Stop your crying, it will be all right

Just take my hand, hold it tight

I will protect you from all around you

I will be here, don�t you cry.

For one so small, you seem so strong

My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm.

This bond between us can�t be broken,

I will be here, don�t you cry.

You�ll be in my heart,

You�ll be in my heart,

From this day on, now and forever,

You�ll be in my heart,

You�ll be in my heart,

No matter what they say,

You�ll be in my heart�always.

Phil Collins

Michael stood across from Jennetta, at Maria�s bedside. It took all of his strength not to reach across and haul the little girl away from Maria�s still form.

They had been connected for too long and it was clearly painful. Moments before tears had started to stream from Jennetta�s eyes.

It was different from when Michael had seen Max connect with people to heal them. During those times, Max was generally still aware of his surroundings, although he often became wrapped up in the pain of whoever he happened to be helping.

But Jennetta was not with him any longer. It was like her body had emptied out. The only sign of life were the tears.

His gaze returned to Maria�s face. And suddenly his heart entered his throat.

She was crying too.

***

Dreams* Maria

When Maria opened her eyes she encountered blackness.

She sat up blinking, trying to make sure that she really had her eyes open. She did.

The first thought that penetrated the fog of her mind was that she was blind.

"You�re not blind," a voice told her. "You�re just not seeing me. You don�t know what I look like now."

Maria glanced around in terror. Everywhere she looked was black. Yet she could feel that she was not alone.

"Who are you?" she asked into the darkness.

"It�s me, Mother."

Maria�s heart sped up. "Jennetta! Is that you baby?"

"Yes. I�ve come to help you come back to us."

"But, how can you be talking to me? The last time I saw you, you were a month old. Have I been out of it for that long?" Maria asked in horror.

She could hear Jennetta giggling. "No, silly. After Tarsus took me away from you, they podded me. I�m seven now . At least in Earth years."

Maria frowned. "I want to see you," she said.

"Are you sure?" Jennetta sounded a little scared, like she didn�t want her to be disappointed or something.

How could she be disappointed? It was her baby.

"Yes," she replied gently

Suddenly light filled the place where they spoke.

Maria blinked, looking around. They were in the damn Ring.

And, yet, they weren�t. There was no tall yellow grass, no yellow sky, no twelve moons overhead. There were only the stones, standing in their timeless pattern, reaching towards the black, star-studded sky surrounding them.

Her eyes found Jennetta moments later. Her daughter was standing about ten feet away from her, watching her warily.

Maria felt tears fill her eyes. She looked exactly like Michael! Her waist-length hair was exactly Michael�s shade of light-brown. Her eyes were his too, dark and sad.

As Maria looked closer, she could see herself too. Jennetta�s lips were her own cupid-bow shape, and her nose was small and pert, not at all dominant on her face like Michael�s was on his.

Maria opened her arms. Jennetta rushed into them.

"I didn�t know who you were!" she sobbed against Maria�s chest. "When Michael brought me to you, I was just going to heal you for him, but I didn�t know that you were mine too!"

"My baby." Maria stroked her daughter�s soft hair. "How could I ever have forgotten you? How did you get here?" She looked around the Ring warily. "And where is here anyway?" she asked wryly.

"We�re in your dreams," Jennetta replied. "You had to stay in here until we found each other again."

"But I don�t understand how you got here, sweetie. They took you away from me." Maria flinched at the memory of Tarsus ripping her baby out of her arms. "And why couldn�t we remember you?"

"I can answer that."

The air nearby seemed to ripple and suddenly an old man in a long robe was standing almost next to them.

Maria blinked at him. "Who are you?"

She felt Jennetta stiffen in her arms. "Lucianus! How did you get here?" She pulled away from Maria, going to throw herself at the old man.

"I�ve been watching you since you left us, child," the old man replied.

Jennetta grasped him by the hand, leading him over to Maria. "This is Lucianus," she explained. "He lives with my mother." She paused. "Well, I guess she�s not my mother now. I don�t know who she is, but anyway, he lived with us on Illyria."

"Who did you live with on Illyria?" Maria asked, feeling more and more confused. "Not Tarsus I hope?"

"No." Lucianus smiled at Maria. Maria liked him instantly. The old man had the kindest smile she had ever seen. "Jennetta was saved almost immediately."

"By Max," Maria finished in relief. She should have known that Max would never have let Tarsus keep her child in his evil clutches.

"I�m afraid not," Lucianus replied. Maria blinked. "He would have helped her, but he did not remember her."

"I don�t understand." Maria felt her frustration mounting. Why did aliens always have to talk in circles?

"Go and see for yourself." Lucianus indicated one of the stones. As Maria turned to stare at it, it began to shimmer, transforming into what almost appeared to be a doorway. "All will be explained."

Maria looked at him. For some reason she felt that she could trust him. "Come, sweetie." She held out her hand for Jennetta.

They walked into chaos.

Maria realized almost immediately that they were back on Illyria - and yet they weren�t. They were there, but as observers, not as actual participants in the events unfolding around them.

It was the Ring and it seemed to be just moments after she and Michael had been thrown into the portal back to Earth. The red column of light was gone, but all the players who had been there in their last moments on Illyria were still in the Ring.

Max was on the ground, three guards holding him down. "You lied to me!" he was yelling at Tarsus, who was standing over him, shaking his head. Max was struggling against his captors, the expression of rage on his face almost terrifying. Maria had never seen her gentle friend look like that before. It was not Max.

"You have always been too trusting, Jaxon. That is the first thing I�m going to program out of you. Trust is weakness. You will never be the king I need you to be if you trust." He shook his head again, this time in disgust. "Take him back to town. I want the cleansing to take place immediately. It better be done when I return."

Max howled in frustration again, wrenching away from his guards. Maria could see him frantically trying to get to Jennetta, but it was all in vain. They hauled him away.

Ren was still standing near where he had been when Maria left. He was cradling Jennetta against his shoulder. The baby was screaming at the top of her lungs. Maria did not blame her at all.

Maria felt the older Jennetta beside her shift uncomfortably as they watched what was happening to her younger self.

"Bring the brat to me, Ren," Tarsus ordered.

Maria blinked when Ren did not move. His eyes were wide, and he glanced behind him, towards the Illyrian side of the Ring.

Tarsus� eyes narrowed. "What are you doing? Bring her to me." Ren took a step backwards. Tarsus started to walk towards him. "So, we were wrong to trust you. You are a traitor, just like your father before you."

Ren paused. Maria willed him to keep going, to save her baby. "Keep my father out of this," Ren finally replied evenly. "I just saw the sacrifice that was made here - and I saw what you did. If this is what not having emotions does�well, I think I made a mistake by allowing myself to be cleansed."

"Too bad it�s not as simple as that," Tarsus replied in the snotty voice that had always made Maria want to punch him. "You have been cleansed. You are mine to do with as I will."

Ren was still moving. "Not anymore. I denounce you for the unfeeling bastard you are. I have witnessed what love is capable of today and it is worth any pain that comes with it. I will not let you have their child."

"Stop!" Tarsus bellowed back. "I command you!" Maria could see several Illyrian border guards peering into the Ring, trying to see what was happening.

She watched in stupefied amazement as Ren took the final steps over into Illyria.

Her guard - she now knew that he had been her friend - had saved her daughter�s life.

Maria hugged her daughter against her side. "Do you know him?" she asked her quietly.

"No. I wonder what happened to him." Jennetta sounded sad.

As she spoke, the world around them began to shimmer. Moments later they were back in the dark-shrouded Ring. Lucianus was gone.

"What happens now?" Jennetta asked Maria.

"I don�t know," Maria replied. "I guess I try to wake up." She held onto her daughter tightly, willing herself to do so.

Nothing happened.

"Okay, so much for that idea," Maria finally said, annoyed. "I guess something�s missing." She glanced down at her daughter, who looked equally irritated. It made Maria want to smile despite herself.

"Maybe if you think of all the reasons you have to wake up?" Jennetta finally suggested.

"Well, that�s easy." Maria smiled down at her. "Needless to say, you�re number one."

Jennetta smiled back. "But I�m here already."

"Okay, well there�s Liz of course." Maria watched in amazement as Liz suddenly appeared in front of her.

Liz was smiling at her, beckoning her, visions of all the good and bad times they had shared whirling through Maria�s mind.

She thought of Alex next. And then her mother�and Isabel, Kyle and even Tess. They all appeared to her as though they were with her, but disappeared almost immediately as though trying to whet her appetite to be with them again.

She thought of Max. Her friend, who had sacrificed so much for all of them - and it had all been in vain.

Max materialized in front of her. He held baby Jennetta in his arms.

Maria gasped when seven-year old Jennetta, who had been clinging tightly to her hand, disappeared.

Max stepped forward, smiling at her. "And I would do it again in a minute," he told her quietly. He handed her the baby he was holding. Maria brought her daughter up against her chest and Max was gone.

Maria thought of Michael last.

He was there an instant later, looking annoyed.

"Can we get the show on the road here, Maria? I mean, really, aren�t you dragging this out a bit too dramatically?" Michael demanded. He was gone an instant later.

Maria laughed.

***

Michael stared down at Maria in amazement. She was laughing.

Her eyes opened a moment later. Jennetta�s eyes opened at the exact same moment. He watched as his girlfriend�s eyes met Max�s sister�s.

A moment later Maria was sitting up, holding Jennetta tightly against her.

Finally she glanced past Jennetta�s dark head, smiling at Michael in such a way, his heart started to beat a mile a minute.

"What are you doing all the way over there, Spaceboy?" she asked, her tone light and affectionate.

It was all the encouragement Michael needed.

Part 32

There�s a ship out on the ocean

At the mercy of the sea

It�s tossed about, lost and broken

Wandering aimlessly

And God somehow you know that ship is me.

�Cause there�s a lighthouse in the harbour

Shining faithfully

Pouring its light out across the water

For this sinking soul to see

That someone out there still believes in me.

On a prayer

In a song

I hear your voice

And it keeps me hanging on

Raining down

Against the wind

I�m reaching out

Till we reach the circle�s end

When you come back to me again.

Garth Brooks

"We�re here," Liz told Max quietly.

She saw him jump slightly in the passenger seat of her parent�s car. His thoughts had obviously been a million miles away again. She knew that he was searching his memory, trying to find anything familiar in the places she had been showing him all morning.

It had been Max�s idea for her to take him on a tour of the area, of all the places that had played significant roles in his life.

They started at the Crashdown. The breakfast rush was just starting when they arrived and Liz became aware almost immediately of the whispering. She had totally forgotten that, as far as the town was concerned. Max Evans was dead. He�d been been dead for the last nine months.

Max seemed unaware of the stares at first. Liz told him to sit at the counter, which he did. He was staring around with wide eyes, obviously trying to find something in the restaurant which would jog his memory.

Liz hurried into the kitchen, and asked Jose to fix them some breakfast. She had not intended to leave Max alone for long, but by the time she got back it was too late. Pam Troy was seated on the stool beside him at the counter, two of her cronies standing nearby.

Liz hurried over, hoping to do as much damage control as she could.

"�..when I read it in the newspaper this morning, I couldn�t believe it, Max!" Pam was saying in her shrill voice. "I mean, how lucky are you that you survived that river? Is it true that you don�t remember anything?"

Max was staring at her, a perplexed expression on his face. "No, I don�t," he replied in that super-polite way of his that was part Max/part Jaxon. "Do I know you?"

Pam�s hand had slid across the counter to inch up his arm. "You sure do. Pretty well, as a matter of fact."

Liz wanted to throw up. "Your order�s ready, Pam," she told the other girl between clenched teeth. Pam shot her a snotty look, but left to return to her booth. "Remind me to tell my father to ban her from the premises," Liz whispered to Max, only half joking.

He laughed. "I�m assuming that I wasn�t friends with that girl?" He looked momentarily worried. "Was I?"

"Well, not really," Liz replied, wondering how much she should be telling him. "You did date her for a while last winter."

Liz felt better immediately because of the horrified expression on his face. "I did?"

People had come up to them several times while they were eating their breakfast, telling Max how glad they were that he was back. He had seemed pleased, but also sad that he didn�t remember anyone.

Liz had smiled secretly to herself when Max reached for the Tabasco sauce and threw a generous portion of it on his eggs. Apparently some things were not forgotten.

They went to the UFO Museum next. Milton almost had a heart attack at the sight of Max, but then to Max�s complete embarrassment proceeded to burst into tears.

"Evans! I can�t believe it!" He lowered his voice. "We�re going to have to discuss this at length later, Evans. I think there was more to your disappearance than the newspaper was letting on. We were getting too close, weren�t we?"

Max glanced at Liz uncertainly. "Er - I guess so."

Milton nodded knowingly. "I knew it. I knew the minute there was no body. They abducted you, didn�t they?"

Liz stepped in that that point. This was getting a little too close to the truth for comfort. "No, nothing like that, Milton. Max was picked up by some nice people and they took him to a shelter. It took this long for them to figure out who he was because he had no ID on him and everyone assumed Max was dead, so there was no missing persons report."

Milton raised his eyebrow at her. "Right." He shot Max a covert look. "We�ll discuss this when you�re back on track, Max. Alone," he added in a significant tone.

"Okay." Liz could see that Max was amused. He had apparently figured out what was going on.

They had gone back to the car, Max asking her for some information about Roswell and the famous crash.

"Strangely, I do remember that detail about this place," Max told her wryly. "I assume that that�s how we ended up here? In the crash."

"Yes. Do you want to go to the crash site?" Liz asked him.

"No." He stared off into space for a moment. "I want to go to where the Evans found us," he told her.

"Okay, but I�m not sure of the exact location," Liz told him. "Do you want to go to the school first? It�s on the way out of town anyway."

They had arrived at West Roswell during third period. Liz was pleased. She didn�t think that Max was up to dealing with all the stares and comments his presence surely would have garnered.

She took him on a quick tour by his locker, to the band room where he had told her his secret, past Ms. Hardy�s bio class where they had spent so many countless hours working together as the perfect lab team, in between staring at each other and trying to touch each other without getting caught.

Liz smiled to herself when they passed the Eraser Room. "We spent a lot of time in there, right after we got together," Liz told him, blushing a little.

Max looked at her for a moment, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Really? Cleaning erasers?" he asked innocently, but his eyes were twinkling wickedly.

"Not exactly." He continued to smile. Somehow she knew that he knew exactly what they had done in there. He might not remember it, but he knew.

They had driven down the highway where Diane and Phillip Evans had found Max and Isabel wandering lost and alone over eleven years before. Liz knew the scene exactly as it had played out, it having been one of the things she had seen the first time she and Max connected. She described to Max the way he had felt that day, having felt it herself through their connection.

"You were scared and you were worried about Michael, who didn�t want to come with you, and your first instinct was to hide, but Isabel convinced you to let them find you."

Max sighed, shaking his head. "How can I not remember any of this?" he asked in frustration, the good mood that had permeated at the school quickly dissipating.

Liz reached over and took his hand. He let her, squeezing hers gently in thanks. Liz felt her heart speed up at his touch. He had been gone for so long! It was still magical every time she realized that he was really back. She wanted desperately to help him find his memories. Until then, he was not truly whole, and could never truly be happy.

That was one thing she had promised herself when she had first determined that she was not going to rest until she brought Max home. This time he was going to be happy, and not just for isolated moments here and there. Her goal was to make him happy for the rest of his life.

"You will remember, Max. I promise. And even if you don�t�." She felt his eyes on her. She turned to watch him. "We have our whole lives to make new memories." He eyed her, his expression unreadable, then turned to stare out the window at the passing New Mexico desert.

Liz realized that they weren�t far from the pod chamber and suggested that they go there next.

"That�s weird," Liz told Max worriedly as she brought the car to a stop next to a sports utility vehicle. "Tess is here."

"Sabrya. I can feel her presence," Max said quietly. Liz knew that he had not seen Tess since his return. She wondered if the memories that had been implanted by Tarsus included Tess - Sabrya - as his wife.

Her heart lodged itself in her throat at the thought.

"Well, let�s go see what she�s doing," Liz suggested with false cheer. Max climbed out of the passenger side, following Liz up the cliff-side.

"You wave your hand here," she told him when they reached the ledge where the entrance was located. Max eyed the spot for a moment, then waved his hand in front of it. The silver hand-print appeared immediately. Max placed his hand squarely upon it and the stone face slid away.

Liz called to Tess as they entered. She didn�t want to freak her friend out. She shivered when there was no answer. She could feel a presence here as well.

They were not alone.

Liz ducked her head beneath the opening, followed Max into the chamber proper.

She had not been there since the day Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess had found out their true destinies - since the day that she had walked away from Max and had started the whole horrible chain of events that had led them to this moment.

Liz forced herself to suppress the memory of the despair and heartbreak she had felt that day. It had all worked out in the end. Max was here and, even though he had no memory of who he was, he did know that it was her that he loved, not Tess. He had told her so not five hours ago. That had to mean something.

Liz nearly stumbled into Max when he came to an abrupt halt. She brought her hands up against his back to steady herself, then looked past his shoulder.

Tess was seated on the floor in front of the empty and dark pods, her legs crossed, her hands on her knees. She had her eyes closed and she looked like she was meditating.

"Tess?" Liz asked, worried. She remembered that Kyle had told her that Tess had been acting very strangely since after they left for England. She recalled the fit that Tess had thrown about being left behind in the first place.

Tess did not move at the sound of Liz�s voice.

Liz felt Max�s muscles tense under her hands. There was no question that he was affected by the sight of Tess. Liz bit her lip, jealousy invading her soul, despite herself. She hated to feel that way, but this place�It made her remember exactly the devastation she had felt at the news of Tess� rightful place as Max�s bride.

And, yet, Max made no move towards her. He seemed perfectly content to stay close to Liz.

"Sabrya," he finally said.

Tess� eyes sprang open suddenly, their blue depths shining with a fervent light. Liz blinked. She had never seen Tess look like that before, even during her most insistent moments that she and Max belonged together.

She looked crazy. Her eyes shone with a zealot�s passion. They zeroed in on Max in an instant, completely ignoring Liz�s presence.

"Jaxon. You came for me."

Part 33

"Jaxon. You came for me."

Tess could not believe that he was really here. Danala had been telling the truth. Her destiny had returned to her.

"Sabrya. You are looking well," he said formally.

Tess frowned slightly. Max sounded weird�like he didn�t know what to say to her.

It was probably because she was there.

Tess was doing her best not to look at Liz. She was trying to suppress the feeling of guilt that seemed to be pressing on her where Liz was concerned. She did feel bad that Liz was going to be hurt, but Liz had been the first to recognize all those long months ago that she and Max�make that Jaxon - she had to get used to calling him by his real name if they were going to go back to Illyria�belonged together.

Tess climbed gracefully to her feet. She paused momentarily when Max reached behind him and took Liz�s hand.

What the hell?

"We should tell you, Tess," Liz said, "Max doesn�t remember a lot right now. Tarsus did something to him, to make him forget who he is."

The way Liz used that "we" - it made it clear to Tess that even if Max had no memory, nothing had changed. She, Tess, was still second best. Somehow Liz had wormed her way back in to Max�s affections in the short time he had been back.

This was not going to be easy. But Danala was depending on her to bring the chosen one into the universe. Max was hers. They were destined to have a child who would unite their world.

She wondered why she suddenly felt empty at that thought. Tess suppressed the brief vision of Kyle that appeared before her. He looked sad and hurt. Her heart ached at the sight of it. Where did that come from? She shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate on Max and Liz.

"I�m glad you�re back, Max," she said sweetly. He was frowning slightly. "Do you remember me?"

"I remember certain things,"Max replied.

Tess was barely concentrating on what he was saying. She was eyeing Liz�s hand, which was stroking his arm comfortingly. Is she trying to drive me insane? Tess wondered. And, yet, Tess did not feel jealous. Again, she felt nothing.

My sister is depending on me. I have to do this.

Tess tuned back into what Max was saying.

"I remember Tristandor bringing you to the palace. I remember our wedding day. And I remember you refusing to come with me when I was forced to leave the Citadel, after he and Mirana betrayed me that same night." His tone was harsh.

Tess blinked. What the heck was he talking about? Danala hadn�t told her anything about Michael and Isabel betraying Max!

"I�I�m sorry about that," Tess stuttered. She tried to shut out the sympathetic look Liz was sending her.

Why had she become friends with Liz? This was ten times worse than she had imagined it was going to be. Guilt was beginning to wind its way through her body, making her knees weak.

Max did not say anything else. A cell phone�s ring pierced the silence that had descended on the pod chamber after Tess� last statement.

Liz looked embarrassed. "I�m sorry." She moved away from Max, pulling her cell out of her pocket.

Tess continued to stare at Max, looking for some sign that he knew what was expected of them both.

He wasn�t looking at her at all. His gaze had followed Liz, his eyes warm as he listened to her talk on the phone. "Oh, Alex! That�s wonderful!" Liz paused, glancing at Max. She nodded happily at him.

Tess watched the smile appear on his face. "She did it," he murmured to himself, sounding proud.

"Who did what?" Tess asked, a feeling of dread tying her stomach into knots. Max and Liz both ignored her.

"We�ll be right there." Liz told Alex. She rang off. "Maria�s awake!" she told Tess happily. "Alex just saw her."

Tess felt relief flow through her. Michael was going to be so happy!

"How?" Tess asked, addressing Liz more warmly despite herself.

She frowned again at the glance that passed between Max and Liz. Something was not right here.

"We�ll tell you on the way to the hospital." Liz decided. "We really need to go see Maria."

Tess clenched her jaw.

She had a feeling that Danala was not going to be happy about this development at all. The sooner Tess found out about the mysterious "she," the better.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked cheerily. "Let�s go."

Tess followed Max and Liz out into the New Mexican sun, taking one last glance at the empty pods.

Destiny was going to have to wait for the moment.

***

"I can�t tell him, Lizzie - not yet."

Maria was staring out the window of her hospital room, a far-away expression on her face. Liz looked beyond her friend. She could see Michael, Alex, and Jennetta horsing around on the front lawn of the hospital, soaking up the sun. Tess was there too, staring at the little girl. Kyle stood nearby, watching Tess. Liz wondered briefly where Max and Isabel had disappeared to.

Liz had been astounded when she, Max, and Tess had arrived at the hospital. Not only was Maria awake, she was walking around, her complexion healthy. But underneath her friend�s good spirits, Liz detected something else - a new maturity and a strange disquiet.

They walked in on Alex, Kyle, and Maria all laughing at Michael and Jennetta, who were arguing.

Isabel was there too, but she looked more annoyed than anything.

"But I don�t like pancakes Michael. Isabel made them for me last night. They�re disgusting," Jennetta was saying, a mutinous expression on her face. She was sitting on a chair in the corner of Maria�s room, a plate of rubbery-looking pancakes from the hospital cafeteria sitting in front of her.

"But you haven�t tried them the way I make them."

"Good Lord! No!" Alex slapped his hand to his forehead when Michael pulled a bottle of Tabasco out of his jacket pocket. "Run, Jennetta! Run for you life!"

Jennetta�s head had tilted to the side. "What�s that?" Her eyes were glittering with interest.

"This is the best part of being on Earth," Michael replied, liberally dousing her pancakes with the red liquid. Liz wrinkled her nose. Alex was making gagging noises.

Jennetta picked up her fork, then took a bite of the pancakes. An expression of pure bliss appeared on her face. In that moment, she looked exactly like Maria whenever her friend ate ice-cream.

Liz knew then that there was no way that they were going to be able to keep the secret of Jennetta�s origins for long. Every time Liz looked at her she could see Michael or Maria screaming out at her. She didn�t know why she hadn�t seen it the first time she had set eyes on the little girl.

She and Max, in sync as always, had not told Tess the whole truth about Jennetta on the way to the hospital. Liz wasn�t really sure why, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.

They weren�t even sure if Maria and Michael knew the truth.

That question was answered about half an hour after their arrival. Liz was watching Maria closely after their first tearful reunion. Her friend�s eyes followed Jennetta the entire time.

Maria knew.

It was Liz who had asked the others to leave so that she could have a few moments alone with her best friend.

Maria had sobered almost immediately. "You know." She pulled Liz down on the hospital bed beside her.

Liz nodded. "Max told me. He found out when he tried to heal you." She paused. "How did you forget this, Maria?"

Maria had shaken her head. "I don�t know! I have no idea what Tarsus did to me. I mean I knew something had happened between me and Michael on that damn planet. But, Liz! I forgot losing my virginity! How tragic is that! And how could I forget my own child, Liz?" Maria�s eyes filled with tears of guilt.

Liz�s hatred for Tarsus solidified. How dare he have done this to her friend? He was evil. First he had hurt Max, and now Maria. She had never hated anyone as she hated the shapeshifter.

"It wasn�t your fault, Maria! No one remembered. Max doesn�t even remember who he is."

Maria flinched at that. "Poor Max. He tried to save her you know," she told Liz softly. "I saw it all, Lizzie. It was just like we thought. He made a deal that he would stay if Michael and I were sent back. He told me that she was special, Liz - that she was the saviour of his entire people." Liz put her arm around her best friend when Maria�s voice cracked. "She�s a baby, Liz. I have to protect her. She�s not ready for whatever it is they�re going to make her do! I don�t want her to be a stupid chosen one! She has a right to her own life."

"I know, Maria." They were quiet for a while, each reflecting on the fact that, while they were happy that they were all back together, there was still so much to iron out.

Maria had finally moved to the window to watch her boyfriend play with his daughter - the one he did not know was his. "I just can�t do it, Liz," Maria repeated. "I just have this feeling that he can�t know yet. That if he does, everything will be ruined."

"Max and I will go with whatever you decide, Maria," Liz told her firmly. "I really think Michael has a right to know, but it�s up to you. She�s your daughter."

"He�s going to be so mad at me," Maria said softly.

"He�ll get over it. Michael gets angry fast but it burns out quickly," Liz reassured her, although she wasn�t sure Michael would ever get over Maria not telling him about Jennetta.

Liz knew - had known for a long time - that all Michael Guerin had ever wanted was to belong, to be part of a family. It was why he had been the most adamant about finding out who they really were, to find the place that was his in the universe.

Liz knew that his place was with Maria�and their daughter.

She was still angry at Michael herself. Despite having decided in England that she was going to forgive Michael for Max�s sake, letting her bitterness go had not been as easy as Liz had hoped. Seeing Max as confused and lost as he was�it had made the iron enter her soul again. Max would not be suffering like he was if it wasn�t for Michael.

But, in spite of her anger, Liz felt bad for Michael. To keep from him the only thing he had ever wanted�it seemed wrong.

Yet it was Maria�s decision. She knew Max wouldn�t argue. He still didn�t trust Michael or Isabel at all. He still remembered them as the beloved family members who had betrayed them. He would see keeping Michael in the dark as a way to protect Jennetta. That would be enough for him.

"The only problem is that Jennetta knows," Maria was saying. "She�s not going to understand why she has to keep it a secret, Liz. I can�t believe she hasn�t said anything yet."

"Jennetta is special, Maria," Liz replied. "I saw it the minute I met her. I don�t think you�ll have to worry about her. Not if you explain it to her."

A soft knock on the door interrupted the charged moment as Liz and Maria stared at each other meaningfully.

Amy Deluca poked her head in. "Hey, girls! Can your old mom come in, sweetie?"

Liz watched Maria paste a smile on her face. "Of course, Mom!"

Amy moved across the room, taking her daughter into her arms. "I still can�t believe you�re okay, Maria! The doctors can�t figure it out."

"It was a miracle," Maria replied simply, her eyes meeting Liz�s again.

A miracle named Jennetta, Liz thought to herself.

She excused herself a few minutes later. "I�m going to find Max," she told Maria.

Maria waved her away. "Go! Tell that boyfriend of mine to get his butt in here." Her eyes had met Liz�s again. "Oh, and tell him to bring Max�s little sister," she said casually. "I want my mom to get a chance to talk to her."

"This seems to be the week for miracles,"Liz could hear Amy saying as she left the room. "First Max Evans comes back from the dead and now you, baby�"

Liz did not hear Maria�s reply.

She came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Tess Harding talking on the phone. "Okay. Okay! I said I would do it!" Tess� tone was a mixture of sadness and anger.

Tess slammed the pay phone receiver down, then briefly rested her forehead against it.

"Tess?" Liz was worried about Tess. She had been acting so strangely at the pod chamber. If Tess had not told her with her own lips all those many months ago that she didn�t want to be with Max, Liz would have been seriously worried. But Tess had seemed to snap out of her weird mood once they were in the car.

And, yet, Liz remembered the way her eyes burned when she had first seen Max again. It worried her.

"Are you okay?" she asked Tess now, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

She felt the other girl tense under her touch. She whirled. "Liz! I�m glad you�re here! That was Isabel."

Liz felt a momentary pang of confusion. "Where is she?"

"She and Max went for a drive, to try and sort things out," Tess told her hurriedly. "She said that Max just freaked out. They�re out near the Reservation. She said they were talking, and it seemed to going okay, but that he suddenly just went ballistic on her. He got out of the car and took off."

Liz eyed Tess. Something about this did not sound right.

"How did Isabel call you on a pay phone?" she asked suspiciously.

Tess looked at her as though she was crazy. "I called her on her cell. To see how things were going," she explained.

"Oh. Okay." Liz�s concern immediately switched to Max.

They were expecting too much of him too soon. No wonder he was losing it. She had to find him, help him.

"I�m going to find him," Liz told Tess.

"Can I come?" Tess asked immediately.

Liz frowned slightly. She wasn�t sure it was a good idea. If Max was already freaking out, he didn�t need an audience. But the hopeful look on Tess� face convinced Liz. She remembered Tess� fit at the Crashdown, how she cared about Max too. Liz couldn�t say no to her.

"Let�s go."

The way Tess� face lit up�Liz was convinced she had done the right thing.

The two girls raced out to the parking lot.

Neither noticed the small figure who followed them.

Part 34

Isabel paused in the entrance to the hospital cafeteria. She could see Max sitting at a table in the corner, by himself, his head in his hands. Not for the first time since he had returned, her heart went out to her brother.

She missed him so much and she was so worried about him. Max�s constant state of confusion and suspicion seemed to be draining him bit by bit. The only time he seemed even remotely secure was when he was with Liz or Jennetta.

The emotional roller-coaster on which he was trapped had to be stopped. Isabel had to make him trust her again. She had no choice. She could not bear to see him suffering and she could not bear to have him hate her.

He was her brother.

She braced herself for rejection, thought about the pep talk Alex had given her earlier. He had reminded her that Max loved her. She just had to make him remember.

Isabel marched resolutely across the room, plunking herself across the table from him. "Hi."

Max�s head snapped up. His brows came together briefly, but his tone was not angry as he replied, "Hello."

"Are you okay?" Isabel demanded, deciding that abrasive was the best way to go at the moment. He was likely to just throw "gentle" back in her face.

"Yes," he replied, looking past her, his expression suddenly distant.

"I don�t believe you," she told him sharply.

Max�s gaze came back to her face. He frowned more openly. "I don�t particularly care what you believe, Mirana," he snapped.

"Don�t call me that. My name is Isabel - or Izzy as you usually call me." Isabel�s voice was shaking, but she would not let him get to her.

Max continued to scowl at her. "I don�t know Isabel," he finally replied.

"And I don�t know Jaxon," she insisted. "I want my brother back."

His expression softened. "I do too," he muttered.

For the first time Isabel felt a stab of hope. "So what are we going to do to make it happen?" Isabel asked him. Max did not reply, just shook his head in frustration.

"I have an idea. Why don�t you tell me what you do remember about Michael and me, and Liz and anything." Isabel had no idea if there was any point to this, but she wanted to keep him talking. He seemed open to it at the moment and she wasn�t going to waste the opportunity.

"I don�t remember anything," Max told her shortly. "At least anything about my life here�Well, there was one thing."

"What?" Isabel leaned forward eagerly.

"Something to do with Liz," he replied. "It�s private."

"But you had a memory?" When he nodded, she continued, "That�s a good sign. It means that your Max memories are still there. We just need to sort through your fake Jaxon ones and deal with them."

Max grimaced. "Real memories, fake ones. How am I supposed to tell the difference?"

"Well, I know for a fact that there is no way that I ever betrayed you - in this life or the last," Isabel told him. "So you can just get rid of all those memories right now."

Max tilted his head. The shadow of a smile appeared on his face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Isabel demanded. He looked amused. She had no idea what that meant.

"You�re exactly the same as you were before you betrayed me," he replied. "Mirana was so determined all the time. Determined that we were going to triumph over the Dernians, determined to marry Tristandor, determined that I was going to be the best ruler Illyria had ever seen. She ordered me around all the time. At least that�s what I remember." He sobered, sounding sad.

Isabel stared at him dumb-founded. "Tell me what happened."

Max eyed her a moment longer, then finally nodded. "Very well, but it�s not pleasant. I�ve realized that these memories are probably not real, but I have them. They feel real."

"I understand."

"Tristandor came to the Citadel in the spring," Max told her. "You had met him in the Waylandian Ring the summer before. You loved him immediately, but he only felt the urge to leave his people when they began to insist that he be cleansed."

"You mean podded to lose his emotions?" Isabel asked.

"Yes. He and I were close almost immediately. You were married soon after his arrival. The three of us were inseparable."

"What happened?" Isabel whispered. So far it sounded how she expected it would. She, Michael, and Max had always been a unit - a close threesome. It made sense that it had always been that way.

"He brought Sabrya to Illyria." Max had a far-away look on his face. "He told me that if I married her, the four-square we would create would be powerful enough to defeat Danala and the Dernians. Our gifts were complementary, he told me. Together we would be unbeatable. And then you both betrayed me."

"How?" Isabel swallowed. Even though she knew none of this had really happened, the devastation on Max�s face made her want to cry. To him, it had been real.

"On the day Sabrya and I wed, Tristandor�s army took the Citadel. Sabrya and I had already retired to our chamber. She tried to murder me in my bed that night. Before it could happen, Tarsus came and took me away. He told me that the whole marriage had been a plot to do away with me, so that you and Tristandor could take the throne. His leader, Danala, had tried to stop it. She wanted to save me. She knew that the only way to reconcile the planet was to come to an agreement with me. But, by the time, I went to meet her, she was gone."

Isabel frowned. "Gone where?"

"I never knew. Tarsus and I went to war against you the next year. I never knew that you weren�t even on Illyria any more," he told her, shaking his head in disbelief.

"But, Max, you weren�t on the planet either!" Isabel told him. "You were here. We were killed and somehow brought here. I don�t know how, but it�s the truth. We were never separated."

Max scraped a hand through his hair. "I know it. But I don�t remember," he replied in frustration. "What are we going to do?" He swallowed, closing his eyes.

When he opened them, Isabel�s eyes locked with his. "The question is, Max, if you�re never able to recover your real memories, are you going to be able to get past the fake ones? Are we going to be able to start over?"

He stared at her, his expression unreadable. But he never had a chance to answer. Michael came careening into the cafeteria, Alex hot on his heels.

"Jennetta! She�s gone!"

Max jumped to his feet. "What do you mean she�s gone?" he demanded.

"I mean she�s gone. Alex and I were playing with her." Michael sounded very upset. Isabel stared at him. She knew that he had bonded with her little sister, but he almost sounded hysterical. She had never heard him sound this way before. It freaked her out.

"She decided to go see Maria," Alex continued, when it seemed like Michael couldn�t. "When we went in there a few minutes ago, Maria said she had never been there."

"Where is Maria?" Max snapped, already striding out of the cafeteria.

"I�m here. Max! We need to find her."

Isabel blinked. Maria was coming towards them down the hallway, fully dressed and looking almost as hysterical as Michael had sounded.

"Liz is gone too," Kyle told them as he came around the corner.

Relief suddenly seemed to hit them all at once. "She must be with Liz." Isabel voiced what they were all thinking.

"Why would Liz take off with Jennetta without telling anyone?" Max asked suspiciously. The group all exchanged looks.

"Er, I don�t know." Isabel saw Maria swallow convulsively.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Max told them. "We need to find them immediately."

"But where do we start looking?" Kyle asked, sounding perplexed.

"We split up," Max decided.

"Hey!" Kyle suddenly exclaimed. "Where�s Tess?"

***

Jennetta was crouched in the back seat of Tess� SUV. She had her eyes closed, and was concentrating on making sure that neither Tess or Liz noticed her there. It didn�t take that much power really. She could still listen to the conversation that was taking place between the two older girls in the front seat. Mind-warps had been one of the first things she had learned to do after she emerged from her pod, after all.

She had been playing with Michael and Alex on the front lawn of the hospital when a shiver had gone down her spine. She turned around to see Tess and Liz exiting the hospital and walking towards the parking lot. For some reason, Jennetta knew that something was wrong. Liz should not be alone with Sabrya.

As Jennetta hid now, she asked herself why she hadn�t told Michael or gone to Jaxon. What had possessed her to get in this car? She was a child. What could she do to help Liz? She had been stupid and reckless, lying to her father about where she was going.

Nothing had happened so far, but Jennetta had entered Tess� mind, had seen that her thoughts were in disordered confusion. She could not get anything else from her. All Jennetta knew was that Tess was about to do something she didn�t want to.

"So, Isabel didn�t say anything else?" Liz was asking, sounding worried.

"She just said that he had jumped out of the car and that they were close to the Reservation," Tess replied, sounding distracted. "We�re almost there. Don�t worry, Liz. We�ll find him."

The car pulled to a stop suddenly. "Why are we stopping? We�re in the middle of nowhere," Liz asked, sounding confused.

"I can feel him, Liz. Can�t you?"

"No." Liz sounded even more confused and a bit suspicious. "What do you mean you can feel him?"

"He�s out there somewhere. C�mon. We have to go on foot from here."

"I�m coming with you." Jennetta let her mind-warp go.

Tess and Liz both whirled in their seats. Liz looked horrified, Tess shocked.

"Jennetta! What are you doing here?" Liz demanded. "Does Maria know where you are? I can see by the look on your face that she doesn�t. What were you thinking?"

Jennetta thought quickly. Tess was beginning to eye her suspiciously. "Jaxon disappeared. I saw you leaving, and thought that you were going to look for him," she replied. She had figured out that this was why Liz had gone with Tess - to find Jaxon, who she thought was missing. Jennetta wasn�t sure if he was missing or not, but she did know better than to tell Liz, in front of Tess, that she should not be trusting the curly-haired blonde.

Liz�s face softened. "Oh. Well, I think we should call Maria right now. She�s probably freaking out."

"NO!" Tess exclaimed. Liz turned to stare at her. .

"Why not?"

"Because that would spoil the surprise," a new voice interjected. "Good work, Tessie. Not only did you bring me the witch that has Jaxon in her thrall, you brought me the brat that everyone on Illyria is proclaiming as the chosen one. The false one, might I add."

Jennetta turned to stare out the window at the girl standing there, peering in at them.

She heard Liz gasp. "Tess, what�s going on? Pam, what are you doing here? Ohmygod. Jennetta! Run!"

But it was too late. The girl standing outside of the car, the one Liz had called Pam, lifted her hand.

Jennetta could hear Liz screaming as she fell into unconsciousness.

Part 35

Michael eyed Maria worriedly out of the corner of his eye as he floored the Jetta�s accelerator. She was staring out the window at the darkening desert landscape, her face practically petrified with fear.

After several attempts to reach Liz and Tess on their cell phones had failed, the group had split up and were now systematically searching the most logical places they might have taken Jennetta. No one had been able to figure out why either Liz or Tess would have taken off with the little girl.

And, yet, somehow they all knew that they had to find all three girls as soon as possible. No one had dared voice the thought that Jennetta might not be with either Liz or Tess at all.

Max and Kyle were headed for the Reservation, and had decided to stop at the Crashdown, the Hardings and the Evans� on their way through town. Isabel and Alex were going to the Pod Chamber. Michael and Maria had drawn the short end of the straw and were headed out to the Santa Anna Hot Springs, via Frasier Woods.

Michael wasn�t really sure why Maria had suggested they go to the spot where they had entered the portal to Illyria nine Earth months ago. It was also the spot where they had returned. Strangely, while a year and a half had passed on Illyria, only an hour had gone by on Earth.

But when Maria suggested it, somehow he knew that it was right.

Unfortunately the woods were a good two hour drive from Roswell. It had been agreed that the three cars would stay in close contact through their cellular phones. In fact, Maria had just spoken to Isabel, who had been calling from the Pod Chamber. There was no sign of the three missing girls there. It was decided that Isabel and Alex would go join Kyle and Max at the Reservation, and that they would then all head out to the woods if the two boys had not found anything.

Maria had been silent ever since. Michael could not figure out what was up with her. He had tried to convince her that she should stay at the hospital. After all, she had just come out of a coma. Maria had adamantly refused. She threatened to just follow them all anyway, so they had let it go.

The way she was freaking about Jennetta�it was weird.

Michael could understand Maria feeling a connection to her because the little girl had saved her life. But the way she was behaving�there was something else going on.

This was leaving out entirely the level of anxiety that had claimed him as soon as he realized that Jennetta was gone. Sure he had bonded with her, attributing it to the fact that she was from his home planet and was a lost and scared little kid. And, yet, it was more than that. He knew that he had to find her, at all costs.

"We�re here," Michael said into the tense silence several long minutes later.

Maria was out of the car before he had even pulled to a complete halt. "Jennetta!" she called. "Baby! Are you out there?"

Michael felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of the pile of rubble Maria was climbing.

It had once been a cave - a cave housing the hot spring where he and Maria had entered the portal to Illyria.

The cave that Isabel had destroyed when she reopened the portal from this side, bringing them back.

Michael didn�t remember much about that day. He remembered Isabel practically strangling him with her hug after she had realized that he had returned to his normal personality - that he was no longer Mr. Zombie-Man. He remembered having to tell Liz that Max wasn�t coming back, even though he couldn�t remember why. He remembered the way her entire spirit had seemed to shut down for the protection of her sanity.

He remembered the fact that he had been wearing tights, which was something he would rather forget (although Alex refused to let him).

He remembered seeing Maria so weak that day, and remembered the rush of love that had filled him at the sight of her. He had not wanted to be parted from her ever again after that day.

Michael shook his head, and began picking his way through the rubble. He wondered why he thought they were going to find anything out here. There was no way anyone could possibly have managed to get through the debris to enter the cave that likely still existed underneath.

Maria was still yelling. "Jennetta! Please! Liz! Can you hear me?"

Michael watched her for a minute, a perplexed frown on his face. "Maria?"

She whirled to stare at him. Her blue eyes were wide, panicked. "They�re not here, Michael!" He could see that she was starting to shake. "I was so sure that they would be here!"

Michael hurried forward, pulling her into his embrace. "It�s okay. We�re going to find them." He stroked her back awkwardly.

Maria was muttering to herself. "How could I have lost her again so soon? What kind of mo�" She cut herself off abruptly, wrenching herself out of his arms. "I�m calling Kyle," she said, turning away from him, and pulling a cell phone out of the pocket of her coat.

Michael stared at the back of her head, then blinked. She was being so weird.

He moved away from her slightly, beginning to rummage through the debris. He decided to keep busy physically, since his brain was largely running on fumes at this point. No sleep in three days, jet lag, a girlfriend in a coma, and then not, the return of your so-called leader without his memories, and now the complete disappearance of a little girl that you had mysteriously bonded with tended to do that to a guy.

And that was when he heard it.

Michael raised his head, listening. He tried to ignore Maria, who was blathering to Kyle on the cell, something about knowing that Tess was responsible for this whole mess.

The sound continued, becoming more and more pronounced. It was a beeping noise.

"Maria!" Michael barked her name. She whirled and stared at him.

"Kyle, I�ll call you back." She hurried over to him. "What?"

"Listen."

Michael hurried off across the clearing and into the nearby foliage. He was pushing aside a bush when Maria suddenly called out to him. "Over here!"

She was staring down at the ground, a fearful expression on her face. Michael was beside her a moment later, looking at the same thing she was.

It was a green orb�and it was glowing.

***

Liz awoke with a splitting headache. She tried to open her eyes, but found that the world remained strangely dark, even when she was sure she had done so.

It took her fuzzy mind a moment to realize that she was blindfolded. It took another minute to realize that she was bound hand and foot.

And suddenly a strange flash claimed her, as she remembered what had happened to her.

Liz was breathing shallowly when she came back to herself a moment later. What on Earth had Pam Troy been doing at the side of the road in the middle of the desert?

It wasn�t until she heard a little girl�s voice that she remembered exactly what had happened.

"I don�t understand why I have to go in here! I�ve already been podded."

It was Jennetta. She had been hiding in the back of Tess� SUV when Pam had suddenly been there. Liz still felt the absolute flabbergasted shock that had struck her at the sight of Pam Troy raising her hand and blasting Jennetta until the little girl was unconscious. She, Liz, had joined Maria and Michael�s daughter in that state a moment later.

It was unbelievable. Pam Troy was an alien!

And, yet, it all somehow made a strange amount of sense. At least there was now an explanation for Pam�s appalling fashion sense. Liz snorted, almost started to laugh hysterically. She realized that she was losing it. She forced herself to take deep breaths, to calm down. Jennetta needed her.

"To protect you, sweetie." Liz recognized Pam�s squeaky voice right away, and flinched. "You�re still too little to look after yourself."

"I don�t know." Jennetta sounded unconvinced and a lot younger than Liz had ever heard her sound before. "I don�t think Jaxon would like this."

"Jaxon was the one who asked me to do this for you," Pam replied sweetly. "He and I are close friends you know."

"Why isn�t he here?" Jennetta demanded.

"He will be." It was a new voice but Liz recognized it right away.

Tess! Tess had betrayed them.

Liz couldn�t quite grasp it. She had come to trust Tess, had been sure that the girl had given up on her so-called destiny with Max, that they were friends. How dumb could she have been?

And, yet, a niggling little voice in the back of her head told her she had not been wrong about Tess. Something was wrong with this whole situation.

Liz shifted uncomfortably on the hard surface on which she was lying.

She heard movement to her right. "I think she�s awake," Tess said, sounding relieved.

"Liz!" Jennetta�s voice came closer. "Can�t I untie her?" Liz could feel the child nearby.

"Not yet," Pam replied serenely. "But you can take her blindfold off."

She felt small hands reaching around behind her head. "Liz! Are you okay?" Jennetta whispered into her ear.

Liz blinked at the bright light that suddenly streamed into her face. It took a moment for the figures around her to come into focus. Jennetta was kneeling in front of her, Tess and Pam standing nearby staring at her.

The room was huge. It was composed completely of stone - polished stone. The walls were covered with symbols exactly like those in the cave at the Reservation where she and her friends had returned Michael�s balance almost two years before.

Liz�s eyes widened further at the sight that greeted her directly to her right. Five pods. Four were dark, as though the light within had burned out long ago.

And one was glowing.

"What�s going on?" she managed to choke out, feeling helpless, bound as she was. Her eyes automatically sought out Tess. The other girl looked away. Liz was sure that she had seen a flash of guilt cross her face before she lost sight of it though. "Tess! Please!"

"Why can�t I untie her?" Jennetta demanded, turning to glare at Pam.

"Because I told you you couldn�t," Pam snapped. Her tone became softer when she saw, as Liz did, Jennetta�s spine stiffen. "She�ll be okay, sweetie. Jaxon will take care of her when he gets here. Now come here. We�ve got work to do."

Jennetta glanced once more at Liz, sighed, then climbed to her feet.

"Jennetta!" Liz called after her. "Whatever she wants you to do. Don�t do it!"

It was as though Jennetta did not hear her though. She didn�t even turn around.

Pam eyed her for a moment, then turned to Tess. "Deal with her. I know you want to. You deserve the right, Sabrya. She almost stole your destiny from you."

Liz�s eyes widened. She felt a chill run down her side when Tess� face darkened. The strange glow that Liz had noticed when she and Max had run into Tess at the Pod Chamber appeared in her blue eyes. She was crazy.

Tess was walking towards her. Liz struggled against her bonds. It was useless! She could barely even move.

"Tess!" Liz shrieked at her. "Has she brainwashed you?" Tess did not blink. Liz was sure that was what was going on here.

She just knew somehow that Tess had not betrayed them. Max, Michael, and Maria had all been brainwashed. Why not Tess too?

"Tess!" Liz tried again. "Snap out of it!"

A momentary spark of remorse appeared in the blonde girl�s eyes, but then it was gone, like a light had been turned out.

Liz watched in horror as Tess raised her hand and it began to glow.

Liz�s last thought was, when did she learn to do that?

Then all went dark.

Part 36

Jaxon sat tensely in the passenger seat of Kyle Valenti�s red Mustang. There hadn�t been much conversation between them since they had left the hospital. Jaxon knew that he had some sort of history with Kyle, but he had absolutely no memory of it.

And at the moment he didn�t particularly care.

All he cared about was finding Liz and Jennetta. Somehow he just knew that they had to find them as soon as possible. They had gone to Liz�s, the Evans, and even Tess�. There had been no sign of the girls anywhere.

With every minute that passed Jaxon knew that they were going to be too late.

His memories of Sabrya reminded him that she was capable of anything. He tried to convince himself that Mirana - Isabel - had been telling him the truth. That the recollections he had of their betrayal, including Tess�, were false.

Yet they filtered through his mind clearly, crisply.

*Flash

Sabrya smiling lovingly at him. "Come to bed, my love."

*Flash

The door of their chamber being blasted open, Tarsus standing there, a look of relief on his face.

*Flash

Tarsus grabbing Sabrya by the wrist, hauling her off the bed, watching the dagger in her hand fall to the floor. Shock, horror. Betrayal.

He shook his head to clear it. He had to focus.

"Are we almost there?" Jaxon asked, clenching and unclenching one of his fists. He was desperately trying to hold on to his control.

The two people he trusted on this cursed planet - the only two - were in danger, and it felt like they were never going to find them.

"It�s just around the next bend," Kyle replied. Jaxon could see Kyle glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "You don�t really think Tess has done something, do you?"

"I don�t know what to think anymore," Jaxon muttered. "Why have we chosen this place? Why would they come here?" he asked Kyle a moment later as his companion pulled his car up in front of a collection of small, but neat, buildings. There was a small market of some sort in front of one of them.

"It�s a Native American reservation," Kyle explained. "An old guy named River Dog used to live here. He gave you guys a lot of information about Nasedo and your past."

Liz had told him about Nasedo. Apparently he was a shape-shifter, a Dernian. He was the one who had been sent to protect him, Isabel, Michael, and Tess on Earth.

And apparently had done a bang-up job of it too, Jaxon thought sarcastically to himself.

Jaxon stepped out of the car. He looked around. Nothing seemed familiar, and, yet, he could feel something�

"He used to live here?" Jaxon inquired. He looked at Kyle questioningly.

Kyle looked uncomfortable. "He was killed." He paused. "By your friend Tarsus," he snapped a moment later.

Jaxon blinked. He was not surprised. It seemed that Tarsus of Dernia was not at all the person Jaxon had believed him to be. "I regret it," he said softly.

A young man with black hair and dark eyes was watching them from a nearby porch. Kyle nudged Jaxon. "That�s Eddie. You and Michael lived with he and River Dog last summer."

Eddie was walking towards them, a strange look on his face. He stopped a few feet away. "I thought you were dead," he said to Jaxon.

Jaxon smiled weakly. He�d forgotten about that little problem.

"Reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated," Kyle told Eddie, smirking.

Eddie frowned. "Have you seen River Dog?" he asked Jaxon. "We haven�t seen him since you and Spiky left the Reservation last summer. He just disappeared."

Jaxon shook his head.

"He�s lost his memory," Kyle said to Eddie in an undertone, as though Jaxon was unaware of his own condition. He scowled at Kyle.

Oh there was history between he and Valenti all right, and apparently not all of it good. The annoyance that often graced Kyle�s face when he looked at Jaxon - well, it was all there in black and white.

"Have you seen Liz?" Kyle was asking Eddie.

Eddie shook his head. "Nah, but Tess was here a couple of days ago."

Jaxon was staring off across the open desert behind the buildings. He was getting a sense of something in the air. He didn�t like it. His head snapped around at Eddie�s comment though.

"What did she want?" he demanded.

Eddie just shook his head. "She didn�t want anything. She just went out into the desert for a few hours and then came back."

"Was she alone?" Kyle asked. The look on his face told Jaxon that he was beginning to accept that Tess was heavily involved in Liz and Jennetta�s disappearance. He looked resigned, and, yet, sad.

"No, she was with another girl," Eddie told him. "She was really trashy. Too much make-up, really tight jeans. The whole nine yards."

Kyle looked like he had swallowed something vile. "Which way did they go that day?" he asked.

Eddie pointed them in the right direction.

"I guess we should check it out. Shall we?" Kyle asked Jaxon with a smirk on his face. Jaxon could tell that he was just trying to mask how upset he was.

"Isabel and Michael are on their way," Kyle told Eddie before they left. "Point them in the right direction when they get here."

Eddie nodded, frowning after them.

Jaxon and Kyle started out across the desert, going north.

***

"Michael! Don�t touch it!" Maria grabbed his arm as he reached down to pick up the glowing green orb.

Michael turned around to stare at her. "Why not?"

"It�s an orb!" Maria replied. "Don�t you know how much trouble those filthy things have caused?" she demanded, her tone disgusted.

Michael eyed her like she was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about, Maria? What do you know about orbs?"

He watched her face darken. "Too damn much," she muttered under her breath. She shook her head, staring straight at him. "Don�t you remember what happened the last time you activated one of these things?" she asked. "You brought that maniac Tarsus of Dernia right down on all of our heads. He turned you into a zombie, practically kidnapped Max and nearly tore us all apart. I think you should just stay away from that thing."

He just knew that she was hiding something from him. That answer had just been too pat. Her eyes were now dancing around the clearing, almost hysterically.

"Maria." She refused to look at him. "Maria!" Maria turned her blue eyes on him. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked evasively, moving slightly away from him.

"You�re acting all psycho!" Michael replied, feeling like pulling his hair out.

He heard Maria snort in annoyance. She started muttering under her breath. "Well, excuse me. I just came out of a coma for God�s sake, not to mention�" She cut herself off abruptly.

Definitely psycho. Michael just stared at her, then shook his head.

He moved to pick up the orb. "We don�t have time for this," he muttered. "This orb is here for a reason. I�m going to find out what it is."

"Michael! No!" Maria made a move to smack it away from him, but Michael put his hands up over his head, well out of her reach. She started to jump up and down trying to get her hands on it.

"Maria! Would you settle down!" he yelled. "See! I�m fine! I�m touching it! I haven�t been turned into�"

His head suddenly felt like it wanted to explode.

Michael fell to his knees in agony. He tried to drop the orb, but it was like it was grafted to his hands.

He could hear Maria screaming at him from what seemed like a very great distance�

And then the visions began.

*Flash

"Were you eavesdropping Tristandor?" Michael recognized that voice immediately. Tarsus of Dernia.

"You�re damn right I was! You never tell us anything. We�re not just going to sit on our butts and wait for you to exterminate us." Michael could feel Maria beside him. He could feel his own fear and horror. They were coming for her. He had to stop it.

*Flash

"I love you, Michael."

"I love you too."

*Flash

He and Maria standing in a stone circle, staring intently at the orbs in their hands. "I guess we�re okay," he said to her�and then a beam of light knocked them both off their feet�and Max was there.

*Flash

"When has Michael ever been capable of sense?" It was Max and he sounded disgusted.

*Flash

"I think it�s the baby, Michael." Complete panic claimed him.

*Flash

"Well, it�s a little sooner than I would have liked, but it�s your babies I want to be having, so at least I got that right!"

*Flash

"Michael! I�m going to kill you!" Maria screaming in agony, Michael feeling helpless, guilty, and yet so incredibly happy he could barely see straight.

*Flash

"Ren told me about your mother, Michael. She should be named for your heritage. Her name is Jennetta."

*Flash

"Michael. You have to accept this. You need to protect your child."

"This is insanity, Max! I should be with you! I�m your right hand. Your mother told us so!"

The flashes ended abruptly, as though a hand had ripped them out of his head.

When Michael became aware of his surroundings, he realized that he was lying face-down on the ground.

Maria was kneeling beside him sobbing. "Michael!" She was running her hands up and down his back. "Wake up! Damn these things!"

He could tell that the orb was no longer in his hands. He heard Maria grunt as she heaved it away across the clearing. He faintly heard a thud as it landed.

Michael groaned, then rolled over onto his back. He stared up at the stars.

Maria�s face came into focus. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He didn�t reply immediately. He didn�t know how to tell her what he had to tell her. She was going to freak. She was already half-way to a patented Maria flip-out.

How was he supposed to tell her that Jennetta was their daughter.

He had no idea - but he did know one thing�

Whoever had taken his child was going to pay.

Part 37

"I think we�re lost," Kyle told Max.

Max was standing about ten feet to his right staring off across the darkening desert, a strange look on his face. Kyle hated when he did that. It was at times like these that Kyle remembered that Max was not human. His tendency to become spaced out on a regular basis was so much more understandable now.

"I�ve been here before," Max said, not to Kyle but to the air in general.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Whoopdedoo. The question is: have Liz, Tess, and Jennetta been here recently?"

Max turned to eye him, a slight frown on his face.

Well, that made it official. Max might not remember him, but he di know that he and Kyle were not friends. Sure they trusted each other, but there was too much history there for them to ever really become close.

Kyle still had not forgiven Max for stealing Liz from him, or for preoccupying Kyle�s father on a regular basis- nor had he forgiven him for being who he was - the one person standing between him and Tess.

Although, Kyle thought bitterly, it�s unlikely that Tess would want to be with me even if there was no Max Evans.

"Liz is nearby," Max replied, staring into the distance again. Kyle scowled again, shivering slightly. Max really was a freak and he had turned Liz into one as well. Kyle would never get used to the connection that existed between the two of them.

He had never stood a chance with Liz.

"Lead on, oh mighty one," Kyle muttered as Max took off at a steady pace.

Kyle was almost positive that Max was leading him on a wild goose chase, until Evans stopped so abruptly Kyle almost rammed into his back. "We�re here," Max told him unnecessarily.

"We�re where?" All Kyle saw was desert. It was almost dark and the occasional scrub brush was shadowed and barely visible. Kyle wondered how he and Max were going to find their way back to the Reservation in the dark. "We�re in the middle of nowhere." His eyes widened as Max�s hand suddenly lit up, brighter than any flashlight Kyle had ever seen. "Jesus!"

Max crouched near a large rock, and seemed to be peering under it. He turned back and smirked at Kyle. "Are you game, Valenti?"

It was then that Kyle noticed the hole in the desert floor. It was almost hidden by the boulder, but was clearly visible now due to the light thrown by Max�s hand. The shadows thrown by the darkening sky had hidden it from view.

"One hundred and seventy pounds of Greco-Roman wrestler at your service," Kyle replied, setting his jaw.

Max�s expression was amused. "Fine. I�m in charge here. If you can�t accept that then I suggest you stay here and wait for Michael, Isabel, and the others."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "I�m not stupid, Max." He paused and met his former nemesis� eyes straight on. "You can trust me."

"I knew I could," Max replied seriously. "I have a feeling that we might now have gotten along in the past but I don�t doubt that you care about Liz and Tess - and so I can trust you."

Max turned away, staring down into the hole again. "Well, I might have been here before but I don�t remember how far a drop it is," he muttered wryly.

Kyle pushed past him. "There�s only one way to find out."

Kyle was through the hole and had dropped the ten feet or so to the stone floor of the cave it led to before he could think about it. If sports had taught him one thing it was to go with instinct first and think about the consequences later. He had landed himself in trouble a few times, but had also ended up on more All-Star teams than he could count.

Fear was the enemy. Fear would stand between him and saving his friends.

No fear.

Max landed softly beside him a moment later. He used his lit-up hand to examine the walls of the place in which they found themselves.

Kyle realized it was not so much a cave as it was a tunnel. The walls were completely smooth, and had clearly been polished at one time as well. Dust covered the etchings that spread off in both directions.

The symbols on the wall were familiar to Kyle. He had seen Isabel wearing a necklace with one of them, and he had also seen it on one of those damn blue orbs. He thought he had seen several more on some papers over at Tess�.

"Which way?" he whispered to Max.

Max motioned to footprints in the dust on the floor. "Follow me."

They walked for what felt like forever. Kyle knew that they were headed deep into the earth. It was clear that this tunnel wasn�t natural - and that it had been here for a long time. It was humbling to reflect on how long that meant Max�s people had been connected to or on Earth.

Aliens had been among them for a long time, proving that the human race was pretty darn out of it.

The Crash of �47 had not been a beginning. More likely if had been an ending.

Max halted abruptly again. Kyle stumbled, scowling. "Will you please warn me the next time you�re going to do that?" he growled softly.

Max shot him an annoyed look. "Quiet. We�re close." He stared at the smooth walls on both side of the tunnels. "I can feel Liz nearby." He started to feel the walls for an opening of some sort.

Kyle did the same on the opposite wall. "Are you sure we shouldn�t keep going?" he asked several minutes later.

"No," Max replied shortly. "Wait a minute." Kyle turned to watch as Max started to pass his hand gently over the wall, careful not to miss a spot.

"I don�t think this is the time for dusting, Evans," Kyle finally said when Max looked like he was never going to stop.

At that exact moment a silver hand-print appeared suddenly under Max�s hand. Kyle blinked.

Max shot him a look over his shoulder. "Stay here and keep watch."

"The hell I will!" Kyle replied urgently. "You need me to watch your back."

"I don�t know what we�re going to find in there, Kyle. If I�m not back in fifteen minutes, I want you to head back to the surface to find Michael and Isabel." His gaze was steady. "You said that I could trust you."

I just knew he was going to throw that back in my face! Kyle reflected, annoyed. "Fine," he said shortly. "Fifteen minutes."

Max nodded, satisfied. He lifted his hand, fitting it squarely on the silver hand-print. Kyle watched, amazed, as the stone wall slid away, revealing another smooth tunnel. Kyle would never get used to all this alien hocus pocus.

Max was gone a moment later. Kyle sighed and pressed his back against the smooth wall, sliding down until he was seated on the floor of the tunnel. He was suddenly extremely weary. It was pitch black now that Max had left with his magic hand. He was going to have to feel his way back up the tunnel if it came to that.

Kyle wondered how he was going to see his watch to know when fifteen minutes were up.

***

Jaxon made his way carefully down the smaller corridor. He heard the wall slide back into place behind him, but he ignored it.

All he was worried about was what was at the far end of this tunnel.

He knew Liz was nearby. He had sensed her flash of fear when he and Kyle had stopped to find the hand-print.

If he had doubted their connection before this, their was no doubt now. There was a bond between him and this human that could not be explained - nor could it be denied. He understood now why he had fallen in love with her when he was Max Evans, and he also understood why he could not resist her now.

They were two halves of the same soul. There was no other explanation.

He did not know what game Sabrya was playing, but somehow he knew that she was behind Liz and Jennetta�s disappearance. He had known it the minute he had become aware of the fact that they were missing.

Jaxon almost stumbled upon them without meaning to. The tunnel was still dark when it suddenly opened up into a huge lit cavern. The light was blinding after the blackness of the rest of the complex.

He heard Sabrya�s voice before he saw her. "She is taken care of." Her tone was harsh.

"Good work, Tessie. Now come here and help me get Jennetta prepared for the transformation."

Jaxon felt his heart stop. He was concealed behind a stone overhang, but he could hear everything that was happening. The voice of the other girl was familiar to him, just on the edge of his memory.

"I still don�t understand why Jaxon wants me podded again. I don�t know if my mother is going to like this." It was Jennetta. Jaxon allowed himself a slight breath of relief that she was apparently healthy at the moment. But when her comment penetrated his mind, he grimaced. They were using Jennetta�s love for him to control her.

It was time to find out who was betraying him. He had to save his sister before they did whatever it was they were planning to do to her.

He was also concerned by the fact that he could no longer feel Liz anywhere. Had they moved her?

Jaxon stepped out from behind the overhang. "I don�t want you podded, sweeting."

Jennetta was across the cavern. Sabrya was standing next to her, a hand on his small sister�s shoulder.

Sabrya turned her blonde head, staring at him her eyes wide. She turned to her companion in confusion. Jaxon could not see the other girl as she was hidden by a bank of five transformation pods.

Jaxon frowned when Jennetta ignored him completely. She was waving her small hand across a lit pod. The organic sides opened and she stepped into it. It�s side melted together behind her.

"Jennetta!" Jaxon rushed across the chamber, but it was too late.

The pod had begun to fill with the clear liquid that was the transforming agent. His sister was going to be cleansed. She was too young! It would kill her!

And, yet, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Once the transformation was begun, cutting it off in the middle was a guaranteed death sentence.

He clenched his jaw as he watched the pod fill completely. Jennetta�s eyes closed calmly as the liquid covered her face. She looked peaceful - as though she was asleep.

A flash of intense anger stabbed through him.

Jaxon rounded on Sabrya. "What have you done?" he roared at her.

His betraying former bride cringed away from him. "Max! Please."

Jaxon forced himself to take deep breaths. Completely losing control was not going to solve anything. "Where is Liz?"

"She�s where Tess left her."

The other girl stepped out from behind the pods. Jaxon�s eyes widened. It was the girl from the Crashdown who had approached him earlier that day - Pam Troy.

She was pointing across the cavern.

He didn�t want to turn around. He knew it was going to be bad. It was only now that he realized that he could not feel Liz�s presence at all.

He stared at Sabrya for a moment longer. "What have you done?" he asked again, softly, shaking his head.

Jaxon watched her blue eyes fill with tears. She broke his gaze, turned pleading eyes to Pam. "Danala! Please! Explain it to him."

Jaxon swallowed. "Danalah" he said evenly. "I should have known."

"Tarsus has told you about me, I see." She smirked at him, but her eyes were flat with disdain.

"He lied about you - just as he lied about everything," Jaxon replied. He glared at her. "I don�t have time for you."

He forced himself to turn around. His breathing was uneven as his eyes found Liz.

The sight of her felt like a physical blow.

She was curled up near the wall. Her hands were bound behind her and her feet were tied as well. Her dark hair covered her face, but he knew that she was dead. There was no sign that she was breathing and the black mark in the centre of her chest told him all he needed to know.

He could not feel her. Her spirit was not present in this place at all. She was gone.

The emptiness that welled within him was suffocating.

Jaxon felt his throat closing up. "Liz." His knees were giving out on him. He managed to stumble to the wall to support himself.

He had to go to her. He had to try and heal her. But he couldn�t make his legs move. His entire body was numb. His entire being knew that it was too late.

He could not bring back the dead.

"Max!" It was Sabrya. She had moved behind him.

He managed to control his voice when she touched his shoulder. "If you touch me I will make your death very unpleasant," he told her through clenched teeth. He felt her flinch away from him. He turned blazing eyes on her. "You are going to die, Sabrya - trust me - but how is still to be determined. I suggest you keep your filthy hands off of me."

"But don�t you understand? It had to be! She bewitched you, Max. Danala told me so! She was standing between us, preventing us from creating the child that is going to save our people." Tess� eyes were wide and glinting with tears. "I didn�t want to do it, but I had to! Our destiny is to be together."

Tess and Jaxon both whirled as Danala broke into peals of laughter. "As you can see, Jaxon, she is just as stupid in this life as she was in the last." She was shaking her dyed blonde head. She was laughing and, yet, it was disturbing because there was no real humour in it.

Jaxon knew that after the cleansing Dernians did not truly understand humour.

"What - what do you mean?" Jaxon could see Sabrya staring at her sister, an expression of horror on her face.

"We�ve already got our chosen one, little imbecile." Danala indicated Jennetta, floating peacefully in her pod. "Who do you think this is?"

"Then, why?" Tess was staring at Liz�s corpse, her eyes shining with guilt and terror.

"We kidnapped her for the simplest reason in the world," Danala replied. "To get our hands on Jaxon, of course. It was just pure chance that she brought the little saviour of Illyria along with her."

She turned her dark eyes on Jaxon. "And you fell right into my trap �your highness.� Prepare to die, Jaxon Falconer."

Jaxon was listening to her, but his mind was elsewhere. He could not stop his eyes from returning to Liz�s form, so small and helpless. How could such a fragile body have contained such a brave spirit - in fact his entire world?

And then he knew. He had failed.

His sister was going to die.

His Liz was already gone.

He did not want to live without her.

Jaxon turned back to Danala. "So be it," he told her without hesitation. "But I�m taking you with me."

Part 38

When Michael and Maria arrived at the Reservation, Isabel and Alex were already there. Isabel was pacing beside the Jeep, her expression grim. Alex stood nearby, his arms folded across his chest. He was watching her with concern.

Michael could tell right away that the situation was not good.

"Finally!" Isabel exclaimed when Michael and Maria climbed out the Jetta. "Where have you been?"

Michael watched Maria rub her eyes frantically. "Don�t even get me started. Let me just say, the next time anyone finds an orb�" Both Alex and Isabel turned to stare at her. "Under no circumstances is anyone going to touch it!" The last came out as a shriek.

Isabel eyed Michael. "Do I even want to know?" she asked wearily.

"There�s no time," Michael replied abruptly. "Are they here?"

"Eddie said Kyle and Max took off across the desert about an hour ago. He hasn�t seen them since," Alex replied.

"Let�s go," Michael said, leaving no room for argument. He had to find his daughter. It was all he cared about at the moment.

He and Maria had not exchanged a single word during the entire ride from Frasier Woods to the Reservation. Michael had not known how to broach the subject of telling her who Jennetta was, not to mention Maria had not exactly been in the most accommodating of moods. She was still furious at him for scaring the living daylights out of her with his little "orb incident," as she had started to refer to it.

He had sort of been relieved.

It wasn�t that he didn�t want Maria to know. It was just that he sort of wanted to savor the secret to himself for a while. He knew that the minute Maria found out she was going to totally lose it. And while, normally, he sort of enjoyed dealing with her freak-outs, right now he had more important things to worry about.

He just knew that Jennetta was in danger and that had to be his first priority. He knew that Maria was going to be pissed at him- big time - but he would deal with that later.

As the foursome trekked across the desert Michael knew exactly where they were going. Their destination was the transformation chamber. The place where this whole catastrophic chain of events had started when he had allowed Tarsus to cleanse him.

Michael�s guilt over his own stupidity in trusting Tarsus had been torturing him for months - ever since Max had first disappeared and Maria had first shown signs of illness.

The moment he had found out the truth about Jennetta his guilt had completely disappeared.

It was now clear that there had been a purpose to it all. If the result of all that pain had been his daughter�well, then it had been worth it.

Now they just had to make sure that the whole affair didn�t end tragically anyway.

Michael did not hesitate as he, Maria, Alex, and Isabel plunged trough the pitch-black night. The stars were out, but there was no moon to light their trajectory. They had only one flashlight between the four of them. He knew the route though, having taken it so many times with that bastard Tarsus.

He heard Alex trip on something and swear. The stress was getting to them all. Michael could feel Isabel on his right, their connection through the four-square strangely strong at the moment. She was wound up, clearly ready to explode at any moment.

Something was seriously wrong.

He tried to keep his voice low when he spoke to Isabel, hoping to keep Maria out of whatever was troubling Isabel for a while longer. He was still concerned that all of this was too much for his so recently comatose girlfriend. He was trying to shield her from as much of the crap that was going down as possible, but of course Maria was having none of it.

"What�s wrong?" he whispered.

He could see Isabel�s head swing around to face him in the dark. She paused before replying. "I dreamwalked all of them Michael - Liz, Tess, Max - I even tried Jennetta. I couldn�t get a thing."

"So, it�s not like it hasn�t happened before," Michael replied quietly, although he felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

If his daughter was hurt before he even got a chance to know her�.well, someone was going to pay - big.

"This is different, Michael," Isabel told him, her tone troubled. "I�ve always been able to get in a bit - even if people shut me out once I was in. This time it was like hitting a big wall. I couldn�t break through at all."

Michael pressed his lips together, flinched when Maria tripped into his back.

He glared over his shoulder at her. "Eavesdrop much?" he demanded in annoyance.

"Oh put a sock in it, Spaceboy," Maria flared back. "You�re hiding something. I know it. Don�t you think that the time for secrets is over? Secrets have done nothing but cause trouble."

"Really?" Michael asked evenly. "I have a feeling that I�m not the only one with a secret."

"Would you two please just stop?" Isabel asked, irritated. "We don�t have time for your bickering love-fest."

"Amen," Alex added from somewhere on Michael�s left.

Maria snorted, but shut up. Michael knew that she was glad to do so now that he had called her on the fact that she was keeping something from him. He wasn�t at dumb as he sometimes pretended to be.

Maria had been a little off ever since she had come out of the coma. Oh, she was Maria all right, but she was strangely quiet about how Jennetta had healed her. He knew that there was more to it than just a good old Max miracle-type healing.

And it suddenly hit him like a bolt of lightening.

She knew. Maria knew.

She had known for the last twelve hours and she hadn�t told him.

He rounded on her, his rage almost completely out of control. It took all of his strength not to grab her and shake her. "Maria!" He couldn�t stop himself.

Michael heard her stumble. Alex�s voice indicated that he had caught her. "What the hell? Maria, are you okay?"

Michael felt Isabel grab his arm. "Michael?"

Michael was glad that he couldn�t see Maria�s face. To see the knowledge of her lie written on her face�

Alex�s flashlight was in his face. "What�s wrong?" Alex demanded, sounding perplexed and not a little irritated himself.

"She knows," Michael replied, turning away.

Maria was now at his side, grabbing his other arm. " I know! Of course I know! Fine! Be mad at me, Michael. at this point I don�t care! But we have to get her back. That�s all there is to it. You can�t let this stand in the way." Her voice faltered slightly, but Michael was most amazed by what he didn�t hear in it.

She wasn�t at all sorry.

"It won�t," he managed to bite out. "We�ll discuss it later."

"Discuss what?" Alex demanded.

"It�s between Maria and me," Michael replied, his fury still radiating through every vein in his body. He was taking deep breaths as he began to walk again.

"Well, then I suggest you keep your cave-man bellows to yourself," Isabel snapped. "Are we almost there?"

"I think so," Maria whispered. "I can feel it."

"What?" Alex asked.

"Nothing," Maria replied.

Michael shivered. She was right. It felt like they were walking into a void�of nothingness. It felt like the entire world had been sucked dry of life - of feeling, of emotion. Michael could feel the void tugging on his own senses, trying to force him to give his own up.

He swallowed. "We�re here."

Alex shone his flashlight on the boulder Michael remembered that hid the entrance to the tunnels.

All four of them stared into the darkness for a long moment. The feeling of emptiness was coming from within the underground complex.

Michael straightened his spine. His child was in there and she was in danger. "Let�s go," he said resolutely.

Not a single one of them argued.

***

Kyle heard Max yell even through the stone wall that had slid back into place after Max had passed through it. He jumped to his feet, feeling his blood run cold.

That shout had been unnatural - like the agony of every living being on Earth had come together in a cacophony of grief so intense it literally shook the foundations of Kyle�s soul.

It could only mean one thing. Something had happened to Liz.

Kyle had absolutely no idea how much time had gone by. The Max-proscribed fifteen minutes might have ended, but sitting in the dark had made him totally lose track of the passage of minutes.

For all he knew it might have been three seconds - or three hours. All he knew was that he felt like he had been waiting forever.

He briefly considered actually following Max�s orders and finding his way back to the entrance to the tunnels, to go in search of Michael and Isabel and a little Czechoslovakian fire-power.

But the memory of that yell still reverberated in his ears. There was no time to go for back-up. He needed to get in there now.

Only one face was etched on his brain - Tess. He didn�t care what the hell she had done. He loved her. He had to get to her.

Kyle started to feel along the smooth stone, feeling for an opening of some sort. It had to be there somewhere!

"Dammit!" Kyle muttered to himself. He thrust his hands through his hair in frustration.

It didn�t help that he couldn�t see a bloody thing. His eyes couldn�t even adjust to the dark. There was no light whatsoever to allow it.

He clenched his fists, glaring at the offending wall. Kyle had never wanted to be an alien, but what he wouldn�t give for even a smidge of Alien voodoo at the moment.

He swiped his hand over the surface of the wall in irritation.

The hand-print suddenly shone out at him, its silver glow actually lighting up the tunnel in which he found himself.

Kyle blinked, then stared down at his hand. "What the�"

Oh who the hell cares? he asked himself silently. Just go with it, Valenti.

Kyle bit his lip as he moved forward and placed his hand squarely on the hand-print. He was not at all surprised when the wall began to move.

He was past it the moment the space was big enough for him to squeeze through. He was half-way down the smooth corridor before it even occurred to him to mark the spot for the others.

He hurried back in the direction from which he had come, and stuck his jacket in the between the entrance and the far wall just as the door began to slide shut.

Kyle could see light shining at the far end of the tunnel. As he moved closer, he began to pick up voices.

"�.you fell right into my trap, your highness." Kyle paused, frowning. That voice sounded horribly familiar. "Prepare to die, Jaxon Falconer."

Pam Troy! Pam frickin� Troy! He would know that whiny voice anywhere. Kyle was so stunned he literally couldn�t move for a moment.

He managed to shake off his stupor as her last words penetrated his brain. "Prepare to die�"

Well, it was clear that Evans did need back-up. So much for his allmightiness.

But Max�s response to Pam�s taunt caused the hair on the back of Kyle�s neck to stand on end.

"So be it." His voice was calm, but with an underlying note of steel that made Kyle damn glad that he was not facing down Max Evans at the moment. "But I�m taking you with me."

Oh crap. It was alien smackdown time.

Kyle glanced back down the tunnel nervously, hoping that Michael and Isabel were on their way.

He inched forward, and found himself standing behind a stone overhang. He couldn�t see a bloody thing.

He heard Tess before he saw her. "Can�t we talk about this reasonably?" she was asking, her voice terrified.

"The time for talk is over, Sabrya," Pam replied. "I have the chosen one. There is no need for any of you anymore. Your time has ended."

"What?" Tess� voice cracked. "But what about my destiny? My destiny with Max?"

"Oh will you shut up about that?" Pam asked. "Destiny, shmestiny. None of it matters now."

Kyle poked his head around the overhang. He saw Max standing across the way, his back to him. Tess was standing behind him stiffly.

Pam was positioned in front of a bank of egg-shaped containers. Kyle realized that these must be the infamous pods. He had never seen one before. Until this minute he had never fully accepted that Tess and the others had actually come from these things, but seeing them made it all too real.

His heart sank at the sight of the kid - Jennetta - floating in one of them. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. Kyle wondered what Tess would have looked like in hers before she was born.

He shook his head, forcing himself to focus.

He couldn�t see Liz anywhere. He scanned the large chamber and felt a sigh of relief when he caught sight of her nearby, in fact only about ten feet to his right.

She was lying on her side, bound hand and foot. Her eyes were wide and staring at the scene playing out in front of her. "Max! Max! Listen to me!"

Max was ignoring her completely though.

Liz closed her eyes briefly, seemingly frustrated. She began twisting against her bonds. Kyle watched as her eyes passed over him briefly, then lit up. Kyle realized that she had seen him. She was motioning him to come over to her with her head.

"It�s okay, Kyle! They won�t see you! Hurry!"

Kyle paused, until he saw Tess glance behind her. Her blue eyes were unreadable as they came to rest on his face.

She blinked once and turned back to Pam.

What the�?

He hurried over to Liz�s side, untied her. "What the hell is going on here, Liz?" he demanded.

Kyle glanced nervously towards Max and the others. None of them had moved. Max and Pam were staring each other down in what must have been some sort of weird pre-"I�m going to fry you" alien ritual.

It was bizarre - like they were waiting for something.

"Tess is doing it, Kyle," Liz explained, rubbing her wrists, clearly trying to get the feeling back into them. "Danala told her to kill me. Instead she began an illusion. I have no idea how she�s keeping it up. Her power has totally increased."

"Then why can I see what�s happening? And who the hell is Danala?" Kyle asked, perplexed.

"Pam is Danala," Liz told him, sounding exasperated. Well, excuse me. I came in a bit late, Kyle thought to himself. "Remember Tess has to tailor the illusion to everyone she wants to see it," Liz continued, moving towards the three others. "I have no idea what to do here."

Liz moved past Max, staring up at his face in concern. He looked right through her, but his mouth was moving.

Kyle realized that some sort of conversation was happening between Max, Tess, and Pam but he couldn�t hear a word of it. Apparently, there wasn�t a pre- "I�m going to fry you" ritual going on. Tess was shutting him out of whatever was happening.

And yet he could see it all. He just couldn�t hear it.

"Liz! Get over here!" Kyle called to her. "We have to go find Michael and the others."

Liz looked over at him. "I�m not leaving Max," she said stubbornly. "He�s going to lose it in a second Kyle. He almost attacked Tess a few minutes ago. I couldn�t hear what they were saying but I saw the look on his face. I don�t know what they told him." She was standing beside Max. She reached up to touch his face. He was totally unaware of her.

"Liz!" Kyle moved forward to grab her.

At that exact moment he looked over at Pam and realized that she had pulled out a gun. Kyle froze. "Oh my God! Liz!"

Liz whipped her head around, sending her dark hair flying around her face. She saw the gun. She saw exactly where it was pointed and screamed. "Max!"

Kyle tried to get to her. He really did. He made a diving leap, landing hard on his side about two feet away from her.

But it was too late.

Liz had thrown herself in front of Max, just as he saw Pam pull the trigger.

And the next thing Kyle knew, all hell broke loose.

Part 39

"Destiny, shmestiny! None of that matters now!" Pam was screeching at Tess, making Jaxon�s ears ring.

Tess was standing close behind him. He was still ready to kill her, but he had to deal with Pam first. It was clear that she was the real ring-leader here.

He was doing his best to function normally, like the warrior king that he was.

It was almost impossible though. Every fibre of his being was telling him to just let them kill him. He felt like his entire heart had been ripped out of his body. He was doing he best not to look over at Liz�s body. It was difficult considering the only thing he wanted to do was go take her in his arms and then join her wherever her beloved spirit had gone.

But he had to save Jennetta first. It would be his last act. She was destined to lead their people to greatness. Once she was saved, he would be free to go.

"I don�t understand, Danala! We�re sisters! How could you betray me like this?" Sabrya sounded absolutely astounded.

"You were the one who betrayed me, little one," Danala sneered. "You married him, even though you knew it was the last thing I would want. You chose our brother over me and you all paid for it with your lives." She paused, smirking. "It is time to pay the price of your stupidity in this life as well."

Tess touched him on the shoulder. Jaxon flinched away from her. "I told you not to touch me," he growled.

"I�m sorry, Jaxon. I was so wrong! Please, you must save us both!"

He turned to stare at her. "Are you crazy?" he asked, literally floored by her gall. She had murdered Liz in cold blood and she actually believed that he was going to save her?

Tess lowered her voice, gazing at him pleadingly. "It�s not what you think. You have to trust me. Max, please!"

"You�re the last person I�d trust," he replied coldly, turning back to face Danala.

But it was too late. The brief distraction had been enough. Danala had a human weapon, a gun, in her hand and she had it pointed directly at him.

"Now it�s time for you to die like the human dog you�ve become, oh mighty one," Danala told him, no expression on her face. "It is time for me to take my rightful place as the right hand of the chosen one, and for me to help her to lead our people to the rebirth you have denied us for so long."

"No!" Sabrya screamed. Jaxon felt her push him, but the gun had already gone off. He braced himself for the impact.

The bullet never hit him.

Something slammed into him with force great enough to knock him to the ground, but it wasn�t a bullet.

"What the�"

"Max! It�s Liz!"

It was Tess who was screaming at him. He had no idea how this had happened but she was right.

Somehow Liz was alive and sprawled across him. She had clearly just jumped in front of the bullet meant for him.

She wasn�t dead!

And, yet, she was well on her way to returning to that state. He felt her blood soaking the front of his shirt.

He managed to gently turn her over.

Liz�s eyes were open. She was staring up at him. "Max!" she managed to gasp.

He swept his hands across her looking for the wound. "Shh! Liz, you�re going to be fine my love. Just tell me where you�re hurt."

She didn�t reply. Her eyes rolled up into her head.

"Ohmygod! Max, do something!"

Jaxon realized that it was Mirana�s voice. He glanced up to see his sister, Kyle, and Alex all gathered around, watching both him and Liz with horror. He realized quickly that they were actually encircling them protectively. He could hear Tristandor yelling nearby.

He had no time to wonder what was happening with Danala. He had to help Liz. He already knew what it felt like to lose her. There was no way he was going to let it happen again.

Jaxon gently laid Liz down, ripping open her shirt. He grimaced at the blood welling up from the wound in her stomach.

"Liz, you have to look at me! Liz, please!"

Liz�s eyes fluttered briefly. "Max�"

It was enough.

The connection was instantaneous as he placed his hand palm down on the gunshot wound.

Flash*

"You�re not an al�an alien?"

Flash*

"I don�t care."

Flash*

"You were the one person I really wanted to talk to."

Flash*

"I guess these are the things we do when we feel a certain way about someone."

Flash*

"You made me a part of this, Max."

Flash*

"You saw my fantasy�"

Flash*

"I love you."

Flash*

"Max, I need you to promise me that you�re coming back to me�"

He concentrated on forcing the bullet to disintegrate into her bloodstream. When it was gone, he began to knit torn tissue and muscle together, until there was no wound left.

She was completely healed. And, yet, the connection continued.

He realized suddenly that what he had seen before had not been her memories.

They were his.

He was aware of his surroundings, could feel Liz sitting up, felt her bring her hands up to his face. But he was concentrating on the memories that were coming back in a great rush - as though a floodgate somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind had opened.

Flash*

He reached out to take Isabel�s hand, determined not to be separated from her, even though Michael was too scared to come with them.

Flash*

He cried himself to sleep every night until his mother gave him a toy house telling him that he would always have a home.

Flash*

He climbed off the school bus, and saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was smiling happily at her friends. He knew that she was the one.

Flash*

Michael appeared at his window, asked if it would be all right if he slept on his bedroom floor.

Flash*

Liz weaved her way towards him, through the tables at the Crashdown. She had a welcoming smile on her face. He felt his heart speed up just at the sight of her.

Flash*

He and Isabel played basketball with their parents in the driveway. He knew that he was loved.

Flash*

Maria handed him a strawberry, a smirk on her face and yet a strange expression of acceptance as well.

Flash*

Alex and Liz laughed at the counter in the Crashdown, Liz�s alien antennas bouncing merrily.

Flash*

Tess, Michael, Isabel and he stood in the desert with the new knowledge that Tess was one of them.

Flash*

Kyle handed him a flask, a challenging expression in his eyes, and yet a certain amount of understanding and sympathy as well.

Flash*

Liz smiled at him as she opened the note he had given her about meeting him in the Eraser Room for sixth period

The memories began to flow more freely, returning to their rightful place.

They were his memories. He knew who he was.

He was Max Evans.

Flash*

"Max! What are you doing?"

"Let go of me!"

He had to get to her! His entire life would be over is she was gone. They didn�t even really know each other, but he knew this. She was the one.

Flash*

"You�re all right now. You�re all right. You broke the bottle when you fell, spilled ketchup on yourself. Don�t tell anyone. Please."

"Liz!"

"I�m right here! Max, look at me! I�m okay!"

He shook his head, staring into her beautiful face. Her eyes were glued on his face with concern.

How could he have forgotten her?

And, yet, he never had. Not really. He had always remembered how he felt about her. He just hadn�t remembered why.

He did now.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, running his hands back to her stomach, feeling the sticky blood still. But her skin was smooth, perfect. He glanced down.

A silver hand-print was clearly visible on her abdomen. Just like the first time.

He remembered how shocked he had been to see it. He had never healed anyone who had been so hurt before, had had no idea that he would mark her like that.

But she had already marked him. The love he had felt for her since the first moment he had seen her had marked his entire destiny.

It had all come down to that moment in the Crashdown. It was where it had all begun, it was where his loneliness had ended. It had been a beginning and an end.

And it had brought them down to this exact moment - again.

Her love saved him every day.

***

Kyle almost had a heart attack when he had seen that bullet slam into Liz. She collapsed on top of Max, which caused Tess to panic to such a degree, she dropped the elaborate illusion that she had weaved to fool Danala.

Kyle felt a frisson of sheer dread when Danala become aware of his presence. She turned dark, emotionless eyes on him, rolling them as though he was some bug that needed to be stomped on.

A minor inconvenience, but annoying nonetheless.

He saw Max rip open Liz�s shirt from the corner of his eye. He hurried to stand guard over them while Max tried to save Liz�s life.

And yet his entire attention had remained focused on Tess and Danala and the showdown about to take place.

"You betrayed me again!" Danala said to her sister, sounding mildly miffed.

Kyle could see that Tess was trembling as she replied, "I remember what false promises of family did to Michael. I wanted to believe you so badly, but when you wanted me to kill Liz, I knew that you didn�t care about me at all. You had to know that I wouldn�t turn on my real family to such a degree."

Danala quirked an eyebrow, looking somewhat interested by this explanation. "Hmmm, I underestimated the strength of your human ties I suppose. It�s interesting. But it doesn�t change anything, little one. You will still die."

"You�ll have to kill me first." Kyle saw Michael come through the entrance into the cave. He looked absolutely infuriated. "You are not going to touch my sister."

"Michael! Jennetta is over there!" It was Maria, and she sounded absolutely horrified. "She�s been podded!"

If possible, Michael�s face became even more furious.

Danala looked pleased. "Tristandor! How convenient. Now I don�t have to go in search of you. I can take care of you right here as well my treacherous brother."

Kyle saw that she still had the gun she had used to shoot Liz. She tossed it aside. "But this time I won�t make the mistake of using these ridiculous human weapons."

Danala raised her hand, pointing it directly at Michael. It began to glow.

Kyle watched Michael grab Tess, who was standing close beside him.

It was the last thing he saw. A flash of light so bright filled the chamber, Kyle had to close his eyes.

An explosion rocked the entire room, knocking Kyle into Isabel, who was standing close to him.

His last thought before passing out was that he hadn�t even seen her come in.

Part 40

Michael grabbed Tess by the hand when he saw Pam�s had begin to glow.

They had to end this - now. And he knew exactly what to do.

"Tess, help me!" Michael yelled at his sister.

He could feel Tess� indecision. She knew that Danala was their sister, and was reluctant to completely destroy her.

Michael felt no qualms whatsoever. The bitch had hurt his daughter. He owed no loyalty to her.

His loyalty was to his real family - to Jennetta, Maria, Max, Isabel, Liz, Alex, even Kyle and certainly Tess.

Danala was going down.

He was beginning to go blind from the intensity of the light that Danala was creating. He could feel his eldest sister gathering energy from the walls around her. He realized that the entire complex in which they found themselves was like a giant power conductor, just like Stonehenge had been when Isabel opened the portal from Illyria.

And Michael understood. Stone increased their power.

Michael threw up his own hand. He had to access some of that power before Danala completely drained it. He had to control it so that she couldn�t. He used his connection to Tess through their linked hands to try and communicate to her what he was trying to do.

~*Tess!*~

**Michael!**

~*Help me, Tess!*~

**She�s our sister, Michael!**

~*She�s going to kill us! She does not care a flying fig about either of us. She�s one of them,Tess. You have to help me.*~

**But we�ll be alone!**

~*You will never be alone, Tess. I promise.*~

Michael could see images whirling through his younger sister�s mind. He knew her loneliness, recognized in it the same feeling he had always had growing up.

Flash*

Seven year old Tess breaking free of her pod, seeing the other three pods dark and empty, knowing that she had been abandoned.

Flash*

Ten year old Tess decorating Nasedo�s house for Christmas, then crying herself to sleep when he never came home.

Flash*

Sixteen year old Tess seeing Isabel across the quad at school, approaching her long-lost friend with her heart in her throat.

Flash*

Tess hearing Max telling Michael how to be romantic, realizing that he was in love with someone else.

Flash*

Max yelling at her, "You�r not one of us!"

Flash*

"I knew it was meant to be!" Ecstatic happiness that her destiny with Max had been confirmed by his mother on the message from the orb.

Max pushing her away from him with a simple, "No," and going after Liz.

Flash*

Michael and Isabel telling her that she had to stay in Roswell while they went to England with Liz, that she couldn�t help them bring Max home.

Flash*

Pam coming to Tess, telling her who she really was. Renewed hope that at last she wasn�t going to be alone.

Flash*

Kyle telling her that he loved her. Tess refusing to accept that it could be true. She had learned not to trust love.

Flash*

Tess realizing that Danala was evil, that she wanted Tess to be evil, that she could not be. She was alone again.

~*Tess! Listen to me! I promise that if you help me, you will never be alone again. Not ever.*~

He could hear Tess sobbing somewhere outside the connection. **How can I believe you? Everything I�ve ever been told has been a lie!**

Michael frantically searched his mind for an argument that would convince her. He was still competing with Danala for the energy in the room. He felt himself weakening in the battle against his older and more experienced sister. His legs were beginning to give out on him.

He had never been very good at controlling his powers.

He had gotten better - but in a tug-of-war against someone of Danala�s experience? He had already lived two separate lives in the years that she had been refining her gifts.

Finally he threw out the first thought that came to mind. ~* You�re an aunt!*~

**What! What on Earth are you talking about?**

Michael threw an image of Jennetta in his sister�s direction. He showed her all that his daughter was - her intelligence, her sweetness, her dimples - and then he threw her the image of Jennetta in the transformation pod, her eyes closed.

~*Help me, Tess!*~

Michael felt Tess� rage explode within her - rage that her brother was going to lose his child. He felt the exact moment that she began to help him absorb power from the walls around them.

The brightness of Danala�s energy was beginning to fade to the periphery of his vision. He and Tess were handling so much power it was drowning out the other girl�s.

And Michael knew exactly when they began to win, because Danala spoke to them.

~~Tristandor! Sabrya! Don�t betray me again! Please! I cannot bear it!~~

Michael felt his heart contract at her sobs. He felt Tess weakening beside him.

**Danala! We can still stop this!** Tess exclaimed. **You can stop this.**

~*Tess, she�s playing you!*~ Michael screamed at her with his mind.

~~Think about what the three of us could accomplish on Illyria together,~~ Danala offered.

She sent images of Michael, Tess, Danala, with Jennetta and Maria as well, gathered around a table, laughing, hugging. Michael blinked when he realized that Kyle was there as well. And then he knew. Tess loved Kyle.

Danala sent a picture of thousands of people in a square cheering for he and his sisters. ~~We can be a family again. All we need to do is rid ourselves of Jaxon Falconer and his silly twit of a sister once and for all. And then we can be together, my beloved ones.~~

Michael could feel Tess beginning to let go of their connection. Danala�s false promises were too tempting.

~*Tess! She�s lying! Fight it! You already have a family!*~ He sent her images of Max, Isabel, Liz, Alex. He tried to show her how much he loved them, tried to remind her of how much he knew she had come to love them too.

He sent her images of the carnage in Dernia - disaster after disaster caused by their older sister�s emotionless and incompetent rule. He remembered it all thanks to the orb.

He sent her images of the peaceful high kingdom of Illyria, of how beloved Max and Isabel were there, of how beloved they, Michael and Tess, had been there because their marriages had united two ancient enemies with a new hope of peace.

Finally he sent her an image of Danala killing Jennetta with a blast of her hand. The very idea of it made him physically sick, but this was no time for squeamishness.

He was fighting for his sister�s soul here. He was fighting for the lives of his nearest and dearest.

He would stop at nothing to win.

Michael sighed with relief when he felt Tess beginning to power up again.

He could feel Danala beginning to weaken. ~~Tris! Sabbie! No! Please!~~

But Michael felt no emotion from her. She wanted to win for the principle of it, but the irony of all ironies was that she was going to lose because she didn�t care.

She didn�t care about anything enough to win. Tess and Michael were going to defeat her with the power of their love for those they were protecting.

He realized that his sister Danala had been dead from the day she had entered her transformation pod in Dernia a generation ago. Living without emotion was not really living at all.

Michael grasped Tess� hand and made one last push to drain Danala. He felt her beginning to fade away. She was burning out. They were burning her life force out.

And then - with a flicker - she was gone.

Michael began slowly to disperse the energy he held within his fragile human body. He couldn�t quite believe the extent of it.

He spoke to Tess in his mind. ~*Let it go slowly, Tess. If we release it all at once we might still kill them all.*~

He felt that Tess understood.

It felt like an age before the last of the power they had collected was released. It then took another few moments for Michael to get his bearings.

He blinked, clearing his vision. He was still seeing dots in front of his eyes due to the damage the intense light they had created had caused.

Michael could see Isabel, Alex, and Kyle all huddled protectively in a little group over Max and Liz. Max and Liz had their arms wrapped around each other.

He saw Alex tentatively beginning to open his eyes. "Is it over? Did we win?" his friend asked in confusion. He was looking around, clearly searching for Danala�s body, for any sign that she was dead.

"She�s gone," Michael told them all quietly.

"You better mean gone as in dead, not gone as in "Uhoh! She escaped and will return to fight another day!" If Alex was joking, it meant he was going to be all right.

"She doesn�t exist anymore," Michael replied firmly.

"Michael." He realized that he was still holding Tess� hand. He looked down at his sister. "Thank you." Her blue eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"Thank you," Michael returned. He looked across the chamber at Maria, who was crouched against Jennetta�s pod. Her eyes were open and she was staring at him, her lips pressed together.

Michael took a deep breath, went to join her. "Are you all right?" he asked as he knelt down next to her.

"That was some light show," Maria replied, her tone unreadable. "Is she really gone?"

"Yes."

"So how are we going to find out how to fix our daughter?" she asked him, licking her lips.

Michael sighed, pulling her into his arms. All the anger he had felt at her for not telling him the truth about Jennetta the moment she found out drained away. There just wasn�t time for it.

Jennetta needed them strong and together.

"I don�t know," Michael finally told her, wishing above all things that he did.

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