At The End CC MATURE ~{COMPLETE}~

[Quint]

TITLE: At The End
AUTHOR: Quint
DISCLAIMER: Don’t own them.
CATEGORY: CC. Future fic.
RATING: MATURE
SUMMARY: It's December 22nd 2012 and the world is ending.
AN: I haven't written a Roswell fic in over 3 years but this idea just wont go away, so here it is. I don’t know exactly where this is going (I do know how it'll end but I'm not sure how to get there). Also this originally comes from a challenge given to me to write a fic about a character I don’t particularly like, Max post season 1 is someone I don’t like (season 1 he's fine but after that, no). Everything in the show happened including Graduation (but I've only seen most of the season 3 episodes once so some things may be missed out). I wasn't happy with the way the show progressed especially in season 3 so I couldn't let things end like that.
This site appears to be the biggest (and most active) Roswell site around but I am a newbie to this site so any help would be welcomed.
I'll try to post at least one part a week as I'm not sure how many people will be interested in this fic.
Anyway here's the prologue



Lilac Stardust made this great banner.

~*~*~*~*~

Prologue

December 22nd 2012

Max Evans stared at the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. The colors danced on the horizon and covered the sky in red.

Another day. Another beautiful day.

When he'd lived in Roswell he'd never really appreciated the beauty of the landscape, the beauty. But now he did, now he was back, now he was home. That was irony, to finally see something just as it was to be taken away.

The quarry was quiet, peaceful. Just as he'd wanted it to be. He just wanted peace. Didn't he deserve to die in peace? Maybe he didn't, maybe he was a coward. But standing there at that moment Max didn't care.

He knew that this was a day he'd never see the end of and he was glad of that. It was a relief. At least this way it would be over. Maybe this way he could be with Liz. Maybe. But right now Max didn't believe in heaven, he didn't believe in God. What God would allow this to happen?

He knew there was nothing he could do. That there was no way to stop Khivar, he'd always known that. The moment Tess had taken the Granolith his and his planets fate had been sealed.

Khivar was coming and he couldn't do a thing. Liz would have known what to do but she wasn't here anymore. The moment he'd felt her die the last shread of hope he'd had left had died to. He didn't care anymore.

This time there was no going back. No way to travel back. Nothing. Without the Granolith he couldn't even do that.

But looking down at the water below he wasn't scared. For the first time in his life he felt no fear.

Closing his eyes he pictured Liz's face and smiled. Maybe he did believe in God after all.

Taking one step forward he stepped off the edge.

Far above, in the darkness of space. Khivar set about obliterating Earth from existence.

~*~*~*~*~



Ethan

[Quint]

Thanks for the replies. Here's Part 1.

~*~*~*~*~

Part 1

There was no pain. That was his first thought. No pain at all.

Something was wrong.

Opening his eyes slowly. Afraid of what he might see. Max stared at his surroundings.

White.

All he saw was white.

Nothing but white.

Looking around him there was just nothing. Nothing except white.

No doors. No windows. Just white.

Max hated white.

Was this supposed to be heaven? Or maybe hell. Max didn't know. He didn't really care.

Why wasn't he lying dead at he bottom of the quarry? Why wasn't he dead? Unless this was death. Maybe this nothingness was death.

All he knew was that he hated the white.

So he closed his eyes. Black was much better. He tried to concentrate, to get his brain around the situation. Tried to workout what was going on.

He'd jumped and he'd ended up here? That made no sense. Maybe it didn't have to make sense. Maybe it didn't matter that instead of dying at the bottom of a quarry he'd ended up lying on the floor of something that was completely white. Why did it have to be white?

"Because that's your fear."

Max's eyes sprang open. The brightness making them sting. But there was no one there.

He stood in the middle of the white. He was alone.

Maybe he was going mad. Maybe he was wacko.

Maybe this wasn't real at all. But he'd known that voice.

The voice of his friend. A friend that was dead.

All of Max's friends were dead.

He was alone. Alone in a room of white once again. Only this time there was no rescue coming. There was no one left to rescue him.

He sat back down and closed his eyes.

He was alone and he was angry.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to end. But it hadn’t. He could still feel the pain of his friends. He could still hear their screams in his ears.

Time didn’t matter in the white. He didn’t even have a watch on. Maybe it had been taken from him. Or maybe he just hadn’t been wearing one. It wouldn’t have helped him anyway. But he would have liked to have known if his planet was still around.

He’d screwed up again. He couldn’t even commit suicide right.

Why couldn’t it just end? Was that really so much to ask? He just wanted everything to stop.

And why did it have to be white?

He opened his eyes again. Nothing had changed.

It was still the white.

He opened his mouth to speak. He didn’t really know what to say. There wasn’t much to say. So he settled for shouting the first thing he could think of. “Is anybody there?” The words didn’t even echo, so he shouted louder. “Is anybody there?”

He hadn’t expected an answer.

His next words came out as a whisper.

“I could use some help.”

He didn’t expect an answer. But he got one.

“All you had to do was ask.”

Spinning around Max stared at the boy in front of him.

“Hi Max.” He said, giving a slight wave. He was sitting at a table, smiling straight at him. “In trouble again I see.”

Max just stared, eyes wide and stuttering. Before whispering the boy’s name.

“Alex?”

~*~*~*~*~



Ethan

[Quint]

I'm not really happy with this part but I'm writting the next right now and should be ready in the next few days...

Part 2

~*~*~*~*~

He was walking. He'd decided that if he walked in one direction for long enough the white had to end, at least he hoped it would end.

"You could talk to me." Came the voice from behind him but Max ignored him. Again Max ignored him but he did sigh deeply, his head was hurting. He didn't know how long he'd been in the white but it felt like days.

He kept walking as he sighed again. "Okay you want me to talk to you? Well this is what I want to say. I'm alone in a place which is completely white. I have been walking in one direction for god knows how long but it doesn't seem to end. I tried to kill myself but apparently that didn't work out right..." Max turned, quickly and Alex jumped back "and now I'm seeing dead people."

"Ouch Max, I come to help you out and you mention the whole dead thing."

"Alex Whitman died 10 years ago..."

Alex interrupted with a smile. "Actually it's 11 years."

"...so either your a hallucination and I can add going nuts to my list of problems or this is a trick."

Alex interrupted again. "Why would Khivar go to all this trouble Max? He doesn't need to, he doesn't need you."

"Oh I know he doesn't need me.”

"Well if I am a hallucination...which I'm not by the way...then why wont you listen to me? It wont make any difference."

"Your not Alex. I know your not." Max turned his back towards him. Now he continued walking.

"Why? Why can't I be? You did try to kill yourself Max. By all accounts you should be dead. But your not. Your here and I'm here to help you."

"This is a trick. I don't know who you are but you are not Alex Whitman. I know that."

"Max, Max, Max, Max, Max." Alex shook his head and smiled slightly. "Okay. So don't believe I'm me, who I am by the way. But I guess I can understand that. But if I'm not me, if I'm not Alex Whitman. If Khivar sent me...why would he pick me? Why pick Alex Whitman?"

Max turned slowly towards him. "What do you mean?"

Alex smiled back at him. "What I mean is...you were closer to other people. People like Liz, Isabel and Michael, your parents? So why Alex Whitman?" He raised his eyebrows.

Max turned away again. "Maybe because of Tess, because of how you died. Maybe..." Max paused. "Maybe because you were the first...maybe because...maybe...I don’t know why. It's not important why." He rubbed his eyes; his head began to ache again.

When Alex's reply came it was quiet, more subdued than before. "We weren't close Max." He paused for a second as if he didn't know how to continue. "We weren't friends, not really. I can count on one hand the number of conversations we had. You didn't know me and I didn't really know you."

"He was my friend."

"I don't think so Max." Alex sighed. "You didn't know Alex Whitman."

"I knew all I needed to know. Alex was a good man. If he were really here then we wouldn't be having this conversation, I wouldn't be here anymore because he'd have got me out of here. Wherever here is."

"I can't save you Max. You have to save yourself. I'm just a guide, I'm just here to help you."

"I don't believe your Alex."

"You don't need to. Just trust me Max. I am Alex, I might not be the same as before but I am me. Just trust me."

"And if I do trust you, then what?"

"Then you go save the world."

"That easy?"

"I didn't say it would be easy. Look Max...I'm me, I'm Alex. You just have to trust me." Alex smiled slightly, but then his expression changed. Max knew something was wrong.

"What is it?"

Alex took a step back and looked above him. "They're coming Max. Be strong. I'll be back."

"What? Where are you going? What's going on?" He stepped forward, reaching out to stop him from leaving. But his hand went straight through Alex's body. "What are you?"

"That's not important. Just...stay strong. Stay here. I promise I'll be back soon."

Then, in the blink of an eye he was gone.

Max was once again alone.

~*~*~*~*~

Teaser for the next part -

- Flashbacks.
- Alone time.

Ethan

[Quint]

Part 3

A/N Italic indicates flashback...

~*~*~*~*~

He didn't know how long he'd waited, how long it had been since Alex had disappeared, he had no idea where he'd gone. Or why. Or even what Alex was now. But he did trust him, just not completely and he didn't really have a choice. It wasn't as if things could get any worse.

Alex had said he'd be back, Max had to believe that. So he waited. He sat on the floor of the white and waited. His head had begun to hurt again, an annoying stabbing pain that wouldn't go away.

Waiting for something to happen, anything. Waiting for Alex to come back. He was alone with his thoughts and he didn't like his thoughts. He didn't like to think. Not anymore. But now he was alone again he thoughts once again went to her and he remembered the last time he'd seen her, held her broken body in his arms.

Alone in the white he thought about Liz.

~*~*~*~*~

The hotel room was dark. Dark and quiet. The moonlight came in though the open window. Just enough light to show her body, to show the bruises and blood stains.

His hand was over her heart, begging it to beat as the tears ran down his cheeks.

"Max…Max stop." The voice was from behind him, and he turned to face her. His tears clouded his vision.

"Liz?"

She was standing there in front of him. Illuminating the whole room. She was beautiful.

"I have to go Max. Let me go." He voice caught and he could tell she was close to tears.

"No, it's okay. You'll be okay." He swallowed hard and tried to concentrate. It had to work. "I can save you."

"Not this time Max." He could feel the warmth on his back, hot like the sun. But he didn't look at her, just stared at her body. He tried to concentrate. Tried to heal but it wouldn't work. He couldn't get inside. He couldn't do it. But still he tried.

"You're just giving up?"

"It's not like that. You can't heal the dead. Nothing can heal the dead." He could feel her breath on his neck.

He turned towards her then and she smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes. But they continued to fall. She was kneeling in front of him, her body beside them. "I can try."

She cupped his cheek. "It won't work."

"I wont let you die Liz. I can't." The words barely made it out of his mouth.

She shook her head sadly. "I'm already dead. Please, just stop." His head dropped and her hand slid from his face. "I love you so much Max, but I have to go now."

"I can…"

She moved her hand to his chin, lifting his face up. He stared her right in the eyes. "I have to go now. Everything's going to fine. Please Max, please stop."

He turned back to her body. Stared into her open, dead eyes. He moved his hand from her chest towards them, closing her eyes. Turning his head again, he looked from Liz. But she was gone. Turning again to her body he lifted her up, holding her close.

"I love you too."

He was still holding her when Michael eventually found them, still crying. Liz was dead. What did he do now?

~*~*~*~*~

He was sitting alone in a darkened room, his back up against the wall. He knew she was coming soon. She always came the same time every day. Every day she came, she talked and he ignored her. This time was different. He stared at the bottle in front of him. One bottle could last him a week, Max was a very cheap date. He almost smiled at that. Kyle had considered that the best joke around. He'd once simply opened a bottle of wine and Max had gotten light headed, he'd paid for that for months. But Kyle was gone now too and the days of fun were over.

He heard the door opening and smirked. Right on time.

"Max? Max it's me." He almost laughed at that too. No one else bothered with him anymore. Even Michael. Only her. He supposed it was the family thing. He didn't answer her. There wasn't much point; she knew where he'd be. "I brought you something to eat." She put the tray down in front of him, but he didn't move. He just stared at her, she'd been crying. Her voice was soft as she spoke. "Larek could really use your help with the Tilqutra, he's having trouble understand Liz and Serena's notes." He knew something was wrong before she even said it. It came as no surprise. "Michael's missing. Maria won't talk to me but I can't feel him like I used to Max. I don't think he's here anymore."

He'd known. Another one lost. Liz, Kyle, Jim and now Michael. Not to mention countless supporters.

He heard the crash before even noticing the missing bottle. Isabel had jumped back from him. She was scared. She was scared of him. He was scared of himself. She left, ran away. But she came back again the next day.

Again he was on the floor, staring at the doorway when she came. He wondered what he looked like to her. He hadn't shaved in days, hadn't washed properly in weeks. The look of determination on her face caught him by surprise. As did her words.

"I've lost people too Max."

His reply was instant. The words felt strange in his mouth, he hadn't said anything for days. "It's not the same."

The reply seemed to spur her on. "Why?" The question hung in the air. He didn't reply so she carried on. "Why is it any different? I loved Alex." That surprised him. She never mentioned Alex. Ever. Actually Max wasn't really sure what had gone on there. He'd known she'd cared for him. But love? He'd never considered it. "I loved him and he died. It doesn't just go away."

He didn't know how to respond to her. So there was silence. But he spoke again. "I want her back."

Her eyes filled with tears and she knelt before him. He voice soft and quiet. "I know."

"I don't want to talk Isabel."

"Then I'll talk, you can listen." Her voice was determined so he nodded. "I loved Alex and I didn't even realise it. I didn't even know that's how I felt until…after. I just always thought he'd be there. He never knew how I felt." She sighed and closed her eyes. "It doesn't go away Max, the memories fade but the feelings will still be there. That doesn't change."

"So what do you want me to do? Find a Jesse to make me feel better? Maybe we can get Ava." It was spiteful he knew and for once it didn't make him feel better.

"That's low Max."

"Yeah well it takes one to know one."

She closed her eyes and he knew she was trying not to let him get to her. "I'm not telling you the make the same mistakes I made. But I'm trying to make a point, the point is…Liz has been gone for months now and I'm not telling you to move on, I wouldn't ask that. But you have to keep living Max, because Liz wouldn't have wanted that."

His voice was low when he replied. "I know."

Isabel breathed deeply before continuing. "What you and Liz had was very special, I think that perhaps me and Alex could have had the same. We didn't get the chance, you did. You can't forget the memories but you have to live Max, you have to live your life for Liz."

"I don't know if I can do that."

She looked right into his eyes. "You'll always have me." She sighed, deciding if to continue. "I see him sometimes."

Max was confused. "Who?"

"Alex." She looked above her. "Not for awhile. But he talks to me, says things I think Alex would say. I know he's not Alex, but I feel like he's part of me now. It helps; it feels like he's still here. I don't ever forget but I do move on because…because if I don't think I could handle things if I didn't." She sighed before turning to look at him. "Just because it might seem like I've forgotten him doesn't mean I have. It's just how I deal with it."

"I'm not you Isabel."

"No, you're stronger. Zan needs his father. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your son."

Then she left and he got up.

~*~*~*~*~

As he sat there all alone he thought about his family. They were all gone now. Isabel had died just a year after Michael, Maria had barely made 6 months and Zan, his son had been killed 3 months ago. He was only 11 years old.

Max considered himself responsible for every one of them. He was King and he'd failed. Khivar had won.

As the ache started again Max rubbed his head.

Where was Alex…

~*~*~*~*~

- Max
- Alex
- Max and Alex

Ethan

[Quint]

Sorry for the delay, RL get's chaotic at times.

cardinalgirl, I am still looking for that second beta (I do need one who actually watched Roswell ). So if you're still interested PM me.

Anyway here's part 4

Part 4

~*~*~*~*~

He guessed this was what being a watcher was about. Personally he’d have rather been Buffy. Sadly he didn’t have a choice.

He’d never had a choice.

Now was no different.

But this way he could change things.

At least this way he knew he was doing the right thing.

So he watched. He was good at it.

~*~*~*~*~

"I'm back." The voice came from behind him and he jumped in shock. There was Alex, dressed all in white. What was with white?

Max stood and turned to face him. "Where were you?" Alex seemed distracted.

"Oh you know…stuff." Alex was noncommittal. But kept looking around, as if he was expecting something else.

"Stuff?" Max pressed him. He wanted answers.

"Important…stuff."

Max sighed. "Well now you're back…how about you get me out of here." He waved his hand at the surroundings.

"I can't." He said it slowly, putting emphasis on can't.

"You can't?"

"No…" Seeing that he wasn't going to except that Alex continued "...it's hard to explain. I can't exactly do anything." Alex took a deep breath, and then sighed. "What I mean is…I'm just here to guide you, not to break you out."

"Well you can tell me how then."

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"Would you stop repeating everything I say!" He sounded angry so Max stayed silent. "Look…I'm dead okay and dead people can't exactly do much." He rubbed his face. "Okay I'm not sure how to say this so I'm just going to say it and then we'll move on from there." Alex took a deep breath. "Khivar has you captured and he's trying to get inside your brain, but you're keeping him out. Those headaches you've been getting are him trying to get through. But your stopping him, I'm not sure how but you are. But you can't stop him forever so you've got to escape..."

"What?"

Alex ignored him "...But the problem is I'm only able to reach you because you're unconscious. Khivar thinks that because Tess brought Zan back to you that she also told you where she'd hidden the Granolith. But you don't know. So what you're going to have to do is wake up, don’t ask me how I don’t know and then follow my directions to somewhere close enough that I can contact you. I can't tell you where it is because Khivar will find out. Then you'll have to use it to travel back in time and stop Nasedo from killing Shelia Hubble." The last part came out in a rush and Alex took a deep breath. Max just stared at him.

"What?" He was confused. Really confused.

"Look Max we don't have much time." There was a hint of desperation in Alex's tone.

"Why, do you have somewhere to be?" Max's sarcasm was back in full force, along with his smirk.

"No!" Alex shouted, his patience finally gone.

Neither said anything for a moment after that. They just stared at each other. Both knowing that there wasn't time to fight.

It was Max that spoke first, the smirk and sarcasm gone. He spoke slowly and quietly. "You want me to use the Granolith to travel back in time?"

"You do know the Granolith can be used as a time travel device?"

"Liz may have mentioned it once or twice." He rolled his eyes, it wasn't exactly a secret.

"Well you'll use it to go back in time."

"I tried it once before and it didn't exactly work out."

"That's because you didn't know what you know now. The Max from that timeline thought Nasedo was on your side. You know different." Alex closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "He was right about Tess though. You need her, you need the Royal Four. With Nasedo gone Tess will be brought up differently, hopefully she'll still be around to help you stop Khivar."

"You want me to kill him, kill Nasedo." Max smiled. "If I kill him then he never gets Tess. That's what you're saying."

"Well...yeah."

"Tess murdered you Alex."

"I'm over that now." Alex smiled slightly but it didn't meet his eyes.

"Over it?" Max scoffed. How do you get over someone killing you?

"There are things you don't know Max. About my death, about Tess, about everything."

"She killed you, there's not much else to say."

"I'm not condoning what Tess did Max, but it was an accident." Max almost laughed and Alex rolled his eyes. "Okay so you don't believe me. But Tess wasn't inherently evil, Nasedo made the choice to betray you and she was brought up with that, with him. If she'd had a normal life she'd have made different choices."

"How do you know all this?"

"I...can't tell you."

"Can't or wont." Alex didn't answer. "It's difficult to trust someone when they wont tell you the truth." Alex still didn't answer. "How can you be sure Tess wont do the same thing again? How do you know she won't make the same mistakes? What aren't you telling me?"

"That’s not important."

"It's important to me Alex." It was aggravating, Alex was aggravating.

"I can't tell you." Alex swallowed hard. "But I can show you." He offered his hand to Max who just stared at it. "Take my hand, I want to show you something."

"You want me to hold your hand? It went straight though you last time."

"Just do it."

Reluctantly Max slowly took his hand. It felt real. All around him the scenery changed, they were outside and it was raining, they were next to a road Max thought he recognised but couldn't place.

"What is this?"

Alex smiled slightly. "Just a glimpse."

~*~*~*~*~

"You can let go of my hand now."

Max blushed slightly. "Sorry. Where are we?" He turned away from Alex and looked around.

"Roswell." He paused, whether for effect or simply because he didn't know how to continue. "April 29th 2001."

Max turned back to him, his eyes wide. When he spoke he did it softly. "The day you died."

"Yeah. I want to show you something." Alex closed his eyes in concentration and everything around seemed to stop, time seemed to freeze. Opening his eyes again he a raindrop that was hanging in front of him. Then he smiled and started walking up the road.

It was then Max saw the truck, stood still, half swerving. He followed Alex up the road.

"Did you ever wonder how Tess could have made the accident and yet have been with you at the Crashdown?"

Max swallowed hard as they reached the truck, he could see the horror on the drivers face. He closed his eyes. "Mindwarp."

"Not this time." Max looked at Alex then and then he saw them. Lonnie and Rath. "Oh Tess did the damage Max, but they cleaned up the mess."

He could see Rath's outstretched hand and the smirk on Lonnie's face. He couldn't see inside the car but he recognised it. Alex's car. He walked towards it and closed his eyes at what he saw. Inside was Alex, eyes open in fright, arms not touching the steering wheel but the thing that got Max was his mouth. It was open and he was mid scream.

He turned away and back towards his Alex. "You were still alive."

Alex smiled slightly. "Why did you think there was so much blood Max? If I was dead before they put me in the car how could I have bleed? If my heart had stopped beating, how could there have been so much blood?"

"I didn't think. So Tess didn't kill you?"

Alex laughed slightly. "Oh she did the damage. You probably could have saved me if she'd gone to you straight away. But Tess's first instinct was always self preservation." He started to walk away, Max followed him. "My brain was mush but I was still there, I can remember it. I can remember the pain. I do blame Tess, of course I do."

"So she knew? She knew they were going to kill you?"

"That's the funny thing. She thought they were going to save me." He looked at Max then. "Just trust me Max, Tess wasn't evil. She was stupid, confused and selfish. But she had a good soul. Trust me on this…without Nasedo this wont happen."

"You seem very sure."

"I am." He was serious for a moment before he tapped his nose and smiled. "Inside knowledge." He then offered his hand to Max.

Max smiled back at him and took his hand. The white returned but just before he heard the crash of metal, the scream of pain. He knew then he trusted this Alex. He didn't know why but he trusted him. He trusted him completely.

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for reading.

Ethan.

[Quint]

Another new part...a bit sooner than usual. But I'm feeling really well so new parts should be coming every few days now. Oh and special thanks to my new beta cardinalgirl for getting to work so quickly.

Part 5

~*~*~*~*~

"What now?"

They were back in the white. It didn't bother Max so much anymore. Actually he found it almost comforting. Maybe because Alex was there or maybe because he knew it wouldn't last much longer.

"Well…to be honest I'm not sure. We need you to escape but that's not going to be easy and then you'll need to follow my directions to the Granolith and then…"

"Perhaps we should just get the basics straight first…how long will it take Khivar to crack my mind and wake me?"

"Not long, you'll be able to tell when he gets close."

"The headaches?" Alex nodded. "What until then?"

"I can't tell you anything else Max."

"Because I might betray it to Khivar?"

"Yes." Alex sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything like that. But everyone breaks under torture. Everyone. Your not Superman Max…"

"I know." It was then the thought came to him. He didn't know why it hadn't come to him before. "What about Zan?"

"What about him?"

"If Tess isn't raised by Nasedo, then you aren't killed…he won't be conceived…he won't even have a chance at life."

Alex sighed. "I don't know about Zan."

"He was my son. He did nothing wrong. He was innocent, if we can change everything surely we can change that?" Max noticed the way Alex avoided his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Zan…Zan was an anomaly Max."

"He was my son." Max ground out.

"He was never meant to exist." Alex persisted

"If your talking Destiny Alex, I don't want to here it."

"I'm not talking Destiny. I'm talking fate. This was never supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to be this way. It never was, and I'm not talking about my death. I'm talking about this world."

"And you know this how?"

"I can't tell you. You know that and I'm sorry Max." Alex sighed. "People die. It's sad but we move on…we have to move on because if we didn't we'd just stand still and wallow in self-pity. Zan spent almost all his life on the run, he never really had a home, he saw more death in his short life than anyone should have in a lifetime. This way…this way nothing is certain but it's the best chance for everyone, the best chance for him. Sacrifices are necessary, you cant save everyone."

It was quiet for a long time after that. Max seemed to be contemplating what Alex had said. When he spoke again it was quietly. "Isabel told me the same thing when Liz died."

"Yeah well, Isabel was smart."

"She loved you."

Alex smiled. "I like to think so." He turned to Max.

"She did. I'm sure of that." Max closed his eyes. "She never smiled the same way after you were gone. I know she moved on, I know she had happiness. But I know she'd have been happier with you around. I know it." He opened his eyes and stared at Alex. "She said she talked to you…"

Alex shook his head. "Not to me…she'd have visions of me at important times. But they weren't me. I was there though. I can't say I was happy about the Jesse situation, but who would be?" He raised his eyebrows and Max tried to smile, but he couldn't. "But I comfort myself in the knowledge that if I'd been there it wouldn't have even been an option."

"And you know that how?"

"Benefits of the job." Max smiled slightly. But didn't reply, the silence was awkward. But Max wasn't really sure how to break it. He had so many questions he wanted answers for. But at the same time he kept thinking back to what Alex had said before. If he was honest he'd never really thought about Alex. He'd never really considered who Alex was. To Max he was just…Alex. He'd never looked beyond that. He'd never wondered about his parent, his grandparents. His family. That almost scared him. He wasn't afraid of the whiteness anymore. He wasn't afraid of death. He wasn't even afraid of Khivar. What scared Max Evans the most was that he didn't even know Alex Whitman's mother's name. That was what scared him the most.

He'd always considered Alex his friend. Always felt somewhat responsible for his death. But he's never had a conversation with Alex Whitman. He barely knew anything about him. He'd known Alex Whitman almost as long as he'd known Liz. It seemed almost selfish. Alex had died indirectly because of him and he knew almost nothing about him.

Obviously Alex had become uncomfortable with the silence because he'd started to talk. "This way things will be different, maybe Liz Parker wont be shot at the Crashdown, maybe Alex Whitman wont die in a car wreck and maybe we'll have a chance against Khivar."

Max stared up at him. There was something in Alex's face that caught his eye, but he didn't know what. "Sacrifices?"

"Are necessary. Maybe Zan will be born. There are no guarantees in life." Alex stared at Max, watching his expression carefully. "You're still hesitant."

"It's not that I don't trust you, because I do, I really do. But…but I can't help wondering if this is the right thing to do."

Alex nodded his head. "Because of Zan?"

"No…Yes…Kinda. Don't get me wring, I'll do what you say. It's not like I really have a choice. But I just can't help but hope there's another way. A way for Zan to have a life too. He deserves that." He whispered the last part, looking at the floor.

"He still might." Alex said quietly in reply.

Max stared at Alex, looking at him closely. "I think we both know that's not true."

Alex sighed. "What I'm gonna say will probably sound a little harsh but you need to hear this." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Not everything revolves around you, Max. We all have to make choices and sacrifices. It's not easy but we don't have a choice." Max didn't answer so Alex went on. "Do you think it's easy for me? Well it's not. I had to accept Isabel marrying someone else even though it felt like someone was ripping out my heart and stamping on it. I had to accept it because I understood that I'm not important, what I want isn't important. Do you think I wanted to die Max? Do you think I wanted to watch Liz and Maria die? I didn't have a choice. I couldn't do anything about it. You can't do anything about Zan. If he was meant to be then he'll be. But if he wasn't…" Alex trailed off, unsure of what more he could say.

"You're a better man then."

Alex gave a slight smile. "No I'm not. That's my point." He smiled sadly. "Sacrifices are necessary. Whether it's me or you or Zan."

"But if I could somehow change…"

Alex interrupted. "NO!" He shouted, sounding almost desperate, before continuing quieter. "You need to understand. We didn't just pick a day out of a hat and decide to go for a visit. It doesn't work that way. You can't make sure Zan's born, it would change everything. Changing one thing could change everything."

Alex stared at Max, trying to make him understand. "How can you be so sure this will even work?"

"It will work. This is how I know." Then before Max could react Alex had grabbed his arm, and they weren't in Kansas anymore.

~*~*~*~*~


Ethan

[Quint]

Part 6

~*~*~*~*~

The white walls were the first thing Max noticed. That and the smell. He knew immediately they were in a hospital.

The second thing was that no one was moving. No one at all.

Everyone was frozen in place. As still as statues. Statues surrounded by Christmas decoration.

He turned to Alex, looking for an explanation. But Alex himself was staring at the doorway at the end of the hall. Max didn't see the importance. He just saw a blonde woman and a young boy with dark hair. But Alex walked straight towards them, beckoning Max with him.

When they reached the boy Alex spoke for the first time, but he didn't look at Max. He stared at the woman's hand, firmly attached to the boys. The boy himself was looking backwards towards the double doors at the opposite end of the corridor; Max looked there but couldn't see anything interesting, just the doors.

"This is Charlie. He's 5 years old." Alex stopped then, deciding whether to continue. "He doesn't exist where you come from." He didn't say anymore, instead he went to open the door. But Max stared at the boy, he wanted to know more but also knew Alex wouldn't or couldn't tell him. Instead he looked at the woman and what he saw shocked him more than anything.

"Tess." He spoke her name as if he was expecting her to answer. But of course she didn't. Instead she was looking down at the boy, Charlie. Her mouth was open, as if she was in the middle of saying something. She was smiling. Smiling in a way he'd never seen before. Maybe when she'd looked at Zan…but this was different. She looked happy. It was only then he looked at her whole face, she was older he realised. He'd only ever seen Tess as a girl but looking at her now she was a woman. A happy woman.

He turned to Alex for an explanation and Alex pointed towards a calendar on the wall.

He didn't look at the exact date, he didn't care. The decorations gave away the month anyway. So he simply looked at the year.

2012.

This was 2012 as it was meant to be. Tess was alive and so was this boy. This Charlie.

Max looked back towards Alex, but he'd already gone though the doors. Taking one last look, Max followed him.

Rushing to catch him up, Max tried to take in more of his surrounding's. but he wasn't really concentrating on anything more than catching Alex.

When he was close enough he put out his hand to stop him. Max was almost surprised when he actually did.

"What is this?"

Alex shrugged. "It's your proof. It's what you make." Alex had trouble finding the words. "I'm trying to show you what a difference you can make. How different things will be. How if you sacrifice Zan you're doing the right thing."

Max looked around him. "So this is the future I'll make."

Alex shrugged again. "Probably, if everything goes completely to plan. It's difficult to explain…but the future's never certain. You have to trust…yourself. I know I'm not explaining this well…but what I'm trying to show you is that these people will be alive because of you. These people won't die."

"People?" He tried to keep the hope out of his voice but he failed miserably.

"I'll wait here. The cafeteria where you should be. It's on the third floor." Alex pointed towards the stairs at then end of the hall. "Take your time, I've seen it all before anyway."

Max stared at him, unmoving.

"Go Max…before I change my mind."

He turned towards the stairs and didn't even look back at Alex. He knew what was waiting for him. He just wished it were real.

~*~*~*~*~

He saw her the moment he opened the door. She was smiling, laughing probably. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Liz.

She was standing by a table, there were people sitting at it but he didn't look at them. He looked straight at Liz.

She looked so beautiful. So normal. So happy. He didn't touch her, he didn't dare. Afraid she'd disappear, that she'd be a dream.

Her hair was shorter than before, above her shoulders. But it was her eyes that caught his attention. They were as bright and happy as when he'd first seen her.

He looked at the people at the table then. He wasn't shocked at who was there. Maria, Michael and Kyle.

All of them looked happy. Happier than they'd ever really been in his world. But it was two things in particular that caught his attention. The first was Michael's face. He was smiling. Not smirking, smiling. A genuine smile.

The second was Maria's belly. She was clearly pregnant. She was glowing.

The four people in front of him had never made it to his 2012. Maria had never had a baby. In this world she would. In this world they were alive. This world was better. He knew that.

That was why, even though when he looked down at Liz's left hand and saw no wedding ring he wasn't very disappointed.

Because even if he and Liz weren't married. Even if they weren't together. Even if they weren't friends. This was still the better world. Liz, Kyle, Michael, Maria and Tess were alive and happy.

That made his decision for him. After all, no wedding ring was better than someone else's. Max smiled, he had to go and find Alex.

~*~*~*~*~

"Alex!" He shouted again. Getting more and more annoyed about the lack of an answer.

He was back to the corridor where Tess and the little boy were. The only problem was Alex was nowhere to be found.

He was ready to face anything and he just couldn't find Alex. Knowing this was the world he'd help create made all the difference.

Movement behind the double doors in front of him caught his eye and he made his way towards it. Only to be blocked when Alex came back though.

"I'm ready." Max said immediately. "Let's kick Khivar's ass." Alex looked surprised to see him, which in turn surprised Max. Max was intrigued. "What's in there?" He tried to see behind Alex but couldn't.

"That's not important."

Max was confused once again and he knew Alex was once again keeping him in the dark. That he wasn't telling him something important. Then a thought struck him. "Where are you Alex?"

Again Alex answered with his trademark. "It's not important."

It annoyed Max more than usual. "Yes it is. You're important to me. If Tess is going to be good then you should be alive!"

"You can't know everything. I wouldn't tell you even if I could. Besides you didn't see Isabel or you either. Maybe it's a good thing not everyone's in the hospital on Christmas Eve." Alex smiled and before Max could stop him, grabbed his shoulder. As they returned to the white Alex spoke. "Sacrifices are necessary. You don't want to know everything I do. Trust me on that."

"It's a better world right? Better for everyone?"

"Definitely."

Max spoke quietly then, keeping his voice low. "There was something's about this world that I like you know? Some memories I'd rather not be lost, some people…"

Alex interrupted. "I know. But it's better." Alex shrugged. "Earth's gonna be destroyed Max. It couldn't get much worse, could it?"

Max tried to speak but couldn’t find the words; he just didn’t know what to say. So he said nothing and stayed silent.

~*~*~*~*~


More soon, thanks for reading.

Ethan

[Quint]

Hey people, new part. Also there's a little AN at the end of this chapter.

Part 7

~*~*~*~*~

Again Max closed his eyes. The silence was getting to him. The uncomfortable silence. He didn't know what to say. Which question to ask. It was obvious they had the time so why shouldn't he know more. He wiped the sweat from his brow and tried to stop his head from spinning. He knew something was happening. He just didn't know what.

His voice was hesitant as he spoke, he wasn't even sure what he was going to ask. So he asked the question which came into his head first.

"What was your mother's name?" At that moment. In a place that was nothing but white. Being tortured by his Alien rival and speaking to a dead man. Max felt like laughing. Laughing in a way he hadn't done in years. He had a thousand questions in his head. But he'd asked that? Maybe he was nuts after all.

Alex seemed confused. Max wasn't surprised, he wasn't really sure why he'd asked that. But he still answered. "Gloria. Why?"

"No reason…sorry." He didn't know exactly what he was sorry for. But he did feel a bit better. Alex wasn't so much of a stranger anymore.

But then the silence came again. The waiting. The uncomfortable silence. Max tried to think of something funny. But he couldn't. He just couldn't think straight.

"What about your grandparents?" Max tried to be nonchalant. He failed.

"What's going on Max?" Alex looked around, confused again. "Why are you asking that?"

Max stuttered slightly in reply, standing up and pacing. "Maybe Larek was right and I'm not entirely stable or maybe I'm finally thinking clearly. You know we're not so different are we? We should have been friends, I don't know why we weren't. I can't think of a single reason we weren't." Max became more serious, getting into his stride. "You said earlier, when you came for me that we weren't friends. But you still came. You said I didn't really know Alex Whitman. That I didn't know who you were and you know what? You're right." He chucked slightly and rubbed his face. "I'm not talking about what your favourite colour is. Show me who Alex Whitman was. Who he is. I should know who you are." He stopped in front of Alex.

"How?"

"Do your thing…give me a glimpse." He held out his hand for Alex to take. Alex didn't move, he just looked confused. "Come on Alex…I want to know you. You can't tell me everything, I get that. So show me something, something a friend would know. Something that has nothing to do with aliens or the end of the world. Something that's just you."

Slowly but surely Alex took his hand and the whiteness disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~

The first thing Max noticed was the sound. The beeps. He looked around him as Alex froze the room. There was silence. Max stared down at the heart monitor, then down at the body on the bed. He looked quickly around the room but there was no one there.

He was pretty sure he knew that answer but asked anyway. "Who is she?"

"Annabelle Whitman." Alex paused as Max reached out for her hand. Touching it lightly. "She's just turned 5 and in less than 6 months she'll be dead." He voice was emotionless.

Max stared at her face. "What's wrong with her?"

Alex paused again, still watching Max. "It's a heart defect. She's had it since birth and there's nothing they can do. She needs a new heart but she's got a rare blood type and the chances of finding a child's heart with her blood type is next to none."

Max didn't reply. There wasn't anything he could say. So again he stuck to the obvious. "This isn't Roswell."

"No." Alex moved to the window. "This is San Antonio in 1988. We don't move to Roswell until after Annie dies." He looked out the window. "Alex was a different person then. But Annie's death changed everything, his parent's withdrew. They were afraid to lose another child so they tried to pretend everything was fine. They moved Alex away from all his friends." Alex turned toward Max but, as Max noted didn't look down at Annie. "Of course he made new friends. But he never really forgave his parents. At least not where you're from." He added with a wry smile that didn't meet his eyes.

"Did Liz and Maria know?"

"I never spoke to them about it. But I think they knew. My parents had photos of her in the house and I think they wanted to ask about her sometimes. But they had the tact not to, so I didn't either."

Max nodded. "I could have saved her."

"You can't save everybody."

"I thought that was the plan?"

"Funny." But Alex didn't smile. Neither did Max. "Is this what you wanted? This was the defining moment of Alex Whitman's life. This was what changed everything for him. Not finding out there were aliens among us, not meeting Isabel Evans and not having his brain turned to mush by Tess. This was when Alex became the Alex you know."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"You never asked."

Then taking a last look at the child on the bed Max took Alex's hand.

~*~*~*~*~

They were back in the white again.

They were also back to the silence. The uncomfortable silence.

Alex seemed to be thinking things over and Max was again lost for words.

Max wanted to broach the subject with Alex. Actually he wanted to broach any subject. He decided it was probably a bad idea to talk about the sister situation. So instead he decided on another tact.

"Why Shelia Hubble? He killed others, why her?"

"Didn't you ever wonder why he killed her in the first place Max?" Max shrugged. He'd just figured she'd been caught up in the crossfire. That she'd seen him shift and he'd killed her for it. "He did it because they knew each other; he knew what she was going to do. He knew her place in fate and he stopped her from completing her destiny."

"And what was her destiny?"

"That's not important."

Max rolled his eyes. Apparently not a lot of things were important enough for him to know. It annoyed him.

"You know why I can't tell you everything Max. But I promise you I'll give you everything you need after you get out of this."

Max raised his eyebrows. "You'll tell me everything."

"Everything you need to know."

Max let out a breath. "That doesn't exactly fill me with hope. If I'm going to give up my son then I want more that just empty promises." Alex opened his mouth to interrupt but Max continued. "You see it's a little hard for me to take. Hard for me to understand. How can I trust you when you won't tell me everything? How can I be sure I wont be making things worse? Last time I did this you died and the end still came and it was 2 years earlier." Max brought his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them. "And now I'm going dizzy."

Max looked up but Alex was no longer there. He wasn't anywhere. He grabbed the back of his head and felt like collapsing. "I wasn't finished!" He screamed. "Ow!" He cried out, grabbing the side of his head in agony and falling onto his knees.

He didn't bother asking for help. He knew no one could hear him. Not even Alex. So he lay on the floor of the white, curled up in the fetal position and hoped it would be over quickly.

~*~*~*~*~

AN - Annie (at least mostly, there may be some differences because I haven't read that series in along time) comes from the Roswell Elementary series and belongs to Emily and Kara.
Oh and the next part may take longer to come because I am swamped by both job and Uni, lots of revision and essays to write.


Ethan

[Quint]

New part...dedicated to Callum and Nathan.

Part 8

~*~*~*~*~

"I need the Granolith, I don't care what you have to do to him. I don't care about the cost. I want it and he has it."

Alex watched Khivar rant and rave, it was almost funny. It would have been funny if he wasn't talking about destroying Max's soul.

Khivar didn't understand why a machine he'd gone to so much trouble to get wasn't working. He was growing more and more impatient. While the good thing was he was much more likely to make mistakes, it was also bad news for Max.

Khivar had already made one mistake. A stupid, arrogant mistake. Now Alex was just waiting for him to make his second.

Alex hated just watching and waiting but he was used to it by now. He'd had a lot of practice.

He was still smirking at Khivar's attempts to get the Tilqutra to work when he spotted her. Someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Someone he'd always assumed was dead.

Someone who could help Max.

Or at least she could if Alex could find a way to communicate with her.

Which he had no way of doing. Typical.

~*~*~*~*~

“You were gone.” Max was lying on his back, staring up at the white when he felt the presence.

“I’m back now and I’m not leaving. Not this time.” Alex smiled brightly. “This is it Max.” Alex gestured around. The white was being invaded by colours. Swirling colours.

Max scrambled to his feet. “What did you do?”

Alex shook his head, the smile still on his face. “Not me, not this time. Turns out you have a friend left Max. Another one.”

The white was fluctuating all around them, the colours swirling, the floor vibrating. “I’m waking up?”

Alex nodded. “But this is just a fighting chance.” He breathed heavily, looking around carefully. “I don’t know what she’s got planned but it wont be easy…”

Max interrupted. "I don't expect it to be easy."

Alex continued as if he hadn't heard him. "…And even if you get away you still have to find the Granolith." Alex closed his eyes. "The only way you'll be able to find it is if you follow my instructions…I can't tell you the exact location because if Khivar breaks you…we can't let him find it. It's more important than anything." Max tried to interrupt but Alex put up his hand to stop him. "But if you go to the north-facing side of Pico BolÌvar in Venezuela I'll meet you there."

Max didn't have time to ask him any questions. The white around him had begun to shift and shake. Alex disappeared and so did what little was left of the white. Max fell backwards onto the floor, closing his eyes as pain shot through his body.

But when he opened them again everything had changed.

Instead of a room of white with no escape he was inside a grey room with a single door. Instead of lying on the floor he was restrained against a wall, his arms and legs held in vice-like grips. Instead of a smiling Alex he was faced with a stoney faced woman with dark hair, dark skin and an expression of anger on her face.

“Hello Zan.”

Max attempted to smile but it came out more like a grimace. “Hey Serena.”

~*~*~*~*~

“So…you’re alive.” Max said conversationally. Serena just stared at him.

“Well spotted.” She replied, scowling.

“Um…so do you think you could get me out here?” He asked hopefully.

“Give me one reason why.” She told him, still unmoving.

“Well maybe because I’m your friend?” He told her sarcastically.

“Not anymore. You gave up any right to call yourself my friend when you left us.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Well my son had just been murdered, what did you expect me to do?”

“I expected you to help your people!”

Max tried to shake his head but the brace around his neck made that difficult. “The same people who vilified my wife? Who barely tolerated my inferior human form? They can sort out their planet themselves.”

Serena shook her head disbelievingly. “You really are an arrogant son of a bitch sometimes. In case you hadn’t realised, Khivar has started attacking Earth because of you.” She raised her eyebrows at him, still scowling.

Max ignored what she’d said. “Are you going to help me out or not? I don’t really have time for one of these conversations.”

Serena sighed. “Even though you’re an ass, you are my King.” She gave a sloppy bow. “So I don’t have a choice.” She lifted up her hands and tried to concentrate. “Even if you did abandon us and try to kill yourself.”

Max looked anxiously at where she was aiming. “A…Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Serena had never had a good aim; Larek had pointed that out more than once.

She smirked at him. “Don’t you trust me Zan?” She kept her eyes closed in concentration as she continued. “I don’t have a choice. Khivar has made your prison impenetrable to anything but powers. He built it specifically for you.”

Max closed his eyes and prepared himself for her to miss. “I feel very special, and stop calling me Zan. You do realise Larek will be very annoyed if you damage me?” he added hopefully.

Serena didn’t answer for a moment. “Larek’s dead,” she told him quietly.

“Oh,” Max replied quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Again it was a quiet voice she answered in. “So was I.”

She didn’t miss and Max felt himself fall forward onto the ground. It hurt. “Ow…you did that on purpose.”

Serena stepped over him, moving towards the door. “Be quiet.”

Max pushed himself up, his legs felt like jelly, he could barely walk on them. In fact his whole body ached. He’d obviously been on that wall for days.

He cricked his neck as he looked at Serena. She was probably checking for patrols he guessed. “You used to call me Max,” he whispered.

“I’ve got a thousand different names for you…which one would you like?” she growled back at him.

Max chose wisely to keep silent as he followed her out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~

“So what’s the plan?” Max asked, crouched in the corner, changing his clothes as Serena played lookout.

“You want a plan? Think of one yourself.” She whispered back. “And change your hair,” she added.

Max rolled his eyes as he put his hand up to his head and changed his hair to blonde. “We should get a plan.”

“Oh I’ve got a plan. It involves getting you out of here, getting me out of here and getting the hell off this planet before Khivar gets seriously pissed and really takes it out on more than the major cities.” She stared back at Max. “You can do whatever you want once I get you through that door.”

Max thought for a moment. “Well…I need to get to Pico BolÌvar in Venezuela.” At Serena’s incredulous look he added. “It’s in South America.” Again she just looked at him. “It’s important.”

Serena turned away from him. “More important than our war?”

Max chucked darkly. “The war’s over. We lost.”

“It’s never over,” she replied, still looking out into the corridor. “You really are crazy if you think I’m going to help you travel hundreds of miles.” She swallowed. “Most of the major European and North American cities have been destroyed. But you’re lucky, South America’s been left almost untouched. But it’s martial law out there, so you’ll be lucky to make it to Mexico.” She turned back to him then. “I can’t help you, I won’t. They need me and the information I can give them is very valuable. You’re on your own.”

Max moved towards her, smiling slightly. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He swallowed hard. “I know I was selfish to leave, but I just didn’t see any point in living never mind leading a resistance movement.”

She stared back at him, her expression guarded. “And now you do?”

“Yes,” he said simply.

“I know it seems hopeless, but you can’t just do nothing. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” She smiled softly. “Liz told me that.”

“I know.” He smiled back at her. “I am doing something, I promise.”

Serena stared at him, unmoving before speaking. “The south entrance won’t be guarded. We’ve got 3 minutes to get out. After that your on your own.” She turned away from him and went for the door.

“Serena…I’m sorry. About Larek. About everything.”

She didn’t turn to face him, but stopped mid-reach. “Just follow me, and when you’re finished doing whatever you’ve got to do, send us a message. They need their King. Antar needs a King.” Before he could answer she opened the door and walked out into the corridor.

He followed her in silence as she checked for Khivar’s people. Her hand was outstretched, ready to attack.

They were almost halfway there when it happened.

The alarms.

Damn.

~*~*~*~*~


Thanks for reading.

Ethan

[Quint]

Part 9

~*~*~*~*~

“Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap,” Serena muttered, pulling a grenade from her belt and throwing it down the hallway. It exploded just as the troops came around the corner.

“Come on!” shouted Max, holding open the door he’d hotwired. Serena ran towards him, moving through the doorway. Max then placed his hand on the keypad and concentrated on fusing the wires inside. When he was convinced it was secure he turned back to Serena.

They were at a dead-end crossroads and she was looking down both the corridors, trying to get her bearings. It wasn’t working, every corridor looked the same. They heard an explosion behind them and turned to watch the door, which was shuddering behind them.

“Left/Right,” Serena and Max said simultaneously.

The glare between the two would have frozen anyone.

“When in doubt, always go right,” Max suggested quickly.

Serena was confused. “Why’s that?”

Max shrugged. “It makes sense.”

Serena didn’t seem to agree. “You’re an idiot.”

Max rolled him eyes but before he could respond the door behind him began to spark.

Reacting instinctively, Serena ran left and Max ran right. Realising she wasn’t following him, Max stopped, sighed and followed her.

~*~*~*~*~

They ran full speed down more plain grey hallways. Max had no idea if they were heading in the correct direction or not, he just followed Serena. Which meant that when she stopped suddenly, leant her back against the closest wall for support and closed her eyes in concentration. Max did the same.

“It’s time for plan B!” Serena shouted over the sirens, her back against the wall.

“Do we have a plan B?” Max shouted back.

“No…it’s time for us to get one,” she replied, still bracing herself against the wall. Max rolled his eyes. “How are your powers?” she asked him.

Max concentrated for a second, feeling inside himself. “Drained,” he stated simply.

“But still there?” She persisted.

“Just about.” He reached out with his mind to the surrounding area. He could feel them, could feel him. Nicholas, Khivar and plenty of troops. They were close and getting closer. “What’s your idea?”

She pointed straight above them and then smiled slightly at Max’s look of disgust. “Can you do it? Mine are still to weak.”

Max groaned, but still he lifted his arm up and blew the grate away.

~*~*~*~*~

“Which way?” Max asked again, trying to keep his voice low and only just succeeding.

“This way.” Serena started to crawl to the left and Max began to follow. Then she stopped and put her hand up to still him too.

“What is it?” He whispered.

“It’s the other way,” she stated, motioning for him to back up. Max just stared at her, his mouth open. “Yes I’m sure.”

Max rolled his eyes and squashed himself up against the side of the vent as she crawled past him.

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Nope.”

Max stopped still and let his head drop. He was exhausted. “Great rescue,” he added. Moving up behind her, his hands beginning to burn.

“Well if you don’t like it you can go throw yourself off a cliff…oh no you’ve already done that once, haven’t you?”

“Go to hell.”

“I’ll meet you there.” She replied before stopping still and shushing him. At Max’s look she told him. “I think we’re above the main entrance.”

“That’s your plan B?” Max said, disbelievingly. “I though we were going out the back?”

“We were going out the South and that didn’t exactly work out now did it?” she stated, staring back at him. “Now shut up so I can tell how many there are.”

Max stayed quiet and listened to. But he couldn’t here a thing. But he saw Serena’s eye’s widen in horror. “What?”

She’d started to crawl forwards when it happened. An explosion that shook the whole shaft. “Come on!” She shouted back at him but he didn’t hear her.

The creaking of the duct caught his attention and he only had a second to realise what was happening.

Then he fell.

~*~*~*~*~

Debris surrounded him. He coughed at the dust that was in his lungs and surrounding him. Holding his hand to his chest, blinking quickly to stop the dizziness.

Max was on his hands and knee’s trying to recognise his surroundings. Where was he?

He felt the presence before he heard the gruff and gloating voice. He knew it immediately.

“Reyk el Zan.” Max closed his eyes and sighed but his lips formed a tight smirk as he turned to face him.

“Max, Khivar. My name is Max,” he stated, putting his hands up in surrender.

~*~*~*~*~