Hello! I'm back with another chapter. This story just needs to get out of my head. Particularly because this has been just one chapter that became this massive 3 piece thing. It probably will take me longer to write the rest, but this needed to come out quickly. I think maybe 5 more chapters and I'm done (as long as none of the chapters turn into 3 like this one, lol). Prepare yourselves for some major references to the episodes: Surprise, End of the World and It's Too Late and It's too Bad. I' sticking to using a lot of the episodes and even dialogue quite a bit even if this plot is totally different.

Anyway, special thanks to kbeth82 for her wonderful support and to Victrina Belladonna for adding this story to her community. So exciting!

Who lies and who betrays

"Where would he take them?" Max asks more to himself than anyone around him.

"How should I know!" Michael screams at him. "You were supposed to be watching after Tess today! Iz and her were gonna be together! Where the hell were you?"

"It's not Max's fault!" Liz argues.

"It is," Max says, looking to the floor. "We agreed. I was helping mom and then Liz called. I'm sorry."

"If something happens to her-"

"Michael!" Maria interrupts. "Your forehead. It's red."

Everyone stares and true enough the seal is glowing. Michael looks like he's ready to explode and suddenly the dining table does just that and a bunch of pebbles that Iz has decorating a pot fly up, catch fire and point at Max.

"Stop," Max says. "You'll burn the place down."

"I'm not trying. I'm just pissed off!"

Maria takes his hand. "Space boy this isn't what we need right now. Max was right about trying to figure out where he would take them. If we can find them then we can help them. You can scream and throw mini fireballs later."

He looks into Maria's eyes and knows she's right. The rocks go back to normal and fall to the ground. His forehead remains red while he takes some calming breaths and holds onto her hand.

"Think logically," Alex says. "It can't be a coincidence that Whitaker has been taping Liz and has pictures of the three of you and then right after she wins the election Nasedo takes the girls."

"You think the two things are related?" Liz says.

"Probably."

"Then we go to her office and dig," Maria adds.

"Okay," Michael says ready to go with her.

"Wait, you and Max should stay," Alex says. Michael looks at him like he's lost it. "Hear me out. Tess said that the other day, while you were training, Max and Izzy connected. She put all three of you to sleep and started dream walking and her and Max were able to talk while she was in his mind."

"Yeah, we're getting stronger," Max says.

"You think they could dream walk her?" Kyle asks.

"No, I think they can try to have her dream walk them." Everyone stares at him. "She did it when Max was in the white room. She focused and found you and talked to you. Now maybe you two can focus and find her. Maybe she can lead us to them."

Max nods. "Liz take Maria and search Whitaker's office. Kyle talk to your dad and see if there's anything he can do."

"He can put an APV on Tess' car."

"Do that."

"Michael, you have to help me. Please." Michael nods. "Alex, stick around here. If Izzy makes contact and we fall asleep keep track of everything. If anyone else finds them wake us up."

"Got it."

The group disperses and Max and Michael sit on the living room floor and focus on Tess and Isabel. Nothing happens. "We need more energy," Michael says. Max looks annoyed at his lack of focus. "For once in your life would you trust me?"

"What do you suggest?" Michael stands and goes into the bedroom. He returns with two tall glowing flowers. "The Alkalean gazes? The ones you made?"

Michael nods. "Iz planted them and they grew. She keeps them hidden in her closet." Michael sets the pots next to them and they resume. The flowers glow, nothing happens for a while then a flashback hits both of them.

They are by the mouth of a cave in front of a beach with red water. He's dressed in that red robe from the other memory and she's in the blue one. Zan is in a silver white armor and a large spaceship along with a troop of soldiers are behind him.

"Don't touch her!" Rath screams as he makes rocks fly and create a wall, protecting Vilandra. His eyes turn into a mix of yellow and orange, as if made of fire. His body is glowing red and making the rocks around them tremble.

"You cannot win. I have over fifty palars that you yourself trained."

"And how many of them would like to battle their master?"

"Rath, do not do this. You know I have to bring her to the council. I love my sister, but she broke a pillar of the Glannak. She betrayed me. She must be judged."

"I understand. Take me, judge me in her place."

"It doesn't work that way."

"Then you will have to kill me first."

"You would fight your best friend? You'd defy your king!"

"For Vilandra, for our child, yes."

"A child?"

Then they see her, not Vilandra just Isabel.

"Max? Max! Help!"

"Isabel!" Max calls. "Isabel! Where are you?"

"I don't know!" They hear screams. "Tess! They keep hurting her! You have to help Tess!"

"We can't help if we can't find you," Max says. "Izzy, what's the last thing you remember?"

Then Michael sees her on the floor, dirty and with a cut lip. "Isabel!"

"Tess' car, the desert… Nasedo and a woman. Tess called her congresswoman Whitaker. Then a boy came and knocked us out. But I woke up early. They weren't happy."

"Did you see anything around you?Any landmarks?"

"There was a sign. Highway 380. Atlas. We turned off road after that."

"Get her up!"

"Up, Princess! Get up!"

Everything begins to turn fuzzy.

"Max! They're hurting Tess!"

"We'll find you. We're coming."

"Isabel!"

"Up, you little whore! Time for some girl talk."

"Isabel!"

"Michael? Michael!"

"Izzy!"

They wake up and see Alex's concerned face. "What happened?"

"Highway 380," Max says. "Atlas Missile Silo."

"She told you that?" Michael says.

"Yes, she said highway 380 Atlas and I saw the sign for the missile silo. Didn't you hear her?"

"No. I just saw her. She's hurt, Max."

"Tess is too, badly."

"We have to help them!" Alex says.

"Get Valenti," Max orders. "We'll head to the desert."

"I'm coming with you. I can call Kyle from my cell," Alex says.

They drive for over twenty minutes on the jeep and as they come close to the sign for Atlas they see a huge ball of blue energy, like electricity, erupting from the ground in the distance.

"Right Maxwell! Turn off road to the right!" Michael yells.

It takes them five minutes from when they see the light to get to a fence surrounding a hole on the ground with shards of concrete and metal around it. In the middle of it, they see Isabel and a burst of golden light from her hand that turns Whitaker to dust. Tess is unconscious on the ground next to her and a boy stands in front of them.

"Better than I expected, Princess. My king will be pleased to have you back," he says.

"Leave her alone!" Michael yells. He raises his hand and rocks from all around them begin to fly in the kid's direction. He runs away from them.

Isabel crouches to the floor. "Tess, wake up. Tess. Answer me."

The boys rush to them. Max quickly puts his hand on Tess and heals her. "It's okay," he says.

Tess pushes him away, lifts her own hand and makes him fly and then hit the ground hard. "It is not okay! You son of a bitch, it is not okay!"

"Tess no!" Isabel screams.

"I hate you!" Tess yells. She throws him like a rag doll again.

Michael grabs her. "Stop it!"

"Tess, don't! They want you to hurt him. Don't let them win," Isabel pleads. "Don't let them win, please. Please."

Tess falls to the ground on her knees. Isabel makes Michael let her go and hugs her tightly. Tess looks at her eyes and whispers, "Not okay. It's not okay." Then she begins to cry uncontrollably.

"Not okay," Isabel says. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Maria, Kyle, Liz and Sheriff Valenti arrive and find the girls sprawled on the desert floor next to a crater. Tess is bawling while Isabel is crying quietly and holding onto her friend like she's the only thing that matters in the world. Michael is next to them and has his hand on Isabel's back. Alex is also on his knees by them and gently pads one of Tess' arms. Max looks bruised and is staring with a look of misery and longing so sincere that it almost breaks Liz as she watches him.

"I won't leave you behind. You are my sister," Isabel tells Tess. "We're gonna make it. We'll make it, Tess. I'll always stay."


Sheriff Valenti convinces them to let the girls spend the night at his place. What can be safer than the Sheriff's home? Michael stays and uses a sleeping bag to spend the night in the Valenti's living room. After today, Michael is not leaving Iz or Tess alone again. It's past two in the morning, but sleep won't come. He hears Kyle snoring. For all the crap he's gotten over betraying Max's trust, him and his father were really cool with them. Everyone wanted to know what happened, but the Sheriff and Kyle made sure they all stayed quiet and waited. The girls were a mess, and the Valentis were right, talking about it right then wouldn't help. The Sheriff carried Tess into his squad car and Isabel walked behind them as if that was her only place. Max and Michael patched the hole on the ground and made the area look as if nothing had happened. He hears movement, stands and lifts his hand, ready for anything. Isabel walks out of Kyle's room.

"Just me," she whispers.

"Are you alright?"

She shakes her head and moves towards the main door. "I need some air."

"Wait for me."

He gets his shoes on and puts on his jacket. She's wearing one of Kyle's jersey and his sweatpants. It seems wrong, especially when she puts on her boots and suede jacket and makes her belly grow. She's never been this mismatched and uncaring about looking so far from perfect. They walk in silence for while until they get to the park. They sit on the same bench they sat the night they argued over asking Alex for help with the book and Max made her upset. It feels like it's been an eternity and things are both worse and better. They figured out the book and Adam is coming, but their enemies are here and they hurt her. She looks up to the sky in wonder and he looks at her.

"I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, to me or anyone. It's okay."

She turns and looks into his eyes. "No. It's not okay. Tess is right." She takes a deep breath. He takes her hand in his and gently squeezes.

"I… at first they made us see things… like mind warps… war… just bad things, maybe some of it was real. We were afraid, really afraid." She squeezes his hand a little tighter and continues. "Then they separated us. Whitaker took me to a different room and Nasedo and Nicolas, the boy, stayed with Tess. They put this thing on her, like a bracelet, that didn't let her use her powers. They said Kivar ordered not to put that on me or harm me too much, so for the most part they let me be. I tried to fight Whitaker and she used her powers on me and I blacked out. But that helped because then I like started dream walking Tess even though she wasn't really asleep, just hurt. In the middle of that I heard Max and then you," she says. "Then Whitaker woke me up. She… said things. She said that I… I…"

-x-x-x-x-x- Flashback -x-x-x-x-x-

"You don't remember, do you? Let me give you a piece of history about your planet. Your name was Vilandra, and you were beautiful...even more beautiful than you are now… the one with the strongest Alkalean shine in the galaxy. Those in our world either desired you or served the crown and would give their lives to protect you or hated your rule and wanted to kill you. But no matter what anyone felt, you belonged to Kivar, our leader."

"I loved Rath."

"The soldier! He was a commoner who worshipped the ground you royals walked on. Nothing more. But you, you let Lord Kivar in the palace, you opened the doors for him. You sacrificed everyone...even yourself. And history, my dear, always repeats itself."

"God, you liar! Bring me back to Tess!"

"Not until you tell me where you're hiding the granilith."

"I told you already, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, Princess. I do not kiss the ground you walk on. I will get what I want."

"I don't know!"

Nicolas walks in the dingy room. "Well, maybe this will help jog your memory, Princess," he says then Tess is flying into the room. She lands with a thud.

-x-x-x-x-x- End Flashback -x-x-x-x-x-

"I think I let them in and they killed us. I betrayed you. We died because of me."

"It's a lie." She looks at him incredulously. "I don't remember everything, but I know that you or well Vilandra would never hurt Adam."

"What if she did?"

"That's impossible, okay. You and I and Tess and Max, we all remember how Vilandra refused to even think of living again without Adam. There's no way someone like that sacrificed herself for our enemy while she was pregnant. It's a lie."

She looks at him and feels a kind of peace of mind she had not had since before that awful dream with Kivar. They stay quiet, just holding hands for a while. She then hugs him and feels like she could pour her soul out and somehow it would be okay. Everything is wrong, but maybe it can be okay. She speaks again. "Once they brought Tess back. I was able to really dream walk her and we fought him together, Nicolas. He was in her mind, making her see things, convincing her to do things, showing her how much she should hate us, Max most of all. It's terrible… what he put in her head. But he's not as strong as Kivar, I could tell. I got her to break free; convinced her it was lies. Then Whitaker took over. She attacked us, more physically than before, but I was able to hold her back and take the bracelet off Tess. She blew the ground up and passed out. I dragged her out and then I… I killed Whitaker. You know the rest." She looks straight at him, unsure of what she's hoping to see. "I didn't know I could do that… I didn't mean to. I… I'm a killer."

"No, Iz, you had to defend Tess and yourself."

"But did I really have to kill her?"

"She hurt Tess and you. If she had lived, who would she have attacked next? Isabel, I would have done the same thing you did. I did it once. I killed Pierce. That doesn't make me a bad person, right?" Michael asks sincerely.

"Can't use my words against me."

"Why not?"

"Because she knew me. And the things she said -"

"She lied."

"Maybe. Maybe Vilandra wouldn't sacrifice Adam, but some of it is true. I betrayed my family, I just know it."

"You said they were lying to Tess and showing her things, to make her hate us. They probably lied to you as well, to rattle you and get you to do what they wanted. But even if some of it is true, in that life, in our past, I didn't hold it against you… I loved you. I mean Rath loved Vilandra, enough to fight his best friend after she betrayed him." Michael then explains the flash he and Max had while trying to connect with her.

"And Max saw that?" He nods. She stays quiet.

"Iz, it doesn't matter. Whatever Vilandra did doesn't apply now. In this life, you're Isabel. You love Max, he knows that. And you will do anything for Adam, I know it. You fought with Tess. You helped her. And… you're good to me, really good. You are Izzy."


Thanksgiving preparations are taking place all around them. Isabel is busy planning all sorts of parties and meetings with her boss and driving Michael crazy about getting the perfect turkey for dinner at the Valenti's. It's amusing in a way and disturbing in another. His sister is still rattled over what happened, he can tell. And focusing on Adam, party planning, school, turkeys and annoying their best friend keeps her busy and that seems to be her way to cope. But those two spend too much time together, they are now setting up a nursery in Michael's room. It's all… unnerving. Still, after what happened he won't dare tell their friend to stay away from her. Michael is hyper vigilant, like a hawk that knows exactly where Isabel and Tess are at almost all times. Isabel started calling him the location Nazi. Kyle keeps teasing Michael with that one and the mall thing. They've begun this wrestling thing every time Michael wants to blow him up for all the crap Kyle dishes. That was Tess' idea. If her brother was a pain that likes to rile Michael up then they could deal with it in a human boy way. Maria laughed and said it all made sense for Michael to prove that even aliens have Neanderthal in them. Strangely, they have all made peace with Kyle and slowly he has been able to look at Liz and not feel a stab to the heart. It still hurts, a lot, but not quite as much. But now this thing between his sister and Michael keeps popping up like a new thorn at his side. Max knows they're only friends, but the flashback they had when they were trying to find Iz is making him question everything.

It's been over two weeks since Atlas. Isabel explained most of it. Max is so on edge. His sister betrayed him. He doesn't know how, but she did. And Rath fought him because he loved her and in the end Ava sided with them, for the baby. That much he remembers. What if it's happening again? Is that what destiny means? Him fighting his sister and Michael, and Tess... Tess on their side... Tess hating him? Is it unavoidable? The hating thing haunts him. He knows it was their enemies. They got Tess to believe she should hate all of them and she overcame it, except him. She hated him, even if only for a moment, she hated him enough to attack him. And at that moment everything about her was strong, so strong. But how? How did this Nicolas do it? It scares him to think that maybe deep down Tess hates him or she will someday. Maybe he's hurt her enough to deserve it. But she's not supposed to. She's not. And why does it matter anyway? He loves Liz, that's real. Even after Kyle, he loves her and her shy smiles and love for science and her family and her innocence and how she writes in her journal. She's the one he's wanted since he was a boy, the one that makes him feel everything inside him that is human. But, he doesn't not love Tess. She's scary, strong and relentless when she believes; she's scary... alien. Once she decides what she wants she goes for it without human doubts and care, without him or his opinion. Liz would never, no, Liz would too. She slept with Kyle, she does what she wants, without him, like Tess. Why does it matter so much? Why does it feel wrong that Tess no longer gives him that look of admiration and longing she used to have everyday? Why does it hurt to see her blue eyes telling him that he's lucky she tolerates his presence?

"Are you okay?"

"Liz? Oh yeah, fine."

"The hallway is deserted and you've been standing by your locker, looking towards where Tess left for… well a while. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Maybe you should talk to her."

"What's there to talk about?"

"You tell me. You're the one that's been staring after her."

"I stared at you for years and tried to talk to you about us since you came back from Florida and it got me nowhere. Why should I try talking to her?"

"Max, maybe… maybe she's the one you need. You can move on and fulfill your destiny."

"Don't. Don't give me advice about another girl and moving on. Not when you're all I wanted. I did everything for you. I didn't care about destiny. I still don't. So please don't say these things and make it seem like it was me or some alien thing. I fought for us. I showed that I make my own destiny."

"I'm sorry."

"Why? 'Cause you want Kyle?"

"No because… you can't stop what's happening to you. Maybe you're right and your destiny is not back in your planet with Tess. But your life will always be dangerous. Since we started all of this, you were taken by the FBI, Michael and Isabel had to kill, and Tess, your enemies have messed with her head for years and she could have gotten all of you killed and god knows what else. You four and Adam... you will always have dangerous lives. But me… my life is only in danger if I am with you. Max, I… I want to be in love with boys… normal boys. I want to see my 21st birthday and have a wedding day. I… I… I want to have children… and not have them be some powerful prophesied child with enemies after him before he's even born. You know, Max, if… if you ever truly loved me, you'll let me go. I really loved you, but I… I don't want to die for you. I want… no, I need... a human, someone like me."

Maria stands behind Max and her eyes grow big. She was supposed to meet Liz by her locker, but didn't find her so she walked this way. She never expected to hear Liz say such things. Max walks away and she knows this is ripping him apart. During the summer, before she saw the flashback of Michael kissing Isabel, Max and her had bonded. She almost had Michael back and Max was waiting for Liz. It all made sense then. But everything is different. She got Liz's help to move on, but who's helping Max? Liz nods at her and she goes after him. Maria finds him by the bleachers, looking lost.

"You want me to tell you that it's all gonna work out, right?"

"No. I want to hear what you have to say, honestly."

"Ok. Here's what I think… give Liz up. Leave her alone. All this is leading nowhere. None of us belong with any of you. And at least for me... it got better once I let it go. It hurt, a lot, but then it got easier and easier and now I'm okay."

"You really have, haven't you? Let go."

She nods. "I want to be happy and I want Michael to be happy. It's just… I don't know if we would be happy in a relationship. He's having a baby and all these alien things keep happening. When we were together, trying to get him to take me on a real date was a challenge… now it'd be impossible. I would be with him, tailing Isabel and Tess and getting things for Adam and worrying about when the next shoe would drop and everyone's' lives would be at risk or when I would finally lose him. I just… I care about you guys, all of you. But I realized that I want to make music and travel and get to live my own adventures without alien things always being my first concern. Michael and I... we'll always care, first love and all, but we're better as friends." She lets out a laugh. "You know, we actually talk now. No crazy fighting or wanting to cry because he said something incredibly insensitive or wanting to scream because he stole my car or forgot my birthday or didn't get me a Christmas present."

"And you think it's the same for me and Liz. That we'll be better if we let it go."

Maria thinks for a minute. The truth is that she doesn't. That she has always held hope for her friend and her alien soulmate. But that's not what Max needs to hear, not after the brutal speech Liz just gave him. The last thing he needs is an excuse to cling to senseless hope. She's been there. She knows. "I heard somewhere that if you love something you should set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If not, it was never meant to be. It sounds like dear Abby or something, but maybe that's the right idea."

"Thank you."


At the Evanses, Max sits with his parents and a couple of people from dad's work. One is a young intern in her last semester of law school who couldn't afford to travel home all the way to Wisconsin. The other is a new hire who dad really likes and who is only stopping briefly because his family lives close and he'll have dinner with them later. He has just come to see his boss as almost a second father, a mentor, and couldn't say no to stopping by today. It's him, Jesse, that's saying grace this year. And it infuriates Max. Isabel usually did that. Isabel, his real flesh and blood sister, the one that was raised in this house as their daughter, the one they left behind in Michael's apartment just two months ago.

"Thank you, God, for the food we are about to eat. For those who are here to share these blessings. For the generosity of our hosts that make this possible. Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts, and all those who are not as fortunate on this day. Amen," Jesse says.

"Amen," everyone except Max answers.

He moves his food around his plate and remains quiet as a mouse.

"Max?" his mother says.

"Yes."

"You haven't eaten anything. Are you alright?"

"Great, just great," he says bitingly.

"Max, do not speak that way to your mother. What has gotten into you?"

"Me? Let's see… maybe I wish the house had all the extra decorations that Isabel would have bought, or for the tabasco she would have made sure we had at the table, or for the living room to have that too strong fall scent that makes me almost gag because she goes too crazy with the potpourri and candles. She should be here, saying her usual Grace and talking about the meals getting distributed at the soup kitchen. Maybe I wish to see my sister even if it's in her new routine of driving Michael crazy and having him keep up with holiday details he's never cared for before or arguing about stuff that Adam may or may not need."

Max stands up and walks towards the main door. His mother looks like she's on the verge of tears. "Adam?" she says. "It's a boy?"

"Yeah. I'm having a nephew," he says, closing the door and then climbing into the jeep.

The drive calms him down. He's not even sure why he got so mad. It's just… it's been coming all along. The house feels empty these days. He loves his parents, but this is not the way things are supposed to be. It's always been the four of them, him and his sister and their parents. They are a family, but… not anymore. He knocks on the door at the Valenti's. Michael opens. He greets him and his sister who is in in the kitchen with Tess, talking animatedly about different kinds of sauces. Tess explains that Tabasco is great, but they decided to try these sauces they found at the Mexican store the other day. So, he better be ready for some new tastes at the table. He smiles and then joins the other boys who are watching the Lions and Patriots game.

"Isabel let you slack off while they do all the work?" Max asks.

"I made the bird. Thing took forever," Michael answers.

"You did?"

"I've cooked for a living for over a year, Maxwell. I wasn't about to let your sister damage that thing beyond repair." Kyle laughs. "Whatever you're going to say, can it," Michael warns.

"Or what? You'll throw me out the window?"

"I'll remind Iz you haven't done any work and send her your way."

"You suck. Just let me enjoy having my sister and her best friend feed me out of the love of their hearts."

"They're not," the Sheriff says. "We're on cleaning duty once dinner is done. Tess said."

"Oh hell!"

Michael laughs at him. "What the queen says," he teases.

"Don't even try, Mr. Mall day."

And then it's on and Michael pins Kyle to the floor. "Take it back, Buddha boy."

Max laughs wholeheartedly for the first time this day.


The meal is great. Isabel and Tess get the sheriff to say Grace. He's awkward and sincere and Max thinks it's perfect. Somehow Thanksgiving brings clarity to his head. This is his family. And it doesn't matter if they have enemies after them or if they messed with Tess' head or if his feelings got hurt by her attack and Liz's words and Maria's advice. He knows that they aren't okay, but somehow as long as they stay together they can be, they will be, someday. Once they finish eating way too much pie, Kyle and his father head to the kitchen to wash dishes and the alien four sit in the living room. They sort of watch the Vikings Dallas game. Max is mostly just thinking about what he is about to do.

"Can… can we talk?" he asks, after approaching Tess.

"What?"

"I just… please. Let's take a walk. I have things to say."

"Okay."

Isabel looks at them with concern. Michael pretends he couldn't care less, but Max can see that deep down he also wonders what is going on. He leaves with Tess and they walk quietly for a while.

They arrive at the park and sit in silence, looking at the stars.

"The V-shape is not really visible anymore," Max says.

"Yeah. It's been a while since the alignment."

"Tess, I… I want to say that I'm sorry." She looks at him with doubt, like she is afraid of him, afraid of believing anything he says. "Look, it's just, I was living this somewhat simple life and then everything changed… Nasedo, you, the dreams, Adam, destiny, it feels like it all came at us at once and everything that was normal came crashing down. And it scared me. It really did because... right or wrong, I feel like if I follow the destiny road, I can never go back. Then it'll all be gone."

"You're scared to go home."

"What is home? Is home really up there? I just feel like this whole idea about where we come from, and I want to believe it, I want to understand it more and more, but it just feels like this dream... this dream that I can never really quite touch or see or...feel. And earth just seems so much more... real."

"I always felt the opposite. Maybe it was Nasedo and everything he said or the fact that I didn't have a home in the way you did. I just… I spent all my life waiting… waiting for you, waiting for a family, waiting for my chance to finally be… me. I never felt like anything here was mine, nothing was real because I was meant to be somewhere else. I… I remember this other me… from out there. The one that loved you and your sister and would do anything for the life bringer. The one that was used to red skies and blue trees and silver suns that made time move in a different way and who read and supported everything about the royals. I remember a lot about the me that was the Queen to your King. But now… I don't know. I've gotten to love Izzy like a sister and feel like I would still do anything for Adam, like Ava would. But I also love Kyle and Jim, and Alex and Michael are my friends, and god help me I have even started care about what happens to Maria and her motor mouth. I… I'm doing everything Nasedo told me not to… I'm getting used to things here, on Earth. I don't know anything anymore."

"Do you hate me?"

"I… I'm sorry if I hurt you. That was… I don't know. I don't know how I feel about you. Maybe a part of me hates you or loves you or maybe it was just Nicolas and what Kivar did in my head before… I just don't know"

"I'm sorry they did that to you. It's my fault." She starts to talk but he raises his hand, signaling she should stop and let him explain more. "Please, let me say this. I… I know that you did that because our enemies made you, because they showed you things that made you angry at me, angry enough to hate me. And that's my fault because I haven't given you anything good to hold onto. I don't know what they showed you, but… I can imagine because I... I've been horrible with you. My whole life I've wanted to be this person, this normal person. Human. My whole life I've been thinking that this alien side of me was this bad thing. This thing that made me a freak, a monster. So, I needed to push you away, to keep the monster away, to keep Liz and feel human and… I was wrong. I was bad to you Tess and you didn't deserve it. I… I remember things too, more and more. I… Zan loved you. I know you remembered that it was an arranged marriage and… I think you're right about that part, but… Zan loved Ava. I've seen it. And… the way I've treated you… I don't know what Nicolas showed you, but I know that my behavior probably helped him and for that I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry."

She looks so vulnerable, so unsure of herself that it rattles him. He slowly, tentatively takes her hand in his. They sit in silence again. "Thank you," she says after a while. "I… Max, I want us to be friends."

"I'd like that too. Very much. I… Tess, I feel like I've been so lost and clueless about everything that I forgot my family. I... I hurt you and even Iz and Michael and now... sometimes I feel like I've lost everyone."

"You haven't. Isabel loves you, so much. Michael too, in his own stoic messed up way. And I… look, no matter what happens we are a family. But we need to stop hurting each other. The four us, we need to stick together and be strong. Maybe we'll stay on Earth or maybe we'll go home. I don't know anymore. But I know that if we fall apart then there's no point. If we don't stick together and try to help Antar and fight our enemies, then our deaths, our previous lives, and even our new ones, are just a waste of alien and human DNA."

"We won't. We won't fall apart or hurt each other anymore. I promise. I don't know what's going on anymore. I thought I knew, but I don't. And I'm finally okay with that. I'm ready to face the future, human or alien, as long as we stay together. We'll make things work."


And finally, the whopper chapter is done! This sets up the rest of the story plot and no I'm not guaranteeing this is a Rebel story and we have full destiny now. I haven't decided that, but I do want Tess and Max to make peace and at least be close friends. Maybe more? Don't know yet. This can easily still go Dreamer again. I'm torn on that one. Opinions? Also, I know Tess is different in this story than in cannon, hopefully I've justified that with how Nasedo used her and Kivar being in her head. If that hasn't worked too well let me know.