Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, but to the writers and producers of Roswell
Spoilers: After Chant Down Babylon, changes happening where Max is successfully rescued, and Michael was the one who broke up with Maria.
Pairings: You'll have to wait and see!
Pronunciation Guide: Kedra (Ke – drah)
Kedrans (Ke – drahns)
Kedar (Ke – dar)
Iturians (I – tur – rians)
Fadila (Fa – dee – la)
Alaric (Ah – lair – ic)
Andaria (An – dar – ia)
Radim (Ra – deem)
Hakan (Ha – kahn)
Medgio (Med – gee – o)
Muna (Mew – na)
Steren (St- air – en)
Pilan (Pi – lahn)
Saren Dari (S - air – ren Dahr – ee)
Barak (B - air – rack)
Riazia (Ree – ah – zee – a)
Hanar (Ha – nar)
Bel Maar (B-el Mar)
Maarican (Mah – Ree – cans)
Laban (Lay – ban)
Panyin (Pan – yin)
Cian (Sigh – yan)
Qunar (Qu - oo – nar)
Aga (Ag –ah)
Author's notes: Queen Fadilia Kedar: Max/Isabel's mother
King Alaric Kedar: Max/Isabel's father
Andaria: Tess' mother
Radim: Tess' father
Kedrans: race from which Royal Four descended
Iturians: race from which Khivar descended, and overthrew and killed Zan and the Kedrans
Chapter Thirty Six***
Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does.
Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.
- James Baldwin
***
"Tess! Isabel?" Max called from the other side of the door. "Are you guys done in there?"
Tess looked hesitantly at Isabel. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. How she would give anything not to have to face Max. What did he expect from her?
As she slid off the counter, Tess studied Isabel's somewhat uncertain expression. Apparently she didn't want to go out there as much as Tess didn't. She squinted and scrutinized Isabel's frightened behavior. "What's with you?"
Isabel looked startled out of her thoughts again. She didn't seem to be paying attention to anything that was happening in here. "What?" she exclaimed with a nervous laugh. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, why are you staring at the door like someone's going to jump you, if you open it?" Tess asked suspiciously.
Isabel glared at Tess, trying to cover her emotions. "I am not," she said indignantly. "I was just thinking."
Tess raised her eyebrows and nodded skeptically. "Sure," she said warily. "And I'm really human." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. At least it was getting her mind off of her problems with Max.
"Did something happen between you and Michael?"
Isabel's eyes widened and she had a panicked expression on her face. "What do you mean? What about me and Michael?"
Tess knew she hit a nerve. She'd never seen a woman look so guilty in her life. Now she just had to figure out what it was. "It's just that we, Max and I, thought you guys might have had a fight?" A look of relief appeared on Isabel's now darkened features. "Uh, yeah," Isabel said casually. "We sort of had a fight. That's all."
Tess had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She wasn't the best liar when it came to her emotions. "Really? And what did you fight about?"
Isabel froze at the question. "W-w-what did…we fight about?" The pitch of her voice rose at the end of the question. The tall faux brunette looked distractedly in the mirror as she ran her fingers nervously through her hair. "Uh…"
There was another knock at the door. "You guys, we need to talk." This time it was Michael's voice that boomed through the door.
Tess turned around and watched Isabel curiously as her face paled and her eyes downcast. "We'll be out in a minute!" she yelled. Slowly, she took a couple of steps until she stood side by side her uneasy friend. "Are you all right?" Isabel did not respond. Tess nudged Isabel with her shoulder. "Did something else happen between you and Michael?"
Isabel shrugged her shoulders back and stood up tall, regaining her composure. She looked Tess straight in the eye and shook her head. "No," she said without hesitation. Tess watched Isabel stiffly open the door. She turned back and asked, "Are you coming?"
Tess wasn't sure what had happened, but something major had happened between Isabel and Michael and it was something Isabel felt guilty about. Her forehead creased at the thought. Could the two have feelings for each other?
It wasn't an alien notion. She and Max had been strongly connected since they first met. But Michael and Isabel seemed quite content in their relationships. The only sign of discomfort she had ever seen them display was when she first hinted at the notion that they had a destiny, and that there might be a hidden connection between someone who had been standing right in front of them all along.
Then Maria and Michael quite suddenly became steadies, as did Alex and Isabel. Tess hadn't thought about it before, but now that she thought about it, it could have been an adverse reaction to the knowledge that they were attracted to one another. Before it had been an impossibility; and after she had arrived, it became a reality. They were meant to be, just as she and Max were.
"Tess?" Tess opened her eyes and saw Isabel waiting for her in the hallway. "Are you coming?"
Tess smiled and nodded. "Uh, yeah. Sure," she chuckled. "Sorry, was just thinking about something."
~~~
When Isabel emerged from her sanctuary that was his bathroom, Michael couldn't help but stand up from his laidback position on the couch. Her eyes met his for a moment before darting away and turning her attention to Tess who followed behind her. He swallowed. She seemed nervous and uneasy. It made his heart flutter to think of what he had just done to the relationship he had managed to rebuild in the short time she had been back. He prayed that she didn't hate him for what he had impulsively done.
"So did Tess fill you in on what the 'facts' are?" Max asked.
Isabel frowned, confused at his question. "What are you talking about?"
Michael cleared his throat and not taking his eyes off of Isabel. "Tess has been explaining the logistics of why Liz caused Max's sickness," he explained. Isabel met his intense gaze and nodded. "Oh," she said hesitantly.
"Oh?" Max exclaimed. "Is that all you have to say?"
Isabel looked at Max. "What else am I supposed to say? She's lying and we should burn her at the stake?" she retorted.
"You guys don't get it do you? As long as it doesn't affect you, you guys are fine! That's the way it's always been," Max huffed. "It doesn't matter that this information just happens to hurt me and Liz."
Michael looked incredulously at Max. "You think that we don't know this hurts either of you? How long do you think we've been dealing with this? We've known for weeks, and we tried to think of a way to break it to both of you, but you know, we had other things on our mind!" he spat. "Don't mind us, we're just trying to save your life!"
Suddenly Michael's ears cringed at a high resonance whistle that echoed through his apartment. "Hey!" Tess barked. "Stop this! I've had enough."
Michael looked uncertainly at Max and Isabel. What now?
"You guys can try to reason your way out of the truth; you can scream and cry until your voice is hoarse. I'm done," Tess declared. She turned on her heel and headed out the door, leaving all of them stunned.
Michael closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. Tess was right. It wasn't worth it. Max was bound and determined to live in his fantasy world where Liz was his soul mate and he and she would live happily ever after. He wanted to forget the fact that he was an alien hybrid and the powers that he had – that was fine with Michael. But he couldn't blame Tess one bit for getting tired of it all.
The more and more Michael thought about it, home wasn't here anymore. His ties with Maria had been cut, mostly due to his thoughtless decisions regarding their relationship. Now his relationship with Isabel had become uneasy and tense. Michael hardly had any ties here and he felt like he had no purpose. At least on Antar, he would be fighting for the freedom of his people. Michael sighed uneasily as these thoughts swirled around in his mind.
Would going 'home' be so bad?
~~~
"Where are they?" Liz asked irritably, glancing over at Max's locker. She had gotten to school early that morning hoping to spend a little time with Max before classes started. He and Michael hadn't made an appearance yet.
"Are you waiting for Max?" Maria sighed, leaning against the locker next to Liz's. It was hard to watch. Liz had always been infatuated with Max and though she loved to support her friend, it was growing tiresome. She was like a puppy dog, waiting for her Master.
Liz turned around to find Maria looking smugly at her. "Glad to see you finally got up," she teased. Liz tried to rouse Maria this morning, but it was like waking up a log. "And yes, I'm waiting for Max." She grabbed a couple of textbooks and stuffed them into her backpack. "Have you seen him yet?" Liz asked curiously.
Maria rolled her eyes. "C'mon! Do you think they're actually going to show up today? They've been wrapped up in that whole alien thing for the past two days!" she exclaimed. "And then there's the Tess thing."
Liz turned around alarmed at the reminder of what she had done last night. "Do you think Michael called Max last night and told him?" she asked nervously.
Maria shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she sighed. "He could have."
"Could have what?" Kyle asked, popping his head in between their conversation.
Liz pulled back, startled by Kyle's unexpected arrival. "Kyle!" she gasped, chuckling. "I didn't see you there."
Her ex winked and stretched his arms around her and Maria's shoulders. "Well I like to give the ladies a surprise once and awhile," he smirked. Liz rolled her eyes and shrugged his strong muscular arms off her shoulder, as did Maria. His face drooped as if the rejection had injured him deeply, and then returned to its normal grin after the girls did not react. "So let me ask again, could have what?"
Maria was about to tell Kyle last night's events when Liz interrupted with her cheery disposition. "So what did you do last night?" Liz chirped.
Kyle frowned and studied her curiously. "I didn't do much," he said slowly. He stood there silently for a moment, as if debating whether to call Liz on her obvious change of subject. Much to Liz's relief, he opted not to. "Hey guys? Do you know what's up with Isabel?"
Now it was Liz's turn to frown. "What do you mean? What happened?" She hated that she was out of the loop on things. It was Michael and Isabel's fault for starting it and Liz couldn't believe that Max was continuing it. He hadn't even called her. "I know you know something," she declared.
Kyle's expression was one of surprise. "I thought you guys would have been in on it. Obviously I was wrong," he said shamefully.
"Well don't keep us in suspense. What happened?" Maria said anxiously. She knew Michael and Tess had been up to something last, but she didn't know what. It was always secrets with him.
Kyle shrugged. "I went for a jog last night and found Isabel crying in the park," he explained. "Apparently Jesse sold them out to the Feds."
Liz and Maria looked at each other in bewilderment. "What?" they said in unison.
Kyle shifted his backpack higher up on his shoulder and shrugged. "That's what she told me. Jesse sold them out and the Feds kidnapped him."
"Is he still missing?" Maria asked worriedly.
"Well apparently they went to rescue him yesterday. That's why they weren't at school," he replied.
"So everyone's okay?" Liz asked.
Kyle nodded. "Yeah. If you call Isabel being totally wrecked over Jesse."
Liz shook her head. She couldn't believe that Jesse had done this to Isabel, to all of them. He had always seemed like a decent guy. How could he have lied to all of them?
Maria leaned back against the locker and gripped her books to her chest. This was just one more on the list of many worries that they had on their plate. Maria took in a deep breath and sighed. How much more could they all take? When would their lives return to normal?
Then she glanced over at Liz who was deep in her own thoughts. Her best friend had alien powers, which were cool on the one hand, but she wasn't human anymore. She was one of them. Maybe it would only last for a little while, but she was one out of a few dozen reminders of how untypical her teenage life was now. Maria had always heard that too much knowledge was never a good thing and now she was beginning to believe it.
The bell rang.
"What are we going to do about this?" Liz asked in a hushed tone.
Maria glanced sideways at her best friend. "What do you mean 'what are we going to do'?"
Liz frowned at Maria. "Well we can't just go to class like nothing is happening!" she exclaimed incredulously.
Maria looked wearily at Kyle and then at her best friend. "We can't?" she said dryly. By the look on Liz's face, Maria knew she wasn't going to let go of it. Already, the grinds were churning in her head. "Liz, we can't miss anymore school if we're going to graduate," she sang nervously. "Besides, Kyle said that they got Jesse back, so I'm assuming that the bad guys are dispatched."
Liz couldn't believe what Maria was saying. "We can't just let them shut us out of this!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. Then quickly realizing that a few classmates had begun to stare oddly at the trio, Liz drew her hands abruptly to her side. She leaned in towards Maria and Kyle who tried to look casual about the whole thing. "We have to help, we're still involved here." Then Liz threw a backwards glance at Maria. "And who cares if we skip a class? It's our friends in danger here."
Kyle shook his head and waved his hands hesitantly. "Hey, I've never been involved in one of your capers here, but I seem to recall hearing stories and it's not pretty," he muttered. "Besides, I think Maria's right. It sounded like they handled everything just fine yesterday."
Liz looked at two of her closest friends. "So you're not going to come with me?"
Maria looked over at Kyle who was eyes darted nervously between the two women. She closed her eyes, knowing that she would regret it, and shook her head. "No, we didn't say that, did we Kyle?" Kyle opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Finally when he managed to say something, it came out as a jumble of words, unintelligible to the human ear. Maria tilted her head in Kyle's direction and plastered a smile on her face. "See?"
Liz returned the favor and smiled politely in response, "Great!" she said sarcastically.
~~~
"A transmission from Bel Maar, Madame," Medgio stated.
Andaria looked anxiously at Medgio. "Does he look hopeful?"
Medgio bowed his head low. "I do not know Mistress. He is very distracted and will not answer directly. He wishes to speak to you."
Andaria nodded and with a flick of her wrist dismissed the faithful servant. She entered a five-digit code into the console before her and a translucent image floated appeared before her. The faded blue skin of the Maarican glowed through coagulation of the magnetic light dispersion.
The Maaricans were a unique race. Their 'eyes' were mere narrow slits in which light could be filtered into their minds' eye. Instead of 'seeing' with an organ which light is allowed in and an image is transmitted though this organ; the Maaricans used radar, in a sense, to see. They had a superior sense of hearing and also a powerful yet subtle genetic anomaly only found in the Maaricans. Their minds' eye, as they referred to it, could reach out into the somewhat dark and blank inside themselves and with the light they obtained through the pair of slits, where their eyes would have been, illuminated what they could already see through this 'muscle' as the Antarian 'architects' called it. They were a race which the Antarians had a longstanding alliance.
Andaria bowed her head in respect. "Laban, it is good to see you," she greeted her old friend. "What news do you bring to me?"
"Andaria," the Maarican nodded reverently, "it has been so long. I dare not speak to you but only for a moment. Sessar has been monitoring our transmissions." The head of the seventh tribe of Bel Maar's thin lips curled slightly. In fact the Maaricans barely spoke with their mouths, though it was possible. Most of the time they spoke telepathically. Only in races where the peoples' minds were not advanced, would the guttural tones pass their lips.
"What say Panyin about Zan's return to the throne?" Andaria asked darkly. If they lost one more alliance, there would be no return.
The wavering image hesitated before answering. "We have no definitive answer from him. He has heard about the Summit and Khivar is pressuring him to pledge loyalty to the throne," his voice warbled as if the sound waves were passing through water. "I have reminded him of our allegiance to the House of Kedra, but he is wavering. This is a fearful time, for all of us, to be thinking such things."
"These are dark times Laban," Andaria said gravely. "But we must remember our fates our interlinked. The destiny of all our worlds is in the hands of a madman. He intends to hold our worlds hostage. You know that our worlds have not seen peace since the death of Zan, the last descendant of Cian."
Laban shook his head grimly. "Alaric was the last true peaceful ruler, worthy of our allegiance and friendship. Zan was a rebel. He did not listen to reason. What purpose would it serve to return him to the throne?" he asked.
Andaria straightened her posture, drawing herself up to her full height. She knew this question would be asked and as many times as she had rehearsed a palatable answer, she found herself blanking out. Licking her lips, the leader of the Loyalist army, cleared her throat and gazed seriously at her companion. "Zan's rise to the throne was abrupt and unexpected. He was young and brash. I understand your hesitancy about adding your forces to ours, but you know it must be done. Only the True King shall bring peace to our galaxy and Khivar only destruction," she declared forcefully.
Laban's eyes darted away from the screen and a look of fear crossed his face. There was a moment of anxiety, both for Andaria and Laban. If he were to be discovered by one of Khivar's spies, he would surely be executed. After a moment, Laban returned his focus to the transmission, though the tenseness had not left his face. "I must end trans, but you will have our answer before the New Moons." The image flickered and dissipated as the light molecules scattered and faded.
Andaria stared forebodingly at the now empty space before her. She closed her blue crystalline eyes and sent up a prayer to the Unseen. Andaria had been quite surprised to find that the Earth race had a similar unseen Being known as God to them. The race seemed primitive, and for there to be folklore and stories about an all powerful Being that created the universe, it boggled her mind. The Unseen had made contact, just as it had made His Presence known to Cian many centuries ago. It made her prayers seem answerable. And they needed to be answered, more now than ever.
~~~
"Your Highness," a meek, hunchback servant whispered, as he entered Khivar's chamber.
Khivar narrowed his eyes and turned around, not pleased that the Iturian Cycle of Meditation had been disrupted. He needed it now more than ever. The focus of power needed to keep this world from turning on him had him drained at the end of a season. Usually the Iturian Cycle of Meditation was called upon at the end of the Winter Solstice. When life began anew.
As a boy he had learned of this Iturian process of renewing and regeneration; it had been his rite of passage into adulthood. It had amazed him that such a thing could be brought about by such a concentrated focus of the mind. He felt the rush of energy and power course through him.
Then one day Hakan, his mentor, revealed to him a theory that he had been working on; the idea that the energy gained from the process of Mediation could be stored and expanded. The minute power he had been given at birth could be changed and strengthened. It intrigued Khivar. He experimented with different techniques and found his telepathic powers growing stronger, as well as his physical keenness double in stature.
In the beginning it had taken several Cycles within the four seasons to see any change in his power, and even more when he began is attack on Antar. But now, time had seen him crowned King of Antar and though his subjects were less than jovial, Khivar's powers were taxed less. Khivar was now at the point of completing the Cycle once every season.
"What do you want?" Khivar growled. He could feel the profits of the past few hours fade. He would have to begin the Cycle again.
The measly slave bowed his head and dropped uneasily to the floor. "Forgive me your Highness," the sniveling minion whined, his voice cracking under the strain of Khivar's intense gaze. "I did not mean to interrupt," he squeaked.
Khivar rolled his eyes and released the bumbling idiot. He didn't have the energy to waste on something so ugly and useless. "Spit it out!" Khivar demanded.
Khivar pressed the weight of his fury on the weakling's mind, causing the Kedran garbage to whimper. "Why have you entered my chambers? You know I hate to be disturbed." The frail figure squealed as he squeezed his slave's mind tight, and then tighter still, as if he held it in the palm of his hand. He groaned and wrapped his fingers around his balding head, as if the limp bony appendages would be able to shield him from Khivar's wrath. "What is it you want?"
The shivering slave remained on the floor and whimpered. "T-t-the General s-s-said to tell you t-that the L-loyalists have…" The Kedran scum shook while trying to remember the message.
"Well!" Khivar barked impatiently.
"Well, there has been some recent activity," the Kedran sniffled. "On Earth…that General Q-Qunar, thinks is…is s-s-stra-ange."
He narrowed his eyes at the new information. Something strange? Khivar's mind began to churn as a million possible scenarios could have caused this activity on the mundane planet. He turned his eyes back on the Kedran, who remained cowering before him. "Tell General Qunar that I will see him in one hour," Khivar commanded. The nameless messenger slunk away to deliver his message; his shoulders slouched forward, casting a rounded shadow before Khivar.
General Qunar was a trusted advisor. He was one of the most skilled at strategic planning in his army of men. The Iturian General had come with him all the way from the ranks of a lowly messenger to King of Antar. In his most dire circumstances Qunar had always come through for him. Khivar trusted him, as far as he ever trusted any Antarian.
He had placed him in command of the Kedran Sector 233. Khivar frowned, flexing his mind, which was exhausted from the day's meetings and strategic sessions. It was definitely one of Qunar's better ideas, recommending that he divide Antar into different sectors with a few loyal Commanders overseeing his subjects. They reported to him daily about any unusual activities or uprisings among Antarians – Kedrans and Iturians alike. Once he had located the source of the discontent, he would quash it easily, thanks to his newfound powers as King of Antar.
Earlier that day there had been an uproar in 450 and his body was stretched to the limits of its power and also his patience. Khivar almost had it mind to turn the leaders into mindless zombies, but he knew that then they would have just ended up being pieces of celluloid that ate more than they were worth. Instead, Khivar made examples of the two 'anarchists'. He had their molecular structure split into particles, a process that, while impressive, was draining.
Khivar licked his thin lips and clasped his hands together behind him. The cool morning breeze that drifted from the pull of Badr, the first moon, smelled of smoky Rivensence, a tart berry found on the moors of the Aga. He would succeed. He had come too far and destroyed too many to let the puny Kedrans worm their way back from their life of servitude and into his courts.
They had all but been silenced; those who tried to thwart his 'destiny'. Other than those he had chosen to show mercy to, few survived to see his Golden Age of Power. When he had seen them down on their knees in the dirt and grim, groveling at his feet, the Chosen people, Khivar spared their lives. After all he was not a tyrant. He could show his subjects leniency. He had given them a choice. Serve the Iturians and their allies, or join his 'Army of Order'.
Khivar drank in the thick satin Antarian air and closed his eyes, letting himself be drenched in the light of the two moons. In two days time, the Festival of New Moons would be held, one event that he had retained on the Antarian calendar. Khivar actually enjoyed the Festival of New Moons. It was one of his fondest memories on Antar.
The whole of Antar prepared for the eclipse of their 3 moons. It had been myth that something remarkable happened every second decade. The myth had not been unproven, and this year there had been more whispers and speculation of a 'Miraculous Return to Glory'. The King of Old would redeem their people.
Khivar hardly put any weight on these murmurings, but the problem was, the Kedrans were stirring up his complacent and fearful subjects. He sighed heavily. Though Khivar knew the plans of the Royal Four, he couldn't help but feel anxious nonetheless. Khivar turned on his heel and headed toward the hallway. He would speak with Qunar tonight about relieving his worries. Soon all would know the strength of the arm of the New 'Chosen' King.