Chapter Six

Before his alarm went off at six, Kyle was already doing push-ups on the floor. When he was finished with his brief work out he stepped into the shower. As he closed his eyes he pictured the day before. Liz and Max's faces were lit up again, something he used to resent but could understand now. They had something that he just didn't get but didn't mind so much anymore. That whole soul mate crap thing. Isabel was sitting isolated looking at all of them, scared to death as always. She really needed to get out more. She's just got too many things going on in her mind. Michael and Maria confused, that too was no surprise. Sometimes he wondered if they ever thought about killing each other. Then there was him, the newbie. He was a part of this strange little group. He had always planned on following his dreams of becoming a great football player. After the day that Max Evans healed him his life turned upside down. It was like the Twilight's Zone or something. He stuck his face under the running water and watched the water hit the tile floor. But through all his resentment towards them he couldn't help but feel important. This was big, real big and he could save the world (again), from the threat of aliens. Man, this was better than an interactive game. He got out of the shower, dressed and began meditating deeply, humming a trance like song over and over again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maria woke up by herself in her room. She squinted at the clock, 8:00 on a Monday morning. Thank God school was over she thought. Where's Michael? Wasn't it just predictable that he would just leave her like that? What did you expect Deluca? She asked herself. That's just the way Guerin is. She sighed in understanding. I bet Max and Liz are having the most romantic moment of their lives, something they totally deserved, while she was left waking up alone. Stop it Deluca! She yelled at herself. Michael has been a Prince Charming recently and you know it. Give him some slack for once. She remembered their night together and sighed happily. She grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max woke up confused at first. " Where am I? " He said. He tried to get up but there was a weight on his arm. He looked and saw that Liz was snuggled next to him like a little girl with her dad.
" I'm really here with you " he whispered stroking her hair. He kissed her forehead before looking at her again. Then he put his hand on her cheek as he kissed her all over her face. Slowing pressing his lips against each eye, her nose, her chin, her cheek...
Liz had been dreaming about Max. Even in her subconscious she could feel Max's kisses on her face. They were calling her to reality. She smiled before she opened her eyes, knowing that she would soon see him. She opened her eyes to his misty, brown, beautiful eyes looking down at her.
" Good Morning you " he said holding her chin.
" Good Morning " she said touching his face, pulling him down to her and pressing her lips on his. Oh the joy that crept up Liz's spine. Finally being able to kiss Max without feeling like it shouldn't be. Finally being able to be with him without any restraints. Knowing now that he would never leave her and that she would always have him. There was no doubt left for them anymore. They were destined to be, they belonged together, no matter what came their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thaman was sitting in an alert position in Isabel's room. She was sleeping peacefully in her bed. He sat up the whole night looking at her.
" She knows now " he said angry with himself. He wasn't supposed to show her that. He only wanted to show her that she wasn't at fault. She saw his feelings, something he had always kept inside. What was he thinking? There were rules against things like this, he knew that. The penalty was death, she was the Princess. But when she kissed him his shield fell momentarily and he couldn't help but touch her. She, Vilandra, Isabel was the love of his life.
" Thaman? " called Isabel opening her eyes.
" I am here Princess " he answered, determined to stay where he was.
Isabel blinked a couple times before sitting up in her bed. She smiled at him happily. She felt so happy today. She didn't exactly know why. She didn't even know the figure in front of her but she knew something about him she totally didn't expect. She examined him still sitting on her desk chair. It looked like he hadn't moved all night. Just protecting her, something familiar about that stuck in her mind. She looked at him, still picturing him from her flash last night. Looking at his present form she noticed the similarities. It was what she would picture him as in human form. What was it about him that was making her feel all these feelings?
" Did you sleep well your majesty? " he asked looking beyond her out the window.
" I haven't slept so good in a long time " she was still watching him but he wouldn't look at her. " Did you sleep? "
" I did not get a chance to sleep your highness, " he said looking at her briefly before looking out the window again.
Why did this interaction somehow seem so familiar? She thought. He had no expression on his face when he had looked at her." Princess I think you should bathe and get dressed " he said getting up.
" Yes I think I need to " she agreed getting out of her bed.
" If you would excuse me " he said getting up. " We have a lot of things to get to "
" Yes, I think we have a lot of things " she started when she saw him dematerialize.
" I will leave you now " she heard him say as she saw her door open and close.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh did it feel good to finally take a shower, thought Maria, as she stepped out of the bathroom. The steam was escaping out the doorway behind her. Man I'm hungry, she thought feeling her stomach growl. She could hear someone cooking in the kitchen. She flung her PJ's on her bed and walked over to the kitchen.
" Michael " she yelped in surprise.
Michael was frying the pancakes as her mom was setting the table. He scratched his head and smiled.
" Hey Maria " said her mom cheerfully. " Breakfast is almost done "
~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Dad? " called Kyle walking out of the kitchen. " Dad? " he walked to the living room and found his dad outside standing on the patio. Kyle went out and stood next to him. " Dad? "
" Yeah? " His dad's voice sounded distant
" What are you doing? "
Valenti stood there looking out in the distance. " This here son, is the calm before the storm. Things are going to happen Kyle. People are going to die. I just want all of us to be prepared for whatever happens. We might not be able to enjoy many more peaceful mornings like this "
Kyle looked out at the scenery before him. They both inhaled the morning air.
" Do you think we're all going to make it out alive? " he asked still looking at the scenery.
" If we don't, who's going to save the world? " said Valenti putting his arm around Kyle. They both exhaled together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liz sat alone in her room. She could still smell Max's cologne on her pillow. She hugged her pillow and breathed in the smell. She giggled softly at thinking about him being there.
" I have to go home now. I have to change and I'll be right back " he had said between kisses. Finally he had broken away and climbed down the ladder. The phone startled her when it rang.
" Hello? " she said expecting Max's voice.
" Liz, is Max there? " asked Maria. She seemed very excited and breathless.
" Maria, hey " said Liz just as breathless " No, he's at home now "
" I have to tell you something. It's really important "
" I have a lot to tell you too " said Liz smiling to herself.
" But Liz I was scared witless yesterday when you went off are you ok now? "
" Maria, I couldn't be happier "
" Me too. We have to talk. Now "
" But Max is coming over, he'll be here soon "
" Come on Liz. We gotta girl talk "
" All right. I'll meet you at our usual "
" Ten Minutes "
~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Hello? " answered Max. He was running around his room to change.
" Max? "
" Liz, what's wrong? "
" No, nothing. It's just that "
There was a tap on his window.
" Hold on Liz " he said
" Ok " she said
Max walked over to his window just as Michael jumped in.
" Go ahead Liz, Michael just came in "
" We gotta talk " said Michael
" I just wanted to tell you that Maria needs to meet me right now. So I wanted to tell you don't come "
" Michael says he needs to talk too "
" So I'll have to see you later then " she sighed disappointed.
Max could hear her disappointment and that was what he was feeling. " I'll have to wait to see you "
" Me too "
" Liz? "
" Yeah? "
" I love you, " he said seriously
" I love you too " she said before hanging up.
Max sighed then he turned to Michael. " This better be good, " he said putting the phone down.
~~~~~~~~~~~
" You and Michael what? " asked Liz in disbelief.
" We made a big step in alien-human relations " said Michael unsure of how Max would react.
" When did this happen? " asked Max without any expression on his face.

Michael exhaled before he spoke again. He would have to fight with Max about this he knew.
" Before they were supposed to leave. Liz it was so romantic. Michael cooked Italian and he had Scooby plates and everything " gushed Maria.
" Michael did this? " asked Liz
" I know, it was a stretch " answered Michael
" So how did it all happen? " asked Max
" Liz " said Maria
" Huh? " said Liz
" She got a flash " said Michael
" You did! " Liz's eyes widened with joy " Oh Maria! You really had a flash? "
" Yeah " said Michael
" What did she see? " asked Max
" Well I can't tell you all of it, it's personal. But Liz I saw myself as he saw me. It was all me "
" Did you see anything? " asked Max
" It was a one way flash " said Michael
" I hope you're not disappointed honey " said Maria " I mean for me losing my virginity "
" No Maria " said Liz laying her hand on her best friend's shoulder.
" No I'm not " said Max " I'm happy for you Michael " he said hitting Michael in the shoulder.
" But now I'm the only one not a virgin " said Maria shyly. She felt bad for her best friend who didn't get her romantic night when she was supposed to.
" What do you mean that's not true? " asked Michael
Liz blushed, her cheeks turned bright red.
" Liz " said Maria raising her eye brow.
" This morning " said Liz in a soft voice.
" Maxwell " said Michael.
" Liz " said Maria " Do you know what that makes us? "
" Happy " said Michael with a smile that Max had never seen him make before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isabel sat by herself in her room. She had just taken a shower and her long blond hair was still dripping, slowly making her pillows damp.

" Ok Isabel you have to calm yourself down " she said to herself out loud. She got up and went over to her desk where she had a picture of her and Alex at Prom. She touched Alex's face gently. " Oh Alex, if only you were really here with me instead of appearing to me as a figment of my imagination "

" I have to see you somehow " answered the image from her head.

She relaxed when she heard his voice. She turned around and saw the image that she was so frequently seeing when she was by herself. But this was her therapy. It was a way to get her to calm down when she needed it. " Oh Alex what is going on in my head? " she said running both her hands through her hair. " What happened last night? "

" You had your first real flash Isabel " The image of Alex answered. Even though this image only spoke to her in a monotonous voice she never minded it.

" I know. It was really scary " she said, she sat down on her bed. " I mean, I don't know what to think. Thaman loved Vilandra. Does that mean he loves me too? "

" You are Vilandra aren't you? "

" Not really "

" You are Vilandra Isabel. " he said, " You know that "

" If I am Vilandra then I belong with Michael "

" You were betrothed to each other. That doesn't mean you didn't love someone else. You did love Khivar "

" I don't remember Khivar or anybody from my planet. "

" What is really scaring you Isabel? "

" My feelings when I first saw him "

" What were your feelings? "

" Like I was happy he was there. I had this calming feeling come over me and I was almost happy " she started to cry again.

" Do you love Thaman? "

" That's ridiculous Alex, " said Isabel rolling her eyes. " I don't even know him. I have one flash with the guy and I'm suddenly head over heels in love with him? "

" That's what happened with Liz wasn't it? "

" What does Liz have to do with this? "

" Maybe you're scared of how you yourself are feeling towards Thaman "

" I don't know how I feel about Thaman " she said sighing " But I know that I love you Alex "

" Isabel, I'm dead. I can't stand in your way if you find someone else "

Isabel started crying again. " That's the thing Alex, what if you weren't dead? If you were still alive and I had that flash last night then I would feel more awkward about this. I don't want to use you again "

" Isabel Evans, Alex Charles Whitman is dead. I know that if the real Alex were alive, you probably wouldn't be feeling this anyway. But he's gone and you're never going to get him back, he would want you to move on "

A weird feeling came over Isabel. She felt a rush go through her body and she stopped crying. The image faded and she was left sitting on her bed all alone. But she wasn't sad, she was happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Where is Isabel? " asked Max. He sat with his arm tightly around Liz. It was now in the early evening and they were all waiting for her to come to Michael's apartment. Everyone was there except Thaman and Valenti. Thaman had disappeared it seemed and Valenti said he had some business to do in the other county.

" You told her to meet us here right? " asked Liz looking at his concerned face.

" Where's Thaman? " asked Michael sitting with his arm around Maria.

" Thaman's cool " said Kyle smiling " That guy would tear it up in battle "

" It's hard to believe we were stronger than him, " said Max.

" But even if we reach our max Maxwell, how could we beat Khivar and his army? "

" Especially now that Tess is gone " said Liz.

Everyone frowned when she mentioned Tess. She was something they didn't want to think about. Kyle grunted putting some food in his mouth.

" We don't need Tess " said Max

" But we did in… "

" We'll take care of it Liz, at least we know a little of where we went wrong "

" What if you guys, " said Kyle excited. He had just had a light bulb go off in his head. "… formed a weapon when you're put together "

" What? " they all said at the same time.

" Like in the 5th Element with Bruce Willis "

" The one where he's wearing that awful orange shirt? " asked Maria

" Listen " said Kyle as they all rolled their eyes at him. " They combined all four basic elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. It created a weapon that would kill the evil thingy. Don't you get that I'm saying? You Max could be Earth, Michael could be fire, Isabel water and Tess Wind "

" But isn't the movie called the 5th Element? " asked Maria

" So who's the 5th person? " asked Liz

They all turned to look at her.

" What? " she said surprised at their unison response.

" That's ridiculous Kyle " said Max. " That was only a movie "

" But Maxwell it makes sense a little " said Michael

" It's seems interesting " said Liz thinking it over.

" Yeah that you actually watched the 5th Element " snorted Maria.

" I'm telling you guys that's probably how you were supposed to beat the bad guys " said Kyle throwing up his hands.

" So why is Max Earth and I'm Fire? " asked Michael

Kyle raised his finger up and opened his mouth. " No it's too easy, " he said putting his hand back down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emerging from the Pepper's Café, Sally Jenkins was running for her life. She was panting heavily as she pushed the door to get out of the café. She had terror written on her face. She had just seen the most horrible things and was desperate to escape the being following her. Before he could touch her, she had run.

" Oh God please someone help me, " she yelled as she started running towards the highway. She looked frantically around in both directions but it was dark all around her. This was a very ghostly road and no one ever really drove by.

" Where do you think you're going? " asked the one chasing her. His voice sounded evil and sarcastic.

" Please, Please let me go… I, I won't tell anybody what I've seen "

" Humans, you think you can plead your way out of trouble, like I have any compassion at all for you? " smirked the figure. There were no lights but she could see his outline in the darkness.

" You're evil, " she said too scared now to even move as he moved closer to her.

" Well you should have been smart enough to stay away " remarked the figure. He was very close to her now. She could feel his breath on her face. " Now you're paying the consequences, " He said putting his hand up in front of her.

" You can't, they'll find you! " she said desperately.

" Who? They've all gone home now " he said placing his hand on her heart, frying her internal organs. The sensation locked the expression she carried on her face. Her body dropped heavily onto the sand in front of him.

" That was too easy, " he said as he picked up her body and carried it back to the café.