Chapter Forty Two

" If it's like this outside. What does it look like inside? " said Kyle.
" We're wasting time this way " said Max. " We have to get in there, now "
" I will make a distraction, " said Ryu.
" You must take Isabel, Michael, Maria, Ava and Brody with you " explained Laric.
" Why? " asked Maria.
" No time to talk " said Ryu. " The rest of us have to fight them now. The 6 of you must go in. I am not taking anymore chances that you do not lose your mates " said Ryu looking at Ava and Michael.
" Go " said Laric.
" Go well my Father " said Ryu as he ran out in the open.
" Ryu no! " cried Max as he watched Ryu run right in front of the guards.
" Get going Now! " yelled Kyle.
With that Max and others ran into the Pod Chamber. Beams of light seem to flash all around them as they ran with all their might inside the Pod Chamber. With the distraction of Laric and Ryu, they all made it safely inside.
" We have been waiting for you " they heard. " And you have the Granolith with you I trust "
" Kivar " said Isabel looking at him. Beside Kivar stood Lonnie, Rath, Nicholas and Tess.
" Vilandra " said Kivar. He looked her up and down. " How distinctly different you are from each other "
" Ready to die? " asked Lonnie laughing at them. " So that I can have Thaman? "
" Thaman's dead Lonnie " spat Isabel.
Lonnie's smile faded. " You lyin "
" No, I'm not. So I guess that means that neither one of us can have him " said Isabel raising her gun to her and shot her in the stomach. Lonnie flew backward across the room and landed on the floor.
Kivar looked at her in awe and pride. " I am impressed Vilandra. But what is this about having Thaman? " He really didn't seem to care about Lonnie lying dead on the floor.
Tess looked at Max. Ava knew the look. It was the same look she found herself giving to Zan. Just like Zan, Max didn't return any of the feelings that she had for him. The feeling stung at her as she turned her head.
" Move out of the way Kivar " ordered Max.
" What are you going to do? " asked Kivar threateningly. He looked down at the gun that Max held in his hand. Kivar was not armed. " Shoot me? No that will not work with me."
Max threw aside his gun. " Fine, let's do it this way "
" Very brave " smirked Kivar.
" It's not bravery. Its about someone who has nothing left to lose " he said giving the Granolith to Isabel.
" You ready for this stupid? " asked Nicholas smirking at Michael.
" As I've told you before short one " said Michael throwing his gun to the side. " Bring it on "
Kivar tackled Max and they both flew out of the Pod Chamber. Michael and Nicholas started shooting at each other and they ran after each other outside.
" You B&%^# " said Isabel turning towards Tess. " You're going to pay for killing Alex "
" I did what I had to do " answered Tess.
" You didn't have to kill Alex! " shouted Maria.
" You have a lot of nerve, " said Isabel.
" You weren't important Isabel. Did you think I could stay here when I knew that Max would never love me? " said Tess like a lunatic. " I tried so hard to make him love me. But no that stupid whore just had him wrapped around his finger " she looked at Ava. " And you, you're here to help kill me are you? "
" You gonna pay for killin Zan " said Ava to Rath.
" Don't think so " said Rath looking at Tess.
Tess had her eyes closed.
" No! " screamed Isabel as she tried to block the mind warp.
" I won't let you " said Ava also closing her eyes.
Before she could clear her head she was pushed back against the wall along with everyone else. Brody grabbed Ava and looked at her face. They looked around and Tess and Rath were gone.
" They're gone " said Brody.
" Where did they go? " asked Maria grabbing her head.
" I don't care " said Brody. " As long as we can set up the Granolith for everybody " he looked at Isabel. She was looking at Lonnie lying there on the floor. The hate in her eyes and the sadness covered her face. She was crying again. " We have to do this, " he said putting his hand on her shoulder.
Isabel nodded softly.
" How much time do we have? " asked Maria.
" Twenty minutes " said Brody looking at his watch.
~~~~~~~~
" I am going to kill you " said Kivar. He was on top of Max on the hot desert floor. " And this time you will not be coming back " He said spitting in Max's face.
Max pushed him off of himself and stood up. Kivar threw a beam at him and Max caught it in his hand. He spun around and threw it back at Kivar. Kivar dodged it. The beam flew right past him and blew a hole right into the
chamber. Max ran towards Kivar and tackled him. He started pounding into his face fiercely. In the struggle Kivar held out his hand and Max flew backwards.
On the other side Nicholas and Michael were rolling around. Nicholas was trying to grab Michael's head. Michael had both his hands and struggled to keep his hands away.
" Give up Second " said Nicholas as he struggled to get his hands pointed towards Michae. " You only prolong the inevitable "
" Whatever " said Michael shoving Nicholas off him. Nicholas flew back and hit a rock flat on his back. He landed on his feet and cracked his neck.
Michael looked at him in disbelief. " How am I gonna to kill this guy? "

Nicholas waved his hand and Michael flew back against the on a rock in the opposite direction.
~~~~~~~~
" This is taking too long, " said Kyle. " There's got to be a faster way "
He watched as Ryu just walked up to the guards and blew them away. His shield keeping him from harm. The guards shot at him but it would just bounce off.
" More should be coming, " said Laric.
" From the enemy? " asked Kyle.
" Just aim and shoot " said Zan. He watched as the guards start shooting at nothing while Ryu crept up on them. Before the guards realized that they were shooting at nothing. Ryu killed them. " How does he do that? " asked Zan.
" Its only natural " said Kyle. " Tess can mind warp. So naturally her son can too. Must be great to have such great powers together "
" What use is this? " asked Serena. " Max is with Michael fighting people who could easily kill them "
" We do not have time for this, " said Laric. " You are right but we have to just hold out " He looked up at the sky. " Look! " he said pointing.
" Finally " said Kyle.
The planes started shooting down at their enemies.
" How much time? " asked Zan. Then he saw Rath running towards the other side. His eyes darkened as he watched him.
" Fifteen minutes " answered Laric.
" I have some unfinished business to take care of " he said standing up.
" Everybody inside! " yelled Ryu as he ran up to them and grabbed Kyle. He started for the inside. He looked at Max. " Father now! " he screamed. Ryu looked at Michael. He had Nicholas against a boulder holding him up by his neck with a rock in his hand.
~~~~~~~~
" You can't kill me Michael " he said " You don't have it in you "
" Watch me " said Michael throwing him onto the floor and slammed the rock on Nicholas' back. Nicholas cried out in pain as he disappeared into a million pieces.

~~~~~~~~
Max threw Kivar off of him and held out his hand, making a shield to cover all around Kivar.
" You can kill my army Zan. But you cannot kill me with the Granolith " he said mockingly.
" I don't need the Granolith " said Max turning around and walking into the Chamber.
Kivar slammed his hand on the shield and turned around to see all the Antarian ships firing on his men. He couldn't get out of the shield. He could just watch as this was going to happen.
~~~~~~~~
Max and Michael both ran into the Granolith chamber. Isabel and Ava were standing beside it. Everyone else was in an outer circle.
" Now what? " asked Michael.
" I am not sure " said Ryu.
" Well we better think of something, we only have 7 minutes " said Brody.
Just when everyone started to talk at once they watched as Ava grabbed Brody's hand and smiled at him. She seemed peaceful and calm, like nothing bad was going to happen. Brody looked at her sweetly and kissed the back of her hand. " I think I know what to do, " she said as she smiled at Brody and touched the Granolith. " You just needs to have somethin to help you " she said looking at all of them and then at Brody. As she touched the Granolith she could feel a power take over her and an energy begin to flow. A glow came out of Ava's head and went inside the Granolith. The four square appeared over the Granolith and Ava's square started glowing brightly.
" How did you know to do that? " asked Isabel.
" I don't knows, " she answered. She looked at the three others. " I thinks it's just in us "
" I think she's right, " said Michael as he felt a strange familiar feeling in him.

Maria somehow knew what she had to do next. She calmly walked up to Michael and kissed him gently on the lips. " I have faith in you Space Boy " she said smiling at him. Michael looked at her. He marveled at how beautiful she was. Even after all these many years of living with her, she still was beautiful. Even now after all the recent crying and panicking that they've gone through, she was still mesmerizing. He watched her as he touched the Granolith. A similar glow came from his head and went inside the Granolith. They all looked and saw his square light up.
Max and Isabel looked at each other. They had nothing to help them. Isabel took a deep breath and tried to clear her head and touched the Granolith. Nothing happened. " Why can't I do it? " she cried. " I can't do it " she said putting her face in her hands.
" You have something bothering you " said Maria. " This isn't going to work " she said shaking her head.
" It will not work unless you put that aside, " said Laric urgently.
" How can I put it aside? " yelled Max. " Liz is dead. What else have I got? " He looked at Isabel.
Isabel looked at the group sadly. " I can't do it either. I've got nothing "
" Come on you guys, " said Kyle looking at his watch. " We only have five minutes left "

" Do not fail us, " said Ryu in a pleading tone. " Do not make all our sacrifices seem meaningless "

Isabel looked at Max and shook her head. " I can't do this Max. It won't work. If we need that to make it work, I have nothing to help me "

" I can't either, " he said looking at the group. Then he lowered his face to the ground. " I'm sorry "

" Max! " he heard echoed through the Chamber. He could feel his heart skip a beat as he turned around to look at who it was. " Max! " screamed Liz as she ran towards him. Her small and perfect face was bright and her eyes were wide as she jumped onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist. She grabbed his face and looked at him. " I know you can do this Max, " she said. " I know you can do this "

" Liz " he breathed out. He touched the side of her face. " Liz? " he said louder as the realization really sank in. He leaned forward and kissed her strongly on the lips.

Liz laughed as he bounced her slightly, his face shining. " You can do this Max, " she said smiling down at him.

" I can do anything, " he said. " As long as you're with me " With that, he reached out and touched the Granolith. A ball shot out of his head. It circled Liz once before it joined Ava and Michael's squares.

Everyone looked at Isabel.

" One more left " said Kyle under his breathe. He looked at his watch. " Three more minutes "

Isabel didn't notice anyone in the room. She only saw Thaman. With him in her presence again she almost forgot what was going on around her. She was almost scared to believe he was still alive when she thought, for sure, he was dead. It was like he was part of this crazy dream. He stood there almost unsure of what to do. Everyone looked at him in anticipation. What was he going to do? Ryu watched Thaman intently. He didn't know that Thaman could be this emotionally involved.

Isabel could feel her knees get weak as he got closer to her. What would he say to her? Would he say she didn't need him and that his love wasn't enough? Would he tell her that he loved her but loved Lonnie as well? Thaman was right in front of her now. She could feel his breath on her face and she looked up at him desperately trying to read his expression. He moved in closer and she closed her eyes, ready for the disappointment. But Thaman put his hands on either side of her face gently.

" Open your eyes " she heard him say gently. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his deep dark ones. She couldn't stop the tears coming to her face as his expression softened. She could hear him sigh softly. " I love you Isabel, " he said softly as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. At that moment Isabel felt Thaman, she really felt Thaman. She could feel their hearts beating as one and his strength flowing into her. Her knees gave out and he pulled her closer to him for support. Their bodies being pressed together. She put her arms around his neck and deepened their first real kiss. The expressions on both of their faces as they kissed made everyone sigh in appreciation.

Ten seconds remained. But everyone looked at Isabel and Thaman in awe, fully appreciating the unity of the two of them.

Isabel opened her eyes and looked at Thaman. Her face was bright and her smile illuminating. Her face showed the complete happiness she felt now that she had Thaman completely. She reached down and touched the Granolith. She continued to smile at him as a glow flew from her head, illuminating her features. It flew towards the others and completed the Four Square.

Author's Note: I hope you all liked this chapter. I also hope that you all understand why I had to add the "thought you were dead" drama. I thought it would make things more interesting. This is NOT the end of this story so please check back and read the next chapters. Please tell me what you thought.