Roswell Fanatics

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



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PART 10


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

Max felt a solid surface beneath his feet and quickly looked around. He was on Liz's balcony, just as they had planned and he felt a rush of satisfaction go through him. If he could do this, change history, maybe he could save the world, save all of them, but then the sickening pain of the loss of his connection with Liz hit him. He almost fell to his knees and reached out to steady himself on the sill.

Liz, as a young woman he remembered so well, was in her room standing before her mirror, juggling the items that had been disturbed by his arrival. He smiled humorlessly remembering what his Liz had told him of the events of that evening. She had irrevocably decided they could not be together, but he had changed her mind so easily a few days later. And now he was here to permanently rend them apart.

As the Liz before him turned toward him, his eyes ran eagerly over her beautiful face. She had been his whole world for so long that Max could not envision a life without Liz in it. She was the person who he loved above everything, for whom he would sacrifice all, but they were forced to be eternally apart. He was not able to keep the anguish out of the single word he spoke. "Liz."


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Song Playing: Girl by Chicago

When Max left Liz's house he had stolen a car and driven directly to the pod chamber to spend the night. It was the one place he was unlikely to meet anyone. As he had driven through Roswell, he could still see the ruined city it had become and promised himself he wouldn’t allow it to happen again.

Max climbed the path to the pod chamber door and passed his hand over the locking device. The door slid open and he walked inside to look into the Granolith chamber. It was the last place he had seen his Liz and he felt drawn to it. He entered the chamber and walked to where Liz had stood as the Granolith had propelled him back in time and reached up to touch the place where they had almost touched, but not.

As his hand made contact with the smooth, cool surface of the Granolith, the connection that Max shared with Liz suddenly blazed back into life and he grabbed for the wall to steady himself as the emotions poured over him.

He saw all of the precious times they had shared together flash past his eyes, and felt Liz's emotions wrapped up in them. And the one image that was the strongest, the most precious to Liz, was their wedding day. The images swirled around him, growing stronger and more vivid. It was as if he were there again, but this time he was seeing it through Liz's eyes and felt the overwhelming joy she had experienced that day. He held the image in his mind like it was a tangible thing and basked in the love, Liz's love for him, which accompanied the images.

Then another image wiped away all of the others. It was an image Max didn’t recognize, and was not part of, and he knew it had happened after he had left her. Liz stood proudly with Kyle and Maria before Nicholas and several skin soldiers, and Max desperately grasped for the image to discover Liz’s fate. But the blinding flash of an explosion followed by darkness was all that he saw. Liz was dead. Max knew it with a certainty the left his soul cold. Liz, the love of his life, his best friend and soul mate, had died and it was all his fault. Even his last desperate action of coming back in time had not saved her.

Liz had sent her thoughts, her love, to him as the last act of her life. She had wanted to tell him they had succeeded in their mission. Maria, Kyle and herself had destroyed the Granolith after he had left and she had sent all of her love and devotion spiraling into their connection, hoping against hope that he would receive it. He could feel her doubt that he would get her message but she had sent it anyway, believing their bond would somehow transcend time and space. But he could also feel the anguish she had experienced when their connection had been severed and how she had wished for, even welcomed death and the oblivion that would put an end to her suffering.

The emotions were too overwhelming and Max fell to the floor sobbing, devastated he had not been by his wife's side when she had died. He had failed her completely. He welcomed the grief that threatened to engulf him as the memories of their life together assailed him. Liz's happy, laughing face hung before him like a haunting reminder of what knowing him, being with him, had done to her. He had ruined Liz's life. He had killed her.

And then his thoughts turned to the innocent girl sleeping just a few miles away. She was his main concern now. This Liz had never seen war or witnessed the murder of friends and family. She'd never had to make life or death decisions. She'd never been forced to kill, and he vowed that she never would.

He had failed Liz once, but he could make sure that he didn’t fail her again. He would make sure this Liz would never suffer and die at the hands of aliens. She would not die hopeless and wishing for an end to her life. He would make Liz see the importance of staying away from her Max, and he would convince her to do whatever she had to do to make the younger version of himself release her.


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(Episode – The End of the World)
(Tuesday, October 24th, 2000)

Song Playing: Everything I Do, I Do It for You by Bryan Adams

Max waited on Liz's balcony while she went to confront his younger self.

After the fiasco with Tess outside the Crashdown, he had redoubled his efforts to convince Liz to sever all ties between herself and her Max. Liz had fought him, but he had convinced her to continue, and now she was going to face his younger self directly.

Max walked around the small space, smiling sadly, touching the items that held so many memories. The good times and the bad alike were precious to him and he allowed himself to mourn all he had lost, and all his younger self would never have.

And as he moved toward the spot where he and Liz had shared their first kiss, he felt a strange sensation as new memories started to crowd his old ones. In his mind, he saw Liz come to his room. He felt his younger self’s joy and hope at her presence, then confusion as she would not allow him to speak, and finally despair as she stood before him and told him all of the things he had been most afraid of. She said that his alien nature had endangered her and was causing her to push him away.

Through the eyes of his younger self, Max watched Liz leave his room and felt an anguish rise up within him that echoed what his younger self was feeling. And even though he knew Liz's words to be lies, the pain was fresh and sharp. He longed to offer comfort to his younger self, but even if it were possible, he wouldn't. He had to do everything in his power to make sure that Liz would not die fighting a losing war without him, and if it meant that his younger self had to suffer without her, then it was a small price to pay.


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Liz returned and Max sat watching her cry. He was hopeful that she had succeeded in pushing his younger self away but the pain of losing his Liz, added to the pain of witnessing the Liz before him mourning, was almost more than he could bear. He reached for a tissue hoping to comfort her in any small way but his hand passed through the box.

Even with grief overwhelming her, Liz noticed immediately. "What, what's happening?" she asked, the fear evident in her voice.

"This must be it," Max said with relief. "What you did must have worked. I'm leaving."

"What, so you're just, you're going back to where you came from?"

Max smiled sadly, realizing for the first time that his passing would cause her even more pain. He was the one lifeline she had in the hopeless future she perceived without him, and when he was gone, she would be utterly alone with their secret. He ached that he had to cause her pain but he was satisfied it was worth it to save her from suffering and death.

"There's nowhere to go back to," Max said softly, as he eagerly reached for the void that beckoned to him. He thought for a moment he could almost see his Liz waiting for him, welcoming him, but then his memories started to shift and he was brought solidly back to Earth.

His younger self had gone to Maria and she was telling him to stop pursuing Liz, to leave her alone. But as his younger self considered releasing Liz, he remembered her earlier actions when she had set him up with Tess, and the light of hope was rekindled within him. Max’s younger self wondered if Liz was pushing him away because she felt it was the right thing to do. And as Maria's voice intruded on his thoughts, he knew with absolute certainty that he would not give her up. He shrugged and looked up at Maria, "I can't help it. I love her. What can I say?"

Max admired his younger self for his stubborn refusal to give up. Perhaps if he had possessed that same driving relentlessness, they wouldn't be where they were now. Then he cursed his younger self for that same stubbornness. They had been so close to succeeding and he had been robbed of his chance to rejoin his Liz. "It didn't work," Max said, slamming his now solid hand down. "We have to do something else."

But the Liz before him was fighting him too. "No. I, I can't."

"You have to," he replied more harshly than he meant to.

Liz looked him in the eyes. "Do you know how hard it was for me to tell him that I didn't want to die for him? He's the only reason that I'm alive right now. You, you've, you got to come up with another plan. Please go to someone else. I, I just, I can't do this anymore."

Max could hear the anguish in her voice and he longed to comfort her, but everything he was doing was to save her, and he hardened his heart. He had to convince her to continue but he knew that she wouldn’t accept her own salvation as a reason to act. He would do anything to save her; lie, cheat, steal or kill. He felt a brief moment of guilt but he quickly pushed it aside as the solution came to him. He only had this one last chance to give her a normal life so he unashamedly based his argument on the others he knew she would risk all to save.

"Just twenty-five minutes before I came here, I held Michael in my arms, dead." He saw her jerk to attention, knew that his tactic was working, and continued relentlessly. "Isabel died two weeks before that."

Max could see the resolution start to settle into her features and he knew he had already won her over. "Now you have to do this. You have to find a way." You have to find a way Liz, he said silently to himself, your life depends on it. He continued aloud, "All of our lives depend on it."


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(Episode – The End of the World)
(Wednesday, October 25th, 2000)
(The Parker House – Liz’s Bathroom)

Song Playing: This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush

Max sat on the edge of the bathtub, remembering the events of the coming Friday night, the night of the Gomez concert so many years ago, events that would now never happen. His Liz had been softening toward him and he had been hopeful that he could persuade her to give them another chance. But when he had arrived outside her window and discovered her distressed state, his only thought had been to comfort her. That was the night that they had made love for the first time and it was start of the rest of their lives together.

Max was brought back to the present as his younger self approached Liz's window, just like he had done so many years before, concert tickets in hand. That night he had come to ask Liz to the concert again. He had found her alone, studying, and she had refused to come out to talk to him, needing the protection of the window frame between. It had made Max’s heart soar that she was so afraid of her own behavior around him, and though they hadn’t even touched, he had pressed his advantage. He had professed his love and told her they were meant to be together, countering every one of her arguments. And even though she had eventually asked him to leave, he had never doubted that she was close to surrender.

But suddenly his memories shifted as his younger self looked into Liz's dark room and heard talking from inside.

At first, the younger Max couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing, but as he took in the scene before him, understanding slashed through him like a knife. Liz was in bed with Kyle. His life, his love, had betrayed him with another man.

Even knowing the truth, Max shared the anguish his younger self was feeling, the fresh agony searing his soul. It rivaled the sense of loss he had felt when his connection with Liz had been severed and his head bowed under the weight of the pain. He struggled to block out the pain of his younger self, as the younger Max stumbled across the roof and fumbled blindly down the ladder. Max concentrated on the life he had shared with his Liz, the happy times they had lived before the invasion. He let Liz's love for him carry away the pain and he pushed the new memories aside.

After a few moments Max could hear movement in Liz's room and he knew she was getting rid of Kyle. He waited until she silently opened the door to the bathroom to let him out, and then he followed her through the window and onto the balcony. Liz collapsed onto the chair as if her strength had abandoned her. Max sat next to her and noticed she wasn’t crying and suspected the last couple of days had been so painful that she had no tears left.

Even though he had seen proof on many occasions, Max was still surprised by Liz's strength. "I've fought a thousand battles, but watching you do that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"The look on his face. On your face," Liz said miserably.

He had consigned her to a life without her soul mate and she was only concerned Max's feelings. Typical Liz, he thought. "Maybe it's for the best. For you, too," he rushed to reassure her.

Liz was dumbfounded, "What are you talking about?

Max had selfishly wished she would remain alone after he was gone, but he now that the moment was upon him, he had to make sure Liz had a chance at happiness. He smiled joylessly, the words he was about to speak ripping him apart inside. "I saw you with Kyle. He's turning out to be a, a great guy."

He had said it earlier and he had thought it impossible, but he was jealous of Kyle. Jealous of the friendship that Kyle would share with Liz and jealous of the connection that would bind them together, and perhaps convince them to be together. He practically choked as he continued, imagining another man touching her. "Maybe it would be better for you to be with a human."

Liz was always amazed that a handsome, intelligent man like Max could doubt himself so much. He didn't realize even now, after they had spent so many years together, that he had changed her forever. "Don't you realize what you are to me?" Liz asked him. "What you're always going to be? You're the love of my life. Everyone else is going to be second best. There'll never be another you."

Max's heart swelled with love at her words. He had known she loved him but he was surprised at the depth of her feelings, even after she and his younger self had been apart for all of those months.

"So Max and, Tess are going to be together now," Liz made it more of a statement than a question.

Max wanted to reassure her their love would never end, that he would never even consider being with Tess, but he couldn't risk giving her that kind of hope. "I don't know,” he said softly. “I don't know anything now. This is a different world."

"I'm going to be alone," Liz said simply.

The thought of Liz pining for him for the rest of her life, filled him with dread. She was a kind and loving person with her whole life ahead of her. He had ruined her life and her happiness in his reality and he wanted to do something to guarantee her happiness this time around. "Maybe. Maybe not." He continued the thought silently to himself; maybe in the future it would be possible for them to be together. Maybe. He continued aloud, "From now on, the future is to be determined. It's what I've always said to you, Liz. We create our own destiny."

Liz knew this was her last chance to be with Max, and she couldn't pass it up. "Could you dance with me?"

It was the last thing he had expected her to say and he wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. "What?"

"I want to have my wedding dance."

Liz had always loved to dance and Max was sorry he hadn't thought of it. As he took Liz into his arms one last time, the bittersweet strains of their song started to echo through his head.



Come to me now
And lay your hands over me



Max smiled, remembering the first time they had danced to the song, on their wedding night. The memory was so strong, that for a moment he was back there, lazily spinning around the dingy floor with his new bride.



Even if it's a lie
Say it will be all right
And I shall believe



As they danced, a new set of memories intruded into Max’s mind. His younger self had gone to the park and Tess had found him there. And when he had looked into her eyes, really looked, what he saw was not what he had expected. In her eyes he saw loneliness and fear of rejection.

For the first time Max considered how alone Tess must have been, how much she had felt like an outsider, and he was filled with shame that he had pushed her away.



I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe



As Max twirled Liz around, he felt a shift in the universe that echoed through his soul like the resolution of a chord. His younger self had not stopped loving Liz and he now knew that he never would, even after the ultimate act of betrayal. But his pain had allowed him to open his heart, to realize that loving Liz did not stop him from caring for others, especially his family. He would never love Tess as she wanted, but he could offer her friendship, support and a place in the family.

And when Tess placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, Max knew his younger self had made the decision to make Tess more a part of their group.



That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me



His own knowledge merging with the discovery of his younger self suddenly made everything become so clear. After all these years, Max realized that he had been a fool, because what Tess had really craved all along, he had been lucky to find with Michael and Isabel, with the Evans, with Liz. What he had selfishly denied Tess, was a family.



Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe



He had treated Tess badly not because he had been afraid of growing close to her, but because he hadn’t wanted to face up to what she had represented in his past life. And he had allowed her to leave because she had been a constant reminder of his responsibilities. Without her there it had been easier for him to forget he wasn't human, forget about a planet he didn't want to remember, and a people he didn't know. Out of sight out of mind.



Open the door
And show me your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like you
And you hold the key



He had mistakenly thought if he accepted the Kingship, he would have to abandon Liz, but he could see now that it was not a question of either or, it was a balancing act. He had been a fool not to see it before. He could be the King of Antar and still have Liz in his life, at his side.



Never again
would I turn away from you
I'm so heavy tonight
But your love is all right
And I do believe



He had tried to deny his duty to his people and live a normal human life with Liz but his duties had continually resurfaced. And now that the end was near, he was faced with the truth. He wasn't a normal human. He was the King of Antar. There was no escaping that destiny and if he had accepted it sooner, embraced everything that it meant, none of this would have happened.

He had denied what he was for too long. Khivar's invasion of Earth had forced him to accept his position, but by then it had been too late. He wasn’t prepared, he didn’t know how to lead his people and they had lost. If he had accepted his duty sooner, he could have prepared, made alliances, developed their powers. He and Liz could have been together for the rest of their long lives, battling Khivar, raising a family, or whatever else their lives would have included, instead of dying alone, years apart in different realities.



That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me



Max ached to tell Liz of his discovery; she and the younger Max could be together. It wasn't their love that had pushed Tess away. It had been his exclusion of Tess from their family, their group, his need to deny what and who he was. He eagerly reached for Liz as she twirled away from him, but his hand passed through hers. Max looked at it dumbly as he watched the yawning void rush up to meet him.



Please say honestly
You won't give up on me
And I shall believe



"Liz," he cried out urgently, but she didn’t hear him, didn’t look in his direction. He had failed her again but this time there would be no going back to fix it.

Max watched her spinning away from him and considered himself lucky that she was the last thing he would ever see. "I love you Liz," he whispered, but his voice was lost even to his own ears, as he dissolved into the blackness.



And I shall believe
I shall believe


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




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TBC

In BOOK 9

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



veri-si-mil-i-tude -
1 : having the appearance of truth



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



AUTHOR'S NOTE: Did you ever get the feeling that the whole story of season 2 was not revealed? This is a full account of what really happened at the New York Summit & the events leading up to Alex's death & Tess' Departure.

The story picks up in the episode The End of the World, right after Max saw Liz and Kyle in bed together and future Max disappeared. All of the events take place just as they aired in the episodes, I am simply showing some of the important things that didn't air. I have not recounted all of the stories in the episodes but jumped ahead to parts I felt needed clarification.

I am assuming that the reader is very familiar with the episodes and will be able to place the scenes but if you are having trouble with when something is happening, check the timeline. I have broken down each episode into the major events.

Each scene that takes place during an episode is referenced with the episode title. Each change of date is also marked. If a scene has no date it takes place later in the day of the last date. For an exact placement of the extra scenes see the timeline. Any scenes with a date but no episode title take place between episodes.

The dates for some things may be different than you might expect. I tried to use the dates mentioned on the Silver Handprint website and in the episodes as much as possible but some of the dates would have put too many or too few days in certain episodes or put the gang in school on Saturday or Sunday. The dates in some of the episodes are so messed up, it isn't even funny.

I tried to stick to the dates mentioned as much as possible but there are differences. For instance, in the episode Harvest, the TV announcer says Whitaker died on the 25th. Isabel clearly said the 25th was the day before, making the day of the episode Thursday the 26th. Three days later, in the episode Wipeout, Nicholas says that it is Saturday. Only in a messed-up world where ‘time exists in multiple subset dimensions, so we are on Pacific and Eastern and Central and Mountain time all at once,’ could three days after Thursday be Saturday. So I made it Sunday, like it should be, and moved on.

Also I know that some people think it is strange that Max and Liz kept 'breaking up' even when they weren't together, but this never struck me as being odd. It is quite obvious to me that no matter what had happened, they both still loved one another and both still thought they would be able to get back together eventually.

There are many examples of their continuing feelings for one another, throughout Season 2, and I have included a few to remind the reader and show the reasons for their behavior.


NAGGING QUESTIONS:
1. What did the dupes do to Tess in New York?
2. What happened to the dupes? What happened to the dupes' protector?
3. How come after ten-plus years of memory recovery, Tess can only remember vague images and feelings from her past life, but after a couple of weeks, Max can remember just as much?
4. Did Tess really pull off the whole 'Sweden' trip by herself?
5. Why didn't Tess, Max or the others go to Brody/Larek to get the book translated?
6. Who the hell is Leanna? And what is the deal with the binary code?
7. Is there a plausible explanation for Max’s asinine behavior at the end of season 2?
8. Did Nasedo really betray the Pod Squad to Khivar?
9. What about everything that happened in the End of the World and the sacrifices that Liz and Future Max made? Was it all for nothing?



DEFINITION:
Veritem Generator - aka the Greenis - the device (green rod) used by the skins in the episode Wipeout to make the humans disappear
trithium amplification generator – aka amplifier - the black, chevron-shaped device that is used by the Skins for communication and suspending the powers of Antarians among other things.
Transverse Thought Projector - the device used by Antarians to amplify their powers to 'possess' humans.


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WHO'S WHO & NAME PRONUNCIATIONS
Book 9 - Verisimilitude (The Conspiracy Exposed)


EARTH


Humans
Liz Parker - the girl that Max Evans loved enough to risk exposure, healing her when she was shot at the Crashdown Cafe
Jeff Parker - Liz's father - owns the Crashdown Cafe
Nancy Parker - Liz's mother
Philip Evans - Max and Isabel's adoptive father - he is a lawyer
Diane Evans - Max and Isabel's adoptive mother
Maria DeLuca - Liz's best friend
Amy DeLuca - Maria's mother - owns a novelty store specializing in alien merchandise
Sean DeLuca - Maria's cousin and former inmate of Chavez County Juvenile
Alex Whitman - Liz and Maria's best friend
Chuck (Charles) Whitman - Alex's father
Gloria Whitman - Alex's mother
Kyle Valenti – Jim Valenti’s son and Liz's friend
Sheriff Jim Valenti Jr. - Sheriff of Roswell - Kyle's father
Deputy Eric Hansen - Deputy in the Roswell Sheriff's office - promoted to Sheriff after Jim Valenti was asked to step down
Agent Daniel Pierce - Deputy Dave Fisher - head of the special unit 5/2/1999 - 5/14/2000
Brody Davis - internet start-up millionaire - believes he was abducted by aliens and cured of his cancer - bought the Roswell UFO Museum from Milton Ross to conduct research in Roswell where he believes there is alien activity
Grant Sorensen - geologist - possessed by the Ganderium Queen
Melissa Foster - the girl that Isabel and Valenti mistakenly thought was the kidnap victim
Charles Dupree - Grandpa Dupree - human taken by the shape shifters for his DNA - Laurie Dupree's Grandfather
Laurie Dupree - Granddaughter of Charles Dupree (Michael's DNA donor) - kidnapped by the Ganderium Queen because of a rare gene flaw
Bobby Dupree - son of Charles - uncle of Laurie
Meredith Dupree - daughter of Charles - aunt of Laurie - after Laurie's parents died Bobby and Meredith had Laurie declared insane so they could control her money
Dan Lubertkin - member of the State Police Board and Sheriff's old friend
Agent Susanne Duff - FBI Agent investigating the kidnapping of Laurie Dupree
Leanna - aka Jennifer Coleman – a student at the University of Las Cruces, who Alex thinks he met In Sweden
Ray White - aka Alex Whitman - Liz and Maria's best friend
Mr. Stockman - employee of the Swedish embassy who helps Liz identify the building in the photo with Alex and Leanna
Don Peters - professor of computer science at the University of Las Cruces who helped Liz get Alex's research


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


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


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


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


Possessed Humans
Brody - Larek
Grant Sorensen - Ganderium Queen




ANTAR


Tageions (tauj'-ee-ons) - people inhabiting the north lands
King Zantor Tageonant (tauj'-o-nant) - (Zan) - Max - the rightful King of Antar
Queen Avalynd Telnada Tageonant - (Ava) - Zan's young bride
Royal Princess Vilondra Tageonant - Isabel - Zan’s sister
Queen Nedra Tageonant (ne'-dra) - Zan & Vilondra's mother


Tageonon (tauj'-o-non) - the capitol city of Antar, where the king's palace is located
Sodan (so-dan) - Nasedo - Zan's most trusted protector
Jensto (jens-toe) - a scientist in Zan's employ
General Toaks - named Zan's second in command after Rath died - Queen Nedra's head General in the resistance against Khivar
General Alarath Varros (Rath) - Michael - Zan's best friend and second in command
Kaldar – Tic Tac - Rath's most trusted protector
Lady Chanya Santas (shawn'-ya) - Vilondra's friend


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


Roistar (roys'-tar) - formerly Tageonon, Khivar changed the name when he assumed the throne
The Leptes (the Antarian word for Vengeance) - the ship Khivar sent to Earth with Nicholas and the skins


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


Leaders of the other planets in the Antarian system
Larek - Brody - Royal Duke of Talros (tal'-ros)
Hanar - Minister of Sofek (so-fec')
Sero - Chancellor of Yedom (yea'-dom)
Kathana - Royal Duchess of Ravok (ra'-voc)


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PART 1


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(Episode - End of the World)
(Wednesday, October 25, 2000)

Max stumbled blindly away from Liz's balcony, the sight of her in bed with Kyle, the only thing he could see. He wasn't capable of rational thought, the grief of losing Liz so suddenly and unexpectedly, overshadowed everything else. He walked away from the building, giving no thought to a destination, just knowing he had to get away.

Unmindful of how he got there, he eventually found himself in the park and collapsed onto a bench, his strength suddenly leaving him. He still couldn't believe what he had seen, but the scene played over and over in his head, forcing him to acknowledge the truth. He felt as if the world had suddenly turned on its side and everything he had ever believed was a lie.

Liz, his best friend, his love, his soul mate, had betrayed him in the worst way possible and things would never be the same again. Even though they were not together, he had known there would never be anyone else for him or Liz. They loved one another too completely to ever contemplate being with anyone else. Max had felt with a soul-deep certainty that it was just a matter of time until Liz stopped fighting him and they would be reunited. She loved him as much as he loved her and the only reason she had insisted on keeping them apart was because she thought it was for his own good.


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


Tess walked through the park as she often did in the evenings contemplating the events of the day. Max had been on her mind so much lately that it didn't surprise her to see him, but she was surprised by the state she found him in. She slowly approached him but Max was so absorbed in his misery that he didn't even notice her until she spoke to him, "Are you okay?"

Surprised by Tess' appearance Max answered truthfully, "No."

Tess was unsure of what to do. Max looked like he had lost his best friend and even though she knew she was the last person he wanted to talk to, she really didn't think he should be alone. "Can I sit down?"

Max looked at Tess strangely, her question catching him off guard, "Sure."

They sat in silence for a few moments and Tess wondered what could have done this to Max. It wasn't like him to fall apart. He was usually so controlled but she could tell he was on the edge. "Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked softly.

"No," Max said, his grief making his voice gruff.

Tess winced, interpreting his harsh tone as being directed toward her. Maybe Max really wanted to be alone and felt she was intruding. She hesitatingly asked him the question she had been dreading, "Do you want me to leave?"

Max looked at Tess, sitting next to him. He didn't know what he expected but it wasn't the vulnerable look he saw in her eyes. He had always thought she was so single-minded about their mission that she never had a doubt, never questioned her place in the grand design. But as he studied her, he could see that she was scared too. She had asked him if he wanted her to leave and his first impulse had been to say yes, but he could tell she was asking not just about this night but about their lives. What she was really asking him was did he want her to leave his life.

Suddenly Max felt ashamed. Tess had no friends or family other than Isabel, Michael and himself and he had made her feel like an outsider in her own family. He had treated her like she had no place among them, like she would contaminate them somehow, and he was sorry. Tess had nowhere else to go, and being the leader, he was ultimately responsible for her. "No," he said softly, answering her question.

Tess could practically feel the grief pouring off of Max and she instinctively wanted to offer comfort, but she was not sure of how Max would receive her gesture. She reached out tentatively and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, ready to pull it back immediately if he was offended. But when he looked at her with his tear-filled eyes, she knew he had accepted the gesture in the spirit she had offered it.

Tess suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her. She had struggled all of those months trying to get Max to see her and now he finally had. It meant the world to her that the man she loved had finally accepted her as a friend.

Max let her hand rest on his shoulder and turned and looked out into the night, not ready for her to see the extent of his grief. "Liz slept with Kyle," he said in a broken voice.

"What?" Tess asked. She couldn't have been more surprised if Max had said the moon had fallen out of the sky. But then she remembered what Liz had said to her when she had offered to help with Max.



Tess, I am sick of living like this, and I'm not gonna be free to move on unless I get Max to move on.



Tess remembered that Liz had been almost desperate for Tess to accept her offer of help. Tess had believed Liz to be sincere about helping her with Max, but she hadn't realized the lengths Liz would be willing to go.

Max continued as if Tess hadn't spoken. "I can hardly believe it's really true, but I saw it with my own eyes." His voice became softer as he spoke and he ended the sentence in a whisper.

Tess was genuinely surprised by the extent of Max's grief. Max had told her many times he loved Liz, but Tess had never even suspected that his feelings for the human ran so deep. "I'm so sorry Max," Tess said sincerely.

"I love her so much," he continued, "and she loves me. How could she have done it? Didn't she have any faith in me, in us?"

Tess answered honestly, "I don't know."


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


(Liz's balcony)

Song Playing: Without You Feels by Seven Mary Three

Liz stopped her spin and turned back to the older Max, but he wasn't where she expected him to be. She looked around, but suddenly the truth of the situation struck her. Max was gone. The plan had worked, they had changed the time line and he was gone. She wavered unsteadily on her feet, feeling as if she might faint, more alone than she had ever been in her life.

Automatically her eyes were drawn to the sky, and a shooting star passed overhead as if it were heralding Max's death and carrying his soul into the heavens.

Liz stood in shock, unable to believe that Max was really lost to her forever. Intellectually she had known she would never be with her Max again, but now that the Max from the future was gone, she knew the end had come. She could no longer pretend she would have a future with Max, she couldn't let the world be destroyed because she and Max loved one another. So she had traded her life with Max, for the safety of everyone on Earth. And even though Liz thought the satisfaction of saving the planet should have been enough, she was already grieving the loss of her love.

It had almost killed her to have to cause Max so much pain. Liz could still see the look of horror and agony on Max's face as he had gazed through her window and she knew it would haunt her the rest of her life. As he had stumbled away, it was as if Liz could feel the pain Max was experiencing. It felt like a physical object had crushed her chest, driving the air from her lungs, and for the space of several heartbeats she thought she would die.

Liz had thought it had taken all of her courage to turn away from Max at the cave last summer, but she had been horribly wrong. She had been forced to summon a strength she didn't know she possessed to stop herself from running after Max when he had seen her in bed with Kyle, wanting nothing more than to soothe the lines of agony from Max’s face. Loving him like she did, she was willing to sacrifice anything to stop Max's pain, and the only reason she stopped herself from telling him the truth was because Max himself had asked her to do it.

She would have rather died herself than pretend to betray him, but the older Max had been convinced it was the only way to save them. Liz hadn't wanted to believe him but she had come to the conclusion that she could not be with Max when she had heard the message from his mother in the cave. Even without the message, Liz would have done anything he asked of her; he was Max and she loved him with everything she was.

She couldn't believe how unfair life was. Even though she had not been with Max, she had known they would always love one another. She had told him they couldn't be together and she had really believed it was for the best, but she knew that Max would never stop loving her. And she had held on to the hope that one day it would be possible for them to be together, somehow. But now, after what she had done to push him away, she had given up hope. She had killed Max's love for her, and eventually he would turn to Tess.

Liz collapsed onto her lawn chair and she let the tears that had been threatening for days, flow freely down her cheeks as she mourned her lost love and the heroic Max from the future who had sacrificed himself to give them a better life.


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


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

Song Playing: It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing by Shania Twain

Kyle watched Liz closely throughout their History class. Last night she had been so devastated after Max left, she had barely said a word. He had wanted to stay and make sure she was okay but she had obviously been anxious for him to leave.

Today it seemed as if all of the life had been taken out of Liz. She moved in a slow, jerky manner as if she were in physical pain, and the light of curiosity and intelligence that usually shined from her eyes had been replaced by a spiritless, unseeing stare. She was obviously still deeply affected by what had happened the night before.

Kyle had recently read a quote by the Buddha that he thought described Liz perfectly. Good people shine from afar, like snowy mountains. As he studied her, her could still see the golden light shining from her but it was dulled like a dark cloud blocking the light of the sun.

He didn't know why Liz had asked him to help her make Max think they had slept together, but she had been so desperate when she had come to him yesterday, that he couldn't deny her. He'd wanted to find out what had really happened so he could comfort her, but he knew she wouldn't allow it. She had deflected all of his questions by simply saying she couldn't tell him. He didn't know what had happened to make her think she needed to take such drastic action but something was definitely wrong.

Even though he had originally thought that Max had come between himself and Liz, Kyle had been forced to admit some time ago, it wasn't the truth. Max and Liz had something special between them and they would have found one another eventually. Liz had explained her reasons for leaving Max over the summer, but Kyle had always thought it was only a matter of time before they got together again.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class Kyle followed Liz into the hall and pulled her aside. "Liz I don't know what happened last night," he held up a hand to stop her objection, "and you don't have to tell me." He released a sigh, "But Liz something is wrong, I know it is, and if you ever need to talk or just need a friend, I'm here for you."

Liz smiled. Kyle was becoming a really good guy just like the Max from the future had said. She touched his arm, "Thanks Kyle."


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


(Congresswoman Whitaker's Office)
(Roswell, NM)

Song Playing: With or Without You by U2

Liz stayed behind after the others had left, claiming that she needed to straighten up, but she really needed a few minutes to collect herself after Max's accusations. Never in her wildest imaginings had she thought that Max would stop trusting her, but he obviously had. Somehow word of Whitaker's death had gotten out and she had been Max's first and only suspect. She supposed she should have suspected it was possible he would lose faith in her, but they had been through so much together, she simply hadn't expected him to turn on her so completely.

A solitary tear ran down her cheek and she brushed it impatiently away; she had to be stronger than this if she were to convince Max it was true. She had to harden her heart against his remarks and grieve his loss in solitary. She knew that in Max's mind she had betrayed him in the worst possible way and she deserved to suffer. He was simply striking out because of the pain that she had caused him.


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


Song Playing: Breathe by Greenwheel

Max sat behind Liz and studied the back of her head as she drove the Jeep down the dark road, toward Copper Summit. He had been up all night last night, trying to figure out what he had really seen at Liz's house, but he was still no closer to a solution. He had seen the evidence with his own eyes, but he just couldn't accept it and the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced it couldn't be true. Everything in his heart told him the Liz he knew would never have betrayed him.

As she drove, Liz could feel Max's gaze burning into the back of her head, and she nervously glanced in the mirror at him. "I'm, I'm okay up here, if you want to get some sleep."

"I haven't slept since I saw you with Kyle," Max started gruffly, but his tone quickly changed to a pleading one. "Liz, I know you, and I don't believe that you would do that to me. It doesn't make sense. Tell me what happened."

Against her will, Liz's eyes were drawn to Max's image in the rear-view mirror. She could hear the anguish in his voice and more than anything she wanted to tell him the truth. A piece of her died every time she saw evidence of the suffering her betrayal had caused him; the sharp tone of his voice, the pain in his soulful eyes.

Her eyes met his in the mirror and she winced at the intensity of emotion she saw reflected. Max looked haggard, crippled. Liz felt as if her heart had been crushed and she opened her mouth to confess but she forced herself to remember why she was doing it and the words that would relieve both of their suffering died in her throat. She closed her mouth as the tears gathered in her eyes, and left Max's question unanswered.

Even if she lost every friend she had ever had and died of a broken heart, Liz vowed she would keep the secret. This Max would never know that everything she was doing was for him.


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


(Episode - Harvest)
(Friday, October 27th, 2000)
(The Crawford House)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

Nicholas put on his shy teenager act and looked around the wall at the visitors sitting on the sofa in his living room, across from Walt and Ida. Greer had called to warn him the outsiders were coming because they had asked about the harvest and Vilondra. Nicholas didn't know who they were but obviously they must know something. When they arrived, Ida told him they were kids who knew Vanessa from Roswell.

There were three girls and a guy, and Nicholas studied them as Walt kept them engaged in an inane conversation. Nothing particular struck him about the guy or two of the girls, but the girl closest to him somehow seemed familiar. Then suddenly she looked over at him, and when their eyes met, he recognized her immediately. It was Vilondra.

"Hi," she greeted him.

Nicholas didn't return her greeting, wondering if her companions were also part of the Royal Four as he suspected, and why they were here.

Ida called out to him, "Nicholas, there you are. Come on in here. Come on, say hello."

"No, ma'am," Nicholas answered as he silently signaled Walt to join him. He didn't have time to sit and chat and perhaps allow Vilondra to figure out who he was.

His mind was spinning with possibilities as he went into the kitchen to wait for Walt. More than likely, the guy was Zan and one of the other girls was Ava, but where was Rath? Was the other girl a shape shifter? Ida had told him the dark haired girl, Liz, worked for Vanessa and had come supposedly to return Vanessa’s personal items, but obviously that was simply an excuse. Why had they come to Copper Summit now? Nicholas wondered. Did they know about the harvest?

After a few moments, Walt joined him, "What do you think, Sir?"

"I’m not sure," Nicholas admitted. "Lets go to the UFL building." He motioned to the other room, "We won't be overheard there and we can find out exactly what they asked Gragras and Greer."

Walt nodded and the two of them walked up the road toward the Universal Friendship League building. When they were out of sight of the house, Nicholas pulled out his amplifier and signaled Gragras, "Meet me at the UFL building."

Gragras and Greer were waiting for them when they arrived and Nicholas turned to Greer. "Tell me Greer, what exactly did these kids say to you?"

Greer nodded, "They were asking about the UFL. Asked what it is and they seemed really interested in getting a look inside the building. And the girl asked about the Vilondra project."

Nicholas' interest was peeked, "Which girl?"

"I only saw one girl," Greer said. "She was tall, blonde, hair pulled back, and she was wearing all black."

Nicholas nodded and turned to Gragras. "They spoke to you first and you alerted Greer."

Gragras nodded, "They asked if this was Copper Summit and I gave them the usual spiel about the town going bust. Then they said they were looking for the UFL building and I figured they must be with us. I don’t know all of our people and I asked if they were here for the harvest, but they didn't know what that was."

Nicholas interrupted, "You didn't think it was odd they were asking about the building?"

Gragras shrugged, "I just figured they hadn't been back to town in a while."

Nicholas let it go and prompted him to continue.

"The girl, the blonde in black, had a letter and said they had been invited to the harvest. Of course then I knew they weren't part of our group but I pointed out the building and called Greer."

"Why all of these questions, Sir?" Walt asked. "Do you think they know too much?"

Nicholas smiled, "The blonde with all the questions is Vilondra."

"You're sure?" asked Greer.

Nicholas nodded, "I knew her very well on Antar. I assure you it is her."

"Then Max must be Zan," Walt deduced. "When they arrived at the house, all of the women looked to him to see what to do. He was definitely in charge."

Nicholas accepted information with a nod. "The girl, Liz, worked for Vanessa. After she died, they must have gone through her papers and found the letter from the UFL and followed it here."

Greer spoke up, "A woman from Vanessa's office did call here yesterday. She said she had just opened the letter and was sorry to tell us that the Congresswoman was dead. It must have been them."

Nicholas continued, "When Vanessa disappeared, I assumed she must be a trator, but it’s obvious now that these kids must have been involved, and probably killed her. But they wouldn't have been suspicious of Vanessa unless she tipped her hand to them.”

"What do you want to do?" asked Walt.

Nicholas thought for a moment. "I need to get Isabel away from the others and find out what she knows. I want the rest of you to lay low for tonight. We don't know which of the other girls is Ava, and we don't know where Rath is. I will find out what I can tonight, and Walt will gather everyone here early tomorrow for a briefing.


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


During dinner at the Crawford house, Liz was forced to watch the interaction between Tess and Max, and a sick feeling penetrated her heart, seeing how quickly and readily Max had accepted Tess. Two days ago he could barely stand to be in the same room with her, and now he was allowing her to practically climb all over him.

Liz knew that Max was watching her closely and suspected he was only allowing Tess' attentions because he knew it would cause her pain, as she had done to him. She pasted on a smile and tried to ignore them, but Tess laughed at something Max said drawing Liz’s eyes back to them. Liz had intended to try and help Tess fit into the group, but obviously Tess didn’t need any more help from her. Liz watched as Tess ran her hand down Max's arm and suddenly she couldn't stand it any longer, she had to get away. Politely excusing herself, Liz headed out the door.

Walking quickly away from the house and down the main road, the scene from the Jeep last night played in Liz’s head. She could still see the image of Tess' head resting on Max's shoulder. Tess had never made a secret of the fact that she wanted Max and she was taking full advantage of his softening attitude toward her. And not only was Liz horribly jealous but she felt betrayed that Max would turn away from her so quickly and so completely. A shiver of reaction raced through her and she crossed her arms across her chest to ward off the chill.

There were footsteps behind her and she didn't have to turn to know who it was. Max was the last person she wanted to see when she was this vulnerable.

Max had seen Liz leave the house and he had followed her as quickly as he had been able to get away. He needed to get her alone so he could ask her what had happened.

He grimaced when he suddenly remembered it was Friday and the night of the Gomez concert. In his daydreams he had imagined the night many times. He and Liz would go to dinner in a romantic restaurant, where they would recapture the easy closeness of their friendship. They would laugh and smile, and when he reached out across the table to take her hand in his, she wouldn't object.

Later at the concert, they would sit close together on the blanket he had brought and as the night grew cooler, Liz would lean into him. He would put his arm around her, to enclose her small frame in his jacket and Liz would put her arm around his waist and snuggle closer. He would take her free hand in his and feel the incredibly soft texture of her skin. Then he would cradle her head under his chin and greedily inhale the sweet scent of her hair. And when their song was played, he would place a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Liz would look up at him and suddenly everything else would fade into the background, like it used to, and both of them would know that nothing was more important than being together. He would lean in, careful not to scare her, but she would sigh and close her eyes, welcoming his kiss.

Max sighed. That was how it should have been. He had pictured the night so many times, in so many ways, changing the details, but the evening had always ended with he and Liz together. Never in his worst nightmares had he even come close to imagining the reality.

"Liz!" Max called out, but she kept walking and he rushed to catch up to her. "Liz, what are you doing? We agreed none of us would go anywhere alone."

"Fine," Liz said stubbornly, as she turned to go back.

But Max was not ready to let her leave and he reached out to her, "Wait."

She was forced to put up an angry front to avoid breaking into tears. "Max, look. There's just," Liz stuttered, trying to say the words that would make him leave, "there's nothing left to say."

"Except the truth," Max said softly.

For a moment Liz was really scared. Had Max figured out the truth? Was the whole thing for nothing? Liz decided to play dumb and lashed out at him, "We have already been through this!"

Liz's anger brought his to the surface, "So far, all I know is what I saw. And what I saw can't be true, because it means everything I felt in my heart for the last year is a lie! Now, you owe me an explanation, and I want it right now!"

Liz winced as Max's words hit her like a physical object. She couldn't bear to tell him all of the wonderful feelings that had passed between them weren't true, but she couldn't think fast enough to answer him and stalled for time, "Please quit shouting, Max. You're scaring me."

"That's a lie, too!" Max growled and then regretted it. He knew something was wrong with the whole scenario and he wanted to get to the truth. He lowered his voice, "You're not scared. You're hiding something."

"I'm not," Liz denied too quickly.

Max immediately picked up on her slip. "What the hell is going on with you, Liz? We never lied to each other, never kept a secret from each other."

The conversation was quickly spiraling out of her control and Liz knew if she didn't do something quickly, Max would figure out something close to the truth. She took a deep breath and spoke the words that would turn him away permanently, "You know, you have got me up on this pedestal, Max, and I'm not this perfect person. I made a mistake. Look, Kyle and I made love. The end. I'm sorry."

Liz's words slashed at Max's heart. Somehow he still didn't believe Liz would have slept with Kyle but she had said the words herself, it must be true. Max studied Liz's face wondering how things had gone so badly between them. How could it end like this when they loved one another so much? Without a word, he turned and walked slowly away from her.

Liz felt as stricken as Max looked and she would have given anything to spare him the pain. But she knew the other Max had been right, this Max would have never given her up without a good enough reason. Even now he was still pursuing her, still hunting for answers. The only way to turn him from her was to break his heart.


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


Nicholas waited until Isabel had settled into her room for the night before approaching her. He stopped outside her door and studied her face intently. Of course she looked different than she had on Antar but it was surprising to him that she moved with the same elegant grace Vilondra had possessed.

At that moment, Isabel noticed him and greeted him with a smile, "Oh, Nicholas. Come in. I don't bite."

Nicholas suppressed a smile at her remark. She was treating him like the shy child he appeared to be. He was sure Isabel didn't recognize him and continued in his innocent role, "This used to be her room."

Isabel hung her head guiltily, "I'm so sorry about your sister."

"I was gonna visit her in Washington next year," Nicholas continued, trying to steer the conversation. "We were gonna spend three days just at the Air and Space Museum."

"Did you get a lot of time with her, growing up?" Isabel asked.

Nicholas shrugged, "When she'd visit, she'd make time. She always told me there's this whole wide world out there. She didn't want me stuck in Copper Summit for the rest of my life." He focused on Isabel to gage her reaction, "She used to tell me stories about this planet in another galaxy, how there was this war going on, like a revolution."

"True stories?" Isabel asked breathlessly.

Nicholas could see he had her full attention. "How could they be true?" he asked innocently.

"Did she ever mention Vilondra?" Isabel pressed.

Nicholas' gaze narrowed as she broached the subject he was interested in, "How do you know about Vilondra?"

"Vanessa told me some stories, too," Isabel replied.

Suddenly Tess appeared, "Hey." And then noticing the intent look on Isabel's face, she realized she had interrupted something. "Oh, sorry," Tess addressed Nicholas, in a tone that made it clear she wanted to be alone with Isabel.

"I have to go," Nicholas said, as he turned to leave. He was frustrated to have been interrupted, but he had discovered part of what he wanted to know. The scientists speculations had been correct. Isabel had little or no memory of her other life and that meant the others were ignorant as well.

He wondered why their shape shifters had not helped them with memory recovery techniques. It was possible the shape shifters had hidden the pods and then perished in the crash. And if that was the case, the Royal Four could be completely ignorant of who they were.


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


(Episode - Harvest)
(Saturday, October 28th, 2000)
(The Universal Friendship League Building)
(Copper Summit, AZ)

It was just before dawn and all of Nicholas' remaining troops were gathered around him to hear his orders.

Nicholas stood on the dais, with Greer on one side and Walt and Ida on the other. "This is a great day for us,” he called out the assembled troops. “Three of the Royal Four have delivered themselves into our hands."

Suddenly the room erupted into gasps and murmurs and Nicholas raised his hand to signal for silence. "Apparently they have no memories of their lives on Antar and that will only make them easier to defeat. One of the main goals of our mission has always been to bring back Vilondra alive and today that is our most important objective. I want to make sure Vilondra is safe before we take others. So go about your business, act normally. At the funeral I will draw Vilondra away and then you can have the others."

A cheer went through the crowd and Nicholas let the troops celebrate for a few minutes before he called them to order again. "If the others get, um, roughed up a bit in the struggle I will understand, but for now we need them alive. After we get the location of the Granolith however," Nicholas shrugged, "we only need enough of Zan's body to verify his identity."


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


Song Playing: The World Has Turned Around by Weezer

As they drove away from Copper Summit and it was clear they weren't being followed, Max started to relax. They'd had a really close call with the skins, barely escaping with their lives. He hadn't realized how dangerous it would be or he would have never risked going there, and he certainly would never have risked taking Liz.

Max automatically glanced at Liz in the rearview mirror. He had insisted that she come with them, not because she was their only link to Whitaker, as he had told everyone, but because he wanted to be near her. And even though she had told him just days before that she wouldn't die for him, Liz had not even hesitated to come. Something just didn't add up about her actions, but Max couldn't put his finger on it. Everything Liz said pointed to the fact that she slept with Kyle, but everything his heart told him said it was a lie. The only thing he was sure of, was that something was very wrong.

But even with everything that Liz had done, when the skins had attacked them, his first thought had been to save her any way he could. And Max was forced to admit to himself what he instinctively already knew. He still loved Liz with all of his heart and no matter what happened, he always would.


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


(Copper Summit, AZ)

In the first few hours after the destruction of the growing husks, seven skin soldiers died, and Walt and several others collapsed. Nicholas had them taken to the ship, where they maintained their native atmosphere, knowing it was the only way to save them. The medical staff stripped off the husks and the ailing soldiers rapidly recovered, but now they would be forced to remain on the ship until they returned to Antar.

The remaining soldiers' husks started to deteriorate rapidly and Nicholas knew they only had a matter of days at the most, before he lost them all. The outlook was bleak but Nicholas did have one last trick up his sleeve.

They had brought with them a technology, a veritem generator, that was capable of reproducing the multi-phasal dimensions that existed on Antar, and then temporarily separating one where human bodies could not exist. It would only work in a small area, but it would cause all of the humans to shift into another reality while they searched the town for the Royal Four. This was the first chance they'd had to use it but it was perfect timing. It was unlikely the Royal Four would be expecting them and with what Greer and the others had told him about their powers, they would be easily overtaken.

That afternoon Nicholas held a briefing with the few remaining soldiers. "Tomorrow we are going to Roswell. Just outside of town we will deploy the veritem generator. All of the humans will disappear and the Royal Four will have no where to hide."


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


TBC

This Fic was Nominated at Majik's World of Fanfic for:
Best Pre-Pilot or Back story
Best Angsty Fic
Best Fight Scene
Best Fic that kept you on the edge of your seat

Follow this link
Voting is Open Now!


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





BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 2


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


(Episode - Wipeout)
(Sunday, October 29th, 2000)
(Crashdown Cafe)

Liz released a deep breath when Ida and Nicholas left the Crashdown. It had only been due to Tess' powers that they hadn’t been discovered. The other Max had been right, they needed Tess. They were stronger with her.

Liz watched as Tess practically collapsed at the counter and saw Max go to attend her. Quickly Liz turned and ran upstairs not able to watch Max comforting the other girl. Everything was happening so fast; Max's distrust of her, his acceptance of Tess, and now all of the humans were gone, including her parents.

Liz went into her room hoping for some comfort from the familiar surroundings, but instead she found a basket of laundry her mother had obviously put there. She picked up a shirt and suddenly heard a sound behind her in the hallway. But she wasn't scared, because without turning she knew who it was, and spoke over her shoulder, "My mom always listened to Elvis Costello on laundry day." Liz turned to look at Max, "I am so scared."

"What happened to your family," Max started, "to all the humans. It's our fault."

"We haven't lost them yet," Liz said with a nod, looking at Max's sympathetic face. She had seen the relief on his face earlier when she and Maria arrived at the Crashdown. He had been almost weak with relief that she was still alive and she had felt the same way when she saw him. Her first impulse had been to race into his arms and never leave, but she had stopped herself. It was obvious Max still had strong feeling for her and Liz longed to tell him the truth, but instead she spoke aloud the words she had been repeating to herself for days, that now also applied to the current situation, "We have to stay strong."

"Yeah," Max said. He made a movement toward her, his only thought to offer her comfort but then he noticed her bed. It was the place where she and Kyle had been together and Max recoiled from it. He had been so relieved to see Liz alive that he had forgotten about what had happened, but now all of his anger and heartache came rushing back again.


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


Courtney carefully made her way down the alley. Michael had told her where to find the Granolith and now she just hoped she could make it there before her husk failed. It would be easy enough to steal a car since all of them had been left on the streets with the keys still in them but she had to find one that wasn't blocked in by other cars, and avoid Nicholas’ troops.

She was forced to stop again to catch her breath. Gasping for air, she leaned against the side of the building and her legs suddenly gave out. Courtney could hear the approaching footsteps and tried desperately to hide herself but she was too weak to rise to her feet. She crawled down into a doorway, hoping the skins wouldn't notice her but they were on top of her before she could get away.

The first soldier picked her up and slammed her against the wall, "I should kill you now, traitor."

"Go ahead," Courtney taunted. "Nicholas won't be mad at all that you denied him the pleasure."

The other soldier grabbed the first by the shoulder and pulled him away from her, "I've already alerted Nicholas. He'll be here in a few minutes."

Courtney sank down to the ground and closed her eyes, trying to conserve her energy. When Nicholas got there she would need all of her strength to hide the location of the Granolith from him.

Sooner than she expected, Nicholas was kneeling before her, "When my soldiers told me what they had found, I had to see for myself. What's the matter, Courtney? Too weak to run?"

"Leave me alone," Courtney groaned.

"You always were the social butterfly, Courtney. Always the first to make new friends, but what I want to know is, where are yours hiding?"

Courtney ignored his question. "I think I see a chest hair, Nicholas. Way to go."

Nicholas shrugged, "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." He grabbed her head roughly and forced a connection.

The pain of the involuntary connection was beyond what she expected and a cry was forced from her, "Ahh! Ahhh!"

Nicholas kept up a commentary as he watched her memories rush through her mind, "Let's see. You had scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then you slipped into that husk that punk stole from us."

"No. No!" she moaned as she realized she had no defenses against him.

Nicholas ignored her protests and continued his search, "Boring. Boring. Boring. Aha!" he exclaimed as he stumbled onto the image of Max saying that they would head to the school. Nicholas broke the connection, "School? On a Saturday? What a drag."

It was Sunday but Courtney didn't bother correcting him, she knew she wouldn't last much longer. "I hope they kill you."

"You've become awfully chummy with them, haven't you, Courtney?" Nicholas sneered, as he continued to search through her memories. "Are you hiding something else? You are. You have a secret. What do you know?"

Courtney concentrated harder, attempting to keep him out of her mind, but he easily pushed past her defenses, causing her even more pain. "Ohhh!" The images of her memories rushed through her mind as Nicholas extracted them. Finally she saw Michael telling her where the Granolith was so she could save herself.

The Granolith," Nicholas said with genuine surprise. "That's a bonus. I hope he gave you detailed directions.

Courtney knew she was dying. Her husk was failing and she was having more difficulty breathing with every moment, but she didn't want to die. No matter how useless it was, she wanted to fight to live till her very last breath, but more than that, she wanted to live to see Michael on the Antarian throne. She couldn't let Nicholas get the Granolith, and as he outstretched his hand to connect with her again, she reached behind her and released the valve on her husk.


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


(West Roswell High School)

Max saw Isabel propped up against a row of lockers and ran forward, "Isabel!" He fell to his knees before her and tried to wake her, "Isabel."

Suddenly there was a sound behind them, "Ahem!" and Max turned to see Nicholas and what was left of the skin army.

With a flick of his hand Nicholas threw the three of them against the lockers and they collapsed unconscious. Nicholas created four pillars and his troops quickly tied the Royal Four to them.

The others woke up fairly quickly but Max continued to sag in his bonds and Nicholas grew tired of waiting. He slapped Max hard and he came groggily awake.

Max was confused for a moment. He woke to find himself bound to a pole but he looked around to see Michael, Isabel and Tess also bound, and it all came rushing back to him.

"What happened to you, guy?" Nicholas mocked Max. "You used to determine the fate of entire armies with the flip of a coin. Luckily for me," he motioned to the others bound behind him, "you continue to put your faith in the wrong people."

Nicholas walked behind Max and passed Isabel. He was furious at her for denying him in Copper Summit and he cruelly used her ignorance of the past against her and Max, "Does this scene feel familiar, Vilondra?"

Nicholas walked by Michael and continued to mock Max's leadership, "And your trusted second. The boy who spilled the secret of the Granolith to one of our exiled members." He faced Michael, "Rule number one of war, keep your big mouth shut. Courtney knew that. That's why she killed herself before I could get its exact location.” Nicholas smiled, not able to resist a little more mockage. “By the way, love the hair. Hope you win."

He returned to Max, "There's one more thing I need to know before we can all call it a day. Where's the Granolith?"

"I'm not telling you," Max growled.

Nicholas smiled, "Oh, you will."

With a wave of his hand, Nicholas pushed a steady stream of energy into Max's friends and they obligingly screamed.

"Wait!" Max said. "I'll take you there. Just you and me. This has nothing to do with them."

"Max, don't," Isabel said.

Nicholas laughed, "This is too easy. In the old days, I would've been no match for you but now..." he let his sentence trail off and grabbed Max's head, immediately forming a connection, brutally pushing through Max's memories, searching for the location of the Granolith. At first, the memories flashed before him but they kept returning to a single image of a dark-haired girl, who Nicholas recognized as Liz. Then Max started to struggle and Nicholas was forced out.

"Either way, you're going to die, Max," Nicholas said. "So why don't you just make this easy on yourself?" He tried to form a connection again but Max shored up his defenses, preventing a connection and Nicholas removed his hand in surprise. Max was stronger than he had anticipated.

Max sagged in his bonds exhausted and Nicholas suspected he had used all of his power to repel him. "Ready to tell me now?" Nicholas taunted him. He reached for Max's head again but a scream of rage erupted from Tess. A ball of fire started to build behind her and Nicholas backed away from her as the fire suddenly spilled past her and engulfed the others around him.


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


Liz and Maria had just finished filling in Alex on what had happened in the time the humans had disappeared.

"So that is why, like every car in Roswell simultaneously wrecked?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Liz said. "The drivers just weren't there anymore."

"But it didn't seem like any time passed at all," Alex said. "How long was I, you know, gone?"

Liz shook her head, "I don't know. It seemed like forever, but I guess it was only a couple of hours."

"And you, Maria, Kyle and the Sheriff only escaped because you were out-of-town."

"But it caught up with us eventually," Maria said.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

Maria explained, "First the Sheriff disappeared at the UFO center, then Liz in the car." Maria grabbed Liz's hand remembering. "Then Kyle and I got to the billboard with the rod thingy, and he attacked a skin and then disappeared, and I was all alone. I put the jumper cables on the green rod and I must have disappeared too because the next second the rod was destroyed and Liz and Kyle were back."

"That's weird though," Alex said. "Why didn't Kyle and the Sheriff disappear at the same time. They came into Roswell together." He motioned to Maria, "And why did you disappear last?"

Maria shook her head, "I don't know."

"I have a theory," Liz said, "but I guess we'll never know if I'm right."

"Well let's hear it," said Maria. "I'd certainly like to know."

"The Sheriff was the first to disappear. He was attacked and injured by that skin guy in the Crashdown, and Kyle said he was really agitated just before he dissolved. His adrenaline levels would have been elevated from everything that happened. What if he just reached a critical level and then, poof, he shifted."

"Okay," said Alex, "how does that explain the rest of you?"

Liz nodded, "Just before I disappeared, I was really upset about Max. I was so scared he would die. I remember that I was yelling and I couldn't seem to sit still."

Alex nodded, "So you're adrenaline levels were elevated too."

"And then Kyle fought another skin guy," Maria said, picking up on Liz's theory, "and he disappeared. But Kyle saved me. I was getting really freaked out that Liz disappeared and he calmed me down. He made a joke and it made me laugh. But I got really worried when I couldn't get the cables on the rod, and then finally I figured it out and I was so excited but worried about what I would do if it didn't work..."

"And then you disappeared," Liz finished.

"Yeah," Maria nodded.

"It seems like a pretty sound theory," Alex said.

Liz shrugged, "It doesn't really matter. I'm just glad everyone is back safe."


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


(Monday, October 30th, 2000)

Tess had watched Max staring at Liz all through their Biology class with growing anger. Even after Liz had caused him so much heartache, she was all he thought about. Tess had thought Max would turn from Liz completely, but it hadn't happened. It looked like Max was willing to just forget the whole thing.

But Tess wasn't going to let that happen. She had a perfect plan that would humiliate Max and force him to forget Liz, and she knew just the person to execute it. She looked around to make sure she wasn't being observed and took a seat next to Pam Troy. "How's it going?" Tess started conversationally.

Pam glanced at Tess dismissively, "Whatever."

Tess smiled, "Have you heard the latest about Liz Parker?"

Suddenly interested, Pam turned back to Tess, "What do you know?"

"Well it seems that Miss Goody-two-shoes Parker isn't as pure as she wants everyone to believe."


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


(Copper Summit, AZ)
(Onboard the Leptus)

Normally Nicholas would have been transmitting his report to Antar but in times of great import Khivar would possess one of the soldiers specially trained for that purpose. Nicholas had been forced to report the destruction of most of his remaining troops to Khivar, and as he had once predicted, Khivar was not pleased with his failure.

As Nicholas watched Corporal Raltos, who housed Khivar's projected consciousness, pace back and forth before him, he related in detail the events that had transpired in Roswell the day before. He told Khivar of the Royal Four's capture and his attempted interrogation of Max.

“And what information were you able to retrieve from him, Nicaron?”

I almost had the location of the Granolith, but surprisingly Max was mostly able to keep me out of his mind. All I really saw were repeated flashes of the human girl Liz, who worked for Vanessa. I was about to try again when Tess screamed and invoked a huge fireball, catching us completely off guard. The only reason I survived was because I dropped to the floor and shape shifted to fit into the pattern of the tile. After they left I found Ida. She had better reflexes than the rest of us and used her speed to escape, but she was somewhat singed. And other than myself, she was the only survivor."

Khivar stopped pacing, "What do you mean? Tess engulfed your troops in a fireball?"

"Yes," Nicholas answered, trying to read the expression on the borrowed face. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"She was never capable of anything like that in her former life. She was an empath."

Nicholas shrugged, curious but unconcerned. "Perhaps the cloning process somehow gave them more power. Jensto said it was possible."

"Perhaps," Khivar said distractedly. "This is an interesting turn of events. I will have to consider the implications. But of more urgency is your present course of action.”

Nicholas sighed, unwilling to report another failure to Khivar, “My liege, all of the surviving troops are all confined to the ship because their skins have completely failed. I am the only one who can move around freely. The troops think I am keeping my skin alive only with the use of my powers.”

Khivar nodded, “This setback might force me to send you a new compliment of troops, even though I really don't want to waste the resources to do that."

Nicholas knew that Khivar had initially tried to keep the fact that the Royal Four had been sent to Earth a secret, but word had rapidly spread throughout the system. Zan's supporters had used his rebirth as a rallying point and Khivar had been forced not only to defend his position on Antar but he was constantly fighting with the four other planets as well. Khivar needed proof of Zan's death to dissolve the rebellion and bring the system back under control.

While they were discussing Nicholas' course of action, Khivar conceived a plan. They would use the royal communication frequency to send an invitation to a peace summit, to the Royal Four. Khivar would offer a deal to Max, as Zan was now called. If Max accepted, they would all return to Antar with the Granolith and Khivar would simply have him executed. If Max didn't accept, Khivar would see to it that the leaders of the other planets blamed him for the continuation of the war and they would turn against him. Either way Khivar would benefit.

Nicholas ordered a Lieutenant to send the invitation on the royal frequency, while he and Khivar went over the details of the plan.


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


(New York City, NY)
(The dupes home)

A bright shaft of light suddenly emitted from the orb that Ava had been using as a paperweight. Zan and Ava looked at one another and Serena reached for it apprehensively. The others shape shifters had agreed they would only use the orb in the case of an emergency.

Lonni grabbed the orb before Serena could reach it and sent a burst of power into it activating the message.



This is Nicholas Crawford, Khivar's representative on Earth. In light of recent events, his Majesty Khivar Roistar invites the Royal Four to attend a peace conference to discuss a cessation of the hostilities that have plagued the five planets of our system. Khivar wishes to extend a hand of peace at a place and of your choosing.

All five planets will be represented and of course the discussion will include terms for your return to Antar.

We eagerly await your reply.



Lonni excitedly turned to the others, "We can go home."

Zan shook his head, "It sounds like a trap to me. When we answer the message they’ll find out where we are."

Lonni sighed, "Zan do you have to be such a chump. The war can't last forever. Maybe they really want peace."

"I don't believe it," Zan said.

Rath took up Lonni's side immediately, "We can at least go and see what they're offering."

Serena, knowing the message was not for them, spoke up, "I think Zan is right. It would be just like Khivar to try and lead you into a trap."

"Zan," Lonni protested, "It might be the only chance we have to go home."

Zan grabbed the orb from Lonni and slammed it down onto the desk, "Shut up Lonni.

"This decision affects all of us," argued Rath. "We should all get a say."

"Yeah Zan," Ava said. "Maybe we should just listen to what they have to say."

Zan scowled at Ava and she immediately backed down. "Nobody is going to any peace conference," he growled.

Ava nodded and slipped her arm through his, “You’re right baby, it’s probably a trap.”

Zan continued to scowl at her until she released his arm and backed away. Then Zan turned his gaze on Rath, "And there's not going to be a vote. I'm the man. We do what I say."

Rath held his gaze until Lonni broke in, "Boys, chill."

Rath gave Zan another measuring look and Lonni touched his arm, "Rath, let it go. Let's take a walk."

Rath knew Lonni must have an idea and he backed down with a smile. "Yeah, let's get outta here."

Rath waited until they were out of ear-shot, "So what do you have in mind?"

"What makes you think I have something in mind?" Lonni asked innocently.

Rath smiled as he slipped his arm around her waist, "Because I know you."

Lonni frowned. "This may be the only chance we're ever going to have to get off this stinking planet and I'm not going to let Zan just throw it away."

"He's powerful and he's got Ava and Serena backing him," Rath reminded her.

"Ava won't be a problem," Lonni said confidently. "And as for Serena, I think it's time to cut the apron strings."

"Okay," Rath agreed, "and the summit?"

"Let's take care of Serena first. Then we'll send them an answer."

"How do you want to do it?"

"I say we get Ava to lead the shape shifter into a trap and you shoot her from behind."

"Ava likes Serena," Rath said. "She won't help us."

Lonni smiled, "She will if she thinks we are just going to talk to her."

Rath smiled.

Lonni pulled out her cell phone and dialed Ava’s number. "Ava, it's Lonni. Rath and I are gonna get a slice. Why don't you come with us?"


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


Rath crammed pizza into his mouth and let Lonni do the talking.

"You want to go home, don't you?" Lonni asked Ava. "And be the Queen again?"

"Of course," Ava started, "but Zan..."

Lonni cut her off, "Zan is just being stubborn. If we could convince Serena that we are ready to go home, she could help us talk to Zan."

"So why tell me?" asked Ava.

Lonni smiled, "You are so close to Serena, we thought you could help us change her mind."

Ava looked at Lonni and Rath, wondering about their real motives but she nodded. "Okay. When do you want to talk to her?"


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


Ava had a lot on her mind as she and Serena walked through the underground tunnels, heading for the surface. Lonni had planned their route and picked a spot where she and Rath would just happen to run in to them. The plan was that the three of them together would be able to get Serena to see their side about returning home.

As they walked, Ava decided to broach the subject without the others, "Serena, why are you so against going to the summit?"

"If I thought it was real I wouldn't be against it," Serena explained. "But you don't remember our enemies. They would say anything to draw you into the open and then kill you without a second thought."

"But it could be our only chance to return to Antar," argued Ava. "Are you sure it isn't a real conference?"

"Yes," agreed Lonni, stepping out of the shadows. "How do you know for sure?"

Serena was surprised by Lonni's sudden appearance but not alarmed, and she continued with her answer. "If the conference were real..."

Her answer was cut short as a blast of energy hit her in the back and seared through to her chest. With a look of total shock, Serena put her hand to her chest and collapsed to the ground.

Ava stood in stunned horror as Rath emerged into the light to stand beside Lonni. "What did you do?" Ava asked, her voice breathy.

"She would have never understood," Lonni said. "She was always spouting all of that crap about preparing to return and how we weren't ready. She would have blocked our return to Antar any way she could and we would never have been able to convince Zan. But with her out of the way it'll be no problem to get Zan to go home."

Ava looked at the still form of the shape shifter, "You didn't have to kill her. We could have persuaded her. She was our protector."

"Hmmpf. Some protector," Rath said. "Couldn't even protect herself."

"But what will Zan say?" Ava asked.

"He won't say anything," Lonni said as she loomed over the smaller girl, "because he won't know."

"I can't keep something like this from him," Ava protested.

"You can and you will," Lonni said, her tone soft but menacing. "Because if you do tell him, Rath and I will say that you were in on the plan from the beginning and then you chickened out. Who do you think Zan will believe anyway?" Lonni paused to let her words sink in. "You," Lonni asked pointing to Ava, "his former wife, who he hasn't so much as touched in months, or me, his beloved sister?"

Ava winced as Lonni's taunt hit a nerve. She wasn't sure who Zan would believe and reluctantly agreed. "Okay," Ava sighed.

"Good," Lonni purred, putting her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “There’s nothing to worry about. It will all be okay. Once we get home you and Zan will be married again, and you’ll live happily ever after as King and Queen.”

Ava nodded hesitantly.

Lonni smiled. “Tonight, I want you to take my brother to a movie or something to keep him occupied while Rath and I talk to the summit people."

Ava glanced down at Serena's body. "What about her?"

Lonni indicated a large crack in the wall of the tunnel with a jut of her chin, "We’ll wall her up in there."


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


Lonni waited until Zan and Ava left for the movie before she slipped the orb into her pocket. Then she and Rath took the train to the last stop, before activating the orb. "This is Vilondra Tageonant calling for Nicholas Crawford."

She was answered immediately, "Vilondra Tageonant, acknowledged. Stand-by."


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


(Copper Summit, AZ)

It had been a few hours since the message had been sent and Nicholas was beginning to wonder if the Royal Four had received it. He was about to have it rebroadcast when a Lieutenant burst into the room interrupting his conversation with Khivar.

"Your Majesty, General, we have received a reply, but it is not from New Mexico as you expected. It's from New York."

Nicholas turned to look at Khivar with surprise but Khivar comprehended the situation immediately. "The duplicates perhaps? Jensto did tell us that two sets of clones were sent to Earth, the real Royal Four and a set of decoys." Khivar turned to the Lieutenant, "Did the caller identify themselves?"

"Yes, your Majesty," the Lieutenant answered with a low, formal bow, "it’s Vilondra. She is awaiting your reply."

Nicholas dismissed the Lieutenant with a wave of his hand and turned to Khivar with a shrug, "They might know the location of the Granolith."

"It is possible, but unlikely," Khivar said, "but even if they don't, they could be useful in another way. It is probable that the duplicates believe themselves to be the real Royal Four. And to be effective as a decoy, the duplicate Zan would have to be able to pass as the real Zan. We could bring the duplicate Zan to the summit and use him to get Zan's followers on Antar to surrender and accept my government."

Nicholas nodded, "And the Granolith?"

Khivar motioned to the amplifier, changing the subject, "It is interesting that Vilondra contacted us don't you think?"

"Maybe she remembers you,” Nicholas suggested. “Do you want to handle this yourself?"

Khivar shook his head. "No, she is not the real Vilondra. I want you to find out as much as you can from her and then I will decide what to do."

Nicholas picked up the amplifier and spoke into it, "Vilondra, how lovely to hear from you. I am Khivar’s representative on Earth, Nicholas. Are you calling in regards to the summit?"

"Yeah," Lonni said sarcastically. "Why don't you start by calling me Lonni, Nicholas," she said getting right to the point. "I don't know what Khivar wants from this summit, but I will help in any way I can. I just want to go home."

Nicholas laughed, "Khivar wants the Granolith."

"Never heard of it," Lonni admitted. "What is it?"

Nicholas shrugged, "Just a religious piece of junk that the people of our planet worship. It's about ten feet tall, a big, black cone-shaped thing with a crystal at the base."

Lonni shook her head, "I've never seen anything like that."

"You're sure you don't have it?" Nicholas asked. "Maybe Zan knows where it is?"

"No, sorry," Lonni said. "If we had, it would be yours no problem. What would we want with some religious thing?"

"What indeed?" Nicholas asked, and then quickly changed the subject. "Why didn't your brother contact us?"

"Zan's a little shy," Lonni purred.

"Too shy to come to a peace summit?" Nicholas asked.

"What's in it for me if I get him to come?" Lonni asked calculatingly.

Nicholas laughed, "If you get him to come and tell his troops on Antar to lay down their arms, I will provide you with passage home."

"Okay," Lonni agreed. "Give me a few days to work on him. I'll contact you again when I have news."

Nicholas switched off the amplifier and Khivar spoke first, "We will still have to deal with the real Royal Four to get the Granolith, but if this Zan can get his followers to back down, it will make things much easier."


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


(Monday, November 6th, 2000)
(New York, NY)

Over the next week Lonni, Rath and Ava continually bugged Zan to change his mind and accept the invitation to the summit, but each time he flatly refused. With each refusal, Lonni grew more desperate and she and Rath tried every trick they could think of.

Finally Lonni was forced to admit that they wouldn't be able to convince him and she contacted Nicholas to tell him. "Zan won't come to the conference," she blurted out.

Nicholas swore, annoyed that this plan was not working out either. All of his remaining troops were now confined to the ship and even if Khivar sent reinforcements today it would be four years for them to reach Earth. Nicholas was on his own. With Tess' demonstration of power he was worried that Max and the others were regaining their former stature and he felt a sense of urgency to get the matter resolved. But he was not sure he could handle them alone.

Suddenly an idea occurred to him that might be just the answer to all his problems. Perhaps he could get Lonni to do his dirty work for him. He spoke into the amplifier, "Lonni I may have a solution to your problem."

"And what is that, Nicholas?" she asked sarcastically.

"Are you aware of the other set of pods that were sent to Earth?"

The question caught Lonni completely off guard, "No. What are you talking about?"

Nicholas smiled. This was too easy. He knew the best lies were couched in the truth and he let Lonni draw her own conclusions. "Two sets of clones were created from the genetic material of the Royal Four and sent to Earth. A real set and an inferior set designed to act as decoys should the need arise."

"And what does this other set of clones, the inferior set, have to do with me?" Lonni asked.

"Well," Nicholas drawled, "I just happen to know where they are, and if you can't convince your Zan to go to the summit perhaps the other Zan will be more cooperative."

"You don't know Zan," Lonni argued. "He won't just sit by and let all of this happen around him."

"Then maybe he has outlived his usefulness," Nicholas said simply.


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Tuesday, November 7th, 2000)
(New York, NY)

"They contacted us again last night," Rath said to Zan. "Same invite. We gotta tell 'em something."

Zan was sick of this conversation, "Tell 'em no."

"Yo," Lonni jumped into the conversation, "you sayin' we ain't going to the summit?"

Zan smiled, knowing his answer would annoy Lonni, "That's what I'm saying."

Rath was instantly angry, "Yo, that's messed up, duke. This is the only time we've ever been contacted."

Zan shrugged, uncaring, "Whatever. That's it."

"We tell 'em no, they won't ask again," Ava spoke up.

Zan was surprised by her outburst. She rarely went against him, rarely had her own opinion. He had tried to follow his destiny and be with her but he had felt like he was betraying himself, and in the last couple of months he had started to put a distance between them. He had been with her physically but she had never really known him, and she had never owned his heart. He knew she was scared that she was losing him and her new attitude was simply an attempt to interest him, but it only made him pity her. He turned to her with a smile that was more of a grimace and said the words that were sure to upset her and the others the most. "Tell 'em hell no."

"What is up with you, man?" Rath asked. "I'm tired of you. I'll go by myself!"

Zan was amused by Rath's temper. Rath often fronted, but backed down quickly when Zan called his bluff. Zan stepped close to Rath and spoke softly, "They don't want the number two. They want the Royal Four."

"Why don't we go and see what they gotta say? Why don't we go and get the answers?" Rath asked.

Zan raised his voice for the first time, angry that the others didn't see the threat in the invitation, "What if it's a setup?"

"No, it's not a setup! They need us!" Rath assured him.

Zan stepped closer to Rath, "I'm the man. Don't forget."

Rath held his ground and for a moment Zan thought he might actually challenge his authority, but Lonni intervened.

"Yo, guys," Lonni interrupted them, "It's been a mad, long day. Let's just chill." She spoke in Rath's mind, Back off and we'll go ahead with the plan.

Rath held Zan's gaze a moment longer and then stepped back with a smile. Lonni's plan would get rid of Zan permanently. "Yeah. You the man," he agreed with Zan.

Rath stepped behind Zan, next to Lonni, and looked over at her. Lonni had been able to speak in his mind since the first time they had gotten together physically, and over the next year it had solidified into a permanent connection. He was not capable of speaking to her telepathically but she usually understood him with a single glance. She signaled her intentions with a look and a nod and Rath knew the time had come.

Lonni bounced the basketball past Zan toward the street, and as she expected, he reached for it. And when Zan leaned forward, Rath used his powers to push Zan into the street.

At first, Zan though it was a joke. He had felt the burst of power that had knocked him into the street but it hadn't been enough to injure him and he thought Lonni and Rath were playing with him. Then suddenly a bright light illuminated the street and he turned to stare unbelievingly as two headlights of a large truck, rapidly bore down on him. He might have been able to get out of the way before the truck reached him but he was frozen in shock. Lonni and Rath, two of the people he trusted most in the world, had betrayed him.

Rath raised his hand and used his powers to increase the speed of the truck. Zan didn't move as the truck barreled over him and Rath released it from his powers. He carefully approached Zan's still form, alert for any sign of life. Lonni brushed past him and knelt next to Zan, and Rath called out a warning "Careful, make sure."

Lonni ignored Rath, leaning over her brother and looked into his eyes. He was still alive but she could tell by his shallow breathing it was only a matter of moments. "You should have listened to us, your Majesty," she sneered.

Zan's eyes hardened and he breathed out a single word, "Traitor."

The driver of the truck stopped down the road and ran back to where Zan was laying in the street.

His footsteps alerted Lonni and she motioned to Rath. With a flip of his hand, Rath threw the driver into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

Lonni stood and turned to Rath, "You fixed up the place to dump his body."

Rath nodded, "Just like you said. Down the alley under the pavement."

"Okay," Lonni said. "Let's get him outta here. Somebody might report this even if it is New York." She motioned to Ava, who had stood on the edge of the sidewalk the whole time, "Get over here and give us a hand."

Lonni's voice directed at her snapped Ava out of her shock. "What have you done?" she asked in a whisper.

"I'm getting us home," Lonni said simply.

Zan could do nothing as Lonni and Rath lifted his broken body. He could feel his life force, literally pouring from him.

Lonni called out to Ava, "Clean up the blood in the road and on the truck and then follow us to make sure there's no trail."

Zan wondered briefly if this was what had happened on Antar, ending his other life. He had been so worried about enemies from outside but it was his closest friends he should have watched. His sister and his best friend had betrayed him and he had never even suspected a thing, but somehow their actions didn't come as a complete surprise. What had surprised him was Ava's involvement. He knew that she loved him and even thought he couldn't return her feelings, he had trusted in her loyalty completely.

Zan didn't want to die, but he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had lived his life as he chose but his one regret was that he never found his dream-girl.

As his vision blurred and everything went dark, Zan’s thoughts returned to the faceless, dark-haired girl who had haunted his dreams since he was a child. Zan felt a terrible sadness that he would never know who she was or why she came to him in his dreams. And as if his thoughts had conjured her, suddenly she was before him.

Zan reached out to her as her long, dark hair swirled in the breeze, shifting across her face. For a heartbeat he thought she would be revealed to him, but her features were obscured by the warm, golden light that originated from within her; his love as elusive as ever. The light flared and rapidly grew in intensity, surrounding him, flowing through him, and even though Zan had not seen his beloved's face, a feeling of peace and perfect contentment, that he had never known existed washed over him, enveloping his entire being. For the first time in his life he felt the joy of true love and willingly surrendered his life.

And as Zan released his final breath, the light from a red giant star, that had exploded hundreds of years before, finally reached the Earth.


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


Rath dumped Zan's body unceremoniously into the grave he had prepared and used his powers to quickly cover it, leaving no trace that the concrete had been disturbed. Then he turned his back on his former friend and King without a backward glance and walked away as if Zan had never existed. He noted that Lonni had already taken the orb from her pocket and he jogged over to where she and Ava were standing.

Lonni pushed a stream of power into the orb and looked at Rath with a smile as she spoke. "Nicholas, we're gonna need a new King."



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


TBC

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 3


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Tuesday, November 14th, 2000)
(New York City)
(Central Park)

There were people all around them, walking, playing, eating, and Rath's eyes continually scanned the crowd looking for their contact. Rath leaned against a tree and glanced at Lonni and Ava sitting on a bench. "Where is this guy? He's late."

"Yo, he'll show," Lonni said. "He needs us."

"He could be here already," said Ava, looking around nervously. "We don't know what he looks like."

A boy who had been circling the area on a scooter suddenly stopped before them and lowered his sunglasses. "I can tell you what he looks like."

Rath glanced at the boy and quickly dismissed him, "Get lost, kid."

The boy smiled and flung the backpack he was wearing to the ground, "I thought your manners would have improved after two lifetimes, Rath."

Rath gaped in surprise but Lonni laughed.

"You're Nicholas?" Rath asked. "Why are you a kid?"

Lonni answered Rath's question. "It's a camouflage technique. No one would ever suspect a kid."

Nicholas nodded, "I'm impressed."

"Yeah, whatever," Lonni said. "What do you have for us?"

"Down to business. I like that," Nicholas said, as he opened the backpack. He withdrew a book and held it out to Lonni. "The summit will only proceed if a King is present, so I would suggest any means necessary to get him there."

Lonni took the book. It was a Roswell New Mexico high school yearbook. "They live in Roswell?" she asked incredulously.

"It's better than this toilet," Nicholas sneered.

"You don't like New York?" Rath challenged him.

"No," Nicholas said. New York reminded him too much of home and how much time he had wasted on this planet. It also reminded him of Katian and how vulnerable he had allowed himself to become. "I hate this stinking town, but I will be staying here until the summit."

"So a date has been set?" asked Lonni. "I thought you said we could choose the date."

"I did, but the other families are getting anxious," Nicholas explained. "To placate them, Khivar had to set a date, but if you can't arrange for a King to be there then the whole thing will be called off. The summit is set for November twenty-third."

"Then we've gotta hurry," Rath pointed out.

"Yeah," Lonni agreed, "we'll leave tonight."


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


(West Roswell High School)

"A black hole," Mr. Seligman started, knowing it would get the class' attention, "that's what is left after a star dies. And that's exactly what happened last week, my friends. The spectacular, stellar, implosion of a red giant, unheard of in the history of astronomy. The first time a post main-sequence star, burning in its prime, suddenly and without warning violently exploded in a supernova of a hundred million degrees and disappeared. A process that typically takes many thousands of years. What could have accounted for this remarkable loss?"

Mr. Seligman's words struck Max more that he would have thought possible, leaving him with a feeling like he had been punched in the stomach. He felt tears gathering in his eyes as he attempted to breathe past it, but a profound sorrow settled over his entire being as if he had lost a beloved friend. Intellectually, he knew it was ridiculous to feel a physical loss for a star that until today he had not known existed, but for some reason its passing seemed to herald disaster.


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


(Antar)
(Capitol city of Roistar - formerly Tageonon)
(Secret Headquarters of the Resistance Loyal to the Tageonants)

"Your Highness," General Toaks addressed Queen Nedra, bowing formally. "Our operative inside Khivar's inner circle has discovered that Khivar will issue an invitation to the heads of the four planets for a peace conference."

Nedra shrugged, "He has attempted peace conferences before, why is this one different?"

"Because, your Highness, Khivar is telling the other leaders that his Majesty, King Zantor will be present at this one."

"Zan?" she asked with a gasp. "How is that possible? The other families are not stupid, they will require proof that it is Zan."

Toaks nodded, "Khivar is suggesting the conference take place on Earth. It is relatively neutral territory, Zan is there and the other families can attend by using human hosts."

"It could be a trap to lure Zan into the open," Nedra said, thinking aloud.

Toaks agreed, "It had crossed my mind as well."

"Or it could be the first genuine opportunity to bring Zan, Vilondra and the others back home to us," Nedra said hopefully. "The war has been raging for so long, even Khivar must wish it to end."

Toaks was not as optimistic as the dowager Queen. "Khivar will only end this on his terms."

"We need to warn Zan it could be a trap," Nedra said, "or at least try to insure the conference is conducted properly."

"Larek will attend as the leader of Talros," Toaks reminded her. "He and his family have always been allies of the Tageonants."

"Yes, they have," Nedra agreed. "It is too bad we have not been able to keep in touch with him over the years, but regular communication would have been too dangerous for all of us. Larek is a good man and he will ensure the conference is legitimate. But perhaps we should warn him of our fears. Send a messenger to him and offer him the use of the human we have prepared. The war has hit his planet severely and if Larek can use Brody, it will save some of his precious resources for his own people."


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Wednesday, November 15th, 2000)

Lonni rubbed the back of her neck. The radio stations all sucked outside of New York and not for the first time she wished they had stolen a car with some better CDs. They had been on the road for more than twenty-four hours and not only was she tired of traveling but she was tired of Ava's sulking.

Lonni had always disliked the other girl. She thought her weak and inferior. Since Lonni could remember, Ava had followed Zan around like a lost dog, even though he continually rejected her. Ava never seemed to have a thought of her own, simply echoing what Zan said, blindly following his lead. More than once Lonni had told Ava to get a life, but Ava seemed content to wait for Zan to notice her.

Then with her other recovered memories, Lonni had received flashes about what Ava had done on Antar in their past life. At first, she thought to taunt Ava with the truth, but Lonni had wisely decided to keep it to herself. It was too big a weapon to use simply to get a reaction, although occasionally she couldn't help dropping hints. It was perfectly obvious that Ava didn't remember much about her other life but sometimes Lonni could see the worry in the other girl's eyes, as if somehow she knew things weren't right. But now that Zan was gone, Lonni didn't have to worry that Ava would turn against them, because she had nowhere else to go.

She spoke into Rath's mind, See if you can get Ava to talk. We might need her to pull this off.

Rath glanced in the mirror at Ava, "What's your problem, Ava? You ain't said nothin' in two days."

Ava had been in shock since they had killed Zan. She still couldn't believe he was gone and his sister had done it. She felt almost hysterical but struggled to keep her voice calm, "You said you were gonna make him change his mind about going to the summit. You..."

Rath cut her off, "Well, we couldn't, so we went with an alternative."

Ava couldn't believe that Rath could just erase Zan from their lives so quickly. "He was the leader, Rath!"

"Zan coulda ruled a planet, but he didn't wanna deal," Rath said, "We're better off without him."

Ava took a deep breath, "And how do we know this, other Zan is gonna be any different?"

Lonni joined the conversation for the first time, "Max. Max Evans. That's his name. And we don't. We don't. But we'll be smarter about it this time. We'll find another way in."

"They don't wanna meet with just the three of us," Rath explained to Ava again. "They want the King. So all we gotta do is get him to the summit, and we'll marinate on the rest later."

Ava withdrew into herself again. Lonni and Rath would do anything to get what they wanted and she wondered how long it would be before she was of no use to them.


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Thursday, November 16th, 2000)

Song Playing: My Immortal by Evanescense

Max watched Liz surreptitiously as she moved around the Crashdown. He had been watching her a lot since the night he had seen her in bed with Kyle. Because no matter what Liz said, Max knew she hadn't told him the whole truth.

It was as if Liz was suddenly two different people. When Liz knew he was there, she put on a front, cheerful, laughing, without a care in the world, as if she were really moving on with her life. But when she didn't realize he was observing her, she was the complete opposite. She moved more slowly as if there was a physical weight bearing down on her, and Max had glimpsed the anguish and hopelessness she tried so hard to hide.

Max knew Liz wasn't in love with Kyle, and he rarely saw them together. They were certainly not back together and he couldn't imagine her sleeping with someone she didn't love. But she had told him she had slept with Kyle. Either she had slept with Kyle to push him away, or she had been willing to lie and say she had, and Max didn't know which was worse.

Max could see that Liz still loved him. He had seen the anguish in her face when he had confronted her in Copper Summit. He had seen it when she had left him in the UFO museum to destroy the device the skins had used to make the humans disappear. And he had seen it in school two days ago, when Liz had tried to talk to him about the supernova. He could tell that Liz had been almost desperate to talk to him, but the memory of her continual lies had made him cruel. And even though she might not have intended her statement about the star to encompass their relationship, Max had heartlessly twisted his answer to leave her in no doubt of his meaning.

To him their love had been perfect. He had believed their bond was so strong that nothing or no one could have possibly come between them. But Liz had proved him wrong. She had been willing to sacrifice their love not once but twice.

Sometimes he wished that he didn't love Liz, but it was a part of who he was. No matter what happened, Max knew he would love Liz the rest of his life, but their perfect, shining love had been tarnished by lies and betrayal. The flame that had burned so brightly between them had not burned out it as he had told Liz, but it was diminished, wavering as if it were starved for oxygen, and it would never be the same again.

Liz glanced at the booth where Max was sitting as she wiped the counter. She had watched Max as he sat in the Crashdown every day after school. Even though he didn't seem to want to be around her, he came anyway, and she often wondered why. Something deep inside her knew Max could never truly stop loving her and the feeling grew stronger each time he came through the door.

It was tearing Liz apart inside that she and Max were no longer friends, and he would no longer confide in her. They might never be together as a couple, but she had counted on their continuing friendship. She had tried repeatedly to talk to him, and each time he had rebuffed her, but she couldn't stop trying.

Liz gathered her courage, and with a plausible conversation starter she quickly approached him before she chickened out. "Um, do you want anything else from the kitchen? Cause it's gonna close."

Suddenly the subject of his thoughts appeared before him and Max shifted uncomfortably, somehow afraid that Liz could tell the direction of his contemplations. "No, thanks," he said as he quickly gathered his things and started to rise.

Liz's hope faded as Max tried to escape her and the pretence fell away, revealing her true feelings. "I hate this,” she said. “I hate that we can't even be around each other. Long before we kissed, we were friends. We talked. We laughed. I don't understand why we just can't go back to that."

Her request caught him by surprise and Max shook his head automatically, "We can't. I can't. I just..." He looked into Liz's pleading eyes, and for a moment his heart softened. "I need time."

Liz was thrilled by his answer. It was the first time she had dared to hope that there was a chance of saving any part of their friendship. "Okay," she eagerly agreed, "I understand that, I do. I can respect it." As she spoke she could see Max withdrawing from her again, "But, um, I don't want you to hate me."

Max glanced at Liz quickly and then looked away. He could see the pain in her expression but he didn't want to acknowledge it. It shouldn't matter to him what Liz was thinking. She was the one who had betrayed him. She deserved her pain, but he still loved her and ached to offer her comfort.

He wanted nothing more than for things to go back to the way they had been before, but it was too late for that. And before he could do something he would regret, he turned his back on her without a word and walked away.

Liz seemed to sink in on herself as Max left and her hope deflated. For a moment she had dared to hope that things between herself and Max would be okay, but he had rebuffed her again. It just wasn't fair that she had done all of this for him but he would never even know. But she had known the consequences and chosen the path anyway and she didn't regret her decision. She only wished that she had not been forced to hurt Max in the process.


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Friday, November 17th, 2000)
(West Roswell High School

Rath entered the school and looked again at the picture of Liz, he had taken from Max's drawer. He shook his head, still not able to believe an uptight guy like Max could get a hottie like Liz. Rath knew it had surprised Lonni that he was attracted to Liz, but when he had first seen her picture he had been instantly drawn to her. There was just something about the girl, and even though he couldn't place what it was, it really didn't matter to him. All he knew was that he wanted her.

Even though his attire and hair were radically different from Michael's, the students assumed they were the same person, and as Rath wandered around the high school, he picked up several pieces of interesting gossip.

Rath ran into a guy who knew Michael and he asked the guy where Liz was. The guy, Scott, told him not only her full name, and that she was considered a brain, but he also joked about how over the summer Liz had dumped Max. Rath laughed at the news, figuring Liz had gotten fed up with Max's crap. Scott also laughed about the fact that Max was obsessed with Liz, practically stalking her to get her back, but she wouldn't give in.

Rath also learned that Michael was dating a human named Maria DeLuca. Scott gave Rath a wink and asked how he handled the blonde spitfire. Rath simply smiled. He didn't know what Maria looked like but he was considering looking her up after he found Liz.

Scott didn't know what class Liz was currently in, but he told Rath where her locker was, and as Rath rounded the corner, he saw Liz. His eyes quickly took in her appearance and he smiled. She was even hotter in person. He approached, stopping just behind her and delivered his best line. "Whassup? You look tight."


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


Max waited for Maria outside her history class and motioned to her when she emerged. "We need to move the meeting to tonight."

"But Max," Maria protested, "I already changed my performance to tonight."

"This is important, Maria."

Maria was suddenly concerned, "Is something wrong?"

Max nodded, "Yeah, we need an emergency meeting with everyone to figure this out. Just tell Alex and L-Liz to be at the museum right after it closes."


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


(Roswell UFO Museum)

Max glanced at his watch again. It was past the time he had told everyone to meet, but Alex still wasn't there and Max decided he couldn't wait any longer. "I am going to start even though Alex isn't here yet. This is just too important."

"What happened, Max?" Isabel asked.

"Well Brody told me he has been tracking signals near New York. Someone is sending or receiving messages and it could be the skins. And then Mr. Seligman told us about a star that suddenly went supernova, against every law of science known to man."

He paused and looked around at the others but he saw confusion in their faces and he continued to explain. "So I think that the signals Brody tracked could be connected to the dying star somehow, and..."

Michael cut him off, "You called us all together here for this emergency meeting to talk about a star that croaked?"

This wasn't the reaction Max had been hoping for and he tried to make them understand, "I think it could mean something. It's," he paused looking for the right words, "been haunting me."

Maria stepped forward, "I cancelled my performance, Max."

"I think we should be ready for the next challenge," Max defended himself. "The skins or someone else could be massing for an attack."

"We don't know that," Isabel said. "You're just guessing. The signals and the star might just be a coincidence."

"Or it might be a lucky accident that we..." Max was distracted by Alex running down the stairs. "Alex. You're late.

Alex pointed up the stairs behind him, mumbling inarticulately, "Uh, um, uh."

Max barely had time to take in the appearance of the three new-comers before the one who resembled Michael shouted, "Hey, yo, up here!"

"Now this is freaky," Maria said as they clomped down the stairs.

Max stepped out in front of the others, ready to defend them, "Who are you?"

"We're you," said Isabel's look-a-like.

Isabel looked to the others for an explanation, "I... I don't understand."

"They're shape-shifters," Michael guessed.

Lonni smiled, "I know you must be buggin' out right now, 'cause I'd be buggin', too."

"How could this be?" Isabel asked.

Suddenly the truth dawned on Michael, "Eight. Eight. There were eight pods originally."

"You know about that," Rath said with surprise.

Michael nodded, "Yeah, I, we just found out recently, so... I just, didn't know you'd look like us."

"All we know is that there were eight originally,” Max explained. “We never knew what happened to the other four."

"They went to New York," Lonni said.

"New York?" Max asked. He should have been surprised that the visitors had come from New York but he wasn't. Maybe the strange feelings he had experienced had really been about the others coming instead of about the star dying.

"The Big Apple," Rath answered, "Center of the universe. Amazing pizza."

Liz listened silently but one thing was bothering her, "Um, but there's only three of you."

Lonni bowed her head, "We had a fourth. We just lost him."

Liz noticed that Tess' double addressed Max directly. "His name was, Zan."

Liz could see the pain on the girl's face and she sympathized with her. It had only been a few weeks since the Max from the future had disappeared and she had irrevocably lost her Max. It had been like losing him twice, and the pain was still fresh.

She studied the girl as the others continued to talk. The blonde looked so much like Tess but Liz could tell there were differences. The newcomer seemed unsure of herself, downtrodden, even scared, and Liz felt sorry for her. Liz didn't know what had happened in this girl's life, but she wished there was something she could do to help.


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


(Episode - Meet the Dupes)
(Saturday, November 18th, 2000)

Song Playing: Bring Me to Life by Evanesense

Max stepped onto the ladder leading to Liz's balcony for the first time since he had seen her in bed with Kyle. The sudden thought caused his stomach to clench and he grabbed the side of the ladder for support. Maybe it had been a mistake for him to come and see Liz but he was drawn here for many different reasons.

Max had to admit to himself that he simply wanted to see Liz once more before he left, but it was not the only thing he had come to do.

He felt as if everyone around him had betrayed him. Isabel had been keeping secrets from him, lying to him, and Michael had betrayed them all to Courtney when he had told her the location of the Granolith. Max still couldn't believe two of the people he had trusted the most could do that to him, but Liz's betrayal had been the worst.

Max reached into his pocket and brushed his fingers over the box within. He needed to confront Liz with his feelings about what had happened, and return the one thing she had given to him. Somehow he felt that giving it back to her would allow him to make a clean break from her.

Max took a deep breath, climbed the last few steps to the top of the ladder, and crossed to Liz's window. For a moment he didn't want to look into her room, fearing what he might see, but he forced himself to confront the truth. Liz was inside, lying on her bed clutching a stuffed animal, and in her other hand she held a long strip of white paper.

At first Max thought she was studying, reading her notes, but then he recognized what she was holding because he had one too. It was a strip of photos taken in a photo booth that they had made last spring before things had gone so terribly wrong.

Max felt a sickening rumble in his stomach. Whether she had slept with Kyle or not, Liz wanted him to believe she had. Everything they could have had between them, all of the potential happiness, all of the love, Liz had simply thrown away. She had betrayed them both.

Max now wanted this over more than ever, and he knocked on her window.

Liz was looking at the pictures of herself and Max that had been taken before all the trouble had started. As she studied every detail of each picture, the day they were taken came flooding back to her. The memories were so strong it could have been yesterday instead of months before, but Liz knew she would remember that day the rest of her life. She and Max had been so happy together, it was just not fair they were forced to be apart.

A knock at the window interrupted her reverie, and as she recognized Max a feeling of relief and happiness washed through her entire being. It was the first time Max had approached her since he had seen her with Kyle and she felt sure he was there to renew their friendship.

Max watched as Liz recognized him and practically skipped to the window. She was glad to see him, but he no longer wanted to be there and anger rose up within him.

Liz opened the window and stood back to allow Max to climb in, like he had done so many times before. "Hi," she greeted him cheerfully.

Max climbed through the window and turned to confront Liz. There were so many conflicting feelings raging through him that he didn't know what to do. He wanted to be cruel to her, to hate her, but at the same time he loved Liz and wanted to protect her from everything, including himself.

He started slowly, hesitatingly, "You said, you wanted to be friends. And I thought about it. And, I realized that, that I can't be friends with you, because, I'm still hanging on. To you. To what we had."

Any feeling of happiness Liz had experienced at seeing Max was crushed as he spoke. Maybe she had been asking too much for them to just be friends again.

Max watched as the light of optimism in Liz's eyes was extinguished by his words and he hated himself for hurting her, but he ruthlessly continued. "So, I decided to make a clean break." He reached into his pocket, withdrew the box and pushed it toward her, "Here."

He barely looked at Liz as she opened the box, not wanting to see the pain he knew would be clearly written on her face.

Liz felt her heart drop as she opened the box, revealing the knife she had given him. "Max, this is yours. I gave it to you last Christmas."

Max shook his head. "I'm giving it back." He lowered his head to avoid Liz's glance. "I'm, I'm going to New York with Rath and Lonni and," Max raised his head and looked Liz in the eyes wanting to see how his words effected her, " and Tess. To the summit."

Liz swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump quickly forming in her throat, wondering if this was the end of everything. "Are you gonna come back?"

Max hated himself for wanting to hurt Liz in any way but the anger within him had made him cruel. He shook his head trying to concentrate on Liz's question but everything was just so uncertain. "I don't know. I can't think that far ahead."

Liz was devastated by Max's answer and lowered her head so Max wouldn't see her reaction. He could walk out of her life forever and she would never know what happened to him. She had never even considered that he might leave Roswell, but it was happening right before her.

When Liz didn't respond Max started toward the window.

Max's movement jolted Liz out of her contemplation. She couldn't let Max leave without arming him with everything she knew, and granted it wasn't much, but her information might save him. "Wait, um, Max. Um, when, when you're at the summit, the Granolith, okay? It's powerful, and it could be really dangerous if the wrong people get their hands on it."

Max turned back to her angrily, "What are you talking about? How do you know anything about the Granolith?"

Liz could see the confusion and disbelief on Max's face and realized that from his point of view, she would be ignorant about the Granolith. "Oh! I can't tell you. But I just, I know, and..." she let her words trail off when she could see that she wasn't getting through to him. "Please, Max," she begged. "You have to trust me."

Max couldn't believe what Liz was asking. It was just too much. After everything that had happened, after she had betrayed him in the worst way possible and continued to lie to him, it was almost funny. He could feel hysterical laughter start to rise up within him but brutally pushed it down, turning on her heartlessly. "I guess that's the problem, Liz."

Max left without looking back and Liz slammed the window down behind him in frustration. She was so angry that he wouldn't listen to her, didn't trust her, but what made it worse was it was all her own doing. If she hadn't pretended to sleep with Kyle, Max would know she was telling the truth. And now there was the possibility that she and Max would never see one another again. For the rest of his life, Max would think she had betrayed him, and if he disregarded her warning about the Granolith it might cost him his life.

Of course if she hadn't pretended to sleep with Kyle, the world would have ended. But how did she know it still wouldn't end?

The other Max had never said anything about a summit, but then he hadn't said very much about anything. Liz had simply trusted that the new world she and the other Max had created would be better, but now, for the first time she questioned the consequences of their actions. What if the new world wasn't any better? What if something she had done made the future worse?


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


(Episode - Max in the City - aka. Journey to New York)
(Wednesday, November 22nd, 2000)
(New York, NY)

Max grew more and more apprehensive as he and Rath entered the building where they were supposed to meet the emissary. Max didn't know what was about to happen but whatever it was he was afraid that he wouldn't be up to it. How could he think of himself of a leader when everyone was turning against him? He hadn't even had enough power to keep Liz with him.

Rath and Lonni were no better. They wouldn't reveal anything to him, only that he had to pass a test before they would be admitted to the summit. The nature of the test remained a mystery but Rath assured him he would pass.

He and Rath entered the room and walked to where the emissary was sitting. Max hesitated, looking at the ordinary, bald man at the table. He didn't know what he had expected, an alien maybe, but he felt disappointed.

Rath walked ahead of him and pulled out the chair, indicating that he should sit.

Max slowly walked forward and sat in the chair. He looked around nervously but turned to face the other man. The emissary rose from his seat and walked toward Max and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but stilled as the other man examined him. The emissary stopped behind him and before Max could wonder what he was doing, he felt a burst of energy passing into his head and pushing through.

It didn't exactly hurt, but the sensation was strange and Max had a moment of discomfort. He watched amazed as the energy emerged from his forehead and started to form an image. Five pinpoints of light defined themselves, growing and swirling and finally arranging themselves into a familiar 'V' pattern. The bottom light shone more brightly than the others, briefly eclipsing them and then the image faded.

The emissary regained his seat before Max recovered from his surprise, and Max sat dumbfounded as the emissary filled out some paperwork and handed it to him.

"Sign here," said the emissary motioning to the line, "your Majesty."

The use of the title startled Max and he looked up to meet the emissary's eyes. The man deferred to him respectfully and Max suddenly felt empowered. He had assumed the roll of the leader but this was the first time that someone outside his group had acknowledged it, and for the first time it actually seemed real to him.

Max sat up straighter. For the first time, he felt like the King of Antar.


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


(Episode - Max in the City - aka. Journey to New York)
(Thursday, November 23rd, 2000)
(Thanksgiving)
(New York, NY)
(The dupes’ home)

Lonni and Rath hadn't been forthcoming with the answers Max wanted and finally he confronted them. "So what was it the emissary did to me?"

Lonni laughed, "He was looking for the mark of the King, the Royal seal.

On a convenient piece of wood, Rath used his powers to create a rough version of the V-shaped pattern that had come from Max's head.

"So this is the Royal seal?" Max asked.

"You got it," Rath answered, motioning to the representations of the planets. "And these are the five worlds of our star system.

Max motioned to the bottom spot, "And that one? That's home? Home." He savored the world in his mouth. He had never really thought of the place they had originally come from as home but now it seemed real to him in a way that it never had before.

"Bingo," Rath said. "That's how the emissary knew you were the real deal. You got the royal seal stenciled on your brain."

Max continued with his questions, "And these other four worlds? They'll all be sending a representative to the summit?"

Rath nodded, "Well, they'll be doing the possession thing again, you know, like the emissary."

"Why don't they, come in person?" Tess asked.

Rath rolled his eyes. He was tired of dealing with Tess, she was so much like Ava. "You see, little girl," he sneered, "space is what we call very, very big. You know, it's not easy to get places. People just don't zip around the galaxy like on Star Trek."

Lonni rushed to smooth over Rath's rudeness, "No one's coming back here again in person unless there's a good reason."

"Like to bring us home," Rath said.

"We can go home?" Tess gasped with obvious pleasure.

"Yeah, we can," Rath said pointing to Max. "If the man here cuts a deal at the summit."

Max was suddenly wary, "What kind of a deal?"

"A deal to bring peace back to our world," Lonni said grandly.

Rath picked up on the cue he and Lonni had practiced. "In our world, blood on the streets, baby. That dude Khivar that took your throne. People hate his ass."

"Our mother sent our pods to earth for safekeeping, hoping we'd come back one day," Lonni continued.

"And that day is now," Rath said. "The word is that Khivar's desperate, and he'll do anything to end the fighting."

"Including let us come back home," Lonni added.

"Home," Max repeated distractedly, a thousand thoughts running through his head. "I never thought... Not this soon." His thoughts automatically turned to Roswell and Liz. He had never thought he would actually leave Earth, but suddenly the possibility was in front of him. And then his thoughts turned in another direction, "What about Michael and Isabel?"

"And Ava?" Tess asked.

"They're expecting the Royal Four, yo, not the Royal Seven," Lonni said angrily.

"I am not leaving Michael and Isabel behind," Max challenged.

Lonni instantly started to soothe him, "Look, Max. Max. They seem so happy, in that cute little town." She could see that her argument wasn't swaying him and tried another tactic. "Chill, chill. It'll all be okay. You'll see. It'll all fall our way. Unless they bring up the Granolith again."

"The Granolith?" Max asked, surprised by its introduction into the conversation. His mind raced back to the conversation he'd had with Liz before he left, and her words echoed through his head.



...the Granolith, okay? It's powerful, and it could be really dangerous if the wrong people get their hands on it.



Liz had been right. He might not know what it was or what it did, but there were others who did and wanted it. Again he wondered how Liz knew about the Granolith but quickly pushed the thought aside. For the moment it didn't matter how she knew, it only mattered that she was right and he had to protect it.

Rath interrupted his thoughts. "Yeah. Yeah, it's this stupid religious thing."

Lonni expanded the explanation, "Our protector told us it's like the holy grail, some piece of junk people on our planet worship for some reason. You ever heard of it?"

"No," Max lied easily.

"No?" Lonni asked somewhat surprised.

"That's too bad," Rath said.

"Yeah," Lonni agreed. "Would have been a nice bargaining chip if you had."

"I haven't," Max reaffirmed.

"No problem," Lonni said with a shrug. "They probably won't even bring it up anyway."


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


(Crashdown Café)

Liz sipped her tea and listened in fascination as Ava told her about their life in New York.

"Zan was stubborn, strong," Ava said. "He put up a wall, and you just couldn't get through. He always tried to do everything right, to be perfect. He was like that, right up until..." she let the sentence trail off.

Liz knew Zan's death was still painful for Ava. It was obvious from what the other girl had been telling her that she and Zan had been great friends and companions, and Liz felt she must have done the right thing in letting Max go. But the realization saddened her and she worked to keep her voice steady, "You must have loved him a lot."

"Yeah," Ava agreed softly. Her whole life had changed practically overnight when Lonni and Rath killed Zan. Ava thought she had a place in the world, a purpose. She was Zan’s wife, lover and Queen, but all of that was gone in an instant and Ava had begun to question her whole life. As ironic as it seemed, Ava had started to wonder if Lonni and Rath had been right all of those years. In the last few days she had carefully reexamined every minute of her life she had spent with Zan from a new perspective, and the doubts had come rushing in. Zan had been her best friend, her confident, her champion, but he had never once told her he loved her.

Ava sighed and finally admitted to Liz her worst fear. "I'm not sure he ever really loved me back though."

The admission shocked Liz, "Why?"

Ava shrugged, "Just a feeling. I always felt like he was waiting for someone else to walk into his life." She pictured all of the nights that she had heard Zan dreaming and she knew that hadn’t been about her. The remembrance was painful and she quickly changed the subject. "So what about you? How'd you find out about Max? He just hauled off and dropped the bomb one day?"

"No," Liz shook her head. "It was right over there. I was working, and he was sitting at that booth. And, um, someone brought in a gun, and it kinda went off, and I got shot. I was dying, but Max brought me back."

Liz suddenly had all of Ava's attention, "He brought you back?"

"Yeah," Liz said.

Ava remembered what their protector had told them about healing humans and looked at Liz carefully. This human was changing and she didn't seem to know it. With shaking hands Ava sipped her tea to give herself a moment, and wondered what she should tell Liz. Despite the fact that Liz was a human and a cornball too, Ava liked her. Liz was kind and understanding and Ava felt an instant friendship with her. Ava didn't want to scare Liz though and instead decided to ask some of the thousand questions in her head. "So how long ago was it that Max healed you?"

Liz had noted the other girl's strange reaction and had been about to question her but she was distracted by Ava’s new question, "Um, it was just over a year ago."

"And then you got together?" Ava asked.

Liz shook her head, "Not right away. We had been friends since elementary school, but when he healed me he made a connection and I saw into his soul. It was incredible and I fell in love with him instantly. He thought we should stay apart because we are different. We tried, but we couldn't stay away from each other, and finally we got together. And then I started getting visions when we kissed. It was just so perfect, as if we were meant to be together."

Ava felt a shiver of reaction race up her spine and quickly took a gulp of the hot tea to push back the chill. Serena had told them that humans would be changed but she had said it would take time. But a connection had manifested between Liz and Max almost immediately after he had healed her. Ava looked at Liz again with a tinge of jealously. Ava had a feeling that Liz would be powerful when she came into her full abilities and Ava also believed that Max's healing of Liz had created a bond that would join them together forever.


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


(Episode - Max in the City - aka. Journey to New York)
(Friday, November 24th, 2000)
(New York, NY)

After Rath and Lonni's lesson in Antarian history and politics and a sleepless night, Max needed some time to himself and went for a walk. There were so many different thoughts flying through his head and he wanted to sort through some of them. The situation on Antar, the peace conference, Liz and the Granolith, and the possibility of returning to their planet; it all seemed so overwhelming.

He wished he could talk to Liz and ask her what she knew, but she wouldn't tell him before, and after the way he had left things between them he didn't think she would have changed her mind. Max's mind raced with possibilities about how Liz could have discovered anything about the Granolith. She could have guessed, he supposed, but that wouldn't explain why she wouldn't tell him. No, he thought, someone must have told her about it.

Maybe Nasedo had told her something when he had taken her, but that would mean she hadn't told him everything about her time with the shape shifter. Maybe what Nasedo had told her was something so terrible that she didn't want them to find out. Maybe Nasedo had threatened her. But that couldn't be right, Max argued with himself, Liz would have told him when Nasedo died.

Max shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He would never reason out how Liz knew. He would simply have to ask her again when he saw her. But, came the sudden thought, he might not be returning to Roswell, he might be going to Antar.

He had never suspected when he had agreed to come to the summit that there would be the possibility of returning to Antar, but Lonni and Rath acted like it was a certainty. They also seemed to take for granted that they would be going instead of Michael and Isabel.

Last summer, when he, Isabel, Michael, Tess and Liz had heard the message in the cave, Max had assumed they were the Royal Four. He had not even considered there might be another set of clones. When the others had come to Roswell, Lonni had told Michael the New York set were the real ones and Max had actually been relieved because it meant he didn't have to take the responsibility of saving his planet. But, Max reasoned, it couldn't be the truth because he had been given the Granolith. He, Michael, Isabel and Tess were the real Royal Four and Lonni and Rath were simply trying to use the situation to their advantage.

Max didn't know what would happen at the peace summit or if there would be a chance to return to Antar. Even if the war ended and they could return Max didn't know what he would do, but he wanted Michael and Isabel to be able to make their own choices. Things had been bad between himself and Isabel and Michael when he left but they were still two of the most important people in his life, and they deserved to know what was going on.

He walked to the pay phone, picked up the receiver and quickly dialed his home number.


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


Rath, Lonni, Max and Tess walked into the building where the summit was being held.

As Rath and Lonni had agreed earlier, Rath offered reassurance to Max. "Now, you get in trouble, you look to us, and we'll help you out."

Tess was appalled at the suggestion. Max was the King, he would make the decisions. "I think he'll handle it," she told Rath belligerently.

Rath turned to Tess, surprised by her outburst. "Hey, is someone talkin' to you, retard?"

Tess felt a flash of pain and embarrassment caused by Rath's comment. No one had ever talked to her like he did, but obviously he treated Ava this way.

Max stopped and turned to Rath, tired of Lonni and Rath's continual abuse and superior attitude. "All right, that's it. Let's get something clear right here, right now. I'm the one who passed the emissary's test. And that means from now on, I'm the one in charge here."

Lonni's instant reaction was to back down and try to placate Max. She had dealt with Zan for so long she knew Max would accept her submissive posturing as an apology. "Understood, duke. You're the King."

Max glared at Rath and continued, "And for your information, her name is Tess."

Rath glanced at Lonni and she nodded to him, "Rath, take Tess and go inside. I wanna talk to Max for a minute."

Rath turned to Tess, "Come on."

Tess walked alongside the Michael look-a-like but she wasn't paying attention to where they were going. Her heart was full to bursting because of what Max had done. He had stood up for her, defended her, and she was so happy she felt like shouting with joy. Max was finally accepting her.


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


"We're here in the spirit of reconciliation." Larek said. "We're not here to rehash the past, point fingers, and assign blame."

Max listened to the others arguing about war and politics and he felt like a dumb kid just like he had told Tess he would. When he had seen the emissary he had felt like a leader, but now he was just an observer. He didn't know enough about what had been happening to contribute anything constructive and he just felt useless.

Nicholas had also been sitting back and observing the others arguing. He glanced at Max and smiled. The former all-powerful King of Antar was just a confused teenager, in over his head.

Nicholas waited until the argument reached a peak and then casually offered the answer. "And Khivar has a solution."

Max's attention was captured by Nicholas' words and he focused on the boy across the table.

Nicholas met Max's eyes to make sure he had his attention and continued with Khivar's offer. "Khivar will abdicate the throne and allow the Royal Four to return home under the following conditions. One, Max becomes King only in name. All real power and government remains in Khivar's hands. Two, Max calls upon his followers to lay down their weapons and support the new government. And three, most importantly," he paused for effect, "Max returns the Granolith to us."

"The Granolith?" Kathana asked incredulously.

Nicholas winced inwardly. This was the most dangerous part of Khivar's plan, revealing the absence of the Granolith, but Khivar had decided it was worth the risk to get it back. Nicholas quickly explained, "No, it's no longer on our world. Yes, we've known about it for a long time. No, Khivar decided he didn't need to tell you, and yes, we know where it is. It's with Max."

With his last statement Nicholas returned his gaze to Max and the eyes of all the others turned to him too.

"Is this true, Max?" Larek asked.

Max considered lying but the skins already knew it was on Earth. "It's here," he admitted.

"What?" Lonni asked with disbelief.

Nicholas smiled. Everything was falling into place. "So there you have it. Max comes home with the Granolith. All is forgiven." He paused to look at Max, "Do we have a deal?"

Max looked at the others seated at the table. He felt completely overwhelmed. "I,” he paused stalling for time, “need to think about this."


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


Lonni watched as Max and Tess left the summit room to think over Khivar's deal. It had really surprised her when Max had revealed he had the Granolith. She would have sworn he had told her the truth, but more than that she wondered just how much control she really had over him. If Max was keeping things from her, it meant he didn't trust them.

And then there was Nicholas. Lonni had suspected she couldn't trust him completely and she had been right. Nicholas had mentioned nothing about knowing Max from before. At least she and Nicholas had a common goal that would help unite them. They both wanted to go home and would do anything to get there.

Lonni slipped behind a pillar and used her powers to conceal herself, waiting for Nicholas to return.

He entered the room talking to himself, "God, I hate this town." Suddenly he felt the use of power and called out, "Hello?"

Lonni dropped the illusion and revealed herself to him, "Yo."

Nicholas smiled, "Yo yourself."

Lonni circled him like a predator stalking its prey, knowing it would raise Nicholas' interest. "Miss me?" she purred.

"Always," he admitted. "Can't wait to see more of you."

"Well, that'll have to wait until we get home," she teased.

Nicholas was interested but business always came first, "Let's be clear, Lonni. You don't get home unless I get the Granolith."

Lonni's temper flared at his tone. No one talked to her, the Royal Princess of Antar, that way. "Let me be clear, Nicholas,” she said, with a touch of anger. “I don't give a damn whether or not you get the Granolith. I'm going home."

Nicholas smiled, hearing Vilondra in her voice, "Big talk for a woman with no cards to play."

Lonni thought about certain facts she had discovered about their past lives and smiled. "I've got cards. I just haven't shown them to you yet." Her voice dropped to a purr, "You know, I'm not like the others. I remember our world. I remember Khivar. And I remember what it was like to be Vilondra," she taunted Nicholas with a hint of what she remembered, but knew it would reveal nothing to him. "I want that life, and I'll do what I have to, to get back. Be on my side, and you'll benefit. Be against me, and..” she trailed off to make her point. “Well, it would be a mad, crazy idea to be against me."

Lonni dismissed the problem of Max with a wave of her hand, "Don't worry about Max. He's a cornball. He'll go for the deal. He'll go for the deal because millions of lives hang in the balance. Besides, he wants to go home and give mommy a kiss and get fitted for his crown."

Nicholas listened to her carefully, trying to discover her meaning about remembering the past but quickly decided she simply wanted to be reunited with Khivar. If she remembered anything else about her other life, she would have attempted to use it as leverage to insure her return. He relaxed against the pole with a smile and continued the discussion of her brother, "He won't live long enough to wear it. Khivar wants him dead."

"Well, I'd have to be a special kind of stupid not to have figured that out," she said sarcastically.

"If he takes the deal," Nicholas continued, "there'll be a nice public execution to attend. If he doesn't take the deal, Khivar still wants him dead."

Lonni nodded, "I can arrange that. What's in it for me?"

Nicholas smiled. Lonni was trying to make a deal. She didn't remember anything useful from her other life. "Passage home," he said casually. "But just you. The freak with the mohawk stays here."

Lonni hesitated for only a second. Since she had remembered her real love Khivar, she had known that her relationship with Rath was only a temporary diversion, and now it looked like Rath’s time was up. "Yeah, I can live with that. See you at the summit."

"What a woman." Nicholas smiled. He wondered if Khivar would let him keep her if he did bring her back to Antar. Khivar would have Isabel, and that would leave the feisty Lonni for him.


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


Lonni stopped around the corner and took a surreptitious look back at the diminutive Nicholas. The Granolith, always the Granolith, she thought. Nicholas seemed to be awfully focused on an item he described as a piece of junk. And in the conference, she had been surprised that the leaders of the other worlds had been interested in the Granolith too.

When she and Rath had brought Max and Tess back to New York, Lonni had questioned Nicholas about the Granolith. He had told her it was a religious icon that had been in her family for years and that's why he thought she would know where it was. But she hadn’t believed him and pressed for more information. It was then that the heat of desire had lit Nicholas' eyes, and Lonni had bargained for the truth about the Granolith with a promise of future favors and one searing kiss.

Nicholas had then admitted the Granolith did have one other purpose. It was capable of faster-than-light travel, and when it was attached to the propulsion unit of his ship, it would allow them to return to Antar in a matter of days, instead of years. The trip would use up all of the Granolith's energy, but the people of Antar thought of it as some kind of holy grail and Khivar was eager to have it returned. "Because as the infamous Karl Marx once said," Nicholas had quoted, "religion is the opiate of the masses."

It could be a religious icon, Lonni supposed, that would explain everyone's interest, but she suspected it was much, much more. Max had it, and Nicholas wanted it, badly. If she could get her hands on it, she could bargain for a trip home and everything else she desired.


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

BOOK 9, PART 3 - CONT.


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


Max and Tess exited the building and Max talked through his misgivings about Khivar's offer. "Cut a deal with Nicholas? I don't trust him any more than I can throw him."

"You could throw him pretty far," Tess added.

Max ignored her inane comment and continued, "Then there's Lonni and Rath. It's hard to believe they have the same DNA of Michael and Isabel."

"For what it's worth," Tess said, trying to be helpful, "I don't trust them."

"And then there's this whole thing about the Granolith..."

Tess interrupted him, "Why did you lie to Lonni and Rath about the Granolith, anyway?"

Max shook his head, not sure how to explain it to her, "There was something Liz said, just before we left. She told me the Granolith could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands."

"How does she know that?" Tess exclaimed unbelievingly.

"She wouldn't say," Max said.

"But she's never even seen the Granolith." Tess shook her head. She had thought Liz was out of their lives finally, but she kept showing up again and again.

"I know. I know," Max agreed. "But I just keep thinking about it. The way she said it. She seemed so sure. I just don't know what to do."

Tess changed the subject away from Liz. "Whatever you do, it'll be the right choice. I'm sure of it."

Max looked at her in surprise, "Why?"

"Because despite whatever Nicholas said about you in there, I know that you were a great man in that other life, a great King," Tess explained. "I know it in my bones."

Max studied Tess. He was glad they had come to a non-verbal understanding of sorts. He would accept her as a friend and she would act like one instead of always throwing herself at him. "All you've ever done, is trust me, been there for me, whenever I needed you. I've never done anything to deserve that kind of loyalty."

Tess smiled, "I think in that other life, you must have been one great husband."

Max smiled back, accepting the compliment in the spirit in which Tess had offered it and Tess relaxed even more. Liz had been right about the way to win Max's friendship. It would take time but he was accepting her more each day.

And when Max held out his arm to escort her back inside Tess felt as if he had offered her his heart.


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


(Crashdown Café)

Isabel slammed her hands down on the table in frustration, "Damn it! It's not working. I can't reach him."

"Yeah, but you gotta try again," Michael said.

Isabel shook her head, "Won't do any good. He's not hearing me."

"Okay, so um, what's plan 'B'?" Liz asked.

"There isn't one," Isabel said with finality.

Ava had watched Isabel's repeated attempts to contact Max with growing concern. If they didn't get through to him soon it could cost him his life. Suddenly an idea occurred to her. The connection Max had created with Liz could save him. She stood up, grabbed a chair and walked toward them, "Liz can do it."

"What?" Isabel asked.

"What are you talking about?" Liz gasped.

"Max brought you back from the dead," Ava explained briefly, pushing Liz down into the chair. "You've been changed."

"What do you mean by changed?" Liz asked, suddenly alarmed.

Ava shook her head, "Look, there ain't enough time to explain. You just gotta trust me here. If Max brought you back, then, you're different now."

Isabel reached out to Liz, "Liz, take my hand."

Liz sat with her hands in her lap. There were so many emotions rushing through her that she couldn't separate them, but looming above all the others was fear. Max had changed her when he healed her. What did that mean? Was she becoming a more advanced human or an alien or maybe something in-between?

But it wasn't the change that scared her the most. Something deep inside her worried if she was able to connect with Max, she would never be able to give him up. It was as if he would become a part of her that she could never escape. A few months ago she would have welcomed being that close to him, but now with what she knew about the future, she couldn't let it happen. She wasn't strong enough to give Max up again.

Also Liz was worried about what Isabel might see when they were connected. If Isabel discovered the visit from the other Max it might ruin everything she had worked so hard to do.

Liz's inner agony was evident in her voice, "I don't know why, but I'm really scared to do this. You know, if you can't contact him what makes you think I can?"

"I know my brother," Isabel said, "and I know that if there is one voice he will hear no matter where he is, no matter what he's doing, it's yours." She could see the fear and pain in Liz's face and she was sorry to cause her more, but this was their only option and Isabel steeled herself. "Take my hand, Liz."

Isabel's words offered Liz no comfort. Instead they reinforced her fears. But how could she refuse to help? Max's life hung in the balance and that was the only thing that mattered. She would have to deal with the rest later. Pushing her fears away, Liz reached out to Isabel and as they touched hands, she closed her eyes.

As they connected, Isabel waited for the rush of images she usually received, but strangely there was nothing. It was as if Liz were desperately trying to stop her from seeing into her memory. Isabel was curious as to the reason Liz would try so hard to keep her out, but figured she simply wanted her privacy.

Where her hand touched Liz's, Isabel was also surprised to feel intermittent surges of power. Ava said Liz was changed but Isabel hadn't really believed her, she was simply desperate to try anything. Now she could see Ava was right.

To Liz, the connection with Isabel seemed different than the one she had with Max, but, she reasoned, it was probably because she and Max left themselves completely open to one another. With Isabel, Liz was working hard to keep her out of her mind.

Liz concentrated on relaxing and she could feel Isabel's presence guiding her into another state of consciousness. It should have been strange, but Liz found it somewhat familiar. It felt as if they were floating through time and space, the only thing anchoring them, was each other. Soft, white fog surrounded them, swirling and ebbing in a current Liz couldn't see, and there was a feeling of tremendous speed.

Isabel concentrated on finding Max, reaching out for the part of him that was uniquely Max. Being connected with Liz allowed her go farther than she had before, but suddenly it was as if she had no control. Then she realized with surprise that Liz was leading her. She felt Liz soar ahead of her and knew instinctively that Liz was honing in on Max.

Suddenly Liz knew exactly where Max was and reached out to him.

Isabel opened her eyes. Liz had surpassed her limits and no longer needed her guidance. Isabel knew Liz could find Max. She just hoped she got to him in time.

The fog before Liz thinned and she found herself on an unfamiliar street. She looked around quickly, trying to get her bearings and then she saw Max. He was with Tess, Lonni and Rath, and Liz watched in horror as Rath grabbed Tess from behind, and Lonni raised her arm to drop a scaffold on Max.

"Max look out! Behind you!" Liz yelled, but Max couldn't hear her. She tried to go to him but for some reason, she couldn't move. Becoming more desperate with each moment, she started motioning frantically, and finally caught his eye.

She made wild gestures with her arms as she yelled, "Hurry, Max! Run!" Each motion made her feel more and more exhausted but she struggled to push past it, watching as a confused Max took one step toward her and then another. The fog swirled thickly around her again and started to obscure her view of Max. Suddenly the scaffold fell and Liz screamed, but she saw it hit the ground safely behind him before she lost the connection with him.

It felt like she fell back into her body, hitting the cushioned surface of the chair beneath her hard. She was exhausted and the pull of sleep beckoned and she felt herself sliding out of the chair.

Someone caught her and then there were raised voices and someone was shaking her. Liz opened her eyes to find Michael cradling her on the floor.

"Liz, are you okay?" Michael asked.

She nodded, still feeling somewhat disconnected, "Yeah."

"What happened?" Isabel asked. "You screamed. Is Max okay?"

Liz released a sigh and smiled, "Yeah. I got there just in time."


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


(New York, NY)

Lonni watched as Max stepped out from under the scaffold just as it crashed, missing him by inches. She quickly used her powers to change her appearance and rushed away to meet Rath.

Now that the attempt on Max's life had failed, he would know they were not his allies and they had to resort to her plan 'B.'

Lonni entered the building where the summit had been held and descended into the basement. She had intended getting information out of Tess even if Max had died, but now Tess would be part of the plan.

When Lonni appeared, Tess started toward her, only to be stopped by Rath's hand on her shoulder. "Is Max...” Tess gasped, “Is he dead?"

Lonni smiled at the smaller girl, "Of course not."

Tess shook her head, "But I saw you. You tried to kill him."

"No," said Lonni smoothly. "We only distracted him so we could talk to you, in private."

"What do you want?" Tess asked breathlessly, remembering the torture she had received from Congresswoman Whitaker.

"First," Lonni said, approaching her, "I want to show something to you."

Tess shook her head and backed away, but Rath grabbed her from behind and pushed her down into a chair.

Lonni knelt down before Tess. "My powers are the same as Isabel's, so you know I don't have the ability to put images in you head, like you do."

Tess nodded, agreeing.

"I just want to show you what I remember about our life on Antar," Lonni explained, holding out her hand.

"Why?" Tess asked.

Lonni cocked her head to the side, "Don't you want to know the truth about Ava and Zan?"

Tess studied Lonni briefly. She didn't know what Lonni had in mind, but she was frustrated because no matter how hard she had tried over the years, she hadn’t been able to recover more than a few vague memories. She was desperate to remember her other life, and making up her mind suddenly, took Lonni's hand.

The connection started immediately and Tess watched her former self through Lonni's memories. At first, the memories were disjointed, a series of still images, but then they started to flow through her mind, faster and faster until she couldn't distinguish one image from another. It was like watching a movie in extreme fast forward, but she was still able to understand what was happening.

Tess had gotten vague images of her other life but they were nothing compared to Lonni's memories. The images were so vivid, so alive, and Tess had no doubt they were the truth. The pictures slammed into her, assaulting her, and she was unable to stop them. Even when the terrible truth started to unravel and Tess desperately tried to sever the connection, the images still came.

"NOOOOO!" Tess cried. "No, it can't be."

The memories become more sporadic and Tess could see that Lonni didn't know the whole story of what had happened but what she did know was enough. "No. No. No. No." Tess repeated, shaking her head, as if the action would somehow rewrite the past.

Lonni broke the connection and looked into Tess' eyes. "So little Queen," she sneered, "either you help us or we will simply go to Max with what we know."

Tess sagged, defeated and shook her head, "You can't tell him."

Lonni smiled, "We both want the same thing. We want to go home, and with your help not only will we go home but we will go in style. If you help us, Max will never have to know the truth and you two can live on Antar a happy little husband and wife."

Tess considered her options. Briefly she thought about going to Max and telling him the truth but she knew he would turn against her. The other choice was joining with Lonni and Rath and possibly getting everything she had ever wanted. It didn't take long for her to make up her mind. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

Lonni smiled, "First, I want the Granolith..."

Lonni was cut off as Rath suddenly burst into the room and Tess noted vaguely that she hadn't seen him leave.

"We've gotta go," Rath said. "Max is almost here."

Lonni handed Tess a cell phone, "I'll call you later and we can talk about the details."

Tess nodded and started to rise but Lonni grabbed her.

"Listen to me, Tess. Don't screw with us. I would hate to have to tell my brother what really happened."

Tess stood and watched distractedly as Lonni and Rath ran out a door in the rear. She stuffed the cell phone in her pocket and started up the stairs. She had just reached the middle of the room when the full weight of the truth came crashing down on her. And swaying slightly, her knees collapsed and she hit the floor hard.

Tess didn't want to believe what Lonni had shown her but she knew it was true. Lonni's memories explained some of the fragmented images in Tess' head, giving meaning to things Tess had been unable to decipher. It also explained why she hadn't made greater progress on her memory recovery, because somehow, deep inside, she knew that she didn't want to remember the truth. And suddenly some of Tess' own memories started to come forward. They were just snatches of conversations and situations but they confirmed everything Lonni had shown her.

Tess wanted to cry. If the truth were revealed to Max, he would turn from her forever. But she loved him desperately and she would do anything to keep him.

She had never felt so scared and alone in her life. She had just started to make friends, a home. What would happen to her if the truth were discovered?

"Tess!"

Suddenly she heard Max calling her name and knew she had only moments to concoct a plausible story. She crossed her legs and extended her arms, releasing a tension-filled breath as Kyle had taught her. Then she tried to concentrate on clearing and calming her mind, reminding herself that Max didn't know the truth and she would make sure he never found out.

"Tess!"

Max's voice was closer this time and Tess pushed the memory of the past few minutes to the back of her mind, letting her body relax completely.

"Tess! Tess!" Max cried as he entered the room and saw her sitting on the floor. He ran to her, falling to his knees before her and took her face in his hands, desperate to see if she was alive, "Tess, are you all right?"

Tess opened her eyes and answered honestly, "I don't know."

"What happened?" Max asked anxiously.

"They tried to get inside my head," she said truthfully and then quickly added, "to find out where the Granolith is. I, I didn't want them to, so I fought back."

"How?" Max asked.

Tess was so thrilled Max was worried about her, that she couldn't think fast enough to make up an answer, "I, I don't know."

Max looked around, "Where are they?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully.

Max helped her to her feet, but she was shaky and he grabbed her by the shoulders, concerned that Lonni and Rath might have injured her in some way. "Tess. Tess, are you all right?"

With everything that had happened, she suddenly needed to be comforted and she craved her own room and her own things. "I'm ready to go home now."

She could see Max misinterpreted her statement and clarified with a sigh, "Home to Roswell."

It was evident to Max that Tess was still shaky, and he pulled her into a concerned embrace, "Okay."

The pleasure of being in Max's arms, pushed Tess’ recent discoveries aside and she leaned into him. She loved him more at that moment than she ever had, and she vowed she would do anything to make him hers.


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


Lonni and Rath watched from the shadows as Max and Tess left, arm in arm. When they were out of sight Lonni turned to Rath, "Ain't that sweet?"

Rath simply laughed. "Okay so when do we contact her?"


"We'll give her a day or two to settle in and worry about things and then we'll show up on her doorstep and give her a surprise."


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


TBC

This Fic was Nominated at Majik's World of Fanfic for:
Best Pre-Pilot or Back story
Best Angsty Fic
Best Fight Scene
Best Fic that kept you on the edge of your seat

Follow this link
Voting is Open Now!



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



BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 4


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


(Friday, November 24th, 2000)

Max had taken the remaining eight dollars out of his pocket and pooled it with the six ones Tess had left, and used his powers to change the bills to hundreds. Then he had altered their IDs giving them new names and making them both in their twenties.

The agent at the counter had not even looked at them oddly when they bought the tickets and now they were on the plane heading for home.

Max looked out the window as Tess snuggled into his side. It had been a weird couple of days but finally it was over. He turned to look at Tess. She just hadn't seemed to be herself since he had found her and he was worried about what had happened to her. "Tess, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Tess said, smiling up at him. "I'm fine."

"Do you remember anything else about what happened back there?" he asked.

Tess shook her head, hoping to put an end to the subject. "No, but I remember that I saw Lonni try to kill you. How did you get away?"

"It was the strangest thing," Max said with a distant look in his eye and a smile. "I had a vision of Liz."

"Liz?" Tess asked incredulously.

"Yeah," he continued, turning to look out the window, as he remembered. "I could see her and she was obviously yelling but I couldn't hear what she was saying. But I could tell that she was frantic about something. I walked toward her and then the scaffold crashed down barely missing me." He turned to look at Tess, "I don't know how Liz knew I was in danger but she saved my life."

"I'm sure it wasn't really Liz," Tess scoffed. "I mean, how could it be?"

Max shook his head, "I don't know. It was similar to when Isabel dream-walked me but I was awake and I didn't see Liz in my head, she was right in front of me. But it was real Tess. I know it was."


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


(New York, NY)
(A Sidewalk Café)

Lonni slid into an empty chair at Nicholas' table. Nicholas put down his fork and used a napkin to dab his mouth. "I hope you are here with good news."

"Well Max is still alive, if that's what you mean," Lonni said.

Nicholas' eyes narrowed as he sat back, "So why are you here?"

"There has been a change of plan," Lonni explained. "Let's just say that a better opportunity presented itself. I am playing some of those cards I told you about and I think we will both be pleased with the results."

"And you want my help?" Nicholas asked.

"No," Lonni said, "I want you to back off. Max and the others know you are their enemy and if they see you they'll get suspicious."

Nicholas nodded, "What's your plan?"

Lonni smiled and leaned across the table, "I think I'll play my cards close to the chest this time, but I’ll let you know when I win the pot."


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


(Episode - Max in the City - aka. Journey to New York)
(Saturday, November 25th, 2000)
(The Evans House)

Max pushed open the front door and let his backpack fall to the floor. He looked around the living room that he had taken for granted for so many years and sighed. It was good to be home. He had never really considered leaving Earth before but when the possibility had been raised in New York he had been frightened. Earth was home to him, this house, his family, it was the only home he knew.

He wanted to believe that his fear of leaving Earth had played no part in his decision not to take Khivar's deal, but he couldn't lie to himself. It was true he didn't trust Nicholas or Khivar and he instinctively knew there must be a downside to the deal. It was also true that he was apprehensive about handing over the Granolith to his enemies, but part of his decision had been based on the fact that he didn't want to leave Earth.

He had also been worried that Lonni had invited herself and Rath instead of Michael and Isabel, but Max was pretty sure he could have made the deal so all of them could return. But the fact was, when it came down to it, he didn't want to go to Antar because it would mean leaving his home, and Liz. Even after everything that had happened, Max couldn’t imagine not seeing Liz every day, not being in the same town, on the same planet. He loved Liz, he always would.

Max heard someone moving around in the kitchen and walked in to let his family know he was back and apologize for his behavior, but Isabel was the only one there. "Hey," Max said.

Isabel put down the glass she was holding, "You're back? What happened at the summit?"

"Well," Max explained, "Nicholas was there.”

“Nicholas?”

Max nodded, “He was representing Khivar at the summit.”

“What about the other skins? Walt? Ida?”

“I don’t know,” Max said with a shrug. “Nicholas is the only one I saw. It did seem odd that no one else was with him, no guards, no entourage, and I wondered if Nicholas was the only one who survived Tess’ fireball.”

Isabel nodded and Max continued, “Nicholas told us about a deal Khivar was offering to me. He said the four of us could return to Antar if I got my supporters to stop fighting Khivar and let him rule. He also wanted the Granolith."

"Why?" Isabel asked. "Did you find out what it is?"

Max shook his head, "I don't know. Lonni told me it's a religious icon our people worship, but I think it has to be a lot more."

Isabel nodded, "So when you said the four of us could go to Antar..."

"Yeah," Max interrupted her. "The invitation was issued to Lonni, Rath, Tess and I."

"If you took the deal you were just going to leave me and Michael here?" asked Isabel.

Max shook his head, "Of course not, but that was one of several reasons I said no."

"So in the end, what made you decide not to take the deal?" Isabel asked.

"I was going to," Max admitted. "I was gonna take the chance that, that Nicholas was telling the truth." Max paused and looked at his sister. They had both said some terrible things and he wanted to reassure her that things hadn't changed between them, even if it wasn't the whole truth behind his decision. "But in the end, I realized that, that any deal which meant leaving you and Michael behind was something I couldn't do. You're my sister, Isabel. Isabel, Vilondra, whatever your name is, it doesn't matter to me. You're my sister, and I love you, and that comes first. Always."

Isabel hugged Max and accepted his apology, "Thank you."


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


(Crashdown Cafe)

As Ava packed her few belongings, she told Liz what she knew. "Our protector told us that if we brought a human back it would change them. And when you told me about your connection with Max, I knew it was true."

"That's how you knew I could contact him?" Liz asked.

"I really didn't know," Ava admitted, "but with a connection like you told me about, I thought there was a good chance."

"So you don't know what kind of powers I will get or even if I will get any."

Ava stuffed the last shirt into her bag, "No. Your guess is as good as mine."

Liz followed Ava down the stairs to the door, "Are you sure you have to leave?"

Ava smiled. She'd never had a close friend and she didn't want to leave. Liz had been so kind to her but she couldn't stay. "Yeah. I don't really belong here."

"Sure you do," Liz assured her.

Ava shook her head, "Thanks, but I gotta go. I gotta figure out what I wanta do with my life."

"Okay." Liz smiled, "Good-bye. Good luck, okay?"

"Thanks. You, too," Ava said.

Liz reached out and hugged Ava.

At first Ava was surprised but after a moment she hugged Liz back. "So cornball," she teased as they parted.

Liz laughed, "Okay."

Ava waved to her new friend and then went out the door to head toward the bus station.


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


Max climbed the ladder to Liz's balcony apprehensively. After the way they had parted he didn't know how she would greet him or if she would even talk to him. And he had to admit, he deserved her anger. He had acted like a complete jerk when she had tried to warn him about the Granolith.

He had been so hurt by her betrayal that he had lashed out at her and said the most hurtful thing he could think of, and then dismissed her warning about the Granolith until it was almost too late. He hated himself for saying those things to her but the thing bothering him the most was the fact that she had been right. Somehow Liz knew more about the Granolith than he and the other aliens did, and he needed to find out how.

Liz had told him that she couldn't say how she knew about the Granolith but Max felt it was somehow connected to her sleeping with Kyle. That was when she had started acting strangely and when she had started keeping things from him, lying to him. Liz, Kyle and the Granolith were somehow all connected. Something had happened and he wanted to get to the truth. But he also respected and trusted Liz enough to know if she said she couldn't tell him then there must be a good reason. Liz had betrayed him or appeared to, but Max had started to wonder if she had done it because she felt she had to. Something wasn't right, Max could feel it but he didn't have the slightest clue as to what it was.

Max crossed to the window and saw Liz inside and took a deep breath to gather his courage before he knocked. He tapped softly on the glass and immediately Liz turned toward him. For a moment he saw a look of fear and surprise cross her face but it was quickly replaced by a shy smile. Max released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Liz was glad to see him and his heart soared.

Liz had wondered what would happen between herself and Max the next time she saw him and she had simply hoped that her saving his life would allow them to be friends again. But seeing him so soon filled her with expectations. She crossed to the window and raised it, silently inviting Max to enter.

"Hi," Max greeted as he climbed in through the window.

"It's good to see you back safe," Liz said.

"I have you to thank for that," Max nodded. "I'm just not sure how you did it."

"Neither am I," Liz admitted.

"Isabel told me what Ava said," he motioned nervously toward her, "about how my healing you changed you somehow."

"Yeah," Liz said, as she turned toward the mirror, "I keep looking for some sort of change."

Max walked up behind her. "You mean like..." he raised two fingers up above her head mimicking antennae.

Liz laughed, "Yeah. Something like that." She looked over her shoulder in the mirror and a warm feeling of happiness and peace settled on her to see Max enjoying himself again. It had been so long since she had seen him smile, ever since he had seen her with Kyle. She let her thoughts trail off and concentrated on him, "It's nice to see you smile again."

Max became suddenly serious and waited for Liz to face him, "I want to thank you for saving my life."

Liz shrugged, "I guess that makes us even." She lowered her eyes still feeling guilty. She didn't want Max to thank her, she felt like it was her fault for his being in danger in the first place. If she hadn't pretended to sleep with Kyle maybe Max wouldn't have gone to New York in the first place.

Max could see something was upsetting Liz but he continued anyway. "And, I'd like to, start again."

Liz felt the hope rise up within her at his words. Maybe Max wanted to get back together, she thought, he wanted to give their relationship another chance.

Max continued, "Our friendship, that is. I mean, I miss it."

Liz nodded sadly, Max's words killing her hopes. She couldn’t have allowed a romantic relationship to start between them again, but for a moment she had forgotten. "Yeah," she said quickly, trying to cover her disappointment. "Um, I miss it, too."

Max smiled. He was sure he saw disappointment in Liz's face when he said he wanted to be friends. No matter what Liz had done to push him away, she still loved him. And it gave him the first hope he'd had since he'd seen her with Kyle.

He turned to leave but Liz's reaction made him bold and he had to ask the question that had been uppermost in his mind for weeks. He had asked her before, but for some reason he just didn't believe Liz's answer. Max took a deep breath, "There's just one thing I have to say. One thing I have to ask. And, I promise I'll never ask it again."

"Yeah?" Liz asked apprehensively. "Go ahead."

Max looked Liz in the eyes, eager to catch every emotion. "Did you, sleep with Kyle?" he asked breathlessly.

Liz felt the instant prick of tears in her eyes as Max held her gaze. She couldn't believe Max was asking her again. He just wouldn't let it go. Liz knew Max must still love her to keep after her so relentlessly but the knowledge gave her no joy. As tempting as it was to tell him the truth and end the hurt, she couldn't do it. She would have to live with the secret of what had really happened, the rest of her life.

Liz opened her mouth to lie to Max again but the words wouldn't come. She couldn't bear to say them again and her eyes never leaving his, she forced herself to nod.

Before Max had asked the question, he had known what the answer would be but he had allowed himself to briefly hope Liz would say no. He had promised Liz he wouldn't ask again and he intended to keep his promise. He just hoped that one day Liz would tell him the whole truth about what had really happened. "Okay," he said as he nodded sadly and forced out a brief smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Max crossed the roof without looking back, he had too much on his mind. He wanted Liz back but he knew he would have to work slowly. She had made it clear that she didn't want a romantic relationship, even to the point of sleeping with another man, but that didn't matter to Max. He knew she had done it because she felt she had to. But no matter what had happened, he still loved her and he would get her back. Today he had laid the groundwork to renew his friendship with Liz and eventually he would make her his again.


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


(The Evans House)

"So Ava said that Liz would develop powers because Max healed her?" Tess asked Isabel incredulously.

"Not exactly," Isabel said. "She just said that Liz was changed."

"But Liz is getting powers?" Tess asked.

Isabel nodded, "Yeah, she is. I could feel it when we connected and she was able to contact Max without me, I just got her started. She has some kind of bond with Max, maybe because he healed her, or maybe just because they love each other."

A hundred questions flew through Tess' mind. What kind of powers would Liz develop? If she could get into Max's head from across the country, then what could she do to people close to her? If Liz found out the truth about what had happened on Antar she would surely tell Max, and Tess couldn't let that happen.

Isabel broke off when she noticed Tess' scowl. "What?"

Tess shook her head, "I just wonder what kind of powers Liz will get, that's all."


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


Tess waited behind the Crashdown in the dark alley, knowing Liz would soon bring out the trash. The fact that Liz was developing powers complicated things, but it was easily fixed.

As the back door opened and Liz appeared, Tess stepped out from behind the dumpster, "Hi, Liz."

Liz jumped at the sound of her voice and Tess smiled.

"Oh," Liz gasped, "Tess, you startled me."

"Sorry," Tess said, "I was just out for a walk."

Liz frowned, "Do you always walk in the alleys?"

Tess shrugged, tired of the game. "Liz," she said to get the other girl's attention, and when Liz looked at her, Tess quickly closed her eyes and started the mind warp. She implanted the idea in Liz's head to discourage her from wanting to work at developing her powers, and instead work to suppress them. Tess even gave Liz the knowledge of how to control her burgeoning powers and ways to redirect the excess energy.

The whole thing took only a moment and Tess opened her eyes to see a dazed, unfocused Liz before her. Tess waved her hand in front of Liz's face. "Liz?" she asked innocently.

The motion brought Liz out of her trance and she refocused on Tess, "Oh, I'm sorry. I must be more tired than I thought. What were you saying?"

Tess shrugged, "It wasn't important. I'll see you tomorrow."


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


(Wednesday, November 29th, 2000)
(The Valenti House)

Jim opened the door to Isabel and Michael, "Hi, what's going on?"

Isabel shrugged, "We came to see if Tess wants to go shopping with us, Sheriff Va-len-ti."

Jim nodded, glad they were finally becoming friends with Tess. He motioned inside, "You know where her room is."

Isabel smiled and she and Michael went past him and down the hall. Isabel knocked on the door and then pushed it open, without waiting for an answer.

Tess looked up from the homework she was doing, "Kyle..." but stopped when she saw who it was. "Oh, Isabel, Michael. What are you doing here?"

Isabel shut the door behind her and the illusion suddenly faded away, revealing Lonni and Rath. "We're here to start on the plan."

Tess jumped off the bed. "Are you crazy coming here like this?"

"Chill," Rath said. "We got it under control."

"What do you want?" Tess hissed.

"We need to have a little talk about what we are going to do," Lonni said.

"Well not here," Tess whispered.

Rath motioned to the door, "Let's go then."

Lonni smiled, "We told Valenti we were taking you shopping."

Lonni and Rath morphed back into their disguises and Rath opened the door, motioning to Lonni and Tess, "After you."

"Such a gentleman," Tess sneered.

They passed the Sheriff in the living room and Tess waved nervously, trying to get out of the house quickly, afraid of what Lonni and Rath might do to Jim if he became suspicious. "Um, were going out, um shopping."

Jim barely looked up from the football game he was watching, "You kids have fun."

Rath paused at the door and looked back, "Word."

The three climbed into the car and Tess immediately attacked them verbally, "What the hell do you think you're doing coming here? What if the real Isabel and Michael just happened to show up?"

Lonni laughed, "That isn't gonna happen now is it? They don't really have anything to do with you."

Tess sat back against the seat with a huff, "Still it's dangerous."

Rath drove the car into the desert just outside of town and stopped behind some rocks.

Tess exited the car and slumped down onto a near-by rock. "Okay, so what do you want?"

Rath picked up a stick and started hitting rocks out into the desert, ignoring her.

Lonni climbed onto the hood of the car. "We want Max and the Granolith."

"Why do you want Max?" Tess asked apprehensively.

Lonni rolled her eyes, "We need Max to take back to Antar, so he and Khivar can work out a deal and stop the war."

Tess shook her head, "Max won't go."

"So, you have to give him a reason to want to go," Rath said over his shoulder.

"You're his wife," Lonni mocked. "Use that as a reason to get close to him."

"But won't Khivar just kill Max?" Tess asked.

"You heard Khivar's offer at the summit," Lonni said. "It was made in front of the other families. Khivar just can't kill Max. People would know."

"And what about Michael and Isabel?" Tess asked. "There is no way he will leave them behind."

Lonni shrugged, "They don't really matter, but if Max won't leave without them then get them to come too and we'll sort it out later."

"And the Granolith?" Tess asked. "I'm not just going to hand it over to you."

Rath turned to Tess for the first time, "You'll do whatever we say, little girl, or Maxie will find out the truth."

Tess shrugged and quickly changed the subject, "What is the Granolith anyway?"

"I told you the truth before," Lonni said, repeating Nicholas' lie easily. "Our protector told us it's like a religious artifact. It has been in my family for generations. It also happens to be capable of faster than light travel and it can get us home in just a few days instead of the years it would normally take."

Tess gasped, "You mean we can go home? Today?"

"Well," Lonni admitted, "not today. See, we don't know how to use the Granolith."

"But you could just hand it over to Nicholas..." Tess started only to be cut off.

"No, we can't trust Nicholas," Lonni said with a shrug. "Besides, he might not know how to work it either. And even if he did, what would stop him from taking the Granolith and leaving us here?” She shook her head, “We need some leverage so we can make a deal."

Tess frowned, "So what do we do?"

"We need to figure out how to work the Granolith and use it to our advantage," Lonni explained. "You're sure you don't know anything about it?"

"There is a metal book written in the Antarian language that our protector, Nasedo gave us. The book tells about the Granolith, how to use it."

"Have you read it?" Lonni asked.

"No. Nasedo told me it was written in the Antarian Royal code and even he didn't know how to read it, but he said it would come back to me..." she trailed off and then finished softly, "when I regained enough of my memories."

Lonni smiled cruelly, "Those memories were taken from Rath and me so we can't read it either. I remember the language and the fact that there was a code but I can't decipher it."

Lonni thought a moment. "I've heard of supercomputers that the government uses to break other countries codes. So maybe our best option is to get someone who is good with computers to help us break the code."

Tess smiled, "I know just the person we need."

"Who's that?" Lonni asked.

"Alex," Tess said. "You met him when you were here."

"You mean Opie?" Lonni asked with a laugh. "What can he do?"

"He's a computer genius," Tess explained.

"Is he really? How convenient," Lonni said with a smile. "Now we just need to come up with a plan."


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


(Sunday, December 3rd, 2000)
(West Roswell High School)
(Chemistry Lab)

Song Playing: Somewhere Out There by Our Lady Peace

Liz watched as Max poured the mixture into the beaker and turned on the bunsen burner. He was reading the directions aloud as he followed them, and she smiled remembering all of the other times they had worked together.

He turned to her with a smile, "Okay, we just need to bring it to a boil and then measure the precipitates."

Liz nodded and released a sigh of relief as he turned back to stir the mixture. Things were still a little strained between them but Max was really trying to put the past behind them and renew their friendship. And to see a genuine smile on his face was worth more to her than all of the money in the world.

With her eyes, Liz lovingly traced his profile of his face as he concentrated on his work. She longed to reach out and touch him, to run her fingers over his cheek and down the side of his face to his soft lips, but she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She knew they could never be together, it just wasn't possible. But, she thought to herself, if they could be friends, it might be enough.


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


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

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

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

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

Alex smiled, "No way."

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

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

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

Alex stopped just past the security check and turned to wave one more time. Then he gathered his belongings and started the long trek to the plane. "Of course," he murmured to himself, "I would be at the very last gate."

"You know," a familiar voice said to him, "talking to yourself is a sign of a demented mind."

Alex turned toward the speaker with a smile, "Isabel? How did you get here?"

Isabel smiled and leaned in close with a wave of her hand, "Just a little alien magic."

Her gaze drifted past him and he turned to see Michael coming toward them with a wheelchair. "Michael?" Alex asked, but as the other guy approached, Alex could see that he was mistaken. "Rath." Alex turned quickly back to Isabel but saw Lonni where Isabel had been. "What is going on?" he asked suspiciously, as he started to back away.

Lonni grabbed his arm in a surprisingly strong grip and held him painfully. Alex struggled against her, "What are you doing?"

"We want you to do us a favor, Opie," Lonni purred in her own voice.

"What kind of a favor?" Alex asked apprehensively.

Suddenly Tess appeared out of thin air next to Lonni, "We need you to do some computer work."

A sharp prick in the back of Alex's neck alerted him to the fact that he’d concentrated his attention in the wrong direction. He swung around and tried to call out, but Rath's hand over his mouth prevented any sound from escaping and he collapsed into Rath's arms as his strength suddenly left him. Alex struggled to keep his eyes open as he watched through an increasingly thick haze while Rath placed him into the wheel chair. They started down the corridor and Alex could hear vague pieces of the others' conversation but it made no sense to him, and after a moment he slid into unconsciousness.


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


(University of Las Cruces - Dorm Room)

Tess stopped the mind warp and opened her eyes. "It's done." She glanced at Alex who was sitting on a chair in a sort of trance and turned her attention to Lonni. "I did just what you said. I made him believe that he was on a top-secret mission to translate the book. He believes he has to tell his friends and family he is in Sweden for their own safety, so the skins can't find out the truth. I told him if the book fell into the wrong hands, everyone on Earth would be killed."

She took a deep breath and continued. "He will stay in the room during the day and work from here. And when he needs to go the Computer Science building he will do it after two a.m. I also told him that we enrolled him as Ray White and to interact with as few people as possible. Oh, and I gave him a craving for Thai food, like you said."

"Good," Lonni said. "That Thai place is the only place around here that delivers to the dorms besides pizza and I certainly don't want to spend my time cooking for him."

"Yeah and that pizza place sucks," Rath said.

Lonni nodded and motioned to the blonde girl laying on the floor unconscious, "And Leanna?"

Tess nodded. "I have made her believe she wants to go home for the next semester, to take a break from school. And if she gets the urge to come back to school, I gave her a compulsion to call me first. So you can take her place, move right into her dorm room and stay close to Alex."

Lonni nodded again. She had chosen Leanna because she was about the same height, build and coloring as Isabel, who Lonni would be impersonating to keep Alex in line. It would only require a small amount of power to make herself appear to be Leanna when she needed to be the other girl and no one would question her presence on campus.

"So," Tess asked, "what is Rath going to do?"

"He'll stay here with Alex and do whatever needs doing," Lonni said with a shrug and then elaborated. "One thing he's going to do is get books on Sweden and make the stupid slides of Alex's trip. You said everyone would expect him to take dozens of slides so we have to provide slides to make this believable. And when this is over, you will simply erase all of the memories of translating the book out of his head and give him the memories of actually having been in Sweden, so we have to do some research to make it authentic."

Tess nodded.

"How long will this mind warp work?" Rath asked Tess.

"I don't know exactly," Tess admitted.

"Well you'd better make sure it's long enough," Rath growled. "This had better not get screwed up because you can't control your powers."

"Chill," Lonni soothed him, running her hand down his arm. "Tess is going to come down here once a week and make sure everything is running smoothly. Aren't you?" Lonni asked, turning her glance to the smaller girl.

"Once a week?" Tess asked. "I don't know if I can get away that often."

"You'd better find a way," Lonni's voice rose slightly, "or I don't need to tell you what will happen."

Tess nodded, resigned to the deal she had been forced to make.

"And I want you to keep in touch," Lonni said with a softer tone and a smile. "I want to know everything that is happening in that cute little town of yours. I want to know everything about what Max and the others are doing. Anything could be important to us, so keep your eyes open." Lonni handed Tess a slip of paper, "Here is my cell phone number. You will call me every day at midnight, to report," she ordered, "but if anything important happens don't wait, call immediately."

Tess glanced at Alex. "What about if his friends try to call him in ‘Sweden’?"

"No, that's not a problem," Lonni said. "I had Rath go to the high school and the Whitman's house and change the contact number for the family he was suppose to stay with, to a cell phone I set up."

"So they won't be calling Sweden," Tess said, "they will be calling here." She nodded, "But what about the mail?"

"Do you ever stop nagging? We aren't stupid you know." Lonni sighed, "We changed the mailing address when we changed the telephone number. We set it up so all the mail would go to a post office box in Sweden and once a week it will be gathered and sent here. The mail is so slow between here and there that no one will notice, even if they are stupid enough to send mail. Why would anyone send real mail anyway? E-mail is so much faster."

"But the mail will have the wrong post marks, when it is sent from here," Tess pointed out. "Someone might notice that."

Lonni looked at her like she had lost her mind and suddenly the solution came to Tess, "Oh! You can fix it with your powers."

Lonni continued before Tess could ask, "We also contacted the real Olsen's in Sweden, pretending we were the student exchange program and told them Alex had gotten ill and was not able to come, but they would be put back on the list and hopefully get another student real soon."

Tess nodded. “So the school still thinks Alex is going to Sweden.”

Lonni nodded and motioned to Alex, "Can we question him now?"

"Yeah," Tess said. "Just snap your fingers a couple of times and he'll come out of it."

Lonni morphed into Isabel's form and snapped her fingers directly in front of Alex's face, "Alex."

He immediately focused on her, "Huh? What did you say Isabel?"

The faux Isabel smiled, "I just asked if you could tell me how long the translation will take?"

Alex shook his head. "I'll have to write a sub-routine to get the computer to work on it at night and early morning when no one else is around. That will take a few days. And then I will have to see how quickly the computer works to give you an accurate estimate."

Lonni was becoming impatient but she determinedly kept her cool, "So when can you give us an estimate?"

Alex shrugged, "In a week or so, I think."

Lonni sighed, "What about a guess now?"

Alex thought for a moment, "It's a good thing you remembered the base language because without the language and it being in code, the translation could theoretically have taken years to complete." He shrugged, "But hopefully it will only take a couple of months."

"But Alex, you are only here for a little over a month?" Lonni reminded him. "What if the translation isn't finished by then?"

"No problem," Alex assured her. "I can set the program to work without me and e-mail the results to us."


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


(Saturday, December 16th, 2000)
(Liz’ Room)

Liz ran her fingers over the letters engraved on the knife. Max had given it back to her because he said he needed to make a clean break from her, and maybe it was easier that way for both of them. But Liz had hoped that Max loved her enough to want to keep it as a memento.

She sighed and replaced the knife into its box. There was no use dwelling on things she couldn't change. She was just grateful that Max wanted to be friends. Liz put the box into the drawer of her dresser next to the pictures of Max, and pushed the thoughts of what could have been to the back of her mind.

Liz smiled. There were more immediate concerns, like what she was going to get her friend Max for Christmas.


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


(Episode - Roswell the Miracle - aka. A Roswell Christmas Carol)
(Thursday, December 21st, 2000)
(University of Las Cruces – dorm room)

Alex groggily put his hand to his head, attempting to dull the throbbing pain. He realized that he was sitting in a chair but couldn't remember where he was and slowly opened his eyes. The bright screen of his laptop was before him but the other surroundings were unfamiliar. He quickly looked around the room, taking in the table and chair, a small bed and kitchen in the corner. His first thought was that he was in an apartment of some kind, then he remembered seeing Isabel and Michael at the airport.

But it hadn't been Isabel or Michael it had been Lonni and Rath and they had done something to him, drugged him. Alex rubbed his eyes trying to remember anything else, but it was all just a blank. His brain was fuzzy but he forced himself to put together the pieces of what he knew. Lonni and Rath and Tess, or had it been Ava, had taken him from the airport and brought him to this place. But why?

Vaguely he wondered how long he had been gone and if the others had missed him yet, then he remembered he had been leaving for Sweden. No one would realize he was gone right away but when he didn't show up in Sweden surely someone would report him missing.

He reached out to the touch pad on his computer and moved the pointer to the bottom of the screen to see the date, but recoiled in surprise when it was revealed. December twenty-first? The date couldn't possibly be right. That would mean he had been gone for almost two weeks.

Alex attempted to get out of the chair but his legs gave out and he fell heavily to the floor.

"Where'd you think you're going?" asked a male voice, with an unmistakable New York accent.

Alex craned his head to see Rath rising from the sofa. He hadn't seen him before because Rath had been seated directly behind him. Alex attempted to scramble away from Rath but the larger boy subdued him easily with a firm grip, and forced him back into the chair.

"Where are we? What am I doing here?" Alex asked.

"So you're coming out of it, huh?" Rath asked.

"Out of what?" Alex asked, getting angry. "What's going on?"

Rath chuckled, "Chill. You just volunteered to help me and Lonni on a little project we're doing."

Alex shook his head, "I don't remember that."

"Oh sure," Rath assured him. "We needed some help with the computer and since you are so good with them..."

Alex cut him off, "But you drugged me at the airport."

Suddenly the door opened and Alex launched himself toward the escape route but was stopped as two people came through. Lonni used her powers to propel Alex back into the room and instantly Rath was on him. Alex struggled but it was no use and suddenly Tess was before him.

"Tess what is going on?" Alex asked. "What are you doing with them?"

"It's about time you two showed up," Rath said.

Tess ignored Alex and spoke to Lonni and Rath. "He's breaking out of the mind warp sooner every time," she admitted, "but I'm afraid if I give him a stronger dose, it might damage his mind."

"Well, you'll have to come down more often," Lonni said.

"How am I going to do that?" Tess asked. "What if they notice I’m gone a lot? What if they get suspicious?"

Lonni laughed, "I bet no one even notices you are gone." She moved in close behind Tess and pulled one of her blonde curls through her fingers as she spoke softly into her ear. "I bet no one notices you at all. But help us get this book translated and the whole of Antar will fall to their knees before you. Queen Tess the savior of Antar." Lonni suddenly released Tess' hair with a shrug, "And if anyone does notice you’re gone just tell them you’re shopping."

Alex listened to their conversation but most of it didn't make any sense to him. Apparently Tess had struck a bargain to help Lonni and Rath, and mind warping him was a part of it.

"Tess," he said, to get her attention, "I don't know what you're doing but there's still time to reconsider. Just go to Max and Isabel and tell them the truth. They'll understand, they'll help."

Tess looked at Alex for the first time and shook her head, "No one will help either of us." Then she closed her eyes and started the mind warp.


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


Tess stopped her car in the Valenti's driveway and released a heavy sigh. She didn't like helping Lonni and Rath but she didn't have any other choice. If she didn't do what they said, they would ruin everything between herself and Max. Besides, she wanted to go home just as badly as they did and it was apparent Max was in no hurry to return.

She felt badly about using Alex, remembering his plea for help but pushed it to the back of her mind. Alex wasn't important. He would go home when it was over and wouldn't remember anything that had happened. The only thing that mattered was getting home and being with Max.

Tess got out of the car with the bags of stuff she had quickly purchased to make her story of Christmas shopping more believable and headed for the door.

There were some ways she envied Alex. He had a home, a family, friends, people who loved him, and she didn't have any of that. She didn't remember her real family other than Max, Isabel and Michael and they didn't really want to have anything to do with her.

The closest thing to a family she had on Earth, was the Valentis.

She pushed open the door, dropped her bags on the floor and plopped down onto the ottoman, ready with her cover story. "It is a zoo out there. God, every store is packed with desperate people trying to find the perfect present. Oh, and the streets are loaded with overzealous people singing. And then, there's all these insane people dragging Christmas trees on top of their cars."

"Whoo!! Oh!!" the Sheriff and Kyle cheered.

Tess was confused by their reaction, but suddenly the lack of Christmas decorations struck her, "But clearly you guys don't bother with Christmas trees."

"We've got ours out in the garage," Kyle said, "Plastic."

"Oh," Tess said, disappointed. "Oh, well I guess there's no hurry to bring it into the house then."

"Well actually," the Sheriff said, "we haven't brought it in for a few years."

"We like it in the garage," Kyle agreed. "I use it to dry my socks."

"Good!" the Sheriff exclaimed, "Second down. Second down, here we go. Come on. Come on. Visualize."

"Oh, and about Christmas dinner," Tess started expectantly, "I hope you guys aren't planning some big..."

Kyle cut her off, "We usually hit the Crashdown for turkey."

"Seven ninety-five, all-you-can-eat," the Sheriff said.

Tess smiled to cover her disappointment, "Great. You know, I don't celebrate Christmas anyway." She gathered her bags and headed to her room. Nasedo had taught her not to care about her human side and they had never celebrated Christmas. But for some reason, the holiday seemed important to her this year.


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


Max had been haunted all day, by the man who had died, and the ghost's accusations were hitting too close to home. Max needed to talk to someone who could help him try and figure out what to do, and the first and only person he thought of was Liz.

He stopped the Jeep outside the Crashdown and walked toward the door but stopped when he saw Liz through the window. She had her back to him but he knew her instantly. The delicate curve of her body, the dark sweep of her hair; every detail about her was indelibly etched into his memory. He would know her anywhere.

He had come to her because he knew Liz would help him. She kept him anchored and gave him strength, and together he knew they would find the solution. Together nothing could stop them.

Max took a step toward the window and Liz instantly turned around, as if she had known he was there.

Liz had been attempting to balance the register for the evening when suddenly she knew Max was behind her. She turned, a smile of greeting lighting her face but it was almost immediately replaced by a look of concern when she saw the serious expression on Max's face.

Liz met him at the door and pushed it open. Max didn't quite know how to tell her what had been happening and he started shakily, "You know how we said that we were going to try to be friends?"

"Yeah," Liz agreed. This was the first time Max had approached her alone, and away from school. It made her think back to last year when they were first getting together and he had come by the Crashdown all the time.

"I think I need a friend," Max said.

"Oh," Liz said, realizing she had misinterpreted his reason for coming. She studied his face and noticed for the first time how unsettled he seemed. Something was wrong. "Oh. Okay," she said, stepping back to allow him to enter. "Come on in."


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


(Episode - Roswell the Miracle - aka. A Roswell Christmas Carol)
(Friday, December 22nd, 2000)

Tess had noticed the chemistry between the Sheriff and Amy DeLuca almost immediately and an idea had been forming in her mind since then. Just once she decided that she wanted to be a part of a real family and she wanted to do something nice for Kyle and the Sheriff for accepting her into their home.

She reread the note she had written with a smile. It was perfect. She would just deliver it to Amy on her way to the grocery store tomorrow and everything would be set for the perfect Christmas.


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


(Episode - Roswell the Miracle - aka. A Roswell Christmas Carol)
(Sunday, December 24th, 2000)

After Michael had taken him to Brody's house to see Brody with his daughter, Max had started to think about what the ghost had said to him.



It's Christmas. You should be with your loved ones.



And having seen Brody and his daughter together, Max knew he was right. But as much as he loved Isabel and Michael and his parents, they weren't the ones he wanted to be with tonight. There was one person who was always there for him, who always supported him. She was his best friend, his soul mate, and he knew he could always turn to her.

It had been Liz he had thought of when the ghost had mentioned loved ones, and despite his earlier decision not to go to midnight services, Max knew that's where he wanted to be because that was where he would find Liz.



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


TBC

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 5


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


(Sunday, January 21st, 2001)
(University of Las Cruces)

Tess used her powers to conceal herself from the single student she encountered on her way to Alex's dorm room. It was after two a.m. and most of the tenants in the dormitory were asleep. That was the reason Lonni had made the rule that no one left or entered Alex's room except in the early hours of the morning.

Tess let herself into Alex's room and quietly closed the door behind her. "How is the translation progressing?" she asked Lonni.

Lonni shrugged, "Alex seems to be pleased with the progress. He said something about algorithms and probability." She shrugged. "All I know is that the computer still hasn't finished the decryption."

"So when will it finish?" Tess asked.

Lonni shook her head, "He doesn't know. He said it could be a week or six months."

"But he told us he would have a time estimate," Tess pointed out.

"Well he doesn't," Lonni said. "Believe me, I've tried to get a more accurate date from him but he just doesn't know."

"He’s supposed to go back to Roswell next week," Tess protested. "What are we going to do then?"

"It's like I told you before," said Lonni. "Alex will set up the computer to continue to work. He can put in a program that lets him access the computer from his house. He will set up a laptop for us, with a link to his computer and when the decryption is finally finished the computer will e-mail us the results. Then, just like we planned, you can tell Max you remember how to read the language and it's time to go home."


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


As Tess drove back to Roswell, she considered Lonni's plan. Lonni might not think that Isabel and Michael were important, but Tess knew Khivar wanted Isabel back. She could remember pieces of the conversation she'd had with Congresswoman Whitaker the night Whitaker had kidnapped her. Whitaker had said Khivar and Vilondra were lovers and the skins were definitely expecting Isabel to return with them.

Lonni probably wanted to claim Isabel's place at Khivar's side but Tess suspected Khivar didn't want an imitation. He would want the real thing and Tess had to make sure Isabel came with them.

Tess wasn't sure about Michael however. The little she knew about him on Antar wasn't enough to make a decision concerning his importance to Khivar but she decided she had better bring him as well.

But Michael was the least of her problems. He had always wanted to find his real home and she was sure that he would jump at the opportunity to return. She just wasn't sure of what Max and Isabel would do. If they were given a choice, they might choose to stay. So as far as Tess could see, the only solution was not to give them a choice.


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


(Episode - To Serve & Protect)
(Friday, January 26th, 2001)
(Frazier Woods)

The Ganderium Queen used the borrowed human body of Grant Sorensen to pull the selected host through the woods in the body bag. She was glad she had gotten a strong human because the human girl was heavy and her struggling made the journey even more difficult.

She pulled the syringe out of her pocket, knelt down beside the body bag and quickly injected the host with another dose of the sedative. The burial would be easier if the host was quiet.

Dragging the now still human a few more minutes, the Queen finally reached the hole she had prepared. She unzipped the bag and rolled the limp girl out of the bag and into the hole. Then she used her connection with the hive, to signal the release of the Ganderium drones into the water table to make their way to the host.

She had chosen this spot because the underground water was close to the surface and her Ganderium drones would have easy access to the host. It would take several days for enough of the drones to reach the host and to build up the crystal concentration in the host's blood, but if it was done too quickly it would kill her. The crystal concentration had to be just right in the human's blood, or the Queen herself would not be able to successfully infect her.

The Queen put the box over the girl's head and carefully checked the air supply before sealing the box and completely covering the girl with soil. Then she scattered leaves and twigs over the area to make it impossible to distinguish from the surroundings, and with a final look around, she walked back the way she had come.

They had been forced to keep themselves hidden for so long while building up their numbers and strength enough for her to be able to leave the hive, the Queen thought to herself, but their patience would pay off in a matter of days. Soon she would be able to infect the host and then they would be able to spread themselves to every living thing on the planet, insuring their survival.


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


Isabel laughed as she watched Kyle's dream end with him transforming into an alien. Why was it that people had the mental image of green, slimy aliens? Who was to say there weren't blue or orange aliens? And why the slime?

Suddenly Isabel was standing in a clearing in the woods and she felt confused and frightened. She could hear a girl screaming and looked around to find the source but all she could see were trees and blinding flashes of light. She stumbled forward toward the trees that seemed to be rushing around her, but stopped when a man came into her line of vision. At first she couldn't tell what was happening but then her vision cleared and she stared in horror at what she was witnessing. The man was dragging a body bag but the struggling person inside was obviously still alive.

Isabel jolted awake, "No!" she shouted before realizing she was safe in her room.


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


(Episode - To Serve & Protect)
(Saturday, January 27th, 2001)
(Crashdown Café)

"It's not your home," Maria yelled after Sean as he walked out the front door.

"Did you know he was getting out?" Liz asked.

"No way," said Maria. "I would have alerted the National Guard or something." She gestured toward the door, "Shouldn't he have a police escort or one of those ankle bracelet tracker thingers."

Liz laughed, "He isn't that bad."

"Not that bad?" Maria asked. "You don't call him leading a group of hooligans to break into our school and vandalize the whole place bad?"

"Well," Liz started, "it is traditional for Goddard High kids to break in to West Roswell and cover our school seal with their own before the big game between the schools."

"But Sean and his friends didn't just cover the seal, they practically destroyed it," Maria pointed out," and a lot of other stuff too, not to mention all the TVs and stuff they loaded into their car."

"Yeah," Liz agreed, "they definitely went too far." She shrugged, "I just mean it's not like he's a murderer or anything."

"I'll get back to you on that," Maria said dryly.


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


(Episode - To Serve & Protect)
(Sunday, January 28th, 2001)

Valenti closed his office door behind him, shutting Dan out. He handed the photo to Isabel. "Is this her?"

Isabel looked at the girl in the photograph. "The hair's the right color. I think so," she said consideringly. She ran her fingers over the photo and quickly tried to connect with the other girl but she didn't receive any images, which usually meant the person was awake, or dead, Isabel thought with a shudder.

"Are you sure?" Valenti asked.

"I never saw her clearly," Isabel admitted. "But it's her," she said with more conviction, not willing to let her uncertainty hamper the investigation. "It has to be."


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


(Michael’s Apartment)

Tess glanced at her watch as she knocked on Michael's door. It was just nine o'clock and she was supposed to be headed to Las Cruces. Alex was scheduled to return from 'Sweden' later today and she would have to clean up his mind, but first she had to attend the emergency meeting Max had called.

Michael opened the door with barely a glance in her direction and turned away from her without a word. Max and Isabel were already there and Max started immediately after Tess closed the door behind her.

"We wanted you to know that Isabel has been having these dreams, visions about a girl who has been kidnapped," Max said.

Michael rubbed his eyes, "That's great. You get me up early on a Sunday to tell us about dreams."

"They're not just dreams, Michael," Isabel said. "They're real. There's a girl in trouble."

"So why are you dreaming about her?" Michael asked, suddenly interested. "You never dreamed about anyone else before. Is she an alien?"

Isabel shrugged. "I don't know who or what she is, but she needs help."

"So how do we help her?" Tess asked.

"I don't think there is anything we can do right now," Max said. "We told the Sheriff everything we know and he’s looking into it. We just wanted to let you know what was going on."


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


Tess smiled with satisfaction as she let herself out of Michael's apartment. Max had been making sure she was included in the group more and more. In the last few months they had become closer, he had started to care about her and she felt it was only a matter of time until he was hers.


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


Max and Isabel drove straight to the Sheriff's office with the new information.

And when then were in Valenti’s office, Max took the initiative, "Isabel had another dream and this time she saw who the kidnapper was. It's Grant."

"Sorenson?" Valenti asked with surprise.

"I'm positive," Isabel said.

Valenti sighed, "Alright, I'll take care of it."

"You want us to help?" Max offered.

Valenti didn't want to risk involving them, "Not this time."

Isabel waited until she and Max had gotten back into the car before she asked the question that had been worrying her, "Max, don't you think we should help Valenti? I mean we don't know why Grant is doing this."

"Exactly," Max said. "He might just be crazy or a serial killer and the alien angle is just a coincidence."

Isabel studied Max's face for a moment, "You don't really believe that Max. There is something alien going on and Grant is right in the middle of it. What if it isn't Grant's fault? What if he’s being controlled by an alien, like Brody? That’s why we should help," Isabel argued.

"No, that’s why we should stay out of it," Max said. "What if someone is using him and this situation to draw us out." Max shook his head, "What Valenti told Michael is true. If we get more involved in this, the wrong people might start asking questions."

Isabel sat silently and Max continued, "And I think we should keep this to ourselves. We don't want Michael running off and doing something stupid like confronting Grant."


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


(Roswell Airport)

Tess pushed Alex down onto a bench as Lonni and Rath unloaded Alex's belongings on the curb beside them. The flight Alex was scheduled to be on from Sweden was due in about an hour and she still had to prepare him before his parents came to pick him up. She sat next to him and started a mind warp to change his memories of Las Cruces, to the itinerary and pictures of Sweden that Lonni had provided.

It would have been too hard to try and replace all of his memories of the last few weeks, so she simply told him to substitute images of Sweden for what he really remembered. Whenever he thought of the dorm he would substitute images of the Olsen's home. Whenever he thought of Rath he would see the Olsen family and whenever he thought of Isabel or Lonni he would see Leanna. She also gave him Lonni's cell phone number and e-mail address for when he wanted to contact his long-distance girlfriend.

Then she flipped through the book of slides, shaking her head at the huge number Rath had created. He must have really gotten into it. With a weary sigh, Tess concentrated on putting the images into Alex's memory and integrating them into the itinerary Lonni had put together. She also placed some basic Swedish vocabulary in his mind from the book provided.

Tess had never liked Alex because she had seen him as one of the reasons Isabel was reluctant to accept her destiny to be with Michael. She didn't like the way Alex followed Isabel around and she considered him to be way too geeky. So while she was in his mind, she replaced some of his goofiness with a new suave demeanor. She also gave him the knowledge on how to be a little more cool around Isabel, to have some pride instead of being such a lap-dog.

When she was finished, Tess opened her eyes and sighed with exhaustion. The amount of mind warping she had been doing over the last month was catching up with her and she was glad the hard part was finally over. Alex would go back to his normal life, the computer would continue to decode the book, and when it was finished, they could go home.


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


Dan entered Valenti's office and confronted him, "Judith Foster is filing a grievance with the State Police Board. She wants a formal investigation into your actions."

Valenti looked at his old friend, "I wonder who put that idea in her head?"

"Lot of questions here, Jimbo," he said with a drawl. "Time for you to start thinking of some answers."

"Talk to my lawyer," Valenti said.

Dan was about to press the subject when the phone rang. He listened as Jim spoke into the receiver but as the conversation continued, he became more suspicious. He waited until Jim put the phone down. "Do deputies always call you on your private line?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'll talk to you in the morning," Valenti said dismissively.

"You know, your Daddy went down just like this," Dan warned his old friend. "Got some fool notion into his head, ignored the law and his friends, and ended up handing over his badge."

"Is that a threat?" Valenti asked.

Dan nodded, 'If that phone call was from those kids, consider it a warning."

Watching out the window, Dan waited until Jim had reached the parking lot, and then he ran to his car. Jim was obviously up to something stupid and he wanted to find out what it was. Maybe he could put a stop to it before his old friend ruined his life any more.

He pulled his car onto the road and followed the police cruiser at a discrete distance, but Valenti accelerated quickly ahead, catching Dan by surprise, and when he rounded the next corner, Valenti's cruiser was nowhere to be seen.

Dan had caught a few words of Jim's phone conversation and most of it had not made any sense but two of the words stood out. Frazier Woods. Jim was going to Frazier Woods. Dan made a right and headed to the highway. If he hurried, he would catch Jim in the act.

After a few minutes of driving, he slowed the car and pulled onto the dirt track that led into Frazier Woods. The track was scarred with deep ruts and potholes, making driving difficult, and he drove slowly, thoroughly searching each lay-by and turn-off for any sign of Jim's cruiser.

He had been searching for more than half and hour before he heard the gunshot.

Quickly turning his car, Dan headed back in the direction he had come, and a second shot was fired. He stopped his car in a lay-by when he heard a third shot and he drew his gun and headed into the trees toward where the shots were coming from.

He heard a fourth shot, obviously from a high-powered rifle, and then several more shots just ahead. He could see three people through the trees and came out behind them. "Freeze."


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


(Frazier Woods)

As the ambulance with Laurie Dupree inside pulled away, Dan approached Max and Isabel Evans, "Okay, you kids will ride back to the Sheriff's station with Deputy Hansen."

Max looked at Isabel quickly and then back to Dan, "We came with Sheriff Valenti, he can take us home."

Dan smiled, "Well the Sheriff has other things to do. Besides, we have a few questions about this situation that need answering."

Hansen opened the door of his squad car, "Right this way Ms. Evans, Mr. Evans."

Max looked to Valenti but the Sheriff indicated with a jut of his chin that they should do what they were told.

Max let Isabel enter the car first and then he climbed in with her. Hansen shut the door behind them and Max quickly whispered to Isabel, "We didn't have a chance to get our story straight with Valenti. But I heard him tell that Dan guy that we were with him. Dan said Valenti could get suspended for that. So if they ask us, we've got to tell them Valenti didn't bring us out here."

"So what do we tell them?" Isabel hissed.

Max shrugged and thought for a moment, "We'll tell them we were hiking in the woods and heard the girl screaming and called Valenti."

"Okay," Isabel agreed, looking out the window at the Sheriff. "I just hope everything will be okay for Valenti."


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


(Episode - We Are Family)
(Sunday, January 28th, 2001)
(The Evans House – Isabel’s Room)

Isabel got out of bed, padded to the window and gazed out into the dark sky. The questions at the Sheriff's station had been endless and even though she was exhausted, she couldn't sleep. There were too many thoughts running through her head, too many questions.

She had been wrong about the identity of the girl taken but the kidnapping had happened just as she had seen it. Isabel had been almost relieved when Valenti had told them Melissa Foster was okay because it meant that the other part of her vision could have been wrong too. Again Isabel envisioned Grant pulling the body bag with the struggling Laurie inside, but quickly squeezed her eyes shut, trying to wipe away the image.

The Grant she knew was gentle and funny and very serious about his work, and she enjoyed spending time with him. It was possible, she told herself, that she her subconscious had just superimposed Grant's face on the kidnapper because she had recently been with him. It could have been part of her dream, she thought. Maybe Grant was completely innocent and she had been wrong about him like she had been wrong about Melissa Foster.

Isabel sank into a chair with a sigh. Valenti was investigating Grant because she had told him to, but she desperately hoped the investigation cleared him. She didn't want to believe Grant was capable of doing what she had seen.


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


(Episode - We Are Family)
(Monday, January 29th, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

Michael waited as Max knocked on the Sheriff's door. They had gotten a message to come to his house as quickly as possible and Michael was afraid of what might be waiting for them.

Isabel opened the door and Max asked what they were both thinking, "We got a message from Valenti. What's going on?"

"Laurie Dupree is here," Isabel said.

Michael was somewhat surprised but relieved Laurie was okay and followed Isabel as she led them to a closed door.

Michael stood back as Isabel knocked, calling to the girl inside, "Laurie? Laurie, you can come out. It's okay. You remember Max. He was there that night. This is our friend Michael."

Michael got a glimpse of the girl for the first time, "Hey."

Laurie's eyes quickly flicked between the members of the group and suddenly she erupted into hysterics, "You stay away from me! You're dead! You're dead!" She slammed the door and locked it.

Michael didn't know if Laurie was an alien or not but she was definitely crazy. She had threatened to kill them and they were only trying to help her.


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


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

As Liz had watched the slides of Alex's trip, the night before, she had become more and more sad. Since Max had healed her, it seemed as if all of their lives had been centered around the aliens’ problems, either solving them or waiting for the next one to occur. And it was not that she blamed them, it was just the opposite. Liz considered helping them and keeping them safe more important than anything else.

But their problems were not only consuming her life, the problems were consuming the aliens’ lives to the exclusion of everything else. They were all sacrificing their lives to this cause and it was just so unfair because there was so much to do and see in the world and Liz was afraid they would be robbed of their opportunities, their youth. The possibility had bothered her so much that she had written a note to Max to meet her so she could discuss it with him.

The sound of the door opening drew her attention and she looked over to see Max entering.

"I got your note," Max said with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liz assured him, but then thought better of her answer. "No. No, um that's not true. I've just been thinking a lot lately, and..." she trailed off and then started again. "Have you ever wanted to see Sweden?"

"Sweden?" Max asked puzzled by the sudden change of subject.

Liz could see the confusion on his face, "I mean or anywhere. Peru, Nigeria, New Zealand."

"Sure," Max agreed, "but the closest I'm gonna get right now is the Granolith chamber.” He studied her face, “Why?"

Liz sighed, "Watching Alex this week, I just realized that it's our right to see the world, to live our dreams, live life."

Max shook his head, "Liz, that can't happen."

"Why?" Liz asked.

"Because it doesn't work that way for us," he said gently. "You know that."

Liz continued, "You and Isabel and Michael and Tess are, you guys are getting cheated on a lot of things, and it's not fair. None of it is."

Max remembered the things Liz had said to him in his room months ago. She wanted to be safe and being involved with them, with him, made her anything but safe. They had been involving her too much in their problems and even though he wanted to keep her at his side, he loved her too much to force her to stay.

He took a deep breath, the words he was about to speak tearing him apart inside. "Liz, you, should get to see Sweden. We... I, hold you back."

Liz shook her head, "No, Max."

"Kyle was right," Max said.

Liz remembered Kyle's words to Max.



You and your Martian friends move in, take over, and obliterate any shred of normalcy. Our lives are no longer ours,



And Liz instantly denied them, "That's not true."

"Everyone we touch gets hurt in some way or another," Max said. "Five years from now, I don't want you to open your eyes and realize that, that you missed out. You're part of the group. You always will be. But you need to be allowed to," he paused looking for the right word, "to grow."

Max's words brought tears to her eyes and Liz pulled him into an embrace. It was obvious he only wanted the best for her and even though she knew he loved her and wanted her to stay, he was letting her go. She held him tight for a few moments and then whispered into his ear, "Why can't you come with me?"

Max held Liz to him in a desperate embrace. He loved her so much and he was terrified of losing her but as much as he wanted to just leave it all behind and go with her, he wouldn't. He wasn't giving up on her or their relationship, just the opposite, he knew that someday they would be together but right now it wasn't possible. Liz had shown him that sometimes you had to sacrifice your wants for the greater good, and right now he needed to be here. Liz already knew his answer and the reasons behind it, but he said it aloud for both of them, "Because I can't. But I'll be watching you, Liz Parker, wherever you go. And I'll be here when you get back."


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


(Roswell City Council Chambers)

Jim sat in the council room after everyone else had left. He still couldn't believe they had fired him but even though he was sorry to lose his job, he felt it was worth it because they had rescued Laurie.

The sound of the door opening drew his attention and he looked up as Dan reentered the room. His old friend had testified against him but Jim wasn't angry, because he could imagine how his actions appeared to others. "Are you sure it's wise to be alone with me?" Jim joked. "You have to go back to Santa Fe tomorrow and you might get tainted by association."

"That's real funny Jimbo," Dan said sarcastically. "Just tell me one thing. Is whatever secret you're protecting worth your job?"

"I don't know what you mean," Jim said, automatically denying Dan's accusation.

Dan studied him for a moment and then shrugged, "Maybe you don't. Maybe you are crazy just like your old man, but whatever you think is going on has changed you, and I don't know who you are anymore."

Jim shook his head, "That's funny, I was just thinking that I didn't know you anymore. There was a time when we would have backed-up each other without question."

"That's because I trusted you to do the right thing," Dan explained. "But now..." he let his sentence trail off.

Jim picked up where Dan stopped, "Now you don't."


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


(The Evans House – Max’s Room)

Max studied the sample of the blue crystal under the microscope. "I don't believe this."

"What?" Michael asked anxiously.

"It looks like they're pulsating," Max said.

"What does that mean, that they're alive?"

Max shrugged, "I don't know what it means. I've never seen anything like it but maybe we should check into Laurie's background to find out why she was taken."

Michael nodded, "Her chart in the hospital said she was in a mental hospital. Maybe we should start there."

"Okay," Max agreed. "You and Isabel go and check it out and I'll see what I can find out about these crystals."


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


(Episode - We Are Family)
(Friday, February 2nd, 2001)
(Pinecrest Psychiatric Hospital)

Isabel shivered as she looked around the room, "Can you imagine being locked up in a place like this?"

Michael didn't even have to think about his answer, "This would suck big."

"Okay, this just doesn't feel right," Isabel said. "Digging through the intimate details of these people's lives."

Michael ignored Isabel's comment and opened a file drawer and quickly scanned through the files looking for Dupree. "Yes!" he cried and pulled the file out and opened it but his elation turned to disappointment when he saw that it was empty, "No."

Isabel pushed her scruples aside and searched a pile of duffel bags, quickly realizing what they were. "Michael," she called to him, "they're full of personal belongings." She found the bag marked Dupree, opened it and pulled out a stack of photos. "Look, here. Look at this." She flipped through the old photos but stopped when a familiar face caught her attention. "My God," she said, showing the photo to Michael. "That looks just like you!"

"It is me." Michael was dumbfounded as he stared at the photo that could have been of himself. He had searched his whole life for his real family and finally he had found them.


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


(Episode - Disturbing Behavior)
(Saturday, February 3rd, 2001)
(The Evans House - Max's Room)

The mass of Ganderium crystals acted more on instinct than with actual thought. They had been surrounded by potentially dangerous humans since their capture so they had remained dormant.

But when they found themselves in an open container with a single sleeping human, they took the opportunity to sample his DNA for the defective gene they needed to build their numbers. They pushed their way out of the container and across the surface, quickly covering the nearest appendage.

The human awoke before they had finished sampling the DNA so they used their tactile strength to anchor his appendage until they had finished. Joyously they discovered the defective gene but almost immediately they discovered that the human already had Ganderium crystals in his system.

Immediately they released the human not wanting to risk harming him or their Ganderium brothers within.


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


(Episode - Disturbing Behavior)
(Sunday, February 4th, 2001)
(Roswell UFO Museum)
(Brody’s Office)

"I've been put under hypnosis before," Brody said. "It's never helped me remember anything about my experiences."

"This would be different," Isabel claimed, hoping to convince him. "I have a gift. I'm a little psychic."

Brody wondered if she was joking and looked to Max and Liz to see if they were laughing. "Come on."

Liz picked up Isabel's story, "You believe in aliens, but you don't believe in psychic phenomena?"

"I was abducted by aliens," Brody explained. "I know they exist."

"I know my gift exists," Isabel asserted.

"Aren't you at least curious?" Max coaxed.

"Okay," Brody agreed, "So what do we do?"

Isabel released a tension-filled breath and quickly took charge before he could change his mind. "Okay. Relax. Close your eyes and clear your mind. Give me your hand. This won't hurt."

She didn't know exactly what she should do to contact Larek or how much power it would take, so as she reached for his hand, she built her power to a tremendous level.

Brody continued to speak even with his eyes shut, "I just want to warn you, the last time I was put through this, I was a very difficult subject. I just don't want you to be too disappointed when..."

Isabel barely touched Brody's hand but the reaction was instantaneous. She felt her power enter his body and immediately an answering surge of power burst from him. It was like two magnets of the same polarity being forced together. She felt her power and the other react, and the resulting force threw them across the room in opposite directions.

Isabel felt herself hit the wall and then the floor, and stars danced before her eyes for a moment before she could clear them. When she could focus, Max was on the floor before her.

"You shouldn't have done that," Brody said from across the room.

"Brody?" Max asked.

"Larek," Brody's mouth answered. "This body has not been prepared for communication. Its heart has stopped."

Isabel got up painfully, but she glad the plan had worked, and she and Max went to Brody's side.

Larek continued, "It may restart once I've released him. What is it you want?"

"We need your help," Max started to explain. "We think that some form of a, a parasite was released into our Earth's ecosystem when our ship crashed fifty years ago. We think they're dangerous..."

Larek cut him off, not really having heard anything after Max said a parasite had been released. "When you say parasite, do you mean the Ganderium from your ship have escaped into the ecosystem?"

"I don't know," Max said. "It looks like blue crystals."

Larek was horrified. The Ganderium were safe as long as they remained under controlled circumstances but if they had gotten loose, he didn't even want to think about what they would do. "Earth is in serious trouble," Larek said. "You must leave now."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, not sure what Larek meant.

"Earth has become infected," Larek explained quickly. He needed to leave the body soon or he would kill the human. "You're no longer safe there. Get off the planet now."

"Okay," Max said, trying to take in everything Larek had said.

Larek took Max's 'Okay' for agreement and he pulled his consciousness out of the human to prevent further damage.

Brody's body suddenly sagged and Max knew that Larek had released him. "Wait, wait, wait!"


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


(The Antarian System)
(Planet Talros)

Larek placed the transverse thought projector aside. He didn't know that communication through a human was even possible in the manner in which Max had just contacted him. It had just been lucky that he had been close to the thought projector to receive its signal. He had felt the call in his mind somehow, probably because of his connection with the human, Brody, and rushed to the thought projector for the power burst he needed for the communication.

It was too bad the Ganderium had gotten loose on Earth. Eventually they would destroy everything, and the planet would become unlivable until the Ganderium all died out.

It was also unfortunate that Max and the others would be forced to leave. Larek didn't know if they had an alternate plan and it would probably mean they would have to return to Antar and face Khivar. Larek would harbor them on Talros if he could, but his army was no match for Khivar's mighty war-machine. Khivar could simply send a fraction of his war ships...

Larek let the thought trail off, as suddenly some of Max's words came back to him. He had been so focused on the Ganderium problem he hadn't realized what Max had been saying, but now it came back to him with the full force of the meaning. Max had said their ship had crashed fifty years before and that was what had allowed the Ganderium to escape.

Max's ship had crashed. Max hadn't said how bad the damage had been but only a hull breach would have let the Ganderium escape.

What if Max and the others didn't have a way off the planet? Larek wondered.

It would take four years for a ship to arrive from Antar, and Max and the Earth didn't have that much time.

The only chance Max and the Earth had, was to stop the Ganderium, and with no memories of their past life, they would need all the help he could give them. Larek reached for the thought projector, passing his hand over the controls. He would have to work quickly to prepare the human Brody in order to assist Max.


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


(Episode - How the Other Half Live)
(Monday, February 5th, 2001)

Tess' hands shook as she dialed Lonni's number, Liz's answer to her question echoing through her mind.



Tess had been confused by Larek's warning and asked, And just so I'm clear, when Larek said that Earth was infected, what exactly are we talking here? You know, a couple of acres? Couple of miles?

Then Liz had given her chilling answer, I think he was speaking a little more globally.



Globally, Tess thought. The whole world would become unlivable and they had to get off the planet.

"Come on, pick-up. Pick-up," Tess chanted under her breath as she listened to Lonni's phone ringing.

Finally on the fourth ring, Lonni answered with an annoyed tone in her voice, "Yeah."

"It's Tess and we've got a big problem," she started, and then quickly outlined what they had learned about the Ganderium threat.

"Wait a minute," Lonni said. "Your telling me the whole Earth can become contaminated just like that?"

"That's what Larek told us would happen if we don't stop it," Tess said, her voice raising hysterically. "We have to get off of this planet. We have to tell Nicholas what is happening and give him the Granolith and he will take us home."

"No!" Lonni exclaimed. "I will not give up my only piece of leverage that easily. You said yourself that this girl, Laurie wasn't infected yet. That will give us a little more time to get the translation and who knows, maybe in the mean time, my brother will save the world. If it starts going bad and the girl does become infected we can tell Nicholas then."

"But Lonni..." Tess argued, only to be cut off.

"You'll do as I say, Tess," Lonni said in a threatening tone. "I've waited too long for you to mess this up because you got freaked out."

"So what should I do?" asked Tess helplessly.

"You do whatever Max tells you to stop these things, that is what you do," mocked Lonni, "and if anything happens, call me immediately."


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


(Dupree House - Basement)

Laurie pulled a dress out of a box, "This is Grandma's. I never met her."

"What was her name?" Michael asked, genuinely interested.

Laurie smiled, "Ada Jane. She's dead too."

Michael was surprised that he was disappointed. He had just found his family but most of them were dead. Unconsciously he reached up to scratch his eyebrow but stopped when he saw Laurie looking at his hand.

"Can't fight who we are Michael," Laurie said. "You're Grandpa's legacy, and I'm crazy."

Michael took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You are not crazy," he asserted. "What happened to you was real. I mean, you have a right to live your life. Bobby and Meredith have tried to take that away from you, but it's yours. Just like this house is yours. Now look, I'm not what you would call an optimist, life sucks, people suck. That's reality. But you're special. You're a good person and you deserve better than to be locked up in an institution because it's more convenient for your aunt and uncle. This is your life, and this is your house.

Laurie was dumbfounded for a moment. No one had ever talked to her like Michael did. He actually believed in her. She turned to him with a smile.

Michael smiled back, hoping that he had reached her. "So your Grandpa left you the house because he didn't trust Bobby or Meredith but what about your parents?"

"I don't even remember them," Laurie said. "They died when I was little and I was raised here by Grandpa."

"Then this has been your home your whole life," Michael said, "and you should start acting like it."


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


(Frazier Woods)

The Ganderium crystals reacted to the intrusion of their nest by the two humans the only way they could, by sealing them inside and cutting off their oxygen. The hive of crystals worked cooperatively, the ones in contact with the surface oxygen passing it through the shared surface to the ones inside, so they would not die. But they could cut off the oxygen to the humans, it was their only defense.

Then they simply had to wait until the intruders died.

Then an attack started from the surface. More humans were attempting to enter the hive and the crystals worked together to reinforce the outer shell, to prevent any more intruders from invading.


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


(Roswell, NM)

The Ganderium Queen in side the borrowed human, Grant, had just reached the outskirts of town, when she received the impression that the hive was in danger. She immediately turned the vehicle and headed it back toward Frazier Woods.

It took her more than half-an-hour to arrive at the area where the hive was located but when she reached the turn-off, the other cars present alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone. She continued past the cars and parked behind some trees where she wouldn't be observed by the humans present.

She crept through the trees silently to observe the actions of the humans. They were digging around the hive, apparently attempting to get inside. Rage boiled up within her, knowing that the humans meant to do harm to her drones, and she turned back to the truck to look for a weapon.

Suddenly Grant came back to his senses. He was standing next to his truck and there were trees all around. At first he didn't realize where he was but he recognized the area almost immediately. He was in Frazier Woods.

He didn't remember how he got there but he started toward his truck. He had the compulsion to go to Tucson and he didn't know why. He didn't want to go to Tucson and he fought the urge, clapping his hand to his head as the pain started.

Suddenly he heard voices and crept through the trees until he could see who it was. He was surprised to see Isabel and Max and two other girls with shovels. They seemed to be having an intense conversation and then suddenly Isabel headed for her car.

He watched her for a moment before he made up his mind. There was something wrong with him and Isabel was the only one he could think of to turn to for help.

Grant sprinted back to his truck and put it in gear. He would follow Isabel and get her to help him.


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


Isabel awoke to find herself in a strange car. Her head throbbed painfully but she turned to see who was at her side, "Grant?"

Grant was grateful she was finally awake. He had not wanted to take Isabel but it was the only thing he could do to stop the compulsion to kill her. "I'm not doing so good Isabel. That Agent, from the FBI..." he trailed off.

"Agent Duff?" Isabel prompted.

Isabel trying to help him made him angry. It was as if she thought he didn't remember. "Yeah, I know her name, okay? I know things! She said I went to Wyoming. She asked if I stole a gun there. I don't remember!" he yelled. "When I try to remember, it just gets worse." He turned to Isabel, "You're the only one I trust Isabel. You have to help me."

Isabel didn't know what to do. Grant sounded crazy and he had kidnapped her. She looked around trying to get some bearings but she didn't recognize the area. "Okay," she said in what she hoped was a soothing tone. "Okay, I will. Just pull the car over and we'll get you some fresh air."

Grant ignored her, "Did I get shot? Huh?"

"That was you," Isabel gasped. In the last few days, she convinced herself that she had been mistaken about Grant and he couldn't possibly have been involved but she couldn't deny it any longer. Grant had been shot by the Sheriff when the rescued Laurie. He was the kidnapper.

"When did I get these scratches on my neck?" Grant asked and then answered his own question, "I don't know. Here's another one. Why am I driving to Tucson? I don't know!" he yelled. "Help me Isabel," he begged, "Please."

Isabel was practically in tears hearing Grant begging for help but suddenly he seemed to forget she was there and his voice changed as he began to chant. He seemed to be having some kind of episode or a breakdown and Isabel spoke, trying to bring him out of it. "When did this all start happening?"

Grant refocused on her, "Hard to say. Uh, I uh, have gaps in time. I think it was, when I started digging out near Pohlman Ranch. Some time last summer. Found these weird crystals."

"Oh my God," Isabel gasped, "Oh God, Larek said there was a Queen."

"What?" Grant asked, not understanding what she was saying.

"Oh God," Isabel started, trying to explain it to him, "Look Grant, you're going to be alright. Your body has been, has been taken over by something."

"What kind of, thing?"

"It's hard to explain, but it must have happened when you were digging," she broke off, her mind running on overload. Grant wasn't responsible for anything he had done and she unknowingly spoke her thoughts aloud. "God, it was the Ganderium. They must have been in the water tab..."

Isabel seemed to know what was happening to him but Grant couldn't understand what she meant and it made him even angrier. "I don't know what that means, okay?" he shouted. "I'm losing it here!"

"Grant..." Isabel soothed.

He continued as if she hadn't spoken, "Why is this happening to me? I'm a good person."

"I know," Isabel said.

Grant was surprised by her answer, "Do you?"

"Yes," she assured him.

The compulsion to kill her was becoming unbearable but he tried to fight against it. "I have to kill you, but I don't wanna." Suddenly an idea occurred to him, "There's a cell phone in my coat pocket. Grab the phone Isabel. Now!"

"Okay, okay," she said as she took the phone. She desperately wanted to help him but she didn't know what to do. He was on his way to Tucson to get Laurie, and Isabel knew he had to be stopped but she didn't know how to do it without hurting him. She tried to plead with him, "Grant."

He was barely holding himself together and he knew it wouldn't last too much longer. He stopped the car on the side of the road. "Get out of the car."

"No," Isabel said, trying to think of something she could do to help.

The compulsion to kill Isabel was overwhelming all of Grant's other thoughts. "Get out of the car!" he bellowed.

Isabel was so worried about him, she was practically in tears, and once again she tried to reach him, "I can't help you if you don't..."

Grant cut her off, "Please. Get out of the car."

She reluctantly got out of the truck but turned back to him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She watched as Grant drove away and when he was out of sight she quickly dialed the Sheriff to inform him of what was happening.


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


(The Dupree Mansion - Poolside)

Carmen held out a tray with Maria's cell phone in front of Michael, "This one is for you sir."

"Thank you," said Michael as he reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Michael, it's Max. The crystals can't live without oxygen."

"Okay," Michael said, wondering how that information applied to him.

"That's how we can stop it," Max explained.

"Well, I got a news flash for you Maxwell," Michael scoffed, "there are no crystals around here."

"So Laurie's safe?" Max asked, attempting to bring Michael around to the point of the call.

"She's under my constant watch," Michael said, "I'm not even sleeping. How are things with you?"

"Tired," Max sighed. "It's been a long couple of days."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Michael sighed, not really listening.

"It's been raining pretty hard here," Max said.

Carmen handed Michael the DVD player. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Morale's a little low," Max continued.

"Ah Max, I gotta take another patrol round the perimeter," Michael said, impatient to get off the phone.

"We'll talk later," Max said.

"Okay," Michael said, ending the conversation. He absentmindedly pressed the button he thought was end but accidentally pressed the call button and tossed the phone onto the lounger.

"Oh, Carmen," he called out. "Can I get some iced tea please?" Maria nodded and he indicated her too as he added, "For the both of us?"

Michael settled back into the lounger with a sigh of contentment. This was definitely the life.

As the opening credits started on Braveheart, Michael missed the blinking low-battery message on the cell phone and then the screen went blank.


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


When Isabel had gotten off the phone with the Sheriff, she had dialed Maria's cell phone but she had only gotten a busy signal. Then she had tried Liz but her phone had also been busy so Isabel had known Liz and Maria they were talking to one another.

Isabel waited a few minutes, hoping they had ended their call and tried again. After one ring, Maria's phone was answered and Isabel started to blurt out a warning, "Hey you guys have gotta get..." but stopped as she heard the familiar voice on the message.

"The customer you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try your call again later."

"Damn," Isabel said, knowing what unavailable meant. "Can't Maria ever remember to charge her cell phone batteries?"

Isabel didn't have the Dupree's number and dialed information, but discovered they were unlisted. Then she called Liz, but none of the group knew the Dupree's number either. There was no way to warn Michael that Grant was coming. Isabel just hoped Valenti got there in time.


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


As Jim drove to the Sheriff's station, he considered what to tell Agent Duff. If he tried to tell her too much she wouldn't believe him, but he couldn't just let her walk into the situation completely unprepared.

He glanced at his watch. Isabel said they had a couple of hours. If they could get to Tucson ahead of Grant, there was a chance they could stop him. Jim decided he would tell Duff anything to get her there and then he would worry about explanations later.


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


(Dupree Mansion – Basement)

Michael reached the bottom step just as the jellyfish-like creature emerged from Grant's chest and he hobbled to the door, "Everybody out! Now! Now!"

Valenti waited until everyone was out and he pulled the door shut.

"Okay," Maria said, "whatever you're gonna do, do it quick. That thing looks pissed!"

Michael spotted the ventilation fan and instantly an idea came to him. He raised his hand and used his power to run the fan, quickly siphoning all of the air out of the room. Then he closed the vent and they watched as the Ganderium Queen started to throw herself into the walls, seeking an escape.

"What did you do?" Jim asked Michael.

Michael shrugged, "Max said they need oxygen to live. So I just sucked all the air out."

The Queen's actions became more and more desperate as she consumed the last of the oxygen. In a desperate last attempt to escape she threw herself against the small window in the door, but the force of the impact ruptured her thin outer membrane and she died instantly.

"Simple," Michael said, enormously proud of himself for saving the world.

"So it's, it's over?" Laurie asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Jim sighed, "Guess that depends on what happens to the rest of the crystals."

Michael looked at Agent Duff for the first time. He hadn't had time to consider that he was using his powers in front of her, his only thought was to stop the Ganderium Queen.

He watched silently as she turned to go back upstairs and caught the Sheriff's attention. Michael motioned to Agent Duff with a jut of his chin and directed his question to Jim, "What about..."

Jim nodded, "I'll take care of it."


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


"So looks like I have two options," Agent Duff started. "Tell the truth about everything I've seen, or write a false report and commit a felony."

"Not very attractive options," Jim agreed.

"I know," she sighed.

"I always took a very legal approach to my job," Jim explained. "If I couldn't put it in a report, or swear to it in a court of law, in my mind, it never happened."

"Just walk away?" she asked.

Jim nodded, "That would be my advice. Sometimes it's better just to walk away with your victories."

"And what about the body downstairs with the blue crystals sticking out of its chest?" she asked. "What do we tell people happened to him?"

Jim remained silent and took a slow sip of his drink.

Agent Duff nodded, "We don't tell them anything because there will be no body." She looked at Jim intently, "Have you had to do this kind of thing before? And what about Michael? What was that he did in the basement?"

Jim studied the liquid in his glass, "Do you really want to know?"

She thought for a moment and then shook her head, "No, I don't."

Jim nodded once in agreement.

"I guess officially Sorensen will just have to be the one that got away," Duff said.


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


Isabel had been sitting next to Grant's body for only a few minutes when the Ganderium crystals seemed to quiver and then suddenly they melted, running down the sides of the cot and forming a blue puddle on the floor.

Isabel stood and brushed her hand over Grant's forehead. She still couldn't believe he was dead. They had been together just a couple of hours ago and even though she hadn't been able to help him, she genuinely thought it would all work out.

Her eyes wandered down to the gaping wound in his chest. She knew that she didn't have the strength to fix his ravaged flesh but she could at least partially repair the damage. She passed her hand over Grant's chest, closing his skin, fixing his torn clothing and cleaning him. Grant was a good person and it was the least she could do for him.

When she had arrived, the Sheriff had told her what had happened, how Grant had sacrificed himself to stop the creature within him. Isabel wiped at a tear that ran down her cheek. She wished she could have found a way to help him, he deserved so much more than this.

She knew they couldn't turn his body over to the authorities because there would be too many questions. They would have to get rid of his body and no one would know he had died a hero. Grant had told her that he had no family living, so at least there would be no one to wonder what happened to him but there would also be no one to mourn him, except herself.


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


Kyle, Alex, Liz, Max and Tess had gotten together for an impromptu celebration at the Crashdown that night, to celebrate saving the world. They had danced and eaten and toasted one another with Cherry Coke until midnight, and Tess was almost giddy as she climbed into her car to head home.

She had worked as part of the group and they had all accepted her, even Max. He had treated her like a friend, he had listened to her opinions and he had especially invited her to come to the Crashdown with them to celebrate. Max was letting her into his life more and more and she was soon he would accept her into her proper place at his side.

Tess smiled as she remembered the party. She and Liz had talked and laughed and danced, and Tess had started to wonder if they might have been friends had they met under different circumstances. Liz was nice and now that she wasn't after Max, Tess thought maybe they could be friends.

Tess' pleasant thoughts lasted until she remembered Lonni and then all of her fantasies of the future evaporated. As soon as the translation was finished, she, Max and the others would be leaving for Antar. But, Tess reminded herself, she would have a future with Max, it just wouldn't be on Earth.

She pulled off the road and dialed Lonni's number.

It was answered after one ring, "Yeah."

"It's over," Tess said. "Everything is okay."

"See, I told you it would work out," Lonni said.

"Yeah," Tess agreed unenthusiastically.

"So we are right back on schedule."

"I just wish that stupid computer would hurry up," Tess said.

"Be patient a little longer," Lonni soothed, "and we'll get everything we want."


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


Lonni ended the call with a roll of her eyes, "What a scrub."

Rath laughed, "Why don't we just get the location of the Granolith and get rid of her? The computer is working on the translation so we don't need her anymore."

Lonni shook her head, "It's good to have someone close to Max. You never know when she might come across with information like this Ganderium thing." She shrugged, "Besides, Tess is going to 'suddenly' remember how to read the book and tell Max how to use the Granolith."

Rath shook his head, "Tess gets on my nerves, just like Ava."

Lonni shrugged, "At least Tess has been a little more useful than Ava. We should keep her around until we get what we want. We might need Tess to use her unique talents, but even if we don't, we will have someone we can blame this whole thing on if it goes wrong."



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


TBC

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 6


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


(Episode - Viva Las Vegas)
(Friday, February 16th, 2001)
(West Roswell High School)

Michael was waiting for Max outside his third period class. "So Max, will that plan to cover our absence stretch to include a few others?"

"Like Isabel?" Max asked.

"No," Michael said, shaking his head.

"Yes," Max nodded. "She heard us talking this morning and she wants to come."

"Great." Michael said unenthusiastically. "Maria invited Alex and Tess found out and invited herself and Kyle too. The whole damn town is coming."


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


Liz ran down the school hall, hoping the group hadn't left yet. At first she had been adamant about avoiding Vegas but as the day passed, Maria's words kept echoing in her mind.



What happened between you and Max is unspeakably intense, but the marriage thing never actually really happened, so you've gotta let go of it. You've got to create your own memories.



Liz had started to think that Maria was right. Here was an opportunity to go and have a good time and she should take advantage of it, and maybe it would help her push the thoughts of what could-have-been out of her mind. As she rounded the corner she saw the gang turn toward the door, and she called out, "Hey! You got room for one more?"

"Oh, I'm so proud of you," Maria said as she pulled Liz into a hug.

"Yeah," Max said, surprised but pleased that Liz wanted to come with them, "but let's get out of the hall before someone starts asking questions."

Michael rolled his eyes at the thought of Liz coming. He could just imagine her reaction to what he had planned, and he reached out to stop her. "No lecturing, no moralizing, no whining about spending money on the homeless. This weekend it's about fun and debauchery. You got it?"

"Yeah," Liz agreed. "I know how to have fun."

Michael pictured Liz's almost compulsive organization of the Crashdown. "Right," he said sarcastically.

Max lagged behind the others to talk to Liz, "I didn't put your name on the debate team list because I didn't know you were coming, but we can figure out something to excuse you from class."

"It's okay, Max," Liz assured him. "My last class is with Ms. Tatum. I told her that I wanted to do some extra research for my final paper so she said I could go to the library."

"Good," Max said with a smile. "I'm glad you're covered. I would hate to ruin your perfect attendance record."

Liz smiled back, knowing he was joking and pushed him playfully. "Dork." She laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"What about your parents?" Max asked.

"Maria, Alex and I have an old system where we all call the parents and tell them we are spending the night at each others' houses," Liz explained.

Max nodded, "Isabel and I did the same thing, except we told her we were staying with Michael."

"So we're completely free," Liz said wistfully, "and no one will even know we're gone."


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


(Las Vegas, NV)
(Bali Hai Hotel & Casino)

Tess was still upset that she and Liz had been turned away from the casino. "You know what it is?" she ranted, "It's because we're small. If we weren't so damn short, he would have totally bought that we were 21. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to mind warp the security guard, making him think that we are five-ten and then we just go in."

Liz sighed. She had thought that she and Maria would go shopping and maybe see a show, but now that Maria had gone off by herself, Liz felt at loose ends. She had thought she would be so busy that there would be no time to consider the wedding that she and Max would have had but that was all she was thinking about. The city, the casino, the constant references to Elvis were just too much and she felt more and more depressed. The last thing she wanted to do was go into the casino and gamble. "Tess, I'm fine here in the arcade," Liz said.

Tess had started to think that Liz would make a good friend but she was beginning to wonder if she had been wrong. She should have stayed with Isabel, Tess thought. Isabel knew how to have fun but Liz was too uptight to just relax and enjoy. "Great," Tess said aloud, unmindful of Liz's feelings, "I'm stuck in the party capital of the world with Liz Parker. If we're feeling dangerous we could challenge a couple of eight-year-old boys to foosball or go for the ice capades."

Liz had tried to keep her feelings of mistrust and dislike of Tess to herself, she had even tried to be a friend, but Tess' outburst made her angry. Liz had given up Max and her chance of happiness for Tess, and not only was Tess ungrateful but she was mean. It was because of Tess' selfishness that the world had ended in the first place and Liz uncharacteristically lashed out. "You know, for your information I didn't want to come to Vegas in the first place. I knew that this was going to be the most miserable trip of my life. I knew it. But I didn't listen to my instincts. And by the way Tess, I don't enjoy being stuck with you either."


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


Maria sighed as she rode up in the elevator between Max and Michael. Neither of them had said a word since they had left the jail, except a grunted 'Thanks' from Max, and she was tired of it.

"So," she started in a sunny tone, "you boys going back for the trial or are you hardened criminals going to skip-out on the bail?"

Michael snorted, "We gave them fake IDs. We're not going back. They're not gonna be looking for a couple of kids in New Mexico."

Max remained silent but his scowl deepened.

Maria was genuinely surprised. She had never seen them this mad at one another. "So do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked carefully.

Michael shook his head, "Nothing happened. Just two good friends getting slapped in jail after a night on the town."


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


Max stumbled into the cab in a state of shock because of what he had just seen. The vision of himself and Liz had seemed so real. He had never experienced anything like it.

He wondered how he could have seen it. He and Liz had noticed the ad for the Elvis wedding chapel just a few moments before, and he had to admit the thought had crossed his mind that under other circumstances he would have asked Liz to marry him. But he had never had a thought or a wish turn into a vision.

As the cab sped toward the airport the scene replayed in his mind over and over. The Max and Liz in the vision had been radiantly happy and even now he could still feel their joy.

He and Liz had been headed toward marriage if things had not gone so terribly wrong. A brief picture of Liz in bed with Kyle flashed through Max's mind but he quickly pushed it away. Maybe he had created the vision of the marriage himself because it was what he had wanted all along. Maybe it didn't matter that Liz had slept with Kyle to try and drive a wedge between them. Maybe he was ready to forgive her and try again.

Or maybe the vision was fate's way of telling him that it was time to give their relationship another chance.

He leaned forward to speak to the driver, "I've changed my mind. Take me back to the hotel."

The ride seemed to take forever but finally they arrived. Max sprinted to the door and across the lobby to the elevators.

He finally reached the door to the suite and used his powers to unlock it. He went into his room where he saw the suit that Maria had purchased for him, lying across the bed. Max shed his clothes and took a quick shower before donning the new suit. He used his powers to dry his hair and smooth the creases in the suit before heading back downstairs.

Max paused just inside the entrance of the elegant dining room and looked around for the group, but his eyes immediately lit on Liz. For a moment the breath was knocked from his lungs as he took in the full extent of her beauty. Her hair was pulled up off of her neck with only a few dark tendrils hanging loose brushing her shoulders. The rich red of her dress complimented her pale complexion and Max thought she had never looked so beautiful.

As Max crossed the room toward her, he was more convinced than ever that he and Liz belonged together, he could feel it in every fiber of his being. In the past few months their friendship had grown deeper and richer and they understood one another like no one else. Tonight he would take the first steps toward winning her back and even if it took the rest of his life, he would convince Liz that they should be together.


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


Episode - Viva Las Vegas
(Saturday, February 17th, 2001)
(Bali Hai Hotel and Casino - Presidential Suite)

Song Playing: Open Arms by Journey

Liz walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She spun around, making her dress twirl out around her. Even the Sheriff's lecture couldn't dampen her spirits because she had just spent the night dancing in Max's arms.

The evening had not started out as promising. Max had left to go home and Liz had been sitting alone at the table in the dining room, in one of the lowest moods of her life. But then Max had suddenly appeared before her.

He had not said a word when he reached out to her, but they had never needed words. Max had led her silently onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms and Liz had not even thought of objecting. It was where she belonged.

When Max told her about his vision, Liz had been shocked. Max had described the one thing that had been upper-most in her mind all day, and for a moment she wondered if he had somehow read her mind. She had dismissed the thought a moment later, but it had only left her to wonder how he had gotten the vision.

Maybe somehow she had communicated it to him, or maybe the place itself had somehow retained the memory through time and space. Or maybe, Liz thought, it was fate's way of showing her that she really could be with Max.

For a moment she had faltered in her resolve never to tell Max the truth about what had happened with Kyle, the words almost tumbling out of her mouth. But then Maria's song had ended and Max had turned away from her and the moment had been lost. Liz had actually been relieved that she hadn't told Max the truth, but the possibility of a reunion with him had remained in her mind.

The feeling had grown stronger as she had passed the evening dancing with Max, and even stronger as she had witnessed Tess and Kyle together. Tess was truly one of the group now and Liz thought she had seen the beginnings of a special relationship between Tess and Kyle.

Liz had always hoped it might be possible for herself and Max to reunite in the future but the events of the evening made her think it might be sooner than she had ever imagined. Obviously Max had felt the same when they had danced. It had been like they were together again, a magical evening, neither one of them wanting to break the mood. The problems and circumstances that had been keeping them apart hadn't existed and they were free to just enjoy being together.

And no matter how much they wanted the evening to last forever, it had ended too soon. But Liz could still feel the magic and it gave her hope for the future.


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


(Thursday, March 22nd, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

Kyle took a seat next to his father at the table where he was going over the bills, and placed his keys on top of the pile.

"What's this?" Jim asked.

"My car keys."

Jim nodded, "Well I can see that, but what are you doing with them?"

"Dad, I know you said that we could get by on your unemployment pay and savings for a while, but I feel guilty every time I drive that car."

Jim started to speak but Kyle cut his off, "Let me finish, Dad. I love that car and it is the greatest sixteenth birthday present ever, but it's expensive, we can't afford it and I want you to sell it."

Jim picked up the keys and held them out to Kyle, "I gave you the car because I wanted you to have it. It'll be okay, Kyle. We're getting by. I know things look bad now but all of this will blow over in a few weeks and I'll get another job."

Kyle shook his head, "Until then, the money you save on the car payment will really help. I don't want you to spend all of your savings. Dad please."

Jim hesitated for a moment and then smiled. "Okay, Kyle if that's what you want."


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


(Episode - Off the Menu)
(Friday, April 13th, 2001)
(Roswell UFO Museum)

Brody put on the VR helmet and ran the simulation he had constructed of his home. "Computer, run abduction simulation one-point-five." He looked around the virtual site of his home and mused aloud, "All right, I was home, minding my own business. Suddenly I'm gone for three days. Where did I go? Computer, run simulation one-point-six."

The computer loaded the new simulation and Brody looked around and nodded his head, "Yes, something like this." He had constructed the room from flashes of memories he had received in his dreams, but this was the first time he had been inside it, the first time he had been able to see it in the correct perspective. He continued his thoughts aloud. "I remember being in a room like this, but, but this doesn't look very alien, more like a warehouse."

As he looked around, more flashes of memory came to him, "And there were other people here. Humans. Computer, add human forms to program, three male, three female." As the other forms materialized, his flashes of memory started to overlap the simulation, "Yes, I was here, doing something. I was talking!" he suddenly remembered.

"If I could just remember what I was..." he was cut off as the computer beeped a message - Memory disk full. Brody was glad he had spent a small fortune on the state-of-the-art system and he simply instructed the computer to use more of the hard-drive space as memory, "Override, continue simulation."

He became the virtual Brody sitting at the table. "Yes, I was sitting here and to my left I remember a boy." Suddenly he had a flash of a face overlapping the virtual body, and a name popped into his head, "Nicholas!"

He smiled, thrilled that he was remembering more, and he looked down to the other end of the table as he continued to speak, "And at the end of the table was..." Brody broke off as a face flashed into his memory, over the virtual man at the end of the table. "Oh, my god," he gasped, "Max! How could Max be in…"

He was cut off as a jolt of electricity shot through the helmet. He struggled to get it off but he was shocked again and again, and then there was nothing but darkness.


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


Tess parked her car in front of the UFO Museum and picked up the box with a smile. When she had seen the black sweater on sale, she had automatically thought how nice it would look on Max. In the past, she would never have considered getting it for him because she knew he wouldn't accept, but over the last few weeks she and Max had been hanging out more and becoming better friends and Tess had felt it was okay to follow her urge to buy it for him.

She could almost picture his reaction to the gift. He would say, 'You shouldn't have,' but he would be smiling at her with a gleam in his eyes that said exactly the opposite. And every time he wore the sweater, he would think of her.

Tess got out of the car and headed toward the door of the museum, but just as she reached for it, there was a power surge and then all of the lights went out. She looked around noting that all of the lights were out on the street and in the buildings, for as far as she could see. She shrugged and turned back to the door but when she pulled on the handle, the door was locked. She used her powers on the keypad to open the door and slipped inside, gently shutting it to leave the door ajar, so it wouldn't lock behind her.

She went down the steps carefully because it was very dark inside and she could barely see. She opened her mouth to call out, but a sound to her right drew her attention and she turned to investigate, hoping it was Max. A meeting in the dark would be very romantic.

It only took her a moment to see there was nothing behind the staircase but then she heard footsteps in the main room and peeked around the stairs. Max was standing at the fuse box and she called out as she approached him, "It's not a fuse, the lights are out all over town, the streetlights and everything." She gazed at his handsome face for a moment and then remembered the box, "Oh," she said, extending the box toward him, "this is for you."

Max's hands stayed at his side and he looked at Tess suspiciously, "What is it?"

Still immersed in her fantasy about his reaction, Tess didn't' hear the caution in Max's tone and continued playfully, "You have to open it to find out."

"What's the occasion?" Max asked.

Finally the truth penetrated Tess' delusion and she felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. After everything that had happened, Max still didn't trust her. She lashed out at him in frustration, "Does there have to be an occasion, Max? It's just a gift. You know, I saw a black sweater on sale, v-neck, and I thought of you. If you don't want it I can just give it to Kyle."


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


(Roswell UFO Museum)

Brody started to walk away from Max and Tess, and then suddenly he remembered. He turned back to them, excited, "That's it!"

"What?" Max asked.

"Dimaras rock," Brody said. "I couldn't remember before, but the name just came to me. Dimaras, after the third moon. That's where you two first met." The blank look on Max's face frustrated him, "You must remember? Dimaras rock, it juts out over the water." He savored the memory, "Ah, I can see it so clearly. The moon hanging over the horizon, and the color of the water, crimson red."

He focused on Max again, "I was there with you before you were King. We were swimming, and you looked up, and saw her on a rock. You said she was the most beautiful girl you'd ever seen. But of course you were too afraid to go talk to her. I offered to make the approach on your behalf, but you told me not to. Back then you were always so nervous and quiet. But lucky for you I was neither shy nor obedient. So I went and met her and introduced you two the same night."

"At a party," Tess said.

Max listened to Brody's story with growing discomfort. He didn't want to know anything about his past and when Tess seemed to confirm the story, Max went into instant denial. "That's a nice story," he said to Brody.

Brody was hurt and disappointed by Max's reaction, "It's not a story. It's the truth. Don't you remember? Please Zan, I have to know that what's in my head is real."

"I'm sorry, Brody," Max said quietly, "but none of that is real. None of that happened."

Brody only had scattered pieces of memories in his head, but he clearly remembered that night. He could also see a few memories of their past selves together, and then he had a flash of Zan in wedding finery. Brody shook his head. They had to be memories. He couldn't have just made it up. "But you do love her," Brody insisted, "I know you do. I was there when you met."

"You're wrong," Max said, more certain than ever. He had never loved Tess, he knew it in his heart. The thought of being with Tess just felt wrong. They didn't belong together and even if they had been married in their other life, he had not loved her. "We're not in love," he told Brody. "We never have been."


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


(Crashdown Cafe)

Michael started to rise from the table, "I'm outta here."

"No, wait," Liz protested, "we're still on duty. We don't close for another four hours."

"Come on Liz," Michael complained, "there's no power. There's no customers. There's nothing to do."

"But the power could come back any time," Liz argued.

Michael sighed, "I'm sure you can handle the dinner rush." He motioned to Isabel, "Come on, Iz, let's go get Max."

"Okay," Isabel agreed. She took a bite of the burger she had cooked with her powers and made a face because of the flavor. "You were right," she told Michael as she quickly swallowed. "This is really bad." She let the food on the table and followed Michael outside, "I've never noticed a bad taste before," Isabel said, "and I heat things that way all the time."

As they crossed the street Michael explained, "It's fine if you heat food with your powers but cooking meat from scratch makes it turn out really bad. It's like cooking meat in the microwave. It just doesn't taste right. I used to do it to Hank's food sometimes when he'd make me cook for him."

"But I've cooked things with my powers before," Isabel protested, and then became thoughtful, "I think."

Michael looked at her, "Yeah, right. You're a regular Betty Crocker."


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


(Roswell UFO Museum)

Tess watched as Max gazed at Liz across the room, and suddenly everything clicked into place. The way he had denied their past together, the reason he had rejected her gift. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"

Max's eyes hardly left Liz. How did he describe to Tess what he didn't understand himself? What he felt for Liz was so much beyond a simple word like love, he didn't even know where to start. Liz was the other half of him, his friend, his soul mate. Without her he simply existed, but together they created a glorious spiritual harmony. Max shook his head and decided to go with the simple answer, "It's hard to describe what I feel for Liz."

"I know," Tess said, "It's what you and I used to have."

"Tess..." Max started to protest, but Tess cut him off.

"You know, everything Brody said is true," Tess asserted. "I know it is."

Max remained silent and Tess knew he was ignoring her. She supposed she should have seen it coming but she had been so certain Max was starting to turn to her. Of course she had seen Max dancing with Liz in Vegas but she had assumed it was just a friend thing but now she knew the truth.


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


"Hey," Sean greeted Liz with a smile.

"Hey," Liz answered.

"When this is all over do you wanna grab dinner?" he asked her.

Maria sighed, "How can you be wounded and on the make at the same time?"

Liz smiled, "Are you serious?"

Sean motioned to his wound, "I'm bleedin' here. Doesn't get much more serious than that."

"Yeah, let me think about it," Liz said.

"Hey," Maria objected, "aren't you involved with someone?"

Liz looked at Max and then turned her concentration back to Sean. There were things that were more urgent than the state of her relationship with Max. She checked under the cloth she was pressing to Sean’s wound, to see if the bleeding had stopped. There had been a lot of blood and everyone had assumed it was a bad wound, but as she examined it, Liz could see it was simply a short, shallow gash. "This really isn't that bad, you know," she told Sean.

Sean shrugged, "But we didn't know that at first and," he protested and then dropped the pretense and winked at her. "And it got your attention."


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


"Everything's fine," Max announced to the others, as he led Brody into the room, after healing him. "This is all just a big misunderstanding. Nothing happened down here today."

"My ass!" Sean said. "This guy needs to be put away."

"Sean," Liz chastised.

Sean looked at Liz, "Give me one reason why I wouldn't tell the cops."

Liz thought for a second, "Because I'll go out with you."

Sean smiled, "Okay. So, I fell down the stairs."

Liz looked at the blood on his shirt and reached for one of Amy's T-shirts, "Here, put this on."

As Sean took the shirt, Liz crossed to Max and whispered to him, "Don't worry about Sean, I'll take care of it."


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


Max waited until they were outside the museum and away from anyone who might overhear, before he confronted Tess. "So how long have you had the power to alter memories?"

Tess shrugged. "I don't really know, but I discovered it a few weeks ago," she lied. She had known about the power for almost six months but hadn't told Max or the others because she had though it might come in handy.

Max's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How did you discover it?"

"I found out accidentally," Tess explained. "Mr. Larsen said he was going to give us a pop-quiz on the chapter he had assigned the night before, but I didn't read it and I started wishing that he would just forget he was going to give us a quiz. So class just kept going like normal and then the bell rang and he had forgotten to give us the quiz."

"That could have just been a coincidence," Max said.

"Yeah, I thought so too so I did a couple of experiments to make sure, and I found out that I could change people's memories. It's kinda like mind warping except I just think of what I want them to remember instead of what they really remember, but it takes a lot of my energy." She put her hand to her head, "Just changing one little thing can give me a headache for the rest of the day."

Max shook his head disapprovingly, "You can't just go around messing with people's minds."


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


(Episode - Off the Menu)
(Saturday, April 14th, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

Max stopped in front of Tess' window. He had been thinking all day about what had happened at the UFO museum and trying to decide what to do.

The images he had seen when he’d healed Brody had caught him completely off guard and he still didn't know how he felt about them.

Tess had told him months ago that she could help him recover memories of their other life but he’d never been interested. At first he hadn’t wanted to remember. He was afraid of what might happen if he remembered Tess in their other life, scared of what it might mean to his relationship with Liz. He was positive that he couldn't have loved Tess like he loved Liz, but he didn't want to remember anything about his past, especially if it involved his wife.

He was also afraid if he remembered his other life, it would somehow make him a different person. What he knew of Antar was like a bad dream and he was afraid if he remembered, his whole perception of his life would change. His world and his people would become real to him and helping them would mean leaving Earth and Liz, which was the last thing he wanted.

But when he’d healed Brody, Max had received flashes of Larek's memories of his other life, and instead of being all of the things he had feared, the memories seemed familiar, safe even. And for the first time, he was curious about what had happened on Antar, and thousands of questions flew through his mind.

As he looked through the open window, he could see Tess laying in her bed. She had the answers to all of his questions, and before he could change his mind he climbed through the window.

Tess sat up when she saw him. "Max? Max, what is it?" she asked anxiously. She knew something must be wrong. Max never approached her unless he needed her help.

Max sat down next to her. "Well, when I healed Brody, I saw these, these flashes, of Brody, of Larek, but also…" he trailed off, still unsure of revealing his memories to her.

Tess' heart was in her throat. What had Max seen in Larek's memories? What if Max had seen the truth about what had happened on Antar, and he was here to confront her about it? Tess was scared but she had to know. She concentrated on keeping her voice even. "But also what?" Tess prompted him.

Max looked at Tess, "I remember you."

Tess practically collapsed with relief and then her eyes filled with tears of joy. Max remembered her!

Max didn't know what he had expected, but Tess' tears made him ashamed that he had treated her so badly in the past and he reached up and gently brushed a tear from her cheek.

Tess smiled. Max obviously didn't remember the whole truth yet and she could use that to her advantage. She carefully gathered her power and started a mind warp on him. She could feel his own power just under the surface but his natural defenses were down and it was easy for her to slip past them.

She couldn't risk letting Max or the others going to Brody or Larek again, it would just be too dangerous because she didn't know how much Larek knew. She would have to do the same to Michael and Isabel later but she started with Max, placing a compulsion in his mind to avoid Brody and Larek. She used Max's own desire not to hurt people as the excuse for him to not contact Larek, reinforcing in his mind that Brody's heart had stopped the first time, and then today he had nearly been driven insane.

Then Tess placed the desire in Max to work on recovering his memories with her help. That way she could make sure he only remembered the things she wanted him to remember.

Her mind wandered back to yesterday evening. She had been so upset when she’d realized that Max's feelings for Liz had not diminished. Even after everything that had happened, he had been willing to sacrifice himself to save Liz. Tess had thought that she and Max had been growing closer but obviously she had just been fooling herself again.

When Brody had remembered that she and Max had originally met at a party, Max had not even been willing to listen and he had cavalierly denied their past together. Brody had only wanted Max to tell him he wasn't crazy, and all Max had to do was tell him it was the truth. But Max had been so adamant against even the possibility that they had been in love, that he completely discounted Brody's memories as fantasy.

Tess had been so shocked and disappointed by Max's reaction, that for minutes afterward, she had been unable to speak. She had been so excited that Brody shared one of her most precious memories because somehow it made it more real. But Max had shattered her happiness when he had instantly denied their past together, like he was positive it never could have happened.

But by helping Max recover his memories, she not only would have to spend a lot of time with him in intimate settings, but she could also use the sessions to get closer to him. She would use her powers to slowly turn Max away from Liz then Max would come to her and they would be together like they were meant to be.


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


(Sunday, April 15th, 2001)
(The Pizza Pan)

Song Playing: Nothing Compares to You by Sinead O’Connor

Liz glanced at Sean across the table from her. She had only agreed to the date with him to protect Max but she still felt guilty being there. She knew Sean liked her and it felt dishonest accepting a date with him just to buy his slience.

And she knew Max would never have wanted her to go to such lengths to shield him. In her mind she could see the disapproving look on his face as if he were sitting across from her. And she did feel ashmed, but she would do much more to protect Max, had done much more. She loved him, and that would never change.

The waiter put the drinks on the table and Sean waited until he was gone before he leaned across the table to whisper his question, "So Liz, what is the deal with that Brody guy?"

Liz had anticipated the question and was ready with an answer. "There's nothing wrong with him, Sean. He just has a little, um, mental disorder, but he's fine as long as he takes his medication."

"He wasn't fine the other night," Sean pointed out.

Liz shook her head, "He took some cold medicine and it reacted with his, um, other medication and he had some hallucinations. He really is a good person, Sean. Thanks for not saying anything about what happened."

Sean shrugged, "I understand that people can do stupid things and they deserve another chance."

Liz smiled, "That wouldn't be from personal experience, would it?"

"Yeah, there are definitely things I would do differently." He lowered his eyes to his glass, "My parents won't even speak to me."

"Is that why you wanted to stay with Amy and Maria?" Liz asked.

"Yeah," Sean said. "When I got sent to juvie, my parents said they didn't want anything to do with me anymore. My dad said I was a black sheep just like his brother, Maria's father."

"That must have been terrible," Liz said, concerned. "So what are you going to do?"

"Well, part of my parole is that I have to get my high school equivalency, since I just turned eighteen. If I can do that and show my parents I’ve really reformed, maybe they'll change their minds about me."

"And have you reformed?" Liz asked.

Sean winked at her, "I'm a regular choir-boy, Parker."


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


(Episode - Heart of Mine)
(Wednesday - April 25th, 2001)
(West Roswell High School)

"So you actually remember our planet?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Max said.

Michael couldn't believe how fast it had happened. Max had only been working with Tess for a few days and already he had started to remember. Michael asked the first question that came into his mind to distract Max from his unease, "What are the chicks like?"

Max sighed, disappointed that Michael wasn't excited about his breakthrough. "If you're not going to take this seriously..."

Michael cut him off, "I seriously wanna know what the chicks are like."

Max shook his head, "It's not that literal, they're just these images. In one way I have this, this really clear feeling about everything. In another way everything seems so ephemeral." He noticed the confused look on Michael's face, "You know, uh..."

"... transient, fleeting, impermanent," Michael finished for him. "I know what ephemeral means Maxwell. It's my life." He was glad Max had misinterpreted the reason for the strange look on his face. Trying to explain to Max why he didn't want to remember their other life was just not something he wanted to do now.

Max continued, "Michael, I remember everyone. You, Isabel..." Max let his sentence trail off as he caught sight of Tess with Kyle. "For some reason Tess is the clearest."

Michael watched Max walk away and felt a shiver of dread race down his spine. He had feigned interest in Max's recovered memories to stop Max from discovering the truth. Max was so into recovering his memories, and Michael knew Max wouldn't understand his apprensions.

When Tess had originally told him last summer, that she could help him remember the past, Michael had been eager to do it. Tess had said he would need to be able to control his powers more before he would be able to remember anything from his other life, and Michael had worked diligently to gain control. But as time passed, Michael began to have doubts. Did he really want to remember what had happened in his other life? What if remembering the past made him a different person?

Each time Tess had asked him if he was ready to try, he had postponed the lessons with one lame excuse after another, and now he was more certain than ever that he didn't want to remember his other life at all.


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


Song Playing: Broken Wings by Mr. Mister

Max had been looking for Liz everywhere and he finally saw her sitting at a table. He approached with the sense of excitement building. “Hey.”

“Oh, hey,” Liz greeted him warmly.

Max jumped right in, wanting his best friend to share his news. “There's a, there's something I've been wanting to tell you. “

“Yeah?” Liz asked.

They were distracted by a couple at a nearby table, and suddenly Liz was disappointed. “The prom.”

“Yeah,” Max agreed.

Liz shrugged, “Yeah, it seems like Michael and Maria aren't going.”

Max smiled, “Well, I, I think that one might be a little too early to call.”

Liz smiled sadly, thinking of all the plans she had envisioned. “It's really weird, you know. A year ago I was so certain that the four of us would go together. I always pictured that moment, you know, walking in through those double doors together. I even bought a dress.”

“You did?” Max asked surprised.

“Yeah,” Liz admitted. “Well, you know it was around that time last year when we first kissed and everything seemed so...” she trailed off, remembering the reasons they weren’t together.

And Max finished her sentence, “Simpler.”

“Yeah,” Liz nodded. “Max, I know that we're not seeing each other and I accept that, I do. But, um, this is my prom, you know, it really means a lot to me. I, I've put a lot of thought into it.”

Max listened to her heartfelt words with growing excitement. The Prom could be just the thing to rekindle the romance between them. He tried to act casual, so he didn’t scare Liz off as he blandly made the suggestion. “Well, you know, we can go.”

“We can?” Liz asked, the excitement building within her as well. She had never even dared to hope Max might ask her, and now that he had she felt optimistic about their future for the first time.

“Yeah,” Max agreed enthusiastically and then tried to calm down as he offered his explanation. “I mean, okay, fine, we're not together, but we're also not with anyone else.”

“Right,” Liz agreed, somewhat disappointed. She had hoped that Max wanted to begin their relationship again too, but they had to start somewhere and going out as friends was a good place. “I, I mean it doesn't have to be some life changing thing. It can just, you know, we can just go and have a good time.”

Max smiled, “I would love that.”

“Me too,” Liz said dreamily, and then remembered Max had wanted to talk to her. “Oh, um, so was there something that you wanted to tell me.”

Max was so wrapped up in taking Liz to the Prom that he had nearly forgotten his real reason for coming to her. “Right. I'm starting to remember things, about my planet, my life. My other life.”

Liz could see Max’s excitement. “Wow.”

“Yeah, yeah, it's, it's weird. Like, for the first time, I can remember things. You know, like what it smelled like, what it felt like to be there.”

“Yeah, that, that's great,” Liz agreed, even though inside she suddenly felt her hope deflate. Since they had discovered the truth about Max and the others, Liz had been terrified Max would remember his love for his otherworldly wife, and now that he was regaining his memories it only seemed like a matter of time.

“Yeah,” Max continued, “I've been dying to tell you.”

“Yeah, yeah, that, that, that must be really exciting,” Liz stuttered, trying to cover her shock. “Wow, so um, do you remember like actual people, you know, like Michael and Isabel?”

“Yeah, more like their energy than what anyone actually looks like,” Max said.

Liz nodded and asked the question she especially wanted answered, “Right. What about Tess?”

“Yeah, I remember her too,”

“That's great,” Liz intoned.

Max was oblivious to her discomfort, already too caught up in the plans for the Prom. It would be the perfect opportunity to put the past behind them and rekindle their relationship. He smiled, thinking ahead. He would show Liz they belonged together and then nothing would come between them ever again.


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


(Episode - Heart of Mine)
(Thursday, April 26th, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

A knock at her door caused Tess to look up from her homework, "Oh Kyle, hey."

"Hey," Kyle answered nervously.

"What's up?" Tess asked.

"Last year," Kyle started, "I went to the prom with Trudy MacIntire."

"Oh Trudy, she's cute" Tess said, not really sure where Kyle's conversation was going.

"Yeah," Kyle continued, "and so we went, and everything was okay, but I didn't really know her, uh, so we didn't really have much to talk about, much to say to each other. And so I realized that I feel like I really know you. Which is unusual for me with girls and uh, anyway, I just..." he broke off and then started again. "Feel free to say no, or laugh or be outraged or whatever, but would you, want to go to the prom? You know, with me?"

Halfway through his speech Tess had guessed what Kyle was doing. She had realized some time ago that Kyle had feelings for her, but she didn't know they had progressed so far. Her first thought was to mind warp him into forgetting the invitation but suddenly it seemed important to her that she go to the dance. After all, she reasoned, it might be the only chance she would have to go to a high school dance and she could make sure that Max found out she wasn't just sitting around waiting for him. Tess smiled, "You know, I'd really like that Kyle."

"Oh," Kyle said, somewhat surprised by her answer.

"Thank you," Tess said as she started the mind warp on him. It was okay to go to the dance with Kyle but she couldn't have him liking her too much, it might get in the way of her campaign to get Max. She pushed her power into his mind, carefully morphing Kyle's feelings for her into a brotherly affection.


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


Liz had felt her world falling apart since Max had told her he remembered Tess. Even though she and Max hadn't been together, they still loved one another and Liz had held on to her hope that someday they would be able to reunite, but now Max was remembering Tess, and Liz had her first doubts. If Max remembered loving Tess maybe he would decide to be with her.

Liz sighed as she looked at Maria next to her in the car. Even though she and Max were having problems, Liz knew Michael loved Maria. And despite the evidence that Michael was seeing another woman, Liz knew there had to be another explanation. She spoke her feelings aloud as Maria looked through the binoculars, "I cannot believe that Michael is seeing another woman, I just, I won't. I..."

Maria cut her off, "Snap out of it sister. Juanita," she pointed to the house, "Home wrecker!"

Liz continued, "I can't believe what is going on with you and Michael and me and Max."

Maria looked at her, puzzled, "Liz, what are you talking about? You and Max are going to the prom."

Liz wasn't sure how to explain it to Maria. "I don't know, I just feel Max and I are going in two different directions, like, it's like we're not able to just separate." She shrugged, "Makes you realize how, like, easy things change, because people meet other people. I could meet another guy or Max could meet another girl, and..."

Maria cut her off, "Or Michael could meet another woman."


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


(The Evans House – Max’s Room)

"Okay," Tess said, "just think about everything that you remember. What did it look like? Feel like? Smell like?" She could see that Max was distracted, "You're not concentrating."

"Yes I am," Max said automatically.

Tess shook her head, "Something's getting in your way. What's going on with you?"

"Actually," Max admitted, "there is something I should probably tell you. Liz and I are going to the prom."

Even though Tess was burning with rage inside she hid it well, and tried to concentrate on the big picture. "So?” she asked casually. “Max, I don't care about that stuff," she said with a shrug. "That's not what's important here. This is what's important and we can do it. Let's try again."

Tess took a deep breath and concentrated on the memory recovery. The sooner Max remembered what they had together, the sooner he would want her back. And if that didn't work, she could always mind warp him.


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


Song Playing: Blurry by Puddle of Mudd

Liz walked down the street, uncaring of where she went. When she had seen Max hugging Tess, she felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. It was her worst nightmare come true. Max had remembered Tess and obviously he had decided to be with her.

Liz felt a hysterical laugh rise up in her throat as she realized she was experiencing the same type of pain that Max had experienced when he had seen herself and Kyle in bed.

Since returning from Vegas, Liz had seen a lot of Max and she thought they were growing closer, but after the night Brody had taken them hostage, she’d felt a subtle difference in Max. It was like he was pulling away from her, detaching emotionally. And now that she'd seen Max with Tess, it all made sense. Whether he knew it or not, Max must be remembering his feelings for his former wife.

Ever since they had heard the message in the pod chamber, Liz had been afraid something like this might happen, but she had pushed her fear to the back of her mind. She had thought the past didn't matter, that the love she and Max shared was strong enough to overcome any challenges. But now she was beginning to wonder if she had been foolish to hope for a future with Max.

Suddenly she saw someone in front of her and she stopped when she recognized Sean, "You are like ubiquitous."

Sean smiled, "I think I might've figured something out about you, Parker."

Liz felt like her head was going to explode and the last thing she wanted was a philosophical debate, "You know what? I'm not interested."

"It might fix your problem," Sean pressed.

"Who says that I have a problem?" Liz asked, desperate to get away.

Sean motioned to her obviously agitated state, "Well, look at you. You look like you're about to puke, at the very least."

The churning mass of feelings inside Liz suddenly burst, "Hey, do you know what? I do not need this right now, okay? I do not want to hear any more of your stupid, inane comments. I do not want to hear any more of your little theories on life. And I do not wanna write my frickin' name in mustard okay? My life is falling apart!"

Sean could see Liz was really hurting and it didn’t take a genius to guess the cause. "You wanna go somewhere?" he asked softly.

Sean's calm demeanor in the face of her hysteria was somehow soothing and the last thing Liz wanted to do was go home, she was too wired. She studied him briefly, before making up her mind. Maybe some time with away from Max and the alien mess, was just what she needed. "Yes."


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


(The Evans House - Max's bedroom)

"What else do you remember?" Tess asked.

Max concentrated on the images, trying to bring them into focus. "Three moons, burnt orange, no clouds, very surreal, like a painting."

"What else?" Tess prompted, as she planted images in his mind.

The scene Max described to Tess was followed by another set of images. He was sitting with a woman. He couldn't really see her, but he recognized her energy somehow, it was Tess. They were at a party and they slowly moved together and kissed. Max felt confused and shook his head trying to clear it of the images. He didn't want to remember Tess like that, it seemed wrong. He opened his eyes and got off the bed, "I need a break."

"It takes time," Tess said. "You know, everything's blurry at first, but eventually, the images just get clearer and clearer."

"How clear are your memories?" Max asked.

"Most are still blurry," Tess admitted, "but a few, a few are clearer and more real to me than anything here in this world."

"Do you remember me?" Max asked apprehensively.

"Yeah," Tess said.

"What was I like?"

Tess smiled and used the opportunity to place a another suggestion in Max’s mind . "I remember when you used to reach over and touch me in the middle of the night and when you used to hold me."

Tess' words made Max uncomfortable and suddenly he didn't want her around. "I'm getting pretty tired. Maybe we can continue another time."


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


(Episode - Heart of Mine)
(Friday, April 27th, 2001)
(Crashdown Café)
(Prom Night)

Song Playing: Take My Breath Away by Berlin

Liz entered the dining room just as Max came through the front door and she stopped in surprise. She had never seen Max look so handsome as he did in his tux. And when Max looked at her, she felt her heart jump.

Suddenly all of her pain and fears were gone. She and Max loved one another and nothing else mattered.

They slowly walked toward one another and stopped with only a few inches separating them.

Remembering the wonderful evening they had spent together in Las Vegas, Max anticipated their reunion tonight. He had dreamed about this night since he and Liz had decided to go. He'd wanted to ask Liz to the prom but he'd been afraid of moving too quickly and scaring her off. So when she'd brought it up, he had been thrilled.

"You look beautiful," Max said softly, almost reverently.

"Thank you. You look very nice too." Liz was reluctant to break the mood but she had to. "Um, you know, Maria's all alone tonight so is it okay if she hangs out with us?"

"Of course," Max said automatically.

As Amy gathered the group together for the photo, a strange feeling started in Liz's stomach and tendrils of fear crept up her spine. She covered her apprehension with smiles, but inside the feeling of dread was growing.

Sean took a couple of pictures and then Liz's mother and father took a few with their camera, of the group and then of just herself and Max. Finally they all climbed into the cars and headed toward the prom. And the whole time, Liz's feeling of foreboding and finality increased.


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


(West Roswell High School)
(The Prom)

As Liz danced in Max's arms, she remembered Max and Tess together in his room and all of her fears came flooding back. She tried to push the thoughts from her mind and concentrate on having a good time, but they grew and grew until they overshadowed everything else and she felt like her head would burst.

Finally she couldn't stand it anymore. "Max, I just want to say that I feel really weird."

"What do you mean?" Max asked with genuine confusion.

Liz tried to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. "I mean I saw you with Tess," she said in a strangled voice.

"Saw me what with Tess?" Max asked, not sure what she meant.

"I saw you with her," Liz asserted. "I came by your house yesterday to talk to you about something and you were with her."

Suddenly Max could feel Liz slipping away from him and he hurried to explain, "We were just trying to find out things about where I came from, that's all."

"I know, I know, I mean, you know, you keep saying that but you um, keep on leaving out this really pertinent fact, that you were married to her." She looked at him and took a deep breath, needing to express to him how she felt, "I feel like my whole life for the past year has been waiting for some really bad news. 'Oh, you know, by the way Liz, I remember Tess, and I love her.' It's really paralyzing."

Max's mind desperately raced for a way to hang on to Liz as he tried to reassure her, ""I know it's not easy."

Liz could hear Sean's words echoing in her mind.



You're not getting what you need from him, are you? You're suffocating Liz.



And suddenly everything became clear to her. The solution wasn't what she wanted, but maybe it was their only choice. "No Max,” she said, answering him, “it can be. It can be really, really easy. You know, we should both just stop pretending."

Max felt his heart drop, "What do you mean?"

"You know, maybe we're both just holding on to something that'll never be. Max, maybe we should just let go." Liz looked into his eyes and saw the pain she was experiencing echoed there, "I have been in so much pain, this whole year and it's like I'm suffocating."

"Liz," Max started, desperate to hold onto her, but the pain he saw in her eyes slashed through him like a knife. No matter how much he loved her, no matter how much he felt they belonged together, if Liz really didn't want to be with him, he would have to let her go. For now.

Through her pain, Liz saw Maria standing alone and her heart went out to her friend, her own pain making her even more sensitive. "Um, I should go, you know, for Maria."

"Right," Max said woodenly.

"She's all alone tonight," Liz reminded him.

"Go ahead," Max said softly, even though it was killing him.

"Max," Liz said, in a strangled tone.

As much as Max wanted Liz, he couldn't be the one to cause her pain. He had to let her go. "Go ahead," Max said with a stronger voice.


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


Kyle pulled Tess into the janitor's closet and she wondered if her mind warp had worn off.

"Um, Tess," Kyle started, "uh you, you're, you're beautiful."

"Kyle, please don't say that," Tess said, hoping he didn't make a scene.

Kyle continued as if she hadn't spoken, "And the thing is, you're not just some girl. I care about you."

"Kyle, I don't, I just..." Tess started, but Kyle cut her off.

"I think of you as family, as a sister. I don't' think it could be a romantic thing."

"I understand," Tess sighed with relief. You know I'm disappointed, but I understand."


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


Liz's heart was breaking and she felt as if her head would burst. She had to accept that she would not be with Max and she had to get on with her life, but it wouldn't be easy for either of them. Liz was on the edge of hysteria, desperate for any release, and she threw her body around to the music somehow hoping it would ease her pain. The rhythm of the music pounded through her and her frantic actions allowed her to briefly escape the crushing weight of her decision.

Suddenly Liz noticed that Maria had stopped dancing and looked over and saw Michael. He was dressed in a suit and had obviously come for the dance. Liz smiled sadly, glad the evening had turned out well for her friend. "Okay, go."

"No, no, me and you, we're a couple now," Maria said.

Liz pushed Maria toward Michael, "Go."


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


Tess sat down beside Max on the bench, "You look sad."

"I think it's really over," Max said.

"You mean with Liz," Tess said, not really surprised. She had been subtly using her powers on him for a couple of weeks. It was about time he dumped Liz.

"Yeah," Max said. He had never wanted to believe it was actually over between them, even after everything that had happened. And it had seemed like they were getting closer again but suddenly it was over. "I mean, I realize that, I guess on some level that things were headed in that direction. I think it's really actually over."

When Tess didn't respond he continued, "I remembered something else. I don't know how to feel about it."

"What do you remember?" Tess asked.

"Our first kiss." He explained, "It was at a party, late at night. And you..."

Tess smiled. This was the perfect opportunity and she couldn't let it slip through her fingers. She started a mind warp, drawing Max to her, and took over with the story. "I, I leaned in, and whispered in your ear and then you touched my cheek."

Max reached out to her. He felt so strange, like he wasn't controlling his actions and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to kiss Tess. "And then we just..."

Their words stopped as their lips met and Max was lost in the conflicting emotions swirling through his head. The kiss seemed to go on and on. Max was aware of sounds around them, running footsteps and a slamming door, but nothing else seemed to matter.

Finally Max drew back from Tess and looked into her happy, shining face and knew what he had done was wrong. He smiled at her briefly and looked away. He loved Liz. Even if they weren’t together, he loved her. He had never felt that way about Tess and the kiss they had shared simply reinforced the feeling. Kissing Tess was wrong somehow, Max felt it in his gut.

When he and Liz kissed it was explosive but comfortable, familiar, and he had never wondered if he wanted to kiss Liz, the compulsion was always there.

Max glanced over his shoulder toward the gym where he had left Liz and thought about what a total jerk he had been, kissing Tess when he had brought Liz to the dance. And now he had to extricate himself from Tess and take Liz home.

He turned back to Tess, “Um, Kyle will probably be wondering where you are and I need to take Liz home.”

Tess nodded, smiling. She finally had Max where she wanted him, she could allow him to be a gentleman and take his date home. They had their whole lives ahead of them, “Okay Max, we’ll talk later.”

“Yeah,” Max said. “Good night, Tess.”

He went into the gym and glanced around for Liz, but after a few moments and he didn’t see her, he approached Michael and Maria. “Where’s Liz?”

Maria excused herself from Michael and dragged Max a few feet away. “I don’t know what happened between you Max, but Liz called me a few minutes ago. She was really upset and she said she went home.”

“Home?” Max asked. “How did she get home so fast? Did she get a ride?”

Maria shrugged, “I don’t know, she didn’t say.” Maria saw the pained expression on Max’s face, “What happened, Max? You were both so happy, and I thought that maybe…”

Max grimaced, “I thought so too, but Liz told me how much she’s been hurting and she asked me to let her go.” Max shook his head, fighting back tears and spoke in a whisper, “I had to let her go, Maria.”

Maria nodded, “I’m sorry, Max. I really am.”

“Thanks, Maria,” Max said softly. “You’ll make sure Liz is okay?”

“Yeah,” Maria said, as she touched his arm, “but who’s going to make sure you’re okay?”


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


TBC

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 7


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


(Episode - Cry Your Name)
(Sunday, April 29th, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

Tess quickly grabbed for the cell phone when it rang. Lonni never called her unless it was important. "Hello?"

"It's done Tess," Lonni said, "the translation of the book is finished."

"When?" Tess asked.

"We just got the e-mail a few minutes ago. We're coming to Roswell now with the translation. So tomorrow you can tell the others you remember how to read the book and then convince them it's time to go home."


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


(The Whitman House)

"Hey, this isn't even warm." Alex complained as he touched the cold Thai food, and instantly a deluge of images flooded his mind. Suddenly he remembered eating dozens and dozens of containers of Thai food. "I'm, I'm, I'm so sick of this. I'm..." he trailed off shaking his head. "Always the same thing, always cold. Always the same thing. I'm just so sick of everything."

His memories of Sweden started to dissolve as if they had never been, and a number kept pushing it's way to the forefront of his mind. He scribbled the number down on the receipt without realizing it instead of signing his name. "Why does life have to be so wrong?" he asked as more images emerged. "Why does everything have to be a lie?"

Something was terribly wrong with his memories. In the last few days, he had gotten other images, flashes of things he didn't remember, but they had quickly faded into the back of his mind. But theses images were stronger, and if they were right, he had never been to Sweden at all.

Alex returned to his room and took a sip of Coke, and the picture of Leanna caught his eye. He picked it up, trying to make sense of the images invading his mind, and suddenly he remembered everything. He pulled the photo out of the frame and savagely cut his head out of it. It had never happened. None of it. He had never gone to Sweden, he had never met Leanna, and he certainly wasn't having a relationship with her. It had all been an elaborate lie to keep him in line while he translated the alien's book.

Alex remembered his time at the University of Las Cruces with Tess, Lonni and Rath. He remembered breaking out of Tess’ mind warps several times.

He logged on to his computer and quickly connected with the computer at the University of Las Cruces that was decoding the book and entered his password, 11100100100111011001, so he could check the computer's progress. He was surprised to see the computer had finished the translation just that morning.

Glancing at the translation, Alex shook his head. He couldn't believe Tess had been willing to go to such lengths just to get the book translated. If she would have asked him, he would have helped, but obviously she didn't want the others to know. He printed a copy and reached for the phone. He had to tell the others what Tess had done.

He picked up the receiver and tried to dial but his hand wouldn't push the buttons. He tried again and again, finally giving up in frustration and slammed the receiver down. It must have been something that Tess had done to him.

Alex grabbed the translation, the photo and his car keys and headed out the door. If he couldn't call the others, he would simply drive to the Crashdown and show them. He put the car in gear and headed toward town, but when he tried to turn to go to the Crashdown, he found he couldn't and the car kept driving straight.

He tried to fight against the compulsion but it was just too strong, and then pain started to shoot through his head. He tried to pull off the road but was unable to, and as the pain in his head increased his vision started to blur. Afraid he was going to crash, Alex sat back and tried to relax, taking deep breaths, and as soon as he stopped fighting the pain lessened and he was able to drive.

Alex wasn't surprised that he was compelled to drive to the Valenti's house. It was where Tess lived after all. He grabbed the translation off the seat as he exited the car, never noticing that the photo of Leanna slipped off the top and slid between the door and the seat. He walked to the door, opened it and entered without knocking. Then he headed straight for Tess' room.

He stopped just inside the door when he saw Tess sitting on the bed and started to recite what he remembered from translation, "You are the Royal Four. You were created from the genetic materials of your alien predecessors and human subjects..."


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


Kyle could hear Alex’s voice from the other room and went to see what was happening.


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


Tess jumped off the bed and closed the door behind Alex, hoping no one else had heard. "Shut up, Alex."

The pain started in Alex's head again, worse than before, and he crossed the room toward Tess. "You did this to me," he accused, "you sent me to Las Cruces."

Kyle opened the door as Alex was speaking.

"Okay," Tess soothed. "Alex, Alex let me fix your mind, you're not thinking straight."

"You mind warped me for two months while I decoded that silly book for you and now there's nothing left for you to mind warp. You destroyed my mind!" The pain in Alex's head increased and he put a hand to his head crying, “How could you do this to me?"

Alex noticed Kyle and drew Tess' attention to him.

"Kyle get out," Tess said dismissively.

Kyle had heard their conversation and he wasn't sure what to make of it. But it was obvious that Alex was upset, "What's going on?" he asked Tess.

"Kyle go!" Tess yelled, starting to panic.

The pain in Alex's head was overwhelming and he was practically hysterical, "I have nothing. I might as well be dead."

Kyle didn't know what was wrong, but Alex was obviously freaked. "Hey just calm down," he soothed.

Tess didn't know how Alex had broken the mind warp so completely but she had to fix it or he would tell Max everything. "He's right, okay," she shouted at Alex. "Calm down! Just calm down!" She grabbed Alex by the shoulders and he tried to push her away.

"No," he shouted, "you can't mind warp me! NO!"

Tess ignored Alex and started the mind warp. Alex’s mind was jumbled, fragmented, and she wondered if she could fix it, but suddenly she was pushed out as everything went black and Alex collapsed onto the floor.

Kyle rushed forward and knelt beside him, "Alex!" He fumbled for a pulse but didn't feel one. He turned to Tess, "We've got to call an ambulance." He jumped to his feet and started out of the room but Tess grabbed his arm and he turned to her.

"Kyle wait," she said, as she quickly started the mind warp. She erased the events from his mind and left him in a kind of trance on her bed. Then she picked up her cell phone and quickly dialed Lonni.

As soon as the phone was answered, Tess, almost hysterical, blurted out the situation, "We've got a big problem, Alex is lying dead on my bedroom floor."

"What?" Lonni asked. "What happened?"

"He broke out of the new memories I gave him and came to my house. I tried to fix his memory but his mind must have been too weak to take it. Kyle saw the whole thing but I made him forget."

"This is bad," Lonni said. "If it looks like Alex died from alien causes it could make the others suspicious." Lonni thought for a moment, "Did Alex drive to your house?"

"Yes," Tess said.

"Okay," Lonni said, "we'll make it look like a car accident."

"We are suppose to meet tonight at the Crashdown," Tess added.

"Good then there’s a reason he was driving. What route would he take to get there from his house?" Lonni asked.

Tess thought for a moment, "Dexter Highway, he would take the old Dexter Highway."

"We don't have much time," Lonni said. "Put his body in his car, and Rath and I will be there in a few minutes. We will take care of the accident while you put together an alibi for yourself, and clean up any other messes, including Kyle."

"Okay," Tess said, "I'll see you in a minute." She hung up the phone and turned back to Kyle and mind warped him to see Alex as a duffel bag. Then she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Kyle. Kyle, will you help me load my luggage into the car?"

Kyle jumped up, "Of course."


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


Liz stood staring at the coroner's van, where Alex's body still lay, long after the others had left. She still couldn't believe Alex was really dead, but there was no way it was a simple traffic accident. Somehow Liz knew it was murder and she wouldn't rest until she found out exactly what happened.


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


Deputy Lopez called out to get the Sheriff's attention, "Sheriff Hansen, Sheriff Hansen, the tow truck driver is here to remove the Whitman boy's car. Do you want us to take it to the lab?"

Hansen looked at the totaled car and shook his head, "I don't see any reason for that, Lopez. It's just an auto accident, there's no need for a big investigation and we don't want his parents to have to see it." He motioned to the tow truck, "Tell him to take it to the junkyard."


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


(Episode - Cry Your Name)
(Monday, April 30th, 2001)

Lonni waited until the next morning to contact Tess and they met in the desert as usual.

"What are we going to do now?" Tess asked.

Lonni sighed, "We'll wait and see what happens and then we'll decide what to do. But for now, don't say anything about the translation."

Tess nodded and handed Alex's copy of the translation to Lonni. "I found this on him. Alex must have remembered everything and downloaded a copy."

Lonni flipped through the pages, "Could he have contacted anyone before he came to you?"

Tess shook her head, "No. I put an irresistible compulsion in his mind, like a post-hypnotic suggestion. If he ever remembered, he wouldn't be able to speak to anyone except me and he had to come to me as soon as he could."

"So you're sure he didn't tell anyone else?" Lonni asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Tess said. "Kyle was there but I took care of him."

"Like you took care of Alex?" Rath scoffed.

"The new memories I gave Alex shouldn't have worn off," Tess said defensively. "Maybe something triggered it."

"Or maybe," Rath suggested, "you don't have as much control over your powers as you think."


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


(The Evans kitchen)

Song Playing: White Flag by Dido

Max laughed as he and Liz reminisced about Alex, "Remember the time he electrified Mr. Hoffman's desk?"

"Yeah," Liz said. "You know, he almost got suspended for that."

Max shook his head, "Never happen. The teachers loved him. That guy could get away with anything. At the prom, I overheard Mr. Hoffman telling Señora Villa the whole chair thing. Thought it was a riot."

Liz's heart suddenly felt heavy because Max mentioned the prom but she couldn't just let it go. "Yeah, about the prom," Liz said. "I saw you kiss Tess."

Max couldn't speak. The memory of that night was like a nightmare to him. Liz had broken his heart, again, and then he had found himself kissing Tess. When it was happening, it had seemed wrong but he hadn't been able to stop himself, and when it had ended he had felt so ashamed.

He didn't know Liz had seen them kissing but it certainly explained why she’d left so suddenly.

When Max didn't say anything, Liz continued, "It's okay. You're moving on."

Max wanted to say so much to her, to apologize, to explain about the kiss and tell her it didn't mean anything. To tell her that no matter what, he would never love anyone but her. "Liz," he started but she cut him off.

"No," she said decisively. No matter how much it hurt, she had to stand by her decision to let him go. It was better for both of them, wasn't it? "We've discussed this. You're moving on and I am moving on, and that's a decision we've made." Liz knew she was rambling but she was quickly approaching hysteria and she wanted to finish. "I just wanted you to know that I saw you and that I'm okay with it, okay?"

Max smiled sadly, knowing Liz was lying but being stoic for both their sakes. "Okay."

"Okay," Liz said and suddenly she had to get away from him. For the first time, being with him made her sad. The fact that they weren't going to be together was slowly crushing her heart. "Thank you very much for the macaroni and cheese, and, um, thank you for listening."

She slipped off the stool and walked to the door but as she reached it, a cold shiver of fear and foreboding raced down her spine. It was so strong that it prompted her to stop and turn back to him. "Just always be my friend. Will you do that, Max?"

"You know I will," he promised solemnly.


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


(Episode - Cry Your Name)
(Tuesday, May 1st, 2001)

Max ran to catch up with Valenti as he left the ceremony, "Sheriff, we have to talk."

Valenti turned to Max, "If this is about what I said to Liz the other night, I don't have any apologies to make."

Max was incredulous, "How can you say that to us? How can you even think..."

Valenti cut him off, "This is difficult for everybody, Max."

Max was growing angrier by the moment and stuck his finger in Valenti's face. "Alex Whitman did not kill himself, okay? It didn't happen. And you'd better not let Hanson or anyone else put that in some file."

Valenti had brought the file with him so he could show Max before it was officially released. He reached into his truck and handed it to Max, "Here."

"What's that?" Max asked, fearing he already knew.

"It's everything we've discovered about Alex Whitman over the last two days," Valenti said. "Read it, Max."

Max skimmed over the file, looking for anything to prove Valenti and the others wrong but damning words jumped out at him with alarming regularity.



mood swings

altered behavior

falling grades

depression



And then he reached the description of the crash. The police had determined the car had been driven deliberately into the truck because of a number of factors.

The possibility that Alex had fallen asleep at the wheel had been ruled out because of the curviness of the road. It would have been impossible for him to navigate the other turns just moments before, and then be asleep enough to go over the medium. Plus, the car had been accelerating, and most of the time when someone falls asleep at the wheel, their foot relaxes and the car slows.

By the time Max had reached the end of the report, he was reluctantly convinced it must have been suicide. He handed the report back to Valenti with a nod, "Thanks."


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


(The Whitman House - Alex's room)

Michael listened with disbelief as Liz laid one piece of evidence after another before them, proving Alex couldn't have killed himself, and then as Max, Tess and Isabel discounted them all.

Liz's small form made her appear like a child against Isabel and Max's height but she didn't back down from their anger or her arguments, even when Max towered over her enraged.

Instead she fought back against him, "You don't want to think that Alex was killed by an alien because that would mean you are responsible."

Everyone was surprised by her outburst but Max recoiled like she slapped him. "Let's go," he said simply.

Michael had watched Liz in a lot of situations. She was the peacemaker, the planner, the cool and collected one who never hesitated to help them. He had seen her happy, sad, worried, scared, but he had never seen her like she was today. This Liz was confident, determined, and her eyes flashed with a terrible fury and purpose. But as Michael rose to follow the others, the thing that worried him the most was the sinking feeling he had in the pit of his stomach; Liz was right.


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


Tess took a walk to get some privacy for her call to Lonni. The last thing she needed was one of the Valenti's overhearing her conversation.

Lonni answered on the second ring, "What have you got?"

"Liz won't accept that Alex's death was an accident or suicide,” Tess explained. “She thinks he was murdered.”

Lonni shrugged, "So what?"

"By an alien," Tess added. "Liz isn't going to let this go. She is investigating against Max's orders. We had a big fight about it after the funeral and Liz won't back down."

Lonni laughed, begrudgingly admiring Liz. "Going against Max’s orders. I'm liking Liz more every day."

Tess ignored Lonni's comment, "I didn't have a chance earlier but I can mind warp her so she will stop, or," suddenly a new idea occurred to her, "we could just kill her."

"No, another mysterious death would be too suspicious," Lonni said. "But think about it," she said consideringly, as a plan formed in her mind. "We could use Liz's investigation to our advantage. It could be a golden opportunity for us."

Tess frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Lonni explained, "Liz investigates Alex's death. We leave clues to lead her to discover that someone took him and made him translate the book. She finds the translation and gives it to Max. We already have the perfect patsy so we just set her up. Then Liz discovers the identity of the killer and we are off the hook."

Tess shivered wondering who was going to take the fall, "Who are we setting up?"

Lonni sighed, "Leanna, of course."


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


Rath waited until Lonni ended the call, "Why don't we just set up Tess?"

"It would be nice, and it could come to that," Lonni said, "but we might still need her. This way we give them a killer and we still keep some collateral."

"Okay," Rath agreed, "so what kind of clues do we leave?"

Lonni nodded, "We need to get Liz to investigate the Olsons and Leanna. When she finds out they don't exist, she will figure out Alex never went to Sweden."

Lonni motioned to the phone as she spoke to Rath, "You arrange for some flowers to be delivered to the Whitman's from the Olsons. And tonight we'll go back to the school and the Whitman's and change the Olsen's contact information again to someone else in Sweden. Then if anyone tries to call, they will get a wrong number. Maybe I’ll even leave a clue on his computer. Liz is sure to search there."

“If we leave enough clues, Liz won’t have any doubts about where to look for answers.” She grabbed a phone book and turned to the florist section. “The Olsen’s would definitely send some flowers to poor Alex’s family.”

"What if Liz doesn't figure it out?" Rath asked.

Lonni shrugged, "Then we will plant some more obvious cluesn or get Tess to plant some ideas in Liz’s head."


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


(Crashdown Café)

As Liz looked through the photos of Alex, she became more and more depressed. She just couldn't accept he was gone.

The Max from the future had told her, Alex had attended their reception, so he had been alive in the other time line. And now he was dead because of something she and the other Max had done. Something she had changed had killed her best friend and she swore that she would get to the bottom of it.

Liz saw the pictures of Alex's striptease from Isabel's birthday party. She and Maria had helped him prepare for his dance, teaching him all of the moves he would need, but she hadn't been present for the actual event. Another alien crisis had prevented her from seeing it. And even though she had the photos and could imagine what it had been like, she'd regret missing it for the rest of her life.

The striptease was just one thing in a long line of regrets and missed opportunities; graduation, college, even the little things like movie night. There were so many things they would never get to do together. So many things she would miss about him.

That was why she had to figure this out. That was why she had to discover what had happened. But no matter what she did, Alex was gone and there was no bringing him back.


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


(Episode - It's Too Late and It's Too Bad)
(Thursday, May 10th, 2001)
(The Evans house – Max’s room)

It had been a few days since Alex's funeral and Tess was getting impatient because Max had not even touched her in a tender or romantic way since the prom. So she decided to jump right in. She turned to him, “Max, what about the kiss?”

A look of confusion crossed his face, “What?”

"The kiss at the prom,” Tess reminded him, annoyed. “The infamous kiss."

"Right," Max said apprehensively. He had pointedly avoided the subject since the Prom, and after a few days when Tess hadn’t mentioned it, he’d hoped she take the hint that it was end. But obviously he’d been wrong.

Tess continued, "With what happened to Alex, I can understand putting the subject on hold. I couldn't deal with it either, but now, I just, I can't help wondering where we are."

"Right," Max said, wondering how to tell her what he thought. "Right." But he didn’t want to hurt her and he took a breath before continuing. "You and me together, it scares me. Right or wrong, I feel like if I follow that road, I can never go back."

Tess immediately dismissed the possibility that Max didn't want to be with her and focused on the other part of his admission, "You're scared to go home."

"What is home?" Max asked. "Is home really up there? I just feel like this whole idea about where we come from..." he trailed off. "I want to believe it. I want to understand it more and more, but it just feels like this dream, this, this dream that I can never really quite touch or see or, feel. And Earth just seems so much more," he looked up at Tess, "real."

Tess couldn't believe that Max was so opposed to going home. She would have to work on him.

Max changed the subject, "Are you hungry? I think we still have some frozen macaroni and cheese, if Liz and I didn't eat it all."

Liz, Tess thought. Everything was always about Liz. She smiled and concentrated on using a friendly tone, "Oh, when were you and Liz eating frozen macaroni and cheese?"

"It was the night before the funeral," Max said. "Liz was totally stressed out and needed someone to talk to. We stayed up all night just reminiscing about Alex."

"That's nice," Tess said sweetly as she started the mind warp. She had been gradually mind warping Max to turn against Liz, but obviously it wasn't going fast enough. True, Max had disagreed and argued with Liz at the funeral but Max had already been worried about the cause of Alex's death and Tess had been using her powers to push him over the edge.

She needed to accelerate the pace and get Max to turn from Liz completely. Tess was convinced that only then would he turn to her and accept the idea of returning home.

She placed the idea in his mind that Liz didn't care about them and was endangering them all with her investigation. She emphasized Liz's recent behavior and accusatory speech in Alex's room, reinforcing it in Max's memory. She also tied it together with Max's disappointment about not being with Liz, hoping it would ensure some spectacular fights between them.

Tess also reinforced Max's natural feeling that they should all stay together. Isabel's declaration that she was leaving for college had really scared Tess; she couldn't let Isabel go, and Tess told Max to stop it from happening in any way possible. Tess reminded him he was the leader, the King, and the group should obey him no matter what, and he shouldn't put up with any descent.

Finally she placed the kernel of an idea in Max's mind that he didn't belong on Earth. He was an alien and he should want to go home.


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


(Episode - It's Too Late and It's Too Bad)
(Monday, May 14th, 2001)
(The Parker House – Liz’s Room)

Song Playing: I Don’t Know How to Let You Go by Sarah McLachlan

Liz found her passport in her desk and stuffed it in her bag. She had gotten it two years ago in anticipation that she would travel with her Grandmother, but it had never happened.

Her Grandmother had once told her to follow her heart, and no matter how crazy this trip to Sweden seemed, Liz felt that she was doing the right thing. She couldn't rest until she knew the truth about Alex. It might save all of their lives.

She gathered her bags and let herself out of her house. Her parents were at the store and if she hurried, she could get away without them seeing her. Liz quickly walked the few blocks to the highway and waited for the cab she had ordered.

Max had been driving home when he'd had a compulsion to take a different route. He turned onto the highway and after driving a few miles suddenly saw Liz sitting on a fence at the side of the road. He pulled the Jeep off the road next to her and saw her luggage. "Liz, where are you going?"

"Sweden," Liz admitted.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, suddenly angry. "Get in the car."

"No," Liz said.

Max jumped out of the Jeep, "What did you tell your parents?"

"I'm gonna call them from the airport and tell them my girlfriend in Florida had a crisis and she needed me."

"They'll call your aunt," Max pointed out. "Your aunt will say you're not there."

"Well, then, I'll think of something else," Liz responded.

A cab stopped and the driver called out, "You the airport?"

"No," Max said, hoping he could stop Liz.

Liz spoke up, "Actually, I am. You're late."

She jumped down off the fence and Max stood between her and the cab. As much as he thought she was going crazy, he was scared to death of losing her. "Liz, don't get in that cab," he pleaded softly.

Liz looked at him for a moment. She hated fighting with Max but she didn't have a choice. He was standing between her and the truth. Handing her bag to the driver, she called out, "Load it up."

Max was growing desperate and he took one of her bags and tossed it into the Jeep. "Liz, get in my car," he ordered.

"What are you gonna do? You're gonna throw me in it?" Liz challenged him as she retrieved her bag from the Jeep.

"You have to listen to me," Max insisted, his fear of losing her making him desperate.

Liz turned back to him, "Don't even pull that King card on me, Max. I am not Isabel. You can't boss me around."

Max closed the gap between them, "If this is about being pissed at me, fine. Punish me all you want. But what about everyone else? What you're doing puts them at risk."

"What I'm doing may save their lives," argued Liz, as she turned toward the cab.

Max followed her, "You have a responsibility to Michael, Isabel, and Tess not to get in that cab."

Liz cut him off, "Uh-huh, and I have a responsibility to Alex to find out what really happened."

Max could hear the finality in Liz's voice and he knew he was losing her. He said the one thing he was sure would stop her, "Liz, if you go, our friendship is over."

Liz felt her heart break but she couldn't let it stop her. She had already lost Max. "I guess that's the price I have to pay. Somebody killed Alex and covered up his death. Why don't you see that, Max? Wake up."

Liz's words were like a knife through his heart. He couldn't believe she was willing to end their friendship over the investigation. He thought she would surely back down when he threatened her, but he had been wrong.

Max watched as the cab drove farther and farther into the distance, taking Liz away from him. He was so sure that Liz was wrong about how Alex died but her unwavering confidence caused a sliver of doubt to pierce through his certainty for a moment. But a voice in his head made him push his doubts aside. Liz couldn't be right, there was no way. She just didn't want to accept the truth that Alex had committed suicide.

Rather than face the truth, Liz was willing to betray them all to prove she was right. Then suddenly Liz's final words rang through his head.



'Wake up.'



Liz, his best friend, his soul mate, had turned against him, just like his sister.


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


(Swedish Embassy)

Jens Finna saw the picture on Mr. Stockman's desk. "Oh, the Forstora building," he said, picking up the photo.

Mr. Stockman was stunned. Liz Parker had seemed so desperate to find the building and he wanted to help her, but he'd had no idea how he was going to identify the building. He had been thinking about passing the photo to an architect friend to see if he recognized it. "You are sure that is the correct building, Herr Finna?"

Jens looked at the picture again and nodded. Architecture was a hobby of his. "Ja, I am sure. It was very famous when it was built in the early 60s, because of its ultra-modern design but it was found to be structurally unsound and it had to be torn down."

"Do you remember when?" Mr. Stockman asked.

Jens shook his head, "Early 90s I think, but Herr Kunskap in Commerce, or Herr Saker in Security could probably tell you for sure. They both used to live in Stockholm very near here."


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


(Roswell Observatory)

Tess stopped her car in the driveway of the observatory when she saw Max's Jeep. The situation with Max was not proceeding as she had hoped and Tess now accepted that there would be no chance of Max going to Antar with her unless he had a good reason. She had hoped he would want to return to be with her but it was taking too long, and now time was running out and she had to resort to desperate measures.

Tess had witnessed what had happened between Max and Isabel earlier at school and she had used her powers to push him to stop Isabel. She had watched the interaction with great satisfaction, knowing he had been so cruel to his beloved sister. Tess had despised Isabel for months because she had felt Isabel should have been a better friend to her.

Besides the fight with Isabel, Tess knew Max and Liz had been at odds over her investigation and she suspected Max would need to be alone to lick his wounded ego. She had been roughly manipulating his emotions, hoping for explosive results, but when she had seen his Jeep at the observatory she knew she was succeeding beyond her imaginings.

Tonight was the night she would secure her place in his life because she knew Max would never leave her if she was carrying his child. She retrieved the sleeping bag out of the back seat of her car and walked over to where he was standing. "I thought I'd find you here."

Somehow Max wasn't surprised by Tess' presence. She always seemed to find him when he was miserable. "My whole life I've wanted to be this person, this normal person. Human. My whole life I've been thinking that this alien side of me was this bad thing, this thing that made me a freak, this monster. I realize that I haven't just been hiding from the government and the law all this time, I've been hiding from myself. I don't know what's going on anymore. I thought I knew but I don't. I've lost everyone."

Tess started a mind warp increasing his feeling of loneliness. Then she made herself more desirable to him, but also supportive and accepting of everything he was. Finally she placed the idea in his mind that they belonged together and uttered the words to back it up, "I'll be here for eternity."

She pulled his hand out of his pocket and used the connection of flesh to strengthen the mind warp, using all of Max's senses against him. It was easy to push through his confusion and make him want to kiss her. And when he did, she took the opportunity to use the full force of her powers on him.

As the kiss ended, Max was fully under her thrall. "I'm ready to wake up now," he said.


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


(Episode - Baby It's You)
(Tuesday, May 15th, 2001)

Song Playing: Hurt by Nine Inch Nails

Max awoke slowly with a throbbing pain in his head and a strange weight on his chest. As he attempted to sit up, he looked down and saw a mass of blonde curls, and the events of the previous evening came rushing back to him. He had slept with Tess.

Tess had been there when he had been in pain over losing Liz, and feeling sorry for himself, and it had just happened. He couldn't even remember making the decision to be with her, it was all just like a bad dream. He had betrayed his own feelings and his heart, but worst of all he had betrayed Liz. He loved Liz with all his heart and soul, but he'd had sex with Tess.

He had used Tess in the worst way, trying to salve the empty feeling inside that the confrontation with Liz had left. But like alcohol or drugs, it was only a temporary fix and now in the harsh light of day, he could see what a horrible mistake it had been. He was already losing Liz and sleeping with Tess would probably ruin any chance he might have had of getting her back.

Suddenly he felt sick, disgusted with his behavior, that he had let things get so totally out of control. He was supposed to be the leader, the King, but just kept screwing up.

Tess started to stir awake and Max was instantly filled with panic. What would he say to her? What would she expect from him now?

Tess raised her eyes to him and he winced at the shining happiness he saw. She was joyful about what had happened between them because it was what she'd wanted all along.

"Hey," she greeted him with a beaming smile.

Max tried to be sympathetic to her feelings. They could talk about what had happened and why it was a mistake later. He forced a smile, "Hey."


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


(The Valenti house)

From his bed on the couch, Kyle watched Tess and Max kissing at the door, and felt a strange sensation that he could only describe as jealousy. He shook his head. He couldn't be feeling jealous though because he thought of Tess as a sister. Didn't he?


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


Tess shut the door to her room and stopped in front of the mirror. She placed her hands on her flat stomach and practiced acting surprised, "Oh my god."

Max would be so surprised when she told him the news, she could just imagine the look of joy on his face. And she wanted to make him happy. He was so wonderful, so perfect and gentlemanly. He had insisted on following her home that morning even though they had both driven to the observatory.

Tess smiled as she turned to the door. Now that she and Max were together she would make sure nothing came between them.


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


(Episode - Baby It's You)
(Wednesday, May 16th, 2001)
(The DeLuca House)

Rath waited until Michael's bike was out of sight and he stepped out of the bushes beside Maria's house, already pressing the speed dial.

"Yo," he said into the phone, "Liz and Maria just left here, headed for Las Cruces."

"Okay," Lonni said. "You get back down here and we'll set up a surprise for them."


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


As the day had passed, Michael's worries and doubts became stronger and stronger. Max had been acting so strangely lately not even willing to listen to Liz and her theories about Alex's death. But no matter what Max said, Michael believed that at least some of what Liz thought must be true.

Liz was smart and she had uncovered some pretty convincing evidence, and Michael knew if there was some kind of conspiracy Liz would be the one to figure it out. Her theory that an alien had killed Alex seemed pretty far-fetched but something was definitely wrong with the whole thing. Michael didn't know what had happened but he knew one thing for sure, Alex didn't kill himself.

If it was true and Alex had been killed by an alien, then Maria and Liz could be walking into a trap in Las Cruces, and he couldn't let that happen. He got on his bike. Maria and Liz had only been gone a couple of hours. He should be able to catch up with them easily before it got dark. Then he would just follow them discretely and make sure they didn't get into any trouble.


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


(University of Las Cruces)

Lonni watched Liz and Maria across the quad. They had been making good progress, checking the dorm, questioning the students, but she wanted them to concentrate on Leanna and she had just the thing to push them in the proper direction.

She used her powers to make herself appear like Leanna and threaded her way through the crowd as Liz and Maria stopped to listen to the concert. Positioning herself in plain sight, she knew it would only be a matter of time until they recognized her.

Watching them carefully but surreptitiously, she instantly knew when they spotted her and she turned and walked quickly away. Glancing behind her a couple of times was enough to tell her that they had taken the bait and were following her. Lonni smiled to herself as she picked up her pace, Leanna would be their focus now. And if Liz was as smart as she hoped, tomorrow she would lead them to the translation and then they could go home.


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


(Episode - Baby It's You)
(Thursday, May 17th, 2001)
(University of Las Cruces)

Once Liz had explained to Professor Don Peters that her best friend Ray had died suddenly while working on an important computer project, he had been very sympathetic and eager to help. But Liz was no closer to discovering what Alex had been doing, and as they headed toward the Litvack Building she tried to get an idea. "So, what exactly is so special about these computers anyway?"

Don shrugged, "Nothing yet. Right now they're just multi-million dollar toys. The greatest potential is in the field of cryptography. In theory, a quantum computer can break just about any code."


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


(Leanna's Rental)

Lonni sat in front of the laptop and used Alex's password to gain access to the university computer. First she changed the dates on when the translation was e-mailed to her computer, making it appear that it was done when Alex had been there. Then she pulled up the translation document and altered it to read the way she wanted.

She altered all of the sentences that referred to things she didn’t want Max and the others to know, replacing them with gibberish about alien abduction scenarios. She changed the description of the Granolith and the instructions for its operation. Then, because Tess had informed her of her plan, Lonni omitted all the details of conception and pregnancy covered by the book, leaving only a few vague sentences mentioning it as a possibility. Finally she re-saved the document, making sure it had the correct date on it, so there would be no question of its authenticity.

Then using the real Granolith instructions, Lonni created a control crystal for the Granolith and placed it in the box she had made, setting it next to the computer.

Before leaving, she set the explosive device she manufactured. Cuerena had taught them a trick or two and the device was certainly a trick. It was designed to look menacing but it was really harmless. When Liz, Michael and Maria found the room, the device would flash and make noise and create a small explosion but it was just an illusion. The device was no more powerful than a small firecracker but it would ensure that Liz and the others would accept the authenticity of the document, because no one would go to the trouble of guarding something that had no value.

Lonni smiled at her handiwork. She had left clues to lead Liz, Michael and Maria there, she just hoped that they were smart enough to figure it out. Otherwise Leanna would have to make another appearance and lead them to it.


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


(Roswell, NM)

Michael witnessed the start of the snowstorm from the road and figured that Max and Isabel must be at the park. They had often gone there as children and Isabel would never risk starting a snowstorm near their house.

He stopped the motorcycle near them and motioned to the snow, "A little public, isn't it?"

Isabel shrugged, "It's a freak storm, you know, who cares?"

"Not me," Michael said. "I got bigger things to talk about. Maxwell, there's two things I need to tell you. First is, I've been lying to you about Maria, Liz, and the whole investigation. Instead of stopping 'em, I've been helping 'em. Second thing is, it was worth it." He handed the translation to Max and the box containing the crystal to Isabel.

Max looked at the pages and box suspiciously, "What's this?"

"It's everything we've been looking for," Michael said. "It's a translation to the book. You know, the book."

Isabel was so surprised she could hardly speak, "You're kidding."

"Not even a little," Michael answered.

Isabel looked at Max, who was skimming the pages, "Well, what does it say?"

Max shook his head incredulously, "It's the way home. We can go home."


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


Lonni and Rath watched as Michael, Isabel and Max stood in the snow reading the translation.

With a smile Lonni took out her phone and dialed Tess' number. As soon as Tess answered, Lonni got right to the point, "Call Jennifer Coleman and get her back to school now. And no screw-ups this time. Make sure that she doesn't remember anything except what we want her to know.




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


TBC

BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)



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


PART 8


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


(Episode - Departure)
(Friday, May 18th, 2001)

Max let his eyes roam over Liz as he followed her through the Crashdown and up the stairs, attempting to memorize everything about her. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but right now the most important thing was making sure she and the others were safe.

Since last night when he'd discovered Liz had been correct about Alex's death, he'd felt terribly ashamed about how he had treated her. He'd seen the hostility in her eyes downstairs and he wouldn't blame her if she never forgave him.

Max stopped just outside Liz's door, an apology already on his lips, "You were right, about Alex. He was killed by an alien. I prayed that that wasn't the case but it was. We're responsible."

Tears gathered in Liz's eyes as she instantly forgave him. She knew how much he hadn't wanted it to be true. "I never blamed you Max. I never blamed any of you."

"I know," Max said with a sigh of relief. He should have known Liz was too good a person to hold a grudge against him. "I know you didn't."

Liz continued, "I never wanted to lose you."

"Me either," Max said and he took a couple of steps closer to her, wanting to be near her for maybe the last time. He could feel the emotions rising up within him and knew it was the same with Liz. She had never stopped loving him, but now it was all too late. He stopped suddenly and got back to the point of his visit, "Liz, I need all the information that you have on Leanna."

Liz was surprised by his request, "Why?"

"I have to take care of the situation," Max said, not wanting to admit to Liz what he had to do.

"Take care of it how?" Liz asked, but Max remained silent as he looked down, and then slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. The look on Max's face made the truth apparent to Liz. Max was going to execute Leanna for murdering Alex. Liz shook her head, "Well, I'm coming with you."

"No," Max instantly denied.

"I started this," Liz said. "I'm gonna see this through to the end. She killed Alex."


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


(The Valenti House)

Jim pressed a warm cloth to Tess' forehead.

"Thanks, that helps," Tess said.

"Mm hm," Jim grunted in acknowledgement. "Listen," he started, "I just want you to know if anything goes wrong, if you're not able to go home, then you have a home here. That your child has a home here too. I mean, you're uh, you're both part of this family now. We'll figure out what's wrong with the baby. We'll find a way."

Tess smiled, "Thank you." Since she had agreed to help Lonni and Rath she'd had a few moments of regret and this was one of them. She really cared for the Valenti's and she was sad that she'd had to deceive them. They were the only family she had known.

"Sure," Jim said. "I'll get some more warm water."

"Thanks" Tess said and a sudden impulse prompted her to add, "Dad."


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


(University of Las Cruces – dorms)

Liz stopped beside Max in the duct and looked through the vent at Leanna. "What are you going to do?"

Max glanced around the ductwork, devising a quick plan. "I'm gonna send a bolt of energy to that heater. It will explode. A fire will start, fast. Too fast for her to react."

"What about the other dorm rooms, the other students?" Liz asked, concerned.

Max explained, "I can contain the fire with my powers long enough for everyone else to get out of the building."

Liz shook her head. This whole thing seemed wrong. "Max this isn't like you, it's not planned out."

Max tried to make her understand, "Liz, I have to do this now."

Liz had a really bad feeling. "Max, this doesn't seem right."

Max had never killed anyone and he didn't want to start now, but he had to make sure his friends were safe after he left and this was his only option. If there was a way of prosecuting Leanna he would have done it, but there wasn't. He couldn't leave an alien murderer loose to kill off his friends one by one. And he couldn't let Liz stand in his way. "Go to the Jeep,” he told Liz, “you don't have to be a part of this."

Liz got in his face, stressing her words, "It doesn't feel right."

As Liz climbed out of the vent and headed toward the exit, the feeling of wrongness grew within her. She knew that Max had to kill the alien who murdered Alex, there was just no other way of taking care of it, but something she just couldn't grasp was hovering in the back of her mind.

Suddenly Liz had a flash of what Leanna had been doing, and everything snapped into place. Leanna had been attempting to sew a button on a shirt and even though sewing could be a hobby, Liz didn't think it was Leanna's. She had been clumsy, fumbling with the needle to the point that she had stuck herself, and that wasn’t the behavior of an experienced seamstress.

If Leanna were an alien, she could have used her powers to thread the needle, or more likely simply used her powers to attach the button and not bother with the needle and thread at all.

"Max!" Liz yelled, as she spun around, hoping he would hear her. She ran to Leanna's door and started pounding furiously and then let herself in when she discovered the door was unlocked. She had to get Leanna out before Max succeeded in setting the fire.

"Who are you?" Leanna asked.

Liz pushed her toward the door, "Come on! Come on! Get out! Get out! Fire!"

Liz grabbed the tissue Leanna had used to stop the bleeding on her finger. She was positive that she was right, but a quick look at Leanna's blood through a microscope would leave no room for doubt.


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


(The Valenti house – Tess’ room)

Tess finished the mind warp of Kyle with a sigh of relief. Obviously being in her room had jogged his memory of Alex being there, something in the room triggering it somehow. Tess had been afraid something like that might happen. There had been two other times when Kyle had gotten brief memory flashes of Alex, but this time he had nearly come out of the mind warp completely. And if he broke out of one mind warp, there was no telling what else he might remember. When she had mind warped him after Alex died, she could feel the beginnings of his powers. And she knew her mind warps were more easily broken by people with powers.

Of course the mind warp would probably eventually break down anyway but it should have lasted much longer on Kyle than it had. But she had been using her powers so much over the last few months, mind warping and reinforcing mind warps on practically everyone, that she was exhausted.

"What were you saying?" she asked Kyle to bring him out of it.

Kyle paused for a moment, having lost his train of thought and then continued as the planted memory surfaced, "That I'm really gonna miss you."


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


Song Playing: The Reason by Hoobastank

Max stopped the Jeep in front of the Crashdown. He knew he should say goodbye to Liz but he just couldn't let her go yet. "I always thought when we graduated I would give you my ring." He handed her the pendant they had found at Atherton's, one of the only things he had from his planet. "It looks like I won't graduate, so this is something from where I'll be."

"I can't believe that this is what I have of you. I can't believe that after everything..." she trailed off, unable to continue.

Ever since Liz had slipped up earlier, it had been on Max's mind, and he had to know the truth. "Liz, you never slept with Kyle, did you?"

He watched as Liz shook her head, and the pain of his betrayal of her pressed even more heavily on his heart. "I wish… I wish this all could have been different. I wish that so much."

Max pulled Liz into a kiss, savoring her sweet essence one last time.

"I guess that this is goodbye." Liz felt her heart breaking, knowing that soon he would be gone forever. He would go home and be with his wife and child, and suddenly Liz had to know. "Just tell me one thing. Do you love her?"

Max winced. It sounded awful to admit even to Liz that he didn't love Tess when he had created a child with her. He did love her in a way but not the way she wanted and not the way he knew that he should. He loved Tess as a friend, almost as a sister, but he loved Liz with a soul-searing passion he knew would never end. But he couldn't tell Liz now, especially when he was leaving to be with Tess.

He smiled sadly and settled for a few simple words, "Not like I love you."

He watched as Liz walked to the door, and she turned back to him for just a moment before disappearing inside. It was the last time he would ever see her and it was all his own fault. The tears he had been keeping at bay suddenly burst from him and he collapsed against the steering wheel, mourning the loss of everything that could have been.


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


(The Valenti House)

Max walked into Tess' room, "Let's go."

Tess looked at him. She’d been having doubts all day, wondering if Lonni was right. Would she be with Max once they reached Antar or would Khivar have him killed? Maybe Alex had been right. Maybe if she just told Max what Lonni and Rath had forced her to do, he would understand. Tess stood up slowly, "Max, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Max said too quickly.

Tess wasn't sure if it was Max talking, or if his answer was the result of her mind warp, but he didn’t sound convinced either way. "Right," she said.

Max felt more unsure of himself than he ever had, but he didn't have another choice. The baby would die if they stayed on Earth, and he kissed Tess to reassure her of his commitment to her and their child.

As Max's lips met hers, Tess received one of the only flashes she had ever gotten from him. At first, she was happy that Max was finally lowering his defenses toward her, but then she recognized the content of the images. Max had been kissing Liz, declaring his love for her, just a short while before.

"You kissed Liz!" Tess blurted out, instantly furious. How dare Max treat her like that! She was his wife and was carrying his child, but he had gone to Liz anyway. Suddenly Tess’ doubts about returning home evaporated. When they got home, she would make sure Max never even looked at another woman and she would wipe every memory of Liz from his mind.

"Don't worry," she said, "you won't remember her where we're going."


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


(In the desert – outside Roswell, NM)

Jim arrived to meet Max, Michael, Tess and Isabel where Max had specified. Max had decided they should get rid of the Jeep, so there would be nothing for their parents to trace. But with everything else, they hadn't had time to sell it, so they decided to simply destroy it.

Max approached Jim and nodded toward the Jeep, "After we do this, we'll walk to the pod chamber. It isn't far and it will give you time to get somewhere that you can be seen when we take off."

"Do you know what will happen?" Jim asked.

Max shook his head, "No, but the last thing you need is to be MIA when there is another UFO sighting."

Jim nodded and then helped them secure the cans of gas inside the Jeep that would feed the explosion.


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


(Episode - Departure)
(Saturday, May 19th, 2001)
(The Valenti House)

Maria, Liz and Kyle climbed into the Jetta and headed toward the highway, desperate to get to the pod chamber and the Granolith before Max, Michael and Isabel left.

Liz had been to the pod chamber once before, but that was the day Max and Isabel had gotten the message from their mother. She had not paid attention to where they were going on the way there because she and Max had been too engrossed in one another. And after she’d heard the message and left Max, her grief had consumed her, and the drive home was just a blur.

"I can't remember exactly where the pod chamber is," Liz admitted. "Do you remember, Maria?"

Maria was incredulous, "Me?" She shook her head. "I get lost just driving across town."

"Okay, wait a minute," Kyle said. "Neither one of you can remember how to get there?"

"What are we going to do?" asked Maria. "We can't let Tess get away."

"She won't," Liz promised. "We'll find it somehow. I know the general area."

"What about landmarks?" asked Kyle.

"Yeah," Liz nodded, "it's on what used to be the Pohlman ranch, you know the crash site, and there is an old radio tower nearby."

Kyle nodded, "I know where that is. My Grandpa used to take me there sometimes when I was a kid. There's a dirt road just past mile marker twenty-eight that heads out into the desert to the tower."

Maria was practically jumping out of her skin, "Well let's go!"

"I still can't believe this is happening," Liz said. "It's all like a bad dream."

"So why are they going home?" Maria asked. "Michael and I didn't really discuss it."

Kyle kept silent hoping he wouldn't have to break the news of Tess' pregnancy to Liz but after a moment Liz answered. "Tess is pregnant."

"What?" Maria asked incredulously. "Who did that little tramp jump into bed with..." she trailed off. "Oh! You don't mean Tess and Max?"

Liz nodded. "Apparently the b-baby can't survive on Earth so they're going back."

"Oh Liz," Maria said sadly, "I'm so sorry."

Liz nodded but said nothing as the tears started to gather in her eyes, and she turned to look out the window.

They continued in silence, but after a few minutes Liz saw their landmark. "There's the mile marker. Kyle, how much further?"

"It's just up ahead," Kyle assured her.


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


Tess smiled as Max waved his hand over the control to open the pod chamber door. She was minutes away from getting everything she had ever wanted.


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


The Jetta pulled onto the dirt road and headed into the desert. Liz had never felt so anxious in her life. Max, Michael and Isabel might be leaving at any time, on their way back home with Alex's murderer.

Suddenly she saw the rock formation, "That's it."

The Jetta skidded to a halt at the base of the rocks and the three of them raced up the path. Liz stopped at the solid rock face, even though it was closed she recognized the door. "Wait it's right here," she called to Maria and Kyle. She pounded on the hard surface, yelling, "Hey guys open up."

Kyle and Maria joined her, "Open up!"


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


(The Pod Chamber)

Michael looked at the Granolith and then at the people before him and he suddenly realized he didn't want to go. Max and Isabel had been his family for so long but he had another home now. A home that called to him more than a planet he didn't even remember, across the galaxy. Maybe that was why he had never pursued the memory retrieval with Tess because subconsciously he didn't want to remember. He belonged here on Earth with Maria. "Max, I can't go," he said, barely believing his own words. "Ever since we came out of the pods, I've been on some quest to figure out where I belong. I finally found home. The weird thing is, it's here, it's on Earth."

Max smiled, "You of all people."

Tess suddenly realized that Michael meant to stay on Earth and she almost panicked. What would happen if she showed up without Michael? Then she calmed down. Nothing would happen. She doubted Nicholas or Khivar cared what happened to Michael. Then she saw Max turn to Isabel.

"I would understand..." he started.

Tess started to panic again. Michael didn't matter but Isabel definitely did. Khivar wanted her back. Tess didn't know what to do but she had to act fast. She had used her powers so much lately that she was exhausted, and she didn’t know if she had the strength for an additional mind warp.

Isabel smiled at Max, "What you said before, you're my home too."

Tess sighed with relief and stepped forward before they could change their minds. "Well, whoever is coming, we have to go. Now."

Michael couldn't stay in the chamber with the others, he couldn't bear to see them leave. He passed his hand over the door mechanism and the door slid open, and suddenly Maria was before him.

"Tess killed Alex!" she blurted out.

"What?" Michael asked.

Michael turned, and followed closely by Liz, Maria, and Kyle, rushed through the pod chamber and into the Granolith room

As she entered, Liz saw Max reaching for a large object she assumed was the Granolith. "Max, stop!" she yelled.

He drew his hand back as if he had been burned and turned toward her and she continued, "It was Tess. Tess killed Alex. She mind warped Alex and sent him to Las Cruces to decode the book, but he broke out of the mind warp and she killed him."

"It's true," Kyle said shakily, backing up Liz. "I was there. I witnessed it."

Max was stunned, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because she mind warped me," Kyle said. He turned to Tess, his pent up feelings pouring out, "You lived in my home, you were like my sister!"

Max turned to Tess and it was as if he saw her for the first time. She appeared the same physically but she was suddenly different somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on the difference but it was there. It was as if he had suddenly seen Tess' true face and he was repulsed by her. She was a murderer. "How long?" he asked Michael over his shoulder.

"About three minutes," Michael said.

"Everyone out!" Max ordered.

"Max..." Michael started to protest, but Max cut him off.

"Now!" he ordered. He waited until the others left, not wanting them to witness what he had to do. He was the King and Tess was his responsibility. "Did you kill Alex?" he ground out.

Tess was so exhausted that she knew she probably only had one chance to save herself. There was no point in lying since Kyle and Liz had already revealed the whole thing. "I didn't want to. I wish I hadn't, but I did."

"Why?" Max asked.

"Look Max," she said, trying to distract him, "the, the clock's ticking, we don't really have time..."

"Tell me why!" Max shouted.

Tess talked, trying to buy herself some time. Max was so angry, she was afraid of what he might do if she refused. "He would have told you what I did and I couldn't let that happen."

"So you just, you just killed him?" Max asked incredulously.

"I didn't mean to," she explained. "His brain was just so weakened by the mind warp, and..." She trailed off and refocused, hoping she still had enough power to convince him. "Look, none of this matters now." She started to build her power for a mind warp.

"Life matters Tess," Max spat at her. "My life, your life, his..."

"What matters is getting home," Tess cut him off angrily, "but you could never understand that could you?" She could feel Max's power building, crackling around him, and knew she would never be able to force him to come with her. He was too powerful and she had lost all influence over him. She lashed out at the one person she saw as the cause of all her problems. "I might have been able to teach you, but that stupid bitch had you wrapped around her..."

"Don't you ever call her that!" Max shouted.

"See!" Tess said. "Look how fast you run to her defense! Why couldn't you ever feel that about me? I'm your wife Max!" She used the argument she knew would hurt him the most because it would remind him of her importance, "I'm carrying your child!"

"This was all some kind of plan to get pregnant and go home, wasn't it?" Max asked, horrified by his sudden realization. Maybe the baby wasn't even sick. Maybe Tess had concocted the whole thing to force them to go home. He couldn't believe she wanted to return so badly. "Home to what, Tess? To Khivar? To our enemies?"

"They're not my enemies, Max," Tess told him haughtily, trying to make him understand.

Max recoiled as if she had struck him. He couldn't believe she would betray all of them so calculatingly. "You made a deal with them, with Khivar."

Tess knew she had pushed Max too far. He looked as if he were going to kill her. She couldn't reveal Lonni and Rath's part in the plan or they would tell Max the truth about her past, so she placed the blame on the first person she thought of. "No, Nasedo made a deal, forty years ago."

"What was the deal?" Max asked. "Tell me!"

The lie was easy to continue, she simply based it on the truth, "To return home with your child, and deliver the three of you to Khivar."

"And what would happen to us once you delivered us?" he asked angrily.

Tess remained silent. She had asked Lonni the same thing. Lonni had assured her over and over, that Max would not be harmed after he stepped down from the throne, but Tess wasn't sure she believed Lonni. But what other choice had she been given, she asked herself? She'd had to believe Lonni, because Lonni had offered her the only chance to get what she wanted. But now it was all falling apart.

"How did I ever fall in love with someone like you?" Max spat at Tess. "How could I ever marry you?"

Tess was suddenly furious. How dare Max deny their love. "You were different! You were a King! Now you're just a boy," she finished disdainfully.

Max was so angry that he could have wrung the life out of her, but he tried to remain calm. Tess had coldly, calculatingly used Alex and then killed him when he threatened to expose her. She deserved to die for what she had done, but no court on Earth would convict her, so it was his responsibility to deliver justice.

Tess watched as Max raised his hand toward her and she knew he meant to kill her. For a moment, she was desperately afraid that Max would do it but then the solution suddenly occurred to her. She hadn't failed after all. She had the perfect leverage over Max to ensure it wasn't over between them. Max would come after her, he would never stop searching for her. She smiled and triumphantly spoke the words guaranteed to make Max back off. "You kill me, Max, you kill our son."

Max hesitated and then slowly lowered his hand. Tess was right. No matter what she had done, their son was innocent and he couldn't kill him. If he forced Tess to stay on Earth the baby could die. If there was a way he could take his son from her he would, but he couldn't take the chance that the baby was really sick. "Go," he told her reluctantly. "This isn't over, Tess."

Tess reached out to the Granolith, not wanting to leave Max, but knowing it was the only course available to her now. She had backed herself into a corner and needed some time to regroup before she confronted him again. But as much as she knew she had to go, she was afraid of what would happen when she arrived without the others.

Max watched as Tess touched the surface of the Granolith and was suddenly transported inside. He didn't want to let her leave with his son, but there was no other choice. There was no way to stop the Granolith and it was the one chance he had to send his son to Antar where he could survive. He watched as long as he could, fearing for his son, but then the chamber started to collapse and he was forced to run.

Isabel was waiting for Max just outside, not knowing what he intended to do, and she cried out in relief when she finally saw him, "MAX!

"Quick, go," Max said as he turned her away from the pod chamber. The others were standing near the door and he yelled to them, "Let's go!"

Max grabbed Liz's hand and led her down the slope to the relative safety of the rocks below. He pulled her into his arms as the rock formation started to disintegrate.

The six of them watched as the pod chamber was destroyed, and the ship containing the Granolith and Tess shot into the air and out of sight.

Max turned back to Liz who was still shaking in the circle of his arms. Once again he had her to thank for saving them, but he just didn't have the words. "I've been really wrong about a lot. But I was right about one thing, to get you into my life, to be around you, to love you."

Liz gazed up at Max. She felt detached, as if she were in shock because of the enormous events of the last few days. Max's words had been an apology of sorts but there was still so much that had been said and done. But Liz released a sigh and pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She had been dreaming of being with Max for months and she let him pull her to him and laid her head on his chest, savoring the moment.

Hugging Liz had been instinctive but Max knew there was still a lot they had to work through including the fact that he had created a son with Tess. And after a few precious moments of holding Liz, he reluctantly released her and turned away. He and Liz needed to talk but this wasn't the time, and after everything that had happened he wondered if she would even consider giving him another chance.

All of the events of the past year flashed through Max's head, Tess' every action taking on a new, sinister meaning. And then he focused on the night at the observatory. He had thought it had been spontaneous, but obviously Tess had planned it all along.

Isabel's voice interrupted his thoughts, "What happens now, Max?"

Max didn't even have to think, he answered automatically, "I have to save my son."

Max's words ripped through Liz like a knife, slashing through the numbness that had protectively settled over her. After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she had attempted to push that bit of information to the back of her mind, but now it came rushing forward again. Max had slept with Tess. Liz had known they were growing closer but she had never suspected they would move ahead so quickly, and now Tess was carrying Max's son.

Liz suddenly felt sick. Everything had turned out so badly, Tess had betrayed them and taken Max's son, and Alex was dead. But this was how it was supposed to be, wasn't it? The other Max had been convinced Max had to be with Tess to save the world, but Tess had left again and this time she had taken Max's son and the Granolith to the enemy.

For several minutes, no one moved and then Max turned to look at everyone. "Tess said some things when we were alone." He paused, still having a hard time believing the lengths she had been willing to go. "She said that Nasedo made a deal with Khivar to get her pregnant with my child and hand the three of us over to him."

"She was your wife," Isabel hissed. "How could she betray you like that? Betray all of us?"

"She intimated it was because I didn't love her like she wanted me to," Max said with a shrug. "But I think she would have turned us over anyway," Max glanced at Liz and then turned away, "even though she’s carrying my son."

Max's words sent a slow, freezing pain into Liz's heart. He may not have loved Tess, he had admitted that much to her, but the child would always bind them together.

Liz knew Max had loved her, still loved her, but her actions had driven him to Tess just as she had hoped and feared they would. She had hoped against hope that Max would remain faithful to her, somehow knowing she was only pushing him away for his own good, but she had done her job too well. Max had lost faith in them, in their love, and he had gone to Tess.



Song Playing: Meant to Live by Switchfoot



Liz stared at Max's profile. Now that Tess was gone, the Royal Four were no longer together. Liz wondered if the older version of Max who had come back in time, could have guessed at the future they had created together. Alex was dead and Tess had betrayed them. The world was still doomed. Maybe it was destiny. No matter what they did they were destined to lose to Khivar.

Liz stood motionless, as the others started toward the car, and she struggled to push the negative thoughts aside. She had to believe there was a chance for them. If they worked together, if they were smart, they had to have a chance. They had an advantage over the other Max and Liz who had lost their war with Khivar, because they had been given a glimpse of the future, she had. And it was time to tell the others the truth.

"Wait," Liz called.

The faces of her five friends turned to her with questioning eyes.

"What it Liz?" Max asked, the concern evident in his tone.

"There's something I have to tell you," Liz said with a sigh.

"Look Liz," Michael started impatiently, "we're all tired..."

"And we need to get to the Sheriff before he gives our parents the tape," Isabel interrupted.

"Okay," Liz conceded, "but this is important, maybe more important than anything else..." she stopped as Maria detached herself from Michael and came rushing forward.

"Liz!" Maria yelled, as she ran to join her friend. She grabbed Liz's arm and pulled her a short distance away, whispering fiercely, "You're going to tell them, aren’t you? Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean look what happened here today."

Liz shook her head. "I don't know what to do," she said, as tears gathered in her eyes and started to roll down her face. "I only know that because of what the other Max and I did, Alex is dead and Tess betrayed us. Now Tess is gone again, and they are still short one member of the Royal Four and that is what Max said killed us all. That is the reason I pushed Max to be with Tess, so she would stay." Liz took a breath and pressed to continue, her voice cracking under the emotion, "Max said they are stronger together."

Maria pulled Liz into an embrace, realizing for the first time the strain her friend had been under for months. Liz had never really talked to her about what she and the other Max had done, and Maria figured it was for the best, but now she understood that Liz had been in pain every moment of every day since then. "I'm sorry Liz. I didn't know."

Liz let Maria hold her for a moment and then gently pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. "I don't know what’s right but we have to do something. At least this way they will be as prepared as they can be."

"Liz?" Max asked softly, his voice drawing her attention. "What is it you want to tell us?"

Liz looked at the expectant faces before her, each of them dear to her in their own way. How would they react when she told them the secret she had been keeping for so long? "This might take a while," she started. "Maybe we should meet later. We don't want to worry your parents and everyone is tired."

"And hungry," Kyle interjected.

Liz smiled. Trust Kyle to lighten the mood.

Max studied Liz's face for any sign of what she was thinking. He knew she had been keeping secrets from him for a long time and if she was ready to talk, he didn't want to give her a chance to change her mind. Without taking his eyes off of Liz he spoke, "Isabel, call Valenti and tell him we didn't leave. Then I think we should hear what Liz has to say."

Liz shied away from the intense look in Max's eyes, turning to pace back and forth, wringing her hands, searching for the words to explain what she had done. The others took seats on the rocks and she was aware of their eyes following her as she walked. And after a too-short moment, Isabel returned to them and Liz knew the time had come.

Ready or not, she turned toward them, took a deep breath and dived right in. "I had a visitor last October," she began. "He told me a lot of things, but he said the most important thing was that no one knew he had been here."

Michael leaped up and rushed toward Liz, stopping inches from her face. "You had a visitor?" he spat furiously. "What kind of visitor? Who was it? What did you tell him?" He turned to the others, "We trusted her and she just tells anyone?"

Max and Maria both jumped to their feet. Max rushed toward Liz but Maria reached them first and pushed Michael away from Liz, attacking him with pounding fists to his chest. "Don't you dare say anything bad about Liz!" Maria shouted in Michael's face. "She sacrificed everything for you!"

Michael grabbed Maria's wrists, holding her furiously wriggling body just out of contact with his, "What are you talking about?"

"I think she'll explain if you let her," Max said softly.

But Michael wasn't ready to let go that easily. "Somebody comes to her and she just believes them? It could have been the FBI, another shape shifter, a skin. Who is she sharing our secrets with?"

Liz shook her head, "Michael, I'm not stupid. I didn't believe him at first but he proved to me who he was. He was only here to help."

"Was it that Larek guy?" Kyle asked.

"No," Liz said softly, looking into the golden eyes of her beloved, remembering the other who had sacrificed his life to save theirs. "It was Max."

"Max?" Kyle asked, more confused than ever. He looked to Max, who shook his head with a shrug, and seeing that Max couldn't explain, Kyle turned back to Liz. "Maybe you had better start from the beginning."

Liz continued. "It was the night you came to my house with the Mariachi band," she said to Max, and then turned to encompass the others in her gaze. "A man who looked like Max came to my window just a few moments before this Max arrived with the band. At first I didn't believe him when he told me who he was, but he told me several things just before they happened."

She repeated the words that had helped to convince her, "Even if he was a shape shifter he couldn't know the future." Liz paused to let the information sink in.

Max was the first to grasp the implications. "Are you saying he was me? From the future?"

Liz nodded.

"How is that possible?" Isabel gasped.

"Max, the other Max, told me that with the help of a friend named Serena, we were able to modify the Granolith to tear a hole in time-space, and viola instant time machine."

Max pounced on the information. "That is what you meant when you warned me about the Granolith." He repeated her words from that awful night when he had left for New York, months ago, "The Granolith is powerful and it could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

Liz smiled sadly, remembering the same night. "You wouldn't believe me and I couldn't tell you the truth."

Max took her hands in his. "I did remember and I did believe you, even though I didn't know why. It just felt true."

Michael spoke, "I hate to interrupt you two but can we get back to the story. Why would Max come back? Just to warn you about the Granolith?"

Liz shook her head. "He told me things that had happened in his future." She shuddered remembering his words, "He said our enemies had taken over everyone, the Earth, but he and I could stop it from happening." She paused, remembering the feeling of horror that had overcome her because of Max's revelation. "There was one thing that had happened to weaken us as a group and if we could prevent it maybe we had a chance to save the world."

Liz took a breath and Max squeezed her hand in support. "He said that Max and I had gotten together and it drove Tess away. And without Tess you weren't strong enough to defeat Khivar."

Max felt his eyes fill with tears, remembering the night Liz had set him up with Tess. "So you tried to get me and Tess together that night outside the Crashdown. But I saw you in Whitaker's office."

"And you kissed me," Liz whispered, and squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered the sweetness and power in that kiss. Tears rolled down her face and she opened her eyes and continued, "You kept coming back to me. So I went to your room and told you I didn't want to die for you."

"You begged me to stop but I still wouldn't," Max remembered, "so you... had to go to Kyle."

"I didn't want to do it, Max. I fought with him, the other Max," Liz explained. "How could our being together doom the entire world? How could two people have that much power?" She shook her head, "I thought we could find another way. I thought it would be enough for me to stay away from you, but the other Max told me that Isabel and Michael had been killed in his time. I couldn't let my selfish wants destroy us all."

She paused, wiping the gathering tears from her eyes and then continued, "Max was convinced the only way to save us all was for you to be with Tess, and he knew you would never consider being with her if you were still in love with me. So even though it nearly killed me I did it. I pretended to sleep with Kyle to turn you away from me."

"Liz," Max choked with emotion, and pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. She had told him last night that she had never slept with Kyle, and he had assumed she had pushed him away to make him follow his destiny, but he had never suspected the burden she had borne alone, all of those months. She had carried the weight of two worlds on her small shoulders. Max couldn't imagine what her actions had cost her and he couldn't believe her strength. She had endured his lack of faith and cruelty and then she had been forced to watch as he grew closer to Tess. He didn't have the words to express his gratitude and sorrow for what she had been through. "I'm so sorry for everything," he whispered, as tears ran down his face.

Liz hugged him tighter and shook her head, "No Max, don't be sorry. Even knowing what I do now, I would do it all again. I did it because you asked me. I did it for you."

Michael approached Max and Liz as they embraced one another. "Um, Liz, I'm sorry for those things I said and for thinking, even for a moment, you would betray us. I should have known better. It was just this whole thing with Tess and then when you..." he let his sentence trail off with a shake of his head. "You've been a great friend to all of us," he looked down and scuffed the toe of his shoe in the dirt, "even when we didn't deserve it."

Isabel broke in, "But the other Max couldn't have known about Tess and Nasedo's betrayal or he wouldn't have wanted her to stay."

"No," Liz said, breaking from her embrace with Max. "I know he didn't. He thought Tess was necessary for you to win the war."

"But she's gone," Isabel said woodenly, "again."

"That's why I had to tell you," Liz explained. "I wanted you to have the whole story so we can stop it from happening again and all of this suffering won't be for nothing."

Isabel had a haunted look in her eyes. "What happened to Alex, in the other time?"

Liz hung her head, fresh tears pricking her eyes. When she spoke it was with a strained voice, "He was alive. The other Max told me that we eloped when we were nineteen and afterward all of you and Alex came to help us celebrate." She paused and took a deep breath, "That's why I couldn't let go of his death. I knew it wasn't suicide because he was alive in the other time, and that meant Alex died this time because of something I changed." Liz raised her head to look Isabel in the eyes and her voice was just a whisper, "I killed him."

Tears were running down Isabel's face but she brushed them angrily away. "No!" she cried. "No Liz, you saved him, you saved us all. Tess killed him. It was her choice, her fault."

"But if I had done things differently..." Liz started, only to be stopped by Max.

"Liz you did what you had to do to save us all," he said softly, wondering if he could have given her up, even to save the world. "I don't know if I could have been that strong in your place."

"But you were," Liz assured him. "What do you think happened to the other Max? He knew what would happen before he came here. When we changed the time line he disappeared, dissolved into nothing like he never existed."

"Liz," Michael said softly, "you should have told us when you were investigating Alex's death. If we would have known..." he trailed off, trying to imagine if he would have believed her.

"When should I have told you Michael?" Liz asked softly. "I didn't know what Tess was doing. I thought she had to be with Max. If I told you some of it, I would have had to tell you all of it and risked history turning out the same way. I didn't think I would ever tell any of you, I thought it would be safer that way."

"But you told us now," Isabel realized, "because without Tess you are afraid it will happen again."

Liz nodded. "I don't know what will happen, I don't know anything, its a different world," she said, echoing the words the other Max had used, "but I think we should gather all of the information and resources we can to prepare."

Max nodded agreement, "She's right. We need to prepare for the worst. With Tess gone and the power of the Granolith in Khivar's hands..." he trailed off. What had he done? He had sent his son and the Granolith to their enemy, but once the countdown had started it couldn't have been stopped. He'd had no choice. Or had he? He looked at Liz and could see the same questions in her eyes. "Tess must have set you up to find the translation. She engineered the whole thing, leading you from clue to clue to find the book. But what if the translation she gave us wasn't the real one?"

"I wondered the same thing," Liz said with a nod. "I think we should go back to Las Cruces University and get Don's help to run the decryption program to find out what the book really said."

"Or maybe we should just go to Brody and talk to Larek," Maria suggested.

"Larek," Liz said, "I should have thought of him before. Surely he can read the book."

Michael, Isabel and Max all spoke at the same time, "No!"

Liz and Maria looked at them. "Why not?"

Michael was shaking his head furiously and Max spoke, "We can't go to Brody. It's too dangerous, especially after what happened."

"But that wasn't his fault," Maria declared, defending her friend.

"No," Isabel said adamantly, "we can't risk hurting him."

Kyle stepped forward. "Wait a minute. You get my father fired for helping you but you won't even talk to Brody. What the hell?"

"Yeah Max," Liz said, her confusion evident in her knotted brow, "Larek would be a great source of information. He could tell you what is happening on your planet; if Tess arrived, and what is happening to your s-son." She took Max's arm. "Didn't you contact Larek when you found out the baby was sick? Ask him how to get home?"

"No," Max said simply.

Liz couldn't understand their hesitation. "Max we need to know what’s going on and Brody may be our only source. We have to risk it."

"No," Max snarled, "we're not going to Brody." He snatched his arm from Liz, and the abrupt action caused her to fall to the ground.

She looked up at him, stunned by his actions.

Immediately Max was on his knees before her. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did that. Are you hurt?"

"Max, what's wrong?" Liz asked. "Why are you so against seeing him?"

Max pressed he hands to his head, "I... I don't... I, I don't know. I just know it would be bad."

Liz looked at Michael and Isabel. "And what about you two? Why don't you want to see Brody?"

"We shouldn't bother him," Isabel said in a soft voice. "We might hurt him again."

Michael continued to shake his head silently.

Liz shared a look with Maria and Kyle and stood with Max's help. "I think Tess has mind warped all of you. For some reason she didn't want you to go to Brody, so she made you think it was dangerous to confront him. Probably because she didn't want to risk that you would try and get his help."

Michael was instantly indignant, "Tess did not mind warp me. I would know..."

Kyle cut him off with a smile, "Welcome to the club, Guerin."


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


Song Playing: Breathe You In by Stabbing Westward

After Liz's revelations, it seemed more important than ever that they work together. They were the only ones who knew the world was in danger and they were the only ones capable of saving it.

With Liz's help, they worked to clear the compulsion about Brody from their minds; Max, Michael and Isabel each discovering the memory of Tess mind warping them to stay away from him.

Max knew Brody would be at the UFO Museum that morning and they all agreed to meet there just after it opened. Isabel, Michael and Maria squeezed into the Jetta while Max and Liz volunteered to wait for the second trip.

"You should report the Jeep stolen right away," suggested Kyle. "It'll look suspicious if you don't."

"Thanks Kyle," Max said with a glance toward Liz, "Thanks for everything."

Kyle smiled. His hostility toward Max had dissolved instantly when he had heard Liz's story. "I told you I would take care of her."

Max nodded and Kyle climbed into the car with the others and they drove away.

As the car disappeared in the distance, Liz was suddenly nervous to be alone with Max. She was hyper-aware of him and knew without looking that he had turned toward her.

"Why Liz?” Max asked softly. “Why did he, did I, choose that particular time to change the course of history? I mean why not go back before..." he let his voice trail off. He was going to say before they had met, but he knew why his older self had not chosen that time. If he had gone back that far, he wouldn't have been in the Crashdown the day Liz was shot.

Liz misinterpreted Max's hesitation. "He never said specifically why they choose that day but I've had months to consider their motives. I believe he waited until that specific time because there were certain things he wanted us to discover. We found the healing stones, the communication orbs, Nasedo and Tess. We stopped Pierce and the Special Unit."

She took a breath, "If I hadn't worked for Whitaker maybe we wouldn't have found out she was a skin and stopped her. Maybe Michael wouldn't have met Hal and learned about the other pods. Those events would have happened in the other Max's time too and I think he didn't want to risk changing them. They were too important."

Liz sat down on a rocky outcropping and wrapped her arms around her knees, "As for the specific thing he wanted to stop," she paused, risking a look at Max, "he told me that on the night of the Gomez concert our relationship changed."

"Changed how?" Max asked.

"You should know, Mr. condom in his pocket," Liz tried for humor but felt a bitter laugh rise up in her throat and pushed it down, trying not to think of another time when he obviously had not used a condom.

Max blushed as he sat down beside her, "You mean, we made love."

Liz nodded, "That's what he said." She looked into Max's face and saw the same pain that she had felt all of the long months. "He told me after that, we were never separated again."

"And we eloped," Max prompted, wanting her to continue.

"In Vegas, at the Elvis chapel."

Max gasped, "The vision I had in Vegas."

Liz nodded, "I don't know how you saw it, but it was real. Maybe somehow the other Max brought the memory back with him, or maybe because it was the only thing I was thinking about the whole time we were there."

"And you tried to tell me while we were dancing," he suddenly realized. "If only I had let you finish."

"I don't know if I would have told you," Liz admitted. "I wanted to so badly. When we were dancing everything seemed so perfect, as if none of the awful things had happened. And I thought it might be okay to tell you because it seemed like Tess and Kyle were getting close. I thought it could be our second chance."

"But I didn't give you the chance,” Max said. “I thought you were going to tell me I was getting too close to you again and you were going to push me away. I just couldn't bear to hear you say the words."

Liz gave him a smile that was more of a grimace, "Afterwards I was glad my moment of weakness hadn't doomed the planet."

"Liz," Max said stroking her hair, "I am sorry for so many things."

"Max you don't have to..." Liz started.

"No," he interrupted, "I need to tell you."

Liz remained silent and he continued, "I was so hurt when I saw you in bed with Kyle. Even though we weren't together I knew we belonged together and I knew you thought so too. The connection we have is so strong and we love each other so much, I was just waiting until you came back to me. I thought we both knew it was only a matter of time until we were together again. So when I thought you slept with Kyle, it was a betrayal of everything we shared. I felt torn, broken, like a piece of me had died." He practically choked on the words, "And that was what you felt when I told you I was with Tess."

Liz nodded. "I thought you would know I was doing it for you, and even though intellectually I knew you might turn to her, the reality of it never really penetrated into my heart. I was devastated when you told me she had helped you to remember your past, because I thought you would remember how much you loved her. I felt as if I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Any day you would come to me and say, 'oh guess what, I remember Tess and she is the love of my life.' I just couldn't handle it, so at the prom I pushed you away first. And then when I saw you kissing her, it was as if my worst nightmare had come true. Or so I thought."

Max hung his head, deeply ashamed of his actions.

Liz took a deep breath. "Last night when you told me you had been with T-Tess, I felt like I would die. I knew I couldn't mean anything to you anymore if you had slept with her." Liz's voice dropped to a whisper, "You had really stopped loving me."

"No Liz," he denied instantly, "I never stopped loving you. But everything between us just seemed so impossible. We were fighting about everything, constantly at each other's throats and I felt so guilty about Alex's death."

He shook his head, "I know there’s no excuse. I overreacted when I found out you were investigating but I was so angry and hurt that I just lashed out. I could hear my words and see my actions but it was as if I were watching someone else do it. Inside I was horrified about what I was doing to you and Isabel, but I couldn't stop myself. You told me you were only trying to help us but I couldn't hear you, and I will never forgive myself for the way I treated you.”

Max sighed, “I am sorry for everything I did but one of the things I regret most, is telling you that we weren't friends anymore. I was desperate to stop you from leaving me and it was the only thing I could think of to make you stay.” He shook his head, “I think I went a little crazy for a while."

"I went a little crazy after Alex died too," Liz said. "I blamed myself, I blamed you, the other Max, all aliens. I don't mean that I thought you killed him, but Alex died because he was mixed up in this conspiracy with us. He died because of something I did, something I changed, and I felt so guilty. I couldn't let you or anyone else stop me from discovering the truth."

Liz's voice turned harsh as she remembered the events of that morning, "And when I found out it was Tess who murdered Alex, I could have killed her with my bare hands. She took everything from me, including my best friend. She won. She got you, she is carrying your child and still she betrayed you. And everything I did was for nothing."

"No Liz," Max said adamantly, taking her by the shoulders and turning her to look at him, "it wasn't for nothing. Don't let your sacrifice and Alex's death be for nothing. He sacrificed himself to save us all just like you did. If you hadn't investigated his death we wouldn't have discovered Tess' betrayal, and Isabel, Michael and I would be on Antar in the hands of our enemies." Max shook his head, "No Liz, it wasn't for nothing. You did it to save us and I won't let you blame yourself. Tess made her own decisions. Especially after Nasedo died, she didn't have to go through with the plan. She could have told us what was happening, asked for our help, but she chose not to."

Liz smiled weakly, "Thank you for saying that Max."

Max wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. "It's just the truth," he said with a chaste kiss on her head.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of her hair for the first time in months. He had missed her so much and even the time he had spent with Tess, he had been thinking of Liz. But he couldn't help himself, he loved Liz.

He had been such a fool to think that Liz could have betrayed him. They had looked into each other's souls and he should have known she just wasn't capable of it. But he had lost faith and betrayed her, sleeping with Tess for all the wrong reasons. He had just been so hurt and confused.

Max closed his eyes with a sigh. He had been such a fool. Sitting here with Liz in his arms made everything so clear, as if he were waking up from a bad dream. This was where he belonged. He knew that Liz would probably never forgive him for what he had done, but he still felt they were meant to be together and he had to at least try.

Max took Liz's face gently in his hands, "Liz, after everything I have done, I know that I have no right to expect anything. But I never stopped loving you and hoping..." he trailed off. "Do you think we have a chance?"

Liz could hear the longing in Max's voice and saw it echoed in his eyes. A part of her was jumping for joy but there was another part that warned her to be cautious and take it slow. "I don’t know. I want to try again too, Max, but a lot has happened and I need some time."


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


Max had Maria drop him at the Sheriff's office to report the Jeep missing and then Sheriff Hansen offered him a ride home.

At his front door, Max waved to Hansen and entered the house. He was exhausted from the events of the last few days and desperately needed some sleep, but instead of going to his room, he went straight to Isabel's door and knocked softly.

"Come in," she called out after a moment, and he let himself in.

Isabel was sitting on her bed, looking at pictures of Alex and Max could see wet trails on her cheeks where she had quickly tried to wipe away any evidence of tears. He smiled sympathetically and sat down near her. The events of the last few weeks had not left any of them unscathed but Isabel's wounds were still raw and it was mostly his fault. "I wanted to come and apologize for the way I've been treating you..." he started, only to be cut off by Isabel.

"Max, its okay, really."

Max shook his head, "I know that we came to an understanding but I need to tell you how sorry I am. Hearing about the sacrifices Liz made, it just puts everything into perspective. I feel like such a jerk and I want try and explain."

Isabel nodded and he continued, "After Alex died, I think I needed to feel in control because it seemed like everything was spiraling into chaos around me. I was trying to protect all of you but it seemed that no matter what I did, it just got worse. You were keeping things from me about Vilondra. Michael told Courtney the location of the Granolith. I thought Liz had slept with Kyle but I still held out some hope that we might get back together, until the night of the prom. Liz told me I had to let her go, that she was suffocating with me. I thought everyone was turning against me."

He glanced at the photos on the bed. "Then Alex died and even with all of my powers I couldn't save him. I felt so guilty and so useless, but at the same time a part of me was denying the fact that he had been murdered. It was easier to think he had committed suicide and I felt guilty about that too. And when Liz started defying me by investigating, the rift opened between us and the humans, and I thought I was losing all of them."

"Everything seemed so hopeless. You and Liz are two of the most important people in the world to me and I could feel you both slipping away. So I kept tightening my hold on both of you but I was only pushing you farther away."

"The day I confronted you about college, I knew what I was doing was despicable but I couldn't stop myself, even though I hated myself for treating you that way. It was one of the worst days of my life." He shook his head, "I know there's no excuse but I just couldn't stand the thought of losing anyone else for any reason."

Isabel nodded, "I understand that now Max and you were right about one thing you said to me. I was trying to get away so desperately because everything here reminded me of Alex.” She shook her head, “We were both hurting Max, and we both did things we regret."

"And Tess," Max spat out the name with a twisted grimace. "It seemed like she was the only one there for me, the only one who supported me, but now I can see what she was really doing; manipulating me with soft urgings and whispered encouragements, telling me what I was doing was right, that I was justified. And all she was really doing was separating me from the rest of you so I would feel more lonely and turn to her." He shook his head, "I listened to her and my whole world came crashing down. I can't believe I was so stupid to believe in her."

"Tess fooled us all," Isabel said softly. "I'm just glad Liz was able to figure it out and stop us from going with her."

"Liz saved us, again." Max smiled sadly, "I feel like I need to spend the rest of my life apologizing to Liz for the way I treated her, for not believing in her."

"But you had a chance to talk it out, in the desert after we left," Isabel said.

"Yeah," Max agreed, "and she forgave me, but that is just another reason I don't feel worthy of her."

"Don't say that Max. I know Liz loves you and I'm sure it will work out between you. Sure, you made some mistakes but everyone does, you're not perfect. After all you're only..." Isabel trailed off when she realized what she was about to say.

"Human?" Max prompted. He shook his head and rose from the bed to look out the window, into the sky where Tess had disappeared just that morning. "You and Michael and I may be human, but my alien wife and child are out there somewhere. And I don't know if Liz can ever forgive me for that."


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


Michael, Maria, Isabel and Max emerged from the Jetta just as Kyle stopped his car in front of the UFO Museum. He glanced toward the Crashdown, and right on cue, Liz came out and jogged across the street to meet them.

Kyle was a little nervous about meeting Larek but he thought maybe the guy could give them some answers. "So what's the plan?" he asked as Liz reached them.

"I've got it covered," Isabel said.

The five of them followed Isabel into the Museum and straight into Brody's office. Without a word she placed her hand on his shoulder and sent a burst of energy into him. Her whole body jerked as she felt the contact with Larek.

Max pulled Isabel away from Brody, "Are you all right?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Max," Brody said. "What can I do for you?"

"Brody?" Max asked.

"No, it's Larek."

"Larek, we've got some big problems," Max started. "Tess and one of our protectors betrayed us to Khivar. Tess took the Granolith and is returning to Antar."

"Max, your protector is not capable of betraying you," Larek explained. "They are genetically coded for loyalty. It would be impossible for one to work against you."

The six of them looked at one another but Michael spoke first. "So Tess lied, big surprise."

Larek looked around the group, "Tess was the short, golden haired girl?"

Max nodded, "You knew her as Ava."

"No," Larek said, "the blonde girl Tess was not Ava."

"What are you talking about Larek?" asked Max incredulously. "Tess is Ava."

Larek shook his head, "She is not."

A whirlwind of thoughts flashed through Max's mind. This person who they had taken into their homes and hearts, who had killed Alex and betrayed them all, was not Ava. The woman who was carrying his child was not his wife?

"I know you have little memory of our planet," Larek continued, "but I don't know how you mistook her for Ava. On Antar her name was Chanya. She was Vilondra's closest friend."

"How do you know so certainly?" Max asked, horrified.

"I can see auras," Larek explained. "None of your auras have changed and neither has Chanya's." He motioned to Max, "I'm sure you don't remember, but I once told you that her aura is a very unique icy blue, like her eyes. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before or since. I noticed who she was when I met you in New York but I didn't say anything because I assumed you were trying to pass Chanya as your wife to keep Ava safe. I did wonder why Chanya had been sent to Earth. I thought only the four of you were sent but obviously I was wrong.”

"But if Tess isn't Ava," Isabel gasped, "what happened to Ava?"

A look of confusion passed over Larek's face. "You don't know? How can you not know?" he asked as he looked around the group. "She is Ava," Larek said, and he pointed to Liz.


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


Author's Note, part 2 - I know the episode Departure ended with the gang standing outside the ruined pod chamber and my additions would have taken place in the new season. But I just love a cliff-hanger ending.


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END OF BOOK 9 - VERISIMILITUDE (THE CONSPIRACY EXPOSED)




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TBC

In BOOK 10