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:
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
Cerideans: special core ops of the Iturian army, mostly
psyonics and telepaths
Kaptar’s
Jewel: constellation in the
Antarian’s star system
Yun’s
Garment: Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights
Chapter Forty Eight
***
We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.
-
Blaise Pascale
***
"They're gone," Maria said
numbly, as she stood looking out the stunning sunrise that only left her
cold. Her eyes never left the horizon.
Liz stopped in her tracks, her
fingers slightly clinging to the rusted bronze doorknob. Her own emotions were in turmoil, yet when
confronted with the image of Maria standing very much alone in the startlingly
barren apartment, she forgot her internal struggles; and her heart went out to
her best friend.
"Maria," she said
breathily.
There was no response.
Liz slowly made her way toward the
delicate blonde figure standing before.
"How are you doing?"
Maria swallowed in an attempt to
moisten her dry mouth. She had no more
tears to cry. After Michael and Tess
had left, Maria felt like tearing the whole apartment apart, except there was
not much left to tear apart; everything was packed and labeled in boxes for the
charities and other organizations.
"How do you think I feel?"
she asked dryly, her tone laced with resentment.
Liz reached out and placed her hands
on Maria's bare shoulders. She could
feel her best friend stiffen at the contact.
"I saw them leave," she said mournfully. "Kyle and I stumbled upon their meeting
place." Liz could still picture
the towering ship that hovered a few feet from the ground.
Maria snapped her head around and
narrowed her red, puffy eyes; the announcement had managed to stimulate
whatever emotions she had left.
"What did he say?" she asked, clambering for any information
about Michael.
"He...he seemed ready to
leave," Liz stammered. Watching
Maria's desperate state made Liz's whole body hurt. She had never seen Maria this lost. Her best friend had always been her rock, and now she seemed
devoid of her trademark 'fire'.
Maria felt a lump develop in her
throat again. It seemed to expand and
strain, bringing an indescribable pain.
She could feel her eyes begin to tear up again.
"He...he told me not to
cry," she looked up at Liz, "but I guess that's one more thing I
couldn't do for him." Maria rested
her forehead against Liz's shoulder, as the tears began to choke her.
"Oh, Maria," Liz whispered
softly. She could feel the tears
filling the corners of her eyes, as she stroked Maria's long blonde hair. "It's not your fault."
Maria wrapped her arms around her
best friend, as the aching emptiness gave way to a torrent of tears. "How could I have let him leave?"
she mumbled between sobs.
Liz wrapped her arms tightly around
her broken friend, as if it would hold the pieces together. She began rocking her friend from side to
side, while whispering soothing words into her ear.
~ *
~
Kyle didn't expect to walk into a
'cry-fest'. He was never good at
those. When he saw the two girls in an
embrace, his first impulse was to walk right back out.
He was a man. They were never good at these mushy, feely
things.
"Uh, do you want me to wait in
the car?" he said, barely above a whisper.
Liz and Maria pulled apart, quickly
wiping away tears, and turned to see Kyle standing awkwardly in the
doorway. They turned to each other and
shook their heads.
"Uh," Maria said, her
voice raspy from the strain of crying.
She cleared her throat.
"No."
Kyle wrung his hands, as he tried to
think of something witty or clever to say; but his mind drew a blank. "Uh, is there anything I can do for
you?" he offered.
Maria shook her head and swallowed
the remaining tears. She steeled
herself to the vault of remaining emotion.
Michael had asked her to do this one thing, and she would - she would do
it for Michael. "I need you guys
to sit down." She pointed at the
empty couch that was positioned against the far wall.
Liz and Kyle glanced at each other,
surprised at the change in mood of their heartbroken friend. They complied with her request, silently
sitting next to each other on the familiar couch. "What is it Maria?"
As she took a deep breath, Maria
studied Liz's composed features. The
petite brunette was so certain of what she had with Max; and just as she had
once been, so sure of what happened to their mutual friend. It had almost shattered Maria when Tess
revealed to her the intricate plot she had instigated, involving Khivar and
Alex. "There is something I need
to tell you." Maria bit her long
manicured thumbnail, deliberating on how she would explain the events of the
past several hours. She took a deep
breath before beginning. "Before
Tess and Michael left, they told me something..." she hedged, "they
told something about Alex's death."
Liz tensed at Maria's behavior; she
was too calm. In the years she had
known Maria De Luca, the feisty blonde only ever remained calm when she had bad
news to deliver. She closed her eyes
and braced herself for the worst.
Kyle's eyes darted between Maria,
who was acting extremely composed, and Liz, whose eyes were closed and whose
whole body had suddenly tensed. He
frowned. What was going on?
"Tess told me something that
blew my mind tonight." She made sure
the both of them were listening to everything she was saying. It was hard enough to explain, without
having to go over it again. She took a
deep breath and paused before blurting out, "Tess didn't kill Alex."
Liz blinked several times, unsure
that she had heard the words coming out of Maria's lips.
Kyle looked over at Liz, whose face
had paled; he stifled a laugh, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Good one, Maria," he
chuckled. "You really got Liz on
that one."
Maria stared solemnly at Liz, her
eyes not leaving her best friend's. Liz
hadn't moved. Maria knew that the girl
whom she had shared a secret love for N'Sync with, knew that she wasn't kidding
around - this was not something she would kid around about.
"You...you're not
serious," she stammered. "Are
you?" Liz had expected bad news,
but this bomb, it had nuclear scope.
Maria had to have heard wrong.
She had to mindwarped... something.
Kyle shook his head and stared
incredulously at Liz. "C'mon
Liz! She's yankin' our chain, right
Maria?" His gaze turned to the
aspiring singer, who he had always shared a bond with - each having the same
kind of droll humor. "Maria, tell
her!" he exclaimed.
Maria bit her bottom lip, as she
searched for the words to alleviate disbelief from the shocking
revelation. "Guys, I don't know
how to tell you this...it's true."
Liz laughed, shaking her head in
amazement, her mind unable to compute the information Maria had just dropped on
her. "No," she said
matter-of-factly. "NO! You're wrong! Brainwashed, mindwarped, whatever you wanna call it, but you're wrong."
Kyle furrowed his brow, staring up
at Maria, who was focused on Liz. She
wasn't kidding. Maria was being
serious about this.
"Wait!" he shouted,
turning the attention to his list of reservations. "You're telling me..." he paused, "you're telling
me that Tess didn't kill Alex?"
Maria looked Kyle in the eye and
nodded. "Yeah," she replied
uneasily.
"How can you say this Maria?"
Liz shouted, jumping up from the couch, astounded at this false
revelation. "You were there. You were there when I found the lies and cover-ups. You went to the university with me...you AND
Michael!"
Maria nodded. "I know," she said calmly. "But it was all a cover up - the cover
up was a cover-up!"
Liz pressed the palms against her
temples and bent over, unable to figure out what to do about the adrenaline
coursing through her body. "When
did she do this to you? Maria, when did
she do her little voodoo job on you?"
She grabbed Maria's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "What is wrong with you?"
Liz cried.
Kyle ran his fingers through his
hair. None of this made sense, none at
all. He searched through his memory and
recalled the images of Tess standing over Alex's body. Kyle shook his head. "No, there's no way. I saw it.
We all know she did it, and my memories prove that!"
Maria walked over to the couch where
Kyle was and sat down.
"Kyle," she paused, "...Tess said that she planted those
memories too."
It was like the twilight zone. Maria never, in a million years, would have
imagined these words coming out of her mouth.
But here she sat, telling Liz and Kyle that they had been wrong, and
that Tess was innocent...well, in a sense.
"What?" Liz turned around
and laughed, unable to express her unfathomable disgust at what Maria was
saying in another way. "Now you're
telling us that Tess made it so that Kyle would forget, something that didn't
happen, only to remember it later?" she said skeptically.
Maria shrugged. "Pretty much."
"How can you do this to
us? You of all people, Maria?"
Kyle was less melodramatic about the
announcement, though he knew exactly how Liz felt. "I don't understand," he frowned. "Why would she do that? Why would she do this?" He gestured to the chaotic frenzy that Liz
was in, and then to himself.
Maria sighed. "I know. I didn't believe it either,
Liz. I thought it was a big
lie..."
"Then why? Why are you saying these things?"
Maria reached out to Liz, who was
pacing back and forth in front of Michael's apartment. "I saw..." her voice cracked at
the painful memory of Alex's death, "I saw him Liz. Tess showed me everything." Maria grabbed Liz, forcing her to sit down
beside her. "Liz, she showed me
how everything happened."
Liz felt like she was going to
cry. Her emotions were running
rampant. She didn't know what she was
feeling or when she was feeling it.
"What do you mean she showed
you?" she asked distractedly. This
was not happening.
"I mean, I went into her
memories and she showed me everything."
Maria could see Liz was settling down; her severe reaction to this
revelation was sinking in.
Kyle frowned. "You mean she mindwarped you," he
corrected. "You allowed her to
brainwash you."
Maria rolled her eyes. "No.
It was not a mind warp. There's
no way it was a mindwarp."
Liz scoffed. "And do you know the difference?"
Maria tilted her head dubiously at
her friend. "Of course not,"
she exclaimed. "But Michael would
never have allowed her to mindwarp me."
"Maybe he was mindwarped
too," Liz countered, glaring at her gullible friend. "That would explain a lot. That would explain his leaving Earth."
"She could be right." Kyle jumped in. "What if she mindwarped
Michael? We know how real that can
be. We've seen the effects."
Maria shook her head. "Tess said you wouldn't believe
it," she sighed.
"Damn right! I'll never believe a lying word out of that
witch's mouth." Liz clenched her
fist. "And there was a time you
wouldn't have either," she fumed.
Maria took Liz's hands in hers. "Then look. See if everything doesn't make sense and if what you see isn't
Alex," she offered.
Liz frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Maria lifted Liz's fingertips to her
temples. "I want you to look into
my mind and see what I saw."
"Are you crazy?" Kyle
exclaimed, disturbed at the prospect that Liz would use those alien powers on
Maria.
Maria glanced at Kyle. "She has to do this. It's the only way."
~~~
"What's the only
way?" Max left Isabel back at the
house; she was in no condition to face Tess and Michael's inquisitions about
what had happened in that small seaside town.
And he was surprised to find Maria, Liz and Kyle in a deep and intense
discussion.
Liz and Kyle spun around to see Max
standing behind them; Maria's somber face became even more distant.
"What's the only way?" he
repeated curiously.
Max hadn't expected them to be at
Michael's, but he was glad. It would
save him the trouble of rounding them up and informing them of Jesse's
kidnapping. He knew the news was grim,
and perhaps they already knew.
"Uh, Max!" Kyle smiled
half-heartedly. "You're
back!" His eyes darted between Liz
and Maria, who seemed in shock at Max's arrival.
Liz swallowed. "Max," she said breathily. Liz didn't know if she felt relieved or
terrified; but in the end, relief was the overwhelming emotion. He took a step forward, smiling warmly at
her, which she accepted as an invitation.
Liz launched herself into his arms, hiding her head in his chest, his
strong arms comforting her.
Max frowned. He was perplexed at Liz's emotional
state. Max knew it wasn't because of
his return - it was something else.
"What's going on?" he
asked, bemused.
Kyle looked over at Maria, who had
yet to say anything. Just then, he
noticed the dark circles underneath those big blue eyes, weary from lack of
sleep. He returned his gaze back upon
Max, who was focused on Liz’s frantic state.
"Uh, well, you've pretty much walked in half way through our recent
melodrama," Kyle quipped, falling into his habit of turning anxious
situations into something light.
Max shook his head, not
understanding what Kyle was referring to.
"Where's Michael? Or
Tess?" At the mention of Tess'
name, Max felt Liz's body tense up.
Liz wished she could stay in Max's
arms forever. It seemed like things
were fine, as long as she was in his arms - he would protect her and always be
with her. But she realized things were
not as she had hoped. And after taking a
moment to gather her composure, Liz swallowed the tears welling up inside, and
took a deep breath before pulling away from Max's safe arms. "Michael and Tess are gone."
The words didn't seem to
compute. 'Michael and Tess are
gone.' Max pulled away from Liz's
outstretched arms, trying to comprehend what that meant.
"W-what...what do you mean,
'they're gone'?" he said apprehensively.
"They left for Antar,
Max." Maria's gaze was fixed upon
Max's speechless face. She knew there was
so many questions he had - and she was the only one who could give them to him.
Max ran his fingers through his
hair, bewildered at the unfathomable news.
"You're kidding me, right?" he exclaimed. "They can't have left for Antar. How?"
He ran through the last conversation
he had with Michael and Tess. They
said they would wait. Max couldn't
believe this was happening. This was
not happening. It wasn't.
Liz watched Max become increasingly
agitated and upset. She reached out and
grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to face her. "Max, we had no idea this was happening. Kyle and I just stumbled upon them when we
were out last night."
Max stared at Liz, who seemed to be
trying to explain something, but all of it seemed like nonsense. "W-what?" he grimaced. "What are you talking about? Are you saying that you were there when they
left?" He looked at Liz first, and
then Kyle; both were unable to answer his question.
Maria shook her head at the
confusion that filled this room. They
needed to start at the beginning. And
she was the beginning.
"Max, we need to start at the
beginning," she sighed. "So
sit down and I'll tell you what happened."
Max glanced at Maria, who seemed
unnaturally composed. For all intensive
purposes, Maria should have been the one most distraught at this sudden
departure. It disturbed Max, but for
information's sake, he sat down on the couch, with Kyle and Liz joining him on
either side.
"So what happened?"
Maria bit her bottom lip, trying to
think of the best place to start. With
her hands resting on her hips, she began to pace back and forth in front of her
three friends. "So," she
sighed, turning to face the three.
"I was working at The Crashdown late afternoon yesterday, when
Brody came in to pick up an order."
Her thoughts drifted back to that afternoon, she never dreamed that it
would lead her to finding out about the truth about Alex's death, and saying
goodbye to Michael. "We began to
chat for a bit when suddenly something about him changed. Well I realized that the only time he acted
so strange was when he got 'possessed' by Larek, so I called him on it."
Max's heart sunk. He hadn't heard from Larek since New
York. And listening to the beginning of
Maria's story brought home the realization that this was really happening. Michael and Tess had left him and Isabel
behind.
Maria studied Liz, Max and Kyle's
rapt faces. None of them spoke, so she
thought it best to continue her story before the onslaught of questions - which
were bound to come - began.
"Well, when I got here, Brody,
Michael and Tess were talking about these arrangements that were in
place."
"What arrangements?" Max
asked stiffly.
"Well apparently they had made
plans with some aliens to meet at a certain place, and they would leave that
night - which was last night."
Maria tried to keep composed, as she fought the desire to break out in
tears. "Michael said that
something bad was happening on Antar and that they couldn’t wait for you and
Isabel to come back."
"What aliens? What was happening on Antar?" Max
closed his eyes, unable to imagine what could cause Michael and Tess to move up
their time schedule. Everything seemed
so chaotic; he didn't even have enough time to catch his breath before
something else showed up on his doorstep, forcing him to face the impending
decisions before him.
"I don't know what was
happening, he never told me that," Maria apologized. "But..." She looked over at Kyle and Liz.
"They can tell you about the aliens," she added.
Liz lowered her eyes, as she felt
Max's probing gaze burrowing into her.
"I..."
"How did you find out about
this?" Max demanded.
Liz glanced uneasily at Kyle and
shrunk back. "Max, we,"
she gestured between Kyle and herself, "had no idea this was
happening!"
"She's right, Max," Kyle
agreed. "I was just taking her up
to Blunder's Bluff."
Max turned his head around and
stared suspiciously at the shaggy-haired high school jock. "What were you doing with Liz in the
first place?"
Liz furrowed her brow, upset at
Max's tone. "We weren't up
to anything!" she exclaimed furiously.
"I was feeling like crap after all this Tess and Michael stuff and
he tried to cheer me up." She
shook head in disbelief. Then she
added. "You realize we're going
through this too, don't you, Max?"
"Hey!" Maria shouted,
grabbing the trio's attention before things got out of hand. "Let's get back to the
story?" She eyed the three of
them.
Kyle nodded. "Look, the Northern Lights were out, so
I thought Blunder's Bluff would be a great place to check it out," he
explained, trying to establish the innocence of the event. "How was I to know that's where they
would meet?"
Max let out a deep breath and shook
his head shamefully. "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head
off."
Kyle shrugged. "It's been hard for all of us," he
offered, patting Max on the back.
"So you guys saw them at
Blunder's Bluff; did you try to stop them?"
Kyle glanced at Liz. He knew that hadn't been the top priority on
his list when they realized it was Michael and Tess. "Uh..." Liz
interrupted Kyle, trying to save him from answering. "He didn't give us a chance to argue with him; though I did
tell him how crazy he was for leaving with Tess like that."
Max licked his lips, trying to
understand what could have possibly driven them to leave. "What did they say to you
exactly?" he asked critically.
"Did he tell you why they were leaving? And how did they leave?"
Liz thought back to those human
forms whose features seemed contorted and startling abnormal. "I don't know who they were, but there
were three of them," she said distractedly. "I don't know where they came from, but when we climbed to
the top of the bluff, there was this huge spaceship hovering over the
bluff."
"Totally crazy," Kyle
exclaimed excitedly. When he had calmed
down, he realized all three pairs of eyes were on him, looking at him like he
was strange or deformed or something.
"What? It was!" he huffed.
Max turned back to Liz. "Well?"
Liz looked past Max and distractedly
at Kyle. She debated whether Kyle would
rat on her or not - if she decided not to tell Max what Michael had told
her. His stern face pleaded with her to
tell Max everything, but she knew that he wouldn't say anything if she decided
to leave details out.
"Michael told me that Maria had
some things that we needed to know," she said carefully. "And that it would change some things."
Max furrowed his brow and looked
expectantly at Maria. "What was he
talking about?"
"That's when you walked in
Max," Maria sighed irritably.
"I had just told them that Tess didn't kill Alex."
Max blinked twice, his gaze fixed on
Maria. He tilted his head, and pressed
his right hand against his lips.
"W-what?"
Maria nodded. "Tess didn't kill Alex...well, she
wasn't responsible in the way we think.
She didn't kill him, Max."
Max felt like his world was spinning
out of control. His head hurt and his
chest felt constricted, like someone was sitting on it.
'I told you so,' a voice silently
whispered.
~~~
Isabel was going stir crazy. Max told her that she was in no condition to
leave the house. And that made her
mad. Of course she wasn't in the most
relaxed state...her husband had been kidnapped!
"Isabel, I'm going for a
walk," her mother sang through her bedroom door.
"All right, Mom!" Isabel
replied, loud enough for her mother to hear.
She listened to the soft padding of her mother's footsteps get softer as
she walked down the hallway. Isabel sat
on her bed, her head resting on knees, which she had curled up against her
chest.
There was no way she could allow
Jesse to sit and wait until Max, Michael, and Tess had formed a plan - not this
time.
Isabel let out a sigh of
frustration. But what could she do? She had tried to contact Jesse several times,
but she couldn't gain entry into his mind.
But as she sat there, she grew more restless.
"Well I can't just sit
here," she mumbled to herself.
Isabel grabbed her jacket, which was lying at the end of her bed and
headed down the stairs. "I have to
find him. I can't just sit here
anymore."
Isabel knew both Max and Michael
would be livid, but this was something she had to do.
~~~
Jesse felt his strength ebbing
away. Would he escape those men,
just that he could die? Jesse tried
to swallow, but his dry mouth and throat just stuck, making him gag. "Help!" he gasped. But his reply was the intermittent chirps of
the crickets, and the odd hoot of an owl.
The sun now beat down on him
overhead. His mouth was filled with the
dust of the desert, and he could no longer carry himself upright. Jesse knew he was at the end; several times,
he had seen many visions of Isabel calling to him. She stood welcoming him, but as soon as he was close enough to
touch her, she disappeared.
"Isabel," he coughed,
falling to his knees, unable to walk another step. "Where are you?"
~~~
"His vitals are weak."
The General sat down on the swiveling
office chair, his men had managed to find, and rested his elbows on his
desk. He pondered this newest
dilemma. "Is he anywhere near
human contact?"
His right-hand man shook his
head. "No, General. The subject has lagged further and further
behind. If he does not find help in the
next two hours, I'm afraid our plan will fail."
The General's blue eyes
flashed. "Fail?" He
growled at the impudent Captain.
"My plans never FAIL!"
The dark, sallow Captain lowered his
head, realizing his verbal gaffe.
"My Lord, I did not mean..."
Before he could apologize, the General had stepped out from behind the
large desk and backhanded him in the face.
The General stood inches away from
the cowering Captain, who stood uncomfortably, rubbing his burning face. "I do not fail. Our King did not choose us for this mission
because we will fail," he sneered.
They were close to victory; he could almost smell it. "And if it is your shortcomings, that
have caused this blunder, then..." he paused, looking into the darting
eyes of his Captain, "FIX IT!"
The Captain scurried away, exiting
his large, cold office, leaving the General to reflect on the ongoing
plan. If his plans were to fall into
place, there could be no more oversights in his line of attack.
"General?"
He turned around to find another
Hispanic officer - a private, according to the metallic insignia - saluting
him. "What is it?" he
barked. He hated when his thoughts were
interrupted.
"Lieutenant Young has returned from
Sector 14."
The General frowned. He had sent a group of officers to an area,
where several officers had reported unusual activity. He had not settled into his new base until a few days ago, and he
had not yet received enough men to dispatch them as far as Sector 14; so the
General ordered scouts to patrol the sector in shifts, until more
reinforcements arrived. The tracking
equipment had also not arrived. He only
had a quarter of the equipment he had requisitioned.
"And what is the report?"
The officer's expression revealed a
hint of reluctance to relay the report.
This wore on his already thinning patience. "What is it?" he barked.
The young officer jumped at the
General's sudden agitation. "Lt.
Young reports that there has been a ship arrival and departure in Sector
14," he blurted out. "He also
reports that seven tracks were counted, and only two left from the site."
The General clenched his fist,
feeling his anger coming to a boil. "WHAT?" His body strained against the human shell as
the news of the unknown vessel's arrival and departure was revealed.
The young officer seemed uncertain
of how to answer his Superior's question.
"Uh, Sir?"
The General's burning gaze fixed
upon the squirming officer. "Find
out who left our grounds without so much as an alarm!" he roared, as every
muscle twitched in his rage. "If
our mission fails, I will see to it that every officer feels the full wrath of
our beloved King."
The officer stood before the General
in terror, unable to move.
"Do you understand?" He approached the statuesque man, menacingly
looming over him. His voice deepened
and became gravelly. "I want every
officer in this unit to know and understand the impending doom they are facing
if I must return to our King disgraced."
The young officer gulped and
nodded. "Yes Sir," he
squeaked, unable to find his voice.
The General took a deep breath,
though his expression remained one of rage and peril, and straightened his
posture. "Now, I want you to
account for our enemies whereabouts," he said calmly. "And I suggest that our unit return
with good report..."
"Sir?" the private said
hesitantly.
The General's eyes blackened into
ebony orbs, revealing his origin; and he grasped the private by the throat,
squeezing tightly. "Or don't come
back at all." His eyes returned to
normal, and he let go of the private's throat, leaving the officer gasping for
breath.
The private stifled a cry of utter
terror and stood stiffly in front of the General. "Sir," he replied hoarsely from the constriction to his
larynx. The private then bowed, and ran
quickly out of the General's office.
Alone, the General turned to his
newly found desk. His eyes, once again,
dilated until they were nothing but black orbs. With outstretched arm, a vivid yellow blast was released from the
General's trembling hand. A loud boom
resounded in his ears as the table collapsed, and all that was left was a cloud
of smoke, and a rain of wooden splinters.
"Death to the Chosen One."