Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Ep 2 - 08/24/12

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PML
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Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Ep 2 - 08/24/12

Post by PML »

At this point going where the muse takes me. I should have a part up for Doubt in the next few days, barring misfortune.

Title- Uninstall

Author- PML

Disclaimer- Roswell is not mine. It is owned by Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, and Fox. This is for entertainment only and no infringement is intended. Puella Mahou Madoka Magika is owned by Studio Shaft and Aniplex. The song that inspired the title, Uninstall, is sung by Ishakawa Chiaki and was the opening to a different anime (Bokunoru) that I personally haven’t seen. Like the song though.

Category- XO ML/MM - Roswell/Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Rating- Mature

Summary- I am not sure whether I have the personal courage and chutzpah to actually post this. Probably just remain on my hard drive. Well, I was crazy enough to actually post my stories originally on RF and a couple other sites. Maybe I will find myself actually posting this.

Well enough of that. Roswell you all know well, I am sure. But how well do you know anime tropes? PMMM is a magical girl show… only it’s really not, as you will see if you read on. Liz Parker and Maria Deluca have a major secret, in the past both have contracted with an alien entity called Kuybey. In exchange for a wish, they are given magical powers and the duty to defend the world from witches. They have been mostly successful, only a few people in the local area have fallen under a witch’s kiss. Alex knows their secret and does his best to protect them.

Max, Michael and Isabel are aliens, just as in canon. And just as in canon, Max fell for Liz on his first day in school. He has never had the courage to tell her he is interested, and has pretty much simply stalked her and watched her from afar.

And then on a random weekday in September, Liz Parker is shot.

Hope you folks enjoy.
--

Max-

Max sat down in the booth, an annoyed Michael sitting across from him. Max’s eyes gravitated as always to Liz.

His mind was still on their shared Biology class, when she had turned to face him and told him flat out that they would never work.

“Find someone you can love and grow old with. Someone healthy and happy.” She had said. And she had smiled that sad smile of hers, “I will always envy the one you choose.” She had stood up and gathered her backpack.

How he had wanted to tell her how much I loved her. Just how much he cared. And yet….

How could she possibly love him, knowing who and what he was? How could anyone?

Michael grumbled, “You know, I would spring for a whole pizza at the Pizza Pan just to not be here.”

“I’m sorry, I was just dying for a Sigourney Weaver and some Orbit Rings.”

“Right, and a certain Miss Parker, who shall remain unnamed, has nothing to do with this?”

Max looked away from Liz and shrugged. “Maybe.”

Michael sighed, “Why don’t you just grow a pair and ask her out already.”

Max simply glared, “You know why.”

Michael smirked back, “Yes I do. Which is why this is all pointless. We should be concentrating on what part of the desert we are going to comb for artefacts this weekend. Staying here, well it isn’t helping you and let’s be honest it isn’t helping you.”

“Thank you, Isabel.” Max continued to glare at Michael.

“Hey, she is right about this and you know it.” Michael just looked over and waved at Maria, trying to get her attention.

Was it a sign of desperation that Max knew every waitress, and most of the regulars names? Maybe he really should give it a rest.

Max’s gaze swept back at Liz. But she wouldn’t be there. She would be here.

And despite her odd words today he simply couldn’t give her up. She was one of the few bright things in this life. Maybe Michael hadn’t thought through all the implications to their existence, but Max had. Their gifts made them so much more powerful than the average human. All their gifts could so easily be used to kill.

It would be so very easy, even for Michael. Max was sure this wasn’t a mistake. It was a feature. He had never told Michael that he thought they had been part of a botched invasion, but he was fairly sure Michael had had that thought from time to time.

But unlike Max and Isabel, Michael wanted to attract alien attention. And he wouldn’t exactly cry if it meant the death of mankind either.

Given his upbringing, this was not surprising.

No. It was better if they kept a low profile. From everyone and everything.

Having him working with Isabel over his obsession with Liz was new. “I don’t need to have you parrot her, you know.” Max said rubbing his forehead. For just a moment he felt like he had been touched somehow.

He looked up and saw Maria smiling at him and Michael. “So, you two here for your regular?”

Michael looked over at her, “Of course, whatever, scram. We were talking you know.”

Maria looked at Michael like he was pond scum, “And you just waved me over saying you were ready. Make up your mind.” She gripped her notepad tightly, the green gem of her silver ring suddenly gleaming. She grumbled, probably not realizing just how good his and Michael’s hearing really was, “Assuming you have one.”

Michael bridled, “Hey! You are one to talk you narcissistic bubble brain!”

Maria’s grin widened slightly.

Okay, maybe Maria knew more about them than they thought. She was an airhead. And often self-involved, but there was steel inside the blonde. And somehow over the last few months she had changed, becoming less self-conscious and more confident.

Maria shared a glance with Max, smiled and looked over at Liz. “You know, I could give you her number. Considering how well you tip to cover cave man’s lack of financial and social abilities, you have earned. Lord knows, I have put in a good word for you.”

Michael was fuming, his mouth opening and shutting.

Max simply said, “Maria, please. Just the regular.” He placed his hand hers. “And yes I will of course be sure to give you your usual tip.”

Maria pulled her hands back just a minute, her smile disappearing. “I was serious Max. Kyle isn’t right for her. She needs….” A sad smile as she looked over her shoulder at her friend, “Someone like you.”

Michael smirked, “And you?”

Maria ignored him. She scribbled the order onto her pad. And a number onto a sheet of paper. She slammed it down in front of Max. “Call her.”

“Hey, I was talking to you!”

Maria turned away and began to walk to another table. She stopped and looked back at their table.

Max heard again as Maria said under her breath, “Fuck this. I’m gonna die young anyway.” Her ring glittered again, “Got to live for the now.” She scribbled something down and slammed it in front of Michael, “You want to know what kind of men I want,” A seductive smile sliding into place as she glared at Michael. “I prefer men of action.” She slammed another page from her notebook down in front of Michael.

Michael backed away from the fierce woman.

Maria said cheerfully, “That is my number Michael. You will call it. Or I will tell the school the truth.”

Michael just stared at her and grunted.

Maria smiled, “You come in here every day with Max. Your eyes certainly don’t follow Liz. Cherry is married, and let’s face it Agnes is well Agness. So I can only think of two reasons. One, you are coming here to look at me.” Her grin widened, “Or you are coming her to be with Max. So romantic, two men who never go on dates and slip off into the desert to spend their time alone on the weekends….” With that she left to turn in the ticket.

Max looked over and Liz smiled sadly at him before turning away. She had already prepared the drinks for their table and handed them to Cherry to deliver. Liz took Maria aside and they argued softly for a few moments.

Michael just stared at the piece of paper before him. “I can’t quite make out what they are saying. Can you?”

Max shook his head, “Too far, too much white noise from the kitchen.” He paused for a second. “But you know they are talking about us.”

Michael was still staring at the paper in front of him, “So are you going to call Liz?”

Max smiled slightly at his stunned friend, “No point. She already told me we wouldn’t work out.”

Michael looked over at Max, with an indignant glare. “So why are we here.”

Max shrugged, and softly said, “It doesn’t matter Michael. I knew we would never work out from the start. That doesn’t stop me from loving her.”

Maria was waving her hands vigorously, trying to defend her actions no doubt.

Liz wasn’t having any of it. She gave Maria some orders and Maria sullenly walked over and carried food to a pair of sullen travelers.

Max smiled indulgently at Liz. She was always so amazing. The smile turned to a frown as she saw her freeze into place, her eyes strangely blank. He felt again that whisper of power, and the ring glittered.

A pearl shouldn’t be able to do that. And there was no way a light source should have shined on it like that.

What was going on?

Maria called out, “Liz!”

It sounded like a very large firecracker going off. He looked over to where the sound had come from. Michael pushed him to the floor.

A gun. Someone had just fired a gun.

Liz. He had to make sure she was safe.

Her body simply lay there, a small pool of blood spreading.

No.

He couldn’t let this happen. Not to her.

Michael tried to hold him back, “Max, no. You don’t even know if you can….”

Max grumbled out, “Don’t care.” And rushed to Liz.

He had never healed something as large as a human before. Well outside of bruises and small cuts. This was going to be a challenge.

As they had all learned the hard way, breaking things was easy, fixing them was hard. The more complex the system, the harder it was to fix.

You didn’t get more complex than a human body. So many interconnected systems. So easy to damage on thing while fixing another. Isabel was afraid to even try to heal more than small cuts. Michael couldn’t even do that.

Max was their healer. And he would prove it today. Although how Liz would react, Max wasn’t sure.

But that didn’t matter. He had to save her.

She was his life.

Michael called, “Keys Max.”

Max tossed them in a daze, preparing to heal Liz.

Her eyes were closed. He would have to forge a connection if this was going to work at all. “Liz, you need to open your eyes….”

Liz opened her eyes. Eyes that should be full of shock. But while there was pain in them, they were clear and lucid. “Max, go.”

Max took the connection that was there and flooded into her. And he saw things.

Liz on the playground, fully aware of how stupid her dress made her look. But determined to wear it for her mother’s sake….

Liz, older, but on a similar playground, watching as new kids got off the bus. Noting with interest as a small shy boy stared at her. It made her feel strange for just a moment, before she lost him in the crowd and she went back to playing with her friends.

Liz talking with a small animal. Confused but interested in what he was saying.

Liz trying to go into the burning Crashdown to save her parents, the firefighters pulling her back. Screaming for her parents, a small animal no one else can see comes up to comfort her.

Walking to a horrible dream, Liz gets up and rushes downstairs to turn off the gas in the Crashdown kitchen below their apartment, averting a fire. She is cradling a small whitish gem in her hand.

The healing energy rushed into Liz, but it met with another power, already knitting her back up. And there had been a curious emptiness to her. He had felt like her body had been more of a garment that she was familiar with, rather than where she resided.

Max was very confused.

Liz sat up, “Go Max. I can take it from here. Your secret is safe with me.”

Maria rushed over, “Liz?”

“Damage control.”

“I am on it.” Maria said.
Michael was back, “Come on, Max. We are leaving.”

Max just let himself be pulled along. What was Liz? She wasn’t like him or his friends. But she hadn’t truly felt human.

Almost, but not quite.

Michael growled, “Well Max, are you happy? You have blown our cover and now we have to go.”

Max just sat there thinking. Trying to analyze all that he had seen and felt when he had healed her. “I don’t know Michael. But I think Liz has a secret every bit as large as ours.”

And they drove off.
Last edited by PML on Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:29 pm, edited 24 times in total.
PML
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 1 - 07/1

Post by PML »

Thanks to those reading along. Hope you folks enjoy.


Uninstall part two

Maria

Maria stomped into Liz’s room. Liz had been distant and distracted. And while Maria had taken care of the clean-up of the situation, dealing with the blood stains and making sure that none of the other guests suspected anything strange, Liz had retreated to her room.

Liz had only talked to the Sheriff and her father, convincing lies springing from her mostly honest mouth.

Once Liz had teased the more gullible tourists, but had been mostly honest. That had changed. Now, with so much to hide, Liz had become an excellent liar.

So had Maria. Once she had been able to tell her mother everything. And they still talked, but Maria was sure her mother knew there were things Maria was unwilling to talk about.

Her mother probably thought it was something about guys. That she had an unrequited crush or that she might be getting in trouble. In truth her grades hadn’t been the best the last couple years. But much of that had been her spending so much time with Liz and Alex, and Amy approved of both of them.

Of course, her mother didn’t realize exactly what they were actually doing any more than Liz’s parents did.

Maria closed her eyes. So much to hide.

Thankfully the world itself seemed to help them so often. Most people simply didn’t see the things going on that they didn’t want to. Like witches. Or Barriers.

Of course those who entered a Barrier and entered a Witches’ labyrinth typically never left, killed by one of the things inside.

Just another missing person.

“Liz. Talk to me. What happened down there.”

Liz was just sitting at her desk, reading something on her computer. “There has been another Walpurgis sitting. Somewhere in Turkey, apparently. Massive damage, 30000 killed, and one confirmed death.”

Maria shook her head, “Come on, you know every always brings up that Witch. I don’t think she exists. We have it bad enough with the familiars and Witches we get here. I don’t see why they bother to track it.” She shook her head, “Any local leads?”

Liz shook her head, “But we should try Las Cruces this weekend. Ever since Emily….”

Maria looked away. She didn’t like thinking of what had happened to the girl. On how it had completely changed everything she had thought she had known about what she had been so excited about.

No. Maria needed to focus. “Show me, Liz. I know you were shot. I know it had to cost you. I have an extra Grief Seed.”

With a flash the ring on Liz’s finger turned into an egg like container, the pearl like gem gleaming brightly white. “I still had the one we got. The one we found when we. The one….” Liz looked down.

Maria sighed. She hadn’t meant to make Liz cry. Emily had been Liz’s acquaintance and fellow magical girl for well over a year before the stress and strain of being what they were finally caused her to break down.

And Liz and Maria learned the true price of their wishes.

No. She wasn’t going to dwell on this. Time was an enemy that would steal her life away soon enough. She wanted to enjoy the time she had. Negative emotions could be just as damaging to your health as rampant magical use.

Liz spoke up, her voice still thick with tears. “Why did you give Max my number?”

“You know why. We need to experiment and enjoy ourselves as much as we can.”

Liz looked over, her face still a little splotchy, but she had a small smile. “Is that why you gave your number to Michael?”

Maria put her hands up and smoothed out her uniform. “Ordinarily I would stay like three thousand miles from someone like him. The man has bad boyfriend scribbled all over him.”

Liz smiled a little more, “And?”

“And he’s kind of cute in a rebel without a clue sort of way. Heck, I have been crushing on him for a month or so now. There is just something about him, “ Maria shivered with excitement. “Like he has some sort of energy about him. It’s these vibes.” She cocked her head to the side, “You know I don’t know if I would have noticed them without making that contract though.”

Liz nodded, “Every storm has a silver lining. Well good for you. But be careful.”

Maria’s eyes tightened, “Do you see anything about him?”

Liz shook her head. “I do know that Max and I won’t work. Maybe if I weren’t a magical girl,” She shook her head. “Gah, saying that just sounds so cheesy.”

Maria looked at her own ring, transforming it into a green egg that rolled around on her palm. Pretty much solid green. Very little pollution in it at all. Of course, Liz had drilled how important it was to keep your Soul Gem clear and bright. Absently she said, “Yeah. I never did understand why Kuybey always was adamant about calling us that. Like we were in Sailor Moon or something.”

Liz looked away, “Kuybey never lies. That is the only constant I have gotten from my questions. He never lies.”

Maria’s mind switched again to Emily, “And now we know why.”

Liz said, “Please Maria, I would rather not talk about it.” She turned off her computer, “So did you want to go scouting the city, see if there are any signs?”

“Not until you tell me why you froze this afternoon. I have seen you in action before. I know how fast you can move. You can see the freaking future! How did you possibly get hit with a normal mundane bullet?”

“Fate.”

Maria just stared at her friend, “Fate? What kind of answer is that?”

Liz shook her head, “I don’t know why, but it was important that I get hit with that bullet. That whole moment had… I don’t know if I can describe it…. Inertia? Like it was the natural state of affairs?”

Maria shook her head, “So the normal state of affairs would be for you to die on the floor of your parents diner? Or get exposed for getting shot and not getting hurt by it?”

Liz snorted, “Oh, it hurt. Pain lets us know we are still alive, remember that…”

“Yeah, don’t set my sensitivity too low.” She shook her head, “Where do you get all this information?”

“Some of it from that website Alex found, but mostly from Kuybey. As I said he never lies.”

Maria shook her head, “He never tells the truth either. He is so fucking manipulative. Had I known….” Maria looked away.

Liz said, “You have to know the questions to ask.”

Maria couldn’t help the selfish tears sliding down her cheeks. If she hadn’t agreed to help, Liz would now be dead. Disappeared in an endless labyrinth with only Maria and Alex having any clue where she had gone.

But while she loved her friend, there were times when the knowledge of what she had so carelessly tossed away nagged at her.

Maria felt as Liz hugged her, “I would have preferred if you hadn’t saved me. I told you. It was my time. I was happy to help those I could. And now….”

Maria said gruffly, “Yeah. Well, what is done is done.” She hugged her friend back, “Let’s go be heroes, okay?”

Liz smiled sadly, “Heroes. Yeah.”

And they left.
PML
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 2 - 07/1

Post by PML »

And so we continue our story.

Uninstall part 3

Michael

Michael was staring at Max. How could his friend have screwed up everything so fast. And why wasn’t he even rattled by it?

Max was simply driving with his normal expression. The only sign something had changed was a slight frown.

Isabel on the other hand was completely livid, “I cannot believe you have destroyed our lives over one piece of lunacy Max. What were you thinking?”

Max said wryly, “That I wasn’t going to let the girl I love die on the floor of her restaurant?”

“Max!”

Michael turned to face Isabel, “Face it, Max simply isn’t rational where it comes to Liz.”

Max said simply, “Oh, and what are your plans for Maria? She did give you her number. And threatened to tell the whole school you didn’t because you were gay.”

Isabel said, “What?”

Michael ran his hand through his hair, “See this just drives my point. They know that we go out to the desert every weekend. And what kind of a stalker does she have to be to know all that?”

Isabel chuckled, “Well you do both spend an awful amount of time alone out there. Is there something I should know about you two?”

Max said, “Michael she knows because we do so much of our planning there.”

“See? I told you going there that much was going to bite us in the ass at some point!”

Max glanced over at Michael, “Calm down, Michael. Everything will be okay. They won’t call attention to use because I doubt they want attention themselves.”

Isabel’s brow wrinkled, “Why could you possibly think that.”

“When I made the connection to heal her…”

Isabel said, “You tried to heal her inside of a packed diner? Max! What the hell were you thinking?”

Max pulled over to the side of the road.

Isabel and Michael exchanged glances.

Michael opened his mouth to back up Isabel’s statement and just closed his mouth. He had never seen his friend look like this before.

Max glared at them, his fury evident. “We already covered this. Was it stupid? Yes. Even I will admit that. Would I do it again? YES! I love Liz. I would do anything for her. ANYTHING!” Max’s voice continued to rise until he was nearly screaming at them, “Leaving her to die, alone and afraid on the floor of her parents café… No, there is no way I would simply walk away from that. And for you to ask me to do that, for you both to think that it would be acceptable for me to do that….”

Isabel said quietly, “Max?”

Michael had never seen the normally calm and controlled Max like this. Sure, Michael knew his friend had a temper. But to display it so openly?

Max continued, ignoring Isabel, “This conversation, at least the part about healing Liz is over.” He looked away, “And it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

There was silence in the Jeep.

Michael looked at Isabel for a moment, surprised to see she was crying. So he asked the obvious question. “Why?”

Max sighed, “I didn’t really heal her Michael. I made the connection, I gave her some energy, but she didn’t really need it. Her body was already healing itself.”

Isabel blurted, “That isn’t possible. Are you trying to say that, that Liz Parker of all people is like us?”

Michael remembered back to the incident. Both Maria and Liz had acted strange. And what was it she had told Maria?

Maria had to have seen the blood stained dress.

Michael closed his eyes and tried to remember, to see the things he had ignored in favor of getting Max the hell out of there. And there he remembered.

Liz had told Maria to take care of damage control. And Maria had tried to herd everyone but Max away from Liz.

And, this was the most damning part. Something he had completely ignored. The crimson stain on the dress had begun to fade. Liz’s hand didn’t have a ring and she was holding what looked like a stylized white egg.

He felt himself be shaken from his reverie. Heard them calling his name.

Liz Parker wasn’t human.

And the look on Maria’s face as she had glanced at Michael and Max, it had probably mirrored the look on his own face at the time. Someone knew their secret.

Their secret.

Michael felt himself return, “Holy shit.”

“Excuse me?”

Michael looked from Isabel to Max, “Max is right. Liz isn’t human. And neither is Maria.”

Isabel said uncertainly, “So they are like us?”

Max shook his head, “I don’t think so. Liz didn’t feel the same as the both of you. She felt human only not.”

Michael nodded to himself, “There is something going on here. And we need to investigate.” He reached into his pocket to the number Maria had given him. He looked to Isabel, “So, what do I need to do to go on a date?”
PML
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 3 - 07/1

Post by PML »

And here we go again. Please note that this chapter is occuring simultaneously with Part 5, Michael's date with Maria.

saori_1902- Thanks. Hope you continue to enjoy.


Uninstall part 4

Isabel-

Isabel looked at the clock. Midnight. And no call from Michael about how the date went.

Not that she expected it had lasted this long. More likely her rebellious friend simply had forgotten or was too embarrassed to call her. More likely the latter, although given their history, his forgetting something this important wasn’t impossible.

Michael wasn’t the most reliable of agents.

Well given his home life, how could he be expected to be? He was just as smart as herself or Max, probably could do very well in school. He just saw no reason to.

Unmotivated and unreliable. He had a distinct contempt for many of normal human societal concerns. Yes there was little doubt that even Maria Deluca, flake that she was, would see that Michael was not really ready for a girlfriend.

So why hadn’t he called her yet?

Isabel sighed. While she didn’t need a full night’s sleep to function, she preferred it. Vastly. Isabel liked sleeping. Dreams were wonderful.

Dreams were her playground. What was more she didn’t have to simply stay inside hers. It was a little less restful, but she could with a little preparation visit another’s dreams.

All it needed was a focus. Something to allow a connection to form. She preferred pictures. With someone she was very familiar with, like her parents or Max and Michael, she didn’t even need that anymore. But for anyone else, even those who considered her a ‘friend’ she needed a picture.

She didn’t really let anyone truly get close to her. She couldn’t. Not really. But if she had to be alone, she wanted to be alone in a crowd. To have people to share her loneliness with.

She loved Michael and Max, but they were not enough for her.

Yes. She would do some dream walking tonight. But who should the target be?

Maria? Well that might be good, give her an idea of what had happened tonight. But there was a good possibility that the girl was still awake. Possible that she would keep Liz awake talking too.

No. Not Maria. Her mind was too unfocused. Even if the date had gone poorly there was no guarantee the ditzy blonde would be dreaming of it. No it was just as likely she would be dreaming of a dream guy, or whatever her heart desired.

Liz on the hand probably was influenced by what happened to her this afternoon. She had been shot and then Max had idiotically tried to heal her. In public.

Also, Liz was an organized person. Annoying as the brunette could be, Isabel knew Liz was bright and smart. Enough to keep up with her and Max, easily. She was not popular, but she was liked by many. And she was almost always right.

It was like the freaking little brunette could see into the future or something!

Isabel had never tried anything, she knew her brother well enough to know it would make him seriously angry if she messed with Liz. But Isabel had watched others try. Liz was just so perfect. Her grades were impeccable, every girls’ sports team wanted her because of how good she was in physical education. The girl was good at just about everything.

The teachers loved her. The Perfect Miss Parker.

Luckily they moved in different social circles. In fact, for the last few years Liz had slowly withdrawn from the social scene. Not completely, but enough that she was not considered popular. She spent all of her time with Maria and Alex.

Which considering how Isabel herself spent a lot of time with Michael and Max was looking pretty ominous to Isabel. Isabel had an active social life, but she never really felt at home with the others.

The other humans.

Because at the end of the day, Isabel knew she really wasn’t fully human. It wasn’t just the powers. She KNEW. She could feel the differences between her friends and the other humans.

More than anything, Isabel wished she were normal. But she wasn’t, and she used the gifts she had to the fullest, even when Max told her not to.

She might as well get what she was paying for.

But another girl like her. Even if it was Parker.

That was worth checking out. Because as much as Max and Michael sometimes tried, as familiar as they were, they were still guys. There were just things they simply didn’t understand.

So Isabel grabbed her School Yearbook and turned the pages until it had a picture of Liz Parker. She touched the picture. There was an odd resistance. Something she didn’t feel even when Max was shielding his dreams.

No it was something strange. Some odd barrier of some sort.

Should she simply give up? It could be that Liz expected and protected herself from Dream Walking. It certainly was possible.

But it didn’t seem like the barrier was concrete. It felt like there were gaps, openings.

Like some sort of odd maze or labirynth.

So Isabel pressed on, searching for a way in.

And she found one.

It would have been better, much better if she had simply let it go. If she had simply gone to sleep and into her own dreams. For what she found there was utterly alien. Completely and totally inhuman.

Firstly the colors were wrong. She saw them as she always did, in blues and reds and greens. But she KNEW they weren’t. The colors were something else. Her mind desperately trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

All around her space was distorted as she saw Liz’s bedroom. One moment normal, the next coated in flames. Clocks flowing by her, numbers and pie charts filling the background. Random nonsensical equations and lines proliferated.

It was WRONG. She could feel her mind BURN at the wrongness. She felt as she tried to understand, as her mind tried in vain to truly grasp what she was seeing.

And failing.

Only worse, she could feel as a different part of her began to awaken. A part of her that she and Michael and Max had speculated on, but had never really believed existed. It too was alien. It too was incomprehensible.

And it was her. She could feel that too. That that alien being, that was struggling to understand the crazy non-Euclidean world around her was part of her. And some of what she, of what the part of her that was Isabel, couldn’t understand, this presence could.

Some, but not all.

Perhaps that is what saved her. Or perhaps Liz reached her in time.

Liz touched her and the world seemed to stabilize. All the chaos around her was still there, but held at bay somehow.

Isabel sobbed in relief and clung to the smaller girl, “Thank you!”

Liz sighed and looked around. “Fascinating. I suppose this is the beginning of my barrier. This is part of what will manifest when I…”

Isabel looked up and into Liz’s eyes, “You really are an alien aren’t you? You really are like me.”

Liz shook her head, “I am, or rather was human. As to what I am now, well it is complicated. This isn’t really the place. I don’t know how long I can protect you.” Liz began to drag Isabel along. “At the very least I still know my way. I can still escape this.”

Isabel looked around, “What is this?”

Liz sighed, “This is my barrier. My subconscious mind that will manifest if I give into despair. Better, much better if I simply die.” She continued to drag Isabel along, “But I am not ready. Not ready to die. I need to hold on.”

They came to a wall that had an odd inscription on it. Isabel’s mind burned as she tried vainly to read it. Part of her, that alien part eagerly sought it out, pushing the rest of her human brain into over drive. It wanted, no LUSTED after these secrets.

Liz put her hand on it and it opened, “I still know the way. I am still sane.” She sobbed, “But I am so tired, Isabel. I am so very tired.”

Isabel felt herself catapulted back into her bed. Where she awoke with a scream, her mind still BURNING from what she had seen. She could feel herself begin to warp and twist and break.

Max was there in an instant, and under his glowing hands she could feel her mind begin to settle, her mind rationalizing what it had seen. Making it safer for her to remember.

But she remember how it had felt, remembered how it had BURNED her.

And she remember the OTHER inside of her. The alien. It was still awake. And it was still alien.

Isabel could feel it staggering around in her mind, as confused with her as she was with it. She could feel as under her brothers power it went back to sleep.

But its sleep was not as deep as it once had been. It had awakened once. It could easily do so again.

Max asked her questions, but it hurt to think. Hurt to even be herself.

And so he let her sleep.

Part of her refused to let her exhaustion pull her down, refused to go back to the dream plane. But she was so tired.

So she slept. And if she dreamt, and if her dreams were alien or human, she could not say. Only that when she woke the world had changed.
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 5 - 07/2

Post by PML »

Really this story is coming out at near NANO speeds. Lets hope my muse can keep this up shall we?


Uninstall part 5

Maria-

Maria couldn’t help giggling. Michael was the most hapless man she had ever dated. He had zero social skills that she could note. He was worse than she expected.

And his kisses lit her on fire.

Quite the challenge. How could she keep herself from killing him long enough to get another excuse to kiss? Because seriously, every time he opened his mouth it was like he was trying to piss her off.

The non-verbal subtext was a different story. The poor boy had it bad. Liz would probably be commenting about pheromone production and subtle body posture movements that Maria was subconsciously picking up.

Maria simply figured she was a borderline empath, that had become pretty close to a full one once she had been given her soul gem.

Sure she couldn’t read everyone, but Michael. Well he was loud and clear.

He wanted her. And he also was frightened of how he was feeling. Not to mention he was trying to subtly get information about Liz. Badly.

She probably wasn’t helping with her constant stream of comments. She couldn’t help it. She was nervous. And being nervous made her chatty. Well okay, chattier than usual.

Just trying to fill the void.

Michael sighed, “Sorry about this.”

Maria smiled, “No problem. Mom was happy to let me have the car.”

Michael ran his fingers through his spiky hair, “I need to stop by my house. You just stay in the car. I will only be a minute.” He exited the car and ran into the trailer he lived in.

Maria looked around. The trailer park Michael lived in looked fairly seedy. Well that might explain some of his missing polish, but not all.

Well maybe. But there was an oddness about him. A level of contradiction. Michael was known to be a slacker and delinquent. His grades were poor enough to wonder how he was pushed from grade to grade.

But just the little time she had spent with him showed her that he had a sharp, if someone hidden intelligence. He quoted literature like Liz quoted scientists. He had a complete disregard for authority and yet had a high appreciation of order.

He just didn’t make any sense and Maria was eager to peel back the layers and find out more.

She laughed to herself. Maybe Michael wasn’t the only one that had it bad.

It was just those kisses….

At first she had thought she had accidently upped her tactile sensitivity too high. It had felt as if her mind were exploding in the most pleasant of ways. But no, she had checked, and if anything it had been set a little low, the better to ignore the tiny aches and pains of a long day at school and work.

Was his touch as explosive as his kisses?

Maria wanted to find out.

What a minute. What was taking so long?

Maria closed her eyes and increased the sensitivity of her hearing. Her ring shifted from her finger to her hands. She rubbed it slightly. And felt as the magic began to flow.

“Mikey, why isn’t the wash done?”

Michael answered, “Look I don’t have time to do all the work around here while you get blitzed on alcohol. You’re supposed to be the adult here. Why don’t you show it for once.”

“You stupid little boy.” The sound of a scuffle.

Maria got out of the car. The gem flowed away and became part of a necklace that settled between her breasts. The jeans and blouse ensemble she had been wearing shifted too. Became a green and golden low-cut shirt and skirt. And kick ass boots.

Of the whole ensemble, Maria wished she could keep the boots all the time. Practical and stylish, they never seemed to scuff no matter what insane stunt she pulled. And they were always so comfortable.

She was stalling. She wasn’t sure if she should intervene here. The transformation she had gone through had been subconscious. And that had frightened her a little.

She had done that for Liz on a couple of occasions and Alex once. But to do that on her first date with Michael? A man she knew was destined to break her heart, when she knew just how dangerous negative emotions were to her stability.

This could be a problem.

At least she hadn’t called up any of what Liz called Conceptual Weapons. That would be awkward to explain.

Well she would deal with it later. She needed to deal with this now.

Maria walked up the steps to the trailer. It was quiet too quiet. She opened the door.

Neither Michael nor the older man paid her any attention. The older man had a bottle of booze in one hand, from which he was sipping. The other held a revolver. He finished his drink, “So not so arrogant now, are you boy. Maybe if I put a couple holes in you, you will finally treat me with the respect I deserve!”

Michael snorted, “I already give you the respect you deserve. You only keep me around for the monthly check. You won’t shoot me. I am worth more to you alive.”

“You want to bet on that, punk?” He began to pull the trigger.

Maria didn’t wait. Three quick punches and one kick later, the older man was bruised and unconscious on the floor. “No wonder you have no social skills if this is the man who raised you.”

“What the hell are you doing here? I told you to wait in the car!”

“And you would be dead now if I did.” Maria shook her head. He really was a lost cause. She saw a glowing scar on the older man’s neck.

“You mean, Hank? No he was just trying to feel important. The gun probably wasn’t even loaded.” Michael stood up. He walked over to her, “He gets a check from the state. It probably makes up half his income, and much of his liquor money. There is no way he would risk that.”

Maria shook her head and began to swear.

Michael said, “What the hell is wrong now.”

Maria transformed back into her regular clothes and looked at her soul gem. “Damn it, Liz and I missed something. Or maybe it just rolled into town.”

Michael just stared at her. “What the fuck just happened?”

Maria looked closely at the scar. It was a slightly glowing pattern. A Witch’s Kiss. She could see it begin to fade.

Did she have time to see if it had touched anyone else in the park? Or should she chase the Witch down before it could do more damage? She looked at her soul gem and fed a pulse of magic into it.

The green gem glowed very brightly to her left.

The Witch was still in the park. And it was definitely a Witch, not a familiar. She hesitated a moment, wondering if she should awaken Liz.

No. Let her rest after the shock of this afternoon. Maria had only faced Familiars by herself so far, but it was time for her to face a full blown Witch.

Maria took a deep breath and walked out of the trailer, her eyes on the Soul Gem. It would lead her to the Witch’s Barrier. Then she would thread the defences of the Witch’s Labyrinth and finally to the center where the Witch lay.

And she would kill it.

Her first solo Grief Seed if she beat it.

Michael grabbed her shoulder, “What is going on here? I mean I know Liz isn’t human and you know her secret. Hell, you probably aren’t as well. You were so fast back there. Not human.”

Maria turned and gave Michael a big kiss. She felt as he took a moment before he melted in her arms. She smiled at him. “This has been a pretty bad date, Michael. I am going to have to go now and deal with something important. So I will take a rain check on dinner. Tomorrow maybe?”

He shook her slightly, “Look woman, I need answers.”

Maria smiled and easily pulled herself out of his clinch. Sure he was strong. But he was only human.

It was a bad thing to be a Magical Girl, but there were perks.

Michael just stood there, shocked.

Maria laughed, “Tomorrow. Over dinner. I tell you my secrets and you tell me yours.” She gave him a gleaming smile, “And if you are a real good boy, I will let you get a double or triple tomorrow. Sure its fast, but I don’t have a lot of time.”

She walked quickly, following the Witch. It would likely vanish soon.

There. Right there. Maria smiled. It was a small slightly frightened smile, but still she was confident. She could do this.

She pressed the sigil on the Barrier and felt as it gave way.

And she was gone.

--

Michael

Michael stared at the now vanished girl. What was going on here? He was an alien hybrid and had grown accustomed to strange things, but this was ridiculous.

He had NO clue what was going on. And that woman had his head spinning so badly he could barely think.

He walked up to the symbol that was imprinted faintly on the air. It was slowly fading.

Michael needed answers. Maria had them. Maria had done something to open this. If he wanted his answers he needed to follow her. And protect her.

What? Where had that thought come from?

Sure she was a great kisser, but protect her? That was insane.

Still she did have some of his answers.

“God, I hope I don’t regret this.” He pressed his hands on the symbol and focused his powers on it.

it gave way.

And the world went insane….
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 5 - 07/2

Post by PML »

I hope that you folks are enjoying the story. Let me know if anyone has any questions.


Uninstall part 6

Max

Max stood over his sister and watched as she peacefully slept. He put the Yearbook away. He had seen the picture her hand had been hovering on.

Liz Parker.

Something Isabel had seen had nearly broken his proud sister. Isabel had always claimed the dream plane as hers. And while he and to a lesser extent Michael, had come to recognize her visits, he had never been able to reciprocate. The closest he had ever come was when they connected directly, and even that was hard.

The truth was, Isabel was better at most of their powers. If only because she practiced them all the time. It had been something he himself had been against. What if someone had seen her?

Now he was wondering if they knew enough to protect themselves. Because Liz was different that much he knew for certain. But was she safe? Or was Liz actually a hidden enemy of theirs.

Max didn’t know. All he knew is that despite the fact that she might be an enemy he STILL loved her.

Max sighed and said, “I am hopeless.” He placed his hand over his sleeping sister and felt as his powers flowed into her. Reading her vital signs and her vitality.

Isabel’s cell phone rang.

Who could be calling her this late? Max walked over and looked at the number displayed.

Liz Parker. Liz was calling Isabel.

Max looked over at his sister. No. There was no way Max was going to going to wake her. Not after what she had been through. The look in her eyes, as if she had seen Hell itself.

Max gritted his teeth. They needed to know. They needed to know just how dangerous Liz was. Had Max truly been that wrong? Was Liz… evil?

There was only one way to know. Max picked up the phone.

Liz’s anxious voice came over the phone. “Oh, thank God, you picked up Max! I wasn’t sure you would do it.”

Max cautiously said, “How did you…”

“Know it was you? I have a limited ability at precognition. It is why I didn’t call the main line. There was over a ninety percent chance your mother would pick up. It’s after midnight, and she would never get you. Moreover it would dramatically increase the chance that she would get up to check on the two of you. She knows you would be in this room as the chance of Isabel screaming when she awoke nearly reached unity. Sorry I am rambling. She will still check on you both, most likely within the next ten minutes. It would be well if you met her, perhaps over a cup of warm milk and calm her over your sister’s scream. It is only because she knows that you are the one that comforts her during her infrequent nightmares that she hasn’t come in already.”

Max was silent for a moment. “You seem to know a lot about me.”

There was a nervous giggle on the other end of the line. “I am in the same boat as you are. Different circumstances, of course, but there is much that is similar. Before I get distracted, is Isabel okay?”

“Liz, look, I am a little confused here. Isabel, well we can talk about that face to face I think. Maybe over breakfast?”

“Sure thing, how about tomorrow at that bagel place down town. The one by the fountain?”

Max nodded, he knew where it was. “Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No, but I would like to ride in with you to school if that is okay. I have a lot to tell you. Isabel can come too. She probably has questions about what she saw.”

“What exactly happened tonight?” Max tightened his grip on the phone and looked at Isabel. For a moment he felt a chill as if something had walked over his grave. He stared around the room.

Something was here. He could feel it.

But he couldn’t see it.

Liz said, “No, it is better if we talked in person. I have questions too, to be honest. Your secret is safe with me, and I hope mine will be both of you. Say six-thirty?”

“Yeah, that would be good.” Max continued to look about. It was gone. Had it been his imagination? So much was happening, Max wasn’t sure.

“I will see you tomorrow then. Oh, and tender my apology to Isabel too. I mean I plan on apologizing to her in person too, but I just want her to know that what happened wasn’t on purpose. It, it is just what I am now.” Liz’s voice sounded sad at the end.

“Liz…”

“Max, I know what you are going to say. And you will mean it. But, Max, this is all going to end in tragedy for both of us. Seriously.” Liz sounded both grim and bitter. “Maybe if I hadn’t made that wish, maybe if I were normal…. Oh, God, this is so hard Max. So very hard.”

Max concentrated on the sound of her voice. He needed to go to her. But Isabel? What about her? What if there was something wrong and she woke up and needed him?

Normally this wouldn’t be an issue. But after tonight. Max closed his eyes, “I wish that I could be there for you. I wish that I could hold you and kiss away your tears.”

Liz sobbed on the other end of the line. Her voice was ragged as she said, “I figured it would be something like this. I knew that I wouldn’t be strong enough. I never am. Not in any of those other timelines. I can never fully push you away. Even when I need to. This is going to hurt us both Max. Know that it will end in tragedy. But Max. I broke up with Kyle this morning. I knew this was coming.”

Max couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He still wasn’t sure she wasn’t a threat to them. And yet, this was in so many ways his dream. In fact, he was fairly sure this was indeed a cruel dream that he would wake to. That he would go to the bagel shop Liz had suggested and she wouldn’t be there.

It had to be a dream. Good things like this didn’t happen to him. And so he said, “Liz, I don’t care what may happen. To be with you… even for a short while, would be more than I could ever hope for.”

Liz’s voice was still choked up, but she sounded much less bitter. “Hope. It always comes back to hope, doesn’t it?”

“Liz?”

“It is kind of late, and we will be meeting tomorrow early. So I really should go.”

“Yeah.” Max said, sad that he wouldn’t be able to hear her voice for another six hours or so.

Yes, he had it bad. And knew it well. If only because Isabel would never let it go.

“And Max?”

“Yes, Liz?”

“I love you.” And the line went dead.

Max just stared at the phone. Had she actually said that she loved him?

There was a knock on the door. Diane opened it. “Is everything okay?”

Max set down the phone. And said in a hushed voice, “Yeah, Isabel was just having a nightmare. I was just about to leave.”

Diane looked at Isabel, calmly sleeping now. And then again back at Max, “There is nothing wrong?”

Max ushered Diane out the door, “There was a shooting at the Crashdown today. It had Isabel a little rattled.”

“Don’t you eat there a lot?”

Max grinned and nodded, “Yeah. Nobody was hurt. Why don’t I tell you about it over a cup of warm milk?”

Diane hugged him, “Sure.”

--
Liz

Liz stared at the phone. She had actually said it.

Part of her was dreading what was coming. The heartbreak that was sure to follow.

Liz closed her eyes. Maria had been right. Maybe this would cause some pain. For both her and Max. But if she stopped living, how long would she last?

Max would give her a reason to hold on. A reason to fight.

He would give her hope.

Liz let her soul gem flow from its ring form to its natural state. It rolled around on her palm as she studied it, “It all comes back to it doesn’t it. It all comes back to hope.”

She willed it back into ring form and got up and danced for joy.

For Liz Parker was in love.

--
It watched Liz from the window. Once it had been given free rein in her household. But now he was cautious around her.

While she was courteous most of the time, sometimes she would try to kill him. And Liz Parker had become one of the strongest Magi he had ever contracted.

Intelligent too. She still asked questions of him. And he was surprised at how much she actually understood of some of the concepts. Quite amazing really.

Too bad she was human and therefore completely insane.

She had led him to Maria, another choice find, though. And now, Isabel. Isabel had promise, but it was strange. He wasn’t really entirely sure what was going on with her.

Isabel and her brother had magic, and they had not been contracted as far as he was aware.

Strange and fascinating. Worthy of further inquiry.

He flitted to another city, to check on other charges. There was no point in checking up on Maria, as fascinating as the situation she was currently in was.

Maria always tried to kill him. Always.

And she was becoming a better shot. It was just wasteful having to keep replacing bodies. No, he would avoid her for now.

On to other business.
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 6 - 07/2

Post by PML »

Thanks again to everyone reading this.

CandyliciousLovah- Thanks. They are Magical Girls. This is not a good thing. This chapter and the next covers Maria and Michael's fight against a Witch. Some information as to what Liz and Maria are will be dropped in those chapters. More of it when we rejoin Liz and Max in part Nine.

Natalie36- Thanks. They don't have a lot of time. Some of why is dropped here, but there will be more exposition on that in chapter nine.


Uninstall part 7

Michael-

Michael couldn’t stand. All his normal human senses were reeling. His other senses, things so intertwined with his normal senses he hadn’t even realized he had taken them for granted were slowly driving him insane.

Nothing he was seeing was quite real. Even the ground wasn’t solid, but he didn’t fall through it. There were only a few real things here. And he was one of them..

Only a few of the local objects were real, but they were still emulating real things. Or almost real things. The space itself was non-Euclidean in nature. Unreal. Imaginary. The normal rules of nature did not apply. His powers gave him some level of mastery over the real world because they could sense the real world around him. And they were doing their best to understand the current space around him.

And failing.

He felt as another real thing came up to him. Maria. He reached out and clung to her, a life raft amidst the chaos.

Maria said, “Oh, God. You followed me.”

Michael just clung to her. He focused his powers, powers he usually didn’t even have to think about on her. Only her.

There was a sense of unreality to her as well. An odd alien sense he had vaguely noticed that was different from what he sensed from his fellow hybrids.

His fellow hybrids were entirely real for one thing. Even the alien parts were part and parcel to the normal natural universe. A sliver of that alien sense woke in him now, and pushed him to focus on the real. On Maria.

It didn’t care about understanding the imaginary space. It was concerned about survival. It’s mission had failed and it had new objectives. Live.

“Michael, what are you doing? Oh, God, you have powers too, don’t you?”

Michael nodded. It hurt. All of this around him hurt so badly. He began to withdraw his senses, one by one from the world around him. Shutting them down to preserve his sanity. He could feel the frightening alien presence inside of him helping with that endeavor.

It didn’t understand this space any better than he did. But it could sense the Maria did. Maria could increase the likelihood of its hosts survival. It put forth a plan to increase the odds of survival further.

Michael surprised himself with his next move. He clung to the blonde tightly. And kissed her. After a moment Maria’s mouth opened slightly and their tongues vied for dominance. He felt as a sudden sweat broke out throughout his body as his body flushed with a sudden heat. Embarrassment filled him as he felt as a certain part of his anatomy began to poke into her through his jeans.

After a moment, both of them pulled away, trying to recover. Both of them stared at the other, slightly confused. Maria’s face was flushed, the flush reaching down her neck, almost reaching the gem that rested between her breasts. It was flaring a bright green.

Michael was personally a little concerned that his heart might explode any minute now. Never had it beat so fast. Maria tasted so good, and he wanted more.

Maria’s eyes were wide and a predatory smile appeared. “Well maybe this date isn’t over. Stay behind me while I kill this witch.” She turned and pulled him along.

“Wait,” Michael said, “Where are we?” Michael looked around in surprise. The space was still warped, still unreal. But it was bearable. He felt a little blind with so many of his senses blocked off, senses he hadn’t even realized he had had.

That kiss had changed him. Changed them in truth. In desperation the entity once known as Rath had bonded them. He could now feel Maria. Sense exactly where she was in relation to him.

There was something wrong with her. Something that was related to this unreal place. It wasn’t truly part of her, but there was a sense of unreality surrounding her, so mild he hadn’t truly noticed it before.

He did now, because in a small way he shared that small bit of unreality.

Maria simply kept pulling them. She was so very strong. “We are inside of a Witch’s Barrier. And this is a full Witch, too. Not the strongest I have seen, but strong. I hate to say it, but your foster father probably would have killed you back there if I hadn’t intervened.”

“What?”

“He had a Witch’s Kiss. It enflames the darker emotions. You have no clue the number of suicides and murders are fostered by Witches. Normal people can’t see them. They just get suddenly overwhelmed as the darkness affects them. That is where I come in.”

Michael let his sarcasm flow, “Let me guess, you kill them.”

Maria glanced back and smiled, “Exactly. I kill them. Protecting the good citizens of Roswell and my chunk of the Southwest is my eternal duty.”

Michael noted her voice had an odd twist to it. Simultaneously completely honest and sarcastic at the same time. In her eyes he could read that this was the truth as she knew it. And she was simultaneously honored and horrified by it.

There was a lot she wasn’t telling him.

He shook his head and looked around. What the hell? “Did we step into a Barbie catalogue?”

Maria looked away and began to examine the surroundings herself. “She must have been young when she died. Kyubey doesn’t usually contract with anyone younger than twelve. But, knowing that bastard… Yeah. Yep, next time I see him it’ll be another shotgun special.”

The sky looked hand drawn, a blue with fluffy clouds, a yellowish smiling sun shining down upon the bucolic and strange setting of a bunch of walking Barbie and Ken dolls walking around a mall.

Michael took it all in, “This is insane.”

Maria looked away, her face grim, “Yes it is. That is exactly what it is. And there is no way to bring her back.”

Michael stopped her and turned her around. Maria was crying now. Her face still had a brave smile, but it didn’t really touch her eyes. Michael found himself suddenly unsure of how to act.

Something had changed between them during that kiss and Michael found Maria precious to him.

It was quite infuriating really. This sudden surge of protective emotions in regards to someone other than his friends. But he simply couldn’t help it. “What is wrong?” He said gruffly.

The brave girl in his arms collapsed. She began crying, still trying to hold the smile. “This is my fate. This is what I will become. When I finally give up and my hope gives out. This is what I become. A blight upon the Earth. Something to be killed.” She closed her eyes, “A monster.”

Michael didn’t understand what was going on. Not fully, but he could see the green gem on her breast dimming. He knew he wasn’t good at this fluffy stuff, but he had to try, “Well we will just have to stop that won’t we.”

Maria opened her eyes, a glimmer of hope there. Hope that Michael could see she expected crushed. “We?”

“Yeah as in us. I am going to be there for you, okay?” Michael noted that the gem was glowing brightly again. “I will not let you fall!”

Maria hugged him closely, the smile coming back to her face. She wiped her eyes, “Thanks I needed that.”

Michael simply grunted.

Maria gave him a peck on the cheek, “Okay. Back to business. She hasn’t noticed we are here yet. That will make things simpler. Can you defend yourself?”

Michael nodded, “Been in a few fights before.” He looked around at the Barbie and Ken dolls moving along and trying on new clothes. He noticed that they had the normal Barbie anatomy. “But this is just too weird.”

Maria nodded, “Takes a while to get used to. And it’s different between each Witch and each Familiar; although you can see the witch a Familiar budded off from.” She shook her head. “Let’s hurry. I can explain more when we are done.” She motioned her hands and something that looked like an ornamental bat dropped down. She handed it to Michael, “That should help.”

Michael lifted it. It was perfectly balanced. A little heavy but nothing to worry about. “Where exactly did you get this?”

Maria shrugged, “Liz calls them Conceptional Weapons. It has to be something we actually understand and use to fight. All Magical Girls have a default one, based on personality I think. You would have to ask Liz. The only thing she is concerned with these days is understanding the situation both of us have found ourselves in.”

Michael just stared at the bat and then at her.

Maria walked on. “Come on!”

Michael followed, lifting the bat and determined to protect Maria.
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 7 - 07/2

Post by PML »

Thanks again to everyone following along. This chapter was harder to write than anticipated. Hope you folks enjoy.

ken_r- Thanks. Yes, well anime is like everything else, a few gems, a few guilty pleasures, and a lot of mindless dreck. PMMM is truly a gem. I am not really adapting many of the characters from it, so much as placing Liz and Maria into that canon, and having to deal with that world. The hybrids are just that, but this is set in the pilot, so while I plan on using the same names and some of the concepts from later episodes, make no assumptions. I hope you continue to enjoy.

saori_1902- Thanks. Hope you continue to enjoy.


Uninstall part 8

Maria-

Maria led Michael deeper into the Labyrinth. There was one disadvantage to having the Witch not recognizing their presence, the Labyrinth was trickier. As long as they were left alone and the Witch wasn’t concentrating on them, the more twisted the path.

But it was safer. Infinitely safer.

If the Witch were fully awake and aware, it might even simply draw them to it to fight it and its armies straight out. That wasn’t something Maria wanted to do without Liz.

Maria would probably win. Probably. But she would be hurt. Possibly badly. And while she could use her magic to heal herself it would still hurt.

And each use of magic brought her closer to despair. Her magic was literally a combination of her hopes and dreams. Each use slowly darkened her soul gem, until it no longer shined and became as dark as night.

And her soul gem would hatch. A Barrier would form around her as her subconscious mind pulled itself to safety using all the magic it could gather.

Magic that was no longer based on hope. No longer pure and bright. Magic based on the darkest emotions. Hate. Fear. Madness. Despair.

Maria would become a Witch and exist by magnifying the grief and pain of the human condition. It would be her Witch’s Kiss that would drive people to madness and murder and suicide.

Much better if she died first.

But not yet. She still wanted to live.

And if she died who would protect her friends and family. Witches were real. They really did need to be stopped. And normal humans couldn’t see them. Couldn’t see the hidden monsters slowly moving through their ranks.

Or the young girls who were chosen by Kyubey to fight them. And in time join their ranks.

Maria led Michael further into the maze. Maria could feel his eyes on her. But neither of them said a word. Michael occasionally grunted as he watched the crazy scenes unfold. Dolls. This Barrier was populated by dolls and the occasional stuffed animal.

Karen had loved them. She had spent so much time playing with them before she got sick. Before she ended up in the hospital and was too tired to play.

That had been her wish. To be able to go home and play with her dolls.

Karen had been nine when Kyubey had offered to make a contract with her. She had been strong willed and cheerful, so full of hope for the future despite her illness.

Maria could feel tears begin to form. It had been so much better when she hadn’t understood the strange feelings she always had as she delved deeper into the Barrier. That her latent Empathy allowed her insight into the Witches’ minds when she entered their Barriers and traversed their Labirynths.

Emily had changed that. Because she had known Emily. Had recognized the girl as Maria and Liz traveled to kill the Witch that had killed their friend.

Only it hadn’t killed her. It had BEEN her.

When asked Kyubey had confirmed it. They were called Magical Girls because was the immature form of a Witch. And what was a Witch but a Magical woman?

That knowledge had almost broken Maria. She had almost fallen to despair that very day.

Liz had saved her. But Maria had lost her edge. That was why she was here now. To prove to herself that she could still do this. That she could manage to protect her city and friends.

From an insane nine year old girl that merely wanted to play….

Maria felt as her legs gave way. As her costume fell apart and she was in her normal clothes. It was just too horrible. She began to shake and sob.

She felt as Michael’s arms wrapped around her, “What is wrong? What happened?”

She looked up at him and said, “It is a bad thing to be a Magical Girl, Michael. We are inside the mind and soul of a young girl.” She began to stutter, “And we, we need, to, to k,k,kill her.”

Michael held her close, a look of confusion mixed with worry. “Why? And how do you know?”

“I, I just do. It and my voice are my gift. Most, most of us get a weapon or device. I didn’t.” She felt herself calming in his embrace, felt as she regained a bit of herself. Her emotional stability had been a major concern of Liz’s lately.

Maria had tried to tone down how mercurial her moods were. But ever since she had learned the truth, they had only swung from one extreme to the other even more often.

Michael hefted the ornate bat he still held. “What about this?”

Maria stared. It should have faded along with the rest of her magical equipment. Why had it lingered? “I don’t know. I don’t understand….”

“You have to get a hold of yourself. We are trapped in the middle of this… what did you call it, Labyrinth? And you are the only one who can get us out.” He shook her slightly..

“I can’t. I just can’t do it.”

Michael’s eyes flickered. There was a moment of oddness to his eyes, as if something alien looked out of them. Part of Michael, but inhuman. And it smirked.

Maria just stared at him. What, what was he? Liz had said Max had a secret, that he had magic of his own. And she had hinted that Michael was just like him.

It wasn’t Michael who spoke next, or rather not entirely Michael. “We must survive, child. It is not fair, what has been done to you. If there were a way to alleviate your condition I would do so in a heartbeat. I do not believe even the First can do so. Although I do not doubt he will try.”

“What are you?”

“I will speak more later. But this vessel, this host is as alien to me as this environment. He weakens with each moment I am active.” Again the smirk, “But I will leave you both with a gift.”

And Michael kissed her.

Maria struggled for a moment against the alien being that had been possessing Michael. Then she felt as Michael returned, felt as his mind flowed into hers. Felt as they connected on a level she had never had with another.

He thought she was beautiful and brave and…. Well flighty and aggravating, but that didn’t change the other emotions soaring through her.

Maria ran a finger down his cheek, “Why?”

Michael shook his head slightly, still confused, “I don’t know.” He looked away, “Uh, can we deal with this later? Cause I think we have their attention now.”

Maria looked around them. They were surrounded by a bunch of human sized Barbie dolls holding knives. They were babbling something in some language she didn’t understand.

Karen wanted to play. With them.

They would not survive the insane girl’s play.

She had to be stopped.

Maria transformed again. Only this time she summoned a different Conceptual Weapon, one that had taken both Alex and Liz to force her to understand.

Something to increase her firepower. To make her not need to use her voice so much.

Maria moved aside and summoned a Gatling gun. It was still hand cranked. Maria still didn’t quite understand all the moving parts of an electric Gatling gun. She placed her hand on the crank, ready to fire.

Michael was just staring at her. And looking at the crowd slowly getting closer to them.

Maria decided that while the gun would work, it wouldn’t work fast enough.

And so she Sang. It wasn’t a song of destruction, although she could do that as well. It was more a lullaby. The oncoming dolls collapsed.

Maria dragged Michael forward.

The path was much straighter now. While her voice was her best weapon it consumed so much magic. So the gun got used. Her hands cranking out hot leaden death into the various dolls that stood against them.

Michael just had his mouth open as he watched her. He followed her lead and swatted the few dolls that got close.

There weren’t many.

Maria couldn’t help but preen a little. She wanted to impress him. Show him just what she was made of. That horrible month where Alex and Liz had drilled the operation of this weapon into her head was so worth it.

A few battle soaked minutes and they were in the core. This was the big fight. Win or die. Maria turned to Michael. “Stay here. I will finish her off and we can go back to the real world.”

“I can help.”

Maria shook her head, “No, I don’t want to get you hurt.” She leapt into the core, spotting several pedestals that surrounded a crib.

Yes, Karen had always been teased about being a big baby by her older sisters. She had always been energetic and frantically emotional. She had jumped at the chance to save others, to show that she was more than just a helpless child.

She had lasted slightly less than three months before despair got to her. Maria couldn’t sense how long she had been a Witch, but it must have been some time to accumulate as much power as she could feel moving through the area.

Maria began shooting the various protective toys that surrounded the crib, effortlessly dodging the counter attacks. As long as she kept the initiative and pushed the Witch to direct confrontation, she should be fine. The Witch herself would have weak point to strike, and once she fell all her creations would fade away.

Awe and overwhelm. That was the strategy. Her hand continued to crank out the bullets in her Gatling gun. She had asked Liz once if she would ever run out of bullets.

Liz had told her as long as she believed she had bullets, she would be fine. They were merely concepts given reality by her magic. Maria was always afraid she was just about to run out. That any minute, any second after the current one she would be out. But never did she ever think she was out of bullets. She always hoped for just one more, just one more shot.

And it was always there for her.

The Witch rose from her lair inside the crib, an inhuman monstrosity of long tentacles with hands, a face that was mostly a mouth, shining brightly with razor sharp bracers. It was large and fast, flying about the core with abandon, flailing at Maria.

She dropped the Gatling. Even with as strong as she was, it was too heavy to move quickly. She had to switch to her backup weapon. One designed with love by Alex. The Buster sword,

It was bigger than her, looking almost like a helicopter rotor given a sharp edge and point. And it was heavy.

Maria could wield it in one hand.

She leapt from platform to platform, swinging and cutting away the various tentacle/arms that were sent at her. She analyzed the Witch, looking for the place to strike.

There, right near the joint of the uppermost tentacle, Hit there and the Witch would die. She flung herself at the Witch.

Hit there and she would kill what had been a nine year old girl. Karen would die.

Maria hesitated for just a second in her swing.

One of the grasping hands caught her and slammed her hard into the wooden top of the crib. Maria could feel as bones shattered under the force. Another slammed her again into the other side of the crib and she could feel her head reel, the Buster sword slipping from her hands as the Witch repeatedly started slamming her from one side to the other.

*Hold on Maria. I am coming. Just hold on.*

Maria didn’t respond. She was too busy dying.

And then there was a flash of light and Maria saw no more.

--
Michael-

Michael watched as Maria fought. She was so fast, so brave. She was wonderful to watch. He just wished he could help her somehow.

He looked down at his hands. He had powers yes, but they were unreliable at best, dangerous at worst. He couldn’t trust them.

He was just as likely to hurt her as to help her.

And so he watched. Once a part of him had been a military man, a warrior amongst his people. He saw the moment that Maria faltered and lost the initiative.

He saw the moment the battle changed and Maria went from certain victor to certain victim.

And there was nothing that he could do about it.

He looked down at his feet as he listened to Maria’s cries of pain. Useless. He was always so USELESS.

No. He wouldn’t accept this.

And for the first time in his life, Michael Guerin forgot to be afraid. Afraid of himself and what he truly was, afraid of what deep down he knew he could be.

Here in this distorted space, summoning power to blast was difficult. The ways were strange, and the alien part of him, the part of him that knew HOW to use his powers had difficulty simply existing in this very human place.

But in the end, Michael himself was human, or mostly human. Moreover he had connected with Maria, and the part of him with Rath, in a bid for survival had linked them, Bonded them. It was through that Bond that Michael could reach through Maria, to the real world. And from there summon the devastating power that was Michael’s gift.

Michael fired one bolt of golden energy at the Witch, followed by another. The Witch dropped Maria and began to focus on him.

Too much, it was too much. And Maria was weakening, so too was his access to the real world and the power that he had there. If she died, he would be helpless.

It couldn’t end like this. Someone that brave and wonderful couldn’t simply die like that….

That is when the Angel flew into the rescue.

Michael was not religious at all. But he was very well read.

Humanoid figure garbed in white FLYING in on crisp white wings, smiting everything in sight?

Angel.

Michael was immediately ignored. Not that focusing on the intruder was doing the Witch any good. The flying creature had something in its hands that spun and spat bolts of fire and light.

Michael took the opportunity to reach Maria and pull her out of the fight.

Not that the fight lasted long.

In a loud feminine voice he heard the intruder call out, “May death bring you peace!” She struck the Witch hard. And all the distorted space around him began to fold in on itself. A tiny seed pod like thing fell from where the Witch had once stood.

And they were again on the outskirts of his trailer park. Michael shivered and clung Maria too him as the winged intruder landed and picked up the seed pod and began to walk towards them. She, for he could see it was a she, was short. She held what looked like a staff, the ends of which still glowed with a golden fire.

She wore a dress like Maria, but there were differences. For it resembled a stylized armor than a simple dress, a mix of silvered steel and white silk. And it was topped by a helmet or mask that covered the entire upper part of the face, including the eyes. Inset in the silvered steel was a large white gem, set between where her eyes should be.

Michael could feel the fullness of his powers now and he prepared to defend Maria against this new comer if necessarily.

And then the garment the woman was wearing shifted, the wings disappearing into a pure white cloak. In an ornate dress of white and silver, Liz Parker stood before him. The gem remained between her eyes, suspended on a silver chain. She reached over to take a look at Maria. “We got to her in time.” She raised a hand over her and Maria shuddered. “She should heal up fine. It might take a while though.” She reached into her cloak and pulled out a set of keys. “You won’t be able to go home tonight anyway. We will need to deal with that situation at some point, but we can worry about that tomorrow.”

Michael looked at the keys, “What are these for?”

“Those are keys to the room I rent at the Tumbleweed. Sometimes I just need to be alone. Maria will know the combination to the safe. You can use some of the money there to buy food for tomorrow.” Liz tapped Maria’s necklace and Maria turned back into her regular clothes. “I am trusting you not to abuse my hospitality.” She took the ring Maria was wearing and did something to it. It turned into an egg like device. She then held the seed thing the Witch had dropped and the darkened green gem shined brightly once more.

Maria sighed in a mix of pained contentment.

Michael just stood there. What else could he do?

Liz looked up at him, “Thank you for saving my friend. I wouldn’t have made it in time if you hadn’t fought against it. I owe you one.” She turned to walk away, her ornate dress fading into a pair of jeans and a shirt. “I for one am going home and getting some sleep. Don’t take Maria home, I have her absence covered with her mom. The last thing Amy needs to see is her little girl all broken up.”

Michael thought about saying something sarcastic, but considering how frightening Liz had been a few moments ago, that didn’t seem wise.

So he just held Maria and began carrying her to the car. He would have to drive it to the Tumbleweed, but he knew where it was.

“Oh, and Michael?”

Michael turned back to face Liz. It was just Liz. Just the sweet innocent Parker. Only her eyes were hard and old. So very old. Michael took a step back.

Liz said quietly and evenly, “If you hurt my friend, I will kill you. Take care.”

Michael watched as the slim girl walked alone in a reasonably bad neighborhood home. Should he go with her? Drive her home? It wasn’t really safe for….

Memories of the last ten minutes flooded into him.

It wasn’t really safe for anyone who tried to mess with her.

Michael shuddered.

What had he gotten himself involved in?

Michael carried Maria to her mother’s car and drove off.
PML
Obsessed Roswellian
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 8 - 07/2

Post by PML »

And here we go again. Hope you folks enjoy.


Uninstall part 9

Max

Max heard the alarm ring and stared up at the dark ceiling. It was early, much earlier than he usually got up.

Yesterday Liz had been shot and he had tried to save her.

Today he would meet her for breakfast.

Max closed his eyes. Liz had even said she loved him. Was it real or had it been a dream?

There was a rap at the window. Max got up and grabbing a bat walked over to the window.

It was Liz. She smiled at him, her eyes seeming to drink him in.

“Liz I thought we would meet at the bagel place?”

Liz shrugged, “I couldn’t sleep. I knew you would wake up right about now, and I figured you could drive us both in.” She reached for his hand, “Can I come in?”

Max reached out and helped her into the window, “Uh, sure.”

Liz briefly looked around, nodding to herself.

There was a moment of awkward silence while Max looked at Liz. She was dressed fairly casually, jeans and a white blouse. He was staring at her. She was in his room. The girl he had been aching for, watching for years, was actually in his room.

And he was disheveled and his hair was out of place. What kind of a sight did he make for the girl he loved, “Um. I need to get ready.”

Liz walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “I need to warn you one more time, that this will end in tragedy. And that if you are serious, our relationship will have to develop fast. Much faster than I might wish, but Max. I want it. I want it so. I just wish, I just wish…” She looked down, her eyes glistening.

Max put his hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to his, “Wished what?”

Liz said softly, eyes welling with tears, “That we have more time, Max. I want to spend a lifetime with you. I want to bear your children. But we will have none of that. I am trying, desperately trying, to alter Maria’s fate. I cannot change what she is. But there is nothing saying that she has to die young. Most of us do, but not all. If the right things happen, she should be able to make it deep into her twenties, maybe even her thirties. Maybe.”

“To be a Magical Girl is to face death every day, Max. Either from our enemies, or from within.” Her face was grim now. “What happens if we fall into despair is something I do not wish to speak of, not yet. But know that I face death every single day.”

“My secret is dangerous too.”

Liz nodded, “I figured as much. Kyubey didn’t understand how you came to possess such powerful magic.”

“Magic?” Max shook his head, “I don’t think of it as magic, just molecular manipulation. Maybe a few other things, but magic?”

Liz cocked her head to the side as if she were listening to someone. She also began petting something that was now cradled in her arms. “Kyubey is intrigued. You are using human magic, but not a human style of magic. It is nothing like the magic that men had long ago when Kyubey’s species was trying to figure out the most efficient method of energy extraction.”

Max said, “Excuse me?”

Liz frowned, “This would be so much easier if you could see him. But your mind is too alien.” She smiled, “He considers us all insane.”

Max rubbed his face, “Liz. Can we talk about this later? I really need to wake up and take a shower.”

Liz nodded, “Sure thing, I will talk with Isabel. She is awake now, not sure why. But there are only even odds she will want to come with us to breakfast.” Liz looked away, her eyes briefly flashing white, “Even less if we talk now. She likes her sleep.”

Max opened his mouth and then closed it.

Liz had a wry smile, “Go on. Ask.”

Max shook his head, “How do you know that?”

Liz smiled at him, “While I don’t understand what your magic is about yet, you said molecular manipulation?”

Max nodded. It was a little more complicated, but that was the basic source of it all.

Liz nodded and then lifted her right hand, the ring shifted to a small egg like thing. She rolled it around on her palm, her eyes bemused as she studied it, “This is my Soul Gem, Max. It is the basis and foundation of my powers. And my powers are the knowledge of time. I can see things that were, are or will happen. The past is easy, although I need something to focus on. Typically something physical that was involved with whatever I am looking at.” Her gaze at the Soul Gem became wistful, “I would love to tour Europe and visit the old sites, to see a part of what was….”

Max nodded, “We can do a bit of that too. Psychometry, Isabel calls it.”

Liz nodded, “That is the correct term. I can do it all the time. I know you were not born like I was. That you and Michael and Isabel were born in alien pods. That and the Other. But I don’t like talking about her.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your alien wife. One of those who pushed for this invasion.” Liz sighed, “She will cause so much heartache when she arrives. I am almost happy I won’t be there to see it.”

“Four of us. Yes. I, I remember, there were four of us.” Max put his hand back on his head, pain shooting through it. For a moment he felt his balance waver.

Liz was there to catch him. “Yeah. I can understand why that happened. For a moment I was connecting with that alien presence inside of you.” Liz shuddered, “Just as alien as Kyubey In its own way.”

Max had spent a good chunk of his life staring at Liz Parker. Knowing that she was precious to him somehow. How he had wished for her to be a part of his future. But he had never expected that she would be critical to find out his past! In the last few minutes he had learned more about himself than he had in years of scavenging the desert with Michael.

It was funny. How it just didn’t seem relevant with Liz here. His drive to understand how they got here had always been just as strong as Michael’s, just hidden better.

And unlike Michael he wasn’t sure that what had brought here was for the good.

Liz continued, still rolling the Soul Gem on her palm, “I can also see the future. Or rather futures. That is how I knew you would be awake. That I know that you are awake. You sensed me coming. You haven’t told me yet, but you will. About Bonds and how much you love me.” She looked up and smiled, “I am really looking forward to connecting with you.”

“Liz….”

“Go on, get ready. They really do have good food. I will just check up on Isabel.”

Max nodded and watched as Liz Parker walked through his room unerringly in the dark. Opened the door and walked over to Isabel’s room. She rapped lightly on the door.

Max followed her and watched as Isabel opened the door. She looked down, surprised and seemed to catch something in her arms. She absently patted its head and looked at Liz.

Liz just smiled at her sadly and said nothing. She turned at looked at Max, “Go on, we should be done by the time you are ready. I was right, Isabel will want her sleep.”

Isabel looked oddly at Liz and then shrugged and smiled at Max. “It’s fine. I will catch a ride with Mom today.” She looked over at Liz. “Yeah, that is a good idea.” She turned to face Max, “I will meet you on the Quad for lunch. See you there.” She nodded at Liz.

Max watched as Liz walked into Isabel’s bedroom. Isabel looked up at him and smiled again, still seemingly petting the air.

Max concentrated, trying to see what Isabel was holding. For a moment he saw a pair of large white eyes. He shook his head and it was gone.

Something was there. He could feel it. A distortion of space. Something that had a physical form but was not interacting directly with light.

Max shuddered. Maybe things had been better before yesterday. Maybe learning what was going on and why Liz was becoming so sad lately was not truly worth it.

Max turned to get ready. He paused. Liz had said she was in danger, that she probably didn’t have long to live.

Maybe he didn’t really have a lot of time. He would have to make the most of what he had then.

He shuddered again and left to get ready.

Max wanted to spend as much time with Liz as he could. Maybe, just maybe there was a way to save her.

If there was, he would find it.
PML
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Re: Uninstall (XO Roswell/PMMM, ML, MM / Mature) Pt 9 - 07/2

Post by PML »

Thanks again to everyone following along. This part is short, but important.

ken_r - Thanks. Yeah, I remember that story. And yes this is a lot of fun for me. I hope you continue to enjoy.


Uninstall part 10

Maria

Maria stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. She wasn’t sure where she was.

And she hurt. Oh did she hurt.

She could feel her magic healing her. She had been out for at least a couple of hours.

How badly hurt had she been? How had she survived? She had been certain that she had been done for. Had watched in her mind’s eye as regret after regret of her short misspent life flashed before her.

So much she had wanted to do. So much she had once believed she might accomplish. And then came the day she had decided she would break her promise to Liz, if only to save her friend. The day she had made a contract with Kyubey.

The day everything changed.

At first fighting Witches alongside Liz had been fun. And then came Emily. Along with the true nature of who and what the Witches were.

Suddenly fighting and killing them had become much harder. Not so for Liz. Liz was untouchable and implacable in battle. A force of nature.

Liz. Liz must have saved her.

Maria sat up suddenly, ignoring the agony of her still bruise ribs. Michael. What had happened to Michael?

Michael’s dry voice came to her from a table. The TV was on, but the sound was muted. “So you are finally awake.”

“Liz saved us didn’t she?”

“Yes.” Michael said with a shudder. He looked away, “I did what I could. It wasn’t enough. I am sorry.”

Maria ignored the pain, lowering her sensitivity in order to move. She rolled out of bed. Nothing was broken. At least not any more. Lots of bad bruises. She stood up, wavering a little as she made the several steps to the chair across from Michael.

Michael was just shaking his head. “Maria. I don’t have the power to heal, not on the scale that you needed. Maybe a broken bone or a sprain. Maybe.”

Maria reached over to the bag of chips that Michael had been eating. She began to eat. She didn’t usually like the things. But she needed the food. Her magic would repair her body, but it still needed something to work with. “I am still pretty banged up. I have some money, can you go out and get some food? I am really hungry.”

Michael slapped his hands on the table. “Maria, this is serious! You should be dead. Multiple broken bones. Severe organ damage and massive internal bleeding.” His eyes seemed to get a little misty.

Maria could see him fighting it, but for some reason he really seemed broken up about how damaged she had been. She honestly said, “I thought I was a goner for sure. I just couldn’t bring myself to kill her.”

“Her?”

“Karen. The Witch we were fighting.” Maria closed her eyes, “God, I am such a failure.”

“Maria! Focus! What ARE you? You should be dead. How did you survive that? Why aren’t you dead?”

Maria looked at him suddenly, “Would you rather that I were?”

“NO!” Michael ran his hands through his spiky hair. “No, I am glad you are alive. I, I…. “ He shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

“Me too.” Her stomach rumbled. “Can you please go and get some food for us?”

Michael nodded.

Maria handed him a couple of twenties. “Get lots of food. A couple salads. And burgers. I need protein. Lots of protein. Maybe a bucket of chicken?”

Michael said dryly, “Maybe a pizza too?”

Maria nodded, “That might be a good idea.” She handed him another twenty. “Liz should already have a small stockpile of water and soda in the mini fridge. We will need to restock it when we leave, but we should be fine for now.”

Michael looked at the money in his hand, “You are serious.”

Maria nodded, “Taking that level of damage really takes a toll on the body. I will heal faster if I have a lot of raw materials to work with.”

Michael nodded, “Right.” He walked toward the door. He turned and asked one last time. “You still haven’t answered me. How did you survive all that. Why aren’t you dead?

Maria looked away. She turned her ring into her Soul Gem. She absently rolled the green egg like Gem in her palm. In a small voice she said, “Maybe because in a sense, I already am?”
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