Liz was the last to enter the transformation chamber. She caught sight of Kyle hurrying down the stone corridor from the opposite direction, just as she was about to go through the entrance. He seemed excited. Actually, he was grinning.

"Liz! You�re never going to believe what I found!" he exclaimed, pulling something out from behind his back.

Liz felt her eyes widen. It was her journal! A feeling of relief flooded through her, bringing tears to her eyes. She hadn�t realized how much she had missed the book that held the history of her relationship with Max, until Kyle placed it back in her hands.

"Where did you find this?" she finally managed to ask Kyle, her voice cracking slightly as she flipped through the familiar pages.

"There�s a gigantic library about ten minutes from here," Kyle explained as they made their way into the transformation chamber where the others were gathered. "There are like a million books and other things in there."

Liz snapped her head around to stare at Kyle. "Do you think there might be something in there that could help Jennetta?" Liz asked excitedly, her journal all but forgotten in the hope that suddenly claimed her.

Kyle just shook his head. "I can�t say, but, Liz, the place is huge. I don�t think we�d ever find it, even if it existed."

Liz sighed with disappointment. They entered the main chamber in time to hear Isabel saying, "I think that I might be able to connect with her. I got the feeling that she had something to tell us."

Kyle looked at Liz. "What�s going on?"

"Isabel thinks that Jennetta contacted her," Liz explained.

"I want to go with you!" Maria was replying, sounding upset. "If anyone should be able to connect with her, it�s me!"

"She called for me," Isabel said firmly. "I�m going in alone."

Ren shook his head. "I don�t know about this, my lady. Jennetta is absorbing very specific information in that pod. Even a momentary interruption could cause the whole system to break down."

"It�s breaking down already!" Michael interjected. "I say let her do it!"

"I cannot," Ren said. "My job is to see that she comes through the transformation safe and sound. I cannot allow the slightest�"

"I�m her father!" Michael yelled, looking like he wanted to punch Ren out.

"She belongs to Illyria," Ren replied simply. "Decisions about her safety must not be made arbitrarily."

Liz saw Alex step forward. He was as aware as she was that Michael was at the breaking point. He clearly intended to step in if his friend lost it and attacked the shapeshifter.

"But if she�s going to die anyway�" Maria trailed off. "Shouldn�t we find out what she wants us to know?" She moved forward, then touched Ren�s arm. "Please, Ren."

"I can�t." But Liz could hear the weakening in his voice.

Liz looked at Max. He was listening to the conversation in silence, an unreadable expression on his face. Liz wondered why he wasn�t intervening. She knew that if he commanded Ren to let Isabel try, that Ren would do it. He never refused a direct command from Max.

Just then the entire chamber was flooded with the same piercing squeal that Max and Liz had heard the last time a tear had appeared in the pod. Michael rushed forward, and ran his hands over the pod, finding the tear and closing it under his hand. Maria had thrown her hands over her ears, and was staring at Jennetta in horror.

"The tears are coming more often now, Ren," Tess said. "That�s the third time in the last ten minutes."

Liz saw Ren swallow. For once his face was not an implacable mask. He was biting his lip, undecided. He looked at Max for guidance. Liz watched Max raise an eyebrow at him. She frowned. What on Earth was going on in her boyfriend�s head? For once she could not read him at all.

"Very well." It sounded like Ren had to spit it out. He turned away. The group collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Liz wondered why they had all felt the same need to have Ren�s permission to do this. Michael and Maria were her parents. Max was like her brother, and was responsible for her on Earth. And, yet, they had all known that if Ren had not wanted Isabel to connect, they would not have done it.

Very strange.

Isabel moved forward, gently moving Michael aside. Her almost brother was still frantically running his hands over the pod, clearly searching for more tears. "Michael."

Michael turned to stare at her. "Izzy, please. You need to get her to tell you how we can help her!" For the first time since this whole disaster had happened, Michael really seemed on the verge of losing it. Liz felt her heart go out to him. He had been so strong - all for Maria, Liz knew. And, yet, he needed Jennetta even more than Liz�s best friend did.

Liz remembered how angry she had been at Michael during the months of Max�s disappearance. She remembered telling herself that she was going to forgive him when Max came back, but in her heart she never had. She and Michael were perfectly civil to each other, but they were not friends any longer.

But, in this instant, seeing him crumble - finally - Liz loved him. Maria seemed incapable of moving from the spot where she stood rooted, so Liz went and took Michael�s hand, pulling him out of Isabel�s way. She put her arm around him. "It will be okay," she whispered.

Michael stared down at her, his eyes blank. He swallowed, then nodded. Liz felt his spine beginning to straighten under her arm.

Isabel was rubbing her neck, staring at Jennetta�s face through the pod. She turned to Alex. "I need you to pull me out in fifteen minutes."

Alex nodded, looking worried, but as usual not trying to stop Isabel from what he knew she had to do. He knew her better than anyone else, and knew that holding her back was the way to lose her.

Liz held her breath as Isabel closed her eyes, and placed her hands directly on the pod.

***

Isabel opened her eyes, then looked around in confusion.

She was alone in a field of waving yellow grass. The sky above was the same yellow, peculiar and disturbing.

"Jennetta!" Isabel called her sister�s name, looking around desperately. She caught a glimpse of movement far to her right. She took a deep breath, and started walking in that direction.

Moments later, huge standing stones were looming above her. The place was exactly like Stonehenge, yet without the fallen stones, and without the destruction of centuries. The monoliths stood in symmetry, a perfect ring of power.

Isabel paused on the periphery, swallowed, then stepped through into the circle.

A tall, dark-haired girl - really a woman, although she was likely only a couple of years older than Isabel - was waiting for her. She looked familiar and yet not. "Hello?" Isabel said quietly.

The girl stepped forward, an expression of relief crossing her face. "Mirana! You came!" She rushed forward, grasping Isabel�s hands.

A series of flashes hit Isabel�s mind like a torrent of emotion. Michael and Maria�s faces, Max�s face, images of a palace, of a woman who looked like Isabel but was not her, images of pancakes, and Tabasco sauce, and Big Macs, images of an old man with a long white beard.

She blinked, then shook her head. "Jennetta?" she gasped. And Isabel realized suddenly why the girl looked so familiar. She looked like a cross between Michael and Maria - just like the little girl they had known and the adolescent in the pod did as well. Her hair was Michael�s light brown, her eyes the exact same shade as her father�s. Her face was all Maria�s though, from her pert nose to her rosebud lips. Her height had obviously been inherited from Michael, although she was slender and delicate boned like her mother.

"Yes, it�s me," Jennetta acknowledged. "You�re seeing how I will look when I come out of the pod. My internal maturation is almost complete," she explained at Isabel�s perplexed look. "The outside takes a little longer," she continued wryly. She sounded impatient actually. She sounded exactly like Michael.

Isabel reached out and hugged her, suddenly feeling a connection to this person that she had never allowed herself to feel before. This was Michael�s daughter. "Are you okay? Michael and Maria are seriously freaking out," Isabel told her. "Why did you call me here?"

Jennetta looked sad. "You have to let them know I�m all right, Mirana. This is what had to be. It was why I didn�t let Liz or Jaxon stop me when they tried. Danala did not know what she was doing when she put me in the pod, but I knew it was right. It�s my destiny."

Isabel flinched at the word. Destiny had not been kind to any of them. "But the pod is decomposing, Jennetta!" Isabel told her. She realized that time was running out. She had told Alex to pull her out of her trance after fifteen minutes. She had to be close to that time now.

Jennetta looked embarrassed. "Um, actually�that�s my fault."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I needed to get your attention somehow!" Jennetta explained defensively. "And I couldn�t contact you unless I had a way to send a message through the pod."

Isabel stared at her open-mouthed. "Are you telling me that everyone thinks you�re dying for no reason?" Isabel demanded, feeling a flash of anger.

Jennetta grimaced. "Not for no reason." She reached out and grabbed Isabel by the shoulders. "You must listen to me, Mirana, and hear me well. All is not well on Illyria. I do not know what is happening there, but I have been visited by Lucianus here - he teaches me - and I know that there is something desperately wrong." She paused. Isabel saw tears fill her eyes. "Our planet is in the greatest danger it has ever faced. You must find a way to contact Mother. You must find out what is happening! It is information that I will need when I come out of the pod."

"When will that be?" Isabel demanded, doing her best to take in what Jennetta was telling her. She was still trying to adjust to the fact that the girl was safe, and that she was not going to die.

"Soon," Jennetta replied. "Until then, you must keep this to yourself. I cannot have the others worrying. They have been through enough. They must continue to live their lives normally until the time of reckoning arrives. Tell my mother and father that I am well, that all is as it should be. Tell them I will return to them soon. But you must contact our Mother, Mirana. We must know what we are going to face when we go back."

Isabel started. "Go back?" A feeling of dread, unlike any she had ever felt before ran through her, like someone had stepped on her grave.

Jennetta sighed, nodded sadly. "You must find out what is happening, Mirana. You must!"

Isabel covered her face with her hands. Go back to Illyria! They were all going to have to go back! She could not face it. She did not want to go back. Earth was her home! She was going to have to leave her parents, and her friends�and Alex.

"Isabel!"

Isabel�s head snapped up. Alex�s voice. It was time to go back.

"Isabel! Wake up!"

"They are calling for you," Jennetta said, her eyes wide. "Remember what I have told you, Mirana. Tell them all will be well with me, but find out the truth! You must find out!"

"Isabel!"

"Jennetta!" Isabel screamed as Jennetta began to fade away in front of her. "Can we take them with us? Jennetta! Please! Answer me!"

"ISSSABBEELLLL!"

Isabel felt as though thousands of hands were grabbing at her. She was being dragged from the Ring. Jennetta stood perfectly still in the spot Isabel had left her. Her dark eyes were unreadable as she raised her hand in farewell.

"Jennetta! Tell me!"

But she was gone.

Part 52

Max watched Isabel�s eyes fly open. She had started screaming right before Alex finally pulled her out of the trance into which she had gone when she had connected with Jennetta. Her words had been indecipherable, but her last scream had gone through him like a knife.

"Jennetta! Tell me!"

Max hurried forward as Isabel collapsed into Alex�s arms. Her face was white. Max turned her around gently, placing his hands on both sides of his sister�s face. "Izzy? Are you okay?"

"What happened, Isabel?" Michael demanded. He was still standing with Liz. Max noted that he seemed to have gotten a handle on himself again. His stone wall was back in place. He seemed to be taking his strength from Liz.

Maria was standing nearby, her hands clenched in front of her, as though that was all that was keeping her on her feet.

"Give her a moment!" Alex snapped. He was stroking Isabel�s hair. She seemed to be in some sort of a daze still. Max stared into her eyes. He wasn�t sure if she was actually back with them yet.

Isabel�s eyes closed briefly and she gasped once for breath, but then began to breathe calmly. When her eyes opened, they found Michael�s face immediately. "She�s okay!" A smile broke across her face. "She�s fine, you guys! I spoke with her!"

Max could see incredulity cross Michael�s face. "You really talked to her?"

Isabel nodded, easing herself away from Max and Alex. "She�s really fine." She brought her hands up to cup Michael�s face, then pulled him into a hug. "She told me to tell you that she made the choice to be in that pod." Isabel pulled back, looking at Liz and then Max. "She said that neither of you could have stopped her. It was her destiny."

"But what about the pod?" Maria asked. "It�s falling apart!"

Isabel rolled her eyes. "She�s definitely your daughter," she told Michael, poking him in the chest. "She did that herself. She was trying to get our attention!"

Michael�s face darkened. "I think she gets that from Maria," he muttered.

Max looked at Isabel again. "There�s more, Isabel. What else did she tell you?"

His sister�s face whitened again. "She just told me that she was fine, that she would be coming out of the pod soon," Isabel replied evasively. Max frowned. Somehow he knew that his sister was lying to them.

"How soon?" Maria asked.

Isabel shrugged. "She just said soon."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Well, what do we do now?" Tess asked finally.

Isabel looked from face to face, deadly serious. "Jennetta said that we had to let things go back to normal," she told them. "I don�t think she wants us putting our lives on hold any longer." She paused, looking straight at Michael, then Maria. "She wants us to live our lives to the fullest, which means no more shift work."

"That�s ridiculous!" Michael bit out. "I have no intention of leaving her in this place all by herself!" Maria was nodding, moving closer to Michael and taking his hand.

"It�s what she wants, Michael!" Isabel replied stubbornly. "We have to respect it!"

"No." Michael shook his head. "No way!"

"Michael! You don�t understand!" Isabel said, sounding frustrated. "She isn�t a child anymore!" Isabel pointed at the pod. "She looks like a kid, but she�s not! I was talking to an adult in there - a very insistent adult. She is the Chosen One! We have to do what she asks!"

"I will stay with her." Ren spoke up for the first time since Isabel had emerged from her trance. "It is what I am here for."

"But why?" Maria asked, sounding like she wanted to cry. "Why doesn�t she want us with her?"

Isabel�s face softened. "Because she loves you, Maria. She knows how hard this has been for you. She wants you to have a life. She�s going to be with you soon enough. You need to live your lives until that time comes."

"I don�t know if I can," Maria said quietly.

"It won�t be a complete break." This came from Kyle, who had been listening quietly since he and Liz had come in. "We have other things to do around here."

Max frowned. "What do you mean, Kyle?"

He saw Kyle�s face harden momentarily. "I mean that I found something," Kyle replied. "Something that might give you guys all the answers you want."

Max saw Tess look at Kyle, one eyebrow raised. "I don�t know, Kyle�"

"I went back," Kyle told her, cutting her off abruptly. "And I got in. I wasn�t imagining things." He looked at Liz. "Show them."

Liz jumped. "Oh. I forgot!" She hurried over to the table where the two purple communicator orbs still sat from where Max and Liz had left them earlier in the evening. She picked up a book sitting beside them. "My journal!" she announced, a smile breaking across her face. Max smiled slightly to himself, momentarily amazed again at how beautiful she was and that she was his.

"Where was it?" Isabel asked, sounding relieved.

"There�s like a storage chamber slash library further underground," Kyle explained. "Tess and I found it earlier. Well, I found it," he amended. "Tess couldn�t see it. She couldn�t open it either."

"But clearly you went back," Tess said. "And youcould open it." She looked at Max, her blue eyes perplexed. "What does this mean, Max?" Max saw Kyle frown slightly.

"My question is: how did Liz�s journal get in there?" Alex demanded. "I thought Danala had it. And why would it be in an alien library anyway?"

Max scrubbed his hand across his face. He was suddenly exhausted. It seemed like every time they found any sort of answers, a whole new load of questions were dumped into their laps. "Well, I don�t know that we�re going to find out tonight," he finally told the others. As usual, they were all beginning to look at him, waiting for him to make a decision. He looked at Michael. "And I don�t think we should leave Jennetta alone either. We�ll just tone down how often we�re here. We can set up a schedule where a few of us come and relieve Ren for a couple of hours every day, but I don�t think it needs to be around the clock anymore." He frowned again, staring at the leather bound book that rested in Liz�s arms. "We can go check out this library tomorrow. In the meantime, I think we should all go home and get a good night�s sleep for once."

The others seemed to be in agreement, although Michael and Maria decided to stay with Jennetta for at least one more night, just to make sure that the pod was going to stay intact. There had not been another alarm since Isabel had returned from speaking with their sister, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Alex and Isabel left first, Isabel almost asleep on her feet. The connection with Jennetta had taken a lot of energy. Max knew that she was still hiding something. He could see it in her eyes as she turned for one last look at Jennetta, who was still floating peacefully in her pod. Max sighed, and decided that he would try talking to her in the morning. He did not miss that she paused to stare down at the purple communicator orbs sitting on the table though, nor that she carefully picked one up and put it in her purse.

Kyle left next. Max thought for a moment that he was going to offer Tess a ride home, but in the end he didn�t. Things seemed to be a little less tense between the two of them, but it was clear that they had not managed to really talk about what was going on with them.

And, so, when Max and Liz left, they took Tess with them in the Jeep. The conversation on the way back to town was casual and relaxed. Clearly they were all relieved that Jennetta was going to be all right. Somehow, now, it didn�t seem quite as tragic that Michael and Maria were not going to get the chance to be real parents to her. At least they knew that she was going to live.

The minute Tess exited the Jeep though, Liz turned to look at him seriously. "Okay, what�s going on."

Max blinked at her. "Huh?"

Liz just eyed him for a moment, raising her eyebrows. Then she said, "Why did you let Ren make the decision about Isabel going in to talk to Jennetta? You know that he would have done whatever you asked him to do."

Max put the Jeep into gear before he tried to answer. "I�m not sure why I did it," he finally told her honestly. "It just seemed that he needed to decide. I sometimes wonder�"

"What?" Liz asked quietly. "Whether you can trust him?"

As usual she had hit the nail right on the head. "He�s like Tarsus, Liz�or at least he was. I know Maria told us that he saved Jennetta�s life when she was a baby. I know that he technically had his emotions returned when he came through the portal, but I needed to know if he was able to make a decision that involved emotions. I needed to know if he would take a chance on something important. I remember how cold he was when she first went into that pod. He seemed incapable of understanding why we were upset�"

"So you were testing him," Liz finished.

"I guess I was," Max agreed. "To see if he could make a decision, take a chance. She obviously needed to talk to someone. I think she might have been lonely. I needed to know if he is capable of breaking the rules, to let emotion rule him on something that isn�t really going to make a difference in the long run. If Jennetta was going to die in that pod anyway, didn�t it make more sense for her to not be alone? If he couldn�t see that, then I didn�t want him around."

Max realized that he hadn�t even really been aware of what he was looking for from Ren when he let him make the decision. Now that he knew, he was pleased that Ren had passed the test Max had not even known he was giving him. Max knew that if Ren had refused in the end, Max would have ordered him to let Isabel be with Jennetta. He was glad that it had not come to that.

If Max had learned one thing on Illyria, it was that losing your ability to feel compassion was the one thing a leader should never allow to happen. If he was going to be any sort of leader, in whatever capacity, it was the one thing he would never allow to happen again. Max knew that the love he felt for his friends, for his family, for Liz above all, was what made him strong.

"Why now though?" Liz asked. "It�s been months, Max. Why were you testing him now?"

Max just shook his head. "I just have a feeling, Liz. Something�s coming, and I think that we need to know exactly who we can trust. Jennetta coming out of that pod - it�s going to be a new beginning. I have no idea where any of us fit into it. If she�s the Chosen One, where does that leave me, Isabel, Michael, and Tess? I can�t believe that our role on that planet is just going to disappear completely."

Max felt the flash of fear that ran through Liz as though it was his own. He turned his eyes from the road, looking at her. Her face had gone white. "Liz?" he asked worriedly. "What�s wrong?"

"Pull over," Liz said abruptly. They were on the main street of Roswell, close to the Crashdown. Max felt a genuine flash of fear of his own. He quickly pulled the Jeep over, then turned it off.

"What�s wrong?" Before he even had the words out again, Liz had her seat-belt off, and had turned to face him. She had her hands on both sides of his face, forcing him to look at her. "Liz?" He was truly scared now. He had never seen her act so strangely.

"You remember what you promised me," she said seriously, staring him straight into his eyes.

"What?" Max touched her face, felt his heart contract when tears began to fill her eyes. "Liz�"

"You promised me that you wouldn�t leave me behind again. I can�t do it again, Max. I mean it." She swallowed. "I need to be with you. I have to know that you�re safe. I cannot do it again, Max."

Max frowned slightly. For the first time, she was letting him see how hard it had been for her when he had been gone. She had been so preoccupied with helping him to regain his memory when he returned, it had never even occurred to him that she needed to be "healed" in a sense. He was very good at healing physical complaints, but he couldn�t believe that he had not realized how much she had suffered emotionally while he was gone. "Liz�"

She wiped at her eyes angrily. "Max," she retorted. "If you leave me behind, I swear I will follow you and you are not going to like what happens to you when I do find you!" Max stared at her. He felt his mouth fall open.

"Liz, listen to me," he finally managed to say. "I know what I promised you, and I meant it. We are never going to be separated again. At least not because I leave you behind." He reached out, tucking a stray lock of silky hair behind her ear. He pulled her into his arms. "Because I can�t let you go. Ever. You are my strength. I wouldn�t be me without you."

He felt Liz running her fingers through his hair. "I just know that something awful if going to happen if we let them separate us again, Max," she whispered. It didn�t sound like he had reassured her at all, or that it had anything to do with her not trusting him.

Max felt a shiver of dread run down his spine as he stroked Liz�s hair comfortingly.

Somehow he knew that he had been right.

Trouble was ahead.

Part 53

Liz woke up to sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. She rolled over and stretched, sighing. In that moment, before she was truly awake, she smiled softly to herself, and wondered when Max had gone home. She knew that he had still been lying beside her on the bed when she went to sleep. He had been stroking her hair, his heartbeat strong and steady under her ear, bringing her peace.

A shiver descended her spine and she was drawn back into the paralyzing feeling of terror that had immobilized her the night before, when Max started talking about his role as leader, and of the possibility of a return to Illyria.

She was completely awake now.

Max was worried about her after her little outburst the night before. She knew that he had never seen her like that before. The only time she had ever let fear control her like that was when Max had been taken by Pierce almost two years before.

The terror she had felt that night�she barely remembered anything from the moment she realized that it was Nasedo in that bus with her, until she had stumbled into Michael�s embrace several minutes later. Complete and utter fear for Max had practically rendered her incoherent.

She had hated that feeling more than anything, and had fought it ever since. When Max was gone the last time, she had managed to control it, using the promise she had made him to be strong for the others to solidify her resolve.

But now that he was back - that he was truly hers - she knew that if they were separated again�only horrible things would come of it. And not just for them.

Somehow she knew that if they lost each other again, every single person they cared about would be affected.

And, so, she had forced him to acknowledge his promise that he would never leave her again.

It was not that she did not trust him. Liz knew that when Max made a promise, especially to her, it was kept. She had just needed to hear it, to try and convince herself that it was enough.

But all the wonderful things he had said to her had not managed to do anything about the cold feeling that had her heart in its thrall.

Something was coming.

It upset Max, Liz knew, that she had been so irrationally terrified, but she had been unable to stop herself from clutching at him desperately after he had accompanied her up to her room, ordered her into her pajamas and had tucked her into bed.

"Don�t leave me, Max!" Liz insisted when it was clear that he meant to go home. His dark eyes had gazed at her for moment, concerned, but he took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms and had stayed until she fell asleep.

Liz sat up now, clutching her pillow to her chest. She rubbed her eyes wearily, and realized that she heard her parent�s phone ringing elsewhere in the apartment. Liz knew that both of her parents were likely dealing with the Saturday rush in the Crashdown, and that she should probably answer it, but she was just too tired to deal with it at the moment.

Her eyes lit on her journal, which was sitting on her bedside table. Her heart lightened marginally. At least they could stop worrying about that, although now there were even more questions.

They knew from Tess that Danala was the one who had taken it. It still freaked Liz out that Michael and Tess� emotionless and dangerous sister had been anywhere near her home, near her parents, which she must have been to get her hands on the book. But how had it ended up in this mysterious subterranean library that only Kyle Valenti of all people could see or access?

Liz stood up, dropped her pillow, and picked up her journal, flipping through it. She paused at the last written page, at the entry she had been in the middle of writing when Isabel called her with the first news that Max was on his way back to them.

"I'm Liz Parker and nine months ago I died.

Or at least that's what it feels like.

When you left Max - my life just ended. Oh, I go through the motions. I have kept my promise to you. I am strong. I am a rock. I am everyone else's shoulder to cry on.

I refuse to cry.

Max! Where are you???

I am trying so hard to be strong but it just gets harder and harder every day...

I feel so alone. I miss you so much.

Everyone misses you. It's like we've all gone to sleep waiting for you to come back..."

Liz slammed her journal shut, then resolutely removed the brick from the spot in the wall where she kept it. She placed her journal back in its rightful place, placing the brick carefully back.

No more! Liz told herself sternly. This is not you. You are not a scared little girl. You are going to make sure that nothing happens to Max or any of your friends. You are in control of your destiny, Liz Parker, and you are going to stay in control.

And the way to stay in control was to get as much information as possible.

Liz picked up her phone, then dialed Kyle�s number. When she rung off several minutes later, she breathed a sigh of semi-contentment.

Step one.

Liz was about to call Max to tell him what she was planning to do, when a knock sounded on her bedroom door, distracting her.

"Lizzie, honey? Can I come it?" It was her dad. Liz frowned slightly.

"Sure, Dad."

Mr. Parker cautiously opened the door, then poked his head around it. "I wasn�t sure if you were up, sweetie." He pushed the door open entirely. "You were home awfully late last night, Liz."

Liz grimaced. "I�m sorry, Dad. Alex was sick."

Mr. Parker frowned. "That was Amy Deluca on the phone," he interrupted her.

Liz blinked. "Oh, really?"

"She was wondering if Maria stayed over here last night. She never came home. Amy tried Michael�s, but he�s not home either. He didn�t come into work this morning."

Liz sighed. "I think Michael stayed with Maria at Alex�s," Liz explained, feeling guilty, as always, that she had to lie to her father.

Mr. Parker just raised an eyebrow. "Lizzie�" He sounded like he wanted to say something else.

"Yeah, Dad?" Liz was becoming distracted. She could feel her fingers tracing the digits to Max�s number on her phone. She stopped abruptly when she saw that her dad had noticed.

"Nothing." He sighed heavily. "What are your plans for today, sweetie?"

"Oh, Kyle and I have a project," Liz explained, pleased that she didn�t have to stretch the truth this time. They did have a project - just not for school.

"Okay." Mr. Parker moved forward, then kissed her on the forehead. "Be home for dinner. Your mom is cooking."

Liz nodded, watching him go, her heart heavy. She knew that her parents were doing their best to trust her, but it had to be hard. She had managed to cover her many overnight Jennetta baby-sitting sessions with various sleep-over excuses, aided by the Evanses and the sheriff, who could be counted on to cover for them, even though it upset them to do so.

The sheriff had even told Max a few weeks ago that he thought that all the parents should be brought in on the secret - that the support that they could provide would ease their burden somewhat. Max said that he would think about it, but Liz knew that he wasn�t seriously considering it. It had practically taken complete disaster for him to let Isabel tell their parents. Liz knew that he worried most about her parents� reaction - that they would hate him, and ban them from seeing each other.

Liz feared it too. Not her dad - he was reasonable - but her mom�she had the tendency to majorly over-react. She would not hate Max because of who he was, but she would be supremely uncomfortable by the information of how often Liz had been in danger because of who Max was.

Of course, the sheriff still did not know the whole truth either. While he knew that Jennetta was important on their home planet, and that she was in incubation, and that they were all protecting her, he didn�t know that she was Michael and Maria�s daughter. He believed, as did the Evanses, that she was Max and Isabel�s sister, and that was how they intended to keep it.

Liz shook herself. She didn�t have time to worry about her parents at the moment. There were answers to be uncovered, and they were waiting for them at the transformation chamber. She dialed Max�s number quickly.

***

Kyle sighed when Max�s Jeep pulled to a stop outside his house. Liz hadn�t mentioned that she was bringing King Max with her. He pressed his lips together even more tightly when he climbed into the Jeep and saw Tess staring back at him.

Liz turned around in her seat, smiling warmly. "Hi, Kyle!" He just stared back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Tess and Max wanted to come help. It�s probably best anyway. You know, so we can see if Max can open the library?" Her voice was heavy with forced cheer, pleading with him to not get upset.

When Liz had called Kyle that morning, she told him that she had been thinking about the library, and about why Tess couldn�t see it, but he could.

"Do you think it might be because of how Max changed us? That maybe I can open it too?" Liz asked him.

Kyle sighed at the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn�t like to be reminded that he had been changed. "I don�t know. I mean, it might explain why I can open it, but it doesn�t explain why Tess can�t."

"Well, I guess we�ll find out," Liz replied.

Now as they drove through the desert, towards the place Kyle had vowed to himself yesterday he would never be visiting again, he found that he was scared to find out what this all meant.

Because every single time he found out anything else about the Czechs, or about how they affected him, he was a little more tied to them. At the rate he was going, he might as well just start outfitting his spaceship for the return voyage to Illyria, because there was no way he was going to escape.

Kyle glanced at Tess out of the corner of his eye. She had been quiet since he got into the car, and was now staring out across the desert, her back tense. For the millionth time in his life he wondered what she was thinking.

Seeing movement in the front seat, Kyle turned back in time to see Max reach out and stroke Liz�s hair gently. He only did it a few times before returning his hand to the steering wheel, but Kyle grimaced, glancing at Tess again. He hoped she hadn�t seen that. He might resent the hell out of the fact that Evans had Tess� heart, that she didn�t care about Kyle as anything more than a friend, but it didn�t diminish the fact that he didn�t want to see her hurt.

Tess didn�t move. She just continued to gaze off into the distance, her blue eyes clouded.

"Tess?" Kyle nudged her lightly. "Are you okay?"

She turned abruptly, stared at him. "What?"

"You seem kind of distant," Kyle told her awkwardly. He wondered why he was even asking her. It wasn�t like she was going to open up in the same car as Max and Liz.

He realized that he really wanted her to say she was okay. Maybe, if she said it� He realized that he was being a complete tool. Saying that she was okay in front of Max and Liz did not mean that she was okay. It didn�t mean that she was not in love with Saint Max.

He did not want to see her glance uncomfortably towards the front seat, did not want to see her eyes meet Max�s in the rear-view mirror. Kyle watched in astonishment as Max raised an eyebrow at her. Kyle looked back at Tess. He saw her swallow and shake her head slightly.

What the hell? Were they having some sort of voodoo alien head talk? Kyle looked at Liz, who seemed oblivious. He saw Max reach out and take Liz�s hand.

He started when Tess touched his arm. "Kyle?"

"Huh?" He blinked at her. What the hell was going on here?

"I need to talk to you about something later, okay? I�"

Kyle could not process what she was saying. He was still trying to understand what he had just witnessed transpire between Max and Tess - and right in front of Liz!

"Okay?" He realized that it sounded more like a question than a definitive answer. He had absolutely no desire to talk to her alone, to have her ask his advice about Max, about how to let Liz down easily.

And Liz had no idea.

Anger - red hot and sudden - shot through him. Damn them both! They could stomp all over his feelings, but if Liz got hurt in their damn alien head games with each other�

He would kill them both. Gladly.

***

Tess trailed Max, Liz, and Kyle down the long, stone corridor. She was running her hand along the cool wall, feeling the pocks and ridges that marked where various symbols had been carved into the wall.

She frowned at Kyle�s back. He looked like he had a broomstick stuck in his shirt, he was so stiff. He was being really weird again. The tension between them had seemed to break slightly last night, but they were clearly back to square one, for some reason that she didn�t understand.

She knew that she had been ridiculously uncomfortable in the car, sitting beside Kyle in the back-seat and refusing to speak to him. But she was scared. Scared that if she opened her mouth, every hope and fear she had for the two of them would come tumbling out, embarrassing both of them in front of Max and Liz.

No matter how much Tess liked Max and Liz, and she did, she did not want them witnessing her attempt to work things out with Kyle. It was private.

Not to mention, she was new at putting her heart on her sleeve. She certainly wasn�t new at throwing herself at someone - she grimaced wryly at Max�s leather jacket clad back ahead of her - but she was new to the feelings that the person she wanted to throw herself at engendered.

She had never felt even half of these feelings when she wanted Max. With him, it was all about desperation, all about what she had been told was her destiny for her entire life. It had been about making Nasedo proud of her, about finally finding her place in the world.

With Kyle, she was pretty sure she had found it - without even trying�and it scared her to death.

But she was not going to hurt him again. She still remembered the stricken expression on his face when she had rejected him in Senor Chow�s all those months ago. How she could have been so callous? It sickened her. But she knew why.

She had been scared to death then too.

Tess sped up slightly when she realized that the trio ahead of her had stopped, and were staring at something on the wall.

They had arrived at the complex, quickly checked on Ren and Jennetta, but had almost immediately made their way down to where Kyle had found the library. Liz and Max had been hand in hand as usual, but Kyle had stiffly stalked away from Tess, apparently not even wanting to walk beside her for some reason that was beyond her. And, so, she had trailed behind, feeling sad and confused, and trying to regain the courage to confront him.

Now the three of them were staring back at her impatiently. She hurried to join them. "Let�s get this show on the road - and maybe finally get some answers," she told them, her voice much too cheerful, trying to hide where her thoughts had been.

Kyle was staring at her with hooded eyes. He frowned slightly, then turned to Liz. "Can you see it?"

Liz nodded. "A window, right?" Tess could see that Max was peering at the wall in much the same way she had yesterday. She was almost positive that he couldn�t see this so-called window either.

He confirmed it when he spoke. "I don�t see anything. Can you open it again, Kyle?" Tess saw Liz glance at Max, looking perplexed. Tess didn�t blame her. This whole situation was indeed strange.

Why on Earth could two humans see an alien library, while two aliens could not?

Kyle nodded, waving his hand over the spot where they had found the hand print. It shone out brightly moments later. He gestured to Max. "We already know Tess can�t open it. You should try, and then Liz."

Max nodded, then stepped forward, placing his hand squarely on the familiar symbol.

Tess realized that she was holding her breath. She let it out in a great gasp when nothing happened.

Kyle was still frowning. Tess saw his eyes meet Liz�s significantly. Liz stepped forward, placing her much smaller hand on the hand print.

Almost immediately the wall slid away.

Tess saw Liz and Max exchange a glance. Max looked completely stupefied. "Well, I guess we should go in," he finally decided, sounding weary. Tess didn�t blame him. All of this was just unleashing even more questions that they were unlikely ever to get answers for. Why did everything always have to be so weird?

She took a deep breath, stepped through the opening after Kyle - and gasped.

She had been sure that Kyle was exaggerating about the size of this place, but apparently not. Metal shelves stretched out in both directions, to the point that she couldn�t even see the end. Articles and books of every size and description filled the shelves to over-flowing.

"Max! What is this place?" she asked, knowing that he wouldn�t know either, but needing to speak.

"I have no idea," Max replied, picking up a tome from the nearest shelf. "How could all this stuff be here? We couldn�t have brought it all with us on the ship!"

"Can you read it, Max?" Liz asked, peering over his arm as he flipped through the metal book in his hand.

Max nodded. "I think so. Just give me a moment�" Liz squeezed his arm as he trailed off, then started to rummage through some other stuff nearby.

Tess stared at the book in Max�s hands. It looked very similar to the one Tess had found in the Roswell Public Library on her very first outing with Kyle all those years ago. Nasedo had told her where to find it, and had told her that if Max saw it, he would remember her�

Tess shuddered at the memory of how desperate she had been for Max, and Michael, and Isabel to remember her. She had been so lonely. She had felt bad about using Kyle then, but she saw the tension that existed between him and Liz, between him and Max. She knew that if Max and Liz thought that she was interested in Kyle, they would follow them.

Of course, she hadn�t realized at the time that they all thought she was a murdering maniac.

Tess felt a hysterical giggle about to erupt. Liz whipped her head around to stare at her, her eyes flashing with concern. Tess pinched her arm, forcing herself to calm down. She smiled wanly at Liz, then began to wander down one of the aisles, trailing her hand along the shelf.

She needed to be alone for a few minutes. Being around all these things - most of them likely from their home planet - it was hitting her over the head again. Earth was not her home.

Tess finally picked up a book off the nearest shelf and began to flip through it. It was written in the same strange series of dashes and dots as the destiny book too. The language was so familiar, and yet not. It was supremely frustrating.

She threw the volume back on the shelf, strolling down the aisle for a few more minutes.

It was incredibly quiet in this place. The lights came on as she touched hand prints on the shelves, which only reinforced how dusty it was in the room.

And that was when she saw it.

In a small alcove at the end of the aisle there was a small table, two books sitting on top of it, both silver and metallic like the one Max was looking at way behind her.

A single light was shining down on the table. Tess frowned, then moved forward. She glanced up at the rock ceiling above the table. She saw absolutely no source for the light.

Weird.

Tess picked up the nearest volume. Flipping through it, she felt her eyes widen.

Her own face stared back at her from the page. Max, Isabel, and Michael were also on the page.

Tess flipped the book shut, looked at the cover, then realized that it was another copy of the destiny book. She carefully placed it back on the table. She didn�t want to look at that at the moment.

She picked up the other book, expecting it to be the same.

Tess carelessly flipped through it. She paused briefly, when a page flashed past. Something had caught her eye. She flipped back to the page.

Her heart stopped.

This book was not the same. She heard a gasp behind her.

Tess whirled, slamming the book shut. She saw a white-faced Liz standing not two feet from her. She had obviously looked over Tess� shoulder to see what she was looking at. The two girls stared at each other in shock.

"Liz?" Tess did not like the look on the other girl�s face. Liz looked like she was about to pass out.

"Tess�" Liz managed to say in a strangled voice. "What�"

Tess just stared at her.

Liz tried again. "Did you see what I saw?"

Tess took a deep breath, then finally nodded. "If you�re wondering if I saw your picture in this book�well, yes I did."

The silence following this pronouncement was deafening.

Part 54

Tess and Liz were still staring at each other, both completely shocked by what they had found in the book that was still sat closed in Tess�s hands.

Liz jumped when she heard Max�s voice nearby. He was obviously talking to Kyle, but the words were indistinguishable. The size of this library was truly incredible. The fact that she and Tess could hear them at all meant that they were fairly close by.

Which also meant that they had to figure out what they were going to do with this book as soon as possible.

There was no question in Liz�s mind that she was going to tell Max about what they had found - and yet�

She remembered the horror of hearing that message from Max and Isabel�s mother that day in the pod chamber. She remembered how certain Max had been that he wanted to know the truth rather than live in ignorance�and their whole world had fallen apart the minute that message had finished playing.

They had to know what this book meant before she and Tess told anyone about it.

"Liz?" Tess sounded scared. "Should we�?" She trailed off, lifting the book questioningly.

"Open it," Liz replied firmly, taking a deep breath and straightening her back. She looked around carefully. "But hurry." Tess� eyes widened. She seemed to understand exactly what Liz was saying.

For the moment this would stay between Tess and Liz.

Tess opened the cover quickly, flipping through the pages and pages of impossible to read text.

And, then, there it was - Liz�s face staring up at them from the centre pages of the volume. And she was not alone. Max�s face was right beside hers.

Liz swallowed. Her heart was beating at about fifty times its usual pace. What on Earth could this mean?

"Liz?" Tess was looking at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Other than feeling like her entire world as she knew it was changing, Liz was fine.

She was an alien.

There was no other explanation for it. Not only that, she was somehow connected to Max - connected enough that her face was printed beside his in some alien text.

Her emotions were in complete turmoil. Fright, anger, confusion, betrayal. Her life was a complete lie!

Why had her parents never told her that she was adopted? What was the point of it? Why had she never had any powers until Max healed her? It wasn�t like she really had any incredible powers now either. She could connect with Max intimately, which was definitely special, but not in any way as powerful as Max�s ability to heal, or Tess� mind-warp, or Isabel�s gift of entering dreams, or Michael�s power to kill with a single blast from his hand.

And, yet, her overwhelming sentiment was one of great joy.

She had always known that she and Max were meant to be. The proof was finally sitting right there in Tess� hands.

But there was sadness too - that what they had was not as fateful as they had always believed. Just like Max had not chosen to be mated to Tess, apparently he had not chosen Liz either.

Or at least not without a lot of help.

Liz shook her head, trying to clear it of all the thoughts flooding it. She would have time to think about what this all meant later. For the moment they needed to figure out exactly what this book said.

"What�s that?" Liz asked, her eyes lighting on the other book sitting on the table nearby.

Tess glanced at it. "Oh." She paused. "That�s the book I found in the library a couple of years ago," she finally said reluctantly.

"The destiny book?" Liz asked. She had never seen it before, having only heard about it. She went and picked it up, flipping through it. She pressed her lips together at the pictures of Max and Tess holding hands, a baby in Tess� womb, of similar pictures of Michael and Isabel.

"I don�t understand," Tess was saying. "How can that be true, and this?" She held up the book in her hands, her expression perplexed. Liz was relieved that she didn�t seem particularly upset that, for one book to be accurate, the other had to be hogwash. But then Liz had known for a long time that Tess had never had half the feelings for Max that she, Liz, had. The fact that she was also madly in love with Kyle seemed to be softening the blow that maybe all that destiny talk had been just that�talk.

"I don�t know," Liz replied. "That�s what we need to find out." She glanced over her shoulder. She could feel Max�s presence getting closer. While she felt incredibly guilty that she was going to be keeping something of this magnitude from him, she convinced herself that it was for his own good.

She knew exactly how Max was going to react to this. He was going to be absolutely overjoyed. And while Liz certainly wanted that, she also didn�t want him to get his hopes up until they knew exactly what they were dealing with here.

"There�s only one person who can tell us what that thing says other than Max," Liz went on.

Tess nodded, understanding. "Ren."

"Right," Liz acknowledged. "And the sooner he tells us, the sooner we can tell the others."

"I�ll go take it to him right now," Tess replied. She turned on her heel, hurrying back in the direction of the door to the library.

"Tess!" Liz called after the fleeing blonde. Tess stopped abruptly, turning around. "Thank you," Liz said simply. Tess just smiled. She seemed to know that Liz was thanking her for far more than just going to Ren.

Liz was thanking her for giving up her claim to Max. She was thanking her for being a friend.

Because in Liz�s mind there was now no doubt that Tess was a friend. She was among the best.

Liz took a deep breath, then went off in search of Max, trying to put the entire matter out of her mind for the moment. She had to act normally around Max. She knew that he was already worried enough about her. If she started to act brittle and flighty - which was how she felt - he was going to get worried�and maybe even suspicious.

If there was one truth about Max Evans, it was that he knew Liz Parker. He was going to know she was hiding something.

Liz silently prayed that Ren cleared up the mystery as soon as possible.

***

Kyle was forcing himself to be civil to Max. It wasn�t Evans� fault, after all, that Tess was madly in love with him.

Although from what Kyle had witnessed in the Jeep an hour or so ago, and after those hugs he had witnessed in the quad at school yesterday, Kyle was beginning to wonder.

If Max was playing both girls, Tess and Liz, or if he was giving Tess false hope, Kyle was going to murder him, the fact that Evans was the King of a far-distant planet be damned.

But, for the moment, until he had real proof, he had to be cool.

"So, can you read it?" Kyle asked now. Liz had left a few minutes before to find Tess. Max seemed to understand why, although Kyle didn�t. Evans had just nodded, giving her an absent-minded squeeze before she disappeared. He had been engrossed in trying to decipher the alien text in front of him.

"As far as I can tell," Max replied, "It�s an agricultural treatise of some sort."

Kyle grimaced. "Like how to plant corn or something?" How boring was that?

"Sort of," Max replied, sounding tolerantly amused at Kyle�s tone.

Smug bastard, thought Kyle. Kyle knew damn well that Max was just as uninterested in planting corn as he, Kyle, be it alien corn or not.

"So you remember all this alien language then?" Kyle asked now, knowing he sounded confrontational but certainly not caring one iota.

"I remember the language," Max replied. "I remember being the Jaxon I was when I came back here, so I remember Illyria, what its like there and stuff like that. What I don�t remember," he continued, "is my first life as Jaxon. You know, the one that Tarsus didn�t invent."

Kyle felt a pang of sympathy despite himself. Max sounded sad. It had to suck to have your mind played with like that. It also had to suck to know that you had lived a whole other life that you couldn�t remember, especially one that had apparently ended so badly.

Max shrugged off whatever sadness he was feeling though, and was beginning to rifle through other volumes on the shelves. Kyle sighed, starting to do the same, although if all the books here were as boring as that one on farming, well, he wasn�t really sure why they were bothering.

Several minutes later, Liz appeared from a nearby aisle. "Hi," she said to both of them, her voice sounding a little strange - all squeaky actually. "Find anything interesting?"

Kyle saw Max pause in the middle of sorting some books nearby. He stared at Liz, apparently also hearing in Liz�s voice whatever it was Kyle had heard. "What�s wrong?" he demanded, glancing behind her briefly before returning his eyes to Liz�s face. "Where�s Tess?"

"Nothing�s wrong," Liz replied. Her voice sounded a little stronger. "I guess I�m just a little tired." She turned away, then picked up a book from a shelf beside her and began to turn the pages. "Oh, and Tess went to talk to Ren about something." She glanced at Kyle momentarily, then looked away.

What the hell?

Kyle looked at Max, who was still staring at Liz suspiciously.

"I think I�ll go find her," Kyle said suddenly. Liz�s head snapped up. Her eyes widened.

"Kyle, I don�t think that�s a very good idea," she said, much too quickly.

"Why not?" Kyle demanded. Max looked confused too.

"What�s going on Liz?" Max asked, sounding worried.

"Nothing," Liz insisted. "Tess just needs to talk to Ren about something to do with Illyria, and she needs to do it alone." Kyle did not miss the significant look she sent Max. He seemed to relax minutely, as thought he suddenly understood something.

Kyle frowned. This had something to do with him. He just knew it. Apparently no one wanted him to know, but he was damn well going to find out what was going on around here.

But first he had to get away without either Max or Liz stopping him.

"Whatever," he said, trying to make his voice sound as unconcerned as he could. "I�m going to look down here." He indicated another aisle. Max nodded, still looking at Liz.

Kyle hurried down the aisle, then paused to look back. He saw Max talking seriously to Liz. He saw Liz reaching up to stroke his hair. She took his hand and pulled him off in the opposite direction.

For the first time Kyle felt real gratitude that Liz and Max couldn�t seem to keep their hands off each other. It was the distraction he needed. He turned abruptly and made his way back the way he had come. He was soon back out in the stone corridor and hurrying towards the transformation chamber where Kyle knew Tess would have gone to find Ren. He couldn�t be that far behind her.

What seemed like eons later, Kyle reached the spot where the entrance to the transformation chamber was located. He swiped his hand across the wall, then placed his palm squarely on the familiar silver hand print.

The entrance swung open and, for one moment, Kyle considered what Liz had said - that whatever it was Tess was talking to Ren about was private. But he had to know if she was talking to the shapeshifter about him. He had to know, once and for all, if he had any chance with this girl.

Kyle entered the short corridor leading to the chamber proper. He paused behind the overhang that guarded the large room. Tess� voice floated out to him quite clearly.

"�know what it means?" she was asking, sounding agitated.

"Not really," Ren replied, sounding perplexed, or as perplexed as Mr. Poker-face was capable of sounding anyway. "This doesn�t make any sense."

"But it changes things. Doesn�t it?" Tess� voice was a combination of confusion and excitement.

"It doesn�t change what Jaxon was to you, Sabrya," Ren said seriously. "He was your husband. I don�t know how Liz fits into that equation."

Kyle felt his heart stop. What the hell were they talking about? Was Tess asking the shapeshifter if there was a way that Max could be with both Tess and Liz?

"But she does fit somehow�obviously," Tess continued, sounding like she was trying to work something out in her head. "I mean, it was sitting right there beside the destiny book. So maybe she can be with Max and we can still follow destiny."

"I don�t know," Ren was saying, although Kyle could barely hear him through the rushing of the blood through his brain.

All he heard over and over was "we can still follow destiny�we can still follow destiny�"

It had never been more clear that Tess Harding had not given up her hope that she and Max were going to be together someday. Apparently she wanted it so badly, she was even willing to share him with Liz.

His first reaction was complete and utter amusement at the absurdity of the idea. He almost broke down laughing hysterically at the strange idea of Liz as an alien king�s concubine. That was so not happening. Not if he had anything to say about.

And then the pain hit.

Kyle wondered why it hurt so much to hear those words coming out of Tess� mouth. He had known it all along. He had known that she was pining for Max, that she was never going to get over him, but it still felt like she reached her small hands into Kyle�s chest to rip his heart out.

His knees felt weak. He collapsed against the stone overhang, smashing his head against the rock accidentally. "Dammit!" he groaned without meaning too.

He wasn�t sure if the daze in which he found himself was from the pain in his head or the pain in his heart.

All conversation within the transformation chamber stopped abruptly.

A moment later both Ren and Tess were staring at him, Ren frowning, Tess looking scared.

"Kyle!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? How much did you hear?"

Kyle did not look at her face. He had to get out of there before he was physically ill. "I was just leaving." He hoisted himself off the ground, where he found himself after hitting his head.

"Kyle!" Tess took a step towards him as though she wanted to help him.

"Stay away from me," Kyle bit out. "I�m leaving. I can�t deal with you right now."

He was half-way out the entrance when Tess called after him. "You can�t leave, Kyle! You don�t have a car here!"

Dammit!

"I�ll call my dad," he replied. "Just stay away from me."

"Kyle!" Tess pleaded. He could feel her close behind him. "It�s not what you think! Liz and I�"

"Don�t even say it," Kyle ground out. "I know that Liz has nothing to do with this. I know Liz. And apparently I was right about you all along too."

He stalked off. He knew that Tess was not following him. He heard her gasp, took it for outrage, since he had basically just called her a slut. Not that he had ever thought of her that way - in fact still didn�t.

She was just a girl in love with another guy. She had never lied to him. She had never tried to hide it.

She had never been his.

Kyle wondered why he was having such a hard time seeing in front of him. All the lights were still on in the underground complex.

And then he understood. He was crying.

Part 55

Max watched Liz�s back disappear through the doorway into the Crashdown, a slight frown on his face.

There was no doubt that she had been behaving strangely ever since she went to have her talk with Tess in the library. She had been doing her best to hide it but he knew her. The tension had been coming off of her in waves, and, yet, no matter how many times he asked her, she just denied that anything was wrong. She had even kissed him a couple times in hopes of distracting him, but what had been more distracting was the fact that she clamped down on all of her emotions before doing so.

When she shut off the connection, Max knew for sure she was hiding something.

Tess was acting just as peculiarly. She had been glassy-eyed and staring when she had come back to the library after talking to Ren. She looked right at Liz, shaking her head slightly.

"Where�s Kyle?" Max asked the logical question, but was perplexed when Tess replied that he had called his dad to pick him up. Something about basketball practice, she explained, but Max did not buy it for a minute. Her tone of voice was choked, and it was clear that Tess was holding in her feelings by the barest thread.

Max raised an eyebrow at this, but hadn�t pushed the point, sure that Liz would tell him what was going on eventually. But even when they were alone, Liz chattered on about inane things - about how exciting the library was, about their biology test on Monday. Her hands were clenched in her lap and she stared straight out the front wind-shield of the Jeep, effectively not allowing him to get a decent glimpse of her face, in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

And when he finally pulled up in front of the her parent�s restaurant, she seemed actually eager to get out of the car. He had never seen her like that before. Usually they dragged out every minute until they had to be separated, even to the point that, sometimes, he had to pretend to leave and would then come and visit her on her balcony. But this time, she couldn�t get out of the Jeep fast enough. She kissed him distractedly, told him that she would call him later, and then she was gone.

Something had happened. There was now no question. And there was only one person who could fill him in.

Max backed the Jeep out of its parking spot and drove to Kyle�s.

***

Liz hung up the phone, sighing in frustration. She had just spent twenty minutes talking to Tess. Ren had been unable to really tell her anything about the book. The language was apparently Illyrian, but a strange dialect of it which had made deciphering the text the work of several days - like Chaucer�s English in comparison to present-day English. Tess had left the book with Ren in hopes that he would be able to make heads or tails of it.

It was then that Tess told Liz about what Kyle had overheard.

"He totally flipped out, Liz!" Tess exclaimed, her upset reflected in her voice on the telephone line. "He wouldn�t even listen to me. I�m not even sure what he heard, but clearly he took it the wrong way! I couldn�t even tell you in front of Max because he doesn�t know about any of this."

"I�ll talk to Kyle. It will be all right, Tess," Liz promised. And she had every intention of doing so, but she had something else to take care of first.

She knew that Max was more than aware that she was hiding something from him. The hurt look on his face when she kissed him goodbye an hour before had almost made her spill everything, but she had to get more information first. She had to protect him, had to find out what all of this meant. She had to know if it would hurt him in any way.

As soon as Ren told her anything, she would tell Max everything.

In the meantime, she had to go have dinner with her parents. Which was perfect, because she had every intention of finding out what they knew about the insanity that had suddenly become her life.

Several minutes later, Liz was seated at the dining room table. Her dad was at one end, her mom at the other, and they were laughing about some strange customer who had been in the restaurant that day.

"So then he says �Have you ever seen any aliens?�" Jeff told them. "I told him only every day, and that he was certainly among the strangest I had ever seen, and then he thanked me."

Liz smiled weakly as her parents broke down into gales of laughter again.

"This crazy town." Nancy Parker wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "It�s certainly never boring!"

That was the understatement of the year, Liz thought.

Jeff was still chuckling when he noticed that Liz wasn�t really paying attention to his story. "Is something wrong, honey?" He frowned slightly. "Did you have a fight with Max?"

Liz felt a flash of annoyance. "No! I do think of things besides Max, you know, Dad!"

Liz mentally kicked herself as Jeff blinked, then looked down the table at his wife, who shrugged. "I know that, honey. You just seem sort of distant."

"Did you know that Max is adopted?" Liz asked her parents suddenly. Great Liz, she reflected, as Nancy and Jeff exchanged another perplexed look, now they�re really going to think you�re bonkers.

"Sure, we did, honey" Nancy replied finally. "A lot of people know how the Evans found them? Did you just find this out, sweetie? Is Max upset about it or something?"

Liz shook her head. "No," she told them. "I just thought that you might not know." Liz examined both of her parents, trying to look casual. She searched for a flash of guilt, or surprise, or anger on either of their faces, but they both looked completely open.

"Sometimes I feel we don�t know much about Max," Jeff told Liz, clearly pleased that she had broached the subject. "Maybe we should have invited him for dinner tonight."

"Maybe," Liz replied non-committally. She was more confused than ever. She wondered if she should just come out and ask her parents if she was adopted. But then they would want to know why, and what was she supposed to say? Oh, because I found my picture in an alien book and it looks like I am linked to an alien king for some reason that I don�t understand. That would go over just great.

"He�s been back for quite a while," Nancy interjected. "Is he getting caught up at school? How is he doing?"

"He�s doing great," Liz said hurriedly. "I�m sure he would love to come over for dinner some night."

"I often think about how hard that whole situation must have been for his family," Nancy continued. "What a miracle it was when he came back! But it must have been even more difficult for Max�to not know who you are for all that time, or where you came from!" Nancy just shook her head in sympathy.

Liz stared at her mother. She seemed to be opening the door for this conversation!

"Do you ever wonder about where you came from mom?" Liz asked quickly

Nancy blinked again. "I know where I came from, Liz. I came from Florida. I was born there. I met your dad in university, and we�ve been happy ever since." She smiled down the table at her husband, who smiled back affectionately.

"What�s this all about, Lizzie?" Jeff asked a moment later.

"I just realized earlier that we never talk about what it was like when you and mom were kids," Liz told him. "I want to know more about you. I mean, I need stories to tell my kids about their grandparents."

"Liz, don�t you think its a bit soon to be thinking about your children?" Nancy inquired. Suddenly she blanched. "Wait a minute! This isn�t about what I think it is?"

Liz frowned. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"Liz." Nancy looked like she was about to be ill. "You and Max�"

Liz glanced at her father. He looked just as confused as she, Liz, did. "What, Mom?"

"You aren�t pregnant?" Nancy almost choked on the last word. "Is that why you�re always so secretive?��

"What!" Both Liz and Jeff yelled at the same time. Jeff turned to look at his daughter in horror, while Liz just brought her hand to her forehead in frustration, and then started to laugh, although this situation was certainly the farthest thing from funny there was.

"No, Mom!" she managed to say, through giggles. She placed her head down on the table and laughed.

"I just wanted to know if I was adopted!" she finally managed to tell her parents.

The room became deadly silent. Liz stopped laughing as abruptly as she had started. Nancy and Jeff were staring at each other.

"Mom?" Liz asked, feeling scared suddenly.

"Liz! Whatever gave you that idea?" Nancy finally asked, sounding forcibly cheerful. "Of course you�re not adopted! You look exactly like your father!"

Liz turned to look at her dad. He was avoiding her eyes. "Dad?"

"You�re not adopted, Liz," Jeff said firmly, finally looking her right in the eye. "I was in the hospital room with your mother the day you were born."

Liz looked from one to the other suspiciously. She believed them. She knew her parents, and she was pretty sure that she would know if they were lying to her.

And, yet�

She excused herself several minutes later and went to call Max.

It was time to tell him the truth. She needed him.

***

Max flopped back on his bed in frustration, glancing at the clock on his bedside table. It was late - almost eleven o�clock.

Where the hell was Kyle?

There had been no one home at the Valenti house when went there from the Crashdown. Max had then driven to the school, remembering what Tess had said about basketball practice - but the school was locked down tightly. Clearly no practice had taken place there recently.

Max had even gone so far as to call the sheriff at work. Valenti told him that he had no idea where Kyle was. As far as he knew he was still working on that school project with Liz.

"What is this about, Mr. Evans?" the sheriff asked suspiciously when Max was silent for a moment or two after that announcement.

"Nothing," Max replied quickly. "Can you just ask him to call me when you see him?"

The sheriff agreed, but Max could tell that he was not satisfied. Max felt bad. They had done their best to keep the sheriff out of as much of their business as possible since the whole White Room/Destiny fiasco. He had been extremely helpful when Max disappeared too, but Max still felt wary about getting him too involved. He didn�t want what he was to get the sheriff into hot water, worried still that Valenti might get into trouble for bending the laws he already had on their behalf.

They owed the sheriff too much already.

Unfortunately, Kyle�s connection to Tess was making keeping the sheriff out of it more difficult with every passing day. The fact that Kyle was changed by what had happened when Max healed him�it meant that nothing would ever be the same for the Valenti family again.

Every single person Max came into contact with suffered in some way.

When Max finally returned home from his search for Kyle, his parents and Isabel were standing in the front hall with their coats on.

"You�re just in time, Max!" Diane Evans exclaimed, sounding pleased. "We�re going to Senor Chow�s for dinner. We thought you might be at the Crashdown, but now you can come with us."

Max considered begging off, but one glance at the dirty look Isabel sent him and he agreed. Max knew that Isabel still thought that he was a little stand-offish with his parent, and wanted him to change. It was just hard for Max. He was grateful that his parents knew the truth, and that they loved him anyway, but he was still Max Evans. The only person he ever really opened up to was Liz. That wasn�t ever going to change, no matter how much Izzy wanted them to be one big happy family.

He loved his parents, and trusted them, but he was still always on guard.

The Evans had not returned home until about fifteen minutes before. Max was now exhausted and full of food that wasn't sitting very comfortably in his stomach. Nothing was right with his world when things were weird with Liz.

He sat up with a jolt when, at that exact moment, a soft tap came at the window. He knew it was Liz immediately. He could feel her presence, and the only other person who ever came to his window was Michael, a ritual that had virtually ended when Michael got his own place.

Besides, Michael rarely had any qualms about barging right in. A polite little tap was not Michael.

Max hurried to the window, opened it, then smiled with pleasure at Liz, who lit up at the sight of him.

"Finally!" she said as he helped her through the window. She threw her arms around his neck, sending them both careening across the room, and tumbling onto the bed. She kissed him until he was dizzy. "Where have you been?" she demanded several minutes later, when he finally managed to come up for air. "I came over earlier, but when you weren�t here, I went to Alex�s to wait. He didn�t know where you guys were either!"

"Out for dinner with my parents!" Max gasped, pushing her long dark hair away from her face. "What the heck is going on, Liz?"

Liz�s expression darkened. "I guess I don�t have to tell you that I haven�t been straight with you today," she finally managed to say, sounding guilty.

The feeling of relief that flooded through Max was almost weakening in its intensity. "I suspected as much," he replied lightly, stroking his hands through her hair. "What�s wrong?"

"I don�t know if anything is wrong," Liz replied evasively. "I don�t think I know anything anymore."

Max ceased the movement of his hands, which seemed to have a mind of their own when it came to Liz. "What do you mean?" He could feel her confusion and fear, and yet there was a mingled sense of pleasure as well.

Liz touched his face, her expression tentative. "Tess and I found something today," she began.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Liz to tell him everything. He just stared at her in shock when she told him about the book, about their pictures, about the fact that Ren couldn�t decipher it, about questioning her parents about her heritage.

When she finally finished, he was silent for several moments. An overwhelming sense of peace was settling over him, as though the missing pieces of a long-running puzzle were finally falling into place.

He had know it all along. Liz was his destiny. It wasn�t even a matter of choosing it anymore, although it was the thing he wanted above all others. She was his. For good. And no one could deny it anymore.

"Max?" Liz�s voice was small as he continued to lie beside her silently, just enjoying the way her hair brushed against his neck when her head was on his shoulder, as it currently was.

"I don�t think I�ve ever been so completely happy in my entire life," he finally told her. He felt Liz shudder in relief. He flipped over onto his elbow so that he could look at her face. "But why didn�t you tell me this right away?" he asked, not angry, just curious. He knew that she had to have had a good reason.

Liz was staring up at him, her eyes dark pools of doubt. "Max, we don�t know for sure what it means! This is why I didn�t tell you right away. I knew that you would get all dreamy, and we can�t let this cloud our judgment. What if it doesn�t mean what we think it means? What will we do then?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I care?" he asked gently. "This only reinforces what we�ve known all along. We belong together."

Liz still looked worried. Max was determined to make her feel better. He lowered his head, kissing her gently on her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, her nose. She was sighing when he finally reached her mouth.

He felt the connection open between them immediately. He let himself fall into it. The love she felt for him was humbling and, yet, it completed him as well.

There were no more words for a very long time.

Part 56

Isabel sat on her bed, staring at the purple orb that sat on her bedside table. She was frozen with indecision.

The dinner out with her parents and her brother had only made her fear worse. It had only emphasized how much she loved her life on Earth, and how little she wanted to go back to Illyria.

And, yet, she knew that she had to find out what was happening there. Jennetta had been so sure that something was wrong.

Isabel had only seen her real mother once, that time they had played the destiny message in the pod chamber. She had only spoken to her once directly, when they had managed to use Stonehenge as an interstellar telephone booth. Diane Evans was her mom. There was no question about it. Isabel almost felt like she was betraying her mom by even considering contacting Milena. And, yet, she wanted to.

But then again, she didn�t. She didn�t want to know, didn�t want to be told that they had to go back, that she had to leave Alex, and Maria, and Liz, and Kyle, and her parents behind.

And, so, Isabel stared at the orb, trying to ignore the fact that it felt like it was calling to her - "Use me! Use me!"

For the three thousandth time since yesterday, Isabel considered going to Max, telling him the truth about what Jennetta had asked her to do - in fact had insisted that she do. Let him make the decision! He was the king!

But she already knew what Max would say. He would say that they had a duty to find out the truth. And that would land her right back where she was - in indecision-land. Because just being told to do it was not going to be enough. And then Max would be mad at her.

Isabel sighed, then picked up the orb, turning it over in her hands. Just do it, Isabel! she commanded herself internally. Close your eyes and try to use it!

She dropped the smooth rock onto the bed beside her. She was going to talk to Max. Maybe it would be easier if he told her what to do, after all.

Isabel stood up quickly, smoothing down her red silk pajamas and patted her hair. She didn�t want Max to see how flustered she was. She wanted to do and say what needed to be said on her own terms.

She was in front of her brother�s door with her arm raised to knock when she suddenly became aware of soft voices in his room. He wasn�t alone. Isabel realized that it had to be Liz, and that she had likely come through the window. No one else would be in Max�s room so late.

She couldn�t do it tonight then. She wouldn�t do it until she spoke with Max.

Isabel rolled her eyes, letting the annoyance rush through her. While she loved Liz like a sister, it was very irritating on occasion to have to always come second with her brother.

She refused to allow herself to reflect on the fact that it was almost a relief to be able to blame someone else for not being able to use the communicator. It wasn�t her fault. She wasn�t afraid. She had just decided that Max should know, that was all! Since he and Liz couldn�t seem to spend a minute apart, it would just have to wait.

She refused to reflect on the fact that Max would just tell Liz everything about their conversation anyway, and that Isabel could easily go in there and ask them both of them what she should do.

Tomorrow would be soon enough.

Isabel marched back into her room, resolutely pushing the orb near her pillow. She would talk to Max tomorrow. Everything would be fine.

She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but finally, close to dawn, Isabel drifted off into a light sleep. She didn�t even notice that the orb was touching her hand.

It was only later that she realized that was probably why it happened.

***

*DREAMS* Isabel

Isabel sat up, blinking.

She looked around, confusion flowing through her. She was sprawled on a white marble floor, the cold seeping through her silk pajamas, as though she was naked. There were tall windows covering the white walls surrounding her, a dull yellow light seeping through and making the walls muted as well.

The silence was deafening.

Isabel shivered. She felt as though she was freezing to death. She didn�t like this dream. Fortunately one of the benefits of being a dreamwalker was that she could wake herself up out of dreams she was not enjoying. And she was definitely not enjoying this dream. Being uncomfortable and cold were not options when she could be dreaming about living in New York with Alex, Isabel a famous super-model, Alex a gazillionaire because he had invented some new amazing software for Microsoft.

Isabel shivered again, then pinched herself.

Nothing happened. She stayed exactly where she was.

Isabel frowned slightly, then pinched herself again, harder this time. She closed her eyes, knowing that when she opened them, she would either be awake or on a beach in Maui with Alex and her friends sipping Mai-tais.

And, yet, she was supremely not surprised to find herself still freezing and in the white chamber when she opened her eyes.

Suddenly fear claimed her. Was she dead? Had she died in her sleep, destined never to wake up?

It was then that she became aware of the fact that the silence was no longer solid. She could hear screaming and strange crashing noises coming from somewhere.

She climbed unsteadily to her feet, looking around for a door-way. There didn�t seem to be one anywhere. Isabel moved towards one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, then cautiously peered out.

She found herself staring into hell.

***

"Max!"

Max sat bolt upright in bed, wincing when he realized that Liz had still been cradled against his chest. He glanced at the clock. It was 5:14 a.m. Their parents were going to kill them!

Liz�s eyelashes were beginning to flutter, as she became aware of the loss of Max�s warmth. "Mmmmm�Max?"

Max stared down at her for a moment, wondering what it was that had jolted him awake.

And then it came again. "Max!"

It sounded like a wail and a plea rolled into one. Liz�s eyes snapped open. She stared up at him in shock.

"Izzy!" they both said at the same time.

Max was on his feet and out his bedroom door in two seconds flat. His mom and dad were already stirring in their bedroom. "Isabel!" Max heard his mother stumbling around in the stupor of someone just woken from a sound sleep.

Max didn�t pause. He threw open his sister�s door, and saw that she was lying on her bed, her hands clasped around an object that was resting on her stomach.

She was weeping silently now. Max could see that she was still asleep.

He fell to his knees beside her bed. "Isabel! Wake up!" Max felt Liz come up behind him. He could feel her concern coming off of her in waves.

He tried to shut out the way Liz always seemed to claim all of his senses whenever he was in her presence. He had to worry about Isabel now. "Isabel!" Max gently shook her. She continued to weep, then suddenly let out another ear-piercing shriek.

"Jax! Mother!!!"

Max flinched. He realized that she had not been saying "Max" at all, but rather "Jax," as in "Jaxon." Something was definitely wrong.

"Tris!"

Max felt helpless. He continued to shake Isabel, but she refused to open her eyes. She seemed to be trapped in a nightmare.

Max could hear Liz speaking quietly to his parents, who were now both in the room as well. He ignored them, placing his hands on Isabel�s temples and struggling to connect with her.

He knew what he had to do. He had to go in and haul her out of whatever horrifying dream she had become entrapped in.

The images began to flow fast and furious.

Flash*

Isabel, accompanied by Michael, bursting into a chamber. He could feel Izzy�s absolute terror. He felt her heart stop in horror at the sight that she and Michael found. Max recognized himself sprawled on the floor, blood seeping out from beneath him. He saw Tess lying peacefully on the bed in the room, looking like she was sleeping, except for the blood that stained the pillow behind her head. And suddenly the girl on the bed was no longer Tess. It was Liz. Max felt Isabel�s terror becoming a frenzied crescendo.

Flash*

Isabel in a long, white, blood-stained gown. Max realized that she was cradling a body in her arms. It was Michael. He could feel her fear, and yet resignation, as faceless beings advanced on her. She knew she was going to die. And suddenly the boy dead in his sister�s arms was no longer Michael. It was Alex�and Isabel�s grief increased ten-fold.

Flash*

Bodies everywhere. Blood stained the walls of a white marble chamber. A room lit by a dull yellow light.

Flash*

A woman, Max saw that it was their real mother, standing in the Waylandian Ring, her arms outstretched. "Save me my daughter! Mirana! Save me!"

Max could feel himself beginning to get lost in the flashes. They seemed to be repeating on a constant loop. He had to get Isabel out of there.

"Izzy! Isabel!" He called her name, searching for her conscious self amongst all the chaos that existed within her mind.

He could feel his sister slipping away into insanity. Her mind was like a thin thread. He didn�t know how he saw it, but he did. It gleamed in front of him like spun gold. He reached for it, using his mind to strengthen it, then gently started to pull on it, literally hauling his sister out of her nightmare.

As suddenly as he was in Isabel�s mind, he was out.

Max collapsed onto the bed.

It seemed like a very long time before he realized that Liz was beside him, lightly stroking his face. "Max! Wake up, my love! Max!"

He closed his eyes momentarily, then reopened them and focused on Liz�s face. She was looking at him with fear in her eyes.

"Isabel?" he croaked, after trying twice.

"She had one of the purple orbs in her hands, Max," Liz told him quietly. "I took it away, and she woke up."

Max looked across the bed, and saw that his sister was sitting up, was being cradled in their mother�s arms. His sister was staring straight ahead, her beautiful dark eyes hollow and almost dead. He frowned. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"At least five minutes," Liz replied, pulling him off the floor and onto the bed beside her. "Are you all right?" She was running her hands all over his body, checking for injuries, although he could have told her that she wasn�t going to find anything physically wrong with him.

It was all in his mind. He knew he was never going to be able to erase those horrifying images he had seen in his sister�s head.

Max turned to look at Isabel again. She was still staring off into nothingness, her dark eyes still wide and blank. She was clutching their mother as though she never wanted to let go. Diane was stroking her blonde hair, crooning nonsense, trying to soothe her.

Max couldn�t even begin to imagine how she was suffering. While he had only been a witness, she had been living those horrible things.

And suddenly he was staring right into his sister�s haunted eyes. She blinked, becoming aware of him. "Max." She swallowed. "Did you see it?"

"Yeah, Iz." Max nodded weakly. Liz had her arm around him. He could feel her trying to will some of her strength into him. It actually seemed to be working.

"Max, it�s not what you think," Isabel continued, as though he hadn�t spoken. "That wasn�t the past. I thought it was at first. But it wasn�t."

"What are you saying, honey?" Diane asked, continuing to stroke Isabel�s hair. "What did you two see?"

Isabel ignored her. "It was the future, Max. If we don�t go back to Illyria, that will be our future."

Part 57

Roswell, New Mexico - May 2002 - four months later

"Alex! Finally! Why are you so late?" Isabel�s next comment was practically a screech. "What the heck are you wearing? You are not going to my prom in that!"

Liz tried desperately to control her smile, but when Michael snorted, suddenly causing Maria to burst out laughing, it was like a chain reaction. She started to laugh too, which caused Max to grin. It was a rare phenomenon for something to make Max really laugh and Alex�s usual high-jinx still weren�t quite enough.

Liz watched Isabel�s expression. She saw her friend�s cheeks turning pink as she resolutely fought the smile that was threatening to break out across her beautiful face. She was trying very hard to maintain her stern visage, but it was clear that she was fighting a losing battle.

Diane Evans lowered the camera she had been pointing at Isabel. She had been in the process of taking one of the innumerable candid shots of the group that she had insisted on since Max and Michael picked up Liz and Maria over an hour before. Her blue eyes widened and she started to laugh too.

"Nice man," Michael was saying. "Why didn�t you tell me you were going to wear that? I would have found one too."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Thank you," she mouthed to Alex.

"That really is a very�er�interesting outfit, Alex," Mr. Evans said, glancing worriedly at Isabel. When it was clear that his daughter wasn�t really mad, he let himself chuckle.

Alex just shrugged, giving a patented Whitman thumbs-up. "I always like to do it up in style. If you can�t go powder blue, why go at all? My dad saved this for my wedding, but he decided the prom was okay too." He hiked his pants in the air, showing off his white patent leather shoes. "Of course, these are the best part."

The shoes actually earned a laugh from Max, which Liz barely noticed because she and Maria were leaning on each other for support, as they laughed hysterically.

Michael was circling Alex, stroking his chin. "Hmmm. I disagree. I really think it�s the shirt that completes the outfit."

Alex was nodding, primping slightly in front of the mirror over the Evans� fireplace. "Yeah. I decided �My Girlfriend is an Alien� was a little too out there. No one would believe it." He grinned at Isabel in the mirror. Her lips were pursed, but Liz could see that her eyes were shining.

"And they are going to believe that?" Liz asked, smiling. She pointed at the T-shirt Alex wore under his powder blue tux jacket. It had an arrow pointing downward and said "Alien Bun in the Oven."

Alex just continued to grin at Isabel. "One can only dream." Isabel blushed crimson. Mr. Evans looked horrified, Max repulsed, and Mrs. Evans, despite her usual self, actually collapsed on the sofa she was laughing so hard.

"Class all the way, Whitman," Maria said, jabbing Alex in the ribs. But Alex just jokingly pushed her aside, taking Isabel by the hand, and sweeping her into a dip so deep he almost dropped her. Mrs. Evans started snapping pictures, although Liz was sure they were all going to be out of focus since she couldn�t seem to stop giggling.

Liz went over to Max, kissing him lightly to try and erase the mental picture she was sure he was conjuring in his head. She could tell that he was beginning to get a little steamed. Isabel was his sister after all. She felt him relax slightly.

She knew that he wasn�t really mad. It was so good to see Isabel actually smiling and having a good time. And, of course, it was Alex who had put that smile there. He seemed the only one capable of doing so these days.

It had been four months since Isabel had experienced the first orb-induced nightmare. They had not stopped since. Apparently the purple orb had triggered the first one, but it had not been necessary for it to be in Isabel�s hands for them to return.

Liz sobered slightly, glancing at her friend, who was smacking Alex lightly as he finally let her up. She moved over to the mirror, and began fussing with her upswept blonde hair. Her ice-blue dress was floor-length, and made the most of Isabel�s blonde ice-queen quality. She looked exquisite. But not even her usual perfect make-up job, and immaculately put-together look, could hide the dark circles under her eyes.

No one had wanted to go to the prom. It seemed wrong somehow, with Jennetta still in her pod, and Isabel suffering from nightmares that seemed to be threatening more horrible times to come. Not to mention the fact that both Kyle and Tess were missing.

Well, Liz reflected sadly, as Max put his arm around her, squeezing gently, It�s not like Kyle hasn�t been missing for a long time.

Liz sighed as she thought about what the last months had brought, in spite of her promise to herself, and to Max that they were going to have fun that night - that they were going to let all the craziness go for once.

After Isabel�s first nightmare, Max drove Liz home that morning in dead silence. When they reached the Crashdown, it was still very early, barely six-thirty and so there had been no one on the Main Street. Liz unbuckled her seat-belt, then climbed onto Max�s lap, and wrapped him in her arms. He buried his face in her neck, his hands twining through her loose hair.

It was then that he started to shake.

He had been strong for Isabel, but Liz knew that whatever it was Max�s sister had seen, Max had seen it too. And it had been horrible. Max was incapable of talking about it at the time, but he told Liz later, and it had been almost worse than she had imagined.

And it refused to stop.

Max and Liz managed to escape a serious talking to by their respective sets of parents over the fact that Liz had fallen asleep in Max�s bed because of the Isabel issue. The Evanses had called the Parkers to explain. All Liz�s dad had said when she came into the Crashdown was "Call next time, honey." The Parkers seemed inclined not to want to upset Liz anyway that morning. Liz suspected it had to do with how weirdly they acted when she had asked if she was adopted.

And, so, Liz had been free to call Tess when she finally reached her room. Her friend was up, getting ready for school. Tess was upset to hear about Isabel, but Liz heard the underlying distraction in Tess� voice on the other end of the line.

Finally she broke down and asked. "Did you talk to Kyle yet, Liz?" Tess paused, sounded upset. "I don�t mean to sound uncaring here - I mean, I do care about Isabel - but I just can�t concentrate on anything until this thing with him is resolved."

Liz sighed. "I haven�t talked to him, Tess. I�ll do it at school today."

She would have too, except that when she arrived at school, the rumour was already flying.

It was Tess who brought it to her, flying out the front doors of West Roswell, a stricken expression on her face. "Liz! He�s together with Vicky Delaney!"

Liz was with Max. They were standing near the Jeep, holding hands, trying to work up the energy to care about school, when Tess appeared. "What?" Liz demanded, letting Max go, and grabbing Tess by the shoulders.

"You heard me!" Tess screeched, almost hysterically. "I got to school this morning, and that witch Courtney James came over to me and asked me if I had heard. I said heard what and she said that Kyle�s gotten back together with Vicky Delaney!"

Liz just stared at Tess in open-mouthed amazement. "This can�t be true, Tess. I know Kyle. He�s been trying to distance himself, but he just can�t do it. He loves you."

Tess swallowed convulsively, her blue eyes glittering with tears. "I was such a little idiot, Liz! Of course he�s given up. He probably should be with Vicky. At least she�s normal."

Liz exchanged a look with Max. He seemed upset, but was quiet. Liz could see that he couldn�t deal with this right now. She could tell that Isabel�s horrible nightmare was still replaying itself in his mind.

"I�m going to get to the bottom of this," Liz told Tess resolutely. She gently led Tess to the passenger side of the Jeep. She returned to Max, hugging him briefly. "Take Tess to your parent�s house. I don�t think either of you are in any condition to be here today. You can check on Isabel."

Max just nodded, smiling sadly at her. "Have I told you today that I love you?" he asked as he enfolded her in his arms.

"And I love you," Liz replied. She watched them drive away, fear in the pit of her stomach. She was used to it by now. The feeling that something horrible was about to happen was still as strong as ever, but if she could at least patch up one disaster, she would.

Liz finally found Kyle after third period. He was difficult to miss actually, considering that he was standing in the middle of the main hallway, his arm around Vicky Delaney, surrounded by a bunch of jocks and cheerleaders in various states of general rowdiness.

Liz marched right up to him. She was surprised by the anger she felt coursing through her. She could see that Kyle was miserable, although he was doing his best to appear that he was having a good time, kissing Vicky perfunctorily every few minutes or so.

"We need to talk," Liz told Kyle curtly, glancing at Vicky and forcing a smile. "Can you excuse us for a minute?" After all, none of this was Vicky�s fault, and she really was a nice girl. Kyle using her to get back at Tess was even worse than if he had used someone who deserved it - like one of Pam Troy�s cronies.

Vicky just smiled her fairly blank smile. She was a nice girl, but she wasn�t the sharpest knife in the drawer. "Sure, Liz. Nice to see you."

Liz grabbed Kyle by the arm, none too gently, and hauled him off to the Eraser Room. She knew that it was going to be around school in less than an hour too, but privacy was of the essence. She could tell that Kyle was actually considering not talking to her, but he wasn�t quite at the point where he wanted to hurt her too. Liz knew that Kyle still had a very protective tendency towards her, and she planned to take full advantage of it.

"Okay, what are you doing, Kyle?" Liz demanded when they were finally alone.

Kyle didn�t answer her question directly. Instead he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his letterman�s jacket, and asked a question of his own. "Where�s Saint Max? Oh wait! Didn�t I see him driving off campus with Tess first thing this morning?" His tone was patented Valenti sarcasm. Liz felt herself bristling despite herself. If there was one thing Kyle was talented at, it was the pointed one-liner.

Liz eyed him for a long moment, until Kyle began to squirm. "What are you implying?" she finally asked. "You don�t still think that there�s something going on between Max and Tess?"

Kyle just sighed. "Honestly, Liz, I don�t think Max has anything going on with Tess. But it�s time to face facts here. She�s never going to get over him."

"Are you insane?" Liz practically yelled. Kyle backed up a step, he was so surprised. Liz was slightly surprised herself. She never yelled. She took a deep breath then continued, "Kyle, I expected more from you. You�re not a dumb jock. You�re one of us. Tess loves you. Why is it that you�re the only one who can�t see it?"

Kyle just closed his eyes, looking defeated. "Liz, I just can�t do it anymore. It�s too much. I can�t deal with it. She doesn�t love me. She loves him. I know you don�t want to believe it, but I heard her talking to Ren. She was asking if it would be possible for you guys to share Max."

Liz just stared at him in shocked disbelief. "You�re basing this assumption on a conversation you overheard, that you eavesdropped on late?" She felt like laughing. "Kyle, Tess was asking Ren about something she and I found in the library yesterday. Something that changes everything we�ve ever known about the destiny that Max, and Tess, and Isabel, and Michael have been told about."

Kyle rubbed his forehead. "Even if what you say is true, Liz�"

"It is!" Liz exclaimed, frustrated beyond measure.

"It doesn�t matter anymore. I�ve come to a realization. I can�t do it. I just can�t deal with any of this. And it�s not just about Tess. He changed me Liz. He changed you! I never asked for this!" Kyle was hunched up in his jacket, looking like a scared little boy. "I just can�t deal with it. I keep getting pulled back in, and I want out. I love her, but I can�t give up a normal life for her, Liz. I�m not you."

Liz just shook her head. "I can�t believe this," she finally said, feeling sick. "I never thought I�d see the day that you were a coward, Kyle. And I know you�re lying. This is all about Max, and how you can�t give up this crazy delusion that Tess loves him. How can she love him? She doesn�t even know him! It�s you she knows. It�s you she loves. You�re her best friend!"

Kyle turned away. Liz could tell that he was trying to hide the fact that he was about to cry. She had never seen her friend in so much pain. Somehow Kyle had become lost on the great adventure that the eight of them were entangled in together. How had they lost him?

"Kyle, please don�t shut us out," Liz pleaded, ready to burst into tears herself.

"I have to, Liz. Please just go. Leave me alone."

"I�m not leaving you," Liz replied stubbornly, placing her hand on his back in comfort.

She did start to cry when he flinched away from her. "Then I�ll leave. And please don�t talk to me about this again. I have to move on."

Liz almost ran after him. She had almost gone screaming down the school hallway after him.

But she had been weak that day. She let him go.

He had never come back.

Kyle returned to being Mr. Popularity, and had not spoken to any of them since. He dated Vicky, played basketball, played baseball�.He left them. His facade of normalcy was so good, Liz almost believed it. But she knew better.

Liz knew that they would see Kyle at the Prom that night, and that he would be there with Vicky. But they had become used to it. It was unlikely that any of them would exchange two words with Kyle.

And that was the worst part. They had become used to letting their friend shut them out of his life.

The decision to go to the Prom had not been taken lightly. No one had been comfortable with the idea, feeling like they were being petty and selfish by wanting to enjoy one of the rites of passage of high school.

It was Maria who finally decided for all of them.

Liz knew that Maria spent most of her free time at the transformation chamber with Jennetta, waiting desperately for her daughter to emerge from her pod. She had seen Maria gradually accepting over the long months of the transformation that she was not going to get see her daughter grow up.

And, somewhere, somehow, over the last month, Maria had achieved an epiphany.

She had appeared at Liz�s bedroom door at midnight a few weeks before. She was soaking wet and looked embarrassed to be there, especially when she saw that Max had fallen asleep on Liz�s bed. He was so exhausted all the time, Liz had just decided to let him sleep for a while before waking him in a way that would be pleasant for both of them, and then sending him home.

"I�m sorry. I�ll come back tomorrow," Maria said. But she seemed relieved when Liz grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the Parker�s kitchen.

"What�s wrong? Is it Jennetta?" Liz demanded, going immediately to the freezer and pulling out the ice cream.

"No," Maria replied. "Well, sort of�" Tears welled up in Maria�s eyes, causing Liz to set the carton of ice cream down in order to put her arm around her friend.

"Maria! What�s wrong?" Liz could tell that her friend was undergoing an internal struggle of some sort. Like she was trying to hold back what she really wanted to say.

And then the dam burst.

"I want to go to the prom!" Maria wailed. "I�m a horrible person! My daughter is in a pod, and is going to be older than I am when she gets out, and I want to go to the prom!" Maria grabbed Liz by the shoulders, staring at her. "Tell me I�m a horrible person. I know I am!"

Liz felt her heart go out to her best friend. "You�re not a horrible person, Maria. It�s only natural that you�d want to do something normal teenagers do. I mean, we didn�t go last year because Max was gone�" Liz trailed off, briefly remembering how horrible that had been. "How did this happen?" Liz asked, wanting to erase that awful memory.

"I was at the transformation chamber with Ren. He was walking me to my car. When we got outside, we were both surprised to see that it was pouring. It was raining so hard that the entrance to the complex was flooded. Liz, I fell into the puddle! I didn�t see it and I fell in."

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Well, I can see that you�re wet. But what does this have to do with the prom?"

"I�m getting there," Maria replied, sounding more like her old Maria self than she had in a long time. She was babbling in a way that Liz had never thought that she would hear again. "So, anyway, I fell in and just sat there staring up at Ren. And then you�ll never believe what happened, Lizzie! He laughed! That stone-faced alien actually laughed at me!"

Liz swallowed, trying hard not to laugh herself at the complete astonishment in Maria�s voice. "Okay?" She waved her hand in front of her, prompting Maria to continue.

"Anyway, I just stared at him more and then I started to laugh. I laughed, Liz. I haven�t laughed in so long. I mean really laughed." Maria looked so guilty, Liz reached out to hug her. "And it felt sooo good."

"I�m glad you laughed," Liz told her seriously. "Jennetta doesn�t want you and Michael putting your lives on hold. She told Isabel that."

"But I didn�t believe her, Liz!" Maria exclaimed. "And even if I did, I certainly wasn�t going to listen to her. I�m her mother! I know better than she does." She trailed off, looking astonished again. "But then I realized - I don�t know better than she does! I�m eighteen years old, Liz! I�ve spent maybe a total of a month with my daughter. I�m a kid!"

Liz felt sad for a moment. "We�re all kids, Maria. We�ve all had to deal with so much stuff kids should never have to deal with."

"And it�s not fair," Maria replied. "And I think we�ve done a pretty decent job up until now, in spite of that." She pursed her lips. "And I want to go to the prom! I want to have pictures to show my grandchildren of when I was young. Of course, at the rate I�m going I�m likely to have grandchildren by the time I�m twenty, but that�s another story! I want to go to the prom!"

Liz smiled, her love for Maria increasing tenfold. Her friend was finally dealing with her own wants and needs for once. It was about time. Maria had put up with enough crap to fill three life-times. "So we�ll go," Liz told her quietly.

And so they were going. All of them. Except Tess, which was why, despite all their attempts to have at least one night just for them, a night that was just about them, about being young and carefree and human�something was still off.

Max and Liz had tried to convince Tess to come with them, but she had just raised an eyebrow and said "Yeah, right."

Michael tried ordering her to go with him and Maria. Again she just stared him down. Liz had never seen Michael cower like that before. Tess had her brother wrapped around her finger by now. Even the thought that she might get mad at him made him back down almost as quickly as he had tried to "convince" her.

Isabel even secretly tried to find Tess a date, but when Tess found out, her fury was so scary, even Isabel left well enough alone after that.

It was to Liz that she told the truth.

"I won�t go with anyone but Kyle. And I won�t go to see him there with someone else."

And so the night wasn�t perfect. But it was pretty close - or as close as they had come in a long time.

Liz should have known that it couldn�t last.

Part 58

Kyle managed to plaster a smile on his face as he and Vicky posed for the photographer. It was a complete sham, trying to pretend that he was having a good time, that he wanted to be there, that he wanted to be with Vicky. But then, his entire life was a sham, so it wasn�t like anything was new.

"C�mon, Kyle! Let�s dance!" Vicky grabbed him by the hand, pulling him out onto the dance floor, which was currently packed with gyrating high school seniors. Kyle rolled his eyes. This was the absolutely last place he wanted to be, but throwing himself lock, stock and barrel back into jock-land unfortunately meant that the prom was a social obligation.

He couldn�t believe he was actually concerned about frigging social obligations.

And they were actually playing that Vitamin C song - the one about graduation and about being friends forever.

He wanted to kill himself.

He was definitely losing it. Not that this came as any sort of surprise. He had been losing it for a long time - since the day he admitted to himself that he loved Tess and that she was never going to love him back.

Kyle missed her. He missed them all.

He missed Liz, the understanding friend he had found in her whenever they talked. He had always loved Liz, and always would. She was completely above him in every way, but she loved him too, and he knew it when he was with her. She was the only true friend he had ever had.

He missed Maria - her craziness and her love of life, although there hadn�t been much of that over the last few months. He missed Alex, even if he did used to torture him by making him listen to all his new songs. He missed Isabel�s snootiness, which hid a sharply wicked sense of humour. He missed Guerin�s grumpiness

Finally, and, yes, Kyle had to admit it to himself, he even missed King Max. He had always been able to tell that there was something apart about Max Evans, and while it had often pissed him off, he had always admired the guy, and even wanted to be like him. It wasn�t Max�s fault that he had everything Kyle had ever wanted.

Of course, Kyle saw them all at school over the few months since he had made his break from them. It wasn�t like they had fallen off the face of the planet just because he wished they would, wished that they would stop flaunting what he had once had with them in his face. He would see Liz and Max sitting quietly together in the quad, completely wrapped up in each other as they always were when they were alone. He would see Liz, and Maria, and Alex laughing together in the computer lab. He would see Michael and Max having one of their intense - read argumentative- conversations in the parking lot. He would see Isabel and Liz studying in the library.

And, needless to say, she was even more everywhere then the rest of them.

He would turn one way and she would be walking down the hall-way with Michael and Maria, trying to mediate their bickering. He would turn another way and she was talking intently to Liz on the front steps of the school. He saw her painting her toe-nails with Isabel on the lawn in front of the school. But he saw her most often with Max, as though they were deliberately trying to torture him. She and Max seemed to be the best of friends these days.

Tess Harding was haunting him.

She knew she was doing it too. They had gone back to the game of her staring at him all the time - in class, in the hall-way, if he saw her on the street. Even when she had no idea he was in the room, her blue eyes were always on him, penetrating him, looking hurt, making him feel guilty.

She was going to drive him crazy.

At least he knew for a fact that she wouldn�t be there tonight. He would be able to get through this damn prom without having to watch Tess with whatever bohunk she brought. Kyle knew that it was unlikely that any of them would come. He was sure that they would have decided that it would just be weird, what with all the crap they were constantly dealing with.

Kyle often wished that he knew for sure that they were all right - that Jennetta was okay. He knew that Max kept in touch with his dad, but that the sheriff was even more out of the loop than he had been since Max�s disappearance. Max was trying to distance his dad, not wanting to put him in danger. Kyle knew it, but it was still annoying that the one venue of information had completely dried up.

He knew that his dad was worried about him. Kyle even thought he might have mentioned how worried he was to Amy Deluca, since she always asked him if he had talked to Maria lately. It was ironic that as Kyle cut himself off from Amy�s daughter and her friends, Amy and Kyle�s dad seemed to be growing closer and closer. It was bloody typical. If he wasn�t seeing one of them, he was seeing their parents.

Kyle felt Vicky put her arms around his neck. Tuning back into what was going on around him, he realized that a slow song was beginning to play. He put his arms around his unwanted girlfriend�s waist, sighing. It wasn�t that he didn�t like Vicky - he did - but unfortunately his heart didn�t belong to him anymore. He didn�t have it to give to anyone else. Nothing had changed. Even if he never spoke directly to Tess again, she had him.

But at least he didn�t have to see her tonight. He didn�t have to see any of them.

Of course, it was just as this thought was running through his head that Vicky suddenly said, "Hey! There�s Liz! She looks great!"

Kyle�s head whipped around despite himself, his heart in his throat.

Liz was standing in the entrance to the gym with Max. She looked beautiful just as Vicky had said. Her dark hair fell around her face in those ringlets that she sometimes wore, the ones that made her look like some Renaissance goddess come to life. Her dress was light pink and fairly simple, but it emphasized the complete naturalness of Liz Parker�s beauty. And since she happened to be talking to Max at the moment, her entire being seemed to radiate with some weird sort of energy that lit up the entire room around her. Kyle didn�t blame Evans at all when he suddenly pulled Liz close to him, kissing her lightly on the forehead. While Kyle loved Tess, he could still remember a time when Liz had been everything that was perfect to him. Looking at her tonight reminded him even more strongly.

At the thought of Tess, Kyle felt his heart drop to his toes. He scanned the group coming in behind Max and Liz. First Isabel and Alex, Isabel drop-dead gorgeous as usual, Alex looking absurd and, yet, completely comfortable in a powder blue tuxedo. They were followed by Maria, who had already started to drag Michael towards the photographer. Michael was tugging at his tie, looking like he was about to strangle. He must have muttered something to Max as he passed him, because Max grinned and Liz scowled at him.

Kyle�s heart began to beat at a more normal pace when he realized that Tess was nowhere to be seen.

"We should go say hi!" Vicky said suddenly, following his gaze.

"No!" Kyle said too quickly. Vicky stared at him, her blue eyes confused.

"I thought they were your friends."

"Vicky, have you seen me with them at all since we started dating?" Kyle demanded, annoyed at himself for using such a mean tone. "I�m not friends with them anymore," he continued in a gentler voice.

Vicky frowned slightly. "Well, okay, I guess."

"Let�s dance." Kyle decided that changing the subject was the best possible solution to the awkward silence that had suddenly sprung up between them. Vicky allowed herself to be led onto the dance floor.

Kyle did his best not to look at any of them, but this didn�t mean that he wasn�t aware of the exact moment that Liz became aware of him.

She and Max were standing near the punch bowl, watching the dance floor, where Alex and Isabel were already cutting a rug, Alex dipping Isabel all over the place, to the point that she was practically in hysterics.

Liz�s eyes seemed to light up the minute they met his across the crowd. Kyle saw her raise herself onto her toes, say something into Max�s ear, and then she was on her way over.

Oh hell.

He had not actually conversed with Liz since that horrible scene in the Eraser Room a few months ago - the time he had actually cried. They said hi in the halls, but Liz seemed at a loss about how to deal with him. It was clear that she wanted to, but that she didn�t know what to say to him. He knew that she thought he was an insane imbecile, and that she thought that Tess loved him, and that she was sure that there was nothing going on between Tess and Max. He knew that she was frustrated that he couldn�t say that he felt the same.

And, so, the fact that she was actually approaching him was a surprise - and, yet, not. This was Liz after all, Miss "I�ll never give up on my friends" Parker. She had practically brought Max back from Illyria with the strength of her will alone.

"Hi, guys!" Liz said, her voice friendly, but with a vein of steel running through it. There was no way Kyle was avoiding this confrontation.

Vicky turned, smiling. Kyle knew that she genuinely liked Liz. Why did the girl have to be so darn friendly to everyone? Why couldn�t he have picked one of Pam Troy�s mean robots to date? But then he hadn�t wanted to completely torture himself. He just wanted to make clear to all of them - to Tess, in particular - that he was moving on.

"Hi, Liz!" Vicky said brightly. "You look beautiful!"

Liz smiled her kind smile, the one that made Kyle know that he was in real trouble. "You too, Vicky." She turned to Kyle, her eyes determined. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

Vicky smiled again. "Not at all. I need to go powder my nose anyway." Vicky kissed him lightly on the cheek, before deserting him with the one person who was capable of getting past his resolve.

He was dead meat.

Kyle sighed when another slow song came on. Liz raised an eyebrow at him, then grabbed his hands and practically forced him to put his arms around her. "Well?" she asked after they had danced for several moments in tense silence.

"Well what?" Kyle knew he was being a belligerent idiot, but he had to protect himself somehow.

"Are you ever going to let us in again?" Kyle stared down at her. Liz�s eyes were filling with tears. Oh man, she had brought out the big guns early.

"Liz�" Kyle felt completely helpless.

"We miss you, Kyle. All of us," Liz said significantly. Kyle knew she was talking about Tess.

And then he was mad. "I haven�t seen much evidence that anyone misses me," Kyle snapped. "The Queen of Illyria seems to be doing her best not to address me in any situation. All she does is stare at me."

Liz flinched slightly at his tone. "She�s scared you�re going to reject her again."

Kyle scowled. "This is really unfriggingbelievable, Liz! I never rejected Tess! She was the one who told me that she didn�t care when I told her I loved her."

Liz was staring at him steadily. "But the two times she tried to talk to you after that, you either got distracted or you refused to listen to her."

Kyle was almost seeing red he was so angry. He knew deep down that it was at himself, but Liz, unfortunately, was a convenient target. "How many times do I have to tell you that I want nothing to do with any of you, Liz? But especially with her! Why can�t you leave me alone?"

Liz didn�t seem upset at all by his tone of voice. "Because I love you. You are one of us. We will always be here for you. Especially Tess. Do you know she�s not here tonight because she wouldn�t come with anyone who wasn�t you? Those were her exact words, Kyle. If you can�t get it through your thick skull that Tess loves you, well then I guess you don�t deserve her." Liz pulled away from him. Kyle stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor staring after her as she stalked away.

He didn�t deserve her.

They were the exact words he had said to Tess all those months ago - in the transformation chamber on the day that Jennetta had gone into the pod. He had told her that running away from the others when they needed her meant that she didn�t deserve to have them.

He was a complete moron.

He needed air. Quickly.

Kyle stumbled to the nearest entrance and managed to smash into the person coming in. He reached out to steady the girl, mumbling an apology.

And then he realized who it was. Tess Harding was staring at him, her blue eyes unreadable.

Kyle�s heart stopped. "What are you doing here?" he managed to croak. He realized that his hands were still clutching her silky, bare shoulders. Her gold dress was sleeveless, clinging to every single curve she possessed, her blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders in that tousled way that always made her look like she had just climbed out of bed. Kyle dropped his hands immediately.

"You know exactly why I�m here," Tess replied. Kyle was staring at her glossy lips. He was beginning to get dizzy. "I�ve come for you. And you�re not going to escape me again."

He was definitely dead-meat.

***

Love of my life

I don�t have a lot to give you

What�s in my heart is all that I can really give you

Love, undying love is all I have

A handful of words that might make you laugh

And all the strength you need

To make it through all your troubled times

I give all of myself to you

Only you

My dream come true�

Love of my life

You were all I ever wanted

To be with you

Was all I ever really wanted

You, you�ve made my life a fairy-tale

You�ve added love to a life that was so stale

And know that I�ll be here

Always for you

When you need a friend

I give all of myself to you

Only you

My dream come true.

I�ve been waiting my whole life for you

Now my waiting is through

All the nights I spent dreaming I knew

That my dream would come true�

So many nights

I lay awake dreaming I knew

One day I�d be with you

Now all my nights of dreaming are through

�Cause my dream has come true.

Frozen Ghost

Max watched Liz stomp away from Kyle, her expression furious. He could tell that she was trying to hide how angry and upset she was, but he knew her. She came and stood beside him, her arms crossed, clearly still fuming.

"I take it that didn�t go well," Max asked unnecessarily, reaching out and pulling her against him.

"I don�t want to talk about it," Liz replied. "He�s a completely blind fool. I give up."

Max kissed her on the temple lightly. "Right."

Liz pulled back, glaring up at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just like you gave up on bringing me back from Illyria?" Max raised an eyebrow.

Liz scowled at him, but Max could tell that she was beginning to calm down. "You can be really annoying, you know that?" she finally asked, a look of resignation appearing on her face.

"You can�t fix everything all the time, Liz," Max told her, running his hands up her arms. He felt her shiver slightly. She began to relax, her eyes glowing in that way that was reserved solely for him, in that way that made him thank his lucky stars ten times a day.

She was so incredibly beautiful, it sometimes still took Max�s breath away. And he wasn�t just talking about on the outside, although that went without saying. When Max had first laid eyes on her earlier that night, he had literally wanted to sweep her off her feet in order to lock them both in her bedroom, not to emerge until the next morning. He managed to restrain himself, however, but only because he was looking forward to holding her against him while they danced at the prom. He hadn�t danced with her properly since their first date. Since that had been one of the most incredible experiences of his life, he was definitely looking forward to a repeat of that magical feeling tonight.

And, yet, Max knew without a shadow of a doubt, that it wasn�t Liz�s exterior beauty that made him want to bind her to him forever. He had seen her soul, and knew it for the spectacular thing that it was. She was so good, and kind, and intelligent. She was his angel, his soulmate. She always would be.

They still hadn�t figured out what the heck that book she and Tess had found in the alien library meant, but Max didn�t really care. He didn�t need a book to tell him what he already knew. Liz completed him. She was the other half of his whole, his dream come true.

"I just want them all to be as happy as you�ve made me," Liz was telling him. Her hands were snaking up around his neck. It was his turn to shiver.

"And they might be, Liz," Max replied. "But you can�t force it. If it�s meant to be, it will be."

"What happened to �we make our own destiny?�" Liz asked, her eyes laughing up at him.

"Well, since I�ve already made mine," Max replied jokingly, "I�ve decided to move on to a new catch-phrase."

"Really?" Liz�s eyes darkened with love. "Well Mr. Destiny-Expert, let�s say we show these amateurs what real destiny is about." A slow song was beginning again. Max allowed himself to be pulled out among the swaying couples. He wished momentarily that they were alone on Liz�s balcony, under the stars. Now that would be perfect.

And, yet, he certainly was not complaining as Liz came into his arms, her body warm and inviting.

Making your own destiny was the best.

Part 59 - Conclusion

Tess tried to ignore the scowl on Kyle�s face as he stared down at her. She had promised herself that she was going to say what she had to say to him and that was final. If he turned away from her after that, she would leave him alone forever. But she couldn�t go on being a coward, avoiding the confrontation that had to happen between them.

She had almost convinced herself that she could avoid it. She told the others many times that she wasn�t coming to the prom, that she wouldn�t go and see Kyle with another girl. She even told Liz and Isabel that she was looking forward to a night at home - that she just wanted to watch T.V. and paint her toe-nails. She could tell that they didn�t believe her, but that they decided to let it go. It was clear to both of her friends that there was no convincing her.

Of course, Michael had not given up as easily.

While Tess was pleased that he had accepted her offer to move into the empty Harding house with her after the forging of their bond on D-Day, it was slightly irritating to have a brother constantly watching over her. The closer they became, the more protective he became, and although he technically wasn�t older than her in this life-time, he still had an annoying tendency to act like the older brother.

She had been sure that she had finally bullied him into submissively leaving her alone for the night when he came down the stairs in his tuxedo. She frowned at him, annoyed to see a silky gold dress draped over his arm.

"What is that?" she demanded.

"Maria bought it. She said it would fit you. Put it on," he ordered her. "I�m not letting you sit at home alone the night of your prom. I�m not going to have any fun thinking about you sitting here pouting, and if I don�t have fun, Maria won�t have fun, and Maria will be having fun tonight. Valenti�s an idiot and doesn�t deserve you."

"Don�t say that about him!" Tess said, anger instantly flaring. "He�s had a lot to deal with!"

Michael just raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah. Gee. We should be really sorry that we�re aliens, that Max saved his life, that you love him. Excuse me if I don�t feel his pain."

"Michael!"

"Get dressed, Tess. I�ll be back to pick you up in an hour."

"I don�t have a date! I�m not going without a date!" Tess pleaded desperately.

"You�ll find a date," Michael replied dismissively. "Maxwell is waiting for me. We�ll be back in an hour. And if you�re not ready, I�m taking you in your pajamas."

And he left, slamming the door behind him. Tess clenched her fists, then screeched in frustration.

But she had gotten dressed. She knew that Michael would make good on his thread to drag her to the prom in her pajamas if she didn�t. And that was the last thing she wanted.

When she finished doing her hair and her make-up, she stared at herself in the mirror for a long time.

She was a coward. She knew it, and knew it was the real reason that she hadn�t wanted to go to the prom. She had let Kyle run away from her in the transformation chamber, and hadn�t tried to sort out the problem. She wanted Liz to fix everything for her, and had given up when it hadn�t worked. She decided to make Kyle come to her. She had known what she was doing to him, staring at him, making sure that she turned up everywhere he was bound to be.

She had been torturing him, daring him not to be with her.

And it was all because she was the coward, and was scared he would reject her again. But she couldn�t go on like this. She loved him. If he was going to reject her again, well this time it would be on her terms. He would have to do it with the proof of her love for him staring him directly in the face. She wouldn�t let him hide behind his jealousy of Max Evans.

This had nothing to do with Max. It had everything to do with Kyle Valenti and Tess Harding, and the fact that they were both scared to death of what it would mean if they actually let this go somewhere. There would be no more excuses. They would be responsible if things got screwed up. They would be responsible for making their own happiness.

And, so, she was waiting when Michael and Maria came to pick her up.

She almost lost her nerve when they arrived at the school. It was going to be hard to walk into that gym all alone. They were running late as it was, having fallen behind Max, Liz, Isabel, and Alex in the Jeep. Maria was hauling Michael by the arm, trying to catch up.

Everyone was going to be in there, watching the door, watching her come in alone.

Tess had felt her heart speed up nervously. She paused on the front steps to calm herself. She sat down, careful not to muss her dress, and stared up at the stars for several long minutes. The "V" constellation, the one that sheltered their home world, winked down at her, almost daring her to go through with this.

She knew that they were never going back there. Her life there was over. She had been Max�s wife in another life-time, but that was not her life anymore. She was Tess Harding, not Sabrya of Dernia - and Tess Harding wanted Kyle Valenti. It was simple as that.

Tess decided to go in through a side door, hoping that she could slip in unnoticed and find Kyle. She hoped that she would be able to scope out the situation first. She felt bad that Vicky Delaney was going to get caught in the middle of this, but Tess admitted to herself that there were only seven people on this planet that she really cared about�well, nine if you counted Jennetta and Ren. She knew what she wanted and she had to go for it. Kyle had the right to make an informed decision.

And, so, she was mildly surprised to find herself stumbling into Kyle�s arms the moment she walked into the gym. He momentarily looked like he was seeing a ghost. His face was white and he actually looked a little sick.

Her heart began to thump a mile a minute. She couldn�t do it! She wasn�t ready!

The shock in his voice managed to make her focus. "What are you doing here?" She felt him clutch gently at her bare shoulders. It sent a shiver down her spine. She swallowed. He dropped his hands quickly, like he had been burned.

"You know exactly why I�m here," Tess replied, relieved that she sounded more confident than she felt. "I�ve come for you. And you�re not going to escape me again."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kyle demanded, clearly quickly regaining his senses. He looked beyond her. "Are you here alone? Liz said you weren�t coming!" He sounded astounded that Liz might have lied to him.

"She doesn�t know I�m here. I was with Michael and Maria," Tess replied, licking her lips. She smiled slightly to herself when Kyle�s eyes seemed to become glued to her mouth. He began to blink rapidly, as though he was about to pass out. She frowned slightly. "Kyle? Are you okay?"

He brought a hand up to his temple, rubbing. "I don�t think so. I was on my way out for some air."

"Good," Tess said quickly. "We need to talk - privately."

Kyle stared at her. "Why?"

"Because I have things to say to you - things you haven�t let me say. I�m tired of running, Kyle." She reached out and touched his cheek. "I�m so tired. And I think you are too. I just want�"

She was interrupted suddenly. "Kyle!" Tess recognized the voice immediately. It was Vicky Delaney.

Kyle whirled guiltily.

Vicky was standing nearby, watching them, her face completely lacking in suspicion. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "Hi Tess! I didn�t know you were here. You look beautiful." Tess wondered why she suddenly felt guilty. Why couldn�t Pam Troy still have been around for Kyle to date? Tess would have enjoyed having Kyle dump her unceremoniously. Why did Vicky have to be so darn nice?

"Thanks, Vicky," she managed to reply. "So do you." And she did, damn her.

Vicky moved up next to Kyle, linked her arm through his. "I just talked to Sandy. She said they�re announcing the king and queen soon. We better go back in."

Kyle just nodded mechanically, still staring at Tess. He looked like he had been hit by a truck.

"I�ll wait for you," she mouthed at him, when he turned once to stare back at him. He nodded again.

Tess followed Vicky and Kyle into the gym. She could see Max and Liz dancing nearby, completely in their own world as usual. She scanned the room, sighing in relief when her eyes lit on Michael, Maria, Alex and Isabel sitting at a table to her left. Maria was sitting on Michael�s lap, wrinkling her nose as Alex pulled a bottle of Tabasco sauce out of his powder blue tux jacket, dolloping Isabel�s chocolate cake liberally.

"Why don�t you carry Tabasco in your purse?" Michael was asking as Tess came up to them. "What kind of girlfriend are you?"

"The best you�ll ever get, Spaceboy," Maria replied, smacking him lightly on the head. It pleased Tess to see her brother and Maria teasing each other again. They had been in a state of stupor for so many months now. While there was still always an underlying note of sadness in their demeanor, they were finally trying to live again, at least a little bit.

"Ah! Lady Tess!" Alex stood up, bowing her into his chair. "You look divine."

"I�m sorry I can�t say the same," Tess replied, smiling despite herself at Alex�s hideous ensemble.

"You came!" Isabel stared at her, her expression gradually melting into a smile. As quickly as the smile appeared, it faded, as Isabel�s eyes began to scan the crowd.

"I�ve already seen him," Tess reassured her friend. "It�s okay." Tess saw Isabel and Maria exchange a look. "Really, you guys! It�s okay."

At that moment, a drum-roll began and a spotlight focused on the stage at the far end of the gym. Coach Clay, looking ludicrous in a tuxedo about ten times too small for his roly-poly frame, accompanied by Ms. Hardy, climbed onto the stage. They had a pair of envelopes in their hands.

"Prom king and queen!" Isabel rolled her eyes. "Really! How immature are we?" Tess and Maria exchanged an amused glance, both appreciating the fact of how much Isabel had changed. The old Isabel would have been sitting on the edge of her seat in anticipation of being called up on stage, her acceptance speech already planned out in her perfectly coifed head.

It was absolutely no surprise to Tess when Kyle and Vicky�s names were read off as the king and queen. Tess smiled slightly to herself at the completely annoyed expression on Kyle�s face when Ms. Hardy placed the fake crown on his head. He reached up quickly and pulled it off.

She wasn�t worried, Tess assured herself. She had made her move. She had seen the look on Kyle�s face. She just had to wait for him to come to her. Vicky deserved to enjoy her moment, even to enjoy the whole evening. Tess could wait.

She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She tried to forget that Kyle hadn�t really said anything at all reassuring during their brief conversation. She tried to forget that she hadn�t really said anything to him at all.

Tess was watching Kyle dance with Vicky moments later, a slight pang of jealousy beginning to hit her, when suddenly a cell phone ringing caught her attention.

It was Isabel�s. Her purse was sitting on the table in front of her. The five of them all turned to stare at it.

"Well, answer it!" Michael finally snapped. "Why are you acting like you�ve never heard a phone ring before?"

It was at that moment that Tess noticed the expression on Isabel�s face. Her friend was swallowing convulsively, her visage completely white. "Alex!" Tess grabbed for Isabel�s purse. "Catch her! I think she�s having a vision!"

Alex just managed to catch Isabel before she went toppling out of her chair. Maria and Michael both jumped to their feet. Tess barely noticed that Max and Liz had come running up, Max instantly on his knees in front of his sister. Alex was gently slapping Isabel�s cheeks as Tess answered the phone, expecting to hear Mrs. Evans� voice.

"Hello?"

"Who is this?" The voice was familiar. Ren! Tess� eyes widened.

"It�s Tess. What�s wrong? Is Jennetta okay?" Tess waved Michael away as he made a grab for the phone. She could see that Isabel was just beginning to come out of her trance. She was shrugging away from Max and Alex, wanting to be solitary, as was usually the case after something like this had happened.

"She�s fine," Ren snapped. "Let me speak to his highness."

Tess felt a flash of irritation. "This is your queen," she snapped back.

"Not anymore," Ren replied, sounding a little more calm. "Please let me speak to the king, Tess."

Tess rolled her eyes, then handed the phone over to Max. "It�s Ren."

Max turned away, covering his other ear as he tried to talk to Jennetta�s bodyguard. The music had picked up again, the pounding beat ringing in Tess� ears.

"I think we should get Isabel out of here," Alex was saying. He scowled slightly when Michael pushed him aside, sweeping Isabel up into his arms. "Hey!"

"Get the door," Michael ordered. Tess looked around uncomfortably. People were beginning to stare at them. Couldn�t Michael ever think before he acted?

Alex rolled his eyes, but hurried ahead to get the door. It wasn�t until they were in the parking lot that anyone thought to ask Max what Ren had wanted.

Max was standing quietly near the Jeep, his arm around Liz, a strange expression on his face.

"Maxwell! What�s going on?" Michael demanded, clearly remembering about Ren now that Isabel was safe.

"I know," Isabel said quietly. She was looking at Max steadily. "Jennetta is about to be born."

Maria shrieked. "What? Why did he ask to speak to you?" She grabbed Max by the lapels, shaking him. "What�s wrong with her? What bad news does he want you to break to us gently?" Tess looked at Michael. She could see that her brother looked ill.

"Maria!" Max managed to grab her hands, then lowered them to her sides. "She�s fine! The pod is preparing to let her break out. We need to get out there fast." Tess saw the look on Max�s face though. There was still something he wasn�t telling them.

Of course Liz knew it too. "Max, what is it?" she asked quietly.

"I know that too," Isabel broke in, her voice still little more than a whisper. "Tarsus has taken the Citadel."

They all stared at each other in shock. The silence was deafening.

***

It seemed to take forever to drive out to the transformation chamber. At the best of times it took close to a half and hour. Now that they wanted to be there immediately, it felt like three hundred years.

Michael thought he was going to lose his mind before Max finally slammed the brakes on the Jeep, screeching the car to a stop near the boulder that hid his and Maria�s entire world. He had long since discarded his jacket and tie, feeling like he was strangling.

Their daughter. Jennetta was coming back to them. But she was going to be entirely different. She was going to be older than him for Christ�s sake! Michael felt the pang of despair that had been a familiar friend over the past eight months, since the day his little girl had left them.

Stop it! he ordered himself sternly. You need to be strong for Maria. And you can�t let Jennetta see you like this. She has to know that you still love her, that you still want her.

The ludicrousness of the entire situation was not lost on Michael Guerin, however. Not for the first time he wanted to laugh his head off that his life should have turned out thus. All he had ever wanted was a family - and then when he finally had his chance, it was taken away from him.

And, yet, he knew that it hadn�t been.

He thanked his stars everyday that he had his friends. It had taken losing Jennetta to make him realize that he wasn�t alone, that his family was made up of his six closest friends.

The seven of them practically sprinted down the corridor to the transformation chamber after Max had activated the lights. The girls had all removed their heels, although Maria did go careening into a stone wall at one point when she slid on her stocking feet.

And,yet, without a word, of one accord, they all stopped abruptly at the spot where the entrance to the transformation chamber lay.

Max�s eyes met Michael�s seriously. He looked at all of them closely before saying. "Are you all ready for this? Nothing is going to be the same again."

Michael swallowed. Truer words had never been spoken. Well, of course, they had been spoken, many times before. It was the price of being a teenage alien. But this time - well, it was really true.

Everyone was nodding. Michael saw Liz reach out to take Max�s hand. She looked scared. He reached for Maria.

"Let us go first," he said quietly. The others all nodded again. Michael felt Tess take his other hand, squeezing it reassuringly, then letting it drop.

Michael lifted his hand, swiped it across the wall. He swallowed as the familiar silver hand-print glowed out at him. He took a deep breath, then placed his palm squarely upon it, watched the wall swing away.

But, in the end, of course, as was always his luck, they were too late.

Ren had his back to them as they entered. He was bent over something lying on the cot Max had brought in for the shapeshifter many months before.

Or rather, he was bending over someone.

Michael felt Maria squeeze his hand. When he looked down at her, she was indicating the empty, dark pod nearby. The one Jennetta had occupied for so many months.

Michael closed his eyes briefly. He knew what she looked like, had seen her earlier that day, floating peacefully, a little girl no longer.

And, yet, he was still shocked when he opened his eyes and saw her.

Ren was helping her to her feet, although he did not look pleased to be doing so. "You should be resting, your highness."

"Nine months seems like long enough to sleep." Her voice was smoky, no trace of the little girl she had been in its tone. Michael realized that she was staring at Maria. He felt his own heart stop when her dark eyes shifted to him.

"Jennetta." Maria sounded like she was about to burst into tears. And, yet, she didn�t move. She seemed glued to the floor. Michael understood perfectly, considering he felt exactly the same way.

She was taller than he would have expected, as tall as Isabel for certain. Her floor length white robe only emphasized her height. It made her resemblance to Maria even more shocking, the fact that she was so much taller than her mother. Their faces were practically a matched pair.

But he saw himself in her eyes.

She was not moving, just watching them carefully. Slowly a smile began to appear on her face. "Hello." She paused, laughed quietly. "I don�t know what to call you," she admitted finally. "Mother and Father seems slightly absurd now."

At that, Maria began to cry in earnest. Michael saw the expression of distress that crossed Jennetta�s face. "I�m sorry!" she exclaimed, hurrying towards them, Ren staying close to her, looking extremely frustrated. And then Jennetta was hugging Maria, as Maria continued to sob. "Mother, please!" She sounded flustered. She sounded exactly how Michael felt when he didn�t know how to comfort his girlfriend.

And then Maria was speaking, babbling actually. "My baby! I�m so glad that you�re okay!" Michael blinked. It was then that he realized that Maria was laughing.

He closed his eyes again, then snorted. "Will the insanity ever end?" he muttered to himself.

He had not intended anyone to hear him. But Jennetta did. She looked at him over Maria�s shoulder, then reached out her hand to bring him closer. "It will end. I promise."

Michael saw his eyes move past him. He could hear the others entering the chamber, although he could tell they were trying to be quiet.

"Jaxon!" Jennetta pulled away from Maria, throwing herself into Max�s arms. Michael managed to suppress the twinge of jealousy he felt. He knew that Jenny loved Max. It was all right. There was room for both of them in her heart.

Max pulled back, putting his hands on her shoulders, and scanning her face closely. "Are you okay?" he asked seriously, in his intense Max way.

Jennetta smiled sadly. "What was meant to be has happened," she replied. She turned to include the whole group. "I know that this has been difficult for all of you." She moved near Maria again, taking her mother�s hand. Michael just shook his head. He wondered if he would ever get used to the absurdity of the fact that his daughter was now older than him.

Jennetta was still speaking. "And I�m afraid that its not over yet." She focused on Isabel, who was standing slightly behind Alex, clutching his hand. Michael frowned. Actually, she looked like she was hiding behind Alex. "Mirana. I know that Mother has contacted you."

Isabel nodded reluctantly. "The Citadel has fallen to the Dernians." She paused. Michael looked back at Jennetta. His daughter was just gazing steadily at Izzy, her expression unreadable, as though she knew that Isabel was holding something back. Isabel licked her lips. "And the Ring has been claimed," she finally said in a great rush.

Michael heard Liz and Tess gasp, almost in unison.

Jennetta lifted her chin. "Which is why it is time to go back," she said without a moment�s hesitation. "The prophecy is ready to be fulfilled. Illyria has entered its darkest days."

Michael swallowed. He closed his eyes to avoid the tears that he felt collecting there.

So it was over already. She was lost to him. She was going back to Illyria.

"We are all needed." Michael�s eyes snapped open. Jennetta was looking right at him, a slight smirk on her face. He realized that that smile looked very familiar. In fact Maria had used it on him only an hour before when he had teased her about the Tabasco sauce. "Did you really think I could do this alone?" she demanded, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Everyone stared at each other for several moments and then Alex spoke, breaking the silence.

"What does one pack for Illyria in the summertime?" he asked Isabel, stroking his chin pensively.

In spite of the fact that there was absolutely nothing funny about this situation, everyone burst out laughing.

In later years, Michael would look back on that moment as the last one of their childhood. For one brief, shining moment he felt the hope that rose in that chamber. It was something pure, something strong.

Together they could do anything. They would free their planet and live happily ever after.

Of course, it didn�t work out that way.

***

Max groaned, pulling his pillow over his head. He did not want to open his eyes. Maybe if he ignored the phone, it would stop ringing.

He had been dreaming about Liz. It was their wedding day and their happiness had been almost painful. All of their friends and family were there, including his mother from Illyria, and Jennetta, and Ren. And, although all the trappings of the wedding had been traditional, down to Liz looking almost unbelievably beautiful in a long white dress, they had been in the Waylandian Ring, the one known as Lucianus bringing their palms together.

"Let this union heal the breach that exists. So it is written in the stars, so shall it be," the old man was intoning when a piercing noise had suddenly interrupted the whole proceeding.

Dream Michael had rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Can�t anything go right? Even in your dreams, Maximillian?"

Max sighed, then opened his eyes. He realized that someone was tapping on his bedroom door. "Max? Are you awake, honey?"

"Coming, Mom." Max glanced at the clock. He frowned slightly when he saw that it was only five-thirty in the morning. He opened his door, padded down the hallway, rubbing his face tiredly.

It had been close to three a.m. when Max had gotten home from dropping Liz off. They had made it back to the Crashdown by one, but, of course, Max had gone up to Liz�s bedroom via his usual route over her balcony. Isabel had taken Jennetta home with her, the Evans being the only ones with any idea of who she was and what had been going on.

Max had felt strangely at peace as he lay on the chaise lounge waiting for Liz as she locked up downstairs. He was staring up at the "V" constellation, almost excited to be going back there, to be taking care of his responsibilities to his home world once and for all.

After that he would be free. Free to live the life with Liz that was all he really wanted.

Of course, it wasn�t going to be easy, but Max had no doubt that it was going to happen. Finally.

Liz eventually joined him, bringing the quilt off her bed. She had changed out of her prom dress and had pulled her hair into a pony-tail on top of her head. Max knew that wouldn�t last long though. He had every intention of kissing her with her hair tumbling around his face in the way he loved.

She curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder. "What are you thinking about?" she finally asked quietly, after they had laid in companionable silence for quite a while.

"I�ll show you," he replied, bringing his lips to hers, sending her the flashes of exactly how wonderful their future was going to be together. It had been the perfect ending to an otherwise chaotic evening.

Max was in the front hallway before it dawned on him that it hadn�t been the phone ringing that had awoken him at all. It had been the doorbell.

He frowned. He felt a shiver of dread run down his spine as his mother turned to look at him, her eyes wide with horror. She was in her dressing gown, clutching it to her chest with tight fists.

The sheriff was standing in the doorway, his hat in his hands. Max wondered why he was holding it like that - like he wanted to strangle it. The hat had totally lost all shape in the sheriff�s hands.

"Max." Max stared at him. The sheriff never called him Max. It was always Mr. Evans. It was just his way. Which only made Max�s sense of foreboding worse.

"Sheriff?" Max looked at his mother again. He could see that she was starting to move towards him, her hand outstretched. "Mom?"

"Honey�" Diane paused, then swallowed. Max heard his father and Isabel descending the stairs behind him.

"What�s wrong?" Izzy asked, yawning. Max turned to look at his sister. Jennetta was standing on the stairs behind Isabel, her dark eyes wide.

Max turned back to the sheriff. "What�s wrong?" He saw Sheriff Valenti look at his mother, as though he didn�t know what to say.

But Max realized that he already knew. In the end, he�d known the instant he�d laid eyes on the sheriff.

Something had happened to Liz.

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