Roswell Fanatics

*Tess*

"A-Are you leaving?" Liz asks Max when she sees the extra people in the room, her voice is fearful. I can't help but feel sorry for her. I know she and Max aren't together anymore but I know she still loves him and I can tell by the look in his eyes he still loves her to.

"No." Max tells Liz gently. "At least I don't think so. Nobody's mentioned it!" He says and then looks over at Zan, hoping maybe he'd have the answers.

"This is Zan. That was ... our name ... back on Antar. And this is Vilandra and Raith," Max tells Liz nodding at each of our dupes. "And that was Ava who just left. The other girl is Serena and they came her because she needs help." He tells Liz gently.

I note the confusion on Liz's face as she looks at them not quite understanding what this is all about.Maybe you should sit down," Max tells Liz, leading her back to the steps so she can take a seat. "Zan?" Max says and then motions for Zan, Isabel and I to come closer. "This is Liz. Can you explain to us how you met Serena and how you knew who she was?"


I walk over to Max and Liz and stand next to Max on the steps, standing so I can keep an eye on Raith. I just don't trust him and I'm going to keep an eye on him.

Zan

“You made her sleep again,” Ava said when she arrived at the scene.

I nodded lightl, shifting Serena's head to a more comfortable position. I had had to keep her quiet. We were in the middle of Roswell with a whole bunch of strangers, alien and not- Serena's shrieks would attract attention from outside, something we didn't have time for, especially now that we were close. So close.

“Is there a place we can lay her down at?” Ava asked Max, who had suggested to bring Serena inside, before turning to me. “I’ll stay with her while she sleeps.”

I knew it didn't show much, but I felt such immense gratitude for everything Ava had been doing. Raith and Lonnie, they didn't care about Serena- to them, this was just an adventure or something, I don't know. But Ava, well granted she had been friends with Serena for a long time, had always been taking care of Serena, watching over her. It was almost maternal, now that Serena was in that condition. I wanted more than anything to say 'thank you', but I just didn't know how.

"How did you meet up with her? How did you know who she was?" Max asked.

I was in the midst of thinking how to put it into words, and making the decision of whether or not to tell him in the first place, but then a girl interrupted. "Hi, sorry I'm late dad ne-"

I looked up to see the speaker. I raised an eyebrow. This had to be that Liz girl, because she did bear a resemblance to Serena, if only in size and frame. It was no wonder that Max had mistaken Serena for her earlier. "Okkaaay...what's going on...?"

Surprisingly, it was Serena who reacted first. Her eyes shot open immediately and as soon as they had, she wriggled her way out of my arms. I couldn't help but feel a slight pain bite me inside; I had lost the girl I . . . I, well, loved. Now she barely - no, she didn't know who I was.

"I’ll take her in the other room," Ava offered, gently taking Serena. They were just leaving the room when Serena stopped short in front of my double. Did she think he was me? No, couldn't be. She didn't even know I was me.

“White Demons haunt him, but that was nothing compared to what broke his heart. Eyes can deceive what the heart tells you.”

My eyes widened as I got to my feet. I stared after her as Ava led Serena away. Was this some sort of sign?

"Hey Liz, welcome to the twilight zone!" said the hyper blondie. Did she think that this was all a joke? If she did, she was wrong as ever.

A lightbulb above Rath's head exploded and, shortly afterwards, his dupe - probably disgusted by Raith's behaviour - took off, his girl trotting after him. Couldn't blame him. Raith could get pretty sleezy.

But that wasn't an issue at the moment. I looked from Max to the brunette, and I was getting more and more confident that this Liz girl was his Second. Maybe I was being too hopeful.

"A-are you leaving...?" she asked timidly, her voice shaking.

"No. At least, I don't think so. Nobody's mentioned it," Max said, giving me a pointed look. If all went right, I didn't think that was going to happen. They shouldn't have to go anywhere, not New York, not Antar- but then, who knew?

Max went on to introduce all of us to her. "The other girl is Serena and they came here because she needs help. Maybe you should sit down," he said, gently leading her to the steps. I followed them. "Zan? This is Liz. Can you explain to us how you met Serena and how you knew who she was?"

At that moment, I thought I heard Ava's voice coming from the next room, singing a song softly. I drew a breath first, trying to keep cool, but I knew there had to be a hint of desperation clinging to my words as I spoke. "I'd seen her around before," I began, leaving out the part about my watching her twirling gracefully in her leotard. "But we didn't actually get to know each other until one day when she was attacked by a bunch of thugs. They'd accidentally shot her and ran off. So I had to heal her."

As if on cue, Ava's singing stopped. "We have a protector. He told us who she was to us, to me," I continued, knowing well that she was more to me than my Second-in-Command. "Sometimes I remember things from that life. About this, about her. Do you, Max?"

*Max*

Serena was shot? My eyes go wide when I hear it. Just like Liz. That can't be a sign, 'though. As dangerous as this world might seem, there'd be no way to guarentee that both 'seconds' would be shot while in the presence of the king so she could be healed...

"We have a protector. He told us who she was to us, to me," Zan said, without explaining exactly what Serena was. "Sometimes I remember things from that life. About this, about her. Do you, Max?"

I shake my head at Zan's question. I don't remember much about Antar and truthfully, since we've been told who we were there I've been very ambivalent about even trying. I want to know who I am, but I don't want to remember any connection to Tess. She's not the one I want to love. I know that if Liz won't love me back, I can't make her, and maybe I should be more open to being with Tess, but I still haven't been able to make myself think that way.

But now, if Liz was actually part of that life, then I know I want to remember it. What were we like then? If it was us...

"She's human," I explain to Liz. "Or she was, anyway," I add, not sure if it's still true. Zan keeps mentioning that his second was born human, not that she is human. And if she's part of Antar, then there might have been some sort of change. I try to prevent it, but somehow I find myself closing my hand over Liz's, hoping she won't pull away. I know this will be confusing for her. It's still confusing to me.

"Zan says that Raith isn't his second, that Serena is. That somehow, she's part of Antar even 'though she was born here." I turn to Zan then, asking him. "Did healing her change her? Is she ... different now? I healed Liz, too, but our protector told us that it was only the four of us. He said that Liz didn't belong."

But Liz was in the cave. She was there when my 'mother' told us about my second, as if that person were there. Why would Nacedo have lied?

~Liz~

I know that I don't deserve it, and he probably isn't meaning it that way, but Max's words go some way to reassuring me, although at the same time they raise new questions... What are these 'doubles' doing here...? Why did they come to find Max and the others if they don't want them to go back...?

Max proceeds to give introductions, and I offer a small smile. Max says that the girl who left looking like Tess is Ava, and mentions that the fifth person, a Serena, is the reason they came...because they needed help...

Help...how...? He's looking at me strangely, and I don't understand... I look around the room, trying to make sense of all this but I'm still coming up empty...

As Max leads me over to the stairs though, going as far as to suggest that I sit down, then I get the feeling that I'm not going to like what they have to say... He tells Zan my name, as though it means something, and I look over at him questioningly as he suggests that Zan tells me how he met Serena, and how he knew what she was... What she was...? "Max...what's going on...?" I know my voice is shaking now, but I can't stop it. I have this feeling, that I'm missing something, and something big at that, but I can't explain it, I don't know how...

Tess comes over at this point, and I fall silent as she takes her place - her rightful place I know - by his side.

Zan begins to explain, but it's at the point where he mentions Serena getting shot, and him healing her, that I feel myself go cold, my chest tighening as I look over at Max. This is too creepy...

"He told us who she was to us, to me,"

That tone I recognise... He sounds so like Max right now, that it's almost unbelievable. His words don't make sense though, what she was to them...to her... Nacedo told Max and the others there were only four of them... He never mentioned the other four even... Zan's words suggest that serena is another alien, but I don't know how she would fit in if that were true... Nor do I realise why the two of them - and it is pretty wierd to have them both there - are looking at me so strangely...

Zan talks about remembering things from his previous life, and about her, and asks Max if he does the same. He shakes his head, and then looks at me, probably realising that I'm still really not sure where this is all going.

"She's human, Or she was, anyway,"

He reaches out, and to my amazement closes his hand over mine. I don't know what to make of that, it's the last thing I expect...

I don't pull away though, I know that I should, but somehow I just can't make myself... His hand in mine, it feels so right, and despite the fact that I know it can't be like this, I just want to hold onto the illusion a little longer...

"Zan says that Raith isn't his second, that Serena is. That somehow, she's part of Antar even 'though she was born here." He turns to Zan, talking to him. "Did healing her change her? Is she ... different now? I healed Liz, too, but our protector told us that it was only the four of us. He said that Liz didn't belong."

I remember that day just as though it were yesterday... Standing there, having promised nothing is going to break us up, and then hearing that it can never be... I think I knew it that day, I didn't want to accept it, but really, deep down there was this niggling, that was what caused me to run that day, and sometimes I wonder if it would have been better never to come back...

I bit down hard on my lip and swallow, before looking back at Max. "So, if Raith isn't Zan's second, what does that mean...that Michael's not yours...officially anyway...So who is?" I know that as far as our group it's not really going to change things, but... Then, remembering the exact words of the message from the orbs, I begin to have a thought - or at least the beginnings of one anyway...

It sounds crazy, completely and utterly ludicrous, but then I'm sitting here looking up at three real live aliens, so who knows what can really be classed as crazy anymore...

I've been sat here, trying to figure out where this is going, listening and trying to put things together. This Serena, is Zan's second, but they're not talking to me like they're just catching me up here... There's an undertone I don't think I'm making up... The shooting, the healing...all a coincidence...? I shake my head, this just isn't possible and yet...

My chest is tight as I try to take a breath, looking from Max, to Zan, and then back again... "Me...?" I originally was going to make it sound like a joke, because it's worthy of one, but suddenly I don't feel like laughing and my voice comes out as little more than a whisper. I can't believe I actually said it outloud...

*Max*

"So, if Raith isn't Zan's second, what does that mean...that Michael's not yours...officially anyway...," Liz says and I my first instinct is to deny it. Of course Michael is my second. He's always been there for me. For us. How could it be anyone else? But I know that her conclusion is correct, according to Zan. "...So who is?" Liz asks.

I feel her fingers tighten around mine; she squeezes so hard I wouldn't have been surprised to see my fingers go white, but I don't even look. I pinch my lips together, not knowing what to say as she looks at me then Zan and back again. "Me...?"

"I don't know," I tell her. Truly I don't know, but it feels right. I don't understand it, but it seems like it makes some sort of crazy sense. "But you do look so much like Serena. Not a clone, like us, but like a sister. And I've told you how I felt an attraction to you from the first time I saw you, way back in third grade ..." My voice trails off for a moment, because I'm not doing much more than speculating. I can't base all this on coincidence...

Turning to Zan, I ask him. "Is there any way to know for sure?" Maybe it would be in the destiny book, if we could read it. Maybe there'd be some sort of sign or something. Something like the way she was able to see those flashes about the crash... something ...

OOC: Cool art, Athenea!!

Zan

Max shook his head at my question. He didn't remember her, from his - our - past life. The vague memories came flashing on and off. The girl with captivating beauty, the girl who tried to warn . . . warn us of . . .

The memory slipped away when Max spoke again, trying to explain to Liz the part he understood. I noticed his hand closing over Liz's, a sign of what she meant to him. Just like what Serena Seabrook meant to me.

"Did healing her change her? Is she ... different now? I healed Liz, too, but our protector told us that it was only the four of us. He said that Liz didn't belong," Max said.

I thought about it for a while. What if they wanted to keep the Second-in-Command away from Antar, should they - and-or we - ever return? She had known something then- would she be some sort of threat?

No, that couldn't be. Those who cloned us were not the enemy- and if they really didn't want her involved, they would never have sent her essence to Earth. I was thinking rubbish. In truth, I was just about as confused as they were.

"So, if Raith isn't Zan's second, what does that mean...that Michael's not yours...officially anyway...So who is?" Liz asked, her voice slightly shaky. Her reaction mirrored that of Serena's when she'd found out. Of course, there, we had Aeidon to confirm it.

"Me...?" Liz whispered, finally grasping the situation.

"I don't know. But you do look so much like Serena. Not a clone, like us, but like a sister. And I've told you how I felt an attraction to you from the first time I saw you, way back in third grade ..."

I cringed slightly. I'd felt the same thing when I first saw Serena. I'd watch her dance and she was so beautiful and I wanted to approach her but I didn't know how.

"Is there any way to know for sure?" Max asked me.

I hadn't the chance to respond to this because at that moment, Ava and Serena came in, the latter whimpering, "Nooo, don’t make me sleep again. He’ll find me. Please no. He’ll kill us all one by one…Four Squares not strong enough, lies, deceit around every corner.”

I stood frozen as she went on, "Innocence Lost!!!!" I followed her gaze and realised that she was looking at Liz, her expression horrified. "He’ll take her innocence and then she’ll be his forever. He’ll wear a King’s face when he rips her open. Don’t you see???? He’s worn the face before and he’ll do it again!!!!”

And then she fell silent, looking around at everyone, who just stared on, bewildered. Ava pulled her closer and led her to me. "She had a bad dream," Ava explained.

I looked at Serena, unable to conceal my worry now. I wanted to pull her into my embrace and rock her gently in my arms, I wanted to hold her and tell her it would be okay and that I was there for her, I wanted more than anything to make her better. But I couldn't. I wasn't supposed to.

Realising that she just wanted to be understood, I lifted her chin and forced her to look at me. I could almost see Raith and Lonnie rolling their eyes at this, but I didn't care. Somewhere in there was a sane mind, I knew it. "What do you mean, Serena?" I asked patiently, hoping she'd respond. "Who are you talking about? Who is he?"

OOC: not too certain about this one, hope it works though

~Liz~

I'm kinda hoping that Max might just laugh, and tell me not to be so stupid, but that doesn't happen... The look on his face tells me that maybe I'm not so crazy, and his words confirm it, although admitting that he doesn't know. "But you do look so much like Serena. Not a clone, like us, but like a sister. And I've told you how I felt an attraction to you from the first time I saw you, way back in third grade ..."

I swallow and look down, only then realising that I'm gripping his hand tighly and loosening my hold although not letting go altogether. "Sorry..." I murmur softly.

THis can't be happening though, I mean look at me, I'm no 'second'... Whatever this Zan, and Max think, there has to be another explanation. Coincidences might make it fit, but I'm no fighter... I'm not saying that I'm weak as a kitten, but nothing like Michael... Besides, even if Zan says that Serena is his second, surely it doesn't make sense for that 'second' to be a girl... Boys are naturally stronger...

I shake my head, I know I'm trying to rationalise something that probably can't be rationalised in fact. Zan seems sure about Serena, so that's not really a point to debate, if his second is a girl, makes some kind of crazy sense Max's is too...

But me...? That brings us back to the crazy thoughts again...

There are all these things which seem to point the way, but maybe they're just coincidences... Lots of people get shot - okay, well not lots, and certainly there aren't lots who are healed by a reincarnated King of an alien planet...

"Is there any way to know for sure?"

Max looks at Zan questioningly, but before he has a chance to respond, Serena comes back into the room with Ava, crying something about someone, a male someone, finding and killing her. She goes on to say about the four squares not being enough, and I find my chest tighening as I think about what FutureMax told me. He said that they needed the four square...he said that was the only way they could defeat Kivar, but if that's not enough, what more is needed...?

Suddenly she spots me, and then begins yelling again, this time referring to me I presume from what she's saying as she speaks. My hand shakes a little, although I don't fully understand what she's saying...

"She had a bad dream..." Ava explains, looking over at Zan, but part of me is wondering if it was just a dream... I don't want to think it's something else, but there's something about what she's saying...something that I can't quite put my finger on...

Watching her as Ava leads her over to Zan, I wonder if I'm imagining it, making up something I want to see because I long for it so much myself, or whether there's something familiar in the way that he looks at her. Something which suggests they're more than friends... Of course maybe that's just all to do with the whole 'second' thing... Michael's always been close to Max...

But he's not the second they're saying...

That still doesn't seem real, and most definitely the bit about me being the one still sounds crazy... I don't know what to say...I want to deny it, but they're right, I put it togther myself even, all the coincidences point this way... I swallow and shake my head, greaking from Max's gaze as I look down, just waiting as Zan asks Serena, ever so patiently, what she means...

*Tess*

This is all so confusing. And this Serena is speaking in riddles that no one understands. But if Liz is Max's second that mean's that Nasedo lied to us all, even me. Granted he wasn't my favorite person anyway but to lie about what could be vitally important to us that's something completely different all together.

'Are we all in danger?' I wonder to myself as I move closer to Liz and Max.

Serena

"What do you mean, Serena?" Zan asks her holding her chin in his hand so she would have to look at him. "Who are you talking about? Who is he?"

She looked at him with confusion for a moment before saying. “You don’t remember? You’ve been warned before…stubborn king can look upon lies rather listen to what his heart tells him….Mirrors, mirrors everywhere.” She said looking around to Ava to Tess to Isabel to Vilondra to Max to Zan and then to Liz.

“Don’t you see life is a mirror…history always tries to repeat itself.”