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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 4:54 am
by isabelle
*Max*

“I couldn’t steal something that never really belonged to you in the first place, Max," Tess says, the anger drips from her voice.

"Notice that she didn't deny it," I whisper to Xavier since I know he doesn't believe me yet.

“Silence!” Khivar says, glaring at Tess. “Enough of this.” He says pulling Hope close to him and putting a knife to her throat. “Let him go or I kill slit her throat.”

I press my teeth together, my free hand curling into a fist at Khivar's threat. A small part of my mind marvels that Khivar would do this for Xavier. Does he really care about my son? That small thought is put aside for later, overwhelmed by my fury at seeing Khivar threaten Hope. That will simply not stand.

In an instant, I reach out across the link I share with the rest of the royal four -- to Michael and Isabel and to Ava beside me. I secure a portion of our power, a power that's bigger than any individual Antarian. A power that's unified in a way no others could attempt in working together. This is our strength. We are the Royal Four.

I reach forward with my mind, grabbing the knife and flinging it into the desert. At the same time, I grab Hope with my power, pulling her into my arm and holding her close just a split second before my shield goes up in a semi-sphere around the four of us. Me, Ava, Hope and Xavier.

"She didn't deny it," I say to Xavier again, more loudly now. "You are my son." I put my hand around Xavier's, using our combined power to heal him completely before opening the restraint that secures him to me. The shield holds him in for now but I can let him go if I choose. "What do you want to do now?"


*Ava*

I feel Max pull in some of my energy and I have just that much warning before everything changes. The knife is gone and Hope is here in Max's arm just a moment before the shield goes up around us.

"Liz," I say, quietly. I saw her approach from the side before but apparently Max didn't. I reach out with my mind, grabbing her and pulling Liz towards the rear of the shield. Max opens a space in the shield just the size of her body as she passes through. It closes seemlessly behind her as I release my grip.

.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 5:52 am
by M&M<3
*Liz*

I watch as the knife is knocked in the dessert out of Khivar’s hand and Hope is pulled into Max.

“Liz”

I can hear Ava say my name as something tears me from my hiding place and close behind Max and the other two. I can feel the power being used as an all around shield and closes behind me. I look toward Max and Hope. I run to them wrapping myself around her. She seems all right but I’m not going to let go of her just yet.

"She didn't deny it, you are my son.” Max says as he puts his hand over Xavier’s. “What do you want to do now?"

I stand up and take Hope’s hand in mine, “lets go home.”

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:01 pm
by Athenea
Xavier

I am more confused than I have ever been in my whole life. "She didn't deny it, You are my son." He said his words still ringing in my head as I glance at the woman that has my mother’s face, if that isn’t proof then I don’t know what is. “What do you want to do now?" he asks as he releases my hands.

I look down at Hope, now safe in her mother’s arms. No wonder I felt such a connection to her. She’s my sister. “Xavier.” I hear my mother say and I tare my eyes away from Hope to where my Mother is standing looking so heartbroken and I know there really isn’t a choice.

I look back at Max. We really don’t look anything alike, except maybe our height, but I wonder for a moment if we really do have anything in common. I have so many questions and no answers but I know what I have to do as I say. “I want you to let me go home to my family.”

Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 5:55 am
by isabelle
*Max*

Liz and Hope are safe -- for now. We're still only yards from Khivar and his ship. But we're together and the shield, powered by the royal four, is strong. I'm somewhat surprised that Khivar isn't blasting at us. Perhaps he really is concerned about Xavier. Of course, if he did kill me and Xavier became king, that would ruin his claim, woudln't it?

I nod sadly. "All right," I tell Xavier. I knew I was going to need to do this. Knew he wasn't ready for any other choice. It's been too much, too soon. It wasn't fair for him to find out about me this way or for me to ask him to make a choice so soon. And yet, there's so much more I want to tell him. So much I'd like him to tell me. So very much that I've missed. Those few flashes I got when I healed him just now, aren't nearly enough... I don't want to let him go. I don't know how I can, but somehow, I have to do it.

"Before you go, there's something I want to give you," I say. I step closer and place my hands on either side of his face. I can see the concern in his eyes. "Don't worry. Mind-warping is your mother's skill, not mine. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to show you something."

Or maybe, I think, it's more accurate to say I'm going to show him someone. Me. I havent had any need to do this in a long time but my powers are a lot stronger now than they were then. My control is better. I open up a connection between us, focusing to try to send him some very specific flashes and memories. The night he was born when I almost drowned. My desperate searches for him the following year that so seriously threatened my grades, and my relationships with my family and Liz. The moment I first connected to him inside of Tess' womb. The day in the cave when we got the message from my Antarian mother. I wonder if she's still alive. I know Xavier's getting many more memory flashes than those and that's fine, I just hope he can see how important he's been to me, even 'though I've never seen him before today. I remember the morning in the granolith chamber when I let Tess go but I break the connection then. I don't know if Xavier saw that or if I want him to. I wanted to kill her but I didn't, because of him and because I've never been a killer. Since that day, I have killed but I've never enjoyed it.

Blinking, I look into Xavier's face. "I hope I'll see you again, Xavier. You'll always be welcomed at Haven," I promise, I am giving him my trust and hope.

I let my hands drop, wondering if I should tell him again that Khivar is a killer, that the throne he claims is stolen. I decide to stay silent for the moment. I told him once. Maybe he'll see that for himself now that he's seen the truth.

I lay my hand on Hope's shoulder and add, "You have family here, too."

Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 5:22 am
by isabelle
*Ava*

While Max does what he does with Zan and Liz comforts Hope, I'm keeping a careful eye on Khivar, Tess, and the guard. This is the man who plotted our death and Tess is ... Tess did the same against Max just like Lonnie and Vilandra did to my Zan. So much betrayal.

I glance sharply at Max as he offers Haven to Xavier. Has he learned nothing? Xavier may be his son by blood but I just heard him call the others his 'family.' They have his loyalty. If he returns, it'll be as a spy, another betrayal. I'll be watching him so closely he'll think we've become twins.

.

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:18 pm
by Athenea
Khivar

I don’t know how this situation got taken out of my control so quickly. One minute I am the one in charge, the next, my leverage for getting my son back is literally ripped from my hands. Just when I am about to try something else, I realize that Max is actually letting Xavier go. I always knew he was a fool.

I wonder what the idiot showed him. It doesn’t matter, any harm he did I’m sure I can undo. Xavier steps beyond the shield hestiantly and even takes one last look back. “Xavier.” I say to get his attention and make him realize we’re still here, his mother and I, His true family.

Me calling his name seems to jolt him back to reality. “Coming Father.” He says. When he’s standing before me he doesn’t seem to be able to meet my eyes so I tilt his chin up so he’s looking into my eyes. “We’ll talk later.” I promise him and he just nods.

Tess takes his hand and leads him back to the ship. I turn and glare one last time at my nemesis before getting on the ship myself. “Take off!” I order to the pilot

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:24 pm
by Athenea
OOC: We are going to be skipping ahead Sixth Months to The Final Battle which takes place right outside the walls of Haven. It was rumored that The Prince returned to Antar but Khivar stayed to try and finish off the humans once and for all. He decided a sneak attack would work better so he sent every Skin soldier to wipe out Haven. But they were losing so in order to boost moral he took to the battlefield himself, where he met his death at Max’s hands. Now in the aftermath of the Battle, the Skins have retreating now that Khivar is dead and it is pure chaos…

Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 8:51 pm
by Athenea
Xavier (Six Months Later)

It’s almost like the Earth is on fire. Or maybe it just seems that way. Dead bodies, both human and skin, litter the ground. Night has fallen along with the battle for Earth. It started in the early hours of the morn and lasted till long after the sun went down. King Khivar decided to wipe out the resisting humans once and for all and attacked there last stronghold known as Haven. It didn’t take long for mass TAG devices to start going off leaving nobody there powers and only weapons that would work were swords and knives and anything with a sharp edge along yielded by brute strength.

I should have went back to Antar, but I didn’t want to leave my Father’s side. Well, he’s not my biological Father, I know that now, but he did raise me and I couldn’t see past anything beyond the fact he’s the only Father I’ve ever known. He allowed me to stay but I had to change my appearance. So my hair was darkened to a deep brown and cut to just above my shoulders. The hair cut made my hair thicker and wavier and allowed my ears to be well hidden. I also was made to wear contacts that would darken my eyes to a dark brown color so my icy blue eyes wouldn’t stand out. Months in the Earth’s harsh sun tanned my once fair skin. I can’t even recognize myself in the mirror anymore.

It worked though, everyone thought ‘the Prince’ went back to the safety of Antar, and not on this battlefield, having just watch the man who raised him slayed by the hand of the man who gave him life.

“We have to retreat!!! Khivar is dead!!!” someone yells and many skins try to make for the safety of the woods with the humans hot on there trail. But I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from my father’s dead body lying on the ground not 100 feet away from me.

Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 10:00 am
by isabelle
*Max*

"You're not killing me or my family again," I say through clenched teeth as I pull my knife back. I lurch to my feet, automatically scanning the activity around me, looking for any surviving Skin who might be looking to take me out with a final shot. Most of them are running and our forces are in hot pursuit. I’m bleeding from several wounds, none of them serious, all of them painful. I turn off my TAG device for a moment but I still can’t heal myself. I must be within the range of another. It’ll wait. I spot a movement nearby and turn in time to see a Skin rising up just as a knife appears in his chest. I don’t even have to look to know that Ava threw it. I give her a nod as I wipe the blood off my hands and my blade.

I can’t believe he’s dead. Khivar is dead. I killed him myself. The man who’d plotted the murder of my family, and who killed millions of my people. He’s lying at my feet, his sightless eyes staring at the sky. As much as I'd imaged this, dreamed of it even, I'd somehow thought it would end up being Michael here, not me.

“We have to retreat!!! Khivar is dead!!!” someone yells and many Skins try to make for the safety of the woods with the humans hot on there trail.

Funny, I don’t feel any sense of victory. I know this battle is still far from over. I still have to get through this battle and deal with the aftermath, and probably still more battles to come. Even now, I could still be killed by another Skin or one of Khivar’s Antarian followers if I let my guard down.

“Don’t let anyone near him,” I say to a nearby soldier as I indicate the pretender’s corpse. I don’t want his body savaged. I might need it for proof and I also need to keep Khivar’s people from reviving him. I pick up my radio and open a channel. “Khivar is dead,” I announce to all my generals, thinking especially of Michael and Isabel. They’ll know what to do. I think of Liz and my daughter, hoping they’re both safe. “Let me know if any of you see Tess or Nicholas.”

As the battle continues around me, my eyes drift to the sky but I’m not looking at our planes or Khivar’s airships. I’m thinking of someplace much further away. All our intelligence tells me that my son is there, on Antar. Xavier never took advantage of my invitation for him to return to Haven. Now, Khivar’s followers will be crowning him king. Will they notice that he still doesn’t bear the royal seal? Will it matter if they do? I’ve thought about this moment a lot, thought about what it would mean to battle my son for Antar. I still haven’t been able to figure out what the right approach would be, where to go from here. I just know that I want this to be over.

Five months ago, I lit a candle for Xavier on his birthday, as I always have. But this time, for the first time, I had a name and a face to go with my silent thoughts for my son. Once when Hope was small, I’d given her a partial explanation, leaving out the words ‘son’ or ‘brother.’ She had asked me how I could miss a person I’d never met, but I did. I miss him even more now. I can’t help but wonder and fear the things that his mother and Khivar have taught him. I wonder if he’ll remember or believe the truth of what I’d shown him. Ever since that day, my forces had standing orders not to harm the prince if they found him although only a few knew why. Those orders stand although he’s no longer on Earth as far as I know.

With everyone moving, one motionless person stands out. A young Skin by appearances, no more than eighteen, I’d guess. The dark-haired warrior is much taller than most Skins although not as tall as an Antarian. He stands about a hundred feet away staring at Khivar, as the combatants between us keep moving away.


*Ava*


I hear Max announce that Khivar is dead and I’m thrilled. I was overjoyed to see him do it – and just a little jealous. I’d love to have been the one to end his life but I can’t deny that it was Max’s right. He’s the king. I was near enough to help him if he needed it but I was able to keep the others from interfering and I’m relieved it’s over. I don’t even want to think about the complications we’d face if Max had been killed again.

A Skin jumps me from behind, apparently trying to cut their losses. His attempt is pathetic. I’ve mastered more forms of hand-to-hand combat than he’s probably even heard of. In a moment, he’s joined his leader in death.

I see Max looking towards the west and I follow his gaze. A lone Skin is not attacking, not retreating, just staring at Khivar. I pull my gun and point it in his direction, aiming square at his forehead. My throwing knives are just as accurate as my firearm, but I find people seem to understand the threat of the black muzzle better than that of a delicately balanced knife.

“Don’t move,” I tell him, although he’s already standing still. I should just kill him but I don’t. His odd behavior makes me unsure and I wait, hoping to understand.

Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 8:36 pm
by Athenea
ooc: Isabel used with Loxy's permission

Xavier

“Don’t move,” I hear someone say and it’s enough to remind me that there’s still a battle going on. I look up to see my mother’s look alike aiming a gun at me, beside her Max is also looking my direction. Before I have a chance to do anything an angry scream pierces the air and turn my attention to that.

A woman with long blonde hair that I now recognize as the reincarnated Vilondra is fighting a half dozen skins now. But that’s not what gets my attention, her victim, apparently the one the skins are now trying to protect, falls to the ground and I recognize her golden blonde hair immediately.

What was she doing on the battle field? My mind races along with my feet as I totally forget about the women with a gun pointed at me and take off to my mother’s side. I keep out of the way of the warriors fighting and kneel at where my Mother fell, a wound in her stomach is bleeding profusely and her eyes are closed.

I put my hands over the gaping wound and try and do whatever I did for Hope a few months earlier, and then I remember the TAG devices. I reach up hesitantly and place bloody hand on her neck and try and feel for a pulse but I feel nothing. I wonder if this is what going into shock feels like. I should be screaming and crying but I can’t seem to even move. I just stay by my Mother’s corpse, one of my hands still cupping her face and hoping she will just wake up and all of this will be just a bad dream.