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:
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
** slight changes have been made to Chapter Nineteen to reconcile the storyline with this chapter, the history of the show and where I am going **
Chapter Thirty Seven***
Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity.
- Henry Van Dyke
***
Tess walked around the darkened chamber. "How could things have gone so wrong?" she asked out loud into the emptiness. As she crouched down and ducked into the contrasting white room, Tess surveyed the room that had seen her departure and arrival; she couldn't help but long for 'home'. She hadn't heard from Andaria for days and she ached to be with Zander. "I need to go home," she whispered to herself.
Suddenly, as if by some psychic connection, she heard Andaria voice calling to her. "Tess." Tess furrowed her brow and looked around the room. Was she hearing things?
"Tess," Andaria's voice whispered in her ear once more, as if she was standing there beside her.
"Mother?" Tess frowned. At once she felt this urgency to contact her mother. Tess sat down Indian style and took a deep breath and released it slowly. Closing her eyes she reached out to her mother. She hadn't tried reaching her mother in this manner before, and hoped it wouldn't tax her strength too much.
As she reached out into the dark nothingness, Tess found herself growing listless and faint. When she felt like she was going to lose herself to the darkness at that moment, Tess felt a pair of strong hands draw her into a dim light. "Tess," Andaria's voice echoed in her ears.
Tess opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor of a similar white room, though their seemed to be no walls, no boundaries. She slowly grabbed her aching head and licked her dry lips. "What happened?" she whispered groggily. Tess felt Andaria's hands release her. "My child you shouldn't have tried to contact me like this," she hissed. "You could have been lost in that void forever."
Tess swallowed and pushed herself into a sitting position. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
Andaria's tall graceful fluid form seemed to be even more awe-inspiring than Tess remembered. It seemed as if her solid physical body seemed to mask such beauty and light. Her mother looked down at her sternly. "Interstellar communication isn't safe," Andaria chided. "You should know that by now."
Tess cautiously pushed herself to her feet and shook her head. "No one told me that," she protested. "How am I supposed to know that? It didn't seem like a big deal when I was talking to Max."
Andaria shook her head. "That's different. It is much easier to communicate from Antar with a primitive world; that do not have the ability to communicate telepathically. Also, Max wasn't conscious in his physical state. He was in a safe horizon when you reached out to him. "
Tess didn't understand what her mother meant. What was a safe horizon?
Her mother obviously noticed her confused expression because her eyes softened from their angry and worried state. "Tess, when you communicate with any psyche, have you noticed how easier it is to reach into when they are unconscious or incoherent state?" Andaria asked.
Tess thought about it for a moment and realized that it was true. She nodded. "So? What does that have to do with Max and 'safe horizons'?"
"'Safe horizons' are places created for us when we, 'mind walkers', communicate with each other," Andaria said slowly, searching for the right words to explain this concept to Tess. "When Max was sick, his spirit and psyche automatically knew it needed a 'safe horizon' which would protect it while his body was being ravaged with whatever disease or sickness that it might be dealing with. When we," Andaria gestured to herself and Tess, "communicate, we find ourselves in a place like this." She lifted her hands and motioned to the white plane, which they seemed to be occupying.
"This is what makes interstellar communication for 'mind walkers' so dangerous. If we haven't located the 'safe horizon' in which the person we are contacting, we can get lost out there. If I hadn't found you, I don't know if you would have been able to find your way back."
The idea of not being able to draw herself out of the vast emptiness was unnerving. She had never even considered it. Tess swallowed and nodded. "I'm sorry," she said distractedly. "It's just that I thought you were calling me and I needed to talk to you about Zander."
Andaria's expression became one of concern and empathy. "I know my child. It has been hard for you to be separated from Zander. I know what it is to be without your child for so long. It's an ache that just sits in your heart," she replied.
Tess lowered her eyes, trying to pull back the tears. "I miss him so much Mother. I need to hold him."
Andaria nodded. "It won't be long now my daughter."
At the mention of time, Tess stiffened and swallowed hard. How would she tell her mother that she had given up on Max and the other two? She was done fighting and just wanted to go home. "Things aren't working out the way you planned Mother," she said mournfully.
Andaria frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Max isn't coming back with me. And neither are Isabel and Michael."
The tall blonde rebel leader tilted her head and her expression turned to one of worry. "You need to convince them otherwise Tess," she said tersely.
Tess bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "It's too late Mother. If we had hatched out of the pods together and Nasedo found them earlier, maybe," she paused, "maybe they would have come. But as it is, they don't care about Antar or the throne. They've immersed themselves in the human culture and have turned their backs on their duty."
"This is unacceptable," Andaria shook her head. "Preparations have been made and it has been foretold. Our Seers have prophesied this."
"Well they're wrong," Tess said bluntly. "I think we have to deal with the stark reality that we're on our own on this Mother."
As much as Tess wanted this prophecy her mother spoke about to be true, she had to deal with reality. Her son's life was at stake. If she stayed away any longer, the dream or vision she had would no doubt become reality. And she had lost her Love because she hadn't put up a fight, but she would not lose Zander. He was her only focus now. Tess had had enough of foolish fairytale fantasies and was now faced with the knowledge that if her people were to survive the onslaught Khivar was planning, she would have to lead them.
Andaria seemed unusually calm for the news Tess had just given her. She had thought her mother would launch into a lecture about how she wasn't trying hard enough and that she needed to give Max time. Instead, the former maidservant to the Queen Mother, closed her eyes, as if remembering some pleasant dream, tilted her head smiled. She approached Tess with an expression of serenity and confidence. "No my child, we will not have to do this alone," Andaria stated calmly. "I know that the True King will return and save our people and many other worlds from the Hand of Khivar. It has been prophesied and foreseen."
"Mother," Tess began to protest. "You can't just stick your head in the sand and…"
Andaria shook her head and interrupted her daughter, as if Tess were 3 years old and unable to understand something of what she knew. "The truth will come and will set us free. Have courage and faith my daughter. Max will see the truth, and so will the others. Do not be disheartened, it has been destined."
With that, Tess found herself sitting in the Granolith chamber once more, nothing but the intermittent drops of water, echoing throughout the hollow desert peak.
~~~
Max was filled with mixed emotions. As he watched Tess leave the apartment, he felt relief that she had finally realized that he wasn't leaving Earth. Max was tiring of trying to explain his 'choice' to her. She had to understand that he had loved Liz since he saw her in second grade. It was love that made him risk his life and his secret to save her.
But, as always, there was this nagging voice inside telling him to after her. It urged him to apologize. He had been a complete jerk to her when she apparently was trying to tell him the truth he had asked for. Max didn't know what it was about her, maybe it was some inherent genetic instinct that drew him to her. Max sighed and needed some fresh air.
He silently and frustratingly walked to the balcony.
'You know it's not genetic makeup.'
Bah. Max rubbed the back of his neck and closed out the rays of sunlight that now beat down on him. "What do you know?" he challenged the nagging voice.
'You loved her once and you keep thinking about her.'
"I don't!" he mumbled to himself. "The only reason I would think about her is because I'm trying to figure out what stunt she's going to pull next."
"Who are you talking to?" Isabel asked.
Max turned around sharply, his heart beating at a rapid pace. "Isabel!" he exclaimed, embarrassed.
Isabel took a couple of steps forward and leaned back on the railing. "You're thinking about Tess?" she asked casually.
Max averted his gaze and thought about the question for a moment before answering. "Uh, sort of."
"I'm going out for awhile!" Michael yelled from the living room.
Max looked over his shoulder, where he could see Michael walking out the door. "What was that?" he asked curiously.
Isabel seemed to stare after Michael for a moment before turning her focus back to Max. "Nothing. I guess he just needed some air," she said casually.
Max didn't quite believe Isabel. When he had come out from Michael's room, things seemed tense. Isabel was in the bathroom with Tess and Michael was brooding on the couch. There was definitely something going on, but he decided it was in best to let it lie for now. "Okay," he sighed.
"So you and Tess. What's going on?"
The blunt question left Max speechless for a moment. He wasn't expecting Isabel to be so forthcoming in her questions. "What do you mean?"
"Are you changing your mind about staying on Earth?" Isabel inquired.
Max frowned and shook his head fervently. "No!" he exclaimed. "I'm staying here."
"Are you sure?" she asked tentatively. "I know you must be worried about Zander."
Max tilted his head, leaned forward and studied Isabel for a moment. "What are you talking about?"
Isabel swallowed and folded her arms across her chest. "Obviously Tess didn't tell you how worried she is about Zander."
"Why?" Max knew she was missing their son, but worried about him? Then he remembered her waking up in a sweat. Max chided himself for not pressing her about the dream. It must have been about Zander. He frowned again. Why didn't she tell him about it?
"Apparently she's worried about Khivar using Zander," Isabel explained quietly. "Look Max, I don't know if it's true, but I get this awful feeling that Khivar would have no problem using Zander…"
His heart skipped a beat. Using his son. He couldn't bear the thought. Though he hadn't been there when his son was born, or held him, Max had a connection with that boy. When he felt his heartbeat and felt his son's pain, when Zander was sick. Max felt helpless and useless. But now, his son was in danger again, but this time it was because of Max, that he was in danger. "I don't know!" he mumbled. He debated whether he could believe Tess, but then as he gazed up at Isabel, whose expression was also one of worry, Max knew that it wasn't only Tess' dream he had to believe in, but also Isabel's vision.
"Max," Isabel said, her voice full of sympathy. "I know this is a hard choice to make, but I want you to know, that I would support you if you did decide to go back and save Zander."
He looked up thankfully at Isabel as her words gave him a minimal amount of comfort. "Thanks."
"You're going back to Antar?" Liz's voice startled Max, as he turned and saw the hurt of the news settle on her face.
"Liz!" he gasped. Max moved to reach out to her, but she took a step back. Maria and Kyle stood behind her, as if they were her bodyguards. "I can explain."
"You can explain?" Liz asked. She looked shaky and distraught. Her eyes pierced right through him and begged him to please make her understand.
"Yes," he sighed frustratingly. Max didn't know how it had gotten this far, but now the words didn't seem to want to leave his lips. "I…I, well…" As he stumbled over the words, the doubt in Liz's eyes grew and he could tell that her heart had sunk at the inability of Max to put together a reasonable answer.
"You can't be serious," Maria exclaimed incredulously. "Can you?"
"That tramp killed Alex and then lied to all of us. She manipulated us into trusting her and then mindwarped us into believing that it was suicide. She is a liar and some other choice words that I will not lower myself to say."
Max ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I know all of that. But it doesn't change the fact that Zander might be in danger."
"Zander?" Kyle asked. "Whose that?"
Max looked up at the 5'7 jock, whom had once been his mortal enemy; but all that changed once he brought him back from the brink of death. "He's my son."
"Your son?" Liz whispered. "You're going back for your son?"
Max nodded. "Khivar has him and both Isabel and Tess have had some bad premonitions about leaving him alone so long," he explained. Once more, Max reached out to Liz, who still seemed reluctant to accept this answer.
"Why doesn't Tess just go back there? And why is she so worried about him in the first place?" Maria growled. "Didn't she make a deal with the maniac in the first place? I thought they were close buds." She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"I don't think she really is with Khivar," Max said hesitantly. He had listened to Tess and the way she talked and described Khivar, and it sounded as if she loathed him more than any of them either could.
"You're going to defend her now?" Liz asked skeptically. She gazed at him angrily. "The only reason I put up with her is that she was the only one who could save your life, and even that, I have my doubts about." The petite brunette walked around the living room coffee table and sat down on the couch, her arms resting on her knees, her head hanging low and her hands holding back her silky locks of hair.
Max opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what, but something. "It's not that I trust her now," he said cautiously. "It's just…"
Suddenly Maria interrupted him. "It's just what?" she retorted. "You keep wanting to buy into the lies she's feeding you. You don't want her to be that 'bad guy'. I mean, how could you have slept with her and not known what she is capable of, right?" Maria sat down beside Liz and stared up at Max, her long lashes batting innocently at her past reference.
"Stop," Liz pleaded, resting her hand on Maria's knee. She looked up at Max and swallowed. "Can we talk?"
Max nodded. "Can you guys leave?" He implored Maria, Kyle and Isabel to give him some time with Liz. They needed that.
Maria looked hesitantly at Liz. "Are you sure?" Liz nodded. "Yeah, we need to talk," she replied, her eyes never leaving Max's.
Once Maria left reluctantly, reminding Liz that she would be just out in the hallway, and Isabel dragged Kyle away from the spectacle; Max found himself standing before Liz, at a loss of what to say. This woman whom he had vowed to love forever gazed up lovingly at Max, a tear in the corner of her eye. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his chest. "Please don't leave Max. I don't think I could bear for you to leave me again."
~~~
Michael had thought about going for a walk, but then decided he needed something longer than a walk and further away from the mess that had just been accumulating. As he stepped out of the jeep, whose car keys he had managed to sneak off with, while Isabel and Max were engrossed with his little soap opera melodrama, and took in a deep breath. The desert was always a place of solitude, quietness and the picture of rest for Michael. He loved just standing out on the cliff, which had become a meeting place of sorts for the elite group of Roswellians. Out here they could talk about anything and everything without having to worry about someone bugging the place or watching them, without the group noticing.
He picked up a stone and threw it as hard as he could over the precipice. What was keeping him here? Michael sat down on the dusty rock that overlooked hundreds of thousands of feet of empty space, before the crashing reality of the jagged rocks below. Antar. He had been thinking about that place for years and years. How would he get there? Where was it?
Lately he had been having visions again. Michael hadn't told the group about it. He knew that it wasn't the most desirous of subjects among Max, Isabel, Maria, or Liz. He had been remembering. Bit by bit, Michael remembered his past life and the feelings he had for Isabel, or 'Vilandra', should he say. His earlier dreams had only been a mixture of what he had already known about his past life and reality. He was sure that Vilandra hadn't told him about Khivar; he knew because the visions he had been having lately confirmed it. They were coming with more frequency now.
The sun hung overhead, and beat down its glaring rays. He looked up and saw the faint outline of the pale moon converging with the bright warmth of the sun. Michael frowned as he watched the spectacle occur. All of the sudden he felt as if something was sitting on his chest. Michael licked his dry chapped lips and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He wasn't sure if it was from heat exhaustion, he didn't think so, since he had been only sitting there for a few minutes, but he kept on fading in and out of consciousness. As he tried to fight to stay awake, Michael finally gave in and lay back against the gritty copper soil and drifted into sleep.
"They are in Commander Rath! I don't know how they received access, but they are in the inner courts."
Rath/Michael frowned at the officer and turned to Zan and Ava. "Fall back to the inner sanctum, I'll keep Khivar out long enough for you two to escape!"
"I'm not running like a coward," Zan declared.
"Don't argue with me Zan!" Michael/Rath warned, as he saw the inner gate giving way. "Go!"
Zan pulled out of Ava's grasp and stood nose to nose with Rath/Michael. "Like I said, I'm not running. Now you're either going to bickering with me when they break down the gates or you'll stand with me Rath," Zan growled. "Either way, I'll still be here."
"And so will I," Ava added, stepping up behind Zan.
Rath/Michael let out a primal scream. "All right!" he yelled. "Fine. Be stubborn. I always knew you were. But I didn't think you were this illogical."
Suddenly the inner gates creaked and the hundred tonne doors fell with a thud. Hundreds of raised voices cried out in victory, but no signs of Khivar. Rath/Michael commanded the remaining soldiers to engage in battle as he pushed Zan and Ava back to the throne.
Zan stood along side Rath/Michael as they picked off Khivar's approaching squadron of Iturians. The power of Zan and Rath/Michael together, felled the attackers in tens as they flew at the Royal Four. Rath/Michael glanced to his right to see Ava standing beside her husband blasting those who made it through Zan's blasts. He hoped Vilandra had escaped.
They took on the army of men Khivar threw at them, but in an unexpected turn, the men fell off and drew off to the side, finishing off men Rath/Michael had known and commanded for decades. Rath/Michael glanced warily at Zan. "He's up to something," he whispered to his Liege.
"And we'll be ready."
The commander of the Iturian army was unveiled through the curtain of soldiers. Rath/Michael noticed he was dragging someone behind him. It was Vilandra.
Khivar pulled himself up to full stature and smiled mischievously. "I've waited and planned years for this moment. And in the hand of victory I will take my greatest prize!" Khivar growled.
Ava, Zan and Rath/Michael looked strangely at each other. Zan took a step forward and shook his head in disgust. "You are too full of yourself Khivar. You haven't won yet. Let Vilandra go and we might not make your death a torturous one"
"Oh really? Haven't I?" he asked knowingly, arching his right brow. "Vilandra, why don't you inform your brother how it was I penetrated your outer gates and routed Commander Rath's armies." He yanked her arm and she stumbled forward and fell to her knees.
Rath/Michael glanced over at Vilandra, who would not meet his questioning gaze. "What is he saying Vilandra?" he demanded, glancing back and forth between his enemy and betrothed.
Khivar nudged Vilandra with his knee. "Tell them," he commanded Rath/Michael watched Vilandra move towards Khivar. He grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" Rath/Michael growled.
She turned and the once warm pools he had loved to gaze into, stared guiltily into his. "I'm sorry Rath. He said that he wanted peace. He told me that if I just let him in, he would settle this with Zan without bloodshed." Her shimmering locks fell down across her face and she began to sob. "He promised. I didn't know Zan," she peered up at her brother, "he said he loved me."
"How could you do this?" Zan raged. "How could you betray us like this? How could you believe him?"
Vilandra's expression harded at her brother's judgment. "You would have gotten us killed Zan. At least this way, our people and our family would have lived to see old age," she accused menacingly. Khivar moved towards Vilandra and picked her up, until she stood side by side with him. "We could still end this peacefully," she said hopefully.
Rath/Michael watched in horror. "He is a liar and never intended to take the Royal family alive!" he roared. Rath/Michael strode forward and reached out to stop Vilandra.
Khivar raised his right hand and smiled. Rath/Michael found himself unable to move. "You are really a wretched creature Rath. I thought you would have been more of an opponent than this." Rath/Michael seethed with anger and disgust at the Iturian scum, who stood before him. "The great Royal Four. How I enjoy watching it all crumble!" His black eyes gleamed under the celestial lights that hung in the throne room. "I wil give you credit Rath, because at least you're correct about this one thing. I never intended to take you alive." Then in a blink of an eye, he released a critical blast. The reddish stream of light blinded him, and the area of light expanded so that he could no longer watch Khivar's delighted expression. As it approached and Rath/Michael watched it envelop him, he heard Vilandra's scream echo in his ears. "Nooooooo!"
He felt dazed as his life's energy ebbed away. As he observed from the solid plane that held him up, Rath/Michael watched as there was an exchange of blasts from Zan and Ava aimed at Khivar who easily blocked them. Zan and Ava looked worn from the battle beforehand. Rath/Michael watched as Vilandra sobbed, whist in Khivar's grip. He whispered lovingly into her ear, while she cringed at his touch. There was a jumble of words that flew past from Vilandra's lips, which seemed to anger Khivar. His gaze turned towards Ava and Zan, whose shield was wavering. Khivar's eyes narrowed and a smirk replaced the frown on his face. Suddenly two blasts flew forth from Khivar. Rath/Michael was faint and could not turn and see if the blasts had hit their marks, but as he watched Vilandra's expression turn from that of sorrow to horror and agony, Rath/Michael knew that Ava and Zan were dead.
During his last breath, before Rath/Michael closed his eyes for the last time, he watched as Vilandra pull away from Khivar and release the brightest swell of energy that had been seen since the Battle of Evgeny. Khivar dove to the ground and avoided the blast while releasing one of his own. Rath/Michael hands clenched wearily, as he watched his beloved Vilandra crumple to the ground, her beauty frozen in that last moment of time, with the glow of the palacial flames surrounding her, and the last of the Kedran army slain.
With a gasp, Michael woke up with a start. The images and the people seemed so real. He looked down at his hands, which remained clenched. How he hated him.
Michael now remembered his life as the Second in Command. His struggles with Khivar had been fierce and bloody. Each side took turns receiving massive blows to their armies with every battle.
Something then stirred inside of him as he dusted himself off and stood looking out from the ledge of the cliff, he let out a defiant, primal scream. Khivar would not win this time. Michael would tear his age old enemy to pieces with his bare hands.
He closed his eyes and images of blooded men dressed in silver armor flashed before him. His stomach lurched as he recalled each one of their names, and the brotherhood he had with these men. Khivar would pay for slaughtering his men, his brothers.
Michael gritted his teeth ad opened his eyes, a quiet tear rolled down the corner of his face. He could hear Vilandra's laugh echo within his ears. And the image now etched into his memory of the pain and agony on her face as Khivar stole her essence from her. He swallowed as he let the need for revenge overwhelm him and the knowledge that he had another chance at saving his people from Khivar's unholy grasp. Michael had never felt this engulfing need and desire before. It was as if he finally knew his purpose.
~~~
"Here is my chosen servant,
His slumber is as refreshing to the soul.
I have destined him to bring peace to this people,
I have chosen him to rule.
Long ago his fathers sat on star-covered thrones.
I chose them in the depths of darkness,
I made them my people and bestowed on them
The gifts of the heavens.
A time of drought I called upon their house.
They wait in anxious hope and I have heard their cries.
I did not leave them in this despair.
No, again, I will be glorified by them.
For hidden in the depths of darkness,
No false intend to find.
Four who ruled in ages past,
Will rise to their own kind.
Creator laid,
Foundations made,
His Plans will not be moved.
Sleeper rise and sleep no more.
Truth and light be told.
Though pain and grief may strike you still,
Peace and love wilt be.
They shall embrace the chosen destiny,
All Four will be put to task.
But One will join the stars together,
Loving destiny will only last.
How swift the coming days approach!
Will they hear the mournful cry?
You have seen the Chosen One.
He had been and fell before his time.
Now I shall raise him again and he shall not die.
His days will be long and arduous,
But I will bless his house and his children's children.
No longer will the downcast sit on the throne.
No more will they disparage the name of the house of Kedra – my chosen people.
Cry out oh people!
Shout with joy!
Your King shall be returned.
One whose steadfast love will quench,
The fury of the spurned.
Beauty at his side,
His Second will command.
She who has betrayed is betrayed,
All go hand in hand.
Now I have stirred up one from the south, and he comes –
One from the rising of the sun.
He will gather and prepare the One who will be King.
Together with the Light of the pale Moons,
The way shall be paved and made smooth.
The Sleeper shall awake and bring forth the Created Ones.
Out from the depths of the void,
All shall return home.
Here begins the welcoming of Spring.
Here begins the time of renewal and refreshing.
The season of light and joy will fill the house of Kedra once more.
No more mourning or doubt.
No more tears of sorrow.
I have brought you him, who will lead you out of the darkness,
And he who has been and will be.
I have foretold these things and as I have declared,
They shall be a remnant of hope to you."
The Book of Eudora II, vs. 1-38