Unbreakable - A Beautiful Lie (AU M/L ADULT) COMPLETE 5/5/17 + A/N 5/5/19

[keepsmiling7]

The Sergeant has to go, meet his end......whatever, get away from Nancy and Liz!
Interesting that depression was caused by so many choices to be made........I say depression would result from making bad or wrong choices.
Thanks,
Carolyn

[begonia9508]

I don't like Liz's giving up that much... And I think it is more a dictature than aliens survival and I hope someone will profit from the fact that all these aliens are torturing Liz to react and finally something happens! And what is with Max? What's happened to him?!

EVE

[max and liz believer]

Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl)

Can I just say that the Sgt is a special kind of monster to not only put Nancy through that but to also show all of it to Liz. Seriously, that's even more sickness than attempting to throw Liz for a loop by indicating that she was his daughter and therefore would be bonding with her half-brother (yuck!).

The Sergeant is one pure alien, in every sense. He’s not the most empathic or caring person on Earth, no.

About marriage etc. The reason why Sean used the phrase ”It’s not like you’re married to her” in the gym is most likely because Liz was there. Because it’s the most binding things that humans are aware of. It doesn’t mean that it has any particular significance to the alien community. But since, to Sean, Liz was still aware of their origin at that point, he had to angle the conversation into a more human one. That’s the same reason he wasn’t using ”bond” in front of Liz. Even if that word can be used in normal human relationships too, it’s too close to the truth for Sean to just be throwing it out there. He might be stupid, but he’s not that stupid. Sure, he would assume that Liz knew that something really was off since she had troubles controlling her body and her feelings, but that was something he was going to smooth over later. But it’s so much easier to smooth things over if you don’t have to worry about erasing details that you’ve left here and there, like ”bonding”. Plus, what if something had interfered (which it did), it would be stupid to give too much away if you never had the chance to connect and thence erase her mind.

I’m sure Max got the message, even if Sean used ”marriage” instead of ”bonding”.

Why did her having so many miscarriages cause him to show his true self to her? Or maybe it's better asked why did so many miscarriages (which obviously upset her even more than him) cause him to turn on her so fully? If the Antarians feel the primary emotions really strongly (especially when bonded to a Gaea) it seems less likely they would turn so easily.

Miscarriages can break up even the most loving (normal) relationships. Now, Nancy’s miscarriages were out of the ordinary in that so much was depending on her having a child (at least, it seems, otherwise Steven wouldn’t have been so ”disappointed” with her). We don’t really have the whole picture of why Steven wanted a child with Nancy. If such a child actually would be more powerful, or if it was just a caveman thing. Of him creating a child. But the miscarriages started to produce cracks and the pain from those dead babies might have been hard for Steven to erase from Nancy’s mind, meaning that she was carrying around traces of sadness, connected to Steven. This slowly lead to mutual contempt between them - a power play. Did Steven actually love Nancy from the beginning? Is he capable of love? Who knows?

So what would be the point of taking Nancy's memories? Just to torture her? Because she was obviously still aware of what was going on and who people actually were. They didn't remove all her alien-memories. That probably would have been too vast. But even so, why take just certain ones? And why would she beg to keep them? It seems like some stuff she would *want* to forget.

Nancy’s memories were erased to preserve the secrecy of the community, just like with everyone else. Since she hadn’t joined the community ”voluntarily”, she couldn’t be trusted to be loyal to the aliens. So the general rule for gaeas is to remove their memories. However, considering what I mentioned above, Nancy was breaking through and Steven had a difficult time to make her forget. The erasing wasn’t the torturous part actually. It was what she remembered that was horrible. And yes, you (and Liz) are right; she still had to go through all of that, even if Steven erased the memories afterwards. Can you really erase such experiences? Even with alien powers? Or do those type of memories melt into your very being?
What I wanted to say is; Steven wasn’t intending to torture Nancy by removing her memories (he obviously had other means to torture her). He was following protocol. Hiding the activities of their race.

They did aim to remove all her memories, btw. But something was missed. She didn’t know of the true identities of Steven, of Philip or Liz’s classmates. The interactions we’ve witnessed between Nancy and Steven, when Liz has been there, has been in conjunction with some ”incident” where Steven has been using Nancy for something. So this has been before erasure.

It's shocking to me that she went through all of that and never tried to warn Liz. I wonder if she did at one point and after they "erased" Liz's mind if she decided it wasn't worth telling her and having additional damage done to her mind before necessary. Still, you can see why she would want to save her daughter all of that even if it meant killing her. To Nancy death would be the kinder fate.

Why didn’t Nancy warn Liz? Because she had come to the decision that Liz would be happier without that knowledge. Plus, Nancy wasn’t consciously aware of what was going on to the point that she could actively warn Liz about something. She would basically only be telling Liz that she had a bad feeling about some people and that Liz should avoid them. Which she might have done. Which might have been why Liz has been avoiding Max up until now… Hmm…

And I wonder if anyone else knows what's going on as well. Surely someone on the council knows what's going on. Or at the very least Philip has to have an idea. Why allow the Carters to keep control over her when they obviously have a personal vendetta, have already almost killed her multiple times and when everything is still up in the air as far as the fate of M/L go?

The whole council is involved with the capture of Max and Liz. Their bond is important stuff. Especially now when they’ve seen it be demonstrated. Earlier, it might have just been a matter of breaking a bond. Now it’s become in the interest of everyone to study and test this bond - and then hopefully - break it. So they’ve put their best men on it; the one that has most recent experiences with how to control a gaea and his son - the one that has studied this particular gaea most of his life and is supposedly already familiar with her mind. How many of the things that Steven and Sean do to Liz is on order and how many things do they ”come up with on their own”? That’s a bit blurry. But Command probably has a foot in there somewhere.

How often do they visit Liz though? And what is the point every visit?

They pay Liz a lot of visits. With the objective of weakening her mind, using both physical and mental ”torture”. That’s (normally) how a mind is broken into. When it’s weak and defenseless. So they need to bring her to the very brink, when she breaks down. Once they’re inside her mind, they’ll have to fill it with false feelings and strength, to try and build her up again. Remove those memories and start over. Kinda like breaking in a horse. Interesting point you made about Sean should be present when the connection is broken, to take the chance and bond. It’s not like a bond is momentarily broken, or that a crack opens and the person has a window of time before it closes again. When a bond breaks, it remains broken. Unless they bond again - which is through two methods: sex and healing. That wouldn’t very well be happening, considering that Max is removed from the scene.

Hence, if the Sergeant was able to break through the bond, he could just let his son jump straight on ”in” later. Easy as pie.

What's interesting to me is the Sgt's statement of "then Command found out and Philip started interfering." That's a pretty loaded statement that is disguised as a passing statement of disgust. I'm not sure if the Sgt is even aware of just how loaded that sentence is.

What Command found out about Max interfering with a gaea, was probably just that. Interfering. There was no mention of Max actually having bonded with the gaea, but just that he was spending a bit too much time with said gaea and getting in the way of Sean getting close. That’s why they called the meeting originally. That’s why Max was getting punished. If they had known early on that Max had bonded - he would have been dealt with in another way. Probably very much in the way that is happening right now. The meeting was about if it was necessary to send Max for re-education or not. There has probably been more meetings before then, but smaller ones, with the outcome of Max getting punished according to their law. There are different steps to punishments and there was no need to send Max off to re-education immediately, since it’s a pretty devastating punishment. Max was first given ”warnings”.

So if Command knew and did nothing, why? Is he planning on getting rid of the Carters? Why not just do so? If he's powerful enough without a gaea then once Nancy died (and Max had created the - technically - second bond with Liz) why not just get rid of them or demote them or whatever at that point? And if Command wants to change how things are run, why not just do so instead of going through all of this? Surely he has mind readers loyal to him who can determine who would listen to the changes Command ordered and who would oppose a new way of doing things.

Command might not really be hiding anything or having a different agenda. He’s not concern with those ”small” things. He leaves that to his second in command; Steven Carter. But once he fails to handle the problem, Command gets called in. When Steven alluded to Philip ”interfering”, he meant that Philip started to defend Max the moment it moved up to Command’s level. That’s when things got serious.

The whole Philip statement is concerning. He's stuck his neck out a lot (a *lot* a lot) for his son and Liz and he obviously hasn't been as discrete as he would have hoped.

And yes, Philip has helped Max a lot, probably broken a lot of laws in doing so… :-S

And speaking of Philip I'm surprised they haven't brought him in to heal Liz. Or the father of "David" whoever he was. I could see them not wanting to allow Philip to have contact with Liz but keeping her isolated to just the Carters had to be sending up all kinds of red flags. To not let anyone else on the council see her (at least that we know about) seems like something they wouldn't normally get away with. And how are they getting away with it? What are Jeff and Maria, etc. being told and how the heck do they expect anyone to really believe it?

There might not be a father to David alive. Considering that the only healers around seem to be Max and Philip. Which is why they are so hesitant at permanently harming Max. They would probably be able to fix most health issues with a human medical doctors, but replenishing energy after energy blasts - not that likely. So a healer is very convenient to have. They haven’t brought Philip in to heal Liz because that would defeat the whole purpose of weakening her. She doesn’t have any lethal injuries. Just enough to keep her afraid and in pain.

Side note: should I look for a conspiracy as far as David dying in a motorcycle accident? Sometimes your ransom phrases turn out to not be so random.

*laughs* Conspiracy about David? Nah, don’t think so. Just imagine an unnecessary biking accident involving a drunk teenager. Nothing alien at all. But I can understand your suspicion

I'm surprised she actually gave him information regarding the bond she shares with Max. It doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do. Isn't one of the fundamental rules to *not* give your enemy any more knowledge than absolutely necessary?

The reason why Liz is giving Sergeant some more information is most likely to try and make him understand that the bond cannot be broken. That they should let them go. That there’s no use torturing them. And maybe get them to realize that they could be helped by them instead. Anything for them to be released. She’s trying a different tactic. She figures they’d probably find that out sooner or later anyway. Right now she needs to show that she doesn’t have the power to choose to let them break the connection or not. That the connection is stronger than them. That it should be left alone and cherished.

But obviously, the Sergeant is not very open to that.

So... Where's our white knight?

Where’s our white knight? Yeah, where is he?

Thank you so so much for the feedback!


Helen (Roswelllostcause)

OK I am going to just kill that bastard of a Sargent myself!

You have my permission

Thank you so much for the feedback!


L-J-L 76

Someone needs to hang Sargent, Sean by the ball off a telephone poll and wire. or Better luck strap 10 m60's to their dicks and blow them up or electrocute them.

Right I obviously should put you in charge of the punishment of the Carter men.

Thank you for the feedback!


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

Interesting that depression was caused by so many choices to be made........I say depression would result from making bad or wrong choices.

Actually, there are studies that show that young people growing up in developed countries today are having anxiety and issues with depression because there's an endless number of choices. Of course, as you mentions, part of this is probably the fear of making the wrong choice, but it messes with your head when you have too many options. Especially for the person that has troubles deciding.

Thank you so much for the feedback


Eve (begonia9508)

I don't like Liz's giving up that much..

Yes, it might seem a bit strange, but Liz is trying to get the Sergeant to understand how strong the bond is and make him see that he should give up on trying to break it. She's desperate and that makes her try a different tactic. Besides, "the enemy" would probably find out that information sooner or later anyway.

And what is with Max? What's happened to him?!

Yes, where is he?

Thank you for the feedback!


From SIXTY-THREE:

There was an acutely sharp and burning chop through the front of my skull, as if he had just cleaved my forehead with an axe. The pain resonated through my whole body, efficiently cooling my anger as I collapsed onto my back. I frantically cast my hands to my head, expecting to feel a hole there, expecting to get blood on my hands as my life poured out of me.

But my head was intact even while the pain was still very real.

I blinked up, my eyes squinting against the pain, as his shape leaned over me. His face was eerily neutral in the aftermath of what had happened to him. Whatever had happened to him was now gone. He looked perfectly like himself again.

He traced my face with cold empty eyes and stated calmly, "You just proved to me that you are invaluable to my son. I promise you, Elizabeth Parker. You are going to serve my son and you are going to be grateful to do it."

With that, he left, and the pain in my head ebbed along with his departure, leaving me with the traumatizing images of the life my mother had led at the hands of a cold and barbaric alien.

Knowing that Steven Carter had not merely shown me my mother's past, but also my own future.

____________________________________

SIXTY-FOUR

The days blurred into one another after that. I got at least one visit every day, from either the Sergeant or his son. They were trying to break into my mind, in order to break the bond between Max and I.

At first, Sean had continued with his plan to attempt to have sex with me, trying to get close. But whenever he would physically touch me, he would get zapped. It was as if my body was protected by an electrical field, as if it was tuned into repelling Sean. And that indescribable protection gave me hope. Because I knew that it was Max. Max was still protecting me.

Thus, most of the time, Sean settled for clawing at my mind, from a safe distance. But sometimes he got through that odd protective wall around my body. Sometimes the safeguarding barrier was gone and he would seize the opportunity and choose to punish me with beatings rather than sex. I found gratitude in the small things: that Sean would be too angry whenever he would break through to rape me.

It didn't mean that I wasn't suffering. I had never been beaten in my life before these horrible days I was currently enduring. My parents had never laid a hand on me as an added disciplinary method. My body was completely unprepared for it. Even if I didn't actually think that anyone could ever prepare oneself for that physical pain.

Well, maybe a boxer. Or a martial arts fanatic.

But not a 16-year-old ex-waitress.

It hurt. It hurt in ways I couldn't explain. My gasps were useless, my labored breaths failed to relieve the sensations, my screams were ignored.

Sean made sure that I was in constant pain, one way or the other. In the periods when Max was protecting me, I remained physically safe, but Sean could still press against my mind; inducing headaches and piercing pain in my mind.

In the intermittent moments of the physical abuse, when my alien protection was missing, I wasn't only hurting because of the kicks to my stomach or the hard fists against my chest, against my face, but because of what that absence implied.

What was going on with Max in those moments that prevented him from protecting me?

My concern for him[/i] greatly overrode the physical pain. The lack of knowledge of his whereabouts, his condition, what they were doing to him was tearing me apart.

Maybe that was part of their plan too. Their plan to break me down.

On top of their inhuman treatment of me, they were starving me. I was given a small piece of bread per day, something that I had abstained from eating the first two days, on principle. I wanted them to know that I still had a choice over my own life. But my hunger had won in the end and now I had to pace myself so I wouldn't eat that egg-sized piece of bread too quickly, giving me a stomach ache. I had access to water from the adjoining small bathroom, but with a ridiculously low daily calorie intake I was rapidly growing weaker.

I could map out their agenda perfectly, even though they weren't much into sharing information with me. They aimed to weaken me enough (but of course, still keeping me alive) so that I would lose the control I had over my mind and would eventually accidentally let them in. Enabling them to break the connection, to take control over my mind and life.

They seemed to be able to access some parts of my mind. Immobilizing me, pinning me to the walls even without touching me, making me unconscious when they grew tired of me. But they were unsuccessful in breaking into the wall around my thoughts - where I kept Max safe. Where our bond was thrumming without relenting.

I spent the first two days in captivity by banging on the door until my hands bled, screaming for help until my voice turned hoarse before it grew weak from overuse.

There were no windows where I was being held and I had a feeling that I was nowhere close to civilization for anyone to be able to hear me. Anyone except my captors, of course. There were no sounds from the outside getting into the room, making me suspect that the room might even be soundproofed.

There was a bed. With an old hard mattress. Without any linens. A bedside table with a small lamp. That was about it.

On day four, I was huddled up in a corner of the room, the furthest away from the door, my head repeatedly dipping forward as I was slowly drifting off to sleep. Whenever I had been getting close to sleeping, a large alarm had gone off in the room, preventing me from reaching the energizing level of deep sleep, and I was starting to wonder how long a human being could go without proper rest.

They had let me sleep an hour or two here and there, but I knew it wasn't enough. I knew it from how my body was shutting down, how I was even too tired nowadays to feel the sharp grinding pains in my stomach from the lack of food. How I barely had the energy to feel anything from the different types of abuse the aliens subjected me to.

On that fourth day, there was a rustling outside of the door, making me look towards it in a mixture of resignation and fear. But there were warning bells ringing at the back of my head, making chills rush down my spine. Because there was too much noise surrounding the process of getting that door open. It was not the general smooth process of opening that I had gotten used to hearing.

This sounded more like someone was trying to break in. Rather forcibly.

My body managed to produce adrenaline that got me to straighten up in my corner, my eyes wide and fixed on the door without daring to blink.

In my heightened alerted state, I jumped as the door was aggressively pushed open, and then I started shaking.

Because appearing inside of the open door was Max.

Max.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes flickering around the room, searching. His clothes were dirty and hung off his agitated frame, and his hands were flexing and relaxing at the sides of his body in a stressed rhythm.

Then his eyes found my still and anticipated frame and I could do nothing but stare.

It couldn't be him.

I was too beaten, too battered, too damaged, to let myself believe. To allow the hope to grab a hold of me. I didn't want to think it, but I did; He's here to rescue me.

With a strangled cry, I fumbled to get my legs under me and get to my feet at the same time as he rushed forward.

His arms were around my body before I had managed to rise to my full length, and I let myself sink against him with a desperate sob of relief.

"Max..." I whispered, burrowing my head against his chest.

His arms were tight around my body, his hands were pressing up against my shoulder blades. His lips were in my hair as he echoed, "Baby..."

His voice shook my frail frame and another whimpered sob escaped me as I curled my arms around his body and held on tightly.

I was trying to hold my feelings back, trying to keep myself calm, because we were still on enemy territory. All they would have to do would be to close the door on us and we would be trapped.

Together. But still trapped.

"How did you escape?" I whispered against his chest as I breathed in his smell.

The captivity had changed him. Had changed how he smelled. He didn't smell like Max anymore. Which saddened me. Made me want to crawl even closer to find that unique Max scent that should be there somewhere.

"I caught them off guard," Max answered and pulled back, moving his hands to the front of my shoulders to put some distance between us. His amber eyes met mine in concern as he whispered, "What have they done to you?"

I averted my eyes, suddenly ashamed at how I must look. All black-and-blue, bloodied, swollen. I hadn't showered in days. My own reaction felt wrong; it was not as if the change to my appearance was my fault, but I didn't want him to see me like this. This weak. This broken.

I took a deep breath, avoiding his question. There was no time to talk. "We need to get out of here."

I glanced up to catch the small shake of his head. "No. Let me look at you first. Let me heal you. You need strength to get going."

I frowned at his reasoning. It was logical and rational, but still something about it seemed off. It wasn't safe to linger.

My objection was impressively strong as I said, "I can do it. I can walk. I'm fine. Just get us out of here."

He frowned, anger flashing in his eyes, making an instinctive shiver run through me. "No." He cradled my face with his hands, the tips of his fingers pressing into my cheekbones. "Look at me, Liz. You need to let your mind go blank. I need to heal you."

That's when my starving body and mind started to suspect that something wasn't right. My eyes flickered to the half-opened door, and Max's voice from before whispered through my memory;

Using energy, I can lock it with a signature. Kinda like a password.

My heart froze and I slowly looked up at Max, meeting his familiar golden eyes. "How did you get the door open?"

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "The door? Come on, Liz. We don't have time for this. I need to heal you."

I silently, feeling dazed, searched his eyes.

"Does Sean even look like the person he portrays himself as?"

"No."

I swallowed slowly as my mind started searching for Max. Why hadn't our connection opened up fully when Max had entered the room? Why did Max need me to look into my eyes to heal me when we were already deeply connected?

Sean can change his appearance.

With a fearful gasp, my hands flew up to his cradling my face and I quickly pried his hands away, stumbling as I took a step backwards, escaping his presence.

His eyes darkened in anger. "What are you doing?"

He reached out for me, but I took another step back, my back hitting the wall behind me. "We don't have time for this. They might be here at any second."

"You're not him," I whispered, not daring to blink. Not wanting to let him out of my sight.

Something dark twitched in the corner of his mouth, the beginning of a grimace I had never seen on Max's face before.

He doesn't even smell right.

"You're exhausted," Max said slowly, cautiously closing the space between us.

"How did you open the door?" I asked again.

"I picked it," Max said simply. "Why is that so important?"

"Because you can't pick a door that is locked with alien energy," I answered, my voice tense. "You told me that."

His eyes twitched, before they grew gentle, softened. I inhaled slowly at the transformation. My traitorous body desperately wanted to accept that it was him. That it was my Max.

"Let me in, baby," he coaxed gently. "You're delusional. You haven't eaten-"

I narrowed my eyes at him and demanded, "How would you know?"

He stared at me, his voice empty as he clarified, "You've lost weight."

I ignored his excuse, moving on to, "You wouldn't need my permission to access my mind. You already have it."

I watched the darkness spread over his face. I watched the darkness transform the gentle beautiful features that I knew so well. I watched it change him into something dangerous, something to fear, something that would hurt me.

In the fraction of a second he had me pushed up against the wall, his breath warm against my damaged face. I closed my eyes against his face. I couldn't see him like this. I couldn't stand how those beautiful eyes had turned cold and threatening.

"You stubborn bitch," he hissed, in that dark timber of voice that was so similar to Max's but still not at all.

I squeezed my eyes tighter together against the breaking of my body. I could feel myself falling apart. Could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

Not him. Why did they have to use him?

"You don't even trust him," fake Max whispered tightly.

I didn't respond, biting hard into my bottom lip and wishing that I was somewhere else, pulling back into my mind to hide.

"Look at me," he demanded tensely.

When I didn't respond, his fingers dug deeper into my bony shoulders and he shook me hard once. "Look at me."

"Not as long as you look like him," I mumbled, the tears breaking my voice. I hated how I sounded in that moment. How weak and exposed. How broken.

"I'm just giving you what you want," he hissed and my tired feet stumbled in surprise as he pulled on my small frame. I felt myself float through the air before I was thrown on my back onto (what I could only assume) the hard mattress.

My eyes were still closed and I was crying now. Sobbing desolately. I couldn't help it. I actually wanted him to kill me. I wanted him to end this. This was worse than death. My existence was worse than death.

"You want Max, don't you?" he snarled as he climbed on top of me.

I recognized the weight of his body on top of mine and I felt my whole body tighten against it. Because my body wanted me desperately to believe that it was him. That it was the man I loved with every detail of my being.

"Well, guess what? I'm granting you your wish. I'm letting you fuck Max Evans one last time."

A harsh sob ripped through my body as hopelessness emptied my heart. I brought my hands up to my face and pressed my palms against my face, my body surrendering. I was too weak and I was resigning to the fact that I might lose everything. Within minutes, I might lose everything. My self-worth, my right to my own body, the bond to Max, my freedom. My life.

His breathing was loud around us as he quickly unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down my legs. I hated that his fingers felt like Max's more than the fact that he was undressing me. I crawled into the back of my mind, making a last effort at searching him out.

If only to say goodbye.

My tears were wetting my palms which I were still pressing against my face, my sobs echoing off the bare walls, as he pulled back, leaving my panties on.

I could hear the rustling of clothes and could only assume that he was undressing himself.

Then his bare legs brushed against mine and I inhaled sharply, searching out a memory of Max to focus on. Of his gentle touch, of his barely contained love. Of his small confessions.

"Where's your amazing Max now, huh? Why isn't he here to rescue you?" His tone was sarcastic and cold as he brushed his hands down my chest, pressing against my breasts, which were still protected by my top and the light grey sweater Isabel had given me for warmth.

He wiggled against my lower body, pushing my knees out to the sides as he sank down between my legs. Molding our lower bodies close together. I found myself drifting further and further away from the situation.

He was turned on. I could not only feel it, but also hear it in his breathing. In the groans he was making as he moved his hands down my abdomen and up underneath my clothing.

My feelings were all over the place, collapsing around me before they turned numb.

He was grinding his manhood against me, and I was pressing the tips of my fingers so hard into the front of my skull that I might have been able to break through the cranium.

Max, I whispered into my mind. Where was he? God, where was he?

Max, I cried and my physical tears bled into my mental thought. It's over. It's all over. He's erasing you.

But there was no reply. Nothing. I wondered briefly if they had planned it this way. If Max were to be controlled - subdued - in some way in the exact moments that I were to be assaulted. That they had finally realized that in order to get through to me, they needed to incapacitate Max.

I love you, I mentally whispered into the quietness of our bond, as I felt fake Max curl his fingers in my panties over my left hip and pull sharply until they tore.

I considered opening my eyes, going along with the lie that Max was the one that was touching me right now, and just let it happen. Maybe then fake Max would go easier on me. Maybe if I showed something back - returned his advances - he would connect with his humanity and see that I was actually a person.

But I couldn't do it. I couldn't get myself to open my eyes. I didn't want the assaulter to destroy my perception of my Max and what we had shared, even more than he was already doing.

Because, unfortunately, I realized that I was able to recognize Max's body anywhere. The only thing that wasn't fooling me was the pressure behind fake Max's touches. How his strong hands were hard and rough, rather than gentle and slow. How the rocking of his hips against mine was perverted instead of enticing.

His moan was dark and deep - sickening - as he moved his fingers through the folds of my exposed sex. I froze against the completely cold feeling from that (usually) intimate spot. How the motion could make me feel empty and worthless in one single movement.

"Oh fuck," he mumbled. "This is gonna be fun. This is gonna be so much fun."


TBC...

[Roswelllostcause]

NO! THAT IS SO NOT HAPPENING! GET BACK HERE AND FIX THIS! WHERE THE HELL IS TH REAL MAX! I am so going to kill Sean and his father oh and any other fucking alien who stands in their way of happiness!


Helen

Who in an AU is really an FBI weapons expert

[L-J-L 76]

No comment on the chapter. I'm so mad right now that I am going to go and scream in my pillow and go punch something. All I will say his Max, Mr. Evans, Isabel, Alex need to get off their damn asses and help Liz before Sean rapes her. Oh one more thing someone please please please electrocute Sean, Sargent, Command and all other mega assholes like them. Then after that hang them by their dick on a very electrical wire and fire them to death.


From:
L-J-L 76

[Natalie36]

i am all caught up and you left me hanging. omg sean can not do this to her

[begonia9508]

I thought Mr Evans was going to help her? He hasn't such a importance, in the alien world, not likes he used to say to Liz, somewhere back in the story, has he?

But Liz is so afraid that even so, she can think really well... who would?

EVE

[Morning Dreamgirl]

Why did Sean chose *now* to attempt to rape Liz? It doesn't make sense. In a couple more days she very likely would have broken enough for him to be able to get into her mind. Then he would have been able to make her believe that she loved him - potentially creating a stronger bond between the two of them. Yet he seems almost desperate to bond with her. He's even willing to change into Max to do it. This entire time he's wanted her to want *him* or at the very least recognize that *he's* superior. So why change into Max unless he thought it would make her more willing more quickly than what he's been able to do in regards to (unsuccessfully) breaking in to her mind?

Plus he didn't even bother to shut the door once his cover was blown. He's in a rush. Why not "escape" with her and then attempt to sleep with her? His father would help bring her back if it came to that. So, again, what's the rush?

He obviously knows when Max isn't protecting her. It makes me think that Max is being held somewhere close to Liz. Or at least closer than she thinks. So how have they been able to block part of the bond between the two of them? Something lining the walls? Hmm...

I'm surprised that Philip hasn't been allowed to heal her. Obviously he might not know for sure what's going on but I doubt it. If nothing else Max would know. It has to be killing him every time something happens to her. And knowing that he can't always protect her has to be crushing. He fully expected them to punish him but I don't think he thought they'd punish her as much as they have. He's going to be furious when he sees her and sees all her memories. If they thought his reaction towards Sean at the meeting was bad they haven't seen anything yet.

I have to disagree with you though, Jo. There's really no "getting over" or "overcoming" this. I know you said you wouldn't put them through something that they couldn't get over but it's gone too far for that. Once you've undergone that kind of torture your PTSD is basically there until you drop dead. Especially given the attempted rapes on top of everything else. It'll take *years* before she's able to sleep through the night on a regular basis. There's no way she'll be able to go to school any time soon so she'll be held back. (Which affects her future as well.) And forget about being able to be friends with Maria after this. Liz is too changed. And since she can't tell Maria why it will destroy their friendship. Even if it's slowly and over time. And trusting Alex? Nope. As her "friend" he lied to her all their lives and before she was able to get over that she was beaten, starved, etc. while her "protector" was no where to be seen. Screw working behind the scenes. No one has been there for her.

And if she was that freaked out about a dream of Max she's not going to want him anywhere near her for months after this. Which is going to destroy him. And whatever their relationship could have been. Maybe they'll always be bonded and maybe they'll eventually end up together but it'll never be as it could have been. I really hate the Carters for that. And the entire alien community. If there was a rebellion they should have done something. They don't deserve to live freely if they're willing to put an innocent person (technically still a child in the eyes of the [human] law) through that to obtain it. And if it was the Commander then he deserves to be overthrown after allowing this.

She's permanently damaged. Maybe she'll *live* through it and maybe (eventually) she'll have some kind of life one day but the person she was is gone. The Liz everyone knew and loved died in that windowless room. She's not coming back. I feel bad for her. No matter who "saves" her they're not saving her. They're saving a shell of a person who may or may not ever come out of that depression which is to follow.

I'm sad now.

I need chocolate. And wine.

[max and liz believer]

Helen (roswelllostcause) - Um... I should probably just give you the next chapter, huh? Before you spend any more time on trying to find a weapon expert. Thank you for the feedback


L-J-L 76

No comment on the chapter.

And then you go and tell me exactly what you want to do to Sean and Sarge, etc. Love that. Sorry for making you abuse pillows Thank you for the feedback without comments


Natalie36 - Yay, you're all caught up. Welcome back Sorry it was at a "bad time". Thank you for the feedback!


Eve (begonia9508) - Mr. Evans might not have a lot of power/influence, but he might also be trying to play it safe. It might not be safe to plan a rescue operation yet, because if such a thing would fail it would leave Max and Liz completely alone - without Mr. Evans working in the background. We don't really know for sure how much Mr. Evans is behind the scenes, but - of course - he could be a bit faster about it!

Thank you so much for the feedback!


Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl) - I really upset you a lot with this chapter, didn’t I? Sorry about that. It’s turned really dark. But I don’t think anything else would be realistic when it comes to these aliens. They are cold with their own agenda and they don’t really care that they might be hurting someone permanently in the process. Plus, once they have broken through the bond, they plan to erase Liz’s mind of the memories that might harm her in the future. Problem solved. Right?

Why did Sean chose *now* to attempt to rape Liz?

Sean Sean Sean… Why did he attempt to rape Liz now? When hasn’t he? But probably the orders came from higher up. Probably they couldn’t ”wait it out” for some reason. And Sean has probably started to realize that he can just ”reset” Liz’s mind once the connection is broken, so it doesn’t matter that much to him anymore who he portrays himself as to Liz.

Plus he didn't even bother to shut the door once his cover was blown. He's in a rush. Why not "escape" with her and then attempt to sleep with her? His father would help bring her back if it came to that. So, again, what's the rush?

The stress in Sean is very real. He has to do this now, even breaking that facade of being Max because he’s ”rushing things”. Might have something to do with Max possibly being ”distracted” and Sean is afraid what might happen if that ”distraction” goes away. He doesn’t really trust Liz’s ”human goodness” anymore. Not since she has repeatedly flung him through the air. In sum, the boy is scared, is pressed for time and has a task to do. To save time he comes up with the idea of being Max and maybe he even has some selfish agenda behind doing that. Maybe he knows that he that way can see what Liz feels for Max and what it would feel like to be at the center of that attention. Sean is one messed up boy who wants to control Liz one second and make her fall heedlessly in love with him the next. Not even closing the door behind him tells you of the time stress he’s experiencing, but it also feeds into the initial illusion that the real Max is there. There to rescue her. Which would be a quick ”come in and grab her" kind of thing. Even if that’s not what he does, because he wants to ”heal her” first. But he’s figured out that it would look suspicious if he came in and closed the door behind him. it would be more difficult for Liz to believe that Max was there.

Obviously, neither Sean nor anyone else has a proper understanding of Max and Liz’s bond. Of course it would help Liz see through Sean’s ”disguise”.

Plus, as sick as it sounds, imagine the repercussions if Liz were to realize afterwards that she hadn’t had sex with Max but with Sean. This would give Sean a satisfaction that couldn’t be put into words. That would make him ”superior”, because he had not only fooled Liz, he had also destroyed something fundamental between her and Max. So there are many ”benefits” to Sean choosing to be Max, which would still have him come out looking superior.

Although, of course, Liz saw straight through that.

I'm surprised that Philip hasn't been allowed to heal her.

Philip hasn’t been allowed to heal Liz because their whole plan is to weaken her. Both physically and mentally. Whatever it will take to make her lose control over the bond (because they’re certain that - just like other bonds - she has control over it; it doesn’t have control over her). So healing her would basically push them to start all over again. And Philip knows what’s going on, trust me. And Max get his fair share of Liz’s experiences too. Even though Liz doesn’t seem to feel too much of what might be going on on Max’s side. Max has always been ”better” at reading Liz through the connection, because he is trained in such matters from all of his practice at the hospital. But they’re counting on that as well. That’s part of weakening Max… in order to break the connection.

She's permanently damaged. Maybe she'll *live* through it and maybe (eventually) she'll have some kind of life one day but the person she was is gone. The Liz everyone knew and loved died in that windowless room. She's not coming back. I feel bad for her. No matter who "saves" her they're not saving her. They're saving a shell of a person who may or may not ever come out of that depression which is to follow.

Liz is not going to be alright after all of this. Because there is an end to all of this. I’m not gonna make you go through this whole thing and then kill off my dear lead characters. She’ll be (at least) suffering from acute stress syndrome (she already is), which is at strong risk of - yes - developing into PTSD. and in the real world, this would mean a lifetime of hell, a lifetime of distrust, nightmares, adrenaline surges, fear… But this is an alien/human world. And I’m not saying that Liz will be skipping through flowery meadows any time soon, but trust in the bond. What differentiates Liz’s situation from anyone else that might experience similar incidents of torture and/or captivity is that she is sharing a bond with someone. So when her own strength is failing (physical and mental), she can hypothetically pull from the other. And she will have troubles with Sean having looked like Max, but she also has the ”benefit” of having felt and experienced Max not only through her eyes and her body, but also mentally. Something that Sean could never fake or imitate.

It won’t make her alright. But the bond might just save her from completely going under. That’s all I’m saying.

And forget about being able to be friends with Maria after this. Liz is too changed. And since she can't tell Maria why it will destroy their friendship. Even if it's slowly and over time. And trusting Alex? Nope. As her "friend" he lied to her all their lives and before she was able to get over that she was beaten, starved, etc. while her "protector" was no where to be seen. Screw working behind the scenes. No one has been there for her.

Liz’s friendships? Yes, they’ll be changed. There’s no way around that. She lived through too much to ever be the same person again. And maybe Maria needs to know the truth to be able to help Liz and remain her friend. But Liz will need her friend, more than ever, so hopefully they’ll find a solution to all of this.

I'm sad now.

Thank you for the feedback, hun. Even if you made me sad for Liz now as well. Just remember that we have good aliens too. Good aliens with ”magic powers”.


From SIXTY-FOUR:

I love you, I mentally whispered into the quietness of our bond, as I felt fake Max curl his fingers in my panties over my left hip and pull sharply until they tore.

I considered opening my eyes, going along with the lie that Max was the one that was touching me right now, and just let it happen. Maybe then fake Max would go easier on me. Maybe if I showed something back - returned his advances - he would connect with his humanity and see that I was actually a person.

But I couldn't do it. I couldn't get myself to open my eyes. I didn't want the assaulter to destroy my perception of my Max and what we had shared, even more than he was already doing.

Because, unfortunately, I realized that I was able to recognize Max's body anywhere. The only thing that wasn't fooling me was the pressure behind fake Max's touches. How his strong hands were hard and rough, rather than gentle and slow. How the rocking of his hips against mine was perverted instead of enticing.

His moan was dark and deep - sickening - as he moved his fingers through the folds of my exposed sex. I froze against the completely cold feeling from that (usually) intimate spot. How the motion could make me feel empty and worthless in one single movement.

"Oh fuck," he mumbled. "This is gonna be fun. This is gonna be so much fun."

____________________________________

SIXTY-FIVE

I wish you were dead.

The thought rushed through my mind uninhibited. With a darkness I had never before experienced. I had never before wished death on anyone. But in that moment, I didn't feel like he deserved to live. He didn't deserve to live when he would treat another person like this.

At that point, I felt the unmistakable energy pool in my body. But it didn't feel the same as before. It was warmer this time, more powerful, more...focused.

It awakened my dazed condition, forced me to focus on that feeling, to direct it and take charge of it. Whatever it was - Max or the bond itself - it was there to help me.

"God, you're warm," he grumbled in Max's voice and I could literally feel myself heating up underneath him.

I pulled my hands from my face and looked up and down at him just as he snapped his hand away from my feminine parts. As if he had been burnt.

He snapped his eyes towards my face, his eyes wide as he saw me looking at him calmly and asked hurriedly - with a touch of fear, "What are you doing?" before a low growl started in the depth of his lungs, gradually building into a roar.

It was horrible to hear that terror in Max's voice. To see the fear on Max's face. Even if I knew that it wasn't Max. He was rapidly pulling away from me, looking down at his minimally clothed body as his screaming intensified.

Heat was pulsating through me, forming drops of sweat on my forehead, increasing my breath and fueling my self-confidence.

I pushed myself up into seated position before moving to my knees, directing my hand out towards the person I assumed was Sean - who was still impersonating Max - much the same as he had aimed his hand at Max (with the intention of killing him) just before I had jumped in front of him.

I had to concentrate to see beyond Max's face as he continued screaming, staggering backwards, his features contorting in horrible pain. I imagined heat flowing down the length of my arm, into the tips of my fingers and streaming across the chilled air of the room towards Sean's body.

I don't know how it worked. I don't know how I was doing what I was doing, but I could see Max's skin blistering in front of my eyes, his screams never-ending, his legs giving out underneath him as his back hit the far end of the room.

I was so consumed with what was happening, so focused on what I was doing, too caught up into getting him away from me, to ascertain that he would not be able to hurt me anymore, that I didn't pay much attention to the front door.

Or Sean's father that was running through the gaping doorway in response to his son's screams of death.

In the same moment as he raised his hand towards me, I moved my arm away from Sean and redirected it towards his father, my body trembling from the energy being used and having been spent.

But I was too late. I was too untrained. Too unused to the power.

Too human.

The Sergeant's blast knocked me in the chest and flung me backwards like a useless bug. The blast was not as strong, not lethal, as the one Sean had shot at me at the meeting. But it was still strong enough to knock me out cold.

My last thought before I succumbed to unconsciousness was, He wants me alive.

*****

The voices were dulled and dimmed around me, as they moved in and out of my awareness. The light was bright behind my eyelids and the moan from my mouth was loud in my ears as I started moving.

"What about the girl?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

"What about her? She's gotten what she deserved."

"She's injured."

"Yes."

"She's a gaea." The voice was calm, but there was a trace of frustration in it. "She needs her health."

"Considering what she just did to my son, she doesn't need any more health. She's obviously strong enough."

I groaned and willed my eyes to open.

"Besides, you're not in a position to have an opinion about that girl, Philip. The only reason you're here is to heal."

"How do you expect her to survive, to have the mental ability to successfully bond with your son, if her mind is damaged?"

"We aim to erase her memories of everything stressful later. After we've broken through."

"How?" There was incredulity in his voice, almost mockery. And I recognized his voice now. It was Mr. Evans.

That recognition got my eyes to snap open and I shot up into a seated position. My eyes flickered around the room until I found Philip Evans' eyes over by the door. I vaguely registered the Sergeant standing next to him, as I locked eyes with Max's father.

There was a flicker of something warm in his eyes as he met my fearful stare while he continued to address the Sergeant. "How do you plan on erasing her mind if she's proven so difficult to connect with?"

The Sergeant sighed and followed Mr. Evans' gaze towards me. There was no emotion in Steven Carter's eyes upon seeing me conscious and alert. He just continued talking like I wasn't even there. "Sometimes I wonder if you don't just act stupid, but if you really are. I said; after. We'll erase her memory after we've broken the bond. When Sean will have full access to her mind."

I followed Mr. Evans' eyes as they moved to a seated version of Sean. Yes, Sean. He was back to his regular blond and blue-eyed shape. His back was propped up against the wall and there was no sign of any burns on his skin. He looked shaken though, his eyes tracing the floor in front of his pulled up knees.

"Do you really think that Sean still wants to get close to her?" Mr. Evans said and there was the hint of a smirk on his lips.

"If he doesn't, I'll bond with her," the Sergeant said, his words hitting me equally hard as his blast had done earlier.

I felt the air leave me with a gasp and I felt Mr. Evans' eyes on my face at the sound of it. But my eyes were focused on the Sergeant as I was seeing images of how he had treated my mother flash before my inner eye.

I realized that I wanted Sean now. If given the choice, I would 'prefer' Sean over his father.

"Hmm," Mr. Evans voiced impassively, and redirected the conversation. "I still recommend that I take a look at her. We don't want her to have any life-threatening injuries. We don't want our only gaea to die from internal bleeding, do we?"

The Sergeant hesitated, but agreed after a few seconds, "Only a look-through. No healing of superficial damages. We need her weak. Even more now than before."

The Sergeant turned his attention to his traumatized son while Mr. Evans nodded in affirmation and walked towards me. With his approach - and his silent perusal of my body while crossing the floor - I became aware of myself and looked down to see that I was naked. From the waist down.

I noted bruising on the inside of my thighs, before embarrassment hit me full force and I pulled my knees up to my chest. I hurried to pull Isabel's somewhat large sweatshirt down over my knees to hide my nudity, feeling the urge to cry over how Max's father was seeing me.

Not that it really mattered. I had no idea how many had already seen me in this state while I had been unconscious.

His eyes grew gentle as he walked around the bed and sank down next to me on the mattress. He had positioned himself with the back towards the door, hiding his front from the other two aliens in the room.

My arms were shaking as I hugged them around my knees, looking at him with tears in my burning eyes. Was he my savior? Was he still on our side?

I didn't dare to hope. Didn't have the energy to hope.

"How are you, Liz?" Mr. Evans asked, his voice even. Like he was asking about the weather.

But I recognized the emotion in his eyes. The eyes that - at the moment - reminded me a lot of Max. The emotions the aliens at the door couldn't see.

"I want to die," I whispered, my voice equally emotionless.

He slowly searched my face and I noted how his eyes lingered on my injuries. One by one. I wondered what he was thinking. I wondered if he had any information about Max.

"You're not allowed to die," he said slowly and I shivered, tightening my arms around my knees and pulling them further up into my chest.

"Just do what you came here to do," I mumbled, pushing anger into my voice to tell the Sergeant and his son that I didn't appreciate Mr. Evans' presence either.

Because I was still hoping that we were working on some kind of plan here. That Philip Evans was working behind the scenes. And if that was the case, I needed to protect that disguise.

He nodded. "I need to touch you."

I tear spilled out of the corner of my eye and I nodded a slow approval.

He shifted closer on the mattress, leaned forward and cradled my face in his hands. A sob shook me and I squeezed my eyes closed. I hadn't been touched like that in days. With gentleness and care. It threatened to shatter me. I didn't want the moment to end. I didn't want him to ever leave me alone. I wanted him to keep his palms pressed against my cheeks forever.

At least, that was my instinctive reaction.

He didn't ask me to open my eyes. I didn't feel him try to push a connection onto me. We both knew that it wouldn't be possible. He was only searching through my body; scanning me. I could feel him pushing energy into me. Energy that was warming me, sending relief for my pain without affecting the appearance of my wounds, and soothing my fear and anxiety.

Energy that I was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to provide me with.

Before he removed his hands, he leaned closer. My eyes were still closed as I felt the warmth from his proximity against my face as he whispered, "Good job."

I opened my eyes and looked straight into his. I wanted to ask him about Max. And maybe he understood that from the desperation in my eyes, because he added so softly that I had to strain to hear him, "Max is fine."

I struggled to keep my tears in check. I couldn't very well break down into a crying mess. It would look incredibly suspicious. I didn't care that it most likely was a modified truth. 'Fine' was probably not the right description for what must be happening to Max. But at least it meant that he was still alive and maybe not too badly off.

"So? Is she in a critical state?" the Sergeant drawled caustically.

"No," Mr. Evans replied and pulled back from me, removing his hands from my face. Leaving me alone. "Bruising. Malnourishment. Fatigue. Nothing serious."

If I hadn't known better, his matter-of-fact stating of facts would have really hurt me.

But I did know better. Mr. Evans had just complimented me on hurting Sean. Maybe even on making it this far. Mr. Evans was impressed with me and had soothed my pain.

I was not alone. There was still hope.

*****

I thought a lot about dying during the first ten days of my captivity. If it hadn't been for the connection, I would have refused to eat the small piece of stale bread they were providing me with and stopped drinking water. Letting myself die of dehydration.

I idly wondered if they would notice.

They obviously found me valuable enough to engage in the project of keeping me here, of expending a lot of energy to break into my mind.

On day 10, I was lying on my side on the cool tiled bathroom floor. I had fallen, dizzy from malnutrition, after having bent my head downwards, angling it to the side to drink water directly from the tap.

I was listening to the hollow sounds of water droplets hitting the porcelain surface. One by one.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Liz?

I moaned. I was not only exhausted. With the lack of nutrition and sleep, I was barely there.

But the voice in my head was persistent, even though it was very far away.

Liz?

"Max," I mumbled, opening my eyes slowly. I stared into the white wall, pulling my scattered thoughts together and reached for that safe place at the back of my mind.

Focusing on thinking my question, rather than speaking it, I thought; Max?

There was a pause before his reply came through, wavering in intensity, but relatively clear even in its softness.

Don't give up.

There was no mistaking that it was Max. Maybe my mind was starting to play tricks on me, but I honestly didn't care. The relief and love which that one sentence created was enough on its own. Even with the risk of it being a mere hallucination.

I love you.

A harsh sob ripped out of my chest and I pressed my feverish cheek against the cold floor. I concentrated really hard and thought, I love you too.

I knew that I had managed to 'get through' when a wave of love and relief flooded our connection. I imagined his body curving around mine, spooning our bodies together in a prolonged hug, as I drifted off to sleep.


TBC...

[Morning Dreamgirl]

I'm glad that we seem to be on the same wave length as far as punishing Sean goes. He was given warning after warning when she threw him. He's just too thick headed for his own good. I'm wondering if he's finally starting to put the pieces together and realizing that Max is likely to do worse when he's released.

Preferably I'd like Max to dispatch of him - I don't think Liz should have to deal with taking a life on top of everything else she's gone through. Not that Max would enjoy killing someone but I think he could deal with it better.

I'm actually surprised that they (apparently) healed Sean in the same room where Liz is being held. I can't imagine he'd go back in there and be sitting down if he had left. So he was healed in the room making me believe that he wasn't in any kind of condition to be moved. Which also means that Philip would have had to get there quickly. So he couldn't have been too far away.

But there's always the chance he's merely "on call" I suppose.

Liz is obviously being kept in someone's "basement room." I'm thinking the Sgt's because it would make it easy on them to visit her so often. But she could be in another council member's basement. But for the amount of time they spend trying to break her it makes more sense that she would be housed by them. Which means that it would be difficult to get Liz out. And given the fact she's watched 24 hours to be kept from sleeping long there has to be more than just the Sgt and Sean involved in torturing her. Even if they're the only ones she sees.

Regardless of how many people are involved, I'm still angry at the rebellion (assuming there is one that's already developed and not just a bunch of disgruntled aliens/hybrids) for allowing them to be tortured so long. Especially Liz. Not that I want Max tortured. I realize he has strong emotions and it would tear Liz apart if he were being tortured even if she wasn't. But really? Ten plus days? I'd have been sorely pressed to *not* tell them to take a hike (to put it mildly) if I were in Max's shoes - and Liz's.

Yes, I realize that's the emotional reaction but I'm perfectly comfortable admitting that that's how I feel.



I'm glad that Liz at least had some contact with someone who wasn't cruel to her. Philip is right - Sean isn't going to want to be around Liz after this. (In that way Sean is smarter than his father.) Philip is well aware of what someone looks like when in shock, etc. and Sean fits that description.

It amuses me that the Sgt (to an extent) still overlooks Philip. I'm hoping that means that Philip was able to keep his favorable position with the council. It's necessary for safety if he's not disregarded and/or punished as well. Plus as much information as he can get is a good thing - more so now than ever before.

Philip has to know that Liz really doesn't want to be alive any more. (So what in the world is taking so long? *Sigh*) You can't force someone else to stay alive. So I'm surprised that it didn't concern him more that she would say that. It's Liz. He knows what a fighter she is. So to hear those words come out of her mouth - he didn't look as shaken as I thought he might. Even with the Sgt and Sean in the room.

I wonder just what "fine" means in reference to Max. Even if they had let him go just the fact that he would feel what Liz is going through would make him not "fine." I know Liz isn't in any condition to hear about what's really going on but she has to know they're treating him worse given he would need to be "broken" as well to keep from reaching out to help her.

Speaking of reaching out - why is Max finally/just now able to reach out to her? I get that it could be because their bond is getting stronger but there has to be a balancing out for the shape that they're in. Otherwise it seems too far out there. So *how* is is able to reach her and why not before now? Color me curious.

Besides being angry at the rebellion I'm also angry at the council. Just how far are they going to push this before realizing they've screwed up? I know I've asked that before but after even five days they should have realized it may not be possible. Heck they should have realized it might not happen after four days when Liz burned Sean. What's their back up plan? They won't be able to wipe her mind. They'll have created a weapon against themselves. The thought has to be crossing all their minds by now. It has to be making them more afraid and even more desperate for the bond to be broken. But they keep seeing Max's powers becoming stronger (I assume) and Liz doesn't break and gets stronger as well.

I'd seriously be on my knees begging for a painless death if I were in their shoes.

You do realize that as of the next chapter she'll have been captured for 10% of the chapters you've written. And 23% of the "days" in your story so far. So I feel completely justified in stating we need 20 happy chapters at the end. In fact I should probably raise it to 30. Three for each day in captivity. (So Max, Liz and their bond each have a day to heal for every day they've been separated so far.)

See? I am so nice. Without me pressuring you (I mean asking you) so nicely you might let all your poor readers suffer with them being separated and tortured for lord knows who long. And then you'd have go write 100 happy chapters just to calm everyone down and make everyone sigh happily at the end.

Hmm... What would you do without me?