Time Runs Both Ways (CC,All,TEEN) Epilogue & Author's Note - 6/2/16

[Assilem_1]

A/N: So over the years I have written and rewritten this part a million times; Never deeming it ready for posting. So imagine my surprise when I reread it today and discovered it done. No editing required.

So, how did this happen? I wondered.

Did I finish it in a drunken stupor and then pass out after, forgetting I'd ever touched it? Unlikely, since I haven't gotten drunk in years.

Did a better me fom the future come back and finish it for me? Possibly.

Or did I just complete it and forget to post it because I'm a post-forgetting idiot? Probably, lol.

So over the next few days I'm gonna be posting the rest of this story. Now I don't doubt that I've lost most of my readers but as stated years and years ago, this story deserves an ending; Even if I'm just sending it out into the abyss to be ignored, lol. So if anyone is still out there, or maybe any new readers that just discovered this epically long story, lol, thanks for reading.

Hope you enjoy(ed) the ride .

And I'm polishing off an old summary for anyone who actually came back and might need a refresher.

So once again we go, into the breach...


Previously on Time Runs Both Ways:

Liz stands on a ledge contemplating suicide . . . Both Alex and Max were gone, killed by Tess in her attempt to return to Antar. Michael pulls Liz back from the ledge and in the following days, she tries to recover. But things go from bad to worse when she gets a vision of everyone dying . . .

Enter mystery lady, later identified as new character, Evera (a.k.a. Eve) in Liz’s dream to tell her that her vision will come true and Future Max’s letter that offers a way, not to prevent this future, but to undo the past that led to it . . . Liz is also told that she has powers that she will know how to use “when the need for them arises . . .”

As predicted, Liz’s vision comes true . . . Nicholas and company lead an attack that leaves most in their group either dead or dying . . .

So using the crystal that Future Max left her and the granolith, Liz’s essence (since her body was moments from death) travels back in time . . .

Now in the past, Liz struggles with her memories of that other time . . . She finds it increasingly hard to prevent the past from repeating itself and she is also haunted by dreams where her other essence reminds her of the inevitability of certain events . . .

Things come to a head with a showdown between Tess and Liz that Liz walks away from, but Tess does not. Liz unexpectedly tries to heal Tess and in the course of her attempt, Tess sees visions of what Liz came back to prevent, which causes Tess to transfer her mindwarping power to Liz right before she dies.

Liz can't see this act as anything more than Tess's final revenge since she can't seem to gain control of this power and keeps inadvertently using it on people.

Max steps in every time and fixes any damage, but Liz is reaching the end of her ability to cope. Between the nightmares, the flashbacks, and the new powers, her sanity is slowly shredding.

Enter Evera, once again appearing in Liz's dream to tell her that Max can't keep trying to lessen her nightmares and remind her that there is somewhere that she needs to be.

And after a brief moment to gather her strength, Liz goes.


And now . . .

~.~.~

“Hello darkness, my old friend...” - Simon and Garfunkel


Chapter 24: How do you breathe?


Liz drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly as she took her final steps forward onto the ledge.

She knew why she was here. She knew, but god, she felt so unprepared . . .

Arms wrapped defensively around herself, she shook with the need to flee this place; to continue on as if everything was . . . well, not fine, but better than this.

A light breeze blew past her in a soft caress and her eyes drifted closed as she acknowledged how the wind here seemed to welcome her back.

She exhaled and opened her eyes; attention focused down, on the spot that she once thought would bring her peace...

Her knees buckled and she hit the platform, the impact jarring. She panted, knees stinging, hands pressed flat against the unyielding concrete, head bowed, she remained there, because this place knew . . . what she had almost done . . .

She focused on taking deep breaths. Control warring with emotion, she fought, even though she knew she wouldn't win.

She'd come here in that other timeline . . . When it had all gotten to be too much . . . When continuing on seemed impossible . . . She'd come here, prepared to end it, and the pain had lessened . . .

Not this time.

The gravestones in the cemetery were littered with the names of her friends, every one of them.

In this timeline, she'd been coiling her grief tight and stuffing it down for months. The only time it managed to break free was in bursts, during her dreams. But now, dear god, now, in this place, it was refusing to be contained.

She pulled her limbs in close, knees to chest, arms wrapped tight around them, no memory of when she'd changed positions, and tried to breathe through it...

Isabel was gone before Kyle had even stopped the car. The devastation on Kyle's face as he exited numbly, Isabel's blood still clinging to him, all the proof Liz needed as she ran and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward, leaving Isabel's body behind.

Her friends were fine now. She knew that . . . She did . . . But that other future was literally littered with the bodies of all the people she'd had to leave behind . . .

Kyle went down so quick from Nicholas' blast, from a device meant for aliens, he'd never even stood a chance. Sometimes the worst part of that memory was that she had had to leave him where he fell.

She closed her eyes and held in a scream, breath stuttering. She was holding on so tight that power sprang up to crackle in the air around her, blue lightning radiating from her fingertips as she just tried to breathe...

Max's skin was gray, the silver handprint standing out in stark contrast, and he was cold, no warmth left at all when they found him at the pod chamber. Yet Liz clung to him, offering her warmth if he'd, god, if he'd just come back...

Her pain, her grief, seemed to swell and groan at it's confines...

The bullet, at such close range, punched a hole through Alex's chest and exploded from his back, blood flying out in a spray. He was gone instantly.

The grief ripped out of her in a sob so violent her whole body spasmed, releasing the power she'd been holding tight.

It hit with the force of a bomb blast.

The building below her rumbled as the earth shifted beneath it and a loud crack split the air as something in the foundation gave way. The streetlights flared bright, threw off sparks and then shattered, throwing the surrounding areas into darkness even as car alarms began a blaring racket. Unaware, anguish and power still pouring out in equal measure, both racing along her nerve endings, Liz's high pitched gasps for breath converged into a scream that seemed to rip it's way out from her soul, it felt so raw.

Across town in Michael's apartment, Maria's Snapple crashed to the floor in a violent shatter as she bent in two and clutched at her chest. Across the room, Alex's actions mimicked hers as he folded with a groan. Isabel gasped and her hands flew up to grasp her head in agony. Michael's fist clenched spasmodically around the phone he was holding as his knees buckled. He vaguely heard the plastic crack, Valenti's tinny voice yelling his son's name from the hand piece.

"Fuck!"

Yep, that pretty much covered it.

~.~.~

Max found her there, on that ledge.

Blue lightning still chased itself down her arms; the stars and Liz, the only light for miles.

Gaze turned inward, she sat there trembling, head pointed towards the sky and tears streaming as if the world had come to an end . . .

~*Tell me I will never die*~

She didn't seem to notice he was there; Didn't, maybe couldn't, acknowledge his presence, even when he had pulled her close and she was resting in his arms.

~*Take away my pain*~

Max took comfort in the little things; The shudder that swept her frame when his arms closed around her; The blue lightning that stuttered, then flicked out, like a switch being thrown, along with a hiccuped exhale that resembled relief.

~*Rock me gently in your arms*~

Still, it took awhile of him holding her close and murmuring quietly before she was responsive and then she curled around him, her tears turning to gut wrenching sobs that seemed like they were ripping her apart.

~*Say that I'll remain in your keeping*~

"Shh, it's ok, it's gonna be ok I swear" he whispered, willing to shape the world into a better place, mold it with his bare hands, if it would make Liz feel better.

~*Brush the hair out from my eyes*~

"S-Sorry" Liz said between shuddering breaths.

~*Read me a good story*~

He could see her visibly pulling the pieces back together and he gathered her closer. "Liz please, please, you don't have to be strong for me. You can just be . . . Let it out if you need to, but don't bury it again . . . Please" he begged.

~*Kiss my fingertips good night*~

Liz exhaled on a whisper. "Didn't want to come back here where I tried to..." her voice hitched. "Had to."

~*Say that I can stay in your company*~

Max's arms tightened around her as he threw a haunted look at the ledge. "Why-" His voice emerged hoarse and he cleared it before continuing. "Why Liz? Why here?"

~*And I know this much is true*~

She took a shaky breath, clung to Max for a moment and then pulled away a little so that she could see him. Her face was wet but her eyes were dry.

~*I have lived inside of you*~

Max refused to let her move very far.

“How did you find me?” she asked, ignoring his question. Her voice came out strong even though her hands were still clenched tightly in his t-shirt.

~*You have always seen me through*~

His eyes caressed her profile as he answered softly “I just followed my heart.”

~*While I am peacefully*~
~*Sleep*~

Liz inhaled shakily, a ghost of a smile flitting across her face, then she blinked at him. "Max, what-" Her voice shook as she took in a cut with blood trailing from his hairline.

Max sighed as he felt along his hairline and winced. "Liz" he started then stopped, arms tightening around her. "We all, we felt you up here...when you..." Liz exhaled on a shudder and closed her eyes, a tear escaping as a heavy weight settled more firmly on her shoulders. Max just gathered her closer. "I was driving when I felt it...And the road just, went away . . . I think it was because of the blocks you put up to protect us from the mindwarps? We're all connected now, I think" he said softly. "Through you."

Liz had started crying again. "I never meant for any of you to feel that."

She shuddered, her eyes pulled inexorably back to the blood on Max's hairline. Max reached up to heal the injury, seeing how much it upset her but she stopped him, reaching up to heal it herself. When she made contact, a spark of blue radiated from her fingertip and sent a shock through him. He met her eyes in surprise.

The connection formed immediately.

Max had gotten flashes from Liz before. Prior to this, he would have honestly said, with complete confidence, that he knew Liz inside and out, thanks to their shared flashes over the years . . . But what he felt this time, with that first flash from Liz, was like being submerged . . .

There was no filter, no pictures, no sound, no distractions . . . Just pure unadulterated Liz . . . It was like being drowned in pain and sorrow . . . Her grief a tidal wave that washed over him and kept battering . . .

Liz's voice calling his name pulled him back. She was clinging to him and apologizing, breath coming in gasps. She pulled in breath on a sob when his arms closed around her once more and Max just pulled her closer, his breathing shaky. "Shh, it's ok" he soothed.

Liz shook her head, face buried in his chest. "Sorry, so sorry, sorry..."

She looked up at him, face collapsed in grief. "I'm trying Max. I swear I'm trying . . . I just can't get a hold of it anymore . . ." A tear fell as she blinked and before she could look away, before more than a breath was exchanged between them, Max was pulled back in . . .

~*Something always brings me back to you*~

Liz curled around him and the connection felt like falling into her . . .

~*It never takes too long*~

Her emotions tugged and he stumbled deeper, into a place fraught with despair . . .

~*No matter what I say or do*~

And even though this was their connection, he found himself having to search for her there.

~*I still feel you here*~

He searched for a long time it seemed, Liz always beyond his reach . . .

~*Till the moment I'm gone*~

He remained patient. Liz was all around him and yet, somehow, nowhere . . . And even though he thought he was prepared, he sucked in a sharp breath when he found her . . .

~*You hold me without touch*~

Liz cowered outside the reach of light; spent, hurting and so fiercely alone in her grief it seemed like she had never been anything else.

~*You keep me without chains*~

He exhaled, crouching at her back. She stiffened before sighing in an echo that sounded like goodbyes whispered through a connection followed by aching silence . . .

~*I never wanted anything so much*~

He wrapped himself around her and her shudder felt like cold embraces in pod chambers . . .

~*Than to drown in your love*~

He turned her in his arms and her tears felt like bloodstains on skin . . .

~*And not feel your rain*~

She collapsed into him and somehow she became him. In this place where light didn't reach, he absorbed it all . . .

~*Set me free*~

Under the weight of grief and memories, he refused to leave and stayed to share the burden, even though he could feel Liz fighting to hold onto it.

~*Leave me be*~

He saw horrible, terrible things through her eyes . . . He saw their friends hurt, saw their pain, saw blood and sweat and tears and fear so stark and cold, he shook with it . . .

He saw the people he loved fall, saw them die, and he felt helpless, abandoned, afraid, and so damn angry at all of it . . .

~*I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity*~

These emotions weren't his, but they felt like his . . .

Even as she fought to keep him out he just held her tighter . . .

~* Here I am *~
~*And I stand...so tall*~

He understood, now that she was letting him see, that she had been emotionally bleeding out for months . . .

~*Just the way I'm supposed to be *~

And all their attempts to help had been like putting band-aids on a gunshot wound . . . There were too many memories, too much grief suppressed, too much fear of what might still be . . .

~*You hold me without touch*~

She was fracturing under all the memories, under the weight, the pain, she had been carrying around . . .

~*You keep me without chains*~

She had come to the ledge because on some level she knew it was the only place she could let it all go . . .

~*I never wanted anything so much*~

But coming to the ledge was like emotionally gutting herself, and now she was bleeding out . . .

~*Than to drown in your love*~

She couldn't gain control of it, couldn't pull herself back . . .

~*And not feel your rain*~

He felt her break and this part he couldn't help . . .

~*You love me 'cause I'm fragile*~

After she broke, he soothed and loved and put her back together again . . .

~*When I thought that I was strong*~

He held her closer; sent his care, his affection, his love for her, wrapped them around her mentally the way he was wrapped around her physically . . .

~*And you touched me for a little while*~

Then he sent the rest of their group's emotions for her . . . Their care, their worry and their love for her, which was right there in their interactions with her, plain as day for anyone to see . . .

~*And all my fragile strength is gone*~

And the memories changed . . . Good started to creep in around the bad . . . This was their shared connection after all, so it couldn't just be pain and grief and blood and tears . . . Because Max and Liz were more than that . . .

~*Set me free*~

Together they remembered and grieved but then something strange happened. A startled laugh emerged with one of Max's memories and inside their shared connection emerged joy . . . And their dark corner was no longer as dark . . .

~*Leave me be*~

Yet they still clung to each other . . . Oblivious to the light, to anything that wasn't each other . . . Sorrow was absorbed and accepted . . . And the light became brighter . . . The light that had started out dim became bright enough to light the room . . .

Then it went supernova . . .

~*I don't wanna fall another moment into your gravity*~

They clung tighter even as they shut their eyes against it's brightness . . .

~* Here I am *~
~*And I stand...so tall*~
~*Just the way I'm supposed to be*~

When they re-opened them, they were back on the ledge, still wrapped tightly around each other. Max's eyes met hers, worry still hidden within their depths.

Silently Liz reached up to touch his cheek and only then did Max realize he'd been crying. Liz didn't comment on it though. She simply smiled at him in a way that somehow conveyed that she was ok now.

Max's lip quirked even as his forehead came to rest against hers. As he took a deep breath, Liz took in one as well, hers a little shaky, and found her limbs heavier than expected. As her body slumped, Max pulled back in time to see her eyes glaze over for a second. Before he could ask what had just happened she said softly “I think it’s done . . .”

“What’s done sweetheart?” he asked as he tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled at the endearment, expression then changing to puzzlement as she looked up at him.

“I . . . I think I should have had more coffee” she said as her eyes drifted closed and her body grew limp in his arms, her head coming to rest in that familiar space beneath his chin.

Max smiled and gathered her closer, thinking that with the emotional hell she’d gone through in the past few days, she had to be exhausted.

He figured maybe things would be ok now. Maybe they could finally start moving forward. Liz shifted closer to him and took in a large breath, eyes still closed.

And then she stopped breathing.

tbc . . .

Music in this chapter from Jann Arden’s “In Your Keeping” and Sara Bareilles "Gravity"


A/N: Despite all evidence to the contrary, this is not a death fic. Seriously.


Next chapter: I will remember you . . .

[keepsmiling7]

I've got to go back and read all of this again......amazing story.
Carolyn

[Assilem_1]

Thanks for the response keepsmiling7. It's a long one so hopefully you make it back .

[Assilem_1]

"In this part of the story I am the one who dies" ~ Pablo Neruda

Chapter 25: I will remember you

Max barged into Michael’s apartment carrying Liz in his arms. Everyone looked up as the door hit the wall with a resounding bang. The room became a flurry of activity as everyone rushed forward.

“You found her!”

“What the hell happened?”

“She – She stopped breathing-”

“What?!”

“I-”

“Liz!”

“I got her breathing again-”

“Thank God!”

“But she won’t wake up-”

“Put her on the couch”

“What do you mean she won’t wake up?!”

“What can we do?”

“She won’t wake up?!”

“Liz?”

“This is not happening!”

“I can’t lose her, I need her . . .”

“She got rid of Tess, everything’s supposed to be ok!”

“Ok, ok, everybody shut up!” Michael yelled. The room quieted down.

“Ok, so what do we know?” Michael said, turning to Max who was gently laying Liz on the couch. Max smoothed her hair away from her face, letting his hand trail her cheek before withdrawing. A cleared throat caused him to straighten and acknowledge the others in the room.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her. One minute she was talking to me. The next she passed out and then she-she stopped breathing. I-I got her breathing again, but all my attempts to wake her up have failed.”

He ran a shaky hand through his already disheveled hair, letting go of the fragile hold he had on staying composed. He seemed to age years in seconds as he lowered himself to the edge of the couch and, looking at Liz’s closed eyes, trying to will them open, he dropped the bomb he’d been avoiding sharing.

“I-I did a thorough scan and it’s like . . . it’s like she’s not in there anymore . . .”

~.~.~.~

Liz opened her eyes and immediately shut them again.

Everything was so bright . . .

She tentatively squinted them open again and looked around.

She seemed to be lying in a hallway, light shining out from the fixture above her but also from the windows of the bedrooms on either side of her with their curtains wide enough to let in the sun. She shaded her eyes and squinted into the closest bedroom trying to spot anything familiar to tell her where she was.

The dim shapes rearranged themselves into furniture and she inhaled sharply. She focused on the room down the hall, now that she knew where she was and got hesitantly to her feet. She walked slowly to the bedroom and hesitated at the doorway, looking in at the figure that sat huddled on the ground, hand resting near a large puddle next to Alex's desk. As she drew closer, the figure began to speak.

“You know, we don’t have to come here anymore” she said, gaze focused on the ground as Liz took a seat next to her. Liz looked at her doppelganger and simply nodded.

Her other self finally looked over at her and sniffled. Liz found herself oddly surprised and unsurprised at the same time.

“They’re all gonna be ok now” her other self said as she gestured around her. “And I’m happy about that. Part of my tears are because I’m happy.” She wiped her face and stood up, looking around her quietly. Then she turned slowly, waving her hand over the blood-spattered walls and furntiure, instantly wiping them clean. “It’s a different future now” she said quietly as she sat back down and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Liz smiled at the familiar gesture.

~*I will remember you*~

“I know I don’t fit here anymore” she said softly. “It’s a different world.”

~*Will you remember me?*~

As if suddenly realizing something, she shivered, focusing on Liz, then got quickly to her feet. “There’s no reason for us to be here anymore” she said as she held out her hand to Liz.

~*Don’t let your life pass you by*~

Liz looked around, then hesitantly took her hand and allowed herself to be helped up. “Wh-where are we going?” she asked as she was pulled along, taking a last look back at Alex's room, free of red spatter.

~*Weep not for the memories*~

“We stayed here too long already” her doppelganger said in answer, hurrying her down the stairs and out the door. Liz stumbled a little as she turned forward. She saw they were heading past the Crashdown.

~*Remember the good times that we had?*~

She saw happier times through the window.

~*We let them slip away from us when things got bad*~

She and Maria were waitressing while Max, Isabel and Alex sat at a booth in the corner. Maria was swatting at Michael, who was sitting at the counter and Liz was juggling a tray of drinks that she placed in front of their respective owners at another table. Then she felt Max’s gaze on her. She looked up and met his eyes, a smile spreading instantly across her face.

~*Clearly I first saw you smiling in the sun*~
~*I wanna feel your warmth upon me*~
~*I wanna be the one*~

Liz smiled, remembering that time . . . when things were simple.

~*I will remember you*~

As she watched, the scene faded, leaving an empty Crashdown.

~*Will you remember me?*~

“It’s ok to be happy now” her doppelganger said as she continued to pull her down the street.

~*Don’t let your life pass you by* ~
~*Weep not for the memories*~

Liz was still transfixed by the scene she’d watched unfold in the Crashdown and turned forward to see that they were approaching Michael’s apartment. They paused outside of a window and Liz looked inside to find the whole gang gathered around the sofa, looking down at something, varying expressions of worry on all of their faces.

~*I’m so tired*~

As Michael moved, beginning to pace, she got an unobstructed view of the couch and gasped as she saw that they were all gathered around her prone body.

~*But I can’t sleep*~

“It’s time for you to go back now” her doppelganger said softly. “There are people who need you.”

~*Standing on the edge of something much too deep*~

Liz was still staring in shock at the scene before her, then she blinked and turned. “What about you?”

~*Funny how we feel so much, but cannot say a word*~
~*We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard*~

She noticed that her doppelganger had begun to turn almost transparent.

~*I will remember you*~

She smiled sadly at her. “I’ve changed the future, I did what I came back to do” she assured Liz.

~*Will you remember me?*~

She turned and began walking away from Liz, becoming more transparent with each step. “It’s ok to be happy” echoed back to Liz before her doppelganger disappeared completely.

~*Don’t let your life pass you by*~

Liz turned forward and found herself now inside Michael’s apartment, standing over herself on the couch. She took a deep breath and lay down on the couch, rejoining her essence with her body.

And eyes closed, she smiled.

~*Weep not for the memories*~

tbc . . .

Music in this chapter from Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You”

[keepsmiling7]

I Will Remember You is a favorite of mine and fits Liz's situation just perfect!
Hope Max doesn't lose Liz again.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[Assilem_1]

A/N: Ok, so I apologize for the lag in posting. RL stepped in for a minute; not to mention that this part did not want to be edited. In the end I figured posting was better than sitting on it forever, so if I have to come back and fix it later, then so be it. And keepsmiling7, thanks for the support. The counters for this story keep increasing, but you're the only one who's posting feedback, so seriously, you rock! Only one part left after this, so hope you enjoy .

Chapter 26: No Fate

“Hey guys, look! She’s smiling!” Alex pointed.

“Maybe she has gas” Kyle said, moving towards the sofa. Maria pushed him out of the way. “She’s not a baby Kyle. A smile probably is a smile, you know.”

Isabel smiled at the familiar bickering while Michael scowled and paced.

Max settled on the floor next to the sofa and gently smoothed Liz's hair away from her face. She stirred and her eyes flickered open, settling on his familiar form. Max was always there when she woke it seemed.

"Max?" she murmured, even as she registered the gathering faces in her periphery.

Max smiled and that somehow quieted her questions. "You were dreaming" he said softly.

She settled back into the pillows and nodded thoughtfully. "I was."

"Liz, you -" he inhaled shakily. "Liz, you stopped breathing."

"I did?" she whispered.

"Can you tell us what happened?" he asked hopefully.

"It's gonna be ok now, I think" she said wonderingly, hardly able to believe how much lighter she felt.

The smile she turned on Max was blinding and he couldn't argue, could barely think, with Liz Parker giving him that smile he hadn't seen in what felt like ages.

He pulled her to him and with a catch in his throat he whispered softly "I missed you, Liz."

Her hands clenched in his t-shirt as she closed her eyes, thinking 'Yeah, I missed me too.' Aloud she answered softly, "Love you."

He smiled shyly, pulling back enough to kiss her forehead, then met her eyes. "I love you too."

Maria clapped her hands loudly. "Ok, enough of that. How about you clue the rest of us in on what the hell just happened?"

Liz broke her staring match with Max and looked up at Maria. "It's been a rough couple of hours, Liz" Maria said wearily.

Her friend's hands rested on her hips and although her stance said frustrated, her expression just said 'worried'.

Unexpectedly, her doppleganger's final words drifted back to her.

“It’s ok to be happy.”

She blinked, gaze turning inward.

In their world, with the enemies they had, aiming for happiness, real, long term happiness, seemed like a radical concept, but...as she looked around at her friends, her family, people she would literally do anything for, and people whose emotions were apparently now tied to hers, being happy no longer seemed as impossible as it had a day ago.

Their group had definitely earned some happiness.

"Ok" she replied, answering both requests.

And she'd make sure they would be.

~.~.~

"No fate but what we make." - T3

A/N: Epilogue coming soon!

[keepsmiling7]

So when Liz stopped breathing.......thank goodness for Max.
And he was always there when she woke up.
Yes, this group does deserve some happiness.

I plan to go back and read this from the first but might wait until the epilog is posted.
Thank you!
Carolyn

[keepsmiling7]

Guess what.........I finally did go back and read this from the very first. Had intended to do it earlier but just didn't make it.
It is so sad.......Max and Alex both dead. If it wasn't for dreamer insurance I would have left the scene right then.
I remember when it mentioned that the cost was too high for the translation of the "book". Understatement!
And I will always remember Michael becoming the voice of reason. Who would have thought?
When it was so dark, and the outlook was not good.......I kept thinking how much longer will Liz have to bear the burden of guilt?
It is almost impossible for me to read Max moving on to Tess and being mean to Liz!
All of the angst made me hate Tess even more if possible.
Thank you for coming back to finish this......looking forward to that epilog you promised.
Carolyn

[Assilem_1]

Epilogue: End of the world (as we know it)

Thirteen years later...

"...and you should have seen Kyle's face when he realized his powers had just worked without his permission. It was like he couldn't decide what emotion to feel."

Liz chuckled, even as she shifted, settling deeper into the spot she'd created. Her voice became softer. "I still can't get him to come here but he gave me these." She shifted the sunflowers so that they were spread out along the desert floor. "He said they were your favorite.

You know, both Maria and Alex freaked when their powers first showed up from the healing, but they eventually got over it. Kyle is the only one of us who hasn't seemed to accept it yet."

Liz shook her head.

The first time she had come here was after she had mindwarped one of her friends for the umpteenth time and she had been so angry at Tess. This power caused brain damage if a person was subjected to it too much and Liz Parker couldn't seem to stop using it on her friends.

She had actually pounded the earth beneath her until her fists were raw, she was so angry. Max had found her here. He always found her, no matter how far she wandered. He repaired the damage to her hands and dried her tears; the damage to her psyche though, that took a little longer.

The second time she'd come was after she'd used Tess's power for the first time in battle. It had saved them. All of them. And it was the only thing that did. That was when she'd gotten what Tess had done, her final sacrifice. Liz had come here then, but all she could manage was a quiet "Thank you." And then she'd just sat in silence as time passed around her.

She found herself returning over the years though, just to keep Tess apprised of how the battle was going. She'd learned how to cloak this place so no one could see it or find it except those of her group. Her powers were growing now. All of theirs were. It seemed the more they used them, the stronger they became.

"Things are really picking up now, Tess. We might finally be getting to the end of this thing." She sighed wearily. "God, I hope we are."

~.~.~.~

Max watched from far enough away that he couldn't hear Liz's words, but even from where he sat he could see the resolve in her expression, even if behind that there was worry.

Isabel poked her head out of the podchamber and Alex looked up. Some wordless communication passed between them as Max watched and then she headed back inside.

"Liz! Time to go!" Alex called from the cliff of the podchamber, refocusing on his laptop briefly before snapping it closed.

Without a word, Liz stood, stretching a little and then dusting off her jeans. After another moment of rearranging the flowers she'd brought, she walked back towards the podchamber.

She crossed over from the hidden area where Tess was buried, crossed from pale desert sand onto burnt, scarred earth.

The changes that the years had wrought, that the battle had brought to the world, had not been pretty, or kind.

Max met her at the bottom of the podchamber and helped as she climbed her way to Alex, who squinted up at her from his perch. "Are you sure about this?"

Her gaze met Max's and he was the one who responded. "She really is Alex. It's what we're supposed to do."

Liz nodded. "It is, Alex."

Alex's worried expression cleared. "Well, alright then." He shoved his laptop into the messenger bag beside him. "Let's get this show on the road then!"

And as she made her way into the podchamber, surrounded by her friends, her last words to Tess were a distant echo in her mind.

"We're going back, Tess. We *have* to . . . Something went wrong and..." Her voice broke. "I had a vision . . . It's all going to end again and we can't stop it here in this time . . . Not without you . . . Serena was killed. It wasn't supposed to happen. It can't happen. So we're going to fix it. Fix all of this . . . We'll see you on the other side . . . I hope you'll come with us . . . " Her voice dropped. "Hope we can convince you to come with us."

Liz shook her head and sighed. Max's hand tightened in hers. He knew her worries; after all, they were his worries too.

Michael stepped past them to close the podchamber door. "I can hear you two stressing from over here. It's all gonna work out. She'll come with us, we'll convince her. And Michaela will have another family member to dote on her when she's born."

Liz blinked, then her mouth tilted upward. "Michael, try all you want, we are not naming this baby 'Michaela'. It's gonna be Michelle and that's it."

Michael grumbled. "I still think godfather should get final naming duties."

Before Liz or Max could answer, Kyle snickered from his spot beside the Granolith. "Hehe. You said, 'doodies'."

Michael just threw Kyle a disgusted look before he was pulled into the Granolith after Maria.

It was silent in the podchamber after Michael left, so it was only appropriate that Kyle's voice rang out, sardonic yet fond, right before the Granolith pulled him in next "...and I feel fine."

Liz shook her head at Kyle's maudlin sense of humor, yet she looked around her, brow furrowed, not sure what they'd come back to...if they managed to make it back.

'End of the world indeed', she thought before taking a deep breath.

"Ready?" Max asked from beside her.

"As I'll ever be."

And together they stepped up to the granolith, to face a new world, to create a new world, a better one. At least this time, they were doing it together, which meant that any one of them could fix it if anything went wrong.

They had already proven that in their world time was fluid, sometimes time was even a lie, but in this, Liz had faith.

The Granolith took Max next, and Liz last. She stood inside it, the podchamber cast in swirling hues and colors from inside. She put one hand against the inside of the chamber, the other against her stomach...and vanished.

Regardless of how it turned out, the world would never be the same again.

~ Fin ~

July 11, 2002 - June 2nd, 2016

A seriously way too long journey I took you all on. Thanks for reading!

~.~.~.~

Author's note in the next post.

[Assilem_1]

And now that it's finished, Keepsmiling7, sorry for the downer that was this story, lol.

For me it was...cathartic. I started this story at a time when I was struggling with some pretty serious health issues, and through the years it was a constructive outlet for a struggle that pretty much bit the big one. I once told a friend that I didn't think I'd be able to finish this story, to do these characters the justice they deserved, until I myself was ok; Liz's struggle being parallel to mine and all that. Well I had no idea how accurate that was because it took me a really long time to come back and finish the final 4 chapters that were pretty much written years ago.

I recognize that this story is tough. It's full of angst and struggles that just seem to go on and on. As a finished product though, I have to say that I'm pretty proud of it. Mainly because this story makes you feel. And as a writer I don't think there's any greater thing you can do than to make your readers feel something. To somehow use words on a page so effectively that your readers are drawn in and feel what your characters feel. That truly is an accomplishment, so thank you for sharing it with me. And continuing on when the story went dark and set up camp to stay there awhile.

At over 83,000 words, this is the first epic story I've ever completed and although I don't know if I could do it again, I certainly have no regrets. So thanks to you and everyone who read, even if the others didn't comment.

Hope you enjoyed .