The Citadel, Illyria

Jaxon stalked down the corridor to the throne room, his back straight, his expression blank. He was determined to show no fear. He had not seen his parents in two years - not since the day they sent assassins to murder him in his bed. He barely escaped with his life then. If it had not been for Tarsus, he would have surely perished.

Jaxon wondered if Mirana and Tristandor would be there as well. The thought of seeing them was disturbing. Once his closest companions, their betrayal hurt even more than that of his parents.

He hoped that they were not there. He did not know if he would be able to keep his composure if he saw his twin sister. Mirana had been his confidante and strength while he grew into his leadership role after their father's death. Their father was gone only a few short months after their emergence from their pods. They had only ever had each other and their mother. While they had loved their stepfather Hamor when their mother had married him, he had still been an outsider, one who had taken their mother from their little circle. The two of them had become even closer then.

It was the marriage to Tristandor that had been the turning point in their relationship. Tristandor had come to the Citadel with professions of friendship and loyalty but, in the end, he had convinced Jaxon's parents and sister to turn on him.

Liz had spoken of them. She had told him that Mirana, or Isabel as Liz called her, was Liz's best friend, that she was working to bring him "home." She had told him that Tristandor - Michael - was his best friend. It was these lies that had convinced Jaxon that Liz was not who she claimed to be. She was working for his parents - there was no question.

He could not trust her. She was a figment of his imagination, or an illusion created to trick him.

Jaxon's thoughts were interrupted when one of his guards grabbed him roughly by the elbow, forcing him to stop walking.

"You will bow to the Queen Dowager when you enter," the guard instructed.

Jaxon narrowed his eyes at the guard. "I am her king," he replied evenly. "I bow to no one."

"You are a traitor," the guard growled, his fury evident in his eyes. "And you will bow - or I will make you sorry you did not."

Jaxon stared at him, refused to look away first. He knew that he was ragged and dirty, but he was still this man's king. The other man's gaze faltered first. Jaxon saw him swallow convulsively. Jaxon wondered if he was frightened.

Fright was an unacceptable emotion on Illyria. The guard would do his best to hide it if he was afraid.

Jaxon knew that his parents's people had not yet undergone the cleansing. While they had accepted the danger of emotions to progress, they had not the courage to do away with them entirely. Not like Tarsus and his followers - Jaxon's true subjects.

The guard was motioning to the page standing near the great doors. Jaxon could see that the page was gazing at him in awe. He scowled at him. The boy quickly looked away, threw the doors wide.

Jaxon swallowed, shook the guard's hand off his arm. He strode forward, his head high. The doors closed quietly behind him. Jaxon realized belatedly that his guard had not followed him.

The great room was empty save for the two figures at the far end who were staring at him wide-eyed.

"Jaxon." One of them spoke, moved forward.

He clenched his fists, set his jaw. It was his mother.

Milena Falconer was as lovely as ever, her hair still golden blonde despite her advancing years, although Jaxon knew that she had been very young when she had borne him and Mirana. She was gazing at him with dark eyes that were the exact shade of his own, but her delicate features had been inherited by his sister.

Jaxon's father, or rather step-father, although he was the only father Jaxon had ever known, stayed where he was, watching his wife closely. He was clearly as uncomfortable as Jaxon himself.

"Mother," Jaxon replied evenly. He saw her face light up. She had always been hopeless at controlling her emotions. She had also been against the cleansing of the people from the very beginning. Jaxon knew that it was unlikely that she would ever go through the process herself.

"My son." She was breathing deeply, and was now standing directly in front of him. He met her gaze steadily. Her eyes shadowed slightly. "They have not treated you kindly," she commented quietly, taking in the bruises on his face. She looked angry for a moment. "But, then, they do not understand." Her eyes seemed to be devouring his face. It was making him supremely uncomfortable. She was acting as though she had not seen him in decades, not simply the year or so it had been. "It has been so long," she finally said, her voice shaking.

"Not long enough," he snapped back. Her face remained serene, but her eyes flashed with hurt. "Where are the other betrayers? Where are my sister and her cursed husband?"

His mother blinked at him. "Mirana and Tristandor have been gone for a long time, my son."

"Dead?" he demanded. He knew that he should be pleased, but his heart pounded in dread instead, waiting for her reply.

"No," Milena replied. "They are alive, but they are not well. They miss you."

Jaxon pressed his lips together. "They betrayed me." Milena's eyes glistened. She blinked quickly. Any evidence that she had been on the verge of tears quickly disappeared.

"My son, you have been greatly deceived," she replied finally. "Your sister did not betray you. She is even now searching for you." She paused, clearly weighing what to tell him. "We are going to help you return to her, to many who love you, to many whom you love. The fate of our people depends on it."

"I love no one," he interrupted. "It is weak." Jaxon was cut off when the doors behind him were thrown open. His mother's gaze snapped beyond him in annoyance.

"We are not to be disturbed." Her face settled into lines of affection at the sight that greeted her, however. "You should not be here, Jennetta." Jaxon turned and watched as a small girl bounded into the room, her light brown hair bouncing across her shoulders.

She screeched to an abrupt halt at the sight of him. "Is it Jaxon? Has he come?" she asked excitedly. "I heard the servants talking, Mama."

Jaxon turned back to his mother perplexed. "Who is this child?"

He included his step-father in the question. Hamor had been quietly observing up until this point. Now he spoke. "Your mother and I were blessed by the stars, Jaxon. It has been almost two years since Jennetta was conceived. She emerged from her birthing pod nine months ago." He paused briefly, exchanged a loaded glance with Jaxon's mother. "She is your sister."

He did not know what to say. He wondered why he had not been informed. Tarsus's agents should have uncovered this information months ago. It was vital news.

There was another heir to the throne.

Jennetta was eyeing him, clearly unsure what was transpiring. "You do not know of me?" she finally asked, her childish voice sounding highly insulted.

Jaxon did not know what to say to her. He did not want to include an innocent child in the battle with his parents - but she was a threat to him. "I did not," he finally admitted. "But I am most pleased to learn of you now."

Jennetta's face lit up. "Now we must simply find Tristandor, and Mirana, and Sabrya, and our family will be complete. Well, and of course Liz, and Maria, and..."

Liz. Jaxon felt his heart stop.

Milena had grabbed Jennetta, placing a hand over her mouth. "That's quite enough, my darling. Where did you pick up such nonsense?"

Jaxon could see Jennetta's eyes darkening as she prepared to try and escape his mother's grasp, but it was not really registering.

The name Liz kept repeating itself over and over in his mind.

"Who are these people? Who is this Liz?" Jaxon finally managed to force the words out. He had not believed that it would turn out to be quite so easy to confront his mother about having sent Liz to torment him, but the opening was too convenient to ignore.

Right, Jaxon, a small voice in the back of his mind said sarcastically. That's why you want to know about her.

He suppressed the voice.

"She's to be your wife." Jennetta managed to wiggle out of Milena's grasp. She was across the room, where her mother could not easily grab her.

Jaxon turned back to stare at his mother. Milena's eyes were closed in annoyance.

"Jennetta, who has been spreading such falsehoods?" Hamor demanded urgently.

"Lucianus told me," Jennetta replied, sticking her nose in the air.

If Jaxon did not currently feel like he had just had the air kicked out of his lungs by her last announcement, he might have laughed at the expression of glee on her face. She was clearly thrilled that she had knowledge that the rest of them wanted. She reminded him of someone actually. For a brief moment a mischievous glint in her eye brought to mind another face - one he could not place.

Hamor was shaking his head in irritation. "Lucianus is mad, my darling. You know better than to listen to him."

Jennetta's face became mutinous. "Lucianus is not mad, Papa. He would never lie to me."

"Be that as it may, you know better than to comment on affairs you know nothing about. You may leave." Jaxon could see that Milena was upset.

Jennetta briefly looked as though she was going to argue, but one glance at the stern expression on Hamor's face seemed to change her mind.

"Goodbye, Jaxon. I will see you again soon." She tossed her hair and flounced out of the room.

Jaxon watched her go. He had absolutely no idea what to say.

Liz was to be his wife. The idea was strangely appealing, although he knew that she worked for them.

"Jaxon?" Milena was gazing up at him in concern.

"Mother, please, I just need to know what is going on here." Jaxon felt like he was drowning, as though everything he knew to be true was suddenly in question. "I need to know everything." Milena glanced at Hamor again. His stepfather shrugged, nodded.

"We would like to help you, Jaxon, but it is difficult to know where to start."

Jaxon knew that they were going to lie to him, but for some reason he wanted to hear the lies, to hear the story from them, and not Tarsus. He needed to hear it so that he could make a final judgment on his own.

And he knew just where to start.

"Mother, this might seem like a strange question," Jaxon finally began. "But I need to hear the answer. How long has it been since we last saw each other?"

Milena bit her lip, glanced again at Hamor. "My darling, this might be difficult for you to understand - or accept." Jaxon held his breath. Somehow he knew what was coming, but he needed to hear it. "It has been a lifetime since I last laid eyes on you."

Part 12

"Okay, I am totally lost," Kyle told them, as they filled him in on what was going on. "Why do I suddenly feel like I've entered some weird fantasy novel? The next thing you know, there are going to be unicorns trotting down the main drag of Roswell! Stonehenge? Are you guys totally bananas?"

It was late evening. The Crashdown was closed and they were all sprawled in booths and at the counter.

Only Maria was missing. Michael had gone to pick her up after school, but she had been too tired to come. Amy Deluca had not even let him through the front door, although Maria had attempted to sneak out through the window. Michael had forced her back into bed when he had gotten one look at her though.

He had not spoken since arriving at the Crashdown. He was brooding at the counter, clearly listening to the conversation, but also too upset to participate. Liz actually felt her heart go out to him at one point. He looked so lost and alone. She quickly suppressed the feeling.

Maria's absence just emphasized how important it was to get Max back as soon as possible. Which was why Liz had come to a decision. Isabel agreed with her. They were taking control of the situation and no one was going to stop them. Not even their parents.

"Could you, for once, be serious?" Tess asked Kyle now, sounding irritated. Liz knew that she was still stewing about the decision that Isabel and Liz had reached before Kyle had joined them.

"Do you really think you're going to get away with this?" Kyle asked, ignoring Tess, but sounding a little hurt. "Your parents are never going to let you go. I mean, its the middle of September. You are all going to flunk out."

It had been decided that Liz, Michael, and Isabel were going to England to check out the Stonehenge angle. It was clear that it was important, and they had been the three chosen to go, not only because of their close relationships with Max, but also because they were the only three who had received direct visions or dreams about the stone circle.

Of course, Maria had shared Michael's vision, but she was just too weak to go. Michael originally argued against leaving her behind, saying that if they did manage to get Max back, Maria should be close by so that he could heal her as quickly as possible, but he had said nothing about it since Maria had been unable to join them that night.

"We've thought of that, of course," Liz told Kyle. "Michael is eighteen and technically can do what he wants now."

"Not to mention, I'm already flunking." Michael spoke up for the first time, his voice a monotone. "Might as well really go down in a blaze of glory."

Liz saw Isabel shoot a concerned look towards her almost-brother, but she didn�t comment "I'm going to be honest with my parents," Isabel continued. "They'll let me do it, I'm sure, if they think that it might bring Max back."

"I just don't understand why I can't go," Tess said in a sulky voice.

"Because we need one Czech to stay behind for protection." Liz sighed. They had gone over this a million times already, but Tess was still very upset.

"I don't see how I'm going to protect anybody," Tess snapped back. "My gift doesn't work that way. It's not defensive or offensive. It's pretty damn useless as a matter of fact," she muttered, her lips pressing together in fury.

"You're not coming, Tess. Deal with it," Isabel replied testily. "You, and Alex, and Kyle need to stick close to Maria. She cannot be left alone."

"I know that none of you want me around. That's the real reason. You've never wanted me around!" Tess's voice was nearing a shriek. Liz blinked. She watched Tess jump up off her stool and race out the doorway to the restaurant.

"Jeez!" Michael had his hands over his ears. "Is she going insane?"

"She's just stressed out." Kyle was scowling at them all. "She cares about Max just as much as the rest of you do. I still think you're all crazy by the way. There's no way that the Parkers are going to let Liz go anywhere." He stalked out of the Crashdown. Liz was sure that he would find Tess and try and calm her down.

Alex was sitting quietly in a booth, nursing an Alien Blast. He spoke up for the first time in a while. "Kyle's right, Liz. Your parents are never going to agree to this. And I don't think your parents are going to just let the three of you head off the continent without a chaperone." He directed this last comment at Isabel.

"We're going to ask my dad to come with us," Isabel replied. "He has some holiday time coming up - and I think he needs to do something productive to snap him out of his funk." Isabel looked hopeful. "I'm sure he'll agree."

"And that's why I'm not telling my parents," Liz told him.

"What?" Alex bellowed, jumping to his feet. "Might I inquire where I was for that part of the conversation?"

Liz and Isabel exchanged guilty looks. "Er...you were in the bathroom," Isabel finally said.

"This is lunacy! Iz, your dad will never agree to letting Liz come without permission. We don't even know if the stone circle means anything! Why would it make such a difference? I mean, Izzy brought Maria and Michael back without Stonehenge getting involved." Alex had flopped back in his seat, a pained expression on his face.

"I just know it's important," Liz told him firmly. "And that's where Tess comes in. She'll make Mr. Evans think that my parents are at the airport when we leave." She knew that she sounded more confident than she felt. She would not feel totally secure until they were seated on a plane across the Atlantic. She pushed that thought aside for the moment. "Now the only question is, where are we going to get the money? Alex, what did you find out on the 'net?"

Alex was still shaking his head. "We are all slowly, but surely, losing it."

Isabel sighed, went and ran her hand down his back. "Please focus, Alex."

"I managed to find a seat-sale. Five hundred bucks a ticket from Miami," he told them in a subdued voice, sounding resigned but still unhappy. "Leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Liz began calculating their finances mentally. "I have five thousand in my checking account."

"What the hell? Did you rob a bank?" Alex eyed her with interest.

"Big tips." Liz wiggled her eyebrows at him. "My grandma took pictures at the crash site you know." Alex rolled his eyes.

"And I have 1500 dollars," Isabel added.

"We should be okay for a while then," Liz told them. "But England is really expensive, and the exchange rate is terrible."

"So it's there and back as fast as possible," Michael spoke up again. "We can't leave Maria for long anyway."

They all exchanged loaded glances.

"We are going to get Max back," Isabel told Micheal reassuringly. "I promise."

Michael ran his hand through his spiky hair in frustration. "I hope so. Maria needs him." Liz thought she heard him add in an undertone, "And so do I," but she might have been hearing things.

She was not going to start feeling sorry for Michael Guerin. She knew that he felt guilty, that Maria's illness was almost impossible for him to bear, but it was his fault in the first place. He should be suffering.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her that she didn't really feel that way, but she pushed it away ruthlessly. She needed to stay mad at someone. If she didn't, she might fall apart.

Liz knew that she was balanced precariously on the edge of despair. Every time she let herself hope...

Seeing Max in her dream had been magical, but also devastating. That he didn't recognize her had affected her more deeply than she had acknowledged at that time. If she let herself think about any of it, she might never get out of bed again.

Liz shook her head, forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. "Okay, we need to get those tickets. Alex, that's your job."

Alex nodded, headed through the door to the break room to use the restaurant's computer.

"I'm going to talk to my parents," Isabel informed them.

"And I'm going to Maria's." Michael stalked out of the restaurant.

Liz sat down on one of the stools at the counter, placed her head in her hands. She breathed deeply, trying to calm down.

If this worked, they could have Max back in less then a week. A day and a half to get to England, another day to figure out how to get into Stonehenge, and then they would activate the orbs.

But, for the first time, Liz allowed herself to reflect on the one thing that could go wrong. The one thing none of them had wanted to contemplate.

If Max didn't remember them, if he really thought that he was Jaxon Falconer and had always been Jaxon Falconer...What if he didn't want to come back?

Part 13

Maria felt like her body was falling apart.

She had been annoyed when Michael told her that she was not coming to the Crashdown, but she could not deny that it had been a relief to sink back onto her bed. Every single part of her hurt. She had terrible cramps in her arms and legs, her head felt like it was going to explode, and she had gotten to the point where she was pretty much throwing up every hour, on the hour.

She knew she was dying, which was why she had wanted to go to the meeting in the first place. She wanted to spend every moment possible with her friends before the end. Every possible moment with Michael.

Now she lay on her bed, staring out the window, her gaze drifting to the "V" shaped constellation that was shining down on her from the star-pocked sky above. She remembered sleeping under those same stars, wrapped in Michael's arms, during the three weeks that he had tried to heal her in the desert.

It had been the happiest and most peaceful time of her life.

Ironic really, how much the little things counted, when the little things were not going to be yours for much longer.

Maria knew that Max was not going to return in time to heal her. Even if they did, by some mega-miracle, manage to bring him back, there were absolutely no guarantees that he was going to be able to help her. He wasn't God after all.

She had made her peace with what was happening to her. What she had not made her peace with was the idea of leaving Michael alone. She really was not sure if he would be able to go on without her - and it terrified her.

The bond that had formed between them - she knew that something of great significance had taken place in their relationship during their time together in Illyria. Michael had been so much more protective of her in every sense since they had come back and it wasn�t just because she was sick. Something had happened to make it so. She just wished that she could remember. Sometimes it felt like the memories were just beyond her reach, that the fingertips of her mind were brushing against the truth, but that there was no chance of grasping it. It was supremely frustrating.

Maria was pulled from her reverie by a knock on her window. She managed to sit up, smiled at the sight of Michael's face peering in at her. "Come on in, Spaceboy."

Michael pushed the window up, climbed in quickly. He stood there for a moment staring at her. It looked like he was trying to compose himself. "How're you feeling?" he finally asked gruffly.

"Oh about the same," Maria replied, trying not to let her physical pain reflect in her voice. He didn't need that on top of everything else. His guilt about Max, not to mention her, was already almost out of control.

"I'd feel a lot better if you were over here, instead of over there," she continued, managing to quirk a grin at him.

He smiled back, took off his jacket and shoes, and gently climbed into bed beside her. Michael pulled Maria into his embrace. She rested her head against his chest and was not surprised when her pain did ease a little.

The love she felt for him was like the best drug in the world.

She could feel him playing with a lock of her long hair. "So what did you guys decide?" Maria finally asked when the comfortable silence had stretched on long enough.

"Liz, Izzy, and I are going to England," he told her abruptly. "They really think that this Stonehenge thing is a sign or something." He sighed.

"Don't you?" Maria asked quietly. She really hoped it was, that Max was on his way home. She hoped it for Liz's sake. It would be nice to know that her best friend in the world was with her soulmate. And she knew that Max would be the one most likely to be able to help Michael through his grief when she was gone. Isabel would drive him crazy with her worrying. Max would listen and give advice - advice that would likely annoy Michael beyond belief. But an annoyed and angry Michael was much better than a devastated Michael.

"I don't know," Michael replied. "But we have to do something. Everyone is going crazy, I swear. Tess totally flipped out tonight."

Maria frowned to herself. "Why isn't she going with you?"

"Someone needs to stay and protect you," Michael told her sternly.

"Tess?" Maria's surprise gave her enough strength to be able to sit up to stare down at him. "Don't you think that's a little weird, Michael?"

Michael turned his head, stared out the window. "That's what she said." He didn't say anything for a long time. "I don't want to go," he finally continued. "I want to stay here. I want to be the one who heals you. God, Maxwell, where are you?"

Maria had not seen Michael cry since the night that Hank had found out about his Czech status, the night he had had the biggest fight of his life with Isabel and Max, the night that Michael had felt the most alone.

But she could hear tears in his voice now.

She lay back down on his chest, reached up to stroke his cheek. "I know you want to do it, Michael, but you can't protect me forever, and you're not Superman, even if you are an alien who crash-landed on

this planet. Maybe if you can get Max back, we can find out about what happened to us when we were on your planet. I really want to know, Michael. I really need to know."

"Me too." He scrubbed his hand across his face. "God, Maria! Why are you comforting me when I'm the one who did this to you? I'm the one who should be sick, not you." His jaw was clenched in fury. She continued to stroke his face, trying to ease the tight muscles.

"Don't you get that that would be, like, even worse in my book?" She gently kissed him on the lips. "I love you. If it was you, I wouldn't be able to bear it."

Michael's eyes had been closed, but they opened now, stared up at her. "Then you know how I feel," he told her hollowly.

"I love you, Michael." Maria kissed him again. She buried her face in his neck, breathed in the scent that was all him, only him.

"Ditto."

Maria fell asleep moments later, her last thought that dying would be quite all right, as long as she could do it in Michael's arms.

Part 14

Miami Airport, Florida, September 25, 2001

Liz glanced at her watch impatiently, heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"Where the heck is he?" she asked Isabel. "The plane is leaving in fifteen minutes." She blushed slightly when Mr. Evans gave her a surprised look. She realized that she sounded nothing like her usual self. Spending so much time in close quarters with Michael Guerin, the cause of all the grief of the last few months, was driving her nearly insane.

Liz, Isabel, and Isabel's dad were standing near the boarding gate for their British Air flight to London. Michael had disappeared into the crowds of the Miami airport the moment they had gotten off their flight from Albuquerque.

That was two hours ago. They had not seen him since.

"He went to call Maria," Isabel explained. "I ran into him at McDonald's about half an hour ago. Don't worry! He'll be here."

Liz shifted from one foot to another, tried to get herself to calm down. She was never going to survive the seven hour flight to England if she didn't cool it. But she couldn't help it.

For some reason she felt like time was running out...and not just because Maria was so sick.

She was getting the feeling that if they didn't get to Stonehenge quickly, they would lose the opportunity to bring Max home. And that did not bear thinking about.

"Did you call your parents, Liz?" Mr. Evans asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Liz and Isabel exchanged glances. "Um, yeah," Liz replied, hating herself for having to lie to him. "They told me to call again when we reach London. They worry about me being on planes."

Although Tess had still been furious at them when they had seen her that morning, she had done her part. She had created an illusion of the Parkers at the Roswell airport, saying good-bye to Liz. Mr. Evans

had not suspected a thing. He still had no idea what Tess's gift was, which came in quite handy when dealing with suspicious parents.

Mr. Evans nodded sadly. "A parent can never be too careful," he said quietly.

Liz saw Isabel's eyes fill with tears. It was clear that Mr. Evans was thinking about Max. It was equally clear that Mr. Evans felt like he had failed his son somewhere - that if he had been a better parent, none of this would have happened.

Of course, it couldn't be further from the truth. Max, Isabel, and Michael had never had any control over their lives. What on Earth could the Evans possibly have done to make it any different? What they had done had been wonderful enough. Max Evans was the kind, loving person he was because of them. They had given him the normal life he had always wanted.

But then all hell had broken loose.

If Liz had her way though, it was all going to change when Max came back. He was going to be happy and normal if it killed her. Destiny be damned.

Isabel was searching the crowd with concern. "Okay, he has been gone for way to long," she finally admitted.

Just then Liz caught a glimpse of Michael's spiky head towering over the people in the terminal. He was ambling towards them, a sucker stuck in his mouth.

He looked completely unconcerned. Liz wanted to strangle him.

Michael stopped and stared at them all. They were all staring back at him.

"Why aren't you on the plane?" he asked in typical Michael fashion, as though they were the idiots and he was an innocent bystander trying to stay clear of their polluting ways.

"We're waiting for you, dimbulb!" Isabel replied, rolling her eyes.

"Why?" Michael scowled at her. "I can board a plane by myself, you know."

Liz heaved a sigh. Michael glanced at her, then quickly looked away, a guilty expression on his face. Liz tried to suppress the pang of guilt that suddenly hit her. She was not going to feel bad for Michael. He deserved to feel guilty. They wouldn't even have to be doing this if it wasn't for him.

"Let's just go kids," Mr. Evans suggested, trying to ease the tension.

Liz followed him quietly. I just better not have to sit with him, she thought to herself, as she boarded the plane.

As she settled into her window seat next to Isabel, her thoughts naturally returned to Max.

We�re coming Max! Just hold on a while longer. I will see you again.

***

It was late afternoon. Kyle had gone to the airport to see Liz, Isabel and Michael off and was headed over to Maria's to check on her. Michael had asked him to, and he had quickly agreed.

Not only was he worried about Maria for her own sake, he also knew that Tess would be there. He was just as concerned about her.

Tess had showed up at the airport to do her, as Maria would say, voodoo alien mind thingy on Mr. Evans. She had not spoken to anyone, but had stalked out, without even acknowledging Alex and Kyle's

presence, as soon as the trio traveling to England, as well as Max's dad, had boarded the plane.

She was acting very strangely. Like she hated them all. It was so sudden, Kyle didn't know what to think.

Tess had started to develop a bond with the group - one that had become natural after she had given up on all that destiny crap. The fact that they had all been mourning the loss of Max had made the transition in their relationships even more logical. Past mistakes and bitterness had seemed really petty after what had happened to Max.

But, after her little freak-out in the Crashdown the previous evening, Tess had been totally alienated from the rest of them, no pun intended.

She was even ignoring Kyle. And it hurt.

Kyle knew that Tess did not feel the same way about him that he felt about her. He loved her. She liked him and was totally oblivious to how he really felt. It sucked, but he accepted it. At least he got to spend time with her.

If he lost that, he didn't know what he would do.

He pulled his Mustang into the Deluca's driveway. He was not surprised to see Alex's car parked on the street out front. Kyle hurried to the front door, then knocked. Maria's mother answered a moment later.

Amy Deluca looked like she had been put through the wringer. She had dark circles under her eyes and her brown hair was hanging limply, as though it hadn�t been washed in days.

If Kyle didn't know that Maria was suffering from some spacey disease, he might wonder if what she had was catching. Her mom looked like she was on death's doorstep, too.

"Hi, Kyle," Amy said quietly, her usual bubbly personality muted under the heavy burden of her concern for her daughter. "How's your dad?"

"He's okay," Kyle replied. Kyle had often wondered what had gone down between his dad and Amy. He knew that they had gone on a couple of dates, and he knew that his dad had really liked her, but then

boom! Nothing. It was weird.

"Maria's in her room," Amy told him. "Alex and Tess are here, too. Do you want to stay for dinner?" Amy continued. "Maria asked for pizza." She sounded really excited that Maria actually had an appetite. Kyle suspected that Maria was only pretending to be hungry in order to ease her mother's mind somewhat.

"Sure, thanks," Kyle replied. He made his way down the hallway to Maria�s bedroom, then knocked softly.

"Come in." Maria's voice came through the door. Kyle entered to the sight of Alex sprawled on Maria's bed beside her. Tess was sitting at the vanity, gazing out the window, a far-off expression on her pretty face.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

Maria was curled up on Alex's shoulder, her pillow on her lap. She looked even worse than she had yesterday, if that was even possible.

"Michael just called," Maria replied, her breathing heavy. Kyle saw Alex frown slightly. "They're in Miami about to board the plane to London."

"Cool," Kyle said, sticking his hands in his pockets. He suddenly realized that they were a strange group to be hanging out together. Liz and Max were the ones who had always bonded them. To have both of them gone...it just felt peculiar.

"So we're trying to come up with a movie for tonight," Alex piped up. "The girls have already vetoed Scream 1, 2, or 3."

"Actually, we're vetoing any film that has a number after the title," Maria put in. "Right, Tess?"

Tess's head snapped around. "What?" she asked. She had clearly not heard a word of their conversation. Alex and Kyle exchanged a look.

"Tess, are you okay?" Kyle asked, going to put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched away. He tried to ignore the pang of hurt that clenched at his stomach.

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"You're not still mad that they left you behind?" Maria demanded, sounding annoyed. "I mean, we all wanted to go Tess. It just was not logistically possible."

Tess looked away again. "I know," she said. "I'm not mad anymore. I'm just tired," she finished lamely.

Kyle knew she was lying.

"Anyway," Alex attempted to change the subject. "Movies? Any ideas, Valenti?"

"Don't you think we should be looking into who has Liz's journal?" Kyle asked, scowling slightly. "We still have no idea and, from what I understand, there's some pretty explosive stuff in there."

Maria struggled to sit up. "Kyle's right. We need to make up a list of suspects."

"Who are you?" Alex asked teasingly, "Sherlock Holmes?"

Maria grinned slightly. "Actually, I'm Watson. Michael's Holmes."

"Yeah, and a really effective one at that." Alex replied sarcastically. "Has that guy ever broken in somewhere without almost getting caught or pulverized?"

Maria smacked him. "So, I vote for Pam Troy. That girl was just way too excited about that web-site."

Kyle shook his head. "I don't know. She's pretty dumb. I don't think she could set up a web-site."

"Not to mention, the person who did it clearly has an agenda. There was a reason that the Czech parts of the journal were left out," Alex continued. "Whoever did it wanted us to know that they had it, wanted us to worry, but they didn't want to give up the goods - yet anyway."

"Good point. So who the hell was it then?" Kyle sighed. "Jeez, this is tough. I never realized how much Liz and Max were the brains of this operation."

Alex scowled at him good-naturedly. "I resent that, Valenti. I am clearly the designated nerd around here..."

He was cut off by Tess, who had suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Can we please just shut up about Max and Liz for once?" she demanded. "That's all I ever hear about...how much Liz misses Max, how much she needs him. Every time you say their names it�s like they're one word. Lizandmax, Maxandliz." She was practically yelling now. "There are others of us who cared about him too, you know!"

Kyle moved to put his arm around her. "We know that, Tess." She whirled away from him.

"I'm leaving. I need some air. I'll be back in a while to check on you," she told Maria.

Maria was still staring at her with her mouth open. She snapped it shut abruptly. "Okay."

"What got stuck in her craw?" Alex asked, when the bedroom door had slammed shut behind Tess.

"Shut up, Whitman," Kyle snapped.

He was torn about whether to go after Tess or not. He decided to give her a chance to cool off. Not to mention he needed to think. He had thought that Tess had gotten over all this jealousy stuff, that she had given up on her so-called destiny.

But the way she had just acted, it didn't seem that way at all.

Can things possibly get any worse? he wondered, as he plunked himself down on the vanity stool Tess had just vacated.

When Kyle looked back on the incident days later, he wished that he had knocked on wood - because, surprise, surprise...it had turned out that things could get worse. Much worse.

***

Heathrow Airport, London, England

Isabel stumbled off the plane, rubbing her eyes. She had been surprised that she had managed to sleep. She was exhausted though, and had also been willing to do anything to escape the tension between Liz and Michael. She had been stuck sitting between them, and it had been no picnic, that was for sure.

Liz had snapped at every word that had come out of Michael's mouth, until Michael had just stopped talking entirely. The whole thing was even more disturbing because Michael never said anything to defend himself. It was so unlike him to let someone treat him that way, it was very worrisome to Isabel.

She could not be mad at Liz though. She knew that resenting Michael was the only thing that was keeping Liz in one piece. If she really started to think about the fact that Max might never come back...Isabel just knew that Liz would lose it totally.

"Do we have to get our baggage before we go through customs?" Mr. Evans was asking Liz, as they followed behind Isabel.

"No," Liz replied. "We can pick them up on the other side." Liz was the designated tour-guide being as she had spent a considerable amount of time in London during the fall of their junior year, during the time when she had been trying to give Max his freedom to live out his so-called destiny with Tess.

"What time is it anyway?" Michael asked tiredly. He had just joined them.

"It's a seven hour time difference," Liz replied. "I think it�s about eight a.m. London time. I'm thinking that we should probably go straight to my aunt's and try to get rid of this jet-lag. We can get up later this afternoon and head for Victoria Station to get bus tickets to Salisbury."

"I don't think I can sleep," Isabel told Liz, as they slowly made their way through the customs line. It looked like a whole slew of 747's had landed at the same time, and that they had come from all over the world. Isabel could not even identify half the languages she was hearing.

Isabel felt a pang of excitement. London! How she wished she was there under different circumstances. It was one of the most exciting cities in the world, one she had always wanted to visit. She had often dreamed of leaving boring little Roswell behind for the lights of the big city. Of course, the "big city" had usually meant New York or Los Angeles, but London was right up there on the list.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Liz replied. "But we need all our strength, Iz. We have no idea what's going to go down tomorrow."

"God, I hope we do know." Isabel sighed. "I hope we're right, Liz, that we're not on some wild goose chase here. What if Stonehenge doesn't mean anything?"

"It has too," Liz told her firmly. "Why else would we all have seen it?"

"I guess." Isabel did not have time to continue. She was suddenly confronted by a very cranky looking customs officer.

"Country?"

"Um...the U.S," Isabel told her.

"Reason for your visit? Business or holiday?"

I wonder what she would say if I told her that we were here to bring my brother back from another planet through an interstellar gateway that we think is at Stonehenge? Isabel wondered briefly. "Holiday, she bit out quickly, trying hard not to laugh.

The customs officer stared at her closely. Isabel scowled at her. This woman is in for some very unpleasant dreams tonight, she thought to herself.

"Enjoy your visit," the woman said abruptly, waving her through.

"Don�t you worry. I will," Isabel muttered under her breath.

Liz was through a minute later. She had charmed the customs lady no doubt. Isabel wondered why everyone loved Liz so much. All she had to do was smile, and people melted.

When Liz suddenly threw her arm around Isabel's shoulder, she suddenly remembered. It was because of Liz's heart. Her friend's goodness shone through, even to complete strangers. It was no wonder that Max had loved her the moment he had laid eyes on her so many years before. She was Liz.

"Well, we're here. Only a day to go, and we'll see him."

Isabel smiled at her friend.

When Liz said it, she knew it was true.

Part 15

The Citadel, Illyria

Jennetta sat on the floor of the stone corridor, her back pressed against Jaxon's chamber door. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on trying to access her older brother's mind.

Their mother had moved Jaxon out of the dungeon after their meeting, and had given him free run of the fortress, but her brother was not allowed outside the Citadel's inner courtyard. He seemed resigned to the fact, and had chosen not to leave his chamber at all over the past two days. He refused to see anyone, although Jennetta had not let that stop her. Although Jaxon had tried to get rid of her the first couple of times she had visited him, he had apparently finally given up and instead just listened to her chatter patiently, an expression of half-affection/half-annoyance on his face.

Her brother tried very hard to hide the fact that he had emotions - but he did not do a very good job of it. Jennetta knew exactly what was going through his mind and heart at any given moment.

Of course it helped that she had the gift of telepathy as well.

Now she was waiting for her brother to fall asleep, although she wanted to go in and talk to him. She loved to talk to him. He was the only one in the fortress who took her at all seriously, beside Lucianus, of course. Jaxon seemed to hang onto every word she told him, storing it for later use, and Jennetta was happy to oblige him.

She told him about Tristandor, whom she had never met, but who she just knew was the most wonderful brother- in-law in the world. She told him about Mirana, whom she had met once in a dream. She spoke of Sabrya, who she didn't really like, but knew that she was supposed to love, so she tried.

And she spoke of the humans that Lucianus had told her about - Liz, and Maria, and Alex, and Kyle. The humans who were meant to save Jennetta's planet for her.

Jennetta's eyes snapped open a moment later. She leapt to her feet, raced down the corridor, and took the winding staircase two at a time. If Mama saw her, she would be in trouble for being so unladylike, but Jennetta knew that her mother was currently in the transmission room attempting to make contact with Mirana.

Mother had been trying to connect with Mirana ever since Jennetta could remember. She didn't know if Mama had ever been successful, but she never stopped trying.

Slamming through the wooden door to Lucianus' study, Jennetta threw herself at the old man, who was leaning over an electronic tablet on his table, studying it carefully. Lucianus's head snapped up. He smiled at her tolerantly.

"He's asleep, Lucianus! Finally! He had about five thousand thoughts whirling through his mind all evening, but he finally just gave up and went to sleep." She smiled at him conspiratorially. "Most of his thoughts were about Liz! Isn't that good news?"

"It is very good news indeed, little one. Thank you for coming to tell me so quickly." Lucianus climbed to his feet, kicked his long robes out of his way, and hurried across the room. The ease of his movements belied the whiteness of his hair.

Jennetta followed him closely, practically jumping up and down in her excitement. "Are you going to do another dream-meld with Liz?" she asked him breathlessly.

Lucianus paused, raised an eyebrow at her. "How did you know about that, little one?"

Jennetta could feel herself blushing slightly. "Er - I might have taken a peek into Jaxon's mind when you did it last time."

Her mentor frowned at her. "You know better then that, Jennetta. Jaxon's dreams are his own private domain."

She frowned back. "Well you manipulate his dreams all the time!" she told him indignantly. "I was just taking a look. I didn't do anything."

Lucianus continued to stare at her, then was forced to laugh. "I suppose you are right, little one. But I suggest that you let Jaxon and Liz be alone this time. This is the most important step in our quest to return our king to himself. Only Liz can do it, but it must be soon. He is going to try and escape tomorrow."

Jennetta's eyes widened. "He is? How do you know?"

"It's written in the stars," Lucianus told her in that mysterious way that always annoyed her.

Lucianus stopped at the control panel on the far wall of his chamber. He began to fiddle with some keys, then turned and opened a nearby chest, pulling out two red orbs and placing them in their slots on the control station. Jennetta watched all this with interest. She always tried to remember exactly what Lucianus was doing whenever she watched him at work. One could never know how to do too much.

"There we are." He smacked a button soundly and sat back with satisfaction.

"Is it happening?" Jennetta looked at the control panel in confusion. It looked exactly the same to her.

"Oh yes." Lucianus smiled.

***

Greenwich, London, England

Liz stared up at the ceiling of the guest room in her aunt's apartment, sighing with annoyance. She had been trying to sleep all night, but her body clock was totally messed up due to jet-lag. Isabel had also been right not to take a nap that afternoon. Her friend was currently sound asleep in the twin bed beside Liz's, a slight frown on her face.

Finally giving up, Liz climbed out of bed, and went to grab her England Guide Book out of her knapsack. She flipped to the page on Stonehenge, reread the entry for what seemed like the thousandth time. A picture of the great stone circle accompanied the paragraph about how to get there, and admission prices. Liz traced it with her fingers, wondered if it was really going to help them bring Max home.

She and Isabel had gone to Victoria Station earlier that day to book four seats on the National Express bus to Salisbury for the next morning. They had decided that they would pretend to be regular tourists and visit Stonehenge tomorrow afternoon, in order to case it out. After that, she, Isabel, and Michael would return later that evening with the orbs and try to open the gate to Illyria.

She only hoped Max was waiting for them on the other side.

Liz knew that it was not going to be easy to access the heritage site in the middle of the night. She was sure that such an important tourist attraction would have tons of security, and she had no idea how long they were going to need in the circle to bring Max back. She also had no idea what they would do if they were caught.

For the first time, she wished that Tess had accompanied them. Her gift of illusion would have come in very handy. But at least they had Isabel's dad. They might need a good lawyer if all did not go according to plan.

She tried to push her nervousness aside, focused her attention instead on another problem that was rearing its head. Liz wondered briefly what was up with Tess. She had talked to Maria earlier on the phone, and her friend had told her that, although the blonde-haired girl was taking her job of "protecting" Maria very seriously, she was basically ignoring Kyle and Alex, and when she wasn't, she was snapping at all three of them.

Liz knew that this had to be about more than just being left behind by Michael and Isabel. She could tell by the tone of Maria's voice that her best friend was hiding something from her. Liz didn't push it though. Maria or Alex would tell her what was going on when it became truly necessary.

Maria had also told Liz that her parents still had no idea that she was gone. Tess had called them, imitating Mrs. Evans so perfectly, even Maria had been impressed. She told them that the Evans were taking Liz on a week long tour of eastern colleges with Isabel, but that they had to leave immediately because Mr. Evans had managed to get discount airline tickets that expired after the weekend.

"That's brilliant, Maria!" Liz exclaimed. "Now if only I can convince my aunt that she doesn't need to call them to tell them I arrived safely."

Maria replied, "Can't help you there, chica." She paused for a moment. "How's Michael?" she finally asked quietly.

Liz felt herself scowl just at the mention of his name, although she tried to stop herself. She knew that she was being totally ridiculous at this point, but she seemed to have no control over how she felt about Max's best-friend. She hated him more every day.

"He's okay," Liz answered evenly.

Liz could hear Maria breathing on the other end of the line. "Liz, you've go to give him a break. He feels terrible about what happened."

"I know, Maria." Liz did not want to upset her best friend. She had enough to deal with. "I'm trying." But are you? a little voice in the back of her mind asked her.

"Liz, you've got to promise me that you're going to look after him."

Liz frowned at that. "Michael has made it pretty clear on this trip that he can look after himself, Maria."

Maria's silence was deafening. And, then, "I wasn't talking about on the trip, Liz."

Liz pressed her lips together, could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Stop talking like that, Maria!"

Maria sighed. "You've got to accept what's happening, sweetie. You're going to need to be strong - for me."

Liz felt herself beginning to panic. She could not promise to be strong again. She had already promised Max. She couldn't bear the weight of another promise of that magnitude. She was horrified when she heard the words coming out of her mouth. "I promise that I'll be there for you - and him - Maria."

"I love you, Liz."

"I love you too, Maria. We'll be home soon, with Max, and everything's going to work out. You'll see."

"I hope so. Well, I better go. This call is probably costing my mom at least two inflatable alien dolls."

As Liz remembered the conversation, she could feel tears filling her eyes again. She thrust the guide-book in her hands aside, and buried her face in her pillow. She didn't want to wake Isabel. Max's sister needed all her strength to open the portal tomorrow.

Liz was suddenly hit by an overwhelming wave of fatigue. She missed Max so much, was so worried about Maria, was so resentful of Michael. It was wearing her down, bit by bit. She could feel herself falling into the gratifying sanctuary of slumber, where she would not have to think any longer.

Moments later, she was with Max.

*Dreams * Max and Liz

He was scowling at her. "So, they've sent you to do their dirty work again, have they?"

Liz could feel herself blinking. It was taking her a moment to adjust to the fact that she was back in the Waylandian Ring and that Max was standing not two feet from her. She knew it was a dream, but it was so real, she could hear him breathing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him quietly.

He was eyeing her, clearly trying to be angry with her, but his dark eyes were shining as they gazed at her. He was not as displeased to see her as he made out.

"Are you aware of the lies they've been telling me?" he asked abruptly, moving forward to help her to her feet. It was only then that she realized that she had been sitting on the ground, the tall yellow grass waving around her.

Liz just shook her head. "No, Max, I have no idea."

"Jaxon," he snapped. "My name is Jaxon."

Liz stared at him. His mood was incredibly erratic. He actually looked like he wanted to throttle her and kiss her at the same time. "Are you okay?" She moved forward, reached up to touch his face. She saw him lick his lips, press them together. His hand grabbed hers, pulled it down from his cheek. She was pleased to note that he kept her hand firmly in his though. He seemed unaware that he was doing it.

"No, I am not," he replied evenly. "My mother is trying to turn me against Tarsus. She is trying to tell me that Mirana and Tristandor did not betray me. She is trying to convince me that I have only been back on Illyria for several months, that all the memories I have of the life I lived here, the battles I have fought, are false! How, by the stars, could I be okay?"

Liz did not know what to say to him. "And you think that I am working for your mother?"

"Who else could you be? You told me the same things she did."

Liz could feel her heart going out to him. He looked so confused, so scared - like everything that he had known to be true was being taken away from him. He looked like a lost little boy. Which in a way he was. He did not remember being Max Evans. He had lost himself. Liz could feel tears welling up in her eyes again.

Max seemed to calm down somewhat at the sight of it. He unconsciously brought his hand up to her face. "What is wrong, my Liz?" He blinked, like he wasn't really sure where that had come from.

"I am just sad, Ma...er Jaxon. I wish that you remembered me."

"I do remember you," Max replied, clearly trying to make her feel better. "I have told you as much."

"Then I don't understand why you insist on the fact that you are Jaxon! How can you be both my Max and Jaxon at the same time?"

Max looked perplexed. "I have no idea."

Liz shook her head. They had to stop wasting time. They were going in circles anyway. She did not know how long they were going to have together, and she had many things to tell him.

"Max, we are coming for you." She told him, running her hands over his arms. He did not pull away from her.

"How?"

"Through the portal. I think that you have to be in the Waylandian Ring though. Can you do that?" Liz asked him hopefully. He was looking at her like she was crazy.

"I have no intention of leaving Illyria, Liz. This is my home. It is mine. I can not leave it for my mother to take over." His eyes shadowed slightly. "It is why they had Jennetta. Another heir to the throne seriously compromises my position. I cannot leave."

Liz could see that he was torn about something. "Who is Jennetta?" she asked him, deciding to leave the subject of returning to Earth for the moment.

She could see his eyes light up despite himself. "She is my sister. While I know that my parents plan to use her as a pawn to unseat me from my throne..." He trailed off.

"You love her?" Liz asked. Max turned away from her.

"I do not know what love is," he replied gruffly.

Liz smiled. Yeah, right. "Don't you?" she asked him, trailing her hand across his back as she moved to walk around him, so that they were facing each other again. "I think you do."

Liz saw him swallow. His eyes were burning into her soul. Oh yes, he knew. At least here he did.

Liz caressed his cheek again, danced her other hand up his arm. She could feel his muscles tensing under her touch. "You do know what love is. You are mine. You are my Max. They might try and tell you differently, but you know. Don't you?"

"Liz..." He looked terrified, but strangely intrigued at the same time.

She reached up, ran her fingers through his dark hair. Liz's eyes did not leave his. She would lose him if she let him look away for even an instant. "Max." His head was slowly coming down. Liz parted her lips. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute. Max!

"Liz!" She saw Max look beyond her, a slight frown on his face. He had heard it too. Liz grabbed his chin, forced him to look back at her.

"Liz!" It came again. Liz knew exactly who it was, and she felt the rage fill her as Max's gaze drifted from her face again.

"Tristandor," he said, sounding betrayed. He looked at her, his eyes shining with hurt. Max wrenched himself away from.

"Max! Don't leave me! Please!" Liz screamed after him, but he was walking away from her, had stepped out of the stone circle. "Max! Come back!"

"Liz! Wake up!" Isabel's voice joined Michael's, calling at her to come back to them.

She couldn't! She had to follow Max! She was losing him again!

"LIZ!"

Liz's eyes snapped open, her gaze instantly lighting on Isabel and Michael, who were both leaning over her, matching expressions of concern on their faces.

She sat up, glared at them. "Why? Why did you wake me up? I almost had him!"

They exchanged looks. "Liz, you weren't breathing," Isabel finally told her quietly.

Liz stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I woke up because you were tossing and turning on the bed. I thought you were having a nightmare," Isabel explained. "When I tried to wake you up, you stopped breathing. I went to get Michael to help me."

Liz closed her eyes, fell back against her pillow. "God, he is so messed up, you guys."

"You saw him again?" Michael asked.

"Of course I saw him. He is totally torn in two. He doesn't know who to believe anymore." She jumped out of bed, glanced at the clock. It was six in the morning. Their bus to Salisbury was leaving in two hours.

She turned back to Isabel and Michael. "This has to work, you guys. We need to bring him back soon or we're going to lose him - and this time not just physically."

Liz saw Isabel flinch, watched Michael put his arm around her to comfort her.

It had to work. They had to make it work. She would not lose Max.

Part 16

Roswell, New Mexico

Kyle glanced at the clock in his fourth period English class for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. The minute hand seemed to be moving backward. There was absolutely no other explanation for why this class was taking so long to end.

He was the only one who had managed to make it to school. Tess had been absent in the two classes he shared with her, Kyle assumed Maria was too ill to come, and Alex had gone AWOL, as well. So much for acting like everything was normal.

He tapped his pencil against his desk impatiently, frowned slightly when he noticed that Pam Troy was staring at him, a slight smirk on her face. Kyle scowled at her. She quickly turned away and began giggling with the girls sitting hear her.

That girl needs to get a life, Kyle reflected, as the bell finally rang.

Kyle jumped out of his seat, and pushed his way through the crowds of students to the front door of the school. There was no point in hanging around. His concentration was totally shot anyway, and he was going to explode if he had to sit through one more ridiculous class, his next one being French. Somehow the proper use of the subjunctive did not seem significant when one of your friends was dying, while three more were off on a covert mission to England to try and bring a fourth back from another planet.

And then there was Tess: the girl he loved, who didn't know he was alive, and was suddenly acting like he had the Bubonic Plague. It was time to get to the bottom of that little mystery.

Tess had returned to Maria's the previous evening in order to check on her. She had barely even acknowledged Kyle or Alex's presence, but had even offered to sleep on the Deluca's couch if Maria wanted. Alex and Maria exchanged perplexed looks at that. Tess was taking this "protecting Maria" stuff way seriously.

It was beyond weird. It wasn't like Maria was in any real danger that Tess would be able to prevent. Her illness was slowly draining her, but there was nothing Tess could do about it. What was she trying to accomplish? Something was obviously bugging her, and Kyle fully intended to find out what it was.

Kyle climbed into his Mustang, the pulled out of the student parking lot with a screech of tires. He saw two freshmen practically have to jump out of his way, felt a little bad, but kept going.

He pulled up in front of the Harding house several minutes later. Tess had continued to live there after Nasedo had gone to work at the Special Unit. Kyle's dad had taken care of the paper work and had helped Tess to become legally emancipated like Michael. Nasedo had left her with enough money to live quite well.

Of course, Kyle did not want to even think about where Nasedo might have gotten the money. He would not have put it past the shapeshifter to have murdered some billionaire in his sleep just to keep his earthly finances solvent. While Kyle had never actually met the guy - the stories that Maria, Liz, and Alex had told him about him...Well, they made his toes curl.

And the man responsible for a murderous rampage across the south-west was basically Tess' father. He had raised her at least. Sure, he had done most of it to protect Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess, but he had still killed a lot of innocent people. Max, Isabel and Michael were raised as humans. Max and Isabel had known loving parents and a pretty normal life. Yeah, Michael had dealt with some crap, but he had at least had Max and Isabel.

Tess had only ever had a murderous, shape-shifting, emotionless weirdo to depend on. It was no wonder that she was kind of strange. The fact that she was at all normal was one of the things Kyle admired about her.

There was no answer when Kyle rang the doorbell. He peered in the picture window at the front of the house but there was no sign of any life within. He turned around, stood on the lawn for a moment with his arms crossed, frowning.

Where the hell was she?

He knew she wasn't at Maria's. He had called there on the cell in his car, just to check in. Amy Deluca said that Maria was sleeping, and that there had been no sign of Tess all day.

Kyle didn't really feel like driving the streets of Roswell in search of her. He'd try the Crashdown and then come back here later, if he had no luck. He climbed back into his car and had started down the street, when he saw his quarry walking on the sidewalk, her head lowered, her curly blonde hair falling over her face. Tess appeared to be deep in thought.

Just as he opened his window to hail her, another car, coming from the opposite direction, pulled up next to her. Tess raised her head, clearly not noticing Kyle at all, although he was only about ten feet away from her. She quickly opened the passenger door and climbed in.

"Tess!" Kyle called, trying to catch her before she took off with whomever was in the car. He jumped out of the Mustang, ran down the street after them, but they were gone. Belatedly, he realized that he should have stayed in his car and followed them.

"Imbecile," he muttered to himself. Worrying about Tess was turning him into a moron.

He stopped walking, scowling. There was absolutely no one in Roswell that Tess Harding should be getting into a car with, he reflected. Her only friends were her fellow Czechs and him, Liz, Alex, and Maria. He wondered briefly if it was Nasedo, finally back.

Tess had contacted the shapeshifter at the FBI after Max's disappearance. Nasedo had apparently been strangely uninterested in the whole affair. "He had to go back sometime," the bastard told her.

They had largely been out of touch with him since. Once Max was gone, he didn't seem to take his role as their "protector" quite as seriously. No one quite knew what to make of that. But was he finally back now? Was that why Tess was being so weird?

Kyle returned to his car, wondering if he should try and catch Tess and her mysterious companion. He decided it would be pointless. He might as well go grab some lunch at the Crashdown, and try to catch up with her later.

His plans changed a moment later when his cell rang. "What?" he demanded when he switched it on. In his current mood there was no time for social niceties.

It was Alex and he didn't seem to care, not even bothering with a typical snappy comeback. "I don't have time to talk, Kyle, but you better come to the hospital right away."

Kyle's brow knit. "What's wrong?"

"It's Maria. Get here quick." The other boy hung up without saying another word.

Kyle turned off his phone, then stared out the windshield in front of him.

He knew exactly why Maria was in the hospital.

The end was near.

***

Tess waved her hand in front of the stone wall, then watched with an expressionless face as the silver handprint appeared. She glanced at her companion, raising an eyebrow.

The girl stepped forward, placing her hand directly on the mark. Tess closed her eyes as the wall slid away, leaving the entrance to the pod chamber open.

So she had not lied. She was one of them.

And, in that instant, Tess Harding's entire world changed.

Part 17

Salisbury, England - the same day

"Isabel, those sunglasses look ridiculous," Michael snapped. "It's raining."

Isabel swung around to stare at him, lifting the glasses onto her head as she did so. "I was trying to be low-profile," she replied, sounding annoyed. "It's going to be a little hard to do that with you yelling all the time."

"Yeah, and wearing sunglasses in the rain isn�t going to draw attention to you." Michael snorted, turning away.

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Isabel said to Liz in an undertone.

The three of them, plus Mr. Evans, had arrived in Salisbury about a half an hour before. They went for a quick lunch at a nearby pub called the Turk's Head, (Liz still wondered when a Turk had ever been anywhere near Salisbury) and were now standing outside the tourist office waiting for Isabel's dad to arrange spots for them on a sight-seeing tour out to Stonehenge. They were planning to check out the security features at the heritage site, and basically get a lay of the land, so that they could return later that night to try to open the portal to Illyria.

Liz was surprised by how cooperative Mr. Evans was being about everything. They hadn't lied to him once, which was like a new record for them. Even the illegal aspect of their operation did not seem to bother the straight-arrow a bit. It seemed that Phillip Evans was willing to risk anything if it meant that his son might be brought home.

Liz heard Michael sigh. She knew that he had heard Izzy, but was choosing to ignore her now.

It was true that Michael was being much more belligerent than usual. Well, actually he was acting much more like the old Michael. The old Michael, the non-guilt-stricken Michael, had been snarky about a lot of things.

Liz's eyes narrowed. Something had happened.

"Michael, what did Maria say on the phone this morning?" Liz demanded suddenly. She knew that Michael had called her best friend before they left London. It had been around midnight Roswell time, but he had decided to do it anyway.

Michael turned back to face them, his expression shuttered. "She said everything was fine. Tess is still acting a little weird, but everything was basically okay," he replied, sighing again. "I don't know. I just feel like something's wrong back there."

Liz frowned at him. Trust Michael to not be completely focused on the matter at hand. She was worried about Maria too - desperately worried - but they needed to concentrate on Max now. They could only help one friend at a time. And if they could bring Max back., maybe he could save Maria.

It seemed that Isabel could tell that Liz was gearing up to lay into Michael, because she smoothly interrupted. "Here comes my dad."

Sure enough, Mr. Evans was hurrying across the Salisbury High Street. Liz flinched when he barely avoided being hit by a car. In typical North American fashion he had forgotten to look in the opposite direction before stepping off the curb.

He looked flustered when he joined them.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Isabel asked worriedly.

"Yes, yes. Just forgot for a minute that everything's backwards over here," Mr. Evans replied in an irritated tone of voice.

"Not backwards," Liz told him jokingly. "Just different."

"Right. Anyway, our tour leaves in about ten minutes. We're to meet the van at the Cathedral." Mr. Evans seemed to calm down a bit when Isabel gently took him by the arm, and began to lead him towards Salisbury Cathedral, whose spire towered over the town.

Liz trailed behind her three companions, enjoying the light rain that was misting against her face. This was one of the things she had missed most about England - the fact that one had to bring an umbrella everywhere, because while it could be perfectly sunny when you set out in the morning, it would definitely rain at least once if you forgot one.

While Liz's previous trip to the United Kingdom had been under the shadow of grief surrounding her decision to leave Max the opportunity to pursue his destiny with Tess, she had grown to love the country and now considered it almost like a second home. She loved everything about it: the unpredictable weather, the lack of central heating, the fact that there were only five television channels, the snails that one had to jump over on the sidewalk after it rained, the efficiency of the Royal Mail, the fact that soccer was called football. But, mainly, she loved the sense of history that permeated from every stone, and tree, and blade of grass.

In England you knew that important and world-changing events had taken place there. You just felt it with every fibre of your being.

Liz was hoping that one more world-changing event would take place there tonight.

She threw back her head, staring up at the cloudy sky. As she watched, the sun managed to penetrate through the grey mass, sending a beam down to warm Liz's face.

"You're coming home, Max," Liz whispered. "Tonight."

***

"This is the heel stone. It is faced by five great trilithons which form a horse-shoe shape."

The tour-guide droned on. Although Isabel considered him to be quite cute when she had first seen him, Thomas had soon proved a disappointment. It was clear that he was simply reciting facts that he had memorized, and that he had no great interest in what he was telling them. She scowled, exchanging an annoyed look with Michael. He too looked bored by what he was being told.

"Who cares if it's in a horseshoe shape? We can bloody well see that! What about the aliens?" he asked Isabel under his breath.

It astounded her that their guide was missing the power that Isabel could feel flowing through her, as she gazed at the great stone circle of Stonehenge.

It was smaller than she had thought it would be. The name Stonehenge was so attached to mysticism and legend. She didn't know what she had expected, but it had certainly been bigger in her imagination.

Of course it didn't help that she was completely surrounded by tourists, not only from her own small tour-group, but from the, at least, fifty buses she had counted in the parking lot when they arrived. Isabel again wondered why so many tourists decided it was a good idea to wear Bermuda shorts with knee socks and sandals. Somehow it was difficult to picture Druids going about their business in this place, that was presently being photographed and stared at by silly people, who were only there because their guide-books told them to go.

"I don't understand why we can't get closer to it," a middle-aged man near her was whining to his wife.

"Maybe because they know you'd knock it over," Isabel heard Michael mutter. She giggled.

It was true that the standing stones themselves were impossible to get close to, at least not with all the English Heritage employees hovering around. They would for sure catch anyone before they had any sort of chance to get close to the stones. Fortunately, the low bars separating the tourist paths from the circle would not prove to be a problem later that night. They were clearly just a barrier to stop people from moving off the paths.

"Why was it built?" a member of Isabel's tour group asked Thomas.

Isabel felt Michael perk up beside her. Liz, standing nearby, was ignoring Thomas completely though, gazing at the stones, her eyes shining.

Isabel bit her lip. She hoped her friend wasn't get her hopes up too high. While Isabel was positive that she would be able to open the gate, they had no way of knowing if Max would come through it. They were going on faith here - a lot of it. Isabel was trying to prepare herself for disappointment, but she could see that Liz had no doubts. She wished that she could feel the same.

The sandy-haired guide began a rehearsed monologue about the origins of Stonehenge. "It is clear that the circle was built in three stages, beginning between 2900 and 2500 B.C., by Neolithic peoples. The purpose of its construction is believed to have been a temple dedicated to the worship of the sun..."

Isabel frowned when she noticed Michael whispering something to a kid, who looked to be about ten, standing near him. The kid's eyes were widening with interest, and he suddenly blurted out in an Australian accent, "What about the aliens?"

Isabel rolled her eyes. Great Michael! Way to draw attention to yourself, she thought. Michael looked most pleased with himself. Isabel could see that her dad's face had whitened, while Liz's attention was drawn by the comment as well. She was glaring at Michael.

Thomas' eyes snapped towards the boy, a sneer on his face. "Aliens? I think not." The little boy's face fell. Michael's expression of disappointment was almost identical.

A few minutes later, Thomas told them that the bus would be heading back to Salisbury in half an hour. "Feel free to take as many photographs as you would like, and be sure to visit the gift shop." Their tour-guide called over his shoulder, as he ambled off to go flirt with one of the English Heritage people.

Isabel turned to Michael, shaking her head. "What? Did you think he was really going to say, �well, yes young man, aliens did build Stonehenge?�"

Michael looked mildly embarrassed. "Well, it didn't hurt to try." He motioned toward Liz, who was standing about fifty feet away, staring at the stones intensely. "Is she all right?"

Isabel frowned slightly. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Because I don't really feel like having my head bit off, that's why," Michael replied, sounding sad.

"Is it finally getting to you?" Isabel asked, feeling a spark of hope. She hated the tension that existed between her brother and her best friend. It was draining trying to keep the peace. Well, at least trying to keep Liz peaceful, while trying to shield Michael from the brunt of her anger. It didn't help that Michael seemed to enjoy it, having wrapped himself so completely in his guilt over Max's disappearance and Maria's illness.

Isabel knew that a reckoning was coming. And it had to be soon. Maria needed Michael and Liz on side with each other, and they certainly did not need Max to reappear into the middle of a civil war between his soulmate and his best friend. There was no way that her brother was going to have to choose between the two of them. Isabel would not allow it.

"You need to do something about this, Michael. This thing between you and Liz...it's like poison or something. She's been able to handle herself around you up until now, but I see her losing it a little more every day. It can't go on."

"She needs to hate me," Michael told her firmly. "It's the only thing that's holding her together. And we both know I deserve it."

Isabel clenched her hands. "That's ridiculous! Michael, you know that Liz is not the kind of person meant to hate anyone. You encouraging her in this is only making it worse. It's destroying her. You guys need to talk about this."

"Leave it alone, Isabel," Michael snapped, walking away from her. Isabel gritted her teeth. He was deliberately walking in the opposite direction from Liz.

Isabel rubbed her eyes tiredly. Now's not the time to think about this, she reflected. I have work to do.

She began walking the perimeter of the stone circle, eyeing the different security features of the site. The whole complex - including the gift shop, the visitor's centre, and the tunnel leading out to the circle itself - was surrounded by chain-link fence, topped off by barbed wire. Isabel wondered briefly if it would be electrified at night. She and Michael should have no trouble getting through it, but it would be a heck of a lot easier if it was just wire.

They would have no way of knowing until that night whether security guards would be posted or not. It was more than likely that they would. They were going to have to find them all, and disable them, before they would be able to open the portal. Michael would be able to knock them unconscious with his blast. He had refined it enough for that. It wouldn't be pleasant, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Isabel glanced at her watch. It was 3:00. She had checked the sign on the way in. The site closed at 6:00. That gave them just enough time to go back to Salisbury in the tour van, rent a car, and by the time they drove out through the rolling hills to the stone circle, it would be dark.

She felt her stomach clenching with nervous excitement. If only they knew that Max would be where they needed him!

She wished that there was some way to communicate with Max - to find out if he was going to be waiting for them.

Isabel paused, staring at the heel stone intently.

She could try.

She wandered to a secluded corner of the site. Isabel could hear the low hum of noise from the tourists in the distance. She could see her father talking to Michael near the heel stone, pointing out something to her friend.

She sat down on the grass, which was still damp from the recent rainfall. Liz was heading in her direction, but she paused when she seemed to realize what Isabel was doing. Trust Liz - always so in tune with those around her.

Isabel closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on shutting out the noise from the hundreds of people milling nearby. She conjured an image of Max in her mind, then called to him.

Max! Let me in!

She could feel herself fading from the earthly plain, felt energy running through her veins and into her mind - more power then she had ever felt before in all her thousands of dreamwalks. She realized that it was the lay-lines. Hundreds of them seemed to meet under the gigantic stone circle, and somehow, she, Isabel, was tapping into them.

And, suddenly, the vision came.

But it was not really a vision, more like a connection.

*Flash*

Mirana!

*Flash*

Can you hear me, my child?

Isabel felt her heart speed up. She recognized the voice. It was the same one from her earlier visions. But this time it seemed to be speaking directly to her, instead of at her.

*I can hear you!* she screamed back with her mind. She concentrated on pulling the energy from the laylines into her body, focused on throwing that energy behind the words she was sending out. *Who are you?*

I am your mother! The voice replying sounded strange, like it was emotionally overwrought. I have connected with you at last!

Isabel felt the connection slipping. *Mother! Stay with me!*

Mirana! I have much to tell you!

* Max! Where is he? Please, Mother! *

Your brother is almost lost to you, my daughter, almost lost to all of us.

Isabel could feel her breath leaving her body. Max! She forced herself to calm down.

* Is it too late, Mother? *

No my child, but you must open the gate tonight. He needs to return to Earth - to remember who he was...is...

* But how can we be sure he will be there? *

There was a pause. Isabel frantically reached out with her mind. She wondered if she had lost the link to her mother.

* Mother!*

He will be there, Mirana. I will make it so.

The voice sounded more distant. Isabel could feel the connection ending.

* No! Mother! *

She was only met with silence.

Isabel finally opened her eyes. Liz was sitting nearby, watching her quietly, clearly there to make sure that no one disturbed her. Isabel could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Liz crawled over to join her, putting her arm comfortingly around Isabel�s shoulders. "What did you see, Izzy?"

"I didn't see anything, " Isabel whispered, choked up. "I spoke to my mother."

She watched Liz's eyes light up with joy. Her friend squeezed her again. "I'm so happy for you!"

Isabel smiled through her tears. "She's going to help us, Liz." Liz looked at her questioningly. "She's going to help us get him home."

Liz's eyes filled with tears of happiness as well. The two girls hugged, bonded in their amazement and hope.

The moment was shattered when Michael's voiced penetrated the fog surrounding them. "What's going on?"

Isabel could feel Liz tense. Her friend's face froze. Isabel's spirits deflated a little.

"I just connected with my mother." Isabel told him, climbing to her feet.

Michael looked impressed. "What'd she say?" he demanded eagerly. Isabel watched sadly as Liz began to walk away from them. She turned back to Michael, saw him flinch slightly, but he quickly refocused on her.

As Isabel told him, she wound her arm through his, silently offering comfort.

It was time to do something about the state of affairs between Michael and Liz.

She knew now that Max was coming back. It was just a matter of all the pieces falling into place. Nothing was going to spoil it. Liz and Michael were just going to have to get over themselves.

And, if they wouldn�t do it alone, then she was going to find a way to make them.

Part 18

Roswell, New Mexico

Kyle paced the hospital waiting room, his hands clenched behind his back.

Where the hell was Tess?

He had left at least five messages on her answering machine and it had been at least three hours since he had seen her get into the strange car.

He was pissed. Not only did he have to worry about Maria, who was fighting for her life down the hall, but he had to worry about Tess, who seemed to be reverting to her old, selfish ways.

Kyle's pacing stopped abruptly when Alex entered the waiting room. Maria's best friend was rubbing his right temple like he had the world's worst head-ache in progress.

"How is she?" Kyle demanded.

Alex collapsed into an uncomfortable looking chair, which looked even more uncomfortable with Alex's lanky form spread across it. "She's in a coma," he replied, his voice cracking. "Mrs. Deluca just told me."

Kyle stared at him. "Jesus." He swallowed. "How's Mrs. Deluca?"

"Not good." Alex replied. "I don't even know what to do for her. I can't call Liz's parents because they think Liz is here, and as far as I know they're her only friends."

Kyle grimaced. "I didn't even know they were friends."

"Well, sort of, I think." Alex shrugged. "I don't really pay attention to my friends' parents' social life."

Kyle felt helpless. Maria was dying and the people who should have been with her, Michael and Liz, were on the other side of the world. He wondered if doing something for Maria's mom would make him feel any better. "Do you think seeing my dad might help her?" he asked Alex.

Alex's looked at him. "Were they that close?" he asked curiously.

Kyle shrugged. "They seemed to be getting pretty close until all hell broke loose when Tess came to town. I mean, it was a long time ago, but I know that my dad really cared about her. He just sort of seemed to get distracted with all the Czech stuff."

"Don't we all," Alex muttered. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. "I mean, things couldn't possibly get worse."

Kyle wished that Alex hadn't said that. The last time he had thought that same thing, things had proceeded to show him how wrong he was by getting ten times worse.

He hurried over to the pay-phone. Kyle paused as his hand raised to dial his dad's cell. He was not surprised when he dialed Tess' number instead. He'd call his dad in a second.

"Hi! You've reached the Harding residence. Neither Ed or Tess can come to the phone right now. Please leave a message at the beep."

Kyle sighed, then hung up the received. Where the hell was she?

He quickly pulled out another quarter.

"Valenti." His dad answered the cell tersely, as was his way.

"Dad, its me."

"Kyle, I'm kinda busy right now." The sheriff, as usual, seemed to half tune-out when he realized it was his son on the phone. Bet he wouldn't have done that if it was Max Evans, Kyle briefly thought.

He forced himself to suppress his lingering bitterness. He knew his dad loved him. That wasn't the problem. He just sometimes felt that his dad wasn't very interested in him.

"It's an emergency, Dad," Kyle told his father. "Maria Deluca's in the hospital."

Kyle's dad paused on the other end. "It's bad, huh?"

"I think this might be it, Dad." The sheriff was aware of the situation with Maria, and had been since it developed.

"Do you want me to come over there, son?"

"Yeah, but not for me. I think Maria's mom might need someone."

His dad paused again. "I'm on my way. I just need to call Owen and tell him to mind the shop."

"Okay, thanks, Dad." Kyle hung up, then turned around. He froze in his tracks.

Tess Harding was standing directly behind him. She had a stricken expression on her beautiful face. "Is it true, Kyle? Is Maria dying?"

"It's true," he replied. Her face crumbled. Kyle was astonished when she threw her arms around him, apparently searching for comfort. He brought his arms up around her waist hesitantly, letting one hand stroke her back.

He hadn't known that Tess cared about Maria this much. If it had been Michael or Isabel, .he might have understood it, but this was weird.

"Everything's falling apart," he heard Tess murmur against his chest. Somehow, suddenly, he knew that this wasn't just about Maria.

"What's wrong, Tess?" he asked into her hair, feeling his heart beginning to beat faster at the scent of her perfume.

He felt her tense, as though she had suddenly become aware of what she was doing. She pulled away from him, and turned to stare at Alex, clearly trying to compose herself.

"It's nothing. Forget it. I'm going to go see if maybe I can do something for her." Tess hurried away, without showing him her face again.

Kyle watched her go, perplexed.

Tess was hiding something. There was no doubt about that.

Alex had climbed to his feet, and came to join Kyle. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Kyle replied.

But he knew one thing. He was going to find out.

***

Dreams - Maria

She felt as if her body had been incinerated from the inside out.

Maria carefully opened her eyes, and realized that she was lying flat on her back staring up at a peculiar yellowish sky. She reached up, massaging her temples, then tried to sit up.

She froze when she toppled over backwards, landing on something soft.

Make that someone soft, she amended to herself. He groaned.

Slowly turning her head, Maria stared down at Michael. He was sprawled on his stomach, one arm thrown wide, the other shielding his head.

Clutching her side when she moved, a sharp pain flashing through her entire abdomen, Maria managed to nudge him. He groaned again.

"Michael?" No answer. "Michael!"

"What do you want?" she heard him mutter.

"I want you to get up and tell me where the heck we are, because I am on the verge of totally freaking out here."

Michael rolled onto his back, slowly opening his eyes. She wondered briefly if it was her Michael, or if it was pod-person Michael. She assumed it was pod-person Michael, since he was the last Michael she had seen.

She realized that she was confusing herself, so decided to just wait and see.

Michael was climbing to his feet, looking around, his expression amazed. "I'm home." He reached down and pulled her to her feet. "I'm home, Maria."

Maria stared at him. He sounded like her Michael. His voice contained inflection, emotion. It was not the flat monotone she had become used to over the past months.

She followed his gaze, taking in the waving yellow grass that seemed to stretch on forever in all directions.

Michael suddenly looked at her, perplexed. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

"I think because I fell into that light thingy," she replied, reaching up to rub her head again. It was still killing her. "You know - the one I pushed you into. Sorry about that," she added sheepishly.

Michael opened his mouth to reply when a noise to their left caused them to both freeze. He grabbed her, thrusting her behind him.

Another head popped up in the grass. It was River Dog - or Tarsus of Dernia as they had learned was his true identity The shapeshifter climbed unsteadily to his feet, eventually seeming to become aware of their presence.

Tarsus' eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Maria peering over Michael's shoulder. "That one is more trouble then she is worth. She has ruined everything. We have returned without Jaxon. Kill her immediately, Tristandor."

Maria could feel Michael's back tense under her hands, which were clutching his jacket. He didn't have time to reply though, because Tarsus started to pace.

"This is a disaster. My leader is going to be most put out. The only consolation is that Jaxon will no doubt follow you." He turned quickly to stare at them. He did not seem at all upset that Michael had made no move to kill Maria. "I've changed my mind. Do not kill her. We will need her to bargain with when the king arrives."

Maria frowned in confusion. None of this was making any sense.

"Time to take my true form." Tarsus' face was implacable as always, but if Maria did not already know that the alien did not have any emotions, she would have thought that he sounded glad. She watched him raise his hand. It began to glow, causing a chain reaction in his entire body.

"Ohmigod! Michael! Is he going to turn into a little green man?" Maria demanded, feeling horror beginning to take ahold of her.

"Shhhh! Maria!" Michael sounded annoyed, and very Michael-like. It made her feel better. She wondered again why he suddenly seemed to be her Michael again, and not weird-emotionless-minion of Tarsus- Michael.

But now was not the time. She wanted to close her eyes to hide from whatever Tarsus was turning himself into, but it was like a car accident. She couldn't look away.

The light finally dissipated and she gasped in astonishment.

Standing in front of her was a perfectly normal-looking man. He was young, with dark hair and blue eyes. He was actually quite handsome. Maria blinked.

Tarsus was staring off across the plain. "Dernia is south of here. We will go there to rally the troops. We will bring them back here to capture Jaxon when he makes the journey."

"What if he's long gone by the time we get back? Shouldn't we wait for him?" Michael asked the question Maria was thinking.

Tarsus frowned. "Don't ask questions about things you don't understand."

"Ummm, how are we ever supposed to learn if we don't ask questions about things we don't understand?" Maria asked. Was this guy really as imbecilic as he sounded? She wondered why they had all been so scared of him.

"Shut her up," Tarsus ordered. Michael squeezed Maria's hand warningly.

They exchanged glances, then followed Tarsus across the plain of yellow grass, heading south.

Part 19

Wiltshire, England

Liz sat in the front passenger seat of the rented Volvo, her face plastered to the window. As she watched the rolling English countryside fly past, she could feel her heart beginning to speed up with every mile that brought them closer to Stonehenge.

Only a couple of hours to go. Only a couple of hours to go. It was like a chant, repeating itself in her mind as she tried to calm herself down.

Mr. Evans was driving. He had insisted on coming, although Isabel had tried to talk him out of it. "I need to be there in case something goes wrong," he had told her firmly. Really, Liz expected nothing less. He was being very cooperative for a dad up to this point. They couldn't exactly expect him to sit back at the hotel twiddling his thumbs while they went off and broke into one of the most famous tourist sites in the world.

Liz turned around in her seat to glance at Isabel and Michael. Michael was staring out the window, his expression unreadable. He had been unnaturally quiet since they tried to reach Maria an hour or so before. There had been no answer at the Deluca, Valenti, or Harding residences. Even Alex's parents had no idea where he was. It was most disconcerting, but Liz forced her concern about their friends to the back of her mind. They needed to worry about Max now.

Everything would be better when Max came back.

Isabel presently had her eyes closed. She was clutching a small backpack in her hands. Liz knew that the bag contained the two blue orbs - the keys that opened the portal to Illyria. Isabel had opened the portal once before. She would do it again.

Not for the first time, Liz wondered why they had to be at Stonehenge to bring Max back. Michael and Maria had returned at the Santa Anna Hot Springs back in Frasier Woods - the same place they had left from. It was all so confusing.

But then intergalactic travel was not exactly a known science, Liz reflected wryly to herself.

Liz swallowed when she felt the Volvo rolling to a halt. "I don't think I better get any closer," Mr. Evans told them, pulling the car off the motorway onto a slight shoulder.

Pulling her rain-jacket more tightly around her, Liz opened her door and climbed out. She took a deep breath, staring up at the, for-once, cloudless sky. The moon was almost full and shone down on them. Liz knew that it would only get brighter as the evening progressed.

It was reassuring.

Michael had told them earlier that he knew for a fact that there were three security guards posted on the grounds of the monument. When Isabel asked him how he knew, he grinned saucily. Liz had wanted to laugh despite herself.

"I have my ways, Izzy."

Isabel muttered under her breath to Liz. "I guess Thomas the tour-guide isn't the only one who can flirt with English Heritage employees."

"Please." Michael rolled his eyes. "I am far above that. It was a gift shop employee."

Liz had laughed at that. It felt wonderful. They had all been in great moods over dinner at the hotel, sure that it was now only a matter of time until they saw Max again. Isabel had practically been jumping up and down with excitement at the table. Liz even managed to be civil to Michael, a fact of which she was very proud.

She knew that the rift between her and Michael was painful to Isabel. Liz was trying to control her feelings, and now that it looked like Max was on his way home, suddenly she wasn't quite as angry.

Or at least, she hadn't been until those disturbing phone calls to Roswell. At the thought of what might be happening to Maria back there, the iron had re-entered her soul.

And, thus, it was a somber group of four that gathered near the entrance to the heritage site.

"Okay, so, Dad, you're with me, and, Liz, you're with Michael." Liz grimaced. She knew that she could manage to work with Michael now, but it was going to be as annoying as all get out. "We have to take out those guards."

Isabel surprised them all earlier that evening when they were refining the plan. She had told them that she would be able to take some of the guards out on her own.

"How?" Michael demanded, sounding suspicious.

"I've been working on a little something." She smiled self-consciously. "Liz, do you mind if I use you as an example. I promise that you'll be fine."

Since Liz trusted Isabel implicitly, she nodded.

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Michael. Liz blinked, sitting up, confused. "What the heck?"

"I don't know how I do it." Isabel shrugged. "I just sort of tweaked your mind. It put you under almost immediately. I think it�s somehow connected to the dreamwalking, so I can get in when someone's awake. I don't know for sure."

"How did you discover this?" Michael asked, clearly intrigued.

Isabel blushed slightly. "Well, I tried visiting Alex in his dreams one night, but I couldn't get in. He was mad at me because I forgot to pick him up at school - it wasn't my fault there was a sale at the mall. Anyway, it was like he knew to block me or something. I got into Pierce that time, when he was awake, but he didn't know I could do it...and the time I got into Maria, she was waiting for me. Anyway, Alex wasn't asleep, and he was consciously blocking me because he was mad, so I just sort of convinced him to go to sleep. I don't know how."

"Weird, but useful," Michael judged. "So you'll take out two of the guards and I'll get the third," he decided. "My guy's going to wake up with one hell of a headache, and it�s better if we can at least be nice to two of them." He grimaced wryly.

Now, Liz pulled a flashlight out of her bag. The moon was not quite high enough in the sky to go by alone, and Michael and Isabel still hadn't managed to perfect Max's little hand-light trick. She handed the first light to Isabel, then pulled out another one for herself and Michael.

"So, we'll meet at the heel stone in twenty minutes," Isabel whispered, sounding nervous. Liz could see that Mr. Evans' eyes were wide. She realized that this was probably the first time in his entire life he had ever done anything illegal.

Wish I could say the same, Liz reflected ironically, thinking back to the fact that not only had she been a party to numerous illegal break-ins during her association with the aliens, she had also been party to a murder - Pierce's - although it had been a perfectly deserved and, in Liz's opinion, justified one.

It had been done to save a life - many lives.

Taking a deep breath, Liz gave Isabel a quick hug. "Be careful," she ordered.

Isabel nodded. As Liz watched, she reached out her hand to the chain-link fence in front of them. They were about fifty feet from the main gate, but had decided not to break-in that way. It was too obvious and there might be security cameras.

Liz saw Mr. Evans' eyes widening even more when Isabel's hand started to glow. The chains began to disintegrate under her palm, forming a large hole. Izzy stopped when it was big enough for them to squeeze through, one at a time.

Liz and Michael went first, Michael in the lead. They turned to the right and began to slink around the perimeter of the site. Liz turned once to watch Izzy and her father heading in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think they are?" Liz whispered ahead to Michael. He shrugged, then stopped briefly, straightening to scan the entire site.

"They're probably closer to the actual stone circle," Michael finally replied. "Izzy's going to get the one that's probably near the visitor's centre."

The great stone circle was dead ahead, lit up by floodlights. It looked bigger than it had that afternoon, finally standing as it was meant to, solitary and commanding, its great stones reaching towards the heavens.

"Michael!" Liz whispered urgently, having suddenly caught sight of movement to her left. A shadow seemed to cross one of the stones.

Michael turned to stare in the direction she was pointing. "Stay here!" he ordered, taking off across the open plain at a dead run. Liz clenched her hands in front of her, wanting to follow him.

Her heart stopped as she suddenly heard a strange voice yelling. "Hey! You're not supposed to be in...."

Michael went screeching to a halt. Liz could see him clearly in the ever brightening light of the moon. His hand was up and Liz held her breath as it began to glow.

She closed her eyes as the blast went soaring across the plain and smashed into the guard who had been staring at Michael with terror written all over his face.

Liz managed to unfreeze. She went sprinting over to Michael, who was breathing hard. "Is he okay?" she demanded. Of all the powers that the Czechs possessed, Michael's was by far the most terrifying. He had managed to refine it to a certain degree, but Michael had never had much control to begin with.

There was always the slight chance that something could have gone wrong, that they had killed an innocent person.

And Michael knew it too. Liz could see that his face was white. "Can you...Liz..." He managed to choke out.

Liz bit her lip. No matter how mad she was at Michael, no one deserved to have the look on their face that he currently did. She hurried over to the guard, who had collapsed very close to one of the stones that lay on its side.

Kneeling beside him, Liz felt for a pulse. She heaved a sigh of relief when she found it quickly. It was steady and strong. "Good job!" she managed to whisper to Michael. "He's okay!"

Liz could see Max's best friend heave a sigh of relief. He moved quickly to join her.

"Let's get him out of here," Michael said, grabbing the guard and throwing him over his shoulder. They had decided that they would tie the guards to the fence, planning to release them after Max was back.

They were near the stones about ten minutes later, having secured the young guard to the fence with a piece of rope that Liz had pulled from her knap-sack. Michael was now pacing near the heel stone, clearly becoming more and more concerned the longer they had to wait for Isabel.

"I think I should go find her," he finally announced.

Liz frowned, glancing at her watch. "We said we'd give her twenty minutes, Michael. You have to trust her."

"I'm going, Liz." Liz stared at him. She watched him stalk off, exiting the circle, and promptly tripping over the sprawled body of a guard just outside the stones.

"What the...?" Michael stumbled back to his feet, staring down at the uniformed guard on the ground.

Liz heard running nearby. Isabel suddenly appeared from the darkness. "I just got him!" she told them breathlessly. "I couldn't find him, but then I caught a glimpse of him sneaking up on you guys."

"Thanks. Where's your dad?" Liz asked with concern. Isabel grimaced.

"He tripped and sprained his ankle." Isabel shook her head. "He's getting himself back to the car."

"He agreed to that?" Liz was surprised.

Isabel looked momentarily guilty. "Well, I might have planted the idea...."

Liz sighed. "He's going to be mad, Iz."

"I know. But I don't think he can be here, Liz. He distracts me. I worry too much about what's he's thinking. He's so unused to seeing me use my powers. I mean, I know he accepts me, but its just weird, you know?"

Liz nodded her understanding.

Michael returned from trussing up the other guard. Liz was glad that he had taken some initiative. "Let's get this show on the road," he told them as he re-entered the circle.

Liz suddenly felt her heart in her throat. Max! Only a few minutes and he would be back.

Isabel's eyes were wide as if she had suddenly realized the same thing. "What if this doesn't work?" she asked in a small voice.

"It will work," Liz replied confidently. "I just know it." She stepped forward, hugging her friend. "You can do it, Izzy. I know you can."

Isabel was biting her lip. She hurriedly opened her knapsack, pulling out the orbs. Liz stared at them. She thought about the day she and Max had found the first one. She remembered the way she had woken up in his arms the morning after they found it, the orb sitting on the blanket next to them. The way he had looked at her had taken her breath away. It had been the first day that she had known that she was never going to love anyone else in the way she loved Max Evans...ever.

And he was coming back to her.

Liz watched Isabel stare down at the orbs. It looked almost like she was silently communicating with them. Michael was standing nearby, his gaze resting on the orbs, his eyes wide. Liz was not surprised when his gaze raised to lock on her own.

And, suddenly, in that moment of complete hope that raced through her body at the thought that Max would soon be with them, she knew she would forgive Michael

She let her hatred go.

She did if for one person alone - and it wasn't Michael.

She did it for Max. Max had risked his entire existence for Michael, had not even hesitated to go after him when he had disappeared.

Her hatred of Max's best friend was a dishonour to that sacrifice.

Michael had not asked Max to come after him. Liz still couldn't quite understand why Michael let Max stay behind on Illyria, but she could get past that, and maybe Max would be able to tell them.

She felt her heart open towards Michael in a way it had not in a long time. She could work on forgiving him.

She would forgive him.

As Liz silently communicated this to Michael, his face remained shadowed. She might forgive him, but it seemed unlikely that he would ever forgive himself.

Suddenly Liz's gaze was torn away from Michael's, as the orbs in Isabel's hands began to take on their strange glow. As was the case the last time, one of the orbs brightened more quickly than the other, although the second orb rapidly caught up.

It was different this time though too.

As Liz watched in astonishment, the stone circle surrounding them seemed to be coming to life. The stones began to glow, drawing on the energy being released from the orbs.

When the orbs left Isabel's hands, the light coming from them was enough that Liz had to shield her eyes. She was sure that half the countryside must be illuminated by the strange red glow.

The energy in the stones was beginning to form a column near the centre of the circle. The orbs seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

Liz forced herself to stare at the column of light, frantically searching for any sign of her lost boyfriend.

Max! Where are you!

And, then, just like the last time, Liz was knocked unconscious by the force of the explosion that rocked the area.

Part 20

Jaxon lay on his bed staring at the stone ceiling of his room in the Citadel. Although he was no longer technically a prisoner, he knew that any movement that he tried to make beyond the walls of the Citadel would result in a quick return to that status. His mother wanted to trust him, but was still wary.

It was several days since their original conversation, when she had tried to convince him that Tarsus was the traitor, the betrayer. He had seen her a couple of times since, but largely he was left to his own devices.

He guessed that his mother was hoping that if he had time to think about it, he would begin to believe.

It had also given her the opportunity to send Liz to him in another dream. He had barely managed the strength to turn away from her that last time. If Tristandor's voice had not intervened when it had, who knew what secrets he would have betrayed to his enemy?

It frightened Jaxon. Somehow he knew that this girl held enormous power over him. He didn't know if he would be able to resist her again. He hoped that his mother had given up on that particular torture.

Liz.

Just thinking about her made his heart beat faster. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on, and clearly the greatest weapon his mother had in her arsenal. He had to get away.

He was planning to make his escape that night. He had to get back to Tarsus and his followers before his mother's arguments and entreaties started to affect him. Before Liz made him turn.

Because he did not doubt that she could do it.

He had a feeling that he would be perfectly willing to give up his entire planet if he ever actually got the chance to feel her lips on his own. They had come so close twice. The third time was bound to be lucky.

Or disastrous depending on your point of view.

Jaxon's thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the door to his room slamming open. Jennetta bounced in, her light brown hair bound in two plaits that reached almost to her waist.

He smiled despite himself. Here was his mother's other greatest weapon, although he was not sure if Milena was aware of it.

It astounded him how quickly he had become attached to his younger half-sister. The fact that she remained so innocent and good-natured in the face of the long-running conflict that divided his family, that she seemed to love him despite the fact that everyone dearest to her were his enemies�he could not help but love her.

And this, Jaxon realized, was his greatest flaw. For no matter that he had told Liz that he didn't know what love was, no matter how hard he tried to pretend that he did not feel emotion, he was weak.

He loved.

"Did you have your dinner?" Jennetta asked him sternly. "Letty tells me that you have not been eating."

"Who is the older sibling here?" Jaxon asked her, amused. "I will eat when I am hungry."

"You are impossible," Jennetta replied, climbing up on the bed beside him, and dropping down on her stomach to stare at him, a frown on her small face. Again Jaxon was struck by how much she reminded him of someone. He thought it might be Mirana. It had been so long since he had seen his twin, he could not be sure he was remembering her face correctly.

"I am impossible? You're the one who does not know how to knock, sweeting," Jaxon replied, tugging on one of her braids affectionately.

"What is wrong with you, Jax?" His sister was eyeing him directly, the intelligence of her expression belying the youth of her countenance. "You have been jumpy all day."

Max frowned at her, not really annoyed, but feeling the need to reprimand her slightly. Just because she had the ability to go wandering around in other people's minds did not mean that she did not have to learn that some thoughts were private. "I hope that you have not been intruding where you are unwanted, sweeting."

Jennetta looked momentarily guilty, but she quickly tossed her head. "Someone has to take care of you, since you refuse to look after yourself."

Someone to take care of him. It had been so long. He remembered when he had been close to his mother, his step-father, how much he had loved them.

He pushed the thought aside. It was what they wanted him to think about. It was how they were weakening him.

He had to fight it.

"Should you not be in be in bed, Jennetta?" Jaxon asked her suddenly, trying to change the subject from himself and what he needed.

"Yes," she replied saucily. "So?"

Jaxon rolled his eyes. He climbed off the bed, hauling her with him. He threw her over his shoulder. "I will tuck you in, but you must promise me that you will go to sleep."

"I want a story." He could tell that she was pouting.

"Fine, one story," Jaxon agreed, not at all displeased. He enjoyed reading to Jennetta. It was one pleasure he allowed himself here. She listened so avidly, her eyes wide, clearly trying to take in as much information as she could. She was like a flower basking in the sun when she listened to him.

He would miss her when he was gone.

Later, he was amazed at the ease with which he was able to slip out of the Citadel. It was almost as if they wanted him to go. It actually made him a little uncomfortable. He felt as though he was missing something.

He had had to knock out two guards, but that was it. He was on the road to Dernia before he knew it. It was too easy.

Jaxon was unable to steal transportation, that area of the compound having been too heavily guarded, but he did not worry. It was only a couple of miles to the Dernian border. He would be there in no time. With his cloak wrapped around him, and his hood up, he knew that he was unrecognizable. If he stayed in the shadows, it would only be a matter of minutes until he was safe within his own territory.

Jaxon glanced behind himself every few steps or so, sure that he was about to be ambushed at any moment.

The road wound through the Gilded Plain, which separated the two territories. Jaxon waded through the tall yellow grass on the side of the road, ready to hide himself within it at a moment's notice.

And, yet, nothing happened. He was within sight of the Waylandian Ring before he began to feel truly safe.

The Ring towered above the plain, its immense standing stones reaching towards the moon-dotted sky. Illyria had twelve moons, a couple of which were currently full, lighting up the Gilded Plain, so that it shone like a room lit by a thousand lumoglobes.

Only a few more metres and he would be free...

He had to pass directly through the centre of the Ring. It was the only part of the border that was not secure, being the most sacred site on the planet for both the Illyrians and the Dernians. They did not dispute the land on which it sat, neither side yet having the nerve to claim it for their own.

The Ring was a place apart.

No one knew exactly what it had been built for, but both sides revered it. Even the Dernians, with their dedication to progress and emotional detachment, respected the power that seemed to flow within the Ring.

Jaxon was on the Illyrian edge, peering through to his own territory. The heel stone was directly behind him, wreathed in the shadows of the standing stones towering over it.

Sweeping his hood off so that his people would recognize him, and would not blast him when he emerged on the far side, Jaxon sped up. He had crossed the centre of the Ring when he heard it.

"Jaxon!" He refused to look back, refused to acknowledge the voice. He was almost there! He could almost feel his beloved land beneath his feet.

It came again. "Jaxon!" He closed his eyes, kept going.

Suddenly, behind him, the whole world seemed to explode.

Jaxon was thrown off his feet, landing flat on his face slightly beyond the Ring. He spat grass out of his mouth as he struggled to stand. He had become entangled in his cloak, and when he finally managed to tame it, he was surrounded by guards.

The minute his face was reflected by the moons, they all immediately fell to their knees. "Your highness!" one soldier exclaimed, his voice monotone.

Jaxon felt a shiver descend his spine. He was home, but then why did everything feel wrong?

He turned around slowly to stare back into the Ring, to catch a glimpse of what had thrown him off balance. The majority of the soldiers had stopped staring at him and were looking in the same direction as he.

The entire stone circle had come to life. A brilliant red column of light seemed to be drawing energy from each of the stones. It reached into the star-pocked sky, for what Jaxon could not say. He could not tear his eyes away from the terrifying beauty of it.

And then his world crashed to a halt. For through the beam of light he saw the one person who should not have been anywhere near it - the one person he had left safely tucked into her bed an hour before.

Jennetta.

As he watched aghast, she seemed to walk deliberately into the light, almost in a trance.

"Jennetta!" he yelled, trying to make her stop.

She paused briefly, stared directly at him, and appeared to be waiting for something.

He had to go get her. There was no other choice. Jaxon stepped back into the circle. He shook off his soldiers who tried to stop him.

"Go get Tarsus!" he heard one of them yell to another, but it was as if it was from a great distance.

"Jennetta. Come away from there, sweeting." Jaxon spoke quietly, trying not to frighten her. Her eyes were still disturbingly wide.

He was only a few feet away from her when she did the unthinkable.

She stepped directly into the column of light.

"No!" Jaxon took a flying leap at her. He landed hard on the ground, missing her by inches.

She was gone. She had disappeared completely.

Jaxon staggered to his feet. He stared up the column desperately, tried to get a grip on what was happening here.

"Jaxon!" He whipped his head around, saw Tarsus walking towards him, a hand outstretched. "Get away from there, my lord. It is most dangerous for you, of all people."

Jaxon frowned at his second-in-command. Something in his tone of voice...Tarsus sounded terrified.

He was actually showing emotion.

And Jaxon knew exactly what he had to do. He could not let his small sister go through whatever she was going through by herself. If it was dangerous for him to go into the light, it had to be dangerous for Jennetta too.

He had to follow. There was no choice.

He stepped into the light.

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