Disclaimer:
These characters do not belong to me, but to the writers and producers
of Roswell
Spoilers:
After Chant Down Babylon, changes happening where Max is successfully
rescued, and Michael was the one who broke up with Maria.
Pairings: You’ll have to wait and see!
Pronunciation Guide: Kedra (Ke – drah)
Kedrans
(Ke – drahns)
Kedar
(Ke – dar)
Iturians
(I – tur – rians)
Fadila (Fa –
dee – la)
Alaric (Ah – lair – ic)
Andaria (An – dar – ia)
Radim
(Ra – deem)
Hakan
(Ha – kahn)
Muna
(Mew – na)
Steren
(St- air – en)
Pilan (Pi – lahn)
Saren Dari (S - air – ren Dahr – ee)
Barak
(B - air – rack)
Riazia
(Ree – ah – zee – a)
Author’s notes: Queen Fadilia
Kedar: Max/Isabel’s mother
King
Alaric Kedar: Max/Isabel’s father
Andaria: Tess’ mother
Radim:
Tess’ father
Kedrans: race from which Royal Four descended
Iturians: race from which Khivar descended, and
overthrew and killed Zan and the Kedrans
***
In dream and in love there are no
impossibilities.
-
Janos Arany
***
Max trudged home while Isabel jogged beside him, trying to
get him to talk. He didn’t want
to. And Kyle reluctantly dropped the
subject, when Isabel suggested he go home.
When they had explained the idea that sleeping with Liz was
the cause of his former condition, it was too much to take. Max had thought they’d gotten over all of
this. He knew Isabel and Michael, from
day one, had hated watching him pine over Liz.
And then when he healed her, exposing their secret, both Isabel and
Michael, resented her. But over the few
years, Max thought that they had worked things out, and Michael and Isabel knew
that it was for the best. They weren’t just
aliens; they had a human side too.
“Max, come on! Talk
to me,” Isabel pleaded.
He stared blankly at his sister. Could she and Michael be so heartless to come up with a theory
that made no sense? There was no
possible way that Liz was the reason he had been sick. “You’re wrong.” That was all he said.
That was all he was planning to say.
It was late and he didn’t want to talk about it. They were all exhausted after rescuing Jesse
and finding out that he had lied to all of them.
Max quickly made his way into his room and closed the
door. As he leaned on it, he closed his
eyes and lowered his chin to his chest.
He was too tired to think about it.
He would definitely talk to Michael, Isabel, Liz, and Tess
tomorrow.
Before hopping into bed, Max glanced at himself in the
mirror. What had happened? What had happened to make everything so
screwed up? He sighed and rubbed his
face. How much more could he take?
Suddenly the light from his bedside lamp brought attention
to the marks on his chest. When he had
changed that morning, there were two handprints on his chest. They reminded him of the marks he would
leave after using his powers to heal someone.
The odd thing was, that there were two distinguished handprints. One was a silvery grey – the color his
powers would leave. The other was a
pale gold.
Max frowned. What
were they? Why would Tess’ handprints
be of two different colors?
~~~
“Why did you make us book?” Maria asked irritably.
“I needed to get out of there,” Liz replied as she hunkered
down for the night. Maria decided she would
stay over night and they would go to school together in the morning. Liz didn’t really want the company that
night, not after what she had just done.
“You’re feeling guilty about the whole thing aren’t you?”
Liz pulled the covers up to her chin and didn’t answer. Maria was just going to lecture her about
how Tess deserved it and how she wished she could have been the one to stick it
to Tess. It wasn’t a conversation she
wanted at 12 in the morning. “No,” Liz
denied, hoping Maria would just let it lie.
There was a rustling of sheets and Liz could feel Maria’s
eyes on her as the blonde propped herself up on her side. “You’re such a goody two-shoes,” Maria
pouted.
Liz blinked once and then slowly turned her gaze upon her
best friend of 17 years. “I am not a
‘goody two-shoes’,” she protested. “I
just don’t think that I should cheer after almost killing someone.”
Maria frowned. “She
looked fine to me!”
Liz frowned and propped herself up against the headboard of
her bed. “How can you say that?”
Maria shrugged.
“Michael helped her up and she could walk?” she explained dryly.
As she listened to her best friend talk, Liz couldn’t
believe the things she was saying. They
had changed a lot in the past couple of years.
And Liz didn’t know if it was for the better. “Don’t you understand?” Liz said in a hushed tone, making sure
her parents wouldn’t hear her frustration.
Maria shook her head; a confused expression appeared on her
face. “No!” she laughed quite
mystified. “I don’t understand. You got to let Tess feel a little of what
Alex must have felt when he died.
Except it was probably more tortured and agonizing.” The blonde fell on her back, staring blankly
at the ceiling. “Do you understand what
it’s like dreaming about how Alex died?” Maria asked quietly.
Liz tried to swallow the lump that had developed in her
throat. “Sort of,” she whispered. “But we can’t let that direct our every
thought and action.”
“Maria we can’t kill her just because she killed Alex. It would make us no better than her.” Liz watched her mull over the carefully
constructed sentences she had constructed in the hopes that Maria would see
that it would do no good.
The long lashes that shadowed her telltale eyes lifted and
Maria turned on her side once again, her face a few inches from Liz. “I know,” she said, tears forming in the
corners of her eyes. “But whenever I
look at her Liz…”
Liz nodded, understanding the tumult of emotions one can
feel when pushed hard enough. “I know,”
Liz whispered, reaching out and pulling Maria into a bear hug. “I just want you to see that even though I
might feel that way about her, that killing her doesn’t make me feel any
better. Hurting her because she
killed Alex didn’t make me feel any better.”
He was still gone.
~~~
She was resting peacefully now. Michael closed the door to his bedroom and snuck quietly down the
hallway. Tess had protested when he had
suggested that he should call Max, just in case something went wrong after Liz’s
attack. But she won him over and he
believed her when she said all she needed was some rest.
Michael allowed himself to fall distractedly onto the
couch. This had been one heck of a
day. Jesse had been lying to Isabel for
months. He never should have let her go
to New York. He should have made her
stay in Roswell.
Michael ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Leaning back on the couch he stared
distantly at the ceiling. All he wanted
to do was hold her in his arms and comfort her. Part of him ached with Isabel as she digested the
confession. Even though he never
trusted Jesse completely, especially when he ran off for a few days, without
contacting Isabel, Michael had been convinced that he did indeed love
Isabel. The man had even convinced him
that he would never betray either him or Max.
Their secret was safe.
“Ha!” Michael scoffed out loud. “What a joke!”
As he got up, wrestling with Jesse’s betrayal, Michael
stepped out onto his balcony and stared out solemnly into the night. Isabel. Was this his chance to be with her? Would she forgive him?
Michael closed his eyes and pushed the thought away.
There was no way Isabel could forgive Jesse for this. No way.
~~~
Under the blue submersion, a bed of kelp was floating. Green and yellow hues from the living plant
seeped into the shielding of what lay beneath.
The tall strands, which reached for the sparse creation of white light
sparkling in the depths, danced in time with slow motion of the ocean. All was dark. The Sun brought little warmth, upon appearance, to that watery
grave. Only the small air bubbles that
appeared ever so often from the unusual kelp bed produced any evidence of
life. If any sea creature could speak
it would chatter incessantly about the oddity.
The kelp grew strong and tall, expanding its territory over
the years. If it had been plucked from
its fertile bed and aged, the years would be comparably few. However, in its lifetime, the life form had
seen many strange things. And as the
pull of the Sun and the Moon joined in all its glory, creating the pure
fleeting beauty of the Spring tide once more; a shattering crescent of light
pierced through the thick weight of the liquid solitude.
As it did so many years ago, the yearly tide buried that which
slept in the cold warmth of its muddy tomb; but now, the unassuming celestial
torrent unmasked the silent grave and revealed to the unwitting depths, one,
whose sleep had been disturbed by those whose cry was fervent. His task lay before him and it would be
accomplished. Truth and light would be
left in his wake, though fear and loathing before him. All would be as it should have been, so many
years ago.
~~~
“Muna refuses to answer my Lady,” Medgio replied, bowing
before his Mistress.
“Why?” Andaria cried out in frustration, hitting the console
that lay in front of her. “I cannot
understand their reluctance to come up from under Khivar’s threats?”
“Perhaps it is not that they do not want to be rid of
Khivar, rather than they do not want to help Zan return to the throne.”
“That is preposterous!
Why would Hanar be so stubborn?” Andaria exclaimed wringing her hands
and pacing back and forth.
“Khivar’s production at the Summit would be a likely
reason,” Medgio offered. “All the
worlds believed it was Zan’s stubbornness that cost all of them the peace they
sought.” He had heard from sources on
the other worlds that the leaders were outraged.
“Foolish! How could
they not have seen through his lies?” Andaria said through gritted teeth. She leaned up against the glass window
looking out onto the Solarium.
“My Lady, how detrimental would it be to our forces in our
stand against Khivar and his army? Muna
would have brought tens of thousands.”
“I do not know,” Andaria said, her voice barely above a
whisper. “I must confer with General
Steren and the whole of the Annex. This
vendetta against Zan for what he did at the Summit will reap horrible consequences
if I’m unable to convince the other worlds that Zan made the only choice he
could. This could delay our schedule
and that is something that is unacceptable.”
Her blonde locks fell across her face, so Medgio was unable
to read his Mistress’ face. She
remained still, not even a waver; frozen as one of those marble statues he had
seen in Earth history. He lowered his
head and bowed at the waist, accepting his Mistress’ unspoken dismissal. He left the room allowing Andaria time to
sort through the various changes in plans and strategies needed to ensure Zan
his place on the throne. Medgio knew
the burden she carried was heavy and he would have listened as she unloaded her
fears and worries, if only for a brief moment; but that was not his place. Instead he would prepare the small
contingent under his care, which he kept organized and informed of Andaria’s
needs, aware of the unexpected turn.
Now more than ever would the scattered few that remained
fighting for their freedom, be needed.
Those who had infiltrated Khivar’s home and sanctuary needed to be on
their guard. The closer the Day of
Reckoning approached the more difficult it was to keep their charade of fealty
to the reigning King of Antar intact.
Many of these Loyalists would die in the attempt to overthrow Khivar,
and with the recent uncertainty of victory, Medgio was even more amazed at his
fellow Antarian’s faith in the return of their absentee Leader.
Medgio closed the door behind him, leaving Andaria to her
thoughts and prayed to the Unseen that she would not be disappointed. He prayed that The One would bring the
Chosen back as it had been destined.
~~~
“Michael!
Michael!” Max yelled through the
thick apartment door. “Come on! Open the door!” When he awoke that morning, Max pretended to prepare for his
first day back at school for his parent’s sake. In actuality, he had no intention of going to school that
morning. Max needed to know in detail
what all of Michael, Isabel, and Tess knew and had been keeping from him.
“Can you keep it down Max?” Isabel asked quietly, her eyes
darting around the hallway, hoping no one would jump down their throats for
waking them up. “I’m sure the neighbors
appreciate your yelling at 7:30 in the morning!”
Max rolled his eyes at Isabel. “Well if you were me, wouldn’t you want to know what the heck was
going on? But that doesn’t apply since
you already do, don’t you?” he asked irritably. When Max lifted his arm to knock on Michael’s door one more time,
Max found Michael standing groggily at the door.
“What?” the tall blonde growled.
“We need to talk!” Max said firmly.
Michael frowned and looked askance at Isabel who just shook
her head and sighed. “Don’t ask. You’ll find out!” Isabel groaned.
~ * ~
“Where is she?” Max barked, looking around the apartment.
“Where is who?” Michael asked in confusion.
“Tess of course!” Max exclaimed. “Who else? We’re getting
this sorted out now!”
“What the heck are you talking about?” Michael yelled,
growing agitated by Max’s dictator-like attitude.
“Max knows about Liz and the…ahem, sickness
theory,” Isabel explained dryly.
“Yeah and I don’t believe it!” Max replied darkly. “I don’t know how you came up with it, but
it’s a bunch of hogwash. There’s no
way!”
Michael looked warily at Isabel, who was also tense and
anxious about explaining the theory.
“Can we not wake Tess right now?” he asked tiredly. “Isabel and I can first fill you in on what
we know and maybe when she wakes up then she can explain the ‘why’ later?”
Isabel frowned. She
didn’t understand why they couldn’t just wake her up now.
“No, she’ll explain now,” Max stated, heading towards
Michael’s bedroom.
Just as he was about to reach for the doorknob, Michael
stepped in front of him and blocked his path.
“You’re not going in.”
Max couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What has gotten into you? Since when do you care if I interrupt her
sleep?” Max asked incredulously.
Michael shrugged. “I
don’t.”
“Then?” Max waited
expectantly for some reasonable explanation.
Unexpectedly Isabel spoke instead. “Did something happen?” Isabel asked worriedly.
“Yeah, something happened,” Michael answered grimly. “And you’re not going to like it.”
~~~
“Liz wouldn’t!” Max shook his head. “That’s not like her!”
Michael looked skeptically at Max. “She did!” he replied darkly.
After explaining the events of last night, Max’s adamant assertion of his need to see Tess faded, and Michael was left with a disbelieving Max. “Why would she do that? That just isn’t like her!” Max repeated distractedly.
“Is she all right?” Isabel asked, rubbing Max’s shoulders, trying to comfort him.
Michael shook his head. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t let me take her to the hospital,” he explained.
Max looked up at him, “And you couldn’t have made her?” he asked irritably. “You’re twice her size.”
Michael narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. “And she could still probably kick my butt,” he declared. “If you don’t remember, she’s had time to actually learn her powers! While I am sitting around my apartment worrying about stupid school assignments, ooooh!” His hands shook for effect as he shrunk back in mock terror. “I know I would be terrified!” Michael rolled his eyes and turned his back on his ‘Fearless Leader’.
“Well it does seem strange,” Isabel agreed hesitantly. “I mean Liz wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Michael turned and looked at Isabel, mystified that she couldn’t possibly believe that Liz might have a grudge against Tess. “Yeah, right,” he growled. He threw his hands up in the air and shook his head at the two. “Now why would Liz, who has these neat new found powers, not want to get a little revenge on Tess, who has admittedly killed Alex?” Michael leaned against his kitchen counter. “No reason at all,” he said dryly.
“And what do you want me to do about it?” Max asked. He looked up at Michael as if caught between a rock and a hard place. “Tess did kill Alex and Liz has every right to be upset with her. How am I supposed to rationalize those feelings away?”
Michael sighed out loud and dropped his arms to his side. “No one is asking you to do anything!” he said exasperatingly. “I just want you to realize that Liz isn’t this patron saint. She isn’t this innocent girl who always needs to be protected.” He paused, hoping the words were sinking in.
Michael had thought a lot about this last night, and he had the same arguments as Max did. How could he blame Liz? Why did he feel angry that she would do something against a woman who has brought nothing but pain and death? He didn’t end up with any answers before the excitement of the evening caught hold of him and he drifted to sleep. And that was why he was cutting Max a little slack - but only a little.
“But…” Max was without words. His face contorted in a myriad of emotions.
He was torn, and that was something Michael could relate too. It was the first time Michael actually felt he could relate to Max on any level, other than the basic fact that they were alien hybrids. They were polar opposites in everyway. But now, Michael could see Max was torn. The look on his face when he had told her that Tess had been hurt was one of anger, anxiety and fear. But when he revealed to Max that it was Liz, his expression became solemn.
No. He and Max were in quite the fix. But Michael felt for the first time, he was the one at the lucky end of the stick. He knew in his heart that he and Isabel belonged together. It wasn’t a question of his feelings for Isabel; it was a matter of hers for him.
~~~
It was a lot to digest. He knew before his sickness that Liz was beginning to see strange things happening within her, but he fell ill before he knew the full extent. Now to learn that she could ‘blast’ someone, it made Max realize what he had done to her. He had somehow changed this ‘perfect creature’ he once loved from a far. And part of Max dreaded the idea that maybe this ‘attack’ on Tess was also due to his powers.
And then there was Tess. She came back from Antar to save him. Apparently putting her and their son in some kind of peril. How much could they really trust her? But once again he found himself trusting her and being drawn to her. What was he doing?
“Max?” Isabel’s voice drew him back to reality and the knowledge that Liz had tried to hurt Tess. “Huh?” he mumbled, still distracted, and questioning all that he had known and all that he knew.
“Are you all right?” Michael asked.
Max swallowed and nodded his head. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine,” he replied, plastering a smile on his face. The expressions on Michael and Isabel’s face told Max that they didn’t buy his act. But he pressed on. He didn’t want to get into this whole sordid conversation of what he should or should not feel for either woman. “I’d better go check on Tess,” Max sighed, happy to come up from under their scrutinizing gazes, but uneasy about being in the same room with Tess alone.
~~~
Tess slept fitfully. It was like she was awake, but couldn’t rouse herself from her slumber. Suddenly she found herself standing in her son’s room. Tess approached the crib, relieved to be near her son again. “Zander!” she cried happily. As she reached down into the soft folds of the powder blue blanket, Tess found the crib empty.
A loud wailing cry pierced the haze of the vision. Tess’ eyes darted around the room, searching frantically for the source. Her heart raced. “Zander?”
Tess attempted to leave, but she was unable to pass the threshold of the beautifully decorated room, pulling hard on the locked door. The cries grew and became more fervent. “Zander!” she yelled, pounding helplessly at the door. “Zander! Mommy’s here!”
However, no matter what she tried, there was no way to reach her pleading child. Then unexpectedly, the door opened on its own, revealing a dimly lit room. When she tried to pass through the door, she was unable once again. Tess watched as Khivar and Nicholas entered the room carrying Zander. The cries had stopped and Tess was forced to watch Khivar place her son into a glowing cold metal chamber. Nicholas was behind some kind of console and Khivar’s mouth moved, as if saying something to Nicholas. The fair-haired lackey nodded and pressed a sequence of buttons. It was as if she were looking at a scene through a window.
Suddenly a brilliant flash of light radiated from the machine her son had been placed into. Tess moved forward, every muscle in her body straining for Zander, to no avail. An agonizing cry seemed to shatter whatever barrier standing between her and her son. Just as Tess was about to step through the entrance, the scene froze and the image broke into tiny fragments until she was left standing in a white void. All she was left with was the memory of her child’s voice calling, burned into her mind forever.
As Tess fell to her knees among the broken shards of an ongoing nightmare, her eyes fell upon one large jagged image. It was Zander’s terrified face. His eyes were closed; tears stained his face as his perfect mouth shook from his cry. “Zander,” she sobbed.
~~~
Tess heard a soft click and before she remembered what had happened, she found herself lying in Michael’s bed. “Zander!” she cried, gasping for air, her brow was moist from her sweat.
“Tess?” Max’s low voice drew her eyes to the door.
Her brow creased as her eyes began to focus on the figure approaching her. “Max?” Tess called. “Is that you?”
Max wasn’t sure what was wrong, but there was pure terror in her eyes and her hair was damp from sweating. He sat down beside her, unsettled, when she drew back from him. His bride in a former life curled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She rocked slowly back and forth.
He reached out for her and placed his hand on her upper arm. She was trembling. “Tess what’s wrong?” Her eyes seemed to focus on the distant wall; she was somewhere else. He moved further onto the bed and grasped Tess’ shoulders in both his hands and shook her gently. “Tess, what happened?” he asked firmly. She didn’t look good.
Tess closed her eyes, Zander’s cry still ringing in her ears. She covered them, shutting her eyes even tighter. “Nooooo,” she sobbed.
Max had never seen her like this. He didn’t know what to do. “Tess!” Max barked, shaking her harder this time. “Wake up! It’s me. Max.”
Tess felt the lump in her throat grow. She had let her son down. She should have protected him. She should have…
“TESS!” Max yelled, giving her one last hard shake.
Tess opened her eyes and lifted her head out from under the folds of her arms. “Max?” In the glow of the dawn, a shadowed figure sat in front of her. “Max?” she called again. “Is that you?” Tess squinted her eyes and dropped her arms to her side, letting her knees extend forward.
Max’s heart began to slow when he saw that Tess was coming out of her trance-like state. “Tess, yes. It’s me,” he smiled. Unexpectedly Tess launched into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Max…oh, Max. We have to save him. We have to.”
~~~
“Do you think he’ll believe us? Or Tess?” Isabel asked Michael.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Max is stubborn,” Michael sighed. “But he can’t deny the facts.”
Isabel nodded. “I just wish this never had happened,” she sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples as if she had a migraine.
“Because of Max?”
Isabel stopped what she was doing, opened her eyes and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Do you wish this hadn’t happened because then you wouldn’t know what Jesse did to us?”
Isabel swallowed hard, her heart racing. How could he ask her this now? She shook her head and moved from the couch out onto the balcony, to get some fresh air. The room was stifling all of the sudden. “This has nothing to do with Jesse,” Isabel said calmly.
Michael joined her on the balcony. She turned and faced her ‘other half’. “Don’t start on him Michael. I don’t think I could take it,” Isabel said honestly.
Michael lowered his head and turned to look out at the intense sun, leaning against the railing. “Are you going to forgive him?” he asked tentatively.
Isabel felt like something sharp had began tightly squeeze her heart. How could she answer that question when she didn’t know? She took in a deep breath of the cool morning air, hoping it would ease the throbbing in her chest. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
Michael pushed off against the balcony and turned around to face her. He approached her slowly and with his index finger lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. “I don’t want you to go back to him Isabel. You don’t belong with him.”
Isabel felt her heart racing again, except this time it wasn’t from the pain and turmoil of the decision she had ahead of her. Michael’s dark brooding eyes seemed to look right through her. His words sent shivers through her body. She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. As she tried to avert her eyes from his intense gaze, Michael grabbed her chin gently between his thumb and index finger, leaving her eyes fixed upon his. “I…” The words just wouldn’t come to Isabel. She had always felt so drawn to him, as if part of her belonged with him, and he would make her whole.
Michael felt like his heart would leap out of his chest as it pounded fast and hard against his breast. Without thinking, he closed his eyes and lowered his lips onto hers. As it brushed ever so gently against hers, Michael was long awaited dream was shattered; Isabel pulled away and dashed through the living room and down the hall. The sound of the bathroom door resounded in his ears. He closed his eyes and leaned against the railing once more; this time his heart raced from the embarrassment he felt for trying something so reckless. Michael leaned his forehead on the back of his hand, which grasped the railing.
Who was he kidding? It would never be the right time.