One Moment More Saga (CC,M/L,MATURE) [WIP]

[Tanya7496]

Well I'm here. I'm a little early. But since I had some free time I went ahead an finished this up and decided to post it. Hope that's okay?

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful feedback and for being sooooo patient with me. I'm going to try my best to be more dependable with my updates.

oh and alittle late news...


for Tess in One Moment More. Yay!

A/N: Lyrics used are from It Don't Matter to the Sun by Rosie Thomas

Hope you enjoy!



~11~
Break of Day





Tess sat quietly trying to heal her arm. Damned if Max was going to.

Weary, he finally took a seat on the floor. His thoughts were everywhere after hearing Tess’ explanation and seeing the flashes. He had so many questions but he still didn’t trust her. And he knew he never would. How could he after everything she had done.

But one question seemed to weigh on him heavier than all the others for some reason. Was it even possible? He wondered to himself as he tried to grip a hold of any semblance hope for his failed existence. It really shouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. There were so many other more important concerns. One of which was surviving what was to come.

But he had to know for his own sanity. A small piece of mind before he died.

Max took a deep breath in, preparing himself. His face flushed as he spoke. “Answer me this, that night... in the observatory...” He stalled for a second unsure all of a sudden whether he really wanted to know or not, but then continued anyway. “Was it a mindwarp too?”

She peered up at him. “Do you really want the answer to that?” She asked skeptically. The question lingered for a few seconds before she answered him firmly. “No…it was not a mindwarp.”

Instantly his face fell.

Somehow, deep down he knew it, but it still didn’t take away the disappointment of having it confirmed. The notion that he’d been mindwarped would’ve finally explained his actions that night. How he’d given in so easily to someone he didn’t love.

“Relax. You and I both know I was the last person on your mind that night.” Tess said, scathingly. “I was just a stand-in until the person you really wanted finally came around.”

He frowned at her, shaking his head. “Tess, don’t even try to play the jilted lover here. Not now after all you’ve done. I take full responsibility for letting it happen but you planned and schemed so the scenario would play out to your advantage. I see that now. And if I had been paying more attention like I should have and listened to my instincts about you, it never would’ve happened.”

Max let out a ragged breath, disgusted by his own weakness. “And you pretending to be pregnant, knowing full well I would do the right thing by you and our child. God, when I think of the lengths you went to…”

“I wanted what I had before. Can’t you understand that?” She cried. “The happy family, the man I loved, a kingdom…it was what I was force-fed for so long that I didn’t know what it was to want something else. When I first came to Roswell you didn’t even recognize me. How do you think that made me feel? I was so devastated when I found out that you…my husband, had fallen in love with someone else and you wanted nothing to do with me.”

“Nasedo kept reassuring me that you’d come around—that Liz was just a momentary distraction until you realized your destiny was with me. But it never happened. That was when Nasedo finally came clean about the deal he made with Kivar. He was so afraid of Kivar and reminded me everyday of the terrible things he would do to us if we didn’t follow through. So I went along with it partly out of fear but mostly I wanted that life that was promised to me.”

“So badly you murdered someone to get it.” His voice was thick with repulsion. “Save your excuses. They won’t make up for what you did to Alex.”

The image of Alex inside the black body bag, cold and still, with blood everywhere, plagued his thoughts everyday. Max had seen dead bodies before but this was different. Alex was someone he’d grown to care about and accept as one of the group. Seeing him lying there like that was something he was certain would haunt him for the rest of his life.

It also disturbed him to know Tess stood and watched as everyone around her grieved over his death. Even shedding a few tears herself, which now he knew were only for show—a false display so no one would guess she had anything to do with it. She had no conscience. She didn’t seem to care who she hurt or what life she destroyed. He couldn’t believe how she could stand in front of him and act as if what she did was justifiable.

“Like I said before, I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I wish I could go back and change what I’ve done but I can’t.” She pulled herself up off of the floor, holding her hurt arm. “We have to move on from this or we won’t make it out alive. You don’t have to forgive me; all I ask is for you to trust me.”

“Trust you? Right.” He laughed wryly.

“Well, I’m all you’ve got.” She reminded him.

He didn’t like it but he had no choice. With her, he had a fighting chance to survive and maybe go home. Alone, he was dead.

Max sighed loudly, frustrated by those discouraging options.

If he was ever going to get back to Liz, he had to work with Tess.

But he didn’t have to like it.

“Let’s get one thing straight right now. I don’t trust you—I never will trust you. But as you’ve pointed out, I don’t have any other options, and neither do you, for that matter, so whatever I need to do to stay alive and get back home, I’ll do it.” He looked down at her and added sharply. “And Tess, just so we’re clear, once this is over, our little truce becomes null and void.”


She nodded with a slight smile of relief and then began to explain the strategy that her and Larek had come up with on the off chance that Kivar might intercept they’re arrival before The Rebellion could get there to protect them.

Max listened intently as she spoke. He was surprised and a little intimidated by how much Tess knew about Antarian weaponry and the use of defensive powers. All of which were taught to her by Nasedo. It made him feel useless with his limited abilities and knowledge as she explained how her powers worked to defend herself against an enemy. How was he going to be able to help if the time came to fight? Yeah, he could create a shield, manipulate molecular structures, and move objects with his powers but all of that was minor stuff in comparison to mind control strong enough to cause crippling paranoia, brain bleeds, and heart attacks.

“You can do all those things and more, Max.” She said after seeing the look of helpless concern on his face. “You just haven’t been taught how to tap into that part of your brain that’s all. Aside from your level of healing ability, all of us were sent with the same resources to work with. Unlike you, Isabel, and Michael, I’ve had training.” She explained. “But we don’t have the time to train you, so here is this….” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small dark gray box and opened it. Inside was a shiny black device in the shape of a triangle, much like the one Brody used to disable their powers while he kept them hostage inside the UFO Center, only it was a different shape and a much smaller version.

“Brody found this through one of Larek’s connections on Earth. It amazes me how much of what Brody does is controlled by Larek and he doesn’t even know it—at least not on a conscious level, anyway.”

Tess placed the device in Max’s hand. “What does it do?” He asked looking down at it resting in the middle of his palm.

“Well, what the other one did but on a smaller scale, so when it’s set off it will only affect who ever is the closest and in the direction it is pointed at. If we use it right it won’t affect us—taking away their powers and letting us keep ours.”

Max stared at it again, all too aware of how the larger version had once left him completely defenseless. He never wanted to feel that way again. His abilities may not be as advanced as Tess’ but he’d didn’t like the idea of being without them either. They were part of him and who he was. He knew there was a reason for them even though they sometimes made him feel like a freak.

She pointed to a small blinking red light on the top of the device. “Be careful not to press this button. It’s a detonator.” Tess explained with a shiver. “In cases of an emergency and we have no other option, it can be used a suicide bomb.”

“Suicide bomb?” He whispered. The idea was monstrous.

“Yes. From what Nasedo told me, being killed is not the worst thing that can be done to us. We’ll pray for death if we are captured.”

Her words haunted him long after they finished talking and planning for what was ahead of them. He sat back down on his side of spacecraft while she slept on hers. How she could fall a sleep during this was beyond him. Max was wide awake, his thoughts and fears making him shiver all over.

“Get home to Liz.” He whispered softly as her beautiful image flashed in his mind giving him a little shot of the strength and courage he desperately needed.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



This old world just keeps spinning round, spinning round
Like it did the day before
Cuz to them it makes no difference
It just keeps on keeping time
Cuz it ain't gonna stop the world no
But it'll be the end of mine



Knock… knock.

“Lizzie?”

“Lizzie, are you in there?”

There were voices.

Through a fog of unconsciousness, Liz could hear someone calling her name. It sounded far away and muffled as if they were shouting from a great distance. She wanted them to stop and just leave her in alone. She didn’t want who ever it was to wake her up. It would only hurt more.

Curled up on her makeshift bed, she tried to return to her blissful oblivion but an annoyingly bright light was shining directly on her causing the inside of her eyelids to glow red and burn. It was warm and almost comforting on her cool face but she didn’t want to feel it. She wanted someone to turn it off. The quiet darkness felt safer to her and less likely to cause her pain. But it was insistent, forcing her to open her eyes and look at it.

“The damn sun!” She grumbled low to herself. It wasn’t possible. How come the world outside hadn’t stopped and stood still? How could another day pass by, shinning brightly with hope as if nothing had happened? While inside her reality everything was static and bleak?

Knock… knock… knock!

“Lizzie, please let us in.”

Oh God! It was her mother’s voice. Her parents must have come home from their trip to Phoenix where they had gone to visit some old friends of theirs. Liz sat up quickly and gasped. The clothes that had been neatly folded in the laundry basket were now strewn all over the floor, homework papers and books were scattered through out the room, and her bed was stripped of it’s sheets and the mattress that she was laying on was now resting in the middle of the room on the floor.

It all came back to her in an instant.

She had spent the better half of the day before and late into the evening, trapped inside an emotional rollercoaster—one minute crying in a heap on the floor and then the next, furious enough to dismantle her bedroom. How would she explain this to her parents? Their perfect straight-laced, levelheaded daughter was loosing her mind, unraveling from the weight of the mistakes she’d made over the past year and a half.

Liz could always tell them the truth; an alien hybrid broke her heart, deflowered her, and then took off to his home planet with the mother of his child who by the way is the very person who killed Alex in cold blood and will probably never pay for it. There was no way to answer the questions that her parents were most definitely going to ask as soon as she opened the door. No! Of course, once again she was going to have to lie to them, a very common and all too familiar way of life for her. Before Max, she never lied to them but now it was second nature to her.

She’d lost who she once was and that made her mad and full of a lot of tangled up emotions.

The anger she felt was so volatile she expected any minute to spontaneously combust. What triggered her anger to start with was finding the rust colored stains on her sheets, a mark of her lost virginity. It was, to her, another reminder of what she’d lost and it was the last straw for her. She’d been so stupid for holding on to the tiniest sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe Max would stay for her. But he didn’t.

Wincing at the pain in her chest, she tightly grabbed a hold of the collar of the bathrobe she was wearing. Just the thought of him hurt her so much. The anger felt better to her. Like the anger and drive she felt when Alex died. It was safer because she was under the illusion that although nothing around her was under control, she was. She was on top of things before they could topple her.

After completely stripping her bed in an angry fit, shoving the marred sheets into a plastic bag and disposing of them into the dumpster outside, she took a long needed shower, hissing as the hot water stung her breasts and neck which were marked with stubble-burns from the night before. She hated that she was still sore in the most uncomfortable places but the water was soothing, nonetheless.

When she got out of the shower, she tried everything she could to forget the past few days. But nothing seemed to do the trick. Reading didn’t work, homework proved to be more annoying than helpful, the TV only made her burst into tears when the first thing that she saw when she turned it on was the movie Viva Las Vegas.

She didn’t expect to sleep but some point in the middle of the night she must have dozed off on the bare mattress on the floor.

“Damn it Liz. We know you’re in there.” Her father shouted sternly.

“Jeff, she might be in the shower.” Her mother said.

Instead of risking the possibility of her dad breaking her door down, Liz stood up with groan and began lumbering over to the door. Might as well get this over with. She thought.

When her hand gripped onto the door handle to turn it, the setting instantly changed dramatically around her. No longer was she stumbling over clothes and papers to open the door for her parents, she suddenly was in a darkened room with dim green lights. As she stood trying to see who or what was in front of her, a tremendous jolt from outside threw her to the ground.

Then an ear piercing scream from an unseen woman cut through the air.

The green lights flickered a few times and then turned off completely sending Liz into darkness with the blazing fire across from her as her only light. Smoke filled the air and the overwhelming stench of burning hair and flesh choked and burned in her lungs. The screams from the other side of the room took on a horrific almost animal-like sound. Someone was in excruciating pain and possibly dying.

All at once the walls began to shake violently around her and she was overcome by an almost crippling feeling of vertigo as everything seemed to spiral out of focus and the unmistakable feeling of free fall sent her insides up into her throat.

She was crashing. No…she wasn’t. They were crashing. Through it all she felt him with her…in her…all around her. She was Max.

The realization of what was about to happened ripped through her like a knife and a scream tore out of her throat before everything went black and silent around her.

[Tanya7496]

Thank you keepsmiling7

No you're not seeing things. It's a real update. I'm so sorry for the HUGE delay on this. I've struggled hard with this chapter for some reason. Rewriting it to death. I hope there aren't too many mistakes . I don't have a beta at the moment.

I welcome any feedback with open arms. Enjoy

~12~
Bound




Niall stared out through the large glass window of the patrol station. At an impressive height of ten stories with glass making up the outer walls, he could see for miles and miles. But as usual the scenery was exactly the same no matter which direction he looked. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but dry red sand and dunes spreading far and wide with the wind occasionally wiping through them creating what looked like miniature tornados of blood.

He despised this part of Antar.

Like most of the southern parts of the planet, it was dead or dying. Not many life forms could survive the hostile climate with its harsh winds, soaring temperature, and lack of water sources and vegetation. True Antarians, ones who had not undergone genetic treatment, were especially vulnerable. They usually stayed in the far north, where it was cold and dark most of the time.

But he was a hybrid, one of the very first to be created. So when the new ruler, Kivar needed a doctor for his special hybrid army posted in the remote desert, he demanded that Niall take the job without question. Who was he to say no? No one ever said no to Kivar, unless, of course they were suicidal. At the time Niall hadn’t been ready to die.

That was ten years ago. Ten years without his family and friends…ten years stuck with war hardened soldiers and pilots who were nothing more than puppets with Kivar holding the strings. Niall knew his human side had left him along time ago. But as he looked over at the still and broken body lying strapped down to a bed with tubes running out of everywhere and blood tinged bandages covering the massive damages underneath them, he felt sympathy for the first time in years. And he wasn’t sure he liked that feeling.

Also there was something about this stranger’s aura that was oddly familiar to him. But he couldn’t place it. He was definitely another hybrid. That much he gathered from his internal and external examination but he was clearly more human than Antarian. His brain, although damaged from the crash, had not been utilized to its full capacity and that baffled Niall. Everything about this poor young hybrid amazed him and he didn’t even know his name or where he’d come from. He was only told that his spaceship was shot down for failing to respond for a landing clearance. He was considered hostile. Any other information was on a need to know basis only. He was just ordered to stitch him up and keep him alive until authorize could confiscate him.

So he did as he was told with what little he had to work with, and despite dying twice, he managed to finally keep the stranger’s heart pumping long enough to repair his busted leg and stop the swelling in his brain. The ribs would have to wait until he was more stable since they were not life threatening.

Suddenly, the monitor keeping track of his heart began to peep loudly. Niall ran to the bed and scanned his heart. The hybrid was in distress.

Pain racked Max’s body relentlessly and there was no escape from it. The darkness he was in held no sanctuary from the intense burning and stabbing sensation spreading throughout his right leg. The suffocating pressure in his chest and a persistent throb in his head never eased or deaden. It was agony.

Where was he? Was he dead? He wondered. Was this hell?

Max tried to struggle but he couldn’t make his limbs move. His eyes wouldn’t open and he was unable to speak. There he was rendered useless on the bed he was bound to.

Cold, in pain, and vulnerable.

But he wasn’t alone. Sightless as he was, he could sense someone in the room with him. Max could hear him breathing next to him and then there the sound of a door slamming shut and heavy boots walking towards him.

If only he could scream.

“Help me!” he shouted loudly in his head, making it throb even more. Just then, there was a warm feeling that began to spread over his body taking the pain away with it.

“Liz.” He whispered internally before sliding down into the abyss.



“Is the prisoner ready yet?”

Startled, Niall whipped around the hybrid’s IV, thumb still pressing down on the stopper of the syringe he held, to see a large, thick-necked soldier dressed from head to toe in the usual Antarian black uniform. He sported the customary shaved head and stern expression.

“No. Not by a long shot…” Niall tried to answer.

“Kivar wants him ready for transport no later then tomorrow. He’s extremely anxious to meet this prisoner.”

Niall shook his head. “Impossible. His injuries are far too severe. With the head injury alone, transporting him could kill him. He needs at least a month to access and heal and that’s not counting to the time it will take for his mangled leg and crackled ribs.”

“Well since you will be coming with him, you can be the one to oversee his condition and make sure he survives the trip up North. And you better make sure he survives.” His last words were spoken deliberately and as an incontestable command.

“I’m go…going up North?” Niall stuttered.




*************************



“Maria, please pick up! I need to talk to you. Something’s happened! I’m scared. My parents won’t let me out of their sights so I can’t come there. We need to have a meeting or something but no one is answering their phones. Please, please…”


Maria closed her phone, shutting out the sound of the new voice mail of Liz’s pleading on the other end. She should call her back. She wasn’t in school today and she missed two of her shifts at work. That wasn’t the Liz she knew. No matter what was going on in her personal life whether it was trouble with Max, The Skins attack on them, or even Alex's death, Liz never let it get in the way of her responsibilities to her parents and her school work. Somehow she seemed to juggle it all. Something was wrong. Maria could feel it in her bones.

She wanted to go to her and make sure she was alright. But as selfish and petty as it seemed, she was still mad at her for tampering with their lives the way her and future Max did. At first, Maria didn't really think about the affect it would have on everyone. She only felt sorry for Liz and what she had to sacrifice. It wasn't until Alex died that she began to question Liz's decision. He was in the reality that she changed. He was alive and happy in the life she told Maria about.

But not now. Alex lay cold and still in the Roswell cemetery, killed by the very alien Liz was trying to keep from leaving because allegedly she made the alien’s unit complete. Instead, Tess obliterated that unit and made the humans lives a living hell.

Maria balled up her fists. If only that bitch was here. Alien or not, she’d kill her with her bare hands.

“Was that Liz again?” Michael asked as he walked into Maria’s living room carrying a cup of tea.

Seated on the couch with her knees close to her chest, Maria looked up at him and nodded shamefully.

He handed her the cup and sat down beside her. “You should call her back.”

“It was your idea to lay low until everything was finished and covered up. That’s what I’m doing.” She snipped at him. And then let out a haggard breath, thinking about all they had done recently.

Since they left the desert three days ago, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Kyle, and his dad had spent all their time frantically covering up the disappearance of Max and Tess. With their powers Michael and Isabel fabricated a plausible reason for them leaving town together, going as far as leaving farewell letters in both their handwritings for Max’s parents to find and Valenti to show to Sheriff Hansen. They also planted manipulated photos of the couple so they could be easily found and did their best to make up a back story for their relationship so no one would second guess that the two of them left together because they were afraid their families would try to split them up and not let them get married and raise their baby together.

It wasn’t totally a lie. She told herself each time she was interrogated by Hanson, the Evans, or her mother. They did leave together to raise their son somewhere else. It still made her want to vomit every time she had to answer questions about their relationship. Thankfully, they all decided to leave Liz out of the conspiracy. It would’ve been too painful for her.

Michael stretched his arms out and yawned loudly. He looked exhausted. She knew he hadn’t slept much since Max left , and between taking care of Isabel, who was distraught most of the time, working at the Crash, and answering question after question from Hanson and the Evans about Max and Tess’ disappearance, it was taking a toll on him.

Also Maria could see through his usual nonchalant-nothing-can-touch-me attitude. Max’s leaving hurt him more then he could say. He felt betrayed by him.

“Hanson was at the Crash tonight.” He said as he slouched down into the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.


“What did he want this time? I thought he had all of our statements. It’s just another case of teenage runaways. Why can’t he just drop it already and let us get on with our lives?”

“For once he wasn’t there to harass me. He was demanding to speak to Liz. But her dad would'nt let him. They argued. He let Hanson have it too.” Suddenly Michael’s facial expression changed from amused to slightly worried.

“Something's not right Maria. You should’ve seen Mr. Parker today. It’s like he’s aged all of a sudden and…” He broke off his last sentence, looking away from Maria’s stare, focusing on the TV across the room instead.

“And what?”

“When I was in the back taking out the trash, I heard a scream coming from upstairs. It sounded like someone was in pain…maybe Liz. Then her dad runs past me and up the stairs slamming the door behind him.”

“Oh God.” Maria gasped.

“It’s none of my business. And honestly, I really could care less. But what if there’s something wrong.” He reached out and put his hands lovingly around her waist and pulled her toward him. “I know you, Maria. If anything were happened to her, you’d never forgive yourself.”

Maria turned around and faced him. He was right. When did that happen? When did Michael Guerin become so insightful?

She leaned into to his body, wrapping his arms tighter around her. She couldn’t seem to get close enough or be held tight enough. He almost left her once and that painful feeling still hovered over her as a reminder of how fleeting happiness can be. What if she was in Liz’s shoes and Michael hadn’t decided to stay. She shivered at the thought.

Liz must be in agony.

Maria grabbed her phone and dialed Liz’s number.

[Tanya7496]

Yea!! An update.
I hope you haven't forgotten about this fic. So much has been going on not to mention my muse ran away for a while. But she's back now with a vengence. Hope you enjoy. It's going to get so good real soon. Stay tuned.

Feedback of any kind is always wanted and appreciated.

13~
The Waking Up Is the Hardest Part




She could tell the room ahead was cozy with its soft yellow light giving off a warm comforting glow. Somehow, part of Liz was drawn to this quaint room at the end of the hallway in a house she knew for certain she had never been in before. But stronger was the other part that wanted to desperately turn around and run as fast as she could in the other direction. What was on the other side that was so frightening? Surely she could feel the love coming from who or what was inside.

Curiosity won out. What could it hurt? As she walked, a soft whispering voice could be heard and the sweet smell of baby powder gripped her insides for reasons she didn’t understand.

That was until she stood in the doorway and saw for herself.

Standing in the charming room was Max, the man she loved above everyone. There he stood shirtless wearing only a pair of jeans that were hung low around his hips, his feet were bare against the thick plush cream colored carpet and his dark shiny hair was slightly tousled as if he’d just woken up. The sight of him took Liz’s breath away. He looked content. All the worried lines that she’d come to know so well had softened making him look younger. He was at peace.

“You can’t sleep little guy?” He cooed with a sleepy smile. That was when Liz finally saw what she had been blocking out of her assessment of him. Against his chest lay a small infant dressed in a soft baby blue sleeper. He was wide awake and staring up at Max’s face with his tiny fist curled around Max’s finger trying to get it into his eager mouth. “Aw, you’re hungry. Well your momma will be in here soon to feed you.”

As if Liz were invisible, she watched as Tess walked right past her into the room. She looked different as well. Happy maybe; a little less driven and hard around the edges. Her blonde curls were longer and her body was rounder and more womanly.

Liz watched speechlessly as Tess wrapped her arms around Max’s waist and stared lovingly up at the baby and whispered. “He’s perfect, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is.” He kissed the top of her head and laughed. “But he’s so hungry he’s about to chew off my finger.”

After Tess sat down in the rocking chair next to the window, he handed her the hungry infant and she began to nursing him while Max watched in awe next to her.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” He whispered to her as he stroked her face.

“Yes, and you showed me earlier tonight. I’m still feeling the after shocks.”

Bile rose up from Liz’s stomach. “No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” She kept saying in her head.

This was all wrong.

But was it really? This was probably as close to what was going to happen as she could imagine and there was nothing she could do to change it. She had to get away. She couldn’t watch this anymore. It was too painful. There was no place for her there. It felt like she was a depraved intruder watching a private moment between two people who obviously loved one another very much.

She turned around, prepared to run away from the scene she was witnessing but as she stepped closer to the door it slammed shut, closing her in.

“Where are you going Liz?” Max asked behind her in a harsh voice Liz eerily recognized. It reminded her of the time she went over to Tess’ to ask about how her mindwarping powers worked and Max showed up, cold and callous. It made her shiver once again hearing the same iciness in his tone of voice. “Since you dropped by unannounced, why not stay a little while longer?”

She spun around and was surprised to see him standing directly in front of her. Tess and the baby were no longer in the room. In fact, the room had changed altogether. The warmth of the nursery had been replaced by the cold vacant space of what appeared to be a large throne room. Shiny pale gray marble from ceiling to floor with tall ornate pillars making an isle up to a massive set of thrones was all that filled the room. The rest was only emptiness.

“You don’t belong here.” Max said bitterly.

“But…but we do belong together. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Liz pleaded despite the pointlessness of it. But it was pouring out of her without her control. She had to make him see that he had it all wrong.

“How pathetic?” He spat out. “Even after watching Tess and I together and seeing how happy we are…how happy I finally am. You think we still belong together.” He shook his head, his once beautiful mouth twisted into a bitter line.“Understand this, Liz Parker. We never belonged together. You were a distraction, that’s all…someone to keep me from who I really wanted. It was all an illusion. I never truly loved you.”

Liz stumbled back against one of the huge pillars as if his words struck not only her heart but her whole body.

“I never loved you……”

Max’s words echoed in her mind as Liz’s eyes flew open. It took her a several agonizing seconds to realize that it had been yet another nightmare and she was safe in her bed on earth.

With a ragged breath she sat up pulling her knees up to her chest.

When was it going to end? Every night she had been plagued by nightmares. The majority of the time the nightmares centered on the same subject. Although, settings changed, scenes reworded; there was never a deviation on who the principle players were in her nightmares or the message behind the cold final words that were spoken. She was left feeling rejected and alone each and every time.

But by far the worst ones were of the crash. Having to relive that took her a while to come back to herself once she was awake—which was always accompanied by her gut-wrenching screams and visions of Max being burned alive. What happend to him? Was he still alive? The not knowing fueled her nightmares and made her cry out at night for him.

Luckily, this time she didn’t scream or cry out, which caused her worried parents run into her room to comfort her anyway they could. Maybe she was getting used to them or finally experiencing the numbness she’d been hoping for.

She looked around her room. It was pitch black.

What time was it? She wondered.

How long had she been asleep this time? These days time meant little to her. All she wanted to do was sleep. She rarely ate despite her mother and father threatening her that they were going to start force feeding her. She didn’t have an appetite. What little she did eat was to please her parents and keep them off her case—about eating at least. She took showers regularly and brushed her teeth, all done mindlessly and habitual with little thought behind each action.

As if on queue, her stomach growled loudly and for the first time in over a weeks she felt hungry. Ravenous almost.

Quickly, she got out of bed, putting on her robe and slippers as she rushed through the door. By the way it smelled throughout the house, her parents must have made meatloaf. It smelled so good. Hunger pains gripped her thinking about it.

But the sound of voices on the other side of the swinging kitchen door stopped her in her tracks. They were stern voices coupled with the sound of dishes rattling and water running.

“Jeff, we can’t just send her away to my sister’s again. She needs to be near us so we can keep an eye on her. Florida’s too far away.”

“Well, what do you suggest? Aside from committing her to an institution, we don’t have much choice. She not talking to us, she doesn’t eat, she just sits in her room when she not sleeping the day away, and don’t get me started on her behavior at night.”

The sound of a heavy dish being dropped into a sink with other dishes startled Liz. She covered her mouth so they wouldn’t hear her while she continued to ease drop.

“God, I can still hear her screams.” Jeff said with a strained voice.

“I know. It kills me to see my baby girl going through something like this and not know how to help her. I feel so helpless.” Nancy sniffled.

“Not to mention, the fact that she’s letting her future go down the toilet. All those years spent working and preparing for Harvard, lost because she can’t get over her friend’s suicide. I don’t understand it.”

“It can’t be only about Alex’s suicide. This is about something deeper. I can feel it.”

Liz’s grip tightened on the door frame after hearing her mother give her opinion. She was way too close for Liz’s comfort. Nancy Parker always had a way of seeing in her daughter what others couldn’t. Although thankfully, she kept most of it to herself, Liz could tell by the look in her mother’s eyes sometimes that she was seeing right through her. Seeing too much.

“Sure, she’s grieving…finally. She did love Alex so much but I honestly think it has more to do with Max getting that Harding girl pregnant and skipping town with her. I mean, last year you couldn’t keep Liz away from Max—they even went to the prom together. Most importantly, whose name does she scream out at night?”

The floor below Liz feet suddenly felt unsteady. She didn’t want to hear anymore. Someone had to stop this.

So she pushed her way into the kitchen and stood in between both of them and said to their amazement. “Can I have some meatloaf? I’m kind of starving.”

She ate like it was her last supper while both her parents looked wide eyed at her. They must’ve been in shock, Liz accessed, because they kept relatively quiet except for the occasional overly cheerful comment about the meatloaf or asking her if she wanted another glass of milk.

She hated making her parents suffer like this. The look on their troubled faces tore her up inside. It wasn’t their fault. They loved her and wanted the best for her. They had dreams for her future. Plans, that until Liz got shot that September day, were set in stone. How could she take that way from them?

As she walked back to her bedroom, she made a packed with herself that she was going to get up in the morning no matter how hard it was for her and try her best not to give her parents anything else to worry about.

The sight before her when she opened the door to her bedroom and turned on the light made her almost jump out of her skin.

Michael, Maria, and Isabel stood boldly in the middle of the room looking impatiently at her.

“So you wanted to see us?” Michael asked.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



“What is the prisoner’s condition? Any improvement?” Kivar inquired anxiously like an impatient child being forced to wait to play with his new toy.

Niall shuffled his feet nervously as he stood in front of the much larger figure staring down at him. Dealing with Kivar directly was something he dreaded. The ruler of Antar was notorious for his unpredictable and volatile personality. It was rumored that he’d invite a man to dinner at his palace and make him feel like he was his right had man only to kill him in the blink of eye if the mood struck him. Everyone watched what they said and did around him hoping to stay in his good graces. Since Niall had very little contact with Kivar in the past, this visit had him terrified.

“Well, he’s stable, surprisingly, given the inopportune transport. But the crash damaged his cerebral cortex; to what extent is unknown and can’t be fully assessed until the prisoner’s awake and able to communicate with us.” Niall took a nervous breath in and then continued with his findings. “I’ve had to keep him sedated until I could properly set his ribs and leg. The break in his leg was severe—nearly an amputation with possible nerve damage. He’s lucky we were able to keep the blood supple going or he would’ve lost it. But other then that he looks like he’s going to survive.

Kivar looked down at the prisoner strapped helplessly to the bed next to him and sneered. “Yes. Yes, I know all this already. I’ve read the reports. When will he be awake? He needs to be ready for the trials.” He stated, frustration clearly noted in his voice.

Niall stepped back on his heels. “Trials?”

“Yes. He is my very important prisoner. One I’ve been waiting for a long time. I know exactly what I want to do with him. Since he more or less came alone, I’m going to focus all my energy on retribution.”

“Than why heal him at all?” The question came out before Niall could take it back or change the curt way it was asked.

Kivar raised one coal black eyebrow and looked contemptuously at the doctor. “Do you think it’s wise to ask me such questions? You were ordered to put him back together so he can be fit to be in my presence. No more. Now that he is, what is your purpose? Why have I still allowed you to live? Ask yourself that question, doctor.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


He was waking up.

Max could hear voices all around him in a language he didn’t understand yet somehow it was familiar to him. Like a phrase or a word that’s just on the tip of your tongue but still out of your reach. Who were they? He wondered.

Even with his eye closed he could tell that the room he was in was very bright—almost blindly so making him reluctant to open his eyes. But he had to. He needed to know where he was and if there was a way to get back home. He also wanted to know if Tess survived. Maybe both of them were with the family she mentioned to him before they crashed. He hoped.

If only he could open his eyes.

When he tried, it felt as if his eyelids had been glued shut. Maybe he could pry them open with his fingers. But when he tried lifting his arms, he was met with resistance. Both arms were restrained. He tried to move both of his legs. They wouldn’t budge either.

Max was ready to scream. It was the white room all over again. They were going to torture him and do experiments on him. He had to get away some how.

“Open your damn eyes!” He willed himself, raising his eyebrows as high as he could. Piece by piece, eyelash by eyelash his eyes began to open.

Once open he could see he was surrounded by several bright warming lights shining from above him. But to his horror, there was no color to the walls. They were stark white. Max’s stomach sank along with his hope. He was back there again. His body began to shake despite the warmth from the lights.

Suddenly, he heard heavy footstep coming toward him and then a face came into view above him. It had solid black eyes with no whites at all. They were framed by thick black eyebrows that made the color of its’ skin look whiter than chalk. It was clearly male but Max could tell he wasn’t human or at least completely human. But what scared Max more than anything was the fact that he knew exactly who he was before he greeted Max with a menacing smile.

“Welcome home, Zan”

[Tanya7496]

Yay!!! I'm back. So sorry for the delay.
Hope you enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for the next.

~Chapter 14~
Trial by Fire



“So you wanted to see us?”

“Oh, my God.” Liz gasped, her heart racing inside her chest. “You guys seriously scared the crap out of me.” She quickly locked the door behind her. When she spun around Maria was right beside her with a guilty look on her face.

She threw her arms around Liz and cried against her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have stayed away so long. I’m so sorry.” She pulled back and then brushed a few stray hairs away from Liz’s face and tucked them behind her ears, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look awful. Are you okay?”

“Gee, thanks.” Liz backed away from her best friend and frowned. “I’m doing the best I can. It hasn‘t been easy.” Her tone sounded more defensive than she felt. Liz wasn’t under any delusion about her appearance. She already knew how bad she looked. The evidence was blatantly there each time she dared to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her once shiny flowing hair now hung dull and limp around her shoulders and back. There was sallow appearance to her complexion and her eyes were shadowed with dark circles. She must look pretty rough to them. If they only knew that the inside was so much worse.

“Guys, this reunion is sweet and all but we did sneak in here for a reason. Let’s get on with it.” Isabel announced with a monotone voice. Liz was taken aback by how much Isabel had change from the last time she’d seen her over a weeks ago. Her long gorgeous blonde hair, for which she was famous for, was gone. She now sported a short but trendy style in an auburn color. It wasn’t ugly, it just wasn’t Isabel.

Liz glanced around and noticed someone was missing. “Where’s Kyle?” He needed to be there too. He was part of the group. Besides that she was extremely worried about him. It couldn’t be easy finding out that you’d been mindwarped and used by someone you let in your home and trusted.

“Kyle’s developed a case of “the anti-socials”. Maria quipped.

“He doesn’t want anything to do with us. He said we’ve ruined his life. Can you blame him?” Isabel added.

Liz shook her head. No, she didn’t blame him a bit.

“He wouldn’t have a life if it hadn’t been for Max. What a way to show gratitude.” As usual Michael saw everything in black and white. Either you’re with him or against him.

“Kyle’s been through a lot. And I think by now, after everything him and his father’s sacrificed by knowing about us, I think he’s more than paid his dues.”

Michael folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Whatever. Why did you need to see us so badly?”

They all surrounded Liz as she broke the news about Max. She didn’t know whether or not they would believe her. They never did before. What would make this time any different? It was a risk she’d have to take. Time of wallowing in her grief and rejection was over. She would have to deal those feelings later when Max was safe again. The only thing that mattered was helping him, and she couldn’t do it alone.

At first, you could’ve heard a pin drop. All eyes were on her but no one said a word.

Isabel was the one who broke the silence.

“Crashed? What do mean?” Isabel took a step toward Liz, somehow looking worried and skeptical at the same time. “How do you know? Did Max contact you somehow?”

“No…not exactly. It’s kind of hard to explain.” Liz hesitated; suddenly feeling tongue-tied knowing how insane she was going to sound to them.

Here comes the crazy. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I felt it happen. I felt the crash.”

“You what?” This time it was Michael who towered over her, his voice harsh and accusatory.

Liz raised her chin and continued despite how imposing he was. “I know this is going to sound crazy…I’m not actually sure how but I saw the crash as it was happening, like I was there participating—like I was Max. I think I somehow connected with him.”

“You were dreaming.” Michael scoffed.

“No, I wasn’t. It was during the day and I assure you, I was wide awake.” She came back at him defiantly. “Listen, I know how completely insane I sound. But I also know what I saw and felt. I’m still having nightmares from it.”

“What did you see and feel?” Maria asked.

“I felt the impact and the heat from the flames. I heard the screams, smelled the burning flesh and hair. It was horrible.” Liz closed her eyes as if that would be enough to block out the visions.

Maria gasped and then slapped her hand over her mouth.

“Oh God.” Isabel cried. “Is he alright…is Max alive?”

Liz’s throat tightened as she answered remorsefully. “I don’t know.”

Michael shook his head. “How is this possible? Isabel’s been trying to dream walk Max since he left and has gotten nowhere. Now out of the blue you’re able to have some freaky psychic connection with him even though he’s on another planet somewhere. Sorry, but I’m having a hard time believing this.”

Liz threw up her hands in frustration and walked away from them. She didn’t know what else to say or do to convince them.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Niall exhaled loudly as if he had been punched in the stomach and then he closed his eyes, shutting out the starkness of the room and the bleakness of the situation he had unwittingly played a part in. He let his body sink into the wall behind him while the horrible truth became clear.

No, it can’t be. Then he remembered how familiar the hybrid seemed when he first showed up injured—on the brink of death in the desert field hospital. Even in his new body, the true king’s aura was still there, dimmed but there nonetheless. How had he not seen it? So many years away in the desert—away from his family and court must have jaded his senses. Now he had done the unthinkable; he’d handed the king over to his worst enemy so history could repeat itself.

No. He wouldn’t let that happen again. As long as he was still breathing, he would keep that horror from happening again. He vowed silently.

Max felt as if his blood had been replaced with ice water. One of his worst fears was staring him in the face and he was as helpless as a child against him. This was his murderer. The one who killed him and taken his thrown and had Isabel, Michael, and Tess slaughtered. Instantly, as he looked into those jet black emotionless eyes, he knew that he wasn’t going to make it out of alive once again.

“I see from the look of terror in your eyes, you know exactly who I am. That’s good. It makes introductions unnecessary.” Kivar spoke in perfect Earth English. Black eyes shining as he snickered. “But you remember very little about who you were in your past, or so I’ve been told. Nicholas informed about your deficiencies. It seems you’re nothing like your former self. You’re weak and powerless. It was really careless of them to send you to earth so defenseless. But what else can be expected from shapeshifters.” He looked disgusted at the mention of the species but then his expression changed to one of smug satisfaction. “And now, thanks to your stupidity, I have you right where I want you. Feels like old times don’t it cousin?”

Cousin? How could he kill his own family in cold blood? Max began to shift his body so he could pull his arms free from the restraints, at least he would have a fighting chance instead of lying on this bed weak and vulnerable. But the more he pulled and squirmed the weaker he got. Not to mention the pain it was causing his right leg and head.

“Now don’t get yourself worked up. I can’t have you passing out on me before I’ve even started. Where’s the fun in that.” Kivar raised his hand up like a ghostly pale claw above Max’s head. “Let’s have a look, shall we.”

Max could feel the pressure from Kivar’s fingers as he gripped each side of his temples.

“No.” That was all he was able to choke out from his parched lips. He knew what would come next. Nicholas had given him only a small glimpse of the amount pain being mindraped caused. That had been a tickle compared to the searing agony Max was now being subjected to. At first he fought it with everything he had just as he tried to do with Nicholas. Every memory he’d had, from his earliest in the pod chamber to right after Liz was shot was brutally ripped from his mind. He couldn’t let him see everything but the pain was too much. He was quickly loosing the strength to fight.

Liz. Her vision—dark chestnut hair, deep brown eyes, soft pink lips was the last thing he saw before his scream tore through the room.

Kivar ripped his hands away from Max’s head and stepped back. “Liz?” He asked, and then looked at Max as if he’d just discovered the whereabouts of The Lost City of Atlantis. “Interesting.” He placed his hands once again on Max’s head to search for more answers.

Max began to lose focus on everything around him. Damn it! He didn’t want to pass out. What would happen to him then? What would happen to Liz? It was clear, that despite how hard he tried to block Kivar from finding out about her, he did anyway. How was he going to protect her from here? How was going to protect her if he was unconscious or dead?

Watching now as Kivar hovered menacingly over the injured king while he was about to violate his mind again, Niall’s mind began to work on a plan. This couldn’t go on. Kivar’s intentions were to torture his prisoner. And he was well known for being extremely proficient in all forms of torture. He could break even the hardest of prisoners in a matter of a few minutes and once he had what information he wanted or satisfaction he was seeking he would find the cruelest means of slaughtering them. He was a sadistic monster.

“Sir.” Niall, in a hurry, blurted out louder than he intended to. “May I make a suggestion?”

Kivar swung around, clearly angered by the disturbance.

But Niall didn’t waiver. He knew his king would not be able to survive if Kivar continued. He was going to have to stall him for as long as possible.

“Pardon me for my boldness. But what fun could the prisoner be as injured as he is? There is more satisfaction to be had by waiting a little while longer so his injuries can heal. He will less likely to pass out or die on you. See he’s unconscious as we speak.” Niall pointed to Max.

Kivar looked at Max then glared back at Niall. “Tread lightly doctor.” He warned his tone lethal.

If he wasn‘t careful Niall was going to end up dead with his king following right behind him. With both hands up, he spoke with a little more caution. “I’m only thinking of you, Your Highness. The hybrid is worthless to you in the condition he’s in. Let him heal just enough to keep him alive—prolong the sport so to speak.” Niall knew he sounded callous. But he was speaking in a language he knew Kivar would understand.

“Alright. You have until the end of the week.” Kivar ordered. “I will be keeping a close eye on you doctor.” Then without another word he stormed out of the room.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



“You never believe her.” Maria slapped him hard on his arm looking pointedly at both him and Isabel. “None of you do. And she’s been right about everything so far.”

“She’s right. Liz knew Alex had been murdered by an alien when we were all willing to accept his death as an accident. We just dismissed what she had to say and all the evidence.” Isabel’s voice cracked.

“And it was Liz who figured out that Tess was the killer.” Maria added. “I believe her.”

“Michael, remember what Ava said about Liz being different now? When Max healed her, he changed her. Plus they’ve always had an unusually strong connection. She was able to get into his mind, when I couldn’t, and warn him when he was in New York. Something must’ve happened to trigger their connection, making it strong enough to communicate from farther away.”

A strange look came over Michael’s face as if he were remembering something. Than he glanced at Liz and she could’ve sworn she saw him blush a little. That was something new. He never blushed.

But it quickly faded, “Ok, let’s say I believe you. What can we do? He’s there—we’re here.”

“We need to try and contact him.” Isabel offered, looking straight at Liz. “You and I can do it if we tried. I know it.”

“What if we can’t?” Liz was ashamed to admit to the others that she was afraid of what they might find if they made a connection with Max again. Not to mention how much this new ability scared the hell out of her. What did it mean? Was she becoming like them? After she’d helped warn Max back in November, Liz had put the fact that she was different out of her mind and tried to forget about it. Too much was going on at the time to dwell on it. Now she was forced to face it head on. She was different.

“We need to try. He could be hurt somewhere.” There was desperation in Isabel’s voice as she pleaded.

One of the many horrific images from Liz’s nightmares flashed in her mind; Max lying on the ground burned and broken crying out for someone to help him. Crying out her name. She shook her head and swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. They just had to get to him and bring him home where he would be safe.

She began to pace a little as she quietly brainstormed. Since their options were limited, it was pretty obvious what they had to do. “I think we need to find a contact—someone here who has a link to Antar. An ally.”

“The only one we know about is Larek but I don’t think Brody’s in any shape to share his brain with him again.” Maria added. “The last time almost killed him.”

Liz remembered all too well what happened to Brody when his memories merged with Larek’s. He thought he was losing his mind and the paranoia from it turned him into a gun toting kidnapper. It took Maria and Max to convince him to put down his gun and let Max heal the damage to his brain.

“It doesn’t matter.” Michael said, indifferently. “He’s all we have. He’ll do it even if we have to force him.”

“Yea, that attitude will go over real well. Why don’t we let him in on the secret? Maria asked. “He seems to be okay with the whole alien’s are among us idea.”

“In theory, he’s okay with it. For all he knows, he hasn’t actually seen one. It’s way too risky. Especially now with everyone pointing fingers and watching every move we make.”

“I’m telling you, he could be an asset.” Maria continued to argue her point with Michael.


Suddenly, the sound of Michael and Maria’s argument became drowned out by the loud thudding of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Liz felt drained, as if someone or something had sucked every once of energy out of her and left her feeling like she was a car coasting on fume. A sudden flush of heat spread from the top of her head down to her toes. Then her legs began to wobble and the room started to spin. She needed to sit down but she knew that walking to the nearest chair, with the room tilting the way it was, would be impossible without falling on her face.


“Liz!” Maria grabbed her arm, steadying her. “What’s wrong? You’ve gone as white as a sheet.”

Liz bowed her head and slowly lifted it again hoping that everything around her had stopped spinning. But instead of it getting better, it became much worse. All of a sudden a sharp, piercing pain shot through her head. She grabbed at her temples and gritted her teeth to keep from screaming out.

“What the hells wrong with her?” Michael asked, looking confused and concerned at the same time.

As quickly as Liz’s strange head pain had manifested, it was gone. Spent and still feeling dizzy, she slumped against Maria.

“Sit down here.” Maria moved her to the bed and made her sit down. She looked straight into Liz’s eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe one of us should get her parents.” Maria suggested to Michael and Isabel.

But Liz rejected in a weak voice. “No. I don’t want to worry them. Plus I’m starting to feel better already.” She lied. The last thing her parents needed was for her to get sick. They’ve had enough to worry about during her breakdown. “I think I just need to get some sleep. It’s getting late and we have a lot to do tomorrow…you know with Larek and trying to come up with a way to help Max.”

“Ok. But call me as soon as you get up in the morning.”

Liz nodded. “I will.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Michael grabbed Maria firmly by the arm urging her to leave with him and Isabel.

“We’ll keep in touch.” Michael added before he followed them out the window.