Author: Nicole Alexandra
Title: Nonexistence
Spoilers: End of the World
Summary: Events of the future leading up to future Max's arrival.
Disclaimer: I own none of the following characters or the last scene. I temporarily borrowed them for my own writing pleasure. And if you would decide to sue I have NO MONEY! Honestly I don't.
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone that helped out on this. Laura, Nina, Court and Liz~! This was just a sorta explantation to the events in the future that led to EOTW.
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us, above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no country
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You may say I 'm a dreamer
But I am not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be one
Imagine no possession
I wonder if you can
No need for greed no hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You may say I am a dreamer
But I am not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one.
John Lennon- Imagine
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Silence hung in the air. Max held the bloody corpse in his hand. "We have to change things." He looked up to Liz, his eyes glistening with tears. "None of this should have happened." Maria stood in the dark corner, too shocked to move, she watched as Max held the body in his arms.
"Max.." Liz stepped closer. "I can't let go. I can't let you go knowing I'll never have any of this ever again."
Max spoke through small sobs, "There are three of us left and I can't let that number be reduced again. We have to change things. We have to." He held Michael's face, "He was my brother; Isabel died two weeks before, who's next? You? Maria? Me? I can't sacrifice anymore lives." He freed an arm taking Liz's hand. "I love you so much Liz. That's why I have to do this."
He laid Michael's head down against the cold gray concrete and stood staring into Liz's eyes. "I have to save the world, I have to save you. I have to find a way." Max rested his forehead against Liz's. "I have to."
Maria watched; streams flowed down the apples of her flushed cheek as she stepped towards Michael's body. She laid her ear against his chest.
"He's not breathing. Why? Why isn't he breathing?" She began to go into hysterics, her voice raising one volume level with every word. "He has to breathe. Make him breathe Max!"
Max stared at the girl. Her eyes had become puffed and bloodshot. "Maria.." Liz whispered softly. "Maria, he's dead." Liz's own voice quivered as she spoke.
Maria pulled back, "No, he can't be. I need him." She clutched his white shirt in his hands; her fingernails tearing into the thin cloth.
"Maria, stop. He's gone."
She looked up to Max, "Is he? What about the stones? Or could you heal him?" Max shook his head lightly.
"He's really gone Maria."
"No!" Maria threw herself onto his chest. She intertwined her fingers with his. A series of tremors ran through her body as she held Michael.
Liz stood, moving closer to Max. "Do it. Change the world." She whispered into his ear. He grabbed for her hand, kissing the tips of her fingers.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two Weeks Earlier
Maria stood at the edge of the small dirt hole in the woods. She looked at the faces of each of her companions. She watched as Michael wiped away a few stray tears with the back of his hand. She closed her eyes reciting a prayer.
"God bless, Isabel." She laid a small pink carnation on the make shift pine box coffin. She moved back to Michael, wrapping her arms around him. Max moved to the coffin laying a letter against the pinewood of the coffin.
"Goodbye Izzy." He picked up the large shovel next to the edge of the hole and began topping the coffin with a layer of soil.
As the last shovel full of dirt was piled on, Max moved back. The four figures formed a circle, each taking the hand of the person next to them. "From here on out, it's us four and us four only." Max's voice was stern and direct.
"Four against the world." Maria's voice was soft, almost a whisper. She tightened her fingers around Michael's hand. "Four against the universe."
"Four against everything." Liz let a tear roll from the bottom of her chin. "Just us."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Present
Liz laid her head against Maria's bed. "Max is going to make everything right." She tried to force a smile. "And you'll never have to know any of this."
She listened to Maria's shuddered sobs for a moment then continued, "In fact, he is talking to Serena right now. He'll make it work. I know he will." She reached across the light blue blanket, taking Maria's hand.
"Liz, this is the end. I know it. I feel it. Thanks for being there for me though."
"Maria, stop. Everything will be fine. I promise." Liz let out a smile. "All of this will disappear."
"Lizzie, you're far too optimistic." Maria's voice was flat. "Way too optimistic."
"How is she?" Liz felt Max's breath on her neck.
"She is in and out of coherent ness. Sometimes she realizes Michael's gone; other times she slips into this other person. Almost a child."
Max nodded. Strands of his hair hung in his face. "What did Serena say?" Liz's heart stopped.
Max took a long breath before answering. "We can change things."
A ray of hope shot through Liz's eyes. "We can? How?"
Max paused. He stared at Liz's beautiful face. This was the last thing he had ever wanted for Liz. He wanted her to have a normal life, kids, friends, the American dream. Instead she was in some run down cabin in the middle of nowhere that hadn't been used since at least 2005. Paint peeled off the wall, and weird ooze dripped from the faucets. There was no electrical or water system.
"We can go back."
"Go back? Where? To Roswell?"
"No. I mean go back."
"Max, you're talking in riddles."
"We can go back in time. Change things. I never married you, Tess never left, Izzy never died, Michael never did either."
"So what about this?" Liz fought the tears that welled up in her eyes. "What about us? I never get any of this?"
Max felt like someone had just taken his beating heart out of his chest and burned it in front of his own face. "It'll be better, Liz. You can have a normal life. You can have kids, a normal husband; you'll be safe. You will have never had to go through this."
"Max," she stood up and brought a hand to the side of his face, "don't you get it. It's you. When I am with you I am safe, safer than I've ever been. As long as I am with you I know things will always be right."
"Liz, if I don't do this millions will die. Maria will, I will, you will. I can't let that happen."
She turned her head to the girl who lie on the old military cot. "Fine." She stood on her tiptoes and grazed her lips against his. He parted his lips slightly and let her tongue brush against his. She pulled away when she heard the squeak of old rusty springs on the cot.
"How and when do you go back?"
"Tomorrow. I am not sure I understand," Max bent down slowly taking a pure white crystal from his satchel. "But this is how." He held it to the light and watched brilliantly colored rays separate themselves. Liz let her fingers run over the perfectly symmetrical sides of the crystal. " So this is our last night together on earth?"
Max nodded.
Candlelight danced across the dim walls. "One thing I wish Past Max could know is how happy I've been. Every moment with you, Liz, was a moment well worth it." Max smiled.
"I guess I would want past Liz to know not to fight it. Just follow her heart. "
"I would want Past Maria to know how worth it Michael really is. He still amazes me." As Maria spoke she shut her eyes tightly. "And I would want Michael to know how special he really is because I know Michael never knew how great he was and how many people needed him." Maria's voice sunk into whispers as she spoke.
"Okay, one regret." Liz announced.
"My one regret is not taking care of everyone like they should have been taken care of. Michael should not be in the ground. Isabel should still be walking around like a supermodel, and Alex should still be laughing."
"My one regret is..."Liz paused. She thought back to all the times things had seemed so hard, as she thought she realized every moment led to where she was now, with Max. "I don't have one."
Maria straightened her body. "My one regret is..." she hesitated, "not saying goodbye." Her voice came out shaky as she held down the impulse to sob. Maria stood quickly, exiting into what was once the kitchen. She rested her body against one of the dusty ..things that used to be a chair.
"Michael." She looked up through the broken skylight, staring into the night sky. "Michael, I know you're there. Just please look after them." She remembered back to when she was a kid watching The Lion King. She half-expected clouds to start rolling over her and Michael's face appearing, telling her to remember who she was. "Michael, help Max. Please."
Tears glistened as they rolled from her chin to the neckline of her red sleeveless dress. "Please." She moved to a large cherry trunk pulling out an old cream and orange colored sweater, pulling it over her bare shoulders. "They need your help."
Maria paused a moment. She caught a glimpse of a figure entering the old shed. She could see the figure was rather large, big build, massive shoulders. She swallowed the lump that caught in her throat. Closing her eyes, she grabbed for one of the knives that sat on the counter. She dropped to her knees crawling back to the candle light illuminated room.
She motioned outside. "Someone's out there. One of the bounty hunters, I think." Her whispers penetrated the silence. Max slowly stood watching the figure move to the side of the house. "We have to go." He grabbed for Maria and Liz's hand. "Max, we don't have time for a warp. Lets just run."
"If we do that we risk running into more of them surrounding the house. Take Maria's hand." Maria dropped the knife as Liz grabbed for her free hand. "Concentrate on me. " Max ordered.
Images of a house surrounded completely by a desolate beach began to flood their minds. Ocean waves crashed against hard, jagged rocks that lined the shores. Liz could see the moonlight playing the motion of each wave. Liz felt her body begin to separate molecule by molecule. Each of her pieces were spreading out, drifting apart. She could feel herself begin to mix with Max and Maria. She held her thoughts; she knew if her thoughts escaped into the nothingness she would not reform right. Maria felt her body begin to solidify. She felt organs begin to reform and she could feel a hand gripping her own. Her skin was now beginning to form over her bones and organs. Now all she needed were her eyes.
"Max?" Liz heard the familiar voice question.
"Serena," she heard him answer. Everything was still black so she could only guess where they were.
"Max?" There was Maria. Liz waited for her eyes to reform. Slowly light became visible as did fuzzy objects around the room. Finally everything sharpened. Liz immediately moved to Max, hugging him tight. "Max." Maria knew there was a risk every time they did that, a risk of forming together or possibly not at all. She was just glad everyone was safe.
"Serena, are we safe here?"
"Safe?" Serena's bright green eyes questioned Max's face.
"They knew where we were."
"Max!" Serena's melodical voice almost became a gasp.
Max parted from Liz moving to Serena. "They're onto us. Whatever we're going to do we have to do it soon." Max's gaze was intense, almost burning Serena's own eyes.
Serena shook her head. "The Granolith is not ready. There is not enough power stored yet. We can't. I don't even know if the physics of it are right yet. We're risking too much. Even going tomorrow is too soon."
"We don't have that much time. We have to go now."
Liz stepped forward lightly brushing her hand against the bare skin of Max's bicep. God, I'll miss that touch, he thought. Her bright brown eyes glowing she slowly stated simply, plainly, clearly, "Max needs to go soon. The whole world rides on this."
"He won't be much use dead!" Serena's voice hit a high pitch.
"Either way he'll be dead. Is there any way to boost the power of the Granolith?" Serena's gaze moved away.
"There is."
"No. We can't. It is far, far too dangerous. You'll run the risk of killing not only everyone on this planet but your planet as well."
"We have to." Max moved forward. "How do we do it?"
Serena turned away. "The crystal I gave you has a match, a twin. Just the same, white, symmetrical, the only difference is a small pinkish core and it is twice as big...and twice as deadly."
"Where is it?"
Serena moved away. "I have it in a safe place."
"We need it." She moved to a small picture frame near her large picture window, revealing the night sky. She moved the picture down carefully placing her hand against a solid metal safe. As soon as she heard the snap of the lock she threw the door open, taking an object wrapped in a green cloth.
"Here." She extended it to Max. He carefully took it in his hands, careful to not touch it with his bare flesh.
"How do I use it?"
"You use them together. The white goes in a small hole near the base of the Granolith and the bigger one with the pink core goes directly next to the point of it." Serena tucked a strand of her long waist length hair behind her ear. "Let me come with you."
Maria sat watching silently. Michael, she thought, please be with Max. She walked slowly grabbing Max's hands in hers. "Max I have something for you." She slid a small envelope in his hand. "There's a picture in it. That picture is my favorite memory of you."
Max smiled. "Thanks. That'll be my favorite memory now." He leaned down kissing Maria lightly on the cheek. He pulled out his billfold slowly taking a letter out. "Here."
Maria carefully unfolded the paper. "This is a letter from Michael." The letter was shortly before Michael had disappeared a few years after they graduated. He had been gone for four months, no one ever hearing anything from him, or so Maria thought. She began to read through each line.
"How's Maria? I really miss her. When I think about her I know it was the biggest mistake of my life, leaving Maria."
"How's Maria", it rang out in her head. Not "how's Isabel? or "how's Liz?" it was "How's Maria?"
Maria's mouth curved in a smile. She held the letter against her chest, near her heart. "Thank you Max."
"Can I go with you guys? Just to the chamber?" Max nodded.
"You'll have to warp us again." Serena took Max's hand.
"Everyone in the circle." Max took Liz's free hand while Maria moved in between Serena and Liz.
"Concentrate on me. Direct all of your energy here."
Maria shut her eyes, welcoming the blackness that followed Max's instructions. She could feel her molecules moving apart again. She felt herself moving farther and farther apart. When she started to reform she could feel the pulsing of the Granolith.
Maria's eyes soon reformed and she saw Max and Liz staring up at the massive object. Max started to move to it with the crystal, but Maria held him back. "Wait."
She let her gaze drift to Liz. "Last goodbyes." She paused and swallowed hard, "to everyone."
Liz stepped to Max. "Are you sure you can do this?"
Max closed his eyes. He couldn't look at Liz, he was afraid it would cause him to reconsider. "I love you, Max." Liz stood high, pulling herself up on Max's shoulders planting a soft kiss against his lips.
Maria waited at the side then moved next to Max. "Max, good luck. I love you." Max grabbed her, pulling her into his embrace.
"Take care of Liz until the world ends." He tried to force a smile as Maria nodded gently letting rivers stream down her face. "I will."
"Good luck Max. The fate of the world rests on you." Serena handed him the crystal. "We should go." She looked to Maria and started to the outside of the pod chamber. "Goodbye, Max."
"Liz, I don't think I can do this."
"You have to Max." Liz took the larger crystal with the pink core placing it in Max's hand, letting her fingertips brush against his hand. " Do it Max."
Max took the crystal placing it at the point of the Granolith, "Crystal one in place."
He looked off into the wall. Every moment he had ever spent with Liz flashed through his mind. An image of her dancing across the ocean shore, Liz right before she turned down Gomez, Liz right now.
"I won't leave you." Max's eyes drifted to Liz's.
"No, no, no. Max you have to." Liz studied Max's face, making sure the memory of every line was imprinted on her brain forever.
"If I'm successful, if I can do this, you and I won't exist. Not as we do now." Liz held down her tears.
"Max, if you don't do this, we're going to die. Everyone will. Max, you have to do this. You have to try it."
"I'll never see you again." He paused. "Thank you." Max gazed lovingly at Liz. He wanted to remember her just like this, never anything more, never anything less.
"For what?"
"For every kiss, every smile." Max's lips curved as he thought of Liz's smile. It was the most stunning smile he'd ever seen. She could light up an entire room with just one.
"Max, I don't have any regrets. "
In one quick motion Max took the last crystal, inserting it into the base of the Granolith. His body was sucked into the black cone. "Liz!" he mouthed. He outstretched a hand towards her. She matched his motion as she watched him being sucked through the top of the Granolith and disappear.
She gave a small yell. "Ma...Max!"
The End