| Secrets In The Past |
| Chapter 11 _______________________________________________ �So can I get you a soda or something?� Michael offered when he and Gwyn walked into his apartment. Gwyn had promised to answer his questions but only if they went somewhere more privet. It was against his better judgment to go somewhere alone with her but he had to have answers. Now that they were finally alone, he was nervous about what those answers could be. �No thanks, I�m good.� Walking to one of his barstools he gestured for her to go sit on the couch. �Okay, fine. Then why don�t we just cut to the chase. Who are you?� A little startled by his brashness Gwyn thought about how to began. She had to tread lightly, had to be careful not to tell him too much. �Well, I�m one of you.� �One of us?� �Yes, an alien. A hybrid. A member of the royal Antarian court.� �The royal court?� �Yeah, although I am not as high up or was not, I still get confused by that. Anyway, I�m not as high as your family.� �All right, if your one of us, then why have we never heard from you? You were not in the crash. Where did you come from?� �You�re right I was not in the crash. I was not sent her until some time after you left. I was sent because I already knew all of you.� �There are more of us?� �Yes and no, its a little difficult to explain and right now its really not important. There is something much bigger, much more important going on. That's why I�m here, in Roswell.� Michael crossed his arms and glared at her. �And what is that important thing.� �Lillyah. I�m here to find Lillyah.� Michael sucked in his breath. He needed answers from her but was not sure what to do. Could he trust her? Should he tell her about his dream? Sensing his fears Gwyn spoke again, �look, I know you don�t trust me. I would probably not trust me either, but I know that all of you thought I was familiar when I first came to town. That there was something about me that you knew. Right?� Michael nodded his head, keeping his defensive posture. �Right now I need you to trust those instincts. What is going on, finding Lillyah, is much more important. I know you have lots of questions and I can answer some of them. Right now, though I can only give you what you need to know, its a very long story and some of it could be dangerous.� She could tell he was not yet convinced, but starting to give in. �I am not trying to hurt her. I am trying to save her. Also, you, all of you are much more powerful than I am. If you wanted to, you could kill me with a flick of you wrist.� Michael sighed heavily. He didn�t like it. She was holding something back, but he had no choice. He had to know who Lillyah was. �I�ve been having these dreams,� he started tentatively. �Last night was the first one that I could make out clearly. Max and I were there but we were Zan and Rath. There was the girl, Lillyah, we were all happy and stuff then this guy just comes up and stabs her. It was really umm... unsettling.� �Yeah, I can see how that would be.� Gwyn nodded, hoping the dreams were not a portent that Lillyah was indeed in danger. �So who is she? You said she�s alive.� �This is one of those complicated things. Lilly was also sent to earth but about two years before all of you. Unlike you, she was engineered to be completely human. She was to come out of her pod at about six months old. It was for her own safety.� �Ok, so she�s human. Who is she?� �I don�t know. That's why I�m here. We always thought that you, the royal four, Zan specifically, would find her instinctively. From what I have seen its not happened.� �She�s connected to Max? In the dream they were engaged.� �Yes, they were to be married but she was kil... umm, she died before they were married.� �Ok, then why am I the one having dreams about her. I feel like I have to find her. Like she needs me to do something but if she was connected to Max why am I feeling her?� �Because Lillyah was Rath�s sister. Who ever she is now, she�s your sister.� �My sister?� �yes, Lillyah is your sister.� Gwyn smiled. At least there was a little bit of happy news in this. Michael was helpless to stop the silly grin that spread across his face. �I have a sister?� �Yes, you have a sister.� Michael had always wanted family. He didn�t ever talk about it, but it was one of the reasons he so resented being sent here. He was alone. Sure he had always had Max and Izzy and now Maria but it was not the same. Max and Isabel were real family, brother and sister. The bond they had always made him feel like and outsider. And when you�re already one of only four people like you, that really sucks. Too ecstatic for rational thought he decided to go for broke. �What about our parents?� Gwyn cast her eyes to the floor, �umm, your parents were killed when you were very young. I�m sorry� �Yeah, whatever. It�s no biggie.� Feeling she should move on, Gwyn tried to appease a few other questions he probably had. This news was obviously devastating to Michael. It would not be too much to tell him a little about his sister. Hopefully that would make him feel better and give him a reason to help her look for Lillyah. �You and Lilly, she was three and you were five, you went to live at the palace with the royal family. You were already very high on the ladder and your parents had been good friends. You and Lillyah were raised along side the prince and princess. You were all the best of friends. However, you were always treated as friends, not siblings. �You and Lillyah were always very close. You had a very real fear that something would happen to her. You always kept her close, the only people you trusted her to be alone with were the king, queen, Zan, and Vonnie. Otherwise you were never more that a stones throw from her side until she was at least fifteen. �That was one of the reasons you were really happy when Zan proposed to her. You believed he was one of few people who really knew what a gift she was and how important it was to keep her safe and loved. Of course the entire kingdom was completely in love with her. She was sweet and nice to everyone. She didn�t have a mean or dishonest bone in her body.� �Vonnie? That's Valendra?� �Yeah, when we were young that's what we called her.� Gwyn laughed at a memory. �I remember when we were about twelve we had been playing some kind of game with a ball. Lilly hit Vonnie and she fell. It was not a big deal, but Lilly cried more than Vonnie, she was so afraid she had hurt her. She always a soft heart.� �Wait. You knew her, I mean us?� �Yes, we were all very good friends. Vonnie and I were the same age and Lilly was always so sweet we could never resist including her. Then of course you and Zan were never far behind. She had you completely wrapped around her little finger.� Michael smiled but it didn�t reach his eyes. More than anything he wished he could remember. Just for the one moment. �Anyway, back to business. That is why I�m here, we have to find her.� �Your damn right we do. She needs me,� and I need her he added to himself. �Yes she does. There are some very bad people, bad aliens, that are looking for her. If they find her it would not only mean her death but most likely that of our planet.� �Why would someone want to hurt her? Was it that guy in the dream? What was his name? Dirt something?� �Durton? Yes, that�s his Antarian name. He came to earth a few years after you did. He somehow found out that Lillyah had been sent here. He came with an army from his race, those who we are at war with.� �The Skins?� �Yes, he came with them, but his primary goal was to find her. Finding and destroying you was secondary.� �Ok, so why does he want her?� �The easiest guess is to kill her so Zan/Max can�t have her. See, Durton was obsessed with Lilly after they met on a diplomatic mission but she spurned all his advances. He was certain Zan had discouraged her but she was already in love with him. He vowed that if he could not have Lilly no one would.� �So this jerk did kill her.� �Yes, but it was not the way it happened in your dream.� Gwyn left out the fact that it had really been more graphic and more public than in his dream. That was not a piece of information that would help his already swimming head. She should know, she was there. �Oh,� Michael was not quite sure how to react, someone had killed his sister but at least it was not like it was in his dream. That was so horrible. �You said that was the easy guess, what�s the hard one?� �That he found out about the Granolith.� �The Granolith? What does she have to do with the Granolith?� �That again is complicated, since we are low on time I�ll give you the short, sweet answer. When she was created she was given some genetic memories. Those memories, which she does not know she has, if recalled, hold most of the answers to the granolith.� �Wow, so that's really bad right? If someone found her?� �Uh, yeah. The thing is there are only six people, seven now, in the universe that know about it. If he kills her or the sacrifice happens before we find her, then all the information is lost.� �So he could kill her not knowing that she is the key to what they want.� �Yes, but being as devious as they are, there is always a possibility that they know. Its really hard to say.� �Ok so all we have to do is make sure that does not happen, that he does not find her, right?� �Its not quite that simple. Word is, he already knows who she is.� �How can they know, but you don�t?� �I�m not really sure, he has not told anyone who it is or how he knows. Just that he knows.� �You said you�ve been looking for her, there must be something your looking for, some clue to who she is.� Gwyn was about to answer when the door flew open to present a very pissed Maria. �Michael,� Maria advanced into the room not yet seeing Gwyn. �I can not believe you took off when we had very specific plans tonight.� �Maria, I am kinda in the middle of something right now.� He stood and gestured to where Gwyn sat on the couch. Maria took one look at Gwyn and Michael�s rattled state before exploding. �I don�t believe it. I simply do not believe it!� Chapter 12 ___________________________________________ �I don�t believe it. I simply do not believe it.� Maria shook her head trying to keep her rage down to a boil. �I trusted you damn it!� She started hitting Michael on the arm. �I give your sorry ass another chance. I help you search for your roots. I have people chasing after me with semi automatic guns and making my family disappear and this is how you thank me? By sneaking around behind my back again? With another skanky waitress?� Now she was pacing, gesturing wildly but talking too fast for anyone to get a word in. �This is it Michael! No more second chances. And what is it with you and waitresses? Me, Courtney, I noticed you have been spending a lot of time with Liz lately. Thank God she is honest with me, other wise I would have to go totally postal. And now, now you go after this one. I swear, are you are like a waitress homing beacon or something?� �Maria!� Michael finally broke in when she paused for a breath. She whirled around. �You want to try to explain, well I don�t want to hear it. There is nothing for you to explain. I can see the writing on the wall.� �MARIA! Would you calm down for like, two seconds. I am not �with� Gwyn. She�s one of us.� Maria paused and looked at Gwyn. She nodded confirming Michael�s excuse. �Ohhhhh.� Maria gave an apologetic smile as she fished her cedar oil out of her bag. Taking a deep whiff she calmed down considerably. �Wait.� She turned accusingly towards Gwyn. �Are you a skin?� �No, I�m like Michael in my physiological make up.� �K. Are you a Michael worshiper?� �A Michael worshiper?� She raised her eyebrows. �Yes, we had a run in with this skanky skin who worshipped Michael. He�s apparently got some kind of Elvis cult thing going on. A group of skins that think he should be king, not Max. She had this whole shrine in her closet. It was so creepy.� Maria shuttered. Covering her mouth to hide her smile, she shook her head. �No, I�m not a Michael worshiper.� �OK, are you evil?� �Maria,� Michael sighed. �What? Its not like we have a real great track record with new aliens.� �No, I�m not evil. Although, I appreciate you looking out for them. I can tell that you and your friends have been a great asset to them.� Maria smiled widely at her and turned to Michael. �See we are one of your greatest assets.� Michael rolled his eyes. �Ok so your not evil, why are you here. Is this a social call or what?� �I�m looking for Michael�s sister.� �Michael�s sister?� She turned back to him, �you have a sister. You never told me you had a sister. Where is she, why would you keep something like that from me?� �Maria, my God, take another sniff of that stuff before you pop a blood vessel.� He waited for her to do it before he continued, �I didn�t know I had a sister. I only found out about ten minutes ago.� �Ohh, Ok,� she moved to sit next to Gwyn on the couch. �So who is she, where is she?� �We don�t know, that's why I�m here� �You don�t know?� Gwyn rolled her eyes and let out a short puff of air. �OK, we are running way short on time so I am going to give the the super short version of what I just told Michael. �Michael has a sister named Lillyah. She was sent to earth about two years before the royal four. She is completely human and probably has no idea of her other worldly origins. She has some things hidden in her genetic code that can help us win the war. There is this super bad guy after her who is obsessively in love with her. That means he wants her dead so no one else can have her. We need to find her before he does. And no, that's not the only reason we want her, because she has some answers. We love her, she�s one of the best people I have ever met, in two life times.� She looked towards Michael, �That about cover what I told you?� �Yeah, before someone interrupted us.� He looked to Maria who just shrugged her shoulders. �You were about to tell me how we could tell who she was and I remember you saying something about a sacrifice.� �Right,� she took a deep breath, �This is where the prophecy comes in.� �Now we have alien prophecies, wonderful,� Maria mumbled to herself. �Its complicated and a little hard to understand so I will try my best to explain. In the prophecies it foretells of everything that has happened, your coming to earth, what happened at home prior to it and some of what will happen here. Because Lilly and Zan were so close on Antar it was believed that the fates would bring them together no matter where they were or what life it was.� �Soul mates,� Maria whispered thinking about her best friend. Poor Liz, now there was going to be another alien ho after her one true love. �Yes, soul mates. That was what we thought would be the greatest sign of who Lillyah was, that she would be in the company of Zan�s incarnation. That has not happened as far as I can tell. The other was her demeanor. Good to everyone, always putting others before herself, liked by everyone, that kind of thing. Then we were to check the adoption records. She was to come out of her pod at six months and be raised as human. I have checked all the records for the state for girls that age and none of them have ever dated Max.� �OK, so your saying that the only real way of telling who she is, is if Max has an attraction to her?� �Initially yes. There is a definitive test later but we have to be almost completely certain its her before we can do it.� �I hate to tell you this but your prophecy is severely screwed,� Maria added helpfully. �The only people Max has ever had eyes for are that skank Tess and Liz.� Gwyn tried to hide her shock at Maria�s obvious distaste for Tess. �For a while I did believe it was Liz. But she�s not adopted. I found her birth records. Also she does not spend near enough time with Max.� Maria had to bite her tongue from spilling that that was not Liz�s choice. Michael was growing increasingly agitated. Now that he knew he had a sister he wanted to see her, now. Of course, much like the rest of his life, it looked like he might never get what he wanted. �You said something about a sacrifice. Could we use that? Like kill a goat or something and it tells us where she is?� �Michael! You are not killing a helpless goat or any other kind of creature.� �Maria if it will help me find my sister and keep her alive I will kill a freaking goat.� �Hold on, no one is killing a goat,� Gwyn interjected before their disagreement turned bloody. �That's not what the professed sacrifice is about. Its about Lillyah's sacrifice.� �Excuse me, no one is sacrificing my sister.� �No, its not like that either. Calm down, let me explain. The prophecies tell of the Roshina. Roughly translated it means one of goodness, bringer of prosperity, child of light, or some where along those lines. Antarian is really difficult to translate into earth languages. She would be reborn to the heavens. This among a few other things about what her first life was supposed to be lead our scholars to conclude that Lillyah and her current incarnation are the Roshina.� �Ok so she�s some promised one. Where is the part where she gets sacrificed?� �I�m getting there, sheesh. Is he always this impatient?� �Yes.� �You were much mellower on Antar.� Michael pierced her with a glare. She took that as her cue to move on. �Anyway, it goes on to say that she would be reunited with her other half, presumably Max. Then she would make the ultimate sacrifice, her life, for that of a greater good. Its not clear if it will be as a direct result of love or duty to a cause.� �So basically she kills herself.� �We think so or she lets herself be killed, yes.� �So how do we stop it, does it say that? Because I am not letting anything happen to her.� Gwyn smiled at his protectiveness towards a girl he had never met. At least when they did find her, it would not be a problem getting him to accept her. �This is where it gets even more confusing. After telling about the initial sacrifice the prophecy becomes paradoxical, it says that the sacrifice is final and can not be stopped. That after it happens it can not be reversed, that the death will be final. The life given can not be reclaimed. Then it goes on to say that the cause can be resurrected, that although it can not be reclaimed it can be reborn.� �That makes absolutely no sense. How can death be final but be resurrected?� �I don�t know. Our underground scholars have spent years trying to decipher that passage to no avail. That's why we believe we need to find her before the sacrifice happens.� �When is it supposed to take place?� �No one knows.� �Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.� Michael got up and began to pace in front of the couch. �So, what your telling me is I have a sister. She has no idea she�s an alien. She has no way to protect herself. I�m assuming she does not have powers, right?� �No, she should not be developing them until she�s around twenty. We didn�t want them to develop and her have no idea what they were.� �Great!� Michael resumed his tirade, �so she has no way of protecting herself. There is a psychotic alien, who is obsessed with coming to kill her. She is supposed to sacrifice herself for some cause she has no idea exists. As a bonus we have no idea who she is or where she is. Am I leaving anything out?� Gwyn felt really terrible about dumping all this on him. She was glad he was not getting the whole story, he probably would not be able to handle it right now. Still, he did deserve to know the one thing she dreaded even contemplating herself. �Just one thing,� the other two turned expectantly towards her, �there is a chance...� she paused not wanting to say it. �A chance of what Gwyn, just spit it out.� �There is a chance the sacrifice could have happened already.� The silence that descended over the small apartment was palpable. Michael slid down the wall, hanging his head in his hands. To be so close, so close to something you wanted more than life itself and have that possibly taken before you could even see it. The devastation was tangible. Gwyn slumped in the uncomfortable silence. Seeing how hard this was for Michael made the whole problem so much more real. She could not help but feel guilty. She had not found Lillyah yet. It would be her fault if they never found her. Maria watched Michael. If they did not find this girl she knew he would blame himself. He would retreat back inside himself, behind that stone wall she had so diligently tried to crumble. She mulled over everything she had just learned. Bits of the conversation kept sticking in her head. �A paradoxical prophecy�, �a life sacrificed�, �completely human�, there was something forming in her mind but she was not quite sure what. �Powers developing later in life�, �a life given of love or duty�, �Max�s soul mate�. Like a bolt of lighting and a ton of bricks everything fell into place. She gasped as the puzzle worked itself out in her head, �OH. MY. GOD.� Chapter 13 ___________________________________________ Liz�s rich, velvety laugh drifted over to his ears nearly knocking him off his seat. His jaw tightened, he should the one making her laugh. They didn�t even really know who this guy was. Max was seething. He sat at the counter of the Crashdown watching the love of his life flirt with that stupid new guy. Well, to her credit she was not flirting with him but he was one smile short of crawling over the table and mauling her. Some little part of him wished he would. Then Max could run over and play the hero. Not that that worked with Liz anymore. He was not spying on her. It was perfectly acceptable for him to be studying at his local hang out at half past seven on a Monday night. If she just happened to be helping that loser out with his chem. homework it was just coincidence. Liz was always so sweet that way. Willing to help people she didn�t even know, even when there was risk that he was evil and could kill her. He and Michael and Maria had all tried to convince her to cancel this study session with Colin. She flatly refused, saying they were being over protective and paranoid. Paranoid? Over protective? Max Evans? I don�t think so. Besides, she said, they would be in a public place. Even if he was an alien, he would not do anything to her in public. This did little to convince Max. They had no idea what kind of powers he might have. He could mind warp her and have her out of the cafe before she even knew she was standing. No, he could not take that chance. He would just casually go over his history notes. Over here, way across the room, where she would not notice him watching her every move. After all, she might need him. He hoped she would need him. He did have to admit that Colin seemed less than threatening. He had made no effort to worm his way into their group or find out information about himself or his other pod mates. Maybe it was presumptuous for him to assume that everyone that came into their respective lives was looking for him. Max was not a vain guy, not everything had to be about him and his northern heritage. Liz was a beautiful, kind, sweet, incredible person. It was not hard to believe that a new guy or any guy would find her alluring. He liked the idea of him being an evil alien bent on their destruction better. Max cringed. She had just leaned across the table to point to something on Colin�s paper. Liz�s hair had brushed against his hand. Max knew what that hair felt like. It was soft, like spun silk. When you ran your hand through it the strands flowed like water through through your fingers. It smelled like strawberries warmed by the sun. Strawberries. Max smiled. He could never look at a strawberry without thinking of Liz, without thinking of that day in the kitchen. He shook himself. If he let this torturous train of thought continue he would have to abandon his post in search of a cold shower. This sucked. At the time he had thought this whole being friends thing was a good idea, but now he was not so sure. He had been on both sides of the fence and now he was straddling it. This was definitely better than worshiping from afar, at least now he could go talk to her and she would not think he was an idiot. But still, to have to go back, it was like being shown the most beautiful gem on earth then being told you had to settle for cubic zircon. Friends, that was what Liz wanted. Liz wanted to be friends a lot lately. She was making friends all over the place. Colin, he noticed she and Michael were getting closer, and Tess. Max was not sure which freaked him out more. Michael or Tess. To him it seamed that both relationships had sprung up over night. He was happy about it, really he was. He did have to wonder though, Michael was being very protective of Liz. Max did not like that. He was the one who was supposed to protect her, even if they were just friends. Michael was going a little far. Like at the movies the other night. First outside he had been all over her. It was obscene. He and Liz had dated and they were never that openly affectionate. Were they? No, Max didn�t think so. Besides they were in love. He knew Liz was not in love with Michael. She might not be in love with him anymore but she certainly was not in love with Michael. Then in the theater, Liz had gotten up to got to the bathroom or something, when she got back Michael would not give her her seat back. Max ended up sitting between Alex and Michael while Michael had his arm around Liz. She had snuggled into his chest during all the scary parts. That was not Michael�s place, it was his! Finally, when they were walking Liz back to the Crashdown it seemed like Michael was making a concerted effort to keep himself between Max and Liz. He had even walked Liz to her door telling Max to wait downstairs in the cafe. Max always walked Liz to her door. He was her friend too. Why did Michael get to walk her to the door? It was not fair! Then there was Tess. He was really glad she and Liz were getting along. The tension between the two had always been a strain on the group. Not that he he could blame either one. Neither had asked for the impossible situation they found themselves in. Still, the friendship between the two had been rather sudden. Not a week before Tess had been terribly upset that Liz was developing powers she did not have. Now she was helping her learn how to strengthen them. It seemed a little convent. He hopped it was not another of Liz�s schemes to set him up with Tess. Whenever Max asked Liz what had made her change her mind about Tess she would only say that she never hated Tess and that they had come to an understanding. Tess was the same way. Then they would go off together, sometimes with Maria and Izzy, to have some kind of girlie giggle fest. He had a sinking suspicion that they might be talking about him sometimes. He never asked though. He didn�t want to know. Now he found himself across the room, watching her make more new friends. He really did not like that Colin guy. He kept looking at Liz with that dopy, dreamy look on his face. Liz didn�t go for that kind of thing. She liked quiet, stoic guys. She used to anyway. Oh my God. He just reached out and tried to take her hand. This is a public place, people are trying to eat here buddy, he thought to himself. Good, she pulled her hand away. If he tried anything like that again Max would have to go over and have a *discussion* with him on the proper way to treat a lady. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* It was a quarter to ten, Liz had been helping Colin with his math and chem. stuff since a little after seven. Of course, just as she had expected him to be, Max as sitting at the counter his gaze burning holes in the two of them. Liz was having a nice time when she could tear her mind away for Max for a few continuous minutes. Colin was really very sweet. She was glad she had not let the boys push her into canceling. Although, she suspected that Colin understood a lot more than he was letting on. He had just wanted to spend some time with her. What was so wrong with that? Maybe she wanted to get to know him better too. She could not spend her entire life pinning for a love she could never have. Maybe Colin was her first step to over coming her Max addiction. Spending a little time with Colin also gave her a chance to prove to Michael and Max that she could protect herself. Lately the two of them were becoming really annoying. They wanted to know where she was going, who she was going to be with, how late she would be. She had parents for that thank you very much. The concern was nice, to know they cared about her safety, but it was getting out of hand. This thing with Colin for example. Thank the Lord he had not noticed Max giving him the alien death glare all evening. How was she supposed to explain that? �Oh, don�t worry about him. That�s just my ex boyfriend. He�s a good alien but he thinks you might be an evil alien out to kill me. Just ignore him.� Somehow, she didn�t think that would go over too well. They all needed to learn that not everyone they met was going to want them dead. Colin had expressed no interest in becoming a part of their group. Not that you could blame him they way Max, Michael, and Maria huddled around her whenever he got close. It was like having secret service protection. She was a big girl, she could make her own friends. It was not even that she really was interested in Colin. It was just a nice distraction. He was sweet and funny and seemed to have eyes only for her. Liz had to admit that made her feel good. To have just one uncomplicated thing. Just a human boy that had a crush on her and wanted to spend time with her. To not have to worry if the FBI was about to kidnap them or was planting cameras watching them make out, oot that there would be any making out. Colin was nice but she didn�t feel that way about him. That was pretty much sealed when she felt him place his hand on hers. It was a nice, sweet gesture. Liz found herself thinking just that. That he was nice and sweet but there was no spark. Not like with Max. There probably never would be another spark like that, she reminded herself. As she pulled her hand away she could actually feel the waves of jealousy rolling off Max. She smiled to herself. No, bad Liz. She should not be happy that Max was jealous. He was supposed to be getting over her. She was about to go say something to Max when she felt one of the hums getting louder. It was Michael. He was coming there and fast. She had barely raised her head to look at the door when he came crashing through it. He stood at the front of the half full diner, surveying for something. He had an expression Liz could not quite place, it was somewhere between complete happiness and complete terror. She stood to see what was going on when he spotted her. Suddenly, he was heading straight for her, with what looked like sheen tears in his eyes. He grabbed her arm, dragging her back into the break room. Upon entering she was going to ask him what was wrong, if Maria was ok, but her questions were cut off when her crushed her to his body. He was holding her so tightly she was struggling to breath but he did not loosen his grip. He just kept stroking her hair and mumbling something about never losing her or letting her get hurt ever again. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* About an hour earlier.... �OH. MY. GOD.� Maria�s eyes widened in revaluation. �What?� Michael wearily looked up from his spot on the floor. �Gwyn?� �Yes?� �Ok, I�m going to ask you a few questions but you have to answer them before you can ask any. OK?� Gwyn had no idea where she was going or what she wanted to know but if she asked something she could not tell her she would just say so. �Ok, go ahead,� she nodded her head. �The prophecy,� she began slowly, �what if it means not a physical life but a way of life.� �Go on,� she was intrigued by her idea �What if it means giving up a way of life for the greater good. Like giving up what you want most in the world, what could make you happy beyond your dreams. You gave that up for the greater good, for a life of mediocrity knowing that you could never have what you most wanted because it would mean something very bad would happen. In a sense you would be giving your life for those that would be killed because of your happiness.� �Keep going I like where your going with this,� Gwyn encouraged. Michael was just confused, what was she talking about? �The prophecy tells that the death will be final but the life could be reborn. What if that meant once you changed something, made what was going to go wrong with your life ok, corrected it, you could get it back. It would not be the same life it would be different because you had already given it up causing events to change. �You could get back what you gave up. Recapture that happiness. But only after suffering the ultimate sacrifice: giving up your life, your love because someone asked you to. Because it was the right thing to do.� �Maria,� Gwyn whispered in awe. The brightest scholars on Antar had been pondering this section of the prophecy for a near century. Here, a simple earth girl had figured it out only minutes after hearing it. �Maria I think your right, that's got to be it. It makes so much sense.� Michael was now sitting across from them on the floor. �Maria,� he began slowly, �how did you know that?� �Really Maria, that�s amazing. How did you figure it out?� �Because it�s Liz� she said as evenly as she could. She was having a little trouble coping with not only the fact that she had just figured an ages old alien prophecy, but that it said Liz was an alien. OK a human/alien or whatever, not to mention that she was now going to have to betray Liz�s trust and tell her most guarded secret. �Excuse me?� �No, that can�t be right� Michael and Gwyn answered at the same time. �Umm, Maria. I don�t know why you think that, but its not her. I checked it out,� she gave her an apologetic smile. �No, Maria why do you think its Liz? I know she has a secret. She�s been hiding something for along time. You know what it is don�t you?� Michael was using all his energy to keep his tone level and unassuming. If Maria thought he was attacking her they might never get her to spill what she knew. Maria sighed heavily, �yes, Michael. I know her secret.� �What secret?� �Ok I only know the basic plot. It was really hard for her to tell me at all but keeping it to herself was killing her.� She took a deep breath, �in October someone paid Liz a little visit... from the future.� She saw the disbelieving looks on their faces. �I know, I know just let me finish. It was Max. He had somehow used the Granolith as a time machine. He was from fourteen years in the future where apparently your enemies had taken over. Somehow he convinced Liz that it really was him and that he needed her help. The world was about to end in his timeline and he had to change it. �I still can not believe that Max asked her to do this, it has so completely destroyed her. He said that soon, in our time line, that they would be getting back together and once they did they became inseparable. That sent Tess over the edge and she left Roswell for good. Never to be heard from again. Well, you guys were made as a unit, if one link breaks it weakens the whole chain. Without Tess you could not defeat your enemies and the world was taken over. So Max, Future Max came to the conclusion that the only way to get Tess to stay was for him to not be with Liz. He asked her to help get our Max to fall out of love with her.� �Oh my gosh, that poor girl.� Gwyn was practically in tears and she didn�t even know the full details. Not the mention she was extremely confused as to why Tess would leave because Max was with Liz but she could get answers to that later. �Right, so they did a few thing to try to set him up with Tess but it never worked. Her resistance was only making him love her more. She went to his house and gave this totally heart wrenching speech about not wanting to die for him, but that didn�t work either. I saw him afterward. He looked so hurt but he never stopped loving her. It was amazing.� Now Maria was bordering on tears with all the pain her friends had been through. �I can�t believe we were all so oblivious to this going on.� Michael shook his head. He felt terrible. Max must have been devastated and Liz... in hind sight her could see her steady decline. It had almost killed her and no one knew. �I have to say that definitely sounds like Zan and Lilly. He loved her so. He was never the same after she died, just a shell really.� �Wait, I have not gotten to the worst part yet. When the speech did not work Liz begged Future Max to go to someone else, that she could not hurt him again. That's when he told her that Isabel had been killed two weeks before he came to her,� she now had tears steadily streaming down her face. �And that Michael had died in his arms not thirty minutes before he came. Of course Liz could not say no to that. She would not let Max�s family die so she could be with him. So she did the only thing she could think of. She made Max think she had slept with Kyle. �She somehow got Kyle to get in bed with her and wait for when Future Max said our Max would be coming to the window to get her. He stumbled into the set up and this time it worked. You saw how devastated he was that next day. The day they went to Copper Summit. Still, it was nothing compared to Liz. She told me later that when she saw the look in his eyes, that was the moment her heart died. That now she was just an empty shell waiting for her body to die.� �Oh, my poor Lilly!� Gwyn cried. Revealing just how close they had been on Antar. �So you think its her then.� Michael choked out over the huge lump in his throat. �I do,� Gwyn nodded. �Nobody but Lillyah could have done something that selfless.� Michael jumped up and headed towards the door. �Michael, where are you going?� Maria called after him �I have to see her.� �Ok, here take the Jetta,� she handed him the keys and kissed his cheek. �Michael, get her and meet us at the pod chamber. Say whatever you have to to get her there but don�t tell anyone else. Especially Max,� Gwyn instructed. �Pod chamber, got it. We�ll meet you there.� He called over his shoulder as he ran out to the Jetta, out to find his sister. Chapter 14 ________________________________________ �Mifle. Mifle!� Liz tried to get his attention with her head still firmly held to the middle of his chest. What on earth was wrong? Michael never hugged her. Sure they had recently become closer but this was weird. And she could have sworn that he had tears in his eyes. She listened to what he was mumbling into her hair. �I�m so sorry. I didn�t know. I�ll never let anything happen now. I promise. I�m so sorry.� Suddenly Liz had a pretty good idea what was going on and Maria was so dead. Quickly running out of air Liz had to reach up and pinch his arm to get him to release her. �Oww!� �Sorry,� she smiled at him. After all he had nothing to do with this. It was Maria she had misplaced her trust in. How could she be so stupid? Did she not understand the world ending concept? �I was in need of a little more oxygen.� �Oh yeah, sorry about that.� He stepped a little farther away and turned his gaze to his shoes. Now what was he supposed to say to her? �Hey, guess what? You�re my long lost sister from another planet. Lets go out into the desert to a place you really hate and do some family bonding.� Somehow he didn�t think the direct approach would work. His mind quickly ran over what he could say to get her to go with him when he realized what a scene he just caused. He had dragged Liz out of a half full restaurant without saying a word. Oh Shit! He swore to himself as he also realized that Max had been in there. This was not good. Not good at all. Wait, she had also been with someone. That guy Colin, whom he had specifically told her to stay away from. Ok, plan, Michael, you need a plan, he coached himself. Before he could come up with anything, she did it for him. �So she told you?� Liz asked him wearily, but her voice had an edge to it. �Huh?� he looked up, too many thoughts whirling around to quickly catch on to what she was asking. �Maria. She told you.� �Umm told me what?� ok, he knew he was being a little dense, but he had no idea what she was talking about. Liz rolled her eyes, �Michael, after playing �lets squeeze the life of Liz� you can�t play stupid on this one. Its really obvious Maria told you about the whole future thing.� Michael�s eyes lit up, he could definitely use this. �Oh, right. Yeah sorry. I just got aa... caught in the moment,� he stumbled. �All right, fine.� Liz did not look happy. He was not sure he had ever seen her look so angry, as a matter of fact. �You understand that you can�t tell anyone. Right? Especially Max.� �Yeah, I got that. I won�t I promise.� He could not stop staring at her, it was like he was seeing her for the first time. This was his sister, his family. A dopy grin spread across his face. Liz was too angry to notice though. �Where is she?� Liz asked. When her emotions were really stirred up her tracking device power didn�t work. �Huh?� �Maria, where is she?� Thinking on his feet he came up with a quick plan. �Oh, she sent me to get you. She really wants to talk to you.� �That�s good because I really want to �talk� with her.� She turned from him to go back into the cafe, she ended up running straight into Max coming through the door. He reached out, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. �Liz are you all right?� Max asked looking into her eyes, then over her head to Michael. He had the weirdest expression on his face. �Yeah, Max. I�m fine,� she told him while shrugging out of his grasp before it affected her to much. Max turned to Michael, crossing his arms over his chest. �Well Michael, I�m waiting.� �For what?� Michael knew exactly what he wanted but was not going to give him the satisfaction. Max needed to learn that Liz was not his property to control. �For what?� He said back in a much too calm tone. �For an explanation as to why you forcibly dragged Liz back here.� �I did not force Liz anywhere,� he spat back at him. �News flash Michael, grabbing someone, pulling them somewhere and not asking them if they want to go is forcing them. Now what the hell were you thinking? You know how strong we are, you could have hurt her.� This was the wrong thing for Max to say. �HURT HER?!� Michael erupted. �I would never, ever hurt Liz! I can�t believe you Maxwell. You are acting like such an ass. You have hurt her more than I would ever dream possible. What? Were you expecting me to finish the job for you?� Max�s eyes flashed red. He had never been so angry. How dare he insinuate he would intentionally hurt Liz? Michael�s comments didn�t go over too well with Liz either. �Michael! That is enough!� She stepped in between them. �I have no idea what is wrong with you two, but you are acting like a bunch of hormonally imbalanced baboons. The testosterone war is ending RIGHT NOW! Is that clear?� Both boys nodded meekly. Liz rarely ever yelled and when she did it was best to do what she wanted. �Max, I appreciate your concern but Michael just needed to speak to me in private. Maria is having some kind of problem and sent Michael to get me. Isn�t that right Michael?� She gave him a pointed look. Michael nodded. Aside from the little spat with Max this was going better than expected. Liz was making up an excuse for him. �Now, I have to go back out there and apologize to Colin. Then Michael is going to take me to Maria. And from now on you two are going to play nice. Is all that clear?� �Yes,� they answered in unison, sounding like they had just been reprimanded by their mommies. Liz nodded her head firmly, without another word turned into the cafe. Michael and Max trailing silently behind. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Liz had apologized profusely to Colin for cutting out on him early. She told him that Maria was having some kind of family problem and needed her. Colin was surprisingly nice about it. He seemed a little disappointed, but he simply told they would get together another time and hoped Maria was OK. After the display of testosterone poisoning she had just witnessed she liked Colin even more. Now Liz and Michael were riding silently in the Jetta. He had decided not to say anything until she had calmed down a little. She was finally regaining control of her anger. Truth be told, she was glad Michael knew it was one less person she had to lie to. However, that did not mean that she was any less angry with Maria. She had better have one hell of an excuse and it better not be �he�s my boyfriend�. As they turned a corner Liz realized they were headed away from Roswell. �Michael?� �Yeah?� he shifted his gaze sideways. She looked much calmer now, the question was once she found out where they were going how long would that last? �Where are we going?� She quickly searched for her Maria signal, �and why is Maria out in the middle of the desert?� �Well, that's where were meeting her.� �Why? I don�t understand.� Liz had a feeling she knew were they were going and that was the one place on earth she *never* wanted to go again. �umm well...� he stumbled to tell her something without telling her too much and not have her freak out. He took a deep breath. �OK, see Maria had a reason for telling me about what you did. And by the way, I can�t even begin to tell you how ... brave I think that was.� He took his eyes off the road for a moment so she would know that he was being sincere. �I-I don�t think I would have been able to do that.� �You never know how strong you are until you�re tested,� she replied softly. Michael was filled with an incredible sense of pride. This was his sister that was so brave. It was his sister that had given her life up to save his sorry butt along with the rest of the world. That was just so awesome. Noting that this was still really hard for her to talk about he moved on. �Anyway, this is hard to explain. We think we might have found my sister.� �Your sister, Michael! Oh my gosh! I�m so happy for you.� They had talked several times how important family was to the both of them. Liz knew this was one of the things he wanted most. �Yeah, I know.� He gave her a crooked smile, �we are still not exactly sure who she is, Maria thought your story might help out with that a little.� Michael knew this would cause questions so he pressed on to the topic that would probably make her forget them. �Now were going to the pod chamber.� �Michael. No.� Liz had not been there since the day the orbs had been activated. It was not a day she wanted to relive. �Liz, please.� He looked at her beseechingly, �I-I umm, I really would like you to be there. So would Maria. Just to see what we find.� Liz could not ignore his plea. He looked like such a lost little boy. She didn�t know why it was important for her to be there, but if that's what he wanted she would do it. Sighing heavily she agreed, �OK Michael, if its that important to you.� �Thank you, Liz, it is.� They were silent for a moment. Liz mulled over the thought of another alien. She was struck with a thought. �Michael?� �Yeah?� �Why didn�t you tell Max back at the cafe?� Crap, he knew he was not going to get off that easily. �Oh. I umm.. We thought it would be better to wait to tell the others until we were sure who it was. There are these bad people that might be after her. We didn�t want to alert any unnecessary attention.� �Oh, Ok.� Liz was not at all convinced but she didn�t have time ask anymore questions. They were pulling up to the great rock that jutted up into the desert skyline. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* �Here we are Liz, you�re home now. Safe and sound.� Maria�s tone was very soft and even. She opened the door to Liz�s apartment and Michael lead her shell shocked friend inside to the couch. Maria was starting to worry. Liz had not said a word since they left the Granolith chamber and her color had still not returned. Maybe this was not such a good idea. Liz was strong but she had already been through so much. This might just have pushed her over the edge. �I�m going to make some tea.� She walked over to where Liz was sitting next to a almost freaking Michael. �Would you like some tea Lizzy?� Liz didn�t look up, she just stared at a coffee stain on the carpet. Maria turned to Michael. He shrugged his shoulders, the look on his face giving away how worried he really was. As Maria skittered off to the kitchen he turned his attention back to Liz. She was really starting to worry him. Was it that upsetting finding out she was his sister? All right, he knew that was unfair, this was not about him. Still he could not help being a little hurt by her reaction. They had been wrong. They should have told her their suspicions before they lead her into the Granolith chamber. But how was he supposed to know what was going to happen? Gwyn should have warned him. They had gone into the chamber and when Liz entered it was like flipping a switch. The Granolith started spinning on its axis and glowing. Michael would never forget the look of absolute terror on her face when that thing came to life and shot out a purple beam of light to engulf her entire body. The light shaft seemed to take on a life of its own. It spun around her like a stick of peppermint sending her hair flying in every direction. Liz was so petrified she couldn�t even scream. She just stood there, horror filled eyes locked on his. At last the light seemed to die down. It split into two parts coming to rest around her neck and the crown of her head. The one around her neck settled to form a necklace with an intricate design of the V constellation. The beam on her head danced a little more eventually coming to rest as a delicate silver crown with aqua and purple stones. Then the Granolith slowed to a stop and dimmed to its original state. The chamber was deadly quiet for a moment before Gwyn started to cry great gasping sobs and ran to Liz pulling her into a fierce hug. Michael couldn�t move. She was still pinning him with her gaze. When Gwyn pulled back Liz moved her unfocused eyes to her face. �It...i-its m-me. I-isn�t it?� she asked in a barely audible voice. Gwyn grinned ear to ear and nodded happily. Liz however, started to shake violently. Snapping out of their shocked stupor Michael and Maria ran to their friend. Michael caught her to his body just before she collapsed to the floor. They brought her back out of the cave into the cool night air. Eventually she stopped shaking but she had not spoken since. Then of course Gwyn got some mysterious call and had to leave. She would not say where, only that she was needed and would be back soon. She took Liz�s crown from her head but said that she could keep the necklace if she didn�t show it to anyone. He didn�t even get to ask her any questions. He knew Liz was going to have questions. He had no idea how to answer any of them. How was he supposed to be her big brother if he could not give her the answers? Gwyn had only stayed long enough to tell him that she would answer Liz�s questions when she got back and she gave him a few warnings: Don�t tell Liz she was murdered. Don�t tell Liz about your dreams, they might be too much for her to deal with right now. She would tell her later, after she had digested the initial stuff. That was apparently going to take some time. Finally, under no circumstances was he to tell anyone else, namely Max. Durton would be looking for Lillyah through Zan, it would be the easiest way for him to find her. Because of that Liz was never to be left alone with Max. That was the main thing that had thrown Gwyn off her trail, hopefully it would work with Durton�s spy as well. �Liz?� He tried again. Slowly she moved her gaze to meet his. The look in her eyes broke his heart. She looked lost and confused and only six years old. �Liz?� He reached out tentatively, pushing her hair off her shoulder. �Please?� he begged. She opened her mouth once to speak then closed it again. She raised a shaking hand to the amulet around her neck, picking it up so she could see it. �I d-don�t understand,� she looked back up at him. �I- it knew me. How could it know me? Did it know you?� �No,� he answered softly. �Oh,� she looked back down at the necklace. Michael tried to think of something to say. She was not plowing in with the questions as he expected. That was how Liz dealt with everything. Asking questions and breaking things down until she understood them. �Liz, I don�t know what to say to help you. I have never been very good at this feelings kind of thing.� She looked back up and gave him a small, half hearted smile. �I know Michael.� She placed a hand on his. �I know this seems stupid, but I need to know. Are you- upset? I mean are you upset with me, about being my...my sister?� �Oh Michael, no. Don�t ever think that. I am just very tired and very confused and completely overwhelmed.� He visibly relaxed and released the breath he was holding. �Maybe you should talk about it? You know, or write in you journal or something.� He wanted desperately to take that lost, helpless look out of her eyes. �I have so many questions and possible answers and consequences running through my head that I can�t pick out a coherent one. I feel like if I let one out it will open them all up and they will just drown me in a sea of uncertainty. �I think I just don�t want to think about it. For right now anyway. Is that ok?� �Of course.� He wrapped his arm around her shoulder to try to give her a little bit of comfort. He noticed that the hand he was still holding felt like ice. �Liz, your freezing. Let me get you a blanket.� He stood to get one from her room. She refused to let go of his hand �No,� she pulled on his arm. �Please don�t leave me alone,� she begged, letting him see once again just how vulnerable she was right now. He sank back down to the couch and pulled her closer to him. �Don�t worry, I�m never going to leave you,� he whispered as he lightly kissed the crown of her head. �Maria,� he called into the kitchen. She came running out. �Yeah, what do you need?� �Could you get Liz a blanket?� �Sure, I�ll be right back.� She was gone for a minute. When she came back she wrapped a big blanket around Liz who was still resting with her head on Michael�s chest. She kissed her cheek before saying soothingly, �there you go sweetheart. Don�t worry Liz. Everything will be ok. This doesn�t change anything. It does not change how we think of you or who you are and it certainly does not change how much we love you.� �Thank you Maria,� she whispered as a few tears made their way down her cheeks. Maria smiled sympathetically and went back into the kitchen. It was quiet for a little while longer before Liz spoke again. �Michael?� �Yeah?� He stroked her hair gently. �Do you think you could talk to me? Tell me a story or explain how to fix a car or something. Just talk to me so I don�t have to think.� �OK.� He wasn�t really sure what to say, but he was ecstatic that she had asked him to do something to make her feel better. �Once upon a time,� he began �in a kingdom far, far away there lived a beautiful young princess. She was kind and sweet and everyone who met her loved her. Especially her brother.� *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A little while later Maria came back into the living room to check on them. Liz was laying out on the couch with her head resting on his lap. Michael was petting her hair and watching her sleep. A small smile played across his features and his eyes were shining with unshed tears. Maria didn�t think she had ever seen him so peaceful. When he finally noticed she was there she silently motioned for him to come talk to her. Gingerly, he picked up Liz�s head, stood, then placed it back on a pillow. He pulled the blanket up to her chin before following Maria into the kitchen. �How is she doing?� Michael rubbed his eyes tiredly, it was almost three in the morning now. �Well, I got her to talk a little, but she�s really confused and overwhelmed. I think after a little sleep I can tell her what I know. Its not much, but it will have to do.� �She�ll understand Michael.� She rested her hand on his arm in a sign of reassurance. �Ok, well I think I should go home. My mom is going to completely freak. I can only hope she went out with the sheriff last night and won�t notice I�m gone. Are you going to be all right or do you want me to stay and you can go get some sleep? This has been a hard day for you too.� �No, I want to stay.� Maria smiled. Once Liz dealt with this she was going to have to deal with a seriously overprotective big brother. Poor girl, as if Max was not bad enough. �All right, I�ll leave then. I think you should keep her home from school tomorrow. She�s going to be tired and upset. One look at Max and she�ll crumble. If she loses it in front him we won�t be able to keep this a secret, even if it�s only until Gwyn gets back.� �Good idea. Speaking of Max, he was in the Crashdown when I came to get Liz. She figured out that you told me about Future Max. I should warn you she might be really angry with you later, when she remembers that. Anyway, we told Max you were having some kind of spaz attack and sent me to get Liz.� She glared at him for a minute. �Fine, I�ll handle Max from my end. He�s going to be upset enough that Liz is not at school.� �Yeah, he�s not too happy with me right now anyway.� Maria raised her eyebrows. �We got into a little... tiff, about Liz.� �Not even twelve hours and your getting into fights about her.� She shook her head in amusement then looked at him thoughtfully. �I�m really happy for you Michael, for both of you. I want you to know that.� �Thanks... for everything.� He smiled crookedly at her then leaned down to lightly brush his lips over hers. �Ok, I�m going to go. You should get back in there in case she wakes up, I�ll call you tomorrow to check on her.� With that she grabbed her bag and headed out to the Jetta. Michael went back into the living room to watch his little sister sleep. The Lost Conversations Part 4 Liz and Isabel ___________________________________ This scene is the training Liz spoke of the Michael in chapter 6. It takes place between chapter 5 and 6. It should also be noted that this takes place before anyone knows Liz was Lillyah. __________________________________ Liz�s bedroom... Isabel had come over like they had talked about. They were going to work on Liz learning to control her powers. Liz was ringing her hands nervously while Isabel tried to get her thoughts together. She placed her hands on top of Liz�s and smiled sweetly at her. �Take a deep breath.� Liz did as he instructed. �I can�t even imagine how scary this must be for you. I�ve had these things all my life, I know how to deal with it. But to just one day wake up with them...� Liz smiled back at Isabel�s lackluster attempt to make her feel better. �Actually it�s not the powers themselves I�m afraid of. If you think about it I have had them for over a year now, we just didn�t know it. What I�m afraid of is that they will be stronger than I am. That I won�t be able to control them. If this goes on I will be putting you guys in danger.� Isabel was slightly taken aback. After all that knowing about them had done to her life, after Max had physically changed her, her first priority was still to keep them all safe. She wished she were that selfless. �Liz you�re a strong person, you can do this. I know you can. *Max* knows you can.� Liz nodded her head resolutely, �right. Where do we begin?� �You�re like Max, very controlling, *cough* I mean controlled. Right now you�re letting your emotions control your powers. Emotions are impossible to control there for so are your powers. You need to take that control back form your heart and use your head.� �o-kay. How do I do that?� �I thought about it and I remembered this chapter we studied in my psychology class a little while ago on the power of visualization. I have an idea that might work. If your willing to try it, that is.� �Sure. I suppose I�m up for a little psych 101. As long as it does not involve electric shocks or anything,� she giggled. Izzy laughed. �No, just a little imagination. You ready?� �As I�ll ever be. What should I do.� �Lean back against the head board. Make sure you are comfy.� Liz shifted around until she was settled. Isabel began as soon as Liz�s breathing evened. �I want you to close your eyes and imagine you are in a large room with two tables. On one table there is a bottle, on the other an open box. In that box are all your powers, because the box is open you can not control them. They can escape and run amok whenever they feel like it. Pick up the box and pour them into the bottle. Now put the stopper in the bottle. Put the bottle on a shelf along the wall. Now leave the room and lock the door behind you. Are you out of the room?� Liz nodded her head, �yeah,� she whispered sounding like she was in a daze. �Good. You control your powers with your head now. They are locked up tight, away from your heart and your emotions. The only way for that power to get out is for you to unlock that door and uncork that bottle. �All you have to do is is learn to uncap the bottle and control its flow, not spill it. You can open your eyes now.� Liz opened her eyes slowly as she adjusted to the light. �Wow. I could actually feel something happening. Like there was a force, an energy moving from my chest to my head.� �Really? That is so cool!� Both girls burst out laughing. �I didn�t know if it would really work. I just thought it was worth a try.� The remaining tension in the room drifted away as the girls laughed with each other. �Okay,� Isabel began breathily, trying to get back to business. �Let�s see how well it really worked.� She walked over to Liz�s hamper and pulled out a blouse with a small pasta sauce stain. �How about you try to remove this stain?� �Ok. Umm, how do I do that?� �Let me help you with it the first time. Feed you a little of my energy so you know what it�s supposed to feel like. It will be similar to when you contacted Max.� Liz looked uncertain. �I won�t have to form a connection,� Isabel assured her. �Yeah, all right.� Liz felt bad, but she couldn�t risk Isabel seeing anything she might not understand or God forbid, the whole truth. Isabel walked over to Liz with the blouse and took her hand. She had noticed recently that Liz had been reluctant to touch any of the podsters. Now she realized it was because she was afraid of forming a connection. It probably had to do with some residual Max memories. Iz didn�t take it personally, the last thing she needed to be privy to was Liz�s fantasies about her brother. Yuck! �Ok. I will send you a little of my energy so you know what it feels like. I want you to let yours meld with mine, follow it, got it?� �Yeah, I think.� �I�ll tell you what to do. First imagine yourself opening the bottle, let a little power drip out slowly. Let it flow into your body and meet mine. Can you feel it coursing through you?� �Yeah,� Liz turned wide eyes to Isabel. �I can�t believe I never noticed this before. It�s like an adrenaline rush.� �That�s why its so easy for your emotions to get control of it. It�s easy to confuse the power with the emotions and lose you grip on it. �Now direct that power into your hand. Feel it running out of your body into your shoulder and down your arm. Flowing through your arm and pooling in your palm. �Hold your hand out over the stain. Feel the power slowly releasing out of your hand and into the material. Feel the power pushing the molecules and getting under the stain. Now dissipate the stain.� Liz felt the last of the power seep from her hand. Holding her breath she removed the hand from the blouse. A huge grin broke out on both girls faces when they saw the stain was gone. �I did it.� She turned to Isabel, her voice full of awe. �I told you!� She stood and ran to Liz�s desk to grab a book. �Here try to change the cover. On your own this time.� Liz took the book. Her brow crinkled as she concentrated on the flow of power and imagining the cover changing. After a couple minutes Hamlet was now Romeo and Juliet. �Ahh! I did it.� She jumped up and hugged Isabel. Izzy hugged her back as they jumped and danced excitedly around the room. �Isabel I don�t know how to thank you!� �Please,� she waved her hand through the air. �There is nothing to thank. Soon it will be second nature. You won�t need to use the image of the bottle or the power coursing through you. It will just happen.� �Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.� She laughed again. It was good to see Liz happy, maybe now that she was regaining some control she would stop acting so weird. �Come on,� she put her arm around her shoulders. �I�m hungry. let�s go down and get some dinner.� Liz was too excited to remember she wasn�t really hungary. Back Next |