The Evil Within (M/L CC, ADULT) (Complete)

[Devil Kitty]

Chapter 76 ~ Conclusion


As Liz's hair was jerked back by Tess, she heard Nasedo's voice, "That's enough, Tess. We don't want her too damaged. We want Max's cooperation, after all."

"Oh, fine." Tess grumbled as she let go of Liz's hair. Liz slumped over, turning so her bruised cheek did not rest on the cold floor.


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As Isabel came to herself back in the apartment, the first thing to register was Max's anxious face. "Isabel!" He grasped her shoulder, "Did you find her? Is she alright?"

Although she hated to tell Max what she had seen, she knew he needed to know the truth. Grasping Max's hand, "Yes, Max, I found her, but… now, don't freak out." His eyes widened and she made a soothing motion with her hands, "Her face is bruised and she was holding her side, like it hurt." Max's face crumpled at the thought of Liz in pain.

From his seat beside her, Alex asked, "Was she able to communicate with you? Did you learn anything?" Isabel nodded and related everything that she had learned from Liz, including Nasedo's plan to turn them over to Kivar and Liz's insistence that Max stay away to protect the Granolith.

"Stay away?!" Maria shook her head in disbelief, "Does she really think we would just leave her out there with those psychos?"

Isabel turned to Max, "I assured Liz that nothing would stop us from rescuing her."

Max took a deep breath and stood up. "Okay, before anyone asks, here's what we're going to do - we go in, we take out Tess and Nasedo, and we bring Liz home. Plain and simple."

At Max's blunt words, Tyler spoke up, "As succinct as that plan is, Max, the three of you cannot go in alone. Nasedo and Tess together are just as strong as you are, plus we don't know if Liz's injuries will allow her to access her powers."

Max looked troubled, "It was because of me that Liz was taken. I just don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Sera walked over to stand beside Tyler. "Max, you know that Tyler and I are here to help anyway we can, not only because you guys have become our friends, but protecting the Granolith is our mission, too." Tyler nodded, "She's right."

Maria looked over at Max, "Max, I know that the note said for the three of you to come alone, but I doubt that Tess and Nasedo are worried that Alex and I will be coming to the rescue." She shrugged at Alex, "Uh, no offense." Alex shrugged in return, "None taken." Maria continued, "But Tess and Nasedo don't know that Tyler and Sera are of the 'Czech' persuasion, too."

Michael paced as he thought, "Okay, how about this, we three go in first," indicating himself, Isabel and Max. "We close the door to the pod chamber behind us, so they'll think we did come alone. Nasedo will try and get us to crank up the Granolith. While he and Tess are distracted, the B Team opens the chamber and sneaks in as backup."


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Arriving at the pod chamber, Max waved his hand over the rock face and the silver handprint appeared. He looked to Michael and Isabel, who both nodded for him to open the door.

Closing the door behind them, they entered to find the pod chamber empty, the pods emitting their blue green glow. Before they could move towards the pods, however, they were startled when Nasedo suddenly seemed to materialize out of a wall. "Welcome, your Highness." He bowed with a smirk.

Max stood still, struggling to keep his emotions under control. "Where is Liz?"

Nasedo shrugged, "Oh, she's right as rain. Shall we discuss the terms of her release?"

"And just exactly what is it that you want?"

Nasedo shook his head, "Now, Max, I'm sure that Isabel has managed to dreamwalk Liz, and that you know all about our deal. But just so there are no misunderstandings - you are going to program the Granolith to take us all home."

"Home to our deaths? Not much incentive in that." Max stated flatly.

Nasedo clutched his hand to where he should have had a heart, and with a phony gasp, "Why, not even for the love of Liz?" Dropping his hands and fixing Max with a stern look, "Not to mention your other human friends and family." As Isabel flinched, Nasedo promised, "If you do not cooperate, I'm afraid I'll have to eliminate them one by one, starting with Liz."

Max told him, "Not if I just kill you right now."

Nasedo, not feeling at all threatened, responded, "Max, Max, then Tess will just kill Liz before you can reach her. And speaking of Liz, perhaps you need a little motivation. Shall we join her?"

With a wave of his hand, another silver handprint appeared on the wall. When he pressed it, the wall with the pods slid partially back into the cavern, leaving a large doorway sized opening to the Granolith room.

Michael looked at Isabel, "And here we've been crawling through on our knees." He glared at Nasedo, "Might have been nice if we'd known about that. But then, you'd have to actually be a Protector."

"I once had high hopes for you, Michael. You had potential," Nasedo shook his head, "but then you let that blond ditz sink her hooks back into you. Now you are just too human." Then he waggled his eyes and smirked, "But I bet she's hell in the sack."

Isabel grabbed Michael's arm when he looked ready to explode, "Michael! Stay calm. He's just trying to provoke you."

Nasedo laughed, "Ohhh, yes, please take the advice of Princess Vilandra. She was only your betrothed who cheated on you with your enemy and was instrumental in your death."

Isabel's face paled, "That wasn't me. I'm not that person anymore." Nasedo taunted her, "Don't worry my dear, I'm sure Kivar will be happy to see you again. Perhaps he will even let you live. After all, once he marries Queen Ava, he may want a concubine."

"That's enough!" Max declared. "Take me to Liz. Now."

"As you wish." Tilting his head, Nasedo indicated the opening, "after you."


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The three entered the Granolith Room to find Liz and Tess across the room partially behind the Granolith. Liz was kneeling on the floor, hands tied behind her, Tess standing guard.

At his first sight of Liz in his too large shirt, her feet and legs bare with her bruised and swollen face - sorrow, fear and anger rushed through Max. But when he started to her, Tess quickly fisted her hand in Liz’s hair and pulled her head back. "Nuh uh, Max. I could snap her neck before you could move half way to her."

Max froze. Liz's eyes widened, partly in fear, but also because she began to feel a familiar tingle in her fingertips.

"There, you see, Max, Liz is just fine." Nasedo clasped Max's shoulder as he walked past him to stand near the Granolith. "But if you want Liz to walk out of here alive, you will program the Granolith to take us home."

"Max, don't." Liz called out, only to have her hair jerked again by Tess.

Max stood firm, although inside he was shaking to the bone. "Believe me, I would like nothing better than to send the two of you into outer space, but if you'd bothered to translate the alien book, you'd know that there is a key." Then lying through his teeth, "And I don't have it."

"You're wasting your time lying to me," Nasedo accused. "The King of Antar has always had control of the Granolith."

Max moved over to the Granolith and laid his hands on the slanted cone. It began to hum louder on his approach. The open panel appeared. Nasedo smiled, "I knew it."

Max shook his head, "See these slots? They are for a special key made of Antarian crystal, but even if I had it, I don't know how to program it."

An angry Nasedo told him, "Then you'd better figure out quick how to hotwire it. I've waited over 40 years to get off of this damned rock. I want back in my own skin."

"But for how long?" Isabel asked, "What do you think Kivar is going to do when he finds out that Tess is not pregnant with Max's child?"

Tess called out, "Shut up, Isabel."

Nasedo merely shrugged, "Young Valenti served as an adequate substitute. Kivar will never know that the child is not Max's."

"Kyle?" Isabel asked, "Did Tess claim…"

Tess's attention diverted, she relaxed her hold on Liz as she screamed at Isabel. "I said shut up! You don't know what you're talking about."

Shaking her head, Isabel informed her, "I know I dreamwalked you and there is no child! For all your whoring, you are not pregnant."

There were several seconds of dead silence, until Nasedo asked in a dangerously low voice, "Tess? Is this true?" As fear swept through her, and she began to whine, "You don't understand, I tried. So many times, I tried, but I just… couldn't."

"And you didn't think I needed to know this? Did you think that Kivar would just welcome you with open arms after you had failed?" Nasedo's voice rose, "I risked everything to switch your pod, raised you for only one purpose, and you couldn't even do that." With a flick of his wrist, Tess flew backward and crashed into the wall before falling to the floor. When he turned back to Max, Michael and Isabel, Max extended his green shield. But Nasedo merely said, "Change of plans, children. It looks like I'll be delivering the Royal 4 to Kivar."

Liz's hands and arms had begun to streak and the rope binding burned through and fell from her wrists. She slowly rose to her feet and flexed her hands to get the blood flowing through them again. On shaky legs she began to inch away from Tess's prone form and closer to where Max stood.

Max saw Liz moving and looked to Isabel and Michael and quietly instructed, "When I drop my shield, hit him with all you've got." They nodded, but before Max could make his move, Nasedo whirled with lightning speed and grabbed Liz, lifting her up. "Not so fast, little girl." He squeezed Liz's waist and she cried out in pain. Looking at Max, Nasedo declared, "I am going back home, now program that Granolith or Liz is going to suffer!"

Max dropped his shield and yelled, "No! Let her go!" Nasedo immediately removed his hands, and Liz fell to the floor. As she clutched her throbbing side, realization dawned on her.

"Max." She called out, "He has to obey your orders, its encoded in him."

Nasedo was beginning to lose control. "No!" As he grabbed Liz's arm to pull her back up, Max decreed, "I order you to let Liz go, I order you to stand down."

Nasedo let Liz go and clutched his head with both hands, as if he were in terrible pain. "No, I won't let you stop me. I've worked too hard, too long." He looked around wildly, the pain in his head intensifying as he fought against the encoding.

Max called out, "I order you to surrender to me."

Looking like a madman, Nasedo screamed in agony, "Aughhhhhhhhh", and threw his hands out to blast the threesome. Just as Max's shield went back up, Nasedo's body jerked as they heard two rapid shots fired. Nasedo froze with a look of surprise on his face as he clutched his chest and fell to the floor.

All eyes turned to the doorway. Kyle Valenti stood in a classic two-hand stance holding one of his dad's service revolvers, Sera and Tyler behind him. Lowering the gun, Kyle walked over beside Michael, "B Team my ass. I didn't win statewide junior rifle champion for nothing."

As Alex and Maria also entered the room, Max carefully approached Nasedo and looked down at his apparent lifeless form, "I think he's dead." Tyler started forward to check when they heard a screeching, "Nooooooooo."

Tess leaned against the wall staring at Nasedo's fallen body. Shaking her head, "He can't be dead, he's all I've got." She turned on Liz. "You bitch! This is all your fault." She sprang to attack Liz, but when Liz threw her hands up to defend herself, streaks of energy flew from her fingertips into Tess. Tess screamed as she was flung back against the Granolith. Bolts of electricity ran over Tess and the Granolith binding her to it.

Max rushed forward to pull Liz back to a safe distance, wrapping his arms around her and turning his body to shelter her. The room's other occupants all ducked as sparks flew about the room and they heard Tess's screams. Then in the blink of an eye the Granolith absorbed her and they cringed as she writhed in pain inside the walls of the Granolith.

Max called out, “Tyler, what the hell is happening?” But before Tyler could respond that he didn’t know, a bright blinding light burst forth and they had to cover their eyes. Even before they opened their eyes, the odor reached their nostrils. When they opened their eyes, Maria screamed and Isabel cried out, "Oh, my God," as they saw that Tess's charred body had been expelled onto the ground.

Liz squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face in Max's chest. There were gasps and exclamations of shock from around the room. Kyle lurched to lean against the wall, "Oh, fuck." Sinking to his knees he fought to keep his stomach from heaving, Sera hovered over him, feeling sick herself.

"Damnation," Michael exclaimed, looking over Maria's head at Max, "It fried her."

"No, it executed her," Max corrected solemnly. "… somehow, it just knew."

Max realized that Liz had slumped against him, her breathing labored. He carefully lifted her, "I've got you, baby." To everyone else, "Come on, let's get out of here." Looking at Tess and Nasedo's corpses he added, "We'll take care of them later."

As they walked back through to the pod chamber, he gently laid Liz on the ground. As the others milled around, speaking softly, still feeling disbelief at what had just happened, Max leaned over Liz with concern. Reaching to stroke her bruised face, he looked deep into her eyes and their connection opened. Liz felt the flow of Max's worry, regret and love, and he felt her love and belief in him flow to him. Filled with emotion, they tenderly kissed.

Max eased back and began checking Liz's injuries. He discerned that although Liz's face was bruised and swollen there were no facial fractures, but she did have two broken ribs. Concentrating, he began to repair the damage. After several minutes she was completely healed and Max slumped over to lie beside her.

Maria reached into a knapsack they had brought along and handed Max a bottle of water, which he and Liz shared. The water was soothing on Liz's parched throat. "Thanks, Maria." Max said and Liz smiled her own thanks.

Picking up a small bag, Maria smiled back at Liz, "That's not all I brought." It was the duffle she had snuck into Liz's room and packed to give Max the day before. Everyone exited the pod chamber so Liz could change. At the pod chamber door, Isabel turned back, "Max, you coming?"

He shrugged, "Liz may still be a little weak, I thought I'd just…you know… help…" his words fading away at Isabel's "Uh huh." Rolling her eyes, she grinned and left them alone.


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When Max and Liz came out of the chamber, Max waved his hand to close the doorway and he and Liz turned to meet the others. Michael nodded his head back towards the chamber, "Max, what about …"

Max turned to look back himself, "You and I will come back later with Tyler. They aren't going anywhere. Let’s go home."

As the others began to make their way down the mountainside, Max and Liz stood on an outcropping of rock, arms around each other. Liz watched their friends, Tyler in the lead followed by Alex and Isabel holding hands, as were Sera and Kyle, and she had to smile when Maria jumped on Michael's back for a piggyback ride. They were a unit, aliens and humans, with a strong feeling of family and friendship to bind them together.

With her head on Max's chest, Liz spoke softly, "I can hardly believe it's over, Max. We're free now."

With a pensive look, Max rested his chin on Liz's head as he gazed across the horizon, "But Kivar is still out there, Liz, and he's not going to give up trying to find the Granolith. He'll always be a threat to us, and as long as you're with me, that includes you, too." He cupped her once again smooth cheek, "Look at what happened to you - kidnapped, injured, you were almost killed." He shook his head, "If I had any balls, I'd send you away, back to the safety of Florida."

Liz looked up at him and sighed, "Max, I'm not saying we should ignore his existence, but Kivar is a gazillion miles away from here." When he started to open his mouth, she pressed her fingers against it. "If I've learned anything in the last year, it's that when we're apart, we're incomplete, unbalanced, but together we are stronger. You and I are meant to be, Max Evans." Then with a glint in her eye, "Besides, you try and pack me off to Florida, I can pretty much guarantee you won't have any balls."

When Max responded with a grimace and raised eyebrows, Liz softly laughed as she wound her arms around the love of her life, "So, what's it going to be?"

He answered by capturing her smiling lips with his as he held her tight, and his kiss promised that he would never let her go.


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The End ~ Devil Kitty