Enough is Enough (CC,M/L,Teen/Mature) {COMPLETE} - 11/23/05

[Zanity]

Enough is Enough (CC, M/L, Teen-Mature) -- Banner by ~Amara~


Summary: After Max in the City. When Liz could only nod that she’d slept with Kyle when Max asked, between the connection he still felt with her and his familiarity with her body language after years of watching her, Max knows it was a lie. He can also see how much it hurt her to tell it and knowing that he is causing her pain he finally snaps….

Pairings: M/L

Rating: Teen/Mature

Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended.

Author’s Note: It’s been along time since I’ve been able to stomach watching S2 so I don’t remember for certain when Isabel made peace with Max after her actions with the skins. So for the purposes of this story, as of the point where it picks up, the end of Max in the City, she hasn’t done it yet.

Author's Note 2: I'd like to thank Timelord31 for the help in betaing this fic. And I'd like to thank ~Amara~ for the banner.

Chapter 1

The next day Liz comes home to find a manila envelope on her bed with her name written on it. She immediately recognizes the handwriting as Max’s and opens it to find a letter inside as well as nine envelopes addressed to their other six friends. She sits down on her bed and begins to read the letter…


My Dearest Liz,

I love you more than life itself. As my soul mate, my queen, my other half, and the owner and possessor of my heart I feel there are some things you should know. First and foremost is that even if you had slept with Kyle it wouldn’t have changed my feelings for you. Nothing on this planet or any other could ever do that.


Second is as much as thought of you sleeping with him hurts, it hurts even more to know that I’ve somehow hurt you so much, that you would set that up and continue lying about it, just to keep me away from you. I can see the pain in your eyes every time you look at me and I can’t stand being the cause of your pain any more. So I’m leaving Roswell.

So you don’t feel guilty, know that this isn’t the only reason I’m leaving, just the last straw. Among the other reasons are the fact that I know Tess still expects me to fulfill my destiny with her. That’s something I could never do. When she first came to town she didn’t identify herself as my destiny, she used her powers against me and tried to force me to be her mate through mind control. This destiny story is her second attempt at getting me not her first choice. I cannot and will not be the mate of some one who wants me for their puppet and has the power to potentially accomplish that if I let my guard down. Even if I’d never met you the fact that she forcibly stripped me of all control, and has never even apologized it, meaning she thinks it was perfectly acceptable behavior, is enough to tell me I could never be hers.

Further, do you remember when I came to your window and confessed how much Michael meant to me, that I couldn’t lose him? Well I have lost him, ever since that destiny message he comes to me with questions. When I don’t have answers he yells at me that I should because I’m supposed to be the king, as if having that title makes me omniscient or something. Then, when I do have answers he disagrees and argues with me about them. Well I can’t take it anymore.

Add to that the fact that Isabel is keeping secrets from me, and as taken to running off and doing things behind my back that get us all captured and I wonder how I'm expected to lead. They send me here with a team of three other people. They tell me I supposed to marry the one that betrays me by attacking me in my own mind. They tell me I’m supposed to lead the other two, one of which won’t listen to a word I say, and the other no longer trusts me. On top of that I’m expected to make decisions that affect the out come of an intergalactic war. Well I quit.

I have a few final requests to make of you, the first is simple in the envelope you found this letter in are nine other envelopes. Three are addressed to Maria, Alex, and Kyle in black. Give these to them and tell them they each contain a personal farewell as well as my last requests to my friends. The other six are addressed to Michael, Isabel, and Tess two to each. Give these to them and tell them that the envelopes addressed in blue contain my final orders to my so called team while the envelopes addressed in red contain my personal farewells. Caution them that my farewells to them contain my complaints against each of them. That despite all they’ve done I don’t want them to be hurt, the only reason I left them farewells is because I didn’t know which would hurt worse not knowing or a blistering farewell so I left the choice to them.

The second request you will probably find more difficult. When I helped you say good-bye to your grandmother you made her a promise. Because of me and the complications of my life, you broke that promise that day in the cave. I haven’t seen you truly happy since. So I ask of you this, even though it may no longer lead my direction resume following your heart, let it lead you back to happiness. It is the one gift I wished to give you, which I somehow never could. Please be happy, I can’t stand thought of you not being happy.

I shall grant you all my love and best wishes for the rest of my days,
Max

[Zanity]

Chapter 2

After reading Max’s letter Liz was in tears. She remained on her bed crying for two hours before a terrible thought struck her. She called Maria and asked her to come over. When Maria arrived Liz gave her the letter Max wanted her to have and Maria read it.


Maria,

I’m leaving Roswell for a variety of reasons; Liz will fill you in on exactly what they are if she feels you need to know. I wanted you to know that I have enjoyed your friendship and I can’t thank you enough for being there for me the summer that Liz left me.

I know I’ve hurt her somehow because I can see the pain in her eyes when she looks at me. I also know it was real bad because she won’t give me the chance to try and make it up to her. I also know she told you whatever it is but asked you to keep it from me, and that your loyalty to her rightfully exceeds your loyalty to me so you did as she asked.

I know she didn’t sleep with Kyle and that she hasn’t been dating anyone else. Therefore my last requests to you are that you guard her heart. Make sure nobody takes advantage of her in my absence. And make sure she doesn’t shut herself off. Make sure she gets a shot at the happiness that I regretfully was never able to give her.

Sincerely,
Max

As Maria finished reading the letter, she asked, “You told him you didn’t sleep with Kyle?”

Liz replied, “No, I told him that I did, and he could tell I was lying.”

After a few moments of silence, Liz fearfully asked, “Maria, what if I made a mistake. What if future Max didn’t disappear because I saved the world, but he disappeared because in 2014 Max isn’t around to go back in time. I mean if they couldn’t win because Tess left do you think the other three stand a chance without Max?”

At this Maria face paled. “We have to get Max back,” she answered.

That’s when Liz began to sob again, “I know that but based on the letter he gave me; the only way that’s going to happen is if I tell him the truth. As Max sees it all three members of his team have betrayed him now, and my lying to him to keep him away was the final straw. Tess isn’t going to be able to convince him to come back; neither are Isabel or Michael. The only reason I’d be able to is because he trusts our connection.”

“But if I tear down the wall of lies I’ve built between us, neither of us is going to be strong enough to fight our relationship. We’ll get together and Tess will leave. Still I suppose if I have to choose between a definitely gone Max and possible end of the world, and a possibly gone Tess and the end of the world, the only real choice is to get Max back and try and make Tess understand.”

Having finally made up her mind Liz called the rest of the gang together for a meeting at Michael’s.


As the last of the gang arrives for the meeting Liz says, “OK, so let’s get started.”

Michael interrupts with, “Why the heck would we start this meeting without Max, and where the hell is he anyway.”

Liz looks at him with anger in her eyes, and says, “He’s gone Michael, that’s what this meeting is about.” She then proceeds to hand out the rest of the letters Max had written and explains, “I got home today and found a letter from Max on my bed, that contained amongst other things a request that I hand these out. He said he was leaving Roswell for good and these letters are his way of saying good-bye and issuing his last requests to his human friends and orders to his alien team. His phrasing not mine. He told me to caution the aliens that you’ve got two letters because he split yours. The envelope addressed in blue contains his final orders to each of you, while the envelope addressed in red is his goodbye. He told me to caution you, you may not like what you read in the good-bye letter, but he didn’t know which would hurt you worse no good-bye, or the accusatory good-byes he has for you. He didn’t want to hurt you any more than necessary so he gave you the choice.”

Liz continued, “He put enough information in his letter to me to know that if I were you I probably wouldn’t want to read the red letters. But then again, if I were you I never would have done the things he’s angry with you about.”

Liz pauses to give her words time to sink in before resuming in an angry tirade with, “Now, I’m not going to accept his leaving, because I’ve sacrificed too much to keep you four together to allow you three to ruin it. The thing is the only way I can see to fix this is to take what I sacrificed back. So that’s exactly what I intend to do. So I want all three of you to read both your letters so that you know how you messed up so you can try and fix your relationships with Max when we get back. Then I’m going after Max alone, but all six of you are going to help me prepare for the trip.”

After Liz finished speaking she watched as everyone just sat there and staring at her; and as they continued she got angrier and angrier until she yelled out, “START READING!!” All five that hadn’t read their letters yet began at her command.


Alex,

I’d like to thank you for all the help you’ve given me. I know you’re a good man and I couldn’t ask for anyone better for my sister. She does love you, I can tell; keep after her until she admits it and I know you’ll be happy together. I do have one request of you and I’m sorry for the danger it may put you in, but I have no doubt that you’d be only to happy to comply as it’s with in you nature to do it anyway. Protect Liz with your life, even if it means standing up to Michael, Isabel or Tess. I’m also asking this of Kyle. I don’t trust any of the aliens in our group right now so I need you and Kyle to do this for me.

Best of luck in your future endeavors,
Max

Kyle,

I know we’ve never been the best of friends but I do trust you. I also know you’ve got the same protective instincts towards Liz that I do. I know you never slept with her and I appreciate that you were willing to help her when she needed it. In light of what I just said my last request to you should be simple, work with Alex and protect Liz with your life, she means everything to me and right now I can’t trust, Michael, Isabel or Tess. I’m sorry your life got so screwed up because of me and I hope you can forgive me.

Respectfully,
Max

Author’s Note: Because the complaints against the aliens were covered in Liz’s note and rehashing them here would be a touch repetitive I leave the contents of the red letters to your memories and imaginations. The following are the blue letters.

Tess,

I know Nasedo taught you that humans are weak, that your emotions are a weakness. But he was wrong. Even according to him our powers are human. Your humanity is a part of you, as are your emotions. While it’s true that if you let your emotions rule you as Michael sometimes does they can be a weakness. If you can embrace and control your emotions they can also be a great strength.

Michael once got real sick and we sought someone’s advice. He said that we had to use the healing stones to restore the balance that had been upset in Michael. Denying your humanity while not as physically serious as what happened to Michael still leaves you unbalanced. As such it makes you weaker in the long run. So my last order to you is to learn to embrace your humanity. You have five great teachers at you disposal for this task Liz, Maria, Alex, Kyle, and the Sheriff. But in embracing your humanity don’t deny your alien side. I order you to find the balance.

Your King,
Max


Michael,

You are too impulsive. You let your emotions rule you, emotions make great servants but poor masters. My final orders for you are simple though you may find them difficult learn to think before you act. You have three great teachers at your disposal to help you in this task, Liz, Tess and the Sheriff. Always listen to their advice, though you need not always take it as you’ll be in charge now.

The King you used to call brother,
Max


Isabel,

I’m sorry but I don’t have a lot of advice for you about the future except possibly trust Alex. But my final order to you is one I’m sure you’ll be only to happy to accept. Make sure mom and dad know my leaving wasn’t their fault. I don’t care if you have to tell them the truth to do it as I won’t be coming back to deal with it. Just whatever you tell them make sure they know I love them and there is nothing they could have done differently to get me to stay.

Your very hurt bother and king,
Max

[Zanity]

Chapter 3

Tess after reading the notes looks to Liz and asks, “So what makes you think you can get him back?”

Liz, still fuming over how these three have ruined everything she and future Max tried to do, unleashes with, “Because for some reason he still loves me. I tried to give him up to his destiny. I ran out of that cave after I heard the message and went to Florida for the summer so he could have time to realize he was supposed to be with you. When that wasn’t enough; I tried telling you what he likes, and setting him up with you. When that didn’t work I gave him this completely BS Romeo and Juliet speech about how I didn’t want to die for him, when the truth was and still is I’d die for him in a split second. Then when that wasn’t enough I staged a scene where I faked sleeping with Kyle. I tried everything in my power to keep you four together and sacrificed the relationship I wanted more than anything in the process. But with the fate of two planets hinging on the four of you being together to fight your enemies I couldn’t be selfish.”

Taking a deep breath but still fuming she continues, “I hurt him more than anyone should ever have to be hurt, and I did it on the heels of a confession that the thought of getting back to me was what kept him sane in the white room. And some how he still manages to call me the love of his life, his queen and his soul mate in the opening line of his letter to me. So if I go to him and tear down the wall of lies I built to push him towards you, I know he’ll come back to me.”

A determined look crossing her face Liz begins issuing orders, “So this is what’s going to happen. Kyle, you’re going to get me a car that will run and can disappear for three weeks or more. Tess can give you help with the cover story for it disappearing if you need it. Tess, you’re going to give Kyle any help he needs and then come up with a school related cover story for why Max and I will be gone for the next three weeks or more so our grades don’t suffer and our parents don’t worry. I don’t care if you have to mindwarp all four of our parents and the entire school administration to make it stick but you will make it stick. Then you will prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the reality that Max and I will be back together when he gets back and figure out how you’re going to show him that you approve of and support our relationship. Alex you’re going to go to the super market and get bread, milk, cherry coke, Tabasco sauce, cheese, meat, and any other groceries Max and I might need for the first week. Oh, and while you’re at it get an icebox and ice and put the stuff that needs to be refrigerated in it so it doesn’t spoil. Maria, you’re going to go to my house and pack three or four changes of clothes as well as the essential hygiene supplies. Michael, you’re going to get started on figuring out exactly why you and Max stopped getting along, you mean more to him than you realize and by the time we get back you’re going to have a plan to fix things between you two. Isabel, you’re going to help me find Max the same way you helped me when he was in New York, then you’re going to figure out how to patch things up between you and Max.”

Tess seeing red at the fact that not only is Liz ordering everybody around but she plans to take her place as Max’s queen belligerently questions, “And why exactly is it going to take you three weeks?”

Liz glaring at Tess replies, “Because, Max will need it in order to heal. Has any of you helped Max work through the trauma of being tortured by Pierce or anything else he’s had to deal with since?” Seeing the blank stares she continues, “Ok, I didn’t think so. Let’s recap things from his point of view then shall we? Tess comes to town and uses her powers to strip him of all the control he prides himself on, then I get kidnapped, then he gets captured and tortured, which he survives by thinking of me, and I promptly dump him after he gets out and push him away rather persistently. He finds out that he’s a reincarnated alien King who’s not only responsible for our little group but the fate of entire planets, Michael, someone he thinks of as a brother, all of a sudden can’t speak two civil sentences to him in a row, he has to deal with trying to keep us all safe from race of enemy aliens while his sister meets with them behind his back causing everyone to get captured, he has to go to a summit meeting where he’s expected to make decisions that will effect the outcome of an intergalactic war he knows almost nothing about, and finally after this meeting, clones of his sister and brother try to kill him. Since no one else seems to think that might be hard to go through and he might need some help recovering from those ordeals it falls to me. And I think it could very easily take three weeks to help him through those issues! Now, everyone hurry I don’t want Max to have too big a head start on me!”

After Liz’s speech everyone else shares a few contrite looks before getting started on their respective tasks.

[Zanity]

Chapter 4

As everyone else was leaving Liz grabbed Isabel and dragged her to the couch saying, “Time to find out where Max is headed.”

Isabel decided to try dream walking him alone first. After failing the attempt she settled in to help Liz reach out to Max. She knew Max would never block Liz. A few short moments later, Isabel felt Liz’s consciousness slip out of the room and go hurling towards her brother.

Liz opened her eyes to find herself in the white room. Looking around she saw a broken Max curled up in the corner of the room. Just then it registered that she could hear his thoughts as he fought a war within himself; and she realized Max could see her but he thought she was just a fantasy. She watched and listened as Max battled his demons.

*NO! Stop thinking about Liz. That’s what kept you alive last time you were in this room, only to lose her when you got out. You should have just let yourself die here.* *But Liz can make everything better. She can take away all the pain.* *Yeah, but she won’t. You’ve hurt her too badly. And you’re such an idiot you don’t even know what you did. All you ever do is hurt those you care about. That’s why Michael hates you and your sister won’t trust you.* *You’re right, I don’t deserve her. I don’t deserve to live. I already died once, what the heck did they remake me for. I’ve got to stop thinking of Liz. I’ve got to let go it’ll be better for everybody.*

The defeat evident in Max’s thoughts startled Liz out of the connection and she began to ramble, “Oh my God! It’s worse than I thought. I’ve got to get to him.” Then eyes focusing on Isabel she glowered and continued, “How could you let him get this bad and not tell anyone or help him. People don’t just snap into that much defeat and despair. This has to have been building for along time and you didn’t do anything! You didn’t tell anyone! What’s wrong with you?” As she finished her tirade, she slumped to the floor and sobbed, “Oh Max, I’m so sorry, please let me get there in time to fix this.”

Isabel watching the scene Liz was making went from worried, to defensive, to more worried than ever. Still a bit defensive, but worried for her brother Isabel asked, “What the hell are you talking about?” Then softening a little, “What did you see?”

Liz looked at Isabel and dejectedly balled, “He’s even worse than I thought. He hasn’t just given up on life in Roswell; he’s given up on LIFE. He’s curled himself up in a corner and is waiting to die of dehydration, starvation, hypothermia, or whatever else is going to claim him first. I’ve got to get to him and fix this before he does something foolish like trying to use his powers to accelerate the process.” After her brief explanation to Isabel a look of determination crosses her face as she pulls herself together and begins pacing waiting for everyone to arrive with the supplies she’ll need.

Maria arrived first with her luggage, which Liz loaded into the back of the old sedan that Kyle showed up with next. When Alex showed up with her groceries she quickly loaded them into the vehicle and sped off not explaining a word to anybody.

As she drove out of town she made sure no one was following her and drove straight to Eagle Rock.

[Zanity]

Chapter 5

Max knew she was near. He could sense the unmistakable feeling of home that pervaded his entire being whenever he was in her presence. He watched the door for her entrance and when it came he announced, “You don’t belong here.”

Liz calmly replied, “Neither do you.”

Max sighed and responded, “I’ve lived here every night in my nightmares ever since my first visit. Then I wake up to a worse nightmare. A nightmare where my brother hates me, my sister doesn’t trust me, a whole planet of millions, possibly billions, of people are expecting me to save them, said planet wants me to marry a girl who wants me as her slave, and I’ve hurt the only girl I ever wanted to marry so badly that she can’t even look at me with out pain in her eyes, and I don’t even know what I did to cause that pain. Not to mention that there’s a whole race of evil aliens trying to kill me, and all the while I’m supposed to act like a normal teenager.”

Shuddering, Max continues, “I’m here because I choose to live in the lesser of two nightmares. But you don’t belong here… Angels have no place in hell. You don’t belong here.” As Max finished he began to sob uncontrollably.

At Max’s words tears began running down her face. She cried, “Oh Max,” as she moved to pull him into a comforting embrace.

Max had other ideas however and pushed her away saying, “Get away from me. I can’t allow myself to hurt you anymore. I should have just died here the first time; then I never could have done whatever it is I did to hurt you.”

Liz decided to put and end to this here and now, she grabbed his face and looked him in the eye as she stated, “Max, you didn’t hurt me, I hurt you. And the knowledge that I hurt you is what’s causing my pain.” Waxing bold and deciding on what would be suitable penance for her actions, she demanded, “Now I want to know exactly what I put you through and I want you to know exactly what you’ve done for me. I want you to connect with me Max. I want you to show me your life from the time of the shooting forward, and I want you to see mine.”

Max looked up at her in shock and parried, “If I go that far back, I might as well show you my whole life.”

Liz not taking the bait exclaimed, “Deal! You show me your entire life, while I show you mine.”

Max looked at Liz hesitantly and asked, “Are you sure about this Liz, I’ve been through a lot that you should never have to experience.”

Liz with more determination in her eyes than Max had ever seen pleaded, “And I’m the cause of most of it… I’m more sure of this than I’ve been of anything else in my life. You need this… I need this Max. Please don’t deny me this.”

Max looked at the raw determination in her and knew she wasn’t going to give this up. Dejectedly he instructed her, “Place your hands on my temples, just as I do yours, and clear you’re mind of everything but you and me. Nothing else exists, just you and me.”

As Liz complies, Max forms the bidirectional connection Liz requested. As they experience each others’ lives they each gain a new appreciation of the other. As the flashes continue forward they each experience the other’s reaction to their life. As the flashes stop Max is about to argue that he did hurt her that it was his future self that caused all this pain, but instead the connection persists and they both feel each other’s guilt, forgiveness, love, and desire. Soon their desire to be one over takes their conscious thought and they begin tearing at each others’ clothes as they each pour their hearts, minds, and souls deeper into the connection.

Once free of their garments Max enters into Liz in one fluid motion Liz meeting it with one of her own. At this point the connection between them is so strong, Max senses the pain of Liz loosing her virginity and his own self repair instincts quickly heal it, as if her body were his own. As they continue, the primal desire to be one consumes them. They operate in perfect tandem as each thrust of their bodies is matched with one of their souls, deeper into the connection. Each aware of every sensation the other is experiencing, they lose all track of time, lost in the pleasure of their increasing unity, as Liz reaches climax after climax. Hours later Liz has one final orgasm as Max finally comes to his own completion. The pleasure from shared experience of both their climaxes shatters their consciousnesses. Wrapping their arms around each others’ bodies as tightly as they had wrapped their souls around each other in their connection, their minds scream out possessively “MINE!” in unison, just before they collapse into unconsciousness.

[Zanity]

Chapter 6

Max and Liz awaken simultaneously and their connection is stronger than either has ever felt it before. Max’s mind registers relief as he thinks, “You’re still here, you’re real; it wasn’t just another amazing dream.”

Liz answers his thoughts with her own, “I know, I’m having a hard time believing it myself.”

Upon hearing her reply Max kisses her tenderly. Each still aware of the other’s body as keenly as their own, and finding themselves still intimately joined, they begin making love again. This time they take their time, exploring their bodies and their bodies’ reactions to each others’ touch. They reach their peek in unison and they feel their connection deepen once more as it solidifies into a permanent bond.

As the bond forms they both realize this is something that the Max and Liz from the first timeline never shared. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the increased time apart, and the increased pain they both went through before returning to each other had driven them to form this bond. A bond they both knew transcended time, space, and even death. They were now one and nothing could separate them again.

As reason once again intruded upon their consciousness and Max became aware of their surroundings he thought, “Oh my God Liz, I’m so sorry.”

Liz would ordinarily be panicked at this; but with their new bond could sense exactly what he meant and wasn’t going to have any of it. So she thought back, “Oh no you don’t, what we shared was beautiful and perfect you’re not going to start regretting the circumstances now.”

Max determinately replied, “But God Liz, our first time was in THE WHITE ROOM, THE WHITE ROOM of all places, you deserve so much better.”

Liz smiled and with just as much determination answered, “That’s right our first time was here, and our second time was here. I can’t be sure where our third time will be, but I’ll tell you this much. Over the next three weeks we will be making love in this room so much that by the time we get back to Roswell you’ll be having fantasies of this room instead of nightmares.”

Sensing the disbelief in Max she continued her thoughts, “You’ve given so much of yourself for my benefit, while I’ve caused you so much trouble and pain. It’s my turn to do for you, first I’m going to help you heal from what they did here, then I’m going to do what I can to help you heal from the rest of the pain you’ve suffered during this last year. When we go back to Roswell I’m going to have my happy, playful Max back and if it takes longer than three weeks to do it, so be it. I warned our friends it might take more time.”

Liz then smiled before she thought, “But before we do any of that I’ve got food and drinks in the next room. We’re going to need our strength.”

With that both Max and Liz left the white room to feast on the groceries Liz brought.

[Zanity]

Chapter 7

Three weeks later Liz and Max are driving back into Roswell. The past few weeks had been a time of sorrow and tears, but also a time of healing and pleasure. Max knows that the only problems they were truly able to solve were the ones between Liz and himself. Max smiled as remembered the other problem they got solved. Liz was right; he would never again have nightmares about the white room.

Liz snuggled closer to Max and he knew she’d picked up on his last thought. He wondered how they were going to handle having to sleep apart when they got back to town. The only thing he could think of at this point was that there was going to be a lot of late night sneaking around for the next year or so, until they could get married and move in together.

As they entered the outskirts of town Max’s thoughts turned towards Isabel, Michael and Tess. He knew his problems with Isabel would be the easiest to fix. In truth he’d probably over reacted a bit himself on that score. But he’d been in so much pain at the time… anyway Michael would be a bit more difficult. He still couldn’t figure out exactly what the source of the problems he and Michael were having was. Every argument they had was just a symptom of something else… but what?

Then there was Tess; he’d finally let her know where she stood with him, and what he expected of her. But would she give it? He knew she would probably apologize for her actions now the she knew he expected it. But would it be sincere or just lip service. Tess was an unknown and he had no idea where he stood with her.

When they got to the Crashdown it was late and Max and Liz entered her room via the fire escape and her balcony. Once there they made love one last time before Max walked home and went to bed.

They met each other again in their dreams and they smiled, they may be separated physically but they would never truly be separated again. Amongst a bed of clouds and a sky of pastel hues the made love through the night, until Max was awoken by his mother’s cry, “Max! You’re home!”

Max woke with a smile on his face and it was the first time Diane had seen Max smile since last spring. She didn’t know what happened on the science trip he’d been on for the last three weeks, but her mother’s intuition told her it probably had something to do with Liz Parker, who she knew had also been on the trip. All she knew is whatever happened, the old Max was back.

Max greeted her, “Good morning mom. Yeah I got home late last night; I was exhausted and didn’t want to wake anyone, so I went right to bed.” He gave his mother a hug and dismissed himself to go take a shower.

As he entered the shower he thought to Liz, “Good morning, love.”

Liz answered, “Good morning, Max.”

They continued their silent conversation until Max finished showering and getting dressed. Then Max knocked on Isabel’s door, “Iz, can we talk?”

[Zanity]

Chapter 8

Isabel answered the door and immediately pulled Max into a crushing hug, “Max you’re back.” Then she let go and scolded him, “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again. Liz said you were planning on letting yourself die. Do you have any idea how much I need you? And just where did you run off to anyway?”

Max sat on Isabel’s bed and apologized, “I’m sorry Iz. It’s just, I was losing everything I loved and cared about. You used to come to me with everything, then I find out you’re hiding important information from me. I was losing you; I’d already lost my relationships with Michael and Liz. My relationship with Mom and Dad just kept getting worse because I couldn’t tell them what was bothering me. And at the same time I kept getting handed more responsibilities. First to try and keep everybody alive when we’re in the middle of a war. Then when I went to New York they gave me twenty minutes in which I was expected to make a decision that would affect the outcome of the war; twenty minutes to make a decision that could alter the lives of billions maybe trillions of people on six different worlds. I-I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I went back to Eagle Rock, to the white room. It’s abandoned now; and it’s the place that this whole nightmare that became my life started, it seemed only fitting that it’s where it should end.”

Isabel sat next to Max; she still couldn’t believe she’d missed how bad Max’s life had gotten. She grabbed him in another hug and replied, “I’m sorry Max, but when Nicolas and Whitaker told me that I’d betrayed you in our last life, I-I didn’t want to lose you.”

Max comforted his sister, “Oh Izzy, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again we’re not the same people. You’re not Vilandra and I’m not Zan. Even if, and this is a big if, even if Vilandra did betray Zan, I know that you, Isabel Evans, would never willingly betray me, Max Evans. Ok?” When Isabel nodded Max continued, “You also have to realize everyone who’s told us that Vilandra betrayed Zan has been working for Khivar. They’re the enemy. It’s and age old rule of war, divide and conquer. I know we have precious little information about our past, but you can’t trust the enemy. The things they say could be anything from all out lies, to half truths, to truths spun and twisted and taken out of context to mean something completely false. The one thing you can be sure of anything they tell you is designed to make us lose. You can’t just take it at face value. We have to trust each other, not them.”

When Max finished Isabel felt better than she had since the first time she heard about Vilandra. Her secret was out, Max knew and he still loved and trusted her. After sharing a long embrace Max asked Isabel, “So we’re good?”

Isabel nodded and answered, “Yes.”

Max wanted more so he elaborated, “So from now on you’ll come to me no matter how bad it looks, and I won’t run away again. Deal?”

Isabel replied, “Deal. Are you going to tell me what you’ve been up to for the last three weeks?”

Max responded, “Healing Iz. Liz helped me to find my balance again. What did you guys tell Mom and Dad?”

Isabel wanted more information but knew she wasn’t going to get it now, so she answered, “Well between Tess’s mindwarps, and a few creative stories we convinced everybody, Mom, Dad, the school administration, everybody that you, Liz and a group of other students went to Harvard for a special science class. In the three weeks you were gone, you earned a full extra credit for your high school transcript.”

Max telepathically fills Liz in on their cover story then heads downstairs with Isabel for a family breakfast.

[Zanity]

Chapter 9

After getting Max’s update on their cover story, Liz left her room and found both of her parents in the living room. Upon seeing Liz, both parents gave her a hug welcoming her back and asking how her trip went. Liz honestly answered that she had a good time.

Both parents exchanged glances, the light was back in their daughter’s eyes. They didn’t know what happened on the trip, but there was no doubt it had been good for her.

After eating breakfast with her parents, she told them she was heading out to catch up with her friends and went straight to Michael’s.

When Michael answered the door and saw Liz he questioned, “Liz, you’re back. Does that mean…?”

When Michael trailed off Liz answered, “Yes, Max is back too. In fact he’ll be here in a little bit.” Then she asked, “Did you figure out what’s going on between you two?”

Michael accused, “No I didn’t, so did you come over here to yell at me some more?”

Liz shook her head, “No. I came over here to do something I know Max won’t.” Liz didn’t know if she could do it, but she knew she had to try for Max’s sake, she just hoped Max had changed her enough. She reached out and connected to Michael, showing him some of the memories she’d gotten from Max.

As Michael experienced Max’s fear for him when he’d gotten sick from the sweat; Max’s overwhelming sense of loss when Max thought he was leaving over the issue with Hank; the pain Max felt as in each argument they drifted further and further apart; the responsibility Max felt for everybody’s safety; and the absolute desolation Max felt as Max concluded that he hated him; he dropped to his knees, literally collapsing under the weight of Max’s emotions. He looked up into Liz’s eyes with a look of wonder. He had no doubt that the girl standing in front of him was helping Max deal with what he’d just experienced.

When Michael looked up and met her eyes, Liz spoke, “He needs you Michael; almost as much as he needs me. We’ve both failed him in that recently. It’s about time that we support him, that we be what he needs us to be if we’re going to expect him to save both our worlds. He can’t do it on his own. He needs us. He needs you.”

Michael could only nod as he tried to recover from the onslaught of emotions he’d just experienced. As Liz turned to leave his mind finally processed the last image Liz had sent him and he questioned, “He went back to the white room?”

Liz turned back to him with tears in her eyes and nodded, “He thought it was less of a nightmare than the life he was living.” And with that she left, what happened next would be between Max and Michael.

Liz’s last words pierced him and riddled him with guilt. He truly hadn’t considered what Max had been going through. He sat down and relived all the arguments they’ve had from Max’s point of view. For the first time he saw more than just ‘Max was angry’. For the first time he understood why Max was angry. Max’s anger was fueled by fear. Max was terrified of losing him, to death or worse to another white room. Max knew only too well the dangers that they faced and was determined to protect everyone from them.

Michael now understood that every time he had tried to push Max into action, that Max wanted to do something just as badly as he did. But Max knew their actions had consequences, and he needed to make sure those were taken care of before he could act.

Michael finally concluded Liz was right; it was time to figure out and put an end to what was going on between him and Max. A few minutes later he heard a knock at the door and he answered it, “Hey Max.”

[Zanity]

Chapter 10

Max walked in the door and greeted, “Hey Michael.” After an awkward pause max questioned, “What happened to us?”

Michael hung his head, “I don’t know Maxwell, I don’t know.”

Max knew Michael wasn’t good with sorting out feelings so he took the lead in the discussion, “We used to be close, I mean you’re my brother Michael. No matter what happens, or has happened I want that back Michael. I want to be able to talk to you without us getting into an argument, I want us to be able to hang out and do things together like we used to.”

Michael nodded, “I’d like that too…”

Max knew more was coming so he prodded, “But…”

Michael shakes is head, “It seems trivial now,” knowing he had to explain he continued, “Liz was over here earlier, she wanted to help me to understand your point of view…” He shook his head as some of the memories flooded back; he knew he wasn’t doing this very well.

Max came to his rescue, “I know Michael, and she was right on both accounts. I probably never would have showed you that, and I do need you.”

Michael was shocked and asked, “How did you…? How could you know about that?”

Max looked a little uncomfortable as he tried to explain, “Liz and I, while we were away, well we bonded. We’re not separate any more. It’s hard to explain, but part of me is always with her now, always aware of her, of what she’s feeling, of what she’s doing.” He shakes his head, “It works both ways, I-I don’t know how else to try to explain it other than, we’re one now.”

Shaking his head Max got back on topic, “But back to the topic at hand, whatever came between us was not trivial to you, and I’d like to know what you were upset about.”

Michael looked at Max for a second before making a decision and answering, “Well, it was several things. For starters, you made all these rules and you always expected Isabel and me to follow them, but then you turn around and break them whenever it suits you, but you still expected us to follow them.”

Max answers, “You’re right, I broke the rules; and I paid the price for it too. Never use your powers in public. I broke that one then I paid for it with the sheriff hunting me for months, Hubble almost shooting me, and Pierce capturing and torturing me. Don’t let anyone get too close. I broke that one with Liz after she knew the truth and paid for it by getting beat up by Kyle’s friends. The rules were good and I followed them for years, before Liz got shot and saving her meant more to me than the consequences of breaking the rules. I still wanted you to follow them because I didn’t and still don’t want you getting hurt by the consequences of your actions. But if there is something that means as much to you as Liz means to me, that you think it’s worth it to break the rules, go for it, just consider the consequences before you do.”

Michael considered that for a moment before continuing with his next point, “The next thing was you were completely denying your destiny Maxwell, you got so wrapped up in the trying to put your human life back together, that you were ignoring what needed to be done.”

Max took a deep breath, Michael was right to a certain extent on this one, “You have a point there but… not entirely. Immediately after Liz ran away from me in that cave, all I wanted was to get Liz back, I needed, I still need her. If I’d have gotten her back, back then, I might have continued ignoring my destiny. But after seeing her setup with Kyle, it hurt enough that I stopped pursuing her for a while. Since then I’ve tried to be the King everyone wants me to be. I had us go up to Copper Summit to investigate the skins, and I went to New York to the summit meeting. And I’ll continue to do whatever I have to do, in order to save both this world and ours. But I’m not Zan, and in this life I can’t trust Tess as my queen. The only one that can hold that position in this life is Liz. We still need Tess, we form a complete unit for facing our enemies, but I can’t have a romantic relationship with her, any more than you could have one with Isabel.”

Michael was quiet for a minute as he took in this new information, then he decided to get back to the problem at hand, “Next, I know what you were going through now, and I feel like a jerk, but it seemed like you never cared what I wanted or had to say. That you just made decisions for everybody.”

Max took another deep breath, “I know I probably could have handled it better, but I was trying to do my best to keep us all safe. I did care about what you said, but it was so aggravating to have you tell me you didn’t like my plan with out telling me anything to improve it.” He paused for a second the offered, “I’ll make you a deal Michael, the past is the past, from now on I’ll promise to listen to anything you have to say, if you’ll promise that if you’re going to criticize my plans you’ll offer an alternative you think is better.”

Michael nodded his consent but countered, “As long as you understand that I feel this need to protect us too, and sometimes I just have to do what has to be done and deal with the consequences later.”

Max nodded but countered, “Please just work on thinking about the consequences before you act. I understand that if we’re in the middle of a fight and you don’t have time to think, your instincts will probably serve you well, and that’s when you should trust them above all else. Otherwise they’re just one factor of the many factors that need to be considered; and I do want to hear about them, because I’ll need all the information I can get if I’m going to make the right decision. Can you do that for me?”

As Michael agreed their eyes met and both knew they had laid a new foundation for their friendship.

Max steeled himself for his next confrontation and drove to the sheriff’s house.