ALPHA & OMEGA (CC, M/L, YTEEN-MATURE [COMPLETE]

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 7 - THE INTRUSION OF SHADES (THE CLANDESTINED DISCLOSED)



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PART 7


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(Sunday - May 28th, 2000)

Song Playing: Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young

As Max walked, he shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked a rock that was in his path, deep in thought. He felt he had no one to talk to and there was so much going on; his new role as the leader, the possibility of being attacked by their enemies, trying to keep the others safe. And his experience in the white room still haunted him, the memories of pain, the fear.

In typical guy fashion Michael just brushed it aside, thinking Max would get over it sooner if they didn’t talk about it and instead Michael tried to force Max to concentrate on their alien mission. Max knew Isabel wanted to help him get through it, to be supportive and symphathetic, but she had seen some of what he had been subjected to and she didn’t know what to do either. And Tess just acted like the whole thing hadn’t happened.

Growing up, Max had thought that was his ultimate nightmare, to be exposed and tortured by the government. And the physical pain had been bad, but Max had been surprised and horrified to discover that there were other hurts that went much deeper. Pierce had used psychological torture too, threatening his friends, his family, Liz. And in the white room, under Pierce’s care, Max had really discovered his absolute worst fear. Losing Liz.

He smiled grimly. He should have known it all along. It was why he had risked himself and Michael and Isabel, to heal Liz when she was shot, because he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. Max had healed Liz, and he had saved her from Pierce, but he had lost her anyway. The pain he had experienced in the white room was nothing compared to the pain he had felt when Liz left him. And each day that Liz was gone, the pain grew worse, and his depression deepened.

Liz had also experienced what happened to him in the white room. She had seen it in the flashes she received when they had kissed in the van. And though Max hadn’t wanted her to see, somehow part of his burden and fear had lifted knowing that she was sharing it with him. He knew Liz understood, and more than anything he wanted to talk to her, to be healed by her beautiful soul and loving embrace. But Liz had felt she had to leave him.

Liz had been gone for only a week but Max thought he would go crazy if he didn't do something. She had refused to tell him where she was going or when she would be back, and he didn't even have a way to contact her.

Of course, he thought, that was just what Liz wanted. She thought it would be easier to put their relationship behind them if they weren't in the same town. And if she had stayed, Max admitted he would have continued to pursue her until she had come back to him.

He had left his house that evening to take a walk and relieve some of his nervous energy, and once again he found himself outside the Crashdown. For so many years he had come here just to catch a glimpse of Liz and he still associated it with her, but a quick glance inside was enough for him to see it wasn't the same without her.

Max slumped down into one of the chairs on the sidewalk and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Nothing had been the same since Liz had walked away from him that day at the pod chamber. He felt unsure of himself in his newly discovered roll as the leader and there had already been things he wanted to discuss with Liz to hear her opinion. She knew him like no one else and he could tell her things that even Michael and Isabel wouldn't understand.

Liz was his best friend, his confident, his heart and soul, and without her he just felt torn, incomplete. And she had to know that, because she felt the same way about him. She also had to know that no one else could ever take her place in his life, especially Tess. It just wasn't possible.

Max saw Maria through the window of the Crashdown. He knew Liz had made her best friend promise that she wouldn't tell him where she was, and he didn't expect Maria to break her promise. But being with Maria was the only thing that brought him any comfort, it was the next best thing to being with Liz.

Maria saw Max sitting at a table outside and smiled sadly. She knew the separation was hurting both Max and Liz and she wished she could do something for them. She pushed open the door and slid into the chair next to him, "Hey."

Max smiled, "Hey."

Maria sighed. "So, I won't betray my best friend, but I think you and Liz belong together and maybe I can help."


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(Tuesday, June 6th, 2000)
(Congresswoman Whitaker's Apartment)
(Washington, DC)

Vanessa had not been able to contact Daniel for over three weeks and she was starting to worry. Sometimes when he got involved in his work he forgot to call, but he had never been out of touch this long. She picked up her phone and dialed his cell phone.

He answered almost immediately, "Pierce."

She was instantly relieved, realizing that she had feared for his life. "Daniel, I have been trying to reach you for weeks. Why didn't you call? Where are you?"

"I am back in Washington," Ed said vaguely. He didn't know who the woman was, but with some careful maneuvering, he might find out. "Sorry, I meant to call, but things in the case were coming to a head."

"Really?” Vanessa asked. “What happened? I thought that maybe you had uncovered an alien conspiracy and they had killed you to stop you from talking."

"No," he chuckled, covering his surprise, "nothing as interesting as that." Obviously Pierce had revealed the details of his investigation to this woman and he would have to convince her it was a hoax or eliminate her too. "The whole thing was just a big wild-goose chase."

Vanessa was stunned. After last talking to Daniel, she had been convinced he had really found the Royal Four. "What do you mean? You were so sure when I last talked to you that Max Evans was an alien. You were going to capture him and run tests to prove it."

Ed winced, hearing Max's name on her lips, but continued as Pierce. "We did, and the tests proved conclusively that he is one-hundred percent human."

"But the information Agent Topolsky had," she stuttered incredulously. "The lights in the sky, the girl who was healed."

"All just rumors, coincidences and hoaxes," he said dismissively, with a laugh.

"So you’re abandoning the investigation?"

"There’s nothing to investigate."


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(Friday, June 23rd, 2000)
(St. Augustine, FL)

Song Playing: Missing by Everything but the Girl

Liz sank down onto the hot sand and crossed her arms over her drawn-up knees. She had been in Florida for over a month but the pain of leaving Max had not lessened. In a way, it was easier to be away from him because she knew if she would have stayed in Roswell, Max would have doggedly pursued her. So she had run away to the farthest place she could find.

She smiled sadly. She was a coward. Instead of staying and facing Max like she should have, she had chosen to let time and distance lessen the pain of their parting. But the joke was on her, because her plan wasn't working. If anything, Max's determination to keep them together made her love him even more.

Liz had left him because she didn't want to stand in the way of his destiny. Max was a King. He came complete with a mission to save his people, and a wife, and that didn't leave a place in his life for her.

She wiped the sudden tears from her eyes as she remembered Max's words from the cave.



Everything I told you before is still true. You mean everything to me.



Max meant everything to her too but instead of being able to revel in his love and return it, she had been forced to turn her back on him for his sake. She knew Max would have been happy having a normal life with her, but Liz couldn't let him settle for that, she loved him too much.

As Liz had listened to his mother's message that day in the cave, Max's own words from another day had also come back to haunt her, and every time she had felt like picking up the phone to call him, she had repeated them until she was strong again.



The other night, you know, when we went out and the whole day before, ever since we kissed, I've been off balance. You made me forget that anything else existed, but that's not real. We don't belong together.



Liz had believed that Max was wrong until that day in the cave, and then she knew she was the one that had been wrong. They didn't belong together, they were different. And no matter what sweet words Max had spoken to her, no matter how many times he had begged her to stay, no matter much they loved one another, there were other things at stake.


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Song Playing: Hunting High and Low by a-ha

Max threw rock after rock into the murky water of the quarry, trying to release some of the frustration building up inside him.

Michael was becoming more belligerent, pushing him to take some kind of action, but Max didn’t know any more than they did, and he had no idea about what he should be doing. As far as he was concerned, Michael and Tess were simply grasping at any straw to help ease their confusion.

Michael, Tess and even Isabel seemed to be on some holy alien crusade, practicing their powers and cutting off all contact with humans. It scared Max that they all seemed to be rushing toward some preordained destiny and none of them had any control. He could feel his humanity slipping from him and was desperately trying to hold on to it.

The alien nightmare he was living had driven Liz away from him and he wanted nothing to do with it. He skipped meetings and training sessions that the others planned, and instead concentrated on how to win Liz back.

But along with his humanity, Max could feel Liz slipping from him. She had left town and still refused to talk to him. She had cut him off completely and even though Maria was on his side, Max was starting to wonder if Liz would ever change her mind.

He picked up another rock and hurled it as hard as he could into the water, the aching pain in his arm fueling his frustration and anger. Max grabbed more rocks and threw them one at a time until his arm felt like it would fall off, but it just made him angrier.

Using his powers, Max sent rocks scattering off the cliff and into the water below. Then he held out his hand and used his powers to lift a bigger rock and hurled it across the chasm, smashing it into the cliff the other side.

At that moment, he wished he had more destructive powers like Michael. He felt like blowing something up. He held out his hand again and concentrated on a large rock before him and willed it to shatter, but nothing happened. Concentrating harder, he built his power within and finally hurled it outward. He felt the power spilling down his arm and through his hand, but when it left his fingers, instead of the destruction he expected, a bright green wall appeared before him.


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(June 30th, 2000)
(In the desert outside Roswell)

Grant set his equipment aside and started digging. He had just moved to a new site and was eager to get some preliminary readings of the soil.

He had dug down a little more than a foot when he struck something solid. Thinking it was a rock, he poked at it with his shovel to determine the size, but the dirt collapsed into a hole. There were old mineshafts and wells all over this area, and at first Grant wasn't surprised. But when the strange blue glow started to illuminate the dark opening, he bent down for a closer look.

Sticking his head inside the gap, he could see it was a small chamber, sporadically populated with clusters of blue crystals. Carefully he lowered himself down inside and noted that the crystals themselves were giving off the glow.

He reached out to touch one of the crystals with a smile growing on his face. He didn't know of another cavern even remotely like this one and a discovery of that magnitude could make his career.

He let out a whoop of joy and spun around, but stopped as he noticed that the hole he had just climbed through had closed. Thinking he must have been mistaken about where the opening was, he looked around, but quickly discovered he was sealed inside.

He let out a shaky breath wondering how he was going to get out, but a drop of moisture on his shoulder made him look up. At first he couldn't see anything, but then there was another drop and then another, and suddenly it seemed as if the crystals around him were melting. But they didn't move like any liquid he had ever seen. The substance appeared more like a viscous goo than a liquid, and it was moving against gravity, steadily toward him.

Propelled into action, Grant aimed his shovel at the place where he had entered, and hit it as hard as he could. A handful of crystals broke off, and encouraged by his progress, he did it again.

A slimy substance dropped onto his head causing him to drop the shovel to wipe it away, and it was quickly followed by another and another. Grant brushed the goo onto the cavern floor and reached for his shovel but the handle was covered in the blue goo. He grabbed the exposed end, intending to shake off the blue substance, but the goo held the shovel fast. More of the goo dripped onto his head and shoulders, and Grant released his grip on the shovel to wipe at it furiously, becoming more and more frightened.

Suddenly he heard a soft humming sound and turned to see what it was, but he slipped in a puddle of goo and fell heavily to the ground. He attempted to sit up but his hands and feet were encased in the goo and held securely. The slimy substance slowly oozed up his arms and legs, and he opened his mouth to scream just as a group of crystals across from him parted, and a creature that could only be described as a jellyfish, emerged from within.


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(Thursday, July 20th, 2000)
(In the desert outside Roswell)

Courtney skirted the edge of the quarry and kicked some pebbles into the water. Every day she searched a bit more of the desert outside Roswell, where the computer had located the signal, but so far she had found nothing. She had been so excited that she would finally locate Rath and she had not considered she might have to spend more time futilely searching.

When Nicholas had contacted her concerning the point of origin of the signal, she had easily convinced him it had been too short of duration to trace but he had cautioned her to remain vigilant for the next occurrence. She had left her post at SETI in California the same day and traveled to Roswell, confident that Nicholas could not trace the signal from her amplifier because of the alterations she had made, routing all of the signals through the SETI computer systems. She would be able to keep in contact with Nicholas and he would never suspect she was not where she was supposed to be. She could locate Rath and convince him to return to Antar to lead their people before Nicholas and Khivar knew what had happened.

As she looked at the sun, which was starting to sink toward the horizon, she turned to start the long trek back to her camp. She had just topped a hill when the rumble of an engine shattered the silence and she quickly dropped to the ground to observe the newcomers.

A small, white SUV pulled into view, stopping near the edge of the quarry and two passengers emerged. One was a small female with curly, blonde hair and the other was a taller, dark-haired male. Courtney watched in fascination as they set up a line of rocks and the female spoke intently to the male. Then the blonde raised her hand toward the rocks and one by one, turned them each to dust.

Courtney nearly jumped for joy as she watched them set up another group of rocks. Finally she had found the Royal Four.

She eagerly memorized both of their faces and the vehicle, as the male attempted to duplicate the female's destruction, but his power was wildly out of control. He missed more than he hit, and Courtney almost laughed aloud as he accidentally caused some near-by brush to explode into fire.

She watched them until sunset, when they climbed into the vehicle and drove away. When they were completely out of sight, Courtney stood and stretched, hardly noticing her cramped muscles. After fifty years of searching, finally she had found them. She wanted to celebrate but contacting the others in the resistance would be too dangerous until they were ready to go back to Antar.

Courtney took a deep breath. There was still a lot to do. She would have to make her way into town, find them, determine which one was Rath, and then convince him to follow his destiny to lead their people in a victory over Khivar and the Tageonant royalty.


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(Wednesday, July 26th, 2000)
(Congresswoman Whitaker's Apartment)
(Washington, DC)

Over the past few weeks, Daniel had been acting less and less like himself and Vanessa was worried. She had begun to suspect his mind had been altered when he had been in Roswell. And the only beings she knew of who were capable of that, would be the Royal Four. She really didn’t know what their individual gifts were, but she knew they were all very powerful.

It meant Max Evans was really an alien as Daniel had originally suspected. Vanessa glanced toward the phone thinking of Daniel. She had come to rely on his information concerning the FBI's investigations of alien activity, but since his return to Washington, he seemed convinced there were no aliens in Roswell or anywhere else. He had spoken of wasted time and effort, and the paranoia of his superiors, even suggesting the Special Unit be closed down. Vanessa had spent a lot of time trying to reason with him, to convince him everything that had transpired could not just be hoaxes, but he had stubbornly refused to reconsider.

But now that she suspected Max Evans to be one of the Royal Four, she couldn't let Daniel's continued disbelief hinder her mission. She had to start an investigation of her own.

She gathered the notes of her conversations with Daniel and quickly flipped through them. She used a separate sheet of paper for each teen's name and started to list any facts that had been gathered about them.

Max Evans, she mused, sister Isabel Evans and friend Michael Guerin, all three of whom had been found in the desert in 1989, the timeframe when the pods would have hatched. Curious that she had never noticed the connection before, she thought to herself. There were no records on any of them before that year and the humans had simply assumed they had been abandoned in the desert and placed them in the adoption program. Vanessa smiled. They were certainly three of the Royal Four.

Vanessa shook her head in disbelief. This information had been in front of her for months and she had just not connected the pieces. She thought briefly about contacting Nicholas with what she had learned, but quickly discarded the idea. She would find Vilondra and the Granolith herself, and then they could return to Antar and she would be hailed as a hero.

Vanessa eagerly took out the dossiers she had copied from Daniel's files and concentrated on the other female members of the group; Maria DeLuca, Liz Parker and the newcomer Tess Harding. Surely one of them had to be the fourth.

She scanned the information briefly on the three girls and came to a quick conclusion. Maria and Liz both appeared to be human. They had both lived in the same community all of their lives, they had birth certificates, early school records, baby pictures. She didn't think they could be aliens, unless their protectors had done a masterful job of concealing them.

So it left Tess to be the fourth. Her records were complete as far as Vanessa could tell, but Tess had been raised by a single parent who had moved around constantly with his job. Vanessa nodded, almost certain Tess had to be the fourth, but there was so little information and she had to be sure. She needed to go to Roswell to gather as many facts as possible, but she would be too easily recognized. She would have to send a representative.

She contacted her most trusted Lieutenant, Sacor, now her personal secretary, Scott Hancock. "I have a job for you."


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(Thursday, August 3rd, 2000)
(Crashdown Café)

Finding the boy and girl that she had seen in the desert was easier than Courtney had expected. She had just gone to a few of the local teen hangouts in Roswell, and on the third day, she had wandered into the Crashdown Café, and there they both were. A few days later she had gotten a job at the Crashdown so she could more easily keep an eye on their activities.

She had watched the comings and goings of the group of friends carefully to determine who was who. After a few days it was clear that Max was definitely the leader, leaving the hotheaded Michael to be Rath. It really hadn't surprised her after witnessing his performance in the desert. When they had been children together, Rath had always possessed a quick temper, usually acting first and questioning later. He could disguise himself with a new face, on a new planet, but nothing inside had really changed.

Courtney had tried in her brief time at the Crashdown to befriend Michael, but he was sullen and standoffish and made it perfectly clear he didn’t want her friendship. But she wouldn't give up that easily. She would take things with him slowly and give him the time to get to know and trust her, and when he was ready, she would reveal everything.



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(Saturday, August 5th, 2000)

Sacor had been in Roswell for a week but he had made little progress. He had thoroughly researched the Parkers, the Evans and Amy DeLuca, and he had determined that they were all apparently human just as Vanessa expected. But he had been unable to locate Ed Harding. It seemed that Mr. Harding had suddenly quit his job as a consultant to the army and taken a new position. He had been out of town for a couple of months, leaving his teenage daughter in town alone.

Vanessa suspected that Tess Harding was one of the Royal Four but Sacor had been unable to prove anything. He had carefully followed Max, Isabel and Michael hoping they would lead him to the fourth alien, but he had discovered nothing definitive. The three of them often met with Tess, Maria and Alex but nothing of significance had been discussed within his hearing.

He had overheard Max asking Maria about Liz Parker. Apparently Liz had left town suddenly at the beginning of the summer and had refused to tell Max where she was going. Sacor had immediately discussed this break in the ranks with Vanessa and she had told him to discover all he could about Liz Parker. If she wasn't one of the aliens, perhaps the rift in the friendships would persuade her to help them.

Sacor had availed himself of Liz's school records and sent all of the information on to Vanessa. He had also discovered that Jeff Parker was prodigiously proud of his only child and would, with practically no prompting, discuss her at length. Sacor had learned that Liz was spending the summer in Florida with an aunt and wasn't expected to return until just before the start of school. He had not been able to determine her reason for leaving town so quickly but it definitely had something to do with Max Evans.

Sacor had noticed another interesting thing in the time he had been in Roswell. He had seen a member of their group working in the Crashdown Cafe who was not assigned there. Her presence in Roswell was not only unexpected but also problematic. Because even though he didn't think Courtney would recognize him, he had been forced to limit his presence at the Crashdown to the times when she was not working.

He did not know the whereabouts of every one in their group but he had taken notice of Courtney's assignment at SETI with interest because he had wanted it himself. He eagerly passed the information about Courtney's whereabouts to Vanessa hoping to get her sanctioned or even executed for her disobedience.


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(Sunday, August 6th, 2000)
(Congresswoman Whitaker's Apartment)
(Washington, DC)

Vanessa had read Sacor's last report with a great deal of interest. Not only had he reported that Courtney was in Roswell against orders, but he had discovered there was a rift between two of the major players in the conspiracy; Max and Liz.

And for some reason Liz had not only left the state, but traveled to the other side of the country to escape him. The only reason that Vanessa could determine for Liz’s actions was love. Obviously something or someone had come between Max and Liz and Vanessa was convinced that if she could discover what or who it was it would lead her to the fourth alien.

But in order to do that, she needed to get closer to Liz. Vanessa flipped through the information Sacor had copied from Liz’s school records. Liz was an honor student, and before last year she had been active in several extra-circular groups, including the student senate. But in the last year, she had dropped her activity in all of the outside organizations. That timeframe, Vanessa noticed, fit with the date of the shooting in the Crashdown, that had led the kids to FBI attention. And if Liz left the state to get away from Max, maybe she wanted to distance herself from them altogether.

Vanessa needed a way to get Liz to interact with her, to trust her, and finally after hours of consideration, she conceived a plan. She would open a branch office in Roswell and hire Liz, the former student senator, to work with her. Surely Liz would jump at the chance to leave the Crashdown, where the Antarian royals regularly held court, and redirect her life to its former path.

Vanessa picked up the phone to set the whole thing up through her office. She needed this opportunity to be genuine. Liz was not a fool.


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(Sunday, September 10th, 2000)

Song Playing: Only You by Yaz

Jeff dropped Liz's bags on her bedroom floor. "It's sure good to have you home sweetie," he said, as he pulled Liz into a hug.

Liz hugged him back, "It's good to be home dad."

She waited until he left the room before she grabbed her phone and dialed Maria. "I'm home," she announced to her friend.

Maria's squeal of delight coming through the receiver made Liz hold it away from her ear. "Maria calm down."

"I'll be over in five minutes."

"Maria, if you see, um anyone, don't tell them I'm back yet. Okay?"

Maria rolled her eyes, "Liz, you will have to face Max eventually."

Liz sighed, "I know, but just give me a couple of days to settle in before I see him."

Liz put down the phone, opened her window and climbed out onto the rooftop. It seemed like a lifetime since she had been home, but it also was much too soon. She had hoped the months away from Max would dull the pain of leaving him, but being away from him had only proven to her that she would never get over him. She knew now, it would be a constant battle against herself.

With a sigh, she planted her elbows on the wall and looked down into the street, but ducked quickly when Max came into view. Shaking her head, Liz laughed at herself. Of course she hadn’t really seen Max, she had simply been thinking about him so much that she was seeing things.

Carefully she peeked over the edge of the wall, convinced Max wouldn’t be there, but he was standing on the sidewalk, looking into the Crashdown.

Liz drank in the sight of him, feeling like she was alive for the first time in months. With her eyes, she traced the outline of the face that was so dear to her. Max looked older, tired, and she knew she bore the same signs of the difficult separation.

For a moment, it was as if Liz was perfectly in tune with Max. She could feel his emotions, almost hear his thoughts. Sorrow and regret were uppermost but they didn’t overpower his overwhelming love for her. Liz longed to return his feelings, to revel in their love but she couldn’t allow that to happen.

Suddenly Liz had the feeling that Max could sense her too. As his gaze turned toward her balcony, Liz ducked behind the wall again. It had been a close call and she was sure he hadn’t seen her, but her heart was pounding.

Liz wiped angrily at the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. Her heart wasn’t pounding because she was scared, it was pounding from the excitement of seeing Max.


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(Episode - Skin & Bones)
(Monday, September 11th, 2000)
(Roswell, NM)

Vanessa had just arrived in Roswell and she already had a sense of satisfaction. She was interviewing Liz Parker the next day for a position as her assistant, and she had confirmed Courtney's presence in town with the poloroids Sacor had delivered.

Vanessa had suspected Courtney's membership in the rebel conspiracy for years, but with no proof to back up her suspicion, she had not wanted to subject an innocent to Nicholas' tender care. Now she could see that her soft heart had caused her to overlook a spy. But since Courtney had shown herself to be guilty, Vanessa decided to turn the situation to her advantage and deliver Courtney to Nicholas when she handed over Vilondra and the Granolith. It would put three big feathers in her cap, as the humans said, and it would assure her not only a promotion but also a place at Khivar's side.

Everything was falling into place for her. Now all she had to do was to determine which of the hybrids was Vilondra. Tomorrow Sacor would search Tess Harding's house for clues but Vanessa really did not expect him to discover anything. She was convinced Liz Parker was the key.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Skin & Bones)
(Monday, September 12th, 2000)

Max stood dejectedly on the sidewalk as Liz went inside with the Congresswoman. Their first meeting had not gone quite like he had pictured it. He had hoped that Liz would have changed her mind about being with him, but obviously she hadn’t. She was doing everything in her power to move on without him, including changing jobs.

But he wouldn't let her. He wouldn't just sit back and allow her to push aside everything they had between them. He would use everything at his disposal to win her back.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Skin & Bones)
(Monday, September 13th, 2000)

Ed pulled Max into the alley. "Did you find anything?" he asked, refering to Max’s search of Congresswoman Whitakers’ concerning Pierce’s bones.

Max nodded, "The bones are going to be delivered tomorrow morning to the University in Las Cruces."

"I'll be there," Ed said.

Max smiled, "So, did you have a good time distracting the Congresswoman?"

"No comment," Ed said, and countered with a question of his own. "How have you and Tess been getting along?"

"Well, I haven't performed any mating rituals if that's what you're asking," Max said wryly.

Ed had noticed how Max had looked at Liz when they had been at the Crashdown earlier. He was still in love with her, and refusing his destiny with Tess. "You heard your destiny,” Ed reminded him. “You heard it with your own ears."

"I just want to get Michael out of jail and go back to my life," Max said with a sigh. He was so sick of all of the destiny crap. "I'm not a King and we are not at war."

"You're the boss," Ed said. “I would just be careful not to confuse what you want to be true with what really is true."

Ed turned and walked away. He could understand Max's attraction to Liz. She was not only beautiful but loyal, intelligent and brave. Even after everything he had put her through, she'd still had the courage to openly defy him at the Crashdown. Yes, it was easy to see what Max saw in Liz, but Ed couldn't let Max's feelings for the human jeopardize their entire mission.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Boston, MA)

Brody Davis' attention was diverted from his computer by the three men who rushed into his office.

"Brody, we found something," the first man said as he slammed a long, curling piece of paper onto the table. He smoothed his hand over the wrinkled surface and pointed out a red spike on the graph. "We've gotten data from all of the sources and compared directional tracking. And we’ve discovered the signal's origin."

The second man piped in, "And you are never going to believe where it came from."

Brody looked at the men before him. "Well don't keep me in suspense."

"I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself," said the first man, shaking his head.

The third man was unable to contain his excitement, "Brody it's the place where it all began. Roswell! The signal is from Roswell."

"You're sure?" Brody asked, "Roswell?"

The three men nodded and Brody picked up the graph with a smile, "Roswell." He depressed the button on his phone, "Celia, get me on the next connecting flight to Roswell, New Mexico."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Skin & Bones)
(Thursday, September 14th, 2000)
(Roswell UFO Museum)

Milton held out his hand to his visitor, "I'm Milton Ross, owner of the museum."

The visitor shook Milton's hand, "Brody Davis." He glanced at the building, "Nice place you've got here."

"Well thank you," Milton said proudly, "I have put together this whole collection myself. It's the work of a lifetime."

Brody nodded, "And would you ever consider selling?"

"Selling?" Milton asked with a laugh.

Brody smiled, "I have taken quite a fancy to the building and most particularly the location."

"Mr. Davis, everything in this museum, it's my life's pursuit,” Milton said. “It’s my reason for getting out of bed in the morning. There is no amount of money you could offer me that would make me change my mind."

"I will give you one million dollars in cash for the building and everything it contains."

Milton looked at Brody with narrowed, suspicious eyes, "A million dollars?"

Brody nodded.

Milton smiled, "I have always wanted to go to South America and test my theories on extraterrestrial contact with the ancient civilizations."

Brody smiled, "I will have the papers for the transfer of ownership tomorrow morning."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Ed finally reached the Evans house. It had been more than twenty-four hours since he had been attacked by the Congresswoman. He had thought she looked familiar when he had met her as Pierce but it had never occurred to him that she might be a skin.

He had probably seen her on one of his visits to Copper Summit but he hadn't recognized her until it had been too late. She had taken him by surprise and sent an unexpectedly powerful burst of energy into his chest. Then she had searched him and found the amplifier he had taken from the skins and left him for dead.

Painfully he pulled himself up to Max's bedroom window. There was so much he needed to tell his young master, so much he had withheld, but there was so little time. He could literally feel himself dying. Whitaker had inflicted a mortal wound, they would not be able to heal him this time.

He knocked on the window, desperately hoping Max was there.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Ask Not)
(Thursday, September 14th, 2000)

Song Playing: Open Your Eyes by Alter Bridge

Max burst through the doors of the Crashdown and slumped to the floor in exhaustion. "Nasedo's dead."

"What?" Michael asked, as Liz and Alex rushed forward to help Max into a chair.

"He came to me, injured. Said…" Max paused to try and catch his breath, "said it was another alien, and that we're all in danger. He died, in my arms."

"Where is he?" Michael demanded.

"In my room," Max said softly.

Liz touched his face and everything else faded into the background. Max could literally feel her concern for him, pouring off of her. In the past, he had received impressions of what he thought she was feeling, but this time he was sure he was receiving her emotions. It was so powerful, so overwhelming and he knew without a doubt that no matter what she had said, she hadn't stopped caring for him. Her love for him was as strong as ever.

The horrific reality of Nasedo’s death fell away as he sank into Liz’s soft, welcoming eyes. The connection of minds and souls was everything he had ever dreamed a relationship with Liz would be, and he never wanted it to end.

He was so involved in the feelings passing between himself and Liz that he barely noticed Tess healing a scrape on his cheek. But when Michael and Isabel pulled him away from Liz, the tenuous bond dissipated. Max looked back at Liz, willing the connection back again but the moment of perfect oneness had passed, and as he was dragged out the door, he wondered if Liz had felt it too.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Ask Not)
(Friday - September 15th, 2000)
(The Harding House)

Max looked at his hand where the skin had just disintegrated and then he looked at Tess. No matter what his personal feelings were about her, he was in charge and he was responsible for her. He couldn't just leave her in this house alone.

He immediately thought of Michael. He would be the perfect solution but Max knew it wouldn't be that easy. Michael didn't like or trust Tess and he wouldn't want her moving in with him.

Max cast his mind around for another solution and suddenly the words that Sheriff Valenti had spoken to him, when he had saved Kyle, came to his mind.



I don't care who you are, or what you are. I'll be here for you.



Max looked at Tess again. He would take her to the Valenti's for the time being, until he could work out a better solution.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Valenti House)

"Of course Tess can stay here," the Sheriff said, "but sooner or later people will start to ask questions."

Max nodded, "I thought of that so I made a copy of Ed's will and created a handwritten note requesting that you be Tess' guardian until she turns eighteen. I put them into an old envelope and changed the post mark to a couple of days ago." He handed the letter to the Sheriff. "You can say you got it in the mail today."

Sheriff Valenti opened the letter and read the note.



To Whom It May Concern,

My job requires that I leave town for a top-secret mission at an undisclosed location for an unspecified length of time. My daughter Tess is not able to come with me for obvious reasons and Sheriff Jim Valenti Jr. of Roswell has agreed to look after her while I am away.

We have no other relatives and in the short time we have lived in Roswell, our two families have become good friends. Tess has just started to settle-in and I really don't want to uproot her again to move her to a military base to live alone. During her life, it has been necessary for us to move several times and it is her wish as well as mine that she stay in Roswell in the care of the Valenti's to finish high school.

Tess and Sheriff Valenti both have access to the bank accounts and the safety deposit box containing the legal documents. Should any problems arise I have issued a power of attorney to Sheriff Valenti authorizing him to make any decisions necessary.

Respectfully Yours,
Edward Harding



The Sheriff nodded, "This should work unless someone starts getting too curious."

Max nodded, "We'll worry about that if it happens."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Ask Not)
(Monday, September 18th, 2000)
(Congresswoman Whitaker's Office)
(Roswell, NM)

"Tess," Vanessa repeated, as Liz left her office. She smiled. Finally she had discovered the identity of Vilondra.

A few days ago she had realized that Courtney was focusing her efforts on Michael Guerin, meaning he was the former King Zan. Leaving Max to be the former General Rath, whose former betrothed and the current bane of Liz Parker's love life was Princess Vilondra, now known as Tess.

Soon all of her hard work would pay off, she thought, as she peeled of a large piece of skin from her rapidly dying husk. She would make contact with Vilondra and together they would deliver the Granolith to Nicholas.

Vanessa glanced at the phone. She had not told anyone of her plans and in order to keep the credit to herself she had disposed of Sacor, just as she had disposed of the Royal Four’s shape shifter protector.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Brody looked around his new office in the UFO museum. The equipment had been set up more quickly than he had thought possible. It still amazed him what money could do. With all of his new equipment he hoped he would be able to re-establish contact with the beings that were obviously visiting Roswell.

He reached for the chevron-shaped device he had purchased. The dealer who had sold it to him had guaranteed it was alien technology.

He'd had the device tested extensively but none of the tests had been conclusive. Brody had created a computer program to calculate every combination of the symbols and spent a lot of his free time trying them, but nothing had ever happened. He had started to think the device was a hoax until it had started beeping on that day in May.

Absent-mindedly he twisted the dial with the symbols, as he left the room. Suddenly the device emitted several beeping sounds and then a burst of light. Brody was so surprised, he nearly dropped the device, but a sound across the room drew his attention.

"Who's there?" he called out. "Stay where you are! Hey! Don't move!"

He could hear someone scrambling across the floor and then footsteps running out of the room, before he could reach them. He called out again, "Hey! Hey!"

He looked at the device in his hand, with wide eyes. He was right to have come to Roswell.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Surprise)
(Sunday, October 15th, 2000)
(Chavez County Electric Power Facility - Plant #2)

Tess awoke to a throbbing pain in her head and quickly shut her eyes hoping to block it out. Then she suddenly remembered what had happened and looked around for her attacker. She was alone now, but the earlier events came rushing back. Whitaker had forced her off the road with her powers and done something that had knocked her out.

The next time she had awoken, it had been to Whitaker slapping her, demanding answers to her questions. Tess had been completely ignorant about Whitaker's main concern, a device called the Granolith, causing Whitaker to throw her into a wall.

It was then that Tess realized Whitaker had killed Nasedo. When she had blurted it out, Whitaker had only laughed, "I'm impressed, Vilondra, I always heard you weren't too bright."

Tess had raised her chin and haughtily informed the older woman she was not Vilondra.

Whitaker had studied her for a moment and then nodded, "Yes, I can see my mistake." Then Whitaker raised her hand and Tess didn't remember anything else.

Tess cradled her ribs and attempted to stand but the pain quickly forced her back down. She took a few deep breaths and used the wall to support herself as she tried to rise again, but cried out as the pain became unbearable. Desperately she looked around the room. She had to escape while Whitaker was gone. She was afraid of what Whitaker would do to her when she returned, or maybe, Tess thought, Whitaker had simply left her there to die.

Sitting back, Tess closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. She would contact Max, he would come to save her. Tess concentrated on forming a connection with Max, sending him images of herself in trouble but after several attempts she gave up with a heavy sigh. Max wasn’t hearing her. For a moment she was surprised that he didn’t respond, but a voice inside her spoke the awful truth. Tess hadn't wanted to admit it, even to herself, but faced so brutally with the facts she couldn't deny it. Max had never heard her, never even given her a second thought.

Tess felt tears starting to gather in her eyes and wiped them away angrily. She wouldn't allow herself to give in to weak human emotions. There was a perfectly good reason Max hadn't heard her. Nasedo had told her more than once that the females on Antar tended to have greater mental abilities, while the males' powers tended to manifest in a more physical manner. And, Tess consoled herself, when Max remembered her, they would form a particularly close connection.

And feeling better, Tess changed her attention and concentrated instead on contacting Isabel.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Surprise)
(Congresswoman Whitaker's Office)
(Roswell, NM)

Vanessa smiled at herself in the bathroom mirror, the look of shock on Liz's face, when she had invited herself to Isabel's birthday party, still fresh in her mind. She had been forced to beat the information out of Tess, but it had been worth it. Isabel was Vilondra.

She had taken Tess because she had mistakenly believed she was Vilondra, but even before Tess told her the truth, Vanessa should have realized Tess wasn’t Vilondra. Tess had been so easy to take prisioner, and Vanessa had always believed Vilondra to have more spirit than that. At least she expected more of a fight.

But now that Vanessa knew the truth, the differences between Tess and Isabel were obvious. Vanessa had never met the former Queen Ava, and really didn’t know anything about her, other than she had married young. But she had expected the former Queen to have a more dignified bearing at least, not the whining, spoiled child she had discovered in Tess. Vanessa shrugged. She might not have known anything about Queen Ava, but Vanessa certainly didn’t have any respect for her current form, Tess.

It was just one more reason to hate the Royal Four and everything they stood for, and one more reason to finish her mission quickly so she could return home. All she had to do was reveal herself to the Princess and they would return to Antar and Khivar.

Vanessa passed her hand over her face and hair, using her powers to refresh her makeup and smooth her hair, and then down her clothing to remove the wrinkles. She reached for the doorknob but paused.

It was a birthday party and she should arrive with a gift. She walked into her office and noted that Liz was gathering her things in the other room. Vanessa grabbed a Fed-Ex envelope and passed her hand over it, altering it into a gift box. Then she took a handful of pens and changed them into the rough shape of an alien. A little childish perhaps, she thought, as she placed the alien inside and passed her hand over the box again to wrap it, but she was sure it would get Isabel's attention.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Surprise)

Michael followed Courtney out behind the Crashdown, and when he reached her grabbed the cigarette she was smoking.

"Worried about my health?" Courtney asked seductively.

Michael ignored her and got right to the point, "Who are you?"

Courtney was genuinely surprised by his question, "What?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Michael challenged.

Courtney wondered if Michael had discovered her true identity but played it cool. "Are you, like, high or something?"

Michael took the picture of Courtney, he had discovered in Congresswoman Whitaker's office, out of his pocket and showed it to her.

Suddenly Courtney was scared. It was a picture someone had taken of her in Roswell, "Where'd you get that?"

Michael shrugged, "From your file in Whitaker's office."

Courtney was really scared now. She had known Whitaker had set up an office in Roswell and had been careful to avoid her. But she was horrifed to learn that Whitaker knew she was in town and had obviously been surveilling her. Whitaker had to know she was in Roswell against orders, so why hadn't they come to get her? Courtney needed to get more information, and tried to push past Michael, "Get out of my face."

Michael stood his ground, "You're gonna tell me exactly what's going on."

"No," Courtney said stubbornly, not ready to deal with him, "I don't have to tell you anything."

"So, you working with her?" Michael asked belligerently. "You spying on us? Is that what you're doing?"

Courtney was surprised they had figured out what Whitaker was doing so quickly, but she put him off. "You're a big man, aren't you?"

"Don't jerk me around." he ground out. "If you're not working with Whitaker, then why does she have photos of you, documents, huh? Why is she watching you? Why is a U.S. Congresswoman interested in a waitress from Roswell?"

Courtney couldn't reveal the truth to Michael until she had gained his trust or the whole thing would be for nothing. She had to think fast to throw him off the track, "Because I was sleeping with her stepson, that's why!"

"Stepson," Michael said dully.

Michael was obviously surprised by her answer and she continued with her story, laying it on thick. "That's right. He screwed his life up with drugs, and I screwed my life up with him. When we got busted, do you know who went down for that? I spent 2 years in Buckman, and the only reason why I got out of there is because I promised that bitch that I would never see him again. So I guess that she's just making sure I keep that promise."

"All right," said Michael, still totally off balance from her answer. "Thanks."

"Thanks?" Courtney asked suddenly angry. Whitaker was after her and maybe all of the skins too and she could be dead tomorrow, and Michael had the nerve to thank her? She drew back and slapped him hard. "Jerk!"

Michael grabbed her shoulders and an electric sensation flared between them. It was different than anything he had ever felt, but familiar at the same time, and he looked at her as if she would contain the answers. He could literally feel Courtney's anger dissolving and being replaced by the desire to kiss him, and it was intoxicating. She felt familiar in his arms, as if she had been there many times, and for just a brief moment he had the sensation he was home. He started to lean in closer to her, when the sound of an approaching car drew his attention away from her.

Maria stopped the Jetta close to Michael and Courtney and yelled, "Michael, we got to go. Isabel's in trouble."

Courtney watched motionless as Michael and Maria drove away, feeling disappointed. For a moment she thought Michael was remembering her but then they had been interrupted. But she quickly pushed thoughts of Michael to the back of her mind. She could deal with him later, if she was still alive.

Her attention turned back to her more immediate problem, Vanessa Whitaker. Courtney thought it unlikely that Whitaker had reported her presence in Roswell to Nicholas, but she decided to go to her office and see what she could find.

She made the excuse of a headache to Liz, to get out of serving duty, and quickly exited out the back and ran down the alleys to Whitaker's office. Using her powers, she opened the back door and slipped into the dark room. Quickly closing the door and the blinds, she started searching in the desk. Whitaker was obviously a neat freak and it didn't take Courtney long to see there was nothing of interest to be found. Courtney carefully replaced everything she had moved, exited the way she had come, and headed toward Whitaker's condo, hoping she would find some answers there.

The condo was only a few blocks away and she was there in minutes, easily letting herself in the sliding glass door on the porch. She headed straight for the office, hoping to find a safe or confidential files, but discovered only a few copies of outdated FBI memos. But when she started up the computer she found a locked folder.

Using her powers to gain access, Courtney discovered an electronic diary Whitaker was keeping. She quickly scrolled through the entries to the ones that were from the last few months. Skimming the contents of the pages, Courtney found she had no reason to fear. Whitaker had political aspirations, hoping to gain favor by turning over Vilondra, Courtney and the Granolith all at the same time. She had even killed her Lieutenant to stop him from informing Nicholas before she was ready.

Courtney sat back in the chair and smiled. All she had to do was kill Whitaker before she could complete her plans.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - Summer of '47)
(Tuesday, October 17th, 2000)
(West Roswell High School)

Michael saw Liz at her locker and he used his ready-made excuse to stop and talk to her. "Have you seen Max?"

"Oh, Michael," Liz said, startled by his appearance and civil manner. "Um, no. He said something about stopping by the Crashdown later."

Michael could see something was wrong. He had never given much thought to anyone else's feelings, but now he felt guilty that he might be the cause of Liz's discomfort. "You okay?"

Liz was surprised Michael noticed her mood, much less asked about her. "Me? Yeah, sure. Why?"

Michael wasn't quite ready to confront the past head-on and grabbed for the closest point of disagreement, "Well, the whole Congresswoman Whitaker thing. We'll work it out."

Liz shrugged, "Yeah, I know."

Michael looked at Liz. She had stood up for them time and time again. She had risked her safety and possibly her life to save them and he had always treated her as the cause of all their problems. Liz really did deserve better from him. "And, uh, and this morning," he stumbled, "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Liz looked at Michael, her confusion evident on her face. "Thank you. Did Max ask you to do that?"

"What?"

She smiled, "The whole being nice thing."

"No," Michael said, with a touch of humor, "I came up with it myself." He turned and started to walk away to stop any more of her questions.

Liz called out to him, "I like it."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode - The End of the World)
(Monday, October 23rd, 2000)

Liz looked out the Jetta's window into the rainy night without really seeing anything. She had only accompanied Maria to the psychic to be supportive, she didn't believe in Earthly psychic abilities. But Madame Vivian's words had convinced her like nothing else could have and the possibilities behind the words left them echoing in Liz's head.



He chooses love.
He chooses you.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~




END OF BOOK 7 - THE INTRUSION OF SHADES (THE CLANDESTINED DISCLOSED)




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



TBC

In BOOK 8

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)


re-struc-tru-ing -
1 : to make new, amended, improved, altered
2 : to rebuild
3 : to change the makeup, organization or pattern



DISCLAIMER: Some of the dialogue used was taken from the episodes and I am not claiming credit for having written it but used it simply to set up the tone of a scene or show parallels between lives and realities.



AUTHORS NOTE: This is the original time line depicting the events that led to Max being sent back in time. Everything on the show has happened from The Pilot up until the night that Future Max would have appeared.

The story jumps ahead to show major events and changes from the time line that aired. The events surrounding the episodes the End of the World and the Hybrid Chronicles still take place, except as shown. I did not show every scene from these episodes but only a few major story points to remind the reader of the events. I have also included a scene that was supposedly cut from EOTW because I thought it depicted the relationship between Max and Tess, at that time, so well.

All dates are shown and a complete time line is included that tells when each event took place. I have labeled the scenes with Episode Equivalent titles to show the reader the timing of events in relation to the episodes that aired.



WARNING:
Multiple Character Death - but since it is an alternate time line, it isn't permanent.



CREDITS: We Haven't Turned Around is by Gomez
I Shall Believe is by Sheryl Crow
Independence Day and Alien are the property of Twentieth Century Fox
Braveheart is the property of Paramount
Wisdom of the Buddha - The Unabridged Dhammapada, translated and edited by
F. Max Muller and is the property of Dover publishing, 2000 ed.



DEFINITIONS:
legion - a unit of soldiers containing 5000 men
squad - a unit of soldiers containing 9-10 men, trained to act together
trithium amplification generator - aka amplifier - the black, chevron-shaped device used by the Skins for communication and suspending the powers of Antarians, among other things.



NAGGING QUESTIONS:
1. Why exactly did Tess leave and when?
2. How did the skins take control of Earth?
3. Who is Serena?
4. Why did Future Max and Liz decide to change that particular event at that particular time in history?


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


EARTH


Humans
Liz Parker - the girl that Max Evans loved enough to risk exposure healing her when she was shot at the Crashdown Cafe
Jeff Parker - Liz's father - owns the Crashdown Cafe
Nancy Parker - Liz's mother
Philip Evans - Max and Isabel's adoptive father - he is a lawyer
Diane Evans - Max and Isabel's adoptive mother
Maria DeLuca - Liz's best friend
Amy DeLuca - Maria's mother - owns a novelty store specializing in alien merchandise
Sean DeLuca - Maria's cousin and former inmate of Chavez County Juvenile
Alex Whitman - Liz and Maria's best friend
Chuck (Charles) Whitman - Alex's father
Gloria Whitman - Alex's mother
Kyle Valenti – Jim Valenti’s son, Liz's former boyfriend, also saved by Max
Sheriff Jim Valenti Jr. - Sheriff of Roswell - Kyle's father
Deputy Eric Hansen - junior deputy - promoted to Sheriff after Jim Valenti was asked to step down
Laurie Dupree - Granddaughter of Charles Dupree (Michael's DNA donor) - kidnapped by the Ganderium Queen because of a rare gene flaw
Charles Dupree - Grandpa Dupree - human taken by the shape shifters for his DNA - Laurie Dupree's Grandfather
Melissa Foster - the girl that Isabel and Valenti mistakenly thought was the kidnap victim
Dan Lubertkin - member of the State Police Board and Sheriff Valenti’s old friend
Agent Susanne Duff - FBI Agent investigating the kidnapping of Laurie Dupree
Bobby Dupree - son of Charles - uncle of Laurie
Meredith Dupree - daughter of Charles - aunt of Laurie - after Laurie's parents died Bobby and Meredith had Laurie declared insane so they could control her money
Carmen – the Dupree’s housekeeper


Shape Shifters Loyal to the Royal Four
Nasedo - Sodan - Ed Harding - Sam Morgan - expert in hand-to-hand and weapons combat and a pilot, special skill - heat and energy blasts
Letras - (le-tras) - Zan's former tutor, expert in philosophy, history and military tactics, captured by the special unit and killed
Cuerena (soor'-ren-ya) - scientist and Granolith expert, special skills - illusion - assigned the dupes protector
Tic Tac - Kaldar - expert in hand-to-hand and weapons combat, special skill - empath -injured by the humans and has terrible headaches when he uses his powers


Skins
Nicholas Crawford - General Calles Nicaron (kal-ees) (ni-ca'-ron) - Khivar's right hand and head general
Courtney Banks - Lieutenant Scorene - (skor-ra-nay) - Rath's friend from childhood and member of the Michael worshippers
Congresswoman Vanessa (Crawford) Whitaker - Major Nesta - Head of the Granolith Project
Tyrone Greer - T. Greer - Major Grester - Head of the Vilondra Project
Walt Crawford - Colonel Jafto - Nicholas' second in command, posing as his father
Ida Crawford - Idos - Nicholas' personal servant, posing as his mother
Gregory Jensen - Gragras - (gra-gras) - the scientist in charge of the skins project
Corporal Raltos - one of the soldiers prepared for Khivar to possess on Earth
Major Tratis - the commander of the second group of skins sent to Earth
Lieutenant Zaptfa – Major Tratis’ aid


Hybrids
Max Evans - Zan
Isabel Evans - Vilondra
Michael Guerin - Rath
Tess Harding - Alyssa Morgan


The Dupes
Zan - Max's dupe
Lonni - Isabel's dupe
Rath - Michael's dupe
Ava - Tess' dupe





ANTAR


Tageions (tauj'-ee-ons) - people inhabiting the north lands
King Zantor Tageonant (tauj'-o-nant) - (Zan) - Max - the rightful King of Antar
Queen Avalynd Telnada Tageonant - (Ava) - Zan's young bride
Royal Princess Vilondra Tageonant - Isabel - Zan’s sister
Queen Nedra Tageonant (ne'-dra) - Zan & Vilondra's mother
General Alarath Varros (Rath) - Michael - Zan's head General and second in command
Tageonon (tauj'-o-non) - the capitol city of Antar, where the king's palace is located


Harcions (Har-see-ons) - people inhabiting the south lands
Khivar Roistar - the man who usurped Zan's throne
General Calles Nicaron (kal-ees) (ni-ca'-ron) - Nicholas - Khivar's right hand and head general
Lieutenant Scorene - (skor-ra-nay) - Courtney - Rath's friend from childhood and member of the Michael worshippers
Major Nesta - Congresswoman Vanessa (Crawford) Whitaker - Head of the Granolith Project
Major Grester - T. Greer - Head of the Vilondra Project
Colonel Jafto - Walt Crawford - Nicholas' second in command, posing as his father
Idos - Ida Crawford - Nicholas' personal servant, posing as his mother
Gragras - Gregory Jensen - (gra-gras) - the scientist in charge of the skins project
Corporal Raltos - one of the soldiers prepared for Khivar to possess on Earth
Major Tratis - the commander of the second group of skins sent to Earth
Lieutenant Zaptfa – Major Tratis’ aid


Shape Shifters sent to Earth with the Pods
Sodan - Nasedo - Ed Harding - Sam Morgan - expert in hand-to-hand and weapons combat and a pilot - special ability energy blasts
Letras - (le-tras) - Zan's former tutor, expert in philosophy, history and military tactics - captured by the special unit and died
Cuerena (soor'-ren-ya) - scientist and Granolith expert - special ability illusion - assigned the dupes protector
Kaldar - Tic Tac - expert in hand-to-hand and weapons combat - special ability empath - injured by the humans and has terrible headaches when he uses his powers


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 1


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - End of the World)
(Monday, October 23rd, 2000)
(The Parker House - Liz's Bedroom)
(After The Trip To Visit Madame Vivian)

Liz draped the lace over her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Madame Vivian had said Max would choose her and Liz let herself dwell in the pleasant dream she had of the future, of becoming Max's wife and loving him until the end of their days.

"I Liz Parker take Max Evans to be my..." Liz let the sentence trail off as her smile slowly dissolved. It was a beautiful fantasy and as desperately as she wanted it, she could not let Max choose her. He had a duty to his people and she couldn't stand between him and his destiny.

Liz sighed, it would be so easy to give in to her feelings. Her love for Max had not diminished in the months they had been apart. And Max had left her in no doubt of his feelings, having pursued her relentlessly since she had walked away from him in May.

She laid the lace aside and brushed the hair out of her face. How could life be so cruel? she wondered. When Max had reversed the connection between them, all of those months ago, something had been awakened inside her. It was as if she had recognized something in Max and was irresistibly drawn to him, growing to love him more and more each day.

It had practically killed her to walk away from Max at the pod chamber that terrible day last May, after they had finally exchanged vows of love, but she loved him so much that she would never be able to forgive herself for holding him back.

The sudden sound of music outside her window drew her attention and she crawled out the opening and onto the balcony. A Mariachi band stood in the street below her, one man with his face completely covered by his hat. At an unseen signal, the hat was lowered to reveal the face most beloved to her, Max.

The soft strains of music floated up to her as he began to sing. The words were in Spanish but even though she did not speak the language she could hear the sorrow and heartache the song expressed. As Max continued to sing, he produced a bunch of red roses from behind his back and tossed them up to her. The flowers arched in the air and seemed to stop for a moment as the color washed out of them leaving white roses where red had been just a moment before.

She deftly caught the flowers, immediately bringing them to cover her face, before Max could see just how close to surrender she was. Since she had returned from Florida, Max had constantly pursued her even though she continually rebuffed him, and her resistance was wearing thin. She gathered her strength and put the flowers aside to smile serenely, not wanting to encourage him.

A sound behind her drew her attention.

"Lizzie? What the hell is going on out there?" her father called as he came into her room. "Is that Max again?"

Jeff climbed out the window and looked over the edge of the balcony, "Max is that you again?" He quickly took in the scene below, "It's eleven-o’clock. Tomorrow's a school day..."

Max smiled, as he and the mariachi band, still singing, started to walk away.

Jeff shook his head, "Aw, jeez."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - End of the World)
(Tuesday, October 24th, 2000)

Max watched Isabel, Michael and Tess as they looked at the Granolith. He had to admit, the alien object was fascinating but also frightening at the same time. Somehow he felt drawn to it, like if he could just remember how, it would reveal all of its secrets to him. He shook his head with abhorrence, glad he didn't remember. He didn't want to know what it was. It was a purely alien thing and he didn't want to have anything to do with it.

Since Nasedo's death, a voice that resided in the back of his mind had been steadily growing stronger. There was no one to help them anymore. There was no one to make sure they followed their destiny, and as far as they knew, there was no way to return to their planet. No one could blame him for failing his mission. There was nothing else they could do. He was ready to leave his alien side, and everything it meant, behind him. To Max, it seemed the perfect chance to embrace his humanity and with it, everything he had always wanted.

Suddenly Tess spoke, breaking into his thoughts. "Maybe we should pool our energy."

Max looked at her with a blank expression, "Pool our energy?"

Tess explained, "If we join hands and concentrate maybe we can make some kind of connection that we can't make on our own."

This was exactly the type of thing Max had been avoiding. What if something happened that revealed more of their past or their mission to them? He couldn't take the chance. And the fact that the suggestion had come from Tess angered him even more. He put all of his mistrust and ridicule into his tone, "Is this something Nasedo told you?"

Tess recoiled from his harsh words. "No. It's an original idea, or isn't that allowed?" she snapped back.

Max remained silent, dismissing her, but Tess wasn't ready to accept his decision, "Can we at least try it?"

Max glared at Tess and she turned to Isabel appealing to her.

Isabel tried to dispel some of the tension, not understanding her brother's reluctance, "I'll try it."

Tess turned to Michael, asking for his agreement with the single word, "Michael?"

Michael, who had been studying Max, shrugged. "If it pisses Max off, what the hell."

They each took a place around the Granolith. Tess reached for Michael's hand, and Michael reached for Isabel's.

But as Tess and Isabel reached for Max's hand, he shook his head. "I really don't..."

Isabel cut him off with a scolding tone, "Max."

Max reached to take Isabel's hand and turned to Tess. He looked at her outstretched hand and the revulsion started to rise up in him as it did every time he had to be near her. He felt as if he constantly had to be on guard around her, because if he wasn't careful, she would trick him and pull him in. But he didn't want to show her his weakness and reluctantly took her hand.

For a moment he attempted to focus, but just being near to Tess was unnerving him. He didn't want to be close to her and he most certainly didn't want to discover anything that could ruin his chance with Liz, as the message in the cave had. Liz had been softening toward him since her return from Florida, and he couldn't risk anything else happening. He dropped Tess and Isabel's hands and took a step back.

Tess turned to him, with a hurt look, "What are you doing?"

"It didn't work," he barked.

Tess was incredulous, "You didn't give it a chance."

Max attacked her verbally, "I've got too much on my mind to play ring-around-the-rosy, all right?"

Tess' voice dripped with venom, "Holding hands is childish, but serenading Liz on her rooftop is crucial to our survival."

Max looked at her, wondering how she knew, and Tess seeing the surprised look on his face, laughed, mocking him. "It's a small town, Max. Sing in Spanish, it gets around."

Max was angrier than he had ever been with her. How dare she belittle what he and Liz had between them? "My relationship with Liz is none of your business," he spat at her.

Tess was hurt and she lashed out at him, "It's not that you think joining hands is a bad idea, you just can't stand to touch me."

Max knew he should be ashamed of his behavior but he couldn't even pretend she hadn't guessed the truth. He looked her steadily in the eyes, not saying a word.

"I am so out of here," she said, as she turned and headed toward the door. Tess felt the first pricks of tears and willed them away. Why should she care what Max thought of her? But she had to admit to herself that she did care what Max thought. She had stopped trying to get close to him like he had told her and she hadn't used her mind powers on him in months. She thought if they could become friends, he would remember and grow to love her but it hadn't worked out like that. Even with Liz gone over the summer, Max had stayed as far away from her as he could.

Tess stopped near the door and straightened her shoulders; she wouldn’t let Max know how much he had hurt her. She tossed her blonde curls and looked back over her shoulder, "Grow up Max," she said caustically, trying to cover her pain, and stormed outside.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Crashdown Café)

Maria stomped into the kitchen, still depressed about what Madame Vivian had told her. "We need to talk."

"Talk?" Michael asked apprehensively.

Oblivious to the caution in his tone, Maria continued casually, "Yeah, about our relationship."

Michael looked at her as if she had suddenly sprouted another head. "You gotta be joking me."

Maria shook her head, "Some stupid psychic told me that the next forty-eight hours are critical, so could you just try not to be a bonehead? Is that, like, a possibility?" She stopped talking as Courtney walked into the kitchen. "No waitresses in the kitchen," she said for what seemed like the thousandth time.

But Courtney ignored her and turned toward Michael, "Hey, Mikey G. You got my order yet?"

"Yeah, right there," he said, motioning to the counter.

"Takeoff Tacos, Plutonium Platter, and the Greek God salad, light on the feta. You're such a good boy," she said as she brazenly slapped Michael on the butt, and turned with the food to leave.

Michael felt the disapproval radiating from Maria and hurried to cover, "She put in that order before I got busy."

But Maria was not so easily placated, "Okay, give it up, Guerin. What's going on with her?"

"Yeah," he said misunderstanding her, "that's exactly what I want to know."

"Michael," Maria warned.

"I don't trust her."

"Hmm. Neither do I."

He finally caught Maria's meaning and explained his thoughts, "I mean, there's something going on with her. Another new face in town arrived this summer after the signal went out. Her picture was in Whitaker's office. She's constantly hanging around me, always giving me these looks."

"So, do you think she's an alien?" Maria asked skeptically, not sure if he was stringing her along.

"Or with the government," he said with conviction, "I don't know."

"Well, I'll tell you what I know, Mikey G," Maria said sarcastically, "the slut wants in your pants."

"That might work," he said to himself thoughtfully, a plan already starting to form.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Courtney hopped off of Michael's motorcycle, "Thanks for the ride."

When Michael had come up with this idea, it had seemed so easy and now he was not sure how to proceed. "No problem."

"You handle your machine really good," she said.

He was surprised that he was genuinely flattered by her praise. "Thanks."

Courtney lingered. "Well, I guess it's time for another night curled up in my sheets, fondling my remote control."

"I guess," Michael said, trying to sound uninterested.

"Unless, of course," Courtney flirted, "you want to be my remote control for the night?"

"I'd better go home."

"Too bad," she sighed. "Well, good night." Courtney stepped into him and kissed him hard, hoping to temp him to change his mind.

"What the hell," Michael shrugged. He was pleased that his plan had worked out so well. Of course they always did.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Song Playing: Take a Chance on Me by ABBA

Max agilely climbed the ladder to Liz's balcony and looked through the window, hoping she was there. Even after he had embarrassed himself with the Mariachi band, she was still refusing his calls and he had come to try again. He could see Liz through the window studying at the table. She was so beautiful and he loved her so much and every time he saw her he felt as if his heart would break because they were not together.

He smiled joylessly remembering all the times he had pushed her away. He had been such a fool for wasting so much of the time they could have had together. He could have used the time to bind her to him so closely that she never would have considered leaving him.

He shook his head. Often the events of the terrible day Liz had walked away, had plagued him. He had been a fool to listen to Michael. He should have gone after her immediately and convinced her to stay with him. All summer he had played the day over and over in his mind and he felt with a soul-deep conviction, if he had stopped Liz that day, everything would have turned out differently.

Max had pursued Liz relentlessly after she walked away from him but he continued to have a sickening feeling that he was too late. She had tried to avoid him but he made sure they were constantly together either at school or at the Crashdown. He was making his presence known, letting her know in word and deed that he would never let her go. They had been together physically more than ever before, but spiritually he had felt the abyss that forced them apart, widening each day.

Then exactly a week later, Liz had left for Florida. They had both known why she was going, even if she had acted as if the whole thing had been previously arranged. She wouldn't even have told him she was leaving if he hadn't have happened to come to her window and seen her packing.

Max shook his head. There were so many things he could have done differently, but it was useless to dwell on the past. He needed her in his life and he would do anything he had to do, to make her see they belonged together. He would never let her go and he would never stop pursuing her until she changed her mind. If he thought she didn't love him it would be different but he knew she loved him with the same soul deep, searing love he felt for her.

He had pursued her before she had left and even with a summer of separation and her continued denial, he had no intention of backing off now. If anything, he was determined to try harder to win her back. It was a battle worth winning and he had everything on his side; time, love, and Liz herself, even if she didn't want to admit it.

Max knocked gently on the glass separating them and Liz looked up immediately. He saw the joy that crossed her features momentarily before she had time to cover it with a polite smile. His heart leapt, knowing he could still cause that kind of reaction in her and he was more certain than ever they belonged together.

Liz slid the window open. "Max, what are you doing here?" she asked with a tinge of fear in her voice that she couldn't hide.

Max smiled gently. He knew she was afraid of giving in to her feelings for him and it made him proceed boldly. Before she could protest, he took her face in his hands and kissed her, pouring all of his love and desperation into the connection between them. And when she didn't immediately pull away, his heart soared, knowing that he was gaining ground in the war to win her back.



**Flash**

Max saw several memories of kisses they had shared and felt Liz's feelings that accompanied the images.



**Flash**

He saw the time that they had spent together in the van after he had escaped from Pierce and the Special Unit.

"Max, the day that you saved my life, your life just ended."

"No, that was the day my life began. Liz, when I was in that room, and they did what they did to me; you're what kept me alive. The thought of you, the way your eyes look into mine, your smile, the touch of your skin your lips. Knowing you has made me human. Whether I die tomorrow or fifty years from now, my destiny is the same: it's you. I want to be with you, Liz. I love you."

"I love you."



Max could feel that the memory of their time together in the van was Liz's most precious, most cherished, because they had professed their love. She still loved him, and when they were connected like this, she couldn't deny it.

He finally ended the kiss and studied her face, noting she was as shaken with the feelings that had passed between them as he was. "I felt that," he said, trying to catch his breath, and noting Liz was in a similar state. "And I know you did, too. And I know you think that I need to let you go, for the sake of Michael, and Isabel, and my race. So I can follow my destiny. But Tess isn't you. Tess can never be you."

Liz struggled to hide the tears that were threatening, having heard Max say the words she had longed to hear more than anything. But she quickly shored up her resolve, determined to do the right thing. "Max, we have to stop this. We have to. I am telling you that we have to."

Max ignored her protest, knowing she was close to surrender, "Go out with me on Friday. There's a Gomez concert in Santa Fe. I have tickets."

"No." She shook her head trying to clear the visions of them together again, "No, Max. I can't go out with you ever again. Please stop doing this."

Max smiled softly, "I can't."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Valenti house – Kyle’s room)

Tess removed the poster from the wall and passed her hand across the surface, testing the pink she had chosen.

Kyle entered the room, interrupting her. "I thought I told you I didn't want you doing that Bewitched crap in the house."

Tess rolled her eyes and gently scolded, "Out of my room."

"It's my room!" he asserted

"You, you know what?" she started to protest, but gave up before the fight began. "Just... just forget it. I'm sick of this place, and I'm sick of Max Evans."

Kyle couldn't believe his ears, "Don't toy with me."

Tess continued angrily, "I never asked to be his mate. He thinks I'm just gonna wait around until he comes to terms with his destiny? Well, I'm not. He can figure it out on his own. They all can." She turned to Kyle, "You know, they didn't even know where the pod chamber was until I came along. I hate this life." She dropped onto the bed and released a sigh of frustration, "I feel better."

Kyle watched her tantrum with growing interest, "You look really great when you're pissed."

"Yeah, right," she said sarcastically.

Kyle rushed to assure her, "No, I'm serious. I feel, like, all this energy coming from you right now." He turned introspective, "In order to trim the lamp of wisdom, we must attend to our bodily needs."

Tess stood and looked at him consideringly, "Let me tell you something, Buddha-boy, I got a lamp that needs some serious trimming."

Kyle quickly closed the distance between them and took her lips in an eager kiss.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - End of the World)
(Wednesday, October 25th, 2001)
(Michael's Apartment)

"What's up?" Michael greeted Alex at the door.

"Nothing," Alex answered woodenly, "Nothing at all."

Michael regained his seat and spooned more cereal into his mouth, "Well, I was kinda watching the game, so if you got something on your mind..."

Alex used the remote to turn off the television and turned to Michael, his anger building with each moment, "Do you have any idea what you've done to Maria?"

Michael suddenly realized the reason for Alex's visit and rushed to reassure him, "Dude, it was a misunderstanding."

But Alex was too immersed in his anger to listen. "Look, I don't care that you've got 30 pounds on me or...or that you can kill me with some...some twisted alien power," his voice rose in anger. "I will not let you treat her like that. I don't care that Isabel treats me like crap, but no one does that to Maria, all right? She's not just some girl!" Alex shouted.

Michael softened his voice and worked for a sincere tone, "You gotta believe me. I have nothing..."

Unfortunately Courtney picked that moment to push open Michael's door, "Knock, knock."

Alex accepted Courtney's presence as proof positive of Michael's betrayal. He turned without thinking and hit Michael squarely in the jaw, sending him sprawling across the floor. "Ow!" he protested, grabbing his injured hand.

Michael considered him from his place on the floor as he rubbed his jaw, "You realize you just risked your life?"

"Yeah."

Michael's opinion of Alex rose ten times in that moment, "You're a really good friend, man."

"Call me that again, and I'll really kick your ass," Alex called as he left the apartment.

"Are you okay?" Courtney asked as she approached Michael, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Michael said dismissively.

Courtney helped him to stand and as they touched, Michael felt a jolt of recognition flash through him. She seemed familiar, almost like home. He could sense the desire coming from her in waves and he pulled her to him for a rough kiss. He was acting on pure instinct and pulled her closer, his hands sliding around to her back. Her shirt rode up and for a moment he did not comprehend the significance of the substance coming off her but as it penetrated his foggy mind he pushed her away. "You're a skin?" he asked accusingly.

Courtney could hear the animosity in his tone and decided instantly he would not listen to her explanation now. She moved quickly away from him and suddenly ran.

"Stop!" Michael ordered but she heard the destruction of something behind her and threw herself out the window.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Parker House – Liz’s Room)

Song Playing: Angel by Sarah McLachlan

Liz turned over in her bed again, hoping a new position would finally help her sleep. After a few more minutes, she turned back to the first position and re-arranged her pillows with a sigh. It was just no use. Her head was too full of Max to sleep.

He had come to her window earlier with the tickets to the Gomez concert and had tried again to temp her into going. He had been charming and funny and he had told her how much he loved her.

She had been so scared of giving in to him that she had made him stay outside the window, but even that had not discouraged Max. In fact, it had seemed to make him more confident. He had countered every argument she made and begged her to reconsider. She had wanted to give in to him, every fiber of her being yearning to go to him, but she had held her ground.

Finally she had been forced to tell him to leave, "Max there is no use. It doesn't matter what we want. You have to follow your destiny."

Max had simply smiled, "Liz, everything you say and do just makes me love you more."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Harvest)
(Thursday, October 26th, 2000)
(West Roswell High School)

Maria met Liz in the school hall, "You okay?"

"Oh, I didn't get much sleep last night," Liz explained.

Maria paused as she studied her friend, "You look like you got your heart stomped out. No wait, that would be me. Well if it's possible, you look worse."

"Max came over last night and I had to tell him again..." she let the sentence trail off.

Maria pulled Liz into a quick hug, "I'm sorry Liz."

Liz nodded, "Maybe we should talk about it later."

"Over lots of ice cream," Maria added.

"It's a date," Liz said.

Maria noticed Michael coming toward them, "I'll see ya later." She turned the opposite direction and walked quickly to her locker.

"Hey," Michael said casually, as he stopped beside her.

"Whatever, dude," Maria said, dismissing him.

"No, I have something to tell you."

"I'm not interested," she said, trying to walk away.

Michael moved to stand in front of her, "Hey, it's about Courtney."

Maria waved her hands dismissively, "I am so not interested."

He cut her off, "Hey, will you just listen to me?"

Maria was becoming angrier, "You listen to me. She made a play for you, and you went for it. So, what? Now she's screwed you over and you've come to realize she's a cheap, manipulative tramp? Well, this is not news to me."

Michael casually threw down his trump card, knowing it would get her attention. "She's an alien. A skin, like Whitaker." Michael smiled. The surprised expression on Maria’s face was almost worth all of the trouble.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(West Roswell High School)
(An Empty Classroom)

"I knew there was something wrong about her, even before I found her picture in Whitaker's office," Michael said proudly.

"Where's Courtney now?" Max asked, having a difficult time concentrating with Liz in the room. Last night had proved to him that she was close to giving in and all he could think of was holding her in his arms again.

"I don't know," Michael said. "She went out the window. I tried chasing her..."

Maria cut him off, "But it's hard to run with your pants around your ankles?"

Tess had been eyeing Max and Liz with a sour expression. "Settle the personal crap on your own time," she said, deliberately including Max in her gaze as she continued. "If Courtney's a skin, it means she was working with Whitaker."

"You're right," Isabel agreed softly, "There's no way two skins would just happen to be in Roswell at the same time. They were working together, which means Courtney knows everything about us."

Michael looked at Max, who was obviously more interested in Liz than their conversation. "Maxwell, are we disturbing you?" Michael asked, motioning toward Liz with a jut of his chin.

Isabel jumped to her brother's defense. "Leave him alone, Michael." It was the first time she had seen Max somewhat happy since Liz had left him.

Michael admired Liz for having the fortitude to leave Max to follow his destiny, but at the same time he had despised her for causing Max so much pain. "Something you wanna share with the class?" he asked Max sarcastically.

Max shook his head to clear the thoughts of Liz, "Look, if Courtney is a skin and she was working with Whitaker, the first question is, does she know that Whitaker's dead?"

Maria motioned to the television that was showing a picture of Whitaker with birth and death dates, "If she didn't before, she does now." Maria turned up the volume and the television announcer's started with the story.

"We have this story just in. A controversial New Mexico congresswoman is dead. We'll have that story in just a minute."

The group looked at each other wondering how her death had been discovered and they listened eagerly as the announcer resumed the story. "Widowed just six months before her husband John Whitaker's upcoming election, she took his place on the ballot and won the election by a higher margin than any Democrat in fifteen years. But all that ended yesterday, just outside her hometown of Copper Summit, Arizona, where a tragic single-car accident cut short a life of public service."

"A car crash?" Tess asked incredulously.

"She died two weeks ago. I was there," Isabel said, her voice harsh.

"We were all there," said Max attempting to take the blame for her death off of Isabel's shoulders.

"How could she be in a car crash if she's dust?" Michael asked angrily.

Tess echoed his thoughts, "Who's conveniently covering up her death for us?"

"Nasedo said the skins were among us," Isabel said, her voice shaky, "Skins, plural. Maybe other skins created a fake car accident to keep the Feds from looking too closely into Whitaker's background."

Tess turned to their leader, "Max, what do we do?"

"Uh, let me guess. Nothing," Michael said caustically.

Max looked to the girl he loved and a smile spread across his face. "Liz," he said simply.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Congress Woman Whitaker's Office)
(Roswell, NM)

"Has anybody been asking questions over the past few days?" Max asked Liz as they searched Whitaker’s office.

Liz shrugged. "People have been calling. There wasn't anything unusual. I just have been saying that she's on vacation, just like we said."

"Well, somehow the skins know she's dead," he said thoughtfully. "None of us has said anything, unless..." he let his thought trail off and Liz picked up on it immediately.

"You mean, Courtney."

Max continued, "If Courtney was working with Whitaker then maybe she was there that night too."

Liz shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. If Courtney was there, she would have helped Whitaker. And why would Whitaker be surveiling one of her own people?" Suddenly a thought occurred to her, "What if Courtney is a renegade of some kind, a traitor? Maybe she could help us."

Max considered her observations as Maria broke in, waiving an envelope. "Look at this. The postmark says Copper Summit. It's from something called the Universal Friendship League."

Liz glanced over her shoulder at the envelope, "Whitaker never mentioned it."

"What the hell is the Universal Friendship League?" Isabel asked with a shiver. "Could it sound any creepier?"

"It's marked personal," Maria said.

Max took the letter from her, opened it and read the contents aloud.



Dear member:
Your failure to report as scheduled violates protocol.
We must receive word by the twenty-fifth of this month
or terminate your membership, effective that date."



"The twenty-fifth was yesterday," Isabel noted.

Maria spoke up, "That's when they say she died."

Max glanced at the signature at the bottom of the letter.



Sincerely, T. Greer
Senior Coordinator, Vilondra Project



"Vilondra?" Isabel gasped.

Max turned at his sister's distressed tone, "Does that mean something to you?"

"No," she responded shortly, and quickly attempted to change the subject. "We should call."

Max handed the letter to Liz and she dialed the number.

The phone was answered on the first ring, "Yes?"

Liz was taken back by the strange greeting, "Hi, um, is this the, the Universal Friendship League?"

"Who is this?" the voice on the phone asked suspiciously.

"I, I'm calling from Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker's office. We just, um, opened this letter this morning and I wanted to call and apologize for not responding sooner."

"Yes?"

"We just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, Congresswoman has passed away."

"Thank you for calling," the man said crisply, and hung up the phone.

Liz held the phone away from her ear. "They just hung up."

Max looked thoughtful for a moment. "The first thing we need to do is find Courtney."

Michael laughed, "So we agree."

"Yeah," Max said.

"There's a first," Michael said sarcastically.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max stopped the Jeep around the side of the Crashdown.

Liz turned to him, "You need to tell Tess what we found at Whitaker's office."

Max shook his head. "I told the Sheriff what happened. He'll fill her in."

"You can't keep avoiding her, Max,” Liz protested. “Tess is one of you."

"No," Max said harshly, "she's not one of us and she never will be."

"Max," Liz said softly, trying not to choke on her words, "Tess is part of your family and you need her."

Max held Liz's gaze, "You are all I will ever need."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Michael's Apartment)

Michael and Maria knelt on the couch watching the building across the street through binoculars. They had been there for what seemed like hours after they had searched Courtney's apartment.

Maria rubbed her neck to sooth the soreness. "This isn't gonna work," she said, trying for a more comfortable position. "She's not just gonna stroll up to her hideout while we're sitting here watching her."

"This was your idea," Michael responded.

"That's not the way I remember it," Maria said dryly, with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, so now it's my fault."

"Yes," she agreed, warming to the subject. "You know what? Just to make things simpler, from now on you should consider everything to be your fault, okay? Okay."

Michael gave her a significant look, "Well, I know one way to make the time go faster."

"Oh, funny," she said sarcastically.

"I know," he said with a grin.

"But if we can talk reality here for a second," Maria said, changing gears, "I think she booked. Out of town."

"No way. She wouldn't do that. She's obsessed with me," he said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I guess that makes two of you, then, doesn't it?" quipped Maria.

Michael choose to ignore her mockery, "She'll show up sooner or later."

Courtney walked in the open door behind them, having heard the last of their conversation. "How 'bout sooner?"

They both jumped off the couch as if they had been shot and Michael raised his hand to defend them.

Courtney held up her hands in a protective gesture, "Whoa! Hey, truce."

"Don't move," Michael said menacingly.

"Don't worry. I won't." Courtney took in the situation and continued with admiration in her tone, "You're watching the building. You figured out where I'd be from the pictures. That's very good, Mikey G. You're everything I thought you'd be and more."

"Oh, please!" Maria exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "Do your lips not get chapped from all the ass-kissing?

"Sit down," Michael said motioning to a chair.

"Anything you say."

Michael started the interrogation, "So you're a skin, like Whitaker."

"How'd you get on to Whitaker?"

"We're asking the questions here, okay? Now, why are you in Roswell? Where's the rest of your evil army? And most of all, why are you obsessed with my good-looking, if badly groomed boyfriend?"

Courtney looked at Maria for the first time since entering the room, "I'm not obsessed with him, okay? I follow him in the political sense. He's our leader."

"Our leader?" Maria asked

Courtney continued, "We're not with the other skins. We're renegades who believe that if you were in charge instead of Max in the first place, that none of this would have ever happened."

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked, "In charge of what?"

"Our planet, Michael." Courtney said and then realization dawned. "You don't remember any of this, do you?"

Michael was growing angry, "Suppose you tell me."

Maria was starting to get a headache with all of the talk of political systems on other planets and past lives. "Yeah, the short version, please."

"The short version is that our planet was on the brink of a golden age, and then it all fell apart. You were the one who could have united our planet, pulled together the warring factions, brought peace. But you weren't on the throne."

"Max," Michael said simply.

"You wouldn't betray him. That loyalty cost your lives and those of everyone you loved. Please, just don't let history repeat itself. You're the one we need. You're our leader, our salvation."

Maria couldn't believe Michael was even listening to this crap. She grabbed Michael and yelled into his ear, "Michael, if you can hear me now over the sound of your rapidly inflating ego, could you please tell me that you do not believe what this, this Michael-worshipper here has to say?"

Courtney wanted to continue, tell Michael about the past, about the bond they had shared as children but the moment was past. She could already see Maria's words taking effect in Michael. He was pulling away form her. She was losing him again. In that moment, she envied Maria and their closeness. Rath had never responded to her that way. It was obvious Michael listened to Maria, he respected her opinion, he trusted her.

Michael snapped back to reality from his visions of grandeur, Maria's words penetrating his fantasy. Courtney was their enemy, she would do anything, say anything to defeat them, including turning them against each another. "No. No, no way. No, this is just part of your plan to divide and conquer.

"I knew you weren't ready to hear this," Courtney said sadly.

"What's in Copper Summit, Arizona?" Michael asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Copper Summit's just some old tourist trap," Courtney said cautiously.

"What's there? he pushed doggedly.

"I'd stay away from there."

"Why?"

Maria narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Yeah, why?"

"Let's just say there aren't any Michael-worshippers in Copper Summit."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


A couple of hours later, Max, Isabel, Alex and Liz joined them at the apartment. Michael filled in the newcomers on the earlier conversation and Courtney briefly outlined the situation on Antar.

Max pushed for more information, "So what about this group you belong to?"

"We joined with Khivar when he started to oppose you," she shook her head, "sorry, we opposed Zan, because we wanted to change the system of government to include all of the people. Something similar to your government in the United States," she said motioning to Liz. "But then we discovered what Khivar was really planning. He talked of a government by the people, but what he really wanted was a dictatorship, with himself as dictator. Khivar tricked us into following him with promises he never intended to keep."

"Like what happened in the Russian revolution," Liz said distractedly.

"Yes," Courtney agreed. "So we started to sabotage Khivar's army from the inside and some of us infiltrated the group he sent to Earth. But over the years, Nicholas has discovered most of the others and now there are just a few of us left."

Alex spoke up, "And you came here to get Michael to help you?"

Courtney nodded, "We want him to come back to Antar and lead us."

Maria, Alex and Isabel broke out laughing.

"Hey," Michael objected, "you don't think I'm capable of running a planet?"

"Michael," Isabel said, between fits of laughter, "think of all of the bureaucracy and politicians you would have to put up with. I don't think you're capable of that."

Michael huffed, "Maybe you're right. It sounds way too dull, definitely more like Max." He slapped Max on the back, "You can keep all of that royal crap, Maxwell."

"Thanks," Max said dryly, turning back to Courtney. "So what about the group in Copper Summit?"

"That's where we, the skins, have been headquartered since we came to Earth."

"How long have you been here?" Max asked.

"We have been on Earth since 1950, so about fifty years."

"So why are you called the skins?" Liz asked.

"It's because we wear husks."

"Husks?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, me. My skin. This thing that I'm wearing. It's basically a shell. It protects us from the environment."

"Like a space suit," Alex suggested.

"Yeah. This planet's atmosphere is hostile to our race," Courtney said, indicating the other aliens. "The husks are a life form technology that we can genetically manipulate to resemble human bodies. Our relationship to it is essentially parasitic."

Maria shivered, "Your skin is alive?"

"Like the trees are alive."

Michael motioned toward Courtney, "So, what's with the peeling?"

"They're good for maybe fifty years, but the husks are dying."

Michael continued with a cocky tone, "Well, if all the skins in Copper Summit are about to die, then all we have to do is wait them out. If the husks die, we're home free, right?"

Courtney's silence was suggestive.

"Okay, what are you not telling us?" asked Maria.

Courtney looked around the room at all of the people waiting for her answer. "The harvest," she said softly.

The room was quiet for a moment.

Isabel was the first to break the silence. "I am almost afraid to ask, but what is being harvested?"

Courtney laughed, seeing they were envisioning multi-tentacled alien monsters. "Husks," she said simply. "We have been growing new husks for about twenty years and they are almost ready."

A collective sigh of relief went through the group.

Alex laughed, "I thought we would have to expect something straight out of the movie Alien."

Courtney sobered, "Sometimes the truth is worse."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Nicholas, the leader of the skins on Earth. He can do all the things you can, times a thousand. But the thing you should be the most afraid of, is this." Courtney pointed to her head. "He can get inside of your head and take anything that he wants. Basically, he rapes you of your memories and your thoughts."

Michael leapt to his feet, "We have to stop this harvest. If we do, we could end this right now."

Max rose, "How can we stop it, Michael?"

"I don't know," Michael admitted, "but we'll come up with something."

"You heard Courtney," Max said. "The skins outnumber us at least ten to one."

"So what's your solution, Maxwell," Michael sneered, "do nothing as usual?"

"Michael," Courtney interrupted the escalating argument. "This is a huge mistake. If you go there, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"Yeah, well, that's my problem," Michael answered curtly.

"I didn't spend fifty years finding you so that you could throw your life away out of misplaced loyalty."

"Fifty years," Maria laughed. "So, what? That would make you sixty-five, seventy? You're old enough to be Michael's grandmother. I just, I love that. I do."

"Hey, husks don't age," Courtney said simply. "I've been a babe for fifty years. What are you gonna look like fifty years from now?"

"Would you two let it go?" Michael sighed, "You're giving me a headache."

Max broke in, "Okay, everybody calm down. This doesn't change anything. We do what we always do, act normal, blend in, concentrate on being human. Especially with our enemies' headquarters so close, we don't need any more attention on us. So no one uses their powers in public and no one does anything that isn't easily explained by human standards."

Max turned to look at each member of the group, stopping on Michael and held up a hand as he started to object. "And no one is going to Copper Summit. That's an order."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Harvest)
(Friday, October 27th, 2000)
(The Night Of The Gomez Concert)

Liz sat in her room listening to her Gomez CD and tears ran down her face as the haunting strains of track number six started. Max's romantic streak had shown through again when he had bought tickets to the concert. We Haven't Turned Around was the song that had been playing when Max had first kissed her.

And tonight, the night of the concert, to which she had refused his invitation and symbolically so much more, she finally allowed herself to mourn the fact that she could never have him in her life.



We came, we came, we came again
To stem the tide and point the blame



She had kept the grief inside herself for so long that when she allowed the first tears to fall, all of the pent up anguish came pouring out. And as the song continued to play, soul-deep sobs racked her small frame uncontrollably.



Came back for more
Came back to see what you had in store
Everyone join the line, everyone
Yeah



Max climbed the ladder leading to Liz's balcony, with a smile lighting his face. Even though Liz had repeatedly told him she wouldn't go to the concert with him, he knew her defenses against him had been weakening, she was close to giving in.

But as he approached her window, Max could see Liz sitting on her bed, crying like she had lost her last friend in the world and all other thoughts vanished from him mind except comforting the girl he loved more than life itself.



So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down



Liz was so lost in her grief that she didn't hear the window open or recognize that the one person who was capable of relieving her suffering was present.



So you wanna make catastrophe?
Won't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody running high



Without a word Max slipped his arms around Liz's shivering form and pulled her tightly into his embrace. He recognized the grief she was experiencing first hand because her cries echoed the pain that had resided in his heart since she had left him. He could feel her love for him shining brightly, even though she had tried to deny it for his sake, and he loved her even more.

He gently kissed the top of her head in a comforting gesture but having her in his arms again intoxicated him. The scent of her skin and the memory of the sweet taste of her lips taunted him and he knew he didn't have the strength to fight against it.



The same, the same, the same again
To steal the time and haunt the graves



It didn’t surprise Liz that Max was there, holding her, comforting her. It seemed so natural that he should be there to share her pain and she turned to him, eager for a brief respite from her grief. On some deep level, Liz knew she shouldn’t be with Max like this. She shouldn’t allow him to see her pain, shouldn’t allow him to comfort her, but she was too exhausted to fight him anymore. Fighting both Max and herself had been a losing battle from the start, and she was on the verge of surrender.

Somehow she could feel the anguish in Max's soul that mirrored her own. Max needed this healing as much as she did and she didn't have the strength to hurt either of them any longer. And when Max brought his lips down to meet hers, Liz couldn't bring herself to turn away.



Just because it's there
Don't mean you see it anywhere
Maybe it's a trick of the light
Maybe, yeah



Max pulled Liz closer to him, deepening the kiss when she didn’t resist. And when she kissed him back, he felt his heart come alive again for the first time since she had walked away from him, months ago. After all of the hiding, all of the denial, she was finally letting her true feelings show. He kissed her hard, his lips searing her skin as if they were on fire. He was branding his mark of possession on her, sealing their hearts and souls together irrevocably, and afterward she would never consider leaving him again.



So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down



It seemed to Liz, as if she were in a beautiful dream. Everything was so right, so perfect. Liz had no feelings of guilt or regret, there was only Max. He filled her senses completely and she knew that she would no longer deny him. They were already one, they had been since the first time Max had connected with her and she knew now that being physically apart had changed nothing. This night, these feelings and actions were inevitable; they were written in the stars, they always had been.



So you wanna make catastrophe?
Don't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody come alive



Max could feel the change in her and he reveled in the knowledge that again she was his, now and forever. He laid her back on the bed, looked into her eyes and spoke for the first time since entering her room. "Are you sure, Liz?"



Yeah
So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, bring 'em down



"Yes Max," she answered, putting all of her feelings into her eyes for him to see. "I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I love you Max, I have always loved you."

"I love you more than anything Liz, and I will continue to love you until the end of eternity," Max vowed in return.



So you wanna make catastrophe?
Don't you send it right over to me
I got some time
Everybody running high



Their kisses and caresses grew more heated and more urgent, both of them eager to make up for the time they had spent apart.



So you wanna spin the world around?
So you wanna spin the world around?
And anybody else, cut 'em down


So you say we haven't turned around?
So you say we haven't turned around?
Just everybody else is going wrong
Going wrong



As the song ended, Max protected the woman he loved and their bodies united, forging a bond that joined their minds and souls. And they both knew nothing would ever come between them again.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 2


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Harvest)
(Saturday, October 28th, 2000)

Song Playing: From This Moment by Shania Twain

The sun coming in through the window woke Max and he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room. It only took him an instant to remember the glorious night he had spent with Liz in his arms. She was still beside him, curled into his side, her head resting on his chest, and his arms still encircled her. He allowed his eyes to roam over her face. She was so beautiful.

He didn't want to wake her but couldn't help himself and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He thought she looked like an angel sleeping beside him.

"If you didn't want to wake me you shouldn't have done that," Liz murmured with a smile, her eyes still closed. She snuggled closer into his chest, opening her eyes. "And there is no way I look like an angel. My hair must be sticking out all over the place."

"It's perfect," Max said, as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You are perfect." He brushed his lips against hers but suddenly drew back with a frown. "How do you know I thought you looked like an angel?"

Liz smiled, "Well you just said it."

Max shook his head, "I didn't say it."

Liz brow wrinkled in confusion, "I heard you."

Max looked closely at her, his eyes searching her face. Was it possible that she had heard his thoughts?

Liz gasped, "I heard your voice, but you weren't speaking."

"What did I say?"

"You wondered if I heard your thoughts." Liz paused considering. "There were moments in the past, when I suspected we were sharing thoughts, feelings."

Max nodded, "I know what you mean. There were times, when we weren't even physically together but I knew what you were thinking. I thought it was just me, my powers, but it never happened with anyone else."

"I thought it was intuition or instinct, because I knew you so well," Liz said with a smile. "But a tentative connection must have been there all along. I guess it started when you healed me. Then last night, when we made love, it must have ... cemented the connection between us."

Max shook his head slowly, frightened that this latest development might be enough to turn Liz from him permanently. "Liz, I'm sorry. If I would have known..."

Stop it Max, Liz thought, concentrating on pushing the thought to him, to see if the bond would work both ways.

"Liz I heard you."

Liz smiled gently, "How could you think I wouldn't want to be connected to you?"

"But to hear each other's thoughts. It could get... intrusive."

Liz shook her head. "Max I love you so much. I think it's wonderful that we are this closely linked."

Max wrapped his arms more tightly around her, "So do I."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Crashdown Cafe)

"Good morning," Liz called out to Maria as she came down the stairs, into the back room of the restaurant.

Maria paused and she studied her friend. Liz was almost glowing. "You look like you're about to burst with something. Okay what happened girlfriend?"

"Have you seen Max today?" Liz asked innocently, while she cast her mind out to see if she could feel him, testing the limits of their connection.

"He did this to you?" Maria asked with a smile.

Liz stumbled over her words, not sure what to say. "No, uh... well, yeah. I just... I can't even explain it."

Maria was instantly indignant, "You can't explain? This is me you're talking to here."

Liz blushed, "I just... Well, we just... um..." she let the sentence trail off.

Maria suddenly brightened, "Liz, you and Max didn't..."

Liz nodded.

"Tell me all about it!"

"Maria," Liz intoned exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay not everything but..." she paused for a moment and then nodded her head, "Yeah, everything."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Evans House)

Michael pushed open Max's window and climbed inside, "Where the hell have you been?"

Max smiled, "Good morning to you too Michael."

"Hey, I tried to find you last night but you didn't come home, did you?"

Max looked Michael steadily in the eyes, "Liz and I are together, if that's what you're asking," he said, challenging Michael to state his opinion or shut up.

Michael met his eyes, saw Max's steely determination and backed down with a brief nod. He got right to the point. "We need to figure out what we’re going to do about this thing with Courtney and the skins."

"Michael it would be suicide to just walk in there. All of the skins have gathered for this harvest. Even Courtney told us to stay away."

"And you trust her?"

"Not entirely,” Max said. “But I do believe that she's not working with Nicholas and Khivar."

"So what are we going to do? We can't just do nothing, again."

"What do you want to do Michael?"

"I don't know but this is the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out with one blow."

"I agree,” Max said, “if we had any resources, but we don't. There are over one hundred skins in Copper Summit. We have no weapons and no allies. We can't control our powers, we don't even have a plan."

"We can't just let the harvest take place. It will give them another fifty years."

Max shook his head. "It can't be helped. It’s much safer to stay away. Courtney said they are stuck on this planet just like we are, so as long as they don't find us there is nothing they can do."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Tess stormed into the Valenti house, rushed past the couch where Kyle was sitting and slammed the door to her room. She was so furious, she could have single-handedly torn down the house. She had discovered that over the last week, there had been at least three meetings she had not been invited to, and Max had made it abundantly clear he didn’t want to see her. He had sent either Michael or Isabel to tell her about the decisions they had made, like she was an outsider, not a part of the group.

While Liz had been out of the picture over the summer, Tess and Max had gotten closer and she had thought she was making progress in winning him back. She had thought he would remember her as she remembered him and everything would work out the way it was destined. Even though Max had offered her a type of friendship, he had made it clear he didn’t want a deeper relationship with her. But since Liz had returned, Max had done his best to exclude Tess.

Tess picked up a pillow and threw it across the room. She was his wife, whether he liked it or not, and she was not going to let him just push her aside.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Go away Kyle," she called out automatically. It had been a mistake to get involved with him, she now knew. She had only wanted a casual relationship but Kyle wanted something more from her and she was not able to give it to him.

Tess groaned as the knocking grew louder. She thought any guy would jump at the chance for a sexual relationship with no strings but she had picked the one guy who wanted more.

Tess crossed to the door and opened it, knowing Kyle wouldn’t go away until they had talked. She slumped down onto the bed and waited for him to join her but he stood in the doorway until she looked in his direction.

"What's wrong Tess?"

"Wrong? What could possibly be wrong?" Tess asked, her anger building with each word. "Max is having meetings without me, acting as if I don't exist, don't count, when I am his wife. He spends all of his free time with Liz and he obviously doesn't want to see me. No, nothing is wrong."

A hurt look crossed Kyle's face briefly and Tess saw it before he was able to cover. "Kyle," her voice softened, "you know I like you and I like being with you but..."

Kyle cut her off, "But you are in love with him." He nodded once crisply and then slapped a hand to his forehead, "What is it with this guy? First Liz and now you." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Okay, okay. I thought you weren't going to wait around for Evans. You were going to live your own life."

"I still intend to,” Tess said, “but I’m part of their group and I should have a vote on what we do." Her voice cracked with pain, "A few weeks ago they thought that the new owner of the UFO museum was a skin and the three of them went to kill him. They found out he was a human but they didn't even tell me what they were doing. I could have helped." A faint sob escaped before she could stop it and she wiped at her eyes. Her voice came out just above a whisper. "All three of them have been pushing me away. I thought after Whitaker took me that Isabel and I would grow closer again but..." her voice trailed off into silence.

Kyle moved to sit beside her and put his arm around her. "I know this is not what you want to hear, but you have to give them time. The three of them have been together for a long time and to trust and accept new people can't be easy."

Tess was instantly indignant, "But they had no trouble accepting and trusting the humans."

Kyle continued softly, "From what I understand, they didn't have much choice about trusting the humans. And when you came to town, you weren't honest about who you were and you did play some dirty tricks."

She lowered her head unable to look him in the eye, remembering how she had used him. "But you forgave me."

"Yeah," he said tipping her chin up, forcing her to look at him, "but it took some time and some help from the Buddha." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Tolerance, patience and understanding are the highest virtues every man should develop."

Tess smiled, "Okay Buddha boy. Maybe you can help me develop some patience and understanding."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max stood beneath Liz's balcony and waited until the light in her room went on, then he reached out for her with his mind. Liz.

Liz heard his call and answered immediately. Max, where are you?

Can't you tell? he teased.

Liz could feel his smile through the connection and reached out with her mind. She couldn't tell precisely where he was but she knew he was near. I don't know exactly, but close. Suddenly it was if the connection between them came into focus and she got a flash of the alley beneath her balcony. Max what just happened? It was like I saw through your eyes.

I was concentrating on strengthening the bond. I guess it worked.

Max, I love being this close to you.

So do I, he answered, as he climbed her ladder. We share a part of each other that no one else can touch.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Wipeout)
(Sunday, October 29th, 2000)
(Copper Summit, AZ)
(The Crawford House)

Ida walked into the living room where Nicholas was playing Mortal Kombat. "Sir?"

Nicholas ignored her, concentrating on his game.

"Excuse me Sir," she said a little louder.

"Not now mom," he yelled. "I'm at a crucial part." His fingers furiously pushed the buttons on the controller but his character fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. Nicholas threw the controller to the floor as he leapt to his feet, "Damn it mom," he bellowed, "How many times have I told you not to interrupt me?"

"I'm sorry Sir."

"Well, what is it?"

"The last of the troops have gathered for the harvest."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Michael and Isabel looked down on the town of Copper Summit from their vantage point in the hills, and Isabel once again voiced her doubts, "Michael, I don't think this is such a great idea."

"Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice," Michael said, still gazing through his binoculars.

"We could have at least told Max we were coming," she persisted, "or brought Tess with us. Her powers could come in handy."

"Max wasn't interested in coming the last time I asked, and Tess would just tell him." He lowered the binoculars and looked at Isabel with a creased brow, "You don't trust her, do you?"

Isabel shook her head, "No I don't. Especially after all that stuff she did to us. And the way she is always kissing up to Max just creeps me out, but she is one of us. Maybe she could help."

"The only thing she would have helped with, is tattling to Max," Michael scoffed.

Isabel was feeling guilty about her decision to go against Max's orders but she hadn't wanted Michael to go alone, "Max told us not to come."

"I know. I just wanted to see for myself."

"And what do you think?"

"There are way too many of them for us to take on," Michael admitted with a smile. "For once, I think Maxwell was right. But if you ever tell him, I'll deny the whole thing."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, November 4th, 2000)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Courtney smoothed the new husk over her body. It had a different feel than the other skin. It was lighter and she could feel more sensations through it, but best of all, her vision was improved. She moved to the mirror and studied her face. She looked the same. She couldn't see even a small difference in her new body.

Courtney smiled. Michael was attracted to this body and it would help her win him over to their side.

After the celebration tonight and the strategy meeting tomorrow, she would return to Roswell and continue with her plan to bring Michael over to their side.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)
(Onboard the Leptus)

"This is completely unacceptable," Khivar roared as he slammed Corporal Raltos’ borrowed fist down on the table.

Nicholas winced. The operation to recover Vilondra and the Granolith had lasted years longer than they had anticipated. Then their members had started being killed and he had been forced to cover up their disappearances by claiming they had deserted. But now Major Nesta, who had been posing as Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker, had disappeared and was presumed dead.

The body of Corporal Raltos, containing Khivar's consciousness got to his feet, still ranting. "It was one thing when we were losing a few minor soldiers here and there. Losses are to be expected. But to lose the Major who was in charge of recovering the Granolith is just too much of a coincidence. I can only see two possibilities. Either one of Zan's shape shifters has infiltrated our group, or the traitors are more numerous than we thought."

Nicholas rushed to cover his butt, "Sir, I assure you that everything is being done to uncover the remaining traitors..."

Khivar cut him off, "Nicaron the situation is intolerable. The signal sent last summer means the pods have surely hatched and that means every day that passes is one more day I am without Vilondra."

Nicholas wondered if Khivar would blame him for failing to locate Vilondra, and if he did, what would happen to him. Nicholas knew being on Earth would not save him and he made a bold inquiry, risking his master's wrath. "What would you like us to do?"

Khivar paused for a moment, "I will send a legion of troops to Earth to help you locate them. I want this ended as quickly as possible."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Max in the City - aka. Journey to New York)
(Saturday, November 25th, 2000)
(Roswell City Park)

Tess watched from behind a tree as Max and Liz strolled past her. She hardly needed to hide, she thought to herself. They were so wrapped up in one another, she doubted if they would notice her anyway. But Max had never noticed her.

She had watched the two of them carefully since Liz had returned from Florida. Tess had seen how Max pursued Liz and how Liz continually denied him, and then suddenly, a month ago, they were back together.

Tess had really been surprised. She thought Liz had understood the importance of their mission and would stay out of their way. When Liz had walked away from Max at the pod chamber that day, Tess had assumed all of them would accept their destiny and they would finally have the humans out of their lives. They would be able to concentrate on their mission, hone their skills and prepare to return home. But Max, Michael and Isabel kept insisting on involving the humans in everything they did. They had grown up with humans and they didn't understand, as she did, that the four of them were all they would ever need.

She squared her chin. One day Max would understand and he would come to her. She would just have to be patient until he remembered what they meant to one another. In the mean time, she could keep herself occupied with a human too.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, December 9th, 2000)
(Roswell Airport)

Maria and Liz hugged Alex one last time before he went through the airport metal detector. Only ticketed passengers were allowed past that point and they had to say their goodbyes there.

"Have a great time in Sweden, Alex," Liz said.

"And don't let all of those gorgeous Swedish women make you forget your friends back here," Maria added with a wink.

Alex smiled, "No way."

"What about your host family's phone number or address?" Liz asked.

"Real mail is so slow, to and from Europe, that I probably wouldn't get any letters in time to answer them, but e-mail is almost instantaneous." He lifted up his laptop and pointed to it with his free hand, "See, got the computer right here. And I'm also taking my cell phone so you can call and it'll be just like I never left.

He shrugged, "How great could Sweden be anyway? I'm sure it's just the same as here but with snow and lots of hot tubs and blonde beauties in bikinis as far as the eye can see." He paused in mock consideration. "Actually," he said in a teasing tone, "I may never come back."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Roswell The Miracle - aka. A Roswell Christmas Carol)
(Saturday, December 23rd, 2000)
(Roswell City Park)

Song Playing: Baby, I Love Your Way by Peter Frampton

Max sat on the bench next to the girl he loved and allowed his eyes to roam over her face in amazement. Over the last few weeks their bond had strengthened and grown so that the connection was always there between them. They could sense each other at all times and strong emotions were automatically sent to the other. And when they concentrated on strengthening the link, they could telepathically communicate with a clarity that surpassed verbal communication because the subtleties of their feelings and emotions were also passed through the bond.

Max took her hand in his, "I love you so much, Liz."

"And I love you, with all of my heart."

He used his free hand to withdraw a rectangular, red velvet box from his pocket and wordlessly held it out to her. A sudden rush of sorrow washed over him as he remembered the last Christmas, when he had intended to give it to her. He had so cavalierly pushed her away and almost lost her completely.

Liz picked up on his feelings immediately, "What's wrong? Why are you sad all of the sudden?"

Max chased away the troubling thoughts, "I bought this to give to you last Christmas and then..." he let his words trail off, knowing that she didn't need him to fill them in.

"Oh," Liz said simply, as understanding dawned.

"I kept it as a reminder of all you meant to me," Max said, as he met her eyes and saw the tears gathering there. He reached across and gently brushed her cheek with his thumb. "But now that we’re together, I want you to have it."

Liz slowly opened the box and gasped when she saw the shining silver necklace, nestled in the lining. The charms Max had chosen were perfectly symbolic of their love; two hearts bearing their names, on either side of a star.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - To Serve & Protect)
(Saturday, January 27th, 2001)
(Sheriff Valenti's Office)

Jim leaned back in his chair, "Alright, let me get this straight. You can go into people's dreams?"

"Yes," Isabel said, trying to explain her power, "But usually I choose whose dreams I go into. This one just came to me."

Jim was skeptical, "Well, how do you know this was real, not just somebody's nightmare you stumbled into?"

Isabel shook her head, "I don't know, but it felt real. She needs help."

Max stepped in to defend his sister, "Sheriff, when Tess was being tortured Isabel got flashes from her, and that's how she knew Tess was in danger. That's how we saved her life. We should check into this."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - To Serve & Protect)
(Sunday, January 28th, 2001)
(The Evans House - Isabel's Room)

Isabel drifted into a restless sleep and almost immediately she was pulled into the scene in the forest. She watched helplessly as the girl was dragged across the ground in a body bag. Isabel could feel the girl's fear so acutely, it was if she were experiencing it as well. She rushed forward trying to help but she was stopped as the assailant turned toward her and she recognized him immediately, Grant.

"No! Oh, no! It can't be!" she cried out.

Suddenly she was snapped out of the dream as Max shook her. "You started crying Isabel. What happened?"

Isabel collapsed into him, "No, Oh God! It's Grant! It's Grant. I saw him. I saw him. Oh God! Oh God. No."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sheriff Valenti's Office)

Jim answered the phone, glad for the break from his argument with Dan, "Sheriff Valenti."

Max spoke right to the point, "It's not over."

Jim was confused, "You wanna explain that to me."

Max explained, "It's not Melissa Foster. It's some other girl. She's in Frazier Woods in the clearing outside the abandoned pump house. We have to go right now."

Jim glanced at Dan, who was watching him suspiciously.

"Sheriff?" Max asked when the Sheriff didn't answer.

Jim came up with a quick cover story, "Where are you now Deputy?"

Max picked up on his signal, "We're at our house. We'll meet you on Clark's street, near the Crashdown."

"Stay where you are," said Jim, not wanting them to expose themselves by getting involved any further, "I'll take care of it."

"No," said Max, anticipating trouble that Valenti might not be able to handle on his own, "We're going with you. Can you meet us?"

"Yeah," Jim relented, "I'll meet you there Deputy."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Liz waited until she could feel Max's emotions calm. He had been so frightened and she had been scared to contact him, not wanting to distract him from what he was doing. His feelings had transmitted themselves to her as if she had been there with him, but she couldn't tell what was happening, just that he was scared. But now that he was more settled, she wanted to know what had happened.

She reached out with her mind, unsure of where Max was or if she could reach him. Max.

He answered immediately. Liz.

Max, what happened? Liz asked urgently, I could feel your fear.

Liz could feel Max's surprise and then sorrow. I'm sorry Liz. I have been hiding something from you.

Liz was shocked that he could hide anything from her with their connection. What are you talking about?

The last couple of days, Isabel has been having dreams. She has been seeing a girl that was drugged and kidnapped and tonight we found her.

Is she okay? Liz asked, concerned.

Yeah, she'll be fine.

But Max that doesn't explain why you were so scared.

Max didn't want to worry her but he knew it would come out. The kidnapper was there and he shot at us.

Max are you okay? Was anyone hurt?

We're all fine. We’re on our way to the Sheriff's station to give statements.

Why would you keep this from me, Max? We are supposed to be together.

We are, Liz.

No, Max. We’re not together if you are keeping things from me.

It wasn't like that Liz. Isabel thought the girl might be an alien and I didn't want to risk you getting hurt.

Max, life is dangerous. You can't protect me all the time.

Maybe no,t but I can keep you away from the alien stuff. Liz, you deserve to live a normal life without these alien problems constantly intruding.

But Max, it is part of what you are.

No, he denied vehemently, with the single word. I just want to put that part of my life behind me.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - We Are Family)
(Monday, January 29th, 2001)

The last customers left the Crashdown and Liz slid into the booth with Max and kissed him. "Max, you've been sitting here since six o'clock."

Max smiled, "I don't wanna go home."

Liz studied him and tried to weigh his emotions through their connection. "Max I can tell you're upset. What's going on?"

Max knew that he couldn't hold back from her. "There's someone dangerous in our town, Liz. Someone who'd do that to a defenseless person."

Liz smiled, "That's why you're here. You're worried about me."

"I have to make sure you are safe, Liz. I don't know what I would do without you."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Liz could see Sean through the glass. "One second," she said to Max. She crossed to the door and opened it a crack.

Sean smiled, putting on his most charming face, "I would kill for some Chili Orbit Rings."

Liz smiled back, "I'm sorry, Sean, but the kitchen's closed."

"Come on," Sean tried again, "Okay, umm, Asteroid Pie."

Liz shook her head, "Uh, the last piece went at six o'clock."

Sean pouted, "Why do you gotta be so cruel, Parker?"

Liz shook her head, "Just come back tomorrow, Sean, okay? I'll give you ten percent off."

"Twenty," Sean said.

Liz started to shut the door, "Good night, Sean."

Liz turned back to Max with a smile, "There are two pieces of Asteroid Pie left in the fridge. I'll go get my books and we'll study until Alex gets here with his slides."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Parker House)

Liz headed down the stairs to get an extension cord but she stopped when she saw Sean.

"Excuse me, what are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I was hungry," Sean said with a shrug.

Liz shook her head and turned to the cupboard to begin her search.

"The, uh, auto show's in town this weekend," Sean said.

"Uh-huh?" Liz said over her shoulder, continuing her search.

"I was gonna go," Sean said.

"Where is that extension cord?" Liz asked herself.

Sean reached past Liz when he saw the cord and handed it to her. "So, uh, you wanna go?"

Liz shrugged, "Umm, I don't know. Cars are, you know, I just, maybe I will check it out."

"With me?" Sean asked.

Liz focused on him for the first time, understanding dawning. "Oh."

Alex called down the stairs as he descended, "Hey, uh, Liz, do you have some Windex or something? The lens is dirty." He stopped when he saw the other guy, "Sean."

Sean smirked, "Alice."

Alex gave a false laugh, "Hey, that's funny. I haven't heard that since they put you away."

Liz answered Alex's question, "In the kitchen?"

"Thanks," Alex said, as he turned to go into the kitchen.

Liz turned back to Sean, "Yeah, um, you know, thank you very much for the invitation, but I can't go with you like that."

Sean nodded, "The guy who was in there with you before?"

Liz smiled, "Max. Yeah. We're together."

Sean shrugged, "No sweat. Thanks for dinner."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Liz's balcony)

Liz filled in Alex as they looked at his slides, "I just wish Kyle would understand where Max is coming from."

"Well, you know, I guess some things don't change in a month."

Liz agreed, "It's too bad."

Alex nodded and clicked to the next slide, "Okay. This is my host family, the Olsons, and they live in Uppsala which is just north of Stockholm, and that is Johan, Gustav, Rebecka, Mattias, and little Kiki."

Liz continued, "You know, on the other hand, Kyle has every right to be angry. This is complicated.” She glanced at Alex and realized she was interrupting, “Sorry."

"No problem," Alex said as he clicked to the next slide.

"So," Liz started, "did you meet anyone special?"

Alex shook his head, "No. I was really hoping to meet someone to take my mind off of Isabel but no such luck.” He motioned inside, “Hey, speaking of which, what is up with you and Sean DeLuca earlier?"

"Oh, yeah,” Liz sighed. “He didn't realize I was with Max and he asked me out."

Alex laughed, "What, is the guy blind? You and Max spend like every waking moment together."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - We Are Family)
(Tuesday - January 30th, 2001)
(West Roswell High School)

Max stopped Kyle in the hall, "Can we talk?"

Kyle was angry and blamed all of his father's problems on Max, "No."

"Look," Max started, "I'm sorry about what's happening."

Kyle turned on him, "There's gonna be a hearing. They might take away his job."

Max was worried about Sheriff Valenti too. "Kyle, your dad has some stuff in his office, stuff that Michael found out at that burial site. It's alien. And if that agent starts poking around..."

Kyle cut him off, "You might be exposed? What a shame."

Max understood what Kyle was feeling but if the FBI found the substance it wouldn't be good for any of them. "Your father could be nailed for withholding evidence. It would only make things worse for him."

"So take care of it," Kyle said simply.

Max sighed, feeling frustrated, "I'm already on their radar. This is the safest way to do this. No one will think twice if you walk into that office. Kyle, we need your help."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Song Playing: The Answer by Sarah McLachlan

Max closed the door to the eraser room behind him, "I got your note. What's wrong?"

Liz eyes were brimming with tears, "Nothing. No. No. Um, that's not true. I've just been thinking a lot lately, and... Have you ever wanted to see Sweden?"

Max was thrown by the sudden change of subject, "Sweden?"

"I mean or anywhere," Liz clarified. "Peru, Nigeria, New Zealand."

Max nodded, "Sure. Why?"

"Watching Alex this week. I just realized that, it's our right to see the world, to live our dreams. You and Isabel and Michael and Tess, you guys are getting cheated on a lot of things, and it's not fair. None of it is."

"I know," Max said. "That's why I want to make sure that you follow your dream of going to Harvard."

Liz shook her head. "That doesn't matter to me Max. It is more important to me to be with you."

Max smiled and pulled her into an embrace. "Then you will have to go to Harvard because that is where I intend be."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Disturbing Behavior)
(Saturday, February 3rd, 2001)
(The Evans House – Max’s Room)

Max flipped through the biology book and looked into the microscope. He was pretty sure it was a type of bacterium but there were thousands if not millions of types.

Isabel interrupted him, "Are you getting anywhere?"

"I think we're dealing with some kind of, uh, alien bacterium... or something."

Isabel cocked her head to the side, "Maybe you should ask your lab partner. She's the science whiz."

Max shook his head. "I'm trying to keep Liz out of this."

"Are you sure that is such a good idea? She could help us figure out what is going on."

"I don't want Liz involved in the alien stuff."

"Why not Max? What’s going on?"

Max sighed, not sure how to explain it to Isabel. "I just want Liz's life to be normal. Liz left me because of what we learned that day in the cave. What if the alien crap drives her away from me again? I don't think I would survive it."

"What does Liz say?"

"She wants to be involved in every aspect of my life, but I just can't take any chances."

Isabel sat on the bed, "Max, Liz is alive because of your powers. She accepts you for who you are. She loves you."

"I know. I just can't lose her."

Isabel nodded, "I know Max but you won't. She wants to help and she might be our only hope."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Roswell UFO Museum)

Liz turned the knob, bringing the specimen into focus and recognized it immediately. She turned to Max and Isabel, "It looks like they're alien versions of negleria filarae." She explained further when she met their blank looks, "Waterborne parasites found in the blood cells of certain species of fish."

"Parasites?" Max asked, concerned, "Well, that implies they need something to feed on... like an arm?"

"Maybe," said Liz thoughtfully, "but you said that they didn't effect you."

"No, I got the feeling I didn't taste good or something."

Liz looked at him, "Then they didn't react when Sheriff Valenti picked them up?"

Max shook his head, "No."

Liz turned introspective, speaking her theory aloud, "Sounds like they're not interested in terrestrial organisms."

"Well, except Laurie," Max reminded her, "They formed on her grave site."

"So, maybe," Liz speculated, "there's something unique about her, something the parasites are looking for. Or there could be something unique about her gravesite. It's in Frazier Woods, right?"

"Right."

Liz nodded. She reached for her phone and quickly dialed. "Isabel," she spoke into the receiver when she answered, "Hi. It's Liz. We need you to do something."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Disturbing Behavior)
(Sunday, February 4th, 2001)
(Tucson, AZ)

Michael, Maria and Laurie stopped at the front gate of the Dupree house.

"Wow," Maria gasped, "Grandpa's done pretty well for himself."

Michael turned to Laurie, "You okay?"

Laurie smiled, "I'm nervous. I haven't seen my Grandfather for so long."

Michael pressed the buzzer on the gate and almost immediately a voice spoke through the intercom.

"Can I help you?"

Michael stepped back so the camera could see him, "Yeah. We're here to see Charles Dupree."

"Who are you?" asked the voice through the intercom.

Michael motioned to them each in turn, "I'm Michael, this is Maria, and this is Mr. Dupree's Granddaughter, Laurie."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Roswell UFO Museum)

Isabel met Max and Liz after her meeting with Grant. "So he has about fifty experiments going on in Frazier Woods, all of which he explained to me in excruciating detail, but the common thread through each one is the water table."

"What about it?" Max asked.

Isabel continued with her story, "The woods are unusual because the water's so close to the surface. In some places, it's less than three feet below ground."

Liz spoke up, "You know, if the parasites really are waterborne, and that's just a theory, they might be in the water table."

"Yeah," Max agreed, "but how would alien parasites get in the water table in the first place?"

Liz walked to the computer and pulled up a map of the water table, "Okay. Uh, this is a map of the water table for the entire county."

"It looks like a bunch of, uh, rivers," Max noted.

"Yeah," said Liz nodding, "that's basically it. The water flows from one area to another through a system of underground rivers and streams..." she let her sentence trail off as she pulled up the section of the map they were interested in, "Frazier Woods."

"So the stream passes right underneath the grave site," Isabel said.

A terrible thought suddenly occurred to Max, "Let's see the rest of that stream."

Liz widened the view to look up-stream, "Oh, my God."

"What?" he asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Do you know what that is?" Liz asked. "That's Pohlman Ranch."

"The crash site," Isabel breathed with a gasp of fear.

"Yeah," said Liz. "The stream passes right beneath it."

Max stated what they were all thinking, "That means that the parasites might have been on our ship."

Liz turned to them, "Somebody kidnaps a girl and buries her in the ground so a bunch of alien parasites can, I mean, can do what to her we don't know, and, and then how does he know about these parasites? Is he human, or is he alien? Are these things dangerous to normal people in Roswell?"

"Okay," said Isabel taking a deep breath. "Where do we go from here, Max?"

Max shook his head, "I have absolutely no idea."

Liz spoke up, "We need help."

Max and Liz looked at one another, the same thought suddenly occurring to both of them and they both spoke aloud, "Courtney."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - How the Other Half Live)
(Monday, February 5th, 2001)
(Crashdown Cafe)

Max, Isabel and Liz sat down at a table with Courtney and Max came right to the point, "We need your help. We think that some form of a parasite was released into our Earth's ecosystem when our ship crashed fifty years ago. We think they're dangerous."

Courtney's brow furrowed for a moment. "When you say parasite, what do you mean?"

Max shrugged, "I don't know. It looks like blue crystals."

Courtney shook her head, "I could be wrong but if it is what I think it is, we are all in trouble."

Liz sat forward, "What do you think it is?"

Courtney sat back in her chair, "When you want to create an alien-human hybrid, you need something to help bridge the differences. The cells normally don't mix, don't fit together. That's where the Ganderium comes in.

"Ganderium," Liz said simply, somehow feeling better now that they had a name for the crystals.

Courtney nodded, "The Ganderium are a genetically engineered life form, designed to make up for the differences in non-matching genetic materials. In a controlled environment, like on your ship, they're harmless, but released into an eco-system, the Ganderium will perform the only role they know, infect human cells.

Isabel spoke up, "But they're not infecting just any human cells, they seem to be focusing on one particular girl."

Courtney nodded, "Not every human would be infected right away. For the Ganderium to work, the host's genetic structure has to have a flaw."

Liz nodded in understanding, "That's why they're going after Laurie. She must have the defect."

"What happens if they succeed in infecting Laurie?" Max asked.

Courtney took a deep breath, "Once they've infected her, the Ganderium will mutate into a universal virus. She'll infect anyone she comes into contact with, human or otherwise and eventually every infected person on the planet will die. The mortality rate would probably be over ninety percent of the population."

Max shook his head. "How do we destroy them?"

"Once they've infected the host, it's all over," said Courtney softly.

A sudden realization came to Liz, "They didn't finish. The Ganderium didn't finish infecting Laurie."

"She was buried right out there with the crystals," said Isabel.

"No," argued Liz. "That's why they're still coming after her. To complete the process."

Courtney broke in, "If that's true, then we may still have a chance. The Ganderium are hive-like, with workers, drones, even a Queen. The Queen is the only one that can infect the host. But the crystals have to build up in the blood stream to a critical level before the Queen can infect the host. So we have to find the Queen, kill her, and the rest of the hive will die.

Mad nodded decisively, "The first thing we have to do is go back to Frazier Woods and find out how many more of these crystals are out there. Or rather, down there. And then we have to find a way to destroy them. Collect whatever digging equipment you can and meet outside in an hour. I'm going to call Kyle, Alex and Tess for more help."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Dupree Mansion - Poolside)

Carmen placed the phone in front of Michael, "This one is for you sir."

"Thank you," said Michael as he reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Michael, it's Max. The crystals can't live without oxygen."

"Okay," Michael said, wondering how that information applied to him.

"That's how we can stop it," Max explained.

"Well, I got a news flash for you Maxwell," Michael scoffed, "there are no crystals around here."

"So Laurie's safe?" Max asked, attempting to bring Michael around to the point of the call.

"She's under my constant watch," Michael said, "I'm not even sleeping. How are things with you?"

"Tired," Max sighed. "It's been a long couple of days."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"It's been raining pretty hard here."

Carmen handed Michael the DVD player. "Thank you," he whispered to Carmen.

"Morale's a little low," Max continued.

"Ah Max, I gotta take another patrol round the perimeter."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max drove himself and Liz back to his house. His parents were out of town and it would take Isabel hours to get back from Tucson. He and Liz could spend some much-needed time alone together. They were both soaked and dirty from digging holes Frazier Woods but as Max stopped the Jeep in his driveway and looked across to Liz, he thought she had never looked more beautiful. She was bathed in the glory of saving the world.

But as much as Max was happy that they had succeeded, he blamed himself completely for endangering the Earth in the first place. The parasites were alien. Their ship had brought them to the Earth and the crash had released them into the environment. They were responsible.

Liz broke into his thoughts, having felt his emotions through their bond, "This wasn't your fault, Max."

"We brought those things to Earth."

"They wouldn't have been dangerous if the ship hadn't crashed," Liz argued.

"The ship," Max scoffed, "is just the first thing in a long line of alien screw-ups."

"What are you talking about, Max?"

Max took a deep breath. "Liz, everything we have discovered about our past and what we really are, has only brought pain and death; the FBI and Pierce, the skins, Tess, and the message from our mother, and now the Ganderium. And Nasedo, who was supposed to be our protector, killed more people than I want to think about."

"But Max, that isn't you."

"How do we know that Liz? How do we know anything about who I was in my other life?"

Liz shook her head, "Max you aren't like that. I know."

Max's heart swelled with love at Liz's words but he was afraid if he pursued his alien heritage, he would discover something about himself or his people that would turn her away from him. "Liz, the only good thing that has come of my being alien was saving you and how it brought us together. That is what I want to concentrate on, you and me, and building a life. I don't care about anything else."

"But Max what about your people, your destiny?"

Max shook his head, "They will have to figure a way out of this mess themselves. How could one man possibly make a difference in a war that has been going on for more than fifty years? I am not a King. I don't know anything about being a leader, and even if we did return, I wouldn't know how to help them anyway."

"But Max..."

He shook his head again, silencing her. "I want to cut everything alien out of our lives. I just want to be a normal person and live a normal life."

Liz smiled, "Max, you know I'll follow you anywhere. If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do." She reached up and touched his cheek, strengthening the bond between them and sent him a brief flash of them stepping into a steaming shower together. "Now, I think we should go get cleaned up."

Max kissed her gently, "Anything you want, my love."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Dupree Mansion)
(Later that evening)

Michael turned to Maria, "Maria, let me ask you something."

"Hmmm?"

"What would you think if Laurie moved in with me? I mean, like we said, she's kind of my sister."

"She is," Maria said carefully.

"Yeah," said Michael answering his own question, "but after all she's been through, she probably needs some peace and quiet."

"Probably," Maria agreed.

"And a chance to get away from all the alien stuff and, if she lived with me, well, I'm kinda a magnet for the intergalactic trouble."

"Yeah."

"What's gonna happen to her? We can't leave her here with these freaks."

"Well," said Maria, "that's something we can handle. All we need is a lawyer."



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 3


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Viva Las Vegas)
(Thursday, February 15th, 2001)
(Michael’s Apartment)

Michael woke up from another nightmare, gasping with relief that it wasn't real. For the last two weeks the nightmares had gotten steadily worse, he needed to do something to stop them.

He wandered into the living room and took out the bag of money the Duprees had given him. The money was tainted and somehow he knew it was causing his dreams. If he got rid of it, maybe his dreams would stop.

He threw the money onto the table and went into his room. He quickly stuffed some things into a bag and then returned to the living room. He picked the money up off the table and turned it over in his hands and then coming to a decision he put the money into the bag too and headed out the door.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Evans House – Max’s Room)

Max was awoken by the sound of his window opening. "What's going on?" he asked Michael who was climbing inside.

Michael threw his bag onto the floor, "We are leaving, that's what's going on. You and I. We're getting out of this town for a couple of days."

"What? Why? What's wrong?" Max asked, concerned.

"I need a road trip," Michael explained. "I gotta clear out the cobwebs."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Michael sighed, "I'm talking about getting out of this two-bit town for a couple of days and having some fun. Is there something wrong about that?"

"No," Max agreed, as he turned on the light, "there's nothing wrong with that. You wanna tell me what's really going on."

"Nightmares, Maxwell. I can't shake them. I've had them every night for two weeks. I mean my brain needs a vacation, or I swear to God I'm going to lose it on someone or something, and it's not gonna to be pretty.

"Okay," Max said, "we'll take a vacation."

"Yeah, today," Michael said. "Now, let's go, out of town."

"Today?" Max asked. "But we need a plan."

"Screw the plan, let's just go."

"Michael, you gotta trust me here. We need a cover story, so no one looks for us."

Michael shook his head, "I cannot make it through another day of school."

Max tried to calm him, "Look. You know there is no way I’m leaving without Liz, and Maria will be hurt if you don’t include her, right? So we'll tell them and cover our tracks and then we're out of here. Okay?"

"Okay, okay, okay,” Michael agreed. “But we don't have to be with them all the time do we? We can have some guy time right?"

Max smiled, "Yeah. So, where are we going anyway?"

"You're gonna love it. It's a place without rules, without responsibilities, a place where we can forget about our troubles. It's a city of dreams."

"Which would be..." Max let the sentence trail off for Michael to finish it.

"Vegas. We're going to Vegas baby."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(West Roswell High School)

Michael was waiting for Max outside his third period class. "So Max, will that plan to cover our absence stretch to include a few others?"

"Like Isabel?" Max asked.

"No," Michael said, shaking his head.

"Yes," Max nodded. "She heard us talking this morning and she wants to come."

"Great." Michael said unenthusiastically. "Maria invited Alex, and Tess found out and invited herself and Kyle too. The whole damn town is coming."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Bali Hai Hotel and Casino - Presidential Suite)
(Las Vegas, NV)

Michael had handed out the money and fixed the group's IDs. Everyone headed out except Max, Michael and Liz.

Max turned to Michael, "Give me a minute. I'll meet you by the elevator."

He waited until Michael had left before he took Liz in his arms and pulled her into a searing kiss. After a moment he broke the kiss with a sigh, "I am going to miss you today but tonight will be all about us."

Liz smiled and kissed his cheek, "I can't wait." She motioned to the door, "Now go have some fun."

Liz could feel the anger pouring out of the person in the room behind her but she waited until Max closed the door before she spoke. "What do you want Tess?"

"You're sleeping with him?" asked Tess, as she stomped into the room.

Liz turned to face the other girl, "I don't really see how that's any of your business."

"I'm his wife," Tess shouted.

"You were his wife," Liz corrected. "Every wedding vow I have heard has a, 'til death do us part,' clause. You both died so your marriage ended."

"No," Tess argued. "Max loved me in our last life and he will love me again. You are just a ... a distraction."

Neither of them had heard the door open a moment earlier but suddenly Max burst into the room and rushed angrily toward Tess. "How dare you speak to Liz like that. Our relationship is none of you business."

"Hello," Tess said sarcastically, as she waved at him, "your wife here."

Max shook his head, "You may have been my wife in our last life but you mean nothing to me in this one."

"Max!" Liz said critically, surprised by his harshness, and she reached out to take his arm.

His attention was captured by her gesture and he felt his temper dissolve under her gentle touch. "Sorry, Tess. I shouldn't have said that."

Tess was close to tears and pushed past them and out the door without a word.

Max turned to Liz, "I'm sorry Liz. I just got so angry when I heard her attacking you, us."

Liz wrapped her arms around him, "Max it doesn't matter what Tess or anyone else says. It won't change the way we feel about each other."

"No," Max agreed, "nothing can change that."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Off the Menu)
(Friday, April 13th, 2001)
(The Gap - Roswell Mall)

Maria and Liz stood in front of the mirror as Liz examined two shirts. She held a yellow one in her right hand and put it in front of her, "I like the style of this one but," she switched hands and held up a red shirt, "I like the color of this one." She turned to Maria, "What do you think?"

Maria pointed to the red shirt, "I think the red is much better on you but you're right, the style is terrible."

Liz nodded and pointed to the yellow shirt again, as she turned to Maria. "I wish this style came in red..."

Maria grabbed her arm. "Liz," she hissed through her teeth.

"What Maria?" Liz asked, suddenly concerned.

"Okay, okay," Maria started, "now don't freak out."

"Maria, why would I freak out?"

Maria lowered her voice to a whisper, "Look at the shirts."

Liz laughed, "What do you mean? You practically had me freaked out, being all mysterious. I thought something was wrong."

Maria's eyes widened and she spoke through clenched teeth, "Look at the shirts."

Liz glanced down at the shirts in her hands and for a moment she didn't understand what she was seeing. She smoothed her hand over the shirts; they were now both red. Liz looked at Maria. "What happened?"

"You happened girl," Maria said.

Liz shook her head, "What do you mean, I happened?"

"You changed the color. I saw you."

Liz laughed nervously, "Don't be silly. I couldn't possibly have..." she let her sentence trail off and her smile faded. "Could I?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Evans House – Max’s Room)

Liz finished telling Max of the events at the mall. "I tried to change the shirt back to yellow but I couldn't do it."

Max shook his head, "Liz this is bad."

She could feel his worry through their connection, "Why is it bad?"

"You won't be able to control the powers and if it happened at the wrong time, if the wrong person saw, it would put you in danger. We'll have to work on controlling your powers enough so you can suppress them."

Liz nodded, disappointed by Max's reaction. She thought he would be as excited as she had been when the initial surprise had worn off.

Max sensed her disappointment and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I know you were excited about your powers and you wanted me to be too. But Liz the best thing I can give you is a normal life."

Liz shook her head. "Max, I don't care what kind of life I lead as long as I'm with you."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Valenti House)

Kyle opened the door and looked at the six people gathered before him with surprise. He addressed Max, who was standing in front, "Did I miss a memo for a meeting?"

"Are Tess and your father home?" Max asked. "We need to talk."

"Yeah," Kyle said. "Come on in."

Tess and Jim rose from the sofa as the others entered.

"Is something wrong?" Tess asked.

Max shook his head, "No but we wanted to tell you what happened today, because it could effect all of us."

Jim motioned for the others to sit. "What happened?"

Max glanced at Liz sitting beside him and she nodded for him to continue. Max turned to face the others. "Liz has developed powers."

"What?" Tess asked angrily, as she jumped up from her seat. "How did that happen?"

Max shrugged, "I don't know, but we think it must have been..."

Kyle cut Max off and finished his sentence, "because you healed her." Kyle looked around with wide eyes, "So it could happen to me too."

Max nodded. "We don't know if you will develop powers but you could. I healed you several months after Liz. It might take a certain amount of time for them to show up, or they might come tomorrow, but we just wanted to warn you to be careful."

Kyle nodded silently.

Max continued, "Also, I think we should keep this to ourselves for now. I mean, I don't want anyone to tell Courtney," he said, looking specifically at Michael.

"You think she might betray us?" Michael asked.

Max shook his head, "Not on purpose. But if our enemies found out, it would make Liz and Kyle targets and they wouldn't be able to defend themselves."

Everyone nodded their agreement.

Max took Liz's hand, "I will be working with Liz to help her control her powers but she might have some accidents at first. She might even be doing things that she is not aware of, so if any of us see her do something, um, otherworldly, just fix it as quickly and discretely as possible."

He looked around the group and met the eyes of the aliens and Kyle, "It's more important than ever that we not to expose ourselves. With Liz and maybe Kyle getting powers they can't control, we need to keep a low profile. So no one uses powers in public and be careful in private too."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Heart of Mine)
(Wednesday, April 25th, 2001)
(West Roswell High School)

Maria looked at the Prom poster and then significantly at Michael.

Michael rolled his eyes, "Just kill me now. I don't do proms. I don't believe in them."

"You don't believe in them?" Maria asked.

Michael shook his head, "The whole thing is totally bogus. It's completely unnatural."

Maria laughed, "You know what, I find it to be really unnatural that you're half alien warrior and half Grandpa Dupree. But I make do."

Michael sighed, "I knew you were going to make this thing into a whole issue."

"Oh my God!" Maria exclaimed. "This is potentially one of the five greatest nights of my life! And if you're not going to do your part in providing that for me, then I'm just gonna, I'm gonna seek other options. That's what I'm gonna do."

Michael's brow creased, "So what are you saying, that we're seeing other people?"

Maria's mouth dropped open in surprise, "Oh my God, you are so annoying!"

"Fine then," Michael said, "we're seeing other people."

"Fine!" Maria shouted back.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Heart of Mine)
(Thursday, April 26th, 2001)
(West Roswell High School)

Isabel saw Alex across the library. She had hoped he would ask her to the Prom but she had to admit he might be afraid she would turn him down, again. She smiled. Maybe he just needed a little encouragement. She crossed to his table and sat down, "So I think Billy Sorian is going to ask me to prom."

"Billy, huh?" Alex asked. "Are you sure? Cuz I heard he was taking Amy Green."

Isabel smiled, "Well, the point is, I would've said no."

"Oh," Alex said with a nod.

Obviously Alex wasn't getting her drift. Isabel decided to change her approach. "What about you Alex? Anyone special?"

Alex shook his head, "Not right now."

"Really?" Isabel asked interestedly. "Maybe someone special, from your past, who's ready now and before she wasn't."

Alex smiled, "Isabel, it would be my pleasure to take you to prom."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Crashdown Cafe)

Liz rolled her eyes, "Maria I am not going to help you break into Michael's apartment. I just know that you'd regret it.

"Well, yeah, if we don't find any evidence."

"Of what?" Liz asked.

"That he's seeing someone else!" Maria said exasperatedly. "Hello!"

"This whole thing came up yesterday," Liz said, trying to calm her friend. "How could he already have another girlfriend?"

Maria nodded, "That's exactly my point Liz. He obviously already had this bimbo on the side and was just looking for an excuse to break up with me, ya know?"

Liz shook her head, "No, I just think that you are overreacting. Look, I will talk to Max and we'll find out what is going on. Okay?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Valenti House)

Kyle knocked on the door jam as he stood in the doorway of Tess’ bedroom, "Hey."

Tess looked up from her book, "Hey Kyle. What's up?"

Kyle shifted nervously from foot to foot. He had no idea why this was so difficult. After all he and Tess had been sleeping together for months. "I know that I'm not the guy you really want to be with so feel free to say no, or laugh or be outraged or whatever. But would you, um, want to go to the prom, you know, with me?"

Tess smiled. Kyle was cute when he was nervous, "You know, I'd really like that Kyle."

"Oh," he said with a relieved smile. He had to admit to himself that he was falling in love with her and it made him happy to know that for at least one night, she was with him.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Michael's apartment)

"Hey Max," Michael greeted, as he stood aside to allow his friend to enter. "What's up?"

"That's what I'm hoping you can tell me," said Max.

"What do you mean?"

Max sighed and jumped right in, "Imagine this. I am dating Liz. Maria is Liz's best friend. Maria is dating Michael. Michael and Maria have a fight about the prom and seeing other people."

Michael nodded as understanding dawned, "Maria talked to Liz, who asked you to come to me."

Max smiled, "Right. So why don't you put us all out of our misery and tell me what's going on."

Michael turned to the kitchen counter and started to rub at a stain. "The problem is, I, uh, I can't dance."

"You can't dance," Max deadpanned. "You told Maria you wanted to see other people because you can't dance."

Michael shook his head, "No, you don't understand. Maria wants to go to the prom and have it be this big thing that she will cherish for the rest of her life and I don't want to ruin that."

"Well, breaking up with her will certainly make it memorable," Max said dryly.

"No, Max. I didn't really break up with her. I just said that to buy myself some time."

"For what?" Max asked, now really confused.

"To learn how to dance. I'm taking dancing lessons and I thought I would surprise her at the dance."

Max nodded. "You know you are driving her crazy? And what am I going to tell Liz?"

Michael scratched at his eyebrow, thinking. Suddenly an idea came to him, "Tell Liz to tell Maria that I am working on a surprise."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Heart of Mine)
(Friday, April 27th, 2001)
(Prom Night)

Max walked into the Crashdown to meet Liz but stopped as she emerged from the back room. It was as if everything else in the world dropped into the background and only the two of them were left. Liz was so beautiful, she took his breath away.

Liz smiled and spoke to Max through their connection, You always say the perfect thing.

They crossed to each other and Max took her hand in his and pressed it to his lips. Because I love you.

I love you too, Liz said.

Max kissed Liz briefly, aware that her parents were around and turned to the others that he had noticed before Liz had captured his attention. Alex was wearing a tux and Maria and Isabel were clad in formal gowns but Michael was dressed in his usual working attire.

Max turned as Tess and Kyle came through the door and pasted a polite smile on his face. He hadn't wanted to include Tess but he liked Kyle and didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him his date wasn't welcome. Just being near Tess made Max’s skin crawl. It was as if she represented everything he was trying to remove from his life. Sometimes he felt if Tess wasn’t around everything would be perfect.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Prom)
(West Roswell High School)

Song Playing: I Alone by Live

Liz smiled contentedly as she and Max swayed to the closing notes of the song. It had been a great night, better than she ever could have dreamed. Isabel and Alex had gotten back together and Michael had surprised Maria at the dance. Even Tess and Kyle were having a good time.

Liz had tears in her eyes as the last song ended, "It's been a wonderful evening, Max. I love you so much."

Max kissed her gently, "You mean everything to me."

Max and Liz were so wrapped up in one another that neither of them noticed Tess' thunderous expression.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Cry Your Name)
(Monday, April 30th, 2001)
(The Whitman House – Alex’s Room)

Alex sat on his bed writing chords for his new song. Since the prom, when he and Isabel had gotten back together, the music and lyrics were flowing from him, and he was rushing to get them all written down. He hadn't been able to write in months but Isabel inspired him, there was just no other explanation.

He was interrupted by a knock and answered without looking up, "Come in."

It wasn't until the second knock that he realized the sound was coming from the window and not the door. He got off the bed and drew back the curtains, somewhat irritated at the interruption. But he smiled when he saw who it was and quickly opened the window and motioned his guest inside. "Isabel, what a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you today."

Isabel climbed in the window and Alex noticed her agitation, "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, "No, no. Nothing is wrong. I just need to tell you something."

Alex's heart sank, "Oh no."

"No, really Alex, it's nothing bad," Isabel reassured him as she sat down in the window seat. "Last semester, Ms. Rikesdale told me that I only needed to take one more class to graduate. So I did."

Alex didn't even try to cover his surprise, "So you're graduating?"

"Alex you are the only one I have told."

Alex nodded," So are you, going to college?"

Isabel continued, "I could, but after everything that has been happening lately, I've decided being a kid for another year isn’t such a bad thing."

She paused and looked down at her hands nervously, "And with everything that has happened between us, I wanted to stay and see where it was going to lead."

Alex smiled, "Isabel as much as what you're saying means to me and as much as I want you to stay, you can't."

"Who says I can't?" she asked.

Alex took her hands in his, "What if, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but what if it doesn't work out between us? You might come to regret your decision to stay."

"Alex, it's not like I'm being held back a year. I will just be graduating at the time I was supposed to, with all of you. Plus college will still be there, waiting for me. I can take all of the A.P. classes to get college credit and save my parents some money in the process."

"So you really have thought this through?" Alex asked hopefully.

Isabel nodded, "I want to stay with you."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - It's too Late and It's too Bad)
(Monday, May 14th, 2001)
(Roswell City Park)

Tess strolled through the park as she often did at night. It was a her way of sorting out her life and she was so deep in thought that she didn't see the other person until she was nearly on top of him. "Oh, hey Max," she greeted warmly, "What are you doing here?"

"Just walking home," Max said with a nod and moved to continue past her.

"Oh," Tess said quickly, not ready to end the encounter, "the Jeep broke down?"

Max stopped a few feet away, "No, Isabel and Alex took it to Buckley Point."

"And Liz?" Tess asked.

Max frowned, wondering at the reason for Tess' curiosity. "She and Maria are preparing for an oral report."

Tess moved closer to him, "So you're all alone tonight?"

Max took a step back, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Tess said innocently. "I just thought if you didn't have other plans, you might want to come to the observatory with me."

"The observatory?" Max asked.

Tess nodded, "Yeah. There's a star that I go and look at sometimes. It's called Barnard's star and you can see it from our planet too." She took another step closer to him. "Our world's out there, Max. It's not close and sometimes it seems like a dream to me too, but I know that it's real, and I know you know that too." She pointed to the sky, "That's reality, Max. This," she said, motioning to her body, "this is the dream."

Max shook his head, "No Tess. I don't remember anything about our world and I don't want to. Our other life is the dream to me; it's a nightmare I hope I never have again."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Episode Equivalent - Baby It's You)
(Wednesday, May 16th, 2001)

Kyle and Alex walked into the Crashdown and took seats at the counter next to Max.

"So what are we doing tonight?" asked Kyle.

Liz set their usual drinks in front of them. "Maria heard there's a free Nelly Furtado concert down at Las Cruces University but Michael wants to watch Braveheart again."

"Oh," Alex said enthusiastically, "I vote for the University."

Kyle looked at him strangely, "You like Nelly Furtado? I thought you were more of an alternative man."

Alex laughed, "Yeah I am, but while we're down there I can check out the new super computer. Las Cruces has a great computer science program and it is one of my first choices for college."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, July 15th, 2001)
(Crashdown Cafe)

Courtney smiled as she watched Liz and Maria embracing each other. Maria was leaving to visit her Grandmother and that would leave Michael alone with her. Michael had been refusing her advances, but now she had a month to win him over and with Maria out of the picture she didn't think it would take that long.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, September 21st, 2001)
(Roswell City Council Chambers)

Jim sat before the City Council, not sure what to expect. The last time he had been there had not been a pleasant experience but he had understood the reasons why they had to fire him.

Jim waited as the meeting continued with discussions of road repairs and zoning regulations but finally the chairman of the City Council addressed him. "Mr. Valenti, due to the lack of evidence of any wrong-doing on your part from the internal investigation, and the affidavits from Laurie Dupree, Agent Susanne Duff of the FBI, and the legal actions of Philip Evans on your behalf, added to the inexperience and the sometimes questionable actions of acting Sheriff Hansen, we, the members of the City Council, would like to offer you the position of Sheriff.

Jim couldn't have been more surprised if they had said they were running him out of town. It took a minute for the information to sink-in but when it did a smile spread across his face and he got to his feet. "Members of the Council, Mr. Chairman, I accept your offer."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, January 15th, 2002)
(The Valenti House)

Kyle put the mug on the counter in front of him and took up his stance, arm outstretched. Since he had learned that Liz was developing powers, Kyle had gone through this routine every morning. He closed his eyes and focused on building his energy and using it to push the mug across the counter. After a moment he cracked one eye open and then the other, relaxing his body in defeat. It was the same every morning, nothing happened.

Sometimes he wasn't sure if he was glad or disappointed that he hadn't developed powers but today he was angry. Max Evans had come storming into their lives, taken Liz from him, gotten his father involved in their alien mess and eventually fired, and Max continued to treat Tess like crap.

Yes, Kyle admitted to himself, Max had healed him and he was grateful but it just made him dislike Max even more that he had to be grateful to him. He wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if it hadn't been for Max. But worst of all, Kyle hadn't even gotten any super-powers in the bargain. Was there some intergalactic conspiracy against the Valenti family?

Suddenly Kyle felt power surge through him and down his arm. He watched stunned, as the mug flew across the counter and smashed into the wall, sending shards of ceramic in all directions.

He was so surprised that he didn't move until Tess came running into the room. "Kyle, what happened? Are you okay?"

He turned to her with wide eyes, "I think I've developed super-powers."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, January 18th, 2002)

Liz and Max walked to the mailbox hand in hand. Max held the lid open and with a smile and they simultaneously dropped their envelopes into the box. He let the lid close and pulled Liz to him for a kiss.

They had both submitted applications to several colleges but Liz knew Max was counting on them both getting into Harvard. It had been her wish for years to attend college there and Max wanted her to have her dream. But it truly didn't matter to her any more. She would go anywhere or do anything to stay with Max.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, March 4th, 2002)
(The Valenti House)

"Feel the power building up within yourself," Tess said. "But always keep it under control. Then concentrate on directing the power where you want it and visualize what will happen."

Kyle built the power and pushed it down his arm and into the blue ball on the table, imagining the color change in his mind. Where his finger touched the ball, a small spot of red appeared and started to spread, swirling into the blue until the entire ball was red.

"Excellent," Tess said.

Kyle jumped out of his seat, "I did it. Did you see that?" he asked, pointing at the newly red ball. "I changed the color."

The ball suddenly exploded and they both jumped.

Tess was the first to recover with a laugh, "Yeah, you did it all right."

Kyle laughed with her for a moment and then was suddenly serious, "Tess tell me, why are you helping me with my powers?"

Tess shrugged, "You need to learn how to control them."

"Yeah," Kyle agreed, "but you're not just helping me control them are you? You're teaching me how to use them, how to strengthen them. Max told everyone to stop using powers so we wouldn't risk exposure and you are going against his orders."

"Max is wrong," Tess said simply. "We can't allow our powers to get weak because we didn't use them. He'll see that one day and be glad that we've developed our powers. He'll be glad we're strong."

Kyle nodded, "Will I develop a special power, like your mind-thing?"

"Mind warp," Tess corrected him dryly. "I don't know, not everyone does," she said with a shrug. "It depends on how powerful you are. We'll just have to wait and see."

Kyle leered at her comically, waggling his eyebrows, "So I could wake up one day with x-ray vision.”

Tess laughed, "Down Buddha boy." She motioned to the pieces of the ball, "Now let's see if you can put it back together."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, May 6th, 2002)
(Crashdown Cafe)

Max and Liz held hands, barely able to contain their excitement. They smiled at their friends gathered before them, Isabel, Michael and Maria; they were only waiting for Alex to arrive, to tell them the news.

Finally Alex trotted into the restaurant and slid into the booth beside Isabel. He planted a brief kiss on her cheek and turned to the others, "Sorry I'm late. So what's the big news?"

Max and Liz turned to one another with a smile. Max nodded and squeezed her hand and Liz blurted our their news, "Max and I were both accepted to Harvard."

Maria jumped up with a squeal and hugged Liz, "I'm so happy for you. It's what you've always wanted.

"Hey, congratulations you two," Alex said.

Isabel hugged her brother, "I always knew you could do it."

As the others congratulated them, Max noticed that Michael was standing quietly to the side. He approached him and spoke softly so the others couldn't hear, "What's up Michael?"

"Congratulation," Michael grunted.

Max raised an eyebrow at his tone, "You don't sound like you really mean it."

Michael shook his head, "No Max, I do mean it. You worked hard to get in, you earned it." He scratched at his eyebrow, "It's just," he stopped to clear his throat. "It's just that Isabel and Alex are going to school in Las Cruces and now you and Liz are going to..." He cocked his head, "Where is Harvard?"

Max smiled, "Near Boston."

Michael nodded, "You and Liz are going to Boston. I just never considered that we would be separated. It seems so final."

Max smiled, "We have always been like family. But families grow," he motioned to Liz and Maria, "and families sometimes move apart, but they are always still families. Nothing can truly separate us."

"Yeah, I know," Michael said, almost afraid to ask his next question. "Um, Max, what about, um, our mission?"

Max nodded his understanding. "I know we've never really talked about this Michael but since Nasedo died, I've felt lost but free at the same time. I've never wanted anything except to be normal, and when Liz and I got together I thought I would finally have that, but then Nasedo showed up and ruined everything. Everyone expected me to be this ruler, this King, but that was the last thing I wanted. What did I know about being a leader?"

Michael remembered his behavior toward Max with shame. "Max, I'm sorry, I never thought about how it was affecting you."

Max accepted his apology with a nod of his head. "When Nasedo died, I felt relief that there was no one to push us toward our destiny. No one could blame us for failing to help our people because everything had gone against us." Max looked past Michael toward the windows, "I felt relief but I also felt shame. I am abandoning our people, our families, who are waiting for help." He turned to look at Michael, "But I don't remember our other families or our planet. It doesn't seem real to me, it's like a half-remembered fairy tale I heard when I was little. Our life here on Earth is the only thing that's real to me. You, Isabel, Alex, Maria, Liz, that's my family. And I have decided to concentrate on the here and now and making a life on Earth."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, May 10th, 2002)
(Ristorante Celestino)

Song Playing: Together Forever by Rick Astley

Max gazed at Liz across the table, the flickering candlelight illuminating her face. He didn't think she had even been more beautiful than she was at that moment. She smiled and he knew she had heard his thoughts. "I mean it Liz."

"I know you do. I can feel it in your heart."

Max smiled, "Then you know how much I love you."

Liz smiled, "I know. I can feel your love surrounding me. I could never doubt it."

"And I can feel your love for me," he said, as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a small velvet-covered box. He had told Liz this dinner was to celebrate the fact that they had both been accepted to Harvard but he also had another agenda. "And I want to make it official."

Max took Liz's hand in his own and knelt before her, "Liz, I love you with so much of myself, I don't know where I end and you begin. You complete me in ways that I never knew existed and I can't imagine living my life without you." He held out the box and opened the lid, "Will you marry me, Liz?"

The tears of joy that had been gathering in Liz's eyes spilled down her cheeks as she reached to take Max's face in her hands. "Yes, Max. Yes, yes. You make me so happy I can't imagine what my life would have been like without you. I love you so much, I will marry you any time, any place you say."

Max took the ring out of the box and kissed Liz's dainty hand before sliding the ring home onto her finger. Then he stood and gathered Liz to him, in a tight embrace. "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make you happy. You will never have any regrets."

"I know, Max. We will build a perfect world, together."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 4


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, May 13th, 2002)
(West Roswell High School)

Monday, the news was all over school; Max Evans and Liz Parker were getting married, and as one of their group of friends Tess had been subjected to excited congratulations all day. At first, she had thought it was a joke but as the day wore on, it seemed more of a certainty. And then she saw Liz's ring in the sixth period class she shared with Liz and Maria.

Maria waved Liz's hand, complete with engagement ring, in Tess' face triumphantly, as if she were declaring Liz the winner in a contest between them. Tess became so angry that she stormed out of class, ran to her car and peeled out of the parking lot.

She didn't really have a destination in mind, she simply drove. And as the thoughts flew through her head, she became more and more furious. Tess paid no attention to the scenery as she drove, too lost in her thoughts to notice anything else.

She silently raged against Liz and Maria, Michael and Isabel, but most of all she raged against Max. No matter what the others had done, it was Max who continued to deny her. Max was the one who deserved all of her anger.

Tess slowed her car and pulled over to the side of the road, noticing her location for the first time. She was near the road that lead to the pod chamber. She slammed the car in gear, turned onto the road and drove quickly toward the rock formation that housed the pod chamber.

A few minutes later, she pulled to a skidding stop at the base of the rocks. She jumped out of the car, ran up the slope, activated the door and stormed inside. Tess walked into the middle of the chamber and spun slowly around, again and again gaining speed with each rotation, faster and faster, until she was dizzy.

In this place, built completely of alien materials she had always felt the closest to home, but now, standing among the things from her planet, she felt like an outsider. Max had made her feel like she didn't belong among her own people.

A cold shiver raced up Tess' spine and she turned and ran back to her car. She started it and jammed the accelerator to the floor. No one would treat her like that, not even Max. She glanced at the clock on the dash of the car, school would be getting out in half-a-hour, just enough time for her to get back to school and confront Max.

As she drove into the school parking lot, Tess spied Max heading toward his Jeep and stopped her car just a few feet away. Max had a stupid, dreamy smile on his face that enraged her even more and she jumped out of her car and verbally attacked him. "How dare you get engaged to Liz!"

Max's smile dissolved at her words. "What are you talking about Tess?"

Tess stopped inches from him and pointed her finger into his face, "You can't just marry someone else. You're my husband."

"Keep your voice down," Max hissed, as he looked around to see if they had been overheard.

"I don't care who knows, Max!" Tess yelled.

"Well I do care," Max said angrily, trying to keep his temper. "I don't want you to do or say anything that might hurt Liz."

"Liz. Everything is always about Liz." Tess shook her head. "Look how fast you run to her defense. Why couldn't you ever feel that about me? I'm your wife."

Max shook his head, "None of that matters now Tess. Nasedo is dead, we don't have a way home and if we reveal ourselves, the skins will kill us all. Just face it, Tess, it's over. We failed, and the only thing we can do is make a life for ourselves here."

Tess stood silently as Max got into his Jeep and drove away. She couldn't believe he would deny everything, his people, his throne, and her, so he could stay on Earth with Liz. Max was so wrapped up in Liz that he couldn't even think straight. But, Tess thought, they were not married yet.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, May 14th, 2002)
(The Parker House)

Liz climbed the stairs, eager to relax after a long day of work but stopped when she saw both of her parents sitting at the kitchen table, obviously waiting for her. "What's going on?" she asked apprehensively.

Her father was the first to speak, "Liz, we need to have a talk. Why don't you sit down?"

Liz sat across the kitchen table from her parents and waited for the bad news.

"Liz, honey," her mother started, "we have given this engagement of yours a lot of thought..."

Liz jumped to her feet, "You don't want me to marry Max?"

Her father held up his hands in a calming gesture, and as Liz regained her seat, he continued, "Now Liz, it's not that. We just think you should wait a while. You should concentrate on your future and you don't need any distractions. You are headed to Harvard and that will be a big change in your life. Moving away from everyone and everything you know, it can get lonely and maybe that’s why you accepted Max's proposal."

"I accepted Max's proposal because I love him will all of my heart and soul,” Liz said, “and nothing is going to change that."

"You think that now, Liz," her mother said, "but you have dated so few people. You just don't know who is out there in the world. Maybe you will find someone that you will love more than Max."

Liz shook her head, "You don't understand."

Her mother nodded, "I do understand. First love is powerful and you will never forget it but it rarely lasts and if you marry Max now, you might end up regretting it."

"And what do you really know about Max?" her father asked.

"What do you mean?" Liz asked.

"I mean he has been in trouble with the law. There was that whole scandal surrounding Sheriff Valenti last year and Max was right in the middle of it."

Liz shook her head. "I explained to you what happened, last year. Max is a kind, law-abiding, honor student, who also got into Harvard, in case you've forgotten. And it's not like we are getting married tomorrow. We’re planning on waiting until next year." She paused looking at her parents, wondering what had happened to bring this on. "Why are you doing this now? You seemed happy for me when I told you on Friday."

"We hadn't had time to think it through," her mother said. "And then we had a visit from your friend Tess and she told us..."

Liz's eyes narrowed and she cut her mother off, "Tess was here, talking to you about Max?"

Her father nodded. "She was just concerned you might be making a mistake marrying so young and so quickly. She said that she and Maria had tried to talk some sense into you but you wouldn't listen to them."

Liz nodded, "I see." Her parents had obviously been mind-warped by Tess and the reason she had done it was just as obvious. Tess still wanted Max for herself.

"Tess didn't think we should mention to you that she had been to see us, but we thought it might make more of an impact on you that your friends were worried about you too," her father said.

"And maybe," her mother continued, "it would be a good idea for you to spend some time away from Max. Like a cooling off period."

"So now you are telling me I can't see Max?" Liz asked emotionlessly.

"Just for a while," her mother agreed. "We just want you to really think this whole thing through."

Liz nodded, knowing she would not be able to talk her way through Tess' implanted emotions. "Maybe you're right," she said as she rose from the sofa. "I have a lot of thinking to do."

Liz waited until she reached the safety of her room before contacting Max through their bond. Max.

What's wrong Liz? I can feel that something is upsetting you.

It's my parents.

What happened? Max asked concerned.

Tess happened, Liz said. She mind-warped them.

Are they okay?

I think so, but she turned them against you, against our engagement.

Max was incredulous. What are you saying?

Tess told them she and Maria were worried about us getting married too young and now my parents want us to spend some time apart, to cool off.

Max could feel Liz's distress through the connection and he sent back his love. Liz, no one will keep us apart, not Tess and not your parents. We will figure a way out of this. I promise.

Liz felt herself relax under Max's reassurance. I just couldn't bear being separated from you Max.

That will never happen.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max pounded on the Valenti's door and when Tess opened it, he verbally attacked her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Tess gave him her most innocent look, "I don't know what you are talking..."

Max cut her off, "Cut the crap, Tess." He grabbed her arm and propelled her inside, slamming the door behind them. "I know what you did to Liz's parents."

"I didn't do anything," Tess denied. "The Parkers were already having doubts about you and Liz, I just gave them something else to think about."

"You used your powers on them," Max accused. "To get what you want, you invaded their minds."

"It's not just what I want, it's what you want too," Tess said softly. "If only you would let me help you remember."

Max shook his head, "So you can mind-warp me in to doing what you want too? I don't think so."

Tess became instantly angry, "I wouldn't have to mind-warp you. We were in love and we could be again if you weren't so stubborn."

"Tess, I want you to fix whatever it is you did to the Parkers."

"Why should I? So it will be all clear for you to marry Liz?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Max said simply.

"You mean the right thing for you and Liz, but what about me? You get Liz and I get the shaft?" Tess paused and her expression became calculating. "If you promise that you will give me an honest chance, I'll undo what I did to the Parkers." She pouted prettily and reached up to touch his face, "I don't know what you ever saw in Liz anyway."

Max slapped her hand away and laughed joylessly, "You are so selfish and manipulative, I can't even believe it. All you ever think about is getting your own way and you don't care who you hurt in the process. Liz is exactly the opposite. She is kind and caring in a way you couldn't possibly understand. Last year when she walked away from me at the pod chamber, she was willing to sacrifice her happiness, her future, so you, a person she doesn't like or trust, could follow your destiny. Liz was willing to give you everything, but instead of being grateful or thanking her, you thought it was something Liz owed you." Max shook his head, "Even if we were married in our last life I know I never could have loved someone like you.

"How dare you speak to me that way, humiliate me," Tess screamed. "I was a Queen and your wife. And you can deny it all you want, but in our other life, you loved me." Tess raised her head haughtily, "But you were different then, you were a King. Now you are just a boy."

Max looked her in the eyes and spoke slowly and clearly, trying once again to get though to her. "I don't love you Tess and even if Liz died tomorrow, I would never be with you. You disgust me."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, May 31st, 2002)
(West Roswell High School)

The graduation ceremony was supposed to have been the culmination of her school career, one of the moments she had been looking forward to all of her life, but to Liz it had passed in a blur. The only thing she could think of was her parents prejudice against Max. It was true that she was old enough to just marry Max but she hated thinking of disappointing her parents, even if the reasons were artificial. Liz glanced at Tess, a few rows ahead, and wondered not for the first time, how one person could cause so much trouble and misery.

Suddenly Tess turned, looked at Liz and smiled, and Liz was assaulted with her feelings. Tess thought she had won. She thought she had succeeded in keeping Max and her apart. Tess had known that Liz would not want to go against her parents' wishes, she had been counting on it, and she was right.

But suddenly none of it mattered to Liz, not Tess or her parents or anyone else. The only thing that mattered was the fact that she and Max were in love and they wanted to be together.

As the students threw their caps in the air, Liz made her way to Max's side. "Max, I think we should get married."

Max pulled her to him in a tight embrace. "So do I."

Liz shook her head with a smile, "Now. Tomorrow. As soon as we can arrange it."

"Liz I don't want to go against your parents,” Max said. “I'll get to know them, and my parents can talk to them, we'll change their minds. You'll see, everything will be okay. Maybe they are right. Nineteen is very young. We were planning on waiting until next year anyway and that will give your parents time to come around."

Liz leaned into Max and smiled, "Max our age doesn't matter. Romeo and Juliet were even younger and they knew they were meant to be together. And like those star-crossed lovers, I think we should elope."

Liz could feel Max's surprise through their connection and she kissed him quickly but passionately. "Why should we wait?" she continued. "We are old enough and we are leaving for college together. I want to live with you, be with you. I want to go to sleep every night and wake up every morning beside you. Let's elope and then we can start our life together. I want to be Mrs. Max Evans."

"Elope?" Max shook his head, "No Liz. You deserve a big wedding with the white wedding dress and flowers and your friends and family." He touched her face gently. "I want everything to be perfect for you."

"Max, none of that matters to me at all. The only thing that matters is being with you and I don't want to wait any longer. Wherever we get married it will be perfect."

Max smiled. "Every day I think there is no possible way I could love you more, and then you do something like this that proves me wrong."

Liz smiled, "Does that mean you agree?"

"There's nothing I want more than to marry you, Liz," Max said.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, June 1st, 2002)

Song Playing: Heaven by Bryan Adams

Liz looked down at Max's hand, she held in her own. She had barely been able to take her eyes off of him since the ceremony and now that Max was driving them back to Roswell, she could study his handsome features at her leisure. It had been a long day but she had been right, a wedding any place with Max had been perfect.

That morning they had discovered it would take approximately a month to get a marriage license in New Mexico and it seemed as if their elopement would have to be postponed. Then Max had confessed a fantasy he'd had since they’d returned from Vegas last year. He admitted he was a closet Elvis fan and seeing the Elvis Chapel, when they had been in Vegas, had left a lasting impression on him. He had told Liz, with a shy smile, that he had dreamed more than once of marrying her there.

Liz had agreed eagerly, considering it to be the perfect solution because there was no waiting period for a marriage license in Nevada.

They had gotten in the Jeep and driven straight through, taking turns at the wheel on the twelve-hour trip. When they had arrived, Max had insisted they be properly dressed and Liz had insisted they have the ceremony at the Elvis Chapel. Max had been so handsome in his tux and Liz had felt positively radiant in her white gown, and after a brief ceremony and a 'Congratulations kids,' from the King, they had been officially married. The day had been so full of joy and love but now they were on their way home to face the music.

Liz raised Max's hand to her lips and kissed it gently causing Max to turn to her. "Max, when we get back to Roswell, we'll have to confront my parents."

"Having regrets already?" Max asked with a teasing tone.

Liz smiled, "Of course not. It's just, there won't be much of a chance for a celebration when we get home and today has been so wonderful I want to make it last as long as we can. I was thinking instead of driving straight back, we could stay in Phoenix. We could call everyone, Maria and Michael, Alex and Isabel, and they could drive up and meet us and we could have, like a reception."

Max pulled over to the side of the road, took Liz's face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly before he spoke. "That sounds perfect, Mrs. Evans."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, June 3rd, 2002)

Tess waited in the shadows near the Jeep behind the UFO Museum, knowing it was the only time she would be able to get Max alone. Apparently Max and Liz had eloped on Friday and returned late Saturday but she had known nothing about it until the Sheriff had told her this morning. The news had hit her like a physical object and for several minutes she hadn't been able to speak, and now hours later, she still couldn't believe it. Tess had been so sure that Max would eventually turn to her, she hadn't even considered the possibility he might go through with the marriage to Liz.

Concealed in the darkness, she watched as Max exited the building, smiling a farewell to his fellow employees, when suddenly the truth hit her. Max was so at ease with his friends, his co-workers, his family, but not with her. From their first contact he had been suspicious of her intentions and that had never changed. She had believed she had been gaining his friendship, his trust, but she realized she had just been fooling herself.

Glancing at the telltale ring on his hand, she waited until Max was within a few feet, to reveal herself to him. "So you and Liz got married," she said softly.

Max nodded but didn't speak and Tess could see he was prepared for her to attack. He expected her to do something to him, harm him in some way, and Tess slowly shook her head. Max didn't know her at all, he never had, and he obviously didn't want to. For some reason he didn't love her in this life and she knew now he never would. She had let herself believe she was one of their group but she never had been, and as all of the illusion was suddenly stripped away, she had never felt so alone in her life.

Tess took a step forward, saw the mistrust in Max's eyes sharpen and smiled sadly. "What do you want me to do, Max?" she asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

Max could sense some change in Tess, and for a moment he felt sorry for her. All of her life she had been told he was her destiny, her love, and that had been taken away from her. But as he studied her, he remembered another time when she had been waiting for him in the rain outside the Crashdown, had planted feelings in him and forced him to kiss her, and he dismissed his softening toward her as her own creation.

Raising his chin in determination, Max hardened his heart against her and angrily ground out his words, "I want you to leave us alone."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Valenti House)

Tess was so busy stuffing her belongings into the suitcase, that she didn't hear Kyle enter the room.

"What are you doing, Tess?"

She spoke without looking up from her task, "I'm getting out of here."

Kyle grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him, "What are you talking about? Where are you going?"

Tess shrugged, "Maybe I'll look for the other aliens who were on our ship, maybe I'll tour the world. I don't know exactly but I'm definitely leaving Roswell. There's nothing here for me anymore."

Kyle released her and spoke in an even tone, "Nothing here."

Tess shook her head. "I realized that I have been fooling myself. Max, Michael and Isabel don't care about me. They don't want anything to do with me and now that Max is married..." she let the sentence trail off and turned back to her packing.

"So everything is still about Max?" Kyle asked incredulously. He walked around so he could see her face again. "I thought we had something. Tess, this doesn't have anything to do with Max and the others. Who cares what they think? I am talking about us. You and me, that's what matters."

Tess looked at Kyle. She knew he had been in love with her for some time but she had always dismissed it as an unimportant detail. He should have known she had never been serious about him, could never love him. She had just been biding her time until Max came to his senses, but maybe Kyle hadn't realized it. "Kyle, there is no way I can stay here now."

Kyle shoved the suitcase aside and took her hands in his, with a smile. "Tess, screw the others. We are good together. You can stay here with me."

Tess laughed, "And do what? Be your little housewife?"

Kyle recoiled like she had struck him and dropped her hands but Tess didn't see his pain and she continued obliviously, "Kyle I am an alien Queen. I belong on another planet in a palace surrounded by servants, not in a small town kitchen, baking cookies for a PTA fundraiser."

Kyle nodded, "I see. I'm not good enough for you. My life, my planet, none of it is good enough. You never had any intention of being with me, did you? You were just using me."

"Oh come on Kyle," Tess protested, "we were using each other. We both knew I was waiting for Max."

"I loved you!" Kyle shouted. "You made me think we had a chance. We were sleeping together."

"Like that means anything," Tess said with a shrug.

"It meant something to me, Tess, but I guess I was just fooling myself too." He turned and walked out of the room, but stopped at the door and called over her shoulder, not able to look Tess in the face again. "You're right, Tess. There's nothing for you here anymore."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, June 7th, 2002)
(Crashdown Cafe)

It had been almost two years since Courtney had revealed herself to Michael but she had not made any progress in wining him over to her side. She had tried to seduce him, time and time again but he had always refused her. She had offered many times to help Michael learn to control his powers and recover his memories but he was suspicious of her motives and shied away from her assistance. Finally she had realized because of his life on Earth, Michael didn't trust easily and for the last year she had worked slowly to rekindle the friendship they had shared on Antar.

Courtney waited until she and Michael were alone, closing the Crashdown, to pose the question that had been on her mind. "So Max and Liz are off to Harvard," she started casually. "And what are your plans?"

"Mr. Parker is making me the manager at the Crashdown and I'm going to check out some of the classes at the Community College."

Courtney's eyebrows rose in surprise. "And what are you going to study?"

Michael shrugged, "Don't know yet. I figure I can take the basics and that will give me a while to decide."

Courtney shook her head, trying to keep her temper. "You should be taking classes in history, government, political science, law, or at least let me help you recover your memories."

"Haven't you gotten it through your head yet?" Michael asked heatedly. "I'm not going to betray Max."

Courtney's temper rose to meet Michael's, "So you're satisfied staying on Earth and being a fry-cook? You could rule a planet!"

Michael's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Yeah? And what's in it for you? You looking to be the next Queen of Antar?"

Courtney shook her head and moved a few steps closer until she was touching his arm. "You know I'm attracted to you and if you offered me the position, I wouldn't turn it down. But my main goal is equality for all of our people."

When Michael didn't respond she started to lightly run her fingers up and down his arm and lowered her voice seductively. "Don't you ever get sick of hearing about all the wars and killing on this planet? Do you ever wish you could do something to change it?" She leaned into him until she was whispering in his ear. "On Antar you could. You would determine how the government would be run. You would make the laws." She kissed him gently on the neck, "You would be a King."

Michael took her by the arms and gently pushed her away. He studied her face as she smiled seductively and he shook his head. "Sometimes you seem so familiar to me. Like home."

Courtney smiled, "It's your old memories coming through."

Michael was taken aback, "We knew each other, before?"

Courtney nodded, "We grew up together."

Michael shook his head, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Courtney shrugged, "I didn't think you would believe me."

Michael released her and turned away, "I won't do this. I'm with Maria."

Courtney pressed her body against his back and slowly ran her hands down his arms, "That could change and I'm willing to wait."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, June 8th, 2002)
(The Evans House)

Liz looked around the backyard at all of her friends. When she and Max had returned from Vegas last weekend and announced to their parents that they had eloped, Liz's parents had met the news with less enthusiasm than she had hoped. But the Evans has always liked her and warmly welcomed her into their family. They had invited her to stay with Max at their house until the two of them left for college and this weekend they were hosting a belated reception.

Liz's own parents were there but she could feel their disappointment from across the yard. They were not happy she and Max were married but she hoped she could change their minds before she left for Harvard in the fall.

A lone figure sitting on the grass under a tree, caught her attention and Liz walked across the lawn to join him. "Hey, Kyle. Can I sit down?"

Kyle smiled, "Sure Liz."

Liz sat next to him, noticing the fine lines of strain around his eyes. "I'm sorry Tess left," she said softly. "I know you were getting close."

"I thought we were, but obviously she didn't. I told her l loved her and I wanted her to stay," Kyle shook his head, "but she said my life wasn't good enough."

Liz felt anger rise up within her. How dare Tess say that to Kyle? He was one of the most kind, tenderhearted guys she knew. "Then she was a fool, Kyle. You are a great person and any girl would be lucky to have you."

Kyle smiled, "Thanks Liz, that means a lot."

"It's just the truth. You know, it might seem impossible now but some day you will meet the right girl and she will love you for what you are."

Kyle looked at Liz and for just a moment he thought he saw the air around her shimmering with a soft, golden light and then it was gone. He smiled sadly as he felt a pang of regret. Liz was truly the best person he knew. He loved her like a sister and was sorry he had allowed his relationship with Tess to mar his friendship with Liz. "Liz, I'm glad you’re my friend. The Buddha says, swans go on the path of the sun, they go miraculously through the ether, the wise are led out of this world."

"I'm glad we're friends too." Liz smiled at him and it slowly dissolved. "Kyle, I want to apologize to you. Last weekend when Max and I were married, we had a sort of wedding party in Phoenix. I didn't invite you because it would be rude not to invite Tess too. It's not that I thought she would do anything, I just didn't want her glaring at me on my wedding day. I'm really sorry, Kyle."

Kyle shook his head, "Liz, I understand and I don't blame you. I know better than anyone that Tess tried to cause as much trouble as she could between you and Max. She used all of us to get what she wanted and I wouldn't blame you if you hated her." Kyle took her hand in his, "Let's just always promise to be friends in the future, even though you're going to Harvard to get a fancy education and I will still be here, a lowly student of the local Community College."

Liz smiled. "Kyle, you will never be a lowly anything."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, September 1st, 2002)
(The Evans House)

Max knocked gently on Isabel's door as he pushed it open.

Isabel looked up from the boxes she was packing, "Oh Max, come to help me pack?"

Max shook his head, "No I came to give you this." He held out a small wrapped box complete with a bow.

"What is this?" Isabel asked as she took the box from him.

Max shrugged, "You'll be leaving in a couple of days and Liz and I are leaving next week. Just call it an early birthday present."

Isabel tore off the wrapping and opened the box. She stared at the contents in confusion before lifting it out. "It's your keys for the Jeep."

"You know that Liz and I got a furnished apartment right off campus and we are both working at school, so we won't even need a car. We thought you could take the Jeep to school with you. You'll need something to cart all of this stuff with you," he said motioning to the pile of boxes around her room. "But by the time you're finished packing you might have to get a U-haul too."

Isabel smiled, "I don't know what to say, Max. Thank you."

Max smiled and shrugged, "The Jeep probably wouldn't make it across the country anyway."

Isabel nodded. "You're probably right."

"And you'll have to let me borrow it when we come back for vacation."

Suddenly Isabel felt tears in her eyes, "This will be the first time we've been separated."

"I know," he said as he pulled her into an embrace, "but only by distance. Nothing can ever really come between us."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, December 15th, 2002)

Dark clouds rolled across the night sky faster than naturally possible, frequent shafts of lightening and the accompanying thunder shattering the silence. The wind whipped across the desert, blowing sand around the observer and she put up a hand to shield her eyes. She turned in a slow circle but the view was the same in all directions, just sand, rocks and scrub brush as far as she could see.

The wind sped up suddenly, sending the sand swirling faster and faster into an impenetrable mass surrounding her and she closed her eyes against the stinging particles.



**Flash**

A glimpse of the empty pods in the pod chamber



**Flash**

A light was ignited in a dark cave



**Flash**

Alien symbols



With a gasp, Liz sat up and looked around quickly, glad to find herself in her own bed. She was where she should be, in her apartment just off campus, with Max sleeping peacefully beside her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Liz settled back into the pillows, careful not to wake her husband. She had been having the same dream for the last two weeks and each time she hoped it would reveal something more but each time it was exactly the same.

When she had told Max about her dream, she could tell it frightened him and he dismissed it as simply a dream, a product of the pressures of school. But Liz knew it was something more, she could feel it.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, January 7th, 2003)

Cuerena had been waiting outside the pod chamber for more than six days, and night was falling on the seventh. She was supposed to have met the other shape shifters on the morning of the first of this month, but obviously something was wrong. At least one of them should have come to meet her by now.

She scanned the desert before her one last time, but there was no sign of life. She hadn't wanted to consider what the absence of the others shape shifters meant but it was time to face up to it. The others had probably either been captured or were dead. She would have to start a search for them and hopefully find the Royal Four alive.

For the first time since arriving a week ago, Cuerena entered the pod chamber and kindled a light to illuminate the darkness, hoping to find a clue to lead her to the others. She searched the rooms thoroughly, finding the healing stones, communication orbs, the book written in royal code, and a few old footprints in the dust on the floor. Someone had been there within the last year or so but there was no sign that might point her to their current location.

With a sigh of frustration, Cuerena turned toward the door and extinguished the illumination, but its flickering light briefly brightened a dark corner, practically hidden by cobwebs near the door. She rekindled the light and directed it into the corner, revealing Antarian writing on the wall. Brushing the dusty webs out of the way, she quickly read the faded message.

It was from Sodan and he had left directions to his abode.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Nasedo’s Cave)

Cuerena studied the symbols on the wall of the cave. There were instructions on how to use the map and certain landmarks were identified, but there was nothing to show the current location of Sodan and his charges.

It was evident that no one had been in the cave in a few years and Cuerena had no idea where to start her search.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, January 11th, 2003)

Cuerena stopped just inside the door of the Crashdown Cafe with a smile; Michael was in the kitchen cooking.

She allowed herself to sink into a booth and released a sigh of relief. It had only taken a few days for her to find him and it would have been less if she had considered looking in the school yearbooks earlier.

She had found their pictures in the yearbook at West Roswell High School that morning and then gotten their addresses from the school files. First she had disguised herself as a girl of twenty and had gone to the Evans' house to see Max and Isabel, as she had learned their names were, but their adoptive mother had proudly told her they were both away, attending college. Then she had gone to Tess' house but the family who now lived there told her they knew nothing of the previous owners.

Finally she had gone to the address listed for Michael, as Rath was called. The landlord of the apartment complex told her he had moved out a few months before and didn't have his new address but he suggested she try the Crashdown Cafe, where he believed Michael still worked.

And he had been right, Cuerena thought. Now all she had to do was introduce herself to Michael, but obviously that would have to wait until they were alone.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Crashdown Cafe)

Maria went into the kitchen and crossed to Michael, and standing on tip-toe she hissed in his ear, "Michael."

"What?" he asked, stepping away from her and rubbing his ticklish ear.

Maria looked around furtively and leaned in close to him, "Keep your voice down."

"Why?" Michael whispered back.

"Okay, don't look now..." Maria said, but stopped as Michael automatically started looking around. She gestured frantically and pulled him into the back room.

"What?" he asked. "I don't see anything."

Maria flattened herself against the door leading into the dining room and quickly peeked through the small diamond-shaped window. "Okay, see that girl out there in the blue shirt?"

Michael walked to the door and looked through the window, "Yeah."

When he lingered, Maria pulled him away. "She's been out there for hours."

"So?" Michael shrugged.

Maria rolled her eyes and spoke in an exasperated tone, "Michael, she's up to something. She's been sitting there all day, looking at you. What if she's, you know, another Michael worshipper?"

Michael's brow creased, "How would she know who I am?"

Maria shrugged, "I don't know but we gotta do something."

Michael huffed, "Like what? Go up to her and ask her if she's an alien? Forget it Maria, you're just paranoid." He glanced out the window again checking-out the brunette beauty, "Maybe she just digs me."

"Yeah," Maria said sarcastically, "Dream on, Spaceboy."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Michael shrugged into his jacket and locked the back door of the Crashdown behind him. Maria's shift had ended earlier and he had told her to go home. She had still been paranoid that something sinister was happening but the suspicious woman had left soon after Maria had drawn his attention to her.

He threw the last bag of trash into the dumpster and turned to his bike.

"Michael Guerin."

A voice called his name from behind and he whipped around with an outstretched hand. He recognized the girl from the Crashdown immediately. "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

Cuerena bowed low and formally, "I am Cuerena, General Varros."

"My name is Michael."

"Yes. In this life," she agreed. "I was sent here with you, as your protector."

Michael's eyes narrowed, "A protector. So where have you been all this time?"

"I was assigned to protect the duplicates until they reached maturity. Then on the first of this year, I was supposed to rendezvous with Sodan and the others at the pod chamber, but no one came, so I searched for you."

Michael shook his head, "I don't know any Sodan."

"Perhaps you knew him by another name. He is also a protector, a shape shifter. I found a cave where he had been living, outside of the Mesaliko reservation. He drew a map..."

Michael stepped forward, cutting her off, "Nasedo. You mean Nasedo."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Max and Liz’s Apartment)
(Cambridge, MA)

The sound of the ringing telephone awakened Max and he groggily fumbled around for the offending instrument. Calls in the middle of the night were never good news and he apprehensively spoke into the receiver, "Hello?"

Michael's voice answered him, "Maxwell, you and Liz gotta get back here right away."

"What?" Max asked as he rubbed at his eyes, sitting up, "Is something wrong?"

"Let's just say that one of our, um, relatives showed up," Michael said cryptically.

"Our relatives?" Max asked in a wooden tone. Michael always went into his cloak and dagger routine on the phone when he discussed alien affairs. "Why don't you just spell it out for me Michael?"

"A woman showed up today. She's a friend of Nasedo's, from way back."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 5


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, January 12th, 2003)

Max hadn't been able to stop the ideas flying through his head as he and Liz had flown back to Roswell. He had thought he was free to live his life as he choose and now there was another person who would want to tell him to follow his destiny. Unfortunately he didn't have the choice of dismissing this new shape shifter from their lives as he wished. He knew the others would welcome her into their group and eventually they would expect him to return to their planet.

At least Tess was gone, he thought. He was married to Liz and no one could take her away from him.

He looked at Liz, dozing next to him. He had been so afraid something like this would happen when Liz had told him she was having dreams. He had dismissed the dreams as nothing special, hoping they would just go away but he knew they hadn't. Liz had stopped telling him when she had the dreams, but he knew she was still having them. As he slept, he could feel the dreams spilling over their connection and sometimes he saw and felt what she did.

He knew that Liz didn't completely understand his reasons for wanting the cut all of the alien things out of their life, but she respected his wishes and didn't actively use her powers. That was why her dreams had scared him so much, because they were out of Liz's control. They were coming to her without her seeking them and Max was terrified about what that meant for the future.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Cuerena looked at the group gathered in Michael and Maria's apartment. There were three of the Royal Four and five humans; Liz, who had come with Max and was obviously his mate, Alex, who had come with Isabel, Maria, who was living with Michael, and the local Sheriff and his son. The introductions were made but no one mentioned Tess, and Cuerena decided to wait until she could get Max alone before she inquired.

Cuerena bowed formally when she was introduced to Isabel but sank to her knees before Max, "Your Majesty, what is your command?"

Max shifted uncomfortably, "Um, Cuerena, we aren't used to such, um, formality. Why don't you just call us by our first names?"

"But Your Majesty, it wouldn't be proper."

Max grimaced, "The titles would be awkward in public and it would just be easier to call us the same thing all of the time. So from now on I am Max and this is Isabel and Michael."

"As you wish, Your Maj...," Cuerena stopped and started again, "As you wish, Max."

"Okay," Max said with a smile, "Now why don't you tell us how you came to be here."

She quickly related her story, telling them of the decision to send her to New York with the duplicates and briefly outlining her life there. Then she told them about returning to the pod chamber and waiting for the other shape shifters. "So because I knew what you would look like, it was easy to find you in the school year books and then I obtained your addresses from the school records."

“And you used our addresses to find Michael,” Maria said.

Cuerena nodded. "Michael told me you knew Nasedo but what of the two other shape shifters, Kaldar and Letras?"

“The other shape shifters may have been killed by the military,” Max said. “I think at least one of them was.”

Isabel stepped forward, "I wonder why Nasedo never told us about you?"

Cuerena shook her head, "I don't know. Maybe he thought it was better that you didn't know." She turned her attention to Max, "The General, um, Michael refused to tell me anything until you got here, and I must admit I'm very curious to know what happened to you."

Max nodded. He had instructed Michael, on the phone, to make sure Cuerena was a shape shifter before he would believe her story and she had passed the test. She was what she claimed to be and she was there to help them. And Max knew she would eventually expect them to return to their planet. He pushed aside his worries for the moment and concentrated on telling their story.

Max related how they had been found and raised by humans, how they discovered that they were different, and being reunited with Michael. He continued with the circumstances around healing Liz and telling her what he was, and finishing with the investigation of Valenti and the FBI.

At first, Cuerena had been surprised the humans were involved, but as Max related the story of their past, she started to understand. They had grown up among humans and it was all they knew.

Liz picked up the story where Max left off, and had just finished explaining how Alex had become involved when Cuerena broke in. "So all of that time you didn't know anything about yourselves."

The three of them all shook their heads and Max answered, "We followed up on the few clues we had, but they kept leading nowhere."

Cuerena shook her head, amazed they had survived so long on their own. "So when did Nasedo come into your lives?"

"It wasn't too long after Liz told Alex," Isabel answered. She continued the story, relating their involvement with Topolsky and the FBI, finally getting to the time when Tess and her father had come to town.

"And the three of you didn't remember anything about the fourth pod?"

"No," said Max. "And when we found out that Tess was an alien, we thought she was Nasedo."

"We discovered the truth, but then Nasedo took Liz," Michael said. He explained about Pierce and the white room, Max's escape, and the message from the orbs. "So until we got the message, we didn't know anything about who we were."

Max continued with the disbandment of the special unit and Nasedo's return. "Nasedo came to my window, terribly wounded and warned us that our enemies were in town. Then he died in my arms."

"How was Nasedo wounded?" Cuerena asked.

"A skin killed him," Max said simply.

"A skin?" Cuerena asked, clearly confused.

"Our enemies who followed us to Earth. Apparently the Earth's atmosphere is toxic to our kind and they have to wear husks to protect themselves. They call them skins."

"Khivar's troops who shot down our transport?" Cuerena asked.

Max shrugged, "I don't know. Nasedo was never big on the details."

Cuerena nodded, "He was a warrior not a tutor."

Max continued, "Anyway, you can meet one of the skins later. She is with a group who are working to overthrow Khivar."

"And you trust her?" Cuerena asked.

Max shrugged, "As much as I can trust an admitted enemy soldier who wants to put Michael on the throne."

Michael smiled at the verbal barb and continued the story with their discovery of Whitaker and Courtney. Then he told her of Whitaker's death, the harvest and the Ganderium fiasco.

Cuerena took it all in, disgusted with herself that she had not thought of the consequences of the crash. If she had envisioned what could have happened she would have killed the Ganderium at the crash site and not allowed them to breed and strengthen. "You saved the Earth and no one will ever know," she said softly.

"We are the ones who endangered it in the first place," Max replied.

Michael was impatient, "So what do we do now?"

Cuerena shrugged, "The other shape shifters and I never discussed how we would return, after the transport was destroyed in the crash. Everything just happened too fast." She motioned to Max, "I always assumed Zan would call home or his allies and get another ship."

Max laughed, "We don't know how to call home and I don't remember any allies."

"You have the two communication orbs in the pod chamber and I can teach you memory recovery techniques," Cuerena offered.

"So everything is up to Max," Michael intoned blandly. Over the last couple of years he and Maria had grown much closer despite Courtney's interference, or maybe because of it. Maria had suggested that the two of them move in together and now they were together all the time. They worked, went to school and lived together and he couldn't imagine life without her. He had occasionally wondered what he would do if he had the opportunity to return to their planet, but as time passed, it seemed more and more like an impossibility. But now that Cuerena was there, a whole new realm of possibilities was opened to them and suddenly he was scared. Scared that he might have to leave Maria, scared of the unknown represented by their planet and their people, scared of what he might have to do.

Then he remembered what Max had told him on the day he and Liz were accepted to Harvard. Max had been scared too but he had decided to put it behind him and make a life on Earth. If they had a choice of going back to their planet or staying on Earth, Michael knew what Max's decision would be, and for the first time he was genuinely glad Max would choose Earth.

Max decided to avoid the subject of their mission for the time being, "It's getting pretty late. Why don't we continue this in the morning?"

There were nods of agreement all around. The Sheriff and Kyle left for home and the others went to sort out sleeping arrangements and fix some food.

Cuerena waited until she was alone with Max to ask the question that had been worrying her. "What happened to Tess?"

Max had expected the question and answered simply, "She left town a few months ago."

"And you don't know where she is?"

"No."

Cuerena pressed for more information, "Did she leave because of you and Liz?"

"No," Max denied instantly. "Liz had nothing to do with it. Tess left because I told her to."

Cuerena could tell it was a sore subject for him and decided not to press any further. "It is curious," she said. "My Zan in New York, never loved his Ava either."

Max nodded, taking in the information and feeling justified in pushing Tess away. Max had wondered occasionally if he would have accepted Tess, had they been together their whole lives, but now that he knew Zan had also rejected her, he could release his guilt about not loving her. Something had changed since their last life and neither of them loved her in this life.

Cuerena noted his thoughtful expression and quickly changed subjects. "Has Liz started to develop any powers?"

Max was surprised by her question and its accuracy. "She has, but how did you know?"

"It is one of the side-effects of the healing. Whether you realized it or not, in order to bring Liz back from such a terrible injury, you had to alter the basic chemistry of the surrounding cells. Liz's body has gradually changed to become like yours. It has been more than three years since the healing, she is completely a hybrid now."

"No," Max cried, "not Liz. What have I done to her?"

"You saved her life."

Liz ran back into the room, feeling Max's distressed state through their connection. She looked at Cuerena suspiciously, "What's wrong Max?"

Max couldn't bear to look at Liz, "Cuerena told me that when I healed you, I changed you."

Liz smiled, "I know that Max."

Max shook his head, "No, you don't understand. You're a hybrid now too."

Liz crossed to Max and cupped his face in her hands, "Max, I have suspected it for a while, especially after I started getting powers. And I haven't been sick for almost two years."

"But you never said anything," he protested.

"I didn't want to upset you," Liz explained. "I knew how guilty you would feel for changing me, but Max it makes me so happy to be what you are. It just binds us more closely together."

Max wrapped his arms around Liz, kissed her tenderly and spoke across their bond. Liz, everything you do just makes me love you more.

Max, my love for you grows every moment of every day.

Liz broke the kiss first and looked into Max's eyes, "But there is one thing you're forgetting."

"What's that?" Max asked.

"Who's going to tell Kyle?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max was awakened by the sound of the front door opening and he turned in his makeshift bed on the living room floor, just in time to see Isabel slip out into the night. He rose, careful not to wake Liz, pulled on some pants, a shirt and some shoes, and went after his sister.

He caught up with her a few minutes later, sitting on a swing in the apartment complex's playground. "What wrong Iz?"

Isabel was not surprised Max had followed her and she answered without turning, "I like my life, Max. I'm happy. Alex and I are close, school is good and I don't want to change it. I don't want to go back to our planet."

Before Max could answer another voice interrupted.

“I thought I might find you two out here," Michael said. "What’s going on?"

Isabel turned to look at her brothers. "I was telling Max that I don't want to go back."

Michael sat on the swing next to Isabel. "That's funny, because I came out here to tell Max the same thing. Ever since we came out of the pods, I've been on some quest to figure out where I belong. I finally found home. The weird thing is, it's here, it's on Earth."

"You of all people," Max said with a smile. He looked to each of them, "I'm sure you both know I intend to stay on Earth with Liz."

"So what are we going to tell Cuerena?" Isabel asked apprehensively. "She expects us to go back."

Max shrugged, "We'll tell her the truth."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max waited until everyone had eaten breakfast the next morning to confront Cuerena, and since he was the leader, he had taken the job of telling her. "Michael, Isabel and I have decided we’re going to stay on Earth."

Cuerena nodded, "Of course. You're not yet ready to return. I will help you regain your memories and hone your skills..."

Max cut her off, "No, you don't understand. We're not going to pursue our mission or return to our planet."

Cuerena's brow wrinkled in confusion, "I don't understand. What about your people, your planet?"

Max took a deep breath and tried to explain, "We don't remember any of that and we don't feel any loyalty or responsibility toward them." He took Liz's hand in his own, "All we know is our life on Earth and we don't want to leave it."

"But Your Majesty," Cuerena said, using his formal title in her shock, "your people are expecting you to return."

"Return to what?" Max asked. "A world that is controlled by our enemies? A world that has been at war for more than fifty years? How could the three of us possibly make a difference?"

"I don't know," Cuerena admitted. "I assumed you must have had a plan."

"Whatever the plan was, it got screwed up a long time ago," Max said. "And the three of us have decided that we will not live our lives based on a plan, other people constructed in another life. We choose to live our lives here on this planet."

Cuerena nodded, unsure of what to do.

"Tomorrow Liz and I will return to school and everyone else can go back to their lives."

Suddenly her duty became clear and Cuerena got to her feet, "Then I will accompany you to Boston."

Max shook his head, "You don't have to do that."

"I must protect you," Cuerena said, "It is my duty, my purpose in life."

Liz watched the interaction with growing unease. She had suspected what would happen but now that it was being played out before her, an unsettling feeling was building within. Suddenly the amorphous feelings solidified and she was frightened that Max would send Cuerena away, and for some reason she knew it must not happen. Liz placed her hand on Max's arm and started to rise, "Max, I have to talk to you."

Max looked at her with confusion clearly written on his face, but followed her to her feet. "Excuse us for a minute," he said to the others as Liz practically dragged him out the door. She closed it firmly behind them and took a deep breath to gather her thoughts before she spoke. "Max you can't just send Cuerena away."

"Why not?" he asked, surprised.

"Don't you see? She has devoted her whole life to serving you. She left her home and family to come on this mission with you, to be your protector, risking her life every day to save you. All of the other shape shifters have died or vanished, so she has nowhere else to go. She said it's her purpose in life to protect you. What else would she do with her life? Get a job at Wal-Mart?" Liz shook her head, "No Max, you are responsible for her, we both are. She's a person, we can't just throw her out like a toy we're tired of playing with."

"You're right," Max nodded. "So we take her to Boston with us? What is she going to do there?"

Liz shrugged, "I don't know but at least she can feel useful while we figure something out."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, January 14th, 2003)

Liz looked at the shape shifter, who was sitting next to them on the plane. Before they had left Roswell, they had agreed that Cuerena keep her youthful appearance so she would blend into the campus atmosphere but they had not figured out exactly how she would fit into their lives. Liz turned toward her, "So what kind of job did you have in New York?"

Cuerena shook her head, "I had no job other than to protect and train my charges."

"How did you get money?" Liz asked.

"When we needed money I created it."

"Oh, of course," Liz nodded, not sure what to say.

"You and Max have jobs?" Cuerena asked.

"Yeah, we both work part-time to make extra money to supplement our scholarships, and maybe next year we can afford a better apartment."

"There is no need for you to work," Cuerena said. "I could easily..."

Max cut her off, "No."

"But Max," Cuerena continued, not understanding his conviction, "if you didn't have to work it would give you more time for other things, like studying and spending time with Liz."

Liz could feel Max's growing unease and tried to explain, "Max wants to do things the human way."

Cuerena accepted the information with a nod of her head, "Am I to live with you?"

"I don't know," Liz started consideringly. "You will have to stay somewhere until we figure this all out."

"Absolutely not!" Max said.

Cuerena spoke up, "It is not necessary for me to live in your apartment. My species is adaptable to most conditions. In New York we lived in the sewer tunnels..."

"Wait," Liz cut her off. "You lived in the sewers?"

"Yes, it was very convenient. We were rarely bothered and there was no rent or other bills."

Liz turned to Max and with a single look, convinced him to reconsider.

"Okay," Max relented, "she can stay with us for now." He had to admit Liz was right. It did seem that Cuerena had lived a miserable life on Earth and it was up to them to make it better. "We don't have a room for you but we can get a sofa-bed or something. I don't know what you'll do with yourself, maybe you could enroll in classes but we don't have to decide right now. We'll tell our neighbors you are an old friend or a cousin but we'll have to do something about your name. It's too unusual. We should change it to something more common, Sarah or Sandy or something." He turned to the shape shifter, "Haven't you ever used a more human name?"

Cuerena nodded, "I have used many names..."

"I know Max," Liz interrupted with a smile, "we'll call her Serena."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


In the next few months, Serena attended classes with Max and Liz so she could stay close and protect them.

Max continued to keep her at arms length, sometimes bringing up the subject of her getting her own place, but he never took any action to force her out.

Liz was less suspicious and welcomed her into their lives and they became good friends. Serena was much more advanced in all kinds of science and she and Liz would talk for hours. Serena was careful not to mention her life on Antar, fearful it would bring up memories of Zan and Ava and there was no reason to tell Liz about that. With Liz's help, Serena also learned about Max and his reasons for wanting to leave his other life behind. Liz helped her to understand him better and she accepted his decision to stay on Earth.

Max often worked late and he was glad Serena was not only a companion but a protector too. He didn't worry about Liz when she was with the shape shifter and that was the main reason he let her stay.

At Max's suggestion, Serena took a job where Liz worked, and with the three of them working through the summer, they would be able to afford a bigger apartment in the fall.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, May 15th, 2004)
(Boca Raton, FL)

Tess finished the last of her drink and replaced the empty glass onto the table beside her. "Kathy," she called to the maid. "Kathy, I need another ice tea."

"Right away ma'am," the woman said, as she took the glass and hurried away.

Tess stretched out on her lounge chair and glanced at the shimmering water of her pool. This is the life, she thought to herself.

It had been so easy using the money Nasedo had gathered over the years, to create the appearance of great wealth and buy this house on the beach. It was certainly different from some of the places she had lived with Nasedo over the years. Even though he had squirreled away large sums of money, Nasedo forced them to live within the income of the individual he was impersonating.

Kathy returned with the iced tea, "Is there anything else ma'am?"

"Not right now," Tess dismissed her with a wave of her hand. She tossed her long, blonde curls over her shoulder and looked down at her tan, bikini-clad body. If Max could only see her now.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, October 25th, 2004)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

"General, we are receiving a message from just beyond the edge of the solar system. The troop ship is requesting the information for evading Earth's defenses."

"So send it to them," Nicholas barked.

"Yes sir," the Lieutenant quickly agreed.

"I am surrounded by fools," Nicholas bemoaned. "I hope the new troops are a little more on the ball. Maybe they can teach you something," he ranted, addressing no one in particular. He turned and strode out of the room. "I want to know the minute they arrive," he yelled over his shoulder, "and tell Corporal Raltos to come to the communication room immediately.

Nicholas entered the communication room and waited impatiently for Raltos. He had waited over fifty years for this moment and finally it was here. He felt confidant Khivar's plan would work and work quickly. They would be heading back to Antar in a matter of days.

Raltos entered the room and Nicholas motioned to a chair. He placed a hand on the Corporal's forehead and sent a burst of energy into him. After a few minutes Raltos sagged slightly and then jerked to attention, and Nicholas greeted his lord formally. "Your Majesty, the troops will be on Earth in a matter of minutes."

"Excellent," said Khivar. "We don't know what was salvaged from Zan's transport after the crash so we must assume he has monitoring capabilities. Wait until the troops arrive and then issue an invitation to Zan and his party to attend the peace talks."

"And if they don't respond?" Nicholas asked.

"I am sure they will respond if the invitation is worded correctly."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Nicholas tuned the trithium amplification generator to the transmission frequency used by the Tageion royalty on Antar and spoke the words that Khivar had given to him.

"Zan Tageonant, this is General Calles Nicaron. His Majesty Khivar Roistar invites you to attend a peace conference to discuss a cessation of the hostilities that have plagued our planet. Khivar wishes to extend a hand of peace at a time and place of your choosing."

"Of course the discussion will include terms for your return to Antar ceremonially accompanied by a legion of troops and one of Khivar's greatest warships that is currently in orbit around this planet."

Nicholas paused for effect and couldn't help a small chuckle before continuing, "We eagerly await your reply."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Pod Chamber)

The two orbs emitted a bright shaft of light upon receiving the signal, but there was no one in the chamber to see it.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The home of the Dupes)
(New York, NY)

The sudden light that burst from the orb surprised Lonni and she practically fell off the couch. She had never seen the orb do anything, and after all of these years suddenly it had come to life. Serena had told them she would contact them through the orb if it became necessary and had taught them how to use it, and Lonni assumed it must be her.

Lonni took the orb in her hands and pushed a stream of power into it. The message started immediately.



Zan Tageonant, this is General Calles Nicaron. His Majesty, Khivar Roistar invites you to attend a peace conference to discuss a cessation of the hostilities that have plagued our planet. Khivar wishes to extend a hand of peace at a time and place of your choosing.

Of course the discussion will include terms for your return to Antar, ceremonially accompanied by a legion of troops and one of Khivar's greatest warships that is currently in orbit around this planet.

We eagerly await your reply.



Lonni smiled. Khivar had finally found her. She could return home and reclaim her life at his side.

She pushed another stream of power into the orb as she spoke, "This is Vilondra Tageonant. I don't know what Khivar wants but I will help in any way I can. I just want to go home."

The answering voice came through the orb immediately. "Vilondra, how lovely to hear from you."

"What do I have to do to go home?" she asked aggressively, getting right to the point.

Nicholas' laugh came through the orb, "The same Vilondra I see."

"I don't remember everything from my other life but I do remember Khivar and I remember what it was like to be Vilondra. I want that life, and I'll do what I have to, to get back."

"Well Vilondra, why don't we meet and maybe we can make a deal that will be mutually beneficial."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, October 30th, 2004)
(New York, NY)
(A Sidewalk Café)

Nicholas sat across the table from Lonni. "Well," he started casually, "why don't you tell me about your life here. You live in New York..." he trailed off waiting for her to continue.

"Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes, "we live in New York. Look, can't we get to the point. I didn't come here to reminisce."

Nicholas held up his hand, "Indulge me, please."

Lonni sighed, "Fine. Zan, Ava, Rath and I have lived in New York our whole lives. Until about two years ago a shape shifter lived with us as our protector."

"And where is this shape shifter now?" Nicholas asked casually.

Lonni shrugged, "Don't know. Said she had stuff to do and we were old enough to look after ourselves."

Nicholas absorbed the information without comment, "Did the shape shifter tell you about your past?"

Lonni shook her head, "She never would really say much. She told us we would remember in time but I am the only one who remembers very much."

"And do you remember me?" Nicholas asked.

"A little. I remember that you are Khivar's most trusted General." She dropped her head and looked through her eyelashes seductively, "And I remember that you used to look at me."

Nicholas smiled. It was just as the scientists had told them. Lonni didn't remember what had happened just before her death. "You were very beautiful," Nicholas said with a shrug, and then quickly changed the subject. "Can you contact your shape shifter?"

"No, she said it wouldn't be safe, so she didn’t tell us how to get a hold of her. What is it with all the questions about the shape shifter?"

"We need to find her,” Nicholas purred. “She would be part of any deal for you to go home."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, November 1st, 2004)
(Copper Summit, AZ)
(Onboard the Leptus)

"You have found Vilondra?" Khivar asked, through Corporal Raltos' borrowed mouth.

Nicholas shook his head, "No, it was the duplicate. She calls herself Lonni."

"How can you be so sure?" Khivar demanded.

"They were guarded by only one protector who left them almost two years ago, with no way to contact her."

"To go and help protect the real Royal Four," Khivar finished, disappointedly. "And you have not received any other response because the shape shifters have warned the real Royal Four about using the communicators."

"I also asked Lonni about the Granolith but she had never heard of it.” Nicholas shrugged, “She is useless."

Khivar sighed, "It would be expedient to eliminate all clones of the Tageonant line. Perhaps she could be useful in luring the other duplicates into a trap."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, November 4th, 2004)

Lonni woke up to a throbbing pain in her head and tried to raise her hand but discovered she was shackled to a chair. She cracked her eyes and quickly looked around the unfamiliar room but she had no idea where she was. She pulled at her bonds but they held her tightly. For a moment, she thought that maybe Rath was playing a joke on her but then she remembered going to meet Nicholas.

She had gone to the address he had given her and he had been waiting inside, but he hadn't been the only one. She had been quickly surrounded, and then everything had gone black. For the first time in her life, Lonni was scared and she struggled against the bonds, attempting to use her powers to loosen the handcuffs, but nothing happened.

The door opened and Nicholas stepped inside. "Oh good, you're awake."

"What kind of game are you playing Nicholas?" Lonni asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"There's no game, Lonni," Nicholas said, as he approached. "You have information and I want it."

Lonni smiled, "Well, there is no need for the fancy bracelets. I will tell you whatever you want to know."

Nicholas placed his hand on her head, "Yes you will, but this method is much faster."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Lonni strode into the abandoned sewer tunnel she called home and stopped at the sight of Rath lounging on the sofa.

He looked up from the hockey game he was watching, "Where've you been?"

"Out," she said, glancing around the room. "Where’s Zan and Ava?"

"Don't know, lover." Rath shrugged as he rose from the sofa and stalked purposefully toward her, "So why don't you come over here for a little somethin'-somethin'."

Lonni closed the distance between them quickly and as Rath reached for her, she raised her hand between them and shot a burst of power into his chest. Rath's eyes widened in shock and he sank to his knees as Lonni shifted into a boy before him.

"Goodbye, lover," Nicholas said, as he watched Rath take his last breath and fall to the ground. He called out to the troops waiting in the tunnel, "Come on in."

Greer stopped next to Nicholas and motioned to Rath's body, "Do you want us to clean that up?"

Nicholas shook his head, "No, leave him." He motioned to the wall near the entrance, "We will wait there and when Zan and Ava come in and see him lying there, they will rush past us to help him and they'll be dead before they know what hit them."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, November 5th, 2004)
(Lafayette, CA)

Nicholas and Ida stopped outside the door to the SETI Institute. Neither of them had been there since Courtney had been assigned to the Institute but the new technology that had arrived on the transport from Antar was worth the trip. Khivar had sent a new type of receiver that was capable of tracing signals being received. There were unsure if it would function in the Earth's atmosphere but Nicholas was hopeful Courtney could find a way to make it compatible with the SETI array. If it worked, all Nicholas had to do was send a message on the royal frequency and they would be able to detect where the Royal Four were when they received it.

Nicholas looked up at Ida, "Okay, turn on your best small town idiot routine."

At the reception desk, Ida gave the attendant her best bumpkin smile and switched on her thickest drawl. "Howdy ma'am. I was wondering if you could help us," she started. "Me and my son, Nicholas here, are visiting from out of town. Now my sister's daughter works in the computer department and it's her birthday," she said, motioning to the brightly wrapped package Nicholas was holding, "and I thought it would be fun if we could surprise her."

The attendant smiled, "Tell me her name and I will call her to the desk and you can surprise her."

"Isn't that nice?" Ida asked Nicholas. "The kind lady will help us with our surprise."

Nicholas gave the attendant his most practiced innocent look, "Thank you ma'am. My cousin is Courtney Banks."

The attendant checked her phone list and then a frown crossed her features and she re-checked it. "I don't see a Courtney Banks. Let me call the head of the department, he will know where she is."

She reached for the phone and dialed and after a brief conversation, replaced the receiver. "I'm sorry but it seems that your niece has not worked here for about four years."

Ida put a hand to her mouth, "Oh dear, surely I couldn't have gotten that muddled. Thank you for your help, ma'am," she said, as she took Nicholas by the hand and headed for the door.

Once they were outside, Ida dropped Nicholas' hand, "What do we do now, Sir?"

"We find out what Courtney has been up to these last few years." Nicholas said as he reached into his pocket, withdrew his amplifier and entered Courtney's code. When she answered, he spoke into the device, "Courtney, how have you been?"

"Fine, Sir," she answered.

"How is SETI?" he asked.

"It's great."

"Good, glad to hear it," he said looking at Ida, with a raised eyebrow. "I have a new technology that might help us in our search for the Royal Four. I thought I would come out there for a visit and bring it to you, but right now I have so much to do and I might not be able to make it for a week or two."

"Oh, um, no, no Sir, don't come here," Courtney stuttered. "I mean, you have so much to do and I could use a vacation. It would be nice to see Copper Summit again."

Nicholas nodded, knowing he had given her no choice but to return. "Well, we will expect you tomorrow then? At the UFL?"

"Yeah. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon."

Nicholas deactivated the amplifier and looked at Ida, "Let's get back to Copper Summit. We want to welcome our prodigal home in style."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, November 6th, 2004)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Courtney entered the main hall of the Universal Friendship League and was immediately grabbed from behind.

Nicholas stepped out from behind a curtain on the dais, "Secure her hands. We don't want any more heroic suicides."

Greer and Walt shackled her tightly between two metal poles as Nicholas approached. "So Courtney," he sneered, "what have you been up to these last few years? Obviously you haven't been in California at SETI. Would you like to just tell me or should we do it the hard way?"

Courtney pulled at her shackles frantically, but they wouldn't give. She knew Nicholas would take all of her memories and kill her and there was nothing she could do. She motioned for him to come closer and when he stopped a few inches away, she smiled, "I think I see a chest hair, Nicholas. Way to go."

Nicholas smiled, "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." He placed his hand on her head and started to sort through the information of her memories. He ripped through her mind causing as much pain as he could, but when he saw where she had been, he stopped in surprise. He had suspected her of being a traitor but to find out that she had been in collaboration with the Royal Four for the past four years was an exciting bonus.

"You always were the social butterfly, Courtney. Always the first to make new friends." He laughed as he turned to the others in the room, "She has been in contact with the Royal Four." He motioned to Ida, "Get a recording device. I want to make sure to get every detail."

When Ida returned, Nicholas replaced his hand on Courtney's head, "So let's see what's going on with the Royal Four." He carefully sifted through her memories of the last few years, gleaning every piece of information she had, and spoke aloud for the recording device as the pictures flashed through his mind.

"Three of the Royal Four have been in Roswell the whole time," Nicholas said with a laugh. "Practically right under our noses."

"Zan and Vilondra are called Max and Isabel Evans. They were adopted by humans, who still don't know what they are. Max has married a human named Liz and they are attending Harvard." He looked at Walt with a shrug, "Harvard, that's impressive."

Nicholas returned to his task, "Isabel is attending the University of Las Cruces. Rath is called Michael Guerin and works as a fry-cook in a restaurant owned by Liz's parents." He raised an eyebrow and the others laughed.

Nicholas continued reciting the details of their lives in Roswell, recounting how each of the humans became involved and how Courtney was revealed to them.

Courtney struggled to block Nicholas, but it was no use. She just didn't have enough power to stop him.

Finally, when Nicholas was convinced that he had gathered every piece of information, he released her and turned to Walt. "Unfortunately she doesn't know where the Granolith is and their Ava, now called Tess Harding, left town in a jealous fit because Max married the human. But we have found the missing shape shifter and she is the last one."

Greer motioned to Courtney, "Do you want me to alert the troops?"

Nicholas shook his head, "No. It's just a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving and according to Courtney's memories, the whole gang will be coming home for the holiday. We'll wait until they are all together and then lead the Royal Three and the humans into a trap.

"No," Courtney screamed. "You can't! Please!"

Nicholas smiled, "It seems that Courtney has a bit of a crush on the former General." He turned back to her, "Sorry Courtney," he mocked, using her own words, "I guess you wasted fifty years for nothing after all." He nodded once at Walt over her head.

Walt picked up a convenient crowbar and slammed it into Courtney's back, smashing the seal on her husk and she disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Nicholas pulled his amplifier out of his pocket and used it to signal the warship orbiting in the shadow the moon. "Major Tratis, this is General Nicaron."

He was answered immediately, "Yes General?"

"We have located three of the Royal Four. I am laying a trap for them and I want your troops ready in two weeks time."

"Of course, General," Tratis spoke into the amplifier. He deactivated it and turned to Lieutenant Zaptfa at his side, "Have you tried on your skin?"

The Lieutenant shook his head, "No, not yet."

"They are horribly uncomfortable," Tratis said.

"Yes,” the Lieutenant agreed, “I heard some of the men complaining."

"Nicaron told me that it took them a while to get used to the skins when they first arrived on Earth but these new skins we have are much more advanced. We have a couple of weeks until we are needed. I don't think it is necessary to make the troops get into the skins yet, they can't be that difficult to use."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Crashdown, Cafe)

Michael picked up the ringing phone, "Hello?"

"Michael, this is Courtney," she whispered.

Michael sighed, "What do you want? And why are you whispering?"

"I can't talk any louder. I was called back to Copper Summit and something is going on."

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"I don't know yet, but I will get back to you as soon as I find out."

"Hey, Courtney," Michael said, suddenly concerned.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, I will." Nicholas put the phone down and turned to his senior staff, "Okay, let's put this plan together, so we can get off this stinking planet."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Wednesday, November 24th, 2004)

Liz looked out the window of the plane taking herself, Max and Serena back to Roswell for Thanksgiving. Usually she loved this time of year, getting caught up in the spirit and warmth of the season, but this year was different.

She'd had a bad feeling ever since Michael had told them about Courtney's phone call and the feeling intensified with every day that passed. Something was terribly wrong.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, November 26th, 2004)
(Crashdown Cafe)

Michael hung up the phone and turned to Max and Liz, sitting at the counter. "That was Courtney again. She's coming back tomorrow and she has something big she needs to tell us."

Max nodded, "Okay, I'll tell Isabel. Where and when does she want to meet?"

Michael scratched at his eyebrow, "She said it was really important and the humans should be there too."

A shiver of fear ran through Liz, "Did she say what it was?"

"No," Michael said softly and then frowned trying to shake off the sound of worry in Liz's voice. "I'm sure she was totally over-reacting."

"Yeah," Liz agreed, with a weak smile.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas stood before his troops and outlined the plan on a diagram, pointing to the various locations as he spoke. "Tomorrow at ten o'clock, three of the Royal Four, five humans and a shape shifter will arrive. We have more than enough troops to take them alive and that is exactly what I want. We will wait until they have all entered the building before surrounding it. We don't want to risk being seen too early or they may escape."

He pointed to a group of the soldiers in the front, "I want you to take their rear, blocking their escape from the front door." He pointed to two other groups, "You will take up positions at the side entrance and you will take the back of the building."

Nicholas motioned to his senior staff standing next near him, "Walt and Greer will select some of you for surveillance of their houses in case of an escape. You will be fully briefed by them. And our new arrival, Major Tratis, will be selecting others to man the roadblock." Nicholas turned back to the main group of the troops, "The rest of you will be concealed in the foliage around the buildings to prevent any escapes."

Nicholas looked out at the sea of new faces, the newly arrived, untried troops. He had almost refrained from using the new troops, but Major Tratis had assured him they were some of Khivar's best men. "Some of you have never been in my command before and only know me by reputation. Let me assure you that every word of my reputation has been earned. I do not tolerate failure. So I will reiterate my main goal again so there are no misunderstandings. I want all of them taken alive. Any powers used will be of the non-lethal variety and just in case you don't realize how serious I am, any deviation from my orders will be punished by death."

He paused to let his word sink in, "Are there any questions?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 6


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, November 27th, 2004)

Max stopped the Jeep next to the other cars in front of the old soap factory on the outskirts of town, where Courtney had suggested they meet. Maria's Jetta was there and the Sheriff's cruiser was parked next to Courtney's ancient Volkswagen Bug. Max glanced at his watch, it was just ten o'clock and he, Liz and Serena were the last ones to arrive.

Liz had been apprehensive about this meeting since they had heard about it and even though she had been trying to block it, her tension had been filtering to him through their connection. Max looked at her and noticed that her eyes were darting around as if she were searching for signs of danger. "It will be okay," he said as he took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Liz forced a smile to her lips, "I hope you're right."

They exited the Jeep and headed toward the door and Liz released a tension-filled sigh when she saw the others gathered inside; Alex and Isabel, Michael and Maria, Sheriff Valenti and Kyle and finally Courtney. At least everyone was okay and she allowed her eyes to roam over the room as they took their seats on some overturned crates. The place looked basically the same as the last time she had been there for the party during the heat wave, all those years ago. They were in the same large room where the sound equipment had been set up, and Liz could still see signs of the fire on the wall and ceiling.

Courtney waited until they had taken their seats to speak, "I am glad you could all come today because I have something very important to tell you."

Suddenly the door slammed shut behind them and a dozen people with outstretched arms blocked their escape.

Michael swung back to face Courtney, "What's going on here?"

Courtney lips moved but it wasn’t her voice that came from her mouth. "Quite obviously it's a trap," Courtney said, as she morphed into a boy, "and you have walked right into it."

"Who are you?" Max demanded.

Nicholas smiled, "On this planet I am called Nicholas but don't let my outward appearance fool you. I am in command of the skin army, and on Antar I am Khivar's right hand."

"General Nicaron," Serena said softly, with a touch of awe in her voice. She had recognized the boy as the one she had seen in New York all those years ago but she had never known who he really was.

Nicholas nodded, "Give the shape shifter a cigar."

"What do you want?" Max asked.

"What do I want?" Nicholas asked, as he paced before them. "What do I want? Well," he said, scratching at his chin, "I think I'll start small, like the location of the Granolith."

Max shook his head, "We don't know what that is."

Nicholas laughed, "Oh come now Zan, or should I call you Max? You really don't remember anything from your other life do you?"

Max didn't answer and Nicholas continued, "I have the ability to take any information from anyone's mind. Courtney's memories were particularly helpful in laying this trap for you. It was careless of you to reveal so much to an enemy soldier, but you always did put your trust in the wrong people. She knew everything about you, except where to find the Granolith."

Nicholas motioned to the group, "But some of you must know where it is. I thought I would start with the humans, maybe your wife, Liz. Of course my mind probe does have the nasty consequence of killing humans most of the time. But what can you do?" he asked with a shrug. "If the humans don't know anything then I will move on to the former General, now fry-cook, Michael, then your protector..."

As Nicholas spoke, Max made eye contact with Serena, Michael and the Sheriff, motioning to the skins behind them, and then he looked at Isabel, motioning to Nicholas. Then he spoke to Liz across their bond. Get Maria and Alex out of here.

He didn't wait for an answer, charging forward with a yell, and the entire room erupted into chaos.

Nicholas used his powers to knock Max aside but Isabel tackled him and they fell to the floor.

Liz grabbed Maria and Alex and yelled to the others, "Let's get out of here." She pulled Maria toward the back exit and Alex followed closely behind them. Another door to the side burst open and more skins poured into the room. The first few through the door stumbled and fell, blocking the entrance and the skins behind them shot wild bursts of energy at the humans, knocking Liz to the floor.

Max got quickly to his feet just as Liz fell. He grabbed a piece of wood off the floor, swinging at the skin closest to him, trying to get to Liz.

Serena and Michael used one burst of power after another, destroying the husks and the enemy soldiers inside. The skin soldiers continued to stumble in through the door, sending bursts of energy humming past Michael's head and he knocked aside their outstretched hands.

The Sheriff and Kyle had both grabbed pieces of wood and were fighting back-to-back fending off their attackers, trying to clear a way to the door.

Isabel struggled with Nicholas on the floor, desperately attempting to hold his deadly hands away from her. He was stronger than she thought and they rolled from side to side, each trying to get the upper hand.

Alex yanked Liz to her feet and they ran toward the front door. Alex turned just in time to see a group of soldiers with outstretched hands firing at them, and he pushed Liz and Maria aside, as three blasts simultaneously hit him in the chest and slammed him against the wall.

Serena fought her way to the side door, where more soldiers were coming through, and used her powers to push them out and sealed the door shut. Then she headed to do the same to the back door.

Max could feel Liz's pain through their bond and rushed to her side. "Michael, quick over here," he called as he ran.

Liz and Maria were kneeling next to Alex, and as Max dropped to the floor beside them, a gasp of horror escaped him. Alex's neck was at an unnatural angle and a pool of blood was quickly forming under his head. Max took Alex's damaged head in his hands and when he felt the bones protruding from the back of his neck, he knew there was no hope. He shook his head sadly, and motioned to Michael. They pulled Liz and Maria to their feet and headed for the front door.

Kyle destroyed the last skin soldier and turned to see Isabel struggling with Nicholas. He reached them just as Nicholas used his powers to throw Isabel away from him. Her body slammed into Kyle and they were both propelled back into the wall, the burnt boards breaking under their combined weight. Dazed by the blow to his head, Kyle watched blearily as Isabel got to her feet and held out her hand to him. He tried to roll over, but his movement dislodged the precariously leaning boards, and the wall and ceiling collapsed on top of him and Nicholas.

Isabel jumped back, as the ceiling fell and a cloud of debris filled the room, unable to believe what had happened.

The Sheriff ran forward, "NO!" He started to pull at the pieces of board that covered his son but the rest of the structure started to fall and he was forced back.

"Everybody out!" Max yelled as he pushed Liz toward the door. "Serena, get the Sheriff out of here."

Maria's Jetta exploded as they ran out into the parking lot and they were rushed by a large group of skins. Max used his shield in a burst that threw the skins back, and the gang ran to the two remaining cars to make their escape. Max yelled to Michael and Serena, "Go with the Sheriff!" He, Liz and Isabel climbed into the Jeep and Max started it and turned toward the entrance.

Skin soldiers emerged from the bushes surrounding the buildings and sent blasts of energy at the cars, and Michael and Serena shot back with deadly accuracy.

Isabel looked around, her voice frantic, "Where's Alex?"

Liz turned to her with tear-filled eyes but didn't have to say a word.

"NO!" Isabel screamed. "Not Alex!"

Max slammed on the breaks. The skins had constructed a roadblock that completely cut them off from the parking lot exit and he couldn't see a way past.

The Sheriff stopped his cruiser next to the Jeep and yelled through the open window, "Follow me. I know an old fire road in the back."

They turned the cars and headed back past the buildings as more and more skin soldiers emerged. The Sheriff ran down several skins who were blocking their way, sending their bodies flying. Energy blasts streaked through the air and struck both vehicles as they drove; one shattering the back window of the Sheriff's cruiser.

As the vehicles rounded the building, they passed the cars the skins had hidden and Serena and Michael sent blast after blast into them, causing as much damage as possible. One car exploded, causing a chain reaction that engulfed several others in a massave explosion, and the Sheriff increased his speed as debris rained down around them.

The skins ran around the building and got into the remaining cars to pursue their escaping prey.

The Sheriff drove as fast as he could on the dusty road and still keep the cruiser under control. He felt tears come to his eyes and angrily wiped them away. He couldn't believe Kyle was really gone but he had seen the ceiling collapse on top of him and he knew there was no way anyone could have survived.

Isabel watched with growing rage as the skins' vehicles pulled nearer and nearer to them. The skins had killed Alex and they would just as easily kill all of them too but she wouldn't let that happen. She concentrated on building a tremendous amount of energy, letting the power of her anger work for her. Then she stretched out her hand and sent a crackling, black ball into the front of the closest car, surprised when it cut a hole completely through the vehicle and embedded itself into the truck following it, causing both cars to explode.

The swirling dust kicked up by the cars' tires and the smoke from the explosions obscured Isabel's view of the road behind them, but as they continued into the desert, she couldn't detect any sign of pursuit. After a few minutes she turned to Max, "I think we lost them for the moment."

Max nodded, "Liz have you got your cell phone?"

Liz wiped at her eyes, "Yeah."

"Call Valenti."

Liz dialed and Maria's voice came over the phone, "Liz?"

Liz spoke into the phone, "It looks like we have lost them for now but we have to find a safe place."

"We can't go home," Max said.

"Was that Max?" Maria asked. "Did he say we can't go home?"

"He's right," Liz agreed. "Nicholas said he read Courtney's mind. The skins know everything she knew. They know who we are and where we live, and they are probably waiting for us at home."

Liz heard Maria repeat her words to the others in the car and she heard Michael's reply, "Then we gotta keep driving."

Max spoke to Liz, "Ask Serena how likely it is that the skins would be able to monitor our cell phone conversation."

Liz listened to Maria repeat the question and Serena's answer, "Serena checked Valenti's phone and said it’s not bugged. She thinks the skins didn't bother because they thought they had the perfect trap. She also says it would be almost impossible for them to listen to the call because of the amount of cellular traffic on various frequencies."

"Okay," Max started, "we need to figure out where to go."

Liz heard Maria tell the others what Max had said and then Valenti's voice came across the phone, "There is a track that connects to this road going south, and eventually hooks up with 285. We can keep going south and drive through to Texas."

Liz repeated what the Sheriff said and Max agreed, "We should head for one of the larger cities. The small towns will be too easy to search and maybe we should stay away from the main roads, just in case."

Maria relayed what Max said and Valenti answered, "That sounds like a good plan. There are fire roads running all through the backcountry. If we head west when we reach Artesia we can take the back roads through the National Forest and down along the boundary of Fort Bliss almost straight into El Paso. It's a big enough city to hide us for a few days until we decide what to do. The trip will take longer than following the highway but Max is right, they might be searching the main roads."

Max agreed with Valenti's plan, "Okay. That's what we'll do. But we need to change the colors and license plates of these cars before we hit the main road. We should switch cars as soon as possible and we'll have to stop in Artesia for gas."

As they watched the Sheriff's cruiser, the lights on the roof disappeared, the white paint swirled into a dark blue and the license plate numbers changed.

Isabel worked on the Jeep. She altered the grill to a more modern style and changed the dull khaki to a glossy black, the trim to chrome, and finished with a new license plate.

Max spoke to Liz, "Tell them we should change our clothes and when we stop in Artesia each group should go to a different gas pumps and stay apart. Someone might remember a large group meeting at the gas station."

Liz spoke up, "Maybe we should change our hair too, make us blondes and them brunettes. It would help to separate us even more."

Max nodded, "Good idea."

"Max," Isabel said, from the back seat, "what about our parents? If the skins know who we are and where we live then our parents could be in danger. We have got to warn them to leave."

Liz turned to Max, "If they know everything Courtney did then they are aware that our parents don't know what is really going on. That's why Nicholas made sure we were all there today because we all knew the truth."

Max tried to reason through the problem aloud. "If we do call them and tell them to leave, what would we tell them? If they know the truth, we put them in even more danger. And there is no way they would just leave their lives behind unless there was a really good reason."

"You're right," Isabel agreed sadly, "what could we tell them? They would never believe us."

Maria had been relaying their conversation and suddenly spoke up, "Liz, Serena says that she believes our parents will be safe. She thinks the skins will watch them hoping we will contact them."

Liz told Max and Isabel what Serena said, and voiced her agreement. "I think Serena is right. They will try and track us down again and the only lead they have is our parents."

Isabel's voice was almost a whisper, "Then we can never go home again."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Nicholas carefully used his powers to lift the rubble off of himself and shore it up at the same time, not wanting to risk another collapse.

Ida rushed in with a group of soldiers and they held up the wall while she pulled him out, "Are you okay, Sir?"

"I'm fine," Nicholas said, as he got to his feet, brushing himself off. "I saw the wall falling and used my powers to save myself.

The skin soldiers pulled Kyle from the same pile.

"Is he alive?" Nicholas asked.

One of the soldiers pressed his fingers to Kyle's neck and nodded.

"You must have saved him too when the wall fell," Ida said.

Nicholas nodded in agreement, "I'm sure you're right, otherwise he would have been dead for sure." He indicated the other body the soldiers were gathered around, "Who's that?"

The soldiers parted as Nicholas approached and he recognized another of the humans, Alex. Nicholas could tell by the angle of his neck that he was dead and turned his back on him with a nod, "Now, would someone like to tell me what happened?"

"I'm not really sure, Sir," Ida started. "It all happened so fast. One minute there were the sounds of blasts in here and then the building started to collapse. They ran out, and cars were exploding, and they drove off into the desert."

Nicholas nodded and pulled out his amplifier, "Major Tratis, report."

"The road block stopped them Sir, but they drove around the back of the building and into the desert. We tried to pursue but they destroyed most of the cars and by the time we found a way around, they were gone. They were just too powerful for us, Sir."

"Thank you, Major," Nicholas drawled. "Gather the remaining troops and report to me."

Nicholas changed frequencies, "Walt, they have escaped, do you read me?"

"Yes Sir, I read you."

"Keep your troops in place and let me know about any activity." Nicholas turned the amplifier off without waiting for an answer. This whole day had been a disaster from beginning to end and he had a pretty good idea what had gone wrong. He had seen the new troops stumbling and falling over themselves, missing their targets, and it could only mean one thing; they had not adjusted to their skins as Major Tratis had reported.

Nicholas waited until all of the troops were standing around him before he sent a powerful blast of energy into Major Tratis. The Major fell to his knees and Nicholas put his hand on the Major's head to extract his memories. He quickly ripped through the images until he found what he was looking for and then allowed the man to fall to the ground.

He turned to the soldiers before him, "It seems that Major Tratis was not capable of following my orders and his failure has allowed the Royal Three and their humans to escape. And now instead of leaving for home, we are back where we started, searching the country for them."

There were murmurs from the crowd and Nicholas held up a hand, signaling silence. "There is only one way I deal with this kind of failure, so let it be a warning." He motioned to two of his trusted soldiers and they picked up Tratis and held him before Nicholas. Tratis struggled feebly but the attempt just made Nicholas laugh. He concentrated on building his energy and then once again placed his hand on the Major's head and pushed the power into him. Tratis cried out and Nicholas concentrated on building the heat within the husk. For a moment, it appeared as if Tratis were glowing from inside but Nicholas knew it was the flames burning his body, and then the husk exploded into a shower of dust.

Nicholas calmly brushed his soiled hands together and turned to Lieutenant Zaptfa, who flinched. Nicholas smiled, "I don't blame you Lieutenant, you were just following the orders of your superior. But in the future, if your superior disobeys my orders, you report it to me."

Lieutenant Zaptfa swallowed hard, "Yes Sir."

"Now Lieutenant, I want you to take some soldiers into the desert and make a thorough search."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Max studied Liz's sleeping form as he cradled her in the back seat. She was having a bad dream, probably about the events of the day, and he smoothed his hand over her forehead, sending his love to her through their connection to soothe her nightmares away.

He had always been afraid that something like this would happen and he would end up ruining Liz's life. And he did feel guilty for bringing her into his world, but at the same time he felt selfishly happy that she was at his side. He didn't know what he would do without her.

Liz had been the one to suggest leaving the Jeep in Artesia in its original condition and taking another car. It had taken him a moment but then he had seen the brilliance of her idea. When the Jeep was discovered, the skins would waste valuable time searching for them in Artesia while they were making their escape. So he and Isabel had left the Jeep in the parking lot of a twenty-four hour grocery store and stolen an SUV from another lot down the block, quickly changing the color and license plate, before continuing on their journey.

He glanced out the window, noting that the sun had finally set on this long day and Max started to feel himself relax. They had seen no signs of the skins and they were just a few minutes away from their destination. He mourned the loss of Alex and Kyle but he was glad so many had escaped the trap, glad Liz had escaped.

He blamed himself entirely for leading the others into the trap. He was the leader and it was his responsibility to keep his people safe. He should have trusted Liz's burgeoning powers and avoided the place altogether. Instead he had delivered all of them into the hands of their enemies and they had nearly lost everything. And now they were running for their lives, with little money and no resources.

They had been forced to leave their homes and families and everything they had ever known behind them and he feared they could never return. Max's parents were expecting Liz, Alex, Isabel and himself for dinner in just a few minutes. Tears pricked his eyes when he thought of what his mother and father would have to go through, both of children disappearing on the same night. Their families might never know what had happened to them and worst of all, Alex's family would never know he was dead.

But no matter how much he grieved for the others, his mind kept returning to Sheriff Valenti. Jim had lost everything he had ever worked for that day; his home, his job, and his son, and it was all because he had helped them.

Isabel spoke over her shoulder as she concentrated on her driving, "It's almost six o'clock, Max. We were supposed to go to home for dinner."

"I know," Max said softly.

"They'll be so worried when we don't show up." Her voice rose with anger as she continued, "Then they'll find out that all of us have disappeared on the same day and eventually someone will find the Jetta. They'll probably think we were all murdered by a cult and buried in the desert. I mean what other explanation could they possibly come up with. Loving sons and daughters and a Sheriff don't just disappear."

"Iz," Max said softly, only to be cut off.

"I mean it just isn't fair to them. There has to be some way to contact them and tell them that we are okay. There has to be."

"Iz," Max tried again. "We'll find a way. I promise."

"But not Alex's family. They will never know what happened to him," Isabel said with a haunted tone. "Oh Max, if I hadn't gotten involved with him again, this never would have happened. He died because of me."

"No Iz, that's not true and you know it," Max said. "Alex knew there were risks and he still wanted to be with you. Anyway, even if he wasn't with you, the skins still would have tracked him down using Courtney's memories. None of us were safe from them."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Nicholas had sent the remaining troops out to search but they had made no progress. None of the Royal Three or the humans had returned to their houses and there had been no sign of them in the desert or on the roads. And now that it was dark, they would have to wait until tomorrow to continue the search.

Nicholas looked at Kyle, who was still lying on the floor. The healer had been unable to connect with the unconscious human to heal his head injury but he was familiar with human medicine and anatomy and assured Nicholas the injury wasn’t serious, although he had said it could be a few hours before the human awoke. Nicholas nudged Kyle with his foot; the human was the best hope they had of locating the others and the Granolith.

Nicholas sighed, running his hand through his hair, he had delayed long enough. The troops would remain here and continue their search but he would have to return to Copper Summit and report his failure to Khivar. They had been so close to succeeding but it had all fallen apart. Luckily he had a scapegoat. He could truthfully tell Khivar that Major Tratis was to blame for this fiasco. If Tratis had done what he had been ordered, none of this would have happened.

Nicholas turned to Ida, "Bring the car around and send in someone to load the human into it. We are returning to Copper Summit."

Ida motioned to Alex, "What about him?"

Nicholas shrugged, "He's no good to us. Have someone bury him out back."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, November 28th, 2004)
(El Paso, TX)

Max squeezed Liz's hand as he looked at the others seated around them. They had all stayed in the same motel room last night, taking turns at watch, and none of them looked like they had gotten much rest. Max had not been able to sleep all night, trying to decide what he needed to do to keep them all safe.

Liz, Jim and himself had spoken with Serena at length about her abilities and their options, and together the four of them had decided on a plan. At daybreak Max had sent Serena out to get food and a newspaper and now that breakfast was over, it was time to tell the others what they had come up with.

Max addressed the others, "Yesterday was a terrible day, the worst day of my life. Everyone here lost people they love and it won't be easy to move on, but we have to because we aren't out of this yet."

He paused to let the information sink in. "Liz, Jim and I have been trying to figure out what to do and we have come up with a plan but this will affect all of our lives and I think we should all agree. So please don't interrupt until we will tell you what we have in mind, then you can all tell us how crazy we are. Okay?"

The others looked at one another and nodded silently.

"First, our biggest problem is a place to live. We can stay at motels for a while but soon we will be tripping over each other and a big group like ours is bound to be noticed. We think we should look for a house to buy, right here in El Paso."

Max held up a hand as he saw Michael starting to protest, "Yes, I know we are close to Copper Summit and we have no money or credit, but with Serena's help we can set up accounts and enough background information to pass any credit check."

Liz continued, "And as for our location, we think it could be an advantage. It's not like the skins will do door-to-door searches and they will probably think we will get as far away from New Mexico as possible. If we buy a house, we can avoid landlords and it will be easier to find a place that is big enough for all of us, away from nosy neighbors."

The group was silent as Max continued, "Second, we need to get rid of any items that could link us to our past; cell phones, pagers, I.D. and we each need to choose new identities. We can put all of our new information in the Texas government computers and make it look like we have lived here for years."

"Third, I'm sending Serena to New York to get the help of the others. On the way, she could stop in Roswell and mail letters to our families, so at least they know we are alright."

"We could also send an anonymous tip to the police about where to find Kyle and Alex," Liz said softly.

Max looked around the group, meeting each person's eyes, "Finally, Liz and I both hope that we all agree to stay together. A large group could be more easily recognized but we all have different strengths and talents and I would hate to think that our enemies were able to drive us apart. We only have each other now and I don't want to loose any more of my family."

Michael spoke up, "Won't buying a house kinda tie us down?"

"We can always just leave," Liz said, "and the house will revert back to the bank. Then we do the same thing in the next city."

"We know what we are suggesting isn't legal or ethical," Max said, "but we don't see any way around it. We have to have money to survive. We can change one-dollar bills to hundreds, but for some things we will have to manipulate data in the bank's computers. We can't just take several thousand dollars in cash to a bank without arousing suspicion. Liz has volunteered to keep an accounting of everything we spend and if we ever get out of this mess we can pay back the appropriate people."

Max asked, "Any other questions?"

"What are we going to tell our parents?" Maria asked.

"Jim came up with a idea," said Max. "He suggested telling our parents that we were put into the witness protection program. It might seem far-fetched but it would explain why we all disappeared on the same day without telling our families and they would know not to look for us. It is better than the truth because the main thing keeping our families safe is their ignorance."

The others sat silent, digesting the plan. When no one spoke for several minutes Max continued, "Our entire lives have changed literally overnight but we'll try and make the best lives we can. It won't be easy. We can't ever go home again, and probably at first we will have to move around a lot. Everyone will have to agree not to use powers unless it's absolutely necessary, so we don't draw any attention to ourselves. So even if the skins are still looking for us, there will be nothing for them to find. We will blend in with everyone else and hide in plain sight like we always have."

Max looked at each of his friends, "I think we should take a vote now. All in favor of the plan?"

He scanned the room and nodded; there were seven raised hands.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas slammed into his office in the UFL building; he was not in a good mood. After returning from Roswell last night, he'd had to report their failure to Khivar, then he'd stayed up all night directing the search. The houses of the friends and family of the Royal Three were under constant surveillance and he had arranged for the phones to be bugged and the mail to be watched. He had distributed photos to each of his men and kept in continual contact with the officers.

In the early hours of the morning, Max's Jeep had been discovered in Artesia and even though Nicholas suspected it was a decoy, he'd had to concentrate on searching the area. It was now almost dark and still there had been no other sign of them.

Then he had received the news from his new technician at SETI. The technology to trace the reception of a signal would not work on this planet. It had something to do with the amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere and the technician didn't think they would be able to alter it to work.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "What?" he growled.

Ida cautiously pushed open the door, "Sir, the human is awake."

Nicholas jumped out of his chair. It was the first piece of good news he had gotten since the catastrophe in Roswell. He strode into the hall and down the stairs to the sub-basement where Kyle was being held. He motioned for Ida to unlock the cell door and stepped inside, "So you're finally awake."

Kyle recognized his captor as the same person who had laid the trap for them, "What happened?"

"Now that is an interesting story," Nicholas started. "It seems you're friends escaped and left you to our tender care."

Kyle shook his head, "No, they would never do that."

"But you are here in lovely Copper Summit and they're not. How else do you explain it?"

Kyle kept silent and Nicholas continued, "If I were you, I would want revenge."

Kyle shook his head, "I remember, the wall collapsed. My father and the others must have thought I was dead or they never would've left me."

Nicholas smiled, "You sound so sure, but Courtney's memories tell me that you're not one of Max's favorites. To rescue you, Max would have had to endanger his wife, his family, and I don't think he values you enough to do that."

Kyle smiled, "You don't know what you're talking about. Max is too honorable to leave anyone behind, even me."

"So you won't tell me where they are?" Nicholas asked.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

"And the Granolith?"

Kyle shook his head, "I don't know what that is."

Nicholas saw the sudden tightening in Kyle's face and knew he was lying. The human had heard of the Granolith and he knew where it was. He smiled, "You're lying."

"No," Kyle denied quickly, "I have never heard of this Granny--, what did you call it, Granny-ith?"

"It's Granolith, as you well know," Nicholas laughed. "You will tell me one way or another. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"I don't know anything," Kyle repeated.

Nicholas smiled, "Okay, the hard way." He didn't want to risk using his mind probe on Kyle because it so often killed humans before all of the information was gathered, but, Nicholas thought to himself, there were other ways of extracting information. He rubbed his hands together, building power between them and then sent a blast of steady energy into Kyle.

The blast hit Kyle in the chest, knocked him into the wall and held him there, and a scream was torn from him.

After a moment, Nicholas stopped the energy and grabbed Kyle by the hair, forcing him to look at him. "The location of the Granolith?"

Kyle spoke through his teeth, "I don't know anything."

Nicholas raised his hand and sent another powerful blast into Kyle, doubling the length of time.

Kyle writhed on the floor, screaming in agony.

When he released him, Nicholas asked once again, "The Granolith?"

Kyle drew gulps of air into lungs, attempting to breathe past the pain, and raised himself into a sitting position. He looked up into Nicholas' gloating face, "I don't know anything."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, December 4th, 2004)

A dense, black fog obscured everything from her view as she stumbled along the corridor, trying to feel her way. Her hands found an opening and she turned down the new hall. The screams of agony became louder with every step she took but she at least she knew she was finally getting closer. She could feel the hopelessness pouring off of the other and she called out in reassurance, "I'm here. I'm coming." But she could tell that the other was unaware of her presence.

Her progress was stopped by another wall and she pounded her hands on it in frustration. The cries became more desperate as the other's pain increased and then suddenly there was silence.

"No!" she cried. Strong arms encircled her and she fought against them wildly, trying to break away from her captor but the arms were too strong and held her tightly in place. As she continued to struggle, a sense of calm started to surround and settle into her. And after a moment, she heard her name, and the arms holding her were suddenly familiar.

"Liz, wake up!" Max held Liz tightly and strengthened the connection between them, concentrating on bringing her into wakefulness. "It's just a dream. Liz!"

Liz's eyes fluttered open and she stopped struggling, "Max?"

He nodded with relief, "You were having another dream." He gently took her head in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead, "I was scared that you weren't coming back to me, I had a hard time waking you."

They were interrupted as the door crashed open and Michael and Isabel burst into the room with outstretched hands and Jim with a baseball bat right behind them. They looked quickly around but seeing nothing, their eyes fell on the couple in bed.

"What's going on?" Michael asked.

"It's okay," Max reassured them. "Liz just had a bad dream."

The others visibly relaxed and Isabel took a deep breath, "That must have been some dream."

"I'm sorry I woke you," Liz apologized.

Michael smiled, "That's okay. We need something to keep us on our toes."

The others left and Max turned his attention back to Liz, "Are you really okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Let's go downstairs," Max suggested, "I'll make you some tea and you can tell me about it."

Liz nodded her agreement, "That sounds nice."

As they walked down the stairs, Liz looked around the house that had been their home for a little over a week. They had purchased the large farmhouse because it had enough room for all of them and it sat on a large piece of land that was well away from any neighbors. They had quickly arranged for furnishing and other household necessities and had started the difficult task of settling into their new life.

Max settled Liz at the table and went to fix the tea, and Liz allowed her thoughts to roam back to the terrible day when they had lost Alex and Kyle. Of course they had also been forced to leave their friends, families and homes but it would have been more bearable if the two others had been with them. Liz felt tears prick her eyes and quickly wiped them away. She had lost two of her best friends, but Isabel had lost her love, and the Sheriff had lost his son. Her eyes immediately went to Max and she was so grateful that she had not lost him.

"Max, I love you."

Max turned to her with a smile, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?"

"After everything, I'm just glad we're here together."

Max nodded his understanding and gathered her in his arms. "The last week has been very hard and you are having these nightmares."

Liz froze, "I didn't tell you I was having nightmares."

"No, " Max said with a smile, "you didn't want to worry me. But I love you so much and I know you too well for you to be able to keep things from me."

Liz sighed, "I should have known."

"So do you want to tell me what the dream was about?"

"It's awful, Max, it's the same every time. I can hear someone in pain and I try to help, but there is a thick fog and I can't see where I'm going. I try to find my way but the cries become more and more urgent and I can't get there. I'm completely helpless."

Max stroked Liz's hair, "This is about Alex and Kyle and the way we had to leave them. I feel guilty about what happened too but there was nothing else we could have done."

"I know," Liz agreed. "I just can't believe they're really gone."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Wednesday, December 8th, 2004)

Serena had arranged for the final purchase of the house and furniture and made sure Max and the others were settled before she had left them. As Max instructed, she had stopped in Roswell to mail the letters to their families and then she had continued to New York.

Serena had changed her appearance several times as she traveled, and now as she approached the subway tunnel that led to the home of the duplicates, she slipped into an alley and changed into the guise of a homeless man. She descended into the subway and turned into the secret entrance leading to her former abode.

A feeling of dread settled into her as she neared the entrance. Uncharacteristically it was pitch black and totally silent. She continued carefully into the room and reached for the switch, but the light did not turn on when she flipped it. She kindled a light and pushed it up, to hover over-head but the scene the light illuminated shocked her so much, the light nearly went out.

All four of her former charges were laying on the floor, dead. As she approached them, she saw the blast marks on each of their chests. They had been killed by aliens. Serena didn't know how Nicholas had found them but he had, and they had lost their lives. She turned to leave but the orb sitting face down on the table caught her eye and she put it into her pocket.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, December 18th, 2004)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Kyle cradled his broken arm against his chest as he sat on the floor meditating, attempting to lessen the pain. He repeated the mantra over and over, "No suffering befalls the man who is not attached to name and form," but he was having a hard time concentrating.

He had been a prisoner of the skins for three weeks and every evening Nicholas came to torture him. Sometimes Nicholas was alone and sometimes he brought other skins with him. They had various powers that they used to physically and mentally torture him and Kyle never knew what would happen next. It was obvious that Nicholas had hoped to destroy his spirit and loyalty to his friends, but the continual pain had only created a deep hatred in him for the skins and everything they were trying to accomplish.

Last night Kyle had taunted Nicholas into using a wild burst of energy that had snapped both the bones in his left arm and Kyle knew he had found one of the alien's weaknesses. Nicholas was easily moved to anger and it could be used against him.

Kyle could feel the anger building up within him at the thought of the diminutive skin leader and one of the Buddha's sayings suddenly came to him. We live happily indeed, not hating those who hate us, we dwell free from the hatred. He took several deep breaths and attempted to release his hatred as he continued with his chant, "No suffering befalls the man who is not attached to name and form. No suffering befalls the man who is not attached to name and form." Slowly he felt himself relax and the pain started to leave him. He concentrated harder on pushing the pain away through his breathing, and he didn’t hear Nicholas enter the room.

Nicholas watched Kyle as he persisted in his chanting and noticed that he must have broken the human's arm. Usually he was careful not to cause any permanent damage but Kyle's continued refusal to talk had frustrated him and then the human had started to taunt him, and he had simply gotten carried away.

"Is the Buddha helping with the pain," Nicholas mocked, "or has he forsaken you like your friends."

Kyle's eyes snapped open and he felt the hatred rise up again at the sight of Nicholas. He took a deep breath attempting to calm himself and looked Nicholas in the eyes, "Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time, hatred ceases by love."

Nicholas laughed. "I can feel your hatred for me human," he mocked, "and your mantras haven't done anything to lessen it. But you should be directing your hatred at your so-called friends. If they hadn't left you to save their own butts, you wouldn't be here now. They don't deserve your loyalty, they certainly didn't show you any.

Kyle shook his head, "I won't betray my friends."

Nicholas shrugged, "Everyone breaks in the end."

Kyle knew Nicholas was probably right but he couldn't let his friends down, because if Nicholas found them he would kill them all. Kyle knew there was only one way out, he had to make Nicholas kill him before he gave up the information. He gathered his courage and forced himself to laugh as he shakily rose to his feet. "You're wasting your time peewee, because you just don't have it what it takes to get me to talk."

Nicholas raised his hand and sent a blast of energy into Kyle, slamming him into the wall.

Kyle fell to the floor and an intense pain lanced through his broken arm. He almost passed out, but fought through the pain and staggered to his feet. He laughed again. "That was pathetic, junior. Is that the best you've got? No wonder you got banished to this planet, you're completely incompetent. You've been here for more than fifty years and you can't even get information out of a human."

Nicholas roared and sent a powerful stream of energy into Kyle that once again knocked him to the floor.

Kyle writhed in agony as the pain ripped through him. It intensified to a level that he thought was impossible, and even though he fought against it, he screamed. The pain was like a fire that tore through him and he shut his eyes trying to block it out. Kyle felt his strength pouring out of him, and as he slipped into the waiting darkness, a figure appeared before him; Liz.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Liz placed a hand on the wall to guide herself along the corridor. The fog obscured everything and the sounds were the only thing guiding her. The screams were particularly loud and tonight she could feel the pain behind them. But it wasn't only a physical pain, the other had given up and was preparing to die. "I'm here," she called out, "I'll help you."

She hurried forward but was stopped by another wall. "No!" Liz yelled. "Not again." The screams stopped and she quickly felt along the wall looking for an opening, "Where are you?"

There was no answer but there was another scream of pain, more powerful than any of the others, and suddenly the fog lifted. Liz was standing inside a cell with Kyle and Nicholas was killing him.

"No!" she called out, "Stop!" She rushed forward, trying to stop Nicholas but the fog swirled around her and she passed through him. She reached out toward Kyle but she could no longer see him. "No!"

Liz felt herself fall and suddenly woke up in her own bed.

Her movement woke Max and he grasped her by the shoulders, "Liz are you okay? Did you have another dream?"

Liz nodded, "I saw Kyle. I think he's still alive."

Max pulled her to him, "No Liz, he can't be. We saw the building collapse on him."

"I saw him in my dream. He was being tortured by Nicholas. Max it was real, I know it was."

"Liz," Max started gently, "I know it seemed real but it couldn't have been. Kyle is gone."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Ida rushed into the room when she heard Nicholas cry out and there was a look of such feral rage on her master's face that she nearly went back out again. But she knew in his anger, Nicholas would simply obliterate Kyle without realizing it and they would lose the only lead they had. She called out to him, "Sir."

Nicholas didn't respond and she risked stepping closer to him, "Sir! You have to stop. You'll kill him."

Ida's words penetrated Nicholas' rage and he stopped the stream of energy, with a nod to her. "Yes, I got a little carried away."

Ida entered the cell without comment and checked the human for signs of life, feeling relief that he still had a strong pulse. "He's just passed out," she said as she noticed the injury to his arm, "probably because his arm is badly injured. Do you want it repaired or should we leave it like it is?"

Nicholas paused considering the possibilities, "If we leave the arm, it will cause him a lot of pain but he will not withstand as much interrogation." He motioned to Ida, "Send for the healer."

She reached the door before Nicholas' called out to her, "Wait. Tell the healer to fix the arm the human way, set it in a cast. The pain and the cast will serve as a reminder of my power that he will not soon forget."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 7


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, December 21st, 2004)
(El Paso, TX)

Liz idly picked at her dinner as her thoughts consumed her. For three weeks she'd had the same dream but for the last two days, there had been nothing. If Kyle had been alive and trying to contact her, he had been unable to for the last two days and she didn't want to consider what that might mean.

Her gaze automatically fell on the Sheriff. She and Max had agreed not to tell him of her last dream where Kyle had been revealed to her. She knew Max didn't think the dreams were real and she didn't want to cause any false hope in Jim. If Kyle had somehow survived, he had been suffering horribly and there was nothing any of them could do.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Kyle awoke to a dull pain in his head and raised his hand but stopped as he noticed the cast encasing it. His brow wrinkled in confusion. Obviously Nicholas had come to his senses before he had killed him, but Kyle couldn't understand why he had gotten him medical attention. But he did understand that he still had the same problem, he couldn't let Nicholas get the information out of his head. The next time Nicholas came to him, he would simply have to taunt him until he forced the alien to kill him.

Kyle slumped back onto the cot. He had thought he would never wake up again when he slipped into unconsciousness and it really hadn't been as frightening as he had expected. There had been a welcoming darkness where there was no pain and... Liz!

Suddenly he sat up. He had seen Liz. He knew it was her, it felt so real.

Maybe it was a new power manifesting, he thought to himself. Maybe somehow he had tapped into something that connected him with Liz, and maybe he could contact her again. He felt a surge of hope for the first time since his capture. He might just get out of this alive after all.

Kyle sat on the cot in lotus position and concentrated on focusing his energy. He really didn't know how Max and Liz communicated with one another, but he drew from within himself his memory of Liz. He fixated on her personality, her essence, the thing about her that was uniquely Liz, until he could see her clearly in his mind. Then he called out to her, wrapping her name in the energy he had gathered and pushing it into his vision of her.

Liz.

He sat quietly receptive but after a few minutes with no reply, he felt his hope dim briefly. Then he strengthened his resolve and built his energy to try again. Just because it didn't work once didn't mean it wouldn't work. He had faith in Liz and he knew if anyone could hear him it would be her.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(El Paso, TX)

There had been a strange sensation just on the edge of Liz's perception all evening but she just couldn't figure out what it was. It was like the nagging feeling she got when she was forgetting something, but it was subtly different. As she had gotten ready for bed, the feeling had intensified and she had tossed in bed, unable to sleep for more than an hour, trying to discover what was happening.

Finally she drifted into a troubled sleep and once again found herself in the corridors, but this time there was no fog.

Liz.

A voice called her name within her head and she knew instantly it was Kyle. She turned and hurried to the room where she had seen Kyle before and found him sitting on a cot, his eyes closed, obviously in deep meditation. She stopped close to the bars of his cell and reached out to touch them, but her hand went through them. She walked through the bars and reached out to Kyle but she couldn't touch him either.

"Kyle," she said aloud.

Kyle's eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice, and he had a brief glimpse of Liz before his concentration broke. He reached out to her as her image dissolved before him, "Liz!"

Liz woke up immediately. The sensation she'd been experiencing had been just different enough that she hadn't realized what it was, but now she knew it had been Kyle trying to contact her. He had tried to speak to her like Max did, but she hadn't recognized him. She could feel the similarities to her connection with Max but there were differences too and those were what had confused her.

In her mind, she reached for the new thread of connection. It was not as strong as the connection she shared with Max and there was a different flavor to it, as if it were a piece of Kyle, but it was basically the same. Liz brought the link sharply into focus and pushed her thoughts into it. Kyle, can you hear me?

She felt a rush of emotions along the connection but uppermost was anguish. Liz?

Liz felt tears prick at her eyes, Kyle, we thought you were dead.

The skins saved me. But Liz, listen, you've got to get me out of here. They are trying to get the location of the Granolith from me and I don't know how much longer I can hold out.

Do you know where they are keeping you? she asked.

I'm in Copper Summit, but I don't know where exactly.

I'll tell the others and we'll come up with a plan. We'll get you back, Kyle, I promise.

Liz felt his relief through the connection, I never doubted you, Liz.

Liz ended the connection and turned to shake Max awake. "Max, get up."

Max rubbed at his eyes sleepily, "What's wrong?"

"Max, Kyle is alive and we have to help him."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Everyone sat around the table, listening intently as Liz finished her story.

There were tears in the Sheriff's eyes but a smile on his face, "My boy is alive."

Liz nodded, "But we have to figure out a way to get him back, fast."

"It's not going to be easy," Michael said, "to just walk into the skins' stronghold and take back a prisoner, especially when we don't know where he is."

Serena spoke up, "I think Liz can help with that."

"What do you mean?" Max asked warily.

"From what Liz was describing, it sounds like she is developing a new power. Kyle could see her, and she could see what was happening, but she couldn't interact with anything. Typically it is called astral projection. Basically she can send her mind to a different place than her body. If she could do it again, she could simply walk out of the building and see where Kyle is being held."

Liz agreed quickly, "I'll do it."

Max accepted her decision with a brief nod, "We still need a plan to get Kyle out. A layout of the town would be helpful too."

"Um," Isabel started, "Michael and I can help with that."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked.

"Well it's like this Max," Michael started, "Isabel and I went to check out Copper Summit back during the harvest."

"You what?" Max asked incredulously.

"We were careful," Michael assured him. "We hid in the hills outside of town."

Max swallowed his disapproval and focused on the present, "Can you and Isabel draw a map of the city?"

Michael looked to Isabel and then nodded.

"Okay," Max said. "Since the skins are looking for us, maybe we can turn that to our advantage. Somehow we could make the skins think that we are somewhere so Nicholas will send the troops after us."

Michael picked up on the idea immediately, "Yeah, we could make, like a distraction to lure them away from Copper Summit."

"It would have to be good or they wouldn't fall for it," Max said.

"Can't they track the signals from those orbs?" Maria asked. "We could just send a message from like Chicago or somewhere and let them go chasing after us.

"That's not a bad idea," Max said, "but the skins know, that we know the signal can be tracked. They would never believe we would be so careless."

"Unless," Liz said, with a speculative gleam in her eyes, "they thought we didn't know about it."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Liz waited until after three o'clock a.m. to initiate contact with Kyle, hoping that most of the town would be asleep and Kyle would be alone. She called out along the connection, Kyle.

He answered immediately, Liz.

Kyle, are you alone?

Yeah, what's going on?

Remember when you saw me? It's a new power I have. Liz explained. Hopefully I’m going to appear there in a few minutes and find out where you're being held.

Hopefully? Kyle asked.

Well, Liz admitted, I didn't know I was doing it. I thought it was a dream, so I'm not really sure how it works, but I have lots of people to help. We'll figure it out.

Okay Liz, I know you'll do your best. So what's the plan?

If everything goes as planned, we'll get you out of there the day after tomorrow. Liz felt Kyle's relief through the connection. Just hold on a little longer.

I'll be here, Kyle said, unless I decide to step out for a pizza or something.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Isabel waited until she could get Max alone and pulled him aside. "Max, if Kyle is still alive then maybe Alex is too."

Max shook his head but Isabel continued, "They could both be held in the same place, maybe Kyle knows where Alex is or maybe Liz can find him too."

"Iz," Max said gently, "Alex is gone. I saw him."

"No Max," Isabel's voice rose desperately, "he could still be alive. It could have been another skin trick. You just thought he was dead."

Max shook his head again and reached into his pocket, "I was going to give this to you, but it never seemed to be the right time."

He held a folded piece of paper out to her and she hesitatingly took it and smoothed it open. It was the front page of the Roswell Gazette from December eleventh. Isabel looked at her brother, "You told us not to get the Roswell paper so we wouldn't have anything that linked us to Roswell."

"That's true," Max admitted, "but I also didn't want you to see the articles about us, about our families, because I knew it would hurt you. I've had Serena keep up on what was happening in Roswell because we need all the information we can get."

Isabel's hands started to tremble and she asked in strangled voice, "So what's in this paper you wanted me to see?"

Max pointed to an article at the bottom of the page and Isabel glanced down. The headline brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm really sorry Iz," Max said, and left her to read the article alone.

Isabel wiped the tears from her eyes and started to read.




Body of Missing Roswell Teen Found

The body of Alex Charles Whitman was found
yesterday, by the Roswell Sheriff's department,
in a shallow desert grave behind the old Barnet
Soap Factory. The Sheriff's department
received an anonymous tip earlier that
morning leading them to Whitman's remains.
Acting Sheriff Hansen reported that Whitman
had sustained a broken neck and the body had
obviously been there for some time.

Whitman was one of a group of eight Roswell
residents, who disappeared on November 27th
of this year, under mysterious circumstances.
The Sheriff's department is conducting a search
of the area surrounding the soap factory for the
others, but so far, there has been no evidence
pointing to their current location.Others missing
include Roswell Sheriff Jim Valenti Jr. and his
son Kyle; the two adopted children of prominent
local lawyer Philip Evans, Isabel and Max Evans;
Liz Parker Evans, wife of Max Evans and
daughter of Jeff Parker, owner of the local
theme restaurant The Crashdown Cafe.

Also discovered near the soap factory was
the charred frame of a Volkswagen Jetta
belonging to...




The article continued but Isabel dropped the paper to the floor as she dissolved into tears.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Serena, Liz and Max sat around the table and Serena tried to explain to Liz how to use her new power. "You have done this subconsciously, so you know how, you just have to try not to let the conscious part of your brain get in the way. Remember you are not in a corporeal form so you don't have to follow the laws of physics. No door or wall can stop you and gravity does not effect you."

Liz nodded.

"Just close your eyes and focus your energy," Serena said. "Concentrate on the place where you saw Kyle."

Liz closed her eyes and tried to picture the cell with Kyle on the cot, but all she saw was the thick black fog.

Serena continued, "Let his energy guide you to your destination."

With her mind, Liz grasped the connection she had with Kyle and let it propel her. She felt as if she were getting lighter, floating, and then she suddenly gathered speed and the fog thinned as her velocity increased. A rush of images assaulted her, too fast for her to make out, and then she was standing before Kyle.

The room was completely dark, but Kyle sat on the cot as had she expected. He saw her immediately and smiled. Liz longed to stay with him and offer comfort but she wasn't sure how long she would be able to continue, so she waved and turned to the door.

Liz reached out to touch the door and her hand passed through. She took a deep breath and before she could think about it too much, she walked through. Behind it were stairs leading up, and Liz concentrated on lifting her form up through them. She could feel herself becoming lighter and she floated up through two flights of stairs and out into a large room on the main floor.

Liz could see outside through the windows on the double doors across the room and quickly headed toward them. As she reached them, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she knew her time was running short. She pushed herself through the doors and out into the dark street, as the fog started to swirl in around her. She quickly turned around and her gaze settled on the building where Kyle was being held, and her eyes roamed over it, trying to memorize every detail. It was a two-story, yellow brick building, but the thing that stuck uppermost in her mind was the name, The Universal Friendship League.

Liz looked around at the surrounding buildings, studying any landmarks and trying to see the name of the street. She noticed a sign across the street and hurried toward it, but the fog became more dense with every step and Liz felt another wave of dizziness. She wanted to return to Kyle one more time, but she could feel herself weakening. She pushed herself the last few steps, but the fog completely engulfed her before she could read the name of the streets.

Suddenly she was back in her body and reeled to the side, not prepared for the rapid change.

"Liz!" Max cried as her body swayed toward him and he caught her easily. "Liz, are you okay?"

Liz felt Max's strong arms encircle her before she fell and heard the worried tone in his voice as he called her name. She turned to him with a weak smile. "I saw it, Max. Kyle is in the sub-basement of a yellow-brick, two-story building, The Universal Friendship League. But I couldn't stay long enough to see the street it was on."

Liz collapsed into Max as her strength left her and he lowered her to the floor, quickly making a connection to check for injuries. He relaxed only after he was satisfied nothing was wrong with her.

Max's cries brought Michael, Maria, Isabel and Jim running into the room.

Maria rushed to Liz's side, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's just exhausted," Max said. "She'll be alright."

Jim came forward, "Was she able to tell where Kyle is?"

"Yeah, he's in the Universal Friendship League building. She said it was yellow brick, two stories but she couldn't see what street it's on."

"I remember it," Isabel said. "They sent Whitaker that letter, remember? I thought the name was really creepy. It is at the T-intersection of the two main streets."

"Okay," Max said, "you and Michael get to work on a map of Copper Summit. Jim see if you can find a place that will be suitable. Serena get the orb and the other equipment we'll need. After I put Liz in bed I'll come down to help with the rest of the plan."

Max gathered Liz in his arms and headed up the stairs toward their room, with Maria following closely behind.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, December 23rd, 2004)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas rushed into the communication center. His soldiers had just picked up a transmission on the royal frequency and they had been able to pinpoint the location of the origin. Nicholas stopped, barely inside the door, noticing the strange looks on the faces of Ida and Walt and the others gathered there. "What?" he asked.

Walt grinned, "The, um, message, obviously starts in the middle of an argument. He coughed, trying to hold back a laugh and shook his head, "You just have to hear it."

"Okay," Nicholas said, and nodded to the communications officer. "Play it."



"...have to listen to me, Max," Michael shouted.

"Michael, we've already had this argument several times and I don't want to rehash the whole thing again."

"Max, this orb may be the only thing standing between us and death," Michael said dramatically.

"Michael, put the damn orb down. You don't even know what you're talking about."

"We should use this thing to call for reinforcements, call your followers on Antar and the other planets. We can't possibly hope to defeat the skins alone. "

"No, Michael. We aren't calling anyone." Max laughed, "Remember what a bunch of bumbling fools the skins were, falling all over themselves? They must have outnumbered us ten to one. I couldn't believe how easily we escaped them.

Michael scoffed, "Yeah, you saw how many of 'em there were. Maybe we just got lucky that day."

"Lucky?" Max huffed. "We shouldn't even be having this discussion. I decide what we do. I am the King."

Michael laughed, "Some great King you are. Alex, Kyle and Courtney are dead, and we had to leave our homes and everything we've ever known. For hell sakes, Maxwell, we are hiding in friggin' Kansas."

"Not for much longer," Max reminded him. "Remember we're leaving tomorrow just after sunrise. We can't afford to stay in one place too long."

"Yeah, so we're running like a bunch of scared rabbits. If we had the help of our allies..."

Max cut him off, "If we use the orb it will also alert the skins to where we are."

"Well, I say bring them on, we might as well get this over with. What else are we going to do, hide the rest of our lives?"

"No," Max said, "but we need a plan. We can't just walk into the skins' headquarters and have a shoot out, like it's the wild west or something. Besides you can't even control your powers half of the time."

"Hey," Michael said defensively, "I've been practicing and I'm getting better."

"Yeah but you can't control your powers at all when you're upset. Remember all of the windows you accidentally blew-out of the last house, when you and Maria were fighting? Glass was flying everywhere, Michael. It's just lucky that no one was hurt or killed. You don't even know if you could control your powers enough to use the orb," Max scoffed. "So Michael, I'm going to ask you once nicely, to hand over that orb, before I have to take it from you."

"You can try," Michael said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Michael, I'm warning you..."

The voices stopped as several blasts of power sounded. Then there was a loud crash and the transmission stopped.



Nicholas looked around him at the amused faces of his senior staff and they burst into laughter. Nicholas smiled and shook his head, "I always knew Rath was a moron." He turned to the communications officer, "So they're in friggin' Kansas. Do you have the address yet?"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Havensville, KS)

Isabel slipped the orb and the tape recorder into her bag, got into the rented car and dialed a number on her cell phone, "Hi mom. I just wanted to tell you I'm running a little late and not to hold dinner for me."

A woman's voice answered her, "Okay dear, we'll start without you."

Isabel ended the call, put the car in gear and headed north toward Topeka and the airport.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The hills outside of Copper Summit, AZ)

Serena turned off her cell phone, "That was Isabel with the signal."

"Okay," said Max, turning to the others, "they'll have to high-tail it out of here to get to Kansas before tomorrow morning. And hopefully the message we sent and the fact that we escaped him before will make Nicholas angry enough to send most of his troops after us. So all we have to do is wait until they leave and then we go in to get Kyle."

As they watched, the sleepy little town erupted into a maelstrom of activity. Skin soldiers poured out of the buildings and jumped into vehicles, with the diminutive Nicholas at the heart of it all, shouting orders.

Max watched with growing horror at the number of troops. Courtney had told them at the time of the harvest that the skins were down to just over a hundred, but clearly there were more than that in Copper Summit now. Max turned to Serena, "Can you tell how many of them there are?"

"I've counted at least four thousand and there are still more coming out," Serena said. "If the information that Courtney gave you was accurate, Khivar has sent more troops."

"There could be thousands more of them down there," Michael said. "And what's the deal with the cars? Don't they have space ships or something?"

Serena nodded, "They do, but using them even at night is risky. There are people everywhere watching the skies and everybody has a video camera these days. If the U.S. government found out about the skins, their mission would be over. Nicholas would never take that chance."

Max nodded, "Let's just wait and see what happens."

More and more vehicles filled with skin soldiers drove out of Copper Summit until only a handful of people were left standing in the street. Nicholas was obviously giving them orders, gesturing wildly and shouting. Two of the remaining soldiers went into the yellow brick building where Kyle was being held and the others got into two cars and drove north. Finally Nicholas got in the passenger seat of the single remaining vehicle and it headed east with the others.

Max and the others watched Copper Summit for an hour after the skins had left, but there was no activity. Max looked at Liz. He had wanted her to stay in El Paso where he could be sure she was safe, but she had insisted on coming and he had to admit to himself that he was glad. He needed Liz at his side. He felt stronger when she was with him. "Liz, contact Kyle and ask him how many guards are with him."

He turned to the others. "I don't know where those other skins went who drove north, but the town seems to be deserted. This will probably be the best chance we'll get. Jim, you and Michael go in from the west and Serena and I will go in from the south and we'll meet in front of the UFL building. Serena will go in first disguised as Nicholas, we'll take the guards by surprise and get Kyle out as quickly as possible."

"Max," Liz interrupted, "Kyle says there are two guards with him and according to his description they are the ones we saw go in earlier."

"Okay," Max continued, "Liz and Maria will stay here." He held up a hand to stop Liz's protest and continued, "You will stay here to keep watch. If any of the skins come into town and head toward the UFL building you can contact me through our connection."

Liz nodded in agreement.

Max looked at each of the people before him, "Hopefully we'll be in and out quickly and we'll meet at the hotel where we agreed. If anything goes wrong, split up and keep in contact through the cell phones. This won't be like last time. We aren't walking into a trap and Maria and Liz have our backs, but we still need to be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks and keep yourselves safe.” He nodded. “Okay, let's go get Kyle."

Max turned to Liz and embraced her. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Liz forced a smile to her lips, "Be careful."

Serena took Nicholas' appearance and got in the car with Max, who now had blond hair. They drove slowly into the town looking for an ambush, but there was no sign of activity and Max stopped the car in front of the Universal Friendship League building. A curly-haired Michael and a long-haired Jim met them on the front steps of the building and they followed Serena inside.

As they descended the stairs, Max contacted Liz through their connection, Liz, tell Kyle we're coming down the stairs and Serena looks like Nicholas.

Okay, Max. So far everything's clear.

Serena entered the room where Kyle's was being held and two skin soldiers sat at a table playing cards. They snapped to attention when they saw her.

"Sir, we didn't expect you back so soon."

"Change of plans," said Serena dismissively. She motioned to Max, and he and Jim moved past the soldiers to unlock Kyle's cell. She turned back to the skin soldiers, "I have another job for you two."

One of the guards noticed Michael for the first time and raised his hand menacingly as he recognized him, "Hey isn't that..." his sentence was cut off as Jim broke the seal on his husk and he turned to dust. The other skin whirled toward Jim but a blast of power from Serena easily eliminated him.

Max and Jim helped Kyle out of the cell and up the stairs and Max called out to Liz, Is the street clear?

It's clear Max. We haven't seen anyone.

They reached the main floor of the UFL and paused at the outer door but they saw no one. Michael held the doors open for Jim and Max to get Kyle through, and Serena rushed ahead to the car. She opened the door to Jim's car and they put Kyle in the back seat. Max climbed in with Kyle and Jim got behind the wheel while Michael and Serena got into Max's car.

As they drove out of town, Max removed the cast and healed Kyle's arm. In the connection created, he saw a brief glimpse of what Kyle had been subjected to during his time with the skins. He quickly checked Kyle for other injuries but besides some soreness he was okay. "I fixed your arm and I don't see any other damage."

"No physical damage at least," Kyle said tightly.

Max nodded stiffly. Kyle's experience had been similar to what he had been subjected to in the white room but where he had only been tortured for one day, Kyle had suffered for almost a month. "Kyle, I'm really sorry. If you need to talk..."

Kyle nodded, "Thanks for coming to get me Max."

"It was Liz who found you," Max reminded him.

"Yeah and I'm going to give your wife a big hug when I see her."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, December 24th, 2004)
(Havensville, KS)

The bulk of Nicholas' army were setting up positions around the small town while Nicholas and his band of hand-picked soldiers waited to rush Max's hideout. The signal sent by the orb had been tracked to an abandoned granary just outside of town, near the cemetery. Nicholas glanced at the sign just down the road.



Havensville, Kansas
Population 147



Nicholas had to admit that it was a good location to hide out, even if the name of the town was a little hokey. The granary was far enough out of town for them to mostly avoid the locals and even if anyone did notice them, they would probably assume the group of teenagers was a cult. There were two large and four small buildings on the compound, giving them lots of room to hide, but Nicholas was counting on them acting like humans not soldiers. They were probably all staying together in the old farmhouse.

He had watched the compound for about half an hour, but there was no sign of movement, no lights, and it was eerily quiet. Nicholas glanced down at his watch, there was just over an hour until sunrise and he wanted to take Max and the others before they could reach their cars. He spoke into his amplifier, "Is everyone in position?"

All the group commanders reported positively and Nicholas barked orders into his amplifier, "Hold the parameter at all costs but I want all of them taken alive. Teams one through six, move out."

Nicholas led his team into the house and they quickly went from room to room but found no sign of the Royal Three or the others, and as they finished their search, Nicholas realized that a thick layer of dust covered everything in the house. No one had been in there for years. A suspicion started growing in his mind and he spoke into his amplifier, "Groups two through five, report. Any sign of them?"

Each of the group commanders reported negatively.

Nicholas signaled the commanders of the troops at the parameter asking if anyone had attempted to pass, but as he suspected, they answered negatively.

Nicholas changed the frequency on the amplifier and signaled the soldiers guarding Kyle but there was no reply, also as he suspected. Then he signaled the communications room on the ship, calling the leader of the group he had assigned to protect it, "Greer, come in."

He was answered immediately, "Yes Sir."

"Send some men to the UFL building. I think our prisoner has been liberated."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


It had been a subdued holiday season because of Alex's and Kyle's deaths, and the fact that they had been on the run. No one had planned on celebrating or exchanging gifts, but now that Kyle was safe, a feeling of thankfulness and optimism infused the group.

Maria and Liz stopped on the way back from Copper Summit and bought the fixings for a traditional turkey dinner, a small Christmas tree and decorations. While Max and Serena went to collect Isabel from the airport, Liz and Michael prepared a sumptuous feast and Maria and the Valentis decorated the tree.

Later they all gathered around the table and Max stood and raised his glass to give a toast. "This is to remembering absent friends and family. Just because they aren't with us doesn't mean they will ever be forgotten. And to Kyle for his bravery and determination that allowed us to get him back. And finally to all of you." Max looked at each person around the table, "I couldn't have gotten through this without each and every one of you. I love all of you. You are my family now."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Khivar faced Nicholas in Corporal Raltos' borrowed body, "So let me get this straight. You had one of Max's human friends who knew the location of the Granolith in your possession, but you couldn't force him to divulge where it was, because you didn't want to damage his mind. In the mean time, you received a seemingly accidental message from Max that conveniently pinpointed their location. So you sent the majority of the troops to take Max's group, leaving your town and your prisoner relatively unguarded. And while you were gone, Max took back his human."

Nicholas winced. He knew it was his fault but Khivar had made it sound worse than it was, and Nicholas didn't think his master would forgive him this time. He had served Khivar almost his entire life and he was the closest thing to a friend that Khivar had, but Nicholas had no illusions. Khivar would kill him without a second thought if he had outlived his usefulness.

The sudden sound of Khivar's laughter filled the room. It was a terrible sound, joyless, almost maniacal, and Nicholas was afraid to look at his master.

Finally Khivar spoke, "You have to admit it was a daring plan. I'm surprised that Zan came up with it, but maybe the human DNA has given Max some backbone."

"Or maybe it's his human wife," Nicholas offered.

"Yes," Khivar mused. "Zan was so much in love with Ava, it's hard to believe he has cast her aside for a human. This Liz must be something special." Khivar shrugged, "It's too bad we don't know where his Ava went. She would be very helpful, and after Max's rejection, she might be eager to join us."

Nicholas nodded but stayed silent, waiting for Khivar to decide what to do.

"Do you still have the message Max sent?"

"Yes, your Majesty," Nicholas answered formally.

"I would like to hear it for myself."

Nicholas crossed to the console and pressed a series of buttons, activating the message.



"...have to listen to me, Max," Michael shouted.

"Michael, we've already had this argument several times and I don't want to rehash the whole thing again."

"Max, this orb may be the only thing standing between us and death," Michael said dramatically.

"Michael, put the damn orb down. You don't even know what you're talking about."

"We should use this thing to call for reinforcements, call your followers on Antar and the other planets. We can't possibly hope to defeat the skins alone. "

"No, Michael. We aren't calling anyone." Max laughed, "Remember what a bunch of bumbling fools the skins were, falling all over themselves? They must have outnumbered us ten to one. I couldn't believe how easily we escaped them.

Michael scoffed, "Yeah, you saw how many of 'em there were. Maybe we just got lucky that day."

"Lucky?" Max huffed. "We shouldn't even be having this discussion. I decide what we do. I am the King."

Michael laughed, "Some great King you are. Alex, Kyle and Courtney are dead, and we had to leave our homes and everything we've ever known. For hell sakes, Maxwell, we are hiding in friggin' Kansas."

"Not for much longer," Max reminded him. "Remember we're leaving tomorrow just after sun rise. We can't afford to stay in one place too long."

"Yeah, so we're running like a bunch of scared rabbits. If we had the help of our allies..."

Max cut him off, "If we use the orb it will also alert the skins to where we are."

"Well, I say bring them on, we might as well get this over with. What else are we going to do, hide the rest of our lives?"

"No," Max said, "but we need a plan. We can't just walk into the skins' headquarters and have a shoot out, like it's the wild west or something. Besides you can't even control your powers half of the time."

"Hey," Michael said defensively, "I've been practicing and I'm getting better."

"Yeah but you can't control your powers at all when you're upset. Remember all of the windows you accidentally blew-out of the last house, when you and Maria were fighting? Glass was flying everywhere, Michael. It's just lucky that no one was hurt or killed. You don't even know if you could control your powers enough to use the orb," Max scoffed. "So Michael, I'm going to ask you once nicely, to hand over that orb, before I have to take it from you."

"You can try," Michael said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Michael, I'm warning you..."

The voices stopped as several blasts of power sounded. Then there was a loud crash and the transmission stopped.



Khivar scratched his chin as the message ended and spoke his thoughts aloud, "It was a clever plan. I can see why you fell for it, but there may be a grain of truth in it too."

"What do you mean?" Nicholas asked.

"The part about contacting their allies. Obviously they know more of our troops have been sent to Earth. What if they are in contact with the dowager Queen and the rebel forces? They could be planning to bring their own army to Earth."

"It's possible," Nicholas admitted. "But why would they tell us in the message?"

"To throw us off," Khivar said thoughtfully. "If Max already has troops coming to Earth they could arrive and kill all of you before more of our troops got there. If he has the resources, I have seriously underestimated him."

Khivar paced back and forth before the desk, growing angrier and angrier with each step. Suddenly he stopped, slamming his fist on the desk. "We can't let Max get the upper hand now. This whole thing has dragged on too long. I have been complacent and Max is gaining ground.”

Khivar nodded, having made up his mind. “I will send two more legions of troops to you. Until they arrive, keep searching for Max and his group. If you find them before the troops arrive, then proceed with the original plan. But if the troops arrive and you still have not found them, I want you to take that insignificant little planet apart. You will have fifteen thousand of our finest battle-ready troops, armed with the latest weapons, and three warships with full compliments of fighters at your disposal. Destroy anything that gets in your way."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 8


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Over the next few years, Max and Liz and the others settled into a comfortable existence, taking jobs and even going to school. They moved several times to different parts of the country, to avoid discovery.

After Kyle had been rescued, Max had forbidden them from using their powers except in emergencies, fearful of drawing attention to themselves. But Michael and Kyle disobeyed him and practiced secretly.

Liz also guiltily disobeyed Max and used her new power of astral projection to see her parents. She was glad they had finally accepted her marriage before she and Max had left for college. It would have been even more awful if she and her parents had been fighting when she had to go into hiding. Liz missed them terribly and even though they didn't know she was there, it made her feel better to know they were all right. At first, it had been difficult for her to get to them, but with practice she was able to visit them whenever she wished. Liz hated keeping secrets from Max but she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her parents again.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Wednesday, September 16th, 2009)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

"The new troops have arrived, Your Majesty," Nicholas informed Khivar. "How do you want to proceed?"

"Dispatch four squads of your best men to Roswell and take the Evans and the Parkers hostage. Then send a message to Max, telling him to come forward by an appointed time, or we will kill his and his wife's parents."

"Max would be an idiot to sacrifice himself for them," Nicholas sneered. "He won't surrender. He will probably try to rescue..." he let the sentence trail off as he realized Khivar's plan. "Of course, he will try to rescue them and we can set a trap." Nicholas frowned, "Max might suspect a trap though and not come."

Khivar shrugged, "At least it will appear that I gave him a peaceful way out. If he doesn't come forward, destroy Roswell. We will systematically destroy that planet one city at a time if necessary, until they surrender themselves to us."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Broussard, LA)

Serena knew of Max's distaste for alien things and had kept the communication orb out of his sight for years. It was too important to abandon and she thought that one day he would change his mind and be grateful she had retained it. She kept it on a shelf in her room and had hardly given it more than a passing thought in years, only considering it when she dusted around it or packed it for another move. So when the shaft of blue-white light burst from it, she was so surprised, she almost fell off her bed.

After the initial shock, she grabbed the orb and headed into the living room were the others were gathered, and thrust the orb at Max. "We just received a message."

Max scowled, "From whom?"

"I haven't listened to it yet," Serena said.

Max sighed, they had to listen to the message, no matter how much he wanted to ignore it and he nodded to Serena.

She cupped the orb in her hands and sent a small burst of power into it and the message started.



"Max Evans, this is General Nicaron. His Majesty Khivar Roistar wishes you to surrender yourself, Isabel and Michael into our power no later than noon on Friday of this week. That should give you plenty of time to get to Copper Summit from anywhere in the United States. To assure your cooperation we have taken Philip and Diane Evans and Jeff and Nancy Parker into our possession. If you do not surrender by the appointed time, they will be executed.

"We will expect the three of you on Friday in Copper Summit at the UFL building. I'm sure you remember the way."



Max jumped out of his seat and knocked the orb out of Serena's hands with a growl, "They've already ruined our lives. Can't they just leave us alone?"

"What are we going to do Max?" Isabel asked. "We can't let them kill our parents."

Max reached for the cell phone and quickly dialed his parents' number, "First, we have to find out if it's true. It could be just another trick."

The Evans' phone rang until the answering machine came on and Max hung up. He dialed the number for the Crashdown but got the same result. He looked at his watch, it was just after seven p.m., the Crashdown's busiest time of the day, but there was no answer. A shiver of fear raced up Max's spine, Nicholas was telling the truth.

Liz picked up on his fear immediately, "No!"

Max took Liz into his arms and turned to the others, "This is my fault. I thought our families would be safe because they didn't know anything, but I never considered that Nicholas would use them against us."

"I wonder why he waited so long," Serena said. "He has known where your families were for years. Something must have changed for him to do it now."

Max dismissed her point, "It doesn't matter. We have to figure out where they're being held and come up with a plan to rescue them."

Kyle stepped forward, "Can Liz see where they're being held, the way she found me?"

Liz nodded, "I'll try."

Max nodded to Serena, signaling her to come to them. "Liz, do you want to do this here, or do you need some privacy?"

Liz shook her head, "It's fine Max." She allowed Serena to lead her to the sofa.

"Do you remember how you used your powers when you found Kyle?" Serena asked.

Liz glanced at Max guiltily, not wanting to admit to him that she had used her powers many times to see her parents, and nodded, "Yeah, I remember." Closing her eyes, she concentrated on finding her parents’ energy, as she had done so many times before. After a moment she felt herself becoming lighter and lighter, and she lifted off the ground and sped toward the place where she could sense them. Images rushed passed her, flying faster and faster and suddenly she found herself in a room.

She recognized the room immediately, it was the place where the skins had kept Kyle, but now her father was inside the cell instead of Kyle. He was crying, pleading with someone, reaching out to them, and Liz took a step toward him, but the sudden cry behind her made her stop and turn, and what she saw froze her in place.

Two skin soldiers were holding her mother on the floor in a kneeling position and Nicholas had his hand on her head. Her mother writhed in agony as Nicholas used his powers to extract information from her head and Liz was helpless to do anything but watch. In a matter of moments, her mother's screaming stopped, and as she closed her eyes and slumped forward, Liz knew without a doubt her mother was dead.

The two soldiers dragged her body into the corner of the room and dumped it next to two others that Liz had not seen before. But now she could easily recognize them as Max and Isabel's parents. Nicholas must have done the same thing to them.

But the Evans and her mother were beyond help and Liz turned back to her father just as Nicholas motioned for him to be brought forward. Liz saw an older woman approach and speak to Nicholas.

"Sir, if you kill him too we won't have any humans to bargain with."

Nicholas smiled, "That's the beauty of it. Max knows we took them so it doesn't matter if they are alive or dead. He won't know they are dead, and he'll walk into the trap anyway."

The two skin soldiers forced Liz's father to kneel before Nicholas and he reached out toward Jeff's head.

Liz rushed forward, "NO!"

Nicholas stopped and glanced around. "Did you hear anything?" he asked the other occupants of the room.

Ida looked around too, "What do you mean, Sir?"

Nicholas frowned, "I thought I heard someone call out, a woman." He looked at each of the others, "You didn't hear anything?"

The others shook their heads and Nicholas shrugged and continued, placing his hand on the human before him.

Liz had been so surprised Nicholas heard her that she hesitated for a moment, but then she concentrated all of her energy into solidifying herself enough so Nicholas could see her. She felt herself becoming more heavy, more solid but when she reached out to touch Nicholas, the fog started to swirl around her. "NO!" Liz screamed, "It's too soon."

But the fog became more dense and she helplessly watched Nicholas kill her father. The fog started to obscure her vision but she used all of her strength to hold on as long as she could. She could see her father straining against the skin soldiers, trying to free himself, as Nicholas pried the information from his head. Liz could almost feel her father's pain as he screamed out in agony and then was suddenly quiet.

Liz let the tears spill down her cheeks as she allowed herself to slip back into her own body. She felt Max's strong arms around her and opened her eyes.

Max could feel Liz's anguish through their connections and held her tightly to him, "Liz are you okay?"

Liz shook her head. "They're dead," she whispered, "Nicholas killed them all."

"No," said Isabel, as she jumped off of the sofa. "They can't be dead, you must be wrong, Liz."

Liz looked at her sister-in-law, "I watched him kill my mother and father, and I'm sorry Isabel but your parents were already dead."

Tears started to gather in Isabel's eyes and she quickly left the room.

Liz turned to Max, "I'm sorry, Max. I wish I could have done something."

"There was nothing any of us could have done, Liz."

Liz nodded and motioned toward the door where Isabel went, "Maybe you should go after her."

Max reached out to touch her cheek, "Liz, what about you?” he asked softly. "You saw it happening."

Liz nodded again and her eyes fell on Maria across the room, "What about Maria's mom? She could be in danger."

Maria jumped out of her seat, "You think they might go after my mom too? We've got to do something, warn her."

"Amy is probably being watched," Serena said. "The skins may be using her to draw us out."

"We'll have to be careful," Max said, "but we can't just leave her in Roswell. We need to come up with a plan, fast." Max looked at Maria, "Is there somewhere you could tell your mom to go that she would know without you telling her the name? Preferably somewhere outside of Roswell, in a public place where there would be a large crowd."

Maria looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think I know a good place. There's a mall near my Grandmother's house in San Antonio where we used to go. Ingram Park Mall."

"Okay," Max said, "that will be perfect." He looked at Kyle, "Get on the internet and find out what stores are in that mall, their hours and a layout too if they have one."

Kyle nodded and headed for the computer.

Max turned to Jim, "Find out how long it will take us to get to San Antonio and how long it will take Amy to get there." Then he turned to Michael "Start packing up our stuff, just the essentials. We don't want to have to come back here."

Serena stepped forward, "Max you can't risk yourself. This situation is almost certainly a trap."

Max shook his head, "That's why I’m sending you."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The group had come up with an acceptable plan before Max allowed Maria to call her mother. They suspected Amy was being watched and Max knew they only had one chance to pull this off. As much as he wanted to save Amy, he wouldn't risk the others to do it.

He handed the cell phone to Maria, "Okay, you have to convince her quickly and remember to be careful about what you say. Don't mention that we know our parents are dead, in case the skins are listening."

Maria nodded and dialed. It was just after eight p.m. and she prayed her mother was home.

The phone was answered after two rings and Maria nearly broke into tears when she heard her mother's voice. "Mom!"

Amy was silent for a moment, "Maria? Is that you?"

Maria choked back the gathering tears, "Yeah, it's me."

"Maria, oh my God," Amy sobbed, "Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, but mom you have to calm down and listen to me. This is very important."

"Okay, " Amy agreed.

"Mom the people that are after us, have taken the Parkers and the Evans and they might come after you too. You have to leave town right now."

"Why would they come after me?" Amy argued. "I don't know anything."

"Neither do the Evans or the Parkers, but the people after us are trying to use them to draw us out of hiding. Mom, these are bad people, they killed Alex and they will go to any lengths to get us. You have to leave tonight, now."

"Leave for how long?" Amy asked. "Where would I go? What about the store? I can't just leave it."

"Mom you don't understand," Maria said, getting angry. "They almost surely have bugged your phone and can hear what we are saying. They could be coming for you now. Your life is at stake. Don't pack, just get in the car and go."

Maria could hear the silence on the other end of the line and hoped she was getting through to her mother, "I wouldn't ask you to do this if there was any other way. You can come to us and we can protect you."

"Okay," Amy agreed. "What do you want me to do?"

Maria released a sigh of tension, "Okay, don't say any names or places, just listen. Remember the mall that we used to go to near Henny's house?"

"Yeah," Amy said with a touch of surprise in her voice.

"Drive straight there as soon as we get off the phone. Park on the south side of Dillard's and go to the dressing room at the back of the gown section. A woman will meet you there and tell you the name of the dog we had when dad left. Go with her and she will bring you to us."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, September 18th, 2009)

Serena and Amy had changed outfits and cars six times in the last two days, but in the end it didn't matter because Serena could not detect any sign of pursuit.

As they had planned, Serena had met Amy in the dressing room and taken her into the back where they changed their appearances. Then they had used the employee's exit to get out of the mall and rushed to Serena's waiting car.

Amy had asked many questions on the drive but Serena had told her it was not her place to explain and Amy had been forced to curb her curiosity. Serena wouldn't even tell her where they were headed or when they would arrive.

They had driven in a different direction after each time they changed cars, but finally Serena decided they weren't being pursued and told Amy they were on their way to meet the others. Amy still didn't know where they were going, only that they were in Oklahoma and headed northeast.

Finally they exited the freeway and headed into a small town called Vinita. Serena pulled the car into the parking lot of the Western Motel, drove around the back and parked next to a black SUV.

Amy had barely gotten out of the car when Maria burst out of a hotel room, "Mom!"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Vinita, OK)

The group had voted unanimously to tell Amy what was really happening when she joined them. It had taken an hour to tell her the whole story and several demonstrations of the aliens' powers before she believed them.

Amy turned to Max, "So these other aliens, these skins, are after you because you were a King on your planet?"

Max nodded, "They were sent here to kill us."

"And they killed your parents?" Amy asked.

"The skins were trying to use them to draw us out. They didn't think we would know they were dead," Max said.

Amy's brow creased, "How did you find out?"

Max put his arm around Liz and told Amy the slightly altered version of what Liz had seen, that he and Liz had agreed to tell the others. "Liz tried to see where our parents were being held, like she did with Kyle, but they were already dead."

Amy looked at Liz. The child she had known had grown into a woman but she could still see the six-year-old girl who used to play Barbies with Maria. "I'm really sorry about your parents, they were good people."

Liz smiled and took Amy's hand, "Thanks."

Amy turned her attention back to Max, "So what do we do now?"

"Get another house," Max said, "and start living our lives again."

"What about the skins?" Amy asked. "The deadline they set for you is today."

Max shrugged, "They don't know where we are and I guess they'll figure out we're not coming sooner or later."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Universal Friendship League Building)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas watched as the minute hand on the clock clicked to one p.m. He picked up the amplifier and signaled Walt who was waiting with a legion of troops near Roswell. "Destroy Roswell."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Vinita, OK)

The group spent the afternoon in the motel, catching up on the past few years. They had rented adjoining rooms, and after they finished dinner, Max, Liz and Serena sat in one room discussing where they should go next, while the others watched television in the other room.

"It might be a nice change to live a little farther north," Liz suggested.

"We can't get too close to Boston though, the skins might look for us there," Max said as he pointed to the map. "But what about the eastern part of Ohio? Maybe one of these towns outside Columbus."

Suddenly Michael burst into the room, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost. He motioned over his shoulder into the other room. "You guys have gotta see this."

They followed Michael back into the other room where everyone was gathered raptly around the television, the emotional voice of the news announcer the only sound in the room.



To recap the late-breaking news, the city of Roswell, New Mexico was destroyed this afternoon and most of its fifty-eight thousand residents are presumed dead.

The pictures shown behind the reporter, were miles away from a Roswell that was engulfed in smoke and fire.

The reporter spoke with a shaky voice. "Reports are still sketchy at this time but what we can tell you, based on the survivor reports, is that a group of people dressed as civilians, armed with explosives and high-tech weapons that appeared to be lasers, entered the city this afternoon. And in less than half-an-hour, the city of Roswell lay in ruins. They demolished business, homes and schools, completely destroying most of the city, seemingly unconcerned about taking innocent lives.”

“At this time, no group has come forward to claim responsibility for this unprecedented act of terrorism and the perpetrators seemed to have just disappeared. The military and National Guard have the area around Roswell cordoned off while they search for survivors and try to determine exactly what happened. The FBI has asked for anyone with knowledge of the perpetrators to come forward..."



Max walked to the television, switched it off and turned to face Serena, "The reporter said people dressed like civilians used weapons to destroy Roswell. Nicholas told us there was a warship in orbit, surely it has weapons."

"Yes it does," Serena said, "but maybe they didn't want to use them and risk exposing themselves."

"What kind of weapons are we talking about on that ship?" Michael asked, "Bombs, lasers, what?"

"And how destructive are they?" Max continued. "Capable of destroying a city?"

Serena explained. "A warship carries fifty smaller attack ships similar to Earth's fighter planes but they have greater maneuverability and are capable of space flight. The attack ships are equipped with energy weapons similar to lasers but they are mainly geared toward destroying other ships. The warship itself is equipped with a larger version of the energy weapon but it requires an incredible amount of energy to use and is only capable of short bursts of power. It probably could vaporize several blocks or maybe a square mile, but that is all. It is nothing like the weapons the aliens had in the movie Independence Day, where they could destroy most of New York in a few minutes."

"A nuclear explosion would be capable of that type of destruction," Liz said.

Serena shook her head. "We did not use fission weapons on Antar because our bodies are even more vulnerable to radiation than yours."

"But you haven't been on Antar for almost seventy years," Liz pointed out. "They would have made advancements in technology you wouldn't know about."

Serena nodded, "They will have superior weapons but the amount of energy it would take to destroy a city in that manner would be enormous. Seventy years ago we didn't have anything even close to generating that kind of energy. For centuries all of our technology has been based on the element trithium. They would have to have discovered a new power source and developed completely new technology around it."

"It doesn't make any sense," Michael said. "Why do this now after all of these years? If Khivar wanted to destroy the Earth, he's had plenty of time to do it."

Liz nodded, "You're right, Michael. Something must have changed for them to do this now, but we might not ever know what that is."

"Maybe he has decided to take over the Earth too," Isabel speculated.

"It doesn't matter what their motives are," Max said. "We can't let the skins get away with this." He turned to Serena again, "Do we have a chance against them with the current level of Earth technology?"

"Max there are more than five thousand of them, " Michael reminded him. "We can't possibly hope to fight them."

Max nodded, "You're right. We wouldn't stand a chance but the U.S. military would. I think we should make an anonymous call to the FBI telling them who destroyed Roswell and where they are."

Isabel laughed, "What are you going to tell them, Max? That a group of aliens has set up camp in Copper Summit, Arizona."

Max smiled, "No, I thought I would tell them the skins are a cult that have gotten their hands on high-tech weapons. I could say I was part of the cult but left when they started talking about helping aliens destroy the planet." He shrugged, "It's even pretty close to the truth."

Serena nodded, "It could work. The military could overwhelm them by sheer numbers."

"I think that's a good idea," Jim said. "The skins hadn't done anything we could prove up until now. This is the perfect opportunity to get the military to wipe them out."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Saturday, September 19th, 2009)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas' amplifier sounded and he pressed the activation sequence, "What?"

"This is Greer, General. Captain Toilad on the warship Plemas reports that there are U.S. troops moving into position around Copper Summit."

"Tell the Captain I want exact numbers and positions," Nicholas ordered. "Move the ship into a lower orbit if necessary."

"But General, if the ship moves into a lower orbit they risk being spotted," Greer reminded him.

"Yes they do," Nicholas agreed as he switched off the amplifier. He turned to Walt, who was seated across from him, and smiled, "The U.S. military is lining up outside of Copper Summit. I have been itching for a good fight for years."

Walt nodded as Nicholas pressed another sequence of symbols on the amplifier, "Battle stations! This is not a drill!"


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, September 20th, 2009)

"In the last ten years I have been embedded with our troops all around the world," the reporter said in a voiceover, as the footage started to roll depicting the events he was describing, "but I have never seen anything like this. It was like something out of a movie.”

“U.S. military forces had the town of Copper Summit, Arizona surrounded but it was totally silent and appeared to be deserted. After repeated failed attempts at communication with the inhabitants, we started to move in. Then suddenly the sky erupted with a deafening sound, and what I can only describe as flying saucers attacked our positions. They fired some kind of energy weapon that destroyed tanks and personnel carriers, and sent us running for cover."



Tess smiled as the reporter continued, the sound of his voice fading into the background. She knew the skins' actions would be horrifying Max. He had always been so involved with the humans, so protective of them.

When she had heard about the destruction of Roswell yesterday, Tess had let herself momentarily dwell on the pleasant image of Max's broken and bloody body lying on the side of the road, but her satisfaction was short-lived. Max deserved the worst kind of torment for casting her aside, but somehow she knew he would have survived. He would have gotten out of Roswell in time, or maybe he was living somewhere else entirely, but she was sure he hadn't died, it was just her luck.

For years, Tess had tried to put Max and the others out of her mind and concentrate on making a life for herself and mostly she had succeeded. But the past two days had brought all of the pain of Max's betrayal back to the surface. Tess let her eyes roam over the opulent surroundings of her house, but she knew they were nothing compared to the palace on Antar.

Max had denied her everything that was rightfully hers and she vowed to have her revenge. Suddenly the twisted hatred on her face turned into an enchanting smile as the perfect solution came to her. It was so simple, she didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. Max had betrayed her, she would simply return the favor.

She would go to Copper Summit and make a bargain with the skins. In return for immunity and passage back to Antar she would give the skins the Granolith and help them destroy Max and everything he loved.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas smiled as he inspected the destruction his troops had inflicted on the U.S. military. They had easily destroyed their tanks and vehicles and sent the soldiers scurrying into the hills. But he knew the government would never let it stand. The next time the military came, they would have better weapons and more troops. He turned to Walt and Greer, "I want all troops on the highest alert. Destroy anything that comes near Copper Summit. This is only the beginning of the war."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009)

Tess had flown to Phoenix, but from there she had been forced to drive the rest of the way to Copper Summit. The military blocked all the major highways leading into the area and cordoned off the roads leading into the small town for more than twenty miles. She had been turned back by the soldiers at a checkpoint, but she detoured onto a small dirt road and waited in the wilderness until dark to continue her journey.

Now she was less than ten miles away from Copper Summit and Tess had to admit that she was growing nervous. She really hadn't made a plan. She had simply come, driven by her need for revenge, but now she was having second thoughts. Maybe she should have stayed in Florida and negotiated her surrender to the skins, made an agreement before she had come.

What if the skins didn't agree to her terms? She would have delivered herself to the enemy with no hope of being rescued. Nicholas could take the information about the Granolith from her mind and there would be nothing she could do about it.

Tess saw the lights from the town ahead, she slowed the car and pulled off the dirt road she had been following. Her doubts had belatedly made her cautious but another thought buzzing in her head was drowning out the sound of her doubts. The skins represented the only chance she might ever have to get revenge against Max and return home, and anything that might happen to her in Copper Summit was better than staying on this planet the rest of her life.

She made up her mind with a nod of her head and pressed down on the accelerator, eager to arrive. The skins weren't unreasonable. What she was asking for wasn't that much and they would probably be glad to have her help. She might even be welcomed home as a hero.

Suddenly a blazing light illuminated the area around her and a ship swooped down out of the dark sky. A burst of red energy erupted from the ship and headed straight for her. Tess had only seconds to realize that she had made a huge mistake.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, September 25th, 2009)
(Vinita, OK)

Exactly one week after they had watched the report of Roswell's destruction, Max and the others were seated in front of the television witnessing the end of the great city of Los Angeles. Just after dawn that morning, the skins' ships had descended from the clouds over the sprawling metropolis, and within two hours, nothing remained but a smoldering pile of rubble. The strike had obviously been timed to catch the majority of the citizens in the morning commute, when cars blocked all of the major roads, preventing mass evacuation.

The group sat in a shocked silence as the enormity of the situation overwhelmed them. The television news crew had caught the majority of the destruction of the city center and the station was replaying the carnage over and over.

Finally Liz couldn't watch anymore. She walked over to the window and pulled the drapes aside, hoping the warmth of the sunlight would chase away the shivers that racked her body. They couldn't let the skins destroy the world around them.

Max rose from the sofa and followed Liz to the window, wrapping her in his arms and tucking her head under his chin. He spoke through their bond, automatically seeking to reassure her. It's okay Liz. Everything will be okay.

No, Max it's not okay. The skins have killed thousands of innocent people. We have to do something. We have to stop them.

Do you have any ideas on how to stop them? Max asked cautiously.

I have one idea, Liz sighed, but I don't want to even think it.

Max nodded, knowing what she meant. You are thinking the skins might stop if Michael, Isabel and I turned ourselves over to them.

It has crossed my mind, Liz admitted. But apart from not wanting to lose you, I'm also not sure it would work. If you did go to Nicholas he would get the Granolith and then nothing would stop him from destroying Earth and your world too.

If I thought it would save Earth, I would turn myself over to Nicholas, but I'm sure you're right. He would get the Granolith and destroy Earth anyway. There has to be another way.

Liz sighed, I did have one other idea. What if we called your people for help?

Max shook his head. I have already spoken to Serena about it. She said that no one came to our aid when Khivar took my throne. So I doubt they would travel three or four years to another galaxy to help us. And even if they did, the Earth would be in ruins by then.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


After the skins had destroyed L.A., the U.S. military bombed Copper Summit but when they searched through the rubble they discovered it had been deserted. Not one skin soldier had been seen on Earth after the destruction of Roswell. Max anonymously gave the military all of their knowledge about the skins, including how to kill them, but it was of no use because it was discovered the skins had repositioned themselves into orbit where none of Earth's weapons could reach them.

Over the next two years, the skins destroyed city after city in a largely uncontested campaign, because none of the Earth's defenses were strong enough to stand against them. After L.A., they systematically leveled every large city and major military instillation in the U.S. and then continued with the smaller cities and towns. At first, the allies of the United States came to their aid, but the skins decimated each of the armies and then turned their destruction on the other countries, slaughtering civilians by the thousands, as they leveled the foreign cities.

The human survivors were forced to flee into the countryside or live in the ruins of their former homes. Some banded together in groups to try and fight the skins, while others just tried to survive. What was left of the U.S. government went into hiding and an elite group of the military were assigned, to keep the President and the others alive.

After the Earth's major militaries were decimated, the skins erected several new strongholds from which Nicholas directed the continuing destruction and subjugation of Earth. Any captured humans were put into labor camps and forced to work for the skins, while the free humans continued to annoy the skins with supply raids and rescue attempts. Nicholas was forced to send ground patrols to fight the rebels and take as many captives as possible.

Max assembled a group of people who wanted to stand against the skins. At first, he carefully hid the fact they were aliens, assuming that the humans would automatically distrust them if they knew the truth. But the truth came out quickly when their group was ambushed, and Max, Michael and others were forced to use their powers to save them all. Max feared his troops would turn against them but they eagerly accepted their differences when Max explained the skins were their enemies too.

Max and Liz decided to conceal the fact he could heal because they were afraid he would be overwhelmed by requests. He also asked them to conceal the fact that Liz was a hybrid and tell everyone Liz's talent for prognostication was a natural human ability. He was afraid she would be a target if the humans turned against them, but he was even more afraid of what Nicholas might do to her if she were captured.

Max found he had a natural ability for leadership, and even though he didn't remember his other life sometimes the answers to difficult problems would simply come to him and he knew it was prompted by his past experiences. He led one successful raid after another and soon the stories spread of their group's success, and people came from all over to join with them.

Max's army moved almost constantly, traveling great distances at night to avoid detection, afraid if they stayed in one place the skins would find them. They learned how to use camouflage to their advantage and relied on guerilla warfare tactics for engaging the skins. Liz and Serena learned how to make C-4 and other explosives and Max's troops were able to capture some energy guns from the skins, called blasters. They repeatedly attempted to get a communication amplifier from a skin soldier but none of the ground troops they killed were carrying them.

They used every resource at their disposal to defeat the skins. Whenever they could, Max's troops would take a skin soldier prisoner, but they always killed themselves before they gave away any information. Isabel attempted dream walking the skin soldiers and Liz tried astral projection to help determine what Nicholas' troops were planning, but there were so many groups of skins acting on Earth and in orbit, that it was almost impossible for them to get anything more than trivial information. Isabel had even tried to get into Nicholas' mind, but he was too powerful for her.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Wednesday, June 13th, 2012)
(Outside the ruined city of Helena, MT)

Jim, Amy and Kyle led a small band of rebels to the edge of the trees surrounding the skin outpost. It had recently been erected to prepare for the construction for another skin stronghold, and supply ships had been making regular trips to stock it. Max's scouts had reported that the outpost was not heavily guarded and the supplies could be easily taken.

Jim raised his binoculars and peered through them, only seeing half-a-dozen skin guards. Their group should be able to handle that number easily but something felt wrong. He scanned the area looking for anything out of the ordinary, but could see nothing. The food and supplies in the building were desperately needed and he pushed his doubts away. He signaled to his men silently, motioning for some to go right, others to go left, and the remainder to follow him. Then he turned to Kyle, "Stay here, watch our backs and signal us if anything goes wrong."

Kyle briefly hesitated, sensing his father's apprehension and then nodded, "Okay dad."

Jim signaled for the men to move forward and they spread out along the edge of the forest, carefully staying under cover. At another signal from Jim they rushed the skin soldiers taking all six of them by surprise and then they proceeded cautiously into the building.

Kyle kept a careful watch on the surrounding area, looking for any signs of more skin troops. He hated waiting, but it was a necessary part of the raids.

His father's voice suddenly came over the walkie-talkie, breathing hard as if he were running, "Everybody out, it's a trap. There are no supplies here, only empty boxes. Kyle do you see any..."

Jim’s voice was cut off as an enormous explosion engulfed the building, throwing Kyle to the ground. "Dad? Amy?" Kyle gasped, as he sat up, unable to believe what had just happened. "Dad!" he shouted, and jumped up running toward the fire hoping to save his father, but the intense heat forced him back and he knew no one could have survived. Stumbling back into the trees, Kyle fell to his knees, retching in the grass.

He sat for a few minutes just trying to draw breath and automatically went into a meditation. Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase your good deeds. All created things perish. All created things are sorrow. All forms are unreal. As he repeated the words, Kyle's mind cleared and the reality of the situation sank in. The skins had deliberately lured them here to kill them. They had set up the whole situation with no other thought than killing more humans.

Kyle could feel the hatred rising up within him and unconsciously started the meditation against hate. Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time, but then he stopped himself. After everything the skins had done, they deserved his loathing and he let his hatred for them build, deliberately stoking and strengthening it with memories of the past. He knew the Buddha would be disappointed that he had given in to his hatred but he couldn't stop himself.

Hot tears flowed down his cheeks as he mourned the loss of his father and the others. The skins had taken almost everything from him, including his faith, and that just made him hate them more. With every fiber of his being, he hated the skins and he would use the energy his hatred provided, to slaughter every last one of them.

Kyle looked down at the skin blaster in his hand. He had taken it off a skin soldier he had killed last year and the sense of irony never ceased to amuse him. He would use their own weapon to destroy as many of them as he could.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Friday, November 23rd, 2012)
(In the ruins of Idaho Falls, ID)

It was a cold night, as Max and Isabel led the small band of fighters through the eerie silence of the abandoned buildings. Once it had been a thriving town but now it was nothing but a pile of rubble. There was not even a single building standing where their group could take shelter for the coming day.

The fighters were spread out military style, so a single blast from the enemy could not kill them all. Max always led with Isabel, while Michael and Kyle took up the rear. Max kept Liz and Maria near the back of the troops for their safety and assigned a couple of ex-marines to watch over them.

Suddenly a brilliant light erupted, making the night sky brighter than high noon, and then the laser blasts started.

“Scatter,” Max yelled, as he and Isabel dove for cover. “lz take the left flank,” he ordered and then through the connection he shared with Liz, he sent more instructions, Tell Michael to take the right flank and you and Maria stay back and keep down.

He felt Liz’s mental ascent through the connection and turned his full attention back to the battle. It only took a few minutes for him to determine they were only fighting a small group of Khivar’s soldiers, probably scouts, but they couldn’t let any of the enemy live to pass on their position.

Using a blaster he had taken off an enemy soldier in an earlier battle, Max sent one burst of energy after another into the darkness, where he estimated the enemies to be. Even though he couldn’t see them, it was as if he could somehow sense their presence and he made each shot count.

They were just gaining the upper hand when suddenly he felt Liz’s fear through their connection. Without a second thought Max leapt up and rushed to where Liz and Maria were hiding, knowing he would never make it in time.

And then it was as if he were seeing through Liz’s eyes, and Max watched horrified as a skin soldier rushed toward her and Maria. The enemy soldier had somehow sneaked past their defenses and his first shots had taken out the men protecting Liz and Maria. That had alerted the women to his presence or the soldier would have taken them completely by surprise.

Maria and Liz both carried weapons and had been trained to use them, but neither of them had actually shot an enemy soldier and Max never wanted them to. In Liz and Maria, Max saw the last vestiges of the world before Khivar had attacked, and as crazy as he knew it was, he wanted to preserve their innocence. In all of this war and insanity, Max had hoped he could spare them the weight of taking a life, even if it was the enemy.

Through Liz’s eyes, Max saw Liz and Maria raise their weapons to fire, but the skin soldier used his powers with a careless flip of his hand and threw the girls several yards, sending them crashing into a wall. Liz was the first to regain her feet and shoved Maria out of the way as the skin’s next blast hit the rocks near them. They fell to the ground and scrambled behind the rocks but the weapons had been knocked from their hands and now they were defenseless.

Another blast from the soldier also hit the rocks, but it was closer and Max felt the flying rock chips sting Liz’s face. The skin soldier knew the women were unarmed and took his time walking toward them for his next shot.

Through the connection, Max experienced Liz’s fear that she would be killed. She was desperately afraid, but she didn’t fear death, her greatest fear was that she would be separated from him. Liz was not ready to be parted from him and an incredible anger started from deep inside her. Max could feel her anger fueling a rush of power, that quickly built up within her body.

Max raced around the final corner as Liz stood, channeling her power through her hand, toward the enemy soldier. The burst of energy hit the soldier square in the chest and left a sort of burn mark, but at first it appeared to Max as if nothing happened.

Max took aim on the enemy but a horrible scream escaped the soldier as he clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground. He flailed around for a moment as a finger of blue flame flickered from a hole in his chest and then he burst into a shower of ash.

For a moment none of them moved, frozen in place by the shock and then Max felt Liz’s overwhelming grief. He crossed the last few yards between them and took her trembling form in his arms. Liz collapsed into him, sobbing uncontrollably.

Max gently stroked Liz’s head as he sought to reassure her, “Shhhhh. It’s okay, my love.” But he knew his words were lies, and carefully shielded his true feelings.

What kind of King was he? Max asked himself, then shook his head. No, it was more basic than that. What kind of man was he, that he couldn’t even protect his wife? Liz was the most important thing in the world to him. He would do anything for her, sacrifice anything for her, but he hadn’t been able to keep her safe and she had been forced to take a life. Yes, they were at war but Max had tried to protect his sweet Liz as much as possible from the horrors.

Max felt a piece of him die as the scene re-played in his mind. He had failed Liz in almost every way possible but he vowed to redouble his efforts. Never again would he trust anyone else to protect her, he would personally ensure her safety.

Max pulled the still trembling Liz closer and quickly checked her for injuries. Finding nothing major he sighed in relief as he healed the few scrapes and cuts she had received. Then he gently stroked her hair, “I’m so sorry, Liz but I swear I’ll never leave you again.”


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, August 29th, 2013)
(Outside the ruined city of Cheyenne, WY)

Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Isabel, Kyle and Serena stayed at the makeshift table in their shelter after the latest strategy meeting. Max was increasingly depressed by their ever-worsening situation but he had to keep up a brave front for the troops. It was only when he was alone with his family that he allowed his true feelings to show. "We kill a few skins here and there and have some small successes but we aren't making progress fast enough. This skins have almost completely wiped human civilization off of the face of the Earth and it won't be long before they find us or the Granolith."

He paused, looking down at the table. "We have lost so many people, so many who didn't deserve to die. And none of us would have survived the raid last week if Liz hadn't gotten the premonition. I just feel like all of this is my fault. If I had let all of you develop your powers, maybe we would have been strong enough to fight them and none of this would have ever happened."

He turned to Liz, "If I hadn't told you to suppress your powers maybe you would have seen what would happen. I just wish I could go back and change everything."

Liz put her hand on Max's, "None of this is your fault, Max. You didn't choose this and I know you would change it if you could."

"Maybe we can change it," Serena said.

"What do you mean?" asked Isabel breathlessly.

"You remember that my primary task on Antar was a Granolith technician?" Serena asked. "I studied the Granolith for over two-hundred years trying to discover how it worked and possibly duplicate it. In that time, I developed several theories about its capabilities."

"And you think one of these theories could help us?" Michael asked.

"Maybe," Serena admitted. "If we were left with no other choice it would be worth exploring. The Granolith is capable of producing an enormous amount of energy and according to the calculations I have made, I believe it would be able to tear a hole in time-space."

"You think it’s capable of time travel," Liz said softly.

"The Granolith is basically a machine like the computers on Earth," Serena explained. "To use it you just have to program it, tell it what to do."

"How do you program it?" Max asked. "I didn't notice an interface of any kind on the Granolith."

Serena picked up two nearby rocks and passed her hand over them, fashioning them into a rough six-sided crystal approximately eight inches long. "You simply make a crystal like this one, the size and shape don't really matter, the Granolith will adapt. There needs to be some silicon in the mixture, rocks or sand are the best materials to use. The important thing is that you put your instructions in it when you make it. Just push your thoughts into the energy you use to form the crystal. For time travel I would specify a time and a place you wish to travel and who is going on the trip."

"And what about returning?" Max asked.

Serena shook her head, "If a traveler changes the past, he won't be able to return. He will have come from a reality that no longer exists. The events that made him who and what he is won't have happened and he will disappear as if he never lived, because in essence, he never did exist."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Sunday, January 12th, 2014)
(Near Hot Springs, SD)

Nicholas surveyed the battle below him from his vantage point in the hills. More and more humans had joined with Max's army as the skins tightened their grip on the Earth, and now Max commanded thousands. The rebels had become increasingly troublesome, raiding one skin outpost after another. They always struck quickly and forcefully, sometimes overwhelming his troops with their sheer numbers. It was as if they had information about his troop movements they could not have known, hitting their targets when they were most vulnerable.

Nicholas had been forced to delegate some of his other duties and lead the skin army against the rebels in many battles. On more than one occasion, Nicholas thought he had the rebels in his grasp, but each time they miraculously escaped him. Nicholas had come to only two conclusions; one, Max was a brilliant military strategist or two, he was getting help.

Finally Nicholas learned from one of Max's captured soldiers that Max's human wife Liz, had the gift of prognostication and her visions had repeatedly saved them. The captive told him that Max and Liz were always together and the troops trusted Liz as much as they did Max or Michael. Nicholas also learned that Max didn't trust Liz's safety to anyone else, even his second in command. Nicholas smiled, Liz was Max's Achilles’ heel and that was the type of weakness he could use to his advantage.

Many times, Nicholas had seen Max in the distance directing his army, and always his human wife had been at his side. Nicholas took out his far-viewers and set them to the extreme range. And searching the hills opposite to his position he finally spotted Max, and Liz just beyond. Nicholas reset the focus, trying to get a better look at the small woman. He had heard of humans with psychic abilities but he had always considered them to be charlatans and frauds. The odds were astronomical that Max would find a human mate with such abilities.

As he studied Liz, Nicholas wondered how attuned her abilities were at foretelling the future. Prognostication was a rare gift on Antar and even the most acclaimed seers could not predict every event. Nicholas decided he would simply have to test Liz's abilities. He would set one trap after another for the rebel army, and sooner or later the law of probability had to fall in his favor.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, March 6th, 2014)
(Near Ft Collins, CO)

Nicholas smiled as he watched a large group of Max's troops walk into the trap he had set for them. Obviously he had been right, Liz couldn't foresee everything and today her failing would be the end of the rebel army.

Nicholas signaled for his troops to wait until all of the humans had entered the area before springing the trap, and his eyes quickly scanned them to see who from Max's group was present. He noticed Michael right away, because he was in the lead, but it took him a few minutes to pick out Isabel. Nicholas sighed. For years he had not known if Isabel were alive or dead and he was relieved to see her. Khivar would surely reward him for delivering her back to Antar.

Max, Liz and the other humans were not present as far as Nicholas could see, but it didn't matter because Michael and Isabel could tell him everything he needed to know; including the location of the Granolith and the current whereabouts of Max and the rest of the rebel troops.

Nicholas spoke softly into his amplifier, "Michael and Isabel are in this group," he alerted his troops. "Be careful where you aim. Greer will take Michael, I will take Isabel and the rest of you eliminate the others. I want no escapes and no survivors."

Finally the last few stragglers entered the trees and Nicholas signaled for the trap to be sprung. He watched for a moment, savoring the looks of surprise on the rebel's faces as his troops completely enclosed them. They had nowhere to hide and the only cover was the trees. He had chosen this location particularly because of the lack of cover.

Michael sent bursts of energy into the skin soldiers who suddenly emerged out of the trees around them. He attempted to find some cover as he picked off one skin after another, but there was none. A sound behind him alerted Michael and he turned just in time to see an older skin soldier rush toward him. Michael sent a blast of power into the charging soldier, breaking the seal on his husk and turning him to dust. A small black object was revealed by the soldier's demise and Michael caught it before it hit the ground. He had just stuffed the pentagon-shaped device into his pocket when he was tackled from behind by several more skins.

With a smile, Nicholas slipped into the dense undergrowth, changing his coloring until he blended into the greenery perfectly. He moved stealthily around behind his troops until he had Isabel in sight. He watched the humans fall to the ground dead, one after another until there were only a handful left and then he rushed forward and grabbed Isabel from behind. "How nice to see you again Vilondra."

Isabel was surprised at first but she struggled against her captor. She couldn't see him but she recognized his voice from when he had nearly captured them and killed Alex. She screamed in rage, throwing her full weight against the smaller man.

Nicholas was momentarily knocked off balance and his grip on Isabel loosened. Isabel spun toward him and aimed a burst of energy at him but Nicholas used his powers to keep his feet and reached out to force her hand aside. Her blast went wide but still caught Nicholas on the shoulder and he roared with rage, spinning Isabel around and trapping her arms behind her. He roughly shoved her to her knees to gain control of her and looked to where Greer's team was securing Michael.

Nicholas motioned for two of his men to come forward and take Isabel. She struggled against them but their superior strength kept her easily subdued.

Nicholas incredulously examined his shoulder, where Isabel had hit him. He had not been injured the entire time he had been on Earth, and the fact that Isabel had succeeded made all of his latent anger against her rise to the surface. He had intended to return her to Antar intact but that was not the only option. "Where's Greer?" Nicholas growled as he reached into his pocket.

One of the skin soldiers motioned to Michael, "He killed Greer."

Nicholas looked Michael in the eyes and Michael could see the burning hatred within. Michael fought desperately to escape his captors but they held him fast. A feeling of horror overcame him as Nicholas suddenly pulled a device from his pocket and a long thin blade slid out of it. Michael surged forward, pulling the three soldiers with him a few feet, but they held him back.

Nicholas held Michael's eyes as he brushed Isabel's golden hair aside from the back of her neck and raised his arm to strike.

"NO!" Michael screamed, as he struggled helplessly, and Nicholas plunged the blade into the base of Isabel's head.

For a moment Isabel swayed but then Nicholas slowly withdrew the blade, and the soldiers let her lifeless body slump forward and fall to the ground.

Michael was suddenly thrown back into his captors by a nearby explosion and he shook off the skins holding him and jumped to his feet. He took a hesitating step toward Isabel but someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward the trees. Michael was so stunned that he didn't struggle and let himself be led deeper into the forest.

"Are you injured?" Serena asked as they ran, but Michael didn't answer. Serena quickly looked back over her shoulder at him. He was stumbling along behind her only because she pulled him, but his head was turned back to the place where Isabel had fallen. She knew she had to snap him out of his shock. Both of their lives might depend on it. She raised her voice, "Michael!"

Michael turned his head toward her and tried to slow their pace. "We have to go back for Isabel," he said woodenly.

Serena could hear the sounds of pursuit now. She couldn't allow Michael to stop, and she used a harsher tone of voice to bring him back to the reality of the situation. "Isabel is dead and we will be too if we don't hurry."

Michael's head snapped up and he focused on Serena for the first time and briefly nodded. He followed her unresistingly and quickly looked around as they continued to run, trying to determine their position from the maps he had studied. A rock formation to the south caught his attention and suddenly he knew where they were. He surged forward and pulled Serena by the hand, angling her toward the rocks. "There's a small cave on the other side of these rocks. We can hide inside until the skins are gone."

They increased their pace as they rounded the rocks attempting to put as much distance between themselves and their pursuers as possible. Michael pushed Serena into the cave ahead of him and crawled in after her. He turned and passed his hand over the small entrance covering it with rock.

Serena kindled a small light when he finished and he noticed for the first time that she was injured. "You're hurt," he said, as he crossed to her and inspected her wound. It was a deep, raw wound high on her chest by the left shoulder, and her left arm hung uselessly at her side.

"I was hit by a blast from one of the skins that knocked me unconscious for a few moments and I awoke too late to save Isabel."

Michael nodded, "I'm not very good at healing wounds like this but I'll give it a try."

Serena shook her head, "It would take too much of your power and we may need you to be at full strength to get away."

"But the pain," Michael argued.

"There is not much pain," Serena lied. "I can endure it until we return to Max."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Nicholas' soldiers had been searching the woods for more than four hours with no sign of Michael or the shape shifter. He still couldn't believe that they had escaped. In the confusion of the attack, the shape shifter must have waited until her best opportunity to rescue Michael. Nicholas just couldn't understand why she had not tried to save Isabel.

He looked at the tissue-harvesting device in his hand. Michael may have escaped him this time but he had collected Isabel's brain cells and that would ensure Vilondra would live again.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC

[RoswellOracle]

BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY (THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE - MAX)



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PART 9


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Tuesday, March 11th, 2014)
(Near Greeley, CO)

It had taken five days for Michael and Serena to elude the skins and rendezvous with the main body of the troops, and in that time Serena never let Michael see how much pain she was experiencing.

When they arrived at camp, she allowed Max to take her into his tent to examine her wound, but she was fairly certain of the outcome. The wound had been too serious and it had started to heal wrong. She watched the play of emotions across Max's face as he examined her and knew when he came to the same conclusion.

"Max, I know you can't fix my arm," she said softly.

Max shook his head sadly. "I'll do what I can but you're right. You will have very limited use of this arm. I'm sorry Serena."

Serena shook her head, "I am not sorry. I have done my duty."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Monday, March 17th, 2014)
(Near the remnants of Denver, CO)

Michael rushed into the tent Max was using as his headquarters, "Max, we figured out how to use the amplifier and intercepted a message."

"Good," Max said. "What did you find out?"

Michael shook his head, "It's not good. The skins have found the President and what's left of the government, and are moving troops to take them."

"Where are they?" Max asked.

"They’re in some kind of underground shelter in Vermont." Michael said softly. "It's more than nineteen-hundred miles, Max. Even at top speed it would take more than two days to get there. We would never reach them in time."

Max slammed his fist on the table, the impotent feeling overwhelming him. "If the skins get the President, they'll force him to officially sign his power over to them. The U.S. government will fall and with it the Earth."

"There is nothing we can do," Michael said. "We can keep fighting, but if the President and the government fall, the people will lose heart." He released a sigh filled with sorrow and defeat. "Isabel, Jim, Amy, Alex, your parents, Liz's parents; so many are dead. What's the point? We haven't saved the world Max, we've failed."

Max stood to his full height, his eyes blazing. "Soon we will be the last obstacle between Nicholas and the total conquest of Earth, but there's one thing we can do. We’ll implement Serena's plan. We'll go back in time and stop the end of the world."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Later that night, Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Kyle and Serena sat at the table in Max and Liz's tent trying to work out the details of the plan.

"There has to be a point in time when things started to go wrong," Max said, "and if we can figure out what that was we can change it."

"Yeah," Michael scoffed, "maybe you can go back to yourself in kindergarten and tell him to start stock-piling weapons of mass-destruction, because short of nukes, I don't know how we could win."

"Funny Michael," Max said dryly, "but you do actually have a point."

"I do?"

"Yeah," Max explained, "we weren't strong enough to beat the skins. Serena told me that on Antar we were three of the most powerful beings. Maybe if we had worked on developing our powers more, we would have been ready for the skins."

"So you go back to Max in kindergarten and tell him to hone his alien powers?" Kyle asked.

"That might be part of it," Max said, "but there has to be something else. A specific event we can change that will alter the outcome of the future."

"We could stop the skins from destroying Roswell," Maria suggested. "We could turn them in to the FBI sooner."

"No," Michael argued, "they hadn't done anything yet. What are you going to tell the FBI? That they will do it in the future but now they won't because you changed history and stopped them?"

Maria's brow wrinkled, "That doesn't even make sense. At least we could stop Kyle from being taken and save Alex."

Michael ignored her, "What if we stopped the Harvest?" If the original skins all died, maybe they wouldn't send more. Then maybe we could save Courtney and the skins wouldn't find out about us."

"Courtney again," Maria sighed. "I can't believe that you are still thinking about her after all of these years."

Max hastily changed the subject, "Okay, those all have possibilities. Can anyone think of anything else?"

Liz listened to the suggestions with a growing sense of unreality. She knew what the solution was but she was too scared to say it. Her plan would mean that she and Max would never be together, never share their lives, and she felt tears roll down her face as she desperately tried to think of anything else.

Max felt a sudden wave of sorrow from Liz and turned toward her, "What's wrong, Liz?"

Liz shook her head and wiped the tears from her face. She had to tell them because she knew it was the only way to save them. She took a deep breath and looked up, "Tess."

"What?" Michael asked.

"Tess is the answer," Liz said softly as she turned to Max. "In the message, your mother said you were all sent here to learn to use your skills and powers. But we messed that up when we let Tess leave. She should have been with you, helping you. She would have made you stronger."

Everyone turned to Serena and she agreed, "It is true that the four of you worked well together on Antar. I did not know what powers Vilondra and Ava possessed because it was a closely guarded secret, but all four of you were very powerful and were inseparable in the last days of Zan's empire. Before we left to come to Earth, Sodan once told me that your powers complimented one another and that you were stronger together."

"Okay," Kyle said. "We start looking for Tess?"

"If she's still alive," Maria said blandly.

Max shook his head. "If Tess was interested in helping us, she could have found us. Even if she is alive, I don't think she cares about helping us or anyone else."

Kyle agreed with a nod. "Then we go back in time and get Tess to stay. Simple."

Max shook his head, "It won't be that easy."

"Why not?" Michael asked.

Max had told Liz all about his encounters with Tess years ago and she knew the answer, "Because Tess will not stay unless Max is with her."

"But Max loves you," Maria objected. "He would never be with Tess."

"We will have to change that," Liz said simply.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know," Liz said, "but we'll have to find a way."

Max felt a shiver of distaste shoot down his spine. Even after all of these years, he couldn't stand the thought of being with Tess, but he knew he had no choice. This whole mess was his fault and he would be the one to fix it. He would go back in time and he would make sure that this time, Max chose Tess.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Wednesday, March 19th, 2014)
(Roswell, NM)

Max, Liz, Michael, Maria and Kyle had traveled quickly and arrived in Roswell that afternoon. On their journey, they had seen no sign of pursuit and they felt even luckier when they found a part of Roswell that had somewhat survived the destruction. A few houses on the edge of town were mostly intact and the small group settled into one of them for the evening.

Max had determined they would have a better chance of getting to Roswell if they left the main body of the army behind. A smaller group could travel more quickly was less likely to attract attention. Max had told the troops they had a plan and left one of the former military men in charge. He sent the troops east, away from trouble and told them they would join them later. Then he sent Serena northwest and instructed her to send a signal, hoping to draw the skins away and keep them busy. The five remaining members of the group had climbed into a Jeep and headed to the place where it had all started.

Conversation was sparse as they finished their evening meal, knowing that tomorrow they would lose their leader. Max had insisted he would be the one to go back in time and ordered Michael to take over the fight when he was gone. Michael had argued, but in the end reluctantly agreed, knowing Max was right.

Kyle took the first watch as it grew dark, and the others settled into the living room.

Maria was the first to ask the question that was on all of their minds, "How are you going to do it, Max?"

Max shook his head. "I don't know," he said sadly. "I would just go to my younger self if I could but Serena said that wasn't possible." He shrugged, "I guess I'll go to Tess and explain how important it is for us to be together."

"Oh, she'll love that," Maria sneered. "I can't believe that witch is going to win. It just isn't fair."

Liz smiled sadly, "Life isn't fair, Maria."

Maria nodded in agreement and a sudden thought occurred to her. One sure way to keep Liz out of the picture was to let her die at the Crashdown when she was shot. Maria knew if Liz thought it was the only way to change things she would stop Max from saving her. "When will you go back to?" she asked softly.

Liz reached for Max's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "Max and I talked about it a little last night. We decided he will have to go back before we made love because Serena said that's what solidified the bond between us. There’s no way we would leave each other after being connected so closely, so it has to be before."

Max nodded sadly and brought Liz's hand to his lips. "But we don't want to go back too far because we learned a lot of important things right before that time, about the skins and the other pods. And it wasn't too bad with Tess then," he finished softly.

He paused for a moment and continued in a stronger voice, "We have to be careful because we don't know how altering the time line will change things. Any small difference could have huge consequences, and Liz and I don't want to risk changing things too much. Plus, I have to make sure not to run into my other self, so I had to choose a day when I remembered where I was and what I was doing. We decided I should go back to the night that I serenaded Liz with the Maraichi band. It's the perfect time. It was a few days before Liz and I got back together, but after we learned about the skins, and I remember that night well enough to avoid my younger self."

Maria sighed in relief. At least her other self would still have her best friend in her life.

Michael looked at Liz and Max's clasped hands and then up to their faces. He couldn't even imagine the bond they shared but he knew they belonged together. And the fact that they were willing to sacrifice their love to save the world left him in awe of them. What would happen if they succeeded? he wondered. Would the world be a different place? Would Max and Liz's sacrifice make a better future? If Serena's theory was correct, none of them would ever know if Max had succeeded, they would just simply cease to be.

He looked at Max and Liz one more time. They should be alone, this would be their last night together. He reached for Maria's hand and rose to his feet, pulling her with him. "It's been a long day. I think it's time for bed," he said tactfully.

Max and Liz both smiled at him and spoke in unison, "Good night."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Yesterday Nicholas had discovered the main body of Max's troops traveling east. They had been easily captured but Nicholas had been disappointed to learn that Max and the others were not among them. He had carefully searched the mind of one human after another until he was sure he had discovered the truth. Max had devised a plan and he and the others were heading south.

It had been relatively easy to guess where they were going. Nicholas had suspected for years that the Granolith must be near Roswell. And with Max’s destination known, one of the warships had pinpointed the group within a few hours.

Nicholas had hastily eliminated the rest of the rebel troops and gathered his army, still over eight thousand strong, into the three warships. They tracked the Jeep from orbit until it stopped in Roswell and then Nicholas ordered the ships to land. They needed to take the group alive to find the Granolith and that could only be accomplished on the ground.

They knew the basic area where Max had stopped for the night but Nicholas sent out scouts to discover the exact building, then at first light, they would start bombing to drive Max into the open. With all of his strength concentrated on a single goal, Nicholas was positive they would succeed in taking Max and the others.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Roswell, NM)

Song Playing: Never Tear Us Apart by INXS

Max led Liz into the bedroom they were using and closed the door behind him.

Liz turned to Max and pulled him down onto the bed with her. She traced her hands over his handsome face. "Max," her gentle voice urged him, "I want you to go to me."

Max picked up on her meaning immediately. She wanted him to go to the Liz in the past for help. A sudden sorrow overcame him and he flashed on all of the times they had shared. He wondered what his life would have been like if Liz had not been with him but he couldn't even begin to imagine a world without her, she was so much a part of his life. He did suspect that there were times in the last few years he wouldn’t have been strong enough to go on without her, but he stayed silent, cursing himself for his weakness.

He wanted to go to his younger self and knock some sense into him, wake him up, and force him to accept his destiny. He had been so foolish to allow his wish for a normal life to consume him so entirely. His love for Liz had been so overwhelming and so selfish that there had been no room in his life for anything else. He had cavalierly driven Tess away and neglected the duties of leadership that had continued to return to him, no matter how hard he had tried to leave them behind.

Max sighed, letting his guilt and weariness show and hoped that Liz's strength was enough to save him from himself and with him, save them all. But he knew it was. She loved him just as completely as he loved her but he knew she would survive without him. Liz possessed strength that he lacked, even when she had been seventeen. She had loved him desperately but she had found the strength to walk away from him at the pod chamber, all of those years ago. Max knew she would do whatever she had to do, to ensure their survival.

He cursed himself again. He was allowing the events to dictate his actions. He would not let his failure condemn a seventeen year-old Liz to carry the weight of two worlds on her shoulders.

"No," he said harshly. "I will find another way."

"Max," Liz smiled sadly and pressed a kiss to his forehead, "there is no other way."

"There has to be,” Max insisted. “We don't even know if this idea will work. What if I go back and separate us and it still isn't enough?"

"Max," Liz said softly, "we have to do something and this is the best plan we could come up with."

Max shook his head, "I can't do this to you, to her."

Liz took his hand in hers and brought it to her lips. "You aren't doing anything to me. I want you to go to me. You know I would do anything for you."

Tears fell freely from his eyes. "It's my failure, my weakness that has forced us into this position. I can't let you suffer for my shortcomings."

Liz gently kissed the tears from his face. "If I can't be with you, at least let me serve you."

"But you will have to live with this secret for the rest of your life," Max protested.

"And I will have a piece of you that no one can take from me." Liz kissed his lips hungrily, knowing it would be their last night together. Max would do as she asked, even though he was fighting her, she could feel it through their bond. There was no other choice and he knew he could trust her to do what had to be done.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(Thursday, March 20th, 2014)
(Roswell, NM)

Michael burst into the room where Max and Liz were sleeping, "We've got to go now! The skin army is just a couple of miles out of town!"

Max grabbed Liz and hauled her out of bed. He reached for his boots and an explosion rocked the house. Liz was thrown into him and they fell back onto the bed.

Another explosion detonated just outside, shattering the window and Max put up his hand, instantly raising a shield to protect them from the flying glass.

They quickly scrambled to their feet and ran for the door, as Kyle burst into the room and looked them over quickly for injury. "They are just lobbing explosives, it doesn't look like they know where we are. They're probably just trying to flush us out."

"Okay," Max yelled over the sound of explosions. "Get to the Jeep and let's get out of here."

Liz pulled on her boots and reached for Max's hand, "It's time."

Max nodded sadly and squeezed her hand, "Let's go."

They entered the hall just as Michael pulled a sleepy Maria from their room and pushed her at Liz. Michael rushed toward the door, "I'll check the road and make sure it's clear."

"Meet us at the Jeep," Max called, as he headed toward the garage.

Michael looked out the window and when he saw no movement, slipped through the door. He slowly circled the house, checking the ruins of the surrounding buildings and streets, and when he didn't see anything, he crossed to the garage door and used his powers to lift it.

A blast hit him in the back and spun him around, as a skin soldier ran toward him with his arm outstretched. Michael aimed a blast at the soldier’s mid-section and the enemy disintegrated into a shower of dust. Grasping his hand to his chest, Michael sank down onto the ground. With a strange sense of unreality, he raised his hand and looked at the blood covering it. The blast had gone all the way through him.

Max ran through the garage and dropped to his knees, taking Michael in his arms. Max laid his hand across the wound and quickly connected with Michael but the amount of damage brought tears to his eyes.

Michael could feel the life pouring out of him and he knew Max couldn't save him. "I'm sorry Max," he whispered.

Max shook his head, "You've nothing to be sorry for. You're the best second in command and brother I could have asked for."

Liz and Kyle ran into the garage and stopped a few steps away.

Maria pushed past them and fell to her knees beside Max and Michael, tears running down her face. "Michael," she sobbed, "you've got to hold on. It's not that bad. Max can fix you up."

Michael tried to shake his head but winced in pain. "Maria," he gasped, "love you."

"No Michael, don't you let go!" Maria yelled at him, "I love you too much."

Michael smiled and coughed out his last breath. Max felt him go still in his arms. He wanted to cry out, but they had to leave or they would all die. He hugged his brother one last time and got to his feet, pulling a sobbing Maria with him. "I'm sorry Maria but we've got to go."

He sent a thought to Liz and she came forward and took the devastated Maria to the Jeep.

"We just can't leave him here," Maria cried.

Liz pulled Maria into her arms, "I'm sorry Maria. There's no time, we'll all die if we don't go now."

Kyle helped Max pull Michael's body into the garage and Kyle covered him with his jacket. "I'm sorry," he said to Max.

Max nodded and they climbed into the Jeep. Max drove out onto the street and a skin soldier jumped in front of them. Max accelerated and hit him before he could move, and the body disintegrated instantly.

The road ahead of them exploded, and Max swerved to avoid the broken pavement. They drove past an alley, and a truck with four skin soldiers in the bed pulled out onto the road behind them. The soldiers aimed blasts of energy at the Jeep and Max quickly turned, hoping to avoid them. He took side streets, changing direction several times trying to keep the burnt-out shells of buildings between them, but the truck started closing.

Kyle grabbed the blaster in his belt and turned in the seat to take aim at their attackers. He carefully targeted the front tire as the truck pulled closer to them. With a single shot he hit the tire, which exploded and forced the wheels sideways. The truck flipped onto its side and ejected the soldiers from the bed.

Max maneuvered the Jeep through the allies and finally back onto the main road. As they continued into the desert, Kyle kept a watch for more skins, but the only movement behind them was the fading sound of explosions.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


The Jeep skidded to a stop near the foot of the rock formation that housed the pod chamber and Granolith. The four survivors jumped out and Max handed backpacks to Kyle and Maria, "Get started on the pod chamber and Liz and I will make a control crystal."

Max met Kyle's gaze and held it, and Kyle nodded. Even though they had never been able to communicate through a connection, a moment of perfect understanding passed between them.

Kyle knew Max was asking him to look out for Liz and Maria if the plan failed. Kyle reached out his hand and Max took it, only to be pulled into a brotherly embrace. Kyle held him tightly for a moment, "You are the closest thing to a brother I ever had, Max. It was an honor knowing and fighting with you."

Max nodded, "We'll fix this. It'll turn out better next time."

Kyle cocked his head to the side, "It couldn't get much worse."

Max smiled and nodded. Trust Kyle to try and lighten the mood.

Kyle shared a brief smile with Max, then he took the backpacks and jogged up the ledge. He stopped at the door and used his powers to activate the door and disappeared inside.

Max turned and embraced Maria, "I'm sorry about Michael and your mother and Alex..."

Maria cut him off, "None of it was your fault, Max. I've never blamed any of you for anything that happened.” She released him and stepped back to see his face. You and I have had a special bond since the summer when Liz left all those years ago. I'm just sorry I have to lose you, even if it will fix everything."

Max smiled sadly, "Thanks Maria."

Maria nodded and glanced at Liz, "I'd better go help Kyle. The skins will be here soon." She turned away quickly before her tears started, and ran up the hill.

Max turned to Liz, "Are you ready to do this?"

Liz shook her head, "No, but we don't have any other choice." She sighed and refocused her thoughts, "Do you remember what Serena told us?"

Max nodded, "Yeah, it seemed pretty simple."

Max and Liz knelt in the sand and Liz gathered a handful of the grainy particles. Max raised his hand above them, building his energy, and then stopped as tears gathered in his eyes. It had been his idea to do this but now that it was time, he had changed his mind. More than anything he didn't want to leave Liz. He didn't care if the skins overwhelmed and killed every person on Earth, he only cared about staying with Liz. Even if it meant that they would only have a matter of moments together before they died, it was better than surviving apart.

Liz could feel Max's sorrow through their bond. She had been fiercely shielding her emotions from Max so he wouldn't know how terrified she was about what they were doing. Max had been such an integral part of her life and she didn't know how she would live without him.

Trying to push the useless emotions away, Liz forced herself to concentrate on Max’s hand hovering over hers, but when his hand remained where it was, she knew something was wrong. Liz opened a tiny fraction of the connection between them, but Max was shielding too. She knew he was trying to protect her, but nothing could stop the pain that was already starting to consume her.

She could feel Max's gaze on her and looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She studied his face, trying desperately to memorize every plain, every curve; the shape of his mouth, the exact color of his eyes, the way his hair curled around his neck.

Max reached out and gently touched her face, "Liz."

The tears spilled over her lids and down her face, at the tone in Max's voice. He sounded so sad, so defeated, as if he had already given up. Liz let the sand sift through her fingers, took Max's face in her hands and pressed her forehead to his, "No matter what happens, I will always love you."

Max pressed his lips to hers and felt the bittersweet sensation of knowing it would be the last time. He sat back enough to look into her eyes. "Liz I just..." he started, but was interrupted by the sound of an explosion just a few miles away. The skin army was approaching and they were running out of time.

Liz quickly scooped up another handful of sand, "We have to hurry. Remember to concentrate on the night you serenaded me. Picture my balcony a few minutes before the other you arrived. I had just returned from the psychic and I was standing in front of my mirror, imagining what our wedding ceremony would be like."

Max nodded and winced, pushing aside the pain in his heart. The Liz he was going to visit would never have that wedding ceremony, would never share her life with his. Max hardened his heart to his feelings. He was doing this to save the other Liz, to save them all, he just wished he didn't have to sacrifice his Liz in the process. Before he could reconsider again, he passed his hand over the shiny grains of sand, pushing his energy and his intent into them, as he formed them into a six-sided crystal.

Just as he finished, another explosion sounded much nearer and Max stuffed the crystal into his pocket as he and Liz rose to their feet. Hand in hand, they raced up the trail toward the pod chamber door and as they reached it, a closer explosion caused the ground under them to roll. Liz staggered, almost falling, but Max kept his balance and pulled her with him into the relative safety of the pod chamber.

Max nodded to Kyle and Maria, who were already well into their task.

"Good luck," said Kyle.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


(The Granolith Chamber)
(Minutes Before The Fall)

Max and Liz stumbled into the Granolith chamber as the explosions drew nearer, rocking the ground below them. As Max looked at the Granolith before him, the reality of the situation came crashing down around him. No matter what he did in the other time line, he would never be with his Liz again. He turned to Liz in desperation, begging her one last time to change her mind, "I won't leave you."

The same desperation was echoed in her voice but she would not relent, "No, no. No, Max. You have to."

Hearing the pain in her tone he continued, hopeful that he could appeal to her. "If I'm successful, if I can do this, you and I won't exist, not as we do now." But he could see the resolution in her eyes and knew she wouldn't give into him.

"Max, if you don't do this, we're gonna die, everyone will. Max, you have to do this. You have to try it."

"I'll never see you again." He smiled sadly, knowing her decision was irreversible. Her strength and resolution were contagious and shored up his flagging courage. Liz would force him to save the world when he would have been happy to die now at her side. "Thank you."

"For what?"

She had misunderstood him and he covered quickly. For everything, he thought. There were so many things and he regretted, and the end had come upon them so quickly he could not take the time to enumerate every wonderful moment of their lives together. "For every kiss, every smile."

Liz opened the connection between them one last time and let all of her love surge into him, "Max, I don't have any regrets."

Max felt the full strength of her love and devotion pouring over him and sent back his own, basking in the power of the emotions between them, the perfect unity of their souls. An explosion shook the chamber again, throwing them to the floor. They were out of time, and before he could change his mind he thrust the crystal into the base of the Granolith.

Together they watched the powerful machine come to life, unsure of what would happen.

Suddenly Max was disoriented and looked around to discover that he was inside the Granolith, separated from his wife for the first time in years. He turned to look at Liz for the last time, desperately trying to memorize her as she stood before him. Attempting to control his raging grief, he reached for Liz's calming influence, as he always had in bad times. He pressed his hand to the surface separating them and she raised her hand to his, but before they could touch, Max felt the power rush through him as the Granolith propelled him into the past.

As Max's body faded into nothingness, Liz felt their connection sputter and die, and as the grief started to consume her, his name was forced from her lips in anguish, "Aah! Maaax!" The overwhelming pain of his loss drove her to her knees.

Liz had pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, carefully not letting herself think about what they were doing. She had known she would never see Max again but only now did she allow reality to set in. If she had let herself think about being without Max, she never would have let him leave. She would have clung to him and begged him to stay and let the world fall apart around them.

Max was her best friend, her life, her heart and soul, without him she just felt empty inside. She didn’t know how to live without him, how to go on alone. Max was everything.

Maria came in moments later and found Liz still on her knees. "We heard the activation," she said softly.

Liz nodded, unable to speak.

Maria's own loss was still fresh but she proceeded gently, "Liz we have to finish this. The skins are almost here."

Liz silently rose to her feet. There was still too much to do and she would have the rest of her life to grieve the loss of her beloved husband. She took a deep breath and pushed her pain aside. "Let's get it over with."

Maria passed half of the packages to Liz and they spaced them evenly throughout the room, connecting the wires that they pressed into the soft clay-like substance. They left the Granolith chamber and carefully threaded their way through the C-4 lining the pod chamber, connecting the wiring from one room to the other and activating the remote detonator.

When they were finished, Liz and Maria joined Kyle outside, where he was keeping watch, and they got into the Jeep and drove quickly away from the pod chamber and the approaching army.

Liz shrugged into the backpack that contained the remote detonators as they drove. With Max gone and Michael dead, Liz knew the rebellion would look to her to lead them but she just didn’t have the strength. Neither she nor Max had anticipated the loss of their connection when he went back in time and she wouldn't have allowed it to change their plans, but the sense of loss was almost more than she could bear. It felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest, as if half of her was gone, and she longed for death to stop her pain.

Liz took a deep breath and focused her remaining strength on accomplishing the all-important mission. Kyle had argued that they should wait until the skins entered the Granolith chamber to detonate the explosives but Liz feared the skins might have enough power to stop the explosion by disconnecting the wires or mutating the C-4 into play-doh or something else equally harmless. So it had been decided that they would wait to detonate until the skins were near but not in the door, hoping they would eliminate a few of the soldiers when they destroyed the Granolith. They simply couldn’t take the chance and let the Granolith to fall into Khivar's hands. It had to be destroyed.

Liz finished the sentence in her head. It had to be destroyed, in case Max failed. Max. His name echoed through her head. It was doubtful they would know if he had succeeded or failed. For all they knew, he was already dead, destroyed in the Granolith or on the trip back. The theories of time-travel Serena had worked out were sound but they were just that, theories, and Liz would never know of her husband's fate. She felt the suffocating grief start to engulf her again and with great effort pushed it back.

They had all suffered great losses at the hands of the skins, losing their friends, families and lovers, their way of life, their freedom, and their planet, but Liz and Maria agreed, Kyle should activate the detonator. After his capture and torture, his hatred of the skins was a tangible thing and Liz doubted that even the lingering death of every one of their enemies would satisfy his hunger for revenge.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


With Maria and Liz beside him, Kyle watched from a ridge a mile away as the skins' terrible army advanced on the rock formation housing the pod chamber and the Granolith. They had left the pod chamber door open purposfully, and sent a signal from one of the orbs to attract the skins and lead them into the trap.

The first of the skin scouts started the climb up the rocky surface, and Kyle desperately searched the area for Nicholas, who had haunted his dreams and his fantasies of revenge, but the leader of the skin army was nowhere in sight. And as the first skin soldier reached the entrance to the pod chamber, Kyle reluctantly depressed the button to activate the explosives.

The explosion was tremendous, bigger than they had anticipated, and the resulting shockwave leveled anything that stood for hundreds of feet. Rocks and flaming debris rained down on the skin army, who scurried for cover that didn’t exist. As the dust cleared, the three friends were satisfied to see a gaping crater had replaced the rock formation and there was no sign of the Granolith.

Kyle's eyes burned brightly with the fire of satisfaction as he watched the skin soldiers die, engulfed in fire or crushed under rocks, but he searched the chaos in vain for Nicholas. The diminutive General was not among his troops and Kyle felt a shiver of cold dread race up his spine. He stood and pulled Maria to her feet with him. "We've got to get out of here."

He turned to Liz but she was already standing, facing something behind them with a look of calm resignation, almost relief, on her face. Kyle spun toward the beings he knew were there, and drew his blaster as he turned, only to have it knocked out of his hand before he could fire a shot.

"What did you think you could do human?" Nicholas scoffed. "Haven't I proven my superiority over your species?"

Kyle's rage boiled through him and he rushed the smaller being with murderous intent, only to be knocked back into Liz with a careless flip of Nicholas' hand.

Liz helped Kyle stand and kept a hand on his arm, willing him to look at her.

But Kyle refused to look into her eyes, knowing he could not stand to see the emptiness he knew he would find there. Since losing Max, Liz had spoken less than a dozen words and Kyle knew that having destroyed the Granolith, she wished for death, where she hoped to join Max.

Years ago he had read a quote by the Buddha that he had always thought described Liz perfectly. Good people shine from afar, like snowy mountains.

Kyle dared a glance in Liz’s direction but then quickly looked away. He could still see the golden light shining from her, but it was dulled by her grief, like a dark cloud blocking the light of the sun. Kyle squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He did not want to acknowledge that the small woman who had kept their group together for so many years, who had demonstrated her unfathomable strength, time and time again, who had stood between them and death, had given up. He did not want proof that his vivacious, beautiful friend craved death above all else.

Nicholas saw Kyle's reaction and continued. "There is no use resisting." He refocused on the small brown-haired woman before him. "Khivar is waiting for his prize, Liz Evans. Where is your husband?" Nicholas looked around, considering the three before him for the first time. "Max is always at your side. Why did he leave you unprotected?"

Kyle felt Liz open the connection between them and he started to resist, but she dropped in the kernel of an idea before he could shut her out. She had retained some of the explosives and a detonator but she doubted she could activate it alone. Through their connection, Kyle felt her grief wash over him like a hot suffocating rain that pressed the breath from his lungs, and he understood the depth of her connection and her love for Max for the first time. Being without Max was literally killing her. Kyle wanted to comfort Liz, take away her suffering, but he realized what she was asking him to do would put an end to all of their pain. He silently relayed his agreement to her and placed a strong arm around her as if to offer comfort, but instead slipped his hand into the backpack she was wearing.

Liz straightened to her full height and looked Nicholas in the eyes, but spoke in a ragged tone, "Max is dead."

She reached for Maria's hand and a look of understanding passed between them. Maria moved closer and signaled her agreement with a sad smile and a squeeze of her hand. "I love you Maria," Liz whispered to her life-long friend.

Maria whispered, "I love you too."

Liz felt Kyle in her mind as his hand closed over hers.

It's done, he said.

She responded aloud with a sigh of relief, knowing her pain would soon end, and spoke in Kyle's mind, I'm glad that we'll end this together.

Me too Liz, Kyle said as he squeezed her hand. There is no path through the air. No creature is eternal, but the awakened never die.

Liz smiled sadly and squeezed his hand, Thank you Kyle. Thanks for everything.

Even though Liz could no longer feel Max through their connection, she reached out with her mind for the shining, golden thread that bound them together. She wondered briefly if she could invoke it without Max but it slipped eagerly into place as it always did. Liz gathered her strength, built her power, as she had never done before, and using a burst of energy sent all of her love into the bond, hoping that Max would somehow receive her final message to him.

And holding the hands of the only loved-ones left to her, as Kyle counted down in her mind, 5 - 4 - 3, Liz turned to face Nicholas. "And now we will all go to meet Max, together."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


TBC