Children of the Vindicated (FF, Adult) Thread #1

[isabelle]

Alexander has other things to sort out? Interesting...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*Max*

As the bright light fills the room, I'm startled but not scared. This seems familiar and not threatening. Strange how ever since I've been here, everything seems more and more familiar. I don't really remember specific events any more clearly, but the building, the routine, the kinds of people... And I know this is going to be someone on our side.

The light dissipates to reveal a woman with snow-white hair and a kind smile. After dismissing Xadalyn she turns to me.

"Let me introduce myself to you, Your Highness, I am the Oracle, I served you, your father and your grandfather and now your daughter. I need to tell you something that your children do not need to hear just yet." She speaks briskly, gesturing toward Xan.

"I remember," I say, recognising her in some way although that didn't tell me much about who she actually was. Oracle was her position, but I'm sure she has a name, too. Relatives. But that part still escapes me. Still, I know that she is a woman of importance and does deserve some deference. We may have finally learned things and met people we'd never known, but there were still matters for children and others that were only for adults.

"Alexander," I say meeting his eyes. I can see he's unhappy to be left out of whatever I'm about to be told, but I'm not countermanding her request. "Go with Justin. Out the main door to this chamber and go to the left. There should be a ... a place to wait." I finish. I remember it as a library but there's no telling if it's still being used for the same purpose, although I'd guess it is. Even if it is, the boys won't be able to read any of the books, unless the transfer that has allowed him to understand the language extends to reading, too. I found that I had been able to read the Destiny Book after Xan was born, but for me there was an element of 'remembering' that wouldn't apply to Xan. He was too young to read when he left this place...

"And Xan?" I say, stopping him just before he leaves. "I'm glad you came. Thanks for your help."

I haven't seen Sarah return yet. I wasn't really expecting her to get over her distress so soon, but I'd like to know that she's safe, wherever she is...

I look up and catch Liz's eye. She moves across the room and stands beside me. I reach over to take hand and tell the Oracle, "Liz will stay, if that's all right by you."

Liz isn't a child and she is a part of this. She's my wife. I still need her as much as I need to breathe. Whatever the Oracle needs to tell me, is going to be important. And if it's important, then I want Liz to know, too. In spite of the fact that I just sent Alexander away, I'm sure I'll be telling him as much of what the Oracle has to say as I can, too.

*~*~*~*~*

~Liz~ (temping)

When we stepped through the end of the secret passage, we found ourselves in a sitting room of some sort. I heard Max's voice and moved to find him, but Kyria stopped me at the door. Making us wait outside. There didn't seem to be any urgency about it and I relaxed slightly, hoping that the danger had passed. Looking in, I see Max catch a young woman as she collapses and lays her on the bed. A young woman that looks very similar to Xan. This can only be his twin sister, Xadalyn.

Of course, Sarah takes that moment to decide to run off through a strange castle on an alien world. Max may have lived there once, but it's still completely foriegn to me and to Sarah.

For a split second, I'm torn between running after her and staying with Max. I don't know this place. I wouldn't have any idea how to find her, or how to find my way back to Max. What if we were mistaken for Khivar's loyalists? And then there's Justin to worry about, too. And of course, Max and Xander still inside with the fallen Queen.

Max asks Kyria to help and I'm grateful to his quick thinking, although I notice that it is a request, not an order. I don't know if this is because he's not quite comfortable with assuming the mantle of kingship, or if it's simply out of deference to his daughter as she is the acknowledged ruler here.

Still, Kyria does leave and I tell her 'Thank you,' as she passes me. My Sarah is as emotional as any teenager and it's not hard to imagine that this situation was a bit too hard for her to deal with.

"It's her. That's the girl I followed," Justin says. I remember his description of a girl who got hit by a car and then went through the wormhole. I knew he'd followed an alien, but to think it was Xadalyn is surprising. I thought she'd sent Kyria. Why would she come herself? Didn't she trust the girl?

For a second, I wonder if I should be trusting Kyria to help Sarah, but I don't have much choice. I'm sure I'd never find Sarah now.

"Her name is Xadalyn," I tell him but I don't go any further. Explaining that this is Alexander's twin sister would just make things too confusing just now.

I move into the room then, waiting close by Max and Xan as they look over the young woman. I catch Max's eye and I can see the apology in them, but there's no need. I know he didn't plan for any of this and I did promise to stand by him -- for better or worse. None of this changes how much I love my husband.

In only minutes, Xadalyn awakens. She already seems to know who Max and Xan are, but then, she did send Kyria to fetch her father so maybe it's not that big a leap of intuition...

Suddenly, a woman appears in a burst of white light. I almost cry out in my shock, but I manage to hold my tongue. Neither Max nor Xadalyn seem a bit surprised. She even obeys meekly when the woman directs her to leave and clean herself up. For a second, I think this might be Max's mother, the one we saw in the message on the Orbs, but when she introduces herself, I realize I was mistaken.

"Let me introduce myself to you, your highness, I am the Oracle, I served you, your father and your grandfather and now your daughter. I need to tell you something that your children do not need to hear just yet."

I know Max is a king. Sometimes I think I accepted that more easily than he did. But I'm still not quite used to people talking about him in that way. Especially someone who actually knew him before he came to Earth. Max directs the boys to leave, seeming to know where he's sending them. Then he gestures for me to come closer.

"Liz will stay, if that's all right by you," he says. I'm glad to hear it. I know he seems to know this woman, but I'm still a bit concerned. Afterall, the castle was under siege less than an hour ago. There are still forces that have been trying to take control by killing him and his family for at least seventy years. I don't want to leave him alone with some stranger, no matter how much Max appears to trust her...

.

[Athenea]

~Oracle~

After the child leaves the room I sit down on a near by sofa. This might take some time. “I guess I should begin at the beginning.” I say with a smile. “I was there the day Tess gave birth to your children. She didn’t know she was going to have twins, but I did. It was written in the stars, a prophecy older than time, telling of twins that would be born, when our planets aligned, to a Royal family. These twins would be the most powerful rulers in the galaxy, bringing peace to our solar system and even beyond that.”

“The catch was however, don’t you hate catches? Anyway, the catch was this amazing power they both would possess could only be tapped into through there connection. So when separated, they will be weaker when to together they could rule the universe if they wanted too and nobody would be able to stop them.”

“So I got to thinking, children shouldn’t have to deal with that kind of power until there ready. I mean who could control them? Nobody could and they might use the power for evil. So when they were born I immediately put a block on there connection. I couldn’t block out all of it so when Xan got sick I knew it was fate. Tess took him back to earth where he was far enough away from Xada that they couldn’t connect.”

“Do you see our problem? There together now and there powers will eventually remove the block I gave them and they will fulfill there destiny. But they are still very young. Do you think Xan is prepared to handle that much power? I don’t even think Xada’s ready yet, she’s doing well ruling this planet but I don’t think she’s ready to embrace her destiny.”

“You’ve probably already seen that it’s began. They are already trying to tap into their power by connecting and they don’t even realize there doing it.” I sigh, I hope he is understanding all of this.” This kind of power we are talking about will make them above the Gods themselves. I know there not ready for that yet.”

“So I know you want to get to know Xada, but as your former advisor I’d say you need to keep your children apart for at least a couple more years.”

~Xadalyn~

I get my hair done with the usual white crystals put in it and they decide to place five crystals on my forehead in the V shape symbol of our solar system, instead of a tiara. I change into a white silk like gown that is so long it has drags a train and put on some matching slippers. While my ladies in waiting are gossiping, I sneak out into the hallway where I had planned on listening outside my bedroom door to whatever the Oracle was saying to my father.

[CalLen]

Skyler-

I followed my orders from Liz and continue my duties surveying the grounds. I spot a small girl sitting outside and I believe her to be Max's other daughter. I walk towards the girl and begin looking over the small figure who posesses some of the same characteristics of the girl I have protected for the better half of my life. I sit down on the grass beside the girl. "Why the long face?"

[nickimlow]

Alexander

"Alexander, go with Justin. Out the main door to this chamber and go to the left. There should be a . . . a place to wait."

How did he know there was a place to wait? I shrugged it off and turned to leave.

"And Xan?"

I looked back at my father. He gave me a look of gratitude and sincerity. "I'm glad you came. Thanks for your help."

I nodded and walked out of the room. I found Justin and my mother. Quickly, I gave Mom a hug. "Dad wants Justin and me to go somewhere," I said. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

Then, grabbing Justin, I pulled him in the direction my father laid out for me. I had to look for Sarah as well as Kyria, but I wanted to see if my father's words were true. Did he really know what he was telling me, or just guessing?

Justin began protesting and babbling about the girl he had seen. I could barely hear him. As soon as we were out of the main door, I ran to the left, pulling a confused Justin with me.

We came to a large, intricate door with symbols etched across the middle. I took a deep breath and pushed it open.

Justin and I were engulfed by silence. I took a few steps in and realised that this was a library of sorts, with books arranged neatly on tall shelves. There had to be 50,000 to 80,000 at least. Trust Dad to send me to a library, even on a foreign planet. I picked one book at random and skimmed through it. Everything was in symbols, but for some crazy reason, I knew what they meant.

"The ascent of Xanakin Arrios to the throne of Antar was shadowed by a time of chaos that was destined to be . . ."

I heard a loud thud, causing me to jump slightly. I turned around and was about to reprimand Justin for being so clumsy when my eyes met a large, exquisite portrait hanging on the wall. I caught my breath.

"Queen Avalyn Tessana Arrios"

"My . . . mother . . ." I whispered.

This was the answer to all my dreams of that woman falling from the heavens, the woman with hair spun of gold and brilliant blue eyes that seemed to glow. I knew her as the woman who would hold me when I was asleep and in a different world. This woman, painted as a traitor by Mom and Dad . . . she was a woman who loved her children, whatever her misgivings.

She seemed to be smiling at me, and I found myself shedding tears, the tears I should have cried when she decided to leave me and return to Antar all those years ago. No one could replace Liz Evans, but this woman . . . I had missed her love without knowing it.

Grown men weren't supposed to cry. But it didn't matter. I felt like a child again. Momentarily, I forgot entirely that I needed to talk to Sarah and also Kyria. I fell to my knees before the portrait.

How my life had turned 180 degrees within just a few hours.

[Athenea]

~Xada~

I sigh right before my door. I shouldn't listen to this I suppose. I turn and make my way down the halway, my dress trailing behind me. I stop when I hear something in the library. I walk in and see Xan on the floor in front of mother' portrait crying.

I quickly go to him and kneel down beside him putting my hand on his shoulder. As soon as I touch him I feel that familar spark...almost as if its telling of of the connection about to come.

"Beautiful isn't she?" I say quietly in our language.

[nickimlow]

Alexander

A soft, gentle hand touched my shoulder and it was like a small jolt of electricity had just shot through me. I looked up and knew who it was before I saw her. "Beautiful isn't she?" she said softly.

It was embarassing to cry in front of a girl, but I felt no such shame in front of Xadalyn. Her presence was completely comfortable.

I wiped at my eyes and nodded sadly. "What- what was she like?" I asked. For the first time, I realised that I knew what I was saying, but it didn't seem to be English.

Another Antarian trick, I guessed.

[isabelle]

*Max*

I grip Liz’s hand a little tighter as the Oracle tells her tale. It’s interesting that Tess herself didn’t know she was having twins – that maybe one part of what she told me wasn’t a lie. But a prophecy and power enough to rule the universe, unopposed. That was scary. Nobody should have that sort of power. Lord Acton’s words leapt instantly into my mind. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Oracle states nearly the same thing as she speaks of her concern for controlling them and the potential to use their power for evil. While they could do great good, that kind of power could cause great danger for Antar. In spite of my death and long absence, I was still responsible for Antar’s welfare.

As creul as it sounds, would it be better to leave them apart forever? To never risk Antar’s future that way?

Although Alexander has shown absolutely no hint of having any power at all, (save for calling me here the day he was born) I believe the Oracle. Instinctively, I know better than to ask the obvious questions that come to mind. ‘I thought he was human,’ for one. That’s already been explained. So many times I’d healed him for various childhood injuries and I’d never seen any sign of alien power. The Oracle’s blockage was very complete.

Poor Xan. I know how much he’d mourned his lack of power. He’d grown to accept the fact that he was a normal kid in a family of extraordinary people but I know he never liked it. He’ll be disappointed at the least, and more likely furious, to find out that he wasn’t ordinary but his power had been deliberately kept from him.

Leaving them together for an extended period had never even occurred to me. I didn’t even want to bring Xan. Naively, I’d hoped to be able to help Xadalyn, set things right and then return to Earth and my normal life there. I knew there was a chance I’d be stuck away from my family for possibly years, depending on the availability of the ‘wormholes’ Kyria mentioned -- but to leave Xan here? Both going home without him, or staying here with him, seemed to be equally hard to imagine. Yet, having met my daughter, I can’t imagine leaving without spending some time with her – at least a few weeks…

And of course, there’s still the problem of the seal. She expects me to give it to her, but how can I do that knowing this sword is hanging over her, over Antar? I would need more time to be comfortable with such a thing…

“Do you think Xan is prepared to handle that much power?” she asks. “I don’t even think Xada’s ready yet, she’s doing well ruling this planet but I don’t think she’s ready to embrace her destiny.”

“No, he’s not,” I say, automatically. It takes time to gain control of this power. I know how hard it was to gain control over my own power growing up. And it was even harder for Liz, when she gained all her power suddenly. Of course, Xan’s body is apparently built for it in a way that Liz’s wasn’t, but still I know that control has to be gained gradually. I remember Sarah’s frustration as she learned to deal with her powers. She’s still learning... Xan has had no practice at all. He can’t start off at 500 miles an hour on the freeway, having never learned to ride a bike.

The Oracle goes on to say, “You’ve probably already seen that it’s begun. They are already trying to tap into their power by connecting and they don’t even realize they’re doing it. This kind of power we are talking about will make them above the Gods themselves. I know they’re not ready for that yet. So I know you want to get to know Xada, but as your former advisor I’d say you need to keep your children apart for at least a couple more years.”

I look over at Liz, squeezing her hand. The gesture is as much for her comfort as for my own. We still have each other. Together, we can handle anything. Isn’t that what we’ve always told each other? Together, we’ll sort through this, too.

“How much time?” I ask, wanting to know how much time I could spare here. “How long until these blocks are broken?” I wondered also how we would get home when the time came. Would there still be a wormhole? I suppose we could be taken by ship, the way Tess delivered Xan to me.

That thought brought back an earlier question. One, I wasn’t sure I should ask as the answer would change nothing. Yet, the words slipped out before I could stop them. “Did Tess know about this?”

Part of me was sure that Tess must have known. She must have known that Xan wasn’t human as she had claimed. She must have known of the blocks the Oracle put in place and the reasons. Although it was possible that the Oracle had decieved her, too. If Tess honestly thought Xan were human, she’d never think the prophecy applied to him, would she?

[Athenea]

~Oracle~

“How much time? How long until these blocks are broken. Did Tess know about this?” Max says and I nod my head ‘yes.’ “She knew but she gave up believing in destiny along time ago for obvious reasons and she wanted her children to chose there own destiny. As for the blocks I don’t know, they’ve held this long but now that the children are together there’s no telling.”

“I can have a portal set up in about an hour for your return to earth if that is what you wish. If you wanted to stay for a while longer we would just have watch them closely when they are together. Once they find the block I can imagine they will not be happy with me and once they find it they will be able to break it easily.”

Pic of the Oracle






~Xadalyn~

"What- what was she like?" he asks

“Well she kind and caring and she would always make time for me no matter what was going on. But she was always kind of…sad I guess…I have soon visuals around here somewhere.” I say getting up and walking to one of the selves and pick up a metallic looking box. I come back and sit down putting the box between us I open it to reveal several mini looking cds.

I pull one out and put it on the floor. I wave my hand over it using my power to play it. What results is a holographic image of a open field and a little girl with long dark curly hair running around with flowers in her hair. Me at age four, running and giggling as my a very muscular guy chases me around. He grabs me and throws me up in the air and catches me and you hear my mother saying in a laughing tone, “Dom put her down, you might drop her.”

“Who’s that man?” Xan asks me. “That’s Dom, he used to me mother’s bodyguard, now he’s a bounty hunter. He still comes to visit sometimes.”

The large man puts the little girl down and she runs to a woman with long blonde curly hair who is sitting on a blanket. The little girl jumps into the woman’s arms and they both fall backwards onto the blanket, laughing. The woman then starts tickling the girl till the man comes back into the picture, he grabs the woman and pins her to the ground teasingly. “OK Xay, now you can get her back.” The little girl comes and starts tickling the woman till she is in tears with laughter.

I wave my had over the device making the image disappear. “Here you can take these if you want too.” I say, not thinking I can stand watching anymore.




Pic of Dom. He will come into play later.

[isabelle]

*Max*

I frown as the Oracle mentions that Tess no longer believed in Destiny. I looked over at Liz. I don't believe in destiny, either. We make our own destinies. I've said it a hundred times.

Is that what this prophecy is? Just a prediction? Predictions could be wrong. We might be afraid of nothing.

On the other hand, I know Liz can see the future sometimes. That's real. I have to believe in it.

How do I know if this prophecy is just some dream or if it's real foresight? Why can't I remember more about prophets on Antar? I just don't know what to think of that.

I think it would take more than an hour to know what to do about Xadalyn's request for the seal. I'd want to spend more than a day with her, I think.

As far as I can tell, the problem comes from assuming I'm dead. If I'm dead and she doesn't have the activated seal, that means she's not the true heir. But if they know I still live, then she should be able to rule in my stead without that. At least, I would think so.

I pinch my lips together, not sure what to say. I let my eyes wander around the chamber, taking in the room, the furniture, the royal seal repeated so often in the decorations...

*Maybe you and the children could go back and I'll stay a few days with Xadalyn?* I wonder. That would eliminate the danger, although Xan would be furious about not spending time with his sister... And I would so much rather have Liz here with me. I think so much more clearly when she's around...

"You said that on Earth, he's too far away to link with his sister. Could his blocks be removed there, so he can learn to use his powers?" I ask the Oracle. The link with his sister would still be there -- as proven by her recent call to the two of us today -- but maybe it would be weak enough to prevent this bonding, while still allowing Xan his powers so he can be himself -- to learn control...

[nickimlow]

Alexander

“Well she kind and caring and she would always make time for me no matter what was going on. But she was always kind of . . . sad I guess . . . I have some visuals around here somewhere.”

Visuals? I watched Xadalyn get a box from one of the shelves. When she came back, she placed it between us and opened it. Inside were a bunch of CDs (of sorts).

I sat more properly as she put one of the CDs on the the floor and activated it somehow with her powers. And then a hologram began playing.

I watched the little Xada giggling and running, playing in a field of blue grass. A big guy was chasing her. She couldn't have been older than five. Where was I at the age of five? Scowling as Sarah pooped and got all the attention, most probably.

The tall, muscular man picked Sarah up and bounced her in the air. Only then did I see the beautiful blonde there, smiling and giggling, telling him, “Dom put her down, you might drop her.”

“Who’s that man?” I asked Xadalyn. Was that our mother's lover, perhaps? Or an uncle of ours?

“That’s Dom, he used to be mother’s bodyguard, now he’s a bounty hunter. He still comes to visit sometimes,” Xadalyn explained.

I continued watching, perplexed, as Dom put the laughing girl down. Little Xadalyn ran to her mother and jumped into her arms, causing them both to topple. As the Queen tickled her squirming daughter, Dom came back and pinned her to the ground. “OK Xay, now you can get her back.”

Xadalyn did get back at her mother, tickling her too.

Queen Avalyn . . . she seemed nothing like what Dad and Mom had made her out to be in their brief explanation. Why did she bring me back to Earth?

Maybe it was because I was human and had no powers. Perhaps she loved me and thought I would be an outcast on Antar.

Or perhaps she despised me and decided to send me away.

“Here, you can take these if you want to," Xadalyn said, her expression now sad.

I didn't know what to do with them. I had no idea how to work with them. How could she bear to give up something that held within it precious moments with our mother? I touched them first and then, deciding that the memento was a sweet gesture, I took them and thanked her.

I stood up and looked at my twin, laughing nervously. "So many questions. About our mother, about you, about this planet- I could never ask them all if I tried," I said, grinning.

Then, I added more solemnly, "I've had dreams about her before, you know. She would be falling from the sky, somehow. And I would always remember those eyes, like little sparkling sapphires. Every time I looked into the mirror, I would see her staring back at me." I stopped for a moment. "And that's exactly how I feel now."

Emotion was normally not my thing, but I felt it was necessary to spend some time with her and get to know her.

It was cut short, though, because, just then, there was a loud crash. I exchanged a glance with Xadalyn. "Oh, great. Justin!" I groaned, cringing.