Roswell Fanatics

As always, thanks for the FB everyone!

xmag said;
Hmm, apparently, Jacob didn't really pay attention to Michael once he found Max and Isabel, if he told Cal that he was well taken care of.

From what Jacob knew, as long as he had food and a roof over his head and wasn't in danger of exposure, he was being taken care of. Kal should have been asking more questions.

nibbles2 said:
(Will we see flashbacks to the others lives on Antar or just Max/Zan? I love the version of Antar you've created.)

Yep, we will see more and we see a little bit more about Rath in this chapter.


Chapter 10

Kal was driving to the studio to tie up some loose ends. He was amazed at how quickly Max had gotten his core people, the people he trusted together, and filled them in on all he had learned. Of course Kal had heard all these names before, had information on all of them provided by a private detective and Jacob. He would have to see where this quarry was when he got to Roswell, because that place was probably the reason why Jacob's information was full of holes.

That, and he had obviously left a lot out. Kal sighed. He knew why Jacob did it. It was precisely the reason why Kal had stayed away from Roswell all these years, and if he hadn't, then maybe things wouldn't be so screwed up now.

Jacob was a little bit of a different situation though, and it made Kal feel a little better. When Kal stationed him at Roswell, Jacob had wanted to settle down. He didn't have as many feelings as Kal had, and a life of solitude fit him. Jacob was content working his farm, watching the pod squad. It never occurred to him that Jacob would be just as afraid of going back to that old life of following orders as he was.

He had to admit to himself that he could have entered Max, Isabel, and Michael's lives earlier. By the time they were 12 or 13 they would realize the dangers involved with exposure. It sounded like they realized those dangers as soon as they entered the world, but Kal knew he did the right thing by sending them in the path of the Evan's. Well, if they all had went with the Evan's that is.

Michael seemed just as unlucky in this life as he was the last. Rath had been uprooted from his home the first time it was realized how much power he had. He was a small child, probably around five or six, and the King had just snatched him from his home, from his family, to groom him. Like Zan, Rath had a lot of human in him - it seemed the more human the more powerful they were. Rath's family was not high born, they were your average, everyday Antarian citizens. They had had Rath the "natural" way which hadn't been done in decades.

He had never seen his family again. The King didn't see a reason for it, being so unfeeling, and while Rath grew up in privilege and with the best training he knew it had been terrible for the frightened little boy that had entered the castle all those years ago, the little boy that wanted his Mom and didn't understand why she didn't come for him.

If only he had met them, told them about their past lives a few years earlier. Max, who seemed to have feelings for Liz since the third grade, would know he shouldn't go back to Antar, would know that he needed to make a life here. He could have gotten Michael out of that home, well trailer park he had now learned. He should have known that as long as he was fed and had a roof over his head Jacob would think he was alright, but Kal never got past the surface, because he was scared.

The scenario that Max described at their last timeline meeting, him demanding to be taken back to Antar, was Kal's greatest fear. He didn't know if Jacob had left out more information in that timeline, that timeline where Nasedo and Tess caused so much havok, or if Kal had just been selfish and hadn't intervened. The sad thing was Kal could see himself being that selfish.

Free will was a powerful thing, and it was even more powerful when you never had it. That Max, the Max from before, was Kal's biggest nightmare. It sounded like he wouldn't listen to him, and also didn't know the right questions. All he had to do was tell Kal to fix the ship and they would have been gone.

And Max would have been dead. Kal too probably. He didn't know how Tess survived. He'd bet that Kivar had sent her back to Earth once the baby turned out human. In fact, he'd bet there was never a deal with Kivar, but with their own people. Kivar didn't want the seal, and he sure as hell didn't want it to return to Antar. He must have saved them and sent them back to Earth. Kal's own people would have killed them, but Kivar wouldn't.

He wasn't the bad guy everyone made him out to be. Kal knew he had a lot of explaining to do about what happened back there, but he had given them enough to digest. If would all come out when they cornered that bastard Jose.

________________________________________________________________


Serena sat on the small balcony sullenly with her legs pulled up to her chest, listening to the sounds of the movers carrying things out of the apartment. A million thoughts were running through her head.

She knew Courtney wouldn't lie to her. How she could spend the last 22 years, well 16 years conscious, without knowing more about her planet, was beyond her. Courtney had told her about that flash, about that horrible day when Jose had informed her that he thought Max had deep feelings for her and she had allowed a school girl crush to bloom into hope.

Then she dropped the bombshell on why Jose saying Max and her going back to Antar to be King and Queen would be impossible, how the people on their planet wouldn't accept Zan because of his eye color. Imagine if they had shown up in full human form!

For some reason Jose had played her, and had been doing it for a long time. She started remembering little things, like off handed comments he would make about Liz that had burned her sub conscious. Things like pointing out that Liz didn't talk to Max, ever. Things like Liz had told him she never wanted to come back to Roswell. He had fed her a ton of passive aggressive comments that she just let sink in.

Maybe he was like one of the Antarians she had heard about, like Tess or Nasedo, that thought humans weren't worth as much as Antarians. That didn't make sense though, because she might as well be human. What difference would it make if she were with Max instead of Liz? It would probably mean the same thing to their planet.

There was something else going on, and they would have to find out what it was. This was going to be so embarrassing. Why had they created her at all? Courtney said the allies knew Max, Isabel and Michael had turned out human and that it was a huge blow for the resistance, the people who wanted Rath on the throne. It had to of been a huge blow to the Antarians loyal to Max back on Antar, and she knew they were in contact with their planet regularly until recently.

Courtney looked out the patio windows at Serena while she directed the movers. She hadn't told her exactly why Jose had been manipulating her all these years, but she had filled her in on the fact that what he had been telling her was wrong. Courtney knew she would know soon enough, and she had enough information to sort through for now.

They had all carefully avoided any conversations about Antar. Courtney could now see how wrong that was. The Royals had no idea who they were, and Courtney had come to terms with the fact that she would never go home, had come to terms with that long before she had even left her planet. The remaining rebel skins and shifters had banded with The Royals for survival at first, because Nicholas would kill them if they ever found them. They also didn't know what Nicholas would pull on Earth when he realized he wasn't going back.

He needed to be destroyed, and by Courtney's calculations that should be any day now. They would be free. She pulled open the sliding glass doors and sat down by Serena.

"How are you doing sweetheart?" Courtney asked softly. Serena would be the closest thing to a child she would ever have.

"I feel stupid, used, embarrassed," she said looking into Courtney's eyes. "hurt."

Courtney just sighed and put her arms around Serena, giving her a big hug. "It gets better over time, it really does," she said.

"I know," Serena said softly. "It could have been so much worse I suppose. God! Can you imagine if I would have spouted off any of that King-Queen stuff in front of any of them? They'd think I was like Tess."

Courtney cupped Serena's face and forced her to look at her. "But you're not like her. Tess would do whatever it took to be Queen, no matter what would happen to Max."

Serena nodded and they sat in silence.

"Courtney?" Serena asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Does it ever hurt when you see Michael and Maria together?" Serena asked.

Courtney closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "It used to," she said honestly. "I guess Michael and I were a lot like you and Max, back before Maria found out. We had a lot in common, we hung out a lot. I would see glimpses of Rath in him, and it would make my heart speed up. He could be so loyal, so true, so exasperatingly honest," she said with a smile.

"Then Maria came into the picture and things changed, changed big time," Courtney said. "For awhile there, I think he wanted to make sure Maria was comfortable with me being around, as everyone knew I had tried to seduce him in the last timeline," Courtney said blushing slightly.

"But you didn't do that this time," Serena said.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I didn't want to," Courtney said, chuckling at Serena's shocked look. "I was spared a lot of it, because I was at Harvard when their relationship was flourishing. I would spend the summers seeing them at the compound or at Jacobs, at it did hurt Ser, it really did. But each time I saw them together it hurt just a little bit less. Finally my heart caught up with my mind, and I'm glad it did. Maria is one of my best friends now, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."

"Not even Michael?" Serena asked.

"Michael? No..." Courtney answered. "You see, I finally came to the realization that I was in love with this character, this bigger then life character that was the Rath I used to know, but he's not Rath, and Max isn't Zan. I think you might come to the same realization Ser. You'll see that you were more in love with the idea of Zan than with Max."

Serena nodded as all hope of her and Max died in her chest, giving her a chance to start healing.

_________________________________________________________________

Kyle sat in the backseat of the big SUV half listening to Alex, Isabel, Maria, and Michael talk about the recent revelations. Max had called an emergency Scooby meeting and they had all met at the quarry, minus his Father who was working and couldn't get away.

If he counted it up, which he had no desire to do, Kyle had probably lived 60+ years. Sure, most of that had been as a kid or a teenager, but in all those years how had they never managed to learn this? It was almost over, almost to a point where his knowledge wouldn't be needed anymore. David and Keith had been searching for Nicholas, and they had found him and the last remaining skins. They were holed up out in the middle of the desert, probably waiting to die. For now they were just watching them.

The question was, what was he supposed to do now? He wasn't a scientist, and the only missing piece was the virus that would be spread to Earth. Sure, he had fire power, but who knew if that would ever be needed. Kyle had a 22 year old body and had no idea what to do with it now.

"I for one am relieved," he heard Maria say. "But just wait until I get my hands on Jacob," she said between gritted teeth.

"Maria....." Michael said with a warning. "No blame, remember?"

"That applies to US, Michael, US," she said. "If Jacob had been doing his damn job you wouldn't have spent all those years with Hank."

"Maria, you heard what Kal said," Michael said. "Jacob probably thought that was fine. I had room and board and Hank would never realize I was different."

"Yeah, because all he wanted was a damn monthly check!" Maria said fuming.

"Maria," he said sternly. "It's done, it's over, and no one sure as hell is going back to fix it. The fact of the matter is Jacob did watch over us, maybe not in the best way, but he did make sure we were safe."

Maria bit her tongue and nodded. Over the years Michael and her had learned how to deal with each others passionate sides, and she knew when Michael had that tone he had enough. She felt Michael's hand reach out for hers and squeeze it, holding it gently in his two big hands. She had also learned that this meant that he appreciated her concern, her passion, and that it meant the world to him. Their relationship was a tedious balancing act sometimes, but they had learned to walk that tightrope, and they walked it well.

Michael sighed. Now all they needed was a plan to contain Jose when Kal got there. Kal had warned them that all the shifters would feel his presence, and that Jose would try to flee. He looked at Maria, who was obviously trying really hard not to erupt, and he smiled. Even when all alien catastrophes were adverted, he knew his life would never, ever be boring.

He looked to the front of the car and kept catching Isabel and Alex giving each other secret smiles and glances. Michael narrowed his eyes. Something was up with those two.

Even with all these thoughts going through his head he couldn't help but think of that early timeline, the one he had just seen when Kyle and him had been playing basketball. No one had said it, but he was sure everyone had come to the same conclusion as him. The Evan's had learned about their alien powers early because of Michael. He had exposed them, and the Evan's had loved them anyway.

Michael had stayed in the orphanage longer then Max and Isabel, and he went through a procession of homes before he landed with Hank. His alien outbursts hadn't been noticed at the orphanage, with all those kids things breaking was the norm. The homes he had been in between the orphanage and Hank hadn't lasted long, with one lady claiming he had levitated a table.

Hank was always just to drunk to notice anything Michael did, and once he had found Isabel and Max his powers did calm down.

It was no use brooding about that first timeline, because it would never happen. As Kyle snorted at him holding Maria's hand, Michael smiled. Maybe he wouldn't have those parents he had all those years ago, but maybe, just maybe he could have a best friend.

Ok, thanks for the FB everyone, and I cranked the last of this one out for all of you being so patient. I don't have time to answer feedback (sorry! I do really appreciate it though!) just time to post and run. This ones shorter, but I couldn't find a good place to break.

Oh, and Rosdude made me a banner! Thank you Rosdude, I love it!

Chapter 11

"So we have a couple of hours before Kal gets back," Liz said as Max walked towards her on the patio carrying two drinks.

"I guess so," he said, setting Liz's drink down in front of her and taking a seat.

It was a beautiful California day, and they were sitting out by the pool. If you could see inside both of their minds each had their own feelings of guilt about enjoying themselves so much while the others seemed to be taking care of all the problems.

Liz tilted her face up to the sun, soaking it up. She hadn't realized how much she had missed the sun while living in Boston. No, not matter how much Harvard might have influenced her, being back in Roswell felt right. She was sure that even if all this stuff with the aliens and Max hadn't of happened, she would have wound up taking the job at Meta-Chem anyway.

"So what do you want to do today?" Liz asked. They had all day to themselves and were leaving via private jet to go to Roswell in the early evening.

"Actually, this is kind of nice," Max said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"This is an awesome place to be," Liz said, smiling. She liked the fact that Max hadn't let go of her hand. "The pool looks incredible too," she said, standing up to remove the terry cloth robe she wore.

Max inhaled sharply as the robe slowly fell to the ground, revealing Liz in her white string bikini. Sure, he knew every inch of her body from...flashes...but that was nothing compared to actually living it, actually seeing most of her olive skin in person.

"It does look rather inviting," he said, shamelessly raking his eyes over her body. Max stood up and removed his own shirt. He felt a little flutter in his stomach when he realized that Liz was now the one shamelessly raking.

They meant to go in the pool, really they did, but somehow they managed to land on the comfortable lounge chair. Max used his powers to flatten it out, and he pressed his hard body to hers, drinking deeply from her lips. He didn't care that she could feel how aroused he was, didn't care that Kal had servants that could walk out there at any time, didn't care that they had decided to take it slow. No, all Max cared about was getting as close as he could to Liz Parker.

Liz wrapped her legs around Max's waist as he slowly began rubbing their heated centers together. She gasped as he began sucking on her neck, his hand finding it's way under her small bikini top, kneading her breast. Liz also forgot about taking things slow, because this just felt so right.

"Max, Max, wait," Liz said as she felt him tug at the strings on her bikini bottoms.

"God Liz, I'm sorry," Max apologized. "I..I got carried away, it won't happen" he started to say as she silenced him with a searing kiss.

"I meant this is a little public and maybe we need more privacy," she said with a bit of a blush on her cheeks, suddenly feeling shy.

"Liz, I...are you sure?" Max asked, "because I don't know if I'm going to be able to stop myself this time."

Liz smiled. "Me either, and yes I'm sure. I've never been more sure of anything in my whole life," she said with conviction.

_______________________________________________________________

Kal walked through the long hallway to the main dining room with his mind going a mile a minute. Max had assured him that his group would have Jose contained before they landed in Roswell. He knew Jose would know he was there and would flee, and the others had planned on trapping him in Max's room.

As he walked in the dining room he noticed how close Liz and Max sat, something was different.....

"Did you two kids behave while the adult was away today?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh Kal, stop," Liz said blushing slightly.

Kal's legs froze in place as his eye widened. While he had hoped they would get closer with some alone time he hadn't expected them to get THAT close.

"What's wrong Kal?" Max asked him, noticing the shocked look on his face.

"Well you see Liz told me to stop," Kal said, "and I'm assuming some activities took place while I was away today because she now carries the seal of the Queen."

Max and Liz looked at each other, then back at Kal like two guilty teenagers who had just been busted by their parents.

"I see this is a rather awkward situation, but I would appreciate it if you would let me move," Kal said, trying to keep the smirk off his face.

"Oh, OH!" Liz said. "Ummm, Kal you can continue?" she finished weakly.

"Thank you, and it really isn't a big deal," Kal said taking a seat at the head of the table. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"God this is so embarrassing," Liz said, putting her hands over her face.

Max grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I don't care who knows," he proclaimed. "I love Liz Parker, always have, always will."

Liz smiled back at Max, trying to get her embarrassment under control.

"Alright then," Kal said.

"So when you say Liz is Queen..." Max said.

"She's the Queen. By all Antarian purposes, the two of you were 'married' today. Back on Antar is is referred to as Joined, but same principle applies," he explained.

"So that's how you get married on Antar?" Liz asked, her curiosity helping with the shyness.

"There are a lot of ways to get Joined on Antar," Kal explained. "That would be referred to as 'the old-fashioned' way I suppose, it is very rare. You see, just the....act doesn't do it. If you totally give of yourself to someone else, truly love them, then it happens. If it weren't for the seal thing than I wouldn't have known, but I'm sure the two of you can feel it."

They had felt it, but wasn't quite sure what was happening. It was like their hearts were beating together, their blood pumping to the same rhythm. There was a peace and a longing to be close all at one time. They had discussed it after, not really knowing what was happening to them, but loving it all the same.

"So back on Antar when Zan married Ava?" Max asked.

"Was it like that? God no," Kal said, a look of disgust on his face. "You were married in a ceremony, much like the ones they perform on Earth. Even though you found her to be a suitable mate, you didn't love her, and she sure as hell didn't love you."

"Obviously since she let Kivar in," Liz pointed out.

"Ah yes, Kivar," Kal said. "I suppose we'll have to deal with him too."

"What is the deal with him?" Liz asked. "Is he bad? Is he good?"

"I suppose that depends on your agenda," Kal said. "He was good for the average people, the ones who didn't have powers, didn't have money. The funny thing is the both of you were striving for the same thing. I think part of Zan wanted him to win, to end the Monarchy."

"Then why the Resistance? Why did some of his own people want Rath on the throne?" Max asked.

"Change takes time. I told you that all the time," Kal said looking at Max. "But you were impatient. Someone in your position needs to do things slowly, over a period of time. You were riling up all the worlds with some of the legislature you were putting out, Kivar was spouting his idealistic views on how the worlds should be governed, and Rath, well Rath was just traditional and loyal. I suppose that's why they wanted him on the throne, because even if they did want Zan to share some of the science with them, they certainly didn't want the idea of Royalty thrown out the window. Many of them were Royaly themselves."

"And the shifters?" Liz asked. "Why was Nasedo and now Jose wanting Max back on the throne?"

Kal sighed. "We will be bound to listen to the seal, whether anyone else is or not. Would you rather listen to a King and live in the lap of luxury, or take the chance that you had to listen to someone knocked down to a regular status?"

They took this new information in, their minds spinning with all this new information. So Kivar wasn't bad, not in their eyes. They could understand people wanting to be free.

"Kal," Max asked, something suddenly coming to him. "I know the other shifters don't have to listen to me, they are bound to you, but I do know that they can't hurt me. Does that mean that now that Liz is Queen they can't hurt her?"

"Correct," Kal said with a big smile. "Even if your friends fail to trap that rat Jose he won't be able to touch a hair on her head."

"But that doesn't make sense," Liz interrupted. "How did Jose do it the other times?"

"Who was alive the other times?" Kal asked.

"Nasedo," Max said. "If he was given a direct order..."

"Then he could do it," Kal finished for Max. "Maybe we need to keep that in mind. He may have done some terrible things, but I don't believe for one second he murdered Liz by his own accord. If he could do that, Liz would have been dead a long time ago this time around."

Max nodded, knowing Kal was right.

"So the only way he could hurt me now is if you told him to?" Liz asked.

"Correct," Kal replied.

"Well don't ever do that," Liz joked.

"Well now I couldn't even if I wanted to," Kal smiled.

"Oh Kal I didn't mean," Liz stammered. "I didn't mean to give you an order or act like I didn't trust you or anything," she finished lamely.

"I know Liz, I know. I'm sure both of you will slip up every once in awhile, and I know you don't wish to control me, to have me as your slave," he said sincerely. "Now, how about we have dinner?"

Max and Liz smiled at Kal as he rang the bell for his servants.

____________________________________________________________________

"I don't like it," Michael said. "I don't like it one little bit."

"Michael, it'll be fine. You know we need to lead him in there somehow, and it won't look right if you just leave Max's door open," Maria said.

"I swear Maria, if he touches one hair on your head," Michael warned.

"I know, you'll kill him, probably make him suffer a bunch too," she said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"He has never been anything but kind to Alex and I," Maria said. "We just need to make sure he overhears us talking, follows us, and then BAM! we trap him," she said snapping her fingers. "Easy as pie."

"In case you haven't noticed, nothing is easy as pie when alien crap is involved," Michael grumbled.

"Don't worry Spaceboy, Alex will be with me and you'll be right down the hall. Everything will be just fine," she said trying to reassure him.

"I sure hope so," Michael said, pulling her into a hug, resting his head on the top of hers. Even though he knew this was the best plan, knew that more then likely everything would be just fine, he still would never like it when Maria was involved in the dangerous part of the I know and alien club, and he never would.

Thanks for your patience everyone! This time of year is just so damn busy for me, and I make a good portion of my yearly income so I gotta be on my game! I had a nice long weekend to recoup and get a lot of stuff done, namely this chapter, part of the next, and I'm almost done with the next Criminal Minds chapter!

This one only has a couple of chapters left, I haven't decided if I'm going to do it in two really long ones or three.

Chapter 12

"So how'd you get that key?" Alex asked a little louder than need be.

"SSsssssshhhhh keep your voice down!" Maria said. The statement worked good for their plan, but she meant it too. Nothing good would come from Jose knowing he was being set up.

"Sorry," Alex said as he walked along the corridor with Maria. "So how did you get it?"

"Michael was otherwise entertained," she said with a big smile on her face as Alex grimaced.

"TMI,' Alex said.

"Yeah, well I had to. I mean I know we have all these rules and stuff, but Liz said she left something important in Max's room, something about timelines not matching each other," Maria said. "I know it's against the rules, but she didn't want me to tell anyone."

The stopped in front of Max's door and Maria proudly produced the key. "Ahh here we go, keys to the kingdom!"

Alex looked both ways down the hallway. "Michael is going to kill us when he finds out we went in there," he said seriously.

"Eh," Maria said dismissively as she waved the thought away. "He'll get over it. Besides, he's in the middle of a meeting about a Nicholas sighting, he'll be busy for hours."

"Still, it seems like it would have been smarter to wait for him to you know, not be in the building?" Alex protested.

"Stop being a wimp," Maria said as she turned the key in the lock. Please, please let this timing be right....If they had to go in there and the shifter followed, well things could get ugly, and get ugly fast.

Suddenly they heard Michael's booming voice from around the corner.

"Shit!" Maria said out loud, but internally she was singing.

"Are you going to be able to keep the key?" Alex hissed.

"No, he's going to realize it was gone. I just won't lock it and we'll come back later," she said shutting the door. "Come on, let's go," she said, heading towards Michael's voice.

After they rounded the corner Jose stepped out of the wall and quickly raced to Max's room. His heart about stopped when he heard them say Liz had found something off with the timelines. He knew he had been incredibly blessed that it hadn't been brought up before. So much had gone on when Kyle first came back that no one had questioned how they didn't start out the same.

Kyle's big heart was the only guess Jose had for why he hadn't brought it up. He figured he was protecting Michael, as if Michael needed protecting. He was a great General, an awesome leader. No, Kyle's human emotions may have been bad for the group, but were great for Jose.

But a pair of fresh eyes in the situation....Liz Parker's eyes no less...Well he should have seen that coming. Liz had always been a conundrum for Jose. He knew how dangerous she was for Antar, but after working for her family for so many years it was hard to see her as collateral damage should he need to dispose of her.

Not for the first time Jose thought maybe he had a little to much human in him also. He had a feeling that he was going to have to restart the timeline AGAIN. This was getting tiresome, and then there was the little problem that Kyle may retain him memories again. He'd hate to dispose of Kyle, but he certainly didn't have as much of a problem with that as he did with Liz.

He looked both ways and slowly opened the door, hesitating before he went in. This room was a nightmare for all the shifters because it could become a literally a prison for them. He pushed through that thought, knowing that he had to find whatever it was that Liz had hidden in there so that he would know his next plan of attack.

These humans, they never learned their lesson. Maria and Alex were already keeping secrets from Michael and Liz obviously didn't trust any of them. 'With good reason,' a little voice said in the back of Jose's mind, but he pushed it to the side as he looked around the clean room. Where the hell would she have hidden something?

Jose heard the door open and spun around. He saw Michael standing there, twirling a key in his hands. It was a different key, the one that locked the deadbolt from the outside, and he wore a grave expression on his face.

"There's food in the fridge, but you shouldn't be here that long," Michael spat out. Jose raised his hand towards Michael but he was to quick. Michael sent Jose flying against the wall and Jose heard the door shut and hear a "click". He quickly got up and raced to the door that led to the Granilith chamber, finding that one was locked from the outside too.

He was trapped, and he now knew that those humans had learned their lesson, and they had learned it well. Jose paced the room like a caged tiger, wondering how much they knew, and how they had pinned it on him.

He would get out of this somehow. They had always been naive when it came to anything alien. All he needed now was a good story.....

Jose started formulating different scenarios as he sat on the couch. He would need several different stories depending on what the pod squad knew. All he had to do was be prepared and he would be fine.

Just as he was starting to relax he felt IT. All hope was now gone, as he felt the signature he hadn't felt in decades.

Kal was in town, and no story could help him now.

____________________________________________________________

Michael knew the minute Kal and Company were getting close to the compound. The shifters all felt it at once, and none of them hid their panic well.

"Yes, Kal is here," Michael said, stating the obvious. "There is no need to panic, it is for the good of all of us, I promise," he said looking at the frightened faces of the shifters.

"Buy why?" Jacob asked wearily.

"We've had a traitor among us Jacob," Michael said quietly. "We're going to take care of this once and for all."

Jacob and the other shifters nodded in understanding, knowing it had to be the absent Jose. Many of them had their suspicions about him all along, but none of them wanted to believe it, and none of them wanted to cause any kind of commotion that would bring the one man who could enslave them all back to town.

Kyle walked in the room with Courtney and Serena in tow, with Alex and Maria following closely behind. Isabel walked in the other door, and now all they needed was Max, Liz and Kal to get there.

Courtney looked at Serena with compassion. This would probably be embarrassing. She knew they would interrogate Jose, and many of the tricks he had played on her would be revealed. Serena would be so embarrassed, and she would finally find out the reason why she was created.

No, this would not be good for her, not at all.

__________________________________________________________________

Jose looked up before the door opened, and stood proudly to meet his fate.

The big door flew open and there stood Kal.

"You will not run, you will not hurt anyone, and you most certainly will never, ever go near the Granilth again," Kal barked out as Jose nodded.

All would now be revealed, and for the first time in a long time, Jose looked at the future with much uncertainty.

Thanks for the FB everyone! Sorry it took so long! This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to break the Jose stuff into two chapters because it is soooooooo much info!

Awww Janetfl, thank you! I'm glad you liked Web Of Deception! I don't think many people have read it, and it is one close to my heart since it was my first

begonia, everyone always underestimated the humans in this fic (and on the show I think too) and I love how it always bites them in the (_|_)!

Chapter 13

Everyone had settled in the conference room with Jose sitting at the front, facing all the people he had deceived so many times, for so many years. Kal looked him directly in the eyes. "You will not lie to anyone in this room ever again, and you are going to explain exactly what has been going on," he demanded forcefully.

"Alright," Jose said quietly. He spoke so softly everyone was practically on the edge of their seat, not only because he was hard to hear, but because they would finally find out what had really transpired.

"I guess I should start with what has been the same, the same during all the timelines," Jose said. "Well when our ship crashed, I ran, ran as fast as I could since you and Nasedo were knocked out. I knew you would wake up and assume I had died. There was so much ash from the crew you wouldn't know who had died and who hadn't. For the first time in my life I could be free."

All the shifters nodded. Every one of them could understand that, including Kal.

"I wandered around Earth for about fifteen years before succumbing to the guilt of abandoning my mission. Sure I wasn't in direct line of fire anymore, I didn't have to listen to anyone, but I didn't have a sense of purpose, and I really didn't fit in with the humans," Jose explained. "I came back to Roswell, back to the site of the crash when Nasedo found me."

"He was really upset because the hybrids were growing so slow, and at the point they were now they looked like small human embryos. He said it was to soon to tell, but that you and him were pretty sure they were going to turn out looking human, which would not be accepted in our world," Jose said. "He was distraught, and upset that you seemed to blend into this world so well," Jose said to Kal.

"He always did have a hard time here," Kal said thoughtfully. "That must have been right around the time that we knew our mission was a failure. The Royal Four were showing more prominent features then, probably around the size of a 3 month old human fetus."

Jose nodded. "It was 1962, and at the rate they were growing they wouldn't be adults until the new millennium. I had a scientific background back on Antar, had been involved in the fertilization of many new Antarians. It was I who had the idea that a baby produced by Zan and Ava's hybrids could actually turn out completely Antarian. They would be protected from Earth's atmosphere if it was born in the pod chamber, and we could use the Granilith to transport back to Antar. It seemed to give Nasedo hope," Jose said.

"He mentioned that to me, when we realized they were going to be coming out of the pods as children," Kal said. "We didn't know if they'd have their memories, this was the first time this had ever been attempted. If they didn't come out as Antarians, would they have their Antarian memories? Nasedo didn't care, he figured if they had human memories we could just manipulate them into reproducing. Max and Tess anyway."

"And it seems Nasedo was capable of making that happen," Max pointed out as Liz squeezed his hand.

"Not without a little trial and error, and gaining a whole lot of knowledge about you Max," Jose said compassionately.

"Anyway, I just kind of stayed off the radar after that, waiting for the hybrids to emerge. Nasedo was furious that Kal would not go along with the plan. Kal was sure Max wouldn't want anything to do with Tess, especially considering she had caused all this." Jose said. "What I didn't know was he had met up with Nicholas, and they had struck a deal. Bring back the hybrid prince once he was born and the three of you," he said, pointing at Max, Isabel and Michael, "would be eliminated."

Max's mind reeled. So this part that happened in the last timeline was true.

"When did you find this out?" Max asked.

"Technically? This lifetime, from Kyle. I never knew that before. All I can remember of the last timeline is being future Max, and then running into the Senator right afterwards. I can only assume that I was killed by her, because my memory of the last timeline stops at that point."

"I think we need to go back to the first timelines so that no one gets confused," Maria pointed out.

"True," Jose admitted. "Anyway, Nasedo knew of Kal's plans to have the Evan's find the three of you, and as Ava was growing slowly, he let the three of you get taken in. When Ava emerged he taught her the basic human skills, told her little of her origins but that she was different and needed to hide it, and once she was ready dropped her off at a police station in Tennessee. He wanted her far away in case you all started getting your memories back, in case you did something drastic to her before he could stop it."

"What happened to her?" Liz asked.

"The Sheriff's wife ended up falling in love with the little girl who had been abandoned, who only knew her name was Tess. They eventually adopted her and she had a very happy life with her new parents and brothers. Without the influence of Nasedo or the lack of feelings, she was a bright, happy, giving person."

"Kind of like what I knew of her?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, like that Kyle," Jose said. "We let things go on after that, and Nasedo was furious when The Evan's found out. Michael had blown something up in their presence after you had been there about a year," he explained. "It turns out it was all for the best, because like Kal's instincts had told him, this made the Evan's even more protective of you all."

Michael sighed. "I had figured it was me who let the cat out of the bag," he said.

"Yes, it was you," Jose said smiling a bit. "Nasedo kind of disappeared for awhile, he always had a thing for hunting down the Special Unit. He returned right before Liz became pregnant, and was furious that you all had told more people. He decided to go collect Tess and bring her in to seduce Max, believing there was no way you'd prefer a human to a hybrid."

"I don't remember Tess in the first two timelines," Kyle said, scratching his head.

"You wouldn't have met her, because she wouldn't go with him," Jose explained. "Tess loved her family with all her heart, and wanted nothing to do with Max or Antar or any of that. In fact she almost killed Nasedo when he insisted she go with him, she was incredibly powerful, much more powerful than him."

"He thought that she may change her mind when she wasn't so young, when she realized the power she could have. He decided to let things go on with Max and Liz, especially with the baby. It would help to know if the seal transferred. It didn't, which made him happy. The seal would never go to a human," Jose said.

"So he waited. Liz and Max stayed together, went to college, had another child. He was watching Tess's family during this time, and when he was sure he could do it without her thinking it was him, well he eliminated them. All of them," Jose said sadly. "It was a car accident. Nasedo had waited until they were all in the car, minus Tess, and had them go head first into a semi."

"Sounds familiar," Kyle said bitterly.

"Yes," Jose said looking at Alex. "So Tess lost it, really lost it, and Nasedo ran into her on 'accident'. She was a little more interested in meeting the hybrids now, she had lost everything. There was one small problem though, Max was married with kids. We then got the idea of Future Michael, thinking they would take the news from one of their own better. It didn't work."

"So you needed a new plan," Liz said.

Jose nodded sadly. "I had been working with the Granilith for years, Nasedo had opened it for me, and I was sure I could make it go back in time. I told Nasedo this, but he didn't think it was necessary. He thought we could just get rid of Liz and that'd be it. The problem was he couldn't do it himself, so he ordered me to assassinate her."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"It haunts me, even to this day," Jose said. "I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice."

"I believe you," Liz said as everyone looked at her. "I do. Jose could have taken me out at anytime, during what, three different timelines? After he knew about Max and I? Well he didn't, did he? How easy could it have been for him to kill me as a child. I mean, he's worked at the Crash since I was a baby. Hell, I have baby pictures with him holding me!"

Tears welled up in Jose's eyes as he nodded. "I never, ever wanted to hurt you Liz. That's what spurred me to manipulate the Granilith, to find the missing piece that would let me go back in time and undo what I had done."

"Wasn't it me that figured out the Granilith?" Serena asked.

"No," Jose said quietly. "No, it wasn't. You see, the second timeline played out like the first, except I kept some information from Nasedo. Unless it was a direct order I didn't have to tell him everything, so I didn't tell him we had already lived this life. I contacted home and told them about our plight, and your parents agreed, well they agreed to create you. You hadn't lived the first timeline."

"I thought I was created because I was killed?" Serena asked.

"No, you were created...." Jose hesitated. He knew he couldn't lie, and wished with all his heart he could lie now. He cleared his throat. "You were created as a replacement for Tess. I..I was sure I could stop Nasedo from killing Tess's family, to get you into the mix before Max fell in love with Liz...I...I described Liz and human material with similar characteristics was picked. You...you were created because we thought Max would pick you instead of Liz."

"So all those things you told me through the years, all the things about Max, they were all lies?" she asked incredulously. "They were lies to try to get me to...to mate with him and make an alien?" she finished, her voice rising with each word.

All Jose could do was nod.

"I've heard enough," Serena said, tears rolling down her face. As she left she heard someone following her. "Don't, just don't," she said to Kyle. "I need to be alone."

Kyle nodded as he watched Serena flee.