Hello, everyone!! I'm back with the new part! Part 50 is over half way written and will also be off to Craig soon. These next couple of parts are really full so read carefully. It will also make our original four from Antar seem really heartless or evil but I promise it will all be explained. Remember that they don't remember anything of their past and they're learning it from the perspective of those without all the info. Please let me know what you think!
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 48 – “Tess Chooses and Ava Looses”
Maria’s hands automatically went on her hips. “My god, just how many sets of you guys are there?!” she said, sounding somewhat annoyed and disgusted.
Leslie was trying to keep from panicking. She had to find a way to get Megan off of that crane! For the moment, she was ok and since she didn’t seem to be upset, she must not know how high she was. That was a plus. As long as Megan didn’t really panic and draw attention to herself, maybe Leslie could find a way to sneak over to her and save her somehow.
“What do you mean she’s the next version of Avaloane in line for the throne?!” Tess demanded.
“Yea, Khiva’, you’d betta explain that one for the both of us!” came a New York version of Tess’ voice. Ava stepped from behind an old desk. She didn’t look happy. “If you rememba, you already promised dat position ta me.”
Tess scowled at the other girl. “I’m afraid it’s you who have something wrong with your memory, Ava. I do believe Kivar has promised that I would be the one to go home. There certainly can’t be two Avaloanes can there?”
“Silence!!” Kivar roared. Calming some what, he pointed out something to the two short blondes. “I’m afraid you are both mistaken. I’ve promised that position to no one. I most certainly need one version of Avaloane by my side but which one makes little difference to me.”
Kyle took this moment to try one last time to convince Tess to really come to their side. “Tess, do you hear him? I mean really hear him? He doesn’t care about you. He will never really care about you. I do care about you. Help us, not him…come home with us when this is over. Please, Tess, I’m begging you…choose us!”
Kivar sighed. “I grow tired of this human already,” he said and waved his hand as if clearing the air of a foul odor. A brief light left his hand and before Max could put up his shield, it struck Kyle full force and he hit the floor.
“Kyle!” Liz shouted and rushed to his side.
Max had his shield raised and his eyes trained on Kivar’s movements, waiting for any more attacks, even though it appeared that Kivar was done for the moment. “Is he ok, Liz?”
Leslie and Lucas also had their eyes trained on Nicholas and the dupes, waiting for them to also make a move. Leslie took the opportunity to move slightly closer to the window where Megan hung outside. She couldn’t move far and she really saw no way to release Megan without going out to the cab of the crane and using the controls. If she used any kind of alien powers, they would draw attention to the building and she wasn’t sure just what she could do without Kivar being able to do something in retaliation.
Liz leaned down and put her cheek to Kyle’s face, checking for breathing while watching to see if his chest rose and fell. Then she put her two fingers to his carotid artery at his neck and felt for a pulse. Finally, she sat back on her haunches and pushed her hair behind her ears. “He’s alive, but for how long I don’t know. He needs your help, Max.”
Max didn’t move anything but his eyes, glancing from Leslie to Lucas to Michael and Isabel. All of them caught his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly. Then they raised their hands, ready to blast anyone who tried any kind of funny business. Max dropped the shield but not his hand right away. He met Tess’ eyes. “Do you not even care about what Kivar just did to Kyle? I thought Kyle was your friend. Now for the last time, we are asking you what your final stand is. Will you stand with us?”
Tess met his eyes without blinking and he felt a shudder go down his spine, and he was suddenly cool, as if an icy breeze had chilled him to the bone. He realized that it was from Tess as she moved to stand by Kivar’s side. “I’ve made my choice. You will never understand the kind of power Kivar holds. You are a pathetic excuse for a king who died on a world that you will never remember.”
Nodding in acceptance of Tess’ choice, Max moved quickly to Kyle and Liz’s side. Quickly placing his hands on Kyle’s chest, he paused before trying to heal the young man to look into Liz’s eyes. The concern that he saw there for her friend…maybe even more than her friend, made his heart break and he hesitated no longer. No matter what happened, if Liz had also made her choice in Kyle, Max would not begrudge her happiness. He quickly healed Kyle and stood again when his breathing seemed to return to normal and he started to blink his eyes.
Leslie decided to try to distract Kivar from Max’s movements by doing something she had thought to do earlier…beg for her daughter’s life. “Kivar, please, let Megan, my daughter, back inside. She is of no use to you; please let her go!” she pleaded.
“Yeah, Kivar, you get your rocks off by torturing little girls?” Lucas quipped.
Kivar gave them a mock wounded look. “Now, if I wanted to torture her, I’d let her see where she was. I’m afraid you are wrong about her not being of any use to me, however, F-L, and I’m sure you know that.”
Max had moved his way closer to Michael so that he could talk to him without anyone overhearing. He kept his eyes trained on where the two hostages were hanging out of the window. Something wasn’t right about it but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly bothered him. Maybe it was the fact that the person that Kivar called Serena looked so much like Tess and Ava…only…different somehow.
Michael glanced briefly to Max’s face and then to where he was looking and started to shake his head slightly. “Don’t even think about it, Maxwell. Our mission is to get Megan and get out…alive. Remember that?”
“Our mission hasn’t changed, Michael, but it might have expanded a little bit. We can’t just leave her here. She might be an innocent person,” Max answered quietly.
Michael threw him a skeptical look. “And she could also be another traitor, like Tess and Ava! Don’t go all hero on me now. There are too many of us to get out of here as it is!”
“Kivar, you still ain’t answered my question!” Ava demanded. “What do ya mean she is the next version of Avaloane to the throne? And what kind of deal does Tess think she got? I’m da one you said was goin’ home. I’m da one that brought ya the kid remember?”
Kivar looked at Tess and tilted his head slightly. “It all depends on what Tess brought me. Well?”
Tess swallowed but met his eyes and lifted her chin with an evil smile. “I brought you the real royal four of course, the Luinwe,” she rushed on as she saw that Ava was about to protest, “and the knowledge of where the granilith is. I want to go home. I get that promise, with a signed and sealed oath, Kivar, and I tell you where it is.”
The man in black smiled evilly for a moment, shrugged and snapped his fingers. “Done. You are the one who will come home to Antar. I look forward to holding my Avaloane in my arms again.”
“Kivar…” Nicholas tried to gain his attention without the wrath at the interruption.
“Kivar! What do you mean she’s da one who will go home?!” Ava screeched. “Afta I did all this work for you, where do I stand? Where’s my reward?”
Kivar shrugged again as he turned to her. “You have done well, but I must have the granilith. You know that. However, as a reward, you will be allowed to live out your life here. I’ll even provide resources to make your life more…comfortable if you’d like.”
“Um, my lord?” Nicholas tried again.
Ava was enraged. “How dare you! Live out my life here?! On this prehistoric rock?! You hafta be insane to think I’d be happy hea, ‘comfortable’ or not.”
The black of Kivar’s eyes took on a dangerous glint. “You’re unhappy with the change in our arrangements?” he asked.
“Ya damn right I am!” Ava barked back.
Kivar shrugged again, held up his hand and before anyone could react, there was suddenly a brilliant white light. When everyone blinked, there was no more Ava. In her place collapsed a pile of dust. “Very well. Have it your way,” Kivar said.
Everyone seemed to freeze in shock. “I can’t believe you just did that!” Rath exclaimed.
Lucas smirked. “Well, our odds just got a little better,” he muttered.
“What the hell?” Michael seemed to be asking the air rather than a particular person. When everyone turned to him, however, they noticed he wasn’t looking at the pile of dust that used to be Ava. He was staring out the window at where the crane and wrecking ball were. Megan and Serena were not on them.
“What did you do with my daughter, you poisonous snake?” Leslie ground out, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
Kivar, however, ignored her as he whirled to glare at Nicholas. “Want to explain?”
Nicholas shrugged and looked only a little worried. “I tried to warn you that I couldn’t keep it up much longer. Then, when you wiped out Ava, it broke my concentration and I lost it. You have no idea how draining it is keeping something like that up for so long on so many people.”
Everyone looked confused at Nicholas’ statement except for Kivar and Tess. Liz was the first of the group from Roswell to understand. “They weren’t really out there. It was a mind warp the entire time.”
Kivar sneered at her. “I thought you had been taken care of once and for all. Yet I see you are still around.” He threw a menacing look at Nesedo who seemed to pale and look helplessly around the room.
Max, however, was suspicious about Kivar’s statements. “What are you talking about, Kivar. Where are Megan and Serena? Is Serena even real? Or was she just made up all together.”
“Oh, no, she’s real enough. She and Megan are perfectly safe…for now. Whether they remain so or not is up to you. Shall we begin negotiations?” Kivar asked.
“I’m listening,” Max answered. He held up his hand when Isabel started to say something. He wasn’t promising anything; he simply was listening. The better he knew what Kivar wanted and, more importantly, if he could find out why he wanted whatever, he would have more knowledge to work with.
“First, I want a couple of answers, Kivar,” Tess interrupted. “I’m sure they’re curious too, so it won’t hurt to ask. First and foremost, I want the answer to the question Maria brought up earlier. Just how many sets of us are there?”
Kivar glared at her. How dare she waste his time like this, especially in front of these others. She of all people should know better, but then he remembered that she didn’t really have her memories either and decided to be a little more lenient. Besides, maybe he could win over a little of Xan’s trust. “I have no idea how many sets of the royal four were made but there is only one true set at a time.”
“’At a time’? What does that mean?”
Kivar thought for a moment before answering. Seeing no harm in answering what he knew, he shrugged slightly. “It means, Tess, that apparently there were several sets sent to earth to hide the true set…to act as decoys, but they also serve as back ups. If something happens to the ‘true set’ the seals are passed on to the next version in line. That’s my theory anyway.”
“You mean you don’t know? You’re just making this up?” Alex asked. He shrank back a little when he saw Kivar turn his glare on him.
“You don’t think the people that recreated the royal four would let me be privilege to all the in and outs, do you? I can’t believe even a human would be that stupid.”
“Hey! Alex is not stupid!” Leslie said loudly, coming to his defense. “What he wanted to know was what gave you the idea that the other sets of the royal four were back ups and not just decoys.”
“Because the original version of Tess and Ava…Avaloane that was sent with these three was not Tess. The original one experienced a malfunction and instead of hatching from her pod, died and shriveled away in it. I do believe it aborted her. As Serena now carries the seal of the queen, I must assume that she inherited it from whoever had it before her. Since Max Evans carries the seal of the king, which I know because of the emissary’s confirmation for the summit meeting, that would mean his group is the real group of royals. I’ve been searching for the group with the seals for years. I’ve destroyed several groups I came across at first, and then I realized that maybe if I found them before they hatched, they could be converted to be on my side. So I made a few adjustments in the group from New York’s pod gestating programming…for the sake of peace of course,” Kivar explained.
“Oh, of course you did it all for the sake of peace,” Maria mocked sarcastically.
He waved his hand and suddenly, Maria was flying through the air and landed on her back, unconscious. Michael’s reaction was automatic. “NNOOO!” he screamed and suddenly shot a burst of energy at Kivar, who easily deflected it to ricochet, leaving a hole in a far wall. Quickly rushing to Maria’s side, Michael lifted her head into his lap. It looked like she had been burned all down the front of her body. “Max, you have to help her!” he croaked. Then looking back at Kivar, he glared at the man with pure hatred in his eyes. “What in the hell did you do that for? She was absolutely no threat to you!”
“Worthless human had quite a mouth on her. Had to show her some respect for a king,” Kivar said by way of explanation.
Max didn’t hesitate but quickly moved to his best friend’s side and healed Maria’s injuries. When he was certain she was going to be ok, Max stood back up and met the eyes of his enemy. “Pull something like that again and negotiations are over before they can even begin. I’d like to do this so that no one gets hurt.”
“Then you should have thought of that when I offered my deal at the summit meeting! As it is, I have three of the royal four on my side and even though none of them carry the seal they were supposed to, maybe the people will be ok with that or will think that because you gave up the throne, the seals disappeared,” Kivar answered.
“Or maybe, if your theory is right, we could kill this Serena Wilkerson and see if I get the seal,” Tess suggested.
“I want to know where my daughter is, Kivar!” Leslie repeated her demand from earlier.
“Well, I see no real reason why I can’t show you where they are and that they are ok…in the interest of earning a little trust for negotiating.” He waved his hand and a curtain that looked like it had been hung on a wall moved aside to reveal a recess in the wall and hanging on hooks from the ceiling were Serena and Megan. “As you can see, I’ve done nothing to them.”
Against My Programming (CC,TEEN) pt 62 pg 10 2/26 [WIP]
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littleroswell
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littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Against My Programming
AN: Ok, I have several things to tell you about this part. First of all, like with Jack, Matt, Grace, and Kate, I've attached a picture of "Serena" to the first mention of her name in this part. (Where her name shows up purple) Also, I want to WARN everyone that in this part, there will be a part that will cast Max's former identity, Xan, into a very bad light. I hope you will trust me to explain the reason for what happened in future parts. Ok, all that said, enjoy!
Part 49 – “Confessions and Negotiations”
Neither Serena nor Megan had blindfolds on, and Serena’s eyes widened when she took in the scene around her and almost fell out of her head when they landed on Tess. “Please, somebody help me!” she pleaded.
“Momma!” Megan shouted.
Leslie’s heart and instincts took over when her daughter called for her. “Megan!” she answered and started toward her at full speed. Suddenly she was thrown back across the room to hit the far wall, knocking the wind out of her. She glared at Kivar as she struggled to get air back into her lungs.
“Leslie, are you ok?” Alex asked, rushing to her side. He helped her to stand and Max watched carefully for her answer and to see if she would be ok.
Nodding, Leslie gasped trying to catch her breath. “I’m fine. Just a little bruised.” Seeing Max’s concern she flashed him a small reassuring smile. “Really, I’m ok.” Turning her attention back to Kivar, she growled at the evil being. “Kivar, let her go!”
Kivar simply mocked surprise. “Now, F-L, why would I have any reason to turn my daughter over to my enemies?” he asked. Then noticing the looks on the faces of those around the room, he laughed.
Max was momentarily shaken by Kivar’s declaration but recovered quickly. “Come off it, Kivar. I know that Megan is my daughter.”
“Your daughter?!” Tess screeched. “What the hell do you mean she’s your daughter?” It was unclear, however, if she was directing her words to Max or Kivar.
“I’ve no doubt that is exactly what F-L told you, Xan, but I’m afraid I know the truth. I know you don’t have all your memories, but can you remember the night that you came to me and offered me a gift?” Kivar asked, an evil gleam in his eyes.
“No!” Leslie screamed. “Don’t you dare make it out to be that way!”
When Max looked from Kivar to study Leslie, he saw true, raw fear in her features. Maybe there was something to what Kivar was saying. He glanced at Lucas who looked like he was going to be sick. Alex was still holding onto Leslie and looked as confused as Max felt. Just how much could he trust Leslie and Lucas? He hadn’t known them long or very well. But then again, he knew he couldn’t trust Kivar.
“Kivar, I don’t remember any such thing, but I know that if anyone was with F-L behind my back, he was subject to death,” Max tried, using the small amount of knowledge Leslie and Lucas had given him.
The body that Kivar was using laughed hysterically. “I don’t believe that was a problem. Well, F-L, are you going to tell them about our glorious 30 hours together or should I?”
Everyone looked at Leslie, who seemed to be paralyzed with fear. Lucas was the first one to say anything to her. “Les, please don’t tell me this is true! This is the one thing you couldn’t forgive Xan for?”
Leslie only swallowed and her eyes filled with tears as she hung her head. She had hoped that Lucas would never know this secret. It was her burden alone to carry. Alex put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “Leslie, whatever happened, it’s in the past and we’re here to help you. But you should tell us what happened. Don’t hold it inside and let it eat you up.”
Gathering courage from Alex’s words, Leslie lifted her head and sniffed, blinking back tears as others fell down her face. “Xan came to me and told me he was trying to negotiate peace with Kivar and that he had asked his cousin what token he could give to show his good intentions. Kivar had asked for one full day with me…to do with as he pleased. Xan agreed and signed a contract so it would absolve Kivar and myself of any sort of punishment. Kivar did as he pleased with me for those 30 hours,” Leslie recounted without much emotion.
There was a collective gasp and Max’s eyes widened as he shook his head. He just couldn’t believe that the man he had been in his past life could have done such a thing. The great king had lowered himself to be nothing more than a pimp?! That just didn’t register in his brain. His face turned an ugly pale green and he felt like he would vomit. He wasn’t the only one in the group who felt that way.
“Oh, please, you make it sound so cold!” Kivar said dramatically. “What we had was a beautiful day that I promised F-L was simply a taste of things to come. I can’t describe how delighted I am that that glorious time resulted in our having a daughter.”
“No! Megan is not yours! Xan was her father,” Leslie insisted emphatically.
Everyone looked at her skeptically, even Alex. “Uh, Les, I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything, but if you spent a whole day with Kivar and you were…” he turned crimson as he struggled to find the appropriate terminology, “uh, that is…if he ‘had his way with you’, then how do you know for sure that Max, er, Xan was the father? It is possible Kivar was the father, isn’t it?” Alex wished the floor would open up and swallow him when she turned hurt eyes on him.
“Physically, yes it’s possible. But I’m sure she was conceived by Xan because of all the power I felt from her when I carried her and after she was born. I’ve only felt that kind of power from one other person, and that was Xan.” She pulled out of his embrace as she answered him and Alex couldn’t help but feel distressed at the gesture.
“I guess there are only 3 ways to know for sure and since we have no access to two of them here, we could always see if she carries the seal of the heir to the throne. If she does, we’ll know for sure that she is Xan’s,” Kivar said, moving to stand by the small girl.
“Kivar, you know we can’t even access that here!” Lucas told him. “It can only be accessed by Xan or F-L on Antar in the palace for the first time, and the Granilith must be present. There’s no real way to know…to actually prove who Megan’s father is, but personally, if Leslie says it’s Xan, I believe her.”
“Enough of all this! Kivar, you said you wanted to negotiate so start talking. Who is Megan’s biological father is of no consequence right now,” Max said, trying to divert attention back away from the four-year-old. He hoped Kivar would be distracted enough by the “negotiating” that someone else would be able to get to Megan and Serena and get them out of there.
“Very well, Xan, if you insist. This is the list of my demands. First, I want you to officially abdicate from the throne. I want it in writing, witnessed and sealed. Second, I want the Granilith,” Kivar listed, spouting his demands off like a round of shots fired from a machine gun.
“Anything else?” Max asked, unable to hide a small bit of the sarcasm he wanted to put into that small question.
Kivar’s eyes flashed to Leslie before returning quickly to Max’s. “I want the Luinwe…not both of them, just F-L. I also want that in writing, witnessed and sealed.” Leslie’s eyes widened in fear at his last request.
Tess stepped up again. “Kivar, what could you possibly want with her? Won’t it be enough that I’m by your side? I’ll be all the queen you could ever need.”
“Hey! You promised me the otha Luinwe, Kivar!” Lonnie protested.
Kivar completely ignored them as he watched Max for his reaction and waited for his answer. “And just what are we supposed to get from these negotiations by giving you all those things you just listed?” Max pointed out. “So far, you’ve said nothing that would be for our benefit.”
“Well, first of all, you would be allowed to live your lives…here on this pathetic planet you seem to care for so much. Never again will I, or any of my supporters, ever bother you again. No more misplaced sense of duty to a people you don’t remember…no more war, only peace. Do we have a deal?” Kivar answered.
Max pretended to think about it for a few moments. “What about Megan and Serena? What happens to them?”
Kivar slowly rolled his eyes to the ceiling and pursed his lips as if contemplating his answer. “I suppose I can be persuaded to allow them to stay and live here on this planet with you.” Waving his hand over his shoulder, Serena was suddenly released from the hook she had been hanging from and dropped to the floor. “In fact, as one of those…gestures of good faith, I’ll release Serena to you now.”
With another wave of Kivar’s hand, the young woman was thrown into Max’s body, sending them both crashing to the floor. As Max scrambled to get up off the floor and help Serena to do the same, she yelped in pain. Looking at the arm that he had grabbed to help her stand, he realized that the area of her forearm just above the wrist was bent in a “z” like shape and was discolored and swollen.
When he looked at her questioningly, her eyes filled with tears. “He broke it when he took me from my home, after killing my parents. That’s not all he did to me but that’s the worst of it,” she explained quietly, her voice quivering somewhat.
After studying her for a moment, Max placed his hands around her wrist. “This might hurt for just a second, but I promise it will feel better after that. Just hang on for a minute or two.”
He watched her face as he told her this and watched her face fill with a confused expression. Before she could question anything, his hands started to glow. As he willed waves of warmth to try to stave off the pain, he quickly straightened the bones that flashed through his mind’s eye and then healed them together. Serena didn’t even have time to let out the scream she was going to when he straightened her radius and ulna to set them back where they were supposed to be. Her eyes were as wide as was possible without them popping out of her head when he was done, and she was very pale.
“Who are you people?” she asked in awe.
Lucas had moved to stand beside Max to better see what he was doing. When he realized what was going on, he was hit by a thought that he wished he had thought of earlier. “Max, I hate to say this, but I think Kivar might be playing with you.”
Max’s head snapped to Lucas’. “What do you mean you think he’s playing with me?”
“Kivar is a pretty powerful being and he has already admitted that he knows you don’t have full access to your memories of your past life. He has probably deduced that you don’t really remember how to use your powers,” Lucas explained quietly. When Max only raised one eyebrow and waited for him to continue, he sighed. “I think he might be hurting these people so you have to heal them and thereby weakening your powers.”
Wincing at the idea, Max realized that Lucas was probably right. If Kivar had half the power he suspected he did, then he could have easily killed Maria or even Kyle, and while they had both been close, Max realized that it wasn’t close enough. He had healed them quickly without any consequence to himself. Stifling a groan he ran a hand over his face and nodded at Lucas.
“If you all are quite finished, I’m still waiting on my answer. I believe I have been more than patient, especially for me,” Kivar interrupted. When Max turned back to him, he raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do we have a deal?”
Knowing that his time for forming a plan was growing short, Max glanced around at the people he trusted. Quickly saying a silent prayer to whatever deity might hear him for their safety, he tried to buy some more time. “Let me see if I’ve got it all straight. I abdicate my throne, in writing, turn over the Granilith, and also hand over all rights to Leslie. In exchange, you release Megan and Serena and allow us to live the rest of our natural lives here on Earth, without any kind of interference from you or any of your goons. Have I missed anything?”
Giving him a devious smile, Kivar nodded. “That about covers it.”
Lonnie spoke up again. “Kivar! I told you I wanted that Luinwe! You said I could have him.”
“I’ll get you another one!” he snapped back at her.
“There’s a bit of a problem with your request, Kivar,” Leslie told him, seeming to gain a bit more of her old spunk again. Maybe it was just that she was tired of being afraid of her past life. That combined with the hope Max held out to her of true freedom made her force herself to buck up.
“Oh, yes? And what’s that, F-L?” he sneered at her.
Giving him a triumphant smile, she answered with a lot of confidence she suddenly felt. “The only way Xan can give me over to you is if my awakening is completed, which it isn’t. And you know if my awakening is completed I will have full access to my powers again, which means I’ll be able to protect them all from you.”
Enraged by her impertinence and the truth in her words, Kivar almost roared in his frustration. Then he noticed the human who had held onto her before when she had been thrown across the room. Perhaps this one was special to her? Well, he would see. “I see you have it all figured out...at least where you are concerned,” he said, feigning defeat. When she only looked at him suspiciously, he decided to act. “Let’s see what happens when I do something like this!” He raised his hand and shot an extremely strong energy blast towards Alex.
“NO!” Leslie screamed and dived in front of Alex just in time to catch the energy blast herself.
As she crumpled to the floor, Alex dropped to her side. “No, Leslie!” he choked, his eyes already filling with tears. Pulling her head into his lap, he was afraid to touch her when she groaned with the movement. He noticed severe burns all over her just like Maria had had.
“Momma, no!” Megan wailed from her hook on the ceiling. Suddenly, her ropes released themselves from around her wrists, and she dropped to the floor with an “oomph”. She quickly picked herself up off the floor and started to run for her mother.
Kivar saw her out of the corner of his eye and held up his hand, sending her sailing through the air. Instead of her being thrown against the wall, however, the evil being simply hung her from her shirt on the hook she had been hanging from, giving it a little extra alien touch to keep her hanging there. “Uh, uh, uh, princess,” he cooed. “Daddy is having to teach mommy a little lesson.”
“You’re not my daddy!” Megan screeched, trying her best to swing herself off the hook again. It was to no avail and she sobbed and wailed as she watched her mother’s still form.
Lucas had moved quickly to the other side of Leslie and his eyes met Alex’s. “Please, Lucas, you have to help her!” Alex choked, tears falling unheeded down his cheeks.
Waving his hands gently over his sister’s form, Lucas felt his heart breaking. He had failed her. He had promised to keep her and Megan safe and this is what happened. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he concentrated on the job at hand. Everyone in the room seemed to be frozen and intently watching the scene before them.
After a few moments, Lucas hung his head and closed his eyes. Despair filled him and he took in a shuddering breath. Raising his head slowly, he looked Alex in the eyes and his own emerald green ones filled with tears as he shook his head. “I can’t do it. The damage is too extensive. I can’t save her.”
Letting out a broken sob, Alex bent down and hugged Leslie’s form. She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up into his eyes and then her brown ones flitted to her brother’s. “Lucas, promise…” she started weakly. Swallowing and taking a deep shuddering breath she tried again. “Promise…take care of Megan…she’s the future.”
“Les, I won’t have to take care of her because you’re going to be here to do that,” Lucas protested. When she gave him a weak but knowing smile, he turned away, unable to meet her eyes.
Turning her gaze back to Alex, Leslie used what little strength she had left and lifted her hand to his face. “My Alex…the closest person I ever came to having really love me. I love you, Alex. I’m not afraid to say that anymore. Stay safe for me.”
“Leslie, you have to fight. You have to tell me what we have to do to save you,” Alex begged her. When her eyes started to flutter closed again, he grew desperate and shook her. “NO! Leslie, don’t give up on me! Not when I haven’t had a chance to tell you how much I love you. You mean so much to me and I can’t express myself well or write a song to describe my feelings in these kinds of circumstances. Please, tell me what to do to fix you.”
Max had watched the scene with all the others, horrified at what he was witnessing. He knew in his head that when they came to New York there would be danger to all of them…he knew someone could get hurt. In his heart, however, he had never believed he would lose anyone…that someone would get killed. There was a chance he could save her, but that would mean doing the one thing he had vowed in his heart he wouldn’t unless he learned he could set her free. Max would have to touch Leslie, and thereby completing her awakening.
Alex felt Leslie’s body becoming heavier and she still hadn’t answered him about what they could do to save her. Suddenly, like the proverbial light bulb, he knew exactly what had to happen to save the alien he loved. His head snapped up to search for Max and his eyes quickly found the other guy’s. “Max, you have to help her…please,” he pleaded, sniffling and blinking rapidly to be able to see through his tears. When he saw the internal battle Max was raging with himself, he added, “Please, Max, I trust you. When this is all over, I trust you will do the right thing.”
Max’s honey colored eyes had momentarily looked away from his friend’s while he waged the struggle between his mind and heart. At Alex’s words, however, his eyes flew back to the other guy’s. He searched his features to see if there was any hesitancy in them. Then he looked to Lucas who watched him expectantly. When Lucas nodded, Max moved quickly to Leslie’s side, dropped to both knees, took a deep breath and placed his hands on her skin at what appeared to be the epicenter of her injuries.
AN: Ok, I have several things to tell you about this part. First of all, like with Jack, Matt, Grace, and Kate, I've attached a picture of "Serena" to the first mention of her name in this part. (Where her name shows up purple) Also, I want to WARN everyone that in this part, there will be a part that will cast Max's former identity, Xan, into a very bad light. I hope you will trust me to explain the reason for what happened in future parts. Ok, all that said, enjoy!
Part 49 – “Confessions and Negotiations”
Neither Serena nor Megan had blindfolds on, and Serena’s eyes widened when she took in the scene around her and almost fell out of her head when they landed on Tess. “Please, somebody help me!” she pleaded.
“Momma!” Megan shouted.
Leslie’s heart and instincts took over when her daughter called for her. “Megan!” she answered and started toward her at full speed. Suddenly she was thrown back across the room to hit the far wall, knocking the wind out of her. She glared at Kivar as she struggled to get air back into her lungs.
“Leslie, are you ok?” Alex asked, rushing to her side. He helped her to stand and Max watched carefully for her answer and to see if she would be ok.
Nodding, Leslie gasped trying to catch her breath. “I’m fine. Just a little bruised.” Seeing Max’s concern she flashed him a small reassuring smile. “Really, I’m ok.” Turning her attention back to Kivar, she growled at the evil being. “Kivar, let her go!”
Kivar simply mocked surprise. “Now, F-L, why would I have any reason to turn my daughter over to my enemies?” he asked. Then noticing the looks on the faces of those around the room, he laughed.
Max was momentarily shaken by Kivar’s declaration but recovered quickly. “Come off it, Kivar. I know that Megan is my daughter.”
“Your daughter?!” Tess screeched. “What the hell do you mean she’s your daughter?” It was unclear, however, if she was directing her words to Max or Kivar.
“I’ve no doubt that is exactly what F-L told you, Xan, but I’m afraid I know the truth. I know you don’t have all your memories, but can you remember the night that you came to me and offered me a gift?” Kivar asked, an evil gleam in his eyes.
“No!” Leslie screamed. “Don’t you dare make it out to be that way!”
When Max looked from Kivar to study Leslie, he saw true, raw fear in her features. Maybe there was something to what Kivar was saying. He glanced at Lucas who looked like he was going to be sick. Alex was still holding onto Leslie and looked as confused as Max felt. Just how much could he trust Leslie and Lucas? He hadn’t known them long or very well. But then again, he knew he couldn’t trust Kivar.
“Kivar, I don’t remember any such thing, but I know that if anyone was with F-L behind my back, he was subject to death,” Max tried, using the small amount of knowledge Leslie and Lucas had given him.
The body that Kivar was using laughed hysterically. “I don’t believe that was a problem. Well, F-L, are you going to tell them about our glorious 30 hours together or should I?”
Everyone looked at Leslie, who seemed to be paralyzed with fear. Lucas was the first one to say anything to her. “Les, please don’t tell me this is true! This is the one thing you couldn’t forgive Xan for?”
Leslie only swallowed and her eyes filled with tears as she hung her head. She had hoped that Lucas would never know this secret. It was her burden alone to carry. Alex put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “Leslie, whatever happened, it’s in the past and we’re here to help you. But you should tell us what happened. Don’t hold it inside and let it eat you up.”
Gathering courage from Alex’s words, Leslie lifted her head and sniffed, blinking back tears as others fell down her face. “Xan came to me and told me he was trying to negotiate peace with Kivar and that he had asked his cousin what token he could give to show his good intentions. Kivar had asked for one full day with me…to do with as he pleased. Xan agreed and signed a contract so it would absolve Kivar and myself of any sort of punishment. Kivar did as he pleased with me for those 30 hours,” Leslie recounted without much emotion.
There was a collective gasp and Max’s eyes widened as he shook his head. He just couldn’t believe that the man he had been in his past life could have done such a thing. The great king had lowered himself to be nothing more than a pimp?! That just didn’t register in his brain. His face turned an ugly pale green and he felt like he would vomit. He wasn’t the only one in the group who felt that way.
“Oh, please, you make it sound so cold!” Kivar said dramatically. “What we had was a beautiful day that I promised F-L was simply a taste of things to come. I can’t describe how delighted I am that that glorious time resulted in our having a daughter.”
“No! Megan is not yours! Xan was her father,” Leslie insisted emphatically.
Everyone looked at her skeptically, even Alex. “Uh, Les, I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything, but if you spent a whole day with Kivar and you were…” he turned crimson as he struggled to find the appropriate terminology, “uh, that is…if he ‘had his way with you’, then how do you know for sure that Max, er, Xan was the father? It is possible Kivar was the father, isn’t it?” Alex wished the floor would open up and swallow him when she turned hurt eyes on him.
“Physically, yes it’s possible. But I’m sure she was conceived by Xan because of all the power I felt from her when I carried her and after she was born. I’ve only felt that kind of power from one other person, and that was Xan.” She pulled out of his embrace as she answered him and Alex couldn’t help but feel distressed at the gesture.
“I guess there are only 3 ways to know for sure and since we have no access to two of them here, we could always see if she carries the seal of the heir to the throne. If she does, we’ll know for sure that she is Xan’s,” Kivar said, moving to stand by the small girl.
“Kivar, you know we can’t even access that here!” Lucas told him. “It can only be accessed by Xan or F-L on Antar in the palace for the first time, and the Granilith must be present. There’s no real way to know…to actually prove who Megan’s father is, but personally, if Leslie says it’s Xan, I believe her.”
“Enough of all this! Kivar, you said you wanted to negotiate so start talking. Who is Megan’s biological father is of no consequence right now,” Max said, trying to divert attention back away from the four-year-old. He hoped Kivar would be distracted enough by the “negotiating” that someone else would be able to get to Megan and Serena and get them out of there.
“Very well, Xan, if you insist. This is the list of my demands. First, I want you to officially abdicate from the throne. I want it in writing, witnessed and sealed. Second, I want the Granilith,” Kivar listed, spouting his demands off like a round of shots fired from a machine gun.
“Anything else?” Max asked, unable to hide a small bit of the sarcasm he wanted to put into that small question.
Kivar’s eyes flashed to Leslie before returning quickly to Max’s. “I want the Luinwe…not both of them, just F-L. I also want that in writing, witnessed and sealed.” Leslie’s eyes widened in fear at his last request.
Tess stepped up again. “Kivar, what could you possibly want with her? Won’t it be enough that I’m by your side? I’ll be all the queen you could ever need.”
“Hey! You promised me the otha Luinwe, Kivar!” Lonnie protested.
Kivar completely ignored them as he watched Max for his reaction and waited for his answer. “And just what are we supposed to get from these negotiations by giving you all those things you just listed?” Max pointed out. “So far, you’ve said nothing that would be for our benefit.”
“Well, first of all, you would be allowed to live your lives…here on this pathetic planet you seem to care for so much. Never again will I, or any of my supporters, ever bother you again. No more misplaced sense of duty to a people you don’t remember…no more war, only peace. Do we have a deal?” Kivar answered.
Max pretended to think about it for a few moments. “What about Megan and Serena? What happens to them?”
Kivar slowly rolled his eyes to the ceiling and pursed his lips as if contemplating his answer. “I suppose I can be persuaded to allow them to stay and live here on this planet with you.” Waving his hand over his shoulder, Serena was suddenly released from the hook she had been hanging from and dropped to the floor. “In fact, as one of those…gestures of good faith, I’ll release Serena to you now.”
With another wave of Kivar’s hand, the young woman was thrown into Max’s body, sending them both crashing to the floor. As Max scrambled to get up off the floor and help Serena to do the same, she yelped in pain. Looking at the arm that he had grabbed to help her stand, he realized that the area of her forearm just above the wrist was bent in a “z” like shape and was discolored and swollen.
When he looked at her questioningly, her eyes filled with tears. “He broke it when he took me from my home, after killing my parents. That’s not all he did to me but that’s the worst of it,” she explained quietly, her voice quivering somewhat.
After studying her for a moment, Max placed his hands around her wrist. “This might hurt for just a second, but I promise it will feel better after that. Just hang on for a minute or two.”
He watched her face as he told her this and watched her face fill with a confused expression. Before she could question anything, his hands started to glow. As he willed waves of warmth to try to stave off the pain, he quickly straightened the bones that flashed through his mind’s eye and then healed them together. Serena didn’t even have time to let out the scream she was going to when he straightened her radius and ulna to set them back where they were supposed to be. Her eyes were as wide as was possible without them popping out of her head when he was done, and she was very pale.
“Who are you people?” she asked in awe.
Lucas had moved to stand beside Max to better see what he was doing. When he realized what was going on, he was hit by a thought that he wished he had thought of earlier. “Max, I hate to say this, but I think Kivar might be playing with you.”
Max’s head snapped to Lucas’. “What do you mean you think he’s playing with me?”
“Kivar is a pretty powerful being and he has already admitted that he knows you don’t have full access to your memories of your past life. He has probably deduced that you don’t really remember how to use your powers,” Lucas explained quietly. When Max only raised one eyebrow and waited for him to continue, he sighed. “I think he might be hurting these people so you have to heal them and thereby weakening your powers.”
Wincing at the idea, Max realized that Lucas was probably right. If Kivar had half the power he suspected he did, then he could have easily killed Maria or even Kyle, and while they had both been close, Max realized that it wasn’t close enough. He had healed them quickly without any consequence to himself. Stifling a groan he ran a hand over his face and nodded at Lucas.
“If you all are quite finished, I’m still waiting on my answer. I believe I have been more than patient, especially for me,” Kivar interrupted. When Max turned back to him, he raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do we have a deal?”
Knowing that his time for forming a plan was growing short, Max glanced around at the people he trusted. Quickly saying a silent prayer to whatever deity might hear him for their safety, he tried to buy some more time. “Let me see if I’ve got it all straight. I abdicate my throne, in writing, turn over the Granilith, and also hand over all rights to Leslie. In exchange, you release Megan and Serena and allow us to live the rest of our natural lives here on Earth, without any kind of interference from you or any of your goons. Have I missed anything?”
Giving him a devious smile, Kivar nodded. “That about covers it.”
Lonnie spoke up again. “Kivar! I told you I wanted that Luinwe! You said I could have him.”
“I’ll get you another one!” he snapped back at her.
“There’s a bit of a problem with your request, Kivar,” Leslie told him, seeming to gain a bit more of her old spunk again. Maybe it was just that she was tired of being afraid of her past life. That combined with the hope Max held out to her of true freedom made her force herself to buck up.
“Oh, yes? And what’s that, F-L?” he sneered at her.
Giving him a triumphant smile, she answered with a lot of confidence she suddenly felt. “The only way Xan can give me over to you is if my awakening is completed, which it isn’t. And you know if my awakening is completed I will have full access to my powers again, which means I’ll be able to protect them all from you.”
Enraged by her impertinence and the truth in her words, Kivar almost roared in his frustration. Then he noticed the human who had held onto her before when she had been thrown across the room. Perhaps this one was special to her? Well, he would see. “I see you have it all figured out...at least where you are concerned,” he said, feigning defeat. When she only looked at him suspiciously, he decided to act. “Let’s see what happens when I do something like this!” He raised his hand and shot an extremely strong energy blast towards Alex.
“NO!” Leslie screamed and dived in front of Alex just in time to catch the energy blast herself.
As she crumpled to the floor, Alex dropped to her side. “No, Leslie!” he choked, his eyes already filling with tears. Pulling her head into his lap, he was afraid to touch her when she groaned with the movement. He noticed severe burns all over her just like Maria had had.
“Momma, no!” Megan wailed from her hook on the ceiling. Suddenly, her ropes released themselves from around her wrists, and she dropped to the floor with an “oomph”. She quickly picked herself up off the floor and started to run for her mother.
Kivar saw her out of the corner of his eye and held up his hand, sending her sailing through the air. Instead of her being thrown against the wall, however, the evil being simply hung her from her shirt on the hook she had been hanging from, giving it a little extra alien touch to keep her hanging there. “Uh, uh, uh, princess,” he cooed. “Daddy is having to teach mommy a little lesson.”
“You’re not my daddy!” Megan screeched, trying her best to swing herself off the hook again. It was to no avail and she sobbed and wailed as she watched her mother’s still form.
Lucas had moved quickly to the other side of Leslie and his eyes met Alex’s. “Please, Lucas, you have to help her!” Alex choked, tears falling unheeded down his cheeks.
Waving his hands gently over his sister’s form, Lucas felt his heart breaking. He had failed her. He had promised to keep her and Megan safe and this is what happened. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he concentrated on the job at hand. Everyone in the room seemed to be frozen and intently watching the scene before them.
After a few moments, Lucas hung his head and closed his eyes. Despair filled him and he took in a shuddering breath. Raising his head slowly, he looked Alex in the eyes and his own emerald green ones filled with tears as he shook his head. “I can’t do it. The damage is too extensive. I can’t save her.”
Letting out a broken sob, Alex bent down and hugged Leslie’s form. She groaned and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up into his eyes and then her brown ones flitted to her brother’s. “Lucas, promise…” she started weakly. Swallowing and taking a deep shuddering breath she tried again. “Promise…take care of Megan…she’s the future.”
“Les, I won’t have to take care of her because you’re going to be here to do that,” Lucas protested. When she gave him a weak but knowing smile, he turned away, unable to meet her eyes.
Turning her gaze back to Alex, Leslie used what little strength she had left and lifted her hand to his face. “My Alex…the closest person I ever came to having really love me. I love you, Alex. I’m not afraid to say that anymore. Stay safe for me.”
“Leslie, you have to fight. You have to tell me what we have to do to save you,” Alex begged her. When her eyes started to flutter closed again, he grew desperate and shook her. “NO! Leslie, don’t give up on me! Not when I haven’t had a chance to tell you how much I love you. You mean so much to me and I can’t express myself well or write a song to describe my feelings in these kinds of circumstances. Please, tell me what to do to fix you.”
Max had watched the scene with all the others, horrified at what he was witnessing. He knew in his head that when they came to New York there would be danger to all of them…he knew someone could get hurt. In his heart, however, he had never believed he would lose anyone…that someone would get killed. There was a chance he could save her, but that would mean doing the one thing he had vowed in his heart he wouldn’t unless he learned he could set her free. Max would have to touch Leslie, and thereby completing her awakening.
Alex felt Leslie’s body becoming heavier and she still hadn’t answered him about what they could do to save her. Suddenly, like the proverbial light bulb, he knew exactly what had to happen to save the alien he loved. His head snapped up to search for Max and his eyes quickly found the other guy’s. “Max, you have to help her…please,” he pleaded, sniffling and blinking rapidly to be able to see through his tears. When he saw the internal battle Max was raging with himself, he added, “Please, Max, I trust you. When this is all over, I trust you will do the right thing.”
Max’s honey colored eyes had momentarily looked away from his friend’s while he waged the struggle between his mind and heart. At Alex’s words, however, his eyes flew back to the other guy’s. He searched his features to see if there was any hesitancy in them. Then he looked to Lucas who watched him expectantly. When Lucas nodded, Max moved quickly to Leslie’s side, dropped to both knees, took a deep breath and placed his hands on her skin at what appeared to be the epicenter of her injuries.
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Ok, here is part 50 and part 51 is in the next post. Enjoy and remember the contest for feedback! So far it hasn't been much of one! LOL!
Against My Programming
Part 50 – “Awakenings and More Help on the Way”
Max had barely placed his hands on Leslie to start healing her when suddenly a blinding white light appeared under his hands and spread out from there to encompass him and Leslie. It briefly made a bubble around them before it reformed the bubble only around Leslie and started to raise her from the ground. She was still unconscious but her wounds and burns started healing of their own accord.
The group from Roswell was so focused on the scene with Leslie and Max that they had momentarily dropped their defenses…which is exactly what Kivar was counting on. “Now!” he called. Lonnie and Rath started blasting energy bursts at the group but were having a hard time seeing due to the bright light around Leslie.
Michael was the one who had kept his attention on their enemy. “MAXWELL!” he yelled, throwing energy bursts of his own in the direction of the group on the other side of the room. “Maria, Liz, Kyle, Alex, stay down and look for a way to get to Megan if you can!” he called out, not looking to see if the others were following his directions. His best friend and king had made their mission very clear and after everything they had been through in the last bit, he was going to make damn sure they accomplished it.
Max threw up his shield on instinct and just in time too. He just barely had time to deflect a shot that would have surely hit Alex, who was standing not five feet away from him. He concentrated on his shield and tried to keep it strong but as large as possible. It was hard to do both. “Everyone, get closer to me,” he called through the chaos.
Michael, Isabel, and even Serena moved immediately to stand with him. Isabel and Michael flanked him while Serena moved to stand behind him. Max glanced around quickly, trusting Isabel and Michael to keep on the offense while he took in the situation of the others in his group. Liz, Maria and Kyle were staying low to the ground and behind the area of the shield while trying to move closer to where Megan was hanging from the ceiling. Lucas and Alex were standing on the floor at either side of the bubble that still held Leslie suspended in air.
He was surprised to see Lucas holding up a shield similar to his own. The color it gave off, however, was yellow not green like Max’s. It was also apparent that it was not easy for Lucas to keep up. Maybe it would have been easier if his awakening was completed. Max turned his attention back to his sister and best friend, concentrating on keeping his shield strong.
“We need to move closer to Lucas, Alex, and Leslie,” he told them, raising his voice a little to be heard over the noise and echoes reverberating around the floor of the high rise.
Before either Isabel or Michael could answer, however, Max heard Kivar yell something to his underlings. “Do what you want to the others but I want F-L and Xan alive!”
Max took that moment to move and it was none too soon. He moved the whole group encompassed by his shield over to Lucas, Alex and Leslie just as Lucas’s strength gave out and his shield dropped. Isabel looked down at Lucas, who had dropped to the floor to catch his breath. “Are you ok?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just gotta catch my breath and strength for a minute. It didn’t use to be this hard to protect you.” He grinned at her and she smiled back momentarily.
Michael got a good shot in at Lonnie and Rath that left them both on the floor, Lonnie clutching her right arm and Rath covering a wound on the left side of his chest. Kivar was easily deflecting anything that flew his way, as were Tess and Nesedo. Nicholas was firing rapidly one after the other in the direction of Max’s shield, trying to hit the same place again and again to weaken it. Kivar had yet to fire any real shots of his own since the one that had been aimed at Alex.
“Max, look!” Liz said from behind him.
His eyes followed the direction her finger pointed in and his concentration on the shield almost vanished. Leslie’s body seemed to have been completely restored and now she was starting to turn inside the bubble of brilliant white light. It wasn’t completely blinding but very similar to being outside without sunglasses on a very sunny summer’s day. As some unseen force started turning Leslie in faster and faster circles, her eyes opened but it was as if she wasn’t seeing anything that was in front of her. Her eyes were not normal as they were completely black from eyelid to eyelid, from corner to corner.
“Earane leralonde amarie celebrindal. Maglor Sirfalas, valandil narmolanya, nellas oronar. Linwe anwamane, linwe galathil, linwe arnatuile, idril elandil idril ar-feiniel. Findarato felagund mablung narmolanya,” came pouring out of her mouth.
Everyone watching knew that she was speaking in another language, but no one understood what she was saying. With one glance at Kivar, Max confirmed that not even he had been able to understand the beautiful sounds that came from that melodious voice. Everyone looked to the only other person that might understand them…Lucas.
“’The programming is complete. To Xan, Antar’s king, I belong. My obedience, my loyalty, my body and abilities are his. Long live the king,’” Lucas translated. He knew everyone was watching him, but his eyes never left his sister.
“How did you know what she was saying? Not even Kivar understood it,” Isabel asked him quietly.
Lucas glanced at her and shrugged. “We’ve often spouted off words that only the other of us would understand. The only theory we have is that it is the ancient language of our people…the Luinwe, not Antarians. It’s almost as if it was dormant in our genes.”
At his words, Max, Michael and Isabel glanced at Nesedo. Sure enough, he looked as if he understood exactly what Leslie had just said, and he didn’t look happy about it. He looked a little angry and a bit scared, in fact.
Max was grateful that the assault on his shield had stopped. He slowly retracted it, hoping that no one would try to take them down right now. His energy had been seriously drained with healing everyone and having held the shield up so long. As soon as the shield was down, he felt just how drained he really was. They were in serious trouble if any of their enemies tried too much more.
Leslie’s body had stopped spinning now and lowered slowly to the ground so that she was standing on her feet. The bubble continued to encase her, however, and her eyes stayed completely black. She raised her hand in the direction of their enemies and there was a feeling of static electricity in the air. There was a slight “oomph” from the little girl who had been hanging on the hook from the ceiling behind Kivar. She had been lowered to the ground.
“Uh, uh, uh!” Kivar said, raising a hand in Leslie’s direction. “The little girl stays with me for the time being.” He shot a little bit of energy in the young mother’s direction but it bounced harmlessly off the white bubble. He looked a little shocked, but quickly tried to turn attention from himself and back on Max. “Well, Maxwell Evans of Earth, once King Xan of Antar, you still have not responded to our negotiations. F-L’s awakening is complete and she is now ready for you to sign her over to me. This is the last time I ask you this…do we have a deal?”
Max pretended to think about it, still trying to stall for time. He had no idea what to do now. He only knew that he couldn’t just give Kivar all that he was asking for. He certainly wouldn’t give him Leslie, and giving over the Granilith seemed a bad idea as well. Praying to a God he hadn’t always been sure he believed in, Max wracked his brain for a way out of this with all of their group to live through the ordeal.
“You’re Majesty, there are other options at your disposal…if you choose to use them,” Leslie told him. Alex was a bit dismayed to realize that it didn’t seem that it was “Leslie” that was speaking, but more likely “F-L”. Her eyes were still black and her voice was cold and monotone.
Max’s eyes snapped to F-L’s and the confusion he felt showed slightly on his face. “What options do I have?” he asked.
“If you will allow me, I will take care of this situation and get us all out of here,” was the only explanation he was given. When he hesitated, she spoke up again, as if reading his mind. “If you will place your trust in me, King Xan, I will not disappoint you.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, on another planet, in another galaxy far, far away…
Two humanoids sat across from each other at a large table, plans and reports spread in front of them. Their eyes met and locked as they each noticed a glowing coming from under the other’s clothing in the area of their hearts. Their breathing sped up in automatic anticipation of a repetition of the experience when the glowing faded, as if having never happened.
“That’s one,” the male said quietly. He waited with baited breath the reoccurrence along with his female companion. When it didn’t come, they started to squirm nervously.
“Where’s the second one?” she asked finally. “You don’t think it happened both at the same time do you?”
Wishing that was a plausible explanation, he just shook his head. “No, we wouldn’t have felt them simultaneously even if they had managed to complete them both at the same time. We should wait a bit to see if they get to the other one before we start panicking. They may just be waiting on the first to recover. We knew that might be a necessity.”
She reluctantly agreed and tried to turn back to the pages in front of her. After another hour and a half had gone by, however, she huffed and cleared the pages away from in front of her with a swipe of her hand. “Something’s wrong. It should have happened by now.”
Her companion’s face was a mask of concern. He hated to agree but the odds were not looking good. “Well, we can always hope K is there to help them.”
Standing, she started pacing. “You know as well as I that there has been no word from K in years! He could be dead. They’re going to need all the help they can get, especially if Kivar has found out where they are.”
Coming to her and pulling her into his arms, he kissed her. “You know I’m worried about them as well, but our options are somewhat limited with the way things are here right now. What do you suggest we do to help them more?” He pushed some strands of blonde hair away from her eyes.
Glancing away for a moment, she took a deep breath to gather the courage to tell him what needed to be done. “I have to go help them.” She met his eyes squarely as she told him these words, knowing he would argue with her.
“No! Absolutely not. I will not lose you too! I already lost them once and that was agony, but if I were to lose you down there, after everything else I’ve gone through in my life…love, it would kill me!” he protested. “There has to be another way.”
He had pulled away from her to argue but she rushed to stand in front of him. “You know it’s the only way. They need me and I can go and help speed the process along and bring them home to us…to help free your people and, hopefully, if Granilith was right, my people as well. I won’t lose them again. This is our only chance!”
Touching his forehead to hers, he closed his eyes and swallowed. Losing the first love of his life had felt like someone had ripped out his heart, but his children had helped to lessen the pain. Losing his children had felt like someone had gutted him. To lose her, now, after all this time and finding love again with her…it would finally be his doom. He would not survive it.
Feeling the war raging inside of him, her heart cried to help him, but she knew this was the way. She had to do this in order for their family to be together again…for the lives and peace of their people. “Come on, you know this is the right thing to do.”
After finally agreeing, the two beings left the sanctuary of their hiding place and made their way quickly and stealthily to the palace and inside. Being careful of anyone who might be around and could catch them, they used both of their abilities to make their way to the room that once housed the sacred Granilith. There were warning signs and ropes and locks of all kinds at the door but these proved to be no problem for these two. There was no lock inside the palace that would not open to them, despite all of Kivar’s efforts.
Stepping inside, they caught their breath at the energy that still hummed in the room. The room for the most part was empty, with the exception of four stands in the corners. These displayed objects of art and important books. There was a blessing of peace that involved the Granilith on the wall to the left of the door. There were other paintings, messages, and tapestries that had similar messages or warnings or histories on the other walls.
Making her way over to the wall with the blessing, the woman waved her hand over the word for peace to reveal a recess in the wall. Without hesitation, she thrust her hand inside and pulled out a black object that fit snugly in the palm of her hand. It had a couple of buttons on it and was made out of a shiny black material much like obsidian but more durable. Both beings looked down at the object that would separate them after so many years.
After closing her eyes and saying a quick prayer to the creator, the woman pressed two of the buttons and both watched the wall change again. There was a brilliant white light and the blessing on the wall disappeared to be replaced with a timer of sorts. As the timer counted down, the wall seemed to be changing. It seemed to be losing its stability and solidity.
The male pulled the female into his arms and held her tightly. “Promise me you’ll come back to me. I’ve lost all else. I could not bear to lose you now.”
Kissing him, she gave him a reassuring smile. “I will and I’ll be bringing your children with me. Then, finally, we can truly be together the way we are supposed to be. All of our plans…our dreams will come true.” With one more kiss, she stepped slightly away from him, still holding onto his arms.
Panic started to well up inside of him once again. He had not known such fear in many years. If she did not succeed, he would never see his love again. As she moved closer to the wall that had seemed to fade to reveal a dark opening with wind blowing on the other side, he gripped her hand tightly. “Be careful!”
Tears streaming down her face, she smiled, trying to stay strong. “I will. You be careful too. Don’t let Kivar’s men catch you. I love you, Yvan.”
Yvan paid no heed to the tears that also fell from his eyes. “Come back to me, Larina! I love you!” he shouted. And with those words, she was gone and the wall closed up to be just as it was when they entered…leaving him entirely alone.
Against My Programming
Part 50 – “Awakenings and More Help on the Way”
Max had barely placed his hands on Leslie to start healing her when suddenly a blinding white light appeared under his hands and spread out from there to encompass him and Leslie. It briefly made a bubble around them before it reformed the bubble only around Leslie and started to raise her from the ground. She was still unconscious but her wounds and burns started healing of their own accord.
The group from Roswell was so focused on the scene with Leslie and Max that they had momentarily dropped their defenses…which is exactly what Kivar was counting on. “Now!” he called. Lonnie and Rath started blasting energy bursts at the group but were having a hard time seeing due to the bright light around Leslie.
Michael was the one who had kept his attention on their enemy. “MAXWELL!” he yelled, throwing energy bursts of his own in the direction of the group on the other side of the room. “Maria, Liz, Kyle, Alex, stay down and look for a way to get to Megan if you can!” he called out, not looking to see if the others were following his directions. His best friend and king had made their mission very clear and after everything they had been through in the last bit, he was going to make damn sure they accomplished it.
Max threw up his shield on instinct and just in time too. He just barely had time to deflect a shot that would have surely hit Alex, who was standing not five feet away from him. He concentrated on his shield and tried to keep it strong but as large as possible. It was hard to do both. “Everyone, get closer to me,” he called through the chaos.
Michael, Isabel, and even Serena moved immediately to stand with him. Isabel and Michael flanked him while Serena moved to stand behind him. Max glanced around quickly, trusting Isabel and Michael to keep on the offense while he took in the situation of the others in his group. Liz, Maria and Kyle were staying low to the ground and behind the area of the shield while trying to move closer to where Megan was hanging from the ceiling. Lucas and Alex were standing on the floor at either side of the bubble that still held Leslie suspended in air.
He was surprised to see Lucas holding up a shield similar to his own. The color it gave off, however, was yellow not green like Max’s. It was also apparent that it was not easy for Lucas to keep up. Maybe it would have been easier if his awakening was completed. Max turned his attention back to his sister and best friend, concentrating on keeping his shield strong.
“We need to move closer to Lucas, Alex, and Leslie,” he told them, raising his voice a little to be heard over the noise and echoes reverberating around the floor of the high rise.
Before either Isabel or Michael could answer, however, Max heard Kivar yell something to his underlings. “Do what you want to the others but I want F-L and Xan alive!”
Max took that moment to move and it was none too soon. He moved the whole group encompassed by his shield over to Lucas, Alex and Leslie just as Lucas’s strength gave out and his shield dropped. Isabel looked down at Lucas, who had dropped to the floor to catch his breath. “Are you ok?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just gotta catch my breath and strength for a minute. It didn’t use to be this hard to protect you.” He grinned at her and she smiled back momentarily.
Michael got a good shot in at Lonnie and Rath that left them both on the floor, Lonnie clutching her right arm and Rath covering a wound on the left side of his chest. Kivar was easily deflecting anything that flew his way, as were Tess and Nesedo. Nicholas was firing rapidly one after the other in the direction of Max’s shield, trying to hit the same place again and again to weaken it. Kivar had yet to fire any real shots of his own since the one that had been aimed at Alex.
“Max, look!” Liz said from behind him.
His eyes followed the direction her finger pointed in and his concentration on the shield almost vanished. Leslie’s body seemed to have been completely restored and now she was starting to turn inside the bubble of brilliant white light. It wasn’t completely blinding but very similar to being outside without sunglasses on a very sunny summer’s day. As some unseen force started turning Leslie in faster and faster circles, her eyes opened but it was as if she wasn’t seeing anything that was in front of her. Her eyes were not normal as they were completely black from eyelid to eyelid, from corner to corner.
“Earane leralonde amarie celebrindal. Maglor Sirfalas, valandil narmolanya, nellas oronar. Linwe anwamane, linwe galathil, linwe arnatuile, idril elandil idril ar-feiniel. Findarato felagund mablung narmolanya,” came pouring out of her mouth.
Everyone watching knew that she was speaking in another language, but no one understood what she was saying. With one glance at Kivar, Max confirmed that not even he had been able to understand the beautiful sounds that came from that melodious voice. Everyone looked to the only other person that might understand them…Lucas.
“’The programming is complete. To Xan, Antar’s king, I belong. My obedience, my loyalty, my body and abilities are his. Long live the king,’” Lucas translated. He knew everyone was watching him, but his eyes never left his sister.
“How did you know what she was saying? Not even Kivar understood it,” Isabel asked him quietly.
Lucas glanced at her and shrugged. “We’ve often spouted off words that only the other of us would understand. The only theory we have is that it is the ancient language of our people…the Luinwe, not Antarians. It’s almost as if it was dormant in our genes.”
At his words, Max, Michael and Isabel glanced at Nesedo. Sure enough, he looked as if he understood exactly what Leslie had just said, and he didn’t look happy about it. He looked a little angry and a bit scared, in fact.
Max was grateful that the assault on his shield had stopped. He slowly retracted it, hoping that no one would try to take them down right now. His energy had been seriously drained with healing everyone and having held the shield up so long. As soon as the shield was down, he felt just how drained he really was. They were in serious trouble if any of their enemies tried too much more.
Leslie’s body had stopped spinning now and lowered slowly to the ground so that she was standing on her feet. The bubble continued to encase her, however, and her eyes stayed completely black. She raised her hand in the direction of their enemies and there was a feeling of static electricity in the air. There was a slight “oomph” from the little girl who had been hanging on the hook from the ceiling behind Kivar. She had been lowered to the ground.
“Uh, uh, uh!” Kivar said, raising a hand in Leslie’s direction. “The little girl stays with me for the time being.” He shot a little bit of energy in the young mother’s direction but it bounced harmlessly off the white bubble. He looked a little shocked, but quickly tried to turn attention from himself and back on Max. “Well, Maxwell Evans of Earth, once King Xan of Antar, you still have not responded to our negotiations. F-L’s awakening is complete and she is now ready for you to sign her over to me. This is the last time I ask you this…do we have a deal?”
Max pretended to think about it, still trying to stall for time. He had no idea what to do now. He only knew that he couldn’t just give Kivar all that he was asking for. He certainly wouldn’t give him Leslie, and giving over the Granilith seemed a bad idea as well. Praying to a God he hadn’t always been sure he believed in, Max wracked his brain for a way out of this with all of their group to live through the ordeal.
“You’re Majesty, there are other options at your disposal…if you choose to use them,” Leslie told him. Alex was a bit dismayed to realize that it didn’t seem that it was “Leslie” that was speaking, but more likely “F-L”. Her eyes were still black and her voice was cold and monotone.
Max’s eyes snapped to F-L’s and the confusion he felt showed slightly on his face. “What options do I have?” he asked.
“If you will allow me, I will take care of this situation and get us all out of here,” was the only explanation he was given. When he hesitated, she spoke up again, as if reading his mind. “If you will place your trust in me, King Xan, I will not disappoint you.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, on another planet, in another galaxy far, far away…
Two humanoids sat across from each other at a large table, plans and reports spread in front of them. Their eyes met and locked as they each noticed a glowing coming from under the other’s clothing in the area of their hearts. Their breathing sped up in automatic anticipation of a repetition of the experience when the glowing faded, as if having never happened.
“That’s one,” the male said quietly. He waited with baited breath the reoccurrence along with his female companion. When it didn’t come, they started to squirm nervously.
“Where’s the second one?” she asked finally. “You don’t think it happened both at the same time do you?”
Wishing that was a plausible explanation, he just shook his head. “No, we wouldn’t have felt them simultaneously even if they had managed to complete them both at the same time. We should wait a bit to see if they get to the other one before we start panicking. They may just be waiting on the first to recover. We knew that might be a necessity.”
She reluctantly agreed and tried to turn back to the pages in front of her. After another hour and a half had gone by, however, she huffed and cleared the pages away from in front of her with a swipe of her hand. “Something’s wrong. It should have happened by now.”
Her companion’s face was a mask of concern. He hated to agree but the odds were not looking good. “Well, we can always hope K is there to help them.”
Standing, she started pacing. “You know as well as I that there has been no word from K in years! He could be dead. They’re going to need all the help they can get, especially if Kivar has found out where they are.”
Coming to her and pulling her into his arms, he kissed her. “You know I’m worried about them as well, but our options are somewhat limited with the way things are here right now. What do you suggest we do to help them more?” He pushed some strands of blonde hair away from her eyes.
Glancing away for a moment, she took a deep breath to gather the courage to tell him what needed to be done. “I have to go help them.” She met his eyes squarely as she told him these words, knowing he would argue with her.
“No! Absolutely not. I will not lose you too! I already lost them once and that was agony, but if I were to lose you down there, after everything else I’ve gone through in my life…love, it would kill me!” he protested. “There has to be another way.”
He had pulled away from her to argue but she rushed to stand in front of him. “You know it’s the only way. They need me and I can go and help speed the process along and bring them home to us…to help free your people and, hopefully, if Granilith was right, my people as well. I won’t lose them again. This is our only chance!”
Touching his forehead to hers, he closed his eyes and swallowed. Losing the first love of his life had felt like someone had ripped out his heart, but his children had helped to lessen the pain. Losing his children had felt like someone had gutted him. To lose her, now, after all this time and finding love again with her…it would finally be his doom. He would not survive it.
Feeling the war raging inside of him, her heart cried to help him, but she knew this was the way. She had to do this in order for their family to be together again…for the lives and peace of their people. “Come on, you know this is the right thing to do.”
After finally agreeing, the two beings left the sanctuary of their hiding place and made their way quickly and stealthily to the palace and inside. Being careful of anyone who might be around and could catch them, they used both of their abilities to make their way to the room that once housed the sacred Granilith. There were warning signs and ropes and locks of all kinds at the door but these proved to be no problem for these two. There was no lock inside the palace that would not open to them, despite all of Kivar’s efforts.
Stepping inside, they caught their breath at the energy that still hummed in the room. The room for the most part was empty, with the exception of four stands in the corners. These displayed objects of art and important books. There was a blessing of peace that involved the Granilith on the wall to the left of the door. There were other paintings, messages, and tapestries that had similar messages or warnings or histories on the other walls.
Making her way over to the wall with the blessing, the woman waved her hand over the word for peace to reveal a recess in the wall. Without hesitation, she thrust her hand inside and pulled out a black object that fit snugly in the palm of her hand. It had a couple of buttons on it and was made out of a shiny black material much like obsidian but more durable. Both beings looked down at the object that would separate them after so many years.
After closing her eyes and saying a quick prayer to the creator, the woman pressed two of the buttons and both watched the wall change again. There was a brilliant white light and the blessing on the wall disappeared to be replaced with a timer of sorts. As the timer counted down, the wall seemed to be changing. It seemed to be losing its stability and solidity.
The male pulled the female into his arms and held her tightly. “Promise me you’ll come back to me. I’ve lost all else. I could not bear to lose you now.”
Kissing him, she gave him a reassuring smile. “I will and I’ll be bringing your children with me. Then, finally, we can truly be together the way we are supposed to be. All of our plans…our dreams will come true.” With one more kiss, she stepped slightly away from him, still holding onto his arms.
Panic started to well up inside of him once again. He had not known such fear in many years. If she did not succeed, he would never see his love again. As she moved closer to the wall that had seemed to fade to reveal a dark opening with wind blowing on the other side, he gripped her hand tightly. “Be careful!”
Tears streaming down her face, she smiled, trying to stay strong. “I will. You be careful too. Don’t let Kivar’s men catch you. I love you, Yvan.”
Yvan paid no heed to the tears that also fell from his eyes. “Come back to me, Larina! I love you!” he shouted. And with those words, she was gone and the wall closed up to be just as it was when they entered…leaving him entirely alone.
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Against My Programming
Part 51 – “Escape and Rescue”
With one nod from Max, mass chaos ensued. Lonnie, Rath, Tess and Nicholas immediately resumed firing on the Roswell group. Max and Lucas were going to put up their shields, but realized there was no need as F-L had put up a shield that glowed a brilliant bluish-white and covered the expanse of the entire half of the floor they were on.
“Get all humans out of the building!” she yelled over the noise of the fighting. She held the shield up with her left hand while firing back at the others with her right. All of her concentration was on the task at hand…which was first and foremost to get them all out of there alive.
Lucas, Max, and Michael immediately moved to carry out her instructions, racing to the door to guard it while the others moved into the stairwell. Seeing that Serena was practically rooted to the spot in shock and terror, Max rushed back to her and started dragging her gently by the arm to the others. She didn’t protest but continued to stare at the fighting. Finally, she seemed to come out of the trance-like state she was in and dived out the door to the stairwell with the others.
Alex hesitated as the others fled out the door. Looking back, he saw Leslie concentrating on the situation with the other aliens. He didn’t want to leave her behind, even though he knew it was the right thing to do. He would be of no help to her here.
“She’ll be ok, Alex. The best way to help her is to remove yourself as a liability. You can’t imagine the amount of power she possesses now that the awakening has been completed,” Lucas assured the human, patting him on the back. He knew how Alex felt, but he also knew that what he was telling him about Leslie’s power was true.
Looking back one last time at the woman he loved, Alex just watched her for a moment. He dropped his eyes to the floor, swallowed and nodded. As he pushed through the door to the stairwell, he found the others waiting for him. Maria, Liz and Isabel looked at him sympathetically. Surprisingly, it was Isabel who moved to comfort him first.
Pulling him into a hug and rubbing his back, she told him quietly, “She’ll be ok, Alex. Michael, Max and Lucas won’t let anything happen to her.” Stepping back, she gave him a reassuring smile before taking the lead down the stairs. The other girls quickly gave him smiles or a hug and then followed her.
Noticing that Kivar was effectively shielding the other side of the floor, Max knew this could be a long stand-off. He also knew that if Tess was allowed to escape with Kivar, he would have the location of the Granilith, and that was unacceptable. He needed to do something about this situation.
“Leslie! We need Tess alive!” he yelled, coming to a decision. Maybe they could get more information from her about Kivar and their past…not that he would completely believe anything she told them.
“Understood. Priorities are: one, protect King Xan and those with him, two, rescue the possible heir to the throne, and three, take the traitor known as Tess into custody. I will not fail in these missions,” F-L said.
Hearing her words, Max, Lucas and Kivar all seemed to remember the four year old and looked around for Megan. She was cowering in a corner. As Kivar started for her, Lucas fired on him and called out to his niece, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. God knew what Kivar would do with Megan if he was allowed to catch her.
“Megan, honey, come here! Trust in your instincts to get you over here to me!” he yelled to her.
Megan’s eyes opened wide as she started to stand and she noticed Kivar making his way toward her. This man who had shot her mother terrified her. “I’m scared!” she called back to her uncle.
“I know you are, sweetie, but you can do this. Just start coming this way and we’ll protect you,” Lucas reassured her.
Just as Kivar went to grab her, Megan ducked under his arms and fled for the other side of the room. When Kivar had changed his focus to Megan, he had dropped the shield and F-L took advantage of the opportunity presented to her. While keeping up her shield, she stopped firing and concentrated on disabling Tess somehow. Using her mental powers, F-L quickly entered the blonde’s mind and started searching her brain for the basic command she sought.
Tess was still busy firing and didn’t notice the invasion happening inside her head at first. When she finally did notice the other presence in her mind, she started to try to push F-L out. She wasn’t quick enough, however, and moments later dropped to the floor, completely unconscious. F-L showed no emotions but returned her attention to the other situations going on.
Meanwhile, Maria, Liz, Alex, Kyle and Serena had moved quickly down all the stairs with Isabel in the lead in case Kivar had someone or something waiting for them. They exited the building and moved against the side of the wall so none of those upstairs could fire on them. They settled in the shadows to wait for the others.
Serena was completely in shock at everything that was happening and decided to stick with this group until at least some of her questions could be answered. She looked at each member of this group and felt a kind of kinship to them somehow, especially the taller blonde. When her eyes landed on the well built, blue-eyed young man, however, she was taken aback by the pain and hatred that filled his eyes when he looked at her. It shook her to her core that someone could look at her that way…and yet…somehow, Serena knew that those emotions were not directed at her but at the double of her that was inside.
Upstairs, Kivar had been enraged that Megan had avoided his grasp. Raising his hand toward her, he used his powers to knock her to the floor and started dragging her back toward him. F-L and Lucas immediately started firing on him, being careful to watch their aim, but he had again raised his shield. Megan screamed and reached out to her uncle, tears streaming down her face as she felt pulled closer to Kivar. Lucas and Max knew they were helpless to stop him.
F-L’s advanced mind took in the situation and telepathically connected to the four year-old. <Meganora, mararan coamene! Ranewen telemnar taranis ar-feiniel! (Meganora, protect yourself! Trust in your instincts!)> she commanded in her mind.
Immediately, Megan seemed to calm down and draw strength from her mother’s voice in her head. Flipping herself onto her back, she met her adversary’s eyes and held up both hands. She sent a spark of powers at Kivar, but it was only a slight shock. While he was surprised, it didn’t stop him. Megan tried again, this time with a little more force. It only made Kivar angry and more determined to get a hold of this little brat.
Just as he was about to grab onto her, Megan panicked and sent out a burst of energy so powerful, it sent them flying apart. Kivar flew against the wall and landed unconscious. Megan landed close enough so that Lucas could reach her where he stood. He grabbed her up and fled to the stairwell, placing her along that wall but far enough from the door so no one could grab her without him seeing and getting to her first.
Nicholas had been hovering over Tess so as to stop F-L from taking their key to the Granilith. His priorities immediately changed, however, when he saw the body Kivar had been using slumped on the floor. Moving over to it quickly, he let Lonnie and Rath continue to fire on the others while he checked on the body. They quickly moved to guard Tess.
Max, Michael and Lucas immediately moved to get to Tess. Max and Lucas combined their strength into one shield while Michael covered the three of them with his firepower. They started to move as one unit toward Tess’ body, but Lonnie and Rath were determined not to give that up. They knew she was an important key to their going home.
F-L smiled as an idea came to her to get the traitor to her king. Using Kivar’s trick as inspiration, she used her telekinesis to raise Tess into the air behind Lonnie and Rath. Before they realized what was happening, she pulled her over to the guys and dropped her at their feet.
Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief after examining the human body. Kivar was fine, although no longer in that body. That relief quickly turned to anger, however, when he turned around and saw that his enemies had Tess, in spite of Lonnie and Rath. Knowing there was nothing that could be done with the way things were right then and there, he made a quick decision that retreat was the best course of action for now. There would be another time and another way to defeat these enemies.
“Lonnie, Rath! Let’s go!” he yelled. Not waiting for them to follow, Nicholas dived out the stairwell opposite the one the Roswellians had entered and exited. Lonnie and Rath quickly followed. Just before she ducked out the door, Lonnie sent a burst of energy at the other stairwell, effectively blowing out the door and collapsing much of the surrounding building materials. It was a good cave-in to block the others from going down the other stairs to come after them. Now the only way off the floor was the stairwell that Nicholas, Lonnie and Rath had used.
Max, Michael, Lucas and F-L were rooted where they stood, waiting for something else to happen. When nothing did after a minute, they dropped their shields cautiously. Lucas quickly looked back to make sure that Megan had been far enough away from the collapse of the door Lonnie had caused. She was sitting where he had left her, eyes wide in shock.
“I’m going to take Megan downstairs with the others,” Lucas told Max and Michael.
Max nodded. “Just be careful to watch for them. I don’t think they wasted any time getting out of here but just in case…”
Lucas agreed, walked over to his niece and scooped her up into his arms. He subconsciously started checking her over to make sure Kivar hadn’t hurt her. He didn’t find anything. “Come on, princess. Let’s get out of here. Are you ok?” She only replied by wrapping her arms around his neck and starting to cry…breaking his heart.
Michael looked down at the blonde at his feet he had once thought a friend and then back up at his best friend. “What do you want to do with her?” he asked.
Max looked around and noticed a roll of duck tape on a ladder. He quickly moved to get it and brought it over to Tess’ body. “We’ll tie her up for now. I want to try to get answers from her.”
Michael helped him tie her securely with the tape, including a piece over her mouth, and added a little extra alien oomph to be sure she couldn’t get out of the bonds. “What if she gives us trouble? I know you hate the idea of killing anyone but…”
Max met his best friend’s eyes and held them as he answered. “If it comes down to her or us…I choose us.” Michael only nodded, knowing what it took for Max to say those words. Noticing Leslie was moving closer to the body that Kivar had occupied, he quickly told Michael to watch Tess while he went to see what had happened.
F-L moved cautiously closer to the human body, her hand poised to fire at it again if necessary. When it didn’t move, even when she stood right over it, she slowly lowered her hand to his neck. Confirming what she suspected, she quickly scanned his body, looking for anything they could use.
“What did you do to Tess?” Max asked quietly, coming up behind her.
“I used the fighting as a diversion to access her brain and tell it that she needed to sleep. She will remain asleep until someone tells her brain she has slept enough. You have only to give the command and I will take care of her,” F-L responded, sounding cold.
Max leaned in closer to watch her. “What are you doing? What happened to him?”
“He’s dead,” she answered flatly.
His eyes flew open wide. “Kivar is…”
F-L interrupted quickly, her completely black eyes darting to his. She shook her head. “Not Kivar. The man who this body belonged to. Meganora has more power than she realizes. She forced Kivar out of the man’s body and the force killed him.”
Max closed his eyes against that. “That poor kid. Well, at least she won’t ever have to know that she killed him.”
“Meganora didn’t kill him. Kivar was the only thing keeping the body alive. He has a large amount of drugs in his system and also in his pockets. They are what finally killed him. Otherwise, he would have been able to withstand the impact and Kivar’s leaving his body and mind,” F-L corrected him.
Nodding in understanding, Max looked around the room. “So what happened to Kivar? Where is he? Did what Megan did to him hurt him?”
F-L shrugged. “There is no way to know. My guess would be that Kivar is still on Antar but he is using the technology there to use certain humans as hosts as he needs them. He will try again.”
Looking down at the body, Max frowned. “So what do we do with the body? Is there anyway that he could be tracked back to us? I don’t want us to get arrested for killing a druggy here.”
“It will not take much to erase our presence here. No one will be able to trace his death to us, especially with all those drugs in his system,” she assured him. She waved her hands quickly over the body, erasing any signs of aliens or fingerprints.
He nodded at her and then remembered what she said about Kivar trying again. “Can Kivar use just any human to act as a host? How long do you think it will be before he shows up again?”
F-L shrugged. “To answer your first question, no, not just any human can act as a host but I am not privileged with the knowledge of what the requirements are for them to be a suitable host. As for how long until we see Kivar, that is impossible for me to say. Obviously, he will waste as little time as possible, but we have no idea if he was hurt by that force out of the other body. Also, given that I don’t know how easy it would be to find another human host, I cannot give any accurate estimates, your majesty. I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head and Max swallowed against the uneasiness that had fallen over him because of the obvious changes from the frightened girl who was in love with Alex to the warrior body guard who served her king standing before him now. He hoped things would all work out for all of them but he was scared that he wouldn’t be able to bring back that girl for his friend. Taking a deep breath, he decided to slay one giant at a time and that right now the giant before him was to get home and figure out what to do with Tess.
“Come on, we need to get out of here. We’ve done all that we can hope to accomplish here,” Max told her.
“Agreed. My missions were to protect you and all who were with you, to rescue the possible heiress to the throne, and to take the traitor Tess into custody. As I have fulfilled all of those duties…” F-L started but then to Max’s horror, she started to drop to the ground completely unconscious.
Max caught her before she could hit the floor and slowly lowered her down so that he could check to make sure she was ok. Unfortunately, his powers were drained due to the fight from earlier and couldn’t be sure. Michael had picked up Tess’s body and slung it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. When he looked up to figure out what Leslie and Max were doing, he was shocked to see that Leslie was out cold and Max was holding her. He watched as Max lifted the girl up from the ground, cradling her in his arms.
“Hey, what happened?” Michael asked him as they met up at the stairwell.
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. She was talking to me one minute and the next, she had passed out. I hope she’s ok. Let’s get out of here before it gets light and someone sees us.”
They made it down the stairs and to the cars where everyone was waiting for them. Seeing the looks of worry, confusion and horror written on their faces, Max swallowed and took a deep breath. “Open the door to one of the cars,” he ordered.
Liz hurried to open the door to the Jetta and Max slowly and carefully lowered Leslie’s body down to rest on the seat. Alex and Lucas rushed over with the others crowding close to see what was happening. Alex looked at Lucas and Lucas looked at Max. “What happened?” Alex asked.
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. She just passed out. Is she going to be ok?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, her body and mind is just trying to catch up with everything. The awakening took a lot out of her. Then there was her healing herself from Kivar’s blast and then all the effort it took for her to get us all out of there. The awakening alone would have caused her to lose consciousness but with all that…she’s going to be out for a while.”
“Why? I mean, I understand that she needs to recover but why would the awakening alone cause something like this?” Liz asked.
“Because her mind is trying to merge who she has been in the past with who she has been since her hatching out of the pod here on earth. We were told it would be a side effect of our awakening being completed. We had many personality changes, mostly minor, in our past life and then we have had an entirely different life here. Our minds are trying to make sense of that and bring them together…harmonize them,” Lucas explained.
“Where’s Megan?” Max asked.
“She fell asleep and I put her in the back of the jeep,” Lucas answered. “She’ll be ok after a little while.”
“Well, we can’t stay out here any longer. We need a place to go where we can all get some rest until we can leave for home,” Max said. Then he noticed the blonde stranger who had been thrown into their world. “Serena, wasn’t it?”
Taken off guard at being addressed, Serena jumped and looked like a frightened rabbit, waiting for the predator to pounce. She nodded slightly. “Yeah, that’s right. Serena Wilkerson. I…I live in Hartford with my parents…or at least I did, before that…that thing killed them.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Maria felt her heart go out to the girl, despite who she looked like. She wasn’t the only one. Everyone tried to remember that this wasn’t Tess…no matter how much she looked like her. She went over to the girl and hugged her. “Girl, you have been through a lot and you have no idea why, do you?” she asked.
When Serena shook her head, Max looked around at the others and came to a decision. “Serena, you can come with us for right now…if you want. You deserve to know why you’ve been through what you have. Will you come with us? You don’t have to but we won’t hurt you.”
Kyle glared at Max. What was he thinking? Out of the three other versions of Tess they had come across, two of them had been evil traitors. Now they were bringing in another version. The odds didn’t seem to be on their side. After they had taken Tess in and treated her like family, she still hadn’t sided with them. What made him think that this Serena would? It was Liz’s reaction that surprised him, though. She moved to Serena’s side opposite of Maria and hugged the girl too.
“Please say you’ll come. We can help you,” Liz said, hoping that the things Future Max had said about this girl were true. Maybe they could become friends.
Serena looked at these people and wrapped her arms around herself. “Ok, I’ll come with you for now. I have so many questions I need answered. I can’t guarantee that I’ll stay with you but I’d like to know about the things I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.”
Max nodded. “Ok, now all we need is a place we can stay to rest and recharge before heading home. Any ideas?”
Lucas spoke up. “I know of someone who can help us out with that.”
Part 51 – “Escape and Rescue”
With one nod from Max, mass chaos ensued. Lonnie, Rath, Tess and Nicholas immediately resumed firing on the Roswell group. Max and Lucas were going to put up their shields, but realized there was no need as F-L had put up a shield that glowed a brilliant bluish-white and covered the expanse of the entire half of the floor they were on.
“Get all humans out of the building!” she yelled over the noise of the fighting. She held the shield up with her left hand while firing back at the others with her right. All of her concentration was on the task at hand…which was first and foremost to get them all out of there alive.
Lucas, Max, and Michael immediately moved to carry out her instructions, racing to the door to guard it while the others moved into the stairwell. Seeing that Serena was practically rooted to the spot in shock and terror, Max rushed back to her and started dragging her gently by the arm to the others. She didn’t protest but continued to stare at the fighting. Finally, she seemed to come out of the trance-like state she was in and dived out the door to the stairwell with the others.
Alex hesitated as the others fled out the door. Looking back, he saw Leslie concentrating on the situation with the other aliens. He didn’t want to leave her behind, even though he knew it was the right thing to do. He would be of no help to her here.
“She’ll be ok, Alex. The best way to help her is to remove yourself as a liability. You can’t imagine the amount of power she possesses now that the awakening has been completed,” Lucas assured the human, patting him on the back. He knew how Alex felt, but he also knew that what he was telling him about Leslie’s power was true.
Looking back one last time at the woman he loved, Alex just watched her for a moment. He dropped his eyes to the floor, swallowed and nodded. As he pushed through the door to the stairwell, he found the others waiting for him. Maria, Liz and Isabel looked at him sympathetically. Surprisingly, it was Isabel who moved to comfort him first.
Pulling him into a hug and rubbing his back, she told him quietly, “She’ll be ok, Alex. Michael, Max and Lucas won’t let anything happen to her.” Stepping back, she gave him a reassuring smile before taking the lead down the stairs. The other girls quickly gave him smiles or a hug and then followed her.
Noticing that Kivar was effectively shielding the other side of the floor, Max knew this could be a long stand-off. He also knew that if Tess was allowed to escape with Kivar, he would have the location of the Granilith, and that was unacceptable. He needed to do something about this situation.
“Leslie! We need Tess alive!” he yelled, coming to a decision. Maybe they could get more information from her about Kivar and their past…not that he would completely believe anything she told them.
“Understood. Priorities are: one, protect King Xan and those with him, two, rescue the possible heir to the throne, and three, take the traitor known as Tess into custody. I will not fail in these missions,” F-L said.
Hearing her words, Max, Lucas and Kivar all seemed to remember the four year old and looked around for Megan. She was cowering in a corner. As Kivar started for her, Lucas fired on him and called out to his niece, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. God knew what Kivar would do with Megan if he was allowed to catch her.
“Megan, honey, come here! Trust in your instincts to get you over here to me!” he yelled to her.
Megan’s eyes opened wide as she started to stand and she noticed Kivar making his way toward her. This man who had shot her mother terrified her. “I’m scared!” she called back to her uncle.
“I know you are, sweetie, but you can do this. Just start coming this way and we’ll protect you,” Lucas reassured her.
Just as Kivar went to grab her, Megan ducked under his arms and fled for the other side of the room. When Kivar had changed his focus to Megan, he had dropped the shield and F-L took advantage of the opportunity presented to her. While keeping up her shield, she stopped firing and concentrated on disabling Tess somehow. Using her mental powers, F-L quickly entered the blonde’s mind and started searching her brain for the basic command she sought.
Tess was still busy firing and didn’t notice the invasion happening inside her head at first. When she finally did notice the other presence in her mind, she started to try to push F-L out. She wasn’t quick enough, however, and moments later dropped to the floor, completely unconscious. F-L showed no emotions but returned her attention to the other situations going on.
Meanwhile, Maria, Liz, Alex, Kyle and Serena had moved quickly down all the stairs with Isabel in the lead in case Kivar had someone or something waiting for them. They exited the building and moved against the side of the wall so none of those upstairs could fire on them. They settled in the shadows to wait for the others.
Serena was completely in shock at everything that was happening and decided to stick with this group until at least some of her questions could be answered. She looked at each member of this group and felt a kind of kinship to them somehow, especially the taller blonde. When her eyes landed on the well built, blue-eyed young man, however, she was taken aback by the pain and hatred that filled his eyes when he looked at her. It shook her to her core that someone could look at her that way…and yet…somehow, Serena knew that those emotions were not directed at her but at the double of her that was inside.
Upstairs, Kivar had been enraged that Megan had avoided his grasp. Raising his hand toward her, he used his powers to knock her to the floor and started dragging her back toward him. F-L and Lucas immediately started firing on him, being careful to watch their aim, but he had again raised his shield. Megan screamed and reached out to her uncle, tears streaming down her face as she felt pulled closer to Kivar. Lucas and Max knew they were helpless to stop him.
F-L’s advanced mind took in the situation and telepathically connected to the four year-old. <Meganora, mararan coamene! Ranewen telemnar taranis ar-feiniel! (Meganora, protect yourself! Trust in your instincts!)> she commanded in her mind.
Immediately, Megan seemed to calm down and draw strength from her mother’s voice in her head. Flipping herself onto her back, she met her adversary’s eyes and held up both hands. She sent a spark of powers at Kivar, but it was only a slight shock. While he was surprised, it didn’t stop him. Megan tried again, this time with a little more force. It only made Kivar angry and more determined to get a hold of this little brat.
Just as he was about to grab onto her, Megan panicked and sent out a burst of energy so powerful, it sent them flying apart. Kivar flew against the wall and landed unconscious. Megan landed close enough so that Lucas could reach her where he stood. He grabbed her up and fled to the stairwell, placing her along that wall but far enough from the door so no one could grab her without him seeing and getting to her first.
Nicholas had been hovering over Tess so as to stop F-L from taking their key to the Granilith. His priorities immediately changed, however, when he saw the body Kivar had been using slumped on the floor. Moving over to it quickly, he let Lonnie and Rath continue to fire on the others while he checked on the body. They quickly moved to guard Tess.
Max, Michael and Lucas immediately moved to get to Tess. Max and Lucas combined their strength into one shield while Michael covered the three of them with his firepower. They started to move as one unit toward Tess’ body, but Lonnie and Rath were determined not to give that up. They knew she was an important key to their going home.
F-L smiled as an idea came to her to get the traitor to her king. Using Kivar’s trick as inspiration, she used her telekinesis to raise Tess into the air behind Lonnie and Rath. Before they realized what was happening, she pulled her over to the guys and dropped her at their feet.
Nicholas breathed a sigh of relief after examining the human body. Kivar was fine, although no longer in that body. That relief quickly turned to anger, however, when he turned around and saw that his enemies had Tess, in spite of Lonnie and Rath. Knowing there was nothing that could be done with the way things were right then and there, he made a quick decision that retreat was the best course of action for now. There would be another time and another way to defeat these enemies.
“Lonnie, Rath! Let’s go!” he yelled. Not waiting for them to follow, Nicholas dived out the stairwell opposite the one the Roswellians had entered and exited. Lonnie and Rath quickly followed. Just before she ducked out the door, Lonnie sent a burst of energy at the other stairwell, effectively blowing out the door and collapsing much of the surrounding building materials. It was a good cave-in to block the others from going down the other stairs to come after them. Now the only way off the floor was the stairwell that Nicholas, Lonnie and Rath had used.
Max, Michael, Lucas and F-L were rooted where they stood, waiting for something else to happen. When nothing did after a minute, they dropped their shields cautiously. Lucas quickly looked back to make sure that Megan had been far enough away from the collapse of the door Lonnie had caused. She was sitting where he had left her, eyes wide in shock.
“I’m going to take Megan downstairs with the others,” Lucas told Max and Michael.
Max nodded. “Just be careful to watch for them. I don’t think they wasted any time getting out of here but just in case…”
Lucas agreed, walked over to his niece and scooped her up into his arms. He subconsciously started checking her over to make sure Kivar hadn’t hurt her. He didn’t find anything. “Come on, princess. Let’s get out of here. Are you ok?” She only replied by wrapping her arms around his neck and starting to cry…breaking his heart.
Michael looked down at the blonde at his feet he had once thought a friend and then back up at his best friend. “What do you want to do with her?” he asked.
Max looked around and noticed a roll of duck tape on a ladder. He quickly moved to get it and brought it over to Tess’ body. “We’ll tie her up for now. I want to try to get answers from her.”
Michael helped him tie her securely with the tape, including a piece over her mouth, and added a little extra alien oomph to be sure she couldn’t get out of the bonds. “What if she gives us trouble? I know you hate the idea of killing anyone but…”
Max met his best friend’s eyes and held them as he answered. “If it comes down to her or us…I choose us.” Michael only nodded, knowing what it took for Max to say those words. Noticing Leslie was moving closer to the body that Kivar had occupied, he quickly told Michael to watch Tess while he went to see what had happened.
F-L moved cautiously closer to the human body, her hand poised to fire at it again if necessary. When it didn’t move, even when she stood right over it, she slowly lowered her hand to his neck. Confirming what she suspected, she quickly scanned his body, looking for anything they could use.
“What did you do to Tess?” Max asked quietly, coming up behind her.
“I used the fighting as a diversion to access her brain and tell it that she needed to sleep. She will remain asleep until someone tells her brain she has slept enough. You have only to give the command and I will take care of her,” F-L responded, sounding cold.
Max leaned in closer to watch her. “What are you doing? What happened to him?”
“He’s dead,” she answered flatly.
His eyes flew open wide. “Kivar is…”
F-L interrupted quickly, her completely black eyes darting to his. She shook her head. “Not Kivar. The man who this body belonged to. Meganora has more power than she realizes. She forced Kivar out of the man’s body and the force killed him.”
Max closed his eyes against that. “That poor kid. Well, at least she won’t ever have to know that she killed him.”
“Meganora didn’t kill him. Kivar was the only thing keeping the body alive. He has a large amount of drugs in his system and also in his pockets. They are what finally killed him. Otherwise, he would have been able to withstand the impact and Kivar’s leaving his body and mind,” F-L corrected him.
Nodding in understanding, Max looked around the room. “So what happened to Kivar? Where is he? Did what Megan did to him hurt him?”
F-L shrugged. “There is no way to know. My guess would be that Kivar is still on Antar but he is using the technology there to use certain humans as hosts as he needs them. He will try again.”
Looking down at the body, Max frowned. “So what do we do with the body? Is there anyway that he could be tracked back to us? I don’t want us to get arrested for killing a druggy here.”
“It will not take much to erase our presence here. No one will be able to trace his death to us, especially with all those drugs in his system,” she assured him. She waved her hands quickly over the body, erasing any signs of aliens or fingerprints.
He nodded at her and then remembered what she said about Kivar trying again. “Can Kivar use just any human to act as a host? How long do you think it will be before he shows up again?”
F-L shrugged. “To answer your first question, no, not just any human can act as a host but I am not privileged with the knowledge of what the requirements are for them to be a suitable host. As for how long until we see Kivar, that is impossible for me to say. Obviously, he will waste as little time as possible, but we have no idea if he was hurt by that force out of the other body. Also, given that I don’t know how easy it would be to find another human host, I cannot give any accurate estimates, your majesty. I’m sorry.”
She bowed her head and Max swallowed against the uneasiness that had fallen over him because of the obvious changes from the frightened girl who was in love with Alex to the warrior body guard who served her king standing before him now. He hoped things would all work out for all of them but he was scared that he wouldn’t be able to bring back that girl for his friend. Taking a deep breath, he decided to slay one giant at a time and that right now the giant before him was to get home and figure out what to do with Tess.
“Come on, we need to get out of here. We’ve done all that we can hope to accomplish here,” Max told her.
“Agreed. My missions were to protect you and all who were with you, to rescue the possible heiress to the throne, and to take the traitor Tess into custody. As I have fulfilled all of those duties…” F-L started but then to Max’s horror, she started to drop to the ground completely unconscious.
Max caught her before she could hit the floor and slowly lowered her down so that he could check to make sure she was ok. Unfortunately, his powers were drained due to the fight from earlier and couldn’t be sure. Michael had picked up Tess’s body and slung it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. When he looked up to figure out what Leslie and Max were doing, he was shocked to see that Leslie was out cold and Max was holding her. He watched as Max lifted the girl up from the ground, cradling her in his arms.
“Hey, what happened?” Michael asked him as they met up at the stairwell.
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. She was talking to me one minute and the next, she had passed out. I hope she’s ok. Let’s get out of here before it gets light and someone sees us.”
They made it down the stairs and to the cars where everyone was waiting for them. Seeing the looks of worry, confusion and horror written on their faces, Max swallowed and took a deep breath. “Open the door to one of the cars,” he ordered.
Liz hurried to open the door to the Jetta and Max slowly and carefully lowered Leslie’s body down to rest on the seat. Alex and Lucas rushed over with the others crowding close to see what was happening. Alex looked at Lucas and Lucas looked at Max. “What happened?” Alex asked.
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. She just passed out. Is she going to be ok?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, her body and mind is just trying to catch up with everything. The awakening took a lot out of her. Then there was her healing herself from Kivar’s blast and then all the effort it took for her to get us all out of there. The awakening alone would have caused her to lose consciousness but with all that…she’s going to be out for a while.”
“Why? I mean, I understand that she needs to recover but why would the awakening alone cause something like this?” Liz asked.
“Because her mind is trying to merge who she has been in the past with who she has been since her hatching out of the pod here on earth. We were told it would be a side effect of our awakening being completed. We had many personality changes, mostly minor, in our past life and then we have had an entirely different life here. Our minds are trying to make sense of that and bring them together…harmonize them,” Lucas explained.
“Where’s Megan?” Max asked.
“She fell asleep and I put her in the back of the jeep,” Lucas answered. “She’ll be ok after a little while.”
“Well, we can’t stay out here any longer. We need a place to go where we can all get some rest until we can leave for home,” Max said. Then he noticed the blonde stranger who had been thrown into their world. “Serena, wasn’t it?”
Taken off guard at being addressed, Serena jumped and looked like a frightened rabbit, waiting for the predator to pounce. She nodded slightly. “Yeah, that’s right. Serena Wilkerson. I…I live in Hartford with my parents…or at least I did, before that…that thing killed them.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Maria felt her heart go out to the girl, despite who she looked like. She wasn’t the only one. Everyone tried to remember that this wasn’t Tess…no matter how much she looked like her. She went over to the girl and hugged her. “Girl, you have been through a lot and you have no idea why, do you?” she asked.
When Serena shook her head, Max looked around at the others and came to a decision. “Serena, you can come with us for right now…if you want. You deserve to know why you’ve been through what you have. Will you come with us? You don’t have to but we won’t hurt you.”
Kyle glared at Max. What was he thinking? Out of the three other versions of Tess they had come across, two of them had been evil traitors. Now they were bringing in another version. The odds didn’t seem to be on their side. After they had taken Tess in and treated her like family, she still hadn’t sided with them. What made him think that this Serena would? It was Liz’s reaction that surprised him, though. She moved to Serena’s side opposite of Maria and hugged the girl too.
“Please say you’ll come. We can help you,” Liz said, hoping that the things Future Max had said about this girl were true. Maybe they could become friends.
Serena looked at these people and wrapped her arms around herself. “Ok, I’ll come with you for now. I have so many questions I need answered. I can’t guarantee that I’ll stay with you but I’d like to know about the things I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks.”
Max nodded. “Ok, now all we need is a place we can stay to rest and recharge before heading home. Any ideas?”
Lucas spoke up. “I know of someone who can help us out with that.”
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Ok, here's the new part. Let me know what you think.
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 52 – “Parents and Arrivals”
The parents of the teens had long since gone home and tried to go to bed, but no one slept. Each parent was worried about his or her child or children. Along with the worry was the difficulty their minds were having wrapping around what they had all learned. Despite being surrounded by plenty of “evidence” most if not all of their lives, it was hard to accept that there really were aliens living among them in Roswell. It was amazing!
Evelyn Whitman had calmed down a lot, much to the credit of Charles. They had talked long into the wee hours of the morning about the situation, about their past losses and the joy of their son. Evelyn promised to try to keep an open mind about the aliens and Alex and Leslie. She didn’t want to push him away from them, but she also couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
Diane and Phillip lay in their bed, recalling all the clues in the past that their children were different. There were many, some obvious and others more subtle. There were so many they had dismissed, but never once had the truth crossed their minds. Even after the fire in the kitchen, Diane had been unable to come up with any real possibilities and had finally labeled it a miracle in her mind and left it at that.
Amy had invited Jim to come over, swearing that she wouldn’t sleep a wink anyway and could use the company. Jim agreed, not as reluctantly as he let on, and they talked over a pie and a pot of coffee. Amy expressed her regret over how she had sometimes treated Michael and also how she treated Maria because of Michael. She wanted to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes she had, but had missed the big picture of what her daughter was going through. Jim relented to her pleading to know more about Michael’s life growing up in foster homes and then landing in the hands of the monster known as Hank. Jim assured her that Michael wouldn’t want anyone’s pity, but Amy couldn’t help feeling sorry for the scared alien boy that nobody seemed to want.
Nancy and Jeff Parker were the ones who seemed the most overwhelmed by what they had learned. Not only did they have to come to grips with the existence of aliens, but also that one had saved their daughter’s life and captured her heart. So many concerns they had experienced as they watched the changes that appeared in Liz over the last year and a half had been explained. The only thing that Jim hadn’t been able to explain about Liz’s behavior was what had happened between Liz and Max to create the extreme melancholy in both the young people? They had obviously noticed the separation of the two and the finality and resignation that Liz seemed to carry around with her. What could have changed so drastically what Jim had described as a perfect love?
* * * * * * * * * * *
Larina followed the tunnel of darkness to the light she saw in the distance. Though the walk felt very short, the distance she had actually traveled was light years. As she stepped across the invisible line from the dark tunnel into the lighted room, it took her a moment to adjust her eyes again.
Turning to look behind her, the hole in the wall where she had come from began to shrink at a rapid rate. When it disappeared all together, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She fought down the panic that threatened to overtake her, concentrating on those she had come to help. This was her first real time away from Yvan.
After calming down, she opened her eyes and looked around her. The room in which she stood was not very big but was pretty circular, and much like the room which she had left. Whereas the walls of the room on her home world consisted of smoothed stone, however, these walls were a kind of smooth metal. They reflected the light in almost a disco-ball way.
The other major difference was standing in the center of the room, occupying most of the space. Larina caught her breath at the beauty before her. “Granilith,” she breathed. Tears sprung to her eyes. It had been many, many years since she had seen the sacred stone that was in the shape of a cone.
Its smooth surface, although dark, radiated the bluish-purple light that filled the room. The low humming that came from it soothed her nerves and made her feel more at peace that she had in a long time. She started to reach her hand out to touch the surface. As soon as she got within three inches of it, however, the sacred stone lit up, flashing out a brilliant white light. She jerked her hand back, shocked at her own insolence.
Dropping to her knees and bowing her head, Larina closed her eyes. “Forgive me, great Granilith. Forgive a pitiful slave-girl’s rashness. I was simply overwhelmed by your presence.” After her apology, there was a gentle force that lifted her to her feet and seemed to caress her face.
Smiling at the great stone, she stepped a little closer to it but still maintained a respectable distance. Nodding in acknowledgement of Granilith’s forgiveness, she chose her words carefully. “Granilith, do you know why I am here?” she asked softly.
It glowed softly as two images appeared on the surface in front of her, causing tears to fill her eyes once again. One was a dark haired young man with deep golden eyes. The other was a young woman of about the same age with long blonde hair and big brown eyes. “Yes,” she said in a choked whisper.
It was then that something on the other side of the Granilith caught her attention. There was a green light coming from that far wall that had previously been drowned out by the other lights coming from the sacred object in the center of the room. Her breath caught in her throat and the tears that had been in her eyes moments before escaped down her face.
She moved unconsciously to the wall that held her transfixed. As she remembered to breathe, a sob leaked out and she raised her shaking hand to the empty shells that were suspended in the wall. Their pods! This was where they had grown to live again. As her hand connected to the material, she was overwhelmed with flashes. The first was a memory of her touching pods similar to these, if not these exact ones. She once again felt the hope and longing that had filled her that day…the day she had sent them to a far away planet.
The next flashes were more precious to her. They were of the former occupants of these pods. The dark haired boy who came out just after the little blonde haired girl. The spiky haired boy who was more afraid than the others. Then there was the one who was left behind for a time…the girl with the blonde ringlets. Pulling her hand away quickly, she felt pride, love and joy fill her soul.
Turning back to the Granilith, she shook her head to clear away the memories and focus on the mission at hand. “Granilith, I can’t stand out on this planet so I need access to any and all pertinent information I might need about this planet, especially the culture in which the royal four are currently living. Can you help me with this?” she asked, her tone still reverent.
The way the Granilith answered was not the way most would have chosen. A beam of light so bright that she started to turn her head away shot out from the great stone and enveloped her, freezing her in place. It slowly lifted her off the floor about a foot and started to fill her mind with the information it thought she would need. The thing was, Larina was oblivious to the entire process, trapped in some sort of trance.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Deputy Hanson was whistling with the country song playing on the radio as he drove along the highway. It was a beautiful morning and he was on his way to work. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful azure blue, not a cloud marring its expanse as far as he could see. He had just placed his sunglasses on his face, when he noticed a figure walking down the side of the road some distance ahead.
Frowning, Hanson slowed down. He didn’t remember passing any cars on the side of the road that might account for this person’s origins. Then he remembered a turn off a mile or so back and smiled again. His smile only grew as he got closer and could make out that it was a beautiful woman walking along. Maybe it was his lucky day to play the hero to a damsel in distress.
As he pulled closer to the woman, she stopped and waited to watch him pull up alongside her. She had beautiful long blonde ringlets and even from the distance that separated them, Hanson was mesmerized by the darkest eyes he had ever seen. He shook his head, concluding that it must be a trick of the light and his sunglasses. Breaking out into a grin, he rolled down the passenger side window.
“Hi, there!” he called, turning down his radio. “Have some car trouble back on 213?”
The woman looked confused for a moment but then her expression cleared. “Car trouble? Oh, transportation! Yes, I’m afraid I did have problems with my transportation…of sorts.”
He nodded toward the road that stretched in front of them. “Well, it’s still a few miles into town. Would you like a ride?” he asked, turning back to her. Seeing her hesitation and realizing that he was in his personal pickup truck, he rushed to reassure her he had no bad intentions. “Listen, I know you really shouldn’t accept rides from strangers but I’m a deputy in Roswell and on my way to work. I could show you my badge if it made you feel any better.”
The woman tilted her head for a moment, her eyes pointed skyward, as if listening for something. Then her face lit up and she smiled back at him. Hanson’s breath was taken away by the beauty of her smile. Sweet heaven above! “Law enforcement! Wonderful!” she exclaimed delightedly. Quickly making her way over to the door, she frowned for a moment, studying it before reaching for the handle and pulling it open. Climbing inside and closing the door after getting settled, she couldn’t help feel some excitement and nervousness at not knowing what would come next.
“Seat belt,” Hanson told her as he started the vehicle moving again.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You forgot about your seat belt,” he repeated nodding at it beside the door.
The woman looked in the direction he had nodded and then looked back at him. Seeing the same sort of device across him, she reached for the belt and pulled it across herself, buckling it in place. As she tried to adjust to this crude and bumpy method of traveling along the surface of the ground, she felt her stomach rumble a bit in protest to the unfamiliar motion. It only took a moment to adjust, however, and soon she was returning the deputy’s grin.
“So…I don’t recall having seen you in town before so you must be visiting us,” Hanson tried striking up a conversation.
“No, I’m not from your town. I’m here on a mission,” she answered without seriously thinking about her words.
He grinned at her at that. “Sounds pretty serious. Anything I can help you with…other than maybe gettin’ your car working again?”
She appeared to seriously think about his offer and then made a quick decision. “Perhaps. I’m looking for a couple of people…a young man and young woman in their late teens.”
Hanson’s nose wrinkled in confusion. It was then that he realized that she wasn’t carrying anything with her, especially a purse, and the jeans that she was wearing were tight enough for him to see that she wasn’t carrying a wallet or keys in the pockets. His instincts for trouble kicked in, despite his attraction to her. “A coupla teens huh? You happen to know their names?”
She frowned. “Um, not the ones you would know them by. You see, they were taken from their home when they were very young and left here. I could describe them to you, though. The boy would have dark hair and amber colored eyes. The girl would have long blonde hair, about the color of mine and dark brown eyes. They would both be about 17 or 18 years old.”
It was Hanson’s turn to frown. He recognized the description she had given him and he was extremely uncomfortable now. “I might know who you are talking about. I have to ask you what your connection is to these kids, ma’am, and your name. My name is Mark Hanson.”
“Larina…” she started looking around the car frantically. When her eyes landed on a word, she reached for it. “Larina Ford. Those kids, Mark Hanson, are my children.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jim Valenti stepped out of his bedroom, freshly showered and fully dressed and ready for his cup of coffee. He was exhausted. It had been a long couple of days since the kids had left for New York and facing the trivial problems of Roswell, New Mexico didn’t appeal to him today. He was filling his travel mug when he heard his cell phone beep, informing him he had a voice mail.
Walking over to the table by the front door where his keys, wallet and phone were, he picked up the phone and looked at the display. “Work” was flashed across it and he frowned. “And so it begins,” he sighed, pushing the button to redial the number. It only took a couple of rings for someone to pick up. “Yeah, this is Valenti…somebody call me?”
“Yes, Sheriff, I believe Deputy Hanson has been trying to reach you,” came the answer. “Hold on just a moment.”
Jim rolled his eyes at the public service messages that played while he waited. Just as he thought about hanging up and finding out what was going on when he got there, Hanson picked up the line. “Sheriff?” he asked, seemingly out of breath.
“Yeah, Hanson, it’s me. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I got in this morning?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Hanson had worked with Jim long enough to know that he was a bit on the irritated side this morning. This was important, though. “Listen, Jim, I’ve been trying to get you all morning. I was on my way to work and picked up a woman on the side of the road, walking towards town. She’s not carrying any ID or anything else on her for that matter.”
Jim interrupted him. “So what’s the big deal about this woman, Mark?” He hadn’t missed Hanson’s use of his first name and knew that something about this had him upset. He always called him “Sheriff”.
“Well, the big deal is that she’s claiming to be looking for a couple of teens that would be about 17 or 18 by now that match the description of the Evans kids. Sheriff…she claims to be their mother,” Hanson told him.
Frozen by the words he had just heard, it took his deputy three times before he got Jim’s attention. “Did you just say she claims she’s their mother?”
“Yes, sir, that’s just what I said.”
“Where is this woman now?” Jim asked, strapping on his holster and shoving his wallet in his pocket.
“She’s here at the station, sir,” was the answer.
“Deputy, I am on my way there now. Do not let that woman leave. Is that understood? You keep her there until I get there to question her,” Valenti commanded. He barely heard Hanson’s agreement as he snapped the phone closed, placed his hat on his head, grabbed his keys and dove out the door.
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 52 – “Parents and Arrivals”
The parents of the teens had long since gone home and tried to go to bed, but no one slept. Each parent was worried about his or her child or children. Along with the worry was the difficulty their minds were having wrapping around what they had all learned. Despite being surrounded by plenty of “evidence” most if not all of their lives, it was hard to accept that there really were aliens living among them in Roswell. It was amazing!
Evelyn Whitman had calmed down a lot, much to the credit of Charles. They had talked long into the wee hours of the morning about the situation, about their past losses and the joy of their son. Evelyn promised to try to keep an open mind about the aliens and Alex and Leslie. She didn’t want to push him away from them, but she also couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
Diane and Phillip lay in their bed, recalling all the clues in the past that their children were different. There were many, some obvious and others more subtle. There were so many they had dismissed, but never once had the truth crossed their minds. Even after the fire in the kitchen, Diane had been unable to come up with any real possibilities and had finally labeled it a miracle in her mind and left it at that.
Amy had invited Jim to come over, swearing that she wouldn’t sleep a wink anyway and could use the company. Jim agreed, not as reluctantly as he let on, and they talked over a pie and a pot of coffee. Amy expressed her regret over how she had sometimes treated Michael and also how she treated Maria because of Michael. She wanted to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes she had, but had missed the big picture of what her daughter was going through. Jim relented to her pleading to know more about Michael’s life growing up in foster homes and then landing in the hands of the monster known as Hank. Jim assured her that Michael wouldn’t want anyone’s pity, but Amy couldn’t help feeling sorry for the scared alien boy that nobody seemed to want.
Nancy and Jeff Parker were the ones who seemed the most overwhelmed by what they had learned. Not only did they have to come to grips with the existence of aliens, but also that one had saved their daughter’s life and captured her heart. So many concerns they had experienced as they watched the changes that appeared in Liz over the last year and a half had been explained. The only thing that Jim hadn’t been able to explain about Liz’s behavior was what had happened between Liz and Max to create the extreme melancholy in both the young people? They had obviously noticed the separation of the two and the finality and resignation that Liz seemed to carry around with her. What could have changed so drastically what Jim had described as a perfect love?
* * * * * * * * * * *
Larina followed the tunnel of darkness to the light she saw in the distance. Though the walk felt very short, the distance she had actually traveled was light years. As she stepped across the invisible line from the dark tunnel into the lighted room, it took her a moment to adjust her eyes again.
Turning to look behind her, the hole in the wall where she had come from began to shrink at a rapid rate. When it disappeared all together, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She fought down the panic that threatened to overtake her, concentrating on those she had come to help. This was her first real time away from Yvan.
After calming down, she opened her eyes and looked around her. The room in which she stood was not very big but was pretty circular, and much like the room which she had left. Whereas the walls of the room on her home world consisted of smoothed stone, however, these walls were a kind of smooth metal. They reflected the light in almost a disco-ball way.
The other major difference was standing in the center of the room, occupying most of the space. Larina caught her breath at the beauty before her. “Granilith,” she breathed. Tears sprung to her eyes. It had been many, many years since she had seen the sacred stone that was in the shape of a cone.
Its smooth surface, although dark, radiated the bluish-purple light that filled the room. The low humming that came from it soothed her nerves and made her feel more at peace that she had in a long time. She started to reach her hand out to touch the surface. As soon as she got within three inches of it, however, the sacred stone lit up, flashing out a brilliant white light. She jerked her hand back, shocked at her own insolence.
Dropping to her knees and bowing her head, Larina closed her eyes. “Forgive me, great Granilith. Forgive a pitiful slave-girl’s rashness. I was simply overwhelmed by your presence.” After her apology, there was a gentle force that lifted her to her feet and seemed to caress her face.
Smiling at the great stone, she stepped a little closer to it but still maintained a respectable distance. Nodding in acknowledgement of Granilith’s forgiveness, she chose her words carefully. “Granilith, do you know why I am here?” she asked softly.
It glowed softly as two images appeared on the surface in front of her, causing tears to fill her eyes once again. One was a dark haired young man with deep golden eyes. The other was a young woman of about the same age with long blonde hair and big brown eyes. “Yes,” she said in a choked whisper.
It was then that something on the other side of the Granilith caught her attention. There was a green light coming from that far wall that had previously been drowned out by the other lights coming from the sacred object in the center of the room. Her breath caught in her throat and the tears that had been in her eyes moments before escaped down her face.
She moved unconsciously to the wall that held her transfixed. As she remembered to breathe, a sob leaked out and she raised her shaking hand to the empty shells that were suspended in the wall. Their pods! This was where they had grown to live again. As her hand connected to the material, she was overwhelmed with flashes. The first was a memory of her touching pods similar to these, if not these exact ones. She once again felt the hope and longing that had filled her that day…the day she had sent them to a far away planet.
The next flashes were more precious to her. They were of the former occupants of these pods. The dark haired boy who came out just after the little blonde haired girl. The spiky haired boy who was more afraid than the others. Then there was the one who was left behind for a time…the girl with the blonde ringlets. Pulling her hand away quickly, she felt pride, love and joy fill her soul.
Turning back to the Granilith, she shook her head to clear away the memories and focus on the mission at hand. “Granilith, I can’t stand out on this planet so I need access to any and all pertinent information I might need about this planet, especially the culture in which the royal four are currently living. Can you help me with this?” she asked, her tone still reverent.
The way the Granilith answered was not the way most would have chosen. A beam of light so bright that she started to turn her head away shot out from the great stone and enveloped her, freezing her in place. It slowly lifted her off the floor about a foot and started to fill her mind with the information it thought she would need. The thing was, Larina was oblivious to the entire process, trapped in some sort of trance.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Deputy Hanson was whistling with the country song playing on the radio as he drove along the highway. It was a beautiful morning and he was on his way to work. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful azure blue, not a cloud marring its expanse as far as he could see. He had just placed his sunglasses on his face, when he noticed a figure walking down the side of the road some distance ahead.
Frowning, Hanson slowed down. He didn’t remember passing any cars on the side of the road that might account for this person’s origins. Then he remembered a turn off a mile or so back and smiled again. His smile only grew as he got closer and could make out that it was a beautiful woman walking along. Maybe it was his lucky day to play the hero to a damsel in distress.
As he pulled closer to the woman, she stopped and waited to watch him pull up alongside her. She had beautiful long blonde ringlets and even from the distance that separated them, Hanson was mesmerized by the darkest eyes he had ever seen. He shook his head, concluding that it must be a trick of the light and his sunglasses. Breaking out into a grin, he rolled down the passenger side window.
“Hi, there!” he called, turning down his radio. “Have some car trouble back on 213?”
The woman looked confused for a moment but then her expression cleared. “Car trouble? Oh, transportation! Yes, I’m afraid I did have problems with my transportation…of sorts.”
He nodded toward the road that stretched in front of them. “Well, it’s still a few miles into town. Would you like a ride?” he asked, turning back to her. Seeing her hesitation and realizing that he was in his personal pickup truck, he rushed to reassure her he had no bad intentions. “Listen, I know you really shouldn’t accept rides from strangers but I’m a deputy in Roswell and on my way to work. I could show you my badge if it made you feel any better.”
The woman tilted her head for a moment, her eyes pointed skyward, as if listening for something. Then her face lit up and she smiled back at him. Hanson’s breath was taken away by the beauty of her smile. Sweet heaven above! “Law enforcement! Wonderful!” she exclaimed delightedly. Quickly making her way over to the door, she frowned for a moment, studying it before reaching for the handle and pulling it open. Climbing inside and closing the door after getting settled, she couldn’t help feel some excitement and nervousness at not knowing what would come next.
“Seat belt,” Hanson told her as he started the vehicle moving again.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You forgot about your seat belt,” he repeated nodding at it beside the door.
The woman looked in the direction he had nodded and then looked back at him. Seeing the same sort of device across him, she reached for the belt and pulled it across herself, buckling it in place. As she tried to adjust to this crude and bumpy method of traveling along the surface of the ground, she felt her stomach rumble a bit in protest to the unfamiliar motion. It only took a moment to adjust, however, and soon she was returning the deputy’s grin.
“So…I don’t recall having seen you in town before so you must be visiting us,” Hanson tried striking up a conversation.
“No, I’m not from your town. I’m here on a mission,” she answered without seriously thinking about her words.
He grinned at her at that. “Sounds pretty serious. Anything I can help you with…other than maybe gettin’ your car working again?”
She appeared to seriously think about his offer and then made a quick decision. “Perhaps. I’m looking for a couple of people…a young man and young woman in their late teens.”
Hanson’s nose wrinkled in confusion. It was then that he realized that she wasn’t carrying anything with her, especially a purse, and the jeans that she was wearing were tight enough for him to see that she wasn’t carrying a wallet or keys in the pockets. His instincts for trouble kicked in, despite his attraction to her. “A coupla teens huh? You happen to know their names?”
She frowned. “Um, not the ones you would know them by. You see, they were taken from their home when they were very young and left here. I could describe them to you, though. The boy would have dark hair and amber colored eyes. The girl would have long blonde hair, about the color of mine and dark brown eyes. They would both be about 17 or 18 years old.”
It was Hanson’s turn to frown. He recognized the description she had given him and he was extremely uncomfortable now. “I might know who you are talking about. I have to ask you what your connection is to these kids, ma’am, and your name. My name is Mark Hanson.”
“Larina…” she started looking around the car frantically. When her eyes landed on a word, she reached for it. “Larina Ford. Those kids, Mark Hanson, are my children.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jim Valenti stepped out of his bedroom, freshly showered and fully dressed and ready for his cup of coffee. He was exhausted. It had been a long couple of days since the kids had left for New York and facing the trivial problems of Roswell, New Mexico didn’t appeal to him today. He was filling his travel mug when he heard his cell phone beep, informing him he had a voice mail.
Walking over to the table by the front door where his keys, wallet and phone were, he picked up the phone and looked at the display. “Work” was flashed across it and he frowned. “And so it begins,” he sighed, pushing the button to redial the number. It only took a couple of rings for someone to pick up. “Yeah, this is Valenti…somebody call me?”
“Yes, Sheriff, I believe Deputy Hanson has been trying to reach you,” came the answer. “Hold on just a moment.”
Jim rolled his eyes at the public service messages that played while he waited. Just as he thought about hanging up and finding out what was going on when he got there, Hanson picked up the line. “Sheriff?” he asked, seemingly out of breath.
“Yeah, Hanson, it’s me. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until I got in this morning?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Hanson had worked with Jim long enough to know that he was a bit on the irritated side this morning. This was important, though. “Listen, Jim, I’ve been trying to get you all morning. I was on my way to work and picked up a woman on the side of the road, walking towards town. She’s not carrying any ID or anything else on her for that matter.”
Jim interrupted him. “So what’s the big deal about this woman, Mark?” He hadn’t missed Hanson’s use of his first name and knew that something about this had him upset. He always called him “Sheriff”.
“Well, the big deal is that she’s claiming to be looking for a couple of teens that would be about 17 or 18 by now that match the description of the Evans kids. Sheriff…she claims to be their mother,” Hanson told him.
Frozen by the words he had just heard, it took his deputy three times before he got Jim’s attention. “Did you just say she claims she’s their mother?”
“Yes, sir, that’s just what I said.”
“Where is this woman now?” Jim asked, strapping on his holster and shoving his wallet in his pocket.
“She’s here at the station, sir,” was the answer.
“Deputy, I am on my way there now. Do not let that woman leave. Is that understood? You keep her there until I get there to question her,” Valenti commanded. He barely heard Hanson’s agreement as he snapped the phone closed, placed his hat on his head, grabbed his keys and dove out the door.
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Ok, for anyone who is still hanging around, the new part is ready. Make sure that you have read the last part (in case you didn't see that I updated with part 52) as it will be important in future parts. Also, don't hate me for the ending on this part. I'll fix it...I promise!
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 53 – “Changes”
Michael awoke to someone snoring and something heavy lying on top of him. Momentarily confused, he tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. Glancing down he smiled at the sight of Maria DeLuca sleeping in his arms. His smile turned into a smirk when he registered that it was none other than this same Maria whose snoring had awakened him. ‘Even when she’s sleeping, she can’t keep quiet,’ he thought amused.
Without moving so as to not disturb her, Michael let his gaze travel around the room to see as much as possible. It had come back to him pretty quickly that they were all at a hotel that Lucas had set them up in. He had called one of his friends from the private school he had been attending in the city while he was living with his dad. The kid’s father owned one of the swankiest hotels in the city, and that was saying a lot since it was New York. Lucas had helped the other guy with math and he had agreed to repay the favor by letting them stay for one night in the Presidential suite since it was currently unoccupied and his father was out of town on business.
The suite had three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a large central “activity” room. Maria and Isabel had absolutely flipped. This was a big deal for them. Lucas and Alex had carried Megan and Leslie into one of the bedrooms and hadn’t come out again. Liz, Maria and Serena had taken the second bedroom. Kyle, Michael, Isabel and Max had agreed that someone should keep an eye on Tess at all times and decided to take shifts. Isabel had taken the first shift and then had disappeared into the room the other girls had disappeared into after waking Michael for his turn. Max had taken the third shift and then curled up on the couch in the main room after waking Kyle for his turn. He wanted to stay close by in case something happened and Kyle needed one of them.
Currently, Michael was trying to decide whether or not he had to go to the bathroom bad enough to risk waking Maria. She was definitely not in the best of moods if she didn’t wake up on her own or before her cup of coffee. When she sighed softly and snuggled deeper into his chest, however, Michael knew he wouldn’t move for the world. He smiled softly at the memory of her coming and climbing into the bed with him, complaining that it wasn’t fair that he have the whole room and bed to himself while she had to share with three other people. He had gladly opened his arms and she had quickly crawled into them and promptly fell asleep. Now, he wrapped his arms around her again and fell back asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Max awoke to the sensation that someone was watching him. As his eyes fluttered open and he looked at the ceiling above him, he couldn’t shake the feeling and it was a bit unnerving. He groaned at the stiffness in his body from being cramped on the couch and started to sit up to stretch…and encountered the eyes that so closely resembled his own staring back at him. Startled he sputtered for a moment, looking for something to say to the four-year-old that was watching him intently.
“Hi,” he whispered, noticing that Kyle had fallen asleep and was snoring in the chair across the room.
“Hi,” Megan answered quietly. “I’m Megan. What’s your name?”
“I’m Max. What are you doing up?”
Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own. “Are you my daddy?”
Her question was so unexpected that Max sputtered to answer mid-yawn. Unable to come up with a way to respond to that, he asked, “What makes you think that?”
This caused Megan to smile and Max felt his heart melt into a puddle in his chest. She was so cute. “I can feel you…here,” she said, placing a hand over her heart, “and here,” she added, moving her hand up to her head. “I’ve always been able to feel you.” Then her face fell slightly. “Can’t you feel me?”
Max was trying to figure out how to answer her without hurting her feelings when he suddenly realized that he could feel her. Now that she had mentioned it, he felt his heart skip a bit at the thought of him having a daughter. He felt a little flutter at the back of his mind that he realized had been there for a long time but he had never noticed it consciously. His amazement was plain for Megan to see when he answered thickly, “Yeah, yeah I can feel you!”
What Megan did next brought tears to Max’s eyes and completely choked him up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad to finally have found my daddy!” she exclaimed.
Bringing his arms around her, he enfolded his daughter and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sight and his throat. When his eyes met Kyle’s from across the room, he expected to get some ribbing about the tears but was surprised to see tears in the other teen’s eyes as well. Pulling back, Max smiled at Megan and made a vow to be a good father, starting right then. “So are you hungry?” he asked.
“I’m starving!” Megan answered dramatically.
Unable to hold back the grin that covered his face, Max stood up. “Ok, so we’ll order room service and then we can eat and watch cartoons. What do you want for breakfast?”
“Panacakes with tobacco sauce!” Megan sang, dancing around the room.
It took Max a second to realize what Megan was trying to ask for and when he did, he burst out laughing. Kyle still looked a little confused. It was at that moment that Lucas walked into the room. “Hey, what’s all the yelling about in here?” he asked, snatching Megan up and dancing her around the room. “Are you in here buggin’ Max and Kyle?”
“We were just about to order breakfast and watch cartoons!” Megan explained. “Now put me down so I can find the remote to the TV.”
“Now that’s a kid after my own heart!” Kyle laughed. Then he looked at Max. “What was it she said she wanted for breakfast? Pancakes I got but ‘tobacco sauce’?”
“That’s Tabasco sauce,” Max explained with a grin. His grin fell as he turned back to Lucas. “Is Leslie ok? Is she awake yet?”
Lucas shook his head. “No, not yet. She’s ok, though. It’s just going to take some time for her system to adjust. I’ll go check and see what Alex wants for breakfast, but Leslie and I will take the same as Megan and a couple of orders of bacon.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Two people were whispering. That was the first thing that registered in her brain. Her eyes were still closed as she came around to consciousness again. “No, Alex, really it’s fine. You get a shower and I’ll keep an eye on Leslie. I’ll come and get you the minute she stirs, I promise,” came a low male voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to leave her side. If she wakes up and is disappointed I’m not here, I’d never forgive myself,” came another male voice in answer.
Leslie’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling and picture on the wall. “Lucas?” she called hoarsely.
He was at her side in a second, a smile on his lips. Alex planted himself on the other side of her and took her hand. “Thank god you’re ok! Lucas said you would be but until I saw you awake for myself, I just couldn’t really believe it.”
She flashed him a small smile before turning to her brother. “Where’s Megan? What happened?” she asked worriedly.
Lucas studied her for a moment. “Megan’s fine. What’s the last thing you remember?”
A confused look crossed her features before she finally answered. “I’m not sure. I mean, I remember feeling this horrible pain in my gut and knowing that Xan was killed and then nothing…and yet, at the same time, I remember being in an abandoned building when Alex’s life was threatened and then feeling a horrible pain in my gut that spread throughout my body, I asked you to watch out for Megan for me and then…nothing. Which one is real?”
Lucas gave her a wry smile. “Both actually. I think it will all come back to you but I should probably tell you what happened after that.” He went on to tell her about the battle that they all endured and Megan finally pushing Kivar out of the human body and their leaving and coming to the hotel where they currently were.
Leslie groaned after it was over and pushed herself to a sitting position. Alex helped fix the pillows behind her and she flashed him a smile. “Wow…miss a little, miss a lot.” She shook her head and asked again, “Where’s Meganora?”
“She’s in the activity room with Max watching cartoons. Les…she knows the truth about him,” Lucas told her.
Closing her eyes, Leslie took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, Alex noticed they had tears in them. “And Max? How is he taking to her?” She was so afraid of what it might mean now that Megan’s history was out in the open. “M-L, is he going to let her live?” she whispered.
Alex sucked in his breath sharply at that question. How could she think otherwise about Max? Lucas just gave his sister a reassuring smile and patted her hand. “Absolutely. I have no doubt about that. Whether he’ll claim her as his heir or not is another matter. I really don’t know what he’ll do about her.” He decided to change the subject. “Hey, why don’t you get a shower before breakfast gets here? I’ll keep an eye on Megan.”
Nodding her head, Leslie started to move to the edge of the bed, scooting around Alex. He stopped her and hugged her to him. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” he whispered. “I was so worried!”
Pushing him away gently, she smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m fine, Alex. Thanks for your concern, but you don’t have to worry about me.”
As she disappeared into the bathroom, Alex looked puzzled by her reaction. He also noticed that she…well, she smelled different. Whereas she used to smell like a home at Christmas, a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg and other enticing scents, she now smelled like strawberries and crème. That shouldn’t mean much but it bothered Alex and in the back of his mind, he thought it important. When he looked over at Lucas, he frowned at the expression on the other guy’s face. “What?”
Looking Alex in the eyes, Lucas felt sorry for the human. He had no idea that things were going to be different. He should warn him. “Alex, I know that you care about my sister. I feel that I should warn you, though. Now that her programming is completed…things will be different for a while. It doesn’t mean that she cares about you any less. The girl who cared about you is still in there…don’t forget that.”
Confused, Alex shook his head. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?” he asked.
Before Lucas had a chance to answer, Megan called for him from the other room. Giving Alex one last glance before going out to the other room, he met his eyes. “No matter what, Alex, know that she still cares.” He left the room and left Alex more confused than ever.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Liz awoke to find Isabel asleep beside her where Maria had been. Confused, she sat up and found Serena was staring out the window, her arms wrapped around her waist. Getting up carefully so as not to disturb Isabel, Liz made her way over to the other girl tentatively, unsure of what to expect from her or of how to treat her.
“Hey, are you ok?” Liz whispered, coming up behind her.
Serena jumped and turned to face the brunette. Giving Liz a weak smile, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Yeah, all things considered, I think I am. I’m just trying to figure out what to do now…where to go…who I am.” Her crystal blue eyes met Liz’s brown ones. “Can any of you help me? Can you answer my questions?”
Isabel was the one who answered, startling both girls. “Maybe some of them but we’re still learning about it all ourselves.” She came over to where they were standing. “If you can tell us a little about yourself, then we’ll answer any of your questions that we can. Meanwhile, I see you got a shower but I could definitely use one. If you both will excuse me…” she let the sentence trail off, disappearing into the bathroom.
Liz and Serena watched her leave and then glanced back at each other. Liz gave her a smile. “Serena, I don’t know you very well, but I have a feeling that we’re going to be good friends.” She meant it too. It wasn’t just the vouch for Serena from Future Max but also a feeling inside of her. The girl with the face that looked so much like her enemy had a heart inside of her that beat strong for right, Liz could feel it. She only hoped she was right.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Leslie stepped out of the bathroom, running her fingers through her damp hair and drying it as she did so. She could hear the others outside the bedroom walls, laughing and talking, as well as the cartoons. What she didn’t hear or notice, so lost in thought was she, Alex’s presence. When she saw him upon looking up, it startled her.
“Alex! Goodness you scared me!” she exclaimed placing her hand on her racing heart. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, however, and he noticed. “Was there something you wanted?”
Alex couldn’t help but be hurt by her question. “Something I wanted? Leslie, I almost lost you last night. Your daughter was almost taken away from you by a very evil creature. I just thought that maybe…oh I don’t know…maybe you’d like to talk about that.” Then, he sighed and lost his sarcasm. “Leslie, I have the distinct impression that something has changed and you don’t want to talk to me. Are you trying to avoid me?”
Sighing, Leslie sat down on the bed. “Alex, maybe you should sit down. We need to talk.” When he slowly sank down to the bed beside her, she moved over a little to put more space between them. Alex didn’t think that was a good sign. “Alex…I don’t know how to break this to you gently. I can’t be with you anymore.”
Alex met her eyes, understandably upset. “What do you mean?”
“I warned you once that we would never work out. I belong to Xan…Max,” she told him gently.
“But that’s only for right now. Once we figure out how to free you, Max will set you free and we can still be together. I know your programming won’t allow us to be a real couple or anything…I understand that, but don’t give up hope. We care about each other and…” Alex tried to convince her but then her eyes skittered away from his at that last part. “Leslie…we care about each other right?”
When she finally looked back at him, her eyes were filled with sympathy and sorrow. “Alex, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I want to be with Max and only Max. My feelings have changed.”
Leslie started to get up but Alex grabbed her wrist to stop her. He couldn’t help the desperation in his tone as he begged her to reconsider. “Leslie, you know he’ll never choose you! Does what we have had mean nothing to you?!” he pleaded.
Looking back at him, she placed her hand on the side of his face and he released her wrist. “Of course it’s special to me, but I can’t help how I feel. Alex, I want us to always be friends…but it doesn’t matter to me if Max wants me or not. I want to be with him and I love him. I will be there for him and support him in whatever capacity he will allow me. Please don’t ask of me what I cannot give!”
She put her hands up to the back of her neck after those words. Alex was unsure of what she was doing until she pulled her hands away and they were holding the chain of her necklace. Tears filled his eyes and he looked away to blink them away before she could see them. His fears were confirmed when he looked back up at her and she was holding it out to him.
“I think that you should take this back. I don’t deserve it. Give it to someone who will really appreciate you for the good guy you are.” She knelt down as he slowly took the necklace from her and kissed his forehead. “Give it to someone who can be your world and you hers.”
When Leslie had left the room and was out of earshot, Alex allowed his tears to fall. Looking down at the shooting star necklace in his hands, he whispers, “I thought I had.”
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 53 – “Changes”
Michael awoke to someone snoring and something heavy lying on top of him. Momentarily confused, he tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. Glancing down he smiled at the sight of Maria DeLuca sleeping in his arms. His smile turned into a smirk when he registered that it was none other than this same Maria whose snoring had awakened him. ‘Even when she’s sleeping, she can’t keep quiet,’ he thought amused.
Without moving so as to not disturb her, Michael let his gaze travel around the room to see as much as possible. It had come back to him pretty quickly that they were all at a hotel that Lucas had set them up in. He had called one of his friends from the private school he had been attending in the city while he was living with his dad. The kid’s father owned one of the swankiest hotels in the city, and that was saying a lot since it was New York. Lucas had helped the other guy with math and he had agreed to repay the favor by letting them stay for one night in the Presidential suite since it was currently unoccupied and his father was out of town on business.
The suite had three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a large central “activity” room. Maria and Isabel had absolutely flipped. This was a big deal for them. Lucas and Alex had carried Megan and Leslie into one of the bedrooms and hadn’t come out again. Liz, Maria and Serena had taken the second bedroom. Kyle, Michael, Isabel and Max had agreed that someone should keep an eye on Tess at all times and decided to take shifts. Isabel had taken the first shift and then had disappeared into the room the other girls had disappeared into after waking Michael for his turn. Max had taken the third shift and then curled up on the couch in the main room after waking Kyle for his turn. He wanted to stay close by in case something happened and Kyle needed one of them.
Currently, Michael was trying to decide whether or not he had to go to the bathroom bad enough to risk waking Maria. She was definitely not in the best of moods if she didn’t wake up on her own or before her cup of coffee. When she sighed softly and snuggled deeper into his chest, however, Michael knew he wouldn’t move for the world. He smiled softly at the memory of her coming and climbing into the bed with him, complaining that it wasn’t fair that he have the whole room and bed to himself while she had to share with three other people. He had gladly opened his arms and she had quickly crawled into them and promptly fell asleep. Now, he wrapped his arms around her again and fell back asleep.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Max awoke to the sensation that someone was watching him. As his eyes fluttered open and he looked at the ceiling above him, he couldn’t shake the feeling and it was a bit unnerving. He groaned at the stiffness in his body from being cramped on the couch and started to sit up to stretch…and encountered the eyes that so closely resembled his own staring back at him. Startled he sputtered for a moment, looking for something to say to the four-year-old that was watching him intently.
“Hi,” he whispered, noticing that Kyle had fallen asleep and was snoring in the chair across the room.
“Hi,” Megan answered quietly. “I’m Megan. What’s your name?”
“I’m Max. What are you doing up?”
Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own. “Are you my daddy?”
Her question was so unexpected that Max sputtered to answer mid-yawn. Unable to come up with a way to respond to that, he asked, “What makes you think that?”
This caused Megan to smile and Max felt his heart melt into a puddle in his chest. She was so cute. “I can feel you…here,” she said, placing a hand over her heart, “and here,” she added, moving her hand up to her head. “I’ve always been able to feel you.” Then her face fell slightly. “Can’t you feel me?”
Max was trying to figure out how to answer her without hurting her feelings when he suddenly realized that he could feel her. Now that she had mentioned it, he felt his heart skip a bit at the thought of him having a daughter. He felt a little flutter at the back of his mind that he realized had been there for a long time but he had never noticed it consciously. His amazement was plain for Megan to see when he answered thickly, “Yeah, yeah I can feel you!”
What Megan did next brought tears to Max’s eyes and completely choked him up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad to finally have found my daddy!” she exclaimed.
Bringing his arms around her, he enfolded his daughter and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his sight and his throat. When his eyes met Kyle’s from across the room, he expected to get some ribbing about the tears but was surprised to see tears in the other teen’s eyes as well. Pulling back, Max smiled at Megan and made a vow to be a good father, starting right then. “So are you hungry?” he asked.
“I’m starving!” Megan answered dramatically.
Unable to hold back the grin that covered his face, Max stood up. “Ok, so we’ll order room service and then we can eat and watch cartoons. What do you want for breakfast?”
“Panacakes with tobacco sauce!” Megan sang, dancing around the room.
It took Max a second to realize what Megan was trying to ask for and when he did, he burst out laughing. Kyle still looked a little confused. It was at that moment that Lucas walked into the room. “Hey, what’s all the yelling about in here?” he asked, snatching Megan up and dancing her around the room. “Are you in here buggin’ Max and Kyle?”
“We were just about to order breakfast and watch cartoons!” Megan explained. “Now put me down so I can find the remote to the TV.”
“Now that’s a kid after my own heart!” Kyle laughed. Then he looked at Max. “What was it she said she wanted for breakfast? Pancakes I got but ‘tobacco sauce’?”
“That’s Tabasco sauce,” Max explained with a grin. His grin fell as he turned back to Lucas. “Is Leslie ok? Is she awake yet?”
Lucas shook his head. “No, not yet. She’s ok, though. It’s just going to take some time for her system to adjust. I’ll go check and see what Alex wants for breakfast, but Leslie and I will take the same as Megan and a couple of orders of bacon.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Two people were whispering. That was the first thing that registered in her brain. Her eyes were still closed as she came around to consciousness again. “No, Alex, really it’s fine. You get a shower and I’ll keep an eye on Leslie. I’ll come and get you the minute she stirs, I promise,” came a low male voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to leave her side. If she wakes up and is disappointed I’m not here, I’d never forgive myself,” came another male voice in answer.
Leslie’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling and picture on the wall. “Lucas?” she called hoarsely.
He was at her side in a second, a smile on his lips. Alex planted himself on the other side of her and took her hand. “Thank god you’re ok! Lucas said you would be but until I saw you awake for myself, I just couldn’t really believe it.”
She flashed him a small smile before turning to her brother. “Where’s Megan? What happened?” she asked worriedly.
Lucas studied her for a moment. “Megan’s fine. What’s the last thing you remember?”
A confused look crossed her features before she finally answered. “I’m not sure. I mean, I remember feeling this horrible pain in my gut and knowing that Xan was killed and then nothing…and yet, at the same time, I remember being in an abandoned building when Alex’s life was threatened and then feeling a horrible pain in my gut that spread throughout my body, I asked you to watch out for Megan for me and then…nothing. Which one is real?”
Lucas gave her a wry smile. “Both actually. I think it will all come back to you but I should probably tell you what happened after that.” He went on to tell her about the battle that they all endured and Megan finally pushing Kivar out of the human body and their leaving and coming to the hotel where they currently were.
Leslie groaned after it was over and pushed herself to a sitting position. Alex helped fix the pillows behind her and she flashed him a smile. “Wow…miss a little, miss a lot.” She shook her head and asked again, “Where’s Meganora?”
“She’s in the activity room with Max watching cartoons. Les…she knows the truth about him,” Lucas told her.
Closing her eyes, Leslie took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, Alex noticed they had tears in them. “And Max? How is he taking to her?” She was so afraid of what it might mean now that Megan’s history was out in the open. “M-L, is he going to let her live?” she whispered.
Alex sucked in his breath sharply at that question. How could she think otherwise about Max? Lucas just gave his sister a reassuring smile and patted her hand. “Absolutely. I have no doubt about that. Whether he’ll claim her as his heir or not is another matter. I really don’t know what he’ll do about her.” He decided to change the subject. “Hey, why don’t you get a shower before breakfast gets here? I’ll keep an eye on Megan.”
Nodding her head, Leslie started to move to the edge of the bed, scooting around Alex. He stopped her and hugged her to him. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” he whispered. “I was so worried!”
Pushing him away gently, she smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m fine, Alex. Thanks for your concern, but you don’t have to worry about me.”
As she disappeared into the bathroom, Alex looked puzzled by her reaction. He also noticed that she…well, she smelled different. Whereas she used to smell like a home at Christmas, a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg and other enticing scents, she now smelled like strawberries and crème. That shouldn’t mean much but it bothered Alex and in the back of his mind, he thought it important. When he looked over at Lucas, he frowned at the expression on the other guy’s face. “What?”
Looking Alex in the eyes, Lucas felt sorry for the human. He had no idea that things were going to be different. He should warn him. “Alex, I know that you care about my sister. I feel that I should warn you, though. Now that her programming is completed…things will be different for a while. It doesn’t mean that she cares about you any less. The girl who cared about you is still in there…don’t forget that.”
Confused, Alex shook his head. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?” he asked.
Before Lucas had a chance to answer, Megan called for him from the other room. Giving Alex one last glance before going out to the other room, he met his eyes. “No matter what, Alex, know that she still cares.” He left the room and left Alex more confused than ever.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Liz awoke to find Isabel asleep beside her where Maria had been. Confused, she sat up and found Serena was staring out the window, her arms wrapped around her waist. Getting up carefully so as not to disturb Isabel, Liz made her way over to the other girl tentatively, unsure of what to expect from her or of how to treat her.
“Hey, are you ok?” Liz whispered, coming up behind her.
Serena jumped and turned to face the brunette. Giving Liz a weak smile, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Yeah, all things considered, I think I am. I’m just trying to figure out what to do now…where to go…who I am.” Her crystal blue eyes met Liz’s brown ones. “Can any of you help me? Can you answer my questions?”
Isabel was the one who answered, startling both girls. “Maybe some of them but we’re still learning about it all ourselves.” She came over to where they were standing. “If you can tell us a little about yourself, then we’ll answer any of your questions that we can. Meanwhile, I see you got a shower but I could definitely use one. If you both will excuse me…” she let the sentence trail off, disappearing into the bathroom.
Liz and Serena watched her leave and then glanced back at each other. Liz gave her a smile. “Serena, I don’t know you very well, but I have a feeling that we’re going to be good friends.” She meant it too. It wasn’t just the vouch for Serena from Future Max but also a feeling inside of her. The girl with the face that looked so much like her enemy had a heart inside of her that beat strong for right, Liz could feel it. She only hoped she was right.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Leslie stepped out of the bathroom, running her fingers through her damp hair and drying it as she did so. She could hear the others outside the bedroom walls, laughing and talking, as well as the cartoons. What she didn’t hear or notice, so lost in thought was she, Alex’s presence. When she saw him upon looking up, it startled her.
“Alex! Goodness you scared me!” she exclaimed placing her hand on her racing heart. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, however, and he noticed. “Was there something you wanted?”
Alex couldn’t help but be hurt by her question. “Something I wanted? Leslie, I almost lost you last night. Your daughter was almost taken away from you by a very evil creature. I just thought that maybe…oh I don’t know…maybe you’d like to talk about that.” Then, he sighed and lost his sarcasm. “Leslie, I have the distinct impression that something has changed and you don’t want to talk to me. Are you trying to avoid me?”
Sighing, Leslie sat down on the bed. “Alex, maybe you should sit down. We need to talk.” When he slowly sank down to the bed beside her, she moved over a little to put more space between them. Alex didn’t think that was a good sign. “Alex…I don’t know how to break this to you gently. I can’t be with you anymore.”
Alex met her eyes, understandably upset. “What do you mean?”
“I warned you once that we would never work out. I belong to Xan…Max,” she told him gently.
“But that’s only for right now. Once we figure out how to free you, Max will set you free and we can still be together. I know your programming won’t allow us to be a real couple or anything…I understand that, but don’t give up hope. We care about each other and…” Alex tried to convince her but then her eyes skittered away from his at that last part. “Leslie…we care about each other right?”
When she finally looked back at him, her eyes were filled with sympathy and sorrow. “Alex, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I want to be with Max and only Max. My feelings have changed.”
Leslie started to get up but Alex grabbed her wrist to stop her. He couldn’t help the desperation in his tone as he begged her to reconsider. “Leslie, you know he’ll never choose you! Does what we have had mean nothing to you?!” he pleaded.
Looking back at him, she placed her hand on the side of his face and he released her wrist. “Of course it’s special to me, but I can’t help how I feel. Alex, I want us to always be friends…but it doesn’t matter to me if Max wants me or not. I want to be with him and I love him. I will be there for him and support him in whatever capacity he will allow me. Please don’t ask of me what I cannot give!”
She put her hands up to the back of her neck after those words. Alex was unsure of what she was doing until she pulled her hands away and they were holding the chain of her necklace. Tears filled his eyes and he looked away to blink them away before she could see them. His fears were confirmed when he looked back up at her and she was holding it out to him.
“I think that you should take this back. I don’t deserve it. Give it to someone who will really appreciate you for the good guy you are.” She knelt down as he slowly took the necklace from her and kissed his forehead. “Give it to someone who can be your world and you hers.”
When Leslie had left the room and was out of earshot, Alex allowed his tears to fall. Looking down at the shooting star necklace in his hands, he whispers, “I thought I had.”
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
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littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Ok, I know I promised this earlier but my beta's life has been really busy and he thought he had sent it to me already or something but anyway...long story short, I have the new part. Thank you for waiting and I hope you will enjoy it. I am working on the next part so hopefully it won't be so long in coming. I am getting to work on my writing a little almost everyday here lately so maybe we'll get some parts rolling.
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Against My Programming
Part 54 – “Serena’s Story and Tess’ Trial”
They all sat in the main room, eating breakfast and chatting until Max held up a hand to get everyone’s attention. When everyone had quieted down, he said, “I think that it’s time we straightened some things out with Serena.” He turned to her. “We will tell you everything we know if you will first tell us about yourself and how Kivar found you and how he took you.”
Serena looked around the room and for the first time ever felt like she had nothing to hide. There was no explanation for her instinct to trust these strangers except that they had saved her from that evil being last night. Sitting forward a little, she set her empty plate aside and took a deep breath. “I was adopted by the Wilkersons when I was around 3 or 4. I don’t remember much about it but they tell me that I was found out in a field, completely naked and I was crying. They already had two children but when they found me, they have always told me that we just connected and they immediately wanted to adopt me.
“Mom and dad had two more kids after adopting me. We’ve always been a happy family. I had a pretty normal life. Then weird things started happening to me. I started being able to…do things that normal people couldn’t do. I was so scared they would hate me or take me to doctors and do tests and stuff. I kept it to myself all my life.” Here Serena stopped and looked up at the others.
“Then I came home from a camping trip with some of my friends to find my parents and my younger brothers murdered. That kid was there and that dark haired evil man. I screamed but they quickly stopped me from doing that but I’m not really sure how. I was so scared that I don’t remember much, but they kept calling me Avaloane and asking about something called a gran…granilith and a seal. I asked the older one what they wanted but he only laughed and the next thing I knew my world went dark and I woke up tied up with that little girl in that abandoned building.” She turned to Max with tears in her eyes. “They killed my family and took me away but I have no idea why. What am I? What are you? Can you answer the questions I’ve asked myself all my life?”
Liz moved over to Serena’s side and put her arm around the girl. “We’ll tell you everything we know,” she answered.
Michael looked at Kyle a little warily and Kyle shook his head. “I’m not sure we should tell her anything,” Kyle protested. “I mean, look at what Tess and Ava have done with their knowledge. What was it that Kate warned you about, Max? You told us that she warned you that Tess might betray you because she had felt the same way. It’s obviously in the genes for the clones of that original queen to betray Max. She must have been that way in her last life.”
Serena looked around confused. “I don’t understand.”
Max spoke up and said, with authority in his voice, “We tell her. She has a right to know about her origins. Everyone has a choice in who they are. Kate is happy with who she is now, and I can’t dismiss the idea that the reason she is happy is because she was raised with humans and with people who loved her. Serena grew up in a family too. Besides, she has the right to make the decision for herself whose side she’ll choose.” Turning back to Serena, he said, “We’ll tell you everything we know. But first, I think we need a few more answers ourselves.”
Looking over in the corner where Tess’ body lay, Max stood up and moved over to her. “Leslie, can you wake her up but keep her from trying to mind warp us?” he asked.
Everyone gathered in a circle around the blonde traitor and Leslie stepped forward. “Of course, your majesty.” She place one hand on Tess’ forehead and the other at the base of her skull. There was a brief glow from her hands and suddenly, Tess’ eyes flew open. Leslie held her for a moment before telling her, “Your king has some questions for you and I suggest you answer them fully and honestly. You will suffer if you do not. Your mind powers will be ineffective if you try to use them and don’t even think about getting away.”
Tess glared at the girl before dismissing her by looking away and at Max. “Max, you must know that I didn’t really betray you. I was only trying to buy some time. I never would have allowed Kivar to kill any of you. I was going to gain his trust and then kill him for you,” she tried as an explanation.
Michael snorted at that. “Yeah, that’s so what it looked like when you were standing with Kivar and Nicholas and firing at us with them.”
Briefly glaring at him, Tess looked to see if Max was buying it but he looked completely unmoved. She decided to switch people. She turned to Kyle and tears filled her eyes. “I swear, Kyle, watching you lying there suffering was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to see. It about killed me!”
Kyle just crossed his arms over his chest, closing his heart and mind to her pleas. “Save it, Tess. You are a traitor and I, for one, will vote that you get a traitor’s sentence of execution.”
“You might as well save your breath, Tess. You have exposed your true colors and there’s no turning back now. However, we might be lenient on your sentence if you answer our questions truthfully,” Max told her. In truth, he had no idea what he was going to do about Tess. He had never killed anyone and he really wasn’t sure he could do so now. “First, I guess we need to know what Kivar’s plans are. Tell us everything you know about his plans.”
Tess glared up at him, all traces of remorse or innocence gone. “You know what he wants. He wants to rule the Antarian Empire. He is looking to take it any way that he can but he’ll have a much easier time of it if he can find a way to legitimize it to the people. He’s looking for that. He was supposed to be the heir to the throne after all before you and Isabel were born. He only wants what was promised to him, to rule…with his queen by his side of course,” she spat at them.
Lucas looked at her with disgust. “How do you propose to be his queen when the people would probably execute you for treason against King Xan?” he asked. “And even if Max gave up the throne and Kivar became the king, you would still be considered to be Max’s queen…until you got an official annulment on Antar of course.”
Tess smirked at that. “You don’t really think that Kivar intends on allowing Max to live do you? As soon as Max officially abdicates the throne, Kivar will kill him. I will be officially his widow and the kingdom will never have to know that our marriage was never legitimate.” Tess threw a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to reveal that part.
Max’s eyes narrowed at her. “What do you mean? Whose marriage was never legitimate?”
Refusing to say more, Tess simply lowered her eyes. Leslie stepped forward and lifted the blonde’s head by the hair. Tess let out an involuntary yelp before snapping her mouth closed to keep herself from giving something stupid away. “You should answer him. Your body will turn on you if you do not,” Leslie told her with a wicked grin.
At the moment that Tess shook her head in refusal, she started to feel a tingling in her legs. She tried to reach down to scratch an itch on her leg but the bindings kept her from being able to move. Suddenly, her arm itched too. In the space of five minutes her entire body started to itch all over and it was worsening. She wiggled a bit, trying to think about something other than the itching.
Leslie simply grinned down at her. “You’re only making it worse on yourself. If you answer Max’s questions, you’ll stop itching.”
It was only a few more minutes before Tess was desperate. She couldn’t believe how badly she itched; it was the worst kind of torture. Finally, she blurted out, “I was already married when I married Xan!” The itching immediately stopped and she let out a breath in relief.
Everyone froze at the revelation. Max moved forward, “You were already married? What do you mean? To whom?”
Tess didn’t want to answer but the itching started again and she didn’t want to wiggle in front of them again. Glaring at the group before her, she spat out, “I was married to Kivar long before Xan ever met me. It was a secret union that had to remain so for Kivar’s plan to take the throne to work.”
“So you were married to both men at once?” Maria asked in confusion.
“Antarian law states that Avaloane’s marriage to Xan would be illegal and void due to her already being married,” Lucas spoke up.
“What are his plans now? What will he do next?” Michael demanded.
Tess shook her head. “I don’t know. I know what his final goal is and that he wants the Granilith and the throne. I don’t know the details of his plans.”
They waited a few moments to see if she would start squirming again. When she was still, Max sighed. It seemed she was telling the truth. He looked up at the group. Liz was staring at Tess in disbelief. “I don’t understand. Everything he told me…everything I did…” she said in a low voice to herself.
Max and Leslie looked at her sharply. Tess simply smirked at her dark haired rival. The smirk didn’t escape Liz’s notice and she suddenly stepped directly in front of the girl. “You know what I’m talking about don’t you?”
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as Max tried to figure out what they were discussing. He had no idea but it sounded important. “Answer her, Tess,” he demanded quietly.
She hesitated just long enough for the itching to begin again and then decided to simply answer just the question Liz had asked. “Yes, I know what you are referring to.” She smirked at her own cleverness until Liz came over and slapped her across the face.
“Explain it to me then, Tess. Tell me how you got me to do all those things. How did you convince me of what I had to do?” Liz cried. She was terrified of the answers she would receive. She didn’t want to think that she had given up so much at the word of traitors. She didn’t want to believe that she was stupid enough to have fallen for some scheme from Tess.
With eyes that bored holes into Liz’s head, Tess smiled wickedly. “You wouldn’t believe how easy it was. All it took was a shapeshifter and a little mind manipulation.”
Liz felt her heart stop and drop into her stomach. She had been so foolish…so naïve! Stepping back from the blonde, Liz felt in a daze. She backed all the way to the couch and sat down…the full impact of it all still trying to settle in her brain. She shook her head when Max looked to her for an explanation. Maria moved to sit beside her. Leslie only studied the girl for a moment, realizing that something profound had happened but not sure what.
Turning back to her king, Leslie asked quietly, “Have you anything else you wish to ask, your majesty?”
Max thought about it for several minutes before shaking his head. “Why the pretext of marrying me, Tess? What purpose would it serve?”
Tess turned to him. “Kivar and I married before you were born. When you came along, Kivar was crushed by the realization that he would never have what was promised him and I was upset by it as well…for both of us. Then he decided when you were of age that he would still have the throne, especially when it was so obvious that you wanted to make many changes. It was his idea that I marry you and that way you would give me the royal seal of the queen and when I carried the heir to the throne, we would kill you. Kivar and I would be reunited and he would rule as Regent until your child was of age to rule themselves. Whether he was planning to allow your child to rule or not…he never told me. He probably planned on it coming to an unfortunate accident.”
The idea that he had been so obviously delusioned disturbed Max. Somehow, he felt that none of this should have taken place…that something should have prevented it. He couldn’t put his finger on just what it was that really bothered him about it all but he knew that something really did. Finally, he decided to let it go for now. Looking around the room, he let his eyes land on each of the people that he trusted with everything that he was. He even trusted Liz and Kyle. Serena was still a question but he felt confident inside that she would become a valuable ally.
“So I guess the question now is what to do with Tess now,” he said to the room. “She obviously can’t be trusted. What do you guys think?”
Maria crossed her arms across her chest. “I hate to say this but I don’t think we have many options here. We have to kill her.”
Kyle agreed with Maria. “We can’t keep her around to betray us again. If Nicholas or Kivar gets their hands on her, she’ll tell them where that granilith thingy is.”
Tess’ eyes grew wide at the obvious feelings of the two humans. She looked around the room for an ally. Max sighed. “Ok, I suppose we’ll have to vote on this.” He looked to Leslie. “We do have grounds to carry out sentence if we find her guilty of treason do we not?”
Leslie nodded quickly. “Of course. I would recommend a trial of sorts with all of you as the jury as well as the witnesses. Would you care to choose a judge, your majesty, or preside as so yourself.”
Rubbing his temples, Max felt the coming on of a headache. “Can you preside as judge?” he asked, not really sure what he wanted to do.
Leslie and Lucas both shook their heads quickly. “No, I’m afraid a slave cannot stand in such a position. There would be a declaration of a mistrial and we could be tried for murder if Tess were to be killed in sentence.”
“Momma, Uncle Lucas, what’s going on? Who is on trial and what for?” came a little voice, startling the others in the room.
Lucas and Leslie’s faces reflected the horror of the others in the room at their forgetfulness that the four year old was in the room with them during their frank interrogation of Tess. Lucas scooped up his niece and asked her, “Hey, Princess, how long have you been listening to us? I thought you were watching cartoons.”
Megan looked over at Tess, her brown eyes suddenly glowing slightly with a golden light. “I wanted to know more about the bad lady. Is she really a traitor? What’s she a traitor to?” she answered.
“Maybe I should take her into the other room,” Lucas suggested, already moving toward one of the bedrooms.
“Wait! I want you to have a say in what happens here too,” Max called to him.
Lucas gave him a wry smile. “My opinion or vote wouldn’t count for anything anyway…your majesty.” He quickly turned his attention back to his niece and in trying to keep the four year old occupied and out of the way of such a serious matter.
As soon as the door to the bedroom closed, the others turned their attention back to the task at hand. Max flashed Leslie a slight grimace. “I’m sorry about that. I thought she was watching cartoons. We should have made sure she wasn’t in the room before we started to deal with Tess.”
Leslie shrugged slightly. “I wasn’t any better about it. I should have made sure she was occupied elsewhere.”
Turning to meet each of the other’s eyes, Max gestured toward Tess. “Is there anyone who needs the evidence presented as to Tess’ guilt for treason before we decide her sentence?” he asked. He looked to Michael who shook his head. Kyle, Liz, Alex and Maria also were quick to voice that there was no doubt as to her guilt. Max turned next to Isabel. “Isabel, what about you? I know that you were the first to befriend her…”
Isabel met Tess’ eyes and the blue ones silently pleaded for mercy. Crossing her arms over her chest, Isabel met her brother’s eyes steadily. “She’s guilty…no doubt in my mind.”
Nodding, Max turned quickly to the last two of their group, Leslie and Serena. Looking at Leslie, he asked, “You aren’t allowed a vote are you?”
Shaking her head, she told him, “No, I’m not…not if you want this trial to stand up on Antar. However, I can guide you through the process of making it all stick.”
When Max turned his attention to Serena, she was studying her double and chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. He called her name softly and her eyes flew to his. “Serena, what do you have to say about it? You get a vote too,” he told her quietly.
“Me? I don’t know much about the situation,” the other girl protested. “Besides, I’d be outvoted if I decided to vote not guilty…not that I would necessarily vote that way.”
Everyone started talking at once at that. Someone mentioned that she would of course vote for her double…Max thought it was Kyle. A couple of others considered the trial over and were ready to move on to sentencing. Tess was smiling smugly at Serena. Holding up his hand, Max got everyone’s attention again and waited for it to quiet down.
“I don’t think I should vote since I’m acting as judge and I am the king Tess has supposedly committed treason against. However, I do feel that in the interest of fairness and objectivity, we should take the time to go over the evidence with Serena so that she can vote. Tess can even try to defend herself if she wants to,” he said. When there were the beginnings of protests, he held up his hand again. “That way, we can be sure that we aren’t just acting on our feelings of personal betrayal or anger.”
No one could argue that it would be a more than fair thing to do and over the next hour, they presented the story of Tess. Each person in the room voiced their feelings about her arrival and addition to their group. Kyle told about caring for her and how he and his father had taken her in when she had no where to go. Liz, Max and Maria told about her using her mind warps to try to get Max to be with her. Tess was also able to voice her side, telling about growing up with Nesedo and feeling like an outsider to the group, except with Kyle and Valenti. She told Serena about having used her mind warp with the group to help rescue Max from the white room and also being kidnapped by Congresswoman Whitaker and beaten. Kyle voiced the opinion that was held by several of their group that the kidnapping was staged.
At the end of it all, Serena felt her head was spinning. Finally, Max held up his hands to signal that the trial was over. “Serena, you’ve heard it all…both sides. What do you say to it all? Which way do you vote? Is she guilty of treason or not?” he asked gently.
Serena looked at each face in the room, looked down at the floor, at her hands and finally at Tess. Stepping toward her duplicate, she said, “I feel sorry that you seemed to have had such a cold childhood. It’s obvious you grew up without love or compassion or any type of human emotion.” Tess started to smile at her words but stopped herself so as to let Serena continue uninfluenced. “However, it sounds like you have chosen this path in more than one life. I feel it in the back of my head that you…that we were a traitor in our last life. If we were married to Kivar this was a very elaborate example of treason. It’s also clear to me that despite their begging you to choose them and trying to include you in their group, these people from Roswell have tried to be fair but you have chosen a different path. You chose to continue this treasonous path and you have betrayed the rightful king of Antar.”
Tess’ breath hung up in her chest as she waited with the others to hear Serena finish her little speech. Her eyes widened in fear as Serena concluded. “I too find the evidence sufficient to vote you guilty of treason.”
Max nodded and looked at Tess. “You have been found guilty of treason and the verdict was unanimous. Now we will begin a discussion of your sentence.”
Liz spoke up. “We can’t kill her, Max.” Tess looked relieved for a moment. “At least not yet. It would raise too many questions for us to show up in Roswell without her and with Serena. Besides, she might still be useful or remember something else we can use.”
Alex nodded his agreement. “Liz is right. We can’t risk drawing attention to ourselves again with another disappearance, especially with it being Tess since she has been a part of our group for a while now.”
Some of them hated to agree but no one could argue with the logic of the two humans. Max nodded. “Ok, then, we let her live for now. Leslie, if you please…” he gestured toward Tess. Leslie quickly nodded and placed her hands on either side of Tess’ head. The blonde slumped to the floor as she once again lost consciousness.
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Against My Programming
Part 54 – “Serena’s Story and Tess’ Trial”
They all sat in the main room, eating breakfast and chatting until Max held up a hand to get everyone’s attention. When everyone had quieted down, he said, “I think that it’s time we straightened some things out with Serena.” He turned to her. “We will tell you everything we know if you will first tell us about yourself and how Kivar found you and how he took you.”
Serena looked around the room and for the first time ever felt like she had nothing to hide. There was no explanation for her instinct to trust these strangers except that they had saved her from that evil being last night. Sitting forward a little, she set her empty plate aside and took a deep breath. “I was adopted by the Wilkersons when I was around 3 or 4. I don’t remember much about it but they tell me that I was found out in a field, completely naked and I was crying. They already had two children but when they found me, they have always told me that we just connected and they immediately wanted to adopt me.
“Mom and dad had two more kids after adopting me. We’ve always been a happy family. I had a pretty normal life. Then weird things started happening to me. I started being able to…do things that normal people couldn’t do. I was so scared they would hate me or take me to doctors and do tests and stuff. I kept it to myself all my life.” Here Serena stopped and looked up at the others.
“Then I came home from a camping trip with some of my friends to find my parents and my younger brothers murdered. That kid was there and that dark haired evil man. I screamed but they quickly stopped me from doing that but I’m not really sure how. I was so scared that I don’t remember much, but they kept calling me Avaloane and asking about something called a gran…granilith and a seal. I asked the older one what they wanted but he only laughed and the next thing I knew my world went dark and I woke up tied up with that little girl in that abandoned building.” She turned to Max with tears in her eyes. “They killed my family and took me away but I have no idea why. What am I? What are you? Can you answer the questions I’ve asked myself all my life?”
Liz moved over to Serena’s side and put her arm around the girl. “We’ll tell you everything we know,” she answered.
Michael looked at Kyle a little warily and Kyle shook his head. “I’m not sure we should tell her anything,” Kyle protested. “I mean, look at what Tess and Ava have done with their knowledge. What was it that Kate warned you about, Max? You told us that she warned you that Tess might betray you because she had felt the same way. It’s obviously in the genes for the clones of that original queen to betray Max. She must have been that way in her last life.”
Serena looked around confused. “I don’t understand.”
Max spoke up and said, with authority in his voice, “We tell her. She has a right to know about her origins. Everyone has a choice in who they are. Kate is happy with who she is now, and I can’t dismiss the idea that the reason she is happy is because she was raised with humans and with people who loved her. Serena grew up in a family too. Besides, she has the right to make the decision for herself whose side she’ll choose.” Turning back to Serena, he said, “We’ll tell you everything we know. But first, I think we need a few more answers ourselves.”
Looking over in the corner where Tess’ body lay, Max stood up and moved over to her. “Leslie, can you wake her up but keep her from trying to mind warp us?” he asked.
Everyone gathered in a circle around the blonde traitor and Leslie stepped forward. “Of course, your majesty.” She place one hand on Tess’ forehead and the other at the base of her skull. There was a brief glow from her hands and suddenly, Tess’ eyes flew open. Leslie held her for a moment before telling her, “Your king has some questions for you and I suggest you answer them fully and honestly. You will suffer if you do not. Your mind powers will be ineffective if you try to use them and don’t even think about getting away.”
Tess glared at the girl before dismissing her by looking away and at Max. “Max, you must know that I didn’t really betray you. I was only trying to buy some time. I never would have allowed Kivar to kill any of you. I was going to gain his trust and then kill him for you,” she tried as an explanation.
Michael snorted at that. “Yeah, that’s so what it looked like when you were standing with Kivar and Nicholas and firing at us with them.”
Briefly glaring at him, Tess looked to see if Max was buying it but he looked completely unmoved. She decided to switch people. She turned to Kyle and tears filled her eyes. “I swear, Kyle, watching you lying there suffering was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to see. It about killed me!”
Kyle just crossed his arms over his chest, closing his heart and mind to her pleas. “Save it, Tess. You are a traitor and I, for one, will vote that you get a traitor’s sentence of execution.”
“You might as well save your breath, Tess. You have exposed your true colors and there’s no turning back now. However, we might be lenient on your sentence if you answer our questions truthfully,” Max told her. In truth, he had no idea what he was going to do about Tess. He had never killed anyone and he really wasn’t sure he could do so now. “First, I guess we need to know what Kivar’s plans are. Tell us everything you know about his plans.”
Tess glared up at him, all traces of remorse or innocence gone. “You know what he wants. He wants to rule the Antarian Empire. He is looking to take it any way that he can but he’ll have a much easier time of it if he can find a way to legitimize it to the people. He’s looking for that. He was supposed to be the heir to the throne after all before you and Isabel were born. He only wants what was promised to him, to rule…with his queen by his side of course,” she spat at them.
Lucas looked at her with disgust. “How do you propose to be his queen when the people would probably execute you for treason against King Xan?” he asked. “And even if Max gave up the throne and Kivar became the king, you would still be considered to be Max’s queen…until you got an official annulment on Antar of course.”
Tess smirked at that. “You don’t really think that Kivar intends on allowing Max to live do you? As soon as Max officially abdicates the throne, Kivar will kill him. I will be officially his widow and the kingdom will never have to know that our marriage was never legitimate.” Tess threw a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to reveal that part.
Max’s eyes narrowed at her. “What do you mean? Whose marriage was never legitimate?”
Refusing to say more, Tess simply lowered her eyes. Leslie stepped forward and lifted the blonde’s head by the hair. Tess let out an involuntary yelp before snapping her mouth closed to keep herself from giving something stupid away. “You should answer him. Your body will turn on you if you do not,” Leslie told her with a wicked grin.
At the moment that Tess shook her head in refusal, she started to feel a tingling in her legs. She tried to reach down to scratch an itch on her leg but the bindings kept her from being able to move. Suddenly, her arm itched too. In the space of five minutes her entire body started to itch all over and it was worsening. She wiggled a bit, trying to think about something other than the itching.
Leslie simply grinned down at her. “You’re only making it worse on yourself. If you answer Max’s questions, you’ll stop itching.”
It was only a few more minutes before Tess was desperate. She couldn’t believe how badly she itched; it was the worst kind of torture. Finally, she blurted out, “I was already married when I married Xan!” The itching immediately stopped and she let out a breath in relief.
Everyone froze at the revelation. Max moved forward, “You were already married? What do you mean? To whom?”
Tess didn’t want to answer but the itching started again and she didn’t want to wiggle in front of them again. Glaring at the group before her, she spat out, “I was married to Kivar long before Xan ever met me. It was a secret union that had to remain so for Kivar’s plan to take the throne to work.”
“So you were married to both men at once?” Maria asked in confusion.
“Antarian law states that Avaloane’s marriage to Xan would be illegal and void due to her already being married,” Lucas spoke up.
“What are his plans now? What will he do next?” Michael demanded.
Tess shook her head. “I don’t know. I know what his final goal is and that he wants the Granilith and the throne. I don’t know the details of his plans.”
They waited a few moments to see if she would start squirming again. When she was still, Max sighed. It seemed she was telling the truth. He looked up at the group. Liz was staring at Tess in disbelief. “I don’t understand. Everything he told me…everything I did…” she said in a low voice to herself.
Max and Leslie looked at her sharply. Tess simply smirked at her dark haired rival. The smirk didn’t escape Liz’s notice and she suddenly stepped directly in front of the girl. “You know what I’m talking about don’t you?”
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife as Max tried to figure out what they were discussing. He had no idea but it sounded important. “Answer her, Tess,” he demanded quietly.
She hesitated just long enough for the itching to begin again and then decided to simply answer just the question Liz had asked. “Yes, I know what you are referring to.” She smirked at her own cleverness until Liz came over and slapped her across the face.
“Explain it to me then, Tess. Tell me how you got me to do all those things. How did you convince me of what I had to do?” Liz cried. She was terrified of the answers she would receive. She didn’t want to think that she had given up so much at the word of traitors. She didn’t want to believe that she was stupid enough to have fallen for some scheme from Tess.
With eyes that bored holes into Liz’s head, Tess smiled wickedly. “You wouldn’t believe how easy it was. All it took was a shapeshifter and a little mind manipulation.”
Liz felt her heart stop and drop into her stomach. She had been so foolish…so naïve! Stepping back from the blonde, Liz felt in a daze. She backed all the way to the couch and sat down…the full impact of it all still trying to settle in her brain. She shook her head when Max looked to her for an explanation. Maria moved to sit beside her. Leslie only studied the girl for a moment, realizing that something profound had happened but not sure what.
Turning back to her king, Leslie asked quietly, “Have you anything else you wish to ask, your majesty?”
Max thought about it for several minutes before shaking his head. “Why the pretext of marrying me, Tess? What purpose would it serve?”
Tess turned to him. “Kivar and I married before you were born. When you came along, Kivar was crushed by the realization that he would never have what was promised him and I was upset by it as well…for both of us. Then he decided when you were of age that he would still have the throne, especially when it was so obvious that you wanted to make many changes. It was his idea that I marry you and that way you would give me the royal seal of the queen and when I carried the heir to the throne, we would kill you. Kivar and I would be reunited and he would rule as Regent until your child was of age to rule themselves. Whether he was planning to allow your child to rule or not…he never told me. He probably planned on it coming to an unfortunate accident.”
The idea that he had been so obviously delusioned disturbed Max. Somehow, he felt that none of this should have taken place…that something should have prevented it. He couldn’t put his finger on just what it was that really bothered him about it all but he knew that something really did. Finally, he decided to let it go for now. Looking around the room, he let his eyes land on each of the people that he trusted with everything that he was. He even trusted Liz and Kyle. Serena was still a question but he felt confident inside that she would become a valuable ally.
“So I guess the question now is what to do with Tess now,” he said to the room. “She obviously can’t be trusted. What do you guys think?”
Maria crossed her arms across her chest. “I hate to say this but I don’t think we have many options here. We have to kill her.”
Kyle agreed with Maria. “We can’t keep her around to betray us again. If Nicholas or Kivar gets their hands on her, she’ll tell them where that granilith thingy is.”
Tess’ eyes grew wide at the obvious feelings of the two humans. She looked around the room for an ally. Max sighed. “Ok, I suppose we’ll have to vote on this.” He looked to Leslie. “We do have grounds to carry out sentence if we find her guilty of treason do we not?”
Leslie nodded quickly. “Of course. I would recommend a trial of sorts with all of you as the jury as well as the witnesses. Would you care to choose a judge, your majesty, or preside as so yourself.”
Rubbing his temples, Max felt the coming on of a headache. “Can you preside as judge?” he asked, not really sure what he wanted to do.
Leslie and Lucas both shook their heads quickly. “No, I’m afraid a slave cannot stand in such a position. There would be a declaration of a mistrial and we could be tried for murder if Tess were to be killed in sentence.”
“Momma, Uncle Lucas, what’s going on? Who is on trial and what for?” came a little voice, startling the others in the room.
Lucas and Leslie’s faces reflected the horror of the others in the room at their forgetfulness that the four year old was in the room with them during their frank interrogation of Tess. Lucas scooped up his niece and asked her, “Hey, Princess, how long have you been listening to us? I thought you were watching cartoons.”
Megan looked over at Tess, her brown eyes suddenly glowing slightly with a golden light. “I wanted to know more about the bad lady. Is she really a traitor? What’s she a traitor to?” she answered.
“Maybe I should take her into the other room,” Lucas suggested, already moving toward one of the bedrooms.
“Wait! I want you to have a say in what happens here too,” Max called to him.
Lucas gave him a wry smile. “My opinion or vote wouldn’t count for anything anyway…your majesty.” He quickly turned his attention back to his niece and in trying to keep the four year old occupied and out of the way of such a serious matter.
As soon as the door to the bedroom closed, the others turned their attention back to the task at hand. Max flashed Leslie a slight grimace. “I’m sorry about that. I thought she was watching cartoons. We should have made sure she wasn’t in the room before we started to deal with Tess.”
Leslie shrugged slightly. “I wasn’t any better about it. I should have made sure she was occupied elsewhere.”
Turning to meet each of the other’s eyes, Max gestured toward Tess. “Is there anyone who needs the evidence presented as to Tess’ guilt for treason before we decide her sentence?” he asked. He looked to Michael who shook his head. Kyle, Liz, Alex and Maria also were quick to voice that there was no doubt as to her guilt. Max turned next to Isabel. “Isabel, what about you? I know that you were the first to befriend her…”
Isabel met Tess’ eyes and the blue ones silently pleaded for mercy. Crossing her arms over her chest, Isabel met her brother’s eyes steadily. “She’s guilty…no doubt in my mind.”
Nodding, Max turned quickly to the last two of their group, Leslie and Serena. Looking at Leslie, he asked, “You aren’t allowed a vote are you?”
Shaking her head, she told him, “No, I’m not…not if you want this trial to stand up on Antar. However, I can guide you through the process of making it all stick.”
When Max turned his attention to Serena, she was studying her double and chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. He called her name softly and her eyes flew to his. “Serena, what do you have to say about it? You get a vote too,” he told her quietly.
“Me? I don’t know much about the situation,” the other girl protested. “Besides, I’d be outvoted if I decided to vote not guilty…not that I would necessarily vote that way.”
Everyone started talking at once at that. Someone mentioned that she would of course vote for her double…Max thought it was Kyle. A couple of others considered the trial over and were ready to move on to sentencing. Tess was smiling smugly at Serena. Holding up his hand, Max got everyone’s attention again and waited for it to quiet down.
“I don’t think I should vote since I’m acting as judge and I am the king Tess has supposedly committed treason against. However, I do feel that in the interest of fairness and objectivity, we should take the time to go over the evidence with Serena so that she can vote. Tess can even try to defend herself if she wants to,” he said. When there were the beginnings of protests, he held up his hand again. “That way, we can be sure that we aren’t just acting on our feelings of personal betrayal or anger.”
No one could argue that it would be a more than fair thing to do and over the next hour, they presented the story of Tess. Each person in the room voiced their feelings about her arrival and addition to their group. Kyle told about caring for her and how he and his father had taken her in when she had no where to go. Liz, Max and Maria told about her using her mind warps to try to get Max to be with her. Tess was also able to voice her side, telling about growing up with Nesedo and feeling like an outsider to the group, except with Kyle and Valenti. She told Serena about having used her mind warp with the group to help rescue Max from the white room and also being kidnapped by Congresswoman Whitaker and beaten. Kyle voiced the opinion that was held by several of their group that the kidnapping was staged.
At the end of it all, Serena felt her head was spinning. Finally, Max held up his hands to signal that the trial was over. “Serena, you’ve heard it all…both sides. What do you say to it all? Which way do you vote? Is she guilty of treason or not?” he asked gently.
Serena looked at each face in the room, looked down at the floor, at her hands and finally at Tess. Stepping toward her duplicate, she said, “I feel sorry that you seemed to have had such a cold childhood. It’s obvious you grew up without love or compassion or any type of human emotion.” Tess started to smile at her words but stopped herself so as to let Serena continue uninfluenced. “However, it sounds like you have chosen this path in more than one life. I feel it in the back of my head that you…that we were a traitor in our last life. If we were married to Kivar this was a very elaborate example of treason. It’s also clear to me that despite their begging you to choose them and trying to include you in their group, these people from Roswell have tried to be fair but you have chosen a different path. You chose to continue this treasonous path and you have betrayed the rightful king of Antar.”
Tess’ breath hung up in her chest as she waited with the others to hear Serena finish her little speech. Her eyes widened in fear as Serena concluded. “I too find the evidence sufficient to vote you guilty of treason.”
Max nodded and looked at Tess. “You have been found guilty of treason and the verdict was unanimous. Now we will begin a discussion of your sentence.”
Liz spoke up. “We can’t kill her, Max.” Tess looked relieved for a moment. “At least not yet. It would raise too many questions for us to show up in Roswell without her and with Serena. Besides, she might still be useful or remember something else we can use.”
Alex nodded his agreement. “Liz is right. We can’t risk drawing attention to ourselves again with another disappearance, especially with it being Tess since she has been a part of our group for a while now.”
Some of them hated to agree but no one could argue with the logic of the two humans. Max nodded. “Ok, then, we let her live for now. Leslie, if you please…” he gestured toward Tess. Leslie quickly nodded and placed her hands on either side of Tess’ head. The blonde slumped to the floor as she once again lost consciousness.
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
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littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
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Against My Programming
Part 55 – “Splitting Up”
The group in the hotel retook their seats in the main room. Max gestured towards Serena. “I’m afraid we have a major problem here. You say that Kivar and Nicholas killed your parents and your younger siblings when he took you right?” When she nodded, he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “It won’t look good that you disappeared at the time of their murders. What did you want to do now? Are you wanting to stay in New York, in your family’s home or did you want to come to Roswell with us?” he asked.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Serena thought for several minutes before answering, though tears filled her eyes. “My parents are dead and I really don’t know anything about what to do now. I guess I had just assumed that I would be staying with you all, at least for now. Is that all right with all of you? I would like to learn more about you and of course myself as well.”
Max looked from one to the other around the room. Liz, Alex, Leslie and Lucas were all nodding without hesitation. Michael and Kyle were shaking their heads and Isabel and Maria looked unsure. “Of course you can come with us,” Max answered, pretending not to see the looks of protest from Michael and Kyle. “We need to take care of this problem first, though. We need to come up with some reason for your disappearance at the same time those murders took place or else you will be the one arrested for them and we can’t very well tell them an evil alien being from another planet took over a human junky and killed them with the help of another evil alien that looks like a 12 year old kid brother of the former senator.”
Everyone stared at Max. “I think he needs a break from all this alien stuff,” Maria spoke up, nodding her head at him sympathetically.
At that moment, Max’s cell phone rang. He moved away from the group to take the call as he recognized the number as belonging to Jim. “Hello?” he said. “Jim?”
The others started to break up, a couple moving to take showers, others to watch TV. Leslie pulled Liz aside, tugging her into one of the bedrooms. “Liz, we need to talk,” she told the other brunette. As Liz sunk slowly onto the bed, Leslie sat down in the chair across from her. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened between you and Max in the past. Don’t leave anything out. I need to know the nature of your relationship, the amount of physical contact between the two of you, why there seems to be such a wall between you now, everything.”
Liz folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the floor. “I don’t feel like talking about it. And I don’t see what business it is of yours.”
Shaking her head, Leslie leaned forward a little bit. “Liz, I want to help you. I know that you both have feelings for each other and no matter what happened to make you think that you two are through, all you have to do is look at me to know that he still cares about you. I am living proof of his feelings for you, Liz. I look like you, and I am starting to pick up your mannerisms and other things about you. It is not my doing but what he wants. Now if you want to be happy and make Max happy, you need to tell me what happened between the two of you.”
Liz studied Leslie for a minute and was startled to notice the changes in her appearance since her awakening. The basic shape of her face and the beautiful features hadn’t changed much but her eyes were like looking into a mirror. Her hair was no longer the reddish brown but the dark brown that Liz had. She looked at the way they were both sitting and it was the same. She sighed and decided that maybe it would be a good idea to confess everything to this other being. After all, she was programmed to help protect Max and make him happy. She should know how to handle the situation. Liz wanted nothing more than to clear everything up between her and Max.
“Ok, I’ll tell you everything,” Liz sighed. She proceeded to tell Leslie the whole nature of her relationship with Max, from Max’s confession of having been in love with her from the time he was 8 years old to the entire story of “Future Max” and pretending to sleep with Kyle. “Now, I don’t know what to do because it sure sounded like Tess fabricated the entire situation with that ‘Future Max’,” Liz ended.
Leslie nodded slowly. “Yes, it does seem logical, especially with her words earlier. She would have reason to fear for her position from what you have told me. Xan had the right to be with whomever he pleased after his being recreated and reborn here. If he had chosen Avaloane again, that would have been ok, but their marriage technically ended with their deaths. He was free to choose whoever he wanted after that, just as she was. Evidently, he wants to be with you.” She studied the small brunette.
“But I don’t want to be the queen of another planet…of a people I’ve never seen!” Liz said, Leslie’s words scaring her. “Besides, what if…what if Tess didn’t make up the Future Max thing? I mean, she didn’t know about Serena when we saw her tied up in Kivar’s hands but somehow Future Max mentioned that she would be a friend of mine someday.”
“Liz, you know the one way to find out many of the answers would be to ask Tess,” Isabel interrupted, startling both girls. She came from the doorway of the connected bathroom and sat beside Liz on the bed. She had been standing there for some time. Smiling rather nervously at the smaller brunette, Isabel chose her words carefully. “Liz, I know that you and I didn’t always hit it off exactly but I always liked you. Do you remember that history project we had to do and one of the questions was about who you most envy?” Liz nodded and Isabel took a deep breath before continuing. “Well, the first person that came to mind when you asked me that question was you.”
“Me?” Liz responded in surprise. “But why? I’m nobody special.”
Isabel smiled. “You know, that’s exactly what makes you special. I’d watch Max watch you and see how he cared about you and it made me watch you too. I would watch you with Maria or joking around with Alex or even with Kyle and I realized, you were so normal. You didn’t have any big secrets to hide from the world…” she tried to explain.
“Gee, thanks, I sound like a real bore,” Liz grimaced at Isabel’s description.
“I mean because your life depended on you keeping those secrets. Liz, you could go out with any boy and maybe have a real relationship with him. You had your whole future ahead of you. Heck, you even knew what species you were,” Isabel pointed out, using some words that Liz herself had used once. “The point is, I don’t envy you anymore.”
“You don’t?” the other girl asked, a little disappointed. It had been kind of flattering that the beautiful, tall, blonde alien had been a little jealous of her.
“No, because when you envy somebody, you wish you were them. I wouldn’t want to be you for the entire universe. I do admire you, however. You are a true friend. You know who you are and what you can accomplish. You keep your promises and don’t spill important secrets. You are willing to undergo tremendous self-sacrificing to save others that are important to you. I can’t imagine that I could be that selfless and I know that I don’t know myself that well.” Isabel kind of huffed as she tried to put what she felt for Liz into words. “I told Max that you were ok, for a human. But now, I want to tell you that I consider you a true friend and I sincerely hope that you and Max work out, not only for his sake but also for yours. I’ve never seen any two people happier together and so miserable apart.”
Liz smiled at the other girl and Isabel returned the smile. “Thank you so much, Isabel. You have no idea what that means to me to hear you say that,” the brunette said sincerely. Turning back to Leslie, she said, “Ok, let’s talk to Tess.”
Just as they moved to the door, it flew open and Max came in, followed closely on his heels by Michael. Max had his cell phone in his hand. “Isabel! I just got a call from Jim. We need to leave for home, now!” he said, very out of breath.
Isabel’s face drained of color, all kinds of horrible scenarios playing in her head. “Oh my god! What happened? Has dad had a heart attack or something? The strain of finding out the truth about us was too much and our parents have lost their minds,” she rattled off.
Max took his sister in his arms, immediately ashamed for scaring her like that. “No, no, Is, it’s nothing like that. In fact, the Sheriff said that they took things very well and want to help in any way they can,” he reassured her.
Pulling out of his arms abruptly, Isabel started hitting him. “How dare you scare me like that! God, Max!”
Holding his hands up to ward off the blows from his sister, Max said loudly, “Jim said our real mother is looking for us and is at the police station!” The attack immediately stopped and when he lowered his hands slowly to see her reaction, Max saw that his sister was pale again.
“Did you just say our real mother is here…or rather in Roswell?” Isabel whispered, doubting her own ears.
Max nodded and Isabel had to sit down again so she moved slowly back over to the bed and lowered herself down onto it. Leslie took Liz’s arm and pulled the girl out of the room, leaving the siblings to discuss the implications and feelings that swirled through them both. Michael stayed to talk with Max and Isabel. Leslie walked over to her brother and asked him to take Megan into another room so that she and Liz could get some answers from Tess.
Liz moved over to her nemesis and studied her unconscious form. She should probably hate the blonde, after all Tess was the major reason for so many of her problems, but she didn’t. She didn’t like or trust the other girl but she didn’t hate her either. She felt sorry for her. Liz couldn’t imagine a life without love, where the most important thing in the whole universe was gaining a powerful station that she had once been promised.
She was startled out of her thoughts by Leslie’s sudden appearance with a tray of food and a glass of water. “She has to eat. Xan wouldn’t want her to starve to death, no matter what her crimes,” Leslie explained as she moved to the side of the traitor. Placing a hand on the girl’s head, Tess was quickly awake and Leslie warned, “Do not try anything, Tess. I’ve awoken you so you may eat and so that Liz can ask you her questions. You will answer her questions first and then we’ll allow you to eat.” The alien’s tone left no room for argument.
At Leslie’s nod, Liz moved forward, somewhat unnerved to see the pure hatred reflecting in Tess’ eyes. Swallowing, she reminded herself that she had nothing to fear from the girl and of all the things Tess had taken away from her. It helped and Liz raised her chin a bit as she sat down across from Tess. “You know about my visit from that guy that claimed to be Max from 14 years in the future, don’t you?” she asked, unsure exactly where to start.
Tess shrugged. “Yes, I know about it.” She wasn’t giving anymore information than Liz asked for.
“He wasn’t real was he?” When Tess shook her head, Liz sighed and continued. “How did you do it? I want to know everything. I want to know what was real and what wasn’t. Did Max even serenade me?” It seemed that everything was spilling out now.
Weighing the benefits of telling the brunette everything versus keeping it inside, Tess decided that she couldn’t do anything more by keeping it to herself. “No, Max didn’t serenade you. The Max that came to you from the future was actually Nesedo. Didn’t you notice that he was careful never to let you look into his eyes or to kiss him?” she sneered. “Kivar told us that if you were a threat to us, to get rid of you. Nesedo and I agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to just kill you or anything. I thought it would be more fun for you to think that you and Max could never be together and for you to sabotage your relationship with him yourself…and you did a bang up job! Even I was surprised at how easy it went. You gave up much sooner than I would have thought.”
Liz felt like she had been hit over the head and in the stomach, the guilt and realization of what she had done was that sharp. She had given up really easily. She had been the one to end her relationship with Max. If she had gone to him with the problem in the first place, maybe they would have figured out it was all a hoax or at least would have come up with an alternative solution. “So Nesedo actually shapeshifted to become Future Max. Was the Max that serenaded me and the mariachi band a mind-warp?” Liz asked.
“Yeah. In fact, after that, I wasn’t really needed that much for any of it. Nesedo played out his role as Future Max really well, convincing you that you had to try harder and harder, especially when I went to Max to talk to him and he showed me that he had gotten those Gomez tickets for the both of you. He had considered me a friend finally and told me that he was planning on surprising you with them and how he was going to do it. I told Nesedo and when you told him what you had planned with Kyle…well, we knew that was the end,” Tess gloated over their small victory, throwing it in Liz’s face the best she knew how.
Liz shook her head. “But what about when he told me that Serena would be a friend of mine one day? And what about when he disappeared? How did that happen when I know that you were in the park with Max then? You can’t mind-warp from that far away can you?”
“No, I can’t but I didn’t need to. I don’t know about the Serena comment. Nesedo didn’t tell me everything he told you or why but he may have just brought it up to convince you of the future and maybe Kivar already knew of Serena’s existence and Nesedo might have used her name because it was convenient. Like I said, I don’t know…and I don’t particularly care. As for him disappearing, I’m not the only one who can mind-warp,” Tess answered a little vaguely.
Looking with surprise at Leslie, Liz asked, “You guys can mind-warp?”
Leslie nodded slightly. “If we have to.” She turned her narrowed eyes on Tess. “But I’m not sure that he was the one who did it. Who did the mind-warp to make it look like Future Max disappeared?”
Tess squirmed a little but finally said, “Nickolas.”
They were quiet for a moment before Leslie asked Liz, “Is that it? Anymore questions?”
Studying Tess for a moment, Liz finally nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s it. I can’t think of anything else I need to know.”
Leslie allowed Tess to eat and everyone gathered into the room. Max stared at Tess for a moment before looking to Leslie and Liz for an explanation. “I’ll explain it all later, Max,” Liz spoke up.
He nodded. “Ok, I need everyone’s attention. We have to discuss what we’re going to do about Serena’s problem. It needs to be taken care of as soon as possible so we can get back on the road to home.” Looking pointedly at Tess, he told Leslie, “I need her to be unconscious again. I don’t want her to know anything about any of our plans.”
Leslie didn’t have to be told twice, she immediately moved to Tess’ side and before the blonde could protest, she slumped to the floor in a pile again. Max nodded his thanks and turned to look at everyone who had once again gathered and was looking at him for direction. Taking in a deep breath, he announced, “The Sheriff called me a few minutes ago and said that we needed to get back to Roswell as soon as possible.” Seeing that Alex, Maria and Kyle were about to start talking and asking questions, Max held up his hand. “All of our parents know the truth and, to varying degrees, seem to be handling it as well as can be expected.” Alex and Maria exchanged nervous looks before turning their attention back to Max. “But that’s not the pressing issue right now. He says that Deputy Hanson picked up a woman walking on the side of the road today, heading for town and she was coming from the direction of the pod chamber. She claims to be my…” he exchanged a look with Isabel, “our mother.”
There was chaos for a moment as people asked the questions all of them wanted to. “What?” ”Your mother?!” “How do we know that?” “What did she say?” “How does he know she’s for real?” Max held up his hands again and everyone started to calm down again. “I don’t know all the answers to your questions. Jim didn’t want to go over it all over the phone. He just suggested that we get down there as soon as possible. That’s going to take a couple of days. I suggested that if he doesn’t think she poses any threat, to put her up in a hotel room and keep an eye on her until we can get there.” He sighed at the thought of the money he would owe the Sheriff for taking care of this woman, and the thought also occurred to him that he might not still have a job after taking off without any word to Brody. “So what we need now is a plan to help Serena and get us on the road to Roswell as soon as possible. Any ideas?”
Everyone glanced around at everyone else. No one had a clue how to get out of this situation Serena might be in. It was very likely that she would be accused of murder the minute she appeared back home. Maria was the first with an idea. “She could always pretend to be Tess. All she would need is some minor cosmetic changes and some coaching on Tess’ life and she could take that gerbil’s place.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully at the idea. “Not bad, blondie. That would easily explain her appearance in Roswell because she’d be Tess. That would also help disguise the fact that Tess no longer roams the streets freely.”
Liz, Alex, Max, and Serena however, were already shaking their heads. “No good. Serena already has a life established!” Liz argued. “She doesn’t want to have to just become somebody she’s not. That’s not fair to her. She’s grown up her entire life as Serena Wilkerson and she has a family and friends. She deserves to be able to live her life as who she is, not who we need her to be at the moment because it’s convenient.”
“Liz is right. We can’t ask her to pretend to be Tess forever. She’s a different person, for all that she looks like Tess,” Max added. Serena gave him a grateful look and he smiled a little at her.
“So what do you suggest then, Max?” Isabel asked. She wasn’t entirely sure what to think. The idea Maria presented would have helped them all out but she also agreed that Serena shouldn’t have to become someone she wasn’t.
Lucas was the one who spoke up, however. “I might have an idea…if the authorities haven’t already been to that abandoned building this morning.” Everyone looked to him and Max asked him to continue. “Serena, do people know that you were adopted. I mean, is it common knowledge in your family?” he asked.
Serena nodded. “Yes, my family never tried to hide it, though the details were never really given out to people. Why?”
Pursing his lips in thought, Lucas turned to look from Serena to the blonde that was slouched in the floor unconscious. Then he turned to look at Leslie. He nodded slowly, coming to some conclusion. “Then no one will know that you didn’t have a twin sister.” At everyone’s confused looks, he continued. “What if that man who killed your parents wasn’t after you but rather Tess but he saw you and thought you were Tess. Leslie already said that the body died originally of a drug overdose. What if we convince the police that he and Tess had once been involved and he had kidnapped Serena, thinking it was Tess in order to get some money for drugs or something?”
Max frowned as he contemplated the idea. Michael proposed a problem. “And do you think we could convince Tess to help us with this plan?” he asked sarcastically.
Lucas nodded at his sister. “She doesn’t have to. Leslie will change her appearance and pose as Tess to help explain all of it to the police. We could split up and that way some of you can head back home while Serena and Leslie fix the mess here.”
Leslie nodded quickly and stepped forward. “That would be a very easy thing to convince the police of, Max, especially in New York and after they find us in that abandoned building.”
“There’s only one slight problem. How did you get away? How did you call the police? Why didn’t Serena call sooner if it was possible?” Michael spouted out. Then he thought about it and shrugged. “I guess you’ll need another party. I’ve been in the foster system and that’s easy enough to check. I can make something up quickly. I have a couple of ideas of how to carry this out. Besides, you all need to get back.”
Maria came and wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck and he wrapped his around her waist automatically. She stood up on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on his lips. “Then I’ll stay too,” she said.
But Michael shook his head and put a finger over her lips. “No, Maria. You need to go back home where I know you’ll be safe. The fewer of us around to be involved in this, the better.”
“But I wanna stay with you, Spaceboy,” Maria protested, removing her arms from his neck to cross them over her chest.
Michael didn’t relinquish his hold on her, however, and kissed her again, deeper this time. “You mother is going to be worried about you, Blondie, and she needs you to help her get over the fact that your boyfriend is an alien from another planet,” he pointed out.
Grimacing at the reminder of her upcoming facing of her mother, Maria realized that he was right about this. She showed her relenting by melting back in his arms and letting him hold her close. Max nodded at the both of them and looked around. “Ok, so that’s Leslie, Serena and Michael who are staying behind to take care of the situation here…”
Lucas and Alex interrupted him. “And me too!” they declared at the same time. They frowned at each other but turned back to the leader of the group.
Leslie shook her head and stepped in front of them. She addressed her brother first. “No, Lucas, I need you to take Megan back with you and take care of her while I’m doing this. I can handle this.” They held a silent conversation in a staring contest and Lucas was the first to look away in defeat. The female Luinwe turned to Alex next. “There’s nothing you can do to help here, Alex,” she pointed out gently. “And like Maria, your parents need you to help them through this time of shock. You should go.”
Alex hated that she was right. He wanted to be by her side, to see if she had really meant it when she said they were over. Looking into her eyes, he reluctantly agreed to stay behind. He realized that something about her eyes was bothering him and then he figured out what it was. They weren’t her eyes at all, they were Liz’s and they didn’t shine with the hidden mischief and secret love and admiration for him that they had since he had known her. He swallowed hard at the thought that he might have truly lost her.
Less than an hour later, they were all checked out of the hotel, piled into the vehicles and parked outside of the abandoned building in a side alleyway. Michael took a deep breath and exhaled it, before opening the door to the Jetta. Everyone else exited the vehicles as well, Leslie pausing to change her appearance to that of Tess’ before stepping out into the daylight. She reached into the floorboard and snatched up the purse that Tess had been carrying, which also held her driver’s license.
“Well, this is it,” Serena said a little unsure of the plan they were about to carry out but knowing this was a good plan. She looked up at the building in front of her and shivered a little, and it had nothing to do with the cool morning.
Max pulled Michael into a manly hug, pounding his back before stepping back and telling him, “Be careful. Do what you have to survive but not more than you have to.”
Michael gave him an uncharacteristic grin. “I won’t do anything stupid, Maxwell.”
Leslie hugged Megan to her. “You go with Uncle Lucas and Alex back to Roswell, princess. I’ll be there soon after you get there. I love you very much. Do you know how much?” she looked her daughter in the eyes and smiled.
“More than all the sands of Arrakis,” the little girl replied automatically. She never had problems with confusion over her mother’s constant changes in appearances. She seemed to inherently be able to recognize her no matter what the look. “But, mommy, why can’t I stay with you?” she pleaded.
Lucas stepped forward and took his niece and spun her around, causing her to giggle. “Because somebody has to come back with me to Roswell and keep me company! Your Uncle needs you, munchkin. You gonna turn me down in my hour of need?”
Megan threw her arms around her Uncle’s neck but looked back at her mother. “No, I can’t desert you,” she replied, but something in her eyes told Leslie that she knew this was just a ruse. The young girl tilted her head to study her mother before looking over at Max and then to Alex. Her eyes took on a golden glow to them just for a moment before she blew a raspberry on her Uncle’s neck like he usually did to her.
“What exactly is Arrakis?” Alex asked Leslie as he came up beside her. Leslie turned to look at him and he noticed that it was the first time he had ever seen Tess’ eyes shine with warmth and he knew that the adage about eyes being a window to the soul was true.
“Arrakis is a desert planet. Water is extremely rare on it and they mine a certain material that helps them survive there called ‘spice’,” Leslie answered. Then she pulled Alex into a hug. “You be careful going home. And please, help Lucas with Megan. She’s going to need all the help she can get if something happens to me.” Seeing that he was about to get upset at the thought of something happening to her, she held up a hand and smiled. “Not that I expect any trouble. Between Michael and I, we should have no problems with this.”
Isabel had been quietly reassuring Serena when Max announced that it was time to go. As they all climbed into the jeep, jetta and mustang, he once more warned the three to be careful. They quickly agreed and Alex watched in the back windshield of the Jetta as their figures got smaller and smaller the more distance was put between them. He sighed and shook his head at the fear he had for them but knew that Leslie was more than capable of taking care of herself.
“Don’t give up on her yet, Alex,” came a voice from the other side of the car. Alex looked at Lucas, who was sitting on the other side of Megan from him. The blonder teen was smiling reassuringly but Alex couldn’t seem to give him a real smile in return.
It was Megan’s words that were able to do that. She placed a small hand on Alex’s and said, “Alex, my real mommy loves you. Deep inside, she still does.” The four-year-old’s eyes were glowing momentarily as she told him that and Alex’s heart leapt into his throat at the sight and the hope that it caused to rise in him.
Part 55 – “Splitting Up”
The group in the hotel retook their seats in the main room. Max gestured towards Serena. “I’m afraid we have a major problem here. You say that Kivar and Nicholas killed your parents and your younger siblings when he took you right?” When she nodded, he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “It won’t look good that you disappeared at the time of their murders. What did you want to do now? Are you wanting to stay in New York, in your family’s home or did you want to come to Roswell with us?” he asked.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Serena thought for several minutes before answering, though tears filled her eyes. “My parents are dead and I really don’t know anything about what to do now. I guess I had just assumed that I would be staying with you all, at least for now. Is that all right with all of you? I would like to learn more about you and of course myself as well.”
Max looked from one to the other around the room. Liz, Alex, Leslie and Lucas were all nodding without hesitation. Michael and Kyle were shaking their heads and Isabel and Maria looked unsure. “Of course you can come with us,” Max answered, pretending not to see the looks of protest from Michael and Kyle. “We need to take care of this problem first, though. We need to come up with some reason for your disappearance at the same time those murders took place or else you will be the one arrested for them and we can’t very well tell them an evil alien being from another planet took over a human junky and killed them with the help of another evil alien that looks like a 12 year old kid brother of the former senator.”
Everyone stared at Max. “I think he needs a break from all this alien stuff,” Maria spoke up, nodding her head at him sympathetically.
At that moment, Max’s cell phone rang. He moved away from the group to take the call as he recognized the number as belonging to Jim. “Hello?” he said. “Jim?”
The others started to break up, a couple moving to take showers, others to watch TV. Leslie pulled Liz aside, tugging her into one of the bedrooms. “Liz, we need to talk,” she told the other brunette. As Liz sunk slowly onto the bed, Leslie sat down in the chair across from her. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened between you and Max in the past. Don’t leave anything out. I need to know the nature of your relationship, the amount of physical contact between the two of you, why there seems to be such a wall between you now, everything.”
Liz folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the floor. “I don’t feel like talking about it. And I don’t see what business it is of yours.”
Shaking her head, Leslie leaned forward a little bit. “Liz, I want to help you. I know that you both have feelings for each other and no matter what happened to make you think that you two are through, all you have to do is look at me to know that he still cares about you. I am living proof of his feelings for you, Liz. I look like you, and I am starting to pick up your mannerisms and other things about you. It is not my doing but what he wants. Now if you want to be happy and make Max happy, you need to tell me what happened between the two of you.”
Liz studied Leslie for a minute and was startled to notice the changes in her appearance since her awakening. The basic shape of her face and the beautiful features hadn’t changed much but her eyes were like looking into a mirror. Her hair was no longer the reddish brown but the dark brown that Liz had. She looked at the way they were both sitting and it was the same. She sighed and decided that maybe it would be a good idea to confess everything to this other being. After all, she was programmed to help protect Max and make him happy. She should know how to handle the situation. Liz wanted nothing more than to clear everything up between her and Max.
“Ok, I’ll tell you everything,” Liz sighed. She proceeded to tell Leslie the whole nature of her relationship with Max, from Max’s confession of having been in love with her from the time he was 8 years old to the entire story of “Future Max” and pretending to sleep with Kyle. “Now, I don’t know what to do because it sure sounded like Tess fabricated the entire situation with that ‘Future Max’,” Liz ended.
Leslie nodded slowly. “Yes, it does seem logical, especially with her words earlier. She would have reason to fear for her position from what you have told me. Xan had the right to be with whomever he pleased after his being recreated and reborn here. If he had chosen Avaloane again, that would have been ok, but their marriage technically ended with their deaths. He was free to choose whoever he wanted after that, just as she was. Evidently, he wants to be with you.” She studied the small brunette.
“But I don’t want to be the queen of another planet…of a people I’ve never seen!” Liz said, Leslie’s words scaring her. “Besides, what if…what if Tess didn’t make up the Future Max thing? I mean, she didn’t know about Serena when we saw her tied up in Kivar’s hands but somehow Future Max mentioned that she would be a friend of mine someday.”
“Liz, you know the one way to find out many of the answers would be to ask Tess,” Isabel interrupted, startling both girls. She came from the doorway of the connected bathroom and sat beside Liz on the bed. She had been standing there for some time. Smiling rather nervously at the smaller brunette, Isabel chose her words carefully. “Liz, I know that you and I didn’t always hit it off exactly but I always liked you. Do you remember that history project we had to do and one of the questions was about who you most envy?” Liz nodded and Isabel took a deep breath before continuing. “Well, the first person that came to mind when you asked me that question was you.”
“Me?” Liz responded in surprise. “But why? I’m nobody special.”
Isabel smiled. “You know, that’s exactly what makes you special. I’d watch Max watch you and see how he cared about you and it made me watch you too. I would watch you with Maria or joking around with Alex or even with Kyle and I realized, you were so normal. You didn’t have any big secrets to hide from the world…” she tried to explain.
“Gee, thanks, I sound like a real bore,” Liz grimaced at Isabel’s description.
“I mean because your life depended on you keeping those secrets. Liz, you could go out with any boy and maybe have a real relationship with him. You had your whole future ahead of you. Heck, you even knew what species you were,” Isabel pointed out, using some words that Liz herself had used once. “The point is, I don’t envy you anymore.”
“You don’t?” the other girl asked, a little disappointed. It had been kind of flattering that the beautiful, tall, blonde alien had been a little jealous of her.
“No, because when you envy somebody, you wish you were them. I wouldn’t want to be you for the entire universe. I do admire you, however. You are a true friend. You know who you are and what you can accomplish. You keep your promises and don’t spill important secrets. You are willing to undergo tremendous self-sacrificing to save others that are important to you. I can’t imagine that I could be that selfless and I know that I don’t know myself that well.” Isabel kind of huffed as she tried to put what she felt for Liz into words. “I told Max that you were ok, for a human. But now, I want to tell you that I consider you a true friend and I sincerely hope that you and Max work out, not only for his sake but also for yours. I’ve never seen any two people happier together and so miserable apart.”
Liz smiled at the other girl and Isabel returned the smile. “Thank you so much, Isabel. You have no idea what that means to me to hear you say that,” the brunette said sincerely. Turning back to Leslie, she said, “Ok, let’s talk to Tess.”
Just as they moved to the door, it flew open and Max came in, followed closely on his heels by Michael. Max had his cell phone in his hand. “Isabel! I just got a call from Jim. We need to leave for home, now!” he said, very out of breath.
Isabel’s face drained of color, all kinds of horrible scenarios playing in her head. “Oh my god! What happened? Has dad had a heart attack or something? The strain of finding out the truth about us was too much and our parents have lost their minds,” she rattled off.
Max took his sister in his arms, immediately ashamed for scaring her like that. “No, no, Is, it’s nothing like that. In fact, the Sheriff said that they took things very well and want to help in any way they can,” he reassured her.
Pulling out of his arms abruptly, Isabel started hitting him. “How dare you scare me like that! God, Max!”
Holding his hands up to ward off the blows from his sister, Max said loudly, “Jim said our real mother is looking for us and is at the police station!” The attack immediately stopped and when he lowered his hands slowly to see her reaction, Max saw that his sister was pale again.
“Did you just say our real mother is here…or rather in Roswell?” Isabel whispered, doubting her own ears.
Max nodded and Isabel had to sit down again so she moved slowly back over to the bed and lowered herself down onto it. Leslie took Liz’s arm and pulled the girl out of the room, leaving the siblings to discuss the implications and feelings that swirled through them both. Michael stayed to talk with Max and Isabel. Leslie walked over to her brother and asked him to take Megan into another room so that she and Liz could get some answers from Tess.
Liz moved over to her nemesis and studied her unconscious form. She should probably hate the blonde, after all Tess was the major reason for so many of her problems, but she didn’t. She didn’t like or trust the other girl but she didn’t hate her either. She felt sorry for her. Liz couldn’t imagine a life without love, where the most important thing in the whole universe was gaining a powerful station that she had once been promised.
She was startled out of her thoughts by Leslie’s sudden appearance with a tray of food and a glass of water. “She has to eat. Xan wouldn’t want her to starve to death, no matter what her crimes,” Leslie explained as she moved to the side of the traitor. Placing a hand on the girl’s head, Tess was quickly awake and Leslie warned, “Do not try anything, Tess. I’ve awoken you so you may eat and so that Liz can ask you her questions. You will answer her questions first and then we’ll allow you to eat.” The alien’s tone left no room for argument.
At Leslie’s nod, Liz moved forward, somewhat unnerved to see the pure hatred reflecting in Tess’ eyes. Swallowing, she reminded herself that she had nothing to fear from the girl and of all the things Tess had taken away from her. It helped and Liz raised her chin a bit as she sat down across from Tess. “You know about my visit from that guy that claimed to be Max from 14 years in the future, don’t you?” she asked, unsure exactly where to start.
Tess shrugged. “Yes, I know about it.” She wasn’t giving anymore information than Liz asked for.
“He wasn’t real was he?” When Tess shook her head, Liz sighed and continued. “How did you do it? I want to know everything. I want to know what was real and what wasn’t. Did Max even serenade me?” It seemed that everything was spilling out now.
Weighing the benefits of telling the brunette everything versus keeping it inside, Tess decided that she couldn’t do anything more by keeping it to herself. “No, Max didn’t serenade you. The Max that came to you from the future was actually Nesedo. Didn’t you notice that he was careful never to let you look into his eyes or to kiss him?” she sneered. “Kivar told us that if you were a threat to us, to get rid of you. Nesedo and I agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to just kill you or anything. I thought it would be more fun for you to think that you and Max could never be together and for you to sabotage your relationship with him yourself…and you did a bang up job! Even I was surprised at how easy it went. You gave up much sooner than I would have thought.”
Liz felt like she had been hit over the head and in the stomach, the guilt and realization of what she had done was that sharp. She had given up really easily. She had been the one to end her relationship with Max. If she had gone to him with the problem in the first place, maybe they would have figured out it was all a hoax or at least would have come up with an alternative solution. “So Nesedo actually shapeshifted to become Future Max. Was the Max that serenaded me and the mariachi band a mind-warp?” Liz asked.
“Yeah. In fact, after that, I wasn’t really needed that much for any of it. Nesedo played out his role as Future Max really well, convincing you that you had to try harder and harder, especially when I went to Max to talk to him and he showed me that he had gotten those Gomez tickets for the both of you. He had considered me a friend finally and told me that he was planning on surprising you with them and how he was going to do it. I told Nesedo and when you told him what you had planned with Kyle…well, we knew that was the end,” Tess gloated over their small victory, throwing it in Liz’s face the best she knew how.
Liz shook her head. “But what about when he told me that Serena would be a friend of mine one day? And what about when he disappeared? How did that happen when I know that you were in the park with Max then? You can’t mind-warp from that far away can you?”
“No, I can’t but I didn’t need to. I don’t know about the Serena comment. Nesedo didn’t tell me everything he told you or why but he may have just brought it up to convince you of the future and maybe Kivar already knew of Serena’s existence and Nesedo might have used her name because it was convenient. Like I said, I don’t know…and I don’t particularly care. As for him disappearing, I’m not the only one who can mind-warp,” Tess answered a little vaguely.
Looking with surprise at Leslie, Liz asked, “You guys can mind-warp?”
Leslie nodded slightly. “If we have to.” She turned her narrowed eyes on Tess. “But I’m not sure that he was the one who did it. Who did the mind-warp to make it look like Future Max disappeared?”
Tess squirmed a little but finally said, “Nickolas.”
They were quiet for a moment before Leslie asked Liz, “Is that it? Anymore questions?”
Studying Tess for a moment, Liz finally nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s it. I can’t think of anything else I need to know.”
Leslie allowed Tess to eat and everyone gathered into the room. Max stared at Tess for a moment before looking to Leslie and Liz for an explanation. “I’ll explain it all later, Max,” Liz spoke up.
He nodded. “Ok, I need everyone’s attention. We have to discuss what we’re going to do about Serena’s problem. It needs to be taken care of as soon as possible so we can get back on the road to home.” Looking pointedly at Tess, he told Leslie, “I need her to be unconscious again. I don’t want her to know anything about any of our plans.”
Leslie didn’t have to be told twice, she immediately moved to Tess’ side and before the blonde could protest, she slumped to the floor in a pile again. Max nodded his thanks and turned to look at everyone who had once again gathered and was looking at him for direction. Taking in a deep breath, he announced, “The Sheriff called me a few minutes ago and said that we needed to get back to Roswell as soon as possible.” Seeing that Alex, Maria and Kyle were about to start talking and asking questions, Max held up his hand. “All of our parents know the truth and, to varying degrees, seem to be handling it as well as can be expected.” Alex and Maria exchanged nervous looks before turning their attention back to Max. “But that’s not the pressing issue right now. He says that Deputy Hanson picked up a woman walking on the side of the road today, heading for town and she was coming from the direction of the pod chamber. She claims to be my…” he exchanged a look with Isabel, “our mother.”
There was chaos for a moment as people asked the questions all of them wanted to. “What?” ”Your mother?!” “How do we know that?” “What did she say?” “How does he know she’s for real?” Max held up his hands again and everyone started to calm down again. “I don’t know all the answers to your questions. Jim didn’t want to go over it all over the phone. He just suggested that we get down there as soon as possible. That’s going to take a couple of days. I suggested that if he doesn’t think she poses any threat, to put her up in a hotel room and keep an eye on her until we can get there.” He sighed at the thought of the money he would owe the Sheriff for taking care of this woman, and the thought also occurred to him that he might not still have a job after taking off without any word to Brody. “So what we need now is a plan to help Serena and get us on the road to Roswell as soon as possible. Any ideas?”
Everyone glanced around at everyone else. No one had a clue how to get out of this situation Serena might be in. It was very likely that she would be accused of murder the minute she appeared back home. Maria was the first with an idea. “She could always pretend to be Tess. All she would need is some minor cosmetic changes and some coaching on Tess’ life and she could take that gerbil’s place.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully at the idea. “Not bad, blondie. That would easily explain her appearance in Roswell because she’d be Tess. That would also help disguise the fact that Tess no longer roams the streets freely.”
Liz, Alex, Max, and Serena however, were already shaking their heads. “No good. Serena already has a life established!” Liz argued. “She doesn’t want to have to just become somebody she’s not. That’s not fair to her. She’s grown up her entire life as Serena Wilkerson and she has a family and friends. She deserves to be able to live her life as who she is, not who we need her to be at the moment because it’s convenient.”
“Liz is right. We can’t ask her to pretend to be Tess forever. She’s a different person, for all that she looks like Tess,” Max added. Serena gave him a grateful look and he smiled a little at her.
“So what do you suggest then, Max?” Isabel asked. She wasn’t entirely sure what to think. The idea Maria presented would have helped them all out but she also agreed that Serena shouldn’t have to become someone she wasn’t.
Lucas was the one who spoke up, however. “I might have an idea…if the authorities haven’t already been to that abandoned building this morning.” Everyone looked to him and Max asked him to continue. “Serena, do people know that you were adopted. I mean, is it common knowledge in your family?” he asked.
Serena nodded. “Yes, my family never tried to hide it, though the details were never really given out to people. Why?”
Pursing his lips in thought, Lucas turned to look from Serena to the blonde that was slouched in the floor unconscious. Then he turned to look at Leslie. He nodded slowly, coming to some conclusion. “Then no one will know that you didn’t have a twin sister.” At everyone’s confused looks, he continued. “What if that man who killed your parents wasn’t after you but rather Tess but he saw you and thought you were Tess. Leslie already said that the body died originally of a drug overdose. What if we convince the police that he and Tess had once been involved and he had kidnapped Serena, thinking it was Tess in order to get some money for drugs or something?”
Max frowned as he contemplated the idea. Michael proposed a problem. “And do you think we could convince Tess to help us with this plan?” he asked sarcastically.
Lucas nodded at his sister. “She doesn’t have to. Leslie will change her appearance and pose as Tess to help explain all of it to the police. We could split up and that way some of you can head back home while Serena and Leslie fix the mess here.”
Leslie nodded quickly and stepped forward. “That would be a very easy thing to convince the police of, Max, especially in New York and after they find us in that abandoned building.”
“There’s only one slight problem. How did you get away? How did you call the police? Why didn’t Serena call sooner if it was possible?” Michael spouted out. Then he thought about it and shrugged. “I guess you’ll need another party. I’ve been in the foster system and that’s easy enough to check. I can make something up quickly. I have a couple of ideas of how to carry this out. Besides, you all need to get back.”
Maria came and wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck and he wrapped his around her waist automatically. She stood up on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on his lips. “Then I’ll stay too,” she said.
But Michael shook his head and put a finger over her lips. “No, Maria. You need to go back home where I know you’ll be safe. The fewer of us around to be involved in this, the better.”
“But I wanna stay with you, Spaceboy,” Maria protested, removing her arms from his neck to cross them over her chest.
Michael didn’t relinquish his hold on her, however, and kissed her again, deeper this time. “You mother is going to be worried about you, Blondie, and she needs you to help her get over the fact that your boyfriend is an alien from another planet,” he pointed out.
Grimacing at the reminder of her upcoming facing of her mother, Maria realized that he was right about this. She showed her relenting by melting back in his arms and letting him hold her close. Max nodded at the both of them and looked around. “Ok, so that’s Leslie, Serena and Michael who are staying behind to take care of the situation here…”
Lucas and Alex interrupted him. “And me too!” they declared at the same time. They frowned at each other but turned back to the leader of the group.
Leslie shook her head and stepped in front of them. She addressed her brother first. “No, Lucas, I need you to take Megan back with you and take care of her while I’m doing this. I can handle this.” They held a silent conversation in a staring contest and Lucas was the first to look away in defeat. The female Luinwe turned to Alex next. “There’s nothing you can do to help here, Alex,” she pointed out gently. “And like Maria, your parents need you to help them through this time of shock. You should go.”
Alex hated that she was right. He wanted to be by her side, to see if she had really meant it when she said they were over. Looking into her eyes, he reluctantly agreed to stay behind. He realized that something about her eyes was bothering him and then he figured out what it was. They weren’t her eyes at all, they were Liz’s and they didn’t shine with the hidden mischief and secret love and admiration for him that they had since he had known her. He swallowed hard at the thought that he might have truly lost her.
Less than an hour later, they were all checked out of the hotel, piled into the vehicles and parked outside of the abandoned building in a side alleyway. Michael took a deep breath and exhaled it, before opening the door to the Jetta. Everyone else exited the vehicles as well, Leslie pausing to change her appearance to that of Tess’ before stepping out into the daylight. She reached into the floorboard and snatched up the purse that Tess had been carrying, which also held her driver’s license.
“Well, this is it,” Serena said a little unsure of the plan they were about to carry out but knowing this was a good plan. She looked up at the building in front of her and shivered a little, and it had nothing to do with the cool morning.
Max pulled Michael into a manly hug, pounding his back before stepping back and telling him, “Be careful. Do what you have to survive but not more than you have to.”
Michael gave him an uncharacteristic grin. “I won’t do anything stupid, Maxwell.”
Leslie hugged Megan to her. “You go with Uncle Lucas and Alex back to Roswell, princess. I’ll be there soon after you get there. I love you very much. Do you know how much?” she looked her daughter in the eyes and smiled.
“More than all the sands of Arrakis,” the little girl replied automatically. She never had problems with confusion over her mother’s constant changes in appearances. She seemed to inherently be able to recognize her no matter what the look. “But, mommy, why can’t I stay with you?” she pleaded.
Lucas stepped forward and took his niece and spun her around, causing her to giggle. “Because somebody has to come back with me to Roswell and keep me company! Your Uncle needs you, munchkin. You gonna turn me down in my hour of need?”
Megan threw her arms around her Uncle’s neck but looked back at her mother. “No, I can’t desert you,” she replied, but something in her eyes told Leslie that she knew this was just a ruse. The young girl tilted her head to study her mother before looking over at Max and then to Alex. Her eyes took on a golden glow to them just for a moment before she blew a raspberry on her Uncle’s neck like he usually did to her.
“What exactly is Arrakis?” Alex asked Leslie as he came up beside her. Leslie turned to look at him and he noticed that it was the first time he had ever seen Tess’ eyes shine with warmth and he knew that the adage about eyes being a window to the soul was true.
“Arrakis is a desert planet. Water is extremely rare on it and they mine a certain material that helps them survive there called ‘spice’,” Leslie answered. Then she pulled Alex into a hug. “You be careful going home. And please, help Lucas with Megan. She’s going to need all the help she can get if something happens to me.” Seeing that he was about to get upset at the thought of something happening to her, she held up a hand and smiled. “Not that I expect any trouble. Between Michael and I, we should have no problems with this.”
Isabel had been quietly reassuring Serena when Max announced that it was time to go. As they all climbed into the jeep, jetta and mustang, he once more warned the three to be careful. They quickly agreed and Alex watched in the back windshield of the Jetta as their figures got smaller and smaller the more distance was put between them. He sighed and shook his head at the fear he had for them but knew that Leslie was more than capable of taking care of herself.
“Don’t give up on her yet, Alex,” came a voice from the other side of the car. Alex looked at Lucas, who was sitting on the other side of Megan from him. The blonder teen was smiling reassuringly but Alex couldn’t seem to give him a real smile in return.
It was Megan’s words that were able to do that. She placed a small hand on Alex’s and said, “Alex, my real mommy loves you. Deep inside, she still does.” The four-year-old’s eyes were glowing momentarily as she told him that and Alex’s heart leapt into his throat at the sight and the hope that it caused to rise in him.
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
Hello, everyone. Yes, I'm back. I know it's been a while but my beta just got back to me and his timing really was impecible (?sp) because I just got time to get on here and post the new part. I'm sorry to leave you hanging for so long but I will continue to come back until this story is eventually finished. RL has been throwing some major stresses in front of me lately and it isn't over yet. But hopefully, it won't be as long until the next part. Thanks for your patience.
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 56 – “Heading Home”
Michael stood with two police officers off to one side and he was gesturing toward at various objects around the floor of the abandoned building. Leslie would glance over at him once in a while to make sure that he wasn’t having any problems, but he seemed to be doing fine. Serena was standing next to her, doing a good job of looking dazed, confused, and upset…like she had just been through an ordeal. Not to big a stretch considering everything she had seen, heard and learned over the past two days or so.
“So let me see if I have this right,” the female cop who had been questioning the two girls spoke up. “Miss Tess Harding was originally involved with Mr…uh…” she flipped back over her notes. “Morgan Harrison when she lived here in New York but broke it off when he became violent with her and she found out that he was involved in drugs, both using them and selling them. She and her adoptive father moved to New Mexico where she was originally from and there she found her brother, Mr. Michael Guerrin. Meanwhile, Mr. Harrison kidnapped Ms. Serena Wilkerson, mistaking her for Miss Harding and when he found out his mistake, he called Miss Harding to threaten and blackmail her into coming to take care of something he felt she owed him. He threatened to kill Miss Wilkerson and Miss Harding, who, scared to involve the authorities, brought her brother, Mr. Guerrin, to rescue their sister whereupon they found the suspect had O-D’ed (overdosed) on heroine and Miss Wilkerson was tied up here in the abandoned building. Have I got it all so far?”
Leslie aka Tess nodded as did Serena, sticking to the story they had come up with. They were all just glad that the body that Kivar had been using was carrying a wallet and had ID on him. Otherwise, they would have had a hard time explaining how Tess was involved with someone who had no name that she knew of. The officer, whose badge simply read “Hershel”, had been studying the girls suspiciously at first but as they had gone over their story, she had gradually become more trusting and sympathetic while still maintaining an authoritative air.
“So why did you decide to call the police after all when you were unwilling to do so before?” Officer Hershel asked.
“Michael has been in trouble with the law before, nothing really serious but with him being an independent minor, he often gets looked at differently, and I didn’t want daddy to find out what a mess I had made of my life back here. He works with the military and he has no tolerance for such behavior,” Leslie explained. She hung her head and let tears fill her eyes. “Unfortunately, he was right and I didn’t listen. But I didn’t want Serena’s family to worry about her or for the police to come after us when Morgan’s body was found here. We were in way over our heads and should have called you guys first.”
Officer Hershel, who stood almost six inches above the two girls, placed a comforting hand on Leslie’s shoulder. “I’m glad you learned to seek help but I’m sorry it had to be this way. Now, I hate to have to tell you this, Miss Wilkerson but when he took you, Mr. Harrison killed both your parents and your younger brothers.” As Serena’s eyes filled with tears, genuine ones unlike Leslie’s, the cop switched her hand to Serena’s shoulder. “How old are you, sweetheart?”
Serena sniffed and wiped at her smudged face before stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I’m 17. I was kind of afraid he might have done that,” she answered, looking over at the body that was being examined and photographed. Suddenly, the enormity of what had happened to her and her family came to settle on her and she felt like she would collapse if Leslie didn’t have her arm around her waist, supporting her and keeping her upright. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered and burst into tears.
Leslie felt a lump in her throat and genuine tears filled her eyes this time. She pulled the other girl into a hug and held her while she cried. “I’m so sorry, Serena. I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
The policewoman waited a few moments before clearing her throat and speaking again. “Your older siblings are in college aren’t they? I believe I was told that they were informed of what had happened to your parents and brothers and they were worried about you.”
Serena nodded as she pulled back from Leslie and looked back at the officer. “Yes, my sister, Robin is at NYU and my brother, Ned, is studying in Europe for the year.”
Sighing, the officer rubbed her face. “I’m not really sure, then, what to do with you. Unfortunately, you are still a minor but at 17, you’re at that borderline. Your siblings are in no position to take care of you with them being in college and all. Are there any relatives you would be able to stay with?”
Serena glanced at Leslie and then back. “Actually, we’ve already talked about that,” Leslie spoke up. “Michael and I feel like we should spend some time getting to know each other…all of us. We’re really good friends with the Sheriff back in Roswell and he would vouch for Serena coming back there for a while.” When the officer shook her head and started to speak, Leslie hurried to add, “She could even stay with him or another family he thought would be ok…just until she had to come and get everything straightened out.”
Nodding, Serena added, “Besides, like you said, I’m 17…about to start my life on my own anyway. Michael said his best friend’s dad is a lawyer and helped him get emancipated. I was hoping to talk to him about the same thing. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. Besides, there really aren’t any relatives who could take me in. My grandparents are all dead, my father was an only child and my mother’s only brother is single and travels all over the world for his job.”
Hershel shuffled from one foot to the other, studying both girls’ hopeful expression with her bright hazel eyes. A lock of her graying, brown hair fell across her left eye and she batted it back impatiently. Holding up a hand, she finally said with a sigh, “Wait here a minute.” She walked over to one of the officers who had been questioning Michael and pulled him aside. They spoke for several minutes before he shook his head and shrugged. Finally, she pulled out her phone and spoke into it for several moments.
This was the moment of truth. Leslie, Michael and Serena were all hoping to be able to do this in the open…telling more lies and sneaking around had to be covered and would be very hard and draining. It would be easier to stick to the truth as closely as possible and try to get all this taken care of by legal and honest means.
“Serena, do you have many things at your house that you need to take with you? Do you have a car?” Leslie asked while they were alone for a moment.
The other blonde shook her head. “I don’t have a lot of stuff or a car. I’ll probably just pack a couple of bags before we leave. I have a bank account with some money in it but it isn’t a lot.”
Michael walked up at that moment, his hands on his hips. “Well, I think that went pretty well. They were really sympathetic to what happened but not so much about us not calling the police earlier. I told them that we had called Sheriff Valenti when we got here and explained everything to him before we called them. I wish we had time to call him and tell him the story we came up with. I think they want to talk to him.”
Leslie nodded. “Go on and step down the stairs and call him. We’ll cover for you and stall them for a few minutes. We’ll just tell them that you had to call work and let them know you were out of town.”
Just as Michael had stepped into the stairwell to call, Officer Hershel walked back up to the girls. “Ok, my boss says that he doesn’t have a problem with you going to Roswell and staying in contact with the Sheriff there but we need to talk to him first…make sure he knows you’re coming. We need to have a way to contact you in case we need to ask you anymore questions or inform you of anything, both of you.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Max was a little upset when Liz had said she would ride with Kyle for the first little stretch of their journey home. It seemed that she was always worried about the other teen’s safety or feelings ahead of his. Then Max felt guilty because he realized that he wasn’t being fair. Kyle had just found out that the girl he cared about was a traitor and not only that but had never really cared about him at all. Of course he needed a friend to talk to right now…to help cheer him up. Liz was always looking out for her friends that way. That was one of the reasons he loved her. Yes, he would admit that he still loved her, maybe more since they had been apart than ever before.
Now they were stopped outside a gas station, filling up their tanks and answering nature’s call. Liz was laughing at something that Maria and Alex were talking about. As Max watched her, she seemed to have felt his eyes on her because she looked directly at him and gave him a tentative smile. Saying something briefly to her two friends, she left them and made her way over to him.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Liz stuffed her hands into her pockets and said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Max said back.
“Listen, if it’s ok with you, I’d like to ride with you for the next stretch. I have something I need to talk to you about. Do you think it would be possible for Isabel to drive or someone else?” she asked.
Max gave her a smile and replaced the gas cap on the tank. “Yeah, sure. I could use the break anyway. I’ll ask Isabel to drive.”
The group was on the road pretty soon after that. Isabel was driving the Jeep. Lucas was driving the Jetta with Maria snoozing in the back seat with Megan. Alex was driving Kyle’s mustang to give him a bit of a break. Max was in the back of the Jeep with Liz, feeling a little awkward. She hadn’t said anything in the past 15 minutes, despite the fact she had been the one to say she wanted to talk to him.
Finally, Max decided to bite the bullet and ask what was on her mind. “So, Liz…” he began.
“Max,” Liz started at the same time. They stopped and smiled at each other before Max told her to go ahead. Taking a deep breath, Liz tucked her hair behind her ears and bit her lower lip before starting again. “Max, I need to tell you something…something big and it might upset you. But I think you deserve to know the truth now…especially now that I know what the truth is.”
Isabel glanced in the rearview mirror at Liz and gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. Liz took a deep breath and mumbled out, “I never slept with Kyle.”
Max wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from Liz but that wasn’t it. He stared at her in surprise and confusion. Clearing her throat, she waited a minute more before going on. “I think you should know why I let you believe that I did and why I’m telling you the truth about it now.” For the better part of the next hour, Liz explained everything about Future Max, including how Tess’ mindwarps and Nesedo’s shapeshifting were used to influence what she saw, heard and how she thought. Isabel tried to tune them out but hearing the story all over again was just as unbelievable the second time around.
When Liz was done, she waited for Max to say something. He just sat there, staring at her, until the silence became unbearable even for Isabel. Shifting in the driver’s seat, she said, “Well, say something, Maxwell.”
That seemed to snap him to attention. Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, I can’t believe that they went to all that trouble just to keep us apart.” Glancing up at Liz with a wry smile, he said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but wouldn’t it have just been easier for them to kill you? On the other hand, they knew exactly what tactics to use on you to believe them and get you to sacrifice your happiness…and mine.”
Liz shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know why they didn’t just kill me. I wondered that myself. The only thing I could come up with was to assume that Tess wanted to see me suffer and in pain. It would also have brought everyone’s attention to my death and it would have been a lot longer until Tess won you over; I’m just speculating here.”
Nodding, Max agreed with her. “Yeah, Tess was never able to hide her insecurities where you were concerned, even after you and I broke up. I can see her doing all that just to watch you be upset.” Sighing, he laid his head against the back of the seat. “I just wish you had come to me instead of helping them. We could have figured out another way, or even maybe have figured out that it wasn’t real sooner.”
Looking away with tears filling her eyes, Liz swallowed before replying. “I know. I’m sorry. I really don’t know why I didn’t come to you. It seemed like every time I thought about it, the thought was gone before I could act on it. I’m really sorry for hurting you, Max.”
Taking her hand in his, Max used his other hand to gently force her to look back at him. Caressing the side of her face, he smiled down at her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if part of Tess’ mindwarps was to make you think that coming to me wouldn’t work or to make you forget you wanted to. I’m sorry that we’ve wasted all this time. I didn’t want to believe it when I saw you and Kyle together, especially when it seemed like that was all there was to it. I mean, you two didn’t go out after that or kiss or even hold hands. I found it so strange but my heart, and I admit my pride, were broken and wouldn’t let me think about it clearly.” Bringing her hand up to his lips, he placed a kiss on the back of it. “I think we need to have a nice long talk when we get some time alone.”
Liz gave him a tentative smile at that. “Yeah? Does this mean that there might still be hope for us?” she asked in almost a whisper.
Leaning closer so that their foreheads touched, Max whispered back. “I can’t imagine my life and future without you being a major part of it, Liz Parker.” Then he captured her lips with his, enjoying the feel of kissing and holding her once again. When the flashes came between them, they welcomed them, happy that the closeness they once had wasn’t gone. As things started to heat up between them, the loud clearing of Isabel’s throat broke through their haze. Pulling back, Max rested his forehead against Liz’s again. Panting he said with a smile, “I missed you.”
Closing her eyes as a couple of tears fell down her cheeks, Liz smiled back and whispered, “I missed you too. But I’m never going to have to miss you like that again.”
Beth
Against My Programming
Part 56 – “Heading Home”
Michael stood with two police officers off to one side and he was gesturing toward at various objects around the floor of the abandoned building. Leslie would glance over at him once in a while to make sure that he wasn’t having any problems, but he seemed to be doing fine. Serena was standing next to her, doing a good job of looking dazed, confused, and upset…like she had just been through an ordeal. Not to big a stretch considering everything she had seen, heard and learned over the past two days or so.
“So let me see if I have this right,” the female cop who had been questioning the two girls spoke up. “Miss Tess Harding was originally involved with Mr…uh…” she flipped back over her notes. “Morgan Harrison when she lived here in New York but broke it off when he became violent with her and she found out that he was involved in drugs, both using them and selling them. She and her adoptive father moved to New Mexico where she was originally from and there she found her brother, Mr. Michael Guerrin. Meanwhile, Mr. Harrison kidnapped Ms. Serena Wilkerson, mistaking her for Miss Harding and when he found out his mistake, he called Miss Harding to threaten and blackmail her into coming to take care of something he felt she owed him. He threatened to kill Miss Wilkerson and Miss Harding, who, scared to involve the authorities, brought her brother, Mr. Guerrin, to rescue their sister whereupon they found the suspect had O-D’ed (overdosed) on heroine and Miss Wilkerson was tied up here in the abandoned building. Have I got it all so far?”
Leslie aka Tess nodded as did Serena, sticking to the story they had come up with. They were all just glad that the body that Kivar had been using was carrying a wallet and had ID on him. Otherwise, they would have had a hard time explaining how Tess was involved with someone who had no name that she knew of. The officer, whose badge simply read “Hershel”, had been studying the girls suspiciously at first but as they had gone over their story, she had gradually become more trusting and sympathetic while still maintaining an authoritative air.
“So why did you decide to call the police after all when you were unwilling to do so before?” Officer Hershel asked.
“Michael has been in trouble with the law before, nothing really serious but with him being an independent minor, he often gets looked at differently, and I didn’t want daddy to find out what a mess I had made of my life back here. He works with the military and he has no tolerance for such behavior,” Leslie explained. She hung her head and let tears fill her eyes. “Unfortunately, he was right and I didn’t listen. But I didn’t want Serena’s family to worry about her or for the police to come after us when Morgan’s body was found here. We were in way over our heads and should have called you guys first.”
Officer Hershel, who stood almost six inches above the two girls, placed a comforting hand on Leslie’s shoulder. “I’m glad you learned to seek help but I’m sorry it had to be this way. Now, I hate to have to tell you this, Miss Wilkerson but when he took you, Mr. Harrison killed both your parents and your younger brothers.” As Serena’s eyes filled with tears, genuine ones unlike Leslie’s, the cop switched her hand to Serena’s shoulder. “How old are you, sweetheart?”
Serena sniffed and wiped at her smudged face before stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I’m 17. I was kind of afraid he might have done that,” she answered, looking over at the body that was being examined and photographed. Suddenly, the enormity of what had happened to her and her family came to settle on her and she felt like she would collapse if Leslie didn’t have her arm around her waist, supporting her and keeping her upright. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered and burst into tears.
Leslie felt a lump in her throat and genuine tears filled her eyes this time. She pulled the other girl into a hug and held her while she cried. “I’m so sorry, Serena. I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
The policewoman waited a few moments before clearing her throat and speaking again. “Your older siblings are in college aren’t they? I believe I was told that they were informed of what had happened to your parents and brothers and they were worried about you.”
Serena nodded as she pulled back from Leslie and looked back at the officer. “Yes, my sister, Robin is at NYU and my brother, Ned, is studying in Europe for the year.”
Sighing, the officer rubbed her face. “I’m not really sure, then, what to do with you. Unfortunately, you are still a minor but at 17, you’re at that borderline. Your siblings are in no position to take care of you with them being in college and all. Are there any relatives you would be able to stay with?”
Serena glanced at Leslie and then back. “Actually, we’ve already talked about that,” Leslie spoke up. “Michael and I feel like we should spend some time getting to know each other…all of us. We’re really good friends with the Sheriff back in Roswell and he would vouch for Serena coming back there for a while.” When the officer shook her head and started to speak, Leslie hurried to add, “She could even stay with him or another family he thought would be ok…just until she had to come and get everything straightened out.”
Nodding, Serena added, “Besides, like you said, I’m 17…about to start my life on my own anyway. Michael said his best friend’s dad is a lawyer and helped him get emancipated. I was hoping to talk to him about the same thing. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. Besides, there really aren’t any relatives who could take me in. My grandparents are all dead, my father was an only child and my mother’s only brother is single and travels all over the world for his job.”
Hershel shuffled from one foot to the other, studying both girls’ hopeful expression with her bright hazel eyes. A lock of her graying, brown hair fell across her left eye and she batted it back impatiently. Holding up a hand, she finally said with a sigh, “Wait here a minute.” She walked over to one of the officers who had been questioning Michael and pulled him aside. They spoke for several minutes before he shook his head and shrugged. Finally, she pulled out her phone and spoke into it for several moments.
This was the moment of truth. Leslie, Michael and Serena were all hoping to be able to do this in the open…telling more lies and sneaking around had to be covered and would be very hard and draining. It would be easier to stick to the truth as closely as possible and try to get all this taken care of by legal and honest means.
“Serena, do you have many things at your house that you need to take with you? Do you have a car?” Leslie asked while they were alone for a moment.
The other blonde shook her head. “I don’t have a lot of stuff or a car. I’ll probably just pack a couple of bags before we leave. I have a bank account with some money in it but it isn’t a lot.”
Michael walked up at that moment, his hands on his hips. “Well, I think that went pretty well. They were really sympathetic to what happened but not so much about us not calling the police earlier. I told them that we had called Sheriff Valenti when we got here and explained everything to him before we called them. I wish we had time to call him and tell him the story we came up with. I think they want to talk to him.”
Leslie nodded. “Go on and step down the stairs and call him. We’ll cover for you and stall them for a few minutes. We’ll just tell them that you had to call work and let them know you were out of town.”
Just as Michael had stepped into the stairwell to call, Officer Hershel walked back up to the girls. “Ok, my boss says that he doesn’t have a problem with you going to Roswell and staying in contact with the Sheriff there but we need to talk to him first…make sure he knows you’re coming. We need to have a way to contact you in case we need to ask you anymore questions or inform you of anything, both of you.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
Max was a little upset when Liz had said she would ride with Kyle for the first little stretch of their journey home. It seemed that she was always worried about the other teen’s safety or feelings ahead of his. Then Max felt guilty because he realized that he wasn’t being fair. Kyle had just found out that the girl he cared about was a traitor and not only that but had never really cared about him at all. Of course he needed a friend to talk to right now…to help cheer him up. Liz was always looking out for her friends that way. That was one of the reasons he loved her. Yes, he would admit that he still loved her, maybe more since they had been apart than ever before.
Now they were stopped outside a gas station, filling up their tanks and answering nature’s call. Liz was laughing at something that Maria and Alex were talking about. As Max watched her, she seemed to have felt his eyes on her because she looked directly at him and gave him a tentative smile. Saying something briefly to her two friends, she left them and made her way over to him.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Liz stuffed her hands into her pockets and said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Max said back.
“Listen, if it’s ok with you, I’d like to ride with you for the next stretch. I have something I need to talk to you about. Do you think it would be possible for Isabel to drive or someone else?” she asked.
Max gave her a smile and replaced the gas cap on the tank. “Yeah, sure. I could use the break anyway. I’ll ask Isabel to drive.”
The group was on the road pretty soon after that. Isabel was driving the Jeep. Lucas was driving the Jetta with Maria snoozing in the back seat with Megan. Alex was driving Kyle’s mustang to give him a bit of a break. Max was in the back of the Jeep with Liz, feeling a little awkward. She hadn’t said anything in the past 15 minutes, despite the fact she had been the one to say she wanted to talk to him.
Finally, Max decided to bite the bullet and ask what was on her mind. “So, Liz…” he began.
“Max,” Liz started at the same time. They stopped and smiled at each other before Max told her to go ahead. Taking a deep breath, Liz tucked her hair behind her ears and bit her lower lip before starting again. “Max, I need to tell you something…something big and it might upset you. But I think you deserve to know the truth now…especially now that I know what the truth is.”
Isabel glanced in the rearview mirror at Liz and gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. Liz took a deep breath and mumbled out, “I never slept with Kyle.”
Max wasn’t sure what he had been expecting from Liz but that wasn’t it. He stared at her in surprise and confusion. Clearing her throat, she waited a minute more before going on. “I think you should know why I let you believe that I did and why I’m telling you the truth about it now.” For the better part of the next hour, Liz explained everything about Future Max, including how Tess’ mindwarps and Nesedo’s shapeshifting were used to influence what she saw, heard and how she thought. Isabel tried to tune them out but hearing the story all over again was just as unbelievable the second time around.
When Liz was done, she waited for Max to say something. He just sat there, staring at her, until the silence became unbearable even for Isabel. Shifting in the driver’s seat, she said, “Well, say something, Maxwell.”
That seemed to snap him to attention. Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, I can’t believe that they went to all that trouble just to keep us apart.” Glancing up at Liz with a wry smile, he said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but wouldn’t it have just been easier for them to kill you? On the other hand, they knew exactly what tactics to use on you to believe them and get you to sacrifice your happiness…and mine.”
Liz shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know why they didn’t just kill me. I wondered that myself. The only thing I could come up with was to assume that Tess wanted to see me suffer and in pain. It would also have brought everyone’s attention to my death and it would have been a lot longer until Tess won you over; I’m just speculating here.”
Nodding, Max agreed with her. “Yeah, Tess was never able to hide her insecurities where you were concerned, even after you and I broke up. I can see her doing all that just to watch you be upset.” Sighing, he laid his head against the back of the seat. “I just wish you had come to me instead of helping them. We could have figured out another way, or even maybe have figured out that it wasn’t real sooner.”
Looking away with tears filling her eyes, Liz swallowed before replying. “I know. I’m sorry. I really don’t know why I didn’t come to you. It seemed like every time I thought about it, the thought was gone before I could act on it. I’m really sorry for hurting you, Max.”
Taking her hand in his, Max used his other hand to gently force her to look back at him. Caressing the side of her face, he smiled down at her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if part of Tess’ mindwarps was to make you think that coming to me wouldn’t work or to make you forget you wanted to. I’m sorry that we’ve wasted all this time. I didn’t want to believe it when I saw you and Kyle together, especially when it seemed like that was all there was to it. I mean, you two didn’t go out after that or kiss or even hold hands. I found it so strange but my heart, and I admit my pride, were broken and wouldn’t let me think about it clearly.” Bringing her hand up to his lips, he placed a kiss on the back of it. “I think we need to have a nice long talk when we get some time alone.”
Liz gave him a tentative smile at that. “Yeah? Does this mean that there might still be hope for us?” she asked in almost a whisper.
Leaning closer so that their foreheads touched, Max whispered back. “I can’t imagine my life and future without you being a major part of it, Liz Parker.” Then he captured her lips with his, enjoying the feel of kissing and holding her once again. When the flashes came between them, they welcomed them, happy that the closeness they once had wasn’t gone. As things started to heat up between them, the loud clearing of Isabel’s throat broke through their haze. Pulling back, Max rested his forehead against Liz’s again. Panting he said with a smile, “I missed you.”
Closing her eyes as a couple of tears fell down her cheeks, Liz smiled back and whispered, “I missed you too. But I’m never going to have to miss you like that again.”
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!
-
littleroswell
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:45 am
- Location: Georgia, USA
A/N: You guys, you have no idea how touched I was by the immediate response from you. Thank you so very much. To thank you, I have the new part. It is only a transition part, I'm afraid but I promise more out of the next part. I felt that I needed to address every teenager's fear of their parents finding out something about them that would make the parents stop loving them. It is a very real fear but also, for the most part, all in the teen's head. I think very few have ever had an other-worldly factor involved though, how about you? LOL! Anyway, enjoy! And don't forget to let me know what you think.
Against My Programming
Part 57 – “Unconditional Love”
It was a very weary caravan of teens that pulled into Roswell’s city limits hours and hours later. A quick phone call to the Sheriff earlier had made it pretty clear he felt that everyone should go to their own homes when they got back in town. Max disagreed and finally he and Valenti agreed to have everyone meet up at the Evans’ home. Max didn’t say as much but he was terrified of seeing his parents for the first time since they had found out what he was. It seemed that the only way he would get through whatever was going to happen would be if his friends were by his side.
As they all pulled up outside of his house and started stretching and yawning, Max pulled Kyle aside. The human looked a little confused as to what the alien might have to say to him. “What’s up, fearless leader?” he asked with a tired yawn.
In the past few months, Kyle’s joking manner had grated on Max’s nerves to no end but now that he knew the truth about what had happened between Liz and the other teen, he realized his feelings for what they were…jealousy. “Kyle, I wanted to say that Liz told me you two never really slept together.” Kyle’s eyes widened at that but Max added, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you since it happened.”
Kyle patted Max on the back. “S’okay, man. I would have acted the same way if our places had been reversed. Did she tell you why she did it? Because I never knew why she wanted to hurt you like that, but I trusted she had good reasons for doing it.”
Max smiled, his respect for Kyle growing with those words. He had done Liz a favor because he trusted her, no matter what the consequences to himself. That sounded like something Max would have done himself. “Yeah, she told me. Maybe we can tell you together later. I really don’t feel like rehashing it right now. I’m just too tired.”
Kyle nodded and yawned again. “Yeah, I know what you mean. So are we cool, Max? Because, and don’t tell anybody because I’d just deny it, I really have learned to like you a lot and respect you. I know why you were considered a good king up there,” he said pointing up to the sky.
Clapping Kyle on the shoulder, Max nodded. “Yeah, we’re cool. And for the record, I think you’re a pretty good guy yourself. I’m glad to have you as a friend, Kyle Valenti.”
“Much as I hate to break up this tender moment, could we get inside? It’s freezing out here and I have to pee so bad my eyes are turning yellow!” Maria said coming up to the two boys.
“Ew, Maria! That’s way more information than we needed. And could you get any more graphic?” Isabel asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Don’t tempt her,” Alex told her, totally serious. He knew Maria had a mouth on her like no one would believe if you pushed the right buttons. Ok, maybe Michael and Liz would believe it…and Amy.
As everyone stepped out of the car, they turned as a group to look at the house before them. Then, looking nervously amongst themselves, all eyes finally landed on Max. They were waiting for him to take the lead as always. He swallowed hard, trying to shake off the fear of entering the only home he could remember. Isabel stepped over to her brother and took his hand in hers. “We do this together, Max, as a group. If anyone gets turned away…or-or anything…” her resolve faded somewhat as thoughts of what “anything” might mean ran through her head, but she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and lifted her chin as she continued. “Then we all have each other’s backs. We know we can trust each other.” She squeezed her brother’s hand, and he knew she was trying to reassure herself as well as him.
Touched by his sister’s support and then in turn by the support and trust he saw reflected in all the eyes in front of him, he turned his attention back to the front door of his home. Nodding briefly, he took the first step forward. “Let’s go,” he said quietly.
They didn’t make it all the way to the door, however, before it was flung open and Diane Evans came rushing toward them, her arms flung wide and tears spilling down her cheeks. “Oh my god! You’re home! You’re safe!” she cried as she enveloped her children and nearly crushed them in an encompassing hug. “We were so scared for all of you!”
The two siblings’ eyes met and Max read the hope and fear in his sister’s that was no doubt reflected in his own. “We’re ok, mom,” Isabel said tentatively, daring to put her arms around Diane and squeezing gently. When Diane didn’t even tense up but only hugged Isabel tighter, tears filled the younger woman’s eyes, and she had to swallow hard to keep from sobbing out loud.
After another hug that both embarrassed and pleased Max, Diane pulled away reluctantly and settled for holding their hands as she turned to the rest of the group. “Everyone, come inside, we’ve been waiting for you. I think there are several parents still asleep…” her voice trailed off as she noticed that the group was short a couple of people. Turning to Max, she asked, “Where are the others? Everyone is ok aren’t they?”
Nodding, Max started toward the house. “Yeah, but I only want to have to explain all this once, if that’s ok with you. We’re pretty beat after days of being on the road, and I could really use a long, hot shower.”
“Food!” Kyle piped up. “Lots and lots of food. And I’m not talking just snacks either. I mean real food.”
Everyone either laughed or quickly agreed with Kyle and Diane picked up the pace as the group filed inside the house. Lucas made no move towards the house, but leaned against the car, where Megan still slept peacefully in her car seat. Isabel noticed and, after a quick word to her mother, went back to see what was going on. “Hey, why aren’t you coming inside?” she asked. “Do you need help with Megan?”
Lucas shook his head, his eyes not meeting hers. “No, it’s just that this is time for you all to be with your family.” He left off there, letting the incomplete thought hang in the air.
Isabel nodded. “And you aren’t part of the family, is that it?” She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side with one eyebrow raised as she waited for an answer.
Nodding toward the little sleeping beauty in the back seat of the car, Lucas said quietly, “That little girl and Leslie are all the family I have. I don’t want to interfere with your time with your family.”
Shaking her head, Isabel quickly countered his thinking. “You don’t get it yet do you? Technically, Max is the only family I have on this planet. He is the only one that shares my blood…I think. But Michael has always been considered family, my parents, then came Liz, Maria and Alex…” She huffed, frustrated at not making her point as clear as she wanted. “What I’m trying to say is, our family is different in its definition than most humans. You, Leslie and Megan have already become a part of that family in the past few days as we’ve really gotten to know you better.”
Lucas stared at her, truly touched at her speech. It reminded him of someone else in his past, someone he had been afraid that he had lost forever. Now, he saw a glimpse of that same person in the beautiful blonde in front of him. He longed to take her into his arms but there were just too many reasons against it. Finally, he responded to her in a voice barely above a whisper, “Vilondra once said something similar to me. Do you have any memory of it?” When she shook her head slowly and glanced away, he dropped his gaze and swallowed hard. “It doesn’t matter.”
He started to retrieve his niece but Isabel stopped him. “Wait!” When he turned back with a questioning look, she stammered, suddenly unsure she wanted to know the answer to her own question. “What exactly did I…she…I say?”
He wanted to refuse to tell her but it wasn’t his place and wanted her very much to remember the person she once was. “It was when she told me that she had decided to join with Kivar. I argued strongly against it but she wouldn’t listen. After I pointed out that she was choosing a path of treason and, more importantly, one that would put her at odds with her family, Vilondra said, ‘You are my family. Everyone else just shares my blood. I love them, don’t get me wrong, but this war and my feelings for you have shown me a new meaning of family. I will do what is right and what I have to do to be able to secure your freedom. I only hope you will continue to see me the same way once you are free.’”
The recounting reverberated in Isabel’s soul. It wasn’t so much a sense of remembering the experience as the chord of rightness it struck inside her. She still wanted things to go right for Lucas and Leslie and she was willing to admit to her attraction to him. Would she ever remember her former life? If not, would Lucas constantly compare her to her former self? That brought up another slew of questions that made her head swim and her stomach ache.
Lucas pulled his niece into his arms and turned back to Isabel. “Lead the way, your highness.”
Turning to look at the jeep where Tess’ body lay in an unconscious heap in the back, Isabel asked, “What about her? Should we bring her inside?”
Shaking his head, Lucas answered, “I think we should wait until we can explain everything first. We don’t want to overly upset the parents.”
Nodding, Isabel led the way into the house and, bypassing the main rooms, headed straight upstairs to her room. Opening the door, she let Lucas pass through. “She can sleep in here. We’ll leave the door open a little so we can hear her when she wakes up.”
Downstairs, there was quite a crowd of people in the kitchen and living room. Amy had been hurt and confused by Maria’s quick dodge of her embrace and running upstairs until Alex had told her the likely place Maria had gone was the bathroom. Most of the parents had quickly moved to embrace their children, for reassurance as much as to reassure. Evelyn Whitman and Philip Evans were the exception in this. They hung back and studied the young people, not really recognizing them as the children they once thought they knew.
Finally, after Isabel, Lucas and Maria had joined the group, Amy spoke up. “Where’s Michael?”
“And Tess and Leslie?” Jim added.
Max ran a hand through his hair and said, “Maybe we ought to all sit down. This story could take a while.” Then he turned to Philip. “Dad…you don’t, I mean, you aren’t…afraid of me are you?” he asked tentatively.
It was the look of fear of rejection and the tone of Max’s voice that broke through Philip’s haze. He immediately embraced his son and said, “I could never be afraid of you. I’m sorry I didn’t greet you properly a minute ago, but I was just suddenly struck with how much you’ve changed in the last couple of years. You are no longer a little boy who needs his parents, but truly a man a father can be proud of.” He patted Max on the back and clapped him on the shoulder as he released him.
Smiling at the only father he could remember, Max told him, “Dad, I’ll always need you and mom, just not in the same ways I used to. You guys mean so much to me and Isabel. I just thought you should know that. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you everything sooner.”
“Me too. I hope you realize your mother and I will always love and accept you. Our love is unconditional.” Philip looked Max straight in the eyes as he said these words and Max, not trusting his voice for the emotion, simply nodded.
Alex turned to face his mother, noting with irony that the physical distance may only be a few feet between them, but he felt she had never been so far away. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he waited for her to make the first move. Before he found out about his friends’ alien status, if someone had asked who he could count on in his family no matter what, he would have answered his mother before the question was even finished. He was pretty sure his faith was well founded even now, but fear had placed doubt in his mind and would not let it simply be extracted by logic. He needed Evelyn’s reassurance.
Evelyn took a step toward her son, tears filling her eyes. She saw him before her as the little baby she brought home from the hospital, the toddler that had taken his first steps long before most other children, the self-proclaimed computer nerd…her baby. Holding her arms out to him, she moved closer. Examining him from head to toe, she asked quietly, “You’re alright? You’re not hurt are you?”
“No, mom, I’m not hurt,” Alex answered a little rebelliously, but he let her check him over for herself. “How about you? You handling all of this ok?”
Giving him half a smile and shrugging, she answered as honestly as she could. “I’m not sure, really. I mean, I’m so glad you are ok and I know these are your friends, but Alex, they are in real danger. I mean, FBI, other aliens, interplanetary wars, it all seems so…so…”
“Surreal?” he offered. When she nodded, he gave her half a smile. “I know. It was a lot for me to take in too. But, mom, these are good people. They’re on the right side and I feel like I’m doing something important by standing by them. I know there’s a danger of getting hurt but this is something I have to do. You and dad have always taught me to stand up for right, to never let anyone persuade me to turn my back just because doing the right thing is hard. This is it, mom…this is where I make my stand for right. Can you understand that? Can you support me in this?” Looking his mother in the eyes, Alex pleaded with her to understand.
Evelyn sniffed and looked down at where her son clasped her hands. Finally, still sniffing loudly, she tried desperately to blink back her tears and looked back up into his eyes. “I’m trying, Alex, but I’m so scared. I couldn’t stand it if anything ever happened to you.”
He gave her a grin and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “That’s why we’ve gotta win,” he quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Then he sobered again and gave her a squeeze. “Mom, I’m not looking to die for my cause but I will if I have to. They’ve already saved my life once…” at her sharp intake of breath, Alex hurried on, “And believe me it was a little too close. But I can’t turn my back on them. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
When he gave her a kiss on the cheek, Evelyn pulled herself together. “Well, that’s all I can ask I suppose. I’m proud of you, Alex.” She gave him a quick hug and Charles quickly put an arm around each of them.
Max cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. Looking at his own mother, he asked, “Can you put some coffee on? We’ve got a lot to tell everyone to catch you all up and I really would like to get this done as soon as possible so we can get some sleep. We’re pretty worn out.”
Diane nodded. “We’ve had both ours and Amy’s coffee pots going since Jim told us. Most of us didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ll get out some mugs for everyone.”
Isabel, Liz, and Lucas volunteered to do it for her so Max could get started. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair, Max held out his hands to the group. “Where do you want me to start?” he asked.
Philip was the one who spoke up. “Jim told us a lot, Max, but we’d like to hear everything from your perspective. Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Max nodded. “Ok, well, I guess the best place to begin would be with that day last September at the Crashdown…”
Against My Programming
Part 57 – “Unconditional Love”
It was a very weary caravan of teens that pulled into Roswell’s city limits hours and hours later. A quick phone call to the Sheriff earlier had made it pretty clear he felt that everyone should go to their own homes when they got back in town. Max disagreed and finally he and Valenti agreed to have everyone meet up at the Evans’ home. Max didn’t say as much but he was terrified of seeing his parents for the first time since they had found out what he was. It seemed that the only way he would get through whatever was going to happen would be if his friends were by his side.
As they all pulled up outside of his house and started stretching and yawning, Max pulled Kyle aside. The human looked a little confused as to what the alien might have to say to him. “What’s up, fearless leader?” he asked with a tired yawn.
In the past few months, Kyle’s joking manner had grated on Max’s nerves to no end but now that he knew the truth about what had happened between Liz and the other teen, he realized his feelings for what they were…jealousy. “Kyle, I wanted to say that Liz told me you two never really slept together.” Kyle’s eyes widened at that but Max added, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you since it happened.”
Kyle patted Max on the back. “S’okay, man. I would have acted the same way if our places had been reversed. Did she tell you why she did it? Because I never knew why she wanted to hurt you like that, but I trusted she had good reasons for doing it.”
Max smiled, his respect for Kyle growing with those words. He had done Liz a favor because he trusted her, no matter what the consequences to himself. That sounded like something Max would have done himself. “Yeah, she told me. Maybe we can tell you together later. I really don’t feel like rehashing it right now. I’m just too tired.”
Kyle nodded and yawned again. “Yeah, I know what you mean. So are we cool, Max? Because, and don’t tell anybody because I’d just deny it, I really have learned to like you a lot and respect you. I know why you were considered a good king up there,” he said pointing up to the sky.
Clapping Kyle on the shoulder, Max nodded. “Yeah, we’re cool. And for the record, I think you’re a pretty good guy yourself. I’m glad to have you as a friend, Kyle Valenti.”
“Much as I hate to break up this tender moment, could we get inside? It’s freezing out here and I have to pee so bad my eyes are turning yellow!” Maria said coming up to the two boys.
“Ew, Maria! That’s way more information than we needed. And could you get any more graphic?” Isabel asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Don’t tempt her,” Alex told her, totally serious. He knew Maria had a mouth on her like no one would believe if you pushed the right buttons. Ok, maybe Michael and Liz would believe it…and Amy.
As everyone stepped out of the car, they turned as a group to look at the house before them. Then, looking nervously amongst themselves, all eyes finally landed on Max. They were waiting for him to take the lead as always. He swallowed hard, trying to shake off the fear of entering the only home he could remember. Isabel stepped over to her brother and took his hand in hers. “We do this together, Max, as a group. If anyone gets turned away…or-or anything…” her resolve faded somewhat as thoughts of what “anything” might mean ran through her head, but she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and lifted her chin as she continued. “Then we all have each other’s backs. We know we can trust each other.” She squeezed her brother’s hand, and he knew she was trying to reassure herself as well as him.
Touched by his sister’s support and then in turn by the support and trust he saw reflected in all the eyes in front of him, he turned his attention back to the front door of his home. Nodding briefly, he took the first step forward. “Let’s go,” he said quietly.
They didn’t make it all the way to the door, however, before it was flung open and Diane Evans came rushing toward them, her arms flung wide and tears spilling down her cheeks. “Oh my god! You’re home! You’re safe!” she cried as she enveloped her children and nearly crushed them in an encompassing hug. “We were so scared for all of you!”
The two siblings’ eyes met and Max read the hope and fear in his sister’s that was no doubt reflected in his own. “We’re ok, mom,” Isabel said tentatively, daring to put her arms around Diane and squeezing gently. When Diane didn’t even tense up but only hugged Isabel tighter, tears filled the younger woman’s eyes, and she had to swallow hard to keep from sobbing out loud.
After another hug that both embarrassed and pleased Max, Diane pulled away reluctantly and settled for holding their hands as she turned to the rest of the group. “Everyone, come inside, we’ve been waiting for you. I think there are several parents still asleep…” her voice trailed off as she noticed that the group was short a couple of people. Turning to Max, she asked, “Where are the others? Everyone is ok aren’t they?”
Nodding, Max started toward the house. “Yeah, but I only want to have to explain all this once, if that’s ok with you. We’re pretty beat after days of being on the road, and I could really use a long, hot shower.”
“Food!” Kyle piped up. “Lots and lots of food. And I’m not talking just snacks either. I mean real food.”
Everyone either laughed or quickly agreed with Kyle and Diane picked up the pace as the group filed inside the house. Lucas made no move towards the house, but leaned against the car, where Megan still slept peacefully in her car seat. Isabel noticed and, after a quick word to her mother, went back to see what was going on. “Hey, why aren’t you coming inside?” she asked. “Do you need help with Megan?”
Lucas shook his head, his eyes not meeting hers. “No, it’s just that this is time for you all to be with your family.” He left off there, letting the incomplete thought hang in the air.
Isabel nodded. “And you aren’t part of the family, is that it?” She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to the side with one eyebrow raised as she waited for an answer.
Nodding toward the little sleeping beauty in the back seat of the car, Lucas said quietly, “That little girl and Leslie are all the family I have. I don’t want to interfere with your time with your family.”
Shaking her head, Isabel quickly countered his thinking. “You don’t get it yet do you? Technically, Max is the only family I have on this planet. He is the only one that shares my blood…I think. But Michael has always been considered family, my parents, then came Liz, Maria and Alex…” She huffed, frustrated at not making her point as clear as she wanted. “What I’m trying to say is, our family is different in its definition than most humans. You, Leslie and Megan have already become a part of that family in the past few days as we’ve really gotten to know you better.”
Lucas stared at her, truly touched at her speech. It reminded him of someone else in his past, someone he had been afraid that he had lost forever. Now, he saw a glimpse of that same person in the beautiful blonde in front of him. He longed to take her into his arms but there were just too many reasons against it. Finally, he responded to her in a voice barely above a whisper, “Vilondra once said something similar to me. Do you have any memory of it?” When she shook her head slowly and glanced away, he dropped his gaze and swallowed hard. “It doesn’t matter.”
He started to retrieve his niece but Isabel stopped him. “Wait!” When he turned back with a questioning look, she stammered, suddenly unsure she wanted to know the answer to her own question. “What exactly did I…she…I say?”
He wanted to refuse to tell her but it wasn’t his place and wanted her very much to remember the person she once was. “It was when she told me that she had decided to join with Kivar. I argued strongly against it but she wouldn’t listen. After I pointed out that she was choosing a path of treason and, more importantly, one that would put her at odds with her family, Vilondra said, ‘You are my family. Everyone else just shares my blood. I love them, don’t get me wrong, but this war and my feelings for you have shown me a new meaning of family. I will do what is right and what I have to do to be able to secure your freedom. I only hope you will continue to see me the same way once you are free.’”
The recounting reverberated in Isabel’s soul. It wasn’t so much a sense of remembering the experience as the chord of rightness it struck inside her. She still wanted things to go right for Lucas and Leslie and she was willing to admit to her attraction to him. Would she ever remember her former life? If not, would Lucas constantly compare her to her former self? That brought up another slew of questions that made her head swim and her stomach ache.
Lucas pulled his niece into his arms and turned back to Isabel. “Lead the way, your highness.”
Turning to look at the jeep where Tess’ body lay in an unconscious heap in the back, Isabel asked, “What about her? Should we bring her inside?”
Shaking his head, Lucas answered, “I think we should wait until we can explain everything first. We don’t want to overly upset the parents.”
Nodding, Isabel led the way into the house and, bypassing the main rooms, headed straight upstairs to her room. Opening the door, she let Lucas pass through. “She can sleep in here. We’ll leave the door open a little so we can hear her when she wakes up.”
Downstairs, there was quite a crowd of people in the kitchen and living room. Amy had been hurt and confused by Maria’s quick dodge of her embrace and running upstairs until Alex had told her the likely place Maria had gone was the bathroom. Most of the parents had quickly moved to embrace their children, for reassurance as much as to reassure. Evelyn Whitman and Philip Evans were the exception in this. They hung back and studied the young people, not really recognizing them as the children they once thought they knew.
Finally, after Isabel, Lucas and Maria had joined the group, Amy spoke up. “Where’s Michael?”
“And Tess and Leslie?” Jim added.
Max ran a hand through his hair and said, “Maybe we ought to all sit down. This story could take a while.” Then he turned to Philip. “Dad…you don’t, I mean, you aren’t…afraid of me are you?” he asked tentatively.
It was the look of fear of rejection and the tone of Max’s voice that broke through Philip’s haze. He immediately embraced his son and said, “I could never be afraid of you. I’m sorry I didn’t greet you properly a minute ago, but I was just suddenly struck with how much you’ve changed in the last couple of years. You are no longer a little boy who needs his parents, but truly a man a father can be proud of.” He patted Max on the back and clapped him on the shoulder as he released him.
Smiling at the only father he could remember, Max told him, “Dad, I’ll always need you and mom, just not in the same ways I used to. You guys mean so much to me and Isabel. I just thought you should know that. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you everything sooner.”
“Me too. I hope you realize your mother and I will always love and accept you. Our love is unconditional.” Philip looked Max straight in the eyes as he said these words and Max, not trusting his voice for the emotion, simply nodded.
Alex turned to face his mother, noting with irony that the physical distance may only be a few feet between them, but he felt she had never been so far away. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he waited for her to make the first move. Before he found out about his friends’ alien status, if someone had asked who he could count on in his family no matter what, he would have answered his mother before the question was even finished. He was pretty sure his faith was well founded even now, but fear had placed doubt in his mind and would not let it simply be extracted by logic. He needed Evelyn’s reassurance.
Evelyn took a step toward her son, tears filling her eyes. She saw him before her as the little baby she brought home from the hospital, the toddler that had taken his first steps long before most other children, the self-proclaimed computer nerd…her baby. Holding her arms out to him, she moved closer. Examining him from head to toe, she asked quietly, “You’re alright? You’re not hurt are you?”
“No, mom, I’m not hurt,” Alex answered a little rebelliously, but he let her check him over for herself. “How about you? You handling all of this ok?”
Giving him half a smile and shrugging, she answered as honestly as she could. “I’m not sure, really. I mean, I’m so glad you are ok and I know these are your friends, but Alex, they are in real danger. I mean, FBI, other aliens, interplanetary wars, it all seems so…so…”
“Surreal?” he offered. When she nodded, he gave her half a smile. “I know. It was a lot for me to take in too. But, mom, these are good people. They’re on the right side and I feel like I’m doing something important by standing by them. I know there’s a danger of getting hurt but this is something I have to do. You and dad have always taught me to stand up for right, to never let anyone persuade me to turn my back just because doing the right thing is hard. This is it, mom…this is where I make my stand for right. Can you understand that? Can you support me in this?” Looking his mother in the eyes, Alex pleaded with her to understand.
Evelyn sniffed and looked down at where her son clasped her hands. Finally, still sniffing loudly, she tried desperately to blink back her tears and looked back up into his eyes. “I’m trying, Alex, but I’m so scared. I couldn’t stand it if anything ever happened to you.”
He gave her a grin and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “That’s why we’ve gotta win,” he quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Then he sobered again and gave her a squeeze. “Mom, I’m not looking to die for my cause but I will if I have to. They’ve already saved my life once…” at her sharp intake of breath, Alex hurried on, “And believe me it was a little too close. But I can’t turn my back on them. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
When he gave her a kiss on the cheek, Evelyn pulled herself together. “Well, that’s all I can ask I suppose. I’m proud of you, Alex.” She gave him a quick hug and Charles quickly put an arm around each of them.
Max cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. Looking at his own mother, he asked, “Can you put some coffee on? We’ve got a lot to tell everyone to catch you all up and I really would like to get this done as soon as possible so we can get some sleep. We’re pretty worn out.”
Diane nodded. “We’ve had both ours and Amy’s coffee pots going since Jim told us. Most of us didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ll get out some mugs for everyone.”
Isabel, Liz, and Lucas volunteered to do it for her so Max could get started. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair, Max held out his hands to the group. “Where do you want me to start?” he asked.
Philip was the one who spoke up. “Jim told us a lot, Max, but we’d like to hear everything from your perspective. Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Max nodded. “Ok, well, I guess the best place to begin would be with that day last September at the Crashdown…”
Just call me Phoenix...cause I'm back from the dead!