Story: Queen Takes Pawn
Chapter One: Queen Takes Pawn
Author: kitty-kat12
Pairing: Michael/Tess
Disclaimer: Roswell and its characters do not belong to me. Story is set after Departure.
Author's Notes: I know a lot of people won't give this pairing a chance and are already discarding this into the trash pile of fics but hear me out. We've all written and/or read fics about Max/Tess or Kyle/Tess and Michael/Isabel or Michael/Maria and those are great. But seeing that Michael and Tess are one of the strongest and most difficult characters in Roswell I want to explore the dynamics between the two of them. So, here goes.
Summary: In a different world, Michael is not in Antar, trying to survive a world alien to him and trying to tolerate the presence of a woman he considers a murderer.
In a different world, Tess is Queen and Max is by her side and she is not babysitting a man she now considers a traitor all the while trying to keep herself and her unborn child alive in a world that no longer holds the torch for the Royal Four.
If only...
Zero-Sum Game: A relationship in which a gain for one actor is equal to a loss for another.
Tess watched the three of them with disdain as hurtful and angry words spilled out of her mouth, laced by venom and all the hatred she could muster. "And after I deliver this child to Khivar, I will have him send his army here, to all of you. I am going to enjoy watching him destroy everything you hold dear."
Her words were fueled by the raw hurt she felt for being labelled Alex's murderer, for being the outcast and intruder and especially for Max choosing Liz over her, his Queen, time and time again. This was their betrayal, not hers.
"You are nothing but dirt beneath my feet." Tess hissed and suddenly Isabel lunged at her, screaming incomprehensible words, arms flailing at whichever direction as long as she got Tess. There were no bolts of energy, no power coming from the other woman's fingertips. So incredibly human of her, Tess thought derisively as she fought back.
Isabel wanted to hurt her physically, wanted her to know how wrong and cruel she was, how deeply she had hurt them. Tess, with nothing but ice in her veins, would not understand unless Isabel showed her through violence.
Max was trying to pull Isabel off of Tess when Michael, driven by instinct, stepped in between all of them and shoved Tess back. She staggered and fell, barely catching herself.
"Enough!" Max ordered as he dragged Isabel out of the granolith, screaming and kicking and hollering all kinds of threats.
Michael looked down at a disheveled Tess and pulled her up, yanking her by the arm forcefully but not enough to hurt her. "You deserve to die and go to hell for what you are." He hissed as he turned his back on her and walked away.
"Better yet, you can come with me." Tess said as she reached over the ship's console and slammed her hand on a button, sealing the granolith doors shut before Michael could step out. The minute Tess did it she regretted it and she stared at Michael's back in astonishment, her hand hovering mere inches over the button.
"Oh my god, no." She gasped, barely an audible whisper. This was not the plan but they had treated her like dirt and she had been so angry and hurt, andrenaline still cursing through her veins like poison. She wanted them to feel it, whichever one of them.
"What did you do?" Michael screamed, turning towards her. "Open the door!" Outside he could hear Max and Isabel screaming his name, their voices fading away as the granolith hummed and vibrated around them.
"I can't."
"Open the door, Tess, or I swear I will kill you!"
"I can't!" She screeched, refusing to back down.
"Which button did you press?" Michael demanded, pressing anything and everything on to console. He could feel the panic rising inside of him.
Tess pushed him away, protecting the machine as if it were her unborn child. "Stop it! You're going to get us killed."
"Isn't that what you want in the first place? Now open the damn door!"
Tess shook her head, looking almost defeated. "I can't, Michael." She said, her voice softening slightly. "The granolith has been reconfigured to start as soon as the doors shut. We - I - can't undo it or unlock the doors until the ship has reached its destination."
"Try." He hissed.
"This button in programmed to read our DNA so that any of us could fly the ship at any given time." Tess explained as she pressed her hand against it. Nothing happened. He looked at her in disbelief. "You try then." He did and still nothing happened. "This is a one way trip." She said, sounding almost apologetic.
Michael inhaled sharply, running shaky hands through his hair. This was not happening. This was impossible. He had a home, a life - not the greatest one - but still he had one. What was going to happen to him now? To Max? To Isabel? And Maria and everyone else? How were they going to survive? How were they going to explain his disappearance? Will he see them again?
What was Tess going to do when they get to Antar? How is he going to survive? Questions and fears and doubts continued to flood his mind.
"I am going to make you pay, Tess. Someday, somehow, I am going to make you pay for all the destruction you have caused." He vowed as he began to pace rapidly. "You'll be sorry."
Tess glared back defiantly but widened the space between them nontheless, placing a protective hand over her swelling belly. This is punishment enough, Tess thought bitterly but refrained from voicing it out loud.
The granolith continued to hum and vibrate, louder and stronger this time until an alarm blared overhead.
"What's happening?" He demanded.
"We need to go into the stasis chambers." Tess replied as she turned and led him into another room. Michael followed reluctantly. "Our bodies will not survive the rest of the trip." She explained when she saw his hesitation. In the room stood four large, empty chambers, very much alike to the ones they came out of many years ago.
"How do I know this is not one of your -?"
"You don't." Tess snapped, blue eyes flaring in anger. "Either you follow my lead or die being the stubborn, hardheaded boy that you are. Your choice."
Michael inhaled sharply, feeling like a caged animal. Nevertheless, he stepped into one of the chambers and pressed his back against the wall as did Tess. Gel like fluid began to form around their feet, rising by the second.
"Close your eyes and don't struggle. You'll be able to breathe." Tess instructed. "It will be just like before."
No it won't. Nothing will ever be like before, Michael thought sadly as everything faded into black.
Author's Notes: I'd like to hear some thoughts on this. I know that many of my readers are hardcore Rebel fans. So am I and I know that I have to justify why Michael and Tess should be paired together. And I will make them jump through hoops of fire. In later chapters, should I continue this depending on feedback, I will explain Tess' questionable actions regarding Alex and Max and the rest of the gang as well as what she just did to Michael. Tess is no saint and she will have to own up to her mistakes.
I always liked a challenge. Please review and do be nice, guys.