The Enemy Unknown (ALL,Teen/Mature) Pt 60 3/24/06 COMPLETE

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Eleven – War

“Isabel?” Max cried. He pushed his way through the Antarians that surrounded the Granolith and reached in and pulled out his sister’s body. Cradling it gently in his arms, he carried her across the room away from the crowd and laid her gently on the floor.

“Max, what’s wrong,” said Liz, running up to him. She gasped in fright when she saw Isabel’s face and body, covered with blast burns. “Is she – can you heal her?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Max muttered. He put his hand over the worst of the burns and focused, and the skin began to slowly heal itself. He moved from burn to burn until they were all healed, but Isabel still didn’t wake up.

Liz knelt down beside Max and put her hand on Isabel’s neck and checked for a pulse. She smiled with relief when she felt the faint throbbing underneath her fingers. She lifted first one of Isabel’s eyelids, then the other, checking for a reaction from the pupils. She was disconcerted to notice that her pupils were uneven. She looked over at her husband and noticed the streaks of blood that covered his clothing where Isabel’s head had rested when he carried her across the room.

“Max, look,” she said, turning Isabel’s head gently to one side. She pushed back Isabel’s hair to reveal a large gash in the girl’s skull. Max put his hand over the gash, and focused with all his ability. He imagined the wound healing, and any and all pressure on her brain lifting away. He probed more with his mind and felt a pool of blood forming on the surface of Isabel’s brain, and he used his powers to dissolve it.

When he was done, he sat back, shaking from his exertion, sweat pouring down his face. “Isabel, come on, wake up, damn it,” he whispered. “Isabel?”

Isabel moaned softly, and her eyelids began to flutter. Max felt some of the tension fall from his body. Liz moved behind Isabel and helped her to sit up.

“Isabel, it’s Liz, can you hear me?” she asked.

“Liz, what are you doing here?” Isabel asked, her voice filled with confusion. “It isn’t safe. Zan was supposed to warn you. You need to go back before it’s too late.”

“Isabel, your home, your on Earth,” said Liz, gently. “You came back in the Granolith. Can you tell us what happened?”

“War,” Isabel whispered. “The Gadori. They attacked.” She slumped back against Liz, unconscious once again. Liz laid Isabel’s head gently on the ground and slipped out of her jacket and used it to cover her.

Max jumped up and turned on the Antarians who waited by the Granolith. He was relieved to notice that Kyle and Michael had put up a force field to keep them safe.

“Lower it,” he said. “I want to talk to them, now.”

One of the Antarians pushed through to the front and stood in front of Max.

“Quor`toth?” Max asked. “Is that you?”

“It is, Ma’nith, or should I call you Max?” the Antarian asked. “I was one of the guards chosen by King Zan to be sent down to protect you and your families.”

“Protection from the Gadori?” asked Michael, stepping forward.

“Yes, and the Aberjani,” said Quor`toth. “There are several pockets that remained loyal to Kivar, even after his death, and they are working in conjunction with the Gadori to bring down the royals.”

“Damn!” Michael swore. “Okay, Kyle, call your dad, have him get out here. We need him to start bringing these guys in. Maybe your mom should come out with him, Max. That way she can bring Isabel and Liz home with her. Eddie can go back with him too. Kyle, ask your dad if he can stay at your place for the time being, will you?”

“Wait a second!” Liz cried. “I’m not going back to town. I’m going wherever you’re going.”

“So am I,” said Isabel, weakly, struggling to sit up.

“Look, we’ve already got Maria and Ava up there,” said Michael. “I don’t want either of you in danger as well.”

“Um, excuse me General,” said Quor`toth. “I have several messages I should deliver before you make any plans.”

“Go ahead,” Quor`toth,” Max said, a knowing smile playing upon his lips. He had a pretty good idea of what was coming up, and he couldn’t wait to see how Michael dealt with it.

“First, King Zan says that on no account, should any of you come back to Antar. He feels that it wouldn’t be safe for any of you. That being said, he also said that he knew you weren’t going to listen, and to be careful, and that you’d know where to go.”

“Fine, great,” said Michael. “But that doesn’t mean Liz and Isabel need to put themselves in jeopardy.”

“I’m not done,” said Quor`toth. “King Zan’s General also sent a message.”

“What General?” asked Michael. “I’m here!”

“General DeLuca-Guerin says that you should shut the hell up, and that Liz needs to be there, and so does Isabel. She said to remind you that you are stronger together than you are apart.”

“Maria’s a general?” Michael said, incredulously. “What dumb ass did that?”

“I believe it was decided jointly between King Zan and King Drinian, and they both urged me to remind you about the spaghetti sauce incident and to tell you that they both said back then that Maria would me a damn fine general.”

“Awe, hell,” said Michael, groaning in resignation. “Maria with powers was scary enough. Maria with powers and in charge, well, that’s just terrifying.”

“Dad is on his way out,” said Kyle, sliding his cell phone back into his pocket. “Eddie, he said you’re more than welcome to stay at our house. They’ll be guards around to keep you, and my dad safe.”

“The hell you say,” said Eddie. “Screw that, I’m going with you guys. I didn’t want to be a part of this, but I am, so if I’m in, I’m in all the way.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” said Cal, who had been, up to now, watching the proceedings with disinterest.

“What are you talking about?” asked Max. “We don’t need you, we don’t want you, why don’t you just get the hell out of here, and let us make our plans.”

“If he’s going with you, I’m going to,” said Cal. “I said I was going to protect him. I failed River Dog once, I won’t do it again.”

“I’m glad to see your sense of loyalty is so strong!” Max snapped. “You swore to protect us, too, and look how figgin well that turned out!”

That was an obligation forced upon me, this is by choice. There’s a difference Max. Maybe when you learn it, you’ll be ready to be a king.”

Max turned around, ready to retaliate when a blast shook the sandstone outcropping, and he fell to the ground, pieces of falling rock littering the ground around him.

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Twelve – Regrouping

Michael pulled himself off of the floor and looked around trying to figure out what had happened. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head and felt a good size lump.

“What the hell was that?” he asked to nobody in particular.

“I don’t know, but I feel like I was hit by a landslide,” said Kyle groaning and pulling himself up to a sitting position.

“That could be because you were,” said Michael. “Come on, help me check on the others.”

Michael checked Max, and was relieved to find him breathing, and beginning to regain consciousness. Cal and Eddie were both still out cold, but several of the Antarians were beginning to awaken as well.

“Where are Liz and Isabel?” asked Kyle.

“Here they are, over here,” said Michael, shaking his head in disbelief. When the shaking started, Liz had apparently thrown her body on top of Isabel’s to protect her wounded friend.

“She really has a hero complex, doesn’t she?” Michael asked nobody in particular, thinking of the great lengths Liz had gone through over the years to keep them safe.

Kyle knelt down beside Liz, and carefully turned her on to her back. He checked for a pulse, and smiled with relief. “She’s got a pulse,” he said. “So does Isabel,” he added checking the other girl.

“Of course I have a pulse, Valenti. I thought we covered this already,” said Isabel. “What happened? The last thing I remember is Liz, pushing me up against the Granolith, and covering me with her body.”

“We don’t know, yet,” said Kyle. “We’ve been busy trying to make sure everybody’s okay.”

“Where’s Max?” Isabel asked, her voice full of concern. “He should probably check Liz out and make sure she’s okay.”

“I’m right here,” said Max, groaning as he sat up. “Where’s Liz?”

“She’s over here,” said Kyle. “She’s got a pulse, but she’s unconscious. Eddie and Cal are over there. Both of them are unconscious too.”

“No we’re not,” came a faint whisper from Eddie. “At least I’m not. What the hell happened, anyway?”

“That seems to be the question of the day,” said Michael. “And the answer is still we don’t have a clue. Are you okay?”

“Well except for the fact that I think my frigging arm is broken, yeah,” said Eddie.

Max looked over and saw Eddie’s arm hanging at an awkward angle. He held a hand out to Michael who helped him up, and he limped across the chamber to where Eddie sat.

“Just sit still,” he said. “This will only take a second.” He held his hand over Eddie’s arm. A soft glow emanated from his hand in a matter of seconds, Eddie’s arm was healed.

“How the hell did you do that?” Eddie asked. “Is that what you did to my grandfather? Why didn’t it work on him?”

“I can speed up the healing process, but like River Dog said, I can’t stop time. Not like that, anyhow,” said Max. “Eddie I would have given anything to be able to keep your grandfather alive, but I couldn’t.”

“He couldn’t save my grandmother either, Eddie,” came a soft voice from the base of the Granolith. “No matter how much he wanted to do it for me.”

“Liz,” said Max, thankfully. “You’re okay.”

“Well considering I had half a mountain fall on me, I’d say yeah, I’m okay. What about the others?”

“They’re all starting to wake up,” said Michael, looking around. “We’d better get outside and figure out what happened.

A sudden ringing cause all of them to jump, and Kyle sheepishly fished into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

“I guess this still works,” he said. “Hello? Hey, Dad, listen,”

He stopped, apparently interrupted by Jim.

“Yeah, but,” he said, trying again.

“No, everybody seems to be okay, but what,” he started, then stopped and listened while his father spoke.

“No okay, I’ll tell them.” Kyle disconnected the call, and slipped the phone back into my pocket.

“That was my dad,” he said, unnecessarily. “He said whatever we do, don’t leave the pod chamber. Apparently, there’s a whole flock of reporters and UFO hounds out here, trying to find the UFO that just crashed.”

“The what?” Max shouted. “Shit, are we under attack, we have to get out of here and help them!”

“He doesn’t know what it was,” said Kyle. “He was out here to pick up the Antarians when he saw something come crashing out of the sky. Whatever it was collided with this stupid pile of rocks. That’s what caused the shaking and stuff.”

“Did your dad see what it was?” asked Michael.

“He couldn’t make it out, but he said it wasn’t a ship, unless the shrink them down to next to nothing. But he did say to hang tight until he could figure out a way to get rid of all the media and stuff.”

“We can’t just sit here all day, Valenti!” Michael shouted. “We need to get them out of here,” he pointed to the Antarians, “And we need to get up there and help.”

“This falls under the heading of shooting the messenger,” said Kyle. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. You got a problem, take it up with my dad.”

“Michael’s right, Kyle,” said Max. “We can’t sit around and wait for something to happen. We have to move.”

“Look, my father has saved all our asses more than once, and I for one, intend to,” began Kyle only to be interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone again. He quickly answered the phone and listened quietly for several minutes.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said. “That was my dad. They cordoned off the area, and cleared everybody out for a half mile all the way around. He left a van outside for us. We can get these guys back to town, and then come back here and head out to Antar.”

Michael pushed his way through the Antarians and back into the outer chamber. He opened the door that separated the pod chamber from the hot desert and stepped outside. Once he was certain it was safe, he called to he others. Max and Kyle carried Cal’s prone body out of the chamber and placed it carefully into the van.

Once everyone was packed into the overloaded van, Michael put it into gear and took off down the highway. Nobody noticed the small beacon of light that flashed intermittently on top of the sandstone outcropping that housed the Granolith.

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Thirteen – A Warning

Liz placed a cool cloth on Cal’s head, and watched anxiously as his eyelids fluttered.

“Cal. Cal, can you hear me?” she asked in her soft voice.

“What happened?” he asked. “I feel like someone dropped a ton of bricks on me.”

“Pretty close, but not quite,” said Liz, smiling with relief. Cal had been unconscious the longest. “Some object crashed into the rocks surrounding the chambers. It caused a mini earthquake inside. A lot of rocks came tumbling down and knocked everyone unconscious.”

“Everyone?” Cal asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that everyone, the five of you, Eddie and myself, and what, fifteen, twenty Antarians all got knocked unconscious by falling rocks?”

“Um, yeah, I guess,” said Liz, clearly perplexed.

“Think Liz, you’re supposed to be the smart one, aren’t you? Do you really think we all got knocked unconscious by falling rocks?”

“Well, Michael has a lump on his head,” Liz said, defensively. “But statistically, you’re right. There’s no way we all got hit. Do you have any ideas about what it may mean?”

Cal struggled to sit up in the bed, wincing, and avoiding her question. “Ouch, I think I sprained something when I fell. Is there any particular reason why Max didn’t heal me?”

“He wanted to, but he wasn’t sure if your physiology was the same as ours, and he was afraid he may cause more damage,” explained Liz. “Let me go get him, and he can help you now.”

Liz jumped up from the chair she was sitting and rushed from the room. After she left, Cal looked around, taking in the sunny yellow curtains on the wall, and the pictures on the wall. Once picture in particular caught his attention. It showed a fountain of light. The color of the light ranged from a stunning purple, to glowing silver. Eight golden balls of light, arranged in two interlocking squares, surrounded the fountain.

Cal dragged himself off the bed amidst a series of groans and walked across the room to look at the painting.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, looking at the painting, his gaze missing nothing, including the initials at the bottom. “Maybe I’d better tell them the truth after all. It looks like they could be ready for it.”

The sound of approaching voices caused him to startle and limp back to the bed and lie back down before Max and Liz entered the room.

“Hey,” Max said. “Liz said you were awake. I wanted to try and heal you, but,”

“Yes, Liz explained you were unsure of my alien physiology. Let me reassure you, Max. You can’t do anything to hurt me if you try to heal me,” said Cal. “Maybe if you had tried, it would have made this whole mess a lot easier to explain,” he added cryptically.

“What?” asked Max.

“Nothing,” said Cal. “Let me ask you a question, Max. What happens when you heal someone?”

“Lots of times, I get flashes of their lives, and sometimes, once in a great while, the connection goes the other way,” said Max, looking at Liz, who stood silently in the doorway.

Another piece to the puzzle the swirled around in Cal’s mind dropped into place. Max had healed Liz; that would have sped up the developmental process of her brain, and possibly given her powers. The picture on the wall of the two interlocking squares filled in another piece.

“Max, I need to tell you something before you try and heal me,” Cal began.

“Can’t it wait?” asked Max. “We really don’t have time. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“No, it really can’t,” said Cal. “I need to talk to Michael too, it’s important.”

“In a minute,” said Max. He held his hands over Cal’s body, trying to sense where the pain center was located. When he felt it, he lowered his hands to the other man’s body and began to heal. He saw flashes of Cal’s life in Hollywood, as a famous producer. Images of Cal and a much younger River Dog appeared. Images of Cal in alien form in some sort of laboratory flashed in Max’s mind.

Another set of images appeared in Max’s mind, causing him to jerk his hands away from Cal’s body in shock. Cal reached out and grabbed Max’s hand and forced it back to his body.

“Do it, damn it. You wanted to do it, now do it,” he gasped. “I told you to wait, and you wouldn’t. Now you have to see it all.”

“No!” Max shouted, trying to block his mind to the images that filled his head. “No!”

“Stop it! Stop it!” Liz cried. She rushed over and grabbed Max’s hands, trying to force the connection to break, but instead, she too, got pulled into it, and the images Max saw began to fill her mind as well. Images of Max’s father Drinian arguing with a strange man flashed through her mind. Four children playing together in the water, while four adults watched over them. The strange man showing two small children how to use their powers. She saw the man standing next to a blond woman, looking down on two newborn babies.

Using all the willpower she possessed, Liz managed to sever the connection between Max and herself. She leaned across him and slapped Cal across the face as hard as she possibly could.

“You bastard! You Goddamned son of a bitch! You get out of here now, and never come back. If he ever finds out about this, I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?” She turned abruptly and stormed out of the room.

“Liz, wait, what is it?” asked Max to her departing figure.

“You didn’t figure it out, Max?” Cal asked. “Don’t you know, or are you trying to not know? Liz got it, didn’t you?”

“You knew my father on Antar, didn’t you?” asked Max, his voice bleak. “You’re not a Gadori at all, you’re human.”

“Very good,” said Cal. “Give the boy a gold star. But come on, don’t stop there,” he taunted. “Go for the bonus points, Max.”

“No, it can’t be,” said Max.

“Come on Maxie boy, you’re almost there. Just say it,” Cal prodded.

“Max, what is it, what’s wrong?” Michael shouted, running into the room. “Are you okay? Liz is an absolute basket case. What did he do to you?”

“Michael, get out, right now,” said Max, his voice deadly. “I don’t want you in here right now.”

“Max, what are you talking about? If there’s something wrong, you’re not going to stay in here alone.”

“Get out,” Max said.

“Better do what he says, Michael,” said Cal. “Max here is afraid that I’ll tell you,”

Max reached out and punched Cal in the face, knocking him back against the pillow, unconscious, blood pouring from his nose.

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Fourteen – Traitor

“Michael, shut up and get me some rope, and send Liz back in here right away. I need to talk to her,” said Max.

“Max, what the hell,”

“Just do it, Michael, and don’t come back in here unless I tell you it’s okay,” Max said, with a seldom heard tone of authority and absolute conviction in his voice.

Michael glared at Max, his anger filling his eyes with fire, but he did as he was told. He stormed out of the room, and ran directly into Kyle, almost knocking him over.

“Jesus, Guerin, what the hell’s going on here?” Kyle asked. “Liz is totally freaked about something, and you’re out here playing demolition derby with my body.”


“I have no clue, but something happened in there. Max punched Call in the face, and ordered me to go get some rope, and stay out of the room. How about you, can you get any vibes or something off of them?” Michael asked, referring to the empathic powers Kyle had developed on Antar.

Kyle cautiously opened himself up to the others, and was assailed by wave after wave of anger, and betrayal. Before he could be overwhelmed, he closed the connection and looked at Michael.

“Yeah, probably, but not with you standing here. You’re so mad right now, you’re about to make my head explode. I’ll go grab some rope and bring it to Max. I was going to start bringing some of the others to the CrashDown, and to Evans house, but you can do that instead.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, I’ll be delivery boy,” snapped Michael. He stormed out of house and across the dusty landscape to Jim Valenti’s workshop. He returned several minutes later and threw a length of rope at Kyle before rounding up several of the Antarian guards to bring into town.

“Tell his royal freaking majesty that I’ll be back in half in hour, if it pleases him,” Michael.

Kyle waited until Michael loaded the others in the car and drove off before he brought the rope into Max.

“What’s going on?” he asked Max, tossing him the rope. “Michael is royally pissed at you, no pun intended.

“Where’s Liz?” Max asked, ignoring Kyle’s question. “I need to talk to her.”

“I’m right here, Max,” Liz said. “What are we going to do? We can’t let Michael find out about this.”

“Find out about what?” asked Kyle, looking back and forth at the other two. “Will somebody please tell me what’s going on here?”

“No!” Liz and Max shouted together.

“Fine!” Kyle shouted right back at them. “It’s not like I can’t find out for myself,” he reminded them. “Don’t make me go all Counselor Troi on you.”

“He’s right,” said Liz, slumping against the doorframe.

“He may be right, Liz,” Max said. “But I’m starting to think we were wrong. Did you see what I saw? Did you see him in the lab?”

“Yeah, so?” asked Liz, clearly confused by Max’s conversation.

“Liz, he was an alien. I mean, he looked like all the drawings we’ve ever seen of what an alien is supposed to look like,” said Max.

“But Max,” Liz said slowly, trying to find the correct words. “Did you see his image shifting? He was changing his appearance the way we did on Antar.”

“What do you mean, shifting?” asked Max. “I didn’t see anything except for a creature with a big head and large black orbs for eyes.”

“Wait a second,” said Kyle, breathing heavily. “I see it. I see what Liz is seeing. He stared at nothing for a few more minutes before closing the connection between himself and Liz. “Wow, that was weird. It’s the first time I got actual images instead of emotions.”

“What did you see, Kyle?” Liz asked.

“I saw the shifting and the flickering stuff you were talking about. It was kind of, oh, wait, I know, do you remember that Buffy episode where Buffy did that spell?”

“Uh, no,” said Max, clearly impatient with Kyle’s ramblings. “Not much into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, sorry.”

“Buffy thought an invisible demon was making her mother sick, so she did a spell to see things as they actually were or something. Anyhow, every time she came in contact with her sister, or her sisters belongings, they’d fade in and out of existence, because the sister didn’t really exist before that season,” Kyle explained excitedly.

“You’re point being?” asked Max.

“That’s what Liz and I were seeing. We saw Cal flickering from what wasn’t real to what was, or rather, from his shifted appearance to his real appearance,” said Kyle.

“I don’t buy it,” said Max.

“Why not?” asked Cal. “It’s true.”

“If it’s true, then it makes what you did even worse,” said Max, angrily. “How could you do that, abandon us like that?”

“I didn’t have a choice, Max. I didn’t want to, I had to,” Cal said.

“Bullshit!” Max yelled. “That is absolute bullshit. You left us here, and to appease your guilty conscience, you appointed River Dog as our guardian. Nice bit of pressure to put on someone who couldn’t protect himself.”

“Think Max. There was a real Gadori out there, and he didn’t care who he killed, and worse, I had no way of recognizing him, for the Gadori are true shape shifters. They can become anything or anyone they want to become. I’m very skilled at changing my appearance. There weren’t many on Antar who could change the way I did. I worked at it; I studied it, because I knew someday I would need it.”

“Bull!” said Max. “You dumped us here, and turned your back on all of us, but worse than that, you turned your back on your own children.”

“What?” Kyle shouted. “What are you talking about?”

“Cal, he’s Michael and Ava’s father,” Liz said, bitterly. “All this time, Michael had someone here on Earth. The one thing he wanted was family, and he had it, too, only you deprived him of it.”

She started to say more, but stopped as Kyle flew across the room and began to punch Cal.

“You son of a bitch!” he shouted. “You could have kept her safe. You could have kept her away from those bastards, but you didn’t. You left her there and saved your own sorry ass!”

“Kyle, don’t,” said Max, pulling Kyle off of Cal. “He’s not worth it. Ava survived, Michael survived. He isn’t worthy of the energy you’re expending on him.

“Would somebody mind explaining to me what the hell is going on?” Michael said from the doorway. “First you, and now Kyle. What the hell did this guy do, anyhow?”

“It’s nothing, Michael, come on, let’s get out of here,” said Liz, pulling on his arm.

“Come on,” said Cal. “Tell the General what he wants to know.”

“Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me,” said Liz, exploding with anger. “My friends and my family mean everything to me, and I’m not going to let anyone like you cause them any pain. I’ll kill you myself if I have to.”

“Liz, calm down,” said Michael. “Max, is she pregnant again or something? I haven’t seen her this pissed in years.”

“What the hell,” said Cal. He used his powers to burn through the rope that Max had used to restrain him and stood up and opened his arms to Michael.

“Hi, Son. Daddy’s home!”

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Fifteen – The King’s Second


“What’s he talking about?” asked Michael, confused by Cal’s revelation.

“Nothing, just ignore him,” said Max.

“What’s the matter, General? Do you need your mighty king to explain it to you?” asked Cal.

“Shut up!” Max roared. “Kyle, get Michael out of here,” he ordered.

“No Max, I’m staying,” Michael said, a kind of morbid calmness colored his voice. “Cal has something he obviously thinks I need to hear. Let him say it.”

“I don’t really think this is the best time,” Max began.

“Yeah, but I didn’t ask you what you thought,” said Michael. “Did I? Now, why don’t you, Liz and Kyle get the hell out of here and let me hear what Cal has to say.”

“I’m staying,” said Kyle. “This affects Ava as much as it does you, and if you end up killing him, I want to help.”

Cal leaned back against the pillows watching the exchange between the four friends with interest. Their bond seemed to be as strong as the one shared by him and his dearest friend Drinian. He wasn’t sure what they knew or what had happened to them, but he needed to make sure they were strong enough to handle what might still come.

“Michael, look, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Max said.

“I didn’t ask you what you thought, Maxwell,” Michael said, his voice still amazingly calm. “If you want to stay, stay, but I’m telling you right now, keep you’re mouth shut. Cal has something that he wants to tell me, and you’re not going to stop him.

Max looked at Michael for several long seconds, trying to get an accurate measure of his true temperament. He hated to see what Michael would do if he really lost it.

“Max, he’ll be okay,” said Kyle. “Trust me,” he added, giving Max a pointed look.

“You aren’t going to make me say it, again, are you?” asked Cal. “I would have figured you got I the first time. I’m you’re father.”

“Yeah, right, you’re Darth Vader, and I’m Luke Skywalker, is that what you’re telling me?”

“Star Wars, nice movie, even though it wasn’t one of mine,” said Cal. “You know, Lucas really did a great job with the marketing, but if he had,”

“Shut up,” said Michael, his voice calm, but his eyes as cold and hard as granite. “You’re not my father, if you were, I think my mother might have mentioned it.”

“Dijanya’s alive,” Cal said. He seemed to shrink into the pillows even more, and the little color that was in his face faded away. “How? I saw her die myself. That’s why I took on this suicide mission.”

“What suicide mission?” asked Michael, intrigued in spite of himself.

The suicide mission where I tried to convince the Gadori that I was one of them, and get chosen to take the eight pods down to Earth for safe keeping. That suicide mission,” said Cal.

“No, there’s more to it than that,” said Michael. “You didn’t accomplish all that in the time between my mother’s supposedly dying, and our being sent to Earth.”

“You’re right,” said Cal. “Well partly right, anyhow. Drinian didn’t trust the Gadori at all, so I’d been working covertly for a long time, trying to establish an identity with them. This was long before Zan took the throne, you understand. Anyhow, just before Drinian stepped down, he instructed me to step down and pass on my position as second to my son, but in actuality, he instructed me to continue my dealings with the Gadori.”

“Why didn’t he ever tell us that?” asked Max. “He never said a word about it to us when we were up there.”

“What!” Cal shouted. He struggled to sit up, groaning with the effort it cost him. “Drinian is dead. He disappeared, as did Kitana, his wife. They both disappeared when Kivar mounted his rebellion.”

“Well, I got a big flat news flash for you, asshole; they’re alive and well, and living on Antar, along with MY mother,” said Michael, tension creeping into his voice.

“No, that’s impossible,” said Cal, his voice shaking. “They’re dead, they’re all dead. They have [/I] to be dead. Drinian wouldn’t have left me here if there was any chance he was alive.”

“No, that makes no sense,” said Max. “My father didn’t know the Gadori had taken us to Earth. He was shocked when we told him about Nescado.”

“That’s because a contingent of Antarians was slated to bring you to Earth and watch over you,” said Cal. “They were killed, all of them at the ship just before take off. I was there, I was part of the crew.”

“You survived,” said Max. “What happened.”

“I killed one of the Gadori guards. Just before he died, I changed his appearance to resemble me, and I changed to look like,” his voice trailed off. “And they didn’t know I was alive, which is why they never came after me. But how did they survive? I saw Dijanya die with my own eyes; I know I did. And Drinian had disappeared before the insurrection had even started. What happened to them all?”

“That’s really not the issue we’re here to discuss, is it?” Michael asked, his voice hard. “We want to know about you, Cal. If you were supposed to come down to protect us, and ensure our safety, why didn’t you?”

“I told you I knew there was a Gadori still alive here on Earth. He knew I was here, but the one thing he didn’t know was where your pods were hidden. If I stayed here, I would have been out there all the time, checking on you, watching over you. He would have found me, and then, found you, and possibly killed you. I couldn’t take that risk.”

“That’s bullshit,” Michael said, his voice finally showing some of the anger he worked so hard to repress. “And what about Zan and Ava. Did you stay away from them, too?”

“Slow down,” said Cal. “I’m confused.”

“That’s a freaking understatement,” said Kyle, bitterly. “What are you confused about, dear Father-in-law?”

“Michael, Kyle, both of you chill for a second,” said Liz. “I’m as mad as both of you, but sarcasm isn’t going to help at all. Cal, you don’t know who came out of what pods, do you?”

Cal shook his head, and Liz looked at Max who nodded in response to her unasked question.

“Max, Michael and Isabel all emerged from their pods at the same time when they were about six years old. Max and Isabel were found wandering in the desert by Philip and Diane Evans, who later adopted them. Michael was placed in foster care. Nescado came back later and took Tess from her pod.”

“That much I do know,” said Cal. “Contrary to what you all may think, I was keeping tabs on all of you, or I was after you emerged from your pods. I didn’t get her in time to get any of you, though I did try. By the time I had arrived, the Evans family had already started adoption proceedings on Max and Isabel. I thought long and hard about trying to get Michael out of the foster care system, but I honestly thought it would be better for the three of you to be together.”

“Yeah, right,” Michael snorted. “Sounds all nice and convenient, but I’m not buying it.”

“Michael, you’re being quiet now,” said Liz, calmly. “I’m telling the story. Cal, what about the four pods in New York? Did you check on them?”

“I tried, but Nasd knew where they were hidden. I made my way across the country to New York, but I was too late, by the time I got there, he had moved their pods to another location. I never found them.”

“Ava said they emerged from their pods around the same time as Max and the others. I guess as they grew and matured, Nescado realized that Ava wasn’t the clone she wanted,” said Liz. “That’s why he came back and got Tess.”

“What do you mean, the clone he wanted?” asked Cal.

“The duplication process wasn’t perfected when they made the clones on Antar,” Liz explained. “They had eight viable fetuses, but statistically, four of them were destined to be, well, defective. Through tests, or a screening process or something the scientists tried to figure out which were which, and grouped them together that way, but Kivar’s men messed them all up. Anyhow, Ava should have been here with Max, Michael and Isabel, and Tess should have been with Rath and Lonnie.”

“You didn’t include Zan in that list,” said Cal as he slowly began to realize what had happened.

“Right, Zan was the statistical anomaly,” said Liz. “He was good, like Max, and that’s why Rath and Lonnie killed him.”

“What?” Cal asked. “They killed him?”

“Well they tried,” said Liz, “But Ava helped him escape and mind warped the others into thinking their plan worked. She was supposed to meet up with Zan, but Lonnie and Rath dragged her out here, thinking that Max was their fourth.”

“But I wasn’t,” said Max, continuing the tale. “They were going to kill Michael and Isabel, and take their places, and have us all go back to Antar together.”

“Now I’m really confused,” said Cal. “Where are Rath and Lonnie now?”

“Dead,” said Michael. “Alex and Maria killed them.”

“And Alex and Maria are?” Cal’s question hung in the air.

“I thought you said you were keeping an eye on them!” Liz snapped. “Alex is married to Isabel, and Maria’s married to Michael,” she continued. “Kyle and Ava are married, as are Max and I. The Granolith joined us together.”

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Sixteen – Smack Down

“What?” Cal shouted.

“I’ve had about enough of this,” said Michael. “You say you were keeping an eye on us, but you don’t seem to know about anything that’s happened in our lives. We don’t need you anymore, Cal. I think it’s time for you to say goodbye.”

Michael held up his hand and prepared to fire a blast at Cal, who sat defenseless on the bed. Liz, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, telling Cal their story jumped up and put up a defensive shield, emblazoned with the Antarian seal.

“Michael, no!” Max shouted. “Liz is there!”

While Max was shouting, Kyle flew across the room, and knocked Michael to the floor.

“H-how did you do that?” Cal asked, shakily, after Liz lowered the shield.

“Do what?” she asked, still keeping an eye on Michael.

“That, the shield,” said Cal. “Only the king can do that.”

“Apparently not, asshole,” said Michael from the floor. “Valenti, will you get the hell off of me, please. I wasn’t going to actually do anything, you know.”

“Look, there’s entirely too much testosterone in this room right now,” said Liz. “Why don’t the three of you go have a Snapple and get in touch with your emotions or something.”

“No way!” Michael said from his pone position. “I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

“Right, because I can’t take care of myself, is that what you’re saying?” Liz asked, with a small laugh. “Michael, you need to calm down, and Cal needs to hear the rest of the story, without interruption,” she added. “I’ll fill him in on the rest, and then you can come back and ask all the questions you want, okay? And I promise, if he gets out of hand, I’ll kill him.”

After Michael grudgingly agreed, Kyle let Michael up and waited until he stepped out of the room, then followed him to the small hallway. Max hung back and looked at Liz.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“Goodbye, Max,” Liz said. She waited until he left the room before she sat back down.

“Don’t piss me off,” she said.

“How did you do that?” Cal asked. “That shield?”

“Like I said, the Granolith joined us together, any one of us in entitled to rule Antar, Liz explained. “Zan decided to stay on Antar with Drinian and Kitana and rule, but any one of us, at any time could rule, and the people would accept us.”

“How?” asked Cal. “All this happened here, Zan found you and you all activated the Granolith?”

“No,” Liz said. “The eight of us, were joined by the Granolith here on Earth. “We figured some of it out on our own, after Alex decoded the books that were left with them, and Che’koth explained the rest.”

“Decoded the books?” asked Cal. “And who is Che’koth.”

“Yes, Max and the others emerged from their pods not knowing anything about their previous lives. Tess brought one of the books to Max when she showed up with Nescado. I guess that means he couldn’t read Antarian either. Anyhow, Max and Tess went back to New York with Rath and Lonnie for some sort of summit between the warring factions. That was when Rath and Lonnie tried to kill Max. Anyhow, Max stole their copy of the book and brought it back to Roswell. Alex figured out a way to decode the books and figured out that the two of them had to be read together.”

“Amazing,” said Cal. “I really didn’t know that they didn’t have any knowledge of their lives on Antar. That would explain why they ignored the messages I left.”

“You left messages?” asked Liz.

“All the time,” said Cal. “Well, at first, anyhow. I’d shape shift into a student in school, and slip something in their books, or, I’d leave some graffiti around town, that I was certain they’d see. After ten years of trying, I gave up. I figured they were happy with their new lives and didn’t want any part of me, or of their lives on Antar.”

“They never got any messages,” Liz said, baldly. “Or if they did, they couldn’t read them.”

“Yeah, well, how was I supposed to know that?” Cal said defensively.

“Maybe if you stuck around, and watched over them, you would have!” Liz shouted.

“I had to survive, too. I had to learn all I could about this planet, and figure out a way to survive, don’t forget that, princess,” Call snapped.

Liz drew herself up and glared at Cal. “I’m nobody’s princess, least of all yours. If anything, I am your queen, and don’t you ever forget it,” she said in a voice edged with steel.

“Oh look at little Liz, going all royal on us,” Cal taunted, trying to anger her more.

Liz took a breath, and forced herself to calm down. “I don’t know why you’re trying to make me angry,” she said. “But it’s not going to work, Cal. Right now, I’m your best chance for survival. Max, Michael and Kyle all want to kill you. Actually, I do to, but I’m trying to remain reasonable and listen to why you abandoned your family.”

“Fine, you want to know?” Cal shouted. “I’ll tell you. I was afraid, okay! I was alone, on this stupid planet, or so I thought, and I had to find a way to protect eight pods. I created an identity, and started to find my place down here. Then, I found out that even worse, I wasn’t alone, and that one of the Gadori had survived. I thought I had been abandoned by the people on Antar who claimed to love me. I did the best I could to protect the pods, and I failed at that and then, my own son, niece and nephew appeared to want nothing to do with me. So finally, I said screw it, and focused on me. I built a life for myself here. And yes, I would come into town once or twice a year and check on Max, Michael and Isabel, but I even screwed that up. They were in danger, and I never even realized it.”

“Cal, I’m going to leave you alone for a while,” Liz said softly. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder but he jerked away and faced the wall. She waited one more second, watching him, and then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

“What did you think?” she asked Kyle who had been sitting outside the door, listening to Cal, and reading his emotions.

“I think that is one messed up individual,” said Kyle. “And if he were in county lock up, he’d probably be on suicide watch.”

“What?” Liz cried, alarmed.

“That’s why he’s being such a jackass,” Kyle explained as he and Liz moved down the hall to the living room. “He knows Michael has a temper, and so does Max. He’s hoping to goad one of them into killing him. He thinks it’s a fitting punishment for failing them.”

“And when that didn’t work, he tried to get me mad enough to do it,” Liz mused. “I guess it’s a good thing Maria’s not here.”

“You’re telling me,” said Kyle, sitting on the sofa next to Michael. “He’d probably be begging for mercy if she was.”

“Who’d be begging for mercy?” asked Michael. “Not that idiot in there?” He leaned back against the sofa, trying to appear caviler, but Liz could see the pain in his eyes. She didn’t have Kyle’s empathic abilities, but even she could feel what he was feeling. He believed that once again, he was screwed over by the adults around him.

“Michael, it’s not like that,” she said.

“What’s not like what?” Michael asked.

“Well, for one thing, Cal’s not quite the asshole we all pegged him for,” said Kyle. “He is totally and completely torn apart at the thought of failing all of you, which is why he’s being such a jerk.”

“He’s hoping you or Max will kill him,” said Liz. “He sees it as a fitting punishment for not protecting you; kind of a way of atoning for his sin. And he said he did try to contact you over the years. He said he’d leave you messages in Antarian. He’d slip them in your notebooks at school, and painted them on walls like graffiti. Do either of you remember anything like that?”

Both men searched their memories, and both could recall instances where strange doodles had shown up in their notebooks, or on book covers, and both were able to remember seeing graffiti around town that caught their attention, but they didn’t know why at the time.

“But we couldn’t read Antarian,” said Max. “So we didn’t know he was trying to contact us.”

“And he didn’t know you couldn’t,” said Liz. “Remember how surprised, Che’koth, I mean you’re father was when he found out none of you had any recollection of your lives on Antar. Well, Cal didn’t know you didn’t know who you were or where you came from. He was under the impression that you had just turned your backs on him, and on who you really were.”

“What a mess,” said Max, rubbing his forehead. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Yeah, and what about Eddie?” Kyle asked. “What are we going to do with him? We can’t take him to Antar with us.”

“You can’t go to Antar,” said Cal, walking slowly into the living room. “You’ll die if you do.”

“The people we love are on Antar, and if I’m going to die, it’s going to be by their sides,” said Michael. “You can stay here and protect Eddie.”

“Nice try, Michael, but no dice,” said Cal. “I failed you once, I won’t do it again.”

[majiklmoon]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. Is Cal good or evil? I'm not really sure myself. I guess, mostly, he's just human, so he's a little of both, like most of us. it will be interesting to see which way he goes. Thanks so much for all the great feedback. I'm serious when i say, the feedback is what i live for. it makes the writing all worth it. hope you all like the next part.

_____________________________

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Seventeen – Fight for Control

“You’re stupid if you go back there,” Cal said. “You don’t know how many Gadori are down here, and you don’t know what you’re walking into up there. Besides,” he added. “How are you going to get back? Do you have a ship?”

“We don’t need a ship,” said Max. “There are other methods of travel available now, and we’re going.”

“So you’re going to leave the people you love on Earth at the mercy of the Gadori to go and fight up there. Sure, that makes all the sense in the world,” said Cal.

“You are not my trusted right hand,” said Max. “And I don’t, and won’t take advice from you. This decision will be made by the four of us, and you have nothing to do with it.”

“You are so like your father,” said Cal, laughing slightly. “So proud, so arrogant, so stupid.”

Max’s fist came out of nowhere and connected with Cal’s jaw, sending him crashing into the wall.

“You dare to talk that way about the man you call king?” Max demanded. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I think that I’m the one that used to tell Drinian how it really was, and he, unlike you, used to listen to me. I didn’t have to sugar coat it. You’re nothing but a stupid bunch of kids playing war, that’s what you are,” Cal said. He pushed himself off of the wall, and left the room, albeit very slowly because of his newly acquired injuries.

“Do you think he’s right?” Max asked, looking at the people he considered his best friends. “Are we nothing but a bunch of stupid kids playing a game.”

“I don’t know if he’s right,” said Kyle. “But he meant what he said. He really thinks we’re making a bad decision.”

“Yeah, while I think he’s nothing but a stupid jerk,” said Michael. “Screw him, we don’t need him. Let him stay here, we’ll do it ourselves.”

“Maybe he’s right, Max,” Liz said, thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s killing me to know that Alex, Ava and Maria are up there, but the Gadori are down here, too. Do we want to leave our families under the protection of a bunch of strangers? Besides, we really need to wait until Isabel’s feeling stronger and talk to her, and find out what happened up there.”

“Isabel’s here, now,” said Isabel, walking out of the Sheriff’s bedroom. “So let’s talk now.”

“How’re you feeling Isabel?” Liz asked, making room for her on the threadbare sofa that graced the Valenti’s living room. Ava had made lots of changes in the Valenti home, but she hadn’t touched the living room yet.

“We’re holding our own up there,” said Isabel. “The attack came out of nowhere. It was totally unexpected. Zan was totally blindsided because he didn’t realize that he had anything to fear from the Gadori. As far as he knew, the treaty made by our Father and their High Priest was still in effect.

“Apparently, that treaty ended when Kivar killed their High Priest,” said Max.

“Nice of them to share that information,” said Isabel, dryly. “Anyhow, Zan mobilized quickly. He’s really made some serious improvements to Aberjani, the ones that swore allegiance to the crown, that is. They’ve really come a long way since the mind warping was stopped, and they got to be soldiers on their own.”

“Are they safe?” asked Kyle.

“For now,” Isabel said. They charged the palace at dawn; the battle was going on when I arrived. It was chaotic. It was even worse than the battle when we overthrew Kivar. At least then, the people knew what to expect. This time it was different. We were besieged by the very people we considered to be our friends and neighbors. The Gadori had been systematically eliminating key people, and taking their places.”

Isabel shuddered, remembering the carnage she had seen, and how horrific it felt to be killing people who resembled your friends.

“I don’t know how we can fight them,” she continued. “I was so afraid to kill anybody, on the off chance that I was mistaken, and they weren’t Gadori. That’s how I got hurt. I saw Charnja. She was in the diplomatic program at the Training Academy. I hesitated just a second, and she tried to kill me. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“Who sent the Granolith back?” Max asked. “Was it Father?”

“No, it was Zan. He healed me enough to keep me alive, but he needed to conserve his strength to heal the others who were wounded. He and Alex got me to the Granolith and sent me home that way. They didn’t think my body would handle traveling with the belt.”

“We’ll give it time to recharge, and we’ll bring it back with us,” said Max, decisively. “They may need it.”

“No, we can’t,” said Isabel. “Zan was adamant. He didn’t want us coming back. He said if anything happened to him, he needed to know that we were safe here on Earth.”

“Is he freaking nuts?” Michael asked. “Maria’s up there. I’m not gonna stay here, when she’s up there.”

“Michael’s right, and Zan knew we weren’t going to stay here. He relayed a message via Quor`toth. We’re going back, it’s just a matter of when.”

“Are Ava, Maria and Alex still okay?” Kyle asked.

“Oh Kyle, I’m sorry,” Isabel said. “I should have told you right away. Ava’s fine, and so are Maria and Alex. Michael, you’d be so proud of Maria. She totally took charge. You wouldn’t believe she’s Maria.”

“I’m always proud of her,” Michael said softly. “And yeah, I’d know she’s Maria. When she decides something’s going to happen, it happens, come hell or high water. If she’s decided that we’re going to win this war, then pretty much it’s already won.”

“We still have Cal and Eddie to deal with,” said Liz.

“Cal, who’s Cal, and Eddie? Do you mean River Dog’s Eddie?” asked Isabel.

“Yeah, River Dog’s Eddie, and as far as Cal, well it’s confusing to say the least,” said Liz. “Why don’t we get you something to eat, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Max watched as his wife slipped an arm around Isabel’s waist and helped her to the kitchen. He shook his head in dismay as he thought about the problems that were ahead of them. There wasn’t anything he could do to ensure their safety, or the safety of anybody he truly cared about, and it was killing him inside.

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Eighteen – Split Decision

Max sat on the porch of the Valenti house, and stared, unseeing, out into the desert.

“I don’t know what to do?” he said.

“Maybe this isn’t your decision, Maxwell. Maybe this isn’t one you get to call.”

“What do you mean, Michael?’

“Look, I already know what my decision is. I’m going back up there, regardless of what you say, and so are Kyle and Isabel. Maybe you should consider telling the parents what’s going on, and what they, and we are up against. Maybe they’ll ask you to stay, but I’m guessing they won’t. Hell, I know if my kid were in trouble, I’d do anything within my power to help them.”

“When’d you get so smart, Michael?” Max asked.

“I’ve always been smart, Max, maybe you just learned how to finally listen.”

“Ouch, that hurt,” said Max. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ve finally learned how to listen. I’m going to go into town. You want to come?”

“No, take Kyle with you,” said Michael. “I’ll stay here.”

Max went into the house, and a short time later, he arrived in town, with Liz, Kyle and Isabel in tow. A series of hurried phone calls had ensured that all the parents would be at the CrashDown, and Max pulled the car into a parking space directly across the street from the small café.

Liz ignored the closed sign on the door and pulled the door open and went inside. Her parents were sitting at a table along with the Whitmans, the Evans’, Amy DeLuca and the Sheriff. She reached down and took Max’s hand in hers and squeezed tightly for a minute.

“Let’s get this over with,” she whispered.

“I suppose you’re wondering why we all called you here?” said Kyle with a feeble attempt at levity.

“No, we can pretty much guess that it isn’t good news,” said Jim. “So, why don’t you just tell us and be done with it.”

Briefly, and succinctly, Max explained what had happened, including the information that there was still at least one Gadori on their planet, if not more, and that they all were still in danger.

“Max, do you really think we care about that,” said Philip Evans. “We’ll be okay. Zan sent down guards for us. Why are you wasting time worrying about us when you should be up there fighting? We’ll be fine, won’t we?” He looked around at the other parents who were all nodding their heads in agreement.

“Well, we just didn’t feel right not letting you know what was going on,” said Max.

“Where’s Michael during all of this?” Amy asked suddenly.

“Michael was planning on going back no matter what anybody said,” Isabel explained. “He said that as long as Maria was there, nothing, and nobody was going to keep him here.”

“I always did like that boy,” said Amy, smiling.

“Isabel, are you sure you should go back right now?” her mother asked. “I mean, if you were just injured, maybe you should wait a bit.”

“Alex is there,” Isabel said simply. “My place is with him.”

They made their goodbyes and left the café quickly. “It still doesn’t feel right,” said Max, but not going back to Antar doesn’t feel right either.”

“Max, the decision is made,” Liz said. “Don’t start second guessing yourself, or you’ll go crazy.”

“We still have Cal and Eddie to deal with,” said Kyle from the backseat. “Any ideas?”

“I was thinking about trying to wipe Eddies mind clean of the whole mess,” Max admitted, “But none of us have that ability. Plus, Eddie would still be in danger, he just wouldn’t know it.”

“Maybe we should just lay it out for him,” Kyle said. “Just let him know exactly where he stands and see how he wants to deal with it.”

“What if he wants to go to Antar with us?”

“I don’t know,” Max admitted. “I really don’t see him wanting to do that, but we can’t be sure. Let’s just hope he won’t.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“So that’s where we stand,” Liz said to Eddie. “We’re going to be leaving tomorrow.”

“Great,” said Eddie. “What do I need to bring?”

Liz exchanged worried glances with the others seated around the dinner table. Thankfully Jim had invested in a few new chairs since that fateful Christmas dinner with Tess so many years ago.

“Eddie, see the thing is, you’ll have virtually no protection on Antar. War there isn’t like war here. You’ll be defenseless,” Isabel said.

“I’ll be defenseless here, so what’s the point,” Eddie pointed out reasonably. “Take me back with you. I can help, I know I can.”

“What?” said Kyle, staring intently at Eddie. “I’m sorry, my mind was wandering. What did you say?”

“I just said if you take me back with you, I can help you. I know I can,” Eddie responded.

Kyle launched himself across the table, and grabbed Eddie by his shirt. “You stinking bastard he yelled. “Who the hell are you?”

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence

Chapter Nineteen – They are Among Us

“Kyle!” Isabel cried. “Are you insane? What are you doing?” She pulled ineffectually at her friend, trying to stop him from hitting Eddie.

“Get off me, Isabel,” Kyle said through gritted teeth. “I know what I’m doing. Now who the hell are you?”

“What are you talking about,” asked Eddie. “You know who I am.”

“Wrong answer,” said Kyle. He cocked his arm to punch Eddie in the mouth, but Max reached out and grabbed it.

“Kyle, chill!” Max said. “What the hell is you’re problem?”

“He’s not Eddie,” said Kyle. “Now will you let me go so I can kill him?”

“What do you mean, he’s not Eddie?” asked Liz. “Of course he’s Eddie. Redskin basket, remember?”

“That might have been Eddie, but this guy isn’t,” said Kyle. “Now if you’re not going to let me kill him, can we at least tie him up? I’m getting gravy all over my favorite shirt.”

“Kyle, are you sure?” Max began to ask.

“Max, if you don’t get some rope right now, so help me Buddha, I’m going to kick your ass right after I get done killing this guy,” Kyle snapped.

Max nodded to Michael who left the table, and returned quickly with a length of the rope they had used on Cal earlier. Kyle shoved the faux Eddie back into his chair and held him there until Michael secured his bindings.

“Okay, Kyle, will you please explain yourself, now?” Max asked, a bit sarcastically. “I healed him in the chamber, remember. I got a few flashes off of him, and I’m telling you, he’s Eddie.”

“No he’s not, Max. I mean, maybe the guy you healed in the chamber was Eddie, but this guy isn’t. Number one, he’s far to calm and reasonable to be Eddie. Eddie has a temper, this guy hasn’t argued with us about anything.”

“Maybe he’s just showing a sense of maturity,” said Isabel. “Something you may want to consider in the not so distant future.”

“Thanks for your support Isabel,” Kyle said. “It means so much to me.”

“Well come on, Kyle,” said Liz. “You’re not really giving us a lot to go on here.”

“Well, I’m not finished,” said Kyle. “Jesus, you’re all acting like I’m being super impulsive ore something. I’m not Michael you know! Anyhow, Eddie asked us to take him back with us. Why would he want to go back if he’s never been there before?”

“Us, Kyle, we’re the ones going back,” said Max. “He wants us to take him with us when we go back.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too,” said Kyle. “That’s why I asked him to repeat it.”

“You read him, didn’t you?” asked Liz with understanding.

“Yeah, and he’s not Eddie,” said Kyle. “He’s a Gadori.”

“Liz, go get Cal,” Max instructed. “We’re going to need him on this.”

Liz jumped up and rushed from the dining room to the bedroom that Cal now inhabited.

“We need you’re help,” she said abruptly, rushing into the room.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Eddie, or rather, it’s not Eddie,” Liz said. “Oh never mind, just come on.” She spun on her heel and left the room, with Cal following close behind.

“What’s happening?” Cal asked when the two entered the dining area. “Why do you have the kid here tied up?”

“Because the kid here isn’t Eddie,” Michael said, his voice like flint. “He’s a Gadori?”

“You’re sure?” asked Cal

“As sure as we can be,” said Max. “I mean, it’s not like there’s a test for Gadori, is there?”

“A test, no,” said Cal, thoughtfully. “What makes you so certain?”

Kyle quickly repeated what he told he others, and Cal looked at him with respect.

“You’re empathic then? That’s good, we can use that. As far as a test, no there isn’t a test,” said Cal. “But there is this.”

Without warning, his hand shot out, hitting the fake Eddie in the chest. Cal shot a focused burst of energy at Eddie, and he morphed from his humanoid shape to that of the alien shape that Max had seen when he healed Cal.

“How’d you do that?” Max asked, amazed. “And more importantly, can we learn how to do it?”

“Why?” asked Cal. “Are you planning on walking up to every person you suspect of being a Gadori and blasting him or her in the chest? If you do, and they’re not, you’ll kill them.”

“Oh,” said Max, his enthusiasm a bit deflated. “Why did you do it then? Were you positive he wasn’t who he said he was?”

“NO, but he was,” said Cal, jerking his thumb in Kyle’s direction. “And if he’s empathic, he’s the best chance you have of figuring out if someone is telling the truth or not.”

“We can’t ask Kyle to open himself up that way,” said Max. “He works so hard on controlling his power. If he lets in too much emotion, it will kill him.”

“Not if he does it right,” said Cal. “While you were on Antar, did you learn anything at all about this power.”

“Only a little,” admitted Kyle. “Che’koth, I mean, Drinian mostly helped me learn how to block it. He said my studies of Eastern philosophy and meditation helped me learn quickly.”

“They did, and they’ll help you learn how to use it all the time without it destroying you. It can be done, and it will mean a lot of hard work on your part.”

“Look, this is all well and good,” said Michael. “It’s not like I want to see you’re brains turn to mush or anything, but did you all forget, we’ve got the freaking enemy sitting right here in the dining room?”

The sheepish glances from everyone told Michael they had forgotten about the Gadori, if only for a minute.

“Where’s Eddie?” Michael demanded, grabbing the Gadori by the shirt.

“Where do you think?” came the alien’s sonorous voice.

“When did you switch places with him?” Max demanded.

“Today, while you were busy with him,” the alien spat, contemptuously. “I went to his room, looking like one of you, and offered to drive him back to his home. He was all too quick to jump at my offer. I killed him of course,” he added as an after thought.

“Just like we’re going to kill you,” Michael said, menacingly.

“Do you think that matters?” the alien sneered. “The enemy is her, they are among you. There are hundreds of them. You can’t run, you can’t hide. You’ll never be able to track us all down. We are unknown to you and unseen by you, and we will win.”

[majiklmoon]

Disclaimer: Roswell, and its characters do not belong to me. Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and 20th Century Fox have that particular pleasure. If I was lucky enough to own them, you just know the show would still be on the air, and you’d be watching that instead of reading this.

Rating: TEEN to MATURE for inappropriate language and some violence.

Chapter Twenty – The War at Home

Liz sat listening with a mounting rage as the Gadori spoke, until finally she could no longer listen to his mocking words. She held up her hand and prepared to end his miserable existence, when Max grabbed her arm and yanked it back down.

“Liz, don’t!” he yelled.

“Why not?” she argued. “I told you, I wasn’t going to stand by and let anybody else die because of us. Now Eddie’s dead. He deserves to die too.”

“We need him,” said Max. “He’s a source of information. We can use what we learn from him.”

“And how do you know he’ll tell you the truth?” Liz argued. “I mean, he had us all convinced he was Eddie. We can’t trust anything he tells us. He could even be Nescado, Max. Did you ever think of that? Maybe he’s Nescado, and he’s the only one that’s here!”

“He’s not Nasd,” Cal said. “And your Queen is right. We won’t get anything useful out of him, not now, not ever.”

“He’s telling the truth about the other Gadori, though,” said Kyle.

Max looked over at where Kyle sat, beads of sweat pooling on his forehead from his exertions.

“Kyle, stop it,” Isabel said. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to read him.”

“I’m not trying to read him,” said Kyle. “I’m trying to block him. He’s keeping the connection open.”

“Max, we have to kill him,” said Liz. “He’s hurting Kyle.”

“I’ll do it,” said Michael. “Liz, Isabel, why don’t you go outside or something.”

“Please, Michael, spare me,” said Isabel. “Since when did you develop a softer side. We’ve both killed plenty of people back on Antar, I think we can handle watching one Gadori die.”

Despite her brave words, Isabel’s voice quavered as she spoke. Killing in battle was one thing. To cold bloodedly kill someone who was tied to a chair; that was another matter entirely.

“No,” said Cal. “We need to keep him alive for a while longer, but you need to take Kyle someplace else, right away. If the Gadori is forcing the connection to stay open, he has a reason.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Max.

“I get it,” said Michael, suddenly. “It’s like what he,” was doing,” he pointed his finger at Cal. “He was goading us, trying to get us to kill him. He thinks that if he keeps the connection with Kyle open, we’ll kill him to save Kyle.”

Michael crossed the room to where the Gadori sat tied to his chair. He stared down at him, looking into his large black eyes until he found what he was looking for. He reached out and grabbed the Gadori around the neck and began to squeeze, exerting a gentle pressure on the creature’s neck until he passed out.

Almost at once, the strained expression left Kyle’s face, and he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Thanks,” he said. “That was rough.”

“You can’t be here,” said Cal. “Not until you can completely master the skills you need to filter his emotions.”

“Kyle, head out to the Granolith,” said Max. “Make sure it’s still secure, and then, I want you to see if you can activate it enough to scan you, and make sure that thing over there didn’t hurt you.”

“I’m not leaving,” said Kyle. “I’m fine. You just tell me what I need to do to block that guy, and I’ll do it.”

“It takes time to learn,” said Cal.

“Something we don’t have,” said Kyle. “So just give me the cliff notes version, and we’ll call it done. But more important than that, we have to figure out a way to get information out of him.”

“Are any of you skilled in nashra – pindo?” Cal asked, hopefully.

“Mind warping?” said Michael. “Ava and Alex are the best at it, but they’re up on Antar, of course. Glad to see our luck is running true to form.”

“I can do it a little,” said Liz. “Remember,” she added, looking at the ground. “When I was pregnant, I had to mind warp to hide the baby.”

“You have a child?” asked Cal. “Where is he, on Antar?”

“He died,” said Liz, the familiar feelings of loss washing through her body. “Tess tried to kill me, I didn’t get a shield up in time. The baby took the full force of the energy bolt to protect me.”

“I’m sorry, Majesty,” said Cal, sincerely. “The loss of a child is a terrible thing indeed.”

“Yeah, right,” Michael snorted in the background. As far as he could see, Cal didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything, least of all his children. “Why do you need someone to mind warp?” he added, in a louder voice. “What are you planning?”

“Sometimes, people who are skilled at nashra – pindo are also able to extract information from people’s minds,” Cal explained. “It’s highly illegal on Antar of course, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

“Wait a second,” said Isabel, who had been quite up until now. “I can do that. Well, sort of,” she amended. “When I dream walk people, I can find out what they’re thinking.”

“Dream walk?” asked Cal, curiously.

“Yeah, if someone is asleep, I can get into their dreams and talk to them and ask them questions. They’re usually so relaxed, that they’ll tell me the truth.”

“Perfect,” Cal said, clapping his hands together.

“Wait, not perfect,” said Max. “I don’t want my sister crawling around in his head.”

“It’s not up to you, Max,” Isabel said. “If it’s going to help, I’m going to do it. We can get all the information we need to pass along to the guards before we go to Antar.”

Isabel instructed Michael to move Sheriff Valenti’s recliner over next to the chair the Gadori was tied to. She sat in the leather chair and took the Gadori’s hand in hers and closed her eyes.

The landscape consisted of scrubby trees in muted shades of gray. Isabel looked around until she spied the Gadori standing before a stream of purple water. She walked up to him and smiled.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“In the forest where I played as a child,” he replied.

“It’s very beautiful.”

“It is home. Something I will never see again.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“We knew when we came down to that terrible planet that there would be no return home. But no sacrifice was too great for Lord Kivar.”

“But Kivar is dead,” said Isabel. “Didn’t you realize that? He died in battle on Antar.”

“You are wrong,” said the Gadori. “Kivar had the best people working on the replication process. He resided on Gador, biding his time, waiting to strike back.”

“No,” Isabel whispered in horror. “You lie.”

“You know I do not,” said the Gadori. “Kivar raised an army to crush King Zan of Antar and take his rightful place as ruler of that world. We are loyal to Lord Kivar, we exist to do his bidding. We are to fight and destroy any and all remnants of the Royal Family. It is why we exist.”

“How many men did Kivar send down here?” Isabel asked, trying to quell the mounting horror that rose up inside her.

The scene shifted, and Isabel and the Gadori stood inside a large barracks like building along with approximately fifty other Gadori. Isabel watched in dread as Kivar mounted a podium and began to speak.

“You will go to Earth,” he commanded. “Find them, kill them. Do not stop until they are all dead. I do not care how long it takes, and how many people you kill. Do whatever it takes to kill the Royal Family.”

“How can we stop you?” Isabel asked. “What are your weaknesses?”

“We have none,” said the Gadori. “We exist simply to destroy the Royal Family. We can take any shape, any form. You will not know us, you will not see us. You will die.”

Isabel screamed and severed the connection between herself and the Gadori.

“Isabel, what happened? What did you see?” asked Liz.

“It’s Kivar, he’s alive. Again!”