Maria awoke, surprised to find herself in the middle of Devou Park. A light breeze swept through her hair, and she spun around to see a group of children playing merrily on a nearby playground. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Michael sitting in the middle of a large blanket, a picnic spread out around him.
He called over to her, "Come on, Maria… the chicken salad's gonna go bad and hijack the pickle relish," the sandy haired boy said playfully.
With a confused look on her face, she jogged over to him and settled onto the soft blanket. "What is this all about?"
Michael smiled… an actual genuine grin that warmed the female about twenty degrees more than the bright sun. "I just thought you needed a break."
"Be careful, Michael," she warned, her tone resulting in a worried expression from him. "This falls dangerously close to actual boyfriend activity. I could expect this all the time."
His grin widened, "I guess we'll see."
After a few minutes of pure joy on Maria's part, she popped a fresh grape in her mouth and leaned back, drinking in the sunlight. "I knew coming here would make it all go away, Michael. I knew that you would make it all better," she said, then snuggled up to his side on the blanket.
"Nothing good lasts forever."
She tensed at the change in his tone, then looked up into his eyes. The kindness that was present only seconds ago was gone, and Maria's heart filled with fear. "What?"
The alien stood, knocking her to the side like a limp rag doll, "It's time to go."
"Where are we going?"
"Not us, me. He's come for me." Before she was able to ask where he was going, Michael raised his hand and simply pointed up with his forefinger. "I'm going home, Maria… My limo has arrived."
Following his gesture, she craned her head back. Maria noted the quickening difference in the hue of the sky, changing from beautiful blue, darkening to purplish-blue, then eventually black. As the day deepened into night, a vague silhouette of a silver craft became increasingly illuminated, and as it descended to the earth, it's size grew. Eventually it landed about twenty meters from the duo.
"Bu-but you can't leave, Michael… this isn't right."
"I can't stay, there's nothing here for me," he started towards the craft, but was slowed when she grabbed his legs.
The tears began to flow, as Maria's greatest fear was coming to life. "I'm here! You have me! Stay… stay for me."
He brushed her off, "You're nothing to me. My people are waiting."
Maria struggled to her feet, and as she did caught her first glimpse of who was waiting by the craft. There was a tall man, his stature more imposing than his actual height, who just didn't seem quite… right. Not really human. But next to him was Isabel, smiling and motioning emphatically for Michael to join them.
"No! Michael!" her cries were wrought with anguish, her face flushed with pain. "Why are you doing this to me?? How can you leave me like this??"
When he reached the craft, Michael joined hands with the other aliens. Glancing back at the emotional human, his eyes glowed the brightest red she had ever seen.
* * *
"Why are you doing this to me?? How can you leave me like this??"
Michael awoke in a panic by Maria's thrashing and crying, but tried to calmly wake her from the obvious nightmare she was having.
"Maria… Maria… shhh… It's okay, I'm here."
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" she yelled, flailing her arms around. "Oh, God, I can't take this anymore… Make it stop, please."
"Shhh… it's all right. It was just a dream."
Maria backed away from him on the bed. "It's you… you were there… you're doing this to me!" she angrily shouted.
The alien was confused. "What are you talking about? When was the last time that you had a good night's sleep, Maria?" he asked.
"How can I? What you're doing to me is terrifying, Michael. Don't sit there and pretend that you care… pretend that you don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Just make it stop! Stop getting into my head, you alien freak!"
Her words were like a slap to the face for Michael. Maria is the one girl that he felt comfortable about his "uniqueness" with, and now to hear her call him a freak, cut like a knife.
"Hey, I'm not doing anything," he protested. "I thought I was doing you a favor letting you stay here."
"You know what, I don't need your favors, Michael!" She jumped up, and bolted for the door, only wearing his oversized tee shirt and a pair of boxers. "Stay out of my dreams!!" Maria yelled over her shoulder as she ran from the house.
"Maria… Maria — Wait!"
Afraid about how she would react if he followed her, Michael picked up the phone and dialed, calling the only person he knew could help him.
"Hello?" a voice answered, groggily.
"Max, wake up. We… I have a problem."
"What? What is it, Michael?" he asked, testily, glancing at the clock. "It's 3:30. Can't this wait?"
"No. It's Maria. She just ran out of my apartment… and she's… uh… real upset."
Michael heard his friend straighten up in bed on the other end of the line. "What did you do? You guys didn't…" he trailed off.
"If it's any of your business, Maxwell, no we didn't. She was just here to sleep."
"I'll be right over."
Michael cleared his throat. "Can you stop by Liz's and see if she went there? I'm… you know… worried."
"Should I go to her house, too?
"She wouldn't go home. Maria got into a fight with her mom."
"Okay, I'll see you in a few."
Michael hung up the phone and walked over to his front window and tried to peer out into the pouring rain, but to no avail. No Maria and he was starting to feel like there was no hope.
* * *
A soggy Maria DeLuca sat alone, hiding out in a corner booth of Roswell's only all-night coffee shop. The Buzz was nearly empty, except for a few regulars over at the counter, talking quietly amongst themselves. She was on her sixth cup of coffee in less than a half-hour.
The waitress refilled the teen's cup again, noticing the state that she was in. "Hon, are you okay? You seem a bit fidgety."
Maria didn't even look up. "I'm fine," she said flatly.
"Are you sure—"
A glare from the blonde stopped the waitress. "I said I am fine."
"Well, you don't look fine, Hon. You've been drinking this coffee like it's the only thing left to drink in the world, and you're wearing pajamas. You look like hell…" She motioned to the others at the counter, "Tommy and Hal think—"
"I don't care what Tommy and Hal think, all right. How much for the coffee?" she asked, curtly.
"It's on me. I can leave here in a few minutes… Hal can watch the shop, if you need me to drive you somewhere. There's a shelter not too far away."
The blonde sixteen year old stood, "I'm FINE! I don't need your help or your advice!" She stumbled out of the booth and fled through the door into the rain.
* * *
Less than forty-five minutes after Michael got off the phone with his best friend, the jeep pulled up in front of his apartment. Max, Liz and Isabel all jumped out, but the dark haired girl reached the open door first.
"Is she back, Michael?" she asked, frazzled, motioning to the red Jetta parked next to Max's car.
"No. She ran out of here with no coat, no money, no keys… and no car." He ushered them inside out of the rain that had not lessened all night. "She's your friend, Liz. Where would she go?"
"Slow it down… you need to tell us what happened between you two," Max said, sitting on the couch next to his girlfriend. Isabel stood silently, noticeably apart from the rest of the group.
"I don't know… she's been so on edge lately, and I told you Friday that she's been avoiding me… Everything sets her off. I've seen it at school, at work… and I've heard about it from home."
Liz nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think that she's been having trouble sleeping — bad dreams all night long. I don't think she's slept more than four hours this past week with all the ginseng, and other herbs she's been taking."
Isabel moved closer, sitting down on the chair opposite the other three. "What were the dreams about?"
"She never really went into detail about them. You, Michael? Did she tell you?"
He shook his head. "I hardly even knew about it until tonight. She's been staying away from me all week… ever since the—" Michael glanced at the tall alien girl to his left, leaving the sentence unfinished. "Tonight she got into it with Amy—"
"Amy?" Isabel asked, confused.
"DeLuca. Maria's mom. She wouldn't tell me the grit of it, but she was real upset. That's when she mentioned the nightmares, kinda of." Michael slammed his fist down onto the coffee table. "Dammit," he said, anger flashing in his eyes. "I should have called you guys right away. Instead we just went to bed." He pursed his lips and stared at an invisible spot on the wall. "She told me once that she always slept better when I was with her."
Isabel stood. "God, Michael… how long have these sleep-overs been going on?"
"That's none of your damn business, Iz," he barked, standing to confront her.
She inched her face closer, not willing to back down. "I think it is *my* business if your neurotic slumber party pal's sleep difficulties are causing me to be awake at four AM."
Max stepped between them, "Calm down! Both of you!"
"I am not going to calm down, Max!" Isabel yelled. "I have been waiting for the crazy blonde to spaz out so that I could look at the two of you and say, 'I told you so'!"
Michael tried to push the pseudo-referee aside, but Max held his ground. "Maria is not crazy! You're doing this, aren't you, Isabel. You're going into her dreams to creep her out, all because you're jealous. You're bitter cause you're alone. And we all know how you like you play around in people's dreams. Don't we, Max?"
Liz walked out from behind her boyfriend, and stared at his sister. "Isabel — you're not doing this, are you? I mean, cause if you are, Maria's really freaked."
Isabel could only just stand there, openmouthed.
Sitting back down on the couch, Michael placed his head in his hands, and took a deep breath. Then he focused back onto the tall blonde standing over him. "She accused me of getting into her dreams tonight… changing them to scare her. Someone was in there, purposely messing with her mind and Maria knew it. I never thought that it would be you, Isabel."
"I didn't do anything to her…" she turned away from them.
"What was she doing when you told her that Maria was missing, Max?"
"She was sleeping."
"Of course I was sleeping… IT IS the middle of the night, " she said, indignantly.
He worked his fingers through his mussed hair, ignoring Isabel's outburst. "Did she have her yearbook out?"
Max closed his eyes, hesitating to answer. Then he opened his brown eyes, knowing that everyone except Isabel was staring at him. He slowly nodded his head, and Liz reached out to take his hand for reassurance. "Yeah, she did."
"Case closed."
Isabel spun on her heel to face her 'friends', tears streaming from her eyes. "No, it's not. I never thought that you could pass judgment on me so easily."
"Well, when it comes to the fact that you're terrorizing my girlfriend—"
"God, Michael!" she exclaimed. "She's not your girlfriend. A girlfriend is someone you're willing to acknowledge in public. What you have is an Eraser Room partner and a slumber bunny." Isabel took a deep, calming breath, trying to get her bearings. She swiped at her eyes to dry the wetness.
"Look, I know what you think — all of you — and I admit that the evidence does not look good in my favor, but I was not in Maria's dream tonight or any night since right after she found out what we are. I didn't do anything to her. Maria is my friend now too, you know, and I realize that my reaction a few days ago was way overboard. As much as I hate to admit it, she's saved us… me… enough times that I wouldn't do this to her. Did you ever stop to think that there is another alien out there, Michael?"
"Max wouldn't—"
"Not Max." She knelt, facing him. "Nasedo — he's out there and we don't know what he's like."
"I don't want to hear this."
"Of course you don't, Michael. You want to keep thinking that Nasedo is our father, and he's just going to come along and make everything all right… but you have to deal with the fact that he might not be. He could be a cold-blooded killer and that's an issue that's not going to go away. What ever happened to Hank?"
"What?" Michael questioned, surprised that she would mention his former foster father.
"Hank… have you heard anything from him?"
"No, and I never want to. What does that drunken bastard have to do with this? Valenti told the judge that he took off to Carlsbad with some woman."
"Have you ever tried to 'see' where he is? You know, dreamwalk into his head?"
Michael was clearly frustrated. "No — you know that I can't do it as easily as you. What are you trying to accomplish, other than changing the subject? We need to get out there and find Mar—"
She cut him off. "Hank's dead, Michael."
The color drained from the sandy hair boy's face, as his best friend leaned forward. "How do you know this, Iz?"
Still on her knees, she reached out and ran her hands over the mottled shag carpeting. "I wanted to see where he was, uh… make sure that he was never coming back, so I tried to walk into his dreams one night. He's not there anymore."
"Maybe he just wasn't sleeping," Liz offered.
Isabel shook her head. "There's a difference. I can still feel a non-sleeping person's presence if I try to get into their dream. With Hank there's nothing. It's empty." She glanced at her brother. "Like the time I tried to find Great-Grandma Ethel after she died. I think Nasedo killed Hank — I think you're right, Max. He's dangerous."
"We don't have time for your accusations against Nasedo. All you're trying to do is change the subject," he repeated.
"She does have a point, Michael," Max jumped in.
"Yeah? Well, you know what, Maxwell? While we're all here yapping, taking a walk down memory lane, *my* girlfriend," he said staring sharply at Isabel, "is out there alone, lost, scared. I need to find her."
Max understood all so well. He would be going crazy if it were Liz out there. "I hear what you're saying, but we're not getting anywhere with you insisting on blaming Isabel."
"Hey, I place blame where blame is due." Changing gears, he asked, "Where do you think she'd go?"
"Where would you go if you were afraid to sleep? I'm thinking someplace where she can try to stay awake," the group all stood, preparing to leave while Max continued. "She has no keys or money, so she can't have gotten too far. Liz and I—"
Michael put on his leather jacket. "No… I'll go with Liz. You take Isabel and the Jeep; we'll take Maria's car. Keep in touch on the cell."
Max took Liz's hand then leaned in for a tender kiss. "Don't worry… we're going to find her."
Liz could only nod numbly as they walked out into the pouring rain to begin the search.
* * *
Maria was lost… she had no clue as to how she got all the way out to the cliffs without her car. Suddenly, Liz was walking next to her.
"Liz, help me! Help me, Liz… I'm losing it here…" she reached out her hand towards her best friend.
"It's okay, Maria. I won't let him hurt you anymore."
"Him?"
"Michael. He's evil. He's the one who's been tainting your dreams, trying to make you go crazy." Liz glanced over her shoulder then focused back onto the petite blonde with a look of panic on her face. "We have to go now, Maria. He knows where you are and he wants to finish his plan." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "He's going to kill you."
"No!" Maria cried.
"We must hide across the canyon. Come with me."
Maria looked on in a daze. "But how can we cross here? We'll fall."
"No, Max taught me things. He told me how to defy gravity. It's one of his powers. Watch."
Liz walked up to the lip of the cliff and confidently walked out into the open air. She moved about ten feet out, then turned back to her friend.
"Come on, Maria. Trust me… I'm Liz."
* * *
Isabel drove in silence, sneaking glances at her brother out of the corner of her eye. "Please say that you know it's not me doing this, Max."
"Even if I don't believe it? Do you want me to just say it to make you feel better?"
"No… I want you to believe it. You're my brother… you should know me better than anyone." She sighed, "What can I do to make you trust me?"
"Tell me the truth, Iz. What were you doing with your yearbook if you weren't dreamwalking?"
"I was."
"What?"
"I was dreamwalking… but not Maria. It was Alex."
Max was confused, "Alex? Alex Whitman? I – I thought you—"
"He was talking to Stacy Owens today… actually, he's been talking to her a lot lately. I just wanted to know if he… you know…" Isabel trailed off her words
He stared at her, "You're jealous of Alex talking to another girl?"
"NO!" Isabel said hastily, then reconsidered, "Yes. Kind of… It's just, I mean… he knows about us… about me… and he wasn't freaked out or anything. What if he's my last chance of normalcy?"
"Don't do this, Isabel."
The blonde glanced at him, an expression of utter confusion on her face. "Do what?"
"Alex… he's a nice guy and he really seems to like you."
"And the problem lies where?" she asked.
"If you genuinely like him back, then I'm all for it… but don't make him an object of convenience. He deserves better."
Isabel tried not to be angry mostly because she knew her brother was right, but the ringing of her cell phone cut off any answer she would have given him. Max quickly picked it up.
"Liz?" he asked urgently.
"Yeah, it's me. We have her."
* * *
Finally the search team of Liz and Michael found a clue… a person who saw Maria tonight. On a whim, Michael pulled the Jetta into the parking lot of a 24-hour coffee shop that he visited once when he was avoiding Hank. The two teens walked in and were greeted by a pleasant waitress.
"Hey kids, what can I do for you?"
Liz pulled out a picture of herself, Maria and Alex, handing it to the older woman. "Hi… uh… Bonnie," Liz began, glancing at the woman's nametag. "We're, um, looking for a friend. Her name is Maria. You haven't seen her, have you?" she asked for what seemed like the millionth time that night.
The waitress studied the picture for a second. "Yeah, she was here."
Michael turned away, accustomed to a negative response. "Well, it was worth a try. Let's go—"
"I said I served her here. About twenty minutes ago."
The alien's heart (or comparable organ) jumped into his throat. "What? Are you sure? Look harder."
"Yeah, that's her. She looked a bit… rougher tonight, but she was the same girl. She sat at that table," Bonnie gestured to the empty booth, "and drank coffee like her life depended on it."
Michael was drawn over to where the waitress said Maria sat. He pressed his hands on to the cool Formica table, wondering about her, hoping that she was okay. In the background, he could hear Liz continue to ask the woman questions. Michael slid onto the cracked red vinyl of the booth seat, and was immediately struck with a vision.
He stood and ran out of the restaurant. Liz and the waitress followed, continuing their conversation by the exit. During their search, the rain had lessened a bit and now it tapered into just a warm mist. Michael glanced around the outside of the shop, intently gazing through the haze for the familiar scene of his vision. Leaving Liz behind, he jogged down the deserted alleyway, until the alien sensed Maria's presence. Knocking aside some debris, Michael found her, pale and unmoving, unconscious between two large trashcans.
As he reached out to stroke her face, a flash of images entered his mind and Michael saw into Maria's dream. He could see Maria and Liz at the cliffs. He watched Liz urging Maria towards the edge… and he was afraid. He knew they did not have much time.
"Maria? Maria, can you hear me?" Michael asked, lifting her eyelids to check her eyes. All he could see were the whites rolling around. He called down the alley to his search partner. "Liz! Liz, I have her!"
Liz broke away from Bonnie and sped towards Michael. "Is she all right? Maria?" The brunette gasped at the sight of her best friend.
"She's in a nightmare… we need to get her back to my place." Michael covered the shivering girl with his jacket, trying to warm her. He then scooped her up into his arms and rushed to the car. As the teens passed the front door, Bonnie stepped out again.
"Oh my… is she going to be okay? I tried to help her… drive her to that runaway shelter on Tumbleweed… but she wouldn't hear of it. Hon, you got to believe me, I tried—"
Michael whirled to face the woman, the intensity in his glare silencing her. "She is *not* a runaway," he said, glaring at her angrily.
"She's… um… sick, Bonnie." Liz put her hand on Michael's shoulder to try and calm him. He moved away from the two and climbed into the back seat with Maria still tightly wrapped in his arms. "Thank you for trying to help her. We were so worried that she was lost and alone."
The older woman's eyes were transfixed on the Jetta. "I'm not going to get sick like that, am I?" Bonnie asked, sounding more concerned than ever.
"No!" Liz said hastily. "I mean, no. Um…. Maria's not contagious…" She was trying to think of what to say next when Michael rolled down the car window.
"Let's go, Parker! She needs to get home now!"
"Thanks again," was all she could manage as she rushed to the car.
Liz threw the car in drive, causing the tires to squeal as she pulled away. Turning the first corner, she grabbed her cell phone off the passenger's seat and hit the speed dial for Isabel's phone. Max answered.
"Liz?" he asked urgently.
"Yeah, it's me. We have her and Michael and I are taking her back to his place. Meet us there," she replied her voice strained and tense. It took all she had not to burst out crying right then.
"How is she?"
Liz glanced in the rear view mirror at Michael and Maria. He was rocking her gently, whispering in her ear. Between words, he kissed her forehead.
"Liz?"
Max's concern touched Liz. Maria was his friend as much as hers. A distraught sob escaped the brunette's lips. "She doesn't look good, Max. I'm really scared."
Max wished he could be there to comfort her. He turned to his sister. "Go to Michael's. Drive faster." Into the phone, his voice changed… became softer. "Everything is going to be okay, Liz. Isabel and I will meet you guys at the apartment, and we'll figure this all out."
* * *
The jeep squealed to a stop about a minute after Liz pulled the Jetta into the parking area. Max and Isabel burst into the apartment to see Michael laying the unconscious blonde gently onto his bed. Maria's condition had worsened since they found her… her skin was so pale it was almost translucent and her breathing had become increasingly labored.
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Isabel. "What's happening to her?"
Max approached Liz, who was shaking in fear. He enveloped her into his embrace.
"Max," she cried, burying her face into his chest, "she's going to die, isn't she. Maria's going to…"
He reached down taking her chin gently in his hands, forcing her gaze upwards. "No — don't say that. Once we figure this out, we can help her."
Michael glanced over at his girlfriend's best friend. "I won't let her die, Liz," he swore to her.
"Did you try to wake her up?" Isabel asked.
"Boy, I would have never thought of that. Thanks, Iz," he scoffed.
"I'm just trying—"
"Well don't!"
Max stepped forward. "Not now. We need to help Maria, not argue between ourselves."
"When I touched her in the alley, I saw into her dream."
The dark haired alien glanced sharply at his friend. "You didn't try to heal her, did you? You know…"
Anger flashed in Michael's eyes. "No, Max. Give me some credit. I know that I'm not as good at that as you guys. If I did something wrong…" he trailed off his words. "I just touched her. In her dream she's by the quarry with Liz… but that Liz was different — evil somehow. She was trying to force Maria near the edge."
"What would happen if she, um, fell off the cliff? I mean, she wouldn't…" Liz asked, quietly, tears drying on her cheeks.
"If someone is so deep into their dream that they don't even realize that it is one, it's possible that if they died in the dream, they would also die in real life," Max explained.
Liz backed away, "No! No! No!" she repeated over and over, shaking her head in disbelief.
He reached out for her. "Liz, listen to me. We're not going to let that happen. Okay?" Max nodded his head, and she mimicked the motion. "Good. Michael, do you think that you could see her dream again?"
"Yeah. She's so into it now that I could make a connection immediately."
Isabel stood. "This is ridiculous. We can't save her. We don't even know what's wrong. I think that we should take her to the hospital. Maybe they can help her."
Michael moved from the bedside and confronted Isabel. "And tell them what?? That Maria's been depriving herself of sleep because of bad dreams, and now she's so deep into one, which may or may not be caused by an evil alien, that we can't wake her and she could die. That'd go over real good. We," he said motioning to the three of them, "are her only hope."
"Michael, stop it. Isabel is not the cause of this, and she doesn't deserve to be treated that way," Max defended his sister.
"Whatever." Running his hands through his mussed hair, Michael sighed and turned away from the both of them. As he situated himself on the bed next to Maria, the alien looked up at them. "I'm going to fix this. You can either help or leave."
Liz stiffened at Max's side. She knew that Michael had no where near the amount of control on his powers as the other two did. Max led her over to the bed, and they both sat down next to the unconscious teen. "We're not going anywhere." Isabel joined them silently.
Michael hid the relief that he felt in that he wouldn't have to do all this alone, not that he ever thought that Max would skip out on helping. He reached out and tenderly stroked Maria's pale cheek, just as he did in the alleyway earlier. The flashes that he experienced were so intense, Michael took a sharp intake of breath.
**FLASH** Maria as a child, being thrown into the air by her father as if she were a feather.
**FLASH** Maria eight years old, searching out the window of her bedroom, waiting for her limo to arrive.
**FLASH** Maria opening the door of the CrashDown that fateful day in December when they started their relationship with a flood of passion.
**FLASH** Maria letting Michael into her bedroom the night he used his powers on Hank.
**FLASH** A lone shadow figure standing in the distance, red eyes glowing.
**FLASH** Maria laying on the floor of the CrashDown, a pool of blood spreading out around her, a tear streaking down her cheek as Michael looked on, impassive.
**FLASH** Maria sunning herself while sitting on a blanket with Michael in Devou Park, a picnic spread all around them.
**FLASH** Michael moving away from her, towards a craft and a man that he had never seen before.
**FLASH** Maria watching him leave with a devastated expression on her face and tears streaming from her eyes.
**FLASH** Maria and Liz standing at the edge of the quarry, Liz urging her towards the edge.
Michael panicked, breaking the connection with her for a second to call out to his friend. "Hurry, Max. She's so close."
There was no hesitation on Max's part. He reached out, lifted the woolen blanket, and placed his hand on Maria's cold skin. Max detected Michael standing next to him on the dreamscape, both of them about twenty feet from Maria and the false Liz. Liz held out her hand to Maria, and spoke with urgency.
"Come on, Maria… Oh God! He's here. He found you." Liz took two steps to the blonde.
"No!" Maria spun to face the newcomers. "Stay away from me! You're evil and I won't let you finish your job."
Michael slowly closed the distance between them, hoping that she would not bolt for the edge as he walked. "I can't be evil, Maria."
A look of confusion crossed the girl's face. "Wh-why not?"
"Because I love you." The words were foreign to Michael. He'd never said anything like that before to anyone, and now they were out there, hanging on the edge of the cliff like the human he said them to. "If anything… being with you makes me… good." She stared at him dumbfoundly, not believing that he had just said those three words. "Come on. Come towards me. Step away form the edge."
"No, I can't! Liz says—"
"That's not Liz, Maria. All this is not real, it's a dream. I have Liz with me. We're all in my apartment waiting for you to wake up."
Outside the dreamscape, Liz and Isabel sat watching, waiting for a sign that Maria would be okay. Liz stared at the female alien.
"Aren't you going to help them?" she asked, motioning to the two boys, their eyes glazed over and vacant.
Isabel was sitting at the end of the bed, close to Maria's feet, and she drew her knees to her chest. The pose made the normally 'put-together' Isabel appear child-like and vulnerable. "I can't, Liz. I'm too… afraid. What if I did cause this?"
"Don't think that, Isabel," she said, adamantly. "You said that you didn't and I trust that."
"But—"
Suddenly Max's hand shot out from his still form and grabbed the brunette's wrist, bringing her into the dream and leaving Isabel all alone.
The bright sun of the dreamscape startled Liz, causing her to blink several times to adjust her eyes… the saw what Max and Michael saw. Maria near the edge, a girl with her own face floating over the chasm, and Michael trying to talk Maria towards him.
"Oh, God!" she gasped.
Michael glanced over his shoulder. "See! I have the real Liz here with me. That person behind you, isn't Liz… it's something bad… not right, and if you listen to her, you could die."
"Why should I trust you? It's not like you'd care if I died anyway," she said, her tone bitter and harsh.
The alien's face fell, and he took a precarious step towards her. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Because I heard what you said to Max… I heard you tell him that you wouldn't have healed me if I got shot at the Crashdown that day instead of Liz."
"Oh God. Maria, listen to me… you didn't hear everything I said…"
"I heard enough."
"No, listen—"
She clasped her hands over her ears, "Stop it! I don't even want to hear your excuses… You're evil, and you'll only be happy when you kill me yourself." Maria turned to walk towards the other Liz.
"Why did you come to my place tonight? After all those nightmares that you've been having, and hearing me say that to Max, why did you still come to me?"
The group could see that Maria was trembling with indecision, though she made no move to even look back at them. "I told you… I don't know. I didn't know what I was doing tonight. I just found myself there. I guess I hoped that you would be able to make it all go away."
Another step closer to her, "I can. I will, but first you have to come here. I can't help you until you're away from her."
"Maria, please listen to him. I'm afraid," Liz called out to her best friend.
The false Liz, hovering out in thin air, was not pleased to see that Michael and the others were talking Maria away from her. She spoke in the same tone as the real Liz just used. "Don't go to him… he's evil! I'm Liz, not her."
"Maria, no. Don't listen to her."
"I don't know who to trust anymore," she said flatly.
"Do you remember when we went to Marathon — when I abducted you? I tossed your cell phone out the window — Maria, you lied to the cop for me… You told me then that I owed you. You were right, I do. Let me have this chance."
The earnestness in his voice touched Maria. //He really cares for me// she thought. She turned away frm the cliff to look at him. He stood there with his hand reaching out for her, beckoning her away from the edge. The girl put one foot in front of the other, then froze… behind Michael, Isabel appeared. Reminded of her first nightmares, Maria panicked and backed away from them, closer to the floating Liz.
The real Liz tried to move forward, "Maria, no!"
Max stopped her. "She's too close to the edge. You might spook her more."
Michael lowered his arm, glancing over his shoulder, then focused his attention back to her. "What? Isabel? Maria, she's here to help you, too. It's okay," he said in a soothing voice.
"She wants to take you away from me, Michael…" she whispered, tears forming. "That's what all those dreams meant. Isabel doesn't want us to be togeher."
"Isabel won't keep us apart. I told you before that I love *you*, and I do. When my whole world was falling apart, I came to you…because I knew that you would accept me completely. I trusted you with my heart… I knew you would be there for me. I need you Maria." Her tears were flowing freely now as he spoke. "When I'm with you, my world seems so much better. You're the one person I can feel 'normal' with—"
Hysterical laughter from behind the fragile blonde interrupted him and they all stared at the fake Liz. "That's not Michael, Maria. The Michael you know would never talk like that. I get it now… *he's* the impostor."
"No, I swear to you… it's me."
Maria's eyes became cold with suspicion. "Prove it."
"Uh… um…" he glanced at the others, not knowing what to say, but they could not help him. Finally it came to him. "The shoe tree!" he exclaimed.
"It was a napkin holder."
"Yeah, I know, but remember I thought it was a shoe tree… and you yelled at me that day for never thanking you for saving my life."
She smiled, remembering. "Yeah."
"And that's the day I knew I was madly in love with you."
"Really?!"
"Yep. That day you pretty much gave me an out on the whole deal. I could have just left things as they were, but I didn't. I didn't want what I could have with you to be like everything else in my life —something I run from."
Maria finally decided she could trust Michael. She moved forward on shaky legs to get closer to him, but the fake Liz reached out, her actions shrouded in fury. "No! You have to come with me!" She grabbed Maria's arm and pulled her toward the edge.
The entire group tensed as Maria fell off the side of the cliff, and Michael lunged forward. "NO!!"
The dreamscape seemed to slow, allowing him to get to the edge before Maria dropped out of sight, most likely to her death below. He was able to lock his grip around her tiny wrist, and pull her to the safety of his arms.
She stared up at him, the fear in her eyes subsiding "You saved me…"
"You trusted me. Hey, we make a good team." Michael smoothed the hair out of her eyes. "I could have a thousand Valenti's and Topolsky's after me, and you're the one person that I'd want by my side. I can't let you go and die on me."
The others came forward to confront the being that almost killed their friend. "Who are you?" Max asked, what seemed to his girlfriend.
"I am many things… and have been many people…" The familiar face of Liz began shifting and morphed from one person to the next, many of the faces the gang recognized. He stopped on the face of a Mexican rancher… one that Max and Liz knew.
"That was you!?" Liz exclaimed.
He didn't even acknowledge her. "I am here to protect you from all perceived threats, and I'll rectify the situation with all necessary outcomes."
Michael still had Maria in his arms. "Protect us? From our friends?"
The rancher stared at Isabel. "I am here to stop the source of your fear."
"What?"
"The girl fears this… human," he gestured to Maria, "and I am here to fix that."
Isabel was flustered, all the attention of the situation was on her. "I'm not afraid of her! I mean, I was… back when Valenti was pumping her for information, but not anymore."
"I wouldn't be here if you weren't still afraid of her."
They all looked at her. "Fine! All right, maybe I am." She turned to her brother. "Max, you have Liz… and I know that you're never going to let her go. If the time comes when we find out where we're from and we have the chance to go home, I know you're not going to come."
Liz stepped forward to comfort the tall alien. "Isabel—"
Isabel turned away to study Michael and Maria, cutting off her brother's soul mate. "Then there's you. From day one, home was all you could think about. You held the belief in our best rule: No Attachments. No matter what, I knew if… when… the time came, we'd leave together… even with out Max if we had to. But now, I see you falling for her more and more everyday. You're breaking your own number one rule and eventually I'll be alone… We'll never get home."
"Isabel," Michael said, his eyes penetrating her own, "for as long as I can remember, I've ALWAYS envied what you have… You have Max, your human parents, amazing control on your power, friends at school… All I had was you guys. Really better than having nothing at all, but still… You're my family… you have to love me because of where we're from, what we are. Just once it was nice to have someone who would love me for who I was… not because she has to, because she wants to. Please don't be afraid of that."
"I'm sorry, Michael… Maria... I never wanted to hurt either of you."
Max moved towards the rancher. "Are you Nasedo?"
He smiled, "If that is what you chose to call me, that is who I am."
The aliens fired questions at him all at once:
"Where have you been all this time?"
"What is our purpose here?"
"What have you been doing to Maria?"
"Patience, children. I am here protect you, and prepare you."
"Prepare us? For what?" Isabel asked.
"For your destiny. I have always been here… as you have seen. You have all met me before several times. And the human will be fine. I shall stop my assault on her, and tomorrow you will all remember this only vaguely."
"You," Max said, defiantly, "are a killer. How are we supposed to trust you?"
"I kill to protect—"
"Stop! Stop with the protect stuff. Atherton was your friend! River Dog saw you kill him. Sheila Hubble was a pregnant housewife. Maria — she's our —"
"Sheila Hubble was not the innocent that her husband portrayed her to be." Nasedo never once raised his voice… never showed any emotion over talking about someone he killed. "Had he known that, it would have saved him years of mental anguish and eventually his life. She was one of them… and she had to be destroyed."
"One of who? Why kill her?" Max asked, but Isabel interrupted.
"What's our destiny? Why have you not revealed yourself to us before?"
"It is not time… soon you will know…" The image of Nasedo began to fade away.
"Wait!" Michael called out. "When? When will we know?" But Nasedo was gone.
* * *
They all awoke on Michael's bed, staring down at Maria's pale body. As the seconds passed, color began to return to her skin and she opened her eyes. "Thank you," was all she could manage to say. Michael pulled her upper body onto his lap, and he sat there not wanting to let go.
Coming next the epilogue!!
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