Doo 'awéé ééhoozIIh da-The Lost Child(M/M,TEEN)155 - 8/24/19 - Complete

[ArchAngel1973]

Eva

I really understand Michael's fears. The others can be 'round their loved ones most of the time, but he can't. The fact Maria saw that Michael's anger was just the result of his fears, was a great thing. That was something that the Maria in the real episodes missed by time to time. This Maria knows her Michael better.

The situation is different, Maria and Michael weren’t confronted with all this alien business until late in the fic and they are also older than in the show. It helped the two of them to build a relationship which is more stable and understanding, without all those traps, roadblocks which had been thrown their way in the tv series.

Ti88

This is crazy. Wacked. Tess is a scary scary force to be reckoned with. You brought that across beautifully. Not insane yet. But very very dangerous. And the group picked up on that. That was point missing from the show. She didn't come across as dangerous or even crazy. She came across as a girl who had been promised the moon and had no choice. When given a choice she still wanted the moon and didn't have the tools to deal with the change. This tess appears very confortable with a killer for a guardian.(and I'm a lamptrimmer) will she or does she change I have to wait ti find out I guess.

That’s a good point, about Tess being described as a girl who had been promised the moon. She didn’t seem that dangerous in the show, which is why her killing Alex and agreeing to that pact with Khivar seemed a bit out of the blue, by the end of season 2. Where was the foreshadowing? Here, we go right from the start that Tess is dangerous, knows very well about her abilities and what she can or can’t do and since the situation isn’t the one Nacedo and she had planned on finding when arriving in Roswell, she and her guardian quickly find another plan.

PML – Yes, something is to come. I wonder if you have guessed what. But it’s not good.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Cjsl8ne – Tess is bad news, and yes, there will be consequences to her and Nacedo being in Roswell.


Part 109

Tess sat on the couch, her eyes following the tall alien pacing in front of her. Unlike her and the others Nacedo lacked the human component. She wasn’t happy about being part human, but knew it had been necessary for her survival on Earth and while she had accepted it, she hadn’t embraced it as the others had.

She had told Nacedo about the meeting and he wasn’t pleased with the outcome. He had anticipated some refusal to cooperate but their outright rejection of their destiny had made him angry. He hadn’t expected to learn that the other three knew of his existence because it most likely meant that there was at least one human who was aware of it and that created another threat.

“Their connection to the humans is strong,” he said finally, his voice cold.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“It is my duty to protect the four of you. Humans are our enemies and casualties among them are acceptable. Your survival must be ensured regardless of the cost.” He paused to stare at her for several long minutes and when he spoke his tone was accusing. “You couldn’t control them.”

“Controlling a group of humans is different, Nacedo. But the three of them together are too powerful to control at once.”

“It’s the second in command,” he stated decisively. “You’ll need to work on him. He was a considerable force on Antar. You cannot underestimate his abilities. You do not know what lengths our enemies went to in order to render him ineffectual. He was a formidable warrior in his previous life. You must begin working on him; he won’t be easy to control. Your abilities have become stronger over time but his mind will be difficult to manipulate.”

Tess shook her head. “I can handle him.”

He turned his cold, lifeless eyes on her. “Do not overestimate your skills where the second in command is concerned. The four of you have different abilities that you excel at and we do not know enough about him to determine which of his abilities he’s learned to use. We’ve had time to study the king and his sister; the second in command is an unknown at this point. Underestimating him would be a mistake.”

She was silent as she watched him. She knew his mind was actively processing the afternoon’s events and determining their next course of action.

“It is imperative that we determine the extent of the human’s knowledge where our existence is concerned. Any threat to us must be found and eliminated. From our observations and the use of your skills we know the king and his sister are both limited in the use of their abilities. Part of that can be attributed to the secrecy surrounding them. The second in command was able to break free of the mindwarp, which indicates he has better control of his abilities.”

“That just means he’s had more practice.”

He paused and turned to look at her. “It means that there is a threat to us out there and it is connected to him. You have to get close to him in order to determine the extent of the threat so that I can eliminate it.”

“You think the humans he lives with know about him? What he is?” Tess asked, her voice colored with disbelief.

“Someone connected to him knows the truth.”

“His girlfriend, Maria.”

“Their relationships with these humans are of little consequence but they will be dealt with at the appropriate time. One cannot rush these things,” he mused with a smile that was pure evil. Over the years his hatred of humans had grown and his retaliation against those that had crossed his path had become a pleasure rather than simply a matter of defending himself.

“I’ll see them at school tomorrow.”

“They’ll be expecting you.”

“I know what to do, Nacedo.” Her mind’s eye brought up a picture of Maria and a smile appeared on otherwise emotionless features. She knew exactly what to do to if she was going to face Michael again.

*****

Michael parked the truck in front of his house and sat there for several minutes as he went over everything he had learned in the past few days. He knew it was time to tell his parents what was going on. He had hoped to get past the holidays first but the meeting with Tess that afternoon had made him realize that waiting would be too risky. His family needed to know what was going on in case Tess ever managed to discover anything about them because he had no doubt that she or Nacedo would target them.

Catherine was chopping vegetables for a salad to go with dinner when she heard the truck pull into the driveway. She reached up to brush the curtain back to look outside and she paused when she saw her son just sitting there.

“What’re you doin’?” John asked as he entered the kitchen with the newspaper. He was just now getting a chance to sit down and browse through the paper.

“Michael just got home and he’s just sitting in the truck.” Her eyes narrowed as she went over possible reasons for his unusual behavior. “What do you think he’s doing out there?” She waited barely a moment before continuing. “Maybe I should go out and make sure he’s okay.”

“Give it a few minutes and he’ll come inside.” He sat down at the island and opened the newspaper, flipping through it until he had found the section he wanted.

Catherine went back to her salad preparations but her gaze continued to move to the window, checking on her son. She smiled when a familiar jeep pulled up at the end of the driveway and Maggie jumped out, leaning back inside to talk to Linda and Christina for several minutes before the girls drove off.

Maggie hefted her backpack up and hooked the strap over her shoulder as she walked up to the house and she stopped just past the truck, turning and frowning at her brother. She walked a half dozen steps back and rested her elbows on the open window, watching him. “What’re you doing?” she asked.

“What’s it look like I’m doin’?” he asked as he looked at her.

“Looks to me like you’re about a million miles away. What’s on your mind?”

“Just… things.” He knew the vague response wouldn’t appease her curiosity and he forced a smile. “Need to talk to Mom an’ Dad about somethin’… you too.”

She sobered at his tone. Something was wrong. “Are you okay?” she asked sharply, her eyes moving over him.

“I’m fine, Maggie. There’s just some things goin’ on that you guys need to be aware of.”

“Things,” she said slowly. “Dangerous things?”

Michael’s thumb moved over a tear in the steering wheel cover as he nodded. “Could be, yeah.” He opened the door and got out so he could walk up to the house with her. He reached out to tug on the keychain hanging from the zipper tab on her backpack. “Doin’ homework on a Sunday?” he teased.

“Gotta do it sometime,” she said. “Mom thinks I did it yesterday and I was just helpin’ Christina with hers today.” She made a face. “Can you imagine her reaction if she found out I hadn’t done any of it until today?”

He smirked. Yeah, Mom would have a fit about that.

“So, whatever you need to talk about… you gonna go talk to Mom and Dad about it now or you gonna wait until after dinner?”

“No, I don’t think it should wait any longer.”

They were silent as they made their way into the house and Maggie motioned to the hallway to let him know she was going to go drop her backpack off and she’d be back in a minute. He nodded and shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it on the couch in the living room before going into the kitchen.

“You kids cleaned that barn up and fed the animals in record time this mornin’,” John said as he turned the page on his paper and glanced up at his son.

He shrugged. “We had plans for the day.”

Catherine looked up when Maggie ran into the room. “Plans, huh?”

“Maggie had to help Christina with her homework and I had plans with Maria,” he said and waited to see if his mom had anything to say about that.

“You missed the pageant last night,” she said after a few moments.

“I got busy and forgot.”

“What had you so busy?”

He shrugged his right shoulder and leaned back against the counter next to the refrigerator. “You remember that sighting we chased a while back? The one in Frasier Woods?”

“Yes, we remember that,” she answered. “You found that symbol.”

“Found somethin’ else that night, just didn’t know it at the time.” He took a deep breath. “When we found that symbol there were four others there… two of them, they’re just like me.”

Catherine paused, the salad forgotten. Others like him. My God, what would that mean for them, for their family? Would he leave to be with these others, to get to know them? Would they want him to abandon his family? She turned to her husband and she knew he could read the growing panic in her eyes when he made a simple gesture with his left hand, sending her a calming message. How many times had she seen him use that same gesture with a skittish horse? She took in a deep breath and turned back to Michael. “You said there were four,” she said. “Two that’re like you. So, the other two would be…”

“Human,” Michael said.

“How do you know that there’re two others like you?”

Michael shook his head. “There’re three like me. The two we met that night, Max and Isabel, and the girl and guy they’re dating, Liz and Alex. The third one I met today and she’s like us, but… she’s dangerous.”

Catherine’s breath stilled in her chest for a second. Dangerous? There was a dangerous alien around her son? “These other kids, they know about you?”

“Yeah, but they’re okay. Tess, she’s the problem.” He drew in a deep breath. “She’s been raised by Nacedo.”

John glanced at his wife when the knife she had been using to chop vegetables was slammed down on the cutting board. He reached over to take her hand and pull her around to sit down beside him. “Go on, Son.”

Michael explained everything he had learned over the past few days, telling them about meeting the others, his suspicion that Isabel and he were actually related, the meeting with Tess, and his concerns about her and Nacedo being a threat to anyone connected to him, Max or Isabel.

His parents listened until he had finished what he had to say and when he was done his hands wrapped around the edge of the counter behind him, knuckles white as he waited for their response. He didn’t know if his mother would blame this on Maria or if she would be focused on the potential danger he had found himself in. Danger that could very well land on their doorstep.

Maggie’s gaze bounced between her brother and her parents, wondering how they would take this news.

John squeezed his wife’s hand, silently requesting her silence. He looked at their children and took a deep breath before speaking. “Michael, Maggie, why don’t the two of you go get ready for dinner,” he suggested. “Let’s take a few minutes to let this news settle and we’ll discuss it more after we eat, alright?”

“Okay, Dad,” Michael agreed with another glance at his mother.

Maggie grabbed her brother’s sleeve and pulled him out of the room when their father cleared his throat to get the two of them moving. “C’mon, Michael, let’s go talk.” She wasn’t really worried that she could lose him over this, but… what would it mean to their relationship now that he had a potential sister who was like him?

[ArchAngel1973]

Timelord31 – Thanks, glad that you liked this part.

Eva –

God, I was really surprised how mature Michael handled! This was the best thing that he could do! Together with his folks he's stronger then Nasedo and Tess ever can imagine!

Don’t forget that Michael is nearly 18 and that his parents have known the truth about him since the beginning. He could use his powers around them, they let him search for answers, they were there for him. It makes all the difference when the family knows the truth about aliens, since the start.

Cjsl8ne – Up until now, Tess had focused her energy on Max and Isabel, the only targets she knew. But now there’s Michael in the equation, she’s got to deal with him, one way or another.

Maipigen –

Also, am I weird that I kindda miss River Dog and hope he'll be involved more somehow? He's always been a favorite character of mine

He’ll come back. Michael is going to need him.



Part 110

Catherine stood and began to pace, her fingers worriedly knotting the dishtowel in her hands. “I told you it was dangerous to let him chase these sightings, John! That it was a mistake to let him continue seeing Maria – “

“Whether or not Maria had come into his life he wouldn’t have stopped searching for his answers, Catherine. The boy needs to know where he came from and why he’s here. Her encouragement for him to seek those answers is not a bad thing.”

“And now he’s found others like him… and two others that are dangerous! Damn it, John, how can you stand there and so calmly tell me that you think this was a good idea?” She turned to face him, her expression one of anger born of fear.

John sighed, knowing very well that when she was in this state it was difficult to get her to be reasonable. “I understand your concern over him findin’ others like him who are dangerous, but he’s also found others like him that he’s connected with. Did you bother noticing the way that boy’s eyes lit up when he was talkin’ about them?” He doubted she had heard much past the point where he had spoken of Nacedo and Tess. “He didn’t have to come to us with this, Cath. He could’ve easily kept this information to himself and carried on with a life that he kept separate from us, but he didn’t. He came to us knowing that he could safely reveal the identities of others like him and he’s probably hoping that at the very least we would be able to accept this information.”

“He could get hurt, John.” She stared out through the window and felt her heart clench tightly in her chest. “He could leave and we could lose him over this.”

He didn’t respond immediately. It was a possibility of course, but he trusted Michael to not abandon his family. “He’s learnin’ about who he is and where he came from. He’s getting to know others like him. This isn’t pushin’ him away from us. He came to us with it because he wants our approval and our acceptance. This will make him stronger and it’ll give him somethin’ we can never give him no matter how much we love him. He needs that connection to wherever he’s from and knowin’ these others like him may give him that.”

Catherine swallowed with difficulty as she forced her next words out. “What if he decides to leave?” she asked quietly. “Leaving home to go to college was going to be difficult enough to handle, but to lose him to an entirely different solar system or wherever they’re from…” she shook her head.

“Then we’ll have to find a way to deal with it. Nothing he said indicated that he intended to leave or that he was even thinkin’ about that.” He crossed the room to stand in front of her and he took the towel and tossed it aside before taking her hands in his and squeezing them tightly. “We knew from the beginning that at some point we might have to let him go.”

“Yes, but I never really thought he would find anything. We’ve heard plenty about sightings and he’s chased after a lot of them but I had hoped that he’d eventually give it up.”

John couldn’t help but snort at his wife’s words. Michael give up? Not a chance in hell! “You may have hoped but that boy’s got a stubborn streak that rivals your own. You knew he’d never let it go, woman. I’ll tell you the same thing I told you when his interest in Maria became apparent – tell him to invite his new friends over for dinner one night. You never know, Catherine, perhaps it might help them to be around others who know the truth.” He smiled gently. “They’ve been raised by humans and their own parents may or may not know the truth, but you know how important it is for them to know that there are people they can trust.”

“He’s our son, John. I just don’t want to lose him over this.”

“Then stop tryin’ to come between him and the people who have accepted him and who are encouraging him to embrace who he is. Things haven’t been the same between the two of you since you expressed your disapproval of Maria.” He shook his head as he took her face between his hands. “Don’t make that same mistake again. Do what you’ve always down with him, Cath. Love him, understand him as well as you can, and support him. You may not always agree with what he does but he’s well on his way to bein’ a man and the time will come when your disapproval won’t be met with resistance but with refusal to tolerate it.”

“Your father’s said that Nacedo is dangerous.”

“Michael’s always been receptive to what his grandfather’s had to say about Nacedo and the danger he represents. He knows this other alien is a threat and he hasn’t rushed out to face that threat head-on. He’s showing considerable restraint where the others are concerned and I think we need to remember that he came to us with this.”

Her hands came up to wrap around his wrists and she nodded. “I don’t think anything could’ve prepared me for what he had to tell us tonight.”

“We raised him well, Catherine. He’s grown into a fine young man and we’ve got to trust him to make the right decisions.” He leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. “He came to us with this… that’s the most important thing.”

“Maybe we should call your father. It wouldn’t hurt for him to tell all of us what he knows about Nacedo again.”

“We will. But for now we’ll focus on Michael and what he’s learned. We can call my father tomorrow. I think it’s more important for us to make sure Michael knows he has our support right now.”

“Alright,” she agreed. “But we’ll call your father tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow. C’mon, let me help you finish dinner and get it on the table while the kids are talkin’. I’ll go get them in a little while so we can eat.”

*****

Maggie threw herself down on Michael’s bed, watching him as he paced around the room restlessly. “So, you really think she’s your sister?” she asked.

He shrugged, the fingertips of his right hand brushing over the surface of his desk as he walked past it. “I don’t know. It’s possible though, right? The similarities are all there… we look alike, we have the same temperament – “

“But what about that whole destiny thing?”

He shook his head. “That’s a bunch of bullshit, Maggie. No one’s gonna tell me what I’m doin’ with my life.”

She snorted. “Except maybe Mom. Guess your alien creators didn’t factor her into their plans,” she teased. “Okay, getting serious again… did you say anything to Isabel about the whole sister thing?”

“No, Maria thought I should wait until after things start to settle down a little bit. There’s kind of a lot goin’ on right now.” He paused to look at the sister he’d known his whole life and he thought about his girlfriend’s advice. “Maggie, you’re my little sister and nothing’s ever gonna change that. Whether or not Isabel’s my sister it doesn’t change the relationship me an’ you have.”

Maggie chewed on her thumbnail and nodded. “She’s like you,” she said quietly. “That would create a bond between you.”

“Yeah, but me an’ you, we’ve got 12 years of history. Besides, if we were alike we’d have driven each other crazier than we did growin’ up.”

She laughed a little and nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably true.” She went back to gnawing on her thumbnail again. “So, how dangerous do you think they really are, Michael?”

“Very dangerous and very determined to make sure this destiny thing plays out. I’ve got a bad feelin’ that they’re not just a possible threat, that at some point they will have to be dealt with.” He shrugged. “I just don’t know what that’s gonna mean exactly.”

“Does that…” she paused. “Does that scare you?”

Michael dropped down into his desk chair and swiveled it to face her. “River Dog’s told us that Nacedo’s dangerous and Tess has been raised by him. She’s had years to discover and learn to use abilities that we know nothin’ about.”

“Like that mind thing she did,” Maggie mused.

He nodded. “As a group I think we’re too much for her to control, but individually… I don’t know what we’re lookin’ at there. I know from talkin’ to the others that she’s been able to get into their heads and afterwards they don’t have any recollection of it. She tried to get into my head when we confronted her and it took an effort to break that hold.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what she could do to someone who isn’t an alien.”

“You’re worried about Maria,” she guessed accurately.

“She’s alone and defenseless.”

“You don’t trust the others to keep an eye on her?”

“I don’t know them that well and besides that there’s history there that just makes the entire situation weird. It wouldn’t take much for her to slip in and do somethin’ to hurt Maria… or even one of the others.”

They looked up when someone knocked on the door and their father leaned in the doorframe. “Why don’t you two get ready for dinner?” he said.

“Mom okay?” Michael asked.

“Your mom’s fine. It’s a lot to digest and she has understandable concerns, but she’s fine.” He rapped his knuckles on the frame and straightened up. “Alright, dinnertime, let’s go. We’ll talk more once we’ve settled down to eat.”

*****

Maria pushed herself on the swing as she inhaled the cool early evening air. She let her feet drag through the sand beneath the swings and her hands slid up over the chain, feeling the cold links pressing into her palm. Her mind was sorting through everything they had learned that day and she wondered how Michael’s family was taking the news.

She couldn’t deny that the thought of Tess and her ability to get into people’s heads made her nervous. She shivered slightly when the wind picked up, blowing leaves across the playground to rasp against the chain-link fence. She wrapped her arms around the chains and pulled her jacket tighter around her until the wind settled down once more.

“Hey, Maria.”

She looked up at the sound of Liz’ voice and she wasn’t sure what exactly she felt at the other girl’s presence. “No date with Max tonight?” she asked.

“It’s Sunday evening; he and Isabel are having dinner with their parents,” Liz answered as she sat in the swing on Maria’s right side. “Maria, can we talk?”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

“You know what I mean.”

Maria shrugged and gave herself another push. “What’d you wanna talk about? Max? Tess?”

Liz winced and started to mimic Maria’s movements on the swing. “I’m sorry, Maria.”

Her feet dug into the sand as she stopped herself and turned to face her, not hearing the protest the creaking chains made at the sudden motion. “You did what you felt you had to do, Liz,” she said. “I can’t say it didn’t hurt… that it doesn’t still hurt, but I also can’t say what I would’ve done if our positions had been reversed.”

“We went about it all wrong,” Liz said regretfully.

Maria shrugged. “Yeah, you did.”

“I wanted to tell you, Maria. Alex and I both wanted to, but…” She shook her head. It didn’t matter why they hadn’t told her. The only thing that mattered was that they hadn’t. They had turned their backs on her and walked away like she wasn’t worth a second thought. “We should’ve just explained that something was going on that we couldn’t talk about yet.”

“That would’ve been nice. It doesn’t matter now though, does it?” She pushed her swing again. “Look, I know it was a difficult position to be in and,” she smiled slightly, “considering that I’m dating an alien I can understand the need for the secrecy. Just not the need to shut me out of your lives the way you did.”

“I’m sorry, Maria. I wish I could go back and change the decision but I can’t and I don’t know what to do to fix things between us.”

“One step at a time, Liz.” She sighed. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Somehow I thought I might find the two of you here.”

They looked up to see Alex walking towards them. He took the swing on Maria’s other side and pushed back. “We handled things badly, Maria. Yeah, there were a few circumstances that affected our decisions but that’s not an acceptable explanation.”

Maria jumped up out of the swing and took several steps before she whirled around to face them. “What do you want me to do? I can’t just say that it’s okay to make you feel better.”

“And we’re not asking you to do that,” Liz assured her. “We just want to know what we can do to… I don’t know… try to make amends.”

“I don’t have an answer for you.”

Alex motioned for her to stay where she was when she took a couple of steps back, intending to leave. “Maria, we both know it’s gonna take time and that we may never get back to the way things were between us before this, but we’d like to try.”

“We’ve got some common ground to work from now so… we’ll see what happens. For now, I’m going home. It’s been a long day and I’m tired.”

“We’ll walk you home,” Alex said as he and Liz stood up. “We don’t have to talk about anything serious right now but we agreed that we wouldn’t go out alone unnecessarily and I think it’s best if we stick to that.”

Maria nodded and once they had joined her the three started walking out to the sidewalk. “Nothing like having a couple of human-hating aliens in town to make you more cautious.”

“Try a couple of human-hating aliens who have every intention of taking our aliens away and disposing of us if necessary,” Liz muttered.

“Not gonna happen,” Alex insisted as he squeezed in between the two girls and draped his long arms over their shoulders. “They’re not interested in that whole destiny thing and I can’t say I blame them. The challenge here is getting Tess and that Nacedo guy to accept it.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling they’re not gonna be easily persuaded,” Maria said, smiling at the moment of familiarity between the three of them.

“Maybe not but there’re six of us and we did pretty well today.”

Maria nodded. “Yeah, we did.” She couldn’t say that it felt nice or normal to be with them because too much had happened for things to fall back into place so easily. But with the threat that Tess and Nacedo presented it was a small comfort to have them at her side. It wasn’t the way things used to be, but maybe it was another step to bridging the chasm that had opened up between them.

[ArchAngel1973]

Eva –

Your story makes me indeed wonder how Michael would've reacted when he had been raised otherwise, with loving parents who understood him instead of Hank the drunk. And I came up with the same Michael you have: a responable, balanced kid on the verve of maturity. He still gots a temper and acts like it but he isn't the underdog anymore. He's more open and therefore has more pleasure in living.

That’s what we thought, too. We wanted a new background for Michael, far away from the other Roswellians and from anything alien related. And while talking about how Michael would turn out, it became obvious that he would still be the same but more responsible and confident in himself.

His idea about Isabel could be the right one. I always thought the same thing: Isabel and Michael always looked a like.

Yeah, it’s weird how KH and BF kind of look alike. So we used that idea for the fic. It seems natural for Michael to pick up on their physical and emotional similarities.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Cjsl8ne –

It will take a while for all of the new relationships to sort themselves out but Michael's life is about to get even better if and when they safely survive the coming storm.

Absolutely. Having all those new friends in his life can only be good for Michael.


Author's Note: The Lost Child and The Man Who Didn’t Belong will be going on hiatus for just a few weeks while we post our Christmas fic: a follow-up to Michael, Maria, Carradine and Christmas, which will begin posting on December 6th. Our other fics will return once posting of the Christmas fic is complete.


Part 111

Maria glanced around at the other students filing through the double doors into the high school and she felt herself relax slightly. There was safety in numbers and what could be safer than being surrounded by the student body of West Roswell High? It would be next to impossible to be alone and any chance that Tess had to single her out would be limited.

“Hey, Maria!”

She turned when someone called her and she smiled at Liz and Alex as they hurried over to join her.

“Hey, we tried to call you this mornin’,” Alex said as they fell into step beside her. “We wanted to know if you wanted a ride to school.”

“Oh, the battery died last night so it was on the charger until I ran out the door.” She rolled her eyes. “My mom gave me a ride this morning, so it was okay.”

Liz reached out to touch Maria’s arm. “Your first class is with Tess. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Maria admitted.

“Isabel won’t let anything happen to you, Maria,” Alex assured her. “But if you’d do me a favor and stay close to her…” he shrugged with a sheepish smile. “I know how she comes across but you can trust her.”

Maria nodded as they blended in with the other students, breaking off from the crowd to go to their lockers. Trust, she thought with a shake of her head as she twisted the dial to the correct combination on the padlock.

*****

Nacedo stared at the screen of the laptop, his gaze unblinking as his eyes scanned the lines of text before him. He had hacked into a database that provided a list of social services and other government agencies at the local and state level, searching for more information on the second in command. He had spent decades learning how to elude law enforcement and the military, adapting to new technology as fast as it was introduced. He had become quite adept at conducting searches and unearthing information that others wanted kept secret. Time and experience had taught him how to cover his tracks during his searches and now he was capable of discovering information without ever leaving a trace.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he moved to the next page, further narrowing down his search. It was a logical conclusion that Michael had been found in the desert but based on the information he already had about Max and Isabel he knew he hadn’t been found in the same location. He considered who the second in command had been in his previous lifetime and he switched his search further west. He would have instinctively moved away from civilization out of self preservation even though he wouldn’t have understood the need to remain hidden.

He switched screens, moving back to a map of the state. He located the area where the king and his sister had been found and he studied the map to the west. His finger followed the lines that specified rivers and roads and he tapped the screen thoughtfully. He returned to the previous screen and brought up a new page, running his search in a new region.

It took another hour before something of interest finally popped up on the screen and he leaned forward to scan the information. A Native American couple had adopted a six-year-old boy found in the desert 12 years before. He searched the records for the area where the boy had been found and then switched to the map again. He shook his head at the distance between where he had been found and where Max and Isabel had been found.

Humans were so unbelievably stupid, he thought, shaking his head. It defied belief. How could they believe that a human child could survive in the desert under those conditions? He resumed his perusal of the social services reports, reading through background checks and references on the family requesting custody of the boy.

He froze when he reached the name of the grandfather. River Dog. A name he hadn’t heard in years and not likely one that was common enough for this to be coincidence. It was part of his past and a name he had never expected to hear it again…. a face he had never thought to encounter again.

The Mesaliko Reservation had been a place where he had been welcomed, accepted, and he had befriended the boy who had followed him around curiously. Over time he had begun to trust the boy, the only other human he had ever trusted besides Atherton. His expression slipped into a mask of hatred at the thought of the human that had betrayed him and nearly exposed his existence.

His hand curled into a fist as he stared into the distant past, remembering the man he had foolishly called friend. Atherton’s need to uncover truths about his kind had created a problem when the man had discovered the truth about Nacedo’s purpose on Earth. The man had been irrational and threatened to expose him in order to protect the Royal Four, mistakenly believing that their destiny could be altered simply because he didn’t agree with it.

Atherton had been unable to grasp the concept of the Royal Four’s destiny and Nacedo had felt that it was none of his concern. His discovery of plans set in motion for the hybrid children had gone against the humans’ simplistic beliefs. Atherton, a veteran himself had refused to accept that the children would have no say in their destiny and would be forced to live the lives of their past selves. He had insisted that their traditions, customs and beliefs were archaic and that they had no right to impose them on children who should be allowed to make their own choices.

His insistence that the past would only repeat itself had enraged Nacedo. He had tried to sway the alien to see things from his point of view, tried to explain that they were essentially recreating the past and making the same mistakes that had led them into a war that they had lost… a war that had resulted in their deaths. He had made a mockery of everything that Nacedo had ever known and believed in and they had fought.

They had gone out into the desert one night, a safe distance from the heart of the reservation and he had attempted to make Atherton see reason, but the man had been relentless in his belief that his mission to ensure the Royal Four fulfilled their destiny should not be carried out. Something primal inside of him had turned on in that moment and he had been unable to stop himself from killing to protect himself as well as the Royal Four.

He had still been leaning over Atherton’s lifeless body when his young friend, River Dog, had come upon them. The boy had approached them soundlessly and he had barely controlled the instinct to kill the young boy. It was only the unassuming expression on River Dog’s face that had kept his baser instincts from taking over. He had known he was going to have to leave, that he was going to spend the rest of his time on Earth hiding and running from those who would destroy him.

He had known he had to vacate the area before the body was found and he had spoken briefly with River Dog, explaining that he had to leave because he was being hunted and he feared for his life. He had taken the body and dumped it well away from the reservation, feeling somehow certain that the boy would never speak of the incident he had happened upon.

How had River Dog, who had witnessed Atherton’s murder, been able to accept another stranger? He had to know the boy was different. Even as a child River Dog had been intuitive, he had known that Nacedo wasn’t like others and he had accepted that, accepted him. But to have welcomed another stranger, even a child, into his family, to allow his son and daughter-in-law to raise him as their own? It defied logic.

Looking back now he cursed his weakness where the human was concerned. He should have dealt with the situation back then. As the years had passed he had become a proficient killer and an expert at hiding his victims. He no longer saw humans as anything less than an enemy to be extinguished and he was impatient to be rid of them permanently.

Michael was going to be the most difficult to convince, he was certain of it. Being raised on the reservation in a family that had accepted him, who knew he was different, would have made a difference. It would give him an advantage over the king and his sister. His powers would be more controlled, his mind would be more difficult to manipulate, and he would be their biggest challenge.

The second in command had always been stubborn and difficult to manage, refusing to bend to anyone’s will, and he knew that as with anything else, what made him strongest would also be his biggest weakness. His family, his girlfriend, anyone he cared about would likely have to be removed from the equation in order to break his human side and unleash his dormant alien side. He drew in a deep breath and rested his palms on his knees as a brief twinge of regret washed over him at the thought of eliminating the boy who had been nothing but a friend to him. But it had to be done. It needed to be done. A deal had been made and he wanted to go home. Too long, he thought. He had been on this planet too long and he would do whatever was necessary to return home.

He glanced at the clock at the bottom of the screen and knew Tess would be putting the next step in their plan into motion at any moment.

*****

Maria stepped out of her last class of the day, breathing a little easier when she saw Alex waiting for her several classes down. She walked towards him, hefting her backpack higher on her right shoulder as she rubbed at the headache that had been threatening all day. The stress of worrying about running into Tess was making her crazy and she wished that it could somehow be over and done with. But how?

“Hey, how was class?”

“I don’t remember much of it. Too worried about things,” she said with a shrug. “Let’s just get to our lockers and get outta here.”

“I’m with you. We’ll meet the others over at the Crashdown. Liz caught a ride with Max and Isabel since she’s workin’ the afternoon shift. I told them I’d walk over with you.” He grinned. “Safety in numbers, ya know?”

“Right. Let’s just get outta here.”

They hurried to leave the school and Maria breathed in deeply when they stepped outside into the fresh air. It was cool out and she shivered slightly when the wind blew. “Hey, Alex, why…” She blinked when everything around her suddenly seemed to shift and she found herself standing in the middle of her science classroom facing Tess. “What’s going on?”

“Humans,” Tess muttered derisively. “You’re so ridiculously easy to manipulate. You don’t even make it challenging at all.”

Maria swallowed her fear and stood up straighter, glancing at her shoulder when she realized she didn’t have her backpack. Damn, that had felt so real. She had been so certain Alex was walking beside her and they had been carrying on a conversation. “What do you want?”

Tess smiled slowly. “I want to meet with the second in command. I want a meeting with Michael.”

“You’re demented. This whole destiny thing is – “

“You have no possibility of understanding such a concept and I won’t stand here and attempt to explain it in terms that might make sense to you. I haven’t the time or the patience for it.”

“I’m leaving now,” Maria said and started for the door. She turned the knob and frowned when the door didn’t budge.

“You leave when I say you can leave.” Tess narrowed her eyes when Maria didn’t show any fear. “I will have that meeting with Michael and he and the others will see reason.”

“Michael will never go along with this… this… insanity!”

Tess made a tsking sound as she approached Maria, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction when she saw the other girl swallow hard. “You honestly believe the second in command, a man who led our armies into battle, and the king’s own right hand, would ever choose a simple human being over the life he’s destined to lead?” She snorted and let her gaze rake over the other girl. “He is destined to marry Isabel, how could someone like you ever hope to compete with her?”

Maria lifted her chin and she met Tess’ cold gaze head on. She was secure in her relationship with Michael and she knew how he felt about this destiny business. “You won’t change his mind.”

“I will change his mind. And if you weren’t worried about it you wouldn’t be refusing to call him and set up a meeting.”

“Michael knows his own mind and if he wants to meet with you that’s completely his decision.” She left out the part where she would do her best to talk him out of it and barring that, insist on being there with him.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Tess’s smirk was superior as she moved past Maria and opened the door. “I’ll expect that meeting soon.”

Maria leaned back against the wall after Tess left, shaking and trying not to start hyperventilating. She glanced up at the clock on the wall, noting the time and realizing that Michael still wouldn’t be home from school for at least another half an hour. She needed to find the others and make sure Tess hadn’t gotten to any of them.

[ArchAngel1973]

Cjsl8ne – Tess and Nacedo certainly don’t have any problems messing with humans, but it’s a mistake to make, if they want Michael and Co to listen to them.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Eva – You’re right, the little group won’t make the move that Tess and Nacedo expect.


Author’s Note: Now that our Christmas fic has reached its conclusion we’re back into our normal rotation. We’re updating TLC today and will be back next Monday with an update for TMWDB.


Part 112

Alex leaned back against the wall next to the entrance to the girl’s restroom, his thumb tapping out a staccato rhythm against the textbook he held. He stared at the students milling around, wondering why it seemed to be taking so long for them to flee the halls of learning. He snorted at his internal ramblings and reached up to rub his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment as he wondered if he had any Tylenol in his locker.

“Alex, are you okay?”

He opened his eyes and looked up at the concern in Isabel’s voice. He experienced the strangest feeling of vertigo as the hall around him seemed to pull in on itself before expanding out to its normal size.

Isabel frowned at him and reached out to frame his face in her hands as she scanned his features. “Alex, what’re you doing over here?”

He blinked and glanced around as he tried to get his bearings. He was nowhere near the restrooms off the hallway where Maria’s locker was located. “We need to find Maria. I think Tess must’ve gotten to me because up until a minute ago I was standing outside the girl’s bathroom at the west end of the building waitin’ for Maria.”

“Damn it. Okay, let’s go. Call Liz and tell her and Max what’s going on. They can start looking for her from wherever they’re at.”

Alex nodded, already dialing Liz’ number.

*****

“How could this happen?” Max bit out when they met up by Maria’s locker a few minutes later.

“Maybe because we’re being stalked by a mind-controlling alien with some fatal attraction issues,” Liz muttered caustically.

He ignored her comment and looked at Alex. “You were supposed to meet her after class and – “

“Max, get off his back,” Isabel warned.

“Look, as far as I knew I did meet her after class. We talked all the way back to the west end of school, she told me to wait for her while she ran to the bathroom and the next thing I knew Isabel showed up and I was nowhere close to where I thought I was.” He rubbed his forehead again before dropping his hand to his side. “Okay, whatever she wants with Maria it’s got to be about Michael. If this was about you,” he glanced at Max, “she would’ve gone after Liz.”

“We need to find her,” Liz insisted.

“Yeah, we can – “

“Maria!” she shouted when she saw the other girl walking towards them, watching them warily.

*****

Maria hurried down the hall, controlling the urge to run because she didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself. She had only been with Tess for a matter of minutes but it had been long enough for the halls to thin out. The majority of the student body had already pushed through the double doors at the exits and most of the straggles were getting their things together for various after school activities. She rounded the corner, turning into the hall where her locker was located and she was relieved when she saw the others waiting there for her.

What if they weren’t really there? She felt lost, as if in a dream, unable to tell truth from fiction. She heard Liz call her name and then run to her to throw her arms around her and hug her tightly. How could she know for certain that this was real? It had felt so real before but that had simply been a product of Tess’ manipulation.

“Maria, I am so sorry.”

She looked up when she heard Alex apologize and she reached out to touch his arm. He felt real. “It’s not your fault,” she said quietly. “I went with her because I thought I was with you.”

“I wanna hear all about it but maybe no here. People are gonna start wondering what’s wrong with us if we just stay here.”

They waited while she grabbed whatever she needed from her locker and they turned as a group to walk out to the parking lot. They froze in place when they saw Tess smirking at them from the end of the hall. Isabel separated from them and started walking towards the other girl, shaking Max’ hand off when he tried to stop her.

“Isabel, stop.”

Alex rolled his eyes when her brother issued an order that did nothing to calm her temper or slow her down. He went after her and fell into step beside her. “It isn’t safe to confront her like this. There aren’t that many people around, but all it takes is one person seein’ or hearin’ the wrong thing.”

“Exactly. There are still too many people for her to risk doing anything to me other than that control thing and you’ll be close enough to step in if she starts that.”

“Alright, but make it quick, Isabel.”

She nodded when he fell back and as she approached Tess her eyes were blazing with anger. “Think what you want about our relationships with them. You have a right to your warped opinion but don’t think we’ll sit idly by while you manipulate them. Your rights don’t extend that far.”

“You really have formed an attachment to him,” Tess mused, her incredulous tone tinged with disgust.

“Any attachments I’ve formed to anyone here is none of your business. You crossed the line and if you mess with him – with any of them – one more time we’ll settle this between us.”

“Your powers were no match for mine before.” She raised her chin slightly and she smiled at the barely controlled anger simmering in the taller girl. “Years of living among them and being immersed in their culture has made you weak. There was a time when you would’ve stepped on such insignificant – “

“I don’t remember anything from this other life you say we led,” Isabel interrupted. “Whether this story you’ve concocted is true or not we’re not those people and we don’t intend to become them. Stay away from them. I won’t warn you again.” She turned and walked away without another word.

They walked past her a minute later, the humans flanked by their alien protectors. She stared at Maria until the girl met her gaze, her green eyes flashing defiantly.

“Don’t forget what we talked about, Maria.”

“Go to hell,” Maria snapped.

Tess just laughed and watched them as they made their way to the nearest exit.

“What’d she mean by that?” Liz asked as they all piled into the jeep.

“She wants to meet with Michael. I’ll have to call him later. He won’t be home from school yet.”

Max glanced at her over his shoulder. “Do you wanna drive out there?”

“No!” She shook her head. “She could follow us and right now she doesn’t know enough about him to know where he lives. His family’s safe as long as she doesn’t know how to get to him.”

“Good point. Maybe we should go hang out at the Crashdown,” he suggested. “It’ll be fairly busy this time of day. Once you reach Michael we can figure out when he’ll be able to get here for a meeting.”

Maria smirked. “You can expect to see him about an hour after I talk to him. The Crashdown’s fine for now but I’d suggest we go over to Alex’s garage to meet him.” Michael wasn’t going to be happy when he found out about Tess.

*****

Michael kept both hands locked on the steering wheel to control the truck as he pushed the needle on the speedometer past 80. The tires ate up the distance to Roswell and his mind was moving even faster as he went over the few details Maria had given him over the phone. She hadn’t said anything to give it away, but the meeting with Tess had shaken her up. He had been concerned about leaving her in the hands of others because he didn’t know them well enough to trust them with her safety but he hadn’t had any other choice.

Rationally he knew they weren’t at fault anymore than it was Maria’s fault that Tess had gotten to her. But rationality had been thrown out the window the moment she had told him that Tess had cornered her and in its place was a fear he’d never known. Fear that something could happen to the girl he loved and he wouldn’t be there to prevent it. He’d been worried about her being in such close proximity to Tess but now the alien girl had taken things to the next level. If she wanted a meeting she was gonna get one, but it’d be on his terms.

He slowed down as he got off of the highway and turned onto the main street that ran through the center of town. Just a few minutes later he was pulling up behind the jeep and his heart finally started to settle down when she appeared in the opening, smiling as she ran down the driveway. He shoved the keys in his pocket as he got out, pushing the door shut and catching her in his arms. He ignored the others gathering in the open garage doorway, focusing all of his attention on Maria.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice gruff.

Maria nodded, relaxing for the first time since her run-in with Tess. She inhaled deeply, drawing his familiar scent in and finally feeling safe.

“Last class of the day,” he muttered as his gaze lifted to scan over the others. He mentally ran over the schedule they had discussed at their last meeting and his eyes singled Alex out.

“No, Michael, listen to me,” Maria insisted when she felt him tense up. “She’s the only one to blame here. I thought I was with Alex, walking through the school and talking to him.” She shook her head. “Everything about it felt real. Until she revealed herself I had no idea that anything was wrong. She did the same thing to him only it was Isabel that brought him out of it.”

“You’re sure she didn’t hurt you?”

She shook her head. “Killer headache, but it finally went away.”

“Okay.” His eyes traced over her features as he nodded. “And all she said she wanted was a meeting with me?”

“Yeah, but we don’t have to give her what she wants.”

He smirked and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning her and giving her a nudge. “We’re not givin’ her anything but I’m gonna meet with her.”

“We will meet with her,” she insisted stubbornly, staring him down until he nodded.

Michael jumped right in as soon as they reached the other two couples, not bothering with pleasantries. “We need a plan.”

“You want to meet with her?” Isabel asked.

“We have to. This time it’s just makin’ ‘em see things that aren’t there. I think if we put her off we increase the risk of her doin’ somethin’ worse. But if she wants a meetin’ we keep it on our terms.”

“She only wants to talk to you,” Maria said.

“And as far as she knows I’ll be agreein’ to that.”

“Are you thinkin’ something like what we did out at the quarry?” Max asked.

“Not exactly, no. She’ll be expectin’ that. She needs to think I’m the only one there. Matter of fact I think it’s better if she thinks we’re divided over this.”

Alex nodded. “If she thinks we’re divided she’ll never expect all of us to be there when you meet.”

“To make her believe that we’re against this we’ll have to orchestrate a way for her to overhear us discussing this disagreement. She’d never buy it if we just walk up to her and tell her you’re not meeting with her,” Max mused.

“She will if I’m the one who tells her,” Maria spoke up. “It’ll thrill her to think she’s created a rift between us. It’s all about aliens being superior to humans, so for her to learn that we decided as a group that there would be no meeting and then Michael calling her… it’ll feed her ego. We can drag it out for a couple of days and then we’ll approach her, put it out there that we make our decisions as a group and even though we didn’t all agree, majority ruled and Michael’s not meeting with her. Then we give it another day and,” she glanced at her boyfriend, “you call her, tell her you wanna meet, maybe one day this weekend. She’ll look at us and feel as if she knows something we don’t know. It’ll be a secret that the two of you share that the human is unaware of.”

“I don’t know, Maria,” he hedged. “It’s a good plan, but that puts you right back in contact with her.”

“No matter what she’s a threat that we’re gonna have to deal with.” She reached out to touch his arm as she faced him. “Michael, if she thinks we’re battling this out within our group chances are good that she won’t mess with any of us.”

“She could be right,” Alex thought aloud. “Tess would be thrilled to think that she’s responsible for causing problems in our group. If she thinks we’re divided over this, in her mind it’ll mean it’s just a matter of time before the three of you begin to see things from her point of view and fall in line with the whole destiny thing.”

“Hypothetically, if we were to follow this plan, where would the meeting take place?” Max asked.

“It would have to be someplace she has no familiarity with,” Liz said. “We would need to have the upper hand in every possible way.”

“She’d expect someplace like the quarry,” Isabel mused.

“The desert,” Michael spoke up. “I know the desert like the back of my hand.”

“But Michael, it’s too close to your family,” Maria insisted.

He shook his head. “There’re areas of the Rez that are virtually untouched… there’s a place probably about 20 miles from my house that’d be perfect. It’s secluded and we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding us. You can get to it without comin’ onto the Rez through the normal entrance. She wouldn’t need to know it’s Reservation land.”

Max glanced at the others and nodded. “I think that sounds like a solid plan.”

“You still need to avoid any one-on-one contact with her,” Michael said.

Maria nodded in agreement. “Until I tell her that you’re not meeting with her.”

“No, not even then.” He pointed at the others. “You stay with one of them even for that. She’s gonna know we’ve talked about this so she won’t be suspicious… she’ll see it as a weakness so that actually plays to our advantage.”

“So we play this out until maybe Thursday?” Alex asked. “You call her on Friday and set up the meeting for Saturday?”

“You’re all available on Saturday?”

“I can be there.” Max looked at his sister. “Don’t you have that dog thing this weekend?”

Alex turned to Isabel. “Dog thing?”

“The Christmas dog show,” she answered. “It’s on Sunday afternoon though so I’m free on Saturday. I’ll just have to do all the last minute preparations Sunday morning since Max backed out.”

“I can give you a hand with that if you want,” Alex offered.

“Okay.”

Liz glanced at Max. “I work the morning shift at the Crashdown on Saturday but I’m free in the afternoon.”

Michael looked at Maria and when she nodded he addressed the group once more. “I’ll contact her on Friday after school then… tell her I wanna meet with her on Saturday afternoon. Is two good for you guys?” He continued when they all nodded their ascent. “I’ll tell her three to give you time to get out there and I’ll tell her I’ll call her back on Saturday mornin’ to give her directions.”

Maria listened to him as he laid out the plan for their meeting, explaining that to be safe he would wait to give her the directions at the last possible minute too. Even though she wanted to get this meeting done and over with she couldn’t help the fear she felt at the thought of what could happen at this meeting. She knew what Tess had said, but she was certain there was more to it. Why him? She could understand her wanting to meet with Max, but why Michael? Up until this afternoon she had showed no interest in him, so why now? What had changed?

[ArchAngel1973]

Cjsl8ne – Nacedo and Tess always have a secret agenda. This time, it concerns Michael. You’ll discover pretty soon what they want with him.

Timelord31 – Thanks. Glad you liked it.

PML – Well, Tess wants to meet Michael alone because she knows what the others can do when they are together.


Part 113

Tess waited until Wednesday before she approached Maria again. She had watched them for the last couple of days, observing their routines and letting them think she had backed off. Since they had determined that she was a threat to their pathetic little lives they had become quite predictable. After school they gathered at the Crashdown while Liz, Maria, or both of them worked their shifts and afterwards they would make sure the humans were escorted home before Max and Isabel returned to their home together. She smiled at their stupidity. Did they really think their pathetic little defiance would somehow make the truth invalid? She shook her head and tossed her hair back over her shoulder as she crossed the street and walked into the café.

Amusement colored her blue eyes when the five of them zeroed in on her, seeing their identical expressions of disbelief at her audacity. They hadn’t expected her to step foot in the café because it was their turf. It was apparent they felt a sense of safety when operating as a unit and that almost made her laugh out loud. It was absurd, she thought. They had no idea what they were up against.

She knew Maria wasn’t working since the girl was sitting in the booth next to Alex and still wearing the clothes she had worn at school that day. Her gaze slid over Liz with a dismissive shake of her head as she crossed to the booth the other four occupied at the back of the dining room. She grabbed a chair from a nearby table and placed it at the end of their table, taking a seat and glancing around at each of them before locking gazes with Maria.

“When can I expect to meet with Michael?”

“He’s not meeting with you,” Maria stated with conviction.

Tess leaned back, maintaining an outwardly unaffected appearance. “You haven’t spoken with him yet,” she guessed.

“I passed your message along and we decided he isn’t gonna meet with you.” She shook her head. “He has nothing to say to you that hasn’t already been said.”

“We decided.” A knowing smile ghosted over her face but it was neither friendly nor pleasant. “He was always headstrong and did what he wanted. He was never much of a team player.”

“None of us are interested in anything you have to offer,” Max said when she started to stare intently at Maria. He didn’t like the way Tess was watching her, concerned that she might be up to her usual tricks. “Like she said, we discussed it and came to a decision as a group. Whether or not everyone agreed is irrelevant because in the end all that matters is that he’s not meeting with you.”

Tess turned her head to look at him, eyes narrowing. “Growing up here has made you weak. You weren’t this spineless on our planet. If you remembered anything you’d know he was never easy to control.”

“He’s not meeting with you,” Maria repeated.

“You really believe you have that much influence over him,” Tess said, her tone derisive. “We’ll see how long that little fantasy works for you.” She pushed away from the table, satisfied that the second in command wanted to meet with her and would find a way to do so. Once she got him alone she could convince him of what needed to be done and the others would eventually fall in line. It was obvious that they wanted her to think the decision was final and they had done their best to make it sound that way, but she knew better.”

Alex exhaled loudly when the door swung closed behind Tess, relieved to have that over with. “I’d say the plan’s workin’ so far.”

“Yeah, well, her psychosis is obviously alive and well,” Maria muttered.

“I’ll be glad when this meeting is behind us.” Isabel shook her head as she twisted the napkin in her hands. “I don’t really understand the point of having the meeting in the first place. We’re just feeding her delusion by going along with it.”

To a certain degree Maria agreed with her but she kept that thought to herself. “Michael wants to know what she wants with him, why she’s singled him out.”

Alex smiled and shook his head. “That might be part of it, but I think the biggest thing is that she’s threatened you… the guy really didn’t like that.” He nodded and nudged her with his elbow when she smiled slightly.

“We’ve already made it clear that we don’t want any part of what she’s offering,” Max said. “She thinks out of all of us he’s the one she can convince. I don’t know, maybe she thinks his memories of that life are stronger or more accessible or something. We’ll know more on Saturday.” He glanced at Liz and silently echoed his sister’s words. He’d feel better once the meeting was behind them too. He had a feeling that was true for all of them though.

*****

Michael paced around his room restlessly, his mind going over the upcoming meeting and picking apart the plan they had come up with. The place he had picked out for the meeting was isolated, it was well away from the populated areas of the Rez, and most importantly it was miles and miles away from his family’s home. They still didn’t know the extent of her powers though and part of him was tempted to have the meeting without the other present because he didn’t know what to expect from her.

Maria would just have a fit over that. He could deal with her temper, but he had agreed to her being there and he was smart enough to know that facing off against Tess without the others there for backup was a bad idea. Besides, he thought with a smirk, his girlfriend was a fighter and she would never sit back and let him walk into a dangerous situation alone. No, they were in this thing together.

He wanted to tell his parents what they were planning but he couldn’t risk them trying to talk him out of it. Or worse, insisting on going with him. He didn’t want them anywhere near Tess. She had made her feelings about humans crystal clear and there was a coldness about her that told him she wouldn’t experience a moment’s hesitation if she decided to remove anyone who stood in her way.

He glanced at his alarm clock, taking the time into account and grabbing his keys off of his desk. He had told Maggie he’d pick her up after practice since Linda had been out sick. She wouldn’t be ready for another 45 minutes but he wanted to stop at a payphone to call Tess when he got into Ruidoso. He could only assume that Nacedo was skilled in doing whatever was necessary to survive so he didn’t want to let them know where he was calling from. He shrugged into his jacket as he walked outside and climbed into the truck, staring up at the darkening sky as he started the engine.

Half an hour later he pulled into a gas station on the outskirts of Ruidoso and parked next to the payphone under a flickering light. He pulled a handful of change out of his pocket and fed it into the machine before punching in the number on the piece of paper Isabel had given him. He rolled his eyes at the precise handwriting before he shoved it in his pocket and braced his right hand on the weather shield over the phone. He automatically tensed when he heard Tess answer from the other end.

“Harding residence.”

“I heard you wanted to meet with me,” he said, not bothering with pleasantries.

“Oh, you got my message,” she said.

He could hear the smug tone in her voice. “I got your message loud an’ clear,” he bit out.

“From my understanding you’re not interested in what I’ve got to say so…”

“I speak for myself.”

Tess’ lips curled up in a triumphant smile. “When can we meet?”

He was silent for a moment. “Saturday afternoon.”

“I wanted a meeting between the two of us, not everyone.”

“Like I said, Saturday afternoon. They won’t be around.”

She contemplated the truthfulness of his words. “Uh-huh, and you won’t be with them?”

“I wouldn’t be callin’ you if I was gonna be with them,” he snapped. “Take it or leave it, I could care less.” He held his breath when silence fell over the line and he wondered for a moment if he had pushed too far.

“Where?”

“I’ll call you back on Saturday, let you know when an’ where. Clear your schedule, Harding, ‘cause it’ll take time for you to get to me. And bring your best game because I’m not easily convinced.”

Her confidence spiked. “No problem.” She made a face at the receiver in her hand when he hung up without another word. Even cloned he had no manners, she thought.

“The meeting has been set?”

She turned when Nacedo came up behind her, his movements as soundless as always. “I’ll meet with him on Saturday afternoon.”

“Where?”

She shook her head. “You know how the second in command is. He’s highly suspicious by nature. He’ll call me on Saturday to let me know where the meeting will take place.”

“Convincing him and bringing Rath to the surface is the only way you will gain the cooperation you need from the others. He has to be handled carefully. He was never easy to handle and his only predictable behavior is his willingness to fight to the bitter end for those who hold his loyalty.”

“I can handle him,” Tess insisted.

“Your over-confidence will be your downfall.” He shook his head at her. “You shouldn’t have let him lead the conversation. Allowing him to choose the location and set the time for the meeting is a mistake. You could be walking into a trap.” He stared at her as he considered this new information. “You must get him to reveal the location for the meeting otherwise we’ll be going in blindly.”

“We?”

“You nearly blew it with the last meeting. If they get the upper hand – “

“They won’t be there! I’m telling you he called me because the rest of them believe it’s a mistake to meet with me again. He wants to do it and he’s letting them think that he’s going along with them.”

Nacedo motioned to the phone she still held. “What number did he call from?”

She handed the phone over and he took it with him over to the dining room table, seating himself in front of his laptop. He ran the number and stared at the screen while he waited for the tracker to locate the address assigned to it. He then ran the address through the system and he shook his head when the name of a gas station in Ruidoso came up.

“He doesn’t trust you. He’s doing his best to make it difficult for us to locate him.”

“So?” She didn’t know what the problem was. “You’ve already located him.”

“But he doesn’t know that and he’s trying to cover his tracks. I may have located him but the problem lies with his familiarity with the area. He’s grown up on the reservation. He will know the most advantageous areas to use for the meeting. He will wait until the last possible minute to contact you and deliver the directions, leaving us little to no opportunity to ensure that you have backup.” He sighed as he mentally ran over their options. “I’ll just have to follow you and leave enough distance between us so that he doesn’t see me come in behind you.” He thought for a moment. “Tomorrow, you should see if you can find out where the rest of them will be on Saturday. If possible we need to ascertain their whereabouts, make sure that they won’t be there to upset the plan.”

Tess nodded. “I can get that information with no problem,” she said as she left the room.

Nacedo stared at the laptop screen as he pulled up a map of the reservation. She was overly confident about a situation that they had no control over at the present time. Even after the last meeting that they had orchestrated she hadn’t learned to be cautious. His concern extended to the others, not just Michael. They weren’t aware of the full extent of their powers individually, but they had already discovered that combined, their powers were amplified. He worried about what could happen if they began working together in that capacity before the three of them had been persuaded to see things his way.

*****

Isabel pushed the front door closed behind her and sniffed the air, smiling when she recognized the scent of lemon cake. She glanced at Alex before calling out to let her mom know she was home.

“Oh, honey, I didn’t hear you come in,” Diane Evans said as she stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She glanced at the young man with her daughter, immediately deciding that he must be Alex. Isabel was at ease around him, something she couldn’t say she had ever seen before. He wasn’t exactly the type of boy Isabel normally dated, but there was stability there and a sincere quality that she liked right off the bat.

“Mom, this’s Alex,” she introduced him. “Alex, my mom.”

Alex smiled and shook the woman’s hand. “Mrs. Evans,” he greeted her politely.

“Isabel, you should’ve told me you were inviting company over after school today.”

“What? No, Alex and I were just coming by so I could drop off my homework for this weekend and change. We’re meeting Max, Liz and Maria at the Crashdown and then going to a movie later.”

Diane’s smile was confused as she nodded at the kitchen. “But what about your friend Tess?”

Isabel felt her heart leap into her throat. “My… what?” Tess was here?!

“Well, she stopped by a little while ago. She was hoping you might be able to spend some time together this weekend but I told her you’ve already got a pretty full weekend with the Christmas projects you’re involved in.” Diane nodded and lowered her voice. “Honey, I feel really bad for her. She was hoping to spend time with someone this weekend and so far she says everyone she’s tried has had plans.”

Tess was checking up on them, trying to see if there were any gaps in their story. Alex cleared his throat as he touched Isabel’s arm. “Why don’t we invite her to go to the movie with us? We’re headin’ right back out anyway.”

She stared at him for a moment before nodding. It was their best chance of getting her out of the house. “Mom, do you know where my red shirt is? You know, the deep red button-down?”

Diane thought for a moment. “I’m sure it’s in your closet.” She shook her head and waved one hand in the air. “Why don’t you go make your plans and I’ll run check on your shirt.”

Isabel waited until her mother was safely out of earshot before she hurried into the kitchen, her gaze hard as she stared at the girl sitting at the breakfast table as if she had any right to be there. “What are you doing in my home?”

“Is that any way to treat a friend?” Tess asked with a fake smile.

Remember the plan, she reminded herself. “Why are you here? You know none of us are gonna hang out with you.”

Tess shrugged. “I thought it was worth a shot.” She leveled her icy blue gaze on Alex. “But apparently you’re all busy this weekend.”

“That’s right,” she snapped. “We’re all busy and our plans don’t and won’t include you. We’re not gonna hang out with you and give you the opportunity to try and get in our heads again.”

She just smiled slowly as she stood up and pushed her chair under the table. “That’s a shame. I suppose I’ll just have to find something else to occupy myself with.”

Isabel narrowed her eyes. “What’re you up to?” she asked, sliding a hint of suspicion into her voice.

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” She walked to the door and stepped outside, pulling it closed behind her.

Alex shook his head. “It’s a good thing we’ve been buildin’ our cover stories all week long.”

“She came to my house, Alex! This isn’t just about her checking our stories… she wants me to know that she can get to my parents if she wants to!” Her eyes widened. “My mom said Tess had checked with everyone… that means she could have contacted your parents, Maria’s mom, and Liz’s parents too. We need to call them and have them check on their parents. We need to go by and check on yours too.”

He nodded and rubbed her arm. “Go get ready and as soon as we can get away we’ll call them… on our way to my house.” He shook his head. “Actually, while I’m waitin’ for you I’m gonna call my mom and make sure she’s okay. My dad’s at work so… no, I’ll call him too.”

“I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Why? It’s not your fault that Tess is a psycho alien stalker.” He waved her out of the room. “Go on, the sooner you get ready the sooner we can go.”

She gave him a quick hug and turned to run out of the room. She could call Max as soon as her mom left her alone to change. Liz and Maria were both with him so he could relay the message to have them check on things with their own parents. She didn’t think any of them had been hurt in any way. Most likely Tess had just been digging for information, making sure they were all otherwise occupied and not in a position to stop her meeting with Michael the next day but it would be best to make sure.

[ArchAngel1973]

Cjsl8ne – Being overconfident is what can lead to a downfall. So in a way, it’s good that she is the way she is, for our group.

Eva –

Overconfident persons always make faults because they think they're invincible. And Tess is more than overconfident. So it's a fact that she's going to screw up. The only thing, or better said person, who can prevent her screw-up is Nacedo. He's a very mean and viscious man. I don't trust him.

Tess is in for a surprise, that’s for sure. She has underestimated Michael, Max and Isabel as individuals, as a group but she has also underestimated their love for their human families and friends. All in all, Tess is making lots of mistakes, due to her being way too sure of herself and of her powers.


Part 114

On Saturday afternoon the sun was shining brightly in the crisp blue sky but the temperature had dropped to the low 50s and there was a light breeze that had made jackets a necessity. The tribal office had been designated as the meeting place for the six of them and Michael had arrived early, parking in front of the building to wait for them. He turned his wrist to glance at his watch, seeing that they still had about ten minutes before they were late. His thumb went back to tapping against the steering wheel as he stared out through the windshield.

He had gone over the location he had chosen for the meeting several times during the week, carefully studying it from every angle in an effort to make sure he was prepared for any eventuality. He turned his head when he caught a movement from the corner of his eye and he saw the jeep following another car. A moment later he recognized Maria hanging over the front seat between Alex and Isabel, pointing at the office. As they had discussed they stopped and waited while he backed up and Maria hurried to climb into the truck when he stopped. As soon as she was belted in he led the way back off of the Rez and out onto the old highway to head north.

“Where’re we going?” Maria asked.

“Mustang Point.”

“Can Santana’s herd be seen from there?”

He shook his head and gave her a half-smile. It only made sense that her mind would make that connection. “Huh-uh, the herd doesn’t run that far north. There’s a rocky formation that resembles the head of a horse that sticks out on the side of the rock face below where we’re gonna be.”

“Have you already called Tess and given her instructions?”

“No, I’ll do that when we reach the station where we’re gonna leave their cars,” he said with a slight nod at their caravan.

“Well, how’re you gonna call Tess?”

“Pay phone. There’s a gas station on the old highway about seven miles past the entrance we’ll take to get to Mustang Point. We’ll drop the cars there, I’ll make the call and we’ll backtrack. I’ll get you guys stashed away and go back out to the highway to meet Tess and lead her to the meeting place.”

“What if she pulls one of her mind tricks on you before you get back to the rest of us?” Maria asked worriedly.

He shook his head. “I won’t give her the chance. I won’t get outta the truck or even talk to her. All I’m gonna do is lead the way and let her follow in her own car.”

At the gas station Michael went inside to talk to the owner, asking if they could leave two of the cars there while they went hiking. The man had agreed and told him where to park and when he walked back outside he pointed to the gravel lot on the side of the building and motioned for Alex and Max to pull over.

“Where’s the meeting place?” Isabel asked as she stepped out of Alex’ car.

Michael’s eyes slid over the designer blue jeans and the crisp red shirt under the leather jacket and he shook his head. “About 12 miles from here. Seven miles back the way we just came and then five miles onto the Rez.”

“12 miles?” Isabel glanced around with a frown. “Well, how’re we getting there if we’re leaving the cars here?”

“I think we’re just leaving our cars here, Isabel,” Alex said, biting his lip as she looked around and he saw her connecting the dots.

“What, you mean…”

“That’s right, princess,” Michael muttered as he dropped the tailgate.

Max climbed up into the back of the truck and held a hand out to Liz, helping her up. He held his hands up when Isabel just gave him a look before he could make an offer. Maria glanced at Michael when he made a sound of impatience and turned away, digging in his pocket for change.

“C’mon, Iz,” Alex said as he hopped up into the bed of the truck in one simple move. “Lemme give you a hand up.”

Maria went with Michael when he shook his head and walked across the parking lot to the old payphone at the opposite end, feeding the change into it and punching in the number he had memorized. She listened to him as he gave Tess instructions and she could tell that the girl wasn’t happy about what he was telling her.

“What?” Maria asked when he hung up, his hand curled tightly around the receiver as he stared at the highway.

He shook his head. “We should get goin’. I don’t trust her.”

“We should have about an hour and 10 minutes at least before she gets here.”

“If she was at home,” he said, his mind going over every sound he’d heard during the short conversation.

“Didn’t you call her house?”

“I called her house but somethin’ wasn’t right about the background noise.”

Maria’s eyes widened. “What, you think she forwarded her home phone to her cell?”

“I think we should hurry up.”

*****

The drive out to Mustang Point took another 20 minutes and Michael rushed them all out of the truck as soon as they arrived. He led the way up the short path that ran along the side of the bluff that was too narrow for a vehicle, keeping himself between them and the ledge when they reached the plateau.

He pointed to the line of boulders and brush surrounding them on two sides. “There’s plenty of places to stay outta sight but stay on the west side… by the time she gets here the sun’ll be behind your position… that’ll allow you to see her but with the sun in her eyes she won’t be able to see you.”

Alex crossed the space between them to look down over the edge. “That’s quite a drop,” he muttered.

“Yeah, so stay back from the ledge.” He spent the next few minutes going over their plan and then made sure they were all in place before he backed away and studied the scene, making sure they couldn’t be seen from where he stood. Satisfied that they were well hidden he backed away, his hand outstretched to brush their footprints away so there was no evidence that anyone had been there.

He turned and hurried back down to the truck, climbing in behind the wheel and driving down to the place where the dirt road met the old highway. He turned around so that he was facing away from the paved road and he checked his watch when he saw a car slow down on his left side. “Yeah, you were already on your way out here,” he muttered. As soon as she turned onto the dirt road he stuck his hand out the window and motioned for her to follow him.

*****

Tess parked behind the pickup truck and opened her door, her eyes locked on Michael when he carefully kept distance between them. He didn’t say so much as a word as he started walking along a path and she turned in a circle as she followed him.

“What made you decide to meet with me?” she asked when they reached the top of the path and the ground leveled out.

“Sounded to me like maybe you had somethin’ you wanted to say.”

“Then why all the secrecy?”

“You saw what I’ve gotta put up with,” he bit out. “Why bother goin’ through all that hassle just so I can find out what you want?” He shrugged and turned to face her. “What do you want?”

Tess observed him as she moved around, studying her surroundings and wondering if Nacedo had arrived yet. “You seem to have the most interest in learning about where we’re from and why we were sent to Earth.”

“We’ve already covered that.”

“Michael, you are the second in command. You have an obligation to Zan, to the throne and to our people.”

“Who’s Zan?” he asked.

“Max… that was his name on Antar.”

“Antar would be our planet,” he guessed. “The others aren’t interested in this whole destiny thing. They’re happy with their lives here.”

“And you? You were a formidable warrior on Antar, Michael. You commanded armies and cut down our enemies… as Rath you were ruthless.”

“Rath.” The name he’d chosen for his dog years ago.

Her eyes gleamed when he spoke, the name familiar on his tongue. “You remember,” she said. “You can become the soldier you were destined to be, Rath. Once we convince the others that they must join our cause, accept their destiny, we can return to our planet and reclaim our lives.”

“They won’t be convinced easily.”

“Then we have to convince them by whatever means are necessary.” She shook her head as she moved around.

“Before you threatened to remove anything that stood in your way.” He shrugged. “You suggested that Nacedo would kill anyone that he felt was a threat to carrying out this mission.”

Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at him. “The humans weaken you, they make you forget who and what you are. It is imperative to sever those,” she sneered, “relationships in order to awaken your alien sides.”
“What if they were to agree to accept their destiny? There would be no point in killing the humans.” He studied her expressions and body language as she considered his words.

“The humans are of no consequence, Rath. If Nacedo deems them a threat it won’t matter.”

“And how does he determine who is and isn’t a threat?” he asked carefully as fear began to build in his gut.

“It depends on how much he believes the humans know or even suspect about the three of you. It is likely that he will decide they must be destroyed.” She turned to look at him and closed the distance between them, reaching out to touch his arm, feeling the tension there.

Rapid flashes of their plan hit her and her anger grew by proportions as she realized she had once again been played by them. Hiding around her, waiting for their moment… did they really believe they were any match for her? Where was Nacedo? Why hadn’t he arrived to squash the human insects and rid them of the barrier so obviously standing in their way? It was up to her to dispose of the humans since he hadn’t taken care of it yet. Her eyes widened and she jerked her hand back and glanced around, throwing her hand out and flinging a blast towards the others.

Bits of rock and dirt flew through the air as several of the boulders exploded at the same time and Michael’s hand shot out, his own energy building as he spread his fingers wide and released it. Tess’ body was thrown back and she landed near an outcropping of rocks. He spared a quick glance at her unmoving form before he ran to the area where Maria had been hiding.

She had been knocked back several feet but she was already scrambling up and rushing to her friends. Max and Liz and gotten out of the way and Isabel had been able to shield the worst of the blast from Alex but he had several cuts and scrapes on his arms. He caught Maria’s hand, turning her toward him and checking her over to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, reaching up to touch his face. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes widened and he turned before he could answer, following her terrified gaze to the girl advancing on them. He grabbed Maria’s arm and pulled her behind him, vaguely aware of Max doing the same to Liz. Several feet away Isabel stood and positioned herself between Tess and Alex, her anger spiking when she saw the derisive glance the other girl sent in his direction.

“Weak,” Tess repeated. “See how easily they bleed? Their bodies are so fragile, their minds easy to manipulate, and they are so incredibly weak!” she screamed. “Do you have any idea how easy it is to wipe them out? To simply erase their existence?” She raised her hand, her intention to strike Alex with a burst of power obvious, but before she could release it she was lifted up and thrown back again.

“Don’t go near her,” Michael ordered when Tess slowly got to her feet once more and Isabel took several steps in her direction.

“Nacedo will remove these humans one by one. Your families, your friends, they will all be wiped from existence. You’ve made it clear that your ties to them are too strong for you to follow your destiny.” She leveled her icy gaze on Michael. “He will begin with you. Removing the human component will unleash Rath and it will allow you to become the fierce warrior you are destined to become.”

“I won’t let you or Nacedo hurt any of them. You come near Maria, my family or any of them,” he motioned at the others, “and you’ll never know what hit you,” Michael growled.

Her lips lifted in a cold smirk. He was so close to acknowledging his alien side, she could feel it! “I could kill them without a second thought, you’ve already realized that. I would never even have to touch them to do it, Rath. I have the ability to tear them to shreds with my mind. The only question is… do I start with Maria or your family? The right level of manipulation will destroy them from the inside out, drive them insane and eventually they’ll just drop dead.” She could see the anger building in him, could almost feel the air around them crackling with it.

Michael was vibrating with anger, fighting to hold it in and feeling it edging closer to the surface with every word. He stared at her when her gaze became focused and he tried to figure out what she was doing. He jerked around when he heard Maria gasp in pain and his right hand unclenched as he flung it out in Tess’ direction.

Tess cried out when the blast threw her towards the edge of the cliff and she grasped blindly in an effort to find something to stop her. Her hands latched onto impressions in the ground as she went over the edge and she sighed when her body didn’t fall any further. She hung suspended for less than a heartbeat before her unstable grip broke loose and her body plunged to the ground below.

[ArchAngel1973]

Eva – Nacedo has to appear, hmmm? Do you really think so? Yes, he is here but what can he do exactly? One thing Nacedo is good at: survival. That’s a hint.

Cjsl8ne – Yes, being overconfident is a fatal flaw and Tess is going to pay the price for that flaw.

Timelord31 – Tess will fall, in every sense of the word.


Part 115

He stared in disbelief as her scream echoed off of the cliff walls before slowly dissipating. The silence that surrounded him as the last echo bounced off of the walls was so quiet it was eerie. He hadn’t expected the meeting to end in this manner. He had warned her that she couldn’t predict the second in command’s actions but she had insisted that she knew what she was doing.

He had expected a confrontation and had anticipated the presence of the others in spite of her assurance that they were otherwise occupied. What he hadn’t expected was this outcome. It was too soon to push the second in command, to threaten the humans he had gotten close to. His reaction had been explosive and he had warned her that they didn’t know enough yet to push him.

Rath had been impulsive at times but he hadn’t been driven by human emotions the way this version of him was. It was something that made Michael even more unpredictable than his predecessor. As Rath, Nacedo knew what to expect of him, even at his more impulsive moments. But he was at a distinct disadvantage with Michael.

Without Tess his plans were invalid. She had been his way into the royal four dynamic and now that was ruined. He would need to leave Roswell. This incident would forge a bond between the hybrids and it was unlikely that they would listen to anything that he had to say. Michael had killed and if necessary he would do it again, but now he had the other hybrids behind him. There were also the humans to deal with now. Too many people were involved and killing all of them wasn’t the answer; there was too much risk now.

No, his only choice now was to leave, to regroup and come up with a new plan. He knew how to start over, create a new life, and blend in with the insects he despised so badly. He had allowed himself to hope that by being accepted by the hybrids, by completing the royal four, he would soon find himself on his way home. But that was lost to him now. Tess was lost to him and with her any chance of succeeding with the other hybrids. He had to make plans and quickly. He backed away from his hiding place and made his way back down to his car.

*****

The group rushed to the edge of the cliff, peering over the side to look down at the body lying motionless on the ground. Michael moved away from the others, putting distance between them as he swallowed down the sick feeling that had settled over him the moment he had seen Tess go over the edge.

“Do you think she’s…” Liz cleared her throat. “Should we go down there?”

“A fall like that, she has to be hurt,” Maria said quietly, her gaze continuously shifting to Michael.

Max bit his lip as he stared at Tess’ unmoving body and he rubbed his palms against his legs. They couldn’t take her to the hospital if she was hurt, and after a fall like that there was no way she wasn’t. He had the power to heal but healing her would leave them open to attack.

Isabel shook her head. “We can’t risk that,” she said, already knowing what her brother was thinking.

“That fall…” Michael shook his head. “It’d be a miracle if she survived that.”

“You think she’s dead?” Alex asked. He rubbed his right arm, wincing when his hand brushed over raw places where he had been hit by flying rocks. “If she is dead… what do we do with her body? We can’t just leave it out here.”

Maria glanced at her boyfriend once more before they all focused on the body below. “We’re gonna have to…” She reached blindly for his arm when Tess’ body suddenly seemed to collapse in on itself, turning into a pile of dust that was picked up on the wind and blown away. “What the…” She looked at the others. “Um, what just happened?”

“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” Alex murmured.

Max felt a sense of relief when the body disintegrated before their very eyes. He turned his head to look at Michael, wondering what was going through his mind at that moment.

“We should go.”

Maria looked at her boyfriend when he spoke suddenly. His body was taut and his voice filled with tension. “What about her car? We can’t just leave it here. If they start looking for her and find her car out here… it’s not right in your backyard, but it’s close enough.”

“It’s out of sight for now. We’ll figure it out later.”

The fact that he wasn’t focusing on the potential danger of Tess’ car being found out in the desert was a red flag. He was withdrawing, pulling away from her and trying to distance himself from the situation. She wanted to talk to him, to reassure him that what had happened wasn’t his fault but she knew he wouldn’t appreciate that if it was just the two of them. With a group around them? It would be even less appreciated.

Max and Isabel exchanged a look.

“We might be able to do something about it,” he offered. “Isabel can dissolve things… if I add my powers to hers we might be able to – “

“Whatever, just do it so we can go,” Michael snapped. “We need to get outta here.”

When they reached the car Max and Isabel started to discuss the best way to go about ‘dissolving’ the vehicle, which only seemed to aggravate Michael. He moved back out of the way when Maria reached out to him and he pointed at Alex and Liz.

“We need to get your vehicles while they’re doin’ that.” He shook his head. “We don’t have time to waste waitin’ around.”

“I don’t know that separating is a good idea right now,” Max said.

Alex glanced at Michael before he moved closer to Isabel and her brother. “I think we’d better do as he suggested. The guy’s on edge… he just killed someone. Granted, it was an alien who was prepared to kill the humans in this group, but she’s still dead. Look, it’ll take half an hour tops for us to get the jeep and my car and get back here.”

Max studied Michael for a solid minute, observing the way he stood apart from everyone including Maria. He bit his bottom lip and nodded. “I think maybe that’s a good idea.”

“Great, now that we’ve got your approval, let’s get goin’.” He climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine, ignoring Maria when she slid in beside him. He slapped his hand against the outside of the door impatiently when he realized that the others hadn’t moved yet. As soon as they had scrambled into the bed of the truck and sat down he maneuvered the truck around and drove past Max and Isabel.

Maria watched him as the tires quickly ate up the distance to the gas station. “Michael, we should talk about what just happened.”

“We’re not talkin’ about it,” he said, his tone final. “It happened and it’s over.”

“I know you don’t want to think about it right now – “

“I’m not gonna think about it at all,” he snarled. “She was a threat and she’s been dealt with!” His grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white.

“It only happened because she – “

“What part of it’s over did you not understand?”

Liz bit her lip as she listened to the muted voices screaming back and forth and she glanced at Alex. “That didn’t go the way I had imagined it would,” she said, her voice raised to carry over the wind whipping past the truck.

“No. I’ve got a feelin’ Michael’s not gonna stick around once he drops us off.”

She thought about that for a few minutes before nodding. “You don’t think he’ll take Maria with him.”

“The guy doesn’t really seem like the let’s-talk-things-out type to me.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the couple arguing in the cab. “That right there sounds like she knows what he intends to do.”

Maria stared at Michael when he pulled into the parking lot and put the brakes on behind the other two vehicles. “Get out,” he growled. “I want you to stay with your friends… I need to get outta here.”

“At least tell me where you’re going, Michael.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he bit out.

She was silent for a moment, aware of her friends watching her from their position standing between the jeep and Alex’s car. She reached out and rested her hand on his arm, feeling the tight muscles jerk at the contact. “You need to get this straight in your head and I can respect that. I don’t like it, but I do respect it. Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid or dangerous… and that you’ll call me when you’ve found what you’re looking for.”

Michael stared straight ahead, the muscle in his tightly-clenched jaw ticking rapidly.

“I’m not getting out until you agree. It’s hard enough knowing that you think you need to deal with this alone. Yes, it’s a horrible thing to have to deal with and no matter what the reason you’ll have to live with her death for the rest of your life, but you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here… and I’m not the only one. They’re gonna have to deal with it too! We were all there, Michael. We’re all responsible to some degree for her death.”

He shook his head and his voice sounded like broken glass when he spoke. “You’re not the ones who killed her.”

“You’ll call me,” she said insistently.

He nodded finally. “When I’m ready.”

She wanted to lean over and kiss him but wasn’t sure how he would react. She almost got out without doing it but after a moment she moved closer to him and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Michael.”

His jaw clenched even tighter and he nodded mutely, still not looking at her as she opened the door and got out. As soon as she shut the door and backed away he pulled out of the parking lot, stomping on the gas pedal as soon as the tires found purchase on the blacktop.

“That didn’t go too well,” Alex said quietly.

“No,” Maria agreed worriedly, her gaze following the cloud of dust kicking up behind the fast disappearing taillights.

“He didn’t have any choice,” Liz spoke up. “Tess was hurting you and she was threatening all of us.”

“I know.” Maria’s tone was somber as she turned to look at her friends. “I know that, and somewhere deep down, he knows it too. But, no matter what the reason, he just killed someone.”

Alex smiled and waved when the store owner stepped outside to check out the activity by the vehicles. “We should get goin’ before we draw any more attention.”

Nearly 20 minute later they arrived at the place where they had left Max and Isabel and they climbed out of the vehicles, taking in the exhausted aliens sitting on a large boulder. Tess’ car was nowhere to be seen and Maria wondered how they had managed to make that happen.

“Where’s Michael?” Isabel asked.

Maria shook her head, watching Liz and Alex as they joined their aliens and suddenly felt like a fifth wheel. “He took off after letting us out at the gas station.”

Isabel studied her. “You’re worried about him.”

Max looked up at her, silently assessing her mood. “Isabel and I could go look for him,” he offered.

“You won’t find him, Max.” She shook her head. “He knows the Reservation like the back of his hand and you’ve never even been there.”

“We might not find him, but we can try.”

Isabel nodded. “The three of you should probably go back to Roswell, make sure you’re seen. Just in case anything comes up with Tess later you guys will have been seen hanging out. We’ll call you if we find him and if not… we’ll meet you back at Alex’s house when we’ve exhausted our search.”

Liz reached out to touch Maria’s arm when she looked like she was going to protest. “No, Maria, what if you run into his family? Wouldn’t they want to know where he is if he’s not with you?”

“Good point,” Alex agreed. “Besides, Isabel’s right about us establishing an alibi.” Who would’ve ever thought their senior year they’d be planning the best way to create an alibi because they had killed an alien who had threatened to kill them?

[ArchAngel1973]

Eva – Max and Isabel aren’t afraid of Michael and they are starting to accept him. It’s not as if they were strangers to each other anymore. They are the same, aliens on Earth, it creates a bond. And now, there’s a stronger bond building, with the secret about Tess’s death linking them.

Cjsl8ne – Nacedo was taken by surprise, with Tess’s death. This was one outcome that he hadn’t predicted. He had trained her, after all, and she was meeting Michael who, although dangerous in his past life, had been… humanized, in a way. And it happened so fast that he couldn’t do anything. And Michael wasn’t alone, Max and Isabel were there, too. Nacedo knows when not to attack and when to retreat. That’s why he is still alive.


Part 116

Michael forced the last 45 minutes to the back of his mind as he pushed the limits of the engine, mindless of the needle beginning to dip low on the right. The fingers of his left hand picked at a loose thread on his jeans while the fingers of his right clenched tightly around the steering wheel, his grip so convulsive the imprint of the cover was being tattooed on his palm and fingers. His foot moved back off of the gas pedal when he saw the entrance to the Rez up ahead, braking and taking the turn faster than he should have.

He zigzagged along the smaller roads to get to his house, jerking into the driveway and slamming on the brakes. He barely registered the relief he felt at the realization that neither of his parents was home as he hurried inside. He couldn’t think straight. His mind kept trying to go back to the meeting, to Tess going over the edge, to the reality that he was a murderer. He needed to get away. He needed to clear his head so he could figure out what to do next.

Maggie looked up from the television show she was watching when the front door slammed shut and a moment later her brother practically ran past the entry to the living room. “Hey, Mi – “ She frowned when he didn’t bother to say a single word to her and a moment later she heard him slamming things around in his room. She got up to follow him, pausing in his open doorway when she saw his agitated movements as he collected some things and threw them in his duffel bag.

“Has there been another sighting?”

“No,” he bit out.

“Running away from home?” she joked.

“Get lost, Maggie.”

She could hear the stress in his voice and she bit her lip as she considered how to continue. Maybe it was Maria. She had never known anything or anyone else to get to him the way the blonde did. “You and Maria have a fight?”

“No!”

She watched him as he grabbed a handful of clothes and shoved them into his bag before jerking the zipper closed. He pushed past her to get out of his room, rushing back along the hallway to the front door. She followed him, her worry increasing when he went straight out to the truck and threw his bag inside before sliding in behind it.

“Michael, what’s going on?” she asked as she reached in through the open window and grabbed a handful of his shirt. “Hey, talk to me! Where’re you going?” Something had to have happened for him to be acting like this, but he wasn’t going to talk. She knew it as well as she knew her own name.

She stared at him when he pried her fingers off of his shirt, shaking his head at her as he backed out. He made sure he was clear of the driveway before he stomped on the gas and sped down the road, leaving nothing but a plume of dust and one very confused sister in his wake.

Unable to determine where he was going by the direction he had taken, Maggie ran back inside. What should she do? She had no way of going after him. Should she call Mom and Dad? But what if it wasn’t anything serious? No, scratch that, she knew it was serious. Maybe it really did have something to do with Maria. If that were the case then getting their parents upset and having them leave their jobs in the middle of their shifts would be a waste of time. No, there had to be a way to figure out what was going on with him without getting everyone in an uproar. Maria! Of course, she would know what was going on with him.

She went back down the hall to his room and stood in the doorway for a moment, biting her bottom lip as she looked around. Where would he keep Maria’s phone number? They had stopped nosing around each other’s rooms a couple of years ago after coming to an understanding about their privacy. Extreme circumstances called for extreme measures though, right? Something like that, she decided as she sat down at his desk and started to flip through some papers piled at the back corner. She was snooping for his own good. She was his sister and it was her job to worry about him. Besides, what would she tell their parents if they came home and Michael was still gone? She had to have something to tell them because she had a bad feeling he wasn’t planning to be back home for dinner.

After a couple of minutes she replaced the papers and stood up to rifle through the books on the shelf. She came up empty-handed there too. She sighed as she looked around, spotting the trunk at the foot of his bed and nodding to herself. She leaned over to unlatch it, glancing at the photo albums he kept there. The things in the trunk were private; things that were close to his heart. She pulled the first album out and flipped through it, doing her best to not invade his privacy any more than necessary as she searched for the elusive phone number.

She lifted up the newest album and flipped through the pages, running her fingertips over a picture of Michael standing next to Santana and Mirage. Maria had to have taken it, she realized. No one else had ever gone out with him to watch the wild horses. She flipped past a few more pictures before she found what she was looking for as the piece of paper with two phone numbers and Maria’s name scrawled above them fell out. She snatched it up and hurried to put everything back before running to the kitchen to grab the phone.

Cell phone, she decided as she punched in the first number on the paper. She stared at the floor as she paced, praying Maria would answer the call. She sighed in relief when the call was answered a few moments later.

“Hello?”

“Maria, it’s Maggie.” She wasted no time getting to the point. “What’s going on?”

Maria rubbed the bridge of her nose as she tried to figure out what she was going to say. “You’ve seen your brother?”

“Yeah, he was just here and now he’s gone. What happened, Maria?”

“It’s not really something I can talk about,” she said, hoping Maggie would pick up on the cautious tone in her voice.

Maggie nodded to herself. “Was it bad?”

“Yeah, it was bad. It’s not related in any way to your relationship with him or even mine with him. It has nothing to do with my friends or anything like that… it’s just… I am worried about him, Maggie, and I think we need to look for him.”

“Alright, I’ll look here. I’m a lot more familiar with things than you are.”

Maria understood what Maggie was saying and she took a calming breath before she spoke again. “When you find him…?”

“I’ll call as soon as I know where he is.” She had a feeling she knew exactly where he had gone.

*****

River Dog lifted his weathered face to the wind, closing his eyes and listening for several long minutes before he turned to stare at the road that led from his house out to the main road. He ignored the ringing telephone he could hear through the open front door as he waited for whatever was about to happen. He could feel it on the air; the feeling that something was about to happen, that something had changed to alter the balance.

Silence fell over his home once more and as he watched the horizon he saw a dust cloud begin to rise into the air. Just moments later he saw his son’s pickup truck racing up the old dirt road and he knew something was wrong. He walked further out into the yard, his features remaining calm as his grandson braked to a skidding halt mere inches from him.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Michael yelled as he jumped out of the truck and rounded the hood to glare at the old man.

“The better question would be: What’s wrong with you, Magnum?” River Dog asked, his tone placid. He could see the telltale signs that something wasn’t right with the boy and at first he discounted it as one of Michael’s moods. But as he watched him pace agitatedly, opening his mouth and uttering incomplete sounds as though he were trying to speak but couldn’t quite form the words he realized that it was more than just a mood. He knew better than to push before the boy was ready; it had never achieved any success. It was best to wait and let him open up when he reached a place where he could talk about whatever was bothering him. He wasn’t prepared for the words when they finally came out.

“I killed someone,” Michael spit out, the words raw and uncensored. “Someone like me.” His eyes dropped to his hands as he held them out before him. “I killed a girl my age who was just like me.” He finally raised his eyes to meet his grandfather’s gaze, scared of what he would see there.

River Dog braced one hand on the hood of the truck, feeling the heat from the engine seeping into his palm. He met his grandson’s gaze and held it in the silence that followed Michael’s outburst. After a solid minute of direct eye contact the words seemed to sink in and he pushed away from the truck, walking over to the boy and reaching up to place his hands on his shoulders. “Tell me, boy.”

Michael spit the story out, telling the old man everything he could think of and leaving nothing out. He knew River Dog would listen and tell him what he should do. The words spilled out of him; hot, angry, and hurt, they tumbled over each other in their rush to be free and when he had finished retelling the story he felt drained.

River Dog was silent for several minutes following his grandson’s revelations and he motioned for him to follow him over to the front porch. They took a seat on the top step and he stared out into the distance as he weighed his words. “Things are not black and white, Magnum. Rarely in life is anything so easy when determining right and wrong.” He paused a moment. “Yes, you killed her. Another living being. What would she have done to you had she lived? What would she have done to Maria? Your sister and parents? To anyone who crossed her path and did not meet with her expectations?”

Michael stared at his grandfather, soaking in his words.

“Everything happens for a reason. Was it a good thing? A bad thing? Or was it maybe something that was meant to happen?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that you have to accept what you have done. And you also have to think about the ones you love and remember that it was their safety that was in your mind.” He patted the boy’s leg. “Living beings always protect the ones they love.” He looked directly into Michael’s troubled eyes. “At all cost.”

Michael listened to what River Dog was saying, needing so badly to believe that this wasn’t as simple as he was now a murderer.

“Was Tess a threat?” he asked after a moment.

There was no hesitation. “Yes.”

“Then you will think on it – “

Michael shook his head. “I can’t go home right now, River Dog.”

The old man looked at the boy before nodding at the desert surrounding them. “You need to cleanse your spirit, Magnum.”

He followed his grandfather’s gaze. “A vision quest?”

“Let the spirits guide you, Michael. When you return in four days your spirit will be cleansed, you will be able to see this more clearly, and you will know what you should do.”

*****

Maria disconnected from the call and looked at the others. They hadn’t left the place where Michael had left them yet because they hadn’t been able to come up with a solid plan. Max and Isabel had offered to go and look for Michael, but they had no more of an idea where to look than she did. She was familiar with a few places on the Rez, but not enough to tell them where to look or even how to get to those places. They had never been on the Rez so they would be obvious if they started driving around aimlessly. None of them had any familiarity with the desert and Michael had been raised with knowledge of the desert. Liz had been the one to point out that they would be lost out there, not knowing where to look or what to do and even though they all wanted to help, they had to accept that it was true.

“We should go back to Roswell and wait,” she said, hating to put even more distance between her and Michael. “Maggie will call as soon as she knows anything.”

“Maybe we could wait with you,” Liz offered quietly.

“Yeah,” Isabel said with a slight smile. “Since we can’t do much about looking for him we can at least keep you company while you’re waiting for news.”

Maria looked around at them when she heard the others making sounds of agreement. She nodded after a moment, seeing the sincerity in their expressions. They wanted to help find Michael but none of them knew what to do and right now Maggie was their best bet at finding him. “That’d be nice.”

Max glanced at his girlfriend. “Would you guys like to ride together? Iz can ride with me if you want.”

She looked at Maria and raised one eyebrow in silent question. Would Maria want that after the way things had been the past few months?

“I’d like that,” Maria said after a moment. “If Isabel doesn’t mind.”

Isabel squeezed Alex’ hand, not even questioning when their hands had become joined. She nodded in acquiescence and she and Max climbed into the jeep, waiting for Maria, Liz and Alex to pile into his car so they could follow them out of the parking lot.

*****

Maggie finally pulled up in front of her grandfather’s house nearly an hour and a half after Michael had taken off. She’d had to wait for Linda to come over so she could borrow the jeep and then she’d had to drop Linda off at home before she could head out to her grandfather’s house.

“Grandpa!” she shouted as she ran up to his front door.

River Dog stepped out of the shed at the back of his house and waved to Maggie to get her attention. He smiled when she ran over to him, knowing why she was there.

“Grandpa, where’s Michael? Something happened but he won’t talk about it. All I know is Maria said it was really bad…” she trailed off when she noticed Dad’s truck parked next to the house.

“Are your parents at work?”

“Yeah, why? What’s – “

“Your brother will be fine, Maggie. I want you to go home and wait for your parents and I’ll come over when they get there. We’ll discuss this as a family.”

Maggie knew better than to argue with her grandfather. “You’re sure Michael’s okay? He didn’t seem like he was okay when he came to the house and grabbed a bunch of his stuff like he was gonna take off.”

“He’ll be fine,” he repeated patiently. “Now go home. I’ll come by later this evening.”

“But…”

“Go.”

“What do I tell Maria? She’s worried about him too.”

“Tell her he’ll be fine. Go now.”

When she had gone he turned to look out into the desert, whispering a silent prayer for the spirits to watch over his grandson and to help him to find peace. He knew the spirits would guide him and they would show him what he needed to know to continue his journey. Growing up as he had along with his innate sense of survival, Michael knew how to co-exist with nature and wildlife in the desert.

Four days in the desert with nothing more than water, the clothes on his back, and only his conscience for company could drive a man insane, but Michael was strong in mind, body and spirit. If he had grown up differently he wouldn’t have had an appreciation or understanding of the vision quest. He would return with a renewed sense of purpose and the fragile balance that determined his path would be restored.

[ArchAngel1973]

Eva –

This Michael is so much stronger emtionally cause he's raised in the reservation with a lot of love and cultural background. And though he's still Michael (unsociable, alert and always ready to pull the walls around him), he can't escape the native roots he's brought up in. Even if he doesn't want to. And that will save him in the end.

This Michal has a safety net, cultural ideas and belief where he can fall back on. I really believe that will help him to give everything a place in his mind.

That’s exactly it. Michael has a safety net in his family and his cultural roots. It will help him a lot to get over what has happened because no matter what, killing someone is a traumatism.

Cjsl8ne –

I like that the group gathered together to support Maria. Maybe the bad blood will finally be forgotten and the group will emerge united.

Good foreshadowing. Yes, an event like that is bound to help Maria and her friends to bond even more.

PML – Yes, things have changed and in a bad way. Michael now has to face the consequences of his acts.

Timelord 31 – We’ll see how the vision quest goes for Michael. But it’s something necessary for him to do because he needs it.


Part 117

Maria walked into the house, paying little attention to the curious looks Isabel was aiming at the interior decorating choices her mom had made. She left them in the living room and went to get drinks for everyone, pausing when she realized Liz had joined her and fallen into step with her.

“I thought I could give you a hand,” the brunette offered with a quiet smile.

“Maria, I thought I heard you come in.” Amy fell silent as she observed the girl standing with her daughter and she hid her surprise when she saw the others in the living room behind them. She saw the hesitant look on Alex’s face when he raised his hand to wave at her. She didn’t know the other two teenagers but she recognized them from seeing them around town. Maria had mentioned that Liz and Alex were seeing people and she assumed that’s who the new faces were.

“We were just gonna hang out, Mom, maybe have something to eat.”

Amy nodded, sensing that something had changed between them to make Maria comfortable enough to bring them home with her. Maybe they were going to be able to work things out between them.

“Were you on your way out?” Maria asked, noticing the way her mother was dressed.

“Gabriel and I have a date.”

She smiled and nodded. “Have a good time, Mom.”

Amy hugged her daughter and glanced at the other teenagers, feeling the difference. It was obvious that everything hadn’t been settled, but it looked like they were finally finding some common ground to work from. “The fridge is stocked so you kids make yourselves at home and have a good time together. Maria, if you need anything, honey, call me. If you can’t reach my cell phone for any reason, Gabriel’s number is on the fridge.”

The girls got drinks for everyone after Amy left and they settled down in the living room. After several minutes of silence, Alex finally spoke up.

“Maybe we should talk about what happened,” he suggested.

Isabel glanced at him and then at the others before nodding. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’m relieved she’s gone.” It was her fear of Tess that had pushed her to seek out Michael, hoping he could help them figure out a way to handle her. “She was another living being, but she was willing to kill anyone who got in her way and that included our families, so I don’t feel bad that she’s gone.” She glanced at Maria and her tone softened. “My only regret is that Michael’s having a difficult time right now. I can only imagine that what he’s dealing with can’t be easy and it can’t be easy for you to have him push you away when he needs you most.”

Max nodded his head in agreement. “I keep thinking I should be horrified that Michael killed her, but…” he shook his head. “She was one of us even though she’d been corrupted by Nacedo, but at the same time there’s that little voice at the back of my mind that keeps reminding me her death was best for everyone concerned.” He looked down when Liz threaded her fingers through his. “I can’t help thinkin’ that her dying somehow saved us all. As horrible as I know it sounds, Michael did the right thing.”

“He didn’t want to kill her,” Maria insisted.

Alex cleared his throat, glancing at her and seeing the worry in her expression. “No, you’re right. I think the first thing we should remember here is that he didn’t take aim at her with the intent of killing her. It was the result of him protecting Maria, protecting all of us. However, we have to look at it from the other side too. Tess was a threat to all of us as well as everyone we care about. She drove that point home when she showed up at your house the other day.”

Max was relieved to hear the agreement coming from the other guy. Somehow having Alex backing him up validated his belief that Tess’ death, while horrible, was necessary.

Maria watched them, hearing the conversation without really listening to what was being said. All she could think about was Michael. She wondered how much Tess’ death was going to cost him because she knew it wouldn’t come without a price. The question was how high would it be? Would her death make him wary of his powers? Would it make him leave his family, leave her, just to protect them from himself?

She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he replaying that scene with Tess over and over again, torturing himself by going over how it could have played out differently? He was probably alone somewhere, hurting and questioning himself. Someplace only he knew about where no one who cared about him could get to him to comfort him and reassure him.

Liz was glancing up when she caught the sheen of tears shimmering in her friend’s eyes and she hurried to get up, rushing over to Maria and taking her in her arms. “It’s gonna be okay, Maria,” she assured her. “He’s gonna be okay.” She rubbed Maria’s back and rocked her gently as she talked. “You’ve gotta trust Michael. You have from the very beginning, right? So you mustn’t give up on him. You’ve just gotta trust that he’ll come back.”

“Mustn’t?” Maria echoed with a watery chuckle. “Did you really just say the word mustn’t?”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I think I did.”

“Since when do you ever use the word mustn’t?”

Liz laughed and shrugged. “It just seemed right, okay?”

Alex watched them for a few moments before decided to lighten the mood in the room. “Is anybody else hungry? Because I’m starving and if you girls don’t cook somethin’ soon I’m not gonna be responsible for what happens.”

All three girls turned to look at him and Maria was the first to break the silence. “If you’re so hungry you can go make something. You’ve got two good hands, there’s a fridge in the kitchen, and I’m sure you remember your way around in there. So feel free to help yourself.”

“Ah, it’s good to be loved, isn’t it?” Alex slapped Max on the back as he stood. “C’mon, wanna give me a hand with makin’ somethin’ to eat?”

Max made a face. “Maybe we could just order a couple pizzas.”

Maria nodded her assent and she looked down at her cell phone that was clenched tightly in her hand and she made a futile wish for it to ring. She knew Maggie would call as soon as she had news, but the waiting was driving her crazy.

*****

Maggie was hanging the phone up after talking to Maria when she heard her parents at the front door. How was she going to tell them? What was she going to tell them? They were going to know something was wrong as soon as she opened her mouth. She was a horrible liar. Why hadn’t Grandpa just come back to the house with her? She looked at the phone her hand was still resting on. Maria had been relieved when she had told her that Michael had gone to their grandfather but she was understandably concerned about him going out into the desert for four days on a vision quest. It wasn’t something that was easy to understand for those who hadn’t grown up in their culture.

John helped his wife off with her coat and hung it up along with his as they conversed about their day. He was laughing at some story she was telling when they walked into the kitchen and saw their daughter waiting for them.

“You haven’t started dinner yet?” Catherine asked as she went to the sink to wash her hands.

“Um, no.”

“Where’s Michael?” John motioned outside. “I noticed the truck isn’t here.”

“Oh, Michael… he’s um…” She bit her bottom lip for a moment. “Well, actually, Grandpa wanted to talk to you about Michael.” There, that would get the spotlight off of her. Let Grandpa handle it. Mom was going to lose it when she found out what had happened and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that mood.

“River Dog… what does your grandfather have to tell us about Michael?”

Maggie shrugged and glanced outside, wishing Grandpa would hurry up and get there before she had to attempt an outright lie.

John’s gaze moved from his wife to his daughter, easily seeing that she wasn’t telling the whole truth. He had no doubt that something was going on that his father would be coming over to explain, but he was certain that she knew where her brother was. He knew Catherine was preoccupied, trying to get dinner started, wondering what River Dog was coming over to talk to them about and how it concerned Michael.

“I should go get washed up so I can help with dinner,” Maggie said, hoping to make her escape so she could call her grandfather and find out what was taking him so long.

“Maggie,” Catherine called just as she stepped out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Have you talked to your brother?”

“Um, yeah, a couple hours ago.”

John’s eyes narrowed slightly when she shifted from one foot to the other and her gaze shot to the clock on the wall behind her mother. She hadn’t talked to her brother recently, he was sure of that. She was doing everything she could to keep from telling a direct lie and that was cause to worry in his book. Something was going on and it was serious enough that Maggie didn’t want to be the one to tell them about it.

“Go on and get cleaned up, Maggie.” He hid a small smile when she hurried out of the room and down the hall.

“Michael should’ve been home by now,” Catherine was saying as she started dinner.

For the next 20 minutes or so she kept up a running commentary, her mind busy turning over possible reasons why her father-in-law needed to come over and talk to them about their son. Had he gotten into something that could get him in trouble? What if he had gotten hurt? No, surely if he was hurt River Dog wouldn’t wait to bring him home. She paused, the pot she held suspended above the burner. Maggie would have mentioned it if Michael had been hurt.

She turned from the waist up when she heard a car door slam and she frowned when she saw her husband’s truck outside. “John, did you see Michael?” she asked, drying her hands on a dishtowel as she crossed the kitchen to look outside.

“No, I didn’t. I’ll go let my dad in,” he said as he left the room.

Catherine was twisting the dishtowel into knots when her husband and father-in-law came into the kitchen with Maggie behind them. She craned her neck to one side in an attempt to spot Michael, feeling her worry increase when she didn’t see or hear him. The questions started to tumble out before she had time to think about them.

“Where’s Michael? Why isn’t he with you?”

River Dog raised his right hand in a bid for silence. “Michael came to see me earlier this afternoon.”

“Is he alright?”

“Cath, let him tell us what happened,” John insisted, taking her hand and stilling her nervous movements.

The old man’s gaze was even as he studied his family. He knew he had to choose his words carefully. He was there to make them understand what was happening; he wasn’t there to scare them. “Michael told you that he had met others like him, that he felt one of them was dangerous.”

She looked at her husband fearfully. “Yes, he told us about them.”

“He and the others met with this girl today. She had made threats and he believes that she was prepared to carry them out. Like him, like the others, she had abilities and she attempted to use them against Michael and the others. He reacted, his only intention to protect, and as a result the girl was killed.”

Maggie’s eyes widened in shock. No wonder Michael had been so upset when he had come home earlier.

“Killed,” Catherine echoed, her voice barely above a whisper. She began to pace around the kitchen, her movements agitated. “No,” she muttered to herself, “this isn’t possible.” Michael would be devastated. It wouldn’t matter that the life he had taken was that of someone dangerous. It would only matter that someone had died at his hands. “Is he okay?” She shook her head at the stupidity of the question. He had killed someone, of course he wasn’t okay! She continued to pace until her husband reached for her hand and stopped her. She turned on her father-in-law and demanded, “Where is he?”

“He’s gone out into the desert. He’s lost the balance and it needs to be restored.”

“You just let him go out there alone?!” It was a part of their culture and she knew her son was strong enough physically and mentally to handle the elements, but it wasn’t so easy to think rationally when her son was out there, alone and hurting.

“Catherine,” John said quietly. “Michael knows what he needs to do to deal with this. The boy’s nearly a man and he knows his own mind.”

“It was necessary,” River Dog said. “His mind and spirit are wounded by what has happened. He has to accept his actions before he can find peace within himself. When he returns the most important thing is for him to have your understanding. You should use the time while he is on his vision quest to accept what has happened.”

Catherine wasn’t happy with what her father-in-law was saying and she didn’t like how easily her husband was accepting things, but she knew she didn’t have much choice in the matter. She fussed with the pots on the stove, readjusting the lids and taking them off before replacing them once more. Finished with that she picked up a sponge from the back of the sink and started to scrub at a nonexistent spot on the counter. No matter how old Michael got he would always be her little boy, but as much as she knew she had to let him go, it was still hard to do. The time had come to show that she understood he was growing into a man, that she knew he had to make his own decisions. And she had to find a way to live with them.

John watched his wife, recognizing her tense movements for what they were. It was a coping mechanism, something she did when she was on emotional overload. She would flitter about, doing meaningless tasks to occupy her mind. In this situation she was trying to prevent her mind from imagining every possible catastrophic scenario involving Michael alone in the desert. She would calm, but it would take time for her to reach a place where she could accept this new situation.

[ArchAngel1973]

PML

Good part. It will be interesting to see what Michael's thoughts about it all are. On the show it took him a lot of time before he was truly over it.

But with a stable and loving family, and even a more stable relationship with Maria, it will be intersting to see where you both take this.

In our story, Michael has had a more solid background, which helps his case. But it’s true that killing another being is not something that’s easy to recover from. Hence the vision quest. Michael is looking for answers, why did it happen, why did he react this way, how will he go on now?

Cjsl8ne

I hope he will emerge unharmed mentally and physically from his quest.

That’s the goal of that quest, to emerge mentally and physically well from it and to go on living with what he has done.

Timelord31 – Thanks for reading.

Eva

If Michael returns he will find his friends and his family. They will be there for him. I can only hope he'll find some peace in his mind.

If Michael returns? Huh huh, we are candies and Michael fans, not if but when Michael returns. No need to worry about that.

Alien Friend – First of all, thank you so much for your long review. It was really great to get a review from a new reader and who spent hours reading this fic entirely!

I love the strength and the comfort that his family brings to his upbringing and his character and how it allows him to have moments like that. But at the same time he is still the Michael that we all know and love that is high strong and acts impulsively and doesn't want to put up with b.s. and just goes after what he wants. I really like that.

That was a real challenge, to write a happy and serene Michael who would stay the Michael we all know in the show. We wrote him sometimes blowing up, unfairly, at his family because that’s how Michael should still react. We wrote him not being totally accepted by his Native American family (Dakota and his mother), to show that his life wasn’t perfect. But yes, it was hard to balance those elements.

Michael's mom and her hesitation to let her son go into the world and have this relationship with Maria, it's sad to see. But totally understandable. I really respect you bringing a whole new twist to their obstacles but at the same time you know it won't be too much of a problem because they love each other so much.

Obstacles are normal in a story but we didn’t want to use the regular ones, aka Destiny, having dreams which don’t coincide, another guy or another girl… we thought, what if the obstacle was very human and very common, Michael’s mother not accepting her son’s girlfriend? It happens every day in real life and we thought that it would be a novelty in a candy fic, to have Maria being rejected as Michael’s girlfriend by Michael’s mother just because… no real reason, just because she is the one that Michael loves and that it’s something that Michael’s mother has a hard time accepting

. I love the way you use the Native American community as this huge backdrop and how you educate us about them and open our eyes to different things. The thanksgiving thing and them not celebrating or seeing it how the larger populations does was really interesting.

THANK YOU! That was one of our goals, to get our readers to see the Native American world in a different light, under a more realistic and sometimes tragic, angle. It was one of our main goals, and as challenging as keeping Michael in touch with canon Michael.

And those flashbacks in the beginning of Michael trying to understand this world he was put in and just the way you described it, I thought that was really cool. It was great of you to took the time to go into that mindset and describe it in a way that is not usually told.

We thought that explaining Michael’s past through flashbacks would be original. Glad to see that it was a success, at least with you. This little Michael was such a cutie, so lost, no wonder that Catherine got so attached to him and so protective of him, her attitude finds her roots in the way that Michael was found and in the condition he was found, like a little wild child.


Part 118

Michael walked deeper into the desert, leaving his grandfather’s home in the distance. He carried only two canteens of water and his backpack, leaving everything else behind. He would walk out until he found a place that felt right and he would spend the next few days there. He would remain in the desert, in seclusion, until he had experienced his vision and deciphered its meaning.

The desert floor shimmered in the late afternoon sun and he squinted against its brightness. The heat was slowly dissipating as the sun moved further west and he knew once night fell the temperatures would as well. He wasn’t concerned about surviving the elements because he had been raised to respect Mother Nature and he knew how to handle himself.

The longer he walked, the closer his mind came to revisiting that moment at Mustang Point. Closing his eyes against the images was a waste of time because they played clearly with or without the canvas of his eyelids. He hadn’t used his powers with the intention of killing her; he had only wanted to stop her before she could hurt Maria. Or the others, of course, but Maria had been his priority. What would have happened if he had just injured her? If he had been able to control his powers and stop her without killing her.

What if Max and Isabel had joined him and they had used their powers collectively to control her? Would that have prevented her from going over the cliff? Or would it have just meant killing her sooner, making all of them responsible for her death? He didn’t know them that well but he did know he wouldn’t wish this weight on anyone else. He hadn’t liked Tess and he hadn’t wanted her near Maria, his family, or the others but he hadn’t expected things to escalate and end the way they had. She hadn’t been willing to consider that the Destiny crap she was spouting was wrong and she hadn’t been interested when they told her they wanted no part of it. He wondered if her crazed mind had ever thought about the consequences of her actions.

The shadows grew longer as the sun began its descent and he hefted his pack higher on his shoulders when his feet brought him to the bottom of a large hill. He was reminded of another hill and the little blonde that had caught his attention from the first moment he had seen her on the Rez. He made the climb to the top, remembering the day he had taken Maria horseback riding and they had spent the afternoon watching Santana’s herd. It was the day he had unintentionally revealed himself to her. The feeling of worry that had plagued him that day came back full force, intensified by the fear that after what he had done she would look at him and see a murderer.

What if she hated him for what he had done? Would she be scared of him now? She knew he was different, but now that point would be driven home. She had firsthand knowledge of what he was capable of; she had witnessed him killing another living being with her own eyes. Would she want to live with someone like him now that she knew the darker side of his personality? What if she decided she couldn’t be with him anymore?

His booted feet made the climb in little time and as he reached the rise he shrugged the pack off and let it fall to the ground. He rolled his shoulders and paced back and forth, his eyes scanning the desert around him. What were his parents going to think? They had taken him into their home, raised him well, and how did he repay them? He looked down at his hands and frowned. He had put them in the same position Dakota had put his own parents in.

They would be disappointed in him. They would look at him and see a murderer. River Dog had assured him that everything happened for a reason, but they were all going to suffer for his actions. Would his mom and dad see it as self defense? Or would they view him as a killer? He had killed, intentionally or not, and now he had to live with that. But so did they.

What about Maggie? His little sister who had looked up to him for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t like she thought he was perfect; she knew he had his faults and she delighted in pointing certain ones out. But this wasn’t a flaw. He stopped and stared at the setting sun. What if his actions were a default setting? Tess had said he was a soldier in that other life; that he had commanded the kings’ armies, and he had been ruthless. His gaze dropped to his hands again and he sighed.

He shook his thoughts off and set about clearing the area for his campsite. For the next few days he would focus his thoughts inward and wait for the vision to present itself. He left the foot he had brought in his pack for later if he needed it. Fasting was believed to make the visions more vivid during sleep so he’d wait it out. Hopefully his time alone in the desert would provide him with some answers because right now he was more lost than he’d ever been.

*****

Alex watched Maria as she rearranged the candy in the two bowls on the coffee table. She would sort them by the color of the wrappers before dumping them out and separating them by flavor. Finished with that she would empty the bowls out and equally divide them up by sorting them into two groups with equal amounts of each flavor. It was something she did when she was agitated and he knew the only way she would stop was if something distracted her.

When she dumped both bowls into a large single pile one more time Liz spoke up. “Hey, have you written anything for the paper lately?”

Maria looked up at the question. “What? No, not recently. I have a piece I’ve been working on about life on the Reservation, but it’s not finished yet. I got it approved by Mrs. Harvey, so once it’s written she said we could publish it in the school paper.”

“I’ve read some of your editorials,” Isabel commented. “They’re pretty good. You have an interesting approach.”

“Thanks.” Maria smiled. “Maybe once things slow down I’ll be able to focus on my writing again.” She rolled her eyes. “After the adventures of the past few months I think I might be ready to write my first novel.” She shook her head when she saw the worried looks on Max and Isabel’s faces. “It wouldn’t be anything connected to you guys or even aliens in general. I was thinking something along the lines of a series of detective stories. Maybe something with a detective and lots of adventures.”

“Well, if anyone knows about connecting the dots to piece a case together, it’d be you,” Alex said.

Maria grinned when his choice of words brought a childhood memory to the surface. “Not like you do,” she teased.

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

“Domino,” Liz guessed with a knowing smile.

Alex rolled his eyes as the two girls exchanged a look and started to laugh. “Hey, at the time it made perfectly good sense,” he protested.

“It was before you guys started school,” Maria explained when she caught the confused look on Max and Isabel’s faces. “We were all over here spending an afternoon together and Alex was going through this phase where anything with dots had to be connected.”

“I think we can safely blame that on all those connect-the-dots books your mom kept giving us to keep us occupied.”

“Yeah, but you were compulsive about it, Alex,” Liz reminded him with a laugh.

Maria nodded. “You really were, Alex.” She shook her head at him. “Don’t try to change the subject. We were sitting in the backyard when he looked over at my dog, that happened to be a Dalmatian, and he came up with the bright idea of connecting the spots on the poor thing’s coat.”

Alex snorted. “Please, the two of you were right there with me, and I wasn’t the only one connecting the dots when your mom caught us.”

“That much is true,” she admitted.

“We got in so much trouble for that,” Liz said, remembering it well. “Your mom was not happy with us.”

“Yeah, my mom grounded me for two weeks as soon as your mom called and told her what we’d done,” Alex said.

“You actually drew on that animal?” Isabel asked.

“Hey, the dog didn’t care and we got some pretty interesting designs out of it. I’m still not sure if your mom was madder about the dog or the fact that we were using her lipstick because the markers wouldn’t work.”

“It took forever to get that lipstick out of Domino’s coat.” She shook her head. “At least you guys got to miss out on that fun.”

“Maria, my dad made me wash dishes at the Crashdown for like a week after that! Every day after school for that whole week, and we’re talking by hand.”

Alex snickered. “Yeah, you went to the teacher and asked for extra homework to get outta that too.”

She rolled her eyes. “Didn’t work either. I just ended up with extra homework after washing all those dishes.”

Max laughed quietly at the mental image.

“Hey, speaking of dogs,” Alex said with a glance at Isabel. “Maybe we could all give you a hand with the Christmas dog show tomorrow.” He glanced at Maria, hoping she would say yes because it would help distract her.

“Sure, I’ll help out,” she offered, knowing that Maggie could reach her on her cell phone if she had any news about Michael.

*****

Maggie sat in an empty stall, the scent of the sweet-smelling hay surrounding her as she watched the puppy she and Michael had gotten for Joey for Christmas. The puppy bounced around in the straw, pouncing on the little ball she liked to play with. She watched the animal absently, her mind on her brother. She had known whatever was bothering him was serious but she had never imagined anything like this.

What was going through his mind? she wondered. He had always retreated to deal with things that hurt or scared him so it wasn’t surprising that he had taken off on his own after what had happened. She had left her parents and grandfather to talk on their own, knowing they had their own things to discuss. She wondered if Mom would end up blaming Maria for this or if she would let that pass. Maria had encouraged Michael to search for the answers he wanted. The answers he needed, she corrected herself. Her brother’s girlfriend understood him in a way that the rest of them probably never would.

The puppy clumsily stumbled up to her and nudged her arm with a cold, wet nose and she reached down to pick the animal up. She hoped her brother was okay. She wasn’t worried about him surviving in the desert; that was second nature to their people. She was more concerned about his mental and emotional state. He would be blaming himself and trying to figure out what he could’ve done differently. He had killed to protect everyone he cared about, but even though he hadn’t intended to kill Tess he would think he was a murderer. It was just the way his mind worked.

If he wasn’t able to sort things out in his mind he might leave them, afraid he was too dangerous to his family to remain. That wasn’t something she wanted to think about. It was the whole reason why he had gone into the desert on a vision quest. To hopefully find peace for his wounded soul and to find a way to accept and live what he had done. She prayed he would find the answers he needed, that he would receive a vision that would clarify things for him.

*****

Nacedo looked around the house he and Tess had been living in since their arrival in Roswell. At least his cover gave him a viable reason for leaving so soon after they had moved to the small town. He would need to cover his tracks though because he didn’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions about their sudden departure. He would schedule a transfer with the school, have them fax his ‘daughter’s’ records to a new school and interrupt the records before they could reach their destination.

There were no personal effects in the house so he could make arrangements for a moving company to come in and pack everything up to be transported to a new location. He would need to take some of her things to keep up the cover story that they were being called away for his job.

He wandered around the house, preferring his own company but unaccustomed to it after so many years with the young hybrid underfoot. Tess had been a means to an end, a necessary part of the plan that would one day permit him to return to their home planet, and now she was gone. Taking with her his best shot at going home. The deal he had made decades ago could not be carried out without her so he had to come up with a new plan. And to do that he was going to need time and a new identity. He began to finalize his plans for leaving Roswell, already putting Tess’ death at the back of his mind.

*****

Michael stood at the top of his chosen campsite, his eyes staring at the stars that filled the night sky. They appeared larger out here, seeming so close that one could reach out and touch them. The moon had risen quickly, full and casting its white light over the desert. Shadows arose all around him and occasionally they would move as the desert dwellers left their burrows and ventured out in search of food.

The cool air caused his skin to prickle but he didn’t even notice, too lost in his thoughts to be bothered. He began to pace after a while as his mind locked on the image of Tess’ face at the moment when she had realized it was too late to save herself. Her scream seemed to echo throughout the desert but he knew he was the only one who could hear it. His mind was fighting to rationalize what had happened but he knew it was too soon. He fought to shut the thoughts off and focus on listening to the silence he knew was there if he could just find it.

He had to silence the voices from earlier that day. He had to remove the images of what had happened and open himself up. Something he hated intensely. He preferred to be out doing something instead of letting himself be guided, but he knew he had to do this if he was going to find a way to deal with his actions. He closed his eyes as he tipped his head back, forcing everything from his mind, making it a blank slate and letting the silence take the place of his chaotic thoughts.