Title: Midgame
Rating: PG-13/R
Category: M/L, M/M, Kyle/Isabel
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Roswell characters. They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, etc. However I do claim Nikolai, Tristan, Erik, Liam, Serena, and Christiana as mine. Except for Serena's name...Anyway, don't sue me, you wouldn't win much anyway.
Summary: Second in the Battlefield Antar series, sequel to King's Opening, and I recommend you read that first. The crew moves to Skyview Castle. Kivar gets pissed because his plan to kill Max didn't work. Isabel and Kyle get closer. The Resistance gains ground.
Chapter 4 – Q & A
Max and Liz stood in front of the huge map of the castle that decorated an entire wall of the main library.
"I didn't realize this castle was so big..." Liz commented in a slightly awed tone.
"I knew, but I really hadn't realized it until now. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
Liz glanced from one end of the map to the other. "Look, you start at that end, and I'll start at the other and we'll meet in the middle, okay?"
Max nodded. "Okay."
Liz let out a small sigh. It was incredible how big the map was. Max heard her sigh and felt a twinge of guilt.
"Liz, I want you to know how grateful I am for your help...I keep pulling you into these quests to find out more about my past, and you help me. You help me even though you know that everything we could possibly uncover could be something people could use to hurt our relationship."
Max reached out and caressed Liz's cheek gently.
"Why did you stick by me?"
"Max. I love you more than anything else in the universe. Even after everything, if I had cut you off from me, I would have cut myself off from me." Liz reached up and ruffled Max's hair. "Go look at your end of the map."
Max nodded and stepped up to the end of the map. Liz watched him for a second, a small, slightly sad smile on her face, and then turned to her side of the map.
Michael and Maria were walking in the castle's gardens, hand in hand and just enjoying the beauty of the gardens.
"Why did you..." Michael began, then shook his head. "Never mind."
"No, ask me. Why did I what?"
"Just...why? Why did you stick with me? Why did you agree to come with us to Antar? Why didn't you run while you had the chance?"
Maria stopped walking and turned to face Michael.
"You have to ask? After all this time you have to ask?" She shook her head. "I swear, Spaceboy. Sometimes you are so dense!" Maria's face softened. "I love you, Michael Guerin. I thought about my life with you, and I thought about my life without you. And I decided that I liked it better when I was with you."
"How can it be that simple?"
"Michael, what does it matter now? I'm happy, and even if I wasn't, there isn't anything I could do about it now, is there?"
"I know, Ria. I just have to know that you are still happy."
Maria smiled and placed her hands on Michael's cheeks. "When I'm with you, I'm happy. You are all I need to be happy, Spaceboy. Don't ever leave me, okay?"
"Okay." Michael pulled Maria into his arms and cradled her head against his chest.
Kyle was hanging out in the game room with Tristan, Nikolas, Erik, and Liam. They were showing him the ropes of the different Antarian games, their similarities and differences to their counterparts on Earth.
"Oh, pool." Kyle commented. "I like pool."
Liam chuckled. "Now that's a game that's exactly the same. Actually, we sort of borrowed it straight from Earth."
Kyle smiled. "So the rules are the same?"
"Pretty much."
"Who wants to play?"
Nikolas grinned. "I'm in. Anybody else?" The others shook their heads.
"We'll just watch. Should be a good game," Tristan said dryly.
Isabel glanced around her bedroom with a satisfied smile. This room she'd done herself, carefully decorating it so that it wasn't like either of the rooms she'd lived in back on Earth. She sat down on her bed and pulled a picture frame off of her bedside table. It was a picture from junior prom, one of her and Alex.
"Would you be proud of me now, Alex? Have I made the right decisions?" She brushed her fingers lovingly over Alex's face. "Would you want me to be with Kyle?"
"There's no one else I'd pick for you, Isabel."
Isabel jumped off the bed. "Alex! What? What are you doing here?"
"I'll always be a part of you, Isabel. You know that. And you also know that I want you to be happy. Kyle will make you happy. Be with Kyle." So saying, the image of Alex faded away as quickly as it had come.
"I think I'll take a nap," Isabel murmured, thinking out loud. She lay down on the bed, pulled a blanket over her body, and closed her eyes.
Kivar swept into the war room, where Maikos and Daimtos sat anxiously awaiting his arrival. They jumped to their feet and saluted him.
"Sit down, Generals," he ordered tersely. They quickly sat. "Generals, this morning a high-level transport arrived under my watch."
"Sir, may I ask why we weren't given advance notice of this?"
"No, General Daimtos, you may not. On that transport was your new superior."
Daimtos and Maikos looked at each other seriously. Kivar was creating a position above them. Previously they had only answered to Kivar. Kivar pressed a button on the table in front of him. Seconds later the door to the war room opened and a tall man strode confidently in.
I'll be damned, Daimtos thought. He did bring him back. After all that crap on Earth, he brings that little bastard back. On top of Maikos and me no less!
"General Daimtos, General Maikos. Good to see you again. It's been what, fifty years, give or take? You've been well, I see."
"Nicholas," Daimtos and Maikos replied coldly.
"Gentlemen, I'll be taking over all of your decision-making duties. You answer to me. I answer to Kivar. That's the way things will be now, got it?"
Daimtos ignored Nicholas and turned to Kivar.
"You made this decision without talking to us? You brought him on board again without asking our opinions? What were you thinking?"
"How dare you speak to me like that?"
"Because we used to be friends, Kivar. You used to trust us. Remember?"
"I still do! I just think Nicholas can do a better job than you can. You know it's true."
Maikos slammed his hand on the table. "A better job? You mean like he did back on Earth? That was successful."
"Shut up, Maikos," Nicholas cut in. "I know the way that bastard of a king operates. I know his weaknesses. I know what makes him tick. You know nothing about him, and you can't find out shit because you can't get past the security."
"And you can?"
"We'll see, won't we. Ready the troops."
"The troops. What are you thinking?"
"We start an offensive campaign. Why are we staying on the defensive here?"
"Because we're safer that way. That's all we have to do."
"Wrong!" Kivar bellowed. "We have to beat them! We are the revolutionaries here."
"It's been fifty years, Kivar. We are longer revolutionaries. You are living in the past, and that's dangerous."
"Then leave me to my danger. Get out of here. Go back to your offices and await further orders. From Nicholas."
Daimtos and Maikos stood up, full of outraged dignity, and walked out of the room.
A/N – As ever, I apologize for the time between updates. If you're still sticking with me and reading this, I seriously adore you. I promise that I will keep updating whenever possible. This story will not be abandoned!