Roswell Fanatics

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

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

Chapter Twenty-One – Setbacks

“Damn it,” said Max. “We should have expected something like this. Do you suppose there’s any chance his clone is defective, like his Vilondra clone?”

“Judging by the way things are organized, I’d go with no,” Isabel said, bleakly.

“Isabel, we need you to think,” Max said. “Was there anything, anything at all that you could see that we could use against the Gadori?”

“Max, he said they didn’t have any weaknesses. I don’t think he was lying.”

“Cal, can you think of anything, anything at all that we can use against these guys?” Max asked.

“Pretty much, you’re screwed,” said Cal. “When they change into something, they take on all the characteristics of that species, including DNA.”

“So blood tests won’t work,” said Liz. “Now what?”

“I vote for eating,” said Michael. He passed his hand over his plate and heated his food back up and resumed eating, while everyone stared at him.

“What?” he said. “I’m hungry, and starving myself is not going to give us an answer. We can plan and eat at the same time. At least I can. I don’t know if Kyle’s mastered that skill yet.”

“I can’t eat anything,” said Isabel, looking at the food-laden table with disgust.

“Michael’s right, Isabel,” said Liz. “If nothing else, we need to keep up our strength, and to do that, we need to eat.” She stood up and walked over to the table and sat down, and toyed with her food.

“Nice try Liz,” said Michael. “But for it to work, you actually have to put the food in your mouth. All of you, sit down, and eat. Pacing is not going to solve this problem.”

“He scares me when he’s reasonable,” Max said to Isabel. His comment caused her to smile slightly, and move to the table. He winked at Michael behind Isabel’s back. He didn’t buy reasonable Michael for a second. He knew it was just an act to get Isabel to stop focusing on her dream walk of the Gadori. There was a bond between Michael and Isabel that even he, as her brother couldn’t break.

“You might as well sit down and eat, Cal,” Max said.

“Such a gracious welcome,” said Cal, sitting in the seat vacated by faux Eddie. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked pointing to a dish containing a noodle like substance.

“Only if you think it’s bodrodnya,” said Michael, reaching for the platter. “Max brought some back on his last trip to Antar.”

Cal sighed with delight at the thought of the spicy sweet dish. He took the platter that Michael held out to him and slid some of the noodles on his dish. He offered the platter to Liz who wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Thank you, no,” she said. “One thing I don’t miss about Antar is the food. No offense to your culture and all, but the food is horrible.”

“I’ll say,” said Kyle. “I don’t know how we would have survived up there without those pills that Liz made, and the care packages from our folks.”

Cal shoveled the bodrodnya into his mouth, and watched as the five friends bantered back and fourth, amazed at their ability to regroup and roll with the punches. It saddened him too that they developed this ability out of sheer necessity. If he had done a better job of protecting them, they wouldn’t have needed to be so adaptable.

“Don’t,” Kyle, suddenly.

“Don’t what?” asked Max. “Have more chicken? Why not, there’s plenty.”

“Not you, Max, him,” Kyle said, nodding at Cal. “He’s busy beating himself up over the lousy job he did of protecting you.”

“Well he did,” said Michael, baldly.

“Yeah, but if he hadn’t, you probably never would have ended up with Maria, and Liz would probably be dead, and I never would have found Ava,” Kyle said. “Did you ever think of that?”

“That power of yours is really developed, isn’t it?” asked Cal. “You got all of that off of me in a matter of seconds. It’s too bad the rest of you don’t have that ability, or anything similar to it.”

“The Granolith!” Liz cried, excited. Do you think that we could use the Granolith to accelerate our abilities?” She looked around the table, waiting for the others to share her excitement, but all she saw were blank stares.

“Don’t you get it? My powers started because Max healed me, right?” The others nodded their agreement. “And Alex and Kyle’s started to develop because Tess mind warped them to hell and back. But Maria didn’t have any powers, even after Ava tried to nudge her brain.”

“We were there, Liz,” said Michael, not unkindly. “We don’t really need the recap right now.”

“Yeah, you do, because none of you are remembering how the Granolith activated and fixed Alex and Kyle, and gave Maria powers. Maybe we can use it to amplify that power in us.”

“Liz might be right, Max,” Isabel said thoughtfully, lifting a fork full of food to her mouth in an unconscious gesture. “It helped us so much remember, why can’t we try and activate it to do this too?”

“Mostly because we don’t know how, that’s why?” said Max. “We don’t know how to activate it.”

“Maybe you should just take it on faith, Max,” Cal said. “That’s one lesson you’re father and I never learned. Neither one of us ever really believed in the power of the Granolith. Don’t make the same mistakes we did. Just take it on faith.”

“Then let’s go now,” said Max.

“What do we do about him?” asked Liz, looking at the Gadori, still tied to the chair.

Without a word, Cal jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the ground. He crossed the room in three large strides, pressed his hand to he Gadori’s chest and fired a concentrated bolt of energy into his chest. The Gadori glowed red for a moment and then imploded in a pile of dust.

“Someone’s going to have to clean that up,” said Kyle.

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

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

Chapter Twenty-Two - If at First You Don’t Succeed

“Any idea of how we’re going to do this?” Max asked as they stood in front of the Granolith. “I don’t think we can use the four square to activate it, as half of us are missing.”

“We can try,” said Liz. “I mean, we don’t have anything to lose, do we?”

They quickly arranged themselves in a makeshift interlocking four square pattern, and looked hopefully at the Granolith. After several minutes of waiting, they finally admitted defeat.

“Well, that went well,” said Kyle. “In an alternate universe, maybe.”

“You’re not helping, Kyle,” said Michael. “Unless you have something of value to contribute, shut up.”

“And unless you want us to start thinking you’re one of the Gadori, you’d better stop acting so damn calm and rational,” said Isabel.

“What, I’m trying to turn over a new leaf,” said Michael.

“Well stop,” said Max. “We need hot headed impetuous Michael now. We don’t have time to deal with the new you.”

“Fine, someone figure out a way to get this frigging thing started,” Michael said. “There, is that better?”

“Much,” said Max.

“I have a suggestion,” said Cal, who had been, up to now, watching the interaction between the five friends with great interest. The byplay between them, even during times of crisis, amazed him. Back on Antar, he would have never allowed such freedom in the ranks. But then again, back on Antar; Kivar had defeated his army. This bunch of kids had managed to defeat Kivar and take back the throne on their own. Who was he to mess with their success.

“Yeah, what?” asked Michael, unable to mask the contempt he felt for Cal.

“Why not try it with just four of you? After all, you were sent down as four. Max, stand here, Isabel, there, Michael, you stand over here, and Liz, over here,” instructed Cal.

“What makes you so certain it will work,” griped Michael as he moved into position.

“Nothing makes me certain,” said Cal, “But as Liz pointed out, we have nothing to lose.”

Liz stepped into place, and they stared expectantly at the Granolith, waiting for something to happen.

They were about to admit defeat when Kyle jumped up excitedly.

“Take it on faith,” he called to the others. “It’s like Cal said. You have to take it on faith. Believe that it’s going to happen, and it will.”

“Believe,” said Liz, taking up Kyle’s cry. “Believe.” She focused intently on the Granolith, seeing it fill with light in her mind.

Slowly a pale strip of color appeared at the base of the Granolith. Isabel took up the chant of believe, and the color became more intense. Cal looked over at Max and saw his mouth moving as he silently formed the word believe.

The color intensified and began moving up the Granolith, growing stronger and stronger. Michael added his voice to the others, and the Granolith began to glow. The light spilled out from the top and filled the room with dazzling brightness.

Kyle walked up to the Granolith and placed his hand on its cool sides. Within seconds, he was pulled inside. He sat down and began to focus, trying to channel his ability to read emotions to the others. The light in the Granolith changed from silver to a dark amethyst color, and Max, Liz, Michael and Isabel were all bathed in the purple light.

The light began to fade, growing paler and paler as it receded back into the Granolith. The light faded completely, leaving an emotionally exhausted Kyle sitting in its base. Michael stepped out of the square first and reached inside and helped support Kyle as he climbed out.

“Man, am I beat,” said Kyle, his voice weak. “I didn’t realize it would take that much out of me.”

“How’d you know?” asked Max. “How’d you know what to do?”

“It was amazing,” said Kyle, his eyes filled with wonderment. “It’s like the Granolith was telling me what to do; like it was alive or something. Do you remember when your father told us, Antarians always believed that the Granolith was an icon given to them by their deity?” he asked, looking at Max.

“Yeah, why?” asked a confused Max.

“I don’t think the Granolith was given to them by their deity, I think it is the deity. Or, at the very least, a conduit to talk to it,” explained Kyle.

“No way,” said Max, looking at the Granolith with something akin to awe. “Then we protect it like we protect our parents. We’ll have to figure out some way to rotate the guards so that there are at least two of them hear at all times.”

“Max,” Liz said, gently. “The Granolith was here for over twelve years, and nobody ever found it. I think it’s going to be safe here while we take care of this situation.”

“You’re right,” Max admitted. “It’s just that my father was so certain that his lack of belief in the Granolith is what led to the downfall of Antar the first time. I don’t want to be caught in the same trap.”

“You’re not, Max,” said Isabel. “Liz is right, the Granolith is safe here. Especially, if we use our powers to block it in with rocks so that nobody can get to it.”

“That’s a good idea, Max admitted. Still, before we leave, I want to examine the perimeter of this outcropping.”

“Hey, I’m the general,” Michael protested in mock anger. “I get to give those orders.”

“Do you kids take anything seriously?” asked Cal. “You don’t even know if what you did succeeded, and here you all are, making jokes.”

“Excuse me, Cal,” Michael said. “We know exactly what we’re doing, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go check the surrounding area.”

He pushed past the others and climbed through the pods to the outer chamber. A small breeze of warm air filtered, indicating that Michael had opened the door to the outside world.

“I’m going to go help Michael,” she told the others, shooting Cal a baleful look. “You know Cal, you don’t know anything about us, or what we’re capable of. And you definitely don’t know anything about Michael. Maybe you’d do better to keep you’re comments to yourself until you do.” She glared at him one more time before she climbed through the pods.

“Wow, is she pissed,” said Isabel. “And I can’t say that I blame her. Cal, you don’t know us. We get why you stayed away, but you need to get that we know what we’re doing. And by the way, that keeping us at arms length act of yours isn’t working, so you might as well give it up. You care about us, almost as much as Michael wants to care about you. The two of you are so much alike. You hold yourselves apart from people so you won’t get hurt. In the end you end up hurting worse than ever.”

“I guess it worked,” Kyle whispered to Max. “Can you feel it?”

“Yeah, it’s almost like it’s tangible. Is this how it is for you, all the time?” Max asked, watching a chastened Cal follow Isabel out of the chamber.

“Pretty much,” admitted Kyle. “That stuff your father taught me helped a lot, and I found some other stuff in the book translation that helped some. You know, someday, one of us has to read that thing cover to cover,” he said, referring to the fact that none of them had ever managed to read the complete translation of the two destiny books.

“Let’s seal of the entrance to this thing,” said Max. “Then we can help Michael and Liz and get back to town.

They made short work of concealing the chamber that housed the Granolith. Outside, Max and Kyle joined the others in their search of the area surrounding the Granolith. Relieved that they found nothing out of the ordinary, they prepared to head back to town.

“Wait a second,” said Michael, standing outside of the Sheriff’s Bronco. He shaded his eyes and looked on top of the giant sandstone outcropping. Without a word, he sprinted towards the giant rock and began scaling its rugged sides.

“Hey!” he shouted when he reached the apex of the monolith. “You’d better get up here, we have a problem!”

The others climbed out of the car and began scaling the sandstone outcropping with varying degrees of skill. Kyle reached the pinnacle first and stood beside Michael, looking at something in the ground.

“Damn,” he said to Michael. “What is it?”

“How the hell do I know,” said Michael. “Alex is the science geek, not me.”

“Excuse me?” said Liz, as she struggled to pull herself up. “Alex is the science geek? What am I, chopped liver? Thanks,” she added when Kyle and Michael reached down to pull her up. “Huh, look at that. Anybody know what it is?”

“Remember the science geek conversation?” said Kyle. “You’re the one who said you were one of them.”

“Well, yeah, biology,” said Liz. “Alex is the techno geek.” She turned to look at Max and Isabel, who had since reached the top as well. “Any ideas?” she asked. “I’m going with transmitter of some sort.”

“You’re probably right. Question is, whose transmitter is it?”

“It’s Gadori,” said Cal, quietly. “See the writing on its base? That’s Gadorian.”

“Do you suppose this means they located the Granolith?” asked Michael.

“Honestly, no,” said Cal. “If they had, they would have been here already and tried to take it. My guess is that they sent it down with their troops for communication. It’s only a coincidence that it landed here.”

“I bet the impact of that is what caused the rock slide inside,” said Isabel.

“And it’s what knocked all of us unconscious as well,” said Cal. “The signal it emits rendered us all unconscious until our bodies adapted to it.”

“Why?” asked Max.

“I don’t claim to know how it works, but I’ve seen it work before. When we brought the ship down in 47 in New York. We activated the cloaking device to hide the ship, but the signal also knocked people out in about a hundred yard radius,” Cal explained.

“What happens if we destroy it?” asked Kyle.

“I don’t know,” admitted Cal. “I don’t think they’re hiding a ship out here. Even they couldn’t be that dumb.”

Liz pulled off her jean jacket and dropped it over the transmitter, her eyes scanning the surrounding desert as she did.

“Hey, over there, look!” she shouted, pointing into the desert.

Everyone looked to where she pointed and saw the landscape begin to shimmer and shift as a small ship faded in and out of sight. Exited, Liz reached down and pulled her jacket off the transmitter, and the landscape solidified, showing only rocks and a few scrubby trees.

“Yeah, they were that dumb,” she said with a smile. “Now, all we have to do is figure out a way to get most of them out to their ship and destroy it, and them at the same time.”

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

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

Chapter Twenty-Three – Pop Goes the Gadori

Max gave Liz a worried look, she sounded almost gleeful at the thought of destroying the Gadori, and that wasn’t like her at all. Out of all of them, Liz was usually the most pacific; she abhorred violence of any type and usually worked to find peaceful solution. Not that she wasn’t above defending herself or those she cared about, she just didn’t take much joy in it.

Max slid an arm around Liz and squeezed gently.

“Don’t worry, Max,” she said. “I’m not turning into a homicidal maniac or anything, I simply want them gone, and hey, if they want to be stupid and park their ship where we can see it, why not use it to our advantage?”

“What did you say?” asked Kyle.

“I said if they want to be stupid and park their ship,”

“No, not that part,” Kyle interrupted. “The first part.”

“I told Max not to worry, and that I wasn’t turning into a homicidal maniac,” repeated Liz. “Why?”

“Max didn’t say he was worried about you becoming a homicidal maniac,” explained Kyle. “He was, but he didn’t say it, so how’d you know?”

“I don’t know,” said Liz. “I just did.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” asked Kyle, a giant grin splitting his face. “It worked.”

“I don’t feel anything,” grumbled Michael.

“No offense, Michael,” said Kyle. “But you have he emotional range and depth of a teaspoon, if it wasn’t going to work with someone, it figures it would be you.”

“I have more emotional range and depth than a teaspoon,” Michael said in an injured tone.

“Yeah, he’s moved all the way up to tablespoon,” Isabel whispered to Liz.

“If you guys are done,” said Max. “We need to figure out a way to get a majority of the Gadori out to their ship at the same time.”

“I may know a way,” Cal said, eyeing the transmitter. “Like I said, I’m not totally familiar with how it works, but I do know how to work it.”

“What?” asked Max.

“It’s like a car,” said Cal. “You know how to drive one, but you don’t know how it works.”

“I know how cars work,” said Kyle, to nobody in particular.

“What does that have to do with anything, Kyle?” Isabel asked.

“Nothing, really,” he admitted, sheepishly.

“Well, can we focus on this then?” asked Isabel. “We’ll admire your prowess with a wrench later on.”

“Should I continue now?” asked Cal. “Or does somebody have another witty yet inane comment to make?”

“No, I’m done,” said Kyle. “Michael, how about you?”

“I’m good,” said Michael. “Liz, you all set?”

“I’m fine,” said Liz, with a grin. “Isabel?”

“No, I’m good,” said Isabel with a resigned sigh. “Max?”

“No, I’m all set,” said Max, shooting Cal his famous Tom Cruise grin. “Look Cal, you may not like it, but this is how we deal with all the crap we’ve been forced to face these past few years. Now tell us about the transmitter.”

Cal choked back the angry words that threatened to spill out at their irreverent behavior. Maybe Max had a point, he didn’t know them, and he didn’t have any right to criticize their coping mechanisms. After all, they’d been successful so far.

“Okay, the two buttons on the left are what activate and deactivate the cloaking mechanism,” said Cal. “But if you press them simultaneously, they emit a danger signal. If the Gadori run true to form, they’ll rendezvous at the ship.”

“Giving us a chance to take them out,” said Michael. “Nice, simple, effective, I like it.”

“I’m so glad the General approves,” said Cal, his voice laced with sarcasm. “And if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t do it, right?”

“Wrong,” said Michael. “We’re a team, we work together. If someone doesn’t like an idea, we listen to alternative suggestions, and try and come up with something we all agree on.”

“Damn stupid way to run an army,” muttered Cal. “When I was the king’s second, I,”

“We are not an army, and you are not the kings second any longer,” Michael ground out between clenched teeth. “The sooner you realize that, the better. Maxwell, I’ll meet you down below.”

Michael climbed down the rocky path at a breakneck speed, sliding the last hundred feet to the bottom.

“You know, you’re a real ass,” said Max, glaring at Cal. “My father probably gave you that stupid assignment just to get you the hell out of his life. I’m going to go check on Michael,” he added, turning to Liz. “Have him activate it, will you? Be careful on your way down.”

“Why are you riding him so hard?” Isabel demanded. “You don’t know him, you don’t know any of us. What the hell is your problem, Cal?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but turned and started down the same steep path Max and Michael had used.

“Not a smart move, man,” said Kyle. He folded his arms and assessed Cal. “Not smart at all. Don’t try to play us to get us motivated to fight, it’s not how we work.”

“And how do you work, Little Buddha?” asked Cal. “This isn’t a game; you’re soldiers, fighting a war. You seem to keep forgetting that.”

“You know, I’m beginning to thing Michael, Isabel and Max were lucky you stayed out of their lives,” said Liz. “We know this isn’t a game. We’re fighting for our lives, again. What you don’t seem to understand, Cal is that for better or worse, we have to do it our way, on our terms. We’re stronger together than apart, and you’re trying to push us father apart. Why?”

“I’m not trying to drive you apart,” said Cal, struggling to understand what Liz was saying.

“You’ve been on this planet for over fifty years, Cal, haven’t you learned anything about people in all that time? Did you let anybody get close to you in all that time?”

Even as she asked the question, Liz realized with a growing sense of sadness that Cal hadn’t let anyone get close to him. He had kept the largest portion of himself separate from the people he came in contact with. He was, in essence, the same general that left Antar fifty years ago. He wasn’t playing at being a general, he was that general.

Liz looked at Kyle and saw the compassion she was feeling mirrored in his eyes. He walked over to the transmitter and pressed the two buttons Cal shown them earlier.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go clean up this mess so we can get to Antar and clean up that mess.”

** * ** * ** * **

Kyle waited on top of the sandstone mass, while the others spread out around its base. Several Gadori emerged from the ship almost immediately, and Michael made short work of them, firing bolt after bolt of energy at them.

After several hours, the first group of Gadori’s arrived, pouring out of a mini van like clowns climbing out of a mini car at a circus. Liz counted ten of them as Max and Michael fired on them, and Kyle rained energy bolts on them from above. Liz Cal and Isabel circled around the ship, to ensure that none of the Gadori managed to escape that way.

One by one they picked off the new arrivals, smiling grim smiles with every Gadori that fell. The doors to the ship opened once again, and three Gadori crept out and tried to circle around the back of the ship to make their way to the transmitter. Liz raised her hand before Cal or Isabel could react and killed them quickly.

“That was for Jose, Fred, and Agnes,” she said, tears glistening in her eyes.

Isabel rubbed Liz’s back gently, trying to absorb some of the pain the other girl felt.

“Don’t Liz, let it go,” she said. “You’re hurting, but revenge isn’t going to bring them back, and it’s not going to make you feel better.”

“I know,” Liz sniffed, wiping a tear that off of her cheek. “I know.”

Cal watched in amazement, trying to reconcile with the somewhat selfish Vilondra he remembered from Antar. Maybe had she had a chance to live, his niece would have matured the way her incarnation obviously had.

The battle raged on intermittently until sunset. Max estimated that they had eliminated nearly 30 of the Gadori. He whistled up to Kyle and signaled him to come back down. Liz, Isabel and Cal made their way back to the base of the, reaching the others at the same time as Kyle.

“How many do you think we got?” he asked.

Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper, with some writing on it.

“I counted forty six,” he said. “I was trying to keep count. I might have missed a couple though,” he admitted.

“We need an accurate count,” Michael said. “Liz, do you think you could hide Max and I with a mind warp so we can go out there and count bodies?”

“I can try,” said Liz. ]

She focused all her energy on Max and Michael, and they faded from sight. They hurried over to the ship, counting bodies as they did. They were back in several minutes, with an accurate count.

“Good job, Kyle,” Max said. “It was forty six. That means if Isabel’s dream walk was accurate, there are only four more out there.”

“That’s not quite accurate,” said Cal, jumping up. He fired two quick bolts of energy over Max’s head, dropping to more Gadori that had just arrived. “Damn, that felt good!”

“What’s next?” asked Liz, taken aback by the look of glee that appeared on Cal’s face when he killed the Gadori.

“We go back to Antar,” came Max’s response.

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

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

Chapter Twenty-Four – Malfunctions

Liz opened the storage closet in their apartment and removed the belts Alex had created on Antar that would allow them to travel back to the planet. When she located them, she backed out of the closet and looked around the apartment that she and Max had painstakingly decorated. She couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding that filled her. She felt like this was the last time she’d ever see her apartment again.

She crossed the living room and sat in the ugly leather recliner that Max had insisted he had to have, calling it his throne.

‘Zan may have the real one,’ he’d said. ‘But this one is mine.’

She smiled to herself as she remembered Kyle, ever the practical joker, making the wall above the recliner glow with the Antarian Royal seal every time Max sat in it one night.

“Liz, Liz, where are you?” Max called, rushing through the back door into their small kitchen.

“I’m in here!” she yelled, jumping up from the recliner as Max ran into the living room. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Michael, he’s missing,” Max said, his face white with fear.

“What?” cried Liz. “What happened? I just left the two of you less than half an hour ago.”

“Oh, you did?” asked Max. “Damn, that blows that plan.” As he spoke, the figure before her changed from Max into Mrs. Jackson, the woman who had accused her of killing Agnes. “No matter, though it would have been far more entertaining for me to kill you while I looked like your husband.”

“You can try,” said Liz. “But I don’t think you’ll succeed.” She reached out and grabbed the woman by the arm and yanked her towards her. As the figure moved closer, she shape shifted back into the image of Max. Liz placed her other hand against the Gadori’s chest and fired several quick bolts of energy into her chest, killing her instantly.

“Oh God, oh God,” Liz whispered, clutching her stomach, overwhelmed by what had just occurred. She knelt down beside the pile of ash, and rocked back and forth, trying to stop the shivers that consumed her body.

“Liz!” a voice called. “Are you in here?”

Liz continued holding her stomach and rocking as Kyle walked into the room.

“Liz! What happened? Are you hurt?” he cried. Kyle knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around his friend and held her tightly as she sobbed, releasing all the pent up emotion she had contained for so long.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, stroking her hair gently. “It’s okay, Liz. “Don’t worry.”

They sat together on the floor, one comforting, one crying, undisturbed until Max returned home. Kyle held up a restraining hand to Max, while his other hand still stroked Liz’s hair.

“Liz, it’s okay, Max is here. I want you to look up and see him,” said Kyle.

“What happened?” Max asked softly. “Was somebody else,” he paused, unable to bring himself to ask if somebody they knew and cared abut had died.

Kyle shifted slightly, and the remains of the Gadori came into view.

“Are you all right, Liz?” he asked. “Who was that? Was it one of them?”

“It wu-was you,” Liz sobbed. “I k-killed you.”

“Liz, I’m right here,” Max said, reasonably. “You killed one of the Gadori, not me.

“You’re wrong, Max,” Liz said venomously. “God, I was so blasé when Maria killed Rath. I spouted cheerful platitudes. I’m surprised she didn’t kill me.”

“Maria did what she had to do, and so did Alex for that matter when he killed Lonnie, and you did exactly what you had to do to stay alive.”

“Wonderful, let’s see how you feel when the next Gadori you kill has my face,” said Liz. She turned her face back to Kyle’s chest and began to sob again.

“Max, you’d better leave,” Kyle said stroking Liz’s back, gently. “You’re not helping, in fact, you’re making matters worse.”

“Kyle, she’s my wife,” Max said obstinately. “I’m not leaving.”

“Well why don’t you try helping, then Max. Try listening to her with your heart,” said Kyle. “Stop blocking her emotions. I can feel you doing it. Open yourself up to what she’s feeling. She needs you.”

Max flushed an unbecoming shade of red, knowing that Kyle was correct. He had been purposely blocking the emotions that were pouring off of Liz. He remembered how bad Kyle felt when he first started feeling the effects of his empathic power, and he wasn’t sure he could handle the burden as gracefully as Kyle had done.

“Liz,” he said, kneeling down beside his wife. “I’m sorry. Please let me help you.” He held his arms open, and Liz fell into them with a sob. He watched gratefully as Kyle stood up and left the room quietly.

“Max, it was horrible,” said Liz. He came in here looking exactly like you, but when I realized it wasn’t you, he shifted into that woman who accused me of killing Agnes. Then, when I reached out to kill her, she changed back into you. I was so afraid for just a spit second that I had actually killed you, and I fell apart.”

“God, Liz, that must have been horrific for you,” said Max, brushing her hair back from her face. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. But Liz, it’s over, it really is, and as hard as it may be, you need to put it aside, we need to go back to Antar. We are not going to forget about this Liz. I promise you, we will talk about it, but right now, I think the safest thing for all of us to do is get the hell out of Roswell.”

Liz scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and smiled weakly at her husband. She had felt it the second he stopped blocking her and opened himself up to her emotions. She needed, with every fiber of his being, for him to make that connection with her. She didn’t know why it meant so much to her, but it did, and she was glad he had.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” she agreed, quietly. She scrambled to her feet and took one last look around the small apartment she had called home for the past several months and smiled to herself. The feelings of intense foreboding and danger were gone, at least for now.

Together with Kyle, they traveled out to the pod chamber where Michael, Isabel and Cal were waiting for them. Kyle gave them a brief overview of what had happened back in town while Max and Liz readied the belts for travel. After giving Cal a brief explanation of how the belts worked, they strapped them on and activated them. After several minutes, it was apparent that nothing was going to happen.

“Something must be blocking them,” said Isabel. “Either that, or Alex did something to them from his end.”

“Can he do that?” asked Michael.

“Alex can probably do just about anything with the right tools and a computer,” said Isabel, her voice tinged with equal amounts of pride and frustration.

“This is just great!” shouted Kyle in an uncharacteristic display of temper. He took his belt off and threw it across the chamber, striking the control panel of the Granolith. “I have to get up there,” said Kyle. “Ava needs me! I have to get to her!”

“Yeah, great, you think you’re the only one anxious to get back there!” Michael shouted. “But we’re screwed, the belts don’t work, and the only person with the slightest chance of fixing them is already on Antar. What the hell do you want us to do?”

“Why can’t we use the Granolith?” asked Isabel. “It’s how I got here, remember?”

“No,” said Max, immediately. “Zan would have called it back right way, unless he wanted it left here for safe keeping. We can’t risk bringing it back. Damn it, there’s got to be another way.”

“There is,” said Cal, softly, but nobody paid any attention to him.

“Liz, can you figure out what’s wrong with the belts?” Michael asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I doubt it. Alex explained the basic operation to me, but I wouldn’t even begin to know how to fix them. We’d have a better chance of stealing the Gadori’s ship and flying it back to Antar.”

“I can do that,” said Cal.

“What are you ranting on about?” Michael shouted. “Wait, what did you just say?” he asked in a quieter tone as Cal’s earlier words finally penetrated his consciousness.

“I said I could fly that Gadori ship out there. We can take that back to Antar.”

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

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

Chapter Twenty – Five – Take Out and Take Off

They waited until night cloaked the desert before they boarded the Gadori ship. Michael, following Cal’s instructions deactivated and destroyed the cloaking device. They didn’t want to take any chances of having it discovered because it was located virtually on top of the Granolith.

Cal activated a control panel on the outside of the ship, and a door slowly opened, allowing them access into the dimly lit interior of the Gadori ship. Cal and Michael took the lead into the ship, while Kyle brought up the rear, effectively cocooning Max, Liz and Isabel in an effort to keep them safe.

“This is eerie,” said Isabel, once they were inside. “But it’s nothing at all like I thought it would be.”

“You were expecting suspended animation pods?” asked Cal, wryly.

“Well, yeah, I guess, I mean what do we know about any of this stuff, anyhow?” Isabel responded.

“Apparently, not much,” said Cal with a grin. “I suppose you didn’t do much learning when you were at the Training Academy, what with saving the planet and all.”

Michael was about to make an angry response when he noticed the grin playing on Cal’s face. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax.

“Yeah, that playing the hero really got in the way of our educations,” he said, matching Cal’s smile with one of his own.

Cal stopped and did a double take, amazed at receiving even the smallest sign of acceptance from Michael. He moved up to the front of the ship and started explaining the control panel to Max, Isabel and Kyle. Liz reached out and grabbed Michael by the arm, holding him back slightly.

“Are you okay?” she whispered. “I could tell that was really difficult for you.”

“Lay off, will ya, Liz?” Michael said, jerking his arm away. Any display of emotion made him uncomfortable; a display of his emotion made him downright irritable.

“Look, I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said. “But right now, I can feel everything you’re feeling, and I don’t think it’s very healthy for you to keep it bottled up inside like that.”

“Look, Liz, it’s bad enough when Maria wants me to get all in touch with my emotions, I’m sure as hell not going to do it with you,” Michael said, his voice tinged with anger.

“I’m sorry I interfered,” said Liz, turning away. “I just thought maybe you might want to talk about, ouch” she cried, her face muffled by Michael Guerin’s body on top of her. She started to push him away when she saw a blast of energy pass over Michael’s body, followed by a deafening blast, and then an eerie silence.

“Max!” she screamed, pushing ineffectually at Michael’s body.

“Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out now!” Cal shouted, using his powers to blast the door open.

“Come on, Liz, get up,” Michael said. He pushed himself up off of her and grabbed her arm and yanked her up. He shoved her in the direction of the door, and she struggled through the smoke filled cabin of the ship towards the door.

“Max, where are you?” she coughed. She tripped over something and struggled not to scream when she realized it was Isabel’s body. Forcing back the tears, she reached down and grabbed the older girl under the arms and began to drag her out of the craft.

A coughing and choking Kyle struggled across the burning debris of what used to be the console and lifted Isabel’s legs, helping Liz carry their friend to safety. Once they were a safe distance from the ship, they gently placed Isabel’s body on the ground. Liz watched the ship, a nervous expression on her face. She chewed on her lower lip anxiously, waiting hopefully to see her husband walk out.

“Liz, look!” Kyle said, pointing towards the ship. Liz jumped up and started to run across towards the Gadori ship when she realized that Cal and Michael were carrying Max between them.

“Go, get back, get to the pod chamber!” Cal yelled. “It’s going to blow up.”

She stood there, frozen ignoring Cal, her full attention focused on Max. Kyle raced up and grabbed her and pulled her back towards Isabel’s body.

“Help me get her inside,” he said to her. “Liz, help me,” he said again, this time, shaking her.

Liz finally bent down and grabbed Isabel’s legs, and helped Kyle bring her into the pod chamber. He ran back outside and helped Michael and Cal bring in Max’s body. Once they had Max on the floor next to Isabel, he rushed outside again, without a word to anybody.

“Valenti, are you crazy?” Michael shouted. “Get your ass back in here!”

Kyle ran back in and the door to the chamber slid shut behind him just as a deafening explosion filled the air. The ground beneath their feet rocked, throwing Kyle and Michael to the their knees.

“Are you insane?” Michael shouted. “Why’d you go back out there, you asshole? Never mind, we don’t have time for that, we need to take care of Max and Isabel.”

“They’re both alive,” said Cal, kneeling between the siblings. I don’t think either of them took a direct blast but they were shocked when the control panel got fried. What the hell happened in there, anyhow?”

“There was a Gadori in the back of the ship,” said Kyle. I saw him step out and take aim at the three of you. I tried to fire and throw up a shield, but I wasn’t quick enough.” He shook his head mournfully. He felt like a totally failure, not protecting his friends.

“And I saw Kyle,” continued Michael, picking up the story where Kyle had left off. “I didn’t know what was going on, but I got Liz out of the line of fire.”

“Thank you,” Liz said, lifting her tear streaked face to look at Michael.

“Hey, I may be emotionally uptight as Maria puts it, but I’m not a total idiot,” said Michael. “Don’t worry, Liz. They’re going to be okay. We’ve come too far to let something like this stop us.” He reached out and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

“Wait, Max is starting to come around,” said Cal.

Liz pulled her hand from Michael’s and swung around and squeezed Max’s hand.

“Max, can you hear me?” she said, softly. “Max?”

“Liz?” Max whispered. “What happened? I feel like,” he paused. “I don’t know what I feel like, but it isn’t good. Are Cal, Kyle and Isabel okay?”

“Cal’s fine, and so is Kyle,” Liz said in her quiet voice. “But Isabel is still unconscious. I’m not sure what’s wrong. Cal thinks maybe you guys were shocked or something when the control panel got hit.”

“I’m sorry Max,” said Kyle, jumping into the conversation. “If I had reacted faster, none of this would have happened. I didn’t get the shied up in time after I fired.”

“We don’t have time for guilt, Kyle,” Max said, sitting up with a groan. “Let me take a look at Isabel.”

He held his hand over his sister, and tried to heal her but nothing happened. He tried again, beads of perspiration forming on his forehead and upper lip as he tried to summon the energy necessary to heal Isabel.

“I can’t,” he said, falling back with a gasp. “I don’t have the energy to heal an ant, let alone a human being. Michael, you try it,” he said suddenly. Max knew that Michael and Isabel shared a special bond. Maybe the strength of that would help Michael access his latent healing powers and help Isabel.

Michael didn’t waste any time. He knelt down next to Isabel and placed his hands on her midsection, and focused all his energy on her body, trying to heal her.

As Liz watched Michael try and heal Isabel. She saw them trying to heal Jim Valenti on Antar, then she flashed to them trying to activate the Granolith just a few days ago. Quickly, she placed her hand on top of Michael’s, and signaled to Kyle with her eyes to join them.

Kyle grabbed Cal’s hand and placed it on top of Liz’s, then put his on top. Max reached out and added his hand to the group, and all of them focused.

Liz could feel the energy coursing through her. She felt more alive, more connected to her friends than she ever had before. She knew every thought they had ever had, and every feeling they had ever felt. Their power was hers, and hers was theirs. She knew the exact second Isabel regained consciousness, and as one, they all removed their hands.

“That was incredible,” said Max. “I’ve never felt anything like that before in my life.”

“Would someone care to explain what’s going on?” asked Isabel. “And why I feel like I have enough energy to run a marathon?”

They made short work of explaining what happened to both Max and Isabel, leaving nothing out. Isabel turned on Kyle, her face a mask of fury.

“Why did you go back out there, you idiot? How could you put yourself in danger like that? Ava, not to mention all of us, would go crazy if something happened to you.”

“I had to, Isabel. In about five minutes, there is going to be a circus out there,” said Kyle. “Everyone is going to want to see the UFO that crashed to Earth. The one our parents think we were on. They’re going to think we’re dead.”

“Oh, God,” Liz moaned, softly. “What are we going to do? We have to let them know.”

“I already did,” said Kyle. “That’s why I went outside and carved a message into the side of the rock.”

“Oh great, Kyle, nothing like drawing attention to ourselves,” said Michael.

“Relax, Michael, I have a little bit more sense than that,” said Kyle. “I left my uniform number a hyphen and a 5 and an OK.”

“Cryptic much?” asked Michael. “Who’s going to know what that means?”

“My dad,” said Kyle, smiling smugly. “We agreed on that code a long time ago. That way he’d know that I, and whoever was with me, was safe if there we ever found ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t communicate.”

“Oh, well, in that case,” said a chastened Michael. “Let’s focus on the problem at hand, no ship, no way to Antar.”

“I know you’re against this, Max, but there’s still the Granolith,” Liz said, fingering the transport belt she still wore. She opened her mouth to say more, but before she could speak, the belt activated, and she disappeared from sight.

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

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

Chapter Twenty-Six Homecoming

Liz landed with a bump in the small hidden tunnel room they had used for meetings when they first came to Antar. Secreted under the Training Academy, it provided them with access to the city proper, as well as a place to plan, strategize and just relax.

She looked around the small room, smiling slightly at the memories that filled her mind. They had come back to Antar several times to visit, but Liz had never returned to their small sanctuary before now. Several cans of chicken noodle soup were stacked in a small pyramid in the corner, remnants of the food supplies their parents had sent when they were fighting Kivar.

Idly, she picked up the sign that Ava and Alex had made that read Antarian Eraser Room. How they laughed when they had first seen the sign. It was one of the many times they had relied on humor to get them through a bleak situation. She sat down on one of the dilapidated chairs and waited for Max and the others to arrive.

A scraping noise in the tunnel alerted Liz to potential danger, and she dove behind one of the chairs, and held her breath, waiting

“Searching here is a waste of time,” a voice echoed from the bowels of the tunnel. “They wouldn’t come back here, even the Royal Family isn’t that stupid.”

“Lord Kivar said to search, so we search,” responded another voice. “What we think doesn’t matter. In fact, if you want to stay alive, you’ll forget about thinking, and concentrate on following orders.”

“Fine,” the first voice grumbled. “I’ll go up and check it out, you wait here.”

Liz drew herself into a small ball, and tried to control her quaking limbs. Fear coursed through her body, causing her teeth to chatter. She bit down on her lip, trying to still the chattering, and struggled to relax her mind enough to mind warp the soldier into not seeing her.

Please, God, she prayed. Do not let Max and the others show up now.

She peered around the side of the chair and watched as the guard came into view. He made a cursory search of the small room, never once noticing the huddled shape of Liz hiding by the chair. Liz waited anxiously, hardly daring to breath until she was certain he, and his companion were gone. After several minutes had passed, she allowed herself to relax. She stood up; her limbs so shaky they could barely support her, and drew a deep breath.

“I don’t think I can go through this again,” she whispered to the empty room. Even as the words passed her lips, she knew they were untrue. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help her friends.

A slight tremor alerted her to the fact that the others were arriving, and one by one, Max, Michael, Kyle, Isabel and Cal appeared. Cal looked more than a bit shaken up at this new method of travel.

“Remind me never to complain about space travel again,” he said removing the belt as quickly as he could. “That was absolutely horrific.”

“Liz, are you okay?” Max said, quickly moving to stand next to his wife.

“Yeah, but we probably shouldn’t stay here too long,” Liz responded. “You just missed a couple of Kivar’s men searching for us.”

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Max asked.

“Right, Max, the big bad soldiers came in here, found a member of the Royal Family, and just left her here,” said Kyle. “Stop thinking like a husband and think like a soldier why don’t ya.”

“Sorry,” Max said, his voice sheepish. “That was rather lame of me. Kyle, what are you doing?” he asked when he noticed his friend was removing a section of shelving they had installed on the wall.

“You’ll see,” Kyle said. He pulled the shelving off the wall and revealed a hidden door. He opened the door and reached in and pulled out several rolled sheets of paper, a several backpacks, a large crate, and a small white box.

“What’s all that?” Michael asked, pointing at the pile.

“These are maps of all the tunnels, and passageways under the city,” said Kyle. “As well as complete architectural plans of the palace. This contains more transport belts, as well as several prototypes of weapons that Zan’s people were working on. And these,” he said, hefting the backpacks are Antarian clothing.”

“Good thinking,” Cal commented. “But why weapons? We’ve never used weapons.”

“And that’s exactly why Zan decided to have some of his science and technology people work on some prototypes,” Max explained. “We certainly weren’t looking to fight, but if we had to, we wanted more on our side than just the fire power our bodies could generate.”

“I’m impressed,” Cal said, grudgingly. “You certainly planned your mini arsenal well.”

“Yeah, well, it was actually Michael’s idea,” said Kyle. “He got everything. I was just in charge of finding a place to hide it in case we ever needed it.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” said Michael.

“So did I,” Kyle admitted. “Until I saw the shelves, then I remembered.” He knelt down and busied himself removing clothing from the packs and passing them to Isabel. She, in turn laid them on the various pieces of furniture.

“Kyle, what’s that in the box?” Liz asked, as she spread the maps out on the table.

“Box, oh, uh, what box,” said Kyle.

“Kyle, don’t tell me,” said Isabel, trying to contain her laughter.

“Okay, fine, they’re Ho Ho’s, okay? I stashed a box in case of emergency. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Am I missing something here?” Cal asked Liz.

“Not really,” Liz said, smiling. “It’s just that Kyle’s love of Ho Ho’s is legendary. Him stashing a box here is just typical.

Cal stepped back and watched the interaction between the five as they unpacked and studied the various maps. They were an intriguing contradiction, a blend of child and warrior. Watching them plan, he was starting to believe that they might have a chance after all.

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

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

Chapter Twenty – Seven – Arrival

“Is everyone ready?” Michael asked, rolling up the last of the maps. They had agreed to take everything of value out of the small room because it was no longer a sanctuary for them.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” said Isabel. “But I’m telling you know, if that psycho has made another Vilondra clone, I’m going to get really mad.

“If he’s done that, I wouldn’t worry too much,” said Max, slinging a pack over his shoulder. “Alex will kill him for you.”

“Can we just get out of here,” said Kyle, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. “The sooner we get to the palace, the better I’ll feel.”

“Yeah, let’s move out,” said Max. “Isabel, are you almost done with the clothing for Cal?”

Isabel nodded, and passed her hand over the pile of clothing in her lap. “Here, that should fit well enough,” she said, passing the clothing to Cal. “Why don’t you just go into the tunnel and change? We’ll wait here.”

“Bossy thing, isn’t she,” he said to Max, who smiled at Cal’s observation.

“Wait until you meet your daughter-in-law,” he replied, his grin growing larger. “She gives bossy a completely new definition.”

“You know, with that smile, you could give Tom Cruise some serious competition,” said Cal. “But I suppose my movie making days are over,” he added with a sigh. “Antarians are not big on the art, at least not from their soldiers,” he added, cryptically.

While Cal changed, the others changed their appearances, so that when Cal returned, he faced a room full of strangers.

“Nice trick,” he said. “I could have used all of you in some of my movies. I would have saved a fortune on make-up.” While the others laughed appreciatively, Cal thumped himself gently on the head and groaned.

“Listen to me,” he said. “I’m using humor in inappropriate situations to ease tension. I’m turning into one of you.”

“Welcome to our world, Langley,” Michael said. “Now let’s get out there. Cal, you’re going to go with Kyle and Isabel out through the tunnels. Max, Liz and I are going to go up through the Training Academy and see what we can find out. We’ll meet you in two hours in the tunnel that leads up into the palace.”

“I don’t have to tell any of you to be careful,” Max added. “Do your best to blend in, and don’t draw any suspicion to yourselves, and Kyle,”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, take care of Isabel, and if anything happens to her, you’ll kill me,” said Kyle with a grin.

“Well, yeah, that too, I guess,” said Max, holding up a hand in an attempt to stop the diatribe he knew Isabel was ready to vent. “But what I was going to say is that you an Isabel should watch out for Cal. It’s been a while since he’s been here, and we don’t know how it will effect him.”

“Nice save,” Michael whispered to Max. “Think she bought it?”

“We can only hope,” Max whispered back with a smile. He couldn’t help but be concerned for his sister; he could feel her anger and fear when she made that comment about Kivar creating another Vilondra clone.

The group made their goodbyes, and Kyle and Isabel led Cal through the tunnel and out into the city. As soon as they were out of sight, Michael opened the door to their hideaway and stepped out into the deserted hallway. He looked around and motioned for Max and Liz to join him, and the three began the journey upward into the school proper.

Michael slowly eased the door that led into the main hallway part way open, and closed it just as quickly.

“What is it?” asked Liz, nervously. “What did you see, Michael?”

“Classes are in session,” he said. “It’s like nothing’s happened.”

“What?” Max asked. “Are you sure?”

“Max, I am entirely too familiar with the glazed look a student has when he’s going to class versus the look in his eyes when he’s fighting for his life,” said Michael. “Having experienced both myself in recent years.”

“This is so not the time for levity, Michael,” Max said. “We need to find out what’s going on, because if what you’re saying is true, it isn’t right.”

“What he’s saying is true, Max,” Liz said as she looked out into the hallway.

Max pushed past Liz and looked out into the hallway. He turned back to Michael and Liz, a puzzled expression on his face.

“What are you two talking about?” he asked in confusion. “The hallway is deserted, and there are blast burns all over the walls.”

“That’s not funny, Max,” Liz said. “Didn’t you just say this wasn’t the time to be funny?”

“I’m not kidding, Liz, look,” said Max. He stepped away from the door and Liz peered out into the hallway. When she turned back to Max and Michael, her face was white.

“Max, I swear to you, there were people out there just a minute ago; students walking to classes, and instructors waiting outside classroom doors. I don’t understand it.”

“I believe you Liz,” Max said.

“Great, you believe us,” said Michael. “The question is, now what?”

“I don’t know,” Max admitted. “Liz, what are you doing?” He looked at Liz, who was on her knees, crawling on the ground.

“I’m looking for a rock,” she said.

“Oh, okay,” said Max, his mind still on the problem at hand.

“Got one,” Liz said, jumping up. “Michael, I want you to stand behind the door, and open it just enough for me to get my hand through.”

She knelt down on the floor by the door and nodded to Michael. When the door opened, she peered out and was gratified to see the hall filled with students again. She tossed the small rock out into the crowded hallway. She watched for a moment, and pulled her head back inside.

“Come on, we need to get out of here, fast,” she said. She began to run down the steps, Max and Michael following fast on her heels. She bypassed the hidden room, and continued down the passageway until she came to its end. She passed her hand over a panel concealed in the wall, and a door slid open. She started to walk through the doorway when Michael reached out and held her back.

“Generals before Queens,” he said, stepping in through the doorway. “Okay it’s clean,” he said, stepping back to allow Max and Liz to enter.

“Where is this place?” Max asked when they were inside.

“I don’t know,” Liz admitted. “I found it one time when I was exploring the tunnels.”

“Well, whatever it is,” said Michael. “I’m glad you knew about it, now does somebody want to explain to me what the hell is going on?”

“Do you remember when Che’koth first appeared in the Granolith to us?” Liz asked. “He wasn’t real, he was just an image, like a hologram.”

“That’s right,” said Max. “I’d forgotten about that.”

“Well, that’s what’s going on out there,” said Liz. “It’s a holographic image of some type set up to run in a loop. Michael and I saw it, but it had ended and hadn’t started replaying when you looked out. That means,”

“That means Kivar knows we’re coming, and we’re screwed,” said Michael.

So sorry for the delay...RLS can so suck sometimes


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

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

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Clandestine Encounter

“He knows we’re coming,” agreed Max. “But he doesn’t know we’re here. We have to make sure there aren’t any signs at all of our arrival in the tunnel room, and then get the hell out of here.”

“Not through the school,” said Michael.

“Not through the school,” agreed Max.

“We need to find the others,” said Liz. “And let them know what we’ve found.”

With a course of action established, Michael led them back to the tunnel room where they carefully ensured that there was no trace of their arrival. When all traces of their arrival were eradicated, Max pulled Liz aside.

“It’s not too late,” he said to her. “You can go back.”

“I’m not leaving, Max. You can’t make me, so you might as well forget about it,” she said, her voice resolute. “I’m not going home and leaving anyone behind. You’re the one who keeps reminding us that we’re stronger together than we are when we’re apart, and yet you’re trying to send me back. It doesn’t make sense Max.”

“Look, Liz, I’m not trying to start an argument with you,” Max explained. “I know how much you hate all of this, the fighting and the violence. I just wanted to give you a way out, if you wanted it.”

“Well I don’t, now lets get out of here and find out what’s going on,” she said. Liz pushed past him and Michael who had waited a discreet distance away and stalked off down the tunnel.

“Guess you’re sleeping on the couch tonight, Maxwell,” Michael said, a small grin playing on his face. He’d grown to respect, and even love Liz over the years. She’d proven to him on more than one occasion that Max’s healing her was the best thing that could have happened to any of them.

“Don’t start, Michael,” Max said. “Or I’ll tell Maria, well, I don’t know what I’ll tell Maria, but you can bet it will be good.”

“Oh, I’m quivering in my Antarian boots,” said Michael.

“Will the two of you shut up for a second,” said Liz, who stood waiting for them to catch up. “Where is that emergency tunnel your father had built, Max? I can’t remember its location, but I think we should find it and use it, just in case Kivar has people watching the other exit.”

“You’re just thinking of this now?” Michael demanded. “You couldn’t remember it before Isabel and Kyle used the regular exit?”

“Well excuse me, general,” Liz said, her voice filled with acid. “I didn’t realize that I was the only one responsible for the planning of strategic details. You know, I’m starting to think Cal is the one who is right. We’ve got a crisis of epic proportions on our hands, and you two are goofing around. We don’t have time for this.”

“Liz, relax, everything’s going to be fine,” Max said. “We’ll get through this like we do everything else.”

“I know,” Liz said. “I’m acting like a complete idiot, and I don’t know why. Michael, I’m sorry.” She reached out and placed her hand gently on his arm. “You’ve done everything right since all of this started happening. That’s no excuse for my outburst, but I hope you’ll say you forgive me.”

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about it,” said Michael, clearly uncomfortable with Liz’s outpouring of emotion. “Let’s just get the hell out of here and figure out what’s going on.”

Michael quickly located the second access tunnel and led out into a small back street behind the market place. The sounds that drifted back to them indicated that the market area was teeming with people.

“What day is it?” Michael asked. “Here, I mean?”

Max reached into his pocket and pulled out the Antarian equivalent of a watch and glanced at it.

“It’s Lanoch,” Max responded. “Around midday, why?”

That’s what I thought,” said Michael. “It’s not a market day, but it sounds as busy as hell out there. Something’s not right.”

“You think it’s another hologram?” Max asked.

“I don’t know what to think,” Michael admitted. “What about you, Liz? Do you have any ideas?”

“As a matter of fact I do,” she said. Both men waited expectantly to hear what she thought when to their amazement, she dashed off down the street towards the market place.

Max held out a restraining hand and stopped Michael from Liz.

“Let me go, we have to go after her,” he said, struggling to pull away from Max.

“I know this is going to sound weird, but we have to wait here. Liz will kill us if we go after her. She obviously has some plan in mind, and the best thing we can do is let her do it.”

“Who the hell are you, and what did you do with Max?” Michael asked, a bemused expression on his face.

“Don’t worry, Michael, she’s okay. I know it,” Max said, calmly.

“Well I’m going on record saying I don’t like it,” said Michael.

“Don’t like what?” a voice behind him asked.

“Liz going off on her; Jesus, don’t do that Liz. You scared me half to death.”

“Sorry, but I knew it would be okay,” she said.

“Yeah, and you knew this how?” asked Michael. “Psychic visions?”

“Something like that, yeah,” said Liz. “Listen, I can’t explain it, but I just knew it would be okay for me to go out there, and it was. Those are real people out there, not holograms, so we can go out that way and try and catch up with the others.”

“Fine, let’s go then,” said Michael, clearly displeased by Liz’s behavior, and Max’s reaction to it. Something was going on, but he didn’t have time to puzzle it out. “Let’s head out then, and if we get separated, meet at that restaurant where we used to meet Che’Koth.”

Max and Liz agreed, and the three set out towards the market place. As Liz had said, the area teemed with people, and it was easy for the three to lose themselves within the bustling crowds. The sights and sounds of the bustling market assailed their senses, bringing back a flood of memories, some happy, some not.

Max turned his gaze towards the palace, and felt a sense of relief wash over him when he saw that the royal flag of Antar still waved proudly over the city. Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed him, and pulled him out of the crowd and into a dimly lit building.

“Welcome back, Zan, or should I say Max? I’ve been expecting you.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Escape


“What are you talking about?” said Max. “My name is Dracor Jabanion.

“I know who you are,” the stranger said. “Reveal your true self.”

“I told you, my name is Dracor Jabanion, and I’m late. I suggest you release me now.” As he spoke, Max looked over at Michael and Liz who watched the proceedings from a discreet distance. He tried to signal Liz with his eyes to just keep out of it. He was worried that Liz would try and interfere, but he knew Michael would do his best to stop her.

“You are going to come with me to the Palace, Lord Kivar will be quite interested to know that you are here,” said the stranger. “He instructed us to watch for you. He knew you’d be arriving. He was counting on your foolish sense of nobility. I’m pleased to know my Lord was right. I am sure I will receive a hefty.”

The stranger stopped speaking mid sentence and slumped against Max who caught him and held him upright.

“Thanks,” he said to Michael over the stranger’s body. Michael had managed to stun the stranger from behind while he talked to Max.

“No problem,” said Michael. “What do we do with him?”

“We’re bringing him with us,” said Liz. “Michael, get under his other arm. You and Max can carry him. If anyone stops us, we can just say he was celebrated Kivar’s return to power a little more than he should have.”

“Where are we going to go?” asked a clearly concerned Max. “If Kivar has taken the palace, we can’t go there.”

“We have to,” said Liz. “We have to try and catch up with Kyle and Isabel and stop them.”

“Liz is right,” said Michael. “Besides, I have an idea. Do you remember last time we came here? The Granolith brought us to a hidden room. Your father and the other resistance fighters had hidden most of the royal treasures in there.”

“That’s right,” said Max, smiling for the first time since their arrival on Antar. “And he told me one time that he was never going to reveal its location to anyone.”

“So if we can just get inside,” continued Liz, also grinning. We’ve at least got a home base to work from.”

“God, I love it when our lack of plans comes together,” said Michael. “Much as it pains me to say this, maybe Cal was right, and we need to focus a bit more.”

“Hey, you!” shouted a guardsman walking towards the small group.

“Shit,” whispered Max. “Now what.”

“What is wrong with this man?” demanded the guard. “And who are you?”

“Please sir,” said Liz. “He’s my father. We need to get him home before Mother realizes that he’s been out celebrating. Oh, she’s going to be home soon. We have to hurry.” Liz burst into tears. “Mother said if it happened again, she would throw him out.”

The guard roared with laughter and slapped Max on the back. “Be on with you then. We wouldn’t want to bring the wrath of your mother down on this poor man. What was he celebrating anyhow?” the guard added in an almost casual manner.

“Is there anything else to celebrate?” asked Michael. “He was celebrating the fact that Antar is sure to flourish under the new regime.” He held his breath as he waited to see if the guard believed him.

“And right he is,” said the guard. “Lord Kivar will see that we prosper. Go on, get your father home before your mother notices.”

“Thank you,” sniffed Liz, wiping an invisible tear from her cheek. “We’d better hurry. Mother should be home soon.” She gave Max and Michael a pointed look and started walking toward the crowded market place.

Max and Michael began to follow her, dragging their prone companion between them. As they rounded the corner to the market place, Max chanced a look back and found the guard still watching them, a suspicious look on his face.

“He’s still watching,” he said in an undertone to Michael and Liz. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“Much as I hate to say this, we may have to dump our buddy here, and run for it,” said Michael. “Look, over there,” he said, looking in the direction of a store that had several empty crates next to it. “We can put him there and run.”

“Liz, are you okay with this?” Max asked. “I know you wanted to use him for information.”

“I’d rather stay alive,” said Liz. “You guys bring him over towards the store, and I’ll create a diversion.”

Liz darted off into the crowd, and Max watched as she made her way over to a large tent that provided shelter for many of the freestanding carts. The air filled with screams and Max and Michael watched as the tent slowly began to collapse at one end. People began pushing past them, rushing towards the tent, and they took the opportunity to deposit their cargo amidst the boxes.

Max spied Liz running back to them and he reached out and grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

“There’s a contingent of guards coming this way,” she panted. “We’d better run.

Max took off running, pulling Liz along behind him. He ran blindly for several minutes, unsure of where he was going. His heart pounded rapidly, both from the exertion of running as well as from fear. He felt Liz’s pace slow, and he tightened his grip on her hand and tried to will some of his strength to her.

After what seemed like hours, the palace came into view, and Max slowed down abruptly. Liz, unprepared for his stop went careening past him and stumbled, falling to the ground.

“Come on, come on!” Michael yelled running past them. “They’re still after us.”

Liz pulled herself back up and grabbed Max’s hand and took off running again, pulling him along with her.

“Max, come on!” she yelled. “Snap out of it. We don’t have time for this!” She tugged harder on his arm and Max snapped out of his stupor and began to run. He and Liz trailed after Michael as he ran into a wooded area near the palace. They splashed through a small stream and up a wooded hill.

Abruptly, Michael veered off the path, dodging around a vast granite outcropping. Max and Liz followed along blindly, stopping when they realized Michael was no longer in site.

“Took you long enough,” a voice said, and Zan stepped out from behind the rock and hugged his brother.

Chapter Thirty – Sanctuary

“Zan, you’re all right,” Max gasped, in relief. “Where’s Michael? He got ahead of us and I lost track of him.”

“Michael’s fine,” said Zan. “Alex is taking him to Maria right now.”

“Taking him to Maria!” Liz interjected. “Why, what’s wrong? Where is Maria? Is she all right?” she demanded.

Zan laughed, not unkindly at the fear and fury in Liz’s voice. She was a good friend to them all. It had taken him a while to realize that, but he had come to learn that when Max saved Liz, he had in actuality saved them all by bringing Liz into their lives.

“Relax, Liz, she’s fine,” Zan said. “She’s organizing the weapons for the troops.”

“Maria?” asked Liz.

“Organizing troops?” added Max.

“Yeah,” said Zan, laughing at the incredulous expressions on the faces of his brother and his wife. “Remember how we joked that given the chance, Maria would make an excellent general? Well, we weren’t far from wrong, let me tell you. She’s fantastic. She and Ava arrived in the middle of everything. We got them out of the palace safely, and Maria just sort of stepped in and took over the role like it was made for her.

“Back up a minute,” said Max. “What the hell is going on anyhow? Is it Kivar again?”

“Come on,” said Zan, looking around, nervously. “We can’t stay out in the open, it isn’t safe. I’ll explain everything as we go.”

“We can’t go anywhere,” said Liz. “Kyle and Isabel are,”

“All ready safe,” said Zan. “Ava intercepted them on their way to the Palace. We’ve been watching for you ever since we sent Isabel back when she got injured in our attempt to take back the Palace and the Granolith. We failed with the Palace, but succeeded with the Granolith. Now come on, we have to get back.”

“Back to where?” asked Liz.

“Sanctuary,” said Zan, cryptically.

** * ** * ** *

Max took one last look at the Palace before following his brother through the maze of trees that shrouded them from enemy eyes. Trees that stood as a testament to his ancestors, planted by the first royal family of Antar thousands of years ago. He felt insignificant standing next to these towering tributes to his ancestor’s endurance and fortitude.

Zan started walking down a path, followed by Liz, while Max fell in behind. By unspoken accord, they kept Liz between them, providing her with as much protection as they could provide. Max looked to the horizon and spied the double moons of Antar beginning to rise. Night was drawing near, and he was uneasy about being out in the open. Without warning, Zan swerved from the path they were on and began to make his way carefully down a steep incline. Jagged rocks and large boulders at the bottom of the canyon encouraged Max to move up next to Liz and help her in any way possible.

At the bottom, Zan led them past huge stone monoliths that stood leaning precariously against one another like the discarded playthings of some long forgotten race of giants. Zan held up a hand to stop their approach, and he looked around one last time to ensure that they not been followed. When he was sure that it was safe, he moved to the walls of the canyon and passed his hand over a hidden panel. An opening appeared in the canyon wall, and he stepped inside.

“Where are we?” Liz asked as the door closed behind her. She turned to look at it, but there was nothing there to differentiate it from the rest of the wall.

“I told you,” Zan said with a small grin. “Sanctuary.”

“And Sanctuary is?” asked Max.

“In the words of our wise and all knowing Father, search your memories, the answer is there,” said Zan, his grin growing larger.

“Why don’t you just save as all time and fill us in,” said Max. He was still reluctant to access the memories of the Zan he used to be.

“When our people first fled Earth and came to Antar this is where they lived. They created a society that was completely underground,” explained Zan.

“Why?” asked Liz. “With that beautiful world above them, why did they choose to live underground?

“Because that beautiful planet was inhabited by two warring nations,” said Drinian, joining the conversation.

“Father,” Max breathed in relief. “You’re all right.”

“Yes, Son, I’m fine,” said Drinian, pulling Max to him in an enveloping hug. “As is your mother. Come with me, we have food, and a place for you to rest.”

“The hell with that!” Max said, vehemently. “Where are my friends, and what the hell is going on?"

Drinian smiled at his son’s outburst pleased to see that above all else, he put the safety for those he cared about first.

“Relax Max, you should know by now that if anything was wrong, we would have told you right away. Everyone is waiting for you and Liz. We’re preparing to have a summit meeting.”

Max smiled sheepishly at his family and allowed Zan and his father to lead him and Liz over to where the others were waiting. There was much hugging and crying between the women, and Liz couldn’t resist poking fun at General Maria. A quick survey of the people in the room indicated that Cal was nowhere to be seen. Max quickly made his way over to Kyle and Isabel.

“Where is he?” he asked softly. “Does Dijanya know he’s back?” He looked over to where Michael and Ava sat talking with their mother. Even from where he stood, he could see that Michael’s face was wearing the closed look it used to wear before Maria entered his life. He was closing off a part of him from his mother and sister; the part that knew his father was alive and on Antar.

“We don’t know what happened to him, Max,” Kyle said. “We made our way to the Palace without a problem. We were just about to take one of the tunnels in when Ava found us. Cal took one look at her and totally fell apart.”

“Max, she looks so much like Dijanya did at that age,” Isabel continued. “It had to be a shock for him. He just disappeared into the woods. There wasn’t anything we could do to stop him.”

“Of course there wasn’t,” said Max, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “But I swear to you, when this is done, and we kill Kivar again, I’m throwing Cal’s ass in the dungeon or something.”

“Kivar?” asked Isabel. “Didn’t Zan tell you yet?”

“Tell me what?” demanded Max. “Nobody has told me anything.”

“It’s not Kivar, man,” Kyle said, quietly. “It’s the Gadori, masquerading as Kivar, and as you guys. They’ve managed to convince the entire planet that the Royal Family has agreed to step down from the throne and turn control over to Kivar.”