidding.
"So," Kivar said, looking up at the stars. "Too bad the boy isn't with you. That would have made things so much easier. You've caused me a lot of grief with your investigation."
Liz managed to find her voice. "Is that what this is about? I mean, surely you, with all your powers, could have stopped me."
"I tried. Unfortunately, when Zan healed you, he enhanced your natural abilities."
"Natural abilities?" she echoed, not quite understanding him.
"You're a telepath. Quite rare in your species. And when one of our kind connects with you like that and has feelings..." Kivar made emotions sound like something dirty. "Warping you has little effect except to stall you momentarily. You also have the power to undo all our hard work. Like you did with Zan. That is truly unfortunate, because I really have no desire to hurt you. For a Human, you are quite remarkable."
"You've been watching me."
"With a little help, yes. They, those who you call the Dupes, have their uses. By posing as Michael and Isabel, they were able to spy on both of you. And, they were quite instrumental in taking down Zan. It made things so easy for me. It's a pity they won't be around to enjoy the spoils of war."
"Why are you telling me this?" Liz wondered.
"Because you won't survive the night. Now, you came here because you wanted the full story. And that, my dear, you shall have." Kivar gripped her arm and dragged her along with him.
*****
The trailer smelled of death. River Dog was close to the edge and Max didn't need shaman credentials to see that. However, on spotting Max, the old man's eyes brightened noticeably.
"It was time you came." River Dog struggled to sit up and waved off Max's unspoken offer of help. "There is nothing you can do for me now."
"Are you sure? Because maybe I can..."
"I called you here for different reasons. Walk with me." The Indian managed to get to his feet and hobbled towards the door with his cane supporting his weight. The proud look in his eyes was enough to warn Max to keep his distance. The night was bright with stars, and ordinarily, the sight never failed to fill Max with wonder. But tonight, he had another agenda. His questions were stilled by the reverent way that River Dog gazed at the sky. "This is where I seek my answers. Where I see...two people dancing in the stars. There is a Paiute tale that my grandmother used to tell me..."
Max fidgeted. "Please. I need to know..."
"Patience, my friend." River Dog paused to rest on a flat rock and pointed at Polaris. "The North Star never seems to move. Why do you think that is?"
"The Earth's axis points towards it, so all the other stars seem to rotate around it." Max sensed the old man's amusement over his scientific explanation.
"That is one theory, but there are those among us who believe that the North Star once existed in human form. They called him Nagah, the mountain sheep. He was courageous and daring and he always hunted for the highest mountains to climb. One day, Nagah found an impossibly high peak. Its sides were steep and smooth and the top was covered by clouds. He was determined to climb this mountain. Around and around he traveled..."
River Dog's words faded into the distance but his message struck a familiar chord that resonated throughout Max's body. The old man could have been describing his own odyssey. The story went on to describe Nagah's journey up the mountain as he tried to find a trail to the peak. He encountered great difficulties and obstacles and found himself in a very dark place. Nagah began to lose all hope and felt great fear. Suddenly, light blazed before him and the way became clear, but he was stuck in one place until someone turned him into a star. "I understand," Max said softly with dawning recognition of how his destiny and Liz's were intertwined.
"Do you?" Another enigmatic smile. "The North Star...shines where everyone can see her. She is a guide for all living things on the earth or in the sky."
"She?" Max needed River Dog to say her name, to spell it out for him.
"The human girl...when you look at her, when you are with her, you will always find your way. She will never waver. Liz Parker is your true north. This you must already know."
"True North," Max repeated, scarcely able to breathe at the significance of these words.
"You heard my message in your dreams and I know you hear it now. Yet I still see doubt in your eyes. Hasn't your path become clear? Don't you know..." River Dog paused to cough up something that looked suspiciously like blood. "What this girl means to you? How crucial she is to your survival?"
"I guess."
"You guess? This is not a time for guessing games. Lives are in danger. Hers in particular."
Danger. Liz had freaked out at school and was weirdly compelled to go to the observatory. Questions threatened to erupt from him but he was interrupted by a burst of white light in the distant sky. He sensed a rush of air and someone flung herself at him.
"Liz is in trouble." Max was stunned by the slight figure tugging on his arm. White blonde hair. It couldn't be. It was impossible. "Don't just stand there, Max. You have to come now."
"Tess?" he croaked.
"Ava," she corrected indignantly. He suddenly noticed the rainbow of blue and orange stripes in her hair and felt immensely relieved.
"Have you been here all this time?" He indicated the Rez.
"She's been taking care of me," River Dog interjected. "I trust her with my life. So should you. Go help your friend...while there's still time."
"But the observatory is miles from here."
"We can borrow River Dog's Harley."
"His Harley?" Contrasting the abject conditions under which River Dog lived with the gleaming motorcycle in his front yard was a contradiction in terms.
"Will you come on? I'm driving." Ava rushed over to the bike and gunned the engine. Max got on behind her and with a burst of acceleration, they roared off towards the star party and perhaps, their ultimate demise.
*****
Someone called her name. Kyle. Off in the distance. Sounding desperate and frustrated. Another presence. Kivar. His fingers dug painfully into the soft flesh of her upper arm as he led her across the parking lot to the far side of the second dome.
*You wanted to see. You had to know. Isn't that why you came here?* Mind-melding. My mind to your mind. Star Trek. Kivar seemed awfully amused by that concept.
"I don't..." Her mouth was dreadfully dry and her words emerged as a croak. "It's not..."
*You disappoint me, child.* He was speaking of her refusal to communicate telepathically.
"I'm not a child," Liz stated emphatically, suddenly finding her courage and glaring at him defiantly.
Kivar looked up and down her body with knowing eyes and chuckled. "Perhaps you're right. Come along now."
Blurred images formed in her head and resolved themselves into Max and Tess. Kissing passionately. Liz tried closing her eyes but the vision burned even brighter. This had to be a warp. Max would never do that, would he?
"I sense your doubts, and I don't blame you. Zan's downfall happened for a reason. Bad judgment and bad taste in women." Kivar tightened his mental hold on her and Liz felt her consciousness start to implode as pictures exploded in her head. It was Max's dream multiplied by a million.
Myriad voices twisting sinuously through the serpentine passages of her mind. Their violent and nasty thoughts polluting her. The Dupes. Kivar. Tess. Max. His pain. The way they attacked him with no warning. Him falling. Being dragged up the stairs with his head bumping on concrete. Lonnie's black-tipped nails stroking Max's face. Rath hanging back with a long cylindrical tube. Raping Max. Taking his seed. Killing his memories. Horrible laughter. Tess's smug face. Stripping Max of his dignity and throwing his clothes in a pile. Removing her own clothes with mechanical precision. Snuggling against his limp body with a tiny smile curling her lips. Sneering. Self-satisfied. Patting her belly. Getting what she wants. Her destiny.
"Seen enough?" His vile mouth whispered against her ear and she twisted away from him. Kivar made the mistake of grabbing at her and she spewed the contents of her stomach all over his highly polished boots as originally predicted.
Liz's smile never reached her eyes but she was quite amused by the disgust on his face. "Quite."
He swept his fingers over his feet and removed the vomit. "Time for Act Two."
Liz didn't like the sound of that. He stunned her with a bolt of mental energy and before she collapsed on the floor, she realized this was the same way they had attacked Max. She blinked several times as his face hovered overhead and dissolved into nothingness.
*****
The Harley whizzed by the sign for the Roswell Observatory and ascended the mountain road in record time. Ava parked the cycle in the very back of the parking lot and Max helped her dismount from the huge beast of a bike. She nodded her thanks and seemed to sniff the wind. "They're close. I can feel them."
"They?" Max felt nothing except a low-level disquiet.
"Rath. Lonnie. Liz. And...Kivar." She uttered the last name with extreme reluctance but sounded absolutely sure of what she was saying.
Max wasn't surprised that Kivar was here. He had come for one reason. To clean up after Tess and make sure that none of them walked away from this. They had watched and waited to see if his mindwarp was permanent. That was before Liz figured it all out and gave his life back to him. Kivar couldn't afford to let her live. She was the key to everything. He knew that with every fiber of his being.
"What are you doing here?" Kyle ran up to them with tousled hair and wild eyes.
"Looking for Liz. We thought she was with you." He managed to keep accusation from seeping into his voice. Kyle hadn't yet spotted Ava, who was kicking a rock with growing impatience. Max had to contain this and make sure Kyle didn't freak out over her presence.
"She was, but some guy named Ari needed her help. I figured she'd be gone a few minutes and she never came back. Man, I don't know what to do."
Max spotted lights moving through the trees and up the mountain behind the domes. Ava came over and said, "It's time, Max. We gotta go now."
Kyle's breath hissed through his teeth and Max saw that his fists were balled by his side. His body was coiled tightly and he looked like he was ready to spring onto Ava. "What the hell is this, Max? Tess is here...and you're working with her? I always knew you were bad news, but this is..." Kyle was so furious that he lost his breath for a moment.
"It's not what you think. I can explain," Max offered, but Kyle was having none of it. He shoved Max aside and started towards Ava.
"Don't bother," Kyle growled. He grabbed Ava by the shoulders and shouted in her face. "How could you do it? How could you kill Alex? We took you in and treated you like family. You were my sister. I'll never understand this. There's nothing you can say that will make this better."
"I ain't her," Ava stated quietly. Her blue eyes were filled with steely determination and she stood her ground.
"What did you say?" Kyle retorted. He dropped his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. Max hovered in the background and was sure that Ava could handle Kyle without his help. Anything he tried to do might make things worse.
"The name's Ava. I'm her dupe."
"Her what?" Kyle looked over at Max for some answers.
"There were...copies made of all of us," Max explained.
"Wonderful. So this means there are two of you running around?" Kyle seemed less than pleased by that prospect.
"Actually, no. The other one kind of..." He saw Ava's face crumple and his words stopped dead.
"He died. OK? Can we just...look, we have to go. Now." Ava gestured towards the mountain and started off down the path.
Max looked between her and Kyle. "I have to go. I'm sorry, Kyle. For everything."
Kyle muttered, "Yeah, whatever. Is there anything I can do? Like find Michael and Isabel?"
"There's no time for that, but maybe your dad can help. I have a feeling...some of us won't walk away from this." He saw Kyle gulp for air and look away in horror before stumbling away towards his car. Ava's slight figure was halfway up the hillside and if he didn't get moving, she'd leave him in the dust. With growing trepidation, he dashed off after her and hoped it wasn't too late.
*******
Voices conspired behind her. Trying to focus did nothing but give her an even bigger headache. Liz ached to her very marrow and every muscle screamed for attention. Someone had kindly dropped her against the bole of a giant tree and the bark scratched roughly at her clothes. She saw the circle of their flashlights and wondered why they didn't use their powers to create a light source. Maybe they were conserving their energy for something...like a showdown. Then she felt someone touch on her mind. Gentle, like the patter of raindrops on the leaf litter piled around her. Familiar word patterns. It was Max. *We're coming for you, Liz. I hope you can hear me*.
"She's awake." That awful accent grated at her sensibilities and she squinted up at Lonnie.
"Good." Kivar shouldered her aside and swept up Liz in his strong arms. "They're on their way. In a few minutes, this will all be over."
"Over for you, maybe," Rath challenged from his perch under a nearby overhang. "But we got nothing to look forward to. The granolith is gone and there's no way home. So we kill her ass and fry Max. Big deal. What next?"
Liz saw the glitter in Kivar's eyes and knew Rath was pushing his luck. "Maybe I let you live," he warned.
"Now, boys. Can't we all just be friends?" Lonnie said with a big evil grin as she laid her arm across Kivar's shoulders and patted Liz on the head.
Continued in Part Four
Last edited by Peregrine on Sun Feb 29, 2004 4:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
True North-M/L-PG-13, 4/5
Title: True North-Roswell, 4/5
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Three
He ducked out from under her arm. "You don't know the meaning of friendship, or trust, or loyalty. You betrayed your brother and you'd betray me in a heartbeat," Kivar retorted with growing annoyance. He set Liz down and she leaned back against a rock wall.
"That's ancient history," Lonnie retorted. She stepped closer and scraped her nails against his cheek. "I meant something to you once. Surely you haven't forgotten...what we had. All those long, passionate nights."
"What I remember...is finding you with Nicholas. And how many others were there?" He physically removed her hand and shoved it away
"That was her. I'm not like that," Lonnie said sullenly.
Kivar shrugged. "Whatever. None of that matters now. After our business here tonight, I am done with both of you."
"What?" Rath was outraged. "We helped you set this up. We went to the mat for you, man. You owe us!"
Kivar sniggered. "Your payment for helping me is walking away with your miserable hides."
"You can't do this," Rath started but was cut off by Lonnie's hand on his arm.
"Chill. We'll deal later. For now, we watch and wait."
They took their positions and Liz watched their antics with a tight smile. Her adrenal glands were pumping adrenaline into every nook and cranny of her injured body. She might be physically hurt, but her soul was ascending to some spiritual plane. Deep at her core, a ball of white light started glowing, growing in size and strength as she fed it energy from some unknown source.
Kivar watched her as carefully as she watched the others. "You smile now, but you won't be laughing for long. I'm a reasonable man, so I'll let you live long enough to see him suffer."
"We'll see," was all Liz said as she turned her face away and let the now driving rain soak her hair and face. Something inside her lay in wait. In school, when she had tried to plead her case with Max, she'd never gotten to explain her actions. This thing...her marks...the way she could read his mind...the visions she was having...they were alien. She needed closure and had felt an intense need to connect with something totally human. Kyle had been a stepping stone to this place. This moment in time. She was here for a reason and knew that in a very short time, she'd discover what that was.
*****
The starlight had paved their way at first, but now it was blotted out by rain clouds. Light drizzle turned into a torrential downpour. The dry, dusty path turned into a river of mud and darting over slippery rocks became treacherous. Ava was surprisingly sure-footed and seemed comfortable with the wet conditions. At one point, she prevented him from crashing headlong into the brush.
"Thanks."
"You ready for this?" Ava asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he admitted.
"We'll come out of this. You've gotta believe that." She patted his arm and started back up the trail.
"I want to believe," Max whispered to himself. Something tickled his senses. Maybe Kivar was putting out mental feelers or something, but wait...it was Liz. Alive. He extended his senses and let her know he was coming. A response. Faint at first but growing stronger. He saw a pulsating, spinning light throwing its rays in every direction. Changing shape and expanding its diameter. Building in power. Then he remembered her words from earlier that day. 'There's something inside me.' Something alien. Dangerous. A mote of intelligence suddenly floated his way. *Hurry. Not much time. Love you.* She severed the connection, but there was no time to wonder why. They had arrived. The trees parted company and widened into a clearing. No one was in sight, but he felt all three of them. Lurking like spiders and waiting for their prey. Stamping the atmosphere with their black nastiness. Leaving such a metaphysical stench that he wanted to puke his guts out. Ava hopped from one foot to the other and her blue eyes seemed to glow with anticipation.
"Let's do it," Max said softly. She nodded and once again, he let her take the lead.
*****
Liz threw her head back and let the rain drip into her mouth for a moment before staring out into the night. Part of her watched them and kept track of their movements. They cursed and muttered by the edge of the woods. She sealed off the rest of her mind and surrounded herself with comforting memories. Cocooned by the past, she barely noticed something pierce through the veil between reality and the dream world. Another mind touched hers from a great distance. *Come with me*. His voice was ancient and filled her with its wisdom. River Dog. *Look North towards Polaris. Never stray from it. It is your destiny. His destiny. Never forget that.* She stretched out her arms and white-hot light surged from her fingertips. It danced around her in a vortex before mingling with her essence. His words faded and he was gone from her. Dead to them all. But she had never been more alive. As her eyes opened, she knew what she had to do.
*****
They stood like sentries. Frighteningly tall like the juniper trees that shrouded them. His keen eyes clearly delineated a trio of watchers under the dripping branches. His senses were blanketed by the howling wind and electromagnetic particles that lifted the hair off his neck. Liz was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't feel her at all.
The forest hugged the mountaintop and reluctantly opened its arms to the precipice at the far edge of the clearing. Max knew this could go a number of ways and none of them were pleasant. As if reading his thoughts, the storm worsened and started pelting him with hail. Thunder boomed so loudly that it nearly blew out his eardrums. His ears rang in synchrony with the lightning flashes and the intermittent blasts of light lit up the sky with its slow strobe.
Ava stopped and beckoned for him to move closer. She pointed at the sheer rock face and said, "Liz is over there."
"How do you know that?"
"Her aura. Can't you see it? It's purplish black and kinda angry-looking." Ava nodded for emphasis like that was supposed to mean something.
Max shook his head in frustration. "I don't see a thing. What do the colors mean?"
"She's injured, but there's something else." Her voice shook slightly with that last admission.
There was no time for speculation. A sizzling blast of energy came hurtling towards them and only his quick reflexes got them out of harm's way. Before they could regroup, another energy bolt emerged from the trees and its owner followed its path. Ava grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "We got to join forces. It's our only chance."
Max tightened his hand on hers and let the energy flow between them. Joining with Ava was totally different from the way Tess had made him feel. Her mind was an open book and she let him see things he wasn't meant to see. Her and Eddie making love. Happiness. Laughter. She added her strength to his own. A force field sprang into existence and deflected the next mental missile. Kivar did not look pleased at seeing Ava.
"Another traitor. Does it ever end with you Antarians?" He stopped in front of the defense net and smirked. "Your flimsy defenses are no match for us."
Rath and Lonnie flanked each side of him, their dark eyes filled with bile and anger. As an aside to Rath, Lonnie muttered, "You should have killed the bitch dead while you had the chance. She's been nothing but a major thorn in our side and look at her now helping the boy king. How sweet is that?"
"Enough chatter," Kivar warned. "We have a job to do, so let's do it."
"Sure thing, boss. Whatcha got in mind?" Rath said sarcastically. "Can we disembowel him? Now that would be cool."
Kivar growled, "Maybe I'll try it on you first!"
Rath finally decided to shut up and closed his eyes in concentration. Lonnie took his hand and added her own two cents to the mental mix. Kivar took the reins and started lobbing energy grenades against their barrier. Each hit further weakened their shield and holes started forming in various places. Max was losing strength and he sensed the energy currents from Ava dwindling to a low ebb. He'd never planned on dying this way and he'd fight them until every last breath left his body. The force field dropped and he was knocked off his feet by a fierce blast of energy. Ava fell to her knees, still clasping his hand for dear life.
*****
Amarna, bringer of storms. Bearer of truth and light. The words were spoken in an ancient but familiar language. Antarian. Images came to her. Intense heat. Miles of sand. Large structures. Pyramids. Her canvas expanded further and she saw statues of deities everywhere. Her face was inscribed on some of them. It was dizzying. Exhilarating. There were others like her. Among Antarians, she was a creature of legend. One man went with her on a quest and came to Earth. Kivar's ancestor. Together, they created a dynasty. Commingled their blood with human DNA. Thousands of years passed. A descendent was born in Roswell, New Mexico. Liz Parker. She and Amarna were one. Their memories were joined. And something unexpected. This unbelievable feeling of power that grew with the storm's intensity. Max needed her help and she couldn't let him down. She pulled herself to her feet and approached the battle lines. Unnoticed. They were too busy fighting for their lives to notice her insignificant human self. In military terms, she barely registered as a blip on their radar screen. And that was a good thing. She'd be on them in a flash and none of them would be able to stop her.
*****
A slight figure emerged from the gloom. Liz. Walking fast and hard. Her jaw was set and her anger was palpable. Her body glowed and shimmered with some alien energy and the marks on her arm took on a life of their own. The Dupes and Kivar were so intent on mustering their power that they never noticed her approach. Max's relief at seeing Liz was dispelled by her odd behavior. The strange way she was staring at Kivar...like she knew him. Waiting. Looking up at the stormy sky and smiling. Then she noticed him watching her. Her eyes flicked to Ava like she was an insignificant flyspeck. Her gaze returned to Max and acknowledged him with a curt nod. This wasn't like Liz. Even in her angriest moments, there had always been a sliver of warmth behind her tirades. Liz closed her eyes for a moment and flooded Max with information. All of it came pouring out of her like blood from an open wound.
Ava was sensitive enough to pick up on part of their connection. "Amarna?" she whispered in an awestruck voice. "It ain't possible. Far as we know, she never existed."
*You were lied to. I have always been here*. Liz was speaking, but the voice belonged to someone else. Strangely accented and mellifluous with the words chiming like bells.
Max was taken aback. Was Liz possessed by some alien entity?
Liz shook her head. *We are one.*
Kivar was intent on his prey and never noticed Liz mirroring his movements as he swayed from side to side and approached Max's position. He raised up his arms and balls of energy danced along his fingertips. A wide smile formed on Liz's face and she seemed absurdly pleased by this development. Lonnie suddenly noticed Liz and tried to call out a warning, but she and Rath were frozen in place. Their mouths moved and their hands waved but no sound emerged. It was like someone had silenced them with a giant mute button. Kivar's face brightened. He had stolen their energy and now that he had no further use for them, he had neutralized them. And now, he was about to do the same thing to Max and Ava.
Before he could release his pent-up power, a lightning bolt tore into the ground behind him. Kivar jumped sideways and that caused him to lose control for a moment. His stolen energy ball simmered and sizzled over his head before hurtling towards its intended target. Max brought up his hands and tried to reform a defense shield, but there was no need. Before he could blink an eye, Liz ran at top speed and pushed him aside. Kivar's deathray slammed into her with such high velocity that the earth trembled. Smoke and flames filled the air and out of that miasma walked Liz, seemingly uninjured. She spread her arms wide and seemed to embrace the storm. Silver strands lined her hair and body and she hummed in bliss as her body absorbed the energy and added it to her arsenal.
*****
Kivar's eyes were wide and frightened and he actually retreated to where the Dupes had fallen unconscious. "This can't be happening. You cannot be."
Liz smiled coldly and moved to within a few inches of his position. "This is your doing. You awakened these memories and expected obedience, not her resistance or determination to find the truth. And this glorious power? It's embedded in her DNA and emerges when it's most needed."
"My quarrel is not with you," Kivar said reasonably, but his pleasant tone couldn't quite mask the serpent that he truly was. "If you come with me now, I'll let Zan and Ava go."
"Don't listen to him, Liz," Max cried desperately. He tried to approach but was held back by an invisible force.
Liz looked over her shoulder and smiled faintly. "I will handle this."
Max started to protest but was interrupted by Ava's hand on his arm. She jerked her head towards the area behind Kivar. The Dupes were awake, and judging from the murderous expression on Lonnie's face, they were royally pissed at Kivar.
"We have to do something," Max whispered.
*Deal with them. I'll take care of Kivar*. Liz's words thundered in his ears as she called the storm and brought it down on their heads.
******
Liz is inside. Collecting memories. Green skies. Red seas. Blood washes up onto black sand. Line after line of bodies litter the beach like driftwood. Soldiers looting. Mayhem. Revolution. Banners held high with Kivar's face emblazoned everywhere. Death and destruction. *How could you do this to your own people?*
He kneels before her in supplication and grabs her legs like a recalcitrant toddler. *I have brought a new age of peace and prosperity. Can't you see it?*
Golden harvests. Peaceful peasants laboring in the fields. His fields. His slaves. *This is your new age?* she says scornfully. Someone approaches and Liz sees blissed out eyes and a vacant smile as the servant moves past them. Not a whisper of intelligence or rational thought. Flat-lined. Drugged.
You disgust me*, she says, kicking free of his arms. On another level, she was aware that the lightning flashes were uncomfortably close together and striking near her position.
Kivar twisted her arm cruelly and used his host's superior strength to lift her off the ground. His broad palm cupped her chin and her feet dangled uselessly as she tried to land a kick in a vulnerable spot. He laughed at her efforts and triumphant black eyes bored into hers as he speared her chest with a mental fist and started slowing her heart until it grinded to a halt. Liz's brain function dwindled to a pinpoint of sentient thought that escaped Kivar's notice but was enough to sustain her. One face. One love. Max. For him and the others, she had to live. This was her destiny. Thinking she was dead, Kivar started to toss her aside like the many bodies he had gored in his conquests. In that moment of freefall, Liz unleashed the power at her core and felt it energize her. It jump-started her heart and ramped up her neurotransmitters to lethal levels. Her body thudded to the ground with a bone-jarring crunch. Her right arm snapped but she barely noticed the pain.
As Kivar turned his back and went to finish off the others, she rose up like an avenging angel and discharged the rising tide of power that threatened to overload her circuits. It washed over him like a tsunami and flooded his neural synapses. Unsuspecting, but on his guard. Turning. Eyes wide in shock. Drowning in his own memories. Torturing him with his own visions so that he feels what his victims feel. Hot pokers in his back. Branding him as property. Drugging him senseless. Extracting his powers and selling them on the open market as a precious commodity. His kingdom is built on their misery. She forces him to relive it all. Then she moves closer and touches his face. Kisses his forehead. Accepts his homage as the goddess she is. His head bends to accept his punishment, but she knows he is faking. That he waits for his own opportunity to pay her back in full. She will not allow this. He was never meant to conquer. His ancestor was wise. Knew she was stronger and accepted it. This descendent knows nothing. He is foolish and builds his kingdom on the backs of his minions. Amarna takes control and Liz steps back. He embraces her. Tries his charms. Thinks he has won. And in that moment, she unleashed another burst of energy. The attack was tinged with Liz's rage at all that Kivar had done to ruin the lives of her friends. At how he had interfered with her own plans. Her own happiness. Kivar fought back. Fiercely. Proudly. He was strong and she felt his mental pressure bearing down on her soul. But it wasn't enough. She rose up and launched a counterattack. He threw up a shield, but to her, it was no more than Swiss cheese. With a Mona Lisa smile in place, she extended her claws and started picking at his brain. Sucked him completely dry. All his power and every remaining memory became her property. He cowered and whimpered under her onslaught and her human side quailed at Amarna's cruelty. But the rest of her enjoyed his pain and reveled in his fall from grace. Kivar's human host fell unconscious and Liz knew he would live. Kivar's mind would also survive...after a fashion. But the memories she had burned into his consciousness would haunt him forever. She suddenly remembered where she was and who was there with her. Max and Ava. Surrounded by the Dupes. Burning branches moving closer. Sacrificing their own kind. Liz ignored the pain in her arm and was oblivious to the hot grass that scorched her hiking boots. Flames licked at her and burned her trousers, but she paid no attention. All she saw was Max and knew she had to save him at all costs. Nothing else mattered. With total disregard for her own safety, she walked into the wall of flame.
******
Fire in the sky. Flames surrounding them. Jailing them. Max cracked open one eye and groaned at the sight of Rath and Lonnie bearing down on him. Waving burning tree branches. Grinning. Jabbing at him and Ava. Trying to set them on fire. He started crawling away with his hand on Ava's collar, but both of them were caught by the inferno.
"Burn, baby, burn." Rath's lips were bared in a feral smile and Lonnie looked even more like a raccoon than usual. Ava slumped miserably against him and hid her face. Her clothes were charred and sooty and her lashes were burnt. Max was not doing much better. His powers were spent and his own clothes were one spark away from campfire status. Their death was inevitable and he felt shame and overwhelming guilt at their predicament and how he had failed Liz. Max backed up against a tree and pulled Ava against him.
She pressed her lips against his ear and whispered, "It was a good ride while it lasted, Max. Thank you...for trusting me."
"I don't deserve your thanks. I've condemned you to death," Max replied.
Ava shook her head in disagreement. "Save it. I knew the risks and I came anyway. It was my choice."
He would have replied, but something emerged from the fire that he simply could not believe. Liz was still alive. Tears of joy ran freely down his face but his heart clenched at her condition. One arm hung uselessly by her side and blood dripped from various head wounds. She stopped and stared at Max. The light in her eyes burned with such intensity that he could barely fathom the complex web of emotions that rippled across her face. For a moment, time stood still and Max let the light of his own love shine back at her. A few beats passed and when she next looked at him, he saw that all love had been scrubbed away and replaced with deadly resolve and cold, keen intelligence. Liz offered up her good arm to the heavens and it seemed to spark with unbridled power. Lightning bolts slammed into the ground at her feet but did nothing to harm her. In fact, she seemed to glow brighter with each step towards him. By the time she got within a few yards of his position, she was lit up like a Christmas tree. The Dupes were so busy feeding the fire that they never noticed her slip past them into the surrounding woods. The flames burned whiter and hotter. The wall of flame parted and Liz stepped through. Max desperately wanted to run to her but his body refused to obey his mind.
"I can't..." he started, and even his mouth refused to cooperate.
*Save your strength.* She nodded towards Rath and Lonnie, who were bickering over her sudden appearance.
"I can't believe this. Kivar shoulda stopped her," Rath commented as he scratched his brow and dropped his torch in mindless contemplation.
"Yeah, but he failed. And now, we gotta clean up his mess." Lonnie looked down and noticed the flames spreading around them. "You idiot," she accused as the fire moved uncomfortably close.
"Don't start with me. You were supposed to watch the perimeter, remember?"
"And you were supposed to contain the fire," Lonnie accused as she tried and failed to suppress the bonfire. "If I'd wanted to toast marshmallows, I would have joined the Campfire Girls."
Rath chortled. "Like they'd let you join?"
Lonnie grabbed his arm and snarled, "In case you haven't noticed, this fire is about to roast us alive. So if you close that hole that passes for a mouth and maybe focus, we can stop this thing."
The argument escalated and provided enough distraction for Liz to make her next move. She approached Max with extended hands and commanded, "Join hands with me."
Max took her right hand and saw her wince at his grip.
"You're hurt," he murmured with concern.
"It can wait." She pulled Ava to her feet with her other hand and they formed a circle.
Liz's body started to glow as her power built in strength. The fine hairs on his arms and neck stood straight up as he caught the energy wave that crested through him and restored his balance. Ava squeezed Max's hand and he noticed her high color and sparkling eyes. The caress of power was unbelievably sensual and its draw was undeniable. His toes curled in response and he felt Liz's fingers caressing his hand. So she felt it too. Liz pulled them towards the fire and as Max watched in amazement, the flames parted like the Red Sea and formed a passage for them.
*Fire, walk with me.* Max recognized the Twin Peaks reference and heard the dry humor in Liz's words as the flames followed them towards the Dupes.
Ava looked back and murmured in wonder, "So it's true what they say."
"About?"
"She...Amarna can control the elements. At least, that's how legend tells it."
There was no time for further discussion, because they'd reached the ring of fire surrounding the Dupes. Lonnie and Rath paced like caged lions and hatred glittered in their eyes. They either didn't recognize or didn't care that death was about to descend on them. In fact, Lonnie chose that moment to come forward and trash Ava.
"I can't believe you're helping them. After all I did for you. I took you in...treated you like my own flesh and blood. Like my own sister!"
Ava shook her head angrily. "What have you ever done for me except insult me and threaten my life? Huh?"
"We fed you...gave you a home. Made sure you had clothes."
Ava's eyes shot sparks and she spat in disgust. "Zan did those things. Zan took care of me and made sure I had what I needed. But you two never did nothing but steal your way through life."
"Little Miss Defective Hypocrite," Lonnie countered sarcastically. "Trying to put on airs for your new pals? Think they won't figure out that you're a thief and a whore?"
"Enough!" Max was tired, and the last thing he wanted to hear was this bitchfest. Liz's fingers twitched and she peered around her curtain of hair with an unreadable look in her eyes. She was letting this play out for some reason, and he was inclined to follow her lead.
"Ooh, the boy king is stepping up to the plate. What's the matter, Max? You tired of us dissing your podmate?" Rath smirked, apparently tired of Lonnie grabbing center stage.
"Podmate?" Ava echoed oddly. She looked at Max for reassurance and he nodded in affirmation. "You knew this and you didn't tell me?"
"I wasn't sure...until now."
"Reunited at last." Lonnie brought her hands together dramatically and pretended to swoon. "The king and his bride. Oh, and I forgot about the girlfriend. A love triangle. How intriguing. Too bad I won't see how this comes out. But wait, we know how this comes out. You all die and we walk. End of story."
"You got it wrong," Ava insisted quietly.
"How's that?" Lonnie asked.
"Max and Liz belong together. Anyone can see that. And me, I love someone else." Eddie's face flashed in Max's mind and a sensuous smile appeared on Liz's face at the erotic imagery she shared with them.
"Zan's corpse ain't even cold and you're taking up with humans?" Rath uttered derisively. "I always said you was defective and now you're provin' it."
"Too right," Lonnie agreed. "Now it all makes sense. She really does belong with them. Defective aliens with bad genes."
"Speak for yourself." The voice was quiet and undemonstrative, but it commanded attention. It was definitely Liz speaking, but Amarna was there too. Waiting in the wings for her chance. Waiting for the Dupes to hang themselves with their own rope.
"Excuse me? Was I talkin' to you, human?" Lonnie jeered and came closer to the fire's edge.
"She ain't exactly...human," Ava asserted.
"Is that right? What is she then? Some freakazoid hybrid from Mars?" Rath thought this was supremely funny, but he was the only one laughing.
Liz smiled coldly and looked up silently at the sky. Rain started falling in blinding sheets that doused the fire and freed the Dupes from their prison. Before Max could question her motives, she grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.
"What is your greatest wish?" she asked imperiously. The Dupes kicked away the ashes and came to face them. Max knew the answer and so did Liz, but she apparently wanted to hear them say it.
"Home. I want to go home. Away from this planet." This was the plain truth. Lonnie and Rath would do anything to get home. They had raped Max and helped kill Alex and would have set up the others if Liz hadn't discovered the truth.
"What if I told you...it was possible? That I could help you get home." Max couldn't believe his ears. What game was Liz playing? Go home how? Their last chance had been the granolith and even the Dupes knew that. There wasn't a hint of deception in her voice, but Lonnie still looked suspicious.
"What ya want me to do? Tap my heels three times and say 'there's no place like home'?"
Liz smiled, but her eyes said something different. They were wild and stormy like the night sky and narrowed like those of a predator. It frightened Max a little, but Lonnie didn't seem to notice. "Do you want to go home or not?"
"I would give anything...do anything to get home," Lonnie paused to wink at Max and he felt his stomach churn. "But there's one little problem. I think you're a stinkin' liar and you're playing with me. And you know what? I really hate it when people lie to me. It makes me do crazy things. Ask Prince Charming about that one."
Max glared back at her and met her stare with enough hostility to set the woods back on fire. She backed up slightly and was stopped by Rath's hand on her elbow.
"Wait a second, Lonnie," Rath said, surprising everyone by actually considering Liz's offer. "What if she's being straight with us?"
"I can't believe what I'm hearing, homie. She's funnin' with us. What, she got you under her spell too?" Lonnie shot at him.
"No, it's just...what's it gonna hurt? The worst that can happen is nothing and we're stuck on this backwater planet."
"OK, Lizzie, we'll play it your way. What we gotta do?" Lonnie thrust out one hip and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Pray for your miserable lives." Max could see that Liz was deadly serious.
"What you talkin' about?" Rath squinted and scratched at his eyebrow.
"You'll find out when you get there." Liz opened her arms and the five marks flared into life and sparked the answering set on Max's forearm. Ten points of light shot into the rain-darkened clouds and reconfigured themselves into the royal seal. Five planets in a V-shaped configuration with Antar at the center. Then the lights converged into one tightly focused beam that danced overhead in a dazzling lightshow.
"If you're trying to scare us, it ain't workin'." Rath scowled and moved inside Liz's comfort zone. Max itched to let him have it, but she restrained him with a warning nudge on his arm.
She gazed up at his turbulent face and actually rested the palm of her hand on his forehead. "You have violated our laws and code of honor. Antarian law dictates that you pay for your sins. When you get home, you'll both face a tribunal." Amarna was speaking through Liz and even Lonnie faltered at the way the words rolled off her tongue.
"Who the hell are you?" Rath demanded with growing fear, stepping away from her and never noticing the brand she put on his head.
Ava gasped, "She's marked him for death. It's Kivar's seal. I'd know it anywhere."
A similar mark appeared on Lonnie's skin and she shrieked as it burned its way through her epidermis. She started forward with her fist in the air but never made it. The beam of light descended from the sky and enveloped the Dupes. Max had no control over any of this. Liz was choreographing everything and he felt like a puppet in the hands of a puppet master. She drew his strength from him and tightened her coils around their heels like a boa constrictor. Max was drawn into her vortex and the scene shifted. He saw stars rushing past them at dizzying speed. Trails of red and blue as the light Doppler-shifted on their journey. A blue-green world hung in the sky, heavy and swollen and covered with clouds. Antar. Three moons orbited in elliptical patterns and twin suns appeared over the horizon. Rath and Lonnie's faces appeared before them, frozen in fear. They started to fade from sight and at the last moment, Lonnie tried to reach out and stop what was happening. But it was too late for both of them.
Max opened his eyes and found himself staring into Liz's face. Her pupils were jet-black and filled with the night. "Liz! What did you just do? Where are they?" he croaked in disbelief.
"I...sent them home. To Antar." Liz sounded equally nonplussed.
Ava ran over to them and pointed to the ground where the Dupes had been standing. "They just...disappeared. One minute they were there, and the next...poof."
The sound of voices echoed from a distance and Max knew that help was finally on its way. Kivar's host lay nearby and groaned softly.
Liz's whole body started to shake. The events of the past 24 hours had finally caught up with her. "M-max," was all she said before falling into his arms in a dead faint.
*****
Continued in Part Five
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Three
He ducked out from under her arm. "You don't know the meaning of friendship, or trust, or loyalty. You betrayed your brother and you'd betray me in a heartbeat," Kivar retorted with growing annoyance. He set Liz down and she leaned back against a rock wall.
"That's ancient history," Lonnie retorted. She stepped closer and scraped her nails against his cheek. "I meant something to you once. Surely you haven't forgotten...what we had. All those long, passionate nights."
"What I remember...is finding you with Nicholas. And how many others were there?" He physically removed her hand and shoved it away
"That was her. I'm not like that," Lonnie said sullenly.
Kivar shrugged. "Whatever. None of that matters now. After our business here tonight, I am done with both of you."
"What?" Rath was outraged. "We helped you set this up. We went to the mat for you, man. You owe us!"
Kivar sniggered. "Your payment for helping me is walking away with your miserable hides."
"You can't do this," Rath started but was cut off by Lonnie's hand on his arm.
"Chill. We'll deal later. For now, we watch and wait."
They took their positions and Liz watched their antics with a tight smile. Her adrenal glands were pumping adrenaline into every nook and cranny of her injured body. She might be physically hurt, but her soul was ascending to some spiritual plane. Deep at her core, a ball of white light started glowing, growing in size and strength as she fed it energy from some unknown source.
Kivar watched her as carefully as she watched the others. "You smile now, but you won't be laughing for long. I'm a reasonable man, so I'll let you live long enough to see him suffer."
"We'll see," was all Liz said as she turned her face away and let the now driving rain soak her hair and face. Something inside her lay in wait. In school, when she had tried to plead her case with Max, she'd never gotten to explain her actions. This thing...her marks...the way she could read his mind...the visions she was having...they were alien. She needed closure and had felt an intense need to connect with something totally human. Kyle had been a stepping stone to this place. This moment in time. She was here for a reason and knew that in a very short time, she'd discover what that was.
*****
The starlight had paved their way at first, but now it was blotted out by rain clouds. Light drizzle turned into a torrential downpour. The dry, dusty path turned into a river of mud and darting over slippery rocks became treacherous. Ava was surprisingly sure-footed and seemed comfortable with the wet conditions. At one point, she prevented him from crashing headlong into the brush.
"Thanks."
"You ready for this?" Ava asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he admitted.
"We'll come out of this. You've gotta believe that." She patted his arm and started back up the trail.
"I want to believe," Max whispered to himself. Something tickled his senses. Maybe Kivar was putting out mental feelers or something, but wait...it was Liz. Alive. He extended his senses and let her know he was coming. A response. Faint at first but growing stronger. He saw a pulsating, spinning light throwing its rays in every direction. Changing shape and expanding its diameter. Building in power. Then he remembered her words from earlier that day. 'There's something inside me.' Something alien. Dangerous. A mote of intelligence suddenly floated his way. *Hurry. Not much time. Love you.* She severed the connection, but there was no time to wonder why. They had arrived. The trees parted company and widened into a clearing. No one was in sight, but he felt all three of them. Lurking like spiders and waiting for their prey. Stamping the atmosphere with their black nastiness. Leaving such a metaphysical stench that he wanted to puke his guts out. Ava hopped from one foot to the other and her blue eyes seemed to glow with anticipation.
"Let's do it," Max said softly. She nodded and once again, he let her take the lead.
*****
Liz threw her head back and let the rain drip into her mouth for a moment before staring out into the night. Part of her watched them and kept track of their movements. They cursed and muttered by the edge of the woods. She sealed off the rest of her mind and surrounded herself with comforting memories. Cocooned by the past, she barely noticed something pierce through the veil between reality and the dream world. Another mind touched hers from a great distance. *Come with me*. His voice was ancient and filled her with its wisdom. River Dog. *Look North towards Polaris. Never stray from it. It is your destiny. His destiny. Never forget that.* She stretched out her arms and white-hot light surged from her fingertips. It danced around her in a vortex before mingling with her essence. His words faded and he was gone from her. Dead to them all. But she had never been more alive. As her eyes opened, she knew what she had to do.
*****
They stood like sentries. Frighteningly tall like the juniper trees that shrouded them. His keen eyes clearly delineated a trio of watchers under the dripping branches. His senses were blanketed by the howling wind and electromagnetic particles that lifted the hair off his neck. Liz was nowhere to be seen and he couldn't feel her at all.
The forest hugged the mountaintop and reluctantly opened its arms to the precipice at the far edge of the clearing. Max knew this could go a number of ways and none of them were pleasant. As if reading his thoughts, the storm worsened and started pelting him with hail. Thunder boomed so loudly that it nearly blew out his eardrums. His ears rang in synchrony with the lightning flashes and the intermittent blasts of light lit up the sky with its slow strobe.
Ava stopped and beckoned for him to move closer. She pointed at the sheer rock face and said, "Liz is over there."
"How do you know that?"
"Her aura. Can't you see it? It's purplish black and kinda angry-looking." Ava nodded for emphasis like that was supposed to mean something.
Max shook his head in frustration. "I don't see a thing. What do the colors mean?"
"She's injured, but there's something else." Her voice shook slightly with that last admission.
There was no time for speculation. A sizzling blast of energy came hurtling towards them and only his quick reflexes got them out of harm's way. Before they could regroup, another energy bolt emerged from the trees and its owner followed its path. Ava grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "We got to join forces. It's our only chance."
Max tightened his hand on hers and let the energy flow between them. Joining with Ava was totally different from the way Tess had made him feel. Her mind was an open book and she let him see things he wasn't meant to see. Her and Eddie making love. Happiness. Laughter. She added her strength to his own. A force field sprang into existence and deflected the next mental missile. Kivar did not look pleased at seeing Ava.
"Another traitor. Does it ever end with you Antarians?" He stopped in front of the defense net and smirked. "Your flimsy defenses are no match for us."
Rath and Lonnie flanked each side of him, their dark eyes filled with bile and anger. As an aside to Rath, Lonnie muttered, "You should have killed the bitch dead while you had the chance. She's been nothing but a major thorn in our side and look at her now helping the boy king. How sweet is that?"
"Enough chatter," Kivar warned. "We have a job to do, so let's do it."
"Sure thing, boss. Whatcha got in mind?" Rath said sarcastically. "Can we disembowel him? Now that would be cool."
Kivar growled, "Maybe I'll try it on you first!"
Rath finally decided to shut up and closed his eyes in concentration. Lonnie took his hand and added her own two cents to the mental mix. Kivar took the reins and started lobbing energy grenades against their barrier. Each hit further weakened their shield and holes started forming in various places. Max was losing strength and he sensed the energy currents from Ava dwindling to a low ebb. He'd never planned on dying this way and he'd fight them until every last breath left his body. The force field dropped and he was knocked off his feet by a fierce blast of energy. Ava fell to her knees, still clasping his hand for dear life.
*****
Amarna, bringer of storms. Bearer of truth and light. The words were spoken in an ancient but familiar language. Antarian. Images came to her. Intense heat. Miles of sand. Large structures. Pyramids. Her canvas expanded further and she saw statues of deities everywhere. Her face was inscribed on some of them. It was dizzying. Exhilarating. There were others like her. Among Antarians, she was a creature of legend. One man went with her on a quest and came to Earth. Kivar's ancestor. Together, they created a dynasty. Commingled their blood with human DNA. Thousands of years passed. A descendent was born in Roswell, New Mexico. Liz Parker. She and Amarna were one. Their memories were joined. And something unexpected. This unbelievable feeling of power that grew with the storm's intensity. Max needed her help and she couldn't let him down. She pulled herself to her feet and approached the battle lines. Unnoticed. They were too busy fighting for their lives to notice her insignificant human self. In military terms, she barely registered as a blip on their radar screen. And that was a good thing. She'd be on them in a flash and none of them would be able to stop her.
*****
A slight figure emerged from the gloom. Liz. Walking fast and hard. Her jaw was set and her anger was palpable. Her body glowed and shimmered with some alien energy and the marks on her arm took on a life of their own. The Dupes and Kivar were so intent on mustering their power that they never noticed her approach. Max's relief at seeing Liz was dispelled by her odd behavior. The strange way she was staring at Kivar...like she knew him. Waiting. Looking up at the stormy sky and smiling. Then she noticed him watching her. Her eyes flicked to Ava like she was an insignificant flyspeck. Her gaze returned to Max and acknowledged him with a curt nod. This wasn't like Liz. Even in her angriest moments, there had always been a sliver of warmth behind her tirades. Liz closed her eyes for a moment and flooded Max with information. All of it came pouring out of her like blood from an open wound.
Ava was sensitive enough to pick up on part of their connection. "Amarna?" she whispered in an awestruck voice. "It ain't possible. Far as we know, she never existed."
*You were lied to. I have always been here*. Liz was speaking, but the voice belonged to someone else. Strangely accented and mellifluous with the words chiming like bells.
Max was taken aback. Was Liz possessed by some alien entity?
Liz shook her head. *We are one.*
Kivar was intent on his prey and never noticed Liz mirroring his movements as he swayed from side to side and approached Max's position. He raised up his arms and balls of energy danced along his fingertips. A wide smile formed on Liz's face and she seemed absurdly pleased by this development. Lonnie suddenly noticed Liz and tried to call out a warning, but she and Rath were frozen in place. Their mouths moved and their hands waved but no sound emerged. It was like someone had silenced them with a giant mute button. Kivar's face brightened. He had stolen their energy and now that he had no further use for them, he had neutralized them. And now, he was about to do the same thing to Max and Ava.
Before he could release his pent-up power, a lightning bolt tore into the ground behind him. Kivar jumped sideways and that caused him to lose control for a moment. His stolen energy ball simmered and sizzled over his head before hurtling towards its intended target. Max brought up his hands and tried to reform a defense shield, but there was no need. Before he could blink an eye, Liz ran at top speed and pushed him aside. Kivar's deathray slammed into her with such high velocity that the earth trembled. Smoke and flames filled the air and out of that miasma walked Liz, seemingly uninjured. She spread her arms wide and seemed to embrace the storm. Silver strands lined her hair and body and she hummed in bliss as her body absorbed the energy and added it to her arsenal.
*****
Kivar's eyes were wide and frightened and he actually retreated to where the Dupes had fallen unconscious. "This can't be happening. You cannot be."
Liz smiled coldly and moved to within a few inches of his position. "This is your doing. You awakened these memories and expected obedience, not her resistance or determination to find the truth. And this glorious power? It's embedded in her DNA and emerges when it's most needed."
"My quarrel is not with you," Kivar said reasonably, but his pleasant tone couldn't quite mask the serpent that he truly was. "If you come with me now, I'll let Zan and Ava go."
"Don't listen to him, Liz," Max cried desperately. He tried to approach but was held back by an invisible force.
Liz looked over her shoulder and smiled faintly. "I will handle this."
Max started to protest but was interrupted by Ava's hand on his arm. She jerked her head towards the area behind Kivar. The Dupes were awake, and judging from the murderous expression on Lonnie's face, they were royally pissed at Kivar.
"We have to do something," Max whispered.
*Deal with them. I'll take care of Kivar*. Liz's words thundered in his ears as she called the storm and brought it down on their heads.
******
Liz is inside. Collecting memories. Green skies. Red seas. Blood washes up onto black sand. Line after line of bodies litter the beach like driftwood. Soldiers looting. Mayhem. Revolution. Banners held high with Kivar's face emblazoned everywhere. Death and destruction. *How could you do this to your own people?*
He kneels before her in supplication and grabs her legs like a recalcitrant toddler. *I have brought a new age of peace and prosperity. Can't you see it?*
Golden harvests. Peaceful peasants laboring in the fields. His fields. His slaves. *This is your new age?* she says scornfully. Someone approaches and Liz sees blissed out eyes and a vacant smile as the servant moves past them. Not a whisper of intelligence or rational thought. Flat-lined. Drugged.
You disgust me*, she says, kicking free of his arms. On another level, she was aware that the lightning flashes were uncomfortably close together and striking near her position.
Kivar twisted her arm cruelly and used his host's superior strength to lift her off the ground. His broad palm cupped her chin and her feet dangled uselessly as she tried to land a kick in a vulnerable spot. He laughed at her efforts and triumphant black eyes bored into hers as he speared her chest with a mental fist and started slowing her heart until it grinded to a halt. Liz's brain function dwindled to a pinpoint of sentient thought that escaped Kivar's notice but was enough to sustain her. One face. One love. Max. For him and the others, she had to live. This was her destiny. Thinking she was dead, Kivar started to toss her aside like the many bodies he had gored in his conquests. In that moment of freefall, Liz unleashed the power at her core and felt it energize her. It jump-started her heart and ramped up her neurotransmitters to lethal levels. Her body thudded to the ground with a bone-jarring crunch. Her right arm snapped but she barely noticed the pain.
As Kivar turned his back and went to finish off the others, she rose up like an avenging angel and discharged the rising tide of power that threatened to overload her circuits. It washed over him like a tsunami and flooded his neural synapses. Unsuspecting, but on his guard. Turning. Eyes wide in shock. Drowning in his own memories. Torturing him with his own visions so that he feels what his victims feel. Hot pokers in his back. Branding him as property. Drugging him senseless. Extracting his powers and selling them on the open market as a precious commodity. His kingdom is built on their misery. She forces him to relive it all. Then she moves closer and touches his face. Kisses his forehead. Accepts his homage as the goddess she is. His head bends to accept his punishment, but she knows he is faking. That he waits for his own opportunity to pay her back in full. She will not allow this. He was never meant to conquer. His ancestor was wise. Knew she was stronger and accepted it. This descendent knows nothing. He is foolish and builds his kingdom on the backs of his minions. Amarna takes control and Liz steps back. He embraces her. Tries his charms. Thinks he has won. And in that moment, she unleashed another burst of energy. The attack was tinged with Liz's rage at all that Kivar had done to ruin the lives of her friends. At how he had interfered with her own plans. Her own happiness. Kivar fought back. Fiercely. Proudly. He was strong and she felt his mental pressure bearing down on her soul. But it wasn't enough. She rose up and launched a counterattack. He threw up a shield, but to her, it was no more than Swiss cheese. With a Mona Lisa smile in place, she extended her claws and started picking at his brain. Sucked him completely dry. All his power and every remaining memory became her property. He cowered and whimpered under her onslaught and her human side quailed at Amarna's cruelty. But the rest of her enjoyed his pain and reveled in his fall from grace. Kivar's human host fell unconscious and Liz knew he would live. Kivar's mind would also survive...after a fashion. But the memories she had burned into his consciousness would haunt him forever. She suddenly remembered where she was and who was there with her. Max and Ava. Surrounded by the Dupes. Burning branches moving closer. Sacrificing their own kind. Liz ignored the pain in her arm and was oblivious to the hot grass that scorched her hiking boots. Flames licked at her and burned her trousers, but she paid no attention. All she saw was Max and knew she had to save him at all costs. Nothing else mattered. With total disregard for her own safety, she walked into the wall of flame.
******
Fire in the sky. Flames surrounding them. Jailing them. Max cracked open one eye and groaned at the sight of Rath and Lonnie bearing down on him. Waving burning tree branches. Grinning. Jabbing at him and Ava. Trying to set them on fire. He started crawling away with his hand on Ava's collar, but both of them were caught by the inferno.
"Burn, baby, burn." Rath's lips were bared in a feral smile and Lonnie looked even more like a raccoon than usual. Ava slumped miserably against him and hid her face. Her clothes were charred and sooty and her lashes were burnt. Max was not doing much better. His powers were spent and his own clothes were one spark away from campfire status. Their death was inevitable and he felt shame and overwhelming guilt at their predicament and how he had failed Liz. Max backed up against a tree and pulled Ava against him.
She pressed her lips against his ear and whispered, "It was a good ride while it lasted, Max. Thank you...for trusting me."
"I don't deserve your thanks. I've condemned you to death," Max replied.
Ava shook her head in disagreement. "Save it. I knew the risks and I came anyway. It was my choice."
He would have replied, but something emerged from the fire that he simply could not believe. Liz was still alive. Tears of joy ran freely down his face but his heart clenched at her condition. One arm hung uselessly by her side and blood dripped from various head wounds. She stopped and stared at Max. The light in her eyes burned with such intensity that he could barely fathom the complex web of emotions that rippled across her face. For a moment, time stood still and Max let the light of his own love shine back at her. A few beats passed and when she next looked at him, he saw that all love had been scrubbed away and replaced with deadly resolve and cold, keen intelligence. Liz offered up her good arm to the heavens and it seemed to spark with unbridled power. Lightning bolts slammed into the ground at her feet but did nothing to harm her. In fact, she seemed to glow brighter with each step towards him. By the time she got within a few yards of his position, she was lit up like a Christmas tree. The Dupes were so busy feeding the fire that they never noticed her slip past them into the surrounding woods. The flames burned whiter and hotter. The wall of flame parted and Liz stepped through. Max desperately wanted to run to her but his body refused to obey his mind.
"I can't..." he started, and even his mouth refused to cooperate.
*Save your strength.* She nodded towards Rath and Lonnie, who were bickering over her sudden appearance.
"I can't believe this. Kivar shoulda stopped her," Rath commented as he scratched his brow and dropped his torch in mindless contemplation.
"Yeah, but he failed. And now, we gotta clean up his mess." Lonnie looked down and noticed the flames spreading around them. "You idiot," she accused as the fire moved uncomfortably close.
"Don't start with me. You were supposed to watch the perimeter, remember?"
"And you were supposed to contain the fire," Lonnie accused as she tried and failed to suppress the bonfire. "If I'd wanted to toast marshmallows, I would have joined the Campfire Girls."
Rath chortled. "Like they'd let you join?"
Lonnie grabbed his arm and snarled, "In case you haven't noticed, this fire is about to roast us alive. So if you close that hole that passes for a mouth and maybe focus, we can stop this thing."
The argument escalated and provided enough distraction for Liz to make her next move. She approached Max with extended hands and commanded, "Join hands with me."
Max took her right hand and saw her wince at his grip.
"You're hurt," he murmured with concern.
"It can wait." She pulled Ava to her feet with her other hand and they formed a circle.
Liz's body started to glow as her power built in strength. The fine hairs on his arms and neck stood straight up as he caught the energy wave that crested through him and restored his balance. Ava squeezed Max's hand and he noticed her high color and sparkling eyes. The caress of power was unbelievably sensual and its draw was undeniable. His toes curled in response and he felt Liz's fingers caressing his hand. So she felt it too. Liz pulled them towards the fire and as Max watched in amazement, the flames parted like the Red Sea and formed a passage for them.
*Fire, walk with me.* Max recognized the Twin Peaks reference and heard the dry humor in Liz's words as the flames followed them towards the Dupes.
Ava looked back and murmured in wonder, "So it's true what they say."
"About?"
"She...Amarna can control the elements. At least, that's how legend tells it."
There was no time for further discussion, because they'd reached the ring of fire surrounding the Dupes. Lonnie and Rath paced like caged lions and hatred glittered in their eyes. They either didn't recognize or didn't care that death was about to descend on them. In fact, Lonnie chose that moment to come forward and trash Ava.
"I can't believe you're helping them. After all I did for you. I took you in...treated you like my own flesh and blood. Like my own sister!"
Ava shook her head angrily. "What have you ever done for me except insult me and threaten my life? Huh?"
"We fed you...gave you a home. Made sure you had clothes."
Ava's eyes shot sparks and she spat in disgust. "Zan did those things. Zan took care of me and made sure I had what I needed. But you two never did nothing but steal your way through life."
"Little Miss Defective Hypocrite," Lonnie countered sarcastically. "Trying to put on airs for your new pals? Think they won't figure out that you're a thief and a whore?"
"Enough!" Max was tired, and the last thing he wanted to hear was this bitchfest. Liz's fingers twitched and she peered around her curtain of hair with an unreadable look in her eyes. She was letting this play out for some reason, and he was inclined to follow her lead.
"Ooh, the boy king is stepping up to the plate. What's the matter, Max? You tired of us dissing your podmate?" Rath smirked, apparently tired of Lonnie grabbing center stage.
"Podmate?" Ava echoed oddly. She looked at Max for reassurance and he nodded in affirmation. "You knew this and you didn't tell me?"
"I wasn't sure...until now."
"Reunited at last." Lonnie brought her hands together dramatically and pretended to swoon. "The king and his bride. Oh, and I forgot about the girlfriend. A love triangle. How intriguing. Too bad I won't see how this comes out. But wait, we know how this comes out. You all die and we walk. End of story."
"You got it wrong," Ava insisted quietly.
"How's that?" Lonnie asked.
"Max and Liz belong together. Anyone can see that. And me, I love someone else." Eddie's face flashed in Max's mind and a sensuous smile appeared on Liz's face at the erotic imagery she shared with them.
"Zan's corpse ain't even cold and you're taking up with humans?" Rath uttered derisively. "I always said you was defective and now you're provin' it."
"Too right," Lonnie agreed. "Now it all makes sense. She really does belong with them. Defective aliens with bad genes."
"Speak for yourself." The voice was quiet and undemonstrative, but it commanded attention. It was definitely Liz speaking, but Amarna was there too. Waiting in the wings for her chance. Waiting for the Dupes to hang themselves with their own rope.
"Excuse me? Was I talkin' to you, human?" Lonnie jeered and came closer to the fire's edge.
"She ain't exactly...human," Ava asserted.
"Is that right? What is she then? Some freakazoid hybrid from Mars?" Rath thought this was supremely funny, but he was the only one laughing.
Liz smiled coldly and looked up silently at the sky. Rain started falling in blinding sheets that doused the fire and freed the Dupes from their prison. Before Max could question her motives, she grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.
"What is your greatest wish?" she asked imperiously. The Dupes kicked away the ashes and came to face them. Max knew the answer and so did Liz, but she apparently wanted to hear them say it.
"Home. I want to go home. Away from this planet." This was the plain truth. Lonnie and Rath would do anything to get home. They had raped Max and helped kill Alex and would have set up the others if Liz hadn't discovered the truth.
"What if I told you...it was possible? That I could help you get home." Max couldn't believe his ears. What game was Liz playing? Go home how? Their last chance had been the granolith and even the Dupes knew that. There wasn't a hint of deception in her voice, but Lonnie still looked suspicious.
"What ya want me to do? Tap my heels three times and say 'there's no place like home'?"
Liz smiled, but her eyes said something different. They were wild and stormy like the night sky and narrowed like those of a predator. It frightened Max a little, but Lonnie didn't seem to notice. "Do you want to go home or not?"
"I would give anything...do anything to get home," Lonnie paused to wink at Max and he felt his stomach churn. "But there's one little problem. I think you're a stinkin' liar and you're playing with me. And you know what? I really hate it when people lie to me. It makes me do crazy things. Ask Prince Charming about that one."
Max glared back at her and met her stare with enough hostility to set the woods back on fire. She backed up slightly and was stopped by Rath's hand on her elbow.
"Wait a second, Lonnie," Rath said, surprising everyone by actually considering Liz's offer. "What if she's being straight with us?"
"I can't believe what I'm hearing, homie. She's funnin' with us. What, she got you under her spell too?" Lonnie shot at him.
"No, it's just...what's it gonna hurt? The worst that can happen is nothing and we're stuck on this backwater planet."
"OK, Lizzie, we'll play it your way. What we gotta do?" Lonnie thrust out one hip and crossed her arms across her chest.
"Pray for your miserable lives." Max could see that Liz was deadly serious.
"What you talkin' about?" Rath squinted and scratched at his eyebrow.
"You'll find out when you get there." Liz opened her arms and the five marks flared into life and sparked the answering set on Max's forearm. Ten points of light shot into the rain-darkened clouds and reconfigured themselves into the royal seal. Five planets in a V-shaped configuration with Antar at the center. Then the lights converged into one tightly focused beam that danced overhead in a dazzling lightshow.
"If you're trying to scare us, it ain't workin'." Rath scowled and moved inside Liz's comfort zone. Max itched to let him have it, but she restrained him with a warning nudge on his arm.
She gazed up at his turbulent face and actually rested the palm of her hand on his forehead. "You have violated our laws and code of honor. Antarian law dictates that you pay for your sins. When you get home, you'll both face a tribunal." Amarna was speaking through Liz and even Lonnie faltered at the way the words rolled off her tongue.
"Who the hell are you?" Rath demanded with growing fear, stepping away from her and never noticing the brand she put on his head.
Ava gasped, "She's marked him for death. It's Kivar's seal. I'd know it anywhere."
A similar mark appeared on Lonnie's skin and she shrieked as it burned its way through her epidermis. She started forward with her fist in the air but never made it. The beam of light descended from the sky and enveloped the Dupes. Max had no control over any of this. Liz was choreographing everything and he felt like a puppet in the hands of a puppet master. She drew his strength from him and tightened her coils around their heels like a boa constrictor. Max was drawn into her vortex and the scene shifted. He saw stars rushing past them at dizzying speed. Trails of red and blue as the light Doppler-shifted on their journey. A blue-green world hung in the sky, heavy and swollen and covered with clouds. Antar. Three moons orbited in elliptical patterns and twin suns appeared over the horizon. Rath and Lonnie's faces appeared before them, frozen in fear. They started to fade from sight and at the last moment, Lonnie tried to reach out and stop what was happening. But it was too late for both of them.
Max opened his eyes and found himself staring into Liz's face. Her pupils were jet-black and filled with the night. "Liz! What did you just do? Where are they?" he croaked in disbelief.
"I...sent them home. To Antar." Liz sounded equally nonplussed.
Ava ran over to them and pointed to the ground where the Dupes had been standing. "They just...disappeared. One minute they were there, and the next...poof."
The sound of voices echoed from a distance and Max knew that help was finally on its way. Kivar's host lay nearby and groaned softly.
Liz's whole body started to shake. The events of the past 24 hours had finally caught up with her. "M-max," was all she said before falling into his arms in a dead faint.
*****
Continued in Part Five
Last edited by Peregrine on Sun Feb 29, 2004 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
True North-M/L-PG-13, 5/5
Title: True North-Roswell, 5/5
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Four
*****
Two days later
Liz's Bedroom
Tap, tap, tap. Liz cracked open one eye and looked at the time. 5 AM. Was that damned woodpecker trying to drive her insane like he did every morning? She pulled the pillow over her head and tried ignoring the sound. Bang, bang, bam. Tapping had turned into pounding. No flicker in the known world had that kind of pecking power. Then a soft, velvety voice brought her fully awake. *Liz, open the window*.
Max. She sat up and stared at him through the glass. He hunkered outside, and for once, it was warm and dry. Liz's usual pajamas were a camisole and boxers. Not exactly the sexiest thing on the planet, but it would have to do.
Liz sauntered over to the window and unlocked it. "Hey, Max," she murmured in greeting. She offered her hand and helped him over the sill and he nodded his thanks before dropping his hand to his side.
He looked at her through his bangs. "I tried staying away, but I couldn't. It's been two days and I had to know if you were OK. Even Maria didn't know and she always..."
"Knows everything?" Liz smiled fondly and knew it must have killed Maria to not to have the scoop on what went down on the mountain. "I've been asleep. Dead to the world since last night."
"No dreams or visions?" he asked curiously.
"It was a total blackout. Did you try to dreamwalk me?" She remembered nothing since collapsing in his arms. And even that was growing hazy, like some dream that flitted at the edges of your consciousness that you couldn't quite grasp.
"I did, but it's like you said. Nothing." He pulled at his hair and she could guess how worried he had been, how anxious he still was. Max examined her closely and she caught the glint of humor that huddled behind the worry. "You might want..." he pointed at the bathrobe draped over one of her bedposts.
"Too warm for that, but...thanks." Liz stretched her arms overhead and didn't miss the way his eyes darkened at the sight of her shirt pulling tightly across her chest. She dropped her hands and suddenly remembered something. "My arm...you healed me. Thanks."
Max smiled sweetly. "I can't take all the credit. Ava had to lend a hand."
"How is Ava? It must be really difficult...losing River Dog like that." The old man's message played back in her head and she saw his kind face as she last remembered it. Counseling her about Max and issues of trust.
"How did you...oh," his voice trailed off and he looked at her strangely a few times. "Did Amarna show you?"
"I'm not sure. He spoke to me on the mountain. Somehow I knew he was dead."
"River Dog warned me that you were in trouble. And that's when Ava showed up and offered to help. She's been living on the Rez for awhile now."
"She seems really happy. Like she's finally found home," Liz stated. At the mention of home, Max turned away and looked at his feet. Sending the Dupes home...marking them the way she had. It was cold and brutal. Part of her knew it was right and just, but the other could not come to terms with it. Max had his own doubts about her and about himself. But there was more to this. 'You're my home'. Words echoing in a rock chamber. Directed at his sister. Guilt. Those words had been meant for Liz but he hadn't found the courage to say them. His jeep. The way he had looked at her. He'd wanted her to come with him, but was deathly scared of her answer. Max had to stop hiding. behind the tree and move away from the shadow of his past and that damned destiny book.
His thoughts were painted on a canvas and she added her own brushstrokes. Max turned slightly and held out his hand. A peace offering. She extended her arm and he pulled her close to him. His hands rested on her shoulders and he didn't hide what he felt. Awkward. Bittersweet. Sympathetic, but cautious. Definitely afraid. And that frisson of sexual tension...it telegraphed itself through his fingers and sent shivers down her spine. Liz broke the silence. "So, Ava...she's part of your pod. Will you work with her the way you worked with...?"
She didn't need to remind him about Tess. Max had enough guilt on his plate. "Maybe."
"I hope it works out. I like Ava." Liz meant that sincerely and Max seemed relieved at her admission.
"So, friggin' Eddie. And Ava."
"That's right. I thought I saw them..." Liz coughed because she had seen quite a lot more than she'd bargained for when she connected with Ava. "Together."
Ava was open and honest and completely comfortable with her sexuality. Something that Liz and Max hadn't quite managed on their own. Tess's perfidy and Max's own actions, however much they weren't his fault, were an albatross that needed grounding. What she had seen...wow. Ava was a firecracker and Eddie was the match that lit her wick. Max stared down at her and she knew he felt everything she was feeling, but where did it start and where did it end? *The way I want us to be.* Whispered like a sigh, flitting between them like a silent prayer.
Power flowed from his fingers and deepened their connection. Every emotion was laid bare and she was deeply moved by his gesture. Desire. Intense need. Love. All these were reflected in his smoky brown eyes and she sighed in contentment as his fingers tangled in her hair. *I can't not touch you*. Those long-ago words he'd uttered in the desert came back to her and from the way his eyes crinkled, she saw that he also remembered. His hands slid down her arms and a trail of golden light followed the path of his caresses. *I'm glowing everywhere...my toes, my heart. You can't see it. It's on the inside*. He'd said that to her on that night in Michael's apartment. The night they almost...cemented. How much she'd wanted it, how she had pushed him for it. And now, she didn't know what she wanted or who she was anymore. Was she human or alien? Did some Egyptian goddess freak hide out in her veins? And the power she had felt. She craved it. That more than anything else scared the bejesus out of her.
"You're not a...freak, Liz. What you're feeling...it's exactly what I went through...what I'm still going through." He caressed her face and regarded her with compassion. "The other day...when you talked about this thing inside you...it really hurt when you pushed me away. But I look at myself, and I see...I did the same thing to you. I turned my back on everything that mattered and let...her poison my thoughts."
She curled her fingers over his hand and said, "Don't keep blaming yourself for what has already passed."
"But has it passed? I mean, how can we...?" The words dangled out of reach and his mind formed what his mouth couldn't seem to say. Walking hand in hand. Happy. Joined in every way that counted. That last picture was particularly vivid and Liz felt a warm rush pulsate through her. But his thoughts kept turning towards Tess and his son. "I can't let this go."
"Nor should you." Deep inside, Liz felt the darkness stir and knew that Amarna also waited for that day. Restless and eager. Shifting. Receding. "When the day comes...when you face her again...I'll be there for you. And so will...that other part of me."
And there it was. The thing she feared the most. Laid out on the table. Full house. "Liz," he whispered. "The other night was..."
"Something you can't describe. I know. It's...what frightens me the most is how much...I liked it. Having power like that...I just can't wrap my mind around it." Her voice reflected the awe and majesty of those few moments when she'd been suspended in space and had somehow transported the Dupes to Antar.
"There's something Tess said once...you have to embrace the darkness to find the light. I think maybe she was right about that," Max admitted.
Liz nodded thoughtfully as her mind traveled down the halls of their shared memories. The Eraser Room on the morning after she was shot. Where she told him that all eyes were on her and she felt suffocated, that him not knowing who he was must be freeing. Now the tables were turned and her whole life was shrouded in mystery. "Talking to you like this. About my other self. It's freeing."
"Should I check for third eyes?" Max pretended to part her hair and they shared a rare smile. Lately, there hadn't been much to smile about.
"So you remember," Liz replied softly. Everything had seemed so simple back then.
"Every moment we've spent together. There were days when I couldn't make it through...without thinking of you." His eyes were soft and hazy with memory and she saw unshed tears brighten his eyes.
"Max, I...Amarna...she's helped me really understand something. I finally know what it's like to be...alien. But more than that, I realize how special you are. These powers are a gift. Using them to help others the way you have, risking your neck to save me, helping those kids..." Her voice choked with emotion and she tried to compose her thoughts into something adequate. Because thanking him seemed somehow inadequate.
Max was speechless. And profoundly moved by her words. Liz pulled him against her and stroked his hair while he cried silently. He finally managed to calm himself enough to say, "You mean more to me than anything in this life. Without you..." his voice cracked and he collapsed in her arms.
Words could not convey what was in her heart, but he saw straight to her core. He looked at her in awe and cupped her face in his hands.
"Amarna." Her body vibrated to some ancient chord and that other-wordly feeling--that feeling of being out of her body and floating in the stratosphere--returned. "She lives in you, Liz. It's the reason...when I first saw you all those years ago, I knew. On some level, I guess I've always known. But River Dog..."
Liz looked inwardly and her voice seemed to come from a great distance away. "He told me to look North. That it was my destiny."
Max entwined her fingers in his and kneeled before her in homage. "You are my true north, Liz. My path and yours..."
She felt like she was under a spell as Max pulled her over to the bed and into his lap. He enchanted her with his luminous eyes and his beautiful, shining soul and his marvelous face and body. Max moved closer and rested his face in the hollow between her neck and shoulder. Like a dying man in need of water, he sniffed her essence and let it fill his lungs. His mouth opened against her carotid artery and let her pulse throb against his tongue. It was like he had to taste and touch every part of her. To reassure himself. An image formed in her mind and she remembered his fantasy and wondered what might have happened if that old lady hadn't been beating on the car. Max made it come true.
He caught her fingers with his and kissed her palm fervently while he watched her face. She knew what he saw. Lashes lowering over eyes dazed with passion. Mouth slightly parted with her tongue darting across her lower lip. Tense and taut. Every part of her tightening with arousal. His teeth grazed her fingers and sucked them into his mouth. A nearly instantaneous connection jolted through her. She flashed back to their very first connection and brought him along for the ride. They experienced a whirlwind journey that encompassed every kiss and embrace and swept them up in a maelstrom of emotions. Spiral galaxies draped galactic arms around them and their feet skittered on a cosmic dance floor as their souls intertwined. Galactic orbs silvered his hair and crowned him with stellar gases. Five nebulous filaments flared from her arm and spawned a matching array on Max's arm that exploded in a radiant shower of sparks. The light converged into a spiraling column that painted the heavens with a V-shaped configuration of stars. The royal seal. Alien skywriting. Falling through space and time. Complete happiness. Lips tasting her skin, drinking her like fine wine. Her eyes opened. Max's face was inches from hers and his beautiful eyes glowed back at her, filled with love and awe over what they had just shared. "M-max," she stammered, so overwhelmed with emotion that her throat closed on her words. Liz wrapped her legs around his waist and his strong arms pulled her as close as two bodies could be with the hindrance of clothes between them. "We really shouldn't..." she moaned as his mouth made its way up the column of her neck.
"I know," he gasped, nipping at her earlobe. With a twist of his body, he rolled over and pinned her under him. Sinew and bone pressed against her as he straddled her with his strong legs. Liz wrapped her legs around his calves and he seemed stunned by the way she molded herself to him. With a happy sigh, he buried his face in her hair and hugged her even tighter.
"God, how I love you." His words were slurred and heavy with passion. Max traced the curve of her cheek and let his hand meander down her shoulder before dusting the fine planes of her collarbone with the softest of touches. His mind drew incredibly erotic pictures of his hands and mouth on her body and she swooned with the exquisite torture of entertaining such thoughts. Liz conjured up a delicious mental image and felt his body tense as she envisioned his mouth following his hands with a trail of kisses that ventured into unchartered territory. Max shook like a tree and his breathing was heavy and ragged. Gentle as he was, she felt his mighty effort to control some very strong and primal emotions. She wanted what he wanted and had far less self-control than he did. Following her instincts, she undulated her hips and ground against him with an ancient rhythm whose meaning was unmistakable. His eyes flew open at such an intimate and unexpected maneuver and she lost herself in his soulful gaze.
****
Max resisted temptation for as long as he could. Hovering over her like this with their bodies glued together and every part of her fitting perfectly against him like she was created for his pleasure...it was maddening. Liz was so beautiful. He'd never really told her that. But he planned on showing her what she meant to him. And so, he let the wildness in his blood take over. He lowered his mouth to hers and traced her lips with his tongue. Caught her lower lip with his teeth and sucked on its juicy fullness. Her mouth opened wide under his and let him in. Their tongues thrust and parried against each other, dancing and swirling, sucking and biting, accelerating and slowing to a seemingly endless series of wet, open-mouthed kisses that sent them both spiraling into orbit. Liz returned his previous favor and started sucking on his lower lip before pulling his tongue into her mouth with a satisfying slurp. He groaned against her mouth and drove her backwards against the headboard with their hands laced overhead. With each thrust of his tongue, their hands bumped against the wall and the bed squeaked loudly with their movement. Max smiled at that sound and realized how much more violent it would be when they finally made love. When he opened his eyes, he saw that she was grinning too.
"Someone might hear us," she cautioned in a stage whisper and he caught the ramble of her thoughts as they jogged back in time to the Eraser Room and detention.
"I don't care," he murmured in her ear. "I want the whole world to hear us."
Liz laid her face against his neck and he felt her smile. Her lips traced the fine contours of his shoulders and mapped the veins in his arms as she worked her way down to his hands. "If we keep this up," she stopped to lick the valley between his thumb and forefinger and mumbled hoarsely, "You'll get your wish."
He gasped when she ran her hands over his pecs and lingered there, caressing him with long strokes that made his body sing in response. Liz started touching him everywhere. Pushing his hair away from his face and winding it in her hands. Trailing her fingers down his shoulders and resting on his biceps. Stroking his thighs. He shuddered as her hands found their way under his shirt. "Liz, we have to...aah," he groaned as her tongue circled around his navel.
"Have to what?" she asked against the firm planes of his abs, biting and kissing as she followed the ridges of his muscles.
"Slow down," he moaned as her warm hands moved higher on his stomach and pushed his shirt out of the way.
"Umm, I can..." One kiss landed on his ribcage and she added mentally, *Take off your shirt*.
He smiled and shook his head. "I don't think..." Liz urged him to raise his arms and practically ripped his shirt from his body.
He stifled the moan that threatened to tear from his throat as her mouth tasted every inch of his chest. He had to stop...what he wanted more than anything. With extreme reluctance, he touched her shoulders and pushed her away from him. "Liz, if we don't stop now, there's no turning back."
Then he saw himself the way she saw him. Golden. Glowing. Beautiful inside and out. It was the weirdest feeling he'd ever had. Being John Malkovich, indeed. "Moving forward. That's what you said...you wanted."
"And I meant that. But I wasn't referring specifically to...all this," he indicated the rumpled sheets and her mussed-up hair and his eyes went further than that and saw the bite marks glowing on her neck and all the very overt signs of arousal that she made no effort to hide. She was gloriously open and so beautiful that his stomach rumbled like it did whenever he saw her. One of her straps had fallen and he started to push it back where it belonged.
"Leave it," Liz ordered and let the other strap fall to her elbow. With feline grace she pulled herself into his lap and touched her lips lightly against his. A butterfly landing and fluttering its wings delicately. Her tongue darted between his lips with slight pressure and he opened his mouth under hers. It was exquisite and mind-bending and possibly the most sensuous kiss they had ever shared. The contact was intimate and slower than molasses and it drew him to her like a magnet. He started at her shoulders and ran his hands down her arms, pausing at the elbows to help her slide the straps down and off. Liz's eyes opened in surprise, for she clearly hadn't expected him to follow through on her invitation.
"I thought you said...," he stole her words away with a kiss that left them both gasping. "That you wanted..." Max lowered his head to her breasts and started kissing the exposed upper curves. "To slow dow-nnn. Aah..."
She writhed under his skillful caresses and didn't protest when he pushed her shirt up slightly. He took a moment to watch her lashes flutter against her cheekbones and marveled at how small and perfectly formed she was. Liz's breath hissed as he laid a trail of soft kisses from her belly to her ribcage. "Is this slow enough?"
"Yes," she said, half-moaning when he touched the soft undersides of her breasts. "Please," she implored, throwing her head back as he stroked around and between each breast, still not seeing what he'd always fantasized about.
"Please what?" Max murmured against her lips. With another one of those smiles that turned his insides to mush, she removed her camisole. Liz tilted her head to one side and watched his eyes memorize the gorgeous expanse of her creamy white skin and darken with smoldering passion. The sight of her naked flesh was like a long drink of water in a desert oasis. That should have been enough to sustain him, but his hormones got the best of him. With hot, greedy hands, he reached for her like a child at a candy counter. Her breasts filled his hands and she moaned as he splayed his fingers and let her softness fill his hands. For one long moment, he took his fill of her, longing to bend his head and devour her. Wanted it so much that it tightened his body like a bow pulled back from its quiver. But there was no turning back once they traveled down that road. His hands moved to her shoulders and he pulled her against his chest. Every exposed part of her connected with him and made him burn at his core.
Max managed to get his breathing under control and touched his forehead to hers. "I've wanted you for a long time. But we have to wait. Too much has happened." Tess. Lingering like a bad case of heartburn. His son. Lost. Maybe forever. Both of them specters that haunted him. Shadowing his relationship with Liz. The resignation in her eyes told him she understood. Then something surged and they connected in a shared vision.
Liquid fire lights the sky. Star-seeker. Na-gah. Her hand in his. Standing together. Their paths aligned. The flare of a familiar pattern dances on the crown of the hill. He turns to her with shining eyes. The royal seal. It means something. We belong together.
*****
The End
Author: Peregrine (E. Klisiewicz)
Rating: PG-13,
Category: M/L
Disclaimer: Roswell is owned by Jason Katims Productions, Regency Television, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and any other holder of Roswell copyrights.
Feedback: is always appreciated.
Distribution: please ask before archiving this story.
Author's Note: This story ended a year long writer's block. It was a long and rather painful process to get this right, but thanks must go out to my friend and fellow writer, Irene Shafer, who published the lovely fanzine, Late For the Sky. This story was intended for the second issue of that publication, but Irene decided not to publish a second volume. After all this time, I decided to release this story to the public. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: This story follows the events in "Departure", the Season Two finale. Liz mulls over her relationship with Max.
Continued from Part Four
*****
Two days later
Liz's Bedroom
Tap, tap, tap. Liz cracked open one eye and looked at the time. 5 AM. Was that damned woodpecker trying to drive her insane like he did every morning? She pulled the pillow over her head and tried ignoring the sound. Bang, bang, bam. Tapping had turned into pounding. No flicker in the known world had that kind of pecking power. Then a soft, velvety voice brought her fully awake. *Liz, open the window*.
Max. She sat up and stared at him through the glass. He hunkered outside, and for once, it was warm and dry. Liz's usual pajamas were a camisole and boxers. Not exactly the sexiest thing on the planet, but it would have to do.
Liz sauntered over to the window and unlocked it. "Hey, Max," she murmured in greeting. She offered her hand and helped him over the sill and he nodded his thanks before dropping his hand to his side.
He looked at her through his bangs. "I tried staying away, but I couldn't. It's been two days and I had to know if you were OK. Even Maria didn't know and she always..."
"Knows everything?" Liz smiled fondly and knew it must have killed Maria to not to have the scoop on what went down on the mountain. "I've been asleep. Dead to the world since last night."
"No dreams or visions?" he asked curiously.
"It was a total blackout. Did you try to dreamwalk me?" She remembered nothing since collapsing in his arms. And even that was growing hazy, like some dream that flitted at the edges of your consciousness that you couldn't quite grasp.
"I did, but it's like you said. Nothing." He pulled at his hair and she could guess how worried he had been, how anxious he still was. Max examined her closely and she caught the glint of humor that huddled behind the worry. "You might want..." he pointed at the bathrobe draped over one of her bedposts.
"Too warm for that, but...thanks." Liz stretched her arms overhead and didn't miss the way his eyes darkened at the sight of her shirt pulling tightly across her chest. She dropped her hands and suddenly remembered something. "My arm...you healed me. Thanks."
Max smiled sweetly. "I can't take all the credit. Ava had to lend a hand."
"How is Ava? It must be really difficult...losing River Dog like that." The old man's message played back in her head and she saw his kind face as she last remembered it. Counseling her about Max and issues of trust.
"How did you...oh," his voice trailed off and he looked at her strangely a few times. "Did Amarna show you?"
"I'm not sure. He spoke to me on the mountain. Somehow I knew he was dead."
"River Dog warned me that you were in trouble. And that's when Ava showed up and offered to help. She's been living on the Rez for awhile now."
"She seems really happy. Like she's finally found home," Liz stated. At the mention of home, Max turned away and looked at his feet. Sending the Dupes home...marking them the way she had. It was cold and brutal. Part of her knew it was right and just, but the other could not come to terms with it. Max had his own doubts about her and about himself. But there was more to this. 'You're my home'. Words echoing in a rock chamber. Directed at his sister. Guilt. Those words had been meant for Liz but he hadn't found the courage to say them. His jeep. The way he had looked at her. He'd wanted her to come with him, but was deathly scared of her answer. Max had to stop hiding. behind the tree and move away from the shadow of his past and that damned destiny book.
His thoughts were painted on a canvas and she added her own brushstrokes. Max turned slightly and held out his hand. A peace offering. She extended her arm and he pulled her close to him. His hands rested on her shoulders and he didn't hide what he felt. Awkward. Bittersweet. Sympathetic, but cautious. Definitely afraid. And that frisson of sexual tension...it telegraphed itself through his fingers and sent shivers down her spine. Liz broke the silence. "So, Ava...she's part of your pod. Will you work with her the way you worked with...?"
She didn't need to remind him about Tess. Max had enough guilt on his plate. "Maybe."
"I hope it works out. I like Ava." Liz meant that sincerely and Max seemed relieved at her admission.
"So, friggin' Eddie. And Ava."
"That's right. I thought I saw them..." Liz coughed because she had seen quite a lot more than she'd bargained for when she connected with Ava. "Together."
Ava was open and honest and completely comfortable with her sexuality. Something that Liz and Max hadn't quite managed on their own. Tess's perfidy and Max's own actions, however much they weren't his fault, were an albatross that needed grounding. What she had seen...wow. Ava was a firecracker and Eddie was the match that lit her wick. Max stared down at her and she knew he felt everything she was feeling, but where did it start and where did it end? *The way I want us to be.* Whispered like a sigh, flitting between them like a silent prayer.
Power flowed from his fingers and deepened their connection. Every emotion was laid bare and she was deeply moved by his gesture. Desire. Intense need. Love. All these were reflected in his smoky brown eyes and she sighed in contentment as his fingers tangled in her hair. *I can't not touch you*. Those long-ago words he'd uttered in the desert came back to her and from the way his eyes crinkled, she saw that he also remembered. His hands slid down her arms and a trail of golden light followed the path of his caresses. *I'm glowing everywhere...my toes, my heart. You can't see it. It's on the inside*. He'd said that to her on that night in Michael's apartment. The night they almost...cemented. How much she'd wanted it, how she had pushed him for it. And now, she didn't know what she wanted or who she was anymore. Was she human or alien? Did some Egyptian goddess freak hide out in her veins? And the power she had felt. She craved it. That more than anything else scared the bejesus out of her.
"You're not a...freak, Liz. What you're feeling...it's exactly what I went through...what I'm still going through." He caressed her face and regarded her with compassion. "The other day...when you talked about this thing inside you...it really hurt when you pushed me away. But I look at myself, and I see...I did the same thing to you. I turned my back on everything that mattered and let...her poison my thoughts."
She curled her fingers over his hand and said, "Don't keep blaming yourself for what has already passed."
"But has it passed? I mean, how can we...?" The words dangled out of reach and his mind formed what his mouth couldn't seem to say. Walking hand in hand. Happy. Joined in every way that counted. That last picture was particularly vivid and Liz felt a warm rush pulsate through her. But his thoughts kept turning towards Tess and his son. "I can't let this go."
"Nor should you." Deep inside, Liz felt the darkness stir and knew that Amarna also waited for that day. Restless and eager. Shifting. Receding. "When the day comes...when you face her again...I'll be there for you. And so will...that other part of me."
And there it was. The thing she feared the most. Laid out on the table. Full house. "Liz," he whispered. "The other night was..."
"Something you can't describe. I know. It's...what frightens me the most is how much...I liked it. Having power like that...I just can't wrap my mind around it." Her voice reflected the awe and majesty of those few moments when she'd been suspended in space and had somehow transported the Dupes to Antar.
"There's something Tess said once...you have to embrace the darkness to find the light. I think maybe she was right about that," Max admitted.
Liz nodded thoughtfully as her mind traveled down the halls of their shared memories. The Eraser Room on the morning after she was shot. Where she told him that all eyes were on her and she felt suffocated, that him not knowing who he was must be freeing. Now the tables were turned and her whole life was shrouded in mystery. "Talking to you like this. About my other self. It's freeing."
"Should I check for third eyes?" Max pretended to part her hair and they shared a rare smile. Lately, there hadn't been much to smile about.
"So you remember," Liz replied softly. Everything had seemed so simple back then.
"Every moment we've spent together. There were days when I couldn't make it through...without thinking of you." His eyes were soft and hazy with memory and she saw unshed tears brighten his eyes.
"Max, I...Amarna...she's helped me really understand something. I finally know what it's like to be...alien. But more than that, I realize how special you are. These powers are a gift. Using them to help others the way you have, risking your neck to save me, helping those kids..." Her voice choked with emotion and she tried to compose her thoughts into something adequate. Because thanking him seemed somehow inadequate.
Max was speechless. And profoundly moved by her words. Liz pulled him against her and stroked his hair while he cried silently. He finally managed to calm himself enough to say, "You mean more to me than anything in this life. Without you..." his voice cracked and he collapsed in her arms.
Words could not convey what was in her heart, but he saw straight to her core. He looked at her in awe and cupped her face in his hands.
"Amarna." Her body vibrated to some ancient chord and that other-wordly feeling--that feeling of being out of her body and floating in the stratosphere--returned. "She lives in you, Liz. It's the reason...when I first saw you all those years ago, I knew. On some level, I guess I've always known. But River Dog..."
Liz looked inwardly and her voice seemed to come from a great distance away. "He told me to look North. That it was my destiny."
Max entwined her fingers in his and kneeled before her in homage. "You are my true north, Liz. My path and yours..."
She felt like she was under a spell as Max pulled her over to the bed and into his lap. He enchanted her with his luminous eyes and his beautiful, shining soul and his marvelous face and body. Max moved closer and rested his face in the hollow between her neck and shoulder. Like a dying man in need of water, he sniffed her essence and let it fill his lungs. His mouth opened against her carotid artery and let her pulse throb against his tongue. It was like he had to taste and touch every part of her. To reassure himself. An image formed in her mind and she remembered his fantasy and wondered what might have happened if that old lady hadn't been beating on the car. Max made it come true.
He caught her fingers with his and kissed her palm fervently while he watched her face. She knew what he saw. Lashes lowering over eyes dazed with passion. Mouth slightly parted with her tongue darting across her lower lip. Tense and taut. Every part of her tightening with arousal. His teeth grazed her fingers and sucked them into his mouth. A nearly instantaneous connection jolted through her. She flashed back to their very first connection and brought him along for the ride. They experienced a whirlwind journey that encompassed every kiss and embrace and swept them up in a maelstrom of emotions. Spiral galaxies draped galactic arms around them and their feet skittered on a cosmic dance floor as their souls intertwined. Galactic orbs silvered his hair and crowned him with stellar gases. Five nebulous filaments flared from her arm and spawned a matching array on Max's arm that exploded in a radiant shower of sparks. The light converged into a spiraling column that painted the heavens with a V-shaped configuration of stars. The royal seal. Alien skywriting. Falling through space and time. Complete happiness. Lips tasting her skin, drinking her like fine wine. Her eyes opened. Max's face was inches from hers and his beautiful eyes glowed back at her, filled with love and awe over what they had just shared. "M-max," she stammered, so overwhelmed with emotion that her throat closed on her words. Liz wrapped her legs around his waist and his strong arms pulled her as close as two bodies could be with the hindrance of clothes between them. "We really shouldn't..." she moaned as his mouth made its way up the column of her neck.
"I know," he gasped, nipping at her earlobe. With a twist of his body, he rolled over and pinned her under him. Sinew and bone pressed against her as he straddled her with his strong legs. Liz wrapped her legs around his calves and he seemed stunned by the way she molded herself to him. With a happy sigh, he buried his face in her hair and hugged her even tighter.
"God, how I love you." His words were slurred and heavy with passion. Max traced the curve of her cheek and let his hand meander down her shoulder before dusting the fine planes of her collarbone with the softest of touches. His mind drew incredibly erotic pictures of his hands and mouth on her body and she swooned with the exquisite torture of entertaining such thoughts. Liz conjured up a delicious mental image and felt his body tense as she envisioned his mouth following his hands with a trail of kisses that ventured into unchartered territory. Max shook like a tree and his breathing was heavy and ragged. Gentle as he was, she felt his mighty effort to control some very strong and primal emotions. She wanted what he wanted and had far less self-control than he did. Following her instincts, she undulated her hips and ground against him with an ancient rhythm whose meaning was unmistakable. His eyes flew open at such an intimate and unexpected maneuver and she lost herself in his soulful gaze.
****
Max resisted temptation for as long as he could. Hovering over her like this with their bodies glued together and every part of her fitting perfectly against him like she was created for his pleasure...it was maddening. Liz was so beautiful. He'd never really told her that. But he planned on showing her what she meant to him. And so, he let the wildness in his blood take over. He lowered his mouth to hers and traced her lips with his tongue. Caught her lower lip with his teeth and sucked on its juicy fullness. Her mouth opened wide under his and let him in. Their tongues thrust and parried against each other, dancing and swirling, sucking and biting, accelerating and slowing to a seemingly endless series of wet, open-mouthed kisses that sent them both spiraling into orbit. Liz returned his previous favor and started sucking on his lower lip before pulling his tongue into her mouth with a satisfying slurp. He groaned against her mouth and drove her backwards against the headboard with their hands laced overhead. With each thrust of his tongue, their hands bumped against the wall and the bed squeaked loudly with their movement. Max smiled at that sound and realized how much more violent it would be when they finally made love. When he opened his eyes, he saw that she was grinning too.
"Someone might hear us," she cautioned in a stage whisper and he caught the ramble of her thoughts as they jogged back in time to the Eraser Room and detention.
"I don't care," he murmured in her ear. "I want the whole world to hear us."
Liz laid her face against his neck and he felt her smile. Her lips traced the fine contours of his shoulders and mapped the veins in his arms as she worked her way down to his hands. "If we keep this up," she stopped to lick the valley between his thumb and forefinger and mumbled hoarsely, "You'll get your wish."
He gasped when she ran her hands over his pecs and lingered there, caressing him with long strokes that made his body sing in response. Liz started touching him everywhere. Pushing his hair away from his face and winding it in her hands. Trailing her fingers down his shoulders and resting on his biceps. Stroking his thighs. He shuddered as her hands found their way under his shirt. "Liz, we have to...aah," he groaned as her tongue circled around his navel.
"Have to what?" she asked against the firm planes of his abs, biting and kissing as she followed the ridges of his muscles.
"Slow down," he moaned as her warm hands moved higher on his stomach and pushed his shirt out of the way.
"Umm, I can..." One kiss landed on his ribcage and she added mentally, *Take off your shirt*.
He smiled and shook his head. "I don't think..." Liz urged him to raise his arms and practically ripped his shirt from his body.
He stifled the moan that threatened to tear from his throat as her mouth tasted every inch of his chest. He had to stop...what he wanted more than anything. With extreme reluctance, he touched her shoulders and pushed her away from him. "Liz, if we don't stop now, there's no turning back."
Then he saw himself the way she saw him. Golden. Glowing. Beautiful inside and out. It was the weirdest feeling he'd ever had. Being John Malkovich, indeed. "Moving forward. That's what you said...you wanted."
"And I meant that. But I wasn't referring specifically to...all this," he indicated the rumpled sheets and her mussed-up hair and his eyes went further than that and saw the bite marks glowing on her neck and all the very overt signs of arousal that she made no effort to hide. She was gloriously open and so beautiful that his stomach rumbled like it did whenever he saw her. One of her straps had fallen and he started to push it back where it belonged.
"Leave it," Liz ordered and let the other strap fall to her elbow. With feline grace she pulled herself into his lap and touched her lips lightly against his. A butterfly landing and fluttering its wings delicately. Her tongue darted between his lips with slight pressure and he opened his mouth under hers. It was exquisite and mind-bending and possibly the most sensuous kiss they had ever shared. The contact was intimate and slower than molasses and it drew him to her like a magnet. He started at her shoulders and ran his hands down her arms, pausing at the elbows to help her slide the straps down and off. Liz's eyes opened in surprise, for she clearly hadn't expected him to follow through on her invitation.
"I thought you said...," he stole her words away with a kiss that left them both gasping. "That you wanted..." Max lowered his head to her breasts and started kissing the exposed upper curves. "To slow dow-nnn. Aah..."
She writhed under his skillful caresses and didn't protest when he pushed her shirt up slightly. He took a moment to watch her lashes flutter against her cheekbones and marveled at how small and perfectly formed she was. Liz's breath hissed as he laid a trail of soft kisses from her belly to her ribcage. "Is this slow enough?"
"Yes," she said, half-moaning when he touched the soft undersides of her breasts. "Please," she implored, throwing her head back as he stroked around and between each breast, still not seeing what he'd always fantasized about.
"Please what?" Max murmured against her lips. With another one of those smiles that turned his insides to mush, she removed her camisole. Liz tilted her head to one side and watched his eyes memorize the gorgeous expanse of her creamy white skin and darken with smoldering passion. The sight of her naked flesh was like a long drink of water in a desert oasis. That should have been enough to sustain him, but his hormones got the best of him. With hot, greedy hands, he reached for her like a child at a candy counter. Her breasts filled his hands and she moaned as he splayed his fingers and let her softness fill his hands. For one long moment, he took his fill of her, longing to bend his head and devour her. Wanted it so much that it tightened his body like a bow pulled back from its quiver. But there was no turning back once they traveled down that road. His hands moved to her shoulders and he pulled her against his chest. Every exposed part of her connected with him and made him burn at his core.
Max managed to get his breathing under control and touched his forehead to hers. "I've wanted you for a long time. But we have to wait. Too much has happened." Tess. Lingering like a bad case of heartburn. His son. Lost. Maybe forever. Both of them specters that haunted him. Shadowing his relationship with Liz. The resignation in her eyes told him she understood. Then something surged and they connected in a shared vision.
Liquid fire lights the sky. Star-seeker. Na-gah. Her hand in his. Standing together. Their paths aligned. The flare of a familiar pattern dances on the crown of the hill. He turns to her with shining eyes. The royal seal. It means something. We belong together.
*****
The End
Last edited by Peregrine on Sun Feb 29, 2004 4:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.