Title: How To Save The World
Author: Zia
Rating: Teen
Summary: Roswell, New Mexico, 2020. The parents make a huge decision to try and save the lives of their children, and the world.
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell, if I did, it would still be on the air.
Author's Note: Another idea that has been in my head for a very, very long time.
Prologue
Roswell New Mexico 2020
One alien, and four humans stood in the room they considered the living room, staring at each other. "You're serious?" Maria's voice cracked slightly, looking at her friend Tess.
"It's the only way." Tess whispered. Her own voice cracking.
"But what if the same thing happens to them that happened to Max!" Liz exclaimed quietly, and angrily.
"We recalibrated it." Tess insisted. "Alex worked really hard-"
"You don't know if it'll work!" Liz yelled.
"Liz, I have just as much invested in this as you do. My children are just as important to me, as yours is to you." Tess hissed. "Its the only way! If we don't... Khivar will track us all down, and kill them. Do you really want that? Do you want Claudia to die the same way Michael and Isabel did?"
Liz hung her head and looked out the window.
"What happens... if they... what if it doesn't work?" Maria asked. Her son was all she had left. She just wanted him to be safe.
"We have to be positive about this." Alex spoke up. "Tess and I are sure we figured everything out. We'll send the kids back, and they will be safe."
"They'll be all alone." Tears rolled down Maria's cheeks.
"No, they won't Maria. We will be there... just, the younger versions of ourselves. They'll be okay." Alex tried to reassure her as he wrapped his arms around her. But inside he was terrified. He loved his daughters more than his own life, and he was petrified that something would happen to them. That Khivar would find them. And hurt them. But he couldn't let that happen.
"How soon?" Kyle asked, reaching over to grasp his wife's hand gently.
"We need to do it soon. A few hours at the most. Khivar will sense the power as soon as we activate it. He'll find us."
"Don't tell any of the kids that." Alex spoke up.
"Like they won't figure it out?" Liz asked shaking her head before she stood up and walked out of the room in search of her daughter.
One by one the others began leaving the room. First Maria, then Alex with a heavy sigh. Leaving Kyle and Tess, clutching each other's hands. "I'll go find Thorin." Kyle told her. "Find Zan."
"I don't know if I can do this, Kyle." Tess whispered. "Sending them back there... Khivar could somehow figure out a way to follow them. Then what? We'll be dead, and so will they."
Kyle sighed and pulled his wife into his arms. "All of those kids are strong. Each and every one of them. And they will take care of each other, you know that." He stroked some hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. "They will be fine. Zan has always kept an eye on them. It will be okay Tess."
"I am so scared, Kyle." She whispered, reaching up to cup his face. "They are our children...we're sending them back... and... what if the us from back then, doesn't want then, doesn't help them?"
"Tess, do you actually believe you would turn away your own children? Even at the age of seventeen?"
"Yes... no, I don't know!" She was a different person then. When she got pregnant with Zan her whole life changed.
"Well I do, and I do think I know you pretty well. You will take care of them, no matter what, because your family is the most important thing to you. I know that. Scared or not, you'll do what is right."
"Mom? Dad?" They both turned their heads and saw Thorin walking into the room. He paused staring at his parents. "Why are you crying mom?"
"Baby, come here." Tess held her hand out towards her son. "We need to talk."
Lilah sat on the front step of the house, staring out at the vast blank desert before her. "Hey." She looked up and saw her younger sister sit down beside her, cup of tea clutched in her hand.
"Hey." She echoed.
"Something is going on." Alexandra told her as she took a sip of her tea.
"What do you mean?"
"I overheard the parentals talking. I didn't hear much. But whatever it is, it's big. And none of them are happy." Lilah frowned, and her frown deepened when she saw her stepfather walk out the front door.
"Dad?" Lilah asked. Though the man was not her actual father by blood, he had taken her in, raised her and loved her like she was his own. He meant the world to her, along with her sister.
"I need to talk to you two." Alex sighed, and sat down between the two. They were both the spitting image of their mother. Sometimes it hurt to look at them. It broke his heart. But this would be for the better. They would get to see their mother again. Isabel. He wished he could see her again too. "We've figured out a plan."
"A plan?" Lilah repeated, casting a glance at Alexandra.
"Yeah." Alex looked down at his hands and clenched his eyes shut. "We're going to use the Granilith to send you back in time. About twenty years."
"You're going to what?!" Lilah hissed, leaping off the step, and turning to face her father. "You can't!" She cried out.
"Lilah-"
"No!" She yelled. "Look at what happened to Max! He disappeared! We never saw him again! What if that happens to us!? What if you guys don't want us! I can't leave you." Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she looked down at her father.
"Lilah." Alex stood up and pulled her into his arms. "It's the only way, Khivar is coming, he's going to find us. He only wants one thing, everyone dead."
"But... but what if...I begged him not to, I mean he's my fath-" Lilah bit her lip and quickly bowed her head. She hated that he was her father.
"Your mother begged for the same thing." Alex cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears.
"I can't just leave you..."
"You have to. Its the only way for you to be safe, and that is all that matters to me, that both of you are safe." Alex pulled Alexandra up and into his arms, holding the two of them tightly. "You're all I have left, and I only want you to be safe." Both girls clung to him, as tightly as they could.
Maria found her son in the basement, laying on the floor, sketching in his notepad. "Mikey..."
"Hi mom." He said glancing up for a second before going straight back to his sketch.
"Mikey, I need to talk to you. Please, stop sketching, because I know that you don't listen to me when you are." His pencil stopped mid stroke and he looked up at his mom. He could see the worry in her face.
"Whats wrong?" He asked, his brow furrowing. Maria held her hand out to him and tugged him up off the floor and into her lap.
"You were too young to remember Uncle Max. But you know how we talked about how we used the Granilith to send him back in time to try and change things, change the fact that Khivar came to Earth, change that Isabel and your dad died..." Mikey nodded. "Well, sweetie, we're going to use the Granilith again. But this time," Maria paused, taking in a breath, trying not to start crying. "We're going to use it to send all of you kids back. So that way you'll be safe, and Khivar won't be able to find you."
"I don't want to." He pouted and wrapped his arms around her.
"Michael, you have to. This is to keep you safe, and you'll have all your cousins there to take care of you, Lilah will be there." Maria sat back a little and pushed some hair off his forehead. "I'll be there. I'll be younger, and ... much weirder." Maria smiled, trying to get him to laugh, but he wasn't having it. "Your dad will be there."
Mikey frowned. "He will?" He'd never met his father. He had died a few days before he was even born. He had pictures, and he knew that he looked a lot like his father.
"He will." Maria nodded. "You have to be brave for me baby, this is the only choice we have."
"Why can't you come?" He asked her.
"Because... the Granilith is only going to be strong enough to send back you kids. Besides, I will be there. And you kids will find us, and everything will be okay. I promise we will take care of you." Maria hugged her son tightly against his chest. "I'll always be with you, not matter what." She whispered, kissing the side of his face.
Liz walked into her daughter's room, the room she shared with Lilah, and Alexandra. "Claudia, we need to talk."
"What is it?" She asked with a look of confusion on her face.
"The others came up with the idea to send you all back in time."
"Like dad?" Liz nodded.
"I'm not going to do it, I won't allow you to go back, and disappear, just like Max did. I can't loose you too."
"Mom-"
"This isn't an option, Dia. You not going back. If the others want to kill their children, they are more than welcome to. Khivar will go after them, not you. They don't even know if the Granilith will be able to support all of them. I'm not going to risk your life."
Liam and Zan stood out in the desert, high up on a rock formation. Both were generally quite people, and preferred to be away from the rest of the 'family.' Zan, the first born of the whole group, was the child of Tess and Max. Their relationship hadn't lasted the first year he was around. Max was too in love with the doe-eyed Liz to care about Tess. And Zan resented him for that.
And Liam was just as much an outcast, Tess had been wrong about the dream pregnancy. Surprise. Isabel and Michael had started having the dreams again, and nine months later, Liam was born. He never quite felt like he belonged in either family. His own parents were friends, and considered each other siblings.
The two had become allies of sorts. Neither quite feeling like they belonged. Sure, all the parents tried. But it wasn't the same. Liam blasted a rock, up from the ground, causing it to fly into the air, where he hit it again, and watched it explode into a cloud of dust.
Tess knew exactly where she would find her son. He spent many hours out there, he and Liam. And as she approached the rock she wasn't disappointed. "Zan, Liam." She called, looking up to where they were sitting. "Come down here, please."
Both boys looked down at her before looking at each other. A second later they were making their way down the rock formation to stand in front of her. "Whats up?" Zan asked.
Tess opened her mouth, and then closed it, she was going to tell Liam to go find Alex, to let him explain, but she knew that Liam wouldn't. "We're going to use the Granilith to send you kids back in time."
"You're going to do what?" Zan demanded angrily.
"We have to Zan, Khivar is coming. Its the only way to keep all of you safe."
"That's bullshit."
"Zan-"
"And if I refuse?" He crossed his arms over his chest, and in him, Tess saw his namesake. That part of Max that was defiant, and if it wasn't his own decision, he wasn't going to do it.
"Then, so help me, I will mind warp you, or I will knock you unconscious, and then you won't have much of a choice. This isn't up for discussion, Zan. Get back to the house, now."
Zan growled deep in his throat, livid that she would tell him what to do. It was his life, and he sure as hell did not want to go back in time, no matter where they were going.
He and Liam made their way back to the house and Liam stopped short when he saw Lilah, and Alexandra sitting on the front step, both clinging to their father.
"Liam-" Alex started but Liam cut him off.
"Don't worry about it, Tess already told me."
Alex sighed as he looked at Liam. He tried so hard for Isabel's sake. But Liam had never been forthcoming.
The group began to gather in the Pod Chamber, watching with bated breath as Tess slid the key into the slot. The Granilith whirled to life. This was it. No turning back now. Indefinitely Khivar would feel the power. He would know. He would find them and it was only a matter of time before he came.
Mikey clung to Maria, as tightly as he could, crying softly. "Don't wanna go." He wailed into her shoulder.
"I know, baby. I know." Maria looked at Lilah, who immediately walked over and touched Mikey's head.
"Come on, kiddo. We've gotta go." The little boys tear stained face looked up at hers, and Lilah felt her heart break. She pulled him from Maria's arms, feeling them both resist a little. His legs went around her waist, and his arms around her neck and he clung to her tightly.
"Keep an eye on him, please." Maria whispered, and Lilah nodded, watching the tears roll down Maria's cheeks.
"I will." She said before walking back towards the Granilith.
"I love you, girls." Alex told him, and kissed both their cheeks.
"Love you too, dad." Lilah told him, hugging him tight, then stepping back to let Alexandra do the same. Then Lilah took Alexandra's hand, and squeezed it, trying to reassure her.
Zan was angry. Livid. He didn't see any reason why they had to do this. They were stronger together. Sending them back to a time when their parents were going to be the same age as he was. Ridiculous. "Zan, please-" Tess started as she reached for him.
"Forget it, iTess/i." He snapped, and watched as his mother's heart broke. He didn't mean to be cruel, but he couldn't do anything else. This was his home. Regardless of everything. Going back to a time where they wouldn't be welcome, wouldn't be able to use their powers. Wouldn't have a home.
Tess' jaw trembled as she stared at her oldest son. Before she stepped back and hugged Thorin tightly. "Be safe." She whispered in his ear. "Listen to your brother. Find me, and Kyle, as soon as you can. I love you so much." She moved away letting Kyle hug his son, before Thorin walked to the Granilith.
"Liam." Maria said quietly, looking at the boy, who she did love as her own, even though he never knew it. He was more like Michael than Mikey was, in the sense that he didn't feel like he belonged at all. "I just want you to know I love you. And, try not to tell us too much about the future..." Part of her was afraid that he might. He was angry she knew. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.
Liam simply nodded slightly, before Alex cleared his throat. "You guys, it's time, everyone that is going, touch the Granilith."
No one moved at first, then Lilah pushed Alexandra towards it, then Thorin reached up, followed by Liam, each touching it and letting themselves be sucked inside. The time was running out. Seconds to go. Lilah reached up and saw Zan lingering. "Zan!" She yelled and grabbed onto his hand, and didn't miss the dirty look he shot her as they were both pulled in.
"Claudia!" Alexandra suddenly yelled. Everyone looked towards where Liz and Claudia had been standing. They were gone.
Alex rushed out of the pod chamber and saw the two running as quickly as they could down the steep rock. "Damn it." He breathed and turned back just in time. All the kids were safely in the Granilith. There was an explosion of light. And then they were gone.